《Apotheosis》


 Chapter 1 Repaying Cruelty With Kindness (Part One)

    It was a late autumn morning. As the dawn chased the dark shadows, the sun added some warmth to the chilly air.


    An oil lamp in the cellar of Luo''s House lit up. A young man named Zen Luo sat upright in front of a table, shading most of the light of the oil lamp. Quietly he pulled out a battered thread-bound book.


    Zen Luo was a lean, average-looking young man who had just turned 17. However, there was something mellow about him. In contrast, his eyes were so radiant that even in the dim light projected by the oil lamp, they glowed with charm.


    "It has taken me a month to finish Heavenly Principles. Its arguments are all very well, but, what I find most revolting are those four words, repaying cruelty with kindness," Zen Luo whispered as he stared at the bean-sized flame of the oil lamp. Melancholy was written all over his face. "Had my father not been so kind-hearted as to believe those four words, I, the direct descendant of my Clan, would not have ended up like this, and father would still be alive¡­"


    The sudden noise of the cellar door being unlocked interrupted his flow of thoughts. Zen Luo replaced the melancholy he was feeling with a solemn expression. He promptly blew out the oil lamp and covered himself with the shabby cotton quilt.


    The door of the cellar flew open and footsteps began drawing close. The man in charge stepped forward and stomped his foot on Zen Luo''s bed before shrieking at him, "Still in bed? Dreaming about being the young master of the Luo Clan? Get the fuck up!"


    The man was a steward in the Luo Clan. He looked rather wretched. He had a wart on his forehead that often invoked disgust from people.


    Zen Luo sat up and rubbed his eyes. He pushed off the quilt, before turning and planting his feet on the ground. Silently, he slid on his clothing, socks, and shoes. Although his clothes were old, Zen Luo kept them neatly. He was very meticulous by nature.


    The steward rolled his eyes, criticized Zen, and then waved his hand. Several men surrounded Zen and forcibly put a thick leather armor and shackles on him.


    After they were done, Zen Luo followed the servants as they walked out of the cellar and toward Luo''s Martial Arts Hall.


    The Luo Clan owned hundreds of mines and millions of acres of fertile land. As a big and powerful Clan, they were well-known in C County.


    However, the entire Eastern Region had thousands of county cities, including countless wealthy families and the Luo Clan was almost insignificant in the Eastern Region.


    Zen Luo was escorted by some men as he climbed out of the gloomy cellar. This was a daily ritual with which Zen was quite familiar. The walk to the Martial Arts Hall meant navigating through numerous pavilions, bridges, and galleries.


    The Martial Arts Hall was an open area. It was a place where the children of the Luo Clan would come for practice. The entrance was decorated with white marble sculptures of a male lion and a female lion. The ground was one large, black basalt slab. Standing at the entrance of the building, one could feel the power emanating from the Hall.


    In the middle of the Martial Arts Hall, dozens of children from the Luo Clan practiced martial arts under the guidance of a teacher. They were all dressed alike, in gray robes.


    They bawled and their boxes whirred again and again.


    In order to win a position in the family, every child needed to study diligently and practice hard. These children looked like they were more than 10 years of age.


    On this late autumn day, the wind began to howl around the training children. Nevertheless, sweat beaded on their foreheads. The contrasting heat and cold filled the Hall with steaming white mist.


    On the other side of the Martial Arts Hall stood over a dozen men who were dressed like Zen Luo, in leather armor and shackles. These men were dejected, bleeding, and wounded all over their bodies.


    Zen Luo was escorted into the Martial Arts Hall. The guard placed him amongst the injured men.


    Since most of these men had been bought by the Luo Clan from local prisons, they were now the slaves of the Luo Clan. These slaves played the roles of live targets for the Luo Clan children for the purpose of training and testing their own strength. These children could assault these slaves arbitrarily. Several live targets were killed or disabled during such assaults. Over time, the number added up and it was difficult to gauge how many had lost their lives in the Hall.


    Zen Luo wa


    s not a death row inmate and thus, was not bought by the family. He was the eldest child in the eldest branch of the Luo Clan. The rest of the Clan used to call him the young master. He was once noble, and his peers would bow and salute him with respect. Even the family elders were polite to him.


    However, something disastrous happened in C County two years ago. Zen Luo''s father, the head of the Luo Clan, had been poisoned by his brother. He died on the spot.


    Immediately after, the eldest branch of the Luo Clan was set up by the other three branches. They framed a case against Zen Luo''s father. According to their accusations, Zen''s father was a rebel. The family didn''t survive the allegations, and the eldest branch became no longer powerful.


    Zen Luo, the former young master, was also labeled a rebel and became a slave of the Luo Clan. He became a tool, and was beaten up at the whim of the other children in the Luo Clan as part of their martial arts practice.


    Zen Luo had lived like this for two years. He had lost count of how many fists and insults he had endured during this time.


    "Today''s boxing practice is over. You can select a slave for the next practice now! Hitting the human body allows you to fully understand actual combat skills, get familiar with the weaknesses of the human body, and the body structure!"


    After the teacher had finished speaking, the children started selecting their slaves. Soon, the sounds of slaves begging and pleading for mercy could be heard in the Hall. The Luo children did not treat slaves as humans. They were trained to hit the flesh without mercy.


    Many of them tried to find Zen Luo. The act of beating up a former young master with as much aggression as they could muster gave them a greater sense of accomplishment!


    When being used as a sandbag, Zen Luo protected vital parts of his body with calmness. Since it had been two years, he was now quite used to it.


    Before long, a few people came through the entrance of the Martial Arts Hall. A young man who was dressed finely led this group of newcomers.


    "The young master is coming!"


    "Young master, your practice has finally come to a halt. You seem to feel refreshed in spirit. You must have progressed greatly in your ability and power!"


    "Our young master is intelligent. He is the talent of our Luo Clan. He must have grown stronger and has surely entered the higher level of bone refining."


    The children who noticed the young master entering stopped their practice and began patronizing. Some even walked up to the young master as they generously threw praises his way. It was obvious that they all wanted to flatter the young master.


    Zen Luo''s eyes fell on the young man, and his imperceptible anger rose quietly. The young teenager being called the young master by the Luo children, was Perrin Luo. He was the oldest son in the second branch of the Luo Clan. He was the same age as Zen Luo.


    Zen Luo was relegated to slavery and Perrin Luo replaced Zen as the young master of the Luo Clan.


    Zen Luo had heard that Perrin Luo had been staying in a secluded place to practice some time ago. He had disappeared for a long time. It seemed as though he had improved a lot after the practice.


    Perrin Luo was very sensitive and he turned to look at Zen Luo when he became aware of his cousin''s hate-filled glare. He smirked as he walked straight toward Zen Luo and said," Zen Luo, I practiced for a long time. I didn''t expect to see you alive when I returned."


    "Thanks for caring about me. I''m fucking alive." Zen Luo answered in a muffled voice.


    "How dare you! What kind of tone is that? How dare you speak this way to the young master?"


    "You are just a slave here, kneel! Fall to the ground quickly and apologize to our young master or you will regret being alive."


    Several children of the Luo Clan shouted as though Zen Luo had done something very unforgivable to them.


    Zen Luo looked around indifferently. These people used to behave like little dogs in front of him in the past. They were too scared to even breathe in his presence when he was the young master. Once he lost power, their attitudes changed. It had been so sudden. Now, they were Perrin Luo''s dogs.


    Perrin Luo waved his hand to stop the excited Luo children from defending him. He spoke to Zen Luo with a triumphant smile," Zen Luo, do you know why I left for the practice?"


    Zen Luo did not speak. He just looked at Perrin Luo expressionlessly.

 Chapter 2 Repaying Cruelty With Kindness (Part Two)

    "You should know that our family has two Magical Pills. Well, I took one of them some time ago." Perrin Luo said with pride, "This pill is really extraordinary. The pure magical power empowered all my flesh, and helped me to improve from the flesh refining level to the bone refining level. And to think the efficacy of the pill works only one-tenth! The rest remains in my body and supplies my flesh endlessly. I just need to cross a fine line to get to the organ refining level, and the marrow refining level will be just around the corner!"


    Zen gritted his teeth when he heard Perrin Luo. These two pills were the most valuable treasure of the Luo Clan. They were holy pills left by Luo''s ancestors. They were stored carefully in a sacred place only known by a handful of people in the family. Most people were not allowed to see or use these pills.


    According to the old doctrine, only those who reached the bone refining level before the age of 16 were eligible to use the Magical Pills.


    The practice of the body includes five levels starting with the skin refining level. Those who mastered it would move to the second, the flesh refining level. Bone refining was the third level. The final two levels were organ refining and marrow refining. Each of the five levels was different, and it was incredibly difficult for most people to master each level without decades of practicing.


    It was a miracle if a person reached the third level before he turned 30. The entire Clan would recognize such a person as being talented.


    According to the doctrine, only those who reached the third level before turning 16 were eligible to use the Magical Pills!


    People who reached the bone refining level before that age were undoubtedly strong. In all these centuries, no one in the entire C County had seen someone like that. That was the reason why the Magical Pills hadn''t been used in the past three hundred years.


    Before the adversity, Zen Luo had been recognized as a promising child.


    At the age of 14, he entered the top of the flesh refining level. For his talent and efforts, he had been praised by the king of C County. The king had said that Zen was the hope of Luo Clan''s prosperity, the one favored by God, and the talent amongst talents!


    However, it was a pity that at such a crucial time, the family suffered from internal strife and his father had been killed by his own brothers. Zen Luo had been banished to slavery, and had become a sandbag and a prisoner. Since he couldn''t practice any more, he had lost the chance to take the pill.


    Perrin Luo was ordinary and didn''t have any talent. He had just reached the level of flesh refining at 16. He was not eligible to use the Magical Pills but he still took one.


    This Magical Pill rightfully belonged to Zen Luo. Unexpectedly, it was taken by this moron who had no talent. Even though Zen Luo had two years to calm himself and accept the fate of his family, his heart wasn''t


    at peace. He could not help but get angry. "Perrin Luo, you son of a bitch! How dare you ignore the ancestors'' doctrine and take the holy pill without permission?"


    "Well, you are as insignificant as the insects in the crevices. A good-for-nothing! I have stepped into the peak of the bone refining level. I can hold a thousand pounds in one hand! You are a slave. I can crush you with one hand. Today, I finished the practice, and in order to congratulate myself, I want to find a sandbag for me!" Perrin Luo ignored what Zen Luo had said and pointed at someone randomly. "Okay, I choose you!"


    He did not choose Zen Luo, but found a middle-aged man. The middle-aged man saw Perrin Luo pointing at him and trembled. Although he wore a thick leather armor, which could resist a lot of damage, the man was fearful for his life. Perrin Luo had reached the bone refining level, and the armor would not protect him. The man could not help shivering and peeing.


    Then Perrin Luo took a deep breath before assuming the unique posture of the Purple Light Fist. This was exclusive Kung Fu of the Luo Clan. He was trying to show off, and used his inner strength to the best, which covered his body in purple light.


    "Please... Please...young master! I beg for your mercy!" When the slave saw Perrin Luo''s momentum, his eyes revealed a desperate look. He would die if smashed by Perrin''s fist. He fell to his knees as he continued groveling for mercy.


    "Boom!"


    Perrin Luo would never listen to the begging of a slave. He punched his chest. The leather safeguarding his chest collapsed abruptly. The man flew back with the impact and hit a wall in the Martial Arts Hall. His lifeless body fell to the ground with a dull thud.


    One punch by Perrin had killed the slave.


    "Your fist is very powerful! Young master! Nobody from among our Clan''s youngsters can be stronger than you."


    "Our young master will ensure that the Luo Clan thrives, and he will carry the whole family forward."


    Impressed and even fearful, the children patronized the young master.


    Perrin Luo seemed to be very satisfied with the effect of this punch. He then turned to look at Zen Luo viciously.


    Zen Luo stepped back. Although he was much stronger than the middle-aged man, he could not take Perrin Luo''s punch.


    Perrin Luo laughed and reached out to fiercely tap Zen Luo''s shoulder twice. "Relax, I will not kill you so quickly. I want you to watch me, and know that I, Perrin Luo, am much stronger than you!"


    Perrin Luo stopped talking and turned to leave. Just then, he remembered something and turned around and said, "Yeah, I forgot one thing. I heard that my genius cousin isn''t doing well in Cloud Sect because she offended an influential person. She has been sent to Hell Mountain as punishment. I will rescue her when I reach the organ refining level, ha ha ha..."


    Upon hearing these words, Zen Luo''s chest tightened and his heart beat quickened.

 Chapter 3 Weapon Refining Method ( Part One)

    Zen didn''t care about being relegated to a slave, or being a punchbag for children of the Luo Clan, or even losing the Magical Pill, which he was robbed of by Perrin.


    His biggest weakness was his sister, Yan Luo!


    Yan Luo was the only hope for the oldest branch of the Luo family. Extraordinarily talented, she left home at the age of thirteen when Cloud Sect selected her as a disciple. She survived the coup within the Luo Clan for this reason.


    In the past two years, Zen, as a slave, was unable to learn anything about his sister''s whereabouts. Now that Perrin had commented about Yan''s current situation, Zen found himself feeling anxious about her well-being.


    Lost in thoughts of his sister, Zen was vulnerable and took several devastating blows from the Luo children. He finally gained control of his mind after several whacks.


    In the evening, Zen returned to the cellar. He limped as excruciating pain flooded through his body.


    "This drug will help you recover!" The steward for the Luo Clan threw the drug at Zen before turning to leave.


    After all, human punchbags were not made of steel. If they didn''t get the wound healing medicines, they would die from internal injuries after a few days. So the steward distributed drugs to the slaves to help them recover as soon as possible.


    However, these healing drugs were not very effective.


    Zen opened the paper bag and was astonished to see only one pill inside. "Darren Fang! Why do I only have one pill today?" Zen asked.


    "You should be grateful for what you have now. What''s the issue? Is it not enough for you?" The steward mocked.


    "It is stipulated that three healing pills be distributed to each slave every day. But now there is only one. Obviously, you are embezzling the pills. It''s a felony to embezzle from the Luo family. How dare you do that, Darren Fang? Aren''t you afraid of death?" Zen shouted as he fixed his eyes on Darren Fang.


    "Hey! Of course, I am afraid of death, but I''m not afraid of you. You are just a slave. What can you do? You want to rebel? I hate your attitude. Do you still think of yourself as the young master? Look in the mirror and face your reality, Zen. Ha ha ha!" Darren didn''t quite like Zen and took this opportunity to inflict insult on the former young master.


    After hearing these words, Zen calmed down instead of getting angry. Zen composed himself before glaring at Darren Fang. He intended to convey his hate through his clear eyes, unflinching glare, and expressionless face.


    The effect was achieved as Darren Fang felt uncomfortable when he saw Zen''s reaction. When he noted the fire dancing in Zen''s eyes, he got scared. Instead of backing off, Darren walked up to Zen and poked Zen''s chest as he said, "What are you staring at? You want a piece of me? Do you think you can take me?"


    Zen emitted an intense power from his chest all of a sudden. Darren''s body trembled as the power spread throughout his whole body. It wasn''t long before Darren Fang''s knees gave way and he staggered before falling to the ground.


    "You ... You ... you are a slave. Do you want to rebel?" Darren Fang stood up and tried to be authoritative. However, his panicked expression conveyed his true feelings.


    Zen took two steps forward, cracked his knuckles, and snapped back, "A steward who isn''t even a member of the Luo Clan dares to be so arrogant? Do you think I will not beat you?"


    Darren Fang did not want to stay in this situation any longer. So he turn


    ed and fled as soon as possible. He glared at Zen as soon as the cellar''s iron gate snapped close.


    "Villainous behavior!" "Villainous behavior?" Zen sneered as he shook his head. He didn''t feel as though the steward was worth his time.


    He sat down quietly, took out the fire starter to ignite the oil lamp, and turned a few pages of the book hastily. Zen was frustrated as he couldn''t focus. His thoughts kept drifting back to his sister, Yan and what Perrin had said.


    ''I cannot stay here anymore.'' Zen frowned as he thought about his dilemma. ''I have just reached the flesh refining level. It will be hard for me to leave this cellar, let alone go to Cloud Sect to rescue Yan.''


    Zen paced in the small cellar. His chest tightened and his heart beat quickened. He looked like a restless beast trying to find a way out.


    Over the past two years, Zen had come to accept his fate. He had not been motivated to think of alternatives. As time passed, he felt stripped of his talent and confidence.


    This eventually led to complete disbelief in his powers. Zen stood in the center of the room rationalizing with himself. ''I''m a slave now. Years of being forced to be the human punchbag for children in the Luo Clan has weakened me. What''s worse is that my daily injuries have prevented me from practicing when I return to the cellar. But if I stay here, I will be killed by one of these children sooner or later. I need to take drastic measures.''


    The more he thought about it, the more anxious Zen became. He cast his gaze toward the table where the dreadful book, Heavenly Principles lay quietly.


    "This damn book is nothing but a bunch of life theories. And so far, none have worked out for my father, nor me. Reading it does me no good. Why should I keep reading it?" Anger and helplessness consumed Zen. He stomped toward the book, grabbed it from the table, and held it over the lamp till it began to sizzle and crackle.


    A smile grew on Zen''s lips as the book was ignited.


    However, a moment later, Zen regretted his action. He whispered in despair, "Zen, Zen, why did you bother to get angry at a book?" Looking at the burning book, Zen regretted, complaining, "This book teaches people to be good. It tells people what is shameful and wrong, as well as what is wise and right. The book cannot be blamed for adversities. You should blame yourself for not being strong enough, for being like a little lamb that is easily controlled by others."


    Unfortunately, by then the book had become a pile of ashes.


    Suddenly, Zen saw a ray of golden light flash from the ashes. For a moment, Zen was dumbstruck.


    "What is that?"


    Zen pushed the ashes aside, and picked up the small piece of gold that had emitted the ray of light. Zen studied the thin gold foil.


    He hadn''t come across this gold foil when he was reading this book. Presumably it had been hidden in the inner-layer of the book.


    ''What is the use of a piece of gold foil?


    For a great family like the Luo Clan, gold is as worthless as clay.''


    However, when Zen focused on the gold, a strange vision appeared!


    The gold foil was engraved with countless words, shaped like tadpoles. Zen didn''t understand any of them.


    As his eyes swept across the gold foil, it disintegrated in his hands. Thousands of small pieces of gold, each carrying a word came flying toward him.


    Face, eyes, neck, arms, body, legs ...


    Every part of Zen''s body was covered by these small gold fragments.

 Chapter 4 Weapon Refining Method (Part Two)

    The last piece of small gold foil pushed its way past his scalp and burrowed into Zen''s brain. Zen felt as though he had been hit by a large iron hammer. His whole body shook violently as the fragments of gold foil joined together before emitting a bright light.


    After the golden light gradually faded, these small gold fragments penetrated Zen''s body. Some memories, which did not belong to him, emerged out of the void.


    "Grand Weapon Refining Method..."


    "The First Ancient Weapon Refining Method..."


    "Use the flesh as a weapon. Use your body as the soul, temper and practice thoroughly, clean the body for great vitality ..."


    ''Is this the weapon refining method?''


    Although Zen didn''t know how to refine a weapon, he clearly knew that becoming a weapon refining master was a rewarding career. Despite all the strong financial resources the Luo Clan had, they couldn''t even hire a weapon refining master of the lowest level. That was enough to show how advantageous it was to be a weapon refining master.


    But use the flesh as a weapon? What did that mean?


    ''Does this method imply that I need to refine myself to be an effective weapon?''


    As soon as the thought crossed Zen''s mind, something incredible happened.


    His body temperature rose sharply. He inhaled deeply with surprise when he first felt hot and then cold and then hot again.


    So hot! Zen felt uncomfortable as his body temperature rose. Soon he felt as though he was burning from the inside out.


    Quickly, he rushed to the water tank at the end of the cellar. This was where they left water for Zen to use for his daily routines.


    He jumped into the tank without thinking.


    He closed his eyes as his body sank deeper into the tank. The water around him began sizzling.


    As the water bubbled and frothed, the tank began to shake. Soon, steam began billowing out of the tank. Before Zen''s body could cool itself, all the water in the tank had evaporated. The whole cellar filled with mist.


    The water failed to lower Zen''s body temperature. On the contrary, Zen felt as though his body temperature was still rising. Unable to take it anymore, he writhed at the bottom of the now-empty tank. Slowly cracks appeared on Zen''s skin and a dark red light, like a piece of red hot iron, broke through.


    He thrashed around at the bottom of the tank as the mist swirled around him.


    Not just his body, Zen''s mind was also undergoing incredible changes.


    Suddenly a huge black furnace with nine dragon reliefs on the wall came to his mind.


    Each dragon was painted with different colors, including cyan, black, white, purple ... Each of the dragons had bared their fangs and seemed to be clawing at the air around them.


    Eight of them closed their eyes, while the dragon at the bottom opened its eyes and stared at Zen.


    With deep eyes that reflected the experience and wisdom of having survived tens of millions of years, or hundreds of millions of years, the dragon looked at Zen without emotion. He could feel the power emanating from the dragon.


    "Cackle, cackle, cackle, cackle ..."


    Zen''s soul trembled under the intense gaze of the dragon. Soon he felt as though his soul would split wide open.


    Just as Zen felt as though every inch of him was about to shatter, he heard whispers coming from the dragon. Then the giant furnace spun around continuously, and the flames lit up in the furnace.


    A giant black flame rose.


    Zen had never seen anything like this before. The flame flickered ferociously in the dark, quiet cellar. For a moment, Zen felt as though it would burn everything in the world!


    The giant furnace covered Zen and shortly after, he felt the blazing fire


    wrap itself around his soul. It happened so quickly that Zen had no time to marvel at what he had seen.


    Any ordinary person would have been devoured by the flame. Only someone very special would be able to endure the pain of their soul burning. Zen couldn''t lose consciousness to this unbearable pain because it was his soul suffering, and this all happened in his mind. The only thing he could do was to grit his teeth and hope it would finish soon.


    "Ah ah ah, let me die!"


    Soon, Zen''s limit had been reached and he screamed in agony. He would have done anything, even embrace death, to relieve himself of the pain he felt.


    But for him, death was a luxury. In this state, a person couldn''t do anything, not even bite his tongue to commit suicide.


    As soon as his soul could not sustain the pain and was about to break, the furnace emitted a colorful glow to repair Zen''s soul immediately.


    Burning, crushing, repairing and then burning, crushing and repairing all over again ...


    the torturous cycle seemed to be repeating itself endlessly.


    Zen didn''t know how long this deadly pain continued. It stopped finally.


    He took a long breath and welcomed the respite. He barely had time to get over the experience when he found his soul exuding a golden light.


    After a long time, Zen finally sobered up slowly.


    In his mind, the giant furnace had stopped revolving, but the black flame in the furnace never extinguished. The fire was under control and looked less horrible.


    Zen had already understood that his soul and body had been refined in that furnace.


    In the great world, wonders never ceased to happen. Some weapon refining masters used all kinds of strange ways to refine weapons. Some masters committed innumerable murders to gather human blood for refining. What was worse, some masters even stole the souls of humans to fuel their weapons, thus making them a kind of evil weapon.


    However, this weapon refining theory advocated refining a person''s own body and turning it into a magical weapon. Zen had never heard of it before. It seemed so crazy ...


    Misfortune might be a blessing in disguise, and vice versa. After calming down, Zen figured that what had happened to him might not have been a bad thing!


    A magical weapon needed to go through five stages in this world, with the first being the mysterious weapon stage. After this, the weapon would become a spiritual weapon, a fairy weapon, a sacred weapon, and a divine weapon in succession. Each of these stages was further divided into top, middle, and lower grades. All had extremely high value.


    Zen''s body had just been refined into a magical weapon. Even though it was on the lowest level of a mysterious weapon, Zen felt powerful.


    It was a strange thing to think of himself as a magical weapon. Zen''s face revealed a bitter smile.


    As he turned to look out from the only vent in the cellar, Zen saw that dawn was breaking. He had been so consumed by his experience that he had lost all sense of time.


    Despite his sleepless night and this strange, harrowing experience, Zen didn''t feel tired. Instead, his spirit felt rested, even uplifted.


    After taking a deep breath, he calmed down. All the anxiety that had prevailed the previous night had disappeared. What the book said was absolutely true, everything happens as per destiny. Even eating and drinking are pre-determined. Only with a stable mind, can one deal with every difficulty.


    After he cleaned the ashes of the burned book carefully and moved the water tank back to its original place, the sound of the cellar door being unlocked filled the silence. Zen frowned. It was time to receive a beating.

 Chapter 5 A Marvelous Body (Part One)

    Since Zen had taught Darren a lesson the evening before, the steward didn''t show up in the morning. Several of his accomplices, however, came to dress Zen in the customary leather armor before escorting him to the Martial Arts Hall.


    As usual, a group of children from the Luo Clan were practicing. Despite the morning mist and chill, they concentrated on their lesson at the Martial Arts Hall.


    They didn''t wear any protection on their arms as they beat a row of stone men in the corner with their fists. Despite how hard the stone men were, these children smashed their targets with great power and precision.


    The slaves stood on the other side of the Hall. Gloom and hopelessness reflected in their expressions as they watched the force being used by the children.


    The never-ending cycle of being hit and kicked every day and night made their life really unbearable. Most nights, they lay in bed, tossing and turning. As they writhed in pain, sleep would elude them. Unfortunately, they had no freedom at all. They had been bought by the Luo Clan and they had no choice but to bear the beating.


    "All slaves get ready!" Corey, the trainer shouted.


    All the slaves snapped out of their contemplation when they heard Corey. He was a cruel trainer. If he noticed any of the slaves making even the slightest of mistakes, he would lose his temper and whip them. Corey''s whip was not an ordinary whip, and a thin-skinned person could easily have their skin peeled away with one strike of the whip.


    The Luo children were familiar with this part of their routine. Quietly, they made their way to the slaves and began selecting. A strong teenager named Melvin Luo chose Zen.


    Other slaves glanced at Zen with sympathy-filled eyes.


    Melvin Luo''s talent was ordinary since he was still at the skin refining level. However, his inner divine strength was powerful, and his strength was equal to anyone at the meat refining level. He was ferocious and brutal, and several slaves had died or been seriously injured by him. To be chosen as Melvin''s punchbag was indeed, unfortunate.


    Melvin Luo shook his fist and moved his body a little bit before looking at Zen. His eyes gleamed with excitement. Death row inmates had been difficult to procure in recent times. Their number dwindled even more as other families were also competing to buy them. Human punchbags used by the Luo Clan were deprived of adequate supplements. Therefore, slaves were a scarce resource in the Luo Clan.


    Beating a slave not only exercised their bodies, but also helped the children to vent their feelings. Another reason why Melvin Luo felt excited was because his punchbag was once the young master of the Luo Clan.


    The young master was at a much higher level than Melvin, and now Zen would be begging for mercy under Melvin''s fists. The thought pleased Melvin.


    Zen frowned. Melvin was known for his strength. Zen had suffered gravely from his beating the last time. Zen had taken half a month to recover from the internal injuries he had sustained.


    However, having spent two years of his life as a human punchbag had taught him how to calm himself in any situation. He quickly took a few deep breaths and then arranged his leather armor before facing Melvin Luo.


    Melvin Luo came toward him with all his strength. He had been practicing a very fierce form of boxing, called Bullish Punch, and he was eager to test it on his human punchbag.


    Melvin Luo came at Zen like a raging bull. His first punch landed straight on Zen''s chest. Everyone watched wide-eyed as a burst of wind enveloped Zen.


    In the face of this momentum, Zen took a deep breath, and stiffened his chest so that he could use the protection of the leather armor to counteract the power of this punch.


    "Puff!"


    Although the thick leather armor helped slow down the power of Melvin''s fist, Zen still felt pain explode throughout his body. The strength with which Melvin had hit Zen made him feel as t


    hough he had been struck on the chest with a huge hammer. At this moment, he quickly exhaled the air from his chest and let his chest flatten as much as possible.


    "Unload power!"


    With the air quickly expelled from the chest, it formed a buffer zone, which offset the opponent''s power. This was Zen''s secret of survival during his two years as a human punchbag.


    However, Melvin Luo''s fist force was too intense, and after the second offset, Zen felt as though the pain was unbearable. Zen forced a bitter smile as his whole body trembled with the impact. Like a broken kite line, Zen flew back suddenly.


    As Zen lay on the ground, he let the dizziness he was feeling overtake him. He thought it was over. He was afraid that this punch had caused serious internal injuries. However, he was surprised when a moment later, he realized that he was not feeling any pain.


    In fact, Zen felt nothing. Then a strange warmth emerged from his chest. As soon as those warm currents flowed through him, Zen''s body reacted. He felt as though his body was like a hungry wolf, swallowing that warmth greedily.


    The warmth then spread across his whole body, right down to the smallest cell. Enveloped in this warmth, Zen felt comfortable.


    ''What is going on?'' Zen thought as he felt the warm currents on his flesh!


    Although Zen was a slave, he was once a young master of the Luo Clan. The knowledge he had gained during that time had been immense. He knew that this was no ordinary reaction.


    Pills that could refresh one''s body were very rare, just like the Magical Pills that the Luo Clan had. It was said that the pills could cause various effects on the body. However, the ingredients for the Magical Pills were rare to come by. That explained why it had taken hundreds of years for a family as rich as the Luo Clan to procure only two of these pills. They were precious, indeed.


    Their effect on the body was a rare phenomenon as well. Zen lay on the ground thinking for a while. Soon he linked his reaction to the strange experience he had endured the night before.


    ''Use the flesh as a weapon. Use your body as the soul, temper and practice thoroughly, clean the body for great vitality ...'' Zen remembered part of what he had learned the previous night.


    Was this what it meant by ''temper''? He needed to be beaten?


    Just as recorded in the piece of gold foil, his body had become a mysterious weapon. Refining a device was perhaps, part of the process. Was tempering a process that refined the top mysterious weapons?


    Through the beating he had sustained, Zen''s body had produced the warm current required to wash the flesh of his body! It seemed that being beaten was equal to taking the Magical Pills constantly.


    Thinking of this, Zen''s mind became a chaotic mess. He felt excited and his heart beat faster at the implications.


    In order to confirm his theory, Zen stood up.


    Although he was not injured, and Melvin Luo''s punch had helped him, he still pretended as though he were in pain. It looked as though Zen was struggling to stand and even trembled to avoid other people from wondering why he hadn''t been hurt.


    When Melvin Luo saw Zen stand, his expression turned to one of surprise. He had thought that his punch would kill or cripple Zen. However, Zen was still able to stand, which embarrassed Melvin Luo.


    "Hey, no wonder you are at the peak of the flesh refining level! You are resistant to attacks! That''s great. Now I get to hit you again!" Melvin Luo rushed forward to punch Zen.


    "Boom!"


    Zen was hit hard again. This time he flew back and rolled on the ground as though he were a man-shaped sandbag. Zen was secretly thrilled when instead of pain, he felt the warm currents again. The warmth spread throughout his body, constantly revitalizing his organs. The warm currents turned into small snakes crawling into his internal organs, his veins, constantly refining his flesh body and refreshing his organs.

 Chapter 6 A Marvelous Body (Part Two)

    ''I feel so invincible, '' Zen thought as the warmth enveloped him like a gentle spring breeze. His whole body felt at ease and his eyes shone with excitement. In fact, the more punches he received, the more brightly his eyes shone.


    "Go to hell!"


    "Boom!"


    "I will beat you to death!"


    "Bang!"


    Each punch by Melvin revitalized Zen. Melvin Luo worked so hard to break his opponent, and yet, his actions were equivalent to those of a hard-working blacksmith''s. Each blow shaped Zen''s body into the ''Mysterious Weapon''.


    After a long while, Melvin Luo stopped. Although Zen lay on the ground, he looked unharmed. Melvin panted as he glared at Zen. He was bewildered by this experience. He had heard that Zen could bear heavy beatings, but he had not expected Zen to be this tenacious. He had endured so many punches from Melvin and yet, he was able to stand on his own, even though he appeared to struggle and tremble with the effort.


    Melvin Luo had no idea that Zen was just pretending to be weak. He actually enjoyed his punches.


    The slaves standing by shook their heads. They couldn''t understand why Zen would continue to defy Melvin by trying to stand after each blow. If Zen was smart, like they were, he would stay on the ground as though defeated. That way the guards would send him back to the cellar where he could rest and avoid further injury. And yet, despite that intrinsic survival instinct, Zen stood up repeatedly, and faced each blow by Melvin. Perhaps he enjoyed being a punchbag? Did he like being beaten by other people?


    Zen did not get up after the last blow by Melvin. Instead, he lay on the ground enjoying the warmth that had spread through every part of his body. He felt so serene and invincible!


    Another reason that Zen stayed on the ground, was to avoid doubt. No slave would be able to take such a beating without being seriously injured. And if he were to stand repeatedly and not be injured, people would begin to wonder how he was able to withstand such a beating.


    So to avoid suspicion, Zen decided to stay on the ground and relish the warmth. He knew he would be beaten again tomorrow.


    Upon seeing that Zen was no longer attempting to stand, Melvin Luo felt relieved. If Zen had stood up again, Melvin would have been disgraced.


    At night, Zen limped back to the cellar. The minute the cellar door slammed shut, he stopped feigning being hurt. On the contrary, he felt immediately alive, as though he was bubbling with energy.


    Darren didn''t show up in the evening either. He ordered his accomplices to bring three wound-healing pills to Zen. Zen smiled as he looked in the paper bag. It seemed as though Darren had learned his lesson and wouldn''t embezzle his drugs.


    ''Could yesterday''s small action have scared Darren this much? Would he be better behaved now?'' Zen shook his head as he didn''t believe that Darren would reform this quickly.


    He had a feeling that a villain like Darren would be plotting something else. He would never give up so easily, and was probably planning something more dire like perhaps, poisoning Zen.


    ''Who cares?'' Zen knew that he needed to be more watchful. But he also knew that people like Darren were cowardly. He decided not to take him seriously. He thought, ''I will take measures according to the actual situation.''


    Then he threw away the pills as he didn''t need them anymore.


    As his mind calmed, Zen began focusing on other things. A full day of fighting meant


    that he was dirty. He walked toward the water tank and quickly removed his clothes. Zen then scooped cold water in his palms and poured it over his head.


    Crash....


    The clear cold water trailed down from Zen''s head and pooled into a dark muddy mess at his feet. When Zen looked down, he was surprised to see that the dirty water was mixed with some light white things.


    Just as he had suspected, the beating Zen had received had forced out the impurities from his body.


    What was flesh refining level?


    It was the level where impurities were expelled from the body.


    What was the bone refining level?


    It was the level where impurities were removed from the bones.


    What was the organ refining level?


    It meant...


    These five levels of refining were a crucial process that would purify the whole body; starting from the skin to the flesh followed by bones and organs. It was a step-by-step outside to inside refinement process that would stop once the impurities were cleared from the spinal marrow. In completing all the levels, a person could break through his flesh body, attain a life of sublimation, and be elevated to a higher level.


    The biggest difference between Zen and others was that other people needed to rely on their exercise regimes to remove impurities from their bodies. This was a slow and time consuming process that could take a few years or decades or even a lifetime, depending on the person.


    However, Zen''s experience from the previous night meant that he now needed to be beaten to reach the higher levels. With those warm currents around his body, which had the same effect as the Magical Pills, he could discharge impurities from his body quicker.


    Compared to other people who through hard work, discharged a small amount of impurities each year, Zen''s refining was a thousand times faster!


    Zen had plateaued at the top of the flesh refining level before, but then because of the two years he had spent being a punchbag, there was no time for him to practice, and he stayed at the flesh refining level.


    But after today''s beating, some impurities in his body had been washed out. He felt as though his body had undergone a qualitative change; his flesh was very pure already and the light white impurities that were released when he washed up, led him to believe he had been further purified.


    Impurities removed from the flesh were usually pure black dirt, and those pale white impurities were supposedly discharged from his bones. This was the proof he needed to be sure that he had entered the bone refining level.


    Enthused and invigorated, Zen removed his iron bed and made place in the cellar for practice. He began with the Purple Light Fist. His whole body was bathed in a purple light as he concentrated. It was roughly the same as the purple light around Perrin Luo earlier that day.


    Suddenly Zen released all his energy with a punch. The silence in the cellar was replaced with a sharp ringing sound.


    "Boom!"


    Another powerful sound was generated with the scattered air flows. It stirred the candles, paper, and other small objects in the cellar.


    Unfortunately, the cellar was narrow, which meant that Zen didn''t have much space. There was no stone lock nor a stone man on which he could try out his strength. Zen also didn''t want to make much noise as that would alert the guards.


    However, he basked in the satisfaction that he had reached the bone refining level.

 Chapter 7 Zen Pummeled The Stewards (Part One)

    Zen was so excited that he could barely sleep for more than half an hour.


    The following morning, Zen was made to wear the leather armor before being escorted from the cellar in handcuffs.


    Now that he had entered the bone refining level, his body produced a qualitative change. Although subtle, the change could be noticed in the way he walked. His gait was more relaxed, more coordinated, and more labor-saving for him.


    If it hadn''t been for the cuffs that limited his movements, Zen felt as though he could have made a run for it.


    Zen was surprised when he saw that instead of the Martial Arts Hall, the guards were taking him elsewhere.


    Although the Luo residence occupied a large area, it was planned well. In addition to the Martial Arts Hall, the residence had a Council Pavilion, Planting Park, and Weapon Refining workshop. Everything was well-planned and built in the vestibule part of the residence.


    Zen looked around as he walked. He remembered that this path led to the inner area of the residence. Once they reached, the guards guided him down a narrower path that seemed to lead to the backyard of the Luo residence!


    Zen''s brow wrinkled, but he did not say anything. ''Let''s wait and see where they are taking me, '' he thought.


    Zen had not been to the backyard in a long time. He quietly observed the changes as he walked. The houses for his uncles and their families had been added to the Luo residence, along with several pavilions, and open halls. Once outside, Zen noticed that they had even made a few ponds, built bridges over them, and added a waterside pavilion pool.


    The workmanship for these new buildings was exquisite. Each new building had high roofs supported by intricately carved beams. Dragons painted in gold glimmered under the early morning sun.


    After seeing what his uncles had done to the residence, Zen could not help but wonder. Although the Luo''s were a rich family, only the stronger people survived in this world. For a warrior, glory and wealth should be the last things to think about. If a family like his was content with the present glory and wealth and didn''t pursue something more important, it wouldn''t end up well surely.


    Therefore, he believed that the Luo Clan would be ruined by his uncles sooner or later.


    After the guards led Zen through a garden with a pond, they guided him through a narrow passage that led to a second yard.


    There he saw two people enjoying tea.


    When Zen looked carefully, he realized that one of them was Darren, the steward who had disappeared for two days. The other person was dressed in rich, satin clothing. He looked much older than fifty. Zen raised a brow as he recognized the second man to be Grey Huang. At one point, he too, had been a servant in the Luo Clan.


    Grey Huang''s wife had been the nanny to Andrew Luo. He was Zen''s younger uncle''s oldest son. Grey Huang was very good at patronizing. Perhaps that was what finally led to the elevation in his status within the Luo Clan.


    From what Zen had heard from the gossip of the guards, his two uncles had been growing in influence and power. Since Grey Huang worked for them, his status had risen as well. He was a senior steward in the Luo Clan now. Since Grey was ambit


    ious and thought highly of himself, he didn''t pay much attention to Luo''s collateral relatives.


    Zen had heard about his arrogance before.


    From where he was standing, Zen could hear what Darren said to Grey Huang, "This house awarded by Master Andrew really is a masterpiece. If my memory serves me right, the jade dragon carved on the door plaque is made from corundum seed. That is very good material, right?"


    Grey Huang chuckled and replied, "Only you would notice this kind of things. If you look carefully, you''ll see other treasures aside from this jade dragon. The roof has been designed with encaustic tiles. And that copper lion statue was made by the best craftsmen of C County..."


    Darren appreciated each artifact. It seemed as though no expense had been spared. Thoughtfully he said to Grey, "Your house is perfect, but it lacks one thing."


    "I have everything I want in my house. Why do you say something is lacking?" Grey Huang replied proudly.


    Darren chortled as he replied," You lack capable servants. You need someone who is smart and hardworking. Someone knowledgeable enough to help you with your daily diet. I have just the right person for you!"


    "Really? Who is this person?" Grey Huang asked out of curiosity.


    Darren pointed toward the yard''s entrance and said, "Grey, look!"


    Grey Huang turned in the direction where Darren was pointing and saw Zen. Standing in handcuffs was the former, famous young master of the Luo Clan. How could he not recognize Zen?


    Zen heard what Darren and Grey Huang were talking about. His blood boiled at Darren''s suggestion. ''How dare those two dogs take such liberties?''


    Although Zen was a slave, Darren had no right to offer him as a servant to a steward in the Luo Clan. Grey''s family name was not even Luo! Zen was very offended.


    Even the collateral relatives in Luo Clan did not dare to be too unreasonable in front of him, after all Zen was still the oldest son of the oldest branch of the Luo Clan.


    ''How dare Darren urge Grey Huang to take him as a servant?'' he thought.


    Grey Huang studied Zen from head to toe. A smile filled his old wrinkled face. "Employing this kid to take care of my diet is not a bad idea. But will my master, Master Andrew be okay with it?"


    "Don''t worry, Grey, you take care of all the affairs of the Luo Clan. You can easily dispatch Zen from the Martial Arts Hall and reassign him to your residence. Zen is an insignificant slave now. Being beaten at the Martial Arts Hall as a punchbag every day is his only purpose here. It will be more convenient for him to be your servant. His worst job will be cleaning fecal matter." Grey Huang couldn''t help but smile at the thought.


    People like Grey Huang who had climbed from the bottom of society to the top, took their reputation seriously. And now, the former young master of the Luo Clan was going to clean his dirt. It was indeed an interesting proposal. Grey Huang nodded to show his agreement.


    "You won''t be sorry!" Darren said with a smile when he saw Grey''s reaction. Then Darren nodded and stood before ordering one of the guards to escort Zen in.


    However, Zen was rooted to his spot. He was reluctant to move a muscle till Darren''s men attempted to push him.

 Chapter 8 Zen Pummeled The Stewards (Part Two)

    Although these people had strength, they could not move Zen who had reached the bone refining level.


    Zen''s feet were like a wedge smashed by a hammer, deeply nailed to the ground. The servants used all their strength, and yet, they couldn''t move Zen. Their bodies were covered in sweat with the effort. They even panted as though out of breath and energy. Seeing this, Darren said, "Zen, I am giving you a chance to serve Grey. It''s better than being beaten every day. Don''t be difficult!"


    Fierceness flashed in Zen''s eyes. He took a deep breath and contracted his ribs. Since he had reached the bone refining level, he could muster his energy to retaliate. He stood still and directed his energy out like thunder. The ground shook violently, like an explosion. All the servants, including Grey and Darren covered their ears as a loud pitch followed the tremors.


    "Grey Huang! Darren Fang!" Zen shouted. "Even if my uncle, Bryson Luo were here, he wouldn''t dare to ask me to be his servant. You two are merely servants in the Luo Clan. You have the guts to be so arrogant? I do not know who gave you the courage to dare to think of such nonsense."


    Zen''s power scared Darren and he took a step back. Grey Huang stood still.


    Darren had intentionally brought Zen here. His purpose was to let Grey Huang deal with Zen. When he saw Zen''s angry face, he knew he was close to success, because Grey''s biggest taboo was others trying to disrespect him. Zen was definitely in real trouble now.


    Grey Huang stood motionlessly. He seemed calm. With narrowed eyes he said, "Zen, do not forget your situation now. You are a servant not the young master. Perrin is the young master now. It is your honor to serve me."


    "Shut up!"


    Zen forcibly pushed the servants that had grabbed him.


    Grey Huang patiently witnessed Zen''s struggle before asking, "Do you want to rebel? In accordance with the Clan''s rules, you will be executed for rebelling."


    Zen laughed loudly while walking forward. He sneered, "Family rules? How can an outsider like you dare to talk about my family rules in front of me? Let me teach you what my family''s rules are!"


    As Zen readied himself to beat Grey Huang, he maximized his strength.


    "Zen, don''t you dare! If you hit me, Master Andrew will never let you go. Besides, you are just a powerless punchbag in the Luo Clan. Aren''t you afraid of being beaten to death?" Grey Huang said calmly.


    "Ouch!"


    The sound of flesh meeting flesh echoed through the yard. Zen slapped Grey across the face. There was no restraining him now. He took another step forward, grabbed Grey''s collar and hit him across the face a few more times.


    Grey Huang''s wrinkled face paled with Zen''s onslaught. The former young master''s fingerprints were clearly imprinted on Grey Huang''s half swollen face. With each slap, a fine spray of blood had burst out. Zen smiled as he noticed that Grey''s face now looked like a pig''s, swollen and red. Darren''s whole body trembled when he saw what happened.


    "According to the Luo Clan''s rules, those who talk a lot of nonsense and reproach others with no evidence shall be punished."


    "Ouch!"


    "According to the Luo Clan''s rules, those who oppress others and are conceited shall be punished."


    "Ouch!"


    "According to the Luo Clan''s rules, those who sow discord and turn matters upside down shall be punished."


    "Ouch!"


    ""According to the Luo Clan''s rules..."


    "Ouch!"


    Every slap was so hard that it made Grey Huang spit blood. Darren was trembling by


    now.


    It was so terrible...


    Darren and Grey were surprised. Zen had been a slave for such a long time. He had been obedient and he had quietly swallowed all insults. How dare he slap Grey?


    What they hadn''t thought of was that Zen was not being obedient. He simply chose to be non-fussed about the insults.


    Hearing all the commotion, several children of the Luo Clan gathered in the yard. They witnessed Zen''s actions. Each one of them was equally surprised.


    Grey had acted in an outrageous way due to his connection to Andrew Luo. He was delusional enough to believe himself to be equal to a master in the Luo family. Some of these children had been bullied by Grey Huang, but they hadn''t retaliated because of his current position.


    Grey Huang was unaware of how much he was hated by the people who served him. He was equally oblivious to the hatred these children felt toward him. Today, someone had decided to teach him a lesson.


    But...


    these children, though young, were capable of understanding that arrogance was related to allegiance and support. Grey Huang had grown arrogant because of his relationship with Andrew Luo.


    Although Grey Huang behaved arrogantly in front of other people, when in the presence of the second branch and the third branch of the Luo Clan, he behaved in an extremely humble manner.


    Regardless, it was not appropriate for a slave to beat the steward in this way.


    Zen was in big trouble now. Everyone knew that what Zen had done would lead to his death.


    Zen slapped Grey a few times before stopping. Grey Huang''s face was by now, a bloody and badly mutilated mess. Even his neatly tied hair had become a mess of blood and tissue.


    Grey Huang weakly opened his mouth to threaten Zen after his unfortunate beating. "You, you wait and see how..."


    Before Grey Huang could finish, Zen slapped him on the face again. Grey Huang fell to the ground.


    After teaching Grey Huang a lesson, Zen''s gaze turned toward Darren.


    Upon realizing his fate, Darren could not help but tremble. "Zen Luo, keep in mind that you are just a slave." Darren yelled and stepped backwards.


    "What''s wrong with being a slave?" Zen stalked Darren slowly as he spoke.


    "Don''t you dare to offend me! My position is higher than yours!" Darren shouted in an attempt to deter Zen.


    "What is a low position? What is a high position? My family name is Luo. Even though I am a slave, I''m still a Luo! And you forget that my fist is stronger than yours. I am above you! My strength is more than yours. I am above you! My Kung Fu is better than yours. I am above you!"


    Zen forcefully muttered from between clenched teeth as he took meaningful and threatening steps toward Darren. He lashed out quickly and grabbed Darren. Having reached the bone refining level, Zen had gained more confidence. His strength had grown as well. Zen felt the power run through him as he raised his hand to strike Darren.


    The slap was so hard, and the sound of the impact so loud that even the onlookers were terrified.


    Once Zen had beaten Darren, he threw him toward Grey Huang. Both servants screamed in pain as their bodies collided. Zen lifted his chin in superiority as he said, "Let today be a lesson to you both. Remember to respect other people not just their positions!"


    Then he turned around and walked away. The Luo children and servants who had crowded around the three men to watch the spectacle, immediately cleared a path when they saw Zen heading for the door.

 Chapter 9 Crisis (Part One)

    The next morning, to Zen''s surprise, no guard appeared to dress and escort him to the Martial Arts Hall. Since the beating process was crucial to his refinement as a mysterious weapon, Zen dressed and walked to the Hall.


    As he marched, Zen thought over the disturbing behavior of his two uncles and their sons. They seemed to be defying the rules of the Luo Clan. Especially Perrin and Andrew never cared about the family rules. Perhaps this was the reason why some servants in the Luo Clan had dared to become arrogant and haughty.


    However, even if others disregarded the rules set by the Luo Clan, it didn''t mean Zen would ignore the values he grew up with. It also did not mean that others should expect Zen to look the other way if they openly flaunted the Luo Clan''s rules. He was not pedantic, but Zen did have morals and values that he respected.


    When Zen reached the Hall, he noticed that the atmosphere was somewhat different from usual.


    By now word had spread that Zen had beaten Darren and Grey the previous day.


    Two years ago, Zen had become a convicted person after false allegations were levied against him and his family. He then became a slave for the Luo Clan. Like other convicted slaves, he was made to work as a human punchbag in the Martial Arts Hall. He always stayed indifferent to violence. No matter how much the Luo children attacked and beat him, he endured, let go of his anger, and remained quiet, as if he were a docile sheep.


    People had forgotten that Zen was the young master of the Luo Clan. They had also forgotten his strength. He was one of the youngest to reach the flesh refining level.


    After the previous day''s incident, the children realized that Zen would not always tolerate everything that came his way. The children could assault him without repercussion as they were members of the Luo Clan.


    Other people who were not part of the Clan were not going to get away with treating Zen however they chose.


    Because of this, the Luo children now began looking at Zen with respect. When the trainer, Corey, asked the Luo children to pick their punchbags, no one dared to select Zen. This came as a surprise to Zen. He knew how important this beating was to the refining process, and he had been looking forward to being beaten today.


    Zen smiled bitterly.


    What he needed was to exercise and refine his body, but when the Luo children didn''t select him as their punchbag, Zen found himself in a dilemma.


    He could not ask the children to beat him. Being a punchbag was not a fun job, and it would seem very odd for a punchbag to invite a beating. He could not reveal why he needed to be beaten either.


    Once all the punchbags had been selected, Zen found that he was the only one left in the corner of the Martial Arts Hall. Zen was very unhappy indeed. The Luo children should not be so frightened!


    He walked toward Melvin Luo who was practicing with a stone man and said, "Melvin, what good is it to fight with a stone man? I''ll help you practice."


    "Well..." Melvin said with a frown. After his last encounter with Zen, and having heard about the beating Zen gave to Grey and Darren, Melvin wasn''t so sure that he wanted to get into a fight with the former young master.


    "I am a punchbag. It is my duty to help you practice! Don''t worry, my leather is thick. It can protect me." Zen patted his chest as he spoke.


    After hearing what Zen said, Melvin felt embarrassed. What would people say about Melvin if he were to refuse beating a punchbag? The Luo children who practiced daily were supposed to be stronger, meaner, and more resilient than the punchbags who were battered and bruised daily. Would he look weak? Would the other children make fun of him? Could he risk angering Zen and getting a beating similar to Darren and Grey?


    Regardless of what the others would say, Melvin still felt worried. He wasn''t as strong


    as before. If he could get 100 marks because of his strength earlier, now he could only get 50 or 60 marks.


    Melvin shrugged as he accepted Zen''s offer. He couldn''t possibly look bad in front of the other children. Once the practice started, Zen realized why Melvin had hesitated. The strength with which Melvin was hitting Zen was insufficient to refine his body. The effect this beating had on his body was not the same as the last time when Melvin had beaten Zen. This dissatisfied Zen.


    "More Strength! Hit hard right here!


    Your fist is too slow. What are you worried about?


    Now that is much better, but it is still not as good as yesterday."


    Seeing a punchbag tutoring a Luo child was unusual indeed. It was also rare to see a punchbag asking to be beaten harder. A group of children in the Martial Arts Hall were astonished by what they were witnessing. Their mouths hung open as they watched the practice session between Zen and Melvin. They could not guess what Zen was thinking.


    However, Melvin didn''t pay attention to the other children. At first, he was upset with what Zen was saying. He felt as though Zen was taunting him. However, when Melvin noticed that he was slowly becoming better, he put aside his anger and focused. His limbs felt more comfortable now, and his power seemed to have returned to normal level.


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    The power of Melvin''s fist passed from Zen''s chest to his inner flesh. Zen fell to the floor and thrashed in agony until the warmth began flowing through his body. As this continued, Zen felt the impurities in his bones being refined, like reeling silk from cocoons.


    Each punch purified his bones. With an increase in his bone strength, Zen could feel that he was getting tougher.


    Melvin''s punches were like a Magical Pill for Zen''s body. The joy of this qualitative change could not be described with words. After each punch, Zen remembered to feign being in agony. Pain showed on his face, but secretly, he rejoiced in the refinement that his body was undergoing. It took all of his will power to stop from shouting ''let your fists hit me more violently!''


    Zen smiled as the guards went to refill the copper pot. The copper pot was used to keep track of time. The pot had a small opening from which water would trickle out. It took an hour for the pot to get empty. Zen had been eagerly counting how many times the guards had refilled it. Since the pot had been refilled three times, it meant that three hours had passed.


    The thought brought joy to Zen as it meant that the Luo servants would be bringing food, both for the children and their punchbags. Usually, Zen like all other punchbags was unhappy as the Luo children were served delicious delicacies, while the punchbags got cold water and hard bread.


    This time, however, Zen was too hungry to care about the food. After three hours of refining and practicing, he was very starving. Since the refinement process used a lot of physical energy, he didn''t care that the food was unpalatable. Zen grabbed the bread and was about to stuff it into his mouth when he was interrupted.


    A porcelain basin full of exquisite and fragrant meat suddenly appeared in front of Zen.


    When he looked up, Zen was surprised to see that Melvin was standing before him. "Let''s eat together," Melvin said as he handed his rice bowl to Zen.


    Instead of refusing, Zen smiled gratefully and grabbed a handful of meat.


    "You beat Grey. Young Master Andrew will get you into trouble for that," Melvin whispered.


    Zen gobbled his food. Since he was a punchbag, he didn''t get good food. It had been a while since anyone offered him delicious meat. While chewing, Zen nodded. He knew that Melvin was simply reminding him of what was going to happen.


    After all, he was the former young master of the Luo Clan, and so he knew these rules better than anyone else.

 Chapter 10 Crisis (Part Two)

    His uncles had left him unchecked for all these years. It wasn''t because they were being merciful. It was simply because they didn''t see him as a threat. Making Zen a punchbag also gave them the satisfaction that Zen wasn''t getting any practice. On the contrary, the beatings would weaken, or even kill him over time. This was why he had stayed in the Luo Clan for all this time.


    Zen was quite aware that if he were to fight back, his uncles would not hesitate to kill him.


    "However, you helped us get even with Grey. We don''t approve of that old man. And his actions have only gotten more evil over time." Melvin said with a suggestive smile.


    Except the second and third branches of the Luo Clan, all other children secretly admired Zen for standing up to a bully like Grey.


    While the other children in the Martial Arts Hall had not openly thanked Zen, they agreed with what Melvin had said.


    The years that followed the coup in the Luo Clan were not very happy ones. The behavior of the two branches could only be described as evil. A substantial deduction had been made in the various monthly allowances for the collateral relatives. Even the quantity of drugs for practicing and refining had been reduced. A few servants had become arrogant toward the Luo Clan members as well.


    Almost all of the good things were being given to Perrin and Andrew. It was no doubt that other Luo children would feel mistreated.


    Everyone now yearned for the time when Zen''s father was the head of the Clan. At that time, the Clan system was very rigid. Although strict, Zen''s father was fair. There wasn''t much intrigue in the Luo Clan, nor did anyone dare to take advantage of situations. Servants were not rude to other people either.


    It was a pity that the new branches ruling the Luo Clan were not as fair and disciplined.


    This kind of nostalgia remained in the heart of the children in the Luo Clan. They were afraid to talk with each other about it for fear of a falling out between the families. They also didn''t want to leave evidence of discontent that could be used against them for fear of being punished by established rules.


    Over these past two years, the Luo Clan had certainly waned! Zen had plans. He knew that if presented with the chance, he would gather his strength and grow his power to be able to clean the Clan of these "rotten" members.


    ...


    ...


    In front of the magnificent mansion of the third branch of the Luo Clan, Grey stood with his head wrapped in gauze. So wounded was he that only his nose, eyes, and mouth could be seen.


    A thudding sound was heard as he dramatically fell to his knees. With a low snarl, he cried out, "Master Andrew, rule in my favor please!"


    A teenager dressed in cyan leant back in his chair at Grey''s pitiful cry. Andrew was the second young master of the Luo Clan. He was a handsome man but, extremely arrogant and self-conceited.


    "I heard that you wanted Zen to be your servant so that he could take care of your diet." Andrew tilted his head and laughed at the ludicrous idea.


    "Master Andrew, it''s not true ..." Grey denied with a feigned sob.


    Andrew Luo did not listen to Grey''s explanation. Instead, he laughed, "Although Zen''s family was discredited and he was demoted to the position of a slave, he is still a Luo. You forgot that he was once the young master of the Luo Clan. It would be inappropriate if I, the second young master of the Luo Clan were to ask him to be my slave. You are a fool to think you could do such a thing and not face repercussions. Did you burn your brain with a high fever? You deserved the beating."


    Grey kowtowed in front of Andrew humbly before continuing to defend his actions. "Master Andrew, I admit I might have been at fault, but you have to help me and judge in my favor ..." As Grey feigned more tears, he


    made an inconspicuous gesture.


    Within moments, a middle-aged woman rushed to his side. She quietly knelt next to Grey.


    The middle-aged woman was Grey''s wife. She had been Andrew''s nanny ever since the death of his biological mother in his early childhood. Andrew had a very good relationship with Grey''s wife. They were almost as close as a natural mother and son.


    "Auntie, you do not need to kneel down. Please, stand. Grey, you may stand as well!" Andrew waved his hand as he spoke.


    "Master Andrew, you agreed?" Grey''s voice showed a hint of excitement.


    Andrew stood from his chair and took a few steps before stopping and speaking, "Cousin Perrin said that he didn''t kill Zen because he wanted Zen to see how strong our families would be. However, Zen is not important at all. With cousin Perrin preparing to leave for Cloud Sect, I will help Perrin to dispose of Zen!"


    Grey understood what Andrew was going to do. The bandages around Grey''s mouth stretched as he grinned in satisfaction. He exclaimed, "Thank you so much, Master Andrew!"


    "But, we need to wait and solve this at a later time," Andrew said as he placed his hand on his forehead. He turned to Grey and continued, "I just took the last Magical Pill. It is important for me to practice after taking the pill. It is the only way the pill will be able to refine and clean my body. How about we take revenge on Family Practicing Day? I will choose Zen as my opponent during the death match held that day. Then I will have the perfect opportunity to kill him with my own hands."


    An evil smile grew on Andrew''s face at the thought of getting even with Zen.


    Family Practicing Day was an important occasion as on that day, the skills of all the children would be inspected by the elders of the Luo Clan.


    At the same time, Family Practicing Day also presented a good opportunity for slaves.


    If the slaves survived the death matches held on Family Practicing Day, they would be granted their freedom.


    Even the most lowly slaves desired their freedom. If the Luo Clan did not offer them an opportunity to regain their freedom, slaves would soon crumble under the hopelessness of their situation. They would have no incentive to live through the daily beatings at the Martial Arts Hall.


    By setting this rule, all slaves gained a trace of hope. They struggled through their daily monotony, hoping to live despite the terrible beatings as eventually, Family Practicing Day would come and they would have a real chance to secure their freedom.


    However, the nature of the death match was not fair. Since salves were beaten every day, they suffered from various injuries and diseases. They stood no chance when attacked by healthy and well-trained elite children of the Luo Clan.


    A lot of slaves had died on Family Practicing Day in the past. In the meantime, the Luo children''s skills and abilities were tested on that day and the best ones would be rewarded with different prizes. Therefore, every Luo child would definitely try their best to win the match.


    "Good idea, Master Andrew. So be it. Let that kid live another month!" Grey kowtowed before Andrew a few more times before quickly standing. Beneath the several layers of medicated gauze, Grey''s eyes shone with intensity and hatred.


    When Andrew left, the middle-aged woman turned to plead with Grey. "Zen is a poor teenager. Why do you have to force him to his death? He should not have hit you, I agree. But teaching him a little lesson is enough. You don''t have to kill him."


    Grey snorted when he heard his wife. He glared at her as he replied, "You are just a woman! You don''t know anything except petty kindness."


    Scolded by her husband, the middle-aged woman cowered. She tried to respond, but had nothing to say. Finally, she closed her mouth and bowed her head.

 Chapter 11 Efforts (Part One)

    Zen poured a vat of cold water over himself and watched the milky impurities flow along the water as it hit the ground.


    Since he had reached the bone refining level, his flesh had no impurities left to remove. The milky white pollutants that were being washed out were being expelled from his bones.


    Zen closed his eyes and relished how refreshed his body felt after washing away all the impurities.


    Ever since he beat Darren, the steward had not come to Zen''s cell. This lack of supervision meant that Zen had more freedom.


    Every evening, Zen leaned his iron bed against the cellar wall and then used layers of batt to wrap the bed frame to make a simple practice stake.


    Since he placed the bed frame close to the cellar''s stone wall, most of the power from his fists were absorbed by the thick wall. Zen had taken the precaution of wrapping the bed frame in cotton so that the sound of his fist hitting the iron frame was reduced to a minimum. Since he was in a cellar far from the main buildings, no one could hear that he was secretly practicing.


    He began his practice by using the ''Purple Light Fist'', which had been inherited by the Luo Clan hundreds of years ago. Today, it was a lost knowledge, and only a handful of people knew its secrets. Even the collateral relatives of the Luo Clan did not get the opportunity to learn the secrets of the Purple Light Fist.


    A smirk played on Zen''s lips. Since reaching the bone refining level, the complicated techniques of the Purple Light Fist were not as challenging as before. As he had been unable to practice for these past two years, he knew he would still find it demanding. However, with his new-found powers, he could now play and deconstruct at will.


    "Purple Fist Strength!"


    "Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang!"


    Seven muffled sounds echoed through Zen''s otherwise quiet cell.


    Purple Fist Strength was the most profound part of Purple Light Fist. Each punch was capable of causing multiple injuries to people. The number of injuries showed the level of use of ''Purple Fist Strength''.


    Seven muffled sounds indicated that this punch had caused seven injuries. Zen was not satisfied with this result.


    Zen''s father had told him that he was able to cause eight massive injuries when he used Purple Light Strength at the bone refining level. However, Zen could only cause seven serious injuries even though he was at the same level as his father. His understanding of the Purple Fist Strength was not impressive enough. Obviously, he needed to make a better effort.


    Since each punch hit the top of the batt, only muffled sounds could be heard.


    Zen''s power and strength had grown immensely since he reached the bone refining level.


    Perrin had already stepped into the peak of the bone refining level. Thus, the strength of each of Perrin''s punches had an impact equivalent to almost one thousand pounds.


    But Zen had just reached the bone refining level. He estimated that his boxing strength was about 700 to 800 pounds.


    This was insufficient to fight against Perrin.


    Zen desperately wanted to enter Cloud Sect.


    His heart felt as heavy as stone when he thought about his sister who had been banished to Hell mountain.


    Yan had always been obedient and


    well-behaved. It was impossible for her to be a troublemaker. She must have been set up to earn such a terrible punishment. Zen needed to enter Cloud Sect as soon as possible. This was the only way to protect Yan!


    "Bang bang bang!" The strength with which Zen lashed out increased little by little.


    Cloud Sect was the largest martial arts school in the Imperial Capital. They recruited many students on a wide scale every year.


    Young people throughout the Imperial Capital also desired being selected by Cloud Sect. Not only did it have the best resources, but the Sect also had the most experienced and professional coaches who could teach them a lot.


    However, the prerequisites for being admitted into Cloud Sect were extremely strict.


    Each student there needed to be very talented, like Yan, who had been easily admitted.


    Needless to say, most students at Cloud Sect were very strong. They were better than other children in every way possible. Zen''s feat of reaching the bone refining level was just not enough.


    ''I am now being refined. My body level is changing day-by-day. But if I want to upgrade rapidly, I need to practice harder!''


    At this thought, Zen gritted his teeth and threw a hard punch at the bed frame.


    Ever since he was a young boy, Zen had desired perfecting the ultimate martial arts. His pursuit of this form had molded him into a conscientious and meticulous teenager. He had improved step-by-step. When alive, Zen''s father had praised him for his perseverance.


    But ever since the death of his father and his banishment from the Luo Clan, Zen as a slave, had stalled in his growth. Not only did he have few chances to practice, but his mood had also been greatly affected.


    But now, Zen had regained his confidence. He also had new goals. Now was the right time for him to catch up.


    He didn''t sleep the whole night.


    Zen lost count of how many punches he had thrown at the bed frame. But he could see that the impact of his boxing had been such that the batt was now attached to the wall. He had to pry the cotton away and pull it apart gently.


    During the daytime, he became more active in his pursuit of continuous refining.


    In order to practice as much as possible, Zen walked to the Martial Arts Hall every day, even though the guards no longer came to fetch him.


    He volunteered for the Luo children to beat him. This was undoubtedly a risky step as people might learn the truth.


    After all, he was now being beaten more often and more severely than the other slaves. However, he lacked the tell-tale injuries on his body. This would definitely attract questions to which Zen had no answers.


    Regardless, Zen continued. He had decided not to care too much about possible outcomes. He knew he needed to be beaten extensively in order to refine his body as soon as possible. Otherwise, he would not be able to enhance his strength within a short time.


    Some Luo children did find Zen''s behavior to be strange. They also frowned when they saw how badly he was being beaten. Despite the situation, Zen''s demeanor seemed cheerful, which was contrary to how slaves usually behaved. Instead, he seemed as confident as any of the Luo children, almost as if he were beating other people!

 Chapter 12 Efforts (Part Two)

    What settled some of the Luo children''s concerns was the fact that Zen had been a punchbag for two years. Considering that he was still alive and well, they assumed he had strong life vitality. Fortunately for Zen, these children were not interested in demystifying how a punchbag could survive under these circumstances. After all, they were required to practice beating people. It was not needed for them to study their targets. Even if Zen had special protective skills, they showed no interest in learning more about these skills.


    During this time, Zen''s impurities were being washed out more and more. Every time he took a bath, the water flowing on the ground was almost as rich as milk.


    Soon, Zen''s plan showed results. The amount of impurities being removed from Zen''s body on a daily basis was equivalent to the ones being removed from others on a monthly basis. This satisfied Zen as it meant that each day''s practice had the same effect on him as that of people who practiced for months. This practice speed seemed like a miracle!


    Motivated, Zen exhausted himself. He volunteered to be beaten during the day and spent his nights practicing. He didn''t stop, not even for a few seconds.


    The improvement in Zen''s body and knowledge of martial arts fed his spirit. Even though he was barely sleeping, his eyes were clear and bright as always.


    Another reason why he was so full of energy and his spirit was flourishing was the existence of the mysterious ''Nine dragon furnace''. The refining furnace was purifying his soul. Each time, the pain was the same. Zen felt as though his soul was being crushed a thousand times, and each time, he collapsed and wished for death.


    And yet, when the episode ended and Zen realized that he had survived that kind of pain, his spirit grew by leaps and bounds. He knew that his soul was also being refined!


    Among all the parts of the human body, the soul was the most difficult to purify. Everyone could exercise their body. Even people who did not practice martial arts could exercise themselves too.


    The soul, however, was hidden in a secret place. It was invisible and untouchable. As said in Buddhism, the soul was an illusory shore, which was difficult for the average person to reach.


    Allegedly, Cloud Sect had higher-level methods and theories that could affect people''s souls. Amongst these were the soul refining books.


    These mysterious realms, Zen could not reach, and he did not want to think about it. Instead, Zen focused on refining his body every day.


    Time passed quickly. It had been twenty days since he beat Grey and Darren.


    "Boom!"


    Another punch thrown by Zen hit the thick stone wall.


    Zen was dumbstruck! He had only used seventy percent of his strength in this punch. However, his power was so extreme that the cellar wall cracked. Zen knew that if he were to use all his strength, the wall would collapse.


    While worrisome, this thought made Zen smile. It had been almost a month since he started practicing and he had improved significantly!


    When he began, Zen had just entered the bone refining level. With just a short amount of practice time, he felt as though he had reached the peak of bone refining level. The cleansing his bones had undergone showed in the results of his punches. The strength of his punches was almost up to a thousand pounds. A thousand pounds! That was the weight of an ancient tripod.


    For warriors, the strength of a tripod was a watershed moment. Only after reaching the strength of a tripod could a person be said to have officially become a warrior.


    And Zen had achieved all this in less


    than a month. Such development and quick improvement had never been witnessed in the Luo Clan. Even if a person searched the entire empire, it would be difficult to find another person as skilled as Zen.


    After all, refining the body by way of removing impurities from the body through perseverance, meant decades of practice as the body only released a pitiful amount of impurities a day.


    However, to refine the body by being beaten every day was a thousand times faster ...


    Today, when Zen went to the Martial Arts Hall, he noticed something had changed.


    Although the children were reluctant to use him as a punchbag, after Zen insisted, they did throw him a volley of punches. Zen felt no pain. It was almost as though the power of these children had diminished.


    Zen was about to tell them to hit harder, but he remained quiet. He observed for some time and realized that the children were not holding back. They were using all of their strength to hit. Then why was it that he was not feeling their power?


    What was worse was that every punch produced much less warmth in his body.


    If previous attacks produced a thumb-sized warm current, current attacks only produced warmth the size of the little finger. With less warmth refining his body naturally, Zen became worried that its efficiency was diminishing.


    After returning to the cellar that evening, Zen watched the impurities being washed away. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw that the amount of impurities being forced out of his body had reduced by about half.


    These changes made Zen anxious. He had no idea what was wrong.


    Could it be that his body was becoming harder?


    According to the mysterious weapon refining theories, his body strength was now comparable with a low-grade mysterious weapon.


    After profound and continual refining, the strength of a mysterious weapon would gradually increase. However, if the strength of the weapon had reached a certain extent, the effect of general refining would be low.


    Most of the students in Martial Arts Hall were at the skin refining level. Even Melvin, whose inner divine strength was so powerful that he was comparable to someone at the flesh refining level.


    Now, hundreds of pounds of strength were hitting Zen''s body at the Martial Arts Hall. However, that seemed insufficient as the effect was too little for his body. It looked as though Zen needed to find more powerful people to beat him to continue refining his body if he wanted to produce better results.


    But Zen didn''t know how to find someone who had more strength. It was impossible to ask the elders in the family to refine his body...


    Family Practicing Day was only a few days away. On this day, all students would try their best and work at full strength. The punches that would come his way would certainly be more powerful. Most importantly, if he survived the day, he would be able to gain his freedom and leave the Luo family.


    Since Zen could barely feel any pain from the beatings given by the Luo children, he wasn''t worried about being hurt on Family Practicing Day.


    Zen sat before the dim lamp in his cellar. His bright eyes shone with fortitude in the light as he thought over his plans.


    It had been two years since his family was wrongly accused. Zen had remained a docile slave all this time. However, he had not forgotten the pain and hatred he felt when his father had been killed. He lived with shame before, as he was too weak. Now, Zen was fortunate to have found the magical refining theory, which was creating his special constitution. He had to grab this opportunity!

 Chapter 13 Family Practicing Day (Part One)

    Winter had been unusually cold this year. Frigid air blew in from the vast frozen land in the north, whitening most of the Empire''s land.


    Heavy snow like cotton quilts covered the ground. The spacious drill ground in front of the Luo residence was also wrapped in a thick blanket of snow.


    On Family Practicing Day, servants of the Luo Clan cleaned up the snow on the drill ground. Twelve teams of Luo children stood in a neat queue, awaiting the review of the Luo Clan elders.


    The Luo Clan originally had thirteen branches. Ever since the allegations against Zen''s family and the dissolution of their branch, only twelve branches remained.


    In order to encourage all the Luo children to practice diligently, Family Practicing Day was held once a year. This day was important for both, the Luo children and the human punchbags.


    Based on the performance of each branch of the Luo Clan, resource allocation for the subsequent year would be decided. Good performance would naturally imply that the winning branch would get more resources, such as useful pills that improved the speed of body refining, and the rejuvenation medicines that quickly healed wounds.


    For slaves, this day determined their life or death, and freedom.


    Zen and the other slaves headed toward the drill ground. Today, every punchbag looked serious. Their determination was clearly visible in their expressions. Each of them was aware of the significance of this day.


    There were only two options for a slave in a death match, win a free life or die trying.


    For the Luo children, the death match was a test. Winning meant that they got rewarded and earned the support of the whole family. The consequence of losing was limited to feeling ashamed.


    Most elite children already had good strength. Both their skills and power were better than ordinary person''s. However, many of them still lost at this crucial time due to low exposure to actual combat. It was thus, a common thing to see the elite children lose in this competition.


    The original intention behind setting the rules of the death match was to maximize the potential of the slaves by motivating them to fight the Luo children eagerly. This was the only way for the Luo children to get real combat training experience.


    A few moments after the slaves arrived, a middle-aged man wearing a green robe entered the ground. Zen''s uncle, Ken Luo, had long beard and a face as smooth as jade.


    Upon seeing him, Zen''s eyes flashed with hatred. He remembered how Ken Luo had played a part in the death of his father. This man pretended to be a modest gentleman, but he used tricks to poison his oldest brother. To Zen, he was nothing more than a hypocrite.


    If Zen had greater confidence in his strength, he wouldn''t have hesitated to kill Ken Luo. However, Ken Luo was a master at the organ refining level. His entrails had been refined thoroughly. Furthermore, his strength was comparable with the weight of three ancient tripods. It was said that he could tear a tiger and a leopard with his bare hands, and smash the great walls with his fleshy fist.


    Ken Luo stoo


    d on the high platform, took a deep breath, and then spoke, "Today we have good news. My nephew, the young master of the Luo Clan, has been admitted to Cloud Sect. He is now their inner disciple."


    Ken Luo didn''t speak loudly, but everyone could hear him clearly. Since he was a master at the organ refining level, all his internal organs had been honed. Even though he had whispered, his voice was still vivid.


    Upon hearing the announcement, envy reflected on the faces of the Luo children.


    Perrin being admitted to Cloud Sect was almost an expected thing. Cloud Sect''s disciples were divided into many levels. Many people passed all the assessments and stood out from their competitors. However, all they got was an outer disciple''s position. In essence, that meant that these disciples did not get the best resources.


    How was it that Perrin was able to improve quickly enough to be exceptionally qualified as an inner disciple? This was beyond the expectation of all present. It was no wonder that they were jealous.


    Zen was also wondering the same. Could it be that the Magical Pill Perrin took was so effective and powerful that it helped Perrin gain admittance as an inner disciple at Cloud Sect? Worried and anxious, Zen clenched his fists.


    The reason why his uncles hadn''t killed him yet was that they thought Zen was no threat to the Luo Clan. However, Yan was an exceptional talent. She was a threat to them. When the coup happened, Yan escaped because she was at Cloud Sect. But now that Perrin was at Cloud Sect, his presence would definitely be unfavorable to her. Thinking about the threat to his sister, Zen knew he had to go to Cloud Sect as quickly as possible!


    "Perrin is the pride of the family. However, we must not focus on his achievement. Today is Family Practicing Day. The Luo children must choose a slave for the death match. If you win against the slave in the death match, next year, the winners will get double the quota of Refining Pills. Furthermore, the winners'' monthly money will also be doubled. There is another bonus as well, a Purple Pill..."


    Upon hearing about the several attractive rewards being offered to the winners of the death match, the Luo children began talking amongst themselves. Their excitement was palpable.


    The slaves, however, looked gloomy. The greater the rewards, the more challenging the death match. Spurred by greed, the Luo children would become more ruthless. Although the slaves had only a low chance of survival, now, that chance had become even smaller.


    After Ken Luo finished his speech, he walked back toward his high chair. The steward, Grey walked on to the elevated terrace. His eyes swept through the slaves and stopped at Zen. Viciousness flashed in his eyes as he thought, ''Boy, you will die today!''


    That done, Grey spoke loudly, "Now the Luo children can begin selecting their punchbags. The first competitor for the death match will be Andrew Luo, the oldest son of the third branch!"


    Andrew leaped onto the arena on the ground. After paying due respect to his father, Ken Luo, he turned to pick his punchbag.

 Chapter 14 Family Practicing Day (Part Two)

    It wasn''t long before Andrew''s eyes fell on Zen. When their gaze met, a small smile played on Zen''s face. A month ago he beat Grey. Zen thought that Andrew would retaliate immediately. However, Andrew had bid his time quietly. Zen now knew why. Andrew had been waiting for Family Practicing Day. He had planned to choose Zen as his punchbag in the death match so that Andrew could beat him to death without raising anyone''s suspicions.


    To his surprise, Andrew did not pick Zen. Instead, he selected a sturdy man standing behind Zen.


    A frown grew on Zen''s face.


    The Luo Clan had recently bought this sturdy middle-aged man. Although a condemned prisoner, he did not suffer any serious internal injuries. He looked strong and healthy. Zen guessed that he was at the flesh refining level.


    Once Andrew had selected his target, the middle-aged man didn''t hesitate. He jumped in to the arena. His eyes flashed with a primeval fierceness. In a death match, there were no escapes. Flinching could mean death for the punchbag. Rather than passively awaiting destruction, it was better to fight with all of one''s strength. That was the only way to increase the odds of survival for a punchbag.


    There was not much etiquette involved in a fight to the death either.


    The middle-aged man made a pre-emptive move in the arena. He rushed toward Andrew with all of his strength. Since he was quite well-built, the middle-aged man ran across the arena like a raging bull. The mysterious rock that made up the floor of the arena burst out with a ''boom'' sound.


    Andrew chuckled as a purple light condensed in his hand. His fingers clasped into an arch as he waited for his target. When the middle-aged man closed in on Andrew, he dodged and threw the light toward the rushing target. As Andrew stepped aside, the Purple Fist Strength hit the middle-aged man.


    "Poof!"


    The impact of the Purple Fist Strength didn''t show instantly. However, it was severe enough to stop the middle-aged man suddenly. He couldn''t hit Andrew, so he turned around and prepared to rush him again.


    Unaware that he had been injured, the man took a step. "Bang bang bang bang bang bang." Six dull bursts of sound came from his body. Blood began spraying out from six areas on the middle-aged man''s body.


    His eyes widened, and disbelief reflected on his face. When he opened his mouth to speak, there was only a gurgling sound. Gradually, his eyes dulled and he crashed to the ground.


    It had taken Andrew only one punch to kill a sturdy, healthy man!


    All the children watching the match burst into cheers. Even some of the onlookers began applauding.


    In the midst of all this noise, no one noticed the handful of Luo children who looked indifferent.


    Andrew, as the oldest son of the third branch, had a reputation. Everyone knew that he had been refining his body with all kinds of powerful pills since his childhood. They knew that was his secret to refine his body so quickly.


    However, the progress could n


    ot be this fast. The only explanation was that Andrew had taken the second Magical Pill. Since Perrin had taken the first, this was the only remaining pill. And now, it had been consumed by Andrew.


    Zen shook his head at the thought, and a bitter smile emerged on his face. His uncles had done the unthinkable. No one had dared to take these two Magical Pills in the Luo Clan for hundreds of years. After taking control of the family, his uncles had shared the pills.


    When Zen first heard that Perrin had taken the pill, his fury came from his heart. But now, Zen felt calm at the revelation that Andrew had taken the last Magical Pill.


    The pill was said to be powerful and effective. And the Luo Clan only had two of these pills. Now, there were none left.


    Zen didn''t feel as though he were at a disadvantage. While the Magical Pill had its effects, Zen''s refinement process ensured that he could continue to clean his body. In result, the Magical Pill was not significant to Zen anymore. That didn''t stop Zen from feeling disappointment at his uncles'' behavior.


    Just then, Grey''s voice rang out, "The winner of the first death match is Master Andrew!"


    Andrew flexed his wrist and shouted toward Grey who was standing on the high platform, "I am still warming up. I want to challenge one more person."


    Grey was secretly delighted at the thought that the moment when Andrew would avenge him had finally arrived. He grinned and replied, "Master Andrew, you can choose another slave if you want the challenge."


    Andrew turned to face the slaves. He pointed at the slaves randomly. As and when Andrew pointed at a target, that person''s face paled. They had all witnessed Andrew''s strength. The targets knew that there was no escaping death if Andrew picked them. Andrew''s fingers were now like the sickle of death, the person who was chosen by him would go to see the King of Hell.


    Finally, Andrew''s eyes stayed fixed on Zen. He hooked his fingers and laughed, "You, come on!"


    Everyone looked where Andrew was pointing. An audible gasp could be heard when they realized he was pointing at Zen!


    A death match for a slave could only have one of two outcomes - either the target won, or he died trying.


    Zen was considered a part of the Luo Clan, even after the rebellion. In these past two years that he had been relegated as a slave, none of the children had truly hurt him. They hadn''t shown this kind of mercy and thoughtfulness toward the other punchbags, however.


    But today, Andrew had selected Zen. This was beyond everyone''s expectations. Some shook their heads in pity when they realized that Zen would probably die today.


    "Finally, come!"


    Zen didn''t hesitate. Nor did he say anything. He simply walked out from where the slaves stood, climbed into the arena with no expression on his face. As he approached Andrew, Zen arched his hands and said, "Master Andrew, please."


    "Cousin Zen, why are you being so polite?" Andrew replied as he squinted at Zen.

 Chapter 15 Fatal Blow (Part One)

    Cousin...


    Zen hadn''t heard anyone call him ''Cousin'' in a long time.


    He remembered when Andrew was younger, he would chase Zen all around the Luo residence, calling him ''Cousin Zen''.


    If anyone bullied Andrew, he would seek Zen''s help.


    When Zen heard the word ''Cousin'', he couldn''t help but be transported back to a time in his childhood that was filled with sweet memories. What a beautiful time it had been!


    He never dreamed that when he grew up, family fights would break out in the Luo Clan and his father and his uncles would be estranged. These past two years had been tragic indeed.


    Zen nodded and changed his address as well. "Cousin Andrew, let''s start!"


    "Well, it is said that you haven''t accepted your identity as a slave. I found that hard to believe. But now that you''re addressing me as ''Cousin'', it seems as though the rumors are true. I called you ''Cousin Zen'' as a test. Did you really think you have the same privilege? Ha ha ha! I''m going to end this today! You will die by my hand." With that said, Andrew sneered and suddenly gave off an aggressive appearance.


    Upon hearing the insulting remarks by Andrew, a wave of anger swelled in Zen''s heart. His face became cold and indifferent. All traces of residual family affection in his heart vanished!


    Andrew covered his whole body with purple lights. After taking a cursory step forward, he rushed to attack Zen.


    "Bang!"


    The energy Andrew channeled hit Zen on his chest. The force was so strong that Zen felt unbalanced. He took a few steps to steady himself. It was obvious that Andrew had reached the bone refining level by virtue of the Magic Pill.


    Over the past few days, Zen had been disappointed with the rate of refining. His body had strengthened so much that when the Luo children hit Zen, his body did not produce the warm currents he needed to continue refining his bones. However, Andrew had struck him so hard that Zen''s body produced the warm currents.


    A small smile played on Zen''s lips as he welcomed the opportunity to remove more impurities from his body.


    The feeling of warm currents flowing through his body, removing pollutants, and healing his core, was so cool!


    While Zen was secretly pleased, Andrew drew on his rage to attack Zen with all his strength. He didn''t want to give Zen any reprieve.


    He threw a short straight punch at Zen''s chest, followed by a powerful fist. Before Zen could react, Andrew directed a bursting strength at Zen''s body.


    Andrew then bombarded Zen with a combination of an elbow attack, a side kick, and a front snap kick...


    All sorts of fierce attacks were aimed at Zen.


    Streams of warm currents flowed between Zen''s bones. Their intensity was such that it felt as though floodgates had opened. Zen could feel the impurities in his bones being squeezed out and washed away, little by little, by the warm currents.


    "Well done! Just kill him, Master Andrew!" Grey Huang shouted and screamed from outside the arena. He looked excited, as though he were beating Zen himself.


    Some children from the Luo Clan were also cheering for Andrew. However, many children were standing still and silently praying for Zen.


    Most of the children came from other branches of the Luo Clan. Deep in their hearts, they missed the time when Zen''s father headed the Luo Clan as he had been fair and sympathetic. Everyone enjoyed the same opportunity to practice. Everyone''s achievements depended on their talent rather than b


    irth. Everyone had a chance to make a difference, even if he came from an insignificant branch of the Luo Clan.


    However, everything had changed once the second and the third branches grabbed the reins of the Luo Clan. People from these two branches were very privileged and usurped all resources, while children from the rest of the Luo Clan were left struggling.


    Zen, the former young master, was the last person left from his branch. Since his uncles had spared him, all hope depended on Zen''s survival. The children knew that if he died, all chances of a fair and just leader ruling the Luo Clan would be gone forever.


    Meanwhile, Zen continued to take Andrew''s assault.


    Ken Luo, Andrew''s father, frowned as he watched the battle. He knew his son very well. After taking the Magical Pill, Andrew had reached the bone refining level. His strength had increased tremendously. The impact of his fist strength had weighed a thousand pounds. He was almost as powerful as Hercules!


    He was confident that his son was the second most powerful person in the younger generation within the Luo Clan. Perrin was the only person who could defeat Andrew.


    Ken watched as Andrew hurled dozens of punches at Zen. His attacks were fierce and strong, and full of power. While Zen was losing ground, he hadn''t been injured severely yet.


    Why hadn''t Zen been defeated?


    There was a saying in the realm of martial arts that attacking was the best form of defense.


    The reason why this theory was widely accepted was that attacking was far easier than defending. Even the strongest person could not withstand continuous fierce attacks from his opponents.


    Strong as Ken was, he shouldn''t be able to stand such violent attacks from Andrew. This was why methods of practicing a strong body such as King Kong Cover and Sun Holy Body were so valuable.


    Zen had taken such furious blows, and yet he could still stand...


    Did it mean that Zen had learned special methods of refining his body? Or had Zen''s father, his elder brother, discovered a way to refine the body, kept it secret from the rest of the family, but taught it to Zen before he died?


    Considering the fact that Zen Luo had been beaten indiscriminately in the Martial Arts Hall for two years and he was still alive and kicking, it was obvious that Zen knew something that the others didn''t. Ken''s eyes shone when he thought he had discovered Zen''s secret!


    At this time, seeing that his continuous blows were ineffective, Andrew became impatient. His punches were getting harder and harder, and he tried all kinds of vicious attacks on Zen''s body.


    "Purple Fist Strength!"


    "Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang!" The six-fold force burst through Zen''s body.


    He had thought that the destructive power of the Purple Fist Strength would beat Zen. However, to his surprise, Zen was still standing in front of him, firm and undefeated. His eyes were getting brighter and brighter. Andrew felt terribly uneasy.


    This guy was so strange. How could his body withstand such fierce attacks?


    Looking at Zen''s sly smile, Andrew became more flustered. He had reached the bone refining level and had great power. He was much stronger than Zen. He should have easily knocked Zen down with a single, well-placed blow. But why had he failed?


    Why was Zen smiling? Was he sneering at Andrew''s incompetence?


    Such a look replaced the panic Andrew was feeling with indignation. His eyes blazed with fury.

 Chapter 16 Fatal Blow (Part Two)

    The more he thought about it, the more certain Andrew became that his only alternative was to use a secret weapon to deal with Zen! Andrew took out a small box from his pocket. It was the size of a clapper. It was engraved with a trail of glittering symbols. He aimed the front of the box at Zen and quickly pressed the trigger behind the box. At the same time, Andrew roared, "Go to hell!"


    When Andrew took out the small box, Zen was startled. As the former young master of the Luo Clan, he knew that the box was the Thunder Rob Halberd, one of the best defensive weapons in the family!


    It was a secret weapon made by a talisman. A powerful thunderbolt was sealed inside the Thunder Rob Halberd. It could deliver an instant kill to the enemy with a surprise attack.


    But it was meant for single use only. It was most certainly very expensive. Thus, it was given to the younger generation of the family for personal defense.


    ''Andrew is so sinister and vicious that he will attack me with such a nasty thing when desperate.'' Zen thought. Strong as his body was, he would never be spared by the Thunder Rob Halberd.


    Just as this thought flashed through Zen''s mind, a thunder halberd formed, and lightning burst out of the Thunder Rob Halberd. It was headed straight for Zen.


    Zen nimbly rolled on the ground at the critical moment to dodge the attack. The lightning released from the Thunder Rob Halberd flashed over his head with a deafening crackling sound, burning a few strands of his hair.


    Then, a slave outside the arena screamed. The thunder halberd had hit him. Instantly, a fierce fire spread across his body. The fire turned the slave to ashes.


    Everyone paled at the sight of the slave''s misery. Andrew had gone too far this time. His Thunder Rob Halberd could have hit anyone in the arena. What if it hadn''t hit the slave, but it hit a Luo child instead? Andrew had never taken the lives of the rest of the Luo family seriously.


    Zen rose from the ground. His face was stony and cold. He clenched his fist and said, "You have been hitting me for so long. Are you satisfied? It is my turn, right?"


    "No!" Seeing the sudden power change in the arena, Ken Luo screamed and jumped down from the high stands. He had discovered the anomalies of Zen''s body. It had to be a conspiracy that helped Zen live for so long.


    Unfortunately, though Ken Luo was fast, he had to travel a long distance to get to the arena. The time it took for Ken to get there was sufficient for Zen to pounce on Andrew and attack him.


    "Purple Fist Strength!"


    Before Andrew could process what had happened, Zen punched him. The punch hit key parts of Andrew''s body. The muffled sounds of seven instantaneous explosions came from Andrew''s body.


    "Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang."


    After the muffled sounds, seven areas on Andrew''s body began to bleed. Zen had aimed for the roots of both arms and legs, as well as other important parts.


    These injuries would not endanger Andrew''s life, but he wouldn''t be able to cultivate for the rest of his life.


    Just one fist!


    The arrogant second young master of the Luo Clan had been defeated by one attack.


    Silence engulfed the arena.


    Who would have thought that a slave who had been beaten randomly for the past two years would have such great strength?


    Some of the Luo children who had offended Zen during his


    time as a slave shuddered as a chill traveled down their backs. They thought Zen was weak and allowed himself to be bullied. They didn''t expect that he concealed such great strength.


    ''He defeated Andrew with only one fist. What if he attacks me?'' they thought.


    Andrew''s expression turned to complete disbelief. He had thought that Zen was like a three-year-old child before him given his strength at the bone refining level. Andrew had assumed it would be very easy to defeat him. How could he have been so wrong? He had taken the Magical Pill, and his cultivation speed was infinitely superior to Zen''s...


    Andrew''s legs felt weak, and he fell to the ground. Ken rushed to him and scooped Andrew in his arms. "Andrew, my son! Are you all right?"


    "I don''t hurt important organs. He won''t die." Zen mumbled.


    Ken raised his head. His gentle and elegant face was now twisted with rage. He pointed at Zen and said, "Why did you hurt my son, you wicked little bastard?"


    "Uncle Ken, everyone knows that a battle is dangerous. This is a death match. We are supposed to be fighting till one of us dies. You should know better than me how slaves have injured Luo children in the arena in the past!" Zen continued solemnly, "now that I have won against Andrew Luo, according to family rules, I am no longer a slave. I am free to leave the Luo residence!"


    "Ha ha ha. I''ve been kind enough to let you live for all these years. I haven''t expected you to grow to this level." Ken stopped long enough to help Andrew stand. Then he laughed and continued, "Do you think I''m going to let you go? Don''t even think about it!"


    Zen''s face fell. He said, "Uncle Ken, according to the Clan''s rules, if I win during the fight, I will be free."


    "Rules?" A sneer replaced the anger on Ken''s face. He taunted Zen," Only your good-for-nothing father would act according to the Clan''s rules. I''ll tell you who makes the rules now. Me! I make the rules in the Luo Clan!"


    Zen''s face convulsed with rage when he heard what his uncle had to say.


    He had longed to kill the man standing in front of him for what Ken had done to Zen''s family. However, he had reminded himself to be patient and to wait for the right moment.


    Because he knew that his strength was insufficient to avenge his father''s death. To achieve this goal, Zen needed to leave the Luo Clan. He needed practice and sufficient time to grow stronger!


    Zen had pinned his hopes on Family Practicing Day. He had thought that he would win in the death match and then claim his freedom. It had never crossed his mind that Ken Luo was going to cheat him at this crucial time.


    He had endured for such a long time, that these cruel words from his uncle dashed all of Zen''s hopes. He thought over all the suffering he had endured over the past two years before breaking out into an angry laugh. "Blame me for being naive and childish. It is ridiculous that I believed that you, such a despicable person, would abide by the rules of the family. I was silly to think that you will be merciful and that you will remember that I''m one of the Luo Clan and care of me. You killed your older brother, usurped power, and took the holy medicine for yourself illegally. You committed all kinds of crimes. You don''t deserve to be called human! You are a bastard! One day, I will cut off your head with my own hands and avenge my father!"

 Chapter 17 Organ Refining Level (Part One)

    "This is how you talk to your elders? Where are your manners, Zen?" chided one of the elders frowning.


    "Hold your tongue!" Zen snapped, "When my father was killed, the third, fourth, fifth branches¡­ the entire Luo Clan, what were you doing? My father was good to all of you, always. How can you be so ungrateful? All of you were accomplices in his murder!"


    announced Zen in a sharp, angry tone. His grievance had simmered for two years, turning to hatred in the darkest recesses of his hardened heart. And now, it was erupting. His eyes were full of icy disdain as he took a long look around the place. As his gaze met each person there, they turned their heads or looked down to avoid his gaze.


    Ken didn''t want to talk about this anymore. "Cut the crap, brat. Let''s get down to business. Tell you what, turn over the refining method, and I promise you will have a quick and painless death. Your body will remain whole, and you can even have a plot in our clan graveyard. How does that sound to you?" he threatened. The next moment numerous hair-like lines of purple light lit up on his arms, scattering into the air.


    "You want to know my refining method? Ha! Dream on!" With that, Zen kicked off hard against the arena''s edge to propel himself into a sprint. It seemed his only choice would be to fight his way out, since he wouldn''t be able to walk out of here.


    Although Zen was fast, Ken was faster. He was after all a famous expert, and he was able to remain at the organ refining level for a long time. He moved swiftly, with a purple shadow. He stopped Zen easily. "You are too green, boy. There is no way for you to escape. I''ll give you another chance to turn over your refining method! Or I will make you wish you were never born, but, you will suffer before that! Then, when I am finished, I tear you to pieces and burn you until you are nothing more than ashes."


    "Fuck off!"


    replied Zen as he swung to punch Ken.


    As Zen''s fist came closer, Ken brushed it aside effortlessly, avoiding the brunt of the punch. As he did, Ken twisted to land dozen of blows over Zen''s torso.


    "Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Boom! Boom! Boom ..."


    Being much stronger than the Luo children, the swing Ken took at Zen came at a far greater force. A man fighting at the level of organ refining had three times the strength of those at bone refining level.


    The terrifying force as the fist slammed into Zen flooded his body. Within a few seconds pain turned into a familiar warm current, and even though his body was transforming the power lightning fast, there were too many powerful punches and they exceeded Zen''s limit. The untransformed forces were damaging him.


    "Aah!"


    Zen screeched as his body was thrown to the ground. As he rolled and got to his feet, Zen spat out a mouthful of blood.


    Seeing that Zen was able to get to his feet even after the clobbering Ken just gave, made his heart jump. "Amaz


    ing! Your skills in self-protection are amazing. Just tell us how, and I might let you live."


    "Ha! Why would I believe you? Lying comes as easy as farts slip out for a man like you. I would never believe a word that falls out of your mouth." Zen countered while trying to steady his labored breathing. There was an incredible sensation of relief filling his body. It was as if the beatings Zen took from Andrew and Ken had washed the impurities out of his bones completely.


    After a month of beatings, Zen had reached the summit of the bone refining level, and lately, he noticed that his progress had slowed down. Day after day he was becoming stronger which meant the demand for that warm current kept increasing. Very soon those children''s beatings wouldn''t be able to satisfy his body.


    Now, the beating he just received was turning into a warm current, flooding his body and washing out what remained of the impurities in his bones.


    Every bone was refined and strengthened.


    Savoring the spiritual feeling, he became re-invigorated as though he was in tune with his bones and each of them was at his command. As his bones became refined and stronger, Zen''s breathing changed too. Every inhalation and exhalation now took half time more than before. He now could take a very long breath. With each breath, his body was cleansing itself.


    This was the sign he had achieved the level of organ refining!


    As the strong power rushed through his body, his heart was singing with joy, but he managed to keep a straight face, giving nothing away.


    "Well, you are a tough one! Let''s see how well you hold up with a few hours of interrogation." Closing in on Zen again, Ken intended to capture him this time.


    At that moment, things took an unexpected turn.


    The instant Ken got close enough, Zen''s fist shot out as fast as a lightning bolt at Ken.


    The blow came out of the blue, catching Ken full in the face.


    When Zen entered the organ refining level, he gained better control of his bones and was able to summon more strength than earlier. But since Ken was unaware of it, he underestimated Zen''s capability.


    The blow Zen delivered sent Ken flying back 30 feet. He landed heavily on the floor and rolled several times before he was able to regain his balance and scramble back to his feet.


    "You! You are in the organ refining level!" said Ken while pressing his hand tightly against his chest and blood gushed out of his mouth. There was disbelief written all over his face.


    Zen sneered coldly at him.


    Glancing over at the rest of the men, he challenged, "Who else dares to try and stop me?"


    Standing straighter, Zen no longer masked his power.


    Silence fell over the yard; no one moved or even breathed for fear of making a sound.


    Since Ken was no match for him, who else could stand a chance?


    From a corner came a voice, "I dare," someone said, "and will."

 Chapter 18 Organ Refining Level (Part Two)

    The crowd parted and a middle-aged man stepped out. He had a charming face, was dressed in brilliant white and moved with the grace of an immortal.


    "Bryson Luo!"


    spat Zen frowning when he saw the man approaching.


    Right at that moment, his oldest uncle, Bryson, was the last person he wanted to face. Bryson was the mastermind behind his father''s death. His younger uncle Ken was just an accomplice.


    With Bryson''s appearance, an obvious strain fell over the yard. Zen bent his knees slightly, putting every muscle and bone in his body on alert.


    Bryson had achieved a level far above the marrow refining level. He hadn''t reached the nature level yet, but Bryson was only half a step until he reached it!


    Zen just reached the level of organ refining. There was the whole marrow refining level between them!


    It was an unbridgeable gap, and they weren''t in the same league.


    But Zen wasn''t about to give up!


    If he didn''t have it in him to fight, he would have caved two years ago.


    Fate had pitied him, giving Zen one chance to turn his life around. He wouldn''t die here. Zen had to seize the opportunity. Zen frantically pumped himself up. His desire to survive flared up inside him.


    Zen remained silent as he took a deep breath. Without any preamble he mustered all his strength and broke into a desperate run.


    But, before he could get even a 20-foot lead, a sword covered in a purple light shot out of the sky in front of him and cut deeply into the earth, blocking his way.


    Twisting to avoid the sword, Zen changed direction in a flash, but, as he did, another sword appeared in front of him. One after another sword plunged into the earth, blocking his way, and forcing him to step back.


    The expression on Zen''s face was grim as he was forced to back up until he was in the spot he was before. When a person reached the nature level, life energy itself could be harnessed. Since Bryson was only half a step into the nature level, he was unable to control the life energy very well. But, the force of the energy he managed was already horrifying.


    With his hands clasped casually behind him, Bryson said, "I spared your life so your branch of the family line could continue. But, apparently you don''t know how to behave yourself. You wounded your uncle and tried to flee from your clan. Since you want death so badly, here it is!"


    All around swords that had been plunged into the earth swirled up into the air and shot in Zen''s direction. Surrounded by swords, Zen''s eyes widened. Even though his defe


    nse was as hard as a mysterious weapon, Bryson could shred him to pieces as easily as a knife could go through paper.


    ''How could he die here, like this?'' he wondered as frustration and anger welled up inside him.


    Just then, Ken broke in, "Bryson, don''t kill him! Not yet."


    Bryson halted the swords inches from their target, and asked, "Why?"


    "The kid must have had some special experience. His body is much stronger than ordinary men. And you realize, Perrin and Andrew used Magical Pills so that they can refine faster than normal speed, but even they couldn''t compare with him."


    Bryson aimed one sword in between Zen''s eyes, and emotionlessly asked, "So, what is your secret?"


    Zen sneered. If he was doomed to die here, why should he tell them? He wouldn''t say a word.


    At that point, the plaque hanging over the door of Luo house exploded. A bronze furnace fell from the sky, crashing to the ground with a deafening clatter. The Luo children automatically covered their ears to shut out the terrible noise.


    The furnace hurtled down the steps, sending all the children shrieking as they took off sprinting in every direction.


    "Who did this?"


    Bryson snorted. All the swords changed targets and shot at the furnace that was rolling.


    Bang! Boom! Bang! Clang!


    Purple swords hit the furnace, slicing into it, each making a sharp, cracking sound. But the furnace kept hurdling closer, not slowing.


    When it reached the foot of the steps, it stopped and made an odd spin on the spot. Then it rolled at Zen. Seeing this, Bryson cursed and turned to grasp at Zen.


    The furnace was faster though. When it got close to Zen, a scrawny hand shot out and dragged him inside the metal hull.


    "You are not going anywhere!" Watching as Zen was taken by the man inside the furnace, Bryson reached out and caught the furnace by the rim, stopping it on the spot.


    Suddenly, the scrawny hand struck again, this time it thrust at Bryson like a sharp talon.


    Bryson reacted quickly, backhanding the appendage coming at him. The two hands collided, and the recoil sent Bryson stumbling back several steps. Bryson''s face darkened. "Evil Lan?"


    Almost immediately an old man leaned out of the furnace. He was extremely thin, his bones standing out against the sunken skin.


    His head sticking out of the furnace, Evil Lan laughed, "Ha! Very lucky! Very lucky! This boy has a special scent. A scent that smells just like the weapons I built. He will make the perfect material for my weapon. I will take this boy!"

 Chapter 19 Evil Weapon Refiner (Part One)

    Evil Lan was a weapon refiner in C County.


    In the Eastern Region, a popular profession was a weapon refiner. Most of the clans treated weapon refiners like exalted guests in the hopes that they would build many remarkable armaments for them.


    However, most of the clans in the Eastern Region loathed Evil Lan. They detested his techniques. Instead of wanting to roll out the red carpet, anyone who knew him yearned to eliminate him.


    There was a reason why so many people were eager to see Evil Lan dead. He used notably evil means to build his weapons. Evil Lan would pour blood from living people into his furnace while creating weaponry. Sometimes, he would even pull live people straight into his furnace like a sacrifice of some evil religion.


    Although several clans in the Eastern Region attempted to catch Evil Lan, they failed due to Evil Lan''s vast power. He also happened to be as slippery as an eel.


    It was quite puzzling to the clan when Evil Lan showed up and grabbed Zen.


    "Release him Evil Lan! This kid is a member of the Luo Clan!" said Bryson. His guard was up because even though Bryson was just half of a step into the nature level, Evil Lan was a formidable adversary.


    Snickering Evil Lan asked, "Why would you be pointing your swords at him if he is a member of the Luo Clan?" He added, "I want to handle this for you since you want to kill him so badly. Don''t you think it would be a better solution?"


    "Damn it, Evil Lan! He is a member of my family and has rebelled against us, so, it should be me who deals with him! Anyone who dares provoke the Luo Clan has a bad end. I advise you don''t go against me!" Bryson threatened. Floating near Evil Lan and ready to strike were swords imbued with a purple aura.


    "If Mike Luo were here, I would hesitate. But, since it''s only you... Ha-ha! I don''t care about you! None of the Luo Clan deserves my care!" countered Evil Lan while laughing loudly.


    "You weasel! That''s complete bullshit! I''ll kill you myself!" shouted Bryson. His face was darkening with anger, and with a clear sound, the purple swords shot forward, hurdling at Evil Lan.


    "That''s rich! We''ll see if you can kill me! Ha-ha-ha!" Evil Lan jumped back into the bronze furnace. His laughter echoed sharply, as the furnace rolled over forward into the crowd of the Luo children.


    Seeing the huge bronze furnace plunging at them, the Luo children scattered, screaming. Several were too slow to escape, and as the furnace struck fleeing children, they bled profusely, making it impossible to know whether or not they would survive.


    While chasing the large metal object, Bryson manipulated the flaming purple swords, hacking at the bronze furnace. Although the swords were eminently sharp, they couldn''t even make one dent in the hull and made a series of clinking sounds against the metal target.


    As more and more children were run down, the massive furnace created significant mayhem in the yard. After a while, the bronze furnace turned in another direction and rolled out of sight.


    Watching the contraption roll away, Bryson clenched his teeth. He wanted to give chase, but Ken stopped him and said, "Brother, Evil Lan is dangerous, think of what he could do! Don''t go after him."


    "And what about that rebel, Zen?" asked Bryson flatly.


    Ken sneered, "That maniac, Evil Lan, is insane! When he takes someone, they end up burning to death in the bowels of his furnace, so, there is no chance of survival for Zen!"


    Glancing around, Bryson nodded. He wasn''t sure why, but he had a vague sense of apprehension. Looking at Ken, he snapped, "We need to treat the injured, dispatch my medicine unit!"


    In the yard, there were dozens of injured Luo children who had broken ribs and limbs crying in misery.


    Many uninjured ones looked on the scene, filled with discouragement.


    The ongoing feud between Zen and his uncles, Bryson and Ken, was adding to the demise of the Luo Clan.


    When Zen''s father, Mike, was still alive, evil guys such as Evil Lan never dared to cause trouble like today.


    Many other factors contributed to the downfall of the Luo Clan.


    At one time, the Luo Clan could boast that it was the top clan of C County, but, it had slipped so far that the tribe wasn''t even in the top three.


    In the past, the Luo Clan members could walk the streets, and no one dared provoke them.


    Now, they weren''t respected or feared in town or at the compound and at times had even to bribe the Luo Clan servants to get results.


    None of the Luo children felt the Luo Clan would be able to rise above the situation they had fallen into.


    ...


    ...


    Squatting in the belly of the metal furnace, Zen remained silent.


    Naturally, as the former young master of the clan, Zen knew about Evil Lan. His father, Mike, had told him more than once that if he caught Evil Lan, he would slash Evil Lan in half with his cyan-blade sword.


    Zen heard about many of the monstrous atrocities that Evil Lan committed, including that he performed human sacrifices to build his weaponry.


    After everything else that had happened to Zen, he thought being taken hostage by Evil Lan, was the worst luck.

 Chapter 20 Evil Weapon Refiner (Part Two)

    Between rolling over and over as the furnace tumbled and smelling the fusty stench of Evil Lan''s body, Zen wanted to retch.


    After rolling on for a while, they suddenly stopped. The gleam of excitement flashed in Evil Lan''s eyes as he came up and leaned in close to Zen to inhale his scent. Evil Lan questioned, "I have never come across a person with a body as special as yours. You are surreal! Your fragrance is so similar to my mysterious weapon!"


    "You''re kidding, right? Look at me; I have limbs! Touch me, and you''ll see, I am flesh, just like you! How can I be anything but a real human?" demanded Zen seriously. "I won''t be helpful to you in refining weapons, and I advise you let me go," Zen calmly informed Evil Lan. Not expecting Evil Lan''s nose to be so sensitive that he would be able to smell Zen''s subtle scent unnerved him, but, he remained calm and collected outwardly.


    "Ha-ha-ha! Are you kidding? Let you go?" cackled Evil Lan wildly. "Hell no! I am so excited to find someone who has a body as unique as you have! I wonder what powerful item will result from tossing you into my weapon-refining furnace? I''m really looking forward to this!" Evil Lan said while reaching out with chains to secure Zen''s hands to the inside hull of the bronze furnace before he jumped out.


    Inside the metal beast, Zen lurched side to side and then began being bounced around slightly as Evil Lan lifted it off the ground, and took off running with his furnace on his back. They were moving even faster than they had been with Evil Lan inside.


    At least now that Zen didn''t have to suffer the foul stench of Evil Lan and wasn''t being tossed around, he was more comfortable. He was able to crane his head out of the bronze furnace to see the surrounding scenery.


    Tugging at his restraints, Zen realized they were too strong to be broken, so, he knew they weren''t gold or iron. As he looked around the furnace, Zen''s mind whirred as he tried to think of a way to escape. The insane man wasn''t even afraid of Zen''s uncle, Bryson! Considering how much stronger Bryson was compared to Zen, how would he escape this? Instead of wasting energy worrying, Zen decided he would wait and see what happened.


    Trees were a blur to Zen, making him realize Evil Lan was running very fast, even barefoot. He could hear cawing and hooting while the trees became denser. The air was a touch cooler, and the light was dimmer, all of which told Zen they were deep in the thick forest.


    Eventually, it grew brighter again as they came back out of the forest. Craning his neck, Zen saw a cliff rising in front of


    them, and quickly coming closer. But, Evil Lan wasn''t stopping or slowing down, and when they came to the precipice, he clutched the bronze furnace tighter as he flung himself over the edge.


    ''Holy shit! How will we survive jumping off the cliff?'' wondered Zen. Terrified, Zen grasped the chains in the bronze furnace. Suddenly, he lurched to a stop telling him they weren''t falling anymore.


    Clinging to the furnace with his right hand, Evil Lan grasped one stone after another with his left hand from a mass of thorn-like rocks protruding from the cliff as he descended the face of the mountain.


    Midway down the cliff was a towering tree. Evil Lan stepped onto a sturdy, twisted part of the trunk and reached out his free hand to move the thick branches, revealing the opening of a large cave.


    The mouth of the cave was so small that the bronze furnace could barely make it through, but as they went deeper into it, space opened up and became more extensive.


    ''No wonder Evil Lan has successfully escaped every attack clans in the C County launched. This secret place is obscure! It''s perfect!'' Zen considered.


    Deeper in the cave, the ceiling was dozens of feet higher. The walls were shimmering with dark red glowing light. Flames radiated faintly from the ground, making it the perfect place for refining weapons.


    In the center was a dark weapon-refining furnace on four legs. Eight spikes protruded from the wall, and there was a person skewered on each.


    The blood was being slowly drained as the victims hung off the spikes. The horrific sight of the emaciated, almost skeletal people turned Zen''s stomach. Although they appeared to be dead, the abdomens heaved as they breathed. They were living people!


    Not far from the furnace, were about a dozen cast iron cages, three feet wide, holding one person each. Most of them had a dull look in their eyes and were curled up, shivering uncontrollably.


    It was apparent that Evil Lan was more despicable than people said. Zen was stunned at Evil Lan''s methodology.


    "Thud!"


    The bronze furnace hit the ground. Evil Lan climbed into it, sniffing like an animal at Zen''s flesh. Smirking like the Cheshire cat, he gloated, "I figured if I used flesh and blood to refine weapons and sealed in the grudges of people, then the mysterious weapon''s power would increase with those strong hatreds in it!" Evil Lan added, "With your flesh and blood smelling so similar to the mysterious weapon, putting your body into the furnace with my Hell Fire Sword to refine, will likely transform the sword into a spiritual weapon!"

 Chapter 21 Refining The Body With Fire (Part One)

    As a level one weapons refiner, Evil Lan always refined weapons using very sinister refining methods, and it was those same principles he employed to create three mysterious weapons of the highest caliber. Although Evil Lan was impressed with them all, he was proudest of the ''Hell Fire Sword'' one of the top three he produced.


    Hungry as he was, Evil Lan wanted to refine something stronger than mysterious weapons. His greatest ambition was to perfect some beyond that. He aspired to create spiritual weaponry!


    Currently, in the world, graded weapons were worth a big fortune which only proved how desirable they were. Spiritual weaponry was much more valuable!


    As one of the powerful and wealthy families in C County, the Luo Clan possessed only one top grade mysterious weapon," the Green Wind Rider Sword" which belonged to Zen''s father, Mike Luo. The first-rate enigmatic sword had no equal in the C County, and Mike rarely used it. So, most of the time, it was well kept in a top secret spot at the Luo Clan, which only served to make the sword appear more incomprehensible. It was a highly sought treasure. Since killing Mike, Bryson Luo had been searching for the unique sword, but, his efforts had been in vain so far, with no trace or clues to where it might be found.


    Although the sword was the highest quality for mysterious weapons, it was not a spiritual weapon after all. Every clan vied to own one, however, if an individual from an ordinary family were to obtain even one spiritual weapon, it would be devastating not only for the person who had it but for the entire clan. If someone in the Luo clan were to get a hold of one, the weapon would have to be obediently handed over, or catastrophe would befall the whole family!


    Along with cons there were pros to owning a spiritual weapon, and they brought equally wondrous treasure as they did devastation. The special qualities the spiritual weapons could be imbued with varied, and some possessed the ability to accelerate the speed Kung Fu was learned, while others improved the owner''s combat skills exponentially... the remarkable abilities they each held made people greedily try to secure them despite the possibility of ruin to their entire family tree.


    While Zen listened to Evil Lan, he smiled bitterly. Zen''s voice dripped with cynicism as he said," Crucial components to optimal weapons refinery are the best materials and the hottest fires. Since you lack either, there''s no way to refine the most perfect treasure. These are universal principles to refining weapons, which I''m sure you understand better than I do. So, it''s difficult to understand how you expect to be able to refine a spiritual weapon using only my flesh and blood! You can''t be serious? That''s beyond ridiculous..."


    Although there was a time when Zen was able to indulge in reading books on many topics, including ones about alchemy and the known weapon refining theories, he wasn''t very knowledgeable about either alchemy or weapons refinery. Ze


    n was so obsessed with mastering martial arts that he didn''t pay any particular attention to other matters.


    However, with the situation he was in now he was desperate, and if there was even just the slightest flicker of hope to persuade Evil Lan to change his mind, he would take it.


    "Well, it appears you grasp a little information concerning refining weapons! No matter what, it won''t help you," spat Evil Lan contemptuously. Evil Lan was busily unlatching the chains from the inside of the furnace as he spoke. When he had the clanking chains freed, he yanked hard, making Zen stumble after the insane man. Evil Lan pulled Zen out of the copper furnace, and when Evil Lan hurled him into a nearby cage, he made a deafening "thud" sound that echoed through the cavern as he landed heavily. Looking up at his captor as he was propelled into the small metal prison, Zen saw a smile growing on Evil Lan''s face as he proclaimed," The rare, precious materials I require are too far away and I am not strong enough to procure them. The fire I am using is second rate. To be able to cultivate a spiritual weapon, I have to utilize a more creative route and employ dark magic since it is the only chance I will have in producing a spiritual weapon. Throwing you in the weapon refining furnace is merely another step to refining the spiritual weapon. Hey! Let''s hope for the best! After all, your flesh and blood are very special indeed. Who knows, maybe I will be lucky as always."


    Let''s hope for the best...


    This was a truth every weapon refiner believed, and the phrase they uttered worldwide.


    No one would deny that refining weapons with fire relied on ninety percent strength and ten percent luck.


    To most people, it would seem that luck did not play much of a factor in the process.


    Still, some weapon refiners created some of the best treasures because of that ten percent luck.


    Others however, spent a lifetime following the standard rules, only to end up with nothing to show for their work. In the long run, it all came down to fortune, and some refiners had none or ran out of their luck.


    From that angle, luck was slightly relevant while at the same time, it might be considered the most critical part of the whole process.


    Weapon refiners would say," Let''s hope for the best" while refining the weapons because in their hearts, luck was important.


    The tradition was the same as uttering "God bless us" which was used by some religious factions.


    As he thought about everything, Zen couldn''t believe how his life came down to just being a gamble on luck to Evil Lan. A profound unwillingness to accept the reality arose in Zen''s heart, but, he laughed bitterly to himself, thinking, ''There''s nothing I can do to change this.''


    All he could do was sit there and blame himself for being too weak.


    Although Zen was making fast progress in the past month, and he was able to improve from the flesh refining level to the organ refining level, it wasn''t enough.

 Chapter 22 Refining The Body With Fire (Part Two)

    Add to that, the fact that there was still a considerable gap between how far along he''d progressed next to what Evil Lan and Bryson could do. His growth had been too slow.


    Fate could be a cruel mistress! It was only recently, Zen had finally gotten the chance to hone his skills, practice and strengthen himself, and he was hopeful that he could go so much further, becoming more powerful. Now, he was at the mercy of Evil Lan, and his situation was desperate.


    While Zen bemoaned his predicament, Evil Lan was busy in the cave. Whatever he was preparing, it took a long time and was loud. First, Evil Lan was in the corner, hammering away, and then he disappeared into the weapon refining furnace carrying some object. Zen couldn''t see what he was doing in there. After a while, Evil Lan came out, sat in front of the stove in an odd pose and clapped his hands.


    As Evil Lan sat clapping, the dark weapon refining furnace was lit up. Complex yet elegant runes appeared one after another, as though blooming along the surface of the furnace wall, emitting a dazzling red glow, and lighting up the entire cave.


    Hanging, skewered by spears on the walls, living creatures contorted in pain. Their anguished screams filled the room as their blood flowed along the spikes, while it was all sucked into the weapon refining furnace.


    The blood flowed along the currents on the weapon refining furnace wall and filled the fragments, making the red light more vivid and fascinating.


    After he fired up the furnace, Evil Lan picked up a sword. The black and white sword in Evil Lan''s hands must be the Hell Fire Sword which was a top grade of the mysterious weapon.


    Evil Lan held the Hell Fire Sword for a while, gazing with pride and tenderness like the cold metal object were a son. His eyes softened, and his stance relaxed as he stroked it as though he were touching a lover. Watching the scene unnoticed from the off to the side, Zen observed Evil Lan''s reaction. It startled Zen to see such fondness on such an evil face. Zen''s heart lurched, and he had an unshakable feeling that trouble lay ahead. Evil Lan was a madman.


    After taking his time polishing the mysterious weapon, Evil Lan turned his head toward Zen. There was a peculiar smile on his face, and he gave Zen an odd look. He walked over, and as he pulled Zen out of the cage, he said," You should feel honored to be integrated into my Hell Fire Sword."


    Realizing it was senseless to respond to this madman, Evil Lan, Zen just shook his head slowly and followed his insane captor. Given how much more powerful Evil Lan was, Zen thought of himself as unlucky. Seeing no way out, Zen sighed thinking that soon he would be consumed by the fire until nothing but ashes remained. It was a pity that his hatred had


    not been reported, and he was not even capable of revenge. Zen was helpless to anything and felt resentment at the injustice of God. Damn, his weak skills!


    At least he wouldn''t make it easy for Evil Lan, who had to drag Zen the entire way. They stopped in front of the weapon refining furnace, and Evil Lan repositioned himself before forcing Zen into the furnace.


    Within the bowels of the refinery, the hearth was dark; all Zen could see were remnants burning in the fire, and a table sitting in the center of the furnace.


    Coming in behind Zen, Evil Lan placed his Hell Fire Sword on the table, turned, giving Zen a ruthless smile before leaving.


    When Evil Lan reached the mouth of the furnace, he stopped suddenly as though he''d forgotten something. He turned back, and with a flick of his fingers, some yellow powder appeared and covered Zen.


    As Zen breathed in, he inhaled a small amount of the fragrant yellow powder, and even though it was a tiny portion, it made Zen feel weak all over. He recognized the dust as the Bone-smashing Powder with Ten Flavors. This was a truly vile drug that overpowered a victim paralyzing tendons, muscles, and bones in a short time, resulting in weak limbs.


    Rather than give up and be burned alive, Zen had decided that at the chance, he would steal the Hell Fire Sword, smash the weapons refining furnace and do all he could to defeat Evil Lan. ''Damn it all to hell!'' he thought, as he watched his plan go up in smoke, all because of the damned Bone-smashing Powder with Ten Flavors. Zen felt like his body turning weak, soft and worse, it affected his internal life energy, leaving him unable to lift a finger.


    ''Is this it? Does my life end here?


    Once a predator, now the prey. I have only myself to blame for being this weak! My flaw was I let myself be bullied, and now I can''t even reconcile myself with events.''


    He gritted his teeth, and a desperate look was on his face. In the midst of his thoughts, a flame burst up in the middle of the weapons refining furnace.


    The bright, yellow flames reminded Zen of a fiery yellow lotus, and Zen realized they must be the fire of Evil Lan.


    The fire spread almost instantly when it appeared, filling the space of the weapon refining furnace. Zen felt the heat on his face, and quickly realized he was enveloped in the flames.


    "Ss-izz-zle!"


    He heard the sound as his clothes ignited, and instantly burned to ashes.


    As the flames engulfed his flesh, he felt the heat, and as he began to sweat, Zen shut his eyes, bit down preparing for pain. After what felt like a long time, he didn''t feel any pain and wondered, ''What''s going on?


    That''s strange!'' There was a slight amount of heat, not even enough to make him feel more than minor discomfort.

 Chapter 23 Refining The Body With Fire (Part Three)

    Questioning the lack of sensations thoroughly confused Zen, and his eyes flew open so he could see. When he looked down, he saw that although he was nude because his clothes were turned to ashes, his body was intact. Not only that but, his hair wasn''t even singed! Zen was thoroughly confused!


    "Is it because I am not afraid of the burning fire?" he whispered.


    An idea came to mind suddenly. It was a long shot, but Zen was desperate since he thought he was going to die. He filled his heart with ecstasy.


    Although he wasn''t sure, what he was witnessing now was related to the unbelievable scene that happened the day he was in the cellar. Zen knew something incredible occurred after that. ''Is it because I am actually a mysterious weapon, that the fire is not burning me?''


    He wondered as the fire outside of the furnace grew higher.


    Golden flames were constantly shooting through the air, shifting into large invisible hands and pummeling Zen as they neared him. More flames were doing the same to the Hell Fire Sword lying on the table simultaneously. The greater the fire grew, the hotter Zen was, and yet, oddly, he still only felt a twinge of irritation.


    Unlike Zen, the Hell Fire Sword was affected and as the body and hilt of the sword glowed red as the metal heated, the black and white runes along the sword''s length sparkled with a peculiar gleam, as though it was absorbing the fire''s energy.


    ''While refining a weapon, the most important element of the process is controlling when to burn it with fire, and then infusing the fire''s energy into the sword while it is red hot. What an interesting and unique method! Now, the flames are engulfing the Hell Fire Sword, here and there...'' Zen contemplated silently. It was notable to mention that although Zen was within the furnace, engulfed in flames himself, he was watching the refining process in its entirety with interest.


    While Zen stood there in the midst, mesmerized by the refining process, Evil Lan''s surprised voice came from outside the large kiln. Clearly, he sensed something unusual.


    Since the process had continued long enough for the hot flames to burn the Hell Fire Sword into malleable glowing metal, Evil Lan expected Zen to be ashes, but, when he looked in and saw an unscathed Zen, Evil Lan wondered, ''How can the young man still be alive?


    Although the boy is human, he carries the scent of a mysterious weapon. Something must be wrong. I wonder, could it be that the boy is as strong as a piece of mysterious weapon?''


    Thinking of the possibility excited Evil Lan, and his face lit up. Given the fact that he never used established techniques, preferring to employ more sinister methods, Evil Lan relished this. The more bizarre the material, the more he savored it.


    As a matter of fact, he incorporated the hard and


    soft raw elements into his beloved Hell Fire Sword. Now, considering that ''hard'' and ''soft'' were opposing principles by nature, weapon refiners would usually avoid combining these two materials together. However, Evil Lan went against the well-known procedures and supplies, to refine his first-class mysterious weapon, and his method proved suitable, luckily.


    All due to his hope for the best!


    Seeing the strange power Zen possessed thrilled him that much more. While the fire he had burning was second grade, it was still ten times more powerful than a general fire. Even his fire didn''t harm the young man! Evil Lan was absolutely thrilled.


    Observing the young man standing there as flames continued to lick his unharmed skin, Evil Lan was both pleasantly surprised and depressed at the time. Obviously, Zen''s body was a great treasure that didn''t fear the fire, or had his black magic failed him? What should he do now?


    After pondering over it for a while, Evil Lan reached into his pocket and he took a pill out. The pill was blue-gray with striations reminiscent of flame on the surface of the medicine.


    "The Fire Melting Pill!"


    Evil Lan exclaimed. This third-grade pill was worth a city, and it could raise a fire to the next level in a short period of time. To get this one pill, he exchanged a top rate mysterious weapon which disturbed him for a long time.


    Not willing to waste the precious Fire Melting Pill, Evil Lan had kept it for many years now.


    Hesitation filled his eyes as he turned it over, and he knew utilizing it today could be quite a gamble as he rolled it between his fingers and considered whether or not he should. Reminding himself, Evil Lan thought, ''Each time I took a big gamble, I successfully forged a prime mysterious weapon. This time, if I win the bet, it will raise the Hell Fire Sword to a higher level. Hmmm, possibly, even making it a spiritual weapon...''


    As soon as the thought popped into his mind, Evil Lan''s heart thudded hard against the walls of his chest in anticipation. Evil Lan didn''t need any further encouragement to pop the Fire Melting Pill into his mouth, excitedly, believing he would be as successful this time as he had been previously.


    As soon as Evil Lan swallowed the Fire Melting Pill, his throat was as hot as the blazing fire. While fire spurted from his eyes, ears, nostrils and mouth, he roared. The fire within now flowed through his body until it jetted from him and into the weapon refining furnace.


    Thanks to the power of the Fire Melting Pill, Evil Lan''s fire was much stronger and had increased by one rank. As it blazed, the entire cave was full of exceptional heat, and the living people in his many cages far from the heat burned, filling the cave with the screams of tortured victims and smells of flesh crisping.

 Chapter 24 Black Flames And Dragon Scales

    The vivid yellow lotus flames became unusual golden red, and each flare emitted intense heat.


    Since the fire''s strength had grown steeply, it would be impossible to withstand, and Zen''s face paled as he watched the red lotus flames shot at him.


    As expected, the fire was far more potent than it was earlier.


    Searing pain coursed through Zen as the golden-red flames slammed him. Just like the day he was in the cellar, Zen''s body inexplicably turned to dark red.


    Usually, any average person ravaged in such a high-temperature fire would mummify as the moisture sizzled into the air leaving the dried husk burning until it exploded raining ashes and soot everywhere.


    However, Zen''s body was anything but average. Instead of being destroyed by the lotus flames, he slowly turned red hot, glowing like an excellent mysterious weapon.


    Small golden foils that lay deep in Zen''s skin were drawn out and hovering over his skin. Now covered in gilded shimmering fragments, Zen''s entire body sparkled brilliantly gleaming.


    While his body glowed bright red, the golden flecks became ornate obscure tadpole text and spun. The speed they spun increased faster and faster at a hypnotic rate until, unexpectedly, small whirlpools formed on the surface of Zen''s skin.


    As the whirlpools grew, the suction they produced drew the lotus flames from the furnace to Zen and sucked into the whirlpools.


    The fire was refining his body!


    Surprisingly, his body drove all the fire into him.


    One after another, flames were absorbed into Zen''s body through every pore on him, including his arms, legs, and neck ...


    It was more excruciating than any pain he had experienced of his flesh. As the lotus flames went through his skin, they burned every inch from outside to the inside of him.


    To endure the searing pain, Zen clenched his mouth.


    What he sustained physically was mild compared to what his soul had suffered from the black flame back when he was in the cellar.


    Zen felt the toxic Bone-smashing Powder with Ten Flavors gradually fading beneath the burning fires.


    While his body reacted to the flames, Zen felt a giant furnace come to life in his mind. It had always been there, dormant and quiet until touched by the black flame. Suddenly, the calm furnace blazed out of control, flames growing and blazing. The flames hit Zen''s consciousness and flashed out his brows!


    There in front of Zen, the black flame appeared like a living creature.


    An odd cry ripped from the black flame when it emerged before it rushed at the Hell Fire Sword.


    When the Hell Fire Sword was forged by Evil Lan, it glowed red as though it was sitting in a blazing fire for a long time. As soon as the black flame touched this allegedly top grade, priceless mysterious weapon -- the Hell Fire Sword, it melted instantly leaving a few drops of hot metal where it had been laid.


    A look of shock was on Zen''s face when he saw the power of the black flame, and he wondered, ''What the hell is this black flame? How can it wreak such horror?''


    After the Hell Fire Sword melted, the eerie flames rolled the iron that remained before vanishing into Zen''s sea of consciousness. Panic swept over him. He knew his body was as hard as a mysterious weapon; however, he couldn''t put the molten metal in his head, could he?


    It astonished Zen that he was fine, and could see in his mind that the black flame sent the drops of iron to the cyan dragon on the wall of the ancient tripod.


    In his mind, the large vessel was decorated by nine dragons with their eyes closed, except the cyan dragon. As Zen watched, he saw the dragon lift its head, roar loudly and consume the drops of iron. After swallowing the iron drops, magical changes occurred, and the dragon''s dull gray scales changed.


    A single scale on the dragon''s tail began emitting a green brilliance, giving it the appearance of a flawless emerald.


    It was unexpected when the remnants from the Hell Fire Sword activated a scale of the dragon engraving!


    What Zen was seeing unfold in his mind amazed him.


    Simultaneously, Zen felt a surge from the scale, and strength flooding into his body.


    His vigor increased radically because of the scale and Zen could feel the intense power as it grew!


    All the events left Zen wondering, ''Is it feasible for me to activate many, or even all of the dragon scales while the black flame devours more mysterious weapons?


    That''s it! Yes, that''s it!'' Zen''s face brimmed with ecstasy as he put the pieces together. His experience being forged in the fires of the kiln gave Zen a deeper understanding of the great furnace.


    If one dragon scale forcibly increased his po


    wer several times, what would happen if tens of thousands of the cyan dragon scales were all stimulated? Not only the cyan dragon but, above that dragon, he saw white, purple, black and blue dragons...


    Counting nine dragons carved into the great furnace left Zen wondering, how incredible his might would be if he stimulated the scales of all of them!


    Zen wet his lips nervously and shook his head, struggling to wrap his head around the fantastic idea. This was all so far beyond his vision.


    As he pondered what he knew, he realized how difficult it was to trigger the dragon scales.


    According to Evil Lan, the Hell Fire Sword was a topmost mysterious weapon and extremely valuable.


    Since it was only the essence of such a treasure that initiated a single dragon scale, Zen imagined how many it would take to light up thousands of them. ''Even if all the treasures in the entire eastern region were smelted, it would barely light up all the cyan dragon''s scales, and not even touch the other eight dragons above the cyan dragon, ''


    concluded Zen silently as he discerned. He needed to analyze everything thoroughly and not act hastily.


    Determined to guard himself against arrogance and impatience, Zen sat cross-legged in the blazing fire, as the golden whirlpools on his skin sucked in more lotus flames, and continued to forge his body.


    Outside the furnace, Evil Lan was looking in, with an expression of doubt as he watched the strange scene. Unable to sense the presence of his Hell Fire Sword any more, he wondered if it had been merged into the boy. Evil Lan couldn''t sense the boy''s life energy either though.


    Noticing that the fires he released into the furnace were dwindling, Evil Lan was curious about what was going on in there.


    Maybe, he managed to create his spiritual weapon! Was it possible he succeeded?


    As every weapon refiner knew, when the refining process neared completion, it entered the condensing stage which was when the treasure absorbed a large quantity of fire before it came out.


    The amount of fire consumed during the condensing stage varied depending on the rank of the treasure. The higher the level, the more fire the weapon would devour.


    Thinking back to when he forged the Hell Fire Sword, Evil Lan remembered that during the condensing stage it absorbed fire for two hours before it was completed.


    Three hours had already passed today...


    Since the higher the class of the weapon meant the more fire it needed to absorb in the condensing stage, and therefore the more time it took, Evil Lan thought it was highly likely that the new treasure in the furnace was a spiritual weapon!


    Thinking about it excited Evil Lan and his heart suddenly started racing as he concluded, ''Yes! It has to be! Only a spiritual weapon can absorb as much fire as this throughout the condensation process.''


    Without hesitation, Evil Lan immediately breathed more fire from his body into the furnace immediately.


    Though Evil Lan sent a ton of fire into the furnace, it appeared there was a small black hole in the furnace which devoured as much fire as Evil Lan sent in.


    Six hours later, Evil Lan was panting and drenched in sweat.


    As a weapon refiner, Evil Lan was further along than other refiners and maintained more control over fire than the others his rank. While being a half-step into the nature level, releasing too much fire at once was still difficult for him.


    At the same time, Evil Lan was concerned about whether or not he had done enough. A weapon refiner knew precisely how vital the condensing stage was. If he didn''t correctly refine the weapon during the condensing stage, the weapon within the furnace wouldn''t be forged successfully!


    Impatient as he was, Evil Lan could only grit his teeth as he waited and fed the dying fires.


    Twenty hours later......


    Squeezing the final fires out of his body, when Evil Lan couldn''t keep himself up anymore, he plopped down to the ground, exhausted and gasping for air.


    He sat slumped on the ground gulping in air and recovering for some time, and then, he got up slowly. Evil Lan took several black pills out and popped them into his mouth. It wasn''t too long for him to feel rejuvenated, and replenished after he swallowed the pills and headed for the furnace.


    Still unsure whether or not he had succeeded, Evil Lan had a puzzled look on his face as he stood in front of the furnace.


    Reaching out tentatively, Evil Lan turned the handle and opened the door. He could not sense anything still, which gave him an unsettling sensation. Just as the door swung open fully, a golden fist slammed into his face with the brutal force.

 Chapter 25 Freedom (Part One)

    Since Evil Lan had been half-step into the nature level, he reacted promptly to danger. Faced with an oncoming punch from Zen, he pedaled his feet and quickly flew back to elude the blow.


    However, Zen was quicker. His fist made contact with Evil Lan''s body. Since Evil Lan had moved backward, the movement had offset some of the power from Zen. Upon impact, however, Evil Lan''s face suddenly became red, veins throbbed on his forehead, and his blood rushed around. Evil Lan spat out the blood pooling in his mouth. He stared at Zen before saying, "You are still alive!"


    "Well, thanks to you, I am not dead yet!" Zen replied. With fists clenched, Zen remained outwardly composed. However, his chest heaved with the effort to control the fear surging through him. Zen had just stepped into the organ refining level, and he could withstand a weight of 3000 pounds. Moreover, with the dragon scale on the cyan dragon relief, his strength could be tripled. Since he had planned to catch Evil Lan off-guard, Zen''s punch carried almost all of his full strength.


    He hadn''t expected that Evil Lan would react so promptly. He had almost avoided being hit by Zen''s punch.


    Evil Lan was even more shocked than Zen. ''This young man is just at the beginning of the organ refining level. Logically, my strength is superior to him. I should have no trouble killing him. But his strength increased rapidly after he emerged from the weapon refining furnace. Could this be human refining? What is going on?'' Evil Lan frowned in confusion as he thought about what had just happened.


    If he hadn''t been quick enough, Evil Lan might have been killed by the first punch thrown by this young man. That would be an unbearable shame to Evil Lan. That could not happen again!


    "Where is the Hell Fire Sword?" Evil Lan asked. Although Evil Lan had many things to worry about, the whereabouts of his sword concerned him the most.


    Zen lifted his shoulders and spread his hands. A smile stretched across Zen''s face, exposing two rows of white teeth. Then he said, "You don''t know? Apparently, I ate it!"


    "You ate it? You are lying to me." Evil Lan roared. His eyes widened, and an expression of total disbelief filled his face. The Hell Fire Sword was a top grade mysterious weapon. How could it have been eaten? That too by a person? A human stomach could not digest a sword let alone a mysterious one! Evil Lan''s eyes roamed over Zen. The young man was completely naked. There was no place to hide the Hell Fire Sword. The weapon refining furnace was also empty. Since the sword was nowhere to be found, Evil Lan was certain that Zen had done something to it. But all other factors concluded otherwise. And yet, Evil Lan couldn''t believe Zen.


    He screamed with anger, "Where is my Hell Fire Sword?"


    "I''m not kidding. I really did eat it," said Zen. Zen was telling the truth. The Hell Fi


    re Sword had turned into hot metal essence by the black flame. Then the cyan dragon in his mind had swallowed it. In other words, it had indeed been ''eaten'' by him.


    "Well, since you say that you ate the Hell Fire Sword, I will open your body to see if it is inside your stomach or not!" said Evil Lan viciously. As soon as Evil Lan finished speaking, his body moved rapidly, and his hands, like dead branches, flew toward Zen''s chest. He was going to rip open Zen''s stomach with his bare hands!


    Of course, Zen wouldn''t just stand still and wait for Evil Lan to kill him. After staying inside the weapon refining furnace for such a long time, Zen felt as though his physical strength had increased to another level again. His body felt as strong as a middle-grade mysterious weapon! He shuffled his feet lightly to invigorate the life energy inside his body. Soon his bones rattled and the sound, as loud as thunder, echoed in the caves.


    "Purple Fist Strength!"


    He would have to fight Evil Lan! Zen was not weak. His body had become a mysterious weapon, and so, he was confident of his abilities. And the fire from Evil Lan had calcinated his body further. As for strength, although Zen was only at the beginning of the organ refining level, with the help of the awakening power of the dragon scale, he could beat someone who was half-step into the nature level. He could by no means allow himself to be trampled upon.


    What was more, Evil Lan had been burning him for twenty hours. That was nearly a whole day and a night. After twenty hours of weapon refining, Zen thought that Evil Lan''s strength might have diminished and he would be like a spent arrow.


    The moment the two men were about to fight head-on, Evil Lan moved aside quickly, his body drawing an arc in the air. And then he brought down his arm, as swiftly and precisely as a sword.


    "Flame Sword!"


    "Ping!"


    Evil Lan was indeed strong and powerful since he had been half-step into the nature level. His attack was also fueled with the burning power of his life fire. His hand tore open a crack in Zen''s skin like a sword would do.


    They both were shocked!


    What surprised Evil Lan was that Zen''s body was unusually hard. Evil Lan''s attack had managed to open only a crack on Zen''s skin! From what he could remember, even the bodies of special races on the savage land were not as hard as Zen''s. His Flame Sword contained the strength of his fire. The force he used could rive the muscles of iron.


    But the moment that his sword cut through Zen''s body and touched Zen''s bones, a sound like that of steel colliding could be heard. ''What happened? Is the young man''s body a mysterious weapon?'' thought Evil Lan.


    What surprised Zen was that Evil Lan had been agile enough to escape. No matter how hard Zen tried, he could not even capture Evil Lan''s shadow. This frustrated Zen.

 Chapter 26 Freedom (Part Two)

    "Hum, despite being at the organ refining level, you are physically hard. Nonetheless, you are going to die here today. I will refine your body when you die to compensate for my losses!" said Evil Lan. With these words, he swooped toward Zen with a burst of shadows.


    "Ping!" The sword cut Zen.


    Another incision was seen on him. A moment later, blood gushed from Zen''s wound.


    "Bang!"


    "Bump!"


    Every time Evil Lan attacked him, a terrible wound could be seen on Zen''s body.


    The situation was disheartening for Zen. Although he was physically strong, he was not as fast as Evil Lan. With the advantage of speed on Evil Lan''s side, Zen felt that there was a very real chance that Evil Lan might kill him.


    In this case, he had no choice but to take a risk!


    All of a sudden, Zen closed his eyes, and his arms fell to his sides. It seemed as though he had been defeated.


    Since he couldn''t catch Evil Lan, it was useless to keep trying.


    "Giving up so soon, poor young man?" Evil Lan said contemptuously. Evil Lan was battle-hardened. When he saw that Zen had given up resisting, he raised an eyebrow. He knew better than to drop his guard for even a second. Without any hesitation, he continued to slash Zen at very high speed. Two more wounds were seen on Zen.


    "Hey, hey, let me see what else you can endure!" Evil Lan continued.


    His shrill laugh echoed off the walls as he lunged at Zen again. This time he seemed to slash at Zen one more time. Just as he neared Zen, Evil Lan changed direction and went round to Zen''s back. Then his hands burst with blossoming lotus fire.


    With another shrill laugh, Evil Lan approached Zen again. This time, he aimed for Zen''s head. He was going to rip Zen''s head off!


    ''The right time is coming!'' Zen thought.


    When Evil Lan was only seconds'' away, Zen suddenly opened his eyes. He had been patiently waiting for this opportunity. Before Evil Lan could land his attack, Zen covered his head with his arms.


    The moment Evil Lan touched Zen''s arms, the young man grasped and squeezed Evil Lan''s arms. At the same time, he firmly clasped Evil Lan''s skinny arms. After that, Zen shouted," Get off my back!"


    "Bump!"


    Zen threw Evil Lan to the ground with all of his strength. Although the cave was made up of hard stone, it could not withstand this enormous momentum. Under the impact of the explosion, the ground was torn apart, and in the middle of the huge hole lay Evil Lan.


    Dazed, Evil Lan took a moment to compose himself before struggling to climb out of the hole. Zen, however, simply did not give him the opportunity. ''This crazy man is very strong and fast. If I let him climb out of this hole, I may not be able to catc


    h him again. Opportunity knocks only once! I can''t give him a chance.'' Zen rationalized.


    Zen was like a mad beast. He squatted over Evil Lan and unleashed at least a dozen punches in quick succession. The strength of each punch thrown by Zen weighed about thousands of pounds.


    He panted from the exertion. After wiping his brow, Zen looked at Evil Lan who was lying in the rubble in the hole. Zen narrowed his eyes when he felt as though Evil Lan was no longer breathing.


    He had beaten someone who was half-way to mastering the nature level? Considering that Zen only had the strength of a person at the organ refining level, this was undoubtedly a very difficult feat.


    Evil Lan had depleted the fire inside his body, as he had been refining for nearly a day and a night. And then, he had been attacked by Zen.


    In this case, he had still counterattacked successfully. If Zen reacted a little slower, his neck would have been broken by Evil Lan. In that case, Zen would have died, not Evil Lan.


    Life was so unpredictable! It was impossible to figure out when and where disaster would strike.


    It took a moment for the development to sink in. Zen had just defeated a notorious nature level master, with his bare hands.


    Zen congratulated himself before calming down. He needed to check the eight living people pinned to the weapon refining furnace. When Zen began walking toward them, it looked like they were dead. It almost seemed as though their flesh and blood had been sucked away from their bones.


    When he went to investigate the iron cages closer, Zen saw that those people had been burned to death by Evil Lan''s fire. Their bodies looked so horrible that Zen closed his eyes and turned away. ''Poor people!''


    Zen silently mourned for the people in his heart. After composing himself, Zen began wandering around the vast cave. Although he had examined the cave twice now, he saw nothing of value except some broken copper and iron.


    Now in the center of the cave, Zen frowned as he thought about what he had found. If a general weapon refiner was wealthy, then an established weapon refiner like Evil Lan could not be so poor. There must be some treasures!


    After searching for a while longer, a thought occurred to Zen. He rushed to the hole and dragged Evil Lan''s body out. Evil Lan''s body had now become a skeleton. There was not a single part of the body that was left intact.


    Zen''s gaze fell on Evil Lan''s right hand. On the middle finger was a black ring.


    An idea spurred Zen to reach for the ring from Evil Lan''s middle finger. However, as soon as Zen touched the ring, a sense of coolness enveloped his fingers.


    Sure enough, this was a space ring!

 Chapter 27 Freedom (Part Three)

    The space ring was indeed special. As the name implied, the ring contained a space in it. A space where a person could hide something of value.


    This kind of space ring was an incredible one! Even though it looked like a small space ring, and the storage space was also small, the value could be comparable to that of a top grade mysterious weapon.


    No one had ever owned such a treasure in the Luo Clan!


    Although Zen had never seen a real one space ring before, he had learned about such magical items from books.


    Since Evil Lan was now dead and his soul had vanished, this space ring had become an object without a master. That meant that Zen could be the master of this space ring.


    Something clicked in his mind, and Zen felt his spirit merging with the cold spirit that had come from the space ring. Then Zen saw all the things Evil Lan had saved in the ring.


    The space inside the space ring was not large. He estimated that the space was no larger than a few square meters. This was surprisingly little for a space ring. However, there were many treasures inside.


    Evil Lan had stored in the ring various precious ores used in weapon refining. This included pure iron, red seal stone, blood amber steel, and many others. They had all been piled up neatly in the corner. These ores were certainly very precious treasures for weapon refiners! They were also very expensive. Zen estimated that he could sell them for a good price.


    Beside the ores, there were also semi-transparent spars. Spars were also known as cubic crystals. Zen knew this from his studies as well.


    This kind of cubic crystal was the real currency in the Empire. Gold and silver were common people''s currency, and they used it for trading. But for the cultivators, gold was as worthless as dirt. But cubic crystals were different!


    Although these cubic crystals seemed like the regular kind, they could store pure life energy, which was a must for masters at the nature level.


    Because cubic crystals were easy to cut and carry, they had gradually become the preferred currency of the world of cultivators.


    Zen estimated that there were hundreds of cubic crystals in the ring. This was a considerable sum. So Evil Lan was not poor!


    In addition, there were other treasures such as a long sword with demonic gleam, a bloody red hammer, etc. The grade of these treasures was not low. Since Zen was not a specialist, he gauged that they were probably middle-grade mysterious weapons.


    On the other side of the space ring, there were a variety of refining books, as well as some unknown pills. While all


    these treasures and seemingly common items had been placed together, in an unorganized pile, a knife that lay hidden in the pile caught Zen''s attention.


    The knife appeared to be very old. The surface of the knife was pitted, and the handle was broken. Even though the blade of the knife was completely rolled up, Zen could see that in some places it was charred.


    Despite its appearance, Zen felt as though the knife had a very special magic power. It was this special magic power that had a strong attraction to Zen. This broken knife was definitely precious! Maybe it would be of some use to him.


    Thinking of that, Zen reached in and took the broken knife out of the space ring. Then he examined it carefully. The longer he held it, Zen felt as though the knife was becoming clearer and sharper. After a while, it looked as if it could cut anything in the world. "What a knife!"


    The knife, even though broken, still had a strong flavor. Its grade must be unimaginably high. Surely Evil Lan also knew that this knife was not a common object. Probably he hadn''t found a good way to fix this knife till now. No wonder he had saved it inside the space ring.


    ''Since Evil Lan couldn''t fix it, I am afraid that I have no way to fix it either.'' Zen told himself. After playing around the knife for a while, he put it back into the space ring and walked out of the cave.


    He followed the long winding path, all the way to the outermost part of the cave. Once there, Zen stepped on the big tree and began to climb. He needed to get to the top of the cliff. There was a handrail alongside the cliff section, which saved him a lot of effort. After borrowing force from the handrail several times, Zen quickly reached the top of the cliff.


    Once on top of the cliff, Zen took a deep breath of fresh air and bathed in the warm sunshine. A big smile finally lit up his face.


    He had been lucky to leave the Luo Clan safely, escape from Evil Lan, and get so many treasures from Evil Lan.


    More importantly, he had attained his freedom.


    After being a prisoner in the cellar of the Luo Clan for two years, Zen had finally escaped. He was free. He could go anywhere he wanted!


    He looked to his right and then dashed forward.


    Although he was in a good mood, Zen was not intoxicated by it. He knew that he had more important things to do.


    His next destination was the Imperial Capital.


    More specifically, he had to reach the center of the legendary Burning Sky Empire, as that was where Cloud Sect was located. And his sister Yan was trapped in the Hell mountain at Cloud Sect.

 Chapter 28 The Imperial Capital (Part One)

    After traversing towering mountains and rolling hills, hiking over plains, passing many cities and various counties, Zen finally arrived in the Imperial Capital.


    Standing in front of the high golden gate of the city, Zen was in awe. His mouth fell open in a silent ''wow''. Because he had thought that the C County was a large city. And he was surprised to see this golden gate which was several hundred feet high.


    Having read many books on the Imperial Capital, in which writers elaborated on the grandeur of the capital, Zen was mentally prepared for the magnificence and luxury of the capital. However, he was still profoundly shocked when he first stepped into the Imperial Capital and felt like a country bumpkin visiting a city for the first time.


    The books Zen had read were very detailed, and some had illustrations of the landscapes in the Imperial Capital, including illustrations like the golden gate towering over Zen now. The name of the gate was Heaven''s Arch, which was four hundred feet high and one hundred feet wide.


    Thirty years ago, the Princess Qi of Ogre was married to the Prince of the Burning Empire, and the princess Qi brought the Heaven''s Arch with her as her dowry.


    Even though Zen had imagined how the Heaven''s Arch would look many times in the past, seeing the golden archway in person, he finally understood why this was the dowry Princess Qi brought with her. The Heaven''s Arch was made of gold, and gemstones were inlaid over it, making gleam shine in the sun, with a rainbow of sparkling colors reflecting off it. Perhaps, Ogre wanted to make sure that the people in the Eastern Region knew every time they walked through this expensive dowry how poor they were.


    After passing through the Heaven''s Arch, Zen walked along the Imperial Capital''s main street, enjoying the local sights. As he walked, Zen even chanced to see the Incandescent Pavilion that stood majestically over 1000 feet high. He saw the enormous Temple of Dragon and several chariots flying by.


    Though intrigued, Zen did not stop to enjoy these stunning spectacles. His interest was in finding the Cloud Sect, and Zen wouldn''t stop until he reached his destination.


    Periodically stopping as he strolled down the street slowed Zen''s trip. Because he asked anyone he could about the Cloud Sect. Finally, he came to the Cloud Sect after searching for an entire day.


    The tremendous Cloud Sect made up nearly a quarter of the Imperial Capital, which was several times larger than the Imperial Palace. If the rolling Cloud Mountains that lay behind the Cloud Sect was counted, the area of the Cloud Sect would be much larger.


    Compared with the luxuriousness of the dazzling Heaven''s Arch, the gate leading to the Cloud Sect seemed plain. Aside from two words in large lettering at the top of the gate, there were no decorations. Surrounding the entrance were large green trees that h


    ad green vines entwined. Each factor added to the charm of the ancient building.


    In front of the gate, two lines formed for sign-ups.


    The one to the left had only no more than ten people, while the line on the right extended for miles. At a glance, it was difficult to see where this group''s line ended. Zen counted quickly in his head and surmised that there were more than a thousand people waiting to the right.


    He did not know the difference between these two lines, so, he went to the left first. There were not so many people and soon, it was Zen''s turn.


    The receptionist in charge of enrolling the students glanced up at Zen, and extended his hand as he demanded," Please, show me your noble clan certificate."


    "Noble clan certificate?" echoed Zen in a surprised manner.


    Seeing Zen''s blank look, the receptionist pointed down at his table while he explained," This line is only for applicants from noble clans. If you do not have a noble clan certificate, you need to be in that line." As he spoke, the receptionist pointed to the long line to the right.


    That cleared up any confusion Zen had about why there weren''t many people standing in line here. It was dedicated to serving those of noble clans.


    The noble clan was a special class bestowed on families by the emperor.


    Throughout the entire Empire, there were only a small number of powerful families which were deemed noble clan, and most of those families were located in the Imperial Capital.


    Since the Luo Clan of C County was not one of the noble clans, Zen could not show the noble clan certificate to the receptionist.


    Watching the scene unfolded, people standing in the long line burst into laughter with contemptuous looks on their faces. Waiting in line like that was boring, aside from gossiping with each other to pass the time, there was nothing to do. Zen''s actions broke the monotony and were entertaining for the people standing there waiting for their turns.


    "Where did this bumpkin come from?"


    "He didn''t know what the noble clan certificate was. How dare he come to the Cloud Sect? Do you see what kind of people come to the Cloud Sect these days? That''s funny."


    Ignoring the taunts, Zen didn''t acknowledge the harassing opinions and gave the receptionist a nod before walking to the end of the line on the right. Contemptuous glares from other hopeful applicants followed Zen.


    The past two years that Zen lived as a slave in the Luo Clan, and his harrowing escape from death had numbed Zen to the sort of insignificant provocations and ridicules these strangers tossed at him. Right now, nothing could annoy him.


    The line was moving slowly, and since Zen didn''t know anyone there, he decided to use the time to refresh himself and closed his eyes.


    "Is this your first time here to take the initial exam?" came a gentle voice unexpectedly from in front of Zen.

 Chapter 29 The Imperial Capital (Part Two)

    Keeping his eyes closed, Zen nodded. A few seconds later, he opened his eyes and saw a young man standing in front of him. Zen noticed the young man had a benign face and was about eighteen or nineteen years old.


    When the young man saw Zen''s eyes open, he smiled slightly and said, "This is my second time!"


    "What''s the initial exam?" Sensing kindness in the young man, Zen felt comfortable enough to ask. He knew the Cloud Sect''s requirements for disciples to be recruited were very strict, and applicants had to pass multiple exams to qualify for admittance to the Cloud College. However, he was not from the Imperial Capital, so he wasn''t very clear about the processes used in selecting recruits for the Cloud Sect.


    The young man smiled congenially and said, "The Cloud Sect is a prominent place famous for having the finest refining instructors in the world. Countless people want to join the Cloud Sect, and each needs to be assessed. Since there are too many candidates, the Cloud Sect stipulates that, except for people from the noble clans, applicants must pass the initial exam before they become eligible to take the Cloud Sect''s exams."


    "Thank you for sharing that. If you don''t mind, would you tell me, what are the contents of the initial exam?" Zen had heard it was difficult to gain admission into the Cloud Sect. After listening to this young man explain the exams, Zen realized there were a lot of rules which made him wonder what Perrin had sacrificed. Because Perrin not only got into the Cloud Sect but also was recruited as an inner disciple immediately.


    Chuckling, the young man said, "At the professed initial exam, they will gather us together for a race. The Cloud Sect specifies that those who are permitted to participate in the initial exam need to be at the bone refining level at least, and although people who have reached the organ or marrow refining levels can participate, the requirements for each level vary. For example, applicants at the bone refining level need to run a predetermined distance, but, applicants at the organ refining level need to run further..."


    ''Is it just running?'' wondered Zen. As he thought, he blinked. The initial exam sounded easy. After all, everyone could run. When Zen arrived at the organ refining level, his breaths were longer, allowing him to run longer and farther.


    Now that he knew what the initial exam entailed, Zen was more at ease, and he chatted with the young man as they waited. Through their conversation, Zen learned the young man''s name was Nory Mo, and he was part of a small clan here in the Imperial Capital.


    The Cloud Sect''s initial exam was held once a m


    onth. Nory failed last month, so he was here for his second attempt at the exam this year.


    The two men became engrossed in discussing trivia. The line moved along, and before they knew it, it was Nory''s turn. And Zen was the next.


    After registering his name, the receptionist handed Zen a jade pendant that had his identity information recorded on it.


    As he carefully put the jade pendant away, Nory said, "Zen, make sure you rest well tonight. Running may sound simple, but the trail the Cloud Sect has is unique. You''ll be able to receive more details the day after tomorrow." Nory thought for a moment and then he added, "Zen, you''re not from the Imperial Capital. If you don''t have anywhere to stay, you can come and stay at my place."


    Indeed, Nory Mo was a warm-hearted person.


    However, as kind as Nory was, Zen politely declined his invitation. After living in slavery for the past two years, he understood how cold the world was, and through his experience, he knew there was a price for everything. While he wouldn''t suspect everyone completely, Zen also would not trust anyone easily.


    Just then a group of people came through the gate from the Cloud Sect. A few were wearing black robes, but most of them wore white robes.


    Noticing Zen watching them thoughtfully, Nory offered, "The ones donned in white robes are the outer disciples. We will earn the right to wear those if we pass the initial exam and the Cloud Sect''s test."


    "What about the black robes?" asked Zen.


    "Black robes? They are the inner disciples! The standings of the inner disciples, as well as the pills they receive every month, are superior to the disciples in white robes. My father''s goal for me is that I can become an inner disciple and wear a black robe," stated Nory with a look longing on his face.


    Acknowledging Nory with a nod, Zen reflected on the day Ken declared that Perrin was enrolled as an inner disciple. What was the reason behind that? Was it for the effects of the Magical Pill that Perrin could progress more rapidly with his refining skills?


    While Zen was lost in thought, six or seven disciples dressed in black robes walked towards him. One of them stared at Zen with a strange look on his face. "Zen! Well, isn''t this a surprise? You''re not dead! Do you want to study at the Cloud Sect? How dare you come to sign up for the exam? That''s absurd! Ha!"


    Hearing his name, Zen squinted, looking at the man who was shouting at him. Inside, his chest constricted with disgust when he got a good look at the man. What a coincidence! He was just thinking of him, and now, surprisingly, Perrin was standing in front of him.

 Chapter 30 Provocation (Part One)

    Zen knew that he would meet Perrin at Cloud Sect sooner or later. However, he did not expect to encounter Perrin even before he had taken the initial exam.


    After hearing what Perrin said, Zen realized that his cousin knew about the events that transpired on Family Practicing Day. If that was true, then Perrin would be aware that Zen had maimed Andrew in such a way that he would be unable to cultivate permanently.


    "Cloud Sect is open to people from all over the world. You can join it, so can I!" Zen said calmly.


    Perrin laughed and replied, "You are the rebel of the Luo Clan. After all that you have done, everyone in the Clan wants to kill you. You want to join Cloud Sect? Dream on! I''m gonna maim you today!"


    Then, Perrin''s body shone with a purple light. He stepped toward Zen with a contemptuous sneer.


    Zen snorted. Perrin was behaving just as he had predicted! All of Zen''s muscles tightened as he took a defensive stance. Perrin''s strength seemed to have improved with his training at Cloud Sect. But Perrin didn''t know that Zen had become stronger as well! ''I have already defeated Evil Lan, a master who was mid-way to the nature level. How can Perrin beat me?'' Zen thought.


    Just then, a black-robed disciple caught Perrin''s left arm and said, "Hey, Perrin, calm down! We are at Cloud Sect. You''ve got to be careful not to violate the rules, or you will receive severe punishment."


    Perrin frowned when being reminded of the rules. Apparently, the penalty for breaking Cloud Sect''s laws was severe. And so he hesitated.


    Then, a young man with distinguished bearing, named Billy, walked out from amongst the black-robed disciples. It appeared as though Billy was the big shot amongst these guys. He said," Perrin, has this guy ever clashed with you?"


    Perrin bowed respectfully to Billy before nodding and replying, "Yes, he is a rebel of my Clan. As the young master of the Luo Clan, I am obliged to punish him."


    "Kill him then! Though the rules of Cloud Sect are strict, this guy has just registered for the initial exam. Thus, it doesn''t break the rules if you kill him, and I can cope with any trouble that you may encounter after that," Billy said impassively. It sounded almost as though Billy could determine whether Zen would live or die.


    Perrin had intended to fight with Zen, but he gave up this idea after hearing what Billy Wang said. It was all known that there was no free lunch, so Perrin didn''t want to owe Billy one due to Zen. So Perrin turned to Billy and said, "I''m in no hurry! I''d like to see if this guy can pass the exams to enter Cloud Sect. If he fails, I will kill him as easily as I can kill an ant. If he succeeds, I will be able to find many opportunities to kill him in the future."


    The


    n Perrin turned to Zen and said, "I will let you live for a few more days. Don''t get comfortable though. I will kill you someday soon!"


    Zen split his sides laughing at Perrin''s threat. He pointed at Perrin with his index finger and said, "a-hah! That''s complete bullshit! Perrin, did no one from the Luo Clan tell you the truth? I defeated Ken Luo not just Andrew! How can you kill me?"


    After saying that, Zen exuded an aura using his full strength. His body had been refined and burned by Evil Lan''s fire for twenty hours. The intensity of his body had thus reached the level of a mid-grade mysterious weapon.


    Although Zen was still at the organ-refining level, his exuding strength was so powerful that Perrin felt as though a tsunami was crushing him. The intensity was too much to bear, and Perrin found himself short of breath.


    Perrin took a step back when faced with Zen''s power. Two days ago, a Luo Clan carrier pigeon had brought a letter to Perrin. The note had been very brief. It had only mentioned that Zen had made Andrew unable to use his power any more. It said nothing about the fact that Zen had beaten Ken Luo.


    Not long ago, Zen had been at the flesh refining level. But now, it seemed as though his strength had increased tremendously.


    Originally, Perrin was quite confident about his ability to beat Zen. He had taken the Magical Pill, which had led to an incredible improvement in his cultivating speed. Moreover, as Perrin had built a friendly relationship with Billy, he had been accepted as an inner disciple at Cloud Sect.


    In the past, Perrin''s strength had been far superior to Zen''s, and so he had never felt threatened by Zen.


    Since it was said in the letter from the Luo Clan that Zen must have died because he had been grabbed by an evil weapon refiner Evil Lan, Perrin didn''t pay much attention to it. He had almost forgotten about Zen.


    However, Perrin didn''t expect that Zen was still alive and would show up in front of him. Furthermore, Zen''s strength had improved to the extent where Perrin was worried that Zen was no longer weaker than him.


    Seeing Zen''s arrogance, the faces of several inner disciples standing by Perrin''s side darkened.


    Zen was even not a disciple of Cloud Sect. Even if Zen successfully passed the exams and entered Cloud Sect, he would only be an outer disciple. How could he be so arrogant in front of a group of the inner disciples?


    The only thing they were eager to do now was to teach Zen a lesson with their fists.


    They all stared at Billy because of his status in the group.


    Billy smiled calmly before speaking to Perrin. "Perrin, it seems that this barking dog of your Clan is a bit fierce and annoying. What are you waiting for? Go beat him!"

 Chapter 31 Provocation (Part Two)

    The second Billy had finished giving the order, Perrin got ready to fight Zen.


    Just at this moment, a flash emerged from inside Cloud Sect and a flying chariot shot out toward them.


    Two armored people stood on the flying chariot. They seemed to be patrolling the area.


    "They are inspectors," said a black-robed disciple.


    Perrin''s expression turned sour when he saw the flying chariot. According to the strict rules of the Cloud Sect, battles among disciples were forbidden.


    However, there were so many disciples in Cloud Sect, and each had been cultivating martial arts that battles could not be avoided altogether. All the disciples knew that they needed to be careful about the inspectors catching them fighting with each other.


    Since the inspectors were just above the crowd, Perrin and his friends could not do anything.


    Aware of the current situation, Billy sneered at Zen. Then he patted Perrin''s left shoulder before strutting away with his hands crossed behind his back.


    Perrin said to Zen, "You are very fortunate today! Although you have come to the Imperial Capital, no matter whether you join Cloud Sect or not, there is no chance for you to live! I will not fight you today. However, be ready! I will wait for the right opportunity to kill you! If you are smart, you''ll find poison or another means to commit suicide in some street corner. That death will be less painful than what I will do to you. The choice is yours!" Then Perrin and the other black-robed disciples turned and followed Billy.


    After the group of black-robed disciples left, Nory who had been standing far away, slowly approached Zen. His voice was full of admiration as he said, "Zen, you are so brave! Even the outer disciples don''t dare to provoke the inner disciples. You dared to anger them even though you''ve only just signed up for the initial exam? You r


    had inexplicably flown out to swallow the Hell Fire Sword. Then it lit up a dragon scale, which had significantly increased Zen''s strength. If Zen could light the second dragon scale, his strength would increase manifold.


    Prior to his meeting with Perrin, Zen had not been eager to light up the second dragon scale. However, after having met Perrin, Zen knew that joining Cloud Sect was going to be more difficult than he had anticipated. This was a turning point for Zen.


    To deal with the crisis, Zen needed to increase his strength as he did not have anyone to rely on in the Imperial Capital.


    After all the preparation had been done, Zen closed his eyes and meditated. He was trying to communicate with the furnace in his mind.


    The black fire had previously appeared in Zen''s mind on its own initiative. As a result, it had melted the Hell Fire Sword into iron essence.


    Would the black fire reappear or not? Zen was unsure.


    The huge furnace quietly floated in Zen''s mind. There seemed to be no movement that would indicate the appearance of the black fire. Zen''s spirit slowly approached the furnace in an attempt to rouse it.


    Zen circled the furnace two times, but nothing happened. How did the furnace start?

 Chapter 32 The Initial Exam (Part One)

    In the ancient refining theory book that Zen had read earlier, there was no record of the furnace''s usage. There had been only a few magical words which meant Zen had to explore how to use it himself.


    As he cleared his mind in meditation, Zen focused, and eventually, his soul stopped in front of the large furnace. Among the nine dragon engravings, only the cyan dragon was awakened. Now the majestic dragon stared down at Zen.


    On thinking of how his soul was once nearly shattered under the gaze of the cyan dragon, Zen was dismayed.


    Since Zen''s soul was trained in the considerable furnace, the power of his soul had been significantly improved.


    Under the cyan dragon''s gaze, Zen felt overwhelming pressure, like he was being crushed under a mountain, and was short of breath, all from the power of the dragon staring down at him in his mind.


    Zen''s soul was strong enough to resist being overwhelmed by the cyan dragon''s gaze, but he needed to find a way to communicate with it.


    In the face of the raw energy from the fearsome cyan dragon, Zen felt like a mere speck of dust. Zen moved to get closer to the cyan dragon relief, but the closer he got, the more pressure he felt. He struggled to resist the impulse to run away.


    ''Don''t stop! Keep going!'' Zen urged himself inwardly to rush forward. The pressure increased with each step, slowing Zen as he neared the cyan dragon until his movements were labored like he were trudging through thick mud.


    The cyan dragon exuded such extreme pressure, and Zen''s teeth trembled. The force was so great that Zen had a difficult time resisting the impulse to flee.


    Howev


    ever, the results weren''t what Zen expected. A mid-grade mysterious weapon could be melted into a drop of iron essence, but the size of iron essence that was melted from a low-grade mysterious weapon was a tiny bit bigger than a speck of dust and Zen had to squint to see it.


    After smelting all the mysterious weapons that were in the space ring, Zen had five drops of iron essence.


    Finally, the wisp of black flame rolled the five drops of iron essence up and jumped back into Zen''s mind.


    Zen looked into his mind at the situation. When the black flame placed the five drops of iron essence into the cyan dragon''s mouth, it trembled for a while, and then a second scale on the dragon began to shimmer a green light, seeming to light up.


    ''It succeeded?'' A smile lit up Zen''s face as he thought. He knew his strength would be magnified by the power of another activated dragon scale.


    However, the green scale twinkled for a few seconds and then faded slowly.


    Watching the scene, Zen''s face darkened. Did he need six drops of iron essence to activate a dragon scale?

 Chapter 33 The Initial Exam (Part Two)

    Yet, life was full of surprises, and you never knew how things would turn out. Just as the twinkling light of the dragon scale was about to die, the whole scale suddenly lit up again emitting brilliant green light.


    Zen relaxed, for only five drops of iron essence were needed to activate a scale on the dragon.


    As the scale lit up, Zen felt the amazing strength coursed through every part of his body. Zen clenched his fists consciously and stifled a roar as he felt the welcome sensation of strength saturating him.


    After a while, Zen quieted down. Lighting up two of the dragon''s scales was good, but at this stage, Zen needed to improve his strength quicker. If he could light a few more dragon scales, he would easily beat Perrin!


    Except, Zen had smelted all of his mysterious weapons, leaving him to wonder, where he could find more.


    While Zen had hundreds of cubic crystals, that would only get him one or two low-grade mysterious weapons because the price for a mysterious weapon was so high. It was just a drop in the bucket of what he needed.


    Suddenly, Zen thought about the broken flying knife that was in the space ring.


    Even though the flying knife was so shabby looking, it seemed to have great power, so the level must be quite high.


    Zen thought about it for a while, but in the end, he restrained his impulse to smelt the flying knife. If the flying knife were really as extraordinary as he thought, it would be crazy to melt it carelessly.


    First things first, Zen''s priority should be gaining entry into the Cloud Sect.


    he Cloud Sect and walked along a path. At the end of the path, they made a right into a vast square.


    Floating in the air at the square were a couple of flying chariots with disciples who maintained order during the initial exam.


    As all the applicants filed into the square, the white-bearded elder appeared in the front and announced, "I believe most of you are familiar with the rules of the initial exam, but I''ll remind you again. From the square, you are to run forward. It doesn''t matter whether you are at the bone, organ, or marrow refining level, you need just to keep running until the jade pendant on your chest changes color. Once the color of the jade changes, you will pass the initial exam and be qualified to begin the entrance exam."


    The rules seemed simple enough with no restrictions on refining level or limit to speed. The only requirement for passing the initial exam was to run until the jade pendant changed color. Zen kept the rules in mind as he looked into the distance of the path beyond the square.

 Chapter 34 Invisible Pressure (Part One)

    Paved with ordinary limestone slabs and decorated with neatly trimmed verdant grass on both sides, it looked like any other road in the empire. The road turned and twisted, stretching away as far as the eye could see.


    Participants who had registered for the initial exam seemed pretty confident and relaxed as they stood in line. Refining had strengthened their body, so for them, running was child''s play. Most of them were quite sure that they would breeze through the exam.


    The white-bearded old man gave a signal, and the exam began.


    All candidates broke into a run. Just then something strange happened. The lead runners stumbled and sank to the ground, making a perfect pratfall.


    Only a few people reacted quickly enough to recover their balance. They pulled themselves together and carried on running forward.


    This incident gave the others an indication that there was something unusual about this road. They were more careful where they set foot on the road. Although no one else fell, since the candidates were being careful, their speed reduced. It looked as if they were carrying a thousand pounds of weight.


    After the first few batches set off on the road, it was Zen''s turn.


    He approached the edge of the square and stepped out slowly. Instantly he felt an invisible pressure. As he tried to lift his foot, he found that his legs felt leaden.


    It was an odd feeling.


    Once he had stepped on to the road, the pressure encased him completely. Every inch of his skin felt weighed do


    lled a face and raised his hand. He showed Zen a bangle around his wrist. "Last time, I didn''t even make one mile in the initial exam. Now, thanks to this bangle, I can run this far. It helps me counteract half the pressure."


    "Bangle?" Zen glanced at the accessory on Nory''s wrist. It looked rather unimpressive as it appeared to be a plain gold bangle. Who could have guessed that it could counteract the invisible pressure?


    "It must be a mysterious weapon, right?" Zen blinked at Nory as he asked.


    Nory grinned, "Yes. It is a mysterious weapon. It cost me two cubic crystals, almost all my savings."


    "Two cubic crystals? That''s all? Is a mysterious weapon that cheap?" Zen asked incredulously. If what Nory had said was true then he could buy dozens of mysterious weapons, considering that he had hundreds of cubic crystals lying in his space ring.


    "Nah, you misunderstood me." Nory added quickly, "The rent is two cubic crystals. After I pass the exam, I will have to return the bangle."

 Chapter 35 Invisible Pressure (Part Two)

    Zen didn''t know what to say. The renting business was flourishing because of the initial exam. The youngsters in the Imperial Capital were making every effort to pass the exam. "But if we use an external object, won''t that be considered cheating?" Zen wondered.


    Cloud Sect intended to use the initial exam to weed out the weaker applicants. Wouldn''t it be a bit unfair if weapons were not banned during the exam?


    Nory smiled, "Bro, what you haven''t considered is that Cloud Sect has many disciples, so many geniuses. The Sect won''t pay too much attention to the initial exam. We aren''t outer disciples. No energy will be wasted on the trifles in the initial exam. As long as we don''t kill each other, they don''t give a fig what weapon you use or whether you get into a brawl here."


    With the help of Nory''s explanation, Zen realized that while Cloud Sect did have very strict rules and regulations, they were for their formal disciples. This initial exam was a sieve with a large mesh to strain out those who didn''t fit the bill.


    As soon as Nory finished his explanation, he gasped. The bangle could only counteract half the pressure, but the remaining pressure still made running hard for Nory.


    "Stop talking. Just focus on your pace," Zen reminded him.


    Nory nodded. He clenched his teeth and kept moving forward. He grimaced as he challenged his limits.


    Zen was running rather comfortably. Since a while had passed, he had gotten accustomed to the pressure. Now, he could even ignore the pressure completely.


    As time wore on and people


    . Zen could feel the warmth flooding his body. He glanced at Nory before turning to the man and coldly saying, "We''ve got no beef with you. Why did you do that? You want a fight?"


    The man fumbled for a purple pill in his pocket. As soon as his fingers closed around the object, he pulled it out and swallowed it. "True, I have no beef with you. But someone wants you to fail the exam," he said with a laugh.


    "Who is that?" Zen asked stiffly.


    The man didn''t reply to Zen''s question. He turned and ran off with a grin. "You''d better quit the exam as soon as possible. Or else, not only are you going to fail the exam, but you will get yourself killed."


    Zen stared at the man''s retreating back with a grim expression.


    Solving the riddle was a cinch for Zen. He knew who was behind all this.


    Since he didn''t know anyone in the Imperial Capital, the only person with motive to do this was Perrin. Perrin had resorted to low tricks to prevent Zen from joining Cloud Sect. Zen''s face grew cold as he thought about this.

 Chapter 36 Passing The Initial Exam (Part One)

    After all, they were at the Cloud Sect. So, they probably didn''t dare harm anyone directly or act recklessly. With those thoughts, Zen went over to Nory.


    Nory was lying on the ground. His face was pale, and he panted for breath. Seeing Zen heading over to him, he struggled to sit up again, but in vain. He turned his head to Zen. "Zen, I''m exhausted. You go on without me. I don''t think I can even sit up, let alone finish the race," said Nory. He turned his head back, staring at the sky. "People at the bone refining level only need to run ten miles to pass the initial exam. There''s only around one or two miles left. If I had the strength, I could finish the exam. Unfortunately, I cannot go on any longer."


    "I''m sorry. I caused you trouble," Zen said apologetically. Those people had wanted him to fail by making trouble for him, but it impacted Nory.


    Nory waved his hand and said sadly, "Forget it. This is my destiny. My fate has been bad since birth. I''m used to it..."


    From Nory''s words, it wasn''t difficult to figure out that Nory had experienced hardships too.


    "Get up, Nory!" said Zen sternly. He couldn''t let Nory give up without making any efforts at all.


    Smiling wryly, Nory shook his head. "I cannot stand up," he grumbled hopelessly.


    "You haven''t tried, so, how do you know you can''t stand up? We practice martial arts to explore the limit of our body continuously. No one can reach the pinnacle in martial arts without experiencing difficulties and obstacles. Stand up and give it your best try!" encouraged Zen.


    The words rang in Nory''s ears.


    Practicing the martial arts was not for the sake of glory, wealth or power. It was to achieve one''s ultimate strength, which meant facing and overcoming many difficulties and dangers. Once started on that road, the way would never be smooth and required many factors for people who wanted to continue. The most important factor was to push oneself to exceed the limits.


    Listening to Zen''s powerful thoughts left Nory pondering and struggling in his mind. His usual smiling face turned solemn.


    Finally, he nodded and said, "You''re right. If I give up so easily now,


    ble the burden on people every ten miles. He adapted to the hard pressure, taking a few moments to move his hands and feet before starting again. Two thousand pounds of force had an inevitable impact on his movement, which slowed his actions by nearly half of his previous speed.


    However, running the next ten miles under the added weight wouldn''t be a problem for Zen, thanks to his unique and abnormally strong physical body.


    While Zen had remained with the injured Nory, he walked very slowly and consequently, he wasted a lot of time. The applicants of bone refining level passed the initial exam at ''Ten Miles'' stone tablet and those at the organ refining level had already run further, leaving Zen alone on the road.


    Keeping his speed steady, Zen walked alone, like a lonely traveler.


    After running three more miles, he was only winded slightly.


    After another two miles, Zen was breathing a little heavier.


    When Zen hit the eighteen-mile mark, his breathing was labored. Looking ahead, he squinted and saw his goal was in sight. He felt confident that he would pass the initial exam easily.


    When he had still one mile ahead, Zen found four people standing there, waiting for him.


    Judging them from their breathing, the men waiting for Zen were at the marrow refining level. Three were strangers, but Zen recognized one of them as the powerful man who bumped Zen and Nory with his shoulder just now.

 Chapter 37 Passing The Initial Exam(Part Two)

    He knew from his earlier encounter that these men wouldn''t give up easily.


    Straining his muscles to prepare against any potential attacks, Zen kept heading towards the next stone tablet. As he drew closer to the four men, a young man dressed as a scholar approached him, putting up his hand for Zen to stop. "Guy, you don''t need to continue. Your initial exam is completed."


    The scholar''s words were no-nonsense, but Zen was surprised when they didn''t attack him directly. Assessing the situation, Zen decided to pretend to know nothing about their purpose and asked, "Why is my exam over? Who asked you to stop me here?"


    Chuckling, the scholar said, "I don''t see any reason to answer your questions. All you need to know is that this is the end of the initial exam for you. You shouldn''t get your hopes up. The Cloud Sect is not a place for people like you."


    Usually, facing four marrow refining level adversaries, one should be scared. Even people at the top of organ refining level couldn''t compare to rivals who had reached the marrow refining level. Therefore, the four men considered Zen an easy target.


    Not hearing any answers, Zen was trying to think of how he could escape the four men. But his expression and stance didn''t give that away. Instead, he continued to pretend not to understand what the scholar meant, his face gloomy and he murmured, "But, I haven''t passed my initial exam, yet. What should I do about that?"


    "That''s your problem!" declared the scholar as the four men glared mockingly at Zen. The four of them exchanged glances, thinking, ''The boy is foolish if he still thinks he will pass the initial exam! Is he dreaming?''


    While the men were busy glancing at each other, Zen stared up into the sky behind them and cried outman, look, here''s an examiner coming now, on a flying chariot!"


    Since the examiners at the Cloud Sect deterred most of the disciples from breaking the rules, Zen knew the four men would be afraid to attack him in front of the examiners. So, when Zen shout


    battered him.


    Only after he was beaten by people at the level of marrow refining would Zen feel the warm current course through his body again.


    Just now, when his enemy used the toxic smoky palm to attack him, Zen felt the warm current flow through him, and as it washed over his nervous system, his breathing improved, as if he ate a Magic Pill.


    As for the poison of the scholar''s palm, it did not cause him any harm. His body was like a mysterious weapon. Naturally, all toxins were harmless. Who had heard of a mysterious weapon harmed by poison?


    Opportunities were rare. Zen wanted to stop and let them beat him up when he thought about how being thrashed by four people at the marrow refining level could help wash his internal organs.


    However, the stone tablet was just ahead, and if he was right, it should be the goal for the organ refining level. As soon as he reached the stone tablet, Zen would pass the initial exam.


    ''It would be better for me to turn jade pendant red and pass the initial exam first, before any other unexpected things occur, '' thought Zen. He dismissed the idea of stopping to be beaten by the four people and ran straight to the stone tablet.


    Although the four men pursued Zen desperately, they could only watch him pass the stone in a few seconds because of how close he was to it.

 Chapter 38 I Have A Very Simple Idea. (Part One)

    As Zen walked by the stone slab, his jade pendant slowly turned from green to blood-red.


    A big smirk appeared on his face as Zen turned and waved his jade pendant at the four men behind him.


    The four men following Zen were enraged when they saw his victorious smile.


    Before the start of the initial exam, someone gave them the task of dealing with a boy at the organ refining level.


    As the men were more powerful, they had scoffed at the mission. They believed that dealing with a person at such a low level was beneath them.


    They had assumed that they would be able to defeat Zen. However, they did not expect that he would be able to escape. Moreover, Zen dared to provoke them by being openly triumphant. How dare he behave like that?


    The four men fumed at the humiliation.


    The scholar-like man glared viciously at Zen as he spoke, "Guys, let''s terminate this boy by any means necessary!"


    "He passed the initial exam, so killing him in front of the examiners may be too..." The strongest of the four men grunted in response. On his face was an expression that conveyed his hesitance.


    The scholar-like man was furious. "Billy said that he could deal with any consequence. This boy is not a native of the Imperial Capital. He doesn''t have a high social background either. Even if we kill him, who will take revenge on us on his behalf?"


    The other three men glanced at each other when they heard the scholar-like man''s explanation. What he said seemed to assuage their fears.


    Without further hesitation, the gang acted on the resentment they we


    a bitch!" He used all his strength to make eight successive palm-strikes. Under the pressure of 4, 000 pounds, even though he was at the marrow refining level, the man was still out of breath from the effort.


    The man''s palm connected with Zen''s back. Not only did the force of the impact push Zen forward, but it also helped release the warm currents. Zen moaned with satisfaction when he felt the warm currents remove impurities in his body.


    By the time Zen had absorbed the warm currents, the rest of the men had caught up to him.


    "Frost Wolf Fist!"


    "Bursting Elbow Strike!"


    "Vigorous Collapsing Fist!"


    The four men attacked Zen; each strike landing on his back and pushing him forward. The impurities in Zen''s body mixed with sweat and were released from his skin at an incredible rate. The result was a dark-red mixture that was being exuded.


    The more the four men attacked Zen, the more upset they became.


    Zen''s body seemed unusually firm! Even the body refiner of the Ogre race did not have such a strong body.

 Chapter 39 I Have A Very Simple Idea. (Part Two)

    What angered them more was that Zen was able to resist damage from their attacks. This was beyond their imagination!


    "Damn it! I''ve used up all my strength!" One of the men stopped and gasped. He felt so weak that he couldn''t even raise his arms.


    Under the weight of the pressure on this stretch of the road, the man''s body gave out. He collapsed on the ground, shook his head, and said, "This terrible pressure and the running have made me very tired, not to mention beating that brat. Holy crap!"


    The pressure of 4, 000 pounds was originally designed for cultivators at the marrow refining level. Under normal conditions, these men wouldn''t have tired. However, their strength ran out faster as they were attacking Zen while bearing the great pressure. They soon felt weary.


    Just as they were about to give up, the scholar-like man suddenly called out with excitement, "He is bleeding!" He saw the red liquid flowing out of Zen''s body and assumed it was blood. He said with pleasure, "I doubted whether this kid''s body could be injured. Now, look at him! We have wounded him. He''s done! Let''s carry on hitting him!"


    Seeing that Zen was bleeding, the four men were overjoyed. They didn''t want to fail the client.


    They motivated themselves to keep striking Zen as hard as possible.


    When Zen thought they were going to give up hitting him, he felt upset. He could feel his body growing stronger with each blow. It was disappointing that they were giving up. He did not want it to end s


    in the entrance exam! Then the other masters won''t be upset that I pick a strong disciple, right?"


    "Ah..." the chief examiner had not expected Master Su to come up with such a surprising idea. The idea did not sit well with him!


    Cloud Sect provided the inner and the outer disciples with 33 peaks for cultivating. To stimulate all of the disciples to cultivate hard, Cloud Sect had made a set of very rigorous, scientific rules. The most important rule was about the competition among the 33 peaks.


    The competition affected not only the disciples but also their masters. Each master had their tasks and goals. To produce better disciples, they would naturally scramble for the gifted ones.


    If a person passed both the initial and the entrance exam and showed great talent and strength, every master would be eager to pick that person as their disciple.


    If Master Su broke the rule for the benefit of the Drizzle Peak, she would incur several complaints from the other masters.

 Chapter 40 Shock (Part One)

    Master Su had displeased the masters of the other peaks by disobeying the rules for the benefit of Drizzle Peak.


    However, considering Master Su''s background, no one really dared to confront her. The chief examiner was only in charge of the initial exam. He would never have the courage to offend Master Su. What he could do was preach to her, given his seniority. If Master Su did not listen to him, he would not say anything else.


    As for the boy who was being beaten, the chief examiner thought that it was likely that he had practiced some unique refining skills or had some peculiar physique. These were the only explanations to justify how he could be beaten to this extent and not be injured.


    While the chief examiner was surprised to see such a talent, he wasn''t entirely shocked. Cloud Sect recruited many gifted people from among the imperial geniuses. This boy was nothing in comparison to the evil geniuses of the empire. Yes, he had passed the initial exam. But the next test was not as simple. Who knew whether or not he would pass the next test?


    Thirty miles away, the four men surrendered to exhaustion. They fell to the ground, gasping for breath. They were so tired that they were no longer able to continue.


    They had also registered for the initial exam. Killing that boy was only an incidental task. But now they were too tired to pass the initial exam, much less kill the boy. There were still about five or six miles away from the stone tablet that denoted their goal. But in their current state, the thought of standing and trying to run the last few miles was too much to bear.


    Zen swung his arms. H


    d them so much that they could barely stand. Even if they wanted to run away, they couldn''t. What terrified them more was that they didn''t have the power to fight back.


    Zen looked at the strong man and asked, "Did you hear what I just said? Or would you like me to repeat the message?"


    "No, no," said the strong man. A weak smile grew on his face as he attempted to disguise his trepidation. "I heard you clearly. I will convey your message to Mr. Wang." The strong man was smarter than the scholar-like man. He knew that if he didn''t obey Zen, he would end up as hurt as his companion. He would not ask for trouble.


    Zen nodded contentedly. He stood and continued his journey without another look at the four men.


    Zen was the only person on the road now. Although he had succeeded in passing the initial exam, he wanted to see if he could move on.


    When he tried to run for a while, Zen found that he could advance more miles. He knew that if he continued, he would reach the end of the test for participants at the marrow refining level. He wanted to push his limits.

 Chapter 41 Shock (Part Two)

    Under the pressure of four thousand pounds, his speed was already extremely slow. Zen managed to cover the distance by jogging slowly. It took him half an hour to complete the distance to the stone tablet.


    If a cultivator at the marrow refining level reached this stone tablet, it would show that he had passed the initial exam. But the end of the road was not in sight yet. Zen didn''t know how much the pressure would increase by if he crossed this stone tablet.


    After mulling over the situation, Zen decided to try. He stepped over without any hesitation.


    Just after, Zen felt a terrible pressure enclose him.


    "Bump!"


    Zen was pinned to the ground as though someone had placed a mountain on him.


    "The pressure is too much!" Zen moaned.


    His face, stomach, and limbs were firmly attached to the ground as if they were stuck in viscose. He could not budge an inch.


    He tried to lift his head, but Zen''s head felt as heavy as tens of thousands of pounds. No matter how hard he tried, Zen could not raise his head again.


    Disappointment filled Zen. The first 10-mile road was under a pressure of 1, 000 pounds. The second 10-mile road was under a weight of 2, 000 pounds. The final distance Zen had managed, the third 10-mile road stretch was under a pressure of 4, 000 pounds. If the same math was being followed, this section of the 10-mile road should be under a pressure of 8, 000 pounds. But now Zen felt the force of tens of thousands of pounds. The pressure seemed to have increased tenfold!


    ''I''m confident that I can overcome this pressure!'' Zen tried to motivate himself to continue struggling under the immense pressure.


    The pressure gave him a lot of energy. He communicated with the two dragon scales in his body before putting their power into his body. With a roar, Zen mustered all his strength.


    "Get up!"


    He fe


    ants at the marrow refining level, and even those who had just stepped into the nature level were deterred. The pressure could only be borne by participants who had stepped into the nature level completely.


    General cultivators at the bone refining level and the organ refining level would be crushed immediately upon entering the area.


    Though the boy''s body was strong enough to bear the attacks of the four men at the marrow refining level, he should have died under the pressure of 50, 000 pounds.


    Aware of the seriousness of the problem, the chief examiner and Master Su jumped into their flying chariots and rushed over to the site.


    With the speed of the flying chariots, they arrived in an instant despite the distance being 30 miles.


    When they jumped off their flying chariots, they found that Zen was not only alive, but he had managed to get up from the ground.


    Seeing this, the chief examiner murmured, "I have presided over so many years of the initial exam, but I have never seen ¡­this is the first time... ..."


    Master Su put her hands over her mouth in surprise. She was startled, too. The boy was only at the organ refining level. How could he resist the pressure of 50, 000 pounds and stand up?

 Chapter 42 Longevity Pill

    Over the years, there had been a large number of gifted students who studied at the Cloud Sect.


    Some disciples had a penchant for learning and progressed rapidly. Within a year, those disciples passed several levels, going from bone refining level up to the level of nature refining.


    There were also disciples still at the bone refining level that were comparable in strength to those who were a half-step into the nature level, and could easily move objects that were as heavy as a mountain.


    In contrast to them, Zen seemed so ordinary.


    For someone at the organ refining level, Zen''s execution was perfect. He not only withstood an assault from four men at marrow refining level but, after that, he was still strong enough to run past the 30-mile stone tablet. However, in the eyes of the elder whose eyebrows were silver, and master Su, Zen was an intermediate, not excellent candidate.


    Took Master Su''s Drizzle Peak as an example, while it ranked last among the thirty-three peaks at the Cloud Sect, there were three disciples at least, who were able to resist that kind of attack and were able to pass the initial exam successfully.


    Therefore, neither of them believed Zen was remarkable.


    To be fair, ordinarily, it was impossible for someone at the organ refining level to withstand the enormous pressure of 50, 000 pounds. Yet, Zen had, all the while been standing erect with no sign of giving up.


    It was a miracle that he managed to beat any challenge. Whether it had been the Drizzle Peak, or any of the other thirty-two peaks at the Cloud Sect, there weren''t many people who were as strong or powerful as him.


    Sensing tension in the air, Master Su had the urge to save Zen from the mighty force. But, just as she was about to step forward, the elder with white eyebrows stopped her.


    "Don''t be in such a hurry! Watch him," stated the chief elder as he watched Zen.


    Viewing Zen carefully, Master Su was amazed to see streaks of red, blood-like liquid trickling from Zen''s body. "He''s refining his organs. This is absolutely astounding!" she exclaimed in awe.


    Unlike the four men who attacked Zen earlier, both Master Su and the chief elder with white eyebrows were experienced and knowledgeable. At one glance, they recognized that the red fluid wasn''t blood. Instead, it was the impurities being flushed from the organs. For most people, it took a long time to cleanse their organs. To their astonishment, Zen exuded a great deal in a short period.


    "The boy''s future ..." the chief elder stopped talking mid-sentence. He started asserting that Zen would have a bright future ahead of him.


    However, in a high pitched voice, Master Su suddenly cut in, "His future will be gloomy, won''t it?"


    "Master Su, what do you mean?" asked the elder confused.


    "I don''t think he is very competent," said master Su, smiling, "It was pure luck that he scraped through the initial exam. Well, as for the present scene, we should act like it never happened."


    Of course, the chief elder was not an idiot,


    ke your jade pendant to substitute an entrance card, then go wait for your entrance exam," commanded the chief elder examiner.


    Not wanting to irk the chief examiner, Zen began to walk away politely. After a few steps, he looked back and asked, "Excuse me, Sir. If I am lucky enough to be accepted into the Cloud Sect, may I come back here?"


    Using pressure to refine his body, Zen had accelerated his refining speed and was slightly addicted to it.


    At Zen''s request, the elder smiled coldly and said, "This is the place for those who have reached the nature level to practice. If you want to come, you need to use your earned points. We won''t hold you accountable for today''s illegal trespassing. But, don''t tell anyone! You have to remember to keep today a secret!"


    Nodding meekly, Zen scurried away.


    After Zen was gone, the elder turned to Master Su and asked, "What do you think?"


    "Well," Master Su answered offhandedly, "In return, I have this for you." She felt some compassion for the old man. On Master Su''s finger was a beautiful five-colored floret ring, studded with five different colored gems. As the chief elder watched, she gently touched the ring with her finger, and instantly, a bright silver pill popped up which she casually tossed at him.


    The chief elder was tremendously shocked when he saw what it was.


    "What an extraordinary and generous person you are!" the chief elder''s voice trembled as he thanked her.


    In the chief elder''s palm was a Longevity Pill. One of these pills could extend a person''s life a year. The Longevity Pill was extremely rare, precious medicine, especially to an elderly man.


    They said time was money. But, even the wealthiest people in the world didn''t have enough riches to buy time. One more year meant a lot to those who were in their waning years.


    It was entirely unexpected for Master Su to award the chief elder examiner with such a precious gift. Had it not been for fear of being humiliated, he would have been in tears right there.

 Chapter 43 Zen鈥檚 Anger (Part One)

    As Zen returned to the square along the same path, he felt comfortable. Even though the same pressure was weighing down on his body, he felt as light as a feather, as if he could fly with just a simple jump.


    Now that he was at the peak of the organ refining level, his every breath could last longer time than before. Zen also noticed an improvement in his strength. As soon as he could see the square and the pressure decreased, Zen found that he could run the rest of the way.


    Those who had not passed the initial exam had already left. And the participants who had succeeded had gathered in the square for the next round. Zen looked around and approximated that about a thousand participants were in the square. Compared to the tens of thousands of participants before the exam, it seemed as though the elimination rate was up to 90%.


    Just as he entered the square, Zen could see a man waving at him excitedly. He moved closer to the man and smiled when he saw that it was Nory Mo.


    "Hi, Zen! Here! Come here! You passed the initial exam! Congratulations!" Nory looked at Zen''s jade pendant, which was now shining bright red.


    Zen nodded and said, "Do I need to exchange the jade pendant for the disciple card? Where can I make the exchange?"


    "Yes, you need to collect the disciple card. And I know where to make the exchange. I just got my disciple card. Follow me!" Nory answered as he tugged at Zen''s sleeves excitedly. On seeing Nory''s enthusiasm, Zen smiled and nodded. Then, they headed toward a corner of the square where a long table had been placed. On the way to the corner, Nory explained, "Here we are. After exchanging the pendant for the disciple card, we become temporary disciples of Cloud Sect."


    With Nory''s help, Zen was able to take off the jade pendant and ready to make the exchange.


    Behind the table, two people from Cloud Sect were busy with the exchange. One of them glanced at Zen and then took the jade pendant from him. He examined it carefully for a while. He appeared to be checking the information recorded in the jade pendant.


    When done, the man pulled out a small wooden board wrapped in silver and a tiny graver.


    He started to carve on the wooden board. To Zen, it


    on, Zen''s eyebrows rose in surprise. He had heard of this magic red sand, which was an essential material in illusion refining. When forging mysterious weapons, refiners would add magic red sand, and the weapon would have confusing effects. In addition, this kind of ore was often used in magic arrays and illusion papers.


    Acknowledging Zen with a nod, Nory added, "Yes, I heard that the powerful people in Cloud Sect used magic red sand to transform the whole Bloody Mountain into a large magic array for trial and evaluation. Today, the instructors have brought us here. So, we must be prepared for the Blooded Test."


    Nory had heard about the Blooded Test, but he was unsure about the details. Considering that the magic red sand was used for illusion refinement, the test must be related to unreal illusions.


    Although all the participants were curious about the test and the mountain, they got no further information from Cloud Sect''s mentors. The disciples had been brought to the foot of the mountain, where they were accommodated in rows of houses located there.


    That evening, everyone rested early in preparation for the next day''s Blooded Test.


    Early the next morning, the disciples gathered at the foot of the mountain.


    A long while passed, but they received no orders to go up the mountain.


    After waiting for several hours, the disciples finally realized why they had not been allowed to go up. They were waiting for other people to join them.

 Chapter 44 Zen鈥檚 Anger (Part Two)

    In addition to the thousand disciples who had passed the initial exam, another group of people would also take part in this Blooded Test. This group of disciples came from the noble clans.


    Because of their status, the participants from noble clans did not need to pass the initial exam. They could join the Blooded Test directly...


    Compared to ordinary disciples, the disciples from noble clans followed different rules and had special privileges during the test.


    Hundreds of chariots filled the sky and hid the sun. The flying chariots flew lower from the sky and landed on the ground, neatly parking in front of the mountain. Three or four people accompanied each participant from the noble clan. Masters who radiated a strong aura were among the people accompanying the participants from noble clans.


    When disciples of noble clans saw the thousand ordinary disciples on the ground, their expression conveyed the disdain they had. Considering their families and upbringing, these disciples from noble clans felt superior to the other disciples.


    After dismounting from the flying chariots, the disciples of noble clans formed a small group, but they did not come near to the ordinary disciples.


    At this time, the thousand ordinary disciples were resentful toward the attitude shown by the disciples from the noble clans. Under normal circumstances, these ordinary disciples would not feel anxious about being asked to wait for several hours. However, they felt that by waiting for the disciples from noble clans to arrive, their time had been wasted.


    Although they were angry, the ordinary disciples didn''t dare to speak out loud. They mumbled few curse words in a low voice. As they had no influential background, the ordinary disciples knew they could not challenge the disciples of noble clans. They did not have the power or resources to afford offending the noble clans.


    What added to their resentment was the unfair advantage the noble clans had. The disciples from noble clans had access to better training since childhood. They also had the resources to acquire all kinds of magic pills that would refine their bodies and skills. As such, their abilities and power would be higher than those of the ordinary disciples. Now, they were competing against the disciples from noble clans. Provoking the disciples fr


    i River Bridge and kill yourself. After you have done all this, I will not get involved in your family affairs," said Billy. His tone was indifferent as though he was talking about a trivial matter.


    After hearing Billy''s words, a flush of red rushed to Zen''s cheeks. Anger exploded in his heart. However, a moment later, Zen suddenly burst into laughter.


    "Hahaha. What a funny joke!"


    Zen had sworn to avenge his father''s death a long time ago. Even though Billy sent four men to beat him during the initial exam, Zen had not retaliated much. One of the reasons was that he did not want to provoke Billy. After all, the Wang Clan was a noble clan, and Zen was alone.


    After everything Zen had done, Billy was still being inconsiderate and meddlesome. To Billy, it must seem as though Zen was a small ant who could be killed easily. Billy had not taken Zen seriously at all. It appeared as though to Billy, Zen was already a dead man and hence, in no position to negotiate with him.


    Compromise was useless when dealing with such people. The only way to get Billy to back off was to use fists, not words.


    "Billy Wang, do you think that I''m afraid of you? You want me to quit the Blooded Test? You want me to kill myself? This is the most ridiculous joke that I have ever heard. I am standing here now. If you think you can take my life, just try. Let me see whether you have the ability to kill me!" After saying that, a strong aura burst from Zen''s body. Although his face was expressionless, Zen''s heart pounded with the anger he felt.

 Chapter 45 I Refuse To Accept It (Part One)

    Everyone''s attention was drawn to Zen and the astonishing aura he was sending out.


    Even the large group of noble clan disciples that stood further away looked over with spirited looks. Everyone seemed to pivot their attention toward what was happening automatically.


    "Haha, Billy sucks. He led a group of people against a weak person from the bottom. Shouldn''t he know that a cornered dog will jump over the wall in desperation? I guess this boy is building up the strength to fight back," a young noble clansman dressed in white shaking his jade fan whispered.


    "So what? Trust me. You are way over-thinking this. Although this boy is in a desperate situation, he''s not strong enough to strike back. Moreover, he is just at the organ refining level, and there''s no way he could fight someone that much stronger than him. But, then again, Billy really knows how to have fun, to even bother dealing with a guy at the organ refining level..." another noble clansman nodded in agreement with what he heard.


    The bodyguard, however, standing beside him saluted, glanced at Zen and said, "Mr. Huo, you will take part in the Blooded Test later. You''d better watch out for this young man."


    "Why? What do you mean ''watch out for this young man''? Tell me what you know." Mr. Huo asked patiently. Mr. Huo knew his bodyguard wouldn''t speak up for no reason, and things must be not as simple as they seemed. His bodyguard had spent many years at the nature level and was strong. Besides, he recently safely returned from the cruel Shura battlefield as a master at reading people. Mr. Huo trusted him a lot.


    The bodyguard continued, "I don''t know why, exactly, but I have a feeling, even though he is only at organ refining level, he is a very dangerous and mighty opponent. We''d better be careful."


    Hearing his trusted bodyguard, Mr. Huo raised his eyebrows. He noted with interest, "Things are getting more interesting. So, Billy will be in a little trouble this time."


    The relationship of the young men from these noble clans was not unbreakable, and they were not united as one. There were


    n if he didn''t kill them all, he would take as many as he could before his life ended.


    At this point, a booming voice was heard, "What the fuck are you doing? Today is your Blooded Test day. You are not here to fight each other!"


    Looking around, they saw thirty chariots headed towards them, and the one who shouted stood on the first flying chariot. Joshua wore ragged overalls and had a squared face. He was the supervisor of the Blooded Test.


    Joshua jumped off the flying chariot and strode up to Zen purposely, demanding loudly, "Who was fighting just now?"


    "It was him! He was fighting, examiner!" accused Perrin as he stepped forward pointing at Zen.


    "It takes two to fight. Who is the other one?" asked Joshua.


    "It was me," admitted the tall young man from Wang Clan.


    Joshua nodded and said gravely, "Very well, your eligibility to compete in the Blooded Test is canceled!"


    Zen''s face paled immediately. It would be unfair if he were disqualified. He was forced to defend himself. "Examiner, I didn''t start the fight. I was forced into fighting. Why should I be disqualified from the test?"


    "No matter who you are, if you dare to fight here, then you should have the mindfulness that you will be driven out of the Cloud Sect, without exception!" Joshua did not want to listen to Zen''s explanation at all. He asked nothing more before making his decision.

 Chapter 46 I Refuse To Accept It (Part Two)

    The tall young man from Wang Clan said, "Supervisor, I am an inner disciple of Cloud Sect and not a participant in the Blooded Test.


    "Inner disciple?" Joshua asked, "Which peak do you belong to?"


    "I am from the Skytop Peak, examiner," responded the tall young man.


    "Hmm, Master Xu of Skytop Peak is here too. Since you are an inner disciple, the punishment is that one hundred points will be deducted from the peak!" declared Joshua.


    There was a smile on the tall young man''s face, and he looked relaxed. As everyone knew, one hundred points was a lot to the helpless grassroots, but for the noble clan disciples, it was nothing. Such a punishment was meaningless to him.


    They might have lost a hundred points, but Zen would be kicked out of the Cloud Sect, which was precisely what they wanted.


    More than one thousand students stood there, looking angry about the unjust decision. This punishment was close to no punishment at all. Joshua was helping the influential.


    At that moment, all thirty-three peak masters in the Cloud Sect arrived on flying chariots.


    After the students passed the Blooded Test, each master would pick students who met their requirements. They would choose the right talents for their folds, based on the performances and examination results of the students.


    To have better development of their respective peaks, each master followed the principles of selecting the best students for their peaks.


    Of course, Zen understood how bad his situation was. Joshua was obviously on the side of the noble clans. But, he continued to think that he didn''t want to miss out on his life for something he had no control over. He argued, "Examiner, I wasn''t the one who started the fight. You have to believe me. Everyone here saw it. I was forced into the fight. It''s unfair to disqualify me from the competition arbitrarily like this!"


    "It''s not fair? Now then, tell me, were you fighting?" Joshua had no expression as he asked.


    "Yes," Zen responded honestly. He did fight, but, he was forced into it. If he hadn''t, he would be dead now.


    "Okay t


    ideal. Hearing the anger in her voice, Joshua realized he wasn''t getting through this matter easily. Smiling complacently, Joshua said, "Master Su, it''s such a small matter, surely it''s not worth getting angry about......"


    "Well, if it''s a small case, then let him clarify! You, tell all of us. What happened?" asked Master Su.


    "They did it!" declared Zen as he pointed to Billy, Perrin, and their followers. "They came at me with no reason. One of them rushed at me and hit me, forcing me to fight back!"


    Joshua sneered. "Young man, you''d better think over what you are saying. Your accusations are one-sided. Do you have anyone who can prove your tale?"


    Everyone stopped talking at once, and the noisy crowd suddenly became deathly quiet. A light smile spread across Billy''s face, while Perrin gloated silently. They knew that the sons of the noble clans would not offend Billy, and among the more than one thousand disciples from ordinary families, if they were smart, none would stand up for Zen.


    Just as expected, even though this happened in full view of all of them and they were outraged moments ago, none of them dared step forward and speak out for Zen.


    Anyone who would stand up for Zen would be a target of Billy''s, and who would be stupid enough to risk getting his ass beaten? It made no sense to offend Billy without strength to back it.


    "I can prove it!"

 Chapter 47 Yan Luo

    At this time, Nory stepped out of the crowd and said loudly, "I saw that the disciples of the noble clans approached Zen and caused trouble. This guy started it first!"


    Even though it was courageous of Nory to step out and speak up, he was very nervous inside. As a native resident of the Imperial Capital, he was aware of the authority of the noble clans. Even the weakest noble clan had more power than ordinary families. However, Nory didn''t hesitate.


    Seeing Nory speaking up for him, Zen began feeling warm inside. When he thought of how his misfortune almost made Nory fail the initial exam yesterday, Zen felt a little ashamed. He appreciated that Nory was willing to stand by him ¡ª even if Nory would offend the Wang Clan ¡ª when he most needed it.


    Since Nory had spoken in Zen''s defense, other ordinary disciples followed as well.


    They also hated injustice. Now that Nory had spoken up against the Wang Clan, they were willing to help him condemn the haughty Wang Clan disciples.


    "Yeah, these noble clan disciples are too unreasonable!"


    "Absolutely, they did it first!"


    "Yes, we all saw it!"


    All the ordinary disciples began shouting. Hearing their accusations, the faces of Billy and his followers darkened. The tall guy, in particular, stared at Nory, as if ready to swallow the latter.


    However, since many masters were on the spot, those disciples from noble clans could do nothing.


    Master Su blinked her eyes and said, "In that case, it''s clear now. Since they made trouble first, they should be punished. Who knows to which peak the disciple that began the fighting belongs?"


    "He is the inner disciple of the Skytop Peak." Joshua did not want to be involved in this matter and replied, "I have decided to deduct 100 points as punishment."


    "The Skytop Peak? Master Xu! Your inner disciple caused this disturbance and attacked someone. How should he be punished according to the rules?" Master Su didn''t want the matter to be dismissed easily. And so, she turned to Master Xu and asked loudly.


    Master Xu stepped out from among the other masters, glanced at his disciples, and said, "According to the rules, 1, 000 points should be subtracted!"


    Master Xu''s words sent shivers coursing through the tall Wang Clan disciple. The loss of 100 points was acceptable, but losing 1, 000 points mattered to him a lot! Points played a crucial role in Cloud Sect. Both, cultivating and getting handbooks required disciples to have points.


    However, the opportunity to earn points was limited. At first, a disciple could complete Cloud Sect''s tasks to earn points. Now, one could buy points. Earlier, one cubic crystal could be exchanged for one point, but in recent years, the price of one point had increased to two cubic crystals.


    The Wang Clan was very huge with many collateral branches. The tall disciple was not part


    the three weapon refining masters in the Burning Sky Empire, was a member of the Wang Clan.


    Thus every disciple of the Wang Clan had a vital weapon called the Final Killer, which had terrible force. If an owner were faced with a dangerous situation, he could use this weapon to turn the tables. However, each member of the Wang Clan only had one Final Killer. This was why Tim and Dim were hesitant to use it to kill Zen.


    Moreover, in the Blooded Test, a person could not be killed during the test. One could only be forced to leave the mountain.


    "Not to worry! I''ll help you apply for another Final Killer!" Billy belonged to the main branch of the Wang Clan. Thus, he had a much higher status than Tim and Dim. It would not be difficult for him to get another Final Killer from his clan.


    "Billy, you are so kind as to help me with my clan''s affairs. I thank you from the bottom of my heart!" Perrin said.


    A faint smile grew on Billy''s face as he replied, "Perrin, this is not a big deal. Moreover, you''re helping the Wang Clan. My brother would like your help to write a few more letters to your sister at Hell Mountain. He needs to win her favor!"


    "That''s what I''m supposed to do. My sister is too stubborn, which is why this is taking time. And I do believe that as time goes by, she will come around. It will be a blessing for her if she can be married to your brother." Perrin said.


    It was fortunate that the two were standing far away from Zen. Had Zen heard their talk, he would have punished Perrin!


    Since Yan Luo had been sent to Hell Mountain, she was still unaware of what had happened at home. So far, even the news of her father''s death had not reached Yan!


    In the correspondence between Perrin and Yan in recent years, Perrin had been fabricating all kinds of reasons and excuses to pacify her. Now, Perrin wanted to coax Yan into marrying Billy''s brother.

 Chapter 48 Bloody Mountain (Part One)

    After the disciples from the noble clans had gone up the Bloody Mountain, it was the turn of the thousand ordinary disciples. They formed a line and entered the mountain one after another.


    A dozen paths snaked their way into and around the southern region of the Bloody Mountain. Since the paths made it easier to navigate through the mountain, the disciples randomly selected a road and made their way toward their destination.


    Zen walked at the back of the line in silent contemplation. He was a little nervous and full of doubt. He was not afraid of Billy and the Wang Clan, but he could not understand why Billy worked so hard to help Perrin.


    Yes, Perrin had the resource support of the Luo Clan. Compared with the noble clans in the Imperial Capital, the Luo Clan was only a small clan in C County. Perrin had nothing to offer Billy in exchange for his help.


    ''What the devil are they up to?'' Zen couldn''t understand Billy''s motives.


    While he was walking, Zen was distracted from his thoughts by a colorful band of light on the mountain road ahead. The band of light fluttered erratically, like the entrance to a fairyland.


    "This is the outermost magic array. We will enter the real Blooded Test after we go through this ribbon of light," said one ordinary disciple. After saying this, he walked forward. As he neared, the light ribbon enveloped his body. Within a blink of an eye, he had disappeared.


    Zen stepped into the band of light without hesitation. After doing so, he found that the surrounding scenery had changed!


    "This is the magic array!"


    When he had first arrived at the Bloody Mountain, Zen had been bewildered by the unique color of the mountain. The entire scene was monotonous as even the plants were the same red color. But when he walked into the magic array, Zen found that the scene inside was different.


    The world suddenly became rich and colorful, including the tall trees on the mountain and the dense growth of small trees and shrubs. He knew that the landscape was a facade that had been created by activa


    s hard mane burst sending steel-like needles hurtling toward Zen.


    Zen was quick to react. He sprinted forward, and at the same time, he threw his fist at the tree. With the help of this force, Zen was able to jump two feet in the air. As he did, Zen reached for the mane monkey.


    The mane monkey was extremely dexterous. It swung around the tree, avoided Zen nimbly, and jumped on to another tree.


    Seeing that the mane monkey was about to escape, Zen decided to chase it. It would be shameful and embarrassing if he couldn''t deal with a second-degree unreal beast.


    He kept following the mane monkey as it jumped from tree to tree. The mane monkey was not good at attacking. Its primary defense was its hard steel mane. But Zen''s body was as hard as a mysterious weapon, and so he could completely ignore the mane monkey''s attack.


    The mane monkey was so agile that it led Zen around the woods. It was very hard for Zen to catch it. More than once Zen had almost caught the monkey, but the monkey rolled and slipped away again.


    After a long period of pursuit, Zen decided to try a new tactic. He looked around and studied the trees nearby. Having identified an opportunity, Zen rushed forward, spread out his arms, and hit a tree in front of him with all his might!


    "Fall down!"


    The big, thick tree split in two before collapsing to the ground.

 Chapter 49 Bloody Mountain (Part Two)

    A second later, the monkey leaped into the air. It had been aiming for the tree, but since Zen had broken the tree before it could reach it, the mane monkey flew straight toward Zen.


    Zen smiled when his plan worked. The monkey had no way to escape this time.


    However, as the mane monkey approached Zen, it gave out a fierce cry. Then its eyes glowed a deep red before it emitted a squeak. In the next instant, its body turned red, and the mane of the whole body bristled.


    Zen found the monkey''s unusual move. A sense of danger filled Zen. He covered his head with his hands and drew back in horror.


    Before Zen could retreat two steps, the mane monkey''s body grew twice as large.


    "Peng!"


    The mane monkey''s body suddenly exploded. The noise was deafening! When the dust settled, Zen saw that the explosion had left a huge hole in the ground. The needles from the monkey''s mane were scattered in all directions by the force of the explosion.


    At the time of its death, the monkey had released its mane needles with such force that they were firmly lodged in Zen''s body.


    "I didn''t expect a second-degree phantom beast to have such a powerful attack," Zen said in surprise as he pulled out the mane needles one by one. If he had not stepped back, he could have been hurt by the mane needles.


    The classification of unreal beasts was similar to that of men. The one main difference was that many unreal monsters could burst with incomparable innate power when faced with a survival crisis.


    After handling the steel needles in his body, Zen approached the pit and found a piece of yellow crystal fragment in the center. Only 30 yellow crystal fragments were needed to pass the test. That was certainly a much smaller number than the green crystals!


    Of course, the monsters he had to deal with were a lot more fierce.


    Just as Zen was preparing to put away the crystal fragment, a voice boomed through the forest.


    "Put that crystal down and get out of here!"


    On hearing the words, Zen frowned. When he turned, Zen saw three men standing behind him. Judging by their clothes, Zen knew that these three men were disciples from noble clans. It was possible that they m


    ts but also with other disciples.


    And the use of the magic array would effectively avoid real death.


    Seeing the two companions had been taken out, the remaining man took a few steps back in surprise. His expression showed the fear he felt. His rampant and arrogant attitude had been swept away. As soon as the shock wore off, he shouted, "My family... My Family..."


    But Zen didn''t let him finish. He growled at the man. "If you don''t want to die as well, hand over all the crystal fragments you have. No matter how powerful your family is, they can''t save you now!" After saying this, Zen took a step toward the man.


    Without hesitation, the disciple from the Fang clan threw a handful of crystal fragments at Zen. Then he turned and fled without saying anything.


    Zen shook his head. He didn''t want to rob others, but it seemed like recently, many people were trying to rob him.


    He collected the crystal fragments. There were 20 green crystal fragments and seven yellow crystal fragments!


    It looked like the robbery was a quick and convenient way to finish the test. Zen was tempted. Compared to the effort of killing phantom beasts one by one, snatching was obviously more efficient.


    But he soon gave up the idea. The ultimate purpose of giving the Blooded Test was to challenge and improve himself.


    He would never give up the opportunity to refine himself. However, if others tried to rob him, Zen decided not to let them go.

 Chapter 50 Ryan Fang (Part One)

    Unknown to Zen, someone stood straight-faced outside the Bloody Mountain, clenching his fists indignantly.


    Outside the mountain, all the tutors from the Cloud Sect were standing next to a Picture Slab, carefully monitoring the performance of each participant within the Bloody Mountain.


    Because they assigned the disciples based on ability and performance. However, according to the rules, disciples who passed the test would be allowed to choose their tutors.


    These tutors monitored as early and carefully as possible, so that they had a general assessment of the disciples who participated in the blooded test. Then they made their decisions. They all wanted to find and draw the talents into their folds.


    Anyone participating in the blooded test received a disciple card. Through the disciple card they carried, the tutors could see where each participant was and what they were doing.


    At that moment, Dylan Fang was expressionless. Although he was the Dragon Peak tutor, he was also a member of the Fang Clan.


    Fang Clan sent four clansmen to participate in the blooded test. And Dylan was instructed to ensure that no matter what happened, those four were to pass the test.


    As a matter of fact, the pass rate of the disciples from the noble clans was much higher than any of the disciples that were commoners.


    Among over one thousand lowborn disciples, approximately two hundred might pass the blooded test.


    About one hundred and seventy of the two hundred noble clansmen would pass the test.


    There was always a large gap between the classes because most of the commoners were fearful of the noble clans from birth. They also were fearful of offending the families behind th


    d, seeing heads shake and watching them move on to the next candidate; a mischievous grin spread across Master Su''s pretty face. She attended the Picture Slab intently. If anyone was next to her, he would see Zen on the Picture Slab in front of her, instead of a blurred picture.


    The reason no one could see Zen''s performance but her was that she tampered with Zen''s disciple card when she made an excuse to check his card.


    Only by making sure that no one could watch Zen''s performance would no one pay any attention to him. Zen should join her peak.


    But, now she worried, ''Did the previous battle catch the attention of others?'' Master Su sighed nervously. Although others could not trace Zen, and could not see Zen''s performance, they were able to perceive signs through other participants.


    She prayed that Zen got enough crystals to pass the test, and she hoped that Zen would not become involved in any more fights. But, then again, those noble clan children were annoying, and always caused trouble. Master Su couldn''t help but curl her lips upward in a sly grin.


    Things didn''t always go as master Su expected.

 Chapter 51 Ryan Fang (Part Two)

    As two disciples from Dylan''s family were eliminated from the test, his eyes blazed with anger, and he was fuming. Fang Clan had sent four disciples to participate in the blooded test. Three were from offshoot branches and were not as strong. However, one of them was Dylan''s immediate family and the third son of the family''s leader. His name was Ryan Fang, and he was a mighty, talented young man.


    Dylan gave his word to the clan that all four would pass the test. Now, two were cut from the ranks. He waited impatiently. He connected to Ryan''s disciple card via the Picture Slab, and without hesitation, he called out, sending his voice over the slab.


    According to the blooded test rules, this was a violation. However, Dylan didn''t care about anything.


    "Ryan, Noah and Peace were eliminated from the blooded test! Someone did that to them!" Dylan said in a low but passionate voice over the Picture Slab to Ryan.


    "What did you say? Who dared to do that to my people?" Ryan replied as he ran swiftly on the third layer of the magic array. Behind him, six three-grade unreal beasts were chasing him. But he didn''t rush in confusion. He didn''t frown, and instead, he started chatting with Dylan.


    "It was some guy named Zen Luo! Do you know him? He just doesn''t quit! He dared to touch Noah and Peace," stated Dylan, as he ground his teeth. He was so angry because Noah was his nep


    ing manner, "No, that isn''t what I meant. Maybe, I worry too much. You have superior strength and are unbeatable in Bloody Mountain. I have sent you Zen''s location. Check it now."


    When Dylan was finished, Ryan''s expression went blank. He turned and walked in the direction that Dylan directed.


    At that point, Zen was continuing going deeper into Bloody Mountain, having killed two second-grade unreal beasts. Able to have a small break from battling, he breathed a sigh of relief. He was exhausted, but, within moments, he heard an unnatural laugh and his face contorted.


    There, standing in front of him, were twenty disciples from noble clans. They had set up a tollbooth, and anyone who wanted to get through was forced to hand over all their crystal fragments.


    The first thought came into Zen''s mind was ''These stupid guys are surely crazy'' and it was evident, there wasn''t going to be even a small break.

 Chapter 52 The Best Way To Dispense With Fools (Part One)

    The noble clansmen pupils enjoyed many magic pills, learning the best training skills, and there were even some endowed with excellent bloodlines of the family elders.


    Most of them were born with exceptional advantages over ordinary people.


    Quite a few of them turned into dandies, living a life of extreme depravity due to their special status. Through magic pills, they cultivated smoothly, but they lacked strength and fighting power.


    Zen did not think that all the children of the gentry were like this. Otherwise, the noble clans in the Imperial Capital wouldn''t have thrived for as many years. There must be many children among the nobles, who were gifted, diligent and practiced hard.


    But, obviously, the men he faced now weren''t in that league.


    These guys didn''t want to work hard nor did they want to kill the beasts, so, instead, they robbed other participants of their crystal fragments. He was indignant that they wanted something for nothing. How could such shameless people exist in the world?


    He watched momentarily, noticing that they were robbing the ordinary disciples, not letting them pass, and yet, the noble disciples were left to pass through without saying a word.


    They were bold enough to rob participants in broad daylight, and the Cloud Sect didn''t care?


    Zen didn''t actually know if that was true. These guys had been doing this for a while. A few years ago, some disciples from the noble clans discovered this was an ideal location to set up a blockade here, between the second and third level, and collect tolls in the form of crystal fragments from the commoners passing through. It was an easy way to make a fortune, prevent some from gaining admittance and they s


    challenging to intimidate.


    The towering man swung his great sword and rushed the pass. He was a burly man with big arms, and as he wielded the great sword, the wind roared, whipping the faces of the noble disciples which caused them discomfort.


    The men from the noble clans were not strong, or they wouldn''t be there robbing others.


    In the face of the towering man''s attacks, the bullies cursed. Unable to resist his attacks, they fell back to each side of the passage, exposing a gap through the middle.


    Some ordinary disciples who had been hesitant saw the gap and emboldened, took the opportunity to follow the towering man and race through the pass.


    More and more disciples joined the group when they saw the others succeeding.


    The checkpoint of the noble clansmen was collapsed. The ordinary disciples hurried as a mob at the pass, like fish released from the floodgate. Zen followed the crowd, speeding forward.


    Seeing what was occurring, the noble clansmen''s faces were filled with anger. They didn''t expect this at all. They didn''t expect to let one man through, let alone so many people along with him.

 Chapter 53 The Best Way To Dispense With Fools (Part Two)

    By the time they reacted, quite a few ordinary disciples had slipped through the gate and entered the third level of Bloody Mountain.


    "Stop them!" cried one of the noble clansmen who was dressed in blue.


    Seeing the scene, the other noble clansmen knew they wouldn''t have anyone to rob if more commoners slipped by.


    It was worth pointing out that while these noble disciples were not strong, with the weapons and magic tools their families provided, they could still fight.


    They clustered together quickly to fill the breach and restore their checkpoint.


    While this was happening, the disciples who were trailing after the towering man continued attacking. The cruel and unrelenting enemies left them only the choice of brave resistance or dropping out of the game. Anyone at this time could burst with increased strength.


    So the scuffle escalated.


    "Aaahh......!"


    wailed a disciple as three noble disciples attacked, leaving him gutted. His enemy stood over him with a bloody long sword that shimmered a brilliant green light.


    Although each disciple was in the magic array, protecting them from real death, the pain was still real.


    After screaming, the disciple was immediately encircled in a light, and he was gone.


    But the noble disciples were not faring well. During the fighting, a noble disciple gently pushed against a commoner to stop him. The ordinary disciple appeared unimpressive but was, in fact, more powerful.


    The noble clansman felt a strange stab force its way into his body. He began to twitch, tremble, and fell to the ground, dead. Countless dots encased him in light instantly, and he vanished, too.


    Zen moved with a deft prowess, like lightning during a storm. Many disciples from noble clans tried stopping him. He dodged the attacks easily, weaving between them as he advanced.


    He managed to shake off the interception, and passed the chaotic checkpoint, nearing safety. The outco


    were depressed, and they found no way to vent. Seeing what Zen did, they promptly gathered together to launch an attack on him.


    "Go!"


    one shouted. Watching the noble clansmen surround him, Zen shoved Nory to a safe distance.


    "Kill him!"


    "It''s so discouraging that my cousin was eliminated!"


    "I didn''t believe these common men would resist! Kill him!"


    The noble clan disciples were so furious that they lost their reasoning. They raced at Zen, attacking him madly.


    Half of them were at the organ refining level, and half were at marrow refining level. Every one of them wielded a powerful weapon. Each weapon was above the grade of medium mysterious weapon.


    Zen remained unflustered in the face of the insanity rushing toward him. He knew if he panicked, there would be more trouble than he had now.


    His eyes narrowed to slits, and he observed the disciple in blue, secretly selecting him as a target.


    As soon as the noble disciples began to rush him, Zen ducked in the opposite direction, bypassing the bodies in front and headed past them at the man in blue.


    Zen noticed they were all following the lead of the man in blue. Taking on the leader first, to defeat his bandit followers, had proved to be the proper strategic choice. So, Zen got him first.

 Chapter 54 The Top Seven Noble Clans

    To be the leader of this group of noble clan''s disciples, the blue-clad man should be fairly strong.


    When he saw Zen dared to dart towards him, he grinned contemptuously and changed his attack from the clenching fist to the eagle-claw boxing, grappling in Zen''s direction while shouting, "Cyan Dragon Claw! Haha! Do you think you can run away?"


    The attack seemed very powerful. A pair of hands, like dragon claws, landed on Zen''s head.


    Zen kept calm and quickly leaned sideways to slip out of the attack''s grip. Zen rammed the man with his shoulder, making him fall back to the ground.


    As the clansman was falling backward, Zen moved, and in the blink of an eye, he stood behind him, catching him right before the noble disciple hit the ground. Holding him by the neck with his right hand, Zen shouted, "If anyone dares approach, I''ll let him fall, and he''ll fail the test!"


    When the other disciples of the noble clans saw Zen gripping the blue-clad man''s throat, they stopped.


    The blue-clad man, Chad, was the intelligent, youngest son of an influential member in the Zhuge clan. To set up a barrier on the path was his idea. Obviously, he was the bigwig in the group of disciples.


    At the moment though, Chad was being held by Zen and might be kicked out of the test easily. Consequently, no one dared to make a move.


    "Hey buddy, if you let me go, I can make sure you get away safely," said Chad calmly, even though he was at Zen''s mercy.


    "Huh, you think I''d believe you?" replied Zen. In fact, with his heightened strength, if need be, he could break through the barrier right now, it would just be a little harder.


    However, every one of these noble clan disciples held a mysterious weapon, and some were top-grade. Although Zen''s body was as firm as the mysterious weapon, being stabbed would be an unpleasant experience for him. So, this was the safest way. "Tell these guys to leave!" ordered Zen.


    "Do you know, my surname is Zhuge?" stated Chad coldly.


    There was a clear hierarchy within the noble clans.


    More than 30 clans were given the title noble clan throughout the Imperial Capital, but only seven of them were at the top.


    Those seven were th


    ed Joshua to believe it was a problem with the kid''s disciple card. ''Wait!''


    a thought struck Joshua. Before the boy set off, Master Su checked his disciple card. Joshua thought he had figured out the reason ¡ª Master Su must have done something with the kid''s disciple card.


    The moment Joshua opened his mouth to say something, he felt a chill shoot up his spine, freezing him. He snapped his neck around and saw Master Su staring coldly at him.


    If looks could kill, the dagger-like glare Master Su shot him would have killed him on the spot if he uttered a single word!


    Joshua swallowed hard, letting his words slip back down his throat at the same time.


    Master Su had a frosty look. She wasn''t worried about Joshua telling anyone about what she did to Zen''s disciple card. She just couldn''t believe that Zen went back to save anyone.


    Zen couldn''t break through the barrier easily just for saving one of them. However, now all of the examiners had seen his incredible performance. Master Su knew that they would compete fiercely against her for Zen, whatever her high, special social status.


    Watching Zen''s agile form sprinting from the Picture Slab, Master Su shook her head, grudgingly. She just wanted to recruit the boy quietly, but the kid''s remarkable performance was making it complicated.


    She clenched her teeth and whispered, "Humph, you little rascal, I''ll make you experience a hard period when you get to Drizzle Peak!"

 Chapter 55 Compelled To Fight (Part One)

    In a single breath, Zen sprinted a few hundred feet, where he saw a colorful light strip hovering in front of him. Thinking it might be the entrance to the third layer. He investigated, and sure enough, it was. He plunged headlong into the light, disappearing.


    Passing through the band of light was like walking into a different world. The scene in front of him differed from the second layer.


    The lush trees were replaced. Instead, there were bare hillsides and stone forest composed of jagged rocks. Caves at least ten feet deep dotted the slopes, and black noxious smoke rose from the openings. It looked like a sad and lifeless site.


    The disciples who passed through the band earlier were not in sight at the moment. He tried to figure out where Nory was but, Zen appeared to be off Nory''s trail. ''Where on earth has Nory gone? Maybe he found somewhere safe after he got to the third layer because disciples from the noble clans might come looking for him. Hope you are safe now, my brother!'' thought Zen, sincerely praying for Nory''s safety as he began to make his way through the third layer.


    After making his way up a hillside, Zen stepped into the jagged rocky forest.


    The crystal fragments he had in hand were far from being enough to pass the Blooded Test, so he hurried on his way. He needed to get enough crystal fragments as soon as possible, as this wasn''t a safe place to remain.


    Unreal beasts on the third layer were all higher level and therefore more challenging to fight. Generally speaking, the strength of the three-grade beasts was comparable to that of a person at the marrow refining level. And since the unreal beasts were transformed from evil creatures, they were even stronger. Animals of the same level were generally more powerful than their human counterparts.


    For that reason alone, Zen knew that he needed to be vigilant. He looked around warily, continuously as he walked through the forest. He had taken only two steps, and he heard a sound. The hairs along his arm and scalp tingled when he listened to the hissing of a snake.


    The hairs on his neck stood up, alerting him that something was following him.


    Zen whipped his head around toward the strange hissing sound, scanning every inch very carefully, only to find that nothing but the jagged rocks were there. Everything was perfectly still.


    Full of doubt, Zen wrinkled his brow, making a face while wondering, ''Was that an illusion, or am I just jittery?''


    After listening


    he boa knew that once wrapped within its coil, it was impossible for a prey to escape. And shortly after that, the boa had a meal. The constrictor thought it would be happily digesting now.


    Instead, the strength of the prey it had chosen was so sudden, that the boa was unable to endure. And it was instantly torn in several pieces with no time to react.


    Five pieces wriggled on the ground before transforming into small bits of light, and finally, disappearing. Zen slaughtered the boa constrictor.


    "Ping! Ting!" came a sound as the snake faded.


    Following the sound, Zen saw a purple fragment fall from the jagged rock, clinking to the ground. After the battle he just survived, the fragment''s fall was crisp and sweet to Zen''s ears. Now, he only needed nine more purple fragments to pass the Blooded Test, making him realize that the third layer was a better place to hunt.


    Zen picked up the purple fragment, wiping it clean with his sleeve, before tucking it safely in his pocket with the other pieces he''d collected so far. He looked to his right and jogged ahead in a hurry to earn more fragments.


    Estimating that up on the fourth layer the creatures would be equal to someone half-step into the nature level and animals being what they were, the beasts would be stronger than that even. Thus, he had no intentions of going up there.


    Knowing that he would only need to kill three beasts at level four to pass the Blooded Test did tempt Zen. However, recalling the strength Evil Lan exerted even when physically exhausted, and that these were half-step into the nature level for beasts, he dismissed the idea of going up there.

 Chapter 56 Compelled To Fight (Part Two)

    The fact was that Zen''s assessment was extremely accurate.


    For the Blooded Test, most people remained on the third layer. Very few disciples braved the fourth or fifth layer. The reasoning was simple, the initiates were not at the higher levels, which meant the beasts were too strong, and those participants would probably lose their lives before earning a single fragment. That was not a place the disciples wanted to be.


    After deciding, Zen spent six hours wandering around on the third layer.


    During that time, he harvested quite a few fragments.


    First, he came across a demon crow that attacked him from the air, leaving Zen no way to avoid its attacks. When he tried attacking the demon crow, it would deliberately put distance between itself and Zen, making Zen raise his brow and shrug his shoulders.


    As he scoured his mind for some way to deal with this demon crow, an idea popped into Zen''s head. Falling to the ground abruptly, Zen pretended to be dead. He wasn''t sure, but, he believed the demon crow was a scavenger that would enjoy feasting on a carcass. The minute the crow saw Zen sprawled on the ground, it believed Zen was dead and swooped down to feast. But, as soon as it was close enough, Zen punched it. The demon crow fell dead from the one punch Zen delivered.


    Later, he met up with a tremendous ancient mammoth. Its monstrous frame was intimidating, the power it possessed was more so, and could lead to trouble for Zen. However, Zen wasn''t afraid at all and relied on his instincts. Zen dispatched it quickly.


    And after that, he met three black wolves...


    a sky dragon...


    and even a colossal gorilla...


    In general, the beasts were much more extensive and stronger on that level than they were on the second layer. For Zen, it took a little bit longer to deal with them, because while the beasts were strong, they weren''t as smart as him. With a bit of creativity, it wasn''t difficult to slay them.


    Over the six hours, he won a total of eight purple fragments from his victories and needed only one more to pass the Blooded test.


    While he was thinking that, a bloody porcupine appeared in front of him. Fury flashed in its savage eyes, while it drooled from out the corners of its mouth near protruding hideous tusks. In desperation, it surged at Zen, attacking.


    Deadly quills covered the


    could see it was a dangerous weapon.


    The wheels were spinning in Zen''s head. If he were to guess, Zen would have to say that the dagger was very likely a spiritual level of treasure.


    After being in so many fights, Zen was confident in his strength, but he wasn''t blind.


    Smiling faintly, Ryan stated, "I''m afraid you don''t have a choice in the matter. You see, while I''m not surprised that the three stupid cowards were eliminated, I take pity on them at the same time. To keep it fair, you should pay the price for getting people from the Fang Clan kicked from the test. Don''t you agree?"


    Hearing what Ryan was telling him, Zen stood still, ready to leave. Just as he''d suspected, Ryan was looking to cause trouble. Before he could go, a glowing blue thread suddenly appeared in front of him.


    As the silk thread quickly grew, it became a small square. Zen watched, as the square increased rapidly in size until eventually it became a vast net that could cover hundreds of feet around them and encompassed Zen and Ryan inside.


    "Don''t you think that the Blooded Test is exceptionally dull? I mean, come on, we''re dealing with beasts that have no intelligence. It''s simply insulting to me! We should add something interesting. Only a real fight, perhaps, can cheer me up! Then, maybe I''ll leave you whole," said Ryan, while he laughed maniacally.


    Narrowing his eyes, Zen glared at Ryan standing not far away. It would seem that Ryan wasn''t willing to let him go until they fought. He sighed, shrugging his shoulders in reluctant acceptance.

 Chapter 57 Fight Tooth And Nail (Part One)

    At that time, the masters were waiting outside Bloody Mountain. They had all locked onto Ryan through their picture slabs.


    Ryan had shown the most potential in the blooded test, but most masters had lost interest in him. While it was true that the masters used the test to hunt for potential disciples, they had their reasons for not focusing on Ryan.


    Firstly, although Ryan was the strongest candidate in this blooded test, the masters believed that he would want to join Dragon Peak because his relative, Master Fang, was the head of Dragon Peak. If Ryan had no intention of considering other peaks, then the masters would not waste their time trying to recruit him as a disciple.


    Zen was another reason that drove the masters'' attention away from Ryan. The masters had been watching the examinees who had entered the second and third layers of the blooded test. They had seen Zen on their picture slabs, and his abilities had caught their attention. They had been watching Nory for a long time since Zen had saved him. Although disciples from noble clans had surrounded Zen, he still risked himself to save Nory. Since Zen and Nory seemed to be friends, the masters thought they would stay together.


    However, to their great disappointment, they failed to find Zen. Zen didn''t seek out Nory in the next layer.


    The masters assumed that Zen might like fighting alone and dislike having contact with others. Perhaps Zen was a man who preferred coming and going freely.


    After a long while, when no master had been able to find Zen on their picture slabs, one master switched to Ryan. That was when he noticed the fight beginning between Ryan and Zen. Once he had alerted the other masters, excitement surged through them. They all shifted their picture slabs to Ryan right away.


    Given the potential of both Ryan and Zen, the masters knew that a great fight lay ahead. Adding to


    zed that had he been any slower, the filament would have sliced his head off.


    Ryan gave Zen no time to catch his breath. He rotated the dagger in his hand and generated many chaotic bright blue filaments in a minute. Then he ran toward Zen with the intention of slamming Zen with the bright filaments.


    The treacherous filaments would cut Zen into pieces, and he would die a tragic death if Ryan were to succeed.


    At the moment, Zen had no other choice but to run!


    Zen could not attack Ryan when the filaments surrounded him.


    Running straight at the person holding the filaments would increase Zen''s odds of being shredded. Zen needed another plan.


    The day had not turned out the way Zen had expected. The test had been going well. After all, Zen had enough crystal shards to pass the blooded test. But now when he was so close to success, he did not expect anything like this to happen. What could he do? With no other alternatives, Zen smiled bitterly.


    The large net covered Ryan and Zen. The net encompassed hundreds of feet, but there was little space for Zen to dodge.


    Since Ryan was relentless in his attacks, Zen had no choice but to retreat several steps. At last, Zen was cornered. There was nowhere left for him to go.

 Chapter 58 Fight Tooth And Nail (Part Two)

    Ryan realized Zen''s predicament, and a big, cynical grin grew on his handsome face. His eyes narrowed as he studied his target. Ryan knew that Zen had potential. His combat experience and his skills had given Ryan a challenge. Although Zen had come from a low-level clan, he had a strong mind and excellent cultivation abilities.


    However, Zen had sealed his fate when he dared to offend the Fang Clan.


    Killing him during the blooded test and ensuring that Zen could no longer attain his dream, which had been spun by faith, willpower, and endeavor, were very alluring for Ryan. It made the blooded test more interesting.


    Zen stood in the corner. The filament net was behind him. If he took even one small step backward, the net would cut him into small pieces. He would die right away. Ryan stalked toward Zen. A thick layer of chaotic filaments writhed in his hand.


    For Zen, this seemed like the end.


    ''Alas, will I lose this time?''


    Zen did not want to lose. He could retake the blooded test and join Cloud Sect next month! But he had worked hard and thought that he deserved this win.


    Every time Zen thought of Yan and her predicament, he felt pressed for time. She was trapped in Hell Mountain, and he had no idea what had happened to her. Equally, Yan had no clue what was happening in their Clan. A small voice inside Zen kept urging him forward. ''Don''t waste time. Hurry up! You have to save Yan as soon as possible!'' were the thoughts that drove Zen to accomplish his goals.


    ''The filaments are lethal, and I am trapped. What can I do? My bones withstood Evil Lan''s attacks. Perhaps they are strong enough to resist damage from the filaments.'' In his moment of despair, Zen stumbled on a risky but brilliant idea. He decided to roll the dice. He put one of his hands behind his back and touched the net with one finger.


    The moment his finger touched the net, Zen felt a sharp pain. He knew that the filaments had cut through the skin of his finger. In spite


    ht.


    Over and over, both of them rolled on the ground, like two children fighting.


    The difference was that their attacks were intended to kill the opponent on the spot.


    The two men didn''t follow any particular movements nor techniques of martial arts during the fight. They simply followed bodily resistance to attack.


    Who could be better than Zen in bodily resistance to attack?


    Slowly, as time went by, Ryan became weaker and weaker. His body could barely resist Zen''s attacks. Zen closed his eyes for a brief moment and called forth the eerie purple light. Then before Ryan realized what was happening, Zen punched Ryan three times.


    Each fist carried the full force of the Purple Fist Strength.


    Muffled sounds came from Ryan''s body.


    Since Zen could manage seven damages with each blow of the Purple Fist Strength, twenty-one lesions could be worked on Ryan''s body. Ryan could not help but writhe in pain. Panic overwhelmed him as Ryan realized that he had lost.


    Seconds later, bright light spots enclosed Ryan, and he disappeared from the Bloody Mountain. Although he had lost, Ryan couldn''t help wondering what Zen''s body was made of and why his dagger and the filaments had failed to cut him into pieces.


    Now the fight was over, and they had a winner. Obviously, Ryan was out.

 Chapter 59 Ogre (Part One)

    Outside Bloody Mountain, the masters exchanged wide-eyed looks of disbelief and gasped in surprise.


    Being a master at Cloud Sect meant being well-informed, composed and mature.


    And through the years, they had seen all kinds of talents.


    Quite frankly, some of the most talented warriors were trained by them. Accordingly, they should not be so surprised.


    But, these masters could not help shouting excitedly. Why was that?


    Each of the masters had a distinct perception of the rare skills and strength Ryan possessed, and also, they knew the might of Ryan''s dagger!


    The average people might not know, but the masters did. Those energy threads were extremely sharp, and could easily slice a low-grade spiritual weapon in two. Even a middle-grade spiritual weapon would probably be cut into pieces. To withstand those silk threads, a top-grade spiritual weapon was needed.


    But, what occurred just now, was so strange. Everyone, including Ryan, was shocked.


    It was a huge surprise when Zen withstood the silk threads with his flesh!


    Everyone watching had believed this to be Zen''s final stand before he was out of the Blooded Test. In their eyes, his struggle was in vain. Zen didn''t stand a chance of winning against Ryan and his spiritual weapon. The only foreseeable outcome of Zen crashing into the threads was him being shredded.


    Much to the onlooker''s surprise and Ryan''s astonishment, Zen not only shattered the silk threads but also outmaneuvered Ryan in the blink of an eye.


    It was no wonder that the crowd was surprised. What the hell was the body of this kid made from? How did he develop iron-like flesh? His strength was comparable to a top-grade mysterious weapon. The expressions on the masters'' faces were astonishment while in the heart of each was the idea of bringing him under their folds.


    Unlike the other masters, Dylan Fang had a bitter taste in his mouth, and hatred filled his eyes. He stared at the Picture Slab. It never struck him that Ryan could be eliminated because he was the most


    y harder, to the innermost layer, where stayed a solitary five-grade beast, whose strength was comparable to a master at nature level. Since the disciples were at lower levels, no one had set foot on the final layer to challenge the five-grade beast in the history of Bloody Mountain.


    As a matter of fact, many people questioned whether or not the fifth layer and five-grade beast were necessary because it was impossible for anyone to challenge it successfully. It seemed pointless for a five-grade beast to be there. Why? Because it expended so much energy to imagine one with the magic array system. This was a complete waste of power that they could apply to many other places.


    Every time a master proposed to get rid of it though, the suggestion was rejected.


    Why not just let it be? After all, there was no need to make changes. Since the five-grade beast had been created, it could just stay on the fifth layer and remain there, silently, with no issues. That was the reason given by the senior managers at the Cloud Sect.


    Working quietly, Joshua erased the circle at the core of the system plate, forcing the five-grade beast to leave the center. As the innermost circle vanished, the beast, under Joshua''s control, rose, rushing in Zen''s direction. When Joshua saw that the five-grade creature was closer to Zen, he drew his arms back.

 Chapter 60 Ogre (Part Two)

    "You might have been able to withstand the power of Cut-All-Like-Air Dagger, but, let''s see how you will stand up against the strength of a five-grade beast! Hahaha..."


    Joshua said smiling ferociously.


    Meanwhile, Zen was oblivious to the fact that he was the center of attention, with masters discussing him and his flesh or that he had aroused a great disturbance outside.


    After Zen eliminated Ryan, the dozens of crystal fragments that had belonged to Ryan were all his. The crystal fragments he had in hand were far beyond the requirements of the Blooded Test. ''What now?'' he wondered, breathing a sigh of relief. All Zen needed to do now was find a corner to wait quietly until the end of the test and maybe take a little break. Then he would be an outer disciple at the Cloud Sect.


    He finally had time to check the many gashes in his clothes and realized he was covered in blood. Luckily, for him, even though the wound looked awful, there wasn''t really any pain.


    The wounds the threads had made on his hands and feet were bloody and looked severely mutilated. However, these were all trauma and didn''t hurt his life energy which might make it simpler for him to heal.


    Clenching his fists tightly, Zen pushed his energy out. Deep red blood-like liquid suddenly flowed along the wound sites, down his arms and legs. Under pressure he exerted, the wounds quickly closed. Zen controlled his muscles to heal instantly. This was something anyone at the peak of flesh refining level could do. In that short time, he was able to recover and feel much better.


    Waiting until the wounds were almost healed, Zen paced back and forth, to make sure there was no more pain in his body. Then he glanced around and walked away.


    In his heart, there remained some questions. The weapon he got from Ryan was a spiritual weapon, ''I wonder how many dragon scales will be lighted up if the black fire in my mind swallows the spiritual weapon? Three, four? Maybe five?'' considered Zen. While he still wasn''t clear about that, he knew


    lly, Zen reacted. This was at least a five-grade beast! Why a five-grade beast would appear on the third layer, Zen didn''t have time to think over. His only thought now was - RUN!


    Thinking he could get away unnoticed, Zen took off heading away from the Ogre. Unexpectedly, the monster ceased chasing other initiates, thudding off after Zen. Behind him, Zen heard the heavy crashing of lumbering, heavy footfall, and thought, ''Oh my God! I wouldn''t have run if I knew he''d follow me!'' At that moment he figured he probably should find a spot to hide until the Ogre was gone. But, as he looked around, he saw there wasn''t much cover to protect him and decided to keep running.


    Despite how slowly the Ogre moved, each step of it was equal to eight steps Zen took. So, try as he might, the Ogre was much faster than him.


    It didn''t take Zen long to adjust his breathing so he could sprint faster and rid himself of this Ogre.


    After all, he had had enough fragments, so if he were beat to death and knocked out of the game by the Ogre now, it would just be an embarrassing injustice!


    However, even running as quickly as Zen was, the gap between the Ogre and him was getting smaller. The two were as mismatched in speed as strength!


    When the Ogre was a mere six feet away, it lunged toward Zen while swatting its thick palm to smack Zen.

 Chapter 61 Using The Flying Knife (Part One)

    At this moment, Zen leaped forward suddenly, and the ogre''s attack hit the ground just behind him. The sound of the impact was so loud that Zen''s ears ached. When he turned back to look, Zen realized that the force of the attack left a huge palm print on the ground. Had he not jumped away in time, the blow would have landed on his body.


    Without wasting any time, Zen rolled forward, got up, and continued running.


    The phantom ogre, who had been created by the illusion, murmured a few incomprehensible ogre words before chasing after Zen.


    Zen had no choice but to keep running. At the same time, he felt angry and annoyed. Why was this ogre chasing him only?


    Unfortunately, he couldn''t stop to ask for an explanation. Even though the ogre was an illusion, if he were killed by it, he would be embarrassed. Besides, the ogre was an unreal beast. It was illogical to assume that the ogre was capable of thinking rationally. Of course, Zen couldn''t communicate with such a creature.


    While Zen struggled with his escape, the scene outside Bloody Mountain was also messy.


    Many instructors had discovered through the Picture Slabs that the ogre had escaped from the fifth level and entered the third level.


    "Joshua, do you know what the hell is going on?"


    "Shouldn''t this ogre be in the fifth level? How could he break through the magic arrays and enter the third level? This has never happened before!"


    Faced with those questions, Joshua stammered, "I..I don''t know what''s going on. Maybe there is something wrong with the magic arrays in the Bloody Mountain. Otherwise, I have no explanation for how this could happen."


    "I demand that the Blooded Test be stopped immediately," said one of the instructors.


    "Yes, the Blooded Test should be stopped. I''m afraid that if the participants on the Bloody Mountain are attacked by this creature, they will all be unfairly removed from th


    o observe the ogre''s intentions to avoid its attacks.


    As he ran, Zen recalled that the ogre''s body was entirely different from that of a human. Starting from birth, the ogre was much stronger than a human in terms of physical strength. So, in ancient times, human beings suffered tremendously during wars with ogres.


    But the creator was fair. Ogres had a fatal defect, which made them vulnerable. They had two hearts.


    One heart was insufficient to generate enough power to support their tough and robust body. So, ogres required a second heart.


    Having two hearts was not a fatal flaw. The anomaly allowed ogres to have greater forces. However, the placement of the heart was an issue. The second heart was on their back.


    Only a thin layer of flesh protected the ogre''s second heart. If the layer of flesh was penetrated, it would be easy to smash the second heart, and the ogre would die.


    Aware of this weakness, all ogres would be equipped with heavy armors when they went to the battlefield. The armor had a high protrusion on the back, which was to protect their second heart. Humans called this kind of armor tortoiseshell in jest.


    Having fought with this ogre for some time, Zen had noticed that it wore no such protection on its back.

 Chapter 62 Using The Flying Knife (Part Two)

    As long as he penetrated the flesh and the second heart of the ogre, he could knock it down. And this was the only plan for Zen to escape with his life.


    While he was still thinking about the solution, a strong wind blew from one side. Zen glanced sideways only to find that the big palm of the ogre was coming toward him.


    ''Oh, my god! No time to run away!''


    This time, even though Zen wanted to dodge the attack, he did not have enough time to do so.


    There was no other alternative except to fight. Zen made his decision quickly. He gritted his teeth, turned around, and then jumped on the back of the ogre''s hand. Running along the back of its hand to its arm, Zen then jumped on to the ogre''s shoulder. With a somersault, Zen crossed over the ogre''s head. At this moment, his nose was only inches away from the two sharp horns on the ogre''s head.


    With these calculated movements, Zen had finally reached the ogre''s back. It was then that he could see the prominent protrusion on its back!


    ''This is it! Taste my Purple Fist Strength! You devil!''


    Zen summoned all his strength and channeled it to his fist. Then he hit the protrusion. This protrusion was the second heart of the devil! A purple light flowed out of Zen''s body.


    If he could manage to inject the Purple Fist Strength through the thin layer of the ogre''s flesh, its heart would be smashed to pieces.


    However, to his surprise, Zen''s fist slipped when his attack landed on the ogre''s back. Its skin was so slippery!


    ''Oh, my god. I failed!'' Zen thought as an overwhelming feeling of danger flowed through him.


    In the next moment, the clumsy ogre sensed where Zen was and slapped him when he turned around. ''Bang!'' A loud sound echoed.


    The ogre had managed to land a blow on Zen while he was on its back! Its power pushed Zen far away. Seeing Zen flying dozens of feet away because of the impact, like a smal


    wed down. The ogre even stopped and studied Zen for some time. Then he raised his foot and was about to step on Zen with the intention of trampling him to death.


    Maybe because the ogre felt that its prey was unable to move, it raised its foot slowly.


    The slow movement gave Zen the time he needed to roll away. Enduring the agonizing pain, he climbed up from the ground. Zen intended to jump up at the same time.


    "Ouch! That hurts!"


    Although Zen was determined not to wait for his death at the hands of the ogre, the movements caused a tremendous amount of pain to flow through him. He could not help but cry out in agony. The pain from the inner bones was so significant that his body lost flexibility and he could not jump up as he had planned to.


    In this case......


    Zen needed a new plan. Without hesitating, he took out the broken flying knife from his space ring and then summoned all his strength before throwing the flying knife at the ogre.


    ''I hope it works!'' Zen prayed in his heart. This was his last hope. If this strike did not cause any harm to the ogre, then Zen was doomed to be eliminated from the Blooded Test.


    Zen watched the flying knife with bated breath. He was shocked when he saw the route of the flying knife.

 Chapter 63 A Feeling Of Distress

    The flying knife, like a dart, quickly penetrated the ogre''s back.


    More strangely, the flying knife ran through the ogre''s body effortlessly until it fell onto the ground with its force spent.


    At this sight, Zen was rendered speechless. He considered two possibilities. The first was that he was powerful enough to throw the flying knife through the ogre, but this was obviously impossible.


    Another possibility was that the seemingly broken flying knife was sharp enough to run through the ogre.


    Zen found that the second possibility was more likely than the first.


    ''This is a powerful flying knife!'' Zen marveled at the knife''s magic.


    The colossal ogre was overcome with pain and staggered until spots of light consumed it.


    Zen killed the only grade five unreal beast!


    "Ding....."


    A pure black crystal fragment fell onto the ground and bounced toward Zen''s hand.


    The black crystal fragment was all that Zen needed to pass the blooded test...


    Zen, with the black crystal fragment in hand, could not help but curse the designer of the magic array.


    Zen would rather deal with numerous grade three unreal beasts than the grade five unreal beast, namely, the ogre.


    Zen, at that moment, was not short of other colored crystal fragments. Now, he was more concerned about the flying knife than the fragments.


    Still reeling from the pain caused by the ogre''s blow, Zen managed to take several steps. The knife had fallen in the bushes and shrubs. He could no longer see it.


    ''The magical flying knife is a must for my collection, '' Zen thought.


    ''How can it be lost?'' Zen wondered.


    After a careful and meticulous search, Zen finally found a small hole in the ground.


    ''Too bad... considering its overwhelming strength, the flying knife must have embedded itself in the ground, '' Zen thought.


    He forced the ground open seven or eight feet with sustained efforts and yet, he couldn''t see the flying knife.


    At this point, Zen found that his surroundings were gradually changing.


    The magic realm was collapsing, which turned Zen''s thoughts back to the completion of the blooded test and the end of the magic array.


    A second later, Zen was surprised to find himself in a completely different scene. He found himself back on the Bloody Mountain which boasted of scarlet vegetation.


    And the place Zen was just digging was out of sight.


    ''My flying knife! How could I bea


    al vendetta against Perrin.


    "Zen is bound to join Drizzle Peak!" Master Su''s light voice silenced all other masters. She presumed to win Zen''s admission, as she had been the first to sense Zen''s potential and had become his patron.


    Although the other masters were in deference to Master Su, they didn''t want to submit lightly in the matter regarding the selection of high-potential disciples.


    "Master Su, you should compete with us for the privilege of selecting disciples in a spirit of fairness," Master Xu challenged Master Su calmly.


    "Master Su, you can''t always do this...."


    "Master Su, your peak''s reputation does not justify your aggressiveness..."


    The other masters present bombarded Master Su with their unanimous opposition.


    Master Su''s desire to acquire Zen as her peak''s disciple and her usual arrogance finally triggered collective hostility from her counterparts.


    But Master Su dismissed their suggestions and opinions with an arrogant wave of her hand.


    Sensing Master Su''s displeasure, the other masters had to stop voicing their dissatisfaction. If the masters dared to offend her, they would be removed from Cloud Sect.


    Master Su sighed and said, "It is advisable that we select disciples in line with their rankings and preferences."


    With no other alternative, the masters accepted Master Su''s suggestion.


    But they were not aware of Master Su''s determination to secure Zen as her disciple.


    They hadn''t the slightest clue that she had hatched a scheme to get what she wanted.


    Master Su was pleased with the prospect when the counting was in progress.

 Chapter 64 Recover The Flying Knife (Part One)

    Zen stood among the disciples who had passed the test. One by one, more disciples emerged from the Bloody Mountain. They took turns throwing crystal fragments into the baskets.


    Suddenly Zen spotted Nory jumping out of a flying chariot. He gave Zen a cheerful wave before he hurried to the baskets. Zen watched as Nory took out a handful of crystal fragments and placed them into the baskets.


    Nory had passed the test too!


    Zen was quite surprised. Nory was only at the bone refining level. How was it possible for him to collect ten purple fragments in the test? During the test, Zen had planned to give Nory spare fragments once he had reached the third level. However, Zen encountered the ogre and then, he didn''t get the chance.


    Zen didn''t know how, but it seemed as though Nory had passed the Blooded Test all by himself. It was impossible for a man at the bone refining level to kill the unreal beasts in the third level. How did Nory manage it?


    Could Nory have been downplaying his abilities? The thought flashed through Zen''s mind.


    Smiling, Nory walked over to Zen, obviously pleased with himself. "Ha! I have passed the test, Zen."


    "How did you do that? How did you get enough fragments?" Zen asked.


    "Well, it''s a long story. The short version is that I got lucky." Then he told Zen what happened after he entered the third level. Nory happened to see two disciples from noble clans fighting each other for a fragment. At last, both disciples were critically wounded and forced out of the test. Nory took advantage and collected their fragments. That was how he passed th


    ore relaxed. After a tough haul, the disciples had finally met their first goal.


    Some of them were so excited that they could hardly fall asleep. They spent most of the evening talking all about the choices of peaks.


    Master Xu from the Skytop Peak was the most discussed person among these newcomers.


    There were many tales about Skytop Peak. Topping all other 32 peaks, it was said to cream off most talents in the sect.


    Zen and Nory sat at the corner of the room, listening to this discussion.


    Nory listened intently. His eyes glittered with anticipation. Zen saw his expression and asked, "So which peak do you prefer? Skytop Peak?"


    Nory scratched his head and laughed, "I wish. But I''m afraid I won''t qualify for it."


    Nory was acutely aware of what he was capable of. Skytop Peak would choose the disciples who had performed well in the test. He assumed that the big man with a great sword would probably get into Skytop Peak.


    "Zen, I have decided to stick with you. I find that I am lucky as long as I stay with you," Nory said.

 Chapter 65 Recover The Flying Knife (Part Two)

    There was some degree of truth in Nory''s conclusion. If it hadn''t been for Zen, Nory might not have passed the initial exam. And if Zen hadn''t helped him during the Blooded Test, Nory would have been eliminated already.


    "What if I go to Drizzle Peak?" Zen asked, smiling.


    The question brought Nory up short. Then after a moment''s hesitation, he exclaimed, "Are you kidding me?"


    According to Zen''s brilliant performance in the test, he could get into any peak he wanted.


    But now, Zen was considering going to Drizzle Peak. Nory had to remind him, "Bro, Drizzle Peak is at the bottom of all peaks. You know that, don''t you?"


    Zen nodded as Master Su''s face flashed through his mind. If it hadn''t been for her, he would have been disqualified by Joshua in the test. But if Drizzle Peak ranked last, then its support couldn''t compare with any other peaks. Its disciples would have two strikes against them when it came to their quota of pills, refining methods or other monthly supplies.


    Zen hesitated for a moment.


    As the night wore on, Zen shoved everything else out of his mind and focused on something more important.


    He had to get his knife back even if it meant that he had to turn Bloody Mountain upside down.


    After Nory drifted into a deep sleep, Zen slid out of the room. He went to the foot of the mountain under cover of darkness. Vaguely, he found the trial he had taken earlier and began to ascend the mountain.


    The magic array was inactive at this hour, and so, there weren''t too many unreal beasts. Since the magic red sand had made the mou


    " Master Su added, "on one condition."


    "Name it." Zen said.


    "You join Drizzle Peak," Master Su said with a sly smile.


    Zen had been expecting her to say that. All this while, he had been hesitating about which peak to choose.


    But now he knew without a doubt which peak he would pick. His choice seemed to be influenced by Master Su. Her behavior seemed a little shady, but she had found his knife.


    He might never have found the knife had it not been for her assistance.


    As he thought of this, Zen nodded and said sincerely, "I will choose Drizzle Peak tomorrow."


    Master Su gave him a sweet smile. She tapped the ring on her slender finger. A second later, two small rings appeared in her palm. "Your knife is cracked, plus you can''t control the knife with your life vitality unless you reach the nature level. That is why you can''t make the knife return after you throw it. Here is my ''welcome to Drizzle Peak'' gift. Take it."


    Zen looked at the two small rings and blinked. He had no clue about the function of the gift.

 Chapter 66 Selecting A Refinement Method (Part One)

    Noticing the bewildered look on Zen''s face, Master Su attached one small ring to the hilt of the flying knife and slipped the other on her thumb. She hurled the flying knife down the mountain.


    Zen cried out at the sight of what Master Su did. The flying knife was so sharp that it could have embedded in the ground anywhere, and since it was so dark out, it would be hard to find.


    However, a second later Master Su flicked her wrist, and the flying knife returned to her hand.


    It was a marvel to behold in Zen''s opinion.


    The two small rings were inconspicuous, as though an invisible thread connected them. After throwing the flying knife, it only took a gentle tug, and it returned.


    It was a razor-sharp knife, but Master Su caught it in her hand without an issue. Zen admired her skill enormously.


    Taking the flying knife and set of small rings from Master Su, Zen respectfully bowed and stated, "Thank you, for your generous gift, Master Su."


    Master Su gave a slight chuckle and patted his head. "Don''t stand on ceremony. You''re going to be a member of my Drizzle Peak! Run along and rest now," she urged graciously. "Tomorrow you will pick refinement techniques after the peak selection."


    Zen nodded and walked back down the mountain the way he had come.


    On his way back, he slipped one small ring on his thumb and the other onto the hilt of his flying knife. He threw the blade as Master Su had done, but when he tugged it, the knife shot at him.


    Breaking into a cold sweat, Zen threw himself onto the ground, and the knife narrowly missed him. Although his body was exceptionally tough, Zen wasn''t strong enough to withstand the sharp flying knife.


    How did Master Su make it look so easy to catch the flying knife with her bare hand? Why couldn''t he? After practicing several


    rther changes, I''ll play. But, I wonder if you have the stomach."


    Judging from Master Su''s confident attitude and Zen''s unwavering choice, it was clear that the two had reached a secret agreement. The other masters kept silent, criticizing Master Su inwardly.


    If Master Su were unreasonable, they could argue, but, since she wasn''t, they would be asking for trouble if they messed with Master Su now.


    With the end of that argument, the struggle for the top disciple ended, so the masters moved on to the second-ranked outer disciple...


    Basing his decision on Zen''s, Nory chose the Drizzle Peak too.


    Half of the day was gone before all the disciples who participated in the test were assigned to a peak.


    The work for the day wasn''t over yet though. There was still the critical task of choosing the refinement method that suited them.


    At the Cloud Sect, there was a hall called the Heavenly Library.


    In this library were housed almost all the methods known to the entire empire.


    However, it wasn''t easy for a Cloud Sect disciple to go there and select a refinement method.


    Each selection cost a hundred points, which had a market price of two hundred Cubic Crystals.

 Chapter 67 Selecting A Refinement Method (Part Two)

    To the noble clan disciples, one hundred points might not be much, but to most of the common disciples, it was a lot.


    What annoyed all the disciples equally was how many refinement methods there were in the Heavenly Library, whether high or low-level refinement methods, which made it hard to choose. Some disciples managed to accumulate a hundred points, but that would only buy the Barbaric Fist.


    The book was inexpensive, selling for only a dozen gold in the Imperial Capital, so, paying a hundred points was a waste of points.


    There was an art to pick a refinement method at the Heavenly Library.


    All outer disciples were granted access to the Heavenly Library once to select a refinement method.


    Under guidance from the masters, they headed for the Heavenly Library.


    The deeper into the Cloud Sect that someone went, the more they experienced its vastness. After passing mountain forests, lakes and magnificent buildings of various shapes, they finally came to the gates of a great hall.


    The hall had a purple haze covering it. With careful observation, streaks of purple light could be seen emitting from it.


    As Zen stared at the bright glow, his eyes hurt. It was a peculiar feeling, similar, but much weaker, to that of the cyan dragon figure in his mind.


    "Pupils, don''t look directly into the light," reminded one of the masters warmly. "Through your eyes, it can damage your soul."


    Hearing this, the outer disciples immediately looked away from the light.


    As important as a man''s soul was, a common saying used to describe damage came about of ''soul injury''. Someone with even a minor soul injury would feel the effects, like dizziness and weakness for several days while more serious soul injury might leave a person paralyzed or cause brain damage severe enough to make him an idiot for several years.


    "What is the light, Master?" asked one of the outer dis


    was stronger than in the first hall which made some of the outer disciples turn back because they felt ill.


    It was the strength of someone''s soul that determined how well they resisted the intent of the Vengeful Beast.


    The vast majority of those disciples had never honed their souls. Naturally, some people were born with stronger souls, while others were not. It was like any genetic differences and had nothing to do with their strength.


    Several outer disciples didn''t want to give up, even though they already felt very ill. So, they stood still, closed their eyes and tried hard to withstand the intent of the Vengeful Beast.


    However, it didn''t take long for the color to drain from their faces, and a wave of dizziness came over them. Finally, with no other choice, they left the hall. Making a bad situation worse, one disciple fainted in the room and needed to be carried back.


    Most of those remaining acknowledged their limitations and remained at the hall of tier-two refinement methods. If those disciples continued to go deeper, their souls were likely to be damaged.


    Therefore, they stopped there and began searching for the refinement that worked for them.


    Very few people continued deeper.


    One of those who did was Zen.

 Chapter 68 Tier Five Cultivation Methods (Part One)

    Once past the hall for tier two cultivation methods, Zen looked around. Only four other people had accompanied him. One of them was the towering strongman who always held a great sword.


    Zen knew that this strongman was physically powerful and had boundless energy. He had not expected this strongman to also have a mighty soul. As Zen suspected, Cloud Sect had many outstanding disciples.


    As Zen walked ahead, the hall that housed tier three refinement methods came into his sight.


    An eerie purple light radiated from this hall.


    Five people entered this hall. Except for Zen, all other people looked unwell.


    One of them had turned ghastly pale as soon as he had stepped into the hall. From his attire, Zen guessed this was a disciple from a noble clan. Judging from his pallid face, it was evident that he was finding it difficult to resist the intent of the Vengeful Beast. This disciple reached into his pocket and pulled out a dark grey pill. Then, he closed his eyes and swallowed the pill. When he opened his eyes again, gold rays of light radiated from his eyes. At this sight, Zen realized that the pill invigorated the soul and helped the disciple withstand the intent of the Vengeful Beast.


    "Disciples from noble clans are so fortunate!" Zen murmured and shook his head. Then he thought, ''How can disciples from ordinary clans acquire such pills?''


    The five disciples surveyed the hall. Since they had entered the hall, tier 3 cultivation methods were accessible to them.


    In the Eastern Region, cultivation methods were classified into four tiers.


    Of these four tiers, tier 1 cultivation methods were the most common. Since there were innumerable tier 1 cultivation methods, they were the cheapest and could be acquired at martial arts clubs.


    However, tier 2 cultivation methods were limited in comparison to tier 1. In general, these were inherited by small clans. For instance, the Purple Light Fist that Zen practiced was just one of many tier 2 cultivation methods. The Luo Clan was neither rich nor big. For such a clan, a book on Purple Light Fist was fairly precious. Hence, they generally didn''t share their kno


    dy. However, Zen discovered that these shadows were attacking his soul with every blow to his body.


    Deep in his brain, Zen felt a sharp stabbing pain.


    For others, this kind of pain might be fatal. But Zen had a far stronger soul.


    In spite of this, he was in deep agony.


    Every shadow bumped into him like an awl and Zen felt a sharp stab in his head. As a result, Zen felt intense pain deep in his brain.


    Such pain was not physical, but spiritual. There was nowhere for Zen to hide and escape from the shadows. As a result, he had no choice but to endure the pain caused by the shadows.


    His soul couldn''t withstand the attacks, and it throbbed every time a shadow attacked Zen.


    He could bear the attack of one shadow. But since all the shadows were attacking Zen one after another, the pain was unbearable.


    At last, Zen felt as though he would succumb to the pain of being attacked by many shadows.


    Spiritual things were rather mysterious, and he had never heard of attacks against a person''s soul. Naturally, Zen didn''t know how to counterattack the shadows.


    Zen gritted his teeth and closed his aching eyes. The pain was so terrible that Zen felt as though his eyes would pop out. At that moment, he even considered giving up.


    But after further thinking, Zen realized that he must be persistent.


    Before coming to Cloud Sect, he had been subject to inhumane levels of mental suffering.

 Chapter 69 Tier Five Cultivation Methods (Part Two)

    At that time, dominated by the intent of the cyan dragon, he was torn and smashed unceasingly. The pain he had suffered when he was still at the Luo house was more intolerable than what he was experiencing now.


    "This pain is nothing! I should just treat it as exercise for my soul!"


    Zen murmured in a bid to encourage himself to stay strong. He shook his head and tried to work up the courage to continue walking into the hall. Soon, Zen found that he could march further into the hall for tier 4 cultivation methods.


    As he approached the small wooden bookcase, despite the attacks of the shadows, Zen noticed that there was a passageway behind the hall.


    "Why would there be a passageway here? Isn''t the hall for tier 4 cultivation methods the last hall?" Zen was a little shocked.


    Ever since he was a child, Zen had heard that there were only four tiers of cultivation methods. He had never heard of a cultivation method higher than tier 4.


    All of a sudden, his curiosity was aroused. ''Perhaps I should enter the passageway and see if there are any higher-tier cultivation methods, '' thought Zen.


    Still undecided, Zen took a minute to skim the bookcase in this hall. Tier 4 cultivation methods highly tempted Zen. Earlier, access to a tier 3 cultivation method would have pleased Zen. He had never dreamed of being in a position to access a tier 4 cultivation method!


    After hesitating and thinking for a while, Zen found that he couldn''t abjure his curiosity.


    Others didn''t have a chance to enter the hall for tier 4 cultivation methods, but he did. Now that he had come this far, why shouldn''t he try to find out whether there were higher-tier cultivation methods?


    At this thought, Zen decided to explore the passageway.


    The passageway was not wide or spacious. It wasn''t well decorated either. The floors and walls of the corridor had rotten over time. As soon as Zen entered the corridor, which was about 10 feet long, he felt a reprieve from the attack of the purple shadows.


    ''The overwhelming intent of the Vengeful Beast doesn''t exist here?'' Zen wondered.


    Curious and bewildered, Zen marched ahead. At the end of the corridor was a stone chamber.


    The chamber was circular, and not very big. In the center stood a black monument.


    Zen''s eyes widened when he realized that this chamber was a graveyard.


    As soon


    fiercely toward Zen, but it didn''t. Instead, it clawed the floor every time the dragon growled fiercely. Then the soul let out a low howl.


    This brought a smile to Zen''s face. He hadn''t thought that the shadows and the Vengeful Beast were naturally fearful of the cyan dragon''s growl.


    The Vengeful Beast''s soul winced every time Zen took a step toward it.


    As Zen walked over to it, one step after another without stopping, the Vengeful Beast''s soul jumped back onto the tombstone before letting out a ferocious howl. At last, the soul retreated into the black tombstone.


    Its grudges were evidently manifested in its howl. These were also perceived by Zen.


    Just now, Zen was in grave danger. His soul would have been killed had the cyan dragon not awoken and come to his rescue.


    But now, Zen had gotten past the dangers. Because of that, a flat smile grew on Zen''s face. Then, he began to explore the stone chamber.


    When he had first entered this chamber, Zen had noticed a bookcase near the black monument.


    He walked toward the bookcase. When close enough, he saw that the bookcase contained two books on cultivation methods.


    ''Why are there only two books on cultivation methods? What on earth are they about?'' wondered Zen.


    Zen reached out and took one of the two books off the bookcase. This book looked very old and shabby. Since a thick layer of dust covered the book and he was unable to read its title, Zen patted the book to remove the dust. It was then that he could see several big words on the cover.


    ''Heavenly Ogre Fist!''

 Chapter 70 Hell Mountain (Part One)

    The book in Zen''s hands was on fist position. It depended a lot on attacking skills.


    Zen turned to the first page gingerly. What caught his eyes was that the page was filled with small and closely-written words. Zen soon realized that this was a translation of Ogre language.


    The knowledge in this book apparently came from the Ogres, and someone had the skills to translate Ogre language. Zen was clueless as to who could have translated the text.


    ''As per the words, is this a cultivation method for Ogres?''?Zen was puzzled.


    The Heavenly Ogre Body Refining formulation was a cultivation method for Ogres only.


    Zen knew that cultivation methods for Ogres were highly demanding. To practice them, a person would require strong physical strength.


    As it was known to all, the strength of the human body would improve greatly after the body had been refined. However, compared to Ogres, humans were still far weaker. The body of an Ogre, obviously, was not on the same level as a human.


    For example, the physical strength of humans at the bone refining level was about the same as that of a four or five-year-old Ogre child.


    Of course, this was just for general people, not Zen. Evil Lan had refined his body, and the strength of Zen''s body was now comparable to a top grade mysterious weapon.


    Therefore, the demanding body strength required to practice this cultivation method might be an impossible threshold for most humans, but not for Zen. It was tailored for him for sure.


    Zen put the Heavenly Ogre Fist book into the space ring and left the chamber.


    When he re-entered the hall for tier 4 cultivation method, Zen found that an old man dressed in white was looking at him with bright eyes.


    Zen studied the old man. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, graceful and noble. Zen felt relieved because he did not sense any hostility from the old man.


    "The power of the Heavenly Ogre Fist is great. But i


    it is fate that led you to this book. But this cultivation method involves many other factors. If someone outside asks you what you have taken," the old man stopped speaking for long enough to wave at the cultivation method hall. A book from the cabinet flew over to them. With the book in hand, the old man continued, "You should tell them that this is what you have chosen."


    Zen took the book from the old man and turned it around in his hand. As he looked at the book, Zen''s eyes brightened when he saw the words, Spiritual Thorn, on the cover.


    There were so many books on tier 4 cultivation method on the bookcase in this hall. Zen had not expected that he would get an opportunity to take two. Zen laughed with joy before placing the book inside the space ring.


    Then Zen looked at the old man and thanked him by cupping his hands (left over right) and raising them chest high as a salute. After that, Zen turned with the intention of leaving the hall.


    Before he could take a step, the old man stopped him, "Wait, you... aren''t you curious about my identity?"


    "What?" Zen stopped and turned to face the old man. In all this time, he had not thought to ask the old man his name. Zen raised his hand and slapped it on his forehead. "Please forgive my lack of manners. You are..."

 Chapter 71 Hell Mountain (Part Two)

    "That''s fine. I have to say that you overplayed your part." The old man waved his hands and laughed. He knew that the boy did not really care about who he was. But this was not something he needed to care about. He continued, "Although Cloud Sect is large, if you are extraordinary, I am sure that we will meet again, sooner or later."


    Knowing that he had not annoyed the old man, Zen smiled at him, then turned and left.


    The old man watched as Zen left. Then he sighed and whispered, "I did not expect that after so many years, this book will finally be claimed. I don''t think anyone will believe that this was not heaven''s will."


    Since Zen had left the hall, he did not hear the old man''s words. Even if he had heard what the old man had said, he would not understand the meaning.


    When Zen entered the hall for the tier 3 cultivation method, he saw that all other people had left. Even the hall for the tier 2 cultivation method was empty.


    It was not advisable to linger in the Heavenly Library, as over time, it became harder to bear the pressure of intent of the Vengeful Beast. It was natural that the others would leave soon after selecting the appropriate cultivation method.


    Zen was the last to leave the Heavenly Library.


    When he stepped out, the disciples of the other thirty-two peaks had already left.


    Only the disciples of Drizzle Peak were waiting for him.


    "I am so sorry to have kept you waiting." Zen bowed with hands folded as he apologized.


    "That''s fine. We are brothers of Drizzle Peak, and we should be concerned about each other, now and in the future! Well, welcome to Drizzle Peak." said an outer disciple as he patted Zen on the shoulder.


    This group of outer disciples who had picked Drizzle Peak was from low clans. None of these disciples were from noble clans. So they were congenial with each other.


    Master Aura Su had been standing in the distance and studying something. When she saw Zen, she smiled and asked, "Did you enter the tier 4 cultivation method hall?"


    Only the few peopl


    o in the Burning Sky Empire, and even the entire Eastern Region. Whoever had the most power was the boss. This was a universal principle.


    If he was strong, why would he come to Cloud Sect? If he was strong, he could rescue Yan from Hell Mountain with just a word. Unfortunately, he was weak.


    Sorrow filled his eyes at the thought of his sister, Yan. She was the one person about whom he was most concerned. He erased the sadness from his eyes and said, "Sean, I want to ask you something."


    Sean maintained his warm smile, nodded and said, "Sure, what can I help you with?"


    "Where is Hell Mountain in Cloud Sect?" Zen asked cautiously.


    Sean''s eyebrows rose at the question. When he replied, his pitch was higher. "Hell Mountain? Why you ask about that place?"


    "Oh, no special reason. I am just curious," Zen replied.


    "Hell Mountain is an independent mountain in the northwest corner of Cloud Sect. Anyone who has made a serious mistake or has broken the rules will be locked there. I certainly haven''t been there. But I have heard that the environment in Hell Mountain is awful. Thousands of disciples have been locked there!" When Sean finished, he looked at Zen''s face and asked again, "Do you have a friend who is locked in Hell Mountain?"


    Zen did not answer this question. Instead, he asked, "Is there a way to enter Hell Mountain?"

 Chapter 72 Endless Troubles

    "There are two ways." Sean extended two fingers as he spoke, "The first is to spend a hundred points in visiting Hell Mountain."


    "Points?"


    Since his came to Cloud Sect, Zen had been bombarded with references to points many times.


    Previously during the initial exam, the old man told him of the points necessary to enter the powerful pressure space.


    Before participating in the blooded test, Zen was in a fight with members of the Wang Clan. At last, the inner disciple who had started the fight had been punished with a penalty of a thousand points.


    "What use do these points have? How can we obtain them?" Zen asked eagerly.


    "Within Cloud Sect, it is impossible for disciples to do anything without these points. And all of you should be well informed of their functions." Sean Zhou then began to lecture them, "Outer disciples need to obtain sufficient points to be accepted as inner disciples. Points are also needed to swap elixirs used for cultivation and to eat and live. These points are recorded in your disciple cards."


    "How can we obtain a hundred points within a short period?" Zen, at that moment, cared less about the use of these points and more about how to earn enough points to visit Yan at Hell Mountain.


    "Masters of Cloud Sect will assign daily tasks to you. On completion of these tasks, you will gain the corresponding number of points. But outer disciples normally get fewer points. And it may take half a year for outer disciples to earn a hundred points. By the way, since my admission to Cloud Sect, I am in possession of less than a hundred points," Sean explained with a forced smile.


    "Half a year?" Zen found it unacceptable to wait that long. He was eager to find a time-efficient solution.


    "Well, you can swap two hundred cubic crystals for a hundred points," Sean suggested.


    Upon hearing that, Zen was happy because he had many cubic crystals in his space ring. However, the exchange rate worried him.


    Any outer disciple of Cloud Sect could become a millionaire at this exchange rate after resuming a civilian life.


    ''Even if I swap a hundred cubic crystals for fifty points, how would I collect the rest?'' Zen was overcome with anxiety.


    It would take at least three months to complete enough tasks to gain the remaining fifty points. However, Zen was desperate to reach Hell Mountain and see Yan.


    Zen was eager to hear of the other alternative to reach Hell Mountain from Sean.


    Sean then suggested that if Zen were to violate the rules of Cloud Sect, he would be exiled to Hell Mountain.


    "......."


    Zen remained silent for a long while. He chuckled as he thought, ''A good alternative, indeed.''


    But that option was not feasible for Zen.


    Without the backing of a noble clan or a patron at Cloud Sect, Zen had to bide his time patiently.


    Zen told himself to w


    able to follow the instructions in the book easily, and he had learned how to turn his soul into a thorn, each time he tried, Zen felt uneasiness in his heart. Overwhelmed by this feeling, Zen failed to complete the cultivation method.


    After spending ten days in his room practicing this cultivation method, Zen found that he hadn''t been able to make a breakthrough despite intensive research.


    At last, Zen came to realize that he had to conquer the insurmountable.


    Well, from hard practice comes virtuosity.


    Finally, Zen decided to take a reprieve by looking around Drizzle Peak. He had sequestered himself in his room for so long that Zen felt that a walk would help clear his mind.


    Zen''s extensive practice since his admission to Drizzle Peak attracted the attention of many outer disciples.


    When Zen walked out of his tiny room and came across a mirror, he was stunned to see that his hair was disheveled and that he had grown a full beard.


    As Nory passed by, he scrunched his nose and demanded that Zen take a shower.


    Drizzle Peak boasted of various living facilities including bathrooms, dining rooms, gardens, and tea lobbies.


    After taking a shower, Zen and Nory went to dine together.


    The dining room was featured with properly arranged tables and chairs and exquisite decorations worthy of a royal palace.


    After they sat down, delicacies were placed on the table in front of them.


    It was worthwhile to mention that Dragon Teeth Rice, a tribute from the Eastern Region was available to the privileged of an ordinary clan and to any outer disciple of Cloud Sect. This type of rice was tender, fresh, sweet, and aromatic.


    When the two of them were about to enjoy their meal, several people entered the dining hall and headed straight for Zen and Nory.


    "This seat is reserved for me. Move aside!" The leader of this group challenged Zen.

 Chapter 73 Challenge

    Nory inconspicuously pulled Zen''s sleeve and whispered, "Let''s find somewhere else to sit."


    The man seemed to cause trouble deliberately, so Nory thought they''d better leave.


    Zen didn''t acknowledge the rude disciple''s demand. He continued to eat his food quietly.


    "I told you to get out of my seat. Did you hear me?" yelled the young man. To emphasize his point, the man slammed his hand on the table made of hard rock maple. When he withdrew his hand, a clear palm mark had been imprinted on the table. This disciple must be very strong!


    Zen remained unaffected by the man''s angry display. He chose to chew his food and pretend as though he didn''t care about what was happening around him.


    "Pooh!"


    When the man received no response, he spat into Zen''s plate and sneered, "Haha! Enjoy your meal!"


    Before the rude disciple could finish sneering, Zen had kicked his chair back, stood, grabbed the man by the collar, and clenched his left hand as though ready to punch the guy.


    At the moment, Nory held Zen''s left arm and blurted, "Hey brother, calm down! You are not allowed to fight here. In accordance with the rules of Cloud Sect, disciples who battle with each other will be penalized with a loss of points. The moment you do not have enough points, you will either be kicked out of Cloud Sect or confined in Hell Mountain!"


    Hearing Nory''s words, Zen relaxed. Ever since his admission to Drizzle Peak, Zen had been informed of the rules governing Cloud Sect. He knew what Nory was saying was right.


    Since Zen did not enjoy a high status in Cloud Sect, he had to obey the rules. Both Sean and Master Su had told him this many times.


    The young man was apparently prepared to provoke Zen to make him break the rules. Perhaps he intended to drive Zen out of Cloud Sect.


    When Zen understood this, he shelved his temper, loosened his grip, and stared at the young man for a moment before saying, "I don''t know who ordered you to look for trouble. But to be honest, I doubt if your intelligence is good enough even to be considered as average. I can''t believe you would think of such a stupid idea to aggravate me! Since you want a fight, I''ll give you a chance to challenge me. How about that?"


    Hearing Zen''s words, the young man cracked up, "Haha! It''s just what I intended to say. So, let''s fight in the battle ring, and don''t try to escape like a cowardly chicken!"


    Cloud Sect had stipulated that disciples could not fight each other privately, or they would be severely punished.


    However, Cloud Sect was a martial arts shrine. People who cultivated martial arts for long periods were usually aggressive. Since Cloud Sect had millions of disciples, conflicts between students were inevitable.


    The solution was to go to the battle ring.


    Every peak within Cloud Sect had a few battle rings.


    "Hey, guys. Just calm down! There''s no need to go to the battle ring!" said Sean nervously. He had just e


    nt furnace in his mind. As far as strength was concerned, he was much stronger than a cultivator at the marrow refining level.


    It seemed risky for Zen to accept the challenge of a cultivator who was half a step into the nature level, but Zen still had a chance to fight and perhaps, even win!


    Sean was still anxious about the duel.


    Zen was only at the organ refining level. Furthermore, he had entered Drizzle Peak only half a month ago. How dare he accept Leo''s challenge in the battle ring? Was he a fool?


    After Zen and Nory left the dining hall, Sean considered his options for a long while. Finally, he decided to report the matter to Master Su.


    Master Su had spoken with Sean privately a few days ago. She had instructed him to inform her whenever there was news about special matters and performance about Zen.


    However, Sean didn''t expect that Master Su would show no emotion after hearing the news. She just explained that she would watch the duel three days later.


    Sean was tempted to ask why Master Su did not think of stopping the duel between Zen and Leo.


    Of course, Aura Su would not interrupt the duel! Her grand goal was to produce a super disciple who would be the most powerful disciple in Cloud Sect, for Drizzle Peak!


    In fact, Zen was only one of Aura''s many candidates. There had been a few inner disciples with great potential in Drizzle Peak. As far as their refining level was concerned, these inner disciples were far beyond Zen. But somehow, Aura had a hunch that sooner or later, Zen would grow in terms of strength. And when that happened, people including Aura would admire or be even awed by Zen.


    As for the situation, Aura would not intervene a lot. She believed that only by experiencing the situation of life and death would disciples be inspired to reach their potential.


    Thus, even if Leo hadn''t come looking for trouble, Aura would have picked a few disciples to make trouble for Zen.

 Chapter 74 The State Of Completely Forgetting Oneself (Part One)

    "Zen was foolish to accept Leo''s challenge! If I were him, I wouldn''t have accepted Leo''s challenge, and I would''ve kept quiet!"


    "Well, he''s probably arrogant enough to think he''s invincible. You know he just ranked first place in the entrance exam and became an outer disciple. People like him usually end up paying with their blood!"


    "That''s not what I heard. I heard Zen deliberately approached Leo and challenged him. What a hostile man!"


    The fight was the newest and hottest gossip that spread like wildfire through the Drizzle Peak! Zen and Leo were going to fight each other!


    Sitting on his bed, Zen, indifferent to the gossip, was meditating to continue practicing the Spiritual Thorn.


    His engagement with Leo was days away. Since he accepted the challenge, Zen knew that if he backed out, he would be labeled a coward.


    ''If I can master the skill of turning my soul into a thorn, according to the Spiritual Thorn, I will have a better chance of prevailing in the battle ring, '' determined Zen silently.


    ''Turning a soul into a thorn... '' he murmured to himself.


    ''So then how do I turn my soul into a sharp thorn?''


    The soul was a formless disembodiment of a person''s perception of himself.


    Therefore, people usually unknowingly recreated their soul as their physical form during meditation.


    So, Zen''s soul appeared as Zen looked in reality.


    In this way, unless Zen forgot himself, his soul would remain as he was, and couldn''t change into something else, not even a thorn.


    ''Only through fully forgetting myself will my soul be transformed into another form, '' he reasoned inwardly.


    As he reasoned the puzzle out in his mind, the startling thought slammed into him.


    f thought, a sharp, translucent-gray thorn thrust out from the middle of his browline.


    Finally! He did it!


    He was successful in transforming his soul into a thorn. Because the sharp translucent thorn was manifested by Zen''s soul, it was invisible to all but Zen. Therefore, there was no way for others to guard against it absolutely.


    For a short time, Zen practiced the Spiritual Thorn moves. The range of his attack using the thorn was only about three feet, which fell short of what he''d read, ''People within three thousand feet are unable to defend themselves against it, '' in the refinement method. Zen had crossed a bridge of sorts by attaining the state of forgetting himself, and now his way would be much easier.


    Zen couldn''t help smiling proudly. The match coming up in three days had been concerning him, but now he was looking forward to it.


    The next three days flew by.


    At Drizzle Peak, competing in the battle ring was always a significant affair.


    The audience was able to watch the actual battle along with the energy that was seldom experienced during ordinary refinement practices in the ring.

 Chapter 75 The State Of Completely Forgetting Oneself (Part Two)

    Many outer disciples learned more by watching a battle and could take what they saw into their refinement process which allowed them to make breakthroughs of their own.


    Plus, with how mundane the daily practices were, a fight for revenge was in itself quite entertaining to watch.


    What made it more exciting was the considerable gap in the strengths between the two fighters competing with one at the organ refining level and the other half-step into the nature level!


    If Leo, half-step into the nature level, was comparable to a lion, then Zen at the organ refining level was akin to a rat. They were not on the same level at all.


    Most people were certain that the competition would be finished fast and that it was a given that the outcome would be an overwhelming victory by Leo.


    Leo got to the battle ring early accompanied by his companions.


    Today there was also a middle-aged man with Leo.


    The clothing the middle-aged man wore denoted he was a servant. He was wearing a gray cloth and a bandanna on his head.


    When the outer disciples noticed the pattern with the Eight Diagrams* embroidered on his gray cloth, no one dared to look down upon him.


    (*TN: the Eight Diagrams were eight trigrams used to represent the fundamental principles of reality in the Taoist beliefs, and seen as a range of eight interrelated concepts.)


    The emblem belonged to one of the seven top noble clans, the Zhuge family.


    The top seven noble clans were the most powerful and influential families in the entire empire. Although the middle-aged man was a servant, no outer disciple at the Cloud Sect could afford to offend him, since he was a servant of the Zhuge family.


    "My master said this man must die today,


    or not as well.


    Drizzle Peak had quite a few members, and the credibility of each disciple was essential. If Zen were to back out, his credibility would be shot.


    "Zen apparently is wussing out! Shame, after all his big talk, he has cold feet. If this is the kind of person he is, Zen definitely has no future!"


    "Come on, let''s go. There''s nothing to see here. We might as well spend our time refining while waiting. I knew our Drizzle Peak had another loser!"


    After waiting two hours, most of the spectators had lost patience and were about to leave.


    Having to wait so long for Zen, Leo was restless and losing his already short temper.


    "Leo, you said Zen was going to fight you today. Why isn''t he here then?" demanded the Zhuge family man-servant.


    Leo smiled humbly and responded, "Don''t worry, Thomas. That guy wouldn''t dare back out!"


    Thomas Zhu sneered, "Good." His voice dripped sarcastically, "I hope you aren''t wasting my time and that you don''t fail the master."


    "I wouldn''t dare do that!" as Leo spoke, he glanced Zen out of the corner of his eye as he strode through the doorway and walked up to the battle.

 Chapter 76 A Game Of Cat And Mouse (Part One)

    Leo was already angry about waiting for so long and strode over to Zen demanding, "Zen, you promised to fight with me in the battle ring today. Why are you late? If you back out of this battle ring challenge, I will let you off, but only if you kneel before me, and call me your superior three times. Then, you will withdraw from the Cloud Sect and hide at home like the coward you are!"


    With an innocent look, Zen blinked and casually stated, "Well, I agreed to fight with you in the battle ring today. But, whether it is noon or midnight, today hasn''t passed. So tell me, did I promise you an exact time?"


    questioned Zen. All Zen''s flippant response did enrage Leo further, and he snapped back, "How cunning of you speaking such nonsense. Well, whatever you say now though will be of no use within the battle ring."


    "Before we set foot in the battle ring, I have a request to make," stated Zen curtly.


    "What''s your request? What do you want me to do? I am going to tell you that we are keeping the Cloud Sect rules! The winner doesn''t assume any responsibility for the opponent''s death or impairment during a fight!" stated Leo bored. Since he planned to take Zen''s life, he couldn''t make a promise to go easy on him anyway.


    Zen shook his head, frowning, and said, "No, opponents are supposed to beat each other mercilessly in the ring; I know the rules quite clearly. I think fights pure and straightforward like that are very boring. I was wondering if we could bet on something, and the winner of the fight will win the bet!"


    The request left Leo somewhat shocked. He hadn''t thought Zen would ask for such a thing. After the initial surprise wore off, Leo wondered what Zen was up to, and thought the outcome was inevitable. That was, Zen would die in the ring at Leo''s hands if and when he got Zen into the ring! Leo decided he would grant Zen''s request, if for no other reason than to get this fight underway.


    Leo couldn''t believe Zen was so bold as to place a bet.


    He had no idea where Zen''s confidence stemmed from. ''He doesn''t think he actually has a chance of winning, does he? Considering the fact that he is at the organ refining level, and I am half-step into the nature


    o what?"


    "Lend it to me for a short time. I''ll give it back soon!" stated Leo as though borrowing a mysterious weapon from Anthony He was a piece of cake.


    Unexpectedly, Anthony He shook his head responding, "No!"


    "What? Are you afraid this guy will beat me?" asked Leo furiously that someone would turn him down.


    Anthony shook his head again. "No, I''m sure you won''t lose. But, why should I lend it to you?"


    "You..." It dawned on Leo what Anthony was hinting at, and he shut up, sighing as he rolled his eyes, and said, "Well, half the cubic crystals will be yours if I beat him, okay? Does that sound good? Now, will you agree to lend me your top-grade mysterious weapon?"


    Only after Leo offered half of his winnings did Anthony smile in satisfaction and say, "You should''ve said that earlier. Here, catch, Leo!"


    As he exchanged banter, Anthony took a saber off his waist and tossed it casually at Leo, as though it was anything but a top-grade mysterious weapon.


    As the saber flew towards him, Leo reached out and caught it. Deep down, he believed Anthony was the sort who would do anything as long as it benefited him. The double-edged sword made a "shiiiiiing," sound of metal rubbing against the casing as Leo unsheathed it. The three-foot sword was bathed in a purple light. As soon as the sword was unsheathed, Leo said, "Zen, does this meet your requirements? It is a first level, top-grade weapon, known as the Purple Blue Sword."

 Chapter 77 A Game Of Cat And Mouse (Part Two)

    After taking a glimpse at the Purple Blue Sword, Zen nodded. He turned back to Nory and said, "Hold onto the cubic crystals for me." Having finished talking, Zen jumped into the battle ring.


    Seeing Zen in the battle ring, Leo was gratified in his heart, but, he didn''t show his joy. He feared nothing, except that Zen would give up before the fight started. So, Leo thrust the Purple Blue Sword into Nory and leaped into the battle ring as quickly as possible.


    In the ring, Zen stood tall with his hands balled into a fist and resting on his hips. The energy within his body started to flow slowly. In the face of this, Leo, who was cultivating on the half-step into the nature level, thought Zen looked unmindful. But, deep down, Zen was vigilant. Anyone who reached the level Leo was at had a sixth sense about people.


    Leo had waited for quite a long time and wished to end this fight with Zen quickly. After he entered the ring, Leo sneered, and streaks of lightning flashed at his feet accompanied by the crackling of thunder, which encircled his entire form in a streak of lightning. He rushed at Zen headlong.


    The tactic Leo used was a refinement method known as the Raging Thunder Fist. In developing this skill, the speed and force that the life energy generated were equal to a thunderbolt and relatively amazing to watch.


    As Leo raced forward and drew closer, Zen watched him getting bigger to his eyes. When Leo was about six feet away, Zen realized Leo''s fist had metamorphosed into an enormous streak of raging lightning and in the blink of an eye; it struck Zen squarely on his head.


    Leo was skilled at manipulating the vital life energy of his half-step into the nature level as well as converting that life energy into a thunderbolt. The power of his fist was so mighty that the blow dazed Zen.


    Even as Zen saw Leo''s fist flying at him, he didn''t flinch.


    Instead, he tensed his fists. On impact, streaks of purple light sparked over his body. At first, he countered the Raging Thunder Fist with the Purple Fist Strength from the Purple Light Fist.


    He wanted to confront Leo head on.


    As the audience watched the action, they were amazed, and their mouths fell open.


    Having initially though


    were extracted from the marrow of the entire body, and so it was known as Marrow Washing.


    Only after a successful Marrow Washing could changes be made to the body as a whole. When that was completed, the refiner would become much faster and physically stronger. Alongside those changes, hearing and sight would be improved.


    Zen recognized the skill Leo was using. Evil Lan had utilized it at one time, and Zen found himself in an unfavorable situation at that time because he couldn''t see his opponent, like now.


    "Thud, thump, ka-pow!"


    came the sound as another Raging Thunder Fist strike slammed into Zen.


    This time, Zen dodged a little, resulting in his thighs being firmly seized by a powerful thunderbolt.


    Fortunately, Zen was steadfast, and his body strength allowed him to absorb the force of the thunderbolt and didn''t cause him any significant harm.


    "You aren''t able to catch up to me, are you? Let''s see how long you can hold out with me attacking like this!" boasted Leo giddy with excitement as he pummeled Zen like a punching bag.


    "Bop!"


    "Thud!"


    "Rap!"


    As Leo flew towards Zen with each blow, he yelled savagely.


    "You''re quite good at dodging, aren''t you?"


    "How long do you think you can withstand my attacks just by dodging?"


    "Come on!"


    Within the ring, there was a game of cat and mouse being played. Nonetheless, regardless of how artfully the mouse evaded the cat, it was only a matter of time before the cat caught it.

 Chapter 78 Reaching The Marrow Refining Level

    "Zen is awesome. Since he is only at the organ refining level, it''s not easy for him to withstand Leo''s fist for so long. Besides, he has been at Drizzle Peak for a short time," claimed a disciple who was standing outside the combat ring.


    "Would you like to tell Master Su, Sean? He may be good for Drizzle Peak in the future. At least, we won''t be so passive at the annual tournament of the thirty-three peaks. Apparently, Leo wants to kill him. Zen will die if no one stops this fight," said another concerned disciple.


    "No need to disturb Master Su. She is watching from over there," another disciple said as he pointed to a distant pavilion.


    When the disciples looked in the direction of the pavilion, they saw a beautiful young woman. Even from a distance, it was easy to recognize Master Su of Drizzle Peak.


    Although she had not reacted when Sean had first told her about the duel, Master Su had been very concerned about the fight between Zen and Leo.


    Master Su had taken great pains to ensure that Zen would join Drizzle Peak. She wouldn''t give him up easily.


    According to the rules of Cloud Sect, disciples were allowed to resolve personal grudges by competing in the ring. Even if they killed each other, they were not held responsible.


    That was what worried Sean.


    However, not many people wanted to kill their opponents in the fight.


    Grudges were resolved when the opponent was defeated or humiliated. However, Leo seemed determined to kill Zen.


    Master Su didn''t know for how long Zen would be able to defend against Leo''s assault.


    She had hoped that Zen had gained sufficient experience through the extreme challenges that he had already faced. After all, she didn''t want him to die.


    At that moment, she was in a very conflicted mood. Despite how the fight was going, she persuaded herself to calm down and see how Zen would cope with his strong rival.


    She gazed at Zen and frowned when she saw that burns covered his body. The skin on his arms, legs, chest, and neck had turned black! Zen looked miserable and embarrassed.


    The power of the Raging Thunder Fist was beyond Zen''s expectation. While he had been able to mutate most of the pressure into warm currents that would rejuvenate his body, yet a portion of the thunder and lightning had hurt him a lot.


    At present, Zen was afraid that his body would fall apart under Leo''s continuous fists.


    The Spiritual Thorn cultivation method that he had previously practiced couldn''t take effect because Zen kept failing to catch Leo''s figure as Leo moved as fast as lightning.


    Wham! Again, a heavy punch hit Zen in the chest.


    Carrying the astounding power of thunder and lightning, Leo''s fist gnawed every inch of Zen''s body.


    There were black stripes appearing on his skin and the scorched smell of roast meat emanating in the air.


    Finally, unable to bear his internal injuries, Zen spat out a mouthful of blood.


    Watching Zen with a sneering expression, Leo said, "I thought you were immorta


    lly, '' thought Zen. Zen kept his eyes on Leo. He knew there would be new challenges and Zen wanted to observe Leo closely.


    Although Leo''s Raging Holy Thunder was formidable, Zen wasn''t flustered at all.


    Because he still had a special cultivation method that hadn''t been used. All he needed to do was calm down and concentrate.


    "Spiritual Thorn!" shouted Zen.


    Just before Leo approached Zen, a sharp thorn condensed from soul shot out of the middle of Zen''s brows and stabbed Leo''s head instantly.


    Leo had hoped to quickly kill Zen with the help of the Raging Holy Thunder. Because the Raging Holy Thunder came at the expense of his life energy. It was powerful but it couldn''t last long.


    He was shocked by Zen''s invisible attack.


    A fierce twinge reached into Leo''s soul. He couldn''t help screaming. Then he stumbled and fell.


    "Fantastic!"


    Before, Zen thought he had only got a smattering knowledge of the Spiritual Thorn. Hence, he didn''t expect his attack to be so effective. The result of the attack on Leo''s soul pleased Zen.


    "What did you do to me?" Leo stood up weakly. His body swayed with the effort to stand. He was in great pain, as though a long needle had punctured his head.


    Zen didn''t answer. He stood in his spot and vigilantly watched Leo.


    After the severe headache slowly dissipated, Leo looked at Zen with awe. He didn''t want to suffer from that kind of pain again, but he had to kill Zen today.


    Leo gritted his teeth and decided to use the Raging Holy Thunder once again.


    Seeing Leo rushing toward him, Zen prepared to reuse his Spiritual Thorn.


    Just like the last time, a grey, sharp thorn silently stabbed Leo''s brain.


    "Bang!" Leo fell after the attack. He rolled on the floor with his head in his arms.


    This time, Zen decided not to give Leo any chance to resist. A purple light enveloped his body. Then Zen kicked Leo with all his power.


    Leo was thrown out of the ring, like a heavy sandbag.


    He never got up again.

 Chapter 79 Stay Calm (Part One)

    The lightning released from Leo gradually dissipated, and his life energy faded away. At the same time, the changes to Leo''s body were clearly visible.


    His skin had wrinkled, and his hair had turned grey. Leo, who was in his twenties, looked like an older man, aged thirty or forty.


    The Raging Holy Thunder was extremely powerful and overbearing, and its terrible power would turn against the cultivator. Zen was astonished when he saw the changes on Leo.


    The audience around the battle ring stared at Zen with a fearful expression. To them, it seemed as if he were a horrid, cruel man.


    This man had been a member of Drizzle Peak for less than a month. He defeated Leo, who was ranked 30th among the outer disciples. The incredible fight and Leo''s ultimate defeat had happened in front of them.


    What was more shocking was that Zen was only at the organ refining level.


    In time, once he entered the marrow refining level, or perhaps he took a half step into the nature level, wouldn''t he be able to challenge a master at the nature level? Zen''s power was unbelievable!


    Although no one spoke, they were all in awe of what Zen had accomplished.


    Regardless of whether this assumption was true or not, Zen''s strength was far superior to any other disciple at the same level. It was an established fact. No one could deny that.


    Seeing that Leo had been defeated, and having borne witness to what had happened to Leo, Anthony He was furious. He felt restless, as though he needed to do something. He suddenly stretched out his right hand and roared at Nory with a crisp, authoritative tone, "Return the Purple Blue Swor


    yed in front of Thomas, blocking his way.


    "Was it you who incited Leo to challenge me?" asked Zen as he strolled toward Thomas. He placed himself in front of Thomas and stared coldly at him.


    Thomas chuckled, "So what? What are you going to do? I am from the Zhuge Clan. Can anyone here afford to offend the Zhuge family? My master sentenced you to death. And so, you should die. I am here to make sure you die quickly. I suggest you write your last words and prepare for the funeral before it''s too late!"


    "Zhuge Clan? Who are you in the Zhuge family?" Zen ignored Thomas'' outburst and asked.


    "Me?" The fat on Thomas'' face shook, and his smile grew even more confident. "It doesn''t hurt to tell you. I am a close servant of the third son of the Zhuge Clan."


    "The third son of the Zhuge Clan? The third son of the Zhuge Clan is involved in this matter?"


    "When did Zen provoke the Zhuge family? The third son is a madman!" Someone in the crowd said. Then, the others started to talk about it.


    Apparently, many people present had heard about the notorious third son.

 Chapter 80 Stay Calm (Part Two)

    Formerly known as Fren, the third son in the Zhuge family had been nicknamed as ''Fren the loony''.


    Fren''s ruthless and tyrannical behavior had earned him this nickname. He was always furious and presumptuous. And so everyone started to call him ''Fren the loony''.


    "Oh?" The expression in Zen''s eyes changed, and his face became more serious as he remarked, "Fren''s servant. What great fame for you! Good prestige! How dare you instigate internal battles in Drizzle Peak?"


    As with any other peaks, Drizzle Peak saw its share of in-fighting. But these struggles were internal affairs.


    Now that another peak had stepped into Drizzle Peak''s internal affairs, all disciples would unite. In fact, the other thirty-two peaks at Cloud Sect were like this, too. Everyone fought behind closed doors. But once they got involved in a fight outside, they united against their common enemy. Unparalleled and consistent.


    Thomas had instigated Leo to attack Zen. This interference was taboo and a violation of laws. This was not allowed to happen here!


    Therefore, Zen''s observation drew the hostility of Drizzle Peak''s disciples. Thomas was hurled into the spotlight.


    An unfriendly expression grew on the faces of the spectators.


    Once the thought clicked in everyone''s mind, they all banded together against Thomas. Even though Drizzle Peak was ranked the last among the other peaks, the disciples still felt a strong sense of loyalty toward their Peak and peers.


    Fren was powerful, and the Zhuge family was certainly a giant among the noble clans.


    Did the power of the Zhuge family mean that the disciples of Drizzle Peak could be bullied? What angered the spectators even


    his servant." Zen stared at the outer disciple and asked in a cold voice. While it seemed as though the outer disciple was giving valuable advice to Zen''s advantage, he was, in fact, pressuring Zen to bow to the Zhuge family. Zen could see that he was trying to help the Zhuge family. Zen hated it when people tried to curry favor with noble clans.


    Before the outer disciple could answer Zen, Thomas, who was still at Zen''s mercy screamed, "Liam, don''t stand on ceremony with him. Help me kill him. Kill Zen and my master will reward you!"


    Liam Cao was ranked 15th among the outer disciples at Drizzle Peak. Though he was just half-step into the nature level, Liam was stronger than Leo. Regardless of his power, Liam could not mingle with children from noble clans like Fren easily because of his background. However, Liam Cao had maintained good relationships with clansmen from the offshoot branches of the Zhuge family.


    The purpose of Liam''s intervention on Thomas'' behalf was to earn favor with Fren. If things went according to plan, this would be a good opportunity for him to be connected with Fren.

 Chapter 81 Stay Calm (Part Three)

    "Zen, I respect you for being a newcomer. You are talented. You defeated Leo, which I admire. So I gave you advice that was well-intentioned. I have shown you the right way to deal with this matter. Don''t make things worse." Seeing that his words hadn''t changed Zen''s mind, Liam''s tone suddenly hardened. He never thought that Zen would be so proud and unreasonable.


    "Oh, really? What is the right way? What will make things worse? I don''t like nonsense. If you don''t agree with me, then face me in the battle ring," Zen retorted.


    "Settling disputes in the battle ring is not the only way to solve a problem. I suggest that both of you compromise. Then the situation will not escalate," another disciple interjected. Zen turned to the disciple who had just spoken only to find a man with a big, fat face smiling at him.


    "Wurth, are you here to poke your nose into my business?" Liam''s expression showed the agitation he felt when he saw Wurth.


    The fat man, Wurth Zhang, was ranked 7th among the outer disciples at Drizzle Peak. From among the ten thousand outer disciples, he was definitely a top master. As a grin spread across Wurth''s face, two front teeth were revealed. "Well, your business? I don''t accept what you just said. Liam, I know that you have a good relationship with the Zhuge family, but you should not support this servant. The slave is spoiled and defiant. He is proud of being a slave of the Zhuge family. His behavior is superior and supercilious. He seems to forget that he is just a slave. Even a slave to the Emperor''s family is still a slave! He shouldn''t feel superior to other people. In my opinion, killing him is too harsh. But we should no


    talented people. It''s awful, but I have been used to it. That''s a waste of time wondering about this. I have a long way to go."


    "Good point! You got a heroic spirit! Courage is the most essential trait of a hero. How about we have a drink to celebrate?" Wurth suggested.


    Zen did not say much. He grabbed Nory and Sean and then followed Wurth. Along the way, they joked and chatted freely with each other, as if they were old friends.


    Standing in a small building not far away, Master Su breathed a sigh of relief. She had been anxious about the fight and the tense situation down there. Zen was indeed not easily defeated. She always knew that he was not what he seemed. Not only did he beat Leo, but he had also offended the Zhuge family, a powerful noble clan.


    This was beneficial for him. Master Su believed that a person only made rapid progress when under extreme pressure.


    The Zhuge family would retaliate now.


    Master Su''s eyes blinked as she dwelled on that thought for a moment. ''I need to stand up for him. Lady Autumn from Zhuge family owes me a favor!'' Master Su now had a plan!

 Chapter 82 The Cold Hard Fact

    Wurth Zhang was ranked seventh of the outer disciples at Drizzle Peak. His experience and influence earned respect and high regard of Nory, Sean, and Zen.


    As the four shared the wine, the spirit turned jovial and mellow. Nory and Sean chatted with the self-effacing predecessor, Wurth.


    "I watched your display of marrow refinement skills in the battle ring, Zen," said Wurth, as he tipped his cup back and drained the wine.


    Zen glanced at Wurth and answered, "Wurth, you are quite discerning!"


    "What? Zen, you have refined your marrow!" exclaimed Nory, unable to contain himself.


    Nodding, Zen related, "I probably would''ve lost to Leo if I hadn''t reached the marrow refining level at the right time."


    Shaking his head, Wurth complimented, "The way I see it, Zen, you will be our mainstay so long as you perfect the skills your talent warrants."


    "Wurth, you''re exaggerating! I''m nothing more than a novice compared to the masters at our peak!" Zen commented, maintaining a degree of decorum.


    "Zen, aren''t you being too modest? Have you heard the legend of Lady Peak?" asked Wurth as he looked around with an air of mystery.


    "Lady Peak is ranked seventeenth among the Peaks at the Cloud Sect and consists of only women disciples." Because of the wine, Sean was loosening up, becoming more talkative but remaining sober, thanks to his refining level. Despite the overindulgence, the four present were far from a drunken stupor, and the ambiance remained light and festive.


    Smiling, Wurth went on, "Lady Peak is seventeenth ranked Peak this year but, is second to Skytop Peak in the previous years!"


    Sean had been at the Cloud Sect a year longer than Zen and Nory. He was also less informed on and blurted, "What? A peak with female disciples ranking higher than men? In my humble opinion, they couldn''t overshadow us!"


    In Sean''s mind, men no doubt prevailed over women in the development of martial arts skills.


    "Sean, there''s something you don''t know, and that is, it was a female disciple who contributed to Lady Peak''s ranking and influence....." explained Wurth smiling.


    "And with her endowments, she supposedly overshadowed the rest of the Peaks except Skytop Peak?" added Zen.


    "Bravo!"


    bellowed Wurth as he applauded before elaborating, "You hit the nail on the head there, Zen! She has an unearthly beauty and is extremely endowed, rising to fame in the two years after her admission to the Cloud Sect. So don''t be modest. I believe in you. You can strive to accomplish as much as her, Zen. Unfortunately for her, she was framed and is suffering within the bowels of Hell Mountain now....."


    "What''s her name?" asked Nory, curious to learn the female disciple''s name after hearing Wurth''s engaging account.


    "Her surname is Luo, the same a


    of her life there!


    Subsequently, as Zen''s thoughts lingered on Yan, his hatred toward the Cloud Sect grew.


    Sensing that Zen was seething over his sister''s plight, and seeing the anger spark in Zen''s eye at what the management did, Wurth immediately tried to appease him by stating, "The top seven noble clans bind the Cloud Sect, and important matters are at the discretion of the privileged. Still, Yan''s case evoked sympathy, especially in the two masters from Lady Peak. They worked tirelessly and vigorously appealing her case, and in the end, it cost them, and they were forced to resign."


    At Wurth''s words, Zen expressed that it angered him when anyone perpetrated evil and thanked his friend, Wurth for the reminder.


    With the light tone of the night gone, and the hour growing late, the dinner party ended and the four dispersed.


    To let off the steam of his pent up frustrations, Zen headed straight to the exercise room.


    ''I''m too weak to rescue Yan, for the time being, at least!'' reflected Zen, dwelling on his inability to save his younger sister.


    Getting into the Cloud Sect was just one small step in Zen''s plans to save Yan.


    It was Wurth''s reminder that made Zen realize he had horrible enemies to confront, and they could effortlessly smash him like an ant!


    "Crumble!"


    "Crush!"


    "Crash!"


    All that remained of the statues of human figures and dumbbells were rumble blanketing the floor and dust covering his hands, reducing the exercise room to a ruin.


    After working out for a few hours, Zen left the exercise room feeling reenergized and much calmer after venting his anger through the intense, violent session.


    Early the next morning, Zen climbed Drizzle Peak''s ridge to where the masters lived.


    To get assigned to restricted tasks he wanted, Zen was told he needed to speak to the masters.

 Chapter 83 An Angry Master Su (Part One)

    The sound of a pen ''skritching'' across the paper in a hurry, was all that could be heard in Master Su''s room.


    Sitting at her desk writing, Master Su didn''t look as tired as she felt; instead, she looked as beautiful as an ethereal and delicate as a fairy in her rich purple gown adorned with embroidered clouds.


    Glancing at the pile of work stacked on her desk, Aura Su clenched her jaw, rolling her eyes in disdain.


    With several of Drizzle Peak''s masters off today, she was left to handle it all herself.


    Master Su was well aware that the work was left to her on purpose. Did they really think she would surrender just because of the heavy workload? Never!


    While Master Su was engrossed in the task at hand, Zen appeared in the doorway and saw the purple figure bent over the desk. He knocked on the door.


    "Rap, rap, rap," the sound startled Master Su, and her head shot up. Zen''s appearance was unexpected and she was caught off guard. Her face took on an unnatural hue briefly, and she quickly recovered and asked, "Hello Zen, what can I do for you?"


    Stepping into the room, Zen replied, "Hello Master Su, I am here to claim some assignments."


    "Assignments?" asked Master Su as she blinked. She smiled as she looked up at him. "Actually, you don''t need to be so eager. The outer disciples will soon be given some pills, and that should be plenty for you to use to refine yourself."


    Ordinarily, there was no rush for a new outer disciple recruit to do a task.


    Since the outer disciples'' strength was relatively low right now, even if they accepted a task, it would only be simple ones they would be able to manage.


    Because the points for these simple tasks were relativ


    e. He didn''t care whether or not he was able to accept them. Hurriedly, Zen asked, "How do you know that, if I haven''t tried? Can I at least look at them?"


    While the request was unorthodox and even unreasonable, Master Su produced a second pamphlet, placing it in front of him.


    Not bothering to check out what each task was, Zen looked at the row of points, and saw that the first task offered two hundred points!


    Glancing over to what was required, Zen''s first reaction was shock.


    "The assignment is to hunt a shadow beast, skin it, and bring back the whole hide intact"


    In the eastern part of the Eastern Region, shadow beasts were a unique species that lived in the Shadow Forest. Since the species was less fertile, they were rare. But, the strength of a single beast was so fierce, that it was rumored if someone at the nature refining level hunted one of these creatures, they would find it almost impossible to make it back alive...


    Skimming the next task, Zen saw the reward was two hundred points. This time the requirement was to track and apprehend an infamous prisoner who escaped many years ago.

 Chapter 84 An Angry Master Su (Part Two)

    The tasks in this pamphlet were beyond Zen''s capabilities.


    Even though it seemed senseless, Zen continued to scan the pages and came on another task.


    There was no set amount for this task. Instead, it offered a range between a single point and many thousands of points.


    Reading this task through carefully, Zen noted the mission was to resist an insect assault.


    Insect attacks were a big problem plaguing the southern part of the empire.


    From April to May every year, a massive influx of blade locusts carried devastating disasters to the south.


    There was no such thing as simple where blade locusts were concerned. Unlike common insects, each blade locust was the size of a human adult.


    In order to resist an invasion of blade locusts, the Empire dispatched large numbers of troops yearly to travel south and eliminate them.


    But, the Empire''s forces weren''t enough, and many were sent south from the Cloud Sect too.


    That was why the task was offered in the pamphlet.


    "For killing twenty blade locusts, you receive a point. If you slay a blade locust leader, you will get another point..." Zen calculated the numbers in his head quickly. Shortly after that, he said, "Master Su, I''d like to accept the task of repelling an insect invasion!"


    When Master Su heard Zen, she gave a subtle yet sly grin and blinked in an exaggerated manner while she asked, "You''re wise to pick that task. It''s the only task in that pamphlet you''re able to handle, isn''t it?"


    Zen smiled but didn''t deny it.


    He couldn''t afford to care about how he earned the points, Zen just needed to obtain them.


    A moment ago, Master Su was still laughing, but as quickly, her face changed. "No, don''t go!"


    The smile on Zen''s face was stiff a


    that Zen''s strength was much more than he had shown. Still, insect invasions were deadly. Among them, were not only normal blade locusts but, there were also much more powerful creatures, increasing the likelihood of Zen perishing from wounds.


    If Master Su remained calm, she could talk Zen out of taking part in this task.


    The problem was Zen was too eager for instant rewards and success which annoyed Master Su and she wasn''t able to stay calm.


    Throwing the token at Zen was just an act of emotion, and women were known to be emotionally driven creatures.


    Immediately, Master Su regretted snapping at Zen. After all, he was the disciple she worked so hard to get into her Peak, and it was counterproductive to let him go off to die.


    Turning her head with the intention of speaking to Zen, she saw Zen''s beaming face, thrilled at the sight of the token, which sparked her temper once more and she shot Zen an angry look and disappeared through the courtyard.


    Not being a fool, Zen knew very well he had made Master Su mad.


    But, he couldn''t be concerned about that right now. He needed to earn points so he could save his sister, Yan.

 Chapter 85 Bluesky Parking Ground (Part One)

    Later that night, Zen took out Anthony''s Purple Blue Sword and examined it.


    The sword was aesthetic and of good quality.


    Its scabbard was inlaid with colorful gems and gold threads. Since the sword was well preserved, Zen could see that Anthony had taken great care of it.


    As Zen pulled the blade out of the scabbard, a whoosh sound filled the silence in the room. When the blade was free of its casing, the sword emanated a purple and blue light.


    "What a good sword!"


    It was a top grade mysterious weapon. The sword looked like it was at the same level as Evil Lan''s Hell Fire Sword. But Zen felt that the sword''s quality was much better than that of the Hell Fire Sword.


    He hesitated a little. It was a pity that such a good sword had to be melted.


    Anthony had asked his friends to talk with Zen. He wanted to recover his sword, but Zen categorically refused him.


    To improve his strength, Zen had to offer the sword to the cyan dragon.


    Zen frowned thoughtfully as he gazed at the sword. A while later, Zen had made his decision. Without hesitating further, he began to communicate with the furnace in his mind.


    The black flame shot out of his brow and headed straight for the Purple Blue Sword. The black flame was so quick that a strange arc was drawn in the air.


    The sword was like firewood. It burned from point to pommel in an instant! When the black flame thoroughly devoured the sword, a few drops of molten iron essence were left behind. In the dimly lit room, these drops of molten iron gave off a brilliant light.


    Zen counted the particles of the molten iron essence. His eyes lit up with the number. He murmured, "The Purple Blue Sword is at the same leve


    insect aggression would probably be over by the time the disciples arrived.


    Therefore, most disciples used the Bluesky Parking Ground to reach their destination quicker.


    There were gigantic flying chariots in Cloud Sect and the Bluesky Parking Ground was the place where the gigantic flying chariots parked. The chariot was so quick that it would take only a day to reach the southern part of the Empire.


    Now that Zen had stopped at the Bluesky Parking Ground, it must mean that he was also going South to kill the blade locusts.


    Liam wondered why Zen was in a hurry to take a task that seemed beyond his ability.


    "Since you''re in such a hurry to die, I''ll give you a hand!" With a cold smile on his face, Liam retreated slowly. He would report the matter to Fren first.


    The Bluesky Parking Ground was a man-made square landing pad, about ten feet high.


    When Zen climbed up the steps, he found that many Cloud Sect disciples were waiting.


    They were at the Bluesky Parking Ground for the same purpose as Zen. They had all accepted the task of destroying the insect aggression as ordered by Cloud Sect.

 Chapter 86 Bluesky Parking Ground (Part Two)

    Most of the disciples were dressed in black robes, and only a few wore white robes. Everyone looked powerful and aggressive. Apparently, they had been forged in the sea of blood and had improved their power through life and death experience.


    Regardless of whether it was an outer disciple in a white robe or an inner disciple in a black robe, when they saw Zen, astonishment flashed in their eyes.


    What surprised them was not that there was anything special about Zen, but that he was only at the marrow refining level. His cultivation level was too low for this task.


    The mission of shielding against the insect aggression was not easy. For starters, blade locusts attacked in large numbers. If that wasn''t daunting enough, each locust was extremely strong. What was scarier was that they didn''t fear death. Even in the face of several strong men, many desperate blade locusts would dash ahead and lay siege on their enemies regardless of their safety.


    Even a cultivator who was a half-step into the nature level was likely to be killed by the blade locusts if he didn''t pay attention to their siege.


    So the minimum eligibility for accepting this task was that the disciple be a half-step cultivator into the nature level.


    But now a person at the marrow refining level had been accepted for the task. It was thus, normal for them to have such a strange reaction.


    Zen ignored the astonished look on these people. He found a corner on the Bluesky Parking Ground, sat down, and closed his eyes.


    Opposite Zen stood four or five inner disciples. As they whispered among each other, they shot several glances at Zen.


    Their voices were neither too loud nor too low. It was just at the right level for Zen to hear clearly. Apparently, they were speaking at that level on purpose.


    "Since when can a cultivator at the marrow refining level accept such a dangerous mission?"


    "There are many different kinds of people in the world. It is fo


    le."


    Zen didn''t respond to the strong man''s words.


    The strong man continued, "Well, to tell you the truth, if you want to hunt for blade locusts, you''d better team up with a few people to avoid being surrounded by the blade locusts. Why don''t you join us?"


    Zen rejected his suggestion with an emphatic shake of his head, "Thanks, I''m used to being alone."


    After that Zen looked for another corner. After having found a quiet place, he sat down and closed his eyes again.


    The scene had attracted the attention of many people on the ground.


    Most people put aside their contempt, including some of the inner disciples who were stepping into the nature level. Seriousness gleamed in their eyes.


    All cultivators liked to put themselves in a hypothetically dangerous situation. They wondered if they could have avoided Zen''s flying knife had they been in the strong man''s position.


    Most people already knew that they couldn''t. Zen''s reaction was too quick, and his knife was too sudden.


    Of course, Zen had better things to do than try to figure out why these disciples were staring at him and what they were thinking about. As he meditated, Zen heard a trembling sound in the air. When he looked up, he saw a monolith descending from the sky.


    It was a giant flying chariot.

 Chapter 87 A Sudden Attack In The Skies (Part One)

    Flying chariots were uncommon in the empire because they cost as much as a top-grade mysterious weapon.


    Another reason they were rarely seen was that a top-grade mysterious weapon could enhance a refiner''s strength while a flying chariot was only a means of transport.


    As such, none of the households in the C County where the Luo family was from would spend that sort of money on a flying chariot.


    Only places with wealth, like the Imperial Capital, were flying chariots commonplace.


    As the enormous chariot hovered, slowly descending from the air, Zen stood awestruck at the sight. This was the first chariot of this size he ever saw!


    Other disciples that were waiting were used to seeing them and stood up when they saw the huge chariot approaching. It was time for them to set out.


    The enormous flying chariot docked next to the Bluesky Parking Ground, and a pontoon bridge extended from its side to the edge of the ground. A few people were disembarking from the flying chariot waiting near the pontoon bridge.


    The disciples of the Cloud Sect waiting on the ground handed their tokens to the checkers. After tickets were checked, the disciples strode across the bridge and climbed aboard the flying chariot.


    Zen followed the crowd. When he walked up to the checkers, he presented his token. The checkers appeared surprised when they read Zen was just at the marrow refining level, but they didn''t make any comments. After examining the token, they motioned Zen to board the flying chariot.


    After that, Zen crossed the pontoon bridge and boarded the flying chariot.


    Inside, the chariot was spacious, with rows of seats along the walls that were fixed to t


    ler heads prevailed and everyone moved to the middle of the chariot quickly.


    "Was that a blade locust?" asked Zen.


    He had seen it clearly. It was emerald green, with compound eyes that took up most of its head, and was the size of an adult man. With wings protruding from its back, the insect had six appendages, and the two uppermost looked like long flat blades and were extremely sharp. This beast was brutal and hideous.


    Zen had just gotten out of his seat when the window next to him shattered, and a blade locust came through right at him.


    A pair of green blades flew through the open window towards Zen''s waist, slicing from either side at breakneck speed.


    This being Zen''s first encounter with the evil beast, he was nervous. But, instead of flinching, he threw a powerful punch aimed at the beast''s abdomen.


    However, the exoskeleton covering its abdomen was thick.


    Zen thought he could crack the exoskeleton with a single blow, but it was too thick.


    "Damn!"


    His attack failed, giving the giant insect an opening to strike back swinging its two blade-like forelimbs.


    "Swoosh!"

 Chapter 88 A Sudden Attack In The Skies (Part Two)

    The sound came from behind Zen as a sword sliced through the air, black-red light shimmering from it as it cleaved the blade locust''s head open.


    Despite the sword split its head open, the beast wielded its blades in a frenzy driven assault. Thankfully, the man-sized insect was swinging blindly and had lost both its speed and strength, giving Zen a chance to duck to safety.


    "Thanks for saving me, man," Zen said to the disciple in a black robe as he found a safer spot in the corner. The disciple looked young and wore his hair long. The black-red energy on his sword wasn''t constructed by using life energy but was made up of genuine life vitality! Given those facts, this young man was at the nature level!


    "No worries, it was nothing. Besides, we''re both disciples from the Cloud Sect," offered the young man lightly. "By the way, blade locusts have exceedingly tough abdomens. Their heads are the weak spots. Don''t let them get a strike in or surround you unless you are as strong as iron," he added kindly.


    Zen nodded, indicating that he got it. The young man, cold as he seemed, had not only saved him but had given him vital details about the insect''s weaknesses. It was very rare to meet such a good person from the Cloud Sect.


    Blade locusts began continually hurtling themselves at the flying chariot. The battle was on.


    No one expected the beasts to dive onto the flying chariot as they soared on their way to the destination.


    Amid the struggle, an alarmed voice shouted, "Blade locusts are tearing through the bottom of the chariot!"


    The flying chariot housed its power in the bottom, so if the base was demolished,


    oming blades, concentrating his strength on his arm, and smashing the head with a single blow. After that, he grabbed the body and threw it behind him, blocking the two blade locusts that were rushing at him from behind.


    These beasts outnumbered the refiners, and being surrounded like this was quite intimidating.


    So, Zen heeded the earlier advice and tried not to get entrapped by a swarm of blade locusts.


    Of the four blade locusts that attacked, he killed one with his fist and blocked two more behind him, which left just one. It would be easier to deal with the left one. Before it could strike with its blades, Zen reached out fast to its abdominal joints. With one firm yank, he ripped the two blades off.


    In fact, Zen thought a single blade locust wasn''t that difficult to deal with.


    Disciples that were half-step into the nature level were able to kill a single blade locust with ease, as well as those at the marrow refining level. Actually, even at the organ refining level, one might be able to defeat a locust, if they put all their strength into their actions.

 Chapter 89 Rescued (Part One)

    According to the records of beasts rankings in the Eastern Region, the ordinary blade locusts were considered level three monsters.


    However, the difference between other beasts that were level three and the blade locusts was that blade locusts never appeared alone.


    "If you come across a single blade locust, there are at least two thousand more behind that one!"


    Although it was an exaggeration, it showed just how vast the numbers were, and so the saying spread throughout the south.


    In the face of such vast numbers of blade locusts, refiners were afraid to deal with them, whether were half a step into the nature level or at nature level.


    At present, disciples from the Cloud Sect had managed to kill a few hundred blade locusts, because each one had good strength.


    Blade locust corpses were piled high around the wreckage, accumulating a body hill.


    No matter how high the pile of dead blade locusts got, it seemed endless amounts were coming at the disciples!


    "Aah!" came a sudden scream. It was a disciple rushing the blade locusts in a drastic move. Even if the others wanted to save him, it was too late. In an instant, a large group of locusts knocked him to the ground and were gnawing his limbs, until nothing remained and the blade locusts scattered.


    As the other disciples watched this gnarly scene, a shiver went through each of them.


    No one wanted to be the next to be ripped apart and eaten alive by these gruesome monsters.


    Wave on wave of blade locusts came at them though, and once everyone''s energy was sapped, they would die.


    As the onslaught continued, the disciples felt their melancholy attitudes deepening within, and their attacks became weaker.


    It was now that one of the disciples shouted, "Cheer up! No sl


    coming from the woods before a large number of serious looking men appeared at the edge of trees, all dressed in uniforms, marching in unison, and each carrying bamboo sticks on their backs.


    "It''s the imperial army!"


    whispered more than one of the disciples at the sight of the imperial army. The Cloud Sect disciples visibly relaxed.


    The Burning Sky Empire would send a considerable number of the imperial army yearly to war the Insect Aggression.


    Compared with the Cloud Sect disciples, the imperial army had unified action and a good sense of discipline. While the individual strength of an imperial soldier might not be comparable to a single Cloud Sect disciple, the unified power of the imperial army shouldn''t be underestimated.


    The imperial army formed orderly rows, and then a young man with a crew cut stepped forward and spoke earnestly, "I am Martin Lu, the centurion of the Green Haze Group! Disciples of the Cloud Sect, listen carefully! If you want to live, follow us!"


    After Martin Lu issued his commands, the Cloud Sect disciples stood there, staring at blade locust corpses piled high.


    They came here to earn points, not for a holiday.

 Chapter 90 Rescued (Part Two)

    By the rules set forth for the Cloud Sect disciples, they received one point for twenty blade locusts. Such a pile of blade locust corpses was a vast number of points in the disciples'' eyes!


    However, the bodies of blade locust were too big to drag, so the Cloud Sect stipulated that it was necessary to dig the crystal core from the chest of blade locust.


    Since everyone had fought hard for such a long time, they were eager to get some booty.


    But, Martin was pushing them to leave. Of course, all of the disciples were upset.


    The fact that the relationship between the imperial army and the Cloud Sect wasn''t a harmonious one didn''t help. They didn''t like each other, and incidents of group brawls erupted at times for no reason.


    Someone said to Martin, "Can you wait for just a little while? We need to..."


    Martin interrupted, "Hmmph! I know what you want to do, but, you''d better think it over prudently! We''ve detected legions of blade locusts swarming here, and our lives are worth more than yours! You don''t have to go if you don''t want to. But, we are leaving!"


    Feeling they had no choice, the Cloud Sect disciples prepared to set out with the troops.


    They had to follow the imperial army.


    With so many blade locusts corpses, several cultivators of the nature level decided to stay and collect some crystal cores. They thought they''d be able to break through the encirclement alone, but, looking up they saw the increasing amounts of blade locusts, and


    in the rain forest was a world too difficult for humans to explore.


    Every year, tons of beasts emerged from the rain forest to attack the Burning Sky Empire for unknown reasons.


    It was the Dragon Fort''s role to keep these beasts from the rain forest at bay.


    Among the various beasts, the most troublesome was the blade locust.


    The Dragon Fort was rudimentary in appearance, boasting no ornament for either the walls or the moat except for one huge sculpted dragon head hanging on the wall.


    The sculpture was entirely black, and the dragon''s eyes sparkled when they caught the light. The sculpture radiated incomparable majesty.


    While passing under the dragon head sculpture, each disciple of the Cloud Sect felt a sense of awe.


    When Zen walked closer, he stood, staring up at the dragon''s eyes for a while with a hint of doubt rising in his heart.


    Zen could feel the ''intention'' from within dragon head sculpture, the spiritual pressure it was emitting.

 Chapter 91 An Unexpected Challenge

    Zen who had experienced the state of forgetting himself through soul refining could sense the intent of the dragon head.


    What confused Zen was why a dragon head carved out of rock by craftsmen would emanate intent.


    Since Zen could not figure out this mystery, he decided to drop it and followed the other disciples into the Dragon Fort.


    As he entered, Zen could hear the cracking sound released by kerosene-filled torches.


    The torches shed light and created shadows, adding to the mystery of the fort.


    Martin directed the followers toward a building before telling them, "You can rest in this building for now. You are requested to follow the rules of Dragon Fort. Whoever wants to hunt the blade locusts with the Imperial Army should wait for assignments. Meanwhile, anyone who wants to face the insects alone can leave at any time!"


    Martin''s proclamation prompted a mixed response from the disciples of Cloud Sect.


    Four disciples stepped forward and saluted to Martin before the leader spoke, "Martin, it is very kind of you to rescue us today, but we have decided to operate at our will."


    Martin waved his hand and replied, "Suit yourself!"


    The four bid farewell to their fellow disciples and took their leave.


    After their departure, the remaining Cloud Sect disciples began talking among themselves. Slowly, each group decided to follow the example of the four that left first.


    Finally, only four disciples remained including Zen.


    This was Zen''s first experience with participating in an Insect Aggression. He saw no harm in joining the Imperial Army as he was currently non-allied.


    The other three disciples that had chosen to stay back also had their reasons for hunting the blade locusts with the Imperial Army.


    Zen recognized one disciple to be the youth with a ponytail who saved him in the gigantic flying chariot.


    Now that a few disciples had decided to work with the Imperial Army, Martin smiled and nodded to them before dismissing his soldiers. He turned and instructed the soldiers, "Today''s task has been completed You may enjoy your free-time!"


    After the dismissal, Martin guided the four disciples into the building.


    The gray-painted building was virtually a tavern.


    Zen was greeted by a strong scent that seemed to be a mix of sweat and smoke upon entering the tavern.


    All four disciples were overwhelmed by the smell.


    Martin had expected their antipathy and smiled as he explained, "I hope you will understand the living environment of the Imperial Army stationed at Dragon Fort. It is inferior to the environment to which you are accustomed at the Cloud Sect."


    The Imperial Army stationed here fought beasts


    ody!"


    At this statement, the tavern became alive with gossip and chitchats.


    The Imperial Army''s soldiers seemed to think of the trouble-making as amusement.


    Most of them had developed a dislike toward the disciples of Cloud Sect. The bearded man was purposely challenging Zen to please them.


    Martin, sensing the growing tension and hostility, tried to discredit the trouble-maker and placated Zen by saying, "Zen, do not take it to heart! Wu''s roaring is due to his previous conflict with some disciple of Cloud Sect..."


    "How could any disciple of Cloud Sect provoke me beyond measure? Martin, no more your inter-mediation!" The trouble-maker dismissed Martin''s reconciliation and pressed his advantage. "Bloke, why not come to blows with me to display your martial art?"


    Zen remained unperturbed at the blatant challenge.


    His purpose for coming to this part of the Empire was to hunt blade locusts to gain points and experience in his quest for immortality.


    He ignored the challenge as it didn''t suit his purpose.


    Meanwhile, Roger also made light of the instigation.


    But Sun and Tank could not contain their anger anymore.


    "I am willing to show you my martial art level to uphold the reputation of Cloud Sect!" Sun braced for the challenge.


    "How could you, a soldier half-step into the nature level challenge Zen who is at the marrow refining level like this?" Tank said sardonically.


    Although Tank''s reference to Zen''s inferior martial art level was intended to speak in favor of Zen, he unexpectedly hurt Zen''s feelings.


    Zen could ignore the challenge and show his strength in the presence of his fellow disciples.


    After the comment, he rose, stood in front of Tank and Sun, and then said, "Tank and Sun, please let me fend for myself!"

 Chapter 92 Disgraced Himself (Part One)

    "But that guy is half-step into the nature level. You will be in an unfavorable position!" said Tank Yang anxiously.


    Sun Zhao nodded in agreement and said, "Yes, Tank is right. Zen, this fight will be unfair for you."


    Martin wanted to stop Zen as soon as he heard what they had said. He knew of Wu''s strength. Wu was one of the best among the soldiers who were half-step into the nature level. Zen would be at a disadvantage if he fought with him.


    But before Martin could stand up, Roger put a hand on his shoulder, shook his head in disapproval, and said, "Let Zen make the choice. We have to believe in his abilities. After all, he joined the Imperial Army to fight the blade locusts with the soldiers. He needs to prove his worth to them."


    "But..." Martin thought over what Roger had said. However, he remained unconvinced. He wanted to say more, but before he could, Roger interrupted him again. Roger murmured, "I think Zen is extraordinary even though he is at the marrow refining level."


    After all, Roger Meng was one of top disciples in the nature level, and so his foresight naturally differed from others.


    Once Roger showed confidence in Zen''s abilities, Martin had no reason to try and dissuade Zen. Although he decided to keep quiet, his hesitance was reflected in his expression. Wu didn''t care as much about Zen''s reputation.


    "Haha. In spite of his inferior strength, this guy is brave enough to accept my challenge. Buddies, come here. Let''s move these tables and chairs so that some space can be made for the fight!" Wu yelled.


    The sounds of shuffling feet and scraping chairs filled the tavern as the other soldiers positioned themselves so that they could watch the fight.


    Tavern brawls were common between soldiers at Dragon Fort. The waiters who had been watching the argument hurriedly moved the tables and chairs away. At last, a large space was cleared.


    Wu stood in the center of the space. A grin spread on his lips as he gestured at Zen before saying, "Brat, come here!"


    Zen


    that his face and neck had turned dark red. In the current situation, Wu found himself in a dilemma. He could neither advance nor retreat.


    A weaker cultivator had just defeated him.


    All the bystanders inside the tavern were taken aback when they saw this incredible scene.


    Since they were his battle companions, they knew of Wu''s strength.


    They hadn''t expected that Zen, who was only at the marrow refining level, would be able to grab Wu''s fist with a single hand.


    This was not an ordinary feat. Even Martin, who had reached the nature level, couldn''t do that. This indicated that Zen was more powerful than Wu.


    What others didn''t know was that Zen had woken up four dragon scales, and was hence almost as powerful as a strong man at the nature level.


    Seeing that Wu couldn''t shake off his grip, Zen took a deep breath. Soon afterward, he swung his arm and pushed Wu back.


    Wu''s eyes widened with surprise and fear when he felt Zen''s power flowing through his arms. Before he could process what had happened, Wu found himself flying backward. He crashed through several rows of tables and chairs before colliding with a wooden cabinet. All the furniture Wu had been hurled through now lay on the floor in a pile of shattered wood. At last, Wu collided with the wall before falling to the floor in a motionless heap.

 Chapter 93 Disgraced Himself (Part Two)

    At this display of power, silence descended in the tavern.


    Fights between the Imperial Army and Cloud Sect were very common.


    Although disciples of Cloud Sect were highly skilled, soldiers of the Imperial Army were strongmen who had experienced combats extensively. They had acquired valuable practical skills from fighting. This gave them a slight advantage and brought them at par with the Cloud Sect disciples.


    However, a soldier had now been humiliated by a young cultivator at the marrow refining level.


    All the soldiers felt ashamed.


    Under normal circumstances, the entire tavern would have been involved in a skirmish like this.


    But, today, everyone knew that Wu had deliberately provoked Zen. What made them more hesitant to get involved was that Wu had instigated a junior disciple at the marrow refining level to fight him.


    Although the soldiers in the Imperial Army were not physically well-groomed, they were sensible. Today, Wu was totally out of luck as he had disgraced himself. He shouldn''t blame Zen who was at the marrow refining level.


    At that moment, even Martin felt a little embarrassed.


    Zen had joined the Green Haze Group at Martin''s invitation. Martin was now in a quandary. On one hand, it would be rude for him to embarrass Zen because Wu had chosen to incite the young disciple in a show of strength. On the other hand, Zen''s strength had been astounding. As a result, he humiliated Wu completely. Seeing that Wu was still lying motionless on the floor, Martin resented him a little. After all, both he and Wu were members of the Imperial Army.


    Thus, Martin felt that he had been humiliated by association. ''Wu overestimated his abilities after drinking some wine. Cloud Sect is a sacred place of martial arts. Its students are talented in different skills. Since Wu chose to disgrace himself, he deserves the insult, '' thought Martin.


    In this situation, Martin''s only choice was to smooth things over, and to this end, he said, "Well, the fight is over. Tomorrow, we have work to do. I think it''s best if we rest early..."


    While the explanation was feeble, it gave the soldiers, including Wu, a reason to exc


    Fort?"


    Liam nodded and replied, "Yes, I am very certain about this."


    "If so, ask him to come out so that I can kill him with a slap and fulfill Fren''s task. Am I right? After that, we can go right back on the flying chariot," both young men said simultaneously.


    Liam closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose as his head throbbed. He recalled that the white-skinned man was called White Fiend, and the black-skinned one was Black Fiend. The two formed a group known as Black Fiend and White Fiend.


    Although the two young men were very powerful, they were also unruly and grumpy. They would beat and kill people on impulse as long as they were enraged.


    Recalling Fren''s promise, Liam tried hard to suppress his anger upon hearing what White Fiend and Black Fiend had said. He patiently explained, "Dragon Fort is under the control of the Imperial Army. Do you think you will survive after you kill a person here on a whim?"


    "Then, what should we do? Do we really have to kill that guy after he leaves here?" White Fiend asked with a gloomy face.


    "Since he was willing to come to Dragon Fort, he will eventually get out here to hunt and kill blade locusts. When that happens, you will have many chances to kill him. If we plan it well, we might think of many funny and entertaining ways to kill him. Who knows, we might not even have to get involved directly," as Liam said this, a cunning smile grew on his face.

 Chapter 94 Gains In Crises

    "Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"


    Loud sounds of drums from outside woke Zen up in the early hours of the morning.


    As soon as he opened his door, he was infected by the atmosphere.


    Amidst the bustle of the drumming, a hundred imperial soldiers were marching out of the fort in groups.


    Martin located Zen, assembled the team, and they took up the task of hunting blade locusts beyond the confines of the fort.


    Hundreds of miles in front of Dragon Fort was the principal battlefield against blade locusts.


    Dead blade locusts were piled up in heaps on both sides of the path.


    Zen saw some people crowding around the heaps as if they were searching for something. Occasionally one of them would prod at a corpse.


    He noticed that all those scavenging the bodies were ordinary citizens. None of them were body refiners.


    ''So why are they out there?'' he wondered. Common people were so weak that a single blade locust could easily kill them all. The battlefield was too dangerous for them.


    After watching the people rifling through the remains, Zen asked, "Why are these civilians risking their lives outside the fort? Aren''t they afraid to die?"


    Martin laughed at his question, "Afraid to die? Of course, they are afraid to die. Every year many civilians get themselves killed here. Just a few days ago, some damned blade locusts got lucky! They rushed in, killing a dozen civilians."


    "Then why do they come out of the fort?" asked Zen, puzzled.


    Martin smiled, "It has to do with your sect."


    Zen was still confused, so, Roger explained, "Each blade locust has a crystal core in its chest. In our sect, they only need the crystal cores you have collected to count the number of blade locusts you have killed. Usually, we take the crystal cores after we kill them. But, we always miss some amidst the many carcasses. These people are here to take a chance on luck. Crystal cores are sold at a premium in the fort."


    That explanation cleared it up for Zen.


    Twenty crystal cores were worth one point. One point was worth two cubic crystals.


    Refiners would love to buy some crystal cores with gold or silver that they had no use for. At the same time, through trade, ordinary individuals could make a fortune, living a prosperous, comfortable life. It was a small wonder why so many men were willing to risk their lives looking for crystal cores outside of the fort.


    Ahead, the lush green rain forest was quiet.


    In the face of the insect army, other beasts migrated yearly because they were as defenseless as humans when it came to the insect horde. The creatures either went into hiding deep underground or fled the forest entirely.


    All was still. The only sound was the leaves rustling in the wind.


    Moving silently, Zen and the others made their way into the forest.


    Since a blade locust''s entire body was grass-green hues, they blended in with the environment perfectly, making them good at camouflaging themselves in the forest. When prey was close enough, they would leap out and make the kill.


    The instant Zen brushed by a shrub, there were two blades shooting out at his n


    .


    Not far off branches stirred and then blade locusts came into view.


    But this time, something was different.


    Dozens of purple blade locusts were with this lot.


    "Blade locust officers!"


    Zen''s eyes flickered at sight.


    These locusts were more valuable than the normal blade locusts. Each officer was worth one point, the equivalent of twenty normal blade locusts.


    Surely officers were harder to kill than normal blade locusts.


    "All right, men, watch out! The officers are poisonous. Be careful of the needles!" warned Martin. The truth was, only Zen needed the warning since everyone else already knew.


    A blade locust officer was a level four beast with a body comparable to a refiner who was a half-step in the nature level. Sharp venomous spikes spread across its purple body, making it a savage foe.


    Martin''s warning didn''t make Zen flinch though. Instead, he charged forward fearlessly.


    Blade locust officers made clicking with their mandibles as if they were talking to each other when Zen rushed at them.


    The significant difference between the officers and ordinary locusts was that the officers were intelligent, and could communicate!


    A half dozen officers had reached a decision after their short discussion and fanned out in Zen''s direction, and the next second he was surrounded.


    "That was a little reckless, Zen! You''ve gotten yourself enclosed!" called Martin from behind.


    "Let''s give him a hand," said Tank as he and Sun moved in closer. They fought side by side in the battle, and before long they warmed up to each other, becoming fast friends. So as soon as they saw Zen in danger, they hurried to lend him a hand.


    Roger was the only one who didn''t move. He knew full well Zen was too cautious to make such a mistake. Zen would have thought it through before acting. So, Roger was secure in his belief that Zen could handle the situation.


    Standing there, Roger wondered what Zen''s plan was. What tactic would he employ to deal with the six blade locust officers simultaneously? Roger''s curiosity was piqued.

 Chapter 95 A Rich Harvest Of Crystal Cores (Part One)

    Confronted with six blade locust officers at once would have even a hardiest refiner at the nature level quaking in his boots.


    A blade locust officer was more powerful, in both speed and strength, than the average blade locust. However, it was the venomous thorns that were the most frightening.


    In the desert, there was a scorpion whose deadly sting killed any creature that was stung, instantly, and, in the forest, there was a ghost-like butterfly whose powder was so toxic that it would make the area desolate for miles around.


    However, refiners at the nature level weren''t usually frightened of those creatures, given that their life vitality could prohibit toxins from entering their bodies. Simply put, it was more difficult for toxins to affect their bodies.


    Differing from those two deadly creatures, the venom that the blade locust officers possessed wasn''t fatal. Instead, the toxin severely paralyzed the victim and could break through the life vitality barrier to penetrate the human body. Even those who reached the nature level were unable to move once infected.


    Thus, when it came to fighting the blade locust officers, everyone needed to be on guard. After all, once paralyzed, one was nothing but food for blade locusts.


    Others feared the blade locust officer''s poison, but not Zen.


    Considering his body was a mysterious weapon, there wasn''t any poison that could harm him.


    Therefore, although it seemed foolhardy of him to rush at the blade locust officers alone, in actuality, he was quite prepared.


    As he leaped through the air, he slipped a ring on one finger, while the other was steadfast on the broken flying knife. They were the pair


    d earn him one point, and he had just beheaded six in one fell swoop, which was equivalent to six points he had gained. Fighting like this would earn him points much quicker than he could by killing ordinary blade locusts.


    But, blade locust officers differed from the common ones.


    They were intelligent, which meant they weren''t prone to daredevil tactics like the average blade locusts.


    When the remaining officers saw that Zen had killed six of their cohorts in a single strike, they scattered and avoided him, while commanding more common ones to attack him.


    Zen kept swinging his arm. Under the strong outward force, the broken flying knife whirled violently around him.


    "Whirl, whoosh..."


    Dozens of blade locusts charged Zen, but Zen adjusted his position, and they were sliced in half by the flying knife. Their remains were littering the ground. To Zen, the blade locusts were as defenseless as ants, even though others freaked out at the mere mention of them.


    Soon blade locust carcasses were piled up like a hill, and among them were the heads of several purple blade locust officers.

 Chapter 96 A Rich Harvest Of Crystal Cores (Part Two)

    There were many more of blade locusts than there had been in the previous waves, but thanks to the presence of Zen "the Windmill," they were destroyed more quickly than before. After the dozens of blade locust officers were slaughtered, the remaining blade locusts withdrew.


    Since there was a heap of blade locust corpses on the ground waiting for Zen to pick through, gathering the spoils, he didn''t give chase to the retreating blade locusts.


    Martin was puzzled at the sight of the blade locusts retreating, a thought flashed, and his face darkened at the possibility that came to his mind.


    "No! Impossible! Retreat! Everyone, fall back!" shouted Martin in an urgent tone.


    Hearing Martin shouting, Zen stopped plucking crystal cores from within the blade locust officers'' chests with his knife, and asked in bewilderment, "What? Why?"


    "When ordinary blade locusts retreat, it means... It means that there must be..." Martin''s face was white, and his fear gripped him, making him unable to finish his sentence.


    "What? There must be what?" Seeing the fear on Martin''s face made Zen realize how dangerous the situation must be.


    "Queen... blade locust!" stammered Martin with a guttural grunt.


    He had been at the Dragon Fort for many years and knew the habits of the blade locusts, and that both the officers and the average blade locusts were under the orders of a queen blade locust. The blade locust officers could think independently, but the real commander of the army was the queen.


    Without independent thought, each common blade locust was a daredevil. No matter how formidable the enemy was, they wouldn''t hesitate to attack, so, in general, they didn''t have the concept of fleeing or retreating.


    In this aspect, they were natural warriors.


    On the other hand, since they were retrea


    run!" The superior qualities Martin possessed as a member of the imperial army were evident at this life and death moment.


    The words were hardly out of Martin''s mouth when the queen blade locust moved again. She was huge, but she moved incredibly fast. She deftly blocked the road to the side, her two giant blades cutting across the crowd again.


    At this crucial moment, Zen leaped into the air, narrowly avoiding the blade that was coming at him and rolled over it.


    Others were not as fortunate. Eight more men were cut down by the blades of the queen.


    Standing behind the soldiers, Tank saw the giant blades bearing down on him, and it was too late for him to dodge. With a desperate yet determined look on his face, he gathered his strength and at the last moment, his entire body shimmered with a golden light.


    As a cultivator half-step into the nature level, he let loose a burst of remarkable power while he hung on by a thread.


    "Ka-Blam!"


    Tank focused his golden aura from within his body to a single point, and shot it at the giant blades.


    In a tragic scene, Tank''s fierce power stopped the queen blade locust momentarily before her blades sliced him in two, mercilessly.

 Chapter 97 Tragic Plight (Part One)

    Watching what happened to Tank, knocked his fellow disciples, Zen, Roger and Sun, for a loop. And they felt a massive sense of loss in their hearts.


    While the four of them hadn''t deliberately sought each other out, they had become a close-knit team in a short time. There was an understanding among them from following and working closely with the Green Haze Group to fight the blade locusts.


    But, only a few hours after they formed the team, one of the four was killed on the spot. At this moment, naturally, the mood in their hearts was one of sorrow. They couldn''t help mourning for Tank''s fate. What if all of them died here today?


    As they were feeling sorry for themselves, Martin roared and shot an arrow aiming at the queen blade locust''s compound eye as he ran. As the arrow sailed through the air drawing near the queen''s eye, she extended her blade-like appendage, batting it from the sky and it clattered harmlessly to the ground.


    In an uproar at the arrow, the queen blade locust targeted Martin next, lumbering after him.


    "Everyone, just run! I''ll distract the queen and lead her away!" yelled Martin, in apparent acceptance of his fate, whether life or death.


    Chasing Martin, the queen blade locust was no longer blocking their way, giving others a slim chance of escaping.


    However, the situation was still grave, aside from the queen, there was a mass of blade locusts waiting, along with hundreds of blade locust officers.


    The soldiers of the Green Haze Group lit their bamboo torches, sending smoke and flame billowing into the air. Whether ordinary blade locusts or the officers, they were repelled by the smoke, fearing it. They scattered in all directions. Finally, a passage cleared ahead of the troops.


    "Let''s go! We''re moving


    queen blade locust was a few feet from Martin, the broken knife slashed through the crucial point of her forelimb.


    Although the carapace of the queen was notably hard, the broken knife effortlessly sliced into it.


    "Cra-ack!"


    In a split second, the blade cracked and was separated from the queen''s body. It fell to the ground with a heavy thud. Shocked Martin stood frozen with a dumbfounded expression, as his mind took a moment to figure out what just happened.


    "Zzzztttt..."


    shrieked the queen blade locust in agony.


    Both Zen and Martin felt a stabbing pain from her screech piercing their eardrums.


    The compound eyes on her head rolled around, searching for the source of pain and soon focused on Zen nearby. She turned her fury on Zen, raising her other blade and swiftly hacking in a downward motion at him!


    Prepared for her retaliation, Zen evaded the horrible blow, sprinting away in the other direction.


    The blade came down hard, leaving a long crack in the ground. She pulled the blade back, and let loose a monstrous scream from her mandible. All her hatred was focused on Zen as she rushed him, forgetting Martin, her earlier target.

 Chapter 98 Tragic Plight (Part Two)

    Martin teetered on the brink of death, feeling like he would collapse at any second. As he watched the retreating form of the queen blade locust, his chest heaved as profoundly, out of breath after his run. He never thought Zen would lead the queen blade locust away just in time to save his life!


    The whistling wind rushed past his ears, and the woods fell away behind Zen on either side as Zen ran. Zen didn''t choose any specific way because he had no idea where he was anyway!


    Aside from running onward with all his effort, he hadn''t had time to think of a plan.


    The queen blade locust was chasing after him at a crazy speed. Although she had only one blade left, for Zen, she was still an invincible being.


    "Scri-itch!" came the sound as a shadow of red flashed through the trees in the spot where Zen was a moment ago, leaving a ten feet long scar in the ground.


    The queen was obviously much faster than Zen. In seconds she would overtake Zen!


    "What now?"


    questioned Zen looking around frantically as his heart gradually sank. Faced with such a powerful opponent, he didn''t hold out for the fight to go his way.


    "Scra-atch!"


    came the ominous sound as the red shadow fell again, and at the same time the wind whizzed past. Zen surged up, avoiding the attack and rolled forward out of reach.


    Colliding into shrubs and bramble as he made his way through the jungle, Zen saw a canyon come into view ahead. He looked around and noted that the canyon was about seventy or eighty feet wide.


    ''I''ll have to jump the gorge!'' decided Zen quickly in mind.


    Racing to the edge of the canyon, Zen clenched his teeth, directed the strength of his entire body to the feet while pulling himself into the shape of a curved b


    of a large cave.


    He turned and looked at the jungle, spreading endlessly. When he sprinted away, he''d expected to find a place to duck into. But, there was no place to hide from the queen blade locust.


    Without thinking, Zen could only seek refuge in the cave.


    For humans, caves were far more dangerous inside than the outside.


    Especially caves out in the wild, who knew what powerful creatures called the caves home?


    But, Zen had no choice at the moment. It was futile to continue running. Zen could only hope there would be a chance for him to survive somehow in the cave.


    When Zen got into the cave, the queen blade locust saw and followed close behind him without any hesitation. Hellbent on killing Zen, she just wouldn''t give up.


    It was such a spacious cave that even the large queen blade locust was able to walk freely inside. Fortunately, the cave also curved along, so that, although she was faster outside, inside the cave, Zen was quicker.


    Therefore, the distance between them wasn''t shortened.


    As Zen went deeper and deeper into the cave, the thick smell of sulfur penetrated his nose. What was below this cave?

 Chapter 99 Giant Beast At Lava Lake

    The cave was dark, with only the faint light filtering through the entrance behind him, making it difficult for Zen to see ahead.


    He had no time to consider what could be hidden in the dark recesses of the cave with his biggest problem behind him and moving closer.


    As she made her way into the cave, the queen blade locust smashed stalagmites and stalactites chasing after Zen.


    Only the heavens knew whether or not the queen blade locust had a keen sense of smell or Zen was leaving marks behind him. Whatever the case, it seemed easy for the giant insect to find him, even in a maze of caves like this.


    The further down they went, the thicker and more pungent the sulfur odor became.


    As he rushed into a connecting cavern, Zen discovered a red light illuminated the spacious cave.


    Before Zen was an underground lake of magma surging. One after another, dark red flames burst up from the lake only to explode in a ''poof''.


    This was the fire of the Earth''s core!


    It was recorded in ancient times that the fire came from the Earth''s core.


    The weapon refiners much preferred the fire of the Earth''s core, because it was more primal, raw than the fire of life vitality that was in the refiner''s body. The fire of the Earth''s core had a miracle effect when refining certain special magic weapons.


    Undoubtedly, the sulfur smell emanated from this pool of magma.


    "Boom, boom..."


    A low sound of rumbling thunder echoed through the cavern.


    The queen blade locust was getting nearer again.


    "Damn!" Zen blurted out uneasily.


    He saw a passage at the side of the lake of magma, and he ran over to it.


    The bank of the lava lake was heated by the fire from the Earth''s core. Therefore, the ground was like a hot frying pan under Zen''s feet.


    All he wanted was to run for his life right then, so, he went through the heat at high speed not turning back.


    "Ka-blam!"


    The sound of exploding magma spurted fire through the air, splashing it in Zen''s direction.


    Without hesitation, Zen dropped and rolled, avoiding being splattered with the fires.


    Immediately, he heard the stone wall next to him, "sizzling," as the fiery magma that had just skimmed past his back, burned a large hole in the wall.


    He noticed the wall was pitted with holes, like scars it had gotten from years of molten lava hitting it.


    Well aware of the danger now, Zen was more cautious. He couldn''t imagine w


    ned by the noise, the fire scorpion lion''s eyes flew open. The creature looked as surprised by the sight of the small man standing near, as Zen was by the lion waking up.


    Shaking its mane and growling angrily, the fire scorpion lion pounced at Zen.


    Zen dodged in a flash.


    It was just like a game of cat and mouse.


    Since Zen responded so quickly, the fire scorpion lion missed him.


    Growling furiously, the giant beast crouched, ready to stalk and pounce again.


    But the fire scorpion lion paused suddenly, noticing the queen blade locust approaching.


    Zen knew an epic battle was about to begin.


    ''How do I get out? Am I screwed?'' wondered Zen desperately.


    No matter which way he chose, he saw no way to survive.


    Ignoring the small man, the queen blade locust faced off with the fire scorpion lion.


    Each beast was arrogant about their strength, and neither side was willing to yield.


    Waving her big red blade, the queen blade locust created loud clacking sounds to warn the fire scorpion lion to back off.


    Sharpening his claws against the hard stone ground, the fire scorpion lion was anything but fearful.


    It was as though time froze, and Zen felt as though a century passed in the tick of a minute.


    The queen blade locust impatiently attacked first.


    Bellowing a mighty roar, the fire scorpion lion raised his head, preparing for the fight.


    In the center of the behemoths battlefield stood Zen.


    Out of desperation, Zen decided to try his luck with the lava and jumped into the lake.


    The fiery lava boiled vigorously, swallowing him instantaneously.

 Chapter 100 Transformation Into The Spiritual Weapon (Part One)

    At the moment, the two huge beasts were too busy focusing on each other to notice Zen.


    One of the beasts, the queen blade locust, had a broken limb from her earlier scuffle with Zen. In spite of being at a disadvantage, the one remaining limb was still a powerful lethal weapon shaped like the blade of a sword. Alongside her blade, the queen blade locust was a little bigger than the fire scorpion lion.


    Although the fire scorpion lion was smaller than the queen blade locust, it was nimbler. Further, since the lava cave was the fire scorpion lion''s natural habitat, it had an advantage.


    As soon as the beasts collided in battle, the cave shook, rocks tumbled, and the cavern floor was littered with rubble.


    Rocks fell from high up on the walls of the cave, and fire spouted out of the earth''s core.


    "Crash, bam!"


    "Ba-boom!"


    Loud clashing sounds ensued as the fire scorpion lion threw the queen blade locust on the floor swiftly.


    In spite of the aggressive attack, the queen blade locust forcibly stomped the ground with her hind legs, thrusting the fire scorpion lion backward about one foot.


    Immediately, the queen rushed towards the lion and flung her enormous blade at the fire scorpion lion. However, the lion evaded her attack and snarled before retaliating. The locust, which could only survive by slaughtering, was much more courageous and brutal than ordinary beasts.


    "Skrressh!"


    came the horrifying sound of the blade slicing into the flesh of the fire scorpion lion. Its heart and other organs spilled out. The fire scorpion lion, mortally injured, wailed mournfully. At the same time, cocking its nimble tail up, the lion slashed at the queen blade locust''s head.


    "Snap!"


    The queen blade locust couldn''t dodge in time, resulting in her head splitting and falling to the ground because of the force of scorpion tail.


    Without her head, the queen''s body became limp, and the blade trembled for a moment before her carcass slumped to the ground. The lio


    tion.


    Everything that had transpired was far beyond his ability to comprehend. When he jumped into the lake of lava to escape from certain doom, shockingly, his body absorbed the earth''s core fire in the lake. Perhaps his physical strength was improved after being refined by the flames.


    He looked down at his body and noticed that his chest had a wave-like texture to it.


    Seeing the change, Zen was puzzled.


    In the back of his mind, he felt as though he''d seen that texture, and he recognized the pattern from somewhere!


    After contemplating the design, it struck him where he''d seen it! Clapping his hands, he shouted, "Yes! I remember now! It''s a spiritual texture!"


    Zen had seen such textures in the books of weapon refining techniques left by Evil Lan.


    Weapons fell into a few classes. They were mysterious, spiritual, fairy, sacred and divine weapons.


    Except there were no unique textures on mysterious weapons, special characters similar to this were found only on treasures like spiritual, fairy, and sacred weapons.


    For instance, spiritual textures were on spiritual weapons and fairy textures on fairy weapons.


    A streak of spiritual texture showed up on Zen''s chest, which meant his body had possibly entered a different stage, turning from a mysterious weapon into a spiritual weapon!

 Chapter 101 Transformation Into The Spiritual Weapon (Part Two)

    Zen knew how mysterious weapons differed from spiritual weapons. During the blooded test, he suffered horrific injuries from the dagger, which was one of spiritual weapons that Ryan used. Ryan would have defeated Zen if it wasn''t for his body possessing the might of a top grade mysterious weapon.


    Once Zen''s body evolved into a spiritual weapon, his strengths would be naturally and significantly enhanced regardless of what he was capable of withstanding.


    That brought the most critical point to Zen''s mind.


    "The most remarkable difference between spiritual and mysterious weapons isn''t in their tenacity or sharpness. Instead, each spiritual weapon has a unique, extraordinary skill of its own. Like, Ryan''s had a mighty silk energy thread he could summon," murmured Zen to the empty cavern.


    "Since my body has been upgraded now to the equivalent spiritual weapon, I wonder what kind of ''skill'' I will gain." Wondering about the possibilities excited Zen even more.


    "Now, how do I trigger the skill of the spiritual weapon though?'' reflected Zen.


    Standing on the solid lake, Zen extended one hand out, breathed in and out, and loudly shouted, "Hai!" Rushing ahead two steps, he raised one leg, spinning in the air as he did, executing a spinning kick.


    As he went through the motions, Zen''s moves looked awkward.


    After some trials and erroneous moves, Zen stood still, scratched his head and chuckled, thinking he was behaving idiotically.


    Since he didn''t even know if he had a spiritual weapon skill, it was impossible for him to test it the way he was.


    When Zen stopped performing the senseless actions, the gold foil covering his body suddenly vanished from sight, leaving the cave in darkness all over again.


    Zen pulled a fire starter out of his space ring. As he rubbed it, the cave lit up.


    He looked around and saw nothing but the corpses of the queen blade locust and fire scorpion lion.


    Earlier, when he


    ral hours later, he emerged from the cave.


    By the time he got back up to the world outside the cave, night had fallen, and it was dark. The sky sparkled brilliantly with millions of stars. Zen realized as he looked up how late it must be.


    Zen carefully made his way back across the canyon and jungles, running along the paths he had followed during the daylight in the direction of the Dragon Fort.


    Fortunately, blade locusts spent their night in ensconcing in their lairs, only venturing out under the rarest of unusual situations because they weren''t nocturnal by nature. Any other beasts that would normally be out hunting at night were driven away by the insect aggression. Therefore, Zen didn''t run into any beasts as he made his way through the thick jungles.


    It took him a long time, but, finally, the Dragon Fort came into his view.


    Once he reached the Dragon Fort, Zen strode to the building where Martin lived.


    Martin was housed with other members of the Green Haze group in the barracks. Zen saw two guards stationed outside the barracks as he approached the building.


    When the guards saw Zen, they immediately raised their lances, shouting, "Halt! Who goes? This is the barrack of the Green Haze Group! No visitors are welcome late at night. Leave immediately!"

 Chapter 102 Persuading Roger

    "It''s me, Zen Luo. I want to speak with Martin, if I might, please?" stated Zen as he neared the door.


    As the light from the torches shone on Zen, the two soldiers could see it was him, and there was a look of shock on each man''s face. With a grateful tone, one of the guards said, "Hey brother! I can''t believe it. You''re alive! Thank goodness!"


    The two were soldiers of the Green Haze group, or more accurately, surviving members of the troop!


    Usually, Martin''s battle plans were impressive, and he took many precautions, so he never jeopardized the lives of soldiers in his platoon, and there was rarely a death under his command.


    However, in the battle that day, dozens of soldiers perished, which was a terrible blow to the Green Haze group.


    The survivors knew that if Zen hadn''t drawn the queen blade locust away, none of them would have survived.


    If Martin were the only one to have drawn the queen away, she would''ve caught up to the troops after killing Martin.


    Thus, it was Zen''s sacrifice that saved the rest of them.


    So, the survivors would be eternally grateful for what Zen did!


    Until just now, they all thought Zen died. So, they were astounded at his safe return!


    The soldiers knew that Zen was an outer disciple from the Cloud Sect, and although he was only at the marrow refining level, Zen was stronger than other disciples at that same level. Even with his strength though, the gap between his power and that of the queen blade locust was immense. They didn''t know how Zen escaped.


    "Zen, the captain isn''t at the camp," one of the soldiers informed Zen.


    Wondering why, Zen asked, "Wait, you mean he hasn''t come back?"


    "Oh, no, he came back, but...?" the soldier broke off his reply, not sure whether or not he should disclose the truth.


    Seeing the soldier''s concerned look, Zen was confused and asked, "But what? What happened?"


    "Zen, the captain was... locked up!" announced the soldier in a sad tone as he bowed his head.


    Zen frowned and in a deeper timbre asked, "Locked up? But, why?"


    "Yesterday, someone changed our regular marching route. It must''ve been someone who intended for us to travel a more dangerous trail," the soldier stopped relating what had occurred, inhaling before he suddenly furrowed his brows indignantly and with an inflection of resentment in his voice said, "Captain Martin went to the higher-ups and complained, angering his superior officer. So, he was arrested. I''m afraid they will punish him for insubordination accordingly, by martial law..."


    ''How did this happen?'' speculated Zen. What the soldier had conveyed to him, irritated Zen.


    Someone had intentionally changed their route, endangering all of the troops in the Green Haze platoon, and almost succeeded in getting them all killed! The disciples from the Cloud Sect, Roger, Sun, and Zen almost died, while a single slash from the queen blade locust brutally destroyed poor Tank!


    Examining the events in his mind, Zen became infuriated!


    Granted, Zen had only known Martin for a short time, but, he appreciated Martin''s leadership skills. On top of that,


    any given situation.


    It was okay if Roger helped Martin as long as it didn''t lead to trouble for him, but, it was stupid to provoke anyone from the Zhuge Clan just to assist Martin.


    Zen''s dare was transparent. How could he think Roger wouldn''t know his true intentions?


    Warily, Zen chuckled and pleaded, "Roger, help me this one time, please. I''ll remember the kindness from you and the Meng Clan!"


    Shaking his head, Roger Meng responded, "Zen, I''ll admit, you''re talented, but, that isn''t enough of a reason for me to help you."


    In all honesty, Roger wanted to befriend Zen, who was an uncommon genius even for Cloud Sect and might very well be an influential figure in the future, but, the future was far off, and after weighing the pros and cons Roger decided he couldn''t help Zen.


    Offending Fren for Zen''s sake would be a stupid move in Roger''s opinion.


    Sure, if Zen were an invincible master already, Roger would help him, but Zen wasn''t.


    Despite Zen exhibiting an exceptional talent for refining, he could end up in an abyss for offending anyone in the top seven noble clans.


    Just then, a look crossed Zen''s face, and he reached into his space ring and pulled out the crystal core he had gotten from the queen blade locust. He waved it in front of Roger and Sun, exclaiming, "Roger, no one saved me yesterday. The queen blade locust is dead, because of me. That loony Fren tried to get me killed several times until now, and yet, I''m still alive! I''m bound to rise higher in the future! I''m confident I''ll be in a position to help the Meng Clan, one day!"


    The fist-sized crystal core gleamed brightly in Zen''s hand, reflecting light onto Zen''s proud, young face!


    Zen''s words sounded impertinent, but exuded confidence.


    Seeing the crystal core in Zen''s hand shocked Roger.


    It wasn''t that Roger cared about a crystal core, but, the fact that Zen had it meant the queen blade locust was dead! While it wasn''t clear whether or not Zen killed the queen blade locust himself, it was obvious that Zen was somehow connected to her demise!

 Chapter 103 Teaching A Fish To Swim (Part One)

    What Zen had accomplished was far beyond Roger''s understanding of the marrow refining level. ''After chasing after the queen blade locust, in the insane manner Zen did, he not only survived but dealt with her and brought back her crystal core!'' contemplated Roger in awe.


    His mouth formed a thin, sour line. "You talk a big talk, and it sounds great, but, it''s just empty talk!" he said chuckling abruptly, his head bobbing so hard that the ponytail in the back of his head shook. "But... " There was a serious look on Roger''s face. He paused and then added," I like it! You''re very ambitious, Zen. So, I have decided to get involved and help you with this mess!"


    At Roger''s acceptance to help, Zen''s face lit up.


    Almost any dispute could be resolved when one of the top seven noble clans was involved because no one would dare push back except another member of the same elite class. So, since Roger consented to assist in resolving the issue, things would go much smoother.


    "One thing though, Zen. What did you mean when you told me that Fren the loony had attempted to kill you multiple times?" Roger asked unexpectedly.


    "It''s sort of a long story. My dispute with the Zhuge family came about during the Blooded Test at the Cloud Sect," stated Zen. After a brief pause, he recounted the stories of what happened that got Chad kicked out from the Blooded Test and how he severely beat Fren the loony''s steward, Thomas at Drizzle Peak.


    With Roger staying to lend a hand with things, Sun gave up his plans to leave, even though he knew his presence wouldn''t really do much. Everyone acted for their reasons, and in Sun''s case, he decided, ''Since Roger thinks highly of Zen, there''s no harm in befriending him!''


    Shortly thereafter, the three turned in, sleeping the rest of the night soundly, and the next morning, first thing, the three men strode to the Dragon Fort''s center.


    Housed in the Dragon Fort were thousands of barracks for squads


    ently cut Jon Gou off again. Even before Jon Gou finished, Roger knew what he was about to say.


    "But, the Zhuge family..." Jon Gou blurted out, unsure if Roger truly understood what he was trying to say.


    "I know that Jon, I already told you that!" snapped Roger, his face set and hard.


    Immediately, Jon Gou nodded briskly and said," Well alright then, if you insist, I won''t worry about it, Young Master. Follow me!"


    He led the three men deeper into the main barracks.


    Deep in the main grounds, there was a courtyard, where four people sat at a blue stone table. It was laden with fruits, wine, meat, and many other tasty foods.


    While the imperial army was permitted drinking, it wasn''t allowed in the barracks, and anyone caught would face disciplinary action.


    But, the four men were sitting around drinking, unconcerned that they were violating the rules.


    "Actually, we should drink a toast to you, Randall!" Liam said laughing as he went on," Without you, things wouldn''t have gone so smoothly!" Raising his glass, Liam then chugged his drink down.


    To the toast offered, Randall He tilted his head back and let the wine slide into his lopsided mouth before casually saying," Don''t mention it, Master Fren entrusted the assignment to me, and it was a piece of cake."

 Chapter 104 Teaching A Fish To Swim (Part Two)

    "Was it easy? We''ve been stuck in this barren place for three days so far, and we still have a few more days before we can leave!" the Black Fiend complained irritably as he grabbed the wine jug roughly and drank from it.


    "I know." agreed the White Fiend, "I should''ve beaten him to death, then, we wouldn''t be sitting here, waiting around!"


    "No, you two, it''s not as simple as that. When there''s a death of a Cloud Sect''s disciple that is suspicious in the Dragon Fort jurisdiction, the Dragon Fort doesn''t sit idly by," remarked Randall He. "Zen''s body hasn''t been found yet, but, the queen blade locust was chasing him, so he must be dead by now!"


    Liam nodded, adding, "Zen''s a tough guy, but he won''t survive against the queen blade locust. We just need to be patient for a few more days, and then we can inform Master Fren the assignment is completed." With a smile on his lips, he raised his glass and said, "Cheers, cheers!"


    Oblivious to Zen and the others approaching, the four men sat around, drinking, toasting each other and bragging about their accomplishments.


    As he neared the table, Jon Gou called out, "Hello Randall. You seem to be enjoying your drink quite a bit." He stepped in front of the men seated, sniffing the air and with a big grin on his face, he said heartily, "How delightful!"


    "What do you want, Jon?" demanded Randall He, scowling at Jon Gou. Fully aware that Jon Gou would not come to see him socially, Randall He knew he had an agenda.


    When Liam looked up from his wine and glimpsed Zen, his eyes bulged, and his mouth opened slightly, in shock. "How? Zen! You! You''re not dead!?" Liam half-accused, half-asked with alarm in his voice.


    Liam''s question got the attention of Randall He, White Fiend and Black Fiend. None of those three had met Zen before and they looked over at him now.


    Like Liam, they were awestruck at Zen bein


    andall He to have the refining ability of an intent.


    Now, if the chill intent had been used in an attack on anyone else, they might find their soul frozen, immediately.


    But, the only thing frozen about Zen was the scornful smile on his face. Seemingly undaunted, he stood still, allowing the chill intent to assail him!


    Considering that when Zen felt the intent from the Vengeful Beast at the Heavenly Library, it wasn''t able to cause him any tangible harm, the meager strength of Randall He''s chill intent was paltry and nothing to Zen.


    Seeing Zen''s soul was unharmed by his chill intent, Randall He stood there perplexed.


    Using this moment to strike, Zen gave a cold snort, and a translucent gray thorn flew out of his head.


    "Spiritual Thorn!"


    The thorn had scarcely appeared before it struck Randall He''s head.


    The speed the two sparred at was so fast that before the others present realized there was a fight, the sound of a cold snort from Zen was heard, and then Randall He was on the ground, crouching holding his head and screaming in anguish.


    "You were teaching a fish how to swim. Look at you now, bringing shame to yourself!" mocked Zen casually as he stood over Randall He, clasping hands behind his back.

 Chapter 105 Clan Influence (Part One)

    A peculiar scene was unfolding in the yard.


    There were ten ranks within the nature level. Huge gap existed between each two of these ten ranks.


    For instance, Roger, White Fiend, and Black Fiend, who had all just reached the nature level, were at the first rank.


    Cultivators at the nature level were able to generate life vitality. They could use this life vitality as weapons to kill their enemies quietly.


    Randall and Jon, the best of the Imperial soldiers, had already reached the fourth rank of the nature level. They possessed great mastery of life vitality at this rank.


    That would give Randall a significant advantage if he fought against Roger or the others.


    Another fact that gave Randall an edge was that he had mastered the chill intent, which could give his opponent''s soul frostbite in the blink of an eye.


    Jon''s mouth twitched uncontrollably. He had agreed to help simply because he wanted to do Roger a favor. Otherwise, he would rather not make a dangerous enemy like Randall. He and Randall were both at the fourth rank, but Randall''s mastery of chill intent made things different. If they fought with each other, Jon would have to pay a great deal of attention to Randall''s intent. It would be a tough fight.


    But what on earth was going on here? Jon found himself utterly at a loss of the situation.


    If he wasn''t mistaken, the youngster following Roger wasn''t even near the threshold of the nature level. This kid was still at the marrow refining level. He couldn''t even discharge life energy yet, let alone generate life vitality.


    Where did he get the nerve to challenge Randall? How did he dare say something like ''you are brin


    at he had been publicly humiliated by this brat, a kid at the marrow refining level!


    Jon had witnessed all this. He might tell the soldiers. If that happened, Randall''s authority would be destroyed.


    He must kill this brat to redeem himself!


    As Randall got to his feet, life vitality surged through his body. The air in the yard cooled instantly. Although it was a hot summer day, all onlookers felt chilled to the bone. The temperature must have dropped by dozens of degrees.


    "You do have a death wish, don''t you? But I''m afraid you picked the wrong way. You pissed me off, and you will regret it. There is going to be a hell lot of pain waiting for you before you die," Randall growled at Zen. A terrifying pressure radiated from Randall''s body as he spoke. In the next instant, the force was directed at Zen.


    Zen''s body tensed. The pressure was like a massive iceberg. Once it fell on him, he would be crushed to pieces. Randall''s force was indeed extraordinarily powerful. He was not a common body refiner at the nature level!


    "Jon?" At this point, Roger called out and gave Jon a look.

 Chapter 106 Clan Influence (Part Two)

    Jon understood. He took a step forward and placed himself in front of Zen. Then with a low voice, he said, "Just let it go, Randall. Fighting with a kid will not make you look good."


    "Out of the way, Jon. His life is mine to take!" Randall roared. Normally, Randall would consider Jon''s advice. But now he had completely lost it. He couldn''t think about anything else except tearing Zen apart.


    "Randall, just because you have the Zhuge family supporting you, you think you can do whatever you want?" Jon''s face darkened. It seemed that Randall was not going to think rationally.


    "So what? You want a fight?" Randall clenched his fists. As white tufts of frost covered his hands, the air around Randall shimmered with cold. This was Randall''s life vitality.


    "You think I am afraid of you?" Jon didn''t flinch at Randall''s rage.


    Seeing that the two were going to fight, Roger became impatient.


    "I''m in no mood to watch you two fight. Just let Martin go. Jon, if you can''t get it done, I will go find my uncle," Roger said with displeasure written all over his face. He had been confident that Jon could handle the issue. Randall could do this the easy way or the hard way, but apparently, he had chosen the latter.


    Jon''s expression changed at Roger''s words. If Roger''s uncle were involved, it would take this situation to a whole different level. Jon didn''t want that. He said quickly, "Young master, there is no need to trouble your uncle with such a little thing."


    Roger shrugged. He gestured around the yard and asked, "To me, it seems that they don''t want to release Martin. Do you have any ideas?"


    Jon turned to Randall. "You heard the young master. If you don''t release Martin, the Flying Dragon General will be involved. If that happens, this can get really ugly for you."


    The Flying Dragon General was one of the commanders who were in charge of Dragon Fort. Nobody knew the depth of his forc


    ooked as if he had just seen a ghost.


    "Zen¡­ bro, you''re alive! You''re still alive!" Martin exclaimed excitedly.


    "Yeah, Martin, I survived," Zen replied with a smile.


    "That''s great, wonderful..." Martin muttered. Throughout his imprisonment, Martin had been tormented over the death of his brothers during the fight with the blade locusts. It wasn''t the lashes meted out to him that pained Martin the most. No, it was the thought that Zen had sacrificed himself by volunteering to bait the queen blade locust to save Martin. All these times, Martin had not been able to stop thinking about what had happened. It was true that Martin blamed himself. If only he hadn''t been so careless! If he had noticed there was something wrong with the marching route early enough, those people wouldn''t have died.


    How Zen had survived was beyond Martin''s understanding. The sight of Zen standing in the yard unscathed filled Martin with surprise and joy.


    "Zen, Randall is responsible for all this. He is the culprit!" Martin turned to Randall and pointed as he spoke, "As I recall, I had no beef with you before. But you changed our marching route without permission, which put my teammates'' lives on the line. I will give my life to hold you responsible for your actions!"

 Chapter 107 Conjectures (Part One)

    Randall was very depressed.


    He knew that Martin would be unwilling to let things go. If Martin hadn''t argued with him in the first place, Randall would not have locked him up.


    He didn''t know that Martin had Roger, a young master of the Meng Clan, behind him. Now Randall found himself in an awkward situation. To please Fren, a young master of the Zhuge Clan, he had offended Roger. But Randall hadn''t accomplished anything.


    It was too late to repent.


    "Martin, if something is unclear, let''s go back and talk about it," said Zen with a wink to Martin.


    Now that Martin had been released, they needed to consider the matter carefully before making a decision. If they fell out with Randall, they would be in a bad situation, too.


    Stubborn as Martin was he had a clear understanding of the situation in which he found himself. Hearing what Zen said, he cast a scornful glare at Randall and shut his mouth.


    Seeing that everything was settled, Jon guided the crowd out of the yard.


    Randall remained in the yard. He was quite upset. He glanced at Liam, who had also stayed behind. Randall growled, "Didn''t you say that Zen was just an ordinary disciple without any influential background? Why is a person from the Meng Clan behind him?"


    If he had known what was going to happen, Randall would never have agreed to get involved.


    With his temper and ruthlessly efficient style, Randall wanted to beat up Liam!


    But Liam had come to the Dragon Fort on behalf of Fren, so Randall didn''t dare to offend him too much. He had already annoyed Roger, a nobleman of the Meng Clan. If he couldn''t align himself with Fren of the Zhuge Clan, Randall would be in a more precarious position.


    "It''s ... It''s because ..." Lia


    reat capacity for fighting. But even with his strength, Zen was not powerful enough to be a challenging opponent to the queen blade locust. He couldn''t believe that Zen had killed her by himself.


    Hearing Jon''s statement, Zen smiled but chose to remain quiet. By no means could he afford to explain. He couldn''t tell Jon that he had not killed the queen blade locust. The fire scorpion lion had killed her. While the queen''s crystal core might not be very valuable in their eyes, the fire scorpion lion''s crystal core was precious indeed.


    The fire scorpion lion''s crystal core was the best material for pill refining and weapon refining. The top seven clans in the empire would do anything to get the fire scorpion lion''s core! If they knew where the fire scorpion lion was, they would send people to seek, hunt, and kill it. If that happened, the people seeking the fire scorpion lion would find the dead bodies of both, the queen blade locust and the fire scorpion lion. Then they would speculate that Zen was in possession of the crystal cores of both creatures. This would be a huge mistake! Zen would not be so stupid as to expose the matter.

 Chapter 108 Conjectures (Part Two)

    So, Zen changed the topic and asked, "Roger, how many points can be exchanged for the queen''s crystal core?"


    Hearing Zen ask such a silly question, Sun, who had not spoken for a long time, began to cough violently. He even had to thump his chest with his hands to stop the coughing! He turned to Zen and asked incredulously, "Whoa, whoa, Zen! You don''t know?"


    Zen shrugged his shoulders, showing that he really knew nothing about it. Since he had never thought himself capable of getting the queen blade locust''s crystal core, Zen had never looked into it.


    "The queen blade locust''s crystal core can be exchanged for a thousand points. So, you are going to have a small fortune," said Roger with a broad smile.


    "A small fortune ..." Zen and Sun were both shocked when they heard Roger. A thousand points were equal to two thousand cubic crystals! In the entire Burning Sky Empire, no more than 50 clans, most of which were the noble clans, possessed 2, 000 cubic crystals.


    But to Roger, it was a small sum of money. Zen and Sun couldn''t help being in awe of Roger. They assumed that all children of noble clans were billionaires.


    "A thousand points is a lot of money. But it''s not enough. I''ll stay here and earn more points," said Zen while looking at Roger.


    It was true that Zen had initially sought to gain 100 points to get a ticket to visit his sister at Hell Mountain, but Zen had changed his mind. He wanted to earn as many as possible by killing the greatest number of blade locusts.


    Saving Yan Luo from Hell Mountain would cost him a million points. And so far, Zen had accumulated only about one-thousandth of what he needed.


    Hunting for blade locusts, especially the blade locust officers, was an excellent opportunity for Zen to earn points. The insect aggression usually lasted two or three months every year. After this period, he would have


    an Luo from Hell Mountain as long as he accumulated a million points. He was so naive.


    It was not quite as easy as that. But if Zen could accumulate a million points and had the power to save Yan Luo from Hell Mountain, the Meng Clan could also give them a proper hand at the back.


    But Zen''s strength was the premise of everything. Meng Clan''s assistance depended on whether Zen had the ability to do so.


    That was what Roger thought about all this. He didn''t realize that he was very concerned about Zen. He said, "Since you are determined to stay here and continue to hunt for blade locusts, you must be careful about those people!"


    Zen nodded and thanked him, "I will pay attention to them, and thank you for your help, Roger."


    Roger patted Zen on the shoulder as a faint smile danced on his lips. Then he said, "Don''t mention it. I hope you accumulate a million points as soon as possible and bring her out of Hell Mountain!"


    Zen did a double take when he heard what Roger said. He had mentioned that he needed a million points. He hadn''t said anything about Yan Luo. It was amazing that Roger was able to guess Zen''s purpose based on this detail!


    No wonder Roger was the elite figure in the Meng clan. He was brilliant!

 Chapter 109 White Fiend And Black Fiend (Part One)

    Intelligent people talk less and listen more. Zen smiled knowingly as he listened to Roger.


    Sun had no idea what they were talking about. He wanted to ask, but he didn''t think it would be appropriate to interrupt their conversation. So he kept silent.


    "After I return to Cloud Sect, I will stay secluded and cultivate myself. If you want to see me, Zen, come to the Daylily Peak," said Roger.


    The Daylily Peak ranked fourth among the thirty-three peaks at Cloud Sect. Due to its leading position, most children of the Meng Clan studied there.


    "So you are a disciple of the Daylily Peak. When I return to Cloud Sect, I will visit you," replied Zen.


    Zen didn''t think it was necessary to follow noble clans. In his opinion, a man had to strike out for himself if he wanted to get ahead. He didn''t think it was suitable to rely on other people''s power.


    Having spent some time with the young master of the Meng Clan, Zen found that he would like to be friends with Roger.


    After saying goodbye, Roger and Sun embarked the giant flying chariot to return to Cloud Sect.


    On the way back from the main camp, Martin didn''t speak a word.


    Martin was grateful for Roger and Zen''s help as they had risked their lives to save his.


    But he was in a bad mood because of the death of his subordinates. As a battle-hardened soldier in the Imperial Army, Martin had seen many soldiers come and go. Over time, he had become accustomed to death. He had never been this sad, not even when he had seen his biological brother die on the battlefield.


    But this time, things were different. He knew that Randall had deliberately framed the soldiers of the Green Haze Group.


    Zen swore to fight those behind the conspiracy despite the risks. He would do this for Martin, Tank, and all the other victims.


    Over the next five days, Martin reorganized the Green Haze Group and resumed their task of hunting blade locusts.


    As per the regulations of the Imperial Army, soldiers were required to hand in half of the crystal cores of blade locusts hunted by them. But, it was up to Martin to decide the quantity of crystal cores that the Green Haze Group had collected. So Martin donated nearly ninety percent of their crystal cores to Zen as gratitude.


    Martin and his soldiers were well experienced at hunting blade locusts. Zen contributed to their efforts as well by using his broken flying knife. It was because of Zen that the whole hunting process was smoother and more fruitful.


    During these five days, Zen had acquired quite an abundant harvest.


    Along with his previous collection, Zen had accumulated about four thousand crystal cores of common blade locusts and more than two hundred cores of their officers. He earned the equivalent of five hundred points in total.

 Chapter 110 White Fiend And Black Fiend (Part Two)

    If he counted the crystal core of the queen blade locust, Zen would be able to exchange all the cores for one thousand and five hundred points.


    As a new disciple who had joined Cloud Sect less than a month ago, Zen had accumulated one thousand five hundred points through his effort. If the other disciples knew about this, they would sigh at the injustice of fate.


    Early on the sixth day, Zen prepared to hunt with the Green Haze Group.


    They went into the jungle and killed two flocks of blade locusts. While the soldiers were stripping the corpses off their crystal cores, Martin asked Zen, "You said that as long as you stay here, the conspirators will plan another attack on you. But nothing has happened in the past few days. What happened to them?"


    Since Zen had promised to help Martin get his revenge, Martin hadn''t reported Randall to the main camp. Martin knew that his complaint would backfire as he had no evidence and his superiors at the main camp wouldn''t believe him.


    Zen had reassured Martin that they would take action again, but it had been several days, and no one had come for Zen. Martin was understandably anxious.


    "I didn''t expect these guys to be so patient. Don''t worry. We will kill our blade locusts and wait," said Zen. He pulled out the crystal core of a leader of the blade locust and stuffed it into his space ring.


    Sensing tension in the air, Zen looked up and said, "I''ve just praised the conspirators for their patience. But it seems that they can no longer wait."


    Zen was more acute than the average people. He was able to feel a person''s intent to kill from far away.


    After a while, three men came out of the jungle.


    Liam of Drizzle Peak led the way. Behind him walked two men. One was dark-skinned, and the other was white-skinned. Zen had seen them in the military camp''s yard before. He had been deeply impres


    hey wielded their weapons and rushed into battle formation.


    However, Zen waved his hand to stop Martin. He quickly explained, "You don''t have to get involved in this. They came for me, and I have to deal with them myself."


    Zen stepped forward to prepare for the battle. The Green Haze Group had lost so many soldiers because of Zen. He didn''t want to involve them anymore.


    Black Fiend and White Fiend emitted strange laughter when they heard Zen.


    "Not only will you die today, but the whole Green Haze Group will also die with you."


    "If I were you, I would kneel and kill myself at once. Now fall into our hands, you will die miserably."


    After saying that, White Fiend and Black Fiend mutated their life vitality into black and white smog. In the next instant, the smog turned into two pythons and swept along the ground toward Zen.


    ''They are releasing their life vitality, '' thought Zen while dodging two Fiends'' attacks.


    Although Zen was confident of his body, which had become a spiritual weapon, he still needed to be cautious. After all, this was the first time he was facing cultivators at the nature refining level. What made the fight even more challenging was that he was fighting two people at the same time.

 Chapter 111 All Living Creatures Below The Nature Level (Part One)

    There was an old saying that best described the refining of martial arts. ''All living creatures are below the nature level.''


    To some extent, the journey of martial arts only started after entering the nature level.


    After stepping into the nature level, life energy was completely transformed into life vitality. The refiner could then continuously absorb the vitality from the outer world, from heaven to the earth, and became a creature of a higher level.


    Once they had attained this transformation, refiners at the nature level were called nature creatures. Although they were still human, they were very different from a normal person. A clear boundary separated nature creatures from normal humans!


    This boundary was called longevity.


    The life span of an ordinary human being was about 70 to 90 years. Although a few humans could live until 100 years of age, they were considered to be very old and long-lived.


    However, these natural creatures had a minimum life span of 150 years! Being able to live longer and stronger was one of the most fascinating aspects of martial arts.


    This was the reason why refiners at the nature level were called nature creatures, thus differentiating them from ordinary humans.


    The white smoke and black smoke that was being generated from the life vitality of White Fiend and Black Fiend covered Zen from head to toe.


    Zen looked up and around. Except for the black and white smoke, everything else around him had disappeared. He could not even see Martin who had been standing right next to him.


    This smoke could not only obstruct a person''s vision, but it could also mute sounds. Because of this, Zen could not hear any other sound, except his breathing.


    In the face of such a bizarre scene, Zen stood quietly without moving around. He knew it would be wise for him to remain calm and adjust to the changing surroundings. He needed to think carefully before taking any action.


    The black smoke and white smoke was so strange that their function could not be limited to isolating a target. There must be some other purposes that Zen did not know of so far.


    Zen rema


    ke-troops.


    "Go to hell!" Zen shouted to the smoke. As quickly as he could, Zen launched a series of attacks.


    Bam! Bam! Bam! The sound from the break-up of the smoke followed Zen''s punches.


    Instantly, more than ten clouds of smoke in human form were smashed by Zen''s ceaseless blows.


    However, as quickly as Zen had broken up these clouds of smoke, new smoke appeared.


    It appeared as though White Fiend and Black Fiend were generating the smoke-troops and attacking Zen continuously. In this situation, Zen could not get a break. He began struggling with defending himself from the smoke-troops that were running toward him from all directions.


    "Hahaha! Let me see how long you can withstand our attacks!" While people were easily exhausted, the smoke-troops generated by White Fiend and Black Fiend would never get tired. They recovered soon after Zen smashed them. This was the reason why White Fiend was very proud of his abilities. It was also why he spoke to Zen with arrogance and confidence.


    As soon as White Fiend finished his provocation, he formed a fist from a cloud of white smoke and punched Zen in the ribs.


    "Bash!"


    The blow was so mighty that Zen was pushed back again. He seemed like a kite with a broken line. With this attack, Zen found himself flying dozens of feet before hitting the ground. The force was so strong that a loud sound echoed in the otherwise quiet scene.

 Chapter 112 All Living Creatures Below The Nature Level (Part Two)

    Since Zen''s body was a spiritual weapon, it was not easy to injure him. However, he could still feel the pain from the blows. Thus, the piercing pain that resulted from the punches still made him groan. Despite the agony, Zen stood and took several deep breaths to ease the pain.


    At the same time, he was watchful. It would be careless of Zen not to pay attention to the smoke around him. The thick black smoke and white smoke mixed and billowed around Zen, forming human figures now and then.


    Maybe Zen''s injuries instigated Black Fiend and White Fiend. They began forcing the smoke toward Zen much quicker than before. Shrieking with crazed laughter, they rushed toward Zen under cover of the thick smoke. In their minds, Zen was like a lamb to the slaughter. He could not escape.


    However, Zen was far from what they thought. He had been observing the smoke. Since he couldn''t see clearly, Zen had also been listening carefully. He wanted to identify the location of the two arrogant rivals by their distinguished laughter.


    Soon, he noticed a cloud of black smoke forming beside him. Not surprisingly, a laugh like that of Black Fiend came from inside this block of smoke. Without hesitating, Zen swung his fist into the smoke and broke it up. However, there was nothing in it. Black Fiend was not there.


    "I am here! You brat!"


    White Fiend''s voice echoed from far away. But strangely, his fist connected with Zen''s Back.


    Zen staggered forward several steps. However, before he could gain his composure, Black Fiend''s leg appeared before him. Zen could not dodge this time, and the kick landed on his belly...


    Owing to the thick smoke and the unexpected appearances of his rivals, Zen was bounced back and forth just like a ball, beaten by White Fiend and Black Fiend. Sometimes, he could avoid a blow from White Fiend, but soon, he found himself under attack of Black Fiend.


    Even though Zen seemed to be in a passive state, inside his body, the warm currents were refreshing his marrow through his blood vessels. In this way, his energy was recovered, and his strength and power improved tremendously. Stimulated by the warm currents, Zen could not feel more comfortable.


    However, he knew that this assault by the two rivals at the nature level could not continue. Zen thought, ''I must think of a way to deal with them.''


    Their voices were sometimes far away and sometimes nearby. Their lau


    r more powerful than an ordinary person''s. Since the soul directly affected the agility of the consciousness, Zen''s ability to ''feel'' was stronger. With no other alternative, Zen had complete confidence that he could use his consciousness to identify White Fiend''s and Black Fiend''s location.


    Although these nine black and white dragons were rushing toward Zen, he closed his eyes and began searching for the direction of killing intents from his rivals.


    At this point, a surge of obscure consciousness was emitted from Zen''s body and formed a circle around him.


    In this circle space, Zen found that he could feel many details that he had not noticed when he was seeking the two Fiends through his sense of sight.


    The uneven ground, small stones, and even the sand scattered on the ground, as well as growing low weeds, even cicada pupae which had been dormant underground for several years. All these appeared vividly before his closed eyes.


    This was a wonderful feeling, as marvelous as the time when he managed to forget himself at the Drizzle Peak.


    But Zen had no time to enjoy this special feeling. When the nine black and white dragons rushed into his circle, Zen found what he was searching for in an instant.


    White Fiend and Black Fiend were hiding in between two of the nine dragons. One dragon was in front of Zen, while the other was behind him. They were standing amid these two smoke dragons. Each Fiend held a halberd in his hand.


    Their faces were twisted because of their strong killing intents. It seemed as though the two Fiends wanted to kill Zen in one attack!

 Chapter 113 Humiliation Amplified

    The two halberds were more likely to penetrate Zen even though his body was a powerful spiritual weapon, resulting in Zen being severely wounded or worse.


    But, Zen was able to sense the positions of both White Fiend and Black Fiend, which upset the coordinated efforts of the two evils.


    Suddenly, Zen''s eyes flew open, and he moved a step to the right.


    After skillfully dodging the attack, Zen hurled the broken flying knife at the Black Fiend.


    Not expecting Zen to have the ability to discover where he was, the Black Fiend used the halberd to defend himself.


    The halberd was a top-grade mysterious weapon and when the two of them attacked people together, their power could be equal to that of a spiritual weapon. Black Fiend lifted the one in his hands to parry the incoming attack from Zen''s flying knife.


    Regrettably, the Black Fiend underestimated the power and strength of the broken flying knife.


    As the two weapons collided, the halberd was halved, and the knife continued to fly to its original target, the Black Fiend.


    With his head separating from his neck, the Black Fiend''s final thoughts were a mass of confusion, ''How did Zen discover me...?


    How is that blade so strong...?''


    as he lay there, the Black Fiend faded and questioned everything.


    "No! Black Fiend!"


    Shrouded in mist, the White Fiend hollered in anger at the sight of his partner dying at Zen''s hands and vengefully sent the halberd hurtling at Zen.


    Having already penetrated the veil of invisibility cloaking the White Fiend, Zen dodged his attack easily.


    Realizing he was at a disadvantage, the White Fiend decided to conceal himself amid the mists and waited for the right moment to destroy Zen.


    Without mercy, Zen stabbed her utilizing his soul strength.


    Filled with excruciating pain, the White Fiend fell over. His neck was severed and he surrendered to the power of the broken flying knife.


    The two evils perished in combat!


    Shortly afterward, the black and white mists, along with the life vitality that brought them to be, began to disperse slowly.....


    In front of the Green Haze group, Martin stood, staring at the vast expanse of mist fearfully.


    Fully aware that there was a fierce battle between two evils and Zen beside him, Martin was concerned when all he could see was mist.


    Although he was confident in Zen''s martial art skills, he didn''t think Zen had a chance winning because the gulf between Zen''s expertise and his foes'' was overwhelming.


    However, gradually, the mist dissipated and Zen came into view, standing near the remains of his two opponents.


    Emerging the victor was Zen!


    Sighing in relief, Martin admired Zen''s ingenuity and ability to create consecutive miracles.....


    Meanwhile, Martin realized Zen could defeat him with a single blow.....


    However, he thought it was reasonable and he could accept the fact.


    As soon as he saw the severed heads of the two evils, Liam''s shocked panic paralyzed him.


    His entire body was racked with violent, uncontrollable shuddering.


    Seeing Zen walking in his direction carrying the hal


    andall was nearly on Zen, he stopped to aim his icy spear and launched it at Zen.


    The icy spear whizzed along the air at Zen as fast as the golden needle that Liam had sent at him earlier.


    Sensing the threat behind him, Zen was about to turn and dodge it, but that proved to be a futile move.


    "Swoo-oosh!" as the spear sliced the air, it passed Zen''s shoulder, the razor-like tip shredding his tunic and cutting into his skin as it flew. Blood spurted like a geyser from the fresh wound.


    ''Randall''s prowess is worthy of his reputation in martial arts!'' Zen admired his rival''s talent silently.


    Glancing at the graze on his shoulder, Zen knew he had barely managed to escape death. Randall''s ability and force were, indeed, a threat to take seriously.


    But, Zen had a few tricks up his sleeve still.


    In an earlier battle, when he went against the queen blade locust, Zen wasn''t able to counter her strikes as he could now.


    Zen had a secret weapon that would turn the tables in his favor.


    As Randall drew nearer, Zen volleyed his broken flying knife, throwing it behind him, at his antagonist.


    During Zen''s encounter with the two evils, the mist was so thick that Randall couldn''t see, so he was unaware of the might of Zen''s secret weapon.


    Smirking when he saw the paltry attack Zen sent his way, Randall waved his hand to form an icy shield.


    His blunder was classic. Considering a mysterious weapon couldn''t endure the impact of the broken flying knife, there was no hope in his icy shield surviving. The shield shattered as the knife hit it, leaving Randall''s forehead vulnerable.


    Caught off guard, Randall barely had time to duck and fell to the ground.


    While Randall might have been Zen''s superior at the martial arts level, he was left humbled beyond measure.


    His humiliation magnified at tenfold being overwhelmed like this by Zen.


    Randall flew into a rage, as the blue veins became visible and were bulging on his forehead. "Zen, that was an underhanded move, and sooner or later, I will make you suffer for this!"

 Chapter 114 The Raging Battle

    Surprising Randall with the daunting power of his broken flying knife gave Zen an upper hand.


    Overconfident in his icy shield which normally could hold up under several blows from even nature creatures, Randall was left vulnerable to Zen''s secret weapon.


    All of this left Randall seething with resentment over his failures in battling Zen.


    Extending his arm, Randall channeled his life vitality, instantly transforming the area into a smooth surface of gleaming ice.


    After it formed, he got to his feet to ski, at full speed at Zen.


    Randall learned from his earlier blunder to be wary of Zen''s peculiar weapon.


    As wise and intelligent as Randall was, he came up with an idea to counter Zen''s life-threatening weapon.


    Waving his hands, Randall summoned five small, sharp ice spikes that glimmered, emitting trails of light using his white life vitality.


    Taking successively deeper breaths, Randall flew at Zen, overtaking him and renewing the battle.


    As Randall came up, poised to strike, Zen unexpectedly turned, taking aim at Randall, who triumphantly let loose the five ice spikes.


    "Scha-wing!"


    The five ice spikes clashed against the broken flying knife, causing it to veer and embed in the icy ground.


    "Zen, I''ve seen through your ruse!" Rushing, Randall sped to catch Zen.


    As Zen tugged, retrieving his knife from the ice, he felt an icy chill along the nape of his neck. Randall brandished an icy spear, planning to run it through Zen''s back.


    "The spiritual thorn!"


    Poised, Zen used his soul strength to create his gray colored thorn meant for his enemy.


    Meanwhile, the knife circled around Zen, reversing direction and flying toward his opponent.


    While Randall was focused on killing Zen, he felt a stabbing pain shoot through his head, so exceptionally sharp that he fell over in pain.


    Due to Randall''s experience in battles, heightened senses alerted him to dangers and he was able to survive Zen''s attack.


    Maneuvering so he could endure the strike, he was then able to elude the broken flying knife through rolling on the ice surface.


    However, his injured shoulder was bleeding.


    "Aah!"


    seethed Randall between clenched teeth as the pain gripped him. His frustrations were mounting.


    Thinking of Zen as an easy target, Randall believed he should have managed to kill Zen with little effort by now.


    Randall had several decades of combat experience, and all of it was proving useless at that moment.


    Randall howled as his life vitality flowed, transforming into numerous ice spikes that were unleashed in every direction.


    "Ping, ping, clatter, clank, tink...." the sound wa


    irate. "Dammit Jon, no more of your meddling!"


    "You''re wrong! I''m not interfering, I am enforcing the law you violated! You altered the marching route the Green Haze Group was to take, and you plotted to murder your fellow soldiers, who fell victims to the blade locust queen because of your actions. What''s more, you secretly interrogated Martin using brutal means. If not for our timely rescue, Martin would be dead! You should reflect on your errors and make amends to be worthy as a member of the Imperial Army!" admonished Jon as he rattled off Randall''s numerous crimes.


    In view of how harshly the Imperial Army disciplined, Randall''s crimes would be deemed treasonous and punishable by death, though the numerous soldiers from the Green Haze group that lost their lives meant little to the Imperial Army.


    Martin was a victim, but he was too underprivileged to file a lawsuit, so Randall decided to keep him in custody, avoiding any trouble.


    "Jon, what you are saying is true. But, I don''t believe you can best me in combat!" threatened Randall while remaining cool, calm and collected because he believed he could best Jon in battle by a narrow margin.


    "I''m aware of your consummate skills which enable you to confront me!" said Jon admitting to Randall''s martial prowess.


    Smiling pompously, Randall cautioned, "Since that is so, you should back off and leave me to conflict with Zen, otherwise, despite our fellowship, I won''t spare you!"


    "You might be brawny, but Randall, you''re brainless!" insulted Jon smiling as if he and Randall were joking around.


    In that instant, the icy valley designed to trap Zen started shattering, changing into falling flakes, as the icy prison fell away, and a stalwart figure appeared from the other side.

 Chapter 115 The Homecoming (Part One)

    Standing on the other side of the crumbling icy hill was an authoritative-looking man. He was taller and stockier than most of those present and had a squared, rugged face. Thick eyebrows gave him an intimidating air, while his eyes sparked with wisdom. His cheeks were cut high, clean and deep, giving him a chiseled aspect. Adding to this daunting visage was the heavy armor he wore, bearing lifelike flying dragons carved on the ends in the front.


    The imposing man was Floyd Xun, one of the two vice generals, and was known as Flying Dragon General, the anchor of stability within the Dragon Fort.


    After the last of the ice crystals shattered, Floyd Xun continued pointing his index finger.


    Impressively, Floyd only needed to gesture using one finger to crush the icy hills and the entire ice valley.


    Watching his display of talent, Zen couldn''t help but be stupefied. He thought, ''Wow! His talent is amazing!''


    "Randall, you repay my kindness with this? Even after being granted three promotions, you go and do something like this! You''re a disappointment to me!" In Floyd''s eyes disappointment flashed.


    "Gen... General¡­ I.. I didn''t mean to. It''s just that the Zhuge Clan..." related Randall, stumbling over his words. Floyd frightened Randall out of his wits. At that moment, it dawned on him, that the chase Zen had led him on, was a setup from the start!


    "The Zhuge Clan? It doesn''t matter how powerful the Zhuge Clan is! The imperial army is not for sale! As an officer in the imperial army, you have a responsibility! Yet, you dared to ignore the military disciplinary protocols willfully. You really failed me!" Shaking his head slowly, and then looking at Randall, Floyd barked, "Tell me, do you have any last words?"


    The imperial


    o his best to coordinate with Zen.


    If Zen survived many decades into the future, he might very well become an influential figure. By then, Zen would be worthy of great admiration from the Meng Clan.


    However, right now, there were too many geniuses in the world, and too few of those would ever be successful. Zen''s future would be written over time.


    After disposing of Randall''s remains, Jon returned to the Dragon Fort.


    Zen, on the other hand, went to join Martin on the original road.


    Martin didn''t know Zen''s plans, but he trusted Zen. The last time Zen fled, he was pursued by the queen blade locust, and he escaped unharmed. Therefore, Martin was confident Zen would rid himself of Randall during the chase.


    Commanding the Green Haze group, Martin and his troops lingered on the spot. Two hours passed before Zen got back.


    "Zen, where''s Randall? Is-is he...?" questioned Martin. Honestly, he wanted to find out whether Zen had killed Randall, because he knew Zen managed to obtain the crystal core from the queen blade locust.


    Nodding, Zen confirmed, "Yes, he is dead."


    "Did you really kill him?" Martin asked, his eyes widening.

 Chapter 116 The Homecoming (Part Two)

    Shrugging, Zen smiled and said, "How could I kill him? No, the Flying Dragon General killed Randall."


    "The Flying Dragon General?!" At the mention of the vice commander from Dragon Fort, there was a look of awe on Martin''s face.


    "Now that Randall has been executed, the Flying Dragon General doesn''t want the news to spread. Tell your soldiers," cautioned Zen.


    "Yes, of course! You can rest assured that my soldiers won''t breathe a single word of what''s happened!" replied Martin guardedly. It was beyond his expectations to think that the Flying Dragon General would handle this matter himself.


    After the Green Haze group and Zen finished hunting blade locusts, they returned to the Dragon Fort.


    With the hardships Martin had endured over the past few days behind him, a weight was lifted, leaving his heart lighter, and he wanted to celebrate, so, he led Zen to a pub for a drink. After a few drinks, Martin was itching to tell people what he''d been through, and if Zen hadn''t reminded Martin not to, Martin would have blurted something out. By the end of the evening, Martin was drunk.


    After boozing it up at the local pub, Zen returned to his room and removed the alcohol from his blood using purple life energy.


    He looked at his harvest of crystal cores and decided it was quite a rich trip.


    Along with exceeding the number of blade locusts that he anticipated he could hunt, Zen had also unexpectedly, harvested a crystal core from a fire scorpion lion. Further, he raised his body''s refinement to that of a spiritual-weapon-like body through the fires from the earth''s core.


    Sitting on the bed, Zen pulled two short halberds out of his space ring, which he took after slaying the White and Black Fiends.


    The halberds were top-grade mysterious weapons. Although Zen''s flying knife had halved one of them, there shouldn''t be any negative impacts, since they would both be melted in


    faster.


    He''d taken part in the task to hunt blade locusts to collect points, just to become qualified to gain entry into Hell Mountain.


    At the thought of seeing Yan soon, Zen''s mood was light.


    After the giant chariot slowly landed on Bluesky Parking Ground, Zen and the other disciples of the Cloud Sect rushed out. Zen strode briskly to Drizzle Peak.


    Zen accepted the task from Master Su, so, he felt he should report the results to her.


    As he walked, Zen was lost in thought speculating about the blade locust task, and about halfway up the middle peak where outer disciples met for practices, Zen came across all of the outer disciples with nervous looks on their faces as they discussed something.


    "Sean, Nory, what''s going on? Why are all the outer disciples here?" asked Zen curiously.


    Seeing Zen, Sean''s and Nory''s eyes lit up.


    "Hey, buddy! You left the peak secretly, disappearing for almost a month. Where were you, messing around in the Imperial Capital?" questioned Sean while a broad smile spread across his face.


    "Zen isn''t like that! He must''ve had urgent business to deal with!" argued Nory, shaking his head and scowling slightly. What Nory lacked in physical strength, he made up for in perceiving a person''s character.

 Chapter 117 Getting Nervous (Part One)

    Zen didn''t tell them that he had accepted the task of killing blade locusts when he left Cloud Sect.


    So they didn''t know what he was doing during this period.


    "It''s a long story. Let''s talk about it later. What''s going on here? Why are so many people gathering here today?" asked Zen as he surveyed the scene before him.


    Generally speaking, disciples could hardly wait to improve their strength after they joined Cloud Sect. Most of them would indulge in martial arts and cultivation upon being accepted at the Sect. Some disciples were so diligent that they rarely left their cultivation sites except for meal times. It was thus beyond Zen''s expectation to see so many disciples gathered at Drizzle Peak.


    "Zen, you''ve been away for a while. You probably don''t know that Drizzle Peak has gotten into trouble recently!" said Nory. "But the matter doesn''t relate to us. After all, we can''t interfere in the disputes of those disciples."


    "Drizzle Peak has gotten into trouble? What kind of trouble?" asked Zen in surprise. Although Drizzle Peak was ranked last among the 33 peaks, it was still a part of Cloud Sect. Who dared to cause trouble?


    Seeing the bewilderment on Zen''s face, Sean said, "A few days ago, there was a conflict between disciples of Drizzle Peak and those of Vulture Peak. It grew increasingly serious, and the masters of the two peaks had to intervene. Since the matter couldn''t be resolved to everyone''s satisfaction, the masters of Vulture Peak challenged Drizzle Peak."


    "Challenged? Only disciples can throw down the gauntlet, right?" asked Zen with total confusion.


    Sean smiled and continued to explain, "One peak can also challenge another. There are a wide variety of competitions and rankings in Cloud Sect, including inter-peak rivalry once every three years, the annual trial for the inner and


    wearing black robes. They stood in the crowd, keeping a close eye on the situation in the battle ring.


    The inner disciples couldn''t take part in the challenge. They wouldn''t be affected even if the outer disciples were defeated. But the result of the challenge affected the reputation of Drizzle Peak. So they were very concerned about the game.


    Zen found a good place to watch the competition. He looked up and saw Wurth Zhang standing in the battle ring.


    "Why is Wurth in the arena?" asked Zen with curiosity.


    Sean said, "Vulture Peak has won three games in recent days. They have defeated three outer disciples of Drizzle Peak, namely, Otto Chen who is ranked 16th, Samson Zheng who is ranked 13th, and Truman Xu who is ranked 9th. So it''s Wurth''s turn this time."


    Hearing this, Zen understood that things hadn''t been going well for Drizzle Peak.


    Zen didn''t care about the money and pills that Drizzle Peak would receive every month. Those pills were of limited benefit to him, and the money was a small sum for him. But as an outer disciple of Drizzle Peak, he was a member of the group. If he had the opportunity to contribute to Drizzle Peak, he would head up and fight for the peak''s honor.

 Chapter 118 Getting Nervous (Part Two)

    "Look, the match is on. The candidate chosen by Vulture Peak is Tan Tian. He has defeated three of the outer disciples from Drizzle Peak already. I hope Wurth can beat him!"


    "Alas, it''s hard to say. Yes, Wurth is strong. But even if he defeats Tan, what''s the use? Tan has already proven to be too strong for our disciples. But he only ranks 16th at Vulture Peak. Even if Wurth defeats Tan, Vulture Peak will send a higher ranking person next. Then how will we deal with it?"


    The outer disciples of Drizzle Peak were talking about the challenge. Obviously, they thought that the prospects of Drizzle Peak were not good.


    At this time, Zen saw a man jumping into the battle ring. He was six feet tall and as thin as a rail. He must be Tan Tian.


    As soon as Tan jumped into the battle ring, he looked around. Arrogance shimmered in his eyes. He leisurely surveyed the outer disciples of Drizzle Peak, and then he fixed his gaze on Wurth. He sneered and with a curl of his lips said, "Is there anyone better in Drizzle Peak? Why send a butterball here?"


    "Wow ..."


    To challenge one of the other peaks was to stand and fight on someone else''s turf. In general, challengers tended to keep a low profile, even if they were sure to win.


    After all, if they enraged all disciples of that peak, they would be at the risk of being attacked by the bystanders. No matter how powerful they might be, they couldn''t withstand the attacks of a crowd of cultivators. Though the rules of Cloud Sect were strict, they couldn''t punish numerous offenders. So if Tan were beaten to death by an angry crowd, perhaps no one would be held responsible for his death.


    But Tan didn''t rein in his arrogance. Winning three games consecutively seemed to have increased his ego. After hearing what Tan said, the outer disciples of Driz


    d and retorted.


    "Don''t want me to whine?" Tan laughed and said, "OK, then, let''s begin. I''ll give you a good hiding and ensure that you have no power to fight back."


    Then Tan raised his hands and burst out brown life energy. With a sudden and loud shout, he put the brown life energy into the ground of the battle ring.


    "Sacred Wood Thrust!"


    "Peng, Peng!"


    When Zen saw this, his brows shot up in surprise. Tan''s life energy seemed to have a strong affinity for the metal element. He was able to put his life energy into the battle ring made of gold and iron.


    Then, a shining brown light appeared at Wurth''s feet. Two brown wood stakes started to come out from where he stood.


    Tan was only a half-step into the nature level. The Sacred Wood created by his life energy was half virtual and half real, as it had not yet congealed into a physical form. If he had reached the nature level, the stakes rising from the battle ring would be pieces of real Sacred Wood.


    Even so, the attack power of these pieces of Sacred Wood should not be underestimated. If the Sacred Wood hit Wurth, he would be severely wounded and would lose half of his life. Zen was getting nervous at this scene.

 Chapter 119 Braving A Challenge

    A large person is supposed to move awkwardly and react slowly as compared to leaner people.


    But Wurth was an exception.


    Wurth, though exceptionally fat, moved dexterously and lightly in the battle ring to dodge Tan''s signature martial art, the Sacred Wood Thrust.


    Wurth was able to steer clear of each fatal blow.


    Tan''s violent and intensive session proved depressingly futile.


    Wurth, seeing that Tan had exhausted his tricks, approached his rival with sarcastic remarks, "It seems to me that you are not that powerful."


    Upon hearing what Wurth said, Sean explained to Zen, "Tan''s signature martial art with Sacred Wood Thrust resulted in three successive defeats for Drizzle Peak. However, Wurth seems to be a smart opponent."


    Zen nodded in approval.


    Tan''s assault revealed that his strength was like Randall''s, however, the latter was superior to the former in terms of martial skills.


    Tan''s attacks did pay off to some degree.


    But having only one signature, excellent way of attacking would leave some part of the refiner vulnerable.


    A signature move, once being seen through by a rival, would put a person in a disadvantageous position.


    Tan''s skill that had earned him three previous victories was vulnerable to some counter-blow.


    At that moment, Zen noticed a yellow halo beneath Wurth''s feet and then realized it was Wurth''s countermeasure.


    If Zen were in Wurth''s place, the former would crumble the Sacred Wood Thrust through his mighty feet.


    However, Wurth decided to defend from Tan''s fatal blows in an ingenious manner. He concentrated his life energy on his feet to sense his rival''s direction.


    Since his strategy was not yielding results, Tan became increasingly frustrated. As time wore on, his aggression and arrogance diminished as well.


    Tan was ultimately angered to display his ultimate martial prowess.


    An instant later, a dozen brown eddies of life energy began taking shape. They produced sacred wood thrusts that were aimed at Wurth.


    "Whizzing....."


    Such violent assaults were supposed to be insurmountable.


    But Wurth was dodging them dexterously l


    ir. It will help heal you. We''ll talk later."


    Meanwhile, the short man was challenging the other disciples at Drizzle Peak truculently. "Who is your final candidate? Come out and fight with me," he said arrogantly.


    According to the rules and regulations, five contestants from each peak were eligible for the battle ring.


    Four contestants from Drizzle Peak had lost. Now, only one contestant would be permitted to fight.


    "I think Gury who ranks fourth in our peak is a good choice for the next battle."


    "No, Terry is better than Gury!"


    "I think Henry has a greater chance of winning the last battle!"


    "Although Henry stands a good chance against the short man, he is currently refining his martial arts at a retreat. Our rivals are taking advantage of this to challenge us. Our masters, who know this, should have refused the challenge!"


    Henry Hao ranked first among the outer disciples of Drizzle Peak and beyond.


    It was said that Henry was refining his martial arts to enter the nature level, and was thus unable to participate in the challenge.


    "I think every member of Drizzle Peak is a coward. Now your failure is sealed!" The short man challenged Drizzle Peak in a humiliating manner as he was delighted at his invincibility.


    At that moment, Zen rose to undertake the challenge. The cold expression glimmering on his face revealed his feelings of being taunted in such a manner.

 Chapter 120 With Just One Punch (Part One)

    The outer disciples of Drizzle Peak were crestfallen. After three humiliating defeats, Wurth had finally earned them a victory. However, that had been short-lived.


    When the short man that defeated Wurth challenged the remaining disciples from Drizzle Peak, none accepted. It was indeed sad that from all the disciples at Drizzle Peak, none were suitable for the challenge.


    When Zen said he was going to fight, his voice was not loud. But it was penetrating so that all the people could hear him.


    "What? Zen wants to fight with them on behalf of Drizzle Peak?"


    "No, he can''t. He did beat Leo, but Leo was only ranked 30th from among Drizzle Peak''s outer disciples. What makes Zen think that he''s qualified to fight disciples from Vulture Peak?"


    "God, We are done for. We are about to lose this challenge. I will not get the elixir next month. How will I cultivate then?"


    The outer disciples of Drizzle Peak bemoaned their situation.


    The short man in the battle ring stared at Zen. When he heard the comments from the crowd, the jeering expression on his face intensified. "You? A guy at the marrow refining level? Haha... Well, I''ll take on your challenge. But don''t expect me to show any mercy!"


    Challenges between peaks were common. To ensure that each peak had a fair chance to win, usually the top 30 ranked outer disciples, namely each peak''s most elite students, were selected to fight.


    It was rare to see a disciple within the top 30 ranks who was not even half-step into the nature level!


    Now a guy at the marrow refining level was going to represent Drizzle Peak against them, which undoubtedly surprised the disciples from Vulture Peak.


    "Hey, D


    nto the nature level!"


    No sooner had the short man said this than his figure disappeared from the spot and sprang at Zen, like a gust of wind.


    "Boom!"


    Zen took a step forward just as his opponent was halfway through the sprint, and his fist hit the short man in the face with great precision.


    At this point, the seven dragon scales in Zen''s mind were radiating green light, and a tremendous amount of power was transferred to Zen. Combined with Zen''s strength, it converged at his fist. His punch carried a terrifying amount of power!


    The short man was shot back more than a hundred feet. His body collided with the battle ring''s sidewall with such force that half the bricks exploded and fell over him. Everyone present was uncertain of whether he survived the blow.


    "I also want to know what the difference is between the marrow refining level and half-step into the nature level... And I''m not really interested in knowing your name... " Zen stated while flexing his wrist with a deadpan expression.


    As these words were spoken, a deathly silence hung in the ring and its surrounding areas.

 Chapter 121 With Just One Punch (Part Two)

    No one was talking around the ring whereas before, it had been noisy. Everyone''s mouth gaped open as if they could swallow a basin.


    Nory''s eyes sparkled. Although he was excited about the strength Zen was going to show before the fight, and he was convinced that Zen could win against the short man, he had no idea that Zen would do so with just one punch.


    It had taken Zen only one punch to defeat a man who was half-step into the nature level!


    All eyes reflected horror.


    Even the black-robed inner disciples of Drizzle Peak, who had come to watch the battle, looked astonished.


    "Glenn, what do you think of his strength?" asked a black-robed disciple.


    "He has shown such power, and he''s only at the marrow refining level," analyzed Glenn cautiously, who was also dressed in a black robe. "Then it won''t be long before he is promoted to an inner disciple..." He then paused briefly before correcting himself. He said, "No, not only that. If he becomes a nature creature, Ronald Su would probably lose his Number one rank among the inner disciples to him... "


    "He is so awesome?!" cried the black-robed disciple, his eyes widening.


    Glenn shook his head and replied, "I can''t judge his strength with this one blow. But I dare say that''s just the tip of the iceberg. Maybe... You and I are no match for him."


    "We''re no match for him?" echoed the other black-robed disciple. His expression conveyed the bewilderment he was feeling. "We are nature creatures now. We can take advantage of our vitality to manipulate our energy into weapons. Our means of attack far exceed those of a man at the marrow refining level. How come he... "


    "I don''t know," Glenn interrupted with a shake of his head. "I just feel that way."


    "Wow... "


    After a while, all the outer disciples of Drizzle Peak recovered from the shock


    horrifying explosive power could be seen from his size.


    Seeing this scene, the outer disciples of Drizzle Peak felt anxious for Zen.


    Vulture Peak was indeed much stronger than Drizzle Peak.


    Zen had just beaten one guy, and here stood another who looked more powerful than the last. Keith Hu was only ranked ninth at Vulture Peak. The disciples from Drizzle Peak wondered how formidable their top-ranked outer disciple would be.


    "I have no other merit but great strength. If I lose control of my force, your body might be smashed to a pulp. You''d better think again. I will accept if you surrender now!" said Keith Hu with a serious look.


    Zen observed his face and realized that Keith Hu was sincere. It was for Zen''s sake that he asked Zen to surrender.


    "No, thank you anyway," Zen refused with a laugh.


    "Then, be careful!" Keith Hu took a deep breath and charged at Zen, like a wild, ancient beast.


    "Thump, thump, thump..."


    a deafening sound accompanied each step taken by Keith Hu.


    As the saying goes, a man of great strength can defeat ten men of martial arts. Keith Hu''s attacks did not involve tricks or false moves, because he wanted to surpass Zen based on his power alone.

 Chapter 122 Jesse Liu (Part One)

    "Get out of the way! Move! Once hit by a savage beast like that guy, I am afraid that the impact will jar Zen''s bones!"


    "Is Zen in a daze? Or does he want to stay rooted and withstand Keith''s might directly?"


    "Hey, Zen has great strength at the marrow refining level. He would have a promising future. But this time, he is overconfident. It will be a pity if he suffers serious injury or death by Keith''s attack."


    Although the strength of the outer disciples at Drizzle Peak was inferior to most, these disciples were knowledgeable. They understood that a disciple with considerable strength at the marrow refining level would have a bright future. That was why they felt sorry for Zen.


    Meanwhile, Zen stubbornly stuck to his previous strategy.


    A punch. That was all he used.


    The seven dragon scales erupted with extraordinary power. This power mingled with Zen''s when he punched Keith. The blow landed on Keith''s shoulder, which was the sturdiest part of him.


    Keith had intended to collide into Zen with his shoulder. He wasn''t deterred when he saw that Zen had decided to use his fist as a countermeasure. Confident of his strength, Keith rammed his body into Zen''s fist instead of evading.


    According to Keith''s estimation, once Zen''s fist touched his shoulder, Zen''s arm would be broken by the force.


    However, when Keith''s shoulder crashed into Zen''s fist, his facial expression changed.


    He could feel that there was a greater force, which was much stronger than his, coming from Zen''s fist.


    If Keith''s power was like that of a furious savage beast, momentum vigorous and extremely explosive, then Zen''s energy was like that of the


    the fourth challenger from Vulture Peak by sending him flying out of the arena...


    Jubilant, this was what the disciples from Drizzle Peak felt. No words could accurately describe their feelings. All they could do was cheer as if only this reaction could express their excitement.


    Hundreds of feet away, two women stood on a small building. They had been watching every fight.


    Both of them were elegant, poised, and startlingly beautiful.


    "Master Su, you tricked me! You suggested that we should arrange a competition to motivate the outer disciples of your peak, to which I readily agreed. Then, I came over with the most talented outer disciples of Vulture Peak. But what I didn''t know was that there is such a genius here..." The woman who had spoken was Mia Mu. She was one of the masters of Vulture Peak.


    Actually, the two masters had cleverly arranged this challenge.


    To motivate the disciples in their respective peaks and to encourage them to work harder, masters would apply almost all methods they could think of.


    A challenge between peaks was a very effective method.

 Chapter 123 Jesse Liu (Part Two)

    If Drizzle Peak was defeated, it might affect the mood of its outer disciples for a short time. However, it would also help them to understand that they must work harder to catch up.


    To achieve this, the disciples needed to understand, through personal experience, that only the weak could be beaten. That was why Master Su accepted the challenge.


    Master Su''s mouth crumpled as she looked at Zen. "This outer disciple accepted the task of killing blade locusts in the south and then left Drizzle Peak. I didn''t expect that he would return in half a month. Besides, his strength has grown incredibly quickly. I am surprised..."


    "What? A disciple at the marrow refining level went to kill blade locusts? Did I hear it correctly? However, the strength of this kid is indeed enough for that kind of task," Mia Mu looked helplessly at the battle ring. "Such a ruthless kid. Every time he defeats his opponent with just a punch! It looks like he is humiliating them."


    Hearing what Mia Mu said, Aura Su''s lips lifted in a smug smile. Then she said, "That''s because the disciples from your peak are too weak!"


    "You are naughty. I am helping you to motivate your disciples. But you are laughing at me! Although Zen is powerful, Vulture Peak is not short of talent. The last one to battle should be Jesse. He is ranked number one at Vulture Peak, and he''s already a nature creature. As long as Jesse joins the battle, there is no way that Zen can win," said Mia Mu.


    "A nature creature? Then why is he still an outer disciple?" wondered Master Su with surprise. Generally speaking, many outer disciples were promoted to the status of inner disciples every year. Many of these disciples were half-step into the nature level. It was thus, surprising t


    astically.


    The two sides were arguing, and the crowd once again became chaotic.


    But the two men in the battle ring completely ignored the riots outside the battle ring.


    The hoop in Jesse''s hand swirled slowly. He said indifferently, "You are really strong. You have defeated three disciples who are half-step into the nature level. This is something that I have never heard of."


    "Thank you for the compliment," said Zen as he saluted.


    "However, you have humiliated Vulture Peak. Even though I will be suspected of bullying you, as I have the advantage of being a nature creature, I must win the challenge. Otherwise, it will be greatly embarrassing for the outer disciples of Vulture Peak, and there will be no foothold for us in Cloud Sect," said Jesse in a calm tone. There was no excitement and contempt in his voice. It seemed as though he were having a casual chat.


    Zen also smiled calmly. "Please show mercy during the following battle."


    "Relax. I will only make you incapable of resisting. I will not hurt you!"


    Jesse Liu smiled lightly before gently tossing the golden hoop that was condensed by his life vitality toward Zen.

 Chapter 124 Sky-rending Hoop (Part One)

    This was not the first time that Zen encountered a nature creature.


    Several days ago, he confronted and killed White Fiend and Black Fiend with his old, dilapidated flying knife.


    His successful assassination of White Fiend and Black Fiend could be mainly ascribed to this old and broken flying knife.


    But now Zen was fighting inside a battle ring.


    Although Cloud Sect had no strict rules regarding the use of weapons inside a battle ring, he knew that the flying knife would cause serious injuries, even death, if he used it. In a peak-level challenge of this caliber, Zed didn''t want to kill his opponent.


    The golden hoop was full of life vitality. Gleaming with metallic luster, it fluttered in the air, humming and buzzing.


    As the golden ring drew closer to Zen, it became bigger, as though it was going to encircle him.


    "That''s great!" exclaimed Zen. He had already planned a counter-attack for the golden ring.


    As a streak of purple light enveloped his body, Zen fiercely flung his fist toward the golden ring.


    "Bang!"


    The golden ring produced a crisp sound when it came into contact with Zen''s fist. It turned flat upon impact and flew back for about 60 feet from the battle ring.


    In spite of this, Jesse chuckled. Seeing his golden ring flying so far away, he stretched out his hand. A buzzing could be heard as the golden ring whizzed toward its master. As soon as the ring returned to Jesse, it regained its original shape. In the blink of an eye, Jesse tossed the golden ring at Zen, in an attempt to trap him.


    At the same time, another golden ring showed up in Jesse''s hand. This new ring had been crafted from Jesse''s life vitality as well. Jesse directed the second ring toward his opponent without giving Zen a chance to defend against the first ring.


    "Bang! Bang!"


    As before, both rings flew back upon im


    And so, it is beyond doubt that you have been defeated."


    "But as you can see, I am still standing inside the battle ring, right?" Zen retorted.


    For a battle ring challenge, whether a person won or not was dependent upon two cases. The first way to ensure victory was to knock the opponent out so that he couldn''t stand up anymore. The other way was to throw the opponent out of the battle ring.


    As soon as he heard Zen''s quibbling, Jesse sneered at Zen who was trying to play a petty trick on him. Then, he retorted, "Well, since you feel so strongly about this, let me throw you out of the battle ring! Afterward, I will be the winner!"


    As soon as he finished speaking, Jesse extended one of his hands and pointed it at the golden rings trapping Zen. Immediately, the rings trembled and jingled as though they had received an order from Jesse. After that, they pulled Zen toward the edge of the battle ring.


    Just as Zen reached the corner of the battle ring, Jesse felt a sharp pain in his brain. This pain seemed to be spiritual, as a result of which, Jesse nearly fainted.


    "Ahh!"


    Jesse gave a horrible shriek while holding his head with both hands.


    The scene inside the battle ring confused the spectators.

 Chapter 125 Sky-rending Hoop (Part Two)

    The disciples from Drizzle Peak had accepted the fact that Zen had been defeated when they saw that he couldn''t break free from the rings.


    They had known that Zen''s failure was inevitable since Jesse was a nature creature.


    Despite his defeat, they deemed that Zen was a credit to Drizzle Peak. He had defeated three opponents from Vulture Peak. That he had used a fist each time was even more astounding. Perhaps, this success would never be achieved by any outer disciple of Cloud Sect, now and forever.


    Since Zen had tried his best, most disciples from Drizzle Peak thought they could do nothing but accept the truth of Zen''s imminent failure.


    But when Zen was dragged to the battle ring''s boundary, something unexpected happened.


    Jesse was holding his head and screaming as though he was in tremendous pain.


    "Did he fall ill unexpectedly during the fight?"


    "Hahaha. It would be so great if he is gravely ill. But, Jesse is a nature creature with a supernatural body. How is it possible for him to suffer from a serious illness?"


    "Both of Zen''s hands are fastened by the rings. It is impossible for Zen to do anything to hurt Jesse. How can Jesse be in such pain if he is not ill?"


    Jesse''s weird response provoked heated discussions among the disciples of Drizzle Peak. None could figure out the mystery!


    The inner disciples dressed in black robes, however, had noticed some clues.


    Glenn, one of the inner disciples, murmured to others around him, "Look. As I''ve mentioned before, this guy is exceptionally powerful for someone at the marrow refining level. My guess is that he doesn''t merely fight based on his strength. He must have mastered other extraordinary skills."


    The inner disciples around Glenn were stunned by his words, and one of them responded, "I haven''t noticed this yet. What skills on earth could he have used to make Jesse shriek with such great pain?"


    "If my memory serves, Zen has attacked Jesse with his soul," said Glenn with a thoughtful expression.


    "A


    you my real strength as a nature creature! Sky Rending Hoop!"


    As soon as Jesse shouted those three words, a golden hoop showed up on his hand. But it was a little different from his sky-binding hoops in terms of shape. This ring had neatly lined saw-teeth all around it. The sky-rending hoop was faster than the sky-binding hoops as well.


    "Whooshing!"


    Very soon, seven sky-rending hoops were suspended in the air around Jesse, swirling crazily.


    "Go!"


    Jesse extended his hand and pointed at Zen. His eyes were full of apathy. Zen had enraged him. Jesse felt humiliated by Zen who was only at the marrow refining level. And anyone who infuriated Jesse would pay for what he had done at any cost.


    The seven sky-rending hoops flew at Zen from different angles.


    Two of them flew high. Their flying route made up a parabola.


    Another three sky-rending hoops flew toward Zen along a straight line.


    The remained two hoops rolled on the floor of the battle ring, aiming for Zen''s legs. Deep furrows were noticeable in the direction where the rings had passed as if the floor of the battle ring was muddy.


    In the face of these seven sky-rending hoops, Zen looked rather nervous.


    He knew that his strength wasn''t powerful enough, so he had to take a confrontation with every nature creature seriously from now on.

 Chapter 126 Fantastic Scene (Part One)

    "Ah, Jesse went too far. It is only a challenge between two peaks. Why did he use that fierce strike? Does he want to kill Zen?"


    "The battle ring is made of pure iron, which is very hard. But it was easily cut by the sky-rending hoops as if the ring was as soft as mud. If the sky-rending hoops touch a human, his body will be split in two!"


    "It''s too dangerous. How will Zen deal with this attack?"


    Now, everyone was worried about Zen. They watched him with bated breath.


    When the sky-rending hoops neared Zen, he twisted his body at a strange angle and slid through the space among the hoops.


    At the same time, leveraging his momentum, Zen dodged another four sky-rending hoops that had been flying above and below him. After his successful dodges, he ran toward Jesse at full speed.


    The previous round of fighting between the two contestants had only been a prelude. And now formal combat, with fist to fist strikes, would begin between the two.


    Jesse''s face was calm as he watched Zen rushing toward him. He didn''t seem to be flustered. Instead, his expression reflected the seriousness he felt. He waved his hand, and the seven sky-rending hoops left behind by Zen adjusted their directions and turned toward Zen again.


    These seven sky-rending hoops were produced by Jesse''s life vitality. Their weights were as light as air, and they could fly at a fantastically high speed.


    Even though Zen was also very fast, he still needed to consider whether to boost his speed or to keep away from the hoops chasing him. If he did not dodge, he would be cut into pieces by these hoops before he could get close to Jesse.


    This was also the reason why Jesse stood still and regarded Zen with his steady gaze. He had used the sky-rending hoops many times to defeat dozens of rivals. He understood how powerful the hoops were and what would be the result if someone met the sky-rending hoops directly. It could not be different this time, and he was sure that Zen would not dare use his body to fend off the attack from the sky-rending hoops.


    However, Jesse was wrong this time.


    If Zen''s body had still been at the level of mysterious weapon, he would have been terrified of the cuttin


    se, the golden hoop did not cut Zen into pieces but instead, it bounced to the side.


    Even though the hoop did not cut Zen''s body, it did shred his white robe. The torn white robe exposed Zen''s back to the public.


    On his naked back, people could only see a light trace of blood. They held their breath and couldn''t utter a word. They could not believe that such a powerful weapon only left such a small injury on Zen''s skin. That was so unimaginable!


    However, this was only the start of how much Zen would astound them today. The remaining sky-rending hoops continued to hurtle toward Zen. When they crashed into him, each of them also made the clear sound like the first hoop. "Bang!" The second hoop clashed with Zen and bounced away.


    "Bang!" The third hoop was also deflected after touching Zen''s body.


    "Bang!" The fourth hoop ricocheted off Zen.


    Each of these sky-rending hoops struck Zen''s back, made a loud sound, and then bounced away. None were able to do Zen any harm.


    In all previous fights where Jesse had used his sky-rending hoops, his opponents had been shredded. But now, none of the hoops could injure Zen beyond a small gash on his skin. Aside from the depth and shape of the injuries, the outcome of all the hoops was the same. None could cut Zen into pieces.


    On seeing this fantastic scene, same as the crowd present, or maybe more surprised than the public, Jesse''s eyes widened. Fear and trepidation rose in his heart.

 Chapter 127 Fantastic Scene (Part Two)

    Even though Jesse was in great shock by the hardness of Zen''s physical body, he soon regained his senses. Other spectators, however, were still deeply immersed in the surprise. As the most outstanding outer disciple of Vulture Peak, Jesse did not rely only on his powerful weapon, but his strength and his sensitivity to danger. And this time, a feeling of danger awoke in him from the threat Zen posed.


    On the other hand, Zen who had withstood this wave of attacks from the sky rending hoops rushed toward Jesse and aimed a punch at him.


    His fist was hard, and the force contained in it was overwhelming. The blow was like stormy sea waves, continuous and unrelenting. That was the power Zen obtained after he awakened seven dragon scales.


    And his rival was not weak. Jesse soon recovered from his surprise and raised his hands before Zen''s punch reached him. The life vitality condensed between Jesse''s hands soon formed light green rings.


    "Thick earth hoops! Come out!"


    Jesse shouted out as his hands moved up and down, making quick gestures. Thick Earth Hoop was Jesse''s defense refinement method. It generated circles of green rings from life vitality and then combined these rings to form a solid shield. The shield glimmered in the sun as it stood before Jesse protecting him from Zen''s powerful punch.


    "Clink! Clank! Clink! Clank!"


    The thick earth hoops withstood Zen''s heavy blow. The rings rattled against each other and gave out a burst of clinking sound.


    Even though Jesse''s thick earth hoops protected him from Zen''s punch, most of the force from the blow did not disappear and was transferred from the rings to Jesse, which pushed him back.


    The force of this punch was so tremendous that Jesse flew out of the battle ring! Jesse did not break the one-punch defeat record of Vulture Peak.


    However, Jesse was not a normal refiner.


    If he had only relied on arduous training and consistent hard work to enter the nature level, he might become a common inner disciple of Vulture Peak, an ordinary refiner.


    But now he was the top-ranked outer disciple of Vulture Peak!


    Becoming the top-ranked outer disciple in any of the thirty-three peaks in Cloud Sect required many skills. Becoming a top-ranked disciple only through hard work was impossible.


    Jesse was an absolute genius at Vulture Peak. He was ranked the highest among the outer disciples, and he had the potential to become the best of the inner


    hair and murmured, "And, that.... I think Zen is afraid of Jesse''s strength. After all, Jesse is a nature creature, and he has many advantages over Zen."


    "But isn''t it unreasonable for them to keep fighting this way? When will it come to an end?" Mia was a little anxious.


    However, Aura was not as anxious as Mia. She was calm most of the time and even smiled slyly when Mia was not looking. She did not need to be worried, as she had thought through this impasse long before. She was well prepared to lose this challenge. And if she happened to win, of course, she would not refuse it.


    Mia was concerned about the current situation.


    Although Jesse was a nature creature, he had been in the nature level for a short time. The life vitality in his body was not infinite. If the situation continued to go on like this, Jesse would most likely lose the battle after his life vitality was exhausted.


    Mia was not the only one aware of this point. Jesse also knew this shortcoming.


    Although he could rely on the thick earth hoops to combat with Zen and ensure that he would not fall to the ground, he also knew that if he kept consuming his life vitality to support the thick earth hoops like this, he would eventually use up his life vitality and be defeated by Zen in the end.


    Such failure in a challenge between peaks was not a result that Jesse could accept.


    So, when Zen deflected him for the ninth time, Jesse used the same strategy to sail toward the arena. However, this time, he summoned almost all his life vitality for one final try.


    He needed to exert all his strength for this last action!

 Chapter 128 Cheers (Part One)

    Suspended in the air and bathed in heavenly golden light, Jesse looked like a God. Everyone could feel the power and pressure radiated from Jesse.


    The weaker outer disciples were so overwhelmed by this pressure that they were forced to kneel on the ground.


    The golden light turned into a huge golden circle and fell toward the battle ring. Eventually, it surrounded the arena.


    Jesse stood by the edge of the golden circle with outstretched arms. A few quick gestures later he said, "Destruction Hoop! Go!"


    A person who was able to reach the nature level was said to have surpassed the limits of human life. Usually, such people had not only profound wisdom but a trump card as well.


    Destruction Hoop was Jesse''s trump card.


    However, this move cost him a large amount of life vitality.


    After the exhausting battle with Zen, Jesse still had more than fifty percent of his life vitality. The moment he summoned the Destruction Hoop, the remaining life vitality was depleted. Standing by the edge of Destruction Hoop, Jesse turned pale and almost fell to the ground.


    Jesse had been reluctant to use the Destruction Hoop.


    He had cultivated this method with the hopes of using it to clinch a win during a Sect contest. If he revealed his secret weapon in advance, his future opponents would be cautious and prepared.


    Given how the battle between him and Zen was going, Jesse couldn''t think of a better idea.


    Aside from the Destruction Hoop, Jesse was unsure of what other attack methods would secure his victory against Zen.


    What upset Jesse more was that he was forced to use this key advantage for a boy at the marrow refining level!


    The marrow refining level...


    Jesse had been confident that he could beat Zen easily. For a nature creature, dealing with a refiner at


    e darted to the edge of the battle ring and aimed a punch at Jesse.


    Since Jesse''s life vitality had been used up, he couldn''t stand steadily. Focused on maintaining his balance and staying upright, Jesse didn''t see this person headed toward him. The surprise blow caught him off-guard, and Jesse was thrown out of the battle ring. Upon impacting on the ground, Jesse passed out.


    Zen stood at the edge of the arena. His chest heaved with the effort to breathe.


    With his spiritual-weapon-like body, he had survived the Destruction Hoop.


    Zen was still a bit afraid of Jesse''s final attack.


    Although he was well aware of the terrible power of nature creatures, he had to fight harder than when he faced White and Black Fiends at Dragon Fort.


    With careful thought and precision, Zen had taken advantage of the flying knife to kill White and Black Fiends. They didn''t get the opportunity to use their weapons before their death.


    In retrospect, Zen was relieved that he had killed the two Fiends before they used their weapons. Seeing how destructive nature creatures could be, Zen was no longer confident that he would have won against the two Fiends had they used their weapons.

 Chapter 129 Cheers (Part Two)

    Finally, Jesse, the top-ranking outer disciple of Vulture Peak had failed.


    So far, Zen had bested four disciples of Vulture Peak and helped Drizzle Peak obtain an advantage.


    Despite the fact that Zen had just secured a huge win for Drizzle Peak, its outer disciples stood still like statues. None had thought that Zen would survive the Hoop. And yet, he stood at the edge of the battle ring, victorious. The situation was so astounding that it was beyond everyone''s expectation. The shock was so great that they were rendered speechless.


    "Zen won! Drizzle Peak won!"


    Nory was the first to regain his senses. As the realization hit him, Nory shouted with glee.


    Then countless voices chimed in.


    At last, all of the outer disciples of Drizzle Peak began to chant loudly.


    "Zen! Zen!"


    "Zen! Zen!"


    They roared, whistled, and waved their hands.


    Zen''s face flushed. He had been so focused on surviving the battle that he hadn''t noticed that he was standing at the edge of the arena, naked. Although all the disciples at Drizzle Peak were male, Zen felt embarrassed.


    Sean noticed Zen''s awkward expression. Quickly he removed his outer robe and threw it to Zen.


    Zen covered his body with the white robe and then walked out of the battle ring. Accompanied by Nory and Sean, he made his way toward Wurth.


    Although injured, Wurth had not left. He had stayed to watch the battle between Zen and Jesse.


    "Wurth, how do you feel now?" asked Zen.


    The fat on Wurth''s face wobbled as the big man chuckled. His small eyes glinte


    lete demotivation and the inability to work toward a higher level.


    On the contrary, those who suffered failures but still desperately forged ahead were more likely to attain success.


    However, Aura''s remark sounded like she was showing off.


    Seeing that Mia was still unhappy, Aura comforted her with a smile, "Well, Mia. I will compensate you in the future!"


    Mia pouted. Considering Master Su''s background, she had no choice but to accept Aura''s offer. On the other hand, Mia thought that letting Aura owe her a favor was good compensation.


    That night, all outer disciples of Drizzle Peak were very excited.


    Everyone talked with great relish about Zen''s performance in the battle ring.


    However, Zen was not that excited. In contrast, he concerned himself with another matter.


    After returning to his residence, Zen took out a pile of crystal cores from his space ring. He intended to visit Master Su in the morning to ask her to change the crystal cores into points so that he could go to Hell Mountain.

 Chapter 130 None Of Your Business

    When morning came, Zen got out of bed and bathed.


    Though he had a really strong body, he still took a lot of blows from Jesse''s persistent attacks.


    But, to say that he had to worry about the inflicted wounds was an overstatement¡ªthey really weren''t that deep.


    Moreover, Zen gained more than he had lost from the fight he had with Jesse. He had learned how to defend himself from his opponent and he had gone over the strategies he could harness the next time another opponent chose to battle him.


    In addition, Zen''s body absorbed the strong forces within the Destruction Hoop which further refined his marrow in the grand scheme of things.


    In the process, the fight had taken away almost every impurity that resided in Zen''s marrow; he kept this up and soon he would be reaching the peak of the marrow refining level.


    Zen wasn''t particularly celebrating anything just yet, as he was not impressed with whatever milestone he had taken.


    If he were in a backwoods county, he would have stirred something else entirely with the abilities he currently honed.


    But things were different in the Cloud Sect; it was normal for people to peak at their marrow refining level. Besides, there were so many disciples from noble clans rivaling you all the time.


    Zen thought all of these things while preparing and could not help but get a little worried, but this did not stop him from leaving the confines of his own room to go for the ridge.


    As he walked out of the door, there was an extensive amount of outer disciples that greeted Zen very warmly along the way.


    They knew Zen not as the new disciple that he used to be. They had already been certain that this man was going to make a huge reputation for himself after he defeated Leo who was ranked thirtieth among all the outer disciples of Drizzle Peak.


    What they had not anticipated was the immediate rise of Zen and no one had foreseen that it would happen in this way.


    After everything, Zen did not get into the charts; nothing proved his worth on paper, but everyone had it plastered in their minds that the man Zen should have ranked first in the outer disciples of Drizzle Peak.


    This was what he impressed in people. Zen left their presence to find Aura, who was waiting for him.


    Zen returned from the south unscathed; Aura was sure that he must have been loaded up with trophies of his trip.


    She had seen Zen''s fight with Jesse only to realize that she had been underestimating the man.


    Zen had been so persistent to go to the south. Because of this, Aura had thought Zen was being impatient¡ªif he went to hunt blade locusts, it would be a risk.


    Now that she thought about this, she assumed that Zen


    er.


    Aura marked his task card. After this, her slender white fingers skimmed over his disciple card, where Zen saw a light flash. Then she held it out to him. "Done," Aura said, "I''ve written one thousand five hundred points in your card."


    Zen''s face brightened in excitement as he reached out his hand for it.


    His fingers almost touched the card before Aura withdrew her hand and smiled. "You can have this, but you can only have it under one condition."


    That brought Zen up short. "What is it?" he asked, mildly irritated and let down.


    "Tell me what you''re going to do with all these points," Aura demanded.


    It was not the first time that she had asked Zen this question. In fact, she had already asked this when Zen took on the hunting task.


    Last time she had this question for him, Zen danced around it, careful not to spill anything that he shouldn''t.


    He was still not willing to give the woman any answers. He shook his head as a notion of not wavering to the will of Aura, only saying, "''I''ve got something important that I have to do."


    Consumed by her eagerness and curiosity, Aura kept asking. ''What is it? Tell me. Maybe I could help." She twirled the card in her hands with a blank expression on her face, showing her expectancy for an answer right then and there.


    "This is something I need to do on my own, Master Su. Not to be disrespectful, but it is none of your business. It has nothing to do with you and I do not wish to involve you."


    He did all of the things that he did to reunite with his sister, Yan. Zen had no desire to involve anyone else in this.


    "You!'' Aura finally lost her grip and puffed her cheeks with her eyebrows arching.


    Zen didn''t relent. Reaching out, he said in a stiff voice, "Give my disciple card back, Master Su."

 Chapter 131 The Guards Of The Hell Mountain (Part One)

    The room was filled with an uneasy atmosphere as Master Su and Zen stood face to face.


    From the nuances of both very strong figures, it was quite evident how strong yet irking the personality of the master was. Her hostility was the product of having to grow up isolated in the Burning Sky Palace. She surely must have been distanced from most of the civilization. With a childhood such as the master''s, who would not have walls built around themselves? Nevertheless, she was a Royal Family member, and no one would dare disobey her.


    Although she had long surpassed the seclusion of the palace, trying to forget how royalty ran in her blood, she had inherited the stubborn character of the king and queen. This was something she could never outgrow¡ªwhatever she wanted, she had to have her way. Being born in sovereignty, obstinacy was a trait that she could never grow out of.


    This was why the other masters at the Cloud Sect who knew of her identity would argue with her only if they absolutely had to.


    Once they noticed the slightest hint of irritation from Master Su, they would immediately set aside their opinions and ideas if it meant they did not have to argue with the woman. Master Su, possessing the beauty of a thousand splendid women, also possessed a fiery dragon inside of her that would awaken every time someone got on her nerves. That being said, anyone would hate to become the man Master Su would spite.


    And at this very moment with Zen in front of her, it was easy to tell that she was about to snap.


    Several masters of Drizzle Peak came over when they heard the rage of Master Su, trying to find out what was going on that the dragon within had to come out. The expression on her face res


    n wanted from the mountain.


    The so-called mountain was located at the very edge of Cloud Sect, so it was not a very ideal place for a man to visit. As Zen was about to finally arrive at his destination, a dark mountain emerged in front of him, blocking his shot.


    There weren''t any trees or vegetation growing around that mountain, If you looked at it from a distance, the mountain almost seemed as if it was completely pitch black. It made perfect sense why people referred to it as Hell Mountain.


    A dense gray smoke was constantly being released at the top of the crater that resembled the steams of hell.


    The smell coming from the cloud had the smell of strong sulfur. This smell quickly filled the air.


    Zen had lost his peace of mind when he thought about his sister, Yan, possibly inhabiting the cruel place.


    The closer he got to the mountain, the more he got suffocated by the smoke surrounding him. But, he thrived. He thought of his sister, like he always did in his trivial times because every time he did this he would be an inch closer to his goal. He finally made it to notice a very distinct demarcation line.

 Chapter 132 The Guards Of The Hell Mountain (Part Two)

    Outside the defining line was where Zen stood, with a scenery that was full of vigorous plants and life but inside was covered with black gravels; the two opposing sides could be compared to heaven and hell.


    In his fascination, he did not second guess to approach the other side. However, unexpectedly, two people appeared right in front of Zen.


    They appeared to look like beggars who wore clothes that were torn and ragged.


    When the two men looked at him, Zen began to feel an indescribable pain; the kind of pain that made Zen feel like he was being punctured by needles.


    Zen had a feeling that the two were very strong. In fact, he thought that they might be stronger than Randall and that they could be compared with the people like Floyd, the Flying Dragon General.


    "Are you going to the Hell Mountain, boy?" The two men stood on the demarcation line as they asked Zen.


    "Yes, I am. Who are you?" asked Zen


    "We are the guards of the Hell Mountain. You said you were going to Hell Mountain. Since this is the case, we would like to know if you know the rules," the mountain keeper wondered. The guards looked like they meant Zen no harm, but it was difficult not to feel uncomfortable around them. They curiously observed Zen who they deemed as a man who was at a low refining level. The mountain keepers thought to themselves, ''Very few people at such a level would come here.''


    "It takes a hundred points to get in, doesn''t it?" Zen asked. Before the keepers could answer, Zen already had his disciple''s card out, pointing out that he was fit to enter the mountain the guards were safekeeping.


    One of the guards took the card and poured his orange-red life vitality onto it. After he had deducte


    t fire and emitted smoke. Whatever they told about the mountain was not tale.


    There were several scattered valleys that could be seen from the mountainside.


    Some of those valleys were covered in ash while the other valleys were magma-infested.


    Zen had already encountered many people from the Cloud Sect who were exiled for punishment in Hell Mountain.


    The people who he crossed paths with were not mere weaklings. In fact, these people were powerful and strong.


    Some of them had already become the nature creatures.


    Judging by their imposing manner and their respective structures, some of the people were even stronger than Randall.


    Most of them could care less and had nothing to say about Zen passing by.


    However, there were still people whose eyes lingered unkindly at Zen''s presence. Some of them would even follow Zen, threatening his survival.


    Observing that not a lot of people in Hell Mountain were very accommodating, he took his broken flying knife out of his space ring and kept it in his hand the whole time he wandered around the mountain, with hope to find his sister with both of them alive.

 Chapter 133 A Stunning Smile From Yan

    Pushing himself to run faster, Zen raced uphill more alert than ever.


    Several people pursued close behind, intent on capturing Zen.


    Wanting to block Zen''s path, one of his stalkers took a detour, at a stunning speed.


    "Ha ha! Someone, like you, at the marrow refining level, from the Cloud Sect provides perfect amusement for us!" The robust man in his thirties had a sturdy looking face, his skin tone was dark, and his eyes looked menacing, "Out of my way!" warned Zen in a sharp voice, while he was calm and collected, ready to land a fatal blow on the man, who was supposedly at the nature level.


    The man''s voice dripped with cynicism as he said, "You are at my mercy! If it suits my wishes, you will lose your life right now at my command, in Hell Mountain."


    As their leader dealt with Zen, the man''s companions stopped to watch.


    "Last warning, move aside or die where you stand!" threatened Zen.


    Feeling superior to Zen, the man dismissed the warning.


    Extending his large, black hands, the man attempted to grasp Zen.


    If he fell victim to this man, Zen would suffer greatly!


    In a flash, Zen used his soul to form a thorn as his opponent bore down on him.


    "Spiritual thorn strike!"


    As the weapon struck the man, he cried out in excruciating pain.


    As his scream rang out, Zen hurled the broken flying knife at the man.


    "Zing!"


    "Slli-shh!"


    Like a dart, the sharp weapon shot through the air, and struck the target. The knife punctured his chest, exiting his back and stuck in the rock behind him.


    Then Zen pulled, bringing his lethal weapon swinging back.


    Zen destroyed his enemy with a single clean thrust, not leaving a drop of blood on his blade.


    His weapon returned to his hand, and Zen glared at the remaining pursuers before climbing uphill.


    As a nature creature, the man died wondering how he''d been humbled or beaten by Zen, especially considering that Zen was only at the marrow refining level.


    Actually, the man lacked any defenses which resulted in his defeat. If he had regarded Zen as a threat, he wouldn''t have been defeated so miserably.


    At the sight of their fallen leader, the remaining attackers were too cowardly to give chase to Zen.


    They decided Zen was a formidable opponent.


    On second thought, they turned tail and ran.


    Smirking at their coward


    tention on the slingshot, Yan said, "For the time being, since Perrin isn''t entitled to visit Hell Mountain''s summit, you are kindly requested to deliver messages for us."


    "There''s no need even to mention it! I''m ready to take on the job because of our friendship!" Any chance to be near to Yan was a stroke of good luck to Vale Wang.


    Appreciative of Vale''s willingness, Yan nodded, and then picked up a stone off the platform, fixing it to the string and shooting it out over the crescent.


    As though it was a dart, Yan shot the stone, sending it soaring in the direction of the target. Unfortunately, it collapsed halfway over the chasm in a downward curve.


    Despite her shot missing its mark, Yan looked happier than ever - a sharp contrast to her earlier quiet mood.


    Taking advantage of Yan''s rare bright spirit, Vale sat and chatted more before he departed, satisfied that everything had gone well.


    Two men were waiting eagerly for Vale to return from within Hell Mountain.


    "Did you meet with Yan yet, Vale?" asked Billy as he approached Vale, curious about how Yan was faring. Following close to Billy was Perrin.


    Passing Billy, Vale walked up to Perrin and patted him on the shoulder as he said, "Oh, Perrin! It was such a pleasure seeing Yan smile!"


    Perrin nodded appreciatively and replied, "Yan must be pining for her family. Your frequent visits will lift her spirits!"


    "Of course, I''ll keep visiting her for short periods. Now, let''s go! We''re celebrating tonight!" Vale was evidently happy and then left with the rest.

 Chapter 134 An Unavoidable Encounter (Part One)

    The thin, misty wisps of clouds swirled around the light blue sky like steam from a hot spring as a little pebble crashed down about a thousand feet to the earth.


    As the forces of gravity sucked it in, the pebble first hit the rocky mountainsides before finally landing with a loud "crack" on the ground.


    Zen was deep in thought about Yan''s whereabouts as he stood outdoors when the crack of the pebble landing stunned him.


    He had been walking around the mountainside before in circles and had almost searched every part of the mountain, but to no avail. He couldn''t find a single trace of Yan.


    He paused momentarily. ''Where on earth is she?'' he thought.


    Zen looked up at the summit over him, his eyebrows tightly knitted in confusion.


    It couldn''t be that Yan was trapped in a higher place, was she?


    After thinking more about Yan''s whereabouts, Zen resumed climbing up.


    While Zen ascended up the mountain''s rocky slopes, several people were walking down along the path leading to the summit.


    The handsome, noble looking man walking at the helm of the group wore deep purple robes. Although it was quite dark, a faint light seemed to emanate from his being.


    Zen continued to observe. A far as he knew, disciples of Cloud Sect generally wore clothes in three colors.


    It was common knowledge that the outer disciples were dressed in white robes, while inner disciples wore black robes.


    However, some disciples were dressed in purple robes.


    In Cloud Sect, disciples who wore purple robes were guided by their masters personally and they directly acquired refinement skills from their maters. Inside this sect, still only quite a few disciples wore purple robes, which symbolized a superior position.


    Zen''s eyes focused on the man wearing purple robes. "This person has ''intent'' as well!" Zen muttered to himself. "It''s the homicidal intent of lotus!" he concluded.


    Zen further observed that the man was shrouded by a band of lotus-shaped light behind him. The "homicidal intent of lotus" that clouded his body was quite mild like a tangle of soft, worn-out thorns that no longer scared and hurt people.


    This "homicidal intent of lotus" was also known as certain temperament or nature.


    However, Zen still perceived some sort of threat in that seemingly mild and tame "homicidal intent of lotus." It was said that the power of this intent would be extremely hard to resist once it was brought into play. A strong temptation, one might say.


    he misses you very much," after saying this, Vale even made another bow to Zen.


    Everyone knew that Vale was one of the most outstanding members of Cloud Sect. Only a very select few people could win such great respect from him, much less a bow. However just now, he had bowed to Zen two times already.


    The scene in front of them made the sweat on Perrin''s forehead intensified. His back started feeling the same as well.


    Seeing how Vale was so polite to him, Zen got more curious and so he asked, "It is the first time that we meet. Why do you treat me so politely?"


    Once again, Vale shocked everyone with another unexpected bow before he answered back with a polite smile, "I am so lucky to have gotten acquainted with Yan. You will be my brother-in-law if I have the chance to marry her."


    Zen was quite infuriated upon hearing these words. Only just now he had realized why Vale bothered to be so polite to him. His eyebrows shot up to his forehead when Vale rashly mentioned marrying his little sister. He snorted, "You? Marrying Yan? That''s crazy! You are just dreaming! You are not good enough for my little sister whatever your Wang family is."


    In Zen''s heart, Yan was his only family member in the world. It angered him to hear Vale say those words in such a rash and frivolous manner especially that it was the first time that they met. Zen really could not tolerate a man with that kind of imprudent behavior.


    People are reluctant to hit one who is very polite in spite of great anger, as the saying goes. However, Zen made one exception. In spite of Vale treating him so politely, Zen fired back coldly without hesitation.

 Chapter 135 An Unavoidable Encounter (Part Two)

    Zen''s response irritated Vale but he tried his best to keep calm. Still, it didn''t prevent his smiling face from turning a little gloomy upon feeling humiliated by Zen''s harsh words. Before he could even answer back, Billy interrupted him with an angry look on his face, "Damn it!" Zen was thrown off by Billy''s sudden outburst, and this did not escape Perrin''s eyes. He also retorted back loudly in a stern voice, "You can''t tell the good from the bad! You even dared to humiliate Vale!" In spite of the anger in his voice, Perrin actually felt a little more relieved. He had been expecting to kill Zen but the brat had overestimated himself and offended Vale, a disciple who directly acquired skills from his master. ''Zen, Zen, you are such an idiot. You dare displease Vale, and now there''s no choice for you but death. You brought this upon yourself, '' Perrin thought.


    To this, Zen only sneered and he coldly replied, "So what? Perrin, what else are you good at apart from hooting?"


    Perrin was furious. He said, "Zen, you are only an outer disciple of Cloud Sect. How dare you talk back like that to me. Tell you what, you are nothing to me. Today, I will let you see what strength is and how I will overpower you!" As soon as Perrin finished his words, streaks of blood-colored light radiated from every part of his body--it was his life vitality.


    Perrin recently climbed up the levels quickly one after the other. After quite a diligent refinement at the half-step into the nature level, he had become a nature creature. Of course, he was able to achieve all this through the Wang family''s tremendous support. He originally practiced the Purple Light Fist. However, at this moment, the life vitality radiating from his body looked like a light plasma. This refinement skill was actually obtained by learning from a tier 3 refinement method of the Wang family.


    Perrin was quite confident that he could defeat Zen by only one move, because he thought that Zen was only at the marrow refining level.


    "Really?" Zen fired back mischievously. Zen clenched his fists as he stared at Perrin with shrewd, calculating eyes that seemed to send daggers. "Since you are so confident, I''d like to take a look for myself!" he added snidely.


    At that exact moment, the tangy, pungent scent of blood emanated from Perrin''s body. Perrin had many reasons for killing Zen aside from him being an outcast of the family and offending Vale. He had waited a long time for this moment, and when he got it, he rushed headlong towards Zen and


    en''s Purple Fist Strength. By now, Perrin was just like a disabled person, as Zen had made it impossible for him to use any of his refinement methods.


    Meanwhile, Vale, who stood on one side, just remained silent when he saw that. It seemed that he was deep in thought about something.


    However, Billy, on the other hand, could no longer just stand there without doing anything. He got along very well with Perrin. At first, Billy thought that it would be very easy for Perrin to get his hands on Zen since he had become a nature creature, but everything that happened just now was extremely contrary to his expectations. Perrin had been instantly suppressed by Zen and his meridian channels had been broken. Billy was enraged when he thought that Perrin couldn''t use any of his refinement methods anymore.


    "Brother, why didn''t you stop that guy?" Billy, who was rather angry with Zen, turned to Vale and asked him.


    However, Vale only shook his head and replied, "The conflicts between Perrin and Zen are their family businesses. It is inadvisable for us to intervene. After all, Zen is Yan''s biological brother."


    Of course, a disciple who had grown up in a big, noble clan, thought that way.


    Vale was so smart.


    A while ago when Perrin had stammered as Vale asked him the question, he had figured out what Perrin was plotting.


    Vale knew that Perrin had never mentioned Zen in front of him only for the sake of his own private interests. To be specific, Perrin wanted to gain more benefits from the Wang family by taking advantage of Yan.


    Zen wouldn''t have that deep aversion and hatred towards the Wang family if Perrin had told him the truth earlier.

 Chapter 136 The Illuminating Soul Realm (Part One)

    Perrin lay on the black gravel with a look of despair in his eyes.


    "Something must be wrong," Perrin said to himself. He was confused about what was happening.


    Yet, he couldn''t figure out what the issue was.


    When Perrin was at the Luo Clan, he made tremendous progress as he had consumed one of the only two Magical Pills owned by the clan. After he joined Cloud Sect, Perrin became acquainted with the Wang Clan. He then used Yan to acquire benefits from Vale. In this way, he had reached the level of nature creature in a short time.


    From among the members of the Luo Clan, Zen''s father, Mike, had been the only one to attain the status of a nature creature.


    Once his father and uncle assumed control of the clan, Perrin had naively imagined that his future would be bright and smooth.


    He had compelled the elders in the clan to allow him to consume a Magical Pill as he had envisioned using his new strength to revitalize the Luo Clan and earn the reputation of being the most influential clan in C County.


    But today, Zen had defeated Perrin after only a few rounds. His dream had shattered.


    "I''m a nature creature. Why am I so vulnerable? How could I be defeated by a person who is only at the marrow refining level?" Perrin muttered to himself. He stared at Zen with vacant eyes.


    "All your achievements are useless. The only reason you have reached this far is because of the power of pills," replied Zen. A cold smile danced on his face for a brief moment. Then, sadness reflected in his eyes.


    Among the noble clans, many people like Perrin had reached high refining levels by taking pills, but they lacked practical experience. They would lose when confronted by cultivators like Zen who had been in actual combat.


    After saying that, Zen turned his head and rapidly blinked his eyes. H


    f Hell Mountain.


    Everyone was attracted to the light.


    Even the dedicated cultivators on Hell Mountain cast an astonishing look toward this light.


    "Who is burning his life vitality? It seems like he is powerful!" claimed a man.


    "He is a cultivator at the Illuminating Soul Realm! What astounding skills he has! What is he doing here on Hell Mountain?" asked the other.


    "At Cloud Sect, the disciples dressed in purple are the top-notch who have special masters to teach them. And that man in the white robe is an outer disciple," replied an experienced man among them.


    "It''s impossible. How dare an outer disciple be so bold? It would be easy for a cultivator at the Illuminating Soul Realm to kill an outer disciple. Oddly enough, he is burning his life vitality against a weak outer disciple."


    The people on Hell Mountain whispered among themselves. They were greatly concerned about what was happening.


    It was rumored that a person at the Illuminating Soul Realm


    was a more powerful life-being than a nature creature!


    From among the hundreds of thousands of disciples at Cloud Sect, only a small number of people could reach this realm. And each was a purple-robed disciple.

 Chapter 137 The Illuminating Soul Realm (Part Two)

    The onlookers couldn''t figure out why the man at the Illuminating Soul Realm needed to display such power when dealing with a weaker opponent.


    Generally speaking, a cultivator at the Illuminating Soul Realm could kill an outer disciple with only one finger.


    "That poor outer disciple must be frightened to death," stated one of the bystanders.


    After Zen had left, Master Su secluded herself in a pavilion at Drizzle Peak and watched his every move on the picture slab.


    Through the picture slab, Master Su was able to get a better understanding of everything that was happening with Zen.


    "You brat! You are a real troublemaker," Master Su murmured even though Zen was not around to hear her. Master Su looked northwest and frowned. Even from this distance, she could see the light column emitted by Vale.


    "I don''t care whether you survive or not. Since you think you''re so good, figure out a solution to the situation in which you find yourself! He''s such a pain in the neck," Master Su said to herself angrily.


    Zen was a talented disciple, but he was stubborn and refused to heed her advice.


    In fact, none of the masters of Cloud Sect had much control over their disciples. In general, there was no tangible mentoring relationship between masters and disciples at Cloud Sect. Only some special disciples could be taught by masters personally.


    Therefore, Zen didn''t have to listen to Master Su. Her anger at Zen''s disobedience was due to her temperament.


    Master Su gritted her teeth as she glared at Zen''s resolute face in the picture slab again. After a few seconds, she left the pavilion and took a flying chariot to Hell Mountain.


    On a peak of Hell Mountain, Yan sat on a rock and played with her slingshot. She was immersed in happy memories, and a sweet smile danced on her lips.


    Since her imprisonment on Hell Mountain, Yan had little else to do. Her chil


    No matter how many times Yan tried, the energy emitted by the array didn''t diminish. It seemed as though the array could repeat this cycle endlessly. This situation baffled Yan as she had no way to free herself and aid Zen.


    All this while, Zen stood rooted in his spot. He calmly faced the enormous pressure from Vale. Even though an ordinary disciple would have been crushed, Zen stood erect with no sign of yielding.


    Zen realized this kind of pressure had gone beyond the scope of life energy. It was even stronger than the life vitality of a nature creature.


    ''Vale is only releasing a small amount of pressure. And yet, I am having trouble enduring this pressure. He may have surpassed the level of nature creatures, '' Zen thought.


    Zen didn''t know that Vale was a strong cultivator at the Illuminating Soul Realm until now.


    "Have you not realized the gap in the strength between you and me? I can kill you with just one finger. Despite my power, it''s challenging for me to rescue Yan from Hell Mountain, let alone you. You can''t even get to the top of the Hell Mountain. It''s funny that you are so self-righteous," Vale teased Zen.


    Several pink lotuses bloomed and withered at Vale''s feet, as though in an endless cycle, as he spoke.

 Chapter 138 The Price Of Contempt

    Though at the marrow refining level, Zen braved the debilitating assault from Vale, thus dwarfing his counterparts.


    Billy who was at the grade-two nature level was too weak to circulate his life vitality against Vale''s threat. Consequently, he was just an onlooker.


    Zen who hadn''t learned to cultivate life vitality found it exceptionally hard to concentrate on his life energy.


    He relied on his body and the strength of his soul instead.


    ''Vale''s intent is not as strong as the vengeful beast''s intent. Nevertheless, it is challenging for me to resist his intent !'' Zen marveled at his rival''s power, which almost overwhelmed him despite his determination to withstand the assault.


    Many people would be overpowered under this circumstance. Zen was no exception.


    He felt as though he was being shattered and battered.....


    ''No. I must not surrender!'' Zen swore.


    One may achieve wonders with superior willpower.


    But the overwhelming disparity between them in terms of martial arts overshadowed Zen''s tenacity.


    Zen was enduring the unbearable when confronting his rival.


    Vale marveled at Zen''s unparalleled endurance in the heat of their fight.


    He was aware of the immense power of his life vitality, which was why Vale had used it to attack Zen.


    ''Marrow refining level......


    His physical body has not yet reached its limits....


    How can he counter my attacks?'' Vale wondered at Zen''s capacity to face his life vitality.


    "Zen, I can see your strength and power fading gradually!" Vale grinned and then circulated his life vitality stronger than before. His power increased, so did the light column. It soared higher and glimmered brighter.


    The homicidal intent of the lotus emanating from Vale''s body had by now reached excessive levels.


    But Zen''s blood and soul were extraordinary enough to withstand the metaphysical menace as his body had become a spiritual weapon already.


    Tenacious as he was, Zen felt his soul''s strength fading gradually.


    When confronted by the vengeful beast, the cyan dragon had come to Zen''s rescue. It had roared at the vengeful beast, and the beast had surrendered. Now the cyan dragon was not spiritually active.


    ''I have to learn to be self-reliant!'' he thought.


    Vale''s life vitality combined with the homicidal intent of the lotus was not powerful enough to injure Zen severely.


    But Vale''s assaults gave Zen a sense of oppression.


    ''I must maintain my soul strength and peace of mind t


    ed into Vale''s head.


    Fortunately for Vale, he had reached the Illuminating Soul Realm. That meant that Vale only felt a little dizzy from the spiritual attack and was able to recover quickly.


    However, it was the hiatus that nearly doomed Vale.


    The broken flying knife flew toward Vale''s head. By the time Vale regained his composure after the spiritual thorn strike, the knife had neared its mark.


    A lotus bloomed to counter the broken flying knife. However, the broken flying knife penetrated it.


    Another lotus shot up in its place to block the broken flying knife''s course, only to prove futile.


    The power of the broken flying knife was diminished only upon impact with the third lotus. Since it carried the weight of ten thousand pounds, the lotus proved to be more effective in deflecting the broken flying knife.


    Despite the deviation, the broken flying knife marred Vale and blood spurted from the spot where the knife had embedded itself.


    Had it not been for Vale''s timely reaction, he would have lost his life.


    Vale was highly endowed and considered as a promising youth among the disciples from noble clans owing to his extraordinary martial arts.


    The Wang Clan was a minor clan compared to the top seven noble clans.


    Vale and his father Steven Wang were edging their way into an influential clan worthy of the top seven noble clans'' equal.


    Every warrior was bound to meet some difficulties on his way to the success.


    And this battle nearly claimed Vale''s life.


    Vale narrowly escaped death when battling Zen because he had been overconfident and arrogant.... That was the price of his contempt!

 Chapter 139 Devouring (Part One)

    "Lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub..."


    Vale''s heart was beating violently. The blood dripping from the wound on his face was dyeing half his face red. "Unexpected! This is really surprising!" He lifted one hand and wiped the blood with his sleeve. Then Vale turned to Zen and said, "Perrin howled like a wounded animal after a blow from you. You must have used the soul attack. No wonder Perrin lost so fast. You, a guy at the marrow refining level have mastered the soul attack cultivation method. It''s really unbelievable!"


    Vale had experienced a lot of battles so far. Having escaped death, he realized that he had been naive to consider Zen to be a weak opponent.


    "Well, I have to admit that I made a big mistake. You are a dangerous killer disguised as a weak opponent. If it weren''t for my family-awarded soul protector and my strong soul, your flying knife would have killed me," said Vale calmly as he raised his hand to rub off the blood that was still oozing from his wound. "This injury is the price I have paid for underestimating you. You''ve done your best to hurt me. You should be proud. However, you still have to pay for your actions, even though you are Yan''s brother!"


    As soon as Vale finished speaking, several lotus flowers blazing with pink light floated from his hands. However, these enchanting lotus flowers were powerful, dangerous killing weapons.


    "I will pulverize you into powder!"


    The lotus flowers shot toward Zen so quickly that he didn''t get the chance to escape. In an instant, his body was covered by the lotus flowers.


    Every lotus flower carried the weight of ten thousand pounds.


    And over a hundred lotus flowers blanketed Zen''s body.


    Zen''s body


    the top of Hell Mountain; each more powerful than the next.


    The six-pointed star array was quite complicated, and setting it up had been a challenging task for the top-ranked magic array master, Jone. Aside from him, no one could unravel it.


    Yan bit her lower lip, looked at Zen''s figure that was covered by the lotus flowers, and implored, "Okay, I will not destroy the array, but you must save my brother!"


    The old man smiled and said, "I don''t need to save him. It seems that someone has come to his aid."


    "Who is it?" asked Yan anxiously.


    The old man pointed at a flying chariot that was nearing Hell Mountain.


    "Her? Princess Aura?" asked Yan. Her expression conveyed the doubt she felt. Why would Aura come to save her brother?


    "Zen is Master Su''s disciple," explained the old man. "Now that Princess Aura has come to save Zen, he will be fine."


    "I hope so." After hearing his explanation, Yan calmed down slightly. Then she turned her head and quietly observed the incident on the mountainside. If anything bad happened, she was ready to break the six-pointed star array by force!


    ¡­


    ¡­

 Chapter 140 Devouring (Part Two)

    If Zen had been an ordinary disciple at the marrow refining level, he would have been crushed into muddy flesh under the total pressure of one hundred thousand pounds.


    Even nature creatures could not endure this level of pressure.


    Though determinedly resisting the pressure, Zen was on the verge of being destroyed.


    Zen felt as though he was carrying a mountain. Even breathing felt like an impossible act.


    "It''s unbelievable that a cultivator at the Illuminating Soul Realm is so strong. I have no chance to fight back!" Zen could not move at all, but he did not give up trying to find a way out of this situation. Now that he was in the state of forgetting himself, he could keep calm even when on the brink of death.


    Zen was concerned about the cracks that continued to appear on his body. Each bled profusely, and he knew that he was running out of time.


    However, after entering the state, Zen could ignore the pain. It was as if his body had become someone else''s body.


    Zen thought, ''What other options do I have?


    Broken Flying Knife¡­


    Dragon Scales¡­


    Spiritual Thorn¡­


    Zen figured, ''I have tried all of these and none seemed to work as I had hoped.''


    The only cultivation method that Zen had not used yet was Heavenly Ogre Fist.


    Heavenly Ogre Fist was a tier-five cultivation method. And Zen was the only disciple at Cloud Sect who had knowledge of that method. Thus, its power could not be underestimated. However, it had proven to be challenging when Zen had tried it. He had spent a long time practicing it, hoping to produce a hint of demonic life energy.


    However, even after exhausting efforts, there had been no outcome.


    Zen doubted whethe


    ut Zen didn''t have to do this as the demonic life energy swallowed the purple life energy.


    While the purple life energy in Zen''s navel reduced rapidly, the demonic life energy increased sharply. For a second, the demonic life energy filled Zen''s navel.


    ''Heavenly Ogre Fist is a tier-five cultivation method, so the demonic life energy would probably be more powerful than the purple life energy! Let me see how powerful the demonic life energy is!'' Zen clenched his fists. It was impossible for him to relax while he produced the demonic life energy.


    He knew that his power was still too weak.


    Zen had no opportunity to win, especially when confronted by a cultivator at the Illuminating Soul Realm like Vale.


    However, Zen had great courage and determination. He would try his best to fight, even when he only had a small chance of survival!


    "Hiss..."


    Just as Zen drove the demonic life energy to flow in his body, something strange happened.


    Threads of demonic life energy gradually emerged on Zen''s skin, and upon contact with the lotus flowers, the demonic life energy began to devour them.

 Chapter 141 Three Years

    There were many different life energies in the world which had various functions.


    Some of the energies increased strength efficiently, making a person strong enough to overpower tigers and leopards or tear stone mountains down until they were nothing but rubble.


    Some energies improved speed to the point that allowed a person to run a million miles in just a few seconds.


    Considering the refining method each person practiced was different, the colors, shapes, and functions of each life energy were different as well.


    But the demonic life energy found in Zen had not only swallowed Zen''s purple life energy, but also unexpectedly tried to swallow Vale''s life vitality, as it came up and spread over Zen''s body.


    When one pushed hard enough, working to reach nature level, his life energy changed into life vitality which then could be shaped.


    Vale had achieved the level of the Illuminating Soul Realm, and because he practiced the cultivation method named Lotus Scriptures, his life vitality could be shaped into pink lotuses.


    Although the lotuses were breathtaking to see, they were, in fact, deadly and horrible.


    At the moment, it was shocking to see that the demonic life energy had come from Zen''s body and now, was swallowing the lotuses one by one while Vale was using his life vitality.


    The demonic life energy was so quick that it swallowed the bloom the moment its dark purple life energy sparked. First, a crack appeared on the pure lotus, then the crack spread, multiplying until the lotus was covered with cracks, and then the lotus was consumed leaving no remains.


    Within a short amount of the time, the dense layer of lotuses covering Zen''s body was blended into the demonic life energy.


    Once the lotuses were gone, Zen''s gruesome wounds were exposed to air instantly.


    Seeing cracks on Zen''s body, the cultivators at the Hell Mountain recoiled.


    Never before had they seen wounds like his, and they wondered what could cause the skin to break like this.


    In actuality, wounds like his could be caused by the pressure of Vale''s lotuses. As heavy as the lotuses were, they pulverized an ordinary person, but the unique manner of Zen''s body protected him so that his skin merely cracked under the overwhelming pressure.


    Too busy with what he was facing now, Zen couldn''t tend his wounds. He balled his right hand into a fist, and his fingers of the other hand splayed on his right arm gently.


    "Ogres Shaking the World! It''s the first step of Heavenly Ogre Fist!"


    Until now, Zen couldn''t manage the mighty Heavenly Ogre Fist no matter how many times he practiced since he had no demonic life energy in his body.


    After Zen completed his regular studies daily, he read the rare book named, Heavenly Ogre Fist, carefully, until he could recite it fluently.


    As Zen thrust his fist, it brought the demonic life energy out with the Ogres Shaking the World punch, and at the same time, he had an epiphany. In that instance, Zen understood all of the subtleties found in the tome of the Heavenly Ogre Fist without any questions


    ping. Instead, without hesitating, he threw the punch at Zen.


    "Do you want to get your entire clan killed, Vale?" Shouted Aura angrily. Now the chill in her voice gave her words an icy threat.


    Did he want his entire clan to be killed?


    Vale was mighty now at the Illuminating Soul Realm at such a young age, so it wasn''t difficult to realize that he was very promising.


    However, the Wang clan wasn''t one of the top seven noble clans.


    If Aura wanted to exterminate the Wang clan, it would be easy for her alone, and she had the Emperor''s Token.


    It mustn''t be a lie to intimidate him.


    Aura was merely a girl though and couldn''t intimidate Vale at all, because, to Vale, she was nothing more than a princess who was unloved by her parents.


    It was what Aura threatened that frightened Vale.


    The Wang Clan was a noble clan, and well off, so, it would be undeserving to be wiped over such a little thing.


    Inches from Zen''s face, Vale''s fist stopped, his serious face completely relaxed, and meanwhile, he casually said to Aura, "Your Royal Highness, I was joking around with Zen, and we were having a friendly competition, so why would my whole family be killed?"


    Aura''s tone was cold as she replied, "I think you''d better stop or your family won''t be safe and sound!"


    Mockingly, Vale said to Zen, "You''re terrific, but I have to say, now, you are not even fit to see Yan, not to mention to fight me!"


    "Three years," said Zen holding up three fingers.


    "What does that mean?" asked Vale frowning slightly.


    "In three years, I''ll return, defeat you and take Yan from Hell Mountain!" stated Zen.


    Vale guffawed boisterously as if he had never heard anything funnier, "Ha-ha-ha! Three years... Great! Okay, that''s really courageous. I will give you three years. If you cannot defeat me then, you won''t take Yan from Hell Mountain, and I''ll kill you!"


    announced Vale as he pointed at Zen, before flying away. As Vale retreated, pink lotuses dissolved into scattered life vitality, disappearing under the sky.

 Chapter 142 Im Your Creditor

    Vale left quickly because Aura had arrived.


    In terms of strength, Vale was not scared of Aura, but he had hesitated because of her identity and background.


    The others lifted Perrin from the ground and hurriedly followed Vale.


    "Why did you make such a promise to him?" asked Aura as she leaped from the flying chariot and walked toward Zen.


    Zen was obstinate when it came to matters pertaining to Yan. Hearing Aura''s question, he thought for a moment before replying, "I don''t want someone like Vale to get close to Yan."


    "Vale is not only Cloud Sect''s outstanding disciple, valued by the entire sect, but also the only son of the Master of the noble Wang family. Is he very bad?" asked Aura, puzzled.


    "Yes, very bad!" Zen concluded without hesitating.


    Aura smiled and said, "Maybe you''re the only one who thinks he''s bad. Vale is a desirable potential husband for all the unmarried girls in the Imperial Capital..."


    "He is too good for my sister. He can marry anyone he wants, but he shouldn''t come near Yan!" stated Zen coldly.


    Aura''s heart skipped a beat when she looked at the serious expression on Zen''s face. She had misunderstood Zen. She had no idea that Zen was Yan''s brother, and that Zen had worked so hard to earn points to save Yan from Hell Mountain.


    Zen''s idea was naive, but Aura still sighed. It was rare to see such love and devotion between siblings in a family. In her opinion, Zen was too innocent and trustworthy when it came to matters about Yan.


    "Master Su, I''m going up the mountain top to see Yan," Zen said as he turned toward the path that would take him to the top.


    Aura quickly shook her head and said, "You can''t see her."


    "Why?" Zen''s eyebrows bristled like sharp swords. He had been told that he needed points to see someone imprisoned on Hell Mountain. And yet, Vale had said that Zen was not eligible to visit Yan. And now, Master Su was stopping him.


    ''Why? Why the hell? Now that I have entered Hell Mountain, why am I not allowed to see Yan?'' he roared in his heart.


    "The people imprisoned on the top of Hell Mountain are not ordinary people. How can you be allowed to see her when you are only an outer disciple? A great array called the six-pointed star array has been set up on the top of the mountain to prevent the prisoners from escaping. You can''t get past this great array using your strength. You need permission," Aura explained to him slowly.


    Zen''s face turned sour at the news shared by Aura.


    Everything Zen had done, from escaping the Luo Clan to entering Cloud Sect to hunting blade locusts, had been because he was driven to visit Yan. After the effort he had made and the challenges he had overcome, Zen found it unacceptable that he couldn''t see Yan.


    Determined, Zen began walking up the mountain. But he had forgotten that his b


    ly, Aura pushed the pill into his mouth.


    "Don''t worry. My investment in you will pay off sooner or later. It will come back to me with a price more than the points for the pill. So, as your creditor, you had better listen to me!" stated Aura in a severe tone of voice. A slight smile danced on her face, however. After that, she turned and continued to drive the flying chariot.


    Having consumed the Red Cloud Pill, Zen felt as if there were a raging fire burning inside his stomach. Then a pleasant tingling sensation seeped from the gashes on his body.


    The five-grade pill was indeed exceedingly magical. Zen''s severe injuries were now recovering at a remarkable rate.


    The intense effects quickly spread through Zen''s entire body. Gradually, Zen became drowsy, and sleep overcame him. Finally, he passed out.


    This was probably the best sleep Zen had ever had in years.


    While imprisoned in the cellar of the Luo family, Zen always woke up every morning before dawn to read.


    But today, when he woke up, he saw that the sun was already high in the sky.


    "What a long rest!"


    Zen said in surprise as he stretched and examined his body. The wounds from his battle with Vale on Hell Mountain the day before had healed now. The effect of Red Cloud Pill was truly extraordinary.


    He sprang to his feet. Feeling refreshed, Zen found no reason to waste his time. He sat cross-legged and began to work his power according to the Heavenly Ogre Fist.


    When Zen had first left the library with the book, he had been determined to learn this cultivation method. However, no matter how much he practiced, Zen had never succeeded. To his surprise, he practiced the cultivation method when he was forced by Vale yesterday.


    When Zen opened his eyes today, all he cared about was whether he could still refine the demonic life energy as he had done the previous day.

 Chapter 143 Half-step Into The Nature Level (Part One)

    Zen positioned himself as per the illustration in the Heavenly Ogre Fist book.


    Since this was a refinement method for Ogres, it would take human beings a lot of time, energy, and effort to master if they cultivated diligently.


    Luckily, Zen was physically stronger than ordinary people. For anyone else, it would be impossible to complete the first step of the Heavenly Ogre Fist during the refinement.


    After the force coursed through his body, Zen''s eyebrows furrowed a bit, as he didn''t feel the demonic life energy inside his body.


    Zen wondered why.


    Yesterday, only a small amount of demonic life energy had been produced inside Zen''s body after his refinement of the Heavenly Ogre Fist. Afterward, the demonic life energy engulfed Zen''s Purple Light Fist life energy as though it were a beast. In the end, all the life energy from Zen''s Purple Light Fist had turned into demonic life energy.


    But as soon as he made the first move of the Heavenly Ogre Fist, which was known as Ogres Shaking the World, the demonic life energy inside his body had been completely consumed...


    In general, one''s cultivation would be smooth for a period as long as he found the key to the refinement method. Once a level was overcome, it was like a door was opened to the next stage.


    Very few men would retrogress in cultivation like Zen.


    He had been able to produce and utilize the demonic life energy the previous day, but now he had failed...


    Why? Did he forget a move?


    After thinking it over for a while, Zen still couldn''t figure it out. Since the Heavenly Ogre Fist was a tier five cultivation method, its power would be immense. However, it was so hard to practice this refinement method. It was far more difficult than Zen had expected.


    How were his practice methods different from what he had done the previous day? Zen was lost in deep thought.


    He had almost died when he confronted Vale on Hell Mountain. In that critical situation, Zen knew that he was fighting a losing battle, but he repeatedly tried to use the Heavenly Ogre Fist, still hoping to survive in spite of the slim chance. After sev


    vating the mind method of Purple Light Fist. However, the more Purple Light Fist life energy filled Zen, the more the demonic life energy he was able to consume. Soon, it began accumulating inside his body. About two hours later, his belly was finally filled with demonic life energy.


    As Zen stretched out his arms, demonic life energy spiralled up and out along his arms. To Zen, it looked like a purple-black demon was fluttering around his hands.


    At this sight, Zen flicked the demon with his fingers. Immediately, the little purple-black demon jumped out of his palm and into a corner. The demon continued to hop once it had reached the ground.


    "Huh! The life energy can be exuded out of my body!"


    This scene shocked Zen who although, practicing this refinement method, had never heard of such a thing happening.


    A corporeal form had five levels. Life energy could only exist in vivo or on the surface of the body. The energy should vanish once it left Zen''s body, just like plants couldn''t survive without roots.


    Life energy could be only separated from the body of refiners who had been a half-step into the nature level.


    Zen remembered this because he had seen his uncle Bryson pour his life energy into his long sword. Then, he manipulated the life energy inside and killed his enemies with the sword. This was only possible for cultivators who were half-step into the nature level.

 Chapter 144 Half-step Into The Nature Level (Part Two)

    However, Zen was still at the marrow refining level. Although he was also capable of pouring life energy into a weapon, the energy would dissipate and lose its effects once the weapon left his hand.


    But now, the purple-black nature-level life energy hadn''t disappeared after it was separated from Zen''s body.


    ''Have I reached a level higher than the marrow refining level?'' wondered Zen.


    Before entering Hell Mountain, Zen had been able to estimate that he had reached the peak of the marrow refining level.


    On the previous day when he battled Vale on Hell Mountain, Zen''s body had been severely battered by Vale''s lotuses. Under their assault, Zen found that it was almost impossible to bear the heavy pressure. At that time, he had been fighting for his life, and so, Zen hadn''t paid much attention to changes in his body. However, in retrospect, Zen remembered feeling a great surge of warm currents inside his body. As in all other situations, the currents refreshed his physical form.


    Had impurities been completely cleared away from his marrow at that moment?


    Since Zen had been focusing on defending against Vale, he hadn''t noticed that all the impurities in his marrow had been refined and purified. Now, as Zen felt the warm stream of currents inside his body, he concluded that it was highly likely that all impurities had been removed from his marrow.


    At this thought, Zen examined his body carefully. Once he confirmed his theory, a smile grew on Zen''s face. In the heat of the battle with Vale, his marrow had been incomparably purified, and so Zen had upgraded to a cultivator half-step into the nature level.


    Five levels of body refining were the foundations for practicing and mastering martial arts.


    Only when a person''s physical form was free from impurities could he become a nature creature.


    However, reaching the half-step into the nature level was different from entering into the nature level because of the difference between life energy and life vitality. A person couldn''t become a nature creature before his life energy was converted into life vitality.


    Although Zen didn''t accomplish his goal of freeing Yan from Hell Mountain, he had unexpectedly reache


    while shaking his head. Afterward, he added, "That was going too far. Do you know what the Illuminating Soul Realm is? A man at the Illuminating Soul Realm can kill a refiner at the marrow refining level only by the overbearing power exuded from the combustion of life vitality. The differences in the power of such refiners are like that of an ant and an elephant."


    "You can''t say that for sure! Zen is an exception. He defeated a nature creature even though he was only at the marrow refining level." Apparently, Nory was blindly optimistic about his belief that the weak could defeat the strong.


    However, Sean, who had been at Cloud Sect for a longer period, understood how huge the gaps were between realms, and so he continued, "Nory, perhaps you don''t quite understand the Illuminating Soul Realm. As far as we know, the Burning Sky Empire has a vast territory and possesses abundant resources. Its population is as large as hundreds of millions, but how many of them can reach the Illuminating Soul Realm? The gap between the Illuminating Soul Realm and nature level is far wider than you expect. I suggest that you shouldn''t take this rumor that seriously."


    "Unlike you, I believe that miracles happen..."


    "Do you mean that something like an ant eating an elephant would happen?"


    The two of them argued with each other about the issue all the way. They didn''t stop until they arrived at the other side of Drizzle Peak and got their refining pills.

 Chapter 145 The Blessed Auction House

    Several Cloud Sect officials were in a side-hall at Drizzle Peak, dispensing elixirs.


    At that time there were not too many people getting elixirs. Zen, Nory, and Sean showed their disciple cards and were given several pills.


    These grade two energy gathering pills could enhance the speed at which the human body condensed life energy, making them an ideal aid. Besides, even though they were common within the sect, outside the Cloud Sect, the pills could fetch a reasonable price.


    After putting the elixirs away, they saw a man walking down from the mountain path, approaching.


    The man was fat but walked at a fast pace. There was only one such man at Drizzle Peak, and his name was Wurth. He was injured in the battle ring a few days before.


    "Hello, Wurth!" greeted the three men.


    Seeing them, Wurth smiled as he walked up to them.


    "Wurth, have you recovered from your injuries?" asked Zen nervously. Since his return from Hell Mountain, he''d spent three days in seclusion refining privately and hadn''t visited Wurth.


    Wurth waved his thick arm, lightly responding, "It was nothing! It''s healed!"


    Zen nodded and said, "I''m glad to hear that."


    "What''s the hurry? It''s not an emergency to get the elixir. Do you have something important to do?" asked Sean in curiosity.


    "Yes, I am leaving the Cloud Sect for a while. There will be a big move at Blessed Auction House today. My brother asked me to watch it," answered Wurth.


    "The Blessed Auction House?" The eyes of Nory and Sean widened as though something occurred to them. "Wurth, you aren''t from the Blessed Zhang family, are you?" they asked almost simultaneously.


    Zen was confused at their reaction.


    Nodding his head readily, Wurth admitted that he was.


    The Blessed Zhang family was legendary in the Burning Sky Empire.


    The family had no great talent, and it was not even a noble clan!


    What the Zhang family had was a hidden power far beyond that of an ordinary noble clan! That secret power made this family almost as mighty as the top seven noble clans!


    All of this Zhang family''s descendants were business geniuses which gave them an advantage.


    The Zhang clan controlled most of the economic lifeline in the Burning Sky Empire and oversaw many of the exchanges in the empire''s largest exchange shops and auction houses.


    Even cubic crystals negotiations were set up by the Zhang family.


    So, the Zhang family had a unique position in the economy of the whole empire.


    The famous Blessed Auction House was one of their many properties.


    A majority of the most impressive auctions were conducted through the Blessed Auction House.


    "Wow! Wurth, I didn''t know you were part of the Zhang family! You are so laid-back!" stated Sean shaking his head slowly as though in shock.


    "It''s tough for the average person to get into the Blessed Auction House, Wurth, are you able to take us so that we can see it for ourselves?" asked Nory. He didn''t want to miss a chance like this because he was interested in this kind of thing.


    Nodding, Wurth said, "No problem! That''d be a piece of cake to do!" Then he turned to Zen and proposed, "Zen, will you come with us?"


    Zen wanted to turn Wurth down


    ntial was unlimited. Plus he was a man the Zhang family would like to win over and even invest in. But, as an outer disciple, what could he possibly have that was valuable?


    Nodding and smiling slyly, Zen said, "Yes, I do have an item for sale."


    "Can I ask, what it is?" asked Wurth curious about what Zen had. Wurth knew Zen wasn''t one to loosely talk. If his item had no value, he wouldn''t bring it for auction.


    "A crystal core from a Fire Scorpion Lion," replied Zen quietly.


    The announcement made Wurth''s chubby face twitch a few times.


    Every member of the Zhang family had a flair for business, and Wurth was no exception. Since he''d been molded from childhood in the family environment, he was highly sensitive to the values that various treasures, and rare materials had.


    When Zen said he had a crystal core from a Fire Scorpion Lion, Wurth almost doubted that he''d heard him correctly.


    The crystal core from a Fire Scorpion Lion had extraordinary uses and was precious to pill and weapon refiners. Apart from that, the most important thing was that the Fire Scorpion Lion was at the brink of extinction. Wurth searched his memory, and he recalled the last auction with a crystal core of Fire Scorpion Lion occurred three years ago.


    That crystal core sold for nearly twenty thousand cubic crystals, and Wurth recalled, it was from a young Fire Scorpion Lion.


    If Zen really had a crystal core from a Fire Scorpion Lion to auction off, then Wurth would inadvertently bring great business for the family.


    "Zen, follow me!" Zen didn''t seem to be joking, so, Wurth took Zen to a secret room in the auction house, and asked, "Can I look at the Fire Scorpion Lion''s crystal core?"


    The careful manner that Wurth was taking made Zen feel both funny and awkward.


    Zen knew the crystal core was highly prized and valuable in the empire, but Wurth''s performance was overly cautious.


    Zen put his finger on his space ring, and a moment later the crystal core appeared in his hand, glowing with a fiery sheen.


    This was a complete, fist-sized crystal core, and obviously from an adult Fire Scorpion Lion.

 Chapter 146 Too Expensive (Part One)

    Wurth could not remember how many years it had been since the crystal core of an adult fire scorpion lion had last appeared.


    After all, he was less than 20 years old. And from his earliest memory of the Blessed Auction House, they had never auctioned the crystal core of an adult fire scorpion lion.


    So, Wurth was very curious about where Zen got this crystal core of a fire scorpion lion. What was more surprising was that it was from an adult lion. However, he managed to keep his curiosity to himself and did not ask his questions. As a legitimate successor of the Blessed Zhang family, he was familiar with the rules of the auction house. The first rule was not to ask about the origin of goods brought by customers. It was taboo in the auction industry. He soon calmed down and acted very professionally.


    "Zen, this crystal core of an adult fire scorpion lion can be auctioned for an excellent price. It is very precious and rare. Do you want to sell it in this auction, or wait for the next? If you wait for the next auction, we, the Blessed Auction House, can help you release some information in advance to attract those who are particularly interested in the crystal core of fire scorpion lion. Then, the price will be higher than it is today," Wurth commented.


    This crystal core was so precious that ordinary people might not be able to afford to buy it. If given some time, the Blessed Auction House could attract those who not only had an interest but could also afford to buy the object during the auction. Then the price would be much higher than now.


    "How about today? I don''t mind if we sell it today." Zen decided without hesitation. He was not tempted by the potential of getting a higher price.


    Wurth did not insist when he saw Zen''s determination. Instead, he nodded and said, "That''s fine. In this auction, we plan to sell some precious refining materials and alchemy materials. And these have already appealed to many old, powerful refiners in the Imperial Capital. I believe that the crystal core of fire scorpion lion could also fetch a very good price."


    After reaching this agreement with Zen, Wurth led Zen to the back hall of the auction house.


    Once they had entered the back hall of the auction house, Zen felt a burst of dazz


    f astonishment and happiness.


    On hearing Nestor''s description, Zen admired the man. Nestor had indeed been correct. The height of that Fire Scorpion Lion was exactly like what Nestor had said, about 30 feet. The fact that he could draw such a conclusion only by looking at the crystal core was enough to show that Nestor was experienced and had sharp eyes.


    "What kind of basic price do you think we can set for this crystal core?" Wurth asked.


    Nestor laughed loudly and said, "As with any exceptional treasure, when it appears in an auction, you never know how many people will rush and fight for it. Especially at this time when the Shura Battlefield is about to restart. The clans never feel like they have sufficient good weapons. And the crystal core of fire scorpion lion is a superior material for refining weapons. Based on this information, it is hard to estimate the final price of this crystal core. If we have to set a basic price for it, I think about thirty thousand cubic crystals is appropriate."


    "Thirty thousand cubic crystals!" Zen was surprised to hear the price and could not help crying out in astonishment.


    Zen''s reaction took Nestor and Wurth by surprise. They looked at each other before Wurth turned to Zen and asked, "Zen, do you think the basic price is too low? Rest assured. Once the auction starts, the final price would be much higher than this number."


    Zen shook his head and explained, "No. Wurth, you have misunderstood me. The price is very appropriate!"

 Chapter 147 Too Expensive (Part Two)

    Zen did not think the price was low. Instead, it was much higher than his expectation.


    Although he knew that the crystal core of fire scorpion lion was very precious, he had never presumed that the price would be this high.


    The crystal core of a queen blade locust was exchanged for only 1000 points, which was equal to two thousand cubic crystals. And he had thought that the crystal core of fire scorpion lion would be valued at a similar price.


    But the basic price, as he heard, was 15 times higher than that of the queen blade locust! That was totally beyond his calculations.


    This lack of understanding of how the market worked showed how little experience Zen had.


    After all, the blade locust was known for its rapid reproduction rate. Every year, dozens or hundreds of queen blade locusts were killed at Dragon Fort. And this productivity, of course, lowered the price of the crystal core of a queen blade locust.


    A fire scorpion lion, however, was not the same. They had been hunted to the verge of extinction throughout the whole Eastern Region. It was rare to see a fire scorpion lion, not to mention an adult one. And its crystal core had special effects in the refining of weapons or medicines. Thus, the value of these two kinds of crystal cores was very different, and the gap was huge.


    Hearing that Zen did not reject their proposed basic price, Nestor continued to say, "But if we add this to the lot today, we will have two outstanding treasures at this auction. So, I think it would be better to present the crystal core of fire scorpion lion in the next auction, where it will fetch a higher price... " Nestor had the same idea as Wurth. It would be worthwhile to conduct an auction for this crystal core only.


    "No need to wait for the next auction. My friend thinks that it is okay to combine it in today''s auction. Nestor, please put away this crystal core of fire scorpion lion and prepare for the auction later," Wurth calmly instructed.


    "Okay, young master, I will do that," Nestor now knew that the timing for the auction of the crystal core was nonnegotiable. With a quick shake of his head, Nestor asked an assistant to bring a luxurious box. He then carefully put the crystal core in it and sealed the box.


    After completing all the arrangements for the crystal core''s auction, Wurth walked back to the auction room with Zen. As it was a busy time for the auction, he managed to exchange simple greetings with Sean and o


    power is similar to that of a middle-level spiritual weapon. The base price is 2000 cubic crystals. You can start to bid now."


    ''Two thousand cubic crystals? That is not so expensive!'' Zen thought. He was a little interested in this spiritual weapon.


    This Heaven-shaking Dagger-axe was a low-level spiritual weapon. Zen did not care much about its power. Instead, he wondered about the iron essence he could obtain from such a weapon after refining it.


    He knew that a top-grade mysterious weapon usually generated five or ten drops of iron essence. Since a spiritual weapon was a level higher than a mysterious weapon, maybe it would generate 50 drops of iron essence, or, perhaps even 100 drops.


    On thinking of this possibility, Zen became excited. He wanted to bid.


    As long as he could light up one dragon scale, his strength would grow. If ten dragon scales were lit at the same time, his strength would be doubled in a short period. Such an increase was definitely a significant improvement for him.


    If possible, Zen planned to participate in the auction for this spiritual weapon.


    But the bid price increased so much that he abandoned his plan.


    "Two thousand and five hundred cubic crystals," one refiner shouted excitedly.


    "Two thousand and seven hundred," said another.


    "Three thousand cubic crystals!"


    Even though the Heaven-shaking Dagger-axe had a powerful name and it was indeed a spiritual weapon, its shape was rough and heavy. Zen had thought that the bid would not be competitive. However, to his surprise, many refiners were interested in this weapon, and the price shot up in a short time.

 Chapter 148 The Weapon Refining Principle

    In the end, the Heaven-shaking Dagger-axe sold for as much as five thousand cubic crystals.


    Zen curled his lips but did not regret that it had fallen into someone else''s hands.


    He knew that he could buy another inferior spiritual weapon from the market at a much lower price. Anyway, what he cared about was the iron essence contained in spiritual weapons, not their power.


    Nestor soon auctioned off several more items.


    Suddenly, Nestor''s tone changed. "The next item to be auctioned is the halftime grand finale of today''s auction. As you all know, two years ago, Chase, our weapon refining guru in the Imperial Capital, passed away. This is a significant loss for our whole empire. Fortunately, Chase had many disciples, and some of them have taken over his mantle," Nestor said grimly. "Next up for auction is Chase''s Weapon Refining Principle. It is said that Chase kept it a secret. If someone wants to make an impact in weapon refining, with this book in hand, you can get Chase''s knowledge and achieve great progress!"


    As soon as Nestor finished speaking, the crowd simmered with excitement.


    There were three weapon refining gurus in the Burning Sky Empire, but none of them could compare with Chase.


    Chase kept the Weapon Refining Principle a secret presumably recording his experience and skills in weapon refining.


    Every noble clan dreamed of owning a top weapon refiner.


    But weapon refiners were not easy to hire.


    The noble Wang family had employed one of the three weapon refining gurus, another had been employed by Cloud Sect and the third by the Burning Sky Palace. It was hard to hire them, no matter how much the clans offered.


    Therefore, if a family produced a weapon refining guru, it would benefit the whole family.


    Everybody knew that even if they got the Weapon Refining Principle, they would not necessarily become a weapon refining guru. After all, Chase had taught many disciples, and so did his disciples, but they all failed to produce a guru. Yet, none of the noble clans were willing to give up this rare chance.


    "The Weapon Refining Principle belonged to our teacher. Please return it to us!"


    "It''s our teacher''s relic. You can''t auction it at will!" eight people objected.


    They were dressed similarly in long red robes with a small furnace embroidered on their chests.


    Most people in the auction house recognized the furnace on their clothes and knew where they had come from.


    It turned out that Chase had set up a school, Magical Refining School


    contained only a few sheets of paper. But its price kept rising during the auction.


    When its cost climbed to nearly 20, 000 cubic crystals, most people gave up.


    Only the old man, who competed with Fren in the first place, and Fren were still making offers.


    "20, 000!" This time, Fren had raised the price by 6, 000 cubic crystals!


    Hearing Fren''s offer, the old man winced and shook his head. It was not that he was willing to give up the book, but that he could not afford any more cubic crystals.


    Not many people in the world could afford 20, 000 cubic crystals at one time.


    Glancing at the old man''s dejected look, Fren gave a wry smile. The old man had followed behind Fren''s offer like plaster to raise the price, until Fren raised his bid by six thousand!


    "Anyone else wants to make a higher bid?" inquired Nestor from the platform. "If not, Mr. Zhuge will win the Weapon Refining Principle!"


    Just then a voice came from one of the wings.


    "I''ll pay 20, 100!" The speaker was Zen.


    He joined the bidding with an astronomical figure, which shocked Sean and Nory.


    "Zen, are you crazy?"


    "Do you have that many cubic crystals?"


    Nory and Sean whispered anxiously, their foreheads sweating.


    They had asked Wurth to bring them to the auction house today just for fun.


    The items auctioned were worth at least hundreds or thousands of cubic crystals, which was impossible for an ordinary outer disciple to afford.


    That was why Nory and Sean were both pretty shaken up when Zen quoted 20, 100.


    Casual bidding was not allowed at an auction. If a bidder won something in a bid, but could not afford it... The result was no joke!

 Chapter 149 Heavenly Essence (Part One)

    Zen did not have enough cubic crystals.


    However, Zen had learned from Wurth that if he desired an item, he could join in the bidding. As long as the quoted price was not higher than the cubic crystals he would earn for the crystal core of the fire scorpion lion, Zen could afford to bid.


    Thus, when Zen saw the Weapon Refining Principle, he bid against Fren even though the other bidders had ceased.


    20, 100 cubic crystals!


    If this had happened before the incident on Hell Mountain, Zen would have been reluctant to spend thousands of cubic crystals buying the Weapon Refining Principle. On the contrary, he would have saved these cubic crystals to exchange for points at Cloud Sect.


    However, after the battle on Hell Mountain, Zen had realized how large the skill gap was between him and Vale.


    If he wanted to narrow this difference, Zen had to improve in every aspect.


    Not just his strength!


    If Zen could learn how to refine weapons, or even become a master of weapon refining, his request to visit or save Yan might not be denied!


    Admittedly, there were no guarantees that buying and reading the Weapon Refining Principle would help Zen become a weapon refiner. However, Zen did not have many choices. He had to persist with his plan.


    Since learning from the Weapon Refining Principle would give him an advantage, Zen was determined to buy it.


    "Rest assured, Nory and Sean. I have enough cubic crystals," said Zen with a smile.


    Nory''s and Sean''s foreheads creased as they wondered how Zen had accumulated tens of thousands of cubic crystals. But when they thought of Zen''s cautious personality, they relaxed slightly.


    Many people darted a curious glance in Zen''s direction when they heard him bid against Fren.


    Aston


    er when they saw the enchanting Vivan.


    However, Zen turned his head and asked Vivan calmly, "What do you want?"


    "My master asked me to tell you to give up the bidding," said Vivan, staring straight at Zen.


    Zen returned her smile as he asked, "Why should I give up?"


    "Because my master wants you to," said Vivan. Malicious intent twinkled in her brown eyes.


    What arrogance!


    Zen''s forehead wrinkled when he heard what Vivan said. Since entering Cloud Sect, Zen had met many arrogant people. He sneered at Vivan, "Your master? Who is he?"


    "My master''s surname is Zhuge," replied Vivan proudly. The Zhuge Clan was renowned in the Burning Sky Empire, so Vivan thought that Zen would change his mind after learning that Fren came from the Zhuge Clan.


    "Zhuge?" murmured Zen. Then his face darkened. From Bloody Mountain to the south of the empire, he had clashed with members of the Zhuge Clan many times. They were like annoying leeches that kept clinging to him!


    "Yes, my master is Fren Zhuge. I believe you have heard of him. So, please do not bid again, or you will get into trouble," said Vivan, with a smirk playing at the corners of her mouth.

 Chapter 150 Heavenly Essence (Part Two)

    "Oh! Fren Zhuge!" Zen nodded and repeated, "Is he the one who is usually called the Loony Fren?"


    Vivan grinned, "It seems that you have heard of my master''s nickname..."


    "Just tell him to die," replied Zen as he sneered at Vivan in disgust.


    At the moment, Vivan stood on the spot stiffly with a fixed grin. She had thought that Zen would comply with her request after learning of her master''s identity. She hadn''t expected Zen to refuse so firmly.


    Zen dared to speak so haughtily, implying that he was not afraid of Fren at all.


    A hint of life vitality scattered out from Vivan''s hair...


    Vivan''s straight hair curled and surged like the waves of the sea. Then they rose in spirals to form five cones. In the next instant, they pointed at Zen, like five spinning drilling bits. She threatened, "Anyone who has dared to offend my master has died. Do you want to die as well?"


    Zen smiled, pointed to the auction hall, and cautioned, "Huh, do you want to fight me now? You''d better take a look around and see where you are."


    The dispute in the room immediately drew the attention of the people in the auction house.


    Noticing the strange situation, a few guards of the Zhang Clan approached Zen''s room. Blessed Auction House was obliged to keep its customers safe, and fighting was absolutely prohibited in the auction house.


    Vivan glanced at the guards and recalled her life vitality. She snorted and turned to leave the room.


    Gazing at her receding figure, Zen smirked and shouted, "Twenty-four thousand and one hundred!"


    Hearing Zen''s bid and seeing Vivan''s livid face, Fren knew that Zen had not taken his threat seriously.


    "What did the boy say?" asked Fren with a smile.


    Depressed, Vivan


    ere added to a mid-grade spiritual weapon, it would be elevated to the top grade.


    However, heavenly essence was extremely rare, and so far, people did not know how to obtain it in larger quantities. Whenever heavenly essence appeared, the owners would add it into their weapons immediately.


    It was said that heavenly essence was the key base of all the mysterious, spiritual, and even fairy weapons!


    The reason why these weapons had tremendous power was that weapon refiners blended the weapons with a glimmer of Heavenly Law during the process of refining. Heavenly essence contained pure Heavenly Law in very high concentrations!


    It was rumored that even a low-grade mysterious weapon could have a little bit of heavenly essence, but so far, no one had been able to extract any.


    Zen was stunned when he saw the heavenly essence. As the droplets danced in the air, shimmering under the light, his jaw dropped to the ground. His heart beat faster as he stared at the silver particles floating in the air.


    Weren''t these tiny substances the same as the iron essence that was produced by the black fire that melted mysterious weapons?

 Chapter 151 Got Tremendous Wealth

    Zen was confused about the silver particles.


    Curious, Zen tried to look them up in the weapon refining methods left by Evil Lan, but he got nothing about them.


    Zen assumed if Evil Lan were a better weapon refiner, he would have written about it in his weapon refining methods.


    In C County, Evil Lan had been regarded as a superior weapon refiner, but compared with the refiners in Imperial Capital, he was just so-so.


    So many people in the auction house desired to get the heavenly essence, which got Zen further perplexed by what it was and its purpose.


    Were these silver droplets really so valuable?


    "23, 000 cubic crystals! I will take the heavenly essence!" An old man cried out. His hair was white, but his ruddy face gave him an energetic appearance.


    "Aha, Huang! You cannot have sole ownership of these heavenly essence drops. I offer a price of 25, 000 cubic crystals!" A muffled voice came from an old man with a black face.


    The old man with the ruddy face frowned and said, "Joah Yu, I shall get the heavenly essence. So don''t compete with me today!"


    The two men stood and glared at each other, which lent tension to the atmosphere in the auction house.


    In the room, Nory said, "As to these two old men, one''s surname is Huang, and the other is Yu. so one must come from the Huang Clan, and the other must be from the Yu Clan. Both clans enjoy a high reputation in Imperial Capital as they are listed among the seven prestigious noble clans. Since they are both determined to buy the heavenly essence, you can expect the final price to be unrealistically high."


    Money wasn''t a problem for any member of the top seven noble clans.


    The two old men seemed to be venerable with high prestige in the noble clans. Thus, they could scramble for the heavenly essence at any cost if they really wanted to do so.


    However, although the Huang Clan and the Yu Clan were prominent, other more powerful clans were also present at the auction.


    Apart from these two old men, many people were unwilling to give up the opportunity to acquire the heavenly essence.


    At that time, Zen gaped at the auction block.


    "What is the heavenly essence? Why is it so valuable? Why do so many people want to get it?" Zen asked.


    Nory laughed and said, "I have often considered that you were knowledgeable enough to know everything. But now, you seem somewhat ignorant as you don''t know what heavenly essence is!"


    Zen shook his head. Although he had read some books on weapon refining, he had never come across any mention of heavenly essence. The first time that he saw it was when the black fire in his head refined the weapon.


    To show off his knowledge, Nory c


    ht the crystal core of the fire scorpion lion.


    ''70, 000 cubic crystals is enough! Deducting the commission given to the Blessed Auction House and the cost of the book, Weapon Refining Principle, I can get about 40, 000 cubic crystals and more importantly, I have learned the function of the heavenly essence!''


    As Zen was thinking about that, the auction at the Blessed Auction House ended


    And the people there began to leave quickly.


    The only people still at the auction house were the ones who stayed to change their money into the goods for which they had bid.


    When Zen just stood, he saw a young man dressed in silk walking toward him with a smile. Beside the young man was the charming woman who had visited Zen in his room.


    Zen understood that the man was Fren, who was always ready to trouble him and had even tried to hire people to kill him!


    Fren gestured at Zen and then grinned wickedly.


    Without any fear, Zen pointed at Fren and sneered.


    Tit for tat!


    The people who saw this scene could only sigh silently.


    If the two men were at the same level, their hostility toward each other could be regarded as tit for tat.


    However, the man in the room was only a half-step into the nature level! What made him so arrogant? He dared to confront Fren! Was he crazy? Or did he have a powerful backer?


    Somehow, Fren was a little confused......


    This was supposed to be his first time meeting Zen.


    Even if Fren was being unreasonable, why did Zen think he could do the same? After all, Fren was more powerful than Zen! Fren couldn''t figure it out.


    At that moment, a servant dressed in the uniform of Fren''s clan came up.


    "I asked you to investigate. Did you get the result?" Fren asked.


    "My young master, the boy''s name is Zen Luo."

 Chapter 152 So Insane (Part One)

    "Zen Luo? So it is him."


    Fren was very impressed with this name.


    As per his memory, this guy knocked his brother, Chad out of the Blooded Test.


    After being eliminated from the Blooded Test, Chad begged him to get rid of Zen Luo.


    Since Fren wouldn''t deal with a weak opponent who was at the organ refining level personally, he commanded Thomas, a loyal servant, to be in charge of that.


    It was beyond Fren''s expectation that Thomas would fail. Instead, he was taught a lesson by Zen, and he complained tearfully upon his return.


    By that time, to Fren, Zen was just like a clown who was beneath his notice. He wouldn''t bother spending more time dealing with Zen. It wasn''t until Liam from Drizzle Peak came to him that Fren sent White Fiend and Black Fiend to the south to kill Zen.


    He never thought that Liam, White Fiend and Black Fiend would die in the south.


    A few days later, Zen was at the auction house and making trouble for Fren!


    Thinking of this, the smile on Fren''s face became more intense.


    He followed the aisle of the auction house and sauntered toward the wing.


    Many people in the auction house saw this scene. Suddenly they were filled with apprehension.


    Fren was notorious in the Imperial Capital.


    He was crazy, arrogant, and not afraid of anything. If he caused mischief here, the Zhang Clan would be in trouble.


    At this moment, Wurth headed toward Zen''s room with his people.


    Zhang''s servants had reported to him about the dispute between Zen and Fren. And Wurth knew that Zen had previously quarreled with Fren''s servant and offended Fren at Drizzle Peak. That was why he gathered his people and rushed over. He took the initiative to stop in front of Fren.


    "Fren!" greeted Wurth with a big smil


    lly speaking, a man of your courage would die for his actions!"


    Fren''s favorite attack method was to exert pressure on his opponent in spirit so that he could mercilessly torture his opponent. According to Fren''s research, Zen was a low-born commoner with no strong background. And Fren had already thought of a thousand different ways to kill him.


    But compared with inflicting physical injury on his opponent, Fren preferred spiritual torment. This was Fren''s usual technique.


    "Oh, really?" said Zen as his lips lifted into a sneer. "Although you like to threaten people in your mad and arrogant way, I have heard countless threats like yours in my life. Do you really think that you are creative enough? What a cliche!"


    Hearing what Zen said, the smile on Fren''s face froze.


    Zen added, "If you want my life, just come up and get it. You and your family are nothing in my eyes. Please, save your threats. By the way, the Weapon Refining Principle is in my hands now. I will surely commit every single word to memory and then burn it to ashes. If you expect to take it from me, you can try to open my head and see if you can find the contents of the book!"

 Chapter 153 So Insane (Part Two)

    Fren never thought that Zen could be so strong-willed.


    In other words, did he not have the courage of a lion? He was completely supercilious!


    The Zhuge Clan was one of the top seven noble clans of the Burning Sky Empire. The family had remained in power from the beginning of the Burning Sky Empire!


    He didn''t even blink his eyes upon hearing about the Zhuge Clan. If Fren''s family''s reputation could not cause him the slightest apprehension, then what else could?


    Fren had always boasted of his demented nature. However, his attitude was based on the powerful background of his family.


    Compared with Zen, the difference was not just a little bit.


    Zen was such a man of hubris!


    Embarrassment was what Fren felt right now.


    Deep in Fren''s heart, he desired to tear Zen to pieces!


    He could have done that.


    But if he killed someone in the Blessed Auction House, it might anger the Zhang Clan. His family could, however, bear the consequences.


    As was known to all, there was never a dead enemy between two noble clans. And if a dispute occurred between the Zhuge Clan and the Zhang Clan, the Zhuge Clan could settle this matter by giving a bit of profit to the Zhang Clan.


    He had made a mistake when he had shown respect for the Zhang Clan and promised not to hurt Zen here. ''Damn it. I shouldn''t have said that, '' Fren regretted. He was overconfident and thought that he could threaten the low-born Zen...


    It would not be appropriate to kill Zen now as he said that he wouldn''t hurt Zen here.


    The evil smile on Fren''s face disappeared. He stared at Zen with livid disbelief.


    "As an outer disciple, what makes you think you are capable of offending the Zhuge Clan? How dare you!" Vivan, who was standing behind Fren, could not stay silent anymore. She had never seen this kind o


    ite to him. He bowed to Wick.


    "You are the first one to embarrass Fren!" Wick said with a smile, "Wurth, you''ve got a great friend!"


    "Thank you, Wick. I appreciate it! If there were another way, I would not mess with Fren," said Zen as he shook his head.


    "You are welcome. I am only a few years older than you, so I am not that old. No need to bow to me," Wick said with a smile. "Zen, the item you bought has not been delivered yet. Please follow me. I will hand over the cubic crystals and the Weapon Refining Principle."


    Wick looked honest and straightforward. But he was physically strong and seemed highly intelligent. Although he admired Zen for what he did to Fren today, he did not speak much about it. Zen was Wurth''s friend. However, it was unrealistic to support Zen against Fren. He needed to keep his family''s interests in mind first.


    The Zhang Clan was running family business, not charity. It would be a significant loss if Wick also supported Zen.


    But as members of the Zhang Clan, Wurth and Wick were extraordinarily wise.


    They were very optimistic about Zen''s future. If Zen were capable of beating Fren, his future would be bright! And they would be happy to see that.

 Chapter 154 The Golden Wind Restaurant

    It was no coincidence that the Zhang Clan had been able to acquire prestige equivalent to that of the top seven noble clans in the Burning Sky Empire relying on their wealth.


    The Zhang''s were not only good at investing in business, but they also knew how to invest in talent.


    As wealthy businessmen with a civilian background, they preferred to invest in a civilian genius like Zen.


    Therefore, although they wouldn''t help Zen in his dispute with Fren Zhuge, they would support Zen secretly.


    "As a rule, our Blessed Auction House gets ten percent commission from the proceeds of an auction," Wick Zhang informed Zen. "But you are Wurth''s friend. So we''ve decided not to charge any commission from the sale of your item."


    "No, that''s not appropriate," Zen politely rejected Wick''s generosity. Ten percent of Zen''s earnings from the auction was not a small amount. However, Zen didn''t want to be indebted to others.


    "If you refuse, that implies that you don''t regard me as a friend," Wick Zhang persisted. The Zhang Clan didn''t offer Zen much support during his confrontation with Fren Zhuge a few minutes ago. So Wick Zhang decided to give Zen this favor.


    Now that Wick Zhang was insisting, Zen felt as though he had no choice but to accept and express his gratitude.


    "Schlik!" When Wick Zhang opened the door curtain of the back hall, a big heap of cubic crystals appeared in front of them. "Zen, the crystal core of the fire scorpion lion sold at a high price of 70, 000 cubic crystals. After deducting 25, 000 cubic crystals for the Weapon Refining Principle that you bought, you still have 45, 000 cubic crystals left," Wick explained.


    Nory and Sean were dumbfounded when they saw the cubic crystals shining brilliantly under the lights.


    "Z... Zen, that fire scorpion lion''s crystal core was yours?" Nory stuttered in amazement. Nory and Sean now understood why Zen had the confidence to participate in the auction of the Weapon Refining Principle. Zen turned out to be a potential millionaire!


    "Oh my god! I''ve never seen so many cubic crystals in my life," Sean also murmured. Since all three young men were of civilian origin, they didn''t have much money.


    Although they were outer disciples of Drizzle Peak at Cloud Sect, the gaps among them were tremendous. It was surprising that Zen had been able to earn so many points not long after joining Cloud Sect.


    However, Zen didn''t know what to do with so many cubic crystals. Although he had a space ring, yet its space was not much. It would be impossible to put all the cubic crystals in the space ring.


    He couldn''t carry them. Even if he asked Sean and Nory to help, they wouldn''t be able to take that many cubic crystals. That was just not realistic. Zen had never considered that carrying or storing the crystals would be a problem.


    Seeing the embarrassed expression on Zen''s face, Wurth Zhang smiled and said, "Don''t worry Zen. There is no need to take these cubic crystals with you. You can have a look first, and then we''ll deposit them in the Blessed Draft Bank for


    e emerald stairs and entered the restaurant.


    As soon as they entered, a well-dressed waiter came up to greet them warmly.


    As a resident of the Imperial Capital, Nory seemed to be acquainted with this kind of place. After he spoke with the waiter, the waiter took them to a room on the second floor.


    The ambiance of the Golden Wind Restaurant was also as exquisite as the outer facade.


    After they had been seated, Nory asked the waiter, "People say that there is no match in the world for Miss Coco''s playing and singing. Is Miss Coco free today?"


    "Umm..." Hesitation appeared on the waiter''s face.


    Miss Coco was a starring actress at the Golden Wind Restaurant. Her appearance fee was extremely high. Since the waiter had some experience, he could tell that the boys in white robes were outer disciples of Cloud Sect. Besides, they didn''t look noble nor rich.


    The waiter also knew from experience that some disciples from Cloud Sect visited the restaurant specifically to make trouble. Caught in a dilemma, the waiter could neither agree nor refuse.


    Seeing the waiter''s hesitation, Nory shrugged his shoulders and said to Zen, "It''s up to you, Zen."


    Zen was usually very frugal, but he was not stingy on every occasion.


    "Are you afraid we can''t afford the cost? Is this enough?" Zen asked the waiter. A dozen cubic crystals dropped from the space ring in Zen''s hand as he spoke.


    For an ordinary person, a single cubic crystal could support his family''s cost for decades.


    Though the Golden Wind Restaurant was expensive, the cubic crystals Zen showed were more than enough to invite the starring actress to make an appearance.


    The waiter''s eyes glittered when he saw the cubic crystals. Instantly, his hesitation was swept away. With a grin, the waiter said, "Please wait a moment. I''ll bring Miss Coco to you." Then he bowed and left the room.


    Not long after, they heard light footsteps on the stairs. A delicate fragrance filled the room even before Miss Coco appeared before the three boys.

 Chapter 155 Leave My Sight

    Four young maidservants followed the girl wearing a green dress. Each maid carried a musical instrument. One brought a Chinese dulcimer, and another had a four-stringed Chinese lute; one maid had a Chinese zither, while another held an erhu, which was a Chinese two-stringed musical instrument that was usually held in the lap and played with a bow.


    "Please call me Coco, my honorable guests," Coco uttered softly as she bowed politely in greeting.


    The soft-spoken girl in green, Coco, wore her long, ebony hair loose, and it fell on her bare alabaster shoulders. She had wide eyes that sparkled and she resembled a pure flower fairy.


    This was Zen''s first visit to this sort of place. Smiling, Nory waved his hand, gestured in Coco''s direction and requested, "May we hear Miss Coco''s lovely singing voice please?"


    Nodding in acknowledgment, Coco stepped back, repositioned a chair, and sat demurely. Then she accepted the four-stringed Chinese lute from one of the maidservants and began singing a light song.


    Her voice was like a nightingale''s voice, modestly melodious, echoing in the private box and the ears of her contented listeners.


    Several waiters served food and wine as they listened. Zen sighed in his heart. Although the Golden Wind Restaurant was pricey, the quality of service, food, and recreation offered made it worth it.


    Before Coco finished singing, a rough voice of an interrupter came from the doorway.


    "Are you kidding me? Yesterday, you wouldn''t sing for me Coco. You told me that you had a sore throat, but, here you are, singing for them?" A large man in a black robe sauntered in, followed by a few men who were also dressed in black robes. They were all inner disciples of the Cloud Sect.


    Standing next to the big man was a waiter bowing and apologizing.


    Scrunching up her brows in disgust, Coco stopped singing, and stated, "Mr. Hong, yesterday I had a sore throat. Now, I have other guests. If you want to hear me sing, you will need to wait for another day!"


    "Yes, Mr. Hong, Coco has guests already today. If you would come with me, please, we have other good singers," remarked the waiter while he bowed deeply in front of Bush Hong.


    "Fuck you!" Bush Hong shouted angrily as he kicked the waiter to the ground and demanded, "Who gives a shit about the damn guests? I am a guest too, and I demand that Coco sings for me, now!" roared Bush, while glaring at Zen and the other guests. As he noted they were all wearing white robes, he sneered, "They are only a few outer disciples." He paused briefly and said to Zen and the others, "You guys don''t mind if Coco sings for me, right?"


    No one enjoyed losing face in such a public way. Nory and Sean frowned. They didn''t want to give in, but, these were the Cloud Sect inner disciples. Regardless of which peak they were in, Nory and Sean didn''t think they c


    strength at such a drastic rate?


    In fact, even though Zen had been half a step into nature level, the development of his strength wasn''t as fast as Nory and Sean imagined.


    Zen had changed purple life energy into demonic life energy.


    Since there was a large gap between the second tiered method of Purple Light Fist and Heavenly Ogre Fist which was a tier five method, it led to Zen''s fantastic power.


    Deep inside, Nory and Sean envied Zen because they were slower in improving, compared to Zen.


    After Coco sang a few more songs, Zen and his friends were full and ready to leave.


    After paying for the wine and food, Zen gave a tip of two cubic crystals to Coco.


    However, Coco refused and said, "Sir, that''s generous of you, but, I can''t accept it."


    Zen nodded, remaining quiet. Coco might be ill-fated to work there, but Zen wasn''t her savior.


    Stepping out of the Golden Wind Restaurant, the three noticed it was time for them to be returning to the Cloud Sect.


    Nory and Sean headed towards the Sect while Zen walked away in the opposite direction.


    There was something Zen needed to do before he returned to the Cloud Sect.


    Even though all disciples were eager to attain points, Zen wanted to rescue Yan, so, he was more eager than anyone else at the Cloud Sect.


    Cubic crystals were exchanged for points at the Cloud Sect.


    It took two million cubic crystals to equal one million points.


    Having just recently learned of a new manner to earn cubic crystals, Zen was excited to try it.


    After a few inquiries, Zen arrived at the imperial capital''s largest mart.


    Along the path were a variety of shops, including the Cloud Pill Shop, the Wonder Drug Shop, and one bearing the name, Treasure Room.


    Zen wandered around the market looking at the many shops. Finally, he stopped in front of a large shop with a sign bearing the name Weapon Pavilion.

 Chapter 156 Please Pack All Weapons

    Weapon Pavilion was the largest shop in the mart.


    Zen knew that real treasures and rare weapons might not appear in such a big shop. However, his goal was not to find rare spiritual weapons.


    Zen intended to buy mysterious weapons.


    He believed that the Weapon Pavilion would stock many mysterious weapons.


    After stepping into the Weapon Pavilion, Zen saw a variety of weapons.


    There were golden axes, emerald spears, blood-red great swords, and so on.


    As Zen glanced at the weapons, he found that they were low-grade mysterious weapons.


    The business at the Weapon Pavilion seemed very good. Many people shuttled in and out, and dozens of waiters wearing yellow coats were busy greeting customers.


    After hanging out for a while, Zen wanted to speak with a waiter about the weapons, but no one approached him.


    Perhaps the reason for this strange behavior was that the waiters saw Zen wearing a white robe, which was characteristic of a Cloud Sect outer disciple. All of the workers in the mart could tell that the outer disciples had only recently joined Cloud Sect. Even if they earned some bonuses from the sect, they had to use their cubic crystals for cultivation. Thus, no waiter paid attention to Zen as they didn''t think he could afford much.


    After waiting for a long time, Zen noticed that a waiter was free. The man reluctantly walked up to Zen.


    "Sir, what weapons do you want to buy? We have various kinds of weapons. As long as you tell me what you want, I can find it for you," said the waiter fluently.


    Zen nodded and said, "I have noticed that you only have low-grade mysterious weapons on display. Could you please tell me where the top-grade mysterious weapons are placed?"


    "Top-grade mysterious weapons?" questioned the waiter as he studied Zen.


    Although the waiter assumed that Zen was perhaps not wealthy enough to afford a top-grade mysterious weapon, he still wanted to take a chance. Sometimes, children from noble clans dressed as though they were poor. The waiter did not want to miss potential business based on an assumption.


    Thus, the waiter smiled warmly and said, "Sir, our top-grade mysterious weapons are not exhibited here. If you want to buy some, I''ll take you to another room. This way please!"


    Zen nodded and followed the waiter to the depths of the Weapon Pavilion.


    The inner space of the Weapon Pavilion was huge! As Zen walked deeper, he came across many mid-grade mysterious weapons. Soon these were replaced by top-grade ones.


    "Sir, this is our collection of top-grade mysterious weapons. Each of them is of superior quality!" introduced the waiter proudly, as he led Zen into a big room.


    Zen''s eyes wandered along the counters. At a glance, he could not tell whether these weapons were remarkable or not.


    There might be a massive difference in quality between any two top-grade mysterious weapons.


    For example, the weapons that Zen grabbed from Evil Lan produced only five or six drops of heavenly essence when melted.


    However,


    ease pack them all," said Zen with a quick smile.


    "..."


    The middle-aged man stood rooted to the spot. Zen''s request was so unusual that he was rendered speechless.


    As a shopkeeper In the Weapon Pavilion for so many years, he had served all kinds of customers.


    However, this was the first time that he met a crazy boy who was spending money like water.


    "You''re not kidding, are you?" The middle-aged man asked cautiously. If he had not seen Zen''s golden token from the Blessed Draft Bank, he would have instructed someone to drive Zen out.


    The shopkeeper knew that Zen was able to buy all the weapons.


    "I am not joking. Now that I am buying so many weapons at one time, will you give me a discount?" asked Zen.


    "Discount! Of course, I''ll give you a discount!" said the shopkeeper with excitement. Now, the shopkeeper was convinced that Zen intended to buy two hundred and twenty top-grade mysterious weapons, though he didn''t know why Zen was buying so many weapons.


    "Guys, get over here!" the middle-aged shopkeeper ordered the waiters.


    Once eight waiters had gathered around, the shopkeeper said, "Wrap all these top-grade mysterious weapons for our exalted guest!"


    Hearing the shopkeeper''s order, the waiters began to take the weapons out of the showcases.


    The previous waiter who had served Zen was stunned. His eyes widened when he heard the shopkeeper''s command.


    At the moment, he was genuinely remorseful.


    He had thought Zen was a madman who had deliberately annoyed him. He didn''t expect that Zen really wanted to buy all the top-grade mysterious weapons.


    To a large extent, his salary depended on the sales of mysterious weapons.


    The commission for selling a top-grade mysterious weapon was equivalent to several months'' salary.


    If he had taken Zen seriously, he would not have to work for the rest of his life!


    But what had been the waiter''s attitude toward Zen?


    Thinking of his stupid behavior, the waiter could only silently curse himself.

 Chapter 157 Melting (Part One)

    More than two hundred mysterious weapons were aligned in order.


    The middle-aged shopkeeper carried a gold plated abacus in one hand. With the other hand, he fiddled with the beads. Aside from the rather loud clacking noise from the beads, no other sound could be heard in the room. At the end of his counting, he said, "There are 220 mysterious weapons, and each has a different cost. The total cost of your purchase is 22, 000 cubic crystals." Soon after getting the result of the calculations, the shopkeeper looked at Zen with a smile and said, "Since you have purchased such an enormous number of mysterious weapons, Weapon Pavilion will be happy to give you a discount of 10%. By rounding off the calculated amount to the nearest integer, we only need you to pay for the weapons with 20, 000 cubic crystals. May I know if you accept the price?"


    The shopkeeper had agreed to sell the mysterious weapons at a lower cost. Zen thought the 10% discount was acceptable. So he nodded in agreement.


    Shortly after that, Zen walked out of the Weapon Pavilion accompanied by the middle-aged shopkeeper. They found a Blessed Draft Bank at a corner of the trading market.


    As Zen entered the Blessed Draft Bank, the bank''s employees showed indifference to him. But as soon as Zen took his golden token out, the staff''s attitude toward him changed. The staff of the Blessed Draft Bank knew that holders of golden tokens were either wealthy or noble. Thus, they had to treat these people kindly and provide them with considerate services.


    A few moments later, an employee of the Blessed Draft Bank issued a bank note for 20, 000 cubic crystals and handed it to Zen, who then gave the note to the middle-aged shopkeeper.


    Their transaction was concluded with this exchange.


    The middle-aged man was very excited to have gotten such an enormous amount of cubic crystals from this transaction, but he tried not to


    .


    But before he reached the stage of auctioning the heavenly essence, Zen needed to melt the top-grade mysterious weapons inside his space ring.


    Immediately, Zen searched through the top-grade mysterious weapons in his space ring and chose a pair of short cyan blue swords.


    Zen laid these swords in front of him. Afterward, he interacted with the huge furnace in his mind. He hadn''t summoned the black fire for a long time. The fire flashed across his mind like a happy bird and swiftly spread to that pair of cyan blue swords.


    "Sizzling..."


    In the blink of an eye, the two cyan blue swords were replaced by seven drops of heavenly essence. Zen marveled at the drops that were now floating in the air over his head.


    As the black fire was about to engulf these drops of heavenly essence, a bottle showed up in one of Zen''s hands. The drops slid into the bottle before the black fire could touch them.


    The black fire flew around Zen''s body like a human soul as though it were protesting against Zen for plundering the heavenly essence that it should have gotten.


    At this sight, Zen flicked his space ring open with one of his fingers and took out a big golden axe.


    With the same enthusiasm as before, the black fire swept toward the weapon.

 Chapter 158 Melting (Part Two)

    Among the top-grade mysterious weapons owned by Zen, this big axe looked the best. Zen thought that more heavenly essence could be extracted from melting this weapon.


    Previously, seven drops had been obtained from melting that pair of short swords. Thus, Zen inferred that the big golden axe would produce more heavenly essence.


    However, it was beyond his expectation that only three drops of heavenly essence were obtained from the melting of the axe.


    At this moment, Zen was a little confused as to how much heavenly essence was contained in a top-grade mysterious weapon.


    He felt lucky that he owned a variety of top-grade mysterious weapons. In terms of quality, it appeared as though some were superior, while others were not.


    As per Zen''s experience, depending on the quality of a top-grade mysterious weapon, the number of heavenly drops that could be extracted varied from two to nine drops. He had never come across a weapon that yielded more or less than that range.


    As expected, five drops of heavenly essence could be obtained from a top-grade mysterious weapon on average.


    He spent the whole night melting weapons.


    Each time, Zen manipulated the black fire to melt the top-grade mysterious weapons. After about 100 weapons had been melted, Zen was the proud owner of more than 500 drops of heavenly essence.


    Since the black fire had been used unceasingly from the last late night to this morning, it seemed to have lost its energy. Earlier, it had been relatively happy, but now it appeared to be powerless and didn''t fly as forcefully as before. At last, it hovered in front of Zen.


    The black fire seemed capable of feeling fatigue too.


    Seeing the black fire in that wretched state, Zen felt a little pitiful and thus stopped melting.


    At the same time, he took two hundred drops of heavenly essence out of the bottle and tossed them at the black fire.


    Like a little dog that had smelled a bone, the black fire was suddenly filled with vitality. As soon as it engulfed the two hundred drops of heavenly essence that Zen had isolated from the bottle, it gained a little enthusiasm. Then it retreated into Zen''s mind.


    After Zen took a breath, all two hundred drops of heavenly essence were poured into the mouth of the scu


    Fist to cultivate life energy that the demonic life energy needed to consume to grow stronger.


    In spite of extremely great difficulties in practicing the Heavenly Ogre Fist, Zen had gradually become more and more skillful in his cultivation after repeated attempts.


    Now, he could not only easily and proficiently make the first move of the Heavenly Ogre Fist, namely, Ogres Shaking the World, but he also mastered the second move, which was known as the Swarm of Ogres Surging.


    Although the second move was not as mighty as the first, Zen could attack many targets simultaneously. He thought it would be beneficial if many enemies confronted him.


    Part way through his meditation, Zen heard tolling sounds from the hillside of Drizzle Peak. Since he was cultivating at an unnoticed corner of Drizzle Peak, Zen couldn''t find anyone around him to ask why they were being summoned.


    "The toll only sounds when all outer disciples are required to gather together. What on earth has happened?" Standing on a cliff, Zen stared at the hillside. He watched quietly as several disciples walked towards the plaza on the mountain peak. Curious, Zen stopped his cultivation, jumped off the cliff, and rushed toward the plaza.


    When he arrived, almost all outer disciples had gathered in the plaza.


    In the center of the plaza stood Aura. She wore a light blue dress, and beside her, stood a huge thing.


    A yellow curtain full of magic symbols and incantations hid the thing from the outer disciples.

 Chapter 159 Chop The Demon

    The facial expressions of all outer disciples reflected the curiosity they felt.


    Why did Master Su summon all the outer disciples to the plaza?


    Another 15 minutes passed before all the outer disciples who were at Drizzle Peak gathered in the plaza.


    Aura anxiously searched the faces of all outer disciples. Relief glinted in her eyes when she spotted Zen standing at the back of the crowd. Then she said slowly, "I have asked all outer disciples to assemble at the plaza because I have a task to give you."


    "What task?"


    "It must be an important assignment. Otherwise, she wouldn''t have called us to the plaza."


    "Don''t we usually claim a task voluntarily? Why does she need to do in this way?"


    Many outer disciples were confused and talked with each other.


    Aura waited patiently till the outer disciples had stopped speaking. Then she announced slowly, "Your task is to chop the demon."


    "Demon?"


    "Chop the demon?" "Really?"


    "They actually ask outer disciples to chop demons? Do they want us to die?"


    The outer disciples continued to whisper among themselves. Some of the older disciples had to share a little history with the newer disciples.


    Most warriors in the Burning Sky Empire had heard of the phrases, ''chop the demon'' and ''kill the ogre'' when they first started to learn martial arts.


    It was uncanny that after hundreds of years, the demon was still human beings'' greatest enemy, while the ogre wasn''t.


    Everyone knew that aside from humans, the continent was also home to demons and ogres.


    The three races had many conflicts with each other, which led to endless war and much killing...


    Over the ages, the humans and ogres had gradually become the weaker races while the demons had grown stronger. Finally, they had reached the stage where the demons were set on annihilating the humans and ogres.


    The humans and ogres were naturally unwilling to await their doom. It is said that an enemy''s enemy is a friend. The humans had no choice but to ally with the ogres.


    This was why the ogre Princess Qi married someone from the Burning Sky Empire.


    It was also the reason why Princess Yvonne from the Burning Sky Palace would marry some ogre far away.


    Thus, the intermarriages of the princesses had allowed the humans and ogres to ally against their common enemy, the demons.


    "Your task will be to follow the trail in the Sky Forest and find and slay demons. We are not asking our disciples to hunt down demons on the Shura Battlefield. We''re testing you, not sending you to war. Five inner disciples and five outer disciples wil


    concentric circles; each bigger than the previous circle.


    "Over the next three days, we will be testing the disciples to see who can get the closest to this demon. The disciples who can manage this task will be qualified for the trial to chop the demon!" After speaking, Aura reached out with her hand and removed the yellow cloth.


    A collective, terrified gasp could be heard from the outer disciples as they saw the demon.


    At the same time, a strong evil spirit spread from the demon. The outer disciples who had been the closest to the demon began walking backward at once. The crowd didn''t stop until they were more than 70 feet away.


    The demon looked like a human being, but it was much fatter and grotesque looking. Its body was covered in brownish-yellow skin. Two ugly eyes rolled on its head continually. Occasionally, it would focus its eyes on the outer disciples.


    "It is looking at me. It is looking at me!" An outer disciple screamed before falling to the ground unexpectedly. He kicked his legs in fear as he scampered back. The disciple was so terrified that he had involuntarily wet himself.


    Others were not that scared. However, when the demon glanced at a disciple, the normal reaction would be for the disciple to scuttle away in fright.


    Aura looked coldly at the disciples that had run away or screamed in terror. Then she shook her head and said, "This demon is unable to fight. If you want to qualify for the trial to chop the demon, you must try to get close to it!"


    As soon as Aura stopped, an outer disciple stepped forward, saluted her and said, "Master Su, I want to try!"


    The disciple was named Johnson Qiu, and he ranked 4th among the outer disciples at Drizzle Peak.

 Chapter 160 Walk With Difficulty (Part One)

    There was no doubt that Johnson Qiu was a skilled master.


    He had been a half-step into the nature level since many years ago, and would reach the nature level when he overcame the difficulty he faced in changing his life energy into life vitality.


    But he had stayed at a half-step into the nature level all these years despite his disciplined practice at Drizzle Peak as he hadn''t overcome the difficulty yet.


    Any practitioner of martial arts knew this:


    A challenge could only be surpassed through patience and diligence. Only by experiencing continuous fights could a martial artist become more powerful.


    If Johnson had chosen to continue practicing diligently at Drizzle Peak, it might take him a decade to cross into the nature level.


    So Johnson desired to grab this opportunity to push his limits with the hopes that he would make quicker progress to the nature level.


    He didn''t shrink when confronted by the demon.


    The evil spirit intruded his body and raised a terrible fear at the bottom of his heart.


    He seemed to hear a voice that asked him to run away quickly.


    However, at that moment, Johnson worked up the nerve to walk closer to the demon, in full view of the other disciples.


    Quickly, Johnson stepped over the outermost circle drawn by Aura.


    The demon''s ugly eyes focused on Johnson as he came closer.


    Although the demon was physically weak and couldn''t hurt people, its innate evil spirit had not weakened.


    "Goo Gha," the demon mumbled as its mouth opened and closed. Although the disciples couldn''t understand what the demon was saying, it seemed to be laughing at Johnson.


    Suddenly, all the blood disappeared from Johnson''s face. Not only had his face paled, an overwhelming instinct to run away coursed through Johnson''s body.


    Since he was the fourth most powerful martial artis


    e scrambled away in terror as Johnson had!


    Seeing this, a realization dawned upon the outer disciples at Drizzle Peak.


    Bravery had nothing to do with power. Just like a small mantis would be overestimating its abilities by attempting to stop a car, its courage to face such a mammoth challenge could not be denied.


    Aura recorded the name and progress of each disciple that tried to approach the demon. Based on their performance, she would then select the five disciples who got the closest to the demon. These disciples would then practice how to kill demons.


    The outer disciple who was at the marrow refining level but had reached the sixth circle, helped many people to regain their confidence. Now that they had understood that bravery, not power was needed they felt more convinced that they could confront the demon.


    One after another, hundreds of outer disciples tested their mental agility against the demon''s evil spirit. The results varied from person to person. However, the worst performance came from a disciple who had broken down immediately after stepping into the first circle, while the best performer was Henry Hao.


    Ranked first among the outer disciples, Henry had set a good example.

 Chapter 161 Walk With Difficulty (Part Two)

    Confronted with the demon, he walked steadily towards it with a three-foot cyan-blade sword in his hand. The disciples watched with bated breath as he confidently stepped into the seventh circle. To everyone''s delight, he didn''t slow down until he got into the eighth circle.


    After the demon roared at him, Henry turned back. His complexion had turned grey.


    Although the disciples could see that Henry hadn''t succeeded in overcoming the effects of the demon''s evil spirit, they took some consolation in the fact that the only indication of fear Henry showed was his grey pallor.


    All in all, Henry proved to be the bravest among them.


    As Henry left the circles drawn by Aura, he put up his arms and inhaled and exhaled to calm himself. It was only after the deep breaths did his relaxed smile return.


    Soon, Henry scanned the faces on the disciples. He stopped when he noticed Zen.


    The outer disciples noticed that Zen had caught Henry''s attention.


    During the competition against Vulture Peak, Henry should have been one of the contestants. However, at that time, Henry had been cultivating in isolation. He thus missed the chance to compete with the disciples from Vulture Peak.


    Once Henry finished his practice, he heard of the outcome of the competition. The other disciples couldn''t stop praising a particular disciple who had won the competition on behalf of Drizzle Peak.


    It was Zen.


    Zen had heard of Henry''s skills before.


    Henry, however, hadn''t paid much attention to Zen before. He had first heard about this prodigious disciple when Zen had competed with Leo during his first few days at Drizzle Peak. Zen as a newcomer then had beaten Leo who was ranked among the top 30 at Drizzle Peak. His feat had impressed many.


    Henry didn''t think too much about Zen at that time. Although Henry was aware that eac


    ell.


    Zen nodded at them, then looked at the demon in the distance, and walked toward it slowly.


    Although evil spirit from the demon was a kind of intent, this intent was different from other types of intent.


    Most times, intent could be regarded as a method to attack people. However, the purpose of the demon''s intent was to raise the fear people felt.


    It was not advisable to assume that a demon and a beast are equally powerful and equally terrible, just because the evil spirit of the demon invoked such a response from people that made it seem as though the demon was far scarier than a beast. This was a natural ability for a demon.


    Zen had tremendous power and a strong soul. Normally, the common intent could not bother him as it did to others.


    The demon didn''t intend to hurt Zen, but its evil spirit conveyed to Zen that it was extremely horrible.


    As Zen walked into the first circle, he felt the evil spirit, and involuntarily, a feeling of fear appeared in Zen''s heart.


    Fortunately, the fear wasn''t overwhelming. Zen smiled and relaxed. Then he walked into the second circle without any hesitation.


    So far, Zen had been the only person who could wear a smile in front of the demon.

 Chapter 162 Just A Fist

    "Zen is smiling?! He can laugh in the face of a terrifying demon!?"


    "It''s no big deal! He just passed through the first and second circles."


    "Do you want to take a try? Look at those people. Who dared to laugh like Zen is doing now? Not even Henry is snickering!"


    Henry''s face paled at their words.


    To confront the demon, he would force a smile if necessary. Still, it was clear that in this situation, it would be less embarrassing to smile than to cry. Deep down, he decided he had to find an appropriate time to teach Zen a lesson since Zen kept showing him up. As he schemed, Henry''s mood improved.


    The gossiping reached Zen too, who felt a bit self-conscious. To circumvent more misunderstandings, Zen changed his expression when he entered the second circle, scowling seriously.


    Once he was in the second circle, Zen became more threatened, but, he could still withstand the evil spirit.


    Zen kept moving forward, and soon enough, he had progressed through the third, fourth and fifth circles.


    After he advanced into the fifth circle, the demon''s tremendous torso shook, as it perked its ugly head up, roaring at Zen.


    An ordinary beast''s roar wouldn''t intimidate Zen.


    But, this demon was somehow more menacing.


    On hearing the roar, Zen felt his heart racing and he writhed in fear.


    "Thump! Thump!"


    Zen''s heart raced faster as the evil spirit circled him, eyeing him as though he was the only one alive, on earth or in heaven.


    Feeling fear was a natural reaction if a person was trapped by a monster.


    Apart from his heart thumping harder and faster, Zen reacted with an involuntary shiver.


    Humans instinctively avoided calamity and sought more comfortable venues instead. Sense made them shy away when faced with a risk or threat.


    Zen was human too, so, naturally, he felt the instinct as well.


    Likewise, he could be afraid and flinch. Like anyone, he was bothered by negativity, which impacted him.


    "Although the evil spirit in the demon is weird, this threat means nothing at all to me!" Encountering the demon, Zen''s eyes gleamed, reflecting his unyielding courage.


    Feeling courageous, Zen stepped toward the demon resolutely.


    "Growl! Howl!"


    Demons were similar to human beings, and intelligent enough to understand that they would be killed if caught. In spite of that, the demon still felt the need to torture weak humans spiritually.


    Before this encounter with Zen, the demon felt that its evil spirit effectively scared humans shitless.


    But this guy now seemed unaffected by its evil spirit. Given that, the demon was furious and roared very loudly.


    The fierce evil spirit rushed at Zen, surging like tides of water and tightly enveloped him.


    The evil energy gripping Zen fettered him, like invisible chains, pulling and tearing into Zen. His courage waned, hindering his progress as he headed to the circle ahead.


    As Zen stepped into the seventh circle, he had to stop and close his eyes because he felt the pressure and found it a little difficult to endure the evil spirit.


    "Zen has done very well reaching the seventh circle, but, why has he stopped?"


    "His eyes are closed. What on earth could he be thinking about at such a time? If he makes it to the eighth


    he was a mere foot from it, the demon tilted its head to the side, as it opened its big mouth baring its razor-sharp teeth and clamping down on Zen''s head.


    Screams of horror and shock filled the plaza at the horrific sight.


    As the demon was about to bite him, Zen swung a fist at the demon.


    Instantaneously, a dragon scale came alive, lighting up inside Zen''s mind.


    Seven dragon scales exerted considerable force, making Zen far more potent than any disciples at the same refining level.


    So, how impressive would the strength be with over a hundred dragon scales lighting up simultaneously?


    "Slam!"


    Before the razor-like teeth could sink into him, everyone heard the sound of Zen''s fist crashing into the demon''s head as it resonated through the place.


    When Zen punched the demon, he hadn''t yet tapped into any life vitality.


    It was solely his physical strength.


    Nevertheless, his fist was as destructive as a tsunami crashing ashore.


    In a flash, the demon disappeared.


    "Glub!"


    The demon gurgled as it transformed into vaporous blood in the blink of an eye because Zen''s mighty force extended into its body.


    Its flesh turned to ashes as it disintegrated, and bones shattered into tiny bits.


    Standing there, with mouths agape, the other outer disciples were shocked at the horrific scene.


    Since the demon had been sealed and controlled, many of them were capable of killing the demon as long as they kept some distance from it.


    Where those disciples failed was in the difficulty of overcoming their inner demons.


    While some performed exceptionally well by reaching the seventh circle and a few even managed to make it to the eighth circle, but, none of those disciples could overcome their deepest fears.


    Being more courageous than ordinary individuals, they could temporarily suppress fears, making it possible to reach circles as close to the demon as they could.


    That wasn''t the only stratagem Zen used though. He was unaffected by the evil spirit after he employed the forgetting himself tactic.


    Zen''s method made it possible for him to confront the demon and annihilate it with just his fist.

 Chapter 163 A Hidden Secret

    The inner disciples would get the leading role in the task of chopping the demons.


    For the outer disciples, this would be a simple training exercise. It was not realistic to let the outer disciples face a demon and slay it.


    But if they could cope with the fear spread by the evil spirit during this training, it would be helpful for their growth in the future.


    However, it was beyond everyone''s expectation that Zen would kill this demon.


    Many outer disciples had noticed that Zen didn''t use life energy when he punched the demon. He had just used his strength.


    A human''s physical strength alone was insufficient to make him powerful. Humans were able to exert supreme power because they could adopt life energy and life vitality and operate all kinds of magical powers.


    But Zen beat a demon with strength of the nature level only with the help of his body strength. Such an astonishing demonstration of power shocked everyone.


    At what level would his power be if Zen used his life energy?


    Several outer disciples were pondering over this question.


    Aura''s eyes also reflected her surprise at Zen''s feat. In such a short period, Zen had become more powerful than before.


    This was, in fact, true.


    By virtue of the hundred dragon scales he had lit up, Zen now had ten times more power than before.


    Even a powerful person like Randall would have met the same fate as the demon had Zen punched him using his current strength level.


    Aura was joyful at Zen''s progress. In enhancing his strength to such an advanced degree in such a short time, he had justified Aura''s belief in his potential. She could now see that her conflict with the masters of other peaks to secure Zen as a disciple for Drizzle Peak had been worthwhile.


    She wondered what the masters of other peaks would think if Zen''s power continued to rise. Would they regret it?


    Aura was secretly delighted but didn''t show any joy on her face. On the contrary, she glared at Zen and said, "I asked you to try to get close. Why did you kill it?"


    Hearing Master Su''s question, Zen smiled, "Master Su, I got too close to the demon by accident. You didn''t have any protective measures for such a situation. When the demon tried to bite me, I retaliated. I''m sorry. I didn''t mean to.."


    "I see. So you are saying that this was my fault?" Master Su frowned at Zen''s duplicitous explanation.


    Zen nodded with a smile and agreed with Master Su.


    "Since you have killed this demon, the test can''t go on," Aura grunted. She knew about Zen''s tendency not to listen to anybody. After thinking for a while, she said to the outer disciples, "If any of you want to attempt the test, please come to me. I will give you another demon. In three days, I will announce the names of the five shortlisted outer disciples. Please don''t delay."


    After speaking, Aura turned and glared at Zen before striding toward the flying chariot parked in a corner. Without another look at Zen or the other disciples, she flew away.


    After Aura had left, the remaining disciples surrounded the demon''s skeleton.


    When Zen had punched the demon, its flesh and blood had splattered everywhere. Only the skeleton remained. As


    thousand crystals?


    What Chase had explained was undoubtedly valuable. If Weapon Refining Principle was just a secret book about the elementary course to refine a weapon, it would be worth less than one cubic crystal. So it was a significant loss to Zen since he had paid more than 20 thousand cubic crystals.


    "Crash..."


    Zen flipped though Weapon Refining Principle as he thought about the question.


    It seemed that Fren wanted this Weapon Refining Principle badly. Even the disciples from Chase''s school were determined to get this secret book. There must be a big secret hidden in it!


    When Zen flipped through the pages quickly, he stumbled across something.


    Usually, all the pages in a book would be of the same thickness.


    But Zen found a page was thicker than the others when leafing through the book.


    "Could it be that two pages have been glued together?"


    Zen opened that page cautiously. As expected, there was something in this page.


    Zen carefully tore the edge and separated the two pages.


    Zen found a white filmy satin between these two pages.


    "This is the snow satin. It is made of ice silk."


    The ice silkworm was a rare worm in the north and the silk it spat was ice-cold. The silk could be used to make satin. Thus the fabric earned its name, snow satin. It was cool and well ventilated, comfortable to wear.


    When Zen was young, he had worn clothes made of snow satin. The material had greatly impressed him.


    He stretched his hand and pinched the white satin with his fingers. At this time, Zen could see that there was a painting on it.


    The painting was sloppily done. Upon peering at it, Zen could tell that it was a map.


    "Cloudy Mountain... Dragon Valley There is an Eight Diagrams beside it and the numbers, three, six, two, nine...are written separately..."


    Zen frowned as he read in a low voice.


    It seemed to be a treasure map.


    Chase was a great weapon refining master, but only a few treasures were discovered after his death. Could this be a map to the place where he hid his treasures?


    But where were Cloudy Mountain and Dragon Valley?

 Chapter 164 Yale Zhuge

    Although Zen had read many books over the years and was familiar with the famous mountains and large rivers in Burning Sky Empire, he didn''t know everything.


    These two places were strange to Zen. He''d never heard of them.


    After meditating on it for a time, Zen cautiously set the snow satin back in Weapon Refining Principle and then placed it in the space ring.


    There must be an invaluable treasure in the book, but if he wanted it, he would have to wait for a later date to find it.


    Right now, Zen needed to continue preparing for the task of chopping demons.


    Zen knocked a demon to pieces today, but since it was bounded and sealed, it had no strength to hit back.


    So, it only tested Zen''s courage.


    However, after descending the mountain, they would face real demons.


    Lately, Zen worked hard to concentrate his strength and refine his vitality.


    Several days passed, and Aura listed the five outer disciples. Zen was one of them.


    On the list, there were three outer disciples, Zen, Henry, and Gury who was the third-ranked while the other two were hardly considered as outer disciples, who were a half-step in the nature level.


    After deciding which disciples, Aura wanted them to have several days to prepare.


    A few days later, five outer disciples and five inner disciples from Drizzle Peak met at the Bluesky Parking Ground.


    That day the Bluesky Parking Ground was crowded.


    Half were inner disciples dressed in black robes, and half were outer disciples wearing white robes.


    The ones able to pass the test of getting close to a demon might not be counted as the most powerful inner or outer disciples from each peak, but, it was sure they were the bravest who could control and even defeat their fear.


    In the middle of the Bluesky Parking Ground, a master was declaring the rules, giving the dos and don''ts for abolishing demons.


    Neither the outer nor the inner disciples could go to the Shura Battlefield to face the big demons on their own. With their current strengths, if they did, the disciples would be swallowed.


    On the other side of Shura Battlefield, there was a forest that bordered the empire called Sky Forest.


    The demon often sent demon scouts into the empire to scrutinize enemy status. Three hundred and thirty disciples total, from the thirty-three peaks of the Cloud Sect, were gathered to enter the Sky Forest and destroy the demon scouts.


    As the master finished, a giant flying chariot slowly landed.


    "Alright, everyone, this is it," said the master as he stepped to one side.


    Disciples began filing into the giant flying chariot one after another.


    Every action was prearranged, incl


    ody. He stretched his hand out and pointed at Zen, demanding, "How dare you, insult my brother? Are you courting death?"


    "Am I courting death? Haha, if I''m not courting death, will your family leave me alone? Will your brother stop harassing me? Since I''m courting death anyway, what does it matter if I curse him?" Zen replied coldly.


    "Um...." trailed Yale, as his face turned scarlet that he apparently, wanted to fight on the giant flying chariot.


    Zen calmly moved two steps, and his look of indifference changed to a sneer, and he stated, "If you want a fight, I''ll accommodate you!"


    Just then, two other inner disciples walked up to Yale and put their hands on his shoulders while one said, "Fighting isn''t permitted in here. If you destroy the flying chariot, you''ll have big trouble. Kill him any way you like, as long as it''s after we reach Sky Forest!"


    With the two disciples stepping in, Yale snorted at Zen, calm enough now before heading back to his seat.


    Zen influenced the demonic life energy in his body, forcing it back down into his lower torso.


    It would be an absolute lie to say he didn''t feel the pressure when facing Yale, a powerful nature creature.


    Although it appeared Zen feared nothing, in fact, he was in the state of vigilance. As long as Yale had the intention of killing him, Zen would be ready to immediately strike back, even while they were in the giant flying chariot.


    Zen had lit more than 100 dragon scales now and grasped the methods of the Heavenly Ogre Fist. His strength was at the peak, and so, now, he wanted to know what his limits were.


    After retaking his seat, Zen closed his eyes and enjoyed the last hour of leisure flying.


    He knew as soon as they reached the Sky Forest, a bloody battle would begin.

 Chapter 165 Encounter With A Demon (Part One)

    Sky Forest was named for its spruces.


    Soaring spruce trees could be seen everywhere. The trees were hundreds of yards tall, straight as spears, and thrust into the sky.


    Standing at the entrance of the forest, the disciples couldn''t help feeling as though there was something dark and dismal about the vastness of the dense trees.


    Once all the disciples had gotten off the huge flying chariot, they were distributed into small groups before being allowed to head into Sky Forest. Every group contained ten disciples ¡ª five inner disciples and five outer disciples.


    Zen was surrounded by the five inner disciples from Drizzle Peak as soon as he jumped out of the chariot.


    "I don''t give a shit what happened between you and Yale," a black-robed disciple said as he stepped forward, his voice haughty and supercilious. "You do as I say if you want to survive the forest. If you''re going to behave as you did in the flying chariot, you will find yourself in the belly of the demon. Remember that, boy!"


    "Don''t get cocky when you don''t have the right to be. You know what they say, ''the nail that sticks out must be pounded down''. You are just an outer disciple, and only a half-step into the nature level. You still need our protection during the trial. Why do you have to pick a fight with Yale and drag us into it? To be clear, we will not get involved if Yale comes after you later," another black-robed disciple added.


    "I heard that you made quite a reputation for yourself among the outer disciples. But let me make it plain, outer disciples are at the very bottom of the pile. What you achieved was nothing compared to what inner disciples can do. Now learn your lesson and look before you leap," A third black-robed discipl


    ure creatures ahead.


    So Zen was more sensitive than others. His senses were heightened to sense even the slightest noises like the wind stirring the grass. No sound could elude him!


    As the Drizzle Peak disciples pressed further and further into the forest, they separated from the other Cloud Sect disciples.


    Watchfully, they followed the trail in the forest for about twenty miles.


    Then, there was a sharp crack. An inner disciple who had been sent to scout ahead had stepped on a dry branch.


    "What happened?" Henry was the first to call out. He had never been in a situation like this and found that his nerves were strained all the time.


    "Relax, Henry. It''s no big deal. I just stepped on a branch." The disciple turned and gave Henry a mocking smile.


    "Watch out!" Just as the inner disciple turned to speak to Henry, a huge snake emerged from behind a thick spruce trunk.


    The snake''s trunk-like body had a grey-green color that matched the spruce''s bark. This camouflage had allowed it to hide in plain sight.


    The snake lunged at the inner disciple, Its jaws opened wide as if it were going to swallow its prey whole.

 Chapter 166 Encounter With A Demon (Part Two)

    At that point, a jet of silver light skimmed over the snake''s head, and a second later, the snake was cut in half.


    "We haven''t found demons yet. But there are other creatures in the forest as well. Be careful, Qiu." The inner disciple who had killed the snake said flatly, a shiny sword in his hand.


    The inner disciple, Qiu saw what his peer had done. Qiu hurriedly cupped one hand in the other to salute him. "Thanks for saving my life, Cleve!"


    Zen who had been trailing behind them saw how Cleve Lin had killed the snake. His brow arched. Even though Drizzle Peak ranked bottom among the other peaks, it didn''t lack talented body refiners. Cleve Lin had shown exceptional power in this kill. The snake was only a fourth-rank beast, but Cleve''s reaction wasn''t much slower than Zen''s.


    Zen had his hand on his space ring at that moment. If Cleve had not killed the snake, Zen would have finished it with his flying knife.


    Cleve nodded, took back his sword, and then led the team forward.


    Cleve Lin was the leader of the Drizzle Peak disciples.


    They did kill many beasts along the way, but they hadn''t met any demons either. The five inner disciples complemented each other pretty well and killed some fierce beasts. Once the beasts were dead, they cut their bodies open and took the crystal cores.


    Henry, Gury, Zen, and the other two disciples had been reduced to the role of bystanders.


    It wasn''t until noon that they stopped at the edge of a valley after a long stuttering journey.


    "You and you, go find some firewood and make a fire," Qiu said cur


    They gathered around the campfire and ate their meal.


    "Cleve, have you really killed a demon before?" Qiu asked as they ate.


    "Yes. It was four years ago," Cleve replied with a smug smile as he ripped off a chunk of meat from a roe deer. "At that time, I was still an outer disciple of Drizzle Peak, and the Shura Battlefield was about to close. I entered the trial to slay demons. We cornered a demon soldier, and I made the lethal strike."


    Killing a demon soldier as an outer disciple was something Cleve should be proud of. Nevertheless, he continued with a little modesty. "Still, it was pure luck. I was not as strong as I am now. If I meet a demon soldier now, I can kill it in three strikes."


    Just as Cleve was prattling on about his history with demons, an inner disciple who had been busy devouring his meat, suddenly interrupted in a sharp, rasping voice, "Is that so? I''d like to see if I can survive three strikes from you. Show me your sword!"


    All of a sudden, a terrifying evil spirit emanated from the inner disciple.

 Chapter 167 Demon General (Part One)

    At this moment, all the disciples were stunned, astonishment reflected in their expressions.


    Once the evil spirit engulfed them, the disciples drew away from the inner disciple that had spoken.


    "Shiiiiing!"


    Cleve unsheathed his sword, pointed it at that inner disciple and yelled, "I believe that you are not Gavin. Who the hell are you?"


    "Kekekeke..."


    A weird chortle was heard from the inner disciple named Gavin Xu. Soon after the chortling finished, several sharp thorns stretched out of his body. Everyone present was shocked to see that not a drop of blood was shed even though the sharp thorns had pierced his skin.


    "I have lurked in Sky Forest for quite a long period. In all this time, I have not noticed any traces of human beings. Now, I have finally encountered some human beings. I must say, the taste of human flesh is as delicious as I expected!" After making this horrifying statement, the inner disciple shot out a rather long, strange tongue and began to lick his lips. Afterward, his head crumbled into pieces and the flesh, brain matter, and bone bits were exposed.


    It was at this moment that the others present realized that the inner disciple was a demon disguised as Gavin Xu.


    "When did you swallow Gavin and hide yourself inside his body?" questioned Cleve. He pushed his gleaming sword closer to the demon as he spoke.


    As the demon grinned, it exposed rows of sharp teeth. With a smug smile, it answered, "You are nothing more than a lowly human being. Do you think it is necessary for me to answer your questions?" The demon let out an ear-piercing shriek as soon as it finished speaking. All of a sudden, dozens of demons darted out from one side of the valley. Not only were these demons extremely hideous, but they also emanated such strong evil spirit that the disciples trembled involuntarily.


    "Kill them!" yelled Cleve resolutely. He knew that they could not flinch in front of these demons. No wonder Cleve was an inner disciple! He maintained calm, issued an order, and boosted the morale of other disciples all at the same time in a critical situation.


    The disciples of Drizzle Peak were out of luck to have met so many fierce demons simultaneously.


    It was common knowledge that demons often snuck into Sky Forest to scout their enemies''


    ry and Gury were scared out of their wits. Their bodies trembled as they stood rooted to their spots.


    Zen shook his head at this scene. He could not do much from this distance. He stamped his foot in frustration before dashing forward. When he was about 30 feet away, he tossed the broken flying knife.


    "Puff, poop!"


    The broken flying knife sliced the heads off both the demon soldiers.


    As Zen walked over to Henry and Gury, he asked, "The two of you act like cowards. Are you certain that you wanted to come to Sky Forest to kill demons?"


    Henry was grateful and surprised when he realized that Zen had saved his life. But when they were spoken to by Zen in such a belittling manner, both Henry and Gury felt a little ashamed.


    The lack of action by Henry and Gury was not because they didn''t dare to resist. They stood still in a daze, only because when they wanted to step forward to fight the demons, they couldn''t move. It was as though their feet had been glued to the ground. The two hadn''t felt fear like this before.


    "I would never have thought that the top outer disciple of Drizzle Peak would be a good-for-nothing!" Zen sneered.


    Upon hearing Zen''s sneer, a red tinge crept on Henry''s neck and extended to his face. Henry''s life had been very smooth. He had not faced any challenging hardships. Ever since he was little, everyone treated him with awe and admiration as he had been a genius. But now, Zen was cursing him.


    Being humiliated by someone inferior was a fate far worse than death to Henry.

 Chapter 168 Demon General (Part Two)

    "You don''t believe me? When faced by demon soldiers, you have not dared to move. Tell me. Aren''t you a good-for-nothing?" Zen sneered as he questioned Henry again.


    Henry couldn''t bear it anymore and yelled loudly, "I am not a good-for-nothing!"


    Zen nodded and responded, "Since you say that you are not a good-for-nothing, prove it to me. Those demon soldiers are as mighty as people who have reached the nature level. They are even a little weaker than you. Fight and kill them. Even if you die in the battle, it would be better than submitting yourself to the demons without a fight."


    In essence, human beings had infinite potential. Provoked by Zen, Henry bellowed and unsheathed his three-foot-long cyan-blade sword. His eyes turned red as he rushed toward the demon soldiers.


    Now that Henry was on the verge of becoming an inner disciple, he stood out in terms of gift, talent, speed, and strength. In addition, he outperformed ordinary inner disciples. After Zen provoked him, Henry exhibited, harnessed, and exerted deadly strength.


    Zen was stunned to see Henry stir up gusts of wind and thunder with his cyan-blade sword. He wielded his sword with the aggression of an angered God. At last, he sliced a demon to pieces.


    After killing that demon, Henry stared at its remains. Henry''s chest heaved, and his eyes widened. He couldn''t believe that he had executed a demon.


    Only after Henry had killed the demon was he relieved from his debilitating fear. Henry stood in a daze and grunted, "I''ve got it! I am no longer wreathed and badgered by the evil spirit. I have figured out why."


    As he exclaimed, he switched his gaze to Zen.


    By this time, Zen had been rushing toward another demon soldier. He spared Henry an apathetic glance before readying his broken flying knife for his next kill.


    Zen had killed four demon soldiers.


    Henry saw the power and ease with which Zen was killing the demons. He sighed at Zen''s abilities and his speed. His envy for Zen had changed into admiration by now. Another sigh escaped Henry when he secretly acknowledged that he lagged behind Zen in terms of strengths. He knew that Zen should be ranked as the topmost outer disciple at Drizzle Peak instead of himself.


    The fight was so fierce that Henry didn''t have much time to get lost in his thoughts. Immed


    .


    Cleve stared at his sword in dismay as it swayed to and fro. It had been dragged out of his hand by the demon general with such force that it had landed far from Cleve''s reach. Before Cleve could think of a way to defend himself, the demon general extended another claw and aimed for Cleve''s chest.


    If he was unable to dodge in time, the claw would slice Cleve''s belly open.


    A malicious grin spread across the demon general''s face as it prepared to kill Cleve. However, before its claw could slash Cleve''s chest, the demon general roared in surprise and stepped back. He withdrew his claw like a streak of lightning. In the next moment, a broken flying knife sliced through the air between Cleve and the demon general.


    The demon general''s claw would have been chopped off by the broken flying knife had it not been withdrawn in time.


    Cleve was stunned by his narrow escape. This demon general was not scared by his low-grade spiritual weapon, but why was it fearful of that broken flying knife? Cleve couldn''t help but ponder upon this mystery. When Cleve turned to see where the knife had come from, he noticed that Zen was standing nearby. His arm was still extended as though he had just thrown the knife. Regret flashed in Zen''s eyes.


    "How cautious and agile it is. My flying knife even didn''t hit him," sighed Zen as he straightened himself.


    The demon general glared at Zen with its ugly and evil eyes. Fear was reflected in the demon general''s eyes as it yelled in a shrill and horrible voice, "You...you are different."

 Chapter 169 Blood Splattering

    Almost all inner disciples, including Cleve, thought that the outer disciples could not kill demons and that they had been selected for their courage.


    In their opinion, the outer disciples were a burden to them.


    Nevertheless, according to the rules of Cloud Sect, an action team tasked with killing demons must consist of five inner disciples and five outer disciples.


    Before they set out from Drizzle Peak, Cleve and the other inner disciples had discussed how to treat the outer disciples during the mission.


    Cleve had never imagined that an outer disciple would save him during the task.


    He had no idea why the demon general was afraid of Zen''s broken flying knife instead of his Light Splitting Sword.


    "Since I''m special will you let me go?" Zen asked the demon general as he reclaimed his broken flying knife.


    "Of course, not. The meat of special people is more delicious," replied the demon general before sticking his tongue out of his fanged mouth and licking his lips. "Ha ha ha!" the demon general laughed contentedly as if he had tasted Zen''s flesh.


    Then the demon general ignored Cleve and rushed toward Zen.


    Seeing this, Cleve emitted a bright silver life vitality from his hand and directed it to his Light Splitting Sword. As if ordered, the sword flew toward the demon general. Cleve knew that they had to work together to kill the demon general. Otherwise, they would all die.


    However, the demon general was not flustered by Cleve''s attack. He dodged the path of the sword with ease. Then several bone spikes emerged from his back and deflected the sword.


    A demon general was much stronger than an ordinary demon. Cleve and his teammates were faced with a life and death challenge during this fight.


    Zen carefully observed each movement of the demon general.


    He knew that if he missed even the slightest detail, it would mean his death.


    The moment the demon general rushed toward Zen, Zen directed his flying knife toward the general.


    Unfortunately, the demon general was much faster than Zen had estimated. Zen saw he avoided the circling orbit of the flying knife at an extremely high speed.


    The flying knife didn''t meet its target.


    Zen gritted his teeth and decided to give the demon general a knockout blow. He awakened the cyan dragon in his mind, which now had more than a hundred glittering scales.


    As he rushed toward the demon general, a tremendous force surged from Zen''s body and focused on his fist. Zen''s body had already been refined into a spiritual weapon, so he could bear immense power. Had such power been carried by any other humans, they would be destroyed by their strength before they could release it.


    "Bomp!"


    A booming sound echoed through the forest when the two fists collided.


    The force with which Zen clashed with the demon general turned all stones around them into dust.


    Zen''s eyes widened as he felt himself being pushed back dozens of feet. He dug his heels into the ground to slow himself, but the reaction force was so tremendous that a heap of soil piled up behind Zen.


    Ever since Zen''s body had become a spiritual weapon, there had been no refining effect on his body when he clashed with ordinary people. However, the demon general''s punch awoke the warm currents. Zen closed his eyes as the currents


    l, everyone was surprised as he had survived. Seeing that he hadn''t been injured gave the disciples a glimmer of hope.


    But their hope was dashed soon.


    At that moment, a sly smile danced on Zen''s face.


    Although demons were stronger than humans, they were not smarter than humans. The demon general was surprised to see Zen''s smile. However, he dismissed the anomaly by telling himself that Zen was completely under his control. So he focused on tearing Zen''s body.


    "Swish!"


    The broken flying knife flew toward the demon general all of a sudden. Of course, it was Zen''s knife.


    Zen had hurled his broken flying knife just before the demon general''s bone spike stabbed him. Now, he gestured with his fingers and directed the knife to return to him.


    "Ah!" exclaimed the demon general as he saw the broken flying knife.


    The demon general reacted quickly. He shook his body to ward off the broken flying knife with his bone spikes.


    With the demon general sufficiently distracted, Zen now had the time to release his second attack. He closed his eyes and focused. A soft yellow light appeared between his eyebrows. The light shaped into a long thorn and flew toward the demon general''s head.


    "Ow..."


    Stabbed by Zen''s Spiritual Thorn, the demon general bellowed painfully. Distracted by the pain, he had no time to notice the broken flying knife.


    The flying knife hit the demon general in the chest.


    At the same time, Zen placed his feet on the demon general''s body and pressed the bone spike down with his full strength. More than a hundred dragon scales lit up at once. Zen quickly channeled the infinite power to his hand.


    "Kirik!"


    The force used by Zen snapped the demon general''s bone spike.


    Before the demon general could recover from the pain, Zen pulled out the bone spike from his shoulder and thrust it into the demon general''s head.


    "Ow...ow..."


    The unbearable pain forced the demon general to his knees. In the next instant, he clutched his head and thrashed on the ground.


    With the flying knife in his hand, Zen stood on the demon general''s body and began chopping him into pieces.


    In a while, the demon general''s blood splattered all over.

 Chapter 170 Pear Needle Rainstorm

    Zen''s flying knife was so sharp that hardly anything could withstand the blade.


    Each slash cut the demon''s wound deeper.


    Zen wielded his knife like an insane butcher, slashing at the demon general wildly.


    It was well known that demons were hard to slay, and even if a demon was seriously hurt, his health could be restored in a short period.


    "Die! Die! Die!"


    "To hell with you!"


    yelled Zen. Now that he had the advantage, he wouldn''t give the demon general a chance to heal.


    When the demon''s head, arms, and torso were all hacked off, and lay in bloody hunks, Zen stopped and gasped air into his lungs.


    Zen glanced down at the remains of the demon general, ensuring that he was dead.


    Seeing the horrific fate of their general, the ordinary demon soldiers fled, scattering.


    The demon general''s blood was splattered all on Zen, giving him a strong aura of death.


    The disciples of Drizzle Peak gawked at Zen, a slightly fearful look flashing in their eyes.


    Their fear didn''t come from a little bit of the demon general''s evil spirit that remained in Zen''s body. No, the frightful manner Zen killed the demon general had terrified them. Right now, they saw Zen as the god of death!


    Although Zen was only half a step into the nature level, the killing intent exuding from him scared the nature creatures!


    As Cleve re-sheathed his sword, he approached Zen. After checking Zen''s shoulder wound, he pulled out a small bottle from his waist. He got a pill and handed it to Zen before saying, "Here you go, this is a Flesh Restoring Pill from the Herb Pavilion."


    Taking the pill without hesitation, Zen popped it in his mouth.


    The Flesh Restoring Pill might not compare to the Red Cloud Pill Master Su gave him, but, a Flesh Restoring Pill was expensive for any inner disciple.


    When they first exited the giant flying chariot, Cleve and the other inner disciples spoke ill of Zen, and yet, even after that, Zen saved them.


    To make up for his earlier behavior, Cleve happily gave Zen a Flesh Restoring Pill.


    Qiu and the other inner disciples went over to the demon soldier corpses and pulled the gray bead from each carcass.


    "Demon cores!"


    said Zen. He narrowed his eyes wh


    stant.


    Since each needle was highly toxic, if any jabbed Cleve, he would be dead soon after.


    A blur of a figure appeared in front of Cleve.


    It was Zen.


    Zen blocked the way between the needles and Cleve, completely, and let the dense needles pierce him.


    Within seconds, Zen''s body was covered by a large number of needles, which looked scary.


    Seeing Zen, Cleve stammered, "Zen, Are, are you all right?"


    Zen reached up swiping the needles off his body and with a smile, he calmly said, "Yes, I am fine! They are just like embroidery needles and unable to hurt me."


    Cleve and the others couldn''t say anything to Zen''s statement.


    Pear Needle Rainstorm was one of the most famous secret weapons of the Zhu Clan. Because the quantity and speed of the large needle no one could flee from it, usually.


    The needles were extremely thin and able to pierce a nature creature''s life vitality easily, penetrating the skin to release the poison at its tip. They were tough to defend against.


    Yet, Zen seemed impervious to the toxic needles.


    As Cleve, Henry, and the others saw Zen''s calm look, only one word appeared in their hearts, monster!


    Indeed, Zen resisted demons with his physical strength and was immune to toxic Pear Needle Rainstorm. What a miracle! It was like he was a deathless monster!


    After Zen removed the embedded needles, he led the team to the bonfire.


    Before Zen got to the bonfire, a voice called out in warning, "Stop!"

 Chapter 171 The Demon-revealing Needle (Part One)

    With the help of the light from the bonfire, Zen was able to study his surroundings. He saw about ten female disciples standing on a wide branch of a spruce tree.


    The female disciple in the front gripped a long sword horizontally and looked nervous. She shouted at Zen, "Don''t move forward. Which peak are you from?"


    Zen raised his head and answered, "We are disciples from Drizzle Peak!"


    Of the thirty-three peaks at Cloud Sect, only Lady Peak housed female disciples. Since only female disciples were standing on the branch, it could be assumed that they were from Lady Peak.


    After Yan came to Lady Peak, the strength of the entire peak was enhanced. Although Yan was imprisoned now, the peak retained its average strength.


    It was undoubtedly more powerful than Drizzle Peak, which was ranked at the bottom.


    Since Lady Peak was the only peak among the thirty-three peaks at Cloud Sect to accommodate female refiners, it was the most popular peak among the male disciples. It was also the best place for male disciples to find companions.


    The female disciple standing on the tree was named Nina. She was from the Zhu Clan, which was famous for their powerful weapon needles. Given her strength and cultivation level, she was an inner disciple at Lady Peak. Her strength and rank ensured that she was selected to lead her group during this trial to chop the demon.


    "The Drizzle Peak? Stand there!" Nina Zhu warned again. Then she aimed a small jade box at Zen and the others from Drizzle Peak.


    Although Nina Zhu was surprised that the Pear Needle Rainstorm was not effective on Zen, as the descendant of the Zhu Clan, she had more powerful weapons at her disposal. Thus she felt secure that she could conf


    person. Despite a demon''s ability to camouflage himself as his victim, he will spread a little evil spirit. When this Demon-revealing Needle touches an evil spirit, it will change from green to red."


    Zen nodded. As expected, each of the seven noble clans had a unique strength. Zhu Clan was an expert in hidden weapons and all kinds of techniques to make such neat stuff.


    "Sisters, you can come down. There is no demon among them," Nina turned to her group and announced.


    Hearing that, the female disciples from Lady Peak hidden on the tree jumped down and settled around the bonfire.


    Shortly after, the disciples from Drizzle Peak also sat on the ground around the bonfire. Zen asked, "You are so cautious. Have you also been attacked by demons before?"


    As soon as Zen asked this question, the expression on all female disciples of Lady Peak saddened. Seeing this, Zen felt as though no words were needed to answer his question.


    Nina nodded with tears in her eyes, "We thought it was not dangerous to take the trial to chop the demons this year as some senior brother disciples had vowed to protect us. Who would know that..."

 Chapter 172 The Demon-revealing Needle (Part Two)

    Cloud Sect arranged for this task of slaying demons on an annual basis.


    Humans and demons had fought with each other for generations. Since demons hadn''t stepped into the Burning Sky Empire for many years because of the protection of the Burning Sky Palace and Cloud Sect, most disciples were not aware of the danger posed by demons.


    To train the disciples, it was necessary to teach them to bring their strength into play without being suppressed by the demon''s evil spirit during a fight.


    Since such experience necessitated confronting a real demon, Cloud Sect allowed for the disciples to hunt demons in the Sky Forest. As with any fight, there was always a life and death situation. It truly sounded terrifying.


    But in fact, during the trial to chop the demon every year, it was rare for some disciples to die as only ordinary demon soldiers would be in Sky Forest to explore the way.


    A demon soldier was not powerful. At least, all the inner disciples who could pass the test and enter Sky Forest were able to fight against them.


    And the disciples of Lady Peak volunteered for the task this time as they had allied with the inner disciples from Blackrock Peak.


    The disciples of Blackrock Peak were willing to protect the female disciples of Lady Peak.


    Blackrock Peak was ranked second among the thirty-three peaks at Cloud Sect. Even if those who took the trial to chop the demon were not the most powerful at Blackrock Peak, their strength was sufficient for the task. Some of them were not highly ranked at Cloud Sect yet, but they were famous at Cloud Sect for their strength.


    But when they explored Sky Forest, a demon general mixed himself inside the group.


    "A demon general disguised himself and followed your group?" Ze


    d branches of the foliage.


    Nina and other female disciples were exhausted after what had happened to them earlier that day. They leaned against each other and fell asleep.


    The disciples of Drizzle Peak took turns guarding the camp and taking some rest.


    The night seemed to drag on longer than usual. Not only was the disciple on guard filled with anxiety, but the ones who were sleeping couldn''t rest well, either. Their nightmares would wake them.


    During their torment, the darkness of the night only served to make the disciples more despondent. However, the night went by without any further incidents.


    Zen didn''t sleep the whole night. His soul had entered a realm that common people couldn''t match. Even if he didn''t rest for several days and nights, he would be in high spirits.


    He sat with his legs crossed and practiced the second move of the Heavenly Ogre Fist, which was called Swarm of Ogres Surging.


    When the sun rose the next morning, he was still sitting with his legs crossed. Zen opened his eyes as demonic life energy spread slowly. After meditating the whole night, Zen thought he had mastered more about Heavenly Ogre Fist.

 Chapter 173 Battle In The Sky Forest (Part One)

    As the sun crossed the horizon, the disciples prepared for another day of demon hunting.


    The relief the disciples felt at having had an uneventful night was overshadowed by their fear and doubt. For a long time, only demon soldiers were seen in Sky Forest, which was the reason why the Sky Forest had become hunting ground for the disciples of Cloud Sect. The inner disciples could easily kill low-level demon soldiers, as these soldiers were simple-minded and not very strong.


    But a demon general was more powerful than a demon soldier. And if demon generals were in Sky Forest, then all the disciples of Cloud Sect would become their prey.


    Yesterday, Zen''s team was not the only team to encounter a demon general. Disciples of Lady Peak had also come across one. Such a coincidence was rare and indicated that the number of demon generals in Sky Forest was far more than estimated.


    It was common knowledge that it was relatively challenging for a demon general to sneak into and remain undetected in Sky Forest. The absence of the danger posed by demon generals in Sky Forest was one of the reasons why Cloud Sect selected the forest as the training place for its disciples.


    But this year, the number of demon generals in the forest was beyond anyone''s expectation. What drove them to the forest in such large numbers?


    Although each of the disciples from Lady Peak and Drizzle Peak pondered over this anomaly, none could come up with a feasible answer. After all, White Emperor City formed a solid line of defense against the demons in the Shura Battlefield. How could these demon generals break through the defense line and sneak into Sky Forest?


    Was something wrong in White Emperor City?


    Needless to say, the disciples had many questions and doubts in their hearts and could not get answers or solutions. Thus, their concerns added to the anxiety they were already feeling.


    They could not sleep well at ni


    present this year. What was more surprising was that he was confronting a demon general by himself. That already showed the advantages of Skytop Peak over the other peaks.


    Even with superior strength, the disciples of Skytop Peak were not fairing too well against the demons, as they were fighting two demon generals and dozens of demon soldiers.


    Besides Lenard who was fighting one demon general, another three inner disciples were withstanding the attacks from a second demon general. Even though the three refiners were together, they could not match their rival and were struggling to keep the balance. If the demon general killed any one of them, the balance of victory and defeat would tilt. The situation was very dangerous for these disciples.


    "Let''s go and help them!" After saying these words, Cleve rushed into the battlefield and aimed his sword at one demon soldier. He summoned his life vitality, which enveloped the blade of his sword, thus making it glitter in the morning light.


    The other disciples of Lady Peak and Drizzle Peak also ran toward the fight against the demon soldiers.


    In previous trials, disciples would not intervene in a battle between disciples and demon soldiers as the situation was not dangerous enough to warrant interference.

 Chapter 174 Battle In The Sky Forest (Part Two)

    But this time, the situation was different. They had come across a few demon generals and faced substantial loss. They were uncertain about the fate of the disciples from Blackrock Peak. Even though they knew that the likelihood of the disciples from Blackrock Peak surviving the counter was slim, none of the disciples from Lady Peak and Drizzle Peak were willing to believe it. Under such circumstances, they needed to cooperate.


    The circumstances did not improve after the disciples of Drizzle Peak and Lady Peak joined the battle, as these disciples were not involved in the fights with the demon generals.


    Since demon generals were exceptionally strong, a disciple''s chances of winning rested on his concentration. An accidental interruption might break the current balance between Lenard and his opponent, the three disciples and their opponent. In such a case, the generals would be able to kill the disciples easily.


    With such concerns in mind, the disciples decided to help in the battle against the demon soldiers. Only one disciple rushed toward the demon general. That was Zen.


    His target was the demon general who was pinned down by the three disciples of Skytop Peak. As per his estimate, these three disciples were the inner disciples at the fourth-grade of the nature level.


    From what he could see, their strategy had been to form a triangular barrier and build an exceptionally effective offensive. Within this barrier, through their close cooperation, they were able to fend off the demon general''s attacks. Judging from their current actions and movements, these disciples seemed to be under the same mentor.


    No matter how powerful the demon general''s attack, the three could find an appropriate angle to ward off its blows.


    In theory, if the three could cooperate closely together, they could be three times stronger than if they worked separately. And with such power, they could match the demon general''s strength.


    However,


    g his desperate run toward the demon general, she felt confused as to his intentions. She did not believe that Zen, who was a half-step into the nature level, could kill a demon general. But at this moment, Zen dared to sprint toward a demon general. She couldn''t help but be in awe of his courage!


    This young man was very promising. She hoped that he would survive.


    As Nina prayed for Zen''s well-being, the demon general, who had been focusing all his attention on the three disciples, turned in Zen''s direction. A mocking expression grew on his face when he realized what was about to happen.


    The human heading his way was not even a nature creature! How could this human boy think he could charge at him like this? Did he want to die?


    At this moment, the demon general and the disciples all thought that Zen was looking for death.


    But when Zen''s small body finally hit the huge and hard body of the demon general, the unexpected result astonished everyone.


    "Bump!"


    A dull sound followed the collision.


    The demon general, who was as tall as three mature humans, flew back with the force of the impact. His body crashed through dozens of spruce trees before stopping.


    However, Zen seemed unhurt. He stood up and patted the dust from his body as if nothing had happened...

 Chapter 175 Fighting Demons

    Demons expressed emotions differently from humans.


    But, now, the other demon general fighting Lenard slowed down. His ugly eyes glared at Zen.


    It was shocking to see the demon''s astonishment in his eyes.


    It gave Lenard a chance to attack.


    But, Lenard unexpectedly missed his chance while swinging the black and white swords. He looked over at Zen with an astonished expression in his eyes.


    If he hadn''t seen it himself, he would never have believed someone a half-step into nature level could knock a demon general out with his physical strength.


    Lenard was anxious. Wielding the black and white swords and with his secret martial arts, he was confident he could win against one demon general, but, he knew the strength of the three disciples from the Skytop Peak. The battle array from those three couldn''t resist for long. As soon as the three failed, given his strength, he wouldn''t be able to hold off two demon generals.


    However, Lenard hadn''t thought a warrior a half-step into the nature level would show up there. He saw the guy was dressed in a white robe, being an outer disciple unexpectedly.


    The one in a white robe knocked the demon general violently miles away.


    The abrupt movement surprised Lenard while giving him hope. He waved the black and white swords forcefully, aiming them at the demon general.


    In the heat of the battle, Nina covered her small mouth and stared blankly at Zen.


    Now, Zen''s momentum was much more powerful than what she''d seen before. He had abnormal confidence, an arrogance in his dignified manner. It appeared as though nobody in the world would make it except him.


    Her heart raced, although she didn''t know why his energy made her heart thump faster. After all, she hadn''t known Zen long, having just met yesterday.


    At the moment, only the disciples from Drizzle Peak were calm because they''d seen Zen''s physical strength and weird attack method before.


    "Ouch!"


    screeched the demon general, howling in pain as Zen hit him, and sending him flying back miles. After slamming into the ground, he scrambled to get up again.


    When he howled, the crazy evil spirit spread immediately. There was endless anger hidden in the evil spirit. Anybody could see that the demon general was indeed in a rage.


    The demon general sensed Zen was unique too, but, at the moment, the furious demon general just wanted to tear Zen to pieces.


    After the last fight, Zen knew a demon general''s strengths and weaknesses.


    Compared to humans, demon soldiers used the single attack method, mainly with pure strength and physical collision. The demon general was the same way, but the demon general could exert bone spikes from his body to strike. The bone spikes'' tenacity was equal to that of a spiritual weapon. They came from the inner body and caught humans off guard.


    Zen wasn''t afraid to fight against him with physical strength.


    Facing the furious demon general, Zen spread his hands. The demonic life energy stored in his naval flowed slowly through his meridian vessels.


    Zen made a fist and moved his hand forw


    strange sound, they saw Nina holding a jade box, which was one of the weapons from Zhu family, the Shock Dragon.


    She released the Shock Dragon.


    When the Shock Dragon was touched, a steady flow of energy was activated. The jade box started to heat up and glowed. In an instant, a burning dragon-shaped life vitality rushed from the box.


    Only the overmatches at the Illuminating Soul Realm could burn life vitality and gain a more powerful strength.


    Zen stared at the colossal life vitality dragon burning and was amazed by the high level of Zhu family to make the hidden weapons. They honestly could make a weapon equal to the overmatch at the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    The Shock Dragon was matchless in power and could kill any nature creature below Illuminating Soul Realm in seconds.


    After the flying dragon rushed out of the jade box crazily, it flew ahead. With its power, it seemed to tear anything to dust that got in the way.


    The demon general saw it and was scared too. It was one thing when a man a half-step in the nature level suddenly appeared and killed a fellow general just now, but this was something else.


    The attack from this one little girl in the front terrified him even more.


    The demon general sighed. Was it out of luck, or had the human promoted to this level? How could the younger members be so much more difficult to handle?


    At a crucial moment, the demon general rolled on the ground in an awkward position and avoided the Shock Dragon''s headlong attack. The Shock Dragon managed to hit the demon general, severely injuring his left arm.


    ''This little girl uses a hidden weapon like a machine. She doesn''t have great strength, '' thought the demon general as he climbed to his feet and rushed at Nina.


    ''Unfortunately... Nina isn''t at the Illuminating Soul Realm. Therefore, the attack from the Shock Dragon can''t severely hurt the demon general... What is the demon general trying to do?'' wondered Zen as he sighed while watching the demon rush at Nina. The first to react, he raced toward her.

 Chapter 176 Real Courage

    Zen, Lenard, and Cleve were the quickest to react.


    But the three of them weren''t as fast as the demon general.


    After the demon general was close enough, he reached out snatching Nina up under his rib and then ran rapidly.


    When Nina used the Shock Dragon to attack the demon general, she didn''t realize that the demon would come after her. A terrified, uneasy expression was on her face as she struggled hard.


    Unfortunately, her strength was no match against the demon general who squeezed her lightly, making her pass out.


    Everyone grimaced as they watched the demon general take Nina away.


    The female disciples from Lady Peak turned pale. After all, Nina was the center of Lady Peak.


    "What do we do now?" "Nina was abducted by the demon general!"


    "Who will rescue her?"


    "She may not live!"


    The female disciples wailed.


    Cleve, Lenard and some other inner disciples were upset too. They thought with Zen there was a chance to win if they fought a demon general today. It was an odd twist when the demon general took one of them.


    Should they chase him? That was unrealistic.


    Even though Lenard could fight against a demon general, it was almost impossible for him to kill or chase a demon general.


    Zen stood watching the demon general with an impenetrable expression on his face.


    Usually, Zen would mind his business and not rush headlong to save the life of some woman who was irrelevant to him.


    But the expression on Nina''s face as she was swept up by the demon, reminded him of his younger sister, Yan.


    Zen hadn''t seen Yan''s expression that day on Hell Mountain, but, he imagined she must have felt as helpless as Nina looked.


    "Get him!"


    Zen yelled through clenched teeth. The demonic life energy flowed through him, and power converged to his legs.


    Running wildly, Zen followed the demon general.


    Everyone present saw Zen''s strength and knew he was the only one who could kill the demon general. If anybody present could save Nina, it was Zen.


    Each disciple was filled with hope.


    After Zen was out of sight, the others cleaned up the battlefield.


    It was surprising to find only a few disciples injured, and none perished during the battle against the demon soldiers and their two generals.


    They all knew that without Zen, it wouldn''t be a matter of a few injured, most if not all of those present would have died.


    Ten disciples from the Cloud Sect showed up after Zen left.


    The ten disciples were members of Skywrath Peak. Compared to the disciples from other peaks, they were luckier. The demons hunting was going well for them. Except for some demon soldiers, they hadn''t unexpectedly come across any demon generals.


    The inner disciple, Yale Zhuge, led the members from Skywrath Peak.


    Yale ranked second amongst the disciples from Skywrath Peak.


    The disciples in the Zhuge Clan were far superior to other disciples, including Howard, Fren, and others in Skywrath Peak. So, Yale''s position at Skywrath Peak rose accordingly. None of the other disciples d


    e; now, there are quite a few demon generals."


    "Huh? Demon generals?" asked Yale as his expression changed suddenly.


    All the disciples from Skywrath Peak looked frightened.


    They were relaxed while it was only demon soldiers. After all, as long as the inner disciples performed well, then the task was as easy to deal with as blinking for them.


    But, they knew the danger they faced once they heard Lenard say demon generals were here. After all, none of the members from Skywrath Peak could handle a demon general. If they met one, they probably wouldn''t be able to escape. They''d have no choice but to die.


    "Do you know why I said you can''t go against Zen?" asked Lenard, a slight smile flickered in his eyes, and he added, "Zen killed a demon general."


    Cleve interrupted, "No! He killed two demon generals! He killed one before today!"


    While listening to Lenard and Cleve, Yale''s complexion paled, and his expression became twisted as it transformed. However, at last, he firmly stated, "I won''t believe it!"


    Waving his black and white swords, Lenard didn''t want to talk to Yale too much but said, "I don''t care whether or not you believe it. If you go against Zen someday, you can challenge him as you like. I''m sure you''ll be beaten like a dog. Now, I advise you not to cause trouble here. If you''re afraid of death, just stay with us. If you''re not, you can leave. But, if you keep making a fuss here, I think none of you ten guys can be my opponent."


    Lenard''s words made all the disciples from Skywrath Peak stop and think.


    It was too shameful to stay there with the guy jeering at them.


    They said there were demon generals in Sky Forest. If they met a demon general, how miserable would their fates be?


    However, all the disciples from Skywrath Peak thought over for a long time and finally decided to remain. It wasn''t a big deal to lose face, but, it was a big deal to lose life!


    As for the issue of Zen and the Zhuge Clan... That was Yale''s business and had nothing to do with them.

 Chapter 177 Six Demon Generals

    A shadow figure was dashing wildly through the Sky Forest.


    Zen had raised his speed to maximum.


    He concentrated the power of dragon scales into his legs and started to run like crazy.


    With the immense power in feet, Zen tramped the soft soil into pieces and left a big hole like it was bombed. He ran so fast that his feet seemed like they were not touching the ground


    and made a whooshing sound as he dashed through the forest.


    At his speed, he would sometimes bump into trees or break branches along the way.


    But Zen could not stop at any moment because even with that speed, he still couldn''t catch up with the demon general. He could go faster, but then the demon general would just double his speed, leaving Zen with a greater distance to catch up for.


    At first, when he started chasing the demon general and Nina, he could still see them at a distance.


    But now, he could only see the figure of the demon general.


    Both human and the demon general were running at a high speed.


    If they ran at a normal speed, Zen and the demon general could keep running for one to two months. It was evident that the warrior and the demon general had surpassed the limit of life.


    But they were not just playing around, instead, they were going at a high speed that no normal person could do.


    And after running for an hour or two, the demon general gradually slowed down.


    Even the demon general who was known for his endurance and toughness couldn''t keep up with that speed without resting in between.


    On the other hand, Zen''s physical state was better than that of the demon general.


    His strength was extracted from the scales of the cyan dragon embedded in his mind. Every time Zen''s physical strength was used up, the dragon scales would light up and regenerate his strength to full capacity.


    But the green light would eventually dim once the dragon scale power was already used up.


    Apparently, the power of the dragon scale had its limits and it would eventually dry out if used too much.


    ''The demon general is slowing down. I think he won''t last that long, '' Zen said to himself. But he didn''t falter from running but instead kept his speed so he could catch up to the demon general and save Nina.


    Meanwhile, the demon general also felt helpless and got anxious with the human catching up to him.


    The demons naturally had greater body strength and endurance than humans.


    Thus, the demon general underestimated the human chasing him and thought that he couldn''t possibly outrun him.


    At the start of their rat chase, the human was running a little slow and the demon general almost lost him. But suddenly, the human caught up to him and he was running at a crazy speed. It was as if the human had unlocked some sort of art to muster that kind of speed.


    The demon general wasn''t at all surprised. This human bloke already killed a fellow demon general which no normal human could''ve ever done. There was more to this human bloke than m


    There were now six demon generals with Zen.


    Zen''s face turned serious. It was not a joke to face six demon generals on his own.


    With his current state, Zen could take on one demon general by himself.


    Two demon generals would still be manageable for him.


    But beyond three demon generals, Zen''s chance of survival would be greater if he would just run for his life.


    But with six demon generals, there was no time to run.


    "Gee!" The demon general who took Nina let out a strange laugh. But despite the distorted look, Zen could still see that he was satisfied with the turn of events.


    "Gee..."


    The demon generals laughed all together.


    Zen was surrounded by the demon generals


    He had experienced many life and death situations before.


    Under such a predicament, Zen knew that it was best to stay calm so he could think rationally.


    He needed to save Nina even if it meant risking his life.


    Even if he died, there would be no regrets.


    "Poof."


    Zen threw the broken flying blade to the ground and with great force, it went deep into the soil. He looked at the demon general in front of him and smiled slyly.


    Seeing the expression on Zen''s face, the demon general looked confused. He thought that the human bloke went crazy. How could the human still smile under the situation? He intentionally threw his only weapon into the ground. What was that kid planning?


    "Gee, play whatever trick you want. But you will never escape your destiny. Your flesh is fresh and delicious," That demon said and licked his upper lip like a maniac. Then the demon general raised his arms and waved. The demon generals surrounded Zen, ready to attack.


    Zen didn''t listen to any of the demon general''s crap. He knew they weren''t human, and it was meaningless to communicate with them.


    He stretched out his hands horizontally and his body started to rotate.


    As Zen rotated, the broke flying blade was buried deeper to the ground and rotated continuously.

 Chapter 178 Bathed In Blood (Part One)

    Zen''s body turned faster and faster like a gyroscope. The flying knife, which was connected to Zen by the ring around Zen''s thumb and impacted by the centrifugal force, was spinning more quickly than Zen''s body.


    The soft soil on the ground and even hard stones would be instantly split if the broken flying knife hit them. Tree roots or soft-bodied animals like earthworms huddling inside the earth were certainly no match for the broken flying knife.


    But judging by the state of the ground, the demons didn''t notice any sign of the slightest stir.


    The demon generals came closer and closer to Zen.


    Two hundred feet...


    One hundred feet...


    Fifty feet...


    Thirty feet...


    As the five demon generals neared him, Zen was engulfed by their evil spirit.


    But Zen, who stood in the middle, wasn''t bothered by the evil spirit at all. His body was still spinning at a fast pace as if Zen had forgotten about the danger surrounding him.


    "Now! It is time!"


    yelled Zen. When the five demon generals were about ten feet away from him, Zen abruptly raised his hands, and his body soared high.


    Under the ground, the broken flying knife mimicked Zen''s movements. As Zen''s body ascended, so did the broken flying knife. After marking a crescent on the ground, it flew toward the five approaching demon generals.


    This time, the broken flying knife attacked the demon generals stealthily. This assault was beyond their expectations, and so, the demon generals failed to dodge. As a result, the broken flying knife swept across their bodies.


    "Puff, puff, puff..."


    One demon general''s arm was severed.


    The flying knife sliced through the chest of another demon general.


    A third demon general clutched his abdomen as the broken flying knife sliced through.


    The fourth demon general...


    "Ow!" howled the demon generals in pain.


    Initially, these demon generals thought that their prey was like a rabbit trapped at a dead


    ip..."


    All demon generals released bone spurs from their bodies.


    The rate at which bone spurs were being shot at Zen, forced him to shelve his attack strategy and continue dodging. For a while, Zen eluded the bone spurs, but he found no opportunity to breathe or rest.


    At the very beginning, there was still space for Zen to dodge. But as more and more bone spurs were released, Zen felt challenged to escape the attacks.


    "Puff!"


    A bone spur hit one of Zen''s thighs. It pierced through the inner side of his thigh and came out from the outer side.


    "Puff, puff, puff!"


    Another long bone spur penetrated Zen''s thigh from the back. As a consequence, he was unable to move. Other bone spurs hit Zen on his arms and thighs...


    Although his body had been turned into a spiritual weapon, Zen still felt pain. When attacked by a palm or fist, a warm current would be produced inside his body, so that he would be neither injured seriously nor feel the extreme pain.


    But now, seven or eight bone spurs had pierced different parts of his body. As a consequence, he was unable to stand or walk. Weak and unbalanced, Zen fell to the ground.


    "Gyuh, gyuh, gyuh, gyuh..."


    The demon general that had kidnapped Nina burst into laughter on seeing how severely Zen had been injured.

 Chapter 179 Bathed In Blood (Part Two)

    At this moment, some of the other demon generals that had been hurt by Zen''s broken flying knife recovered. They stood up one after another and murmured to each other in their language. They were possibly discussing whether to kill this extraordinary human being or not.


    After all, Zen had reached a half step into the nature level. It would be of great significance for their research if the demon generals caught him and took him back to their camp. Perhaps they could learn of Zen''s secrets which had made him this powerful.


    They knew that it was critical for one race to learn of its rival''s strengths and weaknesses. In doing so, their race would only become stronger.


    Previously, demons didn''t have a culture. But through constant battles with human beings, they had learned something from human cultures and finally, developed their language. Furthermore, they explored human refinement methods step by step and took advantage of everything they acquired from human beings.


    Afterward, both humankind and ogre realized that they should make up for their shortcomings by learning from their rivals'' strong points. Hence, they destroyed their moral fences. Now, humankind and ogre had reached pacification through marriage and had learned from each other.


    Drops of blood that flowed from Zen''s wounds stained the bone spurs red.


    For a majority of people, they would have died if attacked by several bone spurs at the same time.


    Nevertheless, Zen didn''t give up. He got down on one knee, stared at the demon generals in silence, and harnessed demonic life energy near his navel in secret.


    He intended to destroy the bone spurs inside his body with the demonic life energy.


    However great the adversity, Zen knew that he needed to keep calm. Only in this way could Zen get a chance to win...


    While manipulating the demonic life energy, Zen reminded hi


    f monsters were attacking his body.


    One would be put in a rather miserable situation if demonic life energy poured into his body.


    After Zen attacked the demon general, the demonic life energy poured into the creature and began dissolving his tissue and flesh.


    A few moments later, wisps of demonic life energy were emitted from the demon general''s eyes, mouth, and ears. At last, only a skeleton was left. The demon general''s bones clattered to the ground while everyone watched, appalled by what they had seen. The demon general''s body had vanished together with the demonic life energy...


    Seeing that their companion had been killed so miserably, the expression on other demon generals changed.


    They were shocked! It was beyond their expectation that a human being at a half step into the nature level could counter-attack under such a critical situation and kill one of their companions in their presence without any fear.


    Except for his head, Zen was covered in blood. At this moment, his white robe, which was a symbol of an outer disciple at Cloud Sect, had been stained as well. No longer white, it now looked like a bloody robe!


    Despite his severe wounds, unswerving determination was still reflected in Zen''s eyes.

 Chapter 180 Not Allow Himself To Fall Or Die

    Actually, demons, humans, and ogres were all intelligent species.


    Since they all had intelligence and the ability to think independently, demons and ogres all felt the same emotions that humans did.


    Like love, fear, sadness...


    At this point, Zen was covered in blood. Nevertheless, he stood before his rivals resolutely. The demon generals were overwhelmed by his perseverance and momentum. For a moment no one lunged at him!


    "Zen... Zen, don''t bother to save me. If you can break through, make your escape!" Nina cried in a low voice as tears filled her eyes.


    Zen was not very tall, but at this moment, his lofty image as a hero was etched deeply in her heart.


    Hearing Nina''s words, Zen turned to look at her and responded with a faint smile.


    At the crucial moment of life and death, his smile was heart-warming.


    Holding the broken flying knife and wearing a robe soaked with blood, he confronted the demon generals bravely.


    Then he heard a few words in demon language. The demon general who had taken Nina hostage was speaking.


    As soon as he finished, the demon generals surrounding Zen assumed an aggressive pose. They seemed to be planning to rush at Zen together.


    A streak of purple-black demonic life energy rose from Zen''s hand. Zen intended to use all the demonic life energy in him. He held the knife in one hand to protect his chest, and made a fist with the other hand, around which the demonic life energy swarmed.


    Zen was prepared to fight the demon generals, even though he was outnumbered and seeming out-skilled. His stance conveyed to the demon generals that they should confront him if they were not afraid of death.


    When the first demon general ran forward, Zen took a step back. At the same time, another demon general rushed Zen with a bone spur aimed toward his chest. Zen did not dodge the bone spur. Instead, he dashed toward the demon general and allowed the spur to penetrate his body. What was even crazier was that he pushed his body against the bone spur.


    "Puff!"


    When the bone spur penetrated his body, Zen pressed against it and got closer to the demon general.


    The part of the bone spur that came out of Zen''s back had turned from bronze to scarlet. Zen''s blood dripped down the bone spur''s point...


    Seeing that Zen had fearlessly stood up against the bone spur in his chest and even pushed himself closer, the demon general suddenly panicked. He wanted to break the bone spur to distance himself from Zen.


    But, it was too late.


    "Puff!"


    Zen punched the demon general on the chest and infused his body with wisps of the demonic life energy...


    Then, without sparing another glance at the demon general, Zen turned to meet another one. He knew that once the demonic life energy entered the demon general''s body, nothing could save him.


    The first one died...


    Zen had barely turned his head when another bone spur pierced his body. With the same move, Zen rushed forward against the bone spur and drove his demonic life energy into the body of the second demon general...


    The second one died...


    Then, the third one died...


    "Zen... Zen..."


    Tears blurred Nina''s vision as she watched Zen fight fiercely. Her eyes were no


    g all the elders. He was an expert in turning life vitality into swords, but he was a bit untidy in appearance. Since he was usually slovenly dressed even when he went out, people had nicknamed him as the Messy Sword Genius.


    "Nina! Are you okay?" he asked with genuine concern. "I came here as soon as I got your message!" Lennie Zhu stood on a small silver sword and descended slowly from the sky toward Nina. As he saw that Nina seemed fine, his worry dissipated.


    The moment the demon general had caught Nina, she triggered an Immediate Messager. The Zhu Clan had designed the Immediate Messager for its family members. Once it was triggered, the nearest family members would receive news in an instant!


    However, Immediate Messagers had a big drawback¡ªrescuers, no matter how fast, often found it difficult to get to the scene in time. Usually, it was too late when rescuers arrived.


    Lennie Zhu was supposed to be fighting with demons on the Shura Battlefield beside White Emperor City on behalf of the Zhu Clan. A big event in White Emperor City forced him to leave the battlefield. When Nina triggered her Immediate Messager, he happened to be close to Sky Forest. That was why he was able to reach her at this crucial time.


    It seemed that Nina was not fated to die yet!


    "I''m okay, Uncle Lennie! I''m fine! Save him! Save Zen!" Nina cried, looking excited.


    When Lennie Zhu turned and found that Zen was covered in blood and that the corpses of a few demon generals were lying beside Zen, traces of shock flashed across his face.


    ''He looks very young! He is a disciple of Cloud Sect. He may have come to trial for slaying demons like Nina. Is this guy really so powerful that he killed a bunch of demon generals all by himself?'' Lennie Zhu wondered.


    ''His robe is white!


    If I remember correctly, the white robe should be the uniform of Cloud Sect''s outer disciples!''


    As Lennie Zhu sniffed the air, the shock deepened on his face and his eyes widened with amazement. He smelled a vestige of life energy and was astounded to discover that Zen was not a nature creature. He was only half-step into the nature level.

 Chapter 181 A Skilled But Greedy Doctor (Part One)

    As Lennie had served in the army for many years, Cloud Sect had become a little unfamiliar to him. He remembered that Cloud Sect had outer disciples and inner disciples. However, he could not recall whether the outer disciples included some nature creatures or not.


    Judging from Zen''s life energy, he believed that the extraordinary young man in front of him must be at a half-step into the nature level. What confused Lennie was that the young man''s life energy was somewhat strange.


    All people, including a few great masters like Lennie, couldn''t believe that a person who was at a half-step into the nature level, could give such a superior performance!


    Despite his injuries, Zen stood straight like a statue. Curious, Lennie walked up to the boy and reached out to touch one of the veins on Zen''s neck.


    "His heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys have been damaged, and all the veins have been ruptured...... He shouldn''t be able to stand with such severe wounds. What a persevering man......!" Lennie said in astonishment before turning and asking his niece, "Nina, who is this young guy?"


    "Uncle, please don''t be concerned about his identity. He is severely injured, and we need to help him! Please save him. Please," Nina said in a trembling voice, "Can he be saved?"


    Lennie smiled and replied, "The guy is so strong that he is still alive after his wounds. So saving him isn''t impossible. Although there are many ways to heal him, each comes at an exorbitant cost. So, I have to ask you who he is."


    Lennie had been in many life and death situations, and for Nina, he would pay any price to help her. However, for a stranger, he would be unwilling to go all out. So he needed to know who the extraordinary young man was.


    "He...... He saved me. And he is in a critical condition because he tried to save me..." Nina gazed at Zen with mixed fee


    ud Sect has been sending disciples to slay demons in Sky Forest for so many years. In all this time, the disciples have only encountered one demon general. But in this trial, there were so many demon generals in Sky Forest. Is something wrong with......?"


    After all, Nina was a member of a noble clan. She had a wide range of knowledge and great wisdom. When confronted with numerous demon generals, she immediately realized that something must be wrong at White Emperor City.


    As was known to all, White Emperor City was located on Shura Battlefield. All these years, it had been the most powerful and important military pass in Burning Sky Empire.


    Except for some insignificant demon soldiers who were unworthy of being captured, it was not easy for the demon generals who were far more powerful than demon soldiers, to escape from White Emperor City.


    But this time, things were different.


    Lennie nodded and said, "Yes, there is something wrong at White Emperor City. The demons of the Shura Battlefield are becoming more powerful. About half a month ago, the Imperial Army was defeated by the demons at the Shura Battlefield. The two towers have been occupied by them, and the Imperial Army had to retreat to White Emperor City."

 Chapter 182 A Skilled But Greedy Doctor (Part Two)

    Nina was stunned. For so many years, the people of Shura Battlefield had worked hard to progress against the demons. Little by little, they had built two massive towers, the Heaven tower, and the Earth tower, to resist the demons. However, this time, the situation seemed to be unprecedentedly grim, as the demons had now occupied the two towers......


    Flying on the sword was faster than running on foot in the forest.


    Lennie directed the sword to carry them northwest. They flew like the wind, and soon, they reached their destination. Nina gasped as she saw a big white city.


    "It is the White Emperor City!"


    Since all the buildings and walls in the city were made of dolostone which was white and very hard, the city was called White Emperor City for its white color.


    Lennie and Nina landed at the gate of White Emperor City with Zen who was still comatose.


    Several soldiers appeared at the gate and, seeing Lennie, said respectfully, "Sir, if you want to enter the city, please show your jade token and accept our checks to let us make sure that you are not dressed up!"


    Lennie knew these rules, and so, he removed his token from his waist and handed it to the soldiers.


    After checking the token carefully, the soldiers returned it to Lennie.


    Then they waved at the other soldiers on the wall who were handling a big demon-revealing mirror.


    The demon-revealing mirror worked in the same way as the Demon-revealing Needle of the Zhu Clan. It could also tell when a demon was


    t the two men shared an unpleasant history.


    Payne was greedy. Even though he was a highly skilled doctor, he asked for too much money for his medical services.


    Lennie remembered the incident Payne had spoken of clearly. Lennie''s comrade had been injured at the Shura Battlefield. When Lennie asked for help, Payne quoted an outrageous amount, which angered Lennie. And that was why Lennie had called Payne a high-skilled but avaricious doctor!


    Lennie also said that he would never ask Payne for help even if it meant that Lennie would die at the Shura Battlefield.


    "I will pay you whatever you charge, all right?" Lennie hummed reluctantly. If it had not been for Nina, Lennie would never have asked Payne for help.


    Payne said in a sharp voice, "Sure. Since I love money more than people, I will forget what you have said in the past, and help you. Heh heh!"


    Then Payne asked the three to come into his room.


    Lennie walked to the jade bed in the room and placed Zen on it.

 Chapter 183 The Shura Battlefield (Part One)

    Payne walked over slowly and looked at Zen. He frowned when he saw the wounds on Zen''s body. Then he turned to Lennie and said, "So many bone spurs have penetrated this guy that his body looks like a sieve! How awful!"


    "If he were not so severely injured, I wouldn''t have come to you," Lennie said crossly. Lennie had many kinds of pills with which to cure injuries. However, Zen was in a critical condition with a slim chance of survival. Lennie had no choice but to bring him to Payne.


    Payne stretched out his fat, short finger and slowly pressed on Zen''s neck. At the same time, he carefully avoided the acupuncture needles on Zen''s body.


    Payne moved his hand over Zen''s body, pressing along the way. Finally, he reached Zen''s belly. Payne frowned when he felt something unusual.


    "This bloke''s body... is weird! I have diagnosed thousands of people, but I have never seen such a body!" Payne said in surprise.


    "Haha. He killed several demon generals single-handedly even though he is only a half-step into the nature level. I would be surprised if this bloke isn''t special!" Lennie thought that all capable men had something extraordinary.


    Some of them cultivated a special cultivation method, some had a unique magic weapon and some had an extraordinary innate capability.


    The world was big, and it was filled with countless people who were either capable or could perform miracles. With their experience, Lennie and Payne were unlikely to be surprised at something they thought perfectly normal. Lennie continued, "Payne, stop pretending. You just want to raise the price. I warn you not to go too far!"


    Payne smiled sheepishly, "What I have said is true. Have a look at this bloke''s meridians. They are as hard as gold and iron. It is like his body is not made of flesh and blood. Can you find another like him in this world?"


    "Cut the c


    walked out of the room.


    Nina rushed forward and asked with concern, "Doctor Xue, how is Zen?"


    Payne laughed, "You worry as though he were infected with some complex or challenging disease! He was just injured. He is fine now and will be better once he has rested for a day or two!"


    Zen was critically wounded after his fight with the demon generals. If he had consumed high-grade pills such as the Red Cloud Pill or the Nine Turns Recovering Pill immediately after the battle, he would have recovered on his own and wouldn''t have needed Payne''s help.


    However, there was a long delay, and Zen had become too weak. This was why Lennie had thought it necessary to bring Zen to Payne.


    From the time Lennie placed the acupuncture needles in Zen, till he recovered, Zen was in a dreamless state.


    After he woke, Zen took a few minutes to remember what had happened. When Zen looked around, he found that he was lying on a bed.


    He stretched his hand and gingerly touched his chest. Shock was reflected in Zen''s eyes when he realized that his wounds were gone.


    "I am fine? All my wounds have healed?" When Zen found that there was nothing wrong with his body, he sat up. Then he jumped down from the bed and stretched.

 Chapter 184 The Shura Battlefield (Part Two)

    He walked back and forth for dozens of steps and tried to operate his life energy at the same time. Finally, Zen felt as though he was fine.


    Although Zen had been in a dreamless state, he remembered what happened before.


    He had faced six demon generals and fought against them, risking his life. He had used his demonic life energy and killed them all.


    Even if Zen had the body of a spiritual weapon, it was difficult for him to recover after being severely injured by the bone spurs from the demon generals.


    Before his strength and senses became weak, Zen remembered that countless tiny silver swords had fallen from the sky and stabbed the demon general...


    While thinking back, he remembered that he had been trying to save an inner disciple named Nina.


    Just at this time, the door opened. A lady dressed in a light purple dress stood at the doorway. A thin, long golden hairpin glimmered in her hair. She looked so pure and beautiful that Zen was in a daze.


    "Why do you look at me in this way?" The lady smiled at Zen.


    Zen blinked and finally dared to confirm after hearing her voice, "Are you Nina Zhu?"


    It was said that the woman changed fast in physical appearance. She had been dressed in a black robe when Zen had first met Nina. Now, she was dressed in regular clothes.


    Nina smiled and said in a low voice, "Please, call me Nina." A crimson blush crept on Nina''s face. Till now, she had not asked a man to address her intimately.


    "Nina," Zen said with a nod. he hadn''t thought that calling a woman by her name was unusual.


    "Where am I?" Zen looked out the window as he spoke. Several tall white buildings filled his view. The environment was strange to him.


    Nina laughed before she said, "Follow me!"


    Then she turned and left the room. With a small smile, Zen followed. On the way, Nina told Zen, "This is the White Emperor City!"


    "White Emperor City? Is this the White Emperor City that is guarded by millions of soldiers of the Imperial Army?" While speaking Zen turned his head and looked around. He had read in a book that White Emperor City was made of dolostone and looked snow-white because of the stone''s characteristic white color. The city also defended the Shura region...


    Zen had hence, learned something about White Emperor City before. He knew that it was made of dolosto


    w that Zen was alive. They also knew that he had been in recovery for the past two days since his injuries were critical. They were naturally concerned about his recovery.


    Zen shrugged and smiled, "See, I am OK!"


    At the moment, Lenard and the others from the Skytop Peak stepped forward and surrounded Zen. Apparently, they were all worried about him as well.


    Suddenly, all the disciples gathered around Zen and began chattering. Zen knew that the disciples of Cloud Sect had suffered significant losses in this trial to slay the demon.


    Almost every peak had reported dead or injured disciples. Blackrock Peak had suffered the most as all ten disciples had died while protecting the disciples of Lady Peak. Besides the Blackrock Peak, all the disciples from three other peaks had been killed by demon generals.


    As they spoke, several disciples from Skywrath Peak entered the camp.


    The disciples of the Skytop Peak, Drizzle Peak, and Lady Peak saw the people from the Skywrath Peak and made a long face.


    After Zen left to chase the demon general, they had a conflict with the disciples of the Skywrath Peak.


    At that time, the disciples of Skywrath Peak thought they couldn''t defeat disciples from Skytop Peak and gave up.


    But after they entered White Emperor City, Yale, the leader of Skywrath Peak, had become arrogant again. It was said that Yale''s elder brother was in the Imperial Army and had an important post in White Emperor City.


    At this time, Yale saw Zen, and a sly smile grew on his face. He walked up to Zen.

 Chapter 185 Smacking Yale In The Face

    "Zen, you bastard, you''re lucky you''re not dead in the hands of the demon generals." Yale Zhuge said out loud, a sly smile hanging on his lips.


    The disciples of Cloud Sect were positioned in White Emperor City, waiting to be picked up by their overseers. The narrow escape from death had alleviated their sense of danger and granted them much-needed relief. They reveled in their survival for the time being. Laughter rang out in the camp as the usually aggressive disciples engaged in cordial talk. Yale''s loud voice broke this harmony and the others whipped their heads in his direction, annoyed at the remark.


    "Yale, you were well-behaved in the Sky Forest. Now that we''re in White Emperor City, you''ve become arrogant and rude. Is it because you''re confident your brother would protect you?" asked Lenard rather sharply. Before Zen could respond to Yale''s words, Lenard and Cleve shifted to move in front of him and blocked Yale''s path.


    "Why, Lenard, you''re absolutely right. White Emperor City is my territory. You might be dominant at Cloud Sect, but you''re nothing here. I advise you to stop meddling," Yale said, a hint of disdain in his words.


    Lenard opened his mouth to spit out a fitting reply, but Zen held up a hand to stop him. The latter took a step forward. "I''m in a good mood today, Yale, so I''ll give you a shot to save yourself. Get out of here!" Zen rested his gaze on Yale and said calmly.


    Yale paled at Zen''s words. He thought everyone would be afraid of him because of his brother''s influence in the city. Zen stood in front of him with his chin tilted in defiance, mocking Yale''s false sense of authority. He blinked in embarrassment. "Zen, you did kill the demon generals. So do you really think you''re mightier than everyone else?" he scoffed, the tip of his ears reddening. "There are plenty of people stronger than you. You''re not capable of driving me out!"


    "I can''t vouch for Zen''s capabilities, but I''m quite sure you''re not qualified enough to confront Zen," a melodious female voice sounded near Yale and he froze instantly. The disciples turned to the source of the mocking voice and saw Nina Zhu standing at a distance, a murderous look adorning her face.


    The girl cocked a graceful eyebrow. She held a small jade box in her hand that was aimed at Yale.


    Yale stared at her in shock, his jaw clenched. Others might not be aware of how terrible the hidden weapons of the Zhu Clan were, but Yale was a member of the Zhuge Clan, one of the top seven noble clans including the Zhus. He knew very well the destructive power of her inconspicuous, harmless-looking jade box.


    If Nina pressed the button at the front and triggered the machine inside, the Shock Dragon would leap out and turn his bones to ash.


    Yale stood rooted to his spot, not daring to move an inch. He cursed inwardly. Was this girl mad? Zen was the one he was challenging. It was none of her business. Did she really want to kill him over something so paltry? This altercation didn''t involve her.


    "Nina, this is between Zen and me. What''


    beyond others.


    "Yale''s brother is a counselor to the imperial army in White Emperor City. He would surely seek retaliation," Lenard said, furrowing his brows.


    After all, they were not in Cloud Sect anymore, but in White Emperor City. If Yale asked his brother to avenge him, Zen would be facing a monumental complication.


    The Zhuge Clan wasn''t the strongest, but it was the most resourceful among the top seven noble clans. They were exceptional when it came to military strategies and battle arrays.


    Yale''s brother, Josef, did not display prominent strength either, although he was at the grade six of the nature level. After all, there were generations of talented masters in White Emperor City.


    Josef had only become a counselor in White Emperor City by sheer virtue of his intelligence.


    The position of a counselor was reverential in the city. Josef''s success was closely linked with the support he got from the Zhuge Clan, but his own performance could not be disregarded. A mediocre man could never live long on the Shura Battlefield.


    In skittering voices, The disciples reminded Zen to be careful of Josef.


    Zen smiled calmly and in turn comforted them. But their hearts were still uneasy. After all, they were now in another''s stronghold, without the protection of the Cloud Sect, and the army was usually not reliable.


    Nina stood not far away, gazing at Zen in secret from under her lashes. She had made up her mind. No matter who tried to outmaneuver Zen, she would do everything she could to put an end to it.


    Just as the disciples moved the topic of conversation to their return to Cloud Sect, a muffled sound was heard.


    The noise, although not loud, seemed to come from the deep underground.


    The very next moment, they felt the floor underneath them begin to tremble.


    "It''s the demons! They are attacking!" the soldiers shouted.


    The incessant sound of a ringing bell broke through, and the disciples of Cloud Sect turned white, the blood draining from their faces at once.

 Chapter 186 Attack Of The Demons (Part One)

    Small chunks of rubble fell down the lower floors as quick footsteps rushed up the stony steps of the staircase. Zen, leading other disciples from Cloud Sect, climbed a side staircase to reach the rooftop in the barracks. When they reached their destination, the horrific view that greeted them stunned their group into silence.


    The once clear sky was now dominated by swirls of dark, thick clouds and smoky fog.


    In the distance, they could see an increasing mass of dark figures that had started to climb up the city''s walls. They were demon generals and soldiers, who swarmed almost all the sides of the city wall like an incoming tide.


    To make the dreadful scene even worse, black human-shaped demon birds with gigantic scaly wings emerged. They circled around in the air, each of them armed with black long bows and arrows.


    Hundreds of the hideous demon birds carried demon generals and soldiers in their huge talons. Upon reaching the periphery of White Emperor City, the demon birds released the demon soldiers along with the demon generals from their grip, dropping them into the city.


    The horrifying horde of demons in the sky weren''t even the main forces of the opponent''s massive army. They were only used as a prelude to make way for the truly formidable demons.


    Back then, during the more peaceful times, the Heaven and Earth towers had prevented war from breaking out in White Emperor City for many years. However, when the demons unexpectedly occupied the two towers, they immediately planned and executed a direct attack at White Emperor City in such a short amount of time.


    "Swash! Swash! Swash!" the loud flapping of the demon birds'' scaly wings rippled through the dark atmosphere.


    They proceeded to aim their arrows at the disciples of Cloud Sect who stood on the rooftop barracks after spotting them.


    With their long bows aimed at their targets, the demons'' black arrows rained down on the rooftop.


    Luckily, the pointed tips of the arrows weren''t that sharp, so all of the disciples were able to fend them off with their skills.


    The most direct forms of defenses came from Zen. When the arrows came near,


    were the most ordinary soldiers, with their strength at the marrow refining level. They could fend off the demon soldiers with all their might, but they were next to nothing when faced against a demon general. One encounter would be enough to get them killed.


    However, military orders strictly prevented them from holding back. There was a saying among the imperial army, which was "as long as he is alive, the operator must ensure that the firing catapult is not destroyed." Being in the army demanded their whole being to obey the strict order.


    If one gave up the firing catapult and ran for his life, a more grueling punishment awaited him. Then again, their sense of honor as imperial soldiers did not allow them to escape.


    The demon general drew closer and closer back on the scene. Two of the soldiers frantically continued to work around the firing catapult, while the other unsheathed his sword and summoned all the courage and strength that he could muster to face the demon general.


    Even the small praying mantis could dare to stop a raging chariot, and it was the same for the imperial army who fought against the demons in White Emperor City all the year round. The ordinary soldier, despite being at the marrow refining level, was able to contain his fear and resist the demon''s frightful aura. He pushed back his thoughts in his head and drew out his sword with shaky hands to confront the demon general.

 Chapter 187 Attack Of The Demons (Part Two)

    The demon general continued his ascent towards the catapult. The presence of the soldier in front of him proved to be no hindrance at all. In fact, he simply waved a heavy arm and slapped his body away upon reaching him.


    The impact of the slap directly crushed the soldier''s body which sent him flying to his death!


    At this point, the demon general got much closer to the firing catapult.


    The remaining two soldiers set up an arrow as fast as they could and fired it up at the sky. A demon bird and a demon general got hit and instantly became two balls of fire. Although the two soldiers looked calm and fearless on the outside, they clearly knew that death awaited them just like their companion.


    Finally, the demon general had reached the catapult. When he was about to smash the two soldiers into pieces, he suddenly felt a dangerous presence from behind him.


    However, when he turned around to look, the dangerous aura had vanished.


    He simply shrugged it off and turned his head back to the two remaining soldiers. Just as he did so, a broken flying knife came to greet him in the face!


    His eyes went wide for a fraction of a second as he tried to dodge the force but it turned out that it was too late. He instinctively blocked his face with his right arm, hoping his thick and leathery skin would save him from the weapon.


    It was only when the blade of the knife had struck his skin that the demon general realized how foolish it was to use his arm to block it. It turned out the knife was not just an ordinary knife and it was far sharper than what he had imagined.


    His tough and strong arm posed no resistance to the flying knife as it passed through his limb, slicing right down in the middle.


    The knife''s blade was able to cut through the arm muscle and went straight to his head.


    "Puff!"


    The demon general''s hideous head was cut into two by the flying knife as it fell to the floor with a dull thud. His eyes remained bulbous and bulged even in his last moments, which showed just how shocked and in disbelief he was at his death.


    The broken kn


    "Even if no one will come to pick us up, we can go back by ourselves. We just have to avoid those demons. Don''t you think so?" one disciple suggested. Majority of them agreed and quickly accepted this proposal.


    Since no chariot would come pick them up anyway, they might as well take the disciple''s suggestion and escape by themselves.


    The disciples from Cloud Sect played no major role in the war. Furthermore, once the demons launched a full-scale invasion of White Emperor City, the imperial army would never arrange for any form of protection for them.


    If only one or two demon generals landed near them, Lenard and Zen could handle it.


    However, if they were attacked by legions of demon generals, who among them could defeat such a massive force?


    It would be even worse if they were to face off a demon king, who could undoubtedly kill them in a second! In short, the disciples were too weak and incapable to fight in the war by themselves.


    Just as they were in the heat of their discussion, the loud clanking of footsteps was heard through the other side of the camp''s door.


    It turned out to be a squad line from the imperial army.


    The barrack door suddenly burst open, showing a general dressed in the imperial army''s uniform. "All the disciples from Cloud Sect are allowed to leave except Zen!" the general announced in a loud, authoritative voice.

 Chapter 188 The Killing Intention (Part One)

    Zen stood in the crowd and stared at the general. The man looked strange, and Zen had never seen him before.


    "Why can''t I leave? Who are you?" he asked in a deep voice. If someone came looking for him, that could only spell bad news.


    Suddenly, someone whose head was covered with gauze appeared from the side. "Zen, I have sworn that you will die with your boots on," he said menacingly. "Did you naturally think you can run for your life?"


    Even with his face completely concealed, and only his eyes were seen, Zen still recognized his voice. It was Yale. Before the demon attacked the city, Zen had knocked some sense into him a few times.


    "Oh, it''s Yale. What did you do? Did you really ask your brother to come here?" he asked casually, though he grasped the flying blade in his hand. The general before his eyes was powerful. Apart from him, there were two soldiers on the side.


    The soldiers appeared to be at the grade six of nature level. However, based on their decisive breath, their strength should not be underestimated.


    In fact, Zen''s own strength was far more powerful than what should be in the realm. Thus, he did not blindly judge the opponent''s strength.


    "I am Josef. I have heard about you from my younger brother. They said you''ve offended many members of our Zhuge family, such as Chad and Fren. Now, you hit Yale? Very few people dare to offend anyone in our family. Today, you came to White Emperor City where I will treat you well. My suggestion, however, is that you cut your own arms by yourself, wear this chain, and follow me. Otherwise... You will meet your doom!" As soon as Josef uttered the last words, he whipped out a chain used to capture prisoners, and belted it on the ground.


    "Cut my arms by myself?" Zen raised his brows first, and then laughed loudly as though he heard a sarcastic joke. In a dauntless manner, he stated, "You are just a counselor. As a member of the imp


    that the number of the people beside Zen had decreased, Josef smiled again and stated smugly, "Except for Zen, the rest of you may leave. I dare say, only the fools do not know what to choose!"


    However, as soon as Josef paused, he saw a blinding flash coming from the hand of a female disciple standing behind Zen.


    The flash converged rapidly to form a dragon-shaped life vitality. Then it shot towards Josef with immense power.


    "Ho!"


    In that very moment, Josef sensed that his life was in peril. The mere thought of losing this way sent chills down his spine, so he willed himself to jump suddenly, and avoided the Shock Dragon.


    The Shock Dragon rushed over all the way, with no signs of stopping, and finally hit a house behind Josef. The entire building did not stand a chance against it and collapsed in an instant.


    "Bang!"


    The house crumbled down, and there were smoke and dust all over the ground.


    After his close brush with death, Josef wore a straight face. Even the soldiers he brought with him did not know how to react to the female disciple''s attempt.


    Although no one could still see Yale''s face clearly, his eyes spoke volumes as they glistened with terror.


    "Shock Dragon? Someone of Zhu Clan!" The furious counselor glared at Nina.

 Chapter 189 The Killing Intention (Part Two)

    Despite her recent actions, Nina looked calm and even sported a sneer. The female disciple did not open her mouth to speak while she stood beside Zen. As long as he was nearby, she could feel a sense of security, which was reassuring.


    Those who came from noble clans rarely fought each other, as they were often aware of the other clan''s strength. It was why they were cautious whenever they met someone from another noble clan.


    However, the woman from Zhu Clan startled him with her reckless behavior. Josef had not planned to fight, but she tried to destroy him by releasing the Shock Dragon. Had he failed to evade the attack, it would have been the end of him!


    Enraged by her audacity, Josef said, "I don''t care who you are. Because of what you did, I will make sure you die today. No. I will make you serve my brothers in the army, and then kill you! You, and you, both of you get over here this instant. I am afraid there are demons lurking around. Kill all the resisters!"


    Although Zen appeared to be calm after hearing the counselor''s commands, there was a distinctive murderous glint in his eyes.


    Indeed, Zen hesitated a little in the beginning. He did not wish to go up against Josef and all the people who chose to fall for the latter''s deception. On the other hand, that did not mean that he was afraid of them.


    After all, the opponent was an army man, and they were in White Emperor City.


    If it were up to him, he wouldn''t resort to an aggressive solution like fighting. In fact, he preferred Lenard''s approach earlier. He almost subdued Josef by merely making him doubt his own judgments.


    Alas, Josef''s commands made it clear that some people were going to get hurt today. Nonviolent resolutions were out of the question, and Zen saw no way of changing that.


    Anyone who knew him would know that his calm appearance was only a cover-up for the rage that was consuming his heart.


    In a steady manner, Zen took one light step forward as though he were drifting.


    When his right foot touched the ground, th


    unreadable expression. It appeared as though he was assessing his situation.


    He was a warrior at the grade six of nature level, but his abilities were cultivated depending on the pills. Unfortunately, he did not possess an astounding physical strength. The counselor was only good at strategy and military science.


    Nevertheless, he was more than aware of the strength of his two guards. When they fought together, they could bring down four demon generals.


    No matter how much Josef thought about it, he couldn''t justify how Zen defeated the two guards so easily.


    When Yale warned him not to underestimate Zen and not to see him as a refiner half-step into the nature level, he thought his plan was more than enough for a single prisoner.


    Based on his warnings, Josef thought two guards was all it would take to defeat the man.


    Alas, Zen''s strength was beyond Josef''s expectation.


    At that moment, Josef was at a loss. He could do nothing else but take a step back!


    Filled with inexplicable fear, the counselor fled from the fight. As a desperate attempt in causing a diversion, he threw willow leaf darts at his opponent while running away.


    Zen did not take the willow leaf darts seriously, and let the counselor shoot them. Then, with these sharp darts going in his direction, he rushed towards Josef without batting an eye.

 Chapter 190 Five-Clawed Golden Dragon (Part One)

    Josef took to his heels and Zen chased closely behind, and they were soon running out of the barrack and onto the streets.


    Josef was quick on his feet, but facing Zen''s hot pursuit, he began to employ every trick that he could think of.


    Seeing that the willow leaf darts didn''t work on Zen, he fished out a piece of brown sign paper and cursed, "Soldier in armor!"


    Josef tossed the paper note in the air. The paper went up in flames at once and a soldier wearing an armor materialized out of thin air. Facing Zen, he wielded a sword and slashed at the opponent.


    "Smash to pieces!"


    Smack! Zen threw a punch and the soldier vanished as instantly as it had appeared. Without pause, Zen opened his fist and shook it casually, before moving to gain ground on Josef.


    Feeling cornered, Josef gnashed his teeth together in frustration. The very next instant he crushed the pendant that hung around his neck with his bare hands.


    The pendant was an heirloom passed down by the Zhuge ancestors. It had been bestowed on him when he became the counselor to the imperial army, with claims that the pendant would come to his rescue in times of danger.


    As soon as he crushed it, a pale blue nimbus of light surrounded him protectively, making him glow with an otherworldly aura.


    "Smash it!"


    Zen punched the light with his fist.


    The luminous curtain trembled faintly but soon recovered its intensity.


    "So strong?"


    Zen frowned, his eyes glinting at the blue aura. The light curtain was indeed remarkable to resist the power of his fist. He assumed it was an heirloom from the Zhuge family. It obviously held ancestral power.


    Pow! Smack! Smash!


    Zen struck the cloak of light a dozen times in a row. It quivered palpably but he failed to make the slightest crack on its surfa


    ah! Now die!"


    A brilliant sharp dagger popped out of thin air in Josef''s hand, and he moved forward to stab Zen in his neck.


    Josef knew his strength was not extreme, so he had many hidden weapons on him. Those little things could come handy in times of peril.


    Unexpectedly, as the dagger reached Zen''s body halfway, Josef felt a sharp pain shoot into his brain. Holding his head in his hands, he dropped unceremoniously on the ground and rolled over.


    "Spiritual Thorn!"


    Zen glanced at Josef coldly who was lying on the ground, groaning in pain. The murderous look in his eyes held no mercy.


    As the lightning effect released by the blue symbol ebbed away, Zen moved his unfeeling body and picked up the dagger that Josef had let fall on the ground. He marched over to Josef in a split second.


    "Stay where you are! If you dare kill the counselor to the imperial army, you become the enemy of the Burning Sky Empire!" At that moment, Zen noticed a black figure approaching him in the shadows. He heard a brief growl as his dagger moved toward Josef.


    "Is it another representative of the empire?" His brows snapped together as he stabbed Josef sharply. "Death calls you!"

 Chapter 191 Five-Clawed Golden Dragon (Part Two)

    He pulled out the dagger fiercely, splattering blood on the dead leaves that surrounded Josef''s body on the ground. Zen was not someone who condoned killing, but if he hadn''t known how to use the Spiritual Thorn, he would have been the one dead right now. He could not afford to show mercy to anyone who wanted to take his life.


    "You are dead!" The general from the imperial army sprinted to him, his life vitality surging up and turning into a Five-Clawed Golden Dragon. It was burning in red-hot flames. The heat waves rushed to Zen, crackling with terrifying power.


    "Illuminating Soul Realm!"


    Zen twisted his lips. This was the second refiner at the Illuminating Soul Realm he had encountered.


    He had confronted Vale before, who was also an Illuminating Soul Realm refiner. Zen was weak before his formidable energy. He had no chance to fight back.


    The Illuminating Soul Realm could burn life vitality and magnify its power by more than ten times. It could kill the nature creatures as easily as an ordinary person could kill an ant.


    Zen clearly knew very well how potent the refiner at the Illuminating Soul Realm was. He could only step back and retreat.


    But the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon, created by life vitality, seemed to have anticipated it. It pursued Zen forcibly, not giving up until it had swallowed him down its throat.


    Just then, Zen heard Nina shout at him. "Zen, get down!"


    Without hesitation, Zen leaned forward and rolled down to lie flat on the ground.


    With a roar, the Shock Dragon flew above Zen''s head and abruptly collided with the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon.


    Nina''s Shock Dragon was equivalent to a full attack of an Illuminating Soul Realm refiner, but she didn''t have the ability to fully control it. Thus, powerful as the hidden weapon was, it couldn''t hit the target accurately.


    tood like a wall.


    The gaps between different strengths could be narrowed by other means, like super weapons, unique cultivation methods, talent, and technique.


    But the gap between Zen and the general was a broad moat with no way to close the distance, and taking all things into consideration, it was impossible for him to surpass it.


    The general of the imperial army declaring a war on Zen was equivalent to a death sentence.


    Zen stood before the daunting Five-Clawed Golden Dragon and felt his life energy surging out of his body through his navel, like high tidal waves forging ahead, finally gathering into his fists.


    "Heavenly Ogre Fist -Ogres Shaking the World!"


    Zen had once used this punch to block the full blow of a refiner at the Illuminating Soul Realm before.


    His strength and his technique must have risen up by several notches since then. He felt far less anxious facing the general than when he battled Vale. Zen figured that the general was not on the same level of strength as Vale.


    As Zen struck the powerful blow with his fist, the demonic life energy gathered forward and molded itself into a purple-black shadow of a tight fist, smashing hard at the gargantuan dragon.

 Chapter 192 The Five-clawed Blackish Purple Dragon (Part One)

    As the spectators waited for the fight''s next sequence with bated breaths, the golden dragon slithered around Zen and pranced on its five, large claws like a giant snake. Zen''s Heavenly Ogre Fist was far weaker than that of the golden dragon''s, and his power had been weakened a lot throughout the battle.


    After all, Zen was still half-step into the nature level, which meant that he was only capable of condensing and exerting demonic life energy. Although demonic life energy was powerful as it was, it was nothing compared to the strength of life vitality. Apart from the incomparable differences between the two, the five-clawed golden dragon in front of him continuously consumed life vitality which only made it grow stronger.


    Thus, the battle between the dragon and Zen was not the fairest. It was like pitting a chick against an eagle, and Zen was the much weaker chick.


    "Boff!"


    The unmistakable cracking sound of a punch was heard from the shadow of Zen''s fist that collided against the five-clawed golden dragon. Right after the punch, the shadow stealthily slipped into the body of the dragon and vanished from their sight.


    The general of the imperial army''s lips curved into a flat smile when the shadow had vanished. He sneered at Zen''s overestimation of his own strength and overconfidence about his own abilities. He used to think highly of his own "Magical Dragon Fist," but after a fierce attack, Zen even didn''t flinch at all. Very soon, the golden dragon defused Zen''s punch that he used his life energy to throw.


    The spectators, including Lenard and Cleve, shook their heads at the sight of the attack.


    The audience were witnessing what they had already expected.


    It was completely impossible for anyone else present to battle a strongman who had entered the Illuminating Soul Realm, simply because in such a fight, they weren''t powerful enough to counterattack at all.


    In the audience, Nina''s face had a serious and vexed expression. For this trip, she brought along three jade boxes with her, each containing a "Shock Dragon". She had previously called on her last Shock Dragon to counterattack the five-clawed golden dragon when it showed up for the first time, so she had none left.


    Even if all her Shock Dragons had been used up, she still had an arsenal of other hidden self-defense weapons ready at her disposal.


    For ins


    influence after it was consumed by his demonic life energy.


    Zen''s head whipped to the side for a moment. ''Then, how can I manipulate this five-clawed blackish purple dragon?'' he thought.


    As he silently asked himself, he came up with an idea. He immediately proceeded to separate his soul from his body and bewitched the dragon with his mind.


    "Howl, rawr!" the dragon let out a thundering cry.


    It was as if it had been woken up from a deep slumber. The huge monster began to ascend towards the sky, as its body started to slither around Zen''s own.


    Eyes wide with astonishment, Zen was completely amazed and pleased at the outcome of his magic. "That''s it! I really can manipulate it now!" he exclaimed excitedly. The blackish purple dragon slithered this way and that, then lowered its head to face its current master. Zen gave it a gentle pat on the forehead as he stared smugly at the furious eyes of the imperial army''s general, who had reached the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    All the spectators were utterly dazed by the scene. They were absolutely puzzled by how Zen got the general''s dragon under his control, especially with only his half-step into the nature level abilities.


    What had gone wrong? Just a few moments ago, they witnessed how the golden dragon was ready to kill Zen. But, how could the dragon turn into a blackish purple color and be under Zen''s authority in just a blink of an eye? The dragon had really stopped its attacks against Zen and seemed to have been under his dominance.


    Was there anything weirder than this in the world?

 Chapter 193 The Five-clawed Blackish Purple Dragon (Part Two)

    Meanwhile, Nina''s eyes glinted brightly with hope for Zen to win, as she also got lost in the same thoughts. The hand that tightly held the thunder stone in its grip still slightly trembled, but deep inside, she had realized that maybe, she had thought too much. Although Zen was only half-step into the nature level, it was true that he was a rare talent. Thus, it was no wonder that he got to keep the dragon under his control.


    Even though his opponent had reached the Illuminating Soul Realm, Zen had finally figured out a way against his opponent.


    She was happy that Zen at least got to hold his own ground against a much more capable contender.


    On the other hand, Lenard, who held a black sword and a white one, was in total disbelief. Under the current situation, he had contemplated if he should still help Zen or not.


    It was true that Lenard was always too conceited. Although he didn''t rank top ten in terms of strength on the Skytop Peak, he had a wealth of many other talents, wherein he had quickly reached one level after another at the fastest pace. Even if he was not in the top 10 rankings now, he would undoubtedly be included in the list in the future.


    No vain man wanted to owe a debt of gratitude. It was completely opposite to their character.


    Previously in the Sky Forest, Zen had saved Lenard''s life. Because of that, he was protective of Zen in this battle against the general. However, it was simply because he wished to repay him the debt of gratitude.


    Strongmen who were at the Illuminating Soul Realm were surely powerful. However, unlike them who entered this realm, Lenard was also cultivating a mystical skill. Once he had harnessed this skill, his strength would be significantly enhanced over a short period of time. He had been confident that his abilities would help Zen reduce the general''s strengths in half, but whether Zen could defeat the general or not still depended upon himself.


    Like all the other spectators preset, Lenard was also confused about which weird trick Zen had played. It came as no surprise that he was totally shocked by what Zen had achieved as well. Zen didn''t flinch at all when faced with a fierce attack from the general who was at the Illuminating Soul Realm. He had even caught the five-clawed golden dragon and got it under his control. Lena


    five-clawed golden dragon showed up in his hand in a flash. Just like the former dragon, this one also lunged on the five-clawed blackish purple dragon.


    The dragons'' bodies twisted and writhed violently against each other as they fought fiercely in the sky.


    Soon enough, their battle had come to an end.


    It turned out that the new golden dragon was far more vicious than the blackish purple one. After only battling for a few moments, it had torn the blackish purple dragon''s body into pieces, and destroyed it into several parts.


    A self-satisfied smile made its way on the general''s face at the final outcome of the battle. "The dragon under your control is just an illusion! Your dragon has given itself away immediately after battling my five-clawed golden dragon!" he said triumphantly.


    The truth was, the strengths of the two dragons weren''t even on par with each other.


    First and foremost, the newer five-clawed golden dragon was converted from life vitality, but the blackish purple one was only formed by life energy. In other words, their natures completely differed from each other. Moreover, the golden dragon consumed life vitality which significantly enhanced its power by a mile.


    The battle was grueling and had everyone on the edge of their seats. The general had the upper hand at first. Then, Zen suddenly made a surprising move which turned the odds in his favor, but in the end, the general still won. Although the tables had been turned for his win, the imperial army general''s smile didn''t last long.

 Chapter 194 Yolande

    The five-clawed blackish purple dragon was savagely ripped into pieces by another five-clawed golden dragon. Then the demonic life energy that came out from the body of the dead dragon penetrated into the golden dragon.


    The golden dragon became darker, and in a blink of an eye, it became a black dragon with its body bigger than before. It became more powerful and ruthless, more stunning than ever.


    Zen smiled, "You may have suffered a loss but don''t let it define you¡­"


    The general of the imperial army witnessed everything and was amazed by the golden dragon''s transformation. He jabbered, "How¡­ How... How did it happen?"


    The disciples of Cloud Sect that watched the battle were all speechless.


    Zen was triumphant that dark purple life energy was whirling wildly around him like a strong electrical bolt.


    And the victorious dragon swirled in the sky and then dashed to the general of the imperial army.


    The general''s face turned pale as he realized that this dragon was too powerful. Under the critical situation, he couldn''t think of an appropriate way to save himself in such a short time and all of a sudden, another golden dragon appeared above his hand.


    The disciples of Cloud Sect saw what happened.


    "The general of the imperial army is a powerful man of Illuminating Soul Realm, but foolish. Is he courting death?"


    "It''s a shame that he is part of Illuminating Soul Realm. It''s unbelievable¡­ He is too foolish!"


    The assessment of the disciples was right, as another five-clawed golden dragon was swallowed by the enormous black dragon of Zen and its size had tripled.


    The five-clawed golden dragon was so huge that it could wind around a palace instantly.


    Zen''s dragon was now three times bigger than its original size. The giant animal glistened and swirled in the sky, and once it would go down, it could destroy the whole world.


    Then Zen motioned to his giant dragon and waved his hand to it. The giant five-clawed dragon obeyed its master and dashed like a speeding bullet to the general. The dragon roared and howled at him.


    The general was rigid with fear and regretted everything.


    He defended Josef!


    There were countless capable men in White Emperor City. Why did he ever choose Josef? He never thought he could lose his precious life because of this mistake.


    But he did no wrong! That bloke was only half-step into the nature level, and he was a powerful man of Illuminating Soul Realm. Couldn''t he fight with a small man who was just weaker? The general was lost in his hopeless thoughts. He was scared and deeply frustrated at the same time.


    When the giant dragon went down to him and tried to get closer, a barrier appeared out of nowhere.


    The barrier was a square box, enwrapping and protecting the general of the imperial army.


    The barrier was so indestructible that¡­ no matter how the giant dragon thumped and pounded heavily, it wou


    ng wooden shoes. She gracefully waved her hand, and countless boxes appeared in the sky, rushing to Zen.


    Zen skillfully avoided them one by one without a stop, but there were too many boxes. At last, he was forced to the ground, and a box covered him.


    Zen touched the box, bit his teeth and punched it.


    It was so indestructible no matter how hard he smashed.


    When he was fighting with Josef, he shot him with a Nine-foot Spectroscope, and he couldn''t break into the light, but it eventually swayed after he hit it with his strong fist.


    But he couldn''t destroy the translucent box that he was imprisoned into. It remained firm from his violent punch.


    "I''ll destroy you."


    Suddenly, more than a hundred dragon scales lit up and glistened in Zen''s mind. With the ferocious strength, he summoned all his power and punched the box, yet it remained unmoved.


    "Demonic life energy. Devour!"


    Zen released the demonic life energy and tried to swallow the box, but the demonic life energy which was powerful had lost for the first time.


    "Broken flying knife!"


    Zen took out the broken flying knife from the space ring. The sharp flying blade which could cut everything on its way couldn''t even break into the box.


    Meanwhile, Yolande''s long colorful dress floated gently as she walked with her clattering shoes. She came to Zen, "It''s no use. You couldn''t defeat my enchanted barrier."


    "Enchanted barrier? Is this an enchantment?" Zen furrowed his brow and was caught in deep thought.


    "Since you didn''t choose a way to die, I will make that choice for you." Yolande stretched out her snow-white hand and waved her slender fingers lightly. Within seconds, a sharp-edged, thin and glowing enchanted barrier appeared on her hand.


    Its glow was blinding and she put the enchantment inside the box.


    Zen was standing still and breathing heavily. If the enchantment was pushed in, it would cut through his neck¡­

 Chapter 195 In A Small Box (Part One)

    But wait. Zen wasn''t hurt at all! Why?


    For the very simple reason that he had squatted down as soon as he sensed that the enchantment was coming his way.


    "What an idiot!" Zen gazed at her with a mocking stare.


    However, Yolande''s face remained emotionless even when she saw Zen avoid her attack so easily. No matter what happened, she had always been serious and indifferent; her face''s poker expressions were undeterred by emotions.


    She merely cast another enchantment in the direction of the box, which was as easily avoided as the one before it.


    Zen had curved up as most as possible and the enchantment had swept over his head with a gust of wind.


    However, he was now in quite an uncomfortable position. His head was bowed and his hands were embracing his knees. He had bent himself into a ball and couldn''t even raise his head as the area above it had been blocked by Yolande with the enchanted barrier.


    Zen saw Yolande''s little snow-white feet, but was in no mood to admire them. Right now, he was more busy with his resentment about being stuck like this.


    ''What a shame! How can I be forced into such a desperate situation and die like this!'' he thought to himself.


    Just then, Yolande bent down and squatted in front of him. She reached out and was about to cast an enchantment once again.


    If she succeeded, both Zen''s limbs and body would be rent apart into two separate pieces.


    He was stuck and couldn''t move at all. All he could do at the moment was swallow hard with despair on his face.


    At that very moment, a small silver sword flew right towards Yolande.


    Without so much as a glance


    litary Office has no time to judge such trifles. I''ll lock him up and hand him over to the Military Office after the demons are defeated," she continued.


    "You''re not going to lock him up here forever, are you?" Lennie asked with a bitter smile.


    "Why can''t I?" Yolande asked, blinking her grey eyes.


    Lennie felt a headache coming.


    Zen felt the same way.


    ''Is she serious? I would die soon if I have to remain curling up in such a small space all the time!'' he thought.


    In the small box, Zen couldn''t even raise his head or look straight. He was feeling stiff all over after only a short while in the box. ''I''d rather die if I have to stay in this posture for more than ten days, '' he thought.


    He knew that in her nature, Yolande would absolutely do so.


    Yolande suddenly stood up before Lennie could find a way to convince her to change her mind. "I''ve made my decision. I''ll keep him in the box until the demons are defeated."


    With that, she turned around and walked away. Zen moved slowly with her steps in the square box, like a pet following its owner.

 Chapter 196 In A Small Box (Part Two)

    "Hey! Hey..." Lennie shouted, trying to stop Yolande. But it was clear that she wouldn''t change her mind unless he could win her.


    Lennie was confident in his own ability. However, thinking of the magical power of the enchantment, he gave up the idea of fighting her.


    Nina was anxious when she saw Zen being taken away by Yolande like a puppy. "Uncle, what do we do now?" she asked. She hadn''t expected that even Lennie couldn''t save Zen this time.


    "Well, there''s nothing I can do now. I hope Zen can hold on until some help comes his way." Lennie couldn''t come up with any good idea except comforting Nina. Even the Lord of the city couldn''t persuade Yolande to change her mind.


    Zen was so depressed.


    He wondered if Yolande was deliberately torturing him. The transparent box he was locked in was rubbing against the ground all the time and would turn over occasionally, so Zen had to face the ground in some cases and rolled over along the way.


    When he was pulled forward by Yolande on the streets of White Emperor City, many soldiers and civilians came to watch.


    "Hey, Yolande! Can you let go of me?" Zen pleaded, squatting in the box.


    "Bang!" The box turned over again and Zen faced the ground again. It would take him a lot of efforts even if he wanted to see Yolande''s feet.


    "Since you''re the offender here, why should I let go of you?" Yolande asked.


    "I''m not an offender! I beat a guy named Yale who tried to kill me. He then asked his brother Josef to help him. However, instead of striking me down, he was killed by me. Then a guy named Hugh came. He wanted to kill me too."


    Zen had figured out Yolande''s way of doing things, and so was trying to convince her by logi


    aving Zen in a corner, she began to untie her nine-color long skirt.


    The girl seemed to have no self-protection sense against men at all, or she wouldn''t have taken off her clothes in front of a man like this.


    After taking off all her clothes, she stared Zen for a while with her grey big eyes. There was a rare expression on her face--she frowned!


    Then she covered the transparent box with her nine-color long skirt before walking to a big wooden barrel and jumping into it.


    Although Zen had read many books, he had never thought of himself as a gentleman. He knew how rude it would be to look at a girl nude, but it was impossible for a young man of his age to have no physical reaction at such moment.


    ''If you''re afraid I''ll see you take a bath, you should at least have covered the box a little bit more tightly. Why did you leave such a big bar area uncovered?'' he thought to himself. Zen wondered what Yolande was thinking. From the uncovered area, he could see her clearly.


    ''Be polite! Keep your eyes away from her!'' Zen kept on reminding himself in heart. However, his eyes turned uncontrollably to her.

 Chapter 197 Governors House

    After dropping her skirt onto his box, Yolande jumped into the barrel and now, Zen could only see her lean shoulders and back.


    As his eyes fell on her slender back, he was very astonished.


    It was totally different from what he had imagined. The skin on her back wasn''t smooth at all. Instead, it was covered with numerous scars.


    These scars, like earthworms clambering on her back, seemed to have been left by various objects including whips and swords.


    Based on Yolande''s power and position, it would have been a piece of cake for her to remove them all. For example, it would be very easy for her to use the Skin Nursing Pill warmly welcomed by the women of Imperial Capital to heal her skin.


    For the common people, the Pill wasn''t so affordable. But for Yolande, it would have been easy to buy one.


    ''Does she want to keep these scars?'' Zen mused in his heart, ''What has happened to this maiden and made her so nonchalant about herself?''


    As Zen was pondering over this, Yolande suddenly stood up with a splashing sound and looked around. It didn''t take her long to realize that Zen was peeping at her. Frowning, she waved her lily-white hands and her long, colorful dress draped itself over the entire box.


    Now the box was completely wrapped and Zen couldn''t see a thing.


    He heard the ruffle of her putting on her clothes, and when the box was uncovered, he saw that Yolande was already dressed.


    Now, she was in a loose white garment with four slender fingers unfolded by each of the long sleeves, which showed her slim body and made her look particularly cute.


    But seeing her cold face, Zen instantly realized that she wasn''t cute at all.


    "Bang Bang Bang!"


    She dragged Zen out of the bathroom.


    From what he had gathered, Yolande seemed to have no interest in anything, except for martial arts.


    As they entered her room, Yolande threw Zen-in-a-box into a corner and seemingly forgot about him. She sat on a cushion, closed her eyes, and began to meditate.


    Zen was totally at a loss. If Yolande had really made up her mind to free him only after the Military Office reopened, he was going to be in great trouble, which was why he had to try his best to run away.


    Having thought it over and over again, Zen shouted at Yolande suddenly, "Hey!"


    Zen''s "Hey" was very loud in the quiet room.


    But Yolande sat still without any response.


    "Hey!" Zen shouted again.


    But Yolande seemed just like an old monk who was completely devoted to his meditation. She seemed to have closed all her senses and wasn''t hearing anything from the outside world. She merely sat still, meditating, or practicing her martial arts.


    "I will run away if you ignore me!" Zen nerved himself and threatened.


    Seeing that Yolande didn''t respond, Zen said again and then dragged himself towards the door.


    As Zen passed by Yolande, he saw that her eyes were still closed, but her nostrils did spread slightly, maybe or maybe not in reaction to Z


    "Yolande, What''s wrong with that man?" Spencer asked in surprise. He noticed that the man was in a white robe and looked like an outer disciple of Cloud Sect.


    Though Yolande did something strange occasionally, it was unacceptable for her to take a guy at half-step into the nature level to such an important military conference.


    "He is a criminal and he has committed a serious crime. I will send him to the Military Office after the Military Office reopens," Yolande replied with a cold face, walking towards her seat.


    "A criminal? What has he done?" Hearing what Yolande said, Spencer was now more interested in Zen and asked.


    However, at that moment, Hugh got extremely worried.


    Because it would be a crying shame for him if everyone heard the news that he, a standout of Illuminating Soul Realm, was almost killed by Zen, a young man only half-step into the nature level. He tried hard to wink at Yolande, asking her to keep the secret.


    But Yolande was an honest person and she couldn''t understand what Hugh meant at all. Instead, she asked Hugh, "Hugh, why are you winking at me?"


    All the other standouts were amazed, and began to link Zen with Hugh.


    Lennie knew what Hugh intended to do, but he couldn''t help anyone right now. He also knew that even if he had helped, the situation couldn''t be changed because there was no one, not even Spencer, could stop Yolande from saying or doing anything. Seeing Hugh''s worried face, Lennie couldn''t help chuckling to himself, but he had to stifle his laugh even though he was laughing so much that it hurt his stomach.


    "No, nothing..." Hugh waved his hand and replied. He scolded himself for being so stupid, because he had known Yolande was very ignorant, so how could she get his meaning?


    Yolande stared at Hugh with confusion and said "Okay", and then she told Spencer, "This guy killed Josef today and almost killed Hugh as well."


    "What?"


    Hearing Yolande''s words, all of them were astonished.

 Chapter 198 The Attack From The Demon (Part One)

    Dubious looks were plastered on everyone''s faces and hushed whispers were heard in the room. If someone else had mentioned these words, people would take them as a joke.


    It had been a while since Hugh entered the Illuminating Soul Realm. Although he wasn''t the strongest refiner among the people at the Illuminating Soul Realm, he would definitely be a great power in front of the refiner of half-step into the nature level. Those in the Illuminating Soul Realm and half-step into nature level differed in strength, as was the case with a strong tiger versus small ant. It was a common knowledge among the people.


    However, when did the Illuminating Soul Realm refiners become so weak that a refiner half-step into the nature level could defeat Hugh?


    So, people at present felt confused to hear what Yolande had said just now.


    On the other hand, all of them knew Yolande very well. She wasn''t born to tell a lie and she was honest by default. If she said that Hugh was almost killed by the boy half-step into the nature level, it must have really happened. They wanted to believe what she said, but they couldn''t see how it happened.


    "Are you serious, Yolande?" Spencer asked. He was surprised to hear that too, and he could only ask about it on behalf of all the people present with them.


    "Yes, Hugh would have died had I not interfered," Yolande replied in her usual calm tone.


    Everybody fell silent again when they heard this. As they watched Zen again, a strange tinge of light shone in their eyes when they saw that Zen could defeat Hugh at the Illuminating Soul Realm by using only the strength that was just half-step into the nature level. What a strong and strange refiner Zen was!


    Unlike the curious looks on most people, Hugh felt annoyed and shameful after Yolande''s explanation as he was one of the heroes of the conversation. His face turned red like a mature persimmon. He flushed like the shade of cherries so deep that his skin almost turned purple. It seemed as though the blood would bleed away with a mere gentle press on his face.


    "No, no, no, I wouldn''t die even if Yolande did not intervene! I would only be seriously wounded at most," Hugh explained hastily. He couldn''t help but stand up as he defended himself.


    However, after he had finished, he realized that he was too dumb and impulsive to say that. He would have cried, if there weren''t so many important people among them. When Hugh thought of the whole thing, he felt that he wanted the ground to swall


    fice..." Zen heard someone whisper close to him.


    It was Lennie, who closely approached him and secretly muttered in his ear, then gave him a knowing wink.


    For most soldiers, the Military Office was a dangerous place. However, Lennie was confident that he could rescue Zen from that place. Josef, who was a counselor for the imperial army, was actually killed by Zen.


    It was easy for Lennie though, to protect Zen through the Military Office.


    In turn, Zen nodded to show his understanding. Soon enough several Military Office officers came in. Two of them carried out Spencer''s command to take Zen out. They escorted Zen out of the room and quietly shut the door.


    After Zen and the officers had left, Spencer began to arrange the Imperial Army''s combat plan.


    The remaining people in the room gathered around Spencer and the discussion started. "This time, the demon must have planned the attacks for long. Since the demon dares to attack the city at this moment, we must not despise them and must be extremely careful in the fight," Spencer said as he analyzed the current situation. The demon never started a fight without extensive preparation and unless they were fully confident to win.


    For example, the Heaven Tower and the Earth Tower had been built so long ago that they had never been attacked head - on by the demon.


    Last time, however, the demon came well-prepared and surprised the imperial army. The demon had successfully occupied these two towers with only one fight.


    And now, they were planning to attack the White Emperor City. Who could know what the demons had prepared and on what great power were they going to rely?

 Chapter 199 The Attack From The Demon (Part Two)

    To avoid making the same mistake of the imperial army protecting the Heaven Tower and Earth Tower alone, all of White Emperor City''s people took it upon themselves to act accordingly. They dared not lower their guard and seriously took the demon''s attack.


    "The four demon kings who attack the White Emperor City this time are very strong, especially Aldrich and Oceiros. The power of these two demon kings is currently unknown and unfathomable. If the war starts, I suggest that some of us try to hinder Aldrich...." Spencer continued and recommended some guys among them. All the officers, especially those who were mentioned listened attentively.


    As he spoke, Spencer gently pressed his hand flat before him on the tabletop. Then, in the middle of the table appeared some screen pictures. The said table was a huge Picture Slab. Displayed on the slab were the names of the four demon kings, and their respective strengths and weaknesses.


    Based on this information, they started to discuss and work out their plan of action. Suddenly, Spencer''s face changed, and his lips curved up into a wry smile. "It seems the meeting couldn''t continue. I felt a few giant evil spirits flying straight to the White Emperor City!"


    He didn''t have to explain anything further. All of them knew that the huge, incoming evil spirits must be from the four strong demon kings Spencer had just talked about.


    "In that case, let''s just knock them down first!" an old man said. He had been standing nearby and hadn''t said a word the whole time, until now.


    Spencer nodded in agreement and said, "Let''s get ready and fight!"


    All of them obeyed Spencer''s order and stood up to get ready. They dashed quickly out of the room, and some of them flew out from the roof of the governor''s house like fast streams of light.


    Meanwhile, Yolande did not move and stood in her original place. After a while, she too flew out with a tilt of the head, as if to remember something. But instead of flying through the roof opening, she rushed out through the house door and hovered low on the ground''s rocky surface.


    On the other hand, Zen and the military officers with him walked not too far away.


    "You have to wait in the office these days when the demon attacks the city. Don''t worry. I can see that the governor doesn''t want to make trouble for you," one of the officers said.


    When Zen heard the words of the officer, he nodded his head. It was better than staying with Yolande, regardless of where he went. It was really difficult for Zen to stay with Yolande as his body suffered to the point of


    against its transparent surface.


    Meanwhile, Yolande flew above Zen. Her snow-white dress billowed like a floating cloud around her. Her long, straight legs loomed below her dress, and her wooden clogs felt shaky on her feet. It seemed that the clogs would fall any moment now, but they still clung on to her feet.


    The demon birds targeted her too, but the arrows all seemed to hit an invisible wall around her and fell down uselessly to the ground.


    Suddenly, a faint light gleamed through the whites of her eyes.


    She squinted her eyes in response. No one knew what kind of thing she had done. However, the transparent enchanted barriers around her body seemed to burst into pieces and began spread out. The fragments of the invisible wall broke into irregular shapes like triangles and circles. An invisible force pushed them towards the demon birds and scattered around them like crystal clear raindrops.


    "Swish! Swish! Swish!"


    The fragments immediately stabbed the demon birds. The crystal-like formations hacked the demons'' bodies into pieces, their wings and other parts falling down in rapid succession.


    "Clang-quack-clang-quack..."


    Many demon birds burst into a shrill cry. They were even lucky to have had screamed out as most of them were instantly sliced and killed into pieces, their scaly limbs falling down to the battlefield below.


    The sight of the falling demon birds made Zen shake his head. He took an almost gleeful delight in seeing the demon birds killed violently by Yolande. "Oh, demon birds, why didn''t you find another rival instead? Why did you choose to provoke Yolande. You even did not have chance to fight!'' he thought, and it made his heart feel somewhat happy.

 Chapter 200 Fierce Fight In The Sky (Part One)

    The bright moon appeared as though it were a silver pan hanging in the sky. With no clouds seen at night, it was indeed such a remarkable sight.


    Upon raising his head and looking around, Zen noticed more than ten people not too far away floating in the high sky. As he slowly got closer, Zen started to recognize them. They were the powerful men of the Illuminating Soul Realm that he had seen in Governor''s House earlier.


    Meanwhile, in front of these powerful men were four giant animals floating in the sky as well.


    All of these giant animals exuded a terrifying evil spirit. However, they were different from the evil spirits of demon soldiers and generals, as theirs could be seen!


    Secretly, he could not help but be frightened. ''Their evil spirits are so strong! The four giant animals must be demon kings!'' Zen thought to himself.


    A demon king was the most powerful. It was the top-tier among all other demons.


    In the past, every time a demon king was born, it would bring great damages and horrible deaths.


    Before the Burning Sky Empire was founded, a demon king was a nightmare even for powerful men.


    According to an ancient book, a demon king once fought all the way in the Eastern Region and destroyed hundreds of cities. He led his subordinates to massacre residents in the city. As a result, in the northwest of the Eastern Region, humans were destroyed and not a soul could be found for thousands of miles.


    When the Burning Sky Empire was founded along with the Cloud Sect, the situation was secured at last.


    In the last thousands of years, as all kinds of secret skills, cultivation methods, treasures, and geniuses appeared, the power of the demon king was gradually suppressed. Humans in Eastern Region hit back successfully and killed many demon kings.


    Regardless, no wise man ever underestimated the strength of a powerful demon king. Especially not in the course of this battle as four of them had banded together. What


    es as they could amplify their strengths continuously.


    In the past, the imperial army fought against demons and defeated them many times. However, they had never killed Aldrich.


    Since then, no one had projected that Aldrich could reach this level. Even Spencer did not see the demon king''s speed clearly just now.


    Aldrich curled his lips and said, "The human is delicious as always. What do you think? I can give you another chance. It is not late yet if you surrender now. Otherwise, I will eat all of you one by one in this way!"


    "No way!" Spencer answered coldly. As the governor, he could not lose the momentum at any time. "Everyone, be careful. Aldrich''s speed has increased a lot. Don''t let him get close to you!"


    While Spencer concentrated on warning everybody, Aldrich moved again unexpectedly. The latter flapped his huge wings and flew at a high speed. Again, no one caught him with his or her own eyes.


    "Whoosh!"


    All of a sudden, Aldrich appeared beside Yolande and caught her. "I will eat this white and tender baby!" the demon king said mercilessly.


    Yolande was expressionless, though she reacted more rapidly than the powerful man whom Aldrich had swallowed just a moment ago. She shook her finger, and an invisible enchantment appeared like a shield in front of her.

 Chapter 201 Fierce Fight In The Sky (Part Two)

    However, Aldrich''s strength was incomparable.


    Even though Zen had applied all his power, he failed to break the transparent enchantment. However, Aldrich merely grasped it, and there was a clear sound of crushing.


    To everyone''s surprise, Aldrich''s claw pierced a hole through the enchantment, and at that point, he tried to seize the girl.


    Floating in the air, Yolande saw the demon king''s claw reaching to grab her. Even so, she remained unmoved and just blinked her grey eyes. A light flashed on the broken transparent enchantment.


    "Crack!"


    In an instant, the enchantment repaired itself. The demon king''s claw, which was passing through the hole of the enchantment, was cut off in the process.


    When that happened, Aldrich howled in pain. His loud cry appeared to shake the dark sky.


    However, when the demon king started to howl, another sharp enchantment protracted from the primary enchantment that cut his claw and soared towards him. While it clung to his broken arm, the light flashed again and turned into a box, which trapped the whole arm in it.


    "Crack..."


    Several more enchantments appeared in the box quickly and sliced Aldrich''s arm into several parts.


    Everyone who witnessed the gruesome outcome frowned. They could not help but wonder how painful it must have felt being in Aldrich''s place. Secretly, they were just relieved it was not their hand that was cut in several pieces.


    Zen was also terrified. It turned out that the name ''Killer Girl'' was not out of nothing. In his opinion, the girl was more horrifying than the demon.


    Aldrich was in pain and finally knew how to behave. He stumbled backward rapidly, just enough to stay out of Yolande''s attacking range. The demon king glared at her with a contorted expression on his ugly face and said, "Woman, I will eat all of your body including your bones!"


    The unfazed girl stared at Aldrich with h


    emon king she was battling was probably the fiercest and most powerful demon king among them.


    Yet, no matter how many times he attacked, he could not get close enough to Yolande.


    When they were chasing and running around, Zen heard another explosion. His eyes sought for the source, and in an instant, he saw the life vitality great god of Spencer wave the huge hammer and smash a demon king!


    The attack of the hammer could probably smash an entire hill, but to everyone''s surprise, the demon king only sustained an injury. He had such a strong body!


    ''Alas! On such a battle, all I can do is to cheer them on, '' Zen thought to himself and sighed deeply.


    Perhaps Aldrich felt the pressure of his fellows and attacked Yolande more crazily.


    Although the girl''s expression remained detached, Zen could tell that her stress levels had shot up as well!


    "Bang!"


    After the demon king smashed through several enchantments, suddenly there was a bluish grey bone spur stretching out of his body.


    No one saw it coming. As the bone spur was shot, it was not aimed at Yolande. Instead, Aldrich had planned to hit Zen who was behind her!


    "Fuck..." When Zen saw the bone spur rushing towards him, he could not help but curse his twisted fate.

 Chapter 202 The Demon鈥檚 Holy Fire (Part One)

    Zen was trapped in the transparent enchantment. The space was too narrow for him to move his head, let alone to dodge.


    Suddenly, the demon king attacked, and it was directed at Zen. The attack was so strong that it could rip Zen''s body apart.


    Zen was in a critical situation right now. Even if he could move, it was hardly possible for him to dodge Aldrich''s bone spur with its speed. Even if he could see it, there was no time for him to react.


    "I don''t have enough power to destroy this transparent enchantment. But I bet for Aldrich, this would be like smashing a fragile egg. This might be the end of me!" Zen brooded resentfully as the bone spur attack got closer to him.


    The moment the bone spur nearly stabbed him, Zen suddenly felt that a force lifted him up and slightly tilted him to one side.


    The bone spur brushed past him and left a small graze on his face.


    "A narrow escape!"


    Zen breathed a sigh of relief. Though he was grateful, Zen was still surprised at Yolande''s gesture of saving him in this very critical moment. He thought she didn''t care for him at all.


    But if Yolande did care, why did she bother to bring him along with her?


    It was hard for Zen to decipher Yolande''s mind.


    But in fact, Yolande''s mind wasn''t complicated at all. She didn''t have much consideration on things and only had one simple purpose.


    Zen was undeniably guilty in Yolande''s perspective. She thought he should be handed to the Military Office for trial and punishment. However, she was worried that the Military Office would eventually let Zen go, thus she decided to bring him along instead.


    Her way of thinking might be considered o


    d with determination as she said, "You''re right. Even if you run away, I can still catch you anytime. Get ready! I''ll release you!"


    But before Yolande could release Zen, Aldrich launched another fatal blow.


    The demon king stretched his arms and legs and a black energy mass started to accumulate in front of him. It was the demon core of the demon king.


    The moment the demon core appeared, it started to emit evil spirits. Instead of spreading randomly, the spirits seemed to be manipulated by some invisible force and they formed into certain figures like water being poured into a vessel. They finally became magic runes.


    The runes were far from the characters used by the humans and each seemed to symbolize something. In no time, there were already hundreds of runes slowly spinning around the demon core.


    "Yolande, watch out! It''s the holy fire of the demon king Aldrich!"


    Spencer called out to her from not so far away.


    He recognized the runes at once since he fought with Aldrich before and had been possessed by him before. He felt the urge to warn Yolande of this attack.

 Chapter 203 The Demon鈥檚 Holy Fire (Part Two)

    The demon''s holy fire was a technique only Aldrich could perform. Within the range of the demon fire, Aldrich''s strength and speed would be immensely maximized.


    But Spencer''s warning came a little too late.


    The demon core in the hands of the demon king suddenly burst into a black mist and immediately filled the surroundings.


    "Whirr¡­"


    Yolande tried to evade the mist, but it spread so fast that she was engulfed in it within seconds.


    Zen was free falling to the ground when Yolande released him, but when he was about to hit the ground, the black mist enveloped him.


    "Wait, what is this thing?"


    Zen could feel the thickness of the mist as if he had sunk deep into a mire. There was nothing but darkness when he opened his eyes.


    The black mist seemed to have devoured all the light.


    Before Zen could adjust to the light, he suddenly felt a searing pain in his skin.


    "What is this mist? It''s slowly disintegrating my body!"


    Zen''s body was a spiritual weapon and it couldn''t be destroyed by any normal weapon or even the three-corpse poison, which was the most fatal poison from the Eastern Region.


    But the black mist was very different. It was like millions of small ants that could hardly be seen by the naked eye, gnawing on him bit by bit. Though his body had the strength of a spiritual weapon, the black mist could still bite his skin little by little.


    What could he do about it?


    If Zen could not find a way to deal with this, the mist would eventually nibble away his whole body and soon there would be nothing left of him.


    But he was already at his wit''s ends.


    The demon king''s technique was immensely powerful and there was no w


    There was still hope. Zen was overwhelmed with joy. At least the barrier was not as tough as Yolande''s enchantment where his punches didn''t have any effect. The invisible barrier could be broken if he would continue to punch it with all his strength.


    "Bang! Bang! Bang!"


    After three consecutive punches, the barrier trembled like the ripples of the river.


    The waves flashed and shook more fiercely, but then it stopped. The barrier was still intact despite the powerful punches Zen threw at it.


    ''This is not good. With my normal strength, I won''t be able to break through this barrier. Maybe I could use the demonic life energy and see whether it could break it, '' Zen thought.


    Zen clenched his fist and raised it above his head. The demonic life energy started to accumulate in his fist, and he concentrated it to devour the barrier. But to Zen''s surprise, the demonic life energy didn''t do much damage to the barrier.


    It was the strangest thing that Zen had ever witnessed. He had used the demonic life energy often and it had never failed him. So why now?


    It didn''t work and it was strange.

 Chapter 204 The Battle Of Opposite Forces

    ''How about the flying knife? Will it work?'' wondered Zen.


    Then he took the knife out from his space ring and threw it forcefully towards the curtain of light.


    Much to his astonishment, though the knife was old and shabby, it didn''t cause damage to the curtain of light but instead, passed through smoothly.


    It seemed that everything, even the life energy could penetrate and pass through the curtain of light freely except for Zen.


    Zen remarked that his skills were no longer useful to him, and thus he had to rely on his own strength to get through this obstacle. Unfortunately, he had tried several times only to be disappointed.


    He felt defeated as he heard Yolande''s voice coming from the thick black mist above him.


    "The Formless Enchantment! Break!"


    As these powerful words were spoken, a roar of anger echoed in silence. It was the voice of the demon king Aldrich. At that same time, the black mist began to roll and release more intense energy.


    Zen, who was near the curtain of light, distanced himself as waves of billowing black mists came rolling toward him.


    With his feet on the curtain, Zen tried to escape from the surging black mist. He didn''t know which way to go and soon a cloud of black mist enveloped him.


    "Crackle..."


    The destructive power of the black mist had intensified tenfold in a blink of an eye!


    Zen''s skin was scraped and it opened to an ugly wound. It bled profusely in horror.


    When Zen finally struggled out from the cloud of black mist, to his dismay, there was another one moving on his way. The dark mists had started to cover every nook and cranny and he was now in a dead end with nowhere to hide.


    In truth, Yolande was losing her power.


    These black mists were from the demon''s holy fire. It was the demon''s cryptic secret which could only be used by the powerful and special demons.


    How enigmatic it could be? This wasn''t effective on Yolande as it could not hurt her at all. The problem was the demon king Aldrich himself. His intensified agility and strength allowed him to hide his presence in the fire. He could manipulate the demon''s holy fire like a skilled warrior.


    "Swoosh!"


    There was a deafening sou


    ldrich and Yolande were within the black mist and they were two of the strongest forces from each side.


    The outcome of their battle would greatly affect the whole White Emperor City.


    But the thick layers of black mist completely obscured what was inside, leaving them nothing to see about the on-going battle.


    "Did Yolande lose? Her rival is the demon king Aldrich, after all," said one of the refiners in the Illuminating Soul Realm, with an anxious look.


    "Don''t worry about Yolande. She is different from the rest of us. She was born with the ability to become stronger when facing a stronger rival," stated another refiner who had great confidence in Yolande.


    "The black mist of the demon''s holy fire could disturb a soul, and we cannot see what''s going on inside¡­"


    "Look! Why is the bottom of the black mist dissipating?"


    Then the curious crowd turned their eyes on the fire''s bottom, where they saw a whirlwind vortex was sucking the black mist.


    A man in the Illuminating Soul Realm descended, looked up from the bottom, and shouted, "It''s Zen!"


    "What?" Lennie was surprised with what he just heard. Then he moved to the bottom of the demon''s holy fire on a silver sword and there he saw Zen lying at the bottom.


    There were pieces of gold foils floating above Zen''s body. They kept spinning into small whirlwind vortexes and then sucking the black mist.


    "What¡­what happened to this boy... " Lennie murmured in disbelief.

 Chapter 205 Oceiros Pillar

    Zen''s body were going through different changes.


    And it had happened before. For instance, he once absorbed Evil Lan''s fire in a cave. There was also an instance when he absorbed the fire of the Earth''s core in an underground cave in the south.


    This made his body become a low-grade spiritual weapon.


    But Zen didn''t know that the black mist was also a kind of flame.


    The demon''s holy fire was a kind of flame that looked like a black mist because of its very low temperature. All the low-grade demons used it as a secret pill to cultivate their powers.


    The way to refine a corporeal body with the demon''s holy fire was similar to Zen''s mysterious book about weapon refining.


    The vortexes on Zen''s body were absorbing the black fire quickly.


    In a short amount of time, the demon''s holy fire that wrapped Yolande and Aldrich was being swallowed by Zen unexpectedly.


    And at the rate of his body''s absorbing power, Zen could swallow the rest of the demon''s holy fire.


    The vanishing demon''s holy fire harmed Aldrich, while Yolande regained her advantage at the battle.


    The powerful men of the Illuminating Soul Realm who were on standby could not believe what they were witnessing.


    They didn''t agree with Yolande taking the burdensome Zen to the battle, but they couldn''t bring it up during the battle.


    And after Aldrich released the demon''s holy fire, it became hard to tell the outcome of the battle.


    But they had never imagined that Yolande''s stubbornness could help them in this difficult situation. The little guy had unexpectedly absorbed the demon''s holy fire.


    One of the demon kings was not in the best fighting capacity with his injuries. And amongst the three demon kings, only Oceiros could salvage the situation now. If Aldrich got injured or died, the demons would be at a disadvantage.


    It seemed that the demon kings were discreetly communicating using a secret skill. Their eyes were rolling continuously and then abruptly stopped. Then without verbal words, they started to move simultaneously.


    They tried to approach the demon''s holy fire from different directions.


    The three demon kings aimed to prevent Zen from absorbing all the demon''s holy fire. They knew that Aldrich paid a great toll at releasing the demon''s holy fire in an instant so they couldn''t let anyone destroy it yet.


    As long as the demon''s holy fire existed, Aldrich would still be invincible.


    But if that bloke absorbed the demon''s holy fire, it would greatly damage Aldrich.


    The three demon kings staying outside the demon''s holy fire would prevent Zen from absorbing all of it at any price.


    The powerful men of the Illuminating Soul Realm saw through the action of the demon kings and knew exactly what they were planning.


    "We have


    mer.


    Spencer sneered and waved the other hammer.


    "Bang!"


    The hammer and the pillar crashed into each other at a high speed and it made a sound that echoed through a hundred miles away.


    The battle between the demon army and the imperial army at White Emperor City abruptly stopped at the sound of the horrible blow. They looked up at the sky with fear in their eyes.


    The Oceiros'' Pillar was smashed to pieces by Spencer''s hammer. It turned back to its original form as an evil spirit and then disappeared between heaven and earth.


    The other powerful men were having a difficult time facing Oceiros'' Pillars.


    One of the powerful men waved his machete at the sight of Oceiros'' Pillar approaching. When his life vitality was burning crazily, the machete turned into a blood cutter and tried to chop the pillar.


    This powerful man was confident in his strength and technique. His blood cutter was a top-grade spiritual weapon and anything it had in contact with would surely be cut in halves. He had not met any weapon that could escape the wrath of his blood cutter since he reached the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    "Crack!"


    But the blood cutter didn''t destroy the pillar completely and got stuck deep in the pillar. The powerful man was surprised to see that his blood cutter didn''t succeed for the first time.


    This cutter user was an old but famous refiner and reached the Illuminating Soul Realm without a sweat. If he were anywhere in the Eastern Region except the Imperial Capital, he would dominate the place and nobody would dare to provoke him. But unexpectedly, he couldn''t cut through the Oceiros'' Pillar.


    He went to pull out the machete from the pillar but didn''t make it.


    When he came near the pillar, the chains entangled him together with his blood cutter and immediately trapped him inside the pillar.

 Chapter 206 The Battle Of The Life Vitality (Part One)

    The refiner''s face was distorted because of the attack. He wanted to run his life vitality to break through these chains. But when he tried to do that, he found that his life vitality couldn''t be formed.


    He was then bound up to the Oceiros'' Pillar, falling rapidly.


    This was just one of the special functions of Oceiros'' Pillar. Anyone who was bound to it would be unable to use the life vitality. The Pillar could lock the life vitality, and even the powerful men of Illuminating Soul Realm could not overcome it. They had to rely on their physical strength and fight like ordinary warriors.


    There were also two other refiners being trapped by the powerful Oceiros'' Pillar and falling toward the ground one by one.


    Only Spencer could pound the Oceiros'' Pillar to pieces with his brute strength. There were also two other powerful men of Illuminating Soul Realm that were able to avoid the attacks from Oceiros'' Pillar by their special and agile moves.


    "In addition to the Oceiros'' Pillar, Oceiros is also very strong. Only we three are here now and we must do everything to stop Oceiros!" cried Spencer. And then he raised his mighty hammers and bravely met Oceiros head-on.


    The other two refiners were also good at physical combat. Together with Spencer, they successfully subdued Oceiros'' ferocious attack.


    While the three men were fighting closely to ward off the attacks of one of the demon kings, Zen kept absorbing the demon''s holy fire.


    He absorbed it faster and faster and finally he had taken almost half of the demon''s holy fire into his body.


    The existing black mist was getting thinner. And one could see the figures of Aldrich and Yolande from time to time.


    Aldrich''s face looked dreadful amidst the black fog.


    He was holding his strongest card and that was the demon''s holy fire. As long as it was there, he was unbreakable. The holy fire not only could intensify his speed and strength but a


    Once receiving the command, this refiner soon summoned his life vitality to generate a fire beneath his feet to quicken his speed, and then he was about to rush toward Yolande. All these refiners of Illuminating Soul Realm knew clearly that it was a critical moment for both parties who were competing with their life vitality. At this moment, Yolande and Aldrich were afraid of any outer distraction and could not spare any other life vitality to face the attacks from the others. Any distraction might lead to serious injury.


    And the refiner who planned to intervene was known for his agility. That was the reason that Spencer had asked him to help Yolande. He could move faster than a speeding bullet. Just now he had bravely dodged the attack from Oceiros'' Pillar because of his speed.


    But just as he was about to make a dash, Oceiros also moved faster and stopped him from flying to Yolande.


    Earlier, Oceiros wanted to stop Zen from absorbing the demon''s holy fire since it was significant to Aldrich. Now, since the holy fire had been absorbed by Zen, Oceiros looked around, and noticed that Aldrich was actually competing with the little human girl with life vitality.


    At that moment, Oceiros was completely certain that the little human girl would lose the fight.

 Chapter 207 The Battle Of The Life Vitality (Part Two)

    Therefore, instead of fighting against him, the refiners of Illuminating Soul Realm changed their plan and would like to save the human girl. Oceiros had to stop Spencer and other human refiners.


    Everyone was so engrossed that they had overlooked one person who was lying on the light curtain, Zen.


    Silently lying there, Zen felt a hot mass engulfing his body. It was as hot as the burning lava that he had experienced before.


    The golden swirls had absorbed all the demon''s holy fire and then converted to such a power that refined his body from head to toe once again.


    ''Ah, I do not want to feel this again!'' Zen cried to himself. He sat up on the light curtain and shook his arms to ease his stiff body. Then, he felt something strange in his chest.


    ''Wow, what''s this? A new spiritual texture is on my chest!'' Zen was delighted to see this spiritual texture. Last time when he absorbed the fire of the Earth''s core, he also found that a spiritual texture appeared on his chest, which symbolized that he had become the body of spiritual weapon. Now he had two spiritual textures on his chest!


    One spiritual texture represented that he was a low-grade spiritual weapon. If he owned two spiritual textures, he had entered the middle-grade.


    A smile rose from his face. But on the other hand, he was a little confused. According to the previous experiences, he must absorb the fire to refine his physical body. But how could he receive the same effect after absorbing the black fog?


    He felt more confused now. The black fog which he saw was actually the demon''s holy fire. It was also a kind of fire, but a special one and few people knew that.


    Aside from the new spiritual texture, Zen found some other special things appeared on his body.


    Two streak of unique runes ha


    said was true.


    If Yolande failed in the life vitality battle with Aldrich, the strength of the human refiners would be much lesser than now. Thus, White Emperor City would be in chaos and taken over by the demon. Zen himself might also die as he would be easily pressed to death by one finger of the demon kings.


    With all these factors considered, Zen climbed up from the light curtain reluctantly.


    Anyway, his slow move satisfied Spencer and other human refiners. However, their smiling faces didn''t last long and soon turned to worried ones.


    After all, this was Aldrich, a famous and strong demon king, while Zen was just a young man who was only half-step to the nature level.


    They two fighters could not afford to be distracted in a battle of the life vitality as the rival might take the chance to attack.


    However, Zen was so weak before a demon king. Aldrich might not need to spare too much of his attention and could kill Zen easily.


    Anyway, they never knew the result if they did not try. And now, they could only rely on Zen.


    The moment was suspended as all were looking at Zen, who was climbing up to the curtain of light and moving towards Aldrich...

 Chapter 208 A Good Plan (Part One)

    The light curtain was egg-shaped, floating in the air.


    Zen crawled to the edge of the eggshell and was only a few feet away from Demon King Aldrich.


    There was a saying that people couldn''t be distracted when competing in battle of life vitality, for Aldrich he believed otherwise. Being the demon king, he was beyond any human belief and standards so a slight disturbance wouldn''t affect him.


    Zen thought that if he had rushed without thinking, he might be stabbed by the demon king''s spike and his life would be over before he knew it. At this point, caution was his only friend.


    He thought that the safest way was to attack with his broken flying knife, but he didn''t expect to kill demon king with one shot. But if he could injure him, it could cause a considerable amount of effect on the demon king.


    With that in mind, Zen gently pressed space ring with his finger and shot flying knife towards the back of the Demon King Aldrich.


    Meanwhile, the demon king was ranting about his carelessness in ignoring the human boy when he released the demon''s holy fire.


    He initially thought that the human boy was as weak as an ant. He wouldn''t even pay much attention to a master of the Illuminating Soul Realm, so why would he worry about a meek human boy? He was confident that the boy would eventually be corroded when exposed to his demon''s holy fire.


    But Demon King Aldrich didn''t expect that the boy would consume his demon''s holy fire.


    He found it strange for an ordinary human to stand his demon''s holy fire, let alone consume it like it was nothing.


    Witnessing this made him change his perspective about the boy. Since then, he didn''t let his guard down


    towards Demon King Aldrich.


    Zen was confident at the strength of his Heavenly Ogre Fist. He once defeated the Illuminating Soul Realm master Hugh with it, but Zen knew that his victory was only because Hugh was not 100% into their fight.


    "Poof!"


    But like the flying knife, the purple-black fist shadow hit an invisible barrier before reaching Demon King Aldrich.


    Zen failed again. His face showed his disappointment and frustration.


    ''Damn! Both my flying knife and the Heavenly Ogre Fist didn''t work.


    There''s no way but to approach him myself.


    Damn it. But Demon King Aldrich is strong. His strength is far beyond mine. What if he attacks me and kills me in an instant?'' Zen thought hopelessly.


    "Listen to me, boy! If you stop this nonsense, I will let you live as my servant after I capture the White Emperor City," Demon King Aldrich shouted at Zen.


    When Zen heard it, he was angered. He scoffed, "I''m sorry. I''m not interested to be anyone''s slave."


    "So, what do you want to be?" Demon King Aldrich asked Zen.


    "I would like to be your master. What do you think?" Zen sneered.

 Chapter 209 A Good Plan (Part Two)

    Demon King Aldrich became furious, "How dare you insult a demon king like me? Do you know the consequences of your action?"


    "Well, I''m not interested in finding out. I only know that the human and demon are enemies, so don''t try to lure me into surrendering," Zen said coldly.


    "I like you, unfortunately, you''ll have to die. I hope you won''t regret the choice you made." Demon King Aldrich heightened the speed and frequency of releasing the evil spirit.


    Demon King Aldrich''s strength intensified and the pressure in Yolande''s shoulder became heavier. At that moment, her beautiful little face turned pale and she was struggling to hang on.


    Zen looked at Yolande and saw that she kept that blank face even at a time like this. It made her look more pathetic in trying to look calm and composed.


    Even though he didn''t like Yolande, he was moved by her determination. "Well, there''s no harm in trying again."


    Zen also knew that he had no choice but to fight Demon King Aldrich. If Yolande lost in the battle, he would end in a more miserable situation than the people in the White Emperor City.


    ''This battle has to end now!'' Zen made up his mind and jumped from where he was towards Demon King Aldrich.


    He was close enough to Demon King Aldrich that he could reach the latter in one jump.


    Seeing what Zen was doing, Yolande took this opportunity to release more life vitality from her body. With Demon King Aldrich distracted, she could now take him down for good.


    It didn''t matter what Zen would do as long as he could distract Demon King Aldrich.


    As he approached the demon king, Zen shot a pale-yellow sharp thorn from his forehead and darted at Demon King Aldrich.


    "Spiritual Thorn!"


    He didn''t expect to do much damage to the demon king. His only goal was to distra


    Luckily, everyone was paying attention to Zen. No one saw the change in Yolande''s expression, not even Zen who was busy planning on how to return the favor to Demon King Aldrich.


    While Yolande and Demon King Aldrich continued to face each other, Zen was anxious in coming up with a plan. As he walked back and forth, he caught sight of Hugh in a distance and an idea instantly came to his mind.


    He waved his hands in the air to attract Hugh''s attention. Amongst the Illuminating Soul Realm masters, Hugh was the only one defeated by Zen in a battle. But despite that, it didn''t mean that he wasn''t good enough to be one of the masters. All that had reached the Illuminating Soul Realm were either the privileged or the most gifted.


    Hugh soon understood what Zen was trying to signal to him.


    In their last battle, Zen was able to absorb Hugh''s five-clawed Golden Dragon and turned it into the Black Dragon with his demonic life energy. This could mean that Zen could absorb other people''s life vitality and used it as his own.


    Hugh knew exactly what Zen was planning. Without second thoughts, he stretched out his arms, released his five-clawed Golden Dragon, and sent it to Zen.

 Chapter 210 A Narrow Escape From Death (Part One)

    The two demon kings were able to prevent the Illuminating Soul Realm masters from passing. However, it was difficult to stop them from releasing their life vitality.


    Despite everything, the two demon kings did not comprehend why the person had suddenly conjured a Five-Clawed Golden Dragon. What was he plotting to do?


    The Five-Clawed Golden Dragon whirled in the sky, flying towards Zen at a constant speed. When the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon soared to a certain distance, Zen clenched his hands into fists and directly punched it.


    "Ogres Shaking the World!"


    A purple-black fist shadow came straight at the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon. "Boom!" The fist shadow penetrated into it, leaving a small black spot on the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon''s body.


    Initially, it did not seem to reveal any other effect. Then, in the blink of an eye, the little black dot spread quickly like wildfire. Soon, the entire Five-Clawed Golden Dragon turned into a Five-Clawed Black Dragon!


    Zen manipulated the Five-Clawed Black Dragon into spinning in the air while wandering around.


    Meanwhile, Lennie who stood in the distance suddenly seemed to recall something as his eyes brightened.


    He waved his hand, and several silver swords flashed in it. As soon as the gleaming swords appeared, he launched them directly at Zen''s direction.


    Imitating Lennie''s move, Hugh also summoned another Five-Clawed Golden Dragon from his hand and shot it towards Zen too.


    Whether it was a Five-Clawed Golden Dragon or gleaming swords, Zen took on all of them without batting an eye. While still in his control, he made the Five-Clawed Black Dragon consume them.


    After the Five-Clawed Black Dragon devoured them completely, it expanded more than twice its initial si


    them.


    An opponent could easily run away and avoid the dragon. Then, as soon as the Five-Clawed Black Dragon disappeared, they could return and end Zen''s life.


    Nevertheless, today''s situation worked the best for this Five-Clawed Black Dragon to steal the show from everyone!


    Aldrich was now contending against Yolande with life vitality. It was hard for him to be distracted, let alone move.


    When he noticed the Five-Clawed Black Dragon though, his face had darkened. He could not imagine how Zen, a human brat, was able to create such a terrific dragon.


    At the same time, the demon king became perplexed.


    Aldrich thought, ''Is it a trap right from the start or is it just a coincidence?


    If it is a trap, then they are engaging in some risky business. Did they really put all their hopes on a young human who only has half-step into the nature level? It is utterly impossible.


    But if it''s a coincidence, is it God''s way of saying that I will die today?'' The demon king refused to accept such a cruel fate.


    It was apparent that beating the Illuminating Soul Realm humans was child''s play. Yet, why had it suddenly turned out like this?

 Chapter 211 A Narrow Escape From Death (Part Two)

    Not only did that brat, Zen, take away his demon''s holy fire, but he now also conjured a titanic Five-clawed Black Dragon to take his life.


    "I am not giving up!"


    While Aldrich screamed in his heart, Zen had sent the Five-Clawed Black Dragon to penetrate through the light curtain and rush towards him.


    As Yolande was willing to cooperate as well, she depleted most of her life vitality from her body while the dragon attacked the demon king. She was determined to kill Aldrich in one shot.


    "Grr!"


    The Five-Clawed Black Dragon tilted its head and growled while pouncing on Aldrich. It looked so powerful and intimidating that the earth trembled upon its roar. It opened its mouth and unwaveringly came at Aldrich.


    Aldrich found himself cornered and caught in a dilemma. ''Should I dodge?'' he thought.


    However, Yolande would not let him escape. Without a doubt, the girl from the human clan would fiercely fight back until he was defeated. In that case, could he face the blow of the Five-Clawed Black Dragon without doing anything?


    Was that even possible?


    Even the powerful Aldrich was not sure he could withstand the attack.


    Even if he could block the attack of the Five-Clawed Black Dragon and still come out alive by luck, the human girl who was right in front of him would still be around to take him down.


    "Grrr¡­ You human brat! I''ll make you pay with your life!"


    In his desperation, Aldrich finally realized that there was only one way left for him to survive, and that was to go all out!


    Suddenly, the demon king reclaimed all the evil spirits. In the contest of life vitality, retrieving all of it was undoubtedly equivalent to suicide.


    It seemed that Aldrich di


    Even though he was badly injured, and his remaining strength was only one-tenth of its normal amount, he was still the unconquerable demon king in Zen''s eyes.


    "Boom!"


    In an effortless manner, Aldrich reached out his hand and slapped the flying knife away. The broken flying knife, which had never failed Zen, regrettably did not have any effect on Aldrich.


    Although his attempt was futile, it had bought some time for Zen to escape. At the very least, he managed to run several meters away from the demon king during the distraction.


    Unfortunately, his insane speed was beyond Zen''s imagination. With a flap of his wings, Aldrich''s huge body cut through the air and pounced on Zen like a savage beast.


    "Human brat, go to hell!


    I am going to devour your flesh and suck your blood dry!" Then, four bone spurs came out from Aldrich''s body while they were all aimed at Zen from different directions.


    If any of the bone spurs struck him, it would render his cruel destiny set in stone. As the enraged demon king intended to suck his corpse dry, Zen could already imagine himself perishing and turning into a mummy.

 Chapter 212 The Stubborn Girl

    Loud footsteps ran through the jagged, rocky surface. The hairs on Zen''s back stood on their ends when he sensed danger behind him.


    He continued to run away from the imminent peril, but it turned out to be useless. He knew where the danger came from, but he simply couldn''t get rid of it!


    He finally thought that since he couldn''t get away, he''d have to turn back and fight!


    With that in mind, Zen jumped up and turned around in the air. He saw that Aldrich had gotten close to his back and several bone spikes from his body got closer as well. The nearest one was only several feet away from his nose.


    "Get it off!" a sudden scream was heard.


    "Ah!"


    A five-clawed black dragon had abruptly emerged above Zen''s head and gave a loud roar. Its great, slender body directly swooped downwards from the sky.


    Before, Aldrich was able to dodge that black dragon''s attack, but the dragon didn''t disappear. Now, Zen had it under his control and commanded it to stay parallel above him all the time.


    After all, Zen''s personal skills were quite useless. There was nothing he could do for now except control this huge black dragon to defend himself against the enemy.


    Now, if Aldrich really decided to risk everything and wanted to kill him, he could end up dead even if Aldrich was under the attack of the huge five-clawed dragon.


    If Aldrich decided not to, he could have a chance of survival.


    However, Aldrich didn''t want to resign himself to not fighting back. He saw his opponent was close at hand and he could kill Zen immediately, but the damned five-clawed black dragon in the sky quickly rushed down.


    "Hah, do you think that you can run away?" Aldrich said disapprovingly. He flapped his large, scaly wings and maneuvered strangely to the side. He seemed to wait for the black dragon to turn away before he attacked Zen again.


    Unfortunately, that didn''t turn out to be the case for Aldrich.


    Across him, a smile playfully danced on Zen''s lips as he slightly waved his index finger. The black dragon then rushed down and suddenly changed its direction, then flew towards him. When it got nearer, it unexpectedly swallowed Zen in whole!


    The huge five-clawed black dragon was made from Zen''s demonic life energy, so when he was inside the dragon''s body, he didn''t get hurt, but was able to control the dragon to wrap him up.


    Apparently, Aldrich never thought that Zen would use this skill. For one second Aldrich was already determined to take his life, but now he was completely hidden deep inside the body of the black dragon. Aldrich couldn''t do anything to him anymore.


    "Quack¡­" Aldrich screeched.


    Dozens of livid bone spikes suddenly came out from his body.


    The bone spikes hurled themselves towards the black dragon''s body. The sharp ends penetrated it through, but Aldrich couldn''t find Zen. He could only shoot randomly without an aim.


    Meanwhile, Zen silently lay on the bottom of the black dragon and remained perfectly still. Bone spikes continued to fly back and forth above his head. He was calm on the outside, but he really felt scared. He had to depend on luck this time.


    After a while, luck was on his side after all as not one bone spike hit him.


    On the other hand, Aldrich couldn''t do anything to Zen. H


    I have saved your life anyway!" Zen shouted angrily.


    However, Yolande simply blinked at him. "If you didn''t save me, you would die--so it is not that you saved my life but you saved yourself," she said.


    "..." Zen could not respond to that. After he thought about it for a while, he stated, "Even so, you don''t need to lock me up all the time!"


    "After sending you to the Military Office, I can let you go," Yolande replied.


    When he heard Yolande''s last words, Zen felt relieved. Under this situation, the Military Office of the imperial army wouldn''t get him in trouble. While he did kill a counselor of the army from Zhuge family, he had also helped the army slay a demon king just now. That was a huge deal, so he believed that even Hugh wouldn''t bother him again.


    After a few moments, the powerful men of Illuminating Soul Realm finally descended from the sky one by one. Lennie and Spencer walked towards Yolande as soon as they landed.


    When he saw Zen was still bound by the enchanted box, Spencer''s eyes stared at Yolande. "Yolande, be quick and let Zen come out. Why do you have to lock him up till now?" he said.


    But, Yolande only shook her head. "I will let him come out after giving him to the Military Office!" she firmly said.


    The others, including Lennie and Hugh, had heard what Yolande said and stroked their temples in exasperation. This girl was truly extremely stubborn! Even under such dire circumstances, she still insisted on sending Zen to the Military Office!


    Now, Lennie was not pleased by her decision.


    "Yolande, you can''t send him to the Military Office!" he said.


    The girl''s steely gaze turned to look at him.


    "Why?" she simply asked.


    "Because he has done a meritorious deed just now. He is a hero and has saved our White Emperor City!" he explained.


    The powerful men of Illuminating Soul Realm, including Lennie and Spencer wouldn''t usually get into a conflict with Yolande at ordinary times.


    They had defended White Emperor City for a long time, and clearly knew about Yolande''s character and attitude.


    However, today would be different -- Lennie told himself that he wouldn''t make any compromise.

 Chapter 213 The Reward

    For Lennie, it wasn''t a big deal to send Zen to the military office because he believed they couldn''t find any offense that Zen was guilty of. Even so, he would not allow Yolande to take Zen there.


    "Even if people regard Zen as a hero, we couldn''t turn a blind eye that he offended Hugh and even killed a military counselor. He should be subjected to a trial," Yolande said stubbornly.


    "Yolande, please let it go!" Spencer persuaded her as he stood by Lennie''s side. "Yes, Zen killed a military counselor and minded you, I investigated. That counselor from the Zhuge Clan provoked him and wanted to kill him first, but Zen overpowered him. Moreover, Zen fought with us against the Demon King Aldrich. So even if Zen had killed an officer of the Imperial Army, I would have still forgiven him with his crime!"


    Spencer''s words had absolute power. What he meant was very clear ¡ª he was the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Army. He had the authority to influence as to how Zen would be dealt with.


    "I agree with that! And I don''t want to pursue that matter. Now I know why Zen killed Josef, my fault," said Hugh as he stepped forward near to Yolande.


    Yolande was silent for a while and after a careful thought, she nodded and said, "I will let it go!"


    When they heard it, Spencer, Lennie and Hugh felt all relaxed and heaved a sigh of relief in unison. Although they were determined to go against Yolande, it was crystal clear that she could be stubborn and was used to getting her own way. She wasn''t called a Killer Girl for nothing, since she was heartless and no one could stop her from doing what she wanted.


    Then Yolande lifted her right hand. She snapped her slender fingers and the transparent shell around Zen began to soften, slowly turned into life vitality and was gone completely.


    "Boy, you did a good job! You should be proud that you saved us!" Lennie stepped forward and patted Zen''s shoulder. At the back of his mind, he thought Zen and Nina would be a perfect match!


    Zen felt slightly embarrassed for such high praises and downplayed, "It was just a coincidence. If Yolande didn''t take me to fight with the Demon King Aldrich, I wouldn''t have the chance to kill him."


    The truth of the matter, everyone doubted two things about Zen. One, why was he able to absorb the demon''s holy fire.


    It was known that the demon''s holy fire was mystic and powerful. And just like every coin with two sides, the demon''s holy fire could prove to be deadly to humans, while it was worthy to demons.


    If an ordinary person was thrown into the demon''s holy fire, it would corrode him to nothingness in a blink of an eye. Only the masters at the Illuminating Soul Realm, such as Yolande, were safe in the demon''s holy fire. Even so, her perception and sight was adversely affected in the battle.


    But Zen was bizarre and though he was half-step into the


    knelt down to a beggar who saved a person''s life. Today, you helped the Imperial Army win the war and thousands of lives were spared. Certainly, you deserve it!" Spencer told a story earnestly.


    "It was said that Quin, a respected gentleman in ancient times, was once a poor man. He walked on the side of the river and saw a beggar save a person from the river. He had no money to reward the beggar, so he knelt down to salute the beggar!"


    Spencer told a short story for Zen to consider and accept his praise.


    "We can''t give you a remarkable military feat since you are not a soldier of the Imperial Army, but as a representative of the Imperial Army, I am here to award you three treasures and you can choose the treasures yourself as you enter our treasure house!" announced Spencer.


    "Three Treasures!"


    "He can choose freely!"


    The crowd got noisy and all their eyes sparkled with excitement.


    Over the years, the Imperial Army had accumulated great fortune of treasures and only those that were priceless were kept at the Imperial Army''s treasure house in the White Emperor City.


    They were gifted to soldiers with extraordinary feats. Receiving this award was extremely hard and you were not even allowed to select one for yourself freely!


    But Zen was given the honor to enter the treasure house and could freely select three treasures. Everyone knew there were tons of treasures and all the officers were envious of Zen.


    After the meeting was over and everyone left, Spencer led Zen to the Imperial Army''s treasure house.


    The Imperial Army''s treasure house was hidden below the ground. Zen was following Spencer as they walked underground along the dark narrow passageway. Spencer ignited a candle after he opened a heavy stone door, and the entire treasure house lit up.


    Even in faint light, the whole treasure house blazed with golden brilliance, sparkling to its glory.

 Chapter 214 The Phoenix Crystal And The Emerald Crystal (Part One)

    The resources the White Emperor city had saved over the years couldn''t be compared to those of the Cloud Sect and the Burning Sky Palace, but they were a lot more in number than those of the seven noble clans.


    All kinds of spiritual weapons and treasures were stocked up roughly in the wooden frames on the wall, randomly pushed into nooks and corners as if those things didn''t seem to be rare in the city.


    Zen could choose any three treasures he liked, and he was glad to accept the offer.


    He didn''t have a strong interest in spiritual weapons as he had quite a stock of heavenly essence in hand, and he could easily barter it for the weapons.


    He scanned the top rack of the frame, skipping past the spiritual weapons.


    Spencer was surprised to see this. The spiritual weapon was of no use to the powerful men of Illuminating Soul Realm, but Zen, in his position, should be keen on them. His indifference was peculiar.


    Spencer pointed to a pair of treasured swords at one side. "This pair of treasured swords are called the Double Ring Killing Swords. They are top-grade spiritual weapons with extraordinary power. If you choose them, they will only be counted as one of your three treasures, and are certainly worth more than their value."


    Zen nodded but didn''t answer. He still wanted to see the rest of the stock.


    Spencer noticed his disinterest in the weapon and had no choice but to follow Zen as he stalked forward.


    After walking for a while in the treasure house, Zen suddenly halted, his eyes locked on a wall not far away.


    Three treasures hung on it. They exuded strong energy, but each of them looked incomplete.


    er.


    Spencer blinked his eyes in surprise, but still nodded at him. "Zen, since you have chosen the blade as your first treasure, it is yours now."


    The broken spiritual weapons had been hung in the treasury since long. Most people allowed to enter this treasure house were the members of the imperial army. There were weapon refiners in the army, but they wouldn''t go to the battlefield to kill an enemy, and rarely got the chance to commit military exploits. They could hardly qualify to enter the treasure house and choose their reward.


    Few people chose the crystals as a reward. The top-grade spiritual weapons were already assembled and aplenty. They were more suited to them.


    "What about the one next to it?" Zen questioned.


    Another broken weapon hung next to the blade of Jade Butterfly. It was a red spear that had been separated into several parts. Again, a blood red crystal rested in the middle of the spear point.


    They watched as a dim red light flashed inside the blood red crystal. The light grew bright and dim from time to time, like it had its own heartbeat.

 Chapter 215 The Phoenix Crystal And The Emerald Crystal (Part Two)

    "This spear is named Tronson and is also a top-grade spiritual weapon. The crystal embedded in the spear point is an Emerald Crystal. Complemented with the Emerald Crystal, Tronson had the strongest penetrating effect and could easily penetrate an enchanted barrier," Spencer said patiently.


    "Penetrate an enchanted barrier?" Zen stared at the crystal with interest. After getting locked in the box several times, he had become wary of Yolande''s transparent enchanted barrier. Even if he got his hands on a weapon like Tronson, it was possible he would be unable to break her enchanted barrier. However, if he encountered other ones in the future, it could prove to be a handy weapon.


    Spencer nodded. "Yes. Emerald Crystal''s strength has a strong influence. Tronson was destroyed by the demon king Sheen. In those years, Sheen had mastered the skill of the enchanted barrier. Initially, the powerful men of Illuminating Soul Realm in White Emperor City could do nothing to Sheen, but the Emerald Crystal broke through his enchanted barrier. At long last, Sheen was defeated, but unfortunately, in the process, Tronson too was destroyed..."


    Looking at the pieces of the broken Tronson, Zen could readily imagine the intensity of the battle.


    "I will take this one too," Zen stated, pointing at Tronson.


    "Of course. I will take it out for you in a while." Spencer smiled. "There is another crystal left. Would you like that too?"


    Zen glanced at the remaining weapon that hung on the wall - a formidable broken ax. He shook his head. The crystal on the ax radiated with a brilliant light, but Zen only had two rows


    ere taken, so the pill had become rarer to find in the market. Initially, it didn''t have a high cost, but it went up all the time. Today, a Nirvana Pill was worth nearly one hundred thousand cubic crystals. It was beyond the purchasing capacity of a nature creature.


    More often than not, it was the elder of a family who bought the Nirvana Pill to give to the elite of a young generation.


    The one who bought it didn''t eat it, and the one who ate it didn''t buy it, which meant that the Nirvana Pill''s price had gone through the roof.


    "This Nirvana Pill will be my third choice," Zen announced, nodding with satisfaction.


    Truth be told, Spencer had planned to secure the pill for a younger elite in his family. As long as the young man gained some sort of accomplishment in the imperial army, the pill could be rewarded to him.


    But now, Zen had picked it as his own, as one of the three treasures Spencer had promised him. As the governor of the imperial army, Spencer couldn''t go back on his word, so he just nodded reluctantly. Zen''s eye was far too clever.

 Chapter 216 The Inlay

    The Nirvana Pill had the greatest value of all treasures and the other two spiritual weapons only had a relatively low value. Those were selected by Zen.


    As Zen observed the two spiritual weapons, he found that the only valuable parts of them were the Phoenix Crystal and Emerald Crystal that were inlaid on each weapon.


    Typically, these two crystals were useless for outsiders but very practical for Zen.


    After Zen left the Imperial Army Treasury, he was given a big room to stay. After the battle was won and demons retreated, the Imperial Army continuously sent people to clean the rubble brought by the destructive fight. So Zen was going to leave the White Emperor City after two days.


    He was satisfied with the big room, but what he wasn''t happy about was that his room was next to Yolande''s.


    Dealing with Yolande was uncomplicated as he only needed to avoid her wrath. Not to provoke her or at least stay away from her so she wouldn''t lock him again inside the box...


    When he settled down inside the big room, he took a refreshing bath and washed away all the filth of the past few days. He felt better afterward and sat down in a dark corner of the room. Then he took out and studied the broken Jade Butterfly from the space ring.


    From what Zen knew, top-grade spiritual weapons were not usually inlaid with crystals. The power of this weapon might come from the crystal itself which was similar to a fairy weapon!


    Undoubtedly, the Jade Butterfly was a great knife and might have served his owner faithfully. It was such a pity that it was destroyed.


    "I will remove this Phoenix crystal first!" murmured Zen as he stretched his hands and tried to snag the Phoenix Crystal out from the knife but failed. He could try again with harder force this time but was afraid that the Phoenix Crystal would be chipped. For a moment, he didn''t know what to do.


    The crystal was precious to him and shouldn''t be taken down roughly. There must be a smart way to do it. Then an idea hit him. In the Weapon Refining Principle, there was a trick on how to take down crystals. He took out the Weapon Refining Principle in no time from his space ring and scanned the pages.


    The booklet had recorded and kept well-hidden secrets and that included tricks used by Chase in his lifetime. It encapsulated Chase''s skills and experience.


    Zen found what he was looking for and on this specific page, the methods on how to remove crystals embedded in treasures were recorded in detail.


    Zen read the method carefully, word for word, and then his face sank with disappointment. He mumbled, "According to this book, life fire is needed to take down the crystal. Oh, this is tough."


    Zen


    nd what he meant.


    It took him four long hours to teach the black fire. It seemed to him that the black fire had finally understood that he wanted it to enter the runes.


    The moment the black fire entered the runes on the Jade Butterfly, it lit up a light that wasn''t too vivid.


    Zen could see the runes move, the outer and inner parts twirled in opposite directions. He looked closely and saw the Phoenix crystal in the center of the runes waggled.


    Then he gently shook the blade.


    "Flip-flop!"


    The Phoenix Crystal twitched and fell to the ground.


    "Thank God. It''s finally loose!"


    said Zen with a beaming smile. He then waited for the black fire to emerge from the runes. When it was out, he threw the blade of the Jade Butterfly into the air. The black fire rushed to the blade like a hungry lion and devoured his reward. The blade soon disappeared, leaving drops of heavenly essence.


    The Phoenix Crystal no longer had its color and luster after it was removed from the runes. Zen put it down and planned his next step. "Now, it''s time to think how to inlay it on one of my arms," said Zen to himself.


    It brought a shiver to his bones when he thought that a crystal would be deeply embedded inside his body.


    Although he was a special human, a spiritual weapon in a human figure, it was still strange to inlay a foreign matter into his arm.


    But he had to embrace it because it would make him more powerful.


    The runes on his arm must be activated to inlay the precious gem into it. And they must be activated by the black fire. Although the black fire was a part of him, he must be very careful not to burn his arm with its powerful yet damaging energy.


    "Well, I gambled once, and I will do it again!" said Zen as he made a decision to take the risk.

 Chapter 217 The Power Of Zens Fist (Part One)

    Zen gritted his teeth at the thought and was ready to bet all on a single blow. He stretched out his arm and motioned for the black fire to go into the runes on his arm.


    As a result of his intensive training, the black fire could now easily recognize the runes in Zen''s arm and would instantly dive into them.


    As soon as the runes absorbed the black fire, Zen''s arm trembled a little. The extreme power of the black fire emitted heat and Zen could feel the warm sensation crawling from his arm.


    Though the heat was overwhelming, Zen only felt relief rather than pain.


    In no time, the runes started to rotate. When the inner and outer parts moved, the center of runes flashed a bright light.


    As the runes began their ritual, Zen grabbed the phoenix crystal with his left hand and stuffed it in the center of the runes.


    "Buzz!"


    As soon as the phoenix crystal touched the runes, a blinding light sparked but runes stopped rotation and returned to normal. The phoenix crystal suddenly vanished.


    Zen was stupefied and touched the spot where the phoenix crystal was. He pressed it and felt something hard beneath his skin. He assumed it was the phoenix crystal embedded into his skin.


    After the black fire finally came out of the runes, Zen stood up and tried to move his right arm.


    "It''s time to test the phoenix crystal! Let''s see how this can improve my speed!" In this room, all the facilities that Zen needed for his training were available and soon he found a stone man to practice boxing with.


    Standing in front of the stone man, Zen squared his elbows and took a deep breath. Then he swiftly shook his fist at the stone man.


    "Bang bang bang bang bang¡­"


    In the blink of an eye, Zen threw twenty


    ke Zen, Yolande was well-known amongst the soldiers and her name held a great reputation in the city. The head of the soldiers stuttered, "Officer Yolande, we apologize for this unannounced visit, but we are currently doing an inspection in the whole city. We know you very well, but we have to follow protocol. We hope you can do us a favor and cooperate with us."


    Clad in her usual nine-color long dress and a pair of clogs on her feet, Yolande stood at the gate and asked in a calm manner, "What is this inspection about? And why should I go through this inspection again?"


    "Well, Because demon generals might be lurking here, and we are using the demon-revealing mirror to find them," the head of the soldiers told all the details to Yolande. Being known as the Killer Girl, Yolande was not someone these soldiers would trifle with. Although her facial expression was blank, she still looked intimidating and her aura sent shivers down the soldiers'' spine.


    "There''s no way I am possessed by any demon general, so I don''t need this silly inspection. Off you go then." Yolande was about to go back to her room when she heard a soldier speak.

 Chapter 218 The Power Of Zens Fist (Part Two)

    "Officer Yolande, I''m afraid you cannot refuse. This is a direct order from the leader, and everyone is obliged to undergo inspection. Even the commander is no exception to the rule. So please cooperate with us." Though the soldiers were scared, they must follow and execute the military order.


    But Yolande just looked at them without saying a word. She didn''t intend to do the inspection at all and could care less of any military order. As she was about to close the door, Zen stepped forward and said, "In front of you are loyal and responsible soldiers. As a key member of the White Emperor City''s guards, you should set a good example to them by cooperating in the inspection. Why are you making things difficult for everyone?"


    The soldiers felt uneasy but still were grateful when Zen stepped in and spoke with Yolande. This was something these soldiers wouldn''t dare do.


    When Yolande heard Zen, she suddenly turned around. The hemlines of her dress were slightly lifted by her sudden motion, revealing her slim legs. She stared at Zen with her blank eyes and said, "It''s none of your business, so I suggest you go away."


    Zen sneered and said, "I know that I might be overstepping, but it''s the right thing to do. It would make everything easier for you and everybody else. Besides, it will only take a few seconds."


    But Yolande just kept on staring at him with her expressionless grey pupils. Suddenly, a transparent enchanted barrier appeared when Yolande flipped her fingers.


    "Damn, she got a hot temper!" Zen raised his eyebrows and quickly stepped back.


    He knew Yolande could be obstinate, but he didn''t expect her to be so unreasonable. She was so easy to get irritated that anything would possibly result in violence.


    The soldiers knew that Zen was only trying to help, but there was nothing they could do. They stood aside and prayed in hearts that Zen would come out of this


    "Bang!"


    With the strength of the emerald crystal on his left arm, Zen slammed the enchanted barriers one by one, leaving a red mark on them.


    He already knew that the red energy from the emerald crystal could weaken the stability of the transparent enchanted barriers. Even the tiniest taint could damage the transparent enchanted barriers.


    After tainting the enchanted barriers with the red energy using his left fist, Zen started throwing punches into the enchanted barriers using the power of the phoenix crystal to destroy them completely.


    Despite Yolande summoning enchanted barriers at a high speed, Zen just smashed them easily.


    The pieces of the broken enchanted barriers shattered on the ground like rain.


    Every tinkle was the sound of Zen breaking the enchanted barriers into pieces.


    Seeing that her enchanted barriers were of no use on Zen, Yolande decided to change up her game. An intimidating aura started to emit from her body.


    Suddenly, an enchanted barrier appeared, slowly encircling Zen. This newly summoned enchanted barrier was different from the first ones. From the color of this enchanted barrier, Zen realized that it was the Blood Prison Enchantment that Yolande used to deal with the demon king the other day.

 Chapter 219 The Racing Heartbeat (Part One)

    The Blood Prison Enchantment was, in fact, an exceptionally formidable enchantment.


    Even a demon king like Aldrich spent a long time and a lot of hard effort just trying to break through it.


    Such enchantments with great power were usually used against adversaries who were in the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    If it were someone else who found that his normal enchantment had failed to trap Zen, he would end his efforts and give up immediately.


    However, Yolande had a unique and controlled personality. When Zen lightly broke her enchanted barriers, the girl''s levelheadedness never faltered. Instead, she did not hesitate to cast the Blood Prison Enchantment.


    Her colorful dress swayed as she leaned on the edge of the Blood Prison Enchantment, wearing a pair of small clogs. "Can you break through the Blood Prison Enchantment, too?" she challenged Zen who was in the enchantment, a faint smile slightly visible on her face.


    Standing in the middle of the enchantment, Zen felt it emanating a bloody aura. With his eyes fixated on her face, he suddenly cracked into a grin and said, "I thought you couldn''t smile. Surprisingly, you have such an attractive smile."


    His tough opponent blinked, revealing a hint of confusion in her grey pupils. Then, with a flip of her delicate hand, jets of bloody auras within the enchantment shot towards Zen.


    From what he could remember, the bloody aura had the power to disturb the mind and drive people mad.


    Under its influence, people with weak souls might even destroy each other.


    When Zen felt hot while the bloody aura seeped into his mind, he could sense it striving to affect his soul. It made him a little excited.


    Unable to deflect its invasion, he closed his eyes and felt hi


    g Soul Realm, and I am only half-step into the nature level. How can I break your enchantment?" Shaking his head solemnly, he thought, ''Yolande is too simple for her own good. It''s so much fun to tease her.''


    "How would you know that you really can''t do this when you haven''t even tried?" Yolande persisted, shaking her head.


    "I can''t do that! I just know," he said, waving his hand helplessly.


    The girl''s eyes flickered with disappointment.


    For a moment, she just stood there as though she were thinking about something. Suddenly, she added, "Just have a try with all your might. If you ever do get to break this enchantment, I might consider giving you a reward."


    "Really?" A surprised expression spread across Zen''s face. Somewhat suspicious, he examined her pretty face and asked, "What''s the reward?"


    "Any reward you want as long as I can do it!" Yolande spoke earnestly. "Well¡­"


    The man raised his eyebrows slightly. It was just what he wanted her to say.


    Although, Zen never thought that the girl could come up with such a solution so soon. For a brief minute, he wondered if he should not have tricked her into such a situation.

 Chapter 220 The Racing Heartbeat (Part Two)

    Nevertheless, all reason to sympathize was lost when he remembered that she had been keeping him in such a confined space for such a long time.


    "Okay, I''ll have a try!"


    After that, Zen took two steps toward the edge of the Blood Prison Enchantment, found a proper position, and began to launch his demonic life energy.


    According to the nature of the demonic life energy, a trace of it was more than enough to make his plan work. As long as it could consume the bloody aura from within, the amount of the demonic life energy would shoot up.


    Finally, Zen took a deep breath and threw a punch at the Blood Prison Enchantment.


    With the Emerald Crystal''s red energy, he made a small gap in the enchantment. Immediately as he had expected, the bloody aura repaired the gap with visible speed. The result was a clear repeat of earlier, but with one exception.


    In this instance, he had injected a wisp of the demonic life energy into it, which quickly spread like a dye in the water.


    When the bloody aura surrounded the demonic life energy, the demonic life energy began to counter and devoured it like no tomorrow. It seemed that the tables had been turned!


    The demonic life energy spread quickly, and more rapidly. Then a fist-sized black blob appeared on the Blood Prison Enchantment, and a small patch of it turned black-purple. After what felt like a few minutes, the entire Blood Prison Enchantment finally turned all black-purple.


    ''Yes!'' thought Zen elatedly. It meant that he was in charge of the whole enchantment!


    Before anyone else realized what was happening, he tapped his finger gently on the Blood Prison Enchantment and shouted, "Break!"


    As soon as it received Zen''s order, the demonic life energy in the Blood Prison Enchantment promptly dissipated betw


    linked and said, "This request is too simple, I can do much more than this. Think it over and change it."


    "No, this request is good enough," Zen replied, smiling and bending his face close to hers.


    While looking at Zen, Yolande scowled as though she did not understand his logic. Then quietly, she walked towards the man, stopped in front of him, and tiptoed on the small clogs while leaning close to him.


    A soothing fragrance overpowered his senses as the girl drew closer; her moist lips touched his cheek as light as a chicken''s peck and then quickly moved away from him.


    Even though she did not turn a hair, she did not say anything else and left to retreat to her room.


    As soon as Yolande was back in her room, she sat on the futon used for her daily training. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and tried to practice. To her surprise, she felt restless, which was a first as it was not in her nature to feel that way.


    Bending her long legs, she rested an arm on the colorful dress while the other played with the hem. As her frown deepened, she stared blankly out of the window. "That''s so strange. Why is my heart racing?" she murmured, sounding confused.

 Chapter 221 Dragon Valley (Part One)

    Zen was only a teenager, and he had only been joking when he asked Yolande to kiss him.


    When remembering his experience of being locked up by her with her enchantments, he couldn''t help but have come up with such an idea to revenge on her.


    But surprisingly, Yolande kissed him on the cheek without any hesitation. After her lips had left his cheek, he gawked at her in shock for a while.


    The soldiers standing beside them stared in shock too. They didn''t expect that Yolande would have agreed to his request so easily.


    "What''s wrong with her?'' they wondered as they shook their heads.


    Ever since that little incident, Yolande spent almost all her time in her room, and Zen never met or saw her again.


    On the other hand, Yolande was already used to this kind of life. In addition to defending the city with the imperial army, she had been practicing cultivation in her room for most of her time.


    After some time, Zen was going to leave the city. He collected all his stuffs in a bag and hoisted it on his back before going out the door. He stopped in front of Yolande''s house and looked at it for quite a long time before turning away.


    He began his path to his destination on foot. Since all the disciples of Cloud Sect had left, of course nobody would send another giant flying chariot to pick him up. Thus, Zen had to go back alone.


    Fortunately, the demon had been defeated and two demon kings had been killed. The demon''s camps had reduced significantly as well. Furthermore, the imperial army in the White Emperor City had completely destroyed the demons in the surrounding areas and Sky Forest. What was left to do was to plan the next counterattack to take back the Heaven tower and the Earth tower.


    However, these had little to do with Zen because he was only a disciple of Cloud Sect, not a member of the imperial army.


    When Zen had reached the boundary of White Imperial City, he headed for Cloud Sect.


    The trip


    ld continue his journey as soon as possible.


    ''If only I can get a flying chariot in G County!'' Zen thought to himself, but he knew that there was little chance that his wish would come true. In a county of this size, it was possible however to buy a swift horse like the flying dragon horse or the lightning horse. Although not as fast as the flying chariot, they could help Zen to speed up his journey and save his energy. ''The waiters might know where I can buy a swift horse. I''d better ask them later, '' he thought.


    As Zen busied himself with finishing the remainders of his meal, a group of guys had entered the restaurant and walked upstairs. They spoke rather noisily and looked quite arrogant. One of them reached into his pocket and pulled out two pieces of gold bullion, each piece of them was about the size of a fist. He banged them loudly on the table and looked around.


    "Waiter, bring us the best wine and dishes of this restaurant!" he yelled. The man who seemed to be their leader stretched his limbs carelessly as he slouched on his chair and ordered the waiters in a raucous voice.


    All the waiters were dumbfounded at the sight of the big gold bullion the man had slapped on the table. They immediately served these guys with much bowing and fussing over their meals.

 Chapter 222 Dragon Valley (Part Two)

    Meanwhile, Zen observed them for a few seconds and then went back to his food again. They spoke in such deafening volumes that everyone in the restaurant clearly heard their conversations.


    The sound of the metal utensils clinking against plates mixed with their cacophonous voices. "Brother, are we really not going back to Dragon Valley?" asked a man among them.


    The group''s leader raised an eyebrow at the question. "Go back to Dragon Valley? You''re just dreaming!


    Do you even know who they are? Let me tell you, they are from top seven noble clans! No matter which one you provoke, they can even destroy our Bamboo Leaf Sect with a single finger!" he said with a wide-eyed expression. The rest of them just shook their heads at this fact.


    "Alas! It''s unfair! Our Sect has been staying at Dragon Valley for so many years, but now we have to leave because it was occupied by some powerful group! What a shame!" the man who sat beside their leader angrily exclaimed. It was true, and once again the rest of them nodded in agreement.


    "Since we have no choice, we have to leave. Even though a strong dragon finds it hard to control a local snake in its place, our Sect is not even a local snake in their eyes! And who are they? They are even more powerful than strong dragons," their leader continued.


    He spoke the words with such exaggeration, as if he couldn''t find a better metaphor.


    They continued to eat their food as they talked more about their current topic.


    "Fortunately, they are generous. With those cubic crystals they gave us, we don''t have to worry about our future life. Let''s find some girls and have fun in the brothel tonight!" another one of them piped up. When one of them started talking about fun and brothels, the rest of their words drowned in Zen''s ears.


    He raised an eyebrow when he heard them talk about Dragon Valley.


    The name was not unfamiliar to him, because he had seen it before on a book page when he had previously read the Weapon Refining Principle. There were two place


    is now!"


    The group leader nervously glanced at the cubic crystal on the table and knew that he had no choice but to accept it, and tell Zen the address of Dragon Valley.


    Small beads of sweat had formed on his temples before he spoke carefully. "Cloudy Mountain¡­is not big. In fact, it''s rather small. You may reach it after getting out the north gate of G County and walking about 20 miles along the national road. Dragon Valley is located on the side of Cloudy Mountain. You''ll see a bamboo forest when you climb up Cloudy Mountain. After bypassing the bamboo forest, you''ll find a deep pool. Behind it, is Dragon Valley," he finished. After all, Dragon Valley was their former base, so the leader told Zen about its location quickly even when he was extremely nervous.


    After that, Zen patted him jovially on the shoulder and said, "Good job! This cubic crystal belongs to you now!"


    He then paid for his meal and walked downstairs. He decided that he must pay a visit to Dragon Valley.


    As soon as Zen left, the noisy group''s leader slumped on his chair. All his courage went down the drain now. "These assholes!" he cursed.


    Another disciple of the Bamboo Leaf Sect who stood beside him couldn''t agree more. "He''s not only incredible in power, but also in generosity. I didn''t expect that we''d get another cubic crystal so easily!"

 Chapter 223 So Huge (Part One)

    Just as the big man instructed, Zen walked twenty miles on the main road after exiting the north gate of G County.


    Considering his speed, Zen finished the 20 miles instantly.


    And then, he saw a path which led to a small mountain not far from where he was standing. This would be Cloudy Mountain!


    Sure enough, just as the big man had said, Cloudy Mountain was small in size and not famous. There were several similar mountains all over, and probably few people in G County knew about it.


    After Zen climbed to the top of the mountain, he saw a bamboo forest on the side. Following the instructions given by the big man, Zen entered the forest. Almost immediately he heard the sound of water. When he looked around, Zen saw several small streams flowing down from the mountain and gathering in a pool.


    "Dragon Valley must be just after this pool. I wonder what secret is hidden in the valley!"


    Zen walked along the edge of the pool. Suddenly two voices came from the front. "Who dares to come here?"


    Zen didn''t get a chance to reply. The question was followed by the sound of something flying through the air. An instant later, Zen saw two flying axes spinning toward him at high speed.


    Zen was not expecting hostility as soon as he entered the forest. However, his reflexes were quick. In the blink of an eye, Zen pulled out his broken flying knife and launched it at the axes. The broken flying knife made an arc in the sky as it cut through both of the axes.


    With a small smile, Zen then peered through the dense forest for the people who had thrown the axes. Soon he saw two men stan


    was rushing at them, they took out two more axes and aimed for his head.


    Zen didn''t give them a chance to swing their axes.


    When flying past, Zen''s broken flying knife mirrored his movements. Soon, one of the guards stood still with a shocked expression as a thin blood line grew on his neck. At the same time, Zen spun his body, and the broken flying knife copied the movement. The second guard''s neck happened to be on the path of the broken flying knife. After the broken flying knife flew past, a cut on the guard''s neck could be seen.


    He had killed the two guards of the Yu Clan in an instant.


    Zen put away the broken flying knife and walked past the bodies of the two guards.


    The big man had shared that Dragon Valley was the base of the Bamboo Leaf Sect. In the valley, all kinds of weapons and liquor jars were placed at random, and some wooden houses had been built for them to live in.


    As Zen walked around Dragon Valley, he didn''t encounter any more people. It was strange that the only people he had seen so far were the two guards.

 Chapter 224 So Huge (Part Two)

    "This is weird. Since members of the top seven noble clans have come here, it is impossible that the Valley would be guarded by only two people from the Yu Clan. Where are the other people? Does the Dragon Valley have another passage?" Zen frowned and looked around. At the same time, he walked around the valley.


    At last, Zen discovered many footprints on the ground of the valley. He raised his head and looked ahead. There was no passage in front. All Zen saw was three bamboos growing along the valley wall.


    It was strange that these footprints led to the three bamboos.


    Zen frowned and studied the three bamboos. The main root of each was as wide as the mouth of a bowl. Considering their size, these bamboos had been growing for many years. However, the bamboo in the middle was cut, and only half was left. When Zen observed the middle bamboo, he realized that it had been cut recently.


    Zen thought for a while and then reached out to touch the broken bamboo.


    A frown appeared on Zen''s face. After touching the bamboo, he discovered that the broken bamboo was a virtual shadow.


    "Magic array!"


    Zen realized that a magic array had been placed here. On further thought, Zen figured that he could enter the array by cutting the bamboo.


    The members of the Bamboo Leaf Sect had settled in the forest many years ago, and yet they had not discovered the array. Perhaps the entrance remained a secret as nobody had tried to cut the bamboo in the middle.


    It became obvious to Zen that perhaps members of the top seven noble clans had cut the bamboo, started the magic array, and opened the entrance.


    Zen prepared to enter the array. However, a thought stopped him. After a little hesitation, Zen pulled out a mask from


    ghtened Zen as he could see that he would die if hit by the lightning. In fact, his whole body would be consumed by the lightning, and there would be nothing left to bury!


    Zen gulped at the thought. Till now, he hadn''t come across a person who could overwhelm him to this extent.


    Besides, the pink enchantment wasn''t alive. Despite the fact that it spread over a great distance, the enchantment still maintained a lot of power. Zen wondered if a legendary celestial being had made the enchanted barrier.


    Zen wanted to try his demonic life energy at the beginning, but now he decided against the thought. It appeared that the enchantment wouldn''t attack people. And so he chose not to provoke it. After all, if the lightning did strike him, Zen would suffer a painful death.


    As Zen prepared to leave the edge of the enchantment, a creature appeared from outside the enchantment.


    It was a tiger. A white tiger!


    Had it been an ordinary tiger, Zen wouldn''t be afraid. Not even if there had been thousands of them. But this white tiger was different.


    This tiger was hundreds of feet tall. Standing before it, Zen felt as tiny as an ant.

 Chapter 225 The Bright Fairy Palace

    When the white tiger climbed out from the woods outside the pink enchanted barrier, it saw Zen. It sneaked up to Zen with its big yellow eyes like a predator who found its prey.


    "Roar!"


    The white tiger roared. It was so loud that it could wake up the dead.


    The tranquility of the forest was disturbed. Strange animals ran wild. A flock of birds was flying, beasts were running wildly.


    The sound of the tiger''s roar caused a vast wind as fierce as a tornado. This was no exaggeration.


    The strong wind passed through the pink enchanted barrier without resistance. It lifted Zen up in the air and crashed him hard into a tree not far away.


    "Clash!"


    The wind hit Zen''s body like a punch from an Illuminating Soul Realm master. His body was carved into the tree and he was unable to move.


    He coughed out some blood and his face looked helpless. It was a good thing that he hit a soft trunk instead of hard rock. If it was the latter, he could''ve died in an instant.


    "Where the hell is this place? Where are all these strange things coming from?" gasped Zen.


    It took him a little rest before he could move his body. He tried to pull himself out the trunk, but it was painful. Luckily, his body was as hard as a spiritual weapon that could withstand any tremendous impact.


    When he finally got out from the tree hole, he saw the white tiger still waiting for him outside the enchanted barrier like a predator ready to hunt.


    When the white tiger sensed a slight movement, it raised its head with heightened alert.


    Zen quickly hid into the tree hole. But this time, the tiger didn''t roar and rushed directly to Zen.


    The white tiger dashed towards the pink enchanted barrier. Zen blinked his eyes and prepared himself for anything that could happen. If the enchanted barrier could not stop the white tiger, then it would be the end of him.


    Just when the tiger got in contact with the pink enchanted barrier, a spark came out from the surface. Soon, a bolt of lightning enveloped the white tiger.


    Little by little, the white tiger''s body started to perish. It started with its fur, then its flesh and blood, and finally its skeleton until nothing was left. When the beast disappeared, a huge demon core fell on the ground with a loud bang. One could only imagine how heavy it was.


    It was indeed a massive demon core.


    The demon core was radiating a fantastic glow. A stream of energy was trapped in it that contained an infinite power that Zen didn''t know of yet.


    ''If the energy in this demon core is released, it could destroy the whole Eastern Region.'' This was all Zen could think of now.


    "I wonder how much I can make for it if I sell it in the Eastern Region market," Zen sighed as he looked at the demon core lying outside the pink enchanted barrier.


    He squatted by the edge of the pink enchanted barrier admiring the demon core. It was lying in front of him, but he just couldn''t get it.


    For one, it was too big for his space ring.


    And if not for its siz


    first time was his battle with the Black and White Fiends. The black fog produced by the Black Fiend did not harm him at all. He captured the Black Fiend with his strong soul and killed him in an instant.


    The second time was when he challenged Demon King Aldrich''s holy fire. It was more powerful than the Black Fiend''s black fog. The demon''s holy fire could isolate the spirit, block the sight, and corrode everything in its way.


    Zen could tell from Yves'' looks that he was an assassin. He assessed that Yves'' black fog could be stronger than the Black and White Fiends''. But it didn''t matter to Zen because he was determined to put an end to this.


    Zen stood still with his back against the high threshold and watched Yves.


    As Yves came closer to his prey, the black fog diffused and surrounded Zen. As soon as the black fog covered Zen''s sight, Yves quickly made his move.


    Yves stirred the black fog like a weightless wind, and it rolled over repeatedly.


    Zen stood still with his arms crossed and the broken flying knife in his hand. He focused his gaze now on the rolling black fog, anticipating an attack.


    "What''s your name?" a soft voice came through the black fog. Yves was a man, but he sure had a sissy voice.


    Upon hearing Yves'' voice, Zen frowned and said, "Let''s cut the talking. Isn''t killing what noble clans like you want? So why do you want to know my name?"


    "Oh! Don''t get me wrong. This has nothing to do with the clan I represent. It''s my rule to know the name of the person I will kill. As a ritual, you know. I have killed a total of 2, 461 people since I served the Pei Clan, and I can still remember all the names of the people I have killed," said Yves. Zen could not see his face through the black fog but could hear his voice.


    "You don''t need to know my name," he said indifferently.


    "Why is that?" asked Yves in a confident manner.


    "Knowing my name won''t be any use for you because you''ll be the one to die," Zen said coldly but in confident.

 Chapter 226 Interesting Boy (Part One)

    Yves stood stock-still in the smog when suddenly a peal of sharp laughter rang out of him. He sounded like a doxy. "Ah-hahah! Nobody has dared to speak to me in this manner since long ago. A young-ling just half-step into the nature level, saying this to me! Hilarious! If you don''t tell me your name this instant, I will cut you a thousand times. I will carve out a thousand pieces of flesh from your body. Would you tell me then?"


    The black fog rolled over Zen once again, and suddenly, he sensed a fierce killing aim at his back that would rush straight to his heart.


    Zen''s soul was exceptional. Some powerful men of the Illuminating Soul Realm could not be left standing as his opponent. Yves was just a nature creature. Zen discerned his opponent''s position easily, perceiving from the killing aim that Yves was coming up with behind him.


    Zen made a show of facing the front, as though confronting a formidable enemy there. He intentionally tried to trick Yves into thinking he had made a mistake as he prepared to strike his opponent once attacked from behind.


    "Die!"


    Zen felt the killing aim at his back grow even stronger. He figured that Yves was close at hand, so he waved the broken flying blade, showing Yves the back of his hand.


    Poof!


    Zen felt the blade hit someone and assumed its razor-sharp edge had stabbed Yves.


    In an instant, another person materialized in front of Zen. It was Yves!


    "Ah-haha!" Appearing out of nowhere, Yves lifted his snake-shaped dagger to cut at Zen''s chest before retreating into the black fog. H


    d found out in their own ways that Zen was only half a step into the nature level. He was not even worth mentioning in their eyes, so why would they send several others to take him on?


    There was only one person here, Yves. So the two people who appeared on his left and right just now...


    Comprehension dawned on him in a flash, as if he was struck by lightning.


    "Don''t brag," Zen sneered. "You really think you''ll get the chance to cut me a thousand times?"


    "Why won''t I get the chance? You''ve already been cut by me twice... Only 998 slashes are left. I have plenty of time to play with you..." As Yves finished talking, the black fog rolled forward again. It appeared he would launch a third attack at Zen.


    This time, Zen stood there blankly and waited for Yves to approach him.


    Yves had a special plan of attack, and it always swung in his favor. This time, however, he had encountered Zen.


    Zen''s intuition sensed everything. He felt the same killing aim come from his left, front, as well as from the back.

 Chapter 227 Interesting Boy (Part Two)

    "As I expected, you plan to attack me from the front this time!" Zen suddenly dashed forward, and the broken flying blade hit the person on his front for the third time. When it hit Yves, Zen made a circular motion with his finger, and a dark purple demonic life energy surged in the air.


    The dark purple demonic life energy was obscure and had a similar color to the black fog conjured by Yves. Unless one really looked at it, one would miss it.


    The demonic life energy unfurled in the winds, unleashing itself from its constraints like sweeping riffles in a river.


    When the energy touched the black fog, Zen smacked his head lightly as if rebuking himself. He shouted, "Alas, I guessed wrong. It isn''t in the front. It must be... at the back!"


    Poof!


    Energy escaped from the Phoenix Crystal on Zen''s right arm and his speed increased to a realm of horror. In the blink of an eye, he had cut the figure behind him more than thirty times.


    Zen slashed the blade too quickly, so he didn''t hear Yves''s screeches until he pulled back.


    "Ah..."


    Zen wielded the blade again but didn''t kill Yves. He slashed thirty times within moments and chopped off Yves''s arms and legs.


    He could have cut Yves into pieces by hacking him with his broken flying blade, but he didn''t go that far.


    Zen swept the black fog aside and trotted to Yves. Looking at the effeminate man, he asked coldly, "Do you still want to know my name?"


    "How did you find me?" Yves screamed.


    "Are you very curious?" Zen asked with a wry smile.


    Yves''s face was contorted in severe pain. "Tell me!"


    "Go to the hell if you wish to find the answer!" After Zen spoke, the broken flying blade in his hand hurled


    d. "Who am I? That''s got nothing to do with you. Don''t bother frightening me with your names and titles. It''s of no use. I want nothing to do with the noble clans. We go our own way without interfering with each other."


    The long-haired woman hollered with laughter at his words. "How naive of you to say that!"


    Zen swept the flying blade horizontally across his chest. "I don''t know if I am naive, but anyone who dares to cross me will die, just like this one lying on the ground!" He motioned at Yves with his foot.


    Zen seemed to have no scruple about the seven noble clans. They looked on in shock. Several of them emanated dangerous energies about them. If they really wanted to fight Zen, he would have no choice but to flee for his life.


    However, Zen had seen what was in the Weapon Refining Principle, and he was not a fool. There was a great chance for the impossible to occur in this world, as well as in this fairy palace. He had no reason to shrink back.


    "Ha-haha!"


    "Ha ha..."


    The members of the top seven noble clans stared at him and burst into raucous laughter, as if Zen had just made a joke.

 Chapter 228 Giant Puppets

    Yves was a negligible sacrifice for the Pei Clan.


    Zen had only managed to kill Yves, whose skills in the martial arts were considered to be the worst among these people from the noble clans. The fact that he was conceited enough to say he would kill anyone who crossed his path was absurd!


    Laughter rang endlessly until the long-haired woman finally said, "Leon, kill the boy. Don''t let me down. He killed Yves, so evidently, there''s something strange about him. Just pay attention."


    Yves had been at the sixth grade of nature level, but Leon was at the eighth, which meant that the latter had more power.


    Zen had killed Yves, who wasn''t powerful enough. It incurred less contempt and wariness from the members of the noble clans. They thought that Zen only managed to kill one of their kin because he had been lucky.


    But Leon Ye... Leon Ye was a lot stronger.


    They told themselves that Zen was only half a step into the nature level. His good luck could not make up for the strength gap between him and Leon. According to the nobles, he was bound to be killed.


    However, there were several of them sneaking interested glances at him. They were confused as to how this masked boy could kill Yves.


    At the order from the long-haired woman, Leon rushed to Zen languidly.


    Leon was different from Yves - the latter an unqualified assassin who talked too much.


    On the contrary, Leon Ye was quiet and serious. He didn''t underestimate any of his opponents. The masked boy might only be half a step into the nature level, but Leon would treat him as he would be a real enemy. He would not give the boy a chance to fight back.


    "Sure..." Zen grew exasperated. None of the people listened to him. They just belittled and ignored him no matter what he did - whether he threatened, begged for mercy, or said anything else.


    The only way to make them believe was to kill them. Only then would they understand that he wasn''t to be trifled with and that they could not intimidate him.


    Leon approached Zen strangely, keeping his intense eyes locked on his. The life vitality in his hands quickly morphed into two long green swords. Just about a dozen of feet away from Zen, Leon''s movements turned peculiar. It confused everyone present as to why he was circling behind Zen, when his swords were about to stab the boy in the chest.


    When Zen turned around, Leon leaped over him. His swords were brandished around his opponent, caging Zen and giving him no chance to escape.


    "Death in All Directions!"


    The motions of Leon''s green swords seemed disorganized but he had successfully sealed all ways for Zen to retreat.


    Leon, a man who never took things lightly, conjectured that Zen was doomed to die today. No one so far had survived Death in All Directions.


    But as Leon swooped down on Zen with his pair of swords, he felt a sudden trickle of fear as he looked into his rival''s eyes.


    In the past, he had only


    ns, but why was the ground quivering? With his gaze locked on the arch of the fairy palace, Zen grew wary.


    The leopard sprinted through the arch, and soon, two giants were seen with maces in their hands, hastening after it.


    The giants were like puppets without any vitality of their own.


    In the Eastern Region, there were many creative and skilled craftsmen who could make sturdy puppets.


    But no one could make such life-like puppets that looked akin to real people. Not to mention, the two puppets were like sky-high mountains, about hundreds of meters in height. The ground vibrated heavily as they scampered forward.


    Every time the ground shook, Zen and the other people were propelled up into the air. They fell to the ground intermittently as the puppets made their way.


    Fortunately, everyone present here, including Zen, belonged to higher levels. They could have been killed by the mere tremors if they were ordinary people.


    Compared to the two giant puppets, the running lightning leopard looked like a small ant slithering forward.


    Peng!


    One of the giant puppets hurled the mace in his hand toward the lightning leopard.


    The lightning leopard was on the ball. As the huge mace was tossed forward for a hit, the leopard dashed forward like a flash of lighting and evaded the terrible thrash of the weapon.


    Complementing the stature of the giant puppets, the maces were as huge as half mountains.


    What would it be like to get struck by half a mountain?


    With the mace acting as the center of a wheel, suddenly a shaky ripple of the tremor, almost visible to the naked eye, pulsed on the ground.


    It was as horrible as the tsunami as it spread across the square.


    "God! My lightning leopard! If it gets caught in the shock wave, it would be killed! We wouldn''t be able to get through the inner arch of the fairy palace!" A man cried out, apparently worried about the lightning leopard he had raised.

 Chapter 229 The Black Wolf

    The lightning leopard was fast but not as quick as the tremors that rocked the ground. If it got caught in the vibrations, it could turn into dust in an instant.


    The people stopped whispering. The long-haired woman, who stood in the center of the noble clan members, stretched out a hand. Her long hair was rolled out like waves. A pale-blue light ball surged from her body, vanishing as soon as it had appeared.


    The very next moment, the blue light ball surfaced around the lightning leopard''s body as a visible shield protecting it.


    When the tremors spread to its body, the ball of light dimmed a little, but it was apparent that it had devoured the power of the tremors. The lightning leopard was left unharmed as it ran, the two giant puppets hot on its heels.


    The tremors swept forward, drawing closer to the members of the seven noble clans as well as Zen.


    Several of them scuttled to nooks and corners in an attempt to avoid them. The distance made the energy of the tremors easier to bear but it was still beyond the endurance of the nature creatures.


    Only the long-haired woman, Wilson and two other powerful men of the Illuminating Soul Realm stood unmoved like stones, letting the approaching tremors assault them.


    Zen also did not budge from the other side of the square. He sensed the tremor gushing toward him until it finally burst through his body, knocking through with an impact that nearly threw him over. The tremor was like a warm stream of water that rushed through his insides. It began to scour his belly roughly.


    At first, he tried to resist it but then stopped, sensing that he might be facing a breakthrough. Once his belly was scoured, it might help him reach the nature level. With this revelation in mind, Zen allowed the tremor to run through his insides even as it pained him.


    Unfortunately, after the tremor left him, he didn''t feel any change in his belly. Zen twisted his lip in displeasure. The tremor had been of moderate intensity. If only it had persisted for a few more moments! Then his belly could have been scoured thoroughly.


    Not far away, the long-haired woman and the powerful men of the Illuminating Soul Realm stood frozen as they watched the tremor pass over Zen''s body.


    Did he want to die? He didn''t move an inch as the tremor passed over him. Instead, he faced it as they had.


    They were sure that the tremor would turn him into dust.


    But as the tremor passed over, they saw that the masked boy didn''t, in fact, turn to dust. He stood, staring ahead, his eyes twinkling with delight.


    The nature creatures hidden in the corners weren''t witness to the scene and didn''t know that Zen had stood fearless before the tremor.


    Shock was painted across the faces of the Illuminating Soul realm masters as they wondered what the boy''s body was made of. How could he withstand such power? He was only half a step into the nature level. He couldn''t transform his life vitality to protect himself. So how was he able to face the impact of the tremors? Such an unusual boy!


    If they didn''t kill him, he would certainly rise to unbridled power and play tyrant one day. The powerful men of the Illumin


    fectively rendering it out of his control?


    He blinked his eyes in astonishment but consoled himself. It didn''t matter. There were two more aardwolves left. He could kill the boy using them. Immediately, he waved his hand. The two aardwolves'' life vitality was burning. The wolves scraped their claws on the ground with guided intention before howling loudly and darting to Zen.


    Their life vitality burned ablaze. Without fear, Zen manipulated the recently turned black wolf to fight them.


    The black wolf was made out of demonic life energy, which had devoured Wilson''s life vitality. It circled the first aardwolf. The black wolf neared it and slashed at its body with its claws, transferring its demonic life energy. Soon, the aardwolf too was devoured by the demonic life energy and turned black.


    Zen could kill the other aardwolf, but when he raised his hand to use the Heavenly Ogre Fist this time, a sudden thought struck him.


    Since the aardwolf could be swallowed by his demonic life energy and come under his control, would the Phoenix Crystal somehow strengthen its power?


    In an instant, he exerted the power of Ogres Shaking the World into his fist and punched the aardwolf, while also pushing the energy of the Phoenix Crystal into it.


    The aardwolf hit by Zen''s Heavenly Ogre Fist dropped to its knees and whined. In an instant, it changed colors. Now, it was a black wolf under Zen''s control.


    What was different from the other two black wolves, however, was that this one had a faint, bright purple energy spilling through it. It was the energy of the Phoenix Crystal.


    "Let''s try the speed!" Zen manipulated the black wolf, making it move with the energy of the Phoenix Crystal.


    Woosh!


    The black wolf burst forward like lightning, its speed more than ten times faster.


    The lightning leopard, claimed to be the fastest animal in the Eastern Region, could not hold up in the face of this black wolf.


    The members of the seven noble clans came running to the inner door. They paled as they watched the scene in front of them, the color draining from their faces.

 Chapter 230 The Man-Eating Koi Fish (Part One)

    "How''d it happen?" asked an expert in the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    Wilson''s face darkened with fury as he raved, "I don''t know! There''s something off about him. He took my life vitality manifestations and strengthened one of the wolves, giving it an astonishing speed! I''ll go back to finish him off."


    Shaking her head, which sent her abundant hair swinging back and forth, the lady objected, "No, if you do it now, you will draw the attention of the two giant puppets, and all the time we''ve put in, our efforts would be a waste. We don''t want that."


    "So, we just let him follow us here?" asked one of the men, as he gave an angry look.


    "We''ll have plenty of time to get rid of him after we get in the inner doors. That isn''t too difficult for us, is it?" snapped the long-haired woman with a sneer.


    The brat had easily killed Yves and Leon. He had some unusual tricks. But, so what? He was nothing compared to the masters of the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    "Good, that''s settled then; Mr. Huang, you and Seymour will kill him as soon as we are admitted into the inner sanctum," ordered the lady with the long hair.


    After reaching an agreement on how to proceed, they ignored Zen. The woman held out a hand, and dozens of incantations appeared in midair. A strong draft blew past them as the incantations darted to everyone''s head.


    The incantations allowed people to move faster, making everyone''s speed increase over thirty percent.


    The square stretched before them for dozens of miles, but, the companions reached the inner door in an instant because of how fast they were.


    Relieved they were finally within the inner doors, everyone let out


    as he asked.


    Zen had used a Phoenix Crystal to strengthen the black wolf, and then left it by the large square on the other side of the doorway. Even though the wolf wasn''t right next to Zen, it was still under his control, and with lighting speed it would be a simple matter to lure the giant puppets there.


    Since with one word from Zen, two giant puppets would be lured in and no one there would survive, the men stopped to think things through before laying a hand on Zen.


    "You asked for it!" shouted Wilson. His temper ignited by Zen''s words.


    "Such a clever boy!" commented the woman with long hair, as she shot Zen a venomous look. Her beautiful eyes were murderously cold. "I have to say, that''s actually really smart. Normally, there isn''t a place for a man who hasn''t entered the nature level, but¡­ you''ve got a good point. If we don''t cooperate, more trouble will plague us while we are at the fairy palace."


    Nodding, Zen''s smile spread, widening to reveal a row of gleaming white teeth before he commented, "Yes, that''s the spirit. It''s not cool for us to fight with each other."

 Chapter 231 The Man-Eating Koi Fish (Part Two)

    Zen''s speech left the crowd speechless, from those in the nature level to the experts of the Illuminating Soul Realm and made them wonder where this kid got the nerve to talk like that. Even in the face of terrifying dangers, Zen remained calm allowing him to analyze the situation and counter possible attacks on him.


    Such order was admirable and frightening at the same time.


    Although the members from the top seven noble clans were unhappy with this unexpected twist, scowling ungracefully, for now, they abandoned the original plan, since if they tried to kill Zen, they wouldn''t stand a chance of surviving.


    That wasn''t to say they''d accepted Zen as a teammate. It was all they could do to tolerate his presence, but, before dealing with Zen, they would have to check this place out.


    Between the outer and inner doors was an empty, yet huge square which they''d explored thoroughly.


    Behind the inner door things were vastly different.


    After going through the doorway, a path paved in jade crossing over a pond came into view.


    To an immortal in the Fairy Palace, it might be a pond, but, it was more like a huge lake to Zen.


    "A pill refining workshop!"


    "And a weapon refining workshop!"


    "Look! A scrolls pavilion!"


    Many of the greedy-eyed men screamed as they glanced around.


    Smack dab in the center of the long path was a small pavilion as tall as a mountain. Branching out from the jade path were seven roads, each in a different direction, and leading to various refining workshops.


    Pills, weapons, just how many treasures we


    of what he should do in this situation.


    "Fly!" shouted one of the many spectators, reminding him.


    When an initiate entered the Illuminating Soul Realm, that person would be gifted the knowledge of how to burn life vitality to soar in the air.


    Given the courage, the illuminating realm master could get away from the koi fish, except, he hadn''t been in a struggle to survive ever and his mind went blank with panic, like most of the noble clan men present.


    It was only after being reminded that he remembered and with life vitality burning behind him, he shot straight up in the air.


    But, his actions were too late.


    The dozens of koi fish slammed into him midair, and they all fell from the sky. He crashed into the path with those fish landing smack on top of him and blocking most of the road.


    All that could be heard were screams of pain from the man as those fish dropped down on him before diving back into the pond.


    When the chaos ended, nothing remained on the path except blood. The man''s body was gone.

 Chapter 232 The Eight Diagrams (Part One)

    Although the jade-paved path looked peaceful and tranquil, it was actually a deathtrap in disguise. The crowd was aware of this, so they turned back hastily and fled.


    Luckily, they hadn''t walked that far yet so they got to retreat in an instant. However, two Koi fish still managed to jump out and swallow two nature creatures among them.


    A frown was etched on Zen''s face as he watched the pond and stood motionless on the shore. It couldn''t be better for him if these noble people explored the path before him.


    It seemed that the fairy palace posed dangers far beyond their imagination.


    They thought that the fairy palace would be a safe place, since a large enchanted barrier was set up to isolate the giant beasts outside. If any of them broke in, the fairy palace would become a palace of monsters.


    However, nobody among them imagined that the Koi fish would block their way and threaten their lives.


    The crowd still stood by the shore. Their eyes cast nervous looks at the pond, and saw the dense school of Koi fish that swam towards the jade path. A rough estimate would say that there were probably thousands of the giant Koi fishes in the waters, which was possible since the pond was as big as a lake.


    No matter what kind of creature crossed the jade path or even went near it, let alone fell into the pond, the Koi fishes would jump out and instantly tear them up.


    They looked at the pill refining and weapon refining workshops from a distance frustrated. Nobody was willing to return from a treasure trove empty-handed.


    The woman with long hair, old Wilson, Seymour, and the other Illuminating Soul Realm masters looked at each other meaningfully. After a little wh


    ore than a hundred glittering scales in his mind.


    "Swish, swish!"


    "Bam, bam!"


    The moment Zen rushed forward, he heard the sound of the imminent fishes'' flapping of tails and splashes of water. Countless gigantic Koi fishes leapt and bit at him, their mouths opened which exposed sharp teeth.


    "Plop, plop, plop!"


    However, all of the Koi fishes were unsuccessful and fell back reluctantly into the water behind Zen.


    Meanwhile, whenever Zen felt that his strength slightly diminished, he would immediately mobilize dragon scales to refuel himself.


    The sight of Zen''s unbelievable speed had the nature creatures on the shore stare at each other with agape mouths.


    It was true that a strong cultivator on a high rank of the nature level was not necessarily slower than Zen. They could also do what Zen could do. However sometimes, courage was needed more than strength.


    They dared not dance in front of death, but Zen did.


    By now, Zen had passed smoothly through the first half of the jade path.


    At the second half however, some Koi fishes that awaited him from a distance jumped up in advance.

 Chapter 233 The Eight Diagrams (Part Two)

    "Let''s see what that boy will do!"


    "I''m sure he''ll get eaten by the Koi."


    Once again, the noble people talked haughtily among themselves and relished in telling each other about what miseries Zen would end up in.


    However, Zen still noticed the obstacles and hazards around him with his strong soul, even when he ran quite fast.


    As he neared the fish that waited for him along the way, Zen jumped up at a high altitude.


    The Koi also jumped up from the jade path with a flick of their tails, and opened their mouths to bite Zen.


    "Phoenix Crystal!" Zen chanted.


    He had emitted energy from the Phoenix Crystal embedded in his right arm just in time for this critical moment. When he released the energy, he felt his body become lighter and his speed increased several more times.


    Now, the fishes out of the water were less agile and powerful, and thus Zen had successfully escaped.


    Finally, Zen hopped among the remaining Koi carps in the last parts of the jade path. He finally got to the pavilion after a lot of threats, but he got out unscathed.


    The Illuminating Soul Realm masters who had previously flown to the pavilion were shocked to see Zen when he rushed down the jade path. Old Wilson''s hate-filled eyes looked repulsively at his approaching figure.


    ''The boy sticks to us like an annoying dog, '' he thought.


    Old Wilson''s murderous glare did not escape Zen''s eyes, but he simply shrugged his shoulders and said, "You know that my black wolf incarnated from life vitality is still fighting with the two giant puppets outside now. It''s easy for me to bring them in."


    When she heard Zen''s words, the long-haired woman yelled to Wilson, "Wilson, not now.


    they weren''t with them now.


    To everyone''s surprise, Zen asked, "How about let me try?"


    "You?" screamed Wilson as he viciously glared at Zen.


    "You had better worry about your own life," he sneered.


    However, Zen had expected that they would refuse his offer. Of course, it was impossible for them to hand over their fate to an unknown person in a mask.


    At this point, everyone''s mood had turned quite sour. This choice between life and death was a really hard test.


    After a long while, someone spoke again. "Well, I''ll do it," the long haired woman said and broke the silence. "I used to learn the Eight Diagrams. So I know a little bit, though I am not skilled," she added.


    Nobody answered back. Even though they weren''t confident enough with the long haired woman''s ability, they had no other choice.


    Everyone had acquiesced to remain silent, then the long-haired woman began the work of calculation and prediction. After a while, she suddenly looked up and emitted life vitality from her hands. Her life vitality covered the head of one sculpture like a cap, then slowly raised it up in the air.

 Chapter 234 Desperate Melee (Part One)

    A loud, rough rumble resonated from the rocky statue. Everyone''s eyes were trained on the floating object.


    The first statue was slowly dragged on the character "heaven." The floor slightly vibrated as it did so.


    As he watched the scene unfold, Zen briefly remembered that Chase once wrote the number "three" beside "heaven" in his book. Thus, he assumed that three statues should be moved to the word "heaven".


    Once the long-haired woman finished putting the first statue in place, she lowered her head and began to calculate again. When she got the result, she sent a second statue to where "heaven" was for the second time.


    Shortly after, the woman had done the next calculation and moved a third statue to "heaven" for the last time.


    A slight nod was given by Zen. It seemed that she appeared too modest when she claimed that she was not skilled at the Eight Diagrams. Her calculation on the first character was exactly the same as the book written by Chase. He only hoped that she could calculate all the next succeeding characters correctly.


    When the three statues were finally placed on the character "heaven," the big "heaven" name carving emitted a golden light--the woman had done it right.


    The positive outcome made everyone brim with confidence.


    "Sandra''s knowledge of formation is extraordinary!"


    "How could she merely be proficient? She is qualified to be a formation master!"


    The rest of the Illuminating Soul Realm masters showered her with flattery and other words of praise.


    In return, Sandra only shook her head and slicked back her long hair. "Don''t count the chickens before they hatch. It''s the easiest to work out the first character of the formation. Deciphering a formation becomes harder and harder along the way. The chances of failing become bigger as the calculation gets more complicated," she said.


    After she finished her talk, her head lowered once again. Then she continued to work on th


    Now, Seymour and other several Illuminating Soul Realm masters also activated the life vitality within their bodies. Their figures emitted bright flashes of light and terrifying power.


    Zen felt pressed, so he had no choice but to shut up.


    After a bit of hesitation, Sandra bit her bottom lip and finally chose to believe in herself.


    Once again, a rocky rumbling sound was heard from a statue.


    A fifth one was moved towards "Valley." Once it was placed into position, a click sound was heard, followed by the sight of "Valley" turning into a blood red glow instead of the supposed golden flash of light.


    Everyone''s faces were drained of color, and only then did they realize that Zen was right.


    Then again, it was already too late for regrets. There was no use crying over spilled milk.


    They felt the ground shake a bit as the Eight Diagrams suddenly began to rotate. When they gradually came to a halt, a white and black mist came out from the Eight Diagrams and formed several characters.


    The writing read, "Desperate Melee!"


    "What does it mean?"


    "It''s ominous! We must have fallen into a trap!"


    All the Illuminating Soul Realm masters exclaimed in horror, their faces ghastly pale. The fairy palace was a dangerous place, and they were doomed this time.

 Chapter 235 Desperate Melee (Part Two)

    The characters disappeared into thin air. Shortly after a strip of life vitality was shot from the Eight Diagrams and was directly aimed at Sandra. She was instantly trapped, then in the next second the life vitality targeted the Illuminating Soul Realm master who stood beside Sandra and trapped him as well. It quickly trapped Wilson Huang too.


    When the life vitality attacked Zen, he jumped in an attempt to dodge it. However, the life vitality''s speed was just too fast like the speed of light, and the moment Zen jumped upward the life vitality seemed to sense his move and swerved accordingly. It successfully trapped Zen into its spell.


    After all of them were trapped, everyone in the pavilion was connected by the strip of life vitality.


    "What''s it doing by locking us together?" one of them asked in panic.


    Meanwhile, Zen lowered his head. Dumbfounded, he looked at the life vitality that had him tied up around the waist.


    Suddenly, an idea struck his mind and he realized what the life vitality was doing to them.


    The so-called "Desperate Melee" meant that all the people who were connected by the life vitality strip were to fight against each other--and in the final round, only one person would be left alive.


    The rest of them seemed to realize this too, and they visibly trembled with shock.


    They were all deep at loss, and cast anxious looks at each other.


    It was really true that they were pitted in a killing game now!


    Although the top seven noble clans held deep grudges against each other and competed against each other for their own benefits, they were now comrades in the adventure of exploring the fairy palace. It would be extremely difficult for them to kill each other when they were currently united as a team now.


    It was true that they found it hard to kill each other in the noble clans, but it was easy for them to work together and fight against the outsiders that did not belong to the noble clans.


    Today, t


    d on Zen''s face as he looked at the life vitality that connected him to other people. No matter how this fight would end up, he would undoubtedly face one Illuminating Soul Realm master when it finished.


    He almost killed Hugh by taking advantage of his Five-clawed Golden Dragon last time, but that was largely attributed to his good luck.


    When it came to real strength, he was afraid that he would be no match against the powerful Illuminating Soul Realm masters.


    "What should I do?" he muttered to himself. As he watched the Illuminating Soul Realm masters fought fiercely against each other, he brooded deeply in his thoughts. He got quite a lot of time to think as nobody was currently attacking him.


    At this exact point of time, an Illuminating Soul Realm master suddenly summoned a giant hawk. The giant bird of prey squawked loudly and ferociously came at Seymour.


    In turn, a green light flashed on Seymour and his jade sword glowed brightly. As he dodged the giant hawk, he waved his sword at the Illuminating Soul Realm master who summoned the giant hawk.


    The aggressive battle Seymour had him in left no time for the Illuminating Soul Realm master to manipulate his giant hawk, which was formed from his life vitality. Thus, the great bird just hovered aimlessly above Zen''s head.

 Chapter 236 Face To The Fight (Part One)

    After witnessing what had happened, Zen came up with an idea. He took the opportunity to summon the life energy in his body. He waved his fist as he shouted, "Ogres Shaking the World!"


    When the black shadow formed by the demonic life energy punched the giant hawk, the color of the hawk began to change from grey and brown to black.


    A smile appeared on Zen''s face. He hooked his finger at the hawk and watched as the bird flew to him and settled on his shoulder under his instruction.


    "Hey, young man!" The Illuminating Soul Realm master who had summoned the giant hawk shouted as he pointed at Zen.


    "Haha...you''d better mind yourself!" Seymour ignored what the man said and continued to chase the Illuminating Soul Realm master with the jade sword in his hand.


    The person who survived the battle would get everything in the fairy palace. Even if all opponents survived, the person with the rightful claim over the contents of the fairy palace was driven to kill his opponents as he didn''t want to share the benefits with the others. After all, greed and selfishness are innate human qualities.


    Zen walked on the edge of the pavilion with the giant hawk on his shoulder. He didn''t intend on participating in the fight at this time.


    If someone''s life vitality avatar came close to him, Zen would instruct the black hawk on his shoulder to devour that person''s life vitality.


    After a short while, the black hawk began to grow in size. Soon, it expanded to over thirty feet in height!


    What a giant monster!


    The hawk was so big that it couldn''t rest on Zen''s shoulder any longer. Therefore, Zen ordered it to hover around and wait for his command.


    Those Illuminating Soul Realm masters whose life vital


    th a puff, a knife pierced his chest. He looked at the broadsword and found it belonged to his younger brother. He turned around and stared at his brother with disbelief on his face. "Why? Why did you kill me?"


    The younger brother shook his head and said, "Sorry! Since only one person can survive today, I didn''t want you to become my last rival. I''ll take care of our parents."


    Zen couldn''t help but sigh at the action of the younger twin brother.


    If the long-haired woman had trusted him, these Illuminating Soul Realm masters wouldn''t have killed each other. Now, they were caught in a battle to the death and had no choice but to kill each other.


    From what he had seen, Zen understood that there was no basic trust, not even between brothers.


    Seeing that the blue light ball formed by Sandra''s life vitality before her death hadn''t disappeared, Zen commanded the bird in silence. The black hawk shrieked as it flew toward the blue light ball.


    After transforming the blue light ball into demonic life energy, the black hawk grew even bigger!


    Zen wasn''t eager to join the fight. He stood still and waited for a chance. .

 Chapter 237 Face To The Fight (Part Two)

    When the Desperate Melee had been triggered, everyone was connected by a thin stream of life vitality. Since there were many people at the beginning, this life vitality had been quite disorganized.


    However, as the battle continued, more and more Illuminating Soul Realm masters were killed. The life vitality stream connecting a person to the other participants would break after his death.


    Now, only three connected streams of life vitality were left.


    They linked Zen with the other two Illuminating Soul Realm masters, Seymour and an old man with a dragon head stick in his hand.


    As Zen watched, Seymour fought the old man fiercely.


    Since they had managed to survive to the end, both Seymour and the old man must be outstanding in terms of wisdom and competence.


    Both opponents knew that only one of them could survive to the end and that the survivor would become the owner of the fairy palace treasure house.


    The young man in the mask who had been watching them fight had only reached a half-step into the nature level, so they were not afraid of him at all.


    Now, since they were just one step away from success, the fighting between these two Illuminating Soul Realm masters increased in intensity. The raging life vitality burnt crazily and its impact could be felt across all corners of the pavilion. Even Zen, who was watching from a distance, could feel it. To protect himself, Zen stood behind the black hawk.


    "Bang! Bang! Bang!"


    Hearing several loud explosions, Zen walked out from behind the black hawk. As the burning life vitality faded, he saw Seymour standing with the jade sword in his hand.


    He looked utterly bedraggled with torn clothes and burnt hair. Seymour cursed as he limped, "Fuck! Did you think


    ndous power so quickly! Even I can''t compare with it. However, although very fast, its speed is still not enough. You want to rely on this black hawk to defeat me? Dream on!" Seymour''s eyes glittered as he shouted at Zen. Then, he threw himself into the air at an extremely high speed and swung his jade sword at Zen.


    If an Illuminating Soul Realm master tried, he could reach incredibly high speeds. With a blink of an eye, Seymour, who had been some distance away from Zen, narrowed the gap between them to such an extent that he was now less than three feet away!


    "Wow, so fast!" Zen shouted in shock. He immediately activated the Phoenix Crystal in his right arm. Then his speed suddenly increased tenfold. When supplemented by the momentary burst of power from his legs, Zen was able to push himself more than a hundred feet away. Thus, he narrowly dodged Seymour''s sword.


    Zen was at a half-step into the nature level, so he could neither burn his life vitality nor fly. Whereas, Seymour could do both of these. Seeing that his target had run away, Seymour gave chase.


    As Zen was unable to fly like Seymour, he was inevitably at a disadvantage.

 Chapter 238 Seymour Took His Own Life

    Although Zen could borrow the energy from the Phoenix Crystal to improve his speed and avoid Seymour''s attack, he knew that he would end up being beheaded by Seymour if he wouldn''t fight back.


    ''I can''t hide forever. I must fight back!'' he thought as he dodged an attack from Seymour.


    Before the attack, Zen planned to kill Seymour using the assimilation attack of the demonic life energy. But he realized that his opponent was not an ordinary nature creature but an Illuminating Soul Realm master.


    ''If only the giant black hawk can hit Seymour, I might have a chance to win this battle. But damn, he moves so fast! My black hawk can''t do anything to him at his speed! What should I do?'' Zen thought anxiously.


    While Zen was lost in his thoughts, Seymour drew his sword and attacked him. With the burning life vitality on his back, Seymour cast a shadow that grew bigger as he got closer to Zen.


    The growing dark figure awakened Zen from his deep thoughts, but before he could figure out what was happening, he felt a sharp pain on his shoulder.


    "What the hell?" Despite the damage he made to Zen, Seymour was disappointed at the result of his attack.


    Although his sword had no cutting edge, it was still a mid-grade spiritual weapon. He intended to cut off Zen''s shoulder first before finally cutting his body in half. Unexpectedly, when his sword hit Zen''s body, he felt a tremendous resistance.


    "That''s a surprise. But your bones can''t be that hard. There must be something protecting your body," Seymour, floating in the air, said to Zen directly. "I guess I just need to chop your body bit by bit."


    At that moment, Zen already had spiritual textures on his chest. His body had become a middle-grade spiritual weapon and become stronger.


    However, no matter how strong his body was, he could still feel the pain that Seymour''s sword left on his shoulder. If he couldn''t kill this man today, he would be the one to die.


    ''No more hiding! Hiding won''t keep me alive and won''t certainly kill this ferocious man! If I want to kill him, then I should be fiercer than him!'' Zen thought to himself.


    "Stop trying! You won''t defeat me even if you reach the natural level and use your life vitality. You won''t stand a chance against me even if I am injured!"


    Seymour said. The cyan life vitality on his back suddenly began to burn violently. He transformed into a cyan line and dashed towards Zen again.


    ''Stop dodging!'' Zen commanded himself. He stood his ground with determination in his eyes.


    ''I will do everything to defeat him even if it costs me my life!''


    More than one hundred dragon scales lit up simultaneously in Zen''s body, while the broken flying blade flew towards Seymour.


    After that, Zen controlled the black hawk and it flew towards him.


    "Shashing!"


    Sey


    on "blue-jade enchanted barrier" were getting larger.


    At the same time, the red energy was slowly penetrating through the cracks. Seymour wanted to activate his life vitality to repair the cracks, but the red energy was stopping him.


    "No! This can''t be happening! This is impossible!" Seymour screamed when he realized that the red energy was penetrating his "blue-jade enchanted barrier". He could imagine the fate he was about to face once the enchanted barrier broke.


    "I don''t want to die. Let me go, please. I promise I won''t hurt you again!" Seymour pleaded.


    Standing just outside the "blue-jade enchanted barrier" and looking at Seymour''s pathetic face, Zen replied coldly, "That''s not what you just said earlier."


    "Please! I had no idea how strong you are until this happened!" Seymour continued to plead, "I really don''t want to die. I can''t die."


    "But you forget this," Zen pointed at Seymour, "There could only be one winner in the Desperate Melee."


    The "blue-jade enchanted barrier" soon became unstable as was fully covered with red cracks.


    "Clack!"


    And when it couldn''t bear the pressure, the "blue-jade enchanted barrier" finally broke into pieces like glass.


    Seymour tried to escape when the enchanted barrier broke to avoid the attack from the black hawk.


    But just as he was about to dash out, there was a dull thud. Seymour''s eyes widened in horror, and the pain was written all over his face.


    There was a hole in Seymour''s head and a lot of blood was coming out of it. And he fell to the ground lifeless.


    The broken flying blade was there all along. Zen threw it outside the enchanted barrier in advance to stop Seymour if he ever tried to escape.


    In other words, Seymour took his own life.


    Seymour died and the battle finally ended. After Zen''s life energy vanished, he descended slowly to the ground.

 Chapter 239 The Trial In The Fairy Palace (Part One)

    Generally, it would be quite hard for Zen to defeat an Illuminating Soul Realm master, simply because being half-step into the nature level was far from an Illuminating Soul Realm master''s skills. In the battle to the death, Zen wouldn''t have won if Seymour hadn''t been badly injured.


    Even for today, it was a pyrrhic triumph for Zen. But in any case, no matter how hard it was, Zen had persisted until the end.


    Just in that moment, a series of dull sounds came from the Eight Diagrams. Zen looked up at the source of those sounds and saw that the statues had slowly moved away from the characters, and finally returned to their original forms.


    When Zen didn''t sense any danger from the statues'' movements, he sat still on the ground to recover. After a short while of rest, he stood up.


    His eyes scanned all the bodies of the Illuminating Soul Realm masters, and a sigh couldn''t help but escape from his lips. If only they had believed him, the situation wouldn''t have escalated out of their control.


    ''Ah, time can''t be reversed. They might never believe me in such a zero-sum game anyway, '' Zen thought as he sighed again. He bent down and started to pick up the weapons in their unmoving hands. These weapons were of high value and strength and among them were quite a lot of low-level spiritual weapons, a small number of medium-level spiritual weapons, and even a top-grade one!


    Since all of them were dead, the weapons now all belonged to Zen.


    He carefully collected all the weapons and other valuable items and stored them into his space ring. Before he proceeded to the statues, he bent over the deceased bodies of his rivals and stood in silent tribute for a while.


    After a few moments, he went and moved the statues based on the method recorded by Chase.


    ''Three for Heaven, '' murmured Zen, and then he pushed three statues to word ''Heaven''.


    ''Six for Earth, '' then, he pushed the other six statues to word ''Earth'' accordingly.


    ''For the Water is...''


    ''For the Fire is...''


    ''The last one is...''


    One by one, Zen had pushed all the statues to their corresponding positions as stated in Chase''s record. After all of the movements were completed, the Eight Diagrams engraved on the ground slo


    not understand that," he asked.


    In turn, Saul only smiled sadly and sighed. "If you were trapped in one place, every day without company--you could only talk to yourself, you would finally not want to talk or even just forget how to speak. I have been alone for thousands of years and would live lonely for the next few thousand years or even longer. Will you still want to live immortally? Or will you look for death, which might be a relief and an end to your current lonely life?"


    Saul''s gripes made Zen fall into silence. He did have a fair point. To be alone for thousands of years like Saul would make immortality a great torture. And death might be the next best thing. However, Zen was a human who understood the feeling of loneliness, but Saul was a puppet. So, he asked again, "Saul, you are only a puppet, how could you feel lonely?"


    Saul just shook his head. "Even though my body was made to be a puppet, my inner soul was an abstract from a human soul. Thus, in some words, I am also a human, with human feelings and soul," he answered.


    Abstract human soul to refine a puppet!


    That was so strange that Zen had never heard about it. Such technique was so magical that it was almost unbelievable.


    When Saul saw Zen''s shocked expression, he didn''t mind as if he was used to such a thing. "Anyway, I have finally seen you after three thousand years¡­


    I finally saw the fourth person appearing here after waiting for three thousand years," he continued.

 Chapter 240 The Trial In The Fairy Palace (Part Two)

    "The fourth one?" Zen asked. Even though he was still in shock, he did not miss the key words in Saul''s words. "So there are other people who have also been here? In the fairy palace?" Zen asked some more.


    Nodding in agreement, Saul explained, "Of course, there were other people who had been here and opened the Eight Diagrams. But they all failed and died.


    So, I hope that you can succeed. I do not want to wait any longer. I''ve had enough of it."


    "All failed? All died? What does that mean?" Zen asked with a frown on his face.


    It would seem that he would not like the things that were about to happen.


    "If you want to be the master of the fairy palace, you have to pass the test. Of course, there are many dangers in the test--and if you fail, you will die naturally..." Saul explained slowly.


    Zen''s eyes slowly widened, and a lump formed in his throat.


    "I will die if I fail? Then, can I choose not to attend the test and leave now?" Zen stared at Saul and asked hopefully. At this, Saul simply smiled.


    "Hah, hah, hah," he chuckled. "It is okay to give up according to the regulations. My powerful master won''t force others to become the new master of his fairy palace. Besides, only a truly qualified and contented man could inherit his property. However, I do not want to wait any longer," he added.


    Zen pondered over Saul''s words for a bit.


    ''Ah... in that case, I have to attend the test anyway. It seems that Saul has had enough lonely time and he would definitely force me to attend the test, even though the master of the fairy palace provided two options, '' he thought.


    The hesitation in Zen''s face did not escape Saul''s gaze, and he went on to say, "Rest assured! In order to make sure you can pass the test, I will try my best to help you and give you guidance when I am permitted. I have waited for thousands of years and finally got you here. Even though the test is very dangerous, I will do my utmost to help you!" Saul said.


    When Zen felt that he had no other choice, he simply sighed.


    "Well, okay. I understand now. And how can I pass the test? When can I start? Where is the test place?" Zen asked.


    With a wave of his hand, Saul said, "Come with me!"


    He turned around and walked to the back.


    he edge of the courtyard. However, these three puppets were not so delicate as Saul.


    When Saul saw that Zen''s eyes were focused on those puppets, Saul explained, "You can select anyone of these puppets. They are made for you!"


    One eyebrow shot up in Zen''s forehead.


    "What do you mean?" he asked.


    "If you fail in the test, I will save you and take your soul out, then seal your soul in this puppet. Then you can stay with me for long time, as if you were not dead," Saul said as he pointed to the three puppets.


    "Those souls of the failed challengers had lived here too.


    However, my craftsmanship is not as good as the master''s. I could only keep the soul alive in the puppet for a thousand years, but I could not make it immortal, just as what my master did to me," he finished.


    Now, Zen had finally understood what Saul meant. In order to have a companion with him, Saul had made some puppets here.


    Those who previously broke into the fairy palace and failed the test were made into puppets.


    Even though Saul was not as good as his master in making the puppets, the appearance of these three puppets weren''t so bad. They looked like they didn''t have any major damages. However, the souls within the puppets had faded away after thousands of years.


    When Zen thought about being sealed in the puppet by Saul if he failed the test, he couldn''t help but feel scared. He swallowed nervously. It would be miserable to live a lonely life in puppet for a thousand years.

 Chapter 241 The Force Of One Hundred Men (Part One)

    However, at this moment Zen''s primary concern was revolving around what the current test was all about.


    "Saul, as you mentioned, this test was set by an immortal. But I''m only half-step into the nature level. How could I possibly undergo that test successfully?" Zen asked with a wide frown across his face.


    If in fact the legendary immortal did set all the problems which would appear in the test, let alone Zen, even the greatest masters of all times from the Eastern Region would probably fail it.


    Saul grinned upon hearing the response as he pointed to the things in the yard and said, "Look at everything in this courtyard carefully. Aren''t they all over a hundred times bigger than you?"


    Upon giving everything a second glance, Zen gave an accepting nod. It was evident that the courtyard was designed by immortals. Every wall there was over thousands of feet high, which made Zen feel like a little ant crawling on the ground as he walked through the courtyard.


    "Don''t you think it is strange that I showed up before you in this appearance?" Saul asked again, with a wide smile still persisting on his face.


    The entire scene was indeed rather strange. From the moment he entered the fairy palace, all the objects were of massive proportion, except the puppet Saul who was about Zen''s size.


    "The test is designed to find the most suitable successor, so the candidate''s strength is primarily taken into consideration. But obviously if the immortal modeled the test based on his own ability and strengths, then chances are that no one would inherit the fairy palace," Saul continued in a bid to instill confidence. "The test formulated only for pushing your limits. It means that the stronger a candidate is, the more difficult the test will be. If you can s


    emember was that it was a test of strength!


    But Zen didn''t know how his strength would be tested at this point in this unfamiliar world.


    He walked for a while before his eyes chanced upon a rope. There were many bare-chested men with powerful muscles standing alongside the rope. The men appeared quite burly.


    After counting the men standing across from him, Zen realized there were about a hundred men.


    "Humph!" Upon seeing Zen approaching, the men leading the gang handed the strong rope over to Zen.


    Zen grabbed the rope and suddenly felt light. His vision got blurry before the landscape changed yet again.


    As his vision became clear again, Zen was standing on the top of a high mountain, still holding onto the rope. Those burly men were standing across him, holding the rope''s other end.


    Between the mountain tops was a ravine. Some preying birds were circling over the cliffs, looking at Zen insidiously. It felt like they were keenly waiting for the moment he would fall into the ravine, so they could swoop in and peck at his flesh.


    In addition to this horrifying scene, the bottom of the mountain ravine was swirling with molten hot lava...

 Chapter 242 The Force Of One Hundred Men (Part Two)

    "It looks like if I fail or even flutter, I''m going to die," Zen muttered softly.


    "Humph!" The strong men across the ravine grabbed the rope, drew a circle and tied it around their shoulders. Then they motioned Zen to tie himself with the rope, just as they did by imitating their actions.


    "Is the test of strength a tug of war? How could I possibly match the strength of 100 men all by myself?" Zen, grasping the powerful men''s intention and the test''s concept, gently swung the rope and tied it around his shoulder in a strong loop.


    Then Zen tugged at the rope and nodded at those men. The test of strength had been initiated.


    "Hey-oh!"


    With a sudden roar, the hundred intimidating men began to pull at the rope as hard as they could.


    Even though Zen was well prepared, he suddenly lost his strong footing due to the sheer force of the hundred mighty men and slowly slid toward the cliff''s edge.


    After being dragged six or seven steps toward the opposite side, Zen put an end to it with all the strength he could muster. His feet gripped the ground, like a bull, and he stopped sliding as he adjusted to the steady position.


    "This strength test is not so easy to pass and is deceptively tough!" Zen tried to lean back, stretching the rope straight and asserting more strength.


    The collective strength of a hundred men was so great that despite his best efforts, Zen was dragged towards the cliff''s edge.


    Zen had not launched the power of dragon scales just as yet. He relied solely on his own strength against the strong men.


    He gritted his teeth, flexed every muscle and every tendon bulged. However, even with all his strength, he could not hold his ground and slid toward the cliff''s edge inch by inch.


    ''This is the limit of my physical strength, '' Zen realized. ''I''m only two or three steps away from the drop. If I don''t utilize the power of dragon scales, I''m afraid I will fall into the ravine!''


    "Come on!"


    Zen shouted, and the dragon scales lit up in his head, giving off a green glow. Then, a rush of strength pushed into every muscle of his body like a sudden surge of electricity.


    In a flash, Zen''s power had exp


    tails?


    There are a hundred mighty men...


    When I pull the rope hard, they too pull it with equal might. The only difference is when they all tug at the rope together they all let out a roar.


    Why must they always roar?


    The roar... This difference doesn''t enhance their strength. The immortal would not add any unnecessary element when setting the dreamland, so this was deliberately arranged and placed here. Everything has meaning and significance.''


    The thought of that terrifying roar reminded Zen of a story he read as a child.


    It was the tale of Lancang River. There was a shallow section of the river which small boats could cross, but big ships could not maneuver through.


    In order for the big ship to pass smoothly, it must be pulled by men. Boat trackers pulled a ship along the shore with ropes on their backs, assisting the ship to move forward through the shallow water slowly yet steadily.


    But despite dozens of men were towing a ship, their power was uneven and insufficient. If there was no unified force, it was impossible to drag the ship deep in the mud.


    In order to combine the power of dozens of people, they would sing songs, which were actually some rhythmic slogans driving motivation and synchronous movements!


    These slogans were used to synchronise their movements and combine their forces to ensure mobility and success.


    At the thought of this, an idea suddenly occurred to Zen!

 Chapter 243 Endless Steps

    The most significant difference between them was that Zen was the only one on his side, whereas there were about a hundred people on his rival''s side.


    Here, Zen had an advantage as it would be impossible for so many people to act in unison as there must be a difference among a hundred people when they exerted their strength.


    To overcome this shortcoming, they would roar when exerting themselves, and this roaring unified their efforts.


    ''This must be the so-called details Saul mentioned!'' Zen was suddenly enlightened. Since Saul had reminded him, it must be the key to pass the test!


    ''Strength, unity...


    I must find a way to disrupt their efforts so that they are unable to exert their strength simultaneously!'' Zen thought.


    He looked at those men with a weird smile and then gradually withdrew his strength.


    After Zen reduced his strength by thirty percent, he was pulled toward the cliff edge, little by little.


    After moving forward a few steps, Zen suddenly applied himself.


    All his strength erupted in an instant!


    Then, he was able to drag the rope back.


    "Hey! Ha!"


    The men roared when they found that Zen was striving to use all of his power. They deployed their strength at the same time to compete against Zen.


    ''It is just as I have thought!'' Zen thought with a slight smile. When the men exerted themselves, Zen withdrew his strength again.


    As he felt the rope loose, Zen applied more force.


    Because he was alone, Zen could exert or withdraw his strength freely.


    On the contrary, the men on the opposite side had to rely on their roaring to unify their movements.


    After Zen had repeatedly exerted and withdrawn his strength, the roaring rhythm of the men finally became chaotic.


    "Hey! Ha..."


    "Ha..."


    "Hey..."


    Everyone was roaring according to their rhythm, so their strength wasn''t unified at all.


    Just then, Zen summoned all his strength again.


    Even if the total strength of these men were equal to Zen''s, because they were inconsistent in utilizing their power, they seemed to be weaker than Zen.


    As a result, the men couldn''t keep their balance any longer and slid toward the edge of the cliff, one by one.


    As soon as one man fell off the cliff, their team would lose one percent of their strength. When Zen deployed all his power, more than thirty men fell. The strength of the remaining seventy men was only equal to seventy percent of Zen''s power at that moment. And so, Zen had nothing to fear.


    Zen felt more and more relaxed as with each exertion there were fewer people left on the other side. Finally, all hundred men had fallen into the ravine. And thus, Zen won the strength competition.


    After pulling the whole length of the rope to his side, Zen felt the surrounding environment change. When he looked around, Zen noticed that he was back in the hall.


    A smile appeared on Saul''s face. Except for his lifeless breath, the puppet of the immortal was just like a real person.


    "Well done!


    the black fire, he would have fainted from the pain of being pricked by the soul thorn.


    His soul was strong enough, but his face still twisted in pain, as though he had tasted a bitter melon.


    Zen raised his head and looked at the steps that extended to the skyline. ''How much pain would I have to suffer if my feet are pricked at every step I take?


    It seems I have no choice but...''


    Zen suddenly leaped forward. After several jumps, he had crossed twenty-three steps.


    Although Zen was being smart by jumping, he was invariably pricked by the thorn when he did place his feet on a step. Zen gritted his teeth and continued as he rationalized that this was better than getting pricked at every step.


    After jumping across dozens of steps, each time he placed his foot on a step, Zen would feel the pain of his soul being attacked by the thorn.


    After leaping more than ten times, his soul had been pricked more than ten times too. Even though Zen''s soul was much stronger than the average person''s, he felt dizzy from the pain. Zen couldn''t help but cover his head with his hands.


    He had to sit down and rest.


    Looking at the remaining steps, Zen took a deep breath. After he had recovered, Zen continued to climb.


    After leaping across several hundreds of steps in one breath, Zen reached the two-thousandth step.


    The moment he stepped on it, the environment around him changed.


    Clusters of crimson flame replaced the soul thorns.


    Zen guessed that they were not real flames as he couldn''t feel any heat coming from them. However, when he stepped on them, Zen felt as though his soul was being grilled.


    He would have preferred it if they had been actual flames. After all, Zen had developed a certain resistance to fire and could even absorb their heat as he had been refined by the lotus fire, the fire of the Earth''s core, and the demon''s holy fire.


    However, the flame on the step was special as it wouldn''t hurt his body, but it did attack his soul.

 Chapter 244 Zens Unshaken Determination

    Zen''s soul was getting roasted by the flames. In spite of his strong will, he couldn''t bear the excruciating pain. He trembled and moaned in pain as he rolled side to side on the ground with his hands covering his head.


    He found it hard to stand up, let alone take another step.


    Zen slid on the 2, 000th step and eventually fell to the 1, 999th step.


    Although he had to endure the pain of the soul thorns pricking him when he went down to the 1, 999th step, he looked so much better. He looked up at the steps above him and sighed, "This is harder than I thought. How can I overcome these obstacles?"


    Zen had an iron will and never backed down from any challenges or difficulties. He triumphed over many predicaments with his perseverance.


    But for the first time, he doubted himself.


    The remarkable flame was terrifying and overwhelming.


    "I can''t quit now even if I want to," Zen murmured. There was no way he could back out now that he was inside the fairy palace. Besides, Saul told him that he would be accepted in the fairy palace if he could pass this stage of the test.


    However, he couldn''t even stand up steadily at the 2, 000th step, so how could he possibly move up another step?


    Zen''s soul had great strength that could withstand any pain, so there was no reason he should fear being burned by the flames.


    His soul had been exposed to the black fire in his brain. The flame that he was now encountering was not even close to the power of the black fire.


    But then, Zen could not endure the pain of his soul being burned.


    "No, it can''t be like this!"


    The soul test was indeed quite dangerous. The puzzle must be difficult, but it could not be unbreakable. There must be a way to deal with this.


    Zen stood at the 1, 999th step and thought for a while. His face lighting up with an idea, he said, "Ah! How can I be so stupid to have forgotten about the state of forgetting myself?"


    Back when Zen was mastering the Spiritual Thorn, he inadvertently discovered the state of forgetting himself. In the sphere of nothingness, his consciousness would become subtle and he could ignore himself as if becoming the second person.


    If he entered that state now, he could completely ignore the pain of his soul being burned. This was the only way he could think of that could help him pass the 2, 000th step.


    Thus, Zen closed his eyes and began his meditation. The moment he opened his eyes, he could feel nothing.


    He felt as if the world had lost ties with him, including his own body.


    Zen was now ready to try the 2, 000th step again. With this renewed determination, he said to himself, "All right! Let''s do this again!"


    In his state of forgetting himself, Zen walked up to the next step.


    When he finally reached the 2, 000th step, he


    e suddenly felt a terrible pain as if his soul was torn apart.


    "Ah!"


    Zen screamed in pain as the skeleton munched on his skin.


    The pain of the soul being eaten was extremely excruciating.


    If he could not snap out of this illusion, the skeleton would eat him to death.


    Zen was screaming with pain when he heard Saul''s voice, "Hold on to your belief!"


    "My belief?" Zen mumbled. His eyes widened in bewilderment, "What is my belief?"


    Despite the pain of the skeleton munching on him, Zen reflected on his belief.


    Since his father''s death, Zen''s heart hardened like solid rock.


    When he encountered an illusory devil transforming into a group of fierce beasts, he was able to calm himself down and eventually passed the stage.


    But when the illusory devil turned into his father''s image, it hit him hard. He became vulnerable.


    ''My¡­ my belief... is the relentless pursuit of martial arts mastery. Since I decided to follow this path, I must go on, and no one can shake my determination.'' At first, he couldn''t figure out his belief out of the pain. But with focus, he was able to remember what he believed in and what pushed him to take the test. ''Even if my father stops me, I will not falter or give up! No one can ever stop me in mastering martial arts!''


    His eyes now glowed with fortitude.


    The skeleton slowly weakened until it finally disappeared.


    Zen gasped for air and sighed with relief. If his determination wasn''t firm, his soul would have been bitten to death.


    Without wasting any more time, Zen stood up and kept moving up. When he finally reached the top, the surrounding slowly changed and he found himself back in the hall again.


    "Congratulations! You have passed the Soul Test! Now, you are considered the temporary owner of the fairy palace," Saul greeted Zen and smiled at him with excitement.

 Chapter 245 The Contemplation Picture

    "The temporary owner?" Zen was curious about this title.


    Saul laughed, "Yes, this is the rule made by the former host of the fairy palace!"


    "Then what can I do as a temporary host? Can I use anything?" Zen asked.


    Saul shook his head, "No. You can only take the last test and get a Contemplation Picture."


    "What is a Contemplation Picture?" Zen asked. He was thoroughly confused by now.


    Saul was curious. "I don''t know what world you live in! As a warrior, you don''t know what a Contemplation Picture is?"


    Zen had read many books, but he had never heard of the Contemplation Picture. So he shook his head and replied, "I really don''t know."


    "Although you are only at a half-step into the nature level, don''t the warriors in your world have life vitality? Nobody can have life vitality avatar? I saw that many people fighting in the pavilion had life vitality avatars. A person needs a Contemplation Picture to have a life vitality avatar." Saul explained to Zen.


    This explanation only confused Zen more. "The warriors in the Eastern Region cultivate life vitality avatar based on their cultivation method to meditate. Nobody needs a Contemplation Picture..." Zen responded.


    "I see," Saul nodded. "In my opinion, the strength of the people at the Illuminating Soul Realm is low, but the powerful men at the Illuminating Soul Realm in the Eastern Region are much weaker than those at the same level I have seen. As they don''t have a Contemplation Picture, their life vitality avatar is not powerful."


    "Explain to me more clearly. If I want to have a life vitality avatar, I must have that picture, right?" Zen heard Saul repeatedly emphasizing on the significance of the Contemplation Picture. Although he didn''t quite understand it yet, in his heart, Zen felt it must be important.


    Saul smiled, "The powerful men in the Eastern Region can cultivate life vitality avatar without the Contemplation Picture. The life vitality avatar made from their meditation can''t be passed down with a foundation. So their power will be much weaker. If you can turn life energy into life vitality and gain life vitality avatar through the Contemplation Picture, its power will be ten if not a hundred times stronger!"


    Zen understood what Saul said.


    It appeared that Saul and the host of the fairy palace did not live in this world. There was another way to cultivate in their world, and it was different from that in the Eastern Region. Something called the Contemplation Picture was needed to have life vitality avatar.


    "In this case, how do I get... the Contemplation Picture?" Saul''s explanation tempted Zen.


    Saul laughed, "Didn''t I tell you a few minutes ago? After you pass the first and second tests, you will take the third one. Your performance in the last test will decide your reward."


    After saying that, Saul pointed with his hand. Several lights flashed on the wall not far away, and five pictures appeared from nothing.


    Zen stared at the five pictures. They were blurry, and he couldn''t see them clearly.


    "These are your rewards. Each of the five Contemplation Pictures has a different power. The first one, the Heavenly Sword Picture is the worst, and the last one, the


    his soul would be destroyed, which was something that Saul was unwilling to see.


    Hearing the words rank poison, Zen showed a faint smile.


    If another way of attacking was used, Zen would probably be frightened. But Zen had the body of a spiritual weapon, and he was not afraid of any poison.


    "Can the snake poison harm me?"


    There were a dozen of infant nine-headed snakes, and each of them was 100 feet tall. The snakeheads were strange with different colors, such as yellow, brown, and red. Some snakeheads were colorful and bright.


    The snake with the brighter color had a stronger poison.


    "Crack!"


    The nine-headed snake in the front attacked Zen first.


    Its nine heads sprayed saliva at Zen at the same time. He avoided the saliva. When the saliva touched the flowers and grass on the ground, a squeaking sound reverberated through the phantom. All the plants died, and even the ground turned black.


    Zen was surprised by the potency of the poison of the nine-headed snakes. If an ordinary person touched a little, they would probably die immediately. Even nature creatures would avoid it when battling a nine-headed snake. They would lose their life if they were not careful.


    But Zen was reckless. After he skirted around the poisonous saliva, he hovered on the ground before heading behind the nine-headed snake. He released the broken flying knife in his hand. It shot toward the body of the snake, like lightning.


    "Whoosh..."


    The nine heads of the snake were flexible. As soon as Zen positioned himself behind the creature, the snakeheads turned and sprayed poisonous saliva at Zen.


    Zen couldn''t avoid the poisonous saliva despite changing direction several times around the nine-headed snake. He summoned all his strength under his feet and bent his body in an arc. He didn''t dodge the poisonous saliva. Instead, he rushed up under it.


    "You... want to die?" Saul asked in surprise. He apparently didn''t understand why Zen acted in this way.


    "Buzz..."


    The poisonous saliva was sprayed on Zen''s body and corroded his skin. However, Zen stayed calm and rushed to the snakeheads in one breath.

 Chapter 246 The Ghosts Of The Masters

    "Go to hell!"


    The broken flying blade cut through the air with high speed that it looked like a silver line to the naked eye.


    "Bash!"


    The heads of the snake were not as strong as Zen thought because they got cut off easily.


    Without the heads, the snake would die. After its body wriggled in the air, its severed body finally fell to the ground motionless.


    Standing on the dead body of the snake, Zen sighed of relief. At this point, he heard Saul''s voice from the sky, "You really are surprising, kid! Who would have thought you''re immune to snake venom? It looks like you can make it through this round."


    The most difficult part of the third round was to face the venom of the nine-headed snake that could rotate its heads at any direction. But he was not afraid of snake venom at all so the hydra''s deadly venom was useless. Zen killed it without breaking a sweat.


    After hearing Saul''s word, Zen smiled but he didn''t relax. He immediately jumped and rushed towards another hydra.


    "Go to hell!"


    Zen was not threatened by the hydra''s venom, so as soon as he approached it, he could quickly cut off its heads.


    In total, Zen had killed six hydras in no time.


    But the rest of the hydras realized that their venom had no effect on Zen, so they changed their attack strategy. When Zen attacked the hydra, it bit him and tried to swallow him whole.


    Zen wasn''t ready for such an attack, so he didn''t have time to dodge it. He was swallowed whole by the hydra. However, only after a few seconds, the hydra''s head burst open and sputtered blood all over its body.


    The hydras were no match to Zen''s brute strength, so he used this as an advantage to break the hydra''s head from the inside.


    "Go to hell, you beast!"


    He went on a killing spree and finally killed all the hydras.


    In this round, Zen had all the advantages that helped him finish the round faster and advance to the next round. For one, he was immune to all the toxins in the world. And two, the number of opponents in this round was smaller than the previous rounds, so he finished in a short time.


    "Congratulations on passing this round. You can now get the Cloud and Flying Birds Picture as your prize for getting through this far. This picture dates far back. If you look at the picture, I''m sure you will benefit from it. You can make your choice now," Saul told Zen.


    Zen shook his head firmly.


    "Do you really want to go through the fourth round? Trust me, each task gets tougher as you move up and only the most gifted races can pass all the rounds. Well, you''ve done well, but you''re still an ordinary human being so there''s no way you can pass the next rounds. Take my advice and leave with the picture," Saul advised Zen. It wasn''t an insult, but rat


    aked eye and just followed his other senses when attacking.


    And it worked! He had pierced a ghost.


    "Only five left!"


    Zen gritted his teeth. He stood up despite the dizziness and continued to fight.


    However, the Goddess of Luck was not always on Zen''s side. When he tried to use the same trick on the remaining ghosts, it didn''t work again. The ghosts continued to attack him, and the pain became more overwhelming. His soul became more fragile and weaker.


    "Well, look at you. You''re not only immune to any toxins but you can also use your mind to attack your enemy. If you''re lucky, maybe you can hit another one. But from how I see it, your soul attack is simple and lame. You might end up dead before you can quit," said Saul.


    Zen was weak and could barely stand, but he was not giving up. He gritted his teeth and shook his head, "Just give me a little more time. I will definitely defeat them."


    "How can you kill them? Your soul attack level is low. Turning your soul into a thorn to attack is a primitive method, but these ghosts have way more advanced thinking. You''re just lucky to have killed two ghosts. Better give up now while you''re still alive," Saul suggested, "These ghosts will attack you again. What can you do now?"


    The five ghosts surrounded Zen from all angles.


    It appeared to them that Zen was ready to give up, so they wanted to eat his soul completely.


    Despite being surrounded, Zen just stood. He suddenly gritted his teeth and shouted, "Ahhhhhhh!"


    As he yelled, a cyan dragon figure roared in Zen''s deep mind.


    The dragon''s roar turned into an invisible cyan shock wave that spread out in all direction.


    When the cyan hit the ghosts, they vanished instantly.


    And in that instant, all the five evil ghosts vanished. The cyan shock wave dispersed them all in one attack.

 Chapter 247 The Immortal Soul (Part One)

    While Saul watched Zen beat all the evil ghosts, he remained silent for a while. Then slowly, he said, "Interesting! There appears to be a dragon lying dormant in your body."


    A dragon? Zen did not try to deny it. In fact, there was not only one dragon inside his body --- but nine!


    However, only the cyan dragon that lay at the bottom of his body woke up. Particularly, it was the dragon that killed the evil spirits. It was a shame that he could not tell when the other eight dragons were going to awaken. Perhaps, the next dragon might only wake up after the current cyan dragon''s scales were completely lit up.


    "Haha! Not bad at all! Indeed, you are qualified to proceed to the fifth round. Seeing that you have already passed four tests by now, I won''t force you to give up anymore. Should you be successful in the final test, you will obtain the Sun Moon Stars Picture, which is the most powerful Contemplation Picture in the fairy palace. Your only chance at winning, however, depends on you going at it with all your strength. Since the attacks of the ghosts affected your soul, I can assist you with your recovery."


    As a creature of wide knowledge and experiences, Saul had seen all kinds of people while staying at the fairy palace.


    During his encounter with Zen, he had looked down on the man repeatedly. Nevertheless, Zen succeeded in conquering all the difficulties and consistently passed the tests one at a time. After a while, Saul could no longer intimidate the man and allowed him to advance to the next test instead.


    As soon as Saul stated his intention to help, a halo of light descended from the sky and directly entered Zen''s brain.


    Suddenly, his soul appeared to be in a relaxed state, giving him a sense of pleasure and making him almost want to cry out in bliss. Despite Saul being just a puppet, he had casually displayed his surprising skills to cure people.


    After the halo disappeared,


    itality. Therefore, Zen assumed that the matter he saw coming from the armored warrior was merely life energy.


    However, the life energy seemed so strange. Instead of being a single color, there were several of them! Even more, the life energy constantly changed shades.


    ''What kind of cultivation method has he mastered that enables him to summon such vibrant life energy? No matter what, I''d better strike him first to gain the upper hand, '' Zen thought. Like a flying shuttle, Zen pushed off the ground and rushed towards the armored warrior. At the same time, he shot the broken flying knife straight at the armored warrior.


    With a loud rustle, the broken flying knife rotated and came sharply at the head of the armored warrior.


    Trying to outmaneuver the armored warrior, Zen thought of a strategy to subdue him.


    For his plan to work, the armored warrior had to dodge the flying knife, and then that was when he planned to use the Spiritual Thorn. After that, he would retrieve the flying knife and initiate his fatal attack.


    However, the armored warrior ruined his plan with a single move, one that was simple yet effective enough for him to avoid biting the dust so early in the battle.


    In a very subtle manner, the armored warrior... tilted his head.

 Chapter 248 The Immortal Soul (Part Two)

    His execution to dodge the flying knife was swift, accurate, and concise. By simply tilting in one direction, the flying knife brushed past his cheek. It missed the target by only half an inch!


    ''He is so confident about himself. He knows the flying path of the knife as though it were the back of his hand!''


    Zen thought and looked at the armored warrior, gasping in surprise.


    Then he turned his thumb down and dragged the flying knife back, following the same route. With a lift, he then shot the flying knife at the backside of the armored warrior''s head again.


    His opponent slightly turned his head to one side, just as he did earlier. It was as though he had eyes on the back of his head, he successfully dodged the attack from the flying knife.


    "Ah¡­" All Zen could do was wear a dumbstruck look.


    His two consecutive attacks had both failed. To his astonishment, the armored warrior just got away with it so effortlessly. After attempting the best tactic that he could think of, he was now at his wits'' end.


    Just then, the armored warrior suddenly took his first offensive move; he rushed towards Zen at a rapid speed.


    "Is this the strength of a half-step into the nature level cultivator?"


    As Zen looked at the armored warrior who was speeding towards him, Zen''s pupils dilated. He could not believe that a half-step into the nature level cultivator could run so fast!


    It appeared that he had overlooked the similarity in the nature creatures'' and Illuminating Soul Realm masters'' reaction when they encountered him before. Truthfully, although his opponent had the half-step into the nature level, he also had the strand of soul remnant from an immortal. Therefore, his real strength could not be measured simply as an ordinary half-step into the nature level.


    While rushing towards Zen, the armored warrior extended his long skinny arms and manipulated the life energy to form two colorful curves in the air.


    As soon as the curves appeared, they were q


    er spitting out the aftertaste of mud in his mouth, he gazed at the armored warrior firmly.


    The armored warrior moved extremely fast. If he continued to approach Zen at such a speed, it was nearly impossible for Zen to catch sight of his body. In this case, Zen would definitely lose.


    "I''ll try to narrow the gap between us and fight hand-to-hand with him," Zen thought


    As he had a strong and tough body, it never crossed Zen''s mind to hesitate in a close distance and hand-to-hand battle.


    Without another thought, he threw his broken flying knife again. This time, though, the target of the flying knife was not the armored warrior, but to block his way of retreat.


    At the same time, he shortened the distance between the armored warrior and him, reaching out his hand to pull.


    But as soon as Zen had reached out, the armored warrior deflected his attack and simply shoved his hand away.


    "Do you want to push me away? No, I don''t think so!" Zen yelled.


    When his opponent had deflected his left hand, he quickly used his right hand to attack the armored warrior.


    But then again, Zen did not expect that the armored warrior''s arms would be as flexible as the body of a spiritual snake. Quickly enough, the armored warrior twined his flexible arm around Zen''s right hand and locked it firmly.

 Chapter 249 Entering The Nature Level

    Zen''s wish had come true. If he could get closer, he would have a better chance.


    Zen smiled. The dragon power erupted from his body. He lifted the armored man and intended to throw him on the ground.


    If the armored man was only a half-step into the nature level, he certainly couldn''t survive this.


    However, before Zen had the opportunity to do so, the armored man wriggled free from Zen''s arms. His body was as soft as a snake.


    Zen had already decided to smash the armored man with his arms and fists. However, since the armored man clung to him closely, both of them lost their balance and fell to the ground.


    Meanwhile, Zen stretched out his right hand and attempted to grab the armored man''s neck. He failed because the armored man''s throat was slippery. The armored man got away. He rolled over and pinned Zen under his body.


    "Contortion!"


    An idea suddenly popped into his head.


    The armored man''s moves reminded Zen of a body-building martial art form that the Eastern Region called contortion.


    Ordinary people would practice several martial arts styles before entering the skin-refining level, and contortion was one of them.


    However, after they entered the skin-refining level, these people would commit themselves to becoming a real master and they would give up practicing contortion. This was because the martial arts style was used for body-building and it was useless for the careers of real masters.


    Zen had learned contortion in his childhood.


    However, after he reached the skin-refining level, he started to learn Purple Light Fist, a method cultivated by his ancestors.


    Zen had never thought that an ordinary armored man could use contortion this way. In his mind, contortion was only used for body-building.


    Zen found his martial arts useless when battling this armored man.


    ''A strand of the immortal''s soul can possess such unbelievable strength, '' thought Zen. Zen felt very depressed after being pinned by the armored man.


    But Zen wouldn''t give up easily as he was determined to get the fifth Contemplation Picture.


    The armored man put his foot behind Zen and didn''t move. Actually, he was motionless and extremely quiet.


    He looked a bit arrogant. A strand of the immortal''s soul still existed in his body, and it was intelligent.


    "Fuck!" Zen cursed.


    Zen erupted into fury and struggled to get free.


    However, no matter how hard he tried to get up, the armored man pinned him down with his knee against Zen''s body.


    This time, Zen held his breath and waited for his opportunity. Before he toppled to the ground, he stepped forward suddenly and then turned a somersault. Then, Zen finally rose to his feet.


    The armored man saw this and attempted to stop him. He followed Zen and stubbornly tried to pin him down again.


    "Fuck yourself," said Zen, smirking unpleasantly.


    Zen''s breast suddenly burst, and red blood splattered everywhere. From his bloody chest, the broken flying knife appeared and flew toward the head of the armored man.


    It cut through h


    templating the Nine-day Cycle Picture for half a year.


    However, there were nine levels in the Nine-day Cycle Picture. In contrast, the Sun Moon Stars Picture only had three levels, which meant the sun, moon, and stars.


    In respect of this, practicing the power and skills according to the Sun Moon Stars Picture seemed to be more difficult.


    Zen just started to contemplate a few minutes ago, and now, he was capable of taking the power and strength of the stars. He was a genius!


    Time passed. Three days later, Zen was still sitting on the ground.


    After 3, 000 circles, Zen suddenly closed his eyes. He contemplated for a while and then re-opened his eyes. The stars were still shining brilliantly.


    ''The Sun Moon Stars Picture is marvelous. After absorbing the power from the stars, my spirit was lifted, and my soul was purified, '' thought Zen. He sighed deeply at the thought.


    This was Zen''s intuitive feeling. However, as one of the immortal''s best pictures, the Contemplation Picture could do more than that.


    Zen exerted his energy and allowed it to flow inside his belly, forcing the demonic life energy to come out of his body. He found that some starlight was shining in the dark and purple demonic life energy. It was beautiful.


    "The demonic life energy can swallow all other life energies and life vitality, but it gets along with this starlight well... Wait!"


    All of a sudden, something abnormal happened.


    The demonic life energy disappeared from his hands.


    "What''s happening?"


    Meanwhile, Zen felt the demonic life energy that was slowly flowing inside his belly began to give out heat. It was as though somebody had set a fire inside his body.


    The demonic life energy was flowing more and more quickly in his belly, and the heat was accumulating.


    The demonic life energy radiated from his belly and quickly rushed to all of his meridians.


    The nature of the demonic life energy had changed. It had become much thicker and smoother.


    "Am I... entering a new level?"

 Chapter 250 Outside The Valley

    Zen was pleasantly surprised.


    With the demonic life energy flowing through his body, Zen stretched his hand and forced some demonic life energy out of his body.


    The demonic life energy had changed indeed. Although it was still dark purple, it looked like thick dark purple fog.


    "I have made a breakthrough!"


    After being at a half-step into the nature level for a long time, Zen had finally entered the nature level!


    The demonic life energy that was flowing in Zen''s body was changing into life vitality. The thick dark fog in his hand was demonic life vitality!


    After Zen entered the nature level, his strength was promoted to a higher degree.


    It was more important that he had broken the barrier to the nature level, as in the future, Zen would enhance speed for cultivation.


    "Congratulations. You are now a nature creature," Saul smiled faintly and praised Zen.


    In fact, with Saul''s vision, let alone a nature creature, even a master at the Illuminating Soul Realm was insignificant.


    But Saul was only a servant at the fairy palace, and now, Zen was the temporary host. As long as Zen continued to perform well, he was destined to become the real host of the palace. Saul naturally had to respect him.


    Zen nodded and smiled at Saul. After becoming a nature creature, Zen was one level closer to his goal.


    Then he closed his eyes and started to consolidate his realm.


    Three days later, Zen opened his eyes. As a nature creature, Zen felt that his body had changed.


    His breath was longer and more forceful. It would take five minutes to take a breath.


    After Zen solidified his realm, he jumped up and threw a punch in the air. This was the first move of the Heavenly Ogre Fist called Ogres Shaking the World.


    When he threw the punch, a black fist shadow emerged rapidly. It was more solid and faster. Since Zen had absorbed power from the Sun Moon Stars Picture, the shadow glittered with the power of the stars.


    Looking at the fist shadow, Zen curled his lips. Unfortunately, he had no opponent on whom to test the power of the Heavenly Ogre Fist. Zen considered Saul for a while. Although Saul remained expressionless, Zen shook his head and dismissed the idea. He knew that Saul''s strength was endless. If he decided to test his new powers on Saul, there might not be a reaction.


    There was much for Zen to celebrate. After all, he had become the temporary host of the fairy palace and had received the best Contemplation Picture. However, Zen was crestfallen when he learned that he couldn''t use anything in the big palace.


    If he could enter the pill refining room and acquire an elixir, could his strength be significantly improved?


    The cause and effect of everything was a blessing. Since the third host of the fairy palace had made such an arrangement, it must be for a reason. Zen wouldn''t insist on it, however.


    Saul had informed Zen that he couldn''t enter any other place in the fairy palace except the room in which he found himself. Considering the limitations, Zen thought it would be a waste of his time to remain in the palace.


    Zen saluted Saul and said, "I have been in the fairy palace for a long time. If there is


    sted. Goodbye!"


    "What happened to the elders from my family? Where are they now?" The man was unwilling to step aside and questioned Zen again.


    Zen''s expression soured. "I will repeat what I said earlier. I don''t know you. I am not in the mood to answer your questions. Get out of the way if you don''t want to die!"


    The strength Zen showed before had already left these people puzzled. After all, Zen could kill Yves and had taken Leon''s life.


    Although some of these nature creatures were more powerful than Leon, the distance between each of them and Leon wouldn''t be large. Everyone was afraid of Zen for now.


    The force with which Zen had spoken was so great that the nature creatures moved one step back. One of the men shouted, "Everyone, come together. He must know what happened in the fairy palace. Don''t let him go!"


    It was said that there was strength in numbers. Perhaps this was why the other men felt encouraged to the degree that they challenged Zen.


    Everyone had been fearful of Zen, but they didn''t believe that Zen could defeat so many nature creatures by himself.


    Seeing so many nature creatures surrounding him, Zen narrowed his eyes and emitted a strong killing intent. He didn''t want to kill more people, but these people from the noble clans were so hard to deal with!


    "If you want to lose your life, come closer. I can fulfill your wish. All of you will die just like the people at the Illuminating Soul Realm in the palace!" Zen summoned his dark purple demonic life vitality and prepared for battle.


    "What? All of them died?"


    "How about my uncle?"


    "No way! They are masters at the Illuminating Soul Realm. How can they die so easily? You are a liar!"


    What Zen said revealed that all the masters at the Illuminating Soul Realm were dead. Everyone heard that, but none of them could believe it.


    Since the fairy palace was a dangerous place, all of these clan members knew that even masters at the Illuminating Soul Realm were as powerless as insects and could die of an accident at any time.


    But they didn''t believe it because they couldn''t accept the truth.

 Chapter 251 The Lightning Horse Of The Li Family

    These Illuminating Soul Realm masters were all the backbone of the top seven noble clans. If they had been killed in the fairy palace, it would bring shame and dishonor on the top seven clans.


    "I don''t need to prove myself. Go and find out for yourself. It''s none of my business. Listen, I''m getting out of here now, and if anyone tries to stop me, I will kill him!" Zen angrily said. He was about to leave when someone shouted, "You can''t go without explaining to our Huang family! I won''t let you leave here alive if you don''t!" A nature creature from the Huang family blocked Zen''s way. He turned his life vitality into a small green dragon that rushed towards Zen with an open mouth.


    "Get out of my way!"


    Zen shouted while firing the demonic life vitality from his hands.


    "Peng!"


    The demonic life vitality crushed the green small dragon before it could approach Zen. Although the green small dragon was transformed from life vitality, it wasn''t swallowed by Zen''s life vitality, because its grade was not high enough. After hitting the green small dragon, Zen went straight for the nature creature of the Huang family with sparkling stars on his hand.


    Zen didn''t use the Heavenly Ogre Fist. He just wrapped his hand with power by activating the demonic life vitality.


    The moment that the demonic life vitality hit the nature creature, the sparkling stars suddenly exploded.


    "Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"


    Each of the sparkling stars was only about the size of a rice grain, but its massive explosive powers shocked even the nature creatures.


    The stars were destroyed one by one as they exploded.


    By the time the explosions were over, the nature creature of the Huang family had totally disappeared.


    Crushing the opponent into ash with just one hit! What an incredible power! The Illuminating Soul Realm masters were at awe by what they had seen. Even they couldn''t have possibly made it.


    The faces of the nature creatures turned pale in horror and surprise.


    "He was just half a step into the nature level when he entered the fairy palace, but he was able to defeat Leon and killed him. Look at him now! He can now transform the life energy in his body to life vitality. He is progressing fast! Now that he has become a nature creature and his competence has improved significantly, we are now no match for him!" someone said in a low voice.


    Zen looked around and asked coldly, "Does anyone else want to stop me?"


    There was silence in the place. Not one nature creature would want to battle Zen now. After a while, a young man stepped forward from the crowd and said to Zen, "You must explain in detail about what happened in the fairy palace."


    "What if I don''t want to explain?"


    Zen said with fury in his eyes. Seeing how furious Zen was, the young man took a few steps back and calmed himself down. He continued, "If you don''t want to explain, you''ll have to make up for the loss of our top seven noble clans."


    Zen laughed hysterically as if he just heard the funniest joke of hi


    , he must be the young master of the Li family.


    All the bystanders on the street could not bear to look at what could possibly happen once the horse hit the cart. They were expecting the worst ¨C that the kids and the old man would die if the horse turned over the cart and ran over them.


    When the horse was about to collide with the cart, Zen came in between and caught the horse''s forelegs to avoid the collision.


    "It''s dangerous here! Go and move your cart now!" Zen said lightly to the old man while he was lifting the horse''s forelegs.


    The old man was surprised by Zen''s action. His eyes were still filled with panic. But he immediately moved the cart out of the way as Zen instructed.


    Holding on to his horse to avoid from falling, the young man shouted, "Bastard, what do you think you''re doing? Let go of my horse now!"


    Zen''s face darkened with fury when he heard the young man cursing him. He carefully put down the horse''s legs to avoid hurting it.


    "Are you out of your mind? How dare you stop my horse? You''re courting death!" As soon as the horse was back on its four feet, the young man tried to snap his lash at Zen.


    Zen caught the lash with his fingers and wrapped the end around his hand.


    At that moment, the attendants at the Li mansion gate rushed over and shouted, "Let go of the whip, dumb ass! How dare you offend our young master! Kneel before our master now or you''re dead!"


    Zen sneered at the attendants and instead of letting the whip go, he pulled it causing the young man to topple down from the horse''s back.


    The young master was used to VIP treatment everywhere he went and didn''t imagine anyone who would treat him otherwise; so, when Zen played him as a fool, he was stunned.


    The attendants, however, were quick to make a move. They took out their weapons and pointed them at Zen, "You''re in big trouble! If you had just knelt, we would have let you go after a hundred beatings. But we''re afraid that we would have to cut you in pieces for what you did!"

 Chapter 252 The Foolish Young Master (Part One)

    "Oh, really? So tell me how you will cut me into pieces? Where will you start? Here? Or there?" Zen taunted the attendants. He pulled the young master closer to him and placed his broken flying blade on the latter''s throat.


    "Are you insane? Let go of the young master now!" The two servants were furious, but they were careful as they moved closer to their young master.


    Just then, the young master of the Li family realized what was happening and cursed out loud. "Bastard! You release me now and kill yourself with your knife to atone for your mistake! Or else, I will have you and the rest of your family killed!


    The young master hardly finished his words as Zen slapped him hard across the face.


    "Kill me and my family? Do you even know who I am? And what method will you use to kill me?" asked Zen in a deadly cold voice as he pushed the knife harder on young master''s neck, enough to wound him slightly.


    "How dare you slap me? Even my parents have never hurt me! You''re dead! I shall ¨C," the young master threatened even with his bleeding mouth. He was extremely arrogant and relentlessly cruel.


    He could not finish his sentence again because of a short loud sound.


    Zen had slapped him again, and harder this time.


    The young master looked at him furiously and was about to say something again, but Zen slapped him one more time.


    Seeing how their young master was being treated, the two servants held their weapons and attacked Zen. However, Zen kicked them one by one and they fell back to the ground.


    After he took care of the two servants, Zen went back to handle the young master.


    He wasn''t really looking for trouble and didn''t intend to get involved in such fight. He just want


    s strength. But he didn''t feel fear. "You''re just a nature creature. How dare you beat up my son in front of my house? Do you really think that no one in G Country can defeat you?" he said. After saying this to Zen, Price gestured to his bodyguards and they stepped forward.


    Price''s bodyguards were the top of masters in G Country. One of them had reached the seventh grade of nature level, while the other one was at the eighth grade.


    Zen was a little surprised about the strength of their martial arts.


    Because in his hometown, the C Country, a master at fifth grade of nature level could dominate the whole county with his supremely strong power.


    ''Why do these two masters in G Country work for him as his bodyguards?" Zen was confused.


    He stopped wondering about it when he couldn''t get an answer. If he was still a half-step into the nature level, it would be difficult for him to handle these two masters.


    But now that he reached the nature level, fighting with these two bodyguards would be an easy task.


    After receiving the order from their master, the bodyguards closed in on Zen but didn''t attack just yet.

 Chapter 253 The Foolish Young Master (Part Two)

    They sensed that Zen was only at a nature level, so they thought they could give him an easy time and let him give up on his own.


    However, they were surprised that Zen took the first attack.


    Zen didn''t use the life vitality in his body this time. He used the Phoenix crystal on his right hand to maximize his speed, while he used the hidden power in his body to attack the bodyguards.


    Because of his speed and force, the two bodyguards had no time to react to his attacks.


    "Bam bam!"


    He punched on their chests, which left a big dent there the moment his fist hit their body. They were thrown backward and hit the ground hard.


    Zen used a lighter blow with the bodyguards. If not, they would surely suffer the same consequences as the nature creature of the noble clan in the Dragon Valley did. The nature creature was dissolved into a million small pieces with the power of his stars.


    "Do you still have any questions for me?" Zen asked simply.


    Price looked displeased at the performance of his two bodyguards. No one knew except for him how much he paid for these masters.


    Some masters disdained money, so they would never agree to be someone''s bodyguards no matter how much money was offered to them. Therefore, Price felt lucky that he even got two nature level masters to protect him. Since then, no one in G Country dared to oppose him.


    He was surprised to see that his high nature level masters couldn''t withstand a single blow from Zen. They were defeated easily by a nature level boy. Looking at them, Price knew that they could no longer stand and fight.


    But Price had learned a lot in the cruel world of business. He was tactful and clever. He had been also arrogant because he thought that he was invincible because of his two strongest bodyguards.


    But now, his belief was broken by Zen. The arrogant look on his face changed and Zen saw it in an instant.


    "My dear friend, I am glad that you came t


    e chose not to do it. He knew that Price was not a narrow-minded man, he just loved his son so much.


    After seeing Zen leave, the young master said unhappily, "Father, why did you sell the lightning horse! You know that it''s my ¨C," Prince slapped on his son''s face before he could finish his words.


    It was the first time that he hit his son.


    "I''ve told you to keep your nose clean and stay at home. If you offend ordinary people, I could clean up the mess for you. But if you offend those who have real great strength, you will die before you know it!" Price scolded his son seriously. But he also blamed himself for his son''s ignorance because he spoiled him too much.


    The young master covered his cheek with one hand and said pathetically, "I was wrong. But, Father, you bought that lightning horse for 30 cubic crystals. Why did you lie to him and say that you bought it for 2 cubic crystals? And he thought he was being generous for giving us 4 cubic crystals."


    Price stared at him and sighed. If his son didn''t resemble him so much, he would doubt whether he was his son. The young master was nothing like his father in terms of ability and cleverness. People always said that a great father would not raise a worthless son, but there was no cure for his son''s foolishness.

 Chapter 254 The Commandment Hall (Part One)

    To be precise, the lightning horse was not just a horse, it was way beyond it as it was regarded as a kind of spiritual beast. And this unique spiritual beast was domesticated by some experienced and powerful people.


    The speed at which the lightning horse started running was pretty average, but as it gained momentum, the speed would get faster and faster knowing no bounds. While carrying Zen on its back, the lighting horse was running at an extremely high speed and it appeared like a flashing light at this time.


    For the several days along the way, Zen stopped occasionally to rest. After giving the lightning horse a little rest, he set off on his way without any delay.


    Even so, it took Zen several days to get to the capital of Burning Sky Empire from G County.


    Upon arriving at the Cloud Sect, Zen left his lighting horse in a place where spiritual beasts were raised in Cloud Sect, and then headed straight to the Drizzle Peak.


    Zen was away for a long time to slay demons. Those disciples, who had taken part in the trial for slaying demons, had returned to the peak early. Zen might be the last one, so he''d better hurry up.


    Just as Zen walked up to the foot of Drizzle Peak, and prepared to climb up the mountain, he spotted two people standing along the mountain road. Dressed in a distinct purple light armour, both of them were Cloud Sect inspectors.


    As the two inspectors saw Zen, they walked towards him, pointed at his waist and said, "Show us your disciple card before you proceed onto this path!"


    The inspectors of Cloud Sect had many permissions and rights. They mainly maintained the order for the entire Cloud Sect. But for the order at each peak, that would be something the masters should handle. So, the inspectors were in charge of all the places outside the peaks.


    Upon hearing their request, Zen didn''t question them and just took off his disciple card and handed it to the inspectors without even giving it a moment''s thought.


    One of the inspectors grabbed it and after a quick glance, he gave the other inspector who was standing right next to him an expressive l


    nt Hall torturing disciples who had violated the rules and disobeyed commands to some degree. He wondered what would possibly be done on him in such a hall of shame...


    After Zen entered the hall, he saw a middle-aged man dressed in purple and gold robe with flying fish on it sitting in front of the desk. He had a square face, and was black and solemn. He must be the chief judge.


    The two inspectors pushed Zen to the front and stepped aside in a rather synchronized obedient manner. As it caught the middle-aged man''s attention, he tapped the judicial mallet on the desk with a loud thud, alerting everyone. The man commanded, "Who is this? Kneel down!"


    "Kneel down?" Zen repeated as he opened his pursed lips, "I kneel to the heaven, to the ground and even before my parents, but I never kneel before others!"


    "How dare you!" shouted the middle-aged man angrily as his facial expression froze suddenly. "You know the rules. A person who doesn''t know how to behave will die miserably!"


    "The rules? Of all the rules, do tell me who created the rule of kneeling in the hall? The leader of Cloud Sect? Or you?" Zen inquired in a rather arrogant tone.


    At the start of it all, to have a better understanding of the Hell Mountain, Zen had investigated the Commandment Mount and Commandment Hall. So he was confident of his understanding about the rules and knew right from wrong in this regard.

 Chapter 255 The Commandment Hall (Part Two)

    It was very clearly written that Commandment Mount did not have such great authority at the beginning, but with Cloud Sect''s development, the interrogation methods were further developed and even modified. In order to improve interrogation of the disciples who violated rules, the Commandment Hall replicated methods of the judgment hall in the Burning Sky Empire.


    However, there were no rules granting these methods in Cloud Sect.


    As a disciple of Cloud Sect, Zen naturally and impulsively abode by all the rules of Cloud Sect. But as for the rules in the hall, that were nothing he needed to bother with. He didn''t care what were they or what disobeying them meant.


    The middle-aged man''s name was Murry Qin. He was the deputy principal of the Commandment Hall. In all these years, on his trial list, there were over eight hundred disciples.


    Murry Qin was about to lose his temper by the complete disregard of his commands and was about to show Zen what would come off by disobeying him. But then he thought of what he was told and held back his temper while adding, "All right, suit yourself and just stand there. Do you know why I summoned you here?"


    "No, I don''t have a clue!" answered Zen as he shook his head.


    He really didn''t know, let alone have an idea about which rule he had broken to be summoned here. Did he miss something, a small mistake or maybe even a big one?


    After participating in the trial for slaying demons, Zen travelled out of Cloud Sect all the time and never returned. Before he got a chance to go to Drizzle Peak, the two inspectors brought him here. Even while retrospecting, Zen could not find the smallest tiny hint as to what crime he could have committed.


    With a sly smile, Murry Qin asked, "Hey hey, you sure you really don''t know?"


    "No, not even the slightest clue. I have no reason to lie to you!" said Zen in an indifferent tone. He did nothing wrong, and he didn''t disobey any rules, so he had nothing to be


    Qin felt some amount of guilt. The Commandment Hall had no right to take a person''s life, according to the Cloud Sect rules. Only the senior managers of Cloud Sect could sentence a disciple to death. The most he could do was to send disciples to the Hell Mountain.


    But since he was entrusted, he had to handle it in any way. Their ultimate purpose was to take Zen''s life!


    If he wanted to take a disciple''s life, he would have to go forward in a smarter manner to avoid trouble. "I can''t kill him directly, but I can beat him to death," thought Murry Qin.


    If Zen revolted against the punishment, that would give them the license to kill him. If not, then they would beat him to death with the heaven-destroying cudgels!


    Zen was prepared to fight at that moment. No matter who tried to take his life, he would let them pay the price and there was no exception.


    But when he saw the four men came in with four cudgels, his heart was filled with joy, a feeling so contradictory to what he thought he would feel.


    The last thing he feared was being beaten...


    Now he was at the nature level, and was worried that nobody would beat him!


    In this case, Zen gave up resistance. He wanted to see what would happen after suffering through the strokes. Would his strength and might increase?

 Chapter 256 The Heaven-destroying Cudgel (Part One)

    Zen stood still, without operating his life vitality.


    The four men stood in four distinct positions with their heaven-destroying cudgels in hand. They aimed their weapons and struck at Zen simultaneously.


    The four of them were at grade five of the nature level and had extraordinary strength. Moreover, the heaven-destroying cudgels could strike the body with a force unmatched.


    Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof!


    The weapons hit Zen''s body hard, making dull sounds.


    ''People in the Commandment Hall do have some methods. The ordinary nature creatures could be beaten to death if hit hundreds of times in this manner, '' Zen thought, still not budging an inch. ''But my body is a middle-grade spiritual weapon. The cudgels'' hit can''t injure me with their moderate force!''


    Under the beating of the cudgels, warm currents continuously surged in Zen''s body, soaking his belly.


    The four nature creatures kept hitting at him hard. After all, it was a rare opportunity.


    Poof! Poof! Poof!


    They hit him more than a hundred times in one breath.


    Zen still stood unmoved and looked at Murry, who was looking on from a distance.


    Murry was puzzled. The heaven-destroying cudgel was a good weapon to strike a nature creature. In the past, it had proven to be useful in beating them half to death. Why did this young man look unharmed even after being hit so many times?


    "Hit him hard!" Murry shouted.


    The four men were masters at grade five and had an endless stream of power in their bodies. At Murry''s words, the force in their hands increased in an instant. In no time, sweat was built on their foreheads. Their cudgels struck blow after blow at Zen.


    Poof...


    The cudgels pounded Zen over and over, but he only felt a sense of happiness as the warmth soaked through his belly, lulling him in


    with a monster.


    The four men stared back at him blankly, finding themselves in a fix. They still held the heaven-destroying cudgels in their hands.


    There was no point in continuing to strike the boy because he was not afraid of being beaten. The four of them were merely wasting their respective strengths. But they couldn''t stop hitting him, because Murry hadn''t yet ordered them to stop...


    They waved the heaven-destroying cudgels about, becoming more spiritless.


    "There''s no strength behind your attacks. Don''t do it." Zen sighed and shook his head, but the strength in his body expanded gradually, until it shook with a tremor.


    When the next blow of the heaven-destroying cudgel fell on his body, it repelled against the great force in him and the weapon shattered into several pieces, falling to the ground.


    Zen immediately removed the life-vitality rope of thorns that was tied around his wrists.


    "My time is valuable. I didn''t come back to Cloud Sect for this mischief. I know who was behind what happened today, but I advise you not to get involved with me. Otherwise you will regret it!" Zen said, pointing at Murry who stood on the platform, before turning to leave.

 Chapter 257 The Heaven-destroying Cudgel (Part Two)

    He didn''t come back to Cloud Sect to participate in this farce.


    "How... how dare you! You dare to revolt against me in public!" Murry saw him leaving and was overjoyed. He could not take on Zen until now because he didn''t have a legitimate reason to kill him before.


    Zen could be in league with the demon. Murry could have put him to death after charging him for this crime, but he didn''t have the right to do so within the laws. So he had just convicted Zen and hoped he would be beaten to death by the cudgels. But Zen survived easily. Murry wondered what his body was made of, or why he was not fearful of being bludgeoned.


    If Zen had obeyed him just now, Murry wouldn''t have known how to deal with him.


    But Zen just revolted against him in front of an audience. He ridiculed the Commandment Hall, which gave Murry an admissible reason.


    "You dare rebel against the Commandment Hall and try to escape. According to the rules, I can kill you!" Murry shouted, a judgment pen in his hand. He moved behind Zen.


    At the same time, he saw a shadow of a figure appearing at the gates. The intruder laughed. "I come here by accident. Master Qin, why are you shouting?"


    It was Fren.


    He hated Zen to the bone.


    Zen had beaten Yale almost to death during the trial for slaying demons. He killed Josef too, who had been appointed as the counselor to the imperial army with the help of the Zhuge Clan.


    The incident had angered the Zhuge Clan. Their leader had announced that as long as any of them encountered Zen, they were allowed to take his life straightaway.


    So Fren


    en, for he hadn''t truly been the opponent.


    But today, Zen had edged through the level and become a nature creature.


    The change from life energy to life vitality was quite qualitative.


    Moreover, he had contemplated on the Sun Moon Stars Picture and grasped the power of the stars. The demonic life vitality had made a spurt of progress.


    The expression on Fren''s face betrayed no fear. He could tell that Zen''s body had undergone a transformation, but Fren had a good reputation in the Cloud Sect for his strength. Moreover, lately it had increased. "Hah. You arrogant man, you are just at grade one of the nature level, yet you''re so conceited? I wonder if someday you get to enter the Illuminating Soul Realm, will you kill everyone in our Zhuge Clan? I doubt you''ll get the chance though, because you will be dead today!"


    "Oh? If I enter the Illuminating Soul Realm someday..." Zen wrinkled his brows as if in thought. "I won''t just stop with the Zhuge Clan. If the top seven noble clans make me unhappy, I will take all of their lives!"

 Chapter 258 The Seven Mysterious Demon Swords (Part One)

    "How dare you!"


    The arrogant words of Zen had enraged Fren to a point where he saw red everywhere.


    Just then, everyone heard an abrupt sound of something soaring at incredible speed.


    Swish!


    From the side of the door, a thin willow leaf dart shot towards Zen.


    As soon as he became aware of it, Zen calmly stretched out his hand and pushed the willow leaf dart away in a gentle manner.


    At that moment, a charming woman entered through the door and yelled, "Fren, kill him!"


    Upon closer look, it turned out that the woman was someone named Vivan, whom Zen had met at the Zhang Clan''s Blessed Auction House in the past.


    Seeing his woman had already made her move, Fren felt convinced that he did not have to wait any longer. Instantly, his hand glowed with an orange light, forming a big sword.


    It was the Seven Mysterious Demon Swords, the Zhuge Clan''s tier 4 cultivation method. After he had tossed it casually, the orange-red sword hung in the air while facing Zen.


    It strangely appeared as though there was an invisible man, and he was holding the sword.


    Then, the number of swords multiplied from one to several, as though someone had replicated the original sword many times.


    The orange light in Fren''s hand flickered unceasingly; one after another, big swords appeared from each flash.


    In the end, there were seven swords in the air, with seemingly seven invisible swordsmen holding them.


    "Kill him, now!" commanded Fren.


    Raising their swords, the seven invisible swordsmen rushed towards Zen.


    Some went to stab him horizontally while others cut him vertically. The seven invisible swordsmen united their efforts to ensure his defeat and marched from every possible direction to corner him.


    At the same time, Vivan threw the willow leaf darts, flicking them at the speed of light at Zen one after another.


    Hiding the shock behind a brave facade, Fren narrowed his eyes and said, "It''s good that you can catch a sword. Unfortunately, you only have two hands. I don''t know how you catch the other six swords."


    Under Fren''s command, the other six swords launched a siege on Zen from different directions.


    "Take it easy, you just wait and see!" Zen replied humorously. The demonic life vitality surged out of his hand and seeped into the sword in his hand.


    In a moment, the color of the sword changed from orange to purple-black. Upon seeing the transformation, Zen let out a satisfied sigh.


    Reassured by the familiar color, he let go of the sword. This time, however, he had taken full control of it.


    As Zen signaled, the purple-black sword followed his every intention and hovered in front of him.


    "Bang bang bang!"


    The other six orange swords clashed with the purple-black sword one after another, as Zen maneuvered it expertly and blocked each fierce attack.


    The color of Fren''s face drastically changed while he watched the unbelievable scene before his eyes. Never in his dreams did he imagine that someone, let alone Zen, could take away one of his swords. On top of that, the man had total power over it now.

 Chapter 259 The Seven Mysterious Demon Swords (Part Two)

    Fren wondered, ''What strange cultivation method has he been practicing?''


    Nevertheless, it was not the time for Fren to think about that. Because he wanted to kill Zen as soon as possible, he did not have any more time to waste. Though he had lost a sword, there were still six left in his control.


    And so, while Fren waved his hand again, the invisible swordsmen raised his six swords. On his command, they were ready to attack Zen.


    All of a sudden, some black and purple spots appeared on his six remaining weapons. Fren could only watch in horror as the spots scattered all over the swords.


    "What the hell is going on?" Fren exclaimed.


    With his eyes wide open, Fren noticed that the remaining six swords had lost contact with him. What just happened was beyond absurd!


    In a state of helplessness, he watched the colors of his six swords change from orange to purple-black.


    "I said you are no longer qualified to take my life. With your current strength, you should run whenever you see me.


    It''s a pity you were not smart to believe my words," said Zen seriously.


    After the transformation of the demonic life energy into demonic life vitality, its ability to absorb and transform other energies became more frightening while the speed had greatly improved.


    When Zen used the purple-black sword to prevent the attacks of Fren''s other six, the opportunity for their blades to clash arose.


    It was at that moment when the demonic life vitality of the purple-black sword transferred into the other six swords along the gaps of the blades.


    Although infiltrated by only a small amount of the demonic life vitality, it was enough for the rest of Zen''s strategy to work.


    The demonic life vitality continuously altered Fren''s life vitality at high speed. As a re


    uge sword, which was about ten feet long and several feet wide, directly shot towards Fren.


    "Oh, no! Stop it. If you kill him, you will die!" shouted Murry quickly.


    He never imagined Zen would dare to kill Fren. ''Does this fellow really know no fear?


    If he kills Fren in Cloud Sect, who else could protect him?'' thought Murry.


    "Don''t run, Fren. I''ll kill him!" stated Vivan fiercely.


    Soaked in an unknown evil spirit, Vivan''s eyes turned blood red and her pale skin bloomed with red spots. Even the willow leaf darts she thrust were contaminated with blood. After noticing these details, Zen deemed that she must have been using some mysterious cultivation method.


    "Are you still not giving up?" asked Zen, looking at the woman incredulously.


    The huge sword not only blocked the willow leaf darts, but also absorbed the blood energy of the darts.


    With its huge side panel like a door, the huge sword flew over and touched Vivan''s enchanting body that had made many men think about it day and night.


    Bang!


    Knocked by the sword, Vivan flew against the wall with a muffled noise. Then slowly, she collapsed and lowered her head while losing consciousness.

 Chapter 260 Saint Viana

    At the same time, behind Zen, Murry wrote a big ''KILL'' in the air with his brush pen before rushing toward Zen.


    Murry couldn''t calm down anymore. If Zen killed Fren, the Zhuge Clan would blame Murry! Then he would be in trouble.


    Zen glimpsed at the ''KILL'' and knocked it hard with his left elbow.


    With a snap, the ''KILL'' was crushed.


    "Fren, you are so timid! You couldn''t even protect your woman! I really don''t understand why the others call you loony!" With that, Zen lifted his sword and rushed after Fren.


    Fren usually came across as crazy and arrogant. Of course, it showed how powerful he was, as only powerful men could afford to behave in such an eccentric manner.


    However, Fren found himself too weak in front of Zen. He was no match for Zen at all!


    ''It''s impossible! It''s impossible! Since he has just reached the nature level, how could he be so powerful?'' Fren thought. Fren was so scared that he picked up speed. He wanted to get rid of Zen as soon as possible and dared not to turn around at all.


    However, Zen chased after him and showed no intention of letting Fren go.


    "Fren, running is useless! Show me how you are going to kill me now!" Zen wielded his sword as he pursued Fren.


    After rushing out of the Commandment Hall, both men ran wild in the Commandment Mount.


    "Zen, if you kill me, you''ll be the enemy of the Zhuge Clan. Since you don''t come from an influential family, how will you face the Zhuge Clan?" Fren said, hoping Zen would let go of him for the sake of his family.


    "Since I have already killed Josef, I don''t care about the repercussions of killing another member of the Zhuge Clan!" Zen answered.


    "I''m more important than Josef! I''m the hope of our family, and they will not allow anyone to kill me!" Fren cried. Had it not been for the dignity of a noble clan, Fren would have knelt before Zen and begged for mercy.


    "Really? They won''t allow anyone to kill you? Then let me see if I can kill you!" With that, Zen swung his massive sword at Fren.


    "Wait!"


    Just then, a man''s voice loudly echoed in the air. His voice was so loud, like the booming of thunder that Zen felt his eardrum go numb.


    Zen''s face darkened when he heard the voice.


    On the contrary, Fren''s face lit up. He shouted in a hurry, "Saint Viana, help!"


    "You have no chance now! Nobody can save your life!" With that, Zen swung his super huge sword at Fren. The sword left a streak of light in its wake.


    "Young man, if you kill Fren, you will pay a hundredfold for your actions! And no one in Cloud Sect will be able to help you!" Saint Viana approached quickly. However, he was still so far from Fren that he could only hope to stop Zen by threatening him.


    Zen hesitated for a short moment and then said lightly, "Too many people have threatened me. I hate bei


    Saint Viana snorted, "He broke Cloud Sect''s rules. According to the rules, those who kill disciples in Cloud Sect should be executed. Why shouldn''t I kill him?"


    "Because he is my disciple!" Aura stepped on the flying chariot and flew forward. She said coldly, "If my disciple commits a crime, I should be allowed to decide the appropriate punishment. Besides, If you kill him before you know what happened, how will you explain your actions to the others?"


    Saint Viana stared at Aura for a while. A wicked smile grew on his face. "You... you''re the girl from the palace, right?"


    "So what?" Aura lifted her chin in defiance and replied with an even colder voice. Very few people dared mention her identity in front of Aura because most people were scared of her.


    However, Saint Viana wasn''t afraid of her. If anything, he didn''t take her seriously. "I''m a Saint at Cloud Sect! I have the right to punish our disciples. Whether I know about the incident that led to the crime or not is none of your business!"


    "Really? Do you think Cloud Sect was built in heaven?" Let me tell you. It''s still on the land of the Burning Sky Empire!" Aura shot back. She didn''t want to compromise.


    Saint Viana had been trying to suppress Aura with Cloud Sect but was ridiculed by her instead. No matter how well-known Cloud Sect was, it couldn''t be separated from the Burning Sky Empire. Aura came from the Su family, and the emperor of


    the Burning Sky Empire came from the Su family too.


    The empire belonged to the Su family!


    "Haha...How can an unfavored child represent royalty and the emperor of the Burning Sky Palace?" Saint Viana said ironically.


    "Viana! Don''t talk nonsense!" Caspar interrupted. Apparently, Saint Viana had said something improper.


    However, Saint Viana was reluctantly to compromise too. "Caspar, why don''t you let me finish? Am I wrong?"

 Chapter 261 The Court Trial (Part One)

    The harsh words that tumbled out of Saint Viana''s mouth saddened Aura quite deeply. It seemed like it had reminded her of something so painful, that it made her inconsolable to the point of not saying a word. The grieving look in her eyes looked quite heartbreaking!


    "Phew!"


    At that moment, a beam of silver light that came from the ground shot at Saint Viana.


    In turn, he slightly waved his hand and simply flicked the flash of light away.


    At the same time, Zen had jumped right onto Aura''s flying chariot, which was more than one hundred feet from the ground and stood next to her.


    "You old thing! How can you bully a little girl just because you are older? It''s really a shame, a shame!" he said.


    Now, Aura was Zen''s master in martial arts even if she was only several years older than Zen. However, Zen had said that she was only a little girl, which made her feel somewhat strange. However, compared to Saint Viana who was more than 360 years old--she had to admit that she could be called a little girl indeed.


    A smell emanated from Zen who stood in front of Aura, and she noticed it. She knew that he was just as nervous as her.


    The masters of Cloud Sect and all the noble clans knew why Aura came to Cloud Sect and was willing to be a humble master at Drizzle Peak.


    The reason why she came here wasn''t a secret, but no one had ever spoken it out.


    Nobody had dared to remind the reason in front of Aura.


    When she reached Drizzle Peak, Aura hoped that she could forget everything about that and adapt herself to her new life as soon as possible.


    However, Saint Viana had ruined that today when he spoke out the reason without consideration of Aura''s feelings, which made her suffer a seemingly endless pain.


    It was a relief that Zen could stand up to help her.


    Saint Viana''s eyebrows shot up angrily at Zen''s words. He was positively fuming with ang


    he little girl to just use it to save an insignificant outer disciple!


    "Will you waste an Emperor''s Token to save this guy?" he asked in a low voice.


    His aggressiveness a while ago seemed to be replaced by calmness for now.


    "How will you know if you don''t try?" Aura said coolly.


    Her words shocked Saint Viana and his face wore an unreadable expression. "Okay! But you have so many things to deal with in Cloud Sect, you can''t keep him alive all the time!


    What''s more, even if I forgive him now, Cloud Sect won''t forgive him, since he has killed a disciple of Cloud Sect. He has broken the Sect''s rules and everyone knows, so you can''t help him even though you are the princess!" he said angrily.


    "I won''t give protection to Zen if he really did something wrong, but punish him according to the rules of Cloud Sect. However, you as a saint, just want to kill Zen without any forethought, so could you tell me why?" she asked back in return.


    Even though Saint Viana had changed topics to Cloud Sect''s rules, Aura was quite clever and she surely had something to say in defense.


    Now, Saint Viana only grunted wordlessly in response. Then after a while, he said, "Anyway, this boy must give a reason why he killed the disciple today!"

 Chapter 262 The Court Trial (Part Two)

    From where he stood, Zen shot him a truly incredulous look.


    "Reason? You old thing! Only after I finished the trial for slaying demons, I was taken here by some people without any reason before going back to Drizzle Peak. They said without any evidence that I was a spy of the demons and beat me heavily with Murry, but they found they couldn''t kill me easily. So, they ganged up with Fren to let me die! Do you think I would just stand there and let them kill me casually?


    Do you think I would die willingly?" Zen asked, fury and seriousness clouding his voice. "I want to know, if you were me, what would you do?" he added.


    However, Saint Viana only said, "Those are your own words! They are not believable!"


    After he said those words, he slowly flew from the air to the ground. He went to Murry, who had remained silent and looked deep in thought. "Murry, as a judge of Commandment Hall, it is your duty to explain clearly what has happened today!" Saint Viana said.


    At this, Murry rolled his eyes and a wicked grin was plastered on his face. "My honored Saint Viana, please don''t believe this guy who told a lie. The information received by Commandment Hall indicated that the guy conspired with the demons during his trial for slaying demons, and as a judge of Commandment Hall, it is my responsibility to keep the disciples of Cloud Sect safe. However, if this boy was really possessed by a demon general and entered into our Cloud Sect, what should we do? Thus, I have to take some actions to find out if he is really a spy," he said.


    Saint Viana nodded in agreement. "Murry, you are right, please go on!" he said.


    "It was really unexpected that he didn''t cooperate with us and he refused to be examined by Commandment Hall. What''s worse, when he was in Commandment Hall, he has said something very offensive! Because of his arrogance and improper words, I asked to beat him to give him a lesson--but unfortunately, he turned around and ran away!


    Just at that


    omforting look at Zen.


    "Sorry, you have to stay here for a couple of days, but don''t worry, no one can frame you up once the court trial is organized!" she reassured him.


    A smile lit up Zen''s face as he looked at Aura. "Master Su, I am not worried at all. My life is not valuable, and anyone can come to kill me on the condition that he is powerful enough!" he told her.


    As he said those words, Zen shot Saint Viana a knowing look.


    After that, Aura maneuvered her flying chariot and landed it on the ground. Before the court trial, Zen had to be kept in Commandment Mount. A squadron of officers had arrived to take him away.


    Just as Zen was about to be escorted to leave the scene, he suddenly thought of something. He turned to Aura and asked her in a low voice, "Master Su, could you tell me who was judged by the court trial two years ago?"


    His question had Aura go quiet for a while before she answered, "Yan."


    At this, Zen managed to plaster a smile on his face. "Who held that court trial? And who prosecuted?" he asked again.


    "Can I tell you later?" Aura said with a hint of discomfort in her voice.


    She shook her head and truthfully, she didn''t want to answer his questions.


    "Please tell me," Zen begged in a calm but steadfast voice, as he stared at Aura with burning eyes.

 Chapter 263 Fight Hand-to-hand

    The longer Zen stared at Aura the more she felt as though she were being grilled by fire. After a long while, she said, "It was the Yun Clan who prosecuted, and Saint Viana was in charge of the judgment, as well as Saint Adrian."


    "Oh, I see." Zen smiled faintly and turned back to Saint Viana again with endless killing intention in his eyes.


    Zen wouldn''t let the Yun Clan go.


    And he wouldn''t let Saint Viana and Saint Adrian go either.


    Zen knew about Yan. She wouldn''t make a mistake like this. She must have suffered great injustice and humiliation in the major trial.


    All these people must die!


    Zen walked to Murry and swore secretly at the same time.


    Murry told the people in the Commandment Hall to detain Zen and take him away.


    As Zen was leaving, he passed the platform. Vivan who had been lying unconscious on the ground woke up.


    During the fight, Vivan had attacked Zen with the willow leaf darts. Zen had retaliated by ordering the massive sword to hit her. Thrown to the wall, Vivan fainted.


    The moment Vivan woke up, she had a bad feeling.


    "Fren!"


    After standing, she saw Fren. His body lay in two halves.


    Seeing that, she became extremely grieved and cried out. At the same time, she turned to Zen with hatred in her eyes and said, "I will kill you!"


    Zen glanced at her indifferently and shook his head. This woman had courage and insight. It appeared that her hatred for him would be unmitigated, so he stopped and smiled, "If you get the chance."


    Zen left with the people of the Commandment Hall after speaking.


    There was a prison for temporary detainees on the mountain behind the Commandment Hall.


    At Cloud Sect, some people called it the Small Hell Mountain


    as many disciples were tossed into prison without trial. Sometimes, the detainees were locked at Small Hell Mountain for more than half a year.


    As Zen followed the people of the Commandment Hall to the mountain behind, he saw several circles made of round stones on the ground. Many runes were engraved on the stones.


    "Sir, what are the stones and runes used for?" Zen asked as he continued to follow the men.


    Someone from the Commandment Hall snorted, "These runes are of great use. The mountain behind our Commandment Hall is not as big as the Hell Mountain. If some of you guys fight, won''t the mountain be destroyed? So Cloud Sect set these runes to confine your life vitality!"


    "Can these runes confine life vitality?" Zen was shocked.


    "Hehe, you don''t believe it? You can try!" The man continued. Apparently, he had come across many people with the same reaction as Zen.


    Zen nodded and then tried to summon his demonic life vitality, but after he focused on his belly, he felt no movement. Neither did he see demonic life vitality.


    "It is true." Zen frowned. He felt insecure about his life vitality being confined. If someone attacked him, Zen would be unable to resist, and he could only depend on the strength of his physical body to defend himself.


    On the mountain behind the Commandment Hall, there was a flat muster station, which was the temporary prison of the Commandment Mount. The stones and runes ex


    to his.


    "No way!"


    Anyone who had dared to challenge the fatty since his childhood, stood no chance in a fight using only pure physical strength.


    The bloke in front of the fatty was just at the first grade of the nature level. How could he resist the fatty based on physical strength?


    But the truth was before his eyes. After Zen gripped the fatty''s hand, he knocked with his backhand and jumped with one leg. Zen climbed onto the fatty''s back and twisted the fatty''s hand. With the other hand, Zen pinched the back of the fatty''s neck. Then Zen said coldly, "Don''t bother me. Otherwise, I will rip your neck to pieces!"


    While speaking, Zen applied more strength to pinch the back of the fatty''s neck.


    The fatty was apparently not easy to subdue. When Zen used more force, the fatty shook his neck. With so much smooth fat and meat on his neck, he was able to shake off Zen''s grip.


    At the same time, the fatty turned and grabbed Zen. Then he lifted his arm, and Zen found that his feet were no longer touching the ground.


    After lifting Zen, the fatty spun him in the air. When the speed increased, the fatty threw Zen suddenly. He smashed Zen on a wall at the edge of the prison.


    "Bang..."


    The wall collapsed at impact, and Zen was buried under the rubble.


    The fatty spat on the ground, "You are too young to fight me using only your physical strength."


    The stones rocked as Zen attempted to stand. He smiled and shouted, "I didn''t want to make trouble. I have considered staying here peacefully. However, I have changed my mind. Since it is boring here, I will get good exercise when fighting you."


    After saying that, Zen kicked the broken stones aside and walked to the fatty.


    A cautious expression was reflected in the fatty''s eyes.


    After being smashed, this bloke could stand up calmly. It meant that the bloke was not as easy to handle as he appeared to be.


    But it didn''t mean that the fatty was afraid of Zen. The fatty had confidence in his physical strength.


    The disciples in the muster station realized that the fatty had met a strong opponent today.

 Chapter 264 An Unfair Trial

    Even though the fatty had beaten the imprisoned disciples who were good at using their life vitality to fight, none were convinced of him. If the runes had not limited their life vitality, the disciples would have proved that they were much better than the fat guy.


    The boy, who had just been brought in seemed to have the same talent as the disciples here. He didn''t get hurt when the fat guy hit him. In any way, he was no worse than the fat guy.


    "Hmm! The smartest thing for you to do is to lie on the floor and pretend to be dead. Now that you have chosen to stand and fight, don''t blame me for not being kind to you." As soon as the fat guy had finished, he rushed toward Zen.


    The last thing Zen, who had dragon scales and a spiritual weapon body, was afraid of was hand-to-hand combat.


    Seeing that the fat guy intended to charge at him like a wild animal, Zen ran toward the fat guy at the same pace and posture.


    When it came to physical confrontation, lager people would always have an advantage.


    Before Zen hit the fat guy, he summoned the strength of over a hundred dragon scales and concentrated it on his shoulders.


    The two men slammed into each other.


    "He''s so small. I''m afraid he''ll be crushed to pieces by the fat guy."


    "The boy thinks that he is strong and wants to fight the fat guy. Does he not want to live?"


    The disciples of Cloud Sect whispered to one another.


    "Bang!" A dull noise echoed through the prison when the two men''s bodies collided with each other.


    The fat guy felt like he had hit a high mountain.


    Zen''s strength was as endless as the tide of the sea.


    The result of this confrontation stunned everyone.


    Compared with the fat guy''s huge body, Zen looked extremely thin and small.


    Unexpectedly, the fat guy did not seem to have any impact on him, and he remained firmly where he was. The fat guy, however, took several steps back after hitting Zen. Then he suddenly lost his balance and fell to the ground with his big tummy like a ball.


    Zen squinted and slowly walked over to the fat guy. He glanced at the fat guy who was lying on the floor, then squatted down, and asked, "Do you want to do that again?"


    The fat guy felt as though his bones were broken. His face was white with pain. He now realized how powerful Zen was. He was much better than him in terms of both strength and body.


    Faced with such an outcome, no one dared say anything more. The whole muster station prison was shrouded in silence.


    The rule in prison was that the winner was the king.


    Before Zen came, the fat guy was the strongest person at the muster station. Today, however, Zen beat him. As a result, no one else dared to embarrass him anymore.


    They all knew that to challenge Zen was to humiliate themselves.


    Zen got up, walked to the corner, and sat down. He ignored the fat guy who was still lying on the ground.


    ''Since I can''t practice here, I''d better keep my eyes shut, '' Zen comforted himself.


    As time went by, the su


    ud Sect. Nine years after entering Cloud Sect, he broke through the Illuminating Soul Realm and gained the best theurgy in the world. He was invincible in the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    In the end, however, Suibhne He betrayed Cloud Sect and became its sworn enemy. He wandered through the Eastern Region, massacring the disciples of Cloud Sect.


    Cloud Sect had to join forces with the Burning Sky Empire to deal with Suibhne He. They had sent dozens of elite disciples to kill Suibhne.


    In the end, Cloud Sect killed Suibhne at the expense of three Saints.


    After that, Cloud Sect laid down a rule that placed disciples'' moral characters above all, even their talent. They didn''t want to train people who were gifted but harbored evil intentions, because it ran counter to the purpose of Cloud Sect.


    Saint Zara who wore a purple hat slapped the square wood, and a formless curtain of purple light diffused through it.


    When people were bathed in the purple light, they immediately felt calm. This was the peculiar effect of Saint Zara''s life vitality.


    "Zen. Tell me. Did you kill Fren with your sword in Commandment Hall?" Asked Saint Zara calmly. His voice was not loud, but it carried an inexplicable authority.


    Even though he was being questioned, Zen felt very calm. Since Saint Zara was willing to question him rather than just throw a charge at him, Zen had a chance to defend himself.


    Zen nodded and said, "Yes."


    After hearing Zen confess his crime so directly, several Saints looked at each other in disbelief and thought, ''Why does he admit that he killed Fren so openly? Doesn''t he know the rules of Cloud Sect? If he is proved to be a killer, then no one in the world can save him.''


    Saint Viana smirked and said, "Now that you have confessed, there is no need for us to continue questioning you. If you kill someone, you must pay for your actions!"


    "Yes. Saint Viana is right. You should pay for your sins! That''s the rule!" The members of Zhuge Clan echoed.

 Chapter 265 The Uproar During The Trial

    Zen looked around at Saint Viana and the people from the Zhuge Clan, but continued to speak to Saint Zara, "Saint, if someone tries to kill you now, what should you do?"


    Hearing Zen''s rhetorical question, Saint Zara replied without hesitation, "If someone tries to kill me for no valid reason, I will kill him first."


    Zen nodded, "Saint, you are right. Before someone kills you, you kill him first. Do you know where the sword I used to kill Fren came from?"


    "I don''t know," Saint Zara shook his head. He wasn''t there when it happened so he couldn''t possibly know.


    Even Saint Viana who came in late that day didn''t see what happened. Only Zen and Murry knew the truth about what happened that day.


    "I will tell you the truth, Saint. The sword I used to kill Fren was his life vitality huge sword. He tried to kill me with that sword, so I grabbed it and stabbed him with his own sword to protect myself. So, with Fren trying to kill me that day, should I have just stood there and let him do it?" Zen asked in reply persuasively.


    Doubt flashed on Saint Zara''s face. "What you said may be a valid reason for your action. But I don''t understand what a life vitality huge sword means."


    "Saint Zara, if I may intervene. Fren used the Zhuge Clan''s Tier 4 cultivation method called the "Seven Mysterious Demon Swords". He could transform his life vitality into seven swords when dealing with an enemy. But this bloke said that he just grabbed Fren''s huge sword. How could one possibly just grab another one''s life vitality avatar? This kid is obviously talking nonsense." Angelo stepped forward and intervened.


    "Grab someone''s life vitality avatar?" Saint Zara asked.


    All the Saints present that day hadn''t heard of such a cultivation method in this world and how another person could grab one''s life vitality avatar.


    Looking at Saint Zara''s confused expression, Zen shrugged in disappointment. He couldn''t believe that the ten Saints in Cloud Sect were ignorant about everything. They didn''t even know about the Heavenly Ogre Fist that came from their own Heavenly Library in Cloud Sect.


    "Saint Zara, if I may suggest. We should stop this trial now. It is obvious that this bloke is lying. He killed Fren, so he must be put to death!" Saint Viana announced coldly.


    Zen said calmly, "I can''t convince you with only words, Saint Viana. So maybe I can show you instead."


    Saint Viana sensed that Zen was sincere with what he said, but he still felt doubtful that Zen could swallow someone else''s life vitality.


    Saint Viana had never seen or heard of such a cultivation method or ability to swallow someone else''s life vitality.


    The saints heard about the Heavenly Ogre Fist and they were present when the unique copy of Heavenly Ogre Fist was put in the Heavenly Library.


    However, Heavenly Ogre Fist was rated as a Tier 5 cultivation method and the Saints hadn''t heard about anyone who had successfully cultivated the method.


    Up to that day, the Saints had


    "You''ve got to be kidding me."


    Zen''s laughter was so loud that the audience couldn''t hear Saint Zara''s voice.


    He was so reckless, arrogant, and weird at the same time. Saint Zara and the people from the Zhuge Clan were thinking that Zen was insane.


    Saint Zara gritted his teeth and roared, "Shut up!"


    With his outrage, his roar and life vitality mixed


    releasing a purple sound wave that dashed toward Zen.


    When the sound wave hit Zen, his laughter stopped, leaving him with grave injuries.


    Zen covered his chest and sneered, "I believe that Cloud Sect has a great reputation. But I can''t believe that the Saints deal with situations in this manner. I may be inferior to all of you, but I am not as shameless as all of you. You look decent but you can''t distinguish right from wrong."


    "If you blabber and offend us again, I will kill you right away!" How could a junior speak ill of Saint Zara? This made the saint extremely furious.


    But Zen continued to laugh. "It doesn''t matter whether I die now or later. I don''t easily get scared of any threats." The demonic life vitality in Zen''s body flowed out suddenly and dark purple aura covered his whole body.


    If Zen could not avoid death today, he might as well give his best to this fight.


    "I will make your wish come true today!" Saint Zara pounded the table, and the life vitality all over his body rose immediately.


    The saint had a limitless strength and power and if he wanted to kill Zen, there was nothing that the young man could do to escape it.


    "Kill him! Kill that ignorant and arrogant man!"


    "He will cause more scourge in the world if he stays alive for one more day!"


    The people from the Zhuge Clan made noise about killing Zen. Even Angelo wanted to beat Zen, but since Saint Zara did the honor, he could sit back and watch Zen die.


    But before Saint Zara could release his attack, a lazy voice came from outside the Commandment Hall, "Why wasn''t I invited to the major trial?"

 Chapter 266 The Verdict And The Princess (Part One)

    Appearing at the entrance of the Commandment Hall was a graceful lady who proceeded to stroll in their direction. The lady was Zen''s tutor, Aura.


    There was more color in her face, and Aura seemed more energetic than she had been several days ago, and there was a unique air surrounding her.


    Although Aura''s strength was far inferior to the real power of the saints she faced, there was an intimidating deportment about her.


    Standing tall and straight, Aura gave the impression of being on a high horse, cutting an imposing figure. Her presence was of a leader who possessed the tools not just to unify the entire country but to rule over it afterward.


    Only direct descendants to the royal king had a natural authoritative bearing like Aura displayed.


    After the humiliation Aura endured recently from Saint Viana, she spent two days in seclusion, pondering about many things. It wasn''t until her last-minute decision to join the Commandment Mount today that Aura recognized her obligations, and inability to continue avoiding formal functions.


    It also dawned on Aura that she should pick up her mantle and shoulder the duties she had previously shirked.


    The thoughts Aura had left her wondering if they''d all forgotten her true identity, and name.


    After all, Aura was the emperor''s eldest daughter! At one time, Aura was once known as the Sky Princess and experienced loving adoration from thousands of citizens, as well as being respected, even worshiped in multiple countries.


    In the wake of Aura''s regal yet high-handed mannerisms, the saints present paled.


    "Well, answer my question, why did the court trial start before my arrival? Who decided to proceed? I expect an explanation, immediately, Zara!" Cocking her eyebrow, Aura gave Saint Zara a stern look while calling him by his first


    appropriate for someone to pay for murder with their life. However, in this case, if Zen had killed Fren in self-defense, would he still be expected to pay with his life?"


    "No, of course not!" huffed Saint Zara indignantly as he took a deep breath before explaining, "We got to the bottom of things during the trial, and learned on that day of the incident, Zen made rude comments and created a scene at the Commandment Hall. Those events forced Fren to have to come to Murry''s aid to apprehend Zen. Sadly, Fren had no way of knowing that¡­"


    Saint Zara''s explanation was interrupted by Aura, who announced, "I want to know whether or not Zen admitted his guilt to such an allegation. Or, are you saying that Zen confessed this himself?"


    "No, this was what Murry told us. As for Zen, he told us a completely different story," replied Saint Zara.


    "Okay, then my next question would be why did you take Murry''s side and reject what Zen said?" asked Aura. Her tone had changed from a carefree manner to a stern one as she looked down on Saint Zara fiercely. Between the fire in her eyes, and the inflection of her voice, everyone present, especially Saint Zara, knew there was no room for negotiation.

 Chapter 267 The Verdict And The Princess (Part Two)

    "Erm, well¡­ That is¡­" stammered Saint Zara only to be cut off again as he stumbled over his thoughts.


    "You were only considering that the man who was slain was part of the Zhuge family, a noble clan and that Zen isn''t a noble citizen, but instead he''s a nobody. If Zen had been killed by Fren that day, would you have cared at all?" asked Aura, the disgust she felt was heard in her authoritative pitch. There was an imperial air in her manner, and such a noble air could only have been inherited from her father, the king of all of the Eastern Region.


    Although Saint Zara remained silent, it was Saint Viana, who stood beside him, and in a clear voice spoke, "Your Highness, as the owner of the Commandment Hall, Murry''s an upright, scrupulous man and highly respected. When weighed against what Zen said, his words were more credible. If your highness were present, I think you would have believed Murry, over a statement from a murderer."


    Saint Viana shrewdly defended the decision the court had made earlier.


    After all, Zen was definitely the murderer. Murry''s words were more persuasive. It was impossible for the saints to side with Zen over Murry.


    Aura stared at Saint Viana up and down, which embarrassed Saint Zara a little. After a moment of awkward silence, Aura announced, "If that''s the case, why didn''t you wait for me before starting the court trial? I have evidence that shows Zen''s innocence."


    "You have evidence?" questioned Saint Zara with a surprised look on his face.


    Saint Viana laughed as he commented, "Your Highness, you can''t be serious. I was present the day that Zen committed this heinous crime. How could there be evidence that I am unaware of?"


    "Of course th


    e issues with the Burning Sky Palace, she was the royal princess of the Burning Sky Empire, and no one could deny it.


    "Saint Zara, don''t you think you owe me an explanation?" Since no one had spoken up, Aura broke the silence and directed her question at Saint Zara, the primary judge of today''s trial.


    As much as Saint Zara inwardly blamed Saint Viana, it was unrealistic to hope Saint Viana would step up and shoulder the blame which left him no option but lower his head as he said, "I am sorry, it was my negligence that led to the rash decision today. I beg your pardon, your royal highness."


    "I can certainly forgive you. I wonder though whether or not Zen will forgive you. If I didn''t arrive when I did today, he would be dead in the Commandment Hall by now. You should ask Zen," commanded Aura coldly.


    It was clear that Aura intended to force Saint Zara to apologize to Zen.


    Zen was a mere outer disciple at the Cloud Sect. It was utterly beyond anyone''s understanding why Aura would require a noble saint to apologize to him.


    As Aura''s words sank in, Saint Zara and all the other saints'' faces darkened.

 Chapter 268 The Mo Family (Part One)

    It was actually unnecessary for Aura to display her ruthlessness, but at least she had turned the tables on her and saved Zen, who was fortunately uninjured.


    Whatever Aura had done, her sole purpose was to make everyone understand that she hadn''t demonstrated her true power yet because she disliked being a show-off, but anyone who dared or even tried to annoy her would undoubtedly be a target for her sharp thorns, no matter who he or she was.


    "My princess, do you think you have gone a little too far..." Saint Viana choked out.


    At this point, he had no choice but to stand out just to say something. After all, this entire thing was on him; even Saint Zara had become his scapegoat.


    "Am I out of line?" Aura questioned back with a shake of her head. Saint Viana didn''t get to respond as she immediately followed up her answer.


    "In fact, I haven''t asked for too much at all. Because of your wrong judgment, Zen has been nearly put to death. Now, I only require you to say sorry to him. Is that too much? As an old saying goes, a fault confessed is half redressed. My request doesn''t embarrass you that much!" she exclaimed.


    "Although it is advisable for you to put it that way, but look at our identities. Our position is superior to Zen''s. Then, how can we..." Saint Viana tried to explain. However, Aura was not having any of that.


    Before he could finish his sentence, she abruptly cut him off and said, "Viana, Zen is a disciple I have chosen in person. Just wait and see his future achievements. He will become very powerful and enjoy a fairly high position. By that time, even all of you will have to look up to him.


    And so, you don''t need to make any excuse for not apologizing to him just because his current identity is infe


    That took up more of Zen''s time and further delayed his return to Cloud Sect. Therefore, Zen got back much later than other disciples.


    "Master Su, I am still confused by one thing," Zen suddenly blurted out. After a while, he asked, "Why is what happened that day presented by the Picture Slab?"


    In reality, the fact that Aura had recorded everything that had happened the other day was merely a coincidence.


    Zen hadn''t come back from the trial for slaying demons after quite a long period. Although Aura had known from some other people like Cleve that Zen was fine and he was just held back by a master of the imperial army.


    Based on Cleve''s descriptions, Aura guessed that the one who had arrested Zen was Yolande.


    In return, Aura couldn''t do anything except to patiently wait for Zen to come back to Cloud Sect.


    However, many days had passed then, but Zen still wasn''t back. Aura couldn''t help but worry about his safety, and even wanted to dispatch people to White Emperor City to pry into news about Zen''s whereabouts.


    Just then, when Aura occasionally opened her Picture Slab, she found out that she finally could track where Zen was.

 Chapter 269 The Mo Family (Part Two)

    She had fiddled with Zen''s disciple card and because of that, Aura had even monitored Zen all his way when he went to the Hell Mountain alone last time.


    Zen wore a disciple card all the time, and Aura was able to track wherever he was with her Picture Slab as long as he entered the territory of Cloud Sect.


    Therefore, Aura''s Picture Slab documented everything that occurred the other day. After watching the records of the Picture Slab, Aura discovered that Zen was threatened by Saint Viana. This discovery made her immediately get in touch with Caspar and rush towards the Commandment Mount together with him.


    At this very moment, Zen asked her why the Picture Slab had recorded the events that transpired that day. At this, Aura didn''t answer but gave a small chuckle. She was rather unwilling to tell Zen the truth.


    "Today, they have said sorry to you and the matter has come to an end, but the saints have been infuriated. I am not fearful of them, but I am afraid that they would take revenge against you!" Aura said.


    In turn, Zen nodded in understanding.


    "I am very aware of this. Even if it isn''t because of this thing, they will definitely refuse to let go of me.


    But like them, I won''t leave them off the hook either, especially Saint Viana and Saint Adrian!" he said.


    He was certain that he had annoyed the saints today because they were forced to apologize to him in public. When Aura heard Zen''s arrogant words, she only sighed heavily. Just now, she had forgotten who Zen was.


    Deep inside her, she knew that Zen would not show that much hatred if he himself was hurt. However, if anyone dared to hurt any of his close relatives, it was beyond doubt that Zen would make them repay it at much higher costs.


    However, Zen didn''t act so ruthlessly this time... This reflected that Zen was humane.


    "Well, let''s save those for the future. Depending on your current strength, you are still unable to confront a master of the Illuminating Soul Realm, let alone these saints. To save your little sister, you have to further enhance your strength," Aura chided once again after a few moments.


    Zen simply nodded in agreement at her words, and walked out of the Commandment Hall with Aura.


    After taking the trial for slay


    ve something in mind. What''s wrong?" Zen asked curiously.


    Nory was from the Imperial Capital. He usually acted a little mindlessly. This made it seem that nothing could ever displease him. Now he looked kind of sad, so Zen thought that something must have happened.


    At Zen''s curious questioning, Nory''s eyes suddenly widened in mild surprise.


    "Ahh, it''s nothing! Zen, I feel happy to see you come back today. Come on! Cheer up!" Nory said. He lifted his cup in the air to toast with Zen.


    The more Nory behaved that way to conceal his true feelings, the more Zen felt that something was off. Instead of lifting his cup up, Zen asked, "Just tell me frankly if you treat me as your close friend."


    As soon as the words tumbled out from Zen''s mouth, both Wurth and Sean slowly shifted their gazes to Nory. At this moment, they had also noticed that Nory behaved a little weirdly.


    After a short pause, Nory suddenly smiled at them. "In fact, it is not a big deal. My family is going to hold a party next month. In fact, our Mo Family is also a noble clan, but lags relatively behind among noble clans..." he replied.


    Upon hearing Nory''s words, Wurth asked, "Nory, are you from the Mo family in the northern part of the city?"


    Wurth''s family ran businesses in almost all areas of the Imperial Capital, so he clearly knew about almost all of the families in that capital. Hence, he immediately guessed which Nory''s family was when Nory told them that his family was also a noble clan.

 Chapter 270 The Cultivation Places (Part One)

    Nory nodded and said, "Yes, I am from the Mo Clan in the northern part of the city."


    The Mo Clan was not a well-known noble clan, but there was a renowned ancestor in their history and his name was Jack Mo.


    In his youth, Jack had joined the imperial army and led them to many victories. And because of his extraordinary feats, the Mo Clan was given the title of a noble clan at that time.


    Nevertheless, there was no other influential figure that sprung up from the clan after Jack Mo. Thus, the Mo clan remained at the bottom amongst all the noble clans.


    "If you''re a member of a noble clan, why did you still join the initial exam of the Cloud Sect?" Zen asked.


    If Nory was indeed a member of a noble clan, he didn''t need to join in the initial exam of the Cloud Sect. But Zen could clearly remember that Nory did sign up for the exam with him.


    With a smile, Nory replied, "My clan didn''t grant me a noble clan certificate, so I needed to sign up for the initial exam like anybody else."


    Wurth interjected, "From how I see it, you''re in a bad place within your own clan. But, are you upset with the current affairs of your clan?"


    Nory nodded and answered, "Well, that''s true. Though we haven''t had any influential clan member for many years, the rest of the clan members are making great efforts to help improve our clan''s standing. I heard that my other relatives invited some of their friends they met in the Cloud Sect to our clan party. And here I am, doing nothing."


    But Nory didn''t tell them the whole truth.


    In order to boost the clan''s standing, it was not only necessary that the clan had its own strength and influential members; it also required the clan to have


    exchanged glances and then looked at Nory with a smile, anticipating for him to say something.


    After hesitating for a while, Nory solemnly said, "Zen, Wurth, it would be my pleasure if you will come with me to my clan''s party next month."


    Zen and Wurth both nodded and smiled at Nory.


    "Hey, what about me? Am I not invited?" Sean said, fooling around with Nory as he patted the latter''s shoulder hard.


    "Of course! How can I forget you?" Nory chuckled.


    The four had the best night together as they drank their hearts out and did not go back home until late that evening.


    When Zen was finally back to his place, he began to check his new possessions from his recent adventures.


    During his trip to the White Emperor City, Zen obtained different new things. Aside from the two crystals embedded in his arms, he got a pile of valuable other things.


    Some of those valuable things were the spiritual weapons from the Illuminating Soul Realm masters that Zen defeated in the fairy palace. When they died, their spiritual weapons didn''t die with them. These weapons were left scattered on the floor and Zen kept them.

 Chapter 271 The Cultivation Places (Part Two)

    Zen even found four space rings and one of which had a spacious inner area than Zen''s.


    Even though the house provided by the Could Sect was big enough for Zen, his new possession could not all fit in his place.


    He had to deal with them the next morning and arrange them so he could still have some space for himself.


    On the next few days, aside from further cultivating his strength, he spent most of his time contemplating on the Sun Moon Stars Picture.


    The picture indeed had quite a wonderful effect for cultivators of martial arts.


    The last time he was at the fairy palace, he absorbed a part of the power from the Stars during the first contemplation, and now his demonic life vitality contained part of that Star power.


    When he used the star power, Zen was overwhelmed by the energy that it released.


    ''I have only absorbed a little of that Star power. I wonder what will happen if I absorb all the powers of the Stars, Sun, and Moon. Will my demonic life vitality be more powerful than ever?'' Zen thought ecstatically.


    But contemplating the picture now, Zen didn''t feel that same wonderful feeling he had the first time.


    And he also noticed that he was having a hard time "seeing through" the Sun Moon Stars Picture at that time.


    Aside from contemplating the Sun Moon Stars Picture, Zen also took the time to consider the means for cultivation.


    The Cloud Sect was called the holy land for cultivators because it owned plenty of cultivation handbooks, and its most attractive feature was the excellent and conducive cultivation places it had.


    Since Zen just became an outer disciple of the Cloud Sect, he was not aware of the cultivation places.


    And he had been busy trying to earn points and even argued with Master Su on how he could earn points faster.


    om Aura that earned him points, so he knew where to get the points from for his training.


    He might find an easy task that could give him a couple of points, but it would surely take a considerable amount of time to earn enough points from easy hands for the cultivation places.


    It was more likely that he would earn more points by completing a hard task. But a hard task would take him ten days to a half month and the points wouldn''t be enough for an hour at any of the cultivation places.


    One could buy points by exchanging a lot of cubic crystals in the Cloud Sect, but only the noble clans could do such a thing. Even if the average disciples had enough cubic crystals, they couldn''t just exchange them for points.


    The Cloud Sect was just like a huge company. Every month, the Cloud Sect spent a huge amount of money on the salaries of managers and other officers, as well as the monthly allowances and pills of the hundreds of thousands of the Cloud Sect disciples.


    And in order to maintain the expenses, the Cloud Sect had to charge high fees for the use of some of its places.


    In addition, the maintenance of the training sites also required a lot of crystal energy.

 Chapter 272 The Lake Of The Magical Fish

    The Lake of the Magical Fish was located on a hill in the south of Cloud Sect.


    Compared to the mountains in the north, this hill was inconspicuous.


    But the scenery here was surprisingly fascinating. In addition, Could Sect had built a neat trail to it with six-foot-wide cyan slabs.


    Arriving at the hill, Zen saw a guard in brown standing solemnly.


    After saying hello, Zen began to ask him about the Lake of the Magical Fish.


    The guard studied Zen, and was confused by the white robe on Zen.


    White-robe disciples at Cloud Sect were usually weak with few points. But the Lake of the Magical Fish did set requirements for the refiners who wanted to challenge it.


    If they were not strong enough to meet those requirements, they would not get benefits from the lake, and might even be hurt inside.


    "I want to refine myself in the Lake of the Magical Fish," Zen told the guard.


    The guard thought for a moment, and then replied, "Was it your master who asked you to come here?"


    At Cloud Sect, masters would suggest that their disciples refine themselves at the Lake of the Magical Fish.


    Zen nodded at the guard, for he indeed learned about these secret refining places from Aura, his master.


    The guard placed his hand in front of Zen, and said, "Then, please show me your disciple card!"


    He checked Zen''s disciple card. To his surprise, Zen had earned a lot of points. According to his experience, it was impossible for an outer disciple to own so many points unless he bought them with cubic crystals.


    ''Since he still wears the outer disciple robe, he can''t be a member of any noble clan. Perhaps, he comes from a rich family, '' the guard thought.


    Then he spoke to Zen, "You can''t go in the lake to refine yourself now."


    "Why not?" Zen was puzzled.


    "Because another disciple is refining himself in it. He has been inside for an hour, and I allowed him two hours. Look," the guard pointed to the clock beside him. "He entered the lake at 11 a.m., and will come out at 1 p.m. Since only half of the duration has passed, you need to wait for an hour, please."


    Zen looked at the clock. Both its hour hand and minute hand were at the number, twelve. As the guard had said, Zen had to wait for an hour.


    Zen nodded, went to a nearby stone bench, and sat down.


    He had thought that the disciple in the lake would come out only when his time finished. However, after less than half an hour, Zen saw a man staggering out from the other end of the trail. His clothes were wet, and the m


    ter trying several times to confirm what he had discovered, Zen finally left the trail and kept moving.


    Arriving at a flat ground, Zen saw a waterfall.


    It was not high, only about thirty or forty feet. It was comparatively smaller than the famous waterfalls in the Eastern Region. But what made it unusual was that a deafening sound was created when the water hit the lake.


    The noise was as loud as hordes of troops and horses roaring, even shaking the heaven.


    That was why it could serve as a secret refining place for Cloud Sect.


    Zen went to the deep pool and reached out to touch the clear water. He suddenly understood why the water made such a loud sound.


    The lake looked pretty clear but it felt different.


    Zen felt as though his fingers were going to be frozen by the low temperature of the water.


    "Hiss..."


    Mobilizing his life vitality, Zen dispelled the cold in his hand.


    Besides, Zen was startled to discover that the lake water was absurdly heavy when he held some up!


    "It is said that in the very depths of the Land of Extreme Chillness exists a kind of water named Heavy Water that was about ten times heavier than ordinary water. Could this be Heavy Water?"


    In this case, aside from the unnaturally low temperature of the water, there must be heavy pressure under the water.


    Therefore, it could be imagined that the lake would indeed be challenging for refiners that entered it.


    Zen, however, didn''t hesitate on the bank for a long time.


    Two units would cost two hundred points or four hundred cubic crystals. Time was money!


    So, Zen prepared himself, took a deep breath, and then jumped into the lake bravely.

 Chapter 273 The Murloc

    The heavy water in the lake was very viscous.


    Zen jumped into the lake, but almost no water splashed. He sunk slowly after making a ripple on the surface.


    Soon, Zen found that he descended slowly. When Zen was about one meter below the surface of the lake, he realized that he couldn''t sink anymore. The buoyancy of the heavy water was astonishing.


    ''Adjust your breath and try to sink straight.'' With this thought, Zen changed posture and lowered his head. He moved his hands and forced his body further into the water.


    After a warrior entered the organ refining level, his internal organs underwent a qualitative change. He could rest without breathing because the air could operate automatically in the lung.


    Since Zen had breathed in deeply while on the bank, the air he inhaled could sustain him for a long time.


    "Plump..."


    The heavy water in the lake was viscous, but it was clear. Even though he was three meters below the surface, he could see the surroundings clearly.


    Zen had read about the Lake of the Magical Fish before. It was bottomless. It was said that a master at the Illuminating Soul Realm at Cloud Sect had once dived to the depth of 300 meters, but nobody could reach lower.


    According to the reports of the disciples that had explored the lake''s depths, it could be divided into ten layers.


    The first layer extended from the surface to a depth of 30 meters. The second layer continued from 30 meters to 60 meters, and so on. The tenth layer was at the 300-meter mark.


    Since this was Zen''s first time at the Lake of the Magical Fish, he didn''t set a goal. However, to refine himself in the lake cost him hundreds of cubic crystals. Since it was expensive, Zen was determined to make good use of the opportunity.


    "I will see how deep I can reach!"


    Zen waved his hands and pushed the heavy water in front of him. Slowly, he descended further into the water.


    he water''s pressure and got over the difficulty to move, they would have a qualitative change to exert their strength and experience the battle.


    Once these warriors left the heavy water and returned to the bank, they would feel relaxed.


    After the Murloc swam ahead for a while, it turned and rushed at Zen again.


    "No. If the battle continues this way, I will be unable to defend against the Murloc!" Zen considered his options for a long while and wrinkled his brows slightly.


    As an idea flashed through his mind, Zen snapped his fingers, and his expression changed. The demonic life vitality was released through the finger. With some sparkles, it spread slowly in the heavy water.


    Zen found that he could not control the demonic life vitality as freely as when he was outside the water.


    Countless tiny turbulent flows and whirlpools were hidden in the lake. Being influenced by them, the demonic life vitality was pushed and pulled in all directions.


    Soon, the demonic life vitality was scattered under the current, and it spread out into an irregularly shaped large net.


    But this huge net couldn''t stop the Murloc. On the contrary, the Murloc shuttled nimbly in the huge net and lifted the black spear as it prepared to rush at Zen again.

 Chapter 274 Condensing A Fishtail

    Zen was not mobile in the heavy water.


    One reason was the pressure of heavy water, and the other was the irregular turbulence and vortexes.


    Whenever Zen tried to move, he would not only encounter turbulence, but his movement would cause more disturbance. As a result, the flow of water around him became even more chaotic.


    "The current..."


    Zen focused on the demonic life vitality.


    Out of Zen''s control, the demonic life vitality began to drift with the currents.


    As it spread, it revealed the turbulence that was invisible to the naked eye.


    ''I will either advance or go back if I swim against the current. Perhaps it''s better if I follow the current.''


    With this idea in mind, Zen decided to stop moving against the currents and instead followed them exposed by the demonic life vitality.


    Around Zen, the current carried the demonic life vitality away. There was a sudden rush of water. As the yellow Murloc''s long spear drew nearer and nearer to him, Zen, without hesitating, moved a little and was pulled into the current.


    When Zen was sucked into the swift current, he was propelled by the force of the heavy water, and in a flash, he swam seven or eight meters.


    The yellow Murloc was very fast, but Zen was dragged away by the current, which helped him avoid the blow.


    The yellow Murloc was familiar with the currents in the lake. When he couldn''t hurt Zen, he turned into the current and followed it toward Zen.


    Murlocs were more flexible in water than Zen. Since the yellow Murloc was now in the same current with Zen, he was faster than Zen again!


    "Alas! If he and I both take advantage of the current, the Murloc will still swim faster than me!"


    Zen lowered his head and swam straight down. When he looked back, he saw that the yellow Murloc was moving twice as fast as he was, and charging at him with the long black spear.


    In the midst of the turbulence, Zen had no place to hide. Helplessly he watched as the long black spear was thrust at him.


    At this crucial moment, a vortex suddenly came up behind Zen. It cut off the current behind him and caught the Murloc.


    Once in the vortex, the Murloc could only stare helplessly at Zen as it dragged him farther and farther away from his target.


    Seeing this, Zen sighed, ''That was a close call. Thanks to the timely vortex.''


    Avoiding this Murloc was a sign of Zen''s good fortune. However, the underlying problem remained unresolved.


    To refine in Lake of the Magical Fish necessitated that the master moved freely in the heavy water. Otherwise, even a top master would not be able to display his strong power.


    ''Everyone else would have experienced the same issues. I wonder how they overcame this difficulty.'' With that in mind, Zen regretted not consulting Roger about the problem beforehand.


    Zen was far behind the noblemen when it came to information. They had a huge network of contacts and were far more inf


    f him. They almost enclosed Zen.


    The red daces were to Zen''s left, right, and flanks.


    Looking at the fish, Zen thought, ''Since visualizing the fishtail from memory didn''t work, I might as well use a red dace!''


    Thinking of this, Zen gingerly reached out for the red daces.


    Fish are extremely sensitive. Luckily Zen didn''t release an intent to hurt them. Instead of avoiding Zen''s hand, many fish darted past him. Some even touched Zen''s skin.


    Zen saw a chance, suddenly reached forward and grabbed a red dace.


    The red dace swished its tail and tried to break free from Zen. But how could its struggle compare with Zen''s strength?


    The other red daces scattered when Zen caught one. The dense school soon disappeared, leaving only the one fish in Zen''s hand.


    Zen stared closely at the red dace that he had caught and took the opportunity to meditate again.


    He emitted the demonic life vitality out of his body, and once again, tried to turn his life vitality into a fishtail.


    Now that he had a reference in front of him, Zen''s visualization naturally went smoothly. In a short while, the demonic life vitality slowly condensed into a fishtail behind Zen.


    Although this tail was only purple-black, and the appearance was still miserable, it looked much better than the previous one.


    Zen moved the tail a little and felt a huge push behind him!


    As the tail swished more frequently, the thrust increased, and Zen moved quickly through the water, just like the red dace.


    Once accelerated, Zen could move unimpeded through turbulence and vortexes.


    Zen''s face broke into a smile. He quickly adapted to the tail by swimming through the water.


    After about half an hour of moving through the water at high speed, Zen felt as though his body was quite flexible. Although he still could not swim as fast as the red dace, he was much faster than the Murloc!


    Then he swished the tail faster and dove deeper.

 Chapter 275 Difficult To Believe

    The journey of two meters downwards beneath the surface of the lake had cost Zen quite a lot of time, but once there, Zen dived deeply and shook the fish tail quickly, and his body swam forwards much like an arrow had been shot through the water.


    In no time at all, he was approaching the fifty-meter mark in terms of depth.


    As soon as he reached 50 meters, three more yellow dots appeared not far away from him. They were mere twinkles but became bigger very quickly. Once he could see them clearly, he narrowed his eyes, "Three Murlocs."


    Even while facing just one Murloc in the lake, Zen had been in a difficult position a while ago. He had done nothing but run away passively.


    So it was surprising to see that on seeing three Murlocs, he didn''t choose to run away. On the contrary, he shook the fish tail attached to his back and rushed towards the trio.


    The three yellow Murlocs saw him approach and quickly formed a defense pattern in the shape of a triangle, with one in front and two at the back. They had black spears in their hands, and the sharp spear-point showered the water around them with a cold light.


    Zen rushed forward, but just as he approached the Murloc in front, he suddenly twisted his body, which made the fish tail at his back slap around crazily.


    With the full propulsive force of the tail behind him, Zen turned around and avoided the spear that the Murloc had thrown at him with rather alarming force. At the same time, he turned around once more and gripped the Murloc''s huge head.


    "Die!"


    Murloc heads were naturally the hardest parts on their bodies, but once Zen had fixed his hands, he could make full use of his peerlessly powerful strength.


    He tore the fish head with enough strength to split it.


    After the head was torn, the Murloc surely died. In no time, he turned into a ball of colorful light and disappeared in the water...


    To be clear, the Murlocs in the Lake of Magical Fish were holographic projections of the magic array around the lake, and weren''t real. The only indigenous species in the area were some red daces.


    After Zen had killed the first Murloc, the other two waved their black spears from different positions, trying to spike Zen.


    But Zen was reacting much more quickly than them. The only problem was that earlier, he wasn''t used to this water. But now, he had mastered how to swim in the heavy water, and it was no problem for him to dodge two simple spears. As he tore the head of the first Murloc, the tail at the back of his body waved around, and he floated upward rapidly.


    The resultant change in position afforded him the ability to avoid the spears at the same time as going on the offensive.


    Suddenly, he spun a complete hundred and eighty degrees in the water, turned his head down, and stretched out his hand to grasp th


    disciples from the noble clans, pride was more important than the point in Cloud Sect and the cubic crystal.


    But Roger shook his head, "Zen is not a disciple from a noble clan, and he won''t do that."


    Of course, Zen wouldn''t do that. The entirely unrealistic idea of pride had nothing to do with him. What was more, although he had enough money at hands with thousands of cubic crystals, he didn''t want to waste them. It made his heart ache to spend 200 points in two hours. How could he waste time here?


    This array plate could only fix Zen''s position, but they couldn''t see what was going on inside. The red daces group was not created by the magic array, and the array plate couldn''t monitor them. So Roger and the steward didn''t know that Zen had come to a stand-still to get used to the heavy water and figure out a solution.


    When he finally started to move again, the array plate showed that he was at a tremendous pace.


    "This, this..." The steward opened his eyes wide and looked at his velocity inside the lake, unable to speak out of astonishment.


    Roger was also shocked when he saw the same, even though he had stayed out of curiosity and the hope that Zen would do something beyond his expectation.


    And Zen''s velocity in the heavy water was actually far beyond his expectation.


    It was tremendous.


    Even Roger couldn''t reach this speed now, let alone when he had entered heavy water for the first time.


    The small dot that represented Zen on the array plate moved at a high speed and then approached the three yellow dots. In no time, the three disappeared in the magic array plate...


    Roger and the steward saw that but kept silent.


    Till now, the hand just moved half a scale on the clock sitting near them. Just one hour had passed...


    "Has this bloke been here before?" The steward stayed silent for a long while and finally asked.

 Chapter 276 Vibration (Part One)

    The steward had asked the question out of instincts. However, he remembered clearly that he had registered the disciple card for Zen for the first time today, which meant that this was surely the first time that Zen had entered the Lake of Magical Fish.


    Compared to Roger, the steward''s shock was even higher!


    Nature creatures weren''t the sole people to practice in the lake. It had faced its fair share of disciples.


    There were different levels of difficulty inside the lake ranging from the surface to a depth of three hundred meters.


    However, generally speaking, the most a nature creature could penetrate was the first five levels, i.e. from the surface to a depth of 150 meters. They almost always lost beyond that.


    Besides, the water of the lake was also heavier than the usual ones, added to which, was the fact that


    the deeper you went inside, the greater the pressure you would encounter.


    At a depth of ten meters, the water pressure had only the weight of 500 pounds. However, at a depth of thirty meters, it could reach as much as 2000 pounds. And if one were to venture down to one hundred meters, the force he would encounter would be more than 10, 000 pounds. It was a horrible experience!


    A depth of 150 meters was already the limit that the nature creatures could reach.


    In addition to those horrific levels of water pressure, the practitioners had to face the Murlocs in the magic array each time they got cultivated inside the lake.


    And the power of the Murlocs was supposed to increase with increasing depth.


    The uppermost Murlocs were the weakest among all and were called as the fourth-grade Murlocs. Though not that hard to beat, they were no less powerful than a human being hal


    ter was totally different from that in the air. His flying knife had always been fast in air but in water, he wasn''t so sure.


    If it lost any speed here, the impact of his flying knife would be decreased greatly.


    The broken flying knife was still as sharp as usual. It swished across the water easily.


    However, it seemed that its impact had been reduced significantly by the resistance of the heavy water. The flying knife that Zen had thrown hit only one ax. Then it was lost to turbulence.


    Fortunately, since the ax had been split apart by his flying knife, an opening showed up in front of Zen, and therefore, he found a chance to break out and seized it.


    Actually, Zen''s strength was much greater than those blue Murlocs, so he was wondering why the broken flying knife he had thrown out was much weaker than the axes those blue Murlocs had thrown out.


    He kept on pondering the question as he dodged the Murlocs.


    He had already made sure that the axes were nothing more than some common animal bones.


    However, after being thrown out, they had kept on rotating at a very high speed and produced countless tiny bubbles.

 Chapter 277 Vibration (Part Two)

    After being wrapped by those bubbles, their speed had seemed to be increased significantly.


    ''Bubbles?


    How were these bubbles produced? Was it because of the rotation of the axes?


    If so, I can make my knife rotate too!''


    Zen thought to himself. Then he hooked his thumb slightly, and the broken flying knife which had been flushed away flew back immediately.


    The next time he threw out the flying knife, it was rotating at a very high speed too.


    However, although its rotating speed wasn''t slower than that of the axes, all that appeared in the water were some swirls. And after a short while, the flying knife even stopped rotating because of the water resistance.


    ''It seems that the bubbles were not produced by the mere rotation of the axes. They must have used some other method!'' Zen thought.


    In order to find the answer, when those blue Murlocs attacked him again, Zen reached out and tried to grab an ax while dodging the attack of the other ones.


    But the moment he touched the ax, he felt a sharp pain in his hand.


    He was shocked and drew his hand back immediately.


    He found that several tiny wounds had appeared on his hand.


    If his body hadn''t been as solid as a spiritual weapon, Zen might have lost his hand there and then.


    ''I got it!''


    He suddenly understood why those axes could produce so many bubbles.


    In the course of their rotating, they were vibrating at an extremely fast speed, which was why a large number of bubbles were being produced.


    After being wrapped by these bubbles, the axes would rotate like in the air, so their rotation speed increased significantly.


    However, how did they manage to vibrate those axes?


    Now Zen wasn''t eager at all to dive downwards. Since his purpose of coming to the Lake of the Magical Fish w


    n flying knife in his right hand was also vibrating at an extremely high speed.


    "Hit it!"


    With the high speed vibration, Zen suddenly threw the broken flying knife out.


    "Glug! Glug..."


    Of course, no sound of air breaking could be heard in the water. However, a string of intense and tiny bubbles appeared when the broken flying knife flew out.


    With the technique, the speed of the broken flying knife had increased more than tenfold!


    It flew only a little bit slower than it did in the air. And in the heavy water, such speed was already an amazing horror.


    Now Zen''s broken flying knives had dwarfed the axes thrown out by those blue Murlocs.


    The blue Murloc not far away could never have expected that Zen would have copied their method in such a short time. As soon as he saw the flying knife coming towards him with a string of bubbles, he thrust forward with his frog-leg like legs, trying to run away.


    Of course Zen wouldn''t let go of him. Although the Murloc had already dodged the flight route of the broken flying knife, as soon as Zen pulled it, the broken flying knife arced in the water and cut at him who was immediately transformed into bright spots.

 Chapter 278 Argument (Part One)

    It was much easier for Zen to deal with the remaining blue Murlocs once he had mastered the trick of raising his speed through vibrations.


    After shuttling a few more times, he killed the remaining five of them.


    As the flying knife glided back into his hands, Zen continued to swim in the lake quietly. He looked down into its depth contemplatively. Without wasting another breath, Zen dived in.


    He seemed to have forgotten that his reserve time was almost up.


    "He killed each of the six blue Murlocs..." the steward mumbled grimly, seated on the stone bench next to the shores of the Lake of the Magical Fish. His face had turned dull in the state of shock.


    On the other hand, Roger was mostly calm when he saw what happened.


    He had gone for training once he returned from the south. Now that he was confident that he had greatly improved in his skills and strength, he came to the Lake of the Magical Fish for further practice.


    When fully prepped, he could only dive in about seventy meters deep into the water. He knew there were many more blue Murlocs in the lakebed. He couldn''t fight so many of them at once.


    However, Zen, on his first go itself, dived deeper than even Roger could. He even killed six blue Murlocs! Roger didn''t know what to make of Zen. The only word he could think of to describe him was ''extraordinary''.


    There was no feeling of frustration in Roger''s heart, even though Zen had clearly rattled quite a few of the others. He was good friends with Zen, and the latter had come to owe him a favor back when they were in the south.


    Looking at the speed of his cultivation, Roger was sure his friend would become a man of great power. He thought of what Zen had promised him in the south, and figured that he would come to the Meng family''s aid in the future.


    The better Zen performed, the higher Roger''s expectations would be with regard to him.


    Just then, a group of people w


    plate and murmured, his brows drawn together, "Time is almost up. Why hasn''t Zen come out yet?"


    Roger glimpsed at the magic array plate and found that Zen was still underwater. He had encountered a few Murlocs, then it seemed he dived more than ninety meters into the depths. Did the boy have a limit at all? The pressure of the waves was very high at that kind of distance downward.


    If Zen hadn''t been exceptional, he would have been flattened into a meat pie by the intense pressure.


    It was difficult for even a nature creature to fight the indomitable pressure faced down at ninety meters, but Zen looked like he strove to dive even deeper.


    Roger was eager to know how much more Zen could get to. "Perhaps he wants to test how deep he can go!" he exclaimed.


    "But the time is up, and there are some others waiting here..." steward Cao retorted in an anxious voice.


    As a steward of the Cloud Sect, he had a good eye.


    He knew well about Zen''s potential, whose performance at the Lake of the Magical Fish was exceptional and rare amidst the talents at the Cloud Sect. With time, Zen would only get better. He was a boy to watch out for, as he would certainly rise through the ranks in the future. Cao was aware that soon he would need to curry favor with Zen.

 Chapter 279 Argument (Part Two)

    However, he knew better than to test the temper of the young man, Bob.


    The disciples from the noble clans would never listen to someone they thought was beneath them.


    Moreover, he knew that Bob had gotten into fights before regarding who should be prioritized to enter the Lake of the Magical Fish. His disputes always led to more trouble. Bob had an infamous temper.


    Today, he found it distasteful to wait for fifteen minutes for someone. That said a lot about him.


    Bob pulled a long face, his lips twisting with disdain. Usually, he was the man who was waited upon, even at odd hours of the day. How dare they ask him to wait for someone else for so long?


    "Hasn''t the disciple come out yet? Cao, you said he would come out at four p.m., didn''t you? It''s already four now," Bob reminded him in an unpleasant tone.


    Steward Cao straightened sheepishly, a reassuring smile on his face. "Please wait for a minute. Just one more minute. He should come out soon."


    Brusquely, Bob got up. "I won''t wait for him any longer! The time is up. You should force him out now by using the magic array plate."


    "I- I..." steward Cao stammered, his mouth gaping, not knowing what to say. Bob left him in a fix. He would undoubtedly offend Zen if he pushed him out through the magic array, but it would vex Bob if he didn''t listen to his command.


    It wouldn''t be too consequential if he offended Zen now, who was just an outer disciple at present. He wouldn''t pose a threat to Cao''s position. But if he offended Bob, and Bob told his elders about the incident, he could make Cao''s life at Cloud Sect difficult.


    Appearing to think for a moment, steward Cao came to a decision. Neither of his option


    ust two hours, my points are enough to pay for twenty more! You can keep docking them until Zen comes out of the lake," Roger said, his face hard.


    He was always polite and kind, but when someone angered him, he could get quite overbearing.


    Steward Cao was in an awful dilemma. He had no clue about what to do. He wanted to start the magic array and pull Zen out, but looking at the expression on Roger''s face, he dared not to do it. On the other hand, it was not possible for him to dissuade Bob either. He knew all about Bob''s terrible temper.


    "They say that the Meng family members are good at assessing a situation and judging what to do, but I don''t think you are quite adept at it," sneered Bob, a look of hatred in his eyes as he stared at Roger. Momentum slowly built up in his body as the words escaped him. He had reached the nature level consummation, which was only one step away from the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    Roger stood up the moment he heard what Bob said, his eyes too darkening with malice. "You dare to fight me on the Cloud Sect grounds? Do you know the price you''ll pay for that transgression?"

 Chapter 280 Make Way For You

    Last time as well Bob fought at the banks of the lake. But at that time, his opponent was a young man from a small noble clan. Small noble clans were naturally inferior to the top seven noble clans. Sometimes, they had to bear the humiliation from the top seven noble clans. So it was not a big deal for young masters of the top seven noble clans to beat other people. If their elders offered apologies for their bad behavior, it might become a great honor to the small clans.


    Roger was a young master of the Meng Clan, one of the top seven noble clans. But he was not as overbearing and unreasonable as most noble youth. Roger treated people with kindness. Since both Roger''s and Bob''s families were ranked in the top seven noble clans, a fight between them would cause a lot of trouble. It would also lead to conflicts between the two noble clans. Moreover, the relationship between the Pei Clan and the Meng Clan was already strained.


    However, Bob was a reckless person.


    Every martial arts cultivator had an obsession in his mind.


    Some obsessed over possession as a strong desire to possess could give them enough momentum to break through bottlenecks in their cultivation.


    Others preferred concession. They believed that moderate concessions could make the future smoother and brighter.


    And Bob''s obsession was possession. There was no concession in his dictionary. He had been selfish since his childhood. Everyone else had to step aside for what he wanted.


    If Bob endured something reluctantly, his determination would suffer to the extent that it would slow his cultivation speed.


    Although Bob knew it was unwise to fight Roger, he was unwilling to compromise. He had no consideration for the consequences of the fight. Instead, he was consumed with the idea of teaching Roger a lesson.


    However, Roger was not a coward. Although there was a gap between his level and that of Bob, as a member of the top noble Meng Clan, he could be stubborn as well.


    "Please wait! Listen to me first. Let''s sit down and talk calmly. There is no need to be so tense," begged steward Cao. The two noble young masters refused to listen to each other and were about to fight. Steward Cao became anxious as the tension mounted.


    According to the rules of Cloud Sect, except for formal challenges, any fight between disciples was unacceptable.


    Nevertheless, these two young men were members of the top noble clans. They both had a powerful background and were not afraid of stirring up trouble. If not handled properly, steward Cao would offend the nobles, because no matter which side won, the affected clan would vent their anger on him.


    "Forget it. The Meng Clan have bec


    o into the water, or maybe he hid in a corner and didn''t dive into the deep area.


    Bob was not really interested in how Zen had stayed for so long. What annoyed Bob was that Zen, a cultivator at the first-grade of the nature level, didn''t take him seriously. Bob even thought that his dissuasion although rude, was for Zen''s benefit.


    Hearing what Bob said, Zen shook his head. "Roger is my friend. A friend in need is a friend indeed. If my friend is in trouble, I will naturally help him. What''s more, I''ve just heard that you wanted to drive me out of the Lake of the Magical Fish. Is that true?"


    Zen showed a harsh attitude toward Bob. It was evident that he was trying to help Roger. Since Zen had cleared his position, Bob had no reason to hesitate. If Zen was at the Illuminating Soul Realm, Bob might think carefully before fighting. But Zen was only at the first-grade of the nature level. What instigated Bob more was that Zen didn''t come from an influential family. Bob was at the consummation of the nature level. It was difficult to find someone skilled enough to challenge Bob. Hence he chuckled and said, "Yes, you are right. So what about it? Every time I come to the Lake of the Magical Fish to practice, other people make way obediently."


    "Yeah?" Zen replied scornfully. "I''m thinking, who are you to me? I should make way for you? Wishful thinking!"


    "Tut-tut!" steward Cao said with a deep sigh. When steward Cao heard Zen, he had a feeling that the situation was not going to be peacefully resolved. If a fight ensued, everyone would get into trouble. A bitter taste filled steward Cao''s mouth.


    Previously, when steward Cao let Zen enter the Lake of the Magical Fish, he believed the boy to be gentle and suave. He hadn''t expected Zen to have a hot temper.

 Chapter 281 The Chilly Water Drops

    A gust of wind blew gently against the seemingly cold atmosphere among the nature creatures. Did Zen not know who was in front of him? Or perhaps, was he not fully aware of the strength of the top seven noble clans?


    From his worry-free face, it looked like he didn''t take Bob seriously at all.


    Now, Steward Cao truly regretted his decision. He should have explained Bob''s identity further to Zen, and let him know that the top clan members were big shots that he shouldn''t offend as he was a nobody.


    However, Steward Cao quickly realized that even his previous explanation was useless. Zen already knew about Bob''s social status but he still didn''t take him seriously.


    Upon hearing what Zen said, Roger''s eyes also bulged in surprise. To be honest, he was moved when Zen stood beside him at this time. After all, Zen knew that Roger did just what he did to help him, so now he didn''t hesitate to stand by Roger when they met a master at the top of the nature level.


    However, Zen had been too arrogant. He didn''t take Bob''s strength into account.


    When they were in the south before, Roger had seen Zen''s unbridled and carefree attitude.


    During that time, Zen wasn''t a nature creature yet, but just at half-step into the nature level. Yet, he dared to use his soul to attack and injure Randall, who was at the fourth grade of the nature level, and directly reprimanded and insulted him.


    But now it was a completely different story. He finally met someone who was a world different from Randall.


    First of all, the difference of the strength between Bob and Zen was much greater than that between Zen and Randall at that time.


    Furthermore, Bob had a completely different background from Randall. Randall came from a poor family that didn''t have a good background, but was able to go up. However, Bob was a noble son of the Pei Clan.


    At that time, Randall felt repressed by Roger''s background and the pressure from Jon, so he could bear it.


    But now?


    What good came out after having irritated Bob?


    At this point, Bob''s facial expression suddenly changed. His fair-skinned face suddenly flushed a blood red shade, because apparently he was extremely angry. However, it was strange that the reddish tint on his skin disappeared while a red fog rose from the top of his head at the same time.


    After a while, his complexion returned to normal.


    From this incident, it was obvious that Bob used a special cultivation method to control his anger.


    He had kept his rage in check, but that didn''t mean he would forgive Zen. Many warriors would vent their discontent in their own ways to keep calm.


    For instance, when in a fit of rage, some people would laugh


    sson. While the life of the conceited and ignorant bloke would surely be taken away today.


    When Bob waved the sword, countless water drops splashed and reflected with the transparent light under the sunshine. They formed a huge dense net and aimed at Zen and Roger.


    The water drop made from the life vitality looked like the ordinary water drop, but both Roger and Zen clearly knew that they couldn''t touch any of them.


    "Zen, go away!" Roger screamed.


    He held his sword in hand with rapt attention and aimed at those water drops. The dark red sword radiance with the thickness of a thumb swallowed and spat the drops successively.


    Every time after the sword radiance exploded a water drop, a chilly power burst out from the water drop. It then expanded to the size of an ice ball and smashed the ground. Even the hard flagstone on the ground was smashed into fine, powdery smithereens.


    The water drop exploded in the air but had such astonishing power. If it exploded on the human body, nobody knew what the effect would be.


    At this moment, Roger rapidly waved the sword about, and the sword radiance unceasingly swallowed and spat to explode one water drop after another.


    However, Bob had released more water drops. Even if Roger had exploded dozens of water drops in an instant, hundreds of Bob''s water drops charged at him.


    This left Roger almost no choices now. He didn''t have the time to care about anything else. He had to wield the sword fast and try his best to destroy all the water drops.


    While Roger was fully engaged in exploding the water drops, Zen suddenly gripped the back of his robe. Roger was abruptly pulled backward by an irresistible, great force.


    Now, it was just Zen who faced the numerous water drops that flew in many directions.

 Chapter 282 Grabbed The Sword With Bare Hands (Part One)

    Each droplet of water contained a remarkably strong and numbing icy power.


    One simple condensation of the moisture in the air could form such a powerful ice ball.


    If these water drops touched anyone, the person could seriously get hurt.


    After residing in a secluded area to practice for quite some time, Roger''s abilities had improved a lot. It took a lot of dedication but now he had reached the fifth-grade of the nature level.


    Despite everything, however, he found Zen effortlessly tossing him for more than a hundred feet away!


    Immediately standing up from the ground, Roger tried to give Zen a hand. However, when he saw the man stand as steadfastly as a hill, a wonderful feeling overcame him.


    ''Is he so confident that he would succeed in his fight against Bob?'' he wondered.


    Truthfully, Zen was not a reckless person. In Roger''s opinion though, he appeared quite irrational when he had lost his temper and picked a fight at Dragon Fort as well as the army camp. It did not seem to matter that most of his rivals were simply stronger.


    On the other hand, the results indicated that he was a reliable and confident man, even before each fight.


    ''With Bob as his rival this time, does he really think he is more powerful?'' Roger thought to himself. As soon as he made the assumption, he could not help but be skeptical.


    Somehow, Roger thought he knew the big difference between the first grade and the top grade of nature level. Beside him, Steward Cao knew about it too. And Bob knew it even better than both of them.


    It was common knowledge since all of them had practiced from the first-grade of the nature level to their present level.


    But then, why was Zen so confident?


    It was


    rily as they had watched the stars explode.


    Zen had turned his head away and closed his eyes right at the time the overwhelming energy burst out.


    When Zen opened his eyes again, the stars'' explosion wiped out the chilly water droplets. Unlike him, Bob''s eyes had not completely recovered from the white light yet.


    Of course, Zen dared not to miss such a great opportunity.


    Before Bob could see again, he had rushed towards him like a cheetah running on the grassland.


    Although Bob could not see anything at that moment, he was still alert enough to counterattack.


    All nature creatures possessed sharp senses such as taste, smell, hearing, and sight. So it was only right that Bob had acute senses.


    Even with his eyes closed, he could still detect Zen''s presence.


    After seeing Zen''s competency, Bob could not calm himself down anymore.


    Initially, he had thought that Zen just wanted to use his life vitality as a barrier to block his attack. If so, the man would die rapidly, as the impact of his chilly water drop was much stronger than that.


    To his surprise, Zen had taken a more direct and violent method!

 Chapter 283 Grabbed The Sword With Bare Hands (Part Two)

    He had triggered the explosion of his life vitality directly. Bob never imagined that the energy of the explosion would be so horrible, it even eliminated all his chilly water drops!


    It was why Bob panicked. He wondered why Zen''s life vitality was so powerful. The energy of the little stars in Zen''s life vitality was so great that Bob''s heart trembled.


    However, as a master at consummation of the nature level, Bob''s mind had already tampered in various kinds of situations in the process of cultivating from a beginner to such a high level.


    He realized that besides keeping himself calm, he should counterattack his opponents immediately.


    After sensing Zen''s location, Bob waved his sword to him. He waved so hard that the sword, which was as thin as a cicada''s wings, was almost bent to its breaking point. Then, tens of thousands of chilly water drops suddenly shot out.


    ''Anyhow, these water droplets should be able to hold off Zen''s attack, '' Bob thought to himself.


    However, he had gravely underestimated Zen''s speed.


    In fact, Zen had not dodged those water droplets, not because he could not deflect any of them, but that he just did not try.


    Since the situation was quite different at this instant, he tried his best to suppress Bob.


    The Phoenix Crystal in his right arm suddenly gleamed. The energy coursed through his veins and then spread all over his body.


    "Whew!"


    Suddenly, Zen turned into a blur. Like a gust of wind, he dispersed those chilly water drops from the sky covered by them.


    Just then, the vision of Roger, Cao and Bob returned. When they saw Zen had turned into a blur, they were so surprised that they almost thought it was an


    ength. When this man had just reached the marrow refining level, he was able to compete with the masters at half-step into the nature level.


    However, even though they were born with great strength, they had their limit.


    How could the strength of a corporeal body like Zen''s have reached such an extent!


    There was a world of difference between the top-grade nature level practitioners and the first-grade nature level practitioners. Now, because of Zen, Bob had changed his view.


    No one saw it coming. Not even he could have imagined that he would somehow admit that Zen was much stronger than him.


    After recovering from a brief shock, Bob immediately activated the life vitality in his body.


    By any means, he was not someone who would throw in the towel so easily. Losing to a young man at first-grade of the nature level was very unacceptable for him.


    The life vitality came out from his arm and emanated upward along his sword before solidifying into white snowflakes on the sword''s blade.


    Then, the snowflakes formed a long and thin line and quickly mounted on the tip of the sword blade.

 Chapter 284 Real Strength

    "Icy Seal! Freeze!"


    "Crackle!"


    After reaching the sword tip, these snowflakes suddenly turned into ice crystals. In an instant, they covered Zen''s right hand. Soon, the right half of Zen''s body was frozen.


    Zen frowned as these ice crystals covered his hand. He used force to break them. However, these ice crystals were not normal. Even with the enormous power running through his body, Zen couldn''t do anything to them.


    "Ha-ha! They are not standard ice crystals. You can''t break them with brute force. So what are you going to do with them this time, little boy?" Bob smiled coldly as his Icy Seal froze Zen.


    Instead of panicking, Zen looked at Bob with calm eyes. There was even some contempt in his expression. With a sly smile, Zen raised his left hand. In the next instant, the Emerald Crystal in his arm suddenly erupted in bright red energy.


    "Bang!"


    Zen used his left fist to pound his right arm. A blood red mark glowed on the ice crystals covering his arm. And then, the blood red mark spread like a cobweb.


    Next, Zen clenched his right fist and freed himself from the ice crystals.


    "Lash..."


    The Icy Seal on his right arm and body was instantly broken into tiny pieces of ice crystals.


    "That''s impossible!" Bob couldn''t believe what he had just seen.


    The Icy Seal was the quintessence of his power. He had spent a lot of time and effort making it work. The Icy Seal was so challenging to master that Bob hadn''t succeeded until recently.


    This was the first time that he had used the Icy Seal to fight against his enemy.


    Bob''s father had once told him that only burning life vitality of a person at the Illuminating Soul Realm could break the Icy Seal. It couldn''t be broken by other kinds of force, let alone brute force. That was why Bob thought he could defeat Zen by using the Icy Seal.


    ''What the hell is he?


    How could he break my Icy Seal?''


    Bob felt as though he was going crazy. What had happened was an unprecedented blow to a proud man like him.


    Bob was sure that Zen could see through all his moves. Any counterattack by Zen could push him into the abyss of death. He didn''t know what to do.


    ''Why can''t I defeat him? I''ve never lost to anyone!'' Bob questioned himself.


    Bob was a proud man. It was his pride that made him improve in martial arts so quickly.


    He never allowed himself to lag behind others in any way.


    But at the moment, the fact that he had lost to Zen had destroyed his pride and self-respect, which plunged him into melancholy.


    At the thought of this, his eyes turned red, and the expression on his face grew ferocious. A wild voice shouted in his heart, ''I will never allow myself to fail!''


    "Go to hell!" It was a fact that Bob had lost to Zen. The only way


    hrough his hard work. Therefore, his speed of improvement was not as fast. His strengths were all honed in actual combats.


    Ever since Roger returned from Dragon Fort, he started his retreat.


    A training tower had been dedicated to his retreat. Everything became easier in the tower. During the retreat, he had taken a variety of elixirs. The Meng Clan knew that Roger was a smart man. So they gave preference to his cultivation and growth. Hence, it was not difficult for him to make tremendous progress in a short time.


    Roger shook his head and said, "I did increase in terms of grades within the nature level, but I''m far worse than you when it comes to real strength."


    Grades were not equal to real strength. Every martial artist accepted this universal fact.


    Numerous people had reached a high level but had no real strength.


    Roger had reached the fifth-grade of the nature level, but he still couldn''t compete with Bob. While Zen who had only reached the first-grade took Bob down easily. Clearly, Zen was much better than Roger.


    "You''re not an inner disciple?" Roger was surprised to see Zen in a white robe.


    If a genius like Zen existed in other peaks, he would have been an inner disciple by now.


    Zen shook his head and said, "No, I am not." Since entering Cloud Sect, Zen had spent very little time at the sect. He had used most of his time to accomplish other things and had ignored sect-related tasks completely.


    Zen didn''t care if he became an inner disciple. Although he was just an outer disciple at Drizzle Peak, because of Aura, his treatment was comparable to an inner disciple.


    Roger didn''t know why Zen was still an outer disciple. In his opinion, the mentors at Drizzle Peak were just too stupid not to promote Zen. So he said, "In that case, you might as well come to Daylily Peak."

 Chapter 285 The Report

    Daylily Peak ranked fourth among the thirty-three peaks at Cloud Sect. As a result, it was a sought-after peak for the powerful clans. Moreover, most members of the Meng Clan opted to cultivate at this mountain. If Zen chose to shift to Daylily Peak, no one would dare to make things hard for him. Besides, Zen could benefit a lot if he was transferred to the peak.


    Zen shook his head and said, "Thanks for the invitation. But I feel good at Drizzle Peak. Besides, it will not be easy for you to facilitate the transfer. I think it''s unnecessary."


    To transfer Zen to Daylily peak was more challenging than to reach outer space for an ordinary disciple. But it was a piece of cake for Roger. All he needed to do was to ask a favor from a member of his family to settle this matter. But Roger sensed that Zen had no intention of accepting his offer. As Zen had declined politely, Roger stopped trying to persuade him.


    However, Roger sighed and said, "As you have not yet been promoted to inner disciple, I am afraid that you can''t participate in the All Peaks Competition."


    "All Peaks Competition?" Zen''s heart flipped when he heard Roger.


    "Oh? Don''t you know that the All Peaks Competition is around the corner?" Roger asked curiously.


    Zen shook his head. He had heard about the All Peaks Competition¡ªit was held every three years at Cloud Sect. The results of the competition would decide the rankings of the thirty-three peaks.


    All the disciples attached great importance to the All Peaks Competition as the rankings of the peaks would directly affect the assessment of the inner disciples and outer disciples, as well as various benefits attached.


    Most importantly, the interval between the competitions was three years. Almost every three years, some disciples would make an impression in the All Peaks Competition and became the new shining stars.


    "The All Peaks Competition will be held as scheduled at the start of the next year. With your strength, I believe you will perform well. But you''re not qualified to participate in the competition until you become an inner disciple of Drizzle Peak." After thinking for a while, Roger added, "I don''t know why Drizzle Peak hasn''t promoted you to inner disciple yet. For outer disciples who want to ascend to inner disciple status, they need to participate in the annual inner disciple practice trial. But you have far exceeded the general outer disciples in regards to both strength and realm level. They should make an exception and promote you to inner disciple. If someone at Drizzle Peak is intentionally making things difficult for you, please tell me¡­"


    Roger had overthought. And he did speak freely for Zen''s benefit. It was indeed bizarre that Zen hadn''t become an inner disciple with his strength.


    However, what Roger didn''t know was that no one was trying to sabotage Zen''s growth at Drizzle Peak. Zen nodded and showed his gratitude to Roger for his friendliness. He also told Roger that he would try to become an inner disciple as soon as possible so that he could qualify for the All Peaks Competition.


    Zen would never miss such a good opportunity!


    By taking part in the All Peaks Competition, not only could he test his strength, but it would also serve as a c


    s'' depth, and this was the highest record he had till now. If Zen continued to dive deeper and reach 150 meters or 180 meters, then he would break the record of other disciples at Cloud Sect.


    The stewards of the Cloud Sect, especially those in charge of the practice realms had an additional responsibility to record and report activities in the places that they guarded.


    Zen''s performance was eligible to be reported to the top executives. In this way, the top leaders would pay more attention to him or even give him more resources for practice as a reward.


    Thinking of this, Cao recorded Zen''s performance and submitted the file to the top leaders. If they saw the record and intended to cultivate Zen, Cao would be rewarded for discovering talent.


    Cao assumed that an extraordinary talent like Zen would definitely catch the leaders'' eyes. It was true that there were already numerous talented disciples at Cloud Sect, and there was no lack of prodigies. However, as the Cloud Sect was large in its scale, it was always thirsty for more talents to join.


    However, to Cao''s surprise, his report seemed to have fallen on deaf ears. It turned out that no one from the top was paying any attention to Zen.


    To Cao''s knowledge, this was impossible. He suspected that his report had gone missing somewhere and that perhaps the top leaders hadn''t seen it.


    With such a thought, Cao submitted another report.


    The result was the same as the last time. There was no response or any news from the top leaders.


    At Cloud Sect, it was not easy to get a position as a steward. Cao was a very smart man. He soon figured out the reason.


    "I submitted the report twice, but there is no feedback from the top. This only means one thing¡ªthat the top leaders are giving Zen the cold shoulders deliberately," Cao thought. But as to who was behind all this and what was the person''s intention, Cao didn''t bother to think further. No matter who the person was, Cao was not in a position to worry. He was only an obscure steward, and he couldn''t afford to offend anyone at Cloud Sect. Thus, he gave up the idea of claiming the credit of discovering talent.

 Chapter 286 The Evil Plan (Part One)

    In Lake Mountain, Cloud Sect.


    Hidden deep in the center of Cloud Sect was Lake Mountain. The way up to the top was steep, and made harder by that fact that there was no path up to the mountain. It was impossible to climb it without any equipment. People at the Illuminating Soul Realm could fly to get to the top of Lake Mountain, while the rest could get there with the help of a flying chariot.


    Despite the perilous travel, there were many glorious buildings on top of Lake Mountain. There was no doubt that it took a lot of trouble to transport the building materials all the way up to the mountain''s summit.


    A beautiful lake surrounded Lake Mountain, which only added more to its scenic beauty. People could have a good view of the wonderful scenery if they stood on top of the mountain, which was also a good way to relax the senses.


    Many of Cloud Sect''s saints lived on the elusive Lake Mountain.


    A long, narrow pavilion was situated at one corner of Lake Mountain. Half of the pavilion was perched firmly on the cliff, while its other half was cantilevered over the edge. A great part of the pavilion was cantilevered and hung in the air. If an acrophobic person stood on the pavilion, he would surely shiver with fear.


    The fragrant scent of tea wafted pleasantly in the air. An old man with a purple hat on brought the cup of tea to his lips, which was decorated with spun gold, and took a sip.


    The old man was Saint Zara, one of the top ten saints of Cloud Sect.


    As he sipped on the hot drink, a stream of bright light suddenly passed over the sky and traversed closer to him. After a moment, another old man appeared at the edge of the pavilion. It was Saint Viana, who ranked tenth out of the top ten saints of Cloud Sect.


    The


    succeeds in it, it is no doubt that he will work hard to figure out what we have done to Yan. I believe he won''t let us off easily if he knows the truth! So we must destroy him while he isn''t powerful enough!"


    Worry had noticeably shaken Saint Viana right now.


    He was different from Saint Zara. Saint Zara had never fought with Zen, but he had.


    That one day when he tried to subdue Zen by using Fatal Palm, Zen had successfully stopped him. Zen had just reached the nature level at that time, but he was powerful enough to stop Saint Viana. Saint Viana was quite astonished by the strange phenomenon.


    After that, he poked his nose into the matter, and then he found out that when Zen entered the Heavenly Library, he had taken the hidden book, ''Heavenly Ogre Fist''. To his surprise, Zen had successfully learned the skill!


    It was true that Zen was just at the nature level now, but his learning capacity was vast and powerful. If he reached Illuminating Soul Realm, would it be quite possible for him to defeat Saint Viana?


    If he went through Cloud Road someday, and was elected by Cloud Hall, then he could do anything to Saint Viana if he wished.

 Chapter 287 The Evil Plan (Part Two)

    What Saint Viana worried about deserved attention.


    The person Zen cared about the most was Yan, and he most definitely wouldn''t allow anyone to harm her. That fateful day on Commandment Mount, when Zen got the news that it were Saint Viana, Saint Adrian, and other saints who prisoned Yan in Hell Mountain, he wanted to kill them all then and there.


    However, he wasn''t powerful enough back then, so he could only restrain himself.


    After Saint Zara finished his tea, he gently waved his sleeves and the tea set on the table completely disappeared.


    "What you have said is reasonable. However, there are many talents in the world, but only few of them could become quite strong," Saint Zara said. He had thought otherwise. Cloud Sect had hundreds of thousands of disciples and at least ten thousand of them were talented, but only few of them could really be the strong.


    "Is that so? Have you ever seen anyone who was at the nature level successfully escape from my Fatal Palm?" Saint Viana shot back.


    "Well, it..."


    Saint Zara couldn''t find the next words to complete his sentence.


    He was completely lost for words. When Saint Viana had first told Saint Zara that Zen had blocked his attack, he didn''t believe it at all. It was hard for him to be convinced if he didn''t see it with his own eyes.


    However, Saint Viana had said it so surely that he was compelled to believe it.


    If Zen was really so talented, once he became stronger, it would be bad for Cloud Sect because he hated Cloud Sect very much.


    For the sake of Cloud Sect, Saint Zara must think about how to deal with Zen.


    "When Zen practiced in Lake of the Magical Fish for the first time, he could dive to a depth of more than one hundred meters. Have you ever seen an


    lso be allowed to take part in the All Peaks Competition if he wanted to.


    However, what if Zen was unwilling to become an inner disciple and showed no interest in the All Peaks Competition?


    If that was the case, then they couldn''t implement their plan.


    "It is impossible that Zen doesn''t want to become an inner disciple. Aura has tried her best to train Zen, and it is her hope that Zen could get a good ranking in the All Peaks Competition. Besides, compared to the other 32 peaks, Drizzle Peak is the tail ender. I believe that Zen wants to improve the situation," Saint Zara said.


    He was sure that this was the case for Zen.


    "Well, you are right ¡ª but who should be sent to kill Zen? I should think about it seriously," Saint Viana said.


    A brittle laugh escaped his lips. It was impossible for him to tolerate being offended by Zen, who was such a young man! He wouldn''t allow it!


    Then again, Zen was overqualified so choosing someone who could kill him in the All Peaks Competition would be a handful. However, there were still many masters in Cloud Sect, and Saint Viana would definitely be able to pick someone who was suitable for the task.

 Chapter 288 Kite Skydeck (Part One)

    While sitting up straight in the room, cross-legged, he eyed the Sun Moon Stars Picture before him with the utmost attention.


    These past few days, he had not been to the Lake of the Magical Fish, as his points were just not enough.


    It was during his journey to the south when he collected most of his points.


    After he killed the blade locusts and acquired the crystal core from the queen blade locust, the points he had obtained became the envy of all the outer disciples of Cloud Sect.


    Indeed, thousands of points was a huge number for any outer disciple. It did not cost him much if he only used them for some healing drugs and vitality cultivation elixir, which could help him in the practice.


    Even when he went to the Heavenly Library once, it only took him a hundred points.


    However, if an inner disciple used these points for practice, they could last for ten days or half a month at most.


    If truth be told, Cloud Sect''s points and rewards system was actually more than practical.


    If one wanted to go to the certain places where he could practice and improve his strength rapidly, he had to help the Cloud Sect accomplish many tasks. Then, the points they obtained from the tasks could be used in practice again.


    In the beginning, he had hoped to earn millions of points in a short time. However, after enduring many things, he now realized how naive he had been. The reality was, he did not only have to earn points, but he also had to use them to do other things. If things were to carry on at such a slow speed, collecting millions of points was going to be impossible.


    Besides obtaining the points through accomplishing tasks, there was another way, which was to buy points with cubic crystals. Usually, two cubic c


    tract less trouble as possible.


    Other than Wurth, however, Zen could not think of anyone else whom he could trust with such a delicate favor.


    ''Wurth and I are good friends, '' he thought. ''It is a good thing he is helping me sell the heavenly essence. His family is very rich, so I assume that he would not take advantage or do any harm to me.'' As the saying went, ''Love your neighbor, yet do not lower your defenses.'' At the end of the day, it did not hurt Zen to be cautious.


    As soon as he came up with a good excuse, he left and headed for Wurth''s residence. When he reached his destination though, he could not find the man anywhere.


    After asking someone around the house, he found out Wurth was not in his room, and that he had gone to the Drizzle side peak to practice. Without wasting another moment, Zen went to the side peak to look for him.


    Among the many side peaks of Drizzle Peak, intensive training became the central purpose for several of them.


    Although these side peaks paled in comparison to the guarded cultivation places in Cloud Sect, at the very least, these practice spots were free to the disciples of the Drizzle Peak.

 Chapter 289 Kite Skydeck (Part Two)

    As it turned out, Kite Skydeck was one of the practice places in Drizzle side peaks.


    To go to the Kite Skydeck from the Drizzle main peak, one had to pass a treacherous mountain road. As the path was really a vertical cliff, it was practically inaccessible.


    There were wooden piles firmly thrust into the cliff by Illumination Soul Realm masters. Usually, they stepped on the piles to cross the cliff and reach the other end.


    Cowardly inner disciples would probably shudder at the sight of the bottomless chasm below the cliff and did not dare to cross it.


    Standing in front of the cliff, Zen glanced at the Kite Skydeck not far away, and then he jumped onto the piles without batting an eyelid.


    The treacherous cliff seemed very dangerous judging by its appearance alone, but if one were brave enough, falling down would be out of the question.


    After running at full speed for a few minutes, Zen reached the top of the Kite Skydeck. As he had heard that Wurth often went there to practice nowadays, he thought that he would find him there.


    Panting heavily, Wurth''s huge body quivered with each abrupt gasp he took. Beads of sweat dripped down his cheeks, drenching his white robe all over.


    Although people who were out of shape tended to be lazy, Wurth was quite an exception.


    On the contrary, he trained rigorously and so few people could match the efforts he put in each practice.


    The Kite Skydeck was situated on a round side pick, and the towering main peak just stood on the right. On the side of the main peak that faced the Kite Skydeck was a steep mountain cliff. Its surface was very smooth as if a knife had cut it. There was almost no way for one to grasp and climb up.


    Wurth was wearing a heavy lo


    rther progress in improving his strength.


    It was highly possible that none of the outer disciples of the Drizzle peak could reach 46m, let alone surpass Wyatt.


    Truthfully, as a man from a rich and influential family, Wurth could inherit his family trade in the future. Even though he was only a common warrior with bone refining level, he could someday give orders to the masters of nature level. As the saying went, ''Money makes the world go round.'' To command nature creatures, he only needed to pay more. It was a piece of cake for the Zhang Clan.


    The descendants of the Zhang Clan possessed half of the head for a business genius, as well as sharp insight. On the other hand, when it came to the talent for cultivation, they were far behind the descendants of the seven noble clans.


    However, Wurth was a disciplined man. Ever since he joined the Cloud Sect and the Drizzle Peak, his goal was to keep practicing until he made the breakthrough and became a nature creature.


    As soon as Wurth prepared to sprint for the second time, Zen suddenly appeared on the Kite Skydeck before him to block his only path and broke the man''s concentration.

 Chapter 290 Zen鈥檚 Incredible Jump

    "Wurth!" Zen called from a distance.


    "Zen, what are you doing here?" Wurth asked, wiping the sweat from his face. He didn''t know why Zen decided to suddenly visit the Kite Skydeck.


    Although Zen had just joined the Drizzle Peak a few months ago, he had already upgraded from marrow refining level to nature level. He became more powerful than any of those outer disciples from Drizzle Peak, and with this, he could be an inner disciple soon.


    With Zen''s current level in the Drizzle Peak, it wasn''t necessary for him to go to Kite Skydeck for cultivation.


    The other outer disciples of Drizzle Peak immediately cast their eyes to Zen when they heard Wurth call his name.


    Zen had become famous in Drizzle Peak with the improvement of his cultivation and his name would make heads turn.


    The outer disciple named Wyatt was distracted upon hearing the name Zen and his eyes suddenly went ablaze.


    Wyatt was a gifted and persistent practitioner. But because he had been born in an ordinary family, he had gone through trials and tribulations in the cultivation process in Cloud Sect. Being discriminated because of his family roots, he always wanted to prove himself by defeating others.


    But he had no interest in challenging a practitioner like Wurth.


    The person he wanted to challenge the most was Zen, and defeating him was the only significant victory for Wyatt.


    Unfortunately, it was impossible for him to defeat Zen now. He had just reached the half-step into the nature level, while Zen was already a nature creature.


    Wyatt had been cultivating on Kite Skydeck for a long time, so he thought that Zen would be no match for him if he challenged the latter to a climbing competition


    When Zen was talking to Wurth, Wyatt came up to him in a suit weighing a thousand pounds. Then he gestured at Zen for a challenge before turning around and rushing to the cliff wall.


    Wyatt gave his all and climbed like a monkey. Swiftly, he ascended from the ground. After a short time, he had ascended from 10 meters to 47 meters.


    Wyatt didn''t look down and continued to ascend without slipping.


    Reaching 47 meters was his best record by far.


    After reaching that height, he carefully slid down from the cliff, looking down at Zen with defiant eyes. As soon as he reached the ground, he came over to Zen and asked, "Do you want to try your luck? Look! There''s a handprint on the wall of the cliff. It''s said that the handprint was left by the most powerful inner disciple of our Drizzle Peak."


    Wyatt knew that Zen had just upgraded from a half-step into the nature level practitioner to a nature creature.


    Furthermore, the biggest difference between a nature creature and a half-step into the nature level practitioner was the life energy, not the corporeal body.


    So Wyatt thought that Zen could neither surpass the height of the handprint left by that inner disciple nor reach the height that he just climbed.


    Climbing the cliff didn''t only require strength, but also the flexibility of one''s body. The timing was also another significant factor.


    of the running disciple.


    Zen hadn''t used his full strength. If he did, the other disciples wouldn''t see him with their naked eyes.


    This wasn''t only to test his speed and strength, but also his control ability on timing. If he went on full speed, he could hit the wall. He had to adjust his speed and motion so he could leap up the wall swiftly.


    Since it was his first attempt on this, he was just relying on his instincts.


    As he approached the foot of the cliff, he pressed his feet hard on the ground, bent his knees, and pushed himself upward.


    He zoomed upward at an incredibly high speed.


    He just bounced off the ground, and his feet hadn''t even touched the cliff wall.


    Wurth was so surprised that his jaw almost dropped to the ground. He couldn''t blink and talk because of the intensity of the challenge. ''He is not stepping on the cliff wall! How could he even keep that momentum from bouncing off the ground?'' he wondered.


    Technically, in order to climb higher, the disciples would have to push on the cliff wall with their hands and feet so that the rebound force could be produced.


    But to everyone''s surprise, Zen had reached the 20 meters mark with just the momentum from his initial jump.


    "He is such a freak! How could he climb dozens of meters only relying on his bounce?"


    "I don''t know what to say. God is so unfair! I don''t even want to live after I found the gap between him and me!"


    Wyatt was looking on in the crowd. He said coldly, "One can''t climb the cliff wall merely by bouncing off the ground. Let''s say he could reach the first 20 meters by his initial jump, but he would certainly fall off later when his momentum reduces! Look, he is finally slowing down!"


    With one bounce, Zen had reached the height of 27 meters. Now that his upward momentum started to fade away, he began to climb the cliff wall with the use of his hands and feet.


    After his hands landed on the wall, Zen was surprised to realize that the wall was so smooth that he couldn''t even find a place to apply force.

 Chapter 291 More Heavenly Essence

    In fact, there were points of the mountain wall that remained strong.


    The disciples from Drizzle Peak climbed the mountain wall continuously. Wherever other disciples tramped, there were marks left behind.


    As time went on, tiny hollows were etched into the mountain wall.


    As some disciples practiced more, they discovered these hollows, and using them, they could climb higher.


    Some hollows were used frequently, and they gradually sunk.


    Viewed from below, the wall appeared smooth and flat, but in reality, it had many recesses.


    After climbing its face hundreds of times, some disciples could remember each hollow. They needed to pay attention to where it was safe to tread the first few steps after they made the leap.


    So, the experience in climbing this mountain wall was very important. Zen didn''t have the experience and climbed it with just his strength. It was believed he would surely suffer losses.


    Wyatt was able to reach a height of 47 meters because he was nimble and made good use of the recesses. From ancient to modern times, the people who could reach the summit was far less than those who initially set out climbing, so the higher one went, the fewer recesses in the face of the wall. They were also more indistinct and difficult to find, the higher one scaled.


    Zen lacked the experience to find the niches in the mountain wall, but, he had an advantage, speed.


    The Phoenix Crystal''s energy played an important role. He slapped the mountain wall with both hands continuously while at the same time he tramped his feet into the surface quickly.


    Zen was well aware that with the strength he currently possessed, he could slice into the hard mountain wall easily and catapult himself up to the top. But if he did that, it would be considered cheating, so he decided against it.


    Zen could control his strength in a manner that it was imperceptible to see and as he slapped and tramped nonstop, his speed was once more quickened, unexpectedly.


    "Wow, look at Zen''s speed increase again unexpectedly. My Gosh!" shouted one of the outer disciples.


    "Seriously? How''d that happen? It''s beyond reason!" commented some of the outer disciples in confusion.


    Normally, when disciples climbed the mountain wall, the higher they went, the slower they became.


    At the bottom, the disciples would be at their strongest and speediest, and then because there was no place they could apply their force to at the midway, speed decreased, making the climb upward grow slower and slower.


    Nobody could change the rules of relativity.


    However, halfway up the wall, Zen''s speed suddenly increased...


    What did that mean? It meant Zen didn''t need to store his force when he was at the bottom. He was even able to skip the dashing to accelerate. He could climb the mountain wall with the same stamina, whether he went 30 meters, 100 meters or even 1000 meters. It didn''t seem to make a difference to him whether he climbed the mountain wall or ran on flat ground.


    Given the information, this test to climb the mountain wall had no real impact on Zen.


    First Zen passed the 30 meters mark, then 40, and accelerating as he went, he reach


    lightly. He opened it, and pulled a small cup from it.


    Nobody was near them at the pavilion, and even if someone were to see it, it was highly unlikely any of the outer disciples from Drizzle Peak possessed the knowledge to recognize the substance that was in the cup. However, Zen still covered it covertly with his hand before handing it over to Wurth.


    As Wurth stared at what was in the cup, his eyes widened, and in a hushed tone with a hint of surprise, he whispered, "Heavenly essence?!"


    When Zen had the crystal core at auction, someone was selling some heavenly essence.


    Wurth still recalled at the time, that the heavenly essence netted 120 thousand cubic crystals.


    If one of the bidders hadn''t given up and stopped bidding, the price of the heavenly essence would probably have kept rising in cost, to what could only be imagined.


    "It appears that you have at least as much heavenly essence as what sold at the Blessed Auction House last time we were there. How many drops do you have here?" asked Wurth, his voice trembling in excitement as he wondered where Zen could have gotten any heavenly essence.


    "I have 55 droplets of essence in this cup," replied Zen.


    Taking a deep, calming breath, Wurth said, "Well, that explains why you were so hesitant. In your shoes, I would be even more cautious."


    Zen chuckled and told him, "Well, I wouldn''t if I only had the one cup of heavenly essence. I can offer you this much heavenly essence spread out over intervals of time. Please, Wurth, help me sell it at auction."


    "Wait, what are you saying? Spread out over intervals! You mean, you have more than this?" asked Wurth. He was shocked, and took a sharp breath of air, the chilliness hurting his nose.


    Heavenly essence was such a very mysterious substance that even now, nobody could figure out how it was produced. Even what they had sold at auction was unintentionally obtained by some warriors.


    What Zen was implying though was that he had more heavenly essence, and because it was such a large quantity, it needed to be sold over time...


    What did it all mean though?

 Chapter 292 Reputation

    Evidently, this meant that Zen possessed heavenly essence in a large quantity. More importantly, he might have even known how to make the heavenly essence.


    Zen nodded. "Wurth, I want to sell the heavenly essence through an auction at Blessed Auction House which I have come to realize is a win-win situation for your family. That sounds right?" Zen laid down the incentives.


    Wurth expressed his agreement with a rather enthusiastic nod.


    "By now you must have gotten a thorough understanding of my doubts. I fear that your family must be under great pressure if the heavenly essence is to be auctioned several more times. Can you handle that?" asked Zen. He tried to express his concerns.


    Wurth took a deep and heavy sigh.


    Zen was right to worry and be concerned about that.


    After all nothing in this world was certain and anything could happen under any circumstance.


    Even though Zhang Family was strong in terms of both their political and financial standing, it was still inferior to the top seven noble clans.


    It was normal and easy for the Zhang Family to auction the heavenly essence once, because there had been other extremely lucky warriors who could get ahold of it.


    However, if the Zhang Family were to auction heavenly essence every month, it would most certainly arouse suspicion and draw unnecessary attention.


    And all of this would mean only one thing. Either some clients of the Zhang Family must have a large inventory of the heavenly essence or they had the very method of producing it in mass.


    Once the noble clans chanced upon this significant development, they would put an enormous amount of pressure on the Zhang Family. One way or another, the Zhang Family would break under stress and confess as to how they came upon the heavenly essence.


    cretly. Now Wurth had worked out a clear path out of the transaction. Besides, the Blessed Auction House had been doing this for so many years that the sellers'' interest was a matter of the utmost importance and would be protected.


    "But, I will ask you again, are you sure you want me to sell the 55 drops of heavenly essence for you?" Wurth tried to crack a sly joke without even smiling.


    "Haha, those cubic crystals may be a big fortune for other people, but not you, the third son of the powerful and wealthy Zhang Family. I have confidence in you, my friend," said Zen. Wurth had a big picture in his mind and wouldn''t sacrifice his long-term goals for some short-sighted profits. Besides, Zen told him that he had already taken possession of more heavenly essence than these drops. Wurth would be a fool to illegally grab those 55 drops of heavenly essence and give up more of them.


    He knew for sure that if he really did that, Zen would not sell any more heavenly essences to him. Besides, Zen would get extremely annoyed. Wurth couldn''t stay at the Drizzle Peak and had to guard carefully against Zen. His sacrifices would mean much more than a half millions of cubic crystals.

 Chapter 293 Reputation (Part One)

    Wurth took the heavenly essences from Zen and delicately stuffed them into a beautiful emerald ring which was carefully on the ring finger of his left hand. It was a space ring.


    When it was done, Wurth sighed and spoke out, "There will be an uproar if so many heavenly essences are sold in the Imperial Capital."


    Heavenly essence was precious and immensely valuable because it could be applied to the weapons directly.


    For example, a top-grade spiritual weapon could have qualitative changes if enough heavenly essences were applied to it. There was even a possibility of producing a fairy weapon from it.


    Although considerable time and effort was required and lots of heavenly essences were consumed, the fairy weapon deserved it. Its holder would make huge profits even after the making costs were taken into account.


    That explained why the heavenly essence was so valuable.


    Wurth stopped practicing his martial arts and took off his heavy load suit. They returned to the main peak where they were to meet Sean and Nory.


    "Zen and Wurth, I was looking for you," said Nory. He flashed a warm smile at them.


    "What''s up?" asked Zen. He felt confused.


    Wurth patted Zen on his shoulder as he smiled, "Oh so, have you forgotten? A few days ago Nory very clearly mentioned that a party would be held among his clan men. He invited us to this party," Wurth replied.


    Zen came from a humble clan which was even inferior to Mo Clan.


    Therefore, he had very little knowledge about the great noble clans, their conventions or even norms.


    However, Wurth had a better understanding of everything, and simply sympathized with Nory who felt helpless and sad living under the burden of a noble clan''s name.


    "I have been quite busy recently and almost forgot about this gathering. I must apologize. Will the party be held today?" asked Zen.


    Nory nodded and answered


    . All of the guests were respected and esteemed members of the society. The butler had to make sure that they were satisfied with the service. So, he worked hard to please everyone. The smile on his face was professional and his manners were perfect.


    However, when he saw Nory and his group, his behavior suddenly changed. His fake smile disappeared, and instead he wore an arrogant and scornful look. "Young master, why are you back?"


    Nory too evidently never liked this butler. Since his mother died, this mansion was no longer his home. In response to the butler''s cold question, Nory answered, "What''s wrong? So are you telling me that I shouldn''t come back home today?"


    The butler shook his head and responded, "You really misunderstood what I was saying. However, you''re an outer disciple of the Cloud Sect now. Whether you come back home or not isn''t important any more. Ha-ha," the butler chuckled nervously.


    The butler emphasized on the words "outer disciple". He actually meant that even though the Mo Family was declining, they still didn''t think highly of any outer disciple of the Cloud Sect or care. Besides, he warned that Nory would be a big fool to think that his position at the Mo Family had changed even the slightest bit.

 Chapter 294 Helping A Friend In Need

    Nory didn''t feel welcome when he returned to his home. Since he was a child, he had always been despised and treated unfairly by the Mo Clan. And because he wasn''t strong enough to fight back and had no family to back him up, he had to bear everything on his own.


    Nevertheless, he was used to this treatment and it didn''t bother him. However, Zen, Wurth, and Sean were not used to this.


    Who did the butler think he was? He used to be a servant, but now he had been promoted to butler. Did that give him the guts to speak to them in that manner?


    Amongst the young men, Wurth was the most furious. In the Zhang Clan where he grew up, no servant dared to talk like that in front of his master. Wurth frowned and asked, "Nory, is this the way all your servants speak to their master?"


    Nory smiled and was about to say something, but the butler overheard what Wurth said and he got annoyed. The irate butler turned up his nose and faced Wurth with pride. "What do you mean, little fatso? What did I do wrong?" the butler asked aggressively.


    Wurth frowned at him when he saw his arrogant expression.


    Wurth was a good-tempered and honest man, but when someone annoyed him, he would put him in their proper place. If Wurth lost his temper, the Mo Clan''s family party would surely be spoiled. Anyone who annoyed a member of the Zhang Clan would be given a good lesson they wouldn''t forget.


    But Wurth managed to hold his temper. He didn''t want to make any trouble for the sake of Nory.


    Nory felt very embarrassed for the butler''s attitude towards Wurth. As a host of the Mo Clan family party, he couldn''t let the butler treat the third young master of the Zhang Clan so rudely Nory roared at the butler, "Ralph! They are all my friends, so treat them politely!"


    The butler chuckled. "Why? Who do you think ¨C?"


    Ralph couldn''t finish his words


    because he had sensed danger. He felt something ferocious was staring at him and he shivered.


    When he looked back with pale face, he saw Zen''s bright eyes.


    Zen looked calm, but he had already released some aura from his soul that put a strain on Ralph''s soul.


    Now Zen became powerful enough that he could retrain someone''s soul and made them unable to speak.


    "Nory, let''s just go inside," Zen said playfully.


    Although Nory didn''t know exactly why Ralph suddenly looked pale like he had seen a ghost, he guessed it must be because Zen had done something to him.


    Nory patted Wurth on the shoulder and apologized, "I''m so sorry, Wurth! I know Ralph was arrogant and rude, but he doesn''t deserve your anger. Let''s just go inside, shall we?"


    Wurth nodded and decided not to waste time arguing with a mere steward. He walked right behind Nory and Sean.


    Zen walked right behind them, too.


    Ralph


    en his father had died. His uncle was never kind to him and treated Nory like a stranger.


    "Your uncle is mean! Is there any other elder in your clan that would speak on your behalf?" Hearing everything from Nory, Wurth became more furious at the rest of the Mo Clan.


    As the norm, the clan members should have treated Nory better after his father''s death. But instead, they treated Nory unfairly and might have thrown him out of the clan if they had a choice.


    "It''s heartbreaking to grow up in such a cold family," Sean said angrily.


    After sipping a cup of tea, Zen said lightly, "Then we have every reason to help Nory out. What should we do if these people start acting out stupidly and mess up with you again?"


    Nory''s story was quite like Zen''s. They both lost their power in their clans after their fathers'' death. And with this, Zen was more determined to help his friend.


    Seeing resentment on their faces, Nory said, "Thank you for being here with me. I could really use your help right now."


    Wurth laughed and said, "Then that''s settled. I will take the matters into my hands if the members of the Mo Clan try to make trouble."


    Normally, Wurth wasn''t the type to put himself in another clan''s business.


    Because even if the Mo Clan wasn''t big, it was still a noble clan in the north region and Wurth had no reason to offend them. He wasn''t afraid of the Mo Clan at all because such declining noble clans like the Mo Clan were considered nothing compared to the top seven noble clans.


    However, the Zhang Clan lived by the principle of not doing anything without profit. But why would he like to do such a thing for Nory?


    Wurth had his own reason this time.


    Based on his observations, Zen was worth an investment.


    His intuition told him that this young man would reach an incredible level in no time.

 Chapter 295 Yates Mo (Part One)

    Throughout the Eastern Region, no one at the Illuminating Soul Realm would subject themselves to taking direction from anyone who was not an influential master.


    There was a rich merchant of G County, and he could afford to employ several nature creatures as his personal bodyguards, which was rare for a man of his station. However, it was pure fantasy to think he could hire any of the masters in the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    Still, the members of the Zhang Clan could.


    The Zhang Clan employed multiple Illuminating Soul Realm masters.


    These masters of the Illuminating Soul Realm willingly remained in the employ of the Zhang Clan to assist with the clan at critical times because they valued the connections along with the resources that the Zhang Clan possessed.


    More importantly though, since the Zhang Clan financially supported those same masters of the Illuminating Soul Realm while they were growing up, they served loyally.


    This was the biggest reason the masters of the Illuminating Soul Realm remained with the clan.


    As the third son in the Zhang Clan, Wurth was raised in the environment which gave him a natural sensitivity to this aspect of how things were.


    In Wurth''s opinion, if Zen managed to defy the odds and gain entry into the Illuminating Soul Realm someday, his strength would rival any official at the Zhang Clan.


    Therefore, Wurth wanted to invest in Zen.


    He didn''t invest money though because Zen wasn''t lacking in that department, even going so far as to commission Wurth in the auctioning of heavenly essence which would in turn earn Wurth some money.


    No, Zen had no need of Wurth''s money, so, instead, Wurth invested his time, companionship in the form of building a friendship with Zen.


    He knew how much Zen valued sentiment, friendship and respect above all other things, and although sometimes Zen would react emotionally, it was evident that he cared about his friends and brothers around him more than others.


    For this reason alone Wurth was willing


    anking one within the Cloud Sect? Logically speaking, the outer disciples from Drizzle Peak can be the least powerful of all the disciples at the Cloud Sect. At least, in my opinion. It is better not to enter the Cloud Sect than to remain at Drizzle Peak since it''s where losers are cultivated."


    "Yates, what the hell is that supposed to mean?" shouted Nory as he jumped to his feet angrily.


    Only half of the guests had arrived, and the feast hadn''t started yet. When other guests heard Nory shouting loudly, one after another turned to see what was going on, and even the actors up on stage stopped singing to see what was happening.


    Yates concentrated on rising from his seat slowly, smirking, and having a tough time restraining the laughter he felt welling up in him. Nory was always such a weak target who Yates thought was easy to bully, until today. Odd that today Nory had been found to have a backbone. Yates wondered why Nory suddenly had the courage to stand up to him. Was Nory relying on these guys to stand against Yates?


    Earlier when Yates entered, he had examined Nory''s friends.


    All the disciples from noble clans had keen vision.


    First, he took in the fact that Zen, Wurth, and Sean were attired in white robes, then he scrutinized them to ensure they all came from lower class families without noble ties.

 Chapter 296 Yates Mo (Part Two)

    While Yates had assessed the three astutely, he was, in fact, wrong in his overall assessment. Wurth was a member of the Zhang Clan which wasn''t a poor family. True, it wasn''t one of the top seven noble clans, but, Wurth''s family actually held far more power than an ordinary noble clan. After all, the Zhang Clan was the only family able to progress alongside the top seven noble clans, equally. If a rank were required, then the Zhang Clan would be counted as comparable to any of the top seven noble clans.


    Of course, wearing his white outer disciple robe was deceptive, so, Yates wasn''t at fault for misjudging Wurth as a nobody.


    After his initial assessment, Yates had noted that the three weren''t very powerful.


    While Zen was a nature creature, he was just at grade one, and Wurth and Sean were only at half-step into the nature level.


    Yates wasn''t worried about their strength because he was at grade four of the nature level, while his friends were grades four and five, respectively. With their cumulative strength, Yates hadn''t given Nory''s friends a second thought, which led him to refer to Zen and the others as losers to their faces.


    "Nory, when did you grow up? How brave of you to deem to talk to me like this today!" said Yates snidely as he frowned unhappily. With so many people in attendance today, Yates needed to teach Nory a lesson and give him a reminder of who he was addressing.


    Wurth and Sean glared back at Yates, enraged. They hadn''t thought Nory''s family members would ignore his devoted enthusiasm, and they would suffer personal disgrace.


    One member of Nory''s group remained staunchly expressionless, Zen.


    With calm, collected mannerisms, Zen picked up a kettle that was dark-red and enameled from the table and slowly poured some of the water over his hands. As he did, life vitality rose from within, to cover his hands. Under the heat of his life vitality, the tea water quickly evaporated into the air as steam.


    When he had finished, Zen stood up, a smile plastered across his face. He


    the door. They were female disciples in Cloud Sect.


    As per the rules of the Cloud Sect, the female disciples wore either black or white robes, depending on their rank, when they stayed at the sect.


    Nevertheless, the robes were ugly in the eyes of the disciples, so, whenever they had the opportunity to leave the Cloud Sect, they would change out of their disciple robes hastily to wear beautiful clothes, such as long dresses with patterns of birds in flight, or blouses that were embroidered, paired with skirts that bore designs of flowers on them.


    These were the disciples of Lady Peak entering, and they had all changed before they''d arrived, and looked gorgeous.


    "Is that you, Yetta?" Even though Yates and his comrades as well as Nory and his friends were at sword points with each other, Yates immediately noticed when the female disciples from Lady Peak entered the room. Excitedly he called out, "Oh, and there''s Nina, an honored guest!"


    Seeing the ladies, Yates no longer wanted to be at odds with Nory or his friends. He might have returned to attend the family reunion, but, his main reason for coming was that his cousin, Yetta, said she would be bringing some friends home with her, to give them a tour.


    One of the friends with Yetta was Nina. Yates had developed a crush on her, and thought about her every day and night.

 Chapter 297 Zen Was So Remarkable (Part One)

    Yates had met Nina Zhu several times and not even during the course of his interactions, he had rather fallen in love with her at first sight.


    Zhu Clan was one of the top seven noble clans in the empire and Nina belonged to the same. On the contrary, Yates was only a young master from a small declining noble clan. It was said that Nina had a very high position in the Zhu Clan. Although she was a girl, and she did not have much ascendancy in strength, she was deemed to be even higher in rank than the eldest son of the eldest branch. She was, so to speak, doted on by all family members.


    With the large social gap between the two in mind, which was actually the gap between the two clans, Yates had already decided that the usual ways of wooing a girl would not work. When it came to marriages, the noble clans preferred that their sons and daughters be wed into families of equal status. Even with the strength, talent, wealth and status that Yates carried, marrying Nina was an unrealistic fantasy. If the Mo Clan sent a matchmaker to the Zhu Clan with orders to formally talk about a marriage, not only he, but the entire clan would be humiliated terribly by the Zhus.


    Therefore, Yates did the only sensible thing that he could do, and asked his cousin Yetta to bring Nina to their house. Yetta was Nina''s friend in Lady Peak, Cloud Sect. Yates was hoping to win Nina''s heart through their mutual contacts.


    Last time, Yates had heard that Nina was going to take part in the trial for slaying demons. Immediately, he had gotten desperate to pass the examination in Egret Peak as well. A pity there were so many talented disciples over there! Although he had passed the initial test, he was defeated by the other disc


    Peak to their table. The servants had laid out the chairs diligently and they respectfully invited the girls to take their seats, drawing a chair for each one of them.


    After sitting down, Nina felt someone gazing at her. Her eyes swept over a table nearby and suddenly settled on Zen''s face.


    "Zen?" Nina exclaimed.


    She immediately got excited on seeing the man.


    Here was the man who had risked his life to save her and squeezed his strength to kill the demon generals. Obviously, he had deeply branded an indelible mark on her heart.


    On that day, after the fierce war between the imperial army and the demons in the White Emperor City, the disciples of the Cloud Sect had eventually been sent back, except for Zen.


    Yolande had captured him for his fight with Hugh.


    Nina had been really concerned about him. Before leaving White Emperor City, she had implored her uncle Lennie to protect him in any case.


    Although her uncle had promised readily, Nina was still deeply worried.


    Later, she had learned from correspondence with her uncle that Zen had not only survived the war, but had also made great contributions.

 Chapter 298 Zen Was So Remarkable (Part Two)

    With a strength of merely a half-step into the nature level, Zen had been able to establish brilliant achievements in war among the Illuminating Soul Realm masters. With all that news, Zen had risen to higher and higher levels in Nina''s mind.


    But once he had left the White Emperor City, Nina had been unable to hear any news about him.


    She had even pondered the possibility of going out to look for him.


    However, she hadn''t done such an apparently disgraceful thing such as a girl travelling thousands of miles just to find a man. Although the customs in Burning Sky Empire were fairly open-minded, Nina, who was born in a top noble clan, was still quite conservative.


    Later, she had received the information that Zen had returned to Cloud Sect and often went to Lake of the Magical Fish to practice.


    She felt both happy and disappointed when she learned this.


    She was happy that Zen had returned to Cloud Sect unharmed. She was also disappointed that Zen seemed to have completely forgotten her and only cared about his boring practice.


    ''How about I go see him?'' Nina had entertained the thought for some time. However, with a noble lady''s reserved character, she had stifled it in the end.


    She had initially been hesitant to join today''s party.


    But her close friend, Yetta, had repeatedly invited her and finally, she had to agree.


    She had never expected that she would meet Zen at the Mo Clan''s party.


    Nina had missed him so much, but it seemed that Zen was indifferent towards her.


    ''It was okay when I found out that he was addicted to his practice. What''s disappointing is that he has time to attend the Mo Clan''s party, but no time to see me. Has he really forgotten me?'' Nina was sad.


    But when she saw him raising his head, smiling at her with his clear black eyes, she forgot all about her complaints at once.


    She ignored Yates who was bei


    unacceptable.


    After various analysis, the Zhang Clan had given up the plan.


    Actually, the most critical factor behind the failure of the Zhang''s plan was the idea of the Zhu Clan''s elders. Most marriages were arranged by the parents of the prospective brides and grooms, and the clan elders at that time. The practice was even more popular among the noble clans since in that case, the marriage was not just about them, but the union of two clans. However, the Zhu Clan was intent on not restricting Nina for her marriage. From this point, one could clearly understand out how deep the elders'' love for Nina was.


    Because of this failed plan, Wurth today knew Nina better than other nobles. But at present, Wurth wondered how Zen knew Nina. He had never heard of any relationship between the two. ''Nina is complaining that Zen has never come to visit her, but Zen seems somewhat indifferent towards her.


    You know Nina isn''t an average noble girl. With her position in the Zhu Clan, she is even more powerful than the unloved princesses. How many people want to please her? How many young men are dreaming to marry her? But to everyone''s surprise, Nina is courting Zen.'' Musing, Wurth sighed with a strong feeling about how remarkable Zen was.

 Chapter 299 James Mo (Part One)

    Sean and Nory were not as surprised as Wurth.


    Upon seeing Zen, this dainty, pretty girl complained that he did not visit her! Zen must have a lot of charm to bewitch her like this.


    ''When exactly did Zen meet Nina?'' they wondered. ''Did they meet at the trial for slaying demons?''


    "Hey, Zen, won''t you give us an introduction? Is this your girlfriend?" Sean, who was older than Zen, teased him.


    Nory was more flippant and straightforward. He straightened and gave Nina a solemn salute. "How are you, Zen''s girlfriend?"


    "Don''t say nonsense!" Nina rebuked him, but her face broke into a flush. She didn''t really seem to mind how Zen''s friends addressed her.


    Zen''s friends were quite perceptive, so how could they not make out what that blush meant? Generally speaking, it was a universal sign indicating that a girl harbored a crush on a guy.


    "Okay, fine! I won''t talk nonsense anymore. I will reserve calling you that for the future!" Nory responded, casting Yates a short, casual look. Nory was naive but not ignorant. Yates had been particularly attentive to Nina ever since she walked in. As per what Nory observed, Yates obviously held some kind of affection for her. The more he teased Nina about Zen, the more dispirited and indignant Yates got.


    "Humph!" Nina gave a snort and wrinkled her nose in chagrin. She turned to her friends, calling them from a distance. "Girls... Come here. I want to introduce you to someone. This is Zen Luo!"


    Hearing this, a few girls came up to her, huddling and checking out Zen from head to toe with their wide, pretty eyes. They immediately launched into a stream of comments.


    "So, this is Zen! No wonder you always talk about him, Nina. Listening to you describe him


    tion rose in his chest and took hold of him. Yates felt his strength slip away from him. Why was this happening to him?


    Yates''s friends, who stood around him, also grew gloomy and resentful.


    They were well aware that Yates wanted to pursue Nina. However, judging from what was happening before them, things were not unfolding as they had hoped for.


    Suddenly, Yates clenched his fists, a fierce look flashing across his eyes. A mad thought occurred to him. ''I will kill Zen by any and all means!''


    Noticing his grim appearance, a friend next to him pressed his hand on his fist and shook his head slowly. "Yates, calm down," he said to him in a hushed voice. "Zen is unusual and very strong. It wouldn''t be a good idea to come to blows with him."


    Yates certainly could not kill Zen here.


    Zen did seem powerful. The momentum that he unleashed was astonishing. Although he was only at the first grade of nature level, the disciples of the Cloud Sect knew that the realm was sometimes inconsistent when it came to strength. Moreover, according to what the female disciples surrounding Zen just said, he had killed some demon generals!

 Chapter 300 James Mo (Part Two)

    How much strength did a demon general have? Yates and his friends had never been to the trial of slaying demons, but they had heard a number of tales about demon generals. At Egret Peak, the disciples who qualified to fight them ranked among at least the top fifty of the inner disciples.


    As for actually killing a demon general, they had not heard of any inner disciple at Egret Peak who had managed to do so.


    However, since they had not seen Zen slay demon generals with their own eyes, and since what the female disciples were gushing about was hardly believable, it was debatable that Zen had really killed some.


    Even if Zen''s strength was really in line with his realm at the first grade of nature level, a show of Yates''s antagonism right in front of Nina would be quite irrational. It would gain him the opposite of what he wanted. Not only would it make him an unfavorable person in Nina''s eyes, but also, it would make her outright hate him.


    At his friend''s warning, Yates relaxed his fists. He understood that it would be unwise to make an enemy of Zen right now. Today, the Mo family was hosting a party, and if he got into a fight with Zen, the event was likely to fall through.


    ''I''ll hold myself back for the time being, and after the party is over, I will deal with you, Zen!'' Yates swore to himself. And Nory, how could he bring home this troublesome boy? He was courting death. Yates silently told himself to endure this until he finally got the chance to get back at Nory too. Watching Nina smile at Zen bashfully, Yates felt his heart break into pieces and bleed. Imperceptibly, he tightened his fists again, his fingernails digging deep into the flesh of his palms and gouging a few wounds.


    Zen''s soul was far more sent


    peror City, but also he killed masters of equal strength inside the fairy palace.


    Although Zen was aware that there was a gap between his true strength and that of a master of the Illuminating Soul Realm, he had also come to understand that the chasm could be overcome in other ways.


    "Yates," James Mo said, patting Yates on the shoulder. Then he looked over to his guests. "I am deeply honored to have each of you present at the Mo family gathering. Please forgive me if you don''t find the arrangements to your liking."


    "You''re much too modest, Master Mo!"


    "It''s an honor to be invited, Master Mo. You should have no reason to say otherwise."


    Not all the guests present belonged to the noble clans. True nobility would not be caught dead attending a mediocre party such as this one.


    Although the Mo family was on the verge of decline, it was yet a noble clan. Besides, many others depended on this family for their survival, so most of the guests were perfectly courteous toward James Mo.


    With the polite remark, James Mo took his son around to greet the guests.


    The people sitting at Zen''s table were engaged in animated discussions.

 Chapter 301 The Mixed Element Blood Bracelet (Part One)

    Nina didn''t want to sit at the table Yates arranged for her, so, she led her friends over to the table where Zen and the others were seated. There they all chatted amicably.


    Sean, Nory and Wurth talked with them joyfully.


    Females weren''t allowed to be too close to men in Eastern Region, but they didn''t need to be restrained at a reunion for the noble clans. The tinkling laughter resounded from their table now and then.


    It had to be said that Nory was a perpetual optimist. Even after being bullied by everyone after coming back home, he still talked and laughed happily. It was as though he''d forgotten the distasteful events from just a few moments ago. From time to time, he shared a joke that made one or more of the female disciples double over in laughter.


    In no time at all, after greeting other guests at several tables, James led Yates over to the ladies.


    James smiled at Nina as he greeted her, "Miss Zhu, I am honored that you were able to attend the feast of Mo Mansion today!"


    James'' polite pretensions towards Nina were excessive.


    As the head of the Mo Clan, James was a formidable man, and along with the influence his family wielded, he was also quite important within the ranks of the Illuminating Soul Realm. So, even though Nina was the beloved daughter of the Zhu Clan, there was no need for him to be this polite.


    When someone was overly courteous to others to this degree, there was an ulterior motive.


    In this case, a blind man could have seen the reason.


    He knew his son, Yates was infatuated with Nina.


    News of this sort was handled delicately between the noble clans. James was clear that although the Mo Clan had declined, if they could claim kinship ties to the Zhu Clan, it wouldn''t be too difficult to


    e liquid.


    Rather than being helpful, the liquid was instead harmful to humans. The poison was hidden inside the red fluid. If a human was near it for any length of time, the toxin would affect him. A victim''s face blackened, boils festered covering the body before an agonizing death. So, any ordinary people wouldn''t dare go to Snow Mountain when it was due to blow its stack.


    Only a nature creature could procure the fresh red liquid while avoiding the lethal toxins.


    These nature creatures risked life and limb travelling to Snow Mountain to acquire the mixed element blood jade, which spurted from deep within Snow Mountain when it erupted.


    But, the mountain didn''t give the treasures up easily, and there were only a few dozens to a few hundred of the mixed element blood jades to be found when the Snow Mountain erupted each year. Most nature creatures just relied on good fortune, determining that if none were found, it was simply poor luck, but, if one or two mixed element blood jades were found, it was very lucky. The cost of mixed element blood jades was so steep, that if only one were found, the nature creature would become wealthy overnight.

 Chapter 302 The Mixed Element Blood Bracelet (Part Two)

    When the mixed element blood jade was worn by someone, it could put the blood and vitality in the skin. As time passed, the blood and vitality in the human body would be stronger, thus he would promote his strength and even be in higher spirit.


    Due to the miraculous effects that a blood jade instilled, it was regarded as invaluable.


    However, it was extremely rare to find anything but small jades, which was fine, since most people wanted one that could be worn around their necks, like a jade pendant or tablet.


    It appeared that the bracelet from James was carved from a single piece of a mixed element blood jade, and if that was the case, that would mean it started out the size of a fist, and this single bracelet was priceless!


    However, the worth of the bracelet hadn''t occurred to Nina.


    It so happened that because of the status her clan elevated her to, Nina could request anything, including the family''s heirloom, and immediately, she would be given what she wanted.


    On her last visit to the White Emperor City, Nina even threatened Lennie with the sales of their family''s most prized heirloom, Tai-Yi Moxa Stick, if he didn''t willingly open his wallet, part with whatever money it cost, and bail Zen out of trouble.


    Alongside that irreplaceable family heirloom, Nina had many valuable treasures that could outshine the mixed element blood bracelet.


    Although the mixed element blood bracelet was a rarity that was priceless to others, Nina saw it as ordinary.


    None of that mattered though, Nina couldn''t accept a gift. She was neither a close friend nor a family member of the Mo Clan which made it highly inappropriate for her to receive a present as costly as this bracelet, especially considering this was the first time she met James as well as her initial visit to the Mo Mansion.


    After gazing at the precious piece of jewelry for a moment, Nina slowly shook her head explaining, "Uncle Mo, regrettably, I can''t accept your generous gift."


    When Yates heard Nina''s refusal, he gently lifted the Mixed Element Blood Bracelet from the simple, yet elegant box. His


    because it was insignificant. After my father''s death, you didn''t give him a proper funeral fit for one from a noble clan, and I erred because I still didn''t stand up to you. But, now, well now I only have one question for you, how did my father''s blood jade bracelet disappear at the time of his death and yet, here you are, holding it in your hand?"


    Nory''s questioning panicked James, and a horrified expression flashed over his face. Just as quickly, James plastered a blank look and empty smile, reminding himself he was a famous noble lord. In complete denial, James smoothly said, "You are thinking too much Nory. This isn''t the same blood jade bracelet that your father owned."


    "Oh really? Uncle, do you think I am a fool, or do you believe I was too young to remember details? Well, either way, you''re wrong! I remember specifics about my father''s bracelet, like how on the back, ''Good Fortune" is engraved in large letters, and there''re small runes inscribed alongside the letters. Tell me, uncle, do you think there were two such bracelets made?"


    As soon as Nory stopped, everyone stared over to where Nory was glaring. The words, Good Fortune, were on the inside of the blood jade bracelet like Nory expected.


    As all eyes turned from the bracelet to James and Yates, they stood frozen, neither of them was able to think of a way to wriggle out of this embarrassing development.

 Chapter 303 Unique Spear (Part One)

    Nory was completely certain that James could no longer find a way to prove his point now.


    "Stop blabbering nonsense, Nory. We have guests here today. We can discuss the affairs of our family later in private." James rebuked him coldly. Men who were at the higher rung of the power ladder tended to crush their rivals with power rather than words, especially when they weren''t entirely in the right.


    Nory refused to give in even though he was facing the clan leader. "We can discuss it later. But you can''t just give away the blood jade bracelet. It''s not yours to give!"


    "Shut up!" Yates snapped, unable to contain himself any longer.


    He felt a pang of regret on hearing Nory''s words. Perhaps it would have been best if he had thrown Nory and his lot out before Nina arrived.


    He hadn''t expected that they would cause so much trouble and make him look like a fool in front of Nina.


    It was so embarrassing. The present he wanted to give out belonged to someone else. He didn''t even dare imagine what Nina would think of him upon hearing that. The thought of Nina despising him just because of Nory''s words filled Yates with uncontrollable urges to kill someone, especially Nory.


    James said nothing. He was their elder and it wouldn''t look good if this were to go on much farther. He decided he''d better stay calm, hold his breath, and see where this would lead. If only his son could handle Nory!


    Nory was born to be a coward, a total waste of space. He was always scared of Yates. It was highly likely that Nory would just give up because what Yates had said.


    But Nory didn''t yield. A voice rang out before he could spea


    "Mo is still a noble clan even though it''s on the wane. And James is an expert in the Illuminating Soul Realm. Where does this youngster get the nerve to defy James? If I''m not mistaken, he''s only reached the first rank of the nature level."


    "He embarrassed James. He is dead for sure."


    The fight had become more appealing now than the food. Many people had left their table and gathered around to watch.


    Yates had no time to butter Nina up now. He gave a cold smile and declared, "All these people who picked a fight here are mostly dead." A long spear appeared in Yates''s hand as he tapped his finger. The spear lashed out, pointing at Zen. "They are dead, and you are no exception!"


    Tension between them had finally reached the breaking point. Nina stepped back to one side, and the other female disciples from Lady Peak followed her.


    Yetta went pale and said anxiously, "Yates, don''t get into a fight. Just let it go!"


    "Shut up. This is none of your business, Yetta. He has no respect and he will pay for it." All Yates could think about was that he had to kill Zen.

 Chapter 304 Unique Spear (Part Two)

    James was the elder and expert in the Illuminating Soul Realm. His sense of dignity was forcing him to stay out of the fight. This brat who had just reached the first rank of the nature level was the best among Nory''s lot and he was way weaker than Yates. There was no point worrying about his son.


    Even so, James still said, "This has nothing to do with you, Yetta. The youngsters want a duel, they can have one." Although he said so, it was obvious that James was encouraging his son to teach Zen a sharp lesson.


    Yetta bit her lip and fell silent.


    However, Nina gave Yetta a long look, her calm eyes surveying her face, and asked, "Why are you so worried, Yetta?"


    Yetta shook her head. "I''m afraid that my brother will lose, Nina."


    Yetta knew what Yates was doing was wrong. Still... He was her brother.


    Her best friend Nina had told her loads of stories about Zen. She could tell from what she had heard that Zen wasn''t as simple as he looked.


    Nina gave her a smile. "Your brother will be fine."


    Yetta blinked and asked, "Why? I mean how are you so certain?"


    Nina replied calmly, "Your brother isn''t qualified to fight with Zen. If it were your uncle, this fight would be more seemly."


    Yetta''s eyes widened in disbelief. She had heard stories about how Zen had fought with demon generals, how he had defied the Zhuge Clan in the White Emperor City, and how extraordinary his powers were. Still, comparing him with an expert in the Illuminating Soul Realm was beyond her imagination.


    Nina had faith in her judgment.


    Zen and his unique life energy had nearly killed Hugh in White Emperor City.


    Back then he was only a half-step into the nature lev


    ly quick on the uptake. He had met a mysterious master in the outskirts of Imperial Capital when he was fourteen and that master had taught Yates a skill which was called the Willow Leaf Spear Art. James had checked it himself. It was a tier 4 cultivation method.


    Yates was blessed with the kind of luck which made James believe that his son would surpass himself and lead the Mo clan to a whole new level.


    That was why, he had spent all the Mo clan''s money building the Willow Spear for Yates.


    Mo clan seemed on the wane these years. But the fact was, James had invested all the resources in his son.


    Yates had never disappointed his father until now. So far, everything had been excellent. Yates had excelled his peers in every way. Every day, he looked like he was improving, his ferocity and velocity were better, and even the rate at which he improved was speeding up. Now he was at the fourth rank of the nature level and he could easily beat anyone at the same rank. James was sure that even a refiner at the seventh rank of the nature level wouldn''t have the upper hand in a fight against Yates.

 Chapter 305 Stay Calm

    In a concealed manner, Yates tried to show off his skill in front of the cheering crowd. He gathered his life vitality and injected it right into the spear rod. Then while charging great power into the spear point, he rushed right at Zen.


    "Wow, Yates has made progress again! Look, his spear''s strength has grown by two inches when compared to earlier."


    "Yates is such a gifted and talented man! He just became an inner disciple, however, his competence has been increased at a horrible pace!"


    "The man hailing from Drizzle Peak is going to have a bad day. Yates seems to be showing no signs of mercy. All of the twelve stabs were pointed right at the vital parts of the young man!"


    The disciples of Egret Peak, brought here by Yates, were discussing in a low voice.


    Since they were all practitioners and also inner disciples of Egret Peak, they knew each other quite well.


    Nory, Sean and Wurth had stepped aside and they didn''t seem to be worried about Zen at all.


    And their confidence in him was justified. As since they met, Zen had left quite an impression by defeating rivals with higher cultivation level. So the truth of judging competence by cultivation level didn''t apply for Zen.


    Even with this said, they had no idea about how powerful Zen actually was and what kind of masters he could defeat with the power he possessed. But at least, they knew that in the end the one who underestimated Zen would most definitely suffer a great deal.


    Zen stood still for quite a while. He smiled indifferently as he spotted Yates stabbing at him with all his strength.


    Yates was extraordinarily fast in wielding his spear. It was rare for a practitioner at the fourth grade of nature level to have reached such a high speed.


    However, that was just how the average person saw and understood it.


    As far as Zen was concerned, Yates'' speed was nothing at all. At the most it felt like a slap on the wrist.


    He stabbed towards Zen twelve times in a split second and all these aims were pointing and positioned right at Zen''s critical parts, which would maim him.


    Zen knew that even though Yates'' speed was extremely fast, the twelve stabs couldn''t reach him at the same time, so he had adequate time to dodge the spear and make a defensive move.


    As the twelve points approached Zen, he suddenly moved and disappeared into a blur.


    "It seems he got stabbed! Go to hell!" Yates cried out in his heart with joy as he wore a vicious smile. He was excited at the thought of actually hitting Zen, like a dart board. ''Even if you''re admired by Nina, so what? It doesn''t matter, you''re dead!'' he thought gleefully.


    However, to Yates'' surprise, nothing had turned out in his favor.


    Not a single one of his twelve stabs had even brushed Zen let alone hit him.


    In fact, he just realized that all twelve of his thrusts had aimed at Zen''s shadow, not Zen.


    He wouldn''t be surprised if he had hit Zen''s shadow only several times, but how could he have missed all the targets?


    It was impossible! Zen shouldn''t have reached such an outrageous speed!


    It was no wonder that Yates stabbed so fast. After all, his spear was feather light and the tier-4 cultivation method he used was powerful enough to pierce through a brick wall.


    Yet the stabs missed the aim, so the real question was how Zen moved so fast and how he kept dodging each and every different-angled stab coming at him in such a hig


    , his son Yates had lost his temper now. His spear''s strength now appeared even longer, thicker and more powerful than before.


    However, this didn''t help him to speed up, but yet again slowed him down. Furthermore, instead of being specific, he had begun to stab aimlessly.


    ''Yates is no match for that young man. They''re not even in the same level in competence, '' James thought to himself as he watched the duel.


    Zen was still shuttling back and forth at an extremely high speed in gusts of spear waves.


    After thrusting about forty-five stabs, Yates finally realized that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn''t hit the target, not when it was Zen. Then with a roar, he waved his spear and used a sweep strike towards Zen as a last bid.


    "I don''t believe you will be able to dodge my attack this time!" Yates shouted in a hoarse voice.


    However, Zen didn''t dodge at all, but instead reached out and grabbed the spear rod.


    Yates tried to draw his spear out of Zen''s hand, but only realized that the spear didn''t move at all, as if it was cemented in Zen''s hand.


    It was only now he had realized that Zen''s strength was much greater than his.


    ''What level has he reached?''


    Yates wondered. His eyes were filled with horror. Zen was not only much faster than him, but his strength too was incredibly high. How could a practitioner at the first grade of nature level be so extremely powerful? God was so unfair!


    In Yates'' view, a practitioner''s competence should be proportional to the level he had reached to ensure fairness.


    He knew that cultivation level didn''t mean everything, but at least, it should be an important reference. Otherwise, there was no need to rank practitioners.


    However, the principle of grading practitioners according to their competence didn''t seem to work for Zen, not one bit!


    Zen grabbed Yates'' spear rod and suddenly shook his hand slightly. Yates immediately felt a violent vibration flowing through from the spear rod.


    Zen had learned the vibration skill from the Murlocs in the Lake of the Magical Fish. When Zen shook his hand, the light spear rod began to vibrate in a similar manner.


    Yates felt his hands grow numb with the raging vibration and now he was unable to hold his spear for a moment longer.

 Chapter 306 A Great Many Weapons

    Zen pulled the spear out, swinging it at Yates''s head dangerously as he stepped forward.


    The latter, however, was completely dumbfounded. He stood in shock and forgot to defend himself. All his arrogance, his resolve, and his confidence melted before Zen.


    But suddenly, just as the spear was about to slam into Yates, a surge of blue vitality contorted into a protective shield, standing erect before him.


    The spear hit the blue shield heavily with a clang.


    The shield was so strong that it did not crack, instead, its strong counter-force had the spear shooting back to Zen.


    Zen moved aside to avoid the spear and immediately took advantage of the counter-force to throw the weapon at the shield once again.


    Clang, clang, clang!


    The spear hit the shield seven or eight times in a row, but its blue surface did not crack. Zen tossed the weapon to the ground as his lips twisted into an unruffled smirk. His eyes shot to the man behind Yates.


    The man behind Yates, responsible for blocking Zen''s attack, was James Mo¡ªYates''s father.


    "Kid, you''ve already one-upped my son. Why do you keep attacking him?" James''s voice was as frosty as ice.


    Admittedly, James admired Zen a lot, for he possessed a strength far beyond the first grade of nature level that he belonged to. In the future, Zen would continue to progress leaps and bounds, and perhaps no one would be able to stop his rise.


    However, he was also on Nory''s side, which meant that he was James''s enemy. James could not let Zen have his way.


    "Why not? All his attacks against me were lethal to my life, so why can''t I attack him in return? As a father, you have let your son so loose that he has become vicious to others! How do you still have the face to blame me? It''s laughable!" Zen''s words were derisive, and a lop-sided smile rested on his lips.


    James flushed with embarrassments. How dared Zen insult the Mo family in front of so many guests?


    They might not be big names, and most of them were not even refiners, but they had a reputation and entertained close relationships with the Mo clan.


    James clenched his jaw in rage. He was a master of the Illuminating Soul Realm. He would not just stand here and be called names by a boy who was only at the first grade of nature level!


    "It''s none of your business how I educate my son! How dare you run amok in my own house! My son hasn''t done anything to you." As an elder, James tried to sound reasonable and wise, but his tone betrayed his anger. Deep inside, he couldn''t wait to get his hands on the flippant young man.


    "He hasn''t done anything? And I''m the one troubling people? You are ridiculous. I came to this gathering because I was invited by my friend, Nory. How is that running amok? It''s your son who has been looking to find trouble with Nory from the beginning. And you! You took Nory''s heirloom and refused to return it to him. You''re the head of your clan, so isn''t it you who is running amok by condoning that kind of behavior?" Zen snapped at him sharply, his nostrils flaring with anger.


    Nory gaped at Zen. Listening to his friend defend him, his heart soared. He was lucky he could count Zen as a buddy.


    Nory almost burst into tears before the audience.


    Wh


    ust give his best and not employ any carelessness.


    Suddenly, Wurth frowned, knowing it would be hard for Zen to defeat a master of the Illuminating Soul Realm, given his current nature level. Wurth slipped his hand under his clothes and put one finger on the token on his chest, stroking it. An invisible wave began spreading out.


    Unbeknownst to him, someone else had taken up the same action. That person, of course, was Nina.


    ''This guy! He really runs headfirst into trouble at every turn. How is it that he started a battle against the clan leader, at whose house he only came for a meal?'' Nina curled her lips sardonically. However, she was still pretty proud of what her love had done.


    After all, how many nature creatures were willing to lock horns with a master of the Illuminating Soul Realm?


    So far, she only knew of Zen who had the courage to do that.


    Moreover, he was only at the first grade of nature level.


    With further training, he would be promoted to the ultimate grade of nature level, and be able to defeat every refiner of the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    She knew Zen was capable of doing that, but it still worried her.


    James was not weak. He was a lot more powerful than Hugh.


    At once, she unclasped the Immediate Messenger in her hand to ensure Zen''s safety.


    The Imperial City in the Burning Sky Empire occupied a massive area, but it took only a second for the masters of the Illuminating Soul Realm to arrive.


    Meanwhile, James launched an attack at Zen.


    His cultivation method was superior. Usually, refiners could transform their life vitality into only one weapon.


    If they preferred to use swords, their life vitality morphed into swords. Most of them chose to do so to improve their strengths.


    As for Hugh, he preferred to transform his life vitality into a Five-clawed Golden Dragon.


    In contrast, James transformed his life vitality into a number of weapons.


    Bola, chopper, and darts of different shapes and sizes...


    The various weapons were pitched into the air. They followed their trajectories and hurtled at Zen from all directions, allowing him no room to escape.

 Chapter 307 Pseudo Fairy Weapon (Part One)

    With a sharp clank, a blue bola flew at Zen, but was smashed by Zen''s fist in a flash.


    Woosh, woosh, woosh¡­


    After Zen got rid of the blue bola, several sharp arrows shot into the air, aiming at him. He dodged the arrows with ease, like a butterfly flitting in the shrubs.


    Swish, swish¡­


    As soon as he escaped the arrows, a large sword was slashed at Zen''s head. Zen hit his palm hard on the sword, breaking it into two pieces with the help of the indestructible force of the stars. The pieces turned back into the original life vitality and dissipated.


    "So many weapons..."


    Compared to the nature creatures, the masters of the Illuminating Soul Realm were a lot more powerful.


    As per common knowledge, transforming the life vitality into too many different weapons also meant weakening the power of each of them.


    With Zen''s speed and defensive power, he thought that he had the potential to enervate James.


    However, it turned out that he was wrong.


    The strength of the Illuminating Soul Realm was incomparable. James shot out a number of weapons continuously, and they hurtled at Zen like endless stream of water.


    Moreover, the weapons James conjured were all different from one another. As he fought them, Zen had no clue which of them would come at him next.


    He mechanically dodged being hit by them.


    "Huh! You cocky brat! You will pay for your arrogance!" James''s nostrils flared in annoyance. He was the master of the Mo Clan, and Zen seemingly had no respect for that. He must make Zen see the real difference between a nature creature and an Illuminating Soul Realm master.


    As he finished speaking, the blue life vitality that emitted from his skin grew even mo


    ack to James'' side and surrounding him.


    Zen looked at James warily, knowing that the latter was about to change his strategy of attack.


    A master of the Illuminating Soul Realm had multiple means to win a battle.


    James waved his arms, drawing a circle in the air.


    The weapons too circled in accordance to his movements.


    They circled faster and faster, following James'' gesticulation. Soon, they were moving in a big vortex, eventually exploding into strips of blue life vitality that gathered in his hands. It was a hilt that first appeared in James''s fist. Soon, as the life vitality in his hand swelled, it manifested the blade.


    ''He is turning his life vitality into a sword? Just a sword?'' Zen looked at the movements with confusion. It looked to be a simple sword. If that was the only other thing James could do with his life vitality, his strength wasn''t much to write home about.


    ''No, it can''t be. It can''t simply be a sword.'' All of a sudden, Zen''s eyelids twitched. A sense of danger rose in Zen''s heart. He was sharp on his instinct. Whenever he sensed danger, it meant he was truly in deep waters.

 Chapter 308 Pseudo Fairy Weapon (Part Two)

    Zen was certain that James was not simply turning his life vitality into a sword. Just now, when the weapons melted into his life vitality and formed a vortex, a hint of milky-white color could be seen. It was¡­ Heavenly essence! Zen gazed in the direction of the heavenly essence looming in the vortex, his eyebrows snapping together.


    Heavenly essence was not easy to obtain. When a weapon refiner was about to temper a weapon, he could come to realize a few earthly and heavenly rules, that then could be used to forge the weapons.


    The more superior a weapon was, the larger number of heavenly laws it contained.


    So far, he knew of many weapon refiners in the Burning Sky Empire who had a knack for deciphering the Heavenly Law, and refining mysterious and spiritual weapons with it.


    But there was only one person who had the ability to disintegrate a weapon and extract the heavenly essence from it¡ªit was Zen himself.


    Zen could get his hands on the heavenly essence using the black fire in his mind to melt a weapon.


    How could James create it so easily?


    The weapons he had thrown at Zen were not real; they were virtual ones formed with the help of his life vitality. Did James obtain the heavenly essence by dissolving the virtual weapons made out of his life vitality?


    No, absolutely not. Impossible!


    If James really could work such wonders, the Mo Clan wouldn''t have collapsed into a decline.


    Zen assumed that the heavenly essence he was seeing was not the real deal. It was something James had summoned through his life vitality¡ªan element of illusion. It was definitely not the same thing as the heavenly essence Zen had.


    Even so, Zen still marveled at the technique. Those qualified to enter the Illuminating Soul Realm must undoubtedly have e


    s head, he slashed down at Zen.


    At his movement, the tip of the sword morphed into the shape of a crescent moon. It was the sword energy.


    Fwoosh¡­


    As soon as the sword energy materialized, it rushed at Zen with formidable power.


    "Watch out!" Nina cried out anxiously. The moment she saw the sword energy, her heart had leaped into her mouth. She wondered why none of her clansmen had come yet, when she had already sent for them through the Immediate Messenger.


    The fairy weapon was a lot more powerful than the spiritual weapon. Although the sword energy looked ordinary, it came at Zen with fierce strength. If Zen failed to avoid the attack, he would probably be hacked into two pieces.


    Nina placed her hand on her small jade box with hesitation. She was not sure if she should help Zen in this fight.


    Wurth''s eyebrows furrowed. James had no shame! How could he act like this under the gaze of so many others? James was a nature creature with extraordinary strength. It surprised Wurth that he used such a ruthless trick to charge at Zen.


    His actions were no less shameless than an adult going all out to fight a child!


    Could Zen get away this time?

 Chapter 309 The Threat From Wurth (Part One)

    At the moment, Zen had no plans of backing off. It did not matter whether it was Yates or James that he had to face. It was simply out of the question.


    The reason why he did not back was simple. He was confident in his own strength.


    However, when he saw the sword energy trying to destroy him, he could not help but start to retreat.


    It was not out of fear though. He was simply not a fool or a coward. After all, his body, which was a spiritual weapon, possessed a defensive power much stronger than that of an ordinary warrior.


    On the other hand, the opponent was a master at the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    What he had in his hand was a fairy weapon, and no one would wish to be at the receiving end of the sword energy!


    The sword energy did not have high speed at the beginning. In fact, it had the same pace as ordinary people who aimlessly trotted. However, after it focused on Zen as the target, its velocity greatly increased all of a sudden.


    The sword energy brought a baby blue shadow in the air, and then it tried to cut Zen at an incredibly high speed.


    It was rapid, indeed, but Zen was not slow either.


    Moving backward, he swung a fist at the sword energy.


    A part of him had hoped that the Heavenly Ogre Fist could counteract the power of the sword energy.


    At that moment, he gave it his best shot and unceasingly tried to subdue his opponent''s power. Each time he swung his fist, a dark purple fist shadow dashed towards the sword energy.


    With the power of the Phoenix Crystal, he made dozens of fist shadows in an instant.


    To his great surprise, however, the first fist shadow that had struck the sword energy went through it directly. The sword energy was unscathed.


    ''It''s useless?''


    When Zen realized that his attack did not affect the sword energy, he felt a pang of disappointment.


    gardless, they could not deny thinking that it was impossible.


    "Bang, bang!"


    The violent clash appeared continuously from the side of the wall. It appeared that Zen had run through so many walls just to dodge the sword energy.


    At this time, Nina could not stand it anymore. Creasing her beautiful brows lightly, she tried to calm down and then spoke to James, "Master Mo, Zen is just a junior and has said something unpleasant to hear, but he doesn''t deserve to die. Please forgive him."


    At that moment, James still held up the long sword and pointed out the direction of the sword''s tip with his fingers. When he was controlling the sword energy to chase Zen, he saw that it was almost about to kill him, but the man managed to run away because of Nina''s interruption.


    However, James was not anxious. If this sword energy could not kill Zen, James would have wasted so many years cultivating.


    When James heard Nina''s words, he smiled casually, "Since he has said something wrong, he needs to pay the price. I am just teaching him a lesson."


    James was unwilling to let the man go. Although he said he was simply teaching Zen a lesson, how could the man stay alive if the sword energy chopped his body?

 Chapter 310 The Threat From Wurth (Part Two)

    "Teach him a lesson?" questioned Nina.


    "Master Mo, please. You can''t kill Zen! He saved my life. If you really kill him, I think the Mo Clan will not have a reasonable explanation to the Zhu Clan."


    When Nina saw that her mediation was futile, she took a tougher approach.


    In front of the powerful Zhu Clan, the small Mo Clan was hardly worth mentioning.


    James wore a long face. Did Nina just dare to threaten him?


    Compared to the powerful Zhu Clan, although the Mo Clan was also one of the noble clans, it was, in fact, quite powerless.


    In all honesty, Nina''s threat had worked. After all, her status was clear to James. If she employed the Zhu Clan''s resources to defeat the Mo Clan, his clan would surely suffer.


    There was no need to suppress the Mo Clan with weapons. After all, the Mo Clan was not wealthy, and their current income came from several mines in the south of the Imperial Capital.


    However, with the power of the Zhu Clan, they could easily take away the economic lifeline of the Mo Clan, and thus, put the whole clan in imminent danger.


    James thought about it carefully. Although the Mo Clan was a declining noble clan, sometimes a slight move in one part might affect a bigger situation as a whole. The Zhu Clan was powerful, but they had enemies. As a result, they could only take action after taking all things into consideration and therefore, might not listen to this little girl.


    Moreover, he was the master of a clan and a powerful man at the Illuminating Soul Realm. A little girl hardly intimidated him.


    Laughing, James said, "Miss Zhu, don''t joke with me. If I ever do anything I shouldn''t be doing, I will carry a rod and ask the Zhu Clan to spank me."


    Indirectly, he meant that he was unwilling to yield. As Nina heard his response, she wore a straight face. Now, all she could


    Yates who had shrunk in the side.


    ''Nory is just a disaster! He brought Zen to embarrass me, and now someone from the Zhang Clan is getting my dad in trouble.


    Nory, I will kill you sooner or later.'' With blood in his eyes, Yates stared at Nory.


    The friends he had brought stood aside in silence.


    His friends were also disciples from the noble clans. Their clans were much more powerful than the Mo Clan, but not as strong as the Zhu Clan and Zhang Clan, which was not one of the top seven noble clans. On such an occasion, they did not qualify to speak.


    As they thought about how they had looked down on Nory''s friends just now, they finally realized that although Nory appeared to be easy to bully, he was actually someone strong enough who just pretended to be weak. The same could be said about the people beside him.


    Due to this realization, someone even looked at Sean up and down secretly and thought that this person would stand up and claim that he was also from one of the top seven noble clans.


    They found Sean''s identity quite mysterious.


    This time, though, they guessed wrong. Unlike their presumptions, Sean was actually someone who came from a poor family without any background.

 Chapter 311 The Counter Attack (Part One)

    "Oh, you''re the third son of the Zhang family. I didn''t recognize you. Please forgive me!" muttered James in a rush.


    The situation had him consider that he might have offended too many people when he tried all means to deal with Zen.


    If he really killed Zen, it seemed that apart from the Zhu family, he would also offend the Zhang family.


    "Master Mo, we have to measure and weigh the costs at times. Just as the saying goes, you need to take a step back and get some clarity on the situation!" Although Wurth didn''t have much physical strength, he had deep insights into the human mind.


    Perhaps James really strongly intended to kill Zen.


    However, as head of his family, James had to ponder on numerous problems. In addition, he was not only implicated in a single matter, but also even acted on impulse just to protect the dignity of the Mo family. Although he protected the Mo family''s reputation for the time being, how could the family live well in the future?


    After observation, Wurth concluded that Nina undoubtedly showed great affection for Zen. After all, Zen had saved her life. If something bad happened to Zen there, it would be extremely difficult to provide the Zhu family with a sound and satisfactory explanation.


    Moreover, Wurth himself would not remain indifferent provided that something did happen to Zen.


    The Zhang family didn''t have many rigorous requirements for its members. In addition, Wurth was the son of his father''s principal wife, and his elder brother would shoulder the major responsibilities of the Zhang family.


    Maybe it would not be an easy task to completely ruin the Mo family if Wurth tried persuading the Zhang family. Still, what about the future?


    It was beyond any doubt that Wurth could destroy the Mo family as long as things went his way. Regardless of the intentions of the Zhang family or of Wurth, it was no


    is expectations that Zen would even be able to lay his hands on James as he was closely followed by the energy of James'' sword.


    How troublesome the situation had become.


    It made James even more hesitant as he debated killing Zen or not.


    What would happen if he put Zen to death?


    What could he gain from killing the man? At most, he could only help the Mo family and himself save face to certain extent.


    The Mo family had already declined but its prestige might still be worth mentioning among ordinary folks, even if it meant nothing at all among the noble clans.


    What was worse, James had already offended both the Zhu and Zhang families.


    Had he known he would be in such a situation, James would have made some concessions. Since Nory claimed that the blood jade bracelet was his father''s, nothing would have happened if James simply returned the bracelet to him. However, James forced Nory into something like hell.


    Perhaps Zen would not have even laid his hands on the Mo family if James hadn''t forced Nory that way.


    Thinking of all that could have been, James felt regretful about Nory.


    It was possibly the very first time that James felt such regret about his nephew even as he was coerced by everyone else.

 Chapter 312 The Counter Attack (Part Two)

    While James pondered over killing Zen or not, Zen acted first against him.


    "The flying knife? I don''t fear it at all. It means nothing to me," James blurted out arrogantly.


    Just as he said it, he saw the broken flying knife heading towards him. Like a reflex, he lifted his long blue sword up and chopped up the weapon.


    Although James'' blue sword was made from his life vitality, it was as mighty as a fairy weapon as it had absorbed loads of heavenly essence.


    In addition, James used his Ruin Sword when he chopped up the broken flying knife.


    The chopping manifested James'' unique and skilled swordsmanship as his long blue sword landed on the very center of the knife.


    It was what he thought at first--that he could chop Zen''s knife into two halves with his powerful sword.


    But when his own weapon touched Zen''s knife, it was immediately shattered broken.


    "How is this possible? My sword was produced from my life vitality and it''s even comparable to a fairy weapon. How could a broken flying knife destroy my sword?" mumbled James in shock.


    Never could he have expected that Zen''s broken flying knife would be so strong. As he watched his life vitality-based long sword get chopped into two by a knife, he was stunned agape.


    The long sword was as hard as a low-grade fairy weapon. How was it possible that his sword was cleaved by a defective knife? The idea was still totally unbelievable for James even as it happened right in front of his eyes.


    Still, the broken flying knife worked fast. As soon as the long sword was destroyed, it went straight for James'' head.


    In any other situation, it would be a piece of cake for James to escape such an attack, but James was still shocked by what had just happened to his weapon. While he was standing in a daze, lost in his defeated thoughts, Zen''s knife dashed right for James'' head.


    As James snapped out of the daze,


    iate Messager again, wondering why the Zhu family hadn''t arrived yet. Something in the air made her feel anxious.


    Even Yetta, who stood beside her, turned ghastly pale as well.


    As a female member of the family, she didn''t have any right to speak. On one hand, she hoped that her uncle would remain safe and unharmed against Zen, but on the other hand, it was clear to her how huge the trouble her uncle would cause to the Mo family if he continued to act willfully and arbitrarily. Perhaps Yetta''s uncle still wanted to bet on a chance. In his opinion, Nina was only a female member of the Zhu family, so he concluded that her family wouldn''t really lay hands on the Mo family only because of her.


    However, as Nina''s best friend, Yetta knew her well. There was no doubt that Nina would absolutely not let James go if Zen was truly killed.


    Given that, she wondered what she should do.


    "You son of a bitch. You looked for trouble deliberately, so you can''t put the blame on anyone else," James retorted as his face turned grim. In the meantime, Ruin Sword suddenly beamed with a much brighter, brilliant blue light.


    Whoosh!


    Lifting his fake fairy weapon, James pointed his Ruin Sword at Zen, swaying it up and down for four consecutive times.

 Chapter 313 A favor (Part One)

    Every time he delivered a blow with the sword, yet a wisp of sword energy would appear. After he had chopped four times in succession, a total of four sword energies had appeared in the form of wisps, with each one being more powerful than the previous one.


    These four energies added themselves to the one already chasing Zen and now, he was being hunted by a total of five sword energies, plus the original sword itself.


    "I will chop you to pieces." James roared at him as he held the Ruin Sword in one hand and pointed at the sword tip with the other. He concentrated his will on controlling the five wisps of sword energy which were being telepathically ordered to chase Zen.


    Zen reacted rapidly and in the only manner he could right now. After the assassination plot that he had so elaborately planned failed, he didn''t stay there anymore and ran away immediately.


    However, it wasn''t going to be easy for him to get rid of James'' chase. Since the first sword energy was already fixated on Zen, the remaining four only needed to follow the first one and they caught up with Zen easily.


    Besides, James had hesitated just now and had not diligently controlled the sword energy, so until now, his attack hadn''t been that fast.


    However, now he was furious and wanted to take Zen''s life. He had gotten deeply absorbed in controlling the sword energies and ordering them to jointly attack Zen, so their flying speed was much higher than before.


    Zen desperately extracted the energy of the Phoenix Crystal and tried as much as he could to make his body lighter. Noticing a shadow in the wall, he quickly turned inside and found himself in a lane.


    This lane was only about 100 feet long so after he had entered, it took him j


    en couldn''t dodge them anymore. There was a sword energy in the front, one at the back, and one each on the left and right. The last one was trying to kill him from above his head.


    What should he do now?


    In a second, Zen imagined several scenarios and several ideas flashed in his mind, but none of them could be used.


    "I''ll risk my life!"


    Although he was surrounded by the sword energies from all five directions, the circle that the energies had formed wasn''t exactly airtight, and there was still a tiny gap he could utilize to go through.


    But if he went through such a small space between the sword energies, he might get killed as easily as a mosquito, or he might lose his arms or legs. Even so, it was better than dying. At least he could search for some elixir to recover his broken bones or cut body parts. If he lost his life, he would be done.


    The question was, even if he could avoid the attack this time, what about the next? Right now he had healthy legs but was still unable to completely avoid the sword energies. If he was injured in this attack, there was not even a snowball''s chance in hell that he could avoid it.

 Chapter 314 A favor (Part Two)

    He couldn''t overthink the matter but just delayed his death. Just as he was about to go through from the side regardless of possibly getting injured, a voice suddenly ordered from his brain, "Bloke, stand still! I am here to help you!"


    "Who is it?" Zen heard the voice but couldn''t see the person who was speaking.


    Instead of an answer, Zen found that the air around him was getting cold all of a sudden. Then countless ice crystals appeared and as soon as they showed up, they congealed with each other quickly to form a small ice wall.


    They were all around him and in an instant, they had formed five walls in the five directions that Zen was being attacked from.


    The sword energies immediately started trying to chop up the walls to pieces.


    "Crack..."


    The energies came chopping and five loud, simultaneous thuds were heard.


    Zen was locked in the ice walls but could see clearly that the energies trying to cut through the ice walls had left several deep dents.


    He breathed out deeply, but his chest was still heaving and trembling heavily.


    It was too dangerous just now. If this powerful man had not helped him, he would probably have died with his body and his head landing in two spots at the same time.


    The masters who had reached the Illuminating Soul Realm were really too powerful. He thought of his actions and realized that he was too much at risk in the fairy palace. If he hadn''t met the array of Desperate Melee in the pavilion, he couldn''t have stayed alive while fighting against the masters at the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    "Alright. Bloke, come to the guest hall of Mo Mansion. Don''t worry. I am here, and James won''t dare to kill you!" His mystery savior casually told him.


    As soon as he finished speaking, the ice crystal walls around Zen fell apart into several ice cakes beside Zen''s feet.


    Zen picked up one of the ice ca


    was said that Tyson would return a favor.


    He was known to be an illiterate youth from the mountains with some innate miraculous powers.


    After leaving the mountains, he had worked as a drudge in a powerful family. At that time, he had no experience or knowledge of any kind and didn''t know about people''s evil intentions. The son of the powerful family did something wrong and was about to be convicted by the government. So the powerful family paid a large amount of bribe to deal with the matter, and instead of the boy, they chose Tyson as the scapegoat.


    Tyson was put in prison for no reason and sentenced to death unexpectedly. He was about to be beheaded after autumn.


    But he was saved by someone on the day of his execution.


    The person who had saved Tyson was a young master of the Zhang Clan.


    Since then, Tyson had followed the young master all the time. Later, he had promoted his cultivation greatly. Then he had joined the army and made a great deal of contribution.


    That young master of the Zhang Clan was the current master of the clan and Wurth''s father, Jefferson.


    That was why Tyson had left the imperial army and came back to the Imperial Capital in order to return the favor he owed to the Zhang Clan.

 Chapter 315 Simple Requirement

    It was said that Tyson''s strength was incredible. But now, he was an official in the Zhang Clan and did not seek any reward as he valued the kindness of the Zhang Clan.


    And this testified to the Zhang Clan''s skill when evaluating talent. The Zhang Clan used to be an ordinary, small family. The ability of the clan to spot and nourish talent was what had helped the Zhang Clan to become stronger. With its rapid development, the clan kept its pace with the top seven noble clans.


    When warned by Tyson, James stood still. He did not dare to move even an inch.


    The firewood cutter didn''t look very impressive, but he knew how powerful it was.


    And from the expression on Tyson''s face, if James dared to stir, Tyson would surely swing the firewood cutter at him, and show no mercy!


    At the same time, the temperature of the courtyard suddenly dropped.


    At the end of the year, when winter set in, everyone wore more clothes because of the cold. Some weaker servants had put on a cotton-padded jacket.


    But the temperature dropped so sharply that the servants could not help but pull the collar of the cotton-padded jacket to keep themselves warm.


    Specks of ice crystals floated in the air. They drifted slowly before turning into a human form.


    "Whirr..."


    When the ice crystals dispersed completely, the figure in the air became clearer. It was a young man with grey hair.


    At the sight of the man, a lump formed in James''s throat.


    The person with the young face and the grey hair standing in front of James could only be Chand Zhu.


    The Zhu Clan specialized in various kinds of needle methods and concealed weapons. Many famous masters of the Zhu Clan were good at using needles, swords, or concealed weapons.


    But in the past ten years, there was an exception in the Zhu Clan whose name was Chand Zhu.


    Chand Zhu was a strange and ineloquent man. Since he was not welcome in the Zhu Clan, he turned against the clan at a very young age. Eventually, he ran away from home and vowed to never return to the Zhu Clan. He disappeared for ten years.


    When Chand Zhu returned after the long gap, his strength had advanced by leaps and bounds, and was fantastic. He even solved several big troubles for the Zhu Clan! Although this man was unsociable and strange, he was a member of the Zhu Clan. Since he missed his family, Chand Zhu returned.


    "Uncle Chand! Were you able to save Zen?" asked Nina timidly as she looked at Chand Zhu.


    Nina was close to everyone in the Zhu Clan except Chand Zhu. As Chand Zhu was strange, Nina spent very little time with him when she was a child. Thus, she wasn''t very comfortable in his presence.


    Chand Zhu smiled faintly and said, "Don''t worry. The little fellow is all right. I have helped him to ward off the energies of those swords. Look, isn''t he coming toward us?" Chand Zhu pointed in the direction from where Zen was approaching them.


    A shadow flashed, and Zen flitted into the courtyard.


    Just when uncle Chand contacted her by life vitality, she asked him to save Zen as Zen was in great danger. She wasn''t sure how long Zen would survive among those sharp swords.


    Upon seeing


    everyone bullied him.


    Even when a servant scolded him loudly, Nory would smile and accept the treatment!


    His position in the family was lower than a servant''s.


    James had never thought of asking Nory''s opinion. How was that possible?


    But in this case, James had to say, "Nory, what do you want?"


    Nory was very nervous at the moment. He looked up and saw that all the people were staring at him. His complexion became pale.


    But when he thought of his father''s suffering, Nory couldn''t suppress the anger growing inside him. Even his father''s personal item, the blood jade bracelet was in James'' hand. Nory''s expression turned cold.


    ''How on earth did father die? What happened? Why is the blood jade bracelet in James'' hand?'' Nory was confused.


    Nory knew he would never be able to sleep if his questions were not answered.


    But Nory knew that it would be impossible to ask James to face this matter at this moment and investigate his father''s death. On the one hand, it was an old issue that had happened years ago, evidence might have gotten lost. On the other hand, he had no proof and he was just guessing and doubting. Getting James to tell the truth was extremely difficult.


    Nory pulled himself away from his thoughts and replied, "I want my father''s blood jade bracelet!"


    James felt relieved when he heard Nory. It was not a difficult thing to return the blood jade bracelet.


    Then James said as he nodded, "The blood jade bracelet belonged to your father. I will give it to you!" As James finished, he stretched out one hand and turned it over. A box containing the blood jade bracelet appeared in his hand. The box flew forward. Zen gently pushed it, and the box floated in front of Nory.


    Excitement filled Nory as he took the box and opened it to check the blood jade bracelet. After a while, he put the box away. But Nory was not satisfied. He wasn''t worried about the blood jade bracelet. Nory was more concerned about his father''s death! He wanted to know the truth.


    But after thinking for a while, Nory sighed and said, "Besides this, I want nothing..."

 Chapter 316 What鈥檚 Holding You Back

    A cunning smile crossed James'' face. As expected, his nephew was so easy to fool. He resumed his usual noble manner and gracefully said, "Then, today... "


    "Wait!" Nina stepped forward and cut James off.


    James frowned at the sight of Nina. Since he became the master of the Mo Clan, he had never met anyone who dared to interrupt him, until today. He was already quite annoyed when he was interrupted by these young people earlier. But at the sight of Nina, he tried to stay calm and asked, "Miss Zhu, what''s the matter?"


    "You almost killed Zen. Do you want to explain that?"


    Most of the women tended to be petty and vengeful if they were offended. And Nina wasn''t a gentle one and it was impossible for her not to bear grudges.


    It was true that James almost killed Zen, and it was something that Nina would never tolerate.


    James'' face darkened. He already lost his face today, but Nina was still pushing and had no intention to stop. James looked sullen. "Miss Zhu, I stand with what I said earlier that we were all to blame for what happened. It was a misunderstanding, and if you really think that I overdid it, please don''t take it to heart," said he.


    Nina sneered, "I have warned you not to do anything rashly, but have you taken it to heart? If it wasn''t for Uncle Chand, would you really stop? So tell me, do you really think that I could just shake it off?"


    "Does Miss Zhu really want to dwell on it?" James retorted sullenly, feeling cornered.


    "Yes, I do," Nina replied calmly.


    "You really want to push it too far!" James had put up with her for so long but finally burst into anger as he couldn''t hold his temper anymore. As the master of the Mo Clan, he had never felt so humiliated and he couldn''t just let a young woman have her way all the time. He couldn''t just tolerate her pushing him to this extent.


    At this moment, Chand who was floating in the air said with a gentle smile, "Since Nina is still not satisfied with it, I''m here to help her." He then looked at Nina and continued, "Nina, please tell me what you want me to do."


    Nina was about to tell Chand to give James a lesson, but she was stopped by Yetta who stood beside her and dragged her cuff.


    Yetta''s face looked pale as she pleaded in a faint voice, "Nina, please let my uncle go. Could you drop this matter and let it be?"


    Yetta was the niece of James and Nina''s best friend. She was caught in the middle of this situation.


    Nina''s heart softened by Yetta''s pleading face. Finally, Nina sighed and said to Chand, "Uncle Chand, forget it. Let''s not further discuss this matter."


    Chand bore no resentment towards James. Since Nina gave the word, he had no reason to disagree. He flashed a cunning smile, then the ice crystals around him began to float until they covered all his body and he soon flew away.


    Nory had gotten his father''s blood jade bracelet, thus there was no reason for him to stay here any longer. He said, "Zen, it''s time to go!"


    Zen nodded and motioned for Wurth and Sean to leave.


    Wurth said something to Tyson, and then Tyson followed him with the wood cutter in his hand.


    Nin


    So, they put their trust in Zen and didn''t interrupt. They chose to remain silent and watch how things would turn out. But if Nory would take Zen''s words literally and decide to kill himself, they wouldn''t just stand there and watch. They would stop him from committing suicide.


    At this time, Zen smiled and said, "I was starting to think that you''re a coward. Turned out you have more courage than I thought!"


    Nory glanced at Zen in confusion and asked curiously, "Courage? When did you see me have that courage?"


    "You''re not afraid to die. You''re not even afraid to kill yourself. What else would you fear? What''s holding you back? If you dared to ask James in his face, he could try and kill you with his sword. But what could be worse than that?" Zen fired a battery of questions at him. "If you are not afraid of death, you''d better go all out to improve yourself. When you are strong enough, you can confront James and ask him. What else could he do to you? Since you already didn''t care whether you live or die, why not die trying?"


    Nory''s heart suddenly beat faster after hearing Zen''s homily.


    He might be a soft young man who rolled up with punches, but he was full of stamina and determination to succeed. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have entered the Cloud Sect even with Zen''s help.


    Nory knew that Zen was right all along. Life was a long and miserable journey. It was a pity if he would die in misery. He''d rather try and fail than fail without trying. The worst that could happen to him was death.


    Those words were like a door of hope to Nory. He was not an ambitious man. In fact, he entered the Cloud Sect only to fulfill his daily task in practice perfunctorily and didn''t even put on much effort during his free time.


    But things had changed for Nory. His goal now was to trample Yates underfoot and question James in the face about his father''s death. And the success of his goal heavily relied on his strength.


    His eyes brightened with determination as he thought more about it. He clenched his fist, and his body trembled with excitement.

 Chapter 317 The Search For The Best Weapon

    When the others saw Nory''s reaction, they understood his excitement. Nory said to Zen, "You''re right! As long as I am alive, I have a chance to avenge my father''s death!"


    Seeing Nory fired up immediately, Zen smiled and said, "That''s right! Use that as a motivation for cultivation!"


    Wurth and Sean smiled at each other. They both admired Zen''s charm to encourage Nory to fight back.


    "Hey! Have you eaten enough at the Mo house?" Nina scoffed as she was being ignored for a while now.


    Wurth touched his fat belly, shook his head and replied, "Of course not! I haven''t had a bite of food for a while. Where can we get a meal now?"


    "I didn''t eat anything either. Why don''t we find a place to have a meal?" said Nina.


    "Sounds good! Count me in!" Sean said as he raised his hands above his head.


    After the battle between Zen and James, everyone was hungry and all they wanted to do was to find a restaurant to eat in.


    There were many business districts in the Imperial Capital, and it would be difficult to navigate one''s self in the Imperial Capital. Luckily, Nina, Wurth, and Nory all grew up in the capital and they were familiar with the business districts. In no time, they all figured out the best restaurant and headed there.


    While having their meal, Nory drank a lot of wine but was still sober. The more he drank, the more active and lively he became. It had been a while since they all gathered for a meal despite all being in the Drizzle Peak. So, as they were enjoying a meal, they all chatted until midnight.


    When they were about to finish, Nina''s cheeks were noticeably turning red from the alcohol she consumed. She wore her long, ebony hair loose that fell on her shoulders like a waterfall. The curly bangs covered her forehead like a cloud. She looked almost like a beautiful fairy in the pictures.


    Nature creatures usually had high resistance to alcohol especially when they deliberately controlled themselves.


    But perhaps Nina was happy to meet Zen that she drank a little too much. The two girls who came with her had already walked behind Sean and Nory as they chatted with each other.


    Meanwhile Nina and Zen walked together side by side.


    Although it was already late in the evening, the nightlife in the Imperial Capital had just begun. Lanterns on the roof of the pavilions lightened the street as if it was daytime. People who walked along the road cast long shadows over the ground.


    Zen could not help but notice the charming appearance of Nina and her beautiful face under the moonlight. He felt his heart beat faster the longer he stared at her.


    "Hey, you haven''t answered me yet. Why didn''t you come to my peak and play with me?" Nina asked again. Given Nina''s noble identity, it wasn''t fit for her to say such things. However, she was happy and slightly drunk at the same time ¨C which was obviously not the right mix.


    This was how Nina usually behaved when she liked someone ¨C that guy would be stuck in her mind for a long time.


    But when she was sober, she could not dare ask Zen this question. Alcohol could make Nina pluck up enough courage to speak to Zen and that was why she had too much wine that nigh


    ong, it could only be used in sneak attacks.


    It was not a good idea to use the broken flying knife to fight against people in face-to-face combat.


    At that time, the All Peaks Competition was about to take place.


    The All Peaks Competition would bring together all the elite disciples of the Cloud Sect, and there was no shortage of powerful geniuses.


    And Zen had been preparing for this competition all along.


    Fortunately, the All Peaks Competition would be held after the Chinese New Year, so there was plenty of time for Zen to prepare.


    As for the weapon, Zen had to find the best one to use.


    The conventional weapons were hacking knives and swords. In the Eastern Region, most of the people preferred swords to knives.


    Swords were deemed to be the best among all kinds of weapons. They could be used to hack and stab, and the cultivation books had more swordsmanship methods than any other skills.


    The knives, on the other hand, were also a handful. They couldn''t be used to thrust someone, but they were more powerful since their blades were thicker.


    But aside from knives and swords, other choices of weapons were bows, hammers, axes, spears, and so on.


    Considering for a moment, Zen eventually decided to use a sword.


    He remembered that his father once used a top-grade mysterious sword called the Green Wind Rider Sword. Unfortunately, it got lost.


    Since his father used a sword, he believed he was also equipped to handle the said weapon.


    After finally determining what weapon he wanted, Zen rushed to the Weapon Pavilion.


    The business of Weapon Pavilion was booming as usual.


    When Zen went inside, the waiters didn''t pay attention to him. But the middle-aged shopkeeper who attended to him last time noticed him, his face lit up.


    Last time Zen was there, he bought more than two hundred swords. That impressed the middle-aged shopkeeper and he remembered Zen since then.


    The deal had brought the middle-aged shopkeeper a considerable amount of commission.


    So when he saw Zen again, he couldn''t contain his happiness and hurried to greet Zen.

 Chapter 318 The Nine Edges Sword

    "Mr. Luo, what a pleasure! How may I help you this time?" Having been in the business for decades, the middle-aged shopkeeper excelled at dealing with customers, and both his tone and expression were carefully adjusted.


    But since Zen was a customer with a deep-pocket, the middle-aged shopkeeper was too excited that his voice was trembling.


    "Oh? Hello, sir!" After exchanging greetings with the shopkeeper, Zen explained, "I''m here to see what weapons the Weapon Pavilion has in store for me."


    The middle-aged shopkeeper wanted to ask Zen about the weapons he bought last time. ''More than two hundred mysterious weapons, sufficient to build up a private army. I wonder what he purchased so many for.'' With a second thought, the middle-aged shopkeeper decided not to pose such a question, because he might violate certain taboo and offend the customer.


    Thus, the middle-aged shopkeeper asked beamingly, "I''ll be more than willing to show you around. What kind of weapons do you have in mind? Our Weapon Pavilion has recently acquired a fresh batch of mysterious weapons."


    He assumed that Zen would like to take another shipment of mysterious weapon this time. But Zen shook his head and clarified, "This time I don''t want any mysterious weapon. Perhaps next time. Right now, I just want to buy a sword."


    Zen was not anxious to purchase mysterious weapons to prepare the heavenly essence.


    He was biding his time until Wurth auctioned the first batch of the heavenly essence, then he would act according to the circumstances. Anyway, he still had over six hundred drops of the heavenly essence at hand. Even if they were bought at the auction, next time Zen would not release so many drops of the heavenly essence to the market at a time.


    In the Eastern Region, he was the only one who could offer a stable supply of the heavenly essence and no other shop or brand was in this business. Being the exclusive supplier, Zen was aware that the heavenly essence was valuable because of its rarity.


    If a big volume of the heavenly essence suddenly appeared in the market, its price would surely plummet. Therefore, the best method was to sell it in several small batches.


    "A sword? What kind of sword do you want?" the middle-aged shopkeeper inquired.


    "I''ll know once I see. Take me to your showroom so I can look." Zen didn''t have a specific idea of the sword he wanted, so he would like to look at samples first.


    After all, it was hard to pin down the ideal one at first glance.


    "Now that Mr. Luo only wants one sword, I won''t suggest these ordinary ones on the first floor," said the middle-aged shopkeeper with a smile. He had already witnessed how wealthy Zen was. ''He has bought over two hundred mysterious weapons. And now that he only wants one weapon, these mysterious weapons won''t be good enough for him.'' "Let me take you to the second floor instead. The best items of our Weapon Pavilion are on the second floor!"


    Zen nodded and followed behind the middle-aged shopkeeper.


    However, before he could step onto the stairs leading up to the second floor, Zen was stopped by two guards stationed by the staircase.


    "The access to the second floor requires the verification of membership for the Weapon Pavilion," one of the guards announced.


    The second floor of the Weapon Pavilion housed many legendary weapons with incredible value. Thus, ordinary people were not allowed to enter it.


    At this time, the middle-aged shopkeeper


    that his client was eyeing for these treasures. So, he immediately flipped the lid open with his hands and unbuckled one of the swords. He took it out as he said, "These swords have a story full of twists and turns."


    The middle-aged shopkeeper fished out the white sword first, turned the handle towards Zen and handed it to him.


    Zen reached out his hand to take the sword. As it landed in his palm, he felt his arm was yanked downwards. "This sword is heavy!" Zen''s arm strength was actually quite amazing. Even without the help of the dragon scales, Zen''s strength was still impressive and above any other ordinary men. But grasping the sword single-handedly, he still found it rather heavy.


    Normally, swords tended to be light and the blade was thin and nearly weightless. The thinner and lighter it was, the faster it could be thrust out and the sharper its energy would become.


    But this sword was refined in the opposite norm. Zen had no idea what it was made of to be this cumbersome.


    The middle-aged shopkeeper obviously knew the secret. He chuckled, "Mr. Luo, please let me tell you the story!" He called the handyman beside him, "Hurry up, fetch us two chairs here."


    Zen found this funny but annoying at the same time. ''The shopkeeper is being overly helpful on the second floor. Why do we need chairs for just a story?'' But as Zen was explaining that he did not need to sit, the handyman already put two chairs behind him and the middle-aged shopkeeper.


    The middle-aged shopkeeper motioned him to take a seat. When they were finally settled, the shopkeeper began, "This sword is called ''Nine Edges Sword''. It weighs a hundred times of an ordinary sword."


    "Nine Edges Sword?" Zen unlocked the sheath, drew it gently until half of the blade was already out.


    Generally, when a sword was unsheathed, the blade would rub against the iron buckle on the sheath and create a clear whoosh sound.


    But due to the weight of the Nine Edges Sword, Zen only heard a muffled thud as he drew it out.


    The edge of this sword was also wider and thicker than other swords. The sword looked quite good with coated grid-like metal grains.


    "This sword is named Nine Edges Sword because it has combined the edges of nine different swords," the middle-aged shopkeeper stated with a smile.

 Chapter 319 Green Wave (Part One)

    "Nine edges combined together? Wow, that sure does sound awesome!" Zen said in an astonished tone. In the first glance, he thought the Nine Edges Sword''s edge was too thick, but now he didn''t think so after he understood the significance of its name. He thought to himself, ''Even though the nine edges used to forge this sword are very thin, it is still hard to condense them into a tool which is as thin as this.''


    The shopkeeper nodded in approval, "Chase''s weapon refining skills are outstanding and irreplaceable. Only a genius like him could think of such an innovative way to optimally use the materials and forge such a mighty sword."


    According to the shopkeeper''s further explanation, Chase used a special kind of steel which had great ductility for the sword''s purpose. His first step was to heat the steel until it softened and after that the matter was placed on an iron plate which too had been heated in a furnace filled with a special kind of charcoal for special effect.


    This special kind of charcoal, mined right from the Cloud Mountain, could keep burning for over three months after being lit. After being heated for such a long time, the iron plate had become red-hot while maintaining a flat plane.


    A dozen of muscular men would then be ordered to move a huge roller, weighing over ten thousand pounds, to keep flattening the steel on the iron plate.


    After seven days of hard and constant work, the steel was condensed and compressed into a thin sheet which was stuck tightly to the iron plate. But now instead of putting it all into cold water, which was the common procedure in forging, the iron plate would be placed in normal temperature until it cooled down and the steel sheet fell off it naturally in its own pace.


    After this long process, the kind of extremely thin steel sheets processed formed the basic material of the Nine Edges Sword.


    Post the preparation of nine steel sheets of this sort, Chase merged them together one layer after another patiently to deliver the finest res


    t seemed to be made of jade.


    Compared to the Nine Edges Sword, this green sword was on the other end of the spectrum in terms of appearance. While the Nine Edges Sword was extremely heavy which would intimidate those with poor strength who would struggle even to wave it, whereas this sword was almost as light as a feather, and Zen felt no strain on his hand when holding it.


    "This sword is called ''Green Wave'', it is another high-level weapon among the spiritual weapons. Like the other two swords here, it was made by Chase during his late experienced years. At that time, he had nearly exhausted his talent, but he still tried to challenge himself and wanted to produce another fairy weapon."


    A weapon refiner''s basis for distinguishing himself from the others as a master creator was the fact that he was able to produce a fairy weapon. This was an unwritten rule in the Eastern Region for the past thousands of decades.


    Brady, the weapon refiner from the Wang family, Chase, and the weapon refiner at the Burning Sky Palace were all called weapon refining masters because each of them had managed to make a fairy weapon using their special skills and knowledge.


    But what distinguished Brady was the fact that he had only produced two fairy weapons during his past lives, but that was enough to make his mark in the world.

 Chapter 320 Green Wave (Part Two)

    As for Chase, he was far better known and respected than Brady because he had made thirteen fairy weapons altogether putting him in a different league all together. Even during the entire course of the Eastern Region''s long history, he was the only weapon refiner who was able to make such a significant achievement leaving a legacy.


    All of those thirteen weapons were finished at his peak. He did try one last time to make another fairy weapon during his late years, but he had already run out of his great talent.


    These three swords in front of Zen were Chase''s last attempts at making a fairy weapon during his final days.


    He exhausted the remaining inspiration and strength to make these three swords before he eventually died. Some strongly believed that he would have lived for several more years had he not exerted himself.


    Zen pulled the sword lightly, and the sharp edge of the sword popped out of its sheath, it was that light and fast.


    "Shiiiiiing! Vzzzzt..."


    The green edge kept shaking, almost emitting strong vibrations, after it was pulled out of the sheath. Its ringing sound carried itself to the entire space around them, and it sounded refreshing and pleasing as a fairy playing a zither.


    Zen lifted the sword and observed its movement casually. Its thin edge was so crystal clear that he could see through it. Everything he saw through this weapon was tinted green.


    "It''s a good sword," he praised as he admired the perfect piece of weapon.


    Zen had a somewhat broad knowledge of weapons because he had visited the weapon house in White Emperor City, not to mention the fairy palace too. Even so, he couldn''t help but feel amazed at the brilliance and slender nature of this beautiful sword.


    The shopkeeper smiled as he spoke out, "It surely is. Its raw material is the wings of the golden cicadas which give its colour and strength."


    The golden cicada was one of level seven beasts. It was almost


    lion for 70, 000 cubic crystals at an auction. The crystal core could be used to strengthen the power of the fire generated by a weapon refiner or a pill refiner''s life energies.


    The main materials of the Green Wave were the wings of the golden cicadas which were close to the fire scorpion lions in their ranks. According to ranks of the beasts, the golden cicadas'' wings might only be a bit cheaper than the crystal cores of fire scorpion lions.


    Furthermore, the golden cicadas'' wings still required more processes and refinement before they were finally transformed into the mighty Green Wave, not to mention that it was made by the famous Chase. To be honest, now after analyzing everything, Zen felt that this weapon was being sold at a very cheap rate.


    As he was not prepared to make such an investment, he didn''t bring so many cubic crystals with him, but that wasn''t a problem.


    With the Blessed Draft Bank token that Wurth had given him, he could pay his bills on credit. As for the cubic crystals he needed to pay here, he knew that Wurth would handle it for him after he told him about the figure.


    He was not worried because he still had fifty drops of heavenly essence in Wurth''s hand, and those were worth much more than several dozens of thousand cubic crystals.

 Chapter 321 The Final Work Of Chase (Part One)

    The last instance when some heavenly essence was sold via an auction in the Blessed Auction House, the elders from noble families of Imperial Capital regretted that they were not present there that particular day for a long time. Or else the price of the fifty drops of heavenly essence would have been far higher than the few hundred thousand cubic crystals.


    After asking for the price, Zen returned the ''Green Wave'' sword to the shopkeeper and then in a following movement pointed towards the third one and asked, "Sir, could I know the name of the third sword?"


    The shopkeeper gently placed the sword ''Green Wave'' back on the shelf. He then looked at the third sword as he shook his head and said, "As per what I know about the third sword, I strongly advice you not to buy it and choose some other sword."


    "Oh? May I know the reason?" Zen asked in an apparent tone of surprise.


    "Well, I simply say so because the third sword is an unfinished one," the middle-aged shopkeeper responded in a soft hushed voice. "When Chase was forging this sword, he remained relentlessly awake for over two whole days. He began meditating after he took the refining fire back from the sword. And then he never woke up--Chase passed away in an upright sitting posture."


    Zen raised his eyebrows and asked with curiosity, "Does this mean that Chase died from making this particular sword?"


    "You could probably say that, but it would not be completely true or even reasonable. Around the same time, Chase''s natural lifespan too was coming to an end and he knew it very well. But for him, to make a fairy weapon was far more important and superior over one more year of mortality. It really is a pity that the sword remained unfinished even with the way he exerted himself for excellence one last time. It could have been a fairy weapon if Chase did not die. So now it is less valuable because it is a semi-finished s


    y years, several weapon refiners have seen the sword, but none of them can be sure to succeed!"


    "Condensation needs the weapon refiner''s understanding of Heaven''s derivative and he needs to condense it into the weapon. How about directly filling the sword with heavenly essence?" Zen blurted out yet another question.


    "Ha ha ha," the shopkeeper laughed loudly upon hearing Zen''s words and continued, "Heavenly essence is the essence of Heaven''s derivative. Of course it will be better than the original method!"


    "Why don''t they buy the sword and fill it with heavenly essence directly?" Zen was still puzzled.


    "That is a good question. First, heavenly essence is very expensive, and people usually can''t buy it even they have many cubic crystals. Second, the sword is an unfinished weapon. Who knows how much heavenly essence it would need? It is a hit and missing process depending on skills and knowledge of the subject. Let''s assume it is a fairy weapon. It can''t become a fairy weapon without dozens or even hundreds of drops of heavenly essence. Moreover, a weapon refiner can strengthen a finished high-level spiritual weapon. It will be a better choice and it also will definitely guarantee a good result." The middle-aged shopkeeper replied confidently.

 Chapter 322 The Final Work Of Chase (Part Two)

    "Oh, I see," Zen understood the entire concept.


    ''Heavenly essence is so precious that even people with lots of cubic crystals can''t buy it as there have been only a few sellers of it for a long time.


    And if a weapon refiner obtains heavenly essence, he would rather strengthen a spiritual weapon. High-level spiritual weapons are available for some people and they have been very familiar with their spiritual weapon. So it is reasonable to strengthen their spiritual weapon into fairy weapon directly rather than invest in this unfinished sword which may require an unsure amount of essence.


    But this sword fits me well!


    I have an abundance of heavenly essence. Even though I haven''t learned all the weapon refining skills, the procedure of condensation is not difficult for me. I can surely give it a try!''


    Zen was deep in thought for a long moment before he suddenly smiled and said to the shopkeeper, "I will buy this sword."


    "What?" The shopkeeper didn''t believe his ears, "Did you say you wanted the third sword?"


    Zen nodded and replied in a serious tone, "Yes, I choose this sword."


    "But," the shopkeeper hesitated realizing what Zen requested. In fact the shopkeeper didn''t tell Zen the entire story. The sword actually should not be sold as Chase had pinned his dying hope on the sword. The middle-aged shopkeeper still remembered what Weapon Pavilion''s boss told him: if there was really the person who could successfully turn the sword into a fairy weapon, the sword would be rewarded to him for free!


    Sensing the shopkeeper''s hesitation, Zen felt strange and he asked, "Is there any problem? Isn''t the sword''s price ten thousand cubic crystals? Do you request a higher price?"


    "No, that''s not the case


    derstood that all his reactions were abnormal.


    There were some women in the world, who could master the skill of flirtation perfectly., while some other women could cultivate themselves to use flirtation soon after they were born. Some high-level flirtation even could be used in fighting as a means to distract people. And what was more, someone could even control her opponent with just a look, making him to surrender without putting up a fight willingly!


    Whether the woman''s flirtation was gifted or practised was not important. In fact, Zen didn''t mind it at all. But he knew for sure that he had been influenced by her. No wonder the middle-aged man dropped his head at once upon entering. He probably knew that his boss had a high-level flirtation skill.


    After all, flirtation, just like some illusion, was to control people''s mind by misleading them and reading them.


    If one had a strong soul, he would not be naturally controlled by flirtation.


    Zen blinked his eyes and soon his mind turned blank. With his ability of forgetting himself, the woman''s flirtation had no influence on him at all. So he recovered within a second.

 Chapter 323 Sword Granting (Part One)

    The woman yelled in cracking hoarse voice dripping with shock. She least expected that Zen would have the patience to withstand her flirtation. And what surprised her more was his thorough resistance and finally she felt powerless in front of him.


    It was a common sense that Flirtation was a fighting tactic that worked mostly on men at younger age as when they hit puberty they were evidently attracted to the feminine nature the most. And at the moment, seeing this man who was less than 20-year-old and should be the easiest prey of her seduction, brazenly turn down her attempts, made her curious and more determined.


    With this first encounter, the woman, who was in fact the owner of Weapon Pavilion, got a profound impression of Zen. A flame of curiosity was raging in her heart, and this possessed her and pushed her to pursue Zen and find out more about him.


    "Is it you who want to buy that sword?" inquired the woman, passing a wide inviting smile to him.


    Even though her voice remained broken and hoarse, the whole tone on the contrary was soft and appeasing. No one could deny the gentle and soft feeling that stuck in the heart. "You are right, that is me," Zen replied reverently as he nodded his head.


    "Well..." The woman sighed with hesitation as she held out her hand to start brushing the white tiger''s hair. With a polite yet shrewd smile still lingering on her face, she began to approach him. "Didn''t Manager Qi tell you? This particular sword is not for sale," she said while gazing into Zen''s eyes.


    Zen smiled back with equal politeness and said, "Yes, he did. It is just that the sword attracted me so much that I will be so depressed if I cannot earn it. Do you think you could bend your rule this once and quote a price for it?" He pursued diligently.


    Upon hearing his persistent attempt, the woman burst out into a small shrill laugh. She shook her head expressing her refusal and explained, "This sword is not any common sword on which I could bear to put a tag. It is a combination of the knowledge of Chase''s last times on earth. He poured his lifetime''s hard work, knowledge and dedication into this sword when making it. And I inherited it because he was my father''s close friend. And according to his will, I am not allowed to sell it to anyone unless someone would be able to refine it into a fairy weapon,


    and drought, the clan''s elder invited a witch to disperse the bad omen that people believed to be the reason of their hardships. And from that time on, they set up a giant furnace and kindled the fire obeying the witch''s spell. And henceforward, the clan only grew wealthier and stronger, and began to expand their territory. They then became the largest and the most powerful clan in the Eastern Region. And the fire that lit in the furnace had never been extinguished from the first day till this day. It became the most holy and divine symbol in the whole clan which kept their hopes and dreams afloat.


    After the fire had burned for over one thousand years, a living spirit came out of it eventually, and it was never easy for people to see a fire spirit rising from any kind of fire despite of how long time it had burned. There were only a few fire spirits in the whole worldwide. And today, very luckily, they happened to come across one, a beautiful, delicate one.


    Zen remembered the fire of the Earth''s core that he absorbed in his body in the past. He believed that the fire had also burned in the cave under the ground for over a thousand years before he took it in at length. But even that fire did not possess the capability to produce a fire spirit.


    As Zen was lost in his line of own thoughts wondering about the fire spirit, the woman broke the silence and resumed speaking, "I don''t like my time to be wasted. You better be as strong as you claimed. So now it is your show time." Evidently, her tone carried a hint of mockery and despise.

 Chapter 324 Sword Granting (Part Two)

    As they stood there, challenging Zen in the confirmation test, the fire spirit flew around them with its golden, radiant body circling above as if it was a rainbow that fell upon them creating a beautiful sight to behold. Upon sensing antagonism in the atmosphere, the bird flew down and rested in the woman''s palm. Tilting its head sideways, the bird watched Zen with its clean, golden eyes and chirped as if it could read its owner''s mind and it too was terrorizing Zen.


    Despite the test, the woman herself attracted Zen''s attention all the more.


    He never once expected to come across such a mysterious, powerful woman with a fire spirit in her possession in the Imperial Capital. ''Who could she possibly be? How has she hidden in Weapon Pavilion for so long without anyone ever noticing her capability and strength? Although she looks merely 20-year-old, but seeing the fire spirit acting so docile towards her, she could never be a common citizen. And moreover, how am I unable to detect her strength as I have always been able to with other people?


    Such an extraordinary person who owns a fire spirit? I doubt even Cloud Sect would be able to raise such a capable person, '' Zen contemplated in his heart as he looked with an absorbed expression at the bird.


    Nonetheless, Zen was exceedingly confident about his ability to display his fire in front of the mighty woman. He smiled vaguely and inquired, "So your proposal means that, if I could show you the fire, then you will give me the sword without any other strings attached?"


    The woman smiled again and shook her head to express disapproval. "It wouldn''t be that easy. You first need to prove yourself and that does not mean that you simply need to show me your fire. You know Chase, right? You don''t really expect me to disappoint him, do you? If what you are going to display is just an ordinary fire, then I am sorry, you are not qualified and worthy, and I am not allowed to give the sword to you. Who knows what you will refine the sword into when you have no capability at all? Maybe a top grade spiritual weapon, or maybe your ability only allows you to refine it into a medium grade spiritual weapon. If that is the case, I will fail Chase and his entire life''s hard work and effort will vanish into thin air. That is the last thing I want," she said, staring right into Zen''s eyes.


    A contemptuous smile came acro


    was smart to know that as long as it lived in his body, Zen would provide food and shelter to look out for it. So after circling around in the air hesitantly for a short time, while lusting over the bird, it finally came down and disappeared into the middle of Zen''s brows upon receiving the command.


    After the test was completed, Zen turned to the woman who was still standing all frozen and numb with her mouth partially opened wide in shock as to what she had just witnessed. "I cannot say that it is a fire spirit. I am not certain myself either. But anyway, you saw the result. So I hope now you will fulfill our agreement that we decided upon," he reminded politely.


    However, the woman remained silent. It was clear that she still needed some time to recover from the shock she received from witnessing the majestic black fire. So for a while, standing in a trance-like state, her mind was arrested by the thought about that black fire.


    In the past, she had encountered a number of different fires and fire spirits. But nothing she had seen could even compare to this one and part of the shock came because she least expected to see it coming from this young man. According to her vast experience and knowledge about fires, it was not the disruptive strength and ability of releasing heat that defined their capability. On the contrary, it was the ability to introvert its heat inward that defined their power. The cooler, the stronger!


    If a fire spirit had the ability to fly close over the wood without igniting it, then it was considered a strong and powerful fire.

 Chapter 325 Sword Granting (Part Three)

    The black fire that she witnessed, did not emit any heat. It might have sealed its heat so perfectly that it looked like a flame-like creature instead of a flame itself.


    Then again, having this indescribable ability to conceal all of its heat which was supreme, how really powerful could the black fire be?


    No one knew for sure, not even its owner Zen.


    He just knew that so far, there hadn''t been a single thing that the black fire could not destroy. Even those upper scale mysterious weapons that were made of the hardest material in the world, it could just as easily scorch them and dissolve them into heavenly essence before enjoying it. In its eyes, everything was just as soft and weak as candles and it could just easily make them his food.


    The silence in the room prevailed. The woman glanced at Zen with a rather pensive look for a moment before she finally resumed, "You just proved that you have a special fire although I am not sure that if it is a fire spirit or what. But anyway, the main question is: how are you not a weapon refiner?" A look of doubt appeared across her elegant face.


    "I admit I am not a weapon refiner." Zen smiled in a meek manner and continued, "However, I am very positive that I will be a weapon refiner one day. And I strongly believe that the day will come very soon. And I am pretty sure that I have the ability to refine this sword into a fairy weapon. So do trust my abilities!" His voice was infused with irresistible determination.


    It was true that Zen hadn''t been able to accumulate all the skills required to be a weapon refiner yet. But the major point of the entire thing was, he had now gathered more heavenly essences than any other person. And everyone knew that heavenly essence was the critical element in the process of refining weapons.


    But what seemed funny was now a young man with no weapon refiner''s degree or any relevant experience was claiming that he could refine Chase''s final work into a fairy weapon. This idea would have inevitably been mocked and teased if this woman had not witnessed his black fire with her own eyes just a few moments back. With her original hope to unmask his lie, now the woman began to hesitate over her decision. She never once considered that she would have to part with the sword. She started to believe that Zen could not be an ordinary, common person with the abilities he just showcased. He seemed to have a more depth of mystery than she thought he possessed.


    She recalled the words her mentor had always said when he was alive. ''When could we


    what, giving such a precious sword to such a young man still seemed like a slack and reckless decision. "But that young fellow is just a¡­" he paused, not knowing how he should express Zen''s level properly. His face was drowning in a confused and querulous look.


    "Just a what? A nature creature? So far, I have never been wrong at predicting people''s future and judging their character. He might be just a nature creature at the moment, but I don''t believe he will be at Cloud Sect forever. Very soon, he will be on his way to the upper level, and when the time comes, the sword we gave him will come in handy as a superior and transformed weapon," she said optimistically. As she spoke, a golden, radiant light shimmered in her large, attentive eyes. She looked as if a gorgeous, elegant peacock that was looking down at the other birds while displaying her enchanting, affectionate demeanor.


    "What makes you so confident of his abilities?" inquired Manager Qi. The fear still persisted on his face.


    The woman smiled and turned to the furnace. "You were not in the room when the test was carried out and that is why you remain so doubtful about my decision while I have confidence in his abilities. But even now look at the fire spirit in the furnace! I think it would explain everything to you," she humbly requested.


    Puzzled, Manager Qi turned to follow the direction of the woman''s gaze. To his shock, the fire spirit was trembling violently as if something bad and horror had frightened it.


    Manager Qi''s face turned pale in astonishment at the sight. It was the first time he saw the fire spirit in such an agitated, frightened state. "Why? What made it so terrified?" he wondered.

 Chapter 326 The Quenching Peak (Part One)

    Not spending a single piece of cubic crystal and much effort, he now got an unfinished weapon. What good luck he had!


    Still, he knew nothing was for free, and sooner or later he would have no choice but to pay when they charged him.


    Unlike the last time when Zen bought weapons from here, he realized that neither the shopkeeper named Qi nor the female boss of the Weapon Pavilion were to be regarded as normal people this time.


    He wasn''t that curious about the shopkeeper, but the woman''s strength was powerful, and Zen couldn''t detect the peak of her real strength, which made him more curious about just how strong she could be. Adding to her mystique was the fact that she''d raised a Fire spirit which was a very rare creature.


    ''Here, the Weapon Pavilion, such a small organization to handle weapon dealings, has so powerful people like them. Wow, the Burning Sky Empire is truly a good place with so many hidden talents!'' thought Zen.


    However, presently, Zen wasn''t aware if there was another reason why these two were hiding out in the Weapon Pavilion.


    Now that he was aware of them, he would keep a close eye on them.


    It was early morning later, when Zen was back at the Cloud Sect, and he saw the peaks were covered with heavy clouds.


    He didn''t head to Drizzle Peak after passing through the gates into the Cloud Sect.


    Instead, he strode toward the back gate, toward Quenching Peak.


    Quenching Peak was adjacent to Hell Mountain and not included as one of the thirty-three Peaks.


    One of Hell Mountain''s active volcanic branches extended to Quenching Peak. It was used to refine weapons for disciples of the Cloud Sect.


    Even though Quenching Peak recruited disciples too, it was a place to learn the art of refining weapons, and not to study martial arts.


    As such, while the disciples of thirty-three peaks were assessed on their martial arts aptitude, within the Quenching Peak, the disciples'' skills in re


    n the materials being refined in it would be burned completely, the fires would be extinguished, and no more smoke would rise up into the air above.


    Walking along the flat, lower path leading up Quenching Peak, Zen soon saw the many buildings sporting identical roofs. Regardless of how long he had been in the Cloud Sect, it amazed him to see such distinctive steel and stone buildings. He was also left slightly in awe when he reached the top and the first thing he realized was that not even a single building was made of wood.


    When he walked up the peak, he asked himself, ''Why aren''t there any wooden houses here?'' There were two reasons, Quenching Peak was an offshoot, yet, still part of an active volcano, Hell Mountain, which maintained unusually high temperatures year round. The second reason was the inevitability that in the process of weapon refining, sparks would be sent through the air, and a wooden building was nothing more than kindling for a prospective blazing inferno.


    Zen had traveled to Quenching Peak in hopes of being permitted to use a refining furnace. He was grateful that it wasn''t difficult to find a refining furnace at Quenching Peak. Zen didn''t even need to know the way as he had to merely look skyward and make his way towards the rising black smoke.

 Chapter 327 The Quenching Peak (Part Two)

    After a long, steep hike, Zen found himself in the courtyard. As he entered, Zen saw a bronze furnace standing taller than an adult, which he knew as the weapon refining furnace.


    Once, a while back, he''d been held captive in Evil Lan''s cave, and confined in the bowels of a refining furnace, while Evil Lan tried for quite some time to refine him. Back then, Zen planned to keep Evil Lan''s refining furnace. However, it was too big and he couldn''t fit it in his Space Ring. So, he had to give that plan up.


    Evil Lan was a weapon refiner at half-step into the nature level. Although his refining abilities were unique, he couldn''t be compared to the disciples at the Cloud Sect. Runes were engraved into the shiny bronze surface of the furnace in front of Zen, and it was clear that it was more advanced than the furnace Zen remembered from Evil Lan''s cave.


    There were seven or eight disciples encircling the furnace, diligently working.


    Based on Zen''s observation of them, it was obvious that they were divided into inner and outer disciples like the thirty-three peaks. Yet, unlike the inner and outer disciples in the thirty-three peaks who worked separately in different places, the weapon refining disciples in Quenching Peak worked harmoniously alongside one another, with varying responsibilities based on level.


    Most of the tasks that the weapon refining outer disciples were responsible for were the physical chores, including lifting, fetching supplies, carrying items and running errands for the inner disciples. While the outer disciples scurried around, bringing items to the furnace area, and removing others, the inner disciples were as busy at the bronze furnace ensuring the heat from the blazing flames remained consistent by spraying fire as needed.


    Zen noticed as he entered the courtyard that one of the disciples in black robes up on the patio, was crouching on his knees and had a nonstop stream of fire shooting from his hand into the opening at the


    any weapon. I just want to condense a weapon," said Zen seriously.


    Weapon refining was a complex technology. Zen did not receive systematical training about it so he was not familiar with its first few steps, but the last step, condensation only depended on a weapon refiner''s understanding of Heavenly Law. Zen might not have a deep understanding of Heavenly Law. But as he had heavenly essence in hand now, simple condensation should not be difficult for him.


    "Heh, heh..." The outer disciple sneered. There was a saying that the difference in professions made one feel worlds apart. The disciples of the thirty-three Peaks were the practitioners of martial arts, not weapon refiners. Of course, it didn''t mean that the tens of thousands of disciples from the Peaks could not have a weapon refiner. After all, the world was so big and there would never be a shortage of geniuses. Some of them not only practiced high-level martial arts but also were good at weapon refining.


    "I''ve told you, don''t joke with me here, when you are bored and have nothing to do. Just go somewhere else to find some fun. Get out of here, immediately! I need to close the door now!" said the outer disciple, losing his patience and starting driving him out.


    Just at the moment, there was a commotion coming from the furnace.

 Chapter 328 The Explosion Of The Weapon Refining Furnace

    A tinkle echoed in the air before a black smoke billowed out of the weapon refining furnace.


    When the outer disciple looked back at the smoke, his face suddenly turned pale and he cried out, "Oh, Harrison. What''s wrong? Is there a fire shortage?" If the fire was not enough to burn the material in the furnace, the furnace would explode.


    The inside and outside pressures of the furnace were different because of the high heat. In order to resist the high pressure in the furnace, the furnace wall had to be very thick.


    But it was clearly impossible to resist the high pressure by relying on thick furnace alone. Certain materials would have different reactions when put into the weapon refining furnace. These reactions must be handled accordingly. Thus, a weapon refiner had to be well-experienced and resourceful to manage these reactions well.


    This was why even without proper training, a lad at half-step into the nature level like Evil Lan could refine weapons far better than any disciples in Cloud Sect. If he had studied in Cloud Sect, he would have been able to refine not only top-grade mysterious weapons but also spiritual ones.


    Zen sensed that the disciple of the Seventeenth Court who was operating the weapon refining furnace was already panicking.


    It would be a big disaster if the furnace exploded.


    The weapon refining furnaces of Quenching Peak were expensive. Each furnace was made of refined copper and rare metals for the inner wall. If the furnace did explode, these disciples couldn''t afford the loss.


    Thus, all the disciples of Seventeenth Court were flurried.


    "Oh-oh, I''ll go get a master!" exclaimed one disciple.


    "The furnace will explode any minute now. It is too late to call master now," another shouted.


    Those disciples were fussing around like ants on a hot pan.


    "Harrison, try to use your life vitality to separate the sword embryo from other materials in the furnace," someone suggested to the disciple who was operating the weapon refining furnace.


    The disciple named Harrison replied, "I''m trying my best to do it, but the sword embryo is closely attached to other materials. There''s nothing I can do to separate them." He poured life vitality from his hands into the furnace to feed fire continuously. He was already sweating from the heat of the furnace and the anxiousness he was feeling that moment.


    "Come on, Harrison, refuel!" the disciples encouraged. But unfortunately, Harrison was already running out of fuel.


    Zen watched them without caring whether the furnace exploded or not.


    But he thought that in order to borrow their weapon refining furnace, he should help them out. If the furnace was broken, there was no way he could refine his sword.


    So without any second thought, Zen stepped forward to help.


    "What are you going to do


    ak and the other disciples would envy them.


    Although the white smoke was not an assurance that the refining would be a success, it was a good start for them and enough to make them happy.


    With a satisfied smile on his face, Harrison sat on the ground and sighed of relief. They were able to save the situation of the furnace almost blowing up. He was grateful to have survived that life-and-death situation. But first, he must thank the person who helped him.


    So Harrison stood up and bowed to Zen, "Thank you so much for your help, my friend. If it weren''t for you, the furnace would have blown up and we''d be in great trouble. My name is Harrison Xu, the eldest disciple of the Seventeenth Court."


    Zen returned the gesture by bowing and introduced himself, "I''m Zen Luo, the outer disciple of Drizzle Peak."


    After greeting each other, Harrison asked, "Did you come to Quenching Peak to refine a mysterious weapon?" He waited for Zen to respond, but when the latter wasn''t saying a word, Harrison continued. "I haven''t mastered the skill of weapon refining. As you can see, we''re in the middle of making a top-grade mysterious weapon, but it almost ended in a furnace explosion. Fortunately, you''re here to help us. But if you''re looking to refine low and middle-grade mysterious weapons, we can help you to make one."


    Zen helped Harrison escape from the danger of a furnace explosion.


    And to show his gratitude, Harrison was willing to refine a mysterious weapon for Zen.


    But Zen wasn''t looking to refine a mysterious or spiritual weapon. After considering Harrison''s offer, he said, "I appreciate your kindness, Harrison. But I don''t want to bother you. I just like to use your weapon refining furnace for a while."


    "What?" Harrison exclaimed, looking at Zen with suspicious eyes. "But you are neither a weapon refiner nor a disciple of Quenching Peak."

 Chapter 329 The Weapon Condensing Skill (Part One)

    It was the first time that an outer disciple of the Drizzle Peak came to the Quenching Peak to borrow the weapon refining furnace.


    Harrison heard about some gifted and talented disciples that not only practiced martial arts but also had great attainments in refining weapons.


    But most of those talented disciples came from the noble clans and had great family backgrounds. Moreover, the weapon refining furnaces used by the noble clans were more advanced than those used by the disciples on Quenching Peak. So how could it be that a disciple came to Quenching Peak to borrow the weapon refining furnace from them?


    "You heard me right. I want to borrow your weapon refining furnace for a while. But don''t worry, I''m not going to use it to refine a weapon. I just want to condense a weapon," Zen explained in a calm tone.


    Harrison was even more confused after hearing Zen''s explanation.


    From what Harrison could see, Zen wasn''t a weapon refiner, so how could the latter be able to condense a weapon?


    Condensation was a process where a weapon refiner condensed his understanding of the Heavenly Law into a weapon. Only after the condensation could the weapon be graded. Therefore, condensation was considered the most important process in refining a weapon as the amount of understanding of the Heavenly Law would determine the grade of a weapon.


    There was a common belief that a thing could not exist without a basis.


    If Zen wasn''t a weapon refiner, how could he comprehend the Heavenly Law? And if he couldn''t comprehend the Heavenly Law, how could he possibly condense a weapon?


    This was the reason why Harrison was confused about Zen''s plan.


    But Harrison didn''t see anything wrong in lending the weapon refining furnace to Zen for condensing a weapon.


    After a


    legends said that there was someone who spent a month condensing a weapon. The weapon refiner didn''t waste any time during the whole month of condensation that he ate and drank in front of the weapon refining furnace. He took that long because he thought that he hadn''t condensed the weapon very well. And after a month of continuous condensation, he was able to condense a fairy weapon.


    There was another story that a weapon refiner was screwed up with abnormal weather in the process of condensation. The weapon refiner had only half an hour to condense his weapon considering the lightning, thunder, and gale. But after all the challenges, he was still able to condense a fairy weapon.


    These kinds of stories created misconceptions about weapon refining. They thought that the success of the weapon refining depended only on luck.


    But in reality, the ability was more important than luck in the process of weapon refining.


    In general, the weapon refining trainee like Harrison would take a long time in the process of condensation. It would take him two to four hours to condense a weapon.


    But Zen was willing to wait. He stood aside and waited for Harrison silently.

 Chapter 330 The Weapon Condensing Skill (Part Two)

    Out of his expectation, the process of condensation was more successful this time. Zen saw Harrison withdrew the fire an hour later. He heard Harrison said, "Alas! It''s done!"


    The disciples of Seventeenth Court who were standing nearby also cheered when they saw Harrison finished the condensation process. "Harrison, you did it!"


    "Come on! Let''s open the weapon refining furnace and look at the first top-grade mysterious weapon of our Seventeenth Court!" someone said in an excited tone.


    Harrison walked towards the weapon refining furnace and took off its lid. Right now, the temperature in the furnace was quite high, so he had to condense a fire on his arm to protect himself from being burned in the high temperature of the furnace.


    When Harrison retracted his hand from the furnace, he was finally holding a sword in his hand.


    The silver sword was shining, and it glittered under the ray of the sun.


    "It''s an actual top-grade mysterious weapon! I''d like to name this sword the Water Seeking Sword!" Harrison said as he took the sword in his hand and looked at it carefully. His junior fellow disciples rushed to him like a swarm of bees trying to get a look at the top-grade mysterious weapon.


    Meanwhile, Zen walked slowly towards Harrison. He complimented him with a smile on his face, "You did it, Harrison! You have refined a top-grade mysterious weapon."


    Harrison saw the casual glance that Zen threw at the top-grade mysterious weapon he just refined. It seemed that Zen wasn''t really interested in it at all, so Harrison asked, "I have finished the condensation now. So, when will you use the weapon refining furnace to condense your weapon?"


    "I''ll do it now," replied Zen in a calm tone.


    Harrison stood aside and stretched out his hand, gesturing for Zen


    d the pitiful and angry looks of the disciples around him and put the sword in the weapon refining furnace.


    "Zen, don''t you need the fire to protect yourself from burning?" Harrison inquired in confusion. Harrison found another peculiarity of Zen. He noticed that Zen didn''t get burned even if he put his hands in the furnace without any protection.


    "Oh, the temperature in this furnace is not too high, so I don''t need to protect my arm with the fire," Zen replied and smiled.


    Harrison was suddenly at loss for words.


    Although he knew Zen was a man of great power when he delivered the life vitality to help him earlier, he didn''t expect that Zen could stand such high temperature. There was underground lava connected at the bottom of the weapon refining furnace, and he just condensed a weapon with the fire in it. How could it be possible that the temperature in the furnace wasn''t too high?


    The temperature was so high in the furnace right now that it might take only two seconds to make a pig roast if you threw one in it.


    But Zen''s arms weren''t burned after he put the sword inside the furnace. There wasn''t even a scratch on his arms. How was it even possible?

 Chapter 331 Condensation (Part One)

    After putting the treasured sword into the weapon refining furnace, Zen closed the furnace''s door casually. Then he went to the seat, where Harrison refined the weapon a few moments earlier. It faced the weapon refining furnace''s burner.


    After Zen took his seat, the demonic life vitality appeared in his hand.


    The demonic life vitality wrapped up around his hand within seconds.


    The heavenly essence was a big deal. He let Wurth help him sell it at auction because he trusted Wurth and also honestly other than Wurth, he didn''t have any better person to help him sell the heavenly essence. However, he also didn''t want anybody but Wurth and himself to know that he had the heavenly essence. So owing to these conditions, Wurth seemed like the only option!


    Of course, there was no way Zen would let the disciples in the Seventeenth Court before his eyes discover anything.


    In order to meet the purpose, Zen had to do something about it. The demonic life vitality''s colour was a deep brooding dark purple. He made the demonic life vitality wrap up around his hand with the space ring and then took out the heavenly essence from the ring.


    The heavenly essence was mixed in the demonic life vitality and couldn''t be spotted from outside.


    After preparing everything in order, Zen pushed the demonic life vitality to shoot at the weapon refining furnace''s burner, and the heavenly essence was wrapped in the demonic life vitality. He couldn''t make it all perfect, so the real masters would find out.


    However, Zen believed that the disciples in the Seventeenth Court couldn''t perceive it.


    The demonic life vitality formed a thick line and poured the heavenly essence in the weapon refining furnace one drop after another slowly and delicately.


    Looking at the dark purple demonic life vitality, Harrison''s eyelid flickered. He thought


    to make the best of everything.


    If they used the heavenly essence to refine a sword, it could only be used on the blade. If the heavenly essence was not enough, they might put it exactly on the edge of the blade following the saying.


    Even though some effect of the heavenly essence would be lost, the effect would be better than that of a stick in the eye.


    However, Zen didn''t have the knowledge to economize and micromanage. He almost let the heavenly essence drip randomly, so it not only fell on the blade but also filled the sword''s handle.


    But even this treasured sword couldn''t absorb the heavenly essence infinitely. There was a limit, which depended on the weapon refiner''s attainment.


    Zen put hundreds of heavenly essence drops in the weapon refining furnace in one go. The whole treasured sword was covered with the heavenly essence. From the blade to the handle and even the top, it was absorbing all that it could. It was saturated in heavenly essence.


    Till now, Zen withdrew the heavenly essence which was not absorbed from the weapon refining furnace and made it return into his space ring.


    The refining process was almost over and it took a short duration of somewhere around thirty minutes.

 Chapter 332 Condensation (Part Two)

    Seeing that Zen tore the demonic life vitality, the disciples in the Seventeenth Court felt confused. Harrison too stared blankly, "Are you done with it so fast?"


    According to their knowledge about how to refine a weapon, the time would be either long or short, but Zen finished it in such a short time, which was uncommon.


    Judging from this point, Harrison was sure that Zen was just having fun!


    Zen replied with a relieved smile, "Yes, I have finished refining the sword."


    "Zen, please open the furnace so that we can have a look at the result." Harrison didn''t harbour any ill intention but was simply curious about what Zen wanted to do.


    Zen walked to the weapon refining furnace. When he uncovered the furnace lid, a silver light suddenly reflected out from the furnace.


    "Buzz!"


    The sharp silver light was shining brightly from the burner and dashed to the wall in the Seventeenth Court. One layer of the wall was cut by the light unexpectedly.


    When Zen stretched his hand into the furnace and took out the treasured sword, the silver light on the sword rushed to the sky. An invisible wave spread around the sword.


    "Buzz..."


    For a second, all people at Quenching Peak found something unusual.


    On the side behind the Quenching Peak, the ground fire vein extending from the Hell Mountain converged here and formed a pool with a depth of three meters. However, there was no water but rolling magma in the pool, so it could very simply be called a fire pool.


    Around the fire pool sat two weapon refiners who summoned the body fire to mix with the magma in the fire pool.


    These two weapon refiners were the masters at Quenching Peak: Jerrison Yan and Merk Jiang. Both of them reached grade 7 of the nature level. They didn''t have powerful strength but had great knowledge on refining weapons. Although they were a great distance from a grand master,


    gree to use the ordinary copper furnace at Quenching Peak?


    Merk replied, "I don''t think it is possible, either. But Enio is the only one who can refine fairy weapons in Cloud Sect. How can anyone else even be able to refine a fairy weapon?"


    "Since we can''t figure out. Why not just head to the spot and have a look for ourselves?" Afterwards, Jerrison stood up and headed to Quenching Peak, and Merk followed him closely behind. Although they were weapon refiners, they had the strength at grade 7 of the nature level, so they had high speed. With that said they arrived at Quenching Peak in an instant.


    In the Seventeenth Court, the treasured sword in Zen''s hand had totally transformed, even though the treasured sword''s shape hadn''t changed. Before it was refined, it looked ordinary.


    However, the whole treasured sword was now full of weird silver lights currently. If someone stared carefully, there were some runes on the blade of the sword indistinctly.


    Harrison and the disciples in the Seventeenth Court were completely dumbfounded.


    They opened their eyes wide and blankly stared at the treasured sword in Zen''s hand. They wanted to speak but were astonished and unable to say anything, so they just wore a dull expression.

 Chapter 333 The Two Greedy Masters

    The weapon refiner was the most sensitive person towards weapons.


    Although Harrison still couldn''t believe that Zen had made a fairy weapon, the sword in front of him was the proof that the latter did it.


    Zen held the sword''s hilt and gently brandished it around. Then a satisfied smile crossed his face.


    Zen noticed a texture at the bottom of the sword that looked more complex and beautifully-shaped than the spiritual textures on his body.


    The more he looked at it, the more he realized that it wasn''t a spiritual texture but a fairy texture.


    The sword bore a fairy texture, and that could only mean that it was indeed a fairy weapon.


    After wielding it, Zen suddenly turned and thrust the sword diagonally upward.


    "Shoop!"


    A beam of bright silver light rushed out from the point of the sword. It was so sharp that it pierced the eaves on its way.


    The eaves at Quenching Peak were made of steel. But now, the ray of light from the sharp sword left a hole in the eaves just as if they were made of mud.


    The damage was made from the power of the sword. Zen didn''t even have to use his demonic life vitality.


    ''This sword didn''t have a name before it was finished. Now that I ultimately condensed it, I will give it a name, '' Zen pondered. ''Because of its powerful light, I''ll just call it Streamer!''


    The sword in his hand suddenly gave a wave of tremor when he thought of this name.


    "Eh?" Zen looked curiously at the Streamer Sword. It was said that a part of the magic weapon''s consciousness would gradually awaken when it became powerful enough. Although it could not communicate with its owner directly, it could create some connection with the owner. It was the link between the sword intent and its owner''s consciousness.


    After the awakening of the sword intent, it would condense into a sword beast. Then the sword would finally be its owner''s incarnation.


    However, whether this sword could form into a sword beast was something that Zen wouldn''t be able to know just now, so he shrugged off the idea for the time being.


    What had just happened caused quite a stir, drawing all the disciples at Quenching Peak. These disciples in black or white robes all huddled at the gate of the Seventeenth Court, stretching their heads to try to peer in.


    They were curious about who was the weapon refiner that had caused such a stir in the Seventeenth Court.


    No sooner than that, the gate of the Seventeenth Court became overcrowded.


    From not so far away, two figures suddenly sprinted and then firmly stopped by the gate. The two men came from the fire pool and were known by the names of Jerrison and Merk.


    When they saw the crowd at the gate of the Seventeenth Court, they immediately realized that the wave was from here. This saved them the trouble of going door to door.


    Seeing their masters had arrived, the disciples that gathered at the gate of the Seventeenth Court all made way for them.


    "Who was refining the weapon?" Merk asked before entering through the gate.


    But Jerrison''s eyes were much sharper. As soon as he got into the Seventeenth Court, he glanced around and found Zen with the swo


    right. He could clearly see that the two men were lusting for his sword.


    Jerrison and Merk made no secret of their evil intentions. In their opinion, as the masters of Quenching Peak, the whole peak was their territory. And being an outer disciple from another peak, Zen could not absolutely refuse their request.


    And if it hadn''t been for the other disciples around, they would have already shown their ferocity.


    A fairy weapon and the way to condense it¨C both of them could drive any weapon refiner mad.


    Jerrison and Merk thought they had fooled Zen already. But little did they know that Zen didn''t take them seriously.


    The two men were both at the seventh grade of nature level. On the same level, the weapon refiners were weaker than the body refiners. Thus, the two were no match for Zen.


    If they did show some malevolence toward Zen, the young man wouldn''t mind giving them a severe lecture. It was a good way to test the power of his newly condensed Streamer Sword.


    ''Now that Zen has agreed to my request, it will be much easier to accomplish my goals, '' Jerrison muttered in his heart. He was highly delighted wondering if Zen was really a fool. Of course, it was better for him if he had really fooled Zen. He hoped that Zen would surrender his fairy weapon and the weapon refining method. That way, they could both spare him the trouble.


    "Get out of our way! Move!" Jerrison cried and waved at the disciples at the door to make them leave the Seventeenth Court. "Stop watching!" When the disciples had finally all left, he said to Zen, "Zen, come with me."


    Then Jerrison took the lead, followed by Zen, and then Merk walked right behind them. The two deliberately sandwiched Zen in between them, afraid that the fool would try to run away.


    But they felt it was unnecessary. How could a disciple at the first grade of nature level escape from both of them? They made up their minds that if Zen didn''t hand over his fairy weapon and weapon refining method, they would never allow him to leave Quenching Peak.


    Zen then found himself led by Jerrison into a yard.

 Chapter 334 Basic Swordsmanship (Part One)

    This was the courtyard where masters could rest, as such, it was a quiet haven, away from people and distractions.


    On entering the courtyard, Jerrison''s eyes were drawn immediately to the sheathed sword that Zen clutched.


    Generally, if a sword was sheathed, there was no aura emitting from it. However, the light from this sword shone so brilliantly that it even covered the scabbard.


    Most refiners followed a simple rule of thumb and always chose the best materials used in creating the body and handle carefully when a sword was forged. However, they would avoid pouring heavenly law into the handle of the weapon, because it was wasteful.


    Jerrison and Merk saw that the handle of Zen''s sword was manifesting an intense amount of energy, even after he had inserted it into the scabbard.


    ''Did this guy waste his understanding of heavenly law on the handle while he was making the sword?


    Oh, wow! How was he able to comprehend heavenly law? The workmanship is amazing; he has a remarkable ability to be able to craft such a good sword, ''


    thought Jerrison and Merk, becoming excited at the prospect.


    "I can''t believe you were able to forge such a good fairy weapon at such a young age. That''s crazy! Have you given your baby a name?" asked Jerrison. All the while he stared down at the sword.


    Usually, after a weapon refiner finished, he would give his new weapon a name to identify it. Zen''s sword had no name earlier because Chase hadn''t condensed it and wanted someone else to finish it. Zen had to name it.


    Zen simply stated, "The name is Streamer."


    "Streamer Sword? That''s beautiful. A good name! I like it!" Jerrison nodded and said, "Yes, that''s really a good name! May I see it


    ince you''ve decided to threaten me, I''ll show you Streamer Sword''s power!"


    Pulling the sword slowly out of its scabbard as he finished talking, Zen held it out, with the tip of Steamer Sword aimed at the two of them. There was a look of serenity on Zen''s face, as though he didn''t care that he was facing off against two masters.


    Zen''s bold actions shocked Merk and Jerrison, and they stood there wondering, ''What is he talking about? Only at the seventh grade of the nature level? After all, we''re better than him, since he''s only at the first grade of nature level! How could he dare look down on us?''


    "Ha-ha! Drizzle Peak is the worst peak of all Cloud Sect''s peaks, but they''ve cultivated quite an arrogant disciple! You are barely at the first grade of nature level, and yet you look down on us? That''s hilarious!" Jerrison smiled as he extended his hand, and a purple flame appeared from his palm.


    Each weapons refiner had his own unique flame.


    The one dancing over Merk''s hand was pink, and was as delicate as a peach blossom. Although the flame might seem weak, it actually held incredibly hot, destructive power.

 Chapter 335 Basic Swordsmanship (Part Two)

    Jerrison had a tiny strand of dark purple flame jumping around on his palm. Although the dark purple flame wasn''t as strong as Merk''s pink flame, it had a distinctive characteristic, the flame wouldn''t be extinguished.


    Specifically, the purple flame could set nearly everything in the world ablaze, even if it were on the surface of the water, giving it the appearance of being indestructible.


    However, it wasn''t a true immortal flame since a weapon refiner of his grade wouldn''t be able to possess one.


    It seemed Merk had no intention of letting the matter drop as he threatened, "You''d be wise to tell me the secrets of making the weapon and give me your sword, or you''ll be nothing more than ashes when my flame finishes with you!"


    Strands of demonic life vitality rose from deep under Zen''s skin, amassing on his hands. As it grew, the demonic life vitality spread across his hands, engulfing the Streamer Sword. Zen became amazingly powerful, as demonic life vitality imbued with fairy weapon energy coursed through him.


    "Have you forgotten you''re masters at the Cloud Sect? Shame on you for acting in such a manner! Since I came to Quenching Peak and made a fairy weapon, you must realize I''m not afraid to face you! Didn''t that cross your minds? And just look at yourselves now. You are acting so greedy! Fine, if that is how you want to be, you can pay the price!" stated Zen sneering.


    "Merk, get on with it! Catch him, and I''m sure he''ll tell us everything we want to know!" said Jerrison loudly. He was concerned after he saw Zen''s dreadful appearance, but he kept his concerns to himself. After all, in his opinion, Zen couldn''t be better than someone who was in the nature level at the seventh grade.


    Merk stood next to him and didn''t hesitate to wave his hand. A


    ood his ground, unflinchingly.


    When the flame was close to him, Zen''s demonic life vitality leapt over the short distance and devoured it.


    He could have ended things with just his demonic life vitality, but, he''d just gotten the Steamer Sword today, and he couldn''t help but want to use it. Therefore, instead of allowing the purple flame to be devoured by demonic life vitality, he rushed at Jerrison with Steamer Sword arched and ready to strike.


    "Basic swordsmanship chop!"


    There were seventeen basic swordsmanship moves. Chop, the most common move, made by the sword cutting from top to down.


    As soon as he executed the move, he lifted his sword again.


    The two moves seemed ordinary, but with Zen''s quick moves, he''d instantly cut through all the fire threads, leaving tiny slivers. Of course, he couldn''t kill the fire thread. After all, it wasn''t an entity, and could grow back again.


    Zen had a fairy weapon in his hand. Even if he couldn''t use its true power, every move of his sword could extinguish another layer of the flames.


    In light of Zen''s attack, Jerrison''s fire thread was cut down by Streamer Sword like a bamboo branch, until it disappeared.

 Chapter 336 Look Out For Yourselves (Part One)

    Jerrison and Merk glanced at each other when they saw that their fires were of no avail when it came to threatening and defeating Zen. Until now, they had been unafraid but this realization seemed to bring some tinge of fear in their eyes.


    Perhaps they really were wrong. They shouldn''t have treated Zen as an ordinary outer disciple. Furthermore, they should have paid heed to other aspects of Zen''s ability rather than his mere cultivation level.


    Although he had just reached the first tier of the nature level, he still had been able to produce a powerful fairy weapon and amazing life vitality using merely his strength...


    Clearly, Zen was no ordinary person and they had miscalculated.


    To be frank, both Jerrison and Merk had been completely dominated by avarice just now. As a result, they had not taken several factors into account which affected the situation they were in. Perhaps that was one of the reasons why Zen had so easily counterattacked against both of their assaults. It was only after they had pondered over their entire battle that they were coming to the realization that they might have been wrong.


    Zen wasn''t an ordinary target and they shouldn''t have underestimated his powers.


    Oh, well! The damage was already done now. No matter how much they regretted their rash decision to lay their hands on Zen without proper tactics, the situation was irreparable. Since they had chosen to battle Zen, their regret was useless and meaningless now. In addition, Jerrison and Merk hadn''t given their best while fighting Zen. So they were thinking that Zen would lose if they started to strain every nerve in their battle.


    Apart from getting themselves a fairy weapon directly, more importantly, they also had a chance to force Zen to reveal his secret on producing one once they defeated him.


    As the saying goes, fortune and wealth are achieved through risks. To transcend himself and occupy the position he yearned for, one had to face a considerable amount of risks. And right now, both Jerrison and Merk thought that the risks they faced were worth taking.


    "Merk, don''t be lenient!" Jerrison warned his ally. His eyes were fixed on Zen as though he were a hawk. Suddenly, he took a spear out of his space ring. Along with that, a glimmer of bloody light was flashing on its tip, and two spiritual textures were imprinted upon it.


    This spear was a medium grade spiritual weapon, named Beacon Spear. For Jerrison, this


    ly knocked Jerrison''s Beacon Spear off the ground. Second, he flicked his sword towards Jerrison.


    All his moves were executed so fast that Jerrison never got time to react at all. Before he knew what had happened, his Beacon Spear was lying on the floor, chopped into pieces by Zen''s sword. And when he did see that, Zen had already pointed his Streamer Sword at him right towards his face.


    Now, Jerrison looked a little scared. Somehow, he felt that time was passing more slowly than ever right now, perhaps because he thought that he was right on the brink of death. As he saw the beaming bright silver light on Zen''s Streamer Sword inches away from his throat, he knew that his end was near. He yelled loudly, "My life is destined!"


    Even though he was totally certain that it was impossible for him to dodge Zen''s sword now, and that his end was near, he lifted both of his arms up and crossed them in front of his chest in a desperate attempt to protect himself as if it was some sort of conditional response.


    "Puff!"


    The Streamer Sword stabbed into one of Jerrison''s arms through two shinbones and came out of the other side. Then, it was withdrawn at the same rapid pace and flew straight towards his chest, finally ready to land the coup de grace. However, it suddenly stopped flying just as it pierced his clothes and pricked his skin.


    The sudden stop astounded Jerrison. He could sense a tinge of chill running from the tip of the sword into his chest through the small prick it had made. He was totally sure that he would be undoubtedly put to death now. So why did Zen stop suddenly? Jerrison was confused.

 Chapter 337 Look Out For Yourselves (Part Two)

    Frightened, trying not to move a muscle, he shifted his gaze towards Zen, who looked rather cold. He saw nothing on his face but heard him snorting. Immediately after that, Zen pulled his sword back. Except for the fact that the sword had injured his arm, not a single wound had been made on his body by Zen. He was completely intact elsewhere. The Streamer Sword had been fairly sharp but even so, when Zen pulled it back from Jerrison''s skin, no blood dripped off. Even the wound left on Jerrison''s arm was remarkably small. It wasn''t until after a long while that a few drops of blood trickled.


    It was mere a minor injury for a nature creature. Initially, Jerrison had thought that his death at the hands of Zen was certain. After all, who would have spared one''s enemy in such a situation? But it was totally beyond his expectations that Zen would pull his punches. Jerrison was completely confused about why Zen had let him off the hook.


    After Zen took his Streamer Sword back, he turned around and made another move with his sword. "Chop upwards."


    At that very moment, Merk''s machete was shining with an intense light; a light which felt gloomy and terrifying despite its radiance.


    "Bang!"


    The bright silver light on Zen''s Streamer Sword, which looked like a streak of meteors, was passing over the sky, interlaced with the light on Merk''s machete. At the moment that the two lights converged, the wails and the howls became more sonorous than before. Immediately, a black shadow of a skull head started floating around the light of Merk''s machete. Its mouth was wide open, and with its fangs showing, it was staring ferociously at Zen, as if it had sworn to mangle him.


    But the light on Zen''s Streamer Sword was extremely intense. It was interlaced and fused only for a short while and soon enough, the dazzling light that Merk''s machete had emitted was shattered into infinite small fragments like confetti by Zen''s radiance.


    After the light of Merk''s machete collapsed into fragments, it scattered away in all directions. Due to its effects, the ground around them which had been originally flat suddenly got full of bumps.


    With the Streamer Sword swinging arbitrarily in his hand, Zen approached Merk step by step.


    Merk''s face was betraying his flustered emotions now.


    Just now, he had adopted his best striking technique. In applying this technique, the "ghostlike wails and wolf-like howls" were emanated to threaten and scare his opponent, which would render him less likely to defend himself. Apart from this outstanding technique, he had also made the ghostly machete all by himself. When he used his refinement methods in combination with this ghostly machete, Merk was capable of even challenging others with higher levels of cultivation.


    And perhaps Merk was not as good as Jerrison at refining weapons, but his fighting capacity was still absolutely recognizable among weapon refiners.


    Nevertheless, just now, Zen had merely swung his sword once by his most fundamental swordsmanship but the power that he had


    rk remarked. He was picking up his ghostly machete from the ground. He hadn''t recovered from the battles panic until now and it could be heard in his voice.


    "You are wrong. It''s wrong to say that all young people are cruel," Jerrison responded while shaking his head in disagreement. Except for the fact that he lagged behind Merk in terms of fighting capacity, he was much better than Merk in regards to his knowledge, experience and foresight. After some further thought for organizing his words, he continued, "Today''s young people are still as cruel as before. But now, another cruel man has joined our Cloud Sect."


    Zen had the strength and the capability to challenge Merk and Jerrison, both of whom had reached the seventh grade of nature level. Furthermore, he had defeated the two of them with ease and carelessness. His strength was such that they even saw his attacks coming. What was more unbelievable was the fact that Zen was capable of condensing and refining fairy weapons. So far, perhaps not a single figure like Zen had ever been seen in the Cloud Sect since its establishment.


    "Hmm, what if he is cruel? He is just an outer disciple. I will surely play some tricks on him if I get a chance!" Merk swore in an angry, grudging tone.


    However, Jerrison shook his head, sneered and responded, "Play tricks on him? You? Hehehe, Merk. I don''t mean to blame you, but I have to say that you were defeated rather badly by him just now. Zen just didn''t want to haggle with us. But do you still plan to play some tricks on him? If so, I think you will gain nothing but seek death!"


    Merk was still unwilling to submit, but he spoke in a lower and lower tone. Like Jerrison, he also understood that men like Zen were sure to make some outstanding achievements one day. He should be grateful since Zen had not been so serious with him. After clearing his throat, he responded, "I was just complaining. However shrewd that guy is, he is not a clairaudient, so is it possible for him to hear what I have said about him?"

 Chapter 338 The Expensive Heavenly Essence (Part One)

    As Zen came out of Quenching Peak, he saw it was raining.


    Rainy days were rare to come by in the dead of winter.


    He looked up at Hell Mountain, located not so far off in the distance, and his eyes instantly hardened.


    He used to think the mountain too far to get to. But as his strength increased day-by-day, he knew it wouldn''t be too long before he finally rescued his sister.


    Moving his eyes away from the mountain, he turned around and took off.


    The All Peaks Competition would be a golden opportunity for him to display his talent. It would be the ultimate test of his strengths. Although there was still a long time to go before the competition was held, Zen was eager to make the best of every minute and second till then to prepare himself.


    The competition was held every three years, and as it drew nearer, all the disciples began to feel a sense of urgency.


    The outer disciples were anxious to shoot ahead of others and become inner disciples; while the inner ones were seeking to be awarded the higher rankings. The top-ranked ones in the inner circle were training themselves to obtain good scores in the competition.


    Whether it was Skytop Peak, that ranked the first among the Peaks, or Drizzle Peak, that ranked the last, all the disciples including the mediocre and the highly talented ones were training hard.


    Of course, Zen was no exception to it.


    Entering the Lake of the Magical Fish would cost him a slew of points. Zen had practiced in it for two hours each time before, but now, he would need four, or even six hours in total. The points it would deduct from his card was rather astonishing. Each time he entered the lake, hundreds of points were on the line.


    To ensure there were sufficient points in his disciple card, Zen had to trade away his cubic crystals. He had no choice but to let the Cloud Sect demand an outrageous ch


    Previously, when he had auctioned the crystal core, Zen obtained a large number of cubic crystals. To the other outer disciples, that amount would be quite substantial. But now, looking at Zen''s anxious face, Wurth deemed that his friend was badly in need of more cubic crystals.


    Despite his confusion, Wurth didn''t ask him about it directly. He merely gave a smile and said, "I did sell all your goods in the last auction."


    "What was the final price of the deal?" Zen probed him. Even though he did not attend the auction, he would not be fooled on the price, because the sky-high rates of each of the items the Blessed Auction House sold off soon passed down among folks via word-of-mouth. Zen could easily inquire about the information from anyone.


    Wurth grinned teasingly, choosing to keep Zen in suspense. "Take a guess!"


    Watching his beaming face, Zen knew the selling of the heavenly essence was a success. The price should be good, certainly not lower than the price at the prior auction. After giving it a thought, Zen offered his guess, "One hundred and fifty thousand, right?"


    Wurth shook his head, his expression unfathomable.


    "Two hundred thousand?" Zen blurted, simply guessing a higher number.


    "Not high enough!"

 Chapter 339 The Expensive Heavenly Essence (Part Two)

    "Two hundred and fifty thousand?" Zen slowly grew excited. Last time at the Blessed Auction House, he had watched the heavenly essence get sold at a price of one hundred and twenty thousand. Did the price double up this time because of Wurth''s business acumen?


    Wurth laughed and said, "Two hundred and eighty thousand!"


    "That high?" At the figure, Zen''s face showed gleeful surprise. How could the price of the same heavenly essence shoot up to two hundred and eighty thousand this time? That was a large margin compared to the one hundred and twenty thousand last time. For the life of him, Zen could not figure it out.


    "It went for a lot more than I expected. The auction turned out to be so competitive this time." Wurth shook his head and locked his eyes on Zen. He went on with a smile, "You were in luck! Just happened to sell the goods when two great clans were engaged in refining their fairy weapons!"


    "Two great clans?" Zen was still at a loss.


    The two great clans that Wurth just mentioned were the Yu and the Yun clans.


    It was assumed that the two clans were trying to polish their fairy weapons, so as to convert the low-grade ones into medium-grade.


    From refining it to molding it into shape, each weapon had only one chance to get condensed. The condensation directly determined its grade.


    Zen could condense the Streamer Sword back then because Chase was unable to do it. He left the chance to someone from later generations, who happened to be Zen.


    When a weapon was already condensed and in shape, it could get difficult to upgrade it. One way was to melt it down, which was basically starting over again. Another was to embed crystals into it so as to enhance its power, but that enhancement was rather limited.


    The last option was to infuse the heavenly essence into the weapon through secret means, upgrading it forcefully.


    But the heavenly essence was so rare that it was possible for it not to be available for several years in a row. Plus, to make a low-grade fairy weapon into a medium-grade one, it normal


    ic crystals worth of balance was recorded onto it.


    "It''s done! This was a successful deal. But Zen, last time you said you were in possession of more heavenly essence. Do you really have more..." Wurth asked his friend tentatively.


    He knew Zen seldom lied. If Zen said he had some, it must be true. However, it was still rather difficult to believe that someone could provide so much of heavenly essence at any given moment. Unless Wurth saw it with his own eyes, he wouldn''t be confident about it.


    It would be great if Zen was truly in possession of it. Heavenly essence was the most elusive item in the Burning Sky Empire. Wurth could sell for Zen as much as he had, but... Did Zen truly have more?


    A mysterious smile played on the corners of Zen''s mouth. After he put away the token of the Blessed Draft Bank safely, he sidled Wurth into a secluded place and fished out a small bottle.


    "Here are one hundred more drops of the heavenly essence. Whether it should be sold all at once or twice in parts, is your call," Zen told him, chuckling lightly.


    Wurth''s eyes widened to two round saucers. "You do have more! And these are a hundred drops..."


    Wurth was rendered utterly speechless. Truthfully, he started to suspect that the amount of heavenly essence Zen actually had was far more than the one hundred drops he currently held in his hand.

 Chapter 340 The Seven Star Sword Light Platform (Part One)

    As a matter of fact, at the moment, Zen had over that amount of heavenly essence. Last time when he owned more than 600 drops of heavenly essence, he entrusted the auction of 50 drops to Wurth, indicating that he still had over 500 drops left with him. On another occasion, when he refined the Streamer Sword, it cost more than a hundred drops. Adding up all of these, including the bottle with a hundred drops of heavenly essence in his hand currently, Zen had a total of 400 drops of heavenly essence remaining.


    "Since it''s so popular and in demand, should the hundred drops be divided into two fifties and sold at two separate auctions or sold entirely at one auction? Which way suits you better?" Zen inquired with an apparent tone of curiosity.


    "Well¡­ Well, of course, the best bet is to sell it as a whole at one auction!" Owing to a sudden burst of excitement, Wurth spoke out in an abrupt high pitch, but he quickly covered his mouth and looked around carefully, turning his chubby head twice in a bid to check if someone was paying close attention to what he just said. After all, he could not expose the secret of his business, that the heavenly essence he auctioned was being procured from Zen.


    Upon seeing his cautious behaviour, Zen was amused as he briskly responded, "Don''t worry. Nobody was paying attention to our conversation!" As Zen''s strength of soul was far more powerful than that of other outer disciples of Drizzle Peak and Wurth, even if he closed his eyes, he could easily detect if anyone was paying any attention to him.


    "If any weapon refiner wants to upgrade a low-grade fairy weapon into a medium-grade fairy weapon, 50 drops of heavenly essence may not be enough. Hence, in their refining process, no weapon refiner will have the thought to save even a single drop of essence they have, that is to say, they will utilize all the heavenly essence into the furnace in one shot. The more amount of heavenly essence, the higher the success rate will be," Wurth explained what he thought in detail.


    For example, if 50 drops of heavenly essence were mixed with a single low-grade fairy weapon for refining, the odds for its successful upgrade to a medium-grade fairy weapon was only approximately 20%, but if a hundred drops of heavenly essence were to be added, the odds of that success would witness a sha


    eople here?" Zen murmured to himself with increasing doubt and depression. Yet, it took him quite a few days to get here. So he still chose to wait and practice here. Watching the crowded place with a sad face, he slowly walked to the end of the queue to wait for his turn patiently.


    The Seven Star Sword Light Platform was built six years ago by the Cloud Sect. Back then, it was said that a clan had discovered a polar magical stone in the north, 100 feet high and about 300 feet wide. After Cloud Sect discovered the stone''s existence, it managed to buy it at a mighty cost.


    Such a giant polar magical stone, even the great figures of Cloud Sect, could not transport all at once. Eventually, the giant stone was cut into six pieces, and each was loaded into a giant flying chariot, transported back and placed in the Seven Star Sword Light Platform.


    Later, the Cloud Sect magic array masters placed magic arrays inside the Seven Star Sword Light Platform. With the added power of the polar magical stones, people could practice and greatly improve their swordplay skills there!


    Although Seven Star Sword Light Platform could also act like the place for people to practice the use of all kinds of weapons including sword, spear, and stick, but it was gradually found that it had the best effect for improving swordplay skills. In addition to this, the number of people who practiced swordplay at the Cloud Sect was the largest. Gradually, the Seven Star Sword Light Platform basically became a special place dedicated to practice swordplay.

 Chapter 341 The Seven Star Sword Light Platform (Part Two)

    If someone came in with a saber, they would not be allowed to enter the premise.


    As Zen drew closer to the crowd, he soon realized that there were two queues in front of him, one with many people while the other had much fewer people in comparison. He slightly knitted his eyebrows and wondered, ''Why two queues? Maybe it has the same rule as the entrance exam that those who got the written certificates of the noble clans would be offered privileges of waiting in the smaller queue?''


    In the long queue, a rough estimation was that there were over hundreds of people, and they still needed to wait until the disciples practising in the Seven Star Sword Light Platform got out. Anyone who got a glimpse of the situation would know a long time waiting was inevitable. What was more, as the time for the launch of All Peaks Competition was getting closer, almost all Cloud Sect disciples were working hard for it. Therefore, the disciples outside would have to wait much longer than they usually did.


    What Zen didn''t know was that some people in the long queue had been waiting for an entire day, and some even longer!


    As for the other queue, while people were also waiting in line, they didn''t need to wait long before their turn, and meanwhile, there were only a dozen or so people waiting in line.


    Upon realizing the facts, Zen simply walked to the queue with fewer people.


    "Well, my friend, may I ask why there are fewer people in line here?" asked Zen curiously.


    The man Zen asked was a disciple clad in a black robe. After hearing his inquiry, he turned around, looked at him and saw that he was dressed in a white robe. With a disdainful look, he responded, "You had better line up in the other queue and stay there."


    "Why is that? Are you saying that the outer disciples in white robes are not allowed to be waiting in this queue?" Zen asked such a brazen question only because he too realized that the people in this line were wearing black robes.


    The man sneered at him twice, snapping sharply, "Didn''t you see the strength of the people in this queue? This queue is for those who are to enter the grade eight, nine, or even ten of the Seven Star Sword Light Platform! However, those without such strength should remain in the line over there, which is for those who are to enter the grade one to seven!"


    "Oh, so that is the case


    the disciple in white robe really didn''t know his own grade well; after he was seriously injured upon entering the Seven Star Sword Light Platform, he then would finally learn his lesson and get a better understanding of his real grade and capabilities...


    Although Zen was aware of their sneer and sly arrogance, he simply chose to ignore it. As for the disciple''s "good words", Zen just smiled ever so gently and responded on a firm tone, "I am grateful for your kind suggestion, but I still stick to my decision and want to give this a shot!"


    As the disciple in front of Zen realized that his kind persuasion was not working at all, he simply gave up, shook his head and whispered in a disappointed tone, "I am telling you, you are really biting off more than you can possibly chew!"


    After a while, Zen saw a group of people walking out from the Seven Star Sword Light Platform, and the strength of those people appeared quite outstanding. Every one of them was a sword practitioner, carrying his sword on the back, instead of putting it in his Space Ring.


    A lot of sword practitioners, in order to be more aware of their sword intents chose to keep their swords close to them and no matter what kind of situation, they would not be separated from their swords.


    Seeing that the chests of those sword practitioners were showcasing the same symbol, a kind of rune, Zen knew that they should be the elite inner disciples from a certain peak of the 33 Peaks.


    After that group came out, all the people in Zen''s queue began to enter the field one by one.

 Chapter 342 The Magnetic Aurora (Part One)

    The steward just collected the cards without looking at the disciples'' faces. But when he saw Zen''s disciple card, he was surprised that Zen was an outer disciple. What was an outer disciple doing in this place? Since he became a steward here, he had never seen an outer disciple because this was not a place where an outer disciple should be at.


    The steward then raised his head and looked at Zen. He looked down on Zen''s disciple card again with a shocked look on his face. He said slowly, "You are Zen Luo, right? I must remind you that this is the entrance to the grade eight and above of the Seven Star Sword Light Platform. In consideration of your comprehensive strength, I''m afraid you''re not yet eligible to enter. I suggest you try the other entrance."


    The black robe disciple who had been kind enough to persuade Zen had finished his registration. He then turned around and said to the steward, "You''re just wasting your time. I just told him that, but he insisted on entering the eighth layer!"


    The steward thought Zen might not be aware of the rules of the Seven Star Sword Light Platform, and he was about to explain more to him. But, upon hearing what the black robe disciple said, he soon realized that Zen intended to enter the eighth layer.


    "Well, Zen Luo, the Seven Star Sword Light Platform not only has magic arrays. The polar magic stone also contains the Magnetic Aurora that could hurt people!" the steward continued.


    "Save it. I also explained that to him. He insisted on doing that," added the black robe disciple.


    Then there was nothing more the steward could do but to shake it off. He was just a steward on the Seven Star Sword Light Platform, not Zen Luo''s master. His greatest obligation was to inform the disciples of the danger and difficulty. But if one didn''t take his advice at all, then there was nothing more he could do.


    So the steward accepted Zen''s disciple card and handed a token to Zen. ?And since it


    emoved the sword from its scabbard, and a crisp chime was heard. He said to Zen with a smile, "This sword is called Candle Dragon. It is a middle-grade spiritual weapon!"


    Despite having only a middle-grade spiritual weapon, this black robe disciple was proud of what he had achieved with his own strength. He might have been a noble clansman, but his clan wasn''t strong compared to the other clans. And his family status wasn''t high because he was born from an offshoot.


    After all, it was rare for a black robe disciple from Cloud Sect to own a middle-grade spiritual weapon. Most of them might only have a top-grade mysterious weapon or a low-grade spiritual weapon.


    "It''s a beautiful sword. But to be honest, I have no idea how to cultivate on the Seven Star Sword Light Platform," Zen said as he looked around. The magic array of the Seven Star Sword Light Platform was too rough and there wasn''t even a scenic spot.


    Gray mass was also everywhere, and the smoke grid directly blocked the view. Compared to those delicate magic arrays on the Bloody Mountain, there was a great difference.


    The disciple in black robe pointed at a direction and said, "Do you see the two pillars in front of you?"


    Zen looked at the direction and saw two pillars with a crystal ball above each one.

 Chapter 343 The Magnetic Aurora (Part Two)

    "Follow me!" the black robe disciple said as he held his sword in hand. They approached the two crystal balls. "See the name inside?" he pointed to Zen.


    Zen fixed his eyes on the balls and saw that their names were carved inside. One of the crystal balls showed "Zen Luo", while the other crystal ball showed "Zachary Zhao". Zen presumed that Zachary Zhao was the black robe disciple''s name.


    "This crystal ball belongs to you. The moment the magic array on the Seven Star Sword Light Platform is activated, those polar magic stones will release Magnetic Aurora! The Magnetic Aurora will come in all directions, and you must split them with a sword! The power of Magnetic Aurora increases with difficulties. If you hold a common sword, I''m afraid a Magnetic Aurora will destroy your sword," Zachary Zhao explained patiently. He lightly touched his sword with fingertips. From Zen''s perspective, he must have used the sword to deal with Magnetic Aurora many times.


    Zen soon realized that the trial on the Seven Star Sword Light Platform was to guard the crystal ball. If the crystal ball was broken, the cultivation would be over. The swordsmen were sharpening their sword intents with the continuous Magnetic Aurora.


    "Rumble..."


    Suddenly there was a clap of thunder from the sky.


    "It''s time to draw your sword! Quickly! Magnetic Aurora will soon come here! Each crystal ball can only bear three attacks and after that, it will be broken. And you will be out of the game. Be careful!" Zachary Zhao reminded.


    Zen nodded and then took out his Streamer Sword from the space ring.


    "Buzz..."


    came a clear, melodious sound of a sword as he drew his sword.


    This was the moment that Zachary Zhao was waiting for. He wanted to see what kind of sword Zen would pull out.


    When Zachary Zhao looked at the Streamer Sword in Zen''s hand, he was totally surprised.


    From the appearance, Zen''s Streamer Sword was not as powerful as Zachary Zhao''s Candle Dragon. Its shape was just like an ordinary l


    ent had improved into a higher level and became faster. This time, he could stay on the eighth level for another half an hour.


    After solving the Magnetic Aurora on his side, Zachary Zhao turned to Zen. He was eager to see how Zen could exert the power of that fairy weapon.


    Zen hadn''t moved and didn''t even say a word as he waited for the Magnetic Aurora to approach. After it was close enough, he suddenly moved, and his Streamer Sword cut through the Magnetic Aurora. Still, it was a simple chop.


    "A simple chop?" murmured Zachary Zhao with an awkward expression on his face.


    As a swordsman, he was very familiar with the basic swordsmanship. ''Didn''t Zen practice other swordsmanship? Does he only know the basic swordsmanship? Performing the basic swordsmanship with a fairy weapon?


    Oh my god...'' Zachary Zhao was confused. He felt a little crazy at that time.


    "Chuu!"


    Because of this simple chopping, a half-moon-shaped silver light was formed instantly. It was dazzling. Along the direction of Zen''s sword, the sword radiance cut through the Magnetic Aurora.


    Unlike Zachary Zhao''s dragon-shaped sword energy, Zen''s sword radiance didn''t make a sound when it staggered the Magnetic Aurora. The sword radiance cut through the thick Magnetic Aurora and then the Magnetic Aurora disappeared without a trace.

 Chapter 344 Zachary鈥檚 Ultimate Limit

    Everything happened too fast. In a blink of an eye, the jet of the Magnetic Aurora was destroyed. Zen only took a short time to complete the process, shorter than Zachary.


    "..." Zachary''s jaw dropped. With that short spell, he had experienced so much shock that his senses went numb.


    Zen saw that Zachary was spacing out, but there were more Magnetic Aurora shots coming their way. He calmly cautioned Zachary, "More shots of Magnetic Aurora are coming! Watch out!"


    Four jets of Magnetic Aurora were hurtling towards them now.


    After taking an overwhelming hit on his self-esteem from Zen, Zachary felt chills through his veins and his face became more serious.


    When it came to the practice of swordsmanship, it was crucial to maintain the sword heart, hone the sword intent, and be able to resist all kinds of disturbances to do away with any devil inside.


    Just now, when Zachary saw the power of Zen, his heart became unstable. If his sword heart was flustered, his sword intent would be impaired affecting the power of the sword. A wavering sword heart was one of the great taboos for swordsmen.


    Seeing Zachary recovered quickly, Zen slightly smiled, ''He is, after all, a swordsman practicing swordsmanship. I''m amazed at how fast he can stabilize his sword heart!''


    Without another word, Zen put on his serious face in order to handle the jets of Magnetic Aurora.


    The Magnetic Aurora shots came to them nonstop and the quantity kept increasing after every wave.


    The first wave only came with one shot of Magnetic Aurora; the second one came with two shots; the third arrived with three shots, and so on.


    To keep the crystal ball safe, it was vital to disrupt the speed of the Magnetic Aurora.


    The Magnetic Aurora was a highly purified energy extracted from polar magic stones. This kind of Aurora was extremely stable and barely affected by external disturbances.


    For instance, the dragon intent concealed in the dragon-shaped energy of Zachary''s sword was effective in confronting enemies or killing supernatural beasts, but it would not impact the Magnetic Aurora that much. If one wanted to hack a jet of Magnetic Aurora, he still had to rely on his sword intent¨Cor his sheer comprehension of the swordsmanship.


    Hence, fighting the Magnetic Aurora was the best way to hone one''s sword intent.


    Zen and Zachary were hacking at the Magnetic Aurora continuously. They powered it through from the first wave all the way to the fifteenth wave.


    A total of thirty Magnetic Aurora streaks zoomed over simultaneously. Zen and Zachary each handled fifteen streaks.


    "Breakthrough!"


    The light from Zen''s sword was like glinting ripples on a lake charging towards those jets of Magnetic Aurora.


    Bands of sword light blurred the scene, vanquishing all the Magnetic Aurora in an instant.


    The fifteen Magnetic Aurora streaks came at varying speeds, but still, they couldn''t match Zen''s speed. In no time, Zen dissolved the fifteen streaks.


    Meanwhile, Zachary''s speed was not as rapid as Zen''s. As he was working on his share of streaks, he a


    n-shaped sword energy destroyed it at the right time.


    But since Zachary''s posture for doing this thrust was incorrect, he fell heavily onto the ground, face down. When he scrambled to his feet, half of his face was black and blue.


    At the sight of Zachary''s face, Zen smirked, "Well done! You did your best!"


    Zachary gasped and replied, "It went well and it''s record-breaking for me. I did power through the twenty-first wave! I still couldn''t believe it!"


    Zachary had spent quite some time on the Seven Star Sword Light Platform. Before today, his best record was at the twentieth wave, but he got stuck. The one time he made it through the twentieth wave was because of other''s help that allowed him to narrowly block the last jet of Magnetic Aurora and come to face the twenty-first wave.


    Today, Zachary successfully conquered the twenty-first wave all by himself and entered the twenty-second round. It was indeed unbelievable!


    The interval between waves of the shots was always short. Before Zachary could catch his breath, the twenty-second wave was already fast approaching them.


    Although Zachary went all out, he failed to get through the twenty-second wave. The last streak of Magnetic Aurora relentlessly crumbled his crystal ball. Zachary was drenched in his sweat, as if he had just fallen into a river.


    A martial art practitioner using a sword as his weapon was usually more agile than a practitioner using a spear or a broadsword, so he would seldom look like a mess. However, since Zachary just pushed himself to the ultimate limit, he looked quite a mess right now. And that was a brand-new experience for him.


    He collapsed onto the ground like a paralyzed man. While he was trying to catch his breath, he saw Zen was still dealing with the jets of the Magnetic Aurora with composure. He could only think to himself, ''This guy is really a monster. He took the eighth level at the Seven Star Sword Light Platform, but he already faced with Magnetic Aurora with no difficulty.


    How freaking powerful this guy is!''

 Chapter 345 100 Magnetic Auroras

    Normally, Zachary would just leave the platform after failing. But today he was eager to stay and watch how far Zen could go.


    The groups of Magnetic Aurora emerged continuously with an increasing number, but Zen still unhurriedly chopped them.


    25th wave of Magnetic Aurora...


    30...


    40...


    50...


    These shots of Magnetic Aurora rushed to Zen in large numbers. When Zachary saw the numbers of Magnetic Aurora, he felt his body froze. Zen, on the other hand, continued to cut them all. Zachary couldn''t help but think that this guy had no limits at all.


    When the sixtieth group of Magnetic Aurora came, Zen started to feel burnt out and he was slowing down.


    "The Magnetic Aurora is just sensitive to the sword intent. Even if I have the sword radiance of the Streamer Sword, I still can''t cut fast enough." Zen frowned. This meant that he still hadn''t comprehended the sword intent to an acceptable level.


    The sword was the top-ranked among weapons, and with its sharp blade, it could cut through anything.


    Any swordsmanship skill wasn''t only dependent on body strength. They were mainly pushed by the sword intent to release the sharp cutting force.


    ''What should I do to sharpen the sword intent more?''


    After feeling the pressure, Zen finally started to think about it.


    ''Break! Break it!''


    Zen swung his sword and cut through three shots of Magnetic Aurora in an instant, but more came rushing to him from far away.


    Zachary looked at those shots of Magnetic Aurora and thought, ''It seems that Zen can''t stand it anymore. There are too many shots of Magnetic Aurora. However, he has resisted more than 60 groups when it is just his first time and with the strength at only Grade 2 of the nature level. The strength is unprecedented. I think a second one can''t be found in Cloud Sect even from ancient times!''


    Zachary was born in a noble clan with a broad vision on things, but he made such a conclusion. He thought it was difficult even for the powerful geniuses to make the same record as Zen.


    After swinging his sword crazily, Zen managed to resist the 60th group of the Magnetic Aurora. But one shot of the Magnetic Aurora almost knocked the crystal ball, so Zachary estimated that the next group would probably leave a crack on the ball. With this trend, Zen wouldn''t be able to resist the 63rd group.


    If that happened, that would be the most satisfying things for Zen. So, Zachary just sat aside and waited.


    After


    00 waves of Magnetic Aurora, there was no more movement on the platform.


    "Gee? 100 is the limit?" asked Zen surprisingly.


    Zachary got used to Zen''s uncharacteristic expression. He nodded and said in a trembling voice, "The limit of the Level 8 difficulty is 100, but there were only a few people that could reach 100."


    Any cultivator would try his best to perfect his sword intent.


    For example, Zachary thought the difficulty of Level 8 was most suitable to cultivate his sword intent, so he kept practicing in this difficulty level. If he could resist 40 to 50 shots of Magnetic Aurora and felt that it had been successful, he would move to the next level of difficulty.


    Meanwhile, at the gate, the steward suddenly heard a loud noise from the array plate behind.


    "This noise¡­ It''s impossible. Has anyone resisted all 100?"


    The steward got curious. Few people could be so persistent. The ones at the realm of consummation could break a certain level of difficulty, but they wouldn''t do such a job which could consume much strength. They would prefer to challenge a higher-level difficulty.


    When the steward picked up the array plate to look, he found that someone had resisted 100 on the Level 8 difficulty. He remembered that there were only two people who chose the Level 8 difficulty today¨C Zachary and an outer disciple named Zen.


    Zachary often practiced on the Seven Star Sword Light Platform, and this steward was quite familiar about his strength and knew that he couldn''t pass more than 30 shots of Magnetic Aurora.


    Could it be that outer disciple named Zen? The steward''s eyes widened in disbelief.

 Chapter 346 Zen鈥檚 Epiphany

    The difficulty of each level on the Seven Star Sword Light Platform was set in consideration for the newcomers in Cloud Sect.


    For example, if Zachary wanted to resist 100 shots of Magnetic Aurora with his current strength, he could only make it with the Level 4 difficulty. He would only be able to resist 86 shots of Magnetic Aurora in the Level 5 difficulty. He would be able to resist 57 shots of Magnetic Aurora with Level 6, but just 40 with Level 7. With Level 8 difficulty, on the other hand, he could only resist 21 shots of Magnetic Aurora.


    Zachary had the strength at grade 8 of the nature level.


    As far as the steward could remember, even the masters who had reached the consummation of the nature level couldn''t resist 100 shots of Magnetic Aurora in the Level 8 difficulty. From his records, the one who got the best result resisted only 89 shots of Magnetic Aurora.


    As the steward reckoned, it was impossible to resist 100 shots of Magnetic Aurora with the level 8 difficulty if one hadn''t entered the Illuminating Soul Realm yet.


    And the masters at the Illuminating Soul Realm would generally prefer to cultivate in the Level 9 or even Level 10 difficulty.


    "No, it can''t be Zen. It may be Zachary, but it''s definitely not Zen," the steward murmured. But the problem was, the steward knew about Zachary''s strength and that the young man couldn''t promote his strength greatly overnight to this level. When he had put his all in it last time, he could resist only 20 shots of Magnetic Aurora. But could he have resisted the 100 shots of Magnetic Aurora today? It felt like a dream to the steward.


    After thinking for a while, he suddenly patted his head. The Seven Star Sword Light Platform was not far from here, so why not go and have a look?


    So the steward rushed to the Seven Star Sword Light Platform hurriedly.


    Whatever was happening in the magic array, he wouldn''t be able to see it from outside the Seven Star Sword Light Platform. He could only see the people on the platform.


    When he arrived at the platform, he saw Zachary and Zen. The latter was sitting with his legs crosse


    , there were many figures showing every detail of the basic swordsmanship.


    "Chop upwards."


    "Intercept."


    "Circle parry."


    "Flick the sword."


    "Raise sword..."


    The basic swordsmanship was not a massive skill, but it was the purest sword method. After being revised and simplified by many swordsmen, every move was free of flowery and unnecessary action.


    But there were many pictures running through Zen''s mind, and even the simplest chop was explained in thousands of images. They covered even the slightest details from drawing the sword to chopping.


    However, those images started to disappear simultaneously in an instant, and then vanished more and more quickly.


    In the blink of an eye, there were only more than ten images left for the "chop".


    "This basic swordsmanship..." Zen stared at it. The "chop" in Zen''s eyes was still the same as before, but as he looked at it longer, he had a mysterious feeling. He knew it was the basic swordsmanship, but felt like something else.


    After being simplified, the swordsmanship seemed to merge all the sword intent between heaven and earth into one movement.


    Zen looked at the other basic swordsmanship movements, "flick the sword", "sweep horizontal", "lift up sword"...


    Every movement looked ordinary and basic, but each of them hid a great mystery and made people unable to connect them with the common basic swordsmanship.

 Chapter 347 Delighted Grin

    ''This is definitely not basic swordsmanship! Or this is a kind of basic swordsmanship that has never existed before!'' Zen thought furiously. He was so shocked that he could only ascertain a vague idea of how the swordsmanship worked. He knew it was a great opportunity for him to study how unique it was. He needed to make every second count here to observe it closely.


    At the moment, the steward of the Seven Star Sword Light Platform left the scene in a hurry to register a new group of disciples and then rushed back. He had to get back to Zen.


    Initially, he thought it would not pose a problem with Zen practicing on the platform if no other disciple chose the eighth difficulty level. However, a few of the inner disciples had chosen the same difficulty level just now, and two of them were from the noble clans. So, the steward had no choice left but to bring it to Zen''s attention.


    If he left Zen on the platform and started the magic array without informing him, Zen, who was still sitting on the ground, was likely to get injured by the Magnetic Aurora flying from any direction. That wasn''t what he wanted to see, so he had to alert Zen about it.


    After stepping on the platform, the steward walked straight to Zen, but suddenly, when he was just about five meters away from Zen, he saw several sharp variations of energy flying in front of him as if threatening him.


    Poof! The sharp bursts of power suddenly flew at the steward.


    Fortunately, the steward had reached the nature level and reacted quickly, without hesitation. He moved a few steps back on instinct, but the clothes on his chest were slashed by the powerful strikes.


    "It''s the sword intent of protection..." the steward murmured, an unpleasant look taking over his face. The attack was undeserved.


    Zachary too was astounded by what he just saw. He didn''t realize that there was a sword intent of protection guarding Zen while he was in the state of epiphany. "Impossible! How could he get the sword intent of protection in such a short time? He only just started to use the sword, didn''t he?" Zachary thought out loud.


    "Only just started using the sword? What do you mean?" the steward turned to Zachary, asking him in reply. He didn''t dare go up to Zen and shake him out his epiphany now, knowing he was guarded by the sword intent of protection. Standing rooted to the spot, the steward watched Zen from afar.


    Zachary pointed at Zen casually and explained, "It seems that Zen is a novice with the sword! He used basic swordsmanship alone to resist the attack of one hundred Magnetic Aurora waves!"


    "Basic swordsmanship?" the steward repeated the words in astonishment. He couldn''t believe his ears.


    sisting a hundred waves in the eighth difficulty level. Desmond Li, who could resist seventy-three, had already proved his skills. He was curious about how many Zen had resisted. It would tell Desmond Li the exact gap between his capability and that of this outer disciple who had just received the slender sword intent.


    "Eh? I withstood a hundred waves," replied Zen in an indifferent manner, after which he straightaway walked down the platform.


    "W-what?" Desmond Li stammered, dumbfounded as he stared at Zen''s back. He opened and closed his mouth several times, unable to say anything else. The other disciples who stood behind him were much the same.


    Zachary felt somewhat delighted when he saw their reactions.


    Standing next to them, Steward Song also beamed surreptitiously. At the very least, he was not the only one astonished by Zen''s abilities on the platform. As the steward of the Seven Star Sword Light Platform, he knew well that Desmond Li often practiced wielding his sword on the eighth difficulty level. He also knew that Desmond Li was always proud of his achievement of holding out against seventy-three Aurora waves. It was a bit amusing to see the embarrassment on his face at meeting a more powerful opponent.


    When Steward Song noticed that Desmond Li was still slack-jawed and in a state of astonishment, he added, "It''s true. Zen resisted one hundred waves. As a nature creature, he is the only one who resisted that many at the eighth difficulty level. Besides, he is only into grade-two of the nature level currently."


    Desmond Li and the rest of the black-robed disciples stared with wide eyes as they heard what Steward Song said, shocked at his words. With that, Steward Song and Zachary left the platform furtively, hiding their delighted grins.

 Chapter 348 Auras Thoughts (Part One)

    The Seven Star Sword Light Platform was the perfect place to hone one''s sword intent.


    If a swordsman started practicing the skill at the age of six, he would grasp all the basics by the age of twelve, and become proficient by the age of sixteen. Afterward, if he yearned for further breaking through, he would have to go through life-threatening tests unless he was especially talented.


    Nevertheless, a man can only live once. It might be easy to say, but when putting the words into practice, it would mean risking his neck to enhance his skill with the sword. One could only imagine how dangerous it was.


    Regardless of whether one was a swordsman, a blade practitioner, or a boxer, all martial arts practitioners had to face such a problem.


    Inside the Cloud Sect, however, there were plenty of magic arrays and secret realms to hone one''s skills. Any outsider would be dying to own even one of those items, making the Cloud Sect regarded as the shrine of martial arts in the Eastern Region, attracting numerous talented, young practitioners from various counties of the Eastern Region who would squeeze themselves in at all costs.


    Still, even for very talented young practitioners, there was no way to improve at the Seven Star Sword Light Platform as fast as Zen did. When he first entered the place, he had two epiphanies and was able to grasp things that many others wouldn''t be able to comprehend in a lifetime, and he owed it all to his extraordinary insight and luck.


    Even as he nailed the eighth level, he still felt like he hadn''t reached his limit. Steward Song also urged him to enter the Seven Star Sword Light Platform and have a try at Level Nine.


    Zen''s performance was way too stunning. Steward Song was also eager to profit during the process of searching for gifted practitioners. But he was not aware that Steward Cao had done the same thing in the Lake of the Magical Fish.


    chambers were empty, with the sheets and quilt on the bed left tidy, as if her father had not lived there for a while.


    Since then, Aura had been in doubt, thinking, ''Perhaps my father has already left the Eastern Region.''


    Evidently, she was not the only one holding the same doubtful thought. At the palace, there were seven princes, and three princesses having discussed the issue in private. But the truth was tightly protected, out of anyone''s reach.


    As rumor had it, her father had long since gone out to experience the world without any intentions to return. It was even probable that he already died in some faraway place.


    Such a rumor seemed far-fetched, but Aura didn''t dare think light of it, as her father was an absolute king of mankind in the Eastern Region, the most gifted and knowledgeable emperor in the field of martial arts the Burning Sky Empire ever had.


    In the past, the strength of the head of Cloud Sect always overtook that of the Burning Sky Palace. The Cloud Sect had a say in many matters, giving it the power to even change the fate of the Burning Sky Empire.


    It was entirely possible because the Cloud Sect did not only have a head whose strength was overwhelmingly strong but also had a solid backup, the Cloud Hall.

 Chapter 349 Auras Thoughts (Part Two)

    Countless powerful practitioners lived in the Cloud Hall. For them, both the Cloud Sect and Burning Sky Empire were merely parts of the land under their governance. Given this, the Burning Sky Empire could only endure the suppression of the Cloud Sect for fear that they might offend the Cloud Hall.


    Fortunately, Cloud Sect was based within the Burning Sky Empire, so their conflicts of interest were few. More often than not, they would have to unite with each other. That was the reason the thriving Cloud Sect was still willing to cultivate many Illuminating Soul Realm experts and offer them to Burning Sky Empire as a gift in return.


    However, since Kane Su took the throne, the entire situation was altered, for Kane''s strength was as strong, or even more formidable than that of the head of Cloud Sect. Moreover, Kane Su had even joined Cloud Hall, making his status somewhat higher than the Cloud Sect head.


    Such news was good for the Burning Sky Empire, as they could finally take the initiative on loads of issues, leaving Cloud Sect as more of a vassal. With that, word among the folks was that the Cloud Sect''s influence was waning over the recent several decades while the Burning Sky Empire''s power was only spiking up.


    As a member of Cloud Hall, Aura''s father had to facilitate it and assist in its involvement in various affairs.


    There was no doubt that Kane was extremely powerful. From Aura''s perspective, he was on a mountain so tall that no one else could survive the climb to the top. For all those years of Burning Sky Empire''s existence, there was only one Kane Su.


    Aura herself was not very strong. Because of her distinguished status as a princess, though, she had learned a great deal about the secrets of history and was well aware that there would always be someone better than herself. Even though Kane might have dominated the Eastern Region for a time, once he stepped out of its


    a royal princess, she had no way to control the Cloud Sect and neither did Farrell as the crown prince.


    With a lack of other means, Aura tried to find a qualified individual who could help Farrell by protecting and escorting him. Such a person, though, should not be a disciple of any of the noble clans, so she could only select from grassroots, which led her on her path to being a tutor in Drizzle Peak. Considering that Drizzle Peak was ranked last, most disciples were at grassroots level.


    Aura was well aware that to place all her hopes on a disciple of Cloud Sect was fool''s talk. Throughout history, many grassroots disciples had accomplished astonishing achievements. Still, compared to the disciples of noble clans, they were very few.


    Left without other options, Aura just had to try it as a last resort to save the hopeless situation. If one of her disciples could luckily advance by leaps and bounds, or even pass the Cloud Road test and get selected by the Cloud Hall to be admitted as a disciple, there was a chance for the trouble at the royal palace to be sorted out.


    Still, the probability of finding someone worthy was way too low, barely better than zero. It was no wonder others thought that going to Drizzle Peak was only a waste of time.

 Chapter 350 Inner Disciple Admission Test (Part One)

    Aura had assessed several geniuses to that date, and had also recruited a lot of talented refiners into Drizzle Peak from the Eastern Region. But until now, there was no hope she could see.


    "Master Su!" Zen came looking for Aura in her room as soon as he got the message, but she wasn''t there. He searched around for a while and finally caught up to her in the pavilion.


    The pensive look on her face gave place to a smile as she saw Zen. "Here you are."


    "You looked troubled just now, Master Su." His piercing eyes fell on her face and to his penetrating gaze, it was obvious that her smile had a fixed quality to it.


    Aura responded by an instant change of the subject. She stared at Zen and asked, "What have you been practicing lately? Your eyesight seems to have improved a lot since earlier on."


    She had reached the consummation of the nature level and therefore, could feel a special energy around Zen, hurtling and cutting in the air. Even her own protective life vitality felt slightly scratched by this energy. He must have learned some sharp ''intent'' to create this effect.


    It was rather like some refiners at the Illuminating Soul Realm knocking people out with just a gaze.


    Zen might have learned a soul-attacking skill, Aura thought. Soul-attacking skills were similar to ''intent'', but their theories were different. One needed to use one''s soul to cast an attack for the former, but ''intent'' was a realm in which refiners would continue emanating special energy all the time. Typically, the aura would have given people around them a sense of oppression.


    Zen could have restrained his sword intent. But his instinct was telling him not to. He had just learned it a


    med a bit rushed and naive when she had looked back on it, but she never regretted it. She was the kind of person who, after making a choice, stuck to it.


    "You got to know the sword intent in such a short amount of time after practicing swordsmanship. That is very lucky..." For a moment Aura was at a loss for words. She had summoned Zen because she had intended to ask him to take part in the Inner Disciple Admission Test with the others. If he passed the test and became an inner disciple, then he could join the All Peaks Competition.


    All Peaks Competition was held every three years. Aura had already made up her mind to make Zen have a go at it; not that she expected him to land in a good spot in the league table. He was only seventeen, a young boy with so much potential, yet not enough training. He would probably make it into the top spots at the next All Peaks Competition, but not now.


    There were so many talented young people in this day. Zen had a very good fortune but god had showed almost the same amount of favor to some other top talents. That was the reason Aura didn''t expect too much of Zen.

 Chapter 351 Inner Disciple Admission Test (Part Two)

    Following the train of her thought, she finally got to the point, "Now you have entered the nature level, which is enough to qualify you as an inner disciple. But you still need to pass the test. The test is tomorrow. All top thirty outer disciples are going to take it."


    Zen nodded. This test should not be too stressful for him.


    Seeing the look on his face, Aura added, "Do you have any idea why I want you to become an inner disciple of Drizzle Peak right now?"


    "Does it have something to do with the All Peaks Competition?" Zen asked.


    Aura nodded and replied, "I want you to take a shot at the All Peaks Competition. There''s no pressure and I am not asking you to win it. Take it as a familiarization course. Soak up the atmosphere. There is one thing you''ll want to keep in mind. The number of disciples who can compete is limited. The quota varies from peak to peak, basically according to the peaks'' strength. Drizzle Peak has got seven places."


    All Peaks Competition was a contest among all the top inner disciples from all 33 peaks.


    But there was huge gap between the strength of the 33 peaks. For instance, Skytop Peak constantly topped the other peaks and a great number of its inner disciples had already reached the consummation of the nature level. Some had even entered the Illuminating Soul Realm. Drizzle Peak was nothing compared to Skytop Peak. The best of its inner disciple had just reached the consummation of the nature level.


    It would be unfair if all peaks had same quantity of places. For example, a refiner at the consummation of the nature level could barely qualify to fight on behalf of Skytop Peak. Meanwhile the places of Drizzle Peak fell on those disciples who were merely at the fifth or sixth rank of the nature level.


    Therefore every peak was allowed a different number of places.


    Skytop Peak was the best peak and was allowed to send


    ully fought his way into the top ten in the test. He was now an inner disciple of the Drizzle Peak.


    "Zen is a nature creature now. He can be promoted to an inner disciple directly. Why has he come here to take the test?"


    "What do you know about it? He can make an inner disciple easily. He is good. Rumors are floating around that he wants to get into the top 7 of the inner disciples list, so that he can have a shot at the All Peaks Competition. And this test, this magic array is his chance."


    "Impossible. Drizzle Peak isn''t that good, but still.... The seventh inner disciple has already reached the seventh rank of the nature level. Zen is good, but not good enough to beat a guy so many levels above him."


    "Ha! Have you ever actually tested Zen''s limits? Besides, why else would those black-robed disciples be here to watch the test? You can see from here. That black-robed disciple standing at the far side is Ben Wang. He ranks seventh among the inner disciples. He is supposed to join the All Peaks Competition on behalf of Drizzle Peak. But he is a bundle of nerves now. If Zen performs well, he will beat Ben and take his place."


    The test had not yet started, but all kinds of news were spreading among people, much like wild fire.

 Chapter 352 The Fight For A Place In The List (Part One)

    Ben Wang, an inner disciple of the Drizzle Peak in the Cloud Sect, followed other disciples to have a look at the test of the outer disciples.


    There was no need for him to worry as he was at the seventh grade of the nature level. He was much stronger than the one at the eighth place among the inner disciples of the Drizzle Peak.


    A test like today''s was normal among the inner disciples of the Drizzle Peak every day. Even the magic array itself was a regular training place for the inner disciples.


    Ben''s best performance on the test was a high score of 18 thousand, while the disciple in the eighth place only got 15 thousand. There was a huge gap between them, and Ben thought the latter wouldn''t catch up soon.


    But recently he heard a rumor that an outer disciple, Zen Luo, would attend the All Peaks Competition representing the Drizzle Peak.


    There were only seven disciples that could attend the All Peaks Competition and they had been chosen by their ranks. If Zen Luo would attend the Competition as a disciple of the Drizzle Peak, Ben would lose his qualifications to attend the competition.


    Ben hadn''t thought of it first because there was no way an outer disciple could be stronger than an inner disciple. But after the practice of killing demons, another inner disciple, Cleve Lin, had confirmed that Zen was extremely strong and that he had beaten demon generals.


    Although Cleve was a strong well-ranked inner disciple, he was not as good as those in the top ten. So, what he said could have only been partly true and he was just giving Ben a piece of information.


    Despite that, Ben was still anxious and a little scared. That outer disciple had defeated demon generals, which was something he wasn''t sure he could do by himself.


    From this point, Zen could probably get a place in the top seven to represent the Drizzle Peak.


    regardless of anyone who they fought with. If the warrior was narrow-minded, his defeat wouldn''t give him the right idea to strengthen himself further. And this would create a huge barrier on his upgrading way and his achievement would be impossible to meet.


    "The second one, Xu!"


    "The third one..."


    A disciple would averagely consume five minutes for the test. Some of them would take longer than ten minutes.


    The points of the disciple went higher as the test moved forward.


    The 13th disciple so far had the highest score at 3, 100 points.


    This meant the thirteenth disciple had the qualification to be an inner disciple. But another requirement would still depend on the remaining twelve outer disciples'' performances.


    If from the remaining disciples, three got a score of less than three thousand, the 13th disciple could have the opportunity to be an inner disciple. But the chance of that was still very slim.


    From the success of the thirteenth disciple, it could be concluded that the level of the Drizzle Peak had improved. This would make the competition even more challenging.


    As the 12th, the 11th and the 10th completed their tests, it was announced that they all got more than 3, 000 points.

 Chapter 353 The Fight For A Place In The List (Part Two)

    The disciple of the 13th place felt hopeless. The remaining higher-ranked disciples couldn''t possibly get a lower point than he got. This meant that he could be ruled out even though he had got more than 3, 000 points.


    When Wurth Zhang came out of the white fog, he was wearing a satisfied smile on his face. His face said that he was confident about his performance.


    The tutor then announced loudly, "Wurth Zhang, 4, 033 points!"


    He was the first one to obtain a score higher than 4, 000.


    The following test was no suspense at all. What they cared about was how many points the disciples could get. These outer disciples were excellent, and as long as they showed their actual strength, they could all turn into inner disciples.


    After the tutor announced Henry Hao''s score of 5, 500, it was finally Zen Luo''s turn to take the test.


    Most people paid attention to Zen''s performance on this test.


    All of the people were expecting that Zen would give the best performance, and he might probably get twice as high as Henry''s score.


    Some of the disciples turned to look at Ben since they heard that Zen was vying for the top seven inner disciples. But they knew that Ben''s point was as high as 18, 000, so Zen would probably fail to surpass that.


    "Well, Ben, are you nervous?" an inner disciple beside Ben asked.


    When Ben looked around, he saw that it was the second-ranked inner disciple. Seeing his expression of schadenfreude, Ben felt a little annoyed. There could be a chance that Zen would get the highest point amongst the inner disciples, and if that happened, Ben would be ruled out of the competition.


    Ben felt angry knowing that he had become the laughing stock. The second-ranked disciple was at grade nine of the nature level, almost at the consummation of the nature level. And Ben was so much weaker than him, so all he could do was to wait w


    Zen had to give his best.


    "Bang!"


    When Zen tried to cut the nearest one, the figure just fended off the sword. This caught Zen by surprise.


    ''The figures at grade six of nature level are really different from others I have encountered. They are much stronger. But do they think they can survive my fairy weapon?'' Zen thought with a cold smile. Zen waved his sword hard, and a grating sound was heard when the Streamer Sword hit one of the figures'' weapon. He cut the weapon and the man with one hit, and then the man turned into white fog.


    After Zen killed one, another four figures charged at him. Zen couldn''t take them all at once, so he had to have a plan.


    He strode aside quickly to avoid their attack. At the same time, he began to fight back like a snowflake in the storm.


    "Flick the sword!" Zen shouted.


    Flick the sword was one of the most powerful motions in the basic swordsmanship. His hand holding the sword pulled back while his right foot was raised. His whole body tilted. Then he stamped his right foot on the ground. Together with the strength of his right foot, Zen''s whole body formed a high mountain and crashed forward like huge stone falling from high mountain with great power towards the four warriors.

 Chapter 354 Ranking First Among The Inner Disciples (Part One)

    "Snap-hiss..."


    The sword intent formed countless tiny whirlpools, which rolled round and round in front of Zen. They rotated in different directions and at varying speeds, shredding all the phantom warriors who were drawn into the vortex to pieces.


    Although the sword skills used were still basic, they were different from earlier. After being simplified, these sword skills demonstrated the maximum power of the sword intent.


    Zen swished his sword aggressively.


    The Streamer Sword shuttled among the warriors at the sixth-grade of the nature level. It was so quick that it looked like flying silver light. The simplified sword skills were so mysterious and powerful that the warriors had no defense against them.


    However, since the warriors had stepped into the sixth-grade of the nature level, Zen couldn''t defeat them as easily as before. He needed to spot their weaknesses and then adjust his swordplay to kill them with one blow.


    Even so, it didn''t take him long to kill the twenty warriors at the sixth-grade of the nature level.


    ''I''m far from reaching my limit. But if this continues, the next group of opponents will be more difficult.''


    Since there were twenty warriors at the sixth-grade of the nature level this time, Zen assumed that the next enemies would be warriors at the eighth-grade. Zen felt that he couldn''t deal with twenty opponents at the eighth-grade of the nature level simultaneously.


    Just as the thought crossed Zen''s mind, a swirling mist covered the area. In the next instant, Zen saw some dim figures appearing in the white fog.


    At the sight of the figures, a wry smile spread on his face. Zen''s speculation seemed to have been too conservative. The opponents turned out to be ten warriors at the consummation of the nature level.


    Despite the challenge, Zen was unwilling to give up. Zen knew that he would not be hurt in the magic array, and he saw it as a good opportunity to test his strength. Holding the Streamer Sword tightly


    Zen was able to resist the attacks of ten warriors who had reached the pinnacle of the nature level.


    He was so powerful that no one could deny that Zen was a rare genius.


    Aura''s eyes widened in surprise. She could not believe what she had seen. Given the success Zen had achieved, she inferred that he was qualified to challenge a strong man who had just reached the Illuminating Soul Realm. It was incredible!


    Aura didn''t know that Zen had already killed a strong man who had reached the Illuminating Soul Realm. While Hugh, another person who had also reached the Illuminating Soul Realm, suffered tremendously in the battle against Zen.


    Initially, Aura had asked Zen to take part in the All Peaks Competition just because she had wanted him to experience such a wide-scale challenge. After all, Zen''s cultivation realm was too low, and he was only at the second-grade of the nature level. What was more, he was only 17 years old!


    If Zen could continue to cultivate and improve himself at his current rate, she believed that he could get a good ranking at the next All Peaks Competition, which would be held three years later. Given that there were so many gifted disciples at Cloud Sect, Aura had thought that she had overestimated Zen''s potential and capabilities when she advised him to participate.

 Chapter 355 Ranking First Among The Inner Disciples (Part Two)

    She hadn''t expected Zen to demonstrate such extraordinary strength during the test!


    Although the phantom warriors at the pinnacle of the nature level in the magic array only had the basic strength of this level and were not as powerful as the real ones, Aura could only deal with 2 or 3 simultaneously. During the test, she remained undefeated. However, she could not kill them. But Zen performed better than her. Not only did he resist the opponents, but he also found opportunities to fight back!


    A red dot on the magic array plate disappeared in a few moments.


    Every red dot on the magic array plate represented a phantom warrior who had reached the peak of the nature level. The disappearance of one red dot meant that Zen had managed to kill that phantom.


    "He can fight back despite being attacked by ten men at the highest grade of the nature level. How does he manage to do that?" Aura and the other masters were wondering whether Zen had managed to elude his enemies by running away with some kind of rare body movement and footwork. But the warriors being killed in the magic array indicated that Zen was not running away. On the contrary, he was fighting back.


    There was a huge gap between the inner and outer disciples at Drizzle Peak.


    The outer disciples were reserved talents for the inner disciples, and only the ones that qualified could become inner disciples. Even at Drizzle Peak, which ranked last among the 33 Peaks at Cloud Sect, there was an inner disciple who had reached the pinnacle of the nature level.


    While in the peaks ranking at the forefront, such as the Skytop Peak, some inner disciples had reached the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    But Zen''s performance proved that he was a top elite even though he was an outer disciple of Cloud Sect!


    An hour later, people outside the magic array noticed that the white fog had begun to disperse. Finally, they could see Zen.


    "It''s over at last. He is a genius!"


    "I want to know how many points he got."


    Many outer disciples had been waiting for nearly two hours to see how many po


    isciples!


    Once he became an inner disciple, Zen would get more pills and money, and access to a few secret cultivation places that were reserved only for inner disciples. Although these secret cultivation places were not as good as the Lake of the Magical Fish and the Seven Star Sword Light Platform, disciples would not need to spend points when using these places. This made it an excellent alternative for inner disciples who came from ordinary families. Even some disciples from noble clans would choose to practice in these secret cultivation places, because not every gentry child could get the full support of their family.


    The inner disciples lived on the top of Drizzle Peak, which was also the highest point of Drizzle Peak.


    So, after passing the test, Zen was assigned a new house. He packed his luggage, put it into his space ring, and moved into his new accommodation.


    As he climbed from the hillside to the top of the peak, he met many inner disciples dressed in black robes, all of whom cast curious glances at him.


    In general, compared with the newcomers, the inner disciples who had entered the Inner Door earlier had strong psychological advantages. They looked down at the newcomers¡ªlike an experienced person looking at a green hand.


    After all, the new inner disciples couldn''t match them in terms of strength.


    Zen, however, was an exception!

 Chapter 356 The People He Wanted To Protect

    It was said that no one taking the test could earn fifty-five thousand points, and even the legendary Yehudi, who had reached the consummation was unable to hit that mark.


    What did it mean, if it was beyond even Yehudi''s ability to achieve? The significance to that revelation was that Zen''s combat level was higher than the consummation. Added to that, Zen was probably comparable to a master in the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    Everyone admired and hoped the best for him.


    Rankings among the thirty-three peaks were determining factors in how the peaks fared and the award amount. The monthly pay of disciples in the top peaks, including Skytop Peak and Blackrock Peak would make the Drizzle Peak disciples green with envy.


    Moreover, the Cloud Sect could send the masters of magic array to build magic arrays of a large scale as secret cultivating spots where the inner disciples from those peaks could practice their refining techniques away from prying eyes.


    These secret spots probably couldn''t compare to ones that were required to pay, but, that didn''t make much difference because they were completely different from those on Drizzle Peak.


    It was a rule of thumb at the Cloud Sect that only the powerful could enjoy better treatments.


    Therefore, it was difficult for a powerful man to cultivate his skills at Drizzle Peak. In all the years of Drizzle Peak, only Yehudi, had risen so high, but, he remained stuck in the consummation, unable to achieve a breakthrough.


    On the other hand, Skytop Peak and many other peaks attracted talented disciples yearly because of their competitive benefits.


    As time went by, powerful men grew more powerful, and weak ones became even weaker. The gap only widened, gradually.


    Although the situation improved with Aura''s arrival, it would take more than just Aura''s strength to make serious changes. Even Aura couldn''t forcibly make the candidates choose Drizzle Peak over Skytop or Blackrock Peak and their perks. Why would they willingly come study at the least powerful peak of the Cloud Sect?


    But now, finally, Drizzle Peak had a spark of hope. Zen was truly an exceptional disciple. Possessing such powerful strength, he might be able to compete with the talents from the other thirty-two peaks and win a better ranking among them for Drizzle Peak.


    They might not have been dreaming as big as earning the top spot, but, even if Zen ranked in the top thirty to fifty disciples, Drizzle Peak would be rid of the moniker of being the worst ranked peak.


    It was thought by some disciples that Zen would accomplish what Yan achieved that year.


    Now, since Yan had only been incarcerated within Hell Mountain since two years ago, many of the disciples could still recall her brilliant record. As a girl, it was unusual for her to rank so high, but, she''d defeated so many opponents that she was a finalist. By her efforts alone, she earned the ranking of second for Lady Peak.


    A lot of the disciples who indulged in gossip noticed that Yan and Zen shared the same family name, Luo, and whispers were abound that the two were brother and sister.


    But, even with the resources available, the gossipers couldn''t ferret out what relationship, if any, there was. All they could do was guess.


    It was even more difficult to discern since Luo was one of the most common surnames in the world. How would they connect the two simply by a s


    he resisted sixty-nine waves of Magnetic Aurora.


    On his third session, Zen managed to resist seventy-seven waves of Magnetic Aurora.


    Steward Song became used to Zen''s progress, still, he was puzzled by something. A few days ago, he reported to the leader how Zen was progressing with his training. He thought such a rare talent like Zen shouldn''t go unnoticed at the Cloud Sect.


    Steward Song believed that after he reported his findings, he would be given some reward, but, he hadn''t expected for the leader''s response to be one of denials.


    Even though it was a mere two words of ''no approval'', it gave him a lot of information. While the talented outer disciples were reserved for becoming inner disciples, the inner disciples could be promoted to personal disciples of some masters, and all disciples at the Cloud Sect were considered in selections by the lofty Cloud Hall.


    The Cloud Hall wouldn''t miss seeing a brilliant talent like Zen, neither should the Cloud Sect, so, he''d reported what he learned to the leader, to no avail. The reaction he received suggested there was something amiss with Zen, like he''d offended someone in a high position, or maybe he was wrapped up in something sensitive.


    Compared to Steward Cao, who reported information repeatedly and ended up in trouble, Steward Song was much wiser.


    Aside from practicing at hidden cultivating spots daily, Zen had no free time. He spent his nights studying the Heavenly Ogre Fist.


    As a fifth tier refinement method, Heavenly Ogre Fist didn''t only offer Zen demonic life vitality. The first move he learned in the Heavenly Ogre Fist, Ogres Shaking the World, could only be used by consuming a large amount of Zen''s life vitality and it could only attack one person at a time..


    In the beginning, Zen thought the second move, Swarm of Ogres Surging, was a move to use conjointly, but as he meditated deeply, he found it wasn''t that simple.


    Swarm of Ogres Surging could turn life vitality into dark demonic phantoms.


    As Zen sat in a secret cultivating room, he entwined his fingers into each other, and twisted himself into a complex posture. "Swarm of Ogres Surging, now!"


    "Whirr..."


    came the monotonous sound as dark purple life vitality unfurled around Zen.

 Chapter 357 The Demonic Phantom (Part One)

    After the constant practicing of Zen, the demonic life vitality became darker as the purple color mixed in it gradually faded away. The tiny starlight embedded in it became more lustrous and brilliant.


    Inside Zen''s body, there were six streaks of life vitality flowing out. Under his control, this life vitality would form a silhouette of Zen, but a smaller version. This was the form of the demonic phantom.


    Zen glued his eyes on the phantoms, pointed his fingers at them and uttered lightly, "Rise up!"


    In an instant, the six demonic phantoms started flying in the room. As the demonic phantom itself originated from life vitality, it was weightless. Thus, it could fly briskly and fast. Moreover, the six of them flying around would make the best defense from enemy attack.


    With Zen''s current strength, he could only summon up to six demonic phantoms. However, according to the records from "Heavenly Ogre Fist", with much practice, those with strong psychic force could summon up hundreds of demonic phantoms.


    Each demonic phantom could absorb the enemy''s life vitality to strengthen its own¨Ca special attribute of demonic life vitality. Once the demonic phantoms matured, their powers would be more terrifying.


    "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh¡­"


    "Bang¡­." Something was flying crazily and crashing onto something. It just happened with a blink of an eye.


    It was one of Zen''s demonic phantoms. Due to Zen''s relatively weak power, it slipped out of his control, crashed directly into the wall of his practice room and then penetrated through another two walls of the house, leading to the collapse of the half outer wall of the house.


    The inner disciples'' houses had a secret practicing room where they could conduct further studies and practice their own unique


    ife.


    ''When did he learn to use a sword?


    And how could he have grasped the sword intent if he hadn''t used a sword?'' Cleve thought to himself.


    Cleve had been practicing swordplay for decades, but until now, he couldn''t grasp the sword intent at all. Sword intent was something that could not be learned easily. It would just come out naturally and only those with a high power of understanding would be able to figure it out.


    ''But for just a short period of time, Zen has grasped it?'' Cleve asked himself.


    Though Cleve found it hard to believe, the faintly discernible strong spiritual aura emitting from Zen was undeniably sword intent.


    In front of many onlookers, Cleve couldn''t bring himself to ask Zen directly. Anyway, he would find out later once Zen participated in the All Peaks Competition. At the Competition, Zen would inevitably encounter strong enemies that would require him to show his sword intent, if he had already grasped it. But deep down, Cleve could not bear the thought that he might be right about Zen. After all, the sword intent was not easy to acquire, at least for him since he still hadn''t got it after many years of hard practice.

 Chapter 358 The Demonic Phantom (Part Two)

    "Matters about the All Peaks Competition? All right," Zen said and nodded. In any case, it would be quite important to understand the strength of the other disciples participating in the upcoming All Peaks Competition.


    Meanwhile, in a decent pavilion on the top of Drizzle Peak, six disciples in black robes gathered.


    They were the top second to seventh inner disciples from the Drizzle Peak.


    The senior disciple, Yehudi, used to be the top first place until Zen outperformed him in the assessment test, and he didn''t challenge the latter to win back his rank.


    "Yehudi, I do think you have the power to challenge Zen. You are the best amongst all the disciples!" one of them said huffily.


    "I agree. Yehudi, you must not let a young boy outrank you. His nature level is only second-grade, while yours is the top grade," another one seconded what the former disciple had said.


    "What could be worse than to invite that boy over and discuss the All Peaks Competition with him? As a young boy who has just been promoted to an inner disciple, what qualifications does he have to sit among us?" one more disciple burst out angrily.


    Apparently, most of them were not impressed with Zen being the first rank since he was too young.


    Although he outperformed everyone in the test, it didn''t warrant the disciples'' respect towards Zen. For the inner disciples, Zen didn''t deserve to be the top first.


    According to the rules of the test, the ranking assessment must be carried out in the magic array, and the rankings would be determined by the inner disciples'' score.


    If an inner disciple was not satisfied with his own ranking, the way to dispute it was to challenge the inner disciple who outranked him.


    The ranking would be decided based on the challengers'' true strength in the battle ring.


    With the previously concluded test, Zen outranked everyone by gaining 55, 000 points. He replaced Yehudi in the top first rank. Now, if Yehudi was not convinced by the r


    nd the All Peaks Competition was only seven, they should be united as a team.


    A few moments later, someone knocked on the door, and one of the disciples in black robe bellowed, "Come in!"


    It was Cleve. When he heard the permission, he pushed the door open and whispered to Zen, "Yehudi and other senior disciples are already inside. You can come in there and join their discussion."


    Although Cleve''s strength was stronger than most disciples of the Drizzle Peak, he wasn''t strong enough to be part of the top seven. As a result, he was not eligible to attend the meetings related to All Peaks Competition.


    Zen thanked Cleve and stepped inside.


    Yehudi looked at Zen, then stood up and said with a smile, "Are you Zen? This is our first time to meet you so forgive us if we don''t recognize you. Nice to see you here. I''m Yehudi!"


    "Nice to finally meet you, Yehudi. I''ve heard so much great things about you!" said Zen sincerely, greeting with his cupped fists.


    "Please take a seat here," Yehudi said heartily as he pointed to the top seat next to him. The top seat originally belonged to him, but now he was willing to give it to Zen.


    Zen didn''t have any knowledge of the inners'' seat arrangement, so he just accepted Yehudi''s instruction. He walked over and took the top seat as Yehudi offered.

 Chapter 359 Zens Blazing Determination

    "It is our great honor to be joined by the newest member of the inner disciples. Zen has passed the assessment, thus promoted to an inner disciple of Drizzle Peak. Congratulations and welcome to the team, Zen!" said Yehudi with a smile as he clapped his hands.


    Zen waved his hand and said, "Thank you, Yehudi. It''s my pleasure to be part of this circle. I heard from Cleve that you are here to discuss the All Peaks Competition?"


    Yehudi nodded, "Yes, as the saying goes, ''know the enemy as well as yourself''. Since you just joined the inner disciples circle, you may not be familiar with some things. So, I was instructed to discuss the strategy in the All Peaks Competition with you."


    "What can our strategy be this time? The other peaks are obviously better than us, so how can we gain the advantage this time? I believe that the best we can do is to hold out for one day," said an inner disciple. These words were implied to satirize Zen''s strength. The inner disciple wasn''t convinced that Zen could help them bring Drizzle Peak to a good place.


    Hearing those words, Yehudi frowned slightly and said, "Human effort is the decisive factor in the competition. I agree that our peak isn''t strong, but if we don''t try, we will never know. It''s always better to try and fail, instead of not trying at all."


    Hearing Yehudi''s words, Zen nodded his head in agreement.


    Yehudi was right. Aside from strength, the determination was also vital to any victory. In martial arts, one without a strong belief would not go further in his career. A martial arts cultivator would rather lose than give up without even trying.


    Yehudi was two years older than Zen, and already at the consummation of the nature level. He had quite a good talent that played an important role in all his achievements. But aside from his innate talent, he also had strong determination to win.


    Although the inner disciple''s remark was intended for Zen, he didn''t dare answer back after Yehudi refuted for Zen. After all, Yehudi was a well-respected disciple and considered as the leader in their circle.


    "Can you tell me how strong the participants of the All Peaks competition are?" asked Zen directly.


    The question was a little naive as expected from someone who just joined the circle.


    The All Peaks Competition in Cloud Sect was held every three years. The information about all the participants was recorded and available for all the disciples to access. Nearly all the disciples were familiar with it.


    Another inner disciple was ready to ridicule Zen for his stupid question when Yehudi stopped him. Yehudi then said, "Zen has just joined us here in Cloud Sect, so he probably doesn''t know the details of the All Peaks Competition. That''s why I asked him to join us today to discuss in detail the rules of the All Peaks Competition and our opponents."


    Then Yehudi proceeded to share the details of the competition to Zen.


    All the thirty-three peaks in Cloud Sect would participate in the All Peaks Competition. Each peak would send a certain number of participants. The Skytop Peak would send the most disciples, while the Drizzle Peak would always have the least number of participants.


    Aside from the disciples of the thirty-three peaks, there were also specially reserved seats for personal disciples of some mas


    reated as a disciple in the Cloud Hall and he had to show respect to every disciple in Cloud Hall.


    "So, the Turbidity Clearing Pill and the Cloud Road will be awarded to the first place?" Zen asked again.


    "The Turbidity Clearing Pill is for the first place only. The Cloud Road, on the other hand, will be a reward to the top 3 of the All Peaks Competition. They will be eligible to enter the Cloud Road for the trial," Yehudi answered. Though he didn''t like that Zen seemed to be interested in the rewards more than the rank, he still explained everything patiently. He thought to himself, ''Is he only interested in the top 3?''


    Basically, the top 3 were seemed to be reserved for the personal disciples. The disciples of the thirty-three peaks didn''t even think that they could get to the top 10.


    Thus, the disciples of the thirty-three peaks had no chance to enter the Cloud Road.


    However, Yehudi was empathetic that he didn''t want to break Zen''s enthusiasm with the truth.


    But the other black-robed disciples couldn''t remain silent, so one of them stepped forward and chuckled, "Zen, do you really want to enter the Cloud Road?"


    Zen looked at this black-robed disciple and replied coldly, "Yes. Is there any problem with that?"


    "Hey, chill," grinned the black robe disciple. If Zen wasn''t the top 1 amongst all the inner disciples, this black-robed disciple would burst into laughter.


    The disciple could only flash a sarcastic smile.


    Yehudi stepped in to thaw the atmosphere. He said gently, "If you practice harder, you will succeed."


    Now Zen had the basic information of the All Peaks Competition.


    To win the first prize, Zen would need to outrank all the thirty-three peaks'' disciples and the personal disciples. That would be his tough mission.


    Zen stood by the door of his room, looking at the stars in the sky. Yan was able to beat so many strong disciples on her own and led Lady Peak to the second place. As her brother, he must be able to prove himself as well.


    "The Turbidity Clearing Pill will be mine, and I must enter the Cloud Road!"


    His eyes were blazing with enthusiasm. His sheer determination was like a holy flame burning brightly in his heart

 Chapter 360 Meditation On The Stars (Part One)

    Three days before the All Peaks Competition, all the thirty-three peaks'' ranking lists would be frozen. During these three days, challenging someone to a duel was forbidden to determine the name list of the competitors.


    Due to that, the day before they scheduled to suspend the ranking lists, competitions transpired in all the thirty-three peaks'' arenas.


    Some disciples appeared to rank low by hiding their true abilities from past matches. It was often on the last day when they would go all out, as they hoped to become the candidates of the All Peaks Competition.


    Those who had already been on the list would also try their best to maintain their rankings for the reason that once they lost, they might fall out of the list.


    Intense competitions were also going on in the arena of Drizzle Peak.


    Apart from Zen and Yehudi, the other disciples who ranked from third place to the seventh place received a challenge to duel. The disciples who ranked ninth and twenty-second had even replaced the disciples who ranked sixth and seventh!


    As soon as the ranking lists had been frozen, the name list of the participants for the All Peaks Competition was settled before the master of Drizzle Peak handed it in.


    In the last three days, Zen did not go to the Lake of the Magical Fish and Seven Star Sword Light Platform for cultivation, but stayed in his room for meditation instead.


    Both cultivation methods of Heavenly Ogre Fist and Spiritual Thorn were extensive and profound. The former represented the most basic method of life vitality attack, while the latter represented the method of soul attack.


    In addition to meditating these two books, Zen continued to study the Sun Moon Stars Picture.


    The first time he had seen the picture, Zen felt his eyes drawn to it. However, when he had seen it again later, he exhibited no such feelings anymore.


    Among


    the sun, the moon, and the stars were more perplexing for them.


    Thus, there were countless stories with sun, moon and stars as the theme.


    Although he was far away from the sun while standing in the space, Zen was still shocked by its intimidating force when he looked at it.


    ''My current consciousness is in the Contemplation Picture. It must be God''s intention that I get in here. It''s a shame that I could only comprehend so little about the Sun Moon Stars Picture. With my current ability, it''s too hard for me to contemplate the sun!'' he thought to himself.


    When Zen cast his eyes onto another ball, he saw a bright light, which was much quieter and softer than the feeling of tyranny that the sun had conveyed.


    When looking at the sun, his eyes felt sour. On the contrary, as he gazed at another ball, his eyes felt a pleasant coolness and comfort.


    It was the moon.


    Zen noticed that a shadow had appeared on the moon. The shadow outlined the curve of the ball and caused it to present different shapes, which were the so-called first quarter moon, the last quarter moon and the like.


    Behind these two giant balls were countless stars.


    These stars were the exact objects that Zen had wanted to observe and study.

 Chapter 361 Meditation On The Stars (Part Two)

    Through his meditation the last time, he had already been able to condensate a small number of stars from his demonic life vitality.


    When those stars exploded, they would release overwhelming energy.


    However, the power of the stars was definitely more than that. It made Zen feel obliged to learn the mystery behind the Sun Moon Stars Picture a little each day.


    Since he had already come in, Zen sat down with crossed legs and began to contemplate the bright stars in the distance.


    ''What a magical picture the Sun Moon Stars Picture is! How could the master who drew it construct the vast universe with only a picture?'' he could not help but exclaim to himself.


    Then, he began to sit still for meditation, eyes gleaming.


    Suddenly, with horrible and overwhelming energy, a star rushed towards Zen over from a mysterious distance.


    ''Is it going to hit me?'' he wondered and planned to dodge the star.


    However, since it was his consciousness that had entered the picture, and not physically himself, he was unable to evade at all.


    "Whew!"


    In the blink of an eye, the star darted past him and knocked another star in the distance. As the star was so big, it looked as though it was going to strike him when, in fact, it was still far away from him.


    These two stars collided and exploded. The overwhelming energy they released increased even more than tenfold!


    The light emerging from the overwhelming energy formed a gigantic ring, brilliant but loaded with the breath of death.


    ''Stars collision?''


    The only way Zen had triggered the explosion of the stars before was with his life vitality.


    The overwhelming energy released from stars collision was more powerful than the one he had seen before. At the moment, he seemed to be in the midst of spiritual enlightenment.


    After a


    ak, Master Wang must have received the name list of all the participants for the All Peaks Competition in advance. So, it was clear he had only asked Master Wen to embarrass Drizzle Peak deliberately.


    Likewise, the disciples behind Master Wang also measured up Drizzle Peak''s disciples with mocking stares.


    Snorting, Master Wen retorted, "What do you mean by ''just them''? Although Drizzle Peak only has seven disciples, each of them has their unique skills!


    You think you''ll do better than us merely because you have more disciples? Think again, Master Wang.


    I highly doubt that matters!"


    Master Wang looked at Zen and the rest of Drizzle Peak''s disciples, and said in derision, "Unique skills? Are you serious?" he questioned, laughing loudly as he did so. "It seems you don''t have many powerful disciples at all! Otherwise, why did you even bring someone at the second grade of nature level?"


    The skinny old man continued to laugh in their faces.


    As Zen had been walking in the middle of the team, nobody had noticed his cultivation level in the beginning. Now that Master Wang had pointed it out, however, he immediately became the focus of discussion --- and everyone''s attention.

 Chapter 362 Kenneth Shi (Part One)

    Generally, the weakest of the disciples who were eligible to participate in the All Peaks Competition had reached the refinement level just below the consummation. Even the least powerful disciple at the Drizzle Peak was in the nature level at grade seven to compete last time.


    While five out of the thirteen disciples from Sea Peak had attained the consummation level, the remaining entrants were refining at the eighth or ninth grade of the nature level.


    It was rare for a disciple at grade two in the nature level competing in the All Peaks Competition.


    It was unique, but there were talented disciples.


    For instance, the disciples taught by the saints, and elders at the Cloud Sect were particularly vested individuals. They developed their fantastic refinement methods and possessed incredible strength which qualified them to enter the All Peaks Competition while still at grades two and three in the nature level, where they performed admirably.


    Three years ago, at the All Peaks Competition, there had been a disciple named Jacques Wang, whose instructor was a great master in the Cloud Sect. He was ranked among the top one hundred even though, at the time, he was only at grade two of the nature level.


    Anybody who sought to be one of the top one hundred had to be able to challenge the disciples refining at the consummation level. It was terrifying to think of just how potent a disciple''s inherent energy would be one day, if he was able to go toe to toe against peers who were much stronger and able to refine at higher levels.


    It was rumored that Jacques developed his abilities immensely over three years of refinement, which made him the top pick to be named the champion this year.


    Jacques was known as a personal disciple. None of the support, facilities or refinement methods at Drizzle Peak could compare to his.


    What pers


    Hall.


    It stressed the importance of the All Peaks Competition to test the strength of every genius.


    When every disciple from the thirty-three peaks and personal disciples had arrived, Kenneth rose from his seat and made the announcement of the beginning of the competition.


    On cue, an elder appeared, flying over the field. He carried dozens of copies of a long list, and as he passed each peak''s group, he handed one to each master.


    On the page were written the contestants'' names, their competitors, and which round they would fight during.


    There were over forty disciples listed from Skytop Peak, whereas there were only seven from Drizzle Peak. Overall, there were nearly seven hundred names listed, with more than six hundred disciples from the thirty-three peaks and more than fifty personal disciples.


    Initially, many of the hopeful seven hundred disciples would be eliminated through group trials.


    After Master Wen of Drizzle Peak looked over the list, he frowned, sighing deeply.


    Yehudi took a step closer and asked, "Master Wen, who will our opponents be?"


    Smiling bitterly, Master Wen handed Yehudi the list as he replied, "I want everyone to take a look at the list here to know your opponents."

 Chapter 363 Kenneth Shi (Part Two)

    Naturally, all seven Drizzle Peak contestants wanted to know their first opponents, so, they huddled around Master Wen. One by one, the disciples frowned as they examined the list.


    Listed as Drizzle Peak''s first round opponents were disciples from top ten peaks, including, Blackrock Peak, Daylily Peak and Azure Peak...


    Since all the participants ranked higher amongst the inner disciples in their peaks, those from the higher-ranked peaks were supposed to be stronger. And apparently, they were indeed more powerful than the aspirants from Drizzle Peak.


    "Alas, it seems that since we are from Drizzle Peak, we will be used as stepping stones for other disciples.." Master Wen said as he exhaled loudly. When he glanced at Zen and saw how calm he was, it affected the master.


    Zen wasn''t showy, but each time he appeared for a trial or competition, he went against the odds, and won, on behalf of Drizzle Peak. There was an air of confidence surrounding him.


    Zen was calm now. However, at first, Zen''s deportment was grave because of the importance the All Peaks Competition held, but, as the day drew closer, Zen''s comportment became more balanced with an inner peace.


    ''Make no mistake'', although Zen was not stressed out, he wasn''t indifferent. Quite the contrary, he welcomed the competition and his mind was focused on the tournament.


    Examining the paper, Zen saw his first opponent was a disciple who had reached grade nine of the nature level named Langdon Zhou of Azure Peak.


    "Zen, I know Langdon very well. He has inherent superhuman strength with skill equal to someone at the consummation level. He is number nine hundred and thirty-sixth on the Cloud Sect rankings. You need to be careful," warned Yehudi.


    Nodding thoughtfully, Zen asked, "Yehudi, what about you? Are you confident you will defeat your opposition?"


    Casually smiling, Yehudi said, "No, since the rival is Mack of Blackrock


    eres spread across nearly the entire field, expanding further by the second which meant he would defeat Jill even if he didn''t engage her head-on.


    With seventeen or more circles of life vitality spreading out irregularly throughout the field, it didn''t seem to matter how skillful Jill dodged it; she would run out of space to evade the toxic clouds soon.


    Forcing Jill into a small corner finally, Benjamin smirked and said, "Little girl, admit defeat. If you become infected by my blood river cart poison, later I''ll have to detoxify you. It''s such a hassle detoxifying people, and it means I have to remove your clothes and then face to face..."


    As Benjamin was casually spewing his inappropriate, and suggestive taunts, all the sudden, Jill was covered in the soft sunglow, and shrunk back before she vaulted up from her deceptive corner and rushed headlong at him.


    Watching Jill''s battle, Zen nodded and commented, "The big man will be conquered!"


    Yehudi gave Zen a surprised look but kept quiet. He thought Jill was going to lose because she couldn''t escape the circles of poisonous life vitality, which made it impossible for her to attack Benjamin while giving him a seemingly unconquerable position.


    However, what happened next proved Zen to be right.

 Chapter 364 Huge Hammers

    Despite the overwhelming number of rings made from Benjamin''s life vitality, there were still some gaps between each of the rings. Just as the fluttering of the life vitality rings made gaps that were large enough, Jill launched her attack.


    Jill dashed forward, rapidly weaving through the life vitality rings!


    Benjamin felt sort of complacent at first. He hadn''t expected much from his opponent who seemed to be a delicate beauty. He would totally beat her in the first round without effort. But before his words faded, Jill''s yellow figure was charging straight at him at an incredible speed.


    But Benjamin''s reaction was swift as well. At this juncture, he let out a howl and directed the scarlet machete in his hand at Jill. Then he swung the machete three times.


    "Three strikes of Bloody Hell!"


    "Clank, clank, clank!"


    Jill was still smiling. Her pretty little face looked quite lovely. But absolute strength was concealed beneath her lovely appearance.


    The jade sword in her hand was much smaller than Benjamin''s scarlet machete¡ªonly at the length of two chopsticks or so. However, the short jade sword easily fended off the overwhelming power generated by the three strikes of Bloody Hell.


    Disbelief was written all over Benjamin''s face now. He attempted to launch another strike, but as a jet of cyan light flashed, the jade sword was pressed against his neck...


    "Jill won. Benjamin lost!"


    The referee announced the result of this match.


    Yehudi did not realize what had happened until the result was declared. He had expected that Jill might turn the table with certain secret moves. But it really took him by surprise that Jill had made it in such a brisk and fierce fashion.


    At this time, Yehudi shot Zen a look of deep significance. ''This guy does have sharp vision.''


    The nine matches finished quickly. Disciples on the stage filed out, and the second group of disciples immediately marched into the arena.


    Zen was among the members of the second group.


    "Eh? Are my eyes deceiving me? Why is there a guy at the second grade of the nature level? Where did he come from?"


    "It''s true that he is only at the second grade of the nature level. Well, for a man who is two steps into the nature level, he must be pretty good for ranking among the contestants. I remember three years ago, Jacques who was also at the second grade of the nature level, made it to the top 100. So, don''t think lightly of others! Bear this in mind¡ªnever measure the sea with a bushel, and never judge a book by its cover!"


    "Bullshit! Think about how awesome Jacques was! He is a personal disciple, and astonishingly talented. Breaking through ranks and battling are just games for him. Both his cultivation method and life vitality are more powerful than his peers at the same rank. But this guy is a disciple of Drizzle Peak. Drizzle Peak is ranked last at Cloud Sect. That shows the quality of disciples at the peak! A man at the second grade of the nature level should be at the top of all its disciples and allowed to participate in the All Peaks Competition. How ridiculous! My younger brother reached the eighth-grade of the nature level this year. He was not eligible to represent our peak in this competition. Had I known this earlier, I would have transferred him to Drizzle


    ivation of their human bodies was merely subsidiary. Corporeal body cultivating was divided into five steps, which solely aimed at purifying the physical body, thus making it more compatible with a practitioner''s life vitality.


    And the impressive thing about Langdon Zhou was that he not only had immense strength, but he was also very deft at exercising his life vitality.


    Just as he lifted the copper hammers, a wave of life vitality quietly spread out from his feet. This wave of life vitality was yellowish-brown. If one looked carefully, its stately aura could be detected.


    "Deadly Swamp Trap!"


    His life vitality oozed out and wrapped itself around Zen''s legs, layer by layer, like a swamp, thus firmly rooting him to the spot...


    Zen gasped with surprise. The attack Langdon Zhou made was pretty unique¡ªsimply forcing his opponent to stay still and then hurling the copper hammers at him.


    The two-step move might seem very clever, but in Zen''s view, it was too childish.


    This move could be effective when used on nature creatures, as nature creatures were unable to fly. Langdon Zhou''s Deadly Swamp Trap would certainly strand them. But what would be the effect of this attack on those at the Illuminating Soul Realm? Since practitioners who had reached the Illuminating Soul Realm could fly, this move could not harm them.


    So how would Langdon Zhou deal with opponents who were stronger than he was?


    Just as the two huge hammers were about to land on Zen, a tiny smile broke out on Zen''s face.


    "That brat at the second grade of the nature level seems to be in danger now. Will he be crippled by Langdon Zhou''s hammer strikes?"


    "That guy does have bad luck for having Langdon Zhou as his opponent! No nature creatures can possibly escape Langdon Zhou''s Deadly Swamp Trap."


    Many disciples started to murmur. They did not care whether Zen would win or not. At present, they were concerned about whether or not Zen would die. After all, on more than one occasion contestants had accidentally killed their opponents in the arena.


    "Zen, get him! You and Yehudi are the only hope of Drizzle Peak. Don''t be defeated in the first round!" Master Wen whispered...

 Chapter 365 Earthen Armor

    Langdon was proud of his strength.


    If he wielded his hammers with his full strength, even the warriors who had reached the Illuminating Soul Realm wouldn''t be able to defend against the attack.


    Zen, who just entered the second-grade of the nature level, couldn''t struggle to free himself from Langdon''s Deadly Swamp Trap. It seemed that Zen would soon be a dead man.


    Zen stretched his hands to deflect the hammers before they could hit his body.


    "You''re dead meat," Langdon shouted.


    He snorted and struck. He didn''t believe that Zen would dare to stop the hammers with his hands. The hammers had the power to destroy his body.


    "Bang!"


    Zen''s two hands caught the hammers.


    Langdon was wrong about Zen being too foolish and bold. Zen had managed to catch the hammers.


    "Impossible!" Langdon couldn''t believe what had happened.


    "Unbelievable! The kid is also naturally strong."


    "So that''s how he qualified for the All Peaks Competition despite being at the second-grade of the nature level," one disciple murmured. Langdon was born with infinite strength. Even the warriors at the Illuminating Soul Realm couldn''t fight him easily and confidently. However, Zen caught his hammers with his bare hands. What tremendous strength Zen had!


    Operating the two hammers was much easier than defending against them with bare hands.


    Although Langdon was arrogant, he wouldn''t dare to catch his hammers once they were in motion.


    The fact that Zen could do so successfully implied that Zen enjoyed much greater power than Langdon. Langdon gulped at the idea that he might be fighting a losing battle.


    Besides, the bronze hammers had been launched by Langdon at an accelerated speed. They could destroy warriors who had reached the peak of the nature level if they dared to use their bare hands in the fight.


    Zen was unscathed and safe. ''What is his body made with?'' Langdon wondered.


    Zen had used a third of his dragon scale power to catch the bronze hammers. He had faith in his strength and knew that his body could use this power to resist the hammers.


    Confidence was reflected in Zen''s eyes as he stared at Langdon and smiled.


    However, the smile on Zen''s face looked terrifying to Langdon.


    Langdon was proud of his strength. He refused to believe that another person could have greater physical strength.


    Unable to control the emotions surging through his body, Langdon''s eyes reddened. He couldn''t believe that he had been humiliated by an inferior person.


    "Wild striking!" Langdon roared.


    Then, the hammers in his hands began to spin wildly.


    "Bang, bang, bang."


    No matter what strategy Langdon used to hit Zen with his bronze hammers, Zen would avoid them easily.


    This fight was only an exercise to Zen.


    Whenever his hands touched the bronze hammers, he felt warm currents being produced in his body. Finally, they accumulated in his belly.


    Since the currents were refining his body, Zen wasn''t in a hurry to finish this battle, although he could do that easily. He chose to defend against the bronze hammers with his two bare hands.


    Even though there were nine fights ins


    h nor powerful. It couldn''t compare to any of the top seven noble clans.


    There were only a few good-quality hammers for him to choose from. What was worse, it was extremely difficult for Langdon to pick two hammers with the level of top-grade mysterious weapon. He knew that he couldn''t afford to lose his two hammers in this fight and buy new ones later. There was only one way out. He should try to find a capable hammer-smith to repair his hammers.


    He had to win. Otherwise, he would lose both, this fight and his weapon.


    If he lost his hammers in the fight with Zen, Langdon''s fighting capacity would be significantly weakened. He didn''t know what weapon he would wield in his next fight.


    "Rolling Lightning Hammers," Langdon shouted.


    Langdon suddenly stooped and directed the hammers to travel in a curved path. They seemed to be flying toward Zen''s legs.


    He hoped that Zen''s legs weren''t as hard as his body.


    During the battle, Langdon had tried to defeat Zen by striking his face and chest. His Rolling Lightning Hammers attacked his opponent''s legs, which usually were vulnerable owing to a lack of protection and exercise. If he succeeded, Langdon was sure that Zen''s legs would be broken.


    Then, Zen would have to beg for mercy.


    His move was unexpected and a surprise to Zen. Langdon rejoiced when he saw the surprise reflecting in Zen''s expression.


    However, before he could act further, Zen''s fists shot out toward the hammers.


    "Bang!" Zen''s iron fists pounded the bronze hammers. Two holes appeared on the special-processed ground of the arena as the two hammers landed on it.


    Langdon tried to retrieve his hammers, but couldn''t. Zen held the hammers tightly to the ground as if they were inset into the floor.


    Participants of the All Peaks Competition were strong-willed and refused to give up easily.


    Knowing that Zen couldn''t be beaten without playing his trump card, Langdon decided to abandon his weapon. He shouted, and his life vitality was released. Instantly, it formed an earthy yellow armor around his body.


    "Earthen Armor!"

 Chapter 366 The Array Flag

    After a long period of failed attacks, Langdon finally turned from the offensive to defensive, forming a thick shield by congealing layers of armor on his skin.


    "Ha! My Earthen Armour can stand against the full strength of an Illuminating Soul Realm master''s strike. You''re mighty strong, but what can you do to me now?" he sneered. "No one can break my armor without the help of life vitality."


    Originally, Langdon had no intentions to use this tactic. Talents emerged in large numbers during the All Peaks Competition, so many means had to be used at critical times in order to reverse the situation. If he didn''t use it this time, he would definitely lose the competition.


    As Zen''s first opponent in the competition, Langdon wasn''t very strong. Still, Zen was impressed that he had mastered so many techniques.


    "Can you really withstand a full strength blow from an Illuminating Soul Realm master?"


    Glancing at Langdon''s Earthen Armour, a small smile played on Zen''s lips. "In that case, let me try. Let''s test the limits of my strength," he taunted.


    "Crushing fist!"


    In a sudden move, Zen slipped sideways and his strength rose as he mobilized half of the dragon scales'' strength.


    His corporeal body was much stronger than that of ordinary people, not to mention when it was combined with the strength of dragon scales. Half of the dragon scales'' strength was able to increase Zen''s corporeal body power by the dozens.


    Poof!


    The sound that came from Zen''s fist punching Langdon''s Earthen Armor was as though he had hit on earth ground. Langdon''s earthen life vitality was supposed to be good for defense. His Earthen Armour was supposed to imitate the characteristics of the land that could bear the weight of anything. As it received an impact, it could instantly spread the offensive force throughout the entire armor, thereby weakening the opponent''s striking power.


    Thud, thud!


    Upon being hit by Zen''s fist, Langdon had to take two steps back, his face flushing red. Having assumed that Zen''s strength had already reached its limit was a wrong move on Langdon''s part. Under Zen''s mighty force, the life vitality rolled over in Langdon''s body and vented strong power, making it difficult for him to stand and he felt his Earthen Armour about to collapse.


    "How can this be possible?" Because Langdon was born a strong man, he knew how difficult it was to increase one''s strength even by a fraction when in limit condition. ''How come Zen''s power increased so much in an instant?


    Wasn''t that already the limit of his strength? Or is he infinitely powerful¡­and he wasn''t exerting much strength before?'' Langdon was left puzzled.


    Not missing a beat, Zen mobilized half of the dragon scales'' strength and punched Langdon''s Earthen Armour once again.


    Thud!


    With a heavy clunk, cracks started to form on the thick armor, as if it could shatter into pieces at any moment.


    Langdon''s face turned sickly flushed and after holding it in for a while, Langdon couldn''t help but spurt out a mouthful of blood.


    At this point, he realized he didn''t have to go on.


    Seeing Zen raising his fist, ready to dash over again, Langdon raised his arms and hurriedly shouted, "Referee, referee, I surrender!"


    "Zen won, Langdon lost!"


    The referee pronounced the competition results with a straight face.


    Since Langdon conceded his defeat, Zen stopped


    igent.


    If Mack finished deploying the battle array, his combat effectiveness would be greatly enhanced, which would inevitably affect Yehudi.


    Given this, Yehudi decided to take action as soon as Mack showed the array flag. A white spear appeared in Yehudi''s hands instantly.


    With that, Yehudi jabbed at Mack with his spear rapidly.


    "Eh, can he use a spear?" Master Wen asked.


    Never having seen Yehudi use a spear before, he was puzzled.


    The disciples of Drizzle Peak looked questioningly at one another.


    In their memory, Yehudi had never used weapons before as he accepted many challenges from inner disciples at Drizzle Peak. In his fights, he had always used boxing.


    As soon as he began the competition, though, he brought out his weapon. His white spear was not of low quality, but a middle-grade spiritual weapon.


    "Ha! It would seem that Yehudi has been keeping us in the dark," laughed Master Wen. It was clear that Yehudi hid his skill with the spear in order to use it in the All Peaks Competition. In the Art of War, it was said that "knowing oneself and one''s enemy ensures invincibility." Conversely, the less the enemy knew about you, the greater your chances of success were.


    However, another master of Drizzle Peak shook his head and told Master Wen, "Don''t celebrate too soon. Yehudi is using his spear in the beginning, which shows that he''s afraid of Mack''s magic array. Otherwise, he would have left the spear to use in the following combat."


    "You''re right. But the competition has just begun. The outcome depends on Yehudi''s performance," returned Master Wen.


    In the battlefield, Yehudi''s spear pierced the air. As it turned out, Mack was not only good at magic array, but also had good reflexes and he dodged Yehudi''s spear like a fish comfortably swimming amongst rocks.


    Failing to make any strike, Yehudi didn''t follow Mack''s figure any longer, knowing that the most dangerous thing wasn''t Mack himself, but his array flag. Once the magic array was deployed, his chances of success would be greatly reduced.


    Knowing this, Yehudi turned to stab the array flag down to the ground, wanting to destroy it.


    When he stabbed at the flag with his spear, though, his expression suddenly changed.

 Chapter 367 Anger (Part One)

    Producing magic arrays required the use of array flags.


    A magic array master mainly employed magic arrays during battles. However, they could not produce one during the fights. Instead, they prepared it in array flags ahead of time. In that way, when they needed to make one quickly during the fight, all they had to do was to set these array flags in particular places.


    The most efficient way to battle with a magic array master was to prevent him from creating a magic array. Because as soon as the master had successfully made a magic array, he was at an advantage during the fight, and it would be hard to defeat him since an ordinary magic array and a magic killing array were very powerful.


    Yehudi''s spear did not stab his opponent, Mack. Unfazed, he stabbed at the black array flag on the ground.


    The black flag appeared to notice Yehudi''s motion, and so it released a burst of black fog. The fog rushed at Yehudi rapidly as it tried to cover him.


    The black fog was one of Mack''s attack moves through his soul.


    To be precise, Mack did not use the black array flag to make a magic array. The black array flag was much like a defense move. When Yehudi had focused his attention on the black flag and then tried to attack it, it would release black fog to trap him.


    Warriors did not generally allow their opponent to create a magic array in battles. However, the magic array master could use all kinds of methods to fight, and Mack caught Yehudi due to a careless move of Yehudi.


    ''Do you really think you can destroy my magic array flag? Dream on!''


    A cold smile appeared on Mack''s face. Soon, he took out other array flags in different colors and put them in different places.


    At the time, Yehudi was already struggling against the first array flag. As that was the case, the addition of these other array flags did not sound good to him.


    When Yehudi heard the whooshing sounds, he could not help but frown.


    As Mack laid out six array flags this time around, he formed a hexagon with Yehudi in the


    i himself had an incomparable sensibility and he could notice the killing intent from Mack.


    These images might have been the same as his own true body, including the killing intent of him. However, Mack was not strong enough to make his magic array do that, and hence, Yehudi could find him from so many illusory images instinctually.


    "I never expected you to have such a great sensibility. It is a mistake to look down on you the last time. Now that''s it!


    Let''s see how you can get out of this!" Mack said, gritting his teeth. He took out a thin and long crystal and pressed it to the magic array controlling plate. Soon after the crystal was embedded in, seething energy emerged from the plate.


    The plate could control the magic array. When Mack had put an extra crystal into it, the magic array''s power increased.


    Unlike earlier, Yehudi was not calm anymore. Standing in the magic array, he seemed to have seen something terrifying and continuously struck with his spear while simultaneously feeling perplexed by it.


    Again, Mack held his black and red stick and snuck behind Yehudi with a stiff smile. While the latter pierced his spear in another direction, Mack waved his stick to knock Yehudi on his left shoulder with a strong force.


    "Stick Skill With Heavenly Strength!" he shouted while using his most powerful motion.

 Chapter 368 Anger (Part Two)

    As a magic array master, Mack was good at making arrays but his attack strength was not very strong. Nevertheless, he was at the consummation grade of the nature level, and Yehudi did nothing at all to stop his motion.


    "Bang!"


    The move of Mack hit Yehudi and shoved him dozens of meters away.


    Although Mack''s stick had hit Yehudi, the latter rolled over on the ground and stood up quickly, his spear supporting him. He held the weapon tightly and brushed past him.


    However, the man had retreated out of his reach, and thus Yehudi''s spear did not get to graze him at all.


    ''I thought the bones in your shoulder had broken into pieces, but you seem to have a nice defensive strength. It doesn''t matter. I have enough time, '' Mack thought with a cruel smile still on his face.


    While continuing to attack Yehudi from back, Mack avoided Yehudi''s spear.


    "Bang!"


    For the second time, he was able to hit Yehudi. This time, he succeeded in heavily striking the man on the back.


    Unable to stand the impact, Yehudi''s mouth opened as he cried in pain and blood simultaneously gushed out of it.


    ''Alas! It''s unfortunate that Yehudi has matched with a magic array master. He cannot destroy the magic array at all. All he can do is wait and be mercilessly beat up!'' thought Master Wen, shaking his head.


    The highest-level disciple of the Drizzle Peak had been defeated in such a cruel way. Having to witness the bad circumstance, Master Wen was certainly annoyed.


    "Yehudi just needs to admit defeat now.


    Why is he still holding on? He wouldn''t be out if he fails in this round, and yet I never expected that he''d be so stubborn!" another master said while frowning.


    Meanwhile, Zen gazed at the fighting court carefully. It was true that admitting failure and giving up the fight was not a difficult thing in Yehudi''s case, but Zen understood the man''s refusal to do so. Yehudi''s determination to step on the practicing road was very strong.


    It was crucial to persist, for the sake of his determination to step on the road to strengthen himself. In the martial arts field, this was the most precious thing to bear in mind.


    The reason why he


    of the Drizzle Peak in such a gruesome way, she would never let it go. If Aura had been there that day, there was no doubt she would have come up and stopped it from happening as well.


    "He is from our Ninety-foot Peak.


    So what would you do, Master Wen?


    Care to tell me?" An old woman spoke up, walking over with a cane. The old woman was the master of the Ninety-foot Peak. Although she did not have a high cultivation level, she had a high position in the Cloud Sect hierarchy. Rumors had it that even if a saint met her, she was still respected as Lady Hua.


    On hearing the words of Lady Hua, Master Wen stopped in his tracks. The elder woman was a tough person he could not offend easily.


    However, when Master Wen thought of Yehudi who almost died, he was furious all over again. The All Peak Competition was not a duel. Still, Mack was so cruel to his opponent. It was something that Master Wen could not stand. Just when he was about to argue again, the referee announced that Mack had won. Turning around, Master Wen realized that Yehudi had passed out.


    It was the rule of the All Peak Competition that if one side gave up fighting or could not continue anymore, he was defeated. Yehudi could not bear the hurt and passed out, so the referee directly announced Mack won this fight.


    Giving Mack a hard look, Master Wen jumped into the arena and took Yehudi away in his arms while everyone wordlessly watched them.

 Chapter 369 Rocher (Part One)

    Lady Hua patted Mack on the shoulder and complemented him, "Well done, Mack! Though you should take it a bit easy the next time. The rubbish of the Drizzle Peak doesn''t deserve so much so as to make you use the magic crystal!"


    The magic crystal was a kind of crystal stone which the magic array masters usually utilized to increase their array''s power. In battle, Mack hadn''t been able to completely trap Yehudi within his magic array. But when he used the magical crystal stone, the power of the magic array had suddenly increased several folds and made Yehudi completely defenseless.


    Master Wen lifted up the injured Yehudi and walked down the arena. Hearing Lady Hua refer to the disciples of the Drizzle Peak as rubbish, he was heavily pissed off, and his mustache was shaking with anger. "You!"


    Lady Hua glanced at Master Wen coldly, a smile finding its way to her wrinkled face. "What? You know very well that your peak always ranks the last. You only have one promising disciple, and that too is at the consummation of nature level. Oh, not to mention, we beat him like this. What do we call such contestants if not rubbish?"


    Ninety-foot Peak had ranked eleventh among the thirty-three peaks and showed much potential. Besides, at only eighteen years old, Mack was very young. Moreover, he was not the top disciple of the Ninety-foot Peak. They were very ambitious at the time, aiming to get into the top five in the competition. For that reason, they had saved several trump cards up their sleeves.


    Hearing the remark, the disciples of the Drizzle Peak all became very indignant. They stared at Mack and Lady Hua with fury. But there was nothing they could do since both of them were more powerful than most of them put together. They had no choice but to keep silent.


    After Master Wen put down Yehudi gently, he took out a pill and prepared to stuff it into Yehudi''s mouth.


    Before he could, Zen handed him a red pill and asked, "Master Wen, give him this."


    Master Wen narrowed his eyes and glanced at the pill Zen was handing over to him. Shock registered on his face immediately. It was the Red Cloud Pill.


    Expensive as the fifth-grade pills were, Zen still could afford them with his fortune. Since he didn''t have to worry about money, he usually carried such pills wit


    him after Zen had taken his place and become the top disciple in the Drizzle Peak. He also told Zen what he knew about the rules and other information of the All Peaks Competition, which had helped Zen immensely in his quest for a general idea about the competition.


    So Zen made up his mind that he would take revenge on the Ninety-foot Peak for what they had done to Yehudi.


    "Don''t take the enemy lightly. The magic array is too powerful..." It was not that Yehudi didn''t believe in Zen''s strength. However, to break free from the magic array, one had to rely on spiritual powers. And it was a very difficult affair indeed to cultivate them. Even though he was at the consummation of nature level, Yehudi was still weak spiritually. Zen was at the second-grade of the nature level. His advantage was his inborn strong power. But breaking the magic array based solely on his inborn strong power was next to impossible and that was what had Yehudi worried.


    But he didn''t know that Zen''s spirit was as solid as a rock after being tempered by the huge furnace. Since he had practiced the Spiritual Thorn and had reached the realm of forgetting himself, his spiritual level far exceeded that of his fellows. Even among the disciples who had reached the consummation of nature level, it was hardly possible to find anyone who could match Zen at the spiritual level.


    Yehudi didn''t want to discourage Zen, and was warning him for his own good. Zen nodded, reassuring him that he would be careful if his opponent was Mack.

 Chapter 370 Rocher (Part Two)

    While they were talking, eighteen warriors came into the arena to compete. But in this round, there was no disciple from the Drizzle Peak.


    Suddenly, all the spectators started cheering loudly as they saw a person step into the arena.


    The man they were encouraging was clad in a white robe. It was not the kind of white robe the outer disciples usually wore. It was made of silk and the man had a noble aura, carrying a Cyan-blade Sword on his back.


    "It''s Rocher from the Skytop Peak!" People were surprised to see him so early. With his powers, they had expected him to show up much later in the competition.


    "No matter how strong Rocher is, he is not a personal disciple. He still needs to start from the earlier stages of competition."


    "Just keep watching. We''ll benefit from watching the fight between those strong contestants. It''s also a good way to improve ourselves as we can learn a lot about martial art skills from them."


    The appearance of Rocher Hua had given rise to much discussion.


    "Rocher..." Zen shook his head. He knew nothing about this man. It looked like this man was very famous in the Cloud Sect. But whatever his fame or popularity, Zen had never heard of him. He was thinking that if he didn''t know about this man, it would imply that he was ignorant.


    When it came to the master hands in the Skytop Peak, Zen only knew Lenard Zhu. The real strength of the Skytop Peak could never be underestimated. Lenard was not the top disciple of the Skytop Peak, but he had the kind of strength which had enabled him to confront a demon general. Rocher Hua, on the other hand, whilst standing in the arena, had a commanding manner in his every movement, which put Zen on high alert.


    However, there was no visible reaction on Zen''s face, seeing which, Master Wen explained to him, "Rocher is from a humble origin. But he has special talents, which have rarely been seen for the past five centuries or so. He has reached the consummation of nature level at the age of eighteen. Furthermore, he grasps the sword intent more deeply than anyone else, and once, successfully broke a record which had been set by a master from the Illuminating Soul Realm. If you encounter him in the arena, you''d better give up."


    As Yehudi had been defeated rather badly, Master Wen was greatly discouraged. From his point of view, all his hopes were pinned on Zen but the chance


    use.


    While his excellence compared to all the other disciples of the Cloud Sect was yet to be decided, one thing was for sure; Rocher was undoubtedly the most popular disciple in the Cloud Sect.


    The popularity was largely attributed to his humble origins. From an anonymous boy to a powerful man who reached such a high level that he had broken the record set by a master of the Illuminating Soul Realm, his story was legend everywhere and contributed to his fame deeply.


    The competition continued in the arena.


    The group fights were supposed to eliminate three-fourths of the disciples. Every disciple had to fight at least two or three rounds. This was a long and tiring process.


    Later, another three disciples of the Drizzle Peak entered the arena to contest in the rounds. But it seemed that their overall performance was not so encouraging. Except for Zen who won in the second round, all the other disciples ended in failure.


    When it came to the eighth round, it was Zen''s turn to fight again.


    "Zen of the Drizzle Peak Vs. York of the Sea Peak!"


    The judge''s voice came loud and clear. Master Wang from the Sea Peak suddenly laughed upon hearing this while Master Wen''s face darkened.


    York was in the good graces of Master Wang. Master Wen obviously sensed that York was a seeded player of the Sea Peak and his strength should not be underestimated. The Sea Peak had stayed silent in the past few years. They were actually accumulating their strength and lying in wait to surprise everyone in the All Peaks Competition.


    Zen Vs. York. God bless Zen!

 Chapter 371 Mad-monster Hacking

    "Hah, the Drizzle Peak disciples have been knocked out so soon! Thought they wouldn''t have a chance to fight against us before getting eliminated. Their rotten luck! York, it''s your turn now," Master Wang sneered.


    York walked out from behind his master and stretched out to warm himself up. Keeping a fixed eye on Zen, he remarked to Master Wang, "Three moves. The boy will be beaten by me under three moves."


    To York, Zen''s strength of grade-two nature level was not even worth considering. It could never hold up to his own power. Zen had employed his stupendous innate strength moments ago, but how would that fare against York? No matter how much strength he had, his life vitality couldn''t outmatch York''s power and speed. ''Zen would be rash to try, '' York told himself conceitedly.


    Overhearing the conversation between Master Wang and York, Master Wen rubbed his long face. He wanted to refute the claim but didn''t know how to.


    Previously, he had been somewhat confident about Zen and Yehudi, but the latter was defeated in the first round and had gotten himself injured. He couldn''t join the next round, which frustrated Master Wen. The master could do nothing but endure York''s taunt with some contempt.


    This was how the warriors'' world operated. Strength was respected, and the weak only had one of two roads to choose from: to endure or to die. Fortunately, this was Cloud Sect. In the world outside, the weak didn''t have a chance to even endure.


    "Three moves?" Zen raised his brows at that. His demeanor exuded tranquility, like he was impervious to all desires and passions.


    But that didn''t mean Zen would tolerate this. There were many powerful men in the world who deserved his tolerance, such as the head of the Cloud Sect, Kenneth, who was currently sitting on the platform. But York wouldn''t be one of them. Even if York was truly capable, he wasn''t good enough to alarm Zen.


    "Yes. Three moves would be enough for me to beat you. If there is no accident, I would only need two." York laughed with disdain.


    "If you can''t beat me in three moves, would you admit your defeat?" Zen asked him with a smile.


    York snorted. "I know you are trying to provoke me. You want me to admit my loss if you counter my three moves? Fine. I concede. Three moves. If I can''t beat you, I will admit my defeat!"


    "All right! York, you are the number one inner disciple at Sea Peak. Remember, you are powerful enough to dominate anyone," Master Wang said to him. He wasn''t worried about York''s impulsive declaration, for he had evaluated York''s strength to be close to the late stage of consummation. It would be easy for him to defeat a young disciple only at grade two of the nature level. As per his calculations, York could end the fight against Zen in one mere move, let alone three.


    Zen curled his lip, not saying another word as he strode to the competition field.


    The disciples of this round arrived one after the other. Soon, Zen was on the opposite side of York.


    "Keep


    -to-face with York''s cutter shadows, he was able to stand his ground and would even allow them to cut him without injury.


    But it could get too chaotic if Zen did that, so he chose to break York''s cutter shadows with his fist instead.


    "You''ve used up your two moves. This is your last chance," Zen said with a smile.


    The power in his fists was obvious. The spectators present in the arena kept this attribute in mind.


    The innate superhuman strength Zen had just shown did not particularly grab eye-balls. However, being able to break the cutter shadows to pieces with his fist alone attracted their attention. Most of the people who made a note of his power were the masters of the different peaks. If any disciples from their own peaks competed with Zen in the next set of rounds, they could inform them to be heedful of the impregnable fists.


    "Bravo, Zen!" Master Wen, who was watching the competition from the sidelines, suddenly cheered. He could finally breathe a sigh of relief.


    From the moment he led the disciples from Drizzle Peak to this contest, he had been suffering. Now, he could finally hold his head high. At the same time, he didn''t forget to remind Zen to be careful. "The third move is still left!


    Zen, watch out!"


    "Come on, Zen! Defeat York!"


    "He is a coward! If he can''t defeat you with the last move, he will lose!"


    The disciples from Drizzle Peak kicked up a fuss at the opportunity.


    Master Wang from Sea Peak wore a straight, gloomy face. He couldn''t figure out how Zen had refined his fists, but after realizing the power in them, he knew that York would find it difficult to cope with Zen.


    York narrowed his eyes. Earlier, he had looked down upon Zen and his abilities, but he wasn''t anxious or impetuous by nature. As a swordsman, he could easily brush aside any negative emotions.


    After some while, York raised his black-blue antique machete slowly as the decisive words flew out of his mouth.


    "Mad-monster Hacking! Break it!"

 Chapter 372 One Move

    Among York''s sword skills, Mad-monster Hacking was his most powerful move.


    The refinement technique he practiced had some attributes of wind, since his martial arts emphasized being quick, hard and violent.


    As he wielded his machete in preparation to hack Zen, whirlpools appeared before his black-blue antique machete. A sharp coldness could be felt from the consequently formed spinning currents.


    The intents of blade, sword, and spear


    were extremely difficult to grasp.


    For even just coming to understand a bit of blade intent, York was already an amazing warrior. No matter what martial arts move he used, the blade intent greatly multiplied its power.


    The only problem was that York was incapable of covering the whole machete with the blade intent, so he could only apply a little blade intent to the revolving aura on the blade before trying to hack Zen.


    Given the situation, York actually felt that his use of the blade intent was enough to beat or even kill the man.


    "How can you resist this?" murmured York with narrowed eyes.


    A cold smile appeared on his face as he rushed towards Zen with the Mad-monster Hacking technique.


    As his opponent dashed towards him, Zen squinted at the machete in the other''s hands.


    He could feel the blade intent flowing through the black-blue antique machete.


    Be that as it might, the blade intent wasn''t enough to hurt or even threaten Zen.


    It hadn''t been long since Zen started to feel and create the sword intent himself--he was already capable of using the intent at will. It would cover more than three square meters surrounding his body and if anybody attempted to enter his circle of defense, he could easily snap his fingers and they would be torn to pieces.


    The blade intent, which York was so proud of, was nothing to Zen.


    Before York''s hacking technique could even reach Zen''s body, Zen''s eyes began to glow. His sword intent suddenly formed and immediately smashed York''s blade intent to bits.


    Because the real strength and power of Mad-monster Hacking lay in the blade intent, once it was destroyed, he was basically harmless to Zen.


    "What the fuck?"


    Zen''s counterattack left York shocked and paralyzed.


    The blade intent which he had taken a great amount of his effort and time in mastering disappeared in the blink of an eye.


    ''Impossible!''


    The blade intent was formless and his understanding of its nature was profound and unforgettable.


    It was indestructible unless Zen had created his own intent, be it sword intent, spear intent or others.


    ''Has he come to understand some kind of intent on his own?'' Doubts began filling York''s mind.


    The lack of refinement in his attack made York let his guard down. Zen''s counterattack was so swift and he withdrew it even more quickly, leaving York clueless as to why his blade intent disappeared.


    Due to the doubts in his heart, his Mad-Monster Hacking technique began to sway unsteadily.


    A capable warrior should have a strong heart and mind no matter what was thrown in his path. If he was swayed and began to doubt himself, he would find himself losing the fight.


    Anyhow, Zen was already certain that


    Someone who can easily go back on his word?"


    As he avoided York''s attack, Zen derided the other''s inconsistent words.


    "Shut up!"


    Not able to stand Zen''s accusations any longer, he concentrated on striking him down.


    "Your fourth, fifth, sixth move¡­"


    While warding off York''s hacking, Zen counted each of his moves.


    It was beyond York to predict how fast Zen moved and responded to his attacks. Exhausted from all his attacking, York had to try his best. Still, Zen remained untouchable, making it clear who was the more agile and cleverer one between the two. What was worse, whenever York made a move, Zen never failed to counter it and mock him like a joke.


    "Your eightieth move¡­


    Your one-hundredth move. Such a loser you are, York. You''ve made a hundred moves and still couldn''t touch me."


    Zen''s laughs and mockery were relentless.


    "Go fuck yourself." York''s heart was filled with nothing but flames of rage, driving him to use the Mad-Monster Hacking technique once again.


    "You made your move a hundred times, but failed to attack in every single one. Let me tell you the truth, York. I can defeat you in a single move." After rambling on with his taunts, the smile on Zen''s face disappeared. In a single blow, he bent forward and punched York''s chest before his hacking could do any harm.


    Before that moment, it turned out that he was still hiding his trump card. Zen''s move was so quick that the whole audience was stunned frozen by his tremendous speed and explosive power.


    Bang!


    With a powerful strike, York flew into the air and hit the enchanted barrier above the arena.


    The entire area was divided with enchanted barriers into nine parts to avoid chances of the participants getting disturbed or influenced by the other contestants.


    Luckily for York, the enchanted barrier was built soft and protective. Otherwise, his bones would have been shattered to pieces as his body slammed against it.


    Still, the blow was absolutely crushing.


    Several of his ribs were broken, and all he could do was lie on the barrier, shocked and terrified into silence.

 Chapter 373 Breaking Your Enchanted Barrier (Part One)

    Even though he had exerted himself to the extreme, Zen was still out of his reach. Since the competition started, Zen had been combating only by the dint of his body and speed¡ªhe had not yet even exercised a single bit of his life vitality.


    ''Is this guy really at the grade two of nature level?''


    ''He must be a monster¡­''


    Seeing Zen strutting towards him with a smile not quite reaching his eyes and a chilling gaze, as if he was staring at a dead man, York felt a shudder run up his spine. In haste, he yelled at the referee, "I¡­I give up!


    I, York of Sea Peak, give up!"


    Void of any expression, the referee announced the result of the combat. "Zen won, York lost!"


    As the combat came to a conclusion, the light curtain of the enchanted barrier retreated sideways. Clutching at his chest, York blundered all the way off the arena as though there was a devil on his tail.


    "Zen, you''re awesome!"


    "That''s right! You have to be harsh to guys who eat their own words!"


    The turnout of the combat left the disciples of Drizzle Peak pumped up. Meanwhile, those from Sea Peak were left quiet and ashen-faced.


    This time, Sea Peak not only lost the match but also their reputation. ''If York defeated Zen, we would still have a chance to turn the situation around. In the world of martial arts practitioners, the winners are considered heroes. If Sea Park won, we would be victorious. So what if one guy broke his word? Will you Drizzle Peak disciples complain like a whining housewife?'' thought the members of Sea Peak in their hearts.


    Believing that they would win, many of the Sea Peak disciples were ready to make a counterattack against the potential accusation of they breaking their words with their snide remarks.


    However, York lost to Zen. That was way beyond anyone''s expectations.


    It was utterly unimaginable for the disciples of Sea Peak. Even as they watched the battle unfold, they could not understand why York fell so weak that he could barely strike a threatening attack, even as he went above and beyond the three moves that he promised he would use to defea


    still had a chance to enter the next round. However, after being mauled in such a way, even if some mystical medicine could work its magic and heal Yehudi, it was impossible for him to take on another battle within such a short time.


    It was no wonder that everyone from Drizzle Peak hated Mack.


    "Zen, pay attention to Mack''s magic array. The array that bastard sets up could be wicked," Yehudi reminded Zen before he went up to the stage. After having fought him previously, Mack''s magic array still made Yehudi''s heartbeat stutter with fear.


    With a nod, Zen agreed. "Got it. I''ll be more careful."


    In addition, Master Wen advised, "If you find yourself no match for him, just throw in the towel. No need to force yourself to persist to the very end. This guy is a real monster inside."


    Given that Zen had gained two consecutive victories already and was almost guaranteed an opportunity to make it to the next round, Master Wen didn''t want Zen to push himself too much and he hoped his advice would keep Zen safe and sound until the next battle.


    Though Zen nodded, he did not take the advice seriously. When it came to participating in such combat-based competitions, more often than not, the contestants were merely fighting for their esteem. Now that Zen had entered the All Peaks Competition, he was determined to win.


    With fiery eyes, Zen stepped into the arena.

 Chapter 374 Breaking Your Enchanted Barrier (Part Two)

    "Eh?


    Why another Drizzle Peak disciple? I seem to be destined to take on the whole of Drizzle Peak today." At the sight of Zen, Mack faked an innocent smile. Beneath the harmless expression lay his brutal, unconcealable nature.


    "Yeah, it''s sort of destined," Zen responded coolly. Although the disciple did not show much emotion when he witnessed Yehudi being tormented by Mack, in truth, a strong impulse took hold of him¡ªto rush to the center of the arena and smash Mack to pieces. Still, this was the All Peaks Competition. With several saints, elders, and even head of the sect present, Zen couldn''t dare to charge and attack Mack as he wanted to, no matter how confident he was about his explosive force.


    Licking his lips maliciously, Mack asked, "That guy named Yehudi¡­he''s the best in Drizzle Peak, isn''t he?


    Did you see how he ended up? If you''re scared, don''t worry, you can admit your defeat right now!"


    As he taunted Zen, Mack pointed at the referee to the side of the battle ground with an genuine smile on his face.


    No one could deny that Mack seemed like a sanguine boy. His tanned skin and strong build made him look very healthy and full of vitality. However, his style of fighting entirely contrasted his image.


    "Admit my defeat?" With a drastic arch of his brows, Zen strolled up to Mack, cracking his knuckles. "I sure want to see what on earth you can do to make me admit my defeat."


    Zen''s body was nearly as hard and strong as a medium-grade spiritual weapon, so the periosteum in his knuckles was also peerlessly firm and tenacious¡ªa loud crack could be heard from every flex of his knuckle.


    Snap!


    Snap!


    Snap!


    The cracks reverberated across the arena like thunderclaps.


    Although the other eight pairs already started battling and their weapons crashed and clattered against each other, still, their crashing sounds, shouts, and barks were all drowned out by the cracking of Zen''s knuckles.


    Many disciples darted curious looks at Zen, hardly able to imagine that a man could cause such loud, thundering sounds as he flexed his knuckles.


    "That''s nothing imp


    !


    Under the immense impact of Zen''s punch, jets of emerald green emerged below the flag¡ªthere was an enchanted barrier attached to the flag, keeping it protected.


    "By the way, this magic array flag of mine is a top-grade spiritual weapon, called Star-shifting Flag. How could you possibly damage it?" Mack yelled smugly.


    Now, he had bought himself plenty of time to lay out a large-sized magic array to handle Zen. His smirk was replaced with a languid expression as he took out another flag in no hurry, ready to build a new magic array.


    "You said I can''t damage it?"


    With a sneer, Zen landed a ruthless blow on the Star-shifting Flag.


    Wham!


    Zen''s left hand slammed hard into the flag. Apart from the pure force, he added a bit of energy from the Emerald Crystal in it.


    The enchanted barrier of such little magnitude was nothing to Zen. Compared to the enchanted barrier of Yolande, this one was a far cry from it.


    With that in mind, Zen believed that only a tiny amount of the Emerald Crystal energy would be enough.


    In almost no time, red cracks began sprawling across the flag and its enchanted barrier collapsed in an instant.


    "What?"


    Across the arena, Mack still had several flags in his hands that had not yet been arranged in the proper positions. At the astonishing scene, Mack''s eyes went so wide as if they could fall out of his eye sockets at any moment.

 Chapter 375 Heaven-Fire Killing Array (Part One)

    Mack seemed unconcerned, but nothing escaped his attention. He deliberately pretended to curse and mock Zen as he thought little of him.


    However, he tried to remember every small detail of every potential opponent in the arena.


    Mack used his unique methods to estimate everybody, including Rocher Hua from Skytop Peak, Vittoria Zhu from Lady Peak, and even Stark Xia from his own peak.


    Mack had seen Zen''s strength, his speed and his impenetrable defense.


    Despite of his feigned composure, Mack remained vigilant. Now that he was confronting Zen, he chose to use his Star-Shifting Flag first.


    The Star-shifting Flag was considered to be one of the best spiritual weapons, not for the horrible damage that it could cause, but for the revolving magic array and the enchanted rune barrier inset on the flag.


    Anybody who dared to come close to the Star-shifting Flag would find himself spinning uncontrollably. The spinning wouldn''t stop until the enchanted barrier was broken or the Star-shifting Flag was destroyed.


    However, shattering the Star-shifting Flag was extremely difficult.


    Even the warriors who reached the Illuminating Soul Realm found it challenging and time-consuming to break the enchanted rune barrier.


    But, none of those warriors was like Zen. He hit the enchanted barrier with his fist, and it broke. It seemed impossible. But it was true! The barrier couldn''t be broken by regular strength. But, Zen succeeded with brute force.


    Mack was confused.


    He had no idea that the Emerald Crystal on Zen''s left arm was the bane of the enchanted barrier. Even the barrier created by warriors who had already entered the late stages of the Illuminating Soul Realm could be easily restrained by the power of the Emerald Crystal. The enchanted barrier on the Star-shifting Flag couldn''t endanger Zen.


    The enchanted barrier was produced by inscribing runes on it. It


    r he had reached the Illuminating Soul Realm. In that regard, Mack was more talented than him.


    On the other side, the force of the Heaven-Fire killing array was terrifying.


    "The force of Heaven-Fire is stored in this killing array. I intended to use it when I battle with those personal disciples. However, I have to use it here and now, because you destroyed my Star-shifting Flag. Believe me, you''ll regret your foolishness soon," laughed Mack wildly. He pulled out a magic array tablet from his robe and fiddled with it with his fingers. Then, lights of life vitality were connected with the array flags through the tablet.


    Zen, surrounded by the Heaven-Fire killing array, felt as though the sky and the earth were spinning. Soon, he was engulfed by complete darkness.


    This killing array separated people inside from the outer world. The audience had no idea what was happening inside.


    Zen had witnessed the workings of a magic array many times. The illusions were created by the array flags to confuse an enemy.


    Cloud Sect''s Bloody Mountain and all other mysterious places used by warriors to practice their martial arts, had been using magic arrays. However, none of those magic arrays were as good as the fairyland in the fairy palace.

 Chapter 376 Heaven-Fire Killing Array (Part Two)

    Zen entered another space after the magic array engulfed him.


    Inside, it was extremely hot. The parched earth was full of cracks, like the wrinkles on the face of a ninety-year-old woman. Zen looked around and saw several fire pits surrounding him.


    Not far away, Mack was floating in the sky, smiling hideously.


    "Zen, I love seeing my enemies suffer more than anything else. Seeing your face burn will cheer me. Your skin will feel scorched, and your face will be a mess. Your pain will excite me the most. Ha-ha! Now, I''m gonna burn every part of your body, and soon, you''ll beg for mercy." Lights flickered on the magic array tablet. Then, the fire pits surrounding Zen were refueled, and a burning smell filled the air.


    "Are these illusions? Is Mack an illusion?" Zen stood quietly and kept a sharp lookout. He wouldn''t act till he figured out how this magic killing array worked.


    "Bang!"


    Flames erupted from the countless fire pits and flew into the sky. Then, dozens of stone men crawled from the fire pits.


    The stone men were burning red, and flames could be seen extending behind their backs as if they were red cloaks that stretched into the sky.


    The stone men stood and then ran toward Zen. As the air became hotter, Zen felt as though his face was being scorched.


    "The force of this Heaven-Fire killing array is formidable! I intended to advance from the group competitions while hiding my real strength and only using my body as my weapon. However, disciples of Cloud Sect are much stronger than regular warriors from the outer world."


    Ordinary warriors who had reached the pinnacle of the nature level stood no chance to defeat him. However, Mack did impose a significant threat to Zen. Apparently, Zen made a mistake by under-estimating disciples from Cloud Sect. They weren''t like the weak war


    ''s quite impressive. Even practitioners at the Illuminating Soul Realm can''t do that. But it is a joke that you''re so confident and that you believe you can beat me," Mack said to Zen and smiled coldly, as he floated in the sky.


    The fire crackled on the ground. A long time passed before the fire finally died out.


    The magic killing array could create illusions and use them to kill people inside. While people trapped in the array could get hurt, it wasn''t their body that got damaged, but their spirit.


    If Zen were burned to death inside the magic killing array, his soul could be severely wounded, and he would become an idiot.


    "Burn, burn! After you know nothing and remember nothing, I''ll take you out of this killing array. Then, I''ll teach you how to behave yourself. Ha-ha!" He smiled. Mack could imagine the tremendous pain being inflicted on Zen. He imagined Zen was burning alive, and begging for mercy desperately. He would be like a fish thrown into a frying pan, and only death awaited him.


    When the fire finally died out, a figure appeared. His body emitted a golden light, like a God. He looked intimidating.


    Mack didn''t expect this. His pupils dilated as if he had seen a ghost.

 Chapter 377 Defeated Mack

    "Fire...where''s the fire?"


    Mack stuttered, with a look of disbelief.


    The fire on the stone men was not ordinary at all.


    Even in the Heaven-Fire killing array, the power of different kinds of heavenly fire varied. Meanwhile, the effect of the force depended on the realm.


    Mack had always been confident about the fire. Once, when he had gone out for cultivation, a meteorite fell and made a big hole in the ground. The flame had burned for three days and nights in the pit. During this time, Mack had observed and contemplated the flame.


    Mack was lucky because not every practitioner had the opportunity to observe a meteorite''s flame. Since then, the fire had become a powerful weapon for him.


    However, Mack was unable to use the meteorite''s flame at will. Only after the killing array had been arranged, could he transform his life vitality into this powerful flame and release it through the illusion.


    While the stone men was an illusion created by Mack, the meteorite''s flame was real.


    At that moment, Zen stood before him, unscathed and surrounded by a strong aura. ''Why is he safe from the flame of the meteorite? Is he immune to fire?


    No, it''s impossible! Even the legendary son of fire can''t be immune to fire. He can only offset the damage from the flame of a meteorite after his understanding of fire has reached a certain degree, '' Mack thought.


    "I can''t believe the flame didn''t burn you! Stone men of flame, come on! Go!" Mack ordered with gritted teeth. The stone men rushed at Zen from all directions.


    When attacked by fire, Zen''s body would produce warm currents that would absorb the damage. During this time, Zen would be in a peaceful state. However, Zen noticed that the meteorite''s flame had not changed his body much. He looked at the dense golden Sanskrit words on his body and shook his head.


    At the very beginning, his body had been refined by Evil Lan''s fire, then by the fire of the Earth''s core, and the demon''s holy fire.


    Although the flame of the meteorite was powerful, its purity degree was much lower than that of the fire of the Earth''s core and the demon''s holy fire. Besides, since Zen''s body had reached the middle-grade level of a spiritual weapon, the flame of the meteorite was not powerful enough to refine his body. That was why his body hadn''t absorbed this flame.


    In other words, Zen''s body had refused to absorb the flame of the meteorite, because the level of the flame was too low. Instead of forming a golden whirlpool to absorb the flame, his body had released some golden Sanskrit words to protect him from harm.


    With tens of thousands of Sanskrit words attached to his skin, Zen looked like a golden man. Now, he was fearless in the face of the stone men of flame.


    A sneer appeared on Zen''s face when he saw the stone men coming toward him.


    "Break!" Zen shouted.


    Then he reached out and punched them.


    "Bang! Bang! Bang...:"


    In the blink of an eye, Zen crushed a few more stone men of flame.


    Now, the remaining stone men of flame had gathered around Zen. With a roar, Mack triggered the explosion of all stone men at the same time.


    "Explode! I don''t believe y


    k.


    Yehudi sat still and adjusted his breath. After eating the Red Cloud Pill, he needed to mix it with his life vitality so that the pill would spread through the meridians of his body. Only in this way could the effect of the Red Cloud Pill be activated.


    Now, in spite of focusing on the Red Cloud Pill, he kept an eye on the battle ring.


    Yehudi had always kept calm no matter what the situation. Because his mother was a concubine, he had been mistreated since he was a child. Later, he had become the best disciple of Drizzle Peak, step by step, through his efforts and extraordinary talent. Although Drizzle Peak ranked last among the thirty-three peaks, his cultivation was beyond most disciples of all the peaks.


    Yehudi had never been self-content. He had seen many high-level cultivators, so he knew that his achievements were not worthy of being celebrated.


    No matter what the conditions, he had always dedicated himself to his martial arts and climbed the peak of cultivation practice. However, he had received a setback from Mack today. Not just Yehudi, all the disciples from Drizzle Peak looked sullen and defeated.


    Except for Zen. Yehudi was Drizzle Peak''s principal disciple. In fact, many disciples didn''t know Zen, but they had heard of Yehudi.


    Yehudi was filled with shame. As the disciple with the highest cultivation level at Drizzle Peak, he had been defeated by Mack. And he hadn''t been able to fight back. A sense of shame, like a ghost, hovered in his mind.


    He felt as if a stone was being pressed against his chest and he could hardly breathe.


    If Yehudi couldn''t stop thinking in this way, he would be stuck at the pinnacle of the nature level, and he would be unable to make further progress in the future.


    Now, he could only rely on himself or Zen to get rid of his mental burden. If Zen could teach Mack a lesson on behalf of Drizzle Peak, Yehudi would be relieved.


    "Zen, you must win!" Yehudi encouraged Zen.


    At the other end of the battle ring, Master Yu was talking with Saint Yang. The atmosphere of their conversation seemed very relaxed.

 Chapter 378 Giving Him A Good Beating (Part One)

    "Mack showed an extraordinary talent for the array as soon as he joined Blackrock Peak. You arranged a secret cultivation place for the outer disciples of our peak at that time, called the Brilliance Body Refining Array. Do you remember it?" Master Yu asked with a smile.


    Saint Yang nodded and said, "I remember it. At that time, only a few peaks such as Blackrock Peak, Skytop Peak, and Azure Peak, owned secret cultivation places for outer disciples. The Brilliance Body Refining Array was what I arranged for outer disciples of your peak to refine their bodies."


    Most of the outer disciples of Cloud Sect hadn''t reached the nature level. Many of them remained at the marrow refining level, the 5th grade of the body refining realm. So Saint Yang arranged the magic array at that time to help the outer disciples clear the impurities from their bodies.


    "One day, the array didn''t work properly. I didn''t know what happened. Maybe it was the torrential rain and the thunderbolt the day before that led to the malfunction. I knew you were busy, so I didn''t want to bother you. But I couldn''t find a person who knew how to repair the array. That''s when Mack offered to help me. I didn''t believe he could fix it as he was just a new outer disciple while the magic array was sophisticated and powerful. But I permitted him to try, and to my surprise, he did it! So far, the magic array has been running smoothly! Haha!" said Master Yu with a smile.


    "Oh, really? He fixed the array? Well, well, I''ll take a closer look at his battle. If he can make it to the top 100, I will consider accepting him as my personal disciple," said Saint Yang as he stroked his beard.


    Master Yu smiled and said, "Mack has been focused on


    was more ruthless than he had thought! He had no choice but to wait for the opportunity to admit defeat to the referee.


    But as he opened his mouth, another punch came. Zen didn''t give him the slightest chance.


    "Bam!"


    Zen punched him on the face. Blood spurted all over Mack''s face, and a few of his teeth broke and fell on the ground. Although pills could cure these injuries, and broken teeth could regenerate, Mack was afraid that it would take him a long time to recover from the damage.


    Zen didn''t give Mack any chance to admit defeat. He controlled the power of his fists so that Mack wouldn''t pass out. At the same time, he tried to make Mack feel as much physical pain as possible!


    The referee watched the scene coldly. As a referee, he was just following the rules. He didn''t care about the life and death of these disciples.


    Seeing this, many disciples of Cloud Sect began to whisper among themselves.


    "Zen is so cruel! He won''t allow his opponent to admit defeat! He has gone too far!"


    "You didn''t watch the previous match, did you? In my opinion, Mack is getting what he deserves!"


    "What do you mean?"

 Chapter 379 Giving Him A Good Beating (Part Two)

    "Earlier today, Mack defeated Yehudi, the top-most inner disciple at Drizzle Peak. But Mack didn''t spare Yehudi. He went on beating him until Yehudi fainted. He didn''t let Yehudi go at that time. I think it fair that he is now being attacked violently by Zen, who also comes from Drizzle Peak. Mack deserves it!"


    "Oh, I see. He is getting what he deserves! But Zen is too strong. He is only at the second-grade of the nature level, and he can avenge Yehudi. It''s incredible! He must be stronger than the Jacques years ago. Jacques was also at the second-grade of the nature level three years ago, and he was able to become one of the top 100 disciples. Considering Zen''s fighting capability, he should be able to make it to the top 100, too. I think he is likely to be selected as a personal disciple!"


    There was a lot of discussion about the battle, and many more people were giving their opinions.


    "Good! Well done!" Master Wen jumped with joy and his face flustered with excitement. It looked as if he were the man who was beating Mack in the arena.


    The disciples of Drizzle Peak held their heads high as pride filled them. Yehudi was the most excited. He sat cross-legged on the ground, but he was no longer focused on the absorption of the pill. His fists were so tightly clenched that his nails broke through the skin on his palm. Blood oozed from the wound.


    "Zen, thank you!" murmured Yehudi. The humiliation brought by Mack and the subsequent shame Yehudi felt seemed to be gradually dissipating.


    The disciples of Blackrock Peak, however, had sour expressions on their faces at this time. Master Yu''s face darkened as he gloomily watched the battle in the arena.


    "Master Yu, let me stop him!" said a man next to Master Yu. He wore a blue gown with dragons painted on it. A purple hat glimmered on his head, and a jade pendant dangled on his waist. His dignified bearing marked him out from the common people.


    His surname was Su, and he was the sixth


    lly?" Zen threw another punch at Mack before sneering, "All right. I''ll wait. I''ll wait and see how the disciples of Blackrock Peak will return the pain to me!"


    Zen was not afraid of Master Yu. He continued to hit Mack at his own pace. Mack was so weak that he had no power to resist. But Zen ensured that his attacks weren''t powerful enough to let him faint, nor did Zen allow Mack the opportunity to admit defeat. It appeared as though Zen was gruesomely torturing Mack.


    However, Mack seemed to have forgotten that he enjoyed humiliating others like this.


    Finally, Zen kicked Mack to the sky. Mack collided with the light curtain of the enchanted barrier and passed out.


    The referee declared, "Zen from Drizzle Peak won. Mack from Blackrock Peak lost."


    Mack''s failure had attracted the attention of many people.


    A few people knew that Mack was not as weak as he appeared in this fight and that his magic killing array was very powerful. But they didn''t realize how strong Zen was.


    Most people didn''t even know how Zen won the game. After all, the battle between Zen and Mack was carried out in the magic killing array, and the light curtain released by the array had blocked everyone''s sight.


    Kenneth was an exception. He glared at Zen and frowned. No one knew what he was thinking.

 Chapter 380 Another Arrogant Genius (Part One)

    Most disciples of Cloud Sect agreed with Zen''s tit for tat as it was clear that Mack had gone too far and deserved that misfortune.


    They were also deeply impressed and intimidated by Zen''s cruel means.


    Zen was quite ferocious for his age.


    While the powerful disciples remained calm, the less powerful ones were looking at Zen with awe in their eyes. In their mind, they were thinking that if they met Zen in the battle ring, they would lose their momentum and confidence in an instant.


    After all, that kind of thing that had happened to a disciple at the second-grade nature level was truly incredible.


    It was known that the disciples taking part in today''s All Peaks Competition were at least at the seventh-grade or eighth-grade of nature level. A half of these disciples were already at the consummation grade, while a few of them were masters of the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    The Illuminating Soul Realm warriors hadn''t seen the real strength of Zen as he chose not to show it so early. Thus, they simply noticed his cruel means and looked down upon him. After all, the gap between nature level disciples and the masters of Illuminating Soul Realm was still too big.


    Apart from the rare geniuses like Rocher, it was impossible for the other disciples to compete with the Illuminating Soul Realm warriors. Rocher was already at the consummation grade, while Zen was quite far behind him. Zen''s nature level was only at second-grade which wouldn''t warrant the slight attention from any Illuminating Soul Realm warriors.


    It was known to all that top inner disciples from each Peak seldom participated in the trial of killing demons. And although Zen had attended the trial and even showcased a remarkable performance, it wasn''t a big deal like what happened to Lenard. Lenard was known for his great skills, but he could still not qualify to represent Skytop Peak in the All Peaks Competition.


    So Zen''s performance was insignificant for those highly-skilled legendary figures of each peak at that time.


    As Zen walked out of the ring, Master Wen was thrilled. He wanted to run to Zen and hug him tight, but he held the urge.


    Winning this match meant that the young disciple would stand out in the group competition. More importantly, Zen had avenged Yehudi''s defeat and helped Drizzle Peak win after a long-time of humiliation.


    If one would ask why Cloud Sect was divided into many Peaks, the answer was very simple. The purpose was to create competitions among the Peaks.


    All Peaks Competition could be watched on site and through a live broadcast shown in a large Picture Slab.


    If Zen didn''t avenge Yehudi''s defeat, it would be a big blow to Drizzle Peak''s confidence. The disciples of Drizzle Peak would be ashamed and discour


    might be easy. The strongest Peaks could get their top 30 into the list, while the weaker Peaks like Sea Peak and Drizzle Peak could only get their top ten qualified disciples into the list.


    However, to be included in the Top 400 would be more challenging. Most of the top 400 on the list were those whose nature level was at consummation grade, while the Top 100 disciples on the list were basically the masters of Illuminating Soul Realm.


    The two people fighting on the battle ring now was Jeff Mu who ranked ninety-nine, while the other one was Kim Yue who ranked seventy-two.


    Before the said battle, the disciples of Illuminating Soul Realm who participated in the group competitions either had beaten their opponents or their opponents admitted defeats the instant they came up to the ring. It was obvious that the disciples at consummation-grade of nature level would lose to those of Illuminating Soul Realm, so the former didn''t bother to fight the latter. In other words, the common disciples with consummation grade didn''t have such guts or the power at all.


    Unless they were the freak geniuses like Rocher, they wouldn''t mind losing to a greater opponent.


    Mack, an array technique genius who had challenged Zen earlier, had the ability to challenge the disciples of Illuminating Soul Realm. His magic array was so powerful that even the masters of Illuminating Soul Realm would be trapped in it and it wouldn''t be easy for them to get out of it.


    It was only a pity that he had met Zen. Because of Zen''s special body, he could completely endure Mack''s fire and Mack had no way to defeat him. As a result, Mack was beaten up furiously. Even though he applied pills from Blackrock Peak, there was a high chance that he could not recover fast and that he would be disqualified to attend the All Peaks Competition.

 Chapter 381 Another Arrogant Genius (Part Two)

    Both Jeff and Kim were new entrants of the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    There was a big realm gap between Illuminating Soul Realm and consummation-grade of nature level. When that gap narrowed, the disciples could be able to grasp the method of burning life vitality, and their fighting power would soar sharply.


    Therefore, their competition naturally received a lot of earnest attention.


    Jeff was the representative of Skytop Peak, the number one Peak among the 33 Peaks, which started increasing influence in recent years, while Kim represented the Jade Peak, a well-established Peak. The Jade Peak once occupied the top place of 33 peaks for a long time but in recent years, it gradually had a decline in its strength and gradually had been caught up and surpassed by these powerful peaks like Skytop Peak, Blackrock Peak, and Azure Peak.


    But that didn''t mean Jade Peak could be underestimated.


    After all, it had gained many resource and benefit from Cloud Sect. It had the largest number of secret practice places amongst the 33 Peaks. Although these six secret places were not as good as those within Cloud Sect that charged points for practice, they were at least open to their disciples for free. Many of its disciples got great benefits, and they would practice day and night continuously. It was hoped that someday its disciples would make a difference and bring the peak back to its original place.


    Kim ranked second place among all the disciples of Jade Peak.


    Despite being in the second place, he had been cultivating for a few years so no one knew what level he had already reached. After all, the disciples of Illuminating Soul Realm rarely competed on the battle ring, and the Top 100 ranking had rarely been changed and would only be readjusted every three years.


    And Jeff just broke through the consummation grade of nature level a year ago and entered the Illuminating Soul Realm. When at the consummation-grade of nature level, he was already on the top, and now his strength was even more unfathomable.


    It was a crucial fight between two disciples of the Illuminating Soul Realm; thus, it received a lot of attention.


    Both of them were willing to give their all in the competition.


    As a matter of fact, neither Jeff nor Kim had failed in their previous competitions. Even if one of them lost today, it wouldn''t be much of an impact to them and they would still stand out from the group competition because they were masters of Illuminating Soul Realm.


    Yet, both were the top and powerful figures, how could they to


    hat Kim will not show any mercy to Rocher. He should give that arrogant man a taste of his most deadly attack so that Rocher will learn his lessons the hard way! That way, he can learn to be humble and modest!" another disciple said pointedly.


    "It is true that Rocher is a rare genius. But does that mean he is a strong and powerful disciple? I don''t think so. Let''s see how he will take it after Kim defeats him! For sure he will meet his inner demon if he gets defeated in this match. It will be impossible for him to cultivate his strength in the future!" one more disciple suggested sharply.


    The offensive and harsh reproaches and curses from the disciples of Jade Peak were clearly heard as they didn''t intend to keep their voices down.


    All the saints, the respectable elders, and even Kenneth had heard their dirty words, but they did not stop them. On one hand, Cloud Sect was not a place to cultivate elegant and refined scholars, but warriors, while on the other hand, by making the atmosphere competitive, the hidden potentials of each disciple would surely come out.


    Just when Jade Peak''s disciples were resentful and disturbed, the rest of the other peaks were in a much better mood. Indeed, Rocher was arrogant. As for the match result, they were looking forward to him being defeated by Kim. This way, Rocher would learn how to behave later.


    Zen was standing behind Master Wen, looking at the next match on the ring. He was wearing a poker face, but his eyes were glued to Rocher who he believed was not an easy one to deal with.


    His gut told him that he would soon face Rocher in the competition.


    At the moment, the match between Rocher and Kim was about to start.

 Chapter 382 The Sword Step (Part One)

    Kim stood tall and solemn like a mountain.


    To help himself stand out among the hoard of talented disciples at Jade Peak, and to rank the second place among the inner disciples, he had made an awful lot of efforts and sacrifices.


    Frankly, he didn''t hold any special talents. He was slower to learn martial arts than the others, who had strong comprehension abilities. However, he managed to surpass the brilliant minds at the peak and brought laurels to his name. It was the fruit of his tough labor.


    Step by step, his strength had improved steadily. However, he seldom got angry and never belittled anyone.


    A good head on his shoulders along with the great efforts he put in enabled him to be a hundred times stronger than the so-called geniuses.


    Unbinding the spear on his back, Kim clutched it, saying in a cold voice, "Start the battle, and you will know if my strength is sufficient to force you to draw your sword. But let me state beforehand: I won''t hold myself back even if you don''t use your sword."


    Rocher nodded at him. "Of course. In the battlefield, you should be in top form. I refuse to use my sword against you, though. I''m about to face many other competitors ahead, disciples much more powerful than you. My sword will be out when I fight them."


    In truth, Rocher didn''t want to draw his sword not because he looked down upon his opponents, but because he valued them.


    The All Peaks Competition tested not only the candidates'' strength, but also their endurance and strategy.


    At the consummation of the natural level, Rocher possessed comparatively more strength than the others, but there was always a chance of encountering better competitors he had overlooked. Obviously, he wanted to come first in the contest. He wondered


    mong these, he was unable to escape Kim''s spear cusp.


    The spear technique Kim performed was steady, an unbeatable rival for radical and strategic moves.


    Rocher''s step skill, however, was special. Whenever he moved, a faint shadow of a sword took shape, pointing in a certain direction. He kept moving accordingly and with perfect speed in order to dodge Kim''s spear.


    "Sword Step! That''s the Sword Step! Rocher has grasped the Sword Step!" someone shouted from the sidelines.


    "My God! It''s actually the Sword Step! Rocher is amazing! He hasn''t even drawn his sword so far. How strong is he? With his Sword Step alone, he has proven himself superior to ninety-nine percent of the disciples at Cloud Sect!" another exclaimed.


    The Sword Step was a unique step skill¡ªthe length of each step of a performer was exactly equal to that of their sword.


    Since the step''s length was predetermined, the Sword Step suffered a loss in flexibility. However, one''s Sword Step could especially manifest itself out of one''s own sword intent. If someone could grasp their sword intent well enough, their movements would become much faster than those of the average body.

 Chapter 383 The Sword Step (Part Two)

    Moreover, the Sword Step was an offensive attack. Every step stifled the airflow and in turn created cyclones containing one''s sword intent, and the one performing the skill could volley them straight toward his enemies.


    Crack, crack, crack...


    Rocher took soft steps. He had practiced the Sword Step to small success, and because of his sword intent, the air under his foot was pushed down to create crisp vibrations.


    With the aid of the Sword Step, he managed to escape Kim''s attacks easily.


    Zen was moved when he saw Rocher displaying his Sword Step skill.


    In the past few days, Zen had practiced at the Seven Star Sword Light Platform a number of times to temper his own sword intent, which had contributed to a better understanding of it. He perceived Rocher''s comprehension of the sword intent to be impressive, as exemplified by his fluid body movements. Yet, Zen didn''t consider his own understanding of the sword intent any worse.


    Before today, he had not realized that step skills could be influenced by one''s sword intent.


    All the swordsmen in the world held the same dream: to create their own Sword Step. In itself, it was not difficult to practice.


    The biggest difficulty lay in blending the sword intent with one''s step skill. From a certain point of view, the Sword Step was the primary form of unity of a swordsman and his sword.


    The battle between Rocher and Kim continued. As Rocher avoided Kim''s spear, the former jumped up toward the sky and somersaulted into a headstand position. He kicked his feet, creating endless cyclones with his sword intent, directly aiming at Kim.


    Not neglecting Rocher''s counterattacks, Kim rotated his spear rapidly. Rocher''s cyclones of sword intent collided into the spinning spear, making a shrill noise.


    Clang, clang


    l involved four phases, and each phase took about an hour to complete itself. During this period of time, he concentrated on absorbing the pill''s efficacy through his life vitality. He was now more stabilized in his injury, and as long as he didn''t fight any others, nobody could tell that he had been injured.


    He opened his eyes, only to find Rocher displaying the special Sword Step. That surprised him. He and Rocher were both at the consummation of the nature level, but Rocher''s strength exceeded his. Rocher could subdue Kim, who was of the Illuminating Soul Realm, with the Sword Step alone! The difference in talent between them was huge.


    Abruptly, he noticed that Zen had disappeared from his side. Turning around his head, he saw Zen stepping back and forth behind the crowd.


    "What''s he doing? Why is he pacing like that?" Confusion clouded Yehudi''s face. The very next second, however, the expression on his face changed. "Huh? His footwork looks familiar... Well, I never! It''s the Sword Step!"


    How was it possible? How did Zen know the Sword Step? Astonishment consumed Yehudi.


    What surprised him the most was that Zen seemed to have only just begun to learn the steps.

 Chapter 384 The Crude Imitation (Part One)

    Because of the multiple complex moves, it was nearly impossible to master the Sword Step in such a short time. It didn''t matter how many times Rocher demonstrated before him, Yehudi would probably not be able to remember how to do it.


    So, it was surprising how rapid Zen became proficient by mimicking Rocher''s Sword Steps, and as if he were born with the Sword Step skills, Zen moved faster and faster.


    Looking at the battle ring, Yehudi saw that Zen''s steps were almost identical to Rocher''s Sword Steps...


    ''Is this guy even human?'' wondered Yehudi silently.


    Zen''s abilities stunned Yehudi. It wasn''t surprising that Zen was able to beat the other opponents. After all, Zen earned over fifty thousand points during his assessment, so, Yehudi was aware that Zen was more adept than he was in combat.


    However, as he witnessed Zen learn a skill that Rocher was most proud to have mastered, the Sword Step, that quickly, Yehudi was surprised. Zen had an unusual talent to be able to grasp the technique off the cuff as he did.


    Just then, hearing a loud roar from the battle ring, Yehudi turned his head.


    By now the battle between Rocher and Kim was in full swing.


    Rocher had Kim pinned down using only his Sword Step.


    Kim had been repressing his temper, and he was usually as sedate as a mountain when he didn''t quickly erupt, but once he did, it was as volatile as a volcano, leaving his opponent to face the fire of his volcanic eruption!


    "Dragon Shadow Kill!"


    "Rawr!"


    Along with the loud noise, several faint dragon images on Kim''s spear came to life at the same time. They encircled the spear and penetrated the tip. All of Kim''s life vitality was, in fact, compressed into about a footlong area of the spearp


    somewhere near number eighty-three!


    Between the start of the competition and that moment, there hadn''t been many surprises where members of the Illuminating Soul Realm were concerned. After all, the disciples from the Illuminating Soul Realm refined at a level far superior to any of the Cloud Sect''s disciples who were in the nature level. With the exception of Rocher''s victory, so far, such mismatched battles led to disciples of the Illuminating Soul Realm winning. But, Rocher''s talent was well-known, so his performance wasn''t really surprising.


    Master Yu gloated when he heard the announcement that Zen''s opponent would be Cecil Zhuge of the Illuminating Soul Realm because he despised Zen for nearly killing a Blackrock Peak disciple, Mack. "Humph! Well, now we''ll just see how the little rat-refiner practicing at the second grade of nature level holds up against a disciple of the Illuminating Soul Realm!"


    A little rat-refiner at the second grade of nature level...


    So far, during today''s All Peaks Competition, Zen was the winner in all the matches he was in, and the general opinion was that it was due, in part, to his good fortune.

 Chapter 385 The Crude Imitation (Part Tow)

    Essentially, since Zen was only at the second grade of nature level, it seemed obvious to most people that he was an opportunistic rat, who would come up against a mighty master, like a disciple of the Illuminating Soul Realm, and then he would be at a loss and end up pulverized.


    ''So, Cecil Zhuge is a member of the Illuminating Soul Realm. Maybe I will try out the Sword Step, '' mused Zen instead of worrying like Mater Wen did. When he was at a half-step into the nature level, he managed to get the upper hand during a fight against a master of the Illuminating Soul Realm. Now, having broken through the confines that had held him back, Zen was at the second grade of nature level, so, it shouldn''t be as challenging to win against a disciple of the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    Zen had completely mastered the extraordinary, quirky and ever fluctuating Sword Step, but, he wanted to test it in a real fray.


    The tall, handsome man with an effeminate air who stood arrogantly straight in the ring was Cecil Zhuge. In his hand was a fan bearing Eight Diagrams. It became apparent that the Eight Diagrams weren''t patterns inscribed on it though, instead, they were slowly revolving against the fan, like they were alive.


    "Zen Luo, this isn''t the first time I''ve heard your name," said Cecil Zhuge as he shook his head disdainfully and continued, "There are quite a few members in my family who hate your guts, it seems. If you weren''t a disciple here at the Cloud Sect, you wouldn''t be safe, and you would''ve died a hundred times over by now. It seems your luck has run out! You''re my opponent, and I''m going to destroy you. Now, listen..."


    Interrupting the monolog, Zen impatiently said, "I''ve got to hand it to the Zhuge family. Each of you, first Fren, then Yale, Josef, and now yo


    as his eyes closed again, Rocher heard someone exclaim loudly, "What''s going on? He knows the Sword Step method too?"


    "Yes, that''s definitely the Sword Step! Zen mastered the method as well!"


    As the audience watched, Zen slowly made his way around the ring, performing the same maneuvers to the Sword Step method as Rocher did earlier, and dodged Cecil Zhuge''s evil wind.


    At first glimpse, some eagle-eyed disciples recognized the method and commented on Zen''s performance. "That''s the Sword Step. He''s performing the technique exactly how Rocher did, but, Zen''s Sword Step only appears identical. It doesn''t contain the sword intent that Rocher used. How ridiculous, it''s merely a crude imitation!"


    "Ha-ha! Rocher used Sword Step, whereas this guy copied the motions and how they appeared, and hasn''t learned about the sword intent within it. What''s the use of that?"


    The endless debating between disciples bombarded Rocher''s ears. Intrigued along with being annoyed, he studied Zen as he moved around the ring swiftly. Suddenly, one of Rocher''s eyebrows arched strikingly, and what he beheld left him pretty shaken up!


    "That isn''t true! Zen isn''t taking simple steps!"

 Chapter 386 Twins Fan

    Sword intent was something that could not be expressed by words, only felt through other sensations, akin to some kind of ethereal power.


    If one wanted to comprehend sword intent, one did not only have to spend decades practicing the sword but more importantly, one needed to have outstanding talents and remarkable opportunities.


    That was why while there were many people who used swords, only a few of them had a deep understanding of sword intent. Those who could gain a good sense of its essence were in the good graces of the gods.


    As he watched the battle, Rocher could see that there was no sword intent in Zen''s Sword Step. Strangely, though, Zen''s Sword Step looked very childish as if he was not skilled in the technique and only just began trying it out.


    Rocher knew that the thought of Zen crudely imitating his Sword Step was untenable.


    It was undeniable that the technique could only be performed under the premise that one had a true understanding of it. If the person did not fully understand it, imitating the movements would be fruitless as he would be unable to adapt to the trails and find the direction of the sword intent. Merely copying a stance should have meant nothing.


    However, although Zen was unskilled in the area, his every step was not only close to that of Rocher''s but exactly like it.


    How was it possible?


    It left Rocher deeply puzzled.


    Unless¡­ Zen had already understood the sword intent and was only hiding his capabilities.


    Still, how could a disciple at the second-grade of nature level understand sword intent?


    Reluctant to accept such an assumption, Rocher shook his head.


    There was no doubt that Rocher was a talent. Although he might not be the strongest in Skytop Peak, he was the one who was the most favored. All talents were very arrogant and Rocher was no exception.


    For Rocher, though, being arrogant was not a bad thing. With such an attitude, he could be driven to reach the top of the field of martial arts.


    But if Zen really understood the sword intent and had a knack for the Sword Step as well¡­


    It was a shocking idea. Looking at Zen''s unmatured, rather awkward steps, Rocher sighed. ''This guy¡­ Has he only just learned the Sword Step?


    I haven''t seen him employ this skill before. Did he get it after seeing my own Sword Step?''


    As his thoughts stirred, Rocher didn''t dare continue guessing. If his assumptions were right, it would mean a great blow to him.


    Among everyone present, Rocher was not the only one to notice this.


    Kenneth was also shooting strange looks at Zen.


    Someone like Kenneth who had already reached a high level had the knowledge about the levels of the martial arts that the saints and elders of the Cloud Sect couldn''t claim to have.


    Although he wasn''t a swordsman and didn''t have an understanding of the sword intent, he also noticed a strangeness about Zen.


    The disciple seemed to be demonstrating the Sword Step he just learned.


    The more steps he advanced, the more skilled he became. But did such talent who could pick things up so quickly even exist? The competition became more interesting with this second-grade nature level guy.


    As Kenneth pondered over it, he saw the respectable elder named Xu, who was standing beside him, stroke his beard and smile knowingly. "Xu, are you noticing anything odd?"


    With a little chuckle, Xu said, "Are you asking if Zen learned the Sword Step just now?"


    il was able to cultivate the black and white life vitality, it was either he had a special body that could accommodate multiple kinds of life vitality, or he had two bellies, each able to accommodate a single kind of life vitality. Or perhaps, it could also be that the Zhuge Clan had some kind of secret method that could use an enchanted barrier to partition the belly.


    As soon as the black and white life vitality came out, it immediately rushed towards Cecil''s fan and dove into the Eight Diagrams on the fan, making it begin to rapidly spin.


    Flashing a cunning smile, Cecil lifted the fan and waved it harshly towards Zen.


    "Twins Chaos Cyclone!"


    The feather fan Cecil held was a top-grade spiritual weapon called "Twins Fan."


    The said fan was a replica of an ancient fairy weapon called the Life Vitality Eight-Diagram Fan. A gentle wave of the fan could create terrifying and immense cyclones, capable of shaking the heavens and earth, turning everything to dust. As a replica, the Twins Fan was far from the capabilities of the Life Vitality Eight Diagram Fan, but it did inherit one-tenth of the power from the authentic piece.


    With the bicolor vitality Cecil emitted, gales were blowing within the whole arena.


    A tremendous cyclone formed, covering almost the entire area. The wind blade around the cyclone cut through the light curtain of enchanted barrier, crackling it with crisp noises.


    "The Twins Chaos Cyclone can attack you from every angle. As long as you are within it, you will constantly suffer damage. I''ll see how you can escape this time!"


    As Cecil continued waving his Twins Fan, his movements turned harsher and the tremendous cyclone became more rapid in its speed.


    It seemed that Zen had no way to escape as the cyclone engulfed the entire arena.


    If he truly wanted to escape, he would have to find a way to leave the whole area.


    Swoosh¡­


    Because of carelessness, several winds blades grazed Zen''s back. The sharp forces began scratching against his robe.


    "Keep running! I want to see where you end up!"


    As Cecil quickened the waving of his fan, the cyclone became more and more powerful.


    Narrowing his eyes, Zen felt the wind blowing around him. Suddenly, he smiled terribly mischievously.


    "Running? Why should I run?"

 Chapter 387 Flying (Part One)

    The Phoenix Crystal in Zen''s right arm was a special kind of crystal. The Phoenix Crystal was said to be a feather that a phoenix once dropped as it streaked across the sky in ancient times.


    When the feather fell to the earth, it was enveloped by the resin of a pine tree. After thousands of years of evolvement, the tiny piece of essence that had been concealed in the feather spread through the resin and eventually formed the crystal.


    That was the legend. No one knew exactly how the Phoenix Crystal came into being.


    But a weapon refiner from the Eastern Region discovered the unique features of the Phoenix Crystal. He then inlaid the Phoenix Crystal into a weapon and found that it could reduce the weight of the weapon.


    For instance, when the Phoenix Crystal was embedded into a ghostly machete that weighed 1000 pounds, its weight reduced to less than 200 pounds.


    Although the Phoenix Crystal was pretty rare, there were still quite a number of weapons equipped with one. However, no one had ever tried to inset a Phoenix Crystal into a man''s flesh!


    After all, a human body was very different from a weapon. But due to the peculiar weapon refining method Zen had been practicing, he had managed to convert his body into a weapon. This was why he was able to embed the Phoenix Crystal into his arm.


    When faced with Cecil''s Twins Chaos Cyclone, Zen activated the Phoenix Crystal in his right arm. A smile appeared on Zen''s face when he felt the energy from the Phoenix Crystal spread through his body.


    As the energy of the Phoenix Crystal poured into his body, Zen felt his weight decrease sharply...


    "Phew..."


    With a whirl of wild wind, Zen began to move.


    Zen was surprised that he didn''t need to use any strength. Since he was as l


    s at the peak of the nature level did not go all out. Even during the battle between Rocher and Kim, they stopped attacking at an appropriate time. Although it was quite an excellent battle, it was less fierce than this one.


    Now, as Cecil had demonstrated such intimidating power in an instant, several disciples imagined what they would do if they were sucked into the cyclone¡ª''I''m afraid I''ll be sliced within a second...''


    Even Cecil himself looked rather tense. He was rooted to the center of the arena.


    Since Cecil did not have complete control of the cyclone after he summoned it, the word "Chaos" had been used in the title of his attack method. In fact, the power of the Twins Chaos Cyclone was so horrid that everything within a 100-foot radius would be torn apart by the wind blades.


    However, at the eye of the cyclone, the power of the wind was not as destructive.


    This, however, changed since the two cyclones had collided with each other. When the two cyclones, which were equally powerful but headed in opposite directions, smashed together, they disturbed the airflow in the arena. Even being near the eye of cyclone was not as safe as before.

 Chapter 388 Flying (Part Two)

    Cecil who could sense the change of airflow as it occurred understood that he would need to move along with the eye of the cyclone to assure his safety. If not, he would be hurt by the wind blades as well.


    As light as a swallow, Zen had been brought to the sky by the cyclone. He let the turbulent airflow propel him, and drifted with the wind.


    Although Cecil''s wind blades were quite sharp, they were inferior to James'' sword energy.


    James had condensed a ton of dreadful sword intent into his sword energy. If Zen were struck by his sword energy, it was no doubt that he would be cut in half. Zen had no hope to fight against James''s sword energy unless he upgraded his body to the level of a fairy weapon.


    What was more, Cecil''s cultivation method was not quite suitable for a one-on-one challenge. Instead, if he were fighting on a battlefield, his Twins Chaos Cyclone might have played a significant role, because the range of the Twins Chaos Cyclone was large and it would destroy all combatants sucked into it.


    To be frank, none of the members of the Zhuge Clan were good at fighting alone. Among the many cultivation methods passed from one generation to another within the Zhuge Clan, loads of them were on military strategy and tactics, as well as famous military formations. That was why the Zhuge Clan often dispatched their members to the Imperial Army as counselors. They were born to lead troops.


    Thus, even if the wind blades cut Zen''s robe, they did not have the power to penetrate his spiritual weapon-like body.


    Gusts of violent wind carried Zen in the air. He was like a butterfly fluttering along with the wind and rain. Some thought he looked like a


    ion will not be easy to bear! The blade probably severed his bowels!"


    "Well, given the immense power of the Twins Chaos Cyclone, he is really, really lucky for not being minced yet. But this blow is the first of many. With a few more accidental hits like this, he will be mangled..."


    "Why hasn''t he surrendered? If I were him, I would have given up a long time ago. While there is life, there is hope. Even if I lose this year''s All Peaks Competition, I can try again in three years. Regardless of this guy''s strength, he is definitely a lunatic!"


    As the disciples murmured between themselves, a huge wind blade suddenly flew in Zen''s direction.


    Imagining the damage the massive wind blade would do to Zen, many female disciples began shrieking.


    The battle referee looked grave, and his complexion paled. According to the rules of the arena, only when Zen admitted defeat would the referee be able to rescue Zen. Now, with the wind blade about to hit Zen, he anxiously waited for Zen to shout "I give up!"


    However, to the referee''s surprise, Zen would rather collide with the wind blade than surrender!

 Chapter 389 The Indestructible Physical Body

    "Zen, just throw in the towel!"


    Master Wen and the other disciples were silently praying for Zen to cave in. At that very moment, they didn''t care about winning in the competition, but Zen''s life.


    However, Zen didn''t listen and kept on rushing towards the wind blades.


    The irregular-shaped thick blades attacked Zen from all directions.


    "Poop-poop¡­"


    Then the blades finally hit and stabbed Zen''s body, creating sickening sounds.


    The robe that Zen was wearing was still new, but it was instantly cut into pieces when the blades fell on it.


    He looked like a firecracker from an angle bursting in an instant as the tiny pieces of his clothes scattered in all directions.


    "It''s too late. I''m afraid that he''s been cut into pieces," a disciple murmured as he watched the pieces of Zen''s clothes fly around. But to his surprise, when the view started to be clear, he saw a naked body in the air.


    It was a nearly perfect body¨Csmooth skin with a healthy metallic shine, physically attractive, well-proportioned, and full of power. The body didn''t have any visible physical damage.


    But as they looked closely, they saw some tiny marks on his body left by the blades that hit him.


    "I can''t believe it! How can he survive the attack from the blades without any damage?" a disciple said with disbelief in his eyes.


    He wasn''t the only one who couldn''t believe what he was seeing. All the other disciples were also shocked.


    Even Kenneth who showed no care for anything suddenly stood up and stared at Zen''s body.


    The disciples from Lady Peak who were silently staring at the naked Zen suddenly moved their eyes to Zen''s lower torso. Their faces suddenly turned red and they let out a scream. They had to turn their faces away to hide their blushing cheeks and covered their eyes with their hands even though they still couldn''t help peeping at him.


    But there was one female disciple who just kept staring at the naked Zen. She pursed her lips into a smile and her eyes were filled with excitement. She said, "Patrick, it seems that you have boasted. I am afraid that even your King Kong Cover cannot match with his flesh skin."


    Patrick Pei cultivated himself according to Buddhist doctrine and the nature of his mind was his vital asset. His creed in life was "not to be pleased by external gains, and not saddened by personal losses". In the past, he could always maintain his inner peace and let his mind be calm and stable no matter what the circumstances. However, at this moment, the surprise in his eyes was hard to conceal. Hearing the words from Tracy Mo''s mouth, he replied with self-mockery, "You''re right. I guess I have underestimated him. This guy''s body is far stronger than I have imagined, and I wonder how he did it."


    The martial artists in Eastern Region commonly practiced their life vitality after they stepped into the level of nature creatures, suspending the pract


    ch a heavy blow that Cecil''s body spun as he was catapulted like a sandbag.


    Finally, his body hit on the light curtain of enchanted barrier and slowly slid down.


    Then he lost consciousness.


    The referee saw what happened and hurriedly ran to the field. The chaos cyclone on the arena was soon suppressed down with just a wave of the referee''s hand. Then he announced, "The winner of this match is Zen from Drizzle Peak."


    After he was announced as the winner, Zen stepped out of the field.


    When Master Wen saw Zen exit the field, he ran to him and handed him a robe. Zen quickly put it on.


    "Oh, Zen, you are a marvel! You defeated Cecil! Good job!" said Master Wen. He could no longer contain his excitement.


    Although Zen had also beaten some strong opponents previously, Cecil was different. Unlike Cecil, his previous opponents were not on the high ranks in the Cloud Sect list. Cecil was at the level of Illuminating Soul Realm, and he ranked eighty-third on the Cloud Sect chart.


    And now that Zen had defeated Cecil, his rank on the top 100 disciples was set in stone.


    Just as Yehudi prophesied, Zen might make a remarkable difference for Drizzle Peak.


    What made it more amazing was that Zen was only seventeen years old and at grade-two nature level.


    It was indeed a miracle that a person at grade-two nature level would be in the top 100 of the Cloud Sect chart. If Zen could break through nature level and reached Illuminating Soul Realm in the future, he could be in the top rank of the Cloud Sect list and might be the first place in the future All Peaks Competitions.


    Master Wen thought it would not be a long way off. He believed that Zen could do it in the next All Peaks Competition.


    But little did Master Wen know that Zen didn''t want to wait for the next All Peaks Competition. He was aiming to take the first place in this year''s competition with his current grade-two nature level!

 Chapter 390 Unrestrained Gambling

    Ever since seeing Zen on the field, the disciples at the Cloud Sect had paid close attention to him.


    However, at first they were interested in Zen because his refinement level was extremely low.


    Jacques was in grade two at the nature level when he participated in the competition last time, but what made him stand out? As a personal disciple, Jacques was hand picked, implying there was something extraordinary about him.


    On the other hand, Zen was from the least powerful peak, Drizzle Peak. No one thought there was anything special about Zen, instead they felt pity that there weren''t stronger disciples at Drizzle Peak to join the All Peaks Competition. A lot of disciples from other peaks felt defeated because many of the more powerful members who were in the consummation level in their peaks weren''t permitted to compete in the All Peaks Competition, but a little guy in grade two at the nature level from Drizzle Peak was eligible to join. This peak was unreal.


    As the matches continued, the innate superhuman strength Zen possessed attracted attention from some members, while others thought Zen wouldn''t go much farther. What use did his innate superhuman strength have? Warriors didn''t rely on physical strength so much as the life vitality housed within a warrior''s core being.


    Zen might have defeated all the opponents in his battles so far, but, most of the disciples were either perplexed, not knowing how Zen was winning, or thought it was luck. Very few accepted that Zen had a true power, except the disciples from Drizzle Peak.


    Still, Zen had taken down Cecil during this match.


    Zen seemed to be like Rocher, with the ability to defeat someone of the Illuminating Soul Realm even though they only possessed the strength of a nature creature.


    Most of the onlookers were unwilling to believe Zen was on the same level as Rocher though.


    It was bad enough having one disciple at the Cloud Sect, whose performance bedeviled them, and destroyed their confidence, like Rocher did. Why''d Zen have to be like him?


    After mulling it all over, the thought dawned on them that by defeating Cecil, Zen''s achievement was far more terrifying than what Rocher accomplished.


    Considering that Rocher was in the consummation level, his strength was closer to Kim''s who was in the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    It left them wondering just what the hell Zen''s strength was. He was merely at grade two in the nature level! A disciple''s strength at grade two in the nature level was so far below that of a disciple in the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    Three years ago, Jacques, a personal disciple, hadn''t performed so well, but, Zen did, and even beat Cecil, who was ranked eighty-third of the top one hundred disciples.


    None of that mattered. Regardless of how well Zen fought against Cecil, most people still thought Zen was inferior to Rocher.


    Because Rocher had made a name for himself at the Cloud Sect, able to defeat a warrior of the Illuminating Soul Realm prior to the All Peaks Competition. Most people recognized that Rocher was a virtuoso and naturally, someone as gifted as that would be more powerful.


    That was part of human nature. Two people at the same level, would try to outperform each other, but, when one was more powerful than the other, giving credit whe


    alm, so, it was a great possibility any one of them might defeat Rocher.


    Certainly there wasn''t a madman who would risk betting all the savings on him. It was no big deal to Rocher if he lost in one round, as he could still join in the other group matches. But, if he lost a single time, anyone who was betting the savings on him would be... in serious trouble.


    Still, Zachary was a madman, and risked everything on Zen winning.


    His plan was so crazy, and it was ingenious! He would bet it all on Zen every round.


    If he guessed right and Zen won every round, he would double his savings, and bring his total into the thousands!


    Why was Zachary willing to risk so much?


    Others said Zachary was crazy, but he was quite clear that he wasn''t insane. On the contrary, he trusted his gut and Zen''s strength.


    Since he was the only one who''d felt Zen''s abnormal, intense strength and knew how powerful Zen''s sword intent was.


    Zen could manipulate sword intent when he''d practiced with a sword for the first time and resisted a hundred waves of Magnetic Aurora on the Seven Star Sword Light Platform on the difficulty of level eight. A guy such as Zen couldn''t be called a genius though, since he fit the description of a monster much better.


    When they looked through the Picture Slab earlier, they saw Zen had started the Sword Step. Everyone laughed, mocking Zen because his Sword Step was a crude imitation, but Zachary didn''t care. He watched carefully all the while with shock in his heart. He saw how immature Zen''s Sword Step was and realized that Zen had barely learned the Sword Step from Rocher, unexpectedly.


    After watching the Sword Step performed one time, Zen was able to initiate the steps and from there, practice it too. It was unbelievable. It was absurd, still, Zachary knew Zen could do it. Given how abnormal Zen''s talent was, this method was nothing to him.


    Because Zachary had seen a more abnormal aspect of Zen.


    The confident Zachary watched the Picture Slab, a playful smile growing, and making his face light up.


    "Come on, Zen. I''m addicted to gambling, but, these years, I rarely win. Just this once, let me bet, unrestrained, and win big!"

 Chapter 391 The Reasonable Disciple Of Blackrock Peak (Part One)

    The competition continued.


    The disciples with poor strength were weeded out, while those with distinguishable power moved on with the competition.


    Zen was already halfway through the competition, but he hadn''t encountered a strong and remarkable competitor yet.


    Meanwhile, there were two disciples who underestimated Zen when they first saw him. One was from Azure Peak, and the other from Blackrock Peak. Although the two of them were at nature level consummation, both had prominent and notable capabilities since they had been selected to participate in the famous All Peaks Competition.


    At first, they were under the impression that Zen had defeated Cecil just because of luck, so they were confident that they could beat Zen easily on the field. However, to their astonishment, the result of the competition was not what they thought it would be. The constant blow and strike of Zen''s hard fists gave them no chance to fight back at all. In the end, they ran out of power and spirit and lay on the floor exhausted.


    There was only silence when the two fights were concluded. Everyone was astonished and amazed at how strong and powerful Zen was. They didn''t know yet which realm he belonged to, but they were certain that the only person who could match his strength was Rocher.


    The remaining part of the competition went on smoothly for Zen. Most of his competitors would just show up to the stage and fight him for a short time then eventually give up. A few of them would instantly admit their defeat by not showing up to the stage at all. They all knew the gap of their strength with Zen and didn''t want to end up injured or wounded, so they wouldn''t dare try. As a result, the competition became more like an amusement to Zen.


    As the competition continued, the strengths of the talented disciples from thirty-three peaks were gradually revealed.


    So far, Zen had eleven consecutive wins without any defeat, which evidently was an extremely notable score among all the competitors. Some of his fights brought the interest and applause of the people like the ones with Mack and Cecil.


    Like Zen, Rocher was also winning consecutively. But in contrast, Rocher''s strike was more definite and int


    and reputation from the competition. There is no point in confronting Dick and getting his ass kicked. Do you remember how hard Zen hit Blackrock Peak''s disciple Mack last time? If Zen doesn''t give up, then he is bound to be tortured badly. It will be more like a revenge than a competition to Dick."


    In spite of how well Zen had performed in the previous rounds, no one was confident that he could beat Dick Zhou in this round.


    The impression became even clearer when the final compensation rate came out. In this match, if Zen defeated Dick, the compensation rate would be one to nine. But if Dick won, it would be one to one. People booed at the vivid contrast of the compensation rate because it was as if the result had been fixed in ahead. Almost everyone bet on Dick.


    After the referee''s announcement, Zen prepared to get onto the stage.


    Master Wen, who had been sitting next to Zen, was upset and worried by the time the competition was about to begin. As he was ready to remind Zen, the latter stopped him by waving his hand and smiled awkwardly. "Master Wen, please stop smothering me," he said.


    Master Wen had always been protective of Zen. He was like a nagging mother, reminding and giving him advice all the time. But it was the same sermon that Zen would always receive. "You must learn to protect yourself. It does not matter if you lose. If you think you cannot defeat him, just give up. You have already been promoted into the next round anyway."

 Chapter 392 The Reasonable Disciple Of Blackrock Peak (Part Two)

    Zen had memorized them and could repeat them verbatim.


    Master Wen smiled back at him but instantly turned into a serious face. "Don''t forget that you hit Blackrock Peak''s disciple Mack in the previous round. They must be holding the grudge against you. I am afraid Dick is planning to take revenge on you. Please pay attention to your safety," he reminded.


    However, his concern did not shake Zen''s resolution even the slightest. Instead, he clenched his fists hard with determination and said, "Master Wen, don''t worry about me at all. No matter what, I will try my best. I may end up being defeated, but it is still better than giving up."


    Seeing Zen this determined, Master Wen did not dissuade him any longer. He nodded his head in consent.


    Although Zen had improved a lot in his training, Master Wen could not help but feel worried that Zen''s stubbornness would do him more harm than good. After all, Dick was the most powerful disciple that Zen would be fighting against. He did not want Zen to invest his all into this one competition and end up losing his motivation for further cultivation. For Master Wen, there was no need for Zen to rush.


    On the other hand, he could not persuade Zen to give up either. However, he had his reservations about this competition. It was unbelievable to him that Zen could defeat those personal disciples and the high-grade ones.


    ''He might not be the strongest, but he is absolutely the most persistent, '' Master Wen pondered. After going through many competitions, Master Wen knew the pattern clearer than anyone else that the final winner would be decided not only by his barren strength but also his persistence and resolve. If a disciple had great strength and unshakeable resolution, he would become unbeatable.


    "I''m sorry for worrying too much. You''re right. One must absolutely try his best whatever the outcome will be. And I believe that you will not disappoint yourself," Master Wen encouraged Zen.


    Zen nodded and smiled. He finally looked at the stage with his eyes blazing with determination and walked up to it.


    Among the small number of people w


    minute and burn him. Zen then turned his gaze back at Dick and smiled contemptuously. "I can see that. But why bother warning me? It would be more interesting to beat me up than warn me ahead," Zen said, a flame of mockery flickered in his eyes.


    Dick sighed and said, "That''s not true. The fact that I am telling you this is because I don''t think that it''s your fault or Yehudi''s. Mack did not behave himself in the first place and hit Yehudi. You hit him just for the sake of Yehudi and that''s kind of a fair deal to me."


    Zen was puzzled after hearing Dick''s words. He had no idea that his opponent was such a reasonable man. After a short pause, Zen asked, "But you''re still taking revenge on me for your friend Mack, am I right? Is that what''s this competition going to be?"


    "Frankly speaking, yes. But it is more of Master Yu''s idea than mine. I don''t want to lie to you. I am not fond of Mack either," Dick replied. A grimace of helplessness came over his face.


    Indeed, Mack was a cruel and insidious man, and a humble and courteous person like Dick would never be his friend. Dick was the kind of a person who enjoyed a simple but full life, learning as much knowledge as he could in books and in life and treated his friends with integrity and politeness. He would never offend or bully anyone who was inferior to himself. So taking revenge on behalf of Mack was apparently an insult to him.

 Chapter 393 Kill Song

    If it were up to Dick, Mack would be called a great talent as he was well accomplished in terms of magic arrays. The problem, however, was that he was also known to be a bloodthirsty butcher with a cruel propensity to kill.


    The Cloud Sect valued its disciples'' compliance with the sect''s rules and submission to its strength without having any moral constraints on their behavior. Despite his dislike of the sect''s doctrine, Dick felt powerless to change it. Instead of acting out against it, he would make sure to stick to his own principles when faced with a moral dilemma.


    After some pondering, Dick thought to be grateful for Master Yu''s mentorship in Blackrock Peak and it helped him make the choice to not directly refuse his Master''s request. Nonetheless, he could still avoid a full-on fight with Zen by persuading him to surrender¡ªhe didn''t want to hurt his rival so cruelly just to win like what Mack did.


    A hint of surprise flashed in Zen''s eyes as he never would have expected Dick to be such a righteous man. With a gentle nod and smile, he said, "The Cloud Sect is gathered with practitioners from all over the world. This is a place where the strong speak without any regard for moral conduct. Though many fellow disciples are talented and powerful, many are also as cruel and murderous as beasts. Compared to them, your righteousness is admirable. You''re a diamond in the rough, truly. Still, I won''t surrender to you!"


    "But if you don''t give in, I might have to hurt you after I defeat you¡­" Dick insisted.


    Unable to refuse Master Yu''s request, Dick promised him that he would teach Zen a lesson unless he surrendered beforehand.


    "Oh, you don''t have to worry about that. After all, we don''t know who will come out the winner before we have a real fight. Besides, even if I start losing to you during the battle, you can pull your punches and leave chances for me to give in. I don''t believe your master would blame you for that," Zen explained carefully.


    Upon hearing his words, Dick replied with a smile. "Well, sounds like a good idea. Alright, let''s get this over with."


    With that, he pulled out an ink brush from his sleeve.


    In the world of martial arts, there were many kinds of weapons. Only a few practitioners would choose a pen to specialize with, and among those who did, most of them used a "Judge''s Brush"¡ªa metal pen in the shape of a writing brush, similar to a piercer, and could be used to stab enemies.


    As for Dick''s weapon, it had a wooden stalk and a bundle of wolf hair at the tip¡ªa real ink brush.


    It was astonishing in Zen''s eyes. Seeing a writing tool be used as a weapon was quite rare.


    Still, Zen didn''t dare lower his guard. After all, Dick was a top disciple of the Blackrock Peak¡ªthe second strongest peak among thirty-three peaks¡ªand he was undoubtedly powerful, having defeated several people consecutively.


    Being a strong contender himself, Zen understood that underestimating his rival would lead to deep regret.


    After Dick pulled out his weapon, his black life vitality began flowing from his hands and drifting in the air around him. Gradually, it concentrated together and slowly transformed into a dense cloud of mist before turning into some mysterious black liquid.


    When Dick held up his sleeve and dipped the brush into the matter, Zen realized that it was his ink.


    His opponent just transformed his life vitality into a kind of magical ink.


    Zen''


    ted towards the words.


    Over the course of the battle, Dick proved to be a troublesome rival for Zen. With all the spells of defense he set up around himself, Zen had to attack several times before smashing through a single shield. Still, even if he was able to, Dick could easily replace the words while the defenses were under attack.


    Even with solely his ''defense song, '' Dick was nearly an invincible enemy for Zen.


    As he dealt with Dick''s ''kill song, '' Zen''s mind was distracted with thinking of how he could successfully break through the other''s defenses.


    Bang!


    When he punched the first "kill" approaching him, he immediately felt a great counterforce from the solid word. Instantly, the huge word suddenly exploded and the impact pushed Zen backward.


    Standing in the center of the field, Zen lost his balance under the immense power and his body was knocked from the ground only to be smashed against the enchanted barrier around the area.


    Although the enchanted barrier was a part of the Cloud Sect''s great array and could supposedly take an enormous amount of damage, when Zen knocked into it, the barrier visibly trembled under the pressure.


    All the enchanted barriers had their limitations of impact they could take in while maintaining their shape.


    Naturally, with the counter force of Zen''s punch paired with the power of Dick''s spell, the force had approximated the limitation of the barrier and a crack already started to form in its corner.


    The referee was left astonished having noticed the damage. Enchanted barriers were meant to separate the competition field from the auditorium and protect the audiences.


    No one would have expected the barrier to split from the force of a single attack between the two rivals. Zen and Dick''s opposing strengths were beyond anyone''s imagination.


    Given the uncommon occurrence, the referee looked at an old man sitting in the auditorium¡ªan elder of the Cloud Sect. Understanding the referee''s questioning look, he simply waved his hand. Life vitality began flowing from his hand and injecting into the barrier which then became intact again.


    After the hard crash into the barrier, Zen slid down the surface. For a moment, he sat quietly on the ground, downcast because of the blow he just took.

 Chapter 394 A Serious Matter (Part One)

    At the sight, the crowd began to discuss.


    "Dick''s blow is so terrifying. He could strike Zen into the air using only the kill song. He is so much stronger than Zen. Zen will lose in this round."


    "I''m afraid the damage would be more than just losing the battle. The word ''kill'' is so unfathomable. It contains terrifying power within itself. And I had a bad feeling when I saw this word. It seems as though it might bounce Zen''s force back. That''s to say Zen will suffer the damage of his own attack as well as the blow from the word ''kill''. Whether he can still stand or not, remains to be seen."


    "Oh! I get it. Zen was hit by the innate superhuman strength from himself. I hope that he is unable to stand. Yes, he should not be able to stand. I bet all on him losing, and I lost my money in the previous rounds in which Zen fought and won. If he continues to win, I will lose all my money. I gambled on Dick being stronger. If Zen fails, I will recover my money and perhaps, even make a profit!"


    "Don''t worry. He won''t recover from this attack. Even if his body is made of steel and iron, he can''t withstand it."


    In fact, except for the disciples from Drizzle Peak and the people who wagered on Zen''s victory, almost all the other people hoped that Zen would lose. They prayed that Zen wouldn''t stand after the blow.


    Zen didn''t get up. But it was not because he couldn''t. He was thinking about how to deal with the current situation. Zen figured it would be best if he stayed down and used the time to find a solution to break Dick''s word trick.


    After careful consideration, Zen realized that it would be impossible for him to break Dick''s


    Zen''s hands and blazed like purple black flames. The life vitality burned vehemently, and what a frightening scene it was!


    Amidst the purple black life vitality, there were glints of sparkling starlight. It seemed to contain the power of stars that were hidden in the sky. At this sight, the audience was terrified.


    "Oh? Zen employed his life vitality... How did I forget that Zen is a nature creature? Perhaps it''s because he hasn''t used his life vitality so far!"


    "Nonsense! I have said it before. Some people tend to hide their real strength during competitions. So why can''t Zen do the same?"


    "But Zen''s life vitality looks so formidable, putting a lot of strain on people. It seems to be unique. I really wonder what kind of cultivation method this is."


    All the people were surprised. From the beginning of the competition, Zen had relied on his superhuman strength and his strong corporal body to defeat his opponents. They were not accustomed to seeing him use life vitality. Moreover, most of the spectators had wagered on Dick. If Zen won, they would lose all their money.

 Chapter 395 A Serious Matter (Part Two)

    Only a small number of people had bet on Zen. They had hoped that a newcomer would be able to prove himself during the competition. Considering Zen''s performance, it was their turn to gloat. "I knew that Zen would have a trump card up his sleeve! Although he is only at the second-grade of the nature level, he has prevailed in all the fights. He is a capable man!"


    Kenneth, who sat on the terrace high above the arena, was shocked when he saw the demonic life vitality gathering on Zen''s hands. He studied the demonic life vitality¡ªhis eyes as sharp as two knives. Then he muttered slowly, "What just happened? If I see correctly, the life vitality in Zen''s hands is demonic life vitality!"


    Elder Xu, who was beside Kenneth, was also surprised. His face grew solemn. "Yes, it is indeed demonic life vitality! This guy mastered demonic life vitality. But how... How did he enter the Heavenly Library and obtain the Heavenly Ogre Fist?"


    "Haha, the Heavenly Ogre Fist had been in the Heavenly Library for hundreds of years. Over the years, only three people have been able to get it before Zen. Two of them failed to master the Heavenly Ogre Fist, and the third was stopped by Uncle Kent who forbade him from practicing it. I never expected... that there could be someone who would master the Heavenly Ogre Fist," Kenneth said in surprise.


    Uncle Kent, as mentioned by Kenneth, was the elderly man Zen had met when he took the Heavenly Ogre Fist from the Heavenly Library. Kent was a man of high standing, and so, Kenneth had to pay respect by calling him Uncle Kent.


    "The Heavenly Ogre Fist is a tier-5 cultivation method. It has been said that it is impossible for humans to master it. I have no idea how this guy managed to do so." Elder Xu seemed envious.


    nown reason, they chose not to report this to the leader. Moreover, they blocked a lot of news about Zen that showed his great talents during his practice.


    "Sir, few people can recognize the Heavenly Ogre Fist. I''m afraid that even if Zen showcases the skill in public, no one will be able to recognize it," Xu analyzed.


    "Yes, you''re right. But I will investigate this matter. If someone has been intentionally hiding this information despite knowing it is a serious matter, I will make them pay!" Kenneth said calmly.


    Xu was astonished by Kenneth''s vow. Although it had nothing to do with him, he could sense the intention to kill in Kenneth''s words. Shivers traveled down Xu''s spine. He had thought that this accomplishment would highlight Zen''s potential. He didn''t expect that Kenneth would attach such great importance to this matter. ''Is it really so difficult to master this tier-5 cultivation method?'' He wondered.


    Zen, of course, couldn''t hear their conversation. Zen''s knowledge was only limited to the Eastern Region. He had no idea what was behind the Heavenly Ogre Fist. He just happened to have chosen this technique to break Dick''s defense.

 Chapter 396 Borrowing Nature鈥檚 Creative Powers

    Dick was levels higher than Zen. But when he saw the latter emitted a powerful life vitality in a short span of time, he started to become serious.


    Dick was surprised to see Zen''s body strength. But he thought that Zen had only the corporeal body strength, so he still didn''t pay too much attention to him.


    Despite Zen''s powerful defense, Dick didn''t fear him at all. After all, if Zen could not break through his power of defense song, Dick would never be defeated.


    But seeing the life vitality Zen emitted all of a sudden, Dick knew that defeating Zen wouldn''t be easy.


    Dick was still curious as to why Zen didn''t use the life vitality in his previous matches.


    There were only two possibilities. Firstly, Zen didn''t have a powerful life vitality, and Zen''s most powerful shot was his enormous innate superhuman strength.


    Secondly, Zen had far more power than he had expected, and he''d been hiding his own advantages during his previous fights because he didn''t want others to know his trump card.


    But based on his assessment, the first one was nearly impossible. Zen''s body and strength were in such a formidable status so how could his life vitality be weak? Moreover, the two clouds of dark purple life vitality in front of him gave him the clue of how much power Zen''s life vitality had. ''This power is really strong!'' Dick thought to himself.


    While Dick was lost in his own thoughts, he was retreating as his hand kept writing swiftly. The words of ''Kill'' flew out from his brush pen simultaneously. This fight seemed to go on forever.


    Dick had forgotten that Zen was only at grade-two nature level. He considered Zen as the most powerful opponent he had ever encountered in the battle ring.


    "Kill, kill, kill..."


    The words formed and flew out from the end of Dick''s brush pen. They made an amazing array and rushed towards Zen.


    "Thirteen Kills Array!"


    The Thirteen Kills Array was Dick''s most powerful attack move and his absolute killer.


    But this final killer was not originally intended for Zen. He was reserving this attack move for the personal disciples of the big men.


    The Blackrock Peak was the second-ranked peak in Cloud Sect. And being the top disciple of the Blackrock Peak, Dick had the ambition to be the top one in the All Peaks Competition. The personal disciples of the big men were stronger than most of the disciples from the thirty-three peaks, and Dick had intended to reserve that skill to them.


    But now Dick realized that he needed to use that skill to Zen or he wouldn''t have the chance to win this competition.


    Dick could just admit defeat and give up at that moment. With his undefeated record in all his other fights, he could go on in the competition even if he had lost one or two rounds.


    But Dick wasn''t willing to do anything like that. He was a gentleman and he couldn''t do such tricks. Besides, his opponent was just at grade-two nature level. If he truly wasn''t as strong as Zen, he would rather lose to him than give up. He was a gentleman and he could not give up without even trying to fight.


    Once the Thirteen Kills Array appeared, the fighting court was filled with killing intent and Zen felt a sense of oppression as if he was in hell. The face of the referee turned pale and hurriedly got out of the stage. The audienc


    situations.


    "This is insane!"


    He tried to keep calm, but he was so astonished that he exclaimed.


    For an ordinary warrior, the process of changing his life vitality into a weapon was not reversible. For example, Dick could turn his life vitality into words, but once the words were destroyed, they would turn back into original vitality then dissipated into the world again.


    That was why the original vitality existed in the world.


    During a warrior''s cultivation, he would absorb original vitality into his body and turn it into his own life vitality. Once he used his life vitality, it would turn into original vitality again. And this was how it should always be.


    In other words, original vitality was the creative power of nature. Human beings could absorb and use it from nature. It was like borrowing nature''s creative powers.


    And nature had always been generous. If the life vitality wouldn''t turn back into original vitality, the original vitality would have been used up by now considering that there were a lot of people who absorbed and used it.


    No humans could stop the natural cycle. Everyone would return the original vitality to nature after they had used it as their own life vitality.


    But what did Dick see just now?


    When his killing array broke Zen''s demonic phantom, by nature''s law, it should have been turned into original vitality and disappeared into nature.


    But, to Dick''s surprise, it gathered together and reshaped into a demonic phantom again.


    It was beyond nature''s law and human comprehension.


    If Dick could see what was happening, so did the rest of the audience.


    Having a slight knowledge about the Heavenly Ogre Fist, Kenneth wasn''t that surprised. Although he could not practice the Heavenly Ogre Fist, he clearly understood the wonders of the cultivation method and had seen other people use it. But that was not the case to Elder Yu. He was astonished and couldn''t say a word. He just heard about the Heavenly Ogre Fist, but never expected that it had so much power.


    Also, the disciples who knew little about life vitality couldn''t keep their excitement. They all roared in cheers and started discussing amongst themselves.

 Chapter 397 Eye-opener

    Most of the disciples of Cloud Sect knew little about heaven and earth, much less the mysteries of the sword intent and other forms of the martial arts.


    The questions ranged in complexity. What exactly did sword intent mean? How was it structured? The sword intent was a different kind of mastery altogether. It was difficult to understand and imagine, otherwise, it would not have been arduous to practice it.


    The disciples did not understand heaven and earth.


    However, most of them were nature creatures, and a few were already into the Illuminating Soul Realm. So, they understood the transformation of life vitality well enough.


    After entering the nature level, a person could gather life vitality in his belly. Then through contemplation, he could transform it into various elements.


    As long as imagination was present, life vitality could metamorphose into anything.


    For instance, Dick turned his life vitality into dark ink, to be used to write with his brush.


    Some others converted life vitality into daggers and broadswords. A person could even morph it into a house for people to live in.


    The six demonic phantoms that emerged out of Zen''s life vitality didn''t seem too astonishing of a feat at the beginning of the battle. Most in the audience felt that Zen''s phantoms didn''t compare with Dick''s thirteen mighty words.


    A single glance at the thirteen words was enough to sense their killing intent. Zen was only at the second stage of the nature level. How could his six demonic phantoms defend themselves against the attacks of the array of thirteen kills?


    However, the crowd was soon stunned by what unfolded before them. A lone demonic phantom managed to successfully block the attack of the array of thirteen kills. Not only that, it broke three kill songs of the array in one blow.


    Unbelievable!


    A single formation of the demonic phantom had as much strength as that of a fairy weapon. What was even more sensational was that the demonic phantom could return to its original state right after getting smashed to smithereens.


    "His life vitality transformed into an entity, which condensed to its original state right after getting smashed to pieces. This¡­ is unbelievable!" a voice called out.


    "Heavens!" someone else exclaimed. "Zen has a lot of power in him. How are those phantoms so strong too? Is this guy truly only at the second stage of the nature level?"


    "I''ve said before that Zen must have his own trump card. Just because his cultivation level is too low, nobody bothers to investigate him. Otherwise, everyone would be on their toes when fighting against him!"


    "Whether or not he has a trump card is not the issue. But his power is far too unusual! The entity formed from his life vitality can return to its original state after getting demolished to pieces. Who has ever heard of that? It''s certainly my first time seeing anything like this, ever since I became a nature creature!"


    For a while, the comments flew back and forth.


    In the area for Skytop Peak, two tall men stood upright at the front


    n Region, Rocher was eager to travel the world to do so. Rocher might not be as powerful as Wing at the moment, but he would surely surpass Wing''s achievements if he dreamed that big.


    Wing and Sheeny didn''t speak a word. Meanwhile, the battle grew intense.


    Facing Zen''s indomitable demonic phantoms, Dick felt pressured.


    He waved his writing brush, and the kill songs rushed out of the sharp tip constantly, hovering over Zen to bolster the array of thirteen kills.


    Initially, the attack was effective. As the kill songs smashed the demonic phantoms, some of the former also got destroyed. However, Dick had a lot of life vitality, and the words only cost him about ten percent of it. That could be ignored. He just needed to supplement the kill songs gradually.


    But in a few moments alone, Dick began to face a new set of problems.


    One of the demonic phantoms resisted the attacks of the assembly of thirteen words, while the remaining five divided themselves into two groups. One group went to intercept the new kill songs Dick created. He made new kill songs at gaps of a few minutes, during which two demonic phantoms blocked the paths of the new words.


    Not a single kill song could come to the aid of the array of thirteen kills. They were outmatched, unable to defeat even one of the demonic phantoms in power. Finally, those supplement kill songs were destroyed by the demonic phantoms, and the latter remained uninjured. It was obvious that the demonic phantoms were indeed powerful. Only under the throttling force of the thirteen words would the demonic phantoms be destroyed, and in turn, they would break a few kill songs of the array. If it was a one-on-one fight, a lone demonic phantom was able to beat a single kill song easily.


    Dick''s heart sunk. He knew that if the array of thirteen kills did not get their replenishment, they would fall and the battle would be over soon.


    The two groups of demonic phantoms separated themselves into two lines, and as Dick watched, three of them rushed toward him.

 Chapter 398 Righteousness Song (Part One)

    "Boom, boom, boom!"


    In an incredibly fast, almost thunderous speed, the demonic phantoms struck. After two rounds of being struck by three demonic phantoms, a defense song beside Dick cracked and began to disintegrate before falling apart. With only five defense songs around him, he could survive only eight or nine rounds of attacks by the demonic phantoms.


    And considering the demonic phantoms'' attack speed, he realized all his defense songs would be broken within a few moments. And if all the demonic phantoms hit on his body, Dick strongly doubted if he could survive even one round of the brutal attack!


    At this time Dick was really in a fix. He not only needed to write kill songs, but also defense songs. Dick was in possession of a magic pen, was extraordinarily brilliant in writing and also was a great master of cursive script. However, right now, he was too busy on writing the defense song and kill song to care about maintaining the attractive sleekness of his words. Instead, every word was written askew, and there was nothing to suggest that a master of cursive script had actually written them.


    In fact, Dick''s hand was quivering violently even while writing. On any other day, he wouldn''t write with such a shaky and unstable hand. At this moment, except pushing his life vitality to the limit, he cared about nothing.


    Even though Dick urged his life vitality to the limit on writing, it couldn''t keep up with the loss of the songs. The number of kill songs in the Thirteen Kills Array over there steadily dwindled, and so did the number of defense songs over here...


    "One last defense song!"


    A single defense song could only withstand two rounds of attack coming from the demonic phantoms. And owing to the increasing attack speed of the demonic phantoms, a defense song could be broken even in a breath''s time. Th


    demonic phantoms. Everybody was extremely disappointed. As things stood still, Dick might not escape the inevitable outcome after all. He might even lose the fight.


    But what was not expected was that with the last defense song, he would write a Righteousness Song!


    Meanwhile, Zen concentrated on manipulating the demonic phantoms to break Dick''s defense song, but just at the moment, he sensed a tremendous power and influence radiating from Dick!


    This power was not sharp, but it was very thick, as if in possession of a collection of the general trend of the world. And it pressed over towards Zen. For a second, Zen''s six demonic phantoms were shaken up and Zen''s control over them also got slower.


    "The Righteousness Song?" Zen''s pupil shrank slightly as his expression grew grim but dignified.


    Sure enough, the strength of any of the top 100 disciples on Cloud Sect chart could not be underestimated by anyone! ''But it''s all right. Let me have a good and fair fight with you!'' shrugged Zen. Even in the face of righteousness''s overwhelming force, Zen did not reflect an ounce of fear. Instead, there was a flickering and bright light lighting up in his eyes, and a turbulent energy emanating from his body.

 Chapter 399 Righteousness Song (Part Two)

    Dick, no longer scrupled by the demonic phantoms, kept on writing with much determination. And the words were getting more and more powerful, lively and vigorous!


    After a while, the demonic phantoms failed to break his defense song, and Dick had written down the entire Righteousness Song neatly!


    "Done!" Dick proclaimed in a confident tone.


    The brush in the hand gently glided gracefully as he drew the finishing point.


    "Droning droning droning..."


    A whole song was suspending at Dick''s side, constantly shaking and singing. The written words, with black ink, gradually emitted a radiating golden sheen.


    Dick was now like a great ancient saint, sending out the sense of a power that usually made people bow to him, without the slightest resistance from the heart.


    Dick''s gaze swept across those demonic phantoms. The next moment he pointed a finger, and a golden light shot out from the Righteousness Song! This gleaming golden light ran through the demonic phantoms directly!


    "Flip-flop!"


    Within a flash, the demonic phantoms cracked, turned into flashes and condensed into new demonic phantoms yet again.


    "This is not possible. I can''t believe that the life vitality is imperishable. Having been broken for so many times, they should be unable to recover..." Dick said in an indifferent tone as he immediately sprung his fingers continuously


    Under Dick''s control, flashes of golden light seamlessly shot at the demonic phantoms. After being shattered repeatedly again and again, the demonic phantoms were doggedly restored to their former condition each time.


    Facing Dick''s attack, Zen''s mind too was spinning at full speed.


    Of course, those phantoms were not immortal!


    Between heaven and earth, everything was affected by the law of time, even life


    righteousness spirit, and it remained unharmed by attacks from swords and cutters, even the mighty fairy weapons.


    But as the demonic life vitality twined around it, it was swallowing up the golden light entirely!


    "Swallow the golden light? No way!" Dick suddenly panicked, he did not expect that Zen''s demonic life vitality would be able to swallow the light entirely. It was swallowing his Righteousness Song. Upon seeing many words on the Righteousness Song''s surface slowly dim down, Dick was scared that the Righteousness Song would be swallowed up entirely soon...


    Dick suddenly looked at Zen, realizing that he should not have bothered himself dealing with the demonic phantoms before, instead, he should just beat Zen with the Righteousness Song sooner. As long as Zen was defeated, these demonic phantoms would fall back immediately.


    Finally, Dick was clear about everything. He stretched out his hand and a thick and big golden light shot out from the Righteousness Song. It was almost six times bigger than the former light, which went straight towards Zen.


    In the face of Dick''s frontal attack, Zen sped up and suddenly dodged aside as if he was the wind itself!

 Chapter 400 A Gentleman

    The power of the golden light that burst from the Righteousness Song was more terrifying than Zen ever imagined.


    It nearly clung to his back and swept past him. Although it didn''t hit Zen, he felt the power behind it.


    The righteousness was horrifying.


    If the golden light, with its tremendous power, hit Zen, it would undoubtedly cut through his body.


    The young man was confident enough about his body strength. Only with those who had been in the Illuminating Soul Realm for so many years being his rivals would he not dare resist the attacks with his physical body, like James Mo.


    Apparently, after Dick had written the Righteousness Song, he had strength equal to James''.


    Still, comparing Dick''s strength to that of James'' would not be appropriate because while Dick might have exerted maximum strength, the force utilized by James was not the strongest during their battle. To Zen''s mind, the pressure was more from James than Dick.


    While both Dick and James were masters in the Illuminating Soul Realm, the former had just entered the realm, while the latter was already at the advance stage.


    The golden light missed Zen as it hit a light curtain of enchanted barrier, which momentarily blocked its radiance. However, it was not sufficient to completely stop the golden light. A wave resembling a ripple on the surface of the enchanted barrier appeared before the golden light penetrated it.


    "Poof!"


    Once it pierced the enchanted barrier, the golden light continued in its path and shot to the group of Vulture Peak. It whizzed past an ear of a disciple before boring into the ground where it left a dark round hole no one knew how deep.


    The disciple from Vulture Peak turned pale and stood still as he felt the light by his ear. It left him speechless. Had it been any closer, the golden light would have cut through his head cleanly.


    It was possible for anyone at the All Peaks Competition to be severely injured or even die due to influence in the aftermath of the contest owing to the intensity of the rivalry.


    The master from Vulture Peak was now nervous and hurried to inform all the other disciples to move back. He was aware that if the golden light broke the enchanted barrier again, the disciples from their peak would probably not be so lucky.


    There was also a change in the expression of several saints who guarded the arena. If the life vitality influence on the field caused serious injury to disciples outside, this would be considered an accident. To prevent this from happening, they joined hands and put the life vitality in the huge array of the enchanted barriers to immediately make them much denser.


    "Chirp!"


    Quickly, Dick weighed the situation.


    He saw the demonic life vitality continuously devoured the Righteousness Song. Dick had to defeat Zen before the demonic life vitality swallowed all the Righteousness Song. Otherwise, he would be a failure.


    As golden light from the Righteousness Song successively burst out to target Zen, he jumped, rolled, and dodged continuously, like a cheetah avoiding a hunter in the forest.


    Both warriors were striving for that last chance to defeat the other.


    If Dick managed to hit Zen, the latter would surely lose. But as long as Zen resisted the attack of the golden light, his demonic life vitality could devour the Righteousness


    an instant. Zen had quickly turned the tables that so many disciples had no time to react.


    "What do you know?


    Dick''s righteousness doesn''t allow him to push himself too far. What''s more, considering Dick''s character, if he admits defeat, that means he definitely can''t win against Zen!"


    Suddenly, there was whining!


    "Ahhhh... My points!


    I''ve lost more than 800 points!" A disciple was in deep sorrow. Eight hundred points was equivalent to 1, 600 cubic crystals. Even a disciple from the noble clans would be sad to lose that much money. He had bet on Dick and lost everything.


    The happiest, however, was not Zen, or Master Wen, or the disciples from Drizzle Peak. They were the people who bet on Zen.


    One of them was Zachary of Ninety-foot Peak, whose wild laughter reverberated in his peak non-stop. Most inner disciples thought he had become a fool, but no one dared say anything to his face. After all, Zachary was very, very strong. He didn''t join the All Peaks Competition, but other than the ones who competed, he was the strongest among the spectators.


    No one knew that Zachary also thought he behaved like an idiot standing and laughing wildly, but he was so happy that he couldn''t control himself.


    He had bet 1200 cubic crystals on Zen, and as a result, would make nine times more than he put in.


    With Zen''s victory, Zachary''s total cubic crystals rose to more than ten thousand, a vast amount of money that he never imagined before, which now gave him a great fortune.


    Every time he thought of his ten thousand cubic crystals, Zachary''s heart would race and he would breathe quickly.


    Would he continue to bet on Zen? Now that Zen had defeated Dick, the odds following this competition would certainly go down. After all, this had been a tough fight and Zen proved his strength and ability. No banker would be stupid enough to offer Zen high odds. Otherwise, they would lose everything.


    ''Even if the odds were 1:2, my ten thousand cubic crystals would double to twenty thousand, '' Zachary thought.


    ''That''s twenty thousand cubic crystals!''


    His expression turned vicious. He would risk everything, Zachary decided, so he continued to bet ten thousand cubic crystals on Zen.

 Chapter 401 The Legendary Jacques (Part One)

    Winning the competition against Dick was not easy for Zen. He didn''t try his best during the fight and merely relied on the skills from the Heavenly Ogre Fist, so he was still fortunate to have won.


    The fighting effectiveness of the demonic phantom, one of the skills of the Heavenly Ogre Fist, was so surprisingly good that even Zen was startled by it. While he had planned to use it when he entered the next round of competition, fighting with someone of Dick''s ability by depending only on corporeal body and absolute power was no guarantee for victory.


    As for the disciples of Drizzle Peak, while it came as a great surprise when Zen beat Dick, they were becoming numb to his victories because of his successive wins and his consistency in overthrowing their speculations.


    Thus, when Zen descended from the ring, Master Wen found himself at a loss for words appropriate and sincere enough to congratulate the warrior''s astounding victory. Instead of platitudes, he only laughed, grabbed Zen by the shoulders, and said, "You''re clearly the lucky star of Drizzle Peak!"


    Perhaps, because of Zen''s efforts alone, the fate of Drizzle Peak would completely change. From the last place among the 33 Peaks, it might be able to jump to the front rank, much like Yan who, at that time, led the Lady Peak to surpass the other peaks all the way and pushed her team to the second place among the 33 Peaks.


    With Zen''s victories, none of the disciples of Drizzle Peak doubted his strength.


    Dick was a completely different warrior from Cecil, whom Zen fought previously.


    While also a powerful warrior of the Illuminating Soul Realm, Cecil was a relatively weaker one.


    How did he differ from Dick?


    Dick was the top disciple of Blackrock Peak.


    And it was this team that ranked second among the 33 Peaks. Beating Dick in the competition was an indication that Zen had the strength and power to make the top ranking among inner disciples of the Cloud Sect.


    Despite his achievements, there were still those who doubted Zen.


    "Maybe Dick allowed Zen to win on purpose," one disciple proposed.


    He was among those unwilling to acknowledge Zen''s


    ne added with curiosity, eager to know more about Jacques.


    "Ho, ho, ho! Even if he''s made improvements, so what?


    If Zen didn''t show up, Jacques, who was at the second grade of nature level and included among the top 100 rankings, would stay as a legend. That''s a rather rare situation in the Cloud Sect. However, at the same level, Zen could even beat Dick and jump into the top 50. I''m saying the gap between the top 100 and top 50 is quite huge. It''s quite easy for anyone who enters the top 100 to make a few improvements in their rankings. But for those entering the top 50, they have great difficulty in improving even one place. In my opinion, Jacques'' strength three years ago was much inferior to that of Zen''s today," a senior disciple gave a more specific analysis.


    "You''re right about Jacques not being as good as Zen three years ago. But now, after three years of hard training, Jacques has also stepped into the Illuminating Soul Realm. And since he''s been able to compete with those beyond his level, and now that he''s entered the Illuminating Soul Realm, won''t his strength be supposed during the competitions to be even more terrifying?


    How can Zen be an equal opponent?" another senior disciple added his own positive analysis.


    Those disciples were making comparisons between the two men because both Zen and Jacques participated in the Competition while they were at the second grade of nature level.

 Chapter 402 The Legendary Jacques (Part Two)

    After hearing those disturbing remarks, Jacques slowly walked to the edge of the battle ring, with his sharp eyes staring at Zen, and loudly and firmly said, "I want to launch a challenge against you!"


    The dare made the audience sit up in attention. They didn''t think Jacques could be so intense and straightforward. The disciples were merely comparing the two warriors and did not expect Jacques to issue a challenge to Zen.


    Many of the spectators shared the same though. ''Zen is at the second grade of nature level, while Jacques has broken through the Illuminating Soul Realm. Presumably, his strength will be superior among disciples with the strength of the same realm. But for him, to challenge Zen is quite brazen and almost a form of bullying.''


    In a low voice, Master Wen said, "Zen, don''t say yes!"


    He was afraid to offend Jacques. Although he was a master of Drizzle Peak, Jacques'' mentor was either a saint, or an elder, whose status was far higher than his.


    But Zen looked at Jacques without fear and dispassionately said, "Whether we fight or not, I follow Cloud Sect''s arrangement. If according to the rules of All Peaks Competition, you and I are assigned to have a match, I will certainly not refuse."


    His tone and attitude riled Jacques. "Are you afraid? Ahhh, don''t worry. I won''t let anyone say I am trying to bully you because of my more superior power. I will adjust my strength to the nature level and fight you fairly!"


    He looked at Zen squarely, determination and pride burning in his eyes.


    To his surprise, Zen burst out in laughter.


    "Ha! Ha! Ha!" Jacques'' words ignited his fighting spirit. Sharply, he jeered, "Me, afraid? Jacques, do you know what fairness is?


    I still stand by what I said previously. If we are to be assigned to the same match to fight each other, don''t worry for my sake, or control your power because I promise to defeat you!"


    Zen''s pronouncements made the disciples of Drizzle Peak and all other peaks inhale sharply and hold their breath for several seconds.


    At the same time, tens of thousands of disciples sitting in front of the Picture Slab also took a deep breath. While these disciples only had a view of Jacques on the Picture Slab, Zen''s words were d


    , he completely unfolded the fan, enabling him to wave it around him randomly.


    "Whoosh! Whoosh!" The sound of the fan whipping the air had everyone''s attention.


    As Stanley''s hand flipped the golden fan rapidly, one streak of life vitality after another was being released by the spiritual weapon at the same time.


    Stanley''s life vitality was extremely special. He would always think of something very sharp so the life vitality pulled out by the golden fan did not transform into a particular object. Instead, it released a kind of gold thread as thin and fine as a hair strand. Had it not reflected a little golden light under the sun, it would have been hardly visible to the naked eye.


    Like everyone else, Zen had his eyes wide open and glued to the battle ring, watching the match unfold. Once before, he experienced a similar attack. It was at the trial of Bloody Mountain, where Ryan used his spiritual weapon to draw out a kind of indestructible line of energy. During that test, Zen suffered scratches all over his body from the thin lines of energy that struck him.


    Looking at the gold thread pulled out from Stanley''s fan, Zen saw it was more powerful than the thin lines that came out of Ryan''s spiritual weapon. Everyone in the audience waited curiously at how Jacques would deal with this.


    And just as they began thinking of how the personal disciple would deal with the attack, Jacques simply walked towards the gold threads coming from Stanley''s fan.

 Chapter 403 White Bone Armor

    Stanley''s threads spread out like a spider''s web. It was called Skynet.


    Usually, during the fight, Stanley would try to force his opponent into the net. Once his prey was in the net, he would be shredded by Skynet''s gold threads.


    It would be a ghastly, bloody scene. So, Stanley hadn''t tried this weapon in his previous fights. But now, he was facing a master''s personal disciple. This was no time to hold back. He had to move very carefully. One wrong step and Stanley could be the one lying on the ground.


    Stanley knew there was still a chance that Jacques would find a way to deal with Skynet. But Jacques seemed overconfident as he didn''t even try to dodge it. Stanley''s eyes widened when he saw Jacques walking into the net. It was almost impossible to crack Skynet from the inside.


    ''The fish is on the hook, '' Stanley thought. What choice did he have but to pull the thread thankfully? A cold smile danced on Stanley''s lips. Men who had underestimated him paid for their ego with blood. Jacques might be smart and talented, but that wouldn''t change the outcome of walking into the net. His ego would be his downfall. Stanley would see to it that Jacques shed more blood for this.


    He dragged his thoughts back to the present and pulled his fan lightly. Then one of the gold threads moved, and the other threads moved with it. All the threads weaved in a special way. And now, they were rippling and twisting as they combined into a vast net. When ready, the net pounced in Jacques''s direction.


    The crowd tensed, and their faces grew grim at the scene.


    The gold thread was as thin as a hair but as sharp as a steel sword. It could easily slice through a person''s bone!


    "My Skynet can cut through a spiritual weapon, let alone fragile flesh and bones of a human body. I know you have spent three years on your refining. But Jacques, you are dreaming if you think you can withstand my Skynet." As the Skynet inched closer and closer, space left for Jacques dwindled.


    At first, Jacques walked over slowly. Then, he stopped and casually glanced at Stanley. To Stanley''s surprise, Jacques was smiling.


    There were so many emotions in Jacques'' smile¡ªscorn, contempt, indifference, and fearlessness.


    Suddenly bloody mist exploded from his body. A second later, the mist turned into white bones. Layer upon layer of bones enclosed his arms, knees, and chest. It was a suit of armor made of white bones!


    Something cold and sinister lurked inside those sleek white-jade-like bones, from which a dark aura emanated into the field. The sight sent a shiver down Stanley''s back. For a short second, he felt like he wasn''t facing Jacques but some ancient evil deity.


    "Evil skill!" Stanley shouted. His expression changed as he sensed the dark aura from Jacques. He had never expected that Jacques would study evil skills.


    "It''s true. It''s truly an evil skill! He has the smell of blood and death. I can feel it from here. I never thought Jacques would take this path."


    "It is not an easy path. But if you are determined, the rewards are great. Evil refiners are much stronger than normal refiners."


    Only the names of evil skills were handed down from ancient times. All the meth


    ley couldn''t bear it was being ignored. If Jacques treated this fight with the utmost seriousness and put all his attention into it from the beginning, Stanley would admit defeat knowing that he had been outmatched. But throughout the fight, it seemed like he was invisible to Jacques. He couldn''t bear the shame. Stanley had to teach Jacques a lesson. There was a price to pay for arrogance!


    "Gold Flower Fan!"


    "Da!"


    He pulled out his fan and unfolded it. Then he cast the fan in Jacques''s direction. At the same time, the spiritual weapon''s skill was activated.


    There were numerous spiritual weapons in the Eastern Region, but very few spiritual weapons had skills. Generally speaking, a medium-grade spiritual weapon with skill had value equal to a top-grade spiritual weapon. The same rule applied to top-grade spiritual weapons and fairy weapons.


    Why was the Phoenix Crystal and the Emerald Crystal that Zen had acquired so precious? That was because each of them could make a top-grade spiritual weapon comparable to a fairy weapon.


    So, the activated Gold Flower Fan wasn''t something to be trifled with.


    High in the sky, the Gold Flower Fan split into numerous blade shadows. Each of the blade shadows spun frantically and flew toward Jacques. It seemed like these shadows could think. They attacked at the weak joints of the white bone armor like the elbows, head, waist, and knees.


    Stanley believed that if he could take advantage of these vulnerable spots, there was no telling who would be the winner of this fight. He might even turn Jacques into a cripple.


    A smile touched Jacques''s lips. He didn''t even dodge. Another bloody mist appeared around him. After the bloody mist dispersed, the white bone armor covered his entire body.


    This scene brought a bitter taste to Stanley''s mouth. Jacques had every reason to despise him. And there was nothing Stanley could do to deal with this white bone armor. As long as Jacques stayed in his armor, he was unbeatable.


    As he thought about this, Jacques slammed into Stanley. In the next instant, everything went black. He knew nothing after that.

 Chapter 404 Extremely Arrogant (Part One)

    The competition between Jacques and Stanley wasn''t so thrilling. Most of it was pretty boring since Jacques was overwhelmingly superior to Stanley in every aspect and dominated him every step of the showdown. There was little Stanley could do to protect himself against Jacques.


    However, that did not mean that the elites of all the thirty three peaks and all the personal disciples present ignored the fight. Instead, they observed it carefully.


    It was worth noting though, that the majority of them focused their attention on Jacques and did not care what happened to Stanley.


    Three years ago, Jacques had become one of the top 100 warriors when he was just at grade two of the nature level, landing him in the list of legends of the Cloud Sect. Although Zen had already broken his record now, no one dared to ignore Jacques and his strength.


    Moreover, Jacques had retreated to practice for three years and he was at the Illuminating Soul Realm at present. No one had seen him fighting over the three years, and no one knew how powerful he was now. That was the reason why those elites and personal disciples paid a lot attention to Jacques, who was one of their potential opponents.


    Unfortunately, Stanley was defeated so fast that Jacques only had a chance to show off his incomparably sturdy armor.


    But the set of white bone armor he was wearing was already strong enough to attract all elites and personal disciples'' attention. Its defensive ability was comparable to a common fairy weapon, which could resist almost all damage inflicted upon it. Jacques, hidden and protected in the armor, could definitely win the competition, especially considering the fact that if the white bone armor couldn''t be broken by his opponent, then there was no way to inflict damage directly upon him.


    Zen, standing outside the battlefield, also paid attention to Jacques all the time, but he believed that he had a few countermeasures in his pocket to attack the white bone armor. Though the armor looked completely impenetrable, there were means such as the


    why Zen was angry. What made him even more annoyed was that Vale didn''t want to beat him but actually wanted to be together with his sister, Yan!


    Zen gradually unlocked his frowned brows at this thought and assigned a cold look to his face instead. He had never worn such an expression on his face ever since taking part in the All Peaks Competition.


    Standing next to Zen, both Master Wen and Yehudi noticed that Zen didn''t look good. After being together with Zen for a while, they now knew clearly Zen would never look cold no matter how strong his opponent was, and he would never concede the competition to anyone, not even the personal disciples. So, they guessed that there was something behind Zen''s change of expression.


    "Are you okay, Zen?" Yehudi asked carefully.


    With a brilliant smile on his face, Zen replied, "I''m fine. I''m just in a bad mood, and I want to kick someone''s ass right now."


    "Kick someone''s ass?" Yehudi repeated and gave a gasp of surprise at what he had just heard. He then turned around and looked at the empty battlefield. It seemed that Zen''s opponent hadn''t come out yet.


    "Yes!" Zen replied in a firm tone. Keeping cold expression of his face constantly, Zen walked towards the battlefield step by step.


    Vale wasn''t at the scene of the All Peaks Competition, and he didn''t show up until it was his turn to fight.

 Chapter 405 Extremely Arrogant (Part Two)

    After the cheers had died down, suddenly, there was a young man standing and walking in the air step by step, with both hands on his back. It seemed that there were some transparent stairs in the air so that Vale could step on them. And every time he took a step, a lotus flower bloomed right under his foot. Steps with lotus flowers! Those lotus flowers made Vale look gentle and aristocratic. Showing off indeed!


    A great number of inner disciples were amazed at what they saw when Vale walked on the lotus flowers. Although most of them knew clearly that it wasn''t difficult for him to do so since he had reached the Illuminating Soul Realm, but the great power and presence when he stepped on the lotus flowers shocked everyone anyhow.


    Amid the shock, a long scream was heard from the many female disciples of the Lady Peak. Vale''s appearance had produced a kind of galvanization on the battlefield.


    Sitting in the group of personal disciples, Tracy Mo pouted and sneered with a cold smile on her face, "What a disgusting man! What does he think of himself, a prince or something? Why does he always show up like this?"


    After hearing Tracy''s words, Patrick, who was sitting right next to her joked, "So do you want to poke some holes on his body, Tracy?"


    "Of course I do! If I get a chance to compete with him on the battlefield, I am definitely going to poke more than a few big holes on his body! He''s such a poser every time he shows up! I am going to leave him in such a state that he won''t be able to pose anymore!" Tracy replied resentfully, still pouting.


    Zen stood motionless on the battlefield. He kept silent as he looked up at Vale, who was coming down slowly in the air.


    After he had stepped down on the battlefield, Vale greeted him with a smile on his lips, "How do you do, Zen? It''s beyond my expectation that you can take part in the All Peaks Competition in such a short time! What a surprise! I still remember what I said when we met on the Hell Mountain. I told you that I would give you three years to practice so that


    ured on the Hell Mountain.


    Zen got the information from Wurth when he was investigating what had happened to his sister earlier on. No one had more news than Wurth did in the Burning Sky Empire. He was a well-informed man.


    Paying no attention to what the other disciples were talking about, Zen looked at Vale and continued, "As for the fucking appointed competition three years later! You made the appointment yourself! How dare you appoint a competition with me like that? Do you really think you have the ability to compete with me after I practice for three years straight? I would have definitely improved in that time, and you wouldn''t be qualified to fight with me after that! But you know what, let''s forget the three-year-later appointment and come back to this competition now! Do you think you have the ability to win the competition today?"


    As a personal disciple, Vale couldn''t maintain his smile anymore, even though that was his usual style. He had been insulted by Zen in the All Peaks Competition just now. Or, to put it bluntly, he was degraded and despised by Zen in front of the hundreds of thousands of disciples of the Cloud Sect. He stared at Zen with burning eyes, as if he wanted to cut him into pieces with his mere gaze. "Good! That''s very good! There is a saying that the younger generation will surpass the older. That''s great!"

 Chapter 406 A Surprise For Kenneth

    "Younger generation? Are you kidding me? Vale, you''re only a little older than me. You may have reached the Illuminating Soul Realm earlier than I do, but it doesn''t mean you''re more powerful than me! How dare you call me younger generation?" Zen snorted.


    The participants of the All Peaks Competition were shocked when they had known that Zen might be Yan''s elder brother.


    When they heard the conversation between Zen and Vale, they were even more surprised to see Zen''s attitude toward Vale.


    Zen had shown great potential that made him the most powerful among the top disciples of the thirty-three peaks.


    As a practitioner at the second-grade nature level, it was a miracle for Zen to defeat Cecil. Besides, his victory against Dick with his magical purple and black life vitality was the greatest miracle of all time.


    However, both Cecil and Dick were only the top disciples of the thirty-three peaks. They were still far from Rocher, Wing, and Sheeny when it came to competence, and there was still a long way to go for them to be on par with the personal disciples.


    Jacques was just at the second-grade nature level when he had participated in the previous competition. But because he was also a personal disciple, his power and competence had already been far beyond his peers.


    The All Peaks Competition was held in many sessions. In each session, the first up to the third place had been won by the personal disciples, and it was seldom that the disciples of the thirty-three peaks would get the top ranks. When the personal disciples gave their best in the competitions, the disciples from the thirty-three peaks would lose their chance to be on the top twenty.


    From this point, it was easy to see the gap between the disciples of the thirty-three peaks and the personal disciples. Although the number of personal disciples was small, they had easy access to abundant resources provided by the Cloud Sect and they had personal masters to teach them. Therefore, all of them were powerful enough with their own unique skills.


    Vale was outstanding even amongst the personal disciples.


    According to the Cloud Sect List, he was part of the top fifteen last year. However, the personal disciples'' ranking in the Cloud Sect List was not reflective of their actual power and strength.


    Because they seldom competed with the others and they could improve their skills so fast, the ranking list was unable to measure their real competence at all.


    Even if Vale had ranked fifteen in the Cloud Sect List, it could be that he had the competence to be in the first rank.


    The other disciples feared Vale and would stutter at the sight of him, just like how they would react in front of an elder.


    And because of that, the other disciples thought Zen as extremely arrogant in his manner of speaking with Vale.


    Vale had always been indifferent, but it was hard for him to stay calm right now because of Zen''s sharp tongue. But since he had a reputation to protect, he dared not to speak ill towards Zen. But the rage in him had turned his face pale.


    After all, Vale was no ordinary man. After many years of cultivation, he knew that it was very important for a practitioner to stay calm all the time. So, he summoned his life vi


    eck on Zen''s cultivation records.


    While Xu was busy calming Kenneth down, the competition in the battle ring became fiercer.


    The lotus flowers were blossoming and formed a stream of lotuses, then started rushing towards Zen.


    Each of the lotuses was about the same weight as ten bronze cooking vessels, and once these lotuses clung to him, Zen would slow down immediately. This was becoming a disadvantage for him.


    At the moment, a homicidal intent of lotus summoned by Vale surrounded Zen. Vale tried to suppress Zen with the overwhelming homicidal intent of lotus.


    ''Does he think I could be easily suppressed? Dream on!'' Zen thought.


    The effect of Vale''s homicidal intent of lotus on Zen started to diminish. Now Zen took the Sword Steps and kept moving around the battle ring as the six demonic phantoms he controlled knocked down the lotuses.


    "Phew! Phew! Phew..."


    With the incredible force of the demonic phantoms, the lotuses were crushed into pieces. Their petals scattered all over the ground, making the battle ring look like a mess. After a short moment, the petals transformed back as original vitality and disappeared in the air. By natural law, since these lotuses came from nature, they would eventually come back to nature in the form of original vitality.


    Although the demonic phantoms were powerful, Zen could only summon six of them for now. Vale, on the other hand, could summon hundreds of lotuses with just a wave of his hand. Most of the lotuses had been crushed by the demonic phantoms, but there were still a few that escaped from the gap between the demonic phantoms, and now they were chasing after Zen.


    Despite that, Zen wasn''t afraid at all


    because he could withstand the weight of the lotus from the beginning. And with that, he was more confident that he could absorb these lotuses with demonic life vitality.


    But to Zen''s surprise, the moment the demonic life vitality he released touched the lotus, the color of the lotus suddenly changed from bright red to lurid red.


    Zen became more cautious at the sight of the color change. He abruptly stopped and stepped backward with extremely high speed.

 Chapter 407 Flower-Picking Pointing (Part One)

    All Zen did in defence was to take a mere step backward. The lotus in the forefront burst abruptly and with that burst, preternatural fire like a red lotus shot up in its place. The temperature of the preternatural fire was so high that it could have easily burned everything in the world!


    Even though Zen had jumped back in time to avoid the core of the explosion, the fire still affected him through heat and shockwave. He was pushed back about another twenty feet by the explosion of the lotus and hit the enchanted barrier heavily.


    "I know that your life vitality is strange, and totally different from regular ones. You seem to have that weird capacity to engulf my lotus and win even against that move. Last time on the Hell Mountain, you have shown me your abilities. Did you honestly expect me to make the same mistake a second time?" Vale remarked with a cold smile. "Are you seriously under the delusion that you can defeat me only with your weird life vitality? Let me tell you this: you are day dreaming! I said that I would give you three years, and I agreed to do that because you weren''t qualified to challenge me then, and you aren''t qualified to do so now. Defeating you was a piece of cake for me then! Today as well, you are going to be defeated in a second!" Vale continued his monologue.


    While he was talking, Vale had been calling out extra lotuses continuously. The lotuses collided with Zen''s six demonic phantoms. And even though he himself was speaking slowly, his homicidal killing intent focused into the lotuses was growing stronger and stronger. Suddenly, amidst the ones fighting the phantoms, another lotus appeared and bloomed slowly in the middle of the fighting platform.


    These flowers Vale was calling out were normally as large as a man''s hand, and bloomed in several different colors, with each color possessing its own different, unique feature and power. For example, the red lotus c


    s fingers pointed towards Zen gently.


    "Flower-Picking Pointing with One Finger!"


    With his motion, all the gravity of the fighting court disappeared and Zen felt as if all of it had been focused on him.


    At Vale''s command, the gravity inside the fighting court had been gathered into one point together and put on Zen''s body! That essentially meant that the gravity he was already experiencing had been multiplied by Vale by a hundred times more!


    "Boom..."


    Zen''s body fell onto the ground heavily much like a mountain sunk in an earthquake. He was forced to fall on the fighting court, and a deep crater appeared beneath his body due to his great weight, increased by Vale, making him unable to move.


    Vale shook his head and said, "I can stop you from standing up only by using gravitational force. You are even not strong enough for me to have to use my weapon!"


    Zen stood up from the crater and Vale, who was still standing in the middle of the white lotus, pointed at him again. And once more, Zen was pushed into the crater. All the disciples heard the booming thud again.


    The fight between Zen and Vale had attracted the attention of all the disciples of the Cloud Sect and they were paying more attention than that they had to pay to anything else.

 Chapter 408 Flower-Picking Pointing (Part Two)

    "Vale is so powerful... But Zen has innate superhuman strength. We have seen how strong he was previously. But now Vale is using only one of his fingers and he has successfully pinned Zen in the crater. That guy isn''t human, I am telling you!" One disciple remarked in awe.


    "Don''t say such nonsense if you don''t understand what is going on!" Another disciple beside him rebuked. The he continued with a pause, "One finger? Do you think Vale can press Zen and make him not stand up only with one finger? Is Vale a supernatural being? The force pressing on Zen''s body is not Vale''s strength. He is using the white lotus under his feet to change the gravity distribution of the fighting court! In other words, Zen has been pressed by the gravity of the whole fighting court!"


    "Even if what you say is true, it would take immense amount of skills on Vale''s part to do it. Both of them are outstanding warriors. With his powerful strength, Zen can still stand up once again. If I were Zen, I probably have been crushed into dust..." The first disciple sighed.


    While other disciples were discussing and murmuring, Zen didn''t panic at all. Although he had been pressed into the crater again and again, he had been able to stand up every time successfully. Actually the gravity on him could not hurt him at all. On the contrary, his body was growing stronger under the high pressure as the warmth inside his body revitalized his power! So Zen remained calm and was not worried at all. It just looked like he was in a very awkward position for the time being. In Zen''s eyes, appearances didn''t matter. The most important thing was to make his body stronger and win the fight in the end!


    Vale, at the same time, was also patient.


    Previously he had been chided by Zen and he felt humiliated. Now, he just wanted Zen to lose his face for a longer time. In this way he could let other disciples see that Zen was not qualified to be his opponent at all! He felt pleased at this moment and hoped that this could last as long as


    appeared one after the other. Soon, the whole fighting court became completely uneven. Now, it looked more like a construction field than an arena.


    While the disciples were amazed at their fighting, Zen''s Sword Step had become extremely fast. But since he had hidden his sword intent, his Sword Step could not be used to attack his opponent like Rocher''s.


    Vale was a stout opponent, but Zen had other powerful rivals too. On the way to the top of All Peak Competition, there would be more than one tough competitors for him, so he had to preserve his secrets to the last moment.


    "Is that all you can do? Escape? You are a coward!" Vale shouted to Zen. However, he didn''t stop tracking Zen and still kept using his skill of Flower-Picking Pointing.


    But this time, just as he released the force by one finger, Zen suddenly became twice as fast as he already was. He jumped highly towards Vale and the six demonic phantoms also ran at him. They had been waiting for a long time on the fighting platform. Zen, together with his six demonic phantoms, was trying to surround Vale in a circle.


    "Oh I can do more than just running away!" Zen finally graced Vale with a reply. In a mere second, Zen had arrived closely to Vale with a slight smile.


    His giant fist of life vitality suddenly formed and pushed towards Vale swiftly!

 Chapter 409 The Antique Gentleman Sword (Part One)

    Seeing the demonic fist dashing towards him, Vale raised his eyebrows, and waved his hands to summon his own weapons. Hundreds of lotus flowers fluttered in front of him, products of his own martial skills.


    This was far from their first fight. At one point, Vale was attacked by Zen''s fists on Hell Mountain. At that time Zen was just a half step into the nature level, but his fists helped even the odds. It was a reckless move, though.


    The little boy, a novice only a half-step into the nature level, had the nerve to start a fight with him! Vale was stunned and bewildered. Why would Zen do such a thing? But still, he had to admit those fists were a pretty impressive feat, especially for one so young.


    When Zen was only half-step into the nature level, he could use life energy to throw those powerful fists. Now that Zen stepped fully into the nature level, his life energy had been transformed into life vitality. So his fists were bound to be more compact, heavier and more powerful!


    Vale Wang was also a rare genius, and now he was the pride of the Wang Family. Not only was he a personal disciple, he stood head and shoulders above those other personal disciples. How could it be easy to fight him?


    And he''d come up with a way to defend against Zen''s Heavenly Ogre Fist.


    The lotus flowers floating around him formed a triangle, and there was a big gap between any two of the hundred lotus blossoms. With his power, he sent the triangle rushing headlong at Zen''s fists.


    The moment the fists met the lotus flowers, the phantoms began to devour the blossoms in the front row. Immediately, the gorgeous red, lotus arrangement was transformed by the demonic life vitality, one flower aft


    ifying. Now that dozens of lotus flowers burst at the same time, the turbulent red lotus fire immediately enveloped Zen''s fist phantoms and the black lotus flowers which had been devoured by his phantoms. The flames eagerly curled each flower to ashes.


    Detonating his own lotus flowers and Zen''s fist phantoms together was also Vale''s last ditch. He was really out of options. Zen''s black fist phantoms were too evil and too powerful. After Vale thought about it for a bit, there was no other way to break through.


    Now even after he had come up with a solution, Vale just managed to hold Zen to a draw.


    If he hadn''t done this, the life vitality contained in Zen''s fist phantoms could have devoured all of his lotus flowers. And if that happened, he would definitely be defeated!


    "I''ve broken through your fists. Got any more tricks up your sleeves?" Vale said lightly, as more lotus flowers started blooming next to him. Zen''s cultivation method was a rare one. But Vale''s knowledge of the Lotus Scriptures was considerable, and he also had the advantage in the cultivation level. So, Vale was very confident right now.

 Chapter 410 The Antique Gentleman Sword (Part Two)

    In fact, in the depths of his heart, Vale was a bit scared about how fast Zen was improving. His martial arts skills grew by leaps and bounds.


    ''It only took 6 months for Zen to have the strength to fight against me. If he had three years to practice, it would be impossible for me to catch up with him!'' Vale''s mind was racing wildly.


    This time, Vale had to pull all his trump cards, techniques and weapons in order to defeat Zen calmly and easily, striking a blow to his confidence and crushing him.


    Martial arts depended upon the will to improve. But when a warrior was defeated, his will could be diminished. If the blow was too much to bear, then his will could be shattered. He would be haunted by this, and unable to improve anymore.


    In Vale''s view, Zen''s strength played a major role in helping him overcome all the obstacles, and walking to the current stage of All Peaks Competition. However, no matter how powerful Zen was, his top ability was only at the second grade of nature level. His main advantage was that creepy purple-black life vitality!


    As long as he came up with a solution to deal with that, he''d have Zen on the ropes.


    Zen, who only had the power of nature level, was nothing more than a clown. So, he figured he had plenty of time to play with Zen in the ring.


    "Tricks?" Zen didn''t answer his question but repeated his word. Meanwhile, a faint smile made its way across his face.


    So far, Zen had many cards that had not been used. However, he didn''t plan to use these on Vale. While Vale was indeed powerful, he was not the most powerful. If he were to win the first place at the All Peaks Competition, he should keep calm and exercise restraint.


    n kept it well. It was far more than just a charming, ancient sword and its shining blade was still extremely sharp!


    When Vale held the sword, his whole vitality changed.


    Standing among the white lotus flowers earlier before, Vale had the aura of a domineering emperor looking down upon his subjects. But now, when he held the antique sword in his hand, it made him look like a resurrected emperor, looking down at the lands he ruled with great ambition and arrogance!


    "Wow, it''s an antique fairy weapon! An antique fairy Weapon!" one disciple exclaimed. Recognizing Vale''s sword, he was excited.


    "Oh, my God, he didn''t dig up the grave of an ancient monarch, did he? How did he get that antique fairy weapon?" one of the disciples asked in a surprised tone.


    "I feel strong emanation of power! It''s just a sword, but I can feel the great power of an ancient monarch. This antique fairy weapon is by no means an ordinary object. In ancient times, the owner of this sword must have been a strong master!" one senior disciple said.


    Everyone was stunned by the Gentleman Sword wielded by the hand of Vale!

 Chapter 411 Catching The Blade With Bare Hands

    The Wang Clan that Vale came from was a big clan, though it was not one of the top clans in the Imperial Capital. In terms of fortune, it was unable to compete with the top seven noble clans. As such, the Wang Clan was unable to buy an ancient fairy weapon for Vale.


    In fact, Vale obtained this ancient fairy weapon when he accidentally barged into a dust-laden imperial mausoleum. To secure this Gentleman Sword, Vale surpassed the traps and tricks set inside the tomb and got chased by a band of human skeleton guards whose cultivation level could rival those at the Illuminating Soul Realm. It was also true that Vale nearly died in the imperial mausoleum.


    "This Gentleman Sword was the personal sword of Emperor Amos, from the Imperial Dragon Dynasty in primitive times. Zen, your body is incredibly strong and firm. It is almost as if you were built with iron and steel. But I wonder whether you can defend against my sword," Vale said as he brandished the Gentleman Sword. A string of lotuses fluttered down around him.


    Zen raised his brow as he stared at the Gentleman Sword in Vale''s hand. He never expected that Vale would have an ancient fairy weapon.


    Allegedly, in ancient times, weapon refiners could grasp the Heavenly Law more effortlessly than present-day refiners. Accordingly, earlier weapon refiners could easily become weapon refining masters. It was also said that weapon refining masters had an easier time when refining fairy weapons.


    Later, a drastic world-wide change occurred. The Heavenly Law became far more obscure, which made it more challenging for weapon refiners to refine fairy weapons. As to the nature of the change and why the Heavenly Law turned more abstruse, no one knew the answer.


    Therefore, ancient fairy weapons were more powerful than those produced in recent years. For instance, though the Gentleman Sword held by Vale had one fairy texture, which meant that it was a low-grade fairy weapon, its power could be at par with a medium-grade fairy weapon refined in this era!


    Zen did not doubt that this medium-grade fairy weapon would cut his body¡ªafter all, his body was not stronger than a medium-grade spiritual weapon.


    "Ancient fairy weapon? That must have cost a fortune! But are you sure that your aim is good enough to hit me?" As those remarks faded, Zen took a step forward. With the full power of the Phoenix Crystal coursing through his body, Zen moved at top speed, like a gust of wind!


    Meanwhile, Zen''s six demonic phantoms sprang. They hurtled toward Vale from six different directions.


    Seeing the six demonic phantoms rushing toward him, Vale flipped his hand, and the white lotus under his feet unfurled six petals. The petals swept against the demonic phantoms and sent them up in the air one by one. The large white lotus turned out to be another sharp offensive weapon by Vale!


    As the white lotus blocked the six demonic phantoms, Vale leaped gracefully before charging at Zen with the Gentleman Sword clenched in his hand. "I don''t know how you achieved this. At the second-grade of the nature level, you can move at such speed! Without any knowledge of sword intent, you comprehended the Sword Step. You''re surely one of a kind weirdo. But as I''ve said, it''s no use. All that you rely on is of no u


    hands anymore, does he? Is he going to block the blade with his bare hands? Is he out of his mind?"


    "How could a man catch Vale''s sword with his hands? I''m positive that Zen will lose his hands!"


    Seeing that Zen was attempting to block Vale''s sword with his hands, many shook their heads. Confronting a blade with bare hands was not profound Kung Fu. Many people could do it. However, there were many preconditions. For example, their strength must be stronger than that of their opponents, which would ensure that they could stop the sword with their palms.


    Since Vale was more powerful than Zen, and the sword that he was holding was an ancient fairy weapon, Zen''s attempt was daring to the point of being considered reckless. Many in the audience were already picturing the bloody scene of Zen''s hands being chopped off.


    But the scene the crowd imagined did not occur.


    Because Zen did not exactly catch the blade with his bare hands!


    Facing the attack of the ancient fairy weapon, Zen, of course, was not so stupid that he would really catch it with bare hands. He had no intention of losing his hands!


    He suddenly balled his right hand into a fist, took a turn, and punched the Gentleman Sword from the side.


    ''I can''t launch a frontal attack on the ancient fairy weapon with my body. But I can smash the side of the sword!''


    At Zen''s counterstrike, a trace of sneer emerged on Vale''s face. He found this trick by Zen very boring. ''Anyway, inferior people will always be weak. Even when they are cornered, they can''t think of a decent counter-attack. Their only option is to resort to dull tricks!''


    ''It''s easy to undo Zen''s little trick. All I need to do is to draw the sword along the force of his punch, and then, swing at him once more. I aimed for Zen''s left shoulder, but this time, I will target his right shoulder instead. Anyway, his little trick will not make a difference.''


    But just as Zen''s fist made contact with his sword, Vale''s expression changed radically!


    Vibration rolled out of Zen''s fist. When this vibration flowed through the sword and spread to Vale''s hand, Vale lost his grip and nearly let the Gentleman Sword fly out of his hand!

 Chapter 412 Losing Martial Arts Spirit

    As an Illuminating Soul Realm master, if Vale lost to a second grade of nature level disciple, he would undoubtedly lose his face.


    Even though Zen was as strong as Hercules at that moment, it would be impossible for him to punch off Vale''s sword by only his mere strength.


    The cultivators at the nature level or above realms held their weapons not just by their own physical strengths but with the help of life vitality. For a swordsman, the effective wielding of a sword was a fundamental skill. The methods of wielding a sword were generally divided into two: the three-point sword-wielding method and the six-point sword-wielding method.


    The three-point sword-wielding method was commonly used by the nature creatures. This method was used to fix the sword hilt in the swordsman''s hand with the help of three streams of life vitality transmitted from three acupoints: one from the thumb and two from the little finger.


    The six-point sword-wielding method, on the other hand, was used by Illuminating Soul Realm masters. From the three acupoints of the three-point sword-wielding method, the six-point sword-wielding method added three acupoints: forefinger, middle finger, and ring finger. So the sword hilt was tightly enveloped with life vitality in the six-point sword-wielding method. The Illuminating Soul Realm masters possessed thicker and stronger life vitality than that of the nature creatures which made it easy for the first to master the six-point sword-wielding method.


    The ultimate swordsmanship was the so-called union of swordsman and sword. And it was based on the close connection between swordsman''s life vitality and his sword. That was why when some people wielded a sword, there was an impression that the sword and the man had integrated into one.


    Vale was an Illuminating Soul Realm master who could use the six-point sword-wielding method. And his Gentleman Sword was as light as a feather to sustain no forces, so it would be difficult for Zen to knock it down even with full strength.


    But then again, Zen almost succeeded.


    Zen''s last punch wasn''t very powerful because he had only turned on the Phoenix Crystal but hadn''t mobilized the strength of dragon scales.


    However, there was terrible vibration energy contained in his punch. And the moment Zen''s fist touched the sword hilt, the sword began shaking heavily.


    Although the amplitude was small, the frequency was quite high. The six streams of life vitality connecting to the sword were disrupted which almost made Vale drop his Gentleman Sword.


    The violent vibration was transmitted to Vale''s body through the sword hilt. His blood churned inside him, making him feel uncomfortable.


    The audience was shocked once again by the scene.


    Though they were not all swordsmen, most of the people in the audience had their own weapons. The wielding method of almost all weapons was the same. For example, wielding a spear required the warrior to use the life vitality from both hands but the acupoints were different from those of a swordsman.


    If Vale''s Gentleman Sword was a broad-bladed sword, Zen might have hit easier.


    muttered Vale. The pain and shame left him speechless. In his current physical state, he knew he could no longer summon the Lotus War Body.


    "Give up! You''re no match for me now! Even if you use your Lotus War Body, what makes you think that I don''t have any other skill to use against you?" asked Zen. Six months ago, beating Vale was just a farfetched dream for Zen. But today, at the All Peaks Competition, Zen defeated him only with his fist in front of entire Cloud Sect.


    Vale raised his head feebly and looked at Zen with dead grey eyes.


    ''He''s probably right. He hasn''t used his flying knife yet. If Zen threw his flying knife when I was blinded by the strong starry light, I would have already lost my life.


    During the combat, Zen hasn''t even used his soul attack. Although I specially prepared a jade pendant to defend against his soul attack, I don''t think it will work given the progress he has made from the last time we''ve met.


    Despite being an Illuminating Soul Realm master, I can''t even compete with a second grade nature creature. Am I really a genius or just being arrogant?'' Vale dazed as he stood still on the same spot.


    Vale had always been arrogant. But now, he couldn''t hide his frustration and sadness. Zen noticed in Vale''s eyes that the latter''s spirit of martial arts had already collapsed.


    Zen stared at Vale blankly, but he felt pity for Vale at the same time. Some people had a tenacious spirit of martial arts, and even if they had lost it a thousand times, they would always make it come back. But Vale was of noble birth and haughty in character and had never suffered hardships in his childhood. So now that he had become a master of Illuminating Soul Realm, any setbacks would be a great deal and he couldn''t easily accept any failure. His spirit of martial arts instantly weakened, and this could result in some syndromes of martial arts cultivation going wrong.


    Once Vale lost his spirit of martial arts, he would be hopeless to practice any further.


    If he went wrong in martial arts cultivation, he could become a madman.

 Chapter 413 Another Epiphany

    After spiraling into the depth of madness, remaining calm after future setbacks of any kind, would be impossible for anyone to do.


    Difficulties would bedevil the person, and he would bring more harm to his mind and soul by worrying.


    Under the circumstances though, the individual needed to help himself, without others interfering or removing the problems.


    Hall Chief Ouyang was standing back away from the competition field, scowling. He watched as his greatest source of pride, and chief disciple, Vale, was beaten, and deteriorated, succumbing to insanity, by Zen''s hand in front of everyone.


    However, he knew the only solution in this situation was to leave the afflicted person alone, since confronting someone in the grips of madness would result in sending the struggling victim into the abyss.


    When a woman became angered, she could regain and maintain control, unless a well-meaning individual tried to comfort her, then the tenuous balance would tilt, and she would end up in tears.


    Nevertheless, Zen approached the white lotus slowly. No longer filled with life vitality, the lotus was draining quickly, but, Vale didn''t have time to care about the white lotus.


    All the while, step by step, Zen drew closer, until he stood over the white lotus, looking down at Vale.


    "I''ll give you a chance to follow my steps! In three years, you can battle me! But, even then, you won''t be able to beat me. Then again, if you aren''t courageous enough to try, you may as well leave with your shame and die. Although your talent is outstanding, you lack determination to excel in martial arts. Look at you, a minor frustration and you fall apart, becoming impossible to calm. Even if you didn''t meet your match yet, it wouldn''t be long before you did...


    This is a large world. In the Eastern Region alone, there are billions of people, add to that, there are ten times as many in the Central Region, or so I hear. Out there, genius disciples refine the cultivation skills above tier four from childhood and use all kinds of panaceas to improve. Their talents are inherited from their parents, and they have profoundly strong mentors to guide them. And just maybe, one of those geniuses can defeat you, even one as young as nine or ten. Heck, they can clobber me even now. Your pride is twisted! It''s ludicrous! It''s arrogance...


    Only when you understand that your pride is deceptive, can you transcend it and begin to cultivate in earnest. At that point, you may have a chance to catch up to my level. If you don''t though, you will be nothing but a loser your whole life. No. In fact, if you don''t, it will prove that you were always a loser!"


    Each word Zen said, cut into Vale''s head, and felt like a knife stabbing over and over into his heart.


    The more Chief Ouyang listened to Zen, the more irate he became, until he wasn''t able to stand anymore and suddenly exploded, "Zen! You already won against Vale. Don''t take things too far!"


    Actually, Zen had already crossed the line, and instead of being critical, Zen had insulted Vale beyond reason. Vale teetered on the edge of spiraling into madness, and Zen didn''t show signs of letting up.


    Before the match most people preferred Vale over Zen, but watching him beat Vale, their feelings changed, and even now, many people were on Zen''s side.


    After all, most of the opinions were based on the fact


    oadened his mind and even gave him some insight into the spirit of the Lotus Scriptures.


    Ouyang had told Vale at one time that the Lotus Scriptures was a tier 4 cultivation method, but its true power went far beyond the ordinary four tiers, and couldn''t be placed in the same category with them.


    Because the Lotus Scriptures was passed down from a mighty clan in Central Region, Vale needed to study it, to master the spirit and give full play to its power.


    Although Vale comprehended a little about the spirit, he still needed some time to master all of it.


    "Thanks!" said Vale humbly as he bowed to Zen before walking off the competition field. He walked up to Ouyang, bowing deeply, and he said, "Master, I have become inspired and want to remain in seclusion to cultivate. Therefore, I won''t be able to participate in the rest of the All Peaks Competition''s matches."


    "Oh...?" Ouyang was at a loss for words. After all, he took the All Peaks Competition seriously. If Vale could just finish as one of the top three in the competition, Ouyang would be a very proud master. Moreover, the top three would have the chance to go to the Cloud Road, which would be helpful to Vale.


    Seeing Vale''s expression though, touched Ouyang''s heart. Perhaps during the epiphany, Vale had comprehended something very important, and it must be the best course of action for him to stay secluded and master what he had learned. It wasn''t the end of the world, after all, Cloud Road would still be there in three years. On the other hand, the epiphany was a great chance that most people never got....


    So, Ouyang nodded and said, "Okay Vale, I will permit you to remain in seclusion."


    The battle between Zen and Vale was extremely exciting. Who would have thought that Vale would reveal an ancient fairy weapon when he had the advantage over Zen, or that Zen would turn the tables somehow. Even now, no one knew how Zen had beat Vale''s sword with vibration force.


    Keeping everyone on the edge of their seats was how Vale teetered on the edge of the abyss after the battle, and wasn''t able to control himself. Bringing the match to a riveting climax was Zen, as he provoked and verbally assaulted Vale which somehow brought on an epiphany....

 Chapter 414 A Murder Plan (Part One)

    After several dramatic turns took place between Zen and Vale, there were heated discussions among the crowd. At this point, they paid little attention to the other fights going on in the arena.


    As Vale and Zen damaged the arena during the battle, a team of craftsmen from the Cloud Sect transported huge stones to the area and used them to fill in the damage done to the battle grounds. Later on, the elders helped rearrange the array and enchanted barriers before a new round began.


    In this round, two personal disciples appeared on the stage but their opponents were all at the peak of the nature level. Their opponents had outstanding strength, based on the fact that they had come a long way before finally entering round robin. However, they were unlike Rocher who was extremely excellent, leaving them unlikely to make any surprise moves. As expected, the two personal disciples easily defeated them and won the victory.


    After that, the round robin proceeded normally. All the personal disciples, save for Vale, won the battles.


    The disciples from various peaks had also done an outstanding job this year. Jill, Rocher, and Wing all had winning streaks but their success came too easily as they didn''t encounter any opponents stronger than them. That was why Sheeny from Skytop Peak failed when he battled against Willie Huo, a personal disciple.


    The fight between the top disciples and the personal disciples was the highlight of the All Peaks Competition and what the disciples most anticipated to see. Zen and Vale''s battle was indeed a feast for their eyes. Features of the fight had many twists and turns, including thrilling moments when the audience was certain that one of them would be killed¡ªthese scenes lingered in their memories.


    In the corner of the area, Saint Viana sat on a cattail hassock, overlooking th


    th ago, I wouldn''t dare have Johanson do the job as he is your apprentice. I had to look for someone from the disciples of the thirty-three peaks. But now, things have changed. Aura always gets involved in the internal strife of the royal family. Rumor has it that she was put under house arrest. She''s now greatly troublesome herself. Do you think she has any time to mind Zen''s business?"


    In spite of the reasoning, Saint Zara still looked hesitant. "But Zen''s excellent performance has already attracted the leader''s attention. If Johanson takes action to kill, won''t he anger the leader?"


    "One can only be favored while he is alive. A dead talent is no longer a talent, he''s merely a corpse," Saint Viana said with a sneer.


    Finishing his words, he turned to look at Saint Zara who still had a hint of reluctance in his expression. Scornfully, he continued, "Don''t forget that you also contributed to getting Yan into the Hell Mountain before. If Zen isn''t killed, he will certainly enter the Cloud Hall with that talent or even become a core disciple. No matter how far he goes, there is possibility that he will suppress Cloud Sect by taking advantage of the Cloud Hall. Do you think we''ll get away with that?"

 Chapter 415 A Murder Plan (Part Two)

    Magnificent and superior, Cloud Hall stood high above the Cloud Sect or maybe even the entire Eastern Region.


    If even only a core disciple from the Cloud Hall came to Cloud Sect, the leader would greet him in person. Just from this, one could see that the Cloud Hall was much more superior to the Cloud Sect.


    Because he knew that what Saint Viana was saying was right, Saint Zara remained at a loss for words.


    If Zen could really enter the Cloud Road and then the Cloud Hall, the rest of their lives would be spent in fear. If Zen truly became a core disciple of the Cloud Hall or he made some contributions and got promoted to some important position in the Cloud Hall, it would be a piece of cake for him to get his revenge.


    Probably, the best way to exchange their fate was to come for Zen now.


    "Ah! I didn''t expect that Aura would be trapped in the internal strife of the Burning Sky Empire so soon. If I had known this earlier, I would have killed Zen during the court trial!" With a firm voice, Saint Viana remained indignant.


    On the day the court trial began, Saint Zara didn''t take move because Aura had the Emperor''s Token. The emperor of the Burning Sky Empire had strength, much about the same as Kenneth. It was said that the emperor even enjoyed a higher position than Kenneth did in the Cloud Hall.


    If Aura had gone all out to confront Saint Viana and used the Emperor''s Token, the latter would be in great trouble.


    In the past two months, he didn''t expect that the Burning Sky Empire had any internal strife. Of all the abundant news he heard about it, the most shocking one was that Kane had already died. Since the news came from the royal palace, it couldn''t


    ed by her own. "Patrick, I hate fighting women," she said, her lips pursed.


    "Aren''t you a woman yourself?" with a chuckle, Patrick said.


    "Too weak," Tracy concisely spat out.


    With a warning tone, Patrick interrupted.


    "Jill is not weak. You don''t know how many strong disciples lost to her. You''ll regret it if you take her lightly."


    The comment made Tracy''s lip curl as her expression turned disdainful. With a sneer, she said, "Patrick, the strong disciples you mentioned are only rubbish among the thirty-three peaks. You hateful hypocrite! Obviously, their strength isn''t worth mentioning, and I know you thought of them the same as I did. Yet you still referred to them as powerful ones. Did you say that intentionally to hint that you are a lot better than them? Let''s just drop it. Since Jill is really so strong, then I''ll end her winning streak now. I wonder how strong I will be if I defeat her."


    Finishing her words, Tracy walked towards the arena with grace in ladylike steps.


    Having been mocked by Tracy, Patrick smiled helplessly and continued to sit in meditation, his eyes remaining shut.

 Chapter 416 All Yours

    Jill and Tracy stood in the center of the field and attracted every eye in the auditorium.


    Murmurs could be heard from the male disciples. Both Jill and Tracy were as beautiful as faeries, but efficient and deadly, which was why all eyes were on them in this match.


    "Who do you think will win?"


    "Maybe Tracy. Anyway, she''s a personal disciple, and she''s older."


    "Huh! Who cares? I hope they will go toe to toe in the fight. They had better really get savage and tear their clothes when they fight! I''d love to see one of these chicks half naked!"


    The males got excited and made crude comments when they talked about women, not even bothering to lower their voices.


    Those dreadful comments carried themselves into the ears of the two girls. Jill only replied with a tilt of her head and an angry glare, but Tracy, who had a much worse temper, wouldn''t let it go that easily.


    Although most disciples from the Thirty Three Peaks didn''t know Tracy very well, she was well-known among the personal disciples for her cruel techniques¡ªand a more violent temper than a man. If someone treated her as the inexperienced and innocent girl she appeared to be, he would definitely regret it.


    Tracy slowly walked to the edge of the field and jumped off the stage.


    "Wait, why did she leave the stage? Where''s she going?"


    "Isn''t a fighter forbidden to leave the field before the competition is done? Is she surrendering?"


    "Oh crap! I think you''re in trouble, Bass. She''s flaunting all the rules, and headed this way. We were too loud!"


    They all watched as Tracy walked towards the crowd from Drizzle Peak. The one who made the worst comment was Bass Qin, an inner disciple who ranked sixth in the Drizzle Peak.


    Tracy stopped in front of him, giving him an icy cold gaze. She stared at him for several seconds and suddenly smiled mirthlessly. Her beautiful silhouette added to the temptation in her bright grin. She asked, "You want to see my body?"


    Though Bass had a big mouth, he wasn''t an idiot. Tracy was smiling at him like an old friend, but he was well aware she was furious inside.


    Bass was among the worst-behaved ones in the All Peaks Competition. He had lost seven fights while winning only one, and he had been knocked out quickly, well before the group games were done that day. He liked to talk a lot, but now he was scared silent. Tracy meant business.


    He totally understood that he was courting death if he admitted it, so he shook his head vehemently and stammered, "N-no. You don''t understand. Th-that wasn''t me¡ª"


    But Tracy turned a deaf ear to his words and continued with the same smile. "Well, it''s not impossible..."


    "What?" All the disciples around them couldn''t believe their ears. Was she serious?


    "All you need to do is to gouge your eyes out afterward," Tracy added.


    When they heard her words, the crowd felt their hearts sink with fear. They knew that she wasn''t kidding.


    "N-no, please..." Bass kept shaking his head.


    e said everything people needed to know. His meaning was sexual.


    Tracy focused her gaze at Zen''s face for a while before replying with a cold smile, "Fine. If you beat me, I''m all yours. As long as you promise to do the same for me if you lose!"


    "Of course. So let Bass off the hook," Zen said flatly.


    He hadn''t intended to help Bass, but now that he got involved, he decided to clear up this mess.


    Zen understood that he would have to fight Tracy in the round-robin match sooner or later. So he figured he''d make this bet with her now.


    Still, he felt somewhat worried about that.


    If he could beat her, fine. He wasn''t really interested in anything else, and would probably just let her go. He didn''t want to imagine how this willful girl would torture him if he lost to her.


    While Zen was distracted in his trance, Tracy suddenly shook her head and said, "Let him off the hook? I''m still pissed!" In just the blink of an eye, a gray light appeared in her hand and sped towards Bass.


    Zen didn''t expect that she would launch an attack so suddenly. But she was too close to Bass to stop her. All he could do was to cry out, "Tracy, no!"


    Too late! The gray light flew towards Bass''s chest and pierced his body, jutting out from his back.


    Bass''s eyes stared wide open with fears. He placed his hand on his chest and covered the hole there. The injury was on his left chest. If his heart was wounded, he would lose his life very quickly.


    Zen checked the injury with his soul power and regained his composure. She hadn''t seriously wounded the idiot. She selected a perfect angle that would come quite close to his heart, but didn''t hit anything vital. The injury looked serious, but it was more for show. It might not even leave a scar.


    He bled, to be sure. Not only that, he was in great pain.


    So this was her punishment for Bass''s offense.


    After giving vent to her fury, Tracy turned on her heel and returned to the field, a smile on her face.

 Chapter 417 Jill VS Tracy

    When Tracy and Jill were standing in the battle ring, many disciples taunted them besides Bass. The majority of male disciples from the 33 Peaks would always talk like that as they considered women to be inferior. Why did Tracy only punish Bass that fiercely? Simply because she had figured that Zen would stop her.


    With Zen''s increasingly fantastic performance in the ring, Tracy''s interest in him grew. Eventually, she thought that carving two holes in Zen''s body would no longer be enough for her. And so, she came up with this crazy solution.


    ''Well, if I defeat Zen, how should I punish him?'' Tracy thought as she walked.


    According to the rules, if Tracy left the ring randomly, the referees would declare her as the loser of the match. However, Cloud Sect was biased toward personal disciples including Tracy. In addition, she had a powerful background. The referees would never take the risk of humiliating her! Irritating Tracy would only bring them bad luck. Thus, spontaneously, they pretended not to see her leave.


    Jill had been waiting in the ring for a long time. She was an obedient girl who rarely lost her temper, and she was kind to people. Earlier, when the male disciples talked nonsense, she was offended, but based on her character, she didn''t think of doing a cruel thing for revenge as Tracy had done.


    After walking past Jill, Tracy cast an indifferent glance at her opponent. Then she shook her head and said confidently, "You have strong talent and strength, but you''re not my equal."


    "Why?" Jill lifted her chin in defiance. Disobedience reflected in her expression as she spoke with Tracy.


    "From your expression, I can see that you''re not ruthless enough, especially for men," Tracy said with a faint smile. "If you can''t be ruthless, you''re not my equal as an opponent."


    Jill raised her eyebrows and said sharply, "Are you sure I am not your equal? I may not be ruthless toward men. However, that does not imply that I am not ruthless toward women."


    "You can be ruthless with women?" Tracy repeated. Her smile grew wider. "I don''t believe you!"


    "Well, you can try and see if it''s true," Jill said scornfully. Simultaneously, she flipped the delicate little jade sword in her hand. Jill''s martial arts style was dexterous and quick. Although the killing spirit of her sword was not strong, Jill could quickly and easily break her opponent''s defense. In almost every match, she had landed the jade sword against her opponent''s neck and won the match.


    Now that she was facing Tracy, a powerful personal female disciple, Jill knew that she couldn''t hold back and had to do her best.


    Before Tracy could react, Jill launched a fierce attack by using her special weapon. Just as Jill had said, she could be ruthless to women.


    "Flower Lady Sword!" Jill cried.


    Meanwhile, she took a step forward and brandished the sword. Immediately, a few streaks of life vitality were condensed and transformed into various kinds of flowers, which soon blended with her Flower Lady Sword. After taking a deep breath, Jill moved nimbly as she headed toward Tracy.


    Also, a hundred attacks launched by Jill''s sword in a short period were flying toward Tracy.


    Jill was a serious girl. She was not only talented, b


    ould reach such an impressive state!


    Once the excitement died down, most disciples prepared for the next two matches.


    The first was a match between Rocher Hua and Jaden Wen, a personal disciple. In the second match, personal disciples, Yasser Yuan and Kimi Shi would battle against each other.


    In the previous match, Rocher did not draw his sword. His decision was regarded as arrogant and shocked everyone. He also succeeded in infuriating Jaden. As a personal disciple, he had never been subjected to this kind of insult before.


    But at the end of the match, Jaden had been defeated. The result showed everyone that Rocher was right not to draw his sword.


    The second match between the personal disciples, Yasser and Kimi, was equally fascinating. It almost destroyed half the battle ring. In the end, Kimi gained an edge on Yasser and won the match.


    These two matches could be regarded as the highest level of competition between Cloud Sect''s disciples, as whether it was Jaden or Yasser, or Kimi, the three disciples had qualified to be in the top 10 in Cloud Sect''s List!


    The gap between the disciples in the top 100 and those in the top 50 was not huge. However, the gap between disciples in the top 30 and those in the top 15 was greater. For the disciples who had reached the top 10 ranks, it was almost impossible to find a way to improve their ranking as their opponents were rare geniuses with special and powerful skills!


    In the next match, the referee suddenly announced, "Zen Luo from Drizzle Peak will fight the personal disciple, Johanson Jiang!"


    "Oh, my God! Johanson! It is said that Johanson is qualified to be among the top five in the Cloud Sect List. He is also said to be highly-skilled and a personal disciple of Saint Zara. I do not know how Zen will deal with him. The match between the two will undoubtedly be very interesting. Wow, this is exciting! I must say that this year''s All Peaks Competition is really impressive!" cried one of the disciples excitedly.


    "What? He is the personal disciple of Saint Zara?" Zen''s eyes narrowed when he heard the other disciples. His expression reflected his vigilance.

 Chapter 418 The Way To Infuriate Him

    At Cloud Sect, Kenneth bore the most power. If Kane, who had an astonishing amount of talent, didn''t take over the reins of the Burning Sky Palace in the Imperial Capital, the head of the Cloud Sect would dominate the entire Eastern Region.


    The vice leader held the second highest amount of power. The elders were next in the hierarchy, followed by the saints.


    In truth, the power that a saint was granted depended a lot on his age. If their talents weren''t good enough, they would remain stuck at the Cloud Sect. The exalted Cloud Hall had no interest in admitting those of mediocre talent.


    In the past, Zen had had conflicts with the saints. At the court trial that day, it was Saint Zara who had conducted the trial on him.


    Naturally, Zen was more alert now, knowing that his opponent was Saint Zara''s disciple.


    Johanson didn''t wear the purple robe of the personal disciple. Instead, he had donned a solid black coat. He was dark-skinned and thin, and he stood opposite Zen like a weak child, with no apparent momentum emanating from his person.


    If the crowd didn''t know that he was, in fact, Johanson, they would dismiss him as a frail student on appearance alone. The inconspicuous boy did not look like the top disciple of Cloud Sect that he was.


    Everybody had the momentum. For instance, a child had a childish momentum, a general had an executioner''s momentum, while a scholar had a civilized momentum. The momentum was on display for everyone at any given space or time. The momentum of the ordinary, however, was not as eye-catching as that of the warrior.


    It depended on the human''s blood and vitality. After cultivation, warriors usually showed signs of bearing stronger vitality than ordinary people. They could be as tough as bulls, and thus exuded stronger momentum.


    But Johanson could restrain his momentum. Apparently, he knew the secret to conceal it.


    Stepping on the competition field, Zen summoned life vitality to his body. He was not afraid of those who appeared to be tough outwardly, but were timid inside, such as Vale. Zen could see through Vale immediately. But this Johanson... he appeared to be a mystery.


    Just as the referee declared the battle open, Johanson laughed, the voice hollow and strange. Without another word, he began the fight.


    Black life vitality spread across his body continually, flowing behind him like ribbons of broken fabric as he moved. Floating in the air, he looked like a ghost.


    As Johanson flew around Zen, the black shadows remained behind, still in mid-air. The shadows were different from Zen''s demonic phantoms which acted like silhouettes. The black shadows, on the other hand, were similar to Johanson''s own body, as if each of them was a duplicated figure of him.


    ''The life vitality avatar has donned the shape of his body. The cultivation method he has practiced seems to be either of illusion or assassination, '' Zen reflected, realizing that he knew what Johanson intended to do. The black shadows on the competition field blended in with his black coat with ease and could act as his shield when required. Johanson wanted to bend the atmosphere of the battlefield to his favor.


    It was a frequent way of assassins to trap their opponents thusly.


    When the group attempted an assassination late hours into the night, some of them cried out with voices like those of ghosts. The restless prey was too dumbfounded to react intelligibly and it was a sure-shot kill within mere seconds.


    As Johanson burst into peals of cold laughter, the dark shadows laughed along with him. One could not grasp his location from the sounds.


    "So you can laugh? I thought you were dumb!" Zen spoke out.


    Hearing that, Johanson stopped laughing. Was Zen implying that he was an idiot? Was Zen tricking him? Johanson grew furious immediately.


    At the same time, Zen began to move. Six demonic phantoms appeared from behind him, rushing toward Johanson swiftly.


    Johanson breathed in deeply and spurred his figure to transform into a black shadow. One of the demonic phantoms flew past his ear.


    It was a narrow encounter, but it was dangerous.


    Zen smiled. "What a pity. You have cultivated well enough that you''re able to hide. But being irritated by me, you''ve shown me where you are!"


    The boy had an acute sense of perception!


    He could sense where Johanson was by judging his emotional fluctuation alone...


    "Nice. You have some good skills, but you can''t match me," said the black shadows of Johanson, all at the same time.


    "If you think I''m not worthy of being your opponent, stop floating around me just to find opportunities. Come out and beat me. It should be easy for you. But I know you wouldn''t do it because you are a coward. Why would I believe I can''t outmatch you?" Zen retorted, still with a smile.


    Hearing this, Johanson''s anger almost flared up again, but he restrained it. What had happened? He knew how to remain calm, so why was he being so capricious at this boy''s clear provoking words?


    ''Stay calm!''


    Johanson told himself as he recited the Ten Commandments for an Assassin mentally.


    As a mature assassin, one must guard himself against arrogance, indiscretion, anger...


    Between killing and getting killed, it was a hard psychological game to play.

 Chapter 419 Ridicule

    While Johanson recited ''The Ten Commandments for an Assassin'', Zen Luo sat on the ground. He asked the referee loudly, "Sir, since my opponent will not fight with me face-to-face, can I just sit here and rest?"


    The referee inside the arena looked confused. Since each warrior had a unique way of fighting, he did not answer Zen''s question.


    But Zen had asked the question loudly enough for the audience to hear.


    Of all the fights during the All Peaks Competition, the ones in which Zen participated were the most interesting. Zen had drawn more attention than most participants, including Rocher!


    As Zen was only at the second grade of the nature level, there was a huge skill difference between him and the other contestants. Every disciple was curious to see how Zen would perform in the competition.


    Moreover, Zen''s last fight against Vale had so many ups and downs. The disciples were expecting to watch a more lively fight!


    However, this battle between Zen and Johanson was not as per their expectation. From the beginning, neither side spoke to the other. They stood on the court, face-to-face and then attacked each other only once. They even didn''t collide into each other! The fight seemed dull.


    Zen''s words confirmed what the audience had felt. By speaking out loud, Zen was letting the onlookers know that it was because of Johanson that the fight was boring.


    "Shit! What''s the matter with Johanson Jiang?" a disciple asked. "Zen is sitting on the ground and doing nothing. And Johanson does not dare to attack him!" he added.


    "Is this a competition? I''m feeling sleepy," another disciple said. "Is it true that Johanson is a personal disciple of a saint? Maybe he was only boasting as he cannot face Zen! He can''t be one of the top five disciples on the list! It looks more like he is one of the last five!" a third disciple remarked.


    "That''s true. Maybe Johanson is the most timid personal disciple. He has not shown up before now, nor does he dare to fight. Why doesn''t he just admit defeat? I am falling asleep waiting for some action!" another disciple added.


    What Zen had said was an eye-opener. Soon the disciples were even more dissatisfied with what Johanson was doing and started to discuss among each other.


    Seeing what was happening, all the personal disciples, including Patrick and Tracy, smiled.


    The personal disciples in the audience knew why Johanson was behaving peculiarly. Johanson''s ambition was to be a top assassin. It was impossible for an assassin to fight against others face-to-face like a regular warrior. Asking an assassin to fight like that was the equivalent of expecting an archer to compete with cavalry.


    Assassins were experts in moves that killed a person in one hit. Johanson might attack only once, but that was enough to decide the result of the match.


    This was why fighting against an assassin was boring. Anyone who understood this would know that a silent fight was even more dangerous than a regular one! Not all conflicts were settled with visible weapons. Sometimes psychological warfare or psywar was required.


    Johanson had done this well from the beginning. At least as per Tracy, Patrick, and the other personal disciples, Johanson had performed perfectly. He had successfully remained hidden. Neither Zen nor the personal disciples at


    Johanson was the leopard while Zen was his antelope.


    A nearly solid aura rushed toward Zen. It was Johanson''s killing intent!


    And his killing intent was unique. A force of his soul was hidden in it.


    Even a warrior at the Illuminating Soul Realm could not stand Johanson''s attack. Zen was only at the second grade of the nature level. He would be unable to bear this killing intent especially since it included a soul attack!


    Johanson had collected some information about Zen. He had watched the fight between Zen and Vale from the beginning to the end. Johanson also noticed a detail that Vale had said something about one of Zen''s trump cards. Zen seemed to be able to attack with his soul.


    But Zen was only a warrior at the second grade of the nature level. How strong was his soul?


    Johanson had eaten a soul-nurturing herb each day since he was a baby. The price of a soul-nurturing herb was very high. One plant cost as much as over a hundred cubic crystals!


    Although the Burning Sky Empire had destroyed the Shadow Group, the Shadow Group was still wealthy. And most of their fortune had been spent on Johanson who was their only hope.


    Even the eldest sons of the top seven noble clans could not afford to eat a soul-nurturing herb each day! It was true that the top seven noble clans had the money to buy many soul-nurturing herbs. But, they could not pile all their resources onto one person. That was too risky.


    However, the situation was different for Johanson. He was the only hope of the Shadow Group in nearly three hundred years. He was the only talent among them all!


    Having eaten so many soul-nurturing herbs, Johanson had felt his soul grow day by day. And after he had cultivated his soul for so many years, Johanson was confident that his soul was more powerful than that of the warriors at the same level as him.


    That was why he didn''t pay attention to Zen''s soul attack. In his eyes, there was no comparison between his soul and Zen''s!


    In Johanson''s mind, he could easily turn Zen into an utterly useless person without a soul just by using his killing intent!


    ''Zen Luo, let me see how you will deal with my killing intent!'' Johanson scoffed in his mind.

 Chapter 420 Flying Knife Versus Short Sword! (Part One)

    Now that Johanson decided to strike, he wouldn''t limit himself to only using the soul attack.


    Once an assassin made a move, he would go for the kill!


    Of course, if his opponent had been somebody else, Johanson might have shown him mercy, or say, not caused a fatal injury to his opponent.


    Now that Johanson had regarded Zen as a man he must kill, he would not reserve his strength!


    Just as Johanson launched the soul attack, a beam of bright light shot out from his hand.


    The light warped into the shape of a short sword¡ªa snake-shaped short sword!


    The short sword was Johanson''s family heirloom. It was a fairy weapon that had been passed down within their family for several hundred years! When the Jiang family was undermined by the Burning Sky Empire 300 years ago, most of its treasures and fortunes were kept in one of the secret realms of their Shadow Group. Thus the snake-shaped short sword was preserved within the family, and eventually, it was handed down to Johanson.


    He preferred to first, befuddle his opponent''s mind with the soul attack, and then, cut the opponent''s throat with the snake-shaped short sword. Although this assassinating method was quite simple, it was almost impossible to guard against it!


    In most cases, as long as the opponent''s soul was not strong enough to resist his soul attack, in no way could he escape from Johanson''s snake-shaped short sword!


    Even though Zen''s flesh was incredibly strong, he could not be able to fend off the snake-shaped short sword!


    Therefore, as per Johanson, by implementing his two-step attacking method, there was no doubt that Zen would die!


    "Go to hell!"


    ''I''m destined to be a world-famous assassin while you are doomed to be reduced to a pile of bones.


    As to the little locusts that mocked me from the audi


    at he might lose control and kill someone by accident!


    It was true that the contenders in the arena would try their best to win. In such competitive situations, some participants would occasionally be seriously injured or even die.


    However, given that the arena was not a real battlefield, Zen let his values and morals guide him.


    In this situation, however, Zen had decided to use his killing method, as from the start, he had sensed that Johanson was determined to kill him. The minute the battle began, Johanson had established that he was not aiming at defeating Zen, but he wanted to kill him.


    As to how to distinguish good from the evil, Zen had a simple belief¡ªif others treated him well, he would also be friendly toward them. However, if others intended to murder him, he would return the favor!


    ''Being kind to your enemy means being cruel to yourself!''


    Although Vale, his opponent in the previous fight, was very obnoxious, Zen did not detect any trace of murderous intent from Vale! Vale was merely seeking to subdue Zen and to thwart his martial arts aspirations. Thus, Zen decided to be merciful toward Vale, and even gave him a helping hand when he deviated into madness!

 Chapter 421 Flying Knife Versus Short Sword! (Part Two)

    In contrast, Johanson had decided to kill Zen. And so, Zen had no scruples anymore!


    In fact, Zen had been on his guard for Johanson''s killing intent since the very beginning. And Zen could tell that Saint Zara and Saint Viana were behind all this. Nonetheless, he couldn''t be sure. Therefore, he would not point it out in front of all the disciples of Cloud Sect as he had no evidence yet.


    While keeping a lookout for Johanson, Zen also figured out what he was thinking. If Johanson wanted to have a prolonged tangle with Zen, Zen could do nothing about it.


    However, now that Johanson was enraged by his one remark, Zen knew that despite his great power, he was not a very skilled assassin. And that was why Zen just flopped onto the ground and said offensive things that would lead the disciples of Cloud Sect to provoke Johanson further.


    As Johanson felt that Zen had blocked his soul attack, his expression changed!


    He came to realize that he had made a huge mistake!


    ''The soul attack of Zen that Vale just described is definitely one of his trump cards!


    How can it be? How is it possible? His body is already formidably strong for a man at the second-grade of the nature level, but how can his soul be so tough as well? My soul attack didn''t hurt him at all? Is he a human being?''


    Just as Johanson was trying to rationalize his opponent''s abilities, Zen had launched his counterattack, the Spiritual Thorn.


    In an instant, the soul thorn pierced Johanson''s brain. Johanson felt a powerful force assault his soul, and the pain caused nearly sent him into a coma.


    But compared to Zen''s prior opponents, Johanson''s performance was fairly great.


    As Johanson had been nourishing his soul since childhood, his soul w


    before they began to discuss it.


    "How risky! I never knew that Zen has a weapon! His weapon is a broken flying knife!"


    "That knife is definitely not a normal knife. The snake-shaped short sword that Johanson is holding is a fairy weapon. But when Zen''s damaged flying knife clashed into it, the snake-shaped short sword got a dent, while the broken flying knife was still intact. This means the broken flying knife is at a much higher grade than the fairy weapon!"


    "Zen is indeed hiding his true potential and his attack strategies. I wonder what else he''s got!"


    "Humph, you''re so ignorant! Let me tell you what else Zen has got. Just now when Zen and Johanson attacked each other with their weapons, they were also engaged in another fight¡ªa battle on the spiritual level. It seems that Johanson lost to Zen, and he suffered from that soul combat."


    There was a large assembly of talents at the All Peaks Competition. Although a moment ago Zen and Johanson concluded an attack in just one second, only a handful of people had caught on to what had really happened.


    "What?"


    At those words, many disciples showed disbelief on their faces.

 Chapter 422 Angry Leader

    Born with innate superhuman strength, Zen had a super strong corporeal body. Even if he were hit by a spiritual weapon, he wouldn''t be hurt. No matter how much the other disciples envied him, it didn''t matter.


    But what if his soul was also that powerful?


    That would be totally unfair. Why did God favor Zen that much?


    Every warrior had their own special strength and style. Swordsmen were dexterous; blade-men were domineering with destructive power, while assassins had strong hidden abilities, not to mention the ability to kill with a single hit.


    Those who claimed they were strong in every skill simply meant that they were weak in every aspect. If you had a lot of different talents, you''d be mediocre, because specialization was the key to success. If you put in a lot of time practicing one skill, your other skills would suffer.


    But Zen was an exception. He was perfectly well-rounded.


    It was almost an impossible dream. And it was hard to believe it happened to Zen. He was only a boy of seventeen, and he had only achieved the second grade of the nature level!


    If people did not believe it, that was understandable. In other words, they admitted that Zen just defeated Johanson in the spirit level, but didn''t want to believe that someone of his age was so well-rounded.


    Seeing the disbelief on people''s faces, the disciple shut his mouth. They didn''t want to hear more about it, so he said no more.


    But another disciple backed him up. "He''s right. Johanson lost to Zen in the soul battle, because he was weaker. I don''t know how strong Zen''s spirit is, but I''m sure Johanson''s spirit is far less powerful. It''s easy to tell the powerful from the weak."


    The result of spirit competition between two warriors could be easily and immediately determined. And it would hardly change.


    Hearing another disciple say the same thing, the rest of the disciples took a deep breath, dumbfounded and lost in silence.


    When you''re comparing goods, get rid of the poor quality one. When this was applied to people, the poor ones could not survive. The saying was not to judge, but simply to say that a man should be happy with what he already had, and not compare himself to others.


    As time slipped by, Zen went from the little disciple of Drizzle Peak that nobody knew to the man with extraordinary talents, a superstar in the All Peaks Competition. He overshadowed the vast majority of the disciples! Now that Zen was a superstar they looked up to, they would never challenge him.


    That was how it always was. If someone was a bit better than you, you might challenge him. But if he were much stronger than you and had earned all kinds of accolades, then you''d never think to compete with him.


    The image of Zen in their hearts was like an insurmountable mountain, which they would not be able to conquer even if they tried with their whole life.


    Kenneth, head of the Cloud Sect, knitted his eyebrows as he watched the fight in the arena.


    Based on his strength and judgment, it was easy for him to figure out that the Zen-Johanson fight was risky, so risky that it might result in the death of one or both of them, especially if any of them didn''t properly control their strength.


    The warriors were not the d


    t through a corner, his broken flying knife rushed towards the shadows ahead.


    Johanson jumped from a black shadow, his hiding place exposed. Once again, he brandished the snake-shaped sword in his hand, and rushed Zen.


    At the sight of the snake-shaped sword, Zen scoffed coldly and directed his broken flying knife to block the attack.


    "Ding!"


    The flying knife and the short sword collided, notching the snake sword.


    Both sides of the sword''s blade had been cut, weakened. Another direct clash like that would make the sword completely destroyed.


    Johanson was experiencing a hardship, but he couldn''t complain loudly. Now, he was chased around the ring, Zen''s knife nicking him here, slashing his uniform there. He seemed to have performed worse than Zen''s previous rivals.


    Yet, in fact, he was stronger than Vale and the other disciples, at least better than most personal disciples!


    Johanson was at least ranked in the top five disciples of Cloud Sect, possibly even higher.


    He was absolutely deadly with his two main tactics, defeating most of his foes easily.


    Six months ago, Zen used a spiritual attack together with the broken flying knife and almost killed Vale. And now, Johanson, with the strength of Illuminating Soul Realm, executed two powerful moves, and the results weren''t hard to imagine.


    His two moves, however, were completely blocked by Zen.


    His spiritual attack not only failed to kill Zen, but instead, Zen took control of the situation.


    As for Johanson''s short sword, well, it was just useless. He had no idea where Zen got his broken flying knife, but even the broken knife was ten times more powerful than his sword!


    Johanson really couldn''t figure out why he was in such pain now.


    As a result, he was desperate and wanted to give up. Moreover, he even had a hunch that if he didn''t admit defeat now, Zen would probably kill him.


    Just after he was forced out, he again quickly ducked into another shadow. Meanwhile, as he was about to admit defeat, he heard a voice delivered secretly to him by life vitality.


    The voice gave him an order, and his expression changed all of sudden.

 Chapter 423 A Way To Defeat Zen

    It was Saint Zara who had spoken through his life vitality.


    Her original plan was to let Johanson pretend to kill Zen "unintentionally".


    An unintentional killing was likely to happen in the matches between the Kung Fu masters. With Johanson and Zen being both amazingly powerful, the first move must not falter. Otherwise, Zen could find an opportunity to fight back and defeat Johanson.


    Amidst a heated battle, it would be difficult for someone to stop mid-attack, especially when using full force.


    And with Johanson''s sword that aimed to kill at first strike, unintentional killing would be a reasonable excuse for Zen''s death in the battle ring.


    Saint Viana''s plan would have been perfect, however, no one expected that Zen had concealed his real strength all this time.


    Johanson thought that his soul attack could defeat Zen, but instead, it was Zen''s soul attack that caused the first much damage.


    Even his snake-shaped short sword was completely defeated by Zen''s broken flying knife.


    How was it even possible?


    It was only then that they realized that Zen had concealed his real strength.


    And since Zen''s strength was far beyond Johanson''s, the unintentional killing plan had failed.


    Johanson felt Zen''s killing intent. He would die if he wouldn''t concede now.


    But Saint Zara told Johanson not to concede.


    "Keep on fighting, Johanson!"


    Johanson''s face turned gloomy. How could Saint Zara expect Johanson to keep fighting with this crazy guy? Zen''s broken flying knife alone had inflicted great damage to Johanson. What more could Zen''s other attack do to him?


    "Master, if I don''t concede, I will die in Zen''s hands!" Johanson wailed through his life vitality.


    Zen was now breaking Johanson''s shadow covering. It was only a matter of time before Zen could completely break the shadow covering, and by then, it would be too late for Johanson to escape.


    "Don''t worry, Johanson. I have another plan! I can control the magic array on the stage and form an attack to Zen using it. What you need to do is disguise it as your own and let others believe it is from you. I''m confident that we can kill Zen with just one hit!" Saint Zara continued.


    "Can you really do that? Aren''t you afraid the other elders will discover our tricks?" Hesitation was clouding Johanson''s eyes as he saw Zen continuously destroying the shadows.


    There was indeed no absolute fairness in the All Peaks Competition. Take for example what Tracy did. She had broken the rules of the competition but was not disqualified by the judge, because what she did was still tolerable by the elders.


    However, Saint Zara''s idea was somewhat impractical because he wanted to take advantage of the magic array to kill Zen intentionally. If the elders found out, he would face grave consequences.


    Johanson wasn''t sold in the idea, but he didn''t know how to tell Saint Zara that he refused.


    His birthright as a member of the Shadow Group had greatly contributed to his present achievements.


    But the group had been living a miserable life since they were defeated, so whe


    re was no way a Saint would waste his energy for a low-level disciple.


    But today was different. Saint Zara had been saving up his strength and intended to kill Zen with one hit.


    It would be impossible for Zen to block that attack from a master in the ultimate grade of the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    But no matter what, he must defend himself.


    Zen''s martial will was firmer than any other disciples.


    Even if he suspected that someone was helping Johanson and he felt like a rabbit being chased by a lion, he was fearless and determined to win.


    Fear was just a useless emotion adopted by the weak to defend themselves from the shame of losing.


    Zen summoned the six demonic phantoms and formed a straight line to block the purple light.


    Crack, crack, crack!


    The powerful demonic phantoms were instantly penetrated by the purple light.


    ''It''s no use! I can''t handle this attack¡­"


    With the demonic phantoms broken, Zen resorted to his flying broken knife. He threw it directly into the light.


    Whoosh!


    The sharp flying knife cut the powerful purple light into two parts.


    But it was still useless.


    The purple light was cut into two parts but continued to shoot toward Zen.


    Without any idea left, Zen chose to evade from the purple light.


    The audience was becoming anxious and worried about Zen. They held onto their seats tightly, trying to comprehend what was happening.


    "Oh no! Zen can''t withstand it!"


    "Johanson''s desperate! Did he make the attack at the expense of his own life?"


    "If it''s Johanson''s real strength, he can become the Champion of this year''s All Peaks Competition! After all, who can really defend and defeat Johanson''s attack? Rocher? Patrick? Tracy? Wing? None of them can! No one in this competition can block that attack!"


    However, just when everyone thought that Zen would die from the attack, a huge roar sounded not from afar.


    "How dare you?"


    "How dare you!!!"


    The voice echoed through the valleys.


    It was like the snoring of an ancient beast from far away!

 Chapter 424 Punish The Saints

    The growl pierced through the thin air and came loud and clear to everyone''s ears. Hundreds of thousands of disciples, including the disciples who had received punishments at the Hell Mountain, and the inner disciples and outer disciples from the thirty-three peaks, felt the sound ringing in their ears at the same time.


    "Who is that? Who made that horrible sound?"


    "It''s coming from the foot of the mountain. But why is it still so loud after traveling all this way? Is it a human sound?"


    At that moment, the faces of many outer disciples turned ghastly pale. In their mind, the person who could roar that loudly must be someone out of legend.


    The disciples from the thirty-three peaks were shocked into silence, and one could imagine how terrified the disciples around the arena were.


    But the sound grew ever louder, this time it reached critical mass. The force of it knocked many disciples and even some masters down to the ground.


    Only a few people could withstand it, like Rocher, Wing, and a few personal disciples. But their faces were all pale. Obviously, it cost them much life vitality to resist the horrible sound wave.


    In fact, the sound wave was actually a form of highly condensed energy. Ninety-nine percent of the sound wave condensed into a bright yellow ripple, rushing directly into the arena and breaking the purple light into pieces.


    At the same time, Johanson, who hid in the black shadow, stumbled and fell out from his hiding place. He was near the bright yellow ripple, and it was a devastating attack. Right now, his face was as pale as a piece of white paper. After he fell, he spat a mouthful of blood.


    The sound wave was well aimed. It came precisely to its target without missing an inch. It suddenly disappeared after it smashed the purple light in front of Zen.


    Zen was also affected by the force emitted from the sound wave, but not that seriously.


    ''Obviously, the shout is meant to stop the contest. But who did that? That thing is incredibly strong...'' Zen thought. Shocked as Zen was, he felt fortunate that the sound wave wasn''t aimed at him. If the sound wave just came at him, he would have been shredded by it.


    In a short while, a middle-aged man appeared out of thin air, at first transparent, then very real, floating in the air. It was the leader of the Cloud Sect¡ªKenneth.


    He was followed by Elder Xu.


    "It is probably the leader who roared that way."


    "It''s incredible. The roaring of the leader just saved Zen! But why did the leader help him?"


    "Is this the real strength of the leader? It''s stunning. If he hadn''t gathered the sound and focused it that way, everyone would have died from it!"


    At this time, the referees and the several elders all pressed their hands together and bowed to Kenneth, "Sir!"


    Zen raised his head and looked at Kenneth. He stood there silently, myriad feelings beginning to stir in him.


    ''The supreme level of the martial arts is indeed powerful beyond imagining. But when can I reach the level of the leader?'' Zen wondered.


    Kenneth glanced at Zen casually and then he said seriously, "Viana, Zara, you old bastards, come on out here!"


    The disciples were all confused now.


    Viana and Zara? Was he referring to Saint Viana and Saint Zara, two of the ten great saints in the Cloud Sect?


    Did the leader roar just because of them? Most


    ples already watched the scenes through the Picture Slab. All the disciples, including the outer disciples and inner disciples, bristled with rage and their eyes flamed with anger.


    "What''s going on here? Why the hell would saints kill someone at the All Peaks Competition?"


    "It is said that the Cloud Sect has the strictest rules. I''m afraid that those rules are only applied to disciples like us. But the saints can do what they want!"


    "Punish them, the way you would punish a disciple! They can''t get off scot free, even if they are saints! They should be killed! Killed! Killed!"


    The disciples of the thirty-three peaks were all filled with immense chagrin. But as the venue for the competition was far from the thirty-three peaks, no one possessed the ability to shout that far like Kenneth did.


    "Sir, please let me explain. It is true that I did interfere in the battle. But I lost my head. It was Saint Viana. He egged me on..." Saint Zara was not a cruel man in his bone. He did hesitate before he took action. And it was Saint Viana who pushed him to make up his mind.


    "Zara, don''t slander me. Johanson is your disciple. And you released the purple light to attack Zen. Why do you lay all this on me?" Saint Viana had no choice but try to keep himself clean from this matter. But as he spoke, he noticed the murderous look in Kenneth''s eyes


    He suddenly realized that Kenneth was about to kill them!


    They tried to assassinate a disciple in the fight during the All Peaks Competition, under the watchful eyes of all the disciples of the Cloud Sect. If no one got punished for this, the reputation of the Cloud Sect would be greatly harmed.


    But what was the price for breaking the rules? The answer was obvious.


    Thinking of this, Saint Viana suddenly flew into the air. He zoomed off into the distance.


    Compared to Saint Zara, who tended to slowly consider everything from every angle, Saint Viana was a decisive and ruthless man. He knew that the only way he''d be able to stay was to face death. He figured if he could escape, maybe he''d stay alive.


    Seeing Saint Viana fly away, Kenneth sneered. Then he raised his strong arm and suddenly thrust it into the air, aiming straight at the flying saint.

 Chapter 425 The Blood Condensation Pill (Part One)

    The blow dealt by Kenneth''s hand disturbed the vitality of heaven and earth.


    His fist let out a faint yellow light, which shot straight up into the sky, chasing the direction of Saint Viana''s escape. Everyone present had their eyes fixed on that light.


    With admirable cultivation base, he being at the Illuminating Soul Realm, Saint Viana made full use of his life vitality to escape at a super-fast speed.


    The speed was so astonishing that Saint Viana quickly turned into a mere speck in the sky in a blink of an eye.


    As astonishing as Saint Viana''s speed was, it could never compare to the velocity of the light released from Kenneth''s fist. This light seemed to travel through space before it hit the small speck in the sky in an instant!


    People with excellent vision watched in horror as the light struck Saint Viana and instantly burst into pieces before finally falling towards the ground like a rain of blood.


    Long distance notwithstanding, Kenneth still managed to kill Saint Viana with just a fist. The sight sent a chill up everyone''s spine. Kenneth''s power was beyond everyone''s imagination.


    Rooted to the spot was Saint Zara. Seeing the tragic end of Saint Viana stunned him. And his now ashen face showed how scared he was.


    In his fear, the idea of running away at that very moment crossed his mind. He thought that with their fast speed, they could run in different directions and there would be at least one person who could successfully escape and survive. But when he thought about the idea again, he considered it quite childish aside from being ridiculous.


    Kenneth''s eyes bored into Saint Zara''s as he uttered coldly, "Zara, considering your great contribution to Cloud Sect all these years, and you were only egged on by Viana, I''ve decided to just punish you by ordering


    Zen''s excellent performance in the competition, the disciples of Cloud Sect had a clearer impression of the young Luo''s strength.


    Before meeting Johanson, people thought there was a chance for Zen to enter the top 10 since he was not expected to beat the personal disciple, who was anticipated to be in the top five. No one certainly expected Johanson to be completely overpowered by Zen in assassination, which was the personal disciple''s specialization.


    The power of the young Luo had become unfathomable in the disciples'' eyes.


    Still, what was most important for Zen was Kenneth''s earlier comment about him.


    "You are not bad!"


    Kenneth was the leader of Cloud Sect and considered a divine figure of the Eastern Region.


    There once was an emperor of the Burning Sky Empire named Kane, who was stronger than Kenneth. But since his disappearance, Kenneth became the No. 1 in the Eastern Region.


    Hearing the No. 1 in the region say "not bad" undoubtedly was a great honor for Zen.


    With Zen earning high praise from Kenneth, who would dare look down upon him?


    Despite Kenneth''s praise, it was not enough for people to believe Zen could take the first place in the All Peaks Competition.

 Chapter 426 The Blood Condensation Pill (Part Two)

    However, it was undeniable that Zen was not a weak person, and the disciples had to admit this, including the fact that he was strong enough to be among the top-ranked disciples of Cloud Sect.


    After the intermezzo, the competition resumed and Zen returned to the base of Drizzle Peak.


    The ones most worried about Zen''s safety were of course Master Wen and the Drizzle Peak disciples. All they could do was stand by helplessly, unable to help Zen in his match. After all, the leader and saints were present, thus preventing them from speaking a word in front of them.


    Everyone held their breath until they saw Zen land on his feet safely. Upon his return, they were just as filled with envy seeing the pill given by the leader to Zen. Although they had no idea what the Blood Condensation Pill was, since it came from the leader, they knew it must be a rare treasure.


    Finally, Zen sat down and took the pill.


    The Blood Condensation Pill had a unique taste and instantly melted in the mouth. It released a strong smell of blood, and Zen almost felt that he was not taking a pill, but sucking fresh blood.


    After several minutes, Zen could feel the blood pulsing through his body and his face burning and turning red. The rush of blood flow was twice as fast as normal. It was the Blood Condensation Pill in action.


    As previously explained, it was expected to increase pneuma and blood. The rapid flow of blood was good for the body and the faster it flowed, the more distinctive the promotion.


    With the pill''s effects released to the maximum extent, Zen could feel the blood burning in his vessels.


    Rather than discomfort, Zen felt himself full of energy.


    He smiled as he took a deep breath of satisfaction.


    While Zen was meditating and absorbing the pill, the competition continued in high gear.


    For the other disciples, Zen''s assassination by saints was only an episode in the All P


    ce impressed everyone. And it took everyone by surprise to see that Zen was also a master of soul attack. Even Johanson, who had trained his soul intensely, could not withstand Zen''s soul attack, let alone Jose.


    It was extremely difficult to practice the soul.


    And most martial artists never got the chance to even reach that level.


    In the several rounds that ensued, when people faced Zen, no sooner had the competition started than most would toss their hands in defeat. So, Zen just moved from the field to his seat without actually fighting.


    Tracy had become very depressed.


    After several rounds of drawing lots, she still hadn''t met Zen.


    She already harbored thoughts of having someone play a trick in the drawing of lots to arrange it, so she and Zen ended up in the same group.


    After that incident, even a fool could see that Johanson versus Zen was not just spontaneous. The two saints had designed the entire thing to kill Zen. At this point, even she was in a special position in Cloud Sect, no one dared to help her cheat in the lot drawing.


    Each time when it was her turn to draw lots, she would murmur his name, again and again, hoping to get Zen to be her opponent. But the results of the competition raised her hopes repeatedly.

 Chapter 427 Samsara of Buddhism

    Still feeling very upset, Tracy heard the referee announce, "Next Wing of Skytop Peak will fight the personal disciple, Patrick!"


    Making a face at Patrick, Tracy gestured at him. "Patrick, it''s your turn!"


    After giving her a gentle smile in return, he made his way toward the battle ring.


    Among the personal disciples, Patrick seemed like a special one. Instead of the usual aggressive attitude the others showed, he always appeared friendly and seldom had any disputes with anyone.


    With this kind of behavior, it was difficult to know his true competence.


    Even so, it was common knowledge that he was rather capable since he ranked second in the Cloud Sect List.


    The one who ranked first in the list, Evan Li, was still practicing his cultivation in a secluded place so, in this round-robin, his name wasn''t included in the draw lot box.


    If Evan didn''t show up before the competition ended, then Patrick would be the most powerful participant in this session of the All Peaks Competition.


    All the top ten disciples in the Cloud Sect List were very powerful.


    These talents improved remarkably fast in daily cultivation and none of them was overconfident about winning against each other if they had to battle.


    When it was Patrick''s turn to compete, the personal disciples perked up and cheered because so far, the personal disciples'' performance in the competition was uncharacteristically poor.


    In the former All Peaks Competitions, they had always been highly regarded so it would be a shame if none of them could turn the table for this one. Their previous achievements were nothing short of brilliant. In one of the former All Peaks Competitions, the top twenty spots were all filled in by personal disciples.


    This time, it seemed unlikely for them to achieve such success because many of the personal disciples had already been defeated by the disciples of the thirty-three peaks in the competition.


    Often condescending in attitude, the personal disciples were frustrated with the huge difference from previous competitions. One could imagine how frustrated they must have felt, so they were eager to find a leading personal disciple that could redeem them. Patrick was the most suitable person for the job.


    "Patrick, crack down that Wing guy!"


    "We believe in you! You''ll win back honor for us personal disciples!"


    In the previous competitions, not a soul would have expected to hear such words come out of the crowd of personal disciples, as they seemed to be above such things.


    Because of how things were turning out, their attitudes seemed to shift. Never would they have expected to see so many powerful disciples among the thirty-three peaks.


    Patrick''s opponent, Wing, stepped into the battle ring with a machete in his hand. Having won several rounds in a row, he looked rather refreshed. Looking


    unting even the defense move when Patrick should only be counting attack moves showed that he believed he could easily beat Wing in only two moves. As the best disciple of Skytop Peak, Wing couldn''t bear the humiliation.


    "Since you''re talking so big, I''m going to force you to defend yourself! You''ll shut up after three defenses!


    Heavenly Powerful Machete, Shattering Chop!"


    With that command, the machete in his hand immediately turned into hundreds of grey cutter shadows, almost enough to wrap around Patrick completely.


    Clang! Clang! Clang!


    A string of bell rings filled the arena once again. Patrick''s defense was indeed impenetrable. "You''ve used your defense twice. Now, you only have one move left, right?" Wing asked deliberately.


    With a nod and a serious expression, Patrick simply answered, "Yes, I only have one move left."


    The fact had Wing arch an eyebrow and wave his machete back at Patrick once again. "Then show me how you can beat me with one move!"


    It was clear that Patrick couldn''t defend against Wing''s third attack. With only one move left, he could choose to either attack or defend.


    Wing''s machete was destructive. Although he failed to break Patrick''s impenetrable defense twice, if anyone else had dared to resist his machete, they would have been chopped to pieces by now.


    "Show me what you''ll do!


    Heavenly Powerful Machete, Shura Chop!"


    For the third time, Wing shouted his move and waved his machete toward Patrick. The Shura Chop was the most powerful cutting method Wing had learned. Its blade intent was undoubtedly remarkable.


    Compared to sword intent, blade intent was blunter but more powerful.


    Like a powerful king with years of battle experience in the field, Wing waved his machete with a domineering aura.


    Just then, Patrick used his last move¡ªit was the only attack move he needed.


    "Samsara of Buddhism!"

 Chapter 428 One Move

    The Buddhist cultivation method was a class of its own. Despite being low-key and mysterious, it had its own strong power.


    Since there wasn''t any book about the Buddhist cultivation method even in the Heavenly Library of Cloud Sect, nobody knew where Patrick learned these Buddhist cultivation methods.


    Patrick said he would use three moves, but it was only one move. He resisted Wing twice with the impenetrable defense made from his life vitality.


    The move he was about to use for counterattack was called The Samsara of Buddhism.


    The samsara in Buddhism was described as the ultimate destination of a dead person''s soul. The soul of a dead person wouldn''t just disappear but would be sent to any of the six realms of existence, namely three good realms (heavenly, demi-god, human) and three evil realms (animal, ghosts, hellish).


    At the moment, six small golden balls were suddenly beside Patrick. These small balls were bright gold on the surface with different characters engraved on each representing the six realms.


    Patrick hadn''t cultivated enough so the small balls were in such a state. If he was able to achieve a higher level of the Samsara of Buddhism from his cultivation, there would be six different small worlds within the balls like the space in the space ring.


    However, there was no living thing in the space ring, while the six small balls had real worlds in them.


    If these small balls could create six worlds, Patrick''s strength would be so unimaginably powerful. Even Kenneth would probably be killed in seconds.


    As soon as they appeared, the small balls started to spin rapidly that they formed a whirlpool in front of Patrick.


    Patrick''s cultivation method looked nothing special. After he summoned the Samsara of Buddhism, only a gentle and ordinary whirlpool appeared.


    But this was the nature of the Buddhist cultivation¨Cit looked gentle and common, but nobody would dare to deny its strong power.


    "Put on an air! Break it!"


    Wing waved his treasured machete and tried to shatter it.


    The Shura Chop was Wing''s strongest attack, but he never used it in his previous matches because the opponents didn''t deserve it.


    Wing might be arrogant, but he was no fool to turn a blind eye to Patrick''s powerful might. Patrick didn''t become the second best in Cloud Sect for nothing.


    So Wing exerted all his strength. Even a lion would use all its strength to capture its prey. And since Patrick was stronger than Wing, the latter must not falter at all cost.


    Wing congealed the cutter intent into a much stronger grey cutter light which was stronger than that made from the life vitality. When Wing finished cultivating this move, he had used it to cut a 200-foot-high mount.


    He cut through the whole mount with the Shura Chop once.


    The machete was one of the top weapons. The warrior cultivating to the extreme could even split the mountain and ground effortlessly.


    As soon as the fierce cutter energy appeared, the


    the disciples from the thirty-three peaks, the group of the personal disciples felt embarrassed.


    Fortunately, Patrick avenged them and proved that the personal disciples were unbeatable. They once again became bold and elated.


    "Why are you shouting? You only have Patrick, while we have Rocher, Zen, and other geniuses. We have a shot in winning the All Peaks Competition this year," some of the disciples from the thirty-three peaks retorted upon hearing the satire remarks from the personal disciples.


    "Zen? The disciple at the second grade of the nature level? Rocher? The one at the consummation of nature level? Don''t be silly! You just have these two disciples, but neither of them is a match for Patrick! You really can''t stop daydreaming, can you?"


    the personal disciples answered back sarcastically.


    The disciples from the thirty-three peaks and personal disciples started to taunt each other and then flung abuses.


    The Cloud Sect elders and the referees didn''t stop the commotion.


    Any warrior mustn''t lack the warm blood. The whole Cloud Sect was like a cage of crickets and they let the disciples fight against each other in it. The last one standing would be cultivated to be more talented and powerful than others.


    Only the human was not cricket. The fight in Cloud Sect was not to kill limitlessly. They set reasonable rules to inspire the warm blood of the disciples and let them develop their greatest talent.


    The quarrels and abuses got more tense. When they were about to fight, two elders coming from above released two violent powers that frightened all the disciples.


    "That''s enough! Your strength can''t be proven with your mouth, but only by fighting in the arena!"


    The fight among the audience finally ceased. But both the personal disciples and thirty-three peaks disciples wanted to get their pride in the next rounds.


    The referee finally announced the next round, "Zen from Drizzle Peak versus the personal disciple Tracy."

 Chapter 429 The Legendary Beast Blue Phoenix

    Hearing the referee announced the next match, Tracy flashed a smile. Standing on the battle ring, she looked at Zen with her pretty eyes and said in a happy tone, "After I''ve waited for so long, the moment finally came! Zen, I can''t say that this is your lucky day. I suppose you cannot run away anymore!"


    Zen looked at Tracy with a slight smile and said indifferently, "To be honest, unlike you, I''m not looking forward to this fight at all."


    "Why?" asked Tracy, pouting her lips.


    "Because I don''t know what I''ll do if I win," Zen said flatly.


    Tracy had challenged Zen and said the losing party would be punished at the discretion of the winning party.


    "Are you sure you can beat me?" Tracy asked boldly, raising her fine eyebrows gently.


    "I guess so," Zen said lightly and nodded rather positively.


    "All right. I just planned to give you a little punishment, but now I have changed my mind. Once I defeat you, you''ll be my horse and I will ride you whenever I want. You bend your knees and arms like a real live horse!" she said without the slightest intention of joking.


    After that, Tracy raised her slender fingers to her head and took two Emei pricks from her hair.


    The two one-foot-long Emei pricks were her hair ornaments when not used as weapons.


    "Ah, that''s a risky gamble and the stake is just too high! How could she ask Zen to be her horse?" one disciple complained.


    "She is really going too far. If Zen loses to her, he has to listen to her every order!" another disciple added with full of concern for Zen.


    But since every disciple had seen what Tracy had done to Bass, no one dared to provoke her. Nobody would know what would happen when they irritated the little demon. She would completely disregard the rules of the competition and just punished everyone to her liking.


    "I agree, but only if you can really beat me!" Zen replied shortly.


    "Very well! It seems that you still look down on me," Tracy said, slightly pouting her lips. "Then you are bound to regret!"


    She exercised her skills and turned the two Emei pricks in her hand into two blue-grey sharp shadows rushing towards Zen.


    In her previous matches, Tracy had already shown her remarkable speed. Many disciples of the Cloud Sect were astonished about it and regarded it as total perfection.


    Just as the two sharp shadows were about to pierce through Zen''s body, he easily avoided them by a gentle movement of his feet.


    Tracy surely went all out in this match.


    Patrick once commented that if Tracy''s talent ranked the second place among the disciples in Cloud Sect, then he thought no one would dare to rank the first place.


    Although Tracy''s talent was second to none, unfortunately, she did not like to practice persistently. She would practice her skills for a few days and then do stuff that was just a waste of her talent for the other days.


    Despite having less time to practice, she still had amazing strength and power.


    "Feather Pricks!" Tracy shouted as she exercised her special skill.


    With her own special skills, Tracy created several ghost shadows.


    Once the speed of anything, whether it was human or other objects, reached ultr


    s had all heard about all sorts of legends about the legendary beasts


    but none of them had seen any of them.


    And now that the personal disciple Tracy had the blood of the legendary beast Blue Phoenix, it was a mind-blowing revelation for everyone.


    According to the legends, the strongest super legendary beasts belonged to the four major races: Cyan Dragon, Crimson Rosefinch, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise. The other less powerful super legendary beasts were the Roc, Blue Phoenix, the Nine-Colored Deer, and so on.


    As the blood boiled inside Tracy, she was gradually emitting more life vitality that slowly condensed and transformed into a faint shadow of Blue Phoenix.


    The Blue Phoenix shadow was faint, but it exuded a strong sense of power.


    Even the Elders who were maintaining the order of the competition showed caution on their faces. Although they could sense no threats with Tracy''s current strength, the sight of the legendary beast impressed them.


    "I don''t know why, but I hate you. I hate your look and your behaviors, so I must teach you a good lesson!" said Tracy arrogantly. At the moment, her momentum had completely changed. From her evil and righteous character, she turned into a noble and superior goddess!


    Zen was a little speechless at the sight of the changed Tracy. Judging from Patrick''s tone, it seemed that Tracy couldn''t activate the body of Blue Phoenix at will. He also had no clue as to when and where he had irritated the little girl that resulted to this.


    Originally, he thought it would be easy to win this match, but he absolutely did not expect the Tracy had a hidden trump card.


    After her transformation, her presence was dominating that it almost suffocated Zen.


    ''It looks like it''s time to take things seriously, '' Zen thought to himself as he took his Streamer Sword out of his Space Ring.


    Zen had planned to use the sword only when fighting with Rocher or Patrick. Yet, in the face of the transformed Tracy, Zen had no choice but to use it because he knew that if he continued to hide strength, he was most likely to be defeated by Tracy!

 Chapter 430 Who Will Win This Round

    Tracy stood elegantly at the center of the competition field. The shadow of the Blue Phoenix behind her looked indistinct and blurry, yet it radiated an overwhelming aura. Tracy looked like a sacred goddess that everyone couldn''t look at her graceful figure directly.


    The audience was left in awe by the dramatic change in the competition field.


    It was a mind-blowing fact that one of the disciples of Cloud Sect among them could have the power of a legendary beast.


    To everyone''s mind, it would be nearly impossible for Zen to beat Tracy now that she had used the power of the Blue Phoenix. They were expecting that Zen would do the best thing¡ªto admit defeat.


    But to their surprise, Zen took out his sword instead.


    "A sword? Does Zen have a sword? But he is a body refiner, so how could he use a sword? I don''t know what to believe now!"


    "I agree. I don''t know when Zen has become a sword practitioner. Other than that, it looks to me that he is carrying a fairy weapon!"


    "What the heck? Does this mean that Zen has never shown his real strength in his previous matches? So, neither his flying knife nor his soul attack was his real ace! I can''t wait to see what his real trump card is!"


    The audience had not yet recovered from the shocking fact that Tracy had the power of the Blue Phoenix, and now they were yet again treated to another revelation.


    Zen, who was only in grade-two nature level, had astonished the audience by consecutively defeating rivals of nature-level consummation, Illuminating Soul Realm, and those personal disciples. And yet he still had some new tricks to show. Zen had instantly become an unfathomable figure in everyone''s eyes.


    His mysterious image was a result of his endless powerful means of fighting. After he employed many different skills to beat his rivals, the audience became unclear about the limit of his real power or whether it had a limit or not.


    When the audience saw Tracy''s Blue Phoenix, they thought that Zen would be defeated this time. However, when Zen pulled out his sword, the result of the fight became uncertain again.


    ''They are really amazing!'' many disciples thought to themselves. Most of them would never be able to reach the same level as the ones in the competition field right now.


    Among the audience, Rocher quietly watched the match on the stage. His sharp gaze fixed on Zen who was holding a sword in his hand, and his eyes were filled with eagerness to fight.


    Rocher and Zen had something in common.


    They were both a dark horse in this All Peaks Competition. Both were skip-level challengers, although Zen did it better by defeating an Illuminating-Soul-Realm practitioner; while Rocher performed just as expected with his level at nature-level consummation.


    But it didn''t necessarily mean that Zen was far more powerful than Rocher. The latter was a sword practitioner, but he hadn''t used his sword in front of any of his rivals yet, which made him as unfathomable as Zen.


    Rocher was interested in Zen after he saw the latter''s Sword Step. He was eager to fight Zen, but it was a pity that they hadn''t encountered each other in the round


    "Sword intent, shield my body!"


    In the danger of Tracy''s sudden attack, Zen surrounded himself with sword intent to protect himself.


    "Ding ding ding..."


    The collision of Zen''s sword intent with Tracy''s weapons created a pleasing sound.


    Zen''s sword intent was strong, but it couldn''t force Tracy to step back. As a blue light flashed in Tracy''s eyes, she suddenly strengthened and her Emei pricks cut through Zen''s sword intent and stabbed directly at him.


    "Poof!"


    When he realized that the sword intent wasn''t strong enough to stop Tracy, Zen quickly used the power of the Phoenix Crystal in his arm to increase his speed. He tried to avoid Tracy''s attack but to no avail. The Emei pricks stabbed his shoulders and they started to bleed.


    "Damn it! She''s powerful!" Zen wiped off the blood from his wounds and coldly stared at Tracy.


    "I planned to leave only two injuries in your body, but now I changed my mind. I''ll make you bleed to my heart''s content!" Tracy announced in cold tone. Her voice and character changed after she had used the power of the Blue Phoenix, but her willfulness remained the same.


    "Oh really?" Zen said sarcastically.


    "I''ll stab you one more time for every smile you dare to show in front of me! That''s eleven stabs now!" Tracy warned with the same cold tone.


    "It''s not fair to increase the price!" Zen said, acting as if complaining. He wasn''t threatened by Tracy''s warning. He just did that to tease Tracy and see her full potential.


    "Twelve now!" Tracy spat angrily, gritting her teeth.


    "You can just stab as much as you want! But only if you have the power to do it!" Zen lifted the sword in his hand and assumed an attacking posture. Earlier, he was just testing if his sword intent would pose a threat to Tracy or not. But this time, he meant serious business.


    When Zen wielded his sword in that manner, the audience, including Kenneth, was stunned into silence.


    "That''s basic swordsmanship!" everyone broke the silence.


    To their surprise, Zen was performing the first movement of the basic swordsmanship.

 Chapter 431 Burning Blood Essence (Part One)

    Basic swordsmanship?


    The crowd at the current match in Cloud Sect was rendered speechless by what they just saw. Never was such a basic technique used against a powerful opponent.


    There was only one person who was somewhat glad in the sea of astonished people--it was Zachary, from the Ninety-foot Peak.


    He had already seen what Zen''s excellent basic swordsmanship was capable of, so he understood why the people were shocked by what he did.


    ''Maybe Zen''s skill just shook them to death!'' he thought. Back when Zachary first saw Zen use the basic swordsmanship on the Seven Star Sword Light Platform, he wasn''t faced with a tougher opponent.


    However, now that he was fighting a much stronger foe--he still used the basic swordsmanship! Because of that, Zachary believed that the people were more surprised or even uneasy than he was at that time.


    The basic swordsmanship was the first set of sword techniques that most martial artists came across. There were also other kinds of primary techniques such as the basic spearsmanship, basic fist position, and so on.


    In general, an aspiring martial artist would master the whole set of the basic swordsmanship in his childhood, then practice the other kinds of swordsmanship later on using the basic set as the foundation.


    The basic swordsmanship was quite simple, so it was hard to fight powerful enemies with it because it lacked advanced tactics and power. Therefore, no one would use this kind of swordsmanship in such a grueling fight.


    It was like using a one-plus-one algorithm to solve complex math problems--so one could imagine just how strenuous that was!


    "Has Zen turned into a complete fool?"


    "How could he use the basic swordsmanship with a fairy weapon? Does he think this battle with Tracy is a joke?"


    "Fighting with the basic swordsmanship in the All Peaks Competition of Cloud Sec


    ong sense of threat.


    She knew it was a simple move of chop, but she was also aware that its strength wasn''t as simple as it looked. There seemed to be many hidden mysteries in Zen''s version of the move with the sword.


    "It''s amazing that you have such special swordsmanship, but you are still no match for me if you only have the sword!" Tracy declared.


    The shadow of the Blue Phoenix behind her suddenly radiated a bright beam of light, and the life vitality in her hands gradually increased.


    "The claw of the Blue Phoenix!" Tracy shouted.


    After that, she bent her fingers and formed several sharp blue nails using the mix of blue light and life vitality, then immediately tried to claw Zen.


    Five blue claw imprints, each containing the ferocious strength of the Blue Phoenix, appeared in the air after Tracy tried to tear Zen.


    The Blue Phoenix was one of the legendary beasts. Even though there was just a small part of the Blue Phoenix''s blood in Tracy''s body, she was still a terrifying force to reckon.


    Most of the disciples in Cloud Sect thought that Zen might win the competition with his rare move of chop, but when they felt the immense strength of the Blue Phoenix in Tracy''s body, they changed their minds.

 Chapter 432 Burning Blood Essence (Part Two)

    It was hard to predict who would win in the fight since both Zen''s and Tracy''s strengths exceeded the normal level of the other disciples in the All Peaks Competition. Even their previous battles and experiences weren''t of much help. Only when the match was over could they conclude the winner!


    "Zoom!"


    The sword that Zen held cut upward, right through the five blue claw prints.


    An ear-splitting screeching sound, similar to claws scratching a smooth surface, came from the collision between Zen''s Streamer Sword and the five blue claw prints.


    "Oh my god!"


    "What is this noise?!"


    "It makes me dizzy! I''m going to vomit!"


    A lot of disciples who practiced poorly found the screech quite unbearable. Even those disciples who had reached the nature level consummation had gone pale--they were a bit uncomfortable, but they could tolerate it for the time being.


    Those disciples who had reached the level of Illuminating Soul Realm frowned slightly and barely reacted to the sound.


    A fierce sword intent wrapped the three-foot sword''s simple chop and continuously melted the unusually aggressive claw prints. However, the claw of the Blue Phoenix was quite powerful too. If one were to look closely, they would find countless small wind shears around the claw prints which endlessly tore at the Streamer Sword.


    Fortunately, Zen''s Streamer Sword was a fairy weapon, so it was strong enough to resist the small wind shears'' attacks. If it was just a mysterious or a spiritual weapon, it would''ve been torn into two by now.


    After a mere second, Zen''s chop of the sword had finally taken over the blue claw prints and hacked them into pieces.


    "The blue claw prints are broken..."


    "It looks like Zen''s sword is stronger than the claw prints!"


    "Zen only had an advantage over Tracy because of his weapon!" one of the disciples in the crowd said. "After all, he has a fairy weapon in his hands, and Tracy has nothing except h


    in the form of bleeding holes on his body.


    And that was what she did. Two Emei Pricks pierced Zen''s shoulder when the body of the Blue Phoenix was activated.


    However, Zen had the upper hand when he raised his sword. Tracy felt that she was no match for him anymore!


    ''Zen is just at grade two of the nature level. Maybe he is special, but how can he even compete with me?


    How can he fight against me?


    He''s just a nobody among hundreds of thousands of disciples in Cloud Sect! He is just one among the countless grains of sand!


    How can he win against me with the fucking basic swordsmanship, which he learned from nowhere!'' Tracy angrily thought to herself.


    "I will never lose to you!" Tracy gritted her teeth and angrily declared.


    Her eyes began to blaze a fiery red. It only meant one thing: she was going to burn the blood of the Blue Phoenix.


    At that moment, Patrick, who stood next to the battlefield, saw that Tracy was forced to retreat by Zen''s basic swordsmanship. When he noticed the ruthless and vicious look on Tracy''s face, he knew what was going to happen.


    His mouth immediately went dry. "Tracy, don''t be stupid! Zen, Tracy is going to burn the blood essence! It will damage her body for life! Stop her!" he shouted, panic evident in his voice.

 Chapter 433 Sparks (Part One)

    In the bright and warm sunlight, the Streamer Sword shone exuberantly. As it traveled across the air, the light spots reflected all through its body from the sun started to dance on the surface.


    As Zen lifted the sword right up to Tracy''s throat with a simple flick, the light spots traveled slowly from the hilt to the tip. Right now, the sword blade was just a mere inch away from Tracy''s pure white neck. Or one could say that Tracy was only an inch away from certain death now.


    The distance was so short that if Zen''s Streamer Sword had flung forward even slightly, Tracy''s head would have certainly fallen off.


    "Stay down! I don''t know the first thing about this burning blood essence. And if you jeopardize your life span, that''s none of my concern. But I know your strength might increase a lot with this spell. So of course, I am not going to give you an opportunity to utilize it. You stay put. Or you die!" Zen was expressionless in his threat, even though his demeanor was frightening. His voice sounded very cold, and seemed to possess no tenderness even towards this beautiful woman. As if to enforce his stance, the Streamer Sword in his hand shoved a centimeter forward. Under his fine control, its tip pierced her delicate skin and wisps of blood started trickling down from the fine cut that it had made.


    The reason behind his stern stance was that even though he was clueless about what that burning blood essence was, he knew that it could have increased Tracy''s strength to a terrible extent, especially if the price of doing it was her life span. Now that Zen had gained an advantage in this game, he had decided that he wasn''t going to give her any chance now.


    Tracy sensed the icy sword intent pressed against her neck and her taut shoulders seemed to loosen a bit. Right now, she was rooted to the spot like a puppet who had been left free on its strings.


    In her entire lifetime, she had never been so close to death before.


    At the sight of her almost defeated, Patrick, who was standing outside the arena, breathed a sigh of relief.


    n. However, Tracy shook his hand off like a cranky child, and then stumped into a corner and sat down, her cheeks swollen in her anger.


    She was pouting. As someone who had been taking care of Tracy like a big brother for a long time now, Patrick knew everything about Tracy''s temper. ''Well, it''s alright. Perhaps experiencing some failure will do some good to her mindset and she might be less cranky in the future!


    The important thing is that Zen did a great job in the arena. At the very least, he stopped Tracy from burning her entire blood essence at the expense of reducing her life span...''


    Burning blood essence was something a practitioner would do only in extremely dire circumstances. Cutting down one''s own lifetime in order to win a match was the sort of thing that probably only Tracy would do.


    Therefore, Patrick turned his face towards the arena and nodded at Zen, giving him a grateful smile.


    Zen smiled back as well before stepping out of the arena.


    They both knew that they were bound to spar soon.


    Watching Zen exit the arena triumphantly, Master Wen felt all sorts of feelings well up inside his heart.


    He had been leading Drizzle Peak for a long time now and from the very first time that his disciples had participated in the All Peaks Competition, his biggest dream had been to see one of them wedge his way into the top 100.

 Chapter 434 Sparks (Part Two)

    He had pinned a lot of hopes this time but with Yehudi''s failure at the very beginning of the competition, the hearts of Master Wen and other masters of Drizzle Peak had sunk to the bottom.


    However, to all of their surprises, Zen had powered through every match and overcome every opponent, regardless of how strong they were. He had kept on winning all the time and had finally arrived at stage that he was in now. Master Wen''s hopes now lay on him now.


    Apart from letting out a cry of exclamation, he truly did not know what else to say.


    ''It''s a pity that Aura is not here to see this. I wonder what would her expressions be if she could see her favorite disciple achieve so many things..'' Master Wen wondered in his head.


    ''Unfortunately, a rumor has swept through the entire Burning Sky Empire these days¡ªthe Burning Sky Palace is suffering from an internal strife. Some princes are scrambling for the throne, and somehow Aura is involved in it. What a shame...''


    Master Wen was, after all, a master from the same peak as Aura was. The two knew each other well, and that was one of the primary reasons he had been keeping an eye on the Burning Sky Palace and collecting information about Aura. But given that his position was not very high in the hierarchy, he was not so well-informed as Saint Viana was. Accordingly, he had no idea that Aura had already been put under house confinement.


    Considering the complete lack of messages from Aura, he naturally deducted that Aura was not doing very well and might even be under some sort of confinement.


    Unfortunately, there was nothing that he could do to help her.


    And at that moment, Master Wen''s eyes lit up suddenly! He had had an idea.


    ''Zen!


    Perhaps Zen can help Aura!


    He has just defeated Tracy. As long as he doesn''t act below par, there is no doubt that he is going to make it to the top 3! He is totally qualified to try the Cloud Road!


    If he really does pass the test of the Cloud Road and gets admitted into the Cloud Hall, he would be able to assist Aura.


    If Zen joins the Cloud Hall, then it is true that most probably, his strength won''t be able to match Elder Xu or Kenneth of Cloud Sect in a short spell, but I am sure that he is going to be of a lot of help. After all, if inside the Cloud Hall, his future is goin


    xcluded from their calculation at the moment.


    More importantly, it was the ones above them who would determine the order of top seats on the Cloud Sect Ranking as well as the ranking of this All Peaks Competition. What the crowd was most concerned about was the confrontation among them.


    Of course, that did not mean that these disciples did not care for the contests among other participants. After all, the competition for the top 100 was directly going to decide the ranking of the 33 peaks, and that was, perhaps, the second most important thing for the disciples.


    As the people looked on with great expectations, waiting for the next round to begin, wondering who was going to come next, the referee finally declared the opening of a highly crucial match, "Personal disciple Jacques versus Zen of Drizzle Peak!"


    Previously when Jacques had stepped into the arena, he had proclaimed that he wanted to challenge Zen. He had been so sure of himself that he had promised he would restrain his Illuminating Soul Realm cultivation within the nature level. But it turned out that Zen was even more arrogant, and had answered that Jacques did not need to restrain his level of cultivation and they were going to have a fair duel when the time came!


    The duo had become quite hostile towards each other even before coming on-stage. Now, with their match up next, they were finally going to encounter each other during the round-robin.


    Every single person in the audience knew clearly that they now had a huge drama to watch!

 Chapter 435 Crash Into You (Part One)

    Jacques got popular at the All Peaks Competition when he rose to the top last time, a clear black horse in the running. As a personal disciple who was only at grade two of the nature level, Jacques making to the list of top 100 had shocked the disciples of Cloud Sect.


    He managed to overturn the status quo and did well in the more difficult challenges against the higher-level disciples.


    His miraculous performance had long been discussed by many delighted spectators.


    It was largely assumed that nobody else would be able to achieve the same feats as Jacques, for it was truly difficult to face someone who had been in the higher level.


    Nobody thought his record would be bested after three years. The young man, Zen, broke it easily with his fierce postures and astounding strength.


    At grade two of the nature level, Jacques had made an impressive record at the All Peaks Competition when he got into the top 100. But in the same competition, Zen had broken records again and again to make it to the lists of the top 100, top 50, and then to the top 5. The records he made were nothing short of a miracle in the present and past combined.


    Latecomers could only marvel at the records in shock. In the years to come, some people found it hard to believe that Zen had really achieved all that. After all, they hadn''t been there to witness it.


    Jacques was arrogant. For him, it was no big deal to be one in the top 100 list when one belonged to grade two of the nature level. He had steeled himself to face every tough challenge at the All Peaks Competition three years ago. He didn''t care about his record, but it bothered him that Zen broke it.


    Because of that, everyone would compare him to Zen.


    Jacques wanted to quash such comparisons straightaway


    l cultivation methods were far stronger than others from the same tier.


    Case in point: the evil method of Bleached Bone Distilled Soul. It was a tier four cultivation method, but it was more powerful than the ordinary methods of the tier. The best of those ordinary methods could not eclipse the Bleached Bone Distilled Soul.


    The set of white bone armor had an ominous defensive power, and even Zen''s body, which was a spiritual weapon in itself, was inferior to it.


    After Jacques summoned the white bone armor, Zen released his demonic phantoms.


    Jacques didn''t expect to see the six demonic phantoms. "Won''t you use a sword?"


    Zen''s unnaturally good basic swordsmanship had left a deep impression in Jacques, which was one of the reasons he didn''t dare to lower his cultivation level.


    In the past, he wouldn''t have cared about what Zen thought. Even if Zen didn''t need him to, Jacques would have lowered himself to fight Zen. After all, Jacques had formed a habit of challenging those who belonged to higher levels of cultivation. A youngling of a low level challenging him? It seemed ludicrous to him. Jacques was so conceited that he refused to accept it.

 Chapter 436 Crash Into You (Part Two)

    However, when he saw Zen use his basic swordsmanship, he realized that if he lowered himself to the nature level, he would never be able to defeat Zen. Jacques had to abandon the plan then. Reluctantly, he admitted that Zen might have more talent and potential than him.


    "It''s not my time to use it yet," Zen said as the demonic phantoms flew around him.


    "If you don''t use it now, you will not get another chance!" Jacques was onto Zen before he even finished speaking, darting over to him in moments.


    His white bone armor had overwhelming defensive power. Even the armor of the fairy weapon was inferior to it. His armor was made out of his own life vitality and did not burden him with weight. It was connected to his mind, so he could control it more smoothly as if it was an extension of his body.


    Jacques stood before him, a threatening aura emanating from him, but Zen was in no hurry. Zen controlled his six demonic phantoms mentally and they rushed over to Jacques at the same time.


    Bang!


    Jacques, covered with the white bone armor, was like a human-shaped chariot that hit the six demonic phantoms.


    His white bone armor was tough, but the demonic phantoms were not weak either. At the first hit itself, the demonic phantoms intercepted Jacques.


    Jacques took a slow, deep breath and sneered. Several more patches of blood fog exploded, surrounding him. The almost-perfect white bone armor now had some new modifications. Two horns were added to it, leaving it more defensive than ever.


    "I didn''t expect your summoning to have this kind of strength. Let''s see how you resist me this time!" Jacques bolted to Zen once again. He was truly confident about his strength. Without u


    nfront the tough armor with the strength of his body?"


    "Jacques is wearing the white bone armor, that means he is hidden behind a brilliant defense shield," someone said. "Nothing except a fairy weapon can break into his armor. Zen is not using his sword. He wants to use his physical body. That''s why he is slamming into Jacques."


    "Are you serious? Jacques is like a human-shaped chariot. He can crush opponents with the white bone armor alone. I accept that Zen has an innate superhuman strength and that his body is tough, but how can he survive running into Jacques''s shield?"


    Jacques too seemed stunned and curious, but then his face shifted to show glee. He had been afraid that Zen would play a kind of guerrilla war with him. If Zen had dodged him at first and then kept evading him, it would be difficult for Jacques to attack him. However, this guy didn''t run away. Instead, he dashed at Jacques? ''Is he insane?'' Jacques wondered. ''Fine, as you wish. I will disable you, so that nobody would dare compare you with me again!''


    Just as they were about to bump into each other, the dragon scales in Zen''s mind lit up.

 Chapter 437 Flood Dragon Bone Spear (Part One)

    More than a hundred dragon scales were activated simultaneously, generating even more power for Zen''s body like flood peaking between canyons. The energy that flowed through his body was so intense that his shoulders became swollen, and his blood vessels were distended as if dragons were flying on the surface of his skin.


    As they were about to collide, Jacques laughed and then roared, "I will smash you to pieces!"


    However, Zen managed to avoid the sharp horns of Jacques'' white bone armor and directly hit him on the shoulder!


    "Thud!"


    With the strength of the two opposing forces, their collision created a loud thudding sound that echoed.


    To the surprise of everyone who witnessed the violent impact, Jacques, in his white bone armor, was knocked down and then thrown from one edge of the fighting ground to another. And finally, he slammed into the light curtain of enchanted barrier!


    In the past, some disciples also crashed into the same barrier with the force of a single punch.


    Designed to protect disciples from collisions that usually took place during such contests, the light curtain of enchanted barrier was very soft.


    Its primary function was to separate disciples from viewers during competitions, so it was not built to withstand powerful collisions. But Zen summoned all the explosive forces from the dragon scales as he slammed into Jacques.


    If Jacques, in his white bone armor, was referred to as a war chariot, Zen was then regarded as a ferocious beast.


    Such powerful and pure force was unleashed on Jacques, causing him to hurtle backward. This collision force exceeded the limit the enchanted barrier could bear. Spectators could only see from outside the barrier when the light curtain shook a few times and were aghast when they noticed cracks in the structure like those in a broken mirror before it finally burst into pieces.


    While it he


    ow, and everyone was suddenly terrified. The talented disciple had done exceptionally well to the astonishment of the entire Cloud Sect in this All Peaks Competition.


    While most of those present were confused and scared, Jacques, who was one of the heroes in the scene, had even more mixed feelings. He finally stood up with the help of his companions. Before colliding with Zen, he had been very excited, expecting to see this arrogant young fighter get smashed to pieces before his eyes. But as they crashed into one another, the excitement was replaced by confusion. No one knew better the power Zen used to fight than Jacques. Being hurled out of the battlefield, he was no longer confused but fearful. Now, there was only a look of helplessness on his face.


    He knew in his mind that Zen was a tough fighter. Prior to their meeting, Jacques also considered himself fierce with sufficient strength to defeat his opponents. To his surprise, Zen was more ruthless and tougher than himself. Confident in the capacity of his white bone armor, Jacques threatened to crush Zen to pieces. But Zen, without a hint of fear, didn''t even dodge his attack but instead met him head-on with hard crushing power to overwhelm him and then finally had the upper hand.

 Chapter 438 Flood Dragon Bone Spear (Part Two)

    At this point, Jacques still had not lost the fight. Under the rules, the fight would be over only when one of the fighters admitted defeat or could not fight again. Otherwise, the competition did not stop. Although he had been thrown out of the field by Zen, it might be because the light curtain of enchanted barrier was not sturdy enough to absorb the impact of the collision and thus, cracked. Unless Jacques admitted himself beaten, he had to continue the battle.


    By now, Jacques'' emotions were complex and indescribable. It was akin to one skilled Chinese go player being matched up with a chess player, but this chess player also had the skills to play go and ultimately won over the go player using the latter''s strategy.


    Being defeated in what he considered his jurisdiction was far more frustrating and humiliating for Jacques than any loss he had suffered in the past.


    Still, he had to return to the fighting field regardless of his feelings and thoughts. Now, his previous arrogant face was replaced by a serious look when he stepped back on the field. Jacques stared at Zen, knowing he must go all out in the coming battle.


    Although he had prepared to fight, there were still doubts in Jacques'' mind. He had tested the strength of his white bone armor. Zen slammed into the armor with extreme force. If his body were not tough enough to endure such force, his bones would have broken like the enchanted barrier.


    But when Jacques returned to the field, he saw Zen standing calmly, without any visible injury. ''How did he do that?'' Jacques wondered. It confused him more. Unlike the jumble of emotions that Jacques was feeling, Zen was very much relaxed. After his opponent''s return, he just waved his arms, rubbed his hands to prepare, and with a taunting smile, said, "Another hit?


    I''m ready for that!"


    The daring words left Jacques speechless, his heart nearly plummeting. He nearly felt blood rise to his throat and come out of his mouth. At the same time, what initially seemed like tiny misgivings now turned into incredulity.


    His white bone armor could easily withstand the attack from a


    rom a section of a flood dragon''s spine. You are very lucky to be the first to taste its power in the All Peaks Competition!" With a glint in his eyes, Jacques enunciated each word.


    Flood dragon...


    Flood dragon was a category of the dragon, although it was far from being a genuine dragon. It was neither a super legendary beast nor even a normal legendary beast. And it would never come close to Tracy''s Blue Phoenix.


    Unfortunately, while Tracy might have the blood of the Blue Phoenix, her current strength was still not enough for her to master the total power of the Phoenix.


    In Jacques'' hand was a part of the dragon''s spine. Just how powerful the flood dragon bone spear was, no one knew for sure.


    But right after Zen heard the dragon roar from the bone spear, he felt subtle changes in his mind. He sensed the cyan dragon on the giant furnace in his mind shook a little, which was followed by a barely perceptible roar from the creature.


    The dragon language was strange and complicated, and one Zen did not comprehend. Many of its syllables were barely audible or were undetectable by human ears.


    So, it took him by surprise that right this moment, it was clear to him what the dragon''s roar meant.


    ''What?


    You want to eat that bone spear made of the flood dragon''s spine?'' he asked in his head. Once he understood the dragon''s intent, a strange look came over Zen''s face.

 Chapter 439 Down On Your Knees (Part One)

    In Zen''s inner mind, there were nine giant dragons that lay on a mysterious smelting furnace. Each appeared as natural as a living creature.


    The nine dragons seemed like engravings on the surface of the furnace. However, Zen was highly suspicious that they were not decorations at all, but real dragons with their own consciousness.


    For now, though, only one cyan dragon seemed to be gradually regaining consciousness as Zen''s heavenly essence had infiltrated its body. But from the moment it started to move until now, it had not communicated with Zen.


    So how did Zen realize the dragon''s awakening? There had been two occasions when he was in crisis, and the dragon roared to help him get through those predicaments. The first was during the selection of the cultivation method at Heavenly Library, where he had to face the dominant pressure of Vengeful Beast. The second was during a fight against terrifying and angry ghosts in fairy palace.


    Other than those two occasions, the nine dragons usually seemed like decorations, lying quietly on the furnace without any smell of living creatures.


    But today, that one cyan dragon took the initiative to communicate with Zen. Why?


    It even told him about wanting to devour Jacques'' bone spear.


    It was true that the mysterious smelting furnace had provided an undeniably large contribution to his current achievements, which he attained with great effort one step at a time. Without the furnace''s support in forging his body and spirit at the beginning, and improving his martial arts skills tremendously, it would have been hard for Zen to leave the Luo family home.


    While Zen was not aware of the origin of the furnace, he understood that the mystical equipment, with the nine dragons on it, as well as the black flame it produced, was highly valuable and powerful beyond his imagination, and should never be shown to anyone else.


    Even after using the black flame in the smelting furnace to melt his weapons and extract the heavenly essence, Zen would still carefully entrust Wurth with its auction. He never dared market it himself, for fear that should a setback occu


    to his knees.


    Compared to human race, the dragon race''s power was more terrifying, and sharper.


    Ninety percent of the power was pouring itself into Zen, while the remainder was headed to places around the battle ring.


    When disciples from each peak sensed the horrendous pressure coming from such power, everyone''s face turned dreadfully pale, and disciples with lower cultivation base looked as if they were standing on ice and snow, teeth chattering from the cold, and making loud noises.


    ''Poof!'' came the sound of a body collapsing.


    One disciple, without any warning, fainted and fell to the ground.


    Casting a glance at Elder Xu, Kenneth said, "I seem to have witnessed too many of the unexpected in this year''s All Peaks Competition. This time, unexpectedly, Jacques could even get the spine of a flood dragon."


    The spine of a flood dragon could be used to forge weapons and refine pills. After taking this pill, a person''s body would be reborn with a trace of the flood dragon''s blood!


    Such a valuable treasure would arouse even Kenneth''s interest.


    Of course, because of who he was, Kenneth naturally would never do anything such as stealing Jacques'' bone spear.


    "Three years ago, I said that Jacques was a man of great luck. As he develops further, he may be able to get more chances and draw even more good luck. I''m afraid this time Zen might be defeated," Elder Xu commented.

 Chapter 440 Down On Your Knees (Part Two)

    Kenneth laughed and asked, "When you said Jacques was very lucky and will likely have several other chances, does that mean that Zen could not obtain such good fortune?" He pointed at the flying knife in Zen''s hand and said, "Look at his knife, the Heavenly Ogre Fist he displayed, and the basic swordplay methods he mastered by himself! Which one would you say is ordinary?"


    "Sir, you are right. I may still have some prejudice against him, knowing that Zen''s strength is only in the low grade. The overwhelming force of the flood dragon has had adverse reactions on many disciples. I shall go down to help them!" Elder Xu said hastily. He made the remark after seeing the painful expressions on lower grade disciples'' faces. After quickly jumping down from the high platform, he waved a wrinkled hand gently in the air and watched as emerald green life vitality transformed into a curtain of light, shrouding areas around the battle ring.


    The flood dragon''s power made many disciples feel like lingering in the ice and snow, naked, and there was no way for them to resist the lure of the cold. If this continued for an extended period of time, it could damage their spirits.


    But as soon as the light curtain from Elder Xu''s hand lightly swept over them, everyone suddenly felt as if they were dressed in thick cotton clothes and were warm enough to withstand the extreme cold.


    If a mere ten percent of the power released from it could cause so much pain for many disciples, what was the effect on Zen, who was absorbing the remaining 90 percent? Everyone was now curious how the young disciple was dealing with it.


    With Elder Xu''s help, the crowd resisted the flood dragon''s power and began to watch the situation in the battle ring. They desperately wanted to see what happened to Zen at that moment.


    Compared to regular mortals, Zen''s spirit strength was far stronger. When he entered the Tier 4 Cultivation Method Hall of the Heavenly Library, he did not need the help of the cyan dragon, but instead, relied on his own spirit to resist the pressure generated by the intent of the Vengeful


    eaved a gentle sigh. His eyes reflected the flickering light as he closely watched the ongoing competition in the arena.


    Meanwhile, in the arena Zen felt as if his spirit was shaking under a big storm, like a leaf hanging precariously on a tree branch, which at any time could be swept away by the wind to any place.


    But oddly, even with his perilous situation, Zen was tenacious in resisting the attacks.


    This competition was undoubtedly the most dangerous one for Zen. Earlier, he had won all the way and had never been so close to being defeated.


    In truth, the strength gap between Zen and Jacques was not so wide. But rather than his own strength, Jacques depended on the power of the dragon bone spear that was in his hand. Zen, on the other hand, only trusted his own spiritual strength to combat the offensives.


    This was because he wanted to see the extent of his resistance.


    Not long after, a trace of blood was slowly oozing from the corners of Zen''s mouth. While spirit attacks made idiots out of people or broke their brains into pieces, they would never hurt people intentionally.


    In order to stay awake, he bit his tongue so hard that blood trickled out his mouth.


    Taking a deep breath, he said in a cold tone, "Who do you think you are?


    You think you can order me to get me down on my knees?


    You? Humph! You''re not competent enough to demand that!"

 Chapter 441 A More Powerful Dragon Roar

    Jacques was a little surprised when he saw that Zen still had the strength to rise to his feet and speak.


    Although Jacques had more powerful skills, he hadn''t expected that Zen would have resisted his attack with his soul.


    It meant that Zen could withstand the power from the flood dragon.


    The flood dragon bone spear in Jacques'' hand was made of the third section of the flood dragon''s vertebra, which contained the most vigorous energy and blood among all sections.


    Besides, to refine this bone spear, he had asked one of the most well-known weapon refining masters, Brady to draw thirteen lines of array Sanskrit on it. From among these, six lines of the array Sanskrit were able to initiate the power of the dragon bone while the other seven lines were used to amplify the power of the spear.


    Each line of the array Sanskrit had cost him about one hundred thousand cubic crystals! So he had spent one million and three hundred thousand cubic crystals for all thirteen lines of array Sanskrit.


    Jacques was more surprised than the onlookers to see that Zen had survived the attack from such great dragon power, because only Jacques knew how powerful the dragon bone spear was.


    "This is quite unexpected," Jacques said, disappointed. After all, he had put a lot of efforts into this attack and had expected to defeat Zen with a blow. It seemed he had miscalculated Zen''s competence. "You withstood my attack, but your soul has been injured badly. Although you''re good enough to bear the power of the three dragon roars, if I use more powerful attacks, you will die or become an idiot. If you admit you''re defeated now, I will let you go."


    With his personality, Jacques wasn''t the kind of person to show mercy to his opponent. However, maybe because Zen had withstood the three dragon roars, he changed his mind and decided to give a chance to Zen to throw in the towel.


    "Do you mean that I should thank you because you asked me to admit that I''m a loser?!" Zen wiped the blood off his lips and asked.


    "Yes! Since you have almost used up your strength, I don''t think you are capable of continuing the fight," Jacques answered with a shake of his head.


    Zen continued with a smile, "I admit that you have something to be proud of and be admired for by most disciples of Cloud Sect because they might not reach your level in their lives. However, no matter how strong you are, there''s always someone stronger. I don''t believe you are stronger than I am. You are not in a position to ask me to surrender!"


    Jacques'' eyebrow shot up. He wondered why Zen was speaking this way in such a situation. ''Either he is an idiot, or he has something to fall back on. Obviously, he is not stupid. Does he have some powerful skills up his sleeve?'' he wondered.


    Just as Jacques was contemplating the situation, the demonic life vitality behind Zen was forming into demonic phantoms.


    Zen wouldn''t admit failure in the competition. To earn the top position during the All Peaks Competition and to become the best disciple of Cloud Sect, he couldn''t back off just because of a minor se


    guess he has been defeated."


    "Yes. But it is possible that aside from being defeated, he has been turned into an idiot as well."


    "It was not easy for Drizzle Peak to find such a super talent like Zen. It will be a pity if he becomes an idiot in the All Peaks Competition!"


    Master Wen''s face paled when he heard the disciples'' discussion. He worried that something terrible might happen to Zen.


    Yehudi''s wound had healed. He stood beside Master Wen and said, "Master Wen, don''t take their words seriously. Zen has been in danger many times before. However, he always turned the situation to his advantage. I''m sure that he will be fine."


    "Yes, but I''m afraid this time is different. You saw that the three dragon roars hurt Zen. Now Jacques has combined his attack with the dragon roar. It will be difficult for Zen to stay safe," Master Wen said, depressed. He had placed all his hope on Zen.


    Yehudi sighed. In fact, he wasn''t sure that Zen could dodge Jacques'' attack either. After all, Jacques was extremely powerful. His incredible bone spear gave him a bigger advantage. Since the current situation did not favor Zen, Yehudi could do nothing other than comfort Mater Wen. "Maybe...Zen figured out a way to get rid of the danger."


    Yehudi didn''t even believe these words.


    Just then, another deafening dragon roar came from the mist of the violet black demonic life vitality.


    This time, the dragon roar was louder


    than any of the previous dragon roars.


    The difference between them was significant. If the previous roar of the flood dragon could be compared to a roar from a child, then this roar of the dragon sounded as though it came from an adult.


    Words couldn''t describe the difference between these roars.


    The roar brought a sense of desolation, antiquity, and dignity...


    Even if a person exhausted all words in the human vocabulary trying to describe the roar, he wouldn''t be able to.


    Elder Xu who had been shielding the impact of the dragon roar was shocked too because even he could sense the menace now.

 Chapter 442 The General Explanation About Legendary Beasts (Part One)

    Warriors would howl at the very mention of the phrase "powerful momentum". It was a term which included both power and momentum, and that, in simple terms, meant immense amounts of force or strength. The warriors with the strong martial arts skills could perform this powerful momentum to the extreme, and it alone could be used to suppress or even attack his/her opponents.


    But one needed to keep in mind that "strong" and "weak" were not absolute concepts but a relative comparison. Although the momentum contained in the flood dragon had been extremely strong, it still had a hard time affecting and threatening people like Elder Xu. This was because Xu was formidably stronger than Jacques! Therefore, it was reasonable to venture the guess that such strong momentum could not have been launched by Jacques.


    Whoever launched it forth would soon be found out. The more pressing matter on hand was that Elder Xu, first ranker among all the elders of the Cloud Sect, only weaker than the head and vice head of Cloud Sect, was not the only one feeling threatened just now.


    If even he had been affected, then it was not surprising that the situation of people less powerful than him would clearly have been worse.


    The referee in charge of the match between Zen and Jacques had seen sense a long while back, as he had run out and was now standing at a place he believed to be safe before Jacques took out the bone spear.


    The referee wasn''t weak by any means. But the battle had spread out far too wide for it to be measurable by common sense and common level. The referee was not a fool. He knew exactly that even being involved in the aftermath of this match would end badly for him and therefore, he had no desire to stay any close.


    But even with his foresight, he did suffer quite a blow due to the aftermath.


    The loud roar from the dragon was so intense that its voice felt like a sledgehammer repeatedly hitting on his head. He felt a loud humming voice in his brain and lost his unconscious with a tumble down to the ground.


    He had been standing the closest to the ring at the time of the match, and therefore, was the one most affected by the roar.


    And the disciples watching the match were in no better situation than he was.


    After all, the referee had very recently entered the level of Illuminating So


    d always been his greatest reliance. But right now, even though he had not been standing in the ring, there was a strong impulse inside his heart to draw the sword. With great effort, he eventually held it back. With the strength of the shield of his sword, it was quite enough for him to block the momentum the roar had exuded.


    Kenneth, head of the Cloud Sect, once again stepped down from the high platform.


    His body was burly but he walked down step by step lightly, as if he was walking gracefully on air, like a general possessed by the heavenly god. The expressions on his face were more serious than ever right now, and he was troubled inside, though he did not show it.


    "What''s going on? How can the dragon roar have such a strong effect?" Kenneth asked seriously with the usual calmness and indifference written on his face, suddenly and finally replaced by a doubtful expression.


    Elder Xu shook his head and replied, in an extremely concerned tone, "Jacques is so powerful that he can exercise the dragon bone spear to this extent. I am afraid that Zen¡­ " his voice trailed off.


    "No!" Kenneth replied abruptly and shook his head. He was thinking of a lot more than Xu was, so he was obviously more confused than the latter. Then, he continued, "No flood dragon is powerful enough to exude a momentum like this."


    In his eyes, Elder Xu''s analysis of the event was too cursory and simple. It was flawed. He simply thought that the dragon roar had been let out by the flood dragon''s bone spear, but Kenneth did not believe so.

 Chapter 443 The General Explanation About Legendary Beasts (Part Two)

    His disbelief didn''t arise from the thought that flood dragons could not have burst out a momentum of that degree. Indeed, they were perfectly capable. The momentum that had just broken out in the battle ring was strong and for the disciples of the younger generation, it was certainly extremely frightening. But in eyes of Kenneth, Elder Xu and other elders who were at comparable levels to them, it hardly deserved a mention in powerful forces of the time.


    If a real flood dragon had burst out a roar, it would have been powerful enough to turn an entire hilltop into powdery dust.


    It wasn''t the power that Kenneth found formidable. Instead, it was the feeling that roar was giving Kenneth which made him ponder and had him worried.


    There was something about it, as if it had experienced a nirvana and was now standing at the highest level, looking down on all living creatures as if they were nothing at all. This kind of otherworldly feeling could not have been brought onto him by a flood dragon at all.


    The flood dragon was an aquatic creature with power over storms and floods, but was not a legendary beast. It was merely a close relative of one since it had dragon lineage behind it.


    What Kenneth was worried about was the fact that such a powerful effect could only have been achieved by A GENUINE DRAGON!


    He started pondering over things. The idea was a bit far-fetched but the effect he felt was coming from a super legendary beast!


    "It''s not from a flood dragon?" Elder Xu asked in astonishment. His eyes were full of an incredible expression. "Are you trying to suggest that it has come from a genuine dragon instead?"


    Kenneth nodded slightly and replied in a solemn tone, "Yes, that''s exactly what I''m thinking right now."


    "Impossible¡­" Elder Xu immediately denied the idea when he heard it, almost out of reflex, completely forgetting that he was talking to his leader at the moment. "A genuine dragon doesn''t exist. It is the product of legends, and a figment of our imagination!"


    The world was a big place. There were some people who had practiced hard and made their way to the peak level of martial arts. Then there were those who liked to make up stories and legends about martial artists and legendary creatures.


    Several years ago, a book called "The General Explanation about Legendary Beast


    opped anyone from seeing through it with naked eyes and even spiritual sense as powerful as Kenneth''s could not penetrate it at all.


    As a result, all Kenneth could do was wait for the demonic life vitality to disperse gradually.


    The stewards of the area, by contrast, were quite busy at the moment. Each of them was roaming around, holding a small bottle in their hands, filled with pills that had the power to nourish souls. As soon as they saw a disciple who was feeling unwell under the impact of the dragon momentum, they gave a pill to him. It was worth noting that the pill wasn''t enough for those disciples who had passed out completely. The stewards had to perform emergency medical procedures on site to help them. Therefore, right now, the scene of the All Peaks Competition was very noisy and haphazard.


    Master Wen, also under the impact of the dragon roar, felt unstable and his head was full of a buzzing, humming noise, which was giving him a headache.


    At this moment, however, he was not worried about any possible damage to his spirit, but about Zen''s safety, considering the fact that under the impact of the little bit of momentum which had dissipated from the battle ring and crossed into the audience area, even after it was half weakened by Elder Xu''s green light curtain, Master Wen''s spirit was still damaged.


    Now that Master Wen was hurt, what about Zen who was standing almost at ground zero?


    Although Master Wen didn''t want to figure out the question, his face turned deadly pale when he thought of an answer.

 Chapter 444 Explanation

    Apparently, more than one person wanted to know the result. And Master Wen was the most anxious.


    Except for the disciples who had fainted, all other onlookers stared intently at the fighting court.


    As the demonic life vitality cleared slowly, a thin figure was seen standing in the arena. He didn''t appear to be athletic, but he was full of strength. He was not tall, but people looked up to him.


    "Zen!" Master Wen could not help exclaiming in excitement. At this moment, his eyes were full of tears, and he almost cried.


    A fierce discussion began among the disciples. "Unbelievable! Unbelievable! Who can tell me what happened just now? Why is Zen standing there while Jacques is lying on the ground?" one disciple asked with disbelief.


    "Are you asking me? I don''t know either. I actually don''t understand this fight at all!" another disciple answered.


    "It was obviously Jacques who was attacking Zen. After all, his attack method used the roar of a dragon. But why is Zen standing while Jacques seems to be hurt? This makes no sense!" a third disciple exclaimed with an astonished look.


    The result of the fight was beyond the expectation of the audience. They could not understand what had happened.


    Zen shook his head. The Streamer Sword in his hand trembled when he took a deep breath. His eyes became brighter than before as his soul had upgraded once again.


    Facing Jacques'' attack method, Multiple Stabs of the Dragon Bone Spear, Zen could bear it with his Streamer Sword. But he felt it difficult to stand the power of the flood dragon attached to it. Even though Zen had tried his best, he was unsure of Jacques'' defeat as the power of the flood dragon was so strong.


    However, when Zen started fighting with his Streamer Sword, the cyan dragon in his mind also joined in. The cyan dragon roared and controlled the power of the flood dragon in a second. When Jacques heard the cyan dragon''s roar, he was stunned.


    This reaction gave Zen enough time to summon the black fire inside his body. In the blink of an eye, the black fire consumed Jacques'' flood dragon bone spear.


    Zen didn''t expect the result of the melting process. Previously, the black fire would melt a weapon and extract heavenly essence. However, when the black fire melted the flood dragon bone spear, some drops of blood were extracted. These blood drops were different from a person''s blood. Regular blood was liquid in form and would splash when it fell on the ground. But these blood drops bounced against the ground like a ball...


    In the end, the black fire transported the drops of blood into Zen''s mind and gave them to the cyan dragon. Of course, the cyan dragon swallowed them.


    At the same time, two rays of shining light appeared from the mysterious melting furnace. One of them went into Zen''s head, and the other flew into Jacques'' head.


    The shining light contained mysterious strength, and it could speed up the recovery of an injured soul. Even if someone''s soul had been severely hurt, the shining light could help the soul become as healthy as it was. This was exactly what had happened when Zen opened the mysterious melting furnace for the first time. The refinement process repeatedly destroyed Zen''s soul, but the shining light helped it recover every single time.


    The cyan dragon roar


    whether his story was true or false.


    "Seven-colored rays of shining light?" Elder Xu asked in surprise. He thought hard but still could not tell what a seven-colored ray was. Even more confusing was its quick-healing effect on a severely injured soul. He knew some pills were particularly helpful in treating people with damaged souls. But these pills could not work so quickly. If a person''s soul had been damaged too severely, the pills might not work at all! The soul of a person was very fragile and difficult to heal.


    "Seven-colored rays of shining light?" Kenneth also felt puzzled. He repeated the words as he thought of the possibilities. ''Could it be from the Seven Star Herb? But that is impossible. There should not be such a herb in the Eastern Region, '' Kenneth thought. ''The Seven Star Herb is a legend. It is said that if one is close to a Seven Star Herb, the herb will give off rays in seven colors. It is good for the soul. But if a Seven Star herb does exist, it will change the color of the heaven and


    the ground. Everyone will be able to see it. It is impossible to hide the herb. How could such a thing happen to Zen and Jacques today?''


    Zen was glad to see that he had successfully misled Kenneth. So he continued his explanation, "I don''t know what happened just now. And how is Jacques?"


    At this moment, a steward walked up to Jacques and examined his body. After that, he said, "Sirs, Jacques seems to be all right. He is unconscious, but he will wake up soon."


    Kenneth nodded and remained silent as he contemplated his options. He furrowed his brows as he glanced at Zen. He was still confused as Zen''s explanation had not answered his question.


    "Let me wake Jacques, and we can ask him," Elder Xu said. As soon as he had finished speaking, his hand glowed with a green life vitality. Elder Xu walked up to Jacques and directed the green life vitality to Jacques''s body in a steady stream.


    After a while, Jacques blinked his eyes. "Where am I?" he asked slowly.


    Zen became nervous. After all, Jacques was the closest to him when he had swallowed Jacques'' flood dragon bone spear. If Jacques had seen that, and he reported it to them, there would be trouble.

 Chapter 445 An Unsolved Mystery

    Jacques had just woken up and he was confused. Unconsciously, he reached for his dragon-bone spear, only to discover it was missing.


    "Now, where is my spear?" questioned Jacques feeling the panic welling up.


    His dragon-bone spear was extremely important to him, and he had a connection to it after owning it for such a long time, which was why he discovered so quickly that it had gone missing.


    "Is it in your space ring?" asked Elder Xu curiously.


    Elder Xu and Kenneth had glanced around and didn''t see Jacques'' dragon-bone spear either and wondered if he had put it away.


    "No," responded Jacques, but, then he wondered if he could be wrong, so he searched his space ring, and still didn''t find it. "Impossible! How could my dragon-bone spear just vanish?!" exclaimed Jacques, giving Zen a suspicious glimpse.


    Zen motioned to Jacques with a wave indicating he didn''t have anything to do with it.


    "Jacques, what happened when you and Zen were battling? Why did I hear a dragon roaring?" Elder Xu enquired about the incident again, even though he''d asked Zen earlier. What Zen told him hadn''t made him feel any better.


    Jacques racked his brain trying to think, ''Where did I put my dragon-bone spear?'' He remembered that he was stunned by the roar of the dragon as soon as he started fighting with Zen, so, the details of his fight with Zen were fuzzy.


    "I... I don''t recall. I can remember the deafening sound of a dragon roaring, and the fight with Zen, but, beyond that, everything is a blur. I don''t even know what happened later," Jacques said, shaking his head as he tried in vain to remember anything more.


    Jacques'' account of what happened relieved Zen because he would''ve been in trouble if Jacques told them it was Zen that made the dragon roar. Zen had previously used his demonic life vitality to block their vision, and that would raise suspicions since Elder Xu and Kenneth were both pretty smart guys. It wasn''t easy to fool them.


    "The roar comes from within your dragon-bone spear, right? Why''s it so powerful? Is it because the explosion of your dragon-bone spear caused such a powerful dragon roar?" Since Jacques couldn''t remember any details, Elder Xu offered some suggestions.


    "That''s right?" What Elder Xu said made Jacques hesitate. Although he couldn''t remember what had happened, the final roar was far louder than what the dragon-bone spear had done previously. The shock of the roar was like a red-hot iron poker being seared into his heart, and he''d probably never forget how it felt.


    ''But, where did that last roar come from?''


    Jacques remembered that Brady, the great weapon refiner who built the dragon-bone spear told him that there was still a remnant of a dragon soul within the bone. However, this dragon spine and its soul were tens of thousands of years old. Over time, this soul had almost disappeared, so, its power was feeble.


    Brady hadn''t completely destroyed the sou


    previously.


    So, even if the final results weren''t out yet, everyone was excited at Drizzle Peak already.


    Both the inner and outer Drizzle Peak disciples had a gleam of excitement. Having been selected as members of Drizzle Peak had been very trying for the disciples because it was the worst of the thirty-three peaks. None of them had expected that a disciple who single-handedly improved Drizzle Peak, brought it up until it was one of the top two. And more surprising was that he was still only at the second grade of natural level.


    The Drizzle Peak disciples never dreamed there would be such a great achievement, and still had a difficult time believing it, even though they were there, and witnessed it!


    Zen''s best friends, Wurth, Sean and Nory were all excited. Like the other Drizzle Peak disciples, they were proud of Zen''s achievements, and even felt honored to know Zen.


    They had all seen Zen''s strength and thought Zen to be an extraordinary person, so they believed he could win! When the All Peaks Competition had begun, they thought Zen would at least make it into the top one hundred. However, when Zen made it into the top one hundred with ease and then the top eighty, fifty, twenty, five and now the top three, they felt he could make it to the number one ranking.


    Every improvement was a miracle. If the competition was a play, then the ending would reveal that Zen was the son of a miracle.


    Master Wen''s eyes were filled with pride. He was content seeing how much Zen had achieved. He would be satisfied if Drizzle Peak became the second ranked of the thirty-three peaks.


    "During the last competition, Yan, Zen''s sister, miraculously brought the Lady Peak up to rank two by herself. Now, three years later, Zen is performing the same miracle," said one of the Drizzle Peak masters as he sighed admiringly.


    Master Wen shook his head as he said, "It''s a miracle, but, then again, Zen''s much stronger than Yan!"

 Chapter 446 I Believe In Zen Too (Part One)

    Yan was undeniably a superb talent of Cloud Sect. An idea of her talent could be taken from the fact that she had bested Zen in both grade and speed. When it was time for the All Peaks Competition, she had already reached the Illuminating Soul Realm, and if that wasn''t enough, she was only 15 years old at the time.


    On the other hand, Zen was 17 years old at the moment but was merely at grade two of the nature level. So compared to Yan, Zen was quite slow in cultivation speed. However, that did not mean he had been totally overtaken.


    When it came to fighting capacity, he was several notches above Yan.


    Not only her, he was above almost all personal disciples. In the previous All Peaks Competition, the performance of disciples which were competing on behalf of some peak was not so good.


    The top three, and even the top five places were all occupied by personal disciples, who had easily outwitted the disciples from the peaks.


    But this year, the competition had been fiercer than ever and of the top 3 contenders, two were fighting on behalf of peaks. They were Zen and Rocher. What was more, neither one of them was at the Illuminating Soul Realm. This was the first time in history that such a result had been seen and until today, such a result was beyond anyone''s imagination.


    Zen and Rocher weren''t the only black horses to break the record. The top inner disciples from other peaks like Wing, Sheeny, Jason, and Jill had also managed to defeat the personal disciples quite easily.


    So this time, the peak disciples had prevailed over the personal disciples in the All Peaks Competition.


    Among the personal disciples, only Patrick had managed to land a spot amongst the top five. It was up to him now.


    As the pillar of the personal disciples, he had mastered the mysterious Buddhist cultivation method and his real strength was too deep for common men to predict. It was all on him now to defend the dignity of the personal disciples. If he lost too, then the year was going to be remembered forever as one when the personal disciples failed completely.


    "Zen, Zen.." Master Xu of the Skytop Peak murmured the name, lost deep in some thought.


    Master Xu had a


    k. He slowly drew it out from the sheath, inch by inch, each unit making the crowd go wild.


    "Rocher is finally drawing his sword! We have waited for the moment for so long. It looks like Zen is the opponent that he is really worried about!"


    "What kind of sword on earth is that? I really can''t wait to see it!"


    All the disciples gazed at Rocher''s hand without batting an eyelid, curious about what the weapon was going to look like.


    When Rocher finally took the sword completely out of the sheath, all the people were amazed.


    "What''s this? A rusty sword? Hang on, do swords rust?"


    "No silly. They don''t."


    "So what, is that a common iron sword? My God! The sword that Rocher has kept with him all the time is turning out to be a load of crap!"


    "Huh! Only a narrow-minded person like you is going to think it''s crap. With Rocher''s strength and knowledge, do you honestly think he is going to put a piece of crap on his back?"


    "Okay, you''re smart. So tell us what kind of precious sword would rust."


    The sword Rocher had taken out was indeed covered with red spots.


    The weapon refining skills of the Eastern Region had made it possible for any weapons, even the mysterious ones, to get preserved for decades. If well maintained, the spiritual weapons were supposed to last several hundred years without rusting out or losing their shine and sharpness. As for fairy weapons, they could last as long as a span of thousands of years.

 Chapter 447 I Believe In Zen Too (Part Two)

    A sword that wouldn''t rust wasn''t sure to be the best, but a rusty sword was definitely not a good choice.


    However, here, the strongest swordsman among the young generation of the Cloud Sect was using a rusty sword. It was hard for the disciples of the Cloud Sect to accept this. They had great expectation for the sword.


    Rocher was unaware of what was being discussed among the crowds at the moment. He slowly lifted the rusty sword and pointed it at the ground. "This sword is called the ''Blood-corroding Sword''." He slowly said, "The red spots on the blade are not rust spots, though they look like them. They''re droplets of blood!"


    Zen was a little astonished on hearing Rocher''s words. The disciples who were mocking the fact that what Rocher was flashing was only a rusty sword also received a shock.


    But whose blood would remain so fresh even after thousands of years?


    Generally speaking, if the blood from a common human had splashed on the sword, it would have become dry immediately and formed some blood spots. But after a period of time, the spots would fade and gradually disappear. No human blood stains would last for over three years.


    But the stains on Rocher''s Blood-corroding Sword had lasted for thousands of years! Was it the blood from some legendary beast?


    "How can blood remain fresh for so long?" Zen was also very curious. There was a feeling inside him that the blood could emit some magical power.


    Rocher shook his head and replied, "I don''t know. But this Blood-corroding Sword has helped me a lot in comprehending the sword philosophy. It also has its own soul that connects with mine. I am telling you this as the courtesy a fellow swordsman shows to another."


    Zen smiled. Rocher was an interesting person, and polite too! Zen also took out his sword from the space ring. With a tinkling sound, the Streamer Sword was drawn out from its sheath.


    "My sword is named ''Streamer Sword''. It''s a low-grade fairy weapon. The body of the sword was made by Chase," he told his opponent slowly.


    "It was made by Chase?" Rocher asked curiously.


    As a swordsman


    "But this is not something easy to brag about. Anyone can find out. There are so many disciples in the Quenching Peak. If it is a lie, they would expose it immediately. Zen has no reason to tell such a stupid lie."


    Hearing this, Kenneth exhaled deeply. He glanced at Elder Xu who was sitting next to him.


    Getting his message even without him saying anything, Elder Xu nodded and said, "I will send someone to the Quenching Peak to confirm it."


    Weapon refining masters were also very important to the Cloud Sect. No wonder that Kenneth was attaching such great importance to the matter.


    "Do it immediately. Then get news to me as quickly as possible. But I don''t think the result really matters." Kenneth heaved a sigh and shook his head.


    Elder Xu asked, "Do you believe Zen''s words that he condensed the sword himself?"


    "What do you think?" Kenneth asked back.


    "I believe him." Elder Xu replied with a smile.


    Kenneth pointed his fingers at Elder Xu. He didn''t know what to say about Zen''s talents that he had shown along the way. He finally replied, "I believe in Zen, too. He has already given me a lot of surprises. Forget about the claim that he can refine a fairy weapon himself. Even if he claims that he is the reincarnation of an immortal, I will also believe it."


    There was probably not a single other soul in Cloud Sect who could get such a comment from Kenneth.

 Chapter 448 The Heavenly Sword (Part One)

    Elder Xu was stunned at what Kenneth said. It was quite high praise.


    Kenneth worked for the Cloud Hall and his knowledge went beyond the entirety of the Eastern Region. He had seen the other side of the world.


    Billions of people lived in the Eastern Region, and the Central Region was over ten times larger than the Eastern Region. The five regions in total did not dominate the globe as one thought. They were but a small corner of the main continent on the map.


    The world was composed of people as many as the number of sand particles in the sea. It was almost impossible to keep count of.


    In this vast population, there were a number of geniuses. Zen had good talent and even better luck, but it was likely that there were people more powerful than him out there.


    Truth be told, Elder Xu was shocked at Zen''s performance. The younger generation was better than the last, but could he really afford Kenneth''s evaluation of being the reincarnation of an immortal? What did it mean for the world?


    Watching Elder Xu at a loss for words and looking like he couldn''t accept Kenneth''s statement, the latter smiled softly. "Just kidding. Elder Xu, don''t take it so seriously."


    "..." Elder Xu was more than a hundred years old. Hearing the leader make such a joke out of the blue, he remained petrified for a while, not knowing how to react.


    "But Zen is truly special. No big shots were from his family in the past. It could be that his background and bloodline is ordinary, but in this generation, two heavyweights have been discovered already, Yan, who has a peculiar body constitution, and then Zen, who has incredible strength. They appeared successively. Don''t you think that


    his sword like Rocher. The latter was a natural at this.


    Rocher''s Sword Step grew faster and faster, sword energy cyclones manifesting under his feet continuously.


    "I will begin as well!"


    Zen too moved his feet to the rhythms of the Sword Step.


    Although Zen carried out his Sword Step according to Rocher''s, there was a slight difference between the two.


    Rocher''s Sword Step was smooth in effect. Seen carefully, each step was calculated and equal in length to the three-foot long cutting edge of his Blood-corroding Sword. His Sword Step appeared soft but hid the killing intent cleverly. Once the edge was exposed, the killing intent would make itself known too.


    On the other hand, Zen''s Sword Step looked random, yet natural. His steps were not as soft as Rocher''s, but appeared more potent in power.


    The two stepped forward, setting a tempo with their feet as they faced each other on the competition field, looking for loopholes and mistakes in the opponent''s moves.


    But since they had cultivated to this level, they knew how to hold on to their nerves. They wouldn''t make mistakes easily.

 Chapter 449 The Heavenly Sword (Part Two)

    Their Sword Steps appeared to interlace with each other even as they competed, looking like a beautiful dance of sorts. The disciples of Cloud Sect were dazzled and expressed it in raised voices.


    "This... This is so captivating!"


    "It''s a treat for the eyes. If I can practice the Sword Step this way someday, I would be so strong at the nature level!"


    "Huh. If you want to learn the Sword Step, you would need to comprehend the sword intent first. If you do comprehend it, you would be invincible at the nature level, but do you really think you can do it?"


    As people talked, Rocher struck first. Deciding to tip the balance scale, he launched an attack.


    He slid in his steps as if there was oil under his feet. When he finally stopped, thirteen sword intent cyclones dashed in Zen''s direction.


    Six sword intent cyclones came from the front, three cyclones from the left and the right respectively, and the last one was from the air above. They moved in a whirlwind, blocking Zen in all directions.


    "Nice." Facing the thirteen sword intent cyclones coming at him, Zen too performed a slippery step. He created four sword intent cyclones. Even if his own sword intent cyclones were fewer than Rocher''s, each cyclone was larger and more potent.


    Poof...


    The sword intent cyclones of the two opponents collided with each other and then shattered in the hit. It was a dead heat.


    Just then, Rocher unsheathed his sword.


    His attacks always went this way. At certain times, he wouldn''t launch an attack at all, but once he attacked, he would fight non-stop, not giving any leeway. He had no plans to give the opponent a chance to even breathe halfway.


    "Megrez Sword!"


    This was Rocher''s first time wielding his sword in this round.


    When he wielded the sword, his breath seemed to change. The


    en experience breakthroughs in such a situation.


    "They have wielded the sword fifty times now..."


    "A hundred times..."


    "A hundred and fifty times..."


    "Ugh..."


    Rocher sighed heavily, at last moving back in silence.


    He realized he couldn''t prevail against Zen when it came to swordsmanship, so it was meaningless to fight him through sword moves.


    There was simple power hidden behind Zen''s basic swordsmanship. But when the simple went to the extreme, it became more complex. However, this was not a contradiction. It was just a complicated tactic.


    Rocher couldn''t see through Zen''s basic swordsmanship.


    As soon as Rocher stood steady at a distance, he drew a circle with the sharp sword in his hand casually. Life vitality spread out around him. Mixed with the sword intent, it made the Blood-corroding Sword buzz with life.


    "The light and dark swordsmanship! I am not cruel, but I must prove the power of the heavens!"


    Momentum spread across Rocher''s body. His demeanor seemed to have changed, as if he were a spokesman of heaven in a world of humans. He looked like he was the son of heaven.


    "Megrez Sword! Dubhe Sword! Merak Sword! Phecda Sword! Start all four kinds!"

 Chapter 450 Four In One (Part One)

    There were hundreds of ways to use a sword and a hundred other ways to use it spiritually. The swordsmanship Rocher had been practicing was called Heavenly Sword. This was a very potent cultivation method that did not belong to tier 4 or tier 5. In fact, even the second tier methods did not contain this illustration, simply because of the fact that the method did not belong to any tier at all.


    This cultivation method was highly special¡ªit was constituted by only one illustration, which was called the Heavenly Sword Illustration.


    The illustrious method had turned up around eight hundred and seventy-five years ago, and at that time, it had stirred up quite a bit of turmoil in the eastern region.


    The noble clans, the Burning Sky Palace, the Cloud Sect, and all the independent mighty practitioners as well which were scattered across the numerous counties of Eastern Region had chased it like a lion chased its prey. They had been extremely eager and the illustration had seen its fair share of blood. Rumor had it that the Heavenly Sword Illustration contained a powerful theurgy; if one mastered it, he/she would grasp the concepts of heavens and attain immortality!


    Hundreds, thousands... No one knew just how many outstanding figures lost their life to the battle for this illustration.


    In the end, it had been Cloud Sect itself which had managed to defeat all other competitors and obtained the Heavenly Sword Illustration. Later on, it was sent to the Burning Sky Palace for safe keeping.


    The news had made a lot of practitioners grind their teeth in resentment. They wanted the illustration for themselves but they could not afford to mess with Cloud Sect or Burning Sky Palace. None of them had ever dared to break into the heavily guarded Burning Sky Palace and try to steal the Heavenly Sword Illustration. People had thought it was going to be hidden forever but things had gone South.


    Exactly one year later, several copies of the Heavenly Sword Illustrat


    and wide and finally, after 875 years, Rocher had achieved the fourth part of the method!


    "The fourth part, it''s the fourth part! Rocher has grasped the fourth part¡ª Phecda Sword¡ªof the Heavenly Sword Illustration! Good heavens! He is the first one to manage that in 800 years!"


    "Yeah, he is going to be a legend! Hang on. It seems like Rocher has not only been able to grasp the fourth part, he is going to display the four swords all at once. He is gonna merge the four swords and use them all at once! Zen is a goner now for sure!"


    "I agree. Now Zen is going to be in trouble. You know, I once heard that each part of the Heavenly Sword can draw support from the power of the heavens. It is said that any practitioner who can manage the Heavenly Sword is a man favored by God, or we could call him son of God. Once the four swords are out, Zen will definitely lose!"


    "At first I thought that Zen was the one more powerful between the two, but I think we now know that in front of Rocher, Zen has no chance at all!"


    A tiny shadow of a seed suddenly burst open before Rocher. Then, a fine tread emerged on the top of his head and abruptly shot up into the sky. In an instant, a gigantic whirlwind tornado appeared in the sky. As it came into being, it cascaded down towards the ground at a furious pace.

 Chapter 451 Four In One (Part Two)

    Soon as it touched the ground, it started to dissipate like mercury spilled onto the earth. This whirlwind was the vitality between the heavens and the earth!


    The vitality itself was extremely violent and dangerous, especially when it had not been refined by practitioners and transformed into life vitality yet. But due to that precise reason of not being refined, it still contained a trace of the natural law in it.


    In fact, it was said that when a practitioner reached higher levels of cultivation, and entered stronger realms, he would, in theory, be able to utilize this vitality between the heavens and the earth at his will. It was almost like commanding the world!


    However, merely at the rank of nature level consummation, Rocher could not directly make use of the vitality. That did not matter today. The Heavenly Sword never actually "used" the vitality. It merely "drew support" from it and that, it could manage without Rocher''s help.


    Even drawing support from the vitality meant that Rocher was extremely powerful beyond thoughts and imagination.


    "Four in one!" He commanded.


    A faint shadow of a sword intent appeared around Rocher''s Blood-corroding Sword. He had employed the sword intent to trap the natural law inside his sword. Using this extreme momentum which could generate ultra-high quantities of impulses, he thrust immediately at Zen.


    Although sword movements were of great importance in combating, the role those movements played could be outshone by the absolute power the sword carried.


    As the sword shoved forward, it was like the sky had flipped over! The very air seemed to vibrate and twist. The sun seemed to shimmer!


    The power of Rocher''s four-in-one sword was formidable to say the very least. But it completely differed from Jacques''s soul attack, and was not supposed to cause any damage to one''s spirit.


    Therefore, the audience was just a bi


    forward.


    Aided by the fusion of the stars, his sword was now carrying fierce and terrible amounts of energy.


    ''He has merely taken advantage of a bit of the vitality between the heavens and the earth. Meh! That aura is nothing, Rocher. Even if the sky had actually fallen down, I would have still crumbled you!'' Zen bellowed inside his mind, strengthening his resolve even more.


    Rocher''s four-in-one sword converged with Zen''s sword. At that moment, both of the contestants saw the towering determination in each other''s eyes!


    They were both determined to win in any possible way!


    "BANG!"


    With another loud clang, a ball of blazing light instantaneously rose from the arena.


    As its shine increased and reached blinding levels, everyone felt the heat and became blinded for a moment.


    After quite a while, the audience gradually started to recover their vision. What was going on! Slowly, as the arena came into focus, they saw that Zen was still standing in the same spot he had been, as motionless as a statue, while Rocher had been forced five steps backward, with a trace of blood hanging at the corner of his mouth.


    "Holy cow! Zen''s one sword attack pierced the monstrosity that Rocher conjured up!" A disciple shouted indecorously.

 Chapter 452 Blood Burning (Part One)

    Surprisingly, the battle between Zen and Rocher was less ferocious than that between Zen and Jacques. At least for the moment, it looked like that.


    After all the cyan dragon''s roar during that particular event had been terrifying, shocking, and destructive. It was the sort of thing that Zen would never forget.


    Although Zen''s horrible strength had erupted fighting with Jacques, his battle with Rocher was more fascinating. This was because most of the previous battle had been fought secretly.


    Zen had used his demonic life vitality to shroud the fighting pit in mist and not let anyone see. Though the audience had heard the terrifying roars of dragon, they had no idea what was going on inside that mist.


    But this battle, between Zen and Rocher, was something else!


    Both of them were swordsmen who had a thorough understanding of the sword intent. They were considered one of the best sword masters in Cloud Sect and the battle between them was extremely balanced; so much that it could have ended in a stalemate.


    One of them was a once-in-a-century genius who had already penetrated deep into the supernatural mysteries inside the Heavenly Sword Illustration. Therefore, he was capable of using the power of the heavens against his enemies. The other man, a simple and noble practitioner, wielded his sword in a mysterious but basic way. He refused to cower even while confronting the heavens'' power. His sword was held smartly and he fought back effectively.


    Seeing this, all the disciples of the Cloud Sect were unimaginably excited. After Rocher''s failed Heavenly Sword demonstration, they were now looking forward to seeing something much bigger and more shocking.


    The elder disciples of the Cloud Sect had already witnessed the All Peak Competition many times in their lives and they had, at times, even been able to anticipate the outcome. However, none of the previous competitions could have been compared to this.


    "Rocher''s abilities in wielding a sword are unbelievable. I mean he is the first guy ever to enter the fourth level of the Heavenly Sword. And he is the first in eight centuries. And Zen... Zen''s more than that. He has even been able to confront the forc


    out how the star force worked but those were just legends. And none of them had ever risen from the Eastern Region.


    Rocher had no idea that Zen didn''t have to contemplate and search for the stars in the sky. He just needed the Sun Moon Stars Picture, which didn''t belong to this world at all.


    The strength of the masters who had drawn and produced the Sun Moon Stars Picture had been unimaginable.


    "I thought that I had no rival at the same level with me. Even the warriors who have reached the Illuminating Soul Realm would have surely suffered defeat at my hands. I have only one rival, Patrick. If I was fighting with him right now, I would have stood a 50-50 chance of success. However, if I, with strength of the nature level consummation, had reached the Illuminating Soul Realm, it would have been impossible for me to lose!" Rocher remarked slowly.


    Patrick remained motionless and showed no emotions on his face, sitting cross-legged and with his eyes closed.


    Then, Rocher added, "I need to think bigger and go to a larger world. The Eastern Region is too small for me and discourages me to grow up or become stronger. I have the whole world ahead of me to conquer. I need to challenge the thousands of talents born in this world. I need to do better than this little Sect. After the All Peaks Competition, I don''t care if I''m allowed to walk across the Cloud Road or not. I will go to the Central Region and find a bigger world to conquer."

 Chapter 453 Blood Burning (Part Two)

    Hearing Rocher''s brave and bold words, all the disciples took a deep breath.


    None of them had ever thought that Rocher could be so ambitious.


    Everyone had dreams. Warriors from humble backgrounds wished to reach high levels so as to help their family''s survival and to seek better social status for themselves. Business minded folks wanted to make vast amounts of fortune in this world.


    However, warriors from the noble clans dreamed bigger. They had to fight their way out among their brothers and sisters, contending for the position of the head of the whole family. Then, they would make great efforts and spend vast amounts of time in leading their family to a place where it could stand out among all the other clans and families. However, none of them had ever dared to compete with families from other regions.


    The Central Region was much bigger than the Eastern Region. The top seven noble clans could ride roughshod in the Eastern Region but they would be a completely fool if they ever dared to do that in the Central Region.


    Rocher was either remarkably brave, or foolishly bold. He thought that he could beat those families from the Central Region and from the other parts of the world.


    The world was vast in size. Most of it hadn''t even been explored yet.


    He was more like a beggar from a small town in his efforts; a person who had no idea of how big his country was. However, all of a sudden, he had announced that he would be the king one day.


    This sounded laughable. But, even an emperor, before founding the Burning Sky Empire, was born a beggar before he had finally become a ruler.


    Anybody with such an ambitious plan was better than most of the disciples from the Cloud Sect.


    "Meeting you before I leave the Eastern Region is such a surprise to me. Zen, do you know that? You, with just two steps into the nature level, used some basic sword tec


    ide the outcome of this battle.


    However, only normal impacts were produced and limited power was released.


    In comparison, the fencing in the last round had been much more terrifying and stunning. To be very frank, even the training of the disciples usually looked more stunning than this round of sword fight.


    Two sword shadows met for a moment and then they separated. Not even a sound was made.


    "What''s happening? Much cry and little done? I thought the whole world would be turned upside down once again. Such a disappointment!"


    "Is it over? Is it done? Who won? Is the referee saying anything?"


    "What''s he trying to do? Trick us? It''s gonna be a total disappointment. I have been waiting for this for such a long time. I just can''t believe that the game is over in such a simple and ordinary way."


    The sudden end of the competition gave rise to much discussion among the audience. None of them knew what had happened.


    On the other hand, the saints of the Sect and even Patrick kept their eyes open, as they stared at the fighting pit, surprised and shocked.


    Tracy, hiding in a corner, had to cover her mouth to prevent herself from screaming out, because she seemed to have figured something out. She also looked horrified.

 Chapter 454 The Sword Mountain (Part One)

    One might remember that although Tracy was strong, her strength lay in her talent and blood, rather than in her diligence.


    As far as knowledge and experience was concerned, she was nowhere close enough to the saints and elders of Cloud Sect, or even Rocher and Patrick. So naturally, the reasons for their surprise were quite different.


    Patrick was surprised because he understood what had happened inside the combat ring.


    Tracy''s shock did not arise from the fact that she had understood something, but because her Blue Phoenix''s blood was tingling inside her body. Even though not knowing what had actually happened, the tingling phoenix blood inside instinctively sent a feeling of fear all across her body, as if some sort of natural defense mechanism. The tingle was enough to tell her that something extraordinary had happened around her. The Blue Phoenix was a legendary bird and was capable of extremely strong perception skills. It could sense things. If there was any danger in the surrounding environment, the blood of the Blue Phoenix would tingle, warning the owner of the danger.


    This was why Tracy was shocked and had almost screamed out.


    Patrick didn''t have the blood of the Blue Phoenix and therefore, could not sense something unusual. However, he had already noticed that the skills utilized in the fight between Zen and Rocher had been far beyond their cultivation levels. This also meant that whatever had happened was also not some common phenomenon.


    "If my eyes don''t deceive me, then their swordsmanship has just reached the most perfect level there can be. Both Zen and Rocher have taken inspiration from the fight and both reached the consummation level of the sword intent." Patrick muttered under his breath. An expectant expression, almost ecstatic secretly flashed on his face because he thought that he had finally found his match.


    Until now, there was only one disciple in the entire Cloud Sect who ranked stronger tha


    ifficult for him to defeat me. It is highly probable that he will be restricted by his low cultivation level. What gets me is that at his current strength, it is weird to see him only at second-grade of nature level.''


    What was more unexpected was that Rocher and Zen had reached the consummation of the sword intent at the same time in battle.


    The sword intent was an artistic conception which was extremely difficult to comprehend and equally difficult to master.


    Why was there no sound when the two swords clashed? The audience was shocked because when Zen''s Streamer Sword and Rocher''s Blood-corroding Sword, two first-class weapons had collided so hard, no sound was heard. It was as if they were made of paper.


    The reason for this lack of bang with the flash was that as soon as they realized the consummation of their sword intent, they had entered a perfect state of epiphany, and it had suppressed the sound completely in an instant.


    It wasn''t that they were not powerful enough. Rather, all their life vitality and bodily strength had disappeared at once when they had reached the consummation of the sword intent. At that moment, the only thing for them to possess was the sword intent. Everything else would have gone blank to make way for it and therefore, there was no sound.

 Chapter 455 The Sword Mountain (Part Two)

    Patrick looked at Zen and Rocher, then closed his eyes. He hadn''t had a psychological fluctuation in his brain for a long time, but today there was a slight perturbation in there. He wanted to make it go away, since this was a great taboo in practicing Buddhist cultivation method.


    "No fluctuation is calm, no change is constant. Sooner or later, I will have to fight the two. And I will defeat them. Calm down, calm down!" Patrick murmured to himself.


    "Did they both just realize the consummation of the sword intent at the same time?" wondered Kenneth. He couldn''t help rubbing his rough hands together with an expression of ecstasy on his face.


    There were not many people in the world who would be able to comprehend the sword intent. One who could cultivate the sword intent was considered genius and was sure to become a successful practitioner in the Eastern Region. As for those who could realize the consummation of the sword intent, they were often listed among the top ranks of the Cloud Sect! All the saints and elders wanted such top disciples listed under them as personal disciples.


    Rocher was a man of ordinary origins. After he was admitted to Cloud Sect, numerous elders had wanted to take him under themselves as their own disciple because of his excellent performance. But Rocher felt a strong sense of belonging to Skytop Peak and was not willing to be a personal disciple. Therefore, he had been staying at the Skytop Peak until now.


    Zen had cultivated swordsmanship only for a short time, and his skills of Sword Steps had been learned from Rocher stealthily. Until this competition had taken place, most people in Cloud Sect didn''t even know his name. So no elder had been keen on recruiting him to be his own disciple.


    The Cloud Sect attached great importance to the disciples who had got the great achievement on the sword intent, so did Kenneth, the head of Cloud Sect. Because these disciples had


    be expelled from Cloud Sect immediately!" he warned.


    Hearing the warning from Elder Xu, the disciples became instantly quiet and didn''t even dare to breathe abnormally.


    Cloud Sect attached great importance to training talents and did not tolerate anyone disturbing those talents. They focused especially on the geniuses which stood out from the disciples.


    It could be said that the value of several geniuses, such as Zen, Rocher, Patrick and Tracy, were almost equal to the value of hundreds of thousands of ordinary disciples combined.


    Being a genius meant that one could stand out from the hundreds of thousands of disciples, while mediocrity would only remain unknown. Cloud Sect was very tolerant. Every disciple would get a variety of benefits and welfare as soon as they entered Cloud Sect. But Cloud Sect was cruel too. The resources it showered on the gifted were far apart from those it allowed the ordinary people to have. That was the system.


    Zen felt that he was in a strange state. It was supposed to be dark and he should not have been able to see anything since his eyes were closed. But right now, he could see a mountain standing erectly in front of him.


    It was a mountain with swords struck on it everywhere, protruding like rocks here and there.

 Chapter 456 Killing Sword Mountain (Part One)

    The mountain that stood in front of Zen looked like a wild beast from ancient times.


    There were hundreds of thousands of swords embedded in the mountain, one on top of the other, from the bottom to the top.


    "These swords..." Zen, amazed by the sight, was suddenly at a loss for words.


    It was hard not to gasp in awe as he looked at those long swords protruding from the mountain.


    The metal blades at the foot of the mountain were not high grade. But all were classified as mysterious weapons, whether low-grade, middle-grade, or top-grade. A variety of sword types were in that mountain.


    There were wide blade swords, short-handle swords, serpentine swords, jade swords, and so on.


    The mysterious weapons of different grades spread from the foot of the mountain to the top. But when Zen examined the slopes closer, he discovered the swords embedded there were not all the mysterious kind. There were also spiritual weapons!


    The spiritual weapons only covered the lowest portion of the mountain. Looking further up, Zen found many more fairy weapons halfway up its slopes!


    To his amazement, there were low-grade, middle-grade, and even top-grade fairy weapons!


    Even a low-grade fairy weapon was tough enough to make the martial artists of the Eastern Region go crazy. Disciples from the declining noble clans like Nory, and even family-owners like James, didn''t have a fairy weapon yet!


    The top seven noble clans might have more low-grade fairy weapons, but on average, each family would only have a few of these, at most.


    Middle-grade fairy weapons were even rarer. Only five of the top seven noble clans owned this type of weapon. The Yu and Yun Clans were the two that did not have middle-grade fairy weapons.


    Each of the top seven noble clans was fabulously wealthy and were known for having illustrious family backgrounds. And the inheritance that came down to the Yu and Yun Clans was no weaker than that of the other five clans, so i


    what was happening.


    He had suspected a long time ago that the cyan dragon had his own consciousness as a dragon. But he had never taken the initiative to communicate with him until Zen competed with Jacques on the battlefield. The cyan dragon''s goal then was to secure the flood dragon bone, and this was what eventually prompted him to roar so he could communicate with Zen.


    It was with the help of the cyan dragon that Zen finally defeated Jacques and swallowed the flood dragon bone.


    So technically, Zen didn''t defeat Jacques with his strength alone but with the help of the cyan dragon.


    However, it didn''t seem fair to Zen to give all the credit for the victory to the dragon. After all, Jacques also took advantage of the flood dragon bone spear in his hands.


    The birth of a genius always depended on several aspects: strength, talent, adventure, and luck. And you could not do away with a single one of them.


    "Yes, you are right. I am the cyan dragon in your mind," the dragon made the confirmation.


    It was when Zen ignited the first of his dragon scales that the cyan dragon woke up.


    But he didn''t have much reserve energy to communicate with the young disciple after waking up. He had been confined to the mysterious smelting furnace for so many years and was far too weak.

 Chapter 457 Killing Sword Mountain (Part Two)

    Although the heavenly essence could help the cyan dragon restore a fraction of his strength, there was only a little of this essence. There were too many scales on his body, and more than a hundred dragon scales only occupied a small section of him.


    When the cyan dragon noticed that piece of the flood dragon bone on the battlefield, he finally decided to communicate with Zen. Usually, a cyan dragon hardly paid attention to a small part of the flood dragon''s spine. As a genuine dragon, he thought the flood dragon was just a kind of beast many generations away from him. Therefore, there was not much genuine dragon blood within a flood dragon.


    Regardless of how little genuine dragon blood there was in a flood dragon, it would still help the cyan dragon, already too weak at this point, recover. Even a small amount of genuine dragon blood as a supplement could slowly restore the cyan dragon''s strength.


    After swallowing the spine of the flood dragon, the cyan dragon finally regained strength and was able to communicate with Zen.


    "Did you just say this is the Killing Sword Mountain?


    Does this only exist in my mind?


    Why can''t I pull out the sword stuck in this mountain?" Zen fired the questions rapidly in a show of confusion. Since the cyan dragon knew what this mountain was, he must also be aware of the secret of the Killing Sword Mountain.


    "Haha! How is it possible that the Killing Sword Mountain exists only in your mind?


    The Killing Sword Mountain is a sacred place for practicing sword skills. It cannot belong to any one person. But it is almost dreamlike," the cyan dragon explained. Smiling gently, he went on, "There was a resonance between your soul''s consciousness and the Killing Sword Mountain when you comprehended the consummation of the sword intent, and then you were chosen to practice in the mountain. It is an opportunity for you!


    And your opponent today, the boy named Rocher, must have gone for practice in another place, but I guess wherever that is, it cannot compare to yours here. The one who has the chance to be chosen into the Killing Sword


    was a great shock to Zen. This kind of genius couldn''t exist in the Eastern Region or even the Central Region, and for that matter, it was rare anywhere in the world!


    So it was truly unbelievable!


    Although unsettling, Zen wasn''t depressed by his discovery.


    ''There is always something unfair in this world, '' he thought.


    Using himself as an example, Zen recalled he was imprisoned at age 15, while disciples from the noble clans had the privilege of taking pills, practicing tier 4 cultivation methods, and using spiritual weapons that even masters of ordinary families did not have.


    And yet, all of these warriors had been surpassed by Zen by leaps and bounds.


    It took a very long time to practice and be a master in martial arts. Maybe it seemed inconceivable for Zen to comprehend the consummate sword intent at the marrow refining level, yet there was no question that he was a man of great power. After all, he surpassed the descendants with great family backgrounds and supreme blood. They were born with gifts that others couldn''t even imagine, while all Zen had now was only enough for their meals.


    But when Zen thought about all the inequity in the world, he didn''t care about them one bit.


    Since he wasn''t born to a family with a great background, he would try his very best to take everything he desired little by little!


    "Break into pieces!" Zen shouted.

 Chapter 458 Demon Night

    Within seconds of facing the sword intents released by the low-grade mysterious weapons, the Streamer Sword in Zen''s hand flashed brilliant silver lights. In the next instant, the sword intents were smashed to pieces.


    Zen continued to walk after breaking the sword intents.


    Now he faced the sword intents released by middle-grade mysterious weapons. The sword intents from middle-grade weapons were more powerful than those of low-grade mysterious weapons.


    Regardless, Zen''s sword intent destroyed the sword intents from the middle-grade weapons.


    Zen walked briskly on the road leading to the mountain. The sword intents from the mysterious weapons had failed to block Zen''s way.


    Every time Zen smashed the sword intent from a sword, the sword would immediately become obedient. It would stop vibrating and emit dots of light that resembled fireflies. These dots of light would then rush into Zen''s body.


    At first, Zen tried to avoid the light dots. But when he found that there was no escape and that they posed no threat to him, he gave up dodging them.


    "What are these light dots?" Zen asked.


    "Haha. These light dots are the spirits of the swords. The swords have spirits hidden in them. They are the embryos of the sword beasts. But the low-grade mysterious weapons and middle-grade mysterious weapons contain only a few sword spirits. You can accumulate them little by little. When you get enough sword spirits, your sword will cultivate a sword beast." The cyan dragon clarified.


    So that explained it!


    The more sword intents he killed, the larger the number of sword spirits he would accumulate.


    The Killing Sword Mountain was not very big. Within a short while, Zen had smashed the sword intents from numerous low-grade and middle-grade mysterious weapons. When he reached the foot of the mountain, Zen encountered high-grade mysterious weapons.


    The sword intents from high-grade mysterious weapons were easy to destroy despite being stronger and sharper than the previous sword intents he had encountered.


    As Zen strode forward, the Streamer Sword in his hand glowed like a silver-white ribbon, strangling and slashing sword intents around him.


    "Buzzzz..."


    "Buzzzz...."


    As sword intents were smashed one by one, swords fell by Zen''s feet, and colorful sword spirits dashed toward him.


    As Zen walked past the foot of the mountain, he crossed the region with low-grade spiritual weapons and reached the range of high-grade spiritual weapons. He was nearing the mountainside now.


    "The Killing Sword Mountain is not as difficult to conquer as it seems," Zen said as he looked at the mountainside that he was approaching.


    Hearing Zen''s words, the cyan dragon realized that he had probably given Zen too much hope. He chuckled and said, "Yes, it''s easy because of your abilities. The owners of these swords were at least at the level of consummate sword intent. You have an advantage as your sword intent is more consummate and stronger than their sword intents, and relatively, you will feel easier when climbing the mountain. However, as strong and sharp as your sword intent may be, you are able to climb to the half-way up the mountain at best. This is your first time climbing the Killing Sword Mountain, and your performance is not bad so far."


    Not bad...


    As the cyan dragon''s comment sank in, Zen realized that his achievement was only slightly above average.


    But Zen didn''t plan to stop and stick his sword into the ground there. He needed to challenge his


    eal strength mattered. No matter how strong one''s heart was, reality would show a person how cruel life could be.


    Moreover, the rules of the Killing Sword Mountain were very rigid. The cyan dragon was forbidden from helping. Therefore, Zen could only rely on himself.


    In such a case, how was Zen supposed to cross the range of fairy weapons and climb up to the ridges?


    "Huh! There is a low-grade mysterious weapon!" Zen''s eyes brightened as he found a low-grade mysterious weapon on the mountainside. The hilt of the sword was very common and in a style similar to that of a standard military long sword. It didn''t appear special.


    However, two words, "Demon Night" were carved on the hilt.


    "Look at this. Now explain to me why it is impossible for me to reach the ridges? Someone inserted a low-grade mysterious weapon on the mountainside!" Zen said while pointing at the low-grade treasured sword.


    It stood out among the fairy weapons around it.


    The cyan dragon was also very surprised. He smiled and said, "Oh, it is from the Demon Night. It''s no wonder that they can insert a low-grade mysterious weapon here on the mountainside."


    "The Demon Night?" Zen asked curiously. He didn''t know what the name on the hilt stood for.


    "The people from the Demon Night are different from humans. It would be fair to say that this race surpasses most of the species. They are the group with the most horrible strength! It is said that the children from Demon Night race begin cultivating while they are in their mother''s womb. That way, when they are born, even though they are new-born babies, these children are full-blooded and with strength equivalent to humans at nature level. In other words, they are born as nature creatures." The cyan dragon smiled lightly.


    "Born as nature creatures¡­" Zen gasped in astonishment.


    Countless human warriors practiced martial arts for decades and stubbornly overcame all challenges regardless of cost to them, with the purpose of entering the natural level. Zen didn''t expect that such a species existed where babies were born at the nature creature level!


    This was so unfair!


    No wonder that the swordsman from the Demon Night was able to insert a low-grade mysterious weapon into the mountainside. They were indeed a species that could do wonders beyond anyone''s imagination.

 Chapter 459 Sword Spirits

    "The world is so vast and full of wonders beyond your imagination. If you can truly climb to the top of martial arts, naturally, you will be able to appreciate some of these wonders, but¡­ It''s just too difficult. Even the Demon Night, a race so naturally powerful, is nothing compared to the various races across the world," heaving a sigh, the cyan dragon shook his head.


    ''Such a powerful race is nothing in the context of the whole world?'' Zen was shocked.


    Having realized that he had exaggerated a bit, the cyan dragon quickly added, "But even though mankind has some innate weaknesses, they can still achieve great things. You don''t need to feel dejected. In light of your talent, luck, and¡­" he trailed off. Although he wanted to mention the mysterious smelting surface, he eventually stifled the thought and said instead, "You may still have a shred of hope to reach the peak."


    At that moment, Zen''s sparkling eyes caught the cyan dragon''s attention. It was as if stars were gleaming in his bright orbs¡ªthe dragon could tell that he was looking forward to the challenges in the days to come.


    ''This kid didn''t listen to a word I said¡­''


    Zen''s reaction brought the cyan dragon a hint of gloom.


    As a member of the immortal dragon race, he had not had a taste of melancholy for who knew how many years.


    In the end, all he could do was shake his huge head. ''Perhaps I did underestimate this young man.''


    Just then, Zen flickered his eyes on the mysterious weapon left by the Demon Night and said, "Cyan dragon, I am a man of humble birth. Though I''ve had my achievements in Cloud Sect, I won''t be complacent or gloat about what I''ve done, nor will I stop working hard so I can eventually live an easy life! We, humans, have a will to persevere and keep taking steps forward, even against a crowd of a thousand men.


    Whatever or whoever gets in my way ahead, I will overcome them!"


    ''Merely a thousand men?''


    Almost like instinct, the cyan dragon wanted to retort.


    But Zen continued to explain. "Of course, this doesn''t only refer to the literal figure. It''s inevitable¡ªI''m going to have to challenge countless strong creatures in the world, the talents among maybe thousands, millions, or even trillions of creatures!"


    Since ancient times, there were those who shot for the stars always, without a doubt, had extraordinary talent and great perseverance.


    As Zen grew up, he encountered astonishing geniuses, one after another, and his horizon grew wider and wider. The martial artist had met Jacques, Rocher, Patrick, and many more.


    The stronger his opponent was, the firmer his aspiration became to climb to the peak of martial arts.


    In the eyes of the cyan dragon, Zen''s current power was like that of a tiny ant, maybe even less. However, the man''s burst of resolution and desire to dominate reached the dragon''s heart.


    ''This little guy is pretty interesting. It''s a shame¡­it would be delightful if I could wake my third brother and discuss this with him. Well, let''s just wait and see, '' muttered the dragon in his head. As a matter of fact, the nine dragons came from the same clan.


    Somehow, they had turned into sculptures and stationed themselves around the mysterious smelting furnace. Now that the furnace entered Zen''s mind, the nine dragons naturally followed.


    As far as first impressions went, the cyan dragon did not think very highly of Zen. Judging by his standards, Zen seemed rather mediocre in all aspects. To the dragon''s surprise, howe


    earth is going on?


    I''ve never seen this woman¡­so why have my sword spirits transformed into such a shape?''


    Zen was left utterly bewildered.


    Staring at this beautiful human-shaped sword spirit, Zen just couldn''t figure it out.


    If he could choose, he certainly wouldn''t let his sword spirits transform into a woman¡ªit was too awkward. The problem was that the transformation of sword spirits was very different from the transformation of life vitality. Life vitality''s transformation was shaped by the practitioner''s subjective mind. Sometimes, when a practitioner was halfway through the process and was unsatisfied with the figure, he could easily undo it and begin reshaping life vitality in his mind again. It wasn''t a big deal, and many people were capable of doing it.


    However, the shape of sword spirits was not up to the practitioner himself. Instead, it was formed by the many sword spirits inside the practitioner at the specific time it was being shaped.


    Thus, the practitioner had no control over its shape.


    At the sight of Zen''s baffled look, the cyan dragon snickered.


    "Cyan dragon¡­what the hell is happening?" Not understanding why it turned out like this, Zen had to ask the dragon.


    "If I''m not mistaken, this woman your sword spirits turned into is the owner of that sword," the dragon replied blandly.


    "Ah?


    No way¡­" At the dragon''s explanation, Zen turned pale with fright. "The Demon Night aren''t human beings¡­are they?


    Why does she look like this?


    Even fairer than humankind?"


    By men''s aesthetic standard, this woman constituted by all the sword spirits looked nearly perfect at every angle.


    Zen''s experiences had brought him face-to-face with demons, ogres, and the like. The appearance of ogres was fairly acceptable to Zen. As for the demons he ran up against in the White Emperor City¡­well...that picture was too horrible. If a weak-hearted man glanced at it, he would probably have nightmares.


    When Zen heard about this race from the cyan dragon, he thought that since it was called the ''Demon'' Night, they should look like the demons he was used to facing¡ªperhaps with more mouths or pairs of eyes.


    To his total astonishment, this woman from the Demon Night was utterly gorgeous¡ªshe was even more impeccable than human beings in several aspects.

 Chapter 460 Killing Way (Part One)

    The girl could be described as perfect in every sense.


    But Zen, ever so keen, noted there were still slight differences between the girl and ordinary human beings. Her ears, for one, were unusual.


    These were long and slender, and unlike most ears, their top had an acute angular shape. Instead of human ears, hers resembled those of a cat''s. Still, the girl appeared quite charming. Another distinction was her legs or the length of them. Hers were longer than most women''s, but went perfectly with the rest of her body.


    "Who set the rules anyway that only a human being can look this way?


    Demon Night has always been like this. In their eyes, it is the human beings who have the similar appearance to theirs," the cyan dragon said slowly.


    "This girl is actually alive, isn''t she?" Zen wondered aloud.


    His mind was full of questions, but this was the first he voiced out.


    The cyan dragon nodded and replied, "Each sword in the Killing Sword Mountain has an owner, and all the owners are alive. In case anyone dies, their swords will be buried deep in the mountain. Since the woman''s sword is here, she is probably somewhere out in the world."


    At the cyan dragon''s words, Zen stared at the girl with a weird expression on his face.


    That meant his sword spirit had transformed into a girl of Demon Night for some unknown reason. How would it be if he met the real person in the future?


    Of course, the likelihood of that ever happening was very small.


    According to the cyan dragon, Demon Night did not exist in the same world inhabited by Zen.


    "I would like to name my sword spirit Lily," he said with a smile.


    There was a slightly whimsical tone in his voice.


    Cultivating his sword spirit in such a short time was a big help in boosting Zen''s strength. At least the sword spirit could serve as a support, helping Zen go further up on the Killing Sword Mountain.


    It was a spiritual connection that Zen had


    asn''t a mystical thing like other spirits but seemed to have a life of its own. And then the sword spirit opened its mouth and began to talk!


    "What? A young man at the second grade of the nature level can break into the mountain ridge?" The blue figure spoke with a tone of disbelief.


    Taken aback, Zen raised his eyebrows in question while keeping the sword in his hand. This time, he spoke, "You''re just a sword spirit. Why can you talk?


    You look like there''s some part of your soul there!"


    This figure amazed Zen. He had killed so many mature sword spirits, some of whom could shape themselves. But all of them only had dull appearances. While they were extremely competent in the practice of sword skills, Zen still managed to defeat them because they couldn''t think for themselves.


    But this blue figure standing before him could not only talk but even feel surprised. Apparently, it had a soul, however little, and a mind of its own.


    "I can''t understand it. How a person at grade two of the nature level can successfully pass the mountainside and end up here," the blue figure looked confused, and his brows furrowed with concern. Inhaling, he said, "But this is the end of your climb. You can stick your sword here. There is no place for your weapon if you go farther."

 Chapter 461 Killing Way (Part Two)

    Everyone aspired to stick their sword in a higher place.


    Because the higher the ground where it was embedded, the more resources a person could collect from the Killing Sword Mountain.


    However, resources of the Killing Sword Mountain were limited. The situation was no different from that of the Cloud Sect.


    And this was why all the weapons at the foot of the mountain, including mysterious, spiritual, and fairy weapons, would release their sword spirits to prevent other climbers. One could only climb the mountain step by step using his own strength until he reached a higher place. That was the way to obtain more resources.


    The blue figure''s remarks had Zen raising his eyebrows while his face became long with worry.


    Grateful to be given the opportunity to reach the Killing Sword Mountain, Zen vowed to climb as high as possible.


    He had been fighting hard to pass the mountainside with the help of the sword spirit. Why would he stop here?


    If a man could have a sacred weapon, even a low level one, it was impossible for Zen to defeat him in real life. And even someone like Kenneth Shi, who was the head of the Cloud Sect, strong as he was, could not beat such a man in their real world.


    But this was the Killing Sword Mountain now. What the man actually had was only a sword and a small part of his soul.


    How could Zen back off from here?


    "I don''t want to stick my sword here. I have a higher target," Zen declared.


    A smile formed on the blue figure''s face. "You have a higher goal?


    You, a young man at grade two of the nature level?


    I was aiming for the top of the Killing Sword Mountain! But I discovered I was not as strong as I had expected and ha


    lso have my sword spirit, yet I am here completely. Are you so sure you can prevent me from going on?" With a cold smile, the young disciple started to stir his sword. He refused to listen to the garrulous blue figure. What he wanted was to cut this blue image and its sword spirit into pieces as soon as possible.


    "You arrogant young man! I have lived hundreds of years and practiced sword skills for as many years. My understanding of sword skills is beyond your imagination or comprehension. I am strong enough to stop you!" Suddenly, there appeared a bright blue light from the sword of the blue figure. Together with the bright blue light were cold currents. With the metal blade completely wrapped in icy currents, it was freezing but gave off an extreme killing intent!


    With just enough arrogance, Zen sneered at the blue figure and remarked, "After hundreds of years, you''re still here on the edge of the mountain ridge. Your strength is just so-so!" Without warning, Zen used his sword spirit. And instantly, Zen''s Streamer Sword produced a strong killing intent.


    And this one seemed to have the sense of hell.

 Chapter 462 The Cheating (Part One)

    Killing aura was also referred to as the malicious aura.


    The gestures and expressions of soldiers and bandits, who had killed many people with their swords and knives, were filled with a malicious aura. As they had murdered numerous people, they were bound to be tainted with this killing aura.


    Sometimes, the killing aura was so powerful that it could confuse the human mind and distract them on the battlefield.


    If a person were corrupted with an intense killing aura, it would negatively affect his martial arts cultivation. At a critical time, that person could also be possessed by his inner demon and be trapped in the endless thought of killing methods forever.


    Once upon a time, there was a young man named Trent Yu. He hailed from the Yu Clan, one of the top seven noble clans in the Eastern Region. Trent Yu practiced these killing methods. As he increased his practice in killing methods, Trent Yu''s character turned increasingly cruel, and his killing means also became more vicious. In a short while, he had massacred innumerable people at random.


    At first, the Yu Clan protected Trent Yu. After all, at that time, all things were dominated by power and strength, and the practice of killing methods had obvious benefits to the promotion of strength. In fact, its power was extremely terrifying. According to Trent Yu''s growth rate, he would soon become the backbone of the Yu Clan. Therefore, they allowed Trent Yu to kill randomly.


    However, as time went by, Trent Yu killed more and more people, and once, he even killed two men from the Yu Clan. Then, the members of the Yu Clan realized that Trent Yu had gone crazy and that the killing aura had entirely dominated him. He had, by then, become an egoistic killing machine.


    Sadly, by the time they learned of the facts, it was already too late. The power of the Yu Clan was insufficient to arrest Trent Yu. Thus, the Yu Clan united with the other six top noble clans


    is killing aura, kind of like real banks in the Eastern Region where a person could deposit and withdraw cubic crystals.


    Also, according to the rules of the Killing Sword Mountain, the higher the place where the sword was inserted, the more malicious aura the swordsman could deposit and withdraw!


    It was necessary to know that the killing aura was a very valuable asset, and it was also called the malicious aura. When it was used to drive many cultivation methods, it would significantly improve a disciple''s power. Especially when a disciple was practicing a unique cultivation method that would use malicious aura, it would generate an oddly good effect.


    For example, if a streak of malicious aura could increase the power of a cultivation method by one degree, then two streaks could double the power of the cultivation method, and so on.


    However, there was always a limit to the malicious aura owned by disciples who practiced the killing method. Moreover, they needed to be careful about being attacked by the malicious aura and to prevent themselves from being controlled by their inner spirit demon.


    Therefore, the practice of killing method was regarded as a double-edged sword! Powerful though it was, it could at any moment cause damage to anyone who practiced it.

 Chapter 463 The Cheating (Part Two)

    However, the swordsman who entered the Killing Sword Mountain was able to store his malicious aura in it! In this way, he could avoid the damage caused by the malicious aura, which was the main purpose of the Killing Sword Mountain. It was also the reason why the Killing Sword Mountain was considered a sacred place for swordsmen.


    The lucky swordsman, who inserted his sword into a place of high altitude, could deposit and withdraw more malicious aura.


    This was Zen''s first time at the Killing Sword Mountain. To be able to enter Killing Sword Mountain was already a matter of great luck for him. It was unknown whether he would be able to enter the Killing Sword Mountain again. Maybe a person only got one opportunity to access the mountain. It was possible that even after making a huge breakthrough, Zen might not be able to enter the Killing Sword Mountain.


    Just like Iceni, perhaps his strength was now very strong, and according to general knowledge, he was supposed to insert his sacred weapon higher than on the edge of the ridge. However, he did not get the chance to enter the Killing Sword Mountain, so his sacred weapon could only be firmly inserted on the edge of the ridge, without any higher improvement.


    So this time, Zen was determined to insert his sword in a higher place.


    When attacked by the spirit of the sacred weapon, Zen did not reserve his strength. He exercised his highest martial arts and top-grade weapon.


    The people who owned sacred weapons were influential enough to rule a region. According to Zen, Iceni might have had strength equivalent to that of people like the top leader of the Cloud Hall.


    Even if the sacred weapon contained the sword spirit and only a little of Iceni''s spirit, it would be difficult for Zen to defeat him even after employing all his skills.


    "Ice Freeze All! Just watch me freeze you!" Iceni''s spirit said arrogantly.


    Then, he summoned the sword spirit to attack Zen. A


    acred weapons. This is an outstanding achievement," the cyan dragon said slowly. "Equally, I am afraid that you won''t be able to defeat the next sword no matter how hard you try."


    A sacred weapon not far from Zen flashed a golden light. It was a broad-edge sword that was wider than Zen''s body and over seven feet long. To be able to handle such a sword, the master must be a colossus. What stressed Zen more was that on the surface of the broad-edge sword, there was still a hint of reddish energy. If Zen guessed correctly, that energy would be malicious aura that had been compressed to an extreme extent. Even a simple glimpse of the sword was terrifying to Zen.


    Zen was self-aware. He knew that with his current strength and the malicious aura of his sword spirit, he was able to defeat Iceni''s sword spirit, and to walk up the ridge. Indeed, this was a good result and perhaps, the best he could do at the moment.


    However, Zen did not seem to be ready to stop at this point.


    He took two steps back and gripped the Streamer Sword firmly. Then, with a deep breath, he sprinted forward.


    "Zen, oh, my..." the cyan dragon in Zen''s mind said helplessly. He knew exactly what Zen was planning on doing.


    Since he hadn''t made a successful breakthrough, Zen threw his sword forward hard.

 Chapter 464 Sword Washing Pool (Part One)

    The higher one could insert his sword in the mountain, the greater his benefit would be. It wasn''t easy though.


    Anyone who came here would obviously try his best and insert the sword at the top of the Killing Sword Mountain. This would ensure maximum benefit, but only if it was so easy! One needed to go through several challenges to defeat the sword intent hidden in those swords. There was only one path to the top of the mountain, and the sword intents were on that path. Zen had to defeat them.


    However, he clearly knew that he couldn''t win over the sword spirit of next sword, as it was too powerful, so his only option was to throw the sword to the mountaintop.


    This was a mystical area and no one knew whether Zen was the first person to do so since the Killing Sword Mountain had been made. However, if he had succeeded, his sword would have landed higher in the mountain.


    Deciding that throwing was his only option, he chose it. Zen was born with superhuman strengths. When he threw his sword, he also activated all the power in the dragon''s scales.


    The Streamer Sword, under his power and the dragon''s too, drew a bright silver arc of light in the air as it hurled in a parabolic path, almost like a meteor streaking over countless sacred weapons. It soared upwards and far!


    With the extreme initial velocity, it took the sword three breaths of time to lose its upward power and begin falling towards the earth. Then it slammed into the middle of the mountain ridge, where the top grade sacred weapons were stuck. As a lower grade fairy weapon, the Streamer Sword was clearly visible among them, like a lion in a zebra herd.


    Seeing this scene, the cyan dragon paused for a moment, too astonished to speak. The Killing Sword Mountain was a special sacred place and it had its own rules, which everyone had to follow. Breaking them would mean immediate expulsion. Powerful as the cyan dragon was, he dared not to help Zen from the beginning to the end lest he broke the rules and was punished. And Zen''


    ion places in the world. He couldn''t know where Rocher had been taken and why he hadn''t woken up yet.


    However, just at that moment, Rocher opened his eyes suddenly.


    As his eyelids flickered and his pupils came into focus, there was a sudden outbreak of fierce sword intent from his body. It formed a huge cyclone into the sky, and several flashes of terrible lightning and thunder loomed into the air, traveling across the cyclone.


    "Is there a kind of thunder power in Rocher''s sword intent?" Zen''s eyes narrowed slightly, a little surprised. The blue lightning Rocher was emitting seemed quite powerful. Combined with Rocher''s sword intent, the lightning was emitting a faint trace of natural law.


    "It looks so powerful, almost like true lightning in the sky! Alas, I envy Rocher having such a great opportunity. He had an enormous breakthrough and all he did was sitting there for two hours. How do I find myself opportunities like that?"


    "Don''t even think about it. You wouldn''t be able catch up with him even if he hadn''t mastered the consummate sword intent! Now he is even more powerful."


    "Would you look at that? Zen has also grasped the consummate sword intent, but he seems to have gained less power. When he woke up, he didn''t burst out such an eye-catching effect."


    Zen smiled as he heard the audiences'' remarks.

 Chapter 465 Sword Washing Pool (Part Two)

    The greatest gain he had achieved in his epiphanic state was to establish a connection with the Killing Sword Mountain. This wouldn''t have been visible immediately to the audience but he would feel the effects. After he had practiced the killing sword skill, the benefits of that connection would appear and increase gradually. His second greatest gain was the sword spirit. Born with powerful malicious aura, Lily had now become a great battle force that Zen could rely on as soon as she came into being.


    But he hadn''t let Lily appear in front of the public just yet. She was hidden inside Zen''s mind, and her aura naturally did not spill over. Therefore, no one noticed that there was an entirely new person hidden inside him.


    Rocher''s sword intent overflowed for a long time, and then slowly calmed and restored. Rocher took a deep breath and let it out slowly. A peaceful and delighted smile appeared on his face. With Rocher''s grave character, such a happy expression could indicate only one thing: that he had gained a lot in his sleep.


    That he had!


    As soon as he had understood the consummate sword intent, he had been pulled into a place called the Sword Washing Pool!


    As someone who was crazy about swords and intents and legends, Rocher had paid special attention to the stories of the masters. The Sword Washing Pool had been mentioned in a book he had read. The book had said it was a semi-holy place.


    So, on finding himself granted an opportunity to go into the Sword Washing Pool, how could he restrain his excitement? After all, only a very small number of people among the tens of millions of swordsmen would have received such an opportunity. Not everyone would have managed to perfect the sword intent and even if they did, they weren''t sure to be allowed to enter the semi-holy land to improve their sword intent.


    Cultivating in the Sword Washing Pool could not only improve his sword intent, but could also add a special attribute to it.


    So Rocher had dipped his sword into the Sword Washing Pool and began to practice his intent.


    After a long time,


    s than Zen did. When Zen woke up from the epiphany, he showed no signs of a sharp increase in strength. And Rocher emitted lightning himself. It seems that Zen has clearly not gained much from the epiphany," A third one remarked.


    The state of epiphany was a great opportunity for the martial art refiners but not everyone was sure to reap remarkable benefits from it. Anything could happen in that state. Sometimes, people entered the state of epiphany, but ended up getting nothing helpful from it. Stories like this could be found everywhere.


    Rocher raised his Blood-corroding Sword slightly. After he had understood the consummate sword intent, every sword cyclone around him was more and more aggressive now, and there was a trace of thunder and lightning hidden inside them. Rocher knew clearly that the power of thunder and lightning he had obtained from the Sword Washing Pool was by no means ordinary. They were definitely more powerful than any mortal man could imagine.


    He was confident that he could defeat Zen this time.


    As Rocher was building up the power of his sword with full confidence, Zen called upon the sword spirit in his mind. Lily faded into existence gradually at his side.


    "Wait what...! There is another person inside the arena! And she is a beauty! Where did she come from? What happened? What''s going on?" A disciple shouted out uncontrollably.

 Chapter 466 Follow The Genius Steps (Part One)

    Lily''s features and appearance weren''t consistent with an average person.


    Her hair looked softer, and there was a fresh and young aura about her with a cropped beveled fringe.


    Under those soft thin locks of hair resided her white and delicate face. With all parts of her face exactly matching with each other, she was highly attractive and beautiful. Right now, her pretty face was expressionless. But it could be imagined just how charming she would be if she started smiling.


    Her costume was completely different from what was usually worn in the Eastern Region. Even the Central Region wouldn''t have been bold enough like her. Unlike the conservative style of women across those regions, her dress style was much more open and bolder. For example, the upper armor she wore only covered her upper chest, showing her good figure and shape. Her bare waist looked even more slender under the armor she wore. Her long and slender legs were also visible in the short dress she wore. Even though her height was similar to that of Zen, she looked taller because of the differing ratios of their figures and her slender legs.


    It had to be said that Lily, with her amazing figure and remarkable face, had perfectly copied the appearance of that lady from the Demon Night. She looked vividly beautiful even with her stiff expression. Almost every single member of the audience was baffled by her good looks and sudden appearance. Instead of trying to venture a guess to the identity of this beautiful lady, they were confused about from where this lady had come from.


    There were also several spectators who were following the competition from outside the arena. For example, in Lady Peak, a large picture slab had been kept in the center of the hall.


    Normally, the female disciples of Cloud Sect were more fastidious about their environment than male disciples. An example of it could be seen at Drizzle Peak where the disciples had just put the Picture Slab on the muster station. The muster station was full of dust, but they didn''t mind and were now around the Slab to see the direct broadcast of the competition.


    On the contrary, the female disciples of Lady Peak had cleaned the hall and put piece


    r and why is she standing by Zen?'' Nina had many questions to ask, but it was obvious that none of the people around her could answer those.


    She was not the only one to have such inquiries.


    Actually, almost no one could understand what was going on and wanted to ask, ''Who on earth is that girl? How could she appear like a ghost out of nowhere without any sound and sign?''


    Even some saints who were present could not understand what had happened!


    "Sword spirit! A sword spirit with a body! Elder Xu, don''t tell me that Zen has just obtained this sword spirit! And don''t say that this sword spirit is a newly formed one!" Kenneth murmured, with his eyes fixed upon the girl in the arena.


    Hearing the remarks from Kenneth, Elder Xu felt speechless and depressed. He didn''t know what to say and therefore, did not respond directly. However, he also complained in his heart, ''What else can I tell you? Can''t you see everything clearly by yourself? You also know that a swordsman needs to comprehend the sword intent completely before he can condense his sword spirit. And it normally takes years of time for the sword spirit to be condensed into a human shape. And only remarkably amazing swordsmen with extreme talents can do that after years of training. Some swordsmen in the past could not condense their sword spirits even though they have completely mastered the sword intent.'' Apart from Elder Xu''s arguments, one''s destiny also played a big role.

 Chapter 467 Follow The Genius Steps (Part Two)

    But Zen''s destiny was obviously too good! Even Elder Xu felt jealous in his heart. Normally, with his powerful strength and temperament as a high-level refiner, he could have dealt with any unexpected case in front of him calmly. Someone had even joked that he would not have blinked his eyes even when the mountains fell down. But this time, Elder Xu could not maintain his calmness. Such a supreme talent and luck had made nearly everyone feel jealous.


    Even someone as calm as Patrick also felt surprised to see Zen''s progress. His eyes sparkled and when he saw the sword spirit, he sprang out of his meditation. Normally, the essential condition of cultivating Buddhist method was to stay calm and hold an even temper. Patrick had a very fine temper and could be considered an outstanding Buddhist refiner. However, he could not keep his usual calm nature at this moment.


    His story just now was like a monk who had chanted sutras all day long and lived a regular life. He would wake up in the morning with the sound of the bell in his temple and end his day after hearing the pounding of the drums. He would care the least about the wealth, relationship and love in the world. Buddhism was his whole life. He was sincere in his prayers and hoped that one day he could inherit Buddhism. But one day, his quiet life was broken. A small monk had come to the temple and it had not taken him long time to come across Buddha and receive the inheritance from Buddha.


    So, on encountering this kind of thing, Patrick could only laugh bitterly and at the same time, secretly scolded in his heart, ''Fuck! This is unfair.''


    Besides, Tracy was also pestering Patrick, continuously barraging him with questions, "Patrick, what on earth is that? I feel that she is not a real human! How could this woman appear so suddenly?"


    Owing to her divine legendary beast blood, Tracy''s instinct was sensing that Lily wasn''t human and might be special. She could identify that Lily was not a real human, but she could not know what Lily actually was.


    "That is a sword spirit!" Patrick was getting a little impatient by her non-stop inquiries and told her directly.


    "Oh, really?" Sensing his impatient mood, Tracy pouted her lips. She did not know why Patrick was unhappy. How could he be unhappy? The sword spirit was not a special thing that they had never heard of before. How could it make Patrick''s temper sh


    ivation method. He would have been able to gain more if he had practiced his sword intent there. However, he did not have a choice. It all depended on his fate. It was always sacred sites which chose a person, and not the other way around. He, Rocher, was not qualified at all!


    "You are too strong, Zen. I thought that I might not be as strong as Patrick before, but I always believe that I could catch up with him one day. But you, Zen, you are the first person whom I don''t have the confidence that I can catch up with." Rocher murmured, with a sad look in his face. "However," he kept speaking, "there are too many talents in this world. The number is too big for me to imagine. Maybe I can be considered a genius in the Eastern Region but nothing in the Central Region! But I want to catch up with you. Even if I cannot keep pace with you, my efforts will help me achieve more progress!"


    If he could not catch up with a genius, then he would probably follow the genius'' steps closely.


    It was not hard to figure out that Rocher had a good temperament. At least, he was not driven mad by jealousy and had not generated a private demon in his heart, which would have definitely blocked his road of refinement.


    "Therefore, even though I know it is hard for me to win, I still want to continue our fight! I will insist on my sword refinement and will never give up!" After saying that, he raised his Blood-corroding Sword. He summoned his life vitality to drive the thunder and lightning flow around his sword and displayed the consummate sword intent. In this way, he stabbed at Zen.

 Chapter 468 Number One Peak

    There were many reasons why Zen admired Rocher. One of them was his humility.


    Since Rocher was born from nothing, it wasn''t always easy for him to stay grounded after he achieved great success in practicing.


    Some disciples who were also born from nothing became extremely proud after having made some achievements. They regarded themselves as the pride of heaven. They thought that they were so virtuous and talented as if nobody on earth could beat them. Thus, they gradually slacked off in practicing. Even if they were talented disciples, their arrogance slowly diminished their will of martial arts--and they became just mediocre disciples with time.


    However, Rocher wasn''t conceited or rash. He still had a good attitude and state of mind even though Zen''s performance had made him feel hopeless and desperate. He didn''t feel discouraged at all. He even told Zen that he would try his best to follow in his footsteps even though he couldn''t surpass him.


    Maybe other people were more gifted than Rocher, but only a few of them were as benevolent as him.


    Now, although Rocher had spoken modestly, his move with the sword wasn''t modest at all. Zen wouldn''t dare underestimate this move.


    The Heavenly Sword of Rocher could originally use the extremely terrifying power of heavens. After he had comprehended the consummate sword intent, his sword intent became even fuller and fiercer.


    More importantly, he had comprehended the power of thunder in the Sword Washing Pool!


    Now, he had both the powers of thunder and the heavens!


    When the two of them were combined, the power of the sword would be equal to the punishment of heaven!


    Meanwhile, Zen''s face stiffened in horror as he looked at the sword with the punishment from heaven.


    The sword spirit, Lily, instantly spilt into small fragments of sword intent under Zen''s control and attached herself to the Streamer Sword in Zen''s hand.


    In reality, Zen wasn''t that skilled in controlling the sword spirit. If he could use the sword spirit well, he didn''t need to attach Lily to the Streamer Sword after he called her out. He could attach her directly to the Streamer sword through his body.


    However, it was just a skill. Zen would control it in time as he became better in using the sword spirit.


    Lily''s malicious aura was quite strong, and it was unknown how many creatures she had killed to have such a powerful malicious aura.


    When she stood next to Zen, she was able to contain all of the malicious aura in her body. However, the strong and fierce malicious aura suddenly burst out when she was attached to the Streamer Sword.


    A butcher who slaughtered cows and pigs everyday would have an increasing amount of malicious aura in his body as time passed. This kind of aura was relatively weak, and only sensitive people could feel it. Others wouldn''t say he looked murderous, but most people couldn''t feel this kind of weak malicious aura anyway.


    Dogs were always the most sensitive to the malicious aura. It was why they always barked at butchers when they saw them on the street. The malicious aura that emanated from the butchers made the sensitive dogs quite afraid.


    Thus, it followed that malicious aura posed a threat to creatures. It had a


    were in a sweet dream. If so, they hoped that they would never wake up from the dream.


    The next and last opponent Zen had to fight was Patrick.


    So far, no one had pushed Patrick to do his best in the competitions. He was the top disciple in Cloud Sect, only next to the extraordinarily talented Evan. It wasn''t easy to gauge his real strength.


    Zen clearly knew that it would be tough to win against Patrick in their upcoming competition.


    Before he had comprehended the consummate sword intent, he wasn''t that positive about his fight against Patrick. But now he had comprehended it, and the sword spirit Lily boosted his confidence in the competition.


    However, it was still hard for Zen to determine what his chances were.


    After all, he didn''t know Patrick''s real strength, and he didn''t have a reference to measure it.


    He just hoped that there would be someone powerful to fight against Patrick first.


    Unfortunately, only a few disciples had the ability to challenge Patrick. Wing was a man of great power, but Patrick defeated him in a second. Jacques was powerful too, but Zen had already swallowed up his flood dragon bone spear so he couldn''t do his best to fight Patrick anymore. As for Tracy, Zen thought that she wouldn''t go all out to fight Patrick and surrender instead--although she tried her best and activated the body of the Blue Phoenix when she fought against him.


    However, to Zen''s surprise, Tracy was picked in the draw lots to compete against Patrick on the battlefield.


    Just as Zen had guessed, Tracy cheerfully surrendered as soon as they got on the battlefield.


    ''The girl is only cruel when she fights against me!'' Zen thought and shook his head.


    Fortunately, the Lord expressed his wish to look after Zen. Thus, the referee drew lots again after Tracy surrendered, and Patrick''s name was drawn once more.


    This time, he was slated to compete against Rocher!


    A smile formed on Zen''s lips. Not everyone could force Patrick to do his best in the competition, but Rocher was the best man for the job.


    However, Zen wondered how long Rocher would last, or if he could directly defeat Patrick.

 Chapter 469 Acalanatha

    Either way, both possibilities worked in Zen''s favor.


    Now, on the Cloud Sect List, the only opponent left for Zen was Patrick.


    Although Evan ranked first in the previous competition, he was still held up in a secluded place for cultivation. Usually, such cultivation period could either be long or short. With the level Evan reached, he would be staying in that place for three months at least or one year at most. Therefore, his chances of making an appearance at this All Peaks Competition were slim.


    That was how Patrick ended up as the last disciple to compete Zen. If he was defeated, then Zen would rank first among the Cloud Sect disciples.


    The match between Rocher and Patrick had generated a lot of interest.


    While Zen previously defeated Rocher, it didn''t mean he was a weak fighter or competitor, because it was really not easy to gain advantage in the competition with Zen, who was dubbed a monster for the manner he had beaten his opponents.


    As far as the other disciples were concerned, it was unbelievable that a human at the second grade of the nature level could be so powerful, and the only way they could explain this was to say Zen was a monster.


    For them, it made sense that a monster had some kind of super power that a human did not possess.


    Both Rocher and Patrick had demonstrated great competence at the start, so the battle between them would be very fierce.


    When the referee called their names, Patrick and Rocher walked to the battle ring.


    Still keeping a low profile, Patrick said lightly, "Rocher, I''ve been waiting for this competition for a long time."


    "Me too." Rocher nodded.


    The two had been observing each other for a long time, so there was no need to say more.


    After comprehending the consummate sword intent, Rocher had gone to the Sword Washing Pool to practice cultivation and his ability increased considerably. However, competing with Zen humbled him slightly and he had realized that no matter how powerful he was, there would always be someone more powerful than him.


    On the other hand, Patrick appeared very modest and till now had not demonstrated his real competence yet. He was like a volcano in the heavy twilight.


    Nobody knew what kind of power this volcano would unleash once it erupted.


    It was Rocher who thrust his sword first. Using the Sword Steps, he immediately advanced towards Patrick.


    In the beginning, they didn''t use much strength and seemed to be thinking of suppressing each other with their skills. Obviously, Rocher had the advantage in this aspect because he had both sword and Sword Steps.


    However, when Rocher was close enough to Patrick and was about to attack, he realized how wrong he was about his opponent.


    Still without a weapon, and not even using the Samsara of Buddhism for this competition, Patrick was already powerful enough and could put up a good fight.


    With the protection of golden lights flashing above his hands, he simply patted Rocher''s sword with his bare hands.


    "Bang! Bang! Bang..."


    Twelve times Rocher thrust his sword, but Patrick''s fighting speed never slowed down as he parried each thrust. Like scattered leaves in the wind, his big strong hands floated in the air and slapped at Rocher''s blade.


    Everyone was shocked when


    e breaks, defeat is certain for Patrick!"


    As minutes passed, it seemed like the golden circle was on the verge of collapse because more cracks were showing, and it even began shaking.


    Taking advantage of the favorable situation, Rocher roared, "Break!"


    This was instantly followed by a loud ripping sound.


    The Extreme Thunder Sword Intent used by Rocher finally ripped the golden circle.


    But the battle was not over yet. Patrick, who was now frowning, was suddenly bathed in golden light. He stretched his arms, and a shadow appeared behind him.


    There was a slight gasp from the crowd as a Buddha emerged.


    Unlike other Buddhas that were always smiling, this one looked like he was in a rage.


    Buddhas generally had two expressions. He looked peaceful as he smiled while in meditation. On the other hand, when he wanted to teach wicked people a lesson or alert the masses to get rid of their sins, his face took on an aggressive look.


    "It''s Acalanatha!


    How could Patrick summon Acalanatha?


    Is he a descendant of Acalanatha?"


    The questions were fired by one disciple, while others around him stared at him, thinking he was an idiot.


    The Buddha was far different from the legendary beast.


    Moreover, monks in temples were not allowed to be intimate with women, so it was impossible for them to sire an heir.


    So how could a Buddha have any descendants?


    Realizing he had said something wrong, the disciple''s face flushed pink. "Maybe Patrick is the reincarnation of Acalanatha!" he suggested.


    "Yes, that''s probably it! Otherwise, he wouldn''t have been able to learn so many of the Buddhist cultivation methods!" another disciple shouted in agreement.


    "No wonder he''s so powerful!


    He''s the reincarnation of Acalanatha! Rocher is not likely to fight the shadow of Acalanatha!"


    At this point, Patrick appeared calm. On the other hand, the shadow of Acalanatha behind him looked horrible with its angry expression.


    "Acalanatha Palm!"


    As Patrick cried out, he clasped his hands then pointed at the Extreme Thunder Sword Intent lightly. Then a palm appeared in the air before it swept towards the Extreme Thunder Sword Intent.

 Chapter 471 Hidden Facts (Part One)

    How could Zen not be angry?


    There were two important parts of his life¡ªmartial arts was the path on which he wished to harvest his achievements, and Yan was his most cherished, beloved little sister.


    To make it to where he was, Zen had sacrificed a great deal only to suddenly be told that all he had done was in vain. The dream that once seemed so close to him slipped right through his fingers just before he could reach it. How on earth could he possibly take it easy?


    Meeting Zen''s eyes, Kenneth was neither fazed nor afraid. With a plain smile, he simply said, "You don''t have to be so angry. Yan was imprisoned in Hell Mountain for a reason. And as her brother, you deserve to know why."


    "Out with it, then," said Zen with a dark scowl at Kenneth, darting a fierce glare of hate.


    Even though Kenneth was way stronger and more powerful than him, who was able to kill him in a single strike, at that moment, Zen didn''t care one bit. Hatred and determination drove him, bolstering him to man up, showing no sign of cowardice.


    "Yan is supposed to be the disciple in Cloud Sect with the greatest potential. As you know, not many female disciples enroll in Cloud Sect, leading to Lady Peak''s depopulation. Among those girls, only a few are truly good. You see, Jill is one of the most talented there, and yet, she didn''t get a very good result in the competition," said Kenneth slowly. Pausing for a moment, he caught Zen''s attention. "But Yan is different.


    Unlike those lesser girls, Yan possesses true talent. I have high expectations for her. I can see even greater potential in her than in you, Zen.


    Do you know what our purpose is? Do you know why we bother to establish a Cloud Sect here in the Eastern Region?


    We, Cloud Hall, aim to attract all the talents of the Eastern Region!


    Once their true potential is identified, they would be sent to Cloud Hall for further learning. The world of warriors is a world where only the fitte


    ll that, you might be able to free your sister from confinement. I believe that one day you will. But not now.


    Right now, you''re too weak. You haven''t yet reached your full potential. You''re too weak to achieve your dreams and too weak to save your beloved ones.


    You may have amazing talent, but the world is vast and full of people with talent. There are many talented people but very few truly accomplished ones. Not many talents can survive the hardships and come out strong."


    Kenneth''s shots of ''too weak'' at him made Zen''s heart sink.


    He couldn''t help but be apprehensive.


    Yan seemed to be in greater trouble than he thought and Kenneth didn''t have a say in her release either.


    Moreover, Kenneth''s requirements sounded completely impossible.


    Enter the Illuminating Soul Realm, and then step beyond it?


    Become one of the Internal Elixir Realm warriors?


    Such stages were out of Zen''s reach. But he knew that Kenneth wasn''t trying to humiliate him¡ªKenneth was trying to tell him how powerful the opponents were and how radical the challenges he would face if he were to set his sister free. Compared to Internal Elixir warriors, Zen''s strength was like that of an ant. If they met in battle, he would be blown away like a grain of dust as he turned into literal ashes.

 Chapter 472 Hidden Facts (Part Two)

    "Sir, I don''t quite understand yet. If my sister is so important to Cloud Hall, why was she sent to Hell Mountain? Was it because of her great potential?" asked Zen.


    Kenneth nodded but after a moment, also shook his head. With another defeated sigh, he continued, "Not just that. Apart from her aptitude in martial arts, she was gifted with a special peculiarity. Her body is suitable for energy storing. She has what is called the ''Purple Power Body''."


    "Purple Power Body?" asked Zen with an arched brow.


    He had never heard of such a thing.


    "You heard me right. It''s a special natural talent passed on by blood, inherited only by women. And when a woman of Purple Power Body enters the Internal Elixir Realm, her Internal Elixir is called the Purple Power Elixir¡ªvery different from the usual ones, and more powerful than that of common people. A woman with Purple Power in the Internal Elixir stage is someone far beyond her peers of both genders," explained Kenneth.


    "I see¡­My sister is a remarkable woman, it seems. Do you mean someone is coveting her natural talent?


    Can this Purple Power Body be taken by force?" asked Zen.


    Now, he felt that he was finally close to the truth.


    "Such a special talent is extremely rare¡ªone in a trillion. And as only women can possess this particular skill..." Kenneth''s countenance was severely serious as he continued, "There is one thing that can be taken from them¡ªtheir virginity.


    There''s this overlord of the Central Region who wants to set out a Lustful Demon Array. To do so, he needs to find three women who have the Purple Power Body and they all have to be in the stage of the Internal Elixir Realm."


    Virginity and lust¡­


    As Zen heard the pair of words, his face turned darker and more furious.


    Unlike normal cultivation methods, there were also evil techniques for one to refine the self and gain inner energy. These evil


    oo long. The overlord already knows about Yan''s talents and has paid quite a few visits to Cloud Sect. To protect Yan, we lied to him and said she was still in her confinement. If he happens to spot her outside of Hell Mountain, we''d be exposed. All of us, especially Yan, would be in severe trouble."


    "I understand. Thank you for your advice, Sir. I''ll go meet her now," he calmly said.


    After the fierce struggle inside him, he restrained his anger and excitement. Too much caring and overthinking might lead to confusion when dealing with problems in the long term. Hearing about Yan''s situation, Zen decided to keep his mind even. What he needed now wasn''t to vent his anger but to find a solution to the problem.


    "Elder Xu, take Zen to Hell Mountain," ordered Kenneth.


    Following the command, Elder Xu summoned his transportation vehicle. An emerald green leaf of five square feet appeared beneath his boots. Urging Zen on, Elder Xu told him, "Stand on the leaf, Zen. I''ll take you to Hell Mountain."


    After bowing his head to Kenneth, Zen stepped on the leaf. Once he steadied himself, the leaf fluttered up and shot right up into the air.


    The thought of seeing his sister made Zen''s heart race in excitement¡ªhe could barely keep it in, now.

 Chapter 473 Yans Homicidal Intent (Part One)

    As if aware of Zen''s fierce emotions, Elder Xu said without turning to face him, "I know you are very emotional after hearing about your sister''s matter. I''m not as wise as the sect leader, but I hope that you will listen to my experience gathered over several hundred years of life."


    "It would be an honor to learn from you, Elder Xu," Zen replied respectfully.


    Elder Xu was the most powerful elder in Cloud Sect. He was subordinate to Kenneth and the deputy leader. Despite his power and influence, Elder Xu wasn''t a member of Cloud Hall. Being a behemoth over the continent, Cloud Hall paid little attention to Cloud Sect in the Eastern Region. Instead, Cloud Hall nominated a sect leader and a deputy leader to take charge of Cloud Sect.


    "You are a great talent, which is why the sect leader is paying special attention to you. If you can pass the test of Cloud Road, Cloud Hall will appreciate you. After that, you will grow into a mighty figure and achieve great things, which are beyond my imagination. However, you have to remember this. You should learn to endure silently before you are powerful enough. Attracting unwanted attention might get you killed. Only by staying alive will you have the opportunity to achieve your dreams and to save your sister from her fate."


    Zen was shocked by those words. He stared at Elder Xu''s back.


    It seemed that Elder Xu had managed to read his mind.


    After all, Zen''s biggest weakness had always been his sister, Yan, and he couldn''t keep calm about matters related to her. When Kenneth told him about her situation, Zen had been so distraught that he forgot to behave respectfully in front of the sect leader.


    Perhaps Kenneth wasn''t offended as he had a good temperament. This time, Zen wasn''t p


    outer disciple at that time.


    It was hard for an inner disciple to attend the All Peaks Competition, let alone an outer disciple. Only those who stood out from among the inner disciples were qualified to participate.


    She thought, ''Although Zen has talent, there is still a large gap between him and the top-ranked inner disciples. I wonder which peak he belongs to. Drizzle Peak is the lowest ranked peak among the thirty-three peaks and has few talented disciples. So he might still have the opportunity to participate in the competition if he is in Drizzle Peak.''


    At that thought, she stared at Zen''s face, which she had created with life vitality, and smiled happily.


    Just at that moment, she detected the vibration of someone''s life vitality in the air with her keen perception. She looked up at the sky and saw Elder Xu on his huge leaf. He was flying toward her.


    "Who''s that?" Yan murmured when she noticed another figure standing behind Elder Xu. As she recognized the second man, Yan''s eyes widened in surprise. Gradually, the expression on her face changed from doubt to astonishment and then amazement. She almost couldn''t believe her eyes!

 Chapter 474 Yans Homicidal Intent (Part Two)

    After a while, Elder Xu''s huge leaf reached the mountaintop and landed steadily on the platform. Zen stepped out from behind Elder Xu and stared at his sister in astonishment.


    Brother and sister stood frozen as they locked eyes.


    They had dreamed about their reunion thousands of times, but when it really happened, they were so surprised that they found it difficult to believe.


    Elder Xu stood aside silently. Although he had witnessed many departures and reunions during his past life, he still felt touched by the scene. The world of martial arts was cruel, yet it didn''t lack such warm moments between families.


    "Brother!" Yan stood from the ground, rushed toward Zen, and threw herself into his arms without a second thought.


    She hugged her brother tightly. She was so excited that she forgot that she was a sixteen-year-old girl instead of a little kid.


    They had been separated for many years, and they had never thought that they would meet again in such a place and under these circumstances.


    Zen stroked his sister''s hair affectionately as complex emotions coursed through him. They enjoyed the joy of the reunion and hugged for a long time before pulling away and observing each other.


    Over the years, Yan had grown as tall as Zen, and the little girl in his memories had changed into the beautiful young girl who now stood in front of him.


    "Zen, how did you come here? It should have been prohibited. But Elder Xu has escorted you here." Yan asked. She knew that Zen had become an inner disciple as she noticed his black cloth


    should I tell her?


    I can''t conceal the truth from her.


    Even if I don''t tell her now, she will find out, sooner or later.''


    After hesitating for a while, Zen eventually said honestly, "Our uncles murdered him."


    "W-w-what?" Yan stammered, shocked by the grievous news.


    "Bryson and Ken were two ruthless beasts. They murdered our dad to steal the position of clan head," Zen explained in an icy cold voice.


    "Zoom!"


    The life vitality around Yan''s body transformed into numerous sharp spines all of a sudden. Her Purple Power Body contained more life vitality than others at the same level. What was more, she absorbed energy from the air at a much higher speed. Owing to these two reasons, Yan didn''t always keep all her life vitality inside her body as most people did. Sometimes, she even needed to spend some excessive vitality purposely.


    And now, she used the life vitality around her body to form spines, which displayed the monstrous homicidal intent inside her and allowed her to vent her fierce emotions.

 Chapter 475 Return Home For Revenge (Part One)

    As she was imprisoned on Hell Mountain, Yan had been separated from her family members for several years. She was also almost completely isolated from the outside world. Yan did not expect that when she finally saw her brother, Zen, she would hear the news of her beloved father''s death.


    Yan felt great sorrow, and the urge to avenge her father was strong. Killing desire boiled inside her.


    Yet, her killing desire was shown in a very gentle way. Even though her eyes became red and welled up with tears, she still looked elegant and beautiful. In her brother''s eyes, she looked like a little wounded female leopard, on the edge of bursting with her grief and anger.


    Obviously, he had sensed the life vitality, in the shape of sharp spikes, floating around her. Yan practiced a unique cultivation method. It was so special that the life vitality around her was a reflection of what she was thinking, which meant that she could visualize her thoughts through her life vitality.


    She turned her head suddenly, and all spikes were aimed at Elder Xu.


    Her abrupt action startled Elder Xu. Of course, with his strength, Elder Xu was naturally not afraid that Yan would hurt him. Instead, he was worried that Yan would not be able to withstand the grief she was feeling. After all, she was still a little girl, even younger than Zen.


    "Elder Xu, I want to leave Hell Mountain for a few days," Yan said calmly.


    Elder Xu was lost in silence for a while. According to the rules, it would be unwise for him to allow Yan to leave Hell Mountain. Cloud Sect had imprisoned Yan at Hell Mountain in the name of cultivation. If she left and something dramatic happened, it would hurt Cloud Sect''s reputation.


    "Didn''t our sect leader give her that permission before? He said that my sister, Yan, could leave Hell Mountain for a short time," Zen reminded Elder Xu about


    so dazzling that it lit up her face and added a layer of soft splendor and beauty.


    Although Yan believed in Zen, she still found it hard to accept. How could her brother compete for the first place during the All Peaks Competition only through his strength at the second grade of the nature level?


    She wanted to see it with her eyes.


    For the next three days, Zen practiced in a secret room and processed everything he had learned from the All Peaks Competition.


    The most important thing for a cultivator was talent and foundation.


    For example, although some disciples from the top seven noble clans might have high talents, their actual combat effectiveness was not strong. On the one hand, they did not work hard to practice, and more importantly, they took well-refined pills to cultivate and improve their cultivation level. Thus, their foundation was somewhat unstable despite their virtually high level.


    It was not impossible to practice by taking well-refined pills, but before taking the pills, one should build a solid foundation.


    If his foundation were not stable, it would negatively affect the top level that one might reach, which meant that he might meet the ceiling and could not make a breakthrough.

 Chapter 476 Return Home For Revenge (Part Two)

    Some talented cultivators would choose not to boost their progress. On the contrary, they would suppress their level until it could not be suppressed and then they could make a natural breakthrough in their current level!


    Although Zen''s level was improving very slowly, a major reason was that he had not taken any well-refined pill. So far, he was at the second grade of the nature level, but his foundation was far more stable and solid than other cultivators.


    However, after the All Peaks Competition, Zen had a subtle feeling that he was about to make a breakthrough, and this feeling was growing stronger and could not be suppressed anymore.


    After three days of practice in the secret room, Zen left with improved strength. He had now reached the third grade of the nature level.


    During these three days, Zen was busy practicing and comprehending. As a result, he felt that with the blink of an eye, these three days had slipped away. Not only had he made a breakthrough in his level, but he had also acquired a certain understanding about the killing aura, or the malicious aura.


    After establishing a connection with the Killing Sword Mountain, Zen had researched on the fundamentals of the malicious aura, and he found that the malicious aura was actually a kind of strange energy.


    Earlier, Zen felt that the malicious aura was a destructive force. After all, killing and slaughtering other living creatures was a catastrophe for them.


    Yet, Zen quickly overturned the idea after he took advantage of the malicious aura that came out of his sword spirit, Lily. He studied the aura and tried to find answers to his questions.


    The malicious aura was quite different from a destructive force¡ªit was actually a life force.


    When any creature was being slaughtered, it would be very reluctant, angry, and sad. It would curse the beast that killed it so that the beast wouldn''t have a peaceful and natural death. Then, the creature would die with deep resentment.


    And a malicious aura was formed in such a situation. As a matter of fact, it was a kind of cursing force reserved by a dying creature at the last moment of its life.


    Even if a creatu


    to miss this great opportunity and watch the competition through the Picture Slab with the function of a live broadcast.


    The picture quality on Cloud Sect''s Picture Slab was pretty good, but it was not the same experience as watching the match from the arena.


    The points collected during the competition were estimated to be over a hundred thousand based on the number of the disciples on the site of the All Peaks Competition. In fact, there were so many disciples that they surrounded the arena in several concentric circles!


    Yan wore a purple mask and stood in a corner. Her perfectly shaped eyes were filled with astonishment when she saw how many people had come to witness the match. She had attended the All Peaks Competition before, but she had never seen so many onlookers on site and such a large-scale competition like today. ''Has Cloud Sect developed far beyond my imagination in the past few years? I keep hearing so many of them talking about Zen. Since when did my brother gain such popularity?'' Yan wondered.


    Even Yan, a rising star, didn''t receive so much attention and such popularity the year in which she participated.


    Her mind was unable to find rational answers to all these questions. But in a few moments, she didn''t want to think more about it. Her long eyelashes flickered as she took a deep breath. Then her eyes narrowed into crescents the moment she saw Zen walking into the arena and waving at her!

 Chapter 477 The Power Of His Fist

    Zen stood in the middle of the field and waved at Yan in front of a hundred thousand disciples of Cloud Sect. His action caught their attentions.


    "Who is over there? Who is Zen greeting?"


    To satisfy their curiosity, the disciples looked in the direction Zen was waving at.


    And they saw a beautiful girl in a veil. Slender and tall, she was as graceful as a dustless cyan lotus.


    Although she had veiled her face, her bright eyes were charming enough to catch everyone''s attention.


    "Who is that girl? She is so pretty!" one disciple exclaimed.


    "I have never seen her before," another disciple answered. "Her eyes are so bewitching! I imagine everyone will be swept off their feet by her exquisite features if she removes her veil."


    "Take off her veil? Would you dare? Although she has hidden her cultivation base, I am sure she is no less capable than the others. At least you''re no match for her."


    "Alas! Zen is so lucky. If only I could meet such a beautiful girl!"


    The disciples spoke in hushed tones, and their voices were full of envy and jealousy.


    Sensing so many eyes on her, Yan felt a little nervous. After all, she hadn''t seen such a magnificent spectacle for a long time.


    Nina glared at the beautiful veiled woman.


    Since paying just one point would enable her to watch the match from the arena''s side, she decided not to miss it. One point was nothing to her. But she was surprised to see Zen waving at a woman after she arrived at the scene.


    Nina had never seen any woman around Zen before. But since the All Peaks Competition began, Zen was often surrounded by women. Nina pouted, full of displeasure.


    She didn''t know that the veiled woman was Zen''s sister, Yan. She was jealous for the wrong reason.


    While the disciples were talking about the mysterious woman, Patrick entered the field.


    In his last fight with Rocher, he had summoned Acalanatha to defend against Rocher''s Heavenly Punishment Sword that was with Extreme Thunder Sword Intent.


    The power that he had showed in that fight was so awesome that it impressed everyone.


    It was not until then did they realize that Patrick had hidden his strength so well. It was no exaggeration to say that Cloud Sect was really full of unnoticed talents. Patrick was still so young, but he had so much power, and he was the reincarnation of Acalanatha! People had every reason to believe that his future achievements might not be less than Cloud Sect''s leader, Kenneth.


    As for Zen, the disciples regarded him with an uneasy sense of foreboding.


    Although Zen had also beaten Rocher and owned the sword spirit, the arm was no match for the thigh. How could he compete with Patrick, who was the reincarnation of Acalanatha? There were many extensive and profound mysteries in Buddhism. Cultivating according to the Buddhist doctrine, Patrick had achieved a strong cultivation base. Although Zen was outstanding, he paled in comparison with Patrick, no matter in his martial arts level or the strength that he had shown.


    "Somehow, I have the feeling that Zen is going to win," said a disciple.


    Then another disciple echoed his words, "I have the same feeling, although when Zen fought with Rocher, the power that Zen


    Patrick would be fierce, and many disciples would come to watch the competition. To avoid accidents, they had reinforced the light curtain in advance. Therefore, even after such a violent impact, the enchantment only slightly wobbled and did not break.


    "Zen pushed Patrick away with merely a fist! It is a miracle!" a disciple said with a startled look on his face.


    "You don''t favor Patrick? Well, what can I say to you?" said another disciple who assumed that Zen would win. "And this is not the first time. I guess Patrick is going to show his tour de force and I bet Zen will be able to fight back."


    "Zen is nothing without his strength. It is too soon to assume his victory. And Patrick hasn''t fully exerted his strengths and skills yet."


    "But do you know what the limitations of Zen''s strength are? He hasn''t even used life vitality."


    More and more people engaged in a discussion. Gradually some of them began to quarrel, and the dispute turned into a verbal battle.


    Among the bickering disciples, only one person stayed aloof. Zachary. Keeping his hands behind his back, he said with a flicker of a smile, "Proceed with your arguing, for all I care. Anyway, I have made enough money."


    In the final round, Zachary didn''t gamble on Zen or Patrick. He had bet his money on Zen in every match, and he had won every bet. His wealth now could only be described as immeasurable. His banker in the gambling game had gone bankrupt.


    Learning from that lesson, other people chose not to gamble with Zachary if he bet on Zen. No one knew whether Zen would continue to win. If Zen should lose, well, they would be relieved. But if he won, they would also go bankrupt as Zachary had a lot of money to wager with.


    So Zachary didn''t really care who was going to win. He had won enough money, anyway. And he might be the only one among the whole Cloud Sect who became a moneybags after the All Peaks Competition. He owed his wealth to Zen, and so he genuinely hoped that Zen would win.


    As Patrick picked himself up from the floor, a serious expression passed over his face. He had never felt as embarrassed as he did at that moment.

 Chapter 478 The Body In The Diamond-like State

    "Guard against complaining. Guard against anger. Guard against arrogance. Guard against impatience. Guard against greed. Guard against sex. Guard against..." Patrick Pei recited the principles in his mind.


    He had a strong intellect, but that didn''t mean he was without emotion. A human being couldn''t possibly function without sentiment. Only a fairy man could resist feelings, not a human.


    However, Patrick had great restraint. He might have looked uneasy after Zen''s hit, but he recovered in a relatively short amount of time, successfully calming himself down through his silent recitations.


    His mind was a flat, tranquil ocean with no movement in the waters. Suddenly there appeared ripples, about to become huge waves in lieu of the disturbance. But then the waves settled down once again under Patrick''s control, and peace prevailed.


    "How is it possible that you have such great strength? There must be a limit to your innate superhuman power. Your strength contradicts the restrictions of nature creatures," Patrick said seriously as he gazed at Zen.


    Previously, Zen had utilized all of his strength. Most people who were witnesses to it didn''t have sharp eyes like Patrick. He could see the unparalleled power in Zen.


    He was correct. Zen''s strength, in fact, exceeded the limits of nature creatures.


    Strength could not be utilized without limitations. It required powerful muscles. If Zen had weak muscles when his body held this kind of extraordinary strength, it would not support him.


    In reality, Zen''s body had strengthened hundreds or even thousands of times by now. It had become a middle-grade spiritual weapon. Clearly, his body had no problem supporting his superhuman strength.


    It was his best-guarded secret. But he could not tell Patrick that. So he said with a smile, "Can I choose not to tell you?"


    "Of course," Patrick said, nodding. "But I am still confident about my own strength." Just as he said this, the golden bell vanished into the air. Golden life vitality effused out of Patrick''s body, enveloping his skin. He seemed to shine, made up of pure gold.


    Patrick seemed to be in a similar state as when Zen''s mysterious runes had appeared on his body. But in fact, they were two different situations.


    When Zen''s body had begun to absorb the flame, the golden runes turned into little whirlpools.


    On the other hand, Patrick was enwrapped in his golden life vitality as if he was made up of gold.


    "Body in the Diamond-like State! His body is in the Diamond-like State!" one of the disciples shouted out loud.


    Watching Patrick transform himself into the Body in the Diamond-like State, Rocher sighed mentally. He had just made Patrick show his strength of Acalanatha shadow, but apparently, Patrick had more tricks up his sleeve. The Body in the Diamond-like State was surely another one of his trump cards.


    ''Body in the Diamond-like State?'' Zen wondered to himself. Looking at Patrick''s golden, shining figure, Zen clenched his fist in anticipation, eager to fight him.


    tually stronger than Patrick.


    In each round of their fight, Patrick attacked Zen three or four times, but the latter fought back only once. His one strike was far better than the totality of Patrick''s assaults.


    "Ah! Zen has been hit again!" a disciple exclaimed.


    "I can''t watch it anymore. If I were beaten like that, I''m afraid I would have died already!" someone responded.


    "It would be a mercy if you just died that easily! Don''t underestimate Patrick''s power. If he hits at your chest, he would be sure to leave a big hole in your body!" a third disciple corrected them.


    "Zen won''t be able to fight any more if he keeps getting beaten up like this!"


    What they were saying sounded reasonable. But the truth escaped them, for the situation on the arena was quite different.


    Patrick had been most confident about his Body in the Diamond-like State. He had planned to use it against Zen''s Streamer Sword, for he thought that would be his biggest threat.


    But as it stood now, Zen wasn''t using his Streamer Sword at all!


    It was Zen''s own choice. Patrick had no say in it.


    But the results were unexpected. The more Patrick fought, the more surprised he got. He could hardly keep calm. Now, his mind was like the turbulent waters in an ocean as huge waves rolled over.


    It appeared that Zen was not afraid of being beaten up.


    Patrick knew how strong he was. He might not have innate superhuman strength like Zen, but he could use his life vitality to the fullest. Zen''s body should not be able to resist the power in Patrick''s fists.


    But as Patrick watched Zen, reality contradicted his previous notions. ''How strong is Zen''s body? It can''t simply be measured on a scale of human physicality. He seems like a beast!'' he thought.


    ''Damn! I shouldn''t have used the Body in the Diamond-like State at all!'' At this moment, Patrick seemed to have forgotten about Buddhism doctrines. He already broke a commandment out of the ten: that he must never swear, whatever the circumstance...

 Chapter 479 Breaking The Diamond-like Body

    In breaking a record, Zen had made a man as prudent and calm as Patrick pissed and even resort to cursing.


    Worse, things looked awkward in the arena.


    From everyone''s point of view, it appeared as though Zen was at a disadvantage. He ended up getting beaten most of the time. He only fought back occasionally, after taking three or four strikes.


    But what was strange was that the more blows Zen took, the more excited he became. His eyes brightened up and glowed with radiant vigor. On the other hand, Patrick, though he did most of the beating, seemed upset and depressed, as if holding a bear by the tail.


    What no one knew was that warm currents steadily streamed into Zen''s body. That was why he didn''t suffer. On the contrary, the flow of currents made him feel content. How could he not be excited with such a stimulus of joy?


    It was thrilling for audiences to watch the two fight hand-to-hand. But for Patrick, he thought it a dull game and only felt bored. Still, he had to endure the match and continuously beat Zen.


    After a while, the golden light around Patrick dimmed, especially in areas where Zen repeatedly hit him, like his chest and arms. The light around these points slowly faded, revealing the natural color of the flesh.


    The Body in the Diamond-like State was said to make one''s body indestructible, but in fact, it mostly depended on the golden light surrounding the body. After the golden light barrier suffered excessive blows, the life vitality forming the barrier would scatter. And that meant the Body in the Diamond-like State was rendered useless.


    "Oh my god! It''s broken, The golden light barrier has been broken by Zen''s physical strength, bare-handed. I was right. Zen is indeed a monster!" someone cried out.


    "No, he''s not a monster. He''s a magic weapon, a magic weapon in a human form!


    He is foolproof against beatings!"


    The disciple who made the last comment couldn''t believe what he was seeing. He unwittingly praised Zen when he described him as a human-form magic weapon. Actually, he hit the nail on the head. Beyond that, Zen was a magic weapon constantly being refined through every battle, tempered by the beatings he sustained from every foe.


    In the final attack, Zen thrust himself on Patrick and shattered the golden light shimmering over his enemy. With a painful moan, Patrick backed away a few steps before halting. It was evident he had suffered an internal injury.


    However, Patrick disregarded his injury. What he cared about was losing to Zen in their hand-to-hand fight. That made him a failure. And it irked him that Zen still had that cheerful smile on his face as if he didn''t get beaten enough.


    By this time, Patrick even entertained illusions that Zen specially put on that smile to entice him to beat him up more. But it was a whimsical thought that Patrick knew he should never feel proud to voice out. After all, there was no one in the world who was crazy enough to invite beatings to themselves. He was sure Zen was not a masochist.


    Still, there was no way of ever knowing if what was running in his head was the truth.


    Meanwhile, Zen felt that he didn''t get beaten enough. Had it no


    he was still in a lot of trouble.


    The shadow of Acalanatha moved too fast. The Buddha''s palms moved simultaneously with Patrick, and at the same speed. Thus, when Patrick waved his hand, the Buddha would make the same movement at the same time.


    What made matters worse was that while Patrick''s hands were only a few inches long, Acalanatha''s palms were seven to eight times bigger! As Patrick maneuvered his hands almost in a flash, the two huge palms mirrored the same movements just as swiftly.


    It all happened too fast. Zen could hardly dodge the attacks, let alone approach Patrick.


    He knew that if he couldn''t get close to Patrick and attack him, he would definitely lose this battle. And while Zen had the stamina, his energy was consumed through the protracted fight. Patrick, meanwhile, could easily attack him with a simple wave of his hands. If it would take him the whole day, and through the night, to defeat Zen, Patrick would only be very pleased to repeat the same movements, probably even without batting an eye.


    While Zen was racking his brains to find a solution to his problem, the huge palms came at him again. Patrick was relentless in his attacks, refusing to give his opponent time to think and regroup.


    While thinking, Zen continued to dodge the assault against him. Only this time when he swerved, the disciple made a surprising move. Zen tossed his sword up in the air!


    The Streamer Sword circled the air several times before falling.


    The move had everyone in a daze, when suddenly, a blood red shadow soared out of Zen''s body. The shadow instantly condensed into a shape as soon as it was released. It was Zen''s sword spirit, Lily.


    Once Lily was out, she rushed towards the Streamer Sword, grasped it, then accelerated and pointed the weapon at Patrick.


    As Lily was a swordsman herself, she was capable of using the sword in the fight. However, Zen only had one metal blade at this time and needed it to ward off an attack by Buddha. Thinking quickly, he tried dodging the huge palms of Buddha while manipulating Lily into attacking Patrick at the same time.

 Chapter 480 Karma Fire

    Lily hailed from the Demon Night. She had slender legs and malicious aura. After Zen''s visit to the Killing Sword Mountain, she became his sword spirit.


    Zen commanded Lily to take the sword and attack while he evaded attacks from the two palms! There was no time for Zen to think about other things, as the slightest distraction would lead to a mistake, and the two big palms would hit Zen!


    But, when Zen could not avoid Acalanatha''s palms, he caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye and was shocked!


    Lily began to rotate as soon as she held the Streamer Sword. At the same time, her malicious aura formed a helix, as if a storm were materializing around her, and then rushed to Patrick at high speed.


    She seemed to be dancing. And the sword was a prop in her dance¡ªa dance that brought death...


    "W-ha-t, what is this sword trick?" Zen was dazed.


    Although Lily was Zen''s sword spirit, he didn''t know her. So far, Zen had summoned her and then attached her to his sword.


    Aside from her enchanting appearance, Lily was no different from the other sword spirits Zen had seen on the Killing Sword Mountain.


    Zen had encountered a variety of sword spirits while at the Killing Sword Mountain. These varied from primary forms of sword spirits that had no shape at all, to only being points of light. And as Zen climbed higher, the sword spirits became more advanced¡ªmany sword spirits had forms, of which the most common was the human form.


    Even so, these sword spirits were near-mindless. Basically, they could not speak, and their faces lacked expressions.


    Except for Iceni whom Zen had encountered at the end. Iceni manipulated his sword spirit by injecting a touch of his soul into it.


    But there was no soul inside Lily. This was why Zen felt strange when she used such an unusual attack skill after Zen summoned her!


    As Lily spun faster and faster, the number of malicious aura spirals increased.


    In the beginning, Patrick didn''t care too much about Zen''s sword spirit. All he needed to do was concentrate on driving the body of Acalanatha. As for the sword spirit, even if she were holding the Streamer Sword, all Patrick had to do was dodge her attacks.


    It was beyond Patrick''s expectation that Zen''s sword spirit could control a sword so skillfully.


    What was this sword trick? It was a dance! The difference was that Lily was using a sword trick in her sword dance. She had a real sword!


    Unsure of whether he could escape from Lily''s unusual sword dance, Patrick had to withdraw a palm from his attack on Zen and aim it at Lily.


    After one of the hands was withdrawn, the pressure on Zen reduced. Patrick could not juggle t


    Lily knew sword tricks and used the power of the unusual sword dance to exert the malicious aura efficiently. This was what Zen had not thought of doing.


    In other words, Lily seemed stronger than Zen...


    Under the situation, Patrick was finally forced to the edge of the fight field.


    Behind him was the light curtain formed by the enchanted barrier. He was left with only two options, accept defeat or face Lily''s sword dance.


    In other words, he had no way back.


    Seeing that Lily was nearing, Patrick closed his palms again. There was a Buddha seal in his eye, a golden Buddha seal.


    "Suffering in the body is good for the mind. Do not be shaken by the outside world. Allow no distraction in the heart..."


    Patrick began chanting. As Lily''s sword dance approached, he seemed to give up resistance.


    But the Buddha seal in his eye suddenly broke, and its contents filled the pupil of his right eye. It now appeared as though his right eye was shining with gold.


    Everyone knew that Patrick was about to make a big move.


    But Patrick had already applied the Acalanatha''s virtual shadow. What else could be stronger than the Acalanatha''s virtual shadow?


    Of course, after the golden light bloomed in his right eye, the right eye of the Acalanatha''s virtual shadow from behind him was also filled with the golden light. And under the shining golden light, the broken palm of Acalanatha''s virtual shadow was condensed again.


    The moment the palm was condensed, Patrick once again put his hands together. When he pulled them apart, a flame appeared in his hands. It was a black cyan flame.


    The action corresponded with the palm of the Acalanatha''s virtual shadow¡ªa bigger cyan flame appeared between the giant palms!


    "Green Lotus Karma Fire!"

 Chapter 481 Going Crazy

    Evil Karma could scorch a person like fire, so the name of Karma Fire was given. That was a purely evil fire, which among other things, was also the name of the fire set in hell by the guilty.


    In Buddhism, there were two kinds of fire that were the most powerful, both equally as strong. One was the Emptiness Fire of the Bodhisattvas and the other was the Karma Fire.


    Known to all were the unimaginable virtuous merits of the Bodhisattvas, and how karma touched all creatures was unfathomable.


    "I believe the green lotus lives in a corrupted, evil world, but it remains unaffected. It yearns to burn everything throughout the world and turn it into hell with endlessly burning fires..."


    The burning Green Lotus Karma Fire that appeared in Patrick''s hand, divided into two flames. One was large, and the other was small. The small one had hundreds of lotus blossoms and tried to burn Lily, while the vast Green Lotus Karma Fire in Acalanatha''s virtual shadow hand immediately slammed to the ground.


    The power of the Green Lotus Karma Fire was incomprehensible.


    After the small Karma Fire lunged at the normally malicious, aggressive Lily, she lost the spirit to fight, unexpectedly.


    Although Lily had much malicious aura, and she wasn''t weak, there was no way she would be able to resist for long. Zen saw that and got her to retreat with the Steamer Sword.


    Lily transformed into blips of bright light before re-entering Zen''s body, and Zen quickly placed the Streamer Sword into his space ring.


    Step by step, Zen fought Patrick, and forcibly made him release the fires.


    The commoners were enraged, and blood splattered all around within five steps. If the emperor was furious, millions of people would die! Everything worldwide would burn when the Buddha was seething.


    The Green Lotus Karma Fire spread with an overwhelming momentum making it hard for the Cloud Sect''s hundred thousand disciples on the field to breathe. There was screaming and yelling as they panicked, bolting and trampling each other as they scurried for safety.


    Some disciples were smarter.


    They watched the others as though it were a play, even though, if the Green Lotus Karma Fire kept burning, everything would turn into dust. Such things had occurred several times before, when battles on the competition field injured spectating disciples, like the time the dragon roared during Zen''s competition against Jacques, which left many disciples at the All Peaks Competition wounded.


    Although the competing disciples at the All Peaks Competition were the top ranked of each peak, there were about a hundred thousand disciples watching them today, and they were much weaker than the ones before. If they hadn''t run they would be burned to dust now.


    However, the Buddha was able to restrain the Karma Fire and wouldn''t


    as us, and yet, she is brazen enough to confront an elder, and her momentum isn''t inferior..."


    "Is that his woman? It looks like she''s trying to save Zen. Why are all his women so powerful? It''s not fair!"


    There was no doubt that every elder at the Cloud Sect was monstrous, and a hundred years old at least, so they couldn''t be weak, but, Yan didn''t even think about that.


    Yan and the elder were about to battle, when someone suddenly shouted, "WHAT?! Look! Everyone, look! I think I just saw Zen!"


    "Really?! Zen wasn''t turned into ashes by the Karma Fire? Huh? Wow! And check it out! His body is shining bright like a golden light. Has this guy cultivated the Body of the Diamond-like State?" said another onlooker as he stared over at Zen.


    Yan turned towards the onlooker, and then, following his stare, she looked out and saw her brother. As expected, Zen was bathed in a golden light. Enveloped in the flames of the Green Lotus Karma Fire, Zen was unharmed, and tiny golden whirlpools covering his body seemed to be absorbing the flames touching him?!


    The Karma Fire power was so horrific though, so, how was her brother able to absorb the fires into himself? How could his organs bear the burning of the Karma Fire?


    Yan was puzzled that Zen wasn''t being injured by the Green Lotus Karma Fires, but, she was also relieved to see he was okay. She looked at the elder with a seemingly apologetic look.


    Looking down at the slight frame of the girl, the elder couldn''t stay mad, and let it go. He shook his head, believing the girl just cared too much for Zen.


    Amidst the Karma Fire Hell, Patrick felt as though he''d fallen into an ice house! He couldn''t feel the heat of the Karma Fires, and stared blankly at Zen...


    ''This guy isn''t even afraid of the Karma Fire? And now he is actually absorbing the fire?'' Patrick thought he must be going crazy.

 Chapter 482 The Way Evan Came On Stage (Part One)

    For several years now, ever since he had started practicing Buddhist cultivation method, Patrick had been proud of his emotional stability, more so than his strength.


    As someone who had been an Acalanatha in his previous incarnation, he was more stable than anyone else in the world could be. No matter how serious the problem was, he could have dealt with it calmly. As the old saying goes, the Buddha is in one''s heart rather than anywhere else. This essentially meant that taking it easy and remaining calm was the way of the Buddhist method. As an expert practitioner, his heart was always like a lake, placid and still.


    But today was the day of the storm. Today, the lake was not calm as usual. First there were a lot of ripples and then a large wave had come. With increasing temperature, it was now nearing an active volcano.


    Patrick felt like he was going to puke blood. How on earth was Zen doing that?


    The Green Lotus Karma Fire was the very definition of Hell on Earth. It was extremely powerful and had no defense! Patrick didn''t need to be told just how dangerous it was.


    He would have felt a lot better if Zen had merely used some secret weapons or some new move to defend himself from the Green Lotus Karma Fire temporarily, but the problem was that he wasn''t afraid of it at all. It was almost as if the flame was nothing to him. And the worst part was that there were even whirlpools around Zen that pulled the Karma Fire into themselves.


    This was unacceptable for anyone in the world.


    When he was fighting against Rocher, Patrick hadn''t really shown his cards. He was keeping them safe because as far as he was concerned, th


    Finally the last bit of fire was gone. The whole arena was clear again.


    Zen''s expressions became pleased and happy as a new spiritual texture appeared on his chest due to Patrick''s Green Lotus Karma Fire. Now he had three of them which meant that his body had been refined to a top-grade spiritual weapon.


    Another such symbol and his body would probably become a fairy weapon! He wondered what that would be like!


    After he saw everything that had happened, Patrick shook his head. "Let''s stop!" he said curtly, deciding to give up the fight. Although there were several moves that he hadn''t used yet, but if Zen had blocked the Green Lotus Karma Fire, Patrick didn''t think it would make any difference or indeed, much sense, if he went on fighting.


    He actually felt unlucky to have Zen as his rival.


    Zen had also defeated Rocher earlier on in the competition, but Rocher hadn''t lost as badly as Patrick, who was supposed to be better than him.


    An important reason for this was that Zen had defeated, absorbed, or defended all of Patrick''s deadliest moves without flinching.

 Chapter 483 The Way Evan Came On Stage (Part Two)

    For example, the golden bell defense that he had used in the beginning was of no use when faced with Zen''s extraordinarily strong power. After that, he had used the move of the Diamond-like Body, but even that hadn''t been able to shake Zen''s spiritual weapon like body at all.


    And then he had tried the Acalanatha Shadow, which was supposed to deliver quite a fight for Zen since he wouldn''t have been able to find a way out.


    But at that moment, out of nowhere, Zen''s sword spirit Lily had showed up with the sword dance, using her malicious aura to its upmost. Even the Heavenly Punishment Sword was supposed to be no match for the Acalanatha Shadow, but Lily''s sword dance had beat it easily anyway.


    It had actually taken Zen himself by surprise as he didn''t have any idea why and how Lily was so powerful.


    And then it came to Patrick''s best card¡ªGreen Lotus Karma Fire. Anyone who saw it would have thrown in the towel immediately. How could a human body stand that furious fire?


    Patrick never could have expected that his best card would turn out to be the reason he would call it quits.


    It just happened that Zen was not afraid of any kind of fire. Instead, his body craved fire to refine itself and make itself stronger. The Karma Fire was hell to others, but to Zen, it was like Alice''s wonderland. He couldn''t like it more; to Patrick''s chagrin, he absorbed every bit of it like an alcoholic enjoying a glass of beer.


    If it wasn''t for that, Patrick wouldn''t have lost.


    "Patrick, there''s no need to feel frustrated. It''s not that I am stronger than you. It just happens that some of your best mo


    been broken. But the man held his head with both of his hands and twisted it with a sharp crack. It sprang into position again and now, he looked relaxed and comfortable.


    The young man, in his twenties, looked handsome in some ways but not all. There was something strange about his features¡ªhis eyes, nose, and mouth somehow didn''t look right together, and sometimes they even seemed funny.


    The way he had showed up in front of everyone was embarrassing, even shameful. But no one was going to laugh at him or doubt his strength. Anyone else who had hit the floor head first would have died immediately of blunt force trauma; but this young man had survived unscathed, which was clear proof that he was no ordinary person.


    Patrick let out a sigh. The man had a habit of always showing up in such unusual ways, causing absolute chaos. But still, he greeted him politely, "Nice to see you, Evan."


    So that was it! The young man was actually Evan Li, the real top disciple of the Cloud Sect ranking and supposedly the most powerful disciple in the entire Cloud Sect.

 Chapter 484 My Queen (Part One)

    The way in which Evan had showed up abruptly was so peculiar and at the same, laughably stupid, that the over one hundred thousand audiences on site were dumbfounded.


    Since he could fly in the sky, it was reasonable to believe that his strength was at least above the level of Illuminating Soul Realm. And being able to step into the level of Illuminating Soul Realm was adequate to show that his talents were by no means weak or limited. If so, the audience was bewildered as to why he acted like an idiot just now?


    "Who is this idiot on earth?" Finally, one of the disciples couldn''t help it and burst out due to strong confusion.


    "Hush, keep it down. Don''t call him names. Didn''t you see Patrick was respectful to him just now? If my guess is right, he is the famous Evan Li. He is more powerful than Patrick!" another disciple scolded in a low voice.


    "Isn''t he supposed to be practicing martial arts in his secret chamber these days? What''s he doing here? Has he finished practicing and come out already? Hang on. That might also mean that the All Peaks Competition''s not finished yet?" the former disciple asked, now looking pretty excited.


    After the disciples had witnessed that Zen had defeated Patrick, or rather, Patrick had admitted defeat, they had begun waiting for one of the elders to announce the rankings and changes of the entire Cloud Sect List. Not in their farthest dreams had they expected the famous Evan would show up abruptly at the end of the competition.


    Now they became thrilled and began to look forward to the stunning competition which might take place between Zen and Evan if they agreed.


    After all, a hundred thousand disciples of Cloud Sect had each spent a point, which equaled to two cubic crystals as well as the whole asset of an ordinary family in an ordinary county to come and watch the competition on site. They wouldn''t have wanted it to end just like that!


    Yet, seeing Evan''s behavior which was much like a dumb person, the members of the audience were worried whether the competition would ever start or not.


    "Hey, Patrick! Look at you so gloomy. You look like a dead fish. Did you just lose?" Evan asked with a stupid smile on his face. He always


    any of the related competitions.


    With his earlier strength level, he did have the qualification to participate in the All Peaks Competition. But that was a little while ago. When he had walked out from his secret chamber, his strength had leapt directly from the third grade of Illuminating Soul Realm to the sixth grade. This was not only beyond the capped requirement, but also very slightly weaker than the topmost grade of Illuminating Soul Realm. That was to say, it wasn''t going to be a long time before his realm became comparable to the saints, or even the elders with relatively weaker strength.


    What was more, it was well known that Evan had a solid foundation. This was unlike many saints and elders in the Cloud Sect who were unable to make breakthroughs after a particular level, and therefore had to achieve their current strength only with the aid of well-refined pills. In terms of real strength, he might not be too far from them.


    Under the above situation, it was obviously not fair to allow Evan to attend the All Peaks Competition.


    "No! Elder Ge! No matter if I am alive or dead, I will always be Cloud Sect''s disciple. Why do you want to remove me from the List? Please! I really want to attend this year''s All Peaks Competition and I really have to! Although I have made breakthroughs, my name is still on this year''s list of All Peaks Competition Participants, right?" Evan argued strongly, trying to convince Elder Ge and the others.

 Chapter 485 My Queen (Part Two)

    Elder Ge also hesitated at the moment. Evan''s case was really special. He was indeed registered on the list of eligible disciples to participate in this year''s Competition, but he had been practicing in his secret chamber and had showed up only at the end of the competition.


    "Just allow him to fight! There''s nothing special about it! Isn''t it just one more match?" one disciple bellowed.


    "We want to see it! Evan is also Cloud Sect''s disciple. Why can''t he attend the All Peaks Competition?" one more disciple bellowed, rather unwilling to lose such a good opportunity to watch another wonderful match.


    "Yeah. Seconded! Why can''t he be allowed? It doesn''t make any difference to have one more match!" another disciple added loudly.


    At this crucial moment, several disciples began to kick up a fuss about it.


    From their points of view, if they could watch one more match, especially the one between Evan Li and Zen Luo, it would have been a great bonus for them! After all, they had each spent a point on the All Peaks Competition, and although Evan really looked like an idiot, it could not be denied that he was really powerful.


    Immediately, a hundred thousand disciples of Cloud Sect got thrilled and began to chant, spontaneously and repeatedly, "One more fight!". Looking down at the enthusiastic audiences, Elder Ge gradually wavered, but there were still some thoughts in his mind that held him back. Of course, Zen had already created so many miracles. But since he and Evan were not at all at the same level of strength, Zen had no chance of winning this competition, which meant it would not be a fair competition. In fact, he had half a belief that Evan was trying to bully Zen.


    While seeing so many people were supporting him, Evan stared at Zen arrogantly, as if he were looking at a little weak sheep. He impatiently said again, "Elder Ge, look at that! Everyone is waiting for this fight. I think you should make the decision as soon as possible!"


    Just then, things took a dramatic turn!


    Yan, who had been standing outside the battle ring, suddenly walked inside and yelled furiously, "Evan Li!"


    When Evan heard his name called out, his eyebrows narrowed. He had heard this voice before. Suddenly, he remembered exactly who would make such a voice and his face changed abruptly. A bitter expression appeared on his face. He asked in a trembling voice, "You, you are¡­"


    "You dare call me d


    n pure swordplay."


    In fact, Elder Ge had witnessed Zen''s basic swordplay. As someone whose strength was not top among the elders, he still had a decent ranking and knew a thing or two. Thus, it was easy for him to know that Zen''s swordplay was really formidable. Therefore, he supported Yan''s proposal. Apparently, he was also trying to set up a trap for Evan.


    Patrick, standing next to Elder Ge, also had a secret smile inside. He had competed against Zen, so he obviously knew what was going on. ''This time, I believe that Evan definitely will fall into a well-set trap as he has never had the chance to figure out the real strength of Zen''s swordplay before. It''s true that Evan can beat Zen if they use their real strength to compete. However, in terms of pure swordplay? Hahaha¡­Evan, you are staring complete failure in the face, '' he thought happily and stealthily.


    "Compete in pure swordplay?" Evan replied carelessly, rubbing his nose. "I, Evan, have never been afraid of anyone in pure swordplay! All right! This final match will be a competition of our swordsmanship skills only!"


    Previously, as Yan had seen Zen condense his sword spirit, she speculated that Zen''s attainments in swordsmanship were certainly not low, but she had not seen the formidable powers that lay behind that talent. The reason she had put forward such a proposal was that she simply didn''t want to see Evan defeat Zen with a dominating advantage and strength in the competition.


    What she didn''t know was that she had inadvertently set up a trap for Evan, just as what she had done years ago to defeat and tease him.

 Chapter 486 My Master

    Evan Li dreaded meeting Yan like a rat feared a cat.


    At that time, Yan was the top disciple at the Lady Peak. She had excellent talent and was exceptionally strong. Yan was comparable to the personal disciples in terms of strength.


    The difference between Yan and Zen was how they had become famous.


    Zen became a powerful and well-known disciple all of a sudden. Before that, his extraordinary talent and strength had been known only by a few people, including Roger Meng, Zachary Zhao, and the disciples of the Drizzle Peak.


    While Yan had gained popularity differently. She had been granted special admission to Cloud Sect on account of her talent. She had been taken good care of since she became a disciple of Cloud Sect. Most people at Cloud Sect watched her and protected her. As a matter of fact, she had faced almost no obstacles during her time at Cloud Sect.


    The only trouble Yan suffered was that she had to handle numerous pursuers.


    Yan was as pretty as a fairy. She was nice to everybody around her, and so everyone liked her. Since she had tremendous talent, Cloud Sect regarded her as one of the most important disciples. A girl as perfect as Yan, of course, was attractive to the young disciples of Cloud Sect.


    Disciples without outstanding strength, talent, or powerful background did not dare to express their feelings to her, as Yan was too excellent.


    So only the elite disciples from the top seven noble clans dared to convey their interest in Yan.


    Fancy Yun, Yun Clan''s young master had been Yan''s most ardent admirer. In the end, Fancy Yun paid a painful price¡ªYan cut off his penis. And that was why Cloud Sect claimed to have imprisoned Yan at Hell Mountain.


    Evan, one of the most outstanding personal disciples, also admired Yan at that time. But Evan always behaved kind of dottily, and some disciples egged him on to purse Yan and to tease her at the same.


    At that time, Evan was at the top of the Cloud Sect disciple list. That meant he was the strongest disciple among all disciples at Cloud Sect. Yan had found it challenging to cope with Evan.


    But Yan was smart and found a way to lure Evan to bet with her.


    Evan was very strong, and his talent was far beyond that of other disciples. Even in such a huge sect, his skills and talents would ensure his promotion to principal disciple.


    Since he had won the final fight of the last All Peak Competition, he had the chance to pass Cloud Road and enter Cloud Hall.


    It was said that Evan did go to Cloud Road, but during the examination, he felt tired and actually fell asleep...


    Being selected for Cloud Road was a dream that all disciples of Cloud Sect shared, re


    es, including Yan, and the masters looked at Evan as if he was a fool.


    They shook their heads and thought, ''Evan is really a fool.''


    Evan had cultivated in isolation for a long while. He hadn''t had the chance to watch the process of the All Peak Competition. But most disciples had viewed it from the arena or through the Picture Slab.


    Zen had impressed everyone except Evan with his mysterious and powerful basic sword skills.


    Although Evan''s position was high on the disciple list, none of the disciples thought Zen would lose if they only fought with sword skills. On the contrary, they believed that even with Evan''s skills, a draw would be the best result he could achieve.


    And now he wanted to battle Zen without a sword. He hadn''t considered that Zen could force him to use his sword. If Zen did, did he actually consider calling Zen "My Master"? He was really naive!


    Previously, Evan had to suffer the humiliation of calling Yan, My Queen. If Zen were to defeat him, wouldn''t Evan look twice as foolish?


    Since Evan insisted on acting like an idiot all the time, no one reminded him of his past mistake. That meant that Evan had made a trap for himself and that he would step in it without any hesitation.


    "Okay. Since you insist, let''s begin," Zen replied. Zen didn''t want to say anything else to Evan. As soon as he finished speaking, Zen attacked.


    Zen''s first move was the most common one, stabbing levelly with all his strength focused on the tip of the sword. This sword skill was called horizontal stab.


    Evan had been indifferent at first. He was so confident that he believed he could avoid the attack with his eyes closed. Just as Evan took his first step, his face paled.


    "Gosh! This is..." At this moment, Evan''s expression changed.

 Chapter 487 The Laughingstock

    Like Evan, the remaining one hundred thousand Cloud Sect disciples were shocked by what they saw!


    Everyone knew Zen was exceptional at the basic swordsmanship. However, Evan had foolishly boasted in front of all disciples that he wouldn''t need to unsheathe his sword in his fight against Zen. He must have been out of his mind!


    But, the sad fact was, most of the disciples had the same mindset as Evan.


    Earlier, when some of the disciples had seen Zen''s fundamental swordsmanship, they were impressed, and spoke highly of his basic swordsmanship. When that was passed along, it became deeply rooted in the minds of the rest disciples, which made them feel Evan''s bragging and looking down on Zen ridiculous.


    Thus, they had been waiting, on edge, to watch Evan fail, and would be equally thrilled if Evan yielded to Zen.


    At that moment, all those one hundred thousand disciples shared a single thought, ''You always boast about yourselves, just because you are a personal disciple. Do you think you''re invincible? Now, let''s see how you handle Zen and his swordsmanship! Wait and see, you will submit to Zen, and admit that he is your master!''


    Evan was feeling embarrassed that he had talked big and regretted it thoroughly since he wasn''t able to walk the walk.


    How on earth was Zen''s basic swordsmanship so seemingly exceptional?


    There was no other swordsmanship that was more ordinary than what Zen had adopted. It was only horizontal stab, and that, to be honest, was the most straightforward, yet simplest move used in basic swordsmanship.


    An opponent using this style of swordsmanship could be easily outmaneuvered by shooting the sword out. Horizontal stabbing was the first move that most swordsmen studied first. To lay a solid foundation for future swordsmanship skills, a juvenile usually practiced horizontal stabbing at least a thousand to ten thousand times.


    It was just the horizontal stabbing move, so, why was Evan finding it impossible to dodge in any direction from the assault?


    It appeared to be just the basic swordsmanship. How was it possible for Zen''s moves to be this awesome? Evan felt like he was going crazy.


    Naturally, he didn''t know Zen had done brilliantly in the All Peaks Competition purely using the basic swordsmanship. Zen only adopted simple swordsmanship, yet, it was challenging for Evan to dodge. A hundred thousand disciples watching thought it was natural for Evan to be in a difficult situation.


    It seemed it was only Evan who wasn''t aware of Zen''s extraordinary performance so far at the All Peaks Competition utilizing just his basic swordsmanship.


    After all, Evan had outperformed everyone using his strength since three years ago and was the most talented disciple in Cloud Sect.


    Since then, his strength had enhanced greatly.


    Noticing the razor sharp blade slashing the air as it headed towards him, Evan unconsciously reached for his sword. Recalling his promise, he stopped himself, and instead turned abruptly, contorting his body and barely escaping Zen''s attack.


    Just now, Evan had managed to avoid Zen''s first sword attack, but it put him in an extremely awkward position. Then came Zen''s second strike! A third sword attack followed! Then, the fourth sword attack...


    Evan''s head cleared, and he realized he w


    ster!"


    "Ha!" Not far off, Yan couldn''t stifle the laugher when she heard Evan calling Zen his master. As she laughed, her chest and waist bounced, trembling like a paper flower.


    Many times, Evan had lost bets, and yielded to Yan, calling her "Queen". Now, as promised, he was calling Zen "Master". But, it was Evan''s own fault! So, Evan didn''t deserve pity from anyone!


    The silence broken by Yan became an uproar as most of the disciples burst out laughing too. Their uproarious laughter echoed throughout the field, ringing in Evan''s ears! How sensational the laughingstock was!


    Evan blushed as blood rushed to his cheeks. He was more furious when he saw Zen smiling and knowingly nodding at him.


    ''I''m your senior in Cloud Sect. I just called you "My Master", and are you so shameless that you responded by nodding in agreement? Well, I will make you regret that!''


    After the roaring laughter gradually died down, Evan added, "Yes, I underestimated you earlier. Now, I''d like to fight with you again, but, this time with swords. The loser will acknowledge the winner as his superior, and address him as "Master" whenever we meet in the future. Zen, do you accept my challenge?"


    Zen was stunned! He listened to what Evan said and stood there dumbfounded while firmly glaring at Evan.


    All one hundred thousand disciples stared at Evan in shock with their mouths agape....


    Evan was behaving like a fool, even now. Zen had agreed to decide the winner of the All Peaks Competition based on swordsmanship. Now, Evan was making another outrageous request?


    Evan realized his request was a little rude. He felt he couldn''t do more than grit his teeth and add, "Well, I can''t force you to, but, let''s formally fight against each other using swordsmanship techniques!"


    As soon as Evan finished speaking his mind, his long sword trembled, and he pointed the tip at Zen! Suddenly, Evan''s face turned hard.


    Even though it was only a mysterious weapon, Evan looked extraordinary, as if the weapon he held were a fairy or sacred weapon.


    Zen felt as if Evan was like the Iceni on Killing Sword Mountain. Since Evan was a senior disciple at Cloud Sect, he could not be a simpleton!

 Chapter 488 Broken Sword (Part One)

    Despite the occasional madness, Evan still was the strongest opponent Zen had ever encountered.


    Chances were Zen would have long been defeated if refinement techniques or life vitality was allowed in this battle.


    After all, there was a gap in inner energy between the two fighters. Undoubtedly, Zen''s foundation was solid, and this made him stronger than other warriors in the same stage. But Evan was solid in foundation, too. He didn''t raise his energy abruptly through pills, but accumulated strength through regular exercise and practice.


    However, Zen wasn''t frustrated that Evan was stronger than him. He knew that if he worked hard enough, he would also reach the sixth stage of the Illuminating Soul Realm. And in time, he would reap greater achievements than what Evan had accomplished.


    But improving his level was not the primary goal. Right now, his focus should be on the sword fight.


    "The swordsmanship you are employing is very unusual. The basic swordsmanship is already the simplest form when using a sword, but yours seems to be even simpler than the basic. I don''t know how you managed that, but I know there''s always a way to crack it!"


    That said, Evan straightened himself and poised for another attack. As he held himself and charged for the strike, his mental aura was so strong no one dared to look him in the eye. At that moment, Evan was a completely different person, nothing like the aimless, silly, dignified, and proud fighter he was known to be.


    And the change was so abrupt that it caught the audience by surprise. Not many were capable of understanding what was happening.


    "I will conquer your simplest swordsmanship technique with a most complicated one!" he declared. And as he started to attack, the sword in his hand began to shake violently.


    Suddenly, it tinkled, and as it continued to make noise, the sword vibrated harder, leaving numerous images of a sword around it.


    Like thousands of peonies blooming simultaneously, under Evan''s careful control, the shadows of swords took shape. They formed thousands of flowers made of swords, which were as beautiful as they wer


    brilliance in martial arts, his prudent use of his unique skills pulled out of his sleeve.


    If Zen had stepped into the consummation stage of nature level, he wouldn''t have to rely on his present skills to defeat others. At that stage, when a fighter''s energy storage was full, any surplus energy could be used to nurture his or her soul. And the fighter would acquire the power to communicate with the universe.


    And if he could enter the Illuminating Soul Realm, more significant changes would happen to him. His strengths, reactions, eyesight, and sense of timing and coordination would be further enhanced.


    Lost in thought, Yan quickly shook her head to return to the situation at hand. Her brother''s eyesight was keen. If he entered the Illuminating Soul Realm, the Falling Flowers Sword would be nothing to him. He would easily notice the flaws the moment Evan executed his first move. But her brother needed to grow further, so for now, Evan remained too powerful an adversary for him.


    "Clang!"


    The new attack had Zen taking several more steps back.


    At the moment, he was not far from the edge of the combat field. If backed into a corner and left with no room for retreat, he would no doubt lose the fight.


    Gaining advantage again, Evan burst into laughter.


    With a big smile, he yelled at Zen, "You seem to be out of tricks.


    You and your sword are beaten!" That said, he sneered.

 Chapter 489 Broken Sword (Part Two)

    The senior disciple''s sword clinked again and a thousand flowers formed to launch countless attacks. He had much faith in his skills and didn''t think Zen could see through his rapid moves. The only outcome he saw for Zen was defeat.


    Also watching from not far away was Elder Ge, who shook his head at what he saw. Zen was a good disciple and a skillful fighter, but he was no match for Evan, yet. Even though they were competing in swordsmanship, Evan''s energy storage gave him the advantage. The combat wasn''t fair for Zen.


    Up until that point, Zen had blocked two of Evan''s attacks. But he had reached his limit and was close to the extreme. All he could manage now was the defensive posture "circle parry", but had no other means to attack.


    In a sword fight, defense was often the worst. Many textbooks said that "the best defense is offense". Thus many swordplay schools had even abandoned teaching defensive skills and instead focused on offensive skills. As long as opponents were pinned down during a fierce attack, victory for the one with the upper hand was inevitable.


    That was Evan''s current strategy. He intended to disrupt Zen with his quick attacks, then defeat him at the third attack!


    But just as everyone thought Zen would lose the fight, all of a sudden, something happened.


    "Clink, cli - clunk!"


    As Evan''s attacks were deflected, the tinkling sound continued to ring, when all of a sudden, a loud clunk permeated the air causing the entire combat field to vibrate. It was Evan''s sword, and it had cracked during collision, its front half gone.


    "W...what?"


    Evan held the broken sword and stood frozen in a posture for attack. His eyes nearly popped out of shock.


    Everyone stared at him in silence, Zen included.


    No one expected to see this happen! What kind of fighter broke his weapon in the middle of a fight? Was that not being irresponsible and unprofessional?


    From where she stood, Yan giggled and gloated.


    Only she knew the reason


    . Her brows were raised to mock Evan.


    "Oh no, no! I didn''t say that. I mean, you''re the current owner of the Cloud Return Sword. Can I borrow your Cloud Return Sword, please?" The senior disciple knew he had to ask nicely. After all, he had lost the sword to Yan, and he had to rely on her mercy to use it again.


    His tone pleased Yan, and she looked at him with a smile of satisfaction. But as Evan thought she was about to lend him the sword, her smile disappeared. She answered coldly, "No, you can''t."


    "Goo...what? What did you say? You said no? You piece of..." Evan felt like swearing but held back his tongue. Yan was his last hope. And Cloud Return Sword was originally his weapon, which he used for a long time. The sword was so familiar to him like it was a part of his body. Using it again would give him the edge. And submitting to humiliation was his only choice.


    But the true reason for refusing Evan was simple. Yan had spotted Zen immersed in meditation and she knew he was thinking of ways to defeat Evan. She was simply buying him time.


    The fight was not a fair competition. And it was reasonable for her to help her brother to win.


    As neither could convince the other, Zen decided to interrupt. He opened his eyes and with a confident smile suggested to Yan, "Let him borrow the sword."

 Chapter 490 Intercept

    The competition made Yan nervous but when she saw Zen''s smile, she obediently nodded. Her brother said that he had a solution in mind, so she brought out the Cloud Return Sword and gave it to Evan.


    Evan stretched out his arms and took the sword. He gently stroked its snow-white body, which was made of a special material. It looked like wood, not gold or iron. However, a metallic sound could be heard when the blade was touched.


    "Alas, I have no choice. I couldn''t use my life vitality. With this broken mysterious weapon, I can''t continue the contest. Now, it will be better after I take my Cloud Return Sword!


    I think this sword wouldn''t break again. I''ll see how you will resist it, Zen!" he declared.


    After that, Evan lightly turned his hand and the snow-white sword''s shadows formed consecutive trochal disks, which ceaselessly spun around his hand.


    In turn, Zen lightly shook his Streamer Sword.


    "Take action," he casually said.


    Evan lifted the Cloud Return Sword and shook it again, then the snow-white sword released a torrent of snow-white sword radiance.


    "Defeat it!" Evan shouted.


    Layers upon layers of snow-white sword radiance rolled back and forth like clouds.


    Then they rushed towards Zen, the killing intention hidden well within it.


    Since they were only allowed to use the sword at the competition, and no usage of life vitality or other cultivation methods was acceptable, Evan was unable to strengthen his sword, a mysterious weapon with life vitality. He knew his weapon was fragile and would suffer when it resisted Zen''s fairy weapon, so he always restrained his strength and didn''t dare release all of it.


    Now that Evan had the Cloud Return Sword back and didn''t have any hesitations, he attacked more quickly and forcefully.


    When the battle ensued, Zen still defended and resisted with the circle parry!


    Twang...


    Twang...


    A muffled sound, like a woodpecker boring a hole into a tree trunk, was heard when the Cloud Return Sword chopped Zen''s Streamer Sword.


    "You look confident and I think you''ve found a way, but for some reason you still defend passively. You disappoint me," Evan said with a frown as he inclined the sword radiance in his hand.


    "If you go on, you will drag out your feeble existence at most. If you''re forced to the edge of the competition field again, you will surely lose. Don''t waste any more time. Just admit defeat, you''ll even look better," Evan chuckled in a low voice.


    Sword radiance after sword radiance spread like clouds from his hand once again. He waved the sword freely as it was a leisurely thing to do.


    Meanwhile, Yan, who stood not far away, was confused.


    Her brother appeared confident and must''ve found a way to resist the Falling Flowers Sword, which had endless sword


    therwise, how could he be ranked number one in Cloud Sect?


    It could be said that the martial arts was his greatest pride!


    Everyone could laugh at his idiotic mannerisms, but nobody could look down on his cultivation on the way of martial arts.


    However, what could he even do if he was depressed? Zen made sure Evan couldn''t use the swordsmanship so he couldn''t attack at all.


    If he could summon the life vitality, he would have forced Zen''s sword away and chopped him to pieces with it. However, the point was the rule had already been set and he would lose if he used the life vitality.


    ''Am I really inferior to Zen in the swordsmanship?'' Evan thought subconsciously.


    The people began to exclaim and chatter excitedly among themselves.


    "Things have changed! Zen truly defeated Evan in swordplay!"


    "Zen''s basic swordsmanship is truly strange. If I can learn the basic swordsmanship, I can also defeat Evan with only the sword move, without using life vitality!"


    "You''re just bragging. Can you go up there and try?" one countered.


    He added, "Everyone thinks that Evan is an idiot, but if you take him as a fool, you will be a fool. It''s not a coincidence that Evan has been the number one."


    Zen had successfully turned the tables, and it was beyond the hundred thousand spectators'' expectations. After all, Zen was forced by Evan''s sword to the left side of the competition field, then to the right, then left again. Zen was so patient and calm that he only hit back when it was almost his last step.


    In the crowd, Yan couldn''t help but nod appreciatively as she watched her brother''s performance. She didn''t misjudge him--he had found a way, but she didn''t expect that he would resist so strongly that Evan lost the power to fight back.


    This time, it was Zen''s turn to force Evan to the corner of the competition field.

 Chapter 491 The Rewards

    "Clang!" Zen cut on Evan''s sword.


    As he raised his sword, Zen stopped him with another intercept. It was a basic swordsmanship, but the move was flawless.


    Evan drew the sword.


    "Clang!" Tension gripped him.


    The senior disciple took the sword again.


    "Clang!" a third time.


    Everyone waited with bated breath.


    But Evan was unable to perform his move. "Do not intercept my sword again, okay?


    Please," he begged.


    The once arrogant face turned mournful.


    People watching the match heard Evan''s shameless words and were shocked speechless.


    Keeping the sword posture, Zen gently held the Streamer Sword and silently shook his head.


    "Well in that case, there seems to be no other way.


    I''ll fight it out with you!" Evan shouted. There was a swift change in his facial expression. A while ago, he was pleading with Zen. In a snap, there was now a ruthless look on his face.


    At the same time, Evan''s sword technique also changed.


    The Falling Flowers Sword was a very light and agile swordsmanship. As Evan changed to another form of swordsmanship, a powerful momentum came out of his body as his feet remained firmly fixed in the arena like a mountain god.


    Taking a step to retreat, Zen''s swordsmanship changed accordingly. He knew he could not block Evan''s next attack with "intercept."


    His opponent was strong, so he had to be stronger to subdue Evan''s sword trick!


    "Groundbreaking Sword!"


    As Evan called out his next move, a steady and destructive sword shot out from his hand, and it was nothing like a cutter. A cutter usually went in the way of mighty and strong, but the sword typically went in the way of smart and agile. It was rare to see such powerful sword shot.


    And the shot was likely to cut through the mountains and even split the earth!


    As the shot was released, Zen''s eyelids fluttered involuntarily, and his wrist dropped causing the sword tip to collapse.


    "Flick the sword!"


    Flick the sword was the most powerful move in the basic swordsmanship.


    Once simplified, the power of it became even purer, and one could not escape the fate of chipping!


    "Boom!"


    The sound jolted the audience.


    The flash when the two swords collided was made more intense by the sudden sound heard in the arena. Then they saw a white sword spinning like a roulette wheel before falling to the ground. It became clearer to everyone that Evan''s Cloud Return Sword had been flicked away.


    And then to everyone''s surprise, Zen was pointing the Streamer Sword''s tip against Evan''s chest.


    Shocked at what just happened, Evan stood motionless, disbelief written all over his face. His chest was heaving as he breathed heavily. The result of the competition exceeded his expectations.


    But the disciples around the arena seemed to have anticipated this scene.


    Zen hadn''t lost a single combat since the All Peaks Competition started.


    In the swordsmanship competition, Evan had been suppressing Zen, although the tide suddenly turned in this battle. It was clear to everyone present that Zen''s victory was inevitable, considering the young disciple''s ability to become stronger and more powerful when facing stronger opponents, and this was Zen''s most impressive characteristic.


    Even Evan could not stop Zen from winning.


    What an exceptional talent!


    What was most unusual was the fact that Zen''s performance had completely convinced everyone watching the competitio


    ace.


    The Cloud Palace had a very distinct architecture. Its cornice was rolled up like clouds. Were it not the home of the leader, it looked more like a fairy palace, sitting high on a mountain.


    Finally, the flying chariot fully stopped on a platform in front of the palace''s gate. The steward that escorted them during the ride now led them inside Cloud Palace.


    In the middle of the vast palace stood Kenneth. He stood motionless like a statue, with thick air puffs coming out of him.


    Zen, Patrick, and Rocher walked in together, stopped in front of Kenneth and saluted him.


    The leader looked closely at the three disciples, satisfied, and nodded to acknowledge their presence. Their performances at the All Peaks Competition considerably impressed Kenneth. Both Patrick and Rocher had performed far better than the talents in previous battles.


    He was disappointed last time.


    That time, the first place went to that damn Evan. Although his performance was strong, Kenneth was not pleased with him.


    For the last three years, his mates at Cloud Hall had been sneering at him after Evan fell asleep on Cloud Road. That depressed him a lot. This time, he was going to shock those people. Of that, he was quite confident.


    He would finally shut their mouths for scoffing at him all this time!


    Fortunately, the result of this All Peaks Competition did not disappoint him. Not only was he impressed by the talented Rocher, but with Patrick as well. Both of them performed strongly.


    More importantly for him was that Zen took first place!


    After looking over the two disciples, his eyes finally settled on Zen. "Zen Luo, there will be a Turbidity Clearing Pill for you as a reward for taking the first place. There will also be a fairy weapon for you. Now, you can choose which fairy weapon you want." His eyes twinkled while saying this.


    Excitedly, Zen asked, "Fairy weapon? Can I choose the one I like?"


    He couldn''t stop bobbing his head in excitement at the thought of owning another fairy weapon. Because of Lily''s impressive performance, Zen was desperate for another fairy weapon. She proved to be stronger than he was, as she executed the sword dance and malicious aura at the same time. So, Zen was looking forward to getting another fairy weapon.

 Chapter 492 A New Beginning

    Zen stood deep in thought and stared at the floor. If he had two fairy weapons, he could give one to Lily and keep the other, so their fighting capacity would increase more.


    However, he wondered what kind of fairy weapon the leader would give him.


    The fairy weapon came in three grades: low-grade, middle-grade, and top grade.


    There was a huge difference between the low-grade and the top-grade fairy weapons.


    Zen didn''t expect the leader to give him a top-grade fairy weapon. After all, it didn''t exist in the Eastern Region so it was unrealistic to dream of having one.


    Still, he would be glad if the leader could give him a middle-grade fairy weapon.


    When Kenneth noticed Zen''s expectant face, he shook his head and smiled. He then clapped his hands and indicated for the stewards to bring out the weapons.


    The Cloud Sect was a rich place with a long history, and it had many fairy weapons. Kenneth didn''t bring out the most powerful weapon every time--the weapon''s grade depended on the disciple''s strength.


    The Cloud Return Sword that the idiot, Evan, had chosen last time was a powerful fairy weapon--but he didn''t cherish it at all. He even lost it to Yan in a bet! Kenneth felt really sorry for that sword.


    This time however, Kenneth thought that he wouldn''t make the same mistake and trusted that Zen would cherish the fairy weapon given to him. He had high expectations for Zen. He hoped that Zen would not only pass the trial of the Cloud Road, but also surpass the other disciples. That way, the people of Cloud Hall wouldn''t trouble him anymore.


    Shortly after, a dozen stewards emerged from behind the hall. They each held a long, narrow jade box in their hands.


    The stewards stood in a row, and exhibited the weapons in the jade boxes in front of Zen one by one.


    There were all kinds of swords in the jade boxes, and three of them were middle-grade fairy weapons! Others were all low-grade fairy weapons.


    It was known that there were only a few low-grade fairy weapons even in the top seven noble clans, and there was only one middle-grade fairy weapon in each clan at most. What was more, two of the top seven noble clans didn''t even have a middle-grade fairy weapon.


    Furthermore, the top seven noble clans had various types of fairy weapons, including spears, knives, swords, and so on.


    Kenneth knew that Zen was a swordsman, so all the weapons in the jade boxes were swords, three of which were middle-grade weapons.


    There were so many swords of the fairy weapon type in the Cloud Sect. What more about the other kinds of weapons?


    How many knives of the fairy weapon type were there in Cloud Sect?


    And what about the spears as well? Therefore, it was safe to say that Cloud Sect was so wealthy, that maybe the Burning Sky Palace was only less than half of it.


    Meanwhile, both Patrick and Rocher gasped in surprise, and then looked enviously at the swords in the boxes.


    Rocher was especial


    way with those swords. After all, he wasn''t the first placer in Cloud Sect.


    Meanwhile, Zen held the Blood Drinking Sword in his hand and waved it for a bit. Then, he put it into the Space Ring and stood next to Rocher and Patrick.


    It was clear that the awarding of Zen''s fairy weapon wasn''t the only reason Kenneth wanted them to be with him today.


    After the last steward left the hall, Kenneth took out a small square jade box from his waist and threw it to Zen.


    "It''s the second award, the Turbidity Clearing Pill," he told Zen.


    The Turbidity Clearing Pill was a medicine that was needed to take after a disciple reached the Illuminating Soul Realm, so Zen couldn''t take it for now.


    When the disciples reached the Illuminating Soul Realm, every one of them would hit a bottleneck that was hard to pass through. Thus, they needed to take the Turbidity Clearing Pill to help them practice.


    The preciousness of the Turbidity Clearing Pill didn''t need to be explained. Only a few Turbidity Clearing Pills were produced in the Cloud Sect every year, and even those saints and elders greedily coveted it.


    After Zen put the pill away, Kenneth spoke again. "The reason I called you here is that I want to talk to you about the Cloud Road," he said.


    At his words, Zen, Rocher, and Patrick turned serious.


    The Cloud Road was a matter of great importance for their future prospects.


    Many martial artists in the Eastern Region could only reach the nature level even after they practiced for over a lifetime.


    The martial artists who were nature creatures had life spans and strengths far beyond ordinary people, and they could live quite a good life in most parts of the Eastern Region.


    However, as Cloud Sect''s top disciples, they looked forward to making great achievements in a bigger world and not only in Cloud Sect.


    Thus, passing the trial of the Cloud Road and getting into the Cloud Hall was the beginning to the bigger world!

 Chapter 493 Tristan Luo (Part One)

    When Kenneth saw that the three disciples all wore serious expressions, he simply smiled at them.


    "Don''t worry. The Cloud Road in the Eastern Region is not as difficult as you have imagined. What is more, you are more powerful than your peers. I''m sure that all of you will do great in the Cloud Road trial!" he said.


    Meanwhile, Rocher still looked a bit skeptical.


    "Master Shi, is the Cloud Road really a road?" he asked. "Yes, it is. But in reality, the name Cloud Road isn''t quite accurate. It''s just what we call it here in Cloud Sect. Its original name was Trial Road for Cultivators," Kenneth said slowly.


    The three disciples nodded thoughtfully at Kenneth''s words.


    The martial art cultivators of the Eastern Region saw Kenneth as just one of the many strong men from Cloud Hall.


    On the other hand, they saw the emperor of the Burning Sky Empire as a member of Cloud Hall as well.


    Once a disciple passed the test of the Trial Road for Cultivators, he was eligible to join Cloud Hall. It meant that he would have the same status as the leader of Cloud Sect and the emperor of the Burning Sky Empire.


    It was why the cultivators in the Eastern Region liked to call it the Cloud Road, also known as a road to Cloud Hall. Some legends even said that once a disciple passed Cloud Road, he would likely become an immortal.


    Of course, such legends were obviously exaggerations. However, these legends showed just how much they yearned for the Cloud Road.


    Unfortunately, history showed that only a selected few were ever qualified to set foot on the Cloud Road. For most people, that road was destined to exist only in their imaginations.


    "You should know that the three of you aren''t the only ones on the trial road. Since there is still a month before


    Luo house. He looked around and saw a man flew out of the door and fell heavily on the ground.


    The man was covered in blood and bruises from head to toe. "Grey, you''re just a servant!" he shouted angrily.


    The sound of a set of heavy footsteps followed. "I''m a descendant of the Luo clan. How dare you kick me out of my house?" the man yelled.


    Grey emerged and stepped on the door''s threshold with a smug smile on his face.


    "How dare me? Do you mean I can''t drive you away?" he asked.


    "Okay. Do you dare step inside the door again?"


    Several burly men stood next to Grey.


    They looked at the child of the Luo family who sprawled on the ground with the same sarcastic expression as Grey.


    This child was quite stubborn. Even though he was badly hurt, he jumped up from the ground and dashed to the gate of the Luo house.


    But before he could even cross the gate, two strong men immediately followed him and caught his hands.


    The two strong men were at the bone refining level, while the child of the Luo family was only at the skin refining level. He was obviously no match for these two men at all. Thus, he couldn''t move when the two men seized him.

 Chapter 494 Tristan Luo (Part Two)

    He could only scream in anger. "Grey, you bastard! I''ll fucking kill you!"


    There was only a sinister smile on Grey''s face.


    Then he raised a thick stick he held in one hand, lifted it up, and smashed it hard against the child''s legs.


    "Snap!"


    "Crack!"


    "Crack!"


    The sound of fractured leg bones came after the stick''s heavy blows.


    "Ouch!"


    "Ouch!"


    "Aaaahhhh!"


    The child screamed in agony as his legs were broken by Grey.


    The two strong men then carelessly threw the child away. His smaller body tumbled down the stairs and he lay in pain on the ground.


    This child proved to be really stubborn. Even with his broken legs, he still wanted to climb back to the gates of the Luo house. He pulled himself up heavily on the steps as droplets of blood fell on the ground.


    The servant who swept the grounds looked at the scene and sighed. The blood stained the steps and he would have to clean them again.


    It did not mean that he felt no sympathy for the child. He had worked diligently for the Luo clan for several decades, and had deep feelings for the family.


    It was just that the current Luo family was no longer the family it used to be.


    These things occurred almost several times every month, and he had gotten used to it. It was nothing he could handle. It was clear that the Luo family was problematic, but what could he do as a mere servant?


    "Come on! Climb up here!" Grey said.


    He went up the steps and kicked the child in the chest. The little boy had managed to climb up the stairs, but he fell down again.


    "You climb so slowly, like a tortoise!" one of the strongmen laughed.


    The other one laughed as well.


    The servant only shook his head and cont


    dare you meddle in our business?" he asked furiously. He could see that Zen and Yan weren''t ordinary people, but he didn''t recognize them.


    It was normal for him not to recognize Yan since she was only a little girl when she left the Luo house. Now, she had grown into a beautiful young lady.


    As for Zen, he had changed a lot. He was now in his teens, and the cultivation had made his figure bulkier. His temperament was even more impressive, and his appearance was quite handsome.


    Therefore, Grey and Tristan didn''t recognize them at once.


    Zen and Yan didn''t seem to hear what Grey said. Zen turned to Tristan and said, "Tristan, let''s go home." Tristan looked at him confusedly.


    Go home?


    He was surprised at Zen''s words. ''Did he say go home? Only the children of the Luo clan can call this place home, right?''


    Suddenly, something flashed in Tristan''s mind. He then looked at Zen with wide, ecstatic eyes.


    When he was about to call Zen''s name, Zen nodded at him. He put his hand on Tristan''s shoulder, his eyes filled with resolution. He turned to Yan and nodded to her as well.


    "Come on, let''s go home!"

 Chapter 495 Its Useless To Apologize

    It was at that precise moment that Tristan suddenly recognized Zen. He looked at him in surprise.


    There were two shocking events which had taken place within the Luo Clan last year.


    The first one was that Zen had been taken away by the weapon refining master Evil Lan, and the second one was that Perrin had been disabled at the Cloud Sect.


    No one knew whether Zen was still alive or not after his capture, and where he was now.


    It was still a mystery who had disabled Perrin''s skills.


    All the Luo Clan members remained tight-lipped about these two events.


    Initially, they had all thought that Zen must have died. Since the weapon refiner Evil Lan was said to be extremely wicked and cruel, Zen wouldn''t have had a chance to escape his clutches.


    However, as time went on, rumors spread among the Luo Clan. Someone still believed that he had died, but others said that Zen was still alive and had become a disciple of Cloud Sect, the holy land that every practitioner yearned to go to.


    Although they described many details which sounded quite real, most members of the Luo Clan didn''t believe it. After all, they had witnessed Zen being taken away by Evil Lan, who was supposed to be the most vile person among his contemporaries. Besides, it wasn''t that easy to become a disciple of Cloud Sect.


    After years of training, Perrin was the only child in the Luo Clan who had reached the cultivation level high enough to be accepted by Cloud Sect. As far as the Luo Clan was concerned, Zen couldn''t have been on par with Perrin at all, so most of the family members didn''t take the rumors seriously.


    Before they could completely recover from the shock of Zen''s being taken away, Perrin''s skills had suddenly been disabled and he had been sent back home from Cloud Sect.


    It was a big blow to the Luo Clan.


    Each clan in C County paid great attention to the training of their young generation, and many of them would do anything that was required to send their children to Cloud Sect for cultivation.


    These clans didn''t expect much. They just hoped that their children could become an inner disciple of Cloud Sect and reach the nature level. Even that was a big reward for them.


    Mike Luo had only reached the nature level many years ago and that was a big deal.


    For most people, a nature creature was powerful and talented enough to be the backbone of a clan.


    It meant that even if a clan member was just an outer disciple of Cloud Sect, no other clans would have dared to challenge it so easily.


    The other clans feared that if this outer disciple ever happened to reach a high enough level of cultivation, he would seek revenge.


    Perrin had already reached the nature level and had even played up to a noble clan, the Wang Clan.


    Since everyone thought that Perrin would have a promising future and took him a


    onfused. ''How does he know my name? Why did he say that I have forgotten him? Who is he?''


    Grey measured Zen up and down and suddenly his face turned pale. Although Zen''s temperament had changed a lot, his facial features remained the same.


    "You! You... are Zen!" Grey''s eyes were filled with disbelief. How could Zen come back and become so powerful?


    ''Zen?''


    The servant who had been sweeping the floor stopped when he heard the name. He looked at him, as shocked as Grey was at the sudden come back of this man.


    He had been working here for several dozens of years, so he was quite familiar with the Luo Clan. He looked at Zen carefully and became sure that it was nobody else.


    The young woman standing behind Zen looked familiar too. She resembled Mike who had died many years ago. Hang on. She must be Yan!


    The servant had never expected that the two siblings would ever come back! He was so excited that his hands began to tremble. If he hadn''t been holding the broom with all of his strength, it would most probably have fallen down.


    "Since you know who I am, then you should also know why you have to die today!" With that short and curt statement, Zen drew a sword from his space ring slowly.


    "I... Please! Don''t kill me! Please! Zen, I know I shouldn''t have treated you like that. I''m sorry! Please give me a chance! I can..."


    Before Grey could continue, an icy light flashed in front of him.


    A wound appeared on his neck and blood oozed from it.


    "I... I..." Grey covered his neck with his hands and then fell onto the ground, gagging. As his trachea had been cut open, he could only look at Zen with his eyes begging for mercy, hoping that Zen would give him a pill just like the one he had given to Tristan and save his life.


    Zen stepped forward and looked at Grey''s fat face. "It''s useless to apologize. Otherwise, why would we ever need weapons! "

 Chapter 496 Back To The Martial Arts Hall (Part One)

    Yan looked at Grey''s fallen body indifferently and without a single trace of sympathy. She immediately followed behind her older brother, Zen. Having left the Luo Clan a few years ago, she was not familiar with Grey. Yet, in her opinion, since her older brother killed him, he must not have been a good person.


    As Tristan passed by Grey, he spat on Grey''s face and followed Zen as well.


    After a while, when Grey''s twitching corpse had stilled, a murky vapor left his body and flew toward Zen. It was a malicious aura, the power of curse formed by someone who was unwilling to get killed.


    The more strength a living creature had, the heavier was the malicious aura formed on his death.


    An insignificant and weak figure like Grey had a small malicious aura.


    However, Zen wouldn''t reject even such a small amount. The more malicious aura he absorbed, the higher his strength would be. Today, he was to kill all his enemies in the Luo Clan with the toughest means possible, which meant using his killing way of practicing.


    In the olden days, Zen''s father, Mike, had been much too good to his brothers out of a feeling of benevolence. Eventually, his two younger brothers, Bryson and Ken, murdered him.


    Although Mike had been soft-hearted and responded to evil with kindness, in the end, he still suffered the fatal disaster of getting killed.


    Zen had long decided never to follow his father''s path.


    Stepping into the Luo house, they saw the wide muster station.


    When Zen left Luo Clan, he was forced to fight his younger cousin Andrew at the muster station while desperately seeking to stay alive.


    Yet, at the end of the fight, even when he beat Andrew, his uncle Ken didn''t keep his promise that he would allow Zen to leave the Luo residence!


    The noise outside the front door had attracted the attention of the pe


    !"


    "No, he is the master of our clan now! He''s the son of our former master, Mike. The eldest son of the eldest branch of the Luo Clan! Since Mike passed away, the leadership should pass down to Zen. He must become the new master of our clan!" The members of Luo Clan were astonished but thrilled to have Zen back.


    Moments before, they had been nervous and horrified, but now, their moods elevated from terror to joy.


    Zen was back, and he had such great power! The Luo Clan was not to be destroyed. In fact, it was to be saved by Zen.


    The Luo Clan was slowly being ruined since Bryson, the current master of the Luo Clan, allowed those thugs to run amok inside the house. But they were still members of the Luo Clan, and none of them wanted to see their own family wasting away! It was the reason they did not want to leave the Luo Clan. They were born and brought up in this clan, which meant that their roots belonged here.


    Even if the roots were rotten to the core, they were still reluctant to leave. Yet, they could do nothing but swallow the pain as they watched the Luo Clan grow decadent slowly, crumbling away ceaselessly only to eventually be destroyed.


    But at this very moment, they understood.

 Chapter 497 Back To The Martial Arts Hall (Part Two)

    They understood that Zen came back to bring light and hope to the Luo Clan. Thanks to him, the clan would be saved.


    The members rushed over to Zen one by one, gathering around him in a circle.


    Many of them had tears in their eyes that threatened to spill over. They were much moved by Zen''s arrival for it brought hope for their family. It was hard to express this appreciation in proper words. They were truly touched.


    "Hey, you guys! You welcome my older brother but forget about me?" asked Yan from behind them. Her eyes blinked and her lips turned down in a pout.


    "Brother?" one of the members heard Yan''s words and had a close look at her. "My God! It''s Yan!"


    "Yan is back, too!" someone yelled loudly.


    "What? Didn''t Perrin tell us that Yan was locked up in the Hell Mountain?"


    They didn''t have comprehensive knowledge about the Hell Mountain, only that it was a place that held complete misery¡ªthe place any disciple of Cloud Sect who violated the rules was thrown into to suffer endless torture and inhuman treatment.


    Once, Yan had been the best descendant of the Luo Clan. She had been admitted to Cloud Sect especially because of her great talent in the martial arts. It had been a proud moment for every member of the Luo Clan.


    Later, they heard that Yan was punished and imprisoned at the Hell Mountain. No one received any information about her ever since. They still didn''t know what happened to her in all those years.


    Now, to their amazement, Yan was back!


    And Yan''s strength seemed¡­ profound¡ªtoo great to be detected by them. How strong was she now? It seemed that the momentum exuding from her body was a million times stronger than Bryson''s.


    Zen was at the third grade of the nature level and was restraining his real momentum. The descendants then thought that Zen''s strength was comparable to Bryson''s. It might even be slightly better than his, but not much more. Of course, they still felt that Zen''s st


    d to offend an increasing number of people. As a result, he ended up being framed by vile characters: punished, locked in the dungeon and turned into a training tool.


    The person who was punching Melvin was Miles, the son of the second branch of the Luo Clan. He was also Perrin''s younger brother. Since Perrin''s rank as the young master of the Luo Clan was now abolished, the title was naturally taken up by Miles.


    A young man in a yellow robe stood next to Melvin. "Little rat, I see you''re quite enjoying yourself," he said. "This looks very interesting. Let me try too, would you?"


    "Well, Darcy, if you so want to," Miles said, a wide smile on his face. "Go ahead!"


    "But if I throw a punch at him, I''m afraid he''ll die. What should I do?" asked the man named Darcy.


    "Darcy, there is nothing to be afraid of. These training tools are just that¡ªtools. Nobody cares if they die. Rest assured and punch him as you wish. Even if they die, nobody will trouble you. Haha!" Miles said to him, smiling courteously while he threw a contemptuous glance at Melvin.


    Melvin, all battered and abused, burst out with a heavy face, "Miles! Even if I, Melvin, am the training tool, it''s only for the purpose of training the members of the Luo Clan. He is an outsider. What allows him to punch me?"

 Chapter 498 Not Interested To Know You

    At that time, Melvin had the exact same idea as Zen in the past.


    ''I have broken the rules of the Luo Clan so I was downgraded to a slave. I serve as a training tool, and it is my destiny.


    As a training tool, the children of the Luo Clan beat me for training or testing their strength. But there is someone who cannot beat me!'' Melvin thought.


    When he heard Melvin''s words, Miles hit the slave with a powerful blow before shouting, "Melvin, you''re honored to be beaten by Darcy!


    If you say anything more, I will beat you to death!"


    The blow had Melvin doubling over.


    But he was also a hothead. Through gritted teeth, he shouted back, "Miles Luo! You have humiliated the entire Luo Clan! You''re even worse than your brother Perrin. The people Perrin had good relations with were the great ones from the noble clans of the Imperial Capital. Who is your brother Darcy? He is only a man from the Huang Clan of C County! The Huang Clan is low-ranked, and people from that clan have not been given the right to talk to members of the Luo Clan. And now you''re kissing his ass?


    Bah!" Melvin smirked.


    His remarks caught Darcy''s attention.


    "Our Huang Clan is so low and not qualified to talk to your Luo Clan?"


    This time, Darcy''s expression turned cold.


    Seeing Darcy''s face, Miles hurriedly gave a smile and bent over. "Darcy, do not mind this guy. He just had to say something. I will punish him harshly later!" he assured. It was necessary for Miles to speak to Darcy carefully.


    "No, let me do it. I''ll teach him what unqualified means!"


    As soon as he finished saying this, Darcy started to focus his life energy and soon reached a high spirit.


    Darcy Huang was the young master of the Huang Clan, which had developed quickly in the past years in C County. But no one knew where the master of the Huang Clan found resources that allowed him to achieve three levels continuously. Now, he was at the fifth grade of the nature level.


    The master of the Huang Clan was probably the fighter with the highest level in C County!


    Given the circumstances, the Huang Clan was naturally flourishing gradually, and other clans had to admit them to be the number-one clan and play up to them. As a result, the Huang Clan stood to receive most of the benefits in the county.


    And most of them belonged to the Luo Clan. In other words, the Luo Clan''s wealth had been swallowed up by other clans in C County, and the Huang Clan had amassed it.


    Despite the situation, the Luo Clan would never dare say anything unfavorable. And this was the reason why Miles had to flatter Darcy. The moment he antagonized Darcy, the Huang Clan would be annoyed, and the ending would be worse for the Luo Clan.


    And because Miles was good at pleasing Darcy, and building a good relationship with him, the Huang Clan didn''t eat up all of the Luo Clan''s property.


    However, this just prolonged the agony of the Luo Clan, because they were on the way to decline soon.


    In Darcy''s view, the Luo Clan was a bunch of deplorable people, including Miles. But since Miles always said something to please him tremendously, Darcy didn''t mind being followed around by him.


    Now all of a sudden, a human punchbag had the nerve to look do


    ill thought highly of the former young master of the clan and was awed by his great courage.


    And Melvin thought it would have been a pity if that man with great courage would end up dead.


    "Zen...


    I can''t believe you came back," Melvin murmured. Suddenly, the strong man''s eyes welled up with tears, and his nose started to sniffle.


    In view of several astonished men, Zen slowly walked up to Melvin and said, "Long time no see, Melvin. How did you end up being a human punchbag?" He looked at the older man waiting for an answer.


    "That''s a very long story," Melvin sighed.


    "Then tell your story later. Let''s talk about what''s happening now. I saw someone wanted to beat you to death. Is that true?" Looking in the direction where Darcy stood, Zen asked Melvin, "Is that the guy?"


    He approached with full confidence and swung his sword.


    With Zen nearly cutting his arm, Darcy became even more furious! "Is this guy going to bring me trouble? How dare he do that! Doesn''t he know who I am?


    He''s really dancing with death!'' Darcy thought bitterly.


    "I am the man who wants to beat him to death. What do you want to do about it?" he sneered. He asked again, "Do you know who I am?"


    Raising an eyebrow, he waited for acknowledgement.


    But Zen just shook his head and replied, "I really don''t..."


    Zen moved his fingers and his sword started to quiver.


    "I am..."


    But Darcy was rudely interrupted.


    "Swish! Swish!"


    Before he could finish talking, Zen''s Streamer Sword shifted. The action was so fast like a shiny flower flitted by and slashed Darcy''s neck.


    "I am...


    I am..." Darcy gasped.


    With his eyes opened wide, Darcy found he could no longer speak. In the dying seconds of his life, he was as confused as he was regretful.


    ''Why didn''t you let me finish what I was saying?


    If you knew who I am, you would certainly not dare to kill me!


    What a pity I''m about to die! My father will take revenge for me.'' This was Darcy''s last clear thought.


    Looking at Darcy''s wide open eyes before his last breath, Zen shook his head calmly before saying, "I''m not interested to know who you are."

 Chapter 499 The Blood Prisoner

    The first time Miles laid eyes on Zen, he had been too shocked to react.


    In his head, he kept thinking over and over, ''Why did this guy come back?''


    But what happened next stunned him more, that was Darcy''s unexpected death in Zen''s hands.


    How could Darcy have died this way?


    Was Zen crazy?


    Darcy was the young master of the Huang Clan. Would the Huang Clan let this pass without retribution given the way he was killed?


    Darcy died on the Luo Clan''s territory, and it only meant catastrophe for the Luo family.


    Trembling, Miles asked, "Z..Zen, do you know who you killed?" He felt terrible after witnessing Darcy''s death.


    Shaking his head, Zen replied, "I already answered that, didn''t I?


    I am not in the mood to know."


    "I don''t care about your mood. Darcy is the young master of the Huang Clan. Are you aware of this clan? The master of Huang clan, the most powerful clan in C County now, is at grade 5 of the nature level. Darcy died here. All the members of the Luo family will be killed!"


    No longer able to control his fear, Miles howled.


    When the others heard this, they all had a worried expression.


    A fighter at grade 5 of the nature level would definitely be considered a powerful man in C County.


    Was Zen qualified to resist the Huang Clan?


    Glancing at Miles with indifference, Zen snapped. "Shut up! Otherwise, you might end up dead, too."


    The look Zen gave him made Miles tremble even more, as if a viper was staring at him. But he gritted his teeth and retorted, "You... If you dare to kill me, my dad...


    How can my dad...


    just let you go?" Miles asked weakly.


    "So, if I don''t kill you, will Bryson let me go?" Zen sneered.


    He was slightly enjoying this.


    "Right. You''re back this time to court death!" Trying to sound brave, Miles thought of his father and felt relieved. Bryson had greatly improved his strength, broken the pass of marrow refining realm, and reached grade 3 of the nature level.


    "Court death? Me?" Zen laughed.


    He looked at the pavilion beside the martial arts practicing field and then trod on the wall with one foot. Then he jumped up like a civet cat and instantly climbed to the top of the pavilion.


    From there, he could look down at tier upon tier of buildings, within the Luo mansion.


    It took many years for the Luo family to arrange the buildings, as well as fix the courtyards and pavilions in the mansion, so they turned out exquisite and well-designed, like gardens in foreign lands.


    Zen muttered to himself, "In the eyes of the noble clans in Imperial Capital, these houses are hardly worth mentioning. But my family has been managed well from generation to generation. I will not allow Bryson to destroy these!"


    Breathing deeply after minutes of introspection, Zen shouted as he summoned his life vitality. "Brothers of the Luo family, listen to my orders.


    Here is Zen. I am back!


    All the members of the Luo family, whether young or old, regardless if you are direct or collateral descendants, everyone with the family name Luo, come to gather in the martial arts practicing field! And this is a special call to Bryson and Ken, two bastards!


    Come out to suffer death!" Zen declare


    keys. When he pushed the door open, the strong metallic smell of blood from inside assailed his senses.


    A hoarse voice from the inside called out.


    "Who is it?"


    "It''s Ken!"


    "Do you come to meet me because of that bloke?"


    Hoarse laughter followed. Because of life vitality, Zen''s voice was able to penetrate even the deepest parts of the mansion. So that person inside the room obviously heard him.


    He also heard Zen call Ken and Bryson bastards and decided he must hold a grudge against the two.


    "Yes, Mr. Blood Prisoner. We''re asking you to do us a favor!"


    It was humiliating to beg, but Ken had to do it.


    There was laughter again. "That bloke''s voice is full of strength. You''re coming to me because you can''t handle him, can you? He must be very powerful. Do you take me for a fool?"


    The Blood Prisoner laughed a third time.


    But Ken persisted. "Mr. Blood Prisoner, we have offered you much blood and flesh in the last several days, and we let you eat at least ten living people... If we can''t defeat that bloke, then most likely no one will help you collect the blood and flesh of living people in the future. And for sure, Zen will find you. If you are exposed..."


    He was grasping at straws.


    "Are you threatening me? Hmmm. I can help you once. And in return, you need to find one hundred living people within one month for me to suck their blood and eat their flesh!" he said. That was his condition.


    "A hundred living people..."


    Hesitation mixed with desperation showed on Ken''s face. There were many people in C County, but it was impossible not to be noticed if one hundred living humans disappeared for no reason. And it would surely mean trouble for the Luo family.


    "Just forget it, if you can''t do it. I will simply go somewhere else!" The cold voice spurred Ken to action.


    "I can bring it to you, Mr. Blood Prisoner. I will do as you say!"


    Nodding, Ken bowed and prepared to leave.


    "Hahaha! That''s great!


    I will also suck this bloke''s blood and eat his flesh!"


    With that said, the Blood Prisoner walked out of the cellar leaving a trail of metallic odor behind.

 Chapter 500 All The People Stood Up

    The man Ken Luo called the Blood Prisoner had appeared in C County and its neighborhoods.


    He had cultivated himself by a demonic method of eating the blood and flesh of living humans. There had been many people from the counties who went missing in the recent years.


    The missing people weren''t noticed at first, until one day someone had accidentally entered the Blood Prisoner''s cave. He found tons of human bones and soon enough, the truth was revealed to the public.


    After the case was reported to the superior level, Burning Sky Empire sent some professionals to arrest the Blood Prisoner. The Cloud Sect also offered a reward to anyone who would capture him, so many elite disciples participated in the search after they had accepted the task.


    Although the Blood Prisoner was quite strong, he didn''t stand against so many high-level people. Therefore he was badly hurt and escaped to any place he could find.


    Meanwhile, Perrin Luo was just dismissed by the Cloud Sect and sent back to the Luo Clan. He told Bryson Luo that Zen had a great leap in progress and had already entered the Cloud Sect.


    When Bryson knew that Zen was still alive and had been a disciple of the Cloud Sect, he suffered a serious illness. He and Zen were sworn enemies. The Cloud Sect seemed to be the perfect place to cultivate a warrior. When Zen reached a high level after five or ten years, he would surely come back. What would Bryson do when that time came?


    He felt greatly pressured. Whenever he thought about Zen, he couldn''t fall asleep for the whole night.


    Thus, after Bryson recovered, he continuously improved his strength because of the pressure he felt.


    Not only did he become a nature creature, but he also reached as high as the third level.


    It was known that as a warrior grew older, his bones would toughen and it would be harder for him to improve greatly. The fact that Bryson''s achievement of such a high level was all because of Zen.


    But even though Bryson achieved such a feat, he didn''t feel satisfied. The Cloud Sect was too strong, as seen from Perrin''s experience. Perrin improved greatly and had grown into a nature creature in a short time because he got a little help from one of the noble clans, the Wang Clan.


    If Zen had enough time to grow, Bryson still wouldn''t be able to defeat him.


    When Bryson was at a loss on what to do, he met up with the Blood Prisoner, who was on the run from government arrest.


    The Blood Prisoner was undoubtedly powerful. He had to escape to random places because of his injuries. In the end, he hid himself in the cellar of the Luo Clan.


    Bryson hadn''t found the Blood Prisoner in the cellar at first as he was really good at hiding himself. However, after several people were reported missing, Bryson realized that something was up.


    Now, the news about the Blood Prisoner had become sensational. Soon enough, Bryson deduced that the Blood Prisoner had hidden in the Luo Clan.


    However, he didn''t


    e.


    The members felt nervous when they saw what Bryson had done. After all, none of them could fight against him.


    The sword was so quick that before anyone could do something, it arrived in front of Tristan.


    "Ping! Ping!"


    Two sharp sounds followed and the sword was cut into pieces.


    Zen waved his Streamer Sword and looked up at Bryson. "Is that how you treat the people of the Luo Clan? In your eyes, they should be at your mercy. You can do whatever you want to them. Is there any difference between your family member and an animal in your eyes?" he asked icily.


    "Zen is right. Once I did something that didn''t please you, you wanted to kill me. What do you think we are?


    Bryson, we have the same family name and we are related. Do you still remember that?" Tristan asked as well.


    He felt that he had nothing to lose now, but what he could do was to believe Zen and trust Zen''s strength!


    Just now, he was right. Zen could protect him from Bryson''s attacks.


    Thus, Tristan said those words fearlessly. He was a young man with low status, but he actually blamed Bryson face to face. This was beyond his imagination until Zen came.


    Bryson didn''t respond to Tristan, but he stared at the Steamer Sword in Zen''s hand.


    The thirteen swords were all middle-grade mysterious weapons!


    It had cost Bryson a lot and a long time just to own the thirteen swords.


    However, Zen''s sword had cut one of his thirteen swords in a mere second! Zen''s gleaming sword immediately caught his attention


    ''It sliced my weapon so easily as if it has cut a vegetable!


    What level is that sword? Is it a top-grade mysterious weapon? Or is it a low-grade spiritual weapon?


    A middle-grade spiritual weapon, perhaps?'' Bryson could not help but wonder.


    However, Bryson had never expected that Zen''s sword was a fairy weapon. He had never imagined it!


    Moreover, he had never seen a top-grade spiritual weapon in his life, not to mention a fairy weapon.

 Chapter 501 The Expectations Of The General Public

    It was rare to see a low-level spiritual weapon in C County.


    In the past when Mike owned a high-level spiritual weapon, he stood out in the whole of C County and became the envy of numerous people at that time.


    But time had changed. As several large-scale mines were discovered and exploited in C County, warriors became richer. Now, a few spiritual weapons were seen in C County.


    The master of the Huang Clan was the one who prospered most rapidly with the thriving mining business. He was so wealthy that he could even afford a middle-level spiritual weapon.


    Living in C county, Bryson''s knowledge was limited to spiritual weapons. On the other hand, when it came to fairy weapons, Bryson thought that they were legends.


    As Bryson gawked at Zen''s sword, Zen said in a cold voice, "Bryson, did you hear that? That is how the junior members of the clan see you in their hearts. As the master of the clan, you have proved to be a complete failure."


    Bryson smiled mirthlessly. The twelve long swords behind him began to tremble. "How dare you say I''m a failure! These children are only trying to cause trouble. Do you think a child''s lie can oust me? Do any older members support you?"


    As soon as Bryson finished speaking, three middle-aged men walked into the Martial Arts Hall, followed by a dozen children of the clan.


    "We support Zen," the middle-aged man who led the team said.


    "Bryson, you have gone too far in these past few years¡­" another middle-aged man added.


    The three middle-aged men were Zen''s uncles.


    After they heard Zen''s accusations, many of which implicated Bryson, they gathered the clan''s children and rushed to the hall.


    "Cletus, Hodge, and Chet! You want to rebel against the Luo Clan?" Bryson''s face darkened as if a rainstorm were looming.


    He knew that if elders in the clan stepped forward, then the matter would grow more serious. Zen''s uncles were the heads of the other branches of the Luo Clan. As long as they chose to rebel, the members belonging to their branches would also follow them.


    "Bryson, we''re rebelling against you, not the Luo Clan!" Cletus Luo said.


    They had long been dissatisfied with Bryson''s and Ken''s actions in the clan. However, what had prevented them from revolting was their concern that no one else was eligible enough to serve as the new leader. And, most importantly, no one dared to be the first to rebel against Bryson.


    None of the clan branches felt as though they were strong enough to lead this coup. They were also aware that Bryson would slaughter the first person to rebel.


    All they needed was an opportunity.


    Once Zen returned, the older members felt that he was trustworthy. So they chose to back Zen unanimously.


    Bryson sighed when he heard Cletus Luo. He sneered. "Okay, so this is how it is. If a wall starts tottering, everyone wants to shove it. But I tell you, you¡­ will all regret it."


    At this time, they heard the sounds of a walking stick hitting the floor. The noise was coming from the gate of the Martial Arts Hall.


    The clicking sound neared.


    A grey-haired aged man am


    one''s determination in martial arts wavered or cracked, the opponent would seize the chance and defeat him.


    When Bryson saw Zen and all the people that supported him, Bryson''s belief that he was the natural leader of the Luo Clan faltered. A crack began to form in his heart which was dedicated to martial arts.


    And later, Zen denounced him and listed every fault and unfair action. Every word spoken by Zen rang in Bryson''s ears. It was loud and clear and hit every nerve. Almost in an instant, Bryson''s warrior spirit was breached by Zen. His determination for martial arts began to waver violently.


    As the sudden bouts of anger and anxiety damaged his heart and mind, Bryson''s body was affected. The damage had led to his mouth filling with blood.


    "You spat blood, that shows that you have a bit of humanity left in you. You feel some guilt. But¡­" Zen shook his head and said, "It is too late. You have already led the Luo Clan into an abyss. I will clean up the mess you have made, but the price will be your life."


    "Hahahahahaha¡­"


    Bryson suddenly laughed hysterically, almost madly. The roar of laughter continued for a while before it stopped.


    "Yes, you''re right. As you said, I''m sinful. But so what? You want to end my life? What makes you think that you can defeat me? If you died, who else in the Luo Clan would dare to act against me? Ours is a world that is ruled by strength!" Bryson went berserk, and his expression looked sinister. He shouted, "I''ll kill Zen, then you, you and you, you old bastard Bridger, Cletus Luo, Hodge Luo¡­ Who else dares to be rebellious? And say unfavorable things about me?"


    As soon as he finished, blood spurted from Bryson''s mouth. Streams of malicious aura oozed from the blood. The deep purple life vitality that was attached to his swords turned to bloody red.


    Every sword emitted a strong stench of blood as if those swords had slaughtered thousands of creatures.


    "Zen, come on! Since you joined Cloud Sect, you must have grown in strength. Let me see whether all you have is a sharp tongue!"

 Chapter 502 Invulnerable Body (Part One)

    As they sensed the smell of blood flowing from Bryson, all the children of the Luo Clan fell into shock.


    "What a dense smell of blood! This is not a cultivation method of our Luo Clan!"


    "Bryson has been practicing the Purple Light Fist, hasn''t he? But why did he suddenly switch to another one?"


    "It seems to be... Blood Evil Force!" "Isn''t it the cultivation method that the Blood Prisoner is infamous for? Why would Bryson adopt this wicked method?"


    Hodge and the others all turned pale.


    A while ago, when the C County government attempted to hunt down Blood Prisoner, a criminal infamous for his dark cultivation method, they released a detailed order for arrest that contained an elaborate description of Blood Prisoner''s appearance, physical characteristics, and the cultivation method he usually employed.


    Judging by the scent of blood coming from Bryson, his cultivation method was practically the same as the description of the Blood Evil Force that was written on the official notice. However, Hodge was not perfectly certain about his assumptions, therefore he did not want to jump into conclusions.


    After all, Hodge and the other members of the Luo Clan had never seen Blood Prisoner in person. Also, the details from the order of arrest were insufficient and quite vague for them to correctly identify and recognize the wanted criminal.


    Although they could not exactly pinpoint the relationship between Bryson and Blood Prisoner, Hodge was sure of one thing, and it was the fact that the cultivation method Bryson was practicing was definitely indecent, dark and forbidden.


    The sound of swinging swords against each other filled the air. "Swish, swish, swish."


    After Bryson moved his fingers, 12 swords suddenly rose up behind him and shot up to the sky as they left 12 streaks of their trajectory in the air


    ying swords of death! Zen¡­ ... is already that powerful?"


    After running all the way to the end of the wall despite the dangerous attacks, Zen leapt towards a small platform. Just before Zen landed, Bryson let out a sneer.


    "Zen, do you really think you can escape from my swords? Your confidence blinds you. You''re too predictable. I calculated that you will be stepping on this platform. Well, now I''ll watch how you get away with this one!"


    As Bryson''s remark faded, the 12 swords abruptly shot towards that platform. At this point, Zen was still up in the air, unable to duck anywhere.


    "Go to hell!" Bryson angrily shouted. Bryson flashed a mocking smile as he watched Zen struggle to fight through his swords. He thought to himself, ''This kid is still too young. If Zen had practiced martial arts in Cloud Sect for at least a decade or so, then I''m afraid he could surpass me and I wouldn''t be able to equally match him as rival.


    But now, even though Zen has improved greatly, I have achieved a milestone as well. I have inherited the Blood Evil Force from no other than Blood Prisoner himself. Now I am not only stronger, but my skills and power have been enhanced as well!


    Zen, you are not my equal!''

 Chapter 503 Invulnerable Body (Part Two)

    Unexpectedly, Zen made a move that had the audience shouting in fear, "Ah crap, don''t jump there!" A member of the Luo Clan shrieked, "Bryson sneaked an escape-proof net on that little platform from the start! How clever of him. Maybe all his previous attacks were well-thought of and calculated only to lead Zen to his trap!"


    The Luo Clan members could only imagine the worst that could happen in this clash. It seemed as if the tables had been turned and Bryson took over the upper hand of the battle. Some of them even closed their eyes because they knew they wouldn''t be able to bear the unholy image of dripping blood from 12 swords piercing through Zen''s body.


    Even the seniors of the Luo Clan who, just a few moments ago, were speechless in amazement, were at a loss for words for what they were seeing right now. Disappointedly, they sighed, "We never thought Zen could fall into Bryson''s trap so easily."


    At this point of the battle, Melvin and Tristan nervously had their fists clenched tightly, praying for a miracle to come even if Zen''s chances of winning seemed so slim.


    Meanwhile, standing at the back of the crowd, Yan could not help but shake her head and heave with a sigh, ''With Zen''s almost indestructible body, those swords would not hurt him even if they deeply pierce into his flesh.


    I wonder what kind of expression will be on Bryson''s face once he realizes Zen will beat him to death." Yan smirked.


    Bryson was feeling so thrilled that he could feel the surge of adrenaline, rushing though his veins. He wanted to give Zen a more tragic death, and so he wiel


    the gap between you and me is beyond your imagination!"


    Zen hopped from the small platform once again and dashed over towards Bryson.


    Still, Bryson was not to be underestimated.


    Since his strongest strike did not turn out the way he pictured it to be, he could tell that Zen''s strength had now grown out of his league.


    Bryson''s body grew cold out of fear. With the overwhelming fright that was surging through him right now, only one thing popped up in his head ¡ª escape.


    But how could Bryson outrun the indestructible Zen? When Zen picked up his speed, he caught up to Bryson within barely a second.


    During this desperate moment, Bryson had no choice but to yell. "Help me!"


    But at this point, Zen already landed behind Bryson. He muttered icily, "Even if a king were here, he couldn''t get you out of this now!"


    Zen smacked his fist into Bryson''s back. The impact of his punch sent Bryson crashing through a house nearby.


    Suddenly, a chilling voice sounded not too far, "Who dares to hurt my disciple? I''ll eat you up alive!"

 Chapter 504 Do You Really Think You鈥檙e That Strong

    A blood-colored figure was dashing from a distance, and not far behind it was Ken Luo following the figure.


    Of course, Ken must have heard Bryson''s cry, so he came running to his brother''s aid.


    "What the hell? How could Zen defeat Bryson?" Ken could not believe it at first.


    But before he could even realize what just happened, he heard Blood Prisoner called Bryson his ''disciple''.


    When did Bryson become the Blood Prisoner''s disciple?


    Although Ken knew that Bryson had kept the Blood Prisoner in the Luo Clan''s cellar in order to fight against Zen, he still didn''t agree with the Blood Prisoner''s cultivating method.


    The Blood Prisoner got his strength from eating people''s flesh and blood. It was a heinous act, thus Ken believed it was the wrong path to take. Cooperating with a person like the Blood Prison was the same as asking a tiger for its fur. Any person who came close to the Blood Prisoner would eventually be eaten. But for Bryson to take such a risk, Ken knew that his brother had no other choice.


    But Ken didn''t know that Bryson had become the Blood Prisoner''s disciple and started to learn the evil practicing method.


    Still puzzled, Ken kept following the Blood Prisoner without any second thought. After all, it was necessary to immediately deal with the matter at hand.


    Zen hit Bryson by only one hand. With the intensity of the attack, Bryson smashed into a house but was immediately followed by Zen. Although the latter used only half of his overall strength, Bryson still found it difficult to dodge the attack.


    Soon, the members of the Luo Clan saw Zen pulling a man by his collar as he walked out of the ruined house. Despite the man''s face covered in blood, everyone recognized that it was Bryson Luo.


    Zen had defeated Bryson with just one casual punch.


    The members of the Luo Clan were satisfied with the sight of the defeated Bryson. They had clearly underestimated Zen''s strength before.


    Suddenly, the blood-colored figure appeared. The faces of all the members of the Luo Clan turned pale when they realized who the blood figure was.


    His body was red all over and it looked like the man had only flesh and blood with no skin at all.


    The strong odor of blood reminded everyone of hell.


    Even without looking at his face, everyone quickly recognized him.


    The notorious evil man was described in the official announcement in detail, and the moment he appeared, the members of the Luo Clan started murmuring about him.


    "The Blood Prisoner! It''s the Blood Prisoner! He''s actually staying in our house!" a young man exclaimed.


    "The Blood Prisoner just called Bryson his disciple. Has Bryson made the Blood Prisoner his master?" another one asked in surprise.


    "So that must be the reason. I realized that Bryson has a strong smell of blood in him. He finally learned ''Blood Evil Force'' from the Blood Prisoner! So that explains the sudden disappearance of people from our clan! Bryson was practicing¡­" the third man said aloud.


    The members of the Luo Clan were not as str


    then Bryson could still be the master of the Luo Clan.


    "You will end up being eaten by the Blood Prisoner! There''s no way you can escape that!" Bryson laughed crazily. Bryson seemed to be mad although was almost out of breath.


    "Is that so?" Zen said calmly. He had totally ignored the blood strings and went on talking to Bryson, "I will let you live to see how weak this man you''re counting on is..."


    After finishing his remarks, Zen pulled Bryson away and walked towards the blood strings.


    The Blood Prisoner was determined to defeat Zen in an instant. But after he heard Zen''s remarks, his eyes turned crueler. He said coldly, "How can a nature creature be arrogant in front of me? People look up at you like you''re a rare gem. I hope you will never regret it!"


    "Regret what?" Zen shook his head.


    He didn''t try to avoid the blood strings, instead, he offered his hand and allowed the blood strings to wrap around his hand.


    Seeing how the events unfold, the members of the Luo Clan felt nervous but surprised at the same time.


    In their eyes, it was expected for Zen to defeat Bryson since the first had entered the Cloud Sect.


    But defeating the Blood Prisoner was a different story. Even if Zen was the strongest amongst the Cloud Sect, the Blood Prisoner was still an Illuminating Soul Realm practitioner.


    Even if the Blood Prisoner was only at the beginning level of the Illuminating Soul Realm, he was as strong as a warrior god in C County.


    A nature creature could make huge achievements inside C County, so what more could an Illuminating Soul Realm master do?


    Why did Zen allow the blood strings to wrap around his hand? Why didn''t he fight back? Wasn''t he afraid of being captured by the Blood Prisoner?


    If Zen told them that he was confident to defeat the Blood Prisoner and that letting the blood strings wrap around his hand was on purpose, they wouldn''t believe it. They were confused as to why Zen was so calm and didn''t even avoid being captured by the blood strings at all.

 Chapter 505 The Malicious Aura Crystal (Part One)

    Zen had resisted Bryson''s flying swords attack easily with his bodily strength. In fact, he had beaten Bryson so hard that the latter had gotten seriously injured. This had shocked the members of the Luo family, who were now, admiring Zen''s strength heavily.


    Initially, they had thought highly of Zen, but just like what had happened in the All Peaks Competition, no one really believed that Zen could defeat Dick of the Illuminating Soul Realm with his strength at a mere grade 2 of the nature level.


    However, that was then. Right now, Zen was at grade 3 of the nature level but he was facing an opponent at the Illuminating Soul Realm, the Blood Prisoner, wanted by the government and chased for a long time by Cloud Sect.


    Unless someone actually witnessed it, it would have been impossible to believe the outcome.


    After the blood streaks released by the Blood Prisoner entangled Zen''s arm, they tried to enter Zen''s skin, like several thousand worms or centipedes trying to crawl inside.


    His own refined blood as well as strong malicious aura was hidden in those streaks, which could even cut into an iron plate several centimeters thick. The Blood Prisoner could suck the flesh and blood from people whose body had been engulfed by those powerful rope-like streaks. But that was under usual circumstances.


    Normally, the person whose blood and flesh were swallowed by him would have become a shrunken, sucked skeleton, miserable and quite dead.


    "Scream, Bloke. Let out your sad and shrill cries!" The Blood Prisoner''s terrible face without any skin on it shrieked and showed a merciless smile.


    But just as his streaks tried to enter Zen''s body, the Blood Prisoner suddenly felt that something was horribly wrong.


    This time, his invincible blood streaks couldn''t penetrate this pathetic man''s skin.


    How was that possible!


    To be honest, the Blood Prisoner experienced more of Zen''s


    meone, he could accumulate more malicious aura which he could later utilize. With that in mind, Zen really was not in the mood to talk with him. He moved suddenly and started a weird step. Lifting the Streamer Sword in his hand lightly, he chopped his enemy, hoping to end him once and for all.


    "Die!" The sharp Streamer Sword chopped with a silver radiance and the blade rushed towards the Blood Prisoner.


    "That''s going to be of no use." The Blood Prisoner waved his hand. Layers upon layers of blood-colored crystals suddenly emerged from his arm, like blood-red emeralds and formed a thick armor on his arm. There was a strong malicious aura hidden in each of those crystals and the sword couldn''t possibly cut through them all.


    "Crack..."


    Zen''s sword radiance chopped several crystals to pieces but was blocked at last.


    The Blood Prisoner sneered, "Your strength really surprises me, but you are bound to be my delicacy!"


    "Poof!"


    Six blood-red bone spikes emerged from the Blood Prisoner''s body instantly. Each of them was several feet long, and resembled the disgusting legs of a spider. They surrounded Zen immediately.


    "Be a part of my blood and flesh!" The Blood Prisoner ordered and laughed wildly. The six bone spikes tried to hit Zen!

 Chapter 506 The Malicious Aura Crystal (Part Two)

    Just at that moment, a beautiful young girl suddenly floated in and casually asked, "Zen, need some help?"


    The Blood Prisoner hadn''t even been able to detect that the young girl was there before hearing her voice, ''When did this young girl come? Was she here the entire time? Why didn''t I, or rather, why couldn''t I notice her?


    Is this girl a cultivator of the Illuminating Soul Realm?


    Who is she? Is there actually a young girl of the Illuminating Soul Realm among the members of Luo family?''


    Even though Zen''s strength had astonished the Blood Prisoner, this guy was a nature creature and couldn''t defeat him. The Blood Prisoner wasn''t powerful enough, but he was still able to fly. Zen was a nature creature and couldn''t catch up with him, so the Blood Prisoner had a great advantage and confidence when fighting against him.


    But it would have been different if Zen, along with all his strength, also had the help of a master of the Illuminating Soul Realm. And this young girl was at a cultivation level several grades higher than him. The Blood Prisoner didn''t have the confidence to defeat her.


    "No thank you sis. I don''t need any help. I am going to end this battle now." Zen replied sweetly with a smile.


    What did that mean? The Blood Prisoner couldn''t understand. Zen thought he could end this battle without the girl''s help? His tone suggested that he was about to kill the Blood Prisoner at any time? ''Is this guy so naive as to believe that?''


    Before the Blood Prisoner could recover from his shock and come to his senses, he saw another silver light flashing in Zen''s hand and rushing towards his face.


    The silver light was the broken flying knife!


    It came instantly and unexpectedly. Hurriedly, the Blood Prisoner tried to dodge, but before he could even move, he felt a severe pain which alm


    the Killing Sword Mountain and can keep them on the mountain.'' Zen ordered in his mind. The three wisps of malicious aura disappeared from inside his body in an instant, and appeared on the mountain. He sensed a new energy flow somewhere in his body.


    ''Wow. It looks like it''s super easy to save the malicious aura on the Killing Sword Mountain. I wonder how much malicious aura I can save there.''


    While Zen was lost in his thoughts, a figure standing not far tried to flee. This was Ken.


    It was beyond his imagination that Zen could have killed the prisoner so easily.


    After all, the Blood Prisoner was being chased by the government and Cloud Sect jointly. He was supposed to be almost invincible in these counties. The government and Cloud Sect had sent several powerful men to surround and attack the Blood Prisoner, but he had still managed to run away.


    Now his neck had been cut off by Zen in an instant...


    Ken felt a chill running through his back. In his mind, he couldn''t think of anything else except to flee.


    However, just as he had moved a few steps, a young girl blocked his way out of nowhere. She had a really big smile. Yan asked in a low voice, "Uncle, where are you going?"

 Chapter 507 The Head Of The Luo Clan

    There was a murderous gleam in Ken''s eyes as he stared at the lady. She might look as elegant and dainty as a lotus blossom, but, he knew she was as vile as a demon.


    "Cut me a break here. After all, I''m your uncle, Yan!" begged Ken, knowing he couldn''t escape her!


    "Oh? Do you think I''m such a sweet child who will blindly obey you?" Yan studied him closely, and her eyes were full of apathy as she thought back a few years, to the loss of her father. Although she was young, it was a significant blow to her. Glaring at her uncle, she cruelly dismissed his begging.


    "Bryson was the one who orchestrated your father''s death! I¡ªI had no part in the matter!" stammered Ken.


    Nodding, Yan said, "That''s true. It would have been impossible for you to murder my father since he was superior to you. But, I have to find the truth to what happened to my father. Therefore, I won''t let you go!"


    Immediately, Ken''s face paled, and he frowned. There was an ominous yet sneaky flash in his eyes as he said, "What? Well, if you don''t let me leave, then¡­ Then, you can go to hell!"


    Ken was the most attractive man from the Luo Clan, and his fair-faced skin looked as pure as jade, contradicting that he was forty years old. Right now, however, deep lines twisted Ken''s face so much, which gave him a stern appearance. He looked like a different man entirely. Suddenly, three boxes gleaming with an iron radiance appeared in his hand.


    "Thunder Kill Halberd!"


    When Ken''s eldest son, Andrew, fought Zen, he had used this halberd''s less formidable counterpart, the Thunder Rob Halberd to attempt to assassinate Zen. Now, here was Andrew''s father, facing off against Zen''s sister with the Thunder Kill Halberd!


    A hundred or so years ago, an ancestor in the Luo Clan had the great fortune of procuring the Thunder Kill Halberd, a sort of hidden mechanical armament. There were only three rounds of halberds in total. Because of how precious it was, the members of the Luo Clan never used it, and Ken wouldn''t have drawn the Thunder Kill Halberd if he didn''t need to.


    Even though the Thunder Rob Halberd was an imitation of the Thunder Kill Halberd, it performed excellently, pointing to how powerful the Thunder Kill Halberd was.


    "Chink! Chink! Chink!"


    A metallic sound came, and dragon-like lightning exploded from boxes, transforming into halberds. They shot at Yan, immediately penetrating her body. Ken scowled at her, and within his heart, he was shouting, ''Ha! These halberds are in you now and will shatter you from your core! You''ll be destroyed, from the inside out!''


    An acrid stench of flesh smoldering filled the air as Ken eyeballed Yan and imagined how the lightning in her was raging, burning her as it ripped her apart. He was sure that Yan would be demolished at any moment now!


    But, after standing there, watching for a long time, nothing happened, an


    property compensate it double!"


    Thunderous applause rose through the crowd!


    That simple promise was enough to get everyone excited.


    Having been under the absolute control of Bryson, and with other clans bullying them, they had to be a patient and friendly clan, for the sake of the common good, so, the clan had declined over time.


    Now, not only did they not have to tolerate any bullying, they could make them pay for past treatment!


    As the applause died, Zen turned to Bryson with a look of disgust and demanded, "Now, Uncle Bryson, you will tell me how my father died!"


    "Hee-hee-hee," chortled Bryson. Bryson''s shoulders shook slightly, and he had a weasel-like sneer while he lay on the floor and spat out, "Why ask me? You already believe I killed your father, so, fine! I killed your father!"


    Zen shook his head, flatly, and said, "No, my father was at the nature level, and you weren''t strong enough! Therefore, there must have been someone else!"


    "And you think that I''m going to tell you?" questioned Bryson. He had a wry grin and his eyes sparked with an odd gleam as he continued, "If you promise, before everyone here, not to kill me, then, perhaps, I could be persuaded to talk."


    Zen pursed his lips tightly as he slowly shook his head.


    "If I''m going to die whether I tell you or not, why would I be stupid enough to tell you anything?" jeered Bryson.


    Since Bryson refused to tell Zen the truth, Zen turned his eyes at Ken, hoping to get the answer. But before Ken said anything, Bryson warned, "Ken, if you tell him, he will kill you immediately. So keep your mouth shut until you die."


    Hearing what Bryson said, Ken kept his mouth shut tightly. It appeared he''d decided not to talk!


    A chilly smile spread across Zen''s face, "Do you really think I can''t make you talk?"


    As he spoke, a translucent sharp thorn appeared between his eyebrows and shot at Bryson.

 Chapter 508 The Guide To His Fate (Part One)

    For Zen, at his current level, the Spiritual Thorn could play two roles in his battles.


    The first role was to attack his opponents stealthily. The soul thorn had surprisingly good effects on the cultivators who were weak in their souls, or those who lacked strong protection and soul-defense. As Zen''s soul thorn attacked the cultivators, merely an instantaneous loss of consciousness could mean failure, or even worse¡ªdeath in battle.


    The second function was to punish people. The feeling of penetration into one''s soul was excruciating, the agony indescribable. To give a perceptible measurement, the pain it imposed on one''s soul was at least ten times greater than that caused by penetration into one''s physical body. The human body''s capacity to bear pain was restricted. So, when people felt a lot of physical pain, their minds stopped controlling their bodies. Without commands from the nervous system, they simply fell into a state of shock. A person did not experience pain when he or she passed out. Coma was the best elixir one could hope for when one was in that kind of physical pain. However, one''s soul could never lose consciousness, no matter how much pain it endured. The soul thoroughly tasted every single splinter of that pain.


    Whew! Zen released his soul thorn without hesitation.


    As the soul thorn hissed and made its way to stab into Bryson''s head imperceptibly, a low groan escaped Bryson''s lips at the pain he felt. His distorted facial expression told the others of the suffering he was enduring. Bryson''s affliction also warned the others how terribly sorry they would be if they dared disobey his orders and betray the Luo Clan.


    Yet, Bryson still kept his mouth shut, not giving out the information tha


    clan, they would be afraid that Bryson would rise to power again. He would have come back in the future if Zen hadn''t killed him today. Each one of the members would have a price to pay by then. So they wanted Bryson dead¡ªit was the only way they would feel safe in the Luo Clan. For the youngsters, as well as for the good of the clan, Zen had been committed to wiping out this concern of theirs.


    Bryson Luo had to die.


    Zen was all too aware of how everyone released their harsh breaths as they witnessed Bryson''s death.


    Several wisps of malicious aura escaped Bryson''s corpse. Zen knew Bryson had been the disciple of the Blood Prisoner. He had learned the Blood Evil Force from his master. Still, Zen did not expect Bryson had that much amount of malice aura amassed in his body. It seemed that in order to improve his strength and levels, Bryson had killed a lot of people, much more than Zen had expected.


    Eventually, the malicious aura that broke loose from Bryson''s body gathered and condensed into a blood-colored crystal.


    Adding up the blood-colored crystals Zen had collected before, he had four of these crystals in total now.

 Chapter 509 The Guide To His Fate (Part Two)

    Zen was already thinking of how to utilize the malicious aura in these blood-colored crystals. Since he had already accumulated some malicious aura and he would keep accumulating more and more malicious aura in the future, it would be best if he chose and learned a cultivation method that would help him make good use of it. But for now, he would have to resolve the leftover issues of the Luo Clan and clean up its disloyal troublemakers.


    Zen turned to face the members of the Luo Clan, announcing loudly but solemnly, "Bryson Luo has now been executed. Ken Luo remains to be sentenced. Ken was the secondary conspirator in my father''s death. He doesn''t deserve a death sentence for his crime, so I leave you all to decide how to punish him. Tomorrow, I''d like to pay my respects to Luo''s ancestral graves. I will personally visit and pray at the tombs of our ancestors for a prosperous future of the Luo Clan." After his announcement, Zen handed over the entire business of the Martial Arts Hall to his other uncles and the other elders of the Luo Clan. Having executed the troublesome Bryson Luo, Zen''s job here was done. He trusted that after taking control of the Luo Clan, the elders would tackle the rest of the issues better than he would.


    After hearing Zen''s announcement, Ken''s pale face finally regained a bit of color. He had thought himself doomed to die. The idea that Zen would keep him alive never occurred to him. As he watched Zen turn around and leave¡ªhis strong, broad back coming into view¡ªKen''s eyes glazed over with awe for his nephew. Zen was no longer a small boy. He had grown up to beco


    stitution and her extraordinary talent.


    Even now, she couldn''t escape those restraints.


    Although Kenneth had agreed to let Yan come home with Zen this time, he had warned Zen not to try to help her run away, for it would be in vain.


    The evil man had already imprinted a mark on Yan. Wherever she escaped, no matter how far, he would find her. Revolting against such a powerful man so blatantly and publicly would not be a good idea, at least not at the moment. If that man found out about Zen''s defiance, things could only get worse for them.


    At first, Zen had wanted to take Yan into the fairy palace, which was so mysterious and astonishing that even Zen found it indecipherable.


    However, Zen was only the temporary owner of the fairy palace. There were so many things that he was not authorized to do there. He couldn''t be sure the palace would be safe enough for Yan to stay in.


    Yan was still on the swing. The sun was setting. As the last rays of sunlight glimmered on Yan, she looked as beautiful as a painting, beyond description in words.

 Chapter 510 The Guide To His Fate (Part Three)

    His eyes resting on her wide smile, Zen clenched his fists tighter and made himself a silent promise to protect his little sister till his dying breath. Even if one day he had to sacrifice himself for that, he would hardly hesitate. He would exhaust the last of his strength to give his sister Yan a safe, secure, and happy future. To Zen, she was the most important person, his invaluable treasure, the only family member he had left.


    What Zen didn''t know was that everything was destined under the law of the world. Whatever he might encounter, experience, and suffer was set in stone for him. It would undoubtedly be a journey of hardships, but Yan Luo would act as the guide to his fate, the light that paved way for him to march forward. This was Zen and Yan''s destiny, but neither of them realized it at the moment.


    Early morning next day, the elders of the Luo Clan followed behind Zen as he climbed the hill that was in the backyard of the Luo house. It was a blessed site.


    This was the Luo Clan''s cemetery. Several tombstones were dug into the ground. They loomed silently and solemnly on the hill. The ancestors of the Luo Clan slept soundly in this tranquil and dignified atmosphere.


    Zen prayed piously to the fathers of Luo.


    As the new leader of the Luo Clan, this was the first ritual that signified his venerable status.


    Three bamboo incense sticks had been lit up by the servants. Zen held them in his hands and bowed three times in front of his father''s tomb. Having finished the worship ritual, Zen left the graveyard, his expression becoming sterner. The intention to kill was clear in his eyes. Some of the people in C County must die for their sins!


    Meanwhile, in a room located on the highest story of the Crescent Building in C County, five people sat around a table, discussing things of significance.


    The five were the leaders of the current top five clans of the C County


    bbed from the Luo Clan and give them back to Zen. Maybe they would even compensate some more with money, and they would be fine. Even Chuck could move on from the death of his son and refrain from avenging Darcy. He could swallow his resentment for Zen. But it wouldn''t be the same for Ford. He had killed Zen''s father, Mike Luo, personally! It was not even slightly similar to encroaching on the benefits of the Luo Clan. Once Zen learned the identity of his father''s true murderer, he would not forgive Ford. Zen would kill him! Ford could already foresee his miserable ending. The chances of him remaining alive were slim, to say the least.


    Now that Bryson had been executed, then his cowardly brother, Ken, must have already given Ford away. It was only a matter of time before Zen marched to Ford''s place and took his life.


    The Huang Clan, the He Clan, the Chen Clan, and the Zhang Clan had the choice of surrendering their wealth to oblige Zen and seek his forgiveness. Their heads could make grants to the Luos for the safety of their clans. But Ford Qi, he would have to surrender his life! All to quench Zen''s burning fire of hatred and revenge! For the redemption for his sins, Ford would have to die in the hopes that Zen would at least spare the Qi clan.

 Chapter 511 Negotiation

    "He wants us to give the property back to the Luo Clan?


    Keep dreaming!"


    Chen Clan''s master coldly scoffed at the idea.


    If one clan possessed more property in C County where resources were now scarce, then the other clans wouldn''t have enough. The situation drove all the clans to compete fiercely.


    After murdering Mike with Zen''s two uncles, Ford had managed to grab a lot of property from the Luo Clan. Since then, the Qi Clan had ranked second in C County, right next to the Huang Clan.


    The Chen Clan, the He Clan and the Zhang Clan had gained much profit from Mike''s death and now they were reluctant to give the benefits back to the Luo Clan. Because all the clans had many servants and guards to feed, if they gave back the property to the Luo Clan, they wouldn''t be able to live as comfortably as they were accustomed to.


    Although Ford originally intended to return the property to the Luo Clan, it was clear that even if he did so, Zen wouldn''t let him go. It was high time for the clans to unite and fight against Zen. "Yes, since the Luo Clan was not powerful enough, it''s only natural that we should take over its property!


    It''s impossible for Zen to take all these back by himself.


    We should discuss how to go against him."


    "Maybe it was just a stroke of luck that he defeated the Blood Prisoner. Since the Blood Prisoner was badly injured, he could barely keep up with the fight and he might have been ninety percent down. It''s no surprise that Zen defeated him. Besides, Zen is just a nature creature. I don''t think he is a match for us."


    The master of the He Clan sounded certain.


    Upon hearing his words, the others pondered for a moment.


    While they had, indeed, been frightened by Zen''s power, what the He Clan''s master pointed out made them re-evaluate Zen''s true competence.


    After some arguments, they finally came to the conclusion that it was impossible for a practitioner at grade three of the nature level to defeat the Blood Prisoner at full power. Zen was only able to kill him because his opponent''s power had declined severely because of his injuries.


    "Hump! Since he''s not as powerful as we thought, there''s nothing to be afraid of. I''ll kill that bastard!" with a trace of malice flashing in his eyes, Chuck proudly declared.


    Among the clan masters present, he was the most powerful and in turn, he was more confident than the others.


    "With Chuck leading us, we''ll definitely kill that bastard!"


    Ford readily agreed with the others.


    "Yes, we must suppress the Luo Clan. Zen and Yan are already so powerful at such a young age. If we don''t suppress them, they''ll keep getting stronger. We might..." Before the He Clan''s master could finish his words, a sudden chuckle came from outside the room.


    Since the Crescent Building bel


    ters in C County, lost both their right hands in a single round! If Zen hadn''t shown mercy, the two would probably have lost their lives.


    With this in mind, the other three clan masters felt very lucky to have been spared. If they joined the other two in the attack, they might have lost their hands as well.


    Zen thrust his sword so incredibly fast that none of them clearly identified his sword method, leaving them at a loss for how to block his attack.


    What they didn''t realize, however, was that even if Zen thrust his sword slowly, they had no chance of winning, as his sword method was based on the principle of ''simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.'' Even Evan, the Number One disciple of Cloud Sect, couldn''t break Zen''s attack. How could the clan masters even dream of doing it?


    "Chuck, I killed your son because he tried to kill a member of the Luo Clan when they were at the Martial Arts Hall of the Luo Clan! Darcy is your son, so he is important to you. Same thing, the member of the Luo Clan is important to us! I killed Darcy because he deserved it." Coldly staring at Chuck, Zen raised his voice.


    At that moment, Chuck felt rather idiotic, like a joke, and he didn''t dare try to resist Zen''s words.


    With more power, one can speak more proudly. Now, Chuck realized that although he had reached grade five of the nature level with no one in C County who dared challenge him, his achievements were nothing at all in Zen''s eyes.


    Putting three fingers up, Zen said, "Now you have to pay us back in triple. Listen to me. If you don''t agree now, you''ll have to pay back in quadruple!"


    ''Pay back three times as much? That would mean shelling out so much more than what we got from the Luo Clan. We''d have to give up part of our own property worth twice the value of the one we gained from the Luo Clan.


    This is just too much!''

 Chapter 512 Worried About Aura

    It was true that Zen''s requirements were too much, but what could they do?


    He had cut off Chuck''s and Ford''s hands easily just now, and the masters were powerless against him.


    Not to mention that Zen asked them to return the properties three times, even if he asked for thirty times, they still had no other choices.


    The masters felt ridiculous now. They had guessed how strong Zen was before and planned to fight him by organizing a group.


    However, Zen broke in right in front of them and subdued all of them with his much stronger power.


    At that moment, Chuck kept silent, even though Zen had killed his son. He was a wise man as he had put the Huang Clan at the front lines of C County, but he knew that they couldn''t defeat Zen since he was too strong.


    Although Chuck had more plots and strategies, they would only look foolish in a battle against Zen, a man with such huge strength. Zen had defeated the strongest of C County, so who else could stop him?


    The room remained dead silent as all of them had no other choices and mentally felt so weak.


    The property that took them great efforts to obtain should be returned intact to the Luo clan, and they were even asked to compensate three times its value. The masters found it so hard to accept, so they all kept quiet.


    Meanwhile, Zen fiddled with the delicate teacup in his hand. The water slowly swirled inside as it was affected by Zen''s aura, and none of them knew how he did it.


    The masters felt the water wave around because of Zen''s aura, no doubt.


    The force Zen gave off gradually increased. It not only contained Zen''s strong soul power, but also a bit of malicious aura.


    The paper-thin window lattices couldn''t bear the force and cracked little by little, the sound audible enough for all the people to hear.


    The malicious aura grew even stronger. They all felt their throats run dry, and their breaths fell short. It was impossible for them to just calmly sit down.


    "If you can''t decide in ten seconds, I''ll make it four times," Zen said slowly. The water in his teacup seemed to boil as the little drips continuously jumped up and down.


    "I agree!


    The Zhang Clan are willing to return the property of the Luo Clan! On top of that, we will also give you three times of it as compensation," the master of the Zhang Clan exclaimed. He was the first one who couldn''t bear it anymore and gave in.


    "We also consent and we will compensate!


    We will return the mines and gambling business to the Luo Clan!" the master of the He clan said with gritted teeth. In truth, these masters couldn''t tolerate it any longer, but they tried their best to not speak it out.


    Now that one of them gave in, the rest felt disheartened and did the same as well.


    In the end, Chuck also nodded his head and said, "Our Huang Clan also agrees to pay the loss of the Luo Clan."


    "Okay. You''ve made the right choice," Zen said with a slight smile on his face. Then his eyes turned to Ford. Although Ford had said yes to him, he had other problems with Ford. "Ford


    As someone who had worked for the Luo Clan for dozens of years, he was really glad to see the changes in the Luo Clan happen. Besides, the new housekeeper had offered to give all the servants a salary raise. All of their salaries had been tripled!


    So, why didn''t he feel excited about it?


    All of this was brought about by Zen.


    The servant carefully swept the ground and made this area as clean as possible.


    At that moment, a young man walked out of the gate with a girl after him.


    The young man was handsome. He greeted the servant with a ''good morning, '' then the girl after him smiled and nodded at him. The girl was so pretty that it stunned the servant.


    The servant realized that he forgot to greet them when they had disappeared at the corner of the street.


    ''The master of the Luo Clan has left in this way...'' the servant thought with a last wistful glance.


    C Country''s problems had almost been solved. Even if Zen wasn''t at home, the Luo Clan could develop well. The Luo Clan had become the top clan of C County, except that its members weren''t the strongest.


    The compensation the five clans gave was equal to sixty percent of C County.


    Now, Zen didn''t have much to do there and he had more business to do outside the county. That was more important to him.


    Zen still remembered that Aura Su hadn''t appeared until the end of the All Peaks Competition.


    The public knew that the princes were vying for the throne of Burning Sky Empire. Except for the Cloud Sect that didn''t bother to show their preference, the top seven noble clans and many other small ones had chosen the prince they supported, in hopes of getting great benefits after their chosen prince would ascend to the throne. The whole Imperial Capital had become quite tense.


    Aura Su was Kane Su''s first daughter. As the Sky Princess, she was destined to be involved in this battle.


    The world of political struggle was cruel, so Zen was highly worried for the proud princess. Was the dignified and noble royal safe?

 Chapter 513 Feathery Star Hall

    The sound of the bell ringing resonated through the beautiful dusk skies. However, the gates of the Burning Sky Palace remained open.


    As a royal palace, its gates were normally closed at dusk. Anyone would be denied access to and from the palace until the next sunrise.


    But in the past few days, the closing time of the palace gates was postponed to 9 o''clock in the evening.


    It was said that the crowned prince was quite exasperated about it and even released an imperial order requiring the gates of the royal palace to be closed before dusk.


    However, this crowned prince had apparently lost his power and could not make his people fulfill even his simple requests. He was like a tiger without its fangs. The gates of the palace would remain open until late hours. The members of the high society such as the heads of the noble clans and the military generals would access the palace gates freely as if they were in their own home.


    A lot of people already learned that the crowned prince was on hot waters by observing the closing time of the palace gates. Perhaps it was only a matter of time before the crowned prince would be deposed.


    Now, the third prince and the seventh prince were eager to act. But since each was conscious about the other''s strength, they had to be discreet which allowed the current crowned prince to keep his title for now. However, once a winner between the third prince and the seventh prince was determined, the ending of the crowned prince was inevitable.


    Recently, the third prince frequently held feasts in his Feathery Star Hall, while the seventh prince hosted his in the Fiery Moon Mansion. They invited a wide range of guests to their places, trying to draw more people over to their side. And that was the reason why the gates of the Burning Sky Palace started to close at very late hours.


    Zen did a rough investigation about the current situation of the Burning Sky Palace. Although there were a lot of issues remained unraveled, all Zen wanted at this critical moment was to see Aura. And as to who would be the emperor of the Burning Sky Empire, Zen could not care less.


    He finally arrived at the palace gate. But before he could step on the other side, several imperial guards blocked his way.


    "Stop right there! This is the imperial palace. We need to report your arrival before you can step in. Please state your name and the person you want to visit. Hand me your visiting card as well." An imperial guard asked Zen dryly.


    Normally, no one would have the guts to go through the palace gates unless he was a representative of certain influential association. Therefore, that imperial guard was already being polite to Zen given that he had noticed that the latter was merely at the third grade of the nature level.


    Zen greeted him with cupped fists and said, "I''m here to visit the Sky Princess! I don''t have a visiting card, but here is my disciple card of Cloud Sect!"


    "Zen Luo?" The imperial guard glanced at Zen''s disciple card. Even though Cloud Sect was an A-list sect for le


    as surprised to see Zen visit him on the latter''s own accord.


    ''The third prince...''


    Whenever the ordinary people encountered some royal member, they would instantly be on their hands and knees to pay their respect.


    But practitioners of the martial arts did not have to stick to that rigid norms. It was noted that in the world of martial arts, only the strong were respected. So even though the emperor owned thousands of troops, he would not be given any different treatment. He could easily be beheaded by any strong warrior if his strength was weak.


    Take Nile, the sixth prince, as an example. He also participated in the All Peaks Competition but was soon eliminated halfway through the contest. He did not get any preferential treatment because of his royal identity.


    Sensing the over welcoming spirit Ray gave him, Zen knew that the third prince was dragging him into his league. But Zen had no intention to meddle with the political tussle in the Burning Sky Palace. He immediately clarified, "Your Highness, I did not come to the Burning Sky Palace for you. I''m here for the Sky Princess."


    Hearing Zen''s words, Ray''s face slightly hardened.


    Meanwhile, the crowd surrounding Ray began to shout, "It''s such a great honor for you that our third prince invited you in! No one cares who you''re here for!"


    "I have never met such an arrogant brat before. His Highness already debased himself to greet you out here, but you refused to go in. Who do you think you are?"


    Ray motioned those men to quiet down, and they instantly fell silent. Surprisingly, the smile on his face was broader. "Her Highness is resting in her Shine Hall. If you want to see her, I can bring her here to you."


    Zen shot a few cold looks at the men behind Ray. Most of them were at the nature level, while three of them had just entered the Illuminating Soul Realm. Then, he replied to Ray straight-faced, "That''ll be great. I''ll wait here for Her Highness!"


    After that, Zen followed the third prince into the Feathery Star Hall.

 Chapter 514 Challenging Zen (Part One)

    As the third prince of the Burning Sky Palace, Ray held a grand banquet today to entertain guests, and everyone who showed up was known for their fame and prestige.


    As soon as Zen stepped into the grand hall, he immediately sensed several people with powerful life vitality, who, as far as he could tell, were masters of the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    "Offer Zen a seat!" the third prince immediately commanded after he and Zen entered the hall.


    Instantly, six or seven maids showed up, walking briskly with small steps. And then a square table with fresh fruits and a variety of meats and a chair were placed in front of Zen.


    Since Ray promised to bring Aura to his banquet, Zen sat down and waited patiently. As for the prince, if he was truly determined to win Zen''s support, the warrior decided he would handle the matter carefully.


    He didn''t quite expect Ray to act so quickly. As soon as he sat down, Ray walked back to his seat and raised his jade cup with a smile and said aloud, "Zen, you won first place in the Cloud Sect''s All Peaks Competition, and I''ve always wanted to see you since then. But you were not in Cloud Sect during the past few days. Thus, I never got the chance to meet you. Today, you have come to my humble palace, and I am deeply honored. So, I''d like to propose a toast for you. I will drink first to show my respect for you!"


    The majority of Ray''s banquet guests heard the prince''s respectful words, but many could not hide their skepticism. These people were not from the Cloud Sect. Instead, a number of them came from the top noble clans and were strong enough. Also, some were even at the level of Illuminating Soul Realm. However, the prince had never honored anyone in pu


    ss, while he may be your guest, he does not have the right to be rude!" one of them argued.


    "Yes, I agree with you! If indeed he is that strong, we''ll say nothing and let this go. But I''m afraid that while outwardly he may be strong, inside, he is weak and is merely pretending to be a powerful man," another guest added.


    The nearly violent rebuke continued until a man in white stood up from the table and said to Ray with his fists cupped to show respect, "Your Highness, since everyone is in high spirits, I would like to compete against Zen to bring some entertainment for the guests, as well as learn from him!"


    "That would be nice! After listening to the opera and watching beautiful ladies dancing, we feel quite bored to have drinks only. A martial arts competition would add a lot of fun to drinking!"


    The guest who spoke was thrilled at the prospect of the competition to stir things up in the banquet.


    Nodding, Ray said, "Since everyone is so excited and looking forward to having fun, I don''t want to be the bad guy who spoils everyone''s expectations. So Zen, what do you think of the proposal for a competition?"

 Chapter 515 Challenging Zen (Part Two)

    A slight frown formed in Zen''s face, and he didn''t immediately reply. Truthfully, he was feeling somewhat helpless.


    How could he not see through Ray''s tricks?


    It was apparent that supporting a proposal for a competition was meant to test Zen''s real strength. But he wasn''t even there to attend the third Prince''s banquet. He came to see Aura. Suddenly, for no reason, he was being asked to fight with someone. And the disciple was in no mood for something as dull as a competition.


    Seeing Zen''s silence, the man in white sneered and said coldly, "Are you afraid of competing with me, Zen?


    Afraid of being defeated and losing face?


    Anyone who comes as a guest of the third Prince is one with real skills, and if you lose, then you will have to get out of here!"


    "That''s right! It''s not easy to be a guest of Your Highness!" one of the guests roared.


    "The third Prince never treats guests who are losers!" another one spoke up excitedly.


    It was hard not to sigh once Zen saw the excited and indignant stares of the guests who all looked at him as a competitor.


    By now, the third Prince should have gained the support of several powerful clans, the most important of which were a few top noble clans, including guests attending the banquet today.


    But the resources offered by the third Prince were bound to be limited. If Zen was involved, they were afraid that he would scramble for part of Ray''s resources. As a result, these people regarded him as their common enemy.


    And the third Prince allowed these people to provoke and challenge him to test his real strength, as well as to determine if Zen was worthy of being recruited as a member of his pool of talents.


    "If Zen really doesn''t want to participate in the competition, then let''s just drop it. Since everyone has come to my Feathery Star Hall, all of you are regarded as a friend. Please don''t ruin the harmonious relationship among you guys over a small matter,"


    s world. So when I meet such people, I have to beat the hell out of them!" he said gruffly.


    "Poof!"


    It was hard not to laugh as soon as Zen heard Doug''s words.


    Dressed in white, Doug looked gentle and elegant and was good-looking and talented, but his words were so crude. The immense contrast elicited an unexpected burst of laughter from the Cloud Sect''s disciple.


    "Hmmm... I hope you can still laugh aloud later!" Doug said in anger.


    Using his hands, he started to spread out a little dark red life vitality. The life vitality kept growing through his fingers, and he eventually condensed, then transformed it into ten long claws. At the same time, two wings, which were also produced by condensed life vitality, appeared in Doug''s back.


    Seeing the changes in Doug''s appearance, Zen raised his eyebrows slightly and thought quickly, ''Since Doug is a guest of the third Prince, he probably has some special skills. He was likely contemplating a kind of flying bird and then transformed his life vitality into claws and wings. So it must be his speed that''s exceptional.''


    As Zen stood to reflect on this, Doug''s wings flapped, and he began to charge towards the Cloud Sect''s disciple so fast that the only thing the audience could see was a string of shadows moving swiftly.

 Chapter 516 Horizons And Sensibility

    Today, they got together at the prince''s banquet to promote their relationship and the fight was to enliven the atmosphere. However, many of them were infuriated, because they thought Zen was too arrogant and rampant. Seeing that Doug Zhuo made his move to fight Zen, all others exclaimed loudly.


    "Doug independently invented body tactics of his own. He called his body tactics after his own name. Using these tactics, Doug can move and dodge elusively that his opponents can''t track where he is. Just wait and see. He will enlighten Zen''s horizon and Zen will know what martial arts achievements truly are!"


    "It will be better if Zen bleeds. He will clearly realize that no subordinate of the third prince is weak!"


    "I agree! I hope everything you say will happen. At the third grade of nature level, Zen will be unable to react against Doug''s assault. Thus, his cultivations are not worth mentioning at all for Doug."


    It was believed that Doug moved quite fast. In addition, he was as agile as a flying swallow. He could move from one place to another and it would be extremely difficult to anticipate where he was.


    Zen didn''t move and remained calm like a mountain, his eyes squinting and trying to find out where on earth Doug was.


    Since his opponent fought him barehanded, Zen didn''t use his sword either. He swung a fist at Doug immediately when he detected the infinite residual shadows left by Doug from his swift movements.


    At this critical moment, Doug''s wings suddenly trembled. He moved along an inconceivable trajectory, thus dodging away from Zen''s attack. Soon enough, his sharp claws scratched Zen''s right side.


    "He got hit!"


    The claws left three little marks on Zen''s clothes.


    "Well done! Doug''s move is awesome and illusionary like shadows!"


    "That guy can''t counterattack against Doug at all. In the beginning, I was not sure how powerful he was. But is the Number One disciple of Cloud Sect that weak? How shameful!"


    "Cloud Sect? The holy place for acquiring martial arts? This will be a big laughingstock! Doug didn''t even give full play to his strengths!"


    Amidst those people''s scornful looks, someone stood out and spoke up for Zen. It was Gale Huo. Like Zen, Gale was also a disciple of Cloud Sect and ranked top on the Skywrath Peak. However, he was born into a poor family, so he had been drawn by the third prince to his side. Despite his extraordinary strengths, he considerably lacked resources for cultivation. It was the third prince who could offer him all these resources, so he chose to stand by this prince''s side.


    But since he could no longer withstand others'' contempt for Zen, Gale, who had ever taken part in the All Peaks Competition, retorted while shaking his head, "As you have mentioned, Doug hasn''t given full play to his strengths. Zen didn''t either. Disciples of Cloud Sect are not as weak as you think. You can change my family name if Doug could defeat Zen!"


    "Gale, how can you boost an outsider''s morale? Is Zen really that strong?" someone said with great anger.


    "I am not boosting his mor


    ir reckless gloat and discussion, Doug''s spiral finally swirled around for Zen''s arm.


    "Biff, biff, biff, biff..."


    But to the bystanders'' surprise, Zen''s arm wasn''t smashed by Doug''s spiral.


    Doug''s claws stopped on Zen''s arm and couldn''t penetrate Zen''s skin at all.


    At the sight of this, the smile on all bystanders'' faces vanished.


    All guests of the banquet had the same thought with Doug ¨C ''Is Zen really a monster?''


    In general, one would be deemed physically strong if he had overbearing physical strengths. However, one''s physical strengths were limited no matter how strong he or she was. After all, human bodies were only covered by a thin layer of skin, beneath which there was flesh. A beast''s body, on the other hand, was covered by a thick and hard shell. Human bodies couldn''t be that rigid.


    It was not until today that they had realized that one''s body could be so strong and rigid that it couldn''t be hurt at all. Zen proved that for them when he stood there still even after withstanding a forceful attack.


    This was no longer a mere fight but a taunt.


    Only if one''s strength was much greater than his opponent''s could he taunt his opponent.


    As they noticed the flat smile on Zen''s face, many guests understood that Zen had never cared about their opinions because all their strengths meant nothing at all for Zen.


    Meanwhile, Ray''s eyes gleamed. From his current situation, he realized that Zen was really a rare talent. This made him more determined to rack his brain to recruit him.


    At the very beginning, Ray didn''t show much curiosity about Zen''s strengths and all he cared about was the latter''s reputation. In his opinion, if he could have Zen, the top disciple of Cloud Sect, knock-on effects would occur in that sect. Zen was just like a key for Ray to develop sound relationships with Cloud Sect.


    But now, Ray realized that Zen was also like a sharp sword. Besides, Zen was only 17 years old. With his strength and everything he had achieved so far, he would have a bright future!

 Chapter 517 Two Pupils

    Doug''s spiral attack only lasted for one second before Zen smashed it with one punch that ended the fight.


    Their sparring in this kind of occasion didn''t need to be brutal. The winner would be decided when he prevailed over his rival, and Zen was showing overwhelming superiority now.


    Though he was defeated, Doug was sincerely convinced that Zen possessed great power. His eyes were filled with reverence as he stared at Zen.


    Zen hadn''t used any weapon or any life vitality during the fight, and he hadn''t even moved a step from his original position. With that, Doug was convinced that Zen''s real strength was unfathomable.


    Despite his frustration, Doug felt a yearning for the Cloud Sect. He was a newcomer to the Illuminating Soul Realm, and he thought he could still join in the Cloud Sect if he became stronger.


    But he didn''t know that a talent like Zen was quite rare to see in the Cloud Sect.


    In the competition from three years ago, the only talent who had attracted much attention was Evan. This year, Cloud Sect was fortunate enough to witness several talents in the All Peaks Competition.


    Rocher, Patrick, and Zen were some of the talents from this year''s All Peaks Competition.


    "Please forgive me, Your Highness. I let you down. I was defeated in this challenge," Doug turned to Ray and said respectfully with cupped hands.


    Ray nodded and said, "Don''t mind it, Doug. A talent like Zen is rare to see even in a thousand years, so it''s not a shame to be defeated by him."


    ''In a thousand years? Is it just an exaggeration?'' many people thought to themselves, doubtful about Ray''s words. After all, there were millions of people who could be born into the Eastern Region in one thousand years and it was not possible that only one of them could be this gifted.


    Although Zen had defeated Doug quite easily, there were still many cultivators at Ray''s disposal who were much stronger than Doug that felt ill-affected.


    "Your Highness, please allow me to fight with him!" a man called Perry Song stood up and offered to fight Zen after Doug returned to his seat. This was a strapping, intimidating man who looked like a vicious bandit with a black patch over his left eye. Zen couldn''t tell whether it was just an ornament or was to cover a blind eye.


    "Do as you wish," Ray nodded in approval. He then looked at Zen.


    As far as Ray was concerned, everything in this world had a price and could be bought.


    He was aware that Zen showed antipathy towards him and wasn''t willing to join his camp.


    Nonetheless, he believed that Zen would change his mind if he could provide the latter with enough benefits. Zen was undoubtedly a great talent, yet he still needed many resources to strengthen himself before he became powerful enough.


    The Cloud Sect might do its utmost to satisfy Zen''s needs, yet a refiner would always try to get as many resources as possible. And Ray planned to use this fact to draw Zen over to his side.


    Ray had taken part in


    overing his left eye.


    It was the first time that Perry would take off his patch in front of other people, the followers of Ray. Most people had thought that it was a blind eye, so they never asked about it to avoid irritating Perry. However, to their surprise, Perry''s left eye was in good health. There was only one odd thing about it.


    "Two pupils!" some called out in astonishment.


    There were two pupils in Perry''s left eye, and it looked weird.


    It was also the first time for Zen to see a man with two pupils in one eye. Two pupils¨Cwhere one pupil appeared larger than the other.


    It was said that a man with two pupils in one eye could see through his enemies and find out their weaknesses.


    But it was hard to say whether the rumor was real or not because people with two pupils in one eye was rarely seen by others. But since Perry showed his eye in this circumstance, it must have some special functions.


    Zen held his sword tightly in his hand but remained extremely calm. He didn''t think it as a bad thing if Perry could really find out his weakness because it would help him know better about himself.


    Perry''s left eye narrowed a bit before radiating a ray of faint light which shot towards Zen and covered the latter''s body.


    It was true that Perry''s two pupils could help him find out his enemies'' weaknesses. The only downside of this function was that it would cause a severe headache for many days after he used it. That was because it required a powerful soul while Perry had no means of strengthening his soul.


    For that troublesome reason, Perry never used it under normal circumstances.


    But today was different because he didn''t want to suffer from a dismal failure in front of Zen. He had lost his face because of Zen, and he wanted to earn his reputation back.


    However, he didn''t expect what he saw as he glanced through Zen''s body with his left eye. He was totally stunned. ''What on earth has happened to this young man?'' he wondered.

 Chapter 518 A Lesson Learned The Hard Way

    Perry''s left eye would normally see two colors once he scanned a person''s body: black and white.


    The black part would indicate a person''s weakness.


    Everybody had their own weaknesses. Even the most unusual defensive cultivation method also had Achilles'' heel. If the attack was focused on one''s Achilles'' heel, one would surely be in critical condition.


    But Perry''s eye could only see white all over Zen''s body. There was no hint of black part at all.


    ¡­.


    The same thing had happened before. Perry could see the weakness of the opponent through his dicoria, but it wasn''t the case all the time. If the opponent was too powerful like the masters at the top of the Illuminating Soul Realm or a high-rank defensive weapon, he wouldn''t be able to see through.


    But Zen was just at grade 3 of the nature level. So why couldn''t Perry see through him? Could it be that Zen didn''t have any weakness? Or because of his current cultivation level, he couldn''t find Zen''s weak point?


    Perry was having a hard time analyzing the situation.


    Perry''s diplocoria was a powerful talent, unfortunately, he didn''t have a high-level cultivating talent or a powerful soul. If his cultivation could reach the same level as Dick or Jill at Cloud Sect, with his diplocoria, he probably could advance at an equal pace with Rocher.


    After he was accepted by Prince Ray, he cultivated himself with all kinds of panacea and managed with an effort to enter the Illuminating Soul Realm. But with a shaky foundation, the method to forcefully promote his cultivation made it hard for him to make progress to reach a higher level in the future, so he would probably stay at the Illuminating Soul Realm all his life.


    But he mostly relied on his diplocoria talent, which was also the reason that he was valued by Prince Ray.


    However, he couldn''t see through his opponent today which he found weird and alarming at the same time.


    What Perry didn''t know was that after Zen cultivated his body to a top-grade spiritual weapon, his weakness became too little. Perry could only see the weak point of a cultivator who was not on a higher level than the Illuminating Soul Realm, or the weapon which was under a low-grade spiritual weapon.


    "Perry, what are you doing? Haven''t you seen this guy''s weakness clearly yet? If you see clearly, just go and fight!" Someone shouted impatiently.


    Most of the guests present at the banquet knew about Perry''s ability. His diplocoria was quite capable and he could see through the opponent''s weakness at first glance. Any cultivator would be at a disadvantage if his weaknesses were visible to his opponent. Everyone was convinced about his tal


    ople were punched away by Zen. He kept throwing punches ruthlessly.


    The first young man punched away by Zen had no injuries. But the succeeding opponents were beaten up so bad that they spit blood or had broken bones. Prince Ray gave them expensive pills for recovery, but they needed to rest for ten to fifteen days to fully recover.


    In the end, nobody dared to challenge Zen, and none of Prince Ray''s young subordinates could defeat Zen.


    The old guys at the top of the Illuminating Soul Realm could defeat Zen, but they didn''t want to lower themselves to "learn from" him.


    After frightening Prince Ray''s guests with his own method, Zen saluted again and expressed in a cold voice, "Prince, if I can''t see Sky Princess, I have to leave and look for her by myself!"


    However, Ray was still unhurried and seemed to see through Zen. He nodded, "Zen, I have something to show you. And after that, you can see her!"


    Afterward, Ray clapped his hands.


    In no time, a group of maids-in-waiting walked out from behind the palace with brocade boxes of different sizes in their hands.


    The group of maids-in-waiting was followed by three foreign almost nude ladies. The three ladies had nothing on except two bright silver pads to cover their boobs and lower parts.


    They looked different from the ladies in the Eastern Region¨Cwith sunken eyes, white skin, slender legs, and special styles. And because they were almost naked and walked with fascinating and mincing steps, they released a deadly charm to the male audience.


    As they walked out, all the men focused their eyes on them. Some men could not resist the temptation as their eyes turned red and their mouths started to dry.


    "Your Highness, what''s the meaning of this?" Zen frowned and questioned.

 Chapter 519 The Right Price For Loyalty

    Pointing to the three enchanting exotic girls, Ray smiled and told Zen, "They are the Yen people from the Western Region. They are still virgins. And you must have known that the virginity of Yen woman contains vigorous blood energy. If you cultivate with them, you can take their virginity and gain their blood energy at the same time."


    The blood energy had great benefits to the cultivators.


    If a person was energetic and vigorous, he could quickly recover from any injuries. So, if a cultivator had vigorous blood energy, their wounds could heal at an incredible pace.


    But the common way to enhance one''s blood energy was through endless exercises, and it would take some time. In fact, it was as challenging as exercising the strength of soul.


    The pills that could enhance the blood energy were sold at sky-high prices just like those that could strengthen the soul.


    And the three girls of Yen nationality in front had such precious blood energy.


    It was indeed a double benefit for a cultivator to enhance his blood energy by cultivating with enchanting beautiful women in bed. It was a temptation that almost no man could resist.


    The three Yen girls had the hottest bodies that all man would crave for.


    Zen looked away from the girls and was about to speak when Ray walked to a brocade box and opened carelessly. Inside that box, there were three light-red crystals emitting thick life vitality.


    The life vitality of the crystals was unrefined and had to be absorbed into human bodies to replenish their life vitality.


    "The supreme life vitality crystal is the currency of the Central Region. It can replenish a cultivator''s life vitality in an instant. At the current exchange rate, the value of a supreme crystal is equivalent to one million cubic crystals of the Eastern Region," Ray stated. The expression on his face was as if saying that those three supreme crystals were not the best. He was trying to hype Zen with the next boxes as if there were more valuable things in them than the supreme life vitality crystals.


    The currency used in the Eastern Region was cubic crystal. The cubic crystals could buy fancy things like flying chariots and the Picture Slabs. But the energy in the cubic crystal could not be directly absorbed by the cultivators.


    The cultivators of the Eastern Region could only acquire life vitality from their cultivation activities, but it would take time. If at a critical moment there was a shortage of life vitality, it would be difficult to replenish it in a short time.


    But life vitality crystals such as the supreme crystal could solve this problem. It contained the purest and ownerless life vitality that required no refining and could be easily absorbed into the cultivator''s body.


    As mentioned before, a cultivator''s life vitality didn''t come from his body. It was the energy of nature. The cultivator could only borrow this energy for his own use, and ultimately, had to give it back to nature. On the other hand, Zen''s demonic phantom had achieved that state where he could


    As to the future emperor of the Burning Sky Empire, whether it was Crown Prince, Third Prince, or Seventh Prince, Zen didn''t care at all.


    After being rejected mercilessly by Zen, Ray''s smiling face stiffened. He didn''t say a word for a while.


    Seeing the dismay in the prince''s face, some of the guests couldn''t control themselves and shouted abuse at Zen.


    In their opinion, Ray favored him so much, but Zen was being too arrogant. Each of the boxes contained a precious gift and there could be more in the other boxes. Even the top seven noble clans could hardly receive such high rewards from the royal family.


    "Zen, are you really this stubborn? Can''t you be just grateful at the Highness'' kindness? His Highness appreciates you so much, but you keep on refusing him. Who do you think you are?" "Even if you are talented, you can only compete with a cultivator at the beginning of the Illuminating Soul Realm. Any master at the high grade of Illuminating Soul Realm can easily defeat you."


    "There are many masters working for His Highness. In comparison, you''re nothing but a bum."


    "Are you challenging His Highness, lad? Or you''re just playing hard to get? But let me tell you, don''t be too greedy. Greed often ends badly!"


    The guests scolded Zen one after another.


    Ray waved his hands to hushed them. His face looked quite complicated.


    He realized that Zen''s attitude was resolute and he had misjudged Zen''s character. He thought that there was no deal in the world that could not be done with some high-priced gifts. He felt that he was inexperienced in reading people''s mind.


    Despite being rejected, Ray admired Zen''s talent and didn''t want to give up.


    He puzzled himself over the matter of what Zen really cared about.


    Soon, his eyes brightened with joy and his face lit up into a smile again.


    He had tried to attract Zen with wealth and status that he completely forgot what Zen really wanted¨Chis half-sister, Aura. He thought that he finally found the right price for Zen''s loyalty.

 Chapter 520 Misunderstanding

    Ever since Zen Luo had entered the Feathery Star Hall, his focus hadn''t been on himself or on anyone or anything in the great hall itself. His only reason for staying and waiting was to wait for Aura Su.


    Ray already knew about the relationship between Zen and Aura. He had a vast network of informants at his command. Aura had been Zen''s master when she was at the Drizzle Peak.


    However, there was something Ray didn''t understand. If they only called each other master and disciple, why did Zen care about Aura so much?


    In any case, it wasn''t important for Ray to know why Zen cared about her. The fact that Zen cared about Aura a lot was enough for him.


    Zen turned a deaf ear to the conversations of everyone else inside the Feathery Star Hall. He seemed bored and after a while, he asked Ray directly, "Your Highness, it has been a long while. Why isn''t the Sky Princess here yet? Have you been teasing me from the very beginning?"


    "Please relax. The Sky Princess will be here any time." A smile appeared on Ray''s face again. He seemed to be in a mood to keep Zen there as long as possible.


    ...


    ...


    The ambience in the Shine Hall was soft and there was a slight radiance in it.


    It had been quite busy in the past but right now, it was desolate and quiet.


    Only a very few necessary servants still stayed in the hall. Others were not even allowed to get close to it.


    Being under house arrest was not a very pleasant thing. Aura was bored and had started to learn embroidery skills from an aged servant.


    Right now also, to while away the time, her deft fingers were holding a silver needle and guiding a colorful string through a piece of white satin. Being pretty smart, Aura had found it easy to learn.


    Delicate patterns were appearing on the satin gradually. They were neat, flexible and well-colored. Her skills had become much better than the aged servant herself now.


    But right now she was merely staring at the pattern and keeping still. She felt depressed that she could do nothing under this house arrest.


    ''Did the All Peak Competition end?


    What performance could Zen Luo achieve?


    Among the top one hundred?'' Aura talked to herself inwardly, To be honest, in Aura''s eyes, if Zen was able to be among the top 100, she would have felt greatly satisfied. Thinking about this, Aura''s smart eyes turned crescent. If Zen really managed to succeed in this endeavor, the Drizzle Peak''s rank would go much higher this time.


    She chose Zen from thousands of disciples. Aura really did seem to have a talent of spotting the occasional grain of wheat among large piles of chaff. And her loyalty lay to the Drizzle Peak, so much so that being a master there was better than staying here.


    If she had not left the Drizzle Peak, she would not have been involved in the political struggles of the Imperial Capital.


    But somehow, she could not remain unaffected due to her brother. The crown prince was her brother.


    It was


    e arrest for such a long time that she had become over sensitive now. She felt that she had been betrayed and wanted to cry when she saw Zen standing beside Ray.


    It seemed that she had found out an elite and cultivated him with great efforts, but the elite was now standing on the other side of the game. She felt bad even though it had not been wise of her to have put so much hope on this young man. Zen could not have changed the overall situation by himself at all.


    "Master Su!" Zen caught her in his glance and became excited. Of course Zen didn''t know Aura had several negative thoughts going on in her mind right now. Zen was simply happy to see her safe.


    To him, Aura was not his master, but an elder sister. She had helped him a lot every time he had faced difficult situations. He had survived them with her help and belief. That was one of the important reasons why Zen had come to the Burning Sky Palace as soon as he had come back to the Imperial Capital.


    He must pay back the kindness of Aura.


    However, there seemed to be a cold frost in Aura''s eyes. She replied coldly to Zen, "Yes? Do you have anything to talk to me?"


    ''Since you have chosen to be on Ray''s side, I don''t suppose I am as important as I was before. So why did you want to see me? Do you want to show off the relationship between you and Ray?'' Aura thought angrily.


    "Are... are you all right?" Seeing Aura''s cold reaction, Zen was stunned and didn''t know what to say.


    Aura smiled coldly and replied in a chilly tone, "Fine, I am always fine. I grew up in the Burning Sky Palace and this is my home. Why wouldn''t I be fine?"


    Zen was puzzled. Looking at the cold expression Aura was touting, he tried to find out the reason why she was acting that way. But no matter how hard he looked, he could not know what was wrong with Aura. Why did she have such a cold attitude? Was she really fine under house arrest?


    "But..." Zen was totally lost and did not know what to say.

 Chapter 521 The First Place (Part One)

    Aura found Zen''s response strange and wondered why Zen looked a little uneasy. She had misunderstood Zen. It was a mistake on her part to take it for granted that Zen had thrown himself into Ray''s lap.


    "But I heard that you had been placed under house arrest. I came here to free you today!" Zen finally recovered and declared in a firm tone, with his gaze fixated on Aura.


    He was confused as to why Aura was so cold and unkind to him. But right now, thinking of his purpose for coming here, he decided that he had to make every possible effort to achieve his end. Even though Aura was reluctant, Zen wasn''t going to rashly change his mind. This was just who Zen was.


    "Free me from house arrest?" Aura questioned back in a daze. Very soon, she added, "Will you be able to do so?"


    In Aura''s opinion, it was improbable that Ray was going to put Zen in an important position even if Zen had decided to stand by Ray''s side and become his subordinate. After all, too many talented and capable people served Ray, so Zen was not indispensable for the prince, especially since he was only a nature creature.


    "How would I know if I don''t try!" Zen smiled.


    Upon hearing Zen''s calm and sure reply, Ray chuckled all of a sudden, strolling over to him. He told him, "Zen, it is not impossible for you to take Aura away!"


    ''It is not impossible?'' mumbled Aura. She was shocked by the prince''s words. She was even doubting her ears right now.


    In political conflicts of a royal family, attention was particularly paid to ruthless attack against opponents. Aura couldn''t believe it at all that Ray was going to let go of her so easi


    in the top 50?'' No, wait! That was not enough for Ray to pay so much attention to Zen. If Zen had been put in the list of top 20, there was a small likelihood that Ray would speak highly of Zen''s tactics, but it was still impossible for Ray to let Aura go just because of that rank. Did Zen win one of the top ten places? Or top five? Or top three? Aura''s guesses kept on inching closer, even though


    she herself felt that her guesses were rather ridiculous. Since all her guesses were absurd, she had no choice but to ask Zen.


    However, contrary to all of her expectations, Zen touched his head and responded gently, "Master Su, I won the first place!"


    "The first place..."


    Aura''s voice faltered before she could finish her sentence. Perhaps she was the last one to have come to know about this and also the one that was the most shocked to hear the news.


    After all, she had always been the one to show the greatest concerns for Zen. In addition, she had been placing the greatest hope on Zen for getting good results. And even if she hadn''t been, she was Zen''s master.

 Chapter 522 The First Place (Part Two)

    Regretfully, she had been put under house arrest inside the Shine Hall and couldn''t receive any news of the outside world. As a result, she could only guess and infer in her mind whenever she thought about how well Zen would be able to perform in the All Peaks Competition.


    But upon hearing her question, Zen had immediately replied to her that he had won the first place. Although he had responded in a low voice, Aura felt as if a streak of lightning had flashed across her brain and hit her. It was evident how sensational that piece of news was for her.


    Aura was sure that it was impossible for Zen to lie to her, but the news was really unbelievable, since she hadn''t seen the announcement made by the Cloud Sect, and hadn''t personally looked at the list of rankings released by the Cloud Sect or witnessed the fight.


    Zen''s strengths seemed to have been improved and reached the third grade of nature level. Aura could easily detect all these improvements and changes in Zen. But what if Zen had reached the third grade of nature level? How could he have battled with the top disciples of all thirty three peaks? How could he have fought and won the disciples who had directly learned skills from elders and saints?


    In spite of her great doubt, Aura could do nothing but believe in the news. Only when she believed could she understand why Ray had put forward such a condition to set her free.


    Thinking from Ray''s standpoint, Aura confirmed that she would surely make the same choice as Ray had if Zen had really won the first place among all disciples of Cloud Sect.


    In fact, Zen''s words had been proven true by what Ray had stated.


    When she had been feeling rather bored in the Shine Hall, Aura had calculated that perhaps Zen would have been able to c


    mly gazed at him, Zen felt beads of sweat transpiring on his back.


    It had been a long period of time since he felt such a strong sense of oppression last time.


    "Ray, do you dare to try and kill me?" Zen asked coldly.


    Ray shook his head very calmly and responded, "To be honest, I do not. Now, you are ranked Number One in Cloud Sect. How would I be able to explain it to Kenneth if I kill you?"


    "Since you dare not, then why do you... try to stop me today?" As Zen was saying that, he turned back and moved forward with a flick of his sword. Immediately, the energy of the Phoenix Crystal on his right arm fully emancipated by itself. In the meantime, all dragon scales inside his body lit up, as he had almost exerted all his strengths!


    Evan hadn''t stepped into the ultimate level of the Illuminating Soul Realm yet, but Zen had been only capable of battling him in terms of sword play. Although this old man''s gift and even his foundation were not as awesome as Evan''s, he was not weak. Zen significantly lagged behind this old man in terms of cultivation levels.


    To confront with such a strong master, Zen had no choice but to adopt his mightiest tactic.

 Chapter 523 Smashing Through The Walls (Part One)

    Seeing that Zen''s sword was coming at him with such mighty force, the old man felt a tinge of surprise.


    In fact, even if it had been some other master in his place, with greater powers at his disposal, he would also find Zen''s unfathomable, ingenious and seemingly basic movements of swordsmanship strange.


    This wasn''t so because Zen''s abilities and moves were unbreakable. Even tactically the most sound of his moves would fail to make up for the enormous and undeniable strength gap that lay between the two.


    As Zen flicked the sword at him, the old man turned around with his short yet powerful stature to dodge the incoming attack. At the same time, he did something mentally and a short spear popped out of nowhere, lunging straight at Zen''s Streamer Sword.


    Clink!


    The pointed head of the spear collided with Zen''s streamer Sword and let out a crisp tinkling sound. Though neither of the two weapons stopped in their paths, the spear slightly sank down. The old man seemed surprised. Obviously, he hadn''t expected that Zen''s long sword could contain such mighty force. His face darkened a little and he sneered as he injected a bit of grey-colored life vitality into his short spear. Now, he decided to beat back Zen''s sword by relying on his life vitality.


    Zen backed a few steps when faced with that force. Then, without taking a breath, he lunged at the old man with his sword once more.


    One strike, two strikes, three strikes, four strikes¡­


    Every move that Zen made was impeccable and his performance of basic swordsmanship was, perhaps, second to none. Unfortunately, such basic moves were of no use and his attacks were constantly deflected by the old man''s life vitality.


    Zen''s face was clouded. His level in the martial arts really was very low.


    Even though he excelled at swordsmanship, which had given him the confidence and the ability to win over the aged man''s short spear, in this fight, his opponent didn''t seem fazed about his talent in this ar


    iry weapon. It was considered highly difficult to obtain such weapons. However, Lily was no ordinary person.


    And what she held in her hands was a middle-level fairy weapon. Moreover, the cultivation technique Lily was utilizing in her attacks was a kind of malicious aura. It was, to use the common phrase, super-powerful.


    As soon as the sharp blade of the Blood Drinking Sword touched the wooden hilt of the short spear, there was a flash of red light and the low-level fairy weapon directly broke into two parts.


    The old man reacted quickly. At the very moment his short spear was broken, he immediately retreated a few steps back. But he was too slow compared to Lily, and the Blood Drinking sword still stabbed into his chest and drops of blood came out from the wound. The old man crazily fled backward, and Lily ran behind him in hot pursuit. She followed closely behind at a brisk, powerful pace, her pretty figure dancing every step of the way. She was determined to catch him and kill him.


    "Let''s go!"


    Lily''s dancing steps and movements seemed delicate but her swordsmanship was very powerful. However, even she was not a match for the old man. She had just happened to pop out and catch him off guard. After the latter had come back to his senses, Lily might not be able to withstand his attacks.

 Chapter 524 Smashing Through The Walls (Part Two)

    Holding Aura''s hand, Zen raced away rapidly. Aura could feel a mighty force drag her forward. She didn''t need to take any steps to follow him, since that mighty, invisible force was pushing her and she felt like she was riding on a cloud.


    After running for a while, a vermilion wall appeared in their path and blocked the way. All the walls in the palace were painted in vermilion and were one meter thick. However, Zen didn''t stop. When he finally approached the wall and got close enough to it, he simply bumped into it without any hesitation at all. As a result, the wall cracked open and a big hole appeared in it.


    Zen grew more and more uneasy, looking like a caged beast. He had brought his strength and speed into full play. While Aura, who was standing behind him, cracked into a smile.


    She had been caught in the Shine Palace for quite a period of time and today, she felt very pleased to see that Zen had grown so strong. She was blissfully happy. She looked as if she was intoxicated. She followed Zen silently as she watched his broad back. It almost seemed to her that she really didn''t care whether they could get out of the Burning Sky Palace or not.


    More importantly, Aura was clear that it was impossible for Zen to get out with her.


    "Your Highness, let us go and stop this man."


    The guests of the Feathery Star Hall volunteered to accompany the old man behind Zen.


    Ray turned a deaf ear towards them. He was busy gazing firmly at Lily who was now fighting with Uncle Kyle.


    Kyle was the old man Zen had been fighting. He was a trusted follower of Ray, and also an elder of the family.


    As Lily initiated her sword dance, Kyle panicked. Now, with his spear broken into two by her sword, it was very difficult for him to deflect Lily''s sword dance.


    But after several rounds, Kyle finally took control with his life vitality. He became more valiant in the fight. Gusts of winds came from his palms and streams of life vitality escaped from his body which helped him withstand the attacks of Lily''s sword dance. He was finally successful in forcing Lily to retrea


    n the garden was quite a feast to the eyes, with several birds singing in the air, flowers casting forth their fragrance, and trees throwing a pleasant shade on the ground. They felt as though they had entered a fairyland.


    Under a willow tree sat a young man wearing a purple hat. In front of him was a string plucked instrument. He was plucking those strings gently with his slender fingers and a sad melody engulfed the air.


    Looking at the young man, Zen suddenly stopped. It was not that he was afraid of the young man. He could sense that the young man''s strength was at the initial level of Illuminating Soul Realm at best. And Zen would certainly not take him seriously.


    It was the three people who were standing beside the young man that made Zen hesitate. Those men were clad with kohempcloth archer uniform. And they were wearing a black belt connected by white jade on their waists.


    Zen could not figure out the real strength of these three men. He could only sense from the aura they were emitting that the strength of the two men standing on the side were relatively weaker. And the man who was standing in the middle was even stronger than Elder Xu, and among the masters Zen had seen, he might be only lesser to Kenneth.


    "I said it was okay, because I knew you would not be able to get me out of the Burning Sky Palace..." Aura replied sweetly with a gentle smile.

 Chapter 525 Pointing Out The Problem

    Putting the crown prince and the Sky Princess under house arrest was not the sole decision of the third prince. In truth, the seventh prince had been in on the plot, too.


    The crown prince was more like a pawn, but he could not be discarded at random though he was quite useless. After all, with the outcome of the throne battle still in suspense, neither the third prince, Ray, nor the seventh prince, Conn, was willing to tackle the crown prince.


    If either of them made a move against the crown prince now, the other would accuse him of usurping the throne. Both of them knew they could not carry such blame on their backs.


    But if one of them deposed the crown prince after he gained an absolute advantage, nobody would dare step forward to speak for the crown prince.


    The young man with the purple hat swept his fingers along the zither calmly. The music was at times loud and sonorous, at other moments more sorrowful and euphemistic. It was quite an exquisite play.


    "Who is he?" asked Zen.


    "He''s Conn, the seventh prince," Aura answered him.


    Hearing Aura''s voice, Conn stopped playing at once. He smiled, calling out in a bright and clear voice, "Sister Aura, good evening to you!"


    Aura bit her lips, saying, "Well, good to see you too, brother!"


    "Tonight, the Burning Sky Palace was so clamorous that I couldn''t fall asleep. So, I came out to play a piece. I wonder if Sister Aura and the friend beside you are interested in hearing my piece?" inquired Conn with a smile.


    "No, not at all!" Zen replied flatly. He had no patience in dawdling over social etiquette with this young man. At first glance itself, Conn''s uncanny appearance revealed him not to be a too decent guy. Zen just tugged Aura forward, attempting to walk through the hole in the wall and find a way outside.


    However, the moment he moved, a waft of wind whirled in. Two men stood at the hole that Zen had created in the clash!


    The two of them moved in such an eerie fashion that Zen failed to see how they came to be there. It looked like they had been stationed in that hole all along, when just a second ago, they had been beside Conn!


    "Our seventh prince is seldom in such a good mood to play. Please hang around and listen, won''t you?" one of the two said, his words more of a demand than a request. To Zen''s surprise, his voice sounded as high-pitched as a woman''s.


    With the two men in the way, Zen tilted his head dangerously, snarling, "You two darn eunuchs!"


    Calling someone a eunuch at the Burning Sky Palace was not an act of insult. In fact, a eunuch occupied an official position in the palace, and not everyone was qualified for it. Almost anyone who could be classified as a eunuch was powerful.


    If Zen had simply called them ''two eunuchs'', the two would have probably not minded it.


    However, Zen referred to them with an insult. The expression on their faces turned unpleasant. After all, their martial art skills were quite extraordinary. They might not be a match to Elder Xu, but they could surely take out other elders of Cloud Sect.


    The two of them were certainly top-of-the-range practitioners in the Eastern Region.


    "You rat, you''re lucky our seventh prince is in a good


    med to twitch. The royal palace was not short on impressive talent. The plump guy was certainly not inferior in strength to the eunuch standing behind Conn!


    Ray shot Conn a shrewd glance before speaking to him with a smile. "My favorite brother of all! How carefree you are. Playing the zither on such a dark and windy night. I heard you say you''ll hunt Zen down. Well, it''s not what an honest man would do!"


    These days, the two princes hardly got along. They were as incompatible as fire with water. Some said they would soon battle it out in a war of life and death.


    The expression on Conn''s face turned ice cold when he caught sight of his brother. "What does that have to do with you?" he demanded viciously.


    "It sure does. Today, Zen finally consented to honor me with his company at my Feathery Star Hall..."


    "..."


    As the two princes stared daggers at each other, the followers behind them stood still.


    This kind of confrontations had occurred numerous times already. But so far, the two had restrained the conflicts to verbal spats alone. If they got violent, the entirety of the Burning Sky Palace would soon be drenched in blood.


    As the two princes argued, Zen suddenly bellowed, "Enough!"


    Hearing Zen''s shout, the two princes stood dazed. Soon, faint smiles curled their lips. They might fear each other but neither of them took Zen very seriously, given that the latter was hardly at top levels of the nature-level. His strength was praiseworthy, but not so impressive to them. If he joined any of their leagues, it would be great for them. But even he didn''t, it was no big deal.


    Zen threw them a sullen look. "Your highnesses, today I might lack sufficient strength to get Aura out of here. But could I point out a problem?"


    "What?" asked Ray.


    Conn rested his fingers on the strings of his instrument, his hard eyes fixed on Zen.


    "Right now you might overpower me with help from those willing to back you. But one day, when I return with my accomplishments at cultivation, would you wish to watch your empire get run down to the ground?" Zen asked them in a quiet but awe-inspiring voice.

 Chapter 526 Powerful Internal Elixir Realm Warriors (Part One)

    Neither Ray nor Conn expected it, and they were astonished!


    Then the two of them laughed loudly as if they''d just heard a hilarious joke.


    Echoing their laughter, the entourage standing behind the princes laughed heartily as well.


    Behind Ray, the guests guffawed, laughing so hard that some were doubled over, clutching their bellies.


    Zen''s threat was the funniest joke they''d ever heard.


    "Did I hear him right? Did he say that he would destroy our country? My word, this boy isn''t in his right mind."


    "The empire has survived many threats, and is still standing. It''s strong, and will stand forever. How dare he threaten us? Has he lost his mind completely!?"


    "I thought I had confidence! This man takes the cake! Ha-ha! He has so much bluster that his wind could cause a tornado!"


    Even the usually serious, taciturn chief eunuch smiled, as did Hendy.


    Zen was indeed a genius from the Cloud Sect, the type of genius that came once a millennium.


    But, as with any title, genius, denoted potential, and not necessarily what he had already achieved.


    Many geniuses were born into the world every year, but, few endured long enough to mature into seasoned warriors because it was the age of survival of the fittest!


    A few worked to make their way up towards the top, whereas the rest blended into the crowd, or worse yet, became nothing more than a heap of bones on the ground. The world might be full of opportunities, but it also demanded precise moves. One wrong step could mean doom, on any given day. A genius would be wise to maintain a low profile if he wanted to survive. As a fledgling, which Zen was, he''d made a grave mistake.


    Because the Burning Sky Empire was like a huge monster. It was the largest, and strongest empire in the Eastern Region, making this a superpower to be reckone


    his soul, while it tortured his physical form.


    Having a body forged and enhanced like an indestructible fortress meant it was easier for Zen to deal with bodily harm. And while he could virtually ignore the corporeality pressure exerted on him, the real difficulty was the weight pushing against him mentally.


    "Zen!" Aura called out in an anxiety-ridden voice. Even if the two masters promised not to hurt Zen physically, they could decimate him mentally, which would cause more damage than any physical attack, and yet, wouldn''t be violating the rules.


    She was worried, but, she couldn''t do anything about it.


    What could she do though? When Zen was faced with Vale, she used her title as a deterrence.


    When Zen was attacked by the saints, she helped him out again, by utilizing her position and power to resolve the dilemma.


    Now though, there wasn''t any way for her to help him!


    Her current situation was complicated. She wasn''t able to fend for herself because her brothers looked down on her while her title and position were nothing special to them. How could she deter her brothers and their escorts to help Zen?


    Her eyes grew large, brimming with anxiety, but she was helpless.

 Chapter 527 Powerful Internal Elixir Realm Warriors (Part Two)

    Aura stamped her foot in nervous anger. Just when she would have acted rashly, she felt Zen''s arm seize hers. She looked over and saw Zen shaking his head, before giving her a calming tranquil glance, even though the pressure pushing in on him was so intense that he couldn''t make a sound.


    When Aura saw the look in his eyes, she was dumbfounded. She knew that he was silently telling her he would endure and not to worry.


    Zen''s soul was firmer and stronger than most fighters. All this time, Zen had defeated many fighters, not only warriors that were the same rank as him, but the ones who were above him, at the preliminary stages of Illuminating Soul Realm.


    But strong as his soul was, it wasn''t stronger than that of an Internal Elixir Realm warrior. When a fighter entered the Internal Elixir Realm, he was addressed as an expert and treated respectfully throughout the Eastern Region. The Internal Elixir Realm warriors were representative of the elite martial art warriors that the Eastern Region offered. And when they used their might against Zen, it was a stiff trial.


    "Cra-aa-ck!"


    Under the immense pressure, Zen''s soul began to shudder. Subconsciously, his voice vibrated in his throat. Still, he gazed at Aura with comforting warmth.


    Aura could sense the agony he felt though, and looking in his eyes, she saw his pain deep in there. She knew Zen was close to the brink of destruction and failure. Zen was indeed the genius who took first place in the All Peaks Competition, and he did it even though he was at the nature level. Still, there were warriors at the Illuminating Soul Realm and also the Internal Elixir Realm above the nature creatures.


    Next to them, Zen might as well have been an ant. He''d been proud of the intensity of his soul, but, it was no longer an adva


    bstacle on his own.


    Zen might be gifted, intelligent, and blessed, but for him to be truly strong, he needed to be able to manage alone. Outside forces, after all, would be another''s power, and Zen couldn''t rely on others all the time.


    Since there was a light-ray within the furnace that was capable of repairing any soul damage, instantly, the cyan dragon planned on waiting until Zen''s soul had been disintegrated.


    Unfortunately, Kenneth interrupted his plans when he suddenly appeared, saved Zen, and prevented Zen''s soul from disintegrating.


    Actually, Kenneth had been there, watching for some time too. He hadn''t showed himself until a critical point came and Zen was about to fail.


    Of course, Kenneth didn''t know that the cyan dragon was in Zen and could have saved him at the last minute. So, to ensure that Zen didn''t end up mindless, he needed to step in and help. After all, Zen was the most significant disciple participating in the Cloud Road Test. Therefore, Kenneth needed to prevent any accidents from befalling him, especially any that would damage his soul and leave him an idiot forever.


    This was why he had shown up, and forced the two attackers to retreat.

 Chapter 528 A Huge Face

    Once Kenneth descended from the sky, others who were floating in the air also slowly landed. All the elders from Cloud Sect were present, including Elder Xu, who rarely made a public appearance.


    Elder Xu was highly skilled at using cultivation methods related to life. When he landed, he walked up to Zen and advised him, "Stop resisting."


    Heeding the advice, Zen felt the slow infusion of green life vitality into his mind.


    "What?"


    Ordinarily, being pressed down by two Internal Elixir Realm warriors could cause severe damage to one''s soul. So, it surprised Elder Xu to find out this was not the case with Zen. His soul sustained no serious injuries but was slightly weaker. And this would only take a day or two for the warrior to restore himself.


    Having witnessed Zen''s performance, Elder Xu was aware that his soul was stronger than that of ordinary martial artists, yet he was still surprised. ''Those two are so strong that I dare not despise them. I didn''t expect this boy to make it through. So, it is quite impressive.''


    "Master Shi!"


    Recognition had him standing up quickly and Conn bowed to Kenneth.


    Meanwhile, Ray, who was on the other side, also carefully bowed to Kenneth.


    Even the emperor had to bow when he saw the leader of Cloud Sect, not to mention the two princes.


    When others saw Kenneth, regarded as the strongest man in the Eastern Region, they were shocked.


    To everyone''s surprise, Kenneth didn''t even bother to look at Conn or Ray and ignored them completely. Instead, he walked over to Zen, patted him on the shoulder, and smiled. "How ambitious you are! That''s my boy. You want to wipe out this country?


    That''s great! I''m in!" he laughed.


    When he heard Kenneth''s words, Ray felt that his heart was in his throat, and became extremely nervous.


    Meanwhile, Conn forced a smile, which was worse than a cry.


    If Kenneth wanted to wipe out the Burning Sky Empire, he could.


    When Kane was still alive, the emperor of the Burning Sky Empire was more powerful than Kenneth. Over the years, the empire grew in prosperity and strength because of him.


    But now, Kane was missing. Who could match and compete with Kenneth in the Burning Sky Empire?


    Eunuchs flanked Conn. One of them was a master at the primary level of Internal Elixir Realm and Conn''s strongest supporter. Although powerful, he was still no match for Kenneth.


    There was Hendy, who assisted Ray, and had likewise reached the primary level of the Internal Elixir Realm.


    However, even if Hendy teamed up with the chief eunuch, they didn''t stand a chance of conquering Kenneth.


    Other than Kenneth, there were vice leaders,


    this was quite surprising.


    The situation inside the palace had not changed, and Aura understood this. Her brother, the crown prince of Burning Sky Empire, was still unable to change his fate. However, with Kenneth''s protection, there was a chance to change the situation.


    Since Kenneth valued Zen very much, the young disciple could have the power to destroy the country in the future.


    Talks about destroying the Burning Sky Empire was merely a threat. Even if Zen had the strength to wipe out the country, he would never do that. After all, martial artists at that level were not interested in being emperors at all.


    The highest goal ordinary people aspired for was to be an emperor. Martial artists, however, had even loftier goals.


    In the days when Kane held so much power, he barely cared about the state of affairs. It was the crown prince who handled everything in Burning Sky Empire. As emperor, Kane often accepted missions from Cloud Hall and ventured out to fulfill them. He was not so much an emperor as a martial artist.


    In their return to Drizzle Peak, Aura and Zen received a warm welcome from the peak''s disciples.


    Drizzle Peak was completely different at this point. Numerous practicing realms and magic arrays were built to provide disciples with a better environment for improving themselves.


    As the first among thirty-three peaks that was able to move from the last place to first, Drizzle Peak made history. And this remarkable change benefited all of Drizzle Peak''s disciples. They thanked Zen for everything he had done, and Aura, for having brought Zen to Drizzle Peak.


    However, their joy was shortlived. Something bizarre caused it to disappear.


    One day, a huge face suddenly appeared in the sky of Cloud Sect.

 Chapter 529 Yan Needed Zens Protection

    After Zen returned to Cloud Sect, he continued cultivating without interruptions.


    There was only a half month left before the start of Cloud Road. If Zen had not visited the Luo Clan, he would have focused entirely on cultivation.


    Meanwhile, both Rocher Hua and Patrick Pei had been absorbed in their cultivation.


    Rocher had stayed in the Seven Star Sword Light Platform and didn''t leave even for a second. There, he could not only add greater flexibility to his sword, but he could reinforce his strength as well.


    Patrick didn''t visit any practicing locations. His Buddhism cultivation method could not be improved by visiting any training places. His skills could only be enhanced through meditation.


    Zen''s sister, Yan, didn''t go back to Hell Mountain


    as there was only a half month left before Zen had to go to Cloud Road. Since Yan rarely got the opportunity to spend time with her brother, every moment was precious to her.


    Usually, Yan watched as Zen practiced. She gazed at her brother as he exerted himself during his refinement. What she wanted was simple¡ªto be around her brother. She didn''t have much more to ask for.


    However, It seemed to be unfortunate for Yan¡ªsuch a tiny wish of her was still hard to come true as she would have to say goodbye to her brother soon. Sometimes, Yan thought it would have been better if she and her brother had been born in an ordinary family. In that case, they would have been ordinary people and they could spend their lives peacefully. There wouldn''t be so many difficulties and disasters in their lives, and they wouldn''t have to work so hard to pursue something.


    Once a person decided to become a cultivator, hardships were part of their destiny. Not only would they obtain a lot, but they would also lose a lot.


    Today, Zen had chosen to refine while sitting at the top of the mountain in Drizzle Peak. He was trying to use his life vitality to get past the bottleneck of grade four of the nature level.


    As a matter of fact, Zen had accumulated enough strength to break through on his own. He could simplify the process by consuming some pills as well. However, Zen''s foundation and basic strength would suffer if he chose to use pills. Furthermore, taking help now would make it more difficult for him to break through a higher level in the future.


    Each time Zen improved, it had happened naturally. Each time his life vitality reached its limit, Zen would achieve a breakthrough. Since he had never taken external help when refining, it meant that his foundation was extraordinarily solid.


    Just as Yan was watching Zen, a windstorm began.


    Thick clouds, like bales of cotton, were pulled closer as though grasped by an invisible hand.


    Yan''s hair fluttered in the breeze. As the wind picked up speed, Yan''s hair flew around her in a tangled mess. Zen also sensed the threat and frowned.


    The clouds in the sky thundered as they crashed into each other. Soon, they took the form of a human face!


    "What


    ng that!


    But Yan didn''t feel the same way as the other disciples.


    Once the huge face stopped speaking, Yan rushed to her brother and hid in his arms. Her slim body trembled from fear.


    The entire time that she was imprisoned at Hell Mountain, Yan knew what awaited her in the future. But she didn''t fear it as much then as she thought she could choose to die. If she was forced to do what she was unwilling to, she could find an opportunity to end her life. At least her body would be untouched by a man she didn''t like.


    At that time, Yan was desperate. There was no hope in her life, and of course, she was not afraid of anything.


    But now Yan had found hope through her brother.


    Once she had found hope, she looked forward to extending it and dreamed that it would come true. At the same time, she feared that she would lose all her hope.


    This fear is what made Yan tremble.


    Zen held his sister and tried to calm her. He felt as though his sister was like a poor baby deer with great fear in her heart.


    "Yan, please try to relax. I am always here." Zen looked at the huge face while he reassured his sister. He now had a better idea of the obstacles he would face in his path.


    He knew he would have to conquer these by himself! That meant he needed to kill this man!


    Kenneth seemed to be whispering something to the huge face again. Shortly after, the huge face replied, "Okay! Good. If I don''t see Yan Luo in a month, Cloud Sect will no longer exist in the world! You can try if you don''t believe me! Haha!" After he finished, the large eyes of the face in the clouds turned toward Drizzle Peak.


    Zen stiffened. Apparently, he could feel the glare of the huge face. Zen didn''t try to hide. His eyes glistened with determination as he stared back at the huge face.


    "Oh?" The man found Zen''s reaction to be unusual. But he didn''t say anything. Instead, after flashing a cold smile, the huge face disappeared from the sky as if it had never been there.

 Chapter 530 I Will Protect You (Part One)

    Deep inside, Zen thought that as the massive face went away, he sneered at him.


    When a cultivator made so incredible cultivation achievements, he would occupy an unimaginably high position. For such a cultivator, feminine charms were probably not that important.


    No matter how many women he wanted, he could have them anytime and all the time.


    Rather than attach great importance to Yan''s appealing looks, he attempted to take her virginity only for the Lustful Demon Array and cultivation.


    Perhaps, this person had the wrong impression when he saw Zen holding Yan in his arms. But, great men like him were quite indifferent to people like Zen, whose existence was like that of ants.


    The final sneer he gave reflected disdain, contempt, indifference and disregard.


    It wasn''t until the massive face was out of sight that Yan finally raised her head. Even she was shocked by her own reactions. It had been a long time since something terrified her. But maybe she only seemed fragile because she was with her elder brother.


    "Brother, what shall we do?


    I don''t want to be captured and taken away by him!" Yan said anxiously.


    She looked seriously worried about the possible things that would happen to her.


    And her brother was helpless to make her stop thinking about it.


    In truth, it was even impossible for him to take Yan away from Cloud Sect. First of all, based on Zen''s current strengths, he was no match for Kenneth. Second, the person projecting the enormous face in the sky had left imprints on Yan''s body. It might be impossible for them to elude this man in the case that Zen managed to escape with his sister.


    "Yan, that man will do nothing to you before you reach the Internal Elixir Realm through cultivations. Now, what you have to do is wait," Zen s


    fulfilled his promise.


    Thus, very few warriors were willing to swear with their loyalty or dedication to martial arts.


    Nonetheless, it was clear to Zen that the master with that enormous face had already become a barrier to him, the one that he must clear if he ever wanted to reach the peak of martial arts. Whether Zen swore to do that or not had no difference because he was aware that he would be able to achieve greater things in martial arts as long as he killed that man.


    And he made that vow only because he expected to set his little sister''s mind at rest and ease her worries.


    "Bam! Bam! Bam!"


    As he descended from the sky, Kenneth clapped his hands loudly. Aura was beside him. Before this, the princess was on the hillside, but when she sighted the weird image in the sky and heard the enormous face speak, Aura naturally knew that the face appeared because of Yan. So, she rushed over by taking a flying chariot.


    "Well, that''s great. Well done!


    Cloud Sect disciples are, without a doubt, heroic.


    Aura, you truly have an eye for choosing such an excellent disciple for Drizzle Peak!" Kenneth declared.


    The laughter that followed echoed everywhere.

 Chapter 531 I Will Protect You (Part Two)

    "Master Shi," Zen stood and greeted him with a salute.


    To acknowledge Zen''s greeting, Kenneth nodded and said, "I think you have heard what that man said."


    "Yes, I did," Zen replied with a nod.


    "That man is so powerful that I dare not go against his orders, so I can do nothing but take Yan away and hand her over to him. I hope that you won''t blame me for not looking out for Yan''s safety, Zen," Kenneth said while shaking his head as a show of extreme helplessness regarding the current situation.


    "Master Shi, you''re thinking too much. How can I blame you for this?" Zen responded.


    He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.


    "While I fully support you in your vow with your loyalty to martial arts to put him to death, let me remind you that it is quite challenging to kill him... In the Central Region, there are still several people who can be paired up to fight that man, but it might be impossible to find someone to kill him," Kenneth sighed.


    No one in the Central Region was powerful enough to kill him?


    When Kenneth said this, Zen was slightly surprised before he realized that the man was indeed a top strongman in the Central Region.


    There were distinctions between winners and losers in top strongmen''s fights. But killing their opponents in these battles was a little difficult for them. After all, warriors were neither timber piles nor beasts. Aside from their exceptional strength, top strongmen were skilled at fleeing and dodging. When two top strongmen fought with each other, it was extremely hard for either of them to kill the other if anyone ever tried to escape.


    Other than being shocked, Zen''s eyes didn''t dim at the information fed to him


    from the Cloud Hall.


    In the early morning of the following day, Yan was set to leave. As she stood on the Bluesky Parking Ground, Yan turned back from time to time while heading towards the chariot. Judging by her eyes, it was evident that she was reluctant to leave her brother Zen.


    With one foot already on the staircase extending towards the enormous flying chariot, Yan abruptly turned around, ran over to her brother and gave him a bear hug.


    Since she was ten years old, she and Zen had been seldom together. After this separation, the two didn''t know when they would meet again, or if they even would.


    Parting was just a matter of time. Although she was reluctant to leave, Yan finally stepped aboard the huge flying chariot, which ascended slowly towards the sky.


    Staring through the glass window of the huge flying chariot, Yan sat there still in a daze. On the other side of the glass, Zen gently waved his hand and then assumed a pose.


    His posture was quite familiar to Yan, who had seen it in Hell Mountain. So, naturally, Yan understood what this indicated.


    It meant ''I will protect you!''

 Chapter 532 Space Windstorm

    As Zen''s experience got deeper, his mind gradually became stronger and more tranquil. Evidently, he was not as impulsive and irritable as before.


    He was distressed about Yan''s departure, but he quickly buried the emotion in the deepest recesses of his heart.


    A few days later, Zen, Rocher, and Patrick gathered at the Cloud Palace. The time for the Cloud Road trial had finally come.


    It was a most important day for them. The mindsets of all three were different. Rocher was looking forward to it as he had been wanting to go to the Central Region since long. He was eager to hone his sword in the outside world. And Patrick, as the reincarnation of Acalanatha, hoped to acquire a greater inheritance.


    To Zen, however, this felt inevitable. He was as if a toddler taking his first step.


    "You three, come with me!" Kenneth walked out of Cloud Sect. With a roll of his sleeves, he took the three of them with him, flying in a certain direction.


    They had mused that their path to Cloud Road would be similar to Yan''s travel, that was to say, a ride on a giant flying chariot to the Central Region.


    The location was too far off from the Eastern Region... It would take half a month for a giant flying chariot to cross the vast mountains situated halfway.


    However, Kenneth flew with them in the opposite direction.


    Before long, a mountain appeared in front of them, the one inside Cloud Sect. It was not a well-known mountain. It seemed that Cloud Sect had not made use of it¡ªno construction was done on it. It had no buildings. All in all, it was ordinary.


    But as they flew to the front of the mountain, Kenneth lowered all of a sudden, instantly landing at the foot of the mountain.


    Doubt climbed on the faces of the three disciples. They had no idea what Kenneth was up to. Was it possible that the legendary Cloud Road was hidden inside the mountain? The mountain was shrouded in much mystery. What secrets did it hold?


    "Follow me," Kenneth said without further explanation, leading the way.


    Trailing behind him, the disciples soon reached the front of the mountainside. Kenneth waved his hand and the shadow in front of them slowly dissipated, revealing the wide, gaping hollow of a cave.


    The four entered the cave. They walked down a long corridor that ended in a vast and circular space.


    In the middle of the circular space, they found a platform about ten feet wide and two feet high. On this platform were various carved runes that Zen, Rocher, and Patrick did not recognize. They also found six crystals around the platform.


    "What kind of crystals are they? They seem to contain such pure life vitality! Could they be..." Rocher said with enthusiasm, his voice trailing off as he considered the possibility.


    Patrick too was shocked at the pure and rich life vitality emanating off the crystals. A surprised look flashed across his usually cal


    was a novel experience for anyone who stepped into the transmission array channel for the very first time.


    Suddenly, about five minutes later, a bright blue light appeared in the front.


    "What''s that?" Rocher asked eagerly.


    As Kenneth looked down to see, his face changed. "Stay behind me!" he shouted. "That''s space windstorm!"


    The three were not sure what the space windstorm was, but from the looks of it, they knew that the power would be too great to withstand.


    Even Kenneth did not want to encounter the space windstorm. It didn''t occur every time. This time, they had not been as lucky.


    Facing the space windstorm, Kenneth''s giant body bulged up, tiny spots of yellow life vitality gathering on its surface, spreading quickly.


    "Ha!" Kenneth roared loudly, yellow life vitality expanding to something ten times larger. It morphed into a giant shield to protect the group of four. At the same time, the space windstorm swirled, making its way to them.


    Sizz, sizz...


    The space windstorm tore apart Kenneth''s life vitality incessantly. A peculiar sound, like that of an electric current, echoed through the channel.


    Kenneth''s life vitality did not stop flowing, still wanting to resist the space windstorm.


    As Kenneth fought it, Patrick and Rocher seemed to be holding their breaths. This was horrible. A slight mistake from Kenneth, a moment of lost concentration, and they would get rolled into the storm, their bodies turning to ashes!


    Zen''s emotionless eyes, however, were fixed on the space windstorm.


    "Zen, what are you looking at?" Rocher whispered to him.


    Patrick looked at Zen strangely. Although the space windstorm was a sight to behold, any pair of eyes would exhaust themselves looking at it for a long time.


    As Zen watched the space windstorm, a bright-blue storm penetrated Kenneth''s life vitality shield like lightning, shooting directly into Zen''s eyes!

 Chapter 533 The Space Rules

    A snake-like streak of lightning suddenly extended and twisted from the bright blue windstorm. It rushed towards them, but even Kenneth''s heavy life vitality shield couldn''t resist it.


    Kenneth was undoubtedly powerful, but even he was afraid of the space windstorm.


    Patrick and Rocher would probably be burned to ashes if they ever came close to it.


    Thus, even Kenneth was shocked for a second. He wondered why this space windstorm had penetrated his life vitality shield without any difficulty at all.


    He was dumbfounded, while Rocher and Patrick were white as a sheet with fright.


    They were the top geniuses of Cloud Sect and had more than enough experience. They had lived in all kinds of crises and even survived challenges on the edge of life and death.


    However, they didn''t want to die with any grievances. It was just unfortunate that they were blocked by the space windstorm when they passed the transmission array.


    The three of them stared blankly at the space windstorm that shot into Zen''s eyes. Would it make his head explode?


    After a while, something strange happened. After the space windstorm shot into Zen''s orbs, he didn''t react at all, but a blue light shone in his bright eyes.


    "What''s going on?"


    "Zen, are you okay?"


    Rocher and Patrick rushed to Zen to see if he was fine, but they were still afraid that their voices would alert the dense space windstorm of their presence.


    Meanwhile, Zen''s eyes were blank. He had heard Rocher''s and Patrick''s calls, but he only reacted after a while.


    "I don''t know what happened¡­I just stared at this space windstorm, and that''s it," he said hesitantly.


    He randomly stared at it for no reason, but was that it?


    Patrick and Rocher didn''t believe him at all.


    However, Zen indeed didn''t do anything. He was just curious about the space windstorm and wanted to check if it had hidden secrets.


    But, he was abruptly lost in a trance. It felt like he had understood everything in life. It was like when one suddenly found out the solution and completely understood the obscure arithmetic rules, and then solved the complicated subject in one go.


    There was a pause before Zen spoke.


    "It seems that I¡­have understood a little about the space windstorm. I found the rules for their arrangement, but I can''t see clearly¡­" Zen continued to speak with uncertainty and a blank look in his eyes, but he realized that some things had changed.


    The space windstorm was originally a mess made from countless blue space lines, like a streak of lightning. However, Zen had now seen that


    were too few. It was quite hard to master the space rules depending on the stone inscription. Only two or three out of one thousand people who had entered the Sumeru Space had mastered the few space rules.


    Those one thousand people were strong enough to have completed such a difficult task, so they qualified to enter the Sumeru Space.


    They were much, much more powerful than Kenneth. Each of them were so perfectly talented.


    It could be said that the space rule was quite precious. It would be a great help for Kenneth if he could comprehend some space rules. So many cultivators more powerful than him scrambled for it.


    However, today, he took Zen to the transmission array for the first time, and Zen understood it.


    It was no surprise that Kenneth was really jealous of Zen for a second. He didn''t know if he was jealous of Zen''s luck or talent.


    Zen was at only grade 3 of the nature level, but he had the sword spirit avatar and comprehended some space rules. Kenneth wondered what he did when his cultivation was of the same grade. It was safe to say that this man was abnormal and his extraordinary skills would make anybody jealous.


    "Sir, Zen said that he had seen some rules. What are they?" Rocher asked.


    He was curious when he saw the astonished look in Kenneth''s eyes.


    "Ehem," Kenneth simply coughed and decided not to explain to them. The trial on the Cloud Road was about to start. If he mentioned the space rule, it would just frustrate Rocher and Patrick and impact their performances. It was better not to say anything...


    Just then, it got increasingly brighter in the front. Kenneth seized the chance to change the topic and announced, "Get ready. We''re arriving!"

 Chapter 534 The Red Sect

    The earlier one learned the space rule, the better it was.


    The truth was, Zen himself didn''t understand what it meant to learn something about the space rule.


    As the four people went through the transmission channel, the light around them suddenly switched off. They had finally arrived at their destination.


    The other end of the transmission channel was also a platform situated on a small hill. There were stretches of historical remains around this hill.


    The remains seemed to have been there for thousands of years, and most of the houses had already collapsed. It was hardly visible that a huge palace used to stand there.


    Kenneth Shi held the three and left the platform. They flew following the direction of the ruins.


    Some black dots were seen far away in the sky. As the dots grew larger, Zen saw they were actually a group of people.


    The group''s leader was someone with unfathomable strength. By Zen''s estimation, the man was almost at the same level as Kenneth. The nine people following him were all beginners in the Illuminating Soul Realm. All of them looked outstanding from ordinary warriors, and it was easy to see they were the top ones at their levels.


    "Kenneth, hi. Why are you coming so early this year?"


    The head of the group greeted Kenneth with laughter.


    But when he saw the man, Kenneth smiled coldly. He was not friendly with the guy.


    The group leader was named Eddy Wei. He held the same position as Kenneth Shi. Both were sent-out stewards of the Cloud Hall.


    The Cloud Hall was a sect in grade four. There were several sects in grade one or two in the charge of the Cloud Hall, and they sent talents to the Cloud Hall each year. For example, the Cloud Sect was a sect in grade two in the charge of Cloud Hall. Kenneth not only headed the Cloud Sect but was at the same time a sent-out steward of the Cloud Hall.


    Meanwhile, Eddy Wei was the head of another sect in grade two, the Red Sect.


    Although both the Red Sect and the Cloud Sect were in the second grade, their positions were entirely different. The distinction was seen through the number of disciples attending the Cloud Road from each sect.


    There were nine disciples following Eddy. All of them were beginners at the Illuminating Soul Realm. And they were all the disciples attending the Cloud Road.


    On the other hand, only three disciples followed Kenneth.


    Without any explanation from Kenneth, the three realized the vast difference between the two sects.


    Although both in the same grade, the Red Sect was based in the Central Region. The region was more prosperous, populated, and stretched out more. Naturally, the outstanding talents would have much more than those from the Cloud Sect in Eastern Region.


    It was, therefore, reasonable that there were more disciples with superior strength in the Red Sect, and the Cloud Hall allotted more slots to the Red Sect for the entry into the Cloud Road.


    But the Cloud Hall was not to blame for this situation. It was but natural to distribute more resources to teams with a greater number of stronger members. The case was similar


    ng men were only discussing among themselves. Don''t mind what they''re talking about."


    This time, Eddy let the term "young men" pass. But Rocher and Patrick refused to allow Kenneth to face an awful situation.


    Since Zen was the champion of the All Peaks Competition, both Rocher and Patrick regarded him as their head. So, the two turned to look at Zen for guidance.


    But Zen continued to think about the space rules after he emerged from the transmission array. He was far from looking sharp and kept looking around all the time. Patrick and Rocher had no idea where Zen''s mind had gone off.


    The young disciple was slightly stunned. After he saw a bit of the space rule, he didn''t feel any difference when he was in the transmission channel. But now, since he came out of the transmission array, he suddenly felt different.


    He felt a tremendous change in the space around him compared to what it was before.


    Every single thing seemed to have a distinct outline, and what Zen saw with more clarity was that everything around him was three-dimensional, allowing him to get the exact measurements¡ªheight, length, and width ¡ªof everything.


    What was happening now must have been an impact of the Space Law he had learned. Initially, he thought it wouldn''t be of any use to him at all. But now, Zen felt his mind was all messed up, and he could not concentrate at all.


    "Zen! Zen!"


    Two hands were patting him on the shoulders.


    "What?" Zen snapped out of it.


    Then he noticed Rocher and Patrick were saying something to him.


    But Zen''s behavior had the disciples of the Red Sect bursting into laughter.


    "Ha ha ha! The little guy at grade three of the nature level looks so foolish! He seems to be having some problem with his head!" one disciple said while laughing.


    "I guess so," another one agreed, and continued with a laugh, "I really wonder how the stupid guy will take part in the trial of the Cloud Road."


    The disciples from the Red Sect were overjoyed. Zen''s behavior greatly amused them, and also further boosted their confidence.

 Chapter 535 Successful Sword Intent

    Hearing the disciples who had just reached the Illuminating Soul Realm laugh at Zen, Kenneth was a little annoyed. He was clear why Zen had been abstracted. He shouted, "Before laughing at the others, you should make sure your competence is higher than them at least!" Then he turned to Zen and said, "You have known something about the space rules via the space windstorm, right? It''s normal that you felt a little dizzy and you will be okay after you get used to it. Even we, the old generation, are interested in learning the space rules. However, only very few people understand the rules. You should consolidate what you have learned and properly use it in the future."


    Zen nodded and answered, "I got it."


    ''What?'' Hearing what Kenneth said, Eddy was shocked. From the way Kenneth talked, Eddy could tell that he wasn''t lying. Besides, it was said that there were some truly gifted disciples who could understand the space rules in the space tunnel and some incredible gifted disciples had cultivated according to the space rules via space windstorm.


    Eddy stared at Zen for a while and then shook his head. "Kenneth, I don''t believe it!" He was clear what it meant to understand even a little bit about the space rules. Although Kenneth and he had reached a high cultivation level, they hadn''t had an opportunity to learn the space rules, not to mention cultivate the rules.


    Kenneth said with a shrug, "Eddy, I was not talking to you and nobody will force you to believe."


    "He is talking big! It''s impossible!"


    "I don''t believe a practitioner at grade three of the nature level could understand the space rules!"


    After all, the disciples of Red Sect came from the Central Region, so they were experienced and knowledgeable. Some of them had heard about space rules, but none of them had ever seen it, so they didn''t believe that Zen had seen it. They thought Kenneth had said so deliberately to save face.


    In fact, Eddy thought the same way.


    ''Talking big?'' Zen raised one of his brows. Although he was dizzy, he had heard the sarcastic remarks about Cloud Sect from Eddy and his disciples. Since Kenneth had a high expectation of him, he wasn''t going to let him down.


    Zen spoke in a quick and rapid streak, "Since all the disciples of Red Sect could speak at will, then as the disciple of the Cloud Sect in Eastern Region, I would like to tell you what I''m thinking. In my opinion, Red Sect is nothing but crap! Although you have nine practitioners at the Illuminating Soul Realm here, none of them is match for me! I''ll knock their teeth out!"


    Nobody expected Zen to put it so bluntly. Even Kenneth was shocked. ''The young man is my type!'' Kenneth thought.


    Kenneth had a bold nature, so he particularly disliked those yes-men. He was satisfied with what Zen had said. He knew that Zen had said that for the dignity of Cloud Sect


    back, Rocher and Akiba were left on the spacious platform. They stood face to face.


    Akiba shook his head and said, "You''re Rocher, right? I don''t think you have the qualification to be my opponent."


    "Why?" Rocher asked, confused.


    "Because I rank first in Red Sect, but you only rank third in Cloud Sect," Akiba snorted, "You should be flattered to have the opportunity to compete against me!"


    A smile appeared on Rocher''s normally emotionless face. "I agree with what Zen just said. Red Sect sucks! Even the competence of its best disciple is just so-so." With that, Rocher drew his Blood-corroding Sword from the sheath.


    "Hahaha..." Akiba laughed hysterically and then pulled his sword out. The sword was cyan in color and it obviously was a middle-grade fairy weapon. "This sword is called Dragon Sword. It is a middle-grade fairy weapon. Since the grade of my weapon is higher than yours, I will show you what successful sword intent is!"


    Hearing that, the other disciples of Red Sect were pleased. They didn''t hold All Peaks Competition like Cloud Sect did, and they held Sect Competition instead. In this year''s Sect Competition, Akiba had shown incredible competence and defeated all his opponents depending on his successful sword intent.


    "Akiba, come on! Show these people what successful sword intent is!"


    "Haha! I guess they will be frightened out of their wits!"


    "Akiba is only nineteen years old. However, he has already comprehended successful sword intent. I believe he will be a great master of swordsmanship in the future. What he has achieved is good enough even in the whole Central Region!"


    Zen, Patrick and Rocher were all puzzled.


    In their eyes, successful sword intent was not that powerful, so they wondered why it was worth bragging about? They couldn''t believe the level of the disciple who had ranked first in the Sect Competition was so low!

 Chapter 536 Miserable Failure (Part One)

    No wonder that Zen and the others were confused.


    There was no specific cultivation method for the illusory sword intent. Some people were lucky enough to be able to comprehend the sword intent without help.


    Depending upon his great achievements in sword intent, Rocher could kill his opponents from any part of the world. He rarely found a worthy challenger during the All Peaks Competition. However, Zen had defeated him at the All Peaks Competition. This was because like him, Zen also had a thorough understanding about that sword intent, and they both mastered the consummate sword intent during the competition.


    Since two disciples with knowledge of consummate sword intent were seen during the All Peaks Competition, this showed that Akiba''s successful sword intent meant nothing.


    In fact, one couldn''t make great achievements in sword intent so easily.


    Grade two sects valued sword intent a lot. Even Cloud Hall attached great importance to cultivate disciples who understood sword intent. They encouraged disciples to learn even a bit of the sword intent. It was said that disciples who comprehended a bit of sword intent might not achieve consummate sword intent. Since learning such intents led to a higher likelihood of successful cultivation, all sects would support their members in their quest to learn sword intent.


    Streaks of sword intent were produced on Akiba''s Dragon Sword. At this sight, Akiba forced a complacent smile as he pointed his sword tip at Rocher and said, "Unsheathe your sword, and let me take a look at your swordsmanship!"


    Upon hearing Akiba''s words, Rocher responded with a small smile. His Blood-corroding Sword trembled a little. Likewise, sword intent hovered around his sword like cyclones. As time passed, the sword intent became more evident. The hidden sword intent had been presented in perfect shapes. I


    till be able to defeat you even though I am no match for you in sword intent."


    Akiba, who had endured many mental sufferings, made a move at last.


    "Streaming Swordsmanship!"


    As he wielded his Dragon Sword, ripples continuously diffused in the sky. Akiba lunged his sword forward, forming perfect curves in the sky and giving people a strange illusion.


    It seemed as if he could stab Rocher to the point and defeat him by this sword move.


    Rocher and the audience saw that Akiba''s sword was aimed at Rocher.


    Rocher''s mind was affected for a short period. However, when a tiny streak of thunder and lightning flashed before his eyes, Rocher''s mind became clear as before.


    "The Streaming Swordsmanship takes advantage of the characteristics of flowing water so that people will believe that what they see or hear is true. This is really awesome, but... your sword can''t compare with my Heavenly Sword!"


    After Akiba''s attack, Rocher took a Sword Step by dodging left and right.


    "Sword Step... This guy has mastered it as well," mumbled Akiba. Seeing that Rocher had easily escaped from his Streaming Swordsmanship, Akiba became more agitated. He now truly believed that God seemed to have blessed Rocher unfairly.

 Chapter 537 Miserable Failure (Part Two)

    However, Akiba didn''t know that apart from the God''s blessing, Rocher had also cultivated hard.


    Rocher had never rested since the beginning of his swordsmanship practice. For more than a dozen years, he carried the sword with him even during meals and sleep.


    To achieve the same progress as Rocher, a cultivator could not just rely on luck. Instead, painstaking efforts, hard work, persistence, and hardships were vital for success.


    After taking a few steps away from Akiba, Rocher lifted his Blood-corroding Sword and pointed it toward the sky. Shortly after, vitality of heaven and earth began to surge in the sky. In the next instant, dim thunder and lightning flashed across the clouds.


    "This is... Heavenly Sword!" As Akiba felt the terrifying momentum, his facial expression changed abruptly.


    On the other side, Eddy''s eyes twitched. Rocher had mastered the use of the Heavenly Sword. It became even harder to believe that Rocher was ranked third at Cloud Sect. Eddy was certain that no one would shake him from this belief, even if they beat him to death.


    Could a person at the third grade of the nature level be a match for Rocher? How could this be possible?


    Rocher had proven his strengths no matter Eddy believed it or not.


    In the turbulent sky, Rocher induced streaks of heavenly thunder.


    When Rocher battled with Zen during the All Peaks Competition, he hadn''t used his Heavenly Sword in combination with heavenly thunder despite his mastery of combining thunderbolt with sword intent in the Sword Washing Pool. After all, he needed some time to adapt to the Extreme Thunder Sword Intent since he had just learned it for the first time.


    After a month of cultivation, Rocher had become more proficient with the use of the E


    on, Kenneth snorted and replied with a sneer, "Well, we hope so. Rocher is quite talented, but he only won the third place at this All Peaks Competition. The quota for our Cloud Sect is too limited, or else more of our disciples would have joined the Cloud Road."


    If Akiba''s skills qualified him to take the Cloud Road, then Tracy and Jacques would have also been eligible. Regretfully, Cloud Sect only selected three disciples for the Cloud Road.


    "Oh? Kenneth, Rocher is so gifted, but he only won the third place. On the contrary, the winner is a cultivator who is only at the third grade of the nature level. I am bewildered. How did this guy beat Rocher?" Eddy asked with great curiosity.


    In fact, all disciples of Red Sect were baffled by this question. It was difficult for them to believe that Zen''s strengths were enough to defeat Rocher since they hadn''t witnessed that match.


    To answer their questions, Kenneth laughed and stated, "If you want to confirm whether or not this is true, select an older disciple of your sect to battle with Zen. Then, you will witness his abilities and understand why he was able to defeat Rocher. Am I right? Heh, heh!"

 Chapter 538 The Gate To The Cloud Road

    All the Red Sect''s disciples instinctively turned their attention to Zen when Kenneth finished talking and some of them were looking forward to competing against Zen.


    No matter how powerful Rocher claimed Zen was, his strength was only at the third grade of the nature level, which was an unchanged fact at the moment. From their experiences, the gap could be narrowed by real strength, however, the larger the gap, the more difficult it was to narrow the expanse.


    They held the strength of the Illuminating Soul Realm while Zen was only at the nature level. The gap between them was... incredible, indeed. Perhaps, they would be able to save face and reclaim their honor by defeating Zen.


    Eddy, the head of the Red Sect, naturally had an opinion too. He considered the various aspects as he mulled things over, ''Akiba is our Sect''s top-ranked disciple, and he was defeated quickly, which was humiliating to me. We''ll lose face if we aren''t able to beat any of their disciples. That would be quite a blow to confidence in the Sect. Hoffman ranks second here, and his strength''s almost on par with Akiba''s. Come to think of it, Akiba had only a slight advantage over Hoffman when they battled.


    Maybe, if I were to send Hoffman out against Zen now...''


    Feeling as though he were being stared at, Eddy stopped meditating on his next moves and looked around. He then caught a glint in Kenneth''s eyes and a hint of a sly smile on his lips. Almost intuitively, he realized he shouldn''t go with the idea he had.


    Another thought struck him, ''Wait a minute, Kenneth knows Zen''s ability is only at the third grade of the nature level, and yet, he invited our disciples to compete against Zen. What could it mean?


    Hmmm, Kenneth''s confidence in his capabilities must mean Zen is far more powerful than Rocher!


    I''d be an idiot not to believe what Kenneth told me earlier. If Zen''s that extraordinary, he might really have some insight into the space rules...''


    Although Eddy had reached the result himself, he still found it difficult to believe. Flipping back and forth, he also knew his summation was based on sound facts. So, in the end, he decided to trust his instincts.


    "Sir, I would like to challenge Zen," volunteered Hoffman.


    Eddy shook his head and said firmly, "No, you need to conserve your strength for the upcoming trial of the Cloud Road!"


    "Bu-but!" stammered Hoffman in protest, not wanting to give up. He didn''t understand Eddy''s concern. If he were beaten by Zen though, it would be another humiliation for Red Sect, and Eddy couldn''t bear a second humiliation in a single day!


    "I said no, and that''s final!" stated Eddy in a terse tone as he scowled.


    Hoffman''s heart sunk as he witnessed the dark expression that crossed Eddy''s face. As the leader of the Red Sect, Eddy''s word was law. He had the final say, and what he said was more effective than any command given by the Emperor.


    While Hoffman didn''t want to give up so easily, he had no choice but to follow Eddy''s order. In the end, Hoffman retreated after a brief nod of respect to Eddy. As he backed up, he glared at Zen.


    Unable to witness the failure of the disciple of the Red Sect, Rocher and Patrick frowned, and a trace of pity showed in their eyes. Earlier, they were both beat by Zen and suffered humiliation, and thus, seeing anyone else being beat by him would have thrilled them.


    At that moment, there were more people headed towards them, and they were getting closer.


    "Look, the members of the Auspice S


    hed door that had small holes dotting it. Fernandez stood under the arched door and then life vitality crystals shot from his space ring nonstop as he waved his arms gently.


    The life vitality crystals were dense and all embedded themselves into the small holes that dotted the arched door.


    "Wow! Those stones are all supreme life vitality crystals! I think there are more than two hundred holes! That means there are over two hundred supreme crystals being used!" Zen exclaimed while he rubbed his nose. The Cloud Hall was very different, and as a fourth-grade sect, it would be that generous.


    Zen had believed himself rich. By melting, refining mysterious and spiritual weapons, he could easily earn a lot of cubic crystals. Yet, one million cubic crystals were equal to a single supreme life vitality crystal while two hundred supreme crystals equaled four hundred million cubic crystals...


    It crossed Zen''s mind that with such a large fortune, the Cloud Hall could even buy the top seven noble clans!


    Naturally, Zen wasn''t the only one startled. Except that the Cloud Hall''s disciples looked calm, the other sects'' disciples all were staring at the arched door with mouths agape.


    When all the supreme crystals were inlaid, the door trembled, and a gray swirl appeared in the middle of the doorway. It continued to spin, as if it would suck the onlookers in and drag them to hell.


    Many disciples were itching to attempt diving into the whirlpool, and taking the preemptive leap into the secret area, in order to gain an advantage, until they heard Fernandez loudly declared, "The gate to the Cloud Road is now open. Disciples of the Cloud Hall will enter first!"


    Cloud Hall''s disciples in white proceeded slowly, and confidently toward the portal. Meanwhile, they raised the corners of their lips slightly as they walked by the disciples of other sects.


    Other disciples looked their condescending faces and wanted nothing more than to soundly thrash them on the spot, teaching each one a lesson, and rubbing their smug expressions off. However, considering how famously powerful the Cloud Hall''s disciples were, they didn''t dare to do that and just bore their arrogant attitudes in silence.


    "They''re in now, Zen. It''s time for us to go inside!" stated Patrick.


    Zen nodded as he walked towards the whirlpool.

 Chapter 539 Envy (Part One)

    The Cloud Road was a trial where all new disciples had to test their art of refining. Moreover, it was also a path of opportunities.


    It was full of various challenges that the disciples must do their best to overcome. The whole process manifested their strengths and exposed their weaknesses. Additionally, whether some of the disciples would be lucky enough to find their opportunities or not would come to light. Some disciples might have the ingrain abilities to practice, but they might not have the chances to acquire the precious instruments on Cloud Road. Some of them might be lucky, but they might be incapable of seizing those kinds of opportunities.


    The Cloud Road was unlike the transmission array, as Zen realized that the Cloud Road felt quite different, and nor did it resemble the Bloody Mountain of Cloud Sect since the Cloud Road wasn''t a magic array made through some kind of skill.


    Zen felt as if he had just stepped into a door when he walked into the whirlpool. Suddenly the surroundings changed, much to his surprise.


    "Another world..." Rocher murmured. His curious eyes attentively looked into the distance.


    He saw a world that he had never seen or heard of. It was a world of decay and destruction.


    Before they had set out, Kenneth had told them about Cloud Road''s situation in full detail.


    There were indeed some special places of mystery in the world, but they were unknown to ordinary people. These places of mystery didn''t physically exist as they could only be accessed by people who achieved enlightenment in thinking. Zen went into the Killing Sword Mountain only after he had grasped the essence of the consummate sword intent. Now, the Killing Sword Mountain did not belong to the world the naked eye could see. It belonged to another world, and so did the other places of mystery.


    d and the entrance would be closed if all the supreme life vitality had run out. However, he couldn''t figure out the reasons behind the ruins.


    Meanwhile, Kenneth observed their actions outside the entrance of Cloud Road at the same time Zen was in contemplation. He began to get worried.


    It wasn''t hard for all the sect heads to observe the actions of each of their disciples through the Picture Slab. All the disciples had set out their journey on the Cloud Road, except for Zen. He just stood by the entrance and blankly watched the sky. His weird behavior definitely caught the attention of every sect head.


    "What''s the problem with Zen?" Kenneth asked. He was fully aware of the kind of person Zen was as well as the destiny he must face. Unlike Evan, Zen was careful enough not to do anything irrational. But why had he stayed there for a long while since his entry to the Cloud Road, and refused to leave? ''Was there anything wrong? What happened?'' Kenneth could not help but ask internally.


    Suddenly, Eddy burst into laughter. "Wow, will it happen again, Kenneth? I still remember how Evan fell asleep on the Cloud Road three years ago! If I''m not wrong, he''s a disciple from the Cloud Sect, right?"

 Chapter 540 Envy (Part Two)

    His words brought back the memories to all the other sect heads. They all burst into a fit of laughter because of Evan''s funny story.


    In truth, Evan was a talented refiner. He would''ve entered the Cloud Hall if he hadn''t fallen asleep on the Cloud Road. It was also highly possible for him to have outperformed all the other disciples in the contest. However, his careless nature prevented him from being the first place. Nobody expected for him to fall asleep along the way! They could still recall how enraged Kenneth was by Evan''s doing. He looked so terrifying at that time that they all feared he would kill Evan as punishment.


    Would history repeat itself?


    "Don''t worry Kenneth. You have brought your most excellent disciples, and they''re all smart. Even your third most excellent disciple captured the essence of the consummate sword intent. This disciple might have found something and meditated for that reason. Do you agree, Kenneth?" Eddy said in a seemingly joking tone. He had somehow harbored a kind of animosity towards Rocher. It wasn''t because he hated him, he just felt envious of Cloud Sect''s good fortune. He really didn''t expect that a disciple from Cloud Sect had understood the consummate sword intent.


    "What did you say, Eddy? Did you say that a Cloud Sect disciple has understood the consummate sword intent?" Fernandez turned towards Eddy and asked in astonishment.


    "Yes, Master Fei. The disciple is just the third most excellent disciple in the Cloud Sect. I wonder how smart the first and the second most excellent disciples of the Cloud Sect are if the third best one is at such a high level?" Eddy said with a smile.


    Fernandez nodded his head, showing his interest. "That''s interesting. The consummate sword in


    rained two of them!


    All the other sect heads also wore faces of shock or envy. Even Fernandez was suspicious.


    "Zen is at the grade three of nature level. How could he be bestowed with such a great opportunity? According to the records of some ancient books, the Sword Washing Pool is a semi-holy site. Kenneth, you said the opportunity Zen acquired had brought him to a place much better than the semi-holy site. Did he visit a sword holy site?" he asked.


    Kenneth nodded, "Zen didn''t tell me where he went, but I have sensed a substantial amount of malicious aura in him. So I guess he must have gone to the Killing Sword Mountain, one of the three sword holy sites."


    Fernandez''s face finally changed after Kenneth''s explanation. The holy sites were sacred places all refiners dreamed of going. They were categorized into more sacred and less sacred kinds. The Killing Sword Mountain was one of the most famous sword holy sites, and the best one among all the sacred places. Fernandez never expected that such a young man, who had just achieved the grade three of nature level, had gone to that famous holy mountain. Envy gradually surged within him.

 Chapter 541 Parallel Move

    "Hey! Zen is really lucky. Since he is so talented, he meets the criteria to receive a Cloudy Vastness Pill, if he can rank among the top five during the Cloud Road trial. I''ll make this suggestion after that," Fernandez Fei said calmly.


    Hearing Fernandez''s words, everyone, including Kenneth, was astonished.


    Cloudy Vastness Pill!


    This was the Cloud Hall''s secret pill. Even the stewards, like Kenneth and Eddy, would find it challenging to get one. It would only be given to them if they made a vital contribution to the Cloud Hall.


    It boosted a cultivator''s basic strength without any side effects. It could make their basic strength more stable, and also help a cultivator break through bottlenecks quickly.


    After hearing what Fernandez said, Kenneth felt as though Fernandez was unfair.


    Over time, Kenneth had made great efforts to select outstanding disciples for Cloud Hall. What did he get in return? Of course, he wanted the reward offered by Cloud Hall.


    Now, before Kenneth had earned Cloud Hall''s gratitude for his efforts, Fernandez promised Zen a reward!


    Although Zen had been discovered and cultivated by Kenneth, and Kenneth was so proud of Zen, Kenneth, as a warrior of the Internal Elixir Realm, also had a strong desire to gain the pill.


    Guessing what Kenneth was thinking, Fernandez laughed and said, "Kenneth, if Zen achieves a position in the top five, I''ll certainly report your contribution of selecting outstanding disciples. Your reward from Cloud Hall will not be overlooked."


    After Kenneth heard this, excitement flooded him. "Thank you, Elder Fei!"


    The other people present, especially the heads of other sects, did not have any expressions on their faces, but all of them sneered at Kenneth secretly. ''The top five? Only in your dreams! No disciple from a grade two sect has been able to achieve such a high position during the Cloud Road trial!''


    There were five grade two sects under the supervision of Cloud Hall, namely, Cloud Sect, Auspice Sect, Iridescence Sect, Brumous Sect and Red Sect. Each sect had selected several disciples this year to attend the trial. In total, there should be about forty to fifty disciples from the five sects. And another equal number of disciples from Cloud Hall attended the trial as well.


    However, there was a huge skill gap between the Cloud Hall disciples and those from the grade two sects.


    It was almost impossible for a disciple of a grade two sect to secure a position in the top ten, not to mention the top five. Over the past few hundred years, there only had been two disciples from Iridescence Sect and Auspice Sect who had managed to figure in the eighth and the ninth ranks, respectively. Aside from these two, in all the other competitions, the top ten positions were all obtained by Cloud Hall''s disciples.


    In the previous Cloud Road trial, Kenneth had boasted that Evan would be the champion. Kenneth had been laughed at during these past three years because Evan had failed. However, most of the leaders from the other sects had been jealous of Kenneth as Evan had secured the top rank during t


    where in the world!


    "What are these lines? They cannot be the cracks of the space fragments. If they were, no one could live in such a space!" Zen walked to one of the lines. Hesitantly, he raised his hand and tried to touch it.


    But he felt nothing! It seemed as though he could see the line, but he could not feel it.


    However, when Zen''s hand stayed there for a few seconds, he felt something!


    Zen''s figure suddenly turned blurry, and he felt as though he was following this thin line.


    The thin line was only one foot long! It was almost as long as an adult''s stride. But Zen felt he could move freely inside the one-foot line and his speed was incredible!


    The excessive speed at which Zen was traveling made it look like there were countless shadows of Zen inside the one-foot space.


    However, these shadows did not appear due to the high speed. A shadow appearing due to high speed was an illusion of a person''s eyes. All of Zen''s shadows appeared and vanished at the same time.


    Zen''s legs didn''t move, but his body shifted about a foot as he followed the thin line. Even Zen felt strange as if he had become a ghost and made a parallel move in the space.


    ''This way of moving is weird and also interesting, '' Zen thought. When Zen left that line, he found that there was another one in front of him. This line was about a half foot in length. The moment he touched it, Zen moved forward another half foot as the ghost did.


    The more he looked, the more lines Zen found. And as with previous lines, Zen touched the lines and moved inside them.


    In this way, he didn''t move forward very fast as each line was only half a foot or so long, and some were a little longer. And Zen had to make an effort to look for the line and get close to it. The reason why he did so was that he found this phenomenon fascinating. At the same time, he thought about the implications of this ability.


    Zen didn''t know that his behavior had stunned the leaders of all the sects as well as the Elder of Cloud Hall who were watching him outside the trial.

 Chapter 542 A Sea Of Lava

    "Lady Long, do you think it is necessary for me to continue?" Kenneth said with a smile.


    Lady Long glared at Kenneth but said nothing. She merely sniffed. After all, she was suffering humiliation now because she laughed at Kenneth unreasonably.


    "The movement is very strange. He must have learned something about space rules, but only a few," Fernandez Fei said with surprise as he stared at Zen who was moving in the Picture Slab.


    "A few?" The leader of Auspice Sect shook his head and added, "Master Fei, please forgive me for disagreeing. If I am not wrong, Zen''s using Saint Morphens'' Mystical Pace. Anyone who wants to try Mystical Pace can''t do so without understanding the first level of the space rules!"


    The leader of the Auspice Sect dressed in white was older than Kenneth. Fortunately enough, he had gotten the chance to enter the Sumeru Space of Cloud Hall to study the space rules inscribed on the stone. Though he hadn''t earned mastery in the methods about space rules, he had studied and learned enough to be able to speak confidently with Kenneth about it.


    Zen''s movement was the same as that of Saint Morphens'' Mystical Pace. They both seemed to be moving forward along an invisible line while keeping the same body posture. After mastering Saint Morphens'' Mystical Pace, a person could move a long distance. However, Zen could only move a foot at a time because he wasn''t familiar yet.


    Fernandez nodded and said, "It''s true! It is Mystical Pace, but the young guy is only a beginner, and he has understood very little of these space rules. This is why he can only move in such a broken space. Can''t you see that the guy appears to be staggering as if he were looking for something?"


    The leaders stared at the Picture Slab and noticed that Zen wasn''t moving along the test road in a straight line but a wiggly one¡ªhe was taking a few steps left and then turning to the right.


    "If my guess is correct, he must be using the seams of the broken world to practice Mystical Pace," Fernandez said slowly. "The test road is part of the fragmented world, which isn''t stable. In the broken world, besides the severed seams in the sky, many other spaces have begun to collapse. Even though the space of the test road isn''t crumbling, there are enough existing seams for Zen to move like that!"


    Fernandez was very confident in his conclusion because he believed a common person could never work out the space rules so easily. "It can''t be denied that Zen did learn something about the space rules. However, in the outside world, it will be difficult


    s around wouldn''t be much more powerful than that plant.


    And Zen was right. The difficulties in the first part of the test road were easy to overcome. Most disciples were attacked during that period. Even though the attacks varied depending on the path they chose, the cultivators who accepted the test were mainly the best disciples from the grade two sects, and nearly all of them passed the test.


    During his time on the road, Zen was attacked by several plants, one of which was shaped like a big fan with sharp teeth on its edge. It had tried to swallow Zen, but he smashed the plant to pieces. Another plant looked like a Mimosa Pudica with big leaves spreading on the ground. As Zen stepped on a leaf, all the other leaves engulfed him.


    The green leaves seemed to be very tender, but actually, they were unbelievably tough. Using the power of the dragon scales, Zen forcefully broke the leaves.


    After overcoming such difficulties, Zen finally got to the end of the path. An unusual warmth enveloped him. Dazzling bloody light shone from behind the hill in front of Zen.


    As Zen climbed to the top of the hill, he found a sea of lava on the endless ground...


    "How can I cross it?" Looking at the endless sea of lava, Zen felt a little helpless. Though he had a body of top-grade spiritual weapon to protect himself in the fire, it was unrealistic for him to swim across the sea.


    Zen wondered how the other people had crossed it. After all, they didn''t have the secret weapon he did. The test road couldn''t be designed like this! Something must be wrong!


    At that time, Zen noticed several other disciples standing beside the lava. They seemed to be waiting for something to happen.

 Chapter 543 Appearance Of The Red Fire Snake

    Four disciples stood by the lava sea, two were ladies from the Iridescence Sect and the other two were guys.


    As soon as the male disciples saw Zen, they rolled their eyes, glancing at him disdainfully. Zen recognized them immediately as elite members of the Brumous Sect. When they had first arrived escorted by their leader, they had noticed Zen at that time.


    Considering these two elitists thumbed their noses at even the Illuminating Soul Realm disciples, there was no way they would take a disciple at the level of nature creature like Zen seriously.


    Actually, aside from Zen and Rocher, who were both nature creatures, the lowest ranking disciples participating from the Cloud Hall and the other five sects were at the first level in the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    Unbelievably, at the third grade of nature level, Zen was the lowest ranking disciple at the trial.


    Regardless of how Zen tried to keep a low profile, there was no way for him to go unnoticed. He was at the third grade of nature level and surrounded by disciples who were at the Illuminating Soul Realm, which made him as conspicuous as a firefly lighting up the sky at sunset on a warm summer night.


    Zen hadn''t planned to cross the lava ocean yet. Like the other four disciples, first, he wanted to observe what he would be up against silently. He''d seen a hundred-foot long black wire, suspended over the ocean which got Zen thinking. He thought, if he could reach the line, he could travel down the length with his understanding of the space rules.


    But, he realized that it wouldn''t work because the ocean was boundless, and if he were going to cross it, Zen would need enough force to propel himself more than a hundred miles, and the line fell substantially short of the far side of the ocean.


    As Zen stood there puzzling out how to cross the lava, one of the male disciples waved at Zen and indifferently said, "Hey you! Yeah, you, over there! Come here!"


    Zen''s face darkened into a scowl as he stood where he was, staring back at the disciple, and responded, "Who? Me? Why? What''s up?"


    "Cut the crap and just get over here!" said the other Brumous Sect disciple in a huff.


    By the condescending tone that the two elite disciples used, Zen knew they took it for granted that they could boss him about because he was at the third grade of nature level, and he wouldn''t be taken seriously as a refiner.


    At first thought, Zen was going to handle the situation by snubbing the two, but, as he took a deep breath, he calmed down, and in that second, Zen decided against it. The Cloud Road trial wasn''t like the Blooded Test. Throughout the Blooded Test, contestants could attack each other, and the magic array guarded them so that no one would die.


    But, there was no magic array at the Cloud Road, so, if anyone were to perish, it would be final.


    Plus, the purpose of the trial was not to win any fights. Instead, the participants needed to traverse the Cloud Road.


    Beyond any of that though, Zen assumed he could get some useful information from them about the lava ocean.


    Plastering a broad grin on his face as the thought came to mind, Zen walked o


    Snuff! Snuff! Snuff!


    As more fiery evil spirits slammed into Zen''s demonic phantoms, they suffocated, the flames remaining blazed just ahead of Zen. With the demonic phantoms clearing the path ahead, Zen stepped forward steadily.


    More fiery evil spirits were ahead, and after seeing what happened to the other fiery evil spirits as they were pulled irresistibly to the demonic phantoms, they plunged into the Sea of Raging Fire, knowing they would be unable to escape the fate that befell the ones who''d just been snuffed out.


    "Ha-ha! I knew it was wise for him to lead the way!" chuckled Adler, proud of his bullying tactics.


    "His strength isn''t half bad! He surpasses usual nature creatures. But, he isn''t a match for us," remarked another disciple, grinning.


    As Zen forged the way ahead, the four disciples only had to follow him, and were rather relaxed.


    Just then, a large lava bubble rose up from the Sea of Raging Fire, appearing ahead of them. As the bubble expanded, a giant snake head popped out of the lava.


    All color drained from Adler''s face, and he shouted, "Dammit! It''s a red fire snake! What do we do now? Fuck! What shit luck!"


    "Let''s take it on, together. Even though the red fire snake is ferocious, we can beat it, if the four of us work together!" encouraged a female disciple of the Iridescence Sect.


    "Let''s wait a minute, and see how he handles it!" declared Adler. There was a devious smirk spreading across Adler''s pallid face as he came to an abrupt halt, and raised his arm to stop the other three disciples from rushing ahead.


    Envy being just another part of human nature, in the eyes of the four disciples, Zen would never be an equal match. However, Zen was more talented, as well as being more advanced than when they were in the third grade of nature level. If at some point, Zen gained entry into the Cloud Hall, he would undoubtedly outrank them in no time.


    If however, Zen were careless and fell into the sea, and was cremated, or if he were to battle the red fire snake, and be devoured, they wouldn''t be unhappy about his fate.

 Chapter 544 Watch A Play

    Everyone would be thrilled if Zen killed the red fire snake. After all, they wouldn''t need to put a lot of effort into dealing with this huge monster. However, in their opinion, the chance of that happening was slim. There was a higher likelihood that the red fire snake would swallow Zen.


    Zen had noticed this red fire snake while running. It was so huge that Zen assumed it would be more difficult to handle than the fiery evil spirits.


    Because of its giant body, the snake moved slowly. Zen watched as the snake lifted its head from the lava and then its neck. Gradually, it raised its head.


    Looking at the red fire snake''s slow movements, Zen gritted his teeth and summoned the energy of the Phoenix Crystal on his right arm. He doubled his speed and shot out like an arrow as he made several virtual shadows on the stone pillars.


    "Hmm? That guy wants to break through by force?" Adler sneered.


    "Will the guy pass over the snake? I believe his speed is sufficient..." another disciple from the Brumous Sect frowned and asked.


    "No way. The red fire snake looks slow because of its size. But the fact is that it is not slow!" Adler must have prepared well before entering Cloud Road.


    Just as Adler said, after the huge red fire snake stretched its head and the upper part of its body emerged from the lava, it opened its big mouth and rushed at Zen.


    Seeing the red fire snake dashing toward him, Zen increased his strength by 30 percent with every step, "Pass over it!"


    "He can travel faster," stated the shocked male disciple from Brumous Sect.


    Adler laughed, "Heehee, he must have activated some secret skill. Even then, he is not quick enough! And this guy has no way back. If he can''t avoid the snake, he will surely die!"


    A horrible heat enveloped Zen as the red fire snake closed in. The huge snakehead grew bigger and bigger. He could even see two burning snake teeth!


    ''I am not quick enough! If I continue this way, I will probably head straight into the red fire snake''s mouth!''


    As this thought crossed Zen''s mind, he activated all the dragon scales in his body. The dragon scales released a brilliant light, and all their power was channeled to Zen''s legs.


    "Jump!"


    Zen commanded as he placed a foot on the stone pillar. Despite being shaky, the solid stone pillar had been standing in the Sea of Raging Fire for many years. Such was the force released by Zen that two clear footprints were left on the sunken surface of the stone pillar.


    Since flying was forbidden on Cloud Road, Zen thought his only alternative would be to jump.


    Zen looked like a shooting star as he shot across the sky and left a dark contrail. He managed to dodge the red fire snake''s attack.


    "How... can he jump so high? Is he a locust?" the male disciple from Brumous S


    ors, these disciples knew that they had to heal before continuing. After all, their time on Cloud Road was limited, and they had several more challenges to face.


    Zen wasn''t injured. He stood on the edge of the high platform and looked around. The rising tide of the fire sea would come slowly. He wondered what happened to the four disciples from the Brumous Sect and the Iridescence Sect.


    When he glanced down, Zen heard a loud explosive sound. He saw a huge flame rising to the sky. It was almost as if it were a mesmerizing fireworks display.


    In the next instant, four small dots were dashing along the stone pillars.


    Zen smiled. It seemed that the four disciples had wasted a lot of time trying to fight the red fire snake.


    If the four disciples had cooperated with him earlier, they would have killed the red fire snake quicker. Even though Zen had not killed the snake, he had explored the way in the front. Now, the four disciples would follow him without doing anything. How could Zen let them take advantage? Did they really think he would be easily bullied?


    Although he had dodged the red fire snake first, he left an angry snake for the four disciples to face. It was enough to slow them down.


    Since they had wasted plenty of time, and the lava tide was rising, they would have nowhere to go...


    However, the four disciples had almost reached the platform. That would show that they had activated secret skills to raise their speed.


    Despite their skills, they couldn''t outrun the lava tide that was inching closer to the stone pillars. Since the pillars were only three inches thick, the lava would cover them in no time. Then, they would have no place to step on.


    Zen was not a philanthropist. These guys invited trouble, and he would be happy to stand on the edge of the high platform and watch the situation play out.

 Chapter 545 The Angry Disciple

    "Rush! Rush!"


    "Hurry! Hurry!"


    The two disciples of Brumous Sect were sweating heavily, their faces turning red. They had done their best to up their speeds and could not get any quicker.


    A female disciple of Iridescence Sect behind them waved her hand and a ribbon of blue life-vitality emerged out.


    "Breeze without a Trace!"


    It was an auxiliary cultivation method to enhance the speed of the disciples.


    Soon, a set of breezes floated around the four disciples.


    The breezes flew to their legs, and the four disciples appeared to run quicker.


    "The platform is right there. Everybody, hold on!" Adler shouted.


    Although the platform looked not too far away, the lava sea level had risen as high as the stone pillars. Now, the lava spread across their surface, covering every inch of them as the seconds passed by.


    Watching the stone pillars get enveloped by lava, Adler gasped in despair.


    "Ahhh! I am burnt!" Another disciple of Brumous Sect stepped in the lava by accident, his foot toasting into a dark color. He dared not halt though and tried to keep going forward. He knew he would die if he stopped moving.


    Only four stone pillars were left in front of them. If they managed to use them, they could jump onto the platform.


    But the four stone pillars were like the gates to hell. They were now out of their sight! That meant they had to step into the lava before they could get onto the platform.


    A female disciple from Iridescence Sect gritted her teeth, shouting, "Freeze A Thousand Miles!" A small icy, crystal rune materialized on her pretty face.


    The move was called ''Freeze A Thousand Miles'', but of course, it could not freeze the entire lava sea. In such hot conditions, its impact was greatly reduced. The frost only spanned about thirty feet.


    However, it was enough to save their lives.


    The frozen frost cooled down the lava, turning it into a solid black mass. The four disciples stepped on it and got on the platform before it could melt.


    Just as they jumped onto the platform, the lava melted the frost layers. The stone pillars disappeared. It was a sea of fire around them.


    The two male disciples threw themselves onto the platform heavily. The one from Brumous Sect covered his feet and groaned out of pain as he got to the safety of the platform. His feet had been burnt black.


    The two female disciples from Iridescence Sect too sat on the platform, panting heavily, their che


    ef of what he was seeing. This had come as a surprise to him.


    Adler himself was not good at sword skills. He used a spear, which was why he didn''t realize that Zen did not have slender or successful sword intent. It was the consummate sword intent!


    But to Adler, it was not so important that Zen had learned the sword intent. What was more important was that Zen was only at the third grade of the nature level, while Adler was the top disciple of the Brumous Sect. He had secured the third position in the Sect Competition of his sect.


    If not for the two female disciples, Adler would have rushed to the front of the Cloud Road in no time at all.


    "All right. I agree this place is not suitable to fight. Let''s not do it here. You''re lucky, Zen, otherwise, I would have mauled you like a dog!" Adler waved his spear once more before putting it back into his space ring.


    "I am willing to fight here," Zen said, ignoring Adler''s words


    "You?!" Adler had assumed that since he had let Zen go easy this time, the latter would play nice to them. But Zen seemed not to mind it at all. Was he wishing for his death?


    Like everyone else, Zen feared death. Only those who didn''t have love in this world desired death. Zen, however, had everything he could ask for. He didn''t want death. His reason for proposing a duel was that he knew the hot lava could not hurt him, seeing as how his body was a spiritual weapon.


    If the platform turned over, Zen would not die, although the others might.


    Zen found he had nothing more to say to Adler. He found a corner and squatted down while waiting for the lava sea to wane.

 Chapter 546 The Evil Fire Mobula (Part One)

    "You don''t stand a chance of walking out of here alive!" taunted Adler as he sneered at Zen. Ignoring Adler''s threat, Zen waited patiently in silence. Walking away from Zen, Adler found a quiet spot to sit and meditate.


    As the exhausted group reached the platform, the only safe place here, they were so weak and they nearly collapsed. If the group''s need for this refuge hadn''t been so dire, they would not have risked their lives to land on the platform. Each disciple found himself a place to rest, meditate and replenish his depleted store of energy. Previously, the disciples had only been part of some practice activities and not facing certain life-threatening circumstances or exerting themselves as much as they had just now. With stiff muscles and sore bodies, the disciples took their time to heal, so they wouldn''t have to endure crippling injuries for the rest of their long lives.


    Looks can be deceiving. The Sea of Raging Fire was immense. Before the fire receded, the surface looked calm and still. However, the heat was rising, colliding with the cooler air, and hot lava created violent swirling waves of flames. The group saw that in the distance, yellow-white flames flicked where the fire burned the hottest. The disciples also noticed some unknown small creatures who were cocking their heads and staring curiously back at them. Sporadically, tiny flames shot out from their mouths. They dived in and out of the molten lava waves as if they were fish.


    These creatures were alien to any other known life in the world. They didn''t just survive in the scalding liquid of the lava, and it was their natural habitat. So, they would likely perish if they were parted from the element for any length of time.


    While contemplating over the little creatures he saw, Zen couldn''t help but experience a great sense of gratitude for how the fire sustained the mysterious creatures. His curiosity was peaked as he considered how vast the Sea of Raging Fire was and what other unknown life might have flourished in this environment that was unique to this area.


    If Zen were a bit stronger, he would have taken the risk, and leapt at the chance to explore this magical environment. Neve


    ke butterflies around them and accentuating their forms, Adler and the injured disciple shook their heads helplessly. From the start of the trial, the two men knew the women were only following them to be protected.


    They couldn''t blame the two women either. Under such circumstances, the men would inevitably bring them danger if they stuck with the men in the challenge behind. Resolutely, the two women decided to make their move, leaving Adler and the other disciple behind.


    Being left alone only intensified Adler''s hatred of Zen. Grinding his words through his teeth, he said, "This bad luck is caused by that bastard from the Cloud Sect who is in grade three of nature level. I swear on all that''s holy that if I catch him, I''ll rip him to shreds, and make him kneel before us as he begs for mercy." Zen was so far ahead that they couldn''t see him anymore. It wouldn''t be easy for Adler to catch up and win the challenge. He thought it was Zen''s fault his peer was injured, and they fell behind during such an important competition. Waiting there helplessly, made Adler detest Zen even more.


    Actually, it wasn''t Zen''s fault in the slightest bit. At the start when they entered the Sea of Raging Fire, Zen even helped them slay the fiery evil spirits and ensured safe passage for them to cross the fire sea to the high platform. Nevertheless, there were always some people who blamed others and would never recognize their negligence or mistakes.

 Chapter 547 The Evil Fire Mobula (Part Two)

    Zen had met many people like Adler, and chose to ignore them instead of letting their negativity affect his choices during challenges like this.


    Approximately eight disciples were participating in this round of the challenge. The challenge wasn''t like other competitions though. Here, they needed each other to overcome all the obstacles that were in their way. If they had tried to fight their way individually, no one would pass this round. Everyone knew the situation very well. So, without hesitation, they united together, except Adler and his company who remained behind.


    They continued to encounter terrifying, unusual creatures as they made their way from pillar to pillar. Every time they encountered a creature, they instantly formed a circle and eliminated it from all directions.


    It went without saying that every disciple there was the strongest and the best one selected from their sect. A common disciple without any remarkable strength would never be able to make it this far. Even the two Iridescence Sect female disciples had extraordinary speed and flexibility, making it possible for them to avoid being attacked by the creatures while eliminating them swiftly. So united, all the disciples marched to the next high platform without much difficulty.


    ''This is the right way to do it. Those two from the Brumous Sect were idiots. It was crazy for me to think of them as teammates at first, '' Zen thought as he rushed along. In reality, none of them thought of one another as a teammate. They knew they had come together only to stay safe. It wouldn''t be a surprise to any of them when the final competition started and the current truce ended with them drawing swords against each other.


    "Look! Over there! What the hell is that?" one of the disciples yelled behind Zen, and rousing him from his thoughts.


    Stopping immediately, Zen turned around to see what it was. His sharp eyes looked to where the disciple pointed. Not far in the distance, a stream of fluid lava rolled up, and sped towards them. Something gigantic was headed at them under the waves of lava.


    The group shrank back at the sight as they won


    ve believed it.


    As surprised as they were by the mobula''s indescribably hard tail, if they stood there, as though numb, the group would face inescapable disaster from this intelligent monster. As the disciples stood there transfixed, watching the man''s second cut fail, the mobula had gotten close enough to attack him with its tail.


    Needless to say, it would mean certain death if the mobula were to drag him down into the burning lava that would incinerate his flesh from his body.


    While the other disciples stood there dumbstruck, Zen sensed the extreme danger and composed himself. Without hesitating, he pulled his Streamer Sword out and jumped high in the air as he raised his sword. The cold metal gleamed blindingly. As he came back down to the ground, he brought the Steamer Sword down, silently and swiftly onto the mobula tail in front of him.


    Zen''s blow struck nerve endings in the tail, leaving the evil fire mobula screeching in pain.


    The mobula let out an ear-piercing shriek, and its long body twisted as it dived under the lava.


    A piece of tail, once attached to the mobula, hung in the air for a moment before it crashed down onto the stone pillar.


    It wasn''t until then that the disciple being attacked realized that Zen had saved his life. He would be dead if not for Zen. Not knowing how to express his gratitude, the disciple just stared at Zen awestruck and full of gratitude.

 Chapter 548 Disqualified (Part One)

    He might have been powerful, but Zen had already consumed most of his strength and energy to cut off the tail of the mobula using his consummate sword intent. He was still confused as to the composition of the mobula''s broken tail.


    After picking it up and briefly inspecting the broken tail, Zen tucked it inside his space ring. Beast tails like this were quite rare. In the future, he could probably use it for refining weapons. If not, he could make money out of it by selling the rare object at a high price.


    "My friend, thank you very much for saving my life," said the warrior, whose hands were cupped to express his heartfelt gratitude to Zen. Naturally, it was clear to this warrior that the tail of the mobula was of great value. But since Zen was his savior, he thought it was inadvisable to battle it out with him for this rare and valuable object.


    This warrior was among those from the other grade-two sects, who were at levels much higher than Zen''s. Zen was only at the third grade of the nature level. Thus, it would be understandable if these warriors looked down on Zen. Warriors at these levels would have taken for granted that the young fighter lagged far behind them. But since Zen was his savior, the warrior completely changed his mind and even began to admire him. He had attempted to kill the evil fire mobula by using his skilled blade intent and harnessing all his strength.


    But his blade didn''t even hurt the mobula''s tail at all. On the other hand, Zen easily sliced off the tail with his sword. The warrior guessed that Zen even hadn''t used all his strength when he did this.


    As he analyzed what had just happened, the warrior decided that he couldn''t rashly annoy this guy with such mighty strength.


    "That''s alright. Since we''re taking the same path, it''s natural and unavoidable


    uld rise. Then, they would be on the verge of death.


    One of the warriors patted his pocket. Instantly, ten medicinal pills appeared in his hand. As he swung his hand randomly, the pills flew in different directions towards the other warriors, so every person present got one pill. Soon afterward, he ordered, "Eat it! These pills are helpful for you to restore your physical strength and life vitality to certain extent."


    To cultivate and produce life vitality within their bodies, warriors needed to meditate. Pills that were effective for replenishing life vitality were of great value wherever they were. Today, this warrior contributed ten medicinal pills all at once. This contribution was considerable.


    Contributing the pills was a wise move. Defeating the flock of devil fishes by himself was impossible. He needed the collective effort of every warrior to defeat the creatures. He thought that replenishing the warriors'' life vitality and enhancing their physical strength would double their efforts to escape before they finally left the damned place.


    And he was right. The warriors no longer encountered any other ferocious living creatures. Unfortunately, another disaster awaited them.

 Chapter 549 Disqualified (Part Two)

    "Tides of lava are rising!" a warrior exclaimed.


    "I also saw that. But now, we''re not quite far away from the next high platform. It''s right ahead of us!" another disciple responded. He pointed towards the direction of the coming platform.


    It was the second high platform in the Sea of Raging Fire, and was much bigger than the first one. It looked like a castle in the air. Beneath it, the platform was supported by dozens of pillars. Beside this platform was a road extending forward. What was intriguing was a small island near the platform!


    The island was just amid the Sea of Raging Fire.


    "Rush over quickly to the platform! Then, we will be safe!"


    While they might have been considerably surprised to see an island in the middle of the Sea of Raging Fire, the warriors still focused their attention on the high platform. They had to talk about everything else after they handled the problems at hand.


    Hope was coming. All of the warriors put their hopes on the high platform ahead. Consciously, they quickened their pace without being reminded by other disciples. As they reached the towering platform, every warrior heaved a sigh of relief. This platform was about thirty feet high. When the warriors arrived, all of them leaped onto the platform.


    There were no exceptions, because Zen also steadily stepped onto the high platform and then planted his feet there securely.


    "This high platform is in the middle of the Sea of Raging Fire. In other words, we are somewhere halfway," a warrior explained while wiping the sweat on his forehead.


    "It is said that there is a hidden test on this high platform. Substantial benefits await the one who can successfully go through this test," another warrior blurted out, as he stared at the island behind the platform.


    a sneer.


    "What? Ahhh... hahaha! Every person here is taking the test of Cloud Road. So, why are we not authorized to enter?" Zen demanded. A dark cloud seemed to hover over his face as he spoke. In this world, it seemed there were always people looking down upon others, especially those they believed were inferior to them.


    For instance, in the beginning, when Zen just joined Cloud Sect, disciples from noble clans believed themselves to be superior and looked down upon the young disciple. Now, disciples from Cloud Hall were behaving in the same manner. Did they truly believe that Cloud Road was developed only for them?


    But Zen guessed it right.


    And it was true that these disciples took that for granted. After all, they were the rightful representatives of Cloud Hall. In their opinion, all guys from grade two sects under the jurisdiction of Cloud Hall were inferior and not qualified because they were not on equal footing with them.


    Since some of the Cloud Hall disciples had already entered the passageway for the hidden test, the two men at the entrance thought those from other sects were naturally "unauthorized" and disqualified for going through the pass.

 Chapter 550 The Blinding Arrogance

    Several other practitioners were also annoyed by what the disciple of Cloud Hall had said. They had been planning to try their luck in the hidden test, but they were blocked outside the gate. Since they had no guts to fight with the disciples of Cloud Hall, they just anxiously stood aside.


    "Don''t you know your place? You''re not qualified. You could only be a genius in the second-grade sect, but not in our Cloud Hall. In here, you''re nothing at all. I bet you won''t even rank on the list of top one-hundred in Cloud Hall!" one of the Cloud Hall disciples said and laughed.


    His words offended all the practitioners of the other sects. Even some practitioners who hadn''t planned to enter the island had a look of anger on their faces.


    "Really?" In a blink of an eye, Zen suddenly appeared in front of the Cloud Hall disciple and grabbed him by the neck. He then dragged him to the edge of the high platform and had him hanging off the edge.


    Down the platform was a vast land of fire. If Zen loosened his grip on the disciple''s neck, the latter would directly fall into the fire.


    "Ah! Let go of me!" the disciple cried out angrily. He didn''t seem to realize what was happening even after being attacked by Zen.


    "Let you go? If you insist. But don''t blame after." Zen slightly loosened his grip. As the disciple slid down a little, he realized he would die once Zen fully loosened his grip and let him go.


    "Asshole, pull me up!" he cursed in rage.


    "You still have the guts to curse me given the situation? I really admire your courage!" Zen said and suddenly loosed his hands. Feeling his own body weight starting to pull him down, the disciple''s eyes were filled with horror. He couldn''t say even a single word now. But to his surprise, he didn''t fall. Zen was pinching his collar with two fingers.


    His life was now at the mercy of Zen''s two fingers and his own collar!


    The two Cloud Hall disciples had thought that they were able to keep the other practitioners out of the hidden test without saying much. Because the Cloud Hall had a reputation and its disciples were known for their unrivaled skills and competence, the practitioners would not dare to break in the hidden test.


    With that, their vanity and arrogance would be gratified.


    The guy who was now hanging on the edge of the platform had thought that being a Cloud Hall disciple, he could have forced the countrymen to yield. With his current competence, it should have been


    ut the Cloud Hall being a fourth-grade sect. The leaders of the second-grade sects could only be stewards in Cloud Hall. How supreme Cloud Hall was.


    It was also the reason the practitioners dared not to offend the Cloud Hall disciples even though they were more powerful than them.


    The Cloud Hall disciple was stunned to see his arm cut off. He covered the wound with his hand and shouted, gritting his teeth, "How dare you cut off my arm! I..."


    But before he could continue, Zen had thrust his Streamer Sword at him and pricked the skin between his eyebrows. A few drops of blood oozed out from the wound.


    "I''m not in the mood to listen to your nonsense! I have heard too much and I''m tired of it. So, if you dare to speak one word more, you''re dead!" Zen blankly said.


    Hearing that, the Cloud Hall disciple began to shiver. Since he was able to enter the cloud road, he should have outranked the ordinary disciples of Cloud Hall and Zen for that matter. However, at that moment, he couldn''t stop his body from trembling.


    The other Cloud Hall disciple remained quiet. It would only need a short time to set his companion''s broken arm and heal the wound, but he couldn''t use this arm to perform his skills in a long time.


    After putting his sword back into the sheath and stuffing it into the space ring, Zen walked to the path beside the platform. All the practitioners watched him leave with eyes filled with awe.


    But until now, Zen hadn''t even used any powerful skills. In reality, many of the practitioners present at the platform were also skillful, but they didn''t dare to step up to the Cloud Hall disciples.

 Chapter 551 The Ghost-faced Spider

    Standing at the arched gateway, Fernandez laughed, "That''s amazing! He is indeed a brave boy! He''s a promising disciple, Kenneth. You must have put a lot of time and effort on him!"


    Seeing Zen''s performance, Kenneth was relieved. Zen was not only powerful, but his mind and ways of doing things were also a lot better than that of Evan.


    Truth be told, the Cloud Hall disciples'' arrogance came from the power and influence of the Cloud Hall, and that gave them the nerve to suppress the disciples from the second-grade sects. But they were not all to blame. Anyone who had become the disciples of the Cloud Hall would do the same. But Zen had a strong resolution compared to other practitioners.


    He knew his opponent''s identity and was aware that he could attract the attention of the Cloud Hall with his strength and skill. ''Yes, it''s true that you''re a disciple from Cloud Hall. But I will soon become a Cloud Hall disciple who is way better than you. We''re on the same level, so you couldn''t suppress me by the name of Cloud Hall! You''re pathetic!'' Zen thought.


    His understanding of this matter showed that he had extraordinary strength, great vision, and confidence.


    But when Kenneth heard Fernandez''s remarks about him putting a lot of efforts on cultivating Zen, his face blushed.


    As the leader of the Cloud Sect, Kenneth had paid attention to Rocher, Patrick, Jacques, and Tracy, but he never noticed Zen. He had never heard of him, let alone got to know that Zen was Yan''s brother.


    Zen was like someone popping out of nowhere. If it was not in the All Peaks Competition where Zen emerged as the victor with his great strength, Kenneth would have never noticed this young man.


    Therefore, it was ironic that Kenneth had never put any efforts on cultivating Zen, or given a little bit guidance to him.


    So hearing Fernandez''s words, Kenneth could only force a smile and laugh it off.


    Kenneth was riding high in this Cloud Road test with Zen winning the recognition from Fernandez. Moreover, Rocher and Patrick also stood out among the contestants. Through the Picture Slab, Kenneth saw that Rocher and Patrick had already crossed the second phase of the Cloud Road.


    As for the leaders of the other four sects, they could only watch with envy. Eddy remained silent. Rocher ranked third in Cloud Sect and he made a sweeping victory over all Eddy''s Red Sect disciples. Moreover, there were Patrick and Zen whose strength were beyond imagination. Eddy was already hopeless that his disciples would win over Kenneth''s.


    "No matter how powerful Zen is, if he meets Frank and Lennon of the Cloud Hall, I''m afraid that he would be in trouble. I guess I just have to wait and see how he will deal with them." Fernandez shook his head and smiled. "I hope that Zen won''t irritate them too much when he confronts


    is spiritual force to sense the surroundings. But still, there was nothing except for trees and plants.


    Zen began to walk again. But after another few steps, he heard the rustling sound again.


    "What''s it?" Zen frowned and paused. He looked around, but there was still nothing.


    Despite seeing nothing, he was sure that he was being followed. It was good at hiding itself that even his sharp sense failed to detect it.


    Whenever he started to move, the rustling sound rang in his ear. Zen turned around swiftly and this time, he saw that the trees were covered with numerous spiders as big as a fist. Aside from their size, there was another weird thing about them; it was strange that they had the face of a ghost.


    "Ghost-faced spiders? And they are huge!"


    The ghost-faced spider was rare and seldom showed itself, but such creature was widely known in the Eastern Region. On its back was a ghost face and it was extremely poisonous. The ghost-faced spider could be used as a medicine, to make pills, or to make poisons.


    But the commonly seen ghost-faced spiders were small. Zen hadn''t seen a ghost-faced spider as big as a fist. Moreover, those creatures seemed to have the ability to camouflage. They could hide their breaths and if they lurked behind the leaves, Zen could not detect their existence.


    Many ghost-faced spiders were hanging on the trees, and they cast greedy eyes on their prey as if preparing to press on him simultaneously.


    "Go away!"


    With his eyes on the spiders, Zen slowly stepped backward to the direction he was heading. The consummate sword intent emanated from the Streamer Sword he was holding, and it began to rotate.


    The spiders zoomed towards him with rustling sounds.


    As Zen made a move, the ghost-faced spiders swarmed around and jumped onto the treetops. They were trying to submerge Zen with their huge number.

 Chapter 552 The Array Of Twelve Earthly Branches

    The first eight ghost-faced spiders jumped up and rushed to Zen. He could see their poisoned teeth with the black luster flashing. Apparently, there was rank poison hidden on them and if they bit him, he would be paralyzed or worst die instantly.


    Zen was not afraid of the ghost-faced spiders'' poisoned teeth. His body was a top-grade spiritual weapon and couldn''t be invaded by any poison. He just thought that it was disgusting to be covered by such sick stuff.


    "Break!"


    Whoosh...


    Countless sword intent cyclones chopped the ghost-faced spiders.


    Clang...


    Zen was surprised to hear metal clanging when his sword intent chopped the ghost-faced spiders.


    "It is that hard?"


    Zen''s consummate sword intent was extremely sharp. However, it couldn''t cut off the ghost-faced spiders'' defense. It just chopped them away.


    The ghost-faced spiders that Zen hit rolled several times on the ground but immediately climbed up in safety. As they opened their mouths, they created a buzzing sound and rushed to Zen again.


    If Zen would exert all his strength, he could kill these ghost-faced spiders. He assessed that the spider''s defensive power was weaker than the mobula''s. But killing the spiders one at a time would take so much of his time.


    So, Zen just drove them away with the sword intent, and then he moved forward on the way the disciples from the Cloud Hall had explored.


    After escaping the ghost-faced spiders, Zen was finally out of the jungle. He then found himself in a spacious valley where he saw the disciples from the Cloud Hall.


    It turned out that the Cloud Hall disciples also encountered the spiders. In this spacious valley, there were countless dead spiders piled up. Not so far away from him, twelve disciples from the Cloud Hall were on position and arranged in an array.


    Cultivators could use life vitality and cultivation methods to perform some powerful arrays.


    The twelve Cloud Hall disciples combined their cultivation methods. Their array was learned from the Cloud Hall and had great power. The ghost-faced spiders came around in a group. The youth dressed in a white robe standing in the middle made the order: "Heptyl Metal Stab!"


    The six people on the left stretched their left hands simultaneously and pressed an acupoint on their own right hand. The life vitality of the six combined and a golden spear congealed on the ground. The golden spear stabbed the spiders in an instant.


    The youth in white ordered once more, "Snake Fire Burn!"


    The other six


    didn''t go anywhere else randomly. The Cloud Hall disciples knew more about the Cloud Road than him, so they must have a purpose for killing the spiders in the valley. Zen hid in a corner of the valley to secretly watch and observe those disciples.


    Meanwhile, at the entrance of the arched door, Zen was shown on the Picture Slab.


    The power of the Water Wind Kill just now was too terrifying and Kenneth couldn''t look. If Zen was rolled in, his demise was certain. Fortunately, Zen was quick.


    "Lennon is not easy to handle. Zen is just making trouble for himself and he will surely suffer losses," Fernandez shook his head and expressed.


    "Hmm, Frank is more powerful than Lennon. Zen ran away like a hare upon meeting Lennon. If he chanced upon Frank, he would have a worse end. Kenneth, you should teach your disciples at Could Sect to know their places. After all, they only have one life." Lady Long grinned as she saw Zen being chased down by the Water Wind Kill.


    However, Fernandez shook his head and said, "There is no certainty here yet. Those Cloud Hall disciples on Could Road are certainly on the top. The Water Wind Kill is from the array of Twelve Earthly Branches arranged by Lennon and other twelve disciples, and it is difficult to resist even for the powerful men at the early stage of the Internal Elixir Realm, let alone Zen. He has made the right decision to run away."


    Kenneth also seized the chance to retort Lady Long, "Master Fei is right. That''s thirteen people versus Zen. I don''t think Zen is weak as you said. Moreover, they can''t arrange the Twelve Earthly Branches Array all the time. Zen may have the upper hand on this after all!"

 Chapter 553 The Real Challenge On The Cliff

    Zen also realized what their weak points were, so he didn''t leave.


    Although the young disciple in a white robe had great strength, Zen was not frightened of him at all. He would be bolder if the other twelve disciples hadn''t formed the array of Twelve Earthly Branches.


    He was in bad luck just now. He just hardly entered the valley when the twelve disciples formed the powerful array, and unfortunately, he was the first person that was attacked by it.


    However, it was impossible for these disciples to keep this array all the time. Therefore, if he was careful enough to keep a proper distance from them, he would be relatively safe.


    Lennon Zhao ordered the twelve disciples to continuously kill the ghost-faced spiders. There were many ghost-faced spiders covering almost every inch of the small island, but they died every time they were attacked by the array of Twelve Earthly Branches. Hence, eventually, the ghost-faced spiders were reducing in numbers.


    After fifteen minutes, there were fewer ghost-faced spiders rushing from behind the woods. Finally, the surviving ghost-faced spiders realized that they could not defeat these disciples by the virtue of quantity, so they had fallen back to the woods.


    After the ghost-faced spiders had disappeared, Lennon raised his hand and commanded with a wave, "Disperse!"


    The shining circle of life vitality under their feet broke and disappeared. Then the twelve disciples relaxed their wrists and ankles. Finally, they could take a break.


    The array of Twelve Earthly Branches had great strength, but it was difficult to form. It required a long time and great energy.


    "Lennon, how to pass the hidden test? Are we here only to slaughter these ghost-faced spiders?" a disciple asked.


    Lennon smiled faintly and said, "Of course not. The ghost-faced spider is only a small obstacle for us. The real challenge is on the cliff!"


    "On the cliff?" the other Cloud Hall disciples simultaneously raised their heads and looked towards the precipice.


    With a wave of his hand, Lennon ejected a swallow-shaped dart towards the precipice of the valley.


    "Ding!"


    These disciples expected that the dart would penetrate the rock of the precipice with Lennon''s strength.


    However, to their surprise, the swallow-shaped dart bounced off a light screen the moment it touched the surface of the precipice.


    "The enchanted barrier. What is going on?" a Cloud Hall disciple asked.


    But this time, Lennon didn''t say a word. Instead, he walked along the surface of the precipice and kept touching it.


    Other disciples were curious about Lennon''s weird behavior. They gathered together and looked at him. At the same time, Zen, who was hiding in a corner, also peered at him remotely. Altho


    "Hoo hoo hoo... Hoo hoo hoo..."


    The strong wind suddenly came out of the cave, blew that disciple and made him lose his balance. The disciple reacted quickly and used a technique to fix himself on the platform. However, it didn''t work. He was being pushed to the edge of the platform by the strong wind.


    Knowing that the technique was useless, he got down and tightly held onto a protuberance on the surface of the platform. Although the pressure decreased, he could still not even raise his head because the wind was too strong. He could only hold onto the rock platform with both his hands, but his joints had turned to pale because of overexertion.


    It was a rare opportunity for the disciples to take part in the test on the Cloud Road and no one was willing to let the chance slip. The disciple was determined to get his hands on the treasure chest. He clenched his teeth and struggled in the wind.


    Zen shook his head and thought, ''He can''t do it.''


    Lennon also shook his head. He was not surprised because he had expected that the first disciple would fail.


    After struggling for about half a minute, that disciple could not resist the strong wind any longer and fell heavily from the rock platform.


    "Bang!"


    Seeing what happened, the other disciples of Cloud Hall walked over and carried him up.


    Those who cultivated martial arts had good physical quality, therefore, that disciple didn''t get badly injured. After all, he was a master of Illuminating Soul Realm.


    "I''ll try again! I can''t lose!" That disciple was not willing to quit. He thought that he just failed because he had never expected the wind to attack. If he could just resist the wind and try again, he might get the red treasure chest successfully.


    As soon as he finished his words, that disciple rushed to the precipice once more.

 Chapter 554 The Man In A Black Cloak

    Lennon shook his head and answered, "I''m afraid that''s not possible. Each of us only has one chance to go there. And you can no longer get close to the cliff after you fall for the first time."


    That was true. When the Hall Cloud disciple tried to get close to the cliff, he was blocked by an enchanted barrier. He rushed toward the enchanted barrier and bumped his head heavily leaving his forehead bleeding. Even the Water Wind Kill from the Twelve Earthly Branches Array could not break it.


    "Everyone can only try once. If you fall, the enchanted barrier will not let you go in again. So, take your time. We can try one at a time," Lennon said.


    Seeing what happened to the first disciple, the other disciples hesitated. They were reckless in the beginning because they thought the first one to try would get the best rewards. But now all of them saw how the first disciple failed. What could happen to the rest? From there, they realized that there was no need to hurry.


    They decided to let others go first while the rest could watch. This way, they could assess the difficulty and come up with a plan on how to deal with it better. But none of them seemed to want to be the next one to try.


    At that moment, a man wearing a black cloak suddenly appeared from the jungle. He rushed towards the cliff like a plume of black smoke.


    "Who is that?"


    Lennon''s face sank at the sight of the man in a black cloak. He quickly took out a green Caltrop Pike. He pointed it to the man and tried to stab him swiftly.


    Lennon was quick, but to everyone''s surprise, he missed. The black figure was jumping forward the cliff, and when Lennon attacked, he stomped his feet midair and his body suddenly changed position.


    Everyone knew that flying was not allowed in the Cloud Road. They assumed that the black figure also knew about this because he jumped to change direction. This was an unusual skill.


    This made it difficult for Lennon to attack, hence he failed to stab him.


    When they realized the possible threat, the other disciples took out their weapons. Meanwhile, the black figure continuously jumped in different directions. As the disciples attacked, he rolled himself to avoid the attack and continued rushing into the enchanted barrier in front of the cliff.


    After he passed the enchanted barrier, he was finally safe. The enchanted barrier would be his shield from any outside attacks.


    ''That''s an amazing skill!'' Zen sighed to himself. His eyes widened in awe in the dark. Zen could not take his eyes off the strange man.


    He didn''t look like a disciple from the Cloud Hall but from one o


    have the need to be jealous."


    "Kenneth is right," Fernandez agreed and nodded his head. "The head of our Cloud Hall got the silver box. But you can''t say the reason for our great leader''s position and strength is just because of that silver box."


    "What do you mean? It was our leader who got the silver box?!" The sect leaders were astonished. It was the first time that they had heard about it.


    Fernandez nodded and replied, "Yes, but no one followed suit. And not to mention the gold and the black boxes. They remained unopened for the past years."


    The leaders of the sects watched the boxes on the cliff through the Picture Slab. They all yearned for those boxes. Being as strong as they were now, it would be so easy to take away these boxes. But the Cloud Road did not allow them to enter for the second time. It was such a pity!


    "Look! Lewis has jumped onto the first platform. As the rules of the cliff, one can only get one box of the same color. If Lewis gets a red one, his next target should be the blue one," Fernandez said slowly.


    "Lewis, can take that red box! I know he can!" The head of Auspice Sect had high confidence in Lewis. Lewis Baili was his favorite disciple and the most outstanding talent of the Auspice Sect in thousands of years.


    The platform Lewis was standing on was exactly the one the first disciple from the Cloud Hall chose but failed to take.


    As soon as Lewis jumped on the platform, a sharp sound echoed from the cave. It meant that the fierce wind would appear very soon.


    "Blow him off!"


    "Let''s wait until he falls down. We will cut him into pieces then!"


    the disciples down the cliff shouted. Apparently, they were ready to attack Lewis anytime he fell off the cliff.

 Chapter 555 The Blue Treasure Box

    "Hooo... hooo... hooo..."


    The wind kept blowing violently out of the cave, whistling with strong gusts like an ancient behemoth''s breaths.


    It whipped across Lewis'' cloak and made rustling noises, but the man''s feet were stable as if deeply rooted on the stone platform, so no matter how hard the wind blew, he was unmoving, standing steady as a mountain!


    "That guy..."


    Disciples from Cloud Hall were stunned as they watched Lewis, whom they never thought to be so powerful that he would choose to face the wind''s momentum head on.


    "Hooo... hooo... hooo..."


    After Lewis resisted the first attack of strong gusts, the wind suddenly increased momentum and blew more violently. Aside from the increasingly brutal onslaught of air, there were wind blades rushing towards Lewis.


    "Wind blades? Good! Cut him to pieces!"


    a Cloud Hall''s disciple shouted.


    With his head covered by a cloak, the other disciples couldn''t see Lewis'' expression. However, because of the blast from the wind blades, he was suddenly moving in a very unusual way.


    Commonly, when there was a blast of strong wind, a person would even get blown away as long as he retreated slightly. Surprisingly, Lewis remained firmly in place.


    The audience saw him slowly zigzagging his way forward. Because of the strange way he was walking, he successfully avoided the frontal attack of the wind blades. But he didn''t retreat, and moved along the stone platform one step at a time, towards the red treasure box!


    ''What strange steps! The cloak boy may be adopting the method that sailors use when sailing against the current!'' Zen thought. He was closely observing Lewis'' movement and then suddenly, his eyes brightened.


    If an experienced sailor wanted to row upstream in the water, he would not paddle against the wind. The better option was for him to row sideways as if zigzagging, to effectively make use of the upwind''s pressure to help him move forward. The boats would always move forward in a zigzag whenever these were sailing against the current.


    Cleverly, the boy in a cloak was using the same principle to move along. The strategy was two-pronged: the wind''s force did not hold him back, and to a certain extent it even served as additional support, and at the same time, it helped him evade the wind blades.


    "Wow, the cloak boy is so brilliant!" Zen exclaimed. He was very impressed by how Lewis succeeded in fighting off the strong winds.


    On the other hand, the faces of Cloud Hall''s disciples turned deathly gray. No one ever imagined how the cloak boy was able to escape being harmed by the wind blades. But what was more astonishing was that Lewis wasn''t retreating but instead moving forward against the wind.


    The Cloud Hall''s disciple, who was earlier blown away by the violent wind, was the most astonished among his group. Initially, he felt disappointed, unwilling to admit his failure, which he attributed mainly to lack of preparation time. But now it seemed that even if he had withstood the onslaught of the first gust of wind with sheer strength, he would not have coped with the second gust followed by the wind blades.


    Obtaining the red treasure box was very tempting. But to do so, the challenge for anyone was as tough as reaching for the sky.


    In fact, based on the number of treasure boxes being opened, one cou


    If you go up, the heat can melt you within a few seconds!" another disciple spoke up.


    Everyone watched as Lewis moved carefully, one small step at a time. There was Zen, and the many disciples from Cloud Hall staring at his figure attentively, as well as heads of all sects outside the Cloud Road.


    They saw that he was aiming to get the legendary blue treasure box, and everyone there was astounded.


    Back then, the Cloud Hall''s head managed to take the silver treasure box, which was only a grade higher than the blue treasure box. But now, it was the cloak boy, who at such a young age, was able to get the blue treasure box. No wonder those heads of all sects envied him.


    However, when Lewis was just a few feet away from the blue treasure box, the fire stopped abruptly.


    Since Lewis was quite smart, he had figured out how the cave''s mechanism worked. He knew that by opening the blue treasure box, the device would cease to function, and the assault against him would stop. He based this on what happened after he removed the red treasure box on the first floor. Then Lewis presumed there would be two attacks on this floor.


    He noted that on the first floor, the first attack of the strong wind was triggered by the gale mechanism, while the second attack was a mixture of wind and wind blades.


    So it was logical that with the fire mechanism found on the second floor, the first attack was in the form of a big fire. And although the second attack didn''t happen, it would be something more terrifying than huge flames.


    To resist the fire attack, Lewis tried every effort, including lying down on the ground. He assumed that he would be unable to ward off the second attack so the moment the fire stopped, he rushed towards the blue treasure box, attempting to snatch it as fast as he could before the launch of the second assault.


    To quickly close the distance, Lewis leaped through even before the eye could blink. Then he stretched out a hand to seize the blue treasure box, but when his hand was only two or three inches away from the box, suddenly, a loud "boom!" shattered the air.


    At the sound, Lewis'' face changed dramatically. He acted like a nimble rabbit and quickly retreated.

 Chapter 556 Outraged

    Surprisingly, an enormous fire ball rolled out from the inside of the cave.


    The ball was as tall as a man and as dangerous as a falling stone from Heaven. It flew towards Lewis who stood outside the cave. If he was hit directly, he would be blown to pieces.


    Lewis lamented his lost chance to open the blue treasure box himself. He was quite close to his target when the fire ball came.


    However, he had to retreat. Otherwise, he would have been burnt into ashes and died.


    He managed to move around and avoid the burning ball, but in turn he fell from the platform.


    "Such a pity. He was so close to success!"


    The old man in white clothes from the Auspice Sect said remorsefully as he patted his leg.


    "He would''ve surely gotten it if he had just extended his arms further or stood a bit closer to it," Fernandez added and shook his head.


    However, other masters felt differently. Lewis'' failure even pleased some of them.


    "Prepare to finish this guy!" The disciples of Cloud Hall watched him closely and readied to strike.


    Suddenly, someone hurriedly shouted. "Don''t be a fool! Get out of here before it''s too late!" The disciples from the Cloud Hall scrambled in different directions. The fireball was a giant flaming stone with an extremely high temperature.


    The disciples had planned to use the Twelve Earthly Branches Array against the guy in the cloak, but the burning fireball suddenly appeared and foiled their plan. They had to quickly undo the array to avoid the risk.


    Lennon didn''t expect this as well. He had to abandon the Twelve Earthly Branches Array against his will, even though he was the best among the disciples of the Cloud Hall. He was confident that he could deal with the guy in the cloak even without the help of the array. Therefore, he decided to personally defeat the guy in the cloak.


    However, the guy in the cloak moved when they failed to establish the array. His cloak unfolded and revealed huge bird wings. He flapped them, flew high above, went past the forest, and then disappeared completely. Lennon lost his chance to catch him.


    "There''s no escape from this. He still has a long way to go, I''ll find him eventually one way or another," Lennon said coldly. Suddenly, he sensed someone or something''s presence.


    A figure appeared from the other side of the valley and approached the enchanted barrier just as he cursed the cloak guy''s escape.


    "Look, it''s the guy who is at the third grade of nature level," a disciple from the Cloud Hall who first saw the newcomer shouted excitedly. However, Lennon didn''t seem pleased.


    "Keep quiet, kid. I''ve seen him already," he scolded the fussy disciple. Other disciples from the Cloud Hall now turned their attention to Lennon and looked at him with surprise. Lennon''s real strength had always been beyond their imagination, and he was calm and confident all the time. It looked like nothing could interest or annoy him at all.


    On t


    Six demonic phantoms bravely faced the sharp wind blades. The cloaked guy successfully dodged the dangerous blades with his surprisingly fast agility, while Zen just used his indestructible body.


    Two demonic phantoms blocked the wind blades and were repeatedly cut in the process.


    Although the phantoms had a solid and sturdy built, there were marks left on their bodies.


    As time passed, the two demonic phantoms in the front couldn''t bear the damages any longer. They finally shattered and broke.


    When the two phantoms disappeared, another two phantoms took their places. They continued to block the wind blades and shelter Zen. He had six phantoms. The two shattered ones re-shaped themselves and waited for their time to replace the others.


    Meanwhile in the forest, Lewis had taken off his cloak and revealed his handsome face. His hair was red, and a wicked smile lit up his features. He was widely considered the most charming man in Auspice Sect.


    He didn''t escape, although Lennon was really outraged. He chose to hide himself in the forest and see what would happen next. Only a confident disciple dared to risk his life just to have some fun.


    Lewis was in good mood. It seemed that nothing would depress him, not even when he failed to acquire the blue treasure box.


    "Such an interesting guy! How could he work out such a method to block the sharp wind blades? Those six sculptures shaped like humans are quite weird. Whenever they shattered, they would re-shape themselves. If I''m not mistaken, he''s already practicing the tier-5 martial arts skills. I thought I might meet some competent rivals, such as Lennon and Frank, although neither of them is capable of winning against me. But a guy who just reached the third-grade of nature level unexpectedly showed such amazing inner energy and remarkable abilities. Perhaps I have underestimated other cultivators and martial arts practitioners all over the world," Lewis sighed.

 Chapter 557 Through The Fire

    Devastated, the disciples were speechless. They were all elite disciples of Cloud Hall with skills and strength equal to the top disciples of any second-grade sect.


    However, when compared to Zen, they were nothing, as unworthy as the dirt on the earth.


    But Zen didn''t care how people regarded him. He just concentrated the demonic phantoms in front of him and rushed forward. In a blink of an eye, Zen was able to approach the red treasure chest.


    "Vroooom."


    Just as when Zen reached the chest, a whirling sound echoed. The mechanisms inside the cave stopped working and the fierce wind disappeared without a trace.


    ''Here it is!'' Zen cheered inside.


    As he was fumbling over the treasure chest, Zen seemed to have triggered the mechanism that would open it. There was a ''clicking'' sound and the lid of the chest snapped open.


    But before he could realize what was happening, an irregular mass of black material floated out of the opened chest. It looked alive, soft and was moving.


    Zen tried to touch the mass, but his fingers went straight through the black material.


    Puzzled, he studied the intangible substance some more. When he leaned closer, the matter wriggled and writhed, rushing towards the part between his eyebrows.


    A very cool and refreshing power waved through Zen. He felt like that he was bathing in ice and snow. The chill penetrated his brain, not unpleasantly, but like a good refreshment on a hot day, clearing away his anger and anxiety.


    His soul was enhanced and purified; his spirits lifted.


    Zen didn''t know how long he was out. When he woke up from the short meditation and opened his eyes, the black mass was gone. It was absorbed by his body.


    Because Zen''s soul was intensified and stronger than many disciples, his ability to digest energy was faster than Lewis. Apparently, Zen was much stronger than Lewis in that context.


    Normally, this dark substance would greatly enhance the soul strength. It had a similar effect on Zen but the result on him was less apparent.


    It was like comparing a landowner with many acres of land to his name with a peasant. If a landowner acquired more acres, the changes wouldn''t be that visible. But when a peasant acquired acres of land, the change would be obvious.


    Zen was the landowner in the analogy. He possessed a soul energy twenty times larger than the black matter. Thus, the growth of acquiring the black matter wasn''t visible at all.


    Therefore, it looked like he had only little improvement in soul strength.


    After he opened the red chest, he climbed further up the cliff. His next target was the blue treasure chest.


    Lewis failed to reach the blue treasure chest. As he watched Zen continue, he taunted with a sneer, "What an idiot! He should''ve stopped at the red chest. Hasn''t he learned how difficult the next one can be? Does he think he has what it takes to open that blue chest? I don''t think he has any plans on how to open the blue treasure chest."


    "Congratulations, Master Shi! Your disciple has opened the red treasure chest!" the leader of Auspice Sect said with a smile.


    Kenneth laughed, "Thank you. Your disciple, Lewis, has opened it, too. The honor also belonged to


    ''t rotate and assimilate the power in the flames.


    ''Not my day, indeed!'' Zen was a little grumpy. But he adjusted his mood and charged forward, breaking through the flames.


    However, he didn''t know that his behavior had caused a buzz among the audience, and the whole thing just went ballistic.


    Far away, Lewis was lurking on a tree. He had used a secret method to slow his breathing, hiding from the other disciples and the ghost-faced spiders.


    At the start, he was sitting between the branches, chewing a stalk of grass out of boredom. But when he saw Zen walked into the flame and moved forward smoothly, his mouth dropped open in shock. The stalk of grass fell from his jaw to the ground.


    "Motherfucker! What the hell just happened?" Lewis was overwhelmed by the scene.


    He had been viewed as the best disciple of Auspice Sect, a once-in-a-millennium genius.


    He was so much better than other disciples in his sect that he won the first place in the sect competition with ease. The disciple who won the second place was no threat to him, not to mention the others.


    And in this Test of Cloud Road, only two other disciples caught his attention: Lennon Zhao and Frank Zhuo. They were the top two disciples of Cloud Hall.


    The leader of Auspice Sect also repeatedly told him not to mess with these two guys.


    Thus, in the hidden trial he had to go through, he covered his face with a cloak, lest he would be conspicuous and hated by Lennon and cause trouble.


    But unexpectedly, he realized that there were many able men competing in the test. In addition to the disciples of Cloud Hall, many skillful disciples from other sects also took part.


    At the start, he didn''t pay much attention to the other disciples. He had so much confidence in himself that he thought no disciple was stronger than him. And only regarded the other skillful disciples as "not bad".


    But this Zen of the third grade of nature level suddenly showed up. His martial arts skills and power control surprised all the audience. Seeing him conquer the flame with his bare body, Lewis had to admit that he was no superior to Zen.

 Chapter 558 The Blood Vigor Of A Nine-headed Dragon

    The disciples from Cloud Hall at the base of the cliff were stunned by Zen''s astounding performance.


    They had imagined many possible ways to withstand that flame, but nobody had ever thought that someone would dare to and be able to pass through it in this way.


    "It seems that his body is immune to fire. Gosh, I didn''t know there was something like this in this world!" some disciples couldn''t help but blurt out in astonishment.


    Lennon, who was standing on a rock, fell silent as he stared at Zen. He revealed no emotion on his face¡ªit was as if he were numb with shock.


    As a disciple of Cloud Hall, he knew how difficult it was to reach each of those treasure chests. According to the tales he had heard, the one who had been the furthest was the head of the Cloud Hall who had managed to reach a silver treasure chest.


    Now, Zen was about to succeed in opening a blue treasure chest. It was highly likely that Zen would reach the silver ones next.


    Lennon thought, ''But, he is just at the third grade of the nature level. Does it mean that he has greater potential than me?''


    Lennon understood that he was no match for Frank, but he could hardly convince himself that he was weaker than this young man from a grade two sect.


    Immediately, Lennon felt his heart flooding with many complex emotions, including resentment and reluctance. It was difficult for him to accept this fact.


    The flame on the cliff was being belched out by a magical device, but it couldn''t threaten Zen as his body was covered with gold runes.


    All that he needed to look out for was the second-phase attack in this cave¡ªthe huge fireball.


    That man in a cloak had been chased away by that huge fireball after he passed the flame, and Zen wouldn''t repeat the mistake.


    "Hoo..."


    The flame gradually went out as he moved on. Zen became more cautious as he knew that the second-phase attack was imminent.


    Unlike the man in the cloak who had approached the treasure chest rashly, Zen was calm and composed as he stared at the cave.


    Those who tried to chance their luck usually lacked confidence in themselves, and that was why their efforts would fail. If that guy in the cloak had tried his best and employed all of his means when he confronted the fireball, he might have managed to get the treasure.


    Zen stopped at a distance from the treasure chest. He held the Streamer Sword in his hand and created six demonic phantoms around his body.


    Although his demonic phantom wasn''t his most powerful means, it was useful on many different occasions and was convenient to use.


    As soon as the flame disappeared, a ray of red light shone from inside the cave. After that, Zen heard the sound of a rolling rock coming from in front.


    "Bang!"


    With a loud rumble, a huge fireball appeared out of the blue and shot toward Zen with unstoppable momentum.


    The platform on which Zen stood was very narrow while the rolling fireball was as tall as Zen. There was no place for him to hide at all.


    With the huge fireball approaching him quickly, Zen d


    side the blue chest could strengthen a cultivator''s vigor. He had seen the process, and he knew that Zen''s heart had become much stronger after the blood shadow merged with him.


    Fernandez shook his head as he watched the scene in the Picture Slab. He said, "God, it''s a blood vigor of a nine-headed dragon! What''s more, it''s a mature nine-headed dragon! Does this remind you of something?"


    "Elder Osmond used to be chased by an enemy who cut his hands in their fight. He ran away at full speed and evaded the enemy. After three days, when he returned, his hands had recovered. Although his new hands were still weaker than the ones he lost, he managed to kill his enemy with a surprise attack." Kenneth nodded at Fernandez''s question before sharing the story. He was Osmond''s best friend, and so, he remembered this matter.


    "We all know that Osmond has a powerful vigor, but few of us know that it''s due to this treasure inside the blue treasure chest. The blood vigor of the nine-headed dragon can strengthen the vigor of a cultivator. Zen is fortunate enough to get it." The head of the Auspice Sect said with a sigh. He felt it was a pity that Lewis didn''t get it.


    Fernandez smiled and said, "Well, maybe it''s just a part of it. I bet that Zen is unsatisfied even though he has the blood vigor. His next goal is the silver treasure chest. The head of Cloud Hall was the only one to open a silver treasure chest. I wonder whether Zen will also get it..."


    "Huh, are you kidding?" Lady Long interrupted with a cold sneer, "It is just dumb luck that he reached the blue one. You say that he still wants to open a silver one? Maybe in his next life!"


    "What do you mean by that, Lady? Zen didn''t do anything wrong to irritate you, nor did he contend against Frank, your disciple''s fiance. Why do you keep making disparaging comments about him? Do you think that I, the head of Cloud Sect, am deaf to your words?" Kenneth shouted with fury. He had tried to endure Lady Long''s sarcasm, but he couldn''t contain his temper anymore.

 Chapter 559 The Puppet Killer

    There was only a Picture Slab outside the Cloud Road, and whenever Frank and her disciple, Lois appeared in the slab, Lady Long would be all smiles and praises for them.


    She regarded Frank as though he were her son, whereas she treated the other disciples participating in the Cloud Road like they were worthless. Besides, in her opinion, only Lois was qualified to stand beside Frank.


    As an elder of Cloud Hall, Fernandez was quite familiar with all the disciples of Cloud Hall. He knew of Frank''s and Lennon''s skills and background. Naturally, his focus was on other disciples, such as Zen, Lewis, Rocher, Patrick, and a few others who performed outstandingly well in the test.


    Funnily enough, whenever Zen appeared on the Picture Slab, Lady Long could not help but disparage him.


    It would be fine if she only expressed her contempt for Zen once or twice. After all, she was a woman, not only of bad temper but also of great strength. It was unexpected for Lady Long to have a deep prejudice against Zen, and for her to belittle Zen every time. How could Kenneth tolerate her irrational behavior?


    When Kenneth finally spoke up, the other sect leaders felt greatly elated and applauded him secretly.


    Although Lady Long''s caustic remarks were mostly directed at Zen, she was also rude to the other disciples. This, of course, had triggered dissatisfaction among the other sect leaders, but they all held their anger like Kenneth before.


    "Humph! What''s the future for a guy from that little place in the east? Eastern Region? Eastern Region? Humph! How can you call that place a region? How ridiculous! What are you staring at? Yes, I''m criticizing the Eastern Region as well. Zen has already offended Lennon, which is tantamount to provoking the union of the Wang Clan and the Zhao Clan. What will he achieve in the future? How ignorant and stupid he is! I think Lewis is smarter than Zen. At least he covered his face when he robbed the treasure chest..." sneered Lady Long, knocking her cane on the ground.


    Kenneth, who was a forthright and impetuous man, appreciated Zen''s courage to fight Lennon openly. So he protested against Lady Long, not caring about the consequences. "What''s so great about the union of the Wang Clan and the Zhao Clan?" he argued gallantly after a short laugh. "The fact that someone offends the South Wang-Zhao Family doesn''t mean the person has to worry about severe consequences instead of continuing with their practice. The union of the Wang Clan and the Zhao Clan is significant. However, they will be a third-grade family. Lady Long, don''t forget that our Cloud Hall is a force at grade four. Can a member of this big family suppress an elite from Cloud Hall? You''re overestimating the union! You boosted the morale of the other side and lowered our own! Lady Long, are you still a member of Cloud Hall?"


    "You! When did I endorse another side and lower our own?" Lady Long snapped back.


    Kenneth intended to use Cloud Hall''s power to put pressure on Lady Long. If Zen successfully passed the Cloud Road, he would become an elite disciple of Cloud Hall, and then he would natural


    this situation.


    "Clank! Clank..."


    The noise grew louder, and soon, a strange thing appeared at the mouth of the cave.


    "Is this a puppet?" Zen mumbled.


    It was hard for him to define what it was.


    It looked like a puppet made of pillars. Zen couldn''t think of anything to compare it to. Given that it could move automatically and didn''t breathe like a living creature, Zen could only call it a puppet.


    But the puppet''s arms and legs were made of shiny metal pillars, at the end of which there were no hands or feet but sharp blades that gleamed in the cold light. Obviously, these blades were of high-grade material. Besides, its head, shoulders, and many other parts also had a lot of blades.


    Apparently, this puppet was made for killing. It was a puppet killer!


    As soon as the puppet exited the cave, it rushed toward Zen.


    With every step it took, the blades on its feet were driven deep into the stone platform.


    As it quickly approached Zen, its thin, and metal column torso suddenly began to spin. In the same instant, its arms also rotated at high speed, like a windmill, trying to injure Zen.


    "What should I do to deal with it?" Zen whispered as he racked his brain.


    Puppets didn''t have weaknesses as human beings did. Zen reckoned that the puppet would have a core to power it, so he just needed to smash that core.


    The problem was that Zen didn''t have much time to observe the puppet and find its core. At this moment, he was standing on the edge of the platform, and if he could not withstand the puppet''s first attack, Zen would fall off the cliff and lose the test.


    "Its waist!"


    Excitement flickered in his eyes as Zen abruptly bent down like a tiger that was readying itself to attack its prey! This ready stance of attack was called the Crawling Tiger Move. When the puppet rushed forward, Zen kicked his feet off the ground like a pouncing tiger. At the same time, he pushed his Streamer Sword horizontally.


    The puppet''s waist was a long, slim iron pillar. Zen felt confident that he could cut it off with this move!

 Chapter 560 When All Hope Was Lost

    Using his strength, Zen waved the Streamer Sword to create silver shadows and cut through the puppet''s waist.


    Ting!


    It was a good hit! But unexpectedly, Zen didn''t even scratch the puppet''s body. It seemed to be made of some hard metals. Zen could feel his hands becoming a little numb from the sword''s vibration.


    "It''s so tough. Even a fairy weapon can''t cut it!"


    Before Zen could wave his sword for the second time, the puppet started to move. Its body slightly tilted, and the rapidly rotating blades rushed towards Zen.


    Two blades were too fast for the naked eyes to see. They almost looked like silver plates that reflected too much light.


    Ping!


    In the face of the incoming knives, Zen stepped back swiftly. He rolled to the ground, barely avoiding the attack of the puppet.


    He thought he was safe, but to his surprise, the puppet started to make the knives cut through the ground. It was aiming to cut the platform into two so Zen would fall!


    The puppet was too smart as if it had a mind of its own.


    Usually, a human-made puppet could only follow the simplest instruction. It would get confused if the instruction was a little complicated.


    But this puppet was different. After it forced Zen back, he knew to cut the platform to make Zen fall off. Apparently, it had the ability to think.


    Zen didn''t have much time to think about it. His main objective now was not to fall off the platform, not because he was afraid of the disciples from Cloud Hall waiting for him outside the enchanted barrier, but because he wouldn''t get the silver box if he fell. Moreover, Zen also wanted to try for the gold boxes above. He wasn''t sure if he''d make it to the black box, but it was worth the try. He would not give up once there was a chance.


    Zen was not too ambitious and had a good attitude. He was always determined to give his best to seize any opportunity. But if after all his effort he could still not obtain it, that meant that he wasn''t strong or lucky enough. Zen would always accept defeat humbly.


    Take for example the fairy palace hidden in the Eastern Region. Apparently, it was a very good chance for Zen. However, he was only the temporary owner of it. If Zen would really become the owner of it, he could benefit much more. But he didn''t insist further because he knew his strength and capacity.


    It was important to do something hard, but sometimes self-consciousness was more crucial!


    Today was different though. He felt that he had a chance on this one, so there was no way he would let it pass without giving it a try.


    The puppet was still cutting the platform. Zen heard a harsh sound and saw rubble flying in all directions. With the current pace of the puppet, the part stretching out of the cliff had already been cut in half. And if the puppet continued with its pace, the platform would soon fall off due to its own weight.


    "Stop cutting!


    tain extra good chances. He seemed to be ignorant at what he could achieve being only at the third grade of the nature level.


    Fernandez sighed while shaking his head, "With its purplish metallic color, I can tell that the puppet is made of ''Purple Dark Iron''. This material is used to make extremely hard top-grade fairy weapons. It will be impossible for Zen to break out from the puppet."


    Seeing Kenneth''s pale white face, Fernandez didn''t say more. He could only say much and only hoped that Zen had other methods to escape from the puppet and jumped off the platform.


    In such a situation, no one had thought about the silver box at the other end of the platform. They were all focused on Zen and wondered if he could escape. Even if he obtained the box, there would be no use if he was already dead.


    Could Zen escape from the puppet? Or was it his end?


    Meanwhile, Zen was thinking hard. After all he''d been through, he wouldn''t let a puppet kill him.


    With all his limbs trapped, he had no choice. Out of the blue, Zen shouted. As his voice echoed, all his energy burst out. All the dragon scales on his body lit up simultaneously and raging power filled his body in a second.


    Then Zen was trying to shrink his body despite the pain. He was too desperate to escape from the puppet regardless of the consequences. It was all or nothing for him now.


    But the puppet remained still. From there, Zen realized the huge gap between his power and the puppet''s. He felt like a kid trying to kick down a sturdy tree.


    It was hopeless. At that moment, Zen felt like he could do nothing. His eyes lay on the ground and suddenly, his eyes lit up. He noticed that the puppet fixed itself on the ground by planting knives into the platform. Zen wasn''t sure of his plan but it was the best he had right now. There was no loss in trying after all. For the first time, he stopped struggling and lay down on the ground calmly.

 Chapter 561 Space Teleportation

    In the past, Zen didn''t absorb all the heavenly essence because he had already decided to sell the rest of these to accumulate more cubic crystals.


    When he was in the Eastern Region, his strength from more than a hundred dragon scales was already sufficient to fight off the few opponents matched against him. He could easily beat his foe whether he was of the same level as Zen or if he was a master of the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    But at the moment, this strength seemed inadequate for fighting off the puppet. Zen wished he had some idea about the puppet''s combat style earlier so he could have absorbed more heavenly essence. If it were only possible to light five hundred dragon scales now, or even more, he would be able to tear the puppet into pieces by hand.


    However, each time Zen thought about his physical strength, he almost always forgot certain considerations.


    Because of the tremendous strength of dragon scales, the young disciple needed to consider how much of it his body could bear. If his body was unable to withstand the power of five hundred dragon scales, he might be torn apart before he could tear his opponent into pieces.


    Although his body as a spiritual weapon was extremely strong, there was the danger it could collapse if there was too much power in it.


    Coming back down to earth, Zen couldn''t break away from the puppet''s claws now, but he noticed one detail about the puppet.


    It seemed to be fixing itself with only two sharp blades on its feet, which meant that it wouldn''t be easy for the puppet to stand firmly and keep itself from falling.


    Looking at the awl as it inched closer to his heart, Zen moved backward with all his strength, and the puppet suddenly began to sway. Then he leaned slightly towards the puppet with a swaying angle, which forced his opponent to pull the two sharp blades on its feet out from the stone platform to balance its body!


    Suddenly, the harsh sound of blades rubbing at the stone platform assaulted Zen''s senses.


    Grabbing Zen''s hands, the puppet retreated a few steps and reeled right and left as it took each step, while the sharp blades in its feet bored holes one after another into the stone platform.


    Standing firmly on the blades was awkward for the puppet, and Zen''s intense struggling to escape made it shake even more violently.


    As the puppet kept on retreating, Zen was getting closer and closer to the silver treasure box, and as soon as he touched this, the combat would be over. And it seemed he was very close to succeeding.


    What happened next took Zen completely by surprise. When the puppet couldn''t hold its balance as it continued to retreat, a long hook suddenly darted out from near its foot and shot straight into the platform. Aside from the hook, there were two spikes at its end that were firmly embedded on the stone platform.


    "Damn it! Its..."


    Flustered, Zen couldn''t help but let out expletives.


    When an opponent was so powerful that he couldn''t win by strength alone, Zen could only turn to his ingenuity. But under the present circumstances, it was difficult for him to make use of creativity. And the last thing he expected was for the puppet to quickly figure out a way to deal with the situation.


    ''This puppet is very smart!


    Does it have inherent wisdom?'' Zen wondered. ''Or, is there a human s


    aren''t you?"


    At the question, the sound of blades rubbing the stone platform suddenly stopped.


    And the puppet halted all of a sudden and stood still.


    "I know you''re in this puppet. If you have any way to release yourself from the puppet, I can help you, as long as you tell me what I can do for you," Zen continued.


    After a few seconds, the puppet started to move again and walked towards its cave.


    As long as a human soul remained implanted into a puppet, that person would become indestructible and even immortal. And while it sounded good, it wasn''t all that great. After all, living in a puppet was a terrible experience for human beings. At that time, death wasn''t what the human soul feared anymore. Instead, what was more dreadful for them was being alive.


    What came to mind was Saul. Zen remembered how excited Saul was to see him when he got into the fairy palace. The disciple eventually learned from Saul that living as a puppet for tens of millions of years was terrible! So Zen was quite aware of the horrors of living as a puppet.


    And this made him think that the soul inside this puppet could be having a problem similar to Saul''s. Unfortunately, it seemed that this puppet was only programmed to kill, but not communicate with Zen. If indeed there was a human soul inside the puppet, it should be able to communicate with others, unless the soul was also sealed.


    "Hahaha!" Kenneth broke into laughter. He was standing beneath an arch at the entrance of Cloud Road, shaking in laughter.


    Joining him in laughter was Fernandez, who shook his head at the same time. "Unbelievable! Unbelievable! There is always a way out! As soon as he got into the space, Zen had the ability to find these black lines, so he was able to save his life now by taking advantage of it. It''s amazing!"


    "Zen is one lucky boy! Imagine being able to escape the puppet''s clutches!" Kenneth excitedly declared. Just a few seconds ago, he believed that Zen would certainly meet his end this time. He didn''t expect there to be a space flaw for the young warrior to use. It was fortunate that Zen had mentally grasped the Space Law and managed to escape from the puppet when he took advantage of this knowledge.

 Chapter 562 The Inheritance From The Blood Fiend Emperor

    For cultivators, destiny was only an illusion.


    But many cultivators tended to believe in destiny. That was why in the cultivators'' world, there had been a profession related to destiny. People engaging in this profession were called destiny masters and they claimed to help cultivators improve their destiny.


    Nevertheless, most cultivators sneered at destiny masters and thought that all theories about destiny were false. For the lack of a better word, destiny masters were swindlers. Many cultivators spent a great deal of money in hiring destiny masters to better their fate before they took on adventures in some mysterious areas but still were often heard to have died tragically and miserably.


    Therefore, the existence of destiny was still rather controversial and no definite conclusion had been reached.


    People in the same rank as Kenneth and Fernandez usually believed in the existence of destiny. But it was impossible for them to find "destiny masters", who dared not to cheat on them either.


    Speaking of this, Zen had been able to escape from that puppet''s assaults just because of his own destiny.


    People with good destiny were always not that easy to kill. They could even survive on the verge of death.


    The sect heads and Fernandez had great admirations for Zen''s destiny aside from his success for having gained the silver treasure box.


    This big world was full of wonders. There were mysterious, dangerous, and ominous places. Despite great dangers, there were great opportunities to be gained from these areas. The higher the risk, the greater the rewards could be. It would all depend on if one would be willing to risk his own life to get the rewards.


    "Some years ago, the head of Cloud Hall opened the silver treasure box. Today, Zen will open one as well," Fernandez said, heaving a long and heavy sigh. Soon enough, he added, "I feel that I have to report this to my superior."


    When Kenneth heard these words out of Fernandez''s mouth, his heart got filled with great joy. If Zen could have a great reputation, that only meant more benefits for Kenneth. There was no doubt that Kenneth would benefit more if Zen''s performances could arouse the interests of the Cloud Hall head.


    Standing in front of the silver treasure box, Zen could not hide the excitement on his face.


    Lennon knew about the value of this silver treasure box, but Zen didn''t and had no idea that the first silver treasure box was opened by the Cloud Hall head.


    Zen only knew that he got the silver treasure box as a fruit of all the hardships he had gone through.


    He would surely think highly of the treasure chest because it was obtained through hardships and efforts.


    "Clatter!"


    The click of opening the box was like music to Zen''s ears. It was the sweetest he had heard so far.


    Zen was expecting to find inside the box something that he could directly integrate into his body to enhance his physical strengths. But beyond his expectation, he found a dark green jade slip inside.


    The color suggested that it was made of the purest jade.


    "Is this a rare book abou


    , Zen had gone to the Killing Sword Mountain. To acquire, practice, and master the killing way, one would require malicious aura.


    Now, Zen had stored some malicious aura in the Killing Sword Mountain. To give play to the might of malicious aura, Zen had to practice a cultivation method related to it. Thus, the Malicious Wheel of Life and Death proved to be very useful for Zen.


    Zen badly wished that he could sit down right away to practice the Malicious Wheel of Life and Death, but since he was now on the Cloud Road, it was unrealistic for him to cultivate there.


    It was not until this moment that Zen suddenly felt his hands and feet itchy. Only after this did he notice that the wounds on both his hands and feet were even healing slowly.


    "Hey, these wounds are healing fast!" mumbled Zen out of astonishment.


    Earlier, that puppet''s four claws had left large wounds on Zen''s wrists and limbs and he never expected the wounds to heal quickly. But now, the blood had started to coagulate, and scabs began to form on the wounds.


    All this should be attributed to blood vigor of the nine-headed dragon. It was said that even if one head of the dragon was cut off, the dragon could still survive and the head would regenerate. The most amazing gift of it was its ability to regenerate. With the help of his mighty power and blood circulation, Zen physically could recover faster. Thus, his wounds healed more quickly.


    Letting his wounds heal on their own, he now shifted his attention to his next target, the gold treasure box.


    But this time, Zen acted more cautiously. He wanted to obtain not only the gold treasure box, but also the black one, because he was now sure that each box had something that would benefit him.


    Having put his life in danger to obtain the silver treasure box let Zen know what to expect in obtaining the gold and black treasure boxes. He guessed that it would be more difficult to get these boxes.


    Did he have to take even these two boxes? Or would he be contented with the silver box he had just obtained?

 Chapter 563 The Shadow Wolf King

    On the fourth floor, the two chests glowed with a dark golden light, tempting the warriors. Their eyes twinkled in a similar fashion.


    So far in the test of Cloud Road, no one had been able to get their hands on the golden treasure chest.


    Even head of Cloud Hall was never rewarded with it.


    The gold treasure box was a great attraction to the other warriors, and Zen also found it particularly alluring.


    He had received the rewards of three treasure boxes up until now. Each reward was greater and rarer than the one that came before it. Consequently, he was better aware of the merits of the treasure chest than the others.


    The first floor was the reward that could improve one''s spirit strength significantly; the second was the blood vigor of the nine-headed dragon, while the third floor was the Blood Fiend Emperor''s secret manuscript that described the tier 5 cultivation method! What kind of a reward did the fourth floor conceal? And what about the fifth?


    The rewards must be unimaginable.


    However, Zen was not reckless enough to face the tests of the fourth and the fifth floors. He didn''t want to die an early death like most others who challenged them.


    In order to get the reward of the silver treasure chest, Zen had undertaken great risks. He had almost gotten himself killed. Considering his present strength, he was afraid he would be dead meat if he even attempted to get the reward in the golden box.


    Treasures, weapons, and cultivation methods were important, but his life was infinitely more vital at the moment.


    Moreover, Zen''s level was still very low. He would always come across more opportunities to achieve the rewards once his level improved. According to Kenneth, the disciples who fell under the third-grade of the Illuminating Soul Realm were sanctioned to enter the test of Cloud Road. If he became an elite of Cloud Hall, he might be allowed to re-enter the Cloud Road. After all, Cloud Road came under the purview of Cloud Hall. As long as the rules were stipulated by their men, he would have chances aplenty.


    Yet, even as Zen chose to abandon the chest at the moment, he was still curious to see what the test of the fourth layer entailed.


    As he mulled over it, he slowly climbed along the cliff, then leaped to stand on the edge of the fourth stone platform. As he stationed himself there, he saw two red beams of light illuminate the cave. A low but heavy whimper resounded.


    "Gods! It''s a fierce beast!" Zen blurted out.


    Fear crept up Zen''s heart, soon spreading across the rest of his body. At the moment, he felt as if his heart was grabbed by an invisible force. He felt paralyzed like he was unable to move.


    What kind of a fierce beast was this? And how did it possess such formidable power?


    Even while facing the demons in the past, Zen had never been so terrified.


    Pop-pop, pop-pop... Zen''s heart thundered in his ears.


    ''Run!'' Zen told himself.


    The prospect of facing some ferocious beast inside the cave made him instinctively want to run away from the stone platform. He wanted to jump down and just escape.


    Just as he was about to leave the platform, the beast in the cave emerged. It was so fast that Zen only saw the hint of a black shadow race to him¡ªa pair of striking bl


    ed that Lennon would use the Twelve Earthly Branches Array to do away with Zen. Unfortunately, he hadn''t been able to send Lennon a message; otherwise, he would have warned the top disciple not to act rashly. Even his family power would not be able to back him if he went through with killing Zen.


    Fortunately, Lennon was a smart boy. He had shrewdly assessed the situation and decided not to aim the array at Zen.


    Watching Zen leave safe and sound, Fernandez felt his mood brighten up once again.


    Zen walked along the road that he had earlier taken to the lush jungle. As he made his way, he took out a robe from his Space Ring. Peeling off the cloth that the wolf had torn apart, he changed into the new robe. Just as he finished, he frowned, sensing that someone was spying on him. "Show yourself!" he said out loud.


    Immediately, a shadow dropped down from the sky, landing onto the ground. It was the cloak boy, Lewis.


    "You are amazing!" Lewis said earnestly. "You actually got the treasure chest of the third floor. It''s unthinkable! Can I come with you? Be your team member?"


    Zen glanced at the cloak boy dismissively, shaking his head. "I don''t work with people who don''t show me his real face," he said indifferently, looking away.


    He soon heard the sound of rustling and looked in the direction of the boy.


    The cloak boy had taken his cloak off, revealing a handsome face etched with a trace of wickedness. "My name is Lewis Baili," he introduced himself.


    "I''m Zen Luo," Zen said simply.


    They continued to walk ahead after the introductions. The test of Cloud Road was only halfway done. Zen couldn''t be more aware of the importance of coalition as the test went along. The following ones would be even more difficult. Unfortunately, Rocher and Patrick had left earlier. But Lewis was strong too, and he would prove to be a good partner to him.


    Lewis, however, was quite verbose. For a while, he kept asking Zen questions, bothering him, which made Zen regret agreeing to the partnership.


    Zen walked out of the jungle and saw the upsurge of the Sea of Raging Fire. "The Sea of Raging Fire is beginning to recede," he said. "Let''s go."

 Chapter 564 The Choice Between Life And Death

    Lava washed over the exposed bare rocks as the Sea of Raging Fire receded. Numerous cultivators not far away flew down from a high platform and landed on the stones. They leaped forward from one rock to another and rushed forth.


    Behind the other cultivators were Zen and Lewis, who both quickened their paces. They were on high alert as they followed the rest of them.


    As they trailed behind the group, Zen intentionally increased his speed to get rid of Lewis. However, he didn''t expect the guy to be much faster than him. When Zen sped up, Lewis kept up; when Zen slowed down, he also slowed down. Moreover, Lewis kept talking to him by his side.


    "Zen, what on earth is in the silver treasure chest on the third floor?" Lewis asked. Zen only rolled his eyes at Lewis'' question.


    Was he really that naive to believe that Zen would answer his question?


    Lewis didn''t miss the impatience in Zen''s eyes. Although he felt embarrassed, he smiled and continued talking. He changed topics instead and said, "The hidden test was so hard. Do you think so too, Zen?"


    ''Hard?'' Zen thought to himself.


    The answer was yes.


    Ever since he had stepped on Cloud Road, he didn''t find the tests difficult except for the hidden one. Several elite disciples had previously died in the former tests. It was because they were unlucky, or they simply weren''t good enough to be called as elites.


    He did have to admit that the hidden test was ridiculously difficult.


    When he chanced upon the hidden test, he aimed for the black treasure chest at the top.


    It turned out that despite his best efforts, he only got the silver treasure chest on the third floor and those below it.


    The Shadow Wolf King on the fourth floor was more powerful than Zen had imagined. He wouldn''t gamble his life with no certainty of success. Thus, he backed off the challenge.


    It was clear that the hidden test was immensely difficult. The elite disciples of every sect found it extremely hard to even get the red treasure chest on the first floor. The disciples of Cloud Hall who were eligible to enter the Cloud Road were equal to the top disciples of a second-grade sect. However, they too had failed to obtain the chest on the first floor.


    The level of difficulty on each floor determined the preciousness of the treasure in the chest. Maybe it was even impossible to find such treasures in the Cloud Hall.


    If it were the Cloud Hall who had arranged all the tests, would they really put "Malicious Wheel of Life and Death," a tier 5 cultivation method, as a reward in the chest? It was highly impossible.


    Such a top-level method was unlikely to be accessible even for Kenneth, and more so as a reward in the Cloud Road for the disciples.


    Thus, how could it have appeared there? Perhaps the answer was hidden in the "Blood Fiend Emperor."


    A strong man had once lived in this place and was called emperor. It was safe to say that the ancient ruins were a region of a sixth-grade sect.


    d.


    Therefore, all the warriors were trapped.


    In such a case, people found it both funny and annoying that they didn''t know what they should do. They had a hard time getting here. Did they have to go back to the way they came from? Thus, most of the cultivators decided to return to the high platform to make a countermeasure first.


    Zen looked around and didn''t see Patrick. "Why isn''t Patrick here?" he asked.


    The platform wasn''t that big, so he should have easily found Patrick if he was there. Zen was confused. Patrick had gone ahead of him, but he never met him along the way and he wasn''t on the platform as well. Where did he go? Was he dead already?


    Zen thought that it was unlikely for Patrick to die on the Cloud Road due to his strength.


    "He has chosen another way," Rocher said with a smile.


    "Another road?" Zen asked. "I have never heard that there was another road," he added. He was even more surprised.


    "Yes, there is. Frank, Lois, Patrick and the other two disciples have all chosen that way. There are only a few damaged rocks on that road and it isn''t that hard to cross," Rocher explained.


    "So, why didn''t you take that way?" Zen asked. "Because that road is called Death Road," a disciple of Cloud Hall coldly interrupted. Rocher nodded in agreement.


    "According to the disciples of Cloud Hall, there is a fork in the road ahead. It diverges into two roads. One is called Life Road, the other is called Death Road," he added. The Cloud Road was certainly full of mysteries.


    Almost all the disciples had chosen the Life Road when they were in the fork.


    Although there were once disciples who had chosen the Death Road, they didn''t survive in the end.


    As time passed, the people had gradually forgotten about the Death Road and believed that the Life Road was the only way.


    The so-called "Death Road" was actually not a road, but just a trap. For them, it was a way that led to death and no one could ever get through it.

 Chapter 565 A Dead End

    Gazing at the Sea of Raging Fire, Zen got lost in thought again. His heart sank, as he realized that the difficulty level of the Cloud Road test was higher than he had expected.


    Now he understood why the previous hidden test had been so difficult.


    The Death Road was a concealing test, too. Compared to Life Road, it was tougher. Since the difficulty level of the test was much higher, the Death Road seemed to have become a dead end.


    Few passed the test. This led to this test bearing the name Death Road test.


    Since the test was so difficult, besides competence and power, luck was also a vital virtue. Zen figured out that the secret of the Cloud Road might lie in the Death Road, "Let''s take the Death Road too," he said to Rocher.


    The platform was not huge and most of the practitioners were on it, waiting to try their luck. When they heard Zen was about to pick the Death Road, a distrustful expression appeared on their faces.


    ''Are you joking?


    Frank and Lois are powerful, so they have a slim chance of passing the Death Road. However, as a practitioner at the third grade of the nature level, how dare you take the same road?'' Everyone was of the same opinion, but none of them reminded or warned Zen and they just let him have his way.


    Zen had nothing to do with them, so they didn''t care about whether he would be alive or dead at all.


    Although more than a hundred stones had broken on the Life Road, the practitioners could find a way by pooling the wisdom and efforts of everyone together.


    For example, earlier, the female disciple of Iridescence Sect formed a provisional road for the practitioners by condensing the lava with her own cultivation method. This induced a cooling effect and that would bring help. If the practitioners who possessed such skills could cooperate well, they would be able to jump onto the Life Road. The practitioners were discussing how to cooperate by using resources they had and how to control the timing, so that they could reach the destination earlier and with no strain.


    Rocher pondered for a short moment. However, before he could answer, Lewis who had been consulting in the crowd and getting ideas moved closer to Zen. He shouted, "Excellent idea! I''ll pick the Death Road too!"


    Zen rolled his eyes in disbelief. He knew it was difficult to get rid of Lewis. Since he offered to join him, Zen had no option but to agree.


    "Then, count me in!" Rocher said. He had been hesitant when Patrick asked him to go with him. Maybe in his eyes, he had a better chance to pass the test by cooperating with Zen.


    When the tide of the Sea of Raging Fire fell, the other pr


    n''t want to die!" Lewis cried out while he was running.


    "Oh, no! I have a promising future and I don''t want to drown in the Sea of Raging Fire!


    Mom, please forgive me! My wish of always taking care of you has been cut short. I can''t take good care of you any longer..."


    When Lewis was screaming his lungs out, Rocher had already jumped onto another stone. He turned around, grabbed Lewis by the collar and then pulled out a sword from his back before placing it against Lewis'' neck.


    "Stop screaming! Or this will be the end of you!"


    Rocher wasn''t a blabbermouth like Lewis, and he wasn''t that patient like Zen. So, when he faced the Death Road and the rising lava, he felt a great deal of pressure.


    Besides being very verbose, Lewis had also been used to calming his nerves by screaming when he was under ordeals.


    Just like someone would pull his hair or keep on eating when they felt nervous.


    While releasing his own stress, Lewis conveyed his pressure to Rocher and Zen.


    "No, don''t kill me! I promise to keep my mouth shut. Is that okay with you?" Lewis pleaded.


    In fact, if not because he hadn''t been defenseless, with Lewis'' current competence, Rocher wouldn''t have caught him so easily.


    Rocher wouldn''t end his life. He grunted and threw him onto the stone before proceeding.


    Zen looked at Lewis with a slight smirk on his face and shook his head. He then followed Rocher forward. Lewis still drew a long face but kept his silence. He had to be still.


    As they were approaching the end of the Death Road, the lava tide was closer to them. It distressed them and their hearts pounded. If the lava tide rose to a certain level, that would be their end. They held their breath as they waited for the turn of events.

 Chapter 566 Twists And Turns (Part One)

    400 feet...


    300 feet...


    200 feet...


    Their eyes gazed at the stones that loomed before them as they drew nearer to a dead end. Could they still survive in such a desperate situation?


    The atmosphere grew more tense as their uncertainty increased. If it was a common dead end, they had no choice but to die.


    "Colors! They have different colors!" Zen suddenly shouted. He was the first one who noticed the difference in color. He found that there were rows of runes on the stone pillars'' surfaces at the dead end.


    "March!" Rocher said and rushed forward. His eyes glinted as he charged with gritted teeth. Although he didn''t know what the runes meant, he saw a silver lining. Besides, they had no way back.


    The lava tide surged again. The stone pillars would be soon submerged in it, since only the tops of the pillars were visible now.


    There were ten stone pillars in the dead end, and every pillar was circled by runes. When Zen stepped on them, the runes lit up.


    He swiftly moved past ten pillars, and each one of them lit up.


    Finally, Zen came to the end. Suddenly, a vortex appeared.


    The dark bluish-grey vortex was similar to the vortex that they had encountered under the arched gateway of the Cloud Road.


    "A road!" Zen exclaimed. His eyes brightened and a smile found its way to his face. It turned out that he was right in the gamble.


    At the same time, Rocher had followed and caught up to him. When he reached the last pillar and stepped on it, a vortex appeared in front of him as well.


    Did that mean everyone had a vortex?


    At that moment, another person rushed to the scene. Lewis looked like he fell into the waters but was able to grasp at a life-saving straw. When he saw the vortex, he raced so fast that he w


    it. It is Ice Pill for treating wounds from empyrosis."


    Lewis looked at him gratefully. He took the pill and put it into his mouth.


    As Lewis swallowed the pill, Zen and Rocher looked around to check the surroundings.


    The road they had chosen was the Death Road, but the test they had gone through just now wasn''t as difficult as they had imagined. They could easily conquer it as long as they were firm enough. Since they picked the Death Road, then the real test lay ahead.


    They seemed to have entered a separate space after they went through the vortexes. The space was dim and the sky was grey, with only a few flashes of light in it. The surroundings had a depressing effect. It was like a cramped place where daylight would never come.


    There was a jungle in the distance. The darkness in the jungle was even more frightening, as no one knew what mysterious and powerful beings would lurk in there.


    "Let''s go!" Zen announced. Rocher followed him closely. Lewis hurriedly stood up and hobbled along behind. Although cultivators usually recovered rapidly and Lewis took an Ice Pill from Rocher, it still took some time for the wound to heal completely.

 Chapter 567 Twists And Turns (Part Two)

    Now, Lewis regretted that he hadn''t obtained the blue treasure box. If he had gone all out to take it and had sucked the nine-headed dragon''s blood vigor, his small wound would''ve healed immediately.


    They had reached the dark jungle, but they barely saw anything except the tiny glimmers of light. They only moved forward by instinct.


    Lewis had shut up this time. It was a critical moment and he wasn''t dumb, otherwise he wouldn''t have had such a high strength level. He would be headed towards an early grave if he dared to rant or even speak in such place.


    They had only walked in the dark and quiet jungle for a short while before they suddenly heard something swish in the air and shoot towards them.


    Whoosh!


    The sound was faint but Zen had heard it.


    "Be careful!" Lewis reminded. Fortunately, Zen had reacted quickly.


    He reached out his hand and pulled Rocher back. Then, they saw a small, dark narrow shadow brush past them. However, it grazed past Rocher and hurt his arm.


    The fabric that covered Rocher''s arm was cut open and revealed a small scratch on the skin.


    "What''s that?"


    Rocher held his Blood-corroding Sword in his hand and cautiously looked around.


    The small black shadow didn''t seem to be a hidden weapon like a dart, since they all saw it swerve its direction after it hit Rocher, and disappeared into the jungle again. It was more like some kind of creature.


    Meanwhile, Lewis sniffed the air and his eyes widened. "I saw it. It is a kind of a tiny bat. It has very thin, sharp wings like a blade. This kind of blade bat has hurt Rocher," he suddenly blurted out.


    "How did you see that?"


    other better choices. They went through the vortex. An explosive sound was heard when they landed, followed by blazing flames that rose up in the air.


    "It is the Karma Fire!" Zen screamed. He had recognized it at first sight. The flames were the Green Lotus Karma Fire from Patrick.


    But, who was he fighting against? This trick was Patrick''s trump card that he usually didn''t utilize until someone forced him to do so. When Patrick had initiated his Acalanatha shadow, this technique was only usable again after several days. Moreover, he usually didn''t employ it unless he was in great danger. It was clear that Patrick was in a tough situation.


    "Who is Patrick fighting against?" Zen asked as he looked at the direction where the flames came from. "I don''t know. Let''s go check!"


    Zen strode forward and moved quickly to where the flames were from. They were rivals in Cloud Sect back then, but they were all now in Cloud Road.


    They were in the same team now since they all came from Cloud Sect. Thus, Zen naturally thought that he must help Patrick at this critical moment.

 Chapter 568 The Flying Yaksha (Part One)

    Flames from the hell suddenly blazed up, lightening almost half of the night sky.


    Zen and the other two ran to the Karma Fire, breaking down branches and twigs on the way as they moved along. Even the trunks of thousand-year trees were instantly chopped into pieces by the consummate sword intent.


    As Lewis saw Zen advancing like that, the corners of his mouth twitched, ''That two are just unbelievable! They both have the consummate sword intent. Are they really from a second-rate sect?''


    Although Lewis was a babbling kind of guy, he was quite confident about his strength. Although he was able to come all the way there, he still had a feeling of having no advantage over Zen and Rocher.


    Despite that, Lewis had something he was always proud of. ''If I let my power out all at a time, I may have a chance against them, '' he thought to himself.


    As Zen and the other two got out of the woods, they were astonished at the scene that had unveiled in front of their eyes.


    There was a crater with a radius of 1000 feet and was stretching outside the woods. It looked like it was caused by a fierce battle. At the middle of the crater, a blazing bright Green Lotus Karma Fire enveloped Patrick. He was fighting against a beast!


    The beast had two wings on its back, a horn protruding from its forehead and a face of a bear. It was standing on its two hind legs, basking in a pool of silver light.


    Patrick''s Karma Fire was well-known in the Cloud Sect. Last time, Zen successfully threw off Patrick''s Karma Fire only because of his special spiritual weapon-like body. Plus, at that time, he didn''t take the Green Lotus Karma Fire head on but was simply immune to its power.


    However, the beast had successfully resisted the scotching Karma Fire tha


    ght to do it; if the opponent was out of his league, he should work harder to catch up with him and be on his team.


    In fact, Rocher did the same thing. When he found he could not surpass Zen, he chose to follow Zen''s paces and try to keep up with him. If Zen scored something, he would certainly gain some achievement as well. For Rocher, it was a helpless choice, but it was indeed the smart one.


    Given that some people were simply born with special talents or strong physic, no one could deny the fact that there was always someone more able, perfect, and powerful in the world.


    Thus, whether Zen would finally outpace or follow behind Frank, one thing was for sure¨Che just needed to challenge Frank.


    However, now wasn''t the right time. With so many unknown creatures attacking them as they proceeded down the Death Road, Zen was left with no choice but to help those in the same boat as him.


    Swoosh!


    The beast that had warded off the Green Lotus Karma Fire was hit by the spear! That white spear penetrated through the beast''s arm.


    A ferocious look surfaced from its face and suddenly let out a deafening howl, making everyone''s ears tingle.

 Chapter 569 The Flying Yaksha (Part Two)

    The beast then pounced on Frank!


    It was three meters high, large, and bulky but quite agile. Flapping its wings, it swooped down upon Frank repeatedly.


    Despite being under attack by the fierce beast, Frank was still very calm. He continuously hit with his spear every time the beast struck at him.


    "Sky-breaking Thrust!"


    "Recurring Thrust!"


    "Circling Thrust!"


    Each time the spear lunged forward, it hit one of the beast''s palms. After several thrusts, the palms of that violent beast were bleeding profusely.


    "Frank, go get it!"


    Shouted a woman who was standing on the side together with a group of people.


    Since Zen and the other two hadn''t met any female disciple in the Cloud Hall before, they assumed she was from the Iridescence Sect.


    "She is Lois Jin from the Iridescence Sect. I heard that she is engaged to Frank, so she must be Frank''s fianc¨¦e," Lewis came out to explain.


    ''Smart guy.'' Shaking his head, Zen gave a smile. ''This Lewis does like gabbling and self-talking. Still, he is quite well-informed, '' he thought to himself.


    Being tall, slender, and otherworldly good-looking, Lois looked like a perfect match for Frank. The two seemed destined to be with each other.


    "Let''s go to them. Seems that Frank''s got enough strength to tackle that beast," Zen suggested. Then, the three walked towards the group.


    At that point, Lois and her league happened to notice Zen and his companions. They all looked astounded, apparently taken aback by the fact that there were more people who dared to enter the Death Road other than themselves.


    After observing the fight between Frank and the beast even for a while, Zen thought that Frank had it all under control, so they simply decided to hit the road. However, something unexp


    e, you''ll just get in my way!" Frank said as he brandished the spear in his hand. Apparently, the arrival of Zen and his companions would not be of any help for Frank. He believed they would be a drag on his team.


    After all, the three were fairly low-ranked¡ªone was merely at the third grade of the nature level, one had just consummated the natural level, and the other one was at the first grade of the Illuminating Soul Realm. They should have known better than to step onto the Death Road. Now that they did, they were just extra burdens for Frank.


    From his perspective, Lois and Patrick were the only two eligible to fight by his side. As to Zade Zhou from the Brumous Sect, he would have died a thousand times if not for Frank''s protection.


    Frank was very confident about his strength, though he was rather arrogant. Since he had absolute power, he didn''t mind taking care of a few more people.


    But if others wanted to butt in on his fight, they should first ask themselves if they had the same strength as him.


    And it was evident that Zen did not have that kind of strength. Therefore, Frank chose to confront the transfigured Flying Yaksha on his own.

 Chapter 570 The Picture On The Picture Slab Disappeared (Part One)

    Zen smiled slightly and remained silent when he heard Frank.


    In comparison to Zen''s indifference, Rocher looked rather angry and said, "Gosh! This guy is too cocky!"


    "If Frank says you''re in his way, then you are in his way. If you want to survive on Death Road, you''d better do as told!" Lois, Frank''s fiancee, warned Rocher when she heard what he said.


    Rocher pouted and wanted to retort, but Zen stopped him. He then heard Zen say, "Forget it, Rocher! Since Frank is so confident of his strength, we''re happy to watch him defeat the Flying Yaksha alone."


    Both Zen and Rocher were at the nature level, and before showing their real strength, they did look like weaker that of any average disciple from the Cloud Hall.


    However, sometimes, being underestimated by others was not a bad thing, especially on the Death Road, a dangerous area. Since Frank was willing to be the hero and block the attacks of the golden Flying Yaksha himself, it would be advantageous for Zen and Rocher as they wouldn''t have to fight. They could simply watch him.


    Lewis, who was standing next to Zen, did not speak. Although he had outstanding strength, Lewis was not very bold. Otherwise, he would not have given up the treasure box in the second tier so easily.


    "Oh, right! We need to check if Patrick is all right first. He has been attacked by the Flying Yaksha thrice. I''m worried he might have been hurt," said Zen. Concerned, he hurriedly walked to the edge of the big pit in search of Patrick.


    By the time they reached the edge, Patrick had climbed up. The golden light protecting him was slowly fading away. Although he did not appear to have been badly hurt, he looked a mess and was covered with dirt. Meanwhile, his breath seemed a little weaker.


    "Patrick, are you all right?" Zen asked, genuinely worried.


    "Zen! Rocher! You guys are here, too!" At the sight of his two companions, Patrick exclaimed excitedly. Joy reflected in his expression. Unlike


    ed on his handsome face. If one looked carefully, they would see a small smile on Frank''s lips.


    If he kept retreating, Frank would be driven into a dead-end corner with a boulder about twenty feet high. Then, the onlookers noticed Frank sneering before stepping closer to the boulder and kicking it. The force with which Frank kicked the boulder was so tremendous that it left a deep pit in the boulder.


    With the force of the kick, somehow, Frank''s body maintained a straight line with his spear and began to spin fast.


    As Frank''s body spun, a whirling vortex formed at the tip of his white spear. It continuously absorbed the spear intent and created a highly condensed strong energy!


    As the strong energy was not condensed with life vitality, but with the spear intent of consummate grade, the power it contained was beyond imaginable.


    "I didn''t know that the spear intent could be used in this way," Zen said in surprise. He then exchanged a glance with Rocher. The expression on their faces showed that they had been enlightened.


    Although Zen and Rocher had figured out the sword intent of the consummate grade, they had not tried to condense sword intent to that extreme extent. This was for several reasons, including the fact that their knowledge about sword intent was limited.

 Chapter 571 The Picture On The Picture Slab Disappeared (Part Two)

    Also, during the recent many years, they were the only two people who had figured out the sword intent of the consummate grade in Cloud Sect, and thus, nobody at Cloud Sect could offer them any useful suggestions.


    Frank''s situation was, however, different from theirs. As a disciple of the Cloud Hall in the Central Region, he would have many opportunities to meet well-known masters. Any of them could offer him useful suggestions. Together, with his diligent practice, once he had figured out spear intent of the consummate grade, he would learn how to condense the spear intent easily.


    Therefore, disciples of Cloud Hall were at an advantage in this respect.


    "Super Spinning Spear!" Frank bellowed as he summoned one of his powerful skills.


    As he spun at an extreme speed toward the Flying Yaksha, Frank was integrated with his long white spear. It looked like he had become a part of it.


    The Flying Yaksha also felt the power of Frank''s attack. But, as the attack had been launched so suddenly, it didn''t have any time to respond. It could only cross its arms in front of its chest to resist the attack with the hopes of withstanding the attack with the strength of its corporeal body.


    "Snap, snap, snap¡­" The sound of something breaking filled the silence.


    The hard gold scales around the arms of the Flying Yaksha shattered. Frank''s spear, infused with his spear intent of the consummate grade, finally managed to pierce through the Flying Yaksha. Taking advantage, Frank pushed the spear deep inside it.


    After the white spear penetrated the Flying Yaksha''s arms, its momentum remained unabated. It then pierced through the Flying Yaksha''s chest.


    It was indeed, surprising to see the Flying Yaksha be defeated in such a manner. It looked as though the Flying Yaksha were a skewered shrimp waiting to


    ar cut through, a demon core fell out of its chest.


    The demon core of a fierce beast was precious. Frank would never miss the opportunity to collect one. After disposing of the Flying Yaksha''s body, Frank continued his journey on the Death Road, followed by Lois and Zade.


    Rocher''s pride led him to believe that they would have managed fine on the Death Road without Frank. He was convinced that Frank was not the only one who could pass the tests on the Death Road. However, since Zen insisted that they put up with Frank''s attitude and follow him, Rocher had no choice but to go along.


    As for Lewis, his original purpose was not very clear. Thus, he didn''t overthink Frank''s attitude and followed him like the other people.


    After everyone set out, the Cloud Hall''s disciple standing in situ suddenly raised his head, smiled strangely in a certain direction, and then stretched his hand to squeeze something hard between his fingers in the air, as if he were crumbling something into pieces. Then he clapped his hands gently and followed the others.


    The action resulted in the disappearance of the picture being broadcasted on the Picture Slab, which was placed at the entrance of the Cloud Road!

 Chapter 572 A Rare Herb (Part One)

    There was only one Picture Slab outside the Cloud Road. Each time one of the leaders wanted to observe a participant, the pictures had to be shifted from one disciple to another.


    Among all the disciples, Zen Luo and Frank Zhuo were the most frequently watched ones.


    Some time ago when Frank and some other disciples entered Death Road, the Picture Slab could not track them anymore. Lady Long became anxious when she couldn''t track her favorite disciples.


    As the leader of the Iridescence Sect, she knew of the dangers on Death Road. Over time, not a single disciple who had entered Death Road had survived.


    "What is Frank doing? He''s taking Lois to a living hell!" Lady Long complained loudly now and then.


    If she could see the pictures from Death Road, Lady Long might have felt better. But now that Death Road could not be tracked and she could not see anything, Lady Long was worried about Lois.


    As time passed, Zen, Rocher, and Lewis also entered Death Road. This time the Picture Slab could keep track of them!


    When Zen met Frank and the other disciples, Fernandez and the others saw Frank on the Picture Slab.


    After catching a glimpse of Frank and Lois in the picture, Lady Long felt a little relieved as both of them were safe.


    Eagerly, Lady Long watched Frank kill the Flying Yaksha. His demonstration of strength pleased Lady Long tremendously, and she began to speak highly of Frank.


    However, in the end, the mysterious disciple from Cloud Hall turned his eyes towards the Picture Slab and flashed them a weird smile. The smile surprised all the sect leaders and Fernandez.


    How could this disciple from Cloud Hall see the Picture Slab?


    The sect leaders watched as the mysterious disciple squeezed the air with two fingers. In the next instant, the picture on the


    e son of Emanuel Zhuo. Fernandez, if something unexpected happens to Frank, how will you explain it to Emanuel?"


    Although Lady Long was worried about Frank, she cared more about her disciple, Lois. But Lois was not important enough to change Fernandez''s decision. So, she mentioned Frank.


    Fernandez became annoyed with Lady Long''s questioning. After all, he had led the disciples into the trial. Now, there was a stranger among them. How would such a mistake reflect on him? Fernandez smiled coldly, "Explain? What do you want me to explain to Emanuel? The reason why his son is not strong enough to pass the trial?"


    "You..." Lady Long had no answer for Fernandez. After all, her position was not as high as Fernandez''s. Maybe Fernandez was not stronger or at a higher position than Emanuel. But their difference was negligible. Moreover, Lady Long was unreasonable by forcing Fernandez to do something.


    The fact was that only disciples no higher than the third grade of the Illuminating Soul Realm could enter the trial. All the people outside the trial could do nothing more than watch. Now, the Picture Slab could not trace some disciples anymore, so watching them had become impossible.

 Chapter 573 A Rare Herb (Part Two)

    The disciples inside the trial, including Frank, did not know what had happened, of course.


    Eight disciples moved forward under Frank''s leadership. Meanwhile, Patrick told Zen, Rocher, and Lewis what had happened before they had arrived.


    The Death Road was full of whirlpools. Each vortex was an isolated space with a different path. Sometimes the disciples would encounter two or even three whirlpools at the same time. The layout of Death Road was so complex that it was a maze.


    After accidentally trespassing into the home of the Flying Yakshas, the disciples had found themselves being chased by three Yakshas. Since two were small, Frank had been able to kill them. The big Yaksha, however, had been too strong. The disciples had known that a fight between them and the strong Yaksha would have attracted other evil animals. So, they ran away as they intended to lure the Yaksha into a safer place, where Frank eventually killed it.


    "That disciple from Cloud Hall cautioned us that the Yaksha was not the strongest beast on Death Road. If it''s true, we will soon encounter more trouble." Patrick shook his head. Death Road was far more challenging than they had expected.


    The problem was that despite passing through several whirlpools, one by one, it seemed like an endless cycle. They would eventually trespass into another powerful beast''s home. If that happened, all of them might end up in a more miserable situation.


    "Who is that disciple from Cloud Hall? Why is he so familiar with Death Road?" Zen asked.


    Patrick shook his head. "I don''t know. Frank has questioned him several times, but he refuses to reply."


    As they spoke, Zen studied the disciple from Cloud Hall. He was not tall and looked like an ordinary person. Somehow, Zen fe


    ad them unchallenged.


    Zade cautiously glanced around him as he followed the other disciples. Suddenly, he noticed something unusual.


    A black plant, not far from his position, seemed to waver in the wind.


    The plant emitted a dark light. As it was black and in a corner, most of the disciples hadn''t noticed it.


    Ever since Zade discovered the Gelid Herb, he began paying greater attention to the plants around. Soon, he found another rare herb.


    Although he didn''t know what it was, everything on Death Road was precious. This plant had unique features that Zade had not heard of before. And so, he thought the plant might also fetch him a good price in the market.


    Zade approached the plant without being noticed by the others. He was thrilled with his good luck. Despite being strong and killing a challenging creature by himself, Frank had only got a demon core of the Flying Yaksha whereas Zade had obtained two rare herbs. What was even better was that none of the other disciples knew of his luck! If they passed Death Road successfully, he would be the biggest winner!


    Just as Zade''s hand touched the rare herb, something unexpected happened!

 Chapter 574 In Despair

    "Watch out!" Zen cried.


    He was the first person to notice something had gone wrong.


    When Zen looked back to see what was going on, he saw Zade bending over to pick up a herb and right behind him was a dark figure. In one swift movement, a hand turned from the dark mass was suddenly covering Zade.


    Everyone turned right away when they heard Zen cry out loud. Zade looked frightened as he was grabbed by the dark figure.


    He sprang to his feet right away but to no avail. The dark figure had already grabbed him by then.


    Everyone could see Zade being enveloped by the black mass, which now looked like a black cloth. Zade tried to wriggle himself free but the black mass was too strong.


    Soon, Zade withered, having exhausted all his energy. The dark figure had enveloped Zade completely, coughing out only a few bones.


    "Zade- Zade was swallowed by that stuff. Those are his bones!" Lewis spewed out, teeth chattering, and eyes filled with fear.


    He had never seen anything like that before¨Che never thought it was possible that such a thing could exist, something that could eat up a man in the blink of an eye.


    "It''s a Dark Devil Phantom! Everybody... Watch your step!" The disciple from the Cloud Hall suddenly raised his voice to remind them.


    At this moment, everyone just wanted to get rid of the dark figure¨Cthey didn''t even want to put a name on such a horrible thing. Right now, their priority was to survive. Just a few moments after they were warned, the same kind of dark mass had spread on the ground and was slowly closing in on them.


    "Run, everybody! Run!" Frank yelled. He looked serious and determined.


    This unknown Dark Devil Phantom was even more terrifying than the Flying Yaksha because that evil beast could be killed. Meanwhile, they had no idea what a Dark Devil Phantom was more so how to destroy it. The Dark Devil Phantom looked like a sticky mass and Frank didn''t even know if it was alive. What use could his spear be?


    "Ahh!" Lois let out a scream as one of her legs was dragged by the Dark Devil Phantom.


    Frank gritted his teeth, took his spear out and stabbed it on the Dark Devil Phantom that had a hold on Lois'' leg. As soon as the spear touched its surface, Frank grabbed Lois and dashed off.


    At this time, the Dark Devil Phantom had spread majority of its substance on the ground leaving little room for running. If they stopped, the Dark Devil Phantom might catch them.


    In a world as small as this, it was not unusual to run into Dark Devil Phantoms. These dark stuff only hunted living creatures as their vitality was what attracted them.


    The moment the eight of them stepped inside this world, the Dark Devil Phantoms already smelled them. They were able to follow them discreetly since Dark Devil Phantoms moved slowly and took the form of whatever they were in like thick liquids.


    "Frank! I''m so scared! I don''t want to be swallowed up and be left with nothing but bones!" Lois screamed as she and Frank raced fast. As the strongest female disciple in the Iridescence Se


    ed into it.


    "It''s... consummate sword intent!" Frank muttered. "How is it possible?"


    How could a nature creature perform the consummate sword intent? Frank didn''t achieve the consummate spear intent until he entered the Illuminating Soul Realm so he never thought that a guy at the peak of the nature level could master the consummate sword intent!


    The most amazing thing was that the thunder he drew was not made up of life vitality but heavenly thunder! Heavenly thunder and the thunder that was condensed by life vitality were completely different¨Cthe power of the latter could not be compared with that of the former! Frank was astounded!


    "Crackling!"


    "The Extreme Thunder Sword Intent!" Rocher shouted. "Heavenly Swords! Four swords in one!"


    Rocher was well aware that these Dark Devil Phantoms were not afraid of physical attacks and that what could really hurt them was the heavenly thunder in his Extreme Thunder Sword Intent.


    He was already in a state of panic and he was willing to do whatever he could to destroy the Dark Devil Phantoms.


    When the Extreme Thunder Sword Intent struck two Dark Devil Phantoms, they were suddenly enveloped in lightning just as they sparked and evaporated.


    "It worked!" A gleam of hope shone across Frank''s face.


    "Patrick, this disciple from your Cloud Sect is... really powerful!" When Frank saw Rocher''s Extreme Thunder Sword Intent, he sensed that Rocher would have as much potential as he did after he entered the Illuminating Soul Realm. He had to admit that he had underestimated Rocher.


    But at the moment, Frank was glad he was wrong.


    Patrick startled everyone with his comment. "Rocher is indeed strong," he chuckled, "but Zen is more powerful. Even I''m no match for him, he''s the strongest disciple in our sect."


    "What?" Frank was so stunned that he had forgotten for a moment that they were in a battle with Dark Devil Phantoms. "You mean the guy at the third grade of nature level?" Frank asked in disbelief. "You think he''s better than you?"

 Chapter 575 So Much Life Vitality

    Frank had thought that Patrick was the only one strong enough to fight with him.


    Back then when they were battling the three Flying Yakshas, he used all of his might to not only defeat, but kill a Yaksha. Channeling every ounce of strength he had left, he attacked, dodged, and fought against the strongest one. Patrick unleashed the Acalanatha shadow. But the Yaksha''s defense was so intense that Patrick was still defeated.


    Patrick gave blow after blow, threw punches against the Yaksha, but his defense was too weak. He kept on targeting his enemy''s strong body that he forgot to defend his own.


    As the battle came to an end, the Flying Yaksha finished Patrick and gave him three last blows before he was on the floor, bruised. Although defeated, Frank still believed in Patrick'' strength and courage as a fighter. After all, the Green Locus Karma Fire was all too powerful.


    Maybe Frank could easily break Patrick''s Body in the Diamond-like State with his spear, but he could not bear the Green Locus Karma Fire Patrick could give off.


    Comparing warriors of the same level was a very difficult thing to do, let alone fighting off one another just to see who the better warrior was. Would battling it out give the answer? Frank was all too confident, thinking that he would have this one in the bag, that Patrick was just another competitor he would bruise.


    As for Rocher and Zen, Frank didn''t pay attention to them at all as they were at such a lower cultivation level than him and they didn''t show their strengths.


    Seeing the two nature creatures, Frank suddenly remembered what Patrick had tried to say to him before. "On the Death Road, with their help..."


    Frank interrupted Patrick at that time as Frank believed that even the most ordinary disciple of the Illuminating Soul Realm was useless and weak. How could those two nature creatures be of any help? He had shown his respect to them even when he thought the two of them were useless to him!


    If he had known what would happen later, he should have asked more about them. In this way he would not have been so embarrassed now. The embarrassment was kicking his gut!


    It was such a shame that Frank was too proud. He had always been like this, even as a little boy. It had now become a trait of his pride. The two could have helped him in his time of need!


    Frank felt his face slightly flush out of embarrassment.


    Rocher''s Extreme Thunder Sword Intent could kill the Dark Devil Phantoms that were swarming them. With the great power that his sword had, he waved it numerous times to kill his foes. Dark Devil Phantoms were cut, but there were too many of them. Each time he killed one, more and more came in.


    Rocher was running out of strength. He battled ferociously against the Dark Devil Phantoms that kept on appearing. He gasped heavily, and dropped to the floor as he could not swing his sword any more. He could n


    d happened quickly, and only a few people noticed it, including Patrick and Rocher. But they couldn''t care less and did not pay too much attention to it. Now, Rocher and Patrick suddenly realized how overwhelming Zen''s life vitality was!


    What happened next surprised them even more.


    Under Zen''s command, thousands of small arrows were shot into the Dark Devil Phantoms. Then, the Dark Devil Phantoms seemed to have been struck by lightning and stopped moving.


    The whole area seemed to be frozen and all the Dark Devil Phantoms stopped moving. Frank and other disciples stayed quiet. Looking at what was happening in front of them, they were expecting something to happen. What happened next did not disappoint them.


    Zen waved his hand again and shouted, "Go!"


    Soon after, slight sounds of explosion were heard continuously in all directions.


    "Peng! Peng!"


    Hundreds of Dark Devil Phantoms exploded at the same time and purple demonic life vitality flooded out of the Dark Devil Phantoms.


    Only one Dark Devil Phantom was enough to make Zen''s belly full. Now there were hundreds of Dark Devil Phantoms swallowed by Zen''s demonic life vitality. What a great amount of life vitality!


    The great amounts of demonic life vitality were drifting in the dark sky like huge clouds.


    There were too much demonic life vitality in the area that if Zen tried to absorb all the demonic life vitality, his body would explode.


    All of the people looked at the purple life vitality like clouds while quailing. They had never seen such a huge amount of life vitality together like this! The people had never seen anyone who could give off such a great deal of life vitality in a short time! Even the head of the Cloud Hall could not deal with so much life vitality inside the body!


    After a while, they heard Zen spoke, which made them feel both humored and annoyed. "It is a great pity to waste so much life vitality..."

 Chapter 576 Allocation (Part One)

    The purple cloud of life vitality finally dissipated. Everyone''s gaze traveled from the sky to the ground, and finally stayed on Zen''s face.


    Unlike the other people present, Rocher and Patrick were not so surprised. They had witnessed Zen''s magic many times before and knew how outstanding Zen''s strength was. Zen had used the demonic life vitality to swallow Dick''s Righteousness Song on the fighting field. However, at that time, the scale and impact weren''t as big as they were now. Therefore, they didn''t expect that Zen''s demonic life vitality could absorb those Dark Devil Phantoms.


    Not many people had seen the unusual strength of Zen''s demonic life vitality, so it was no wonder that they had underestimated him. The leaders of the imperial army such as Yolande and Hugh were the first ones to know it. In addition, Seymour and some other cultivators who had entered the fairy palace before were deeply impressed by Zen''s demonic life vitality. However, those soldiers weren''t interested in spreading that news. And those cultivators like Seymour had died in the fairy palace and they even didn''t have a chance to share it.


    Therefore, except for Rocher and Patrick, Lewis, Frank, Lois, and that disciple of Cloud hall were quite shocked by what happened. Their hearts hammered loudly in their chests as they couldn''t believe their eyes. They had never expected for a nature creature to cause this scene! They all lapsed into silence to digest what they just saw. After they had gotten over the initial shock, they started to think about Zen''s question.


    "We do not have a magic weapon to store this extra life vitality. I am afraid that we have to waste it," Lois commented. She knew that there was a magic weapon called the Cup of Life Vitality, which could temporarily store life vitality. However, even when they had one at hand, it wouldn''t be of much help since it had a very limited capacity and couldn''t store the mass life vitality in front of them. Lois observed the cloud-like life vitality and thought again.


    "In that case, just let it explode," Zen said lightly with a smile on his face, as


    k objects appeared after he had killed the black phantoms. They were almost the same with those in the red treasure boxes.


    Lewis was very clear about the value of these black objects. They could strengthen the human soul, which was hard to be refined by normal refinement methods or by taking magical pills. Just swallow them and then the people would obtain enormous benefits. It was not hard to imagine how precious they were! However, there was a slight difference between these objects and those in the red treasure boxes. When the black objects in the red treasure boxes appeared, they automatically entered the brain and took effect as if they were living creatures and had their own thoughts. But these black objects now did not automatically do these things.


    Meanwhile, Lewis had gotten a bit impatient to find out the reason, so he tried to swallow one. ''Idiot!'' Zen scolded in his heart. When he was about to stop Lewis, the disciple of Cloud Hall coldly said, "These are the poisonous essences of the Dark Devil Phantoms. If you swallow one directly, it will corrode your organs in one second. Try to taste it if you want to die."


    At that point, the essence of Dark Devil Phantom was already on Lewis'' lips. After he heard what the disciple of Cloud Hall had said, he immediately spat it out without hesitation. "Oh, really? How come?" He turned to the disciple of Cloud Hall and asked.

 Chapter 577 Allocation (Part Two)

    "The black object you obtained in the hidden trail is the soul essence. It did come from the same source as these black objects here. The soul essence is the reason why the Cloud Road has the Dark Devil Phantoms. But they have used a secret special method to remove the toxin from the essence of Dark Devil Phantom to make the soul essence," the disciple of Cloud Hall explained coldly.


    "Does it mean that the hundreds of essence of Dark Devil Phantom here could be refined to around ten pieces of soul essence?" Zen asked. He was caught by the disciple''s words and decided to question him after a quick thought.


    If a piece of soul essence could have a little increase in the soul power, it meant that if they could refine ten pieces of soul essence, they could have a considerable increase in the soul power.


    The disciple of Cloud Sect nodded, which indicated that Zen''s assumption was correct.


    All the people''s eyes lit up with pleasant surprise after they had heard these comments.


    The Death Road was the biggest hidden barrier on the Cloud Road. The most important reason why people chose to enter it was that they hoped to get great opportunities and benefits on the road, even though it might be very dangerous. They knew that the danger and benefits always went hand in hand.


    Therefore, they started to fight and sometimes, even almost died on the road. However, they hadn''t gotten anything good or seen any opportunity, which was the saddest thing for them.


    Thus, they were ecstatic to see so many pieces of essence of Dark Devil Phantom in this place. What a big opportunity for them! Hope filled them like how the sunshine finally shone in a long, dark night.


    Although the essences of Dark Devil Phantom had not been refined, their value after being refined was invaluable because of their effects on the soul strength! Even in the Central Region, pills which could strengthen the soul were rare and mostly were extraordinarily expensive.


    These pills also had heavy side effects. They would increase the soul stren


    o stop them. "That''s enough! Frank, your allocation plan is ridiculous, not to mention that Lewis isn''t satisfied. Even Zen and I do not agree with you!"


    "What do you mean?"


    It was Frank''s face that had darkened now.


    He thought that he was the authority in the team, but now he felt that he had lost control of this temporary group. Or maybe, they had never considered him to be the leader in the first place. They simply didn''t think there was a need for one. It had been Frank''s own thought all the way.


    The loss of control made Frank uneasy. As far as he was concerned, such kind of supreme talent like he should be the born leader. He was the one who made decisions every time when he took adventures with other disciples of Cloud Hall.


    However, two people had expressed their disagreement when he said his plan. That had never happened before!


    The air was tense among them. Zen glanced at Frank and said, "Rocher and I have eliminated the Dark Devil Phantoms here. I only need 50% of them."


    "And I need 20% of them. You can split the balance among yourselves," Rocher followed.


    Meanwhile, Patrick didn''t say anything. However, he agreed more with Zen''s plan. Whoever contributed the most efforts should be given the most. They would all have been killed if it weren''t for Zen and Rocher. In that case, nothing was to be allocated.

 Chapter 578 Floating Stones (Part One)

    If Zen and Rocher took 70 percent of the Devil Phantom essences, and even if the man from Cloud Hall didn''t take any, the remaining 30 percent would be divided among four people.


    "You two are taking 70 percent? Do you think Frank and I are just foils for you?" Lois asked coldly. The woman was clearly unhappy with the proposal. She strongly believed that the Devil Phantom essences belonged only to Frank and herself.


    And Frank made sure to express his displeasure as well. "Zen, I''ll give you 30 percent on account that you made some contributions. But I wasn''t expecting you to be asking for so much, and wanting to take half of the essences. I am not a pushover, or easily persuaded, I tell you. I''m a tough nut to crack."


    With a sharp look, Zen said, "I don''t care whether you''re soft or tough, anyway. Rocher and I will take 70 percent, and that''s it!"


    Frank signed and a long blood dragon appeared on the white spear hilt in his hand. Waving the spear slightly, he directed its point to the ground. Then solemnly he said, "I don''t like internal strife. But if anyone in the team tries to stir up trouble and disrupt our harmony, I don''t mind teaching him the lesson and making him learn the rules first!"


    When he saw that Frank was poised to fight, Zen also took out his Blood Drinking Sword. He shook his head and said, "Frank, you have good strength, but if you think you can become a leader with your strength alone, I can only say that you''re too arrogant."


    Once he finished speaking, the consummate sword intent began to gather on the Blood Drinking Sword. The consummate sword intent was like a little spirit that danced happily on the point of Zen''s sword.


    Meanwhile, Rocher came to stand by Zen and also summoned his consummate sword intent.


    ''They both have consummate sword intent?'' Frank thought. His eyebrows shot upward at the sight of the sword intent on Zen''s Blood Drinking Sword. Frank might be arrogant, but he was not a fool. Rocher alone was already a threat to him. And here came Zen, who was even more powerful than Patrick.


    It was disconcerting to find out that Zen had the eerie purple black life vitality, and now he also learned the young disciple had the ability to condense consummate sword intent! All this made Fran


    an jumped in, the world they were in suddenly started to shake. Zen raised his head and looked at the sky. There appeared several cracks there. The cracks were similar to what he had seen on Cloud Road. These were signs that the small world was ready to break into pieces.


    "Quick, let''s get inside!" Zen commanded. He jumped in without hesitating.


    Then Rocher, Patrick, Frank, and Lois all followed and leaped into the red vortex.


    When Zen got out of the vortex, his head was down as he fell. So it was quite strange that he could see no ground, and he just kept on falling downward!


    Swoosh!


    The wind whooshed past Zen''s ears. Then he saw the Cloud Hall disciple also fall from the air. At the same time, he found the vortex''s exit, which was situated above the abyss.


    The abyss below was dark and seemed bottomless. Nobody knew how deep it was. But if they continued to fall like this, death would probably be the end of them.


    Soon, however, Zen found several stones floating in the air. The objects were irregular in shape. Some were as big as a table, while others were only the size of a fist. No one knew what kind of force would keep them afloat because none of them was affected by gravity at all.


    "The stones are only good for jumping on!" the young warrior murmured to himself. As the thought crossed his mind, Zen saw the Cloud Hall disciple suddenly gain momentum in the air through leaping. He twirled his body before being able to stand steadily on a floating stone.

 Chapter 579 Floating Stones (Part Two)

    Because of excellent dexterity, the Cloud Hall disciple finished with a fantastic landing. His bodily movement skill was even more perfect than Lewis''.


    And Zen followed suit by doing a backflip to change his position in the air. He came at one of the floating stones and attempted to snatch it. Unfortunately, his skills were not as consummate as Lewis. So, the stone began to turn once Zen applied too much force on it. Luckily, however, Zen had grasped a corner of the stone. He followed the stone to twirl around until he could steady himself on top of it.


    Raising his head, Zen saw Frank and Patrick both trying their best to catch a stone.


    Meanwhile, Lewis slowly resumed his flamboyant manner after getting into the vortex. Taking advantage of his superb technique in bodily movement, he jumped on the floating stones like a dragonfly skimming the surface of the water. Meanwhile, he let out non-stop shrieks to demonstrate that he was affected.


    After everyone had a stone and stabilized themselves, the Cloud Hall disciple suddenly pointed his finger above and said, "Look, up there! It''s the exit of Death Road!"


    When people heard him, they were delighted. They all raised their heads and followed the direction of his finger. They could see floating stones everywhere in the abyss. At the top of the abyss was a bright light. They could even see shattered floating remnants there.


    They only needed to get up there, with the help of the stones, to safely leave the Death Road.


    Finally seeing the silver lining made them glad. However, there was also a bit of disappointment. They took the risk to brave the Death Road hoping for a bigger reward. But in truth, they were only able to take away a portion of the Devil Phantom essences. And they were far from satisfied with it.


    For now, survival was the priority. And coming out of Death Road alive would make them all heroes.


    Giggling, Lewis remarked, "It''s not as difficult as it seems..." He stepped on a small stone as big as a fist and wiggled his body as if playing in a variety show. What Lewis was doing was showing off his bodily movement skills.


    The Cloud Hall disciple


    to go all out to get rid of the people who stood in his way.


    The basic swordsmanship move displayed by Zen confused the Cloud Hall disciple. But after a while, he smiled and without hesitation, grabbed Zen''s Blood Drinking Sword with his bare hands.


    The smile didn''t escape Zen, who thought it looked weird. It evoked a feeling of fascination as if a gentle lady was the one smiling at him. But the man standing before him was definitely a man!


    However, there was no time for Zen to ponder on this. He didn''t expect the Cloud Hall disciple to use a very clever trick in grabbing his sword.


    Because of his exceptional strength, even though the disciple was at the beginning level of the Illuminating Soul Realm, Zen was already considered a warrior without a match. He might not be able to thwart Frank''s spear attack, but there were other ways to beat him.


    Although only at the first grade of the Illuminating Soul Realm, the Cloud Hall disciple was brave enough to grab Zen''s sword with his bare hands. The move was so daring. It was incredible.


    The Cloud Hall disciple smiled eerily at Zen then said softly, "You''re going down with me!" Before Zen could react, he felt his clothes being dragged down by the Cloud Hall disciple until they fell from the floating stone and into a deep, dark pit.


    Right below them was the enormous flood dragon, which was rapidly rising, making the situation twice as dangerous.

 Chapter 580 The Flood Dragon Spirit (Part One)

    Given the current situation, all the disciples were desperately trying to get out of the abyss. So consumed were they about their safety that they didn''t worry about how the others were doing.


    Rocher jumped quickly from one floating rock to another higher floating rock using his Sword Steps. When he encountered tiny floating stones, he would crush them with his sword intent.


    As he was nearing a safe distance, Rocher turned to check if his companions were all right. The color drained from his face when Rocher saw that Zen was falling toward the flood dragon.


    "Zen!" he exclaimed in horror.


    Rocher''s scream attracted the attention of others who were struggling to climb up. They swiveled to see what had happened. Astonishment reflected on their faces when they saw Zen.


    When Frank noticed that the disciple from Cloud Hall was pulling Zen toward the mouth of the flood dragon, a cold sneer appeared on his face. He had long felt that something was suspicious about the Cloud Hall''s disciple. He had even considered the possibility that the disciple was plotting something sinister! As the Cloud Hall''s disciple had not done anything unusual and evil, Frank didn''t bother to figure out what he was plotting.


    He had certainly not expected the disciple to become crazy and drag Zen to the flood dragon''s mouth!


    ''Zen, you deserve it! Yet, you still have so much Dark Devil Phantom essence. If you die in the abyss, I''m afraid I won''t be able to get it. What a great pity that is!


    Never mind! You are so powerful despite being at the nature level. If in the future, you become an elite disciple of the Cloud Hall, you may be one of my greatest enemies!'' Thousands of thoughts were running through Frank''s mind when he saw the danger Zen was in. Frank, no matter how overconfident he was, had to face these facts.


    ''In that case, the belly of the flood dragon is a good place for your grave.'' Frank smiled at the thought.


    As he climbed up, a wide smirk replaced


    kily, the inside parts of the flood dragon are soft. Otherwise, we would have suffered severe injuries from our fall."


    "Remove your hand!" screeched the disciple.


    At once, Zen felt his arm being grabbed and twisted before he felt himself being thrown away.


    It was not until Zen landed on another spot that he realized that he hadn''t been touching a part of the flood dragon but her breast instead¡­


    "You''re not pretending anymore? Why do you dress like a man?" asked Zen as he glared in the disciple''s direction even though it was dark.


    "Hum!" the disciple from Cloud Hall snorted coldly. Then a dim light appeared in her hand¡ªilluminating the surroundings at once.


    To Zen''s surprise, she didn''t feel the need to hide her identity anymore. Thus, she removed her facial disguise and showed her true self.


    In the faint light, still dressed in the white robe specially made for Cloud Hall''s disciples, the woman appeared almost angelic. Her loose robe did little to hide her well-shaped figure. Her dark hair was casually placed on her left shoulder. Zen admired how natural and attractive she appeared.


    Even though the light was dim, he could still see her fair skin and beautiful features. She looked gorgeous, even though she was not wearing any make-up or jewelry. Zen was stunned for a while.

 Chapter 581 The Flood Dragon Spirit (Part Two)

    "You are so beautiful. I don''t understand why you''re dressed up like a man," Zen said abruptly.


    "It''s none of your business, all right?" said the woman coldly.


    Zen smiled and continued, "You are right. It was not my business. However, you dragged me down here. I believe it''s only fair for me to ask for a reasonable explanation. We''re stuck inside the flood dragon now, right? Tell me, what exactly were you trying to do? And¡­ Are you really at the first grade of the Illuminating Soul Realm?"


    Although the woman''s strength appeared to be at the first grade of the Illuminating Soul Realm, a moment ago, she had seen through the secret hidden in his basic swordplay skills within seconds. What was more surprising was that she had broken his swordplay using only her hands. This was impossible for disciples whose strength was only at the first grade of the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    ''Isn''t Frank supposed to be the strongest participant? He should be the most powerful among the disciples who have just entered the Illuminating Soul Realm. Even compared to the warriors in the Central Region who have recently advanced to the Illuminating Soul Realm, Frank would rank at the top. It is possible to imagine Frank reacting in an instant. Armed with his long spear, Frank could be powerful enough to break through my basic swordplay. However, it would be impossible for him to make a breakthrough with his bare hands.


    However, cultivators beyond the third grade of the Illuminating Soul Realm are banned from participating in the Cloud Road test. From this aspect, the woman cannot exceed that level, '' Zen rationalized.


    Based on the conflicting details, Zen felt rather confused. Thus, he had to ask the question to clarify his doubts.


    "You asked a meaningless question. I wouldn''t be able to participate in the trials of Cloud Road if I were not at the first grade of the Illuminating Soul Realm," the wo


    sense that the flood dragon''s spirit is hidden somewhere. I want to devour that spirit!"


    "Flood dragon spirit? Didn''t you just tell me that the flood dragon died a long time ago?" Zen asked doubtfully. According to Zen''s understanding, if the flood dragon''s corporeal body had died, its spirit was bound to be gone as well.


    "It''s not easy to control a flood dragon puppet. The best way is to extract the flood dragon''s spirit, refine it, and seal it in somewhere near the puppet. That''s also the most effective way," the cyan dragon explained.


    ''Good method! The sixth-grade sect had such strength. Not only did it kill this flood dragon, but it also drained its blood, extracted its spirit, and refined it to make a flood dragon puppet. How unusual is that? Is this the work of the Blood Fiend Emperor?'' Zen wondered.


    "However¡­ I can feel that the seal of the flood dragon''s spirit seems to have loosened a bit. The nature of flood dragons is lewd and evil. You and the woman... Be careful," the cyan dragon said seriously.


    Zen nodded slightly as he stared at Tia''s back. She was still walking in front of him. After studying her for a while, Zen asked, "I have another question. Do you notice something unusual about her? Why is her strength so terrifying?"

 Chapter 582 The Treasure Key (Part One)

    "Are you referring to the girl named Tia? Well, I noticed her ever since you entered the Death Road. When compared to you, her strength is immense and extreme. But despite this she must want your help, as she led you to fall from the floating stone along with her," the cyan dragon said in a prophetic manner.


    "What I truly want to know is why and how did she come to be so strong." This was now the greatest mystery in Zen''s heart, leaving it in a knot weighing him down like an anchor. Why was she so strong as she had just reached the Illuminating Soul Realm?


    The cyan dragon thought for a long moment before composing his thoughts and saying, "In my opinion, it''s likely that she has practised some unique cultivation methods, such as Nine Spirit Returning Cultivation or Twelve Turns Penancing Cultivation. In fact, it''s not at all likely that she has just reached the Illuminating Soul Realm."


    "Really? If that is the case, then how did she enter the Cloud Road?" Raising his eyebrows, Zen reckoned that it didn''t make sense logically.


    The cyan dragon smiled humbly and said, "This kind of cultivation methods is so powerful that she has to practice anew repeatedly. For example, Nine Spirit Returning Cultivation requires the practitioner to give up his powers, which are brought by his practice, nine times. And he must restart from low level each time with equal rigor and determination. The practitioner will make a radical breakthrough only after that. It seems not to be the first time she has reached this cultivation level. So, her real level may be the later stage of the Internal Elixir Realm, or even a higher level."


    The words shocked Zen so much. The later stage of the Internal Elixir Realm? Even higher level? Was her real level actually po


    her hands and caught a puppet snake. Then there was a flash of the life vitality in her hand. She had already torn the puppet snake into two with a slight twist of her wrist.


    "Wow!" Zen was shocked by her power, which made his heart beat rapidly and muscle tremble. What an immensely horrifying strength! Although Zen had just seen a fraction of the special kind of life vitality she possessed in her hand, her strength was obviously not weak even when considered without the help of the life vitality.


    Now, there was nothing to do but follow Tia. The remaining several puppet snakes too were grabbed by her bare hands in a similar manner as she tore each snake apart into two pieces and threw them away. It looked like she was tearing into noodles, seamlessly.


    Zen grew happy as he saw Tia throwing the puppet snakes away one-by-one. It was not only the materials of these puppet snakes alone that had a high value. It was the manufacturing engineering too that added to its high value.


    When Tia saw Zen collecting all of the puppet snakes, she gave him a scornful look. "You don''t have to collect them. If you help me reach my goal, they will hold no value."

 Chapter 583 The Treasure Key (Part Two)

    "¡­" Faced with her apparent display of dismay and despise, Zen felt a pinch of hurt. But he still continued collecting the "bodies" of the six puppet snakes into his space ring before following Tia.


    After walking in the world inside the flood dragon for a distance, Zen spotted a red light from not too far away, in which something was fluttering rather violently. Zen curiously asked, "What''s that?"


    "That''s the key!" Tia said as she spotted the key and accelerated her pace with a happy expression upon seeing her target.


    "Key? What does this key unlock?" Zen asked as he approached from behind her. It turned out that the red light was a circular tripod furnace used for refining pills. Now, the tripod furnace was full of fire, in the centre of which was a long, narrow and slowly fluttering spar. Was this spar the key that Tia mentioned?


    "The key was used for inheriting the treasures of the whole Cloud Road! Before the destruction of the sixth-grade sect, all the treasures were put into the Cloud Road. As long as you get the key, you could obtain all the treasures!" Tia looked at the crystal key in the furnace up and down with admiration.


    "Do you really mean all the treasures of the Blood Fiend Emperor?" Zen was so shocked that he opened his eyes wide and took a deep breath. It was a sixth-grade sect that the Blood Fiend Emperor had, while the Cloud Hall was only a fourth-grade sect.


    It was no wonder that the treasures in the hidden test of the Cloud Road were of such enormous value. The Blood Fiend Emperor might have put part of his treasures into it. The Cloud Road was so long. It was definite th


    her life vitality and then pushed it toward the tripod furnace with determination.


    As Tia''s palm winds blew past, the fire in the furnace suddenly burst into raging flames owing to the sudden interference. Soon, a fire flew out, and turned to be the shape of a daunting dragon!


    "Stand aside now! This is a fiery dragon spirit! It is a kind of fiery evil spirit, which is extremely powerful and mighty!" This time, Tia carefully and with calculated moves dealt with the fiery dragon spirit with a cautious expression across her delicate face. A piece of sky blue gem appeared as she turned over her hands, which sent out a wave of cold air, and immediately reduced the surrounding''s temperature.


    Tia patted the gem ever so lightly and stretched out one of her delicate fingers. Her fingertip was going round and round over the gem, which seemed like she was guiding something out. Zen saw her finger drawing several small circles and then gently pulled forward. "Go!"


    Suddenly, an ice phoenix came out from the gem, which yelped and flew toward the fiery dragon spirit.

 Chapter 584 I Swear (Part One)

    The fiery evil spirits could be divided into various kinds. The ones living in the Sea of Raging Fire weren''t really big, but as for this one in the furnace, it was considerably stronger than the typical fiery evil spirits.


    Even a small fiery dragon spirit which was as big as a man''s arm had been condensed from the flames. When it went higher up, the heat that was radiating from it was so insufferable. But as luck would have it, the ice phoenix which had just been released by Tia from her precious gem was just as powerful.


    As a result, the fiery dragon spirit and the ice phoenix got tangled up with each other, binding and resisting the other. Ice is capable of obliterating fire, while fire, on the other hand, could also melt ice.


    For every instance that the ice phoenix descended onto the dragon, the heat and light emanating from the fiery dragon spirit seemed to be weakening a little bit. But in that same moment, flame suddenly rose from the furnace, and once it had coalesced into the dragon''s body, the heat and light would both be restored in no time.


    And each time the fire dragon spirit set off for an attack, the ice crystals over the ice phoenix''s body got thawed a little, and the phoenix gradually decreased in size.


    When she noticed that the melting of the ice phoenix had already reached a certain point, Tia instinctively grabbed her precious jade and stroked it with her candle-like fingers. Then, a cold air condensed using the life vitality began to drift away. When the cold air reached the body of the ice phoenix, the phoenix would dramatically increase in size in an instant.


    The battle between the ice phoenix and the fiery dragon spirit appeared to have reached an impasse. The ice phoenix had Tia''s help in replenishing the cold air, while the fiery dragon spirit also had help, for as long as the flame in the furnace didn''t die out, the fiery dragon spirit wouldn''t die just as well.


    "While I''m fighting against this fiery dragon spirit, you should go ahead and find a way to break the enchanted barrier," Tia relayed over to Zen.


    "The enchanted barrier?" Zen asked under his breath.


    Suddenly, he saw a blanket of dull purple light materialize around the stove. The stove was located in the farthest depths


    he hadn''t forgotten about his Emerald Crystal, which happened to be designed for breaking enchanted barriers.


    "Not yet. But we''re almost there," Tia kept shaking her head. "That''s it! Just a little bit more!" Tia insisted, taking out four pieces of supreme life vitality crystals. She clutched the supreme crystals tightly to draw up the life vitality contained within them.


    The life vitality bottled up inside the supreme crystal was so pure and intense that there was a chance Zen''s belly might not be able to handle even one of the crystals'' vitality. Even so, Tia was a bit special, for she could absorb four at the same time. That being said, it wouldn''t be so hard to picture out just how strong her belly''s bearing ability truly was.


    As expected, immediately after absorbing the life vitality from the supreme crystals, she transferred everything again so she could supply Zen with enough force.


    This was the new plan Tia came up with. There could also be a possibility that Frank''s spear might not be able to pierce the enchanted barrier, but Zen''s Heavenly Ogre Fist gave them better odds of pulling it off, so long as the power provided by the life vitality was adequate.


    Zen''s demonic life vitality devoured every bit of the life vitality that seeped from her and transformed them into the purple-black form. Just as he was about to drain the last bit of life vitality she had, she took out a few more supreme life vitality crystals, shattering them to absorb the life vitality.

 Chapter 585 I Swear (Part Two)

    The two of them kept on doing that repeatedly, and as a result, the demonic life vitality surrounding Zen was gradually getting bigger and bigger.


    Even though the volume of the demonic life vitality which they transformed this time paled in comparison to the previous one that was made by swallowing up the Dark Devil Phantoms in the small world of the Death Road, it could be said that it was still rather massive.


    As all of that was happening, the fiery dragon became much, much more agitated, and its striking power just got even more aggressive. She quickly caught on that she couldn''t afford to get distracted any longer, so Tia decided to focus on the battle between her ice phoenix and the fiery dragon spirit.


    "Go now, quickly! Smash the enchanted barrier into smithereens. I pray that you succeed!" Tia wished Zen luck with a voice filled with anticipation.


    During her last attempt to do it, she had failed miserably. As she was trying to break the enchanted barrier, the fiery dragon spirit suddenly appeared to throw her into disarray. She brought Zen with her this time as she couldn''t handle it alone. She was determined to succeed with his help.


    Zen stretched out his hands upward and went about condensing the demonic life vitality.


    The tremendous force that was going to be transmitted by such a rich life vitality should be quite massive. With its help, Zen''s power had the potential of becoming stronger than even those of the masters at higher levels of the Illuminating Soul Realm, and it might also achieve the strength of those at the lower levels of Internal Elixir Realm.


    If he got supplied with enough life vitality continuously, the power resulting from it could last for an indefinite amount of time and be enhanced.


    Of course, that was what you''d call the ideal state, or at least it was, in theory. This was something that wouldn''t really be practical to use in an actual combat though, because rarely would anyone be able to get an opportunity to siphon life vitality from another person, and then there was also the lengthy period of time one would need to spend during the process. And no opponent would ever be foolish enough to just sit back and relax as you prepared for your attack. Nevertheless


    rriors because it could very well bring ruin unto themselves.


    "Who do you think you are? Do you see yourself as someone qualified to make me swear to the will of martial arts?" Tia''s glare was fixated on Zen, jeering at him coldly. Who would''ve thought he''d be able to come up with such an atrocious idea?


    "Well then, does that mean you don''t need me to break down the enchanted barrier anymore?" Zen heaved a heavy sigh.


    "How dare you say that to me?" Tia yelled at him out of frustration.


    Shrugging his shoulders to annoy her even further, Zen blurted out in a cold tone, "There is nothing I wouldn''t dare do."


    He was aware that he could stay safe inside the flood dragon puppet''s body for as long as he didn''t do things so hastily. ''I shouldn''t be wasting my time here with her. It would be better for me to just look for a way out and leave as soon as possible, '' he pondered.


    Upon noticing that Zen was planning to leave, while still having to deal with the fiery dragon spirit, Tia was thrown into a state of confusion in a blink of an eye. The goal was already within reach, but there was always something that could go wrong along the way.


    Just a second after watching Zen take a few steps away, Tia clenched her jaw and declared, "Okay, you win this time. You said your name was Zen, right? Now that I remember your name, I will make sure you''ll regret this. But now, you can rest easy. I promise that I won''t kill you. I swear this to the will of martial arts!"

 Chapter 586 Snatch My Body Shell

    Zen smiled with satisfaction and said, "One more point. I shall take half the heritage of the sixth-grade sect."


    "Half?" Tia was enraged. "Half the heritage of the sixth-grade sect? Do you know what that means? You are not able to bear that. It''s too much for you!"


    Cloud Hall was merely a fourth-grade sect but enough to be highly reputed in the Central Region.


    And the only fifth-grade sect could rank No.1 in the Central Region. If this sixth-grade sect did not wither away and lasted till now, it was definitely the most highly reputed and all other sects and forces would kneel before them.


    Though the sixth-grade sect founded by the Blood Fiend Emperor had been destroyed, and most of its heritage had been seized as time passed, Cloud Hall could not match the sixth-grade''s legacy that remained.


    Apparently, Tia thought Zen was greedy.


    Zen chuckled. "Don''t worry. I am a big eater. Of course, you could choose to refuse and deal with that enchanted barrier by yourself!"


    "Howl!"


    The fiery dragon spirit roared and knocked the ice phoenix down. The surface ice layer of the ice phoenix turned to steam due to the high temperature.


    Tia was forced to calm down and deliver freezing air to the ice phoenix via the jade.


    ''It seems I have no choice but to reach a compromise with this guy.'' Tia thought, ''His condition sounds exorbitant, but how much inheritance could he carry by himself? Perhaps this is not a bad agreement. After all, he is a disciple of Cloud Hall, and he is honorable.''


    After thinking through her options, Tia knew she had no other alternatives. She gnashed her teeth as she replied, "Okay, I promise. By my will of martial arts, I swear I won''t kill you and that I will give you half the heritage!"


    Tia was reluctant. She had schemed and tried several times before coming this far. It was hard to accept that half of her reward would be taken away.


    Hearing Tia swear by her will of martial arts, Zen smiled, turned, and moved toward the enchanted barrier. He then threw a punch at it.


    "Snicker!"


    The enchanted barrier did not shatter under the impact. However, a red cobweb-like vein spread across it.


    This barrier was far stronger than Yolande''s. Even though he yielded the energy of the Emerald Crystal, Zen could only cause such a subtle vein, which was invisible to the naked eye.


    "Emerald energy?" Tia was intrigued, and her beautiful eyes reflected the shock she felt.


    ''How could this guy summon the energy of an Emerald Crystal by using his mortal body?


    Very few people possess an Emerald Crystal. It has limited usage as well. Thus, it''s difficult to get one. Even if people acquire one, they are likely to set it in their weapon.


    But how can Zen''s punch be powered with the energy of an Emerald Crystal? Did he set the Emerald Crystal in his body? How could that be?


    The human body rejects most gems, and some are fatal as they are poisonous. An Emerald Crystal will affect a human body even if it''s nontoxic


    rts.


    The ice darts missed their target and crashed into the wall. As tremendous ice power was released, the wall became covered with a layer of ice and frost before it cracked.


    ''Ice power is horrifying! I''m afraid I will become an ice sculpture if the darts hit me.'' Zen thought.


    Though terrifying, the ice power was useless as the flood dragon spirit was extremely nimble. It escaped all the ice darts Tia had thrown at it. However, continually dodging Tia''s attacks slowed down the flood dragon''s spirit. Tia got closer and closer.


    The flood dragon''s spirit realized that it could not get rid of Tia like this. So it swerved into a crevice in the wall.


    Now that the ice phoenix had possessed her body, Tia could yield its power effectively. She spread her arms, and two thin ice swords appeared in her hands. She swung the swords, crumbed wall, and rushed into the hole.


    Zen saw what Tia had done and found himself impressed by her abilities. Without hesitating, he followed her into the crevice.


    The instant he entered the hole, he felt as though something was wrong.


    The wall was a part of the flood dragon''s flesh. It hadn''t been transformed by humans yet. And so, the inner space was still a soft flesh wall.


    Furthermore, many globoids were floating in the upper space.


    After looking upwards, Tia said, "You won''t escape!"


    Then she jumped and flew to the upper space, the two long ice feathers trailing behind her.


    However, the floating globoids fell at this crucial moment. Tia swiveled her swords spontaneously to cut all the globoids.


    "Sough¡­¡­"


    The balls burst and released a yellow smog that filled the space. The gas released smelled fishy and sweet and carried the metallic scent of blood.


    Right after Tia was overwhelmed by the smog, the flood dragon''s spirit rushed to Zen and yelled, "I will snatch your body shell first!"


    Hearing this, Zen paused for a while and then replied, "Are you sure you want to snatch my body shell?"

 Chapter 587 Lost (Part One)

    Zen was after two things. He had come all the way first for the crystal key. Second, the flood dragon spirit was also his target. The cyan dragon inside him was stirring¡ªhe could feel his hunger, hot and red and impatient.


    "The flood dragon spirit is either bold or foolish," he chuckled, the sound filling his ears. "Since he''s so eager to claim his abode in your body, let him enter. I''ll be sure to take care of him well." Zen felt a rumble as the cyan dragon''s arrogant voice coursed through his ears.


    And so Zen kept still, letting the flood dragon spirit enter. His presence flashed inside him like white hot lightning.


    "Ha-ha! This is all too easy! Foolish mortal. He dares face me without any protection," the flood dragon taunted in self-satisfaction. "Your body will be mine, mortal. I will leave not even a trace of your soul! You have a fine body, solid and strong. I''ll start with your flesh and savor your muscles, until not even a fiber is in place. You will be my new shell, and then I will acquire all the refining heritage and arts of the sixth grade sect passed from the ancient time. No one can stop me now. I''ll be the emperor! The only master of the whole world!"


    After having been sealed for ages, the flood dragon had lost his control, his spirit turning crazed at the first taste of freedom. Without any obstacles upon entering Zen''s mind, he grew more and more self-possessed. He roared in wild laughter, the sound piercing and devastating in the crevices of Zen''s mind.


    Zen was in an imminent danger. The flood dragon spirit was a much stronger soul than any human. He had to be careful. One mistake, and the dragon would take over his body as his new home. The dragon knew the disparity of their strength. There was no way for a weaker soul to guard itself against the attack of such a strong spirit. It could easily be forced out from the body it belonged to. The flood dragon spirit howled in his victory as he occupied Zen''s mind.


    However, his arrogance didn''t last long.


    The dragon''s roar came to a sudden halt. The first thing he saw was a huge furnace, its embers smelting. Coiled around it were nine dragons, each one so vivid and lifelike that no one would have taken them a


    .


    The fiery dragon spirit was a fierce species with tremendous power. Tia had already been struggling with its attacks in its smaller form. How could they deal with it now when it had grown so large?


    The fiery dragon spirit caught sight of the crystal key in Tia''s hand. It let out a fierce roar and dashed towards her at a fast speed, its eyes fixed on the key.


    "Back off, Zen."


    Tia warned, her voice hard with seriousness. The lines of her face tightened as she prepared for the fiery dragon spirit''s attack. Stretching out her arms, she formed an ice column between her wrists. It was about the height of a human. At its core, a tiny feather of ice phoenix gleamed in the confines of ice.


    It was a real feather of the ice phoenix.


    Tia had summoned a small ice phoenix when she had been fighting with the fiery dragon. It was a spiritual projection, a creature imagined through techniques of meditation.


    Many warriors could create and give a physical form to various things and species from their minds. These creations dissolved once they were used. Some warriors, however, were capable of bringing creatures into actual being. It was a rare skill, made possible only with the strongest of minds. Tia had been meditating for a long time before finally summoning the ice phoenix, and she had given life to the spiritual creature. Like a familiar, the ice phoenix went wherever Tia would, and owned a power much stronger than other spiritual creatures.

 Chapter 588 Lost (Part Two)

    But creatures born from projections


    were no match to real legendary beasts, and the ice phoenix was actually one of them. It was one that owned terrible power. Even a small feather from it would produce catastrophic energy.


    Tia put one hand on the top of the ice column. At her movement, a freezing draft suddenly flew from the ice column to form layers and curtains of frost and ice. In the blink of an eye, all the ice rushed towards the fiery dragon spirit like roaring sea waves.


    The fiery dragon spirit was the guardian of the crystal key. It would fulfill its duty, no matter the cost. Despite the stinging cold from the frost and ice, the dragon stood its ground. Opening its huge mouth, it breathed out a column of flame. The ice began to melt at the touch of the red, hot fire. The ice thinned with every second until the fiery dragon spirit rushed forward and broke it into pieces.


    It was an unyielding battle. As the fiery dragon spirit kept breathing out flames that melted the ice, Tia didn''t stop for a single second in creating more curtains of frost and ice from the ice column. No side was willing to surrender.


    "It''s freezing!" Zen felt his skin pebble from the frost. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, rubbing with his hands in an attempt to call for heat. There was a dramatic drop in the temperature. His eyes roamed his surroundings, and he saw nothing but whiteness. Even the breaths he huffed were foggy and streaked with ice.


    As his eyes fell on Tia, a strange feeling had befallen him. It was as if his every sense had blurred everything, and all he could see and hear was the woman in front of him. The fiery dragon spirit attacked relentlessly with its flame. The flickers lit up Tia''s face. Shadows danced across her features, bathing her in an ethereal light. She was a vision that possessed Zen''s senses.


    He traced the few wisps of hair that had dropped to her cheeks. She was now wearing an armor made of ice, wrapping around her body closely. The hard armor fit her so perfectly and followed the graceful lines of her figure. Zen looked at Tia''s beautiful collarbones, down to the curve of her chest. She heaved from exertion, and Zen caught his own breath at the sight of her.


    For an unknown reason, his heartbeat started to chase one after the other. He heard the deep lungfuls of breath that he took, and he felt as if his own body was on fire despite the coldness of the ice surrounding him. Zen soon caught up to his own thoughts. He burned in confusion and embarrassment at the foreign feelings that had taken hold of him. The middle of a battle was the last place for his impulses. However, despite his struggle to hold on to his consciousness, he sank down into a trance once again.


    Tia felt Zen''s eyes. His gaze was even hotter than the flames that threatened to reach her from the fie


    from hypnosis.


    With a grin, the cyan dragon replied, "I have warned you that the flood dragon is lascivious by nature. The space you are in at this moment is actually the flood dragon''s sex organ. The yellow smog you saw earlier is a kind of natural aphrodisiac. It''s very potent."


    The flood dragon''s sex organ had a natural effect of arousing any species'' desire. For some, it was a holy drug. In some martial arts practices, warriors would engage in a peculiar ritual where sexual intercourse with the opposite sex would play a key role in reinforcing their power. For those martial artists, the flood dragon''s sex organ was the best ingredient to use for concocting aphrodisiacs.


    Although the huge flood dragon had been changed into a puppet, the part where its sex organ was housed was not damaged. The flood dragon spirit escaped all the way into this part of its body, and it was cut open by Tia afterwards. As a result, the yellow powder scattered into a mist. For its great aphrodisiac effect, a tiny portion of such yellow powder would be sold at an outrageous price in Central Region.


    "Aphrodisiac!" Zen exclaimed with wide eyes. "I thought I was immune from any poison?" he asked.


    "It''s an aphrodisiac, not poison. You cannot resist its effect, of course," the cyan dragon replied disinterestedly.


    Zen sighed in secret. He was fortunate that the cyan dragon had helped stop him from making a mistake. He could not have fought off the aphrodisiac on his own.


    Zen raised his head, finding Tia walking towards him in a dazed state. She stretched out both of her hands for him and her eyes were glazed over with a strange gleam.


    Zen brought a hand to his head when he realized what was happening. He was not the only one who was affected by the yellow powder. Tia had inhaled the mist as well, and from the looks of things, she must have taken more of it than him.

 Chapter 589 Angry Girl

    Tia''s eyes were so beautiful that it looked as if they were the clear waters of autumn. The mesmerizing colors swirled in her orbs, charming anyone who happened to gaze upon them.


    Even if Zen was in a fully conscious state and looked straight into her eyes, he would be too nervous to know what to do with his heart pounding strongly in his chest.


    If a fiery dragon weren''t approaching, Zen would be able to fully appreciate her beauty, however, the fiery dragon could rush in any time. It wasn''t a good moment to admire the woman.


    "Hey, hey!" To wake her up, Zen tried to shake Tia by the shoulders twice.


    However, Tia seemed to be in a fully unconscious state. All she could do was to barely use her left hand to transmit the life vitality to drive phoenix feather in the ice column with her right hand touching Zen''s cheek gently.


    Her cold, wet, little hand caressed Zen''s face, delivering the primitive desire in her heart.


    Slowly, Zen swallowed, still in a daze. ''God knows why this happened.''


    As he tried to say something to wake her up, she suddenly placed her fingers into his mouth.


    When Zen felt Tia''s cold fingers and caught the cool, sweet smell of her sweat, his mind fell back into a disturbed state.


    As an inexperienced young man, Zen couldn''t resist this kind of temptation, even in a conscious state¡ªhe couldn''t help kissing her white, fine fingers that looked like thin roots of scallion.


    At this moment, the fiery dragon spirit at the mouth of the cave roared fiercely before rushing back into the cave.


    The rumbling roar abruptly woke Zen from the semi-conscious state. As a result of the urgent situation, he bit Tia''s fingers on instinct.


    "Ahhhhh!"


    Because of the stabbing pain in her fingers, Tia recovered from the coma and withdrew her right hand in an instant. Simultaneously, a lot of life vitality released by her right hand made the fiery dragon step out of the cave once again.


    But her time awake was rather short. After the dragon was driven away, she turned to Zen and stared at him pointedly.


    Almost pushed to the point of craziness, Zen reluctantly said, "Oh, I''m going to deal with that dragon spirit myself!"


    Then, he sidestepped Tia''s outstretched hand and hit her hard on the back of her neck with his arm. Because of her body''s overwhelming power, Zen had to use over sixty percent of his power just to stun her.


    Bang!


    After a dull thud, Tia fell into Zen''s arms. As he embraced her soft body, he got a whiff


    a tomato. However, her color went back to normal when her body was enveloped by cold air.


    Although she was in a nearly unconscious state, she could still remember what happened just earlier. Although they did not do anything that might cross a moral line, as a girl who was always in an authoritative position, she couldn''t easily accept the sort of thing that was rather shameful to speak aloud.


    ''It seems I''ll have to kill him¡­''


    With her quick temper, Zen was most definitely on her kill list.


    Unfortunately, having sworn to the will of martial arts, she couldn''t kill him.


    Puzzled at the moment, Tia put on a confused expression.


    If Fernandez saw such an expression on her face, he would certainly be surprised by the fact that this exceptionally vigorous girl, having shaken heaven and earth in the Central Region for many years, was suddenly in an uncharacteristically hesitant state. He wouldn''t believe her confusion


    Still, Tia failed to find a solution after pondering over it for a while. Finally, she gritted her teeth and said as coolly as she could, "You''d better forget about this whole thing. Give me the crystal key! We''re going to get the treasure."


    As he handed the crystal stone to Tia, he mumbled with a twitch of his mouth, "Sure, I can forget it. But it looks like someone will remember it forever¡­"


    "What did you just say?"


    Hearing his snide remark, Tia snapped her head back to glare at him.


    "No¡­


    I didn''t say anything."


    Since it seemed unwise to try and argue with an angry woman who looked like a female lion ready to pounce, Zen merely shook his head with a seemingly innocent smile on his face.

 Chapter 590 The Treasure Box Flew Away (Part One)

    On Zen and Tia''s way back, both of them went through the flood dragon''s body without a word.


    Perhaps they felt a little embarrassed or they might be angry at each other.


    The two of them finally arrived at the head of the flood dragon. Zen looked at its tightly-shut mouth. Some runes were engraved on the rows of its huge teeth, which were interlaced with one another. The Blood Fiend Emperor must have made great changes to the dragon''s teeth when the huge flood dragon puppet was made.


    However, how could they get out of it since the mouth of the flood dragon was closed?


    Even if they could go outside, most of the floating stones were probably destroyed. Flying was prohibited in the trial, and it was also hard to climb up the abyss wall!


    Just as Zen thought about it, Tia coldly looked at him and took out the crystal key without a word. She pointed it towards the wall beside her and pressed it hard onto the surface. The wall should be the rear part of the dragon''s mouth. It had also been rebuilt, and lots of runes were engraved on it.


    Tia pressed the crystal key following the runes.


    When Tia did so, Zen felt the ground quake under his feet. He then heard the sound of a chain scratching stone outside. The flood dragon rose continuously. Tia actually had the flood dragon puppet under her control!


    Zen gawked at Tia in shock. "This flood dragon puppet was the holy beast to protect Blood Fiend Emperor''s sect. It''s normal to control it with the crystal key," Tia said icily when she saw Zen''s reaction.


    The flood dragon rose to the top as the chain scraped the wall on both sides of the abyss. Zen felt the dragon''s body shake dramatically when it broke through the top gateway. The metallic sounds of chains breaking were heard. It turned out that


    The sect leaders and Fernandez probably did not know much about the trial. The whole trial was located in the legacies of a sixth-grade sect. Thus, there were always some forbidden places and a holy beast to protect the sect.


    If a disciple trespassed in the forbidden place and released the holy beast, all the disciples in the trial would end up dead!


    Moreover, the holy beast could get out of the trial area and attack people outside. Thus, everyone was in danger.


    "It''s alright now as the flood dragon seems to have left."


    The sect leaders and Fernandez were greatly relieved when the flood dragon''s figure disappeared through the distance.


    The flood dragon changed its direction every now and then under Tia''s control. She then took her Picture Slab from her space bracelet. She could see the world outside the dragon body with the Picture Slab. Now they were above the Sea of Raging Fire.


    "What are you looking for?" Zen asked curiously. Tia only stared at Zen with hatred and did not respond.


    She mentally blamed Zen for her misfortunes as she had never been in such a low place since her birth, until now. However, there was nothing she could do to him!

 Chapter 591 The Treasure Box Flew Away (Part Two)

    She instead concentrated on controlling the flood dragon puppet and carefully searched above the Sea of Raging Fire.


    "There it is!" Tia suddenly exclaimed excitedly. They saw an island in the Sea of Raging Fire. It was totally deserted and there wasn''t any path to it.


    There was also a huge blood-red enchanted barrier outside it, which covered the whole island.


    "Get down," Tia said, then she drove the flood dragon puppet down. When the flood dragon puppet got close to the blood-red enchanted barrier, a huge hole suddenly appeared in the barrier and the flood dragon puppet went inside.


    There were many buildings on the island. In front of the gate was a huge square. A huge black column stood in the center of the square.


    When Tia saw that Zen was confused probably by the presence of the black column, she drove the huge flood dragon''s body and made it twist around the column. After many rounds, the head of the flood dragon finally landed on the ground and at the same time, its mouth opened.


    Zen carefully walked outside the flood dragon''s body and raised his head to observe the column. ''If the huge flood dragon directly lands on the ground, it will need a large area. It is really smart to let the dragon''s body twist around the column. It spares much room and is also convenient. How smart of the Blood Fiend Emperor!'' Zen thought.


    A large main hall stood behind the huge square. There was a tablet on the hall with three words "Blood Fiend Hall" inscribed on it. It looked like it was the original home of the Blood Fiend Emperor.


    Meanwhile, Tia also walked out of the dragon''s body with the crystal key in her hand. She went to the pla


    completely exhausted after he had passed the trial on the second platform. He was severely burned. He successfully passed the trial because of the temptation of the blue box in front of him.


    As long as he had the blood vigor of the nine-headed dragon, he could obtain huge power and his body could recover in a short time!


    However, he was too badly hurt that he couldn''t walk anymore. Thus, he crawled forward slowly. Even if the blue box was ten feet away from him, it seemed so far away like the end of the world.


    Still, Lennon pushed himself. "It doesn''t matter! It will be worth it to obtain the blood vigor of the nine-headed dragon!" he encouraged himself with gritted teeth. With great pain and a whole lot of effort, he had almost touched the blue treasure box.


    Just before he offered his hand, a light line suddenly shot towards the blue box and covered it.


    Then, the blue box turned around and raised itself. It flew away and followed the light line.


    ''What? It is flying away?'' Lennon asked himself in shock. Stunned and dumbfounded, he stared at the flying blue treasure box.

 Chapter 592 Heavenly Fruit Tree (Part One)

    After exerting so much energy to get here, Lennon never thought the blue treasure box would fly away before his yes.


    But it wasn''t only the blue box that had suddenly vanished. All the crates, including the two golden treasure boxes and the black treasure box which were at the very top, were seen floating along the luminous beam at the same time.


    "What the hell is going on here?" Lennon muttered to himself. Already too exhausted, he had no energy to shout abuse.


    But strange things such as this happened also in other places.


    In the fourth stage of Cloud Road, which was called Thrilling Icy Plain, Frank killed three devil icy snowmen. By executing them, he was finally able to mount a new stage.


    To kill the three snowmen, he not only relied on his excellent skills but also made use of the three talismans, given by his father. These talismans were extremely valuable. Frank had been through several life and death situations, but he never brought out these amulets. This time, without hesitation, he took them out to conquer the three devil icy snowmen.


    He had no other choice. The rewards of the fourth stage were generous. He couldn''t imagine how incredible the reward would be after he killed the three devil icy snowmen.


    When he walked up the steps made of ice blocks, he saw a steaming pool of blood.


    "A blood pool..." he whispered. He raised his head and looked at the wall. Frank read the words on the wall - ''flood dragon''s blood'', and those words appeared as flying dragons and dancing phoenixes.


    It was flood dragon''s blood! Frank was amazed.


    While the flood dragon''s blood wasn''t a patch of a Genuine Dragon''s blood, it would still greatly benefit the warrior if he soaked himself in it for some time.


    So Frank felt it was worthwhile for him to use the three


    training and education. If all these elite disciples died at this time, it would be a huge loss for Cloud Hall.


    "We could only wait and see. I''m hoping that this isn''t a bad omen!"


    While Fernandez observed the rays of light at random through the Picture Slab, his face turned ghastly pale.


    Zen, who stood on the square, then realized why Tia had asked him to stand near the stone terrace.


    And he now also understood why there was one light spot after another on the square!


    These very light spots were what drew the treasured objects and treasure boxes on the Cloud Road through the light beams.


    Suddenly, they heard loud crashing sounds.


    Several treasure boxes pounded heavily on the square.


    "The boxes!" Zen cried out. His eyes widened in shock at the sight of them. Those red treasure boxes appeared before his eyes were precisely the ones hidden in the secret test! It would cost much to get any one of these boxes. But now, they had been put casually on the square.


    Again, the crashing sound jolted Zen.


    Before Zen could react, six or seven blue boxes, three silver boxes, two golden boxes, and one black box came into view. He was too stunned over what he saw.

 Chapter 593 Heavenly Fruit Tree (Part Two)

    His mouth hung open at the sight of so many treasure boxes. And the young disciple remained this way for quite a while until his face felt stiff and numb.


    Thanks to the silver box, Zen successfully obtained the manual of ''Malicious Wheel of Life and Death'' left by the Blood Fiend Emperor. With this ability, Zen could become more powerful. Now, he wondered what the golden boxes and the black box contained.


    And the temptation to find out was so great!


    "Have you ever gotten any of the boxes?" Tia suddenly asked Zen. The question came out of nowhere as Zen continued to stare at the treasure boxes.


    Shrugging his shoulders, Zen nodded modestly.


    She glanced at the boxes again, and Tia found there were only three silver boxes remaining. But there were once four of them. Tia knitted her brows as she asked, "You did get three treasure boxes, right? Did you take the silver box?"


    There was a total of five silver treasure boxes in the valley. With the head of the Cloud Hall taking away one of them, there had still been four of them left. But now she could only see three. It was obvious that someone else took one too, so Tia turned to Zen to ask.


    When Zen nodded, Tia was taken aback. She was well aware of how tough it was to get the silver box.


    Although she was capable of getting the box, too, Tia only tried doing it once. It was by accident at a later time when she found out the real secret behind the Cloud Road trial. Since then, she decided never to waste her time on the Sea of Raging Fire.


    Because no matter how powerful she was, it was still impossible for her to get all the treasure boxes at the same time. It was m


    n the tree.


    Besides, each heavenly fruit functioned differently. And with the magical effects from every fruit, they became extremely precious.


    "I did not expect that the Heavenly Fruit Tree was planted in Cloud Road. And I didn''t know that it once belonged to the Blood Fiend Emperor. It is beyond my expectation. It is really hard to imagine how powerful and strong his sect was!" Tia muttered. "There are ten fruits in the Heavenly Fruit Tree now. This means that the one at the secret auction was eaten by someone. Otherwise, there won''t be ten in the tree!"


    It made Zen wonder why Tia was so excited and happy. But it was easy for him to assume how extraordinary the tree was. He believed that half of the treasure here was his. And since there were ten fruits in the tree, he felt it was reasonable for him to eat five of them. It was truly an excellent deal.


    As Zen wondered how delicious the heavenly fruits would be, another shadow hovered in the sky. Then the shadow dropped straight down and was embedded on the ground.


    What fell was a grand sword that was ten feet high.

 Chapter 594 Unexpected Breakthrough

    Not far off, the gigantic sword was impaled deep into the ground.


    Although the exquisite blade was buried to the hilt, under the earth''s surface the sword stood about ten feet in all, and it was one foot wide. Aside from the dark coloring, there were ruby red lines along the length of the metal masterpiece.


    Even buried deeply in the ground, as it was, the giant sword was imposing and gave the impression that it was an aggressive beast of prey.


    Above ground, the hilt stood as tall as Zen, and seemed impossible for any man to wield!


    "It''s the sword of Blood Fiend Emperor," said Tia smoothly when she caught a glimpse of the sword. As far as she was concerned, this sword wasn''t suitable for her, although it would be precious to most of the male warriors.


    Since the sword was buried at the Cloud Road''s exit, Tia had seen it many times before, as any disciple who had already passed the test.


    Over the years, many members from Cloud Hall had unsuccessfully tried to pull the sword from the ground. Even the disciples who possessed superman strength couldn''t budge it!


    One of the many reasons no one had been able to retrieve the sword was its weight. Still, since disciples refining at the Illuminating Soul Realm lifted things much heavier than the sword, there must be another reason no one had pulled it out. It turned out that an enchanted barrier safeguarded the blade, and unless it was shattered, no one would be able to get the sword!


    Because the burial place for the sword now was the heart of the plaza, the enchanted barrier protecting it vanished.


    "I would think that the Blood Fiend Emperor was a human too, but, how was he able to wield such a colossal sword?" questioned Zen as he stared at it curiously.


    Although Blood Fiend Emperor might found it not difficult to wield such a sword, it was still too long for any regular man. So, how could anyone battle enemies using it? It would be cumbersome, and when Zen visualized it, he was confused.


    A brooding expression crossed Tia''s face, and she added, "Well, of course, it belonged to the Blood Fiend Emperor. But, why would you think he wielded it himself? Couldn''t his sword-spirit have been the one using it? After all, if his sword-spirit was immense or if the emperor infused the two, it would''ve been a tremendous help to him."


    "Sword-spirit?" echoed Zen questioningly. What Tia was saying intrigued Zen.


    Since a puppet had ripped the Streamer Sword to pieces, Zen had been using the Blood Drinking Sword, which meant he didn''t have a sword for his sword spirit, Lily.


    As Zen had been looking at the giant sword, he''d been contemplating giving it to Lily.


    However, it crossed his mind that even though Lily was slim and much taller than Tia, she might not be strong enough to wield it.


    Seeing Zen''s eyes light up in interest, Tia smirked and proposed, "Let me guess, you have a sword spirit too?" Sword intent and sword-spirit were entirely different things, and even though Tia had seen Zen''s sword intent previously, she found it hard to believe that anyone at the nature level could possess a sword-spirit.


    Even before Tia finished speaking


    the sky''s light dimmed, blocked by something falling to the earth.


    Masses of meteorites and dark steels which were used to refine weapons were dropping from the air. Eventually, a verdant garden revealed itself, guided by the light. When the garden landed in a corner, Tia raised her eyebrow and hurried to it.


    Effective herbs required a very long time to grow, and no one felt obliged to tend to them since the demise of the Blood Fiend Emperor. Thus, thousands of years had passed while the herbs grew, untended. They would be priceless on the market as long as they were intact with the changeable and severe weather.


    "This is the herbal garden¡­" Before Zen finished his sentence, Tia turned, grabbed hold of Zen''s hand, led him to the exit and threw him, muttering, "The herbal garden will never be yours! Wash up!"


    Zen felt his body lift off the ground, and he sailed through the air. After the unusual flight, he landed in the dragon blood pool, and within a few seconds, Zen felt his skin burning.


    He hadn''t expected the dragon blood to be that hot.


    Since Zen''s body was designed for weapon refinery, he could endure regular fire, easily. However, blood of a dragon was far hotter than any regular fire. The experience was extremely strange for Zen.


    However, the strange feeling only lasted a short time. As his body adjusted to the high temperature, he felt more comfortable, and it felt more like he were taking a hot spring bath.


    All over him, Zen''s pores opened as he soaked in the blood bath. As he soaked, he absorbed the nutrients contained in it. Relaxing, his eyes closed and he started to practice his martial arts. However, his mind opened, as he meditated.


    Seeing Zen''s eyes closed, Tia scowled as she began to gather herbs. To recover her strength fully, she still needed several essential herbs, and she hoped to find them amongst the herbs in the garden.


    Approximately an hour later, Zen''s eyes shot open, and his lower abdomen shook slightly. Life vitality flowed through him. Soaking in the dragon blood bath had inadvertently led to a breakthrough.

 Chapter 595 An Exchange Of Favors (Part One)

    Though Zen had made rapid progress to his refinement, it was still not enough.


    He knew that his progress was still far from those members of the noble clans in the Eastern Region. Took for example his friend, Roger. Zen first met Roger while he was completing a task that the Cloud Sect had assigned to him. Roger was only at grade one of nature level back then. But when Zen had seen Roger again after a few months, he could tell that Roger had quickly progressed to grade five. It had amused Zen how much Roger improved in a short period of time!


    However, it was common knowledge that some martial arts cultivators could use some pills to speed up their progress. When they did, their cultivation base would normally be unstable. It was like hastening the baking of a pastry. The outside looked good, but the inside would turn out to be half-baked. But some cultivators would opt to pay the price of unstable cultivation just to speed up their progress. However, a half-baked cultivation base would often have a bad effect on their further progress.


    Nonetheless, it was the pride and reputation these cultivators were after. Despite having an unstable cultivation base, once a cultivator reached the Illuminating Soul Realm, he would immediately become a respected figure in the Eastern Region. This was enough for many cultivators. Without a stable cultivation base, progressing from Illuminating Soul Realm to the next level would be like a thread passing through a needle hole. Hence, some cultivators would forget about progressing from Illuminating Soul Realm to Internal Elixir Realm and other higher stages of martial refinement.


    But Zen wasn''t like everyone else. He had a very solid cultivation base. Sometimes, he would even restrain himself from leveling up until his body made a breakthrough on its own. This was the same as men''s nocturnal emission which happened naturally after a long period of accumulation.


    Inside the pond, Zen had finally stabilized his new breakthrough. But instead of relaxing, he continued to sit in a lotus position and do his breathing exercises. He felt that staying in that environment for a longer


    must warn you. The cultivation methods of dragons like me aren''t suitable for you because your body is still very weak. Even if I teach you some of our cultivation methods, you won''t be able to use them with your current strength."


    Zen laughed. He knew that the cyan dragon had sensed his eagerness to learn any new cultivation method, but he had to act like he was not that interested. "Hey, I never asked for anything in return. Besides, I have never agreed to give you Tia''s share. But since you''re offering, who am I to resist? I''ll accept it with pleasure," Zen said laughing.


    "You''re a cunning but smart boy! Fine! I''ll teach you a set of rune-making methods. It''s one of the best attainments we dragons have acquired in runic learning," the cyan dragon said proudly.


    He had long planned to teach Zen something useful. Imparting even a little part of his broad knowledge to Zen would benefit the latter a lot. But he had held the thought for a while since Zen''s low refining stage would limit his ability to grasp or exert the cyan dragon''s inheritance.


    But seeing the improvement in Zen''s strength and his stable cultivation base, he finally decided to teach Zen the methods of writing runes. After all, runes were widely used in this world and could be applied to many different fields. If Zen would become a runic expert, he could deal with many troublesome situations without the help of the cyan dragon.

 Chapter 596 An Exchange Of Favors (Part Two)

    Runes took many forms and could be used for different things. For example, a magic-array expert was a special type of runic experts in the Eastern Region. A large array was usually made of hundreds or thousands of runes, and it required special runes to build magic arrays.


    Runes could also be used in refining weapons. For example, if a weapon refiner could use some special runes while refining a weapon, it could increase the success rate of the refinement and the weapon''s grade would also improve. The same process was used for refining pills.


    Upon hearing the cyan dragon''s offer, Zen could not help but smile. It could be recalled that he had earned his money mostly by selling his heavenly essence. He had thought about becoming a weapon refiner by right of his heavenly essence but had only learned the way of smelting. He hadn''t even once tried the most important part of refining a weapon.


    But if the cyan dragon could teach him the method of using runes, it would be much easier for Zen to master weapon refining.


    Without hesitating, he immediately answered, "Hey, I like that idea! That''s exactly what I have in mind right now. If you can really teach me, you can absorb as much flood dragon blood as you want. As for me, I''ve absorbed what I needed, so it''s useless for me now."


    "You''re a tricky bastard!" The cyan dragon felt annoyed but had to accept that he was tricked by Zen.


    Meanwhile, in the herbal garden, Tia was patiently counting and recording all the herbs. Each herb required a specific method of handling, otherwise, they would immediately wither once touched. For example, the rhizome herb called Nurturing Primrose would produce the sound of a crying baby when casually touched, then eventually withered in one breath and lost its value. The Fiery Dragon Saliva, on the other hand, contained a fiery toxin that would infect people when they touched the plant.


    Hence, Tia dealt with all t


    t we will share all of these treasures? Now, since you consumed the flood dragon blood all by yourself, I don''t see a need for me to share these treasure chests with you now!" Tia spat angrily as she glanced at the treasure chests on the ground. Since there was no way to return the flood dragon''s blood, she might as well play with Zen a little.


    "Hey! That''s unreasonable!" Zen argued back. "You''ve taken all the herbs from the garden! The Lunar Anesthesia Herb alone is more valuable than the pond of blood. Do you seriously think you can trick me?"


    "You''re haggling like a woman! Or maybe, I should also own half of that giant sword of Blood Fiend Emperor. Do you want it that way?" Tia rebutted. She liked it when Zen was getting annoyed.


    They had quite a quarrel over the rest of the precious inheritances of the grade-six sect. Although Tia was just playing around, she liked the idea of getting square with Zen after he had selfishly consumed all that flood dragon blood. Zen, on the other hand, wouldn''t agree on anything that Tia offered.


    And after failing to reach an agreement, they both agreed to open the treasure chests first.


    Once they saw what was inside each box and how one could use the item, then they could determine how to divide the treasures.

 Chapter 597 The Unboxing Of Surprises (Part One)

    Tia and Zen had reached a consensus that both of them would get an equal share of everything they would get.


    When they decided to open each box, they went for the red treasure boxes first. Each red treasure box contained a black item, the soul essence refined from the essence of the Dark Devil Phantom. It could either be traded at a decent price or used to toughen up a soul without any side effects. Zen got seven of those red treasure boxes.


    After putting away their share of red treasure boxes, they opened the blue treasure boxes next. Unlike the red treasure boxes, the blue ones contained more precious treasures, the blood vigor of nine-headed dragons. Out of the six blue treasure boxes, Zen got three.


    Looking at his stack of red and blue treasure boxes, Zen was filled with excitement. He couldn''t wait to see what the other boxes held and how many he could get. He then stared at Tia without saying a word.


    "What are you staring at?"


    Tia questioned angrily. She was ill-tempered and sitting beside the half-naked Zen who kept on staring at her was a bit overwhelming. But she had to remain focused. Although she had promised to equally share the treasures with him, it was just normal for her to feel great regret. If it was any other disciple, Zen wouldn''t get half of everything. Fortunately, Tia was more open-minded in practicing martial arts. She could look beyond these treasures for the greater good of the Cloud Hall. Besides, for Tia, Zen would be the most priceless treasure that the Cloud Hall could have.


    Finally, Zen said while his eyes were still fixed on Tia, "With all these treasures, I''m afraid my space ring would run out of space." He waved his hand helplessly at Tia.


    The space ring that Zen was using was still the original one. Although Evil Lan''s space ring didn''t have a high capacity, its space had been enough for Zen.


    But with all the treasures he had now, it would be hard for him to keep them all in his space ring.


    Thwip!


    A streak of silver light flickered in front of Zen. It was from the space ring that Tia tossed at him.


    Zen caught it and looked at it for some while. He was stunned when he realized the high capacity of Tia''s space ring. As Zen assessed, the space in tha


    A mediocre disciple would mistake such a stone carving as an ordinary stone especially if it was the first time that he encountered it. He would even discard it immediately after he picked the stone carving up.


    But Tia saw how differently Zen was gazing at the stone carving. He looked at it as if he knew what this kind of stone was and seemed to be contemplating this stone carving very attentively. However, Tia had enough of Zen''s showy attitude that she sneered at his feigned observation of the stone carving and didn''t believe that he could actually comprehend space laws.


    In view of the current level that Zen had reached, Tia thought it was rather incredible that he cultivated the consummate sword intent and could turn his sword spirit into human shape. Apart from this, Tia had also felt that Zen''s soul was far more powerful than those of others who were at the same level as him. But even so, there was no way for Zen to truly see through the space laws that easily.


    At first, Tia looked at Zen with a disdainful look. But her ridicule was replaced by great astonishment when she realized what was actually happening. For her, it was unbelievable.


    After stepping onto the "Death Road", Zen had never shown his power of space. He had only used that power once when he tried to get the silver treasure box. It was only Fernandez and several sect heads who had witnessed Zen''s application of the power through the Picture Slab. However, Tia didn''t know that until now.

 Chapter 598 The Unboxing Of Surprises (Part Two)

    As the light on the stone carving became dimmer, she realized that Zen had comprehended the power of space reflected from the stone carving and was really contemplating the space laws.


    Like the cyan blue stone carving inside the Cloud Hall, the power of space contained in this type of stone carvings was not infinite. When the cyan blue stone carving was rich in the power of space, it would emit a faint light. But the light would become dimmer once the power was mediated by an elder. Upon its depletion, the power of space would be restored naturally by the stone carving. But only after the restoration could one really proceed with the mediation.


    This was just the reason why strict time limits were set upon contemplating on stone carving in the Cloud Hall. These time limits were respected by everyone who contemplated the stone carving.


    The same phenomenon was true for the defective gold carving. In the course of Zen''s mediation, the golden light over the stone carving was dispersing. This only meant that Zen had comprehended some of the space laws and the power of space had been constantly consumed.


    At first, Tia had intended to satirize Zen. But at that moment, Tia was only amazed by what Zen was doing. She had forgotten about satirizing Zen. Right now, she became more impressed by Zen''s talent. Deep in her mind, she was reevaluating the potential of this young guy.


    When she first met Zen, Tia merely perceived him as top talent from a grade two sect. Although he looked as though he only had relatively mediocre accomplishments in cultivation, he exhibited fairly great potential for future development.


    After all, everyone who was eligible to step onto the Death Road was among those with great potential. Among several people who had started their journey on the Death Road, Frank was the most outstanding. Apart from him, all others such as Rocher, Patrick, Lewis, and Lois could not be underrated either.


    But after Zen showed his Heavenly Ogre Fist and the perfect sword intent, Tia assessed that Zen could outperform Frank.


    All the power that Zen had was totally beyond Tia''s imagination. Now that Zen could even comprehend the power of space, Tia believed that even the


    ts enemies. But it would be uneasy to deploy an array to protect the Cloud Hall. Tia showed it to Zen and told him what it was used for.


    Zen raised no objection to Tia''s possession of this array pattern. Although it was helpful for protecting a sect, it was of no value for him.


    By now, there was only the final unopened box, the black treasure box.


    With all the wonders they had seen so far, Tia''s hand was still shaking. The gold treasure boxes proved to have far more valuable items than those of the first boxes they had opened. Now that they were moving onto their last box, a black treasure box, Tia''s expectation became higher. What could be more valuable than those in the gold treasure boxes?


    Tia examined the box first. On the outside, this black treasure box looked a little weird. All other treasure boxes were either red, blue, white, or gold. Only this one was colored black.


    If there were some gears or magical spells inside the treasure box set by the emperor himself, both Tia and Zen would be in danger.


    But as Tia carefully pulled the lid of the black treasure box, they saw a swarthy oil lamp inside.


    Tia pulled it out and looked at it closely. It looked nothing special, but was like the small oil lamps used by ordinary families. Zen also looked at it closely while Tia was holding it. He was still baffled when he saw that Tia''s eyes became wide in astonishment again.


    "This is the enchanted lamp from the celestial tomb!"

 Chapter 599 The Lighting Of The Lamps

    Zen wasn''t sure what was special about that lamp, but Tia was dumbstruck at the sight of it. It made the other things left Blood Fiend Emperor pale by comparison.


    Heavenly Fruit Tree and flood dragon blood both belonged to the inheritance of the grade 6 sect


    which could certainly help the Cloud Hall reach a new level.


    But they were not a must at present because the Cloud Hall, as a grade 4 sect, was developing rapidly and leaving behind those at the same grade. If Tia could succeed in improving her strength, it was highly possible that the Cloud Hall would rank as grade 5 soon.


    This enchanted lamp, however, was different.


    There was a celestial tomb in the Chaotic Ocean of Stars which was thousands of miles away from Central Region.


    The celestial tomb was literally the tomb of a celestial being.


    But even the celestial beings were not immortal. It seemed that their infinite life expectancy also had an end. That was the incontestable power of time.


    When an immortal reached his ten thousand or even tens of thousands of years old, there would be some irreversible and noticeable changes in their bodies: "Filthy Clothing", "Falling Hair", "Sweating Armpit", "Stinky Body", and "Restless Mind". Once the immoral reached the "Restless Mind" stage, he would become mortal and die.


    These five stages were so-called Five Aging Processes of the celestial beings.


    It was said that this tomb was owned by Mist, a celestial being from the mundane world. At the end of his very long life, probably for tens of thousands of years after he became immortal, he went back to his homeland once he reached "Restless Mind", the last stage before vanishing permanently.


    A hundred years after his return, he built a celestial mausoleum at the bottom of the Chaotic Ocean of Stars and buried himself in it, giving it the name "Celestial Tomb of Mist".


    As a deadly attraction, the tomb attracted many cultivators who were willing to risk their lives. Unfortunately, many of them died trying to get in there. The Chaotic Ocean of Stars had long been a forbidden area for human beings and being guarded by the celestial beings, it became more dangerous than ever. So the tomb was not accessible for everyone.


    For the past tens of thousands of years, nobody had harvested anything from the Celestial Tomb of Mist. No one ever succeeded in breaking into it and those who attempted lost their lives.


    As a result, people chose to stay away from the celestial tomb, and thus the Celestial Tomb of Mist finally rested in peace.


    Nevertheless, two thousand years ago, several enchanted lamps appeared in the Central Region. They looked like ordinary oil lamps, except that the name of Mist was carved at the bottom of each lamp.


    For this reason, the rumors went around.


    Some believed that these lamps were guarding the Celestial Tomb


    od dragon puppet was a very important one in the inheritance from Blood Fiend Emperor. Although the cyan dragon didn''t bother to devour it as the puppet had lost all the vital energy and blood, the giant flood dragon puppet was still priceless to Cloud Hall.


    If a war broke out, this flood dragon puppet could function as a war machine and could cause dreadful damages to the opponents with only one roar.


    They took the puppet and flew across the sky over the Cloud Road. Those who were struggling forward could only envy their luck.


    Frank saw the flood dragon as well. He suspected at once that Zen and that mysterious disciple could have survived. Could the flood dragon be a test on the Cloud Road? Or was it a shortcut?


    After all, the flood dragon appeared after they fell. What a coincidence.


    But he didn''t believe in coincidence! Frank didn''t think they could have survived, so he decided to put those thoughts aside. Watching the blood pool that he aspired to fly away was a heavy blow for him. He was profoundly demotivated and felt worn out.


    Like a gambler who had just lost all his fortune, he had no interest in other''s outcome.


    Before long, the flood dragon puppet stopped at the exit of Cloud Road. As the giant dragon mouth opened, Zen jumped off first. He turned around and asked, "Aren''t you coming with me?"


    Tia smiled and suddenly looked very serious. She patted the dragon''s mouth and it closed. The dragon flew into the sky swiftly again, leaving Zen confused.


    Women were indeed incomprehensible. Zen shook his head and walked towards the eddy in the exit.


    Meanwhile, Frank and the others were marching on the fifth stage of Cloud Road while others were mostly stuck in the fourth stage. Only one person was left behind alone.


    Standing on a stone pillar in the Sea of Raging Fire, Lennon was left speechless seeing the broken stones before him...

 Chapter 600 A Secret Left Untold (Part One)

    Several leaders along with the elder Fernandez Fei were waiting anxiously under an arch.


    Among the five leaders, the most anxious one was surely Kenneth.


    Three disciples of Cloud Sect had taken the Death Road and he had heard nothing from them ever since. He didn''t know what happened to them, but the first thing that came to his mind was they didn''t make it.


    Auspice Sect, Iridescence Sect and Cloud Hall had one elite disciple each that took the Death Road. The Cloud Sect, on the other hand, might lose all his elites in the Death Road. So compared to Cloud Sect, the two sects were still fortunate.


    At first, Kenneth had high hopes for these three disciples.


    The three disciples could rank first or second in the other sects.


    So, he had thought that in the Cloud Road test, the Cloud Sect disciples would be able to make a splash and bring honor to the sect and himself.


    But he did not expect that they would suffer heavy losses on the Death Road.


    Aside from Kenneth, several leaders of the other sects and Fernandez also looked worried.


    The death of Frank might not affect the status of Elder Fernandez, but how could he explain it to Frank''s father, Emanuel?


    Just as their faces were clouded with worry, the crystals on the arch suddenly lit up and the cyclone whirled faster.


    "Eh?" Fernandez was surprised, "What is going on? Has someone come out?"


    "How could it be possible? No one could ever pass the test so quickly!" Kenneth was startled to see that as well.


    But they soon calmed down and thought about it in their minds: Through the Picture Slab, they got to know that most of their disciples were still struggling in the fourth stage and that there w


    d, Zen''s spiritual energy had become stronger. He had not only soaked his body in the flood dragon''s blood but also had eaten the blood vigor of that nine-headed dragon. So, in the face of the overwhelming power, he suffered an energy stasis but quickly recovered.


    Lady Long''s arrogance annoyed Zen. He was a stubborn person with instinctive obstinacy. If she had asked him nicely, he would tell her the news about Lois. But she didn''t. Therefore, Zen replied plainly, "I have no idea."


    "You have no idea? How can it be possible?" Lady Long sneered, "You took the Death Road with Frank and the others. I have seen it with my own eyes! How dare you lie to me? If you don''t tell me the truth, I''m afraid that your good luck won''t help you today! So, you''d better¡­"


    Lady Long was in the middle of ranting when she suddenly felt a dangerous force approaching.


    She took a deep breath and backed away. Then, a shadow of a huge fist appeared at her feet. The impact of the fist shadow hitting the ground left a big hole on it. The ground tiles, the stones, and the mud under the ground tiles, were all wiped out by the force.

 Chapter 601 A Secret Left Untold (Part Two)

    Kenneth gave it his best shot to exert the fist. At that moment, his face was overcast, and his eyes were wide open¨Che was extremely angry. But even if he was furious, he had precise control over the strength of the fist. Zen was only a few feet away from Lady Long, but the damage was only limited to Lady Long''s location, and Zen was not hurt at all.


    "Bitch! How dare you bully my disciple? Do you not know my presence in here?" Kenneth roared at Lady Long.


    "You! How dare you threaten me? Do you think I''d be afraid of you?" Lady Long waved her stick, ready to hit Kenneth. She felt frightened and angry at the same time. The power of the fist was quite strong that if she hadn''t dodged it in time, she would have been injured and possibly have been dead.


    "Then bring it on!" Kenneth clenched his fists and stood straight with a sneer on his face.


    "Calm down, everyone!" Fernandez stepped in and stood firmly between them. "Lady Long, don''t be absurd," he said coldly to the woman, "If you continue to make trouble, I''m afraid that I have to teach you a lesson myself!"


    Amongst them, Fernandez was an elder. Compared to others, he had higher status and greater strength that even the likes Lady Long and Kenneth could not match.


    Looking at Lady Long''s vexatious behavior, he eventually ran out of patience.


    Zen was only a junior who had just gone through a series of tests along the Cloud Road, but Lady Long treated him so mean. Fernandez couldn''t stand her cruelty towards the young Zen. Furthermore, he thought very highly of Zen and favored the promising young man. Wherever he could be, he would alw


    asked Zen.


    "If you don''t want to tell me, I will respect your decision. You may leave the secret untold," Fernandez smiled.


    The other leaders also wanted to know whether there was a shortcut in the Cloud Road. If there was such a shortcut, then they could inform the next disciples who would take part in the next trial in another three years.


    But since Zen had refused to tell them the truth, they couldn''t force him to. They all had the same idea that they shall ask him about it in the future. In their view, Zen was sure to become a disciple of Cloud Hall. Once he was in Cloud Hall, they would have plenty of opportunities to inquire about the said shortcut.


    Instead of waiting at the arch with the leaders, Zen then walked away. He sat on a small space and began to meditate.


    Within two hours, the cyclone under the arch began to whirl again, and then Rocher came out of it.


    The moment when Rocher appeared, the first person he saw was not Fernandez nor the other leaders. It was Zen who was meditating not far away. He froze as soon as he saw him.

 Chapter 602 Troublesome Frank

    The way they passed through the final part of the Cloud Road was clearly different from that of Zen, who walked slowly on that part.


    Led by Frank, five of them had eventually finished the fifth stage of the Cloud Road. A smooth path that led directly to the finish line of Cloud Road greeted them at the end.


    At that moment, all of them wanted to be the first place.


    The Death Road was much shorter than the Life Road, so if they chose the former they could save time. It also meant that the possible first placer could be among the five of them.


    However, Frank still regretted not getting the blood pool.


    The first one who got aware of the current situation was Lewis. Although he was carefree, he had a keen mind. Then he made a dash for the finishing point.


    The others soon realized what happened as well, and rushed out when they saw Lewis run ahead of them.


    Now, it was time to see who had the best speed and endurance.


    Although Lewis was extremely quick and had a strong, explosive power even stronger than Frank''s, he had a low endurance.


    They were still far from the destination. Lewis was far ahead of the other four people in the first half of the race.


    However, Frank eventually caught up with him with his extraordinary speed and endurance in the middle of the race.


    An unexpected incident suddenly broke out. When Lewis boosted his speed, he attacked Frank. It was as if he turned into someone else.


    It was clear that Frank got very angry about it.


    He was both regretful and upset when he was reminded of the chance he lost last time. Thus, he was determined to take the first place this time. However, he never thought that Lewis would make things difficult for him. ''How can you treat me like a sickly cat? I''m actually a sleeping tiger!'' Frank thought. Thus, he began to strike back as he had a burst of speed.


    They only wanted to disturb each other, so they didn''t really fight that much.


    A few moments later, the other three had also caught up with them while they fought.


    Frank and Lewis kept on fighting, which slowed their pace down, thus making Rocher become the first one who rushed into the whirlpool.


    Now, Rocher thought that he was the one who won the first place. However, when he looked around, he saw that Zen had already sat beside Fernandez and the other masters.


    Rocher could hardly believe his eyes at this moment.


    Zen was unexpectedly there as if by magic. It was really an incredible thing.


    ''This is absolutely impossible. No one can explain this!'' Rocher thought.


    ''At that time, I witnessed Zen fell into the gaping abyss. Even if he was lucky enough to have defe


    ois.


    The cultivation method Patrick had practiced was that of Buddhism, so he failed to run fast. Thus, in terms of running, he was only a little quicker than Lois. The two of them rushed out of the whirlpool at almost the same time.


    They were also amazed at how Zen had come here and looked at him in shock.


    "Why do you all look at Zen that way?" Fernandez asked. "It''s really amazing that Zen has outrun all of you, but you don''t need to stare at him like that. He isn''t a ghost!" he said.


    Zen stood up from the ground when he saw Rocher and Patrick. He went up to them and clapped them on the shoulder with a smile.


    The three disciples of Cloud Sect had passed through the Cloud Road and got the first, second, and fifth places, respectively.


    Kenneth was quite satisfied with the results. Their sect only had three places for this competition since they were just a second-grade sect. However, their three disciples who participated in the match all ranked in the top five.


    For Kenneth, this had made him even happier than when he found a buried treasure!


    "Zen, I saw you fall into the abyss. Weren''t you eaten by that flood dragon?" Frank suddenly asked Zen sharply in front of everyone. "Doesn''t that flood dragon eat people? Did you come to the destination by riding that flood dragon? Where is the mysterious disciple of Cloud Hall? Is he with you?" Frank fired more questions at him.


    He was aware that Zen wouldn''t answer his question in private. Thus, he chose to ask Zen in front of Fernandez and the other masters.


    That was his real intention.


    Fernandez and the other masters all looked at Zen when they heard that he had met the flood dragon.


    ''This guy really wants to cause me more trouble¡­'' Zen thought with a frown.

 Chapter 603 Like Father, Like Son (Part One)

    Most of the disciples who had chosen the Death Road had survived and come out from the Cloud Road. The result wasn''t as they expected because Zen was the first one who got out, but both Lady Long from Iridescence Sect and the old man from Auspice Sect were still satisfied since their disciples made it out of the Death Road alive. It was generally a happy ending for everyone.


    While the rest were celebrating their own victories, the leader of Brumous Sect was quite displeased. He could not help but frown and then asked, "Hold on, Zade is still not here. Where is he? Why isn''t he here?"


    Hearing Zade''s name rang a sad bell in the ears of every disciple present at that moment. Everyone stared at the leader of Brumous Sect in silence. Their eyes were speaking, but they couldn''t seem to find words to express what they knew. Frank looked around to see who would break the news about Zade. However, when he realized that no one was brave enough to say a thing, he finally spoke, "The Death Road has claimed his life.


    Zade was swallowed by the Dark Devil Phantom when he was picking a herb."


    When the disciples started to come out from the Cloud Road one after the other, the leader of Brumous Sect had the bad feeling that Zade didn''t make it. As he watched the disciples come out, he was becoming more convinced that Zade didn''t survive the Death Road. He knew already, but he wanted to hear it from the disciples, and Frank''s words were the closure he needed.


    The world of cultivators was cruel. Even the toughest disciple in the world could meet his demise at any moment with one wrong judgment. Though Zade was courageous enough to try for the Death Road with Frank, his strength was not enough to survive given that he was only at the fourth place in Brumous Sect.


    It was a gamble for Zade to take the Death Road this year. He could win and if he did, he could at least be in the sixth place in the Cloud Road. Unfortunately, luck wasn''t on his side this time and being part of Frank''s team didn''t assure him of success. He failed at the expense of his own life.


    The leader of the Brumous Sect was disappointed, but he couldn''t do anyt


    Unlike with Zen, Frank''s word aroused Fernandez''s curiosity and that of the rest of the sect leaders.


    From what Frank had said, they concluded that Zen had a connection with the flood dragon and the Cloud Hall disciple. If not, how could Zen have survived that fall unharmed?


    Even Fernandez himself would avoid such a full-grown flood dragon at all cost. With his strength, Fernandez could survive that flood dragon, but not without a scratch. So, how did Zen survive from the mouth of the dragon unharmed? Perhaps Zen was indeed lucky. Even so, he could at least have some scratches, or wouldn''t finish ahead of everyone. The only viable reason was that Zen had some connection with the flood dragon.


    Kenneth became curious about it as well. He was eagerly waiting for Fernandez to ask the question so they could all finally hear the truth from Zen.


    Without waiting for Fernandez to speak, Zen took the initiative to explain himself. First, he made a palm-and-fist salute, then said, "Elder Fernandez, please forgive me. It''s not that I don''t want to tell you the truth, but I made an oath with that disciple not to tell anyone anything."


    It was clear that Zen wouldn''t say anything. It seemed that he wasn''t lying either about the oath. And with that, everything that Frank said to get the truth from Zen was put in vain. Zen knew what Frank was thinking and thought that it was naive for Frank to do such a thing.

 Chapter 604 Like Father, Like Son (Part Two)

    Fernandez looked at Zen and pondered for a while. He took a deep breath, then he said, "Zen, I will respect your decision to honor your oath and I won''t force you to tell. But I must ask, who is the disciple who dragged you down that flood dragon''s mouth? Is he really a Cloud Hall disciple?"


    Zen knew that it was imperative that he told Elder Fernandez about the identity of the said disciple because it concerned the safety of the whole Cloud Hall.


    "He said that he was from Cloud Hall and I believe it. But as to his real identity, I''m afraid he didn''t tell much," Zen said as he shook his head.


    Fernandez sighed and said, "You know that the Cloud Road is the place where our elite disciples are tested and selected. But I also believe that everyone has his own secret, and we must respect it. I will drop this matter, for the time being, Zen. But I hope you can give us an answer in the future."


    Zen nodded and smiled. He was relieved that Elder Fernandez didn''t push more about the issue for the time being. As he stepped aside, he swiped a look at Frank.


    Frank was dismayed. He saw the proud look at Zen''s face as Elder Fernandez politely dismissed the issue. Frank felt indignant seeing that Zen got away with it easily.


    But what Frank didn''t know was that Zen was now Elder Fernandez''s apple of the eye. After the Cloud Road test, Zen''s future potentials and importance had already surpassed Frank''s. With this, Fernandez was unwilling to offend Zen by pushing him to tell the truth. For Fernandez, there was a time for everything, and that matter was none of his business for now. Moreover, now that Zen was a Cloud Hall elite, Elder Fernandez wanted to be on his good side.


    Elder Fernandez''s words were final. The topic was finally put aside for the moment, and no one would know what really happened to Zen inside the flood dragon.


    After everyone had settled, the disciples stood behind their leaders and waited for the rest of the disciples to get back from the Cloud Road.


    After a few hours, a dark figure suddenly flashed from a distant ruin. With its speed, no one could tell who it was.


    Fernandez nodded when he saw the dark figure. He sm


    it was only a disciple at the fourth grade of nature level and his name was Zen.


    Watching from his position, Fernandez sensed that something bad was about to happen. He knew Emanuel''s temper and that the latter was not a magnanimous person to allow others to outperform Frank. Fernandez was worried that Emanuel might try to embarrass Zen.


    Kenneth had also noticed that, but as a steward of Cloud Hall, he had no say in Emanuel''s presence. He had only hoped that Fernandez would intervene in time.


    Then Frank whispered something to Emanuel, then everyone saw a subtle smile crossed Emanuel''s face. He then made his way towards Zen with that smile on his face.


    He could still not believe that the disciple who outranked his son was only with the fourth grade of nature level. It was the most ridiculous thing he had heard so far in his life. With what Frank had told him about the trial, Emanuel was now pretty sure that Zen won the first place with just mere luck.


    "So, Frank told me that your name is Zen. Is that right? I owe you congratulations on winning the first prize. Now that you have become one of the elites of Cloud Hall, we will focus on training you," Emanuel said. "But my son has told me something about the Cloud Road that concerns me. And I believe, for the sake of the Cloud Hall, you should explain to us everything that has happened during the test and how did you become the first one out of the Cloud Road."

 Chapter 605 Voice Message

    Emanuel Zhuo adopted a commanding stance and then bluntly ordered Zen in a firm voice.


    He declared that Zen had to recount what had exactly happened on the Cloud Road to the smallest detail. In other words, he subtly hinted that it would be wise if Zen wouldn''t conceal anything about the event.


    Emanuel thought that he had spoken to Zen clearly and politely enough. His stance differed from Fernandez''s. Fernandez had been quite old. Although he still acted as the Cloud Hall''s elder, these days he was mainly responsible for dealing with mundane affairs like choosing elites among disciples. However, Emanuel was in the prime of his life, and his strength was at its peak. As a mainstay of the Cloud Hall, he looked down upon Zen. Perhaps he would have treated Zen with less respect if he hadn''t won the first place.


    Emanuel clearly knew that everyone was vying to obtain the treasures on the Cloud Road, since all of the treasures were inherited from a grade six sect.


    A few moments ago, Frank had informed him that a flood dragon had appeared on the Cloud Road. Furthermore, Emanuel knew from Frank that countless streaks of light were manifested on the Cloud Road, and then all of a sudden, all of the treasures were assembled together in one place.


    Even though Emanuel himself couldn''t step onto the Cloud Road, his son still had a chance to enter.


    The gateway to the Cloud Road was only opened every three years, because of the enormous amount of crystals necessary to trigger the opening. Specifically, it would cost hundreds of supreme life vitality crystals to trigger an opening. Emanuel schemed that he was willing to spend that exorbitant amount of crystals in opening the gateway to the Cloud Road once again so that Frank could attempt to obtain the treasures, as long as he could glean useful information from Zen.


    He would benefit greatly from the treasures inherited from the grade six sect.


    All eyes were trained on Zen as soon as the command was uttered from Emanuel''s mouth.


    Frank blatantly sneered at Zen, muttering to himself, ''I have asked you to tell me the whole truth before, but you outright refused. Now, my father is here, demanding you to reveal that same truth. My father doesn''t play around.''


    Gloom was apparent on both Kenneth''s and Fernandez''s faces, silence befalling them. It would be inappropriate for them to speak for Zen, because they would surely offend Emanuel. As for the other sect leaders, they didn''t say anything either, as Zen was not a disciple of their sects, and in fact, they were also curious as to what Zen had encountered on the Cloud Road.


    Both Rocher and Patrick could do nothing but sigh deeply in despair. They surmised that Zen had no choice but to reveal the truth.


    Contrary to their expectations, Zen blinked multiple times, stared Emanuel right in his eyes and stated, "Master Zhuo, I survived the Cloud Road entirely because of my own good luck. Why should I reveal anything to you? Is there any reason why I should tell you?"


    From the start, Emanuel had expected Zen to reveal the truth in its entirety, or he would conceal just a little bit of the truth, but he never expected this outright rejection.


    nuel was only about a couple of steps away from Zen, a small piece of rune suddenly appeared near Emanuel''s ear. A few seconds later, a little spark shone and burnt up the rune in an instant.


    All the sect leaders present recognized the rune, which could transmit voice messages over a long distance by the use of one''s life vitality.


    Emanuel''s ears perked up as if he was listening to an unseen voice. Soon afterwards, he frowned and looked rather sullen, staring at Zen with a complex expression.


    Moments which seemed like an eternity passed by as everyone was waiting with bated breath. A few seconds later, Emanuel glared at Zen and sneered, "You better thank your good luck! Frank, let''s go!" As soon as Emanuel uttered the words, he flung himself into the sky and hovered for a few seconds. Then, he quickly dissolved into a gray shadow and rapidly disappeared.


    Frank was dumbfounded and confused by his father''s words.


    At the beginning, Frank silently wished something horrible to happen to Zen as he watched in silence. He wanted to witness firsthand his father searching Zen''s soul so that Zen would be reduced to a bumbling idiot. Frank would have been so ecstatic to witness such an event.


    On the Cloud Road, Frank felt that Zen was mighty. It was clear how Zen was an absolute threat to his ascendancy at the Cloud Hall. Thus, no outcome would be greater than Zen''s demise.


    However, Frank never expected his father to abruptly give up scouring Zen''s soul. What went wrong? Why was a voice message suddenly transmitted with the aid of life vitality? Who would be so powerful? Who was able to change his father''s mind that quickly?


    Although Frank''s mind was plagued with questions, he dared not utter a word as he noticed his father''s grim expression. Instead, he just gave Zen an intense look and flew closely behind his father.


    At this moment, only the sect leaders, Fernandez and Zen stood where they had been. They were all very much confused by the sudden turn of events.


    Like Frank, they were also wondering who on earth had sent a voice message that convinced Emanuel so easily.

 Chapter 606 What Did She Say

    Emanuel enjoyed a very high position in Cloud Hall.


    He too was an elder like Fernandez, but the latter was an old man with little potential for any further progress and belonged to the inferior group.


    On the other hand, Emanuel was in the prime of his life and was in a peak condition for martial refinement. Due to his formidable strength, he was one of the most powerful elders in Cloud Hall.


    The message rune that had reached Emanuel''s ears for several seconds only comprised of a few words. There were only a handful of people who could persuade Emanuel into leaving with such a short sentence.


    But who could it be?


    Zen had entered the Cloud Road for the first time. He had never been to the Central Region before, and had never gotten the chance to know any top leaders of Cloud Hall. Given that, who could be the person who decided to step in and help him?


    Several sect leaders were puzzled pondering over that question.


    Kenneth focused his eyes at Zen with a convulsed expression on his face. Suddenly, the young disciple of his own sect started to seem strange to him.


    He believed he knew Zen well and prided himself for being one of the only people who knew his secrets. But it was finally becoming clear to him that there was a lot he didn''t know.


    Zen was a nature creature, but that didn''t help reduce Kenneth''s shock at what he had done in front of Emanuel.


    Even though Zen wasn''t threatened by Emanuel anymore, Kenneth''s head was still full of worries. "You were acting impetuously, Zen," he said.


    Following Kenneth''s words, Fernandez nodded and said, "I agree. I don''t know who are you relying on but I don''t think it''s a wise choice for you to act out against Emanuel. He left you unharmed today, but don''t forget you have to face him many times in Cloud Hall. If he decides to go against you, you will be in great danger."


    Fernandez had almost figured out who had helped Zen, as there weren''t many possible answers. As far as he knew, the only people who could ask Emanuel to leave were the current and former Cloud Hall leaders. The former leader hadn''t showed up in public occasions for over a hundred years.


    It wasn''t a big stretch to assume that the current Cloud Hall leader was the only possible person who could have asked Emanuel to leave. But that wasn''t it. The next question that pestered Fernandez was if Zen even knew the Cloud Hall leader to that extent? How did they know each other? Where did they meet?


    As per what Fernandez had heard, the Cloud Hall leader had been in a closed-door cultivation for two years. If that was indeed true, it was impossible for them to meet each other.


    "Elder Fernandez, Mr. Shi," Zen bowed to Fernandez and Kenneth with cupped hands, "Thanks for your concern. I know I''ve overdone it, but I had no other choice. After all, my experiences in the Cloud Road matter a lot. My sanctity will never allow me to tell them to anyone else, even to Master Zhuo! What''s more, even if I did as he asked me to, do you think he''d have let me go easily?"


    Zen''s words had a tone of authority and reason. Both Fernandez and Kenneth fell silent after he finished. They knew this young disciple was right.


    Emanuel''s


    disguise.


    "There she is, the third one to the left of the disciples!"


    The cyan dragon''s voice came from within Zen''s head as he squinted his eyes to make out Tia''s form in the distance.


    He followed the dragon''s words, and as he stared at her ordinary face, he found her looking back at him at the same time.


    She pretended to just be glancing at him when she caught him staring at her. She was trying to figure if he could see through her disguise.


    To her surprise, Zen''s eyes were dead stuck on her, like he saw her clearly. Had he recognized her? That was impossible! She was confident about her disguise. Zen wasn''t even a cultivator of the Internal Elixir Realm. He couldn''t be able to see through her!


    What she didn''t know was the disguise did not function before the cyan dragon. The mighty creature could locate her very soul.


    Tia put up a nonchalant face even though she was a bit uncomfortable with Zen''s eyes fixed on her. Soon, though, the pretense had to be given up. Why was that? Because she noticed a faint smile appearing across Zen''s face, as if he was saying, "Be done with the tricks! I already know who you are!"


    ''He''s a damn pain! He really did find me out!'' she thought to herself. She pouted, glaring at him angrily. She pursed her lips together and sent him a message with her life vitality, "Stop staring at me, or I''ll gouge your eyes out."


    Zen laughed with no fear at her words. He knew Tia was in a higher position than Emanuel. She was the one who had driven him away with just a sentence.


    He had no worries because even though Fernandez had found out Tia''s real identity, he would never dare to expose the truth.


    "Hey, what did you say to Master Zhuo with that message rune a while ago?" Zen asked, returning a message with his life vitality.


    Tia smiled slyly and replied, "I told him it was none of his business and asked him to get out of here immediately," Zen was rendered speechless! Although he knew she was in a very high position, he hadn''t expected her to have been so rude to Emanuel. Now Zen knew why had Emanuel''s face been so low when he left silently.

 Chapter 607 The Cloud Hall Token

    Morning came in a burst of light and color, sending a stream of light into the waking world.


    In other places, one could only see rainbows after rain stopped. However, it was something that was as commonplace as a stray cloud in Cloudy City.


    The view could always be traced back to the giant rock floating above the city, and the magnificent palace built atop it, floating over the land like a cloud borne sentry.


    The palace was surrounded by layers of clouds, and only when the sky was crystal blue could the citizens see the vague outline of the palace. The sight of it rendered the onlookers speechless. It was a masterpiece of architecture- an ode to its very workmanship.


    For those who had chanced to lay their eyes on the palace, it was a view worthy of the gods. And whoever lived in it was seen as such.


    In the eyes of mortal men, many martial artists were no different from ranks of gods. They were the closest examples of divinity on Earth. These men could accomplish incredible feats exceeding an ordinary mortal- they could fly in the sky, burrow into the depths of the Earth, move mountains and drain the seas. Some of them could even live for hundreds or thousands of years. What else could they be except gods?


    But, like the ordinary civilians of the city, there were also martial artists for whom the magnificent palace held a different meaning. It could not compare to the true palaces of the gods in the tales and legends of old, but it was something that signified it. Cloud Hall, another name they called the floating palace, was a fourth-rate sect which was famous in Central Region.


    Cloud Hall was built on this giant floating rock whose origin was unknown to all. When it was built, there was an array absorbing the energy around the palace for the martial artists in it. The energy it obtained was so immense that even the clouds surrounding the Cloud Hall were drawn to it, forming a curtain of white and hiding the palace from view.


    That day, the array in Cloud Hall''s left side began shimmering. Beams of light fell to the Earth, and from it, people began to walk out one after another.


    Zen instinctively sniffed the moment he stepped out of the light. He was feeling light-headed. The rich vitality in Cloud Hall had almost gotten him drunk with energy. His body thrummed with the excesses. There was no place in the whole Eastern Region foliaged with such dense energy.


    Patrick, Lewis and Rocher, the disciples of the second-rated sects, were having the same feelings as Zen. Their legs gave off slight trembles from under them.


    Upon seeing them seemingly affected by the rich vitality, the disciples from Cloud Hall all cast them haughty glimpses.


    These supercilious bunch, including Lennon, had not cultivated themselves in Cloud Hall. For most, they trained themselves in a place called "Cloud School" in Cloudy City. From there, handpicked disciples who were the finest of finest, like Lennon, were given chances to enter Cloud Hall. As for Frank, he often cultivated in Cloud Hall thanks to his father.


    Since they were all disciples of Elite House of Cloud Hall, they were befitting of entry to Cloud Hall.


    Following Fernandez,


    this happening was almost a decade ago.


    Even the leader of Cloud Sect, Kenneth, only had a golden Cloud Hall Token- a middle ranking. These two stewards at the Internal Elixir Realm only had a cyan Cloud Hall Token. The golden token was a dream, which would take much more time and work for them to realize.


    A golden Cloud Hall Token, would mean the opening of more mystical places- ones that were far better than the ones at the accessible to a cyan Cloud Hall Token holder.


    But getting a golden Cloud Hall Token was a feat of extremely difficulty. Even long years of service at Cloud Hall had not been enough.


    So how was it that this kid, a newcomer of Elite House, could get a purple Cloud Hall Token?


    There must have been a mistake. It might have been a mix-up. There was no other plausible explanation for it.


    Zen came to his sense quickly and stepped forward to take the purple Cloud Hall Token. To his surprise, one of the steward guards told him to wait, without further clarification. He then trotted away with the purple Cloud Hall Token.


    Soon, the hall was filled with the low sound of questioning murmurs. "A purple Cloud Hall Token? Even if Zen is the champion of the Cloud Road, there is no way that he would be given one!"


    "Is this some sort of joke? The purple Cloud Hall Tokens are usually given to the elders, and even then, only a few of them manage to obtain one. How is it possible that Zen would be given one?"


    "Poor man. Soon enough his excitement will turn out to only be disappointment. He''s no different from us. A red Cloud Hall Token is more than enough to him!"


    Before long, the steward guard came back with a complicated expression. "This purple Cloud Hall Token truly belongs to you," he said.


    The words that he uttered were like a thunder clap in the clear sky, silencing everyone in the room with shock.


    As an old saying goes, people don''t worry about poverty, but fear the unfair distribution of wealth. Since everyone else were given a red Cloud Hall Token which represented the lowest rank, why was it that Zen got the purple token? It was ridiculous!

 Chapter 608 Confidence And Courage

    Seeing that Zen had received a purple Cloud Hall Token, the disciples from the five grade two sects reluctantly accepted the unfairness. The disciples from Cloud Hall couldn''t.


    "Zen? Who the hell is he?" "That bumpkin from Cloud Sect who won the first place?" "The disciples of Cloud Hall used to win every time. Why didn''t any of the participants who won previously get a purple Cloud Hall Token?"


    As the crowd''s complaints got louder, a Cloud Hall steward snapped at them, "Shut up! If anyone makes any noise after this warning, I''m going to have them removed immediately!"


    The disciples knew that Cloud Hall floated in the sky thousands of meters above the ground. Since most of them were at the Illuminating Soul Realm and could fly, they wouldn''t die if they got thrown out. But they understood what the steward had meant¡ªhe wasn''t going to have them thrown to the ground. He was threatening to remove them from Cloud Hall.


    Therefore, the disciples kept quiet. They had practiced since childhood to meet the eligibility for admission to Cloud Hall. And most of them carried the hopes of their entire family. Even though they envied Zen, they were unwilling to be expelled from Cloud Hall because of this.


    In fact, the two stewards envied Zen as well. As the Internal Elixir Realm masters, they hadn''t received a purple Cloud Hall Token yet either. They also wondered why Zen was an exception. "Does he have a special relationship with our leader?" one of them asked. "She is well known for being chaste. I''ve never heard of her having a boyfriend," the other answered.


    The cultivators'' world was unfair, and the stewards had already become used to it. Since there was no other logical explanation, the Cloud Hall stewards assumed that Zen had a powerful background and that they shouldn''t mess with him.


    Therefore, the two stewards greeted him with respectful smiles. One steward even bowed a little as he handed Zen a purple Cloud Hall Token with both hands.


    Then, the two stewards explained the rules and regulations of Cloud Hall to the disciples. They even spoke about matters that required attention, such as how to use the cultivating places and facilities, the forbidden areas, and so on. There were so many rules in Cloud Hall that it took the stewards about an hour.


    After that, the two stewards allowed the new disciples to leave the Elite House. Zen walked out with Rocher and Patrick. They had intended to get some trivial articles and find their rooms in the Cloud Hall.


    As soon as they exited Elite House, their eyes fell on a massive map on the wall.


    "This is the map of the Central Region," Rocher said.


    In the past, Zen had thought that the Eastern Region was vast. But now, as he saw the map of the Central Region, he understood why some people said the Eastern Region was a small place.


    On the corner of the map, the orientation and size of the Eastern Region had also been plotted. In contrast, if the Central Region was an elephant, the Eastern Region was only a little pig. The two were not at the same level simply from the perspective of the territory included in each region.


    Lewis walked toward the three young men as they studied the map. He had followed Zen since they met on Cloud Road. "The map is v


    map only allowed Zen to get a rough idea of the distribution of forces in the Central Region. The map was not very detailed. After all, it was impossible for Cloud Hall to disclose top-secret information on a map and show it to all.


    "Zen! Wait!"


    Rocher and Patrick ran to Zen, who was hurrying forward.


    "What''s up?" Zen responded without looking back. Sadness and helplessness filled his heart.


    Like any hard-working student, he had set a grand goal, hoping that one day he would achieve it. He spared no efforts to pass the final exam with a high score. But he was frustrated when he found that although outstanding, he was still far from his goal.


    His grand goal was like a star in the sky, high above him, blinking and taunting him. He could only look up at it, but not reach it.


    It was not that Zen was not good enough. It was just that his goal was in the sky, and that his current ability kept him at ground-level.


    Even though Zen had never given up, challenging the most powerful cultivator in the Central Region would be suicide. His ambition was high, but he had to accept the cruel reality.


    "Eddie is indeed very powerful," Rocher said as he raised his eyebrows. "He is the strongest man in the Central Region. I''m afraid that if he chooses to, he can destroy Cloud Hall. But, I have a hunch that one day, you will kill him!"


    Patrick nodded, "I believe that, too."


    Hearing what they said, a trace of a smile flashed on Zen''s face. After a while, he grinned and turned to them, "Do you guys really believe I can do it?"


    "I''m not comforting you. If other people hear us, they may think that we''re daydreaming. But I really believe it will happen," Rocher stated, and Patrick agreed with him as well.


    Their faith in Zen''s abilities rekindled his hope and ambition. Zen''s deep eyes shone like stars. "Now that you believe in me, I will believe in myself too. One day, I''ll kill him," Zen declared as he gritted his teeth.


    Although Zen didn''t know how far he would go on the road to martial arts cultivation, he had to face this strong enemy sooner or later. He needed courage and confidence, both of which he had regained now.

 Chapter 609 Evil East Lord

    At the same time, in the easternmost area of the Central Region, there was a huge mountain range.


    The mountains seemed to stretch into the sky. The range was so high that it safeguarded the continent from the tsunami in the Chaotic Ocean of Stars. Owing to the altitude of the range, all the peaks were covered in a thick layer of snow, some as deep as 100 feet! The range was called a dead zone as it was impossible for people to climb out if they accidentally fell into the snow.


    Even cultivators at the Illuminating Soul Realm dared not to go deep into the mountains even though they could fly. The snowstorm raging on the mountaintop was so fierce that the wind stung like knife blades. Besides, several unknown monsters, beasts, and terrifying creatures lived on the mountain range. Since these creatures could survive such harsh conditions, they were not easy to deal with.


    However, today, the snow on the highest mountain in the range had melted completely.


    The snow-covered peaks of the mountain range had been accumulating snow for thousands of years. Today, the snow on one peak had disappeared, revealing the black mountain that stood out in contrast to its nearby snow-capped peaks.


    A strong and bare-torso man panted on the mountaintop. A grey flame burned behind him. Beneath his feet, lay a snow flood dragon that was 500 feet in length.


    Snow flood dragons lived in the land of snow and ice. They were born fierce and powerful!


    The fierce snow flood dragon lay beneath the man''s feet. Many parts of its huge body were burned.


    "Little Eddie! Didn''t you say that you would take me to see the snow and eat a snow flood dragon''s heart? You melted all the snow on the mountain. How do I see snow now?" A woman dressed in a fox-fur robe levitated in the air behind the strong man. She positioned herself such that it appeared as though she were lying on a bench beneath her.


    Her voice was so enchanting and sweet that people would be enraptured upon hearing her. What was more exciting was that she wore no other clothes except the fox-fur robe, which covered only her breasts and private parts. Other parts of her body were uncovered, and her skin was so fair that it was whiter than the snow.


    "Your seduction and complaints will not work. You wanted to see the snow, and I brought you here. You want to eat the snow flood dragon''s heart¡­¡­" The strapping man bent down and removed the heart of the dying snow flood dragon. Fierce creatures like the snow flood dragon had strong bodies. Though it had been seriously injured, the snow flood dragon''s heart still beat vigorously.


    The woman was frightened when she saw the pulsating and bloody snow flood dragon''s heart. "Oh! Little Eddie, there is so much blood. How


    for a brief moment, Zen doubted himself.


    But he calmed down and reassured himself. Zen''s will of martial arts had now become stronger than before.


    Seeing Zen''s confidence restored, Rocher and Patrick were very happy.


    Zen now needed to practice in Cloud Hall as he needed time to digest what he got from Cloud Road.


    Sitting cross-legged in the practice room, Zen rotated his hands like a wheel disc. The life vitality spun alongside his hands. As he rotated faster and faster, it became a whole circle.


    "The Malicious Wheel of Life and Death was the most powerful attack method for the Blood Fiend Emperor. Unexpectedly, it''s not complicated to practice!"


    Looking at the rotating life vitality wheel, Zen smiled slightly. Though far from the first level¡ªExterminating Wheel¡ªhe had pretty much succeeded in giving it a proper shape.


    Cultivation methods concerning malicious aura had some advantages. They were easy to practice and more potent than other cultivation methods. Since it was a shortcut, countless people had been attracted to it. However, it did come with the risk of the cultivator being controlled and consumed by the malicious aura! But Zen, who had been to Killing Sword Mountain, did not have such a risk.


    "How about trying the power of the Exterminating Wheel?"


    Thinking of this, Zen extracted a piece of the malicious aura.


    The moment the blood red malicious aura was put into it, the malicious aura rushed to the practicing room with the rotation of the Exterminating Wheel.


    The malicious aura was so powerful that it broke through the floor of the practicing room, several layers of the wooden flooring, the thick rock layer, and then over 400 feet of floating stone before hitting the ground, a kilometer away.


    Meanwhile, an alarm sounded outside the practicing room.

 Chapter 610 The Great Present From Tia (Part One)

    "Did I really punch a hole through the floor of the Cloud Hall?" murmured Zen in surprise. A look of horror spread across his face.


    The power of the Exterminating Wheel had far exceeded his expectations. The raw power it produced shook him to the core. A ray of light shone through the tiny hole on the floor of the practice room.


    "All disciples in the practice room clear out!"


    Amidst the long wailing warning tune of the flute, Steward Xiao''s voice boomed.


    Steward Xiao was one of the two stewards who handed out Cloud Hall Tokens to the disciples a few days ago. Upon hearing the summons, Zen reluctantly removed the Exterminating Wheel and took a deep breath before he started for the door and promptly walked out.


    Outside, he found several disciples of the Illuminating Soul Realm looking at Steward Xiao in states of confusion. It seemed that they all had no idea why the alarm was sounded out of nowhere, nor did they know why Steward Xiao called them out there while they were busy cultivating.


    "Who was it..." Steward Xiao asked in an expression of barely concealed anger.


    Before he could finish his question, Zen stepped forth and presented himself. "I apologize, Steward Xiao. I accidentally punched a hole through the floor in my practice room."


    The practice room on this floor was located at the lowest level of Cloud Hall, and not far below was a floating stone, surrounded by warning runes. No one had ever touched the floating stone before.


    All the practice rooms in Cloud Hall had myriad layers of protection. To use the practice room on this floor, one only needed to show the red Cloud Hall Token. So all those who practiced martial arts in this level were mostly new disciples of the Elite House. Given that the new disciples were relatively weak compared to the other batches, it was expected that they would cause little to no damage in the practice room, and so there were no strong shields on t


    om now on!"


    When Steward Xiao left, Rocher heaved a sigh of relief and turned to Zen with a mischievous smile. "Thanks, Zen! Man, what you said really had some effect!"


    Zen looked at him straight with an inquisitive shine in his eyes and asked, "Did you just break through?"


    Rocher nodded in acknowledgement and chuckled, "I had a vague idea that I was going to break through on the Cloud Road, but what I didn''t expect was that I didn''t get into the Illuminating Soul Realm until now."


    There was a great barrier between the nature level and the Illuminating Soul Realm. Rocher had been in the consummation of nature level long enough, and in terms of talent, he might not be as outstanding as Zen, but he was not inferior to any of the other elite disciples in Cloud Hall. Thus, as his power had accumulated to a certain degree, he naturally made a breakthrough.


    "By the way, Zen, have you acquired the method of distilling Devil Phantom''s essence?" Rocher eagerly inquired.


    Zen and Rocher both gained a ton of Devil Phantom''s essence along the Death Road. According to Tia, the said essence couldn''t directly be used, since it was highly poisonous in its original state. Zen, though not afraid of any poison, wouldn''t rush to consume it. It would be pointless to do so.

 Chapter 611 The Great Present From Tia (Part Two)

    Considering that the Devil Phantom''s essence had soul strengthening properties, Zen asked, "Do you really need it now?"


    Rocher nodded, smiled bitterly and continued, "Cultivating the Heavenly Sword requires a really strong soul. I can hardly keep it up without a tough soul."


    To take advantage of the heavenly momentum, the practitioner must be able to withstand the powerful momentum of both heaven and earth in the first place, and then diverted the heavenly momentum towards his opponent through the sword. How could a practitioner deal a strong blow if he himself couldn''t handle the momentum?


    Rocher''s soul wasn''t weak before, and it was at least strong enough to bear the sword, but after he stepped into the Illuminating Soul Realm, his soul couldn''t handle the heavenly momentum anymore. This could all be attributed to the fact that now he was able to draw more of the vitality between heaven and earth and take advantage of even more heavenly momentum, but this also meant he needed to take on even more momentum within his soul.


    The accident was caused by Rocher''s failure to control the gathered vitality, causing it to implode and detonate, blowing up the entire practice room where he was cultivating.


    Zen flashed Rocher a faint smile and said, "I''ll help you ask about extracting method for the Dark Devil Phantom''s essence, but I have something for you in the meantime. You can use this first." With that said, Zen tapped onto his space ring and promptly took out a red treasure chest.


    Rocher''s face lit up like a Christmas tree when he heard that Zen would inquire about the purification process. Since Zen had narrowly escaped from the flood dragon''s jaws, Rocher also realized that the mysterious disciple from the Cloud Hall also survived. Zen didn''t tell


    t because he hadn''t encountered any difficulties yet since he came to the Cloud Hall. He could practice to his heart''s content thanks to her!


    Zen had a really hard time when he first entered the Cloud Sect. Now the treatment he received in the Cloud Hall was drastically different from then, and most of the people here showed him respect.


    "Now tell me why I should show you my gratitude? I haven''t forgotten that I should have a half share of the Heavenly Fruit Tree. Besides, there are a lot of things that actually belong to me, but I haven''t received them yet. So who should I really be thanking?" Zen passed on his words via the message token using a small amount of his life vitality.


    "You call yourself a man? How can you be so evil? Besides, your present realm is just too low, and it''s certainly not the right time for you to devour the Heavenly Fruit. Just keep trying to improve your strength, but.. It''s too boring cultivating in the practice room, so I''ll give you a great present, hee hee..." Tia laughed.


    Hearing Tia''s laughter, Zen found her voice so horrifying that it almost turned his blood to ice. He had a terrible feeling about what was coming next.

 Chapter 612 Lose Control Of The Body

    The top of the Cloud Hall was wrapped in a mass of thick clouds. The palace at the top was not made of bricks and stones, but it looked like it was made out of piled-up mysterious ice. It was just an ice palace.


    The pile of mysterious ice was crystal clear and it was radiating cold gas. Even in midsummer and under a cloudless blue sky, it seemed like the ice wouldn''t be melted away by the sun.


    If a normal person approached the ice, his blood would freeze within a few seconds, and his whole body would become stiff and lifeless just like a sculpture.


    Tia''s white, naked feet were dangling from an ice-carved throne, and she stared at a high Picture Slab in front of her with smile, reclining lazily in her throne. Beside her, a small phoenix made of ice nestled in her arms. It looked more beautiful than before with bushier feathers.


    Next to Tia stood a middle-aged man in cyan, a solemn expression upon his face.


    "All right, Morphens. Now it''s your turn," said Tia.


    Morphens was one of the Cloud Hall Elders and as such, he was good at the skills of space and illusion. He, alongside Emanuel, was regarded as the backbone of the Cloud Hall; they were equal in their power and cultivation level.


    "Is it all right that we do so?" Morphens asked a bit hesitantly.


    "What''s the matter? This guy is so annoying and I''ve really been wanting to teach him a lesson for a long time!" Tia replied, wrinkling her small nose.


    "Even if he took half of Blood Fiend Emperor''s heritage from you, he is still a disciple of the Cloud Hall. As you said, this boy has a wonderful talent for cultivation, and he could be classified as a saint-level genius. Thus, he deserves the heritage, and we should help him improve in the Cloud Hall," Morphens reasoned, shaking his head.


    Tia glanced at Morphens. Her eyes narrowed. "What should we do? I know that better than you! Just do as what I said," she said coldly.


    Morphens immediately felt a bit stressed. Nodding, he replied, "Now that you believe acting in this way can hone Zen, I have no comment."


    In truth, Morphens wasn''t at all worried about Zen''s safety. He knew that the boy would be okay. However, it was Tia''s behavior that he was concerned with. ''Our leader... is too young!'' Morphens sighed internally and then reached out his hands. Ten light spots appeared on each of his fingertips and quickly turned into white energy lines that stretched out of the ice palace.


    While this was going on, Zen was still talking with Tia. "What gift? Could you say it clearly again?" he was asking.


    Just then, Zen suddenly felt a trace of energy fluctuations around himself. Because of Tia''s words, Zen had a feeling that something bad would happen, and his first instinct was to dodge the energy.


    As they looked on, Rocher and the other Cloud Hall disciples were puzzled about why Zen was


    m..."


    He straightened and turned to exit the area, but behind him, Finlay sneered loudly, "Are you sure you want to go back out after saying those arrogant words? No way!" He raised a hand and made a small gesture; the doors shut closed.


    "Hum, how funny!" Finlay jumped out of the fighting field and walked toward Zen. "Among the Cloud Hall elite disciples, there is even a nature creature. That is really unusual! And this guy even dares to challenge us. What an arrogant idiot! Did you ask us who dared to challenge you? Well, let me tell you. I will!"


    Zen stretched out his hands and made a gesture of apology. Then he smiled and said, "Just now... What you''ve heard was not said by me! I can explain..."


    "Brother, he is that Zen Luo! He got first place on the Cloud Road this year!" Frank said from behind Finlay.


    A noise of recognition rippled through the crowd and the disciple. They had not met Zen personally, but already, they had heard his name. Already, Zen had a reputation at the Cloud Hall; everyone knew him by name. It was widely known that he was very powerful but was at low cultivation level.


    "Oh! So, you are the one who made my father angry," said Finlay coldly. "Don''t try to explain anything!"


    Frank stepped forward in front of Finlay. "Brother, you do not need to do anything to him. Just watch. I can beat him easily! These guys from small towns are so haughty! They need to learn a lesson or two!"


    Zen was watching the brothers, his mouth agape a little. At Finlay''s words, he closed his mouth and an expression of resolution appeared on his face. He had wanted to explain his being under control and forced to say what he did, but now he wanted to play into their presumptions about him; he wanted to act more haughtily.


    "Do you want to teach me a lesson? Well, I just want to say that back to you!" Zen said coldly, wrinkling his forehead slightly.

 Chapter 613 High-Speed Spinning (Part One)

    When Zen had entered the Cloud Hall, he honestly wanted to keep out of trouble. He still needed time to think about what he had obtained in the Cloud Road. The best thing to do was to focus on practice and stay away from any distractions.


    However, Tia obviously didn''t let him have his way. She had done a bit of a trick.


    The real strength she exhibited in the Cloud Road was only at the level of Illuminating Soul Realm. According to the cyan dragon, she had drawn out her original cultivation base and started over. Since she had just returned to the Cloud Hall only recently, it was impossible for her to level up so rapidly. Thus, Zen assumed that there must be some Cloud Hall masters who had her back and did a trick to control his body.


    ''This hateful woman! Is she going to ruin me?'' Zen thought.


    Then again, he had already made a spectacle, so he had to face the consequences. This was Tia''s scheme--she took him by surprise, so now he couldn''t escape. Besides, even if he wanted to escape, there was no way he could evade trouble now.


    Meanwhile, Frank raised his eyebrows and his eyes glinted fiercely.


    He had never hated on anyone since he started to practice in the Cloud School. He had always given off the impression of a young, handsome gentleman and he seemed to have a special aura around him.


    He never got issues with the others because he never paid attention to those on the same level as him. Moreover, he certainly didn''t take whatever they did to him to heart.


    When it came to Zen however, Frank found it hard to be open-minded. He had always thought that he was the best of the best and the most fortunate among everyone. He thought that no one in the same level could be on par with him. However, the journey on the Cloud Road was a big blow for him. He never thought that a strong opponent came from a mere second-grade sect. Based on Zen''s talents or potential, it was highly possible that he might surpass Frank in the f


    Frank swung his spear around and did three movements in a row. He rushed aggressively towards Zen as the long spear sliced through the air and stirred up a gust of wind.


    Zen grew more cautious as he fought against Frank''s quick moves and excellent spear techniques. He constantly used the circle parry to deflect Frank''s attacks. However, the building space was limited, and every move Frank did with his spear came too close at Zen. Thus, Zen was forced to back down a lot, and was finally cornered when Frank used the three consecutive spear movements.


    Frank''s eyes glittered with smugness. He had already gauged Zen''s real strength through the test on the Cloud Road. Zen was stronger than Rocher, and a little stronger than Patrick. Compared to him however, Zen still fell behind.


    If Zen had already entered the Illuminating Soul Realm, Frank wasn''t sure if he could beat him. Unfortunately¡­


    This guy was too impatient. Zen was only a nature creature but he dared to challenge Frank. He had recklessly courted death!


    Since he asked for it anyway, Frank decided to satisfy him and make him know how defeat felt.


    "Super Spinning Spear!" Frank shouted.


    He suddenly flew into the air. His body and his spear became one. Then he rushed forward at Zen who was driven to a dead end.

 Chapter 614 High-Speed Spinning (Part Two)

    When they were in the Cloud Road, flying was forbidden. Frank had to use a technique where he pushed his feet off the ground and leapt. But now they were in the Cloud Hall, so Frank flew directly into the air.


    Zen couldn''t move backwards anymore as he was stuck in a dead end. His face scrunched into a frown as he observed Frank whose body integrated itself with the spear, and fiercely lunged at him. Zen recognized that it was the technique that killed the Flying Yaksha. It was quite a powerful technique. He had seen Frank use it before.


    Although Zen''s body was a spiritual weapon with a strong defensive power, he estimated that his body was still weaker than the Flying Yaksha after it transformed into a golden one. Since the Super Spinning Spear attack had killed the Flying Yaksha, then it could surely kill Zen.


    "It''s impressive that a nature creature could reach such level. But for me, he won''t be able to resist this blow from Frank," a Cloud Hall elite said.


    "Of course, he''s surely dead this time. It''s true that this technique is Frank''s secret weapon, but not his most powerful one!" Finlay, who watched the battle on one side, said with a laugh. "If Frank used his Spear of Annihilation, even I would need to be careful while fighting him," he added.


    "This guy has the talent and strength which entitled him to his arrogance, but he is too impatient. I''m afraid he could really sweep all of us away when he enters the Illuminating Soul Realm," another Cloud Hall elite commented as he watched Zen with mixed feelings. He was quite impressed by Zen''s use of Sword Steps.


    Frank''s Super Spinning Spear had almost reached Zen in the blink of an eye. The fast spinning spear point formed a strong vortex, which looked like it could grind anything that came near it into smithereens.


    At that moment, Zen suddenly rolled his eyes. A purple-black light lit up the tip of his Blood Drinking Sword. It was h


    ned. They didn''t have any clue what was happening now.


    Finlay certainly didn''t know that the black ring Zen conjured was the technique in the Blood Fiend Emperor''s Malicious Wheel of Life and Death. However, he sensed that Frank was in trouble. "That''s enough! Let go of Frank!" he shouted coldly.


    However, Zen turned a deaf ear to Finlay. "He has hands and legs. If he wanted to stop, he could just loosen up his hands and get out of it himself," he sneered.


    It was true that Zen''s Exterminating Wheel only locked Frank''s spear, but not his hands and legs. If Frank dropped his spear, he could get out.


    "I''m telling you to let him go!" Finlay said icily once again. He lifted his bloody red spear and was prepared to fight.


    "Okay. All of you in the Zhuo family are unreasonable. You can''t win in a one-on-one fight, so come in groups. Shame on you. Alright, I''ll release him." Zen seethed, then waved his hand to stop the Exterminating Wheel.


    The Exterminating Wheel went into a halt, but Frank still spun crazily fast. The Exterminating Wheel''s force had stopped, but the inertia transferred the high-speed spinning into Frank and threw him up to the ceiling. His body hit the ceiling and left a gaping hole in it, then he fell on the ground with a loud thud.

 Chapter 615 Spear Of Annihilation (Part One)

    Watching the scenes unfold before them, the elite disciples of Cloud Hall were struck dumb, unable to get a word out.


    Most of them were at level four, five, or six of the Illuminating Soul Realm, a little higher than Frank. But if they really fought Frank out in battle, none could defeat him, for he was a heaven-level talent. He was far stronger than he looked and often fought warriors at higher levels with little difficulty.


    But now, Frank had been challenged by a disciple of a lower level.


    The elites could not wrap their minds around the fact that the boy was only at grade four of the nature level.


    Frank was a beginner at the Illuminating Soul Realm. He could easily make dead meat of a disciple at grade four or five. The elites would have found it acceptable if both sides were at the Illuminating Soul Realm. Not to forget, Frank had an array of unusual talents and resources under his belt. His father had made sure he had been carefully cultivated. His one meal would probably cost many other warriors everything they owned. How could any of them compare to that?


    But then what about Zen? It was a profound gap between grade four of the nature level and initial stage of the Illuminating Soul Realm. The other disciples found it incredible that the young boy, still wet behind the ears, had challenged a practiced disciple. Everyone was all too aware of the marked difference between them.


    But now, they couldn''t help but realize why Zen had been so arrogant before. He was strong enough to challenge even Frank.


    As the other elite disciples stood looking shocked at what was happening, Frank emerged out of the hole. At the moment, his hair was disheveled, his eyes blazing red with fury. His current appearance stra


    Let''s see how Zen fights it. I think he can do it. The power of the Malicious Wheel of Life and Death is not weaker than that of the Spear of Annihilation."


    Tia was familiar with the Spear of Annihilation. Before going to the trial, Tia had been attentive of Frank''s Spear of Annihilation and had planned to ask him to break the enchanted barrier. But later, she chose Zen. Perhaps this was how it was meant to be.


    How powerful was the Blood Fiend Emperor? Since he had chosen the Malicious Wheel of Life and Death as his main cultivation method, how could its power not compare to that of the Spear of Annihilation? Even though Zen had practiced the Malicious Wheel of Life and Death for only a short period of time, Tia was still confident in him. More importantly, this would be a great test for him.


    Although Morphens had heard that Tia could obtain the inheritance of the Blood Fiend Emperor with Zen''s help, he still doubted Zen''s power. Like most other warriors, he thought Zen''s cultivation level too low.


    Tia seemed not to worry about Zen in this situation. Morphens didn''t say anything more, choosing to gaze at the Picture Slab instead.

 Chapter 616 Spear Of Annihilation (Part Two)

    Wisps of gray death aura gathered around Frank''s white spear. A single glance at it hurt the souls of the warriors as if they had been damaged somehow. With the white spear in his hand, Frank was like a spirit from the ghostdom. "My skill of Spear of Annihilation can destroy every way in the world! Zen, let me see how you fight me now!" he bellowed.


    Watching the extremely powerful spear, Zen''s expression was grave. He began his Exterminating Wheel at once.


    At the same time, he drew three pieces of malicious aura from the Killing Sword Mountain.


    The cultivation method employed in the use of malicious aura was usually extraordinary. One piece of malicious aura could equip the skill with great power, while three of them could do that much more.


    However, Zen had not stored up too much of the malicious aura. When he had been back at the Luo Clan, he received some malicious aura after killing the Blood Prisoner. Then he entered Cloud Road and gathered some piecemeal, stocking in the Killing Sword Mountain. Besides that, he also gained some on the Dead Road by killing hundreds of Dark Devil Phantoms in battle.


    Zen felt reluctant to use so much of his malicious aura in a single fight alone. But he had to pull out all stops contending with Frank.


    "Zen Luo, you must die!" Frank roared again.


    The Spear of Annihilation together with the strong death aura rushed at Zen. The bystanders felt their hearts tighten. Frank had inherited it all from Emanuel. No one knew exactly how powerful the skill was, but all of them sensed the great strong force reverberating behind it.


    At the same time, Zen waved his sword, the three bits of malicious aura blazing forth.


    Generally, a warrior who had cultivated in


    ecover. Moreover, even if the bones were all healed and patched up, the arm would not be as strong as it used to be.


    Finlay''s face fell. He stood up, watching Zen with a cold smile. "I never expected you to be so powerful. You not only survived Frank''s Spear of Annihilation but also broke his arm." Finlay clenched his jaw, barely holding back his anger.


    Zen blinked, smiling calmly. "Spare me your accusations. Frank would have killed me if I hadn''t broken his bones. In some ways, I was kind enough to break only his one arm. I should have taken his life for what he wanted to do to me."


    "Go to hell!" Finlay stared at him menacingly. As Finlay shouted, his blood-red spear flew at Zen.


    Finlay was at grade nine of the Illuminating Soul Realm, which meant he was close to consummation at the realm. He was far stronger than the other opponents Zen had met.


    However, as Finlay''s spear zoomed at him, Zen''s body suddenly drifted into the air. He was flying!


    Seeing this, the elite disciples were stunned. Their eyes widened, rounding into saucers. They were gobsmacked. Was Zen actually a nature creature? If so, how could he fly?

 Chapter 617 Forced Arrogance

    All these supreme disciples, including Finlay, were confused.


    No matter how strong Zen was and how great his talent, Zen was still a nature creature in essence. Even though he had successfully challenged cultivators at higher levels, he was still a nature creature! He should not be able to go beyond the limit of nature creatures!


    For example, one of these conditions was that nature creatures could not fly.


    This limitation was related to the principle of life vitality. Only after entering the Illuminating Soul Realm could cultivators fly and stay in mid-air by burning their life vitality.


    In this way, no matter how high a nature creature''s jump, he could not stay in the air and would eventually fall to the ground. There had never been a nature creature breaking this rule from the earliest times to the present day.


    But what had they just seen? Zen had stayed steady in the air after he avoided the shot from Finlay. They could not believe their eyes, and they could not understand this incredible feat.


    Their expressions also revealed their complicated inner feelings.


    Unlike the people below, Zen was very calm as he levitated in the air. His lips moved slightly as a subtle smile danced at the corner of his mouth. He lowered his voice and spoke to Tia via her token, "I didn''t expect that you would be kind to me!"


    However, the smile was wiped from Zen''s face by Tia''s response. "If you die like this, how will my hate be relieved?" Tia chuckled, "I prefer to torture you slowly and gradually. After today, you will come here and challenge the elite disciples of Cloud Hall every day! Wouldn''t that be more interesting than a quick death?"


    Hearing this, Zen forced a wry smile. Although it was beneficial for him to have the support of a powerful cultivator at Cloud Hall, it really didn''t have to be cultivated in this way.


    However, Zen did not have other choices.


    And his opponent did not give him much time to think about alternatives. Finlay was surprised to see Zen fly, but that did not mean that he would let Zen go easily. Flying was a normal ability for cultivators at the Illuminating Soul Realm, not to mention that Finlay was at the ninth level of the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    After a brief moment of surprise, Finlay recovered and focused on his battle with Zen. He turned his weapon towards Zen.


    However, Zen was incredibly agile in his movements. He effortlessly dodged Finlay''s attack. Finlay chased Zen around the area for a while. Unfortunately, he lashed out with his weapon dozens of times but could not injure Zen.


    Finlay had not figured out how and why Zen was so agile. A light ray had cut through the space and connected Zen''s body to Morphens'' hands in the other place. This invisible ray allowed Morphens to control Zen like a puppet.


    In this situation, it would be impossible for Finlay to catch up with Zen. Even if he could, Finlay was no match for Zen. After all, Morphens'' puppet controlling skills had reached the legendary Fusion Realm, which meant that he could transfer his strength to Zen during the fight. So, Finlay was not combating with Zen alone. Instead, he was fighting against Zen and Morphens.


    After seeing this chase and running match for some time, Tia stretched and yawned before say


    y is and why he is so arrogant."


    "Fred, why don''t you teach him a lesson? The young guy is really crazy. He comes from a grade two sect in the little Eastern Region. He has no idea about the outer world! So, he thought he was the best of all the disciples and looked down upon all of us!" A disciple told Fred angrily.


    However, Fred shook his head and said honestly, "Everyone has confidence. And many people are ready to challenge him. He will receive his lesson. He is just a nature creature! Even if I win, there will be nothing to blow off."


    "Fred is right. He is just a nature creature. There is no need for Fred to challenge him! He doesn''t deserve the chance to practice with Fred!" The other disciple commented.


    "There he comes! Look!"


    Zen finally appeared at the door of the grey building. Even though he was unwilling to move, his body was out of his control and stepped into the building.


    The disciples of Elite House glared at Zen with sharp eyes. Most of them were seeing Zen for the first time.


    Before today, many of the disciples did not believe that Zen, with the strength of a nature creature, had defeated Frank. Now, as Zen stood before them, the disciples were surprised that the rumor was true. What was even more shocking was that Zen had not even reached the peak of the nature level. He was only at the fourth grade of the nature level!


    If Zen had not been so arrogant, most people would be amazed by Zen''s strength. If Zen was so strong at this level, would he have the power to challenge cultivators at the Internal Elixir Realm when he entered the Illuminating Soul Realm?


    However, since Zen had been so proud, the disciples of Elite House were displeased and would not praise Zen. So, they glared at Zen, with killing intents in their eyes. It seemed as though they wanted to vaporize Zen on the spot.


    At the same time, they also noticed something strange. He had an innocent and honest expression on his face even though his words were haughty, "Hmmm, all the unskilled elites are here. Have you been waiting for me for a long time?" After saying this, Zen''s face turned black again. Then he quietly cursed Tia a million times.

 Chapter 618 The Fist

    Zen''s words ensued an uproar from the martial artists present.


    They instantly exploded in irritated shouts like a busted warehouse full of gunpowder.


    "Son of bitch! He is really as arrogant as he is said to be. I''m afraid he has forgotten who he is."


    "Go ahead! Let''s tear this guy to pieces!"


    "Yeah! Let''s finish him off!"


    More shouting had ensued as the disciples clamored for Zen''s destruction. If looks could kill, he would be dead by now.


    Even Fred wasn''t pleased with Zen''s words. His eyes scanned Zen up and down in an attempt to see through him. He felt something strange when he first met Zen, but he couldn''t put it into words.


    Morphens'' strength was powerful enough to manipulate puppets as he wished since he reached the Fusion Realm. He could almost do anything he wanted. Even if Fred was at the consummation of the Illuminating Soul Realm, he could only smell out a rat in a suspicious situation but not know everything about it.


    Footsteps echoed as Zen strode forward. He suddenly felt the energy threads being drawn out of his body for a moment, then he regained control again.


    However, at that moment, he''d rather not have it. It meant that he had to face the group of elite disciples by himself. They were so livid that they wanted to finish him off now.


    "Zen, I challenge you to a duel," a disciple said. He was at the sixth grade of the Illuminating Soul Realm. He stepped forward and faced Zen.


    A light smile crossed Zen''s lips as he tried to calm himself. He shook his head. "I will accept your challenge, but I want to make a rule," he said.


    "Haha! That''s funny. Since you''re so insolent, why do you still need a rule?"


    "Aren''t you an expert in martial arts? Even if we all fight together against you, we''re no match for you. I believe you don''t really need a rule. Do you?"


    "Quiet down, let''s hear what he has to say," someone said.


    With those words, the people calmed down. "I only accept three challenges each day, and I have the right to choose the challengers," Zen said.


    He came up with the idea just now. He didn''t want to offend the elites of the Cloud Hall, but he knew Tia wouldn''t stop until she got the results she wanted. Thus, he had to find a middle ground. If Tia and the elites refused, then he would rather stand there and let them beat him up to death.


    "Are you joking? Didn''t you say that you wanted to challenge all the disciples of the Elite House? Why did you say you would only pick three of us now?" one of the disciples was upset. "Just let it be. Anyway, is there any weak person in our Elite House?" another disciple asked.


    The elites looked around the area to find their weakest member. "We shall just give him the right to make the choice. Let''s see how powerful a nature creature could be," another disciple urged. The rest of the disciples swelled in chorus. They thought that it was impossible for Zen to find an opponent he could match with.


    After the crowd calmed down again, Zen looked around in silence. His eyes finally landed on one disciple. H


    antly powered up.


    "Come on! Blow him up to pieces!"


    "Punch his head off!"


    "Beat him to ribbons! Let''s see if he still dares to be so arrogant in the future!"


    Warren felt his morale getting boosted up by the crowd when suddenly, Zen''s two hundred dragon scales lit up and flashed a bright light. All his muscles immediately swelled up which made him look stronger than ever. They bulked up so much that his veins popped out under his skin, and his body looked like it was about to burst.


    At the same time, he quickly released the energy of the Phoenix Crystal from his right arm. Therefore, his blow had the maximum impact in both speed and strength.


    "Heavenly Ogre Fist!" Zen roared as he shot out his fist.


    "Bang!"


    The fight between the two men now became a match of strength. Martial arts movements became irrelevant now as what mattered more were strength, speed, and the capacity to bear blows.


    Warren and Zen hit each other''s bodies at the same time. However, when their punches had landed, Warren looked fearful, while Zen just smirked.


    Although Warren was called Iron Hand and his fist was on par with a spiritual weapon, it was still just a fist and his flesh body was only a bit stronger than the other cultivators. However, Zen was different. His whole body was a top-grade spiritual weapon, and he had three spiritual textures on his chest. Just one more advancement, and his body would become a fairy weapon. How could Warren compare to him?


    When Warren''s fist landed on Zen, he only backed a few steps because of the punch''s impact. He then felt a gush of warmth that coursed throughout his body and flooded his belly. It brought him a lot of comforts.


    On the other hand, Zen''s fist powered by two hundred dragon scales had thrown Warren away.


    Warren''s massive body hit several elite disciples before it finally hit the wall. He had lost consciousness and lay in a heap in one corner.


    A wave of silence suddenly filled the whole hall, as if there were not a single soul in it.

 Chapter 619 The Divine Texture

    If Zen had defeated Warren with some other skill, the disciples wouldn''t have been so shocked.


    Although Warren was powerful, his competence was only a little higher than Frank''s, who had just reached the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    Since Zen had defeated Frank, he was likely to win in the battle against Warren as well. However, to everyone''s surprise, he beat Warren with his bare fists!


    Warren''s fist techniques were renowned in Elite House. Anyone who knew of Warren''s abilities would drop his jaw in shock at the news of his defeat. Generally, martial arts practitioners preferred to use weapons to enhance their attacking power, and very few liked to fight with their bare hands.


    Many cultivators also learned fist fighting techniques to minimize their weaknesses and to supplement their strengths.


    However, Warren considered his fists to be his most powerful weapon. He had cultivated to such an extent that he had complete confidence in his fist fighting techniques! Ever since he became popular, his competence was obvious to all. So no one dared to underestimate the power of Warren''s fists.


    Since Zen was a swordsman, his greatest skill should have been his swordsmanship. No one expected his fists to be so strong and powerful.


    That was what confused the disciples.


    This was like a proud and competent archer defeating a swordsman with a sword instead of a bow and arrow.


    Such a significant difference would be a devastating blow to his opponent''s self-confidence. And it seemed as though Zen was quite good at it!


    Rocher stood in a corner with his sword resting on his back. He smiled lightly because he knew why the Cloud Hall elites were so shocked. Zen seemed to be versatile and had no apparent weakness. He was particularly outstanding in terms of physical strength, body firmness, and swordsmanship, which he cultivated by following simple principles.


    Anyone who had any of these advantages would be able to defeat many powerful martial arts practitioners.


    Fred Li raised his brows in surprise.


    As one of the most powerful Illuminating Soul Realm cultivators, his thoughts differed from the others. It was normal for Warren to strengthen his body, and improve his strength and fist fighting techniques with life vitality.


    However, instead of strengthening his body with life vitality, Zen had only injected his life vitality into his fists. Only a body refiner could do this.


    People would refine their bodies before reaching the nature level. After reaching the nature level, the air flow in a cultivator''s body would be routed through their navel, so they could begin to practice life vitality related cultivation methods. Compared to body refining, life vitality cultivation was more powerful.


    However, that didn''t mean it was hard for a cultivator to reach a high cultivation level by refining his body. And, so a small group of people chose body refining. The problem was, compared to demons and ogres who were born strong, people had no advantage after body refining.


    What Fred found most puzzling was that he didn''t sense the unique, forceful energy of body refiners emitting from Zen. The forceful energy was quite similar to life vitality. However, it couldn''t be transformed into specific shapes by meditating. If Zen were a body refiner, it would be i


    at the hell!"


    "I have never seen a nature creature fly before, and in such a way and at such speed!"


    "it doesn''t matter as he will come again. Let''s discuss how to deal with him!"


    Zen was going to challenge all the disciples of Elite House. He had been following the practice of selecting three opponents each time. If he picked the relatively weaker disciples each time, the disciples could take no action.


    After Zen had left, someone proposed a solution. If the weaker disciples didn''t show up the next time, then Zen would have to choose more powerful disciples to fight.


    These disciples racked their brains as they tried to figure out how best to teach Zen a good lesson so that he wouldn''t be so arrogant.


    Zen knew that he had offended the Elite House disciples. However, since that was what Tia wanted, he had no other choice.


    Every martial arts cultivator knew that they had to improve through battles. Many of them were often killed by their opponents. However, Zen could challenge anyone he wanted and leave the battle ring at a critical moment. Not everybody was as lucky as Zen.


    In the evening, after cultivating for a while, Zen opened the red and blue treasure boxes, one by one. The soul essence in the red treasure chests could strengthen Zen''s soul, and the blood vigor in the blue treasure chest could benefit his energy and blood.


    Both the soul essence and the blood vigor were precious to cultivators. Zen knew that the Elite House disciples would find a way to deal with him and suppress his arrogance. He intended to improve as quickly as possible.


    After devouring all soul essences in the red treasure boxes, Zen felt that his soul strength had increased by thirty percent. When he closed his eyes, Zen could feel a constant sense of comfort coming from his soul. After a while, he opened his eyes and said to the cyan dragon, "You promised to teach me how to make the rune. Do you think my soul is strong enough to learn it?"


    After a short moment, the cyan dragon''s lazy voice could be heard from the depth of Zen''s mind. "First, I must correct you. Although they sound like the same thing, we are not talking about making runes. We call it divine texture."

 Chapter 620 Scorn (Part One)

    Humans on earth had a deep understanding and knowledge about runes, which gave them more information on how they were able to utilize the runes. Runes were not only there as characters, nor alphabets--they were even more important than the weapons that protected warriors'' lives.


    The runes were widely used in many areas. As such, the Cloud Sect''s cultivation places were established with magical arrays that were made of runes and other materials. Many weapons were seen inscribed with runes on their blades. These weapons were revered. Not only were these weapons used for protection, but rather they were enforced with great power.


    When it came to guarding, there were different kinds of sect protecting arrays which were closely related to runes. For pill refiners and weapon refiners, they used fire runes to strengthen the flames'' power. All beings should be thankful for the runic experts who gave their time and effort into studying those materials. If it weren''t for them, the powers and wonders of the runes would not be harnessed.


    The cyan dragon''s divine texture was otherworldly, a heritage from another broader world. Its conception was far beyond the common runes people knew. And its creation, design, and power were so intricately well thought of that the runes in the Central Region were no match for it. The divine texture''s powers were among the cream of the crop, exceptional.


    "The divine texture? So...can I start practicing the divine texture now?" Zen asked nervously while containing his happiness.


    "Yes, you may. But even if you take the soul essences, you might not be able to handle it since yours is still not very strong. Moreover, if you must start to learn the divine texture at this very moment, mind that you will only be able to master the lowest grade. Are you sure you want to learn it now?"


    Zen replied, light glinting in his eyes, "Rome was not built in one day. And the longest journey begins with the first step. If I don''t take the first step, when will I ever start?"


    "Yes, you''re right. Drawing the divine texture would consume a lot of your spiritual power. But at the same time, it is a good way to temper your spirit. This is the right time for you to learn it..." The cyan dragon continued. Slowly and firmly, he said, "But the first step of creating the divine t


    ts. Was this a regular scene?


    Zen was baffled. He never thought of meeting this many more people than ever before. More than that, he was surprised at the sight of some Internal Elixir Realm masters in the hall.


    Zen raised an eyebrow. He had unintentionally poured scorn on them. But it was not his doing. He was controlled by Tia. Did they have to make such a fuss? Those Internal Elixir Realm masters were not the members of the Elite House, Zen supposed.


    In all honesty, those Internal Elixir Realm masters were not from the Elite House. Zen thought of a reason for their presence--his manners. Stories of Zen''s unruly manners for the past two days had spread around the Cloud Hall.


    All the disciples of the Elite House knew that there was a new member who was extremely arrogant. And that new disciple was only a nature creature. The news was not only known to the disciples of the Elite House. The news spread even to other members and masters. It was not surprising that even some of the elders of the Cloud Hall knew about this obnoxious nature creature.


    And Fernandez was one of elders that was stirred by this news.


    When Zen was on the Cloud Road, Fernandez had shown special care for Zen. Within his ability, he would like to speak for Zen, vouch for him to get him out of any trouble. Fernandez saw Zen''s potential. He saw that Zen would become an extraordinary disciple in the Cloud Hall in the future. He got great talent. And it was only a matter of time for him to achieve success. Fernandez believed in him.

 Chapter 621 Scorn (Part Two)

    But Fernandez didn''t expect that Zen could ever behave that way. He was surprised to hear that Zen, a new member of the Elite House, just sent out a challenge to everyone in the hall. What an ambitious warrior! It was all too soon.


    Driven by curiosity, Fernandez decided to go to see the scene himself. He was an elder, and it was not appropriate for him to make an appearance in the grey building. Eager to see what was happening, he made himself invisible.


    As soon as Zen reached the grey building, Fernandez uttered a surprising sound. With his level, he was able to notice the glimmers of light that surrounded Zen. "What happened? Zen is being manipulated!"


    Fernandez was confused. His eyebrows moved closer together.


    Just like using a thread to control a puppet, the puppet master was able to deprive anyone of the control of their own bodies. The most famous puppet master of them all in the Cloud Hall was saint Morphens. Aged as Fernandez was, he was a highly esteemed elder, a wise man indeed. Fernandez soon pieced every clue together, solving the mystery of how Zen could act so differently. And he just figured out what might be the case.


    "I got it," Fernandez exclaimed. Fernandez had known Zen for so long and he knew Zen would never act like that. Even if Zen had every right to boast about his strength and skills, he would not still do it. Fernandez believed that Zen knew better. He wouldn''t be so bored to do such a stupid thing.


    If it was not Zen''s doing, then the commotion must have had something to do with the leader of Cloud Hall.


    Fernandez was able to see through the facade. He knew what was behind all this. The disciples of the Elite House had no clue that it was a trick. They were really infuriated by Zen''s arrogant manner these two days. Warriors in the hall looked like they were about to burn a witch. Their hands were clenched, jaws set, and knuckles popped. They were all ready to give Zen the lesson he would remember for the rest of his life. They were ready to beat him up into a pulp!


    The fight commenced. Punches were thrown. One, two, three punches were dodged by Zen. Fists were flying across the hall. But to everyone''s d


    nique.


    In the store, an old man was sitting behind the counter. The man lowered his head, with a round glass in his hand. Looking intently on the material on his other hand, he seemed to be examining the small and closely-written characters on a jade pendant. The jade was very special, perhaps because it was, after all, a rare and ancient jade. The characters on it were very strange, an unknown language to Zen.


    "Boss!" Zen called out after he entered the store.


    The old man was startled as he had been too focused on the thing he was doing. He raised his head and saw Zen. When he found that the customer was only a nature creature, he seemed confused. The people who came to this market were mostly at the level of Illuminating Soul Realm or above. As he knew it was rare for a nature creature to enter the Cloud Hall. Even if anyone in the Cloudy City wanted to go to the market, they at least should have the ability to fly up here. But only Illuminating Soul Realm cultivators were able to do that.


    "What''s up?" The old man asked in an angry tone. It was irritating to be disturbed, and worse, Zen was only a nature creature, and that didn''t deserve any respect.


    "I want to buy some materials, and a paintbrush to draw the runes," Zen said while looking around, avoiding the old man''s eyes.


    "Materials and paintbrush? You want to make runes? You?" The old man asked, let out a little laugh, a glint of mockery in his eyes.

 Chapter 622 30% Discount (Part One)

    It wasn''t really because the old man looked down upon Zen. Only that judging from his eyes and expressions, his behavior seemed too weird.


    The old man had been selling raw materials his entire life. He was considered one of the most famous figures in the World Commercial Alliance, Cloudy City Branch. He was familiar with the magic array experts and runic experts of Cloudy City. The most famous weapon refiners and alchemists were his acquaintances.


    He was even friends with some magic array experts of Cloud Hall, as a result of which he also had a knowledge of runes.


    Magic arrays were composed of runes and it wasn''t an easy thing to learn to draw the runes.


    Usually, young apprentices who wanted to learn to draw runes were required to have a mentor, who taught them the art in person. In a way, the mentors prepared them with all kinds of tools right in the beginning. It was strange for new apprentices to buy the tools by themselves. After the purchase and some practices, as soon as they accumulated certain experience and knowledge, they required better rune pens.


    It wasn''t difficult to guess Zen was a brand-new freshman. Learning runes seemed just like a passing fancy for this young man. With his little knowledge of runes, he might have thought drawing runes was simply just to draw some brushes with a pen.


    Some young men thought impulsively and wanted to learn new skills immediately in the spur of the moment. In reality, only a few could manage to acquire the skills successfully. The old man had seen many such agog freshmen. As far as he knew, if they didn''t bear with the training, the materials they bought from him would simply go to waste. This was precisely the reason why he didn''t want to entertain Zen''s requirements.


    But Zen ignored his attitude and spoke seriously, nodding his head, "Yes, I want to learn runes. I want to try some simple ones first. Here is the list of materials, an


    he resumed investigating the ancient jade as he was before Zen had appeared with his illogical demands.


    Zen was in a dilemma. He did not know how to deal with him. His shop was the biggest in the market. Disappointed, he decided to step out and take his chances somewhere else. Right then, the cyan dragon''s voice spoke in his head again, "Don''t leave, Zen! I have a solution to convince him to sell you the materials."


    "Really? What do you propose?" Zen asked with eyes wide open.


    "Do you see the ancient jade in his hand? It is a piece of phoenix ancient jade. The texts recorded above are in ancient phoenix words. This old man has no way of understanding and decoding the words written on it. If you tell him the meaning of these words, maybe he will sell the materials to you," the cyan dragon explained.


    "Hmmm... that is a fair point, but I do not know the meaning of those words either." Zen rolled his eyes despondently.


    "Hmmmm..." the cyan dragon replied, sensing Zen''s impatience. He explained further, "I know you can''t read the ancient phoenix language, Zen, but I can!"


    The longevity of the dragon was beyond Zen''s imagination! Not only did he know the ancient phoenix language, which itself was rare, there were only a few languages he didn''t know.

 Chapter 623 30% Discount (Part Two)

    Zen was pleased and impressed at once! He knew he had to adopt some strategies to get his way. He walked back to the counter, but the old guy didn''t want to talk to him at all now. Zen had no choice but to cry out the words that the dragon fed him. "Use the fire generated from the stars as a sacrifice in the lotus lake, praying for prosperity in the next life..."


    The old man was deeply absorbed in studying the words inscribed on the ancient jade. It didn''t matter to him whether Zen was there or not. These ancient jades in his hand held high historic and collection value and were very hard to be evaluated.


    With that, the texts on the jade only added to its preciousness and original value. It was said that the ancient jade of the phoenix clan had been passed down from the ancient phoenix nationality. If people could decipher the characters, it would benefit the refinement greatly.


    However, it was extremely difficult to decipher these words. This old man had been trying to study the words for more than one and a half years. He had even compared them to some ancient books in his collection, and yet had only been able to understand a few words.


    When Zed walked to him again, he got very irritated upon being disturbed and immediately frowned at him. He had just opened his mouth to scold him when he was cut off by Zen. His expression changed from annoyed to bewildered the moment he heard Zen reciting the words that matched with the words he had decoded already.


    He was tongue-tied, flabbergasted, and shocked! His mouth fell open in surprise as he stared Zen''s moving mouth. Gaining his senses, he got up and started to listen intently.


    But at the same time, Zen stopped and shut his mouth, giving a gentle smile to the old man. Steadily an


    lowly, pausing before he put forth his cards. "Yes. I do not mind telling you the rest at all, but on one condition," he said.


    "What is it?" The old man asked immediately.


    "I want to buy all the materials that are in the list, and I want a 30% discount," Zen said firmly, smiling innocently.


    The old man fell silent, a trace of hesitation appearing on his face. The materials Zen was asking for were not cheap. The old man was only a steward in the World Commercial Alliance and didn''t have the authority to do a bargain like that. If he provided the discount, it would be at a personal loss.


    But his wish to know the meaning of the text meant much more than the loss. He thought of all the pros and cons and finally made up his mind. Gritting his teeth, he looked at Zen with a convulsed expression and said, "Okay, that''s a deal!"


    He had done a quick calculation in his mind, concluding that he would pay for the loss entailed from his own pocket. Anyway, the sales price after the discount was only slightly lower than the cost. He wouldn''t have to pay a lot to make up for it. Besides, he was convinced that it was worth knowing the meaning of the text.

 Chapter 624 Preparations For Drawing Divine Textures

    Zen didn''t expect that this matter was impeccably solved because the cyan dragon helped to interpret that particular ancient phoenix text.


    Not only did the old man completely change his attitude towards him, but he also promised to sell the materials at a discounted price of about 30 percent.


    Because the old man showed him genuine sincerity, he had no qualms interpreting the second half of the text on the jade. The old man listened with great attention, apparently intending to memorize every word of it.


    When he had finished translating, the old man''s weary eyes lit up. And he asked respectfully, "Young man, where did you learn the ancient phoenix language?"


    As far as he knew, there was once ancient phoenixes existing in this world, but this species had already died out long ago. Sadly, their descendants were nowhere to be found.


    Zen definitely deprived him of the truth. "Sorry, I can''t tell you," he chuckled. "But if you come across words or texts you don''t know, you can ask me to decipher them. I think I should be able to interpret them all."


    Upon hearing that Zen might need his help, the cyan dragon immediately grumbled in Zen''s mind, "Hey Zen, cracking this text for you doesn''t necessarily mean that I promise to interpret anything else in the future. Besides, I can''t possibly know all of them even though I do know a lot of languages..."


    On the other hand, the old man''s face changed at what he heard.


    If the young man had uttered such arrogant words before translating the phoenix language, the old man would have taken off his shoe and aimed its sole in hitting Zen''s face right there and then. How many strange languages were there in the world! And how could anyone possibly know all of them? Some species had left their writing in the world when they had fallen. If this was the case, who could recognize their writing?


    This young man bragged about himself too much!


    Considering Zen had effortlessly transcribed the ancient phoenix language, the old man decided not to contradict him directly. He surmised that there was a possibility that Zen might know some out-of-the-ordinary words or language and he might need his help later on. Although he found Zen''s words unfavorable, he still respectfully stated, "Good, good. Are you a disciple of the Cloud Hall? From the look of you, you must be a disciple of the Elite House. May I have your name, please? I might require your aid sometime later."


    Zen let out a smile, and after disclosing his name to the old man, he uttered, "All right, please prepare the materials I need."


    The old man nodded. Then he called out for his two clerks, who emerged from the store a few moments later, waiting for his instruction. The old man took the list of materials that Zen was offering him. Then he threw it to the two clerks, and ordered, "Go get these materials ready." Then turning to face Zen again, he suggested, "Mr. Luo, if you want


    exploit him severely.


    Reluctantly, he paid the old man 112, 000 cubic crystals before he left the market with the purchased materials.


    The old man, with a complicated look, stared at Zen''s back, sighed in his heart, ''What a strange young man! And what a waste of materials! 112, 000 cubic crystals aren''t a small sum of money. The youth of this generation is really unpredictable...''


    Back at his place of residence, Zen began preparing for drawing runes.


    These materials could not be used directly, but needed to be processed first. Drawing the divine texture was purely technical, and Zen knew nothing about it. But under the guidance of the cyan dragon, his teacher, he handled the materials himself at ease.


    Potent kudzu roots, for example, needed to be ground into fine powders.


    Besides, the roots of Gelid Herb should be cut and kneaded before mixing with another material which was cloud ash.


    It took him a long time just to mix the materials. Moreover, any of the procedures could not go wrong, or else he had to throw out the wrong mix and start over.


    An hour later, Zen was finally finished mixing the materials.


    Zen then languidly picked up the runic pen and took a deep breath. Although the cyan dragon had taught him out, he was still a little nervous for the first time to draw divine textures.


    Holding the runic pen up, Zen closed his eyes and meditated. Soon, a pale yellow soul appeared between his eyebrows. However, it was different from the soul when he launched the Spiritual Thorn. The move of turning a soul into a thorn, in the Spiritual Thorn, was for the sake of attacking enemies, so the soul must act extremely quick and with profound fierceness. But this time, he was trying to introduce his soul power to the point of the runic pen to draw divine textures! So, the slower his soul went, the better!


    When Zen''s soul filled the runic pen, its point drew the first stroke on the paper.

 Chapter 625 Perfect Brushwork (Part One)

    The divine texture for meditation was among the first that Zen had learned under the cyan dragon''s instruction. It was a kind of meditation rune.


    This particular rune was usually placed in a practice room or on a furnace. Its energy could reinforce the meditative state of its cultivator.


    Practice necessitated much concentration. Akin to an artist refining his craft, a cultivator required great reserves of concentration. The meditation rune would be of much use in calming nerves and eliminating distractions.


    According to the cyan dragon''s words, the divine texture for meditation was one of the simplest among the one-star divine textures. Its lines were definite and uncomplicated.


    However, this feat was very easy only for the cyan dragon himself.


    At the first stroke of Zen''s pen, a dull, grey line marred the smooth surface of the paper. The edges were messy, an insult itself to the brush. It was an obvious failure. Zen had only begun familiarizing himself with the weight of the brush and the consistency of the ink.


    "Beginnings are the hardest part," the cyan dragon said in good-natured jest.


    Zen shrugged his teasing aside, the ribbing not particularly wounding him. He didn''t think that he could succeed on the first try either. There was much work to be done, and he knew perfectly well that it would not be easy. According to the art of painting divine textures that the cyan dragon had taught him, he needed to meld his being with the pen, distinguishing the ingredients in the ink with subtle perception. Only after arranging the materials in their proper order with his spiritual energy would the stroke follow his hand and create a sleek, polished line.


    Taking a new sheet of paper, he focused in silence for a while before continuing his attempts. He could turn his


    ctually grasped the technique. Even runic experts cannot achieve that in such a short amount of time. For many, it takes months."


    Despite laughing at the mortal''s earlier failures, the cyan dragon was surprised at how quickly Zen had comprehended the key to the strokes. It had come so naturally to him.


    "Months? That long! Is it so difficult?" Zen''s shoulders slumped in dejection at first upon seeing the disparity of his skill next to the dragon''s but after learning that he was doing better than most people, his motivation returned. The fact that he seemingly had a natural aptitude for the skill brought his determination back.


    His lips curled into a confident smile. He changed the sheet once again and held his brush again.


    Furrowing his brows in concentration, he spoke to himself. ''Try to feel the ingredients in the ink with my soul¡­''


    Focusing his energy, he sifted through the particles of the ink, envisioning the proper strokes. ''There are four ingredients in the ink. The Potent Kudzu Root has the largest quantity, while the Gelid Herb is the smallest. I need to put the Gelid Herb particles to the bottom. Only in this way can I make full use of the Potent Kudzu Root.

 Chapter 626 Perfect Brushwork (Part Two)

    The Potent Kudzu Root is cyan in color, in the same shade of the glinting light of the cyan dragon''s work. If this is so, then the most important material of this divine texture must be the Potent Kudzu Root.'' Zen analyzed in his mind, breaking down the materials into their smallest particles.


    ''Now!''


    Fixing all his concentration on the tip of the brush, he pressed it against the paper. He could almost feel the contact in his skin. All of a sudden, a strong cyan light, similar to the one he saw earlier came off from where the brush was in contact with the paper.


    ''What? How did he do it?'' The cyan dragon was shocked at the flawlessness of Zen''s brushwork. When he regained his composure, his thoughts were accompanied with complex emotions. ''It seems that I have underestimated this boy!''


    At Zen''s third attempt, he was able to make full use of the materials in the ink and fulfilled their functions perfectly.


    This was the so-called "perfect brushwork", by runic experts.


    A perfect brushwork of a one-star texture was a paltry feat for the cyan dragon to achieve. However, it was unimaginable for Zen to be able to do it only at the third attempt.


    ''There could only be one possible explanation for this, '' the cyan dragon thought to himself as he looked at Zen. ''The boy was born with the gift for painting divine textures.''


    Such genius was impressive even to the cyan dragon''s eyes. If other runic experts in Central Region knew about this, they might fall unconscious from shock.


    The cyan dragon''s knowledge and experience enabled him to quickly understand and accept Zen''s incredible achievement.


    But runic experts were a different matter altogether. For them, t


    es were painted in his array flag and were activated through his magic-array plate. For those magic-array experts in Eastern Region, they usually employed the use of cubic crystals as energy sources. In the Central Region, the life vitality crystals were used instead.


    Zen nodded after hearing the cyan dragon''s words. He put up the paper on a wall and then transferred some life vitality into it.


    The divine texture shone as Zen''s energy flowed through it. Cyan rays broke out from the symbol and Zen immediately felt refreshed at the touch of the warm light. It was the same feeling that one had after waking up from a restful sleep. He felt the tense knots of his muscles relax, and his exhaustion dissipated like the night being forgotten at dawn.


    ''This divine texture is very effective! I wonder how much I can sell this for, '' He thought to himself.


    At first, Zen had thought himself to be a rich man, but he found out that his 100, 000 cubic crystals was not even worthy to be considered a fortune after he came to Central Region. He decided to inquire about the price of this divine texture the next day.

 Chapter 627 Destroy A Beginners Confidence (Part One)

    After Zen finished drawing his first meditation divine texture, he did not stop.


    The reason why he bought so many materials was to practice his skills of drawing divine textures. The materials were enough for him to make ten divine textures.


    Zen did not want to waste these materials so he started to make his next one.


    Even a runic expert could not keep making runes without any rest as the strength of his soul was consumed during the process of making runes. When one''s soul strength was not enough, one would feel tired and sleepy, and once the exhaustion hit, it would be difficult to concentrate.


    Having strong soul strength, Zen now could continuously make eight divine textures. Now he managed to finish the eighth one with great difficulty and before he could start the next divine texture, he felt uncomfortable all of a sudden. His head felt terrible as if it was about to explode. He could not focus his attention anymore. Out of sleepiness, he accidentally stroked a bad stroke with his brush pen, and the drawing wasn''t perfectly completed.


    One should be careful when he made runes. With one tiny mistake, the whole rune could be ruined.


    "This is your first time making runes and you cannot consume too much of your soul strength. It will be a big loss if you use up your soul strength and damage your soul," the cyan dragon said. At his words, Zen felt a comfortable freshness in his head. Soon he felt much better.


    Because the cyan dragon had swallowed the flood dragon spirit and blood, he became more active recently and had more strength to help Zen.


    When he heard the dragon''s warning, Zen''s heart was tightened. He realized that it was really a haste for him to practice drawing the divine texture for such a long time. Nothing could be accomplished on the first try. Zen must stop now before it was too late.


    After that, Zen focused on his cultivation. Besides lear


    nes were too profound for Zen to learn in a short time. Many runic experts and magic array masters could only have great achievements after they spent a lot of time and energy learning it. Zen hadn''t learned runes before and now he wanted to learn runes. It was impossible for him to succeed in such a short time, and Tia could not wait that long.


    Morphens, who was standing near her and heard what she said, laughed. "Lady, it is normal for a youngster to try something new. If he knows how difficult it is to learn runes, he will give it up naturally. Don''t worry about it."


    "No," Tia said, raising her finely plucked eyebrows. "I cannot wait. Zen must enter the Illuminating Soul Realm. I don''t think he has time to learn about the skills of making runes. He must stop it now."


    At her words, Morphens looked at her and internally gave a sigh. ''She is actually worried about herself. She has reached the last stage of her cultivation method, the Sutra of Empyrean Goddess. She should concentrate on her own cultivation. Even though Zen has good talents, he is too young.''


    But Morphens dared not speak out his thoughts. Everyone knew that Tia, the head of the Cloud Hall, was a person of strong mind and strong character. She did not change her mind easily.

 Chapter 628 Destroy A Beginners Confidence (Part Two)

    When Tia had finished talking, she fired a message rune. "Felix, please come here to my place."


    ''Felix?'' Morphens did not understand. He looked at Tia, a puzzled expression on his face. "Miss, what do you want Felix to do? You will not ask Felix to teach Zen the skills of making runes, will you?"


    Felix Zong was the best runic expert of the Cloud Hall. The protection array Tia obtained from the Cloud Road was given to him and Felix had been studying it since. How powerful and profound the protection array of a sixth grade sect was! So Felix was very busy now. It would cost countless resources to set up the protection array. However, once they thought about how powerful it was, they also felt excited. If they could build up that protection array, the defense of the Cloud Hall was surely strong enough to bear any hits from all sects in the Central Region.


    Because of this, it was worth setting up a protection array even though it would be costly.


    That was why Felix shut himself in his room and had not gone anywhere else. He kept himself busy with studying the protection array, wanting to set it up as soon as possible.


    He was in his room, pouring over his studies of the protection array when Tia called. In a moment, he flew to the ice palace as quickly as a beam of light. He bowed to Tia. "Miss, what can I do for you?"


    Tia nodded her head and asked, "Felix, how''s your progress with the protection array I gave you?"


    "Miss, I am estimating what materials the protection array needs. I will give a list of all the materials needed later. But it will take some time to finish," Felix replied.


    "Okay. I need you to do another thing today," Tia said.


    Morphens looked at Tia curiously. ''Is it true that she will ask Felix to teach Zen the skills of makin


    from outside. "Lasseter, long time no see. How are you these days?"


    So the old man was named Lasseter Shang. He always stayed in the shop in the Cloud Hall and Felix was the most famous runic expert who always came to his shop to buy something. Felix and Lasseter were on very familiar terms with each other.


    Hearing the voice, the old man recognized it as Felix''s voice. A smile appeared on his face. Actually Lasseter was not always bad-tempered or he could not be the steward of the World Commercial Alliance. Customers like Felix were always welcomed in Lasseter''s shop.


    "My business is just so-so. Please come here more frequently. We are all counting on you," Lasseter replied with a smile, gesturing to his men to fetch Felix some tea.


    As he entered the shop, Felix looked over at Zen. He smiled. "And who is this young man, may I ask?"


    "He''s a disciple of your Elite House. He just started to practice the skills of making runes. Oh, by the way, that reminds me..." Lasseter turned back to Zen and said kindly, "This is the best runic expert in the Cloud Hall. Zen, If you really want to learn the skill of making runes, it is a good idea to ask for his advice."

 Chapter 629 Ridicule

    Zen had been taught to produce the divine textures. The rune production techniques of Central Region were nothing compared to it.


    But he did hear Lasseter''s instructions. Felix was the top runic expert of Cloud Hall; a person with great influence, whom Zen wouldn''t even dare to offend. This was why when they met, he immediately bowed respectfully. "I''m just an amateur. I may not even be half as professional as you are when it comes to rune production. But I do hope to learn from you and I wish you could put me under your tutelage."


    Felix didn''t respond to him. Instead, he eyed the young man from head to toe. He was incredibly proud of his accomplishments in rune production. He wasn''t someone to teach amateurs the basics. Besides, his visit today was ordered by Tia, who had commanded him to criticize and belittle Zen. How could he possibly provide Zen with any directions?


    "Show me what you''ve got," Felix stated straightforwardly.


    Zen nodded quietly, accepting the instruction. He had been planning to have the divine textures he drew yesterday evaluated. Even if they were novice work, he wanted to see where he lay in mastery. "I bought some materials yesterday and drew these two dev¡ªI, I mean, runes, overnight. Please have a look at them," Zen said, stuttering in between his speech. He didn''t want Felix to know that his work was divine textures. He wished Felix didn''t hear his stutter.


    Luckily enough, they didn''t figure it out, but were shocked nonetheless. Their eyes were wide and their mouth opened slightly in disbelief. How could Zen have turned the materials into a rune within just a day?


    Lasseter was even more dumbfounded than Felix. He knew Zen was nothing but a newbie, with barely little to no knowledge in rune production. At the beginning, he had assumed that the materials Zen bought would have turned into waste by now. He had been even pitying the materials Zen bought since they were top-tier quality. Men who didn''t know how to handle the materials should have destroyed them by now.


    It was something every runic expert had to experience in order to learn and improve in their craft. That was why it cost a lot more money to cultivate a runic expert than a master warrior. But using level-four materials in the beginning was a risk because nobody would ever have crafted a rune at this stage.


    Lasseter had been expecting that Zen would ask for more materials. But Zen exceeded everyone''s expectations by being able to produce a rune this quickly.


    What did Zen think a rune was? A picture with several strokes of whatever material? Just a bunch of doodles and sketches?


    Lasseter cleared his throat before speaking. "Mr. Luo. You have just learned how to produce runes. Are you telling us you''ve completed not one, but two runes, after just a day''s worth of practicing? That''s impressive. Come, let us have a look at your masterpiece!"


    Felix felt like laughing out loud. He now understood where Zen''s arrogance was coming from. He understood why Zen challenged all the disciples of the Elite House. It wasn''t because he had the ability. It was because Zen was insane! This man couldn''t be of right mind. Nobod


    and credibility for Zen to believe him. If what Zen made was truly a meditation rune, it must be something that Felix had never seen before; a feat so impossible to happen. Felix shook his head in frustration. "How dare you, young man. Do you really think that this... abomination of a scribble is a rune? No special tools or special materials would be able to activate such a thing if you can''t even understand the basics. Your drawing is not a rune. I''ve said this many times. No matter how much energy you have put in there, that ''thing'' cannot be activated."


    Felix spat angrily. Zen, seemingly defeated, sighed heavily. It would be impossible to knock some sense into these men. They didn''t have the heart to believe in Zen and this incredibly unique rune.


    Instead, he was going to convince them by showing them. Zen walked closer to the rune. With a wave of his hand, a string of energy flowed into the divine texture.


    Almost immediately, the divine texture lit up. The meditation rune began to glow softly in light cerulean blue, a sign that the potent kudzu root was activated. At the same time, energy seemed to emanate from the meditation rune, almost immediately striking the three men.


    Under the cyan glow, the three of them had suddenly felt incredibly refreshed and light-footed, ready to seize the day with new found energy. It also felt like their spirits had been lifted.


    Feeling the immediate effect of the rune, Lasseter was dumbfounded. He knew how powerful Zen''s rune was compared to those he had seen in his life as a merchant''s.


    Felix''s face, however, was wracked with horror.


    What Lasseter must have deduced was correct. It was powerful. But since Felix was one of the best runic experts in Central region, he was able to pinpoint several characteristics about Zen''s rune.


    Felix noted the rune strokes. Before they were activated they seemed so poorly made and amateurish. But now that they glowed, he knew what that light was and what the rune had meant. Felix began to stutter as he realized what it was. "I...It''s... This color... It''s the Perfect Brushwork!"

 Chapter 630 Bidding (Part One)

    Now it was clear why Felix had been so surprised.


    That being said, the Perfect Brushwork still appeared to be rather unremarkable in the cyan dragon''s eyes. The upper world was just too vast and massive. Even amongst all of the various species, powers, and influences, talents almost seemed like they came a dime a dozen.


    In order to achieve excellency in the mastery of the divine texture, one must first become proficient in the basic skill called the Perfect Brushwork.


    But Zen managed to leave the cyan dragon quite amazed after finding out that he was able to comprehend the Perfect Brushwork within a span of just one day. That was also the main reason why the cyan dragon damned both Felix and Lasseter, referring to them as stupid idiots. They were nowhere near being qualified to give any remarks on the divine texture.


    Even though the cyan dragon was under the assumption that the Perfect Brushwork wasn''t that big a deal, that wouldn''t necessarily mean that Felix would also have the same point of view.


    The fact of the matter was that Felix wasn''t really able to fully grasp the Perfect Brushwork. And it wasn''t just him either. Of all the runic experts residing in the Central Region, none were able to get the hang of it.


    The Perfect Brushwork had been in existence for such a long time in the history of the Central Region, but that was almost eons ago. Two millennia prior to this day, a runic expert named Arnold Feng had unravelled the secrets of the Perfect Brushwork and activated the properties and energy of the materials while drawing the runes. Therefore, from that moment onwards, he became known as the "son of runes".


    Up until now, a huge portion of his works was still being kept by the people in the world. Of those works, the most famous piece of work was the sect protecting array belonging to the Ethereal Spirit Sect, making it the lone fifth-grade sect located in the Central Region. That sect protecting array was an outstanding example of Arnold Feng''s masterful skills. Thanks to the sect protecting array, the Ethereal Spirit Sect was able to survive a string of catastrophic events and develop from a simple third-grade sect


    ering his lips, Zen replied, "Haven''t I told you already a second ago? Weren''t you listening?"


    "Who?" Felix and Lasseter asked simultaneously, clearly a bit confused.


    Zen felt like he was about to lose his mind, because he honestly thought that he had already made it clear enough for them. Even the dumbest of people in the world would be able to figure out that he was talking about himself. Sadly, these two men were real birdbrains who couldn''t understand that at all. Heaving a heavy sigh, he said, "This meditation rune was my own creation."


    Fixating their gaze upon Zen, the two men promptly shook their heads almost instantaneously and blurted out in unison, "I don''t believe you!"


    "Believe it or not, I couldn''t care less. Boss, would you mind helping me appraise the worth of this meditation rune?" Zen couldn''t afford to waste any more time arguing with Felix right there. After all, he didn''t owe him anything to indulge his curiosity.


    Squinting his eyes, Lasseter simply bobbed his head. Being the businessman that he was, he never really dwelled on stuff like doubting things presented in front of him. The only thing that mattered to him was how much it was going to sell, not who made it or where it came from. That was how the mindset of a businessman should always be.


    "Appraise? Evaluate? No, no, no, you can''t just go on selling something like that!" Felix stopped Zen in his tracks, much like a deranged man.

 Chapter 631 Bidding (Part Two)

    Hearing Felix''s remark, Lasseter and Zen got so upset. Even though Lasseter and Felix were quite fond of each other, business was strictly business, and an acquaintance was just an acquaintance. They were two quite different kettles of fish altogether!


    The reason why Zen came here was to make some money from selling his work of meditation divine texture, but Felix, for whatever reason he might have, was trying to get in his way from doing that.


    "What I''m trying to say is that if you''re planning to sell it, then it would be best for you to only sell it to me!" Felix interjected.


    Shrugging his shoulders, Zen made it obvious that it didn''t really matter who would buy it, for as long that he could make some money out of it. But Lasseter and Felix couldn''t see eye to eye. Lasseter blurted out, "Felix, what are you trying to do? Zen came to my store of his own volition to do business with me, but you just randomly broke into my store and what? You went ahead and tried to steal my customer!"


    "So, what? Why should it matter? When you get right down to it, this place is under the ownership of the Cloud Hall. So, why shouldn''t I be allowed to come here and do my business as well?" Being the runic expert of Cloud Hall, despite the fact that Felix was merely at the medium stage of the Internal Elixir Realm, he had the privilege of having a high position in the Cloud Hall. His position was actually just a tad bit lower than that of Emanuel, Saint Morphens, and Elder Osmond. He wasn''t inferior to any of the other general elders.


    Be that as it might, Lasseter wasn''t fazed in any way, and still didn''t have the slightest intention to give in. "This place belongs to the Cloud Hall? Are you trying to pull my leg right now? This market was built by the World Commercial Alliance. In fact, it''s still sponsored by them. Do you have the nerve to say that straight to the face of the head of the World Commercial Alliance that this market is owned by the Cloud Hall? If you dare say something like that, then I will cease going on with this meaningless banter and leave the premises at once!"


    rystals! Never would he have thought that making the divine texture could be of great help for him to earn a huge sum of money! But how was it that a simple meditation divine texture piece could be valued at such an absurd amount?


    Truth be told, this meditation divine texture wouldn''t really be worth that much anywhere else. In reality, the meditation divine texture was not that powerful. However, what piqued Lasseter''s and Felix''s interest the most was not its function, but the technique of the Perfect Brushwork which could be utilized through it.


    And solely for that purpose, namely, the Perfect Brushwork, this divine texture could be much sought-after and worth a lot of money.


    "F...Five..." At that point, Lasseter started to get reluctant. Because he was a businessman first and foremost, he was well aware of his limitations. It was true that the Perfect Brushwork was employed in this meditation divine texture work, but the true worth of this work would only be put on display through the way of trading. Offering too high an amount, he could end up losing a lot of money in the process.


    And yet Felix''s eyes still brightened up even after hearing that. Letting a conceited smile slip, he yelled again, "Ten! I offer you ten supreme life vitality crystals!"


    It was evident that, at that very moment, he had, without a doubt, absolutely forgotten his goal to stop Zen.

 Chapter 632 A Dilemma (Part One)

    A runic expert was considered a money-making machine these days. The cost of becoming a runic expert was high, but it was worth the investment because it could guarantee great returns. Hence, being a runic expert had brought many riches to Felix'' pocket. However, ten supreme crystals were still an extremely large expense to Felix despite having huge savings.


    Lasseter who was richer than Felix was unwilling to buy it at such high cost, as this meditation rune could only be used to soothe the nerves when cultivators practiced themselves but was useless in combat. Its value was not worth its price.


    Moreover, the source of this meditation rune posed a big mystery to everyone. They wondered where Zen could have gotten such an expensive rune.


    Generally, the most expensive runes known to all cultivators were drawn by Arnold, the Son of Runes. Although the runes he had drawn already lost their value, they could still be sold at a sky-high price in auctions. It was because those are the last runes Arnold had drawn before he drew his last breath. His death put an end to such talent in the Central Region and no one had taken his place being a talented rune expert ever since. The last runes he had made were considered collector''s items and had become quite expensive.


    But the rune before Lasseter and Felix appeared to be still useful which indicated that the person who drew it was still alive. It might not be considered a collectible yet, but because of the existence of this rune expert, even Arnold''s last runes could lose their "collectible" status and their prices would crash.


    The value and price of a rune could soar high if the person who drew it had died. That was the case for Arnold''s runes. However, this runic expect with such great talent could be a treasure to any sect. It would be a shame to let such a talented runic expert go to waste.


    Considering all these, Lasseter found it difficult to eventually give up.


    "Fine! I''ll take the ten supreme crystals then!" Zen said with a slight smile.


    When Zen agreed to the price, Felix immediately took out ten supreme crystals from his space ring and handed it over. Zen was so delighted to see the ten supreme c


    que, its price would certainly soar and only the richest person could afford it. But as the number or amount of the said item increased, its worth would be lesser. Lasseter also took this into consideration earlier that was why he didn''t bite into Zen''s bidding.


    "Are they still useful?" Lasseter asked as he examined each rune carefully.


    Zen didn''t respond. He just poured seven rays of life vitality from his wrist into these seven divine textures. Instantly, the textures lighted up, filling the whole room with cyan light glow.


    Lasseter''s eyes gleamed at the sight of the glowing runes. He couldn''t believe his eyes. His heart felt like exploding, but he regained control over his emotions. He must remain objective. He finally said, "Interesting. I will take them all. But the price¡­" He looked at each rune again, carefully assessing its market value. He didn''t want to pay ten supreme crystals for each rune. After all, their value had already gone down due to the increased numbers.


    "Your runes are likely to be of a new kind, and because they are drawn with Perfect Brushwork, their efficacy will be 30% higher compared to the normal ones. But as you know, meditation runes are of limited use. So, how about five supreme crystals for all the seven runes?" Lasseter grinned. He was haggling at a very low price. He gave Zen the impression that his runes wouldn''t cost more than one supreme crystal each. It was a "take it or leave it" deal.

 Chapter 633 A Dilemma (Part Two)

    But Lasseter''s offer was sound and reasonable. After all, these divine textures were not considered as a combat class. They were just the prototypes from Zen''s practice. Even though the efficiency of the runes was better than that of ordinary meditation runes in the Central Region, it was impossible to sell them at an extremely high price. Moreover, Lasseter offered the price because he had never seen such rune pattern in Central Region and thought it was worth studying.


    Felix had bought the first meditation rune for ten supreme crystals out of the sour of the moment. At that time, he wouldn''t let Lasseter have it, hence, he instantly bid ten supreme crystals for it. Lasseter was stunned at Felix'' offer and decided to just give up. But it turned out, Lasseter got the last laugh.


    Considering what Lasseter had said, Zen smiled and said, "Deal!" Besides, he had nothing to lose. These were just his prototype and five supreme crystals were more than enough.


    "No! I object! That''s not fair!" After hearing Zen agreed with the deal, Felix was pissed off. He had just paid ten supreme crystals for just one meditation rune. But soon after, Zen had agreed to give Lasseter seven meditation runes for half the amount what he paid for one. He felt scammed. He wouldn''t allow Lasseter to get the seven runes for only five supreme crystals.


    "Why not?" Zen was not the type to hold grudges, but Felix''s scornful words echoed in his ears. It was as if Felix intentionally embarrassed him in front of another person, and that was something he wouldn''t let go easily.


    "I gave you ten supreme crystals for one rune just now, so how come he can buy all seven runes for five supreme crystals only? That''s quite a difference, and it''s not fair!" Felix said with bitterness. He felt like he was cheated by Zen. The happiness of acquiring a rune with Perfect Brushwor


    ok the five supreme crystals and the painting materials from Lasseter.


    He was about to leave when Felix suddenly headed him off and begged, "Come on, please!"


    Lasseter watched how Felix tried to embarrass himself. He just shook his head in disappointment. In the Cloud Hall, Felix was considered more honorable than the Elders. With his status in Cloud Hall, he was respected by everyone. No one imagined that he would be a nibble humble pie in front of an inferior.


    Zen stopped. He stared at Felix then turned his eye at the livid runic pen. He then suddenly said with a smile, "Fine! Looks like you give me no choice! I will do it in one condition."


    "Name it!" Felix asked eagerly.


    "If I can prove that I drew these runes myself, you will give me your runic pen." Zen chuckled. He looked at Felix carefully, studying the changes in his facial expression. Deep down, Zen was enjoying every bit of this deal.


    Felix had dug his own grave by challenging Zen. If he agreed and Zen lost, he could gain back not only his reputation but also embarrass Zen. But what if he lost and Zen could prove that he wrote the runes himself? He was in a dilemma right now. He couldn''t afford to lose his special runic pen to an inferior.

 Chapter 634 Puzzled Tia (Part One)

    The runic brush pens greatly differed from one another. A well-chosen one could be of great help to a runic expert.


    The one Zen had bought from Lasseter''s shop was made of hematite. Beginners often chose this kind of pens to use. Although it was easily controlled by the soul, Zen thought it was too heavy to wield freely. The runic brush pen was used to draw simple runes. If the user made a mistake, the rune would be ruined.


    However, some huge arrays consisted of hundreds or even thousands of runes. For instance, the sect protecting array Tia gave Felix was estimated to have more than thirteen thousand runes! Even the smallest mistakes weren''t tolerated in the making of such large scale arrays. Although some individual runes might be replaced in case of mistakes happening, it was crucial that the most important one in the center of the sect protecting array, which contained thousands of lines, be made with no mistakes at all. If there was even a single, tiny error, the whole array would fail to perform its function.


    Thus, a good runic pen was important for a runic expert to make a huge rune.


    Felix''s pen was made from the tip of a fiery cloud bamboo. The bamboo tip could remain soft and alive up to a hundred years. Moreover, it nurtured the strength of a soul that was put into the bamboo tip. Both the outside shell and the tip of the brush pen were made of the best materials. It had a good weight, was comfortable to hold, and had a stable brush tip.


    This runic pen was worth at least three supreme life vitality crystals in a market.


    Since Felix was the top runic expert in the Cloud Hall, he, of course, had more than one runic pen. However, this bamboo one was his favorite and he always carried it with him


    ed the paper, Zen had stratified all the materials contained in the ink. He had continuously practiced drawing eight pieces of the runes last night, so he was very familiar with the features of the materials needed to make the meditation rune.


    A beam of cyan light suddenly shone and a perfect line appeared on the paper.


    "Incredible. It''s really incredible," Felix repeated to himself. When Felix saw the cyan light, he was so shocked that he couldn''t say anything at that moment.


    Meanwhile, Lasseter''s expression suddenly changed as well. As a member of the World Commercial Alliance, he had a sharp sense. He immediately realized how precious Zen was.


    ''Zen''s future achievements probably won''t be lesser than Arnold''s. Our World Commercial Alliance must keep a good relationship with him at any cost! I have to report this to the headquarters of the World Commercial Alliance!'' Lasseter thought.


    A perfect line slowly stretched on the paper. The skill of perfect brushwork was clear in all the energy in the ink. Soon enough, the brush tip had left the paper surface. "This runic pen is mine now, isn''t it?" Zen asked Felix with a smile.

 Chapter 635 Puzzled Tia (Part Two)

    Felix nodded. He stared at Zen with an amazed expression on his face as if he had found a priceless thing.


    At that moment, Felix really admired Tia for her sharp insight. Tia was right. Zen was really outstanding and it was worth cultivating him at any cost.


    As the top runic expert in the Cloud Hall, he and the others had heard a lot about Zen. They clearly knew that it was Tia who made Zen challenge the Elite House disciples.


    Since Tia was quite young, a lot of elders secretly blamed her. They all said that she had made a big mistake. What Tia actually meant to do was to make all the Elite House disciples serve as practice targets for Zen. Even if Zen had such amazing talents, was he worth being cultivated like this?


    Because Tia was short-tempered, most elders didn''t tell her off to her face and secretly complained about her instead. Although Tia was still at the Illuminating Soul Realm due to her cultivation method, the Sutra of Empyrean Goddess, there was still someone very powerful backing her in the Cloud Hall.


    Before, Felix also secretly agreed with the elders. He was even reluctant to accept this task that Tia asked him to do. Why would he bother to destroy Zen''s confidence in learning how to draw runes. It was selfish of Tia to do so. She had used so many resources for Zen''s cultivation, as if the Cloud Hall belonged to Zen himself!


    But now, Felix was sincerely convinced by Tia.


    It was really worth to cultivate Zen with all of the Cloud Hall''s resources. But Tia had only used the Elite House and just one person, Morphens to do so, which he now thought was not enough.


    Zen happily put the runic


    into the ice palace. It burned itself near Tia''s ear.


    Tia frowned slightly. Everyone in the Cloud Hall knew that it was her cultivation time. No one dared to interrupt her unless something significant happened that needed her attention.


    However, after the message rune finished burning itself, Tia''s eyes shot open. The ice in her eyes melted and disappeared in her pupils.


    She waved her hand slightly. Soon the freezing fog of the whole ice palace was dispersed and scattered around. Then, it gradually turned into shards of ice on the ground.


    "Please come in," Tia said coldly. However, she also looked confused.


    ''What on earth does Felix want to say? He surely knows that I am cultivating myself now and he still used message rune to interrupt me and ask to see me.


    I just asked him to destroy Zen''s confidence in learning making runes. Did anything unusual happen?'' Tia thought before Felix came in.


    After she started to practice her skills, Tia naturally did not have time to watch the Picture Slab. Thus, she did not know what had happened in Lasseter''s shop.

 Chapter 636 Felix Was Unlucky

    Felix rushed into the ice palace. He almost slipped and fell as he walked too fast on the ice palace''s slippery floor.


    It was rare for a cultivator at the Internal Elixir Realm to have such an accident.


    "Felix, what is happening? Why are you in such a hurry? Did something happen to the sect protecting array?" Tia asked before Felix could greet her as usual. Tia frowned as she could not understand why Felix was in such a rush. What perplexed her more was his expression. He appeared frightened. ''He didn''t come here for Zen''s case, did he?'' Tia told herself.


    "No. There is nothing wrong with the array. I''m here because of Zen," Felix said quickly. "Oh, no. I apologize for my rudeness." Felix quickly bowed to Tia and greeted her respectfully.


    "Zen? What happened?" Tia nodded her head and asked, "That''s why you came dashing in here?"


    Her brows wrinkled as Tia felt that it was unreasonable for Felix to interrupt her cultivation because of Zen. Felix could have waited until the next day. Tia felt as though Felix was behaving strangely.


    From what she knew, Felix could have shamed Zen into abandoning his quest to learn the skills of drawing runes. He could have directed Zen''s focus toward cultivation instead. After all, most cultivators did so.


    "Yes, exactly, Miss. I want to talk to you about Zen," Felix nodded and replied to Tia reverently.


    "What is it? Did you do as asked? Did Zen lose his confidence to acquire rune making skills?" Tia asked. Tia smiled slightly. Felix was Cloud Hall''s top runic expert. His knowledge of runes was unparalleled in the Central Region. It would surely be easy for him to deal with a beginner like Zen. Tia knew that Felix did not need to do much. A little dissuasion from Felix would have been sufficient to stop Zen.


    Felix had thought the same before he met Zen. When he learned that Zen had finished drawing some runes, he planned to comment on his works harshly. After all, most beginners would make several mistakes when they made their first runes. Felix had such vast knowledge of rune making that he would be able to identify mistakes in the work of a runic maker with exceptional skills. Zen was a beginner, and so, his mistakes would be easier to identify.


    However, Zen had made runes unlike any that Felix had ever seen. How could he criticize Zen as planned? Seeing that rune had been activated and that Zen had used Perfect Brushwork, Felix felt embarrassed about his skills. Of course, he was not qualified to criticize Zen''s work. Felix didn''t even know how to use the skill of Perfect Brushwork! How could he destroy Zen''s confidence regarding rune making when Zen knew more than Felix?


    "No, Zen didn''t," Felix answered, shaking his head.


    Tia asked in surprise, "What? You are looking pale. What happened exactly?"


    Felix cupped his hands to Tia and replied


    eans a runic expert. Even though she couldn''t tell what kind of rune this was, or how effective it would be, Tia could see that the rune was beautiful! The lines of the divine texture were mellow and smooth. She could tell that the lines contained a sense of perfectness.


    "Is it true? Did Zen draw this?" Tia stared at Felix as she spoke. Ice crystals appeared in her eyes, and her cold tone tightened Felix''s heart.


    "Exactly, Miss. Zen drew this. I don''t know how he learned the skill of Perfect Brushwork," Felix answered with a bitter smile on his face.


    "Oh, I see. This is why you disturbed my cultivation, right?" Tia nodded and asked.


    "Yes. This is the reason. I''m afraid that I cannot finish the task you assigned to me. Maybe Zen can help with the protection array in the future," Felix explained. Then he continued, "The protection array of the Ethereal Spirit Sect was drawn with the skill of Perfect Brushwork. Combined with the array of the grade six sect, Zen''s skill will make our Cloud Hall''s protection array be the strongest one in the Central Region!"


    Tia did not reply. She never expected this would happen¡ªFelix was unable to destroy Zen''s confidence to learn the skill of drawing runes. On the contrary, he was convinced of Zen''s potential.


    Could this young man, Zen, be such a genius? Tia was lost in her thoughts for a long while. When she realized that Felix was still in the ice palace, she waved her hand to dismiss him. "I know what you mean. Please leave me alone for a while, and I''ll consider what you have said carefully."


    Felix sighed with relief and left.


    After thinking about it for a long time, Tia returned to her seat. Thick fog covered her body again. Before her beautiful face disappeared in the fog, Tia gave a slight smile.


    ''I will let him continue and watch how high he can go, '' Tia thought before she started cultivating again.

 Chapter 637 The Wonders Of Cloudy City (Part One)

    Of all the divine textures, the one-star divine texture was the basic.


    Some divine textures were considered much more powerful than one could ever imagine. The power of the divine texture was indicated in the number of stars in its name. The seven-star divine texture, for example, was only the size of a palm but it could destroy a piece of land instantaneously. It had the power to destroy the whole Central Region. It was a powerful tool that could fall into the wrong hands and destroy the world.


    Zen still had a long way to go before he could master the seven-star divine texture drawing skill. Even the cyan dragon itself couldn''t draw it as well as his soul energy had dried up. But even if the cyan dragon could, Zen still didn''t have the right materials to draw the seven-star divine texture with.


    However, Zen was very interested in acquiring a four-star divine texture called "Soul Breath". This divine texture had a special function of doubling the efficiency of cultivation without any negative effect.


    His low cultivation had been his biggest worry since he entered the Central Region. But acquiring the divine texture called "Soul Breath" would be very helpful to him. He could improve his cultivation level much faster with the help of the divine texture.


    At an early age of eighteen, Zen had reached grade four of the nature level. With this achievement, he was already good enough in C County. However, in the Cloud Sect, such achievement was just average. Comparing with the other disciples in the Cloud Sect, Zen was just ordinary. And when he finally came to Central Region, his achievements were nothing at all. Zen''s cultivation base was solid, and he had even challenged the Illuminating Soul Realm masters. However, he still might not be able to escape death if he fought with a practitioner who reached the pinnacle of the Illumi


    called Cloud Hall from a thousand meters above this area. They guessed that Zen must have floated down from that sect. Cloud Hall was known to be a great place where only very talented cultivators had the opportunity to practice. So, did that also mean that a nature creature from Cloud Hall could fly? Even after giving it a thought, the two nature creatures could not comprehend the possibility of a practitioner on their same level could learn how to fly. It was beyond anyone''s imagination.


    Zen had seen the two nature creatures as he was attempting to land, but he ignored their presence. He rushed toward Cloudy City along the road he picked. Before taking on this journey, Zen had asked Lasseter about the branch of the World Commercial Alliance. He was told that it was in Cloudy City, hence the reason he was here.


    As he successfully landed, he immediately made his way to Cloudy City. As he entered, Zen couldn''t help but notice the difference between the Central Region and the Eastern Region.


    With Cloud Hall and Cloud School located here, Cloudy City could be considered as the main city in the Central Region. Despite its size, it was still far better compared to the Burning Sky Imperial Capital in the Eastern Region.

 Chapter 638 The Wonders Of Cloudy City (Part Two)

    Top powerful clans were also present in the Burning Sky Capital, such as the top seven noble clans and the royal family. Cloud Sect was located there too, which was a grade two sect. Aura''s royal family could only be regarded as a grade two force too, while the top seven noble clans had no rank.


    The Cloudy City, on the other hand, had eight grade three sects. This did not include the Cloud School as it was affiliated to Cloud Hall and they shared the same system.


    On way to Cloudy City, practitioners at the Illuminating Soul Realm could be seen everywhere. And if one was lucky, he could even see some Internal Elixir Realm practitioners. They walked in the streets in small groups. Their only purpose in coming to Cloudy City was to buy some supplements.


    On the streets of Cloudy City, no one paid attention to Zen. Though he was known in many other locations, in here, he was nobody. It was quite a relief for Zen because he didn''t like much attention. This would make his journey a more pleasant one.


    He followed the instruction that Lasseter gave and immediately found the location of the branch alliance.


    Zen also had done some research about the World Commercial Alliance. He found out that although this alliance didn''t rank in the power list, the power behind it was striking. It was even a little higher than Cloud Hall and at par with Ethereal Spirit Sect, the most powerful sect in the Central Region.


    Given its striking power, Zen was expecting to see a grand location of the branch. For the first time, he was concerned that he wasn''t dressed enough to enter its office. However, when he finally reached the location, he was stunned. The branch alliance kept a very low profile. It was located among the dwellings and if not for the two Illuminating Soul Realm practitioners guarding the gate, no one would


    lluminating Soul Realm practitioners were so stunned that sweat started to show on their face. They could feel the mighty presence of Michael.


    They almost believed that Zen was a big shot when they heard him say, "There must be a mistake. Could you please tell me who you are?"


    ''He doesn''t know Michael?! But why Michael is so polite to him? This young man..." Though they didn''t like Zen''s straightforwardness towards Michael, they were worried that Zen would speak ill about them to Michael. Given the arrogance they had shown him earlier, it was highly possible. This could be the end for them.


    "My name is Michael Mo. Zen, may I invite you to come in? Let''s discuss in detail over some tea," Michael said with a smile. The tone in Michael''s voice felt like he was talking to his senior.


    Zen politely nodded. As he was about to follow Michael, he glanced at the two Illuminating Soul Realm practitioners indifferently. The two practitioners were relieved.


    The look on Zen''s face appeared to them as calm. If he wasn''t that annoyed, they guessed that he wouldn''t rat them out in front of Michael.


    As Michael''s and Zen''s figures eventually faded from afar, they started to wonder as to who Zen really was.

 Chapter 639 Western Region

    Zen entered the building with Michael Mo, trailing behind him. Once he was inside, it dawned on him how completely different the inside was from the outside. The branch of the World Commercial Alliance was luxuriously decorated. There wasn''t a single area that looked ordinary inside. ''This place is exquisite, '' Zen thought, feeling impressed.


    The World Commercial Alliance was a commercial organization and had survived for many years. In spite of its current prosperity, it was believed that it might decline one day. Thus, it clearly had to keep a low profile if it wished to do high profile jobs.


    For the World Commercial Alliance, Zen was an important guest, so Michael welcomed him in person. To be sure, such a warm welcome was given to Zen because they learnt about his identity.


    Earlier, Lasseter had submitted a portfolio containing all seven rune works of Zen. The prolific works left everyone, including those people from the headquarters of the World Commercial Alliance, shocked. All members of this alliance were well aware about the value of a runic expert who was excellent at Perfect Brushwork. Therefore, the World Commercial Alliance had decided to ingratiate Zen at all costs.


    Although Zen was a member of Cloud Hall, the World Commercial Alliance generally didn''t get itself involved in the struggles among sects. Since Zen was a runic expert, it was concluded that there would be a lot of room for cooperation with this guy.


    After Zen took a seat, Michael clapped his hands. In a blink of an eye, two beautiful maids appeared and served them tea. The tea brought a wonderful fragrance to the atmosphere.


    "Zen, do you come here to purchase materials or to sell runes?" Michael asked, without wasting anytime. He wanted to get to the gist of the matter.


    "I do sell runes. But my visit here is mainly made to buy certain materials and some news," Zen replied curtly.


    Michael nodded, taking out a square nameplate. The entire nameplate was inlaid with gold and jade. In the center of the nameplate, "Zen Luo" was inscribed. The nameplate looked really exquisite. "Zen, our sub-alliance has exclusively made this nameplate for you. With this nameplate, you are entitled to get discounts from the branch of the World Commercial Alliance located in any area. You are now considered as our most respectful customer. In addition, we can sell our materials to you at a 20% discount. Moreover, we intend to buy your runes at a price a little higher than the market price,"


    Michael stated in a professional manner. Zen reached for that exquisite nameplate as a smile crept on his face. ''People of the World Commercial Alliance are really astute! They apparently have made this nameplate for quite a long period. People here seem to be really generous. They have offered me such a privilege without imposing any condition!'' he thought.


    People of the World Commercial Alliance were not fools and everyone knew that. Moreover, no merchant would sell hens on a rainy day. It was beyond doubt that they expected something in return from Zen. However, Zen couldn''t help but feel impressed with their conducts which were so pleasing.


    ''It is always a pleasure to deal with clever people. Besides, I am really on the lookout for a channel


    because he enjoyed walking there on foot. Instead, he was compelled to do it. His flying chariot brutally crashed half a month ago. And in the Western Region, it was extremely difficult to buy a galloping horse. Thus, he had no choice but to tire himself by walking on foot.


    He sprinted all the way towards the west, feeling all his energy getting drained out of his body.


    The Western Region was a vast territory with sparse population. In general, no one was seen over hundreds of miles. Now, a small town came into Zen''s view. Beside the road, a small plaque was set up. On that plaque, Everest Town could be seen.


    As soon as Zen arrived at this town, he rushed into a tavern.


    A waiter of the tavern, wearing a braid, came over to Zen. He behaved cordially and spoke with a rather strong accent, "Sir, this way please!"


    Feeling a little out of breath, Zen nodded and followed the waiter''s lead upstairs.


    As soon as he reached the second floor, he felt something was amiss. To begin with, there were very few guests. And when he made his way, he found all waiters and the manager were looking in his direction. He felt that they had malicious intentions.


    ''Why are they glancing in my direction? What do they want?'' he wondered, feeling bewildered. However, once he sat down, his thoughts went back to food. His stomach was growling with hunger.


    The waiter with the braid came over to Zen with a menu. In the most friendly tone, he asked, "Sir, these are special dishes at our tavern. Would you like to have some?"


    Zen swiftly scanned through the menu. Placing the menu back, he nodded and said, "Yes, go ahead and serve me all special dishes!" Traveling outside, Zen was open to experimenting different tastes. He was never hypercritical about wine, meat or food.


    The waiter shortly replied, looked back and made a gesture to the manager. Afterwards, the waiters exchanged glances with each other. They seemed to be communicating with each other using their eyes.


    However, Zen sat calmly, not bothering to ask what the matter was. But in the pit of his stomach, he had a bad feeling. He assumed that his meal was going to be a disappointing one.

 Chapter 640 Got A Pig (Part One)

    Food never looked so good! The smell of onions and garlic filled up the tavern. Juice was oozing out of the tender meat as Zen sliced through it. He ate like he had not eaten in days! It was just too homely. Zen immediately grabbed another serving of the tavern''s special.


    Everyone in the tavern looked at him intently. Cunning smiles crossed the faces of the several servers standing beside him. They looked at him with desire, like Zen was a prey ready to be killed and eaten at any moment.


    Having been to the Killing Sword Mountain, Zen couldn''t be more sensitive to the paranoia and the killing aura, like when some people were ready to kill him. Nevertheless, he devoured his meal since his hunger was more important than being threatened. How could he not see through the threat by the several men?


    The meal was so delicious, too delicious in fact. No threat could make him stop from eating since he was too hungry to even think about all those men. They dissolved into the background. The fighting could wait. Food was more important. He went with the eating as he grabbed more and more servings of the delicious meal in front of him.


    Zen gorged on the food. With the clock ticking and Zen finishing one dish after another, the smiles on the several men faded away gradually and instead, were replaced by confused expressions.


    Soon, Zen gobbled all the dishes on the table. Then he turned his head to the servers and grinned, with some meat sticking out of his teeth, "What''s with the look?"


    The several men who wore their hair in plaits were embarrassed. They lowered their heads, trying to hide their scrunched up faces. "No...nothing..." they faltered.


    "Were you thinking why the poison in the food didn''t work on me?" Zen asked smugly.


    Hearing Zen''s blunt question, the several men''s face turned pale. The manager who stood not far away suddenly sneered and ordered, "Action!"


    The several men around all drew out a small mechanical device from their waists. The end of the mechanical device was connected to a dark gold rope. Not thinking twice, they immediately shot their devices at Zen.


    With swishing and whooping sounds, seven or eight dark gold ropes c


    h grade sect, however, there were only a few. And the Cloud Hall, however, ranked the top in the fourth grade sects.


    The Cloud Hall enjoyed a very high reputation among the hundreds of millions of warriors in the Central Region. It was like the Cloud Sect of Eastern Region.


    The other warriors in the backyard could not help but let out a little laugh despite being held captive. ''This guy is clearly lying, '' a warrior thought. The disciples who were able to enter the Cloud Hall were elites strictly selected from tens of millions of warriors. And that nature creature guy claimed that he was from the Cloud Hall. That was totally nonsense! There must be some kind of a mistake.


    Zen noticed both the mockery and disbelief in their faces. But he didn''t care. Believe it or not, he was just being himself, just answering truthfully to a question being asked to him. He continued, "You haven''t told me what it means by calling us pigs yet."


    "That''s to say we are just like pigs that will be the lunch for the beasts. Now, could you just shut it?" The warrior said impatiently. Other warriors who heard this all showed a downcast look. Knowing that they were going to die shortly after, who had the mood to explain anything to Zen? They would all die anyway. Why even bother?


    Zen believed in his skill. He knew he would be able to save all of them if he did try. He was going for a long shot. "Explain to me, and I can save you," Zen said lightly.

 Chapter 641 Got A Pig (Part Two)

    The warrior snorted and laughed, his head tilted to one side. "You? You are only at the fourth grade of nature level. Your cultivation base is even lower than me, and you can save me? Haha! A pig and a clown wrapped into one package. What an entertainment system!" spoke the warrior at the seventh grade of nature level who looked down upon Zen. Everyone thought of Zen as a joke, an obnoxious man at the fourth grade of nature level. Who was he kidding? They were all doomed. At least, that was all in each and every one of the pigs'' minds.


    This gangster tavern was set up to catch nature creatures. The ropes that tied them up were mixed with heptyl gold threads, and structures which could suppress their life vitality. If the life vitality of a warrior was suppressed, he had no way to get rid of it. All the other pigs then realized that there was even an Illuminating Soul Realm cultivator who was also trapped there!


    As soon as the warrior stopped his laughing from all his mockery, he heard a cracking sound. "What was that?" asked the warrior. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped at the sight of one of the gold ropes broken by Zen. How did he do it?


    Firm as rocks those special ropes were, they were not able to resist Zen''s force supported by dragon scales. Zen summoned the force of one hundred dragon scales. Inch by inch his body glowed, including his eyes. He lifted his hands and split them apart. There was a loud noise. He successfully destroyed one rope.


    Several warriors who had seen the scene were dumbstruck. The strength of this guy''s corporal body was so terrifying! How could he possibly do that? Was he all that powerful? All the warriors were in awe, their faces paled. All of them were in shock, they started to think that Zen was no ordinary nature creature. What could he be hiding? What strength could he possiblely possess? He broke the rope without using his life vitality and that was beyond his supposed skill and strength.


    Still in disbelief after seeing what Zen did, they knew that they had a chance at escaping the prison-tavern that they were in. This situation gave them a silver lining, a chance to live. They also knew they should keep quiet about this, as they might be watched by someone else--a guard who could easily tear the escape. They all turned to Zen and said in a soft voice,"Help us untie the rope!"


    Zen said slowly,"You should tell me first what is going on and what exactly the pig thing is?"


    At this time, several warriors scrambled to answer his question. One voice on top of the other, it was getting out of hand! One of the warrior said,"Have you heard about the news that purple thunder bamboos appeared in Moon Mountain?


    "Yes." Zen nodded. This was also the reason why he came here.


    "The Moon Mountain is extremely dangerous with numerous horrible beasts lurking inside. In order to get the purple thunder bamboos, some warriors hired local men to catch someone like us, and then they would use us as pathfinders, like a


    "How dare a group of martial art practitioners use such dirty tricks!"


    Up in the sky, several men appeared in mid-air. One of them exclaimed,"Eh? Why were these pigs able to run away? Myron, is this how well your useless men are doing?"


    Another man in the mid-air, gave out a confident smile and snorted,"Don''t worry, none of them will be going anywhere!"


    Hearing other voices aside from theirs made the warriors wonder who else might be with them. All the warriors in the backyard raised their heads, and looked up to the sky. What they saw turned their faces pale.


    In mid-air stood three Internal Elixir Realm masters!


    All of them were frozen at the sight of the masters in mid-air. Quick on his feet, the Illuminating Soul Realm cultivator came to his senses and shouted,"Everyone, run!" As soon as he was finished, he leapt into the air, not looking back at how others were doing. It was an escape after all, and everyone was out for themselves. He and everyone else tried to get out of there as soon as possible. But the moment he took the leap, one of the Internal Elixir Realm masters raised his hand and waved. A huge palm appeared in the air. The palm slapped the Illuminating Soul Realm cultivator. He froze. Time stood still. In mid-air, his arms spread wide, and his legs were dangling. This was his end. The force rammed him so hard that it radiated throughout the whole tavern.


    With a deafening sound, the Illuminating Soul Realm cultivator was hard as rock. With one swish of the wind, he was smashed to pieces. His body turned into pink mist--he was literally blown off, piece per piece, with every organ shredded into bits and pieces along with his own blood splattered around everyone''s faces. And just like that, the Illuminating Soul Realm cultivator was no more than dust.


    Blood was everywhere, and everyone was covered with the Illuminating Soul Realm cultivator''s remains. Witnessing the scene, all the nature creatures, including Zen, stood there, stupefied.

 Chapter 642 The Golden Opportunity (Part One)

    In the presence of the three masters of Internal Elixir Realm, no one dared to move. It was as if everyone''s body had been frozen.


    Anyone who dared to offend the masters would suffer the same fate as the Illuminating Soul Realm practitioner. That man was punched so hard that his whole body appeared to have been crushed.


    Even Zen who was always ready to risk his life had not moved. From his assessment, he had a slim chance of successfully escaping from the power of the three masters. It was a chance he wasn''t willing to take yet. He remained quiet but unsettled. He could sense that something terrible was about to happen!


    "You! If you move, you''ll die!" one of the masters of Internal Elixir Realm said nonchalantly. His creepy eyes looked around.


    There was no option but to heed the order of these masters. Everyone remained quiet and still. After quite some time, more than a thousand practitioners appeared on the town road. Most of them were on the nature level. It appeared that they were all tied with ropes with no chance of escaping.


    They had caught so many people this time! It wasn''t just a small number, but an alarming number of captives. At this rate, they could wind up all the nature level practitioners in no time. Did they intend to go to the Moon Mountain to get the purple thunder bamboo?


    The troop of captives was being guarded by some practitioners who was walking along the two sides of the road. These practitioners suddenly tossed dark yellow ropes at Zen and all his fellows.


    Zen and his fellows could not dare to defy the three masters of Internal Elixir. So, against their will, they heeded the orders from the guards.


    They were also tied by the ropes and then joined the rest of the captives.


    As he made his way to join the captives, Zen''s mind got clouded with thoughts. He was confused as to why they caught many practitioners. Zen knew that acquiring the purple thunder bamboo was quite a challenging task. And the purpose of capturing


    pendant. It looked familiar but he couldn''t tell where he had seen it. Suddenly, he felt a quiver in his head.


    "Hey! What''s the matter?" Zen was taken by surprise by the quiver in his head and thought that it came from the cyan dragon. He concentrated his mind on the cyan dragon and asked him,"What''s wrong?"


    A moment later, Zen could hear the cyan dragon laughing in his mind.


    Zen got a little annoyed by the insensitive gesture of the cyan dragon at this time. He scolded,"What''s wrong with you? Can''t you see that I''m in great trouble right now? Does that make you happy?" He was a little irritated now because he couldn''t think of a way to escape. He felt hopeless with his situation and the cyan dragon''s insensitive remark was not helping him at all.


    "What do you mean you''re in great trouble? I don''t think so. From how I see it, this can be your golden opportunity!" The cyan dragon said calmly.


    Golden opportunity? Zen was more confused than he was earlier. He couldn''t see the golden opportunity that the cyan dragon was referring to. And even if there was, he couldn''t comprehend how he could make use of that opportunity in the presence of four masters of Internal Elixir Realm. Zen was still annoyed at the blabbering cyan dragon. He said,"I don''t have time for mind games. Can you be more specific?"

 Chapter 643 The Golden Opportunity (Part Two)

    Though the cyan dragon could be irritating at times, Zen knew that he had a broader horizon at the world. It was one thing that Zen admired from the cyan dragon. Everything that Zen valued the most was nothing in the eyes of the cyan dragon. This included the Perfect Brushwork, the consummate sword intent, and all the treasures that Zen acquired through a great deal of effort.


    So, if the cyan dragon said that it was his golden opportunity, then Zen could not argue with that.


    "As I said, this is your golden opportunity. But of course, you will need my help! Don''t think of running away. Just bear with it a little longer. If he can really find that place, with my help, you can reach the level of Illuminating Soul Realm instantly!" The cyan dragon said. After a pause, he continued, "I think I know what he is looking for."


    ''Reach the level of Illuminating Soul Realm!'' Zen got lost upon hearing these words. He didn''t seem to have heard what the cyan dragon was saying. He was now more curious about what could happen and the purpose of the young man in purple for leading all of them to the Moon Mountain.


    Zen originally thought that they would be used as baits in the Moon Mountain. But contrary to what he initially believed would happen, two of the masters of Internal Elixir Realm looked for the way themselves and killed all the beasts they encountered so all their captives wouldn''t be hurt.


    The beasts in Moon Mountain could be cruel and strong, but the power of the masters of Internal Elixir Realm was far greater. Hence, killing beasts was a piece of cake.


    The young man in purple would occasionally take out the dragon jade pendant to determine the way they needed to go. Afterward, he would ask the troop to follow him. But as they moved farther, i


    two masters on the primary level of Internal Elixir rushed to the troop. They caught several practitioners and forcefully threw them into the mountain creek. The practitioners rolled down the creek like rocks, but before even hitting the ground, they were bitten and swallowed by the winged dragon. It happened so fast that those eaten didn''t have the chance to scream for their lives.


    The unfortunate fate that those practitioners met had frightened the rest. They initially thought the winged dragon wouldn''t eat people. But upon seeing it with their own eyes, they became helpless.


    The captured practitioners of nature level were thrown to the mountain creek one by one. The rest could not do anything but wait for their own fate. The two masters on the primary level of Internal Elixir kept on throwing the practitioners into the creek, while the ferocious winged dragon ate all them all without any hesitation.


    Now, there were only eight practitioners that stood in front of Zen. It would eventually be his turn. He grew anxious and could not think straight. Finally, he asked the cyan dragon, "Now, tell me what to do! I believe you won''t let me be eaten by that dragon!"

 Chapter 644 From Under The Ice

    ''From here you jump, and head to the Dragon Soar Arena gates as fast as possible. I''ll handle the rest!'' the cyan dragon commanded, smoothly.


    A feeling of relief washed over Zen. Till now, the cyan dragon hadn''t done anything that served no purpose. Since the dragon seemed to know exactly what to do here, Zen decided to do as suggested.


    One after another, he watched the nature level warriors as they were tossed from the mountain. Then it was Zen''s turn. The two warriors at the Internal Elixir Realm took hold of Zen''s limbs and hurled him at the mountain stream, where the winged dragon waited.


    As Zen dropped from the slope, he watched the winged dragon gobbling up the other warriors that landed before him. It finished them as Zen fell, and turned its attention to Zen. Suddenly, the winged dragon craned its neck and snapped at Zen.


    ''Now, cyan dragon!''


    screamed Zen in his mind as he wrestled free of his bonds. He realized he was outmatched, and would have to rely solely on the cyan dragon to escape with his life!


    "Huh!"


    uttered the young man in purple thoughtfully with a trace of surprise as he watched Zen break free. His surprise changed quickly, and a wicked grin spread across his face because he felt Zen''s struggles were in vain. Whatever Zen did, there was no escaping the winged dragon.


    Unknown to the young master watching, just as the winged dragon''s jaws snapped shut over Zen, within Zen''s mind, the cyan dragon sounded a mighty roar!


    "Raawwrr!"


    echoed the roar through the mountain stream.


    The reverberating roar filled the ferocious winged dragon with fear, and its head shot back. The winged dragon huddled in a ball in the Dragon Soar Arena, with wide eyes filled with uncertainty and alarm.


    Its fear to the dragon roar was reasonable, for winged dragons had evolved from flood dragons, who were born with an innate fear of true dragons, whereas the latter were naturally powerful, legendary beasts, if not the most frightening of all.


    Jaws dropped as the master warriors watched. Shock etched in the face of the young master as he stepped forward.


    Considering the winged dragon was beyond his capabilities, he didn''t dare get any closer than that!


    "He...How! How did he manage to create a dragon roar that powerful? Does he have a secret weapon that I''m not aware of?" mumbled the young master quietly, as he studied Zen top to bottom as he sprinted. Suddenly he remembered something and his devious smile returned, giving his face an evil look as he muttered, "Well, even if he escapes the winged dragon''s attack, he wouldn''t be able to get into the Dragon Soar Arena!" As he clutched the jade dragon-shaped pendant tightly, the young master''s expression darkened. The medallion he held was the most valuable treasure his clan had, passed from one generation to the next for as long as anyone could remember. It was the key to the Dragon Soar Arena, and without it, the arena couldn''t be opened.


    Kicking at the mountainside to attempt to slow himself, Zen dropped quickly. In a blink of an


    magic array if the beast isn''t disappearing! Is all this real? No, no that isn''t possible!'' thought Zen, with a look of surprise. At first, he thought he was trapped in a magic array, and that the beasts were illusions. But, he quickly rejected that idea when he saw the bloody corpse. Where was he, then? Was he transported to some weird place? Wasn''t he in the Dragon Soar Arena?


    The cyan dragon heard his questions, and chortled before he replied, "Of course it isn''t a magic array. It''s far superior to any magic array. It''s an array that was arranged with divine textures. Your mortal mind cannot comprehend it. All you have to do is climb to the top!" After he finished explaining it to Zen, the cyan dragon''s laughter reverberated through Zen''s soul.


    Just then, something weird happened, again. A mass of malicious aura rose from the polar beast''s corpse, and charged at Zen. A malicious aura was pure curse power that could only be generated by living creatures when they died holding a grudge. Seeing it appear, Zen was sure that the beasts were not shadows, but instead they were real.


    A small dot yellow light shot from the polar monster''s body, too, and flew at Zen. Before he could react it ploughed into his abdomen.


    ''What on earth? What''s happening?'' Feeling the light as it merged with his energy, Zen had a look of doubt on his face. But, there was no time to think. There more polar monsters were standing by Zen ready to pounce on him.


    Zen moved at full speed, weaving between the monsters. Whenever he could, he took a chance, and thrust his sword through another beast, slicing through as many as he could. In a flash, the corpses were piled like a mountain of red, wet ice.


    As the death toll increased, the malicious aura masses'' count rose on the ice, and more spots of yellow lights shot into Zen''s body.


    When the light points accumulated to a certain extent, Zen felt a feeling of fullness in his belly, precisely where his energy was stored. ''What in the hell is happening!?'' Zen asked himself.

 Chapter 645 Lady Poison-blood

    There was a feeling of fullness engulfed him making him feel more animated. Briefly, he closed his eyes, savoring the entirety of the moment when he suddenly felt the surge of life vitality tightening in his belly. Unknown to the experience, panic coursed through him. Then it began spinning and spreading out wildly¨Cextremely out of his control!


    "This is... Wow!" The sense of trepidation quickly dissipated on Zen''s face when it dawned on him what was going on. Realizing he finally broke through to the fifth grade of nature level, his face beamed with happiness.


    ''Is it because of the yellow spots?'' he wondered in awe while still relishing on the tingling sensation around his body.


    "Hey! You get it, boy." The cyan dragon''s voice rang in his mind at the inopportune moment, knocking him out of his serious musing. "It''s the Lucky Light of our Genuine Dragons. Let me tell you, it is very crucial in reinforcing your strength. It works wonders for martial artists with low cultivation levels," he explained to Zen, rolling his eyes loftily.


    Zen was fully aware of what he must concentrate on at present, and that was to promote his cultivation. Based on his assessment of himself, he was moving at a snail''s pace. He believed that his progress was too slow! However, the reality was exactly the opposite of how he viewed his current capabilities. By all accounts, he was now improving at a decent rate in the Cloud Hall.


    Thinking that he still heard nothing of Yan, his dear sister, at this time, the intensity of his determination to get better doubled. He needed to focus and to hurry! How could he not? He was about to face the Evil East Lord whose strength was mysteriously unfathomable to him. So putting first thing first, he braced himself to his most urgent task, which was to upgrade his cultivation and strength. Although he acquired a lot on Cloud Road, his cultivation did not improve much there!


    "How amazing is the Lucky Light! When the guy in the later stage of Internal Elixir Realm comes in, does it mean he is going to break through the Internal Elixir Realm?" probed Zen.


    "In dreams!" the cyan dragon snorted coldly. "The Lucky Light only works for refiners with cultivation below the Internal Elixir Realm, but has no effect on refiners in the Internal Elixir Realm! Bear in mind that the main reason is the Dragon Soar Arena. It has just shown up after waiting for thousands of years to produce a large amount of the Lucky Light. Now that you''ve absorbed most of it, those who will come next will only receive a small amount!"


    Each time the Dragon Soar Arena was used, it would take some time to accumulate and generate new Lucky Light. This time almost all the Lucky Light was in Zen''s hands. Even if the later martial artists passed through the second floor, he might only get a little of the Lucky Light. Zen, who was the first to arrive, was lucky enough to receive most of the Lucky Light at once.


    There was no doubt that Zen had a fascinating stroke of luck this time. This was why the cyan dragon insisted that he should not run away.


    "I see!" Zen stated as his face exuded inexplicable radiance. If he would gather all his attributes and climb all the way to the top


    s that the young master of your family has gone in. Am I right? I''ve long heard that the Xue family inherited the blood of the dragon. It turns out, the rumor is true!"


    "Our young master is indeed in the Dragon Soar Arena," said another refiner. "Only our young master''s dragon-shaped jade pendant can open the Dragon Soar Arena, so the Dragon Soar Arena belongs to our Xue..."


    Before the refiner could finish his sentence, Lady Poison-blood stretched out her hand, and with a gentle flip, a dragon-shaped jade pendant was in her hand. "Do you mean this kind of dragon-shaped jade pendant? I also have one!" stated Lady Poison-blood. "Looks like the Dragon Soar Arena should belong to my Bloodwood Cliff!"


    Then Lady Poison-blood took a faint look at the winged dragon. Although it was a bit troublesome to deal with the dragon, it was not difficult for her to get rid of it.


    "Lady Poison-blood..." The refiner, in the middle stage of the Internal Elixir Realm, reluctantly called her name. But as Lady Poison-blood only gave him a slight glance, he immediately shut up. In the world of martial arts, only a man of great strength could reason; people without strength were worthless!


    The Dragon Soar Arena was a very useful treasure for both sects and families. It was because the Lucky Light was generated in the tower every once in a while, and was very helpful for their disciples'' practicing! Although Zen came first and took away most of the Lucky Light this time, it would be produced again after a certain period of time.


    The winged dragon was prostrate on the Dragon Soar Arena, its eyes fixed on Lady Poison-blood. This was the first time it had felt threatened since it appeared with the Dragon Soar Arena.


    However, while Lady Poison-blood was thinking about how to obtain the Dragon Soar Arena, croaks of crows rose suddenly from the air. There was a flock of crows, blotting out the sky and flying towards the Dragon Soar Arena.


    At the sight of those crows, Lady Poison-blood''s face crumpled. "It''s Raven! That old man always fights with me for treasures and makes trouble for me!" she complained in a bleak voice.

 Chapter 646 A War For The Dragon Soar Arena

    The crows were like black stains in the azure sky, flying too fast that they seemed like dark blurs. In a span of a few moments, they were already hovering above the mountain stream.


    Mocking laughter resounded through the valley, "Hahaha! Lady Poison-blood, it seems that someone has got ahead of you." Above the group of crows was a man donning a black ghost mask. It was hard to tell how ancient the man was. As Lady Poison-blood called him an old man, he must have been around for ages.


    "So what, huh? I got here way before you did, so the Dragon Soar Arena belongs to me, alone!" Lady Poison-blood remarked coldly.


    Raven grinned upon hearing this. "Lady Poison-blood, you are still one of the top martial arts practitioners in the Central Region. Don''t be so unreasonable."


    "Oh? What if I am that unreasonable? Do you really think I''ll be scared of you?" Lady Poison-blood stated matter-of-factly.


    Hearing the feuding between these two powerful masters, the three Internal Elixir Realm cultivators from the Xue Clan sighed deeply. They feared that the Xue Clan might not get their fair share of the Dragon Soar Arena this time around. They only hoped that their young master would have good fortune in exploring the Dragon Soar Arena.


    As Lady Poison-blood and Raven were in a heated exchange of insults and taunts, a roar resounded loud and clear from nearby.


    The intense roar rattled everyone present.


    A tremendous flood dragon appeared in the sky and swam towards them.


    "A flood dragon!" Lady Poison-blood''s face darkened.


    "No, I can''t feel its life essence. This is merely a puppet!" Raven said. No one could see his exact expression with the mask concealing his face.


    Having heard the roar of the flood dragon, the winged dragon guarding the Dragon Soar Arena roared back, the sound like the rumble of thunder. The winged dragon seemed to utilize the roar to further manifest its immense power. There were too many masters coming here today. Even a powerful creature such as the winged dragon also got nervous and felt threatened.


    When the flood dragon approached closer, they saw it open its mouth. Three people were standing in the middle, with the incumbent leader of the Cloud Hall, Tia, front and center.


    Tia had been practicing in a secluded place for a whole month, and now the aura around her had changed substantially. It was apparent that she had already leaped to the Internal Elixir Realm from the Illuminating Soul Realm. Tia had dispersed her cultivation base nine times, and every time she had to restart from scratch. She never encountered a single bottleneck in regaining her cultivation base. The rate she improved her cultivation level was extremely fast. Within a month, she had already entered the Internal Elixir Realm.


    "The Cloud Hall! Letitia Ning! Where... did she get this flood dragon puppet?" Raven asked.


    Lady Poison-blood, who was standing beside him, also looked at Letitia Ning with admiration. As the leaders of the fourth-grade sects, they knew clear as day the significance of a flood dragon puppet to a sect. In times of conflict between sects, the summoning of a flood dragon puppet was usually the key factor in turning the tides. It was a powerful and strategic weapon to employ.


    Letitia merely chuckled and said, "Oh! So you wanna know huh? I''ll tell you unless


    his opponents with the Blood Drinking Sword. However, when he got to the fifth floor, he was astonished to see his challenge ahead - a full-on heavily armored cavalry contingent. The whole floor was packed with heavy cavalry. There might''ve been thousands.


    Facing the cavalry head-on, Zen felt restrained to get through with only his Blood-Drinking Sword. So he summoned Lily as well. With the huge sword in her hand, Lily was a born killer. Every time she swung her behemoth of a sword, it would cut a swathe through the large group of soldiers and chopped them to bits.


    At that moment, the malicious aura and spots of Lucky Light poured into Zen''s body and were rapidly focused on his lower body.


    Soon enough, he breezed past the fifth floor.


    With no regard for anything else, Zen rushed upwards the sixth floor.


    After he reached the sixth floor, he found it strange that it was empty. The divine texture array of the sixth floor apparently hadn''t been activated yet.


    ''Is this the top floor, then?'' Zen wondered to himself. He didn''t expect this would end soon, as he hadn''t gotten enough Lucky Light to improve his level. He was now at the peak of his nature level, and only with a bit more Lucky Light, he would be able to enter the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    "Haha! Finally we arrive at the top!" The Cyan Dragon who remained mum finally spoke.


    Zen glanced around to check his surroundings. He soon found a circular divine texture hanging by the sloped ceiling. He turned to the cyan dragon and said, "You still haven''t told me why we''re doing all this and what will happen when we conquer the top floor."


    At this time, the young master who was at the premium stage of the Internal Elixir Realm was rapidly catching up. If he failed to climb to the top, he''d be in great danger.


    "Do as I tell you. Now, get closer to the circular divine texture," the cyan dragon ordered.


    Zen nodded in assent, and then walked towards the sloping wall. He stopped and stood still upon reaching the oval divine texture.


    As soon as he stopped, a tiny flicker of soul was infused onto the divine texture. It then began to revolve slowly. Suddenly a flash of light poured forth and went directly towards Zen.

 Chapter 647 The Upper World (Part One)

    At that point in time when the light enveloped Zen''s body, he heard some footsteps inching closer from behind him. As it turned out, it was actually the young master of the Xue Clan, whose cultivation was at the later stage of the Internal Elixir Realm. He had managed to breeze through and reach the sixth floor!


    Beneath that blinding light, Zen felt as though his entire body had been set ablaze and burnt down into cinders. From what he could make out of it, his body was being reduced to ashes and his physical form was fading away slowly into nothingness.


    "You?!" This plan of the young master of the Xue Clan had already been set in motion so long ago. He went through lengths just to reach Zen in time. He took great efforts to chase Zen behind him. But at the very end, he had been just a couple of seconds too late, and the last thing he saw when he got there was Zen''s smiling face fading into the light.


    A few moments before Zen had entirely vanished, the cyan dragon was able to transfer a fragment of his soul directly to him and alter the divine texture to just the bare minimum without getting caught.


    The second Zen disappeared completely, a white light materialized right above the Dragon Soar Arena, beaming upward into the sky. It passed through a chunk of clouds, strong wind, and dense space cracks, vanishing at the edge of the sky.


    "What the...?! That was amazing! The young master of the Xue Clan really managed to pull it off! It seems he has already been transferred somewhere else!" Letting out a sigh of relief, the Lady Poison-blood''s eyes were glistening in amusement. As she stared up at the Dragon Soar Arena, she wore an enthusiastic look on her face.


    It had been long rumored that the Dragon Soar Arena was actually the channeling passageway of the vast world built by the Genuine Dragon. A person who had access to it could be transferred straight into the Upper World. This just went to verify that the legend was indeed true. The passageway really existed!


    The inhabitants of the world Zen had been in had no means of flying into the Upper World, not even if


    ody was wondering deep inside.


    Out of the people who happened to witness the second beam of light coming from the arena, it was solely the three warriors in the Internal Elixir Realm that were delighted to see it once again. ''Our young master has successfully been transmitted as well!" the warriors thought to themselves. The three knew fully well that the first light could only mean that the strange guy who went into the Dragon Soar Arena first had been successfully transmitted and not their young master. They were quite concerned about their young master upon seeing the first beam of light. But right now, their minds were finally put at ease. Given that they failed to secure the Dragon Soar Arena, they were still fortunate enough to send their young master to obtain some experience in the Upper World. Supposing that their young master somehow managed to break into the Virtual Tribulation Realm, they would have a chance to bring the Xue Clan from grade three all the way to grade four.


    Then, from out of the blue, something they weren''t anticipating took place. Everyone saw the light gleaming once more and a figure materialized from that light, one who appeared to be in a precarious state. Tossing and turning in the air for some time before he came to a halt, he eventually stood up on the ground. Examining his surroundings, he asked, "Where the hell have I been transmitted to?"

 Chapter 648 The Upper World (Part Two)

    "Y...Young master?" one of the warriors at the Internal Elixir Realm from the Xue Clan called out to him.


    It was then that the young master of the Xue Clan instantly came to wrap his mind around what had just happened. If they were standing there next to him, it must have been a failure of a transmission. After going through such lengths, he ended up being made a fool out by that young man. Unable to hold himself back and control his temper, the young master of the Xue Clan yelled out, seething with anger, "I failed to get transmitted straight into the Upper World. What the hell happened? Where did I go wrong?!"


    "Young master, there''s a crowd of people watching..." the warrior at the Internal Elixir Realm whispered under his breath to remind the young master.


    Upon realizing what the warrior meant and coming to his senses, the young master lifted his head up. In an instant, his face turned pale. There was a group of warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm hovering in the sky just right above him.


    Raven peered down at them and questioned the young master of the Xue Clan, "Little man, who was it that got transmitted earlier?"


    The young master of the Xue Clan might have been revered as a high-level warrior through the eyes of the nature creatures and warriors at the Illuminating Soul Realm, but in front of the best and strongest warriors of the Central Region, he looked like a lamb that was at their mercy.


    With that in mind, he had no choice but to answer Raven''s question truthfully, "The person who has been transmitted away was a man at the nature level. I have no idea who that person was, but he was so swift that I got left behind!" Right after he was done answering Raven''s question, the young master had a look of resentment written all over his face. He was having a hard time comprehending what Zen had done to get transmitted while he himself failed to do so.


    "A nature creature?" Letitia tried to confirm, seeming to be utterly bewildered. ''This nature creature must


    s constructed for Dragon Lineage Humans like you! It is merely a fragment of your whole existence..."


    The Genuine Dragon constituted not just the actual dragons, but the Dragon Lineage Humans as well. The anatomy of these so-called Dragon Lineage Humans held Genuine Dragon blood inside them and they also had the ability to learn the most powerful cultivation methods put into practice by the mighty dragons. In truth, there were even a handful of warriors who were much more powerful than the Genuine Dragon!


    All in all, there was actually a vast number of Dragon Lineage Humans residing in the Lower World. That was the main reason why the Genuine Dragon decided to build lots of Dragon Soar Arenas acting as the passageway for the Dragon Lineage Humans in the Lower World to gain access to the Upper World.


    So, the best fighters of the Central Region were extremely eager to fly straight to the Upper World through the Dragon Soar Arena. When all was said and done, it was the quickest path that the Genuine Dragon designed for use of the Dragon Lineage Humans.


    Surveying everything around him for a second, Zen walked toward the cyan city. At this point, a handful of guards riding on some strange creatures appeared and walked over to Zen and surrounded him. The weird creatures seemed to be half human and half avian.

 Chapter 649 Imprisoned

    Cold, calculating eyes scrutinized the burly squadron of guards. However, Zen couldn''t gauge how skilled they were.


    After Zen was rounded up, the head of the guards, who sat behind the half-man, half-bird monster measured him up and ordered his men, "This guy is not a member of our clan but he used the Dragon Soar Arena without our permission. Lock him up for a thousand years before releasing him!"


    After he finished speaking, a small green ball appeared in each of the guards'' hands. The balls shot out lines of green threads at Zen and soon enough, he was bound tightly.


    The team of guards then dragged him away to the cyan city.


    Zen had no chance to explain himself during the whole ordeal.


    ''Imprison me for a thousand years! Are you kidding?'' Zen thought and smiled bitterly. "Cyan dragon, it seems the members of your Genuine Dragon family are not friendly!" he complained.


    "Ha! That''s because you don''t have the essence and blood of our Genuine Dragon family. Since you''re not a member of our family in the Lower World, then you would be punished for using the Dragon Soar Arena without our permission. Don''t worry, you''ll be released after a thousand years," the cyan dragon said with a laugh. He thought that this wasn''t a big deal. "I made this rule many years ago," he added.


    The Genuine Dragon family was huge. In addition to genuine dragons, it also included different races that had blood relationships with it, such as the Dragon Lineage Human race. It was one of the powerful races in the Genuine Dragon Family.


    Many of these races lived in the Lower World, so the Genuine Dragon Family had built many Dragon Soar Arenas for the Lower World. These Dragon Soar Arenas were used to carry only the Genuine Dragon Family members to the Upper World. If anyone of other races tried to use it, they would be imprisoned for a thousand years as punishment.


    The young master of the Xue Clan who had reached the Internal Elixir Realm tried to use the Dragon Soar Arena. However, he failed because the cyan dragon had changed the divine texture on the Dragon Soar Arena. The funny thing was that because he didn''t succeed, he narrowly escaped being imprisoned. Otherwise, he would die in the prison, since even an Internal Elixir Realm practitioner only lived until eight hundred years at most.


    Zen didn''t know what to respond to what the cyan dragon said. He wasn''t twenty years old yet. He could only live until three hundred years at most with his current cultivation base. He wouldn''t even live to see a thousand years to be released.


    "Take it easy. I''m a member of the Genuine Dragon Family. Although I can''t show up in public for some reason, I won''t let them do anything harmful to you," the cyan dragon said lightly. Zen felt a little relieved to hear that.


    After a while, they soon reached their destination.


    them.


    Some of the practitioners began to talk cautiously among themselves when they saw the divine texture Zen had drawn. "It''s unbelievable that he knows how to use Perfect Brushwork, at such a young age!"


    It was rare everywhere to see a runic expert who could use Perfect Brushwork.


    However, it wasn''t Zen, but the cyan dragon himself who had drawn this divine texture. After the drawing was finished, the runic brush left a line of strange characters on the paper''s margin. Zen couldn''t read any of these characters, so he guessed that they were the dragon texture marks the cyan dragon had drawn.


    "It''s done! Give this divine texture paper to the guards and ask them to hand it over to the lord of the city," the cyan dragon said. Zen nodded and collected the things on the ground.


    Then, he walked towards the gate of the cell and carefully knocked on the iron bar.


    "What is it?" a gruff voice asked. The guards walked over and looked at Zen coldly.


    "Please help me give this to the lord of the city," Zen said and passed that paper of divine texture to the guards.


    "The lord?" They looked at each other in surprise, then burst into laughter. "Our city lord? Don''t you know what a big man he is?"


    "These practitioners from the Lower World all acted the same way. Who do they think they are!"


    "That''s why we should keep them in the prison for a thousand years. This is the only way they''ll know what kind of place this is!" the guards said.


    Zen wasn''t annoyed by what they said. He just waved the paper of divine texture in his hand and said, "Can you have a look at it before deciding to hand it over to the city lord or not?"


    The guards glanced at the paper upon hearing Zen''s words. When one of them saw the dragon texture marks on the margin, he was shocked. He grabbed the paper from Zen''s hand and asked in a trembling voice, "Where did you get this?"

 Chapter 650 The Blood Of A Genuine Dragon

    Zen just rolled his eyes when he saw that the guards got worked up over the divine texture.


    Just then, a voice seemed to speak in his mind. It was the cyan dragon. "Just tell them that you encountered a Taoist priest called Josh in the Lower World and he gave you the divine texture," he said.


    Zen nodded then told the guards what the cyan dragon said to him.


    The guards cast each other serious glances upon hearing Zen''s words. Shortly after, one guard nodded at Zen and opened the iron fence''s door for him, and released him from the prison.


    The stowaways from the Lower World looked at each other in amazement when they saw that Zen was released.


    ''What did the nature creature do? Why did they let him go?'' they wondered.


    "You stay here. I''ll report this matter to the lord of the city," the guard told Zen. After that, he rushed outside with the divine texture.


    "Cyan dragon, what message did you leave on the divine texture?" Zen asked. A sly smile crossed the cyan dragon''s lips again.


    "I just left a breath of my soul on it. The guard didn''t recognize it, but he knew the dragon mark I left," he explained.


    "I see," Zen nodded.


    The cyan dragon continued to tell Zen more about the place. The city they were in was not the main city of the Genuine Dragon World. It was built as a place where the Dragon Lineage Human elites could cultivate.


    Even the members of Dragon Lineage Human who had ascended to the Upper World must pass the trial before they could enter the Genuine Dragon World. It was so that the Genuine Dragons made sure that those selected were geniuses of their race. On the other hand, the message the cyan dragon left on the divine texture was a request for Zen. He asked the lord of the city to give Zen a chance to train here.


    Zen knew this, and nodded in affirmation. If Zen wanted to embark on the top level of martial arts in his life as a martial artist, he must cultivate himself hard. Although the cyan dragon had helped him a lot, Zen couldn''t rely on him all the time.


    The cyan dragon had saved him from a thousand years in prison, which was indeed a great act of kindness he would never forget. Now, the training in the Upper World that he asked for Zen was also another blessing. If Zen could take the trial, he would gain many benefits.


    "Now that you have returned to your hometown, why don''t you reveal yourself to them?" Zen asked curiously. The mysterious furnace, the black flame, the cyan dragon, and the eight other dragons in it were all a huge mystery to Zen--and that mystery had led him to where he was now.


    When the cyan dragon heard Zen''s question, he got silent for a moment.


    "Even if I come back, so what? Something that cannot be changed, still cannot be changed," he said with a heavy sigh. There was a hint of sadness in the cyan dragon''s voice when he said those words.


    It made Zen feel sad as well


    d man came out. He threw the token along with a small jade bottle towards Zen. "There are several rooms for cultivating over there. You may choose one to absorb this drop of genuine dragon blood. Come to me after you have absorbed it. And then you can participate in the training," he said.


    Zen held the bottle in his hand and felt as if there was a living thing that wanted to escape inside it.


    Following what the old man had said, Zen randomly picked out a training chamber. He closed the door and sat down on his knees above a futon, then carefully opened the small bottle.


    "Pop!"


    An oval drop of blood jumped out of the little bottle and floated in front of him.


    Although it was only a drop of a genuine dragon''s blood, Zen could feel its indescribable power.


    "If you keep watching, you might as well let me swallow it up," the cyan dragon said in jest.


    Of course, Zen knew he was just joking. He played along and said with a pout, "There is only one drop. Let you swallow it up? No way."


    After that, he stretched two fingers, which sent out a plume of life vitality. It quickly wrapped around the drop of blood, and went into his mouth.


    The blood of flood dragon that he had immersed his body in when he was on the Cloud Road was very thick. Even if it was splashed outside, it would automatically coagulate into one body. Zen had thought that blood was amazing before he saw how unbelievable the blood of genuine dragon was. This drop of blood from a genuine dragon seemed to be spiritual. It was trying to break free from Zen''s life vitality.


    However, the power of merely one drop of blood was still too weak, and ultimately it couldn''t escape its fate of being swallowed up by Zen.


    When Zen had swallowed down the blood, he felt that the blood in his whole body seemed to boil gradually. Then, the drop of dragon blood quickly spread throughout his body and blended with his own blood.

 Chapter 651 The Obelisks

    Zen felt power course through his veins. The legendary beast''s blood mingled with his own, his body flushing at the sudden surge of strength. He could feel his flesh stretch and tighten, like a wall trying to contain the energy threatening to burst forth from within.


    It was a long time before his skin went back to its original complexion.


    "Whew..." Zen heaved. Inside him, there was an unmistakable warm glow, as if every pore in his body was opening.


    With the drop of genuine dragon blood in his vessels, Zen was, in a sense, a Dragon Lineage Human.


    He came out of the practice room and was face-to-face with the old man once again, his age-wizened eyes boring into his. After a long look, his face broke into a calm smile and he remarked, "You look much better." The old man took a step back and continued, "Now you are one of the Dragon Lineage Humans. Come with me!"


    Following the old man''s steps, Zen walked past the building and saw the obelisks in the distance. Countless practitioners sat behind the stone pillar, their faces wrought in concentration, as if deciphering a puzzle.


    They were some distance away from the obelisks, but Zen had sensed an aura of mystery about them.


    "Those obelisks¨C" Zen had just opened his mouth, but was cut short by the old man.


    He already knew what Zen was about to ask. "Those pillars that you see are obelisks of souls that contain the power of various Original Laws. Visualizing them enables one to grasp the old teachings more deeply."


    Zen gasped as he looked at the massive obelisks towering over them.


    On Cloud Road, he had obtained a broken stone carving about the size of a palm. And yet, right here in front of him were so many obelisks, each one of them a thousand times larger than the stone carving, and they stood in glorious completion.


    "In the process of grasping the old laws, you will have to put your soul on the obelisk of souls. It would grant you a deeper connection to spiritual energy, but a word of caution," the old man paused, throwing a short but meaningful glance to Zen before continuing, "Do not take on too much. Otherwise, there will be irreparable damage to your soul. Such a short-sighted gain would be all for naught."


    Zen nodded in understanding. Then, he approached the obelisks and walked around, taking in their forms one at a time. Each of the huge pillars was hundreds of feet high, all of them shrouded in a gray, mysterious aura.


    Zen marveled at the obelisks. No two were the same. Some of them emitted a scorching smell, and Zen recognized the inscriptions on one hard surface. It was the script of the Fire Law. The heat dissipated as he moved along to others. This time, a freezing mist emanated from the obelisks. ''These must be the Ice Laws, '' Zen thought to himself.


    His heart was pounding as he continued to circle the obelisks, understa


    insight, Zen took another glance at the other souls. He watched as some stayed in their position, their eyes glued to the writings on the surface.


    "I see now," Zen nodded slightly. He was no longer in a hurry to climb. Taking his time to observe the obelisk, he was soon immersed in its dense lines.


    Zen began to meditate, and his mind was freed from all thought. At that moment, all that remained was only his soul and the intricate lines of the pillar.


    At this point, he heard the cyan dragon''s voice echo in his mind. "This boy¡­ He truly possesses remarkable understanding."


    A dragon of his stature was rarely in awe of anything, but he couldn''t help but admire Zen''s persistence.


    The Space Law flooded Zen''s mind as he focused on the mysterious lines, trying to disentangle the string of words and symbols as they filled him.


    Five minutes passed¡­ Then ten¡­ Then fifteen...


    Zen''s soul had been lying motionless on the obelisk, trying to grasp the law in it.


    After what seemed to be an eternity, Zen sensed the gradual waning of the repulsive force from the obelisk.


    "I was right!" He said to himself. "The deeper the understanding of the laws, the higher a soul can climb," Zen concluded.


    By the time Zen almost fully comprehended the Space Law, he could barely feel the obelisk''s repulsion.


    "Now!"


    Feeling much lighter, Zen started to climb up again! This time he picked up his pace, climbing up fifty or sixty feet at a stretch.


    Along the way, he passed the souls of many other practitioners.


    One of them was at the Internal Elixir Realm, and he relied on his understanding of the Space Law to resist the repulsive force. When he saw Zen pass himself so quickly, he looked astonished. "Is this guy crazy?" he muttered in bemusement.


    And perhaps Zen was, indeed. At his speed, the twenty or thirty practitioners above him were left behind almost instantaneously.

 Chapter 652 The Provocation From A Monkey

    "What?"


    An incredible expression also appeared on the face of the old man who had brought Zen here.


    His duty was to identify those talented people from the Lower World, who were good at learning the Law Power.


    After all, it was almost impossible for the disciples from the Lower World to have such a high level of Law Power, the contents of which were recorded on these obelisks. For example, level-one Fire Law was recorded on the obelisk of Fire Law and level-one Space Law was written on the obelisk where Zen was.


    ''This guy has finished a third of the journey in such a short time, which indicates that he has grasped a small part of level one of Space Law.


    How can he climb so fast?'' The old man thought, surprised.


    It was a rare opportunity to acquire the knowledge on the obelisk. So some martial arts cultivators had stayed here for a long time. The men from Dragon Lineage Human had been here for half a year, a year, or even longer.


    It was relatively easier to learn Law Power directly from the obelisk. However, the old man had never seen a man climb so quickly on the obelisk of Space Law.


    ''The only possible explanation is that the boy has studied Space Law before and has some achievements, which allow him to climb so fast. Once he stops, he may not be able to climb up any further.'' The old man rationalized as he tried to think of a convincing reason.


    It seemed that this was the only explanation for Zen''s speed.


    What the old man wasn''t aware of was that Zen had merely learned a small part of Space Law by chance.


    The space repulsion grew more intense when Zen climbed about a hundred feet. At this stage, he felt a sharp pain.


    ''The space repulsion is getting stronger and stronger. I need to stop now!''


    Thinking of this, Zen stopped climbing and continued to learn the Law Power on the obelisk. By this time, he was ahead of most cultivators on the obelisks. Only a few people were ahead of him now.


    The old man kept staring at Zen as he wanted to prove his suspicion to be right.


    At this moment, a middle-aged man accompanied by several young martial artists approached the old man.


    That man said to the old man with a strange expression, "Elder Wei, how many elite disciples did you select this time?"


    Elder Wei answered coldly with a frown, "None. Have you selected suitable candidates?"


    The middle-aged person beckoned to several young people behind hi


    e was a valuable chip in the competition between two elders.


    Christopher continued to climb. He didn''t stop until he consolidated his lead in this competition. Then he said to Zen, "Haha, boy, you are as slow as a tortoise!"


    ''Where is this idiot from?'' Zen thought with a frown. However, he chose to pay no attention to Christopher''s taunt and kept on studying the Law Power.


    To his surprise, Christopher climbed down unexpectedly and spoke again, "I am talking to you. Do you hear me?"


    As an influential figure in the Lower World, Christopher grew up with the feeling that he ought to be respected. He was outraged when Zen ignored him.


    "Could you please not climb up and down like a monkey?" Driven beyond endurance, Zen shouted.


    "Climbing up and down also needs skills! Boy, come on, go ahead of me!" Christopher sneered.


    Zen didn''t talk any more. On the contrary, he shifted his focus to the knowledge on the obelisk. He was unwilling to take notice of this kind of boring provocation. Moreover, he had climbed the obelisk to learn Space Law, not to compete with others.


    Seeing that Zen didn''t want to talk to him, Christopher got bored and then climbed up again.


    However, Christopher stopped climbing after about twenty feet as he needed to learn the new knowledge on the obelisk. Otherwise, he would fall from the stone tablet as a result of the strong spatial repulsion.


    Of course, Christopher was confident of his capability and was sure that he could grasp level one of Space Law in a short time.


    However, at this moment, Zen also began to climb, his eyes glistening.

 Chapter 653 Baptism By Laws

    Christopher''s original plan was to stop and try to understand the law in the obelisk before climbing up, but the space repulsion was becoming stronger and stronger. If he continued to climb in this way, he would be pulled down by the repulsion in no time.


    But then he saw Zen climbing. Christopher had always been proud of the talent he was born with and considered himself superior in that regard.


    Seeing Zen climbing while he was stuck in this dilemma made his blood boil. He could not let this happen!


    The very thought of defeat was unacceptable to him, especially against Zen.


    He was only short of eighty or ninety feet from the top of the obelisk. Both of them climbed with fast pace.


    The only difference was that Christopher was desperate and anxious while Zen was relaxed and composed. After understanding the Space Law in the first half of the obelisk, he had figured how to suppress the pull of the space repulsion, which then became much softer than before. As a result, he was able to climb much quicker and without any opposing forces affecting him.


    On the other hand, Christopher''s situation was bad. Before they began the climb, he was under the impression that his understanding of the Space Law was much better than Zen''s. At the near end of the obelisk, he had almost reached the limit of resistance. He couldn''t stop to comprehend the Space Law under such a critical situation.


    He had no strength to go on but he didn''t stop. Defeat was not an option!


    He gritted his teeth to summon up the courage and power to resist the space repulsion and hurled himself higher. But the higher he climbed, the stronger the repulsion became. Each movement was harder than the one before.


    While their souls climbed the obelisk, their bodies sat still on the ground. Christopher''s body had turned red and was constantly shaking, while Zen''s body sat in peace, just like his soul. He behaved calmly and his breath was steady.


    At last, the climb came to a halt. The two seemed to have reached the final part at the same time, which was only thirty feet below the top.


    Both of them couldn''t go ahead from this point. There was an invisible barrier blocking their path. It was the space barrier.


    "Seems like we have to stop," Zen said, blinking aggressively. He still needed some time to comprehend the Space Law to break through the barrier before them. But that wasn''t a big problem as he already had some knowledge of it. Even at this height, the space repulsion didn''t exert a lot of impact on him.


    Next to him, Christopher stood passively. His situation wasn''t so good. He had been relying on the solid force of his soul to keep going further with a lot of difficulty, hoping to reach the top without any stops. In the face of this sudden barrier, he was caught off guard. His senseless rush had to be brought to a stop.


    The flimsy space barrier lay like a natural pit across him. With the strength that remained, it was impossible for him to force his way through.


    He couldn''t meditate the Space Law under the strong space repulsion.


    He saw Zen adapting to the new surroundings effortlessly. Right then, Zen cast a glance at Christopher, shaking head slightly, and then continued to ponder over the Space Law, with a faint smile on his face.


    The smile made Christopher lose his mind!


    Under the obelisk, Elder Wei stood with a happy smile on


    ry of the Space Law reflected in his mind, like two rivers meeting in an estuary, like a jigsaw puzzle coming to fruition. As these pieces were combined to make a full picture, the key point of the Space Law suddenly hit him. He squinted his eyes at the space barrier again, this time with a confident smile on his face.


    ''Space barrier! I can break it!''


    He reminded himself. With this new-found confidence, he stopped clinging to the obelisk and let his hands go. His body lifted up in the air and he started to pass through the barrier with a sudden rush.


    This space barrier could not have been broken by any physical force or through the soul.


    Zen''s intention was never to break the barrier, but to pass through it. And that was what he was doing now... His soul was like a fish swimming in the water effortlessly. He floated through the barrier with grace and finally reached the top.


    Looking at Zen at the summit, Elder Wei smiled with immense glee and said with a tone of surprise, "In less than six hours of time, he has transformed from being completely unaware of the Space Law to having full understanding of the first level of it! I think the word ''elite'' is not enough to describe his talent!"


    He looked all around him and burst into a happy laughter.


    ''Less than six hours?'' Zack thought with shock. His heart was frightened to hear that. The obelisk was engraved with the existing Space Law to save refiners from exploring it bit by bit everywhere, but it didn''t mean that the time could be shortened to as short as only six hours. At least, Zack had never heard of such a miracle. ''In that case, this young man really is genius! A genius of geniuses! From which Lower Word did this man come from?'' he wondered.


    The two elders, Zack and Wei didn''t get much time to think or discuss anything, because all the law obelisks around them suddenly started to tremble, producing a great sound and ultimately, a chaos among the viewers.


    The obelisks shook as if there was an earthquake, but that was impossible!


    Confused, Elder Wei looked up. He saw flashes of Law Power shooting at Zen, all converged together.


    "What is this? Is this the baptism by laws?" His eyes glistened with wonder, enchantment and total surprise.

 Chapter 654 Scramble

    These obelisks could be dated back to ancient times. The words on them were engraved by master cultivators from the Genuine Dragons, as they had a better understanding of laws than mortals.


    Cultivators from the Lower World could not compete with them in terms of comprehension of laws. Thus, these obelisks were placed here to help Dragon Lineage Humans from the Lower World to improve their understanding of laws.


    Among the varieties of laws, the fundamentals included Fire Law, Wind Law, Time Law, Space Law, and so forth. Laws evolved from these fundamentals were numerous, for example, the Artistic Mountain Conception was an evolution of the Earth Law, and the Heavenly Law was a satori from both the nature and Metal Law by weapon refiners.


    Cultivators had varying affinities with different laws. Zen had chosen an obelisk that recorded information about the Space Law to cultivate. Elder Wei believed that Zen had enough affinity with the Space Law, which would aid in his understanding and cultivation.


    Watching the events unfold in front of him, Elder Wei found that he had been wrong. His theory was far from the truth.


    Everyone turned their eyes to the top of Zen''s obelisk, including the cultivators who were still attached to other obelisks. No one could stop staring.


    Such a strange thing had never happened before, at least in their lifetime. Everyone was confused, even Elder Wei. After thinking for a while, he finally realized that it was the legendary baptism by laws. As for other people present, they had never heard about the baptism by laws, and hence, they could not figure out what was happening!


    All they could see was that the obelisk was constantly shaking, and the Law Power continuously converging toward Zen. Every cultivator envied him.


    What was worse, as the obelisks were shaking so wildly, some cultivators'' souls could not stay attached to their obelisks. Most of them had struggled to reach a safe place on the obelisks. Some cultivators were not so lucky. As the shaking continued, more and more cultivators'' souls were knocked down. This was definitely a horrible accident.


    Since baptism by laws was not a mystery for the elders, Zack Zhao also figured out what was happening. "Baptism by laws...it has not happened for so many years."


    Baptism by laws would not improve the strength of a cultivator. As a result, even though Zen was experiencing it, his strength and cultivation would not be boosted. Baptism by laws was simply a way to increase a cultivator''s affinities with laws.


    Cultivators were born with affinities for certain laws to some extent. Some had close affinities with the Thunder Law, while others had special affinities with the Wind Law. And Zen, a typical example, showed his close affinity with Space Law by achieving a little power of Space Law through space transmission.


    What was more, after going through the baptism by laws, his affinities would be increased for all laws. That was to say, if Zen were to cultivate t


    agon''s blood are not worth speaking of." Not to be outdone, Elder Wei fought back.


    Zen was speechless.


    Zen hadn''t intended to join any party when he flew to the Genuine Dragon World from the Dragon Soar Arena. However, the rules seemed not to work like that. Zen had to choose one party, and it was hard for him to resist the temptation being offered to him. Zen had previously thought of completing the trials here and then returning to the Central Region as there were still many issues that needed to be worked out, especially saving Yan, who was the most important person in his life.


    He had not expected things to go in a different direction. Before him stood two Elders, scrabbling to secure him for their group.


    ''Ten drops of Genuine Dragon''s blood...'' Only one drop was enough for Zen to feel a dramatic change in his blood and veins. If he consumed ten drops of blood, the change would be fiercer than Zen could imagine.


    Finally, Zen nodded to Elder Wei, "Sir, my name is Zen Luo. As I was in a hurry, I couldn''t tell you my name in time. It''s my fault. Please forgive me."


    After hearing his reply, the warm smile returned to Elder Wei''s face. "Of course I forgive you, my friend. Zen is a good name! Now that you have succeeded in the challenge of your obelisk, and are lucky to have ranked as an elite, you are qualified to take the next trial. Since you have just received the baptism by laws, you can also choose to cultivate laws on other obelisks. The choice is yours..."


    "I would like to cultivate other laws first," Zen said promptly. He had now realized that the phenomenon he had endured was called baptism by laws.


    As he was going through the baptism by laws, Zen felt a strong desire to cultivate the other obelisks. But he couldn''t do that before because of the restrictions. Now, there was no reason for him to miss the chance.


    Zen and Elder Wei ignored Zack and continued to have a pleasant conversation. Zack''s face darkened as he was in a bad mood.

 Chapter 655 The Martial Arts Contest

    Both the Dragon Abyss Palace and Dragon Blaze Hall were institutions run by the Dragon Lineage Humans, which were beyond Zen''s reach.


    Even if he had to join the Dragon Abyss Palace, it was no loss for him, but benefits.


    Now, he only cared to improve his strength. Since he had developed an affinity for other laws, Zen wanted to study the other obelisks and acquire their knowledge.


    After walking around the forest of obelisks a few times, Zen chose the obelisk that recorded Fire Law. Without hesitation, he sat under the obelisk and started his meditation.


    At the same time, in the Central Region, the competition for the Dragon Soar Arena reached a critical phase.


    Each sect was arguing that the Dragon Soar Arena rightfully belonged to them, and each sect was trying to depreciate the other sects. They were quoting everything they could to prove that they were the rightful owner of the arena.


    More and more forces joined the debate, including the independent cultivators. These cultivators were not members of any sect. They were master cultivators who developed on their own. However, they had proteges and off-springs to look after, and some wanted to start their sects, which was why they were also fighting for the arena.


    The argument continued between the people coveting the arena. During the heated debate, the sects and independent cultivators learned that the only way to obtain the arena was to show military force. And only the strongest would win.


    Although everyone coveted the arena, they had no idea what they were fighting for. They believed that the arena was a passage to higher places. However, it was a road of no return. The only thing the arena could bring them was death. When human cultivators entered, they would be imprisoned by the dragon for a thousand years. Without any escape, the powerful cultivators could only age, decay, and die.


    Moreover, when Zen was transported to the higher place, the cyan dragon had tampered with the divine texture etched on the arena. After that, even if someone passed through the sixth floor of the arena, the circular pattern would only push them out, not transport them up again.


    If the cultivators had known that, they''d feel stupid about clamoring to claim the arena. It was irrational for all these sects to start wars among themselves for a blocked passage that would only bring death.


    However, just before the situation became out of control, the dispute was settled by the World Commercial Alliance when it stood out and mediated among various forces.


    Although the World Commercial Alliance was not a sect, it had great power and influence in the Central Region. More significantly, it had good relations with all major sects and a neutral stance. The alliance was the only force that could settle disputes and establish peace.


    And the proposal they tabled was simple. They suggested transporting the arena to Oracle City, which was the l


    Zen''s learning speed shocked everyone.


    After another three days, he moved toward a new area, led by Elder Wei.


    "The obelisks are the first assessment for the people who have entered. It is important for cultivators to understand the laws of the universe! This understanding is more crucial than the energy store or martial arts skills. Only the cultivators who have passed will move to the next training session. The next session will teach you how to improve your soul power," explained Elder Wei with patience. He smiled kindly at Zen.


    "Soul power..." Zen murmured thoughtfully and nodded.


    He hadn''t received any systematic soul strength training yet. There was no such thing in the Eastern Region. Till now, Zen had forged his soul in the mysterious furnace and learned the skill of Spiritual Thorn to improve his use of soul power. Also, the Dark Devil Phantom essence he assimilated had helped boost his soul strength. But still, there had been no systematic training.


    Therefore, it was necessary for him to participate in a targeted training. Although his soul power was stronger than most of his peers, Zen needed to learn the skills to improve it and use it.


    When they finally arrived at their destination, Zen saw a strange black ball floating in the sky. The black ball was unlike anything Zen had ever seen. It was about two hundred feet in diameter. On its surface, strings of purple lightning swirled continually. As Zen studied it, he seemed to see a dark object wriggling inside.


    "What is that?" questioned Zen as he felt a heavy spiritual pressure being released from the ball.


    Elder Wei answered softly, "It is a prison that contains a dead Owl Beast. Its soul is searching for a way to escape. In the years that it has been trapped in the black ball, it has turned into an evil spirit. And not an ordinary one, but a Fighting Soul, a Jasper Fighting Soul."


    "Fighting Soul? Jasper Fighting Soul?" Zen was puzzled.

 Chapter 656 Tormenting The Soul

    Elder Wei just told Zen about the Fighting Soul Realm. But it was the first time that Zen had heard it because it was not familiar in the Eastern Region.


    Nevertheless, it was what Elder Wei had expected because no one in the Eastern Region had owned one. The strongest cultivator in the Easter Region was at the same level as Kenneth. Even Kenneth, who was the leader of Cloud Sect, did not own a Fighting Soul, let alone a more powerful Jasper Fighting Soul.


    It was no surprise for Elder Wei that Zen didn''t know much about the Fighting Soul also because he was only at the consummation of nature level. Had he been at the Internal Elixir Realm, he might have known about Fighting Soul.


    If it was any other disciples, Elder Wei would have sneered at that person''s ignorance. But it wasn''t any ordinary disciple. It was Zen. Elder Wei had acknowledged and respected Zen because of his excellent performance and talent. Elder Wei took the time in explaining it in detail.


    The souls of an ordinary human and some other species were naturally fragile, except for those whose soul was innately strong.


    When a fragile soul was damaged or injured, it would make the person weak for several days. A more serious injury would put a person into mental retardation. Once one''s soul was broken into pieces, his physical body would instantly turn into dust.


    If one could cultivate his soul to reach a certain level of strength, not only could he use his soul directly in the battle, but he could even launch a soul battle.


    However, training a soul was not as easy as training the physical body. But the result of the hard training would worth it. One could reach the Fighting Soul level.


    "That''s interesting. But how can I get into the Fighting Soul level?" Zen was intrigued with what Elder Wei had just told him. He had only dreamt of reaching the Internal Elixir Realm. But now that he had known about the Fighting Soul level, he had shifted his focus on this far better cultivation level.


    Elder Wei felt an indescribable joy of superiority over Zen. Not only that he had interested him in the Fighting Soul topic, but now Zen would also need him as his mentor. Smiling, he said, "To be frank, you certainly don''t have an opportunity to own a Fighting Soul let alone a Jasper Fighting Soul in the Lower World. People from the Lower World have naturally weak souls. Your soul can be compared with that of many cultivators at the Illuminating Soul Realm. However, you still need more practice to get to the Fighting Soul level."


    Zen had always believed that his soul strength was already at the best level given that it was refined through the mysterious furnace in his mind. However, after hearing the assessment of Elder Wei, he realized that his soul was not yet strong enough.


    But instead of being annoyed and depressed, he became more motivated to improve his soul strength.


    "Elder Wei, please tell me what to do," Zen asked respectfully.


    Elder Wei smiled at the respect that Zen had shown him.


    in. However, most people could not stand the soul pressure for more than six seconds. After that, they would immediately return to the protection area to regenerate their souls.


    Zen, on the other hand, stood firmly in his place outside the protected area. He challenged himself to endure the pressure a little longer. Soon, his teeth started to grind.


    "Just a little longer¡­" Zen told himself.


    Three seconds...


    Six seconds...


    Thirty seconds...


    After half a minute, Zen''s soul started to tear apart like a cotton-padded jacket being shred into pieces.


    "Now!"


    When Zen felt that he was about to lose consciousness, he moved back to the side of the small oil lamp. Once back into the protected area, he felt his soul began to regenerate.


    "Hey, newcomer! Do you really need to push that hard?" a cultivator who sat beside the little oil lamp said with a smile on his face.


    These cultivators had been in the black ball longer than Zen. They had already experienced the brutality by the soul pressure and were very clear of their limit. They couldn''t hold the pressure for more than fifteen seconds. So, when they saw Zen tried to hold it for thirty seconds, they were stunned and felt jealous at the same time. The newcomer had easily outperformed them!


    Zen just smiled back at the cultivator and said nothing. He concentrated on regenerating his soul. Now, after his soul had been completely regenerated, he left the protected area once more.


    He did that repeatedly. After a few times of enduring the soul torment of the Owl Beast ghost, Zen could now endure the pain longer.


    At his first try, he could only hold for 30 seconds. As he repeatedly went in, his endurance had lengthened to 36, 60 until he could endure for 120 seconds.


    Soon after, Zen could endure the pain for at least 5 minutes. It was the longest time that a cultivator had endured the soul torment of the Owl Beast ghost.


    The other cultivators saw his improvement and were amazed by his speed.

 Chapter 657 May The Stronger Soul Win!

    The soul pressure from the Owl Beast''s ghost in the black sphere would cover the cultivators'' souls. However, the soul pressure was not distributed evenly.


    A practitioner would suffer less soul pressure when they got to the edge of the black sphere. But as they moved towards the center of the sphere, the soul pressure would become more overwhelming.


    There were six circles of the sphere. Each circle had a different level of soul pressure, and this pressure would exponentially increase as the circle became closer to the center of the sphere. In other words, the closer the circle to the center of the sphere, the strongest the soul pressure would become. Zen, like most of the cultivators in the black sphere, was now at the outermost circle.


    After repeatedly practicing at the outermost circle for half of the day, Zen could feel his soul becoming stronger. He was now ready for the second circle. When he had finally regenerated his soul once more, he went straight for the second circle.


    The cultivators regenerating their soul around the oil lamp were stunned to see Zen''s next action. Some of them had been in the black sphere for months now but still didn''t dare to advance to the center. But Zen, who had only practiced for half a day, was already going for the second circle.


    The speed of Zen''s progress could be attributed to his current soul strength before he had entered the black sphere. It could be noted that his soul was tougher than an average practitioner. Also, he didn''t waste any time. He could have opted to stay within the protected area longer, but he chose not to. Once he felt that his soul had regenerated, he would immediately go back to the outermost sphere. The time he spent strengthening himself in the outermost sphere was longer than the time he spent regenerating his soul.


    On the other hand, most cultivators would spend most of their time resting near the little lamps than struggling on the outermost circle. Their souls could not stay in the outermost circle longer because of the pain and agony. It would take them two to three hours to complete a run, while Zen could complete dozens of runs in the same period.


    As Zen was about to enter the second circle, two pairs of men and women approached the edge of the black sphere. Actually, Zen knew these four people. They were the group he had met in the area of the obelisks. One of them was called Christopher.


    Christopher was considered one of the best among those ascended from the Lower World. With his remarkable talent, he was able to work his way from the Lower World to the Upper World. In the process of understanding the laws, he had climbed both the obelisks of the Space Law and the Fire Law. Given this accomplishment, Zack considered Christopher as an elite disciple who deserved the highest commendation.


    However, all of those had changed when Zen arrived. He had gained the favor of Zack when he was able to comprehend the Original Laws, except the Time Law, in just three days after he went through the baptism by laws. It was the fastest comprehension ever recorded in history.


    With Zen''s existence, Christopher''s confidence was trampled. His light had become a firefly compared with Zen''s sun. Since then, Christopher had held a grudge against Zen.


    Christopher had never felt this humiliated in his life before. He grew up being constantly praised for his wit and talent. Thus, he developed an arrogant and self-


    cticing. Unfortunately, Zen met a mindless, arrogant and unreasonable guy!


    "Christopher''s fighting the guy again... "


    "Of course he will fight that guy. You know Christopher, he has never been insulted in his life. So those who dare to humiliate him would surely suffer his wrath!"


    "It''s his fault. He relentlessly took the spotlight from Christopher. Now, he''s meeting his doom!"


    The three practitioners who had come with Christopher stood by the oil lamp and whispered to each other. Without Christopher''s help, they wouldn''t be able to come to the Upper World through the Dragon Soar Arena. So, it was just fitting that they would take his side.


    The other practitioners in the black sphere watched as the two men fight. They momentarily forgot the reason they were here as they watched in amazement.


    As it was already very painful to practice under the intense soul pressure, these practitioners were just grateful not to be trashed into idiots. The soul pressure was taking all their energies that they had to come to these little oil lamps to regenerate. However, it was incredible to see that some people could have that energy to even fight in this tormenting environment. It was ridiculous but surprising at the same time. However, these practitioners started to worry about Zen as he was being chased by Christopher.


    It was dangerous to fight under the soul pressure. If Zen was to be killed by Christopher, he could become an idiot under the tormenting soul pressure.


    The black sphere had turned some great cultivators into idiots. Because of their senseless arrogance, some cultivators had pushed themselves too far to tolerate the soul pressure. Their souls were eventually damaged that they didn''t have the energy to come back to the oil lamps. Hence, soul pressure crashed their souls and turned them into idiots.


    "That guy is obviously running out of luck!"


    "If I were him, I would take back my soul and stop practicing for a while!"


    "You''re right. He''ll be fine if he leaves the black sphere. But why does he push himself too much?"


    The cultivators talked while their backs were on the oil lamps. The fight between Zen and Christopher was a good excuse to stay near the oil lamps a little longer. They watched the fight as if it was a leisure play.

 Chapter 658 All In Vain

    It didn''t cross Zen''s mind that another soul would try to kill him while his soul was in the black ball.


    Now, Zen had to deal with the Owl Beast''s evil spirit which was suppressing him while simultaneously dodging Christopher''s attacks.


    "You can go to hell!" shouted Christopher passionately as he lunged at Zen, swinging his sword.


    As agile as Zen was, he was able to weave and dodge around the place, not only narrowly escaping the strikes as Christopher came at him, but, Zen also healed his soul in between attacks by quickly getting closer to the oil lamps.


    The second circle of the black globe was ring-shaped. Christopher chased Zen in the ring, and after several rounds, Zen acclimated to the ring and suppressed the forces. A few times, he noted, he could even skip an oil lamp and wait to mend his soul at the next oil lamp.


    When Christopher failed to catch Zen, he became infuriated. He raised his blades that were transformed from his two hands as he growled, "Spiritual fighting skill! Ghost Fighting Blades! Let''s see how you escape now!"


    Christopher was a refiner at the ultimate level of the Illuminating Soul Realm, and had used this precise technique before to slay the soul of a master in the Internal Elixir Realm.


    Burning green sparks shot from the two blades and Christopher''s shadow snuck up on Zen. While he lunged forward, he swung his blades at Zen''s soul.


    He came towards Zen at lightning speed, making it impossible for Zen to dodge the blades. If they struck him, they would slice his soul to pieces.


    "Oh? Spiritual fighting skill? I can do that!"


    Since Zen couldn''t shake the incoming assault off, Zen focused, changing a portion of his soul into a sharp thorn and sending it at Christopher.


    "Spiritual Thorn!"


    Strictly speaking, changing a soul into a thorn was similar to turning a soul into a blade which was a skill employed by Christopher, and it was not considered a spiritual fighting skill. It was used to transform part of his soul to attack.


    But, since Zen had spent his time evading Christopher''s attacks, steadily, he hadn''t taken the time to employ his Spiritual Thorn which left Christopher with the impression that Zen was a coward, unable to fight and unwilling to do more than run.


    From the moment he employed the spiritual fighting skill which he took great pride in, Christopher was determined to destroy Zen''s soul and focused his full attention on maintaining his blades.


    Suddenly, Zen countered Christopher''s attack with a violent onslaught which left Christopher no time to dodge the sharp soul thorn headed at him.


    It took only a second from the moment he saw the soul thorn for it to pierce Christopher''s soul.


    "Aaahh!"


    Christopher howled in pain as his blades crumbled, and turned to dust. He had held off using his spiritual fighting skill until he thought the time was perfect, but only to find it to be a complete failure. Instead of continuing his assault, Zen put some distance between himself and Christopher


    Taking a large big stride forward, Christopher rushed toward Zen as he screamed, "You! You can go to hell!" He balled his hand into a tight fist, ready for a fight.


    Facing a master at the ultimate level of the Illuminating Soul Realm, Zen was calm and smiled gently, "Are you sure you want to fight me, here?"


    Christopher''s face fell as he glanced around and noticed the armed guards. He paused, holding his fist mid-air.


    Since arriving, Christopher was still unable to see the armed guards'' and elders'' strengths, and he found that very odd! But, needless to say, the level of strength that the Upper World masters possessed was beyond imagination. It definitely wasn''t a good idea to fight in front of the armed guards.


    "Hey! What are you doing? No one''s allowed to fight here! Anyone violating this rule will be sentenced to a thousand years in prison!" chided an armed guard.


    Christopher loosened his fist in resignation. He pointed at Zen and said, "Sooner or later, I''ll get you! If you don''t want that, you had better stay out of the dark globe forever!" Afterward, Christopher took a step back.


    In the face of idle threats, Zen smiled, and flexed his muscles. Then he jumped back into the black globe.


    The minute he was back in the first ring of the black globe, Christopher jumped in from the other side. Zen quickly went to the second ring and according to his plan, began practicing.


    However, Christopher was persistent, and was set on defeating Zen. As long as Zen was in the second ring, Christopher would stalk him!


    Zen seized every chance to practice. He planned that if he found he wasn''t able to dodge Christopher''s spiritual fighting skill, he would pull his soul out of the black globe.


    Christopher was obstinate beyond reason. Even knowing it was in vain, he went continuously after Zen. They played mouse and cat many times. When Zen''s soul finally was able to withstand the suppression of the second ring, he went to the third ring without hesitating.

 Chapter 659 Cyan Dragons Request (Part One)

    The mighty oppressing force subjugating the soul in the third ring was twice as powerful as that in the second ring, and thus fourfold as that in the first ring.


    The moment Zen crossed the threshold of the third ring, the unseen force almost knocked him off and dominated his body at once. He gritted his teeth as he felt the push and pull against his soul, which was being tightly pressed and squeezed into an irregular shape like a piece of rag. The intensity rendered him barely breathing, but he didn''t resist. As a small smile was seen slowly forming on his lips, he embraced the massive force in total surrender!


    Surely, he was a really bright spark. He silently thanked himself up for being wise enough to get well prepared. He had anticipated that this was bound to happen anyway. So the moment he gained access to the third ring, he braced himself hard and dashed straight towards the tiny oil lamp emitting a soft light in the center.


    Christopher never slowed down a bit in chasing his target. As a strong and determined opponent, he followed Zen closely at his heels, no matter how fast the latter could run. And there wasn''t much difference in time which they took to burst into the third ring.


    In contrast to Zen''s calmness, Christopher wore startled expression on the sudden impact of the strengthened force emanating from the third ring.


    The strong cyan light shield surrounding Christopher''s soul was comparably weaker against the mighty oppressing force in the third ring. The layer of cyan light, which wrapped his soul perfectly to protect it from any harm, cracked unexpectedly!


    His soul was characteristically more powerful than Zen''s soul. But having it exposed directly unprotected now against the mighty oppressing force that was quadrupled in strength, he felt he was close to the limit of his endurance. He grimaced as


    ealm, it was by no means an easy job! The forging of soul, however, had nothing to do with a forger''s accumulation of energies. So it was natural that some practitioners who had entered the later stage of the Internal Elixir Realm, and even some capable practitioners in the Virtual Tribulation Realm, were unable to have any opportunities to knock the door of the Fighting Soul Realm.


    "Christopher seems to have lost his mind! There''s no way for him to overtake his opponent!"


    "It''s useless. Zen is ahead of him all the time. Christopher is just wasting his energy. What he could do to Zen if he really surpasses him?"


    "Hey, do you know who Christopher is in the Lower World? A talent! A big name! He has no choice! He must win his face back since he was defeated by that guy. It''s understandable why he is unwilling to lose again in this contest."


    The three companions of Christopher continued to discuss, feeling somewhat ridiculous for Christopher''s stubbornness in catching up with Zen. He had never relaxed a single moment in chasing Zen, as he had a strong desire of overtaking Zen and killing him. He didn''t know, however, that after so many circles of run-and-chase, Zen''s soul was getting stronger and stronger.

 Chapter 660 Cyan Dragons Request (Part Two)

    At the very beginning, when they came into the third ring, Zen felt the pain extremely unbearable under the mighty oppressing force once he left the protection range of an oil lamp. So he must move swiftly to every oil lamp ahead basically for protection. But then, as he was able to stop at every other oil lamp, and then every other two oil lamps, the distance between them widened.


    At last, Zen had finished his first circle in the third ring and was just closely behind Christopher. It was only then Christopher came to realize what the distance there was between him and Zen. Upset and disgraced by the fact, Christopher turned around all of a sudden to pursue Zen in the other direction.


    The funny scene provoked a loud fit of laughter and howling cheers among all the warriors watching. Christopher seemed stupidly confused at Zen''s tricks.


    The two of them had played the game of run-and-chase in the third ring for nearly four hours. At last, Zen seemed to have had enough fun in this game. He flashed a brilliant smile at his opponent before he casually slipped into the fourth ring.


    In this circle, the oppressing force was eightfold as powerful as that in the first ring!


    With Zen infiltrating the fourth ring, Christopher was burning with anger in eagerness to follow him as well. He was determined not to lose his face at this round. So he fixed his mind solely on how he would exact revenge with Zen. Only then would he give up! At the spectator side, all of his three companions were observing him keenly. They started to feel uneasy as they stared at him, giving Zen a black look. Anticipating his intention, they yelled at him. He needed to be stopped. "Christopher, what are you doing? There''s no way for you to bear the oppressive force in the fourth ring. Do you understand?"


    Christopher had suffered exhaustion under the attack of the mighty oppressing force in the third ring. His cyan light, a powerful shielding weapon that he was so proud of, had become useless in front of the fourfold oppressing force. How could he deal with the massive force in the fourth ring that was eightfold as powerful?


    Approaching the tiny oil lamp for Zen in the fourth ring was as easy as falling off a log, so Christopher followed suit, totally ignoring the warnings from his companions. Never did he expect that a disaster was waiting for him as his soul began to collapse swiftly soon after he had set his feet into the next ring.


    Audible gasps were heard from his com


    m. They ran and wandered about in every corner of the fourth ring.


    "What..." exclaimed Zen with a frown at this unexpected sight.


    The fourth ring was strategically situated near the owl beast devil spirit. On top of that, its mighty oppressing force had grown to eight times as powerful as that in the first ring. He had conquered this great challenge by channeling his utmost attention and energy in dealing with this massive force. What could he do now with so many devil spirits swirling?


    The devil spirits dared not approach nearer him because they were fearful of the oil lamp illuminating the sphere, making Zen safe as long as he was within its protection range.


    But whenever he tried to walk out of it, the devil spirits would rush over him like overwhelming water. Zen shook his head, realizing he was in a difficult situation now.


    Unpredictably, the cyan dragon, who had kept in silence all the while, spoke in Zen''s mind.


    The cyan dragon had sunk into silence the moment when Zen began to practice. Zen didn''t think his sudden utterance would be a good omen.


    "Zen, I''ll devour that owl beast devil spirit after you run into the sixth ring," the cyan dragon said unexpectedly.


    "Eat that owl beast ghost?" Zen exclaimed with a doubtful expression splattered in his face, as the cyan dragon''s words had startled him. The owl beast devil spirit possessed a far-fetched and unimaginable power. It was already hard to burst into the Fighting Soul Realm, but it would be harder to cope with the owl beast devil spirit which was in a realm higher than the Fighting Soul Realm in power.


    "How is it possible?" Zen prompted.

 Chapter 661 A Second Genuine Dragon (Part One)

    The cyan dragon laughed and said, "The Owl Beast devil spirit has been tied by the Soul-nurturing Thunder Lock and has become extremely weak. It is almost as weak as me. What you need to do is merely break the Soul-nurturing Thunder Lock. I will deal with the rest."


    Zen listened carefully but doubt made his expression turn bitter soon. "How can you do that for me? If you swallow the Owl Beast devil spirit, how will I explain its disappearance to the others?"


    This Owl Beast devil spirit had the Jasper Fighting Soul and wasn''t easy to capture. If Zen swallowed it in front of so many warriors, he would have no way to explain it.


    "Don''t care about them. You can pretend to be insane... You can do whatever you want as long as you help me swallow the spirit. Needless to say, it will be of great benefit to you as well," the dragon said convincingly with a playful chuckle.


    Zen''s heart tightened at the dragon''s words. With the vast knowledge the dragon had, he spoke of the spirit so highly. Zen had no reason to think otherwise. This spirit seemed to be extremely skilled and powerful.


    "How can it be any good to me? Please tell me that first!"


    Zen asked back hurriedly, starting to give away his fear.


    "I plan to use a part of the Owl Beast devil spirit to nurture myself, and some other part to wake my seventh elder brother. The rest of it can be used to build a soul seed for you," the cyan dragon replied with confidence. It seemed like he had all things planned in his head.


    "To wake your seventh elder brother?" Zen repeated the cyan dragon''s words in confusion. First of all, he was surprised to hear that the cyan dragon had a brother, let alone a seventh one!


    Zen tried to recall the time when he first came to know the cyan dragon. In Zen''s soul sea, there were a total of nine genuine dragons. At the very beginning, al


    mself in his mind.


    He had no practice in the fighting skill of the soul, but the Spiritual Thorn was a good weapon to kill the small ghosts. There were a lot of these small ones but none of them was as powerful as Zen thought they were.


    Zen killed one Owl Beast ghost after the other, and returned to the area lit with the little oil lamp. He repeated this process several times and each cycle only made his soul stronger.


    Many warriors gazed at Zen in the inner circle with jealousy which soon turned to depression. Compared with Zen, the speed at which they were cultivating was so low that they didn''t know how long they would take before getting into the inner circle. They were eager to step into the Fighting Soul Level.


    They watched as Zen kept moving, fighting his way through one circle to the other. Before long, he stepped into the fourth circle. The warriors around had no choice but to accept that Zen was far more talented than them. Some of them could not even be compared with him.


    After entering the fourth circle, his soul grew slower. Still, he fought for two whole days before returning from the black ball. After a whole day''s rest, he went back to the black ball and continued his cultivation.

 Chapter 662 A Second Genuine Dragon (Part Two)

    It took him three whole days to cross the fourth circle and finally enter the fifth circle. He needed to enter the sixth circle for the cyan dragon to put his plan in action.


    Zen also understood clearly that even for the cyan dragon, it was a difficult task to swallow the Owl Beast''s evil spirit, since the dragon, too, was currently weak, even though he talked as if this was a piece of cake. Still, the result they would get post fighting the evil spirit surpassed the efforts they needed to put in.


    While Zen cultivated himself day and night, Zack Zhao decided to send out a message to someone. He went to the transmission platform in the huge city and put a jade pendant into it, which carried his message.


    The Genuine Dragon World was a world different from the one where Zen had stayed. Its magnanimity was beyond everyone''s imagination!


    Even the Dragon Lineage Human area was only one out of its ten thousand parts. The message jade pendant needed to fly about 300 billion trillion miles before arriving at the Dragon Blaze Hall which was where Zack came from. Sending this message cost him a lot. If it wasn''t for Zen, he would never have done it.


    Recently, Zack had been going through numerous books to understand the things around him more deeply. He found that the last time the baptism by laws had occurred was eight thousand and four hundred years ago to a person with the family name of Meng, who was now the head of the Green Dragon Palace.


    And now, it had occurred to no one else but this young boy from the Lower World.


    It did not mean Zen could become the head of some dragon palace after the baptism. A warrior only grew into someone with power under the influence of factors like luck, cultivation, epiphan


    wered in all earnestness, "Yes, I am. Be cautious when you enter. When I break the Soul-nurturing Thunder Lock, it will lead to a higher soul pressure."


    Zen was merely a soul without a body now so he could take a deep breath to relax himself. He stood with back arched down, squinting his eyes and carefully looking at the humongous Owl Beast evil spirit. He counted to three in his mind and rushed into the sixth circle.


    The other warriors were merely onlookers now, thinking Zen was determined to break through the Fighting Soul Level. They had no way of knowing he had just charged at the Owl Beast evil spirit itself!


    Precisely at that moment, the huge transmission array located at the center of the city lit up. A man in a fur coat appeared out of it, with a flame burning in his pupils. Stepping out of the array, he looked all around him with a calm expression. He was no one but the second leader of the Dragon Blaze Hall!


    Zack got alerted immediately. He had been anxiously waiting for him. Presently, he walked over to him and greeted him excitedly. "Mr. Nian! How nice to see you here! I have been waiting for you here for too long!"

 Chapter 663 The Head Of The Dragon Abyss Palace

    Alan Nian, the vice leader of the Dragon Blaze Hall, was a person of great power. His rank was next to the head and his competence was beyond everyone''s imagination.


    An organization as powerful as Dragon Blaze Hall had arranged for a vice head to greet Zen, so it was obvious that it took Zen seriously.


    Zack too was very excited. If he could get Zen to join Dragon Blaze Hall, it would be a great achievement for him.


    "So, where is this young man who withstood the baptism by laws?" Alan asked Zack as he greeted him. He was very curious regarding this boy everyone was talking about.


    "Sir, he is being trained for the elite and refining his soul," Zack answered with an uncalled urgency.


    "Then take me there," Alan said in a commanding tone. He looked quite composed but his eyes gleamed with flames.


    They started walking toward the training ground. Standing at the edge of it, Alan asked, "Which one is...what''s his name...Zen?"


    Zack pointed his finger toward a slim and handsome young man. Alan measured him up with his sharp eyes and just like Zack had informed him, he didn''t find anything special about Zen. He was just a juvenile at the young bone age and had just reached the consummation of the nature level. Alan was a little doubtful of his abilities.


    "Did he really activate the obelisk and go through a baptism by laws?"


    Alan asked.


    "Yes, sir. I wouldn''t dare joke about such a thing!"


    "Hmm.. I''ll talk to him after he finishes his practice," Alan said, nodding his head with a gentle smile on his face. Countless practitioners put immense effort to join Dragon Blaze Hall each year, given its immaculate reputation. It would be a piece of cake for Alan to compel this young man from the Lower World to join them.


    As he finished speaking, a black ball floating not very far away from him started to vibrate.


    A loud clash of several brittle sounds filled the air. The sounds reverberated in the atmosphere for some time, before the Soul-nurturing Thunder Lock on the surface of the black ball finally cracked.


    "What is going on?" Alan asked as the flames flashed in his dilated pupils. "Isn''t the Soul-nurturing Thunder Lock used to imprison the Owl Beast evil spirit? How could it crack like that?"


    Zack was too shocked to answer. He simply kept staring at the upheaval that was taking place in horror.


    The cracking continued as the practitioners who were practicing in the black ball drew their souls back.


    "Hurry up! Run!"


    Having drawn their souls, they ran straight out of the training ground.


    Seeing how scared they were, Zack rushed to the ground and stopped one of the practitioners. "What''s going on?" he asked. "What happened to the ball?"


    "I... I don''t know. That guy just rushed over to the Owl Beast evil spirit! And then the Thunder Lock broke, letting out the Owl Beast evil spirit!" the boy said, stammering with fear. The boy didn''t know Zen''s name, but he was aware of him due to the fame he had gotten from breaking through th


    message, he was utterly surprised and couldn''t contain his excitement. This meant he could finally get in touch with a bigwig like Josh! What a great stroke of luck! But when he read the dragon''s words on the margin, he had been a bit disappointed.


    Josh had written to Dennis that he had met Zen by chance in his travels. Although Zen wasn''t a member of their family, if he flew up through the Dragon Soar Arena, Dennis could take him as a member of the Dragon Lineage Human race along. Josh had also warned Dennis not to reveal this news to anyone, or his life would be in danger.


    Dennis wondered how the nine dragons had disappeared so mysteriously. There had to be a shocking conspiracy behind it!


    The warning had scared Dennis. He knew if he got involved in this fight, he could die without even knowing the cause of it.


    Dennis hadn''t told anyone about the issue until now and hadn''t even asked the name of that stowaway.


    He wasn''t really a coward. One would expect someone in the position of the city lord to be courageous and able. But even the masters of the Dragon Lineage Human race wouldn''t like to be involved in this sort of a fight, let alone a city lord like him.


    He was surprised the person who had caused the trouble of the day was no one else but the stowaway he had pardoned.


    "Wei, is Zen the Lower World practitioner who experienced the baptism by laws?"


    A woman wearing a red palace dress appeared from behind Wei and asked him. Her face radiated with beauty and charm. The most impressive thing about her was the blood-red mole in the middle of her brows, which almost made her look coquettish.


    Flames flashed in Alan''s eyes as they landed upon her beautiful face. Smiling lightly, he bowed and said. "Madame, I didn''t expect to see you here!"


    This woman was no one but the head of the Dragon Abyss Palace.


    The woman didn''t answer Alan and descended toward the black ball. The Dragon Abyss Palace and the Dragon Blaze Hall didn''t get along too well.

 Chapter 664 I Dont Like You (Part One)

    The head of the Dragon Abyss Palace had flown straight into the black ball and was devoured in the blink of an eye.


    The Soul-nurturing Thunder Lock right above the black ball was uncontrollably surging with immense destructive power. However, she was still kept safe and sound somehow.


    The second she soared into the black ball, the only reaction she had was, "Huh?" with her gorgeous eyes wide open...


    She had more than enough strength to hold back the strongest Owl Beast, so defeating such a weak one would be a walk in the park.


    The thing that managed to surprise her was not the Owl Beast itself, but Zen''s soul just lying in the distance.


    The Owl Beast just vanished without a trace! The only thing she could make out was Zen''s soul resting in the middle of the darkness.


    Just what could have possibly happened here? How the heck did all of this happen? And where in the world did the Owl Beast go? Baffled and left utterly dumbfounded, the head of Dragon Abyss Palace had a hard time wrapping her mind around what on earth had just transpired.


    "Bang... Bang..."


    On the other hand, the other portions of the Soul-nurturing Thunder Lock simply persisted on overflowing with an endless supply of thundering light. Zen''s soul was repeatedly getting bent out of shape with diverse colors, which looked much like the oil on the water drifting away into vibrant ripples.


    "Wow! This is unbelievable! His soul could end up bursting forth into the level of the Fighting Soul!" Upon noticing that, she was beginning to get serious, with her curiosity quite piqued. Elder Wei had briefed her that Zen had undergone a baptism by laws, so she immediately flew straight toward the black ball solely for the purpose of helping Zen. Little did she know that Zen could probably attempt reaching the level of Fighting Soul! ''Isn''t he someone on the nature level? Just what exactly did he do to be capable of reac


    gain that falling leaves and flowers could become deadly through the skills of a powerful warrior.


    But when all were said and done, it could be beyond a mere mortal''s capability to reach the Fighting Soul level.


    Only a select few amongst all of the warriors on the Internal Elixir level could hope to train and reach the Fighting Soul level for the sake of increasing the strength of their soul! A majority of the warriors in the Virtual Tribulation Realm couldn''t ever reach the Fighting Soul level in their lifetime!


    Zen, a warrior whose prior achievement was reaching the nature level, had attained the Fighting Soul level. What an astonishing feat!


    The warriors who had experienced training side-by-side with Zen were not as surprised as opposed to everyone else, the reason being that they had witnessed first-hand Zen''s progress and rapid improvement and they also watched as Zen stepped into the inner circle from the outer circle in order to move closer to the Owl Beast.


    Dennis, Wei, Alan, and a few other people weren''t able to see what occurred in the black ball, and all they knew was that a guy who was at the nature level shouldn''t have been capable of reaching the Fighting Soul level at all. It was an utterly inconceivable idea in their eyes.

 Chapter 665 I Dont Like You (Part Two)

    "Hold on just a second, why does it seem as though there''s some sort of unusual attribute contained inside his Fighting Soul?" With his glare fixated on Zen, Dennis sensed that there was something out of the ordinary being exuded by Zen''s body.


    Elder Wei realized in an instant what Zen had been through and let out a smile, "If I''m guessing correctly, our leader decided to hand over to him a Ganoderma Soul Pill produced by the Dragon Abyss Palace."


    Alan forced a dull smile and remarked, "Your Dragon Abyss Palace was quite the generous one. A Ganoderma Soul Pill is much too costly even if its power is rather below mediocre." After saying that, he went down to the ground and whispered to Zen under his breath, "Zen, be one of us with the Dragon Blaze Hall, and I can promise you that you will have a bright future ahead of you. Banding together with us, the finest within the realm, I assure you, would be the best decision you''re ever going to make in your lifetime!"


    Knitting his eyebrows, Zen shot Alan a glance. Indeed, he could feel the power of everyone there, but Alan''s way with words made Zen feel nauseous and totally repulsed, prompting him to ask the person standing close to him, "Who might you be? For what reason should I become a member of the Dragon Blaze Hall?"


    "Aha, who I am is but a trivial matter, what you need to understand is that there are billions of aspiring warriors whose dream is to become part of the Dragon Blaze Hall. Sad to say, the ones who are actually qualified are few and far between! If you were to join our Dragon Blaze Hall, you are going to be destined for greatness, and I''ll even throw in an extra 50 drops of Genuine Dragon blood on behalf of our Dragon Blaze Hall!" Alan''s eyes were already blazing with triumph as he was quite certain that his offer to Zen would be hard to refuse. For a war


    oint. Since he isn''t fond of you, what other reason would he have for joining the Dragon Blaze Hall?" the girl wearing the palace clothes giggled at the scene in front of her.


    The girl''s remarks helped Alan get to thinking.


    Alan was actually just a vice leader, and amongst the Dragon Lineage Human, he was significantly much inferior to the girl who was the leader of Dragon Abyss Palace both in position and in power. So, of course, he couldn''t just kill Zen right in front of the girl!


    "I don''t know how to thank you enough, Madam. Thanks for lending a helping hand when I was attempting to reach the Fighting Soul level!" Zen leaned over to pay his respects.


    "Ha-ha." Hearing Zen''s words of gratitude, the leader of the Dragon Abyss Palace merrily roared with laughter.


    "Madam, you look rather young, akin to a girl of sweet sixteen! Is referring to you as Madam a bit too much?" Zen clarified, unable to hold back his laughter.


    Hearing Zen''s way of speaking toward their head, elder Wei couldn''t help cursing him deeply in his heart, ''This Zen... such insolence talking about our leader''s age casually. Do you have some kind of death wish? Just how badly do you want to get sent straight to the hell?''

 Chapter 666 A Gift To Someone Who Is Worthy (Part One)

    Every martial arts cultivator had undergone rigorous martial arts refinement that improved their physical fitness and endurance.


    They were able to surpass human limitations even the standard human lifespan. Thus, they could live longer than any normal human.


    An ordinary human could rarely live more than one hundred years. The martial arts cultivators, on the other hand, could live much more than one hundred years. And the martial arts cultivators at the same level as the head of the Dragon Abyss Palace had an average lifespan of ten thousand years.


    The head of the Dragon Abyss Palace looked like a sixteen-year-old girl, but her actual age was already beyond a human''s imagination.


    The actual age of the head of the Dragon Abyss Palace might be unknown or had been lost in counting. But it could be traced back as to when she was actually sixteen years old. At that time, Zen''s ancestors had not yet been born in this world. Even the empires that existed before the Burning Sky Empire had not yet existed.


    But Zen was so naive about this fact that he even thought the head of the Dragon Abyss was sixteen years old.


    It sounded offensive, but she didn''t mind it at all. On the contrary, she was flattered. Despite her age, she was still a woman who required that kind of attention and flattery from time to time. But since she became the head of the Dragon Abyss Palace, no one dared to speak to her so casually that she rarely heard such kind of flattery.


    Women always wanted to look young despite their age. They required that kind of validation, especially from men. And the head of the Dragon Abyss Palace was no exception. After all, she was still a woman.


    The craze of women wanting to look young even after they aged had created a need for anti-aging pills. But these anti-aging pills were quite expensive in the Upper World. The head of Dragon Abyss Palace had spent a lot on anti-aging pills to remain yo


    ccept it.


    Zen must be flattered by the gift that the head of the Dragon Abyss Palace was offering. Alan, Dennis, Elder Wei, and Zack were all taken aback by her generosity towards Zen. They didn''t think that she could be that generous to anyone.


    Dennis who envied Zen right now had to ask, "Do you really intend to give it to him as a gift? The Genuine Dragon Blood Essence would be too much of a gift to that boy?"


    The head of Dragon Abyss Palace, however, raised her eyebrows at Dennis and said, "Of course I do. Did you hear me stutter? Have I ever changed my mind?"


    Dennis waved his hand. He didn''t mean to offend her by asking. He said, "No, I didn''t mean to question your generosity. I just feel that Genuine Dragon Blood Essence is rare. It''s the most valuable thing to just be gifted to anyone."


    Dennis could not shrug off that feeling. The Genuine Dragon Blood Essence was one of the Dragon Abyss Palace''s most important treasures. It seemed too good to be true that the head of the Dragon Abyss Palace would just give it to someone from the Lower World like Zen who was not even qualified to be in their presence. Dennis sensed that it might have something to do with the dragon named Josh. Or perhaps the head of the Dragon Abyss Palace had found something else.

 Chapter 667 A Gift To Someone Who Is Worthy (Part Two)

    However, Dennis could not bring himself to ask these questions. Besides, he had got the message from the cyan dragon, so he wouldn''t dare to interfere with Zen too much. Moreover, no matter what he thought about it, there was nothing he could do right now. Whatever it was in Dragon Abyss Palace head''s mind, it was none of his business.


    While Dennis had somehow figured it out that it was all because of the cyan dragon, Elder Wei, Alan and Zack still had difficulty in uncovering the truth.


    They were still wondering why the head of Dragon Abyss Palace offered to give the Genuine Dragon Blood Essence to Zen.


    But among the three, it was Elder Wei who felt particularly disgruntled.


    He was one of the lucky ones to get a drop of the Genuine Dragon Blood Essence as a reward for his significant contribution to the Dragon Abyss Palace. However, it didn''t come on a silver platter. He had almost lost his life to deserve that kind of reward.


    But Zen had just arrived in the Dragon Abyss Palace and hadn''t proved anything yet, but still got a drop of Genuine Dragon Blood Essence as a gift. What was so special about Zen that the head of the Dragon Abyss Palace had favored him that much?


    But despite his envy, Elder Wei believed that it must be Zen''s good luck that brought him that fortune.


    "It''s a special gift, so it is just fitting for me to give it to someone who is truly worthy," said the head of Dragon Abyss Palace. She then turned to Zen, beaming a smile and said, "Zen, do you agree?"


    "Yes. What you said is truly right," Zen replied happily.


    Afterward, he took the munificent gifts from her hand.


    "Cya


    st ghost was released and overwhelmed Zen. His soul could still not stand the impact of the Owl Beast ghost even if he had improved it. In the sixth circle inside the black ball, the pressure upon Zen''s soul was already thirty-two times stronger than that in the first circle. And when the Owl Beast ghost was freed from its chains, the pressure became stronger and harder to bear.


    The combined pressure from the sixth circle and the Owl Beast ghost''s influence had made Zen''s soul almost split up. Luckily, the cyan dragon had activated the furnace on time and its colorful glow had repaired Zen''s soul. With the help of that mysterious colorful glow from the furnace, Zen had managed to enter the level of Fighting Soul.


    "You really don''t know?" Dennis asked again. He didn''t believe that Zen didn''t know what happened. He could see through Zen''s eyes that the latter wasn''t telling the whole truth. "You better tell me what you know because the Owl Beast ghost is an important treasure of our city. There must be something you know about the disappearance of the Owl Beast ghost."

 Chapter 668 Time To Return

    Zen couldn''t think of a better explanation for the disappearance of the huge Owl Beast''s devil spirit. However, it was an undeniable fact that it disappeared when he was around.


    Dennis was polite by asking this way. If it were not for Josh and the leader of the Dragon Abyss Palace, he would have arrested the culprit already.


    Seeing the leader of the Dragon Abyss Palace offering Zen a drop of Genuine Dragon blood essence, Dennis understood that he couldn''t harm Zen. Moreover, Zen was somehow involved with Josh and the mystery of the nine dragons. So, he was eager to stay out of this matter.


    But it was troublesome to catch an Owl Beast''s devil spirit. Zen had to compensate Dennis for his loss! Dennis knew that it would be useless to ask a cultivator, who was at the consummation of nature level for repayment. He said that intentionally to test the leader of the Dragon Abyss Palace.


    As he had expected, Zen stayed silent, and it was the leader of the Dragon Abyss Palace who spoke first, "It is only an Owl Beast''s devil spirit. We, Dragon Abyss Palace, can pay for it. But Dennis, do you really want me to catch an Owl Beast''s devil spirit for you?"


    It was no easy feat to catch an Owl Beast''s devil spirit. It usually took a bit of luck to find one. Even if a cultivator found an Owl Beast''s devil spirit, it would be extremely difficult to catch it.


    Since the leader of the Dragon Abyss Palace offered to compensate Dennis, he didn''t plan on making things difficult. If he offended the leader of the Dragon Abyss Palace, she might take Zen by force. And then he could do nothing about it.


    So he decided to end the matter for the moment.


    "Let''s go!" Alan waved his hand and left with Zack. Since the leader of the Dragon Abyss Palace had offered a drop of Genuine Dragon blood essence to Zen, Alan knew he had lost and that it was meaningless for him to stay. Even though the leader of the Dragon Blaze Hall had come in person and made the offer, he couldn''t tempt Zen. Offering a Genuine Dragon blood essence to a boy at the consummation of nature level? It was a complete waste! The leader of the Dragon Abyss Palace must have been out of her mind.


    Seeing that Alan had left, the leader of the Dragon Abyss Palace smiled. She turned to Zen and said, "Although you have a solid foundation, your cultivation base is still very low. This is the city that leads to the Lower World. There are a lot of training methods that will help you to improve. I suggest that you refine the Genuine Dragon blood essence here. And after that, you can come to the Dragon Abyss Palace through the transmission platform."


    It was a good suggestion. But Zen shook his head and said, "I''m afraid I won''t be able to accept your offer this time. I came to the Upper World purely for cultivation. But I have unsettled issues in the Lower World. So, I can''t go to the Dragon Abyss Palace at the moment."


    Zen knew that he would benefit tremendously from joining the Dragon Abyss Palace.


    In the world where Zen came from, cultivators who wanted to grasp the Law Power had to learn through the inscriptions on broken obelisks.


    But in the Upper World, there were complete stone carvings, and various cultivation methods that were beyond Zen''s imagination.


    However, it was unrealistic for Zen to stay in the Genuine


    e City. For this reason, the inns and taverns were all jam-packed. And the prices rose accordingly. The cost for an inn room for one night, which was usually several low-grade life vitality crystals had now soared to tens of low-grade life vitality crystals.


    In an instant, cries of discontent rose all around. But the people could do nothing about it. If they wanted to have fun, they had to pay.


    The Dragon Soar Arena was placed in the center of Oracle City, with fences and armed guards surrounding it. Meanwhile, Cloud Hall, Bloodwood Cliff, Black Mountain Sect, and Ethereal Spirit Sect all sent people to guard it.


    In fact, the elders of the sects had gathered here a couple of days earlier. Aside from them, people from the World Commercial Alliance also took command here. No one dared to put their hands on the Dragon Soar Arena. If someone tried to take it, he would be courting death. The several big sects sent people to guard the Dragon Soar Arena to declare that they also had a share in it. It was a way to showcase their powers and intimidate others.


    Today, the weather was good. After summer began, a rain cooled the hot weather that had lasted for days.


    A large number of cultivators stood around the Dragon Soar Arena. They were watching it and discussing it. These cultivators were not qualified to participate in the contest, but they heard that the Dragon Soar Arena was the most valuable reward for the winner. It was enough to tempt people to come to look at it.


    "It is said that anyone who enters the Dragon Soar Arena could fly into the Upper World! And he will become an immortal or a god. What a treasure! Everyone must covet it!"


    "No wonder so many big sects are fighting for it. I will spare no efforts to get into the sect that wins the Dragon Soar Arena!"


    "Huh! The sects competing in the contest are at the fourth grade or above. Forget about the Dragon Soar Arena. Do you think you have the ability to enter one of them now?"


    As the several cultivators discussed the contest with interest, a bright light suddenly appeared in the sky. The light seemed to be like a meteor that was falling from the sky rapidly. It shot to the top of the Dragon Soar Arena.

 Chapter 669 Are You Courting Death

    "What''s that?"


    "Tell me. Is it possible that an immortal is coming down from the sky?"


    "Yes, probably! The Dragon Soar Arena is conjoined to the Upper World. Who knows? We can most probably even see an immortal!"


    The onlookers discussed among each other but failed to notice what was happening around them.


    Even though they were oblivious, the warriors who stood guard for a while, knew what was going on.


    The guards knew that somebody had returned from the Upper World. It was most probably the nature creature who had flown away from the Dragon Soar Arena a few months ago.


    After moving the Dragon Soar Arena to the Oracle City, the main sects had all tested it. They even ordered the warriors to pass the six layers and commenced the transmission array with a dragon-shaped jade pendant. Regardless of their efforts, however, all of them failed to be transmitted in this particular way.


    The moment the white light appeared, the warrior that was supposed to fly to the Upper World was thrown out of the Dragon Soar Arena.


    The nature creature was allowed to be transmitted to the Upper World. However, after he''d made his way to the Upper World, no one else was permitted to follow him. It was no doubt that there had indeed been something unusual happening to the nature creature as no one was able to follow him.


    To discover the reason, several runic experts had entered the top part of the Dragon Soar Arena. Their studies concluded that there was something wrong with the runes in the transmission array.


    The runic experts in the Central Region, of course, were not allowed to know about the divine texture. Even though they comprised the idea that the reason why other warriors could not be successfully sent to the Upper World was due to the runes, they failed to figure out what the actual problem was. As they were unaware of the divine texture, there was nothing they could do about it.


    For this given reason solely, the young master and the leader of the Xue Clan were both taken to the Oracle City for questioning.


    Thinking about the nature creature the young master had encountered that day, he told them his looks, age, cultivation situation and any other possible feature he could think of.


    There were, however, far too many nature creatures living in the Central Region. With the limited information about him, it seemed next to impossible to know who it was. So, the truth remained unknown to all of the warriors.


    That was the reason why each sect had sent their warriors to watch over the Dragon Soar Arena. Their primary concern was to observe it and discover exactly how the Dragon Soar Arena could work by learning from the nature creature.


    The warrior sent by the Cloud Hall was considered to be one of the strongest elite disciples of the Elite House, Fred Li, who had reached the consummation level of the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    Discovering and looking at the white light, Fred started to move. He proceeded by stepping on the ground with a pair of simple shoes and then rushed to the gate of the Dragon Soar Arena.


    This nature creature turned out to be the key to the Dragon Soar Arena! A Dragon Soar Arena where warriors could not be transmitted to the Upper World was only one place for the warriors to cultivate themselves. So, it was the nature creature who made the arena still valuable.


    The Dragon Soar Arena was an adequate cultiva


    st. Fred, for instance, managed to stick to practicing the Long Fist for dozens of years. He even managed to achieve a level high enough to simplify it to its essential nature.


    Bang!


    After a single punch, Fred managed to have Bevis from the Mysterious Luna Hall retreat!


    "Fred Li, what is your goal here? Do you want to be killed?" Bevis shouted angrily. He started his action first. However, he then stepped back. How could he not be angry?


    Although Fred managed to stop Bevis, he could not prevent others at the same time.


    "Ha-ha, little guy, you''d better come with me." Mason Jiang from Bloodwood Cliff laughed. At the same time, his two hands stretched towards Zen like scissors.


    ''Oh, no! That''s too bad.'' Fred recalled to himself. His heart sank immediately. A warrior like Bevis was tough enough for him to fight against. However, how could he manage to prevent other warriors who had similar powers?


    The life vitality in Mason''s hands, was extremely sharp. He tried to attack Zen''s face, while at the same time targeting Zen''s legs. His attack to the upper body, was a mere gesture while the lower body was the actual intended attack. In fact, he was planning to strike his legs so hard, that it would break Zen''s legs. His only thought was that it would be easier to take Zen away by breaking Zen''s legs first.


    Seeing Fred stop one of the warriors in his tracks, Zen wanted to say something, but never expected another warrior not to give him a chance to do so whatsoever.


    This annoyed Zen greatly.


    "Are you courting death?" Zen asked coldly.


    Zen clenched his fist, his body drifting backwards like a ghost, which allowed himself to dodge Mason''s attack easily.


    Then Zen''s fist stretched out as fast as lightning. Before Mason could even react, Zen punched him on the chest heavily.


    Pzzz!


    Though at the consummation level of the Illuminating Soul Realm, Mason was thrown at quite a distance. Mason''s body broke the handrail, which wasn''t even close to them. He then hit several onlookers. Before he managed to stop, he additionally destroyed a few houses.


    The warriors that wanted to seize Zen, still managed to keep their gestures. However, they were left stunned, standing still in their tracks like zombies.

 Chapter 670 Any Other Volunteers (Part One)

    The levels of cultivation had significant differences in terms of power and strength. The cultivators at the pinnacle of the Illuminating Soul Realm were far more powerful and stronger than the third grade of the same Realm.


    Hence, the practitioners who had reached the pinnacle of the Illuminating Soul Realm had rushed to Zen in high confidence.


    Since they had already reached such a cultivation level, they thought that catching a third-grade practitioner like Zen would be a piece of cake.


    It was an easy way to make contributions, hence, everyone rushed to catch Zen.


    When Fred faced Bevis of the Mysterious Luna Hall, others took it as an opportunity to chase down and attack Zen simultaneously.


    Among those who were attacking Zen, Mason was swiftest and most vicious. He didn''t care whether Zen would be injured or broken. If he could still breathe and talk, that would be fine. He vowed to catch and take Zen back no matter what it could cost him.


    Mason took the initiative and started the attack. As the others saw this, they could do nothing but feel bad for Zen. They knew that once Mason put his heart into something, he would surely do anything to get it done. And now that he was determined to catch Zen, the latter could only wish to see another day. If Zen got hit by Mason''s attack, he could lose his legs and might not be able to walk again¡­


    However, something unexpected happened.


    Before anyone could realize what was happening, Zen had already hit Mason with one blow. The blow was so powerful that Mason flew out. He hit on several houses and knocked them down before finally hitting the ground. He was badly injured that even if his wounds healed, it might take half a year to completely recover.


    And with the time he needed t


    ges to Mason.


    ''What happened to him in the past three months? How was he able to improve so much in a short time? It''s amazing! He''s really an interesting subject. It''s either his competence has significantly improved or the practitioners at the pinnacle of the Illuminating Soul Realm have become weak. Either, Zen has proved his incredible strength once more!'' Fred wondered. He could defeat Mason himself, but not with just one blow as Zen did.


    Back in the day when Fred was still in the Elite House, he had already sensed something different in Zen. Fred had seen the great potential in Zen and believed that the latter was no ordinary disciple. He had foreseen that Zen would outperform him in the next three or five years.


    Fred was right on everything about Zen. However, it didn''t take Zen three or five years to do it. Just after three months, Zen was able to improve himself. And now, he had become what Fred had thought of him.


    Fred had always believed in the spirit of martial arts. But just now, he started to doubt it. He felt frustrated to see Zen defeating Mason so easily, but there was nothing he could do but to bury his frustration in silence.

 Chapter 671 Any Other Volunteers (Part Two)

    When Mason finally hit the ground unconscious, Zen glanced at the rest of the practitioners in front of him. He could see the fear in their eyes and knew that no one would dare to attack him. But he continued to taunt them, "Any other volunteers? I''m just warming up!"


    Bevis of the Mysterious Luna Hall was speechless. He froze and felt cold sweats coming out from his body.


    He had just missed the fate that Mason had suffered. If it weren''t for Fred who blocked his attack aimed at Zen, he might be the one knocked down by Zen. He wouldn''t be able to dodge that attack. ''What on earth was that? What kind of fist attack technique did he use on Mason and how was it so powerful?''


    Bevis was left confused.


    Bevis was smart, but it was only natural that he couldn''t completely comprehend the fight attack technique that Zen had used on Mason.


    The Virtual Tribulation Realm masters like Saint Morphens even needed to destabilize the space before using the Mystical Pace, but he was still unable to comprehend the complete first level of Space Law. Neither the broken stone carving on the Cloud Road nor the one in the Cloud Hall was the complete Space Law! Hence, no practitioner was able to comprehend the complete first level of Space Law.


    Zen, on the other hand, had completely comprehended the first level of Space Law when he was in the Upper World.


    In the Upper World, the best cultivation resources were within Zen''s reach. The cultivation resources in the Upper World were much better than those in the Central Region. It was also the reason why many high-ranking practitioners from the Central Region wanted to go to Dragon Soar Arena.


    Afraid of what mi


    said coldly.


    Fred chose to stay neutral at the beginning because he didn''t know that Zen was in the Dragon Soar Arena. But now that he and Zen had finally met, he wouldn''t just standby anymore. Anyone who dared to challenge Zen was challenging the Cloud Hall.


    Though fear in the practitioners had intensified, no one backed down.


    "I guess you all chose to die! I''ll make it quick!" Zen shouted. He didn''t want to waste any more time in this place. He had a rough time to come back to the Central Region. Now that he was about to step out of the Dragon Soar Arena, he wouldn''t let anyone stand in his way. But these practitioners were getting into his nerves and they left him no choice but to fight. When he raised his leg, space began to vibrate. Then like a ghost, Zen floated away.


    Now, Zen was completely out of the Dragon Soar Arena. He was about to attack the practitioners who were blocking his way when he suddenly heard a voice. The voice said, "Don''t be such a big mouth! Maybe the one to be killed is nobody, but you!"


    The voice was sweet and gentle that it made Zen stop momentarily.

 Chapter 672 Letitia Ning

    That was when he saw a young woman floating closer. He stared at her long legs which were bent as though she was reclining. He followed the fit looking limbs up, gazing at her torso and the near perfect curves the woman had. He looked higher, finding it impossible to look away from the flawless oval face. With a pert nose and full lips, she appeared a vision. Her high cheekbones served to draw attention to the seductive allure of her doe-like emerald eyes framed by her ideally arched brows. As she stared back at Zen, she narrowed her captivating eyes flirtatiously.


    Blood rushed to Zen''s face as he gazed at the young lady, and he felt an irresistible impulse to do anything she asked wash over him.


    "Wow! Her flirtation skill is frighteningly strong!" exclaimed Zen kitting his browline curiously. A slight quiver went through his soul before he felt his body return to normal, the fog in his brain cleared, and he could see clearly once more.


    "Huh?" Lady Poison-blood uttered, as a bewildered look crossed her face. Her flirtation skill was exceptional, and it was especially potent against young men! ''That''s odd?! Based on his bone structure, he''s seventeen, eighteen the oldest. That''s when boys are becoming men, and lacking experience. They are already easily swayed by the opposite sex, and unable to resist my flirtation skill! He was only affected for a few seconds and managed to break the enchantment. How''s that possible?'' deliberated Lady Poison-blood, baffled.


    Naturally, she didn''t realize that Zen''s soul was at the Fighting Soul Level! It would be nearly impossible for anyone with such a powerful soul be bamboozled by her flirtation skill!


    "What I am doing is not your business!" snapped Zen grimacing.


    "It''s¨Cit''s none of my business? The man you injured was my Bloodwood Cliff disciple! Do you really believe you can leave here, unscathed? Are you delusional?" she spat out venomously. A wicked gleam in her eyes, her voice became a purr as she continued, "If you like dreaming that much, why not come dream with me? After the wet dream we conjure up, there won''t be anything but you, in a state of complete satiated relaxation..." After her proposition, Lady Poison-blood''s raunchy laughter filled the air.


    It was obvious to Zen that her flirtation skill was an unhanded method of sucking the vitality from men, and he was unmoved. He deduced that a wet dream with her would leave a corpse in place of a man.


    Lady Poison-blood''s flirtation skill was extremely intoxicating! She could use the skill while laughing. As her sweet, alluring voice flooded the air, the other men present, including Fred, felt their blood boil.


    The effect was more pronounced on the low-level practitioners that were in earshot. Hearing her voice reverberating, the men became flushed and had a glazed, dreamy look in their eyes. As the delirium washed over the men, they stared, unable to think straight, with their mouths hanging open and zombie-like at the beautif


    l Tribulation Realm. Since she was originally at the Virtual Tribulation Realm, it wasn''t a breakthrough.


    "Letitia Ning, do you believe you can intimidate me because you are back up at the Virtual Tribulation Realm? You know, you''re still no match against me, right?" shouted Raven frostily.


    ''Oh yeah, Tia''s full name is Letitia Ning, '' Zen reminded himself silently.


    Letitia sneered, and chuckling in a low tone, she stated, "True, I haven''t finished practicing the Sutra of Empyrean Goddess, and my cultivation hasn''t fully recovered, yet. You''re not afraid of me, but..." Letitia dramatically paused before she continued, "Are you afraid of my master?"


    At Letitia''s words, the color drained from Lady Poison-blood''s and Raven''s faces.


    Lady Poison-blood, Raven and Letitia were both leaders of grade four sects. However, the Black Mountain Sect and Bloodwood Cliff were ordinary grade four sects, while the Cloud Hall was an elite, top grade four sect!


    There was a gap between the elite top sect and ordinary ones.


    It wasn''t Letitia but her master that made the Cloud Hall the elite, top grade four sect! However, her master had gone into seclusion and abdicated. She had little involvement in the Cloud Hall''s day to day affairs and appointed Letitia, as the leader in her absence.


    When Letitia finished practicing the Sutra of Empyrean Goddess, she would be able to promote the Cloud Hall to a higher level. Then, the Cloud Hall would be the second grade five sect in the Central Region.


    Lady Poison-blood and Raven might not be afraid of Letitia, but they didn''t dare offend her master.


    "Even if your master is here, you can''t take Zen. He''s part of a major event that involves the Dragon Soar Arena operations. He has no choice but to share the secrets with us!" said a new arrival as he led a group toward them. They were from the Ethereal Spirit Sect, and it was clear they had come on foot.


    When Letitia saw them approaching, she furrowed her brow line.

 Chapter 673 Three Fat People (Part One)

    Lady Poison-blood from Bloodwood Cliff and Raven from Black Mountain Sect could be easily dealt with. They were good, yes, but not ones who could scare a warrior off. Although belonging to the fourth-grade sects, both Bloodwood Cliff and Black Mountain Sect were still very different from Cloud Hall, because the latter was well known as the best fourth-grade sect, housing some of the brightest warriors with huge potentials to be honed.


    The fifth-grade sect, Ethereal Spirit Sect was different. It was the largest, and most influential force in the Central Region apart from World Commercial Alliance.


    Lady Poison-blood''s and Raven''s faces lit up at the sight of Septuplets of Ethereal Spirit coming to them.


    At the Martial Arts Contest, tension rose high as the belonging of Dragon Soar Arena would be decided there. Bloodwood Cliff, Black Mountain Sect, Mysterious Luna Hall as well as some independent warriors would have a chance to get it.


    However, Dragon Soar Arena wasn''t the key problem here. Investigation results showed that runes on the Dragon Soar Arena had already been altered and Zen was the only guy who was able to use it to fly to the Upper World. What on earth did Zen do to those runes? Because of this commotion, the focus was shifted from the Dragon Soar Arena to Zen. What could he be hiding? Zen was nervous, his eyes averted every single one of the other warriors who were in the area.


    If Zen didn''t tell the truth about Dragon Soar Arena, it would be useless even though those warriors had got it. They needed the arena to enter the Upper World, and that was the only thing that mattered. Its functions for martial arts refining weren''t that important to them.


    Nobody expected that a disciple from Cloud hall knew the Dragon Soar Arena best. They could not let Zen go, after all, their ultimate goal was to go to the Upper World through the arena.


    Everyone was confused on how such a warrior of low cultivation level be able to under


    o everyone''s surprise, even phoenix feathers started to grow on her back like wildfire.


    Letitia blinked, and she noticed icy crystals hung on her eyebrows. She stretched out her hand, looking at all the other things that had changed since her metamorphosis. Then everyone noticed that an icy blue halberd had appeared on her hand.


    This halberd, made of unknown kind of ice, was as long as the phoenix. It was so long that two Letitias could measure it up.


    Zen raised his eyebrows, confused. Last time on the Cloud Road, he had never seen Letitia using this halberd. He couldn''t imagine that such a tiny girl had the strength to wield it in a battle.


    Was this the warrior Letitia? Zen looked at her with great interest.


    The stone-faced Lady Poison-blood and Raven felt disappointed. They had wished and expected Letitia to behave herself and stay out of it. But she was never ready to give up Zen. Although Cloud Hall could never succeed in defying Ethereal Spirit Sect, Letitia still wanted Zen to grow even more under her wings.


    Letitia had already made up her mind to protect Zen as well as any of her disciples. Whoever tried to put her warriors in trouble, she was ready to fight for them even if she was going to fight such unfriendly and vicious warriors. Was she crazy for doing this?

 Chapter 674 Three Fat People (Part Two)

    The icy halberd on Letitia''s hand made the atmosphere fiery. Her eyes began to flash light, ready to destroy anyone who would want to mess with her people. Septuplets of Ethereal Spirit showed no emotion on their faces as they moved forward. Each of them took a fighting position, and they together set a battle formation and drew their swords all at the same time.


    Leader of Septuplets of Ethereal Spirit asked in a tone of disbelief, "Letitia, do you want war with Ethereal Spirit Sect?"


    "No, I want nothing but peace from you. But I have to protect Zen. He''s a disciple of Cloud Hall," Letitia said coldly, showing no emotions at all.


    Hearing Letitia''s words, Zen was touched. He was very much unwilling to drag the Cloud Hall into war. He never meant to start it, and never meant to have anyone clean up his mess. He started this, and he should be the only one to end this. As touched as he might be from what Letitia was showing him, he did not want anyone to be in trouble for defending him. He then thought of a plan that would settle this dispute by himself.


    "Cloud Hall has been developing well and rapidly over the past years. A lot of improvements have been made by you and your people. In ten years, I believe Cloud Hall will have an equal position with the Ethereal Spirit Sect," leader of the Septuplets of Ethereal Spirit announced. "But... Letitia, you''re overconfident and proud. If I were you, I would keep a low profile and keep my head down. Cloud Hall is going to pay for fighting with the Ethereal Spirit!" he added threateningly.


    "Don''t be a fool. I know Cloud Hall is looked down upon by Ethereal Spirit Sect. But don''t think you can defeat us easily. You''ll have to take Zen over my dead body. But you must have forgotten, there''re more than dozens of sects in the Central Region. When you''re weak because of our fight, I''m afraid that other sects may harbor malicious intentions towards you. By then,


    lly sons of a wealthy landlord. They were bouncing as they walked.


    Although all of them were fat, nobody would confuse them with one another. You could still tell them apart.


    The first fat guy seemed to be weak and lovely, with fair skin as smooth as silk, with eyes that would sparkle when you called his name. His eyelashes were so long, so full and so elegant.


    The second guy was dark skinned, and he looked like he was sun kissed. He had a fierce-looking face. He would look like a ferocious wild boar if he had a pair of tusks. Anyone who would meet him would initially be threatened and scared.


    As for the third guy, he had a fine color in his rosy cheeks, like he had so much joy in the world. He seemed to be as kind as a Maitreya Buddha, willing to do anything to help others. He had a smile plastered on his face wherever he went.


    They were catching their breath from all the walking. After all, they weren''t really physically fit.


    They stopped before the Dragon Soar Arena, extremely tired. Clearly, their huge bodies had been their great liabilities. Every step took them a lot of effort, making them sweat.


    The fat guy, with the lovely expression on his face, took several deep breaths and rested his arms on his hips, before saying, "Stop, stop!"

 Chapter 675 A Reluctant Compromise

    The sound of screams ripped through the wind, and at once the Septuplets of the Ethereal Spirit stopped, placing their sword sidewards, their lights disconnecting and waning slowly.


    On the other hand, Letitia quickly put her ice halberd behind. Curling her legs, she sat down on it, the phoenix feathers falling down like a gorgeous curtain.


    It was almost unbelievable that the three fat men''s breathing changed so much after running around. They looked like any other common person. In fact, they appeared to be even lower than warriors. But the leaders present knew better. None of them dared look down upon these three men.


    Of the three, the lovely one was called Dillon Shi. The vicious-looking one was named Hobbes Yan, and the red-faced one was Haber Mo.


    These seemingly feeble men were the three managers of the World Business Alliance.


    The alliance didn''t belong to any particular sect. It had started off as an organization established by a group of businessmen who had control of over seventy percent of the life vitality mines and eighty percent of all the businesses in the Central Region.


    With this much power and resources at their disposal, it was an unspoken but uncontested knowledge that their members were the strongest force in the Central Region. They were comparable to the sixth grade sect and were on the level of a sacred place, a destination that many warriors yearned for, but only a few handful reached.


    A sect that was able to achieve a sixth grade level could be bestowed the title of a sacred place.


    Such knowledge about the World Commercial Alliance was accepted as fact. Their power had even been compared to the sacred place. There were none disputed word about their strength, but the most astonishing fact was that it developed so quietly, far from people''s notice.


    The three fat men, for instance, who were also old masters at the Virtual Tribulation Realm, looked like weak, defenseless bumpkins who could be bullied by just anyone. There was no power emanating from them at all.


    Despite this, no one could lay a hand on them. Not Cloud Hall, not the Ethereal Spirit Sect¡­¡­


    Since Letitia had arrived, the area around Dragon Soar Arena had become the center of Oracle City.


    The two old men in the Ethereal Spirit Sect, Letitia''s master, and many more warriors- both those who belonged to sects and those who did not- all kept a close watch on this place.


    Oracle City was a big city, but even its breadth couldn''t stop these old geezers from coming here in a flash. But they had other motives in mind.


    The one called Dillon made a respectful bow in front of the Septuplets of Ethereal Spirit and Letitia. A smile lit up his face as he said, "Everyone, you all came here as guests of Oracle City. It is really not a becoming behavior to fight with one another. How about sitting down and discussing it peacefully, like the esteemed men that you all surely are?"


    Letitia looked at Dillo


    e Internal Elixir Realm." Zen began. "In desperation, I altered the runes on the sixth floor of Dragon Soar Arena. You were unable to soar up after then. But I have put things back in place just now, and it would be just as before."


    "Altered the runes? Humph. You are making irresponsible remarks! Even the top runic experts in the Central Region cannot alter the arena''s runes. They are far too abstruse. So how could a mere disciple have done it?" Raven sneered. Several leading sects had already inferred that the problem was in the runes of the sixth floor. After reaching this conclusion, they had sent for the best runic experts in the Central Region to try to fix the problem. However, all their efforts had been in vain. Not one from the experts was able to decipher the runes. It was far too sophisticated for current knowledge to understand.


    Zen shrugged, then looked at Dillon and said, "The World Commercial Alliance''s branch in Cloudy City must have failed to pass the message to you. If they had, you should have surely known my ability on runes."


    Zen said this nonchalantly, and then everyone turned to Dillon.


    Dillon stared blankly for a moment, shook his round head, then suddenly patted his head with his hand and said, "Zen? Zen Luo! I have totally forgotten about it!"


    A couple of months ago, Michael, the leader of the branch of the World Commercial Alliance in Cloudy City delivered a message. A runic expert with the perfect brushwork had appeared. From then on, Zen would be someone that they kept under close watch. But Dillon did not connect the Zen in front of him to that Zen who was a runic expert.


    How could he have failed to remember this? Squinting his eyes, Dillon nodded to the people of Virtual Tribulation Realm and said, "Zen was right. In terms of mastery of runes, no one but Arnold could compare to him in the whole Central Region!"


    As soon as he finished, an astonished silence befell upon the gathered crowd.

 Chapter 676 The Secret Of A Thousand Years (Part One)

    The fact of the matter was, what Dillon was actually intending to say was that as Zen got increasingly powerful, eventually, even Arnold would end up being no match for him. Besides, Zen had already grasped the Perfect Brushwork at such an early age. On the other hand, Dillon had examined and analyzed the meditation runes presented by Michael painstakingly. Perfect Brushwork was not just the focal point of those runic textures. Their brand-new composition was just truly awe-inspiring as well. An adolescent wouldn''t have a ghost of a chance of drawing them, but Michael wasn''t really the type to fool around and make fun of things of this sort. So, Dillon had no choice but to take his word for it.


    "Mr. Shi, did you show up alongside Zen just to trick us?" Lady Poison-blood questioned him in utter bewilderment.


    Raven was also shaking his head. If they hadn''t witnessed it with their very own eyes, there was probably no way they''d ever trust Dillon''s words that Zen could rival Arnold at all. What did this entail?


    All of Arnold''s unparalleled and never-before-seen rune accomplishments had already been deeply ingrained in the hearts of the citizens. How could Zen''s runes ever hope to hold a candle to Arnold''s?


    "Dillon isn''t trying to deceive you. As strange as it might seem, it''s the truth!" Hobbes, wearing a vicious expression on his face, spat.


    These three mighty fat men were worlds apart in regard to their temper. Dillon was quite unpredictable but still knowledgeable. As for Hobbes, he was much like a bear with a sore head.


    "Hobbes, pull yourself together," Dillon said, shaking his head and feeling a bit irritated. "If you''re having a hard time accepting that fact, why don''t I just go ahead and show you the runes that were drawn by Zen? You might think th


    ''s claims were indeed true.


    Witnessing all of that with her own two eyes made Tia even more doubtful, feeling like something was quite amiss. Could Zen really be that good? Why would he be so considerate as to repair the rune on the sixth floor without asking for anything in return? Could he have some ulterior motives?


    Most of the other leaders were thinking the exact same thing. After Jordan took off from the arena, Raven was actually holding an extra jade card in his hand. "This right here is Jordan''s life jade card. If Jordan ends up dying, this is going to be shattered."


    Stating that, he then nonchalantly tossed the jade card onto the top of the arena, leaving it there to spin continuously. It would actually take so long before they could find out whether Jordan was safe or not, but they weren''t really aware that there was a good chance Jordan wouldn''t ever be coming back.


    Now that they had concrete proof that the arena had been brought back to its original state, the strong men at the Virtual Tribulation Realm decided to just relax and take it easy. Time was on their side, so there was no need to be in a hurry to check whether the arena was secure or not.

 Chapter 677 The Secret Of A Thousand Years (Part Two)

    In fact, they weren''t as excited to fly into the Upper World. On the contrary, what they truly wanted was to gain possession of the arena and simply prepare for themselves an easy way out.


    The stronger the warriors had become, the more terrified they were of death. Despite the fact that they lived a long life, they would still have to die at some point. Time, much like a sharpened knife, would be the enemy who would end up giving them a fatal blow at the final moment of their lives.


    Meaning to say, as soon as they reached the moment when they started feeling as though they had one foot in the grave already, they would go to great lengths to seek treasures, desperate to extend their lives by any means possible, or even dive into the jaws of death just to reach the Kingdom of God and train themselves.


    If they, for whatever reason, failed to get a breakthrough in their training, they could still place their hopes and dreams on the Upper World and look for chances to make a breakthrough. That was precisely the way of thinking of most of the strong men at the Virtual Tribulation Realm.


    "There you have it. So, can I go now?" Zen asked, tipping his head and looking over at Dillon.


    Dillon just bobbed his head and said, "Given that the dilemma of the Dragon Soar Arena has been solved without a hitch, I don''t think there''s anyone who could stop you in Oracle City."


    The strong men at the Virtual Tribulation Realm who were silently watching simply chose to pay Zen no heed. The fact of the matter was, to embarrass an innocent young man at the Illuminating Soul Realm wasn''t an honorable thing to do. Be that as it might, the problem of the ar


    mmodate VIPs. Letitia, evidently, was a VIP.


    As soon as Zen stepped foot inside the palace, Letitia waved her hand over to him, and a huge snowflake pattern materialized on the ground. As it expanded, an enchanted barrier emerged to envelop them.


    "Now, no one will be able to eavesdrop on our conversation in here. Be honest with me. You mentioned that the warriors who flew into the Upper World would beyond doubt be imprisoned for a thousand years. How did you make your way back here?" Letitia queried.


    Grinning from ear to ear, Zen brought out a little container he got from the space ring and tossed it over to Letitia. "As stated by the rules of the Dragon Lineage Human, every human who has a drop of Genuine Dragon blood in their system shall become one of them. Take this. This one is for you!"


    Letitia examined the bottle, inside of which was a drop of blood pulsating rhythmically. In spite of the fact that she was rather capable and well-informed, she gulped instinctively struggling to come up with a response. "So, you''re telling me this is what Genuine Dragon blood looks like?"

 Chapter 678 Zens Resentment

    With the years he spent in this colorful world, Zen had also heard of a few things about the Genuine Dragon.


    The Dragon Lineage Human had its descendants scattered all over the world. Where Zen was from, they had remained in power for a time but were eventually thrown off their rule.


    They had kept some beasts alive as their familiars- some of them were the flood dragon, the winged dragon, and horned dragon. When their power was toppled, the beasts became ownerless and wandered.


    The records about the True Dragon dated back to 160, 000 years before, at a time when a far-reaching battle between the union of seven divine kingdoms and the Dragon Lineage Humans was happening on the other side of the Chaotic Ocean of Stars.


    Even though the Dragon Lineage Humans had inherited power from the Genuine Dragon, they were defeated by the alliance of the seven kingdoms. One of the goals of the alliance was to wipe out all the Dragon Lineage Humans. Even after their victory, they continued to pursue and kill the descendants as they were running away.


    But desperate men were the most dangerous. When those Dragon Lineage Humans were cornered with no way of escape, they offered millions of their lives to their ancestors. With enough people being killed as sacrifice, they opened a tunnel from which they summoned a Genuine Dragon.


    According to old retellings, the dragon that emerged was of such massive size that people who laid eyes on it were not even able to tell where it ended and began. From the front, there was a glimpse of its head, its eyes burning in the darkness. Then, after it breathed out once, the tunnel collapsed, leaving no trace of the dragon.


    The world''s energy was too weak to support the legendary beast. Despite millions of sacrificed souls, it was only enough for a moment. With one breath, the dragon disappeared.


    However, the Dragon Lineage Human''s sacrifice had not been in vain. So powerful was the dragon that even just its breath was strong enough to annihilate people from all three of the seven kingdoms. The four kingdoms that existed today were those who had survived.


    The Dragon Lineage Human had all but vanished, but the people had not been able to forget the dragon, inspiring both awe and terror to those who had laid eyes on it. Those who lived to tell the tale passed it on, and its legend was a living and breathing story. Hundreds of thousands of years had changed the surface of the world considerably- mountain tumbled and seas had become mulberry fields, but the image of the Genuine Dragon was as fresh as yesterday in people''s minds.


    The Genuine Dragon had power beyond anything that anyone could conceive.


    Which was why Letitia was surprised.


    That day when Zen left Cloud Hall secretly, Letitia had found him. She had seen him in Cloud Road, and so she had a clear idea of his abilities. Luck was on this man''s side. He would not be killed easily. It was no surprise that he managed to get in Cloud Hall, along with the best of the best.


    behind like you did to her?" Zen shouted, his eyes burning with rage.


    Despite her position as the leader of Cloud Hall, Letitia was young. She was carrying a huge responsibility upon her shoulders, but her heart was still tender. She felt stinging in her eyes as guilt crept inside her chest.


    She had fought side by side with Zen on the Cloud Road.


    The time she spent with him was when she was her most free. She forgot her position, her responsibilities, and just like people of her age, she was allowed to make her mistakes.


    If other people saw that a master of Virtual Tribulation Realm, the leader of Cloud Hall, was being questioned by a mere disciple, they would have been at a loss for words.


    Her delicate oval face twisted in guilt, like a reprimanded child in the brink of tears. She hung her head down and murmured, so softly that Zen almost missed it, "Sorry..."


    He wanted to tell her off and curse, and say that her apology made no difference, but seeing Letitia''s expression, Zen became soften.


    He clenched his fists. It was no use to blame her.


    The warrior''s world was cruel. Eddie joined no sect and he was an independent warrior, but he was the most powerful one in Central Region. Even the Ethereal Spirit Sect would not want to upset him, let alone Cloud Hall which was much weaker sect!


    As the leader of Cloud Hall, Letitia had only done what she had to.


    "Right," Zen grunted.


    Looking at Zen, Letitia opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.


    Suddenly, an old woman''s voice sounded, "Young man, it is the Evil East Lord who has taken away your sister. If you''re brave enough, go to find him and save her. Do not pass the blame on Cloud Hall. This matter is your concern."


    Zen was shocked at her words. An old woman with silvery hair was walking towards them, her back hunched from old age. She went through Letitia''s enchanted barrier without any difficulty.


    Letitia welcomed her quickly, holding her arm and addressing her as "Master."

 Chapter 679 Letitia鈥榮 Little Secret (Part One)

    Although the old lady looked to be senile, there was breathtaking force in her cloudy eyes. Her halting steps seemed like they concealed profound skills.


    Before Zen heard Letitia call the old lady master, he did not understand who she was. In fact, the old woman was the one behind the success of Cloud Hall.


    Although Letitia had such a great talent that she had almost finished the final stage of the Sutra of Empyrean Goddess, which was the top method skill, she was still too lightweight for the position of head of Cloud Hall.


    The old lady didn''t respond to Letitia''s greeting but said to Zen, "You are only a disciple of the Elite House. How dare you question the head of Cloud Hall to her face? Enlighten me!" The old lady then turned to Letitia. "Tia, you have made a mistake. How can you stand there and allow a disciple of the Elite House to speak like this? Don''t you think you are losing face here, as the head of Cloud Hall? What about your authority? You, the head of Cloud Hall, actually apologized to him!"


    Letitia opened her mouth, wanting to point out to her master that Zen was quite unusual. However, she was afraid that her master would then ask her why.


    Why was Zen so unusual? She could not answer such a question. She never insisted on her authority before Zen. That was the reason why Zen was different... But if she really said that, her master would have all the more reason to admonish her.


    "Eddie Cui plans to set the Lustful Demon Array to break through the limitations of death. He wants to find three warriors at the Internal Elixir Realm. Each of the warriors must have a Purple Power Body, which is rare," the old lady said to Zen in a hoarse voice. "The Purple Power Body is exceptional, but it is uncommon. What''s more impossib


    would be killed straightaway without being shown any sympathy.


    In short, the Martial Arts Contest was a field for gladiator battles. Due to the Dragon Soar Arena, each sect paid more attention to the Martial Arts Contest. They were more eager to win the top spot. It was but natural that the contest was very fierce.


    Someone once remarked that the Martial Arts Contest held by the World Commercial Alliance every decade or so was a small-scale sectarian war. It was an opportunity to test the strengths of each sect in peacetime.


    "Are there any conditions for a warrior to attend the Martial Arts Contest?" Zen voiced out another question.


    Before her master could get in a word, Letitia demanded, her eyebrows furrowing, "Are you planning on attending it?"


    "Of course I am!" Zen looked at Letitia, determination etched across his face.


    Zen had always been planning to take part in the Martial Arts Contest. He was already a member of the Dragon Lineage Human. That was to say he belonged to the Dragon Abyss Palace. He was dependent on the Dragon Soar Arena if he wanted to fly to the Genuine Dragon World. It was obvious that the arena was crucial to him.

 Chapter 680 Letitia鈥榮 Little Secret (Part Two)

    "Do you know the cultivation levels of the others who attend it?" Letitia asked him again.


    Zen thought for a moment before shaking his head. "I really don''t."


    Letitia gave him a bitter smile, also shaking her head. "You don''t even know how the others are situated, yet you plan on attending the Martial Arts Contest? The warriors who take part in the contest could be at any level below the late stage of the Internal Elixir Realm. They are elite disciples cultivated by old geezers of level four or five sects! Are you certain you can fight them? With you being at the third level of the Illuminating Soul Realm?


    You are not strong like Blake, Benson, and some other disciples of Cloud Hall. You''re not even in the running.


    Moreover, the candidates attending the contest have already been chosen. If you wish to attend it, you have to attend it as an independent warrior and get the qualification by yourself.


    If you like the idea of getting yourself killed in the process, I won''t stop you," Letitia spouted out, her words a firm warning. Zen grew silent.


    "I must attend the Martial Arts Contest," he said as she looked at him coldly. "I must obtain the Dragon Soar Arena, and Marilyn must die!"


    Making this announcement, Zen turned around and left without bidding them goodbye.


    "You!" Letitia had previously planned to warn Zen not to attend the Martial Arts Contest, because she knew he would probably die otherwise. But Zen''s short speech had not given her any leeway to fully convince him.


    However, the old lady, Letitia''s master, smiled appreciatively. She had lived for long and was very experienced. She had been angry that Zen blamed Letitia


    lived for so long. How could she not see what was blooming between Letitia and Zen?


    The way Letitia talked to Zen was so different from how she reacted to others. She did not behave like she was the rightful head of the Cloud Hall at all! How could her master not put two and two together then? She knew the secret Letitia was harboring.


    The old lady knew that Letitia and Zen had gone through something together at the Cloud Road, however, she did not know exactly what had occurred. It did not matter, in any case. As long as Zen continued to have breakthroughs and could be powerful enough, she wouldn''t mind marrying Tia off to Zen.


    As per her point of view, Zen truly was a rare genius. His potential was as great as Tia''s. For the sake of his cultivation, using up all the resources at Cloud Hall would be worth it.


    It was a pity that Zen was too weak right now. Not all geniuses got the chance to grow without a spanner in the works. Zen expected to kill Marilyn and declared a war against Eddie Cui in the process. It wasn''t certain that Zen would survive the Martial Arts Contest at all.

 Chapter 681 Pass Or Fail (Part One)

    It was quite a busy day at Oracle City. All the restaurants, hotels, and teahouses were filled with tourists, martial artists, and cultivators of different levels.


    The Martial Arts Contest had surely piqued the interest of almost half of the martial artists from the Central Region. But not all of them were qualified to take part in the contests. Still, these martial artists went all the way here just to watch the battles between the great masters of different sects. It was going to be a worthwhile trip if they could learn a new fighting technique from these masters.


    Some of these practitioners were even hoping to get an epiphany from watching the fights. Though there wasn''t any assurance to it, it was worth a try.


    Zen was asking around for the Martial Arts Contest registration booth, but no one seemed to really take him seriously. After several attempts, someone had finally pointed him in the right direction.


    Although the contest was open to all practitioners in the Central Region, there were limited available slots. Hence, some pre-qualifying matches were designed to identify the qualified participants to the Martial Arts Contest.


    But the pre-qualifying matches were intended only for the practitioners from unknown sects who at least reached the Illuminating Soul Realm. And only after passing these matches could they move on to the Martial Arts Contest.


    While for the famous sects, they each could get three to ten reserved slots in the Martial Arts Contest. This meant that participants from Cloud Hall, Bloodwood Cliff, Ethereal Spirit Sect, and other top sects could get into the Martial Arts Contest without going through the pre-qualifying matches. Some top individual warriors could also get a reserved slot to participate in the Martial Arts Contes


    Only a dull thud was heard. The punch was strong and powerful, but it wasn''t enough to even scratch the stone.


    The old man casually glanced at the green stone. He then wrote something on his note and finally declared, "Failed! Next, please!"


    The practitioner was stunned to hear the results, but he couldn''t do anything. He left with a broken heart, shaking his head as he moved away from the registration booth.


    ''What a waste of supreme life vitality crystal! He didn''t even get a second chance! Darn it!'' Zen thought to himself, feeling pity for the practitioner. This was how the World Commercial Alliance made money. It was unfair, but nothing was indeed fair in this world.


    Now Zen understood why only a few practitioners would sign up for the contest. A supreme life vitality crystal was not cheap; it was equal to more than a million low-grade life vitality crystals. For the second and third grade sects, and numerous famous families in the Central Region, supreme life vitality crystals were nothing; but not for any ordinary practitioners. Even most of the practitioners at the Illuminating Soul Realm could not afford to spend a supreme life vitality crystal.

 Chapter 682 Pass Or Fail (Part Two)

    However, even though some practitioners didn''t pass the pre-qualifying test, they didn''t think that the supreme life vitality crystal went to waste. They took it as a payment for a great opportunity to broaden their horizons. Pass or fail, the practitioners couldn''t take back the supreme life vitality crystal.


    When the first practitioner left, another practitioner tried his luck.


    The practitioner had a crew cut and calm eyes. He was carrying a navy-blue machete on his back. He walked up to the old man, carelessly tossed a supreme life vitality crystal on the desk, and then walked towards the pale green stone.


    "I wonder if he can make it!"


    "He has reached the top-grade Illuminating Soul Realm. I think he can make the magnetic stone change its color."


    "I won''t be so sure. Earlier, two practitioners has also reached that realm, remember? But they failed anyway."


    The crowd exchanged opinions with each other. As Zen listened, he finally got to know that it was a magnetic stone. It was quite different from any other ordinary stones that even the practitioners who reached the top-grade Illuminating Soul Realm would have failed to affect it.


    The practitioner with the machete approached the green stone, but he didn''t do anything. He just stood slackly and simply waved his hand towards the stone.


    There was nothing at first. Then a sound of wind came.


    Then suddenly, the wind rushed towards the stone and hit it hard.


    ''Wow! That''s sharp and fierce! He applied a bit of the principle of wind.'' Zen thought to himself. This man hadn''t even reached the Internal Elixir Realm yet, but he had the strength that could not be underestimated. It was quite rare that a practitioner who


    inating Soul Realm could take part in the pre-qualifying test, only a few had truly succeeded. The magnetic stone was already a great obstacle and no one knew if there could be another test after that.


    Most of the practitioners who had passed the test were at the top level of the Illuminating Soul Realm and some had even reached the Internal Elixir Realm.


    As of to date, the number of the practitioners of the Illuminating Soul Realm who had passed the test was less than ten. Out of those who passed, most of them were already at the eighth or ninth level of Illuminating Soul Realm. That meant that they were almost the best martial artists among those who were in the same realm.


    But standing before them right now was a practitioner of the third-grade Illuminating Soul Realm who was about to take on the challenge. The bystanders who didn''t sign up for the pre-qualifying test were just there for the drama. They wanted to see which one of the challengers would pass and which one would fail. And for them, Zen was considered rather weak and they were looking forward to seeing him fail and eventually embarrass himself.

 Chapter 683 Pass The Test

    It was noon. The sun was blazing hot. Zen passed by a lot of warriors who looked at him with confusion. He did not pay any attention to these comments around and walked straight to the side of the magnetic stone. He stopped before the stone and started to examine it carefully.


    He found the magnetic stone to be very strange. He sensed something strange about it, some energy he had never felt before. Even the Law Power in it was very special from all the other powers he had learned.


    As the most basic constitution in the world, the Original Law existed almost everywhere. Just like mountains and boulders that contained the power of the Earth Law, various peculiar flames also contained the power of the Fire Law and the Space Law was seen everywhere in the vast space. Everything had a law, following a certain path and rule.


    However, most ordinary people could not sense them, understand or even get use of them. It took special skill to understand most of the laws that were known to mankind.


    The magnetic stone contained the power of seven Original Laws, which were the laws of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Wind and Electricity. All these seven Original Laws were evenly interwoven with each other which gave Zen a very peculiar feeling.


    The previous cultivator named Owen used the Wind Law to inspire the Wind Law stored in the magnetic stone. This was responsible for the change of the magnetic stone''s color.


    ''Using one power of the Original Law could make the magnetic stone change. What if I use the combined power of seven Original Laws? What will happen?'' Zen suddenly had such an idea in his mind. Even he himself did not know why he had come up with such a fantastic idea.


    Little did he know that he was not the only one to have such an idea.


    The magnetic stone was indeed, a very unique stone. It did not belong to metal nor iron classification. It was so hard that neither sharp knives nor spears could break it. Even such a small piece of magnetic stone could not be broken by the all-out blow by a refiner of Virtual Tribulation Realm. It was harder than diamond, with very exceptional strength and durability.


    This magnetic stone was excavated from the Magnetic Sacred Mountain in the extreme depths of the Chaotic Ocean of Stars. Not discovered by any human, it weathered at the top of the mountain and then dropped down after millions of years of natural evolution.


    Some refiners also inferred that it should require the master of seven Original Laws which were contained in the Magnetic Sacred Mountain to process or disassemble the magnetic stone.


    At this point, it was almost impossible for the refiners of Central Region to do that. Thus, this stone was very precious, indeed.


    "Combine seven laws? Young man, what an audacious idea!" The cyan dragon said, his voice echoing in Zen''s mind. After swallowing that evil spirit of the Owl Beast, the cyan dragon had rarely said anything. Maybe because he seemed to be very busy with absorbing the soul power of the Owl Beast. Swallowing the spirit of the Owl Beast helped him recover from his weakness.


    "What did you mean? Is it really that hard to mix seven pieces of Law Power?" Zen asked, confused by the cyan dragon''s statement.


    "Yes, very difficult. Besides, the magnetic stone here is not just an ordinary magn


    ld change the color of the stone and sustain it for around twenty seconds. That was pretty impressive!


    Some weaker refiners, such as the ones under the ultimate level of the Illuminating Soul Realm, could change colors, too. But the change could only last up to two seconds. But still, it counted as passing the test, as per the rule.


    Owen, the refiner from Woollen Grassland who took the test before Zen, used the power of the ultimate level of the Illuminating Soul Real to change the color. He was able to change the color of the magnetic stone and sustain it to up to nine seconds! Even that was already impressive.


    But now, a new warrior held the record.


    The refiner at the level three of Illuminating Soul Realm had sustained the color for more than thirty seconds!


    Upon the stone''s color changing, a lot of people were convinced that maybe the stone was indeed, broken. Thirty seconds had passed, and it had not yet reverted back to its original color, green. The longer the color stayed red, the more suspicion aroused.


    Forty seconds passed.


    Count was still going on and one minute passed.


    The magnetic stone stayed the same, without any sign of changing back to green.


    "I cannot believe that even the magnetic stone would be broken!"


    "Maybe it has been punched for so many times that it got broken"


    "The magnetic stone is broken by punches! Are you kidding? The magnetic stone had fallen from the sky to a sacred mountain. How could it be broken by punches? It''s more powerful than that!"


    After five minutes, the color started to change, fading from red into green.


    Noticing the change, Zen nodded slightly, then walked up to the old man with mustache and asked, "Did I pass?"


    The old man, a wise judge for the test, stared at the magnetic stone with a blank face. He was an expert in his field that he had more knowledge than the refiners around him. To the old man''s delight, the magnetic stone was not damaged at all by frequent punches, not by wear-and-tear. It was still functioning properly.


    The old man was still in deep thought when he heard Zen''s words. He looked up to Zen in such astonishment, still disoriented, and said, "Yes, you have passed!"

 Chapter 684 The Strong Warriors At The Pre-qualifying Match

    "What? He passed the test?"


    "Something has to be wrong with the magnetic stone! He couldn''t have passed otherwise! Does World Commercial Alliance have such low prestige?"


    "Is this a joke? Maybe I''ll try it too! For all I know, I could pass."


    The old man''s announcement regarding Zen''s passing of the examination caused quite a buzz in the atmosphere. Most onlookers were not convinced by the verdict.


    The vast majority of warriors present were at the Illuminating Soul Realm, with their grades ranging from seven to nine.


    They had come to join in the fun of the pre-qualifying match. At the same time, they also wanted to see the strength of other warriors to estimate whether they could defeat them, and to gauge their chances of qualifying.


    To their disappointment, even being on the eighth or ninth grade of the Illuminating Soul Realm seemed a bit weak, especially in competition against those who had reached the consummation.


    Not all the warriors were from large families. Many independent warriors, or those who were from minor sects, had very little money in their pockets. But a number of them carried a supreme life vitality crystal, which they were reluctant to give to the old examiner.


    After all, the passing rate was too low. It was very difficult for the warriors at the Illuminating Soul Realm to earn a supreme crystal, so they didn''t want to take a risk. It was very likely they would lose their crystals and never get anything back.


    A fellow at the third grade of the Illuminating Soul Realm had somehow appeared among these people. The power of thunder and lightning in his weak punch was low, but due to this very punch, the magnetic stone''s color had changed for a total of 5 minutes!


    It was hard for them to believe what their eyes showed them, so they began to wonder if the stone had broken.


    Who could this young man be? It was Zen. Whether he passed or not had nothing to do with these warriors. Still, when the old man announced Zen''s passing, they were jealous enough to complain. "Why? Why and how did he pass?"


    "If he passes, all of us pass!"


    "The World Commercial Alliance has lost all of its credibility. This is obviously cheating!"


    "What are they even thinking? It is impossible for a guy at the third grade of the Illuminating Soul Realm to pass the pre-qualifying match! He is sure to die at the Martial Arts Contest!"


    As the warriors complained and whined, the old man rebuked, his cold face frowning with displeasure. "Shut up!" he said.


    The warriors'' ears buzzed at the sound of his voice. The look he gave was so cold t


    rs had reached the consummation of the Illuminating Soul Realm. Most of them had reached the early-stage Internal Elixir Realm and a small group had reached the middle-stage Internal Elixir Realm.


    These were some of the best independent warriors. They were all earth-level talents or higher. They had gotten what they had without using the resources of influential sects.


    Two warriors at the middle-stage Internal Elixir Realm stood leaning against the wall, their eyes closed. Neither of them opened their eyes, but they had sensed the unusual restlessness in the hall.


    One whispered to the other, "Don''t you find it strange that this fellow is only at the third grade of Illuminating Soul Realm and still qualified?"


    The other warrior opened his eyes, looked around lazily, spotted Zen and then closed his eyes indifferently. "Yeah, he is at the third grade. But it seems like he has some special gifts. Maybe he just understands some laws deeply."


    "Do you want to play tricks on him after the match starts?"


    Contrary to the other warrior, this one showed a keen interest in Zen.


    "Meh... Don''t bore me. Our goal is the main draw match. Don''t cause any trouble," the other one replied, still not bothered.


    In the face of all these warriors that were obviously talking about him, Zen stood with a calm face. He was as normal as he was before he passed the examination. He was a warrior. Occasionally, he suffered from violent mood swings, which was when his will of martial arts shook a bit. But when he was determined to achieve his goal, he would always stick to it no matter how difficult it was.


    And now, to kill Marilyn, which he was determined to do, he needed to pass the pre-qualifying match.

 Chapter 685 A Special Magic Array

    Soft footsteps echoed as Zen entered the palace. A white-faced refiner immediately appeared in front of him and insolently eyed him from head to toe, his arms crossed against his chest.


    "Wow, the third rank of the Illuminating Soul Realm! I''m curious as to how you have signed up for this," the white-faced man said. He grinned toothily at Zen, but Zen just glanced at him.


    Based on his life vitality''s fluctuation level, Zen gauged that he had just entered the Internal Elixir Realm.


    "Get out of my way," Zen said coldly.


    He was here to take the pre-qualifying match and not to stir up trouble. Plus, this was the World Commercial Alliance''s place, so the Alliance wouldn''t just stand by and do nothing if a fight ensued.


    "Tsk tsk," the white-faced refiner shook his head. "So much pride, so little talent. Tell me, how did you pass the test of the magnetic stone?"


    Zen frowned a little, and his eyes looked defeated. It seemed that wherever he went, he always came across some people who wanted to make things hard for him. He thought for a second, then he smirked, "You really want to know?"


    "I said I''m curious, didn''t I? Have you got no ears?" the refiner said. He cocked one eyebrow as he waited impatiently for Zen''s answer.


    "Curious or not, it''s none of your business. How I passed the test of the magnetic stone is no concern of yours," Zen calmly answered him and stressed each syllable of his words.


    Laughter erupted from the refiners around them. It was amusing to see a refiner at the Internal Elixir Realm get mocked by a refiner at the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    Of course, the white-faced refiner didn''t think that it was amusing at all. Being laughed at brought a rather odd-looking flush to his sickly pale face.


    "You¡­" he said with gritted teeth. He positioned himself into an offensive stance, ready to pounce on Zen.


    However, Zen just stared at him without even a hint of unease. He was motionless as a crocodile that lurked in a deep pond.


    In the Upper World, Zen had not only learned the nine Original Laws, his soul had also entered the Fighting Soul Realm. On top of that, he had ingested a drop of Genuine Dragon blood essence, and ten drops of Genuine Dragon blood in the Dragon Lineage Human''s refining sanctum in the last two months. After that, his refining level skyrocketed and his body became much stronger.


    Now, he was already at the third level of Malicious Wheel of Life and Death, a tier 5 cultivation method.


    When Zen had reached the first level of skill, he had easily defeated Frank. He was still a nature creature at that time. Now that Zen had stepped into the third rank of Illuminating Soul Realm, his strength improved greatly and manifested itself at the Dragon Soar Arena. Moreover, he had also fought with Mason from the Bloodwood Cliff. With his knowledge of the Space Law, he had seriously injured Mason w


    as also a test. To be more precise, it was an enormous magic array the World Commercial Alliance set up.


    This magic array could top all the other arrays that Zen had ever seen. The one he had seen in the Cloud Sect was like a kid''s toy compared to this magic array.


    The middle-aged refiner spent half of his time elaborating on the rules, then took a step aside. Then, he uncovered the curtain that hung over the palace wall with a single wave.


    "Now that you all know the rules, it''s time to get into the magic array!"


    The middle-aged refiner added with a smile, "Good luck to you all!"


    Behind the curtain was a big black shadow, which was the entrance of this huge magic array. The participants of the pre-qualifying match formed a line in front of the entrance and disappeared into it one by one.


    Zen was the last to arrive, so he was the last in line. The middle-aged refiner had seen Zen before he entered and was surprised at his refining level. However, he smiled at Zen and said, "Good luck to you."


    "Thank you," Zen said calmly, then entered the magic array.


    The middle-aged refiner rubbed the bridge of his nose. It was incredible. The pre-qualifying match was held for several days. Even refiners at the peak of the Illuminating Soul Realm were rare in the pre-qualifying match, but here was a refiner at the third rank of the Illuminating Soul Realm. However, the middle-aged refiner sensed Zen''s confidence! Did he really think that he could get into the main draw match?


    After Zen entered the magic array, he found himself in the middle of a vast white space. Little by little, the outline of the surrounding scenery revealed itself.


    On the lush grassland was a pagoda, which was as tall as three people. Two words which read "Zen Luo" were inscribed on it. An archer with a long bow stood on the pagoda.


    "What an interesting magic array!" Zen said as a smile crossed his face.

 Chapter 686 Defending The Pagoda

    According to the rules that the middle-aged man narrated, the pre-qualifying test consisted of two stages.


    At the first stage, the contestants would need to defend their pagodas. Their performances would determine how many points they got. The pre-qualifying test was all about the points. Only the top three contestants, who got the most points of the lot, would qualify to enter the main draw match.


    Zen''s points were on display on one side of his pagoda. It said zero at the moment. A crystal ball, recording the times the pagoda had been attacked, was set up on top of it.


    A resounding toll came from the sky as Zen observed the situation.


    As the sound trailed off, a thick line of black dots appeared at the end of the grassland.


    "There they come!"


    Zen''s eyes glittered. His gaze focused on the black dots. Spiders with three eyes on their heads marched at him. Dim light shone from their eyes. Individually, these three-eyed spiders were not dangerous, but when they showed up together in numbers, they could be perilous.


    As per the rules, they were to attack Zen and his pagoda. The pagoda would get destroyed if attacked more than twenty times, which in turn would mean that Zen got knocked out of the contest.


    Zen had to kill as many spiders as possible and keep them away from the pagoda if he wanted to be in the running at all.


    When they closed in on him and came within a certain range, the bowman on his pagoda drew an arrow and launched it.


    The shaft went hissing through a three-eyed spider and sent it collapsing on the ground.


    The pagoda in itself had counterattacking capacity. Each time a shaft flew from its top, a three-eyed spider was killed. The bowman was as quick as a snake. The arrow seemed to kill its prey wherever he sent it.


    However, despite the bowman''s accuracy, he could only kill one spider at a time. Too many three-eyed spiders swarmed towards the pagoda. It looked like a sea of spiders was about to flood the arena. The bowman wouldn''t be able to defend the pagoda all alone by himself. Zen had to contribute in the fight.


    "Kill!"


    Zen charged at the spiders at the right time.


    The creatures were not tough to deal with, but because there were at least a thousand of them, Zen and the bowman needed to kill them as swiftly as they could. Otherwise, Zen would fail at this stage, even in the case that tens of the three-eyed spiders managed to pass and attack the pagoda.


    With a single swing of his sword, more than a dozen spiders were hacked to pieces, turning into spots of light of different hues and colors, then vanishing into nothingness.


    Zen swerved his sword and le


    pre-qualifying test and enter the main draw match. In addition, runic experts ordinarily don''t even know how to fight, so why is he here?'' Doubts flew to the middle-aged man''s mind one after another.


    "I know him. It is him," Michael confirmed. "Alas, I don''t know why he took part in the Martial Arts Contest either."


    "No wonder he was so slow in the first round. It took him five minutes to exterminate the spiders. I''m afraid he won''t make it to the fifth round after all."


    "The fifth?" Michael shook his head and smiled. "He is supposed to make it to the tenth round."


    Another elder grinned at this. "Elder Mo, I think you think too highly of this young man. The seventh round is the beast attack. I assume the boy will only make it to the sixth or seventh round at most. He''s likely to fail in the sixth round."


    The elders knew the magic array like the back of their hands. It wasn''t easy to defend the pagoda. As the levels progressed, the beasts too successively got stronger. The first rounds were relatively easy, but after the fifth round, every task got at least twice as difficult as the last one.


    Although the elders disagreed with each other about which stage Zen was likely to fail at, they all agreed that he wouldn''t pass the examination.


    After all, it was common knowledge that runic experts weren''t strong. And Zen was only at the third grade of the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    About a dozen martial arts practitioners, who were at the ultimate level of the Illuminating Soul Realm, had passed the entrance exam already. This time, all the contestants who had passed the pre-qualifying test and who also ranked among the top three were at high grades of the Internal Elixir Realm.


    So much weaker than them, how could Zen pass?

 Chapter 687 Reinforcing The Pagoda

    The members of the World Commercial Alliance didn''t underestimate Zen. After all, this magic array wasn''t designed for the warriors at the Illuminating Soul Realm like Zen, nor for those who already reached the peak of the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    In fact, the massive magic array was particularly designed for the warriors at the Internal Elixir Realm. There weren''t many warriors at the peak of the Illuminating Soul Realm that were permitted to enter it. However, they were able to make it to the sixth or seventh wave of attacks before their pagodas were destroyed.


    "Let''s see. Anyway, it''s amazing that a runic expert could pass the registration examination by simply changing the color of the magnetic stone," Michael said with surprise, shaking his head. Although he admired Zen''s rune accomplishments, the magic array hadn''t tested the rune level. However, it did test the strength of the warriors.


    "Actually, I''m also curious about how this guy passed the registration examination," said the middle-aged warrior with a smile.


    Zen''s cultivation was far too low to be noticeable. He was a warrior at the third grade of the Illuminating Soul Realm and attracted the gaze of other warriors at the Internal Elixir Realm.


    The middle-aged warrior continued, "I have already sent someone to ask Xiao to bring the records of the examination today. I don''t even know whether he''s on his way here."


    While they were talking, an old man arrived. The man standing at the gate was Xiao, whom the middle-aged warrior had mentioned before. He was exactly the examiner with the moustache, who was in charge of the registration.


    Michael greeted Xiao with a broad smile on his face, "Hello, Xiao. You''ve arrived at the perfect moment, as we were just talking about you."


    Xiao nodded. His eyes had already shifted to the huge Picture Slab. He then asked, "What''s the result of the warrior, Zen Luo, in the magic array?"


    What he said confused Michael and the middle-aged warrior a lot. Michael asked, "Why do you want to know his result?"


    With a smile, Xiao shook his head without saying anything at all. He then narrowed his eyes on the Picture Slab, where Zen''s picture was displayed vividly, next to all of his personal information.


    "He is the 392nd to pass the first wave?" A look of surprise graced Xiao''s face. "What a low result," he muttered.


    Zen''s result was beyond his expectation. He thought that Zen had the potential to do much better than that.


    Seeing Xiao''s surprised expression, Michael and the middle-aged warrior grew even more confused. Michael said, "What''s wrong? This result is quite normal. He is just a runic exp


    main draw match. Michael, let''s make a bet."


    Michael laughed. He didn''t say anything. He obviously didn''t accept the bet.


    While they were talking, the second wave of attacks commenced in the magic array.


    Zen was still studying the points beside his pagoda. He was surprised at the ingenuity of the magic array. After he killed the three-eyed spiders, he got a total of 1, 000 points.


    He didn''t count the number of spiders in the fight. It seemed that he had killed exactly 1, 000 spiders, resulting in one spider offering one point.


    These points were the key to getting three places. Most importantly, they could even be used to reinforce the pagoda.


    The middle-aged warrior had also mentioned this rule before. With waves of attacks, the beasts in the magic array would become so strong that warriors wouldn''t be able to kill them by themselves. So, that was why they had to make the best use of their points. With the upgrading of the pagoda, its strength would improve and help the guardians.


    "1, 000 points for reinforcement!"


    Zen placed all his points into the pagoda without the slightest hesitation.


    Instantly, his points recorded next to the pagoda returned to zero. At the same time, the pagoda was shrouded by a red light. Soon, the red light dissipated, allowing for a new pagoda to appear.


    The reinforced pagoda had risen one meter in height. The edge of the pagoda was inlaid with a golden pattern, which made it even stronger. Moreover, there was one more bowman on the pagoda, which meant that there were a total of two bowmen.


    How much could this pagoda possibly be reinforced with more points?


    While Zen was looking up at his pagoda, a bell rang out in the sky. The second wave of attack was about to begin.

 Chapter 688 What Just Happened Here

    Zen leaped to his feet and stood at the top of the pagoda. From where he was standing, he could see the horizons unfold before him. It was a breathtaking view to see.


    However, when he turned his eyes to the end of the grassland, he saw something strange. As he looked carefully, he realized that it was a group of ogres running violently towards him. The ogres were wearing silver armor with one shoulder exposed. Each ogre was holding a spear in each hand. They marched towards Zen in formation.


    "They plan to use spears to launch long attacks!" Zen was rather impressed than worried. He raised his brows, and then rushed towards his enemy without any hesitation.


    The ogres ran surprisingly fast. If these ogres got any nearer to Zen''s pagoda, they could just throw their spears simultaneously and destroy the pagoda. So, Zen was left with no choice but to launch an attack and kill them all before they could get any nearer.


    "Zap¡­"


    The two bowmen on the pagoda covered Zen and killed two ogres with their arrows.


    Meanwhile, Zen rushed to the ogres and was about to launch an attack, but something unexpected happened.


    The ogres roared at that time.


    "Brouhaha!"


    It was so loud that anyone within a mile radius could break their eardrums. After the roar, the ogres'' eyes turned crimson red. Then, they raised their spears and started to attack Zen.


    "What the heck? So, now they can attack on their own!"


    Zen initially thought that the ogres were only after his pagoda, but it turned out that they were also after him. He wasn''t prepared but quickly dodged them. He flashed through the rain of spears, brandishing his Blood Drinking Sword to return the favor.


    The ogres were far stronger than the three-eyed spiders. They were also different in some ways. The three-eyed spiders only targeted Zen''s pagoda and didn''t launch a direct attack on him. The ogres, on the other hand, were actively attacking Zen while running at top speed.


    Fortunately, the number of ogres was smaller than that of the three-eyed spiders.


    "Charge!"


    While he was avoiding the spears, he was swinging his sword at the ogres, cutting their throats. He could cut four ogres'' throats with just one swing.


    Zen could have killed these ogres instantly, but he chose not to. He had a new insight about the minimalist way when he practiced in the Upper World. It was a set of basic swordsmanship which he thought could still be further simplified.


    Right now, Zen still didn''t know the limits of minimalist ways. So, he had no idea how far the set of basic swordsmanship could be further simplified and what further changes could be made.


    With his little understanding of the minimalist ways, he needed a lot of practice before he could make breakthroughs. So, he was forced to use the basic swordsmanship to kill these ogres although it was quite inefficient.


    While he was on it, he suddenly realized something about the minimalist ways.


    During the first stage of the pre-qualifying match, Zen had no intention to exert so much effort. Given that this was only the second wave of attack, there was no need for him to fight hard.


    Zen didn''t mind if he was taking too long to kill those ogres than any other practitioners. The ogres were scattered everywhere in the grassland. In the first stage, Zen had it easy because nothing gave him a problem.


    gh and hard. They could be used to make great defensive armor. Excellent weapon refiners could even turn the black turtle armor into fairy weapons.


    The number of black turtles around Owen was starting to decrease. In a blink of an eye, almost half of black turtles were already killed. If he could keep this pace, Owen could get the first place in the third wave of attack. Michael''s pride was about to burst, but when he accidentally glanced at the edge of the Picture Slab, he was stunned. He saw the progress of other participants and couldn''t believe his eyes.


    Zen''s name was on it. Michael saw something surprising.


    The Picture Slab showed that Zen had successfully withstood the third wave of attack.


    "What just happened here?" Michael could hardly believe what he was seeing.


    Xiao and the middle-aged warrior eyed each other, wondering what Michael meant.


    Michael didn''t say a word but just switched the Picture Slab to show Zen''s images. When they looked at the Picture Slab, they didn''t see anything special. But when they kept looking, they kept their emotions to themselves. They saw that Zen had already killed all the black turtles around him!


    When the ogres almost got Zen, they had given up all hopes for him. So, they switched to Owen and watched his progress. However, unexpectedly, Zen had killed all the black turtles.


    Owen''s speed of killing black turtles was still the fastest, but Zen had finished. Surprisingly, Zen was twice faster than Owen. They didn''t expect this because of his previous performance.


    Michael and others just realized that they had missed something wonderful.


    "Take a look! What''s that?" the middle-aged warrior said as he pointed at something besides Zen.


    Beside Zen, there was a stunning girl tiptoeing on the ground and holding a huge sword. It was 30 feet long.


    Michael didn''t expect this to happen. He was rooting for Owen moments ago, but then Zen outperformed Owen. A bitter smile crossed his face. He said prudently, "I take back everything I have said. Zen is an unpredictable warrior. His talent isn''t limited in drawing runes. We can''t just regard him as a runic expert. The girl beside him is a sword spirit, and this sword spirit has a human figure!"

 Chapter 689 Shooting Like A Comet

    Since passing the Cloud Road challenge, Zen hadn''t used his sword spirit.


    Seeing a fully formed sword spirit was unusual, and only a few possessed one, even amongst martial artists at the Internal Elixir Realm, but, Zen''s sword spirit was already fully formed.


    Zen knew next to nothing about his sword spirit.


    Typically, after someone went to the Killing Sword Mountain, he''d get a large amount of unformed sword spirit. After that, the warrior had the challenge of forming the mass.


    What Zen achieved, when he molded his sword spirit in one sitting was an unprecedented feat that happened because of the Demon Night. The sword spirit formed after Zen defeated the young girl from the Demon Night, without him having time even to meditate before the sword spirit took the shape of the girl from Demon Night.


    Unsure of the reason, Zen had asked the cyan dragon about the sword spirit, but all the cyan dragon could tell him was that the Demon Night was mighty enough to command a divine realm, which meant the race wasn''t inferior to the Genuine Dragon. And the secrets of the powerful Demon Night were unknown by any other.


    At the moment, Zen couldn''t deduce the mystery.


    Up until now, Zen hadn''t seen Lily''s true power, but since their encounter with the giant sword of the Blood Fiend Emperor, her power grew rapidly.


    As the black turtles charged at them, Zen gave Lily a command and watched motionlessly. Lily looked like a ribbon of red crimson silk streaking as she darted at the turtles with the massive sword of the Blood Fiend Emperor slung over her shoulder effortlessly.


    Each turtle was one hundred feet long, and the four-foot thick shell made each turtle a challenge for Zen to slay. Being that thick shelled made the black turtles hardy. Though they moved quite slowly, it was still a big challenge to kill them before they were close to the pagoda.


    Whereas, quite the contrary, Lily sliced through the sluggish beasts as easily as hacking into watermelon. The thick shell was nothing more than a piece of paper under the might of the sword of the Blood Fiend Emperor. Lily''s lithe form gracefully flexed as she swung the colossal, sharp sword, and slaughtered every turtle in short order.


    After completing the task she was ordered to do, Lily stood expressionlessly and still, looking like a gorgeous, carved puppet.


    As he sat quietly on the pagoda, Zen issued a command mentally. In response to Zen''s summons, Lily instantly turned into a red shadow and returned to the pagoda.


    Confused, the middle-aged martial artist''s eyes widened as he stared at Lily''s slender figure, and said, "Zen''s sword spirit is extraordinary!!"


    "Extraordinary? How so?" Although Xiao and Michael were at the Virtual Tribulation Realm and were both quite powerful, more powerful than the middle-aged martial artist, they didn''t know more than it was a sword spirit, since neither of them wielded a s


    l man in the Central Region! Even the World Commercial Alliance, Ethereal Spirit Sect, Cloud Hall and the other grade four sects didn''t dare offend him because he was the mightiest man in all of the Central Region.


    Allegedly, Eddie had demanded the head of the Cloud Hall to give him a female martial artist that possessed a Purple Power body. Cloud Hall had no choice but to obey.


    It was unusual for men as powerful as him to not be ambitious. There was word on the street that Eddie''s goal was to unite all of the Central Region and found an eternal kingdom!


    If he achieved his goal, the World Commercial Alliance and Ethereal Spirit Sect would be the first to fall!


    Given their long life spans, it was highly plausible that powerful men such as Xiao and Michael would witness the storm that would ensue when Eddie accomplished his goals. No one could be sure how the World Commercial Alliance would end.


    At the mere mention of Eddie''s name, everyone fell silent, as they felt the dark cloud descending on the World Commercial Alliance. As a matter of fact, Eddie was trouble for the Ethereal Spirit Sect, the sole fifth grade sect, too!


    "Xiao, you mean to say that Zen will rise up like Eddie did?" questioned Michael.


    Xiao shook his head thoughtfully and said, "I cannot say if that will happen. There are hundreds of thousands of martial artists with the ability to become someone like Eddie. Although Zen is more powerful compared to his peers and he is remarkably talented, it''d be virtually impossible for him to be as mighty as Eddie. But, still, he''s far more likely to become that mighty than his peers!"


    Michael laughed nervously and added, "Even if that''s true, the World Commercial Alliance cannot use any help from him. Though he is here for the pre-qualifying match, he is a disciple from Cloud Hall, not the World Commercial Alliance. However, he''s still someone who likely won''t fail to garner our favor."

 Chapter 690 Cheating (Part One)

    Just as these people were discussing Zen and the current situation of the test, the middle-aged cultivator glanced at the Picture Slab and remarked, "Now we enter the fourth round of attack."


    Upon hearing the announcement, Michael and Xiao immediately shifted their gaze at the Picture Slab.


    During the third round of defense, it was quite astonishing how Zen managed to climb into the leaderboards and take the lead in killing black turtles. At the same time, Michael, along with everyone else, was checking how Owen was doing, a cultivator at the consummation of Illuminating Soul Realm, thus missing the scene of Lily, the sword spirit, killing black turtles.


    Taking what the middle-aged cultivator said into consideration, Michael and Xiao were burning with curiosity. They could easily tell at a glance that Zen''s sword spirit was peculiar. But why? What had made it so special?


    In their minds, they only thought that Zen''s sword spirit was too beautiful to be true. With a set of elongated ears, it appeared as if the sword spirit was somewhat inhuman. No one had any clue as to which race it could be classified into because it had been gifted with such a flawless physique and quality.


    The attacks in the magic array were steadily becoming much, much more vicious.


    Not a single one of the cultivators had been defeated in the span of the first round of battle against the spiders with three eyes as well as the second round of battle with the ogres holding spears, and there wasn''t even a single pagoda that got destroyed as well.


    But the moment the third round of attack arrived, seven of the cultivators'' pagodas had already gotten damaged by the black turtles. And the state of affairs just got worse as one by one, the competitors were getting eliminated. Only a few of them w


    de to increase.


    "Sixty seconds for the fourth round of attack to be fought off!" Zen reckoned how much time they had spent fighting and shifted his gaze into the distance, "That''s..."


    Zen flew over to finish off those crow zombies and looked even farther. The grassland, which had been constructed using magic array, was uneven and a bit bumpy.


    Zen peered at a distance and made out the figure of one cultivator killing crow zombies in another grassland.


    However, it looked like the man was having a hard time dealing with them. Those vile creatures flocked him from all sides and spewed out huge amounts of toxic gas, causing the pitiful man to keel over out of fear.


    Zen examined the state of his own tower. Given that he had already cleared out the group of crow zombies which had been roaming around it, he was positive that the tower wouldn''t be in any real danger, at least until the next round of attack arrived.


    The rules stated that the more crow zombies you defeated, the more points you were going to receive. But did it say anything regarding killing off the other participants'' crow zombies?


    Zen giggled in excitement and hurriedly moved over to another area.

 Chapter 691 Cheating (Part Two)

    Realizing what Zen must''ve been planning, Michael, Xiao, and the middle-aged man were at such a loss for words.


    "That guy right there... What is he thinking?" Michael then turned to look at the Picture Slab.


    With his mustache quivering, Xiao replied, "Isn''t it obvious? He''s going to do away with some other cultivator''s crow zombies!"


    Furrowing his eyebrows quite deeply, the middle-aged man remarked, "In spite of the fact that he successfully defended his tower and managed to clear out his crow zombies in a short period of time, there are still rules he has to follow. We are still just in the first step of the competition, and fights among cultivators should be included in the second step of the pre-qualifying test. He''s not supposed be having a go at competing with another warrior, at least not until they have already survived the first ten rounds of attacks from various beasts! It''s clear that he broke the rules we set!"


    Shaking with laughter, the old man with the family name of Xiao retorted, "I don''t really see it that way. Our rules don''t necessarily go against his strategy. It wasn''t specifically said that it can''t be done"


    "That may be true, he might not be going against the rules, but he''s definitely cheating!" The middle-aged man, to all intents and purposes, wasn''t fond of Zen''s actions. Cultivators were supposed to protect their towers during the first step and then proceed to steal from others in the second. No one had ever dared to try to pull off a stunt like stealing others'' beasts to kill at the beginning!


    They were somewhat open to the idea of a person breaking the rule using Zen''s strategy. However, in its entirety, no one had ever managed to kill al


    t that time, Zen went over to another area with the intention of killing another warrior''s beasts to get points. This made zero sense whatsoever in the eyes of this warrior.


    Despite the fact that the cultivator was already having difficulties just from keeping up with the swarm of crow zombies, there was no way in hell he would want someone to take points which were supposed to be for him. The annoyed man cried out, "Go away."


    He dashed toward Zen, trying to slash him.


    "I just want to give you a helping hand..." Zen justified his reason for being there, wearing a cunning smile as he laid waste to the crow zombies as fast as he possibly could.


    The cultivator yelled furiously, "Who said I needed help? Get away from my place! Who do you think you are? Are you trying to play God?"


    Zen chuckled, totally unfazed by the angry man. What he needed to do was pass the pre-qualifying match. The swarm of crow zombies in front of him would give him even more points, which would surely earn him more advantages in the second stage. With that in mind, just how could anyone let such an awesome opportunity slip away?

 Chapter 692 A Real Puzzle (Part One)

    According to the rules, as explained by the middle-aged warrior, tasks in the first phase created for competitors, were only to guard their small pagodas. However, there was nothing in the rules that said they could not encroach on the territory of their competitors.


    So, Zen crossed over to a territory nearby and killed crow zombies there, an act that exasperated the warrior guarding the area.


    Angry, this warrior was not an easy man to handle. He wielded his huge saber and chased after Zen.


    But Zen refused to be cut down by him! He moved as swift as a fish swimming in the water as he faced danger.


    "Let''s see how far you can go!" the warrior muttered. He pursued Zen until they reached a large cloud of corpse poison. The furious warrior believed that Zen would suffer a terrible fate the moment he encountered the corpse poison.


    But to his utter shock, the bold fighter broke into the toxic fog without hesitation and went through it unharmed, then continued his killing spree of crow zombies.


    "What the hell?" the warrior cried out as he witnessed what Zen had done. "Is this guy not afraid of corpse poison?" he said to himself.


    Nothing distracted Zen from his goal and he continued killing crow zombies. He paid even less attention to the warrior.


    The warrior was at his wit''s end. Even if he caught up with Zen, there was still nothing he could do to stop him. As long as the fighter hid within the toxic fog, all he could do was stand by.


    Just as he was busy annihilating crow zombies, Zen suddenly sensed another form of danger. He heard twanging sounds and saw three sharp arrows shot across the sky towards him.


    He quickly realized these weapons came from the warrior''s pagoda!


    Adroitly, he dodged the arrows easily.


    Fortunately, the competition was only at the fourth attack stage. So, the warriors could only upgrade t


    array test. Each upgrade of the pagoda was to cope with the succeeding attacks from more furious beasts. For example, the first upgrade was to ward off the second wave of beasts, while the second upgrade was intended to fight off the third wave of the beasts. It not only helped warriors fight better, but it also restrained the power of the pagoda to allow the warriors to exert their actual strength.


    If Zen gained more points from the territory of other warriors, he could quickly upgrade his pagoda. And if he earned enough points, he could even upgrade his pagoda a fifth time to resist another level of attack.


    "I should get as many points as possible from the territory of other warriors," Zen mumbled.


    The sound of a tolling bell from the sky sounded again, indicating the fifth attack had begun.


    At the same time, many black stone men appeared all over the grassland. It signaled the attack of the fifth wave of demon beasts in the magic array. The stone men, made of black basalt, were called basaltic men. They were mightier than the black turtles.


    "Lily!" Zen summoned his sword spirit.


    He came up with a bold idea to let Lily handle the basaltic men while he went to steal from the other warrior''s territory.

 Chapter 693 A Real Puzzle (Part Two)

    On Zen''s orders, Lily rushed towards a basaltic man and chopped its head with her thirty-foot long sword.


    "Swish! Whack!"


    A terrific sword with Lily the sword spirit was a match with astonishing power. There were only a few beasts in the Central Region that could ward off such fierce attack.


    The basaltic man was cut in half by Lily. Everyone watched the two halves of its body as it fell to the ground.


    There were about two hundred basaltic men in Zen''s territory. Although they appeared indestructible, Lily managed to kill them all one at a time. And basaltic men were very slow, even slower than the black turtles.


    ''Lily should be able to deal with these men. And with the pagoda upgraded four times, she would have a lot of help, '' Zen thought.


    Without a second thought, Zen ran towards the adjacent grassland.


    Shocked at Zen''s unusual move, the middle-aged warrior could not help but cry out, "This guy has already tasted the benefits. And now, he''s going to steal from another competitor again!"


    Impressed, Michael and Xiao looked at each other and smiled. "He has the confidence to let his sword spirit fight off the basaltic men''s attacks, and that''s one of his abilities," Michael noted.


    Nodding, Xiao added, "This boy is quite interesting. He''s smart as well."


    Sighing deeply, the middle-aged warrior exclaimed, "I''m afraid the warriors that he would steal from don''t think so. By doing what he did, he could gain more points at each phase compared to others. So, he is likely to upgrade his pagoda level to eleventh or twelfth after the ten rounds of attacks."


    Not quite familiar with the magic array, Michael had to ask with curiosity, "Level eleven? Level twelve? There are only ten attacks arranged during the first phase. So that means the pagoda can only be upgraded ten times, right?"


    In reply, t


    When he saw a figure appeared in the distant sky and it rushed towards him, a look of surprise was written all over his face. But after he recognized who the visitor was, the surprise changed to a malicious look.


    The warrior with a white face was known to be a vengeful person. After all, he had butchered the second-grade sect after he reached the Internal Elixir Realm. During a previous meeting in the hall, Zen had offended him. So it was expected that he would seek revenge.


    What the warrior never expected was for Zen to seek him out before he could take the initiative to find the man who previously offended him.


    Confused, the warrior thought to himself. ''This is strange. Doesn''t he have to fight the basaltic men on his territory? Why is he running around now? He doesn''t seem concerned about a possible attack on his pagoda. Should that happen, it could mean elimination!''


    The warrior with a white face was even more surprised that after approaching him, instead of fighting with him, Zen began to cut his basaltic men even without looking at him.


    ''What does he want?'' he wondered.


    The warrior with a white face couldn''t understand what was happening. Zen was indeed a real puzzle for him!

 Chapter 694 Hatred Evil Attack

    "Peng!"


    As Zen got close to the basaltic men, he pulled out his sword.


    "Flick the sword!"


    The great might of the Blood Drinking Sword was brought out and shot toward the stone man''s head. As the sword intent spread through the stone man''s head, its brain shattered. However, on the surface of the stone man, only interwoven cracks like a cobweb could be seen.


    Then Zen pulled back his sword, and the stone man tumbled down to the ground and crumbled into small pieces of basalt.


    "Flick the sword!"


    "Flick the sword!"


    Zen didn''t stop after killing the first stone man. In the blink of an eye, three stone men made of basalt disintegrated under Zen''s attack.


    Astonished by Zen''s performance, the cultivator with the white face didn''t realize that he would be the loser until Zen had destroyed the third stone man.


    Surely, the cultivator with the white face knew the rules of the magic array. The killing of beasts would add points to promote their small tower to a higher one. For example, in the last round of attack, the killing of the crow zombies would add ten thousand points, which would help promote the small tower to the fourth level. And the ten thousand points were just the right amount, no more or no less, or the tower couldn''t be promoted.


    In this round of attack, there were 200 stone men and killing one stone man meant getting 175 points. So, if somebody could kill all the stone men, he would get 15, 000 points, which meant that the next promotion of the tower level would require 15, 000 points.


    Now, Zen had already killed three stone men made of basalt, which meant that Zen was ahead by more than 500 points. In other words, after the fifth killing competition, he couldn''t promote his tower level, because his points were not enough.


    The cultivator with the white face was furious.


    He hadn''t bothered Zen, but Zen seemed to be causing trouble!


    "No matter who you are, I will kill you! If I can''t kill you in the magic array, I will kill you at Oracle City." The cultivator with the white face gnashed his teeth. His expression was full of fury, and his face turned as red as pork liver.


    After killing three stone men made of basalt, Zen raised his sword before his chest. Then he noticed the cultivator with the white face. Zen greeted him, "Wow! It''s you! Great!"


    In fact, Zen felt guilty before he saw the cultivator with the white face because he knew it was improper to kill beasts in someone else''s field. Zen knew that the warrior couldn''t promote his tower level as his points would be insufficient if he killed his targets.


    When the small tower was promoted to the highest l


    h his swordsmanship and his soul at the same time... Does this kind of talent exist in the world?"


    "Aha!" Michael smiled again, "Have you forgotten? Zen is a rune master with Perfect Brushwork, and his achievement in rune is comparable to that of Arnold."


    Hearing Michael''s words, the mid-aged cultivator was astonished and left speechless. It was widely known that the soul of a rune master wasn''t weak by nature, and as long as it was cultivated continually, it would grow stronger and stronger!


    After seeing Zen''s powerful and special sword spirit, he had forgotten that Zen was a runic expert too!


    "Even though Zen is a rune master, I''m afraid that he can''t resist Stoney''s Hatred Evil Attack, which seems to be terrible," Xiao added then.


    Michael nodded and said, "Yes. Zen can only draw one and two-star runes, and his soul hasn''t grown strong enough to fight against the Hatred Evil Attack. I don''t know if Zen has someone to help him..."


    In the magic array, Stoney''s face was covered by the black light, and a black ghost hand stretched out from the top of his head.


    Stoney''s soul had formed the black ghost hand. It wasn''t the most terrible move in the Hatred Evil Attack, but it was the cruelest one as it meant that he could reach into other person''s head and crumble his soul.


    "I will crush your soul! Skull Ghost Hand!"


    The black ghost hand made a whining noise, like a ghost''s crying, as it stretched toward Zen''s head. Instantly, the ghost hand reached above Zen''s head with five long and thin fingers. It appeared as though the hand was going to penetrate Zen''s head.


    Stoney''s face darkened further when he saw that Zen wasn''t going to resist. "Cry!" he said. "Express your great pain through your tears and shrieks!"

 Chapter 695 Upgrading Two Levels In A Row

    "Zen is going to be skinned alive. If Stoney uses his Skull Ghost Hand on the top of his skull, Zen won''t even have the time to dodge," Xiao said while shaking his head.


    A trace of confusion flashed through Michael''s eyes. He couldn''t even think of a reason why Zen was this confident of himself. He was letting Stoney use his spirit attack on him. What was more, he didn''t even try to dodge for God''s sake!


    The situation had been pretty good for Zen so far. If he used his sword spirit to protect the small pagoda and stole points from other martial artists by himself, the level of his small pagoda would be much higher than others, and the final result would also be beneficial to him.


    "He''s just too confident of himself... If he is killed in the magic array, he will be kicked out of the magic array." Michael couldn''t help but sigh at Zen''s carelessness.


    The middle-aged cultivator didn''t say anything. He was convinced that Zen had cheated in the game. And if he were kicked out of the magic array, at least the balance of the magic array wouldn''t be affected.


    The elders of the World Commercial Alliance watched the fight silently with serious expressions. Finally, someone cried out painfully, as if he had been badly hurt.


    And to everyone''s surprise, the painful cry was not from Zen, but from Stoney!


    The black lines on Stoney''s face were slowly fading away. The redness on his skin had gone, and his face was even paler than the snow. The angry expression on his handsome face made him look scary.


    Contrary to him, Zen was not affected at all. He turned around and left as if nothing had happened. Then he continued using his ''flick the sword'' to kill the stone men made of basalt.


    "W-What... the hell did this guy do?" Michael''s mouth was agape because he was astonished. He stared at Zen with disbelief, watching him kill the stone men. Every time he flicked his sword, a stone man would shatter in front of him. Seeing the lithe and ethereal figure, Michael couldn''t help but be deeply impressed by the young man at the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    The looks on Xiao''s and the middle-aged cultivator''s face were similar to Michael''s. But to be honest, anyone who saw what had happened would feel the same astonishment.


    They couldn''t even begin to imagine how Zen beat Stoney in the blink of an eye, making him this miserable.


    "Ahhhhhh!"


    Stoney''s cry of pain lasted for a very long time.


    The Skull Ghost Hand was made from Stoney''s soul. And it was a form of spiritual attack that belonged to the Hatred Evil Attack, just like Zen''s ability to turn his soul into a thorn.


    If Stoney had used his Skull Ghost Hand on any other cultivator, he would have won. Others couldn''t deal with his Skull Ghost Hand.


    Unluckily, he was battling with Zen, whose soul was in the Fighting Soul Realm!


    It was hard to imagine how powerful Zen''s soul had become since he entered the Fighting


    s as usual as if it were made of wood.


    "Am I overthinking? It felt like someone was watching me just now..." Zen grumbled to himself. Then he lightly patted his forehead and pushed the question to the back of his mind. He shook his head and walked to his small pagoda.


    "More than thirty-six thousand points!" Seeing the points on his small pagoda, the corners of Zen''s lips lifted into a happy smile.


    "Upgrade!"


    Zen used his points to upgrade his pagoda. But he only needed thirty-three thousand points.


    As soon as Zen gave the command, his pagoda was surrounded by a red, beaming light. And when the first light dimmed, another red light appeared!


    His small pagoda had upgraded two levels in a row!


    Now, Zen''s pagoda level was one level higher than pagodas belonging to other cultivators!


    The pagoda that had upgraded two levels was wider than it was before. There was also a silver-white fence around it, and four flags on the four corners of the pagoda. The four flags were the symbol of the World Commercial Alliance.


    Six archers also appeared on the small pagoda.


    The bows in their hands, and the arrows on their backs had also changed drastically.


    The bows radiated the aura of fire, and on the arrows, there was a rune of fire too. This made Zen feel powerful. He knew for sure that the archers were as good as the fighters in the Illuminating Soul Realm. He wondered how strong the small pagoda would become if he kept upgrading it.


    The number of the eliminated cultivators had risen during the fifth attack of the beasts.


    During the third attack of the beasts, only a few cultivators had been eliminated. And in the next attack, more than twenty cultivators had been kicked out. Then in the fifth attack, forty more cultivators had been removed! The number was rising quickly.


    Nobody could predict how many more cultivators were going to be eliminated during the sixth attack of the beasts.

 Chapter 696 Letitias Feelings

    After Zen had improved the level of his pagoda, he did not stop. Instead, he rushed toward Stoney Zhao''s territory.


    Although the sixth wave of attack of the beasts would be more violent than the fifth one, it was easy to deal with as Lily was guarding his pagoda. What was more, Zen''s tower was one level higher than that of others.


    Just after Zen left, several three-meter-long purple jade centipedes zigzagged over. Each had thousands of pairs of thin feet that moved across the ground swiftly.


    The six archers in Zen''s tower raised their longbows and shot six arrows toward the sky.


    "Schwaff, schwaff, schwaff!"


    The arrows flew up before turning and heading toward the centipedes. Each arrow, attached to a string of flames, landed among the purple jade centipedes.


    "Boom, boom..."


    Six explosions were heard, and in the next instant, one or two hundred centipedes were destroyed by the tower. And this was only the first wave attack by the archers.


    Seeing the scene, the middle-aged martial artist complained, "I just knew Zen would do something and break the balance of competition!"


    Michael Mo could not help but smile wryly. Under normal circumstances, a tower at the fifth level would be defending against attacks from the purple jade centipedes! Similarly, towers at the sixth level would be battling against the seventh wave, which would have more powerful beasts.


    Since Zen had used his points to improve the tower and it had reached the sixth level, the pagoda was so powerful that the purple jade centipedes had been destroyed.


    Xiao''s mustache twitched as he spoke, "He has done it. What would you want to do?"


    The middle-aged man placed significant value on the rules of the magic array. Thus, he could only focus on the fact that Zen had broken the rules. He contemplated for a while and then said, "How about we remove Zen from the magic array?"


    As Xiao''s eyes met Michael''s, they both shook their heads. Michael replied, "I don''t think that is a good idea. But you preside over the magic array. So it is your decision."


    The middle-aged man stared at Zen on the Picture Slab. He watched with narrowed eyes as Zen ran to Stoney''s territory to kill the purple jade centipedes. Soon, he reached a decision and said, "Well, I''ve decided. I am going to kick Zen out!"


    Then he asked some subordinates to push a nearby platform.


    An enormous magic array platform controlled the magic array, and several servants, after receiving the order from the middle-aged man, quickly pushed a table-sized magic array platform over.


    The middle-aged man stood on the magic array platform and touched a complex rune on the platform. It was very easy for him to drive Zen out of


    "Um?" Letitia felt a bit confused.


    Then, Cole switched the image on the Picture Slab to Zen''s territory and explained, "Look! Zen asked his sword spirit to guard his territory, and at the same time, he ran into another person''s area to plunder his points. As a result, his pagoda is at a higher level than that of others. He will not be challenged in the remaining attack waves!"


    As long as Zen kept his tower one level higher, he would pass the first phase of the pre-qualifying match easily.


    Letitia was surprised. She recovered a few seconds later. The frown lines on her forehead smoothed, and her eyes resembled crescent moons.


    However, as Cloud Hall Leader, she had to be solemn and pay attention to her manners. At least, she should act more serious in front of these people, not like her casual behavior when she was alone with Zen.


    Letitia was indeed happy. Zen seemed to find unusual ways of overcoming challenges.


    Her thoughts and feelings about this situation were contradictory. On the one hand, she hoped that Zen would not pass the pre-qualifying match. Although the main draw match appeared to be like any other competition, it was, in fact, a brutal war. Zen had a saint-level talent in cultivating; however, his cultivation level was still too low. Therefore, he should hide his talent until he became an influential cultivator!


    On the other hand, she knew that Zen was fiercely determined. Once he had decided something, there was no possibility of changing his mind. Letitia believed that Zen would pass the pre-qualifying match, and a part of her was looking forward to that.


    The two conflicting feelings intertwined and left her anxious. This was why she had come to observe Zen''s performance. However, she didn''t expect that she would see such a scene.

 Chapter 697 The Giant Turtles

    When he saw Letitia smiling but not saying anything, Cole hesitated. Her reaction was troublesome. Should he eliminate Zen from the magic array?


    After he thought things through, Cole turned to Letitia. "Zen''s actions have affected the balance of the pre-qualifying match, so he must be disqualified. What do you think?" he asked.


    Once again, Michael and Xiao looked at each other before they quietly scolded Cole for being an idiot. But they stood aloof and distanced themselves because things were of no concern to them.


    Meanwhile, Letitia watched Zen killing purple-jade centipedes through the Picture Slab. But once she heard Cole speaking, the gentle smile on her lips changed into one laced with cynicism that sent the temperature plummeting. Then the palace turned cold as an ice cellar. Even the guards standing at the door rubbed their hands together to warm themselves and wondered why it had suddenly turned cold.


    "What do you mean? Is there a rule for this in the World Commercial Alliance?"


    Her eyes looked straight at his, while her voice was frosty.


    Quickly, Cole shook his head. "No, but Zen cheated, and this has seriously affected the balance. If this goes on, after he passes the first stage, it will be very tough for other warriors to compete with him in the second stage," he explained.


    "Oh, really?" Letitia sneered. Her eyes were now vicious and icily. She said, "I wonder if you''ve heard this saying."


    "What saying?" Cole demanded. Although his status and strength were inferior to Letitia''s, Cole was neither humble nor pushy but insisted on judging things for himself. And though he knew he had provoked Letitia, he didn''t give in.


    "Competitors can play any tricks except those written down," Letitia said coldly. "Since you didn''t announce this rule beforehand, Zen just took advantage of this loophole. You''re obviously wrong. How can you now eliminate Zen from the magic array? You claimed it was for the sake of overall consideration, but you know what? It was your mistake and omission that destroyed the balance. How can you make Zen the scapegoat? It''s selfish of you to even think of that!" she said furiously.


    Her outburst left Cole speechless.


    At the national level, people could do everything except those prohibited by law.


    In the magic array, Cole didn''t stipulate that candidates couldn''t do this, so in theory, what Zen did was reasonable. This was a mere omission when Cole made the rules for the magic array.


    What Letitia said was true, so Michael and Xiao, two silent spectat


    al Elixir Realm.


    And he was right about this. That was exactly how they designed the magic array. Bowmen on the tenth-level pagoda were as powerful as a full-blown attack of warriors at the middle-stage Internal Elixir Realm. Those on the eleventh-level pagoda, on the other hand, were as mighty as a full-scale attack of warriors at the late-stage Internal Elixir Realm, while those on the twelfth-level pagoda were equivalent to a full-blown attack of warriors at the early-stage Virtual Tribulation Realm.


    Generally speaking, it was only after a candidate defeated the last wave of beasts that he had a level ten pagoda and entered the second stage of assessment. But even before Zen vanquished the last wave of beasts, he already had a level twelve pagoda. So Cole had good reason to worry. Zen was already mightier than other warriors after what he achieved.


    "Thump! Thump! Thump!"


    Suddenly, the ground shook. As everyone braced for balance, three huge figures appeared in the distance.


    "Here they come!" Zen hollered. His eyebrows twitched as he got ready for battle.


    The enemy turned out to be three giant turtles!


    These giants resided in the deep sea. Each of them stood as high as 200 feet, and looked like a huge hill. Their strength was astonishing. Every step they took measured a hundred feet.


    In theory, their growth was infinite. Provided enough resources, they could grow to hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of feet tall! With just a step, they could crush mountains. Moreover, they could even move mountains and drain seas. But Zen had never heard of such giants existing in his world.


    The three giants were heading in Zen''s direction!

 Chapter 698 He Was Cheating (Part One)

    The archers pulled their bowstrings as three giant turtles reached Zen''s small tower attack range. Shots were fired as twelve sharp arrows were let go by the archers. Towards the sky the arrows went, aiming for the three giant turtles.


    The archers were very alike, from their looks to their behavior, to the color of their eyes, to the sizes of their hands and feet. There were no questions as to how they all looked alike for they evolved from the same magic array.


    "Woosh, woosh, woosh¡­"


    The arrows had different colors wrapped around them. The twelve arrows looked like the rainbow as they traveled the sky and were about to land on the turtles. A very loud sound was heard as a turtle got hit.


    "Crack¡­"


    The shot was so strong that Zen could feel the sharpness of the arrows. He looked as if he could feel the pain gush through his system.


    The power of the twelve arrows could be compared to that of the masters in the first level of Virtual Tribulation Realm. They were as fatal and destructive as they could get.


    As the arrows hit the giant turtle, it screamed in pain and fell to the ground. A loud thud was heard. It became a big helpless creature that lay on the ground, hurt and fractured. The intensity was so massive that it even shook the tower where Zen stood.


    ''Wow. I never thought that only one round of arrows can take down the giant turtle, '' Zen thought to himself. He was in disbelief with what he saw. No words came out of his mouth. The level 12 tower was definitely stronger than the level 11. To his advantage, he found the loophole that had existed since the day the array was designed and took advantage of it. And that made it easier for him to conquer the beasts.


    Zen was lucky enough to have that advantage over other cultivators who had to endure more difficulties in defeating the giant turtles.


    The giant


    nt of the magic array, Zen was the first one to do such thing. But the most important question of all that boggled Cole''s mind was whether Zen would be the one and only person to do such thing. Would he be the last to do it?


    Round after round, cultivators were eliminated. Arrows were shot, and landed on the beasts. In the tenth round of the attack, only 22 cultivators remained, but only 3 would proceed to the main draw match.


    Seeing the changes in the magic array, Cole announced, "On to next level!" He raised his hands, and started to operate the magic array.


    All eyes were on Zen. Would he make it? Letitia was nervous. She fixed her eyes on the Picture Slab, which showed the most important part of the qualifying test. Zen''s performance in this test would determine Zen''s passing or failing. Zen had upgraded his tower to level 12 far beyond what the other cultivators could do. As for other cultivators who also defeated the giant turtles and won some points, the best they could do was to upgrade their towers to level 10. Letitia looked up to and admired the archers in level 12 tower. Those archers were comparable to the masters in the first level of Virtual Tribulation Realm. They were the best in their level.

 Chapter 699 He Was Cheating (Part Two)

    Taking Letitia''s stand and judgment of the level 12 archers, it shouldn''t be hard for Zen to pass the test.


    Zen was again, relaxed. He had this one covered. Suddenly, the lights that were shining on Zen faded. The light sky in the magic array was replaced by darkness. The sky and the meadow gradually disappeared in front of Zen. Even Zen could not see clearly everything around him!


    "I''ve moved to the second level," Zen told himself.


    Everything was vanishing fast but one -- the tower. Zen stood petrified at the sight of the tower which floated in the sea of darkness.


    Suddenly, other towers showed up one after another, leaving some distance between them.


    Zen had faith in his victory. Nothing could make him fail the test. After all, he had a lot of potential. What was this all about? Was this the second part of the pre-qualifying test? He counted, one.. two... three... There were 21 towers in total, including his. What he saw were all survivors standing on their own towers.


    "What is going on with that guy? His tower¡­ why is his tower so huge?"


    "How is that even possible? Did he cheat on the test? All of our towers are level 10. Why is his twice larger than mine?!"


    "Unless his is level 11, or even level 12! But how could he gain extra points in this magic array? How was that possible? How did he upgrade his tower to level 12?"


    Other cultivators stared at Zen and murmured, whispers flying everywhere.


    When they saw Zen''s gigantic tower, they found it was not something along their level. It was a fortress. The cultivators exchanged glances and repeatedly compared their towers to Zen''s. These cultivators risked their lives for their upgrades.


    What they saw made them feel unfair and cheated.


    "What the hell?! How


    ned, Zen waved his hand and the twelve archers raised their bows and arrows. The archers did as they were told, like soldiers in the forefront of the battlefield. Zen wanted to win so bad. Now it was time to defend his fortress. Regret was down the drain. What remained was his fighting spirit.


    A master in Virtual Tribulation Realm could easily defeat numerous cultivators in Internal Elixir Realm. This only meant one thing -- Zen''s tower should be able to withstand the attacks and defeat them. The archers in level 10 tower were just mere cultivators in the middle phase of Internal Elixir Realm. Zen was much more powerful than them. He had a big chance of smelling victory in the air.


    "Woosh, woosh, woosh¡­"


    Off went the twelve powerful and swift arrows.


    As soon as the arrows were launched, one by one the arrows landed on the other cultivators'' towers, destroying them, reducing the towers into ash in a blink of an eye.


    Other cultivators were scared. Silence roamed the atmosphere. Seeing the towers reduced to nothing but ashes made them feel threatened. It came to their senses that in this magic array, Zen was the king. Zen was undefeatable.

 Chapter 700 What Can You Offer

    All the other participants could not believe what they were seeing for a moment. They all froze in astonishment as they witnessed the destructive power of Zen''s pagoda.


    From merely its appearance, they assessed that it was more powerful than theirs. They were still figuring out how Zen managed to reinforce his pagoda during the first round and made it this formidable.


    The power of Zen''s pagoda was beyond their imagination.


    During the first stage of pre-qualifying match, most of the 400 participants were already knocked down. The remaining cultivators who were still running at the chance to make it to the main event were the cream of the crop.


    The round with the giant turtles was typically difficult. Only those who had exceptional strength and patience could survive the violent attacks of the hill-like giant turtles.


    Most of these participants had exerted all their means to cope with the giant turtles. Some of them had used powerful secret skills, and others had expended their blood essence. Nevertheless, they had managed to pass the test and reinforce their pagodas to level ten. Now, there was only one task left for them to do. They were supposed to challenge other participants, defeat them, and advance to the main draw match!


    But now, upon seeing Zen''s pagoda, they knew that their chances of advancing became thin.


    After realizing that, their astonishment on their faces was replaced with anger and resentment. They felt disgruntled at the seemingly unfair advantage of Zen''s pagoda over others. They all wondered, ''He''s only at the level three of Illuminating Soul Realm, but why is his pagoda stronger than ours? There''s no way he could have done that! He must have cheated!''


    If they were in the real world, they could just repress their anger and submit to this unfair situation they were facing. After all, there could be nothing they could do to defeat Zen unless they wanted to commit suicide.


    In the magic array, however, they wouldn''t really die. Thus, they could attack Zen without the fear of dying, which they did without any hesitation.


    "Kill this cheater!"


    "Let''s attack him together! He can''t defend himself from all of us!"


    "The World Commercial Alliance must have helped him! For sure he cheated! That''s unfair!"


    As they rushed towards Zen, the archers from their level-ten pagodas also raised their bows and began shooting mysterious ice arrows at Zen.


    "Zoom!"


    There were ten archers on every level-ten pagoda. There were over one hundred archers from the furious participants'' pagodas who started shooting at Zen simultaneously.


    Every shot from an archer on a level-ten pagoda had the same power as an all-out attack from a cultivator at the middle level of Internal Elixir Realm. So, right now, Zen was facing a power equivalent of over one hundred cultivators at that realm.


    The arrows shot almost filled the sky above Zen. Every arrow had extremely great power. That was starting to shadow on Zen and the weight was becoming heavy for Zen to see.


    At the face of quite a violent attack, Zen put his game on. He never looked as serious as he was now. He could have defended himself using his level twelve pagoda, but he didn''t. He dared not to use his pagoda on his defense.


    "Avoid!"


    Zen controlled his pagoda using his mind and instructed it to move. It di


    ty.


    They had already noted Zen''s presence when he came to the test venue, but they had ignored him. Besides, what could one expect from a cultivator at level three of Illuminating Soul Realm? But their ignorance and arrogance brought them all to a situation they could no longer escape.


    "What should we do? What about trying to kill him with all our strength? We have a chance of winning if we all launch an all-out attack at the same moment!" one of them said with confidence.


    His companion shook his head slightly and replied, "Each archer on his pagoda has the same power as a cultivator of Virtual Tribulation Realm. Even if we try our best, there is only twenty percent possibility that we can succeed. It isn''t worth a try."


    "He is very decisive, and he shows no hesitation even when he hears about the Violet Lustre Sect. It''s useless to threaten him with our sect. What should we do now?"


    "Let''s compromise with him first. He might be a very promising talent. We can stifle him in the cradle if we encounter him in the main draw match!"


    A hint of cruelty flashed in their eyes as they exchanged glances. One of them then bowed to Zen with cupped hands and said, "Please wait a minute!"


    Zen was growing impatient, but he had to give them a chance. He turned to them and said with a sarcastic smile, "Tell me, have you made up your mind? What are you offering?"


    The man pointed at his companion and explained, "We both come from the Platanus Sect. If you give the other two places to us, we''ll pay you 50 supreme life vitality crystals each. How do you like it?"


    Zen looked around with disappointment and said loudly, "50 supreme crystals for a place in the main draw match. Any more bids?"


    One supreme life vitality crystal was equal to one million low-grade life vitality crystals hence 50 supreme crystals were already a large amount of money even to a cultivator of Internal Elixir Realm. So, the participants were surprised when they sensed that Zen wasn''t thrilled at all.


    Meanwhile, in the palace, Cole almost hit the ceiling, "God! Is this really happening? Is he really holding an auction?"


    Letitia''s lips curled into a smile, "An auction, how creative. Isn''t that very interesting?"

 Chapter 701 Avoiding

    The Platanus Sect was also a third-grade sect. But more importantly, it was located right next to a mine rich with supreme life vitality crystals, which placed it at a great advantage compared to other third-grade sects.


    The two intimidating martial artists from the Platanus Sect were prepared to shell out fifty supreme crystals right there and then to obtain the slots. They wanted to avoid the bidding entirely.


    After Zen''s onslaught, there were only seven combatants left, including Zen himself.


    A blanket of silence fell upon the magic array, which was almost empty. Suddenly someone arose from his little pagoda and offered a price, "Eighty supreme crystals."


    The booming voice came from none other than Owen, the only martial artist who was in the Illuminating Soul Realm aside from Zen in today''s pre-qualifying match.


    Owen was visibly upset. He assumed that given his current strength, he would surely meet the quota for the main draw match. He had never expected Zen to appear in such a crucial moment.


    Owen speculated that his chances of winning against Zen were very slim, maybe thirty percent. When Zen was striking at him, he desperately wanted to counter. Several whorls of sharp gale winds were circling his hands.


    But he finally gave up on the idea.


    His chances were miniscule. Zen was stronger than the level 3 he appeared to be.


    The timing was perfect. If supreme crystals could solve his problems, all the better. Owen was rich in nothing but supreme crystals.


    It all stemmed from a fortunate accident back when he was training himself in the Woollen Grassland. He fell into a cave as he lost his footing and by chance found an exorbitant amount of lost treasure kept secret by a now extinct sect.


    And so even as an independent martial artist, Owen was wealthier than the two from the Platanus Sect.


    Dismay marked the sullen faces of the Platanus Sect martial artists when they heard Owen''s bid. Things always started to turn complicated once the first bid was struck.


    "A hundred supreme crystals," an irritated voice resounded. It came from one of the martial artists from the Platanus Sect. His teeth were clenched hard.


    A disciple''s income normally wasn''t high. Even when one accomplished a quest given out by the sect, it would still share a portion of the reward. A hundred supreme crystals were all they would offer at the moment.


    "A hundred and fifty!" Owen declared in a stern voice, his heart beating rapidly in his chest.


    The two disciples from Platanus Sect looked at each other at that moment. Then they proceeded to discuss using their life v


    to train disciples.


    Zen breathed a sigh of relief after he got the qualification.


    Though there was still time before the main draw match, Zen didn''t rest. He went into the Oracle City and bought some necessary supplies and materials. He then rented a nice quiet room and stayed there to meditate, instead of going back to the Cloud Hall.


    Zen threw himself into cultivating or drawing divine texture these days. He had to be prepared to kill Marilyn.


    Though he had never met Marilyn, he knew she was in the middle of the Internal Elixir Realm. Killing her would be his greatest challenge yet.


    Furthermore, Marilyn had Purple Power Body, which was an extremely rare and special power. Marilyn was also trained by Eddie, the most powerful man in the Central Region. Zen didn''t know if Marilyn ever became a formal student of his, but he was sure she learned a lot under Eddie.


    Zen faced the critical challenge head on, unflinching. He had to go all out in this fight.


    It took Zen a whole day to complete two pieces of divine texture.


    They were all drawn under the Cyan Dragon''s requirements and the divine textures were finally inscribed on both of his arms, then they promptly faded into two dim lines of power. The two pieces of divine texture were like glowing tattoos on his arms as they were activated.


    Zen began cultivating even more as soon as he was done with the divine texture.


    No more than two days later, Zen had finally stepped into level four of the Illuminating Soul Realm all the way from level 3. His primary task had always been to gather more strength and further hone his might.


    Right after he leveled up, the cyan dragon''s voice rang out, "Zen, I''m ready to awaken my seventh brother..."

 Chapter 702 The Primordial Energy (Part One)

    The cyan dragon''s seventh brother was one of the nine dragons.


    Back in the city of the Genuine Dragon World, the cyan dragon had been successful in swallowing the Owl Beast''s evil spirit.


    That evil spirit was divided into three parts. Those three parts, according to the cyan dragon, were extremely useful: one could be used to cure the cyan dragon itself, the other could be used to wake up his seventh brother, and the third could help Zen with the creation of the soul seed.


    It was a long time before the cyan dragon came up with the decision to finally wake his seventh brother. Zen, however, was patient and waited respectfully for the cyan dragon.


    Now, he sat cross-legged and immersed himself in the silence. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Zen slipped into a deep, meditative state. During this time, his mind relaxed and his soul was able to enter into the depths of his psyche.


    Zen found the cyan dragon coil around the huge mysterious furnace. At first glance, the dragon looked fearsome and scary. However, his fierce look softened once he realized who the visitor was.


    Uncoiling himself from the furnace, the cyan dragon approached Zen and opened his jaw wide. In his mouth was a huge, black bead.


    "Is that¡­? That''s the black bead from the Owl Beast''s evil spirit, isn''t it?" Zen asked.


    The cyan dragon nodded. "Uh-huh," he confirmed. "After absorbing the Owl Beast''s evil spirit, my body became much stronger. Hopefully, I can also wake my brother up with this bead."


    Having said that, the cyan dragon spat out the bead. Both he and Zen watched as the black bead flew over their heads and towards the dragon-shaped sculptures on the surface of the mysterious furnace. It shot itself right into the gaping mouth of one of the dragons.


    As soon as the bead touched the dragon''s mouth, it transformed into some kind of viscous dark matter quite similar to the soul essence refined by the Dark Devil Phantom. However, it seemed much purer than the soul essence.


    Once the dark matter was swallowed into the dragon''s mouth, everything beca


    n?" he asked with amusement dancing in his eyes.


    "Yes," Zen replied with eagerness and pride as an answer to the dragon''s question. However, he was confused as to what the dragon found amusing.


    "There are billions, heck, even trillions of creatures in this universe," the red dragon said, "but nowhere will you be able to find such a unique and valuable body as yours. You actually used the primordial energy you produced during the refinement of your body to wash your belly? What were you thinking?" The red dragon shook his head at Zen, obviously disappointed but also slightly amused.


    Zen''s brows knitted. "The primordial energy?" he repeated, shooting a confused look at the red dragon.


    The red dragon frowned, "Didn''t my brother tell you? Your body is the rudiment of primordial energy!"


    The red dragon''s declaration echoed in his ears. "It''s quite a pity you don''t know how to use it at all. Truly a pity," the dragon started. "After you stepped into the nature level, you had to practice the refinement techniques of the life vitality system, so you just wasted the primordial energy away..." the mighty dragon began in a low, cold voice. "You do not know how to use that energy, so you cleansed your body by using that energy!" the dragon said, heaving a sigh in disappointment. "I bet you have no actual idea how precious it truly is!" the dragon stated lastly.

 Chapter 703 The Primordial Energy (Part Two)

    "W-what?!" Zen was shocked with the sudden knowledge he had gained. He didn''t know. And if he knew, he wouldn''t have used it!


    The dragons were the supreme beings of the universe. They had power and authority over anything. They could even be considered as gods of this world.


    If the cyan dragon and the red dragon hadn''t gotten into such a plight, the possibility of them destroying the universe with one wave of their claws was not far from reality. The world and the Central Region would be in utter devastation. But thankfully, they did not cause such a ruckus.


    The mighty dragon valued the primordial energy, but at first, Zen used it to cleanse his body only. Moreover, after becoming a nature creature, he didn''t practice body refining skills, so he used the primordial energy to wash the body, but unfortunately, the effect was not satisfactory.


    Zen''s mouth was agape, left speechless by the revelation. He couldn''t fathom out what to say or what to do. He was dumbfounded and lost on what should be done next.


    "However, I have heard from my brother that you woke me up at the cost of your life, and for that, I owe you. To pay my debt, I can teach you body refining skills. But let me warn you. I have never supported human body refining. But your body is unique! It will be a waste not to refine it. The only question left is, will you be able to do it?" the red dragon asked in an emotionless voice. The Genuine Dragon World had many humans in it, but most of them were Dragon Lineage Humans with dragon blood.


    These humans who had dragon blood in their bodies were far stron


    ntended on using it to refine his body.


    "I am warning you once again. The refinement will be very painful and hard. I advise you to be prepared for it," the dragon warned before Zen could quit his meditation. Zen''s soul just nodded as an acknowledgement. He was prepared for whatever it was going to take.


    As the brave warrior came back from his reverie, he squinted his eyes slowly and shook his head. He breathed once more to fully restore his consciousness. After that, he decided to step out and into the courtyard. The Martial Arts Contest was held nearby, so the rent of the courtyard he was in was very expensive. However, it was cheap for him since he had hundreds of supreme life vitality crystals to spend. He rented the whole courtyard that day, so no one could be seen aside from him wandering around that place.


    Standing in the middle of the space, he heard the red dragon began to speak, "I shall now commence with refining your body using the primordial energy." As soon as he finished his words, Zen felt his entire body become rigid.

 Chapter 704 The Fate To Lead The World Of Chaos (Part One)

    The "warm current", as Zen named it, felt like the warm caress of the summer seas. He had no idea what it was, nor had any explanation for why it healed him from any pain felt by his body. He didn''t have any inkling as to what this energy coursing through him might possibly be.


    ''An enigma, '' Zen thought, a faint smile gracing his lips. ''One that I''m willing to embrace wholeheartedly.''


    The thirst for knowledge to solve this mystery spurred Zen into training his body without mercy. His resolve and dedication had led him to be inflicted with various wounds and injuries all over, yet all these never seemed to last for long as soon as the "warm current" washed over him. ''It''s another type of energy... One that I obviously haven''t heard before.'' Zen had mused before, his brows furrowing in frustration as he attempted to resolve his own inquiries.


    "Primordial energy?"


    Zen murmured as he finally knew what the "warm current" was after the red dragon told him.


    The red dragon had helped to muster and run the primordial energy in his body. It started with the smallest flicker of flame. A fire that could easily be extinguished by sudden gusts of wayward winds.


    It was too sudden; too fast, that Zen didn''t even have the chance to recognize where and when the shift had begun inside of him. The flame flickered and spread all throughout his body like wildfire in a dense forest. It left no mercy; reaching every crevice and fissure in his compact body, until it engulfed him completely.


    He thought that he could bear it. He thought of the summer seas, crashing waves and the salt lingering on his tongue; the warm caress that seemed to embrace him lovingly and healed him every time his body took damage. And, at first, he felt it¡ªthe careful, tender touch. Until, the heat grew and grew and he was choking, unable to breathe as the heat increased in devastatingly high levels. It scorched him from the inside out; every intake of oxygen became synonymous to burning acid sliding down his parched throat. He was being burned alive, his skin turning to black as his muscles convulsed, fighting a hopeless battle against the fire that relentlessly licked at his flesh.


    "No! Stop!"


    Zen screamed in despair, trashing wildly and blindly. He hated it, he hated


    ake from the view over the wall. Yes, she certainly was, until she had a nagging realization that what she was currently seeing was simply beyond her expectations.


    The more she watched the scene in front of her, the more horrified and repulsed she felt upon seeing the cultivator withstand such suffering just for the sake of training.


    His voice was hoarse from his screams. The pain from the activation of primordial energy was unexpected for Zen, so he was totally unprepared for it. He had no concept of time while he was stuck in the realm of torture. He didn''t know how many minutes, or hours he had already spent enclosed in this prison of searing fire.


    He convulsed; tossing himself widely and violently on the ground, like fish desperately looking for water; looking desperately for the briefest amount of solace, as his mind fought to escape intolerable abuse of the white-hot flames.


    "He''s tougher than I have imagined," the red dragon said in barely concealed astonishment.


    "His soul has entered the Fighting Soul Realm, so he is able to withstand it for a long while before he passes out," the cyan dragon replied.


    "That''s it¡­ It would actually be his salvation if he were to pass out. This kind of torture is undeniably unbearable." The red dragon shook his head in a pitying manner. "Although, it is true that one must always go through a series of hardships if he hopes to achieve his goal. Zen must understand what he is putting at stake for the future he will be facing soon."

 Chapter 705 The Fate To Lead The World Of Chaos (Part Two)

    "Pang!"


    The dragons turned to see where the resounding boom had originated.


    It was closely followed by another loud crash, and they soon discerned that it was the sound of something breaking.


    Zen, in his deranged state, had managed to crush a brown, stone floor tile into pieces after having tossed himself over it. Although, he didn''t seem to take notice as he proceeded to stumble and stagger his way across the courtyard deliriously.


    He was making a huge, chaotic mess. His body appearing to be possessed with the strength of a thousand soldiers; every accidental bump he had made with the stone pillars caused them to shatter completely. Still, he was blinded by the agony he felt that he was not yet to be made aware of the three rooms that had collapsed after he ran into them.


    The ruckus in the manor made Zen''s innocent neighbors cower in fright. The owner had summoned his family members to gather in their shop, and with a quivering voice, he tried to console both himself and his family. "Don''t worry, the cultivator is only practicing. There''s no need to fear. Just remember that no matter what happens, never go to his yard and risk disturbing him."


    The family all nodded in agreement. They were shaking, trembling so badly that the owner was almost certain that none had been able to even listen to his words properly.


    ''It''s okay, '' he reassured himself. ''My wife is here, so are my children¡­'' His eyes swept over the group, before they widened in horror. "Alice! Where''s Alice? She''s not here!" The room fell silent as everyone looked at each other in dread.


    They all scattered in a hurry to look for the missing daughter, but ultimately failed to see any sign of her presence within the shop.


    Oblivious to her family''s turmoil, Alice had remained unmoving from her spot; entranced by the unbelievable situation on the other side of the wall. Perhaps, it was the child in her that led her to be so unperturbed by the dangers she was currently exposed to. With a gaze filled with wonder and disbelief, she whispered to herself, "Is that guy really as tough as iron and steel?"


    "What''s he doing? He''s running into walls, and breaking them all to pieces¡­ and he''s unharmed? Is that even possible?" She pursed her lips in concentration as she tried to look for any signs of cuts or gashes on the man. "Not even a trace of blood! Are all cultivators as invincible as him?"


    A barrage of thunderous noises cut off Alice''s musings.


    Zen rampaged like an angered, blinded bull sporadically wrecking whatever stood in his


    ecause of Yan''s Purple Power Body, and thus she was taken away by Eddie in the end.


    His defeat led him to continuously face obstacles in order to chase after Yan again, and all that made him stronger by leaps and bounds. That is why I think that Yan is Zen''s destiny guider."


    "It sounds reasonable, brother! But, I think that it is still too early to be sure of it. If you''re right, Zen should have been led into a much wider world, instead of this small Central Region," the red dragon countered.


    The other companion agreed with a nod, "Indeed, my conclusion is not yet final. If she really is who I suspect to be, she might be taken away by somebody again."


    Both dragons fell into quiet contemplation before they sighed, "If our eldest brother were here, he would''ve known the answer to our speculations!"


    The red dragon grumbled in dismay.


    Fate was elusive, akin to traveling a rocky, deserted terrain with no clear destination in sight. Even the most powerful beings like the Genuine Dragon race were unable to get a hold of the whole picture. Zen''s superb abilities and his unusual destiny were first found by Kenneth, but even he knew of nothing about his fate to lead the world of chaos. It was only intuition that led him to believe that Yan played a role in guiding Zen forward.


    Unfortunately for Zen, he was excluded from the topic regarding his own future, as his consciousness had not yet returned.


    Zen woke up after a long, much needed rest. Disoriented and aching all over, the first thing that had come to his senses was the sweet smell of a young girl hovering over him as soon as he opened his eyes.


    With a throat dry from dehydration, he asked, "Where am I?"

 Chapter 706 Refining Acupoints (Part One)

    Zen had gotten himself ready to experience the agonizing pain of body refinement, but never would he have thought that it would be extremely intolerable.


    His soul had already set foot inside the Fighting Soul Realm, and his willpower had also gone up a couple of notches. However, his mind and body just couldn''t bear the excruciating pain, causing him to pass out.


    Holding a freshly brewed pot of hot tea, a girl dressed in green silk entered. Possessing a set of eyes so pure, the girl didn''t look half bad at all. Her bangs had been cut short.


    "Oh, you finally came to." Upon seeing Zen open his eyes, she immediately poured hot tea over a cup and handed it over to him.


    Zen shot the girl a bit of a reluctant gaze, but it didn''t take too long for him to understand that she was just a regular person who had nothing to do with martial arts whatsoever, so he was able to ease up on her in no time. He nodded politely toward the girl, carefully grabbed the cup and gulped a mouthful of refreshing hot tea.


    "I noticed how your face looked as if you were under so much pain. Would you like for me to fetch a doctor for you?" Although Alice Bi was aware that the bodies of warriors could be quite different from those of the common folk, she still felt like Zen was in need of medical supervision as he had been racked with pain and so much torment.


    Zen simply let out a faint smile and shook his head in refusal, "No, thanks. That wouldn''t be necessary. The doctor wouldn''t be able to treat me anyway."


    "How can you be so sure? I know of a talented doctor who has Wang as his last name. His clinic is just around the bend. For decades now, he has been a seasoned doctor. He''s the one who used to.


    s. The second she walked away, she informed Zen that she''d bring dinner over to him when night fell.


    Immediately after Alice left, Zen sprung up from his bed. It seemed that luck wasn''t on his side, as he hit his head on the wooden ceiling.


    "Oww!" Zen cried out under intense pain.


    Hearing the clamor, Alice hurriedly went back and poked her head through the door''s opening, feeling quite curious.


    Zen rubbed his head in embarrassment. He simply laughed it off and said, "Sorry about that. I''ll make sure to pay for anything I might break."


    In the past, Zen had always been under the assumption that the warm current could only be able to help him get rid of the impurities inside his body. The first step one would have to take in order to reach the nature level was to get rid of the impurities in his body and make it absolutely pure. Upon attaining the nature level, however, the aforementioned warm current had little to almost no effect on him whatsoever.


    It wasn''t until today that he finally learned how to utilize the primordial energy. This was something essential for training one''s body refining skills.

 Chapter 707 Refining Acupoints (Part Two)

    Subsequently, after the red dragon lent him a hand in refining his body with the use of the primordial energy, his body went through a mind-blowing transformation. The moment he sprung up from the bed, there was a sensation rushing through his body, brimming with an unfamiliar force which seemed to be different from life vitality. He somehow knew there was something within him, but he just didn''t know how to draw it out.


    That was the reason he accidentally hit the ceiling surprisingly when he jumped up.


    "It looks like you''ve managed to form your own forceful energy right on your very first body refining. The primordial energy is quite powerful in my opinion. Ha-ha," the voice of the red dragon appeared without a warning.


    "Did you just say ''forceful energy''?" Zen''s eyes were gleaming with anticipation.


    "Mm-hmm, this is what people commonly refer to as a martial art of body refining," the red dragon affirmed.


    The system of body refinement and that of life vitality refinement were two utterly contrasting fields of martial arts. The two might have started with body refining, but after the five realms of body refining, they would branch out much differently. With that in mind, the warriors of the life vitality system should logically begin training from the nature level, and then the Illuminating Soul Realm, and the Internal Elixir Realm after that, and eventually, they''d reach the Virtual Tribulation Realm and even much higher levels.


    That being said, after finishing their practice in the five realms of body refining, the warriors adopting the body refining system would have to begin the refinement of their 108 acupuncture points, or acupoints for short. The next step would then be to bu


    he flame and the lightning bolt in front of Zen suddenly intertwined, darting toward his eyebrows.


    That was one of the main acupoints in the human body, the 20th point on the Governing Vessel.


    Zen''s body began quivering after the flame and lightning darted into his first acupoint. Then, beans of sweat began to form, streaming down from his forehead.


    The refining of acupoints was as painful as body refining, but, in contrast, body refining caused severe pain in every single part of the human body, while the pain of refining acupoints, on the other hand, was focused in just one point.


    The pure flame and lightning continued spreading on his eyebrows, making him feel as though his eyebrows were about to burst.


    The strength of his will had been put to the test at such a great extent at that moment. In spite of the fact that the flame and lightning came from his own understanding of the Fire Law and the Thunder Law, at that point in time, they were being refined in his eyebrows.


    It would spell trouble for him if he carelessly allowed them to slip into his mind, so he simply couldn''t allow himself to lose focus.

 Chapter 708 The Opening

    Zen breathed in deeply, but remained calm as he felt the flame and the lightning racing through him.


    The powerful flame and lightning gathered in the central area of Zen''s head. He was refined through lightning and fire which made the 20th point on his Governing Vessel glow with a golden light.


    After an hour, the shimmering light vanished, and Zen was done refining his first acupoint.


    Body refiners were rare in the Central Region, but it didn''t mean that there were none. Some of the smaller sects in the area had disciples dedicated to body refining.


    When they finished the marrow refining level, they refined the first acupoint which was the 20th point on the Governing Vessel.


    But, the process usually took years, even decades to complete.


    Zen finished in an hour.


    His impressive accomplishment would shame and amaze those body refiners who were stuck.


    There was a myriad of reasons that enabled Zen to finish so fast. First, Zen''s body was a spiritual weapon making him stronger than other cultivators. Also, he had already refined himself in other aspects when he got the primordial energy.


    Primordial energy was accessible for Zen because all he needed to do was be beaten by others. According to the red dragon though, it could be challenging to get primordial energy for some more sophisticated, stronger masters.


    Since his body was refined by primordial energy completely Zen was able to refine his acupoints more effectively.


    The flame and lightning were Law Power, which was the purest power.


    Body refiners from the Central Region underwent numerous hardships before they gained flame and lightning power that was suitable for their acupoint refining. Even when they did get some, it wasn''t as pure as what Zen got. Usually, the flame and lightning from the earth realm were more explosive and more difficult to control. As a result, it required them to be more careful than Zen. They would be risking life and limb if they did what Zen did, and combined the flame with the lightning directly into their acupoints.


    Once he finished with the first point, Zen began refining the next acupoint.


    An hour later, his temples were refined.


    Then he refined the next acupoint, which was located in the forehead.


    Then the acupoints beside the ears, and the acupoints beside the eyebrows.


    Time passed as Zen refined each acupoint. Oracle city skyline was alight with the hues of orange as the sun sank lower and then gradually darkened the sky.


    The most important event happening in Oracle city was the Martial Arts cont


    e stage was already set for the contests by the World Commercial Alliance who had also set up a stand that could hold a hundred thousand people at twenty thousand feet long, divided into twelve rows in anticipation of the spectators.


    Zen was amazed at how many refiners he saw as he walked to the headquarters.


    It was still early, but, the area was filled quickly with refiners and becoming overcrowded and noisy.


    Many of them were from the Central Region. There were numerous sects, powers, and families all hailing from the Central Region, including the Cloud Hall and the Ethereal Spirit Sect.


    Millions of cultivators came to watch the contest, and this was only a tiny amount.


    "The price of a ticket to the Martial Arts contest is one supreme life vitality crystal, only!" someone was yelling as he walked through the crowd.


    ''A supreme life vitality crystal for a ticket?'' thought Zen, speechless at the steep cost.


    However, even at that price there were tens of thousands of cultivators willing to pay. It seemed that the World Commercial Alliance did know how to run a business. Or were those cultivators just very wealthy?


    Zen quickened his step as he walked right to the stage.


    "Stop! If you want to watch the contest, go that way, please!" said a World Commercial Alliance steward who stopped Zen.


    He didn''t think Zen was there to participate when he noticed Zen was at grade four of the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    Zen smiled and politely stated, "You misunderstand, sir. I''m a contestant."


    "You are a contestant?" asked the steward amused at what Zen told him. He sarcastically added, "Do you know where to go? This isn''t a place where you can make jokes! Go away!"

 Chapter 709 A Bully Is Always A Coward (Part One)

    "I''m telling the truth. I am really here to participate in the Martial Arts Contest. If you''re still doubtful, I can simply show you my token to prove it," Zen insisted, about to bring out and show him his token.


    But in spite of that, the steward didn''t even bother looking at the token at all. The only thing he did was let out a contemptuous smile.


    Then he said, "Throughout the years that I''ve been a steward, I''ve had plenty of chances to meet jackasses just like you, but I have never come upon a person at the Illuminating Soul Realm who had the guts to try and fool me. You''re the very first person to ever do so."


    Zen''s eyebrows were deeply knitted from hearing the steward''s words. Silently standing still, he had been deep in thought, looking for an effective way to get the steward to believe him. Coming to the realization that Zen was intent on staying there, a devious smile crept onto the steward''s face. Turning his back on Zen, he yelled over to someone at the arena, "Monkey! There''s a stupid idiot right here looking for some trouble. Would you be so kind as to teach this guy a lesson and shove him away?"


    A towering and seemingly strong man darted out of the arena at breakneck speed. He looked so intimidating standing eight feet tall, much like an iron wall. Each time he would stomp on the ground, the earth would shake as a result.


    "Who has the audacity to stir up trouble for the World Commercial Alliance? You''re merely bringing forth your own demise," declared the strong man being referred to as Monkey upon dashing out of the arena. On his arrival, he didn''t waste any time and instantly glared at Zen. With a jeering laugh, he quickly stretched out his hands, trying to get a hold of Zen


    But because Zen had already strengthened his body with primordial energy, he possessed exceptional agility.


    That being said, without even having to use life vitality, he swiftly moved and dodged the massive fan-like hands of the strong man without breaking a sweat.


    "Eh!"


    the strong man exclaimed, with astonishment written all over his face. Zen had been as slippery as an eel. The


    ople on each day who would get an opportunity to participate in the main draw match. That being the case, the martial artists who could proudly stand there could be considered some of the most remarkable martial artists among the hundreds of people who originally took part in the pre-qualifying match, and the strength of every single one of them, in no way, should ever be underestimated.


    As Zen moved closer over to the group, the martial artists who had gotten there before him shifted their gaze at him, appearing to be quite astounded.


    The majority of the martial artists who were entitled to participate in the main draw match were at the Internal Elixir Realm. And among those warriors, only two were currently at the ultimate level of the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    One of them was Owen, the man who took part in the pre-qualifying match along with Zen on the very same day, and then the other was someone unfamiliar to him.


    So far, it was already quite an unusual occurrence for a martial artist at the ultimate level of the Illuminating Soul Realm to have the chance to enter the main draw match. All things considered, a substantial difference existed between warriors in the Internal Elixir Realm and the ultimate level of the Illuminating Soul Realm in terms of their strength. That being said, it would be a gargantuan task for them to even make it through the pre-qualifying match.

 Chapter 710 A Bully Is Always A Coward (Part Two)

    Prior to then, they had already been amazed that two such disciples appeared up there, thinking that the fact they got qualified was so incredible.


    And now, who would''ve ever thought that a guy merely at the fourth grade of the Illuminating Soul Realm would also arrive at the waiting area alongside them? They thought their eyes had been playing tricks on them, causing gossip to spread amongst the other competitors.


    "How on earth could a guy who is merely at the fourth grade of the Illuminating Soul Realm have been admitted to the main draw match? The second he steps foot onto the arena, I''m afraid he''ll be turned to mincemeat in the blink of an eye."


    "I wonder how he even managed to get qualified at all. At his level of strength, there''s no doubt that he wouldn''t be able to pass the pre-qualifying match, but in actuality, he has gotten himself into the main draw match. That''s kind of weird!"


    "So what if he somehow managed to receive the qualification? With the amount of strength he has, entering the arena would be virtually the same as diving at the jaws of death."


    In the midst of the uproar, a wave of laughter made its way through the martial artists. The audible laugh was originating from the disciple of the Platanus Sect. He stated in a roaring voice, "I know just how this man was able to get his qualification."


    Those words were more than enough to draw everyone''s attention. "How did he pull it off?" asked one of the warriors.


    "I was there when he had his pre-qualifying match. We actually took it on the same day. During the second stage of magic array examination, would you believe me when I say, he had a twelve-level pagoda to his name?! A twelve-level tower could be comparable to twelve strong men at the Virtual Tribulation Realm. Having such an impressive pagoda, without a doubt, he could pass the pre-qualifying match with such ease even if he simply slept throughout the pre-qualifying match," exclaimed t


    on of a bitch!" the martial artist resorted to using profanities, looking at Zen''s contemptuous eyes. This infuriated him so much that he clenched his fists, producing a grating sound. He was so fuming with anger that he was already willing to tear Zen to pieces for two pins. Setting aside Zen''s tricks in the magic array a couple of days ago, up until now, he couldn''t fathom how a meager junior at the Illuminating Soul Realm would have the guts to look down upon a man of his stature, who was at the middle level of Internal Elixir Realm, and also the most prodigious disciple of the Platanus Sect for the past hundreds of years.


    Sad to say, it was truly a shame that Zen had utterly disregarded his burning rage.


    Witnessing everything that had transpired with his own eyes, Owen smiled softly, "This Martial Arts Contest could end up being quite interesting."


    At the end of the intermezzo, an elder of World Commercial Alliance suddenly yelled out, "The Mysterious Luna Hall is about to arrive."


    Upon hearing those words, people saw a huge coffin come within sight up in the sky, making its way, much like a cannonball dashing toward the arena.


    Zen''s eyes widened just a little bit, with a smile creeping onto his face. The major players of the Martial Arts Contest were coming!

 Chapter 711 Making The Entry

    In the Martial Arts Contest held by World Commercial Alliance, only sects on and above the fourth tier were eligible to enter the main draw match directly. The disciples didn''t even need to appear for the pre-qualifying test to participate.


    The Mysterious Luna Hall was one of the oldest sects in the Central Region. Its cultivation methods were sinister and ruthless. It simply didn''t adhere to the principles of the righteous or those of devilry. It could conform to any as and when needed. This was why they weren''t particularly respected in the Region.


    Even so, nobody was careless enough to slight such a mysterious fourth-tier sect as that. Elderly Luna, who was more than 900 years old, had become a legend in the Central Region.


    A lot of high platforms had already been erected on another side of the field. After a while, the gigantic-looking coffin slowly landed on one of the platforms.


    Bam!


    The top uncovered on its own as soon as it landed. An old man wearing a black cloak crawled out of it. The deep wrinkles on his face made him look ancient. It almost felt like he was so perishable that he could fall asleep any time now, never to wake up. Despite the creases and folds on his face, his hair was pitch black, giving him a rather spooky appearance.


    This was whom the legends were about: Elderly Luna, the head of Mysterious Luna Hall.


    All the martial arts practitioners who owned a supreme life vitality crystal were very influential in the martial arts community. As a result, they knew all the other powerful practitioners in the Central Region.


    The crowd recognized the old man at a single glance. Exclamations and heated discussions started to fly among hundreds of thousands of martial arts practitioners.


    "That''s Elderly Luna. He is around a thousand years old!


    And he''s still alive!"


    "He''s not a thousand years old yet. According to the records, he''s 976 years old. He still has more than 20 years to go before he turns 1000!" "Do you think he can survive all these years?"


    "Shh! Keep your voices down. If these words reach any of Mysterious Luna Hall''s people, you''d be dead in no time."


    Along with Elderly Luna, tens of elders and disciples of Mysterious Luna Hall also appeared for the contest. There had to be only 4 spots for the Mysterious Luna Hall. No one knew who out of all of them would be selected to participate in the contest.


    "Bloodwood Cliff," the elder of World Commercial Alliance heralded again.


    A carriage flew over and stopped on another platform. A milky fair foot stretched out of the carriage first. Then, a woman wearing a satin red gown emerged from it. This was Lady Poison-blood.


    Her skin struck out of the red fabric, almost glowing, giving her a rather bewitching presence. It took just one look for all the men around to get excited at her arrival.


    "It''s Lady Poison-blood. Isn''t she completely gorgeous!"


    "Yes, but so what? She''s too old. Who knows how many men she has slept with?"


    "Hey! Martial arts practitioners are not supposed to judge people by their ages. Even if she''s 200, she looks like she''s only 20! Moreover, she appears as delicate as a 16-year-old!"


    Lady Poison-blood''s arrival filled the practitioners with lust. The fact that there were so many of them made them unafraid of offe


    him. Zen could use that time to get stronger.


    All of a sudden, Zen saw a robust figure flying toward him, with a few others in its tow.


    At one glance, he recognized the person. He was middle-aged and had a gigantic face. This was the same face he had seen at Cloud Sect.


    That was Eddie, the strongest practitioner in Central Region. He was Zen''s archenemy.


    For a moment, Zen stared at him intently, as if trying to imprint the image of his face on his mind.


    When his eyes shifted from him and he saw who was flying right behind Eddie, he was utterly surprised!


    ''Is that Marilyn?'' he wondered.


    This woman was fat as butter. Fat hung under her chin, hiding her neck. The weirdest thing was, Zen couldn''t tell her cultivation base.


    ''What''s going on?


    Isn''t she supposed to be at the middle-stage of Internal Elixir Realm? Why can''t I tell her cultivation base?''


    Zen possessed outstanding abilities of perceiving, which usually told him how strong a person was within seconds upon meeting him briefly. Only those who were much stronger than him could make his perception fail. But Marilyn wasn''t that stronger.


    While he wondered about her cultivation base, he noticed another woman behind her, who seemed more like Marilyn. This woman was young and beautiful and wore a small black outfit. She too was a middle-stage practitioner of Internal Elixir Realm.


    ''She ought to be Marilyn.''


    He was just trying to guess. He wasn''t sure, but he thought there was a high chance he was right.


    There were three other people in the group. One of them was a smartly dressed young boy. His handsome face had a touch of tenderness. By the looks of him, it seemed like he was Eddie''s son. Only, Zen wasn''t sure if he was a participant in the Martial Arts Contest. If he was, he''d be Zen''s rival.


    Behind this boy were two teenage girls.


    Zen''s pupils dilated the moment his eyes landed on one of them. He blinked in disbelief.


    One of those girls was Yan.


    She looked very different than before. Her eyes were closed as she followed them, seeming to float in space like a piece of wood.


    "Yan, what happened to you?" Detecting how she had changed angered Zen.

 Chapter 712 The Gift

    The woman next to Yan also looked like a puppet¡ªher eyes were closed, and her face was expressionless.


    ''What on earth did Eddie do to Yan? How did she become like this?''


    Zen tried to check his emotions.


    At the end of the day, Eddie was the strongest warrior in the Central Region. Zen wasn''t his match as yet. If Zen let his impulses take hold of him, even Letitia wouldn''t be able to protect him.


    "Eh? Six Senses Blocking Method?" The cyan dragon said. Although he was the weakest among the nine Genuine Dragons in terms of strength, the cyan dragon was the most knowledgeable.


    "What is that?" Zen asked, gritting his teeth.


    The cyan dragon explained as he watched Yan and the woman beside her, "It''s a cultivation method, by which, the cultivators'' six senses are blocked, so that they can''t see, hear, smell, feel, or taste. The cultivators also lose their sense of space. Thus, they''re unable to communicate with the outside world. The Six Senses Blocking Method is supposed to be used by the cultivators when they cultivate. It''s a pity that someone like Eddie has mastered it."


    Obviously, the cyan dragon knew the history of the Six Senses Blocking Method. There were some secrets Zen didn''t know. But he was too worried about Yan to care about anything else. "Is it harmful to the cultivator?"


    "Not really. It can improve the cultivator''s cultivation base significantly in a short time. Hasn''t Eddie been trying to arrange the Lustful Demon Array?" the cyan dragon reminded Zen.


    "I know what he did. He improved Yan''s cultivation base using the Six Senses Blocking Method so that she could enter the Internal Elixir Realm. But wait..." Zen seemed to have remembered something. With raised eyebrows, he said, "Both Marilyn and Yan have a Purple Power Body, so that means..."


    He shifted his eyes to the woman next to Yan. Apparently, her senses had also been blocked.


    "You''re right. She also has a Purple Power Body. Eddie has already found the three people he needs. Once your sister and that woman enter the Internal Elixir Realm, the Lustful Demon Array will be realized," the cyan dragon said calmly.


    "It''s strange, though. The Central Region is a small place. Isn''t it a coincidence that such a small place has three people with a Purple Power Body? You know, Purple Power Bodies are very adaptable. These people are excellent body refiners," the red dragon cut in, giggling.


    Zen was too anxious to pay any attention to him.


    Kenneth had said that Purple Power Bodies were rare. There might be one in a trillion. Therefore


    else in the crowd muttered.


    While people were discussing, Dillon stood on the drum and lifted the 20-foot-long drumstick.


    The stick weighed 50, 000 pounds, but he raised it as easily as if he were holding a thin twig, leaving a trail of an arc.


    "Bang!"


    The stick struck the drum hard and made a dull sound.


    As soon as the stick hit the surface of the drum, an invisible wave emerged and encircled the cultivators under the drum, creating a vortex.


    Quickly, the cultivators'' bodies shrank. The drum was sucking their blood and energy!


    After that, above the drum, a ray of golden light started spreading in all directions.


    Closest to the drum were people from Cloud Hall, Ethereal Spirit Sect, and other major sects. They sucked most of the golden light before it reached the other cultivators.


    Next, it was the cultivators who had passed the pre-qualifying test, including Zen and Owen.


    "The golden light can increase our human life years?" someone asked. When the light reached Zen, he absorbed a lot and felt immediately refreshed and vigorous.


    Since there were too many cultivators, the light was thin when it reached the spectators'' stand.


    However, no one was willing to miss this valuable opportunity. The hundreds of thousands of spectators all sniffed greedily. The light was soon exhausted. The amount every spectator got was merely a hundred millionth of what Zen had absorbed.


    When the golden light ran out, everyone turned their attention back to the drum. The prisoners on death row still stood as they had been a moment ago. The only difference was that their bodies had shriveled and their skins were ghostly white. They were no more than zombies.

 Chapter 713 The Unveiling Competition

    The world of cultivators was cruel.


    The cultivators at the nature level were respected throughout the Eastern Region, while the ones in the Illuminating Soul Realm were even more influential.


    Sadly for the hundreds of prisoners, however, they were one-time strong cultivators, but ended up being a means of increasing human life years for the other cultivators at the contest held in Oracle City, no matter how respected they used to be.


    After beating the drum, Dillon threw the drumstick aside and sat back in his chair, cramming his obese body in.


    Silence reigned in the arena. Most of the cultivators were still immersed in the transcendent experience the golden light had brought them.


    After a moment, Dillon summoned his life vitality to his voice and said to everyone present, "Before the opening of the Martial Arts Contest, I''d like to make an announcement, which I hope will spread around."


    His listeners were bewildered by his sudden, confusing words.


    Dillon continued, "Someone in our World Commercial Alliance concluded that the ninth enchanted lamp from the celestial tomb had turned up."


    As if a stone had been thrown into a serene lake, heated discussions ensued after a moment''s silence.


    "Enchanted lamp from the celestial tomb? The enchanted lamps from the celestial tomb lit on the Lantern Lighting Festival? The last one has turned up too?"


    "My goodness! This last enchanted lamp from the celestial tomb hasn''t been lit in a thousand years. What a surprise it is that it has turned up now!"


    "How do they know?"


    "Haven''t you heard that humans who have lived for over a thousand years are monsters? There''s an Ancient Tycoon in the World Commercial Alliance. I bet it was him who drew the conclusion."


    The Lantern Lighting Festival was held every year in the Central Region. During this time, commoners lit lanterns and put up festoons. The praying lanterns were then set into the night sky. Since parents bought smaller lanterns for their children, every boy and girl carried their lamps along the streets and had fun.


    For ordinary folks, it was just a festival.


    Yet, for cultivators, the Lantern Lighting Festival meant more than that. On this day, they didn''t look forward to lighting ordinary lanterns. Instead, they wanted to light the enchanted lamps from the celestial tomb.


    They had celebrated numerous Lantern Lighting Festivals. Finally, this year, the last enchanted lamp from the celestial tomb had turned up.


    "If the person who has gotten the last lamp is ready, he can light it at this year''s Lantern Lighting Festival so that we can get into the celestial tomb and get what we want," said Dillon. Obviously, his statement was addressed to the person who had gotten the last enchanted lamp from the celestia


    s. Yet, not only did Dawson Zhao get through it safely, but it is also said that he gained a lot from that experience. His life has changed since then."


    "Who is this Segar Yu of Mysterious Luna Hall? I''ve never heard of him. I guess Dawson Zhao will beat him to a pulp."


    Mysterious Luna Hall was very secretive. It belonged to neither the Righteous faction nor the Evil faction of the martial sects. As a sect, it was well-known, yet most of its disciples were obscure. Among the hundreds of thousands of practitioners in the spectators'' stand, no one had heard of Segar Yu.


    The Elderly Luna heard the conversation but remained silent. He was sitting in an old-fashioned wooden armchair. His eyes glistened. "Segar, go. Since you''re lucky enough to fight in the unveiling competition, it will be a shame to leave the field without seeing blood. Go kill him!" he said.


    Not far from him, an ordinary-looking youth nodded at his words. He jumped off one of the platforms and walked onto the field.


    Unlike the competitions between sects, the Martial Arts Contests meant life or death. There were no rules about methods. No one cared who the challengers were. There was no pity or mercy, as mercy for a foe would mean death to themselves.


    A green light curtain rose slowly and covered the entire field.


    Before the competition started, the two contestants would be separated by the light curtain.


    Not long after Segar Yu had walked onto the field, Dawson Zhao entered as well.


    With no ceremonies and no courtesies, the two challengers were like beasts trapped in cages, waiting for the light curtain to be removed. It was a touch-and-go situation.


    With a mild swish, the light curtain disappeared. Dawson Zhao stomped his feet, and life vitality spread like ripples under his feet. He dashed toward Segar at lightning speed.

 Chapter 714 Come On Stage

    Independent cultivators practiced a myriad of cultivation methods. Although their rank wasn''t high, they often had a hundred tricks up their sleeves!


    For example, Dawson could roam the Central Region without any sect''s support, and he had even gone to the Chaotic Ocean of Stars and escaped unscathed. Although he didn''t go as far into the Chaotic Ocean of Stars as the experts in the Virtual Tribulation Realm, his progress was rare for a cultivator in the Internal Elixir Realm.


    In the instant that Dawson dashed forward, a trace of earthy yellow life vitality condensed in front of him and formed a heavy shield that encased him.


    The reason why Dawson was called the Divine Traveller was that he practiced a unique step called the Traceless Snowstep. This step helped him run fast without leaving any trace. After closing in on his opponent through this step, Dawson would launch a series of attacks. He would then be able to wear out his opponent and win!


    This was a common tactic used by Dawson. It had given him miraculous results in many battles before.


    Even though Segar was not well-known, he was still a disciple of the Mysterious Luna Hall. Dawson was confident, but he was not the slightest bit careless and used his full strength the moment he attacked! Cultivating to the Internal Elixir Realm as an independent cultivator required not only talent but also a heart that was adept at seeing the truth.


    With a slightly pale face, Segar looked indifferently at the rapidly approaching Dawson.


    "My master said that blood is necessary for the first battle. This is the only way to keep the audience enchanted. I''m very sorry, but I can only use your blood..." A cruel smile grew on Segar''s ordinary-looking face. A few strands of black silk were created as he crossed his fingers and lightly pulled them. In the next instant, the black silk pounced toward Dawson like little snakes.


    Dawson mainly practiced the cultivation method of the earth system, and he excelled in defense. That layer of earthen yellow life vitality shield had an astonishing defensive power. Normal attacks simply weren''t able to tear it apart. However, the black silk in Segar''s hands went through the life vitality shield easily and entwined around Dawson''s body.


    His arms, abdomen, head, and legs were all enveloped by the black threads.


    Segar''s face revealed the brightest smile. At the same time, his voice became louder. "Bloom!" Segar crossed his hands and pulled the threads with force.


    "Puff!"


    As the black silk suddenly tightened, scarlet blood spurted out from Dawson''s sturdy body.


    Blood droplets sprinkled from his body, forming a chaotic mess of blood stains on the ground. From afar, it looked like a blossoming, blood-red rose.


    After the blood had drained out,


    the same time, another independent cultivator also followed Zen.


    When they heard that the next challenger was from Cloud Hall, the cultivators in the audience turned to look at the members from Cloud Hall who were sitting on the high platform. This time, five members from Cloud Hall were participating in the competition. The cultivators were confused as to why those five didn''t move when Xiao called out one of their names. Instead, two participants walked out from the section where the independent cultivators were seated.


    "What''s going on? Why did the disciple of the Cloud Hall come out from that side?"


    "Wait. Are my eyes playing tricks on me? I didn''t notice him earlier. Is this brat... at the Illuminating Soul Realm?"


    "He is indeed at the Illuminating Soul Realm... And what''s even more surprising is that he is at the fourth grade of the Illuminating Soul Realm! The fourth grade of the Illuminating Soul Realm! How did he manage to pass the pre-qualifying match?"


    Cultivators who passed the pre-qualifying match were treated like minor celebrities, just like Alex Gongsun, who was the eldest son of a third-grade family in Oracle City! The Gongsun family had a close relationship with the World Commercial Alliance.


    As for Zen, he had not been in the Central Region for long. Moreover, he had been cultivating since he entered Cloud Hall. Almost no cultivators had heard of him, except Michael and the other members of the World Commercial Alliance.


    Zen had been standing in the middle of the crowd. Everyone''s attention had been focused on the large sects, so they hadn''t noticed that a cultivator at the Illuminating Soul Realm was among the Internal Elixir Realm cultivators.


    Now that Zen had walked out, he naturally received a lot of attention. His cultivation level seemed to be a bit lower than the other cultivators!

 Chapter 715 With All Its Strength

    Disbelief was written all over the faces of the warriors in the audience and the disciples of the fourth-grade sects on the elevated platforms.


    ''A disciple of Cloud Hall? He reached the Martial Arts Contest through pre-qualifying match? But he''s only at the fourth grade of the Illuminating Soul Realm! What kind of ruckus is this?'' they thought.


    "He''s at the fourth grade of the Illuminating Soul Realm. He will be killed the instant he walks on stage," said one of Bloodwood Cliff''s disciples, who was at the Internal Elixir Realm. He stroked his nose and added, "It''s a pity that I''m not his opponent. Otherwise, I would win this battle effortlessly!"


    "Indeed, this guy at the Illuminating Soul Realm probably won''t last one round on stage," another Bloodwood Cliff''s disciple said with a regretful expression.


    Six disciples of Ethereal Spirit Sect, who were at the Internal Elixir Realm, sat cross-legged on the sect''s elevated platform.


    Ethereal Spirit Sect had always been strict about its rules and regulations. Even though they were watching the battle, the disciples sat straight with solemn faces.


    Among these six people, the youngest one was only 15 years old, and there was a trace of a childish look on his face. Among the warriors participating in the Martial Arts Contest, he might not have the lowest cultivation level, but he was undoubtedly the youngest.


    He blinked and asked one of his companions, "Philip, didn''t you say that I had the lowest cultivation level among all the participants? That fellow''s cultivation level is lower than mine!"


    The man he was talking to was Philip, the eldest disciple of Ethereal Spirit Sect. He stared at Zen and said, "A warrior at the fourth grade of the Illuminating Soul Realm...This is strange. But Brent, you have to remember not to underestimate your opponent just because his cultivation level is lower than yours. Although you are at the ultimate level of the Illuminating Soul Realm, no one would dare to think low of you."


    "I got it," Brent nodded. "But I don''t think he is as strong as me! He wouldn''t be able to defeat me when I was at the fourth grade of the Illuminating Soul Realm two months ago."


    Brent stared at Zen with a confident expression.


    If the others were to hear his words, they would be shocked. Brent had progressed from the fourth grade to the ultimate level of the Illuminating Soul Realm in two months! His talent was incomparable.


    Philip smiled and shook his head. He didn''t understand why Brent would take Zen, a nobody, so seriously.


    In the Central Region, geniuses were usually divided into four ranks¡ªhuman-level talent, earth-level talent, heaven-level talent, and saint-level talent.


    The elite disciples of a fourth-grade sect were usually human-level talents or earth-level talents.


    If one was evaluated as a heaven-level talent, then it would be enough for any sect to train him w


    that guy at the fourth grade of the Illuminating Soul Realm. Don''t be afraid of Cloud Hall. I want to see blood!"


    Amid this intense discussion, the corners of Alex''s mouth curved up slightly. This was the advantage of being a native warrior. The vast majority of warriors in the audience were on his side. This would put his opponent under a formidable amount of pressure.


    However, in this battle, Alex did not need to give his opponent this pressure because his opponent was truly too weak.


    Alex removed two swords from his space ring. One was green, and the other was gold. They were both middle-grade fairy weapons.


    Zen''s eyebrows rose slightly when he saw the swords. "Twin-sword school?"


    Among swordsmen, there were very few who used twin swords. Up until now, Zen had only seen Lenard from Skytop Peak use twin swords.


    The advantage of using twin swords was undeniable. Each of the warrior''s hands would be armed with a sword. When paired with the swordsmanship of twin swords, he would unleash a greater power. After all, the swordsmanship cultivation pursued extreme sword intent. Using twin swords to cultivate one''s sword intent would be many times as hard as using a single sword. This was also the reason why most swordsmen would give up on using twin swords.


    "Really? You know about twin-sword school?" Alex smiled blandly, and swung the twin swords in his hands, releasing a torrent of golden sword radiance.


    Hearing Alex''s words, Zen returned the bland smile. He had never minded others looking down on him because such people would eventually pay with their lives.


    "Even though your cultivation level is very low, don''t expect me to show mercy. And don''t think that I would underestimate my opponent," Alex said, pointing both swords at Zen. "As the saying goes, ''even when facing a rabbit, a lion will also use all its strength.'' Since you are on stage, I believe you are mentally prepared to die."

 Chapter 716 Deathly Fist

    Even in a family as small as the Luo''s, there were lots of disagreements.


    Furthermore, Alex grew up in a family with third-grade forces.


    Although Alex was a heaven-level talent, if he didn''t work hard for the clan, he would be eliminated. The Gongsun family was a large family, and if someone wanted to stand out, they couldn''t rely on talent alone.


    So, even though Alex thought of Zen as weak, he couldn''t let his guard down. Throughout the world, the number of martial artists easily killed by opponents was enough to fill Hell. As smart as Alex was, he wouldn''t make such an obvious mistake.


    After listening to Alex, Zen''s eyes flashed brightly with an idea. He smiled and said, "Not bad."


    "What do you mean?" Zen''s praise confused Alex and he wasn''t sure if he''d heard him right.


    "You''re smarter than those idiots if you can understand the concept of a lion fighting a rabbit, so, you''re accomplished enough to be my foe," replied Zen as he chuckled.


    Alex froze at Zen''s response.


    He''d anticipated Zen to say something weak, or even beg for mercy. If he was in a good mood, he might''ve even spared Zen''s life.


    He hadn''t considered Zen complimenting him. Alex was having a difficult time accepting the huge contrast at the moment.


    Arrogant people usually had a good reason, but what did this kid have? Zen was only at the fourth level of the Illuminating Soul Realm, making him nothing more than a lamb before slaughter.


    Alex could accept a stronger opponent looking down on him since in the warriors'' world, whoever was strongest had the respect. If he was looked down on because he was weak, then he deserved it. But, to be disdained by someone weaker than him, Alex couldn''t take that.


    "Did you hear that? The brat at the fourth level of the Illuminating Soul Realm actually said Alex was qualified to be his opponent!"


    "That''s the funniest thing I''ve heard my whole life."


    "When did the Illuminating Soul Realm juniors start bragging at the Martial Arts Contest?"


    When they heard Zen, the other local cultivators from Oracle City joined in the clamoring.


    Alex angrily said, "Very good, with a single sentence you''ve gotten me angry. Since I am, you must be prepared to accept baptism by my anger!"


    "Zing."


    Two mid-grade fairy weapons, one green and the other gold, vibrated.


    Then, the arena''s enchanted barrier disappeared.


    The battle started.


    "One move and you die! Let me show you the Consummate Sword Intent!"


    Alex waved his swords, causing a purple cyclone of sword intent and a golden one to entwine around each other, and he rushed headlong at Zen.


    "Gongsun Dancing Sword!"


    There was a Gongsun in the past who did a sword dance, and the


    uch he hid his strength, someone would try to force him to show his ace.


    If he was too bloodthirsty, it might make Marilyn wary of him!


    The local warriors up in the stands were deathly silent. The situation had changed so quickly, they couldn''t even react. In fact, even Alex himself didn''t have time to react. Before he fainted, he still hadn''t figured out what he did wrong.


    What Alex didn''t know was there wasn''t anything he''d done wrong, it was just that he was too weak compared to Zen!


    On the high platform, Brent, the Ethereal Spirit Sect disciple blinked his eyes and said, "Wow, he''s really strong! I probably couldn''t beat him when I was at the fourth level of the Illuminating Soul Realm."


    The eldest disciple from the Ethereal Spirit Sect shook his head and said, "Not necessarily. I judged him wrong. Zen used forceful energy, and he''s a body refiner. Perhaps he has a secret technique that allowed him to break Alex''s sword intent, suddenly. If my memory serves me correctly, you already comprehended half of the Space Law when you were at the fourth level of the Illuminating Soul Realm, right? He wouldn''t have been your equal back then."


    Being able to comprehend half of the first level of the Space Law when in the Illuminating Soul Realm would have shamed even the old guys such as Morphens of Cloud Hall.


    "That might not be the case." Brent''s estimation of his strength was very accurate.


    The eldest disciple continued, "Brent, you''re the most talented warrior in the history of the Central Region, and the only divine-level genius from the Ethereal Spirit Sect. Don''t compare yourself to a guy like Zen, or you''ll lose your warrior spirit."


    Brent grinned. "Alright, I understand! In any case, as long as this brat perseveres, I''ll challenge him sooner or later!"

 Chapter 717 Offensive!

    "Brat? Brent, that''s rude! Zen''s older than you. Don''t be so impudent!" Xander said, unable to remain silent any longer.


    Proper etiquette and manners were important to members in the Ethereal Spirit Sect. Brent''s face reddened at Xander''s reminder, and he said in a low voice, "You''re right. I''m sorry."


    "As a body refiner, Zen can use his body refining techniques to raise his level and withstand the consummate sword intent. So, we can''t underestimate him," commented Xander emotionlessly.


    One of the Ethereal Spirit Septuplets said, "The martial artists from the Central Region mainly train their life vitality, so, we''ve never seen such a strong body refiner. The Cloud Hall doesn''t seem to have any powerful body refining techniques either. Accordingly, we don''t know that brat''s methods."


    "Huh!?" Xander cocked a brow when he heard the two words, that brat, and he frowned again.


    Although the Ethereal Spirit Septuplets were core members of the Ethereal Spirit Sect, they had to abide by the rules laid out by the sect too, and they couldn''t say anything rude.


    "I''m sorry¡­" said the Septuplet, when he saw how upset Xander became.


    "It''s no wonder he passed the pre-qualifying match despite his low level. It turns out he''s a body refiner!"


    "I never heard of a body refiner being so strong! I''ve seen many body refiners, and the strongest of them couldn''t even defeat an ordinary warrior who''d reached the Illuminating Soul Realm. Why''s this guy so strong?"


    "How many acupoints did he refine? Do you think he''s refined dozens of his acupoints?"


    In body refining, the most important thing was refining acupoints.


    Body refining wasn''t popular in the Central Region, so, until now, no one had refined all one hundred and eight acupoints. However, Zen had done just that, and he did it in just a few days.


    "He refined his body this much in only a matter of days?" Letitia''s eyes reflected her shock.


    When she''d watched Zen secretly a few days ago, she discovered he was refining his body. She didn''t expect that in the few short days, he would have refined his body to such an extent that even she had never heard of!


    Naturally, Letitia didn''t know Zen''s body was specially refined with the red dragon''s technique, using primordial energy. Moreover, the purest power of thunder and fire was also used to hone his acupoints. Even the Upper World forces couldn''t utilize this unique advantage. That was Zen''s secret to refine himself so quickly.


    "Zen, of the Cloud Hall, wins!"


    After Xiao made the announcement, the World Commercial Alliance members went to remove the half-dead Alex and clean his blood from the arena.


    In the stands, Alex''s family glared at Zen viciously, as if any one of them planned to personally strangle him.


    Sensi


    re Quincy finally won by a narrow margin.


    Then came the fourth, the fifth, and the sixth fights.


    Every winner drew a card afterward. What was strange was that almost all of them had the same one, an exemption card, and none of them had drawn a challenge card.


    At first, everyone thought that the chances of getting an exemption card and a challenge card were fifty-fifty, but now, it seemed the chances of drawing a challenge card were astonishingly slim.


    In the end, Xiao came forward to explain that there was only a one-fifth of a chance to get a challenge card.


    Other than the first fight and the second one between Zen and Alex, which were quite fierce, the rest of the fights were a bit dull. The Martial Arts Contest had no rules. Even if one killed the other, there wouldn''t be any consequences. Because of this rule, the martial artists were more cautious.


    In order to make it to a higher rank, one had to maintain his strength to the very end. If they were to fight hard at the start, life vitality would be greatly depleted and the combatants might even lose an arm or a leg. If that happened, what chance would there be to make it to the top ten?


    The World Commercial Alliance was rich, so, they prepared a small gift for each martial artist participating in the contest. In fact, the gift wasn''t really small at all, but, if it was compared to the top ten rewards, it was indeed tiny.


    Many martial artists didn''t have high hopes of obtaining the Dragon Soar Arena. Even if the independent warriors were able to obtain it, they wouldn''t have any chance to use it, so, their goals were to reach the top ten.


    When it came to the seventh round, the atmosphere in the arena became chaotic. The arena was in an uproar when the announcement sounded, "Blake Zong of Cloud Hall versus Edgar Situ of the Ethereal Spirit Sect!"

 Chapter 718 Thunder Law

    It cost each of the warriors in the audience a supreme life vitality crystal to watch the Martial Arts Contest, and they wanted to see strong warriors fighting each other.


    Each of the earlier matches was between an independent warrior and a disciple from various sects.


    Most of the independent warriors weren''t real independent warriors, but instead, they were disciples from third-grade sects or clans. Comparatively, there was a huge gap between them and disciples from the fourth-grade sects.


    Therefore, it was easy to predict how the earlier matches would go. The battles were far from what one would consider intense.


    But now, Blake, one of the leading figures from a fourth-grade sect, Cloud Hall, was stepping into the arena. His opponent was one of the six disciples of the Ethereal Spirit Sect. Even before the match started, people knew this would be a terrific match!


    "Taking all bets! Place your bets!"


    shouted warriors in the audience.


    Whenever there was a competition, there was gambling.


    The second and third-grade sects and other noteworthy powers from the Central Region would hold competitions and gambles as well.


    However, there were many pitfalls. Some sects would set up competitions and then cheat to win. The strong warriors who could win competitions easily would lose to their opponents on purpose so that gamblers would lose lots of life vitality crystals.


    The Martial Arts Contest hosted by the World Commercial Alliance was less likely to have any cheating. The Dragon Soar Arena was something that all the large sects had to obtain, and the World Commercial Alliance wouldn''t join forces with other large sects to cheat people just for some life vitality crystals.


    Therefore, the Martial Arts Contest was a playground for gamblers.


    A vast majority of the warriors were natural born gamblers. The several hundred thousand warriors watching the Martial Arts Contest had two main purposes; one was to observe the fighting between the geniuses, and the other was to gamble.


    "What are the odds? Hmm, the odds... The World Commercial Alliance seems to still be favoring Edgar from the Ethereal Spirit Sect."


    "Okay, I bet on Edgar. The Ethereal Spirit Sect is a fifth-grade sect after all, and is a grade stronger than Cloud Hall!"


    "Do you think Blake will make an easy target? Although Blake is in the early stage of Internal Elixir Realm, he once killed the Three Ghosts of the Yellow Sea on his own. His reputation shook the entire Crane Country. Those three ghosts were all warriors in the middle stage of the Internal Elixir Realm!"


    Many warriors began to analyze Blake and Edgar according to their past performances.


    After reaching the Internal Elixir Realm, elites from large sects would be entrusted with some difficult tasks. Gradually, they would be able to establish a reputation for themselves in the Central Region.


    Crane Country, mentioned by the w


    hand and he replied, "I heard you comprehended the Thunder Law. I practice the cultivation methods of thunder system too. So, I want to know which one of us is stronger."


    Seeing the bright blue lightning dancing on Edgar''s hand, Blake''s eyes widened somewhat and he commented, "You seem to have grasped as much as I did!"


    "Look everyone! There''s lightning on Edgar''s hand. He must have understood at least half of the Thunder Law! What a genius!"


    "What a monstrous genius! Even a warrior at the Virtual Tribulation Realm would barely be able to understand half of the Thunder Law. I never thought Edgar would be able to do it at the Internal Elixir Realm!"


    "The Ethereal Spirit Sect''s resources are truly unimaginable! It''s truly a sect of talented people!"


    Sitting there meditating, Zen felt forceful energy flowing through his body slowly and filling every cell while the life vitality in his belly churned continuously. The forceful energy and the life vitality were different, like two distinct rivers in Zen''s body, and neither of them was in contact with the other.


    Maintaining the state would allow Zen to practice two forms of cultivation at the same time.


    Amidst the warriors'' heated discussion, Zen cracked his eyes open, and peeked over in time to see two layers of lightning flashing from Blake''s and Edgar''s bodies.


    ''They both have Thunder Law in their lightning. Blake''s Thunder Law is slightly more abundant, but Edgar''s aura is a bit stronger. Blake''s chances of winning will be better than Edgar''s!'' thought Zen as he watched the arena indifferently.


    However, it didn''t matter whether it was Blake or Edgar who won. Their understanding of the Thunder Law couldn''t compare to Zen''s knowledge of it.


    Every form of Law Power was divided in ten layers.


    The Thunder Law these two wielded was only about halfway into the first layer, but Zen had already completely mastered the first layer of the Thunder Law.

 Chapter 719 Transcendent Divine Might

    As the curtain of light in the middle of the arena gradually disappeared, the battle between Blake and Edgar started.


    Many factors affected martial artists'' combating, such as the mental state, physical condition, cultivation methods and so on.


    Blake and Edgar had stepped within the Internal Elixir Realm and become top disciples in their respective sects, so obviously, they had sharp mental mindsets. The two disciples practiced tier four cultivation methods and were in the primary level of Internal Elixir Realm.


    Today, they''d face off against one another and employ their knowledge of the Thunder Law.


    As the match started, Blake was covered in an aura of purple lightning, which made him appear as though he were the Thunder God, incarnate. The purple lightning wove around his body like a slender snake and constantly pulsed across his skin. Standing across from Blake, Edgar looked intimidating with a ball of lightning in each hand. The balls oscillated violently and rhythmically, as if each sphere harbored infinite energy.


    "Crackle! Boo-oom!"


    With each foe setting off loud imposing lightning strikes as quick as possible, the field was alive, an electrifying dance of lights flashing through the air. The two clashed continually, and every time they slammed into each other, there were more blinding white flashes, followed by crackling and booming of lightning!


    Sitting on the edge of their seats, the martial artists watching were riveted by how fast the contenders were. Most of the martial artists were stunned and sat with their eyes glued to the arena, while others cheered, and loudly called the name of whichever fighter they preferred.


    Especially eager to watch were the martial artists who specialized in refining using the attributes of thunder. Those spectators watched closely, and it was as though they were committing every step and gesture to memory.


    Cultivating Law Power was an exacting, and challenging path anywhere throughout the universe.


    The stone tablets that the Law Power was carved into were only accessible through sects that were at the fourth and fifth grades.


    It was impossible for warriors to develop the Law Power if they were one of the independent warriors. Anyone from second or third-grade sects who wanted to learn the laws had to be self-taught. However, lacking the comprehension made it impossible for them to gauge how long it should take to understand even a small sliver of Law Power. However, observing Blake and Edgar''s battle meant the would-be students could gain some insight into Law Power.


    For that reason, they scrutinized the battle so intently.


    In the grandstands, seating calmly were disciples from the few great sects. Nothing was revealed through their indifferent eyes, but inside, the disciples assessed the two combatants, and continuously measured the differences in technique and strength and compared the two people''s skills to theirs.


    "Lose!"


    shouted Blake about halfway through the match.


    Purple lightning that had just been coiled tightly around him resembling a sleek snake suddenly grew more extensive and comprehensive, and resembled a python.


    Seeing the lightning grow, Edgar scowled grimly, and the lightning balls he held shrank until they were fist-sized.


    "Boo-om! Crack!"


    As


    odlike, and that meant the person was extremely powerful.


    "My acupoints are all refined, so, I''ll be able to make a breakthrough into the Path Platforms! I''m resolute about studying Transcendent Divine Might!" Zen mused while his eyes lit up elatedly.


    "I gave my word, and I won''t back out. However, let me remind you. It''s not as easy as you think to reach the Path Platforms," cautioned the red dragon. He paused before going on, "It''s especially difficult here in the Central Region. It is actually easier to attain a breakthrough into the Internal Elixir Realm, or Virtual Tribulation Realm, than the Path Platforms!"


    "I understand," answered Zen eagerly. The happy twinkle in his eyes was slowly replaced with a look of cold, steely resolve.


    Admittedly, pursuing advanced knowledge and honing oneself was a difficult, time consuming challenge. But, then again, slow and steady would win the race, which was proven true from the dawn of time!


    While Zen and the dragons conversed, Blake was carried off the field and back to Cloud Hall.


    A collective sigh went out from the warriors sitting in the stands. Blake was very strong, and they didn''t think Edgar was stronger!


    Watching the intense fight left many warriors feeling the supreme life vitality crystals they''d spent weren''t wasted. The trip here to Oracle City was genuinely worth the cost!


    Once the arena''s battlefield was cleaned, Xiao was up on the platform and reached into the container to draw the nameplates.


    After he pulled out two nameplates, Xiao''s voice boomed as he shouted, "Brody Bu of the Bloodwood Cliff versus Zen Luo of Cloud Hall!"


    When Brody heard his name called, he sniffled, wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand, stood, and walked to the grandstand''s edge. His scowl changed immediately to a smile, and he stated, "Good, good, I''ll finally fight him!"


    Brody had just complained to one of his companions about not having a chance to fight Zen. It didn''t occur to him that his nameplate would be drawn so soon.


    "Luck is on your side, Brody! Really, this means your destiny will be a bright one!" commented one of the warriors flatteringly. The warrior was at the Internal Elixir Realm.

 Chapter 720 The Gap (Part One)

    A loud voice rang throughout the area and drew the attention of the audience. "This is the first battle of our Bloodwood Cliff disciples! Crush him, Brody! Show your strength!"


    Cheers and yells erupted from the disciples of Bloodwood Cliff in support.


    Meanwhile, Lady Poison-blood, who sat at the back of the grandstand, stared coldly at Zen.


    This young man called Zen Luo had once humiliated her, the leader of Bloodwood Cliff. However, she wouldn''t let such a thing spread around. After all, she was a dignified leader of a fourth-grade sect and she didn''t want to have her good reputation ruined by this unscrupulous young man. But that didn''t mean she would not do anything to revenge herself.


    "Brody, come over," Lady Poison-blood said in a low voice.


    "Yes, my Lady!"


    Brody Bu heavily walked towards Lady Poison-blood''s side.


    At that moment, Lady Poison-blood put her delicate finger into her mouth and gently bit it. Blood oozed from her soft fingertip.


    Brody''s eyes twitched slightly when he saw what Lady Poison-blood had done in front of him. "My Lady¡­" he said in a trembling voice.


    The Bloodwood Cliff wasn''t known for their decency, and they were involved with countless acts of sorcery and crooked means. Brody clearly understood what their leader wanted to do.


    "Don''t worry, this soul-killing poisoned blood can help you to reach full potential in a short period of time and I will help you make up for the life span you will lose in the process. However, you have to go down there and kill that brat!" Lady Poison-blood laughed viciously. Brody just looked skeptically at her, and tried to deny her plan.


    "My Lady, I don''t need that boost to kill that brat!" he said and hurriedly shook his head. However, Lady Poison-blood just giggled, and her beautiful face became even more charming and


    ity Country, which happened to be near the Oracle City. They knew that the Martial Arts Contest was about to kick off, and they certainly would not miss this opportunity. Thus, they went directly to the Oracle City after they completed the mission.


    "The one on the stage seems to be a disciple from the Bloodwood Cliff. I wonder who his opponent is," Patrick said indifferently as he glanced at the arena.


    Rocher''s sharp eyes swept across the crowd, and one person who slowly walked to the battle stage caught his attention. He felt that this person was a bit familiar. His eyes widened when he realized who he was. "It is...Zen!" he exclaimed.


    "What? Zen? Is he here to watch the Martial Arts Contest as well?" Lewis asked. Meanwhile, Patrick looked to the direction where Rocher was staring at, and then his face suddenly hardened.


    "It''s really Zen. He''s not here to watch the Martial Arts Contest. He''s in the battlefield." He smiled wryly.


    "What!" Lewis was so surprised that he bolted upright. He craned his neck above the crowd to get a better view of the arena, and then his mouth went wide. Lo and behold, it was Zen. "It''s really Zen. What is he doing up there? Is he trying to get killed?"

 Chapter 721 The Gap (Part Two)

    Patrick, Rocher, and Lewis were all now disciples in the Elite House of the Cloud Hall, and had received the best training from it. They had made incredible progress in the past few months. For instance, Rocher had comprehended two laws in the cultivation of Extreme Thunder Sword Intent, namely the Metal Law and the Thunder Law. Although he didn''t get much Law Power, only one or two among thousands of cultivators were able to comprehend the laws. Moreover, Rocher was only at the Illuminating Soul Realm, so one could imagine just how gifted he was.


    Patrick also had improved a lot in his strength. He could now summon the Acalanatha continuously without taking a break at the intervals. In addition, the Acalanatha had a second pair of arms. In the Vajrayana, the strongest Acalanatha had six arms, which meant that Patrick still had a lot of room for improvement.


    Lewis, on the other hand, didn''t advance as fast as the other two did. However, his bodily movement skill was becoming more and more unfathomable. He could almost approach his opponent without casting a shadow and could leave without a trace.


    Their rapid progress in the cultivation made them very proud in the Elite House of the Cloud Hall. They believed that it would not be long before they were able to rank among the top in the Elite House.


    However, when they discovered that Zen was in the arena, they suddenly felt that the achievements they had been so proud of seemed to have become a joke now.


    Before they arrived in the Oracle City, they previously discussed the Martial Arts Contest along the way.


    The strongest disciples of each s


    d the most benefits from their mission because he had an advantage in speed and bodily movement. Thus, he had obtained a lot of life vitality crystals from the mission.


    "Don''t be nervous," Rocher said and reached out a hand. "Did you see the sign over there? The odds are out, and the odds against Zen are shockingly high. I want to take a gamble!" he explained.


    Rocher wasn''t a gambler, but he felt that Zen always had a good luck on his side. He just wanted to see if his hunch was right.


    "Nope!" Lewis screamed. "Give them to me!" Rocher said coldly.


    "No!" The two of them continued to grapple for the money in Lewis'' space ring.


    A gust of wind gently flew by, and the tip of Rocher''s sword was pressed against Lewis'' neck once again.


    Lewis sighed. It seemed that he would never win as long as Rocher could threaten him.


    He couldn''t do anything but hand over his money to Rocher in resignation.


    Just after Rocher had placed his stake, the luminous curtain in the center of the arena disappeared, and the battle between Zen Luo and Brody Bu began.

 Chapter 722 A Present (Part One)

    The soul-killing poisoned blood was one of Bloodwood Cliff''s secret methods. It was a frighteningly powerful skill that could push a cultivator''s potential to the extreme, however, it had one crucial side-effect that it could cause the user great harm.


    Unless one''s life was an inch from death, the soul-killing poisoned blood skill was not something a sane person would ever think of using.


    However, it was a risk Brody had to take. Taking Zen down was a task given to him by his leader, and failure was not an option. He only hoped that his leader would give him a reward that would help him reach a higher refining level.


    After being planted the blood symbol, Brody''s eyes burned with a blood thirst as he stared up at Zen. When the curtain of light flickered and disappeared, hot, scarlet flames burst forth from his hand.


    "I have gained understanding and comprehension of one-third of the Fire Law. If you''ve got any brains, you know it would be better for you to just stand still as I burn you to ashes with my blood flames¡­" As soon as he finished talking, the blood flame in his hand soared menacingly, eager to kill, eager to burn.


    "Fire Law! I can''t believe it. Brody actually mastered the Fire Law! What in the world is going on with this year''s Martial Arts Contest? Law Power is not at all easy to learn. It is extremely difficult and complicated. How come all cultivators of the Internal Elixir Realm seem to have grasped it?"


    "Don''t be so overly dramatic. Brody is one of the top disciples of Bloodwood Cliff after all. He''s definitely qualified to be one of the people that can comprehend Law Power. But, to be honest, I''m still quite surprised by the strength of the contestants for this year''s contest. So many of them have already comprehended Law Power. In the past, only the top three could accomplish such a feat¡­."


    "What are you talking about? Back then, only the strongest cultivators of the Virtual Tribulation Realm could master Law Power. It''s amazing how so many talented cultivators suddenly showed up all of a sudden."


    "Blood flame? You want to burn me?" The scarlet flame burned bright, but it did not faze Zen one bit. Smiling, as if to mock his opponent, he waved his hand and a wisp of pure fire appeared over his palm. He po


    eclared with certainty.


    His son''s words were haughty but Eddie nodded his head approvingly. ''He is my son. I have complete faith in him. He is surely more powerful than the other contestants, '' he thought to himself, pride swelling in his chest.


    When she saw Zen''s display of the Fire Law, Letitia''s eyes widened in astonishment.


    It was then that she realized that she truly knew nothing about her disciple.


    When they first met, she had been impressed by his display of great talent during the Cloud Road test. Ever since then, she had the gut feeling that Zen would rise to be a key figure in the Cloud Hall which was why she spent so much time and energy cultivating him.


    It came as a surprise to her when Zen later started to study runes. She fondly remembered how the chief runic expert marveled at his strength and claimed that Zen was even better at runes than him. Then, when Zen returned from the Dragon Soar Arena, she found out that he had actually comprehended the Space Law.


    Now, during the Martial Arts Contest, he had just showcased the body refining technique he was good at. She didn''t have any idea that he had actually started learning the Fire Law.


    Even more surprising was that he had actually completed and comprehended the first layer of Fire Law!


    As far as she knew, there was no intact introduction to Raging Fire in the Central Region which was the primary reason why Hobbes of the World Commercial Alliance couldn''t fully grasp the first layer of Fire Law.

 Chapter 723 A Present (Part Two)

    ''Upper World¡­


    Zen must''ve inherited the Fire Law there, '' Letitia surmised in her heart.


    And her assumption was right. However, it wasn''t just the Fire Law. What Letitia had never expected was that Zen had in fact mastered the nine Original Laws after his baptism by the laws.


    Although Brody had almost lost his mind, he could sense that the flame over Zen''s palm was powerful. Despite that, he had no time to hesitate. Since he had been planted with blood runes by Lady Poison-blood, he had no other choice but to take Zen out.


    His face distorted in a white-hot rage as he shouted, "Go to hell!"


    Brody rushed forward, a brown scimitar appearing in his hand. In a split second, scarlet, blood flames engulfed the entirety of the blade.


    He advanced at an alarming speed. In a blink of an eye, he was already poised above Zen, ready to strike him down.


    "Blood Flame Hacking!"


    Blazing blood flames licked the scimitar''s blade, adding more power to his attack. With the blood rune, Brody''s moves were amplified to be tremendously overwhelming with each strike.


    However, just as he swung down his blade, Zen was already gone, nimbly dodging his strike. Giving his opponent no time to react, Zen quickly directed his flame towards Brody, striking his chest with his palm hard.


    "BANG!"


    Brody was sent back a few feet but was nonetheless standing. Finding his ground, he quickly swung his flaming scimitar at Zen''s direction, aiming for the fire circle that surrounded him. As soon as his blood flame and Zen''s fire collided, it started to devour each other.


    Since Zen hadn''t ever been exposed to any fire-system cultivation technique, he couldn''t fully unleash the power of the flame he held in his hand.


    But, compared to the cultivation method, the comprehension of Law Power was more important. The flame Brody had released looked amazingly powerful but soon, it became apparent that he was at a disadvantage.


    he could now fight with her if he wanted to.


    However, if he did that, Eddie might suspect his identity. It would be wiser to postpone his plans.


    Reluctantly, Zen put the card aside and returned to the area for the independent warriors.


    The contest continued on.


    After several rounds, the difference between the independent warriors and sect disciples was evident in terms of real strength.


    Most independent warriors were too weak to fight against the sect disciples.


    Two of the independent warriors, however, captured the audience''s attention with their excellent performance. One of them was Owen who was at the ultimate level of the Illuminating Soul Realm while the other was called Trevor Huangfu.


    The two independent warriors were able to knock down two top talented disciples: one from the Mysterious Luna Hall and the other from the Black Mountain Sect.


    The two of them did not belong to any sect.


    Most of the cultivators that had passed the pre-qualifying match came from third-grade sects, but Owen and Trevor were different. They were not given any guidance or wisdom from their masters, nor did they learn any kind of secret refinement method from some sect. Both had entered the Martial Arts Contest armed only with their luck and real strength.

 Chapter 724 A Present (Part Three)

    There were tons of independent cultivators in the Central Region but most of them were not even qualified to be disciples of the first-grade or second-grade sects. To think these two were strong enough to come out on top was truly astounding.


    That was the reason why they caught the crowd''s attention. Despite lacking resources and backing, they had managed to refine up to the Internal Elixir Realm. The amount of effort they spent was great and it was fortunate that they were blessed with such good destiny.


    The disciples coming from the third-grade sects were the weakest in the Martial Arts Contest. None of them could ever hope to hold up against the strong independent warriors and they stood no chance of defeating the elites of the fourth-grade sects.


    After the thirty-second round, Mr. Xiao came up to make an announcement. "Benson Xuanyuan of the Cloud Hall will battle against Eden Cui, an independent warrior."


    "Eden Cui! The son of the best cultivator in the Central Region! This is going to be interesting!" someone from the audience exclaimed.


    "It is safe to say that Eden Cui and Brent Zong of the Ethereal Spirit Sect are the best cultivators in the contest. I bet one of them will become champion while the other will take second place!"


    "I don''t agree with you. Benson Xuanyuan is also an amazing cultivator. He comes from the Cloud Hall which ranks first among the fourth-grade sects. I think he can pose as a tough opponent."


    "Eden Cui?" Zen murmured, looking up at Eddie who was among the audience. He watched as the young man beside Eddie stood and walked towards the battlefield. Zen narrowed his eyes as the young man took center stage. ''So he''s Eddie''s son?'' he thought to himself.


    Truth be told, Zen wasn''t in any way interested in Eddie''s son.


    ng to receive such a cheap present." He reached out with his index finger and pointed at the Arctic Mysterious Ice, releasing a bit of life vitality.


    "Crack!"


    Everyone''s eyes widened as cracks began to appear on the surface of the Arctic Mysterious Ice and there were a few gasps of horror as the block started to chip and break right in front of them.


    "W- What has he done?! He broke the Arctic Mysterious Ice!"


    "What a pity! Although his father is the number one in the Central Region, he shouldn''t have wasted such a treasure."


    "I really wish he could''ve just given it to me. I would give him anything in exchange!"


    A lot of the people present felt their hearts drop as they watched Eden destroy the rare and extremely valuable Arctic Mysterious Ice. Such a wonderful treasure had been destroyed so easily by a mere index finger, which was truly heartbreaking.


    Eden, however, was oblivious to their remarks. It was only when the Arctic Mysterious Ice had been reduced to rubble did he sweep off the ice chunks to reveal a bright, glowing core. Since it was surrounded by ice debris, the crowd could not clearly see what it was. That glowing core, what could it be?

 Chapter 725 The Proposal

    Eden nonchalantly pushed the fragments of Arctic Mysterious Ice away, before he lifted the glimmering item, holding it up to admire. Smiling slightly, he said, "I want to give this to the head of Cloud Hall as a gift!"


    He proudly gazed down at the sparkling small golden crown he held. There were three breathtaking crystals embedded into the delicate circlet. They were brilliant white crystals that, instead of radiating and bouncing off the many facets, they captured the light and reflected a softened, faint silvery shimmer. On the crown''s side, three feathers were secured.


    If this small golden crown were made of ordinary gold and gems, it wouldn''t be worth anything in the eyes of a martial artist. After all, it didn''t take many life vitality crystals to buy a great deal of gold or gemstones. Even a minuscule piece of Arctic Mysterious Ice was worth more than ten times an ornate crown made of traditional gold and gems.


    However, Eden had sealed the golden crown in the Arctic Mysterious Ice, so, its value could only match or exceed the ice.


    Most of the warriors didn''t recognize it and were confused.


    However, with so many people present, there was bound to be someone with the knowledge and experience to recognize it. Suddenly, someone shouted, "Wow! That''s the Heavenly Feather Crown of the Northern Serenity Palace!"


    "The Northern Serenity Palace? The one that once was situated in the Arctic Lands? The one that has been destroyed long time ago?"


    "Hey! That''s right! I remember it now. I saw a picture of the Heavenly Feather Crown. You know, it''s a sacred weapon!"


    "Before she fell, the Holy Maiden of the Northern Serenity Palace was armed to the hilt with sacred weapons. When she went to war against the four divine kingdoms, her forces were crushed and left wounded. Her sacred weapons were divided among four divine kingdoms. In the chaos, the Heavenly Feather Crown disappeared. People from the four Kingdoms searched all of the Northern Serenity Palace, yet no one found it. Wow! It''s amazing that Eden found it! This is astounding!"


    Mysterious, spiritual, fairy, and sacred weapons...


    Fairy weapons could be found throughout the Central Region, easily. Every sect head had a high-grade fairy weapon, but sacred weapons were rare.


    Currently, only three sacred weapons were known to be in the Central Region. One was the Soul Flag, which was held by the Ethereal Spirit Sect, the World Commercial Alliance had the Time Copper Coin, and Eddie possessed the Nameless Saber.


    These sacred weapons were confirmed. It was unknown if any others were in the region, where they were, or who had them.


    A sacred weapon was so powerful and special that it often affected the rise and fall of a sect.


    Martial artists believed the birth of a sacred weapon heralded a period of great luck because it contained a blessing. Even if it weren''t used, and instead housed in a place of honor at the sect, it would bring the sect good luck!


    For example, the Soul Flag was at the Ethereal Spirit sect, and since they got


    red the several hundred thousand warriors in the stands.


    "Just because your father is Evil East Lord doesn''t mean all the women in the world belong to you. You are too shameless!"


    "He is daydreaming. Letitia won''t say yes just because of a sacred weapon!"


    "His plan is not bad. He gets Letitia and also Cloud Hall at the cost of a sacred weapon. This is a good deal!"


    Although the strength of these martial artists was very weak, they had their own judgments. Eden was too shameless. For a time, all sorts of nasty words came out from the stands.


    Some of the words were indeed very unpleasant to listen to. Eden turned his head and coldly said, "What nonsense are you guys spouting? Do you want to die?"


    "We were talking about you. So what? You are shameless!"


    "Is there anyone else in the world who knows how to do business better than you? Do you think others are idiots?"


    "Your father''s dominance is justified, because your father has the strength to do so. Without your father, who the hell would know you!"


    Although Evil East Lord was there, all the warriors were certain that Eden did not dare to fight here. After all, this was the Martial Arts Contest. They didn''t think Eden and Eddie dared to kill hundreds of thousands of warriors. The World Commercial Alliance would not sit there and do nothing. Everyone was talking at once, and they were not afraid of Eden''s threats at all.


    Letitia''s face broke into a gentle smile, and she looked towards Eddie. She then stared at Eden, her expression cold. "Did your father tell you to do this? Isn''t it enough for you to take Yan away? What do you take our Cloud Hall for? And... Are you worthy of me?"


    Previously, Eddie had asked for Yan. The Cloud Hall was unwilling to offend him, so even though they were reluctant, they still sent Yan over.


    Because of this matter, there was a quarrel between Letitia and Zen. She regretted it a lot. She never thought that Eddie''s son would actually come and propose to her. This was the biggest joke in the world.

 Chapter 726 Not Pretty

    Eden didn''t get angry at Letitia''s sarcastic remarks. Instead, he continued to smile and said, "Is Lady Letitia referring to the differences between our realms and cultivation? If you really think so, I have to admit I don''t meet the requirements at the moment. But, I do have a divine level talent. So, it''s just a matter of time before I step into the Virtual Tribulation Realm. With luck, I''ll be able to make a breakthrough in the Virtual Tribulation Realm and become even stronger."


    "Divine-level talent!"


    "Is he bragging? When did divine-level talent appear in the Central Region?"


    "According to historical records, up until now, divine-level talent hasn''t been seen in the Central Region. Only six warriors, possessing divine-level talent, have appeared in the four divine kingdoms, and each of them established a divine kingdom of their own later!"


    "I can''t imagine such a person really exists. A powerful father plus he has divine-level talent, he truly is amazing!"


    Hearing the warriors discuss about him, the corners of Eden''s mouth curved slightly upward in a proud grin.


    Listening to what was being said, Brent from the Ethereal Spirit Sect turned to Philip, who was next to him, and hurriedly said, "Philip, he says that he has divine-level talent, too! But, didn''t you tell me that divine-level talent is very rare¡­"


    Philip sighed and rolled his eyes but kept quiet. Brent was really troublesome.


    In fact, Philip agreed, inwardly. He found it strange that there were such a large number of people possessing outstanding qualities coming from the Central Region in recent years. It was as though the disciples'' strengths in the various sects had reached new heights overnight! In the past, it was a rarity for a top disciple from a great sect to understand even a trace of the Law Power while he was in the Internal Elixir Realm. But, over the last decade, there were more and more refiners at the Internal Elixir Realm emerging who had mastered the Law Power.


    It was as if geniuses sprang up everywhere suddenly.


    At one time, a warrior possessing heaven-level talent was a highly valued member of the sect. Warriors with saint-level talent were even rarer, and every few decades, one would appear. But now, no less than ten warriors possessed the saint-level talent at the Ethereal Spirit Sect, and there was even one with divine-level talent.


    What was happening in the Central Region? How was it possible for it to suddenly become so remarkable that so many outstanding talents were springing up?


    "The divine-level talent?"


    The group of disciples from Cloud Hall thought Eden was overly arrogant, and especially Benson, and he hoped that he''d have the chance to knock this brat down a peg or two with his fist soon, in the arena.


    However, after discovering that Eden was a divine-level talent, Benson felt a bit powerless.


    As a warrior with heaven-level talent, Benson was already a top elite of Cloud Hall. If wh


    Commercial Alliance''s Time Copper Coin, and Eddie''s Nameless Saber. It will become our most valuable treasure in the Central Region!"


    "Wow, Zen is quite bold. He''s made a mockery of Eden''s Heavenly Feather Crown. Eden would probably be so anxious that he will want to dig a hole in the ground and vanish into it! And Zen promised to find another beautiful one¡­ Is it so easy to find sacred weapons?"


    "Zen''s so generous! He actually got a sacred weapon and gave it to someone else randomly."


    "What''s the relationship between Letitia and Zen? He''s clearly a disciple of Cloud Hall, but he didn''t follow Letitia''s orders, and he even called her Tia! What''s going on between the two of them?"


    As the crowd continued to discuss the garment, Zen and Letitia, Eden''s face darkened.


    This guy, he was only at the fourth level in the Illuminating Soul Realm, and here he pulled out a sacred weapon, a body protection garment and just casually gave it away!


    Although the Heavenly Feather Crown was a sacred weapon as well, it was a crown which was only an accessory after all, when compared to the far more precious body protection garment.


    The biggest issue Eden had was who fashioned the body protection garment? Why was it so ugly?


    It would never cross his mind that the sacred weapon was a uniform for common officers and warriors at the Dragon Abyss Palace. Almost everyone there had a suit like that one. The body protection garment was designed with maximize function in mind, and style was less important.


    The three fat leaders of the World Commercial Alliance exchanged a glance with each other, and their eyes were filled with disbelief.


    Actually, the World Commercial Alliance didn''t have only the one sacred weapon known to the public knew as the Time Copper Coin.


    However, the other two sacred weapons that the World Commercial Alliance never disclosed to the public couldn''t hold a candle to the body protection garment that Zen gave Letitia.

 Chapter 727 Zens Purpose

    Treasures like the Heavenly Feather Crown bestowed cultivators with special powers.


    For example, it could amplify the Law Power of some Laws. Similarly, wearing the crown would raise one''s cultivation speed.


    Another example would be the Time Copper Coin owned by the World Commercial Alliance. It contained a trace of Time Law. If a person wore it for cultivation, he could gain an additional six hours per day.


    One should not underestimate these six hours. A cultivator''s lifespan was very long. These six hours when accumulated over several decades and several centuries could increase a cultivator''s lifespan significantly. The Ancient Tycoon of the World Commercial Alliance was able to live such a long life because of this Time Copper Coin.


    However, these effects were not as direct as a weapon''s or protective equipment''s.


    Protective equipment determined the cultivator''s life, while weapons determined his opponent''s.


    However, owning weapons was not enough. After all, if a cultivator lost his life, then what was the use of collecting sacred weapons?


    Protective garment of the sacred level, on the other hand, could block the enemy''s attack effectively. It could even save the cultivator''s life.


    "What the hell is going on with Zen? He seems to have endless secrets!" Amongst the three leaders, Hobbes was the most impatient.


    Dillon smiled helplessly. "Cloud Hall is lucky to have someone like him. Looks like it''s already certain that Cloud Hall will become a fifth-grade sect."


    In the past few years, Cloud Hall had been working hard to become a fifth-grade sect, and it had almost completely accumulated sufficient strength. As long as Letitia mastered Sutra of Empyrean Goddess, the chances of her breaking through the Virtual Tribulation Realm would be very high. After she broke through, Cloud Hall''s status as a fifth-grade sect would be a certainty. What was more, Cloud Hall would be on a par with Ethereal Spirit Sect.


    However, now Cloud Hall had found a talent in Zen, who had mastered the Perfect Brushwork. He would become the most powerful runic expert in the Central Region in the future.


    Just being a runic expert was insufficient. After all, a runic expert was not a martial artist. Although a runic expert could significantly boost Cloud Hall''s reputation, it would not help them rise to the level of a fifth-grade sect.


    However, Zen was different from ordinary runic experts. After all, he had grasped the first layer of Fire Law entirely.


    Furthermore, he was also a body refiner, and it was rare to see a body that was as strong as his.


    Now, just to embarrass Eden, he had casually taken out a sacred weapon-level protective garment.


    The three leaders were already confused. Many thoughts raced through their minds


    all, she was unable to see through Zen.


    Cloud Hall''s Benson had long since considered Eden to be a pain in the ass. Seeing Eden standing on the stage, he also jumped off the platform!


    Just as Benson stood on the stage, a strange scene appeared. Ripples began to spread out from under his feet! It was as if the entire fighting arena were filled with water!


    "It''s the Water Law Power! Benson mainly cultivates the water-system cultivation method! He seems to have comprehended 60% of Water Law!"


    "This Martial Arts Contest is truly worth being present for. A vast majority of martial artists have comprehended Law Power!"


    "What about Eden? What cultivation method does he use?"


    Eden''s expression was calm as he stared at Benson indifferently. His thoughts were not on Benson at all.


    In his eyes, Benson''s strength was not worthy of his attention. In this Martial Arts Contest, the only person that could threaten him was the Ethereal Spirit Sect''s Brent. As for the others, they were just a joke.


    "Whoosh!"


    Benson drew his light blue sword and pointed it straight at Eden. "Eden, unsheathe your sword!"


    Although Zen had helped Cloud Hall save its reputation just now, Eden had shamelessly claimed that he wanted Letitia to be his woman. This was intolerable, and in the hearts of the disciples of Cloud Hall, such a declaration was unforgivable.


    Eden sized up Benson''s sword, as if it did not exist.


    However, one moment his expression was as calm as still water, while in the next, a ruthless aura gushed toward his relatively handsome face.


    He was already extremely dissatisfied, and Benson had dared to provoke him.


    An invisible aura suddenly burst forth from his body. The moment the aura enveloped him, several wind blades danced on Eden''s fingers. Then, like a lion on the prairie, he suddenly lunged at Benson!

 Chapter 728 Do I Look Weak

    Eden had already comprehended 80% of Wind Law, and he practiced a wind-system cultivation method. Moreover, he had also grasped another type of Law. In other words, he had cultivated two different laws at the same time.


    However, Eden was not interested in showing off his achievements in laws. He only had one goal at the moment, and that was to vent.


    Seeing Eden charge at him like a wild beast, Benson''s expression changed. The longsword in his hand lightly tapped the ground before he lifted his wrist.


    "Water Tornado!"


    "Huff, huff ¡­"


    A water dragon came out from the battle stage and pounced toward Eden.


    The water tornado was moving at breakneck speed. Even a city wall would be destroyed by it in an instant. Yet, Eden did not stop, and he did not intend to dodge it. He actually rushed toward the water tornado.


    The moment Eden and the water tornado collided, his hands intersected and he began to attack the water tornado.


    The water dragon, which contained a great impact force, was simply unable to withstand a single blow from Eden. Eden, who was under the impact of the water dragon, rushed straight toward Benson.


    "Die!"


    Eden lunged at Benson.


    At this moment, Benson stomped his foot, and a water vein spread out. The instant the water vein spread out, it pushed Eden back a little. Eden missed his target. Nevertheless, he ignored Benson''s trick and once again tried to grab him.


    This time, Benson rolled on the ground and avoided Eden.


    After getting up, Benson laid his sword horizontally, one hand holding the sword while the other gripped the sword hilt. He closed his eyes and muttered, "Bestow the power of the Sea God upon me; Infuse the will of pure water in me."


    "There''s no chance." Eden''s expression was calm. With a gentle breeze, his figure had already floated in front of Benson. He extended his hand and grabbed again. "Die!"


    He hadn''t taken Benson seriously. Right now, he only wanted to kill Benson to unload the anger he felt in his heart.


    However, Benson was one of the Cloud Hall''s top disciples and was not as weak as Eden thought.


    When Eden reached out his hand, Benson wielded his longsword!


    Even though Eden was much stronger than Benson, he was not Zen. He didn''t have Zen''s abnormal physique. Eden would not be able to catch Benson''s sword with his bare hands.


    He could only retreat.


    However, Eden''s retreat did not mean that he had given up. After dodging Benson''s sword, a mighty force wrapped around Eden, and his figure disappeared into the wind.


    "Wind Barrier!"


    Only by reaching a certain level o


    ie and Eden were able to unleash their greatest strength.


    Eddie shook his head and said, "The anger that I''m talking about can become your motivation. But you let it control your mind. It will not benefit you. You have to know how to be angry and how to use your anger."


    "Father is right," Eden nodded.


    He had already decided. It didn''t matter if his level was much higher than Zen''s. As long as he drew the first challenge card, he would challenge Zen.


    Unexpectedly, just as Xiao was preparing for the next battle, Zen shouted, "Wait!"


    Letitia looked at Zen in confusion. Although he had returned to Cloud Hall''s platform, he seemed preoccupied.


    Xiao asked, "What''s the matter?"


    "I want to use my challenge card." Zen shouted.


    "Who do you want to challenge?" Xiao and Letitia asked simultaneously.


    Everyone''s eyes were focused on Zen. He was the first person to use a challenge card in the Martial Arts Contest. No one knew who Zen wanted to challenge.


    ''Could it be Marilyn?'' Letitia frowned as she thought about it.


    Brent''s eyes were full of expectation. "Choose me. Let it be me!" He had been waiting for his turn for so long. It was already very depressing.


    "I want to challenge an independent warrior, Eden Cui!" Zen took out his challenge card and pointed to the platform where Evil East Lord was standing.


    "Challenge me?" Eden was stunned for a moment. He had just been thinking of getting the challenge card and getting rid of Zen! Who would''ve thought that Zen would challenge him before these thoughts even left his mind?


    ''Do I look weak? Why does he dare to challenge me?'' Eden wondered.


    Although Eden was very willing to let Zen challenge him, he was annoyed by that thought.

 Chapter 729 Copying Him

    When they heard Zen challenge Eden, the cultivators in the grandstand were stupefied.


    Zen''s performance had been amazing in his first two battles.


    Body refining technique, Fire Law...he had stunned all with his extraordinary skills.


    It was difficult to believe that a guy at the fourth level of the Illuminating Soul Realm could possess such powerful abilities.


    However, it had happened. Zen had not only defeated Alex from the Gongsun Clan, but he had also beaten Brody from Bloodwood Cliff. He won every battle in which he had fought, and so, the spectators were convinced that it was not luck that had helped him to win. Zen had proved to all that his strength was enough for him to challenge cultivators at the Internal Elixir Realm.


    Whether they were willing to admit it or not, that was the truth.


    "I acknowledge that Zen is amazing. He''s challenging a cultivator at the Internal Elixir level although he is at the Illuminating Soul Realm. I don''t know how many years it has been since such thing last happened. Regardless, he is bold to challenge Eden."


    "He''s courting death. But he''s dead or not, that''s not our concern."


    "Eden didn''t display his real strength in the battle just now, but he still crushed Benson from Cloud Hall! But Zen? He''s probably a joke to Eden."


    The eyes of many disciples from Cloud Hall lit up when they heard Zen''s challenge.


    Benson was the strongest among the Internal Elixir Realm disciples of Cloud Hall. He was at par with Blake. But not long after he entered into battle, he was severely injured by Eden. Had Benson not admitted defeat, Eden would have killed him! All the Cloud Hall disciples felt angry about this.


    However, there was no use in getting angry, as only the strong survived in the martial arts world. The weak cultivators would only be stomped on by the strong ones.


    Benson took a pill, which was used for treating injuries. When he heard Zen issue a challenge to Eden, a hint of worry flickered in his eyes.


    Could Zen be Eden''s match and defeat him?


    Letitia glanced at Zen, who stood beside her, and asked after a little hesitation, "You¡­. are you confident that you will defeat him?"


    Zen turned to look at Letitia. He said with a confident smile, "Why shouldn''t I be?"


    Seeing his smile, Letitia felt warmth flood her heart. Her heart suddenly beat faster. Zen looked all the more attractive with confidence glowing on his face.


    Even when facing an opponent as strong as Eden, Zen didn''t have the slightest trace of fear.


    After Zen left the high platform, Letitia said blandly, "Maybe you can kill Marilyn. If Eddie makes a move, I will do my best to help you."


    In the grandstand, Lewis'' mouth was wide open as he stared at Zen who had just stepped into the arena. After a long w


    f laws when he is at the Internal Elixir Realm. He must be a freak! It''s unimaginable."


    "Is this the fusion of laws? This is the first time I''ve seen someone using two types of laws simultaneously! Even if Zen has mastered Fire Law completely, I''m afraid he still wouldn''t be able to block Eden''s attack!"


    Zen smiled faintly when he heard the chatter among the disciples. Wind began rising from his side as well.


    At the same time, beams of golden light swirled around him. Each time a wind blade was formed, it would merge with a golden light.


    After a while, golden wind blades started dancing around Zen. Zen''s wind blades looked fuller and more energetic than Eden''s wind blades. And the golden light emitted from Zen''s wind blades was brighter than Eden''s silver lights! Zen said to the cyan dragon in his mind, "It is just as you said. I can do it too. This is not an infusion of laws. It is simply embedding two powers into each other. However, the power combined seems to be a lot stronger."


    Most of the cultivators present had no idea what was happening.


    "Doesn''t Zen practice cultivation methods with fire attribute?"


    "Can anyone explain what is happening? Why does Zen''s method look so similar to Eden''s wind blades? Is he copying him?"


    "Although I don''t really believe it either... let me tell you, what''s floating on Zen''s body is the complete power of the Wind Law and the full power of the Metal Law!"


    The vast majority of cultivators fell silent when they heard this.


    The complete Fire Law, the complete Wind Law, and the complete Metal Law¡­


    How did Zen do it?


    "Can anyone tell me how he managed to comprehend so much Law Power? And each of the laws is intact!" Just when everyone was silent, a loud shout came out from the crowd. The voice pierced through the air and reverberated in all cultivators'' ears.

 Chapter 730 Netherworld Yaksha

    Even though Eden was a divine-level talent, he had only managed to comprehend two types of Law Power. What was more, he had grasped about 80% of each Law.


    But Zen had mastered three types of Law Power. What was more shocking was that he had fully comprehended all three Law Powers!


    Cultivators had their own merits and shortcomings. For instance, some were good at Wind Law, although they were terrible at Fire Law. In common cases, a martial artist would only be able to comprehend one type of Law Power.


    In the Central Region, no more than twenty geniuses had managed to learn two Law Powers.


    That was why the cultivators in the audience were so astonished when Eden displayed knowledge of two types of Law Power. They all marveled at his remarkable talent for he could practice Wind Law and Metal Law simultaneously.


    But to their surprise, Zen had also mastered the two Law Powers he had displayed¡ª Wind Law and Metal Law.


    In the beginning, Zen had used Fire Law, which allowed the crowd to think that he mainly practiced refinement technique of the fire attribute. But now, it turned out that he had learned another two Law Powers, and all the cultivators present found this hard to believe.


    "Perhaps he had a great harvest at the Dragon Soar Arena," Dillon guessed, observing the Law Power Zen had released.


    "I agree with you. I figured this kid must have been lucky enough to find the complete Law Power in the Dragon Soar Arena. After all, there is no complete Law Power in the Central Region. But it is not an easy task to head for the Upper World and comprehend three types of Law Power. This brat possesses outstanding talent," Haber Mo who had been silent all this time responded flatly.


    From the three leaders, Dillon was shrewd and sophisticated, while Hobbes was short tempered. Haber was taciturn. But now, Haber, who was known as, The Silent Man, voiced his opinion. It was said that he could stay silent for as long as ten months.


    After Haber finished his sentence, the three looked toward the Dragon Soar Arena that stood not far from them. They all were curious about Zen''s experience in the Dragon Soar Arena.


    The cyan dragon took credit for Zen''s trip to the Upper World. And he could master nine laws thanks to the baptism by laws, which made Zen fit for all kinds of law refinement.


    Without receiving the baptism by laws, the divine-level talents in the Central Region could only learn two or three rules. That was why the Dragon Abyss Palace valued Zen so much!


    Staring at Zen, Xiao gently shook his head and puzzlement reflected in his eyes. "This kid possesses knowledge of f


    would be boring. He believed that Brent of Ethereal Spirit Sect would be his only worthy opponent as Brent was also a divine-level talent like him. But now, he met Zen. He had become excited and more serious about this fight.


    "I''m ashamed of myself because I''m going to fight you more seriously. But I admit that you''re strong."


    With a smile, Eden swept his finger across the edge of his Nameless Saber.


    The blade of the saber was immediately stained with blood.


    On the high platform, Eddie, who was sitting on the chair, suddenly stood up and shouted, "Eden!"


    Eden gave his father a small smile and responded, "Father, I know what I''m doing."


    Eddie furrowed his brows and slowly sat back in his seat. He didn''t think his son had to activate the power of Nameless Saber to deal with Zen, who was not a formidable opponent for Eden.


    However, Eden thought differently. He meant to go all out to make sure that he could end Zen''s life.


    "Buzzzzz¡­"


    When Eden''s blood flowed into the patterns along the edge, his saber gave off a strong killing aura.


    The blood ran through the Nameless Saber.


    After the blood circulated the saber, it dripped onto the ground. But the strange thing was, it didn''t seep into the cracks in the field.


    The drops of blood crawled on the ground as if they were living creatures, and they eventually flew together and formed a rune.


    Before long, a hand emerged from the rune, followed by shoulders, head, upper body, and legs.


    A monster of blood had been conjured in front of everyone. With a hunch, it had two horns on its head and a tail that looked as sharp as a saber on its back. It stood still, emitting an infinite evil air.


    "It is Netherworld Yaksha. It lives in the river in hell!"

 Chapter 731 Tremendous Force

    Legend had told time and time again, that the River of the Netherworld was a pathway leading to hell.


    Criminals who committed heinous crimes in their lifetime were to become souls destined to entangle with evil, ruthless flames, and be sent to drown in the infamous stream on their way to the inferno.


    It was a story told by word of mouth. However, in the Central Region, the idea of this so-called tale was regarded as an alien concept.


    Whether it was hell, sin, the netherworld or reincarnation, these terms were of unfathomable origin to the warriors of the Central Region. Only a few of these labels had been passed down, thus creating the circulating myths most knew of now.


    There were speculations on how sin was synonymous with the weight of one''s malicious aura. Although everyone had been born with this energy, a journey filled with torture in the afterlife would be inevitable, if one were to choose the path of a killer.


    And so, sin was believed to be used as an instrument of temptation to annihilate one''s soul before arriving in death.


    It became a huge burden, a heavy load that kept the conscience anchored into the River of the Netherworld. Sin kept the consciousness fugitive as it flew aimlessly through murky waters before it encountered the Netherworld Yaksha, a ghost-like monster born from the abyss of hell.


    "This Nameless Saber can summon the Netherworld Yaksha. It is certainly a powerful sacred weapon." Zen raised his eyebrows, mild curiosity and cautiousness crossing his eyes at the sight of the Netherworld Yaksha.


    Zen then looked down at his own iron sword. Unfortunately, Zen wasn''t quite sure how well he would be able to wield the blade to its maximum potential.


    Fairy weapons and the weapons of higher levels usually contained special skills; some had immunity against all kinds of defenses, while some contained exclusive weapon abilities.


    Zen''s iron sword came from the Dragon Abyss Palace, together with the body protection garment. It might be due to its classification as basic equipment, that he knew nothing of its effects. Perhaps it was too common for them that they didn''t bother to mention anything about it when they gave it to Zen. Or, the iron sword could hold the strength of a sacred weapon but didn''t possess any distinctive characteristics.


    Zen didn''t pin too much hope on this weapon any way, as everyone in Dragon Abyss Palace had the equipment. The chances of the sacred weapons being at the most basic level weren''t so far off.


    "So what if you''ve comprehended the three types of Law Power?" Zen was forced out of his reverie upon hearing Eden''s cunning taunts, "If you''ve at least reached the Internal Elixir Realm, I might''ve been a fair match. But now, you won''t have the chance to improve further because you will die here by my own hands!"


    Eden didn''t give Zen much time to react. He charged at him with lightning speed that must''ve been imperceptible to the untrained eye, At the same time when Eden launched his attack, the Netherworld Yaksha he summoned with his blood also roared as it awakened, crawling on the ground before ferociously pouncing on its foe.


    "Two against one?" Zen smiled, taking amusement in his opponent''s attempt in giving him no time to recover. "I also have an assistant!"


    Seething at Zen''s calm demeanor, Eden released a barrage of coordinated attacks with his companion in hopes of catching his rival off guard. Zen summoned his sword spirit. A red light burst out of his body as he did so. He let it wash over him, basking in th


    efeating me, right?" Zen appraised him with an unreadable expression on his face.


    "If that''s all you have, you''re doomed to die today." Eden fumed and directed the point of his Nameless Saber at him. "What''d you say, bastard?"


    "I don''t even need to use half my power to defeat you."


    Zen chuckled ominously as he sent Lily a message in his mind. She abruptly stopped her battle with the Netherworld Yaksha and sheathed her huge sword, bounding towards Eden instead.


    In turn, Zen had sprung on the Netherworld Yaksha, effectively changing their positions.


    Eden grew confused, but knew exactly that he didn''t have the leisure to think further. His combatant now was a warrior of great prowess. She danced gracefully with the huge sword in her hands and swung it deftly at him. Eden needed to unleash his whole aptitude if he hoped to stand against her.


    She was sophisticated and refined with her swordsmanship, brimming with an expertise that could even block Eden''s special abilities. He caused almost no damage to Lily, only leaving a small scratch on her enormous weapon.


    On the other hand, Zen fought with the beast, fearlessly striking his foe in a fight for dominance.


    With the accumulated force of Lily''s attacks, the Netherworld Yaksha easily reached the height of two people combined.


    Bam!


    It rammed onto the enchanted barrier after Zen viciously smashed the Netherworld Yaksha for the last time, shattering the precious barricade into fragments.


    His primordial energy circulated through his body, wallowing him in a welcoming warmth he gladly embraced.


    In the past, Zen wasn''t aware of the true value of this energy. It was only now, that he realized its usefulness.


    "That''s it," Zen beamed. Since the beast was so persistent, he had taken it as an opportunity to test out his strength. He had just employed the power of five hundred dragon scales from the cyan dragon, so the force had been proven to be unimaginable.


    In his excitement, he forgot the massive crowd of warriors'' gazes that were trained on him. They were thrown into a mass hysteria, unable to register what they had seen with their own eyes.


    "The enchanted barrier built up by the World Commercial Alliance was smashed?"


    "How did he make it? It requires tremendous force to smash that barrier! How much strength did he even use to make that happen?!"

 Chapter 732 Destroying Edens Dedication to Martial Arts

    The World Commercial Alliance had hosted the Martial Arts Contest once every decade for hundreds of years. At that rate, it had organized the contest several dozen times.


    After arranging so many contests, it had accumulated much experience.


    For example, it had settled the problem of the enchanted barrier in the arena.


    Seventy years ago, at a contest, two martial artists fought each other in the finals. They burned their blood essence to unleash their strongest power, ultimately breaking the enchanted barrier and affecting the audience in the stands. Over a thousand martial artists were injured, and hundreds died.


    The alliance drew a lesson from the bitter experience and paid more attention to the facilities during the contest.


    The arena used the most reliable material. A type of extremely strong ironwood heart was woven into silk. The hardest basalt was ground into powder and then mixed with the ironwood heart to make bricks. These bricks were paved one by one and covered by a layer of steel plate. The plate was not an ordinary object. It was also forged by a weapon refiner and contained heavenly essence. In a sense, it could be treated as a mysterious weapon.


    The light curtain of the enchanted barrier was even more carefully designed. The top runic experts in the Central Region drew over 400 runes to form six enchanted barriers. These six enchanted barriers were only a finger-width distance from each other. With the power of the runes, a dispersive effect was created within these gaps to combine the six enchanted barriers.


    This was the protection effort of the World Commercial Alliance!


    In the following seventy years, the light curtain of the enchanted barrier had never been broken.


    Even earlier, when Zen''s sword spirit, Lily, had slammed the Netherworld Yaksha on the barrier with her sword, causing the barrier to show signs of instability, Xiao''s expression did not change at all. Even if one barrier was broken, there were still five barriers behind it!


    However, this thought only lasted for less than thirty seconds. After Zen and Lily switched positions, with a punch, the enchanted barrier shattered.


    The moment the enchanted barrier broke, several explosions were heard in the surrounding area. Smoke and dust floated into the air. The runes that were hidden underneath the ground around the arena couldn''t withstand the pressure. At this time, they exploded as well.


    How powerful was Zen''s body?


    It was not challenging for any of the elders at the Virtual Tribulation Realm to break the barrier.


    However, Hobbes, who was famous for his explosive power, could not shatter the barrier with the strength of his physical body. It was even more impossible for Letitia, Lady Poison-blood, and Raven. Eddie, however, might have been capable of breaking the barrier.


    In comparison, Zen was only at the Illuminating Soul Realm. Moreover, he did not direct his power at the barrier, but at the Yaksha''s body. The force Zen used rippled through the Yaksha''s body before striking the barrier.


    Although the impact would have reduced upon hitting the Yaksha, it was still strong enough to destroy the barrier.


    Could it be said that Zen had in


    uation, so he resorted to dangerous moves, but he was still unable to get rid of Lily.


    "You are at the primary level of the Internal Elixir Realm, but I am only at the Illuminating Soul Realm. Still, I can defeat you so easily. Are you sure that you have divine-level talent, not earth level? In my opinion, your talent doesn''t deserve to be ranked." Zen did not physically attack Eden. Instead, he provoked Eden with his words.


    In the Martial Arts Contest, Zen intended to kill only one person, and that was Marilyn.


    Now, if Zen used his full strength, for example, if he were to unleash the Malicious Wheel of Life and Death, he would be able to kill Eden. However, Eden wasn''t his target. If he killed Eden, it was likely that his plan would be ruined!


    However, although Zen didn''t want to kill Eden, that didn''t mean he would be merciful. The son of his enemy was also his enemy. Moreover, Eden had wanted to kill Zen. Now, Zen was trying to destroy Eden''s dedication to martial arts.


    "Judging from your appearance, you should be at least thirty, right? You have only reached the primary level of the Internal Elixir Realm at the age of thirty. What''s worse, you are unable to defeat an Illuminating Soul Realm cultivator..."


    Under pressure by Zen''s constant taunting, Eden suddenly shouted and rushed toward Zen, ignoring Lily''s sword dance.


    "Bam!"


    How could Lily give Eden the chance to hurt Zen? The greatsword struck Eden''s body, and Eden rolled across the arena toward Zen, his hair in disarray, and the Nameless Saber in his hand falling to the side.


    "A guy like you wants to propose to Tia? Do you think you''re qualified?" Zen smiled as he glared at Eden.


    "Enough!"


    The veins on Eddie''s forehead popped out as he abruptly stood and shouted. As a top expert of the Central Region, he knew what Zen was trying to do! Zen wanted to destroy Eden''s dedication to martial arts!


    Zen gazed at Eddie, sighed, and said, "Too late!"


    At this moment, Eden, who was lying on the ground, felt a cracking sound coming from his heart. Although he didn''t suffer too much, he suddenly felt an ache in his heart.

 Chapter 733 I Dont Like Being Protected By Women

    All humans had a soft spot.


    Zen''s weakness was his younger sister, whom he tried to protect even at the cost of his life.


    Zen''s dream was to reach the peak of martial arts to explore the secrets of this world. His warrior spirit was so firm that no one could affect it adversely.


    However, Eden was different.


    His experience differed significantly from Zen''s experience. Zen had lived a tough life and been mistreated. He persisted in his pursuit of martial arts for it was the only way to change his life.


    Eden''s father was Eddie, who ranked first in the Central Region. As his only child, Eden was blessed with great talent, insights, and resources.


    Even Brent hadn''t gotten as many resources as Eden did. Eddie had piled all his resources onto Eden, while Brent had access to limited resources. Ethereal Spirit Sect also had to provide resources to its other talented disciples other than Brent.


    It was safe to say that Eden would surely become the master of a sixth-grade sacred place or a divine kingdom in the near future with regard to his talent and the resources his father had provided him with.


    That was why Eden, a cultivator at the Internal Elixir Realm, had the guts to propose to Letitia!


    He was confident that he would be among the top martial artists.


    Having grown up in that environment, Eden had developed a strong level of self-confidence. In his eyes, the elites of the younger generation in the Central Region were nothing but losers. He looked down on them.


    He was not afraid of any challenges. Since he was always confident, Eden had no trouble achieving great things in the martial arts field. Besides, no one among the young-generation cultivators in the Central Region could defeat him. If it weren''t for Zen, he would be the strongest cultivator in the near future.


    However, people like him had a fatal weakness¡ªdefeat or failure would come as a big blow.


    He was an excellent cultivator. The harder Eden cultivated, the more outstanding he became. But all his hard work was on the premise that he was superior to others. However, once a fellow appeared and defeated Eden, he would feel frustrated and doubt his capabilities and whether his efforts were in vain.


    Zen was that guy.


    In terms of laws, Zen had surpassed Eden. As for treasures, Zen had two sacred weapons, which were better than Eden''s weapons. Compared to his cultivation base, Zen was at a lower level than Eden, and this was an insult to him. However, Z


    a cultivator at the Internal Elixir Realm, he can''t withstand the power Eddie has activated. After all, the latter is stronger than the cultivators of the Virtual Tribulation Realm.'' At this thought, Letitia became extremely worried about Zen''s safety. "Be careful!" she reminded him.


    The pressure Eddie had activated was amazingly powerful. If a senior cultivator of the Virtual Tribulation Realm were in Zen''s place, his soul would get damaged, while a cultivator at the Internal Elixir Realm would be killed.


    The three fat men looked at each other and furrowed their eyebrows. ''Eddie didn''t display a skill, but he is using his momentum to suppress Zen. The lad is in a lot of trouble now. Perhaps he will lose his life, '' they brooded.


    "Is he pretending to be a hero? He even stands in front of Letitia! Does he really think that he is more powerful than a cultivator at the Virtual Tribulation Realm?" one man quizzed.


    "You''re upset because he is holding Letitia''s hand, aren''t you?" another responded with a grin.


    "Although he has exceptional talent, Zen is going to die. His soul will be crushed, and then he will live like the walking dead. He can''t survive for three days without his soul."


    Many of the cultivators present had no idea what Zen was thinking. ''If he hid behind Letitia, he would only get injured. He is lucky to be such an awesome genius. As long as he is alive, everything is possible. He could have improved his strength and taken his revenge one day, '' the crowd thought.


    Most of the cultivators knew how to endure, and they guessed that Zen knew it as well. That was why they were confused by his decision.

 Chapter 734 Warmth (Part One)

    Eddie brought his disciples to compete in the Martial Arts Contest, and it would be improper for him to kill a young warrior at the Illuminating Soul Realm during the competition.


    All the people in the world would laugh at him. Despite being a dignified top-ranked warrior in the Central Region, he could not afford to lose¡ªthat was what people were going to say about him if he killed Zen.


    Furthermore, the three fat men from the World Commercial Alliance would not allow such a thing to happen. Moreover, there was an older woman, a powerful master who stood behind Cloud Hall. And she might be watching the scene from somewhere now.


    The World Commercial Alliance also had an Ancient Tycoon, who had lived for over a thousand years. Although he was very old, his power was too deep to be fathomable. If it were a one-on-one fight, Eddie would not be afraid of any of them. But if these men came together to fight him, as powerful as Eddie was, he would not be able to battle them all.


    After careful consideration, Eddie restrained his impulse to rip Zen to shreds, and opted for another way to vent his anger. He decided to utilize the force of his powerful soul to suppress Zen.


    If Letitia were to stand in front of Zen to protect him, Eddie would have trouble carrying out his plan, as he might have to hurt the leader of Cloud Hall first. But he didn''t expect that Zen would step forward and pull Letitia aside.


    "Since you want to be a hero and court death, then no one can help you!" Eddie was pleased in his heart, but he appeared calm. Considering the powerful force of his soul, if he wanted to crush the soul of a warrior at the Illuminating Soul Realm, it would be as easy as a wheel crushing a mantis.


    The moment his powe


    ge, with her family members. As she listened to the horse''s hooves galloping down the road, the north wind blew past her like a knife scraping against her face, and she was then tucked away in the warm quilt, feeling lucky that she didn''t have to suffer from the cold or hunger.


    The moment Zen pulled her into his arms, Letitia felt that she had returned to that time when she was wrapped in the quilt. This young man used his body, though not an imposing feature, to shoulder everything himself and keep all the danger from her. It made her feel very warm. It was the little warmth that belonged only to her.


    The wind quietly dissipated, and the pressure gradually disappeared. Zen had worn a smile throughout. He had confidently glared at the Evil East Lord, who stood not far away.


    Eddie''s eyes were filled with doubt. Soon, the doubt became surprise, and finally, his eyes dimmed as helplessness flooded him. Different feelings struck him within a short moment. He had already released the power of the suppression to perform at its maximum level. In a certain sense, it was equivalent to launching an attack toward Zen''s soul, but in a disguised form.

 Chapter 735 Warmth (Part Two)

    How could the soul of this guy withstand the powerful suppression? This was impossible! Eddie assumed that Zen had a magic treasure that could reinforce his soul or something else that enabled him to be immune to such kind of damage!


    He cast a meaningful look at Zen and hid his killing aura deep inside. He turned around and walked toward his son.


    Eden''s hair was disheveled, and his eyes were dull. He looked dejected as if he had aged ten years in an instant. He had lost all his glow and looked pale, like a dead person.


    Eddie grabbed Eden''s hand and reached out with his other hand for the saber. The Nameless Saber swirled back into his hand. In a flash, he returned to the high platform where he had been seated earlier.


    The three fat masters from the World Commercial Alliance exchanged glances. Shock registered on Dillon''s chubby face. He was transfixed like a frozen statue.


    Zen had withstood Eddie''s suppression! He wondered how powerful Zen''s soul was.


    Of course, they didn''t know that Zen''s soul had already entered the Fighting Soul Realm!


    Even the owl-beast''s evil spirit had been unable to destroy Zen''s soul. How could Eddie possibly hurt Zen''s soul?


    From a certain perspective, so far, Zen''s soul, which had entered the Fighting Soul Realm was the most powerful weapon in his arsenal.


    To most warriors, what happened between Zen and Eddie was only a small clash that lasted less than a minute. However, the situation had been the most dangerous one. Many warriors in the audience failed to see that, but a few cultivators were able to sense the tension.


    However, even though they knew something was happening between the two, the warriors cou


    er all, the World Commercial Alliance had arranged these runes many years ago and they had put many efforts into building them! If they wanted to repair these runes, they would need to send for the runic experts who had made them.


    When the warriors in the grandstand heard the news that the competition would be suspended, they were annoyed and began to curse.


    "Damn! It cost me a supreme life vitality crystal to get in here. Why the hell would you suddenly suspend the battle?"


    "Is this what the World Commercial Alliance is like? What a good reputation! My good mood is spoiled!"


    "Isn''t it just an enchanted barrier? Why should you bother? Hurry up, go on fighting!"


    These warriors didn''t care about the enchantment barrier being broken. They only wanted to watch the fierce battle and bet on the game!


    In fact, the World Commercial Alliance suspended the competition for the safety of the warriors in the grandstand. In a fight between Internal Elixir Realm masters, without the protection of the enchanted barrier, those warriors outside the arena would be easily hurt by the aftermath of the strikes.

 Chapter 736 Repair The Runes

    Xiao''s face twisted when he heard the waves of curses from the audience. He thought, ''If we don''t repair these enchanted barriers, then hundreds of people in the audience might be killed during the battles. When that happens, you''ll be cursing us again!''


    Not long after, three people flew into the arena and bowed before Xiao.


    They were the runic experts of the World Commercial Alliance. Their expertise was such that they could be considered as the top runic experts in the entire Central Region.


    How did the World Commercial Alliance accumulate all these resources? Because they were rich and had the best weapon refiners, alchemists, and runic experts.


    Masters of different professions and many independent cultivators were willing to join the World Commercial Alliance considering its reputation. Although they would have a good future if they joined sects, they would receive more resources if they allied with the World Commercial Alliance.


    This was one of the ways through which the World Commercial Alliance attracted talented people.


    It was true that the three runic experts couldn''t compare to Arnold, the Son of Rune. But it was difficult to find a runic expert in the Central Region as equally skilled at rune drawing as these three men.


    In Oracle City, almost all the runes from the Central Region had been collected in a place called the Runic Tower. Most runic experts would come here for further cultivation. Felix from Cloud Hall had been sent to the Runic Tower for further cultivation for several years.


    These three runic experts were the rulers of the Runic Tower. In the runic world of the Central Region, their thoughts and ideas regarding runes were at the peak.


    Hearing Xiao''s words, the three runic experts nodded and split up. They walked to the side of the arena and dug up the stone bricks. Under these bricks, there were many green colored stone tablets, and many complicated runes were drawn on these stone tablets.


    However, at this moment, many of the runes on the stone tablets had been so badly burned that it looked as if they had been thrown into a big fire.


    "The power burden was too great for these runes to withstand," a runic expert said.


    Another runic expert frowned and said, "These six enchanted barriers would support each other. How much power would it take to burn these runes? Can someone at the Internal Elixir Realm do this?"


    "Unbelievable! A cultivator at the Internal Elixir Realm did not cause this damage," another runic expert said as he shook his head.


    Many cultivators in Oracle City would watch the Martial Arts Contest through Picture Slabs. And so they knew how the enchanted barriers had been damaged. Although the three runic experts were cultivators at the Internal Elixir Realm, they had been obsessed with rune research their entire lives, and rarely paid atte


    e''s words. He couldn''t think of any way to refute him. As the owner of the Runic Tower, Nate was known as the top-most runic expert in the Central Region. No one could match him in the runic field.


    At this moment, a voice came from the elevated platform, "Master Shi, I can repair these runes in two hours. How much will the World Commercial Alliance pay me?"


    The one who spoke was none other than Zen. He stood at the edge of the elevated platform with a smile.


    Dillon Shi glanced at Zen and slapped his forehead. He didn''t remember Zen''s abilities while arguing with those runic experts. Zen was also a runic expert, and he had mastered the amazing Perfect Brushwork. Xiao''s eyes lit up. During the pre-qualifying match, Xiao had heard Michael mention Zen''s amazing skills of rune drawing.


    "You¡­ Are you sure?" Dillon hesitated.


    Zen had so many gifts, and that was why Dillon had forgotten about his talent in runes.


    More importantly, Zen had mastered the Perfect Brushwork. It was a unique technique that could correctly activate the characteristics of the runic materials and increase the material utilization to the perfect state!


    However, the runes were also graded. The runes that Michael had shown them were only one-star and two-star runes, so Dillon subconsciously felt that Zen could only draw one-star and two-star runes. As for the three-star, four-star, and even five-star runes, it would need years of practice to draw them. Zen was only about 18 years old. Dillon didn''t think he could do that.


    Before Zen could reply, Nate laughed disapprovingly. "I''ve heard people bragging before, but I''ve never heard of them boasting like this!"


    "Haw-haw! What''s going on with young people these days? You are talking pure nonsense!" another runic expert taunted.


    "Sometimes you have to pay a price for speaking carelessly," said the third runic expert in a serious manner.

 Chapter 737 Zen Started Repairing The Runes

    There was a time when everyone would recommend those who wanted to study runes to go to the Ethereal Spirit Sect.


    This was because Arnold, the Son of Rune, was born in the Ethereal Spirit Sect. Over hundreds of years, all sorts of runic experts had gone to the sect for further study.


    Unfortunately, the Ethereal Spirit Sect had consumed too much of Arnold''s fame and didn''t place too much importance on the study of runes. Gradually, Ethereal Spirit Sect''s rune technique began to decline. Other than the sect-protecting array left by Arnold, the Ethereal Spirit Sect''s rune technique wasn''t special.


    Along with the rise of the World Commercial Alliance, as well as the continuous evolution of runes and the establishment of the Runic Tower, all the runic experts in the Central Region would choose to study runes at the Runic Tower instead of at Ethereal Spirit Sect.


    The Runic Tower was the authority of runes in the entire Central Region, and these three people were the highest-ranked runic experts at the Runic Tower. Their knowledge of runes was second to none.


    When Nate said they needed three days, no one in the Central Region dared to say otherwise.


    Therefore, he dared to say, "If you can find a person in the Central Region who can fix them in less than three days, I will call him Master."


    That was why they mocked Zen''s ignorance. As the saying went, "Young people are fearless. It is because they are ignorant."


    Zen didn''t get angry when he heard Nate''s taunt. He didn''t bother to pay attention to them and said to Dillon, "Master Shi, I can repair these runes within two hours. How much are you offering me?"


    "Are you sure you can fix them?" Zen had performed many unimaginable miracles. No one believed that a warrior at the Illuminating Soul Realm could make any of these miracles happen. However, Zen had done it. Dillon felt that he had gotten used to witnessing one more miracle from Zen.


    "I can give it a try. Even if I fail, it won''t delay the match in any way, right?" Zen said with a laugh.


    Zen''s argument made sense. At most, it would delay the match by a few hours. If Zen was unable to repair the runes, the warriors would have to wait three days to watch the next battle. Two hours meant nothing compared to the three-day wait.


    Just as Dillon was about to nod, Nate and the other two runic experts stopped him.


    They didn''t think that Zen would be able to repair these runes. In their eyes, this kid wouldn''t be able to fix them in two hundred or two thousand hours, let alone two hours. The fact that Dillon actually believed Zen made it hard for them to accept.


    It was like how a chef, who had fed his master for many years, spent twenty hours cooking a great dish. All of


    Region. They believed that the rune techniques in the outside world were not valuable.


    ''How did a runic expert with Perfect Brushwork suddenly appear?''


    When they saw this scene, the three runic experts were shocked and didn''t know what to do.


    A trace of coldness flashed through Dillon''s small eyes. He had agreed to let Zen try because he wanted to deflate Nate''s and his companions'' arrogance.


    These guys were so full of themselves that they had become arrogant in the past few years. Even if the World Commercial Alliance was to ask them to draw some runes, they would ask for an outrageous price. They behaved as if they were indifferent toward everyone and acted like they were the number one in the Central Region. They had forgotten that they were also members of the World Commercial Alliance and had long forgotten that the Runic Tower had been established with the financial resources of the World Commercial Alliance.


    Now, they would understand that they were no longer number one in rune drawing in the Central Region.


    Zen''s rune drawing speed was very fast.


    When Zen was drawing runes in the early days, he needed to stop and think about how to draw them. Rune drawing was linked to the strength of a runic expert''s soul. Rune drawing was rather soul power consuming.


    But Zen''s soul power was stronger now. A soul that had stepped into the Fighting Soul Realm was incomparably sturdy. Drawing divine textures was a small matter. Moreover, he was only following the original strokes on the stone tablet and restoring these runes to their original state!


    Buzz...


    The runic brush kept drawing out a stroke after another, and soon, the first rune was repaired.


    At this moment, as one of the Central Region''s greatest runic experts, Nate could not utter a single word in front of Zen.

 Chapter 738 Secret Divine Texture

    The fine tip of the runic brush glided smoothly over the smooth surface. Although it was just a third-star rune, Zen had drawn it quite swiftly.


    A rune master might not have a high cultivation level, but his soul force was more powerful than those cultivators of his level.


    Meanwhile, Dillon and the stewards watched Zen in amazement. Zen finished the first rune swiftly without a break. ''His soul''s strength is incredible!'' Dillon thought.


    His eyes darted to a steward of the World Commercial Alliance who stood next to him, and then he winked.


    The steward understood and proceeded to open a jade box with a black pill inside, and then he handed it to Zen.


    "What is this?" Zen asked dubiously as he glanced at the box.


    "This is the top-grade Soul-nurturing Pill. You can nourish your soul with this, since you must have consumed some during the drawing," the steward replied politely.


    "No need! I didn''t use much of my soul force," Zen grinned and said. The steward nodded and quietly went back with the jade box.


    Ever since Zen''s soul had entered the Fighting Soul Realm, his soul had been enhanced every day. He didn''t need to rest even if he had drawn five hundred third-star runes, so he didn''t need the Soul-nurturing Pill to nourish his soul either. Besides, the Soul-nurturing Pill still contained some impurities even if it was of the best quality. Zen thought that it was inconvenient if he had to refine the impurities in it after he had consumed the elixir. Thus, he refused to accept their gift.


    On the other hand, Dillon glared at the three runic experts and internally cursed them. After they had drawn half of a rune, they would bathe themselves, wash their hands, burn an incense stick, and swallow a Soul-nurturing Pill. They were afraid that their souls would be hurt when they drew the rune.


    They were quite arrogant, but the runes they had drawn weren''t even that powerful. However, the runes they sold were shockingly overpriced. They had a fixed price list, and the people of the World Commercial Alliance or other dealers had never gotten any discounts at all. People from the Runic Tower certainly made a big fortune.


    However, the Runic Tower needed to turn in a part of its income to the World Commercial Alliance. Even then, Dillon didn''t quite like the organization. He disagreed with the way they dealt with things.


    That was why he was quite pleased when Zen, a talented runic expert, arrived. ''He could make those three old men realize how lame they are, '' Dillon mentally sneered.


    And he did get what he wanted, as the three runic experts including Nate had all lowered their heads now. A teenager easily drew the three-star rune. Although Zen didn''t look down at them, they felt ashamed of


    d Cloud Powder, which was made of bones that had existed way before, and other materials. Thus, the patterns on the stone gave off golden radiance, and a mysterious divine texture was hidden under the radiance.


    When Dillon saw that Zen had drawn the fourth-star rune, he sighed in relief. "Nate, it looks like you need to hang your name upside down on the wall!" he said to Nate with a smile. To hang one''s own name upside down on the wall was a way to show that he had been humiliated by himself.


    Nate stared at Zen''s fourth-star rune. "I''ll do that when I''m back!" he responded after a long pause.


    Each runic expert of the Runic Tower had their names written with runes on their room doors. He could hang his name upside down on the door, but it was a huge insult to him.


    ''I finally taught you a lesson. I''m sure you will be less chirpy, '' Dillon scoffed in his heart.


    After a while, Zen finished drawing the second and the third fourth-star runes. The stewards picked up the three fourth-star runes and started to place them carefully.


    Dillon walked towards Zen and greeted him. "Mr. Luo, you have painted over a hundred runes. I was wondering if you need to nourish your soul," he said with a smile. "If you don''t like the Soul-nurturing Pills because they have impurities, I have a Soul-nurturing Jade which can help you nourish your soul. It is an extra reward for your work," he added.


    "Soul-nurturing Jade!" the three runic experts, including Nate exclaimed. Their eyes gleamed with envy as they stared at the Soul-nurturing Jade.


    They all knew that the World Commercial Alliance had a jade, which could cultivate one''s spirit. Nate and the other runic experts had previously asked for it in the past few years, but their requests were denied. To their surprise, Dillon was now giving it to the young lad.

 Chapter 739 The Same Goal

    Any treasures that could strengthen the power of the soul were extremely rare, so they were invaluable.


    The Soul-nurturing Jade could only be considered as a fairy weapon. However, there were numerous fairy weapons in the Central Region, but only a few could strengthen a soul''s power.


    Even in the World Commercial Alliance, this Soul-nurturing Jade was considered as a valuable item.


    When Nate heard that Dillon was going to give Zen the Soul-nurturing Jade, he felt that Dillon''s decision was a bit unfair. However, he didn''t dare to say anything. Whatever he would say would only invite insult to himself. In comparison to Zen, the runic experts were useless men, good for nothing.


    The truth was that they were not amateurs. After all, their rune techniques represented the highest level in the Central Region. In particular, Nate was the only one who was able to draw a five-star rune. If he served for any sect, he would be highly valued by that sect, and he would be treated as if he were their top treasure.


    Since Zen was outstanding, they paled in comparison with Zen. They were not in the same league.


    Dillon''s offer of the Soul-nurturing Jade was a nice gesture with which to befriend Zen.


    The World Commercial Alliance had made a move really fast. The three leaders had recognized Zen''s value the moment Michael passed Zen''s first rune work to the headquarters of the World Commercial Alliance.


    But they didn''t expect that the situation would change so quickly. Back then, Zen appeared from the Dragon Soar Arena. To settle things, Dillon offended Zen by questioning him about the secret of the Dragon Soar Arena. And soon after, he met Zen during the Martial Arts Contest.


    The World Commercial Alliance was, of course, not afraid of Zen. But they valued great talents and would spare no efforts to attract them. That was why the World Commercial Alliance had developed and thrived to what it was today.


    The Soul-nurturing Jade was offered to Zen as compensation. It wasn''t too late for Dillon to make amends.


    Zen politely accepted it. He knew the value of the Soul-nurturing Jade. Though this Soul-nurturing Jade would be of little use to Zen since his soul had entered the Fighting Soul Realm, he could gift it to someone else or sell it and make a fortune.


    After accepting the Soul-nurturing Jade, Zen turned to the stewards and said, "I''ve just finished drawing these runes, but I''m not sure if they will work properly."


    The stewards of the World Commercial Alliance put the last three stones that carried the four-star runes Zen had drawn into place. After that, Xiao took out an array plate and prepared to test the enchanted barrier.


    Nate and the others viciously hoped that the runes wouldn''t work and that the enchanted barrier wouldn''t perform its function.


    However, what happened next disappointed them. As soon as Xiao activated the array plate in his hand, it


    is voice and shouted, "I will challenge the independent warrior, Marilyn Si!"


    "What?!" Zen''s eyes flashed. At the same time, he looked at the area where Eddie was seated, his mind a mess. ''Why did Owen pick Marilyn?''


    Owen had participated in the pre-qualifying match on the same day as Zen. On that day, Zen had used the twelve-level pagoda to extort him ruthlessly. But Owen, who came from the Woollen Grassland seemed to be quite wealthy, as he gave a lot of supreme life vitality crystals to Zen without batting an eye.


    Owen''s cultivation base was at the ultimate level of the Illuminating Soul Realm. He was able to challenge an Internal Elixir Realm warrior; thus, his real strength was something to be reckoned with. Regardless, Zen didn''t expect that Owen would challenge Marilyn.


    "Could it be that he has the same goal as me?" Zen''s heart suddenly beat faster. Zen looked in the direction where Yan stood. Beside Yan stood another woman. Zen had noticed her earlier before. She was the third person who had the Purple Power Body. If it hadn''t been for her, Zen wouldn''t have faced such a grim situation. Of course, Zen wouldn''t blame it on her.


    Did Owen come here for her? It was highly possible!


    What was her relationship with Owen? It didn''t matter anymore.


    "It''s getting tricky!" Zen frowned.


    Marilyn was his target. She must die by his hands. Before he achieved his goal, Zen did not want any mishaps to happen. If Owen killed her in battle, it would be the best result for Zen. But if he failed to kill Marilyn, then Marilyn would be alerted. This was not what Zen would expect to see.


    But now, Zen couldn''t stop him. Perhaps, at this moment, Owen had the same thoughts as he did.


    "Challenge me? Hahahaha..." Marilyn walked gracefully forward and said with a charming smile, "You want to kill me, don''t you?"


    Hearing these words, Owen''s and Zen''s hearts suddenly tightened. They turned red in the face.

 Chapter 740 Beast Transmogrifying

    Marilyn had kept an extremely low profile the entire time. Prior to the battle, she radiated no presence and was almost insignificant as she stood behind Eddie on the elevated platform.


    However, when she spoke, her body suddenly began to radiate with power.


    "Owen from the Woollen Grassland, also known as the killer of Shadow Wolf King," she declared, the mocking lilt in her tone masked by her charming smile. "If I''m guessing it right, that one there is your love, right?" Marilyn pointed at the woman beside Yan with a smirk. That woman looked like a statue, expressionless and still, but that was mainly because of her sealed six senses. Despite that, however, one could still feel the refined aura that emanated from her body.


    Buzz¡­


    Owen''s hand that had been holding his scimitar trembled, and the scimitar whistled softly. His eyes looked up at Marilyn, eyes flashing dangerously with repressed fury.


    "What''s it to you?" he hissed.


    Raising his scimitar, Owen directed his rage to Eddie. "You!" he addressed him. "The one who ranks number one in the Central Region. You went ahead and snatched away my love. Prepare to die for taking her away from me!"


    Silence befell upon everyone with Owen''s words.


    His declaration was bold, especially since it was directed to the number one warrior in the Central Region. It equated to a challenge if anything. Eddie, however, remained unfazed. He turned up his nose with a smirk as if amused that Owen even had the audacity to talk to him. To someone of Eddie''s rank, the so-called Shadow Wolf King killer wasn''t even worthy of a single glance, so he saw no need to respond to what he considered incessant babbling.


    Marilyn giggled at Owen''s words. "Aren''t you being childish?" she asked him with the innocence of a fair child. "As a warrior, shouldn''t you be aware of the fact that power always comes first? How can you blame us for taking away your love when you were too weak to protect her in the first place? Aren''t you supposed to be a divine-level talent?"


    "What? A divine-level talent?"


    The arena was suddenly abuzz with whispers at Marilyn''s words.


    "Another divine-level talent? And he is an independent warrior?!"


    "He should''ve joined a great sect! I''m sure they''d be clamoring for someone like him!"


    "A divine-level talent is one in a million. They are bound to rule the world. Why would they even bother joining a sect?"


    "Before he becomes a powerful warrior, he has to keep it low key. But, he doesn''t know about this. Alas! He shouldn''t have provoked Eddie. Now he''s dead meat for sure!"


    Marilyn smiled upon hearing the bystanders'' words. "You''re a divine-level talent, but you don''t know how to keep a low profile. If I were you, I would''ve just hidden somewhere to cultivate and kept away from the world. Once strong enough, I would then reveal myself and take revenge," she said. "To be honest, even if you aren''t able to avenge yourself, you could still steal someone else''s woman. It was a really stupid move to come out and court death."


    Owen''s face scrunched up in anger. "Do you think that everyone is like you? Shameless!" he roared. Unable to bear it any longer, Owen swung his scimitar towards Marilyn, summoning a green, glowing tornado from nowhere. The tornado whooshed across the platform and towards the woman.


    Marilyn''s brows


    s a very important thing to consider, but was it necessarily above everything? Did one''s strength justify trampling over other people? Did one''s strength justify stealing someone else''s woman?


    Many of the warriors saw themselves in Owen''s shoes. If they were faced with the same situation and were told such things, then they too would also itch to kill this woman. So, though Marilyn was a beauty, none of them really liked her anymore.


    In the world they all lived in, killing one another for treasure, betraying a close comrade, inciting conspiracy within the sect¡ªthese kinds of things were commonplace but that didn''t mean one could simply openly acknowledge it just like that. They did such kind of evil things and still dared to admit it in front of so many people. That was truly shameless.


    At that moment, however, in the midst of cheering and fighting, Zen was feeling extremely nervous.


    Owen''s appearance completely disrupted all of his plans.


    Zen had originally suppressed his trump card and tried his hardest not to reveal his true capabilities.


    Destroying Eden''s warrior spirit was only the first step, and he did it to provoke Eddie. If Eddie did not recognize him, then his second step would be to kill Marilyn by surprise. He had even gone as far as to tamper the enchanted barriers around the arena to ensure that everything would be under his control.


    But Owen''s sudden challenge to Marilyn was an unforeseen hitch. It was fine if he was strong enough to kill her, but if he wasn''t, then he would merely injure her. She might not be able to fight again or she might become paranoid and stay on alert which would be extremely troublesome for Zen.


    Owen had been chasing after Marilyn for about one minute. Groaning in frustration, Owen stopped and stood still in the middle of the arena. The audience fell silent and waited with bated breath at what their hero was about to do next. Owen''s eyes suddenly began to glow as green spots appeared on his face. His ears grew and became sharper while his fingernails elongated and became extremely sharp¡ªalmost like claws.


    "Beast transmogrifying?!" Zen''s eyebrows furrowed at Owen''s transformation. Were they finally going to see a real fight now?

 Chapter 741 The Corpse Parasite

    Owen was a warrior who boasted about his fast speed. He practiced the cultivation method of the wind system, and furthermore, he had completely comprehended the first layer of Wind Law.


    In terms of his comprehension of Wind Law, Owen was already on par with Zen. But no one knew what sort of lucky chance Owen had received to comprehend Wind Law.


    However, this was the world of martial artists. Those with extraordinary talents often had good luck. Since Owen had divine-level talent, it wasn''t strange for him to have such a lucky opportunity.


    However, Marilyn''s technique was unique. Even with Owen''s comprehension of Wind Law, he was unable to catch up with her.


    After failing several times, Owen used the secret art of beast transmogrifying.


    "What is that? Why has Owen''s body changed?"


    "He is too fast. I can''t see the transformation clearly. Tell me. What has he changed into?"


    "He''s transformed into a leopard. Judging from those lines, it could be a legendary beast, the Cloud Leopard! He possesses the blood of the Cloud Leopard, and the concentration in his blood must be very high, which is why he can transform into a beast!"


    Amongst the many practitioners, there were still some who knew a lot.


    The Cloud Leopard was a legendary beast. Even though it couldn''t compare with a super legendary beast, it was on par with the Blue Phoenix, the Roc, the Heavenly Mouse, and other legendary beasts.


    Merely having a legendary beast''s blood in a cultivator''s body was insufficient for him to transform into a beast. For example, Zen had the blood of the Genuine Dragon, but he was unable to change into a dragon because the blood concentration was not high enough. Only when the blood concentration had reached a certain level could he transform into a beast.


    Since Owen was able to mutate into a beast, the concentration of the Cloud Leopard''s blood in his body must be very high.


    At this moment, Owen looked like a half-beast human. His nails were sharp, and his round pupils had turned yellow. Two thin lines appeared in the center of his pupils, similar to a leopard''s eyes. Sharp tusks shone at the corner of his lips, and his body was covered with pale cyan light.


    "Aooo!"


    Owen roared. His speed had increased manifold now that he was in beast form. With the unique aura of the legendary beast, he pounced at Marilyn.


    "Pah!"


    Marilyn probably did not expect Owen''s speed to increase significantly. Since she couldn''t guard against him in time, she failed to dodge his attack.


    His claws collided with Marilyn''s shoulder.


    Owen''s claws were so sharp that they shredded Marilyn''s clothes. Instantly, her upper garments turned to powder, revealing the undergarment that covered her chest. B


    his hand. The bug was only the size of a thumb, and there were many colors on its back. As soon as it appeared, it spread its wings and flew toward Owen''s head.


    When the bug was halfway through its journey, Marilyn thrust the flower in her hand at it. The flower branch pierced right into it, nailing it firmly to the ground.


    Although the bug was small, it was quite fierce. Even though it was nailed to the ground by the flower branch, it still struggled desperately.


    With a smile, she looked at the bug and said, "It''s a corpse parasite. Owen, I can tell that you''re determined to kill me. After the parasite enters your body, you''ll be much more powerful, but you will also turn into a walking corpse, as the parasite will devour your soul. What''s worse, you won''t be able to walk the path of reincarnation after death. Eventually, your soul will be scattered."


    The corpse parasite was vicious. After being possessed by it, a person would definitely die a miserable death, and even his brain and soul would be devoured. But after being possessed by the parasite, a warrior would become a killing machine, and all the potential in his body would be fully exploited. Evidently, those who used this inhuman method bet all on a single throw.


    The light in Owen''s eyes gradually dimmed. He had given up all hope.


    The flesh-eating flowers were unfamiliar to many people, but the corpse parasite was well known.


    "Owen wanted to use the corpse parasite on himself. How determined he is!"


    "He dared to pay such a price for the girl he loves. Alas. What a pity."


    "I''ve never heard of anyone using the corpse parasite on himself!"


    Seeing this, many martial artists sighed. They felt pity for Owen.


    Zen clenched his fists as he stared at the arena, unmoving. His gaze was like the rippling waves of water.

 Chapter 742 Treatment

    If anyone present shared the same feeling as Owen, it was Zen.


    Both of them were chasing the same goal. As Zen witnessed Owen''s miserable ending, all sorts of feelings welled up in his heart.


    However, Owen''s miserable end didn''t waver his own resolve to kill Marilyn. Instead, he was now even more determined to do it. Now, Zen closed his eyes, trying his best not to look in Marilyn''s direction, for he was afraid that his killing intent was too difficult to suppress and would be detected by her.


    Letitia sat behind Zen in silence. She wanted to say something through her life vitality, but in the end she just let out a quiet sigh. She knew very well that she could not persuade Zen in any way. Moreover, Zen had proved that he was strong enough to fight a warrior at the Internal Elixir Realm. He had a lot of cards up his sleeves. At any given moment, no one knew how he could trump his opponent.


    However, the moment Zen tried to kill Marilyn, Eddie would certainly take action. He wouldn''t just let it slide.


    The three leaders of the World Commercial Alliance could not foresee Zen killing Marilyn, nor did they have any way of being informed of it beforehand. The three obese men would not be able to stop Eddie from retaliating in anger.


    That was to say, Zen would fall into an impossible situation.


    As Letitia came to this conclusion, she bit her lower lip and looked at Zen. Her eyes revealed a trace of determination, as if she had already made a decision in her heart.


    On the arena, Marilyn looked down at Owen. The latter was unable to move even an inch. "I won''t kill you, but you will be tormented cruelly if I keep you alive," Marilyn said in a soft voice. "In fact, the Lustful Demon Array is perfect for your lover. After all her six senses are sealed, she would be able to reach the Internal Elixir Realm. Moreover, after she gives up her virginity energy for the sake of the Lustful Demon Array, she would be able to absorb Eddie''s male vitality and step into the Virtual Tribulation Realm. The Lustful Demon Array is an excellent technique to induce lust. It permits one to enjoy the pleasures of the mortal world."


    Hearing Marilyn''s words, Owen, who was firmly pinned down by the black thorns, started to tremble. The thorns and the crimson flowers shook with the movement too.


    He stared at Marilyn with lifeless eyes. His bloodstained lips moved as he muttered something in a hoarse voice.


    "What did you just say?" Marilyn asked Owen, walking up to him.


    Owen sputtered, blood trickling out of his mouth as he spoke with some difficulty, "I said, old virgin!"


    Marilyn''s expression changed abruptly. She raised her hand, turning it into a blade. About to chop Owen''s head off, she stopped at the last moment, the blade inches away from his forehead. He could see it from the corner of his eyes. "You want to provoke me into kill


    have any relationship with Zen. He had traveled thousands of miles from the Woolen Grassland for the competition. Besides his lover, there was no one he knew in Oracle City.


    During the pre-qualifying match, Zen had blackmailed Owen into giving him a great number of supreme life vitality crystals. ''Why did he come over?'' Owen wondered inwardly, still bitter over the fact.


    "This is a grade 6 pill. It can save your life," Zen whispered to him.


    Zen had asked Letitia for the pill. He might not have anything to do with Owen. Owen''s death wouldn''t change anything for him. But when Zen sensed Owen''s resolve, he thought that he should step forward to help the thrashed boy.


    Letitia didn''t have many grade 6 pills with her. It was a high-quality healing panacea of the Cloud Hall.


    "Why?" Owen asked with great difficulty, his voice suspicious.


    Zen used his life vitality to wrap the pill. With a gentle pinch, the golden pill cracked open. Then, with a slight movement of his finger, the pill turned into powder and floated to Owen''s mouth.


    Hearing the question, Zen blinked. Other than Letitia and her master, no one else knew the answer to it. In the end, Zen chose to reply to Owen through his life vitality. "Why? Because we have the same goal."


    Owen''s eyes had long lost their luster. He had surmised that his failure meant that his life was meaningless.


    However, as he heard Zen, his originally listless eyes began to shine and glimmer. He opened his mouth in excitement, saying, "You, you¡­"


    Unlike Zen, Owen had done a thorough investigation on Eddie before arriving in Oracle City. Not only did he investigate the identity of Marilyn, he also dug up information on the other woman with the Purple Power Body. It suddenly occurred to him that the woman''s name was Yan Luo.


    Zen''s surname was Luo too. Owen did the math, comprehension dawning on him. At once, he understood who Zen was.

 Chapter 743 Marilyn Challenged Zen (Part One)

    The sixth-grade pill Zen offered slowly but surely began its task of relieving the pain the man was going through. Since he was not dead, there was a high chance that he could get significantly better after consuming the elixir. The pill started to mend his vessels and heal from the inside.


    However, it was concerning that the meridians in Owen''s body were almost completely damaged. Even if he was capable of a full recovery from his major injuries, it would be difficult for him to regain his former strength and prowess quickly. He was looking at maybe several years down the road before coming back to his strongest form. If worse came to worst, he might never be able to reach his former level for the rest of his existence.


    With the elixir numbing his pain, his excited smile seemed more like a grimace when he tried to lift his head to look at Zen. As he paid no attention to the current condition of his body, the fire of hope in his heart that had been extinguished upon being thoroughly beaten had ignited once again.


    Anyone who were in his shoes would have been thrilled despite everything. His plan to take down Marilyn failed miserably, which meant that he would never get his girlfriend back unless Eddie released her. However, it was impossible for Eddie to let his beloved go.


    Discovering that someone else had also planned to destroy Marilyn lightened his mood. Although he had still felt hopeless and despair, a beacon of light shone through in the form of Zen.


    As Zen leaned over him and quietly inspected his weary state, he met the eyes of Owen and tried his best to give him a reassuring nod. "You should take your time and rest," the man stated before walking back to the platform. He quietly muttered, "Leave it to me."


    When Marilyn saw the exchange, a faint sneer graced her features. The woman scoffed under her breath and then turned away, fixing her gaze on the ongoing battle.


    Right in the center of the battle ring stood two men engaged in an intense fight. One of the fighters was Brent of the Ethereal Spirit Sect and his opponent was Joel who hailed from the Mysterious Luna Hall.


    Comparing the rank of both men, Joel appeared to be marginally stronger, as he had reached the medium level of the Internal Elixir Realm while Brent was only at t


    cultivators from the Internal Elixir Realm, Brent vowed to himself that he wanted to challenge him. The young boy''s former plan was to battle Zen right after he finished Eden.


    However, he was unfortunately unable to carry out his plan since the two cultivators who he had wanted to fight ultimately ended up fighting with each other. Before he had a chance to choose Eden as his opponent, Zen had already defeated the other in the blink of an eye. With a total defeat, Eden''s warrior spirit was even destroyed. Thus, Brent changed his plan and made Zen become his first target.


    Disappointed, he crossed his arms against his chest and slouched. "It looks like you don''t have the guts to fight with me," the young boy gloomily stated. Nonetheless, he raised his eyebrow in challenge and urged the other man into action by provoking him. "Are you that scared to lose?"


    Shaking his head indifferently, Zen gave an unimpressed look to the other boy. The cultivator did not intend to respond to such childish provocation from someone younger than him. If fate allowed him, he would battle this boy and take him down a peg right after he was done defeating Marilyn.


    With pursed lips, Brent stomped back to the platform wherein the people from his sect were mumbling angrily among themselves. Uncrossing his arms, he gripped his challenge card tightly and he despondently thought, ''I just wanted to show everyone a good fight..''


    One of them sighed, dissatisfied. "I actually looked forward to watching Zen and Brent fight!"

 Chapter 744 Marilyn Challenged Zen (Part Two)

    "One is a fifteen-year-old at the ultimate level of the Illuminating Soul Realm," the crowd whispered conspicuously. "The other one is a seventeen-year-old at the fourth grade of Illuminating Soul Realm," more of them muttered privately. Judging by the disgruntled expressions of the people who had come to watch the fights, it was not just Brent who had been let down. The two warriors were amazingly powerful and no one could deny it.


    "Maybe Zen did have his reservations, fighting with Brent? So far into the battles, I don''t think he would be that kind of a coward, though."


    Most cultivators present at the arena expressed their disappointment at the refusal of Zen to accept Brent''s challenge. Just when they altogether predicted that the two would be in a match eventually, they regained some of their sense of anticipation back.


    The officiator of the battles, Xiao, drew lots and lo and behold, Zen''s name appeared on the board once again.


    "Zen Luo of Cloud Hall is now hereby called to fight Davis Meng of Black Mountain Sect!" Xiao announced.


    A grin adorned the face of Davis Meng, for he was satisfied with the person he was about to battle. Just before he jumped off the platform, Zen''s melodic voice resounded. "Wait!"


    Without taking a step forward, Zen raised his voice again in order to be heard. "I refuse!" Reaching into his pocket once again, Zen waved his second exemption card to the baffled gasps of many.


    "Why did he refuse again?" some of the cultivators murmured, scratching their nape in bewilderment.


    "Is it his plan to turn down all challenges he deems unworthy?" Glancing towards the uncaring man, Zen idly took out the cards in his pocket, showcasing the several exemption cards in his hands. "Refusing to fight seems to be his only method since it looks like he has many exemption cards," one of them pondered.


    "Davis Meng of Black Mountain Sect is a cultivator at the primary level of Internal Elixir. He is not a formidable opponent and definitely much weaker than Eden or Brent." Leaning his head to one side with a puzzled look on his face, a cultivator tried to guess Zen''s intentions.


    What happened next made all the spectators of the battles more perplexed and surprised. On the span of thirteen fights afterwards, Zen''s name had popped up twice. However, he had kept on waving his exemption cards even though a sure victory was in his hands due to the opponents being weak independent warriors.


    During the flummoxing period, Marilyn herself had participated in two matches and undoubtedly defeated her opponents. After her victories, she had chosen both an exemption card and a challenge card.


    Weighing her options, Marilyn decided not to use her challenge card just yet. She returned to her platform with a plan in her mind.


    Noting that Zen had no exemption cards left, M


    acement for her tattered one, ripped from her previous match. Staring at Zen with a fascinated look on her face, she ought to clarify something before they started fighting. "Hmm, you know, I really don''t get you."


    "What do you mean?"


    Zen countered with a frown.


    "Did you purposefully use all of your exemption cards to wait for me to challenge you?"


    A teasing smile was etched on her face.


    Acknowledging the intelligent observation of the woman, Zen noted that her quick wit made her admirable at some point. The man chuckled with mirth before speaking. "I cannot get a challenge card in order to challenge you myself." With half-lidded eyes and a careful twitch of his mouth, he continued. "I had to wait for you to challenge me instead."


    "Are you not afraid of dying? Or do you have the same purpose here as that weakling.. Owen? Now that I think about it, you have the same surname as that beguiling little lady called Yan," the woman teased him, seeing how far she could push his buttons before he snapped. "It''s not a coincidence, is it? You must be related."


    Eddie had not thoroughly explored Yan''s family background. After all, she used to live in the Eastern Region, far away from the Central Region. He had never paid a visit to the Cloud Sect to find out Yan''s family members.


    More importantly, Eddie did not fathom that anyone could pose a threat to his position back then. His power and reign reached far and wide, therefore he did not give much importance to the lineage of Yan. Furthermore, the only thing that ever mattered to him was that Yan possessed a Purple Power Body.


    In hindsight, this was the ultimate reason as to why Zen was familiar to him but he could not remember such a face or persona. After all, Zen was just an unremarkable existence to him back then, someone who did not stand out or attempted to rise among the ranks- a wallflower.

 Chapter 745 Purple Smoke

    Both Zen and Marilyn stood in the middle of the battlefield, the deafening silence adding to the thick tension as the two stared each other down. At that moment, both Zen''s and Eddie''s plans were slowly coming to fruition.


    Because of what he did to Eden, Eddie had been itching to kill Zen. He needed to do his duty as a father to avenge his son and Marilyn was an extremely valuable chess piece for Eddie in that regard. The cleanest way to dispose of Zen was through defeat in a formal battle.


    For Zen, who had been plotting Marilyn''s death way before, the battle was a critical stage for his plan to buy himself more time and save his sister, Yan.


    The Martial Arts Contest was a competition to find out the best cultivators in terms of skill and power. Many who particularly liked killing and simply taking out those weaker than them participated in the contest, but this battle wasn''t anything but simple. It wasn''t a fight to find out who was stronger, nor was it a fight for simple gratification¡ªit was a fight of old grudges and deep-seated hate.


    Marilyn flexed her wrist, breaking the silence as purple life vitality surrounded her, the energy humming with power. "I don''t care why you wanted me to choose you as my opponent, but I warn you, there''s no backing out now."


    Zen did not answer. Marilyn narrowed her eyes and willed the purple life vitality surrounding her to suddenly expand, surrounding and enveloping the entire battle ring like a dome.


    This put Zen on high alert. He had already shown about sixty-percent of his strength, but Marilyn still looked calm and composed. ''She''s quite confident with her strength, '' Zen thought to himself, observing his opponent closely. ''What other skills is she hiding?''


    The purple light she had cast around them was not something that Zen was familiar with but some of the cultivators in the audience let out a gasp.


    "I-I can''t believe it! It''s Purple Power Domain!"


    A series of discussions buzzed through the crowd. "Domain? I thought only masters who have reached the Soul Sea Realm could exhibit it. What the heck''s going on?"


    "Perhaps Marilyn could display this because of her Purple Power Body. It is a special physical constitution after all. That should explain why Eddie went to great lengths to employ Lustful Demon Array!"


    "Zen''s no match for her at all! There''s no way he''ll survive this fight."


    Zen heard all of this. He frowned as he glanced up at the purple light. "Domain?"


    The somewhat stunned expression of her opponent made Marilyn chuckle. As she raised her arm, a soft purple light glowed and dissipated in her palm, revealing six, sharp flying knives. Wasting no time, she immediately threw her knives in various directions.


    "Shoo, shoo, shoo, shoo!"


    The knives were all meant for Zen.


    The blades came f


    w which pushed him to make the decision of starting with Space Rules.


    However, after the baptism, he had earned a better understanding of the other rules and was able to grasp and comprehend them all.


    Zen''s sudden display of Space Law shocked and irked Brent of the Ethereal Spirit Sect. "Didn''t you say there was no need to fight Zen because he was too weak?" he blurted out. "Look at what he did. Did you see just what he did? He''s mastered Space Law! I have comprehended the first layer and been so proud of it too, but he actually mastered it!"


    And it was true. Brent had always thought highly of himself for comprehending the first layer of Space Law.


    In fact, he was the only person in the Central Region who had accomplished such a feat despite only being at the ultimate level of the Illuminating Soul Realm. Of course, he would feel proud.


    Zen, however, had learned Fire Law, Wind Law, Thunder Law, and now, it seemed he also comprehended Space Law. It was a huge blow to Brent''s ego.


    Even before fighting him, the divine-level talent of Ethereal Spirit Sect was already feeling frustrated by Zen''s shocking potential.


    Philip, on the other hand, was rendered speechless.


    He was also a heaven-level talent and used to be the pride of the Ethereal Spirit Sect¡ªuntil Brent turned up and took his place. The youngster''s skills had already shocked and humbled him.


    He had always thought that Brent was the most talented cultivator in the Central Region and that nobody would ever be a match for him.


    But Zen just had to come in and shatter all their preconceived notions of skills and power. Though his cultivation level was lower than Brent''s, he could already unleash skills as powerful as his. Zen truly shook Philip''s resolve. At that moment, Philip wasn''t sure if he still thought Brent was the most talented cultivator in the Central Region.

 Chapter 746 Purple Power World

    As Brent''s comments left Philip at a loss for words, Xander heaved a sigh and said, "What a pity for such young talent! I''m afraid he won''t get through today. Letitia is still too young and inexperienced. I wonder why she sent him to take part in the Martial Arts Contest."


    He was heavy-hearted as he obviously also believed that Zen would not be able to break Marilyn''s Purple Power Domain and that he was bound to lose in the end.


    Among the spectators in the grandstand, Rocher and Patrick looked stern as they intently watched Zen''s unsuccessful attacks.


    He seemed to be having a hard time knocking off his opponent. He even resorted to using the Space Law to approach Marilyn nimbly, like a bat out of hell. But he would not be able to pose any threat to her. What should he do?


    Extreme tension clearly filled the air as the atmosphere in the arena had gotten intense. No one dared to move.


    As luck would have it, Zen was able to teleport after mastering the first layer of the Space Law.


    More often than not, some warriors could teleport by relying on their speed and agility. However, no matter how fast these warriors were, their move still took time. It could be three seconds, or it could be in a blink of an eye.


    Zen''s teleportation, however, was a way to move through space! Theoretically, the time had no real essence in moving across space.


    And this kind of mysterious movement method gave Zen a clear-cut advantage in his face-off against the majority of the Internal Elixir Realm warriors. However, it didn''t quite work with Marilyn, who was in the Purple Power Domain.


    Thus his attempts became futile and came to naught as he failed to cause any harm to her. Marilyn quickly disappeared in a puff of purple smoke whenever he made a move in front of her to punch her. Only the reverberating sound of her peals of crisp laughter could be heard right after she vanished.


    "You won''t be able to hurt me." Marilyn appeared behind Zen and said with a teasing smile.


    Sensing her presence, Zen immediately turned around and kicked her, but she became invisible again and reappeared further away. She shook her head, looking at Zen playfully as if she was teasing a puppy.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Out of nowhere, three flying knives, coming from different directions were hurled, aiming towards Zen.


    But this time, Zen didn''t dodge. With a flash of silver light in his hand, a flying knife was shot out. It swirled around Zen.


    Clang! Clang! Clang!


    The three flying knives from Marilyn were instantly cut down by Zen''s broken flying knife.


    Actually, these knives could never cause much damage to Zen from the very beginning. It was only a tactic. He intentionally let himself be hurt by the flying knives because he thought it would make Marilyn drop her guard. And by then, he would take her by surprise and launch a fatal attack.


    Never did he imagine that he would be unable to kill her in the Purple Power Domain.


    He realized that this was going to be too troublesome.


    Every time Marilyn was attacked, she would disappear in a puff of purple smoke. Zen ransacked his brain hard about th


    swords swooshing down is constantly increasing. It seems that Zen won''t make it through."


    Five swords fell at the same time¡­


    Six swords fell down simultaneously...


    Another ten swords jolted out synchronously...


    As more and more swords began to fall from above Zen''s head, the space in which he could evade the attacks became more limited.


    "Is that I can''t do anything if she''s hiding in the Purple Power World?" Zen asked.


    "Not really. Everything has a solution," the cyan dragon coolly said with a slow smile curled up.


    "Why didn''t you say it earlier?" Zen said angrily in his mind.


    "You didn''t ask..."


    Bam!


    A gigantic sword almost grazed past Zen''s forehead as it whooshed down. The huge blade forcefully thrust into the ground of the arena. Then, it slowly disappeared in front of Zen.


    "If you don''t say it now, I''m going to die!" Zen once again crossed through space and teleported to another corner of the arena. However, that damn sword was like a shadow following him and did not give him a chance to catch his breath. Just as he passed through space and arrived at another side, another twenty swords appeared above his head!


    "Ha! Ha! Ha! This is how my brother is like! He always dawdles and does everything unhurriedly. This woman is merely an Internal Elixir Realm cultivator, so of course, she couldn''t travel through different worlds. If you think that she is capable of that, then you are wrong. Actually, people with the Purple Power Body could create special space nodes and communicate with the Purple Power World! Her real form is in that special node, so all you need to do is to find that space node!" The red dragon was of impatient disposition. So he explained the whole thing in one breath.


    Swish!


    Zen once again traversed through space, ducking the twenty swords above his head.


    At this time, the entire battle arena was in a mess. There were thick cracks and ditches everywhere, creating a chaotic scene.


    "Space node, where is it?" Twenty-one gigantic swords appeared side by side above his head, just as he finished asking.

 Chapter 747 Break The Purple Power Domain

    At Zen''s question, the two dragons claimed they were unsure.


    "Her space node is definitely somewhere in the fighting arena. It is hidden, but as long as you use the Space Law to shuttle back and forth, you should be able to discover it," the cyan dragon added.


    "So that''s how it must be." Zen''s body flickered as he took a step forward. He once again dodged the twenty-one giant swords above his head as he shuttled through space.


    As the twenty-one giant swords plunged into the ground, half of the entire arena was crushed. The arena that was built with the efforts of countless craftsmen now looked like a tilted and sunken boat. One end was raised high, while the other was pressed into the ground.


    Zen moved through the giant swords, from above to below and from side to side, while the life vitality within his body whirled unceasingly, supporting him in activating the Space Law.


    More giant swords kept crashing and gradually disappearing. Zen''s figure too kept swaying. Each time he moved through space, countless afterimages were left behind¡ªthese were the shadows and illusions projected in space.


    The scene confused the warriors in the audience.


    "What is Zen doing?"


    "It is true that he''s able to effectively avoid the giant swords by constantly shuffling through space. However, as more and more giant swords appear, he would be unable to escape death in the end."


    "He''s just spinning things out. What a pity! This championship of the Martial Arts Contest might as well be won by Marilyn. I''m afraid the Dragon Soar Arena will fall into her hands."


    Although these warriors did not have the qualifications required to participate in the Martial Arts Contest, they had a good understanding of the current situation. In their opinion, the ones with the most strength to compete for the top three positions were only Brent, Marilyn, and Zen.


    There was no way that Marilyn would spare Zen in the battle. He was destined to die. Then, the final round would take place between Marilyn and Brent. As for Brent¡­ It seemed as though he would be unable to snap the Purple Power Domain.


    The Purple Power Domain was mighty. It couldn''t be harmed at all. It was simply an unbreakable domain, in which no one could defeat Marilyn.


    A transparent crystal floated over Letitia''s hand. Inside it was an eye with the size of a walnut. It was unknown what creature''s eye it was, but it looked as if it had a life of its own as it rotated and looked about.


    Letitia''s small hand gripped the lower half of the crystal as she watched Zen''s every move.


    Cloud Hall had a long history, and as the second largest sect of the Central Region, its legacy was rich.


    The crystal in her hand contained the magical eye of a young Angel of Death, a beast with three magical eyes. The thirteenth leader of the Cloud Hall had obtained the magical eye from the Arctic Icecap four thousand years ago, and then sealed it in the crys


    er anxious.


    Upon hearing what the cyan dragon said, Zen didn''t hesitate. He took a single step to stop in front of Marilyn and then chopped at her.


    Once again, Marilyn''s figure danced in the air. She was able to dodge the attack once again. However, half of her long hair was cut off.


    "Again!" The killing intent in Zen''s eyes surged forward as he rushed toward Marilyn once again. He simply couldn''t allow her a chance to catch her breath.


    Marilyn instinctively understood that they had reached a most crucial moment. Her figure flickered once again.


    However, it was tough for her to dodge a sword strike that was combined with the Space Law and danced to its tune. This particular attack managed to pierce through Marilyn''s ribs.


    "Die!"


    Successfully having stabbed her, Zen put his sword back into his space ring. Now, he rushed closer to Marilyn to throw a punch at her.


    He had never been so ruthless to a woman before, but he knew he had no other choice but to kill her.


    As Marilyn saw Zen''s fist coming at her, she realized that his strength was not that of any ordinary warrior. His fist might be even deadlier than his sword.


    At this critical moment, she waved her hand in a sleek motion and a purple enchanted barrier enveloped her.


    "Enchanted barrier? Useless!"


    Zen exerted the power of the Emerald Crystal in his left arm and injected it into the enchanted barrier.


    Crack!


    The enchanted barrier broke into pieces like an eggshell.


    Boom!


    Zen threw another punch at her chest, knocking her down to the ground from the air above. The power in the single punch was enough to crack the bones in her body, making her collapse limply as if she had no bones at all.


    Zen was relieved when he saw the light on the blood rune fade away and vanish. He wasn''t sure what a true spirit was, but he was certain that he was no match for it. If this woman had summoned the true spirit, he would have been dead for sure.

 Chapter 748 The Amazing Enchanted Barriers

    Heavy footsteps thundered on the dusty rock surface. It was Zen, who slowly descended into the arena and walked towards Marilyn.


    It turned out that the power of Zen''s punch was enough to break all of Marilyn''s bones, but she wasn''t dead yet.


    If Marilyn were only an ordinary woman, it would be impossible to save her life as her injuries were too grave¡ªbut she was a cultivator at the Internal Elixir Realm. As long as she was treated with elixirs in time, she would eventually heal.


    However, Zen was about to kill this woman.


    "Zen won! He really won. Luckily I bet on him!"


    "But it seems he wants to kill Marilyn! Will he dare do that?"


    "I don''t think so. Eddie is watching them!"


    Many of the warriors in the audience began to whisper among themselves when they saw Zen walking towards Marilyn. If he really dared to kill her, then things would get worse.


    Meanwhile, Letitia tightly clutched the crystal in her small hand. It was already infused with her life vitality, and the magical eye of the Angel of Death constantly rotated inside. She was nervous at that moment, as she was quite clear that Zen would kill Marilyn.


    "Zen, leave the arena and I''ll spare your life. One more step and you''ll die!" Eddie''s calm voice rang from the elevated platform. He walked towards the platform''s edge with closed fists, which glowed with yellow life vitality.


    The elevated platform built by the World Commercial Alliance was made of solid basalt. A crack appeared on its surface beneath Eddie''s feet, and then it passed through a few feet on the elevated platform before it spread to his surroundings.


    Eddie had shattered the platform with just a light step. Everyone went completely silent, and only the cracking sound of the basalt was heard.


    The leaders of the large sects were also speechless. Even the naive and talkative Brent sensed the tense atmosphere before him and didn''t say a word.


    On the other hand, Zen stopped and looked at Eddie. Marilyn was very important to Eddie, but Zen had to kill her for Yan''s sake.


    After that, Zen crossed the space again. The long sword in his hand glinted under the light as he aimed it straight at Marilyn''s neck.


    "You''re courting death!" Eddie shouted.


    Suddenly, he threw a frustrated punch towards the arena.


    Though he hadn''t attacked anyone for many years, he was still the number one warrior in the Central Region. One could just imagine the power of his punch.


    His punch seemed to drain the world of all its energy as his bright, golden fist shot towards Zen at an incredible speed.


    As he launched his attack, Eddie was confident that he could kill Zen before Zen could kill Marilyn.


    The moment Eddie made his move, everyone gasped and held their breaths.


    The number one warrior in the Central Region launched his attack, which was target


    bined power of all its runes was able to activate the defensive power of this level. How many runes were under the small arena? It was only a few hundred runes!


    In addition, Zen had only re-drawn more than a hundred runes.


    At that moment, Zen''s existence immediately became like a precious treasure in the eyes of many sect leaders.


    The sect-protecting array was too important for any sect. If they encountered strong enemies, the sect-protecting array would always be able to hold them off for a period of time. It was unlikely for the invaders to smash the whole sect into pieces.


    Once upon a time, the Black Mountain Sect, a fourth-grade sect, had a feud with a cultivator at the early stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm. That cultivator was no match for the leader of Black Mountain Sect, but he was extremely fast in speed.


    Whenever the leader of Black Mountain Sect went into seclusion or occasionally left the sect, that cultivator wrecked chaos in the Black Mountain Sect.


    When the leader came back, the cultivator had already escaped.


    Even a cultivator at the early stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm had caused a fourth-grade sect to suffer. In the end, the Black Mountain Sect had no choice but to settle this matter.


    It would have been helpful for them if they had a sect-protecting array at that time. It would at least hold off the enemy for quite a long while.


    Back to the present, Zen had only used more than a hundred runes to block Eddie''s attack. If he had drawn thousands of runes to form a sect-protecting array, would it have been enough to defend against a cultivator at the Life and Death Realm and even kill him?


    With that thought into consideration, one could imagine how astounded the sect leaders were. Even Lady Poison-blood, who hated Zen so much, suddenly looked at Zen seductively, her eyes filled with hunger and thirst.

 Chapter 749 Killing Marilyn

    In the entire history of the Central Region, Arnold was the one who represented the peak of rune attainment. The sect-protecting array that he had once drawn still served and played a great role in the Ethereal Spirit Sect.


    The array was guarded by six warriors who, regardless of their strength, would be able to annihilate and resist anyone that came with evil intentions so long as they understood the principle of the array''s operation. This was proven to be true when the array had been enough to push back against an attack by warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm.


    For independent warriors who did not belong to any sect or see the need to establish their own sect, a protecting array wasn''t anything valuable. For sects, however, it was even more important than a sacred weapon.


    Unfortunately, ever since Arnold''s death, there hadn''t been anyone in the world who had Perfect Brushwork. Even if the other sects copied the sect-protecting array of the Ethereal Spirit Sect, the effect would be far from satisfactory.


    That was why it took everyone by surprise when Zen was able to boost the power of the arena''s enchanted barriers to the point that they could withstand a punch from a warrior at the Life and Death Realm, by drawing up just over a hundred runes. It was quite unbelievable. Did he truly draw those runes? If so, just what kind of rune was able to stimulate the energy to form such a strong barrier?


    They did not realize that what Zen drew wasn''t exactly runes. Instead, they were divine textures loaded with more power that enabled Zen to significantly strengthen the arena''s barriers.


    Naturally, none of the Central Region''s sect leaders could fathom the power of these divine textures. It wasn''t something that they had ever seen before.


    In the Genuine Dragon World, the cyan dragon''s Grand Marvelous Array was powerful enough to resist an attack from a super legendary beast.


    However, due to the restriction of the materials in the Central Region, drawing up the Grand Marvelous Array proved to be an impossible task for Zen. Moreover, he still didn''t have the ability to draw a nine-star or even a ten-star rune.


    Eddie was extremely surprised when he realized that his attack had been simply absorbed by the barrier. He could only watch as Zen pressed his sword upon Marilyn''s neck. "I don''t want to discuss conditions with an ant," he told Zen. "But you are an exception. Tell me, what do you want?"


    From the scene in front of him, Eddie surmised that had Zen truly wanted to kill Marilyn, then he would''ve done so earlier. No, he must be up to something if he was dragging the matter on like this.


    Zen looked up at Eddie with a furious glare. "Release Yan," he said coldly.


    Zen''s words shocked him and there was only a handful of things that could shock someone like Eddie. Zen''s request had him thinking hard, not truly understanding why he would ask him something like that until he realized something. "I remember now¡­"


    Eddie murmured, his face brightening in recognition. "I''ve seen you before." And indeed he had. He remembered that time back in Cloud Sect when he had first met Zen.


    He should''ve thought about it since the beginning, but given his status, he had not cared about Zen at all despite thinking


    f his sockets, "Y-YOU!"


    He never thought Zen would actually do it. He didn''t think he actually had the guts to do so, but the bloody scene in front of him now told him that Zen truly was courting death.


    All the other sect leaders were equally surprised. Just now, it felt as if Zen was merely bluffing, but Marilyn''s dead, bloody corpse on the ground proved just how serious he was when he made his threat.


    Xander sighed and murmured a quick prayer, "This is bad!"


    The faces of the World Commercial Alliance''s three leaders were grim. With Marilyn''s death, a big fight was surely brewing.


    All three of them immediately flew towards the front of the arena. Even Letitia walked off the stand, her body emitting a cold aura as she conditioned herself into a battle-ready state.


    In the audience stands, some warriors were panicking and quite a lot had already started running away.


    The power unleashed by a Virtual Tribulation Realm warrior was enough to crush the entire arena and everyone in it to pieces. The strongest warrior of the Central Region, who had reached the Life and Death Realm, was about to make his move. The results were to be nothing short of devastating. If a fight between Zen and Eddie broke out, the shock wave would undoubtedly be enough to harm, if not kill, anyone in close proximity. It was wise to run away now before it was too late.


    Patrick shook his head at the scene in front of him. "Zen was too rash. He shouldn''t have killed Marilyn."


    Lewis curled his lips. "This fellow truly is too fierce. He really dared to kill Marilyn. He was simply giving it his all. Is there anyone in the world more ferocious than him?"


    "If it were me, I would''ve also killed her," Rocher thoughtfully replied.


    Patrick raised an eyebrow. "Why?"


    he asked curiously.


    "Without Marilyn, Eddie is one girl short for his Lustful Demon Array," Rocher explained. "Because of this, his plans will surely be delayed. Finding another virgin with a Purple Power Body will not be easy. It could take years, decades, maybe even centuries. In that time-frame, Zen would surely get stronger and be given the chance to defeat Eddie. Today, Zen may not die."

 Chapter 750 Got Caned (Part One)

    Survival of the fittest ruled everyone in the world of warriors, exhibiting itself in every possible facet of life.


    If you possessed enough strength, then you''d have the potential to be revered by the people, much like they would worship God; all the people around you would kneel down and bow their heads to you; and even if you did something as irrational as calling a deer a horse, there was bound to be a couple of them who would still blindly go along with you.


    Fame, fortune, and authority could only be attained through possessing immense power.


    Let''s say that a certain warrior had a younger sister who held a Purple Power Body, that person would surely be more than willing to offer her to Eddie. For as long as they could guarantee receiving Eddie''s protection, or maybe even just a meager reward, they could make use of it for all eternity.


    But on this day, Zen, who appeared to be just as feeble as an ant, up on his feet on the ruins of the arena, had proven to everyone how worthy he was of his dignity.


    In spite of the fact that Eddie was widely known as the strongest warrior residing in Central Region, Zen wasn''t fazed at all; he didn''t even flinch a bit. When he did away with Marilyn, he had no qualms about doing it at all.


    In the face of Eddie, who had been fuming with intense rage, Zen retained his composure. He had his gaze fixated on Yan, his younger sister, the only person who meant the world to him.


    The gusts of wind were steadily getting heavier and heavier.


    The vitality of heaven and earth was growing much more frenzied and uncontrollable.


    Crack!


    The basalt beneath Eddie''s feet had already been loaded with fissures, and at that moment, it was beginning to collapse bit by bit.


    The murderous aura was looming deep inside Eddie''s body, like a volcano that was about to flare up. Yan''s face had gotten flushed red a little. This was caused by Eddie''s hand unconsciously tightening its grip around her neck. In desperate need of breathing in more air, her ches


    itia a threatening glare. The fact was that the old woman had been utterly disappointed in the actions Letitia had taken. In any case, the thing she just casually said indicated that she had been following Zen and putting Cloud hall at risk.


    When all was said and done, Letitia was still her beloved disciple. She honestly couldn''t care less what would happen to Zen, but she just couldn''t let anything bad happen to Letitia.


    "Imogen." Eddie shook his head in disapproval. "That is indeed true. You are also not strong enough to stand against me."


    Imogen, Letitia''s master, who was a former leader of Cloud Hall, was one of the strongest amongst the Life and Death Realm warriors. Having said that, upon entering the Life and Death Realm, she was only able to go through a single heavenly tribulation. Apart from that, she had gotten much too old that the vital energy and blood she had were both already deteriorating, so there was no way she could possibly be a match for Eddie.


    While they were about to engage in hostilities, a voice that seemed much older than even Imogen''s rang out. "In the Martial Arts Contest, competitors'' life or death depends on their own strength. This is a rule that has been laid down by our World Commercial Alliance, one that has been adhered to for hundreds of years. Eddie, aren''t you aware of that?"

 Chapter 751 Got Caned (Part Two)

    Eddie''s actual motive for pacing quite slowly


    was to prod into it.


    Out of everyone he knew, there were only two people that Eddie had always been truly heedful of. One of them was Imogen Yu, and the other was an Ancient Tycoon who was in World Commercial Alliance, someone who had lived for more than 1, 700 years! If it weren''t for the Ancient Tycoon''s existence, Imogen would be the sole being at the Martial Arts Contest that could make Eddie have some second thoughts.


    Xander, along with the leader of the Mysterious Luna Hall, could pose a threat for Eddie to some degree, but given that the situation didn''t really have anything to do with their sects, they would have no reason to get involved.


    Unfortunately, the Ancient Tycoon from the World Commercial Alliance had unexpectedly shown himself.


    Eddie had his eyebrows deeply knit.


    If it turned out being a one-on-one battle, he was confident that he could defeat any of the leaders of these fourth and fifth-grade sects, and probably even the Ancient Tycoon in the World Commercial Alliance. But confronting all of those people at the same time would put him at a disadvantage.


    Let''s say that the three heads of the World Commercial Alliance were to team up against him, which would already give Eddie quite a hard time. But now, even Imogen had appeared and then to make it even worse, that millennia-old monster made an appearance.


    "Do you mean to say no one has to bear the brunt for my disciple''s death?" Eddie pried. Indeed, he might have been the mightiest warrior in Central Region, but here in Oracle City, a place that was brimming with lots of experts, he had been backed into a corner and forced to give in.


    "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But there''s really no need for you to resolve the dispute caused in the fighting arena right here in Oracle City, right? No one would bat an eye whateve


    nding up to Eddie, Imogen had no plans of showing up whatsoever. Zen was indeed a remarkable guy, but Eddie was simply on a league of his own, and much, much more frightening. Cloud Hall was not capable of taking care of Eddie by themselves. The day Eddie finally came to take his revenge, how on earth could the Cloud Hall hope to deal with him?


    However, it wasn''t fair for Imogen to place all of the blame on Zen. When all was said and done, Zen did not ask Letitia for help at all. It was Letitia who decided that and ended up upsetting Eddie.


    Truth be told, Imogen was fully aware that she had no right to blame Zen for what had transpired that day. Letitia was the one who was so stubborn and determined to make a stand, but she had always been indulging Letitia on everything, so there was no way she could go on and release her anger on her. And as a result, it was Zen who unfortunately ended up taking the blow instead.


    This showed that Letitia had saved Zen''s life in a way, and Zen had taken one for Letitia. At the end of it all, Zen still actually got something out of it. If the primordial energy that had been produced after he had gotten hit by the cane were to be taken into consideration, then he might have just made himself a fortune.

 Chapter 752 Runes Potential

    Despite having failed to take Yan back, Zen had still been able to achieve his goal of killing Marilyn. Her death would be a huge drawback to Eddie''s plans for achieving the Lustful Demon Array.


    Eddie had spent decades looking for women with the extremely rare Purple Power Body and just as he thought he had finally completed the whole set, his prized person was suddenly killed by Zen. It would take him a long, long time before he could find another person that fulfilled his requirements.


    It could take years, decades, perhaps even centuries.


    He might never be able to find one. Nonetheless, Zen was now racing against time. He might have been able to buy himself a couple of decades with Marilyn''s death, but there was no telling when the next Purple Power Body would appear or when, and if, Eddie would find it. For now, he had to give it his all to get stronger and quickly take Yan back from Eddie.


    It was truly unfortunate that he had been unable to communicate with her in any way back then. Her six senses had been blocked and she was completely numbed from everything. Not even the sight of her brother elicited any response from her sealed body.


    Back to the arena, the fighting platform had collapsed entirely upon Eddie''s departure, leaving nothing but dust and destruction in the once prestigious battlefield.


    A lot of the warriors that had chosen to remain in the stands were still trembling in shock from the events prior. A few, however, sized Zen up.


    "This Zen is probably the craziest warrior in the history of the Central Region," they whispered to each other. "To think that he actually dared to pull a stunt like that in front of Eddie. I mean, killing Marilyn? What was he thinking?"


    "Even a Virtual Tribulation Realm warrior would tremble in fear just standing in front of Eddie, imagine how an Illuminating Soul Realm practitioner would react," someone murmured. "But Zen not only threatened Eddie, he even killed Marilyn right in front of him."


    "What''s even more amazing is that Eddie actually sucked it up and left! My God, is he still the Evil East Lord?!"


    For everyone present, Eddie was once someone that had both been feared and worshiped. His might and status as the strongest made this a given. However, just moments before, he had been humiliated by a young man less powerful than him. Not only that, but this same young man had also been able to kill one of his subordinates right in front of him. It was disrespect of the highest level and yet this young man had lived.


    If it hadn''t happened in front of so many people, no one would''ve ever believed it was true.


    Rocher smiled at the results, "I was right! Zen did it!"


    Lewis nodded, "It''s a pity there was no one willing to bet with you, otherwise you could''ve earned a fortune once again." Rocher had won a great deal by using Lewis'' life vitality crystals to bet on the previous matches. Unfortunately, Rocher hadn''t given Lewis a dime and this made him a bit grumpy.


    "Zen did it," Patrick agreed, but he had a frown on his face. "But he still has a long way to go if he really wa


    their faces.


    "These runes are completely different from those in Central Region!"


    "The vein splits in the middle, which is a taboo in runic techniques. So how is it that these runes are so exquisite?"


    "There seem to be a lot of unnecessary strokes in the first half of the work, but when one''s eyes reach the bottom, everything makes sense. How can the human mind even think of this?"


    The three of them were lost and completely immersed in the unique runes, each of them trying to comprehend the profoundness of the divine textures.


    The sophistication and complexity of the runes on the stone slabs were beyond what the runic expects in the Central Region could ever imagine. The development of divine textures in the Upper World had, after all, taken billions of years to complete and had experienced countless cycles of reincarnation. The divine textures were likewise, old men who had lived for millennia while the runes of the Central Region were mere newborn babies. The disparity was simply impossible to measure.


    The three four-star runes were enough to enlighten Nate and the other two. In the next ten years, the three of them would venture forth and be able to figure out a trace of the divine texture''s essence. They would, later on, get rid of the Central Region''s rune patterns and bring them up to a new level. Although it would be impossible for them to surpass Zen''s divine texture techniques, it would still create an era where they could surpass Arnold.


    Seeing that Nate and the other two had directly dismantled Zen''s runes, Xander and the other sect leaders were all eager to get a piece to bring back with them and study thoroughly. However, the thoughts of the World Commercial Alliance and how they would never let them go with the slabs made them reconsider. Perhaps it would be easier to just ask Zen for help and quickly began to think of ways on how they could bargain with him.


    Just then, however, Xiao brought up a very obvious problem and immediate cause for concern. "What should we do about the remaining matches?"

 Chapter 753 Sect-protecting Array (Part One)

    At the end of it all, Eddie had abandoned the skirmish and given up on the competition for the Dragon Soar Arena.


    That being said, there were still lots of warriors belonging to different sects as well as independent ones present in the arena, ones who didn''t have any intention of letting the chance on fighting for the Dragon Soar Arena slip away.


    With all of that in mind, Dillon let out a smile and commented, "Eddie''s two disciples have both been taken out. The remainder of the matches would have to proceed as planned, but as you may well see, the arena is currently in ruins..." As he gave those remarks, Dillon motioned to Hobbes with nothing but a simple nod.


    Hobbes then promptly exited the venue of the Martial Arts Contest without delay. And after some time, the crowd suddenly heard the thud of a couple of heavy clomps moving closer and closer.


    Thump! Thump!


    Everyone focused their attention over toward the direction where the sound had been originating from, and a handful of onlookers were surprised to see Hobbes transporting the sizeable combat platform with his rotund frame and approaching them.


    This actual battle stage was close to being two hundred feet wide. For the purpose of resisting the power of the masters from the Internal Elixir Realm, it had been fabricated utilizing a method which was much too intricate. A few of the components were even heavier than gold and metal. And as for the weight of the whole platform, it was something quite breathtaking. Taking all of that into consideration, Hobbes just casually lifted it over his shoulders and moved it here solely with his pure brute strength.


    A loud sound reverberated in the area.


    And with a single intense earth-shattering thump, Hobbes had set the platform in place.


    The various sect leaders didn''t even bat an eye upon seeing such a scene. For most of the masters from the Virtual Tribulation Realm, a feat like that wasn''t out of the ordinary. But every single warrior watching from the stands had been left dumbfounded, causing the area to be overtaken by screams and squeals.


    The sect leaders proceeded to come back to their respective places on the high platform, each of them pondering deeply.


    Truth be told, a lot of p


    At that point, Letitia truthfully couldn''t care less if it would be worth all the trouble for the Cloud Hall just to keep Zen away from harm.


    Letitia''s eyes went dark, and a pang of guilt crept onto her face, "Forgive me¡­ Master, maybe I am just really not worthy of being called the leader of the Cloud Hall. Maybe I''m not good enough."


    At the sight of the guilt embedded onto Letitia''s face, Imogen heaved a heavy sigh and said, "Ahh, I''m well aware that you can be a bit too passionate when it comes to certain things, but one thing I know for sure is that the talent you possess is a cut above the rest. When you finally finish the cultivation of the Sutra of Empyrean Goddess, you would then be on par with the Life and Death Realm warriors even if you''re still at the Virtual Tribulation Realm. Once you make it through the Life and Death Realm, I have faith that you would be capable of leading the Cloud Hall into being a fifth-grade sect, and potentially even helping the Cloud Hall to be counted as one of the sacred places."


    If a sixth-grade sect did not long for dominance, then it had the possibility of becoming a sacred place. If it competed for authority, then it would lay the foundations for its own kingdom of warriors. The kingdom would be known as the divine kingdom. Cloud Hall had no aspirations to fight for dominance. Its main goal was to become a sacred place, and that, more than anything else, would be the ultimate distinction one could ever hope to attain.

 Chapter 754 Sect-protecting Array (Part Two)

    At this point, Zen abruptly butted in and said with a stern voice, "Master Yu, I think I may have found a way to go against Eddie."


    Imogen instantaneously sneered at Zen and shot him a scornful glare, "Do you honestly think he won''t be able to do anything to you even after what you''ve done? You killed Marilyn right in front of his very eyes. Were it not for the World Commercial Alliance, you would have already been reduced to ashes by now and breathed your last breath! If a warrior would be foolish enough to believe that he has the capability of doing something just because luck has fortunately been on his side at one time rather than pin his hopes on his own strength, all I can say is that you won''t be as lucky the second time around."


    "I consider luck to be one of my strengths as well. Master Yu, could you please let me continue what I was trying to say?" Zen tried his best to politely ask for permission.


    "Okay then, you may continue," Imogen calmly responded. It was so apparent that she did not have a good perception of Zen. His sister had been taken away, but he still had the audacity to blame all of it on Letitia. A young warrior at the Illuminating Soul Realm, that was all that he was, and he had the nerve to unreasonably put the blame on her apprentice. How did anyone expect her to put up with this?


    In any case, Imogen was able to notice clear as day how Letitia appeared to have been harboring some feelings for Zen. She had been quite partial to him in whatever he did and so fond of him. For that reason, Imogen felt like she had to hold herself back with anything that had to do with him. Apart from that, everyone had an inkling that Zen had somehow been blessed with good fortune. Imogen was a being who had experienced crossing the line between life and death and had a thorough comprehension of life and death. How could she possibly fail to see Zen''s great destiny?


    To be completely fair, when it came to warriors, their destiny was s


    umed the Owl Beast''s evil spirit, he finally got his soul power replenished. In the event that Zen would run into some sort of trouble, he could still call out to the cyan dragon for assistance.


    The cyan dragon had the capacity to construct a Grand Marvellous Array, one type of grand array that had enough force to lay waste to both heaven and earth. To put up an array for a fourth-grade sect to shelter it against masters of the Life and Death Realm shouldn''t prove to be too difficult for someone like him to carry out.


    Imogen possessed vast experience up her sleeve. It shouldn''t be too hard for her to see the merit of Zen''s suggestion.


    She lightly bobbed her head and remarked, "If that is indeed true, then there should be no need for indecision. Once you construct the sect-protecting array, our Cloud Hall will take care of all the materials and fees! You have my word!"


    Upon hearing Imogen''s remarks, Zen deeply thought to himself, ''Well, isn''t that just a foolish thing to say? If I lend you a hand in setting up the sect-protecting array, it is a given that you would be the one to shoulder the cost of the materials. After all, who else was she expecting to pay for everything? That is quite a peculiar old lady...'' Needless to say, there was no way he could ever dare say that out loud though.

 Chapter 755 Attitude Of The Elders (Part One)

    Under such an unprecedented pressure, Letitia, Imogen, and Zen were in no mood to be interested in the rest of the Martial Arts Contest. With their hearts beating loudly, they could have sworn they felt a faint ringing in their ears. The trio looked each other warily and grimly nodded; they had no other choice.


    One of the strongest fighters in the competition, Brent, was presently in the battle ring, fighting with an independent warrior. Although the battle could have been interesting with the latter being at the middle stage of the Internal Elixir Realm, he could not pose a threat to Brent. The warrior was merely a plaything to him, as Brent continued to be formidable with his divine-level talent. ''Well, this is kind of boring, '' the boy thought with a pout, as he quite easily evaded the other''s jab and countered with quick flicks of his hand.


    When Brent had felt that their feeble fight had gone long enough, he sighed to himself and casually threw out a last attack that defeated the independent warrior. Looking over carelessly at the crumpled form of his previous opponent laying on the ground of the arena, Brent shrugged his shoulders and fixed his clothes momentarily before leaping off the arena. The talented fighter was once again excited at the prospect of drawing cards, and when he peered over and saw the word "Challenge" carved on the wooden card, his eyes were alight with elation and a grin sneaked onto his face.


    Just seconds after he had drawn the card that he had wanted, he immediately waved his challenge card in the air vigorously as the crowd watching cheered with him. Fixing his gaze on the elevated platform where the members of the Cloud Hall were situated in, he smiled wider at the prospect of finally having the battle he had wanted ever since the competition had started. ''Nothing can stop me from challenging Zen now!'' the young fighter exclaimed in his mind as he started to stretch his arms in preparation.


    However, luck appeared not to be on his side at that moment due to the sudden voice that rose above all and fleetingly stopped everyone from moving. "Wait!" the voice of a woman declared amidst the noise of the arena. As multiple heads turned towards her, Letitia continued to announce in a leveled tone, "The Cloud Hall wishes to quit the competition."


    "What?!"


    The


    ed something. As he watched Zen leave and catch up with the members of the Cloud Hall, he reassured himself with the fact that they were going to meet again eventually.


    Xiao promptly turned around and handed the tiny piece of parchment to Dillon. As the other man curiously opened the folded paper and peered at the content, his eyes marginally widened with surprise. With his heart rapidly thudding in his chest, Dillon blinked his eyes and read the written words once more as he felt beads of sweat gathering on his forehead from nervousness.


    As it turned out, Zen had shared with him the terrible secret of the Dragon Soar Arena through the small piece of paper. With trepidation, it dawned on him that anyone who did not have the Genuine Dragon blood running through their veins would be rightfully imprisoned for a thousand years after entering the Dragon Soar Arena.


    "No wonder the warriors who have entered the Dragon Soar Arena in the past have yet to return. This is a huge secret," Dillon mumbled to himself as he gulped inaudibly at his realization.


    Ever since Zen resurfaced from the Upper World, the Black Mountain Sect had sent a disciple named Jordan to travel to the Upper World. The sect had even hung the disciple''s life jade card on the Dragon Soar Arena as a reminder that Jordan was indeed inside. Although the life jade card never broke or vanished, the disciple was never seen again. Bizarrely, no one was assured of what had happened, but the only thing they were certain of was their belief that Jordan was still alive.

 Chapter 756 Attitude Of The Elders (Part Two)

    In order to solve the mystery of the missing disciple from the Black Mountain Sect, the World Commercial Alliance had brought it upon themselves to send several people to the Dragon Soar Arena and waited for results. However noble their mission was, not a single soul from their team returned, yet none of them had also died. With the intention of preventing the warriors from staying in the Upper World, the World Commercial Alliance even tried to threaten them with the condition that if they did not return within a certain period of time, their families would be killed.


    Even with the grave threat issued by them, not a single person had returned from the Upper World. Although the phenomenon was considered as enormously strange, they still did not find the answer to the occurrences of the missing warriors trapped inside the Dragon Soar Arena.


    It did not occur even a little bit to Dillon before that Zen would be the one to ultimately solve the confounding mystery. It turned out that it was not the case that those people who entered the place did not want to return. Rather, they were forced to stay there, dreadfully imprisoned for a thousand years. Dillon broke out in a cold sweat at the new found knowledge. ''And to think I have also been prepared to travel to the Upper World myself, '' he thought with a wince and let out a breath he did not know he was holding. It was a fortunate thing that Haber had advised and also convinced him to give up on the idea of going there.


    With slightly trembling hands, Dillon then passed the crumpled piece of paper to Hobbes and Haber. After the two of them had read it, they immediately looked at one another in shock. "The Dragon Soar Arena is a big trap!" they both exclaimed at the same time. Both men had somehow noticed that the place was rather shady


    age to challenge the Cloud Hall. ''Maybe it could be the Ethereal Spirit Sect?'' one of them deeply considered. ''The World Commercial Alliance, maybe?'' another elder pondered, thinking hard of who could be the strong enemy that made Letitia so frazzled. However, their guesses were highly doubtful as the relationships that the Cloud Hall maintained with the two powers were supported with mutual respect and diplomatic. Other than the two of them, they were not aware of other strong enemies that they could possible face.


    Before they could deliberate even further and ask for an additional explanation from the pacing woman, Letitia smoothed her expression into that of resoluteness and did not bother talking about the issue anymore. The lady coldly addressed the people, "Let Felix come to my palace!" With her robes billowing behind and her hair fluttering against the breeze, she briskly walked away and finally entered the Cloud Hall.


    Reading the tense atmosphere that suddenly surrounded the place, her entourage silently followed behind her, not bothering to talk with the elders. The strides of Imogen, Zen, and the others, kept up with the woman except for Saint Morphens who had stayed back.

 Chapter 757 Attitude Of The Elders (Part Three)

    As Saint Morphens had compliantly traveled together with the Cloud Hall''s elite disciples, he felt that he was capable of explaining the situation completely to the crowd Letitia had left behind. Scanning his eyes over the elders'' questioning and despairing expressions, he exasperatedly sighed before opening his mouth to speak. "This time, the Cloud Hall''s enemy is Eddie."


    Surprised gasps echoed throughout the area and some felt faint at the news Saint Morphens revealed to them. "What?!" Emanuel shouted as he jumped up. "Why did you offend this monster?"


    Dubbed as the Evil East Lord, Eddie was one of those individuals that made ordinary people tremble in fear just by merely mentioning his name. The man could be righteous at some times and terribly evil at other times. This was due to the fact that if one did not directly provoke him, Eddie would not care for their existence. However, no one would come out alive after facing the consequences once they had done something to anger or insult him.


    The people of Cloud Hall never would have thought that participating in the Martial Arts Contest would earn them anything other than a better reputation. However, what they brought home instead was a terrifyingly powerful opponent who was probably already on his way to destroy them.


    "What exactly is going on? What happened back there? Morphens!" As Emanuel demanded for the full explanation, he stepped forward and crossed his both arms against his chest. "I need you to give us an explanation, and do not leave any detail behind!"


    The elder''s demanding tone made Saint Morphens frown. Even though there was a clear show of disrespect from Emanuel, the matter at hand was more significant and he debated to himself that showing anger towards th


    of Zen and defended him in the first place. Sighing to himself, Saint Morphens wondered about the possibility of them fighting back and surviving the inevitable war caused by Zen''s actions and how Letitia would protect the Cloud Hall from it.


    Although Letitia was appointed to be their leader at a young age, she was as stubborn as a rock once she made a decision. Due to this, it was a moot point to discuss among themselves a way to prevent the impending confrontation because the elders, and even the previous leader, Imogen, would not be able to change her mind or pull her back.


    As Saint Morphens remained silent, he truly thought that maybe there was something only Letitia knew when she spoke for Zen at the match. Deep down, his loyalties lay on Letitia and he had an inkling that Zen was worth the investment from the Cloud Hall.


    As for this group of elders wanting to cause a scene and embarrass themselves in front of the elite disciples as they planned, Saint Morphens merely walked away and placed his hands in his pockets, uncaring of their plot to deal with the situation. In the end, it all depended on Letitia to deal with their bothersome attitudes.

 Chapter 758 Denounce

    After relinquishing the position of Cloud Hall leader to Letitia, Imogen had given her free reign and only meddled with the sect''s affairs during dire times. As such, after talking with Letitia and giving her a few words of advice, Imogen immediately left, leaving the incumbent leader of Cloud Hall to handle the rest.


    The crisis that Cloud Hall was currently facing served as a huge test for Letitia. Imogen wouldn''t be there for her forever as she might die at any time in the next Heavenly Tribulation. As a leader, Letitia must persevere and use her talent and wits to manage the matters of the sect on her own.


    As soon as she got back to the Ice Palace, Letitia immediately freed her fair-skinned feet and lay back onto a large chair, the ice phoenix perched at her head.


    Zen stood at the side of the palace as he waited for Felix to arrive.


    As of that moment, the sect-protecting array was Cloud Hall''s first priority which was why they immediately saw to the matter upon their return.


    There were only the two of them in the place. Zen took one look at Letitia''s tired face. "You''re under great pressure," he said.


    Letitia couldn''t help but smile at his words. She looked up at Zen and said, "You''re the one who should be under great pressure."


    "As long as I am given enough time, I believe that I can build this sect-protecting array. I don''t feel any pressure at all," Zen told her seriously.


    "Why should I feel pressure?"


    Letitia smiled mischievously.


    Despite saying so, she actually had been under considerable strain. To others, her role as leader of Cloud Hall was an honored and extremely coveted position. But for Letitia, it was also an enormous burden. Her role as leader made her feel as if she was always walking on thin ice, not knowing if the next step would send her sinking through the cold ocean-depths below. The duties of the leader of a fourth-grade sect were oftentimes hard to bear and a serious crisis was rising up in the horizon.


    Zen knew she was saying that only to make him less worried but he didn''t comment on it. The only thing he needed to do was to finish the sect-protecting array as soon as possible.


    However, before Felix''s arrival, they were unceremoniously graced with the unexpected arrival of a group of Cloud Hall elders.


    They aggressively barged into the palace and went straight for Letitia with Emanuel at the helm. Emanuel gave Zen a nasty glare before turning to their leader, "Miss Ning, why didn''t you hand this guy over?" his words were tactful but his tone was very aggressive. "At the very least, Eddie could''ve forgiven us. It was only him that offended Eddie! Why should the entire Cloud Hall suffer for his actions?"


    Letitia regained her usual commanding manner after the elders went in the palace. She met Emanuel''s eyes with a cold glare, "I have my own considerations regarding the problem you mentioned."


    One of the elders scoffed rudely, "Does it need any consideration? Master Ning, the lives of millions of our disciples here in Cloud Hall, five second-grade sects, and Cloudy City¡­. do these weigh less than that... that Illuminating Soul Realm guy?!" he burst angrily.


    "The inheritance of the Cloud Hall has already lasted for tens of thousands of years and it


    o the point.


    "Please feel free to ask me anything, Lady," Felix said quickly, noticing the lingering anger in Letitia''s tone.


    "The sect-protection array of the sixth-grade sect that I gave to you last time," she said. "Have you decoded it? Is there any progress?" Letitia asked and looked at him expectantly.


    "This¡­." Felix hesitated. "The sect-protecting array¡­it is just too complicated. I''m afraid it will take me three to five years to completely understand it."


    "Throw it away," Letitia ordered him bluntly.


    Her words shocked Felix. "Ah? Throw it away?" He had thought he had misheard. A sect-protecting array of a sacred place was considered an extremely precious treasure but here was Letitia, casually ordering him to just throw it away.


    "From today onwards, you will be supporting Zen with creating a new sect-protecting array. All the materials, including the resources of Cloud Hall, will be at your disposal." She then gave him a firm glare. "Remember: you have to assist Zen!"


    Her emphasis left Felix in a state of mild shock and confusion. "Starting today?"


    "Yes, we will start work today," Zen suddenly butted in.


    "Do we have to start in such a hurry?"


    From Felix''s experience, drawing runes required one to be in a calm, collected state. According to the rules set by the masters of the Runic Tower, one would first need to bathe, change clothes, burn incense, wash one''s hands, and ensure the adequate preparations before even starting.


    Finishing a sect-protecting array usually took a year or even several. It was not something that could be done overnight. So why were they in such a rush?


    "Do you think we have time to dally?"


    Zen asked, chuckling at Felix. "If we don''t hurry, then Eddie just might come and attack us tomorrow."


    Zen''s words greatly confused Felix. Even if Eddie came a month later, it would still be impossible for them to finish the new sect-protecting array.


    If only Felix had seen Zen''s abilities in the Martial Arts Contest and how he was able to finish drawing up more than a hundred runes in just a short amount of time then he wouldn''t be so shocked nor as confused as he was at that moment.

 Chapter 759 Immersion (Part One)

    Drawing up a sect-protecting array was far more complicated as opposed to the enchanted barrier which Zen had drawn on the stage last time.


    Before anything else, a sect-protecting array needed the existence of an enchanted barrier that would keep the entire sect safe. By comparison, even the residence of a small sect was still significantly larger than a battle arena.


    One could look at the Cloud Sect as an example. Its full location was close to being just as big as the Burning Sky Empire.


    That being said, Cloud Hall was a bit of an irregularity.


    Beyond everything else, it was hovering up in the clouds.


    In spite of the fact that it had a giant floating stone as its foundation, as a fourth-grade sect, Cloud Hall wasn''t actually that big.


    Apart from the protective enchanted barrier, one more thing it truly needed was attacking capability. There was no way a sect-protecting array could be put up just to defend and without being able to retaliate at all.


    Upon exiting the Ice Palace, Felix delivered Cloud Hall''s exact dimensions. Immediately following that, Zen floated to the point where Cloud Hall was just beneath him and got a bird''s-eye view of his surroundings before carefully going back down.


    "Do you have any idea just how many divine textures this sect-protecting array would necessitate?" he asked the cyan dragon.


    "If you''re planning to use a nine-star divine texture, just a single one would be adequate," the cyan dragon answered right away.


    Zen rolled his eyes at his response. One of those nine-star divine textures would be more than enough to lay waste to the entire Central Region.


    The fact was that the cyan dragon was currently incapable of drawing a nine-star divine texture. Let''s just say that he could, Zen still wouldn''t be able to provide the materials in such a short span of time.


    "But the Cloud Hall isn''t such


    ird of the essential materials, Felix had no choice but to purchase the components from World Commercial Alliance themselves.


    Every single time a material arrived, Zen would check an item on the list using his thick ink brush. And slowly but surely, more and more materials were getting ticked off.


    By the third day, from the moment they started, all the items written on the list had already gotten checked, meaning they were able to procure everything they needed.


    As soon as all of the materials had been collected, Zen would have to make use of Felix''s space for a while.


    Much like Nate, who owned Runic Tower, runic experts needed certain conditions to be met for the area they would be working on. Felix''s place was located on the side of Cloud Hall. If one were to glance outside from the empty hall, they could look at the rolling sea clouds, making it the best place in the hall to draw up the runes.


    There was a crowd of people gathering in the hall. A handful of those were Felix''s underlings who were responsible for taking care of the materials as well as producing ink. Not wanting to risk messing things up due to lack of manpower, Felix decided to call a couple of other stewards to come over and give them some assistance.

 Chapter 760 Immersion (Part Two)

    The minute the first batch of ink had been produced according to Zen''s specifications, Zen simultaneously laid out a sheet of paper, firmly holding a brush in his hand.


    The first container filled with ink was then given to Zen. Carefully dipping the brush into the ink, he proceeded to draw the first stroke.


    As specified by the cyan dragon''s plans, all in all, there were supposed to be 4, 901 divine textures in total within the bounds of the sect-protecting array. This three-star divine texture which Zen was drawing up was but one small part of the whole.


    The second Zen''s runic brush came into contact with the sheet of paper, his soul force immediately activated the characteristics of the components in the ink, emitting a blaze of red light. It should be quite apparent that this rune in particular was an offensive one with fire attribute!


    The tip of the brush moved gracefully on the paper akin to a stream of fire, steadily painting the paper. The marking and figures on the paper looked just like blossoming flames.


    Watching intently as Zen casually used his Perfect Brushwork with such ease, Felix couldn''t help himself from feeling so enthralled.


    Out of everyone present in Cloud Hall, if there was going to be just one person who was most pleased, it might very well be Felix. When it came to martial arts, he could easily be regarded as a heaven-level talent. In spite of that, though, all his life, he always had this obsession with runes. Thus, even up until now, he was still merely a martial artist in the Internal Elixir Realm. If he were to pick one between Cloud Hall and runes, there was no doubt that he''d go for the runes.


    Regardless of the fact that Felix didn''t have the ability to perform the Perfect Brushwork, the feeling he ha


    ve hours nonstop would have already driven him to his wit''s end.


    ''This young man must have a soul made of iron!'' he deeply pondered, still feeling so amazed.


    Upon taking a much-needed good night''s rest, Zen was able to replenish his stamina and began drawing divine textures once again. The helpers inside the hall also had their hands full with dissecting the materials, hanging them to dry, and then grinding them. All of these methods might sound easy, but they were also quite intricate.


    Suddenly, the temperature around the hall seemed to have gone down a little. Letitia came flying in. The assistants and stewards who were much too busy moving around the hall all stopped in their tracks and bowed to her, but Letitia simply waved her hand over to them, gesturing not to cause Zen any distractions.


    Her eyes, which seemed to be just as warm as the sun, were glistening intensely. Akin to a peaceful valley, she had her gaze fixated on Zen with a revitalizing and pure allure.


    As all of that was happening, Zen had been completely oblivious to it. The only thing he wanted to do was to focus on his brush as he immersed himself into the world of divine textures.

 Chapter 761 Five-star Divine Texture (Part One)

    Drifting across the sky were dense clouds; smoky wisps curled up against the blueness of the atmosphere like genies. As the air in Cloud Hall became saturated with anticipation and the forthcoming of gloom, the hazy mist that enveloped the land slowly dispersed. With the rays of golden light peeking through the scattering morning mist, a woman''s shadow materialized under the soft daylight. The silhouette of Letitia''s slender and elegant figure was suddenly apparent on the grounds.


    As the woman silently stood there, she observed the young man deep in thought. Deeming it enough to survey for a while, she floated away gracefully.


    Biting her lip anxiously as she rubbed her cheek with her palm, Letitia thought that what she had done was actually a reckless and unwise gamble. As soon as she had tersely placed the stakes at hand, she was confronted with an immense backlash due to the Cloud Hall elders pressuring her; and it was not long before she would crack.


    Even though Imogen, Saint Morphens, and a small portion of the elders did not complain straight to her face, there were times when she had caught on fleeting moments of hesitancy as if they wanted to question her decisions. Letitia was almost definitely certain that they did not understand what she wanted to accomplish.


    Exhaling deeply with a far-off gaze, she was well aware of the arduous consequences her actions could bring. As the stakes were too high, the odds were stacked against her. It was far from unlikely that she would end up losing the Cloud Hall for good.


    As soon as she strode out of the Cloud Hall, she furrowed her eyebrows at the sight of Emanuel and numerous other elders aggressively walking towards where she stood. Shielding her eyes from the glare of the sun, she had also noticed that walking beside the big group of elders were various leaders of third grade clans and third grade sects.


    These clan leaders and sect leaders were significant people, as they represented varying powers and authorities in the Cloudy City. Moreover, they had always been vassals of the Cloud Hall. Letitia had a definite guess of the reason why they had suddenly gathered together with the elders. If it ever so happened that the Cloud Hall was destroyed, whether it be from natural disasters like devastating earthquakes or sweeping tsunamis that could heavily im


    ce drained him and made his soul extremely tired. Furthermore, the lack of sleep made it impossible for him to replenish his energy.


    As the days progressed, Zen had no choice but to wear the Soul-nurturing Jade every day, the one that Dillon had gifted to him. At the same time, he started to take some soul nourishing pills.


    Perpetually working on the runes severely exploited his soul force and exhausted him to the bone like no other. However, the silver lining of the whole process was the fact that his soul became more stable as time passed by and a faint coat of jade-green glow surrounded him.


    The Fighting Soul Realm was admittedly not the highest level the soul could enter. This was because just above the Fighting Soul Realm was the Jasper Fighting Soul Realm. Although this was the case, it would still take nonstop rigorous training and interminable tempering of one''s soul to cross the threshold of the Jasper Fighting Soul Realm. With Zen''s current strength being used and depleted on the runes, entering the next realm was not something Zen could easily envision.


    During the period when Zen worked incessantly, Letitia often took the time to visit Zen and observe his progress.


    Dropping in to pay him a quick visit was something the woman did for reassurance. In the face of immense pressure coming from the different parties of the Cloud Hall, witnessing Zen work earnestly made her slightly relieved. Although she felt apologetic that the young man exhausted himself tirelessly, she was still responsible for the future of Cloud Hall.

 Chapter 762 Five-star Divine Texture (Part Two)

    Along with the preparations and countermeasures they were doing, the Cloud Hall was also doing its best on closely monitoring Eddie''s movements. According to the information the Cloud Hall had gathered from their latest discussion, Eddie seemed to be looking for a way to recover Eden''s warrior spirit after leaving the Oracle City.


    All cultivators across the land knew the consequences of losing their warrior spirit; it was a devastating event that they all dreaded to think about. As those who had witnessed such an incident could attest to, not only would the warrior never be able to recover from such a blow, there was also a high possibility that the warrior would even lose all confidence to continue living in this world.


    Recovering the warrior spirit of a cultivator was definitely a difficult feat. This was due to the fact that even if they had somehow repaired it, there would still be burdensome side effects that could affect the warrior. An example of this would be the likelihood of developing amnesia. Furthermore, the mind of the cultivator might even be damaged. Another condition for the warriors who had lost their warrior spirits would be the dependence on other people. This was because if they were left unattended or uncared for, it would be significantly harder for them to recover with the passing of time. As the warriors often felt deeper about their sufferings and pitied their conditions, falling into depression worsened their state of mind. That was the most probable reason as to why Eddie did not immediately seek vengeance and stomp through the Cloud Hall. The man had prioritized the finding and restoration of Eden''s warrior spirit first.


    This news might have been the only relatively good news for the people of Cloud Hall. At the very least, it had helped them buy quite a bit of time.


    Before they had even noticed, half a month had already passed. With their days spent anxiously moving around their sects and occasionally looking towards the sky in case their opponent had decided to make a move, time passed by with relative ease. On the nineteenth day, a total of four thousand and nine hundred divine textures were finally completed. With that, what remained was the last three five-star divine textures, also the most crucial ones out of them all.


    The impending three five-star divine textures cost four thousand supreme life vitality crystals--and that was only for the materials. Additionally, they were also the most critical divine textures in the sect-protecting array. All the over four thousand divine textures of the sect-protecting array would be able to work on the premise that these three five-star divine textures were put into place.


    The three were significant and valuable in their own ways. The first five-star divine texture was named "Light of Water." This was due to the fact that this particular divine texture was able to gather the power of fourteen hundred divine textures and was capable of condensing them into a sect-protecting enchanted barrier.


    Just as the first one had been of utmost importance, the second five-star divine texture termed the "Wrath of T


    se of the rune. Without the unobtrusive sounds of water, the place had become quiet again.


    Zen glanced at Felix who appeared to still be fascinated by the brief showcase of the rune''s power and then nudged him into reality. "I am ready to do the next one." Zen nodded at him and calmly stated.


    At that exact moment, their ears picked up on a ruckus from the entrance of the hall. Both men looked questioningly at each other at the same time, wondering what the commotion was all about.


    "For the past few days, Letitia has announced that she''s in closed-door cultivation. Well, I think that''s only an excuse! She''s just trying to hide and avoid facing the problem as it is," one of the people loudly protested. "The Cloud Hall is on the verge of collapsing. How could she hide in her mighty Ice Palace all alone and refuse to come out?" a high pitched voice complained outside before continuing, "She''s being irresponsible!"


    "She must give us an explanation!"


    "I heard that Zen was drawing some useless runes here. It''s just a sect-protecting array. What can it do, anyway?! Either capture that bastard and hand him over or force Letitia out!" more of them demanded angrily, as they started to come closer to where Zen was working.


    The loud cacophony of voices which had started far away came nearer by the minute and it was not long before a group of dissenting people appeared at the entrance. This was not good as Zen might not be able to focus with all his might.


    The face of Zen''s companion turned red with anger at the sudden intrusion of the mob forming outside. Moreover, he had looked downright murderous at the thought of people about to barge inside and interrupt Zen''s process of drawing the runes. It was the most crucial moment for Zen to finish the sect-protecting array and yet the bumbling idiots raging at the entrance did not understand the severity of the situation.


    "What the hell is the noise about?!" The normally good-tempered Felix could not help but bellow in wrath as he wished to stop the fools from causing more disturbance than they already did.

 Chapter 763 Mad Trap

    In just half a month, a strong sense of crisis had pervaded the entire Cloud Hall, Cloudy City and five second-grade sects under the Cloud Hall. Everyone felt the heavy tension in the air as a constant state of danger hung over their heads, plunging their hearts in a perpetual state of panic.


    Emanuel had made sure to spread words of Zen''s deeds in the Martial Arts Contest all over Cloud Hall.


    A warrior at the Illuminating Soul Realm actually killed Eddie''s woman in front of him and was able to leave unscathed.


    The news had been shocking, and after many embellishments, the rumors floating around had described Zen as some kind of omnipotent character. His story had become like some kind of legend, spreading all over taverns, tea houses, and restaurants.


    "I heard that Zen slashed Marilyn''s neck right in front of Eddie! He didn''t give a damn that Eddie was the number one warrior of Central Region."


    "Eddie is a warrior at the Life and Death Realm. He is someone who can kill a person with just one look, but a teenager was able to kill his woman. I know that there are many talents in the world, but still Zen was too bold to kill Eddie''s woman."


    "He is a genius, to begin with. Moreover, he was able to destroy Eden''s warrior spirit with just a few words. Ha! I don''t even know what his talent is¡ªit''s simply impossible to describe!"


    "He may have the talent and he may have walked away from Eddie safe and sound, but he has spelled disaster for Cloud Hall. What if Eddie comes to the Cloud Hall for revenge? The whole sect is at risk because of Zen!"


    "I don''t think the leader of Cloud Hall should have supported Zen. Because of her support, Eddie would now set himself against Cloud Hall."


    "Humph, the leader of Cloud Hall looks cold and aloof, but I think she has a crush on Zen. Of course she''d lose her cool when she saw her lover in trouble. Zen is so lucky to have such a beautiful woman."


    There were all sorts of discussion regarding the rumors, Letitia''s decision, and the imminent threat of Cloud Hall''s destruction at Eddie''s hands.


    When the rumors reached Cloudy City, the entire place had become shrouded in haze.


    What if Eddie came? What would Cloud School do? Would the Cloud Hall survive?


    Meanwhile, the situation in Cloud Hall couldn''t be more intense. In the beginning, Letitia had still been able to pull out her leader card when it came to suppressing people from stirring up trouble. Inevitably, she gradually lost control as the issue blew up, and she decided to cultivate in seclusion.


    The elders, clan leaders, and sect leaders couldn''t find any outlet to vent out their frustrations, so they decided to target Zen. When they heard that Zen was setting up the sect-protecting array with Felix, they immediately went to find them.


    During this period of time, Emanuel was having a great time.


    Before,


    returning to his seat.


    It was here that Felix came to his side and personally helped him remove the "Thunder Wrath" rune, replacing it with brand new runic paper and then respectfully moving aside.


    Zen once again picked up his brush and dipped it in the ink that an assistant handed to him. The cyan dragon''s soul power once again swirled around him.


    Buzz...


    Unlike the previous violent lightning, his brush now showcased a dreamy color.


    Most of the materials used to create the "Mad Trap" included "Charm Bone" and "a thousand-year-old fox heart" that were specifically used to set up the magic array. Even Zen had almost lost his way when he tried to activate the energy inside those materials.


    From his brush, the dreamy sight of Letitia''s beautiful and unparalleled face blossomed forth.


    In the illusion, she was half-naked and her petite yet powerful body was slowly walking towards him. Her usual cold eyes were nowhere to be found and were instead full of warmth and seduction.


    The cyan dragon was prepared to pull him out of this befuddlement, but even before he was able to do anything, a bit of lightning flashed across Zen''s face and his eyes once again became clear.


    "Ah, that''s right," the cyan dragon said. "Your willpower is so firm that you can break free from this illusion yourself. Start drawing then." Though he was a bit surprised, the cyan dragon also thought that it should''ve been something he had expected from Zen.


    Nodding his head, Zen once again began to draw. Lines of illusory colors burst from his brush onto the drawing paper while pink and purple mist began to rise along with the soft, brush strokes.


    Although he was able to pull himself out of the illusion, the others weren''t so strong-willed. Felix and the rest of the crowd all stared at the mist with dull gazes, almost as if their souls were being sucked in by the dreamy soft and purple haze.

 Chapter 764 Eighty Percent Sure

    As the tip of Zen''s brush continued to extend its magical line, an intense and mysterious mist started forming in the hall, full of hallucinogens and a captivating song.


    The first ones to be bewitched by the illusion were Felix''s assistants, then Felix himself and the stewards, followed by the group led by Emanuel.


    There were numerous elders, sect leaders, and clan leaders among this group of people. Quite a number of them were at the late stage of the Internal Elixir Realm, and a small number had even reached the early stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm. But they couldn''t resist the illusion produced by the divine texture.


    When the first line was finished, Zen glanced at them briefly. He was also secretly taken aback by the countless ugly expressions on their faces.


    The five-star divine texture was actually so powerful! He hadn''t fully activated it, but the aura released by it had the power to confuse warriors even at the Virtual Tribulation Realm. If these three divine textures were combined with the 4, 900 three-star and four-star divine textures, their power would be beyond Zen''s imagination.


    Just thinking about it caused Zen''s heart to palpitate with excitement, and the brush in his hand wavered slightly.


    "Be careful," warned the cyan dragon, who had currently focused all of his attention on using his soul force. Drawing a divine texture required one''s full attention. The slightest distraction could destroy the entire process and he would have to start over.


    Fortunately, Zen was able to bring back his concentration in time, and the brush''s tip immediately stabilized. Then he began to draw the last divine texture wholeheartedly.


    When the upper half of the "Mad Trap" was drawn, it was still blooming with a pink and purple mist. The brushstrokes were also soft, and the whole aura was filled with a sense of extreme temptation.


    However, when he reached the bottom half of the divine texture, Zen''s brushstrokes turned suddenly and a surging killing intent immediately blossomed on the paper. A dark fog rose up and filled the room. It felt like there was a cavalry trampling through the black fog. The killing intent enveloped the entire hall within moments.


    Under this intense killing intent, Zen''s brushstrokes became firm and powerful. Each brushstroke felt like a dragon or a phoenix was dancing on the paper.


    "Aargh!"


    Plop!


    One of the stewards, who was still in a daze, was suddenly covered by the killing intent and with a roll of his eyes, he fainted.


    Zen looked coldly at the group of people not far away from him. These people really were troublesome and Letitia had probably suffered a lot in the past few days because of them. He decided to teach them a lesson. The next moment, Zen''s brushstrokes became even more forceful and energetic due to his desire for revenge.


    Under the urging of the cyan dragon''s soul force, the illusions created by the menacing killing intent caused the faces of the elders, sect leaders, and clan leaders


    c order inside the Cloud Hall in accordance to the previous design so that they could resonate with each other and achieve their desired effect. This was a huge task.


    Emanuel did not dare to make a move on Zen; he knew very clearly that Letitia cared for Zen very much. It was easy to kill Zen, but the problem was, how could he bear Letitia''s anger? Therefore, even if Emanuel wanted to kill Zen, he would do so without anyone else knowing. Unfortunately, his raised right hand made him look a bit awkward, so he could only dejectedly put it down.


    Zen stacked the divine textures according to their types.


    As he was tidying up the mess, he glanced at the elders. They were unwilling to leave, but had to do so. To be frank, Zen understood their feelings. Humans were creatures who sought profit and avoided harm. Who would be willing to be involved in a great disaster by a disciple?


    "Elders, you have just experienced the power of this five-star rune," Zen remarked as he stacked a pile of divine textures together. "The 4, 903 runes are interdependent. Even if the sect-protecting array is unable to kill Eddie, it is still possible to block him from the outside."


    "How confident are you?" These elders were not willing to hand over the fate of the Cloud Hall to Zen. For a fourth-grade sect to place its fate in the hands of a kid at the Illuminating Soul Realm was a hilarious matter already.


    However, after having experienced the might of Zen''s five-star rune, some of the elders had slightly wavered. If just a five-star rune was able to confound them completely, just how powerful would this sect-protective array be?


    If the sect-protecting array could really block Eddie, then it could completely become the Cloud Hall''s treasure, and maybe, even the best treasure of the sect. It was probably ten times stronger than the sect-protecting array produced by Arnold of the Ethereal Spirit Sect.


    Zen lifted his head, his gaze calm as he replied in a firm voice, "Eighty percent sure."

 Chapter 765 Small Circulation Killing Array

    Zen never spoke in absolute terms.


    When Imogen had inquired about it, he answered the same.


    ''Eighty percent''¡ªthe same answer.


    The elders, clan leaders, and sect leaders present in the crowd looked at each other in silence. The sect leaders seemed persuaded.


    "Eighty percent! Ha-ha. Young people these days brag too much! Aren''t you afraid the wind will cut off your tongue?" Emanuel sneered.


    Zen selectively ignored Emanuel''s words, for he knew the fellow was just messing around.


    Previously, Zen had managed to block Eddie''s punch in the Martial Arts Contest by relying on the enchanted barrier. Eddie had not employed all his power at the time and Zen had only changed a portion of the runes to stave off the attack.


    Fortunately, despite what Emanuel said, the other elders and sect leaders kept silent. They were not blind to what they had seen. They had witnessed the power of Zen''s divine textures, and to see was to believe.


    "Then let''s examine the effect of his sect-protecting array!"


    "If this sect-protecting array doesn''t stop Eddie, we can still hand Zen over then."


    "That''s right, we can take it step by step. Zen is Eddie''s main target¡­"


    The elders communicated with each other through their life vitalities. In the end, they turned to leave.


    As the others left, Emanuel could only glare at Zen before vacating the hall himself.


    After everyone had left, Zen raised his head, looking into the distance. He smiled as he made a gesture at someone.


    Inside the Ice Palace, Letitia¡ªwho was in closed-door cultivation¡ªsmiled brightly as a life vitality talisman ignited in her hands. "You already knew..."


    "Of course I know you are spying on me," Zen said.


    Letitia rolled her eyes. "Why would I be bothered to spy on you?"


    "Anyway, you should thank me, shouldn''t you? Now that we have appeased this group of elders!" Zen laughed. "Still, you have to be careful of Emanuel. That man is very ambitious and may make trouble at a critical moment."


    Letitia nodded. "Yes, I know."


    Undoubtedly Letitia had noticed Emanuel''s ambition. He had contributed to half of the trouble the elders had made, for he was the one who kept adding oil to the flame. But the Zhuo Clan was a third-grade clan in the Cloudy City. Without a good enough excuse, it would be tough for Letitia to get rid of him.


    "We have a limited amount of time. I''m going to put the sect-protecting array in place."


    Zen carried over a pile of divine textures and told Felix the same. Felix''s face immediately lit up with excitement. He had long been anticipating seeing the imposing sect-protecting array.


    Suspended in the sky, Cloud Hall looked like a giant oval egg from a bird''s-eye view. According to the rules, the 4, 903 runes had to be divided into three batches.


    "The sect-protecting array is arranged acc


    questionably terrifying.


    As the thunder disappeared, a streak of lightning could be seen flickering on the spot.


    "There is no problem in the first area," Zen said as he turned the array plate again.


    In the second location, mists could be seen surrounding the place. The ''Mad Trap'' was buried here. Things looked normal in this area before it was triggered. But as the over one thousand divine textures lit up, they quickly calmed down and returned to the normal state. The ''Mad Trap'' had worked successfully.


    When Zen turned the array plate again, the divine textures in the last spot lit up.


    As the runes lit up, a bit of vapor appeared in the sky¡ªa sight that was incredibly strange. Under the sunlight, the vapor transformed into a beautiful rainbow.


    The clouds of water vapor condensed together, forming a large enchanted barrier in the sky. The barrier was like a huge bowl, encasing the entire Cloud Hall within it. It was the defensive barrier of the Small Circulation Killing Array, the ''Light of Water'', a most important safeguard.


    A gust of cool breeze swept past everyone. They could see countless ripples appear on the surface of the enchanted barrier above their heads.


    "It is just a big bubble. I''m afraid it will burst with a single gentle touch. How can it stop Eddie? I don''t think it could even withstand my spear!" an elder spoke as he flew to the edge of the enchanted barrier.


    A black spear materialized in his hand. He aimed it at the barrier and began to form the spear intent.


    The elder shouted


    and charged at the enchanted barrier with the spear. The burst of energy of the Virtual Tribulation Realm was awe-inspiring.


    Bang!


    The spear collided with the surface of the enchanted barrier but only produced ripples on its surface. Other than that, nothing happened. Looking at the scene, the elders were both surprised and pleased.

 Chapter 766 A Trap

    The "Light of Water" indeed looked weak. It looked like just a shield of water that would shatter at the slightest touch.


    The elder had used eighty percent of his strength to attack it with his spear.


    The spear of a warrior at the Virtual Tribulation Realm could pierce a mountain but not this enchanted barrier.


    "The attack was deflected and it spread across the entire enchanted barrier. This enchanted barrier is really amazing. The person who created it must be really skillful!" exclaimed the elder.


    When his spear touched the enchanted barrier, it seemed as if there was a gentle force within the enchanted barrier that was diffusing the spear''s power. The attack was, therefore, distributed through the entire enchanted barrier, and so it was able to survive it and not crack under pressure.


    In response, the other elders used all sorts of methods to attack the "Light of Water."


    Blades, swords, fists, spears...


    The elders each displayed their own unique techniques.


    Bang, bang, bang!


    There was a burst of color and a brilliant light as ripples appeared upon the Light of Water. From afar, it just looked like a gentle breeze was blowing on the sparkling lake causing the ripples on its surface.


    No matter how they attacked, the enchanted barrier remained intact.


    Everyone stopped, mouth agape, eyes wide open¡ªunable to fathom the great power of the seemingly undamaged enchanted barrier.


    Several elders at the Virtual Tribulation Realm, too, tried to break the enchanted barrier but failed.


    "This is the first time that an enchanted barrier in the Central Region has blocked the attacks of more than six warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm. Even the sect-protecting array of the Ethereal Spirit Sect is incomparable to this one," mumbled an elder.


    "But even if it can block our attacks, does that mean it is powerful enough to impede Eddie''s attacks?" asked another elder who was still worried.


    Even if the enchanted barrier could block the attacks of many warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm, it didn''t mean it could also block Eddie''s attacks for he was a warrior at the Life and Death Realm. Eddie had been through three life and death crises. His might was insurmountable.


    Suddenly, a door to a thatched hut in a corner of the Cloud Hall rattled. It creaked as it opened.


    This small thatched hut was where Imogen had gone into seclusion. No one else could get close to the hut except Letitia.


    Imogen trudged out of the thatched hut with her walking stick. Although it seemed like she moved at a slow pace, this wasn''t really the case. In just a few steps, she appeared midair above the Cloud Hall.


    "Master." Letitia glided towards Imogen when she saw her.


    The elders also respectfully bowed towards Imogen, who rarely made an appearance. Still, she was a pillar of the Cloud Hall.


    Imogen nodded and glanced at Zen. In just a flash, she had reached the edge of the enchanted barrier with her walking stick pointing at the enchanted barr


    e life and death crises in order to raise their cultivation through great tribulations.


    Not only could the Flower of Life and Death help Letitia to reach the level above the Virtual Tribulation Realm, it could also help Imogen to deal with her next life and death crisis. That was why Letitia wanted to obtain the Flower of Life and Death.


    "Zen, the immortal''s bone is good for you. If you wish to cultivate the Transcendent Divine Might, you''d better get the bone. It will help you build the Eight Path Platforms," said the red dragon suddenly.


    "The immortal''s bone?" Zen''s eyes also lit up in anticipation, but he still voiced his doubts. "The treasures in the celestial tomb are tempting, but there''s something wrong. Tia, don''t you think it''s strange?"


    "Strange?" Letitia tilted her head slightly.


    "Immortal Mist was an immortal. He built the celestial tomb for himself. Logically speaking, no one wants others to intrude into his tomb. However, why would the enchanted lamps appear in the world? And how did the Ancient Tycoon of the World Commercial Alliance know about these treasures?" Zen asked.


    Letitia was silent for a while, and then she said, "You mean it''s a trap?"


    "It''s just that it''s possible," Zen nodded.


    Rumor had it that once the enchanted lamps were all lit, those who had the lamps could enter the celestial tomb. This was rather weird. Who made these enchanted lamps? Why were the enchanted lamps spreading in the Central Region? It was a very strange thing to begin with.


    Actually, Zen wasn''t the only one who suspected this. Several hundred years ago, people had suspected that the whole thing was a scam, or even a trap.


    But a warrior''s life was filled with risks. It was plausible that the celestial tomb was a trap but even so, a lot of warriors would be flocking to the tomb to raid its treasures.


    While the two of them were discussing this matter, they felt a mighty pressure engulf the Cloud Hall.


    The faces of Letitia and Zen suddenly changed.

 Chapter 767 Ready To Fight

    Prior to this, everyone had been talking about Eddie''s possible arrival at the Cloud Hall, so Cloud Hall and Cloudy City were both under a lot of pressure.


    Zen had hurriedly set up the Small Circulation Killing Array, but there had been no news of Eddie for a full three months, so, many people thought that he would not come.


    Although Cloud Hall had not let its guard down and the Small Circulation Killing Array was still operating day and night, many people had assumed he wouldn''t come and had started to relax a bit.


    Meanwhile, in a house in Cloudy City, a one-year-old toddler was trying to take his first steps. He had just started walking cautiously when a terrifying might suddenly crashed outside. He plopped down on the ground and began to wail.


    Tens of millions of people lived in this huge city. From the warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm to little babies, their faces visibly stiffened as they felt the overwhelming force of the power.


    The master of a third-grade family sighed wearily, "Eddie is here."


    The warriors who knew what was happening simultaneously turned to look at Cloud Hall in the sky. A vast majority of the commoners had no idea what was happening but knew that it was the arrival of a demon, an omen of great maliciousness.


    Bells were hurriedly sounded in a few small temples in the city. Thousands of monks sat in the Buddhist hall, chanting the Rebirth Spell continuously.


    This was the strength of the strongest in the Central Region. With just his voice and his thoughts, he could control thousands of people. If he wanted and had the time, he could even take their lives without any fear of being surrounded by a malicious aura.


    In these three months, Eddie had taken his son on a trip to the South Sea.


    Eddie could think of many ways to save Eden if he was just seriously injured. However, his dedication to martial arts had been destroyed, which was worrisome.


    However, there was a hidden sect in the South Sea that was well-versed in the special secret techniques about the soul and memories. They might be able to remove the obstacles Eden encountered.


    This trip to the South Sea had taken Eddie three whole months. The first thing he did upon returning to the Central Region was to rush to Cloud Hall.


    Eddie was a warrior with luck on his side. He had accidentally found an island on the trip to the South Sea to save his son, and unexpectedly took over the mantle of an ancient martial artist.


    He was lucky, but the people around him weren''t. His son''s dedication to martial arts had been destroyed by Zen, and Marilyn had died tragically under Zen''s sword. This was devastating to him.


    ut from Eddie''s body. In the skies above the Cloud Hall, the rich vitality of heaven and earth slowly gathered into a massive whirlpool, and the surrounding thick clouds also followed this whirlpool as it spun.


    After entering the Virtual Tribulation Realm, one could use the vitality of heaven and earth. Eddie was a warrior of the Life and Death Realm, so the manic vitality of heaven and earth was as obedient as a sheep in his hands.


    He did not intend to talk much with a young man at Illuminating Soul Realm. He did not even want to waste time here.


    As the energy poured into Eddie''s body, a heavy force spread out in all directions.


    Everyone knew that Eddie was about to attack.


    The people of the Cloud Hall also armed themselves with weapons and prepared for the battle. Deep in their hearts, the elders at the Virtual Tribulation Realm really wanted to hand Zen over, but with Imogen and Letitia here, it was impossible to do so.


    Imogen shook her old crutch and several tender buds grew on top of it. The light green life vitality enveloped her. As the life vitality circulated, her old skin started to regain color. The wrinkles on her face disappeared gradually, and her white hair turned black. As her short, stooping body became upright, she no longer looked old and frail.


    Imogen had turned into a beautiful woman.


    The Ice Phoenix quickly rushed out of the Ice Palace, rammed into Letitia and started to disintegrate. The ice crystal armor wrapped tightly around her petite body. At the same time, the Mysterious Ice Halberd also appeared in her hands.


    Once Eddie broke the barrier, the people from the Cloud Hall could not sit still and wait for death.


    Only Zen stood behind the barrier, unmoved, as he faced Eddie who was about to attack.

 Chapter 768 Danger (Part One)

    Zen knew his strength and limitations full well.


    No person in the Central Region could ever hope to outclass him when it came to the mastery of runes. The divine texture, which was passed down from the Upper World, was definitely something that the runes in the Central Region wouldn''t be able to measure up to.


    That was just in regards to rune mastery, but in terms of overall strength, in front of all these elders who had reached the Virtual Tribulation Realm, and Imogen and Eddie who were both currently in the Life and Death Realm, he was nothing but an ant in the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    If a war were to break out between the Life and Death Realm masters, even the elders at the Virtual Tribulation Realm wouldn''t be strong enough and they would end up being eliminated right at the start like lambs to the slaughter. It might just be that only Letitia had the possibility of lending Imogen a hand in the fight to come. In the end, Zen wouldn''t even suffice as cannon fodder as well.


    That was to say, it wouldn''t really make much sense for Zen to put up resistance at all.


    The stream of vitality between heaven and earth ceaselessly surged into Eddie''s robust and towering physique. At that point in time, Eddie appeared as though he had transformed into an enormous mountain. The eyes of that mountain-like man glimmered, and he proceeded to throw a punch up into the sky.


    "Smash it into smithereens!"


    Sizzle! Crackle!


    From Zen''s perspective, Eddie looked like he was so twisted. The space above him was about to be totally ruptured by the immense force of just this single punch!


    As it ravenously stormed straight toward Zen, his fist emitted a great amount of blinding light. It seemed apparent that the light contained exceptionally aggressive power!


    "Is this the so-called power that has the capability of obliterating everything?"


    As his eyes frantically flashed, Zen concentrated his gaze on the radiant light that was about to hit him.


    In just a blink of an


    ct!


    That being the case, not only did Letitia not lose anything wagering it all on Zen, she actually even ended up making a giant killing!


    Never in Eddie''s wildest dreams would he have ever imagined that the strike in which he had put everything he had got still wouldn''t be powerful enough to break the enchanted barrier Zen had created. For this very reason, Eddie had been left completely dumbfounded.


    Having years of experience fighting in the Central Region, nothing had ever surprised him to this extent.


    The only person who was aware of just how powerful that punch was supposed to be was Eddie himself!


    Be that as it might, this thin sheet which bore semblance to that of bubbles somehow succeeded in blocking the light released from his fist. The actual strength of that mysterious enchanted barrier was utterly beyond Eddie.


    What was even more irritating was that Zen seemed to have had so much confidence in this enchanted barrier he had built. After all, he actually had the audacity to stand in a position that was just about two feet behind the barrier, staying straight-faced just like a dead fish, as if to tell him, ''Do you honestly think you can touch me?!''


    How many years had it been since anyone had the guts to mock him in that way? It had been so long that Eddie couldn''t even remember anymore.

 Chapter 769 Danger (Part Two)

    From the moment he successfully made it through the Life and Death Realm, every sect in the Central Region, regardless of size, were all dying to suck up to him or act so respectful. Even the fifth-grade sect itself, the Ethereal Spirit Sect which he hadn''t been on good terms with couldn''t ever dare to displease him.


    The kid acting a bit high and mighty in front of him was truly so peculiar!


    In reality, the only thing he did was throw a single punch. There was no way a minor hiccup like that could make Eddie give up that easily. He had gone through the lengths of coming all the way to the Cloud Hall completely dead set on annihilating every single one of its members, and he wouldn''t just call it a day because of a stupid sect-protecting array.


    For his second attempt, Eddie unsheathed the Nameless Saber from the scabbard he had tied to his waist.


    Eden had not come up to scratch in bringing out the full potential of the Nameless Saber. And the main cause of that was that he had been beaten by Zen. From that event, Eddie had learned something. A man had to carve out his own path to the success of martial arts through his own power. Even if his son had been blessed with the divine-level talent, he would still have to get nourished and improved with his own two hands. The strength acquired by means of getting help from other people couldn''t, in any way, be considered as the real strength.


    In his hands, Eddie had a tight grip on the Nameless Saber. The air around him had shifted. Before that, Eddie had given off the aura that made people think he was truly as massive as a mountain. But the moment he pulled out the Nameless Saber, his appearance became sharp and he flared with such radiance, making it look as though he had become one with the saber.


    When they sensed the aura Eddie was exuding, every single one of the Virtual Tribulation Realm elders felt ill at ease.


    The sect-protecting array might have fortunately been able to block


    . And the true reason for that was, it was quite hard to meet someone in the Central region who could pose a threat to his life.


    But in that brief second, he surprisingly felt an ominous sense of danger.


    Subconsciously, he rushed to get away from his current location, and only then was he able to notice a cloud of mist with mystifying colors coming toward him.


    As luck would have it, Eddie was able to move quickly, and he had gotten out before the cloud of smoke surrounded him completely.


    In an instant, a bolt of lightning with the size of a dragon appeared and was about to strike him.


    Crack!


    As a result, the dragon-like lightning bolt only brushed against Eddie''s side. It failed to hit the intended target.


    Having said that, Eddie was able to sense the power contained within that attack. Had he been struck by it, even though he might not have died, he would certainly end up in a critical condition! In addition to that puzzling mist, a terrible idea abruptly came to Eddie--the Cloud Hall''s sect-protecting array was completely capable of obliterating him.


    This was something Eddie found quite so hard to accept. But at that moment, if it weren''t for his swift movement and his ability to sense danger, it was for certain that he would have ended up in such a problematic situation!

 Chapter 770 I Will Spare Your Life

    ''What a pity, '' Zen thought. He then said to Felix through his life vitality, "Felix, you''re too slow."


    Felix was also vexed. He had been hiding in the Cloud Hall, waiting for Zen''s orders to activate the Mad Trap to carefully surround Eddie, and then activate the Thunder Wrath.


    The Mad Trap was said to be half magic array and half killing array. Once Eddie was caught in it, he would fall into endless illusions. And then, the lightning from the Thunder Wrath would be able to hit him directly.


    But Eddie was sensitive enough to be the first to sense the killing intent, rushing out of the Mad Trap and dodging the Thunder Wrath''s lightning.


    A runic expert at the Internal Elixir Realm and a warrior at the Illuminating Soul Realm had conspired to kill the strongest man in the Central Region. If word of this got out, it would cause chaos.


    Even worse, they had almost done it.


    It could be that the Mad Trap could not kill Eddie and the Thunder Wrath could only heavily injure him. But the warriors of the Virtual Tribulation Realm in the Cloud Hall couldn''t be underestimated. They were weak in the eyes of the warriors at the Life and Death Realm, but if they attacked Eddie together, they could cause him some serious injuries and ensure that he could not fight back.


    Moreover, Cloud Hall also had a powerful head Letitia, and Imogen, who belonged to the Life and Death Realm.


    The elders, who had been scared witless by Eddie a while ago, looked pityingly at him.


    Even Imogen, who had her poker face on, was filled with regret.


    Letitia was sitting on the Mysterious Ice halberd, her white, slender legs slightly swinging. She pouted but didn''t say anything.


    Eddie had so far absorbed the good luck of a countless number of people. Killing him would not be so easy.


    Eddie''s heart was still beating intensely after he had distanced himself from the Cloud Hall, proving his strength and power. It was not until he had avoided the Cloud Hall''s sect-protecting array that he began to feel a lingering sense of fear.


    If he was truly trapped, and the Cloud Hall''s members pounced on him, he would probably die. This was something that Eddie had never expected.


    He had been a mass murderer and grew up tenaciously in all sorts of dangerous situations. He had encountered countless dangers, but ever since he had crossed the line between life and death, nobody had ever made him feel so close to death.


    From the very beginning of the battle, that hateful boy Zen had been standing at the edge of the enchanted barrier, looking at him with an indifferent gaze.


    This boy was really tricky.


    He had just reached


    s of killing too many people would be troublesome because he would get infected with heavy malicious aura, and he would then have to spend time getting rid of it.


    Only after he had destroyed the walls did he leave, satisfied.


    After Eddie left, lines of wrinkles appeared slowly on Imogen''s young face. Soon after, her hair gradually turned white and her waist bent over. She looked old and clumsy again.


    Letitia floated over to her, grabbing her arm and said with a giggle, "Master, how beautiful you were just a moment ago."


    "Don''t make fun of me!" Imogen said, rolling her eyes. She had mastered the Law of Life, so her life vitality had been able to return her to youth. She could also use more life vitality to stay young, but there was no need for that.


    The Cloud Hall''s atmosphere gradually relaxed. Having dealt with Eddie, the heavy burden in their hearts had finally dissipated.


    When the elders had appeared, the disciples of the Cloud Hall had also been secretly watching. Seeing Zen standing under the barrier and not dodging Eddie''s attacks, they all sighed admiringly.


    "What''s so special about this? The barrier is strong. Zen just hid behind it! It was not dangerous at all!" An unimpressed disciple of the Cloud Hall said.


    "First of all, the barrier is equipped with the runes that Zen has drawn. And second of all, even if Eddie were to try again, I bet you wouldn''t dare to go there and face him!" another disciple of the Cloud Hall retorted.


    The first disciple immediately fell silent. Even though they knew there was no danger, not everyone was courageous enough to face Eddie. Similarly, some people were afraid of heights. They didn''t dare to go up or down a flight of stairs even though they knew it wasn''t dangerous.

 Chapter 771 The Last Enchanted Lamp

    How many people in the Central Region dared to confront Eddie?


    Even Zen wasn''t willing to face Eddie. He would be a fool if he messed with a warrior at the Life and Death Realm for no reason at all.


    However, Zen had no other choice. Ever since Eddie had taken Yan away, the fight between him and Eddie had escalated to the point where there was now no room for compromise.


    And so, when Zen encountered Eddie, he couldn''t help but utter those words. Since begging was useless and he had to rely on his own fists to save Yan, he might as well fight to the death.


    Perhaps, this was Zen''s way of cultivation.


    After Eddie left, the story of the Cloud Hall''s sect-protecting array spread throughout the Central Region.


    A sect-protecting array actually completely withstood Eddie''s attack, and it even had the chance to kill him. This was simply unimaginable.


    What did this mean? This meant that in the Central Region, there was no sect or warrior that could put the Cloud Hall at risk. If there was a sect war, the Cloud Hall''s losses would be the smallest. At this moment, the Cloud Hall could already be considered a fifth-grade sect.


    A runic expert had changed the fate of a fourth-grade sect. It looked like Zen was destined to go down memorably in the history of the Central Region. At the very least, everyone was now certain that Zen''s achievements in the area of runes were much greater than that of Arnold.


    In the following days, everyone in the Central Region would talk about Zen and the Cloud Hall''s sect-protecting array.


    "This time, Zen will become a hot topic for all every sect in the Central Region!"


    "Haw-haw! Everyone in the Runic Tower was arrogant before. Now that we know Zen is skillful in runes, will he be more arrogant than the people from the Runic Tower?"


    "Although Zen''s runic skills are powerful, Eddie is not someone to be trifled with. Once Zen leaves the Cloud Hall, he will die without the protection of the sect-protecting array!"


    It looked like people were discussing Zen everywhere. This conversation happened in a bustling restaurant.


    Suddenly, a tall warrior slapped the table and laughed. "That may not be so! Zen''s talent can''t be underestimated. As a warrior at the Illuminating Soul Realm, he could defeat a warrior at the middle stage of the Internal Elixir Realm. Didn''t you hear what he said to the Evil East Lord? ''I''ll spare your life!'' Haw-haw! How much courage does it take to say that?"


    "He''s just hiding in that little turtle shell and playing around. If it weren''t for the protection of the sect-protecting array, Eddie''s finger would have crushed him," another gloomy voice retorted.


    "So what?


    of the World Commercial Alliance."


    Hobbes looked surprised. "You mean, the ninth enchanted lamp..."


    The Ancient Tycoon nodded and said, "That''s right, I''ve calculated it once, and I have a strong premonition that the ninth enchanted lamp has already appeared. It''s just that I don''t know who has it, which is why I asked you to send out the invitations and urge them to light it as soon as possible!"


    "Then let''s hurry up!" Hobbes was a short-tempered man. He stood up and lightly patted the enchanted lamp. A flame shot out and ignited it. A seventh mark appeared on the enchanted lamp.


    The taciturn Haber nodded and said, "It''s quite fast this year. The eighth mark had lit up at midnight last year. I had almost thought that the person with the eighth enchanted lamp had given up!"


    "Hopefully, we can make it. I''ll go gather the elders," Dillon said with a smile as he looked at the marks on the lamp.


    On a small island in the endless South Sea, Eddie also took out his enchanted lamp and studied it closely. He had already made preparations for this trip to the Immortal Mist''s celestial tomb.


    He sat at the top of a big tree on the island, and around the trunk were six cloaked warriors. These were powerful warriors at the middle and late stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm, and they were all willing to follow Eddie until their deaths to help him establish his divine kingdom.


    Eddie had to bring them along on the journey to the Immortal Mist''s celestial tomb.


    However, Eddie wasn''t sure if the final enchanted lamp would be lit. He focused on lighting up his own small enchanted lamp, and the eighth mark lit up as well.


    Eddie looked at the faint yellow mark on the small lamp, and mumbled, "I wonder if the last mark will light up this evening."

 Chapter 772 Scout The Path

    Of the eight enchanted laps, the warriors of Central Region were only aware of two¡ªone was held by Eddie, and the other was held by the World Commercial Alliance. No one knew who held the other six. Maybe the Bloodwood Cliff had one, maybe the Mysterious Luna Hall, or perhaps the owners did not even reside in the Central Region.


    However, no matter who the owners of the other six enchanted lamps were, those who held one hoped that the last enchanted lamp would be lit by tonight.


    As the various lamps danced in the sky like tiny, flickering stars, a lone figure stood on a platform at the edge of Cloud Hall.


    The lamps were beautiful and elicited a soft sigh from Letitia. The elders of Cloud Hall had already received news the day before that the last enchanted lamp had in fact been at her hands since months ago.


    It was a great shock, to say the least. None of the elders ever thought that, after so many years, the final enchanted lamp would actually belong to Cloud Hall.


    The Lantern Lighting Festival was a very significant event. Hidden deep within the Immortal Mist''s celestial tomb were countless precious treasures that would make any great warrior drool.


    These treasures were the primary reason why many warriors had, time and again, gone to the Chaotic Ocean of Stars in hopes of sneaking into the celestial tomb. Hundreds of thousands of warriors ventured forth, but none of them ever succeeded in even getting a glimpse of the treasures that the celestial tomb housed.


    It was said that the only way to get inside was to light all the nine enchanted lamps.


    However, a lot of people thought it couldn''t just be as simple as that, so a lot of conspiracy theories had been circulating all around Central Region.


    Some people believed that the whole thing was a trap. Why would Immortal Mist leave behind nine enchanted lamps to make it easier for outsiders to enter his tomb?


    It was highly suspect, even for Zen.


    However, the mind of a warrior would never be deterred by just mere conspiracy. An opportunity always came with risk, and a timid warrior, unwilling to face that risk, would simply never grow.


    After finding out that the last enchanted lamp had been with Letitia all this time, six elders of Cloud Hall had then banded together and decided to enter the celestial tomb, all for different reasons.


    For Emanuel, his tyrannical strength and relatively young age made it a given that he was pursuing a greater opportunity in the celestial tomb.


    For Elder Fernandez, who was already very old, he was also pursuing a great opportunity that would hopefully lead to a breakthrough or else he would reach the end of his lifespan and die.


    Venturing to the celestial tomb was a great gamble for the realiza


    mb."


    A huge beast comparable to a warrior at the Life and Death Realm¡­The Chaotic Ocean of stars was truly chaotic.


    For those in the Central Region, the Chaotic Ocean of Stars was like a forbidden area. It was seemingly wide, where all kinds of ferocious beasts and creatures lived, numbering at around tens of thousands more than the entirety of creatures in the Central Region.


    It was even said that in the depths of the sea were a few races, tribes, and even entire countries that had adapted and flourished.


    "It''s fortunate that there''s an enchanted barrier outside Immortal Mist''s celestial tomb," Zen remarked. Even the Chaotic Ocean of Stars wasn''t something he could imagine.


    Imogen, Emanuel, Elder Fernandez, Saint Morphens, and the others all left the spatial passageway.


    They had discovered that they were actually at the edge of the celestial tomb. In front of them was a long and narrow path while around them was an enchanted barrier that held back the endless seawater.


    "There''s only one entrance," Saint Morphens said, standing in front of the passageway. It was then that he took out a "man" from his space ring.


    This man was no different from an ordinary warrior. However, there was no expression in his eyes. Though his skin and appearance were exquisite, his eyes were that of a dead man.


    The man then suddenly ran into the passageway at an extremely fast speed.


    "It''s a puppet!"


    This was Saint Morphens'' puppet technique. Zen''s eyes twitched as he remembered when he had just entered Cloud Hall, he had been manipulated by Saint Morphens for a very long time.


    The puppet was extremely useful for scouting the path to see if there were any hidden dangers or traps.


    Everyone waited for a bit before Saint Morphens nodded, "There are no dangers in this corridor. We can go in now."

 Chapter 773 The Suppressive Force (Part One)

    Nine balls of light floated around Mist''s celestial tomb, the luminous glow growing brighter as warriors emerged from each of the other eight balls as well.


    The majority of them came from the Central Region, further grounding rampant speculations that the enchanted lamps would eventually fall into the hands of the large sects.


    It was not a particular bitter fact to swallow for the small clans and sects. The lamps had no use for people of weak strength, knowing that the top masters from the Central Region would only end up annihilating them in a fight for the fortunes in Mist''s celestial tomb. It would have been a plea for their own deaths if they dared to hope for a chance to win against the impenetrable force. They had to make the wiser choice of bargaining the items with the larger sects in exchange for more substantial benefits.


    The event this time had the nine powers entering Mist''s celestial tomb. The Cloud Hall, World Commercial Alliance, Bloodwood Cliff, Mysterious Luna Hall and Black Mountain Sect had gathered at the place with some independent warriors who had led secluded lives, a select few being masters of the Life and Death Realm.


    They made up an overwhelming number of warriors coming from the Central Region, all with an exception of one group.


    This unorthodox team traveled far to get to the destination through the space channel. However, their entrance was not seen by the people of the Central Region, who had entered the path to the tomb long before their arrival.


    "Eh? Is this Mist''s celestial tomb?"


    Stumbling out of the portal, a woman dressed in black garbs looked around in wonder and confusion.


    "Yes, it is!" A laugh was heard from the handsome man materializing after his companion. He stood proudly, his moderate build straightened in posture while he looked around.


    She frowned, her bafflement only running deeper, "Didn''t you say that we could only enter when all the lamps light up at the same time?


    lding tension as the pressure of the superior power suffocated their own.


    No one was left unaffected by its oppression, all the warriors were stuck in experiencing the slow panic welling up from inside of them from the uncertainty of the circumstances.


    Whether it was the warriors at the Life and Death Realm, Virtual Tribulation Realm or the Internal Elixir Realm, no one could quell the dominating aura forcing them to submissiveness.


    Bits of ice crystals flickered between Letitia''s slim fingers, testing out her own abilities with a look of frustration spoiling her features. "My cultivation base has been suppressed by a whole realm, I can only wield strength at the medium stage of Internal Elixir Realm."


    It was too much of a damage; she was originally at the medium stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm, but now, she was back at the Internal Elixir Realm. She clenched her fist as the inklings of fear started to manifest through the tremors shaking her slim body. She looked at the rest, sending a mute question of whether they were going through the same experience.


    She was decidedly not alone, judging by the distress the horde exhibited. The elders of the Virtual Tribulation Realm such as Fernandez were also doomed to showcase their prowess at a level of the Internal Elixir Realm.

 Chapter 774 The Suppressive Force (Part Two)

    Even Imogen who was at the Life and Death Realm, could only display the might of someone at the preliminary stage of Virtual Tribulation Realm.


    A chill was felt by the troop; they feared that the enormous drop in their levels would be like lethal wounds that would soon devour them whole if they were not treated as soon as possible. Strength and cultivation were the most important things to warriors, if their tiers went down by a whole realm, they would not survive the numerous dangers lying dormant inside Mist''s celestial tomb.


    Struck by indignation and unadulterated dread, they had grown oblivious to Zen, the individual who stuck out like a sore thumb in the pack as he seemed to have no understanding of their qualms.


    His cultivation was the lowest in the group. It was only recently that he had reached the seventh level of the Illuminating Soul Realm through aggressive training and hard work. If he had gone through what the others were experiencing at present, he would have been reduced to the seventh grade of the nature level.


    Thankfully, it might be by pure, sheer luck that he had not been included in that same case.


    Zen stared in astonishment, marveling at his own figure as he compared it to his associates.


    He was surprised at the apprehension of the many


    as he did not feel anything wrong with his own cultivation base.


    He turned around, examining if a comrade was like him when he got distracted by his own space ring. It hummed with a warmth that was almost scalding. He regarded it with a careful touch; It was the space ring Letitia gave him, designed specifically for women so he did not put it on his own hand.


    A space ring could not be placed with another one. The risk of causing a backlash upon clashing would cause a space storm inside the rings, thus destroying everything inside. To s


    ue or way to answer his own conjectures. He sighed, settling instead on the good news that the token permitted him immunity to the taxing suppression.


    Zen was at the Illuminating Soul Realm, and had the prowess to vanquish warriors of the Internal Elixir Realm. That signified that in his current standing, he would be able to crush the Virtual Tribulation Realm masters that had been downgraded to the Internal Elixir Realm.


    He had the power to battle them here in Mist''s celestial tomb.


    A faint smirk cracked his lips. This was a secret for him to bear at the moment, as he was with a group from the Cloud Hall.


    The team gathered their own bearings upon the initial upset and continued on their journey. They could no longer do anything about their status and could only hope that the experience they had gained from skirmishes and wars would not simply be erased and would help them in facing against peril. Cautiousness lined their steps as they passed through the long corridor, finally arriving at the entrance. They were about to release their defensive stances when a burst of cold wind pushed them back, hearing Imogen''s wary voice shouting back in trepidation, "Everyone, be careful! Something is coming!"

 Chapter 775 Kill With One Slash

    Once inside the celestial tomb, the already attentive team raised its vigilance to the maximum. With everyone''s cultivation base being suppressed, the psychological pressure on their minds was already quite heavy. And coupled with the waves of cold wind that were blowing in from the other side of the tunnel, the atmosphere became even more oppressive.


    It wasn''t just that. After all, this was the tomb of an immortal cultivator. Legends said that a person who chose immortality dared to go against nature. Even though he was long dead now, this tomb had been created by himself. There were sure to be layers upon layers of traps.


    Most of the Cloud Hall disciples who were at the Internal Elixir Realm followed closely behind the elders. Only by doing so could they find a sense of safety and security. Most of the times, martial practitioners weren''t afraid of death, but they were afraid of dying without justice.


    Fortunately, Morphens, controlling his puppet, had ordered it to stay at the very front. Up till now, they hadn''t encountered any traps, and everyone could see that the puppet was exploring the caves in the front and was unharmed.


    But wait! Since that puppet was clearly still fine, why did Imogen just remind everyone to be careful?


    Imogen was a Life and Death Realm expert. Even though her cultivation base was suppressed, she was still much stronger than everyone else. Just as she finished speaking, a black shadow suddenly appeared and hopped towards the puppet Morphens was guiding.


    Among all the elders of Cloud Hall, Morphens'' strength was ranked in the top three. He was second only to Imogen and Letitia and easily on par with Emanuel.


    When Morphens had controlled Zen, he had been able to easily deal with a group of disciples of the Elite House even with his nature level cultivation base. His puppet technique had already reached a rather high level, and under Morphens'' control, the puppet was as strong as an Internal Elixir Realm practitioner.


    When attacked by that pitch-black shadow, Morphens reacted extremely quickly. With one command in his mind, a slender and long sword suddenly appeared in the puppet''s right hand!


    That wasn''t too surprising. Although the puppet, for all intents and purposes, looked exactly like a regular human being, it was still a mere puppet, and the weapon was hidden within its arm without any damage to it.


    Once the thin sword jumped into the puppet''s hands, it ruthlessly slashed at the black figure in front of it.


    Clank!


    The thin sword was comparable to a fairy weapon and sparked as it cut at the black shadow. Somehow, the shadow seemed to be physical and the clang of metals was heard as it collided with the sword.


    Only then did everyone notice what the black shadow was.


    "It''s actually a corpse that has been refined for someone''s use!" Morphens remarked with a frown.


    The corpse was following someone''s orders much like a living being. Corpse refining was a sinister and demonic technique, which could turn a dead body into a strong weapon. The stronger the dead person was in his real life, the stronger his refined corpse would be.


    This must have been a signif


    ouraged the warrior beside him.


    The other disciple nodded in approval. Then, he too drew his sword and together, the two moved forward.


    Clank, clank ¡­


    The corpses seemed to be completely invulnerable. The disciples could not cause any damages, and all that was left for them to do was flee for their lives.


    Fortunately, six Cloud Hall elders had come inside the tomb with them, so even though these elders were busy killing the corpses, there was still a chance for the disciples to survive if the elders protected them.


    And they did! Seeing that the disciples could not resist the corpses, two elders came to their rescue and kept them behind their backs to protect them.


    "Be careful!" Suddenly, a disciple of Cloud Hall shouted to Zen.


    One of the corpses was sneakily rushing towards him from behind his back. The disciples had seen how strong the corpses were. If they could tear the puppet apart with one stroke, then they would easily be able to kill Zen too.


    Hearing the shout, Zen turned around immediately and saw a corpse with bared fangs in front of him. Corpses had to go through a lot of procedures during refining, which was why their bodies turned black. The corpse''s face was ferocious, its fangs were exposed, and it was about to pounce on Zen.


    One of the elders in charge of protecting the Cloud Hall disciples rushed over, planning to take care of the corpse. He was very clear on Zen''s position in Cloud Hall and he could not let anything happen to him.


    However, before the elder could even make his move, Zen flipped his wrist, and the long sword in his hand was raised horizontally. The tip of the sword trembled with enormous power, and the sword slashed toward the corpse under the force of five hundred dragon scales in his body.


    "Flick the sword."


    Crack!


    With one slash, the corpse''s head was broken into confetti.


    Other than Emanuel and Morphens, no one else had been powerful enough to do that; not even an elder like Fernandez. The elder who had come to help Zen was stunned.


    The disciples at the level of Internal Elixir Realm were also shocked.

 Chapter 776 Demon Emperor Corpse

    If they were in the outside world, the strength of these corpses would not have been even close to outstanding.


    Even the disciples of Cloud Hall who were at the Internal Elixir Realm could have killed them easily in that case. But after entering the Immortal Mist''s celestial tomb, their cultivation bases had been suppressed.


    Even though these disciples were at the Internal Elixir Realm and two of them were even at the final stage of that realm, under the suppression, their strength was only equivalent to that of a warrior at the Illuminating Soul Realm, making it difficult for them to deal with such corpses.


    In the Martial Arts Contest, Zen, a warrior at the Illuminating Soul Realm, had defeated a divine-level talent at the Internal Elixir Realm.


    Therefore, the people of Cloud Hall no longer viewed Zen as a warrior at the Illuminating Soul Realm. But once they had entered the celestial tomb, with everyone''s cultivation level suppressed to a certain extent, Zen''s strength should have been reduced to a much lower level, and he should not have been able to fight against these corpses.


    But just now, Zen had killed these corpses effortlessly right in front of them.


    It didn''t take an extraordinary intelligence to guess from this fact that Zen was on a par with Emanuel, Saint Morphens, and the other elders.


    The disciples were really confused now.


    The fact that a warrior at the Illuminating Soul Realm could cross an entire realm to challenge a warrior at the Internal Elixir Realm was a miracle in itself. Zen had accomplished this feat, which meant that he had the talent, the terrifying strength, and the great power to do so.


    Although they hadn''t believed it initially, they were gradually able to accept it.


    Zen had defeated Eden and killed Marilyn all by himself in the Martial Arts Contest. If it hadn''t been for Eddie''s threat, he wouldn''t have had to quit the contest to set up the sect-protecting array for the Cloud Hall. Maybe, if he had progressed forwards, even Brent of the Ethereal Spirit Sect would not have been his match.


    Many people were unwilling to admit it, but in the end, they still had to accept it.


    However, to surpass two great realms and be comparable to a warrior at the Virtual Tribulation Realm was a bit too much.


    "Zen, how did you do it?" one of the disciples asked.


    The two elders at the early stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm also looked at Zen, hoping that he would give them the answer.


    Zen spread out his hands and smiled slightly. Before they had their answer, his figure suddenly flashed out as he took a step over fifty to sixty feet in space, and once again sent out a sword attack.


    Swoosh! Another corpse was struck down by Zen''s sword. Its body swayed a little, then it knelt down before Zen and fell to the ground with yet another thud.


    Letitia''s mysterious ice halberd was equally powerful. Each time she attacked, the cold air her weapon exuded would freeze more than ten corpses. She would then brandish the halberd and rush forward.


    Clang clang clang¡­


    She rushed forward once again, and the corpses, like pieces of crystal, were smashed into pieces by her charge. The next moment, the corpses lay in pieces on the ground.


    After exterminating the corpses before her, Letitia turned her head, j


    delicate figure. It was as if the halberd''s weight had increased to a million or even ten million pounds for the demon emperor, but was light as a feather for Letitia.


    In the end, the demon emperor corpse finally could not bear the pressure and actually knelt down on one knee. Even in that position, it was still several feet taller than Letitia.


    The demon emperor corpse had lost its consciousness and was merely a puppet designed to kill. It was no match for Letitia, but it wasn''t aware of that. Under this circumstance, a normal person would have given up, but the demon emperor corpse still used all of its strength to resist the halberd. The strange noises it was making became louder. Its red compound eyes stared at Letitia.


    Suddenly, Letitia sneered. Her small hand which was holding the halberd suddenly shrunk towards her body, which then spun in a circle and took the halberd on a spin too, finally hitting the demon emperor corpse from the side.


    Boom!


    The demon emperor corpse was sent flying by Letitia''s weapon and heavily crashed into a wall not far away.


    Frank''s eyes lit up at this scene. He had always thought that Letitia was not qualified to become the sect leader. But now that she had exploded forth with her true strength, he was ashamed of himself and believed that his assessment had been wrong.


    Not only him, everyone else was also shocked by Letitia''s remarkable strength.


    Once it had fallen down, Letitia did not give the demon emperor corpse a chance to get up. Her figure flashed again and a snow-white rune appeared in her left eye.


    "Absolute Freezing!"


    The next moment, a terrifying wave of cold energy burst out from Letitia''s body. The celestial tomb, which was originally filled with negative energy, now became so cold that it felt like they all were standing in a cave of ice.


    Just as the demon emperor corpse was about to get up, its body suddenly stiffened from the cold and turned into ice. It was frozen in space, halfway through getting up and could not move.


    Crack!


    Letitia brandished her halberd, and the demon emperor corpse, just like the other corpses that had been broken into icy pieces before, was smashed into confetti.

 Chapter 777 Swelling Earth

    Since Letitia had restarted her cultivation nine times and her cultivation base was constantly changing, it was difficult for anyone to gauge her strength.


    Many people believed that even if Letitia recovered her power and returned to the Virtual Tribulation Realm, she was still only slightly stronger than Emanuel and Morphens. But now, it looked like she had become more than just a little stronger than them. She could even be a match for a warrior at the Life and Death Realm whenever she became a late-stage Virtual Tribulation Realm warrior.


    After getting rid of the demon emperor corpse, Letitia once again led the group forward.


    At the same time, the warriors on the other eight paths also continued to advance.


    Eddie and the six cloaked independent warriors of the Virtual Tribulation Realm almost crushed the corpses without a word.


    The martial practitioners of the Bloodwood Cliff, Black Mountain Sect, and Mysterious Luna Hall had passed through this section of the road safely despite the attacks they had encountered.


    The fastest of these nine forces were the martial artists who had come from the divine kingdom. The woman in black and the man beside her didn''t make a single move. The warrior behind them rushed forward, a golden bow at the ready, and shot arrow after arrow at the corpses.


    These five arrows seemed to have a life of their own, shooting towards the five corpses with a bloodlust that was almost indecent. The strange thing was that after ripping through the heads of the five corpses, the arrows didn''t weaken; instead, they devoured the corpses'' energy, becoming stronger, and each split into two.


    Five arrows turned into ten, shooting towards the other ten corpses. After absorbing the energy of the ten corpses, the ten arrows became twenty, and then forty, eighty, and then a hundred and sixty arrows!


    The arrows finished off the corpses in a few seconds. They then merged into one sharp arrow and shot towards the demon emperor that had appeared at last. The arrow went through the demon emperor almost instantly.


    If the many warriors in Central Region ever saw the power of this bow, they would be speechless and envious of it.


    According to the characteristics of this bow, if they were to engage in a war between sects, this bow was an indefatigable advantage. As one arrow would turn into two, two would turn into four, four would turn into eight, just one arrow would probably be able to kill millions of warriors!


    "I''ve heard a lot about Gong''s Transformation Bow. Now I see that its reputation is indeed well-deserved," another Life and Death Realm guard said, impressed by the skills of the warrior whose family name was Gong.


    The martial artist who was wielding the bow smiled, and then put the bow away.


    The woman in black and man beside her acted as if they hadn''t seen what had happened and didn''t care about the conversation between the two Life and Death Real


    le word etched into the ground: gift.


    Zen''s eyelids twitched as he saw the word. What did this mean? Etiquette? A gift?


    The Mist Celestial Tomb was really strange. It was said to be a dangerous place, but so far the corpses hadn''t been so dangerous. Even an ordinary fourth-grade sect could enter it. Besides, who would build their tomb like this? Not to mention, let a bunch of corpses guard it.


    However, the elders of Cloud Hall wouldn''t consider all this.


    ''Perhaps I''m overthinking it, '' Zen thought as he walked into the herbal garden. The moment he stepped into it, all sorts of strange and wonderful fragrances wafted towards him.


    "How fragrant!" he muttered, looking around. This garden was home to all sorts of strange flowers and herbs. Perhaps because no one had taken care of them for thousands of years, the garden had become messy.


    "This is Dragon''s Smile," an elder exclaimed in surprise.


    "Dreamland Flower. It''s really Dreamland Flower!" another elder laughed delightedly.


    Meanwhile, Letitia was flying past those strange flowers and plants, but her face was gradually clouded in disappointment. She couldn''t find the legendary Flower of Life and Death.


    Although these medicinal herbs were expensive, they could only be used as raw material for fifth or sixth-grade medicinal pills. They might not even catch Letitia''s attention.


    Zen picked a few herbs, but they were all herbs that could stabilize his cultivation. At this, the cyan dragon said, "Zen, the herbs in this garden are all very common, but there is one thing that''s very precious."


    "What is it?" Zen asked doubtfully. "Aren''t the herbs supposed to be the most precious in a herbal garden?"


    The cyan dragon chuckled and said, "In the center of the garden is a handful of brown soil. It''s valuable. Take it with you."


    "A handful of soil?" Zen said incredulously.


    "Yes. It isn''t ordinary soil, but Swelling Earth," the cyan dragon said nonchalantly.

 Chapter 778 The Chasm (Part One)

    The cyan dragon possessed such keen eyesight. Taking into consideration the fact that he thought plucking these herbs would not be worth it, Zen didn''t think twice about it and headed straight into the center of the herbal garden.


    A handful of the elders had been collecting these aforementioned herbs crazily. Imogen and Letitia didn''t stop them whatsoever.


    The Cloud Hall had its very own garden full of herbs just as well, but these herbs were worlds apart in terms of quality compared to those of the Cloud Hall. These elders appeared as if they were more than willing to put their lives on the line just to set foot inside the Immortal Mist''s celestial tomb, because they were so eager to search for their own opportunities, and also, they wanted to receive their own share of benefits. For that very reason, Letitia also permitted all of these elders to harvest these herbs themselves.


    In regard to the disciples of the Cloud Hall, each and every single one of them looked as though they were in cloud nine.


    The herbs they were picking were regarded as high-level herbs in the Cloud Hall, and every bit of it would be worth a ton of money. The fact of the matter was that the elders at the Virtual Tribulation Realm themselves considered them as high-level herbs as well. So, it should come as no surprise that the disciples at the Internal Elixir Realm gave these herbs so much significance.


    Despite the fact that they didn''t dare to take the herbs in the middle of the herbal garden like the elders, they were already deeply contented with merely picking the ones which were at the garden''s edge.


    Zen leisurely walked over to the center of the herbal garden. Everyone among the elders simply cast sideways glances at him without paying him much attention.


    Zen tilted his head looking at the ground and scanned the area. The herbal garden had been completely filled with black soil, but at that point in time, he noticed a patch of brown soil that was about the size of a palm just beneath his feet.


    "Is this what you refer to as the Swelling Earth?" Zen asked out


    elf had been enticing people to visit this place and take away his belongings. Zen couldn''t shake off the ominous feeling for he had no clue whatsoever what could be the Immortal Mist''s reason for doing it. Regardless of that, since he was already inside anyway, he had not much of a choice but to keep moving forward.


    Just a few moments after passing through the herbal garden, everyone came across a huge door. This door in particular was so peculiar¡ªembedded on it were a number of much smaller doors. These doors had been laid out in a row. Giving it a good hard look, Zen counted about forty-five small doors.


    "Why would there be so many small doors in it?" With her eyebrows deeply knit, Letitia glanced at the doors.


    "We should just all walk into the same door," suggested Saint Morphens.


    It would be better to move together as a group when traversing an unfamiliar space. Recklessly moving on your own was strictly forbidden. Saint Morphens'' suggestion was the natural course to take.


    Letitia was a bit reluctant at first, but she went ahead and swung a small door open. The instant she walked through, the door was shut behind her.


    "What just happened?" Zen and Imogen furrowed their eyebrows simultaneously out of surprise.


    "Could it be that only one person can enter each door?" Reaching out to push the door, Zen discovered that it wouldn''t budge no matter what.

 Chapter 779 The Chasm (Part Two)

    Imogen pointed her walking stick toward the door and tried to ram it.


    Boom!


    Aside from a muffled sound, the small door simply remained unscathed.


    All of the people shot glances at each other in utter horror. God knew what Letitia could have come up against upon entering that door.


    The look on Zen''s face went dark. Stretching out his arm, he reached for another small door right next to the one Letitia had chosen, and opened it. He went in just as well, but on the very instant he had done so, he felt an immense force dragging him further in. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn''t resist the mysterious force pulling him in, so much so that he didn''t have a chance to go back anymore.


    The door immediately flung shut behind him.


    Now, it wasn''t as surprising that Letitia somehow let the door shut behind her as well. There was no way for her to go back where she came from upon walking into the door after all.


    At the end of it, Zen had found himself in the middle of a jet-black space. Setting aside the light shining in front of him, everything else had been swallowed by the darkness.


    "There''s nothing else I can do but to grit my teeth and keep moving forward." Zen paced forward and got himself engulfed by the darkness, with nothing but the light at the end of that passage guiding him. Soon enough, he stepped into the light and exited the dark tunnel. By then, he suddenly found himself on some kind of platform, which was about ten feet long and five feet wide.


    "Zen!" Letitia''s voice came from his left side.


    Confirming that Letitia was safe and sound, Zen was finally able to feel at ease. She was there standing on a platform right next to the one he was on.


    The gap between the two platforms was but a couple of feet. A mature person could probably make it through with just a single step, but the second Zen tried to walk over to where she was, an emerald green enchanted barrier stopped him in his tracks.


    "What''s the meaning of this?" Zen had confusion writ


    "Zen!" A somewhat playful voice called out to him from the Ethereal Spirit Sect.


    Zen shifted his gaze over to where the voice was coming from and let out a feeble smile. As it turned out, it was Brent, the one who was a divine-level talent from the Ethereal Spirit Sect.


    "You still owe me a fight!" No matter how childish the voice sounded, it was still rather coherent and firm.


    Shrugging it off, Zen replied, "We''ll see about that if the opportunity presents itself."


    When Zen had actually withdrawn from the Martial Arts Contest at the last minute, Brent was the one who had gotten most dispirited. He had always lamented the idea that he wasn''t able to get the chance to fight Zen head-on. It reached the extent that he even mentioned it repeatedly upon coming back to the Ethereal Spirit Sect.


    "I''m going to take your word for that!" Brent blurted out while pulling a face.


    "Hmm." Zen just gave him a weak response. In this situation, he couldn''t be bothered to worry about the little child.


    During the Martial Arts Contest, Eddie had mentioned at some point that he was a holder of an enchanted lamp. With that in mind, he should also be showing himself any minute now.


    And while he had been pondering about that, a strong and powerful voice suddenly resounded throughout the chasm, "It seems we meet again, boy."

 Chapter 780 A Dice

    The abyss was like a giant chimney, with all platforms distributed on the same level.


    Right now, there were many people standing on the platforms.


    The powerful voice came from one side of Zen''s platform.


    Zen''s eyebrows went up as he realized that it was Eddie.


    The people from the Cloud Hall became nervous when they saw Eddie.


    It could be said that the Cloud Hall and Eddie were at a stalemate because of the sect-protecting array.


    They were safe in the Cloud Hall because they had the Small Circulation Killing Array to protect them. If the situation arose that Cloud Hall had to fight Eddie, how would they be able to defend themselves?


    Zen laughed coldly at Eddie''s words. "What an honor!" he sneered.


    The three obese men and the Ancient Tycoon from the World Commercial Alliance appeared in another area along with many elders of the alliance. Zen saw that Xiao was one of them.


    Xiao was a warrior who was already old, but had been unable to reach a higher level. Such warriors would be out searching for a lucky chance, hoping to break through and extend their lifespan. After all, a single gamble like this could result in hundreds of years of life. If the worst came to the worst, they would die. If they lived a peaceful life, however, they would also die eventually. This was something that warriors or those who had reached their level didn''t want to face.


    "Mr. Shi, Mr. Yan, Mr. Mo," Letitia greeted and nodded to the three heads of the World Commercial Alliance.


    The Cloud Hall was on good terms with the World Commercial Alliance. What was more, the alliance''s Ancient Tycoon had also come this time. If they were to help each other, they wouldn''t need to be afraid of Eddie.


    The people from the Cloud Hall calmed down when they saw that those from the alliance had arrived.


    Soon after, more people came. The leaders and elders of Bloodwood Cliff and Black Mountain Sect also appeared on the platforms.


    Amidst all these, there was one strange area with only one platform being occupied, by a middle-aged martial artist who had also reached the Life and Death Realm.


    The number of warriors at the Life and Death Realm in the Central Region was small and this person was unknown, causing everyone to look him over, trying to measure him up.


    Eddie was also shocked. He felt that this warrior''s strength wasn''t any weaker than his. So he raised his voice to ask him, "Sir, may I ask which part of Central Region you come from?"


    Once the warrior had made it onto the platform, he discovered that there was an unbreakable barrier around him. So he sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes, hoping to rest. Hearing Eddie''s voice directed at him, he opened his eyes and looked at Eddie rather sneeringly, "Ho-ho. You''re Eddie Cui, the Evil East Lord, the str


    m the divine kingdom weren''t easy to deal with. Moreover, they weren''t targeting only Eddie, but all of the warriors in the Central Region.


    But one of them was at the primary level of the Virtual Tribulation Realm, and the other was at the middle level. Why were they so haughty?


    Both looked very young, and their skeletal ages probably weren''t too old. They were highly talented, but in terms of strength, they were probably not a match for any of the fourth-grade sects present.


    As the woman finished talking, several warriors dressed in black appeared beside them. They had surprisingly reached the Life and Death Realm.


    Zen shook his head and said, "No wonder they''re so confident. It turns out they''ve got a bunch of warriors at the Life and Death Realm to protect them!"


    The black-clothed warriors didn''t say a word once they had appeared. It looked like the man and woman were to lead this force.


    Those warriors were scaring Eddie too.


    The members of the eight forces stood on the platforms surrounding the abyss. They all looked at the last area, which was still empty.


    None of them knew that the last area belonged to the Yan family of Iron Salt City. But sadly, the corpses had eliminated the entire Yan Clan.


    Everyone present was guessing, looking around, or discussing through their life vitality, wondering what would happen next.


    No one could understand why the celestial tomb was designed this way. What was that Immortal Mist trying to do?


    Just as everyone was trying to figure things out, a ball of light appeared in the middle of the abyss. The light was like a drop of water that kept twisting and turning, and in the end, became a square. After the square stabilized, milky white and red spots appeared where it had been.


    At last, the light turned into a dice, a very common six-sided dice that was used in gambling dens.

 Chapter 781 The Number Of Dots

    Everyone''s eyes were focused on the die, their faces puzzled.


    It was strange that a six-sided die had appeared in this celestial tomb.


    The die had spun slowly as it appeared, but it gradually slowed down. It finally came to a standstill, floating in the air and not moving one bit.


    As everyone looked on in puzzlement, a ray of light shot out from the die. It was like a pointer, moving on the level curve and sweeping past everyone.


    It passed by the people of the Bloodwood Cliff, the Ethereal Spirit Sect, Zen, Letitia, and everyone else.


    The light rotated faster and faster, and when it reached a certain speed, it slowed down and finally stopped at the platform where an elder of the Black Mountain Sect stood.


    The elder became nervous, clueless about what was going on.


    "W-what is this?" he asked, puzzled.


    No one could give him an answer. It was the first time that anyone who was present there had seen such a thing.


    As time passed, the light that had shot out of the die began to jump and its color began to change. It slowly turned from a bright yellow to red, and the two colors flickered alternately.


    The elder of the Black Mountain Sect began to panic at the change in the light beam. He looked at Raven, the sect head, and shouted in panic, "Sir, save me!"


    Raven was not far from the elder. The problem was that the emerald enchanted barrier surrounding the platform could not be broken. So Raven couldn''t help him even if he wanted to.


    When the beam of light finally turned completely red, it shone bright, focusing on the body of the Black Mountain Sect elder. A horrifying amount of powerful energy erupted from the beam of light, instantly shattering the elder into pieces.


    The shock registered on everyone''s face at this.


    Raven was wearing a mask, so it was impossible to see his expression. But he definitely had to be as stunned as everyone else.


    The energy contained within the beam of light was something that no one could resist and was extremely terrifying.


    Not to mention that the man who had just died was an elder of the Virtual Tribulation Realm. Even a Life and Death Realm expert wouldn''t be able to block this beam of light.


    What the hell was this? It seemed that whoever the beam of light was directed at had to die.


    No one could answer this question. After the beam of light had instantly killed the Black Mountain Sect elder, it began to slowly spin again.


    Everyone prayed nervously, ''Don''t let the light shine on me!''


    The beam of light started to slow down, sliding towards the C


    o attack that die and get a number. They could then take a number of steps according to the die to walk forward.


    They were relieved and when the beam of light began to spin again, they weren''t as nervous anymore.


    After Zen had taken two steps forward, the beam of light began to spin again. It spun continuously and finally landed on Brent, a disciple of the Ethereal Spirit Sect.


    Brent smiled and punched the die, which rolled a few times in the air and finally revealed a number, six.


    Soon after, six discs appeared in front of Brent. As he stepped forward, he smiled at Zen and teased, "It looks like I''m luckier than you."


    Zen laughed lightly, not minding it at all.


    Soon, the beam of light rotated for the fourth time, and it landed on an elder of the Mysterious Luna Hall.


    The elder smirked and also threw a punch. As a Virtual Tribulation Realm martial artist, he used 80% of his strength in this punch, sending the die flying high into the air. It fell down heavily, revealing a number, three.


    "Three, not bad!" The elder from Mysterious Luna Hall took three steps forward without hesitation.


    However, just as he stepped onto the third disk, the disk suddenly changed color from translucent to a fiery red.


    "Blazing Thunder Prison!" a faint voice said.


    Pop!


    A ball of intense flames suddenly exploded around the elder, and at the same time, purple lightning bolts descended from the sky, one after the other, with cracking sounds.


    The bolts of lightning were like mad snakes as they burned the elder down.


    After a long time, the flames and lightning finally disappeared. There was only charred coal left on the third disk.


    Everyone was horrified all over again.

 Chapter 782 Throw The Dice Again

    It had been a mistake to assume that they would be able to pass through the abyss safely by just throwing the dice. Everyone had greatly underestimated the situation they were all in.


    The fate of the Mysterious Luna Hall''s elder was a clear wake-up call for all of them present. Passing through the abyss wasn''t to be taken lightly.


    The disks served as deadly traps that might come out at any time and cost them their lives. The Blazing Thunder Prison that had appeared earlier had been so powerful that even a Life and Death Realm master wouldn''t have the confidence to resist it.


    It was a game of chance. As the beam of light continued spinning, several more people threw the dice and walked further towards the abyss. Fortunately, none encountered the Blazing Thunder Prison.


    A few more made the gamble. Someone got the number one, and another got the number five. Soon enough, the beam of light pointed at Letitia.


    Letitia shot the dice with a hit from her palm, watching as it rolled on the floor and stopped at the number four.


    Four disks suddenly appeared in front of her: three were transparent while the fourth was a rich, emerald green.


    The appearance of the emerald green disk made her hesitate. Just now, the Mysterious Luna Hall elder had stepped onto the fiery red disk, triggering the Blazing Thunder Prison. Who knew what was behind the emerald disk in front of her?


    However, opportunity was always accompanied with risks. Letitia took a step and steeled herself - there was no way back.


    The moment she stepped onto the emerald green disk, a voice echoed all throughout.


    "Light of longevity. You are rewarded an extra 500 years of lifespan," it said as green light shot out from the disk and enveloped Letitia.


    "Reward?" Zen murmured with astonishment


    The realization hit everyone hard and their eyes were then filled with green envy.


    After the violent punishment of Blazing Thunder Prison earlier, nobody would''ve thought that the emerald disk that had presented itself in front of Letitia would contain such a generous reward!


    Five hundred years of lifespan!


    There were many ways to increase one''s lifespan in the Sky Northern Region such as Life Extension Pills and Long Life Pills.


    Unfortunately, extending one''s life this way was not so easy nor simple. The pills were extremely valuable and had limited effects. The Life Extension Pill, for example, could only be taken once to extend a person''s life for mere three years. Any further intake of the pill after that would have no further effect. The Long Life Pill, on the other hand, could extend one''s life for 20 more years but it came with a heavy side-effect. The pill contained an incurable poison that, once ingested, would permanently prevent the warrior from advancing their strength.


    Only warriors who were desperate and at the end of their lifespan would dare take the Long Life Pill just so they would be able to linger on the earth for a bit longer. To gain extra years, one always had to trade in s


    nt noises coming from the black mist as if Eddie was fighting against some extremely powerful beings.


    Gradually, the phantoms started to disappear one by one, along with the Black Illusion. Once the mist had dissipated, Eddie was revealed, standing firmly on the disk with an expressionless face.


    There were numerous gasps all around. "Eddie has survived!"


    "He''s too powerful! The Black Illusion is probably some kind of extremely powerful magic killing array but he was able to break through it just like that."


    "He truly lives up to the name of top master in the Eastern Region."


    Everyone was awed by Eddie''s strength but it was only Eddie himself who knew what kind of crisis he had just encountered. All sorts of legendary beasts had appeared within the Black Illusion and attacked him all at once. Although the strength of these legendary beasts couldn''t compare to the real thing, Eddie''s strength had been greatly suppressed and had been equal to that of the late stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm instead of his Life and Death Realm.


    He had to use a lot of cultivation methods to kill the legendary beasts one by one and the fight almost exhausted all of his skills before he managed to come out of the Black Illusion alive.


    After his trial, the beam of light once again moved, now stopping at the woman in black from the divine kingdom.


    It was unknown to all what kind of cultivation method she had mastered. The woman only shot an indifferent glance at the dice before it began to spin, as if pushed forward by her looks alone.


    Soon, the dice gave a "6."


    The woman only looked at the number and calmly walked forward once the six disks appeared in front of her. The sixth disk was a bright yellow color this time.


    As soon as she stepped onto the yellow disk, the voice suddenly spoke, "Throw the dice again."


    The woman in black faintly smiled, but the crowd was stunned. They all wondered why she had been treated differently and was not made to face any punishment or reward.

 Chapter 783 Worry (Part One)

    The woman clothed in black robes stood atop the disc as her gaze locked once more on the dice positioned in the middle of the abyss. As they all held their breath in anticipation of her next outcome, the dice began to rapidly spin once again.


    After a while of tossing and turning, the dice gradually slowed to a stop.


    One of the spectators gasped in wonder as the number that appeared on top of the cube was yet another success. "It''s six again!"


    "How is she so lucky?" another person wondered.


    By this point, everyone watching the affair had more or less understood that they were engaging in a special game of Mist Celestial Tomb. As for why Mist had specifically designed this game, no one had a definite explanation. However, since everyone playing the game arrived at the same starting line, all they could think about was not falling behind the other participants.


    Before the woman had started, the highest number of dots that a martial artist had thrown was a six. As luck would have it, this strange woman managed to obtain a second chance at throwing the dice right after throwing it once. It was indeed a subject of fascination to everyone who had witnessed the perplexing phenomena.


    ''Who would have thought that she would roll the dice and get another six?'' an onlooker contemplated by himself as he scratched his chin absent-mindedly.


    Not a long moment had passed by when another six discs appeared in front of the nonchalant woman dressed in black. Moreover, the last disk that emerged seemingly still had a faint golden glow surrounding it, as if a halo of yellow light had encircled the object.


    Glancing at the newly materialized disk, the woman casually strode towards it without preamble. Immediately after she had fully stood on it, that voice rang out again.


    "Throw the dice again."


    Upon hearing this, almost everyone in the arena had groaned in great displeasure. "Really, again?" one of them grumbled in dissatisfaction and palmed his forehead. It seemed to be the case that they were having the same realization; this woman appeared to be even luckier than Letitia.


    "Perhaps, is she cheating?" a member of the audience whispered conspiratorially to the person standing beside him.


    "That would be impossible since this tomb was set up by an immortal


    ened his posture and uttered, "Tell me."


    The man had deeply contemplated by himself ever since the event had started about the possible reason why Mist would design such a game that resembled the act of gambling.


    "This may look like a game, but strictly speaking, it should be a Wheel of Fortune," the cyan dragon stated straightforwardly.


    Zen tilted his head to one side, his confusion becoming apparent as he asked once more, "Wheel of Fortune? What does that mean?" The man inquired with a new sense of boundless curiosity.


    The cyan dragon replied with a resolved tone, "Look at it this way, Zen. In the eyes of martial artists, fortune may appear to be a bit mysterious, but it really does exist. In the Central Region, martial artists are usually assessed in two aspects. The first is their talent; the second is their willpower."


    Zen nodded in understanding at what the cyan dragon had said. It was an accurate presumption that strengthening one''s willpower was equally important if a martial artist wanted to get stronger. Otherwise, even if a martial artist had prodigious talent, he would only indulge in pleasure and meaningless desires if he had mediocre willpower. No matter how much potential a cultivator might have or how many battles he might go through, it would definitely be impossible to succeed if he didn''t have a strong willpower.


    With this inconceivable fact, all sects'' first choice when recruiting disciples would be based on testing their individual talent, with the second being their willpower.

 Chapter 784 Worry (Part Two)

    After Zen had pondered over the facts laid before him, the cyan dragon continued his spiel. "Strictly speaking, it is not wrong. With the usage of these two tests, the sects can easily cultivate Illuminating Soul Realm or Internal Elixir Realm disciples." The man started to look up, seemingly having a profound thought at the dragon''s words. "With just a bit of luck, the sects might even cultivate an elder in Virtual Tribulation Realm one day. However, in the Genuine Dragon World, if we are to only examine these two aspects realistically, we will not be able to select a true elite." The cyan dragon finished while the game continued around them.


    Practically speaking, it was relatively easy for sects to find themselves qualified disciples who were both persevering and good at utilizing their talents. However true this case might be, cultivating these disciples into the Internal Elixir Realm, or the Virtual Tribulation Realm, or even the Life and Death Realm, was never the ultimate goal. None of these accomplishments were enough as they all needed something greater to truly reach their goal.


    In order to achieve this purpose, with the highest of ambitions, one needed to consider the third criterion: luck.


    The scene that was currently happening on his line of sight acutely reminded the cyan dragon of the Genuine Dragon''s Wheel of Fortune. It was vaguely similar to the game as of the moment. However, the difference remained at the fact that the martial artists who participated would not die. This was due to the fact that the unfortunate warriors would only end up being kicked out by the Wheel of Fortune.


    It became crystal clear to him right at that moment. Obviously, the goal of Mist when imagining and creating this game akin to the Wheel of Fortune was one thing only: to be able to find the most fortunate martial artist.


    Even if the martial artists present in the game had varying levels of skills, it was discernible that none of them were weak. Moreover, their own fortune was not too tragic, as far as Zen could tell. An example of this would be Brent, as he was quite fortunate on his own. More so, the fortune of the Holy Maiden from divine kingdom was beyond any of them could even fathom. With a single throw, she could consecutively proceed up to three times.


    Reluctantly smiling, Zen shook his head before remarking, "It seems that I am not fortunate after all."


    "You are wrong. Rather, it''s the opposite," the cyan dragon frowned before speaking with seriousness once again. "It is not the case that only the people with whom everything goes well can be called lucky. Some people have many misfortun


    falling from the skies.


    At the same moment of chaos, a faint voice could be heard which then promptly exclaimed, "Fiery Star Flame!"


    When he heard the voice, Eddie''s eyebrows twitched in mild amusement. He gave Zen''s troubled frame a cold stare, and then a mocking smile started to form at the corner of his mouth. The man inaudibly pondered while leaning his head on his palm, ''This brat¡­ Lady Luck is not on his side today after all.''


    Only those who had experienced the punishment could even fathom how difficult it was. In fact, up until that moment, the only person who had survived the merciless sentence was Eddie. It appeared to be the most challenging occurrence to ever befall them, as all the other warriors who had gone through the punishment inevitably died except him.


    The man, full of mirth and satisfaction, crossed his arms against his chest and icily looked at him with a half-lidded gaze; he was definitely sure that Zen would not survive this encounter.


    "I planned to kill you with my own hands, but you will die here as you turn into mere ashes scattered in the wind and at the bottom of our feet. This is the best you can hope for, right?" Despite his tone exuding indifference and callousness as he muttered to himself, Eddie was greatly satisfied deep down with the death of one of his enemies.


    The two cultivators, Letitia and Imogen, glanced warily at each other. It seemed that they were both having the same concerns regarding the young man who was about to face his punishment. They did believe in Zen''s luck, but at the same time, they were uncertain about him being able to withstand the burning of the Fiery Star Flame. Amidst the anxieties Letitia was harboring in her heart, she could not help but worry over Zen''s fate.

 Chapter 785 Fiery Star Flame (Part One)

    The immortal did have special means and methods far beyond the imagination of the practitioners from Central Region.


    Even the Virtual Tribulation Realm elders struggled under various punishments and most of them perished quickly.


    However, the rewards they received were also incredible. Granting 500 years of lifespan as a reward in a single go was something that only a legendary immortal could do.


    "I''ve never even heard of Fiery Star Flame before. I wonder what kind of flame it is."


    "Whatever it is, Zen is going to die anyway, judging by the intensity I can see even from here. It''s a pity, you know? Our Bloodwood Cliff was considering hiring him to build a sect-protecting array. We have even decided on a quite big budget."


    "Why is Zen so unlucky?" Brent pursed his lips. He hadn''t expected that Zen would have to face his punishment after a mere three steps.


    Even Dillon from the World Commercial Alliance frowned and remarked, "I can see that his aura is vigorous and auspicious, and his karmic luck is extremely good. To be honest, even I have never seen anything like this before. I don''t know why he has suddenly gotten so unlucky here."


    The Ancient Tycoon looked at Zen who was surrounded by purple lights at the moment, and smiled faintly, "It is true. This kid''s fortune is indeed very strong. But a single moment''s luck doesn''t mean anything. Only a lifetime''s luck is the true luck."


    Dillon didn''t say anything, but in his heart, he was thinking, ''A lifetime''s luck? Not a chance. He will have to survive this punishment first.''


    Watching the purple flames float around him in midair, Zen squinted his eyes. His spiritual weapon body hadn''t advanced any level for a long time. Although the red dragon had helped him to forge his body, he


    hat this boy should belong to the latter¡­"


    Letitia looked at the fading purple light, where Zen was standing, and clenched her fists tightly. Of course, she had investigated Zen before and knew that Zen''s physique was very special. In Cloud Sect, his physique had been comparable to a spiritual weapon, invulnerable to swords and spears, and could even bear the burning effects of fire.


    However, it was likely that the flames Zen could withstand were nothing compared to the Fiery Star Flame. Therefore, she wasn''t so sure about whether Zen could withstand the Fiery Star Flame or not.


    Letitia had initially opened her eyes wide and was staring at the purple light. However, all of a sudden, she turned her head, her face completely red.


    What was that? Once the purple light had completely dissipated, Zen was sitting upright on the round disk, safe and sound. However, he was completely naked. The Fiery Star Flame had burned his clothes.


    At this moment, Zen''s body was clearly visible. The newly forged physical vessel was still emitting a faint afterglow. Seeing this sort of near-perfection, the crowd was stunned.


    "This brat¡­ how did he do that? What did he do?"

 Chapter 786 Fiery Star Flame (Part Two)

    "Look. His body wasn''t damaged at all. The flames were unable to harm him even a bit!"


    "Yes, I don''t get it! Even if Zen was a Life and Death Realm expert, he would still have been injured while trying to resist the Fiery Star Flame. Even in the best possible scenario, he wouldn''t have ended up like this after his encounter, with all his clothes burnt out and his body completely fine. But somehow, I get the feeling that the aura from Zen''s body has become even stronger!"


    Apart from Letitia, all the other warriors were looking at Zen in shock and surprise, including Lady Poison-blood and the Holy Maiden of the divine kingdom.


    The Holy Maiden of the divine kingdom looked at Zen, who was sitting not far away. For the first time now, there was surprise on her face.


    It was just as the elegant man had said. In her opinion, everyone here was lowly like an ant. She was well aware that this round''s assessment was about luck and fortune, but whose luck could be stronger than hers?


    Even though that kid at the Illuminating Soul Realm did not have an extremely powerful luck factor and had taken only three steps after throwing the dice twice, his strength seemed unusual.


    Besides the Holy Maiden, the handsome man, and several other martial artists from the divine kingdom were also stunned.


    As an Illuminating Soul Realm practitioner, once he had entered the Mist Celestial Tomb and been suppressed by the energy that haunted its airs, Zen should only have been a nature creature, right? How could he possibly block the Fiery Star Flame?


    Even a Life and Death Realm warrior would have found it difficult to resist the Fiery Star Flames. Therefore, it seemed extremely impossible that Zen could pas


    ied with being able to become just a low-grade one, but he had never expected the effects of the flames to be so great that his body would temper itself into a high-grade fairy weapon.


    No wonder he had felt a desperate longing for the Fiery Star Flame just now. At that time, he could not understand it, but now, he naturally did.


    Once his body reached the strength of a high-grade fairy weapon, he was only one more step away from becoming a sacred weapon. For Zen, as the strength of his body increased, the amount of dragon scales he could borrow also increased.


    A thousand? Two thousand? Five thousand?


    What would happen when such a terrifying force was suddenly unleashed? Zen did not know if he could beat Eddie to death at this level just yet, but he licked his lips nonetheless; his gaze sweeping over Eddie who was standing not far away.


    Eddie suddenly felt a hint of killing intent fall over him and his eyebrows knitted together. Of course he knew that this killing intent was coming from Zen who was standing close by. This little brat was becoming more and more unbridled with time and had begun to underestimate him now.

 Chapter 787 The Chosen One

    Eddie''s face darkened, the killing intent in his heart growing even stronger. The Fiery Star Flame didn''t kill Zen. He was really tough!


    If he had the chance to kill Zen in the celestial tomb, he would have done it without any hesitation. Eddie was extremely careful. He wouldn''t wait until Zen became really strong to challenge him.


    If he didn''t have the chance to kill Zen in the celestial tomb, Eddie would have to come up with another way to break the Cloud Hall''s sect-protecting array. Either way, he would not spare Zen''s life.


    The beam of light continued spinning rapidly. After Zen''s round was over, it landed on the short man¡ªthe Poison King Simon.


    This time, Simon got the number four. But the fourth disk was red!


    Seeing this, many people secretly let out a sigh of relief. Simon had held a deep enmity with the warriors of the Central Region. If he were left alive, it would be a disaster. However, he was a Life and Death Realm master, so it still remained to be seen whether he could get through this time.


    Everyone assumed that the red disk meant that it was some kind of a punishment for Simon. However, when he stepped on it, a voice suddenly rang in everyone''s ears, "Free challenge."


    "What?" "Free challenge?"


    "So does that mean Simon can challenge whoever he wants?"


    "This is worrying. There are too many people who have offended him back then in the Central Region."


    Many warriors'' faces fell. They had thought that Simon would be punished, but instead he was being given the right to challenge anyone he wanted.


    The Ancient Tycoon of the World Commercial Alliance looked calm. He did not seem to be worried about Simon choosing him. But the three fat leaders of the World Commercial Alliance didn''t look good. With the three of them working together, they could take on a Life and Death Realm warrior. But if they fought alone, none would be able to defeat Simon.


    Simon chuckled and spoke menacingly, "Free challenge, who shall I choose?" His gaze swept past Imogen, Letitia, and the rest without a pause. However, when his eyes met Eddie''s, he paused for a few seconds.


    Eddie sneered and said, "You dare challenge me?"


    "I will take your life sooner or later, but not now," came Simon''s retort. His gaze swept over the people from the divine kingdom and fell upon the Bloodwood Cliff. Lady Poison-blood''s face was drained of color when she noticed that Simon was staring at her, as if what she faced was a formidable foe.


    Simon sneered, "Lady Poison-blood, what are you afraid of?"


    "No, nothing..." Lady Poison-blood strived to appear calm as she spoke.


    "You''re afraid that I''ll challenge you, aren''t you?" Simon asked.


    "You are a Life and Death Realm master while I am only in the Virtual Tribulation Realm. Of course, I


    urn to throw the dice.


    "Six!"


    Letitia smiled and took six steps forward. On the sixth disk, a halo of yellow light shone brightly.


    "Throw it again!"


    "Six!"


    "Throw it again!"


    "Six!"


    "Again..."


    This scene left everyone speechless. Their eyes widened in surprise.


    It was incredible that Letitia had such a good luck!


    Letitia took 60 steps all together, including the previous 12 steps she got from last rounds!


    Standing on the transparent disk, Letitia was very close to the center of the abyss. Everyone else was almost at the beginning of their journey. Zen probably felt the most depressed because he had only managed to take three steps away from the platform.


    However, Letitia was already far ahead of them. Standing alone in the middle of the abyss, she became the center of attention!


    "Letitia''s luck is really great!"


    "Don''t joke. She is the chosen one of the Cloud Hall. I heard that Letitia comes from a common family without any strong background. She has managed to become one of the strongest women in the Central Region despite having such a low identity. How many can match her luck?"


    "Oh my god! 60 steps! It seems like the game will end in 100 steps. If Letitia were to throw a few more rounds, she would probably pass the test, right?"


    As the crowd discussed among themselves, the face of the Holy Maiden from the divine kingdom, had already completely darkened.


    Women were sensitive creatures, and they liked to be the focus of everyone''s attention.


    Prior to Letitia''s round, she had been the front runner. She did not expect another woman, merely an ant in her eyes, to have such a good luck. She was the Holy Maiden of a prominent clan. How could she be defeated by an ant?


    A malicious light flashed in her eyes, and exactly at that moment, the beam of light from the dice stopped on her.

 Chapter 788 Calamity

    Now, it was the Holy Maiden''s turn to roll the dice again.


    The Holy Maiden blinked her eyes and the dice once again began rolling in the air.


    There was dead silence in the air as the dice rolled, changing the numbers and then finally stopping with six dots on top. The Holy Maiden smiled profoundly and stepped forward as she said, "Six again!" Then six round discs appeared on by one in the air and the sixth one emitted a faint yellow light.


    "Throw the dice again!"


    The Holy Maiden glanced at Letitia with a scornful smile on her face.


    Letitia stood on top of a disc; her expressionless eyes met the Holy Maiden''s. No one could see through her poker face.


    Soon after, the dice in the center of the chasm rolled again, and there was dead silence once more. The dice began slowing down until it finally stopped rolling displaying the five dots.


    The Holy Maiden''s face darkened as the number "five" unveiled before her eyes. There was no way that her luck could be inferior to that woman in the Central Region. She wouldn''t accept it.


    The transparent round discs appeared one after another in front of the Holy Maiden. As the fifth disc appeared, it began to emit a brown light.


    The Holy Maiden didn''t like the color. What was more, there could be a punishment hidden within it.


    If it was up to her, she wouldn''t step on it. However, she had no choice but to do it. Despite her reluctance, she still stepped on it.


    "Calamity! You can release a calamity on another player and reduce the person''s luck for a short period of time," a faint voice sounded in everyone''s ears.


    "Oh? That means I can reduce someone else''s luck?" The Holy Maiden''s eyes slightly narrowed as she gazed on Letitia. She looked determined and a sly smile crossed her face.


    The people from the divine kingdom knew that this was a test of luck. No matter how strong and powerful one could be, without luck on his side, he would surely fail the test. If one was lucky enough to pass this test, he would gain great opportunities ahead of him.


    It didn''t matter what motives or plots Immortal Mist had, or how powerful his methods were. After experiencing the Five Aging Processes¡ªFilthy Clothing, Falling Hair, Sweating Armpit, Stinky Body, and Restless Mind¡ªhe would surely have no chance of reviving at all.


    This was the law of life. Even an existence more powerful than immortals wouldn''t be able to bring someone back to life.


    It wasn''t only Zen who guessed that there was some problem with the celestial tomb. Everyone else did. However, these people still decided to explore the celestial tomb despite the horrors that might await them.


    The Holy Maiden and her companions also had the same thoughts as everyone else. Perhaps they even knew some secrets that no one else knew.


    The Holy Maiden smiled coldly and pointed at Letitia as she said, "Let''s see what she can do now! Time to reduce her luck!"


    When Zen heard this, he was suddenly filled with rage. He didn''t stop himself from saying, "Don''t you dare!"


    The Holy Maiden giggled. "But I will! Don''t think you can threaten me, yo


    Holy Maiden.


    "Do you seriously think I''m that stupid? Or maybe you are stupid for thinking that I would fall for that." Zen pointed to his brain and laughed. "If you really think there are more precious things than what you can get in this celestial tomb, then why are you here yourselves?"


    The man''s face darkened. He then answered, "Friend, you seem not to know who we are. What I am offering you is anyone''s dream! You better make the right decision now or you''ll regret it!"


    The other cultivators at the Life and Death Realm of the divine kingdom were also coldly staring at Zen.


    "This is the Holy Maiden of the divine kingdom. So are you a prince of the divine kingdom. But it doesn''t matter to me! Use the calamity on her!" Zen pointed to the Holy Maiden.


    Crack!


    A small black cloud with black lightning suddenly appeared above the Holy Maiden''s head.


    She was having a taste of her own medicine. It was like karma had worked its way to her after what she did to Letitia.


    Looking at the dark cloud above her head, the Holy Maiden screamed sternly, "Elders! Kill him!"


    The five elders at the Life and Death Realm behind her all took out their weapons at the same time. The Holy Maiden''s anger was not something to be taken lightly.


    However, Elder Gong, who was closest to the Holy Maiden, said helplessly, "Miss, we can''t break the enchanted barrier set up by Immortal Mist. Now is not the right time to kill him!"


    "I don''t care!" the Holy Maiden said. She was the Holy Maiden of a certain great clan, and no one had dared to disrespect her before.


    She was used to people buttering her up and this was the first time that someone had dared to offend her. So, she wouldn''t listen to Elder Gong despite knowing for herself that the elder could be probably right. First, someone had dared to use calamity on her. Then now, one of her elders had dared to persuade her to back off. She couldn''t swallow her pride in front of her people.


    The handsome man coaxed, "Let''s not be reckless. If I get a free challenge, I will help you kill him!"

 Chapter 789 Dispel The Bad Luck

    Killing Zen would do no good. All they needed was to find a way to dispel the Holy Maiden''s bad luck.


    However, since Zen provoked the members of the divine kingdom, he had to pay an apt price.


    According to the people of the divine kingdom, as long as any of them got a ''free challenge'', Zen was destined to die.


    In the divine kingdom''s group, the weakest of the lot were the handsome man and the Holy Maiden. However, they were both Virtual Tribulation Realm martial artists. As for the black-robed people behind them, they had all reached the Life and Death Realm.


    "Come what may, I want him dead!" the Holy Maiden of the divine kingdom stated in a cold voice.


    Zen pretended not to hear their threats. Instead, he quietly settled himself on the round disc and waited for the light to shine on him once again.


    Next, they threw the dice, but the result wasn''t in their favor.


    One of the Ethereal Spirit Sect disciples got four dots. He stepped on the Heavenly Thunder Killing Array. Despite his cultivation being at the middle level of the Virtual Tribulation Realm, he was straightaway struck to death by the lightning.


    Next, an elder of the World Commercial Alliance got three dots and suffered a severe punishment. Although he had endured the round, he was heavily injured and now seemed on the brink of death.


    Then, it was Imogen''s turn again. She was punished for the second time after she threw the dice, but with her formidable strength, she was able to survive it.


    The consecutive punishments worried everyone present on the sidelines.


    Just then, the beam of light shone on Letitia once again.


    Fortune had not been on her side. Her luck had been remarkable before, but the result this time was not good.


    She threw the dice lightly and it stopped at three.


    Three discs appeared in front of Letitia. The third disc seemed to be encircled with a faint layer of icy mist.


    Calmly, she stepped onto the third disc.


    "Extreme Icy Zone."


    Zen set his mind to rest upon hearing this. It was just as the cyan dragon had said. No matter how many dots Letitia threw, she would suffer a punishment. Among these six steps alone, there were probably six different punishments waiting for her. Still, her luck could help her identify the easiest punishment.


    Zen was not too aware of how difficult the Extreme Icy Zone was. It seemed a tough punishment for other warriors, but it couldn''t be that hard for Letitia. After all, she was a martial artist practicing cultivation methods of ice system.


    Letitia''s figure was soon enveloped in layers of dazzling ice light. Zen could hear t


    e used up the protective treasure."


    The handsome man''s face whipped in Zen''s direction, whom he stared at with a fierce expression. "It''s all because of that guy!" he shouted. "He must pay the price for it with his blood!"


    Meanwhile, the dice stopped at five. Hobbes, from the World Commercial Alliance, had been the one to throw it.


    The three stout heads of the World Commercial Alliance had all been quite lucky. Dillon had taken thirty steps, Hobbes thirty-three, while Haber had taken twenty-nine.


    Five discs appeared in front of Hobbes, and the fifth one was white.


    "White color? What does it indicate?" Hobbes was an impatient person. He stepped forward without hesitation.


    "You have an opportunity to disperse the negative effect on any person."


    The people of Cloud Hall and the divine kingdom looked on, their eyes shining with excitement.


    The damned calamity curse was indeed devastating. If the Dark Zone were to appear again, the Holy Maiden would certainly lose her life.


    The same was true for Letitia. This time, she had been blessed enough to come out of the Extreme Icy Zone unharmed, but what about the next time? And the other times to come?


    Both the Holy Maiden and Letitia had an urgent need to dispel their misfortunes.


    "Fatty, dispel our Holy Maiden''s bad luck, right now!" the handsome man spat out, staring at Hobbes anxiously. He must have a screw loose somewhere!


    Tracing the voice to its owner, the crowd in the abyss looked at him like he was an idiot. Even the five Life and Death Realm elders behind him held contempt in their gazes.


    Hearing the insulting command, Hobbes laughed darkly. "Who the hell are you? And why should I bother chasing away your Holy Maiden''s misfortune?"

 Chapter 790 Deals

    If it were Dillon, he would first think about whether it was worth offending the people from the divine kingdom, and then come up with an appropriate solution. After all, even though the World Commercial Alliance was the strongest power in the Central Region, offending the people from the divine kingdom would invite trouble.


    If it were Haber, he probably wouldn''t say anything, but he definitely wouldn''t help them get rid of the Holy Maiden''s bad luck.


    But it was none other than Hobbes¡ªthe most hot-tempered of them all.


    Hobbes could never stand these people of the divine kingdom from the very beginning. However, these people hadn''t targeted him, so he didn''t want to provoke them for no reason.


    But the handsome man wanted him to help the Holy Maiden. However, he was rude and brash. He even called him "Fatty!" Other than his wife, no one else had ever dared to call him that.


    "You! I am the..." The handsome man was just about to reveal his identity when Hobbes interrupted him.


    "I don''t care even if you''re the crown prince of the divine kingdom. It''s useless!" he spat.


    Only moments ago, Zen had mocked the handsome man by calling him "the prince of the divine kingdom." Now Hobbes had gone a step further and called him "the crown prince." They didn''t give a damn about this stranger''s identity.


    The man was livid! The truth was that he really was a prince of one of the four divine kingdoms.


    Elder Gong interrupted, "Friend, can you expel our Holy Maiden''s bad luck? We will certainly reward you."


    Hot-tempered as he was Hobbes was not stupid. He had been given the chance to undo someone''s bad luck, and there were two people in front of him who were cursed. He had to compare the two first to determine who he would help.


    "Really? I wonder how you will thank me," Hobbes asked with a fiendish expression.


    How could Elder Gong think of a way to thank Hobbes at such short notice? Before he even had the chance to speak, a calm voice came from the other side, "When I have time, I''ll help you set up a sect-protecting array!"


    It was Zen who spoke.


    Hobbes'' eyes lit up at his offer. The Cloud Hall''s sect-protecting array was indeed a powerful thing. It was said that it had almost killed Eddie. The World Commercial Alliance was obviously lying if they said they had no interest in it.


    If it weren''t for the trip to Immortal Mist''s celestial tomb, most of the fourth-grade sects would have already prepared to visit the Cloud Hall. No matter what the cost, they would ask Zen to set up a sect-protecting array for them.


    In fact even some third-grade sects were planning to visit Zen.


    Although not as powerful as the fourth-grade sects, some third-grade sects had secret treasures of which no one was aware. They had the opportunity to move


    gdom. For example, Kenneth of the Cloud Sect was a warrior at the late stage of the Internal Elixir Realm. He could easily overthrow the Burning Sky Empire, but he belonged to the Cloud Hall and would never do such a thing.


    But to set up a divine kingdom... It was a Herculean task.


    First of all, you had to have formidable strength to set up a divine kingdom. Only when one''s own might was powerful enough would he be able to defeat all the warriors in the world and make them bow down to him.


    Even the four existing divine kingdoms were slowly built up over tens of thousands of years and not just by snapping one''s fingers.


    "Friend, the establishment of a divine kingdom isn''t something that can be accomplished overnight, so your request is a bit unreasonable¡­"


    Before Elder Gong finished his words, Simon sneered and said, "If that''s the case, I''ll just find someone to use it." Saying this, Simon reached out his hand.


    "Wait" Elder Gong cried out. "Friend, I''m telling you the truth. I would never lie to you on purpose. It''s indeed impossible for me to help you build a divine kingdom. What I can offer you is the internal version of your cultivation method," he offered.


    "What? Internal version?" Simon was stunned.


    Elder Gong smiled wistfully. "The Scripture of Five Poisons is indeed a very precious cultivation method, but within our divine kingdom, we not only have an external version that you have cultivated, there is also an internal version. This internal version is exquisite, surpassing the external version by far more. Some records in the external version are not so accurate, but you can find the correct ones in the internal version."


    Simon considered Elder Gong''s offer for a long time before saying, "If you swear on your warrior spirit to fulfill your promise, I will immediately disperse the Holy Maiden''s misfortune."

 Chapter 791 Eye Washing

    All those years back, Simon had been chased ruthlessly by many martial artists. He had been running the whole time, hiding in the Dreamy Swampland and cultivating. There he had grabbed many great opportunities, and he had even obtained two fierce beasts, which were as powerful as the martial artists at the Virtual Tribulation Realm. Simon didn''t trust the other warriors at all. In comparison, he felt that beasts were more trustworthy than humans.


    Gong hesitated for a moment. In fact, as a martial artist of the divine kingdom, there was no difference between the Holy Maiden and him. With their experience, they could definitely look down on a great number of martial artists from the Central Region. However, Gong was not as foolish as the prince of the divine kingdom. If he did not compromise in this situation, it was clear that he would suffer a loss.


    "Alright, I swear with my warrior spirit!" Gong said through clenched teeth.


    With the deal finalized, Simon chuckled and pointed at the Holy Maiden, shooting a white ray of light towards her.


    The light continued to climb up along the Holy Maiden''s clothes, finally spreading over her head. The dark cloud there in which black lightning shone got cleansed instantly.


    The Holy Maiden finally let out a sigh of relief and then stared fiercely at Zen.


    However, Zen ignored her fury. He sat on the disc and continued to watch the next person throw the dice.


    A white-haired elder from the Mysterious Luna Hall rolled a three. When the black disc appeared, everyone present offered a silent prayer. Although the elder had reached the Virtual Tribulation Realm, he wouldn''t be able to bear this severe punishment.


    The elder was hesitant. Gritting his teeth, he stepped onto the black disc. However, this was a different disc because there was a white line on it.


    Just as the elder was about to step on it, a voice commanded, "You can kill anyone here."


    The mood in the crowd immediately changed as they heard this announcement.


    They had learned how powerful the immortal could be. If the elder followed the rules and chose someone, none of them would be able to resist the immortal''s strength.


    The white-haired elder let out a long sigh of relief, his face revealing his excitement. "Ha-ha. I didn''t think I would have the chance to kill someone! Who should I kill?" he wondered out loud, scratching his chin.


    Eddie, Simon and other Life and Death Realm warriors were nervous wrecks.


    As they had reached the Life and Death Realm, their lives and


    This is the legendary divine tree of the Wood Divine Kingdom! Oh my god! How could he use the sap of the divine tree to wash his eyes? What a waste!"


    The Holy Maiden and the prince of the divine kingdom also stared blankly at the scene unfolding before them. The prince turned his head and asked, "Gong, are you sure this is the divine tree?"


    Gong nodded and said, "Yes! I''m pretty sure! The divine tree appears once every five hundred years, and every time it appears, a drop of its sap will fall from the branch. The Wood Divine Kingdom has accumulated and constantly consumed the sap for more than ten thousand years, so now it only has a dozen drops."


    On hearing this, the other warriors were stunned.


    The Wood Divine Kingdom had only about ten drops of the divine tree''s sap. But Zen had just washed his eyes with dozens of drops.


    The emerald green sap flowed unceasingly into Zen''s eyes, creating an icy and comfortable feeling within him.


    As the sap slowly seeped in, he could feel that a kind of special energy bubbling up in his eyes, and the rest of the sap slowly drained out of his eyes and dripped into the abyss.


    The corner of Gong''s mouth twitched at this scene. It was truly an enormous waste.


    The Wood Divine Kingdom collected the sap to make pills or to directly swallow them. They would never waste a single drop. However, after washing his eyes, Zen actually allowed the sap to flow out and fall into the abyss.


    If it weren''t for the fact that Zen was his enemy, he would have reprimanded him for wasting something so precious.


    After all the sap had flowed out, Zen''s tightly shut eyes slowly opened. Now there was a hint of green in his pupils.

 Chapter 792 Pulverize You (Part One)

    Zen wasn''t that familiar on how to make use of his new obtained magic vision. The only thing he noticed was that his eyes had gotten rejuvenated the second the sap went into his eyes.


    The moment it finally came to an end, he proceeded to open his eyes. But there was so little change in him, making it feel almost unnoticeable.


    "The reward I receive is just getting my eyes cleansed?" Zen was in a state of confusion.


    "Ha-ha, you may not realize it right now, but this is such a really good reward. From now on, you''ll be able to see through most kinds of illusions using your keen eyesight. I can assure you that it''s going to be quite useful! At the very least, it''s still much, much better compared to simply receiving another five hundred years of lifespan," the cyan dragon flatly remarked.


    ''He seriously thinks this is better than getting five hundred years of life?'' Zen was at such a loss for words.


    Without a doubt, five hundred years of lifespan would indeed be considered as a hefty reward if you asked any of the warriors in the Virtual Tribulation Realm or even the Life and Death Realm.


    However, in the eyes of a being that was in a completely different level just like the cyan dragon, five hundred years passed by so fast, so it wouldn''t be something to write home about. Taking that into consideration, the five hundred years of lifespan didn''t sound as enticing as the magic vision Zen had been given.


    As Zen''s eyes fluttered, the mysterious green light within his pupils faded away little by little, retracting into the depth of his eyes.


    When Zen''s round had wrapped up, he had already taken the lead, taking the first place for the meantime, ahead of the others with his 66 steps.


    Letitia, on the other hand, due to having accursed luck at one point, had currently gotten into second place with 63 steps in total.


    Next to her was the Holy Maiden, representing the divine kingdom, who had taken third place. Fortunately, the curse she sustained had been lifted by Simon, so she would most probably move forward even more in the upcoming round.


    Upon realizing that Zen had been in the lead, the prince of the divine kingdom looked sullen, the killing intent he was emitti


    much capable of standing up against a warrior at the late stage of the Internal Elixir Realm. As Brent''s cultivation base had gotten suppressed within Mist''s celestial tomb, Zen would end up being quite a formidable opponent if he somehow managed to make it through the first round against him.


    The minute Zen found out that the prince of the divine kingdom intended to issue a challenge to him, a flash of green light suddenly glimmered in his eyes. An air of self-confidence had been embedded into his eyes. Other than that, one wouldn''t really see much of a reaction on his face. In fact, he seemed rather calm.


    In regards to the other warriors, it could be said that they didn''t have much faith in Zen''s future.


    "If a master of the Virtual Tribulation Realm is to be interested in doing away with a warrior in the Illuminating Soul Realm, wouldn''t that be just child''s play? It would be something as simple as crushing an ant!"


    "That''s not necessarily true. Zen had the ability to battle a warrior from the Internal Elixir Realm while he was still just at the fourth level of Illuminating Soul Realm. You have to remember that right now, he has already reached the seventh level of the Illuminating Soul Realm..."


    "Does any of that matter? I guess it''s safe to say that he has enough strength to lay waste to a warrior at the premium stage of the Internal Elixir Realm, but does that really mean he could come up to fight against a Virtual Tribulation Realm warrior?"

 Chapter 793 Pulverize You (Part Two)

    "Whether he survives or not, it''s only him who would have to endure it in the end. So, let''s just enjoy the show."


    Way up above this abyssal place, an enormous disk-shaped platform appeared. Zen and the prince of the divine kingdom then, in turn, went ahead and stepped foot onto the platform.


    "I always feel you are annoying, but it appears that you have fortunately pulled through and taken the lead." The prince of the divine kingdom let out a daunting chuckle, "But I''m afraid this will be the end of the line for you. This is where you''re going to bite the dust."


    "What makes you say that?" Zen asked him, giving him a look of suspicion.


    "Because I am going to kill you, that''s why. Haha!" The second the prince of the divine kingdom was done talking, he instantly became exceedingly more aggressive and vicious. As a capable master of the Virtual Tribulation Realm, how on earth could he possibly take someone he considered insignificant such as Zen seriously? Zen could be comparable to an ant at the Illuminating Soul Realm in his eyes.


    Hearing such an arrogant statement, Zen simply rolled his eyes, thinking that the prince was somewhat of a halfwit. But if he was going to be completely honest, there were times when it would be much more enjoyable to poke fun at some idiot just like him. At the thought of that, with a single light tap on his space ring, he brought out his sword, one which was a low-grade sacred weapon.


    "You chose a sacred weapon, huh? Quite fascinating! I never would''ve thought that a sacred sword would be so run-of-the-mill in that Central Region of yours. Even a no-name warrior in the Illuminating Soul Realm could wield a sacred weapon! That''s ridiculous!" Thereafter, the prince of the divine kingdom had drawn out a sword as well, but his was a snake-shaped one. This sword in particular had a curved blade akin to the body of a snake, with a golden embellishment right in the middle. This was another low-grade treasured sword categorized as a sacred weapon as well.


    The fact of the matter was that the prince of the divine kingdom had deliberately planned to show off his abilities in f


    of the four divine kingdoms, there were only a select few who had succeeded in understanding the first level of the Space Law. But it should be noted that this small group of people had all been old men who had either lived for several thousand years or maybe even over ten thousand years!


    Just how old could this kid standing in front of him possibly be? His appearance was just like that of a teenage boy! What had he done to receive such great luck in a short span of time? If he recalled correctly, wasn''t the Sky Northern Region nothing more than desolate wasteland? How on earth could he have come across such a great opportunity?


    The prince was at such a loss for words, standing there in complete disbelief, wondering if his eyes could have just been playing tricks on him. Be that as it might, the resolve he had to end Zen''s life had not faltered, and he would never let anything stand in his way. As it turned out, Zen had mastery of the Space Law, who cared about that? That was nothing but a trivial matter. His cultivation level was so much lower than his. So, it should make no difference no matter how many laws he had comprehended. In the end, it would still be of no use when fighting against the prince of the divine kingdom!


    "You can go to hell! I''m going to pulverize you, puny ant!" With his snake-shaped sword, the prince of the divine kingdom then bolted toward Zen once more to come at him head-on.

 Chapter 794 Cultivation Method Of The Dragon Lineage Human

    In the beginning, seven divine kingdoms coexisted peacefully with the Dragon Lineage Human. However, when the Dragon Lineage Human perished and three of the seven divine kingdoms were destroyed, the remaining four divine kingdoms were left.


    These four divine kingdoms were located within the main continent of this world and their riches far surpassed the resources of the entire Central Region.


    The inheritance of these four divine kingdoms could be traced back to the beginning of the world itself.


    As the prince of the divine kingdom waved his serpentine sword, a surge of life vitality burst forth and transformed into a massive snake behind him.


    The snake was extremely strange¡ªit had a huge dragon''s head but the thin body of a serpent; its eyes were demonic red, and it emitted an astonishingly terrifying aura.


    "Demonic dragon..." Imogen murmured in horror as she looked at the horrifying monster.


    Letitia bit her lips. "Zen¡­" she whispered, glancing at him in worry.


    All the other warriors at the Life and Death Realm from the Central Region, including Eddie and the Ancient Tycoon, sported serious expressions on their faces.


    "The divine kingdom''s martial arts heritage is truly formidable!" someone exclaimed. "Although the prince is only at the early stage of Virtual Tribulation Realm and his cultivation level is suppressed, he can still erupt with such strength. He cannot be underestimated."


    "Zen is screwed! He is only at the Illuminating Soul Realm. Moreover, his cultivation level has been suppressed," another warrior also said. "It''s weird though. The prince is still taking him so seriously. Isn''t this the same as using a sledgehammer on a gnat?"


    "No matter what, Zen is dead for sure. He shouldn''t have provoked the people from the divine kingdom from the start. They have a far superior foundation than all of us."


    Zen, on the other hand, wasn''t paying any attention to the others'' discussion. He remained on high alert and on the defensive as he faced the prince and his demonic dragon.


    If the prince had just been some random warrior at the Virtual Tribulation Realm, there wouldn''t have been any need for Zen to fear him. After their cultivation levels were suppressed, everyone''s cultivation level would drop by a whole realm. In theory, the prince should be at the early stage of the Internal Elixir Realm.


    Zen''s cultivation level hadn''t been suppressed, so much so that he could instantly kill such an opponent.


    However, the prince seemed like someone extraordinary. The cultivation method he used had a domineering aura to it and Zen could somehow feel a faint sense of familiarity from the demonic dragon. It was actually related to his bloodline.


    While Zen tried to focus on his enemy, he was also pondering on why his bloodline had a trace of connection with the demonic dragon.


    "Because the cultivation method the prince cultivates is something that the Dragon Lineage Human left behind," the cyan dragon suddenly said.


    His words surprised Zen.


    "A cultivation method left behind by the Dragon Lineage Human?" he asked.


    "That''s right," the cyan dragon confirmed. "The Dragon Lineage Human was comple


    he prince''s face blanched and he quickly ran away. His fleeing figure annoyed Zen greatly.


    This prince supposedly had a noble background and great talent. Ever since he was young, he had always used his privilege to crush others. Because of this, he had forgotten how to gauge the strength of others and could only blindly rush forward in an attempt to crush his opponents. He wasn''t stupid but he could be cowardly since every time he came across someone he couldn''t defeat, he would start acting dumb and try to run away.


    Zen shook his head and rushed towards the prince to block his path. "Are you really at the Virtual Tribulation Realm? You are too weak for me."


    And with that, Zen raised his sword once again and swung it down.


    "NO!" Elder Gong''s voice rang loudly in the chasm and made Zen hesitate with his strike.


    "If you kill him, I will definitely kill you," the Holy Maiden declared, staring coldly at Zen.


    A moment''s hesitation was all it took for the prince to successfully dodge Zen''s sword, twisting his body like a snake in the face of danger. However, even if his body was able to avoid the blade, his mind was suddenly wracked with pain. It was so intense that it felt as if his soul was being torn apart.


    The prince writhed on his knees, his eyes rolling back in a vain attempt to block the pain. Suddenly, a silver light flashed and pierced through his head¡ªZen had cleanly ended the challenge with a broken, flying knife.


    The truth was that the prince''s strength wasn''t much worse than Zen''s even if his cultivation level had been suppressed. It was only because of his conceited nature that he was defeated since he hadn''t expected Zen to be so strong and was thus caught off guard.


    However, even if the prince had gone all out, he still might''ve lost. Zen''s cultivation level, after all, hadn''t been suppressed.


    Silence rang in the depths of the chasm.


    For a warrior at the Illuminating Soul Realm to be able to kill someone at the Virtual Tribulation Realm was truly unbelievable, and everyone could only stare at Zen in disbelief, rendered speechless by his abilities.

 Chapter 795 Annihilation

    If they had battled outside the celestial tomb, Zen probably wouldn''t have been able to defeat the prince.


    Despite his strength, it would still be impossible for him to be a worthy contender against a warrior at the Virtual Tribulation Realm.


    The conditions that the celestial tomb had provided greatly increased Zen''s chances. In the tomb, the prince''s cultivation level had been suppressed and was only at the early stage of the Internal Elixir Realm. Zen''s cultivation level, on the other hand, had not been suppressed at all. This greatly narrowed the gap between the two.


    Thus, Zen had been able to defeat the prince and he knew the exact reason why.


    However, the others weren''t aware of such information.


    "Am I daydreaming?"


    "A warrior at the Illuminating Soul Realm defeated a warrior at the Virtual Tribulation Realm? Even more, the latter was actually from one of the divine kingdoms!"


    "It can only be described as inconceivable!"


    All the warriors sported puzzled looks on their faces and were at a loss for words. They were completely unable to comprehend how Zen had exactly defeated the prince.


    The Holy Maiden let out a heart-wrenching cry. "I will flatten the entire Sky Northern Region!" she declared. "I will kill everyone in your clan and annihilate your sect!"


    Zen''s eyes met her malicious gaze. "Let''s talk when you''ve accomplished that," he said lightly.


    For their trip to the celestial tomb, five guards at the Life and Death Realm had accompanied the prince and the Holy Maiden for their protection. They had originally thought that the trip would pass with no hitches. Never did they ever think that the one they were tasked to protect would be killed, not by the tribulations of the mysterious and dangerous celestial tomb, but by the hands of a mere warrior at the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    What was even more unacceptable was that the two of them had faced each other fairly on the battle stage.


    What was exactly going on with the Sky Northern Region? How could such a person be born? Because of the sudden turn of events, the warriors at the Life and Death Realm started to think about long-term problems.


    For the Holy Maiden though, there was only one thing on her mind and that was to seek revenge for what Zen had done to the prince.


    Back in the divine kingdom, her status was very high, only second to the crown prince.


    There were a lot of princes in the divine kingdom. For mortals, an emperor only had a lifespan of about a hundred years and would be able to produce a few dozen children at most. However, a warrior emperor had a lifespan of a few maybe even ten thousand years. Thus he would be able to have many women and countless c


    Sutra of Empyrean Goddess to Letitia after all.


    The curse Letitia had unleashed was done at the cost of burning her blood essence.


    For all her life, the Holy Maiden would become Letitia''s target, until her death.


    Moreover, both of them would be covered in curses and they would spend a third of every year being affected by the extremely painful cold poison.


    Although Zen didn''t exactly know what Letitia had done, he could vaguely guess that the price she had to pay wasn''t small.


    At that moment, even his heart had also been filled with fear.


    The methods of an immortal were too powerful and he wasn''t really sure if he could rely on his tricks this time around.


    The Holy Maiden gave Zen a mournful smile, but her eyes were cold with resentment and fury. "Die!" she shouted, pointing at him.


    He had killed her friend after all, so it was only natural for her to wish Zen death.


    As the Holy Maiden declared her choice, everyone turned to look at Zen.


    A light breeze suddenly brew. Zen felt an invisible force rush towards him as if some kind of invisible death god had come to his side.


    "What a powerful strength!"


    Although it was invisible, Zen could clearly sense its existence as it came from the side of his head.


    He almost raised his hands subconsciously to cover his head because of it.


    His body had just undergone the tempering of the Fiery Star Flame and he, after absorbing so much, had become a top-grade fairy weapon. In fact, he was only a step away from becoming a sacred weapon so he didn''t believe that this invisible force had the power to snuff him out in just a blink of an eye.


    Puff!


    Under the suppression of the huge, otherworldly force, two bloody wounds suddenly appeared on Zen''s arms that spurted blood as if they were fountains.

 Chapter 796 Why Are You Crying

    Zen had underestimated the tricks of the immortal.


    Until now, he had blocked a few attacks by relying heavily on his special body.


    Usually, only very sharp attacks would cause substantial damage to him. For example, it was easy to pierce through his body or slice small wounds, but it would be very difficult to tear his body apart.


    Eddie, for example, as the number one warrior in the Central Region, might be able to break a top-grade fairy sword, because the sword was too thin and easily broken. But what if it was a top-grade fairy metal pillar as thick as a bucket?


    Eddie could bore a hole into the metal pillar, but he would not be able to break it.


    As for Zen, his body was equivalent to a top-grade fairy metal pillar. If someone wanted to forcibly break his body, how terrifying would the force be?


    However, this killing force from the immortal was still beyond Zen''s wildest imagination.


    The powerful killing force caused the flesh in Zen''s arm to crack. His bones were harder than steel, but the pressure of this force still caused them to crack.


    What was even more frightening was that this killing force continued to pierce through him. Not only did it attack both of Zen''s arms, it also pierced through his back. It was as if there was a giant invisible hand squeezing Zen tightly in its palm.


    Crack, crack, crack, crack!


    His spine was cracking under the pressure of the killing force.


    "Zen!"


    Even though she knew that Zen couldn''t resist the immortal''s destructive power, Letitia still couldn''t help but burst into tears when she saw him struggling.


    Letitia was just an ordinary woman. While it was still true that she practically flew her way up as she was now one of the top warriors in the Central Region, this was never part of her plan. Her warrior spirit started to develop when the Cloud Hall discovered her talents.


    Even then, she yearned for a peaceful life. She wanted someone by her side¡ªsomeone she could argue with when she was not happy, and someone who would remind her to wear a jacket when it was cold outside.


    Zen, perhaps, could be the person she was looking for. He could be the man to bring warmth to her life.


    Letitia was devastated to watch Zen getting killed.


    Other people were in stunned disbelief.


    Everyone''s mind was still on Elderly Luna getting killed. They couldn''t believe that a warrior at the Life and Death Realm could get


    ght curtain clashed with the invisible hand again.


    Clang!


    Bang!


    Boom!


    The light curtain enveloping Zen began to fight the killing power of the immortal fiercely.


    The whole chasm was shaking because of the two strong forces. The discs where people were standing as well as the walls started to tremble.


    When the warriors at the Life and Death Realm felt the powerful force, their faces turned pale.


    What kind of method did Zen use to be able to resist the power of an immortal?


    Zen didn''t invent this method. It came from the amulet bestowed upon him by the leader of the Dragon Abyss Palace. Like the power of the immortal, it was also a technique from the Upper World.


    Zen, who lay under the light curtain, looked extremely shocked He never thought that a small amulet was capable of such a strong force.


    In reality, this amulet had become Zen''s substitute. Not only did it take all the damage that Zen dealt, but it had also helped him completely cancel out the destructive force.


    However, the immortal''s killing power was still immensely strong. It wouldn''t stop until it killed Zen.


    The collision continued for a while. The invisible giant hand''s strength gradually faded as the chaos started to dissipate.


    After a few moments, the light curtain surrounding Zen also disintegrated. The amulet bestowed by the leader of the Dragon Abyss Palace also shattered into pieces. It could not protect him forever as it could only be used one time.


    Zen, who had already gotten up, couldn''t be bothered by anything else. He just stared at Letitia and smiled, "Why are you crying?"

 Chapter 797 The Immortals Coffin

    How could anyone be as indifferent as Zen?


    Zen had made miracles happen, but Letitia thought that those miracles had been reasonable so far. Take for example, his habit of challenging martial artists of higher levels and then triumphing over them. But what she hadn''t expected was for him to endure the killing of an immortal!


    Everyone had seen the incomparably powerful talisman exploding and it had been that very talisman that had saved Zen''s life.


    If Letitia''s suspicions were right, this talisman was from the Upper World, or it wouldn''t have been able to resist the immortal''s power.


    Zen''s lazy smile elicited an angry glare from Letitia, who muttered angrily under her breath, "Oh you bastard!"


    She had given up all hope and under the circumstances, she could do no nothing but pray for a miracle. But despite her prayers and much to her disappointment, no miracle seemed to appear on the horizon. Zen had to rely on his own cards to set the situation right.


    This caused a silence to fall upon everyone present.


    The eyes of the Holy Maiden of the divine kingdom were dark and gloomy, like a pool of water in the night.


    She hadn''t expected any trouble from these ants of the Sky Northern Region. She had the chance to kill Zen, but she hadn''t been able to do it. That was something that she was having a hard time coming to terms with.


    What was more, it looked like Letitia had cursed her.


    The Holy Maiden lowered her head, so that her hair fell onto her face, blocking her eyes. She said, anger simmering in her voice, "After I get back home, I will bring my forces to destroy your Sky Northern Region!"


    As the beam spun in circles, the martial artists became increasingly nervous.


    The Wheel of Fortune was based entirely on luck without any fixed rules. Even someone as strong as Eddie hadn''t been able to resist it. But Zen had managed to resist it and emerged unscathed from his encounter with death.


    Like Letitia, many people had figured out that Zen had used the method of the Upper World to block the immortal''s killing blow.


    But they just couldn''t comprehend just exactly how lucky Zen was. If anyone else had walked into the Dragon Soar Arena, they would have been imprisoned for a thousand years. But Zen had escaped. He had even brought back a bunch of treasures like the sacred-level protective garment and swords from the Upper World. The talisman that had burst out of Zen''s body was even more powerful.


    The other martial artists were silent, but they simmered with jealousy from within. They had see


    ely.


    The warriors had waited dozens, even hundreds, of years, and had paid great prices just to light all the enchanted lamps from the celestial tomb.


    There were many Life and Death Realm warriors and leaders of various sects among them. But in the end, they had been trumped by a junior at the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    "Don''t be discouraged. Getting first place doesn''t mean he can obtain the immortal''s legacy," someone said unconvincingly.


    "That is true, but the first winner will definitely benefit a lot."


    Most people were jealous when Zen left. Few had even coldly mocked him.


    Letitia''s smile didn''t fade for a long time, her eyes shining like two crescent moons. Her amused joy wasn''t because Zen had come first, but because he had smiled at her just before he took the final step.


    When Zen had been enveloped by the azure light, his entire body seemed to disintegrate into tiny bits that kept rising.


    This method of transportation was very similar to the one used on the fifth floor of the Dragon Soar Arena. Was this also a kind of long-distance transportation? Would he be transported to the Upper World?


    But as he looked around him, Zen soon understood that it was only a kind of short-distance teleportation. He hadn''t felt the passage of time then, but he was sure it hadn''t been this short the last time he had been transported from the Dragon Soar Arena to the Upper World.


    Now, Zen found himself standing in a dark palace. Waves of cold wind blew over him, and he saw a huge coffin standing in front of him.


    "This is the immortal''s coffin? It''s so big!" Zen muttered curiously. The scene reminded him of the fairy palace where everything was incomparably huge.

 Chapter 798 Purple Star Grand Palace

    When Zen had first entered the fairy palace, he had found that everything in there was incomparably huge.


    The trees, the animals, the structures¡ªeverything in there was huge. Could it be that all immortals were giants?


    This was illogical.


    Humans were a huge race. Once their strength reached a certain point, they could pass through the void and enter the Upper World.


    Their bodies wouldn''t change much even if they became immortals. Zen was still trying to solve this mystery.


    Waves of cold wind blew through the darkness as Zen cautiously approached the huge coffin. Dense, complex patterns were engraved on the coffin''s outer surface.


    Zen tried to lift the lid of the coffin, but it did not budge, try as he might.


    Zen circulated the power of dragon scales within his body. The forceful energy within him abruptly erupted, but the lid didn''t move an inch.


    "Such a sturdy coffin!" Zen exclaimed, amazed.


    The explosion of his force could have overturned even a mountain, but it didn''t affect the coffin in the slightest.


    Zen had no choice but to explore further.


    A gigantic natal chart appeared on the ground, with palm-sized words engraved on its surface. Zen''s eyes widened as he saw the golden engravings.


    "Six White, Seven Red, One White, this is..." Just as Zen recognized what it was, a weak voice sounded in the air.


    "This is the Purple Star Astrology. It can tell a person his fortune. Young man, since you''ve come here, go stand on it."


    Zen froze at the voice but quickly became wary. "Who is it?"


    "Me? I am the owner of this tomb," the voice said. Zen heard a scratchy sound, like stone moving. He looked up to see a triangular stone board slowly moving away from the ceiling. A transparent crystal ball rolled out of the stone board and floated in the air.


    There was a black shadow in the crystal ball, like a human watching him. There were no eyeballs in his two eyes¡ªonly two empty, black eye sockets staring at Zen.


    Zen was nervous and bowed a little as he asked cautiously, "Are you Immortal Mist?"


    "You don''t have to be so nervous. A dead man can''t be counted as an immortal. Strictly speaking, I count as Immortal Mist''s last words." The crystal ball floated silently for a while, and the voice then continued, "It took me a very long time and a great number of cultivation techniques to keep my remnant soul. If I had to wait another thousand years, the time sand would have been of no use.


    I mixed my remnant soul with the time sand so that I could have memories that lasted for thousands of years as I waited for a suita


    l Mist''s status in the Immortal World, he was certain of one thing¡ªit was definitely incomparable to the cyan dragon''s status in the Genuine Dragon World.


    There were only 49 genuine dragons in the Genuine Dragon World.


    But in the Upper World of the human race, immortals shouldn''t be that rare.


    But the whole of the Upper World was still blurry and incomplete to Zen. Until now, he had only been to the edge of the Genuine Dragon World, a small city that received warriors from the Lower World. And right now, Zen had too many unanswered questions in his mind.


    The cyan dragon chuckled and said, "You underestimated the abilities of your human race. Among all the one hundred thousand great worlds, humans have occupied... Ha-ha! Let''s talk about this later!"


    Zen rolled his eyes. He then saw that the engravings of the palm-sized letters on the ground had begun to shine with a constantly circulating golden light. The light twisted into a fine line, and slithered back and forth.


    Some of the light rays hit Zen''s body, and then reflected onto a large character on the ground.


    Zen, who was in the middle of the light, didn''t feel anything strange. The crystal ball floated before the Purple Star Grand Palace. The darkness inside the crystal ball rolled continuously as if it were calculating Zen''s luck.


    After a long time, the crystal ball suddenly trembled and fell heavily to the ground. A crack appeared on its surface, like a blooming flower.


    Zen was shocked. He stared at the crystal ball and asked, concerned, "Immortal Mist, are you okay?"


    The black smoke in the crystal ball churned and finally took the faint form of a head. A weak yet surprised voice exclaimed, "You...you also have a token!"

 Chapter 799 The Third Owner Of The Fairy Palace

    Zen stared at the crack on the crystal ball, and heard Immortal Mist''s increasingly weak voice, before saying worriedly, "I do have a token. Your crystal ball is broken. Are you all right?"


    "Don''t worry about that! Show me your token! Quick!" Immortal Mist said anxiously.


    Zen had no doubt about what he should do. He took out the token from his space ring; the current fairy palace was of no use to him at all. The token with the word "wind" carved on it could only be a pass.


    The crystal ball floated before Zen and Immortal Mist stared at the token in Zen''s hand, sighing, "So that''s how it is. You''ve become the new owner of the fairy palace."


    "So, you¡­" Zen was shocked and at a loss for words.


    Immortal Mist laughed, and the crystal ball started spinning towards a wall not too far away. A grinding sound emanated from within the wall, and it soon opened up. "Go and take out what''s behind the wall."


    Zen was curious as he walked up to the side of the wall. He extracted two tokens from behind it, one of them exactly the same as his, complete with the inscription of the word "wind" on it.


    But the other token had the word "thunder" on it.


    The shape and style of the tokens were almost exactly the same as Zen''s. It was likely that all of the three tokens were from the fairy palace.


    Seeing the change in Zen''s expression, Immortal Mist said calmly, "I am the third owner of the fairy palace."


    Zen took a deep breath. When he''d been in the fairy palace, he knew that it had had several owners before him. He had passed the test and become the new owner of the fairy palace. He hadn''t expected that he would run into its third owner in this celestial tomb.


    "Then this token¡­" Zen trailed off, looking quizzically at the token with the word "thunder" on it and wondering what its purpose was.


    Immortal Mist smiled and said, "The token with the word ''thunder'' is a token to the ''True Path.'' The ''True Path'' is also a cultivation path within the fairy palace, and even I have only activated a True Path."


    "Where did the fairy palace come from? Why did the first owner leave such a palace behind?" Zen asked again.


    "This fairy palace does not have a name. Since the first owner did not leave one, no one in this world is qualified to give it a name anymore. Not you, not me, not the second owner, not even one in all the one hundred thousand great worlds," Immortal Mist said.


    Zen blinked, stunned.


    There were a hundred thousand great worlds in the Upper World, and even the famous Genuine Dragon World could only be considered one in a hundred t


    deflecting Zen''s question.


    When Zen stepped back, the words on the Purple Star Grand Palace began to shine again.


    "The sun¡­"


    "Shade Star¡­"


    "Seven Red¡­"


    "Eight White..."


    "Four Green..."


    Bits of golden light flashed, and more golden threads shot out by the second. Each golden thread grazed past Zen''s body. They were so densely packed that they could easily drown him. Instead, they kept a safe distance from his body.


    There were many types of fates in the Purple Star Astrology.


    It was rather complicated; outsiders could barely understand it.


    Immortal Mist kept muttering to himself as he began to calculate Zen''s luck. His words were vague, causing Zen to strain to hear him clearly.


    After about fifteen minutes, Immortal Mist''s words finally became clearer.


    "Two Black and Five Yellow. This is... No, no. The sun and the moon. This is... No. It''s still not right!


    Ah! I know now! You will lead the world of chaos!"


    Before Immortal Mist could finish speaking, the crystal ball trembled once more and fell to the ground.


    Crack!


    Cracks had already appeared at the top and bottom of the crystal ball, and a spider web of cracks now appeared on the middle. Zen did not know whether or not Immortal Mist used his "eyes" to look. If he did look, the cracks would have blocked his view.


    "Immortal Mist, are you alright?"


    The crystal ball had dropped to the ground thrice in such a short time.


    After the crystal ball had rolled on the ground for a full circle, it slowly floated up, and a desolate laugh rang out.


    ''Could his brain have become damaged?'' Zen thought to himself. But this was just one fragment of Immortal Mist''s soul; he technically shouldn''t have a brain!

 Chapter 800 The Tower Of Sin

    The crystal ball was already cracked all over the surface and just one touch would surely shatter it to pieces.


    Mist''s wild laughter came through from the crystal ball but it had been laced with something akin to desolation as if it came from some powerful master who had once known great joy but also suffered great pain in his twilight years.


    "Sir¡­" Zen murmured, pursing his lips as he mulled over the reason why Mist had let out such a hysterical laugh.


    The laughter from the crystal ball continued, almost as if ignoring Zen. After a few minutes, Mist let out a few wheezes and finally calmed down, "The fate to lead the great world of chaos! Lead the great world of chaos!" he had exclaimed with a booming, disembodied voice. "It''s the fate to lead the world of chaos!"


    Zen was puzzled but as Mist told him his fortune, the cyan dragon had already been talking with his brother. "It seems that we do not need to consult our eldest brother anymore. This immortal has already confirmed our suspicions through Purple Star Astrology," he said. "It seems like Zen really has the fate to lead the great world of chaos!"


    The red dragon nodded his head at his brother''s words, "Indeed," he agreed. "Since this young man has such fate, and now that the great world has fallen, he will surely be the star of this era!"


    The cyan dragon hummed, "If that''s the case, there might still be a chance for us nine brothers. We are fortunate to reside in the brain of someone with such a grand fate." A chance for a turnaround - the thought greatly lifted the cyan dragon''s heart with hope.


    The red dragon heaved a deep, melancholic sigh, "Perhaps¡­"


    Despite this moment between the two dragon brothers, Zen was still standing completely dumbfounded at the current state of things. Just what kind of fate had Mist foretold for him? The fate to lead the great world of chaos? He had never heard of such a thing before, not even from the cyan dragon.


    Zen furrowed his brows, "Sir, what do you mean? What does leading the world of chaos mean?" he asked.


    Mist turned a deaf ear and ignored his question, "Ha! Two thousand years!" he exclaimed. "Two thousand years I have waited for a person with a strong destiny. Who would''ve thought that it would be you?! Such a great destiny, truly a great fate!"


    "Sir¡­" Zen was starting to get a bit impatient. Mist kept talking and mumbling nonsense to himself, not giving Zen any clear answer to what it all meant and what it all entailed for him.


    "Wait!" Mist suddenly shouted in the midst of his incoherent mumbling. "Something is wrong. Since you have such a strong destiny, where is your guide?"


    Zen was taken aback, "Guide?" he repeated before throwing his hands up in resignation. "I don''t know." In his mind, however, he cursed at the old immortal, ''I have no idea what the hell you''re even talking about!''


    The crystal ball floated back and forth in front of Zen, almost as if it was pacing in front of him, "Let me see, let me see," Mist repeatedly mumbled to himself, lost in his train of thought. "You!" he suddenly stopped and faced Zen. "You have a younger sister!"


    Zen rolled his eyes but hum


    vate would only give him trouble and he knew that as soon as he stepped out of Cloud Hall''s sect-protecting array, Eddie would seek him out and kill him. In that case, it was next to impossible for him to venture out of the Cloud Hall and seek more opportunities in the Central Region to improve himself.


    However, he could not hope for any breakthrough in his strength if he only confined himself to Cloud Hall.


    Earlier, when he was still in the Wheel of Fortune, Zen had already considered whether or not he should cross the Chaotic Ocean of Stars to reach the divine kingdoms. But that was impossible now since he had already killed a prince and angered the Holy Maiden. Moreover¡­ crossing the Chaotic Ocean of Stars was not an easy feat.


    Mist''s suggestion was actually not a bad one and might actually be the best course of action for Zen, however¡­


    "What is truly your purpose? Why do you want me to go there?" he asked directly. The immortal had spent a great deal of effort building this celestial tomb and also designing the Wheel of Fortune to search for a man with a great destiny. The lengths with which he had also gone through to preserve this last shred of his soul were no joke. There was an ulterior motive behind this.


    Mist did not give him a half-assed excuse and addressed his question righteously, "There is a huge secret hidden underneath the Tower of Sin. I need you to take inheritance of that secret."


    Zen raised an eyebrow, "Why didn''t you go when you were alive?" he asked curiously but also with a hint of sass.


    Mist sighed, "I can''t go to that place," he murmured sadly. "Don''t ask me why! You''ll know when you get there!"


    With that, the huge coffin behind them suddenly started shaking before slowly opening. Mist turned to Zen, "These are the rewards I had planned to give to those who pass the Wheel of Fortune. Since you are the first, you can freely choose what you want. The rest will go to the runner-ups. I''ll let you give out their rewards."


    The array of treasures that lay in the coffin had Zen''s eyes flashing with excitement, "You want me to decide?"

 Chapter 801 Wait For Me

    Zen had thought that the corpse of the immortal Mist was placed in the coffin, but he didn''t expect that the coffin was filled with an abundant amount of treasures, and they would be used as rewards for those who had passed the Wheel of Fortune...


    Zen felt very strange about such arrangement.


    The celestial tomb had been built by Mist in order to lure warriors from the Central Region and he should have realized that, technically, the warriors that were to be lured would basically be tomb robbers. Zen was, technically, a tomb robber.


    Zen couldn''t really figure out how Mist''s mind worked. He did not directly kill tomb robbers that came for his treasures but instead he used the Wheel of Fortune to test their luck and awarded the winners.


    "Why reward us? The main reason everyone came here was to rob your tomb," Zen asked, disapprovingly.


    The immortal Mist snorted, "I specialize in Karma," he declared knowingly. "Sowing good seeds brings forth good fortune. All of you here were lured in by me and some have even died in the Wheel of Fortune because of that. It''s only right I give away proper compensation."


    However, Zen didn''t quite agree. Mist claimed to have studied and specialized in Karma, then shouldn''t their compensation be death since they all came here with the ill intent of robbing the celestial tomb? Zen shrugged. It was Mist''s decision and he shouldn''t really interfere. Besides, there were treasures waiting to be chosen.


    He walked towards the coffin and saw several bones the color of jade. He took one look at the bones and then glanced back at the crystal ball.


    "Those aren''t mine. Those are the bones of a legendary beast," Mist quickly clarified.


    Zen nodded and then realized that this celestial tomb wasn''t Mist''s. No matter how much he believed in karma, it was impossible for him to give his own bones away.


    So without hesitation, Zen reached out and chose the bones of the legendary beast as his reward.


    Obtaining the immortal''s bones had been his most important mission ever since he entered the celestial tomb. These bones would help him in finding a way of unlocking the Eight Path Platforms. However, since he wouldn''t have a chance to obtain the immortal''s bones, maybe the bones of a legendary beast might suffice?


    After checking out the remaining treasures, Zen turned to mist, "How do I give these treasures to the rest of the warriors?" he asked.


    Mist pointed to his left, "There''s a passageway over there," he said. "You can choose what to reward them with when they pass through the Wheel of Fortune. Someone''s actually about to pass the test, so hurry it up!"


    Zen pursed his lips and quickly made his way to the wall at the back of the coffin where a luminous curtain had been placed. It was quite similar to the Picture Slab in the Central Region and it allowed him to see what was happening in the Wheel of Fortune. Next to the curtain was a small transmission array that Zen could use to send the treasures to the runner-ups.


    The situation at the Wheel of Fortune had taken him aback.


    From what he remembered, Letitia had been standing right behind him before he passed, taking second place. Now, however, it seemed that Eddie and the Holy Maiden had caught up while Letitia was still standing at the same place. Eddie was actually very close


    another low-grade mysterious weapon from his space ring¡ªit was a huge hammer!


    He immediately threw it onto the transmission array wherein it appeared at the passageway.


    The Holy Maiden still sported a sour face, no doubt still mourning the prince''s recent death. Walking at the end of the passageway, she finally came upon a huge hammer.


    Her brows furrowed, "A mysterious weapon?" she whispered in disbelief.


    As someone from the divine kingdom and a worshiped maiden at that kingdom, this was actually the first time she had seen such a low-level weapon!


    "What the hell is this immortal!" she shouted before grabbing the hammer and hurling it at the passageway''s wall to vent out her anger. The wall was fine but the hammer had been broken into several pieces. The woman had quite a temper!


    Mist felt a bit helpless at being cursed at for no reason at all. It wasn''t his fault these people had bad beef with Zen who was awarding their venture to the tomb with weapons no better than trash. However, it wasn''t really something he felt he should be bothered with and just let Zen do as he pleased.


    For the next passers, Zen would usually throw down some worthless items if they were from the other sects. However, if it was someone from Cloud Hall, he would give them a few good treasures. People like Imogen and Morphens received some good items while Emmanuel, who had been lucky enough to survive the Wheel of Fortune, got a mere low-grade mysterious weapon. It all depended on Zen''s mood. He didn''t care if everyone was happy about what they got.


    Pretty soon, the number of people in the Wheel of Fortune lessened until everyone had been able to return to the entrance of the celestial tomb through the passageway where a small crowd had formed to await their companions to join them.


    Zen, on the other hand, remained behind the luminous curtain where he had been watching Letitia. He noticed that she kept looking around as if trying to find someone¡ªtrying to find him. Zen had wanted to burn a message rune, trying to give her a sign, trying to give her something, anything but he decided against it in the end. He just stared at Tia''s image on the curtain before softly whispering, "Wait for me."

 Chapter 802 Unable To Move

    After everyone left, Immortal Mist''s celestial tomb slowly went quiet, as if boiling water had been taken off a flame.


    One of the many gigantic walls slowly moved away. The disturbed dust started to rise before slowly spreading out, and when the wall finally settled, Zen could see a giant transmission array inside.


    It was ten times larger than any other transmission arrays he had ever seen.


    It took a while but after the transmission array was slowly activated, Zen didn''t hesitate and immediately stepped inside.


    As of right now, there were two more tokens in his space ring. The token which was inscribed with the word "thunder" could open the True Path of the fairy palace. But Zen was temporarily unable to use it. He would probably have to wait until he had returned to the Eastern Region and entered the fairy palace again before he could use it.


    Not only that, he had also plundered the remaining treasures in the huge coffin he had encountered before.


    And the most important thing he had managed to find today was a Jade Butterfly that Immortal Mist had given him. But Immortal Mist''s words had been a little vague. On the one hand, he had told Zen that the legacy he would encounter below the Tower of Sin was extremely important and was related to the rise and fall of the entire human race. On the other hand, he refused to tell Zen exactly what it was.


    All he had explained was that after entering the bottom layer of the Tower of Sin, possessing a Jade Butterfly would give Zen a certain probability of activating the inheritance. However, his destination as well as his journey was extremely dangerous. That was one of the reasons why Immortal Mist had chosen a person with such great luck for it.


    Those who were blessed with a great luck were known to be extremely tough and robust. It was extremely difficult to kill them, and even the chance of them dying naturally was quite low.


    Zen had always been in danger and managed to survive every time. This was solid proof that he was blessed with the great luck required for such a journey.


    "I have already told you everything that you need to know. Although you are fateful enough to lead the world of chaos, it doesn''t mean that you will not die. Your luck only makes it very difficult for you to die. There have been instances in history where warriors with the same kind of blessed fate have died, so you should be careful. What happens now is dependent entirely on what your luck decides," Immortal Mist concluded.


    Zen nodded heavily.


    He must cherish his life and be careful as the fates of Yan and the entire Cloud Hall were now tied to his own.


    Even though Eddie could not break the Cloud Hall''s enchanted barrier for now, it did not mean that he was locked out forever. If he were to find another warrior who possessed a Purple Power Body, the situation and balance of powers in the Central Region would drastically change. What was more, the Holy Maiden of the divine king


    eyes and stare blankly at the clouds that were gradually floating around in the sky.


    "This is terrible..." Zen thought.


    As he lay in the crater, his vision was extremely narrow. He didn''t even know where he was.


    About four hours later, a small head popped out of the edge of the crater.


    It was a little boy about eight or nine years old. He looked strong, and his eyes were full of spirit.


    Zen wanted to open his mouth to speak, but found that he couldn''t even utter a sound. As for circulating his life vitality, that was even more impossible.


    "Lori, look!" The boy was still looking at Zen and there was no trace of fear in his eyes as he called someone to come and see.


    Pretty soon, a girl, also of his age, stuck her head out of the edge of the crater too. Her big eyes blinked twice, and her face revealed a terrified expression. "He''s still alive. I''m going to tell my dad."


    "Shh!" The boy stared at Zen and stopped the girl. "Don''t tell your dad. I have a gift for you!"


    The girl asked curiously, "What is it?"


    The boy slowly slid down the edge of the crater. He was extremely agile. After sliding down to Zen''s side, he reached out his hand and took off the ring on Zen''s chest.


    Zen''s gaze immediately turned cold.


    That was Letitia''s space ring. Apart from the fact that it contained almost all of Zen''s wealth, the ring itself was also very important to him.


    The problem was that right now, Zen couldn''t even move, let alone stop a child from taking his space ring. He merely watched the boy climb up.


    "This is yours," the boy smiled.


    "No! You stole this from someone else! I am going to tell your dad!" Seeing this, the girl became angry.


    "Why are you like this? Forget it!" the boy said angrily, then turned around and left the edge of the crater.


    With one last glance at Zen, the girl also followed him. Lying inside the crater, Zen heard the little girl call from far away, "If you don''t return it, I''ll tell your dad!"

 Chapter 803 A Pasture

    As the voices of the two children faded away, the surroundings once again became silent. Zen didn''t even have the strength to observe his surroundings, let alone try to find out where he was.


    Good thing was that he didn''t have to be too nervous about losing the space ring. There was his mark on it which made it impossible for normal people to open it. His treasures were safe.


    ''Those two kids seemed like the children of commoners. I don''t think there are powerful warriors in their families, which means even their families won''t be able to open the space ring, '' he thought.


    Right now, his biggest problem was to recover his strength and bring back movement into his muscles. At the very least, he had to be able to move his body.


    As time passed, the sky gradually darkened and the surroundings became dim as they immersed themselves in the darkness.


    After an unknown amount of time, Zen suddenly heard more footsteps coming his way, as well as the sound of some people talking.


    "Is he here?"


    "Yes, Dad!"


    "Quick. Go take a look, but be careful."


    Soon after, Zen saw a yellow light appear at the edge of the crater. Several burning torches and a few middle-aged men were peeking curiously at him from the edge of the crater.


    ''They are not warriors, '' Zen thought.


    One of them stuck his head out and asked, "Who are you?"


    Zen merely blinked, unable to utter a word.


    "Bring him up first," another man ordered.


    Immediately, two middle-aged men climbed down from the edge of the crater curiously. One of them tied a rope around Zen''s body and threw the other end of the rope over the edge of the crater as he shouted, "Pull!"


    Zen did not move an inch.


    "Why is he so heavy?" someone remarked in surprise.


    Although Zen was tall, he wasn''t a strong-built man. According to their estimates, he should have only weighed slightly more than a hundred pounds. There were four adults tugging at the rope, but they failed to move him even one bit.


    What they didn''t know was that Zen''s body had been refined several times and was now a fairy weapon, so the densities of his body and bones were far greater than those of an ordinary person.


    In fact, during the process of cultivation, the density of warriors'' bodies and bones increased constantly. Otherwise, their bodies wouldn''t be able to withstand the strength of millions of pounds. What was more, Zen''s body was much heavier than that of an ordinary warrior.


    Those people eventually figured out a way to move Zen. They whispered among each other and after a while, Zen heard someone''s whip suddenly whip the air. PAK! He then heard the sound of a horse''s hoof. The force tugging the rope finally pul


    The cover of the tent was still open, and Zen turned his head to the side to see that not far from him, there was a group of seven to eight hundred people standing neatly together on a field. There were both old and young, and women and children in the group.


    In front of these people, there were two tall ogres. They were all grayish-brown in color and were around 10 feet tall. Two long fangs protruded from their mouths. Clearly, they must be the ogres that the announcer had spoken of.


    Zen had seen ogres before, during the Blooded Test. The last level five unreal beast Zen had killed was an ogre too.


    The two ogres moved around the crowd of people, and then one of them said arrogantly, "Today is the Governor''s birthday. A banquet is going to be held. We need five people!"


    The middle-aged man looked troubled. "My Lord! Aren''t five people a little bit too much?"


    "No bargaining! We need young people this time. You! You! You and you... Hmm, that little girl is not bad. She looks fresh and delicious. Bring her along as well!" The ogre pointed at the little girl.


    When the middle-aged man heard this, his expression became even more troubled. "Sir, she doesn''t qualify! The Governor said that he didn''t want little girls under fourteen!"


    "Why do you care so much? And whatever! Today, the Governor is very happy for his birthday, and he wants to eat something tender. Haw-haw!" As he spoke, he threw out a rope towards them.


    The little girl wanted to escape, but there was no way she could escape the ogre''s rope. She was instantly trapped.


    Zen narrowed his eyes at this sight. A trace of killing intent appeared in his eyes. He finally understood that this was indeed the ogre''s pasture. Humans were not the herdsmen, but the animals. Ogres cultivated and ate humans!

 Chapter 804 Resist

    In the human''s pasture, cattle and sheep were kept as livestock. They would be fattened up and then killed and cooked for food.


    In the ogres'' pasture, humans were kept there like cows and goats, and they would be slaughtered when they were grown.


    The immortal Mist had once said that this continent was extremely chaotic and humans were not the dominant race of this continent. It was not until this moment that Zen finally understood how weak humans were in this continent.


    "Ahem!"


    Zen suddenly coughed.


    The two ogre envoys had sharp ears. They turned around, sensing that there was someone in the tent not far away.


    "There''s one missing. Didn''t I tell you to summon everyone?" the ogre envoy said in an apparent tone of surprise.


    The middle-aged man replied, "Sir, it is an outsider."


    "Outsider? Is he from another pasture?" One of the ogre envoys strode towards Zen.


    As Zen lay on the mattress, unable to move, his eyes stared coldly at the ogre. Traces of killing intent began forming in his eyes.


    In the Central Region, the world was ruled by humans. What Zen had fought against were humans in battles. But on this continent where ogres ruled, Zen suddenly felt a strong sense of human identity. "Those who are not our kin are sure to have a different heart." Zen had never been as sympathetic to this phrase as he was now.


    "Mm, this guy seems to be severely injured. Count him in too." The ogre envoy flipped open Zen''s tent, took out a noose, and came forward, intending to wrap it around Zen''s head.


    Just as that rope was thrown out, a wisp of soul suddenly shot out from Zen''s mind and probed into the ogre envoy''s mind. It tore apart the ogre''s soul and crushed his mind.


    Everyone saw the ogre envoy grab the noose in his hand, but suddenly, his entire body shook. He then froze, standing there motionlessly.


    The ogre had his back facing them. In fact, the crowd did not see that brown blood was flowing from his eyes. This ogre was already dead.


    A gentle wind blew, causing the ogre to fall backwards. His tall body hit the ground with a heavy thump.


    The other ogre envoy was shocked to see this. "What''s going on?" he said fearfully.


    The humans also looked at each other, not knowing what had happened. How had the ogre envoy fallen to the ground without warning?


    The other ogre envoy pulled out a 10-foot long spear and walked cautiously towards Zen. When he saw that his fallen comrade had died, he pointed the spear at Zen and asked, "Human! What have you done?"


    A hint of mockery appeared on Zen''s face as he replied calmly, "I killed him."


    "You killed him?" Disbelief was written all over the ogre envoy''s face.


    Th


    to do. Their ancestors had lived in this grassland for generations, so they thought they were destined to be eaten up by the ogres. Although there were some people from the tribe who had thought of rebelling, they had been too weak and no match for the ogres. Such rebels usually died faster.


    They could come up with no solution even after a long discussion and had no choice but to let it be. They all turned a blind eye to Zen.


    On the other hand, it was Craig who stayed by Zen''s side and protected him with the sharp wooden stick in his hand.


    During this time, Zen continuously expelled the power of space within his body.


    Several hours later, Zen felt a tremor coming from the ground. He looked up and saw a group of ogres mounted on large horses galloping angrily towards them. These gigantic horses were nearly twenty feet high, and they had bloodshot eyes. They were clearly not ordinary horses.


    "What''s going on? Where''s the leader?" There were a dozen ogres in the group. The one in the lead was wearing a heavy helmet and had spikes on his shoulders. He looked extremely intimidating.


    "Save your energy. I was the one who killed these two bags of trash," Zen said indifferently.


    "You!" The leader of the ogres dismounted and looked at the two dead bodies in front of him. His ugly face looked doubtful. "Did you kill them?"


    Craig stood on high alert behind Zen, the sharp wooden stick in his hand at the ready.


    "Yes," Zen said, nodding. His head was the only part of him that he could move.


    "How could these humans dare resist? This is interesting. Let''s capture him and take him back!" the leader of the ogre group waved his hand and said.


    Following his order, the group of ogres behind him dismounted from their horses and came forward to surround Zen.

 Chapter 805 The Ogre Governor (Part One)

    In the perspective of the ogres, it seemed to be the case that humans were not much different from grazing animals like cattle or sheep. One of the only disparities between both species would be that human meat tasted a little tenderer, albeit it was troublesome to continue consuming them. Humans took aggravatingly longer to reproduce more of their kind, and it was more taxing to cultivate them compared to unassuming cattle herds.


    Because of this, the ogres would not normally slaughter humans for simple meals or for no reason at all. Rather, they were reserved for special occasions. The ogres kept the humans alive until it was appropriate to slaughter a portion of them during grand festivals and celebratory feasts.


    Apart from their grand occasions and extensive banquets, the ogres had also begun killing humans for their sacrificial rites which happened every now and then. It was a complete anxiety-ridden, fearful, and traumatic experience for the human beings on the pasture, as they dreaded the days wherein they would be murdered for the ogres'' pleasure. Every time they held such events, a dozen or so people had been butchered for the sake of their rites.


    From time to time, there were indeed some humans who would rise to stubbornly resist against the imposing ogres. However, that kind of resistance proved to be futile on every occasion and had always resulted to absolutely nothing. It had always despairingly concluded in the same way even if their defiance stemmed from the need to live. No matter how much they had fought and no matter how desperate the humans had been, they could not change their fate¡ªending up in the hands of the ogres one way or another. Additionally, those who fought harder and struggled more to resist their impending doom typically died a more miserable and pathetic death, as their rebellious behaviors only angered the ogres more.


    Lying on the bed, Zen''s posture reflected his composure and his eyes looked calm as the tranquil waves of the sea.


    In the eyes of the ogres, however, Zen merely appeared to be a sheep that could bite, not at all a threat to be concerned over.


    What they were not aware of was that Zen considered them as ants despite their impressive heights and enormou


    lled because of him. Not minding the eager looks the boy was sending his way, he furrowed his eyebrows and intensely focused on expelling the troublesome force of space from his body. At the very least, he needed to be able to move his body properly.


    According to what Mist had told him, the continent where he was currently in was also a mainland and it was significantly larger than the entirety of the Central Region. If it was to be compared with the others, it could be considered as on par with the continent wherein the four divine kingdoms were situated in. Pondering by himself, Zen deduced that there were also some ogre masters in this continent. With a newfound determination, he reflected that before the powerful ones managed to get him, he had to recover to his strongest and most powerful state.


    The head of the pack who had given the orders for some of the ogres to attack stood not far away and blinked at the immobile man with shock, clearly astounded by the stunt Zen had just pulled. The feeling of being threatened had never washed over him before and it was definitely the first time the ogre had felt daunted. Just like a human had never undergone fear or trepidation when faced with sheep, he had never felt threatened by a human before.


    However, witnessing a sheep that could kill a group of humans with simply a look, any man would be petrified. As his legs were seemingly stuck on the ground refusing to move, the head of the group of ogres undoubtedly felt the same.

 Chapter 806 The Ogre Governor (Part Two)

    Wobbling on his foot while he took a step backwards, the ogre stammered, "D¡­ devil¡­"


    The leader hurriedly mounted his horse and with a whip, he swiftly fled from the scene.


    The martial artist originally planned to kill the head of the ogres along with the others. Unfortunately, the leader was beyond the reach of his soul power as he stood farther from the group, and Zen could not gather the strength to move as of the moment. It was definitely a pity that he could not slay him like the rest.


    Sighing to himself, Zen decided to let him go for now. His priority right now was to make himself able to move as soon as possible due to the fact that they were not sure when the next threat would appear.


    After having expelled the force of space from his spine, Zen began to focus his energy in expelling the force of space in his legs. Being unable to move had always been a nuisance to him and it became his most urgent problem to solve.


    Right when Zen fixated on enabling his body to move once more, the boy standing next to him suddenly knelt down in veneration.


    Upon seeing Craig go down on his knees and bow his head at the man, more and more people strode out of their tents and bent down on their knees in front of Zen.


    It was as if they had seen a miracle happening right before their very eyes as someone single-handedly managed to kill all of those ogres in an instant. These long suffering human beings who had been kept against their will in the pasture as livestock thought that only God would be able to accomplish such an impossible task. It was as if in their eyes, Zen was the God they had been waiting for.


    Living in the pasture, no one was willing to be eaten by the ogres. Perhaps it was their survival-of-the-fittest mentality working that they gave up a few members of their race every year in exchange for the existence of their tribe. It was a sacrifice no one wanted to do themselves but was something direly needed for their continuation.


    With the sudden showcase of Zen''s prowess in slaying the ogres, they had see


    tside world, they still had high hopes that Zen would triumph over their doubts and surprise them once more with his strength.


    "Ha!" Among the faceless mass of ogres, there proudly stood an ogre who adorned himself with a golden helmet and a matching golden armor. His booming voice rose through the throng of ogres which made his other comrades hold the reins of their tall horses and peer menacingly at Zen from hundreds of feet away.


    "Human, have you come from the Purple Heart Sacred Place?"


    The ogre leading the army inquired in a heavy, bellowing voice. All of the ogres behind him assented and yelled at their leader''s question as a form of support.


    ''Purple Heart Sacred Place?'' he frowned as he thought, the name of the place not ringing a bell or even giving him a blurry recollection of a memory. After much consideration, Zen''s eyebrows shot up at the realization. "Is there a sacred place on this continent?" he mumbled to himself as a vague thought started to form in his head. Judging from the ogre''s tone and how they had reacted to his demand, the location he had mentioned seemed to be a sacred place created by humans themselves.


    Perhaps, he had mistaken on one thing: the status of humans on this particular continent was not as miserably low as he had imagined. There was a possibility that more of his race roamed the lands of the strange place.

 Chapter 807 The Ogre Governor (Part Three)

    Shaking his head at the threatening interrogation by the leader of the ogres, his expression visibly darkened. "You do not need to know where I come from," he spat out venomously.


    Chuckling arrogantly, the ogre peered at him with condescending eyes before speaking once more, "I am not interested to know where you come from since you are not from the Purple Heart Sacred Place." Pointing a stubby finger towards him while the other ogres sniggered behind him, the ogre continued, "I will care no more about who you are! A puny seventh level war fighter like you dared to come to my territory and killed my people. You shall regret facing me and looking for death!"


    After the leader of the army finished his spiel, he then promptly raised his arm and waved his hand as a command for the others to start attacking him. Within a short moment, the ground rumbled as if an earthquake passed by due to the thousands of ogres descending upon Zen hurriedly.


    Briefly thinking back on what the ogre had called him, he quickly became angry at being titled a seventh level war fighter more than anything.


    The face of Zen slightly hardened and there was a visible tick on his eyebrow from irritation. While the ogre talked, Zen realized that perhaps he called him the seventh level war fighter because he was at the seventh level of the Illuminating Soul Realm. ''Maybe this continent has marginally different terms for the realms, '' he hummed as he mused at the words of the head of the troop. It could also have been possible that only the ogres called realms this way.


    Facing the ogres who viciously stomped towards him, he inaudibly inhaled and exhaled before preparing himself. The ogres were terribly wrong if they had assumed that Zen would retreat upon seeing their sheer number. Instead, he smirked to himself slightly before steadily walking forward.


    Cracking his knuckles and stretching his neck from side to side, he grinned at the fact that it was fortunate that they did not know who Zen was--they also did not k


    themselves.


    The ogre was the governor of this army and in his eyes, Zen''s cultivation base was at a pathetically low level that would not withstand the brunt of their attacks. With a shiver running up his spine, he suddenly came upon the knowledge that Zen was attacking with his soul instead of his cultivation unlike what they had expected of a warrior.


    The ogre leader hesitated for a moment and glanced at his petrified squad before taking matters into his own hands and rushing towards Zen ferociously. As their leader, he should be able to show bravery as an example to his doubtful army¡ªhe was labelled the strongest one out of all of them for something after all.


    Gritting his teeth, he was well aware of the fact that ogres did not specialize in soul attacks and enduring the power from it. In this chaotic and complex continent, every race had to strengthen themselves to make up for their shortcomings and the skills that they lacked to ward off others. What Zen did not know was the fact that the ogre governor had a secret weapon that could resist soul attacks.


    ''As long as his soul attacks are useless on me, he will be at my mercy!'' the ogre sadistically thought to himself as his eyes darkened with purpose. It was the only thought running through the mind of the governor when he yelled a battle cry and rushed towards Zen.

 Chapter 808 Unlock The Path Platforms

    The ogre governor was humongous and his size was comparable to that of a small mountain. He rode astride a horse, further adding to his intimidating height.


    The ogre let out a deep growl before rushing headfirst towards Zen. The speed at which he and his horse ran was even made more daunting by the red forceful energy that emanated from his body and surrounded him. As he got close, the ogre leaped off from his horse, flying through the air as he brandished his long spear viciously towards Zen.


    Zen had been rooted to his spot the entire time and even when the spear''s point had gotten so close, he still stood his ground.


    That didn''t mean that the force of the forceful energy the ogre had unleashed was light. In fact, its strike would be able to raze a small mountain to the ground instantly! Despite this, however, Zen remained unyielding.


    "Go to hell!"


    An earthshaking rage burst forth from the ogre. The strange human brat in front of him had actually managed to kill half of his soldiers and his blood was thirsty for revenge.


    His spear reached Zen, backed with a raging force that was sure to flatten any opponent. However, instead of killing Zen, something strange happened. Zen''s soul had shot out from the spot between his eyebrows and rushed towards the mind of the ogre governor.


    However, before Zen could reach his opponent''s head, a faint yellow light flashed and a protective barrier suddenly wrapped itself around the ogre governor''s body.


    Zen scoffed mockingly. "Is it a treasure used to defend soul attacks? Too bad its grade is too low!" he said, smiling faintly.


    He assumed that the governor''s treasure was a top-grade spiritual weapon. Had it been a top-grade fairy or sacred weapon, it might''ve succeeded in blocking Zen''s soul attack, but it was merely a spiritual weapon and stood no chance against his soul which was in the Fighting Soul Realm.


    "Crack!"


    "Pah!"


    It was the sound of two things breaking. The faint yellow protective barrier had been rendered useless and quickly shattered against Zen''s soul attack. Without the barrier, Zen''s soul had been able to fully penetrate deep into the ogre governor''s mind and shatter his fragile soul into pieces.


    The other sound had been the ogre governor''s spear hitting Zen''s body. The spear, thrown by the ogre''s mighty strength and forceful energy, struck Zen with an explosive force so loud it was as if a giant firecracker had just set itself off in front of him.


    The sound was deafening and frightened everyone present. Meanwhile, Zen''s body slid along the grassland violently, leaving a ditch ten feet deep and a thousand feet long on the grassland.


    Zen snorted indifferently. "Your strength is not too bad," he remarked lightly.


    He then pushed himself off the ground and flipped his body in the air. He jumped out of the ditch effortlessly and even brushed off the dirt on his body.


    The power of space within his body had still not been completely expelled so he could only move his arms and legs awkwardly.


    The ogre governor, on the other hand, now stood deathly still with his spear as if he was a clay figurine.


    Seeing


    asn''t just a loot haven that he had initially thought but was actually a place Mist had specially designed to select someone with great destiny through the Wheel of Fortune.


    Though he had won the Wheel of Fortune, Zen was unable to get the immortal''s bone but had managed to obtain a legendary beast''s bones instead.


    The treasures in Mist''s celestial tomb were almost on par with the sacred weapons and each one had great value. Mist had told him that the bones he had chosen once belonged to a Cloud-chasing Lion.


    The Cloud-chasing Lion and the super legendary beast kylin were close relatives, with the former being classified as an ordinary legendary beast. Regardless, it should be enough since Zen didn''t think he could use the bone of a super legendary beast for refinement anyway.


    The eight Path Platforms were as follows: the Hundred Meetings Platform, the Divine Gate Platform, the Wind Gate Platform, the Energy Sea Platform, the Cyan Spirit Platform, the Shining Sea Platform, the Life Platform, and finally, the Death Platform.


    The unlocking of the Eight Path Platforms served as the threshold for the mastery of the body refinement technique. Though Zen had tempered his body and was already able to form forceful energy, the unlocking of the Path Platforms shall take him to new heights and allow him to finally learn the Transcendent Divine Might from the red dragon.


    Zen held the bone gently in his hand before willing the violent forceful energy to surge out from his body.


    Life vitality and forceful energy were two completely different things.


    Life vitality could be compared to a cloud of mist that became thicker and more refined as one ascended a level.


    Forceful energy, on the other hand, was extremely viscous and flowed very slowly within the body. It was produced by the warrior himself and could not be transformed from the vitality between the heaven and the earth thus. It could not be replenished without limit.


    The forceful energy infused itself onto the bone and, as it did, a sudden, violent roar echoed in Zen''s ears, shocking him greatly.

 Chapter 809 Warning

    This lion''s roar originated from the vicious nature of the Cloud-chasing Lion''s bone.


    Even a creature like a flood dragon that was close to a legendary beast could preserve its vicious nature in its bones for a long time. And here, the Cloud-chasing Lion was a genuine legendary beast. It was a close relative of another powerful super legendary beast, the kylin.


    When Zen''s forceful energy entered the bone, it activated the vicious nature within it.


    Just as the lion''s roar burst out, Zen circulated his life vitality to wrap around the bone, suppressing the vicious nature within.


    Even though he had forcefully suppressed the sound of the lion''s roar by ninety-nine percent, there was still a weak sound that could be heard.


    The several hundred people surrounding Zen looked at each other, ashen-faced. Those with weaker physiques trembled as their legs gave way and they fell to the ground.


    Zen heaved a sigh of relief. If the vicious nature of this bone had really erupted, then none of the surrounding commoners would have survived.


    After he soaked the bone in the forceful energy, Zen began to refine the bone, continuously absorbing the essence within it.


    Zen had to form Eight Path Platforms within his body. He was now using the essence within this bone to forge the Hundred Meetings Platform.


    A milky white mist appeared between his eyebrows as he continued to absorb the little bits of essence of the bone. One could faintly see a platform slowly forming within the white mist.


    Even after absorbing the entire bone, the Hundred Meetings Platform still hadn''t been built between his eyebrows.


    Forming Eight Path Platforms was a difficult threshold for body refiners. It wouldn''t be easy even if Zen used the legendary beast''s bone.


    One bone wasn''t enough. Zen took out another bone from his space ring. This time, he was much more careful and wrapped his life vitality around it to prevent the vicious nature of the Cloud-chasing Lion from leaking out.


    As Zen refined the legendary beast''s bones, the mist on his Hundred Meetings Platform gradually dissipated. If he were to close his eyes and look inside, he would see a white Path Platform standing there.


    At this moment, the forceful energy, which was originally evenly distributed throughout his body, began to slowly gather at the Hundred Meetings Platform and circulate at a uniform speed.


    The Hundred Meetings Platform was the foundation of the Eight Path Platforms. After forming the Hundred Meetings Platform, the speed of producing the forceful energy would multiply, and each of the Eight Path Platforms in the body refiner''s body would have its own use. Once all the Eigh


    ould take several days and nights for this group of hundreds of people to move forward.


    Two hundred miles away from Zen, three other humans were equally puzzled.


    They wore armors belonging to the generals of the army. One of them, a middle-aged man with a full beard, sat at the top of a fortress and laughed mischievously. "Where did this guy come from? He is clearly only a level seven war fighter, but he actually went to the ogre''s pasture and took away several hundred people. What is he trying to do?"


    "Who cares if he''s dead? We''ll just pretend we didn''t see him. It''s not easy to have ten years of peace. If we were to appear, then we might have to fight," another said coldly.


    "No. I have to report it to my father. This matter is rather strange. We can''t make a decision without authorization. No matter where that kid came from, he is a human after all." The last to speak was a youth. He was extremely handsome, had a head of silver hair, and his eyes flashed with a green light.


    The bearded middle-aged man shook his head. "I have to report this. But the biggest problem is that the kid is heading for the Demon Night''s place."


    The three races were closely watching Zen''s group.


    On the first day, they walked forty miles.


    On the next day, they walked forty-five miles.


    On the third day, they walked thirty miles.


    On the fourth day, an arrow, thick as an arm, abruptly shot out from ten miles away, with a loud whistling sound.


    It was made from the bone of some fierce beast and extremely special runes flickered on it.


    The bone arrow was shot from afar. It was aimed at no one and fell to the ground before Zen. Half of the arrow was stuck in the ground.


    Looking at the bone arrow in front of him, Zen frowned and said, "Is this a warning?"

 Chapter 810 Kill A War General

    The arrow landed in front of Zen, not because the archer missed his target but because it was undoubtedly a warning.


    If Zen and his people continued marching ahead, the next arrow would not be aimed at the ground but at him.


    Zen hesitated, considering his options when a large black tree not far away flashed a green light. Then it rumbled, shook vigorously and pulled out its thick roots from the ground, starting trudging towards Zen.


    When the others saw this freakish sight, they all panicked and hid behind Zen.


    Zen, however, was pretty calm. It was not the first time that he had seen a walking tree. He had seen one on the Cloud Road before, though it wasn''t this big.


    The big tree came lumbering towards Zen, waved its thick branches, and said in a deep voice, "Human, leave this place. You cannot pass."


    It was a warning. Zen would have to change his plans and his route.


    Zen''s gaze flickered. If it were just him, he would have gone anywhere he wanted. But he was now leading hundreds of people, so he couldn''t take a risk.


    Suddenly a muffled voice came from behind Zen, "Kid, I think you''d better stay."


    Zen turned around and saw hundreds of ogres standing before him.


    Most of these ogres had the strength similar to that of the ogre governor, but two ogres in particular were stronger. The one who had just spoken was one of them.


    Zen regarded the two ogres, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Why do you want us to stay?" he asked.


    "Either you stay here or you die," the ogre said in an arrogant voice. "You are just a level seven war fighter. You simply don''t have the ability to fight!"


    Zen was also very curious about the cultivation hierarchy of this continent, so he asked, "If I''m a level seven war fighter, what are you?"


    "I am not a war fighter. I am a level five war general," the ogre replied proudly.


    "Is that so?" A faint smile appeared on Zen''s face. The forceful energy within his body suddenly erupted, and he sped off in the blink of an eye. This was the benefit of refining his body¡ªbeing able to power up in such a short period of time.


    He covered the distance of several hundred feet in a flash and arrived in front of the ogre, ready to crash into him.


    The ogre was a level five war general. He wasn''t slow but the problem was that ogres had always relied on their brute forces. No human dared to go head to head with the ogres, because it would be like smashing an egg against a rock. In the ogre''s eyes, Zen was courting death.


    The ogre smiled wickedly when he saw the human charging towards him a


    tly.


    "This entire situation has nothing to do with us. As long as he doesn''t step into our territory, it''ll be fine," replied another male member of the Demon Night.


    "Yes, I know," the woman replied nodding her head. Then she turned and, with the grace of a leopard, jumped up on the tree. Her tall and light body allowed her to effortlessly climb up onto the treetops.


    It was a long time before the ogres came back to their senses and the gravity of the situation sank in.


    Their dazed expressions began to change and realization slowly struck them. Their faces were a mix of anger, sadness and shock, and, finally, utter humiliation. Yes, deep humiliation.


    The ogres were fierce and aggressive, and unafraid in the face of death. Dying on the battlefield was a great honor for them, but to be struck to death by a mere human? This was a disgrace! This was a huge embarrassment!


    How had Zen managed to do it? They didn''t waste time trying to figure it out because, at this moment, all they wanted to do was rip him to shreds!


    The remaining ogre war general and many ogre war fighters roared angrily and thundered towards Zen.


    "Rip that human to pieces!"


    "I will skin him with a knife and eat his flesh!"


    "Pound him! Kill him! Twist his body into a pretzel! Bury him in the ground!"


    They roared and dashed towards Zen.


    Zen was calm. Killing humans might have some psychological effect on him, but killing these ogres? Not at all! Even though they possessed intelligence, killing them was no different than slaughtering chickens to him.


    "Let me carve the path to your death," said Zen ruthlessly. After he had experienced many hardships, his heart had become cold and hard like a stone.

 Chapter 811 The Ogre War Lord (Part One)

    Zen had witnessed his family getting killed in a vicious plot and had gone into a state of decline when he was young. The upheaval had left a scar in his mind and he had been unable to find himself for quite a while. However, that did not necessarily mean he had become a cold-hearted man.


    To be honest, he had never expected that after comprehending the consummate sword intent, he would, one day, enter the Killing Sword Mountain and set on a path to cultivate in the killing way.


    However, even after cultivating in the killing way, Zen had not accumulated too much malicious aura in the Central Region. Because he was not a bloodthirsty man by nature. He never killed his opponent unless the latter wanted to kill him.


    However, in this chaotic continent, Zen wasn''t too worried about killing his enemies since they were not humans. The ogres he was facing were an alien race and wouldn''t have hesitated to kill him.


    "Go to hell!"


    Zen suddenly pulled out a sword in his hand, which was a sacred weapon. Waves of sword intent swirled in the air as it shot towards the ogres like a flying shuttle.


    If one were to compare the bodies of the ogres to that of eagles, then Zen''s figure was like a nimble skylark, quickly shuttling back and forth among his prey. He would slightly brush past his enemies and the next moment, they were finished. The ogres fell one after another, hitting the ground with hard, thudding noises, their eyes still wide open in surprise. As they breathed their last breaths, they were all wondering about the human in front of them with puzzlement, trying to understand how a seventh level war fighter could be so strong.


    In an instant, half of the hundred or so ogres Zen was facing fell down and bit the dust. And they were not just guard dogs. In fact, the ones who had been killed first were the elites of the ogre


    fell to the ground, finished for good.


    All the other ogres were transfixed with shock. Right after Zen disappeared before their very eyes, they saw a cloud of dust rise from the hill in the distance.


    "That guy... How did he gain such a velocity in an instant?" A human hidden in the forest could not help ejaculating in shock.


    "Hush, keep it down. It is indeed very strange. His speed suddenly increased, and even he himself was unable to come to a halt in time," the bearded middle-aged man remarked with confusion written all over his face.


    Actually, they weren''t the only ones who felt that it was strange. The ogres were also confused, and even Zen himself didn''t have a clue about what had just happened.


    When the forceful energy had burst out from his body, his speed had increased so much that it felt like he was riding on a storm cloud.


    He looked at his body, trying to figure out what had contributed to the sudden increase in his speed. The Phoenix Crystal which was embedded in his arm was no longer of much use for increasing his speed, since he had already achieved a much higher velocity. Therefore, he guessed that it could not have been the Phoenix Crystal that had caused the boost in his speed just now.

 Chapter 812 The Ogre War Lord (Part Two)

    However, Zen remembered clearly that his speed had exploded right after the forceful energy had shot out a beam of milky white light. So it must have something to do with that milky white light. But what was that?


    A deep crater had appeared after Zen had collided with the hill. He stood to his feet and slowly crawled out of the crater. At that moment, the red dragon in Zen''s mind suddenly asked, "Ha-ha, oh boy! Feel strange?"


    "You know what happened?" Zen asked.


    "Yes. A portion of the forceful energy that burst out from your body just now is from the Hundred Meetings Platform," The red dragon replied.


    "Does the Hundred Meetings Platform usually have such an effect?" Zen asked in bewilderment.


    "The real function of the Hundred Meetings Platform is not to boost speed. It''s the function of the Wind Gate Platform, which is one of the Eight Path Platforms," the red dragon explained, "But your Hundred Meetings Platform is made from the bones of the Cloud-chasing Lion. The Cloud-chasing Lion is considered one of the fastest legendary beasts, and its speed is only inferior to that of the Celestial Mouse. So you have benefited from the Cloud-chasing Lion''s talent too."


    "Really? I never thought that things could work this way." Zen was both surprised and pleased to know this.


    To be honest, compared to the life vitality system, there was a great disadvantage in utilizing the body refining system. Although a warrior could, in theory, transform the forceful energy into an entity, but because of its slow circulation speed and due to the fact that it was evenly distributed throughout the whole body, to transform it into an entity was extremely difficult to realize. Even if one did succeed in doing that, it was known to be extremely impractical.


    In comparison, life vitality was much stronger and flexible in i


    ce for him to escape, but the problem was that he had a group of ordinary humans following him. Zen could, of course, choose to leave them behind, since the lives of these common and ordinary people were not worth mentioning in a world full of powerful warriors. However, Zen was not the sort of person who gave up halfway.


    Before Zen could say anything, the ogre war lord had already landed and was rapidly charging towards him, his figure as big as a hill.


    As the ogre war lord raced forward and drew closer, Zen watched him get bigger in his eyes. A sense of extreme danger weighed down on him. He suddenly felt his heart tighten. This ogre war lord possessed the strength to kill him and was going to do so too!


    In his moment of despair, Zen summoned the sword spirit he had condensed¡ªLily. In a flash, a beautiful girl popped out from thin air, together with the huge sword that had originally belonged to the Blood Fiend Emperor.


    The three members of the Demon Night, who were observing the scene from afar, were suddenly left aghast. One of them was a young lady who was sitting on top of a tree. At the sight of Zen''s sword spirit, her eyes became wide as saucers and her mouth was left hanging open in surprise.

 Chapter 813 Tripartite Confrontation

    On this chaotic continent, the Demon Night didn''t have many members. In fact, they had the fewest lot among all the races.


    The Demon Night was an incomparably powerful race in any boundless universe. From the very moment they were born, they possessed the strength of nature creatures. They would be a powerful race even in the Upper World.


    Despite their weak numbers, God had been fair to them. The members of the Demon Night were unmatched. Whether it was strength, talent, or even appearance, they were all close to perfection.


    However, they had one fatal flaw, and that was their inability to reproduce. Increasing the numbers in their race had proven to be difficult. Otherwise, the Demon Night would have already ruled over this disorderly continent.


    The Demon Night was a proud race, but they weren''t particularly bloodthirsty. When Zen brought over a group of humans into their territory, they only issued him a warning and had him evacuate their area.


    It was precisely because of their pride that the Demon Night rarely cooperated with other races. It was also why the three members of the Demon Night were so shocked at the sight of Zen''s sword spirit.


    "Let me see it more clearly," said the young lady of the Demon Night holding the bone bow. Her eyes flashed with a pale blue light as her pupils turned the color of the sky. When her gaze fell on Zen''s sword spirit, her expression changed.


    "Queen!"


    The word fell from her lips and she immediately jumped down from the treetop. Her nimble figure nestled on a branch. She then knelt down, one knee facing her front.


    "Queen?" the other two members of the race spat out, unbidden doubt in their voices when they heard what the young girl said. Their gazes turned to focus on Lily, the sword spirit next to Zen, and the expressions on their faces changed. They knelt on the ground like the girl. Respect shone through their eyes.


    After the salutations, the three members slowly stood up. "Phoebe," one of them called out. "Why would our queen appear by the side of a human?"


    Phoebe shook her head hesitantly. "I''m not sure. Queen has never said anything about this. This human seems to have many secrets. We shouldn''t have stopped him just now."


    "He is no match for the ogre war lord. Save him. I''ll inform Elder Mei," someone else said.


    Phoebe nodded, then flew forward as if stepping on a gust of wind. Like an agile leopard, she continued to step onto the branches of the trees in the dense forest. Her willowy body leaped, the bone bow in her hand already changing directions as she loaded a bone arrow.


    Facing the ogre war lord, Zen backed away while allowing Lily, the sword spirit, to fight for him.


    Lily wielded the Blood


    id as mice. You''ve long been hiding and cowering. Finally you dare to show your faces?" The ogre war lord did not seem to consider the twenty or so human war generals a threat at all. On the contrary, he seemed more skeptical and nervous of the two Demon Night war generals.


    "Well, we are here now, aren''t we?" said the silver-haired man indifferently.


    Although the area was three-legged, the ogres were the most tyrannical. While the Demon Night did not have any intentions of expanding their territory, the ogres dared not provoke them. Only the humans were the weakest, so they stayed inside their fort.


    This particular group of humans had long contemplated whether or not they should lend a helping hand to Zen. After all, it would be a great risk for them. If they angered the ogres, it was very possible that the delicate balance among the three races would be broken.


    However, after reporting it to their superiors and receiving the orders, they knew what to do. They had to save the human kid. That was why the human race sent out all their elites¡ªa total of more than twenty people to the forest. Still, they hadn''t imagined that the ogres would send over an ogre war lord.


    "You, follow them," Zen, who was stuck in the middle of the confrontation, commanded the ordinary humans.


    The ordinary humans didn''t understand what they were caught between and could only follow Zen''s instructions. Once he had given the order, the hundreds of people slowly began to move toward the humans warriors.


    They were so slow. If they had not delayed Zen by a few days, he would have already been thousands of miles away.


    The ogre war lord stared at Zen. To him, the ordinary and powerless humans were nothing more than a herd of cattle. What was infinitely more important was that Zen didn''t go anywhere.

 Chapter 814 Run Away

    The atmosphere was painfully tense.


    Those ordinary humans were moving in an orderly manner towards the direction that Zen had pointed to. In their minds, as long as they followed his instructions, they were going to be perfectly safe and no problem could befall them.


    The strongest among all the creatures present was definitely the ogre war lord. There were more than twenty war generals from the human race, and two war generals were from the Demon Night. However, even two war generals of the last category were quite powerful and their strengths were not to be looked down upon. In fact, even the ogre war lord might not win if the human war generals and the Demon Night war generals fought together against him.


    Therefore, everyone was waiting for the reinforcements behind them.


    They all had their own plans in mind, and Zen was no exception.


    Zen had met the human warriors, and judging from the looks of the current situation, he could tell that the human warriors on this chaotic continent weren''t strong. He wasn''t willing to place his life in someone else''s hands right now, and even if he was, the human warriors were not a good choice.


    As for the Demon Night, although they did not have much of enmity towards him and had even said that they would protect him, they still belonged to a different race. He did not believe that just because his sword spirit was a member of the Demon Night, they would treat him well.


    As for the ogres, they weren''t going to let him go by any means.


    While he was pondering over the current situation, two more huge figures appeared from the direction of the ogre war lord. Even from afar, everyone could feel their imposing manners as their figures grew larger.


    The instant the two new ogre war lords appeared, the forceful energy within Zen''s body erupted as he shot forwards at a high speed.


    Zen''s soul was much stronger than the other creatures present, so his reaction was also the fastest.


    Only after he had shot out did many of the creatures react.


    When the first ogre war lord sensed his companions'' aura, a sinister smile appeared on his face. Before he could even say anything to his companions, Zen had run away. His expression darkened, and his body swayed as he chased after Zen.


    Zen could not afford his reactions to be slow. Although there were as many as twenty human war generals, they weren''t going to be a match for the ogres. As for the Demon Night, there were only two of them. He would be an idiot if he didn''t run away right now.


    While Zen was escaping, his advantage of cultivating both body and life vitality was finally revealed.


    Just now, the forceful energy within his body had suddenly erupted, and his figure had instantly turned into a thin line that streaked across the horizon. In just a few seconds, he had traveled over ten miles.


    In addition to the forceful energy, the life vitality within Zen''s body was also stimulated as he streaked across the plain, causing his speed to increase again.


    This was the benefit of cultivating both his body and life vitality. The forceful energy was suitable for traveling over short distances and it also contained the talent of the Cloud-chasing Lion, which made him even faster. The life vitality was suitable for long-distance flying, allowing him to maintain the high speed he had attained.


    In addition, Zen had also activated the e


    ide of being a body refiner.


    The life vitality system relied on the condensed life vitality from the heaven and earth to stimulate the cultivation method. But, the forceful energy system relied entirely on the eruption of one''s own forceful energy. Forceful energy could only be produced by one''s own body and couldn''t be replenished by anything outside the body.


    The higher one''s cultivation level was, the faster his or her recovery of forceful energy was.


    Since Zen, powerful as he was, was still not very high up in cultivation level, his biggest problem right now was that his forceful energy was soon going to be depleted.


    The explosion of forceful energy could cause his speed to increase, but ordinary forceful energy did not increase Zen''s speed that much. Only after circulating the forceful energy in his body through the Hundred Meetings Platform could he inherit the Cloud-chasing Lion''s innate talent and burst forth with an astonishing speed.


    Zen''s forceful energy was gradually weakening, and his speed was also becoming slower and slower. However, the speed of the ogre war lords behind him did not seem to be decreasing in the slightest.


    Right now, the ogre war lord closet to Zen was only seventy to eighty feet away.


    "Well done. You actually managed to give us a chase of over a thousand miles at such a fast speed. You really surprise me, human. But whatever the case, I will capture you and send you to the ogre''s sacred place to see just what and how many secrets you have on you." The ogre war lord teased him with a sneer. "Now, stop!"


    He waved his fist and launched an attack at Zen.


    Right at that moment, the soul in Zen''s mind left his body once again. It flew towards the ogre war lord behind him, turning into a sharp thorn that drilled into his head.


    Zen''s soul could directly exterminate a war general, but he was not very confident that it could do the same when facing the ogre war lord.


    In any case, since he was caught off-guard, the ogre war lord got frightened. His speed became slower, and his huge head slightly tilted to the side, avoiding Zen''s soul attack.


    "A soul at the Fighting Soul Realm?" The ogre war lord''s expression was both ugly and astonished. "This human brat really is a freak!"

 Chapter 815 Go All Out

    Whether it was in the Central Region or in this chaotic continent, cultivating soul was the most difficult task for warriors.


    Although this ogre war lord was extremely powerful and the ogre race had a secret method of cultivating soul, the war lord Zen was facing hadn''t reached the Fighting Soul Realm yet.


    The ogre war lord was certain that Zen couldn''t destroy his soul as he had a secret weapon, which could protect his soul. But there was still a good chance that Zen might be able to damage his soul, so the war lord was wary of the oncoming attack.


    They cautiously distanced themselves from each other.


    However, what was even more distressing for Zen was that the other two ogre war lords were coming up...


    He gritted his teeth and once again activated the forceful energy within him, which was starting to drain. His body turned into a thin thread once again and whizzed forward.


    The situation was very grave and Zen was in a real soup this time.


    The Central Region was dangerous, but he had always been able to defeat his opponents with the protection of the Cloud Hall. Although his opponents'' cultivation levels were usually one realm higher than Zen''s, they were on par in terms of true strength!


    But this situation was totally different.


    Zen was a seventh level war fighter, but according to the ranking system of the chaotic continent, the war general ranked above the war fighter and the war lord ranked above the war general.


    This meant that the war lord was two realms higher than Zen according to the ranking system in this continent. Moreover, there were three ogre war lords fighting Zen right now.


    If he was an ordinary war fighter, perhaps, he would have already been killed, but Zen had managed to escape for over a thousand miles with his life vitality and forceful energy working to his advantage at the same time.


    But running was never a good solution.


    If the three ogre war lords attacked him together, Zen knew he wouldn''t be able to deal with them simultaneously.


    ''What should I do?'' he thought desperately. Faced with impending doom, Zen asked the cyan dragon in his mind for help.


    "If there really is no other way, I can use my soul to attack and kill them," offered the cyan dragon calmly. "But I''m afraid that after that, my soul will fall into a deep sleep again."


    When the cyan dragon had devoured the Owl Beast''s evil spirit, his soul got energized. A part of the Owl Beast''s soul was used to awaken the red dragon. Zen had used a small portion of that soul to create a soul seed, and the rest was devoured by the cyan dragon. The soul of the Owl Beast''s evil spirit was very strong, but it was not enough for the Genuine Dragon.


    At this stage, the only solution was, as the cyan dragon suggested, one more soul attack.


    But if the cyan dragon went to ''sleep'', it meant that he would once again turn into a lifeless statue atop the mysterious furnace.


    "No!" Zen rejected the idea the moment the cyan dragon suggested it.


    Zen wouldn''t be what he was today without t


    ng after them.


    Phoebe didn''t know why the queen would hang around with Zen. She had to figure out the mystery, and so she had followed them.


    "But that young man doesn''t trust me. He could have run straight to our Demon Night. When Elder Mei arrives, those ogres will all die. Although this guy is only a human war fighter, he runs very fast, so at least he''s safe right now." Saying this, she leaped into the transmission array elegantly. The Demon Night creatures maintained their poise under all circumstances.


    The transmission array was a small one, capable of sending someone 10, 000 miles away. It didn''t take long before Zen passed through this channel and came out the other end.


    As the incandescent white light gradually dissipated, Zen saw a desolate world lie in front of him!


    All he could see was grey plains. There was no other color and everything looked lifeless in this barren place. It was as if life had never existed here. ''What kind of place is this?'' he thought to himself.


    Smiling wryly, Zen crushed another supreme life vitality crystal to replenish his life vitality and, at the same time, he prepared to fly into the air.


    However...


    Just as Zen was about to leap into the air, an extremely powerful force pushed him back down on the ground!


    The surge of power was so formidable that it didn''t allow Zen to resist in the slightest bit.


    "What a powerful restraining force! This is a no-fly ban!" Zen felt a chill in his heart. He was getting more and more confused. Normally, no-fly bans were only used in sects. Why was there such a powerful no-fly ban in this uninhabited land? What the hell was this place?


    Just then, a blazing white light flashed behind Zen and three enormous figures popped out from the light. They were the three ogre war lords who had chased him for more than a thousand miles!


    Zen''s face darkened immediately. Despite using the transmission array, he hadn''t managed to escape them. Now the only option for him was to put his life on the line and go all out.

 Chapter 816 The Cursed Land

    Zen''s body had come to the limits. He distanced himself from the three ogre war lords and stared at them vigilantly.


    But the thing that made Zen curious was that when the three war lords saw the scene before them, their expressions changed.


    "Why is it here?" one of the war lords shouted.


    "It''s going to be trouble," another war lord said as he stared at Zen coldly.


    The three strong war lords glared fiercely at Zen, but none of them charged at him.


    Zen''s body tensed. He had been ready to fight to the death at any moment, but now he was filled with doubt. Why weren''t the ogres attacking?


    The incandescent light in the transmission array suddenly came back on. Phoebe, the girl from the Demon Night walked out of the transmission array. Her intelligent eyes swept across the scene around her, and with graceful steps, she walked past the three war lords towards Zen, completely ignoring them.


    Zen''s confusion increased as he saw this scene.


    The girl was only a war general, yet she was indifferently confident in front of war lords.


    The girl strolled leisurely towards Zen, looking at his perplexed eyes with a smile. "You''re wondering why they aren''t making a move. Am I right?"


    Zen nodded.


    Phoebe extended a hand, splaying her fingers and gestured. "This is the center of the Sea God Continent, the land where all beings are cursed. Those who attack here will be cursed to death. So¡­" The girl turned around and stared at the three war lords with a smile. "That''s why they don''t dare to make a move!"


    "Cursed Land?" Zen''s eyebrows went up.


    "That''s right," Phoebe laughed. "No one can make a move in the Cursed Land. Furthermore, if a warrior above a war lord steps into the Cursed Land, he will also be killed by the curse."


    "A warrior above a war lord?" Zen asked, his breath catching.


    A war lord was as strong as a warrior at the Virtual Tribulation Realm, and a warrior above a war lord was as powerful as someone at the Life and Death Realm. Even a Life and Death Realm warrior could be killed by a curse. The Cursed Land was much more terrifying than what Zen had imagined.


    "Yeah," Phoebe said, nodding. "The transmission array is actually a trap to trick war sages into entering the Cursed Land and then use the power of the Cursed Land to kill them. But it''s a pity that these three are only war lords. Or they would have already been killed by the curse."


    Zen was stunned.


    The chaotic continent, or the Sea God Continent she spoke of, was odd.


    Zen wasn''t from the Sea God Continent, so he didn''t know the history behind it.


    Ever since the Cursed Land was set up in the Sea God Continent, countless transmission arrays had been constructed in various places by various races. They had even left special marks on the arrays in order to trap war


    es throughout the Sea God Continent.


    Humans belonged to one of the thirteen great races. They had established their own sacred place, the Purple Heart Sacred Place, at the northern end of the Sea God Continent.


    But of the sacred places built by the thirteen great races, the Purple Heart Sacred Place was almost ranked the last.


    Zen had heard from the ogre war lords that the humans of the Sea God Continent seemed very weak. And now, as he heard what Phoebe said, they were indeed much weaker than Zen had imagined.


    In the Central Region, the Eastern Region, and the four divine kingdoms, humans were absolute powerhouses. Other races could hardly survive. Yet, they were not the masters of this continent, and this quite surprised Zen.


    It wasn''t long before he discovered why.


    It was because the strongest warriors of the Sea God Continent were all from the Tower of Sin.


    There were cultivation resources in the Tower of Sin that exceeded Zen''s imagination. They had become must-haves for every race. So the most important thing for every race was to send their people into the Tower of Sin, where they could cultivate and fight for the resources. But war sages were unable to enter the Tower of Sin.


    "You''ll know more after you enter the Tower of Sin," Phoebe said, watching him with a slight smile on her face. Her goal was to follow Zen until Elder Mei arrived. What she had just said wasn''t a secret, so she didn''t hesitate to tell him that.


    They couldn''t fly, so they merely walked on the ground. But as warriors, they could still be extremely fast even if they just ran on the ground. After a few hours of running, Zen finally saw a huge tower looming up ahead of them.


    "That''s the Tower of Sin," Phoebe said, pointing to a large structure that was now not far away from them.


    Zen found that the Tower of Sin was actually inverted.

 Chapter 817 A Fierce Battle

    Suspicions regarding the Tower of Sin clouded Zen''s mind once again.


    Now he understood why the immortal Mist had told him that he couldn''t go to the Tower of Sin. That was because Mist''s strength far surpassed that of a warlord in this continent. According to the rule, he too would be cursed to dearth in this Cursed Land.


    The killing power of the Cursed Land had actually intimidated someone as powerful as the immoral Mist. It was unbelievable!


    Speaking of this, what was the connection between the Cursed Land and the Tower of Sin? Why would they appear on this continent? These were just some of the many questions Zen had.


    "Actually, this is what the Tower of Sin is like. It has always been flipped upside down ever since it appeared. There''s nothing strange about that!" Phoebe explained, "Actually, only a small part of the Tower of Sin is above the surface; most of it is buried deep beneath the ground." Phoebe smiled.


    How could anyone build a tower like that?


    It was a huge tower and it wasn''t possible that it was built by digging a huge pit and then constructing floor by floor.


    Most probably, someone had grabbed the tower and inserted it deep into the ground by hand! Somehow, this strange thought suddenly popped into Zen''s mind.


    Of course Phoebe didn''t know what was going on in Zen''s mind. She only told him what he needed to know before entering the Tower of Sin.


    As they approached the Tower of Sin, they met more and more creatures.


    In fact, the Tower of Sin was surrounded by a small town. In the middle of the Sea God Continent, which was usually filled with battles and massacres, the small town appeared exceptionally serene. This was because the Cursed Land was a place where no one could fight and all kinds of races coexisted peacefully.


    Phoebe brought Zen into the small town, and they soon found themselves in front of a building which belonged to humans.


    "Every race has a registration center where you have to go and get a token before you can enter the Tower of Sin," Phoebe told him. "This is the registration center for your human race."


    When he saw that several human cultivators were coming in and out of the building, Zen walked in without hesitation.


    In the center of the lobby he had entered into, there was a huge table where a human cultivator was sitting by. According to the ranking of strengths in the Central Region, this human cultivator would have been classified as an Internal Elixir Realm warrior. But in the Sea God Continent, he was known as a war general.


    When the human war general saw Zen, he smiled scornfully. "Don''t tell me a human war fighter of the seventh level wants to enter the Tower of Sin as well!"


    "What''s the problem with that?" Zen asked with a frown.


    "I admire people with great courage. But believe me, what you are doing right now is the same as courting death. Even if you''re a genius from the Purple Heart Sacred Place, you will only end up dead if you enter the Tower of Sin," the human war general calmly replied.


    Th


    Tower of Sin?" Zen could clearly see that the majority of cultivators, including the ones in the arena and those among the spectators were war fighters, and none of them was a war general.


    "That''s because you''re a human," Phoebe giggled. "This is very common in this place. Human war fighters and war generals are usually weaker. Back when I entered the Tower of Sin for the first time, I was a war fighter too. But no one ever told me not to enter the Tower of Sin!"


    Zen''s eyes revealed surprise. Were humans so weak in this godforsaken place?


    The battle on the arena was finally winding down.


    It was a battle between an ogre and a short but very robust orc.


    Both of these creatures had cultivated the body refining method. When their forceful energies burst out, they crashed head-on! With every collision, the audience would erupt in shouts and cries. The eyes of the two creatures in the arena were bloodshot with a determination to kill. They were using a completely barbaric way to fight, a hand-to-hand combat!


    In the end, the ogre war fighter finally gained an upper hand and with a fierce strike of his elbow, he knocked the orc unconscious. Then he grabbed his enemy''s body and tore off his head with pure, brute force.


    Blood spurted out like a fountain and got splashed all over on the arena.


    The audience seemed to have gotten used to such bloody scenes and in fact, it seemed to make them even more excited. "Borgan! Borgan! Borgan!"


    Borgan was probably the name of that ogre war fighter. He casually waved the head of the orc in his hand and roared, "Who else dares to challenge me!? Challenge our ogre race! You load of trash of low races!"


    His words provoked an uproar from the audience. On one hand there were cheers from the ogre race, and from the other side came angry curses of other races.


    Zen wasn''t too bothered about such provocations. However, he did notice that the blood stains on the arena soon disappeared. What was going on? Zen stared at the arena with a puzzled glance.

 Chapter 818 A Peculiar Tower

    Phoebe saw the puzzlement on Zen''s face.


    From his expression, she already knew what was on his mind. So, she smiled and started to explain in detail, "The Tower of Sin is quite a peculiar tower. It seems like a living creature and can absorb everything within it."


    "Absorb everything?" Zen''s expression became even more puzzled.


    "Yes, that''s right. Regardless of whether it is blood or something else, anything lifeless will be absorbed by this tower. If you leave a weapon on the floor for too long, it will also be absorbed," Phoebe explained.


    "Wait? You mean it can even absorb weapons?" Zen asked in shock.


    Phoebe nodded, "Any lifeless object will be absorbed after being placed on the floor for a period. Say, for example, someone died and no one collected his body for a period, it would also be absorbed by this tower as well."


    Zen was in awe. But before he could comment further, a milky white light suddenly condensed in the arena and shot into the token hanging on the ogre''s chest.


    Although Zen was unclear on what exactly that light was, he could sense that it contained extremely pure energy. He felt an attraction to it and had an instinct to snatch that energy and refine it.


    "What''s that?" he asked.


    "It''s a reward given by the Tower of Sin. It is called the Lucky Light. Defeating your opponent in the arena will get you the Lucky Light. The stronger your opponent you defeat, the more Lucky Light you will get," Phoebe explained to Zen patiently. "There is a popular belief on the Sea God Continent that the Tower of Sin turns the things it absorbs into the Lucky Light."


    "Lucky Light!"


    It wasn''t the first time that Zen had seen the Lucky Light. He had seen it before in the Dragon Soar Arena. The Dragon Soar Arena had accumulated the Lucky Light for countless years, but most of it had all been absorbed by Zen. By absorbing a large amount of Lucky Light, Zen''s cultivation level had greatly enhanced.


    However, the Lucky Light in front of him was different from that in the Dragon Soar Arena. The Lucky Light here did not directly enter one''s body, but into one''s token.


    The cyan dragon also discovered the problem and laughed in Zen''s mind. "Indeed. With the naked eye, the Lucky Light in the Tower of Sin appears to be the same with that in the Dragon Soar Arena. However, the Lucky Light in the Dragon Soar Arena could enhance one''s cultivation level directly, while the Lucky Light here can only be used after refinement."


    "I got it."


    Only now did Zen understand why the creatures on the Sea God Continent valued the Tower of Sin so much.


    Cultivating in the Dragon Soar Arena wasn''t that bad, but it needed a long time for the Dragon Soar Arena to accumulate the Lucky Light. Zen was the first to enter the Dragon Soar Arena, and he had absorbed almost all the Lucky Light in it. As a result, the amount of Lucky Light gained by those people who entered the Dragon Soar Arena after Zen was much less.


    In this Tower of Sin, however, once you de


    Borgan rushed towards him, Zen''s hand suddenly moved, and his finger pressed on Borgan''s head.


    Pak!


    Zen''s figure moved slightly to the side, dodging Borgan''s massive body. He only took one step aside during the entire process.


    People in the audience only saw Borgan''s head turning into a cloud of blood. The headless body took a few steps before flopping onto the floor.


    People''s voices died away and silence reigned.


    This bloodshed was nothing new in the Tower of Sin. These bloodsheds would often take place in duels with great disparity in strength.


    The creatures were not surprised to see Zen''s method of killing Borgan. They were dumbfounded by the fact that he was human.


    Humans had many known talents. Otherwise, they wouldn''t be considered one of the thirteen great races.


    However, human war fighters were far behind the other creatures on the Sea God Continent. Entering the Tower of Sin when a human was still a war fighter was like digging his own grave. As such, almost all the warriors that the Purple Heart Sacred Place sent into the Tower of Sin were war generals.


    But this level seven human war fighter was different. Despite his level, he had defeated Borgan with only a finger.


    This surprised most of the creatures in the Tower of Sin. It was something they had never seen in many years.


    The dead silence was broken when the creatures began to whisper among themselves.


    The blood of the ogre war fighter slowly seeped into the arena, and a milky white light suddenly appeared shooting into Zen''s token.


    After being infused with the Lucky Light, this ordinary metal token began to feel heavy.


    ''Immortal Mist is right. The Tower of Sin is indeed a good place to quickly increase my cultivation level. But it''s also not easy to enter the bottom of the Tower of Sin, '' Zen thought to himself as he stood in the arena.


    Just as he was about to walk off, another burly figure walked up into the arena. "Kid, do you want to leave after you just won?"

 Chapter 819 A Dark Horse

    Behind Zen stood a level nine ogre war fighter. He wore red armor and held a giant blood-colored axe in his hand. His expression was cold and grim, as if he wanted to devour Zen.


    In the Tower of Sin, those of the same race usually formed an alliance. That was the only manner in which they were able to monopolize the resources in the tower.


    When a talent showed up, the other races would send their elites to kill him or her while he or she was still young.


    The Tower of Sin was like an accelerated world in its own right¡ªa place for the talents to better themselves. If left to train well and without restraint, they could rise to the ranks as fast as lightning.


    Zen''s first show of power was shocking.


    The ogres were one of the top three forces in the Tower of Sin. How could they be willing to let Zen go?


    Zen had originally walked to the edge of the arena, but when the provocation from the ogre fell on his ears, he drew back the foot he had just raised.


    He knew that the Lucky Light in the Tower of Sin was different from that of the Dragon Soar Arena. Each race had its own secret technique. However, since the Lucky Light in the Tower of Sin could also increase one''s cultivation level, Zen naturally had to obtain as much of it as he could.


    In addition, the malicious aura was equally important to him.


    Since entering the Sea God Continent, he had killed dozens of ogres and accumulated quite a bit of the malicious aura.


    The ogre Borgan, whom he had just killed, had an abundance of malicious aura inside of his body. It was the perfect opportunity for Zen to add on to his malicious aura.


    The "Malicious Wheel of Life and Death" was indeed an extremely powerful cultivation method, but because of the scant amount of malicious aura he possessed, he could only use the "Exterminating Wheel." If he wanted to continue cultivating, he would need more of the malicious aura. In the past, he hadn''t had many chances to obtain it.


    If he could get his hands on both the malicious aura and the Lucky Light right here, he''d be fortunate.


    Zen turned around and smiled, "I accept your challenge."


    The level nine ogre war fighter laughed out loud. "Very good. My name is¡ª"


    "I''m not interested in knowing your name," Zen said quickly, the smile on his face vanishing.


    "Why not?" the ogre asked, always a bit slow of mind.


    "Why would I care? You are to die soon."


    Just as Zen said this, the forceful energy within his body erupted, his figure vanishing from where he stood.


    Although the ogre war fighter was slow-witted, he was not slow in movement. The moment he saw Zen disappear, he raised his axe in a swift motion.


    However, he had only raised it halfway wh


    lifications do you have to order me around?"


    "You! You couldn''t live longer than three days in here without the protection of the Purple Heart Sacred Place!" Dylon said in anger. According to him, the fact that he had personally come here from another floor to visit Zen was a great honor. But Zen didn''t look like he appreciated the kindness at all. He even had the gall to be arrogant about it!


    "How many days I can live should not concern you," Zen said. Without another look, he stepped forward, while Phoebe merely smiled apologetically and followed behind.


    After Zen left, Dylon''s face was still red with rage. "That brat!"


    Dylon''s another companion did not agree with the sentiment. "Why are you threatening him? He is indeed very powerful. If he can better himself quickly in the Tower of Sin, he might be able to secure a seat for the human race."


    "Are you counting on him? A human war fighter?" Dylon sneered.


    "Could you defeat an ogre war fighter when you were once a war fighter yourself? At that time, you wouldn''t even have dared to enter the Tower of Sin!" Olivia Xia, a female warrior, shot at him coldly.


    "Olivia..." Dylon started, only to be cut off.


    "Enough!" Olivia Xia shook her head. "Let''s just look on for a while. That female member of the Demon Night seems to be giving him advice. I don''t think he would be foolish enough to challenge the warriors he knows he can''t defeat. After a while, I''ll go and talk to him."


    The humans had already taken note of Zen. The other races couldn''t fall behind either.


    On the first floor of the Tower of Sin, many races were keeping an eye on Zen. The news of him winning the two matches was also being spread through various channels.


    Aside from the human race, every other race had the same goal, and that was to kill Zen.

 Chapter 820 Block The Way

    Danger lurked in every corner but Zen was not afraid.


    The Tower of Sin was a relatively safe place.


    It had its own set of rules and wasn''t affected by the Cursed Land.


    Here, fighting was strictly prohibited and regulated except in the arenas.


    Any dispute, whether it was between mortal enemies or entire opposing races, had to be settled in the arena. Anyone who broke the rules and engaged in any fighting outside the arena would be hunted down and dealt with by all other races.


    Phoebe led him to a decently spacious hall, "This is the living quarters. The practice rooms here can be rented for a day with a few points. This one here is the most ordinary practice room but there are some pretty exclusive, secret ones that can cost up to 100 points per day."


    Zen raised an eyebrow, "A hundred points a day?" he repeated. He had won two matches but had only accumulated a total of 20 points which was nowhere near enough to afford a more expensive room.


    Phoebe shrugged, "You heard what I said. The time flow rate in one of those practice rooms is ten to one."


    Zen''s eyebrows were raised higher. "Time flow rate? What''s that?" he asked curiously.


    Phoebe sighed and felt the need to explain to Zen.


    The only way to change the speed at which time flowed was through the use of Time Law.


    After he was baptized, Zen had gained the comprehension of the nine different basic laws in the Upper World. However, there was one law that he had not understood and that was the Time Law.


    If one were to use a metaphor: time was the king, and space was the ruler - these two law powers were essentially the most powerful ones in the world. The Dragon Lineage Human did not have the Time Law''s obelisk because they didn''t have a master who had fully comprehended it.


    A practice room that altered time flow pleased Zen greatly.


    Time was running out.


    If he worked hard and obtained enough points, he would be able to enter the more expensive practice room and use it for his training. One day inside it would be equivalent to ten days of training on the outside world. One year would be equivalent to ten years. It was amazing!


    Still, Zen was more concerned about the Time Law.


    "You said there are all sorts of cultivation methods here in the Tower of Sin," he said to Phoebe. "Are there cultivation methods that are related to the Time Law?"


    "I know some of them, but¡­" Phoebe trailed off, avoiding Zen''s eyes. "But what?" Zen pushed further.


    Phoebe answered him with a small smile instead, "You won''t meet them by staying on the first floor. You''ll have to go deeper."


    "Humph," Zen huffed. "How can I get to the next floor?"


    Phoebe shrugged once again. "One hundred points." The reply made Zen think: since he hadn''t encountered any great difficulties on the first ground and the war fighters weren''t much of a threat to him, it wouldn''t be too difficult for him to get 100 points.


    Nodding, Zen dropped the subject. He had no plans of entering the next floor for the time being. He st


    actice room, Phoebe immediately went up to Zen, "Breakthrough?"


    Zen merely nodded in reply.


    "Will you go to the arena again?"


    Phoebe couldn''t help but ask.


    "Not now," Zen answered, deciding to wait outside the Tower of Sin to see if he could channel the power of the stars there.


    "Is that so? There are already several groups of people waiting for you here¡­"


    Phoebe''s voice died away as six to seven ogres appeared out of nowhere and blocked their path.


    "Human kid¡­" one of them addressed Zen condescendingly.


    Zen groaned, "I don''t have time for this!"


    He interrupted and refused before the ogre even had the chance to finish his sentence.


    "No time?" the ogre scoffed.


    "You don''t get to choose, human."


    The other ogres laughed at his words but Zen wasn''t having any of it.


    "Do you want to make a scene here?" he asked menacingly.


    "They won''t fight with you in here but they can block your way out," Phoebe said with a smile.


    The rule about fighting in the safe zone might be strict but that didn''t mean there were no loopholes they could exploit.


    One of the most common methods was the use of death soldiers, sending them off for assassination. No matter if the target died, the death soldier would die anyway. A failed assassination would be impossible to be traced back to the mastermind while a successful one meant that the death soldier actually served out his very purpose and killed a talent from another race.


    However, Zen''s strength had been enough to save himself from those death warriors.


    Another method was to carry out provocation and if that didn''t work, then the simple strategy of being a huge blockade in the hallway also existed.


    Narrow roads divided the living quarters while ogres were tall, stocky monsters with bald heads that nearly touched the ceiling. If provocation didn''t work, then a simple blockade would prevent anyone from ever going in or going out. Although it was annoying, they weren''t really necessarily breaking any kind of rule.

 Chapter 821 Arrogance

    Zen rolled his eyes at the group of ogres who were like small mountains. These guys went all out to force him to fight. He could only shake his head, thinking how shameless they were.


    They were just ogre war fighters. Why did they want to get themselves killed in this way?


    He indifferently looked around at the ogre war fighters who all looked fierce. Since they wanted to give him the Lucky Light, he found no reason to reject them. He was intending to accept their challenge.


    Just then, a blue-black ogre appeared behind the war fighters.


    Though the ogre was smaller in size than his clansmen, he possessed commanding presence. His eyes shined with a cold light and were abnormally sharp. When his gaze swept across, it even gave off the feeling of a sharp knife cutting through the faces.


    He was only a war general, but with his sharp and imposing demeanor, he could easily make others feel suppressed with such great pressure. Even Zen didn''t escape from sensing that kind of feeling as he let out a slight trace of surprise.


    "Get out of the way," the war general said coldly.


    As the ogres who tightly blocked the road saw the war general behind them, fear and reverence appeared on their faces.


    "It''s Elder Boris! Get out of the way!"


    "Don''t push me! Greetings, Elder Boris."


    The ogres quickly dispersed, opening up a path for Boris. In no time, Zen found himself facing the thin war general. He was glad that he already knew his name Boris from the ogres.


    Boris walked ahead, fixing his cold gaze on Zen. "You are a human, but you are not an ordinary war fighter."


    "What does that have to do with you?" Zen stared at Boris and asked, not afraid at all.


    "Not only do the ogres want your life, the Giants, the Orcs, and¡­" Boris''s gaze fell on Phoebe, who was standing behind Zen, and he continued with a slight tinge of surprise, "And the Demon Night also wants your life. We have dozens of ways to kill you, but I think the best way is to kill you in the arena. I''m waiting for you on the tenth floor. I hope you don''t run away or stay here all the time."


    Hearing what Boris spouted, Zen chuckled to himself. When his smile faded, he calmly responded, "My only purpose of coming to the Tower of Sin is, of course, to enter the higher floors. As for at which floor you are waiting for me, it has nothing to do with me. And there is no need to pointedly tell me that because you are not that strong enough to impress me."


    Zen''s words made the faces of all the ogres change drastically.


    It was true that Boris was only a war general, but his status among the ogres was even higher than that of many war lords.


    The ogres possessed two sacred places on the Sea God Continent, the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place. Boris happened to be the most powerful talent in the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place. But it didn''t mean that he was not up


    nd. Since she was smartly sensitive, with just a glance, she instantly understood what Zen meant. She revealed an elegant smile and kept her distance. Right now, he needed to practice.


    Phoebe had given him a lot of help, but she couldn''t always follow him for the sake of his sword spirit, Lily. She was not inclined to know everything about Zen, but the information about her queen was too important, so she kept on following him.


    After keeping a certain distance from Phoebe, Zen found a secluded spot. He sat down cross-legged. He then raised his head to look at the sky. The sky was filled with stars, which were embedded in the night sky, connecting with each other, forming a silver pillar.


    "Can we start now?" Zen asked.


    "Not bad. This is a very suitable place to cultivate the Stellar Body," the red dragon responded.


    As soon as the red dragon''s voice fell, countless profound characters and information appeared in Zen''s mind.


    "Although the second half of the Stellar Body is lost, the first half has recorded its general principles. As it says, the first step is to activate the star power. As the saying goes, everything is difficult at the beginning. Activating the first star power is the most difficult. You don''t have to succeed the first time, but you can try it first," the red dragon said faintly.


    It was not so easy to cultivate Transcendent Divine Might.


    At the time, when the red dragon grasped the Stellar Body, his cultivation had already reached a point that was difficult for Zen to understand. However, it had taken him a full five years to comprehend the Stellar Body.


    Zen did not say anything as he sat on the ground, quietly digesting the information in his mind.


    Two hours later, the stars in the sky had already quietly shifted their positions to a certain distance. Only then did Zen abruptly open his eyes. A sharp light shone out from his eyes as he looked towards the sky.

 Chapter 822 The Big World (Part One)

    The mystery of the Transcendent Divine Might was truly far beyond what Zen could have ever imagined.


    Scattered across the vast sky were countless twinkling stars that seemed to wink at him, and mischievous lights that were probably no less than trillions of miles away from his grasp. Even if Zen determinedly journeyed for millions of years, the odds of reaching the nearest star he could see in the distance would still be low.


    However hopeless his goal of reaching the glimmering stars might have been, the general guide of the Transcendent Divine Might enabled him to regain his optimism. This was due to the unbelievable fact that there was now a way to communicate with those far-off stars and trigger their formidable powers.


    Just by that detail alone, Zen could tell that it was almost inconceivable to even think of.


    According to the records that came with the general guide, it firmly stated the more stars one could connect with in a moment, the more star power an individual could ultimately draw and initiate. Furthermore, the power mobilized for the Stellar Body could also become much stronger.


    Among the mysteries of the Transcendent Divine Might was the secret method located in the general guide for the Stellar Body, which was able to utilize the abilities of the soul to comprehend such distant stars. Although he had found the long awaited secret, Zen still found it abnormally mysterious and surreptitious to believe.


    There were many aspects of the world that humans had a definite knowledge of, like having a sense of everything that existed and that included objects as large as the Tower of Sin standing proudly in front of Zen and things as tiny as insects fluttering about in the stale wind. Moreover, people grasped the realities of the things they could see closely in their everyday lives such as towering trees and moving people, as well as things like the glimmering lights of the stars in the vast atmosphere.


    Although it was true that humans could see innumerable celestial bodies, their perception of the stars was insubstantial at best. Except for being able to observe their faint radiance, no one could simply obtain any significant information regarding a particular star. Questions such as how their powers could be used and how to properly activate them had existed persistently generation after generation with not so much of an accurate theory withstanding the test of time.


    Confusion and doubt regarding the stars had never solved their on


    esources.


    The man did not have to wait long before even the Sea God Continent appeared smaller and smaller. The young man currently fascinated by the scenery compared the sight to a boat seamlessly floating above the endless ocean.


    "So huge..." Zen mumbled, awestruck at what his formless consciousness had brought him to witness.


    Reflecting by himself with nostalgia running deep within his bones, he realized with a start that the great world was much larger and more magnificent than what he could have ever imagined. Nothing could have defeated this kind of experience as he was suddenly blessed with seeing the great world in all its glory.


    As Zen''s consciousness continued to lengthen and reach even farther, he estimated that about seven or eight continents materialized above the limitless body of water which made him see more of what they had occupied as he rose higher. Reaching an impressive height, he distinguished the continents from one another which were separated from each other by a great distance.


    Narrowing his eyes from his spirit form, his gaze locked on one specific continent and promptly gasped. "That is... Central Region!"


    The man was clearly surprised and startled by the sight as his heart rate picked up erratically. Among these seven or eight continents, the Central Region was probably the smallest continent in terms of area. The Chaotic Ocean of Stars was right beside the Central Region, and the four divine kingdoms were just right by the Chaotic Ocean of Stars. With another jolt, he quickly came upon the realization that the four divine kingdoms'' total territory was over ten times bigger than the Central Region!

 Chapter 823 The Big World (Part Two)

    Shaking his head dazedly, he looked over at another side and saw something much more peculiar and astounding than the sight he had seen just a moment ago. "Eh? There is another continent?!" he exclaimed, eyes wide as saucers at the new information. Due to the visual that captivated him and caught his undivided attention, he was absolutely certain that this unknown continent was even a hundred times bigger than the entirety of the four divine kingdoms! Scanning his eyes back and forth between this continent and the others, Zen found that the Central Region, the four divine kingdoms, and even the formidable Sea God Continent were like islands rather than continents. It was an undeniable fact that all of them looked insignificant compared to the former. "What is that place, anyway?" Zen asked out of curiosity, somehow mesmerized and intrigued by the huge continent he had little to no knowledge of before that very moment.


    Needless to say, he was without a doubt, awfully curious about the Upper World and what was in it.


    The Upper World possessed over one hundred thousand great worlds and tens of thousands of varying races. Although the place was clearly abundant, Zen, upon taking a good look at the world where he had lived in, realized with a sinking feeling that he did not actually know much about the place he had stayed in all those years.


    Progressively flying farther away made the continents look smaller in comparison until they became vague shapes in the distance. As Zen''s consciousness suddenly accelerated, he rose infinitely, not really knowing where it would take him.


    "The gale!" the man cried out upon sensing the forceful current of air approaching his form.


    In the blink of an eye, a huge mass of intense wind appeared around Zen and revolved ruthlessly everywhere he could lay his eyes upon.


    With his forehead creasing in worry, Zen noticed the gusts of howling wind were seemingly able to break everything they came into contact with to shambles. Moreover, he observed that when the masses of strong gale collided with each other, a penetrating boom was emitted, as the collision created even more dangerous gales. The sight reminded Zen of a terrible tornado except this was ten times more distressing; the windstorms exponentially grew, constantly dissipating and colliding with each other which endlessly produced more intense wind.


    No one below, not even Zen, was well-informed of the existence of such terrifying gales. Perhaps these occurrences had existed ever since the infinite universe came to be, which did not remove the fact that not a single being had ever been able to penetrate such a disarming layer of gale.


    Even if Zen''s body, which was a top-grade fairy weapon, was drawn into the immensely strong wind, it was highly likely that he would be ground into fine powder by the sheer force of it.


    However, Zen glanced down and instantly remembered that he was not in his physical body. Exhaling inaudibly, he was suddenly grateful that he did not have to experience being pushed and pulled by the harsh gusts of wind.


    Feeling relieved, Zen bore in mind that he was currently just


    managed to look back once more at the world below, locking his gaze on the world he had left.


    Biting his lip restlessly, it was instantly evident that there existed multiple worlds that could be linked with one another. Each of these worlds was merely separated by four thick wall-like mists, just like what he had observed surrounding his own world. If one was to look as far as Zen was able to, the worlds that interconnected with its neighboring worlds appeared like menacing scales on the hide of some vicious beast.


    "What is that?" He examined the being with prying eyes, oddly intrigued and horrorstruck by the thing.


    Taken aback, Zen eventually figured out that there was indeed a giant intimidating beast that stayed on those scales!


    The gigantic monster was completely coated in black, as if it was born directly out of the stillness of the night. Its appearance was eerily similar to that of a humongous turtle as it crawled slowly, seemingly able to absorb any form of light if one happened to pass by it.


    Despite being extremely threatened at the sight of such a terrible creature, Zen still marveled at the unknown beast, most especially its remarkable scales.


    Dumbfounded, Zen finally became aware of the fact that every diamond-shaped scale was actually a singular world. As the giant beast covered over a dozen scales, it meant that it also covered over a dozen distinguished worlds. The actuality that the turtle-like being was even crawling while it had multiple worlds under it was all the more astounding to Zen.


    Dazedly looking at the crawling creature, the realization sunk in the pit of his stomach like an unsettled stone in the middle of a raging river. With such a massive body that was ultimately larger than a dozen worlds combined, it was very much possible that it could easily crush a world with a single stomp of its colossal feet.


    The man''s breath was stuck in his throat as he became speechless at the scene in front of him. As his astonishment reached its peak level, Zen merely blinked at the beast, a wave of shock washing over his very being.

 Chapter 824 Communicating With The Stars

    At this moment, Zen was just a wisp of consciousness, not breathing, not comprehending. He was only instinctively reacting to the shocking scene that was playing out in front of him.


    He had never imagined that such a huge beast could exist in this world!


    Although there were nine Genuine Dragons in Zen''s mind, they existed in a form that concealed their sizes from Zen. But he guessed that even those nine Genuine Dragons would not be as big as the giant beast.


    How could such a huge beast even survive? Wouldn''t it have destroyed countless worlds if it had kept moving like this? What did it eat? And how did it grow so big?


    There were no answers to these questions.


    Since Zen''s consciousness was out of his body, he couldn''t ask the cyan dragon all this. It looked like he would have to wait till his consciousness returned to his body before he could ask his questions.


    Zen was worried.


    The incredibly giant beast was not far from the world Zen was in. He was not clear about the giant beast''s destination, but if it turned even a little, it would pass through the world Zen was in and crush it in a single step.


    Zen smiled rather helplessly as the thought crossed his mind.


    In this boundless universe, he was too minuscule, even smaller than a grain of sand.


    Even in the world he was in, he was only one in a trillion.


    As he ascended, Zen saw a large, grayish-brown tree growing on the densely packed scales. The root of the large tree had dozens of "scales" running through it. This meant that just the root itself could penetrate dozens of worlds.


    The height of the tree was even more frightening. It was at least a hundred times taller than its rhizome.


    If the tree were to fall, it would probably get through thousands of worlds in a second. And when you considered the trunk''s width, this number would probably multiply ten times.


    Zen could only sigh.


    The speed at which his consciousness leaped was still increasing. He further sped up as he distanced himself from the densely packed scales. At the same time, he discovered more things like an immeasurably huge mountain and the Stonehenge on the scales.


    Suddenly, Zen felt an abnormal fit of oscillation from the universe before him.


    He looked up and spotted a pitch black thing, continuously rotating, not far to his left.


    Black.


    That was the only word he could use to describe it.


    In reality, it wouldn''t even have a color because it was onl


    ''Feels like I am too greedy, '' Zen thought faintly.


    In the end, he gave up searching for a new star. He had established a connection the first time he had communicated with a star. That was a good enough result for the time being.


    Travelling through the void with his consciousness had been an unimaginable feat for him. But he had used the secret technique of the transcendent divine might and managed to do it.


    During the journey back, his gaze was once again focused on those densely packed scales. At the moment, he was extremely far from those scales and was unable to see the end of them. This was because the end was completely covered in darkness, as if it was in a faraway place that could not even be reached by light.


    ''The boundless universe is connected to the boundless universe. Since there are millions of great worlds, what is at the end of the millions of great worlds?''


    Zen shook his head, his mind reeling from his thoughts and rendering him unable to explore the question any further.


    The Stellar Body seemed to employ a secret technique that borrowed gravity from the stars to pull his consciousness out. That was probably why he could maintain such a high speed as he approached the stars and touch the gravity of the stars, as he shuttled back and forth between them.


    However, Zen couldn''t roam the Great Void with his own power. He wouldn''t be able to explore the distant deep space and the edge of the boundless universe with his current strength.


    He wasn''t sure how strong he would have to become to be able to use his physical body to travel through the Great Void and explore the endless space.

 Chapter 825 Refining The Body With Star Power

    After a long and tiring journey, Zen slowly retracted his consciousness from the universe and stopped his meditation.


    As his consciousness fell back inside, a tremor suddenly hit Zen''s still body, after which, he took a deep breath and opened his eyes, looking at the sky full of stars.


    Phoebe maintained a distance of over ten feet from Zen. Her slender body was leaning on the edge of a building as her beautiful eyes quietly stared at the remarkable young man in front of her. She could feel that there was something strange about Zen, but she could not pinpoint exactly what it was.


    "Was it fun to roam about in the great universe?" The red dragon laughed and asked as he sensed Zen come back.


    In the universe, Zen had received quite a lot of shocks and was still pondering over them. At this very moment too, his consciousness was still communicating with the light purple star. He tilted his head and looked at a certain corner of the sky.


    Thanks to his astonishing eyesight, he was able to distinguish the light purple star in a single glance.


    "I''ve established a connection with a star, how can I draw upon its power?" Zen asked.


    "What!? You succeeded at your first attempt only?" The red dragon ejaculated in shock.


    It had taken the red dragon a full five years to communicate with the stars for the first time!


    It was said to be almost impossible to tame a star, and it was even more difficult to establish a connection with the star. In order to communicate with the stars, the red dragon had traveled in the universe for a total of five years, before he finally found a star willing to connect with him.


    However, it was totally different in Zen''s case! It didn''t even take him a single day! The very first time he had traversed through the great universe, Zen had managed to obtain the acceptance of a star. When he came to know about this, the red dragon was nearly speechless with shock.


    At that time, the cyan dragon laughed and remarked lightly, "Brother, don''t forget, this is Zen''s fate in play."


    "Ha-ha, you are right!" The red dragon had almost forgotten that Zen was blessed with the fate of a man who was destined to fight and win in this world.


    The Genuine Dragon race was very strong, and the red dragon''s strength back then had been unimaginably strong. But, even today, his destiny was not necessarily better than Zen''s.


    All those warriors in the world who possessed the fate to fight were said to be the favored ones of the world. This meant that very few creatures could have better destiny and luck than Zen did.


    Now that Zen had obtained the approval of a star, he would be able to draw out its star power.


    According to the methods mentioned in the Stellar Body, Zen tried to communicate with the star with his mind. The star at the edge of the sky suddenly started twinkling in response, and a faint starlight appeared on the surface of Zen''s body.


    Standing not far away from him, Phoebe''s eyes abruptly went wide in shock when she noticed the change in Zen''s body!


    She obviously couldn''t understand why a faint light had suddenly appeared on Zen''s body. Although Phoebe didn''t know the fact that this light came from a star,


    a was very dissatisfied with the rules of the Tower of Sin. Why did she have to attain a default victory for three consecutive days before being able to advance to the next floor? This was wasting her time!


    Her goal was to enter the tenth floor as quickly as possible. Considering her strength, she would be able to obtain the highest amount of Lucky Light by staying on the tenth floor. Her cultivation speed would also be the fastest.


    What annoyed Teresa most was that she had previously been in the second floor with two days of default victory, but on the third day, a fool had stepped onto the stage and challenged her. In her fury, Teresa had killed the challenger in an instant! But now that the third day was not a default victory, she had to wait another three days.


    It was a good thing that her last instant kill was quite intimidating. Finally, no more fool dared to challenge her. She only needed to wait a little longer before obtaining the qualification to ascend to the third floor!


    However, right at that moment, a figure walked onto the arena. It was no one other than Zen himself.


    Teresa did not want anyone to appear on the arena not because she was afraid of any opponent on this floor. The real reason was that regardless of the strength of her opponent, the rules stated that she had to start her round of three consecutive days of default victory once again if anyone challenged her. This meant that she would have to wait for three more days before she could enter the third floor of the Tower of Sin!


    For that reason alone, when she saw Zen walk onto the stage, Teresa was about to go crazy.


    She sized up Zen from head to toe, her gaze frosty in her fury. "I see that there is yet another stupid war fighter who wants to challenge me to a battle! It seems like my tactics last time weren''t cruel enough and didn''t teach you guys a painful enough lesson. This time, it is going to be even more ruthless!"


    "I wonder just how ruthless it will be?" Zen smiled.


    Teresa took out a short dagger from her space ring and coldly replied, "Ruthless enough to send you into the deepest pits of despair!"

 Chapter 826 The Unforeseen Result

    Teresa''s goal was to reach the tenth floor of the Tower of Sin in one and a half months.


    According to the rules of the Tower of Sin, the quickest time for one to advance to the tenth floor was one month. This individual needed to be so strong that no one dared to challenge him from the first day that he entered the tower.


    In the past, a few creatures had advanced to the tenth floor in one month, but they were all war lords.


    Some talents from different races stayed in seclusion in their respective sacred places to cultivate until they became war lords. Once they reached this cultivation level, they would enter the Tower of Sin to gain experience.


    War fighters stayed on the first five floors, while war generals fought on the sixth to the tenth floors.


    No other creatures would dare to challenge these war lords except if they met their peers on the way to the top of the tower. With no opponents for a month, they could reach the tenth floor as fast as they could.


    However, a war general like Teresa had a slim chance of reaching the tenth floor in a month. This was because her peers were likely to fight their ways to higher floors. And it didn''t matter whether they could defeat Teresa or not, they would all make her have to waste a few days.


    Teresa had no problem encountering other war generals because she had to respect the rules. She had even spared 15 days just to deal with these idiots.


    She always had it easy because the war generals she had encountered so far were weaklings.


    However, the guy in front of her was different. He was a war fighter of the eighth level. And what was more fascinating for Teresa was that he was a human!


    Since when did cowardly humans have the courage to challenge the noble Demon Night?


    Teresa''s beautiful eyes exuded strong killing intent. The killing intent and her perfect face would cause one''s heart to palpitate with fear. The metaphor of these two different feelings would create a huge gap and would cause everyone to feel a special feeling.


    "You''re truly worthy of being a near-perfect race. Every woman of the Demonic Night is a stunning beauty," Zen said, slowly drawing his sword.


    "Is that a sacred weapon?" Teresa cocked her slender eyebrows that were like willow leaves. "When did the Purple Heart Sacred Place become so generous that they gave a sacred weapon to a war fighter?"


    Swoosh! Zen brandished his sword and said with a faint smile, "I''m not from the Purple Heart Sacred Place."


    Teresa laughed coldly and said, "Well, it doesn''t matter who you are! All I know is that you''re no match for me!"


    She lightly tiptoed, and like a mother leopard, she suddenly rushed out. The forceful energy within her body released a faint light, setting off her graceful silhouette on the arena.


    "You''re very agile." Zen smiled, his long sword slightly twisted. He was still using the basic swordsmanship.


    As Zen continued to improve his basic swordsmanship, the sword moves were also slowly evolving.


    The


    However, Teresa didn''t succeed. Zen lowered his head to dodge, and then turned around and brandished his long sword, the blade of the sword slashing horizontally at Teresa''s buttocks.


    As this event unfolded, Phoebe became anxious and even screamed. She covered her mouth not to distract Zen from his fight.


    Meanwhile, in the spectator stands, someone suddenly stood up. He was a war lord from the Demon Night.


    As a divine-level talent of the Demon Night''s sacred place, it was impossible for Teresa to enter the Tower of Sin on her own. Therefore, she had elders of her race to protect her all the way.


    According to the war lord''s assessment, Teresa wouldn''t have any trouble completing the first nine floors of the tower with her current strength and power.


    But as for the human brat challenging Teresa, the war lord had a bad feeling about him. It was already strange that he had a girl from the Demon Night following him given that he was just an ordinary war fighter. Even a tenth-level war general was no match for Teresa. Any cultivator superior to Zen wouldn''t even dare to challenge Teresa, so naturally, the war lord wasn''t worried at all. Humans were naturally weak!


    To his surprise, however, Zen managed to resist Teresa''s attacks. As Zen''s sword slashed at Teresa''s buttocks, his mind went blank. With the sharpness of the sacred weapon in Zen''s hand, he could have cut Teresa in half. He couldn''t afford to let Teresa die because there was no way he could explain it to the clan elders.


    The expressions on the other creatures'' faces in the spectator stands were also vivid.


    The majority of them could not believe what had just happened.


    How could it be that there was a talent of this level among the weak humans of the Sea God Continent? They wondered whether they were mistaken, but Zen was no doubt a human war fighter.


    Clap!


    Zen turned his sword slightly, using the blade to hit Teresa''s buttocks, instead of cutting them.


    He let go of Teresa this time.

 Chapter 827 The Heavenly Kill

    Zen was very clear about his goal.


    His first purpose of coming to the Tower of Sin was to cultivate himself. His second objective was to obtain inheritance of the Tower of Sin.


    The ogre and the Demon Night were both top races of the Sea God Continent, while humans seemed to be incomparably weak here. As soon as Zen arrived on the Sea God Continent, he had invited the enmity of the ogres. But he wasn''t stupid to feud with the Demon Night.


    Although Zen had used the blade of his sword to hit Teresa on the butt, the force of the blow was still quite heavy. Teresa staggered and pounced forward, looking quite embarrassed.


    The members of the Demon Night were always elegant and proud. They would never allow themselves to be humiliated in front of everyone like this. The moment Teresa reached the ground, she pushed against it, nimble as a reptile, and turned over, wanting to fight back.


    Swoosh!


    But Zen was fast.


    The sword had already reached Teresa''s snow-white neck, the tip of the sword pulsing with energy. If Zen were to raise his hand and move the sharp sacred weapon a bit, it could probably cut Teresa''s head off.


    Teresa was angry and embarrassed, but she wasn''t stupid. She had read the rules of the Tower of Sin countless times before she came here and understood them quite well.


    She was powerful, noble, and respected in the sacred place. No one would dare take her life there. But on the arena, no one could protect her, even if the Demon Night won many seats in the Tower of Sin. The rules were set by a lot of races, and it was impossible for anyone to change them just for a divine-level talent like her.


    If Zen managed to kill her, the Demon Night would avenge her. But they couldn''t bring her back to life anyway.


    "Admit defeat and I won''t kill you," Zen said calmly. It wasn''t that he didn''t know how to show mercy to a woman. But right now, the slightest carelessness on his part could lead to his death. Still, he was kind enough to be willing to let her off.


    "I... I admit you''ve defeated me," Teresa said, grasping the situation despite her obvious resentment.


    In a flash, the Lucky Light of Teresa''s token shot into Zen''s token.


    The Lucky Light was a reward to the victor. And the amount of Lucky Light that the victor could get depended on the opponent''s Lucky Light.


    Teresa was a war general of the Demon Night, one who was skillful in battle. The only people who had dared challenge her were war generals; some even those of a higher level. So the amount of Lucky Light that Zen got from Teresa was ten times more than before.


    Thus it was good to have high cultivation bases. When Zen had entered the first floor of the Tower of Sin, those who had dared challenge him were all war fighters who had small amounts of Lucky Light and only earned few points.


    Teresa glared viciously at Zen and walked out of the arena.


    Phoebe heaved a sigh of relief. B


    ut it looked like his advice was useless. In the end, the Demon Night war lord could only sigh. But luckily, Zen did not seem to have any intention of killing Teresa.


    Teresa was just too arrogant. It was probably good for her to taste defeat during the battle in the Tower of Sin. This experience could be considered exercise for her warrior spirit.


    Since no one had challenged Zen, he left the arena, and Phoebe followed closely behind him.


    Just like Teresa, Zen also wanted to get to the top floor of the Tower of Sin as soon as possible. He had no interest in fighting with those war fighters, but according to the rules of the Tower of Sin, he had no choice.


    This time, when Zen arrived at the living quarters on the second floor, he saw quite a few women by the side.


    There were women of all races, including ogres, orcs, human beings and other races. There were even women from the Demon Night!


    These women were all dressed sexily, their curvaceous figures tempting the senses in the most primitive of ways.


    "These women..." Zen looked at them, confused.


    "Prostitutes," Phoebe replied bluntly. "Warriors are stressed in the Tower of Sin, and all of them try to relieve the pressure by having fun with these prostitutes. From the first floor to the tenth floor, prostitutes are very common on each floor."


    Zen curled his lips. In addition to those human and Demon Night prostitutes, there were even prostitutes from the orc and the ogre. Naturally, Zen couldn''t accept their ugly appearances.


    He couldn''t bear to stay here any longer. Just as he was about to leave, a human woman walked out from the other side and blocked his path. She smiled up at him. "Hey! Someone wants to have a good talk with you."


    The woman was a perfect beauty. Zen faintly smiled at her and asked, "How many life vitality crystals can you get for one night?"


    The woman became furious at Zen''s words, her face showing the extent of her anger.

 Chapter 828 The Seat (Part One)

    A bell rang in Zen''s mind when he saw the woman''s face. He recalled seeing her when he first stepped into the Tower of Sin.


    The first time that Zen saw this woman, she was standing next to the human war general named Dylon. However, that time, she was completely silent during Zen''s unpleasant encounter with Dylon.


    The famous Purple Heart Sacred Place might be a prominent place, but it didn''t leave a good impression on Zen. If the place was full of idiots like Dylon, he thought that there was no need to have further contact with any of these idiots again.


    Therefore, when the woman approached him, he instantly felt annoyed and acted rudely.


    The woman''s name was Olivia Xia, and she was extremely angry at Zen''s attitude.


    She was a ninth level war general of the Purple Heart Sacred Place and deserved a better treatment. Yet, Zen regarded her as a prostitute. A woman of her status must be treated with utmost respect and she couldn''t tolerate the disrespect of Zen towards her.


    However, she also couldn''t afford to lose her composure. She tried to suppress the fury in her heart. She took a deep breath and heaved heavily. Soon enough, the anger in her eyes disappeared. Then she suddenly started laughing, "Ha-ha! I''ll tell you now, I don''t think someone like you can afford me. I am quite expensive. Better yet, I am priceless!"


    Olivia was more tolerant toward Zen''s unfriendly manners. Unlike Dylon who was extremely insolent in front of Zen, she was treating Zen much better than Dylon had been with him. Zen was caught off guard by the "kindness" that Olivia was showing him. He thought that there was no need for him to continue with such vulgar joke and he wasn''t the type who would be enchanted by a beautiful wo


    other creatures in the Tower of Sin.


    To Olivia''s knowledge, the elders of the Purple Heart Sacred Place had already given the order to support Zen and offer him the chance to receive better training for cultivation.


    Once Zen became a war general, he might become the motivation for the younger generation of humans. His presence might give them the confidence to strive forward. And once Zen became a war lord, it might even help the humans to obtain a new seat in the Tower of Sin.


    This was the only reason why Olivia Xia was able to tolerate Zen''s rudeness towards her.


    "It''s our human war lord, Elder Jing, who wants to see you," Olivia answered honestly.


    Zen nodded and said, "Go on, lead the way! Let''s get this over with!"


    They followed Olivia and went forward. It was a long walk. There were a lot of turns through the living area before they arrived at a tavern.


    The living area was well-equipped with almost everything one could wish for. Many races had businesses there that offered various services. There were taverns, gambling stalls, and brothels on practically every floor! Whatever you wanted, you could get in the living area.

 Chapter 829 The Seat (Part Two)

    When they arrived at the tavern, someone was already waiting for them.


    The person appeared ordinary in his grey clothes. He appeared to be trying not to stand out by repressing his energy.


    "Mr. Luo! I''ve heard so much about you!" the person greeted Zen in a surprisingly polite manner with cupped hands.


    When the other martial artists in the tavern saw this, they felt very strange.


    The terms war lord and war fighter sounded alike but they were different in status and realm. Zen was only a war fighter but why was he receiving a respectful greeting from a war lord?


    Zen returned the gesture by bowing and asked, "You must be Elder Jing, right?"


    "Please sit down first, and we''ll talk." Elder Jing waved his hand and motioned for them to take a seat.


    Zen abided. After they all settled down, Elder Jing asked, "Mr. Luo, it''s safe to assume that you didn''t come from the Purple Heart Sacred Place, right?" Elder Jing asked directly. They had already investigated Zen''s identity and some things about him before meeting him. There were many talented martial artists in the Purple Heart Sacred Place, but with Zen''s remarkable talent, he couldn''t have remained in obscurity if he was from the sacred place.


    "Yes, that''s right. I''m not from the Purple Heart Sacred Place," Zen replied honestly.


    "I see. Do you mind telling me where you came from?" Elder Jing asked.


    In the Sea God Continent, other than the Purple Heart Sacred Place, there were also some sects scattered around. However, most of those sects were attached to the sacred places, otherwise, they wouldn''t survive the attacks from other races.


    "I don''t wish to answer that." Zen sm


    r. Luo has no intention to join us, that doesn''t matter. And I''m pleased to hear that you are willing to do something for us. Although our human race only has four seats in the Tower of Sin, we are still considered one of the fourteen great races. If you need our help, please do not hesitate to ask."


    "Seat? What is it?" Zen asked.


    "The seat represents the right to enter the top of the tower. Only by obtaining a seat in the Tower of Sin would one have the right to enter the top of the tower," Elder Jing replied. "But there is another responsibility for the ones who own the seats now, and that is to establish the rules and punishment of the Tower of Sin! On the fifteenth floor of the Tower of Sin, there are a total of 128 seats. Every so often, the seats will be rotated according to the strength of the cultivators. But unfortunately, we humans have only a few seats. We only take 4 seats out of the 128 seats."


    "The right to enter the top of the tower?" Zen''s eyes glittered with excitement. This was exactly the goal that had driven him to travel thousands of miles and come to this Sea God Continent.

 Chapter 830 The Secret Of The Tower Of Sin

    The Tower of Sin was a giant building, but it was inverted. Its peak was deeply embedded into the ground.


    If Zen wanted to reach the bottom of the tower, it basically meant that he had to enter the top floor.


    "What''s at the top of the tower?" Zen suddenly asked.


    Immortal Mist had told him that there was an incomparably important and powerful inheritance at the bottom of the Tower of Sin, and for that very inheritance, Immortal Mist had even given up his right of reincarnation. There must be something very important there.


    But Zen knew nothing about what it was.


    "You don''t know?" Elder Jing looked at Zen with a strange expression on his face.


    Almost all of the sacred places on the Sea God Continent had been developed based on the Tower of Sin. Every single warrior on this continent knew that in order to reach a higher cultivation level, they needed to enter the Tower of Sin. Only by entering the top of the Tower of Sin would a warrior get a chance to stand at the top of this continent.


    Even though Zen was not from the Purple Heart Sacred Place, how could he not know about the Tower of Sin?


    The information wasn''t a big secret, so Elder Jing immediately told him, "At the bottom of the Tower of Sin, there is a huge cave. We call it the Dark Nether Cave. It is filled with Dark Nether Death Light for almost the entire year. Even if a level ten war lord were to enter the cave during those times, he would be instantly killed by the Dark Nether Death Light."


    "Dark Nether Death Light? It can instantly kill a level ten war lord?!" Zen exclaimed.


    In the Cursed Land, the strongest warriors were level ten war lords only. War sages were unable to enter. Otherwise they would be killed instantly by the curse. Then who could enter the Dark Nether Cave without being killed?


    Elder Jing saw Zen''s doubtful expressions and immediately explained, "Because of the Dark Nether Death Light, we are unable to enter the Dark Nether Cave for most of the year. However, every year, for one single month, the Dark Nether Death Light gets greatly weakened. At that time, all races would enter the cave to look for opportunities."


    The Tower of Sin was a very important building to every sacred place for two major reasons. First, it was a breeding place for warriors. As long as a warrior had both¡ªa significantly high amount of talent, and a high cultivation level¡ªhe could use the Lucky Light obtained in the Tower of Sin to greatly improve himself. And the second reason was the Dark Nether Cave.


    To date, the opportunities each sacred place had obtained from the Dark Nether Cave were unimaginable. For example, the Purple Heart Sacred Place was built by one of the human warriors, who had once obtained a seat in the Tower of Sin and foun


    a few inches apart.


    War fighters would probably shiver in the face of a war lord, especially after being oppressed by his soul pressure. It was highly likely that they would get injured.


    Fighting was prohibited in the safe area. But the ogres were noted for their overbearing manners. Even if there was a dispute, the ogres involved would eventually get away with it unharmed. After all, they had twenty-six seats among the more than a hundred seats in the Tower of Sin.


    Don had not intended to blow up the situation. He had only wanted to scare the shit out of this human brat.


    However, Zen had had a faint smile on his face from beginning to end. He stared at Don as if he was not afraid of him at all, and then sneered, "You''re merely a level one war lord. You think you are somebody? Your aura is even inferior to that of Boris. Other than your cultivation level, you are nothing."


    When Elder Jing saw Zen''s calm expression, he was both surprised and happy. What he didn''t know was that, even a war sage from the Purple Heart Sacred Place wouldn''t be able to suppress Zen with just his aura, let alone a mere war lord. The war sages of the Sea God Continent were at the same level as the warriors at the Life and Death Realm of the Central Region. Back in that place, Zen had remained unmoved even while facing Eddie''s oppressive aura. So how could this war lord affect him?


    "Arrogant!" Seeing that his aura was indeed unable to suppress Zen, Don felt somewhat helpless. It was just as the rumors said, Zen was indeed a monster.


    "Arrogant? Ha-ha!" This time, it was Zen who laughed heartily. "Let me show you whether I''m arrogant or not. I''ll let you feel the true aura I have!"


    After saying that, Zen stared at Don, his eyes lighting up. With his soul at the Fighting Soul Realm, he could cast forth quite an intimating aura.

 Chapter 831 Unbelievable

    It was known that one''s aura depended on the strength of his or her soul. The stronger the soul was, the more oppressive one''s aura would be.


    As for Zen, he restrained his aura after his soul had entered the Fighting Soul Realm. Only strong warriors could see how powerful his soul was, whereas normal people wouldn''t be able to detect it at all.


    Souls at the Fighting Soul Realm were something that even war sages found difficult to obtain. The ones who could have them were only those who had stepped foot inside the Soul Sea Realm.


    The tavern was full of chatter and the smell of food, when a sudden majestic aura burst out from Zen''s body and spread everywhere like a tidal wave. The surge struck Don first, who was in front of him.


    The surprise hit made Don''s eyes widen to the size of saucers. The human war fighter in front of him was truly like a fearless beast.


    But since Zen had just arrived at the Tower of Sin, he did not attack with his soul. Moreover, there were too few humans in the tower, which made attacking an impossible option. If the other races joined forces to assault him, Zen would surely lose.


    After all, there were many level ten war lords as well in the Tower of Sin.


    While Zen''s aura exploded, his body also released the malicious aura stored in the Killing Sword Mountain. His soul pressure and surging malicious aura made him look like a god of slaughter.


    Pak!


    A waiter with a jug of wine came over to serve drinks. When he sensed the aura Zen radiated, his knees buckled, then the jug in his hand fell to the floor and shattered into pieces. All the color was drained from his face as he clutched the table beside him to support himself.


    What the waiter was hit with was only the tip of the iceberg. Zen''s aura continued to burst forth to intimidate the two ogre war lords¡ªDon and his companion.


    At that moment, Don felt like his chest was being squeezed, making him unable to breathe. How did this young human have such a terrifying aura? On the other hand, Zen gradually increased his malicious aura. Don''s entire body shook with fear and his teeth chattered loudly as he took two steps backward.


    It seemed that Zen''s method worked as both the ogre war lords trembled nervously. Both of them had just made a breakthrough and became war lords. They felt like they had touched upon a new domain and reached the upper echelon of the Tower of Sin.


    In the Tower of Sin, war fighters were at the bottom, war generals were at the middle, and the war lords were at the upper echelon.


    After Don and his companion became war lords, they heard rumors among the ogres that an extremely powerful human had appeared. With that, they thought t


    fighter, won a "default victory."


    However, Dylon had offended Zen right from the start.


    And Zen was indeed cocky, as he didn''t seem to take the Purple Heart Sacred Place seriously either.


    However, Olivia, Dylon and the rest of their companions received news from the sacred place which asked them to keep a good relationship with Zen. If Zen could really grow, then he might be able to win another seat for the human race. All the races on the Sea God Continent considered the seats in the Tower of Sin of great importance.


    When Olivia came into contact with Zen again, he had actually defeated Teresa, the divine-level talent of the Demon Night.


    That was truly shocking. This surprising news made Olivia''s heart tremble to the core.


    Finally, she felt that there was now a man who could enter her heart.


    So even though she was rightfully furious when Zen had considered her as a prostitute and asked her how much she could get for one night, she endured it in the end.


    To a strong warrior, arrogance was not a foolish act¡ªit was only his inherent pride.


    At that point, Zen had already had a big place in Olivia''s heart. She thought that even though Zen was only a level eight war fighter, he could probably fight against a level nine or even a level ten war general.


    She felt that she might have overestimated Zen with that thought, but never had she expected Zen to successfully force two ogre war lords to retreat by just relying on his own aura.


    That was simply unbelievable!


    Suddenly, Zen became truly mysterious and even unattainable in her eyes.


    Now, majority of the human talents came from the Purple Heart Sacred Place. The remaining human forces came from smaller sects that allied themselves to the sacred place. In that case, where did Zen come from?

 Chapter 832 The Smile

    Elder Jing''s face broke into an even wider smile.


    Zen''s appearance gave him hope for the Purple Heart Sacred Place''s destiny. Perhaps, with his presence, its state would finally improve.


    The hundred clans were all fighting for supremacy in the Sea God Continent and there was hope for the humans to take back their place in the sun.


    The human race had the capability of cultivating life vitality which gave them unparalleled superiority. Moreover, they had been able to produce two divine-level talents both 300 and 100 years ago, respectively.


    These two divine-level talents that were produced had the highest chances of reaching the Soul Sea Realm.


    Unfortunately, they weren''t able to do so. The first divine-level talent was killed by another race the moment he left the Purple Heart Sacred Place while the other talent became really strong but then perished in the Dark Nether Cave. There was great opportunity but also great danger in the Dark Nether Cave that even war lords could face sudden death.


    But Zen was, dare Elder Jing say it, different? His strength far exceeded that of an ordinary war fighter and had been enough to fight a tenth-grade general. To add to that, his soul seemed to be even strong enough to suppress a war lord.


    This young man might just be the one to reach the Soul Sea Realm and when he did, he''d be unstoppable. By then, it was possible that nobody in the entire Sea God Continent would be able to curb his strength.


    Because of the potential Elder Jing saw in Zen, he did not feel the need to restrict his assistance to the young man through the use of the many resources of the Purple Heart Sacred Place.


    Elder Jing''s purpose had been achieved after meeting with Zen. In fact, he actually wanted to go further and invite the young man into the Purple Heart Sacred Place. They had a transmission array that led to the Purple Heart Sacred Place in the Cursed Land and if the powerful ones in the Soul Sea Realm would be willing to lend Zen the Purple Heart Plate for his use, then it would be for the best!


    However, he understood that such a thing was too much. Even divine-level talents did not receive such treatment and he did not really have a say on such matters, so he chose to just keep his mouth shut.


    Just as he left with Olivia and the others, the young woman turned her head towards Zen, "You still don''t know my name!"


    Zen smiled pleasantly, "What''s your name?"


    Olivia returned his smile with her own. "Olivia Xia," she told him before leaving with Elder Jing.


    Upon returning to his living quarters, Zen immediately rented a new cultivation room and continued refining the Lucky Light he had obtained from Teresa, which increased his cultivation at an extremely fast rate.


    For Zen, the only way he would be able to fight Eddie and defeat him was through becoming a war lord.


    Thus, his ultimate goal was to become a war lord in the Tower of Sin.


    He had only experienced a few battles after entering the tower. He had fought with those war fighters on the first floor, while t


    ly.


    Her sudden appearance immediately made the other combatants shut their mouths.


    They had forgotten that there was another fiend among them.


    Zen scared them, but Teresa was no better. In any case, both of them were regarded as invincible among the war fighters, and one of them was in an extremely bad mood after suffering a loss. If she decided to vent her anger on them, they''d be facing a huge problem!


    Such was always the case: the weak were always subject to the whims of the strong.


    A war fighter on the first to fifth floors had a tragic fate: either they climbed up or stayed on their floors to become a stepping stone for others'' advancement. The recent change of the tower rules actually worked in their favor.


    In the past, there was no such thing as a default victory so the war generals would often farm points on the lower floors because it was the only way they could get promoted. The weaklings on the lower floors ended up as the war generals'' tools in gaining points for advancement while the war lords preyed on the war generals.


    Back then, the Tower of Sin was even more chaotic than it was now. There hadn''t even been a designated safe zone! Talents could be killed at any time and the cruelest of them all had a full range in taking down whoever, whenever.


    Teresa''s appearance left a sour taste in Zen''s mouth. ''Could it be that since I ended her default victory yesterday, she deliberately came out to cause trouble today? Does she think I won''t kill her?''


    His eyes sharpened with rage at the thought.


    This intense look had Teresa''s palms sweating, but she reeled it in. "I want to challenge you," she told him. "But not on the second floor. I''ll let you ascend, and if I catch up to you, then I''ll fight with you once again!"


    Everyone present let out a collective sigh of relief. It seemed Teresa wasn''t entirely stupid. Since Zen had let her go yesterday, challenging him the next day would be for naught. One would''ve thought she was courting death if she proceeded with fighting him again.

 Chapter 833 Night Group (Part One)

    A hint of a smile worked its way onto Zen''s face upon hearing the words spoken by Teresa. The woman appeared to be indignant as she stubbornly refused to accept her previous defeat.


    Zen would gladly give her a chance to challenge him if he encountered her on the third or fourth floor of the tower.


    As Zen stood on the stage and waited for a long time, it was to his relief that no one had come up to challenge him. In this particular circumstance, it meant that Zen could spend the whole day leisurely and get the default victory today due to the fact that he did not have to battle or challenge anyone.


    One full day later, Zen found himself stepping once more onto the arena. It did not take too long this time before he successfully got the qualification to advance to the third floor, seeing as he had not fought with any brave challengers on the arena for the third time in a row. Anticipating the next floor, Zen was prepared to participate in the battles happening on the third floor.


    A discernible fact about the Tower of Sin was that there were many war fighters dispersed on the first floor up to the fifth floor. However, it was apparent that the number of war generals evidently increased if one happened to ascend floor by floor. Moreover, the fifth floor and the subsequent higher floors were only swarmed with war generals, not a single war fighter in sight.


    Due to the news spreading about Zen''s arrival, there was palpable tension hanging in the air, as well as a slight commotion from the warriors situated on the first floor up to the fifth floor. The warriors who were currently challenging on the third floor were not fools, and they all instantly moved out of the way when they laid their eyes upon Zen as every single one of them knew of his reputation. Only a very few of the braver creatures on the floor attempted to challenge Zen.


    As Zen continuously climbed up to the higher floors, he drew more and more attention to himself. The living creatures, most especially the human warriors were clearly intrigued by his presence. Many human war generals on the higher floors personally came down from their floors to witness Zen''s battles, albeit only a few war fighters dared to challenge him. Furthermore, the few battles he had gone through were ex


    on seeing the allied forces of various races make their way determinedly and passionately to the ogre''s sacred places, the ogres finally understood that they had crossed the line and done some reckless things they wished that they should not have done in the first place.


    Without any effective methods to resist the siege and the penetrating attacks of the other living creatures, the ogres begrudgingly opened the door of the Tower of Sin once again to the public. Moreover, they reluctantly gave up on some seats.


    After the conclusion of the revolution against the ogre race, it appeared to be true that the distribution of power within the Tower of Sin was a microcosm of the entire Sea God Continent. However, the state of the human beings was drastically low as they were easily intimidated by the other more formidable races. As such, they did not have a high position in the Tower of Sin. On the other hand, the Demon Night was a very powerful and unbeatable race; no one dared to look down upon their skills in the Tower of Sin.


    Although the ogre gave up on monopolizing the Tower of Sin, it was still a staggering fact that a significantly large portion of the tower was controlled by this race.


    The decorations in this spacious room looked incredibly sparse and rough, a far cry from being considered as delicate or elegant. Scattered around the room were several ogres, with some of them sitting on the ground and some lying down haphazardly. The ogres seemed to be in the middle of a crucial discussion.

 Chapter 834 Night Group (Part Two)

    Not a long moment had passed when their ears picked up on loud stomps rapidly approaching the room. An ogre war lord dressed in a cloak appeared at the entrance and while erratically breathing, the ogre stated, "The order to assassinate Zen has been sent out!"


    "What do you mean!? Assassinate that guy?"


    Boris, who had been quietly sitting on the corner of the room up until that moment, suddenly stood up and exclaimed.


    A couple of sighs could be heard from a few of the ogres in the room as they glanced at Boris with an indifferent look. Just then, another ogre emerged from beside the ogre war lord dressed in a cloak. Without much preamble, the ogre spoke with a frigid tone, "Boris, you do not have the right to speak here!"


    Even though the ogre had an implicit threatening tone, Boris showed no fear in retaliating with his own response. "When that guy enters the tenth floor, I will naturally end his life." He gritted his teeth with an obvious twitch on his eyebrow. "Why do we have to assassinate him?"


    The ogre war lord dressed in a cloak continued to stare stonily at Boris. Now that Boris was considered as the divine-level talent in the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place, he dared to retort brashly to the war lord. If someone else were in his shoes, like an ordinary ogre war general for instance, he would definitely not risk the act of interrupting the war lord in the middle of him speaking.


    "I understand your feelings, but this is an order from the top of the tower," the ogre war lord stated in a calm voice, barely suppressing the irritation from his voice. "This guy only has the cultivation base of a war fighter, but he has already caused enough trouble by bringing the war lords so much pressure." He crossed his arms against his brawny chest while he chastised Boris, looking at him pointedly. "If he were to be promoted to a human war general, I''m afraid it would be too difficult for us to suppress him then. Are you sure you are his match?" The ogre war lord finished as he tapped his foot impatiently.


    "I can defeat him!"


    Boris gritted his teeth as he spoke, balling his fists at his sides in agitation. ''Why couldn''t they trust me just this once? I am certain I can kill him with my bare hands!'' he thought to himself, furious at the idea of his fellow ogres underestimating his capabilities.


    The ogre war lord sneered at the blatant protest Boris was displaying. "I believe your words, but it is useless. Zen shall be killed by the Night Group''s death warriors!" he persistently declared and huffed before walking out of the room full of ogres.


    The Night Group was a race that ranked sixth among all races on the Sea God Continent. Interestingly, their name was based on their members'' movements, as they typically lurked during the day and only took action when the stil


    for Zen, but after some reflection, he shrugged nonchalantly and ultimately decided on proceeding to the upper floors to seize the Lucky Light from those war generals.


    Upon discovering that Zen had been recently qualified to go up to the fourth floor, Teresa, who stayed on the second floor, felt pessimistic at her chances. If Zen kept on climbing up at such an alarmingly fast speed, she was uncertain of the possibility that she could catch up to him. Just as she had obtained the qualification for going up to the third floor, she learned that Zen had already entered the fourth floor. Frowning, she also realized that even if she did manage to enter the fourth floor, Zen would probably have reached the fifth floor.


    Letting out a desperate sigh, she only hoped that someone would suddenly appear to stop Zen momentarily, or at the very least, slow him down. Otherwise, she would never get the chance to challenge him again.


    On the first day that Zen strode into the fourth floor, he was disappointed but not surprised by no one coming to challenge him. Shaking his head, he raised his eyebrows and smiled wryly; no one even made eye contact with him anymore. The young man continued to rent a secluded training room for his cultivation.


    Moreover, what made Zen ultimately despondent was another reason altogether. Since he did not battle with anyone for three consecutive days, not only did he not obtain the Lucky Light, he did not even get any sliver of points. Zen was unhappily walking by himself and his mood worsened upon realizing he had to use the life vitality crystal to pay for the training room he had rented.


    The exact moment Zen stepped foot into the training room, he paused at the doorway as his skin prickled with the sudden change of aura in the air. Scanning his eyes suspiciously, he swore he sensed a peculiar feeling coming from the room.

 Chapter 835 Assassin

    A trace of doubt appeared across Zen''s face.


    The Tower of Sin''s structure was very special. It was said that if an object was placed anywhere inside the tower, it would slowly be devoured and then disappear.


    The tower''s appetite was voracious and would absorb anything whether it might be a spiritual weapon, a fairy weapon, or even a sacred weapon.


    It was like a monster¡ªa devourer of lifeless things.


    The practicing rooms, arenas, and all other rooms had already existed way before and had not been built by the creatures of the Sea God Continent.


    Despite the ravages of time, however, everything still looked good as new.


    Zen entered the practicing room to find it empty. Upon stepping inside, however, he couldn''t help but sense that there was something inside the room that he couldn''t see.


    His brows furrowed as he closed the door and found a place to sit.


    The feeling did not subside so Zen continued to remain vigilant.


    He could feel a special breath within this room!


    However, he could not figure out where it exactly was even with his Fighting Soul. Whatever the hidden creature was, it undeniably had really strong hiding skills.


    Though the Tower of Sin had strict rules regarding fighting and how it was forbidden in the safe zone, assassinations were still very much a thing.


    Phoebe had warned Zen about this. Being in the limelight with the ogre who bore a grudge against him wasn''t the most ideal situation.


    Just as he thought about this, he immediately shot a glance at the corner. ''Is it there?'' he thought. His gaze shifted around the room, feeling for that other presence, trying to pinpoint where it was.


    He was now truly positive that there was another living, breathing being in the room with him but the question was where it was.


    Where was it hiding? Where was it awaiting its opportunity to strike? "It doesn''t matter. Whoever or whatever you are, you will surely attack me," he muttered to himself as his entire body tensed.


    Zen was already on high alert despite looking relaxed in his place on the floor.


    It wasn''t just Zen. The Night Group assassin was also already feeling alarmed. The Night Group was comprised of assassins with the innate talent of hiding their breath.


    Moreover, they practiced a special cultivation method that could manipulate the refraction of light rays leading to the deflection of their enemy''s line of sight. This method made them virtually invisible to their opponent and target.


    This particular assassin, however, was feeling extra nervous since Zen served as his greatest test in the Night Group.


    For the members of the Night Group, the greatest and most dangerous mission they could ever undertake was the assassination of a person within the Tower of Sin.


    The tower''s rules were strict and even if he succeeded with his job, it was possible for him to be found out and chased


    match that of a war lord. Despite his marvelous hiding skill, he proved to be too weak to even break through Zen''s physical defenses.


    "BANG!"


    Zen''s hand had curled into a fist and a lightning-fast punch landed on the assassin''s shoulder!


    It was only a glancing blow but it was still able to shatter the assassin''s shoulder blade.


    Zen''s punch had the assassin rolling away and crawling onto the wall. He had been caught off-guard but it was not over! He took his bone blade and spat a mouthful of blood onto it. The entire blade then began to emit a bewitching red mark, and at the same time, the assassin''s eyes were also turning red making him appear as if he was a scorpion lurking on the wall.


    Being a daredevil, he wouldn''t sit still and wait helplessly for death to come at the crucial moment. Since he couldn''t kill Zen in a single strike, he fell into an extremely disadvantageous position. If he wanted to turn the tide, he could only fight with Zen desperately!


    "Did the ogre send you here?"


    Zen asked.


    The Night Group assassin narrowed his eyes. "Do you honestly think I''ll answer you?"


    Zen huffed, "I''m not really interested in knowing." As soon as he said that, Zen immediately rushed towards the assassin with a raised fist with the intent of punching him once again.


    The assassin rapidly dodged and two loud bangs could be heard as Zen''s fist hit the wall. However, the indentations on the wall rapidly disappeared.


    This was the Tower of Sin''s magic¡ªit had the ability to quickly repair itself after being damaged. It was as if it wasn''t a tower, but a person who had the ability of instant regeneration.


    Had they been in any other ordinary building, the force of Zen''s punch would''ve caused the entire structure to collapse.


    The two kept chasing each other in circles. The assassin moved around Zen and tried to avoid him while Zen was hot at his heels with a faint smile on his face.

 Chapter 836 A Tenth-Level War Fighter

    Actually, the easiest way for Zen to proceed right now was to open the door and walk out.


    Although in the dark, warriors were often assassinated even in the safe zone, on the surface, no race would dare to do such a thing.


    If Zen was able to leave the practice room, the ogres would not be able to protect this assassin. In fact, the assassin''s mission should already have been completed at this time. And it didn''t matter whether he succeeded in assassinating Zen or not, because he was already a dead man.


    "Aren''t you afraid?" Zen suddenly asked.


    "Afraid of what?" The Night Group assassin''s shrill voice sounded.


    "I am pretty sure you know that with your current strength level, you won''t be able to assassinate me. What''s more, in this narrow space, you are an even weaker match for me and will surely lose," Zen replied with a faint smile playing on his lips.


    The assassin''s face darkened. A trace of despair flashed across his small eyes. "If what you said is true, and since I am an expendable soldier they have trained, then it means that whether I succeed or not, I will die."


    "They? Are you referring to the ogres?" Zen asked with a smile, gently turning his body to face the assassin.


    The assassin didn''t reply. In the kind of situation he was facing right now, it was meaningless for him to admit who his employers were. He didn''t give up though. Instead, he prepared his strongest attack. The bone blade started to shine in his hand with a bewitching red light.


    Any counterattack brewed from life essence was extremely powerful. The assassin had already wasted a perfect opportunity to assassinate Zen, so he would have to use his life for a second chance.


    Seeing that the assassin was keeping silent, Zen continued, "I think we can make a deal."


    "What kind of deal?" The assassin asked in a curious voice.


    "Teach me your secret hiding technique, and I will let you go." The technique that the Night Group employed for hiding was very special. Not only did it prevent others from sensing the presence of the user, but it also allowed one to become temporarily invisible. Zen was deeply interested in it and wanted to learn how.


    The assassin''s eyes seemed to reveal an excited look for a moment.


    After all, he was a mere expendable soldier. Ever since he became an assassin, he had been constantly instilled with the idea of sacrificing his life for the Night Group. However, the desire to survive was very deeply imprinted in the bones of quite a lot of creatures, and some of them would obviously go to extreme lengths to survive. Even expendable soldiers were known to often cower before their death. However, such hesitation usually came too late for them to have a choice of continued life.


    It would have been an entirely different case if the assassin had been killed by Zen in one hit after he failed to complete his mission, but Zen was giving him a chance to live. It was like a drowning man had ca


    s cultivation was, the higher his position would be. Every floor of the tower worked day and night according to the rules. If one was strong enough to obtain the Lucky Light, then his cultivation would quickly increase. The weaker ones would either stay stagnant at a certain floor and make no progress, or become stepping stones for other warriors.


    From the sixth floor onwards, more and more war generals dared to challenge Zen.


    Although many living creatures had come to know that Zen''s strength was not ordinary, most war generals were unconvinced when they found out Zen''s cultivation level and his race. How could a human war fighter reach the sixth floor?


    Some radical war generals walked onto the arena.


    However, Zen used his fist to tell them what he had relied on to get to the sixth floor.


    There were many opponents who chose to challenge Zen, so it became increasingly difficult for him to obtain a default victory. He fought a total of seven matches and killed six creatures on the sixth floor, letting a human war fighter go. Seven days later, the creatures that had just become war generals finally understood that they could not stop Zen. In the next three days, Zen won the three required default victories, so he advanced to the seventh floor smoothly.


    Ever since he had reached the sixth floor, he had gained more and more Lucky Light. After reaching the seventh floor, he once again entered the practice room to improve his cultivation level. He had accumulated quite a lot of Lucky Light this time. After refining the Lucky Light, Zen was able to enhance his cultivation directly from the 8th level to the 10th level!


    He was now only one step away from becoming a war general!


    Zen was looking forward to becoming a war general. If his cultivation reached the war general level, then he would be able to fight against the new war lords with his physical body. He was eager to show off his Transcendent Divine Might and Stellar Body.

 Chapter 837 Yolande (Part One)

    The process of becoming a war general from a simple war fighter was quite a complex one. It was equivalent to making a breakthrough in the Illuminating Soul Realm and reaching the Internal Elixir Realm.


    However, it was not as easy as it sounded. If one wanted to take a significant leap forward and achieve the higher level, they would need to accumulate a considerable amount of Lucky Light.


    In the Tower of Sin, it was certain that warriors were capable of growing at an incredibly fast pace. Although this was the case, even those saint-level talents would need to temper themselves through continuous fighting before they could take a step further and attain a higher level.


    It was fortunate that Zen would be less likely to be spared from any challenge from now on and his speed of being promoted to the next floor drastically slowed down. Fortunately, the amount of light he had accumulated was steadily increasing. With a strategic planning, Zen did not rush into refining all of the Lucky Light he had acquired. Instead, he gathered them together and planned to utilize them to break through to become a war general.


    In the hierarchy of the Tower of Sin, the martial artists on the seventh floor consisted of war generals ranging from the third level to the sixth level. As for the martial artists on the eighth floor, they were ranked marginally higher with them ranging from the fifth level up to the eighth level. Moreover, the ninth floor consisted of war generals of the seventh to tenth level.


    As a matter of fact, it was not much of a challenge for Zen to conquer the first nine floors of the Tower of Sin with his current prowess and ability.


    In spite of this, the trouble arose at the fact that these war generals came to challenge him one after the other, rarely giving Zen the chance to have a default victory. Naturally, he spent more energy than he intended to and thus, became more exhausted as time passed by.


    This was because in the perspective of the war generals, they had only granted the individuals who were ''war lord'' level masters to get the default victory. Moreover, the fact persisted that the war lords were much stronger than them, while Zen was just perceived to be a small war fighter. Although the strength he had d


    e Purple Heart Sacred Place, they had been vigorously discussing almost daily about the human who suddenly showed up in the Tower of Sin and left them flabbergasted.


    In order to boost up the moral within the place, the human race had made sure to dutifully record the scenes of Zen''s battles with other races. Moreover, they proudly and religiously broadcast them through the Picture Slab that could be viewed by the entirety of the Purple Heart Sacred Place. Therefore, although Zen had never even stepped foot into the place, he had already become the role model for numerous human martial artists!


    The obsession for Zen had continued to be unrelenting in the Purple Heart Sacred Place and there were absolutely no signs of it calming down in the slightest. On the contrary, Zen became more and more of a heated topic in the sacred place. With every passing day, there were even rumors spreading like wildfire through word of mouth about Zen possibly being the holy son of the human race. Little by little, such rumors enabled Zen to become a legendary figure in their minds.


    Before Zen had emerged, Dylon and Olivia appeared to be a perfect match in people''s eyes. Moreover, those two individuals were regarded as the most talented among the younger generation in the Purple Heart Sacred Place. However, it was acquiesced by all of them that Olivia''s talent was marginally stronger than Dylon''s.


    Nowadays, with the arrival of Zen and the humans marveling at his strength, both of them were overshadowed.

 Chapter 838 Yolande (Part Two)

    Upon noticing this, Olivia did not seem to care about such trivial matters. It was quite the opposite, as she had spoken highly of Zen every time he was brought up in her conversations. This fact was infuriating to Dylon who picked up on the girl''s unbridled excitement whenever she talked about Zen. Clearly irked by the recent development, Olivia paying attention to another man surprisingly left a sour taste in his mouth. These days, having a simple conversation with Olivia had been aggravating. This was because the girl always managed to avert whatever topic they were talking about into another discussion about the newcomer. Needless to say, Dylon always found himself gritting his teeth and glaring at his shoes after Olivia finished fussing over the other guy. With each passing day, he withheld his bitter jealousy to himself as it grew more and more.


    What was more disheartening was that he had not thought of any effective methods to change his current fate. The young man had desperately cultivated during this period of time and within the last month alone, he ventured into the arena four times and won all of those four matches. If the circumstance had been exactly the same as it was in the past, such an impressive achievement would have already left the entirety of the Purple Heart Sacred Place absolutely speechless. In addition to this, the human race would have definitely praised him endlessly and even significantly rewarded him.


    Unfortunately for him, all the attention of the people was all on the mighty Zen now, as if they had seemingly forgotten the existence of Dylon''s divine-level talent and impeccable strength.


    Upon discerning the sudden change of heart of the people lately, his displeasure was obvious in his face as he donned a stoic expression upon spotting Zen.


    The structure of each floor inside the Tower of Sin was similar to its other floors. After having followed Olivia down the stairs and around a corner, they were immediately greeted with the sight of the large arena. Just by scanning his eyes across the arena, he felt a shiver from the bottom of his spine and he suppressed a sudden tremble.


    Situated on the arena was a petite figure constantly moving around and hovering above in the air. Needless to say, the form attracted his attention to no end.


    Tilting his head to one side, Zen mused that it must be a woman from the human race. The lady currently fighting in the arena was dressed in a colorful long skirt


    ncing in the wind, as she nimbly avoided the forceful attacks of the orc''s axe. With precision and grace exuding from her frame, her jade-like fair-skinned hand gently waved in the air. Interestingly, what she used to attack was not the power of her life vitality, nor had she summoned an enchanted barrier; it was more like a kind of finger movement.


    "Swoosh!"


    Bursting forth from Yolande''s finger was a forceful energy that heavily hit the orc''s giant axe.


    It was unknown to all of them how heavy the huge axe had been as it seemed to take great strength for the orc to hold it in an upright position. However, after being hit by the energy that sprouted from Yolande''s finger, the top-grade fairy weapon was suddenly pitted all over on its previously sharp surface.


    "Is her name really Yolande?"


    The young man slowly asked with apprehension.


    Nodding at the still man, she affirmed, "Yes". In the meantime, Olivia glanced at Zen in confusion, feeling a bout of oddness well up in her chest from Zen asking such a strange question. Since he knew Yolande''s name from the start, why would he be so uncertain and have her confirm the name once again? Such thoughts echoed loudly in her mind as she tried to figure Zen out.


    As a matter of fact, Zen was really not that sure himself.


    The Yolande that was currently in his line of sight had the same name and appearance as the Yolande in his memories from the White Emperor City. Strangely, the Yolande before his very eyes made him feel distant. As he exhaled deeply and bit the inner side of cheek anxiously, he asked himself quietly one more time, "Are you really the Yolande I know?"

 Chapter 839 Where Did You Come From

    The Central Region, which was also called the Sky Northern Region, and the Sea God Continent, were separated by hundreds of thousands of miles and Zen could not think of any other way of traveling across these two continents than through the massive transmission array in the Immortal Mist''s celestial tomb.


    But could there really be such a coincidence?


    The Yolande in front of him had the exact appearance, clothing, and temperament - there wasn''t the slightest difference at all from the Yolande he knew, save for her cultivation base and method.


    The Yolande in White Emperor City mainly cultivated a method related to enchanted barriers but the one in front of him used finger movements.


    As he mulled this over, the orc on the battle stage suddenly let out an earth-shaking roar. He crazily rushed towards Yolande, his feet heavy and strong and the giant axe in his hand surging with gales of wind as he waved it around wildly.


    The orc''s heavy strength was a sharp contrast to Yolande''s soft, lithe dodges. It was as if she was a leaf floating amidst a strong wind as she constantly shifted from left to right, avoiding the killer swing of her opponent''s huge axe.


    Olivia saw Zen''s expression and smiled, "You seem to be worried about her?" she giggled on her sleeve. "There''s no need to worry at all! Yolande¡­ She''s a very strange person."


    Zen''s brows furrowed at her statement. "Strange? How so?" he asked.


    "She''s been in the tower for six years and she''s been stuck on the tenth floor for the longest time," Olivia said.


    Zen''s eyes widened in surprise. "Six years?! Stuck on the tenth floor?"


    Olivia nodded, confirming her words. "She''ll fight six matches a month and accumulate a lot of Lucky Light. I bet the amount she has obtained till now is enough to create around twenty war lords but she never refines it. Instead, she gives it all away to other people."


    Zen was rendered speechless by Olivia''s revelation. "She¡­ She gives her Lucky Light away?" he repeated, almost choking in disbelief.


    Olivia nodded, "Yes. Sometimes, when a human warrior challenges her, she immediately admits defeat. In this way, all her accumulated Lucky Light will automatically belong to the challenger."


    Such a method was indeed feasible if one took a look at the rules of the tower, but what was Yolande''s purpose in doing so? Why stay here on the tenth floor? Why remain as a tenth level war general? Why give away all the Lucky Light? What was her real purpose?


    Warriors generally entered the Tower of Sin to rapidly improve their cultivation base through the use of Lucky Light. Yolande, however, seemed to be doing the exact opposite: she was actually freely giving her Lucky Light away!


    Another question popped up in Zen''s mind. "Since she has been able to stay in the Tower of Sin for so long, why would anyone still dare to challenge her?"


    Olivia shrugged, "There will always be brave men in search of great reward," she said with a soft smile. "Yolande likes to amass an enormous amount of Lucky Light and, sometimes, people overestimate their own strength and challenge her thinking tha


    y Light had been a huge contributing factor to be considered.


    Yolande took a deep breath and gave Zen an ice-cold gaze, "The smell from your body is very good. I really like it."


    Zen didn''t really know what to reply. What kind of smell could he exactly have? Her actions made Zen certain that this Yolande and the Yolande in White Emperor City were not the same person but he got even more confused with this conclusion.


    What then was the connection between the two Yolandes?


    Despite the innumerable amount of people in this boundless universe, it was impossible for this to just be mere coincidence. Their names, appearance, clothing - everything was the same!


    Olivia revealed a strange smile and shook her head, ''This young girl is truly a strange person, '' she thought to herself.


    "Fight me. If you can beat me, I''ll give you my Lucky Light," Yolande added.


    Her words made him roll his eyes. He had no confidence in defeating her as of the moment though he might have a narrow victory if he activated his Stellar Body. However, he didn''t really think there was a need to go so far since both of them were from the human race. Also, if Zen were to defeat Yolande, her Lucky Light would naturally belong to him. Why would he need her to gift it to him? It didn''t make sense.


    On the other hand, Dylon was puffing up his cheeks in jealousy, ''Where''d this guy even come from anyway?'' he thought to himself. ''He probably doesn''t even know Yolande, right? Even if a human war lord came over to her, Yolande wouldn''t even spare a glance but now, she actually came over to talk to Zen. This doesn''t make any sense at all! And she also told him he smells good? What kind of smell can a man have? Aren''t all men just stinky?''


    Zen shook his head. "I won''t fight you," he said, refusing her offer.


    "Why?" Yolande asked before staring at him intently.


    "Where did you come from?" he asked, partly from curiosity and partly because he wanted to change the subject.


    Yolande blinked before showing a rare, meaningful expression on her face, "You''ve seen me before?"

 Chapter 840 The Talent Tablet

    Despite the question still hanging in the air, an unnerving silence filled the arena as everyone''s eyes were trained on Zen''s face.


    Perhaps it was because Zen''s background and life story seemed to be more mysterious than Yolande''s own.


    Therefore, everyone was more interested in Zen, and waited for his answer.


    At that moment Zen did not respond to Yolande''s question. However, he learned from her that she knew about the existence of another Yolande, who shared the same name as her.


    "I think I''ve met you before," Zen answered vaguely.


    "Where?" Yolande asked. Her eyes glinted playfully under the light.


    But Zen didn''t want to answer her question directly. "We could talk, if there''s a chance," he simply said with a smile.


    "Sure," Yolande said and leaned over. "I like your smell. You can find me anytime you want," she said as she caught a whiff of his scent.


    When everyone else heard Yolande''s words, they all got confused. Her words sounded a bit flirtatious, but she said them with an emotionless face. That made everyone feel that it was quite strange.


    The corner of Zen''s mouth twisted into a slight smile. Yolande had left a deep impression on Zen, so he was really curious about her mysterious background. When Zen stayed in White Emperor City, he knew that Yolande came from the Yun Clan, one of the top clans of the Eastern Region. But was she really a member of the Yun Clan? Zen didn''t know anything about Yolande¡ªher experience, background, and whatnot. If he had a chance to know all of those, he definitely wouldn''t miss it.


    Meanwhile, several ogres came out from one side of the arena. The group leader was Boris, who was the most powerful talent of the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place.


    Ever since the ogres had sent out their daredevil to assassinate Zen, Boris had been worried about Zen''s safety.


    He was a divine-level talent of the ogre, but he was worried about Zen. Indeed, his behavior was strange. However, Boris was a stubborn warrior and he wouldn''t easily change his mind. Just after Zen had entered the Tower of Sin, Boris had already considered Zen as an opponent.


    Thus, he was set on seizing a chance to challenge Zen, and this idea was already rooted deep within his mind.


    This was Boris'' warrior spirit! For him, he should be the only one to defeat or kill the opponent he wanted to challenge. It was exactly this kind of warrior spirit that made Boris the strongest talent in the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place.


    Thus, Boris was extremely determined to oppose the ogres'' attempt of using underhanded means to kill their opponent, specifically when they sent the Night Group assassin to kill Zen. As far as he was concerned, such a disgraceful method was humiliating for the powerful ogres.


    Unfortunately, Boris didn''t have a hand in the decision-making.


    He had no right, even if his father was the most powerful and influential member in the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place.


    Although the sacred place seemed to have the


    would be useless in the future, even if they possessed divine-level talents!


    However, compared with luck and talent, the warrior spirit could change more easily. As long as a warrior had the firm warrior spirit and kept on cultivating, he would naturally have great perseverance with stronger warrior spirit!


    But, it was hard to change talent and luck.


    Luck was very magical and intangible. No one could control it or figure out whether someone was lucky or not. Perhaps only God knew that!


    Someone previously said that Zen had good luck on his side, but now no one was sure of how lucky he was, and whether he was lucky or not today. They could only infer and guess from Zen''s past and experiences.


    Relatively speaking, it was easier to control and make use of talent than luck.


    A talented warrior had a cultivation speed faster than the others. He could understand things with just a single look and master skills with only a short bit of practice. Those showed that a warrior had an incredible talent.


    These warriors were divided into talents with different levels, namely the human-level talent, earth-level talent, heaven-level talent, saint-level talent and divine-level talent.


    Although the talents were ranked as such, it was just a general classification. Zen learned from Olivia''s words that the Talent Tablet was able to test and measure each warrior''s talent. Moreover, it could even increase a warrior''s talent.


    Zen found this to be quite unbelievable!


    "Right, the Tower of Sin''s Talent Tablet does have the ability to change a warrior''s talent. I can bring you there now!" Olivia exclaimed.


    It was evident that many creatures were also interested in Zen''s talent now. He was only a level ten war fighter, but he had such great strength. It turned out that Zen indeed had the divine-level talent, but there were differences between the divine-level talents. And so, everyone wanted to see how impressive Zen''s talent was, and what level it reached!

 Chapter 841 Names On The Talent Tablet

    The Tower of Sin had a total of fifteen floors with a Talent Tablet located on the tenth floor.


    Zen''s assumption was right; this tower served the same function as the Dragon Soar Arena and was very likely to have been used by some race for training. The Tower of Sin was like a hundred times scaled-up version of the Dragon Soar Arena.


    As for whether or not it could also send people to the Upper World, Zen had no idea.


    He and Olivia walked at the front, followed by a few human war generals and creatures from other races.


    Almost everyone was curious about Zen''s talent and would naturally not miss an opportunity such as this.


    There was a huge space not far away from the arena. It should be a living area if the structure of this floor was the same as the others. But this floor was different with a large wall being its most prominent feature.


    There were quite a few names engraved on the wall in front of Zen, arranged from top to bottom.


    He scanned through them and soon found the name "Olivia Xia" listed in the sixth row.


    He looked back at Olivia and asked, "These names are¡­?"


    She gave him a smile. "These are the names of all talents that have been tested by the Talent Tablet."


    Zen''s eyebrows rose at the information and now looked at the names with concentration.


    Olivia was a talent from the Purple Heart Sacred Place and even though the sacred place itself was weak, it still had a warrior at the Soul Sea Realm. Because of this, the sacred place could be considered significantly stronger than the Central Region.


    Back in the Central Region, there hadn''t been a single sacred place that had appeared. Even the Ethereal Spirit Sect was only a fifth-grade sect.


    From this fact alone, one could surmise that Olivia''s talent was a little stronger than Brent''s.


    How was it possible that Olivia was only ranked in the sixth row?


    Zen''s face was the epitome of astonishment and perplexity.


    The sixth row was densely packed with names, so Zen moved on and looked at the countless names above the sixth row. Each of these creatures had a better talent than Olivia.


    "Boris! The fourth row!" And it indeed was.


    Olivia thankfully explained, "In the history of our Sea God Continent, only six names have ever appeared in the fourth row. Two of them are on the tenth floor; one is Boris, who is an ogre, and the other is Cheryl of the Demon Night."


    Zen nodded in understanding. From the looks of it, Boris'' strength


    t had the ability to somehow enhance one''s talent for a tiny bit. This was the reason why the Talent Tablet was a must-see for every warrior that entered the tenth floor.


    But of course, Yolande was not like every warrior. She didn''t listen to any race, and certainly not to humans. The human leaders were afraid of offending her so they just let her do whatever she wanted.


    Who would''ve thought that she would suddenly change her mind and enter the Talent Tablet?


    Olivia''s gentle eyes flashed with a strange expression. No doubt she was also thinking why Yolande had changed her mind. Was it because of Zen? There must be a connection.


    She had never heard Yolande comment on other people''s scents before. Moreover, she often did not sport any expression on her face and looked like a puppet most of the time. If she didn''t need to eat, she would be described as a walking dead.


    Zen extended his hand and smiled, "You go first then."


    Yolande didn''t need to be told twice but, before she went in, she moved close to Zen''s collar and sniffed. Her face showed a trace of satisfaction before she turned around and went through the door.


    After walking in, the entire wall suddenly began to tremble before the door closed naturally.


    "How long will it take for the test to finish?"


    he asked.


    Olivia shrugged, "It depends. Sometimes five minutes, other times two hours."


    The wall started emitting rays of light and the countless names started to flash. Soon, what they''d all been waiting for appeared.


    Zen''s expression froze. "The last row?"


    Yolande''s name had made its appearance and it was in the very bottom row.

 Chapter 842 The First Row

    On this wall, a countless amount of names were carved into the stone work. There were a total of nine rows.


    Presumably, the person or race that had built the Tower of Sin had divided creatures'' talents into nine levels.


    People whose names were in the bottom row must have been the least talented of all.


    Zen also noticed that when Yolande''s name appeared, all the other names in the ninth row moved towards the right by one place, and the last name got squeezed out of the wall.


    Considering the amount of names that were there, this was understandable. Even though the wall was huge, it couldn''t possibly record the name of every single person who had been tested.


    "This is normal. Anyone who''s just entered and participated in the test is shown in the bottom row. However, that changes and the name climbs up gradually," Olivia explained.


    "Got it," Zen nodded.


    He wasn''t sure what kind of test Yolande was facing right now. All they could see right now was the names on the wall and their ranks in the grid.


    Soon, Yolande''s name disappeared from the ninth row and appeared in the eighth row. Once more, the last name in the eighth row disappeared just like the one in the ninth row had disappeared.


    Very soon after that, Yolande''s name disappeared from the eighth row too and reappeared in the seventh.


    Hardly had they noticed her name there when it disappeared and reappeared in the sixth one this time.


    "So fast!" Olivia exclaimed.


    Everyone on the tenth floor naturally paid close attention to the situation of the other races. When a person from any race entered the Talent Tablet, many creatures would come up and watch the tables turn. Some people even collected information and sent it to the top floor of the tower.


    Each race hoped that they could produce a strong and talented warrior, and at the same time, they also hoped that a talented person would not appear in some other race. This was the reason why they were watching the Talent Tablet so closely.


    Yolande''s name was now in the sixth row. It meant that her talent was already on par with Olivia''s. Olivia''s name moved back one place because of that.


    The number of people who could get up into the sixth row was not small. Perhaps in a few years, even Olivia''s name would get slowly squeezed out of the list.


    However, Yolande''s name stopped in the sixth row only for a little while, after which, it jumped up to the fifth one.


    Many creatures'' eyes opened wide.


    In the past few years, the number of people whose names had jumped up to the fifth row was very limited. Aside from the ogres and the Demon Night, only the very top members of some races had been able to reach the fifth row.


    As for humans, aside from the mysterious Yolande, Olivia was the top talent of the Purple Heart Sacred Place and even she had only managed to reach the sixth row.


    Although everyone''s eyes were wide open right now,


    ?"


    "She''s actually on par with those characters."


    "These five people have always been legendary figures and anyone better than them has never existed on our Sea God Continent. But Yolande..."


    The five names in the first row were familiar to everyone in the Tower of Sin. After all, they were the most talented and well known figures, so how could anyone forget them?


    As for the speculations about these five creatures, everyone had his or her own opinion regarding them.


    Actually, it was similar to what Zen had in mind.


    In their eyes, the amazing Tower of Sin was not supposed to belong to the Lower World. The five creatures in the first row were probably some great powers in the Upper World. Their talents were likely far beyond the imagination of the creatures of the Sea God Continent, and could only be described as legendary.


    No one had ever thought that there was going to be a legend by their side.


    But in any case, Yolande was able to make it into the first row and stand by the five names. No one on the Sea God Continent had ever done this before.


    Amber had not done it, nor had the other talented people.


    Once Yolande''s name stabilized, the light on the wall faded away. Then the door slowly opened, and her nine-colored long skirt swayed as she slowly walked out.


    She expressionlessly turned her head and glanced at her name. There was no trace of any expression on her face; no joy or happiness, and no excitement either. It was as if everything that had happened was completely according to her expectations.


    She walked over to Zen and asked coldly, "Is it your turn?"


    Zen nodded and walked towards the door without a pause.


    Olivia, who was standing behind him, cheered and encouraged him. "Good luck, Zen!"


    Zen turned around and nodded his head. Then, he too plunged into the darkness. The surrounding lights suddenly dimmed, and the wall once again started to emit an endless luster.

 Chapter 843 Resign To Fate

    Zen''s name appeared on the ninth row.


    A lot of creatures from different races had been paying close attention to Zen''s performance.


    It could be claimed that he was already on the same level as Boris and Cheryl with what he had shown all of them.


    Quite a lot of people already thought highly of him despite still having yet to fight with Boris.


    There had never been such a talent in the human race.


    Zen had entered the tenth floor with the cultivation of a tenth-level war fighter and that was a feat that had never yet been done in the entire Sea God Continent. Not even Amber could do it.


    Of course, the circumstances of the era also played a part.


    Back then, there hadn''t been any fixed rules with regards to advancing freely. Although Amber was powerful, she had still needed to climb from the very bottom all the way to the top.


    Furthermore, the ogres had time and again sent a large number of talents to challenge and possibly defeat her. Amber met and fought with her opponents one after the other and obtained significantly more Lucky Light than Zen. The deterrence that the ogres sent actually contributed to her improving her cultivation at a much faster rate.


    Zen, on the other hand, could freely advance and the amount of Lucky Light he received was significantly less, which did not really benefit his cultivation.


    It wasn''t because the ogres were scared of him, but they had grown weaker over the years and couldn''t really afford to send away most of their talents as they did back then with Amber. Since their assassination attempt had failed, then maybe it would be better to let him freely advance to the tenth floor and just let Boris finish him.


    Had they barred his way and let him stay on the lower floors to improve his cultivation, then Boris might end up not being a match for Zen.


    The other races were very much interested in Zen''s talent, but it was the humans who were most concerned.


    A trace of nervousness flashed on Olivia''s face.


    She knew that the humans clearly understood the meaning of Zen''s appearance.


    To them in the Purple Heart Sacred Place, Zen was like a heart-strengthening drug that they hoped could change their fate. Even before he had stepped into the Purple Heart Sacred Place, he was already quite famous, and disciples and elders at the Soul Sea Realm alike were already keeping an eye out for him because of his strength.


    "I wonder just how far Zen can go."


    "I think he''ll at least make it to the fourth floor. I''m pretty confident that he''s got a lot more potential than Boris."


    "Mm, even if he can''t defeat Boris now, Zen will still grow further in the future and his power will not be something that Boris himself can even compare with."


    Boris heard all this since he wasn''


    ging.


    Just like Yolande''s name, Zen''s was also rising rapidly.


    The ninth row.


    The eighth row.


    The seventh row.


    Soon, his name was listed right beside Olivia''s.


    "Zen''s name is rising fast! It''s even faster than Yolande''s. Will he rise to the first row as well?"


    "I don''t think so. The Talent Tablet doesn''t test strength or speed. Speed doesn''t determine the ranking. Last time, a divine-level talent stayed on the ninth row for two hours before his name went up to the fourth row."


    "Look! His name has stopped on the sixth row. Could it be that he is as talented as Olivia?"


    "What''s the hurry? Let''s just wait and see. As long as he''s in there, there''s no way to arrive at a conclusion."


    Olivia heard all of this but did not say anything. For some reason, she had a mysterious premonition in her heart that Zen would definitely achieve good results.


    It would be impossible to expect him to be in the first row like Yolande, but he could at least enter the third row and become a figure that was only inferior to Amber.


    Yolande, who wasn''t originally interested in anything that was happening, was now also expressionlessly staring at the rankings on the wall. It looked as if she was also anticipating the result, but nobody could really tell for sure.


    Dylon, on the other hand, was extremely gloomy.


    The sixth row. Zen had already climbed to the sixth row and it was a huge blow to his ego. He had also been known as a divine-level talent in the sacred place and was on par with Olivia. However, after the test, his name had only come up to the seventh row.


    A lot of people were also listed on the seventh to ninth rows. His ranking was quite low, and it wouldn''t be long before he was completely squeezed out.


    He merely looked at Zen''s name on the sixth row and quietly resigned himself to his fate.

 Chapter 844 A Fish In The Space (Part One)

    It did not take a long moment before Zen had arrived at the sixth row, easily surpassing Dylon.


    Who knew which row Zen would eventually manage to reach in the end?


    Among everyone at the Tower of Sin, this fact was undeniable; Dylon was the most talented disciple from the Purple Heart Sacred Place besides Olivia. Although it was clear as day that his talent was not as good as Olivia''s, Dylon was already well aware of this notion and acquiesced to it.


    Ever since he was a young child, Dylon had always considered Olivia as the only other warrior who could match him when it came to strength. Moreover, Olivia had also been the woman in his heart for the longest time.


    As luck would have it, that bastard named Zen appeared out of nowhere and stole everything Dylon once had and yanked the rug under his own feet. To his displeasure, it seemed as if Zen was replacing him.


    In the Purple Heart Sacred Place, Olivia was regarded as nothing short of a noble and superior goddess. It was borderline ironic however, as much as she had kept herself aloof from Dylon, her behavior towards Zen as well as every single thing he did was the exact opposite. The woman had been unwaveringly enthusiastic about his endeavors and exuded such patience with him that it made the whole thing laughable; how could she not see that the guy was extremely cocky? The fact that Zen was given the attention that he had always wanted made extreme jealousy bubble up Dylon''s chest. Therefore, every time Zen''s name came up one slot on the stone tablet, Dylon gritted his teeth in annoyance and barely suppressed trembling with frustration.


    The Space Law on the stone tablet had proved to be of great help to Zen.


    According to what he just learned from it, the mastery of the first layer of the Space Law could enable the cultivator to travel through space, hence why it was termed as ''traveling''. After being able to comprehend the first layer of the Space Law, an individual could travel a short distance that made it possible for the cultivator to attack the enemy before he knew it and consequently take him by surprise.


    Furthermore, the second layer of the Space Law was called ''tearing''. If one managed to completely comprehend the second layer, then


    ver each person''s strong point. Moreover, it was dedicated in giving them something to comprehend according to their respective strong points. After a period of time, the Talent Tablet tested the effectiveness of their comprehension. Through this method, it could determine the rank of the examinee''s talent without preamble.


    For example, if an individual was particularly good at Fire Law, the stone tablet he chose would most probably contain the Fire Law. Due to this, the specific test for the examinee would involve the constant attacks by all sorts of fire.


    "But, such test is still not accurate." Zen hummed and pouted as he shook his head vehemently.


    Just now, Zen had just employed the power of the first layer of the Space Law and traveled for a relatively short time to dodge the space crack that came at him just a moment ago. Despite that, Zen was certain that it had nothing to do with his talent and he believed that his success was attributed to his real strength in cultivation.


    In spite of everything, Zen had underestimated the power of the Talent Tablet!


    Not a long moment had passed before more space cracks began to appear from all directions Zen could see. Abruptly positioning himself to get ready, he knew that when those space cracks fully emerged, he only had a split of a second to evade before they all came ferociously to crush him. In an instant, it was as if hundreds of monsters in the shape of a huge mouth were suddenly materializing in the darkness.

 Chapter 845 A Fish In The Space (Part Two)

    "There are so many of them!"


    Just like flashes of light, Zen''s figure constantly shuttled high and low through the space as he quickly dodged the aggressive space cracks hurtling towards him.


    However, Zen began to feel the pressure due to the fact that with the constant increase of space cracks, the space Zen initially used to evade the vicious attacks became more and more limited.


    This space where Zen was situated in was not large enough to begin with, so there had been an inadequate space for Zen to move freely. With the continuous multiplication of the space cracks, he realized that he would be engulfed by them sooner or later.


    Zen remembered that when he had faced the giant swords summoned by Marilyn from the Purple Power World in the past, he had also utilized the Space Law to avoid the onslaught of attacks. Even though she had summoned over a hundred giant swords that glinted wickedly, Zen was always able to find a foothold to stand. Right now, the situation was vastly different given the fact that it was more and more difficult for Zen to find a place to stand. With a start, he furrowed his eyebrows in concentration--if he would not be able to avoid those space cracks, he would soon fail and be kicked out of this test.


    ''Space cracks, huh¡­''


    Zen narrowed his eyes and deeply pondered, trying to find an immediate solution.


    Albeit his study of the second layer of the Space Law was brief, Zen acquired a general idea of the space.


    The first layer was ultimately for individuals to be able to travel through space. In fact, the logic behind this was to condense two spaces together. Through the perspective of an outsider looking at his movements, Zen could appear to travel a certain distance in an instant, when in reality, Zen had only taken a single step. How he had achieved this was by bonding two consecutive "nodes" using the Space Law.


    In other words, Zen had bent the space around him and cleverly taken a shortcut.


    On the other hand, the space cracks on the second layer operated on different terms.


    So


    e gritted his teeth and balled his fists tightly at his sides. For this very moment, he did not attempt to travel through space. Instead, he exhaled a quick breath and stood still.


    The moment Zen halted his movements, the space cracks that were similar to the abominable mouths of monsters quickly approached, aiming to engulf him from all directions. Upon perceiving the incoming brutish attack of the space cracks, Zen firmly closed his eyes.


    If there were anyone else in the area and noticed the still form of the boy, they would have undoubtedly believed that Zen had given up the fight, not knowing he had a plan in his head.


    "In the second layer, the first point of tearing space is to integrate oneself into space itself. In fact, this key point has already been touched upon in the first layer of the Space Law, but it barely skims the surface and it doesn''t discuss the actual definition in detail," he started to explain to himself in the darkness, profoundly resolute at the logic of what he was about to do. "I will try to combine the first layer of the Space Law with what I realized just now. I know I can do it!" Zen exclaimed. It was a do-or-die situation and he was certain of his presumption; he had no time to hesitate.


    Within a second, the first space crack steadily zoomed towards Zen''s immobile form, aiming at his head about to devour him!

 Chapter 846 The Second Row

    If one didn''t understand the Space Law, he would be instantly torn apart by the space cracks. Perhaps even a sacred weapon would be ineffective against their power.


    Zen''s physical body was incomparably strong. His immortal body was equivalent to a fairy weapon, and he was probably the only one in the entire universe to be that way. However, despite possessing so strong a physical body, he would undoubtedly be ripped to shreds if he got sucked into the space cracks.


    Still, the moment the space cracks rolled toward Zen, his eyes lit up. As quickly as a wink, the mysterious power of the Space Law lunged out and tightly wrapped about him.


    A strange thing happened then.


    The space cracks which could slice through a sacred weapon easily could not hurt Zen''s body. After the cracks had rolled over, his body looked to be floating over their surface. He was unhurt, safe and sound.


    After comprehending the second level of the Space Law, one could create space cracks as he wished, using them as his own weapon. But if one wanted to create space cracks, he had to adapt to them first.


    Space cracks spread out around Zen. After his body was sucked into a space crack, he appeared on the other side of the space crack. At the moment, his body seemed to have turned into a small boat floating on the surface of water. The space cracks were like waves. Whenever they rolled over, Zen floated up and down. Not the tiniest bit of damage was done to him.


    As wave after wave thrashed against him, Zen freely roamed above the cracks.


    Not only that, he continued to study the space cracks and the essence of space during this process. Although it was considerably slower than comprehending on the stone, it was still faster than most common methods.


    Meanwhile, Zen''s name continued to appear on the wall outside.


    His name had already been placed in the sixth row, the same as in the case of Olivia. Suddenly, his name began to rise through.


    "The fifth row!"


    "The fourth row!"


    Amidst the screams of the crowd, his name soared like a rocket, finally being placed in the fourth row. A few moments later, his name was in the same row as Boris and Cheryl.


    Olivia let out a long sigh of relief. No matter what the consequences, the human race finally had a genius that could rival the ogres and the Demon Night. Past experience told her that as long as Zen was alive, he would be able to secure a seat for them.


    However, the worries of Olivia and the others were not dispelled. Before all of this, the ogres had already figured out that Zen was a great threat to them and that he must be eliminated. Now that Zen''s talent had been fully exposed, the ogres would probably try to kill him at the first opportunity.


    Olivia also understood that the Purpl


    rength of his physical body, for this force had blocked all of his other strengths.


    In this aggravating situation, he felt relieved and reassured knowing that the Talent Tablet couldn''t be controlled by the ogres. Even at a time when ogres wholly seized the Tower of Sin, they weren''t masters of the Talent Tower. Perhaps no living being in the Lower World could control the giant tower.


    This was nothing more than a test of his talent. Although the pressure on his body increased bit by bit, it didn''t aim at crushing him, only at appraising the capabilities of his physical body.


    As Zen mused on the purpose of this test, the pressure on his body grew increasingly stronger.


    Under such pressure, even an iron ball would be flattened into a sheet of iron. What was the strength of the physical body of a human being compared to that?


    However, Zen''s body was more resilient than common iron. It was equivalent to a top-grade fairy weapon and had already surpassed the limits of human beings. His bones were several times harder than iron and steel. It wasn''t easy to crush them.


    Zen continued to bear the heavy pressure as the sound of something snapping resounded from his bones. The gaps between his bones were being constantly compressed, which was why they expelled such a noise when they clashed against each other.


    Under the progressively growing pressure, Zen bore the brunt of the limits of his physical body.


    "I''m afraid... No, this power is too terrifying. It feels like that even a common war lord couldn''t wield such a formidable strength."


    If the pressure persisted, Zen''s body would collapse. Suddenly, the gentle light disappeared quietly, leaving Zen to land on the ground with a loud thud.


    Meanwhile, on the outer wall, Zen''s name disappeared and then reappeared on the second row, right beside Amber''s.

 Chapter 847 Eyes

    Everyone had heard of Amber''s miracles in the Sea God Continent.


    However, no one envied her.


    Why? It was simple: they didn''t even have the qualifications to be envious.


    It was already difficult enough for them to put their names right next to Amber, what more creating miracles? Since ancient times, creatures from all sorts of races had entered the Tower of Sin. It couldn''t be denied then that the number of those who were able to break through the tenth floor and undergo the Talent Tablet test was great, immeasurable even.


    However, not a single one had the right nor the capabilities to have their names placed beside Amber''s name.


    Those whose names belonged on the top four rows were already very powerful and were regarded as formidable beings among those in the tower since those on the top four rows were destined to become the strong masters who reached the Soul Sea Realm.


    They would be unbeatable in the Sea God Continent.


    As for those who were on the second row, they were the ones destined to usher in a new era for the world.


    What happened today was a very monumental event as two warriors earned the right to have their names appear on the top two rows. Moreover, these two warriors were actually from the human race.


    One was Yolande whose background was a mystery to everyone. When her name jumped to the second row, and then all the way to the first, everyone sighed but was not jealous.


    She had never been promoted all these years and she couldn''t really help the Purple Heart Sacred Place. The most she could offer was to continue gifting her Lucky Light to others.


    The other races were content with this set-up. It would be better for them if Yolande obediently stayed on the tenth floor since the consequences of her choosing to advance, obtaining a seat, and breaking through would be unimaginable.


    With her talent in the first row, it was certain that her future accomplishments would surpass Amber''s¡ªshould she choose to. If she willed it, Yolande might become a detrimental element for humans to rise up and dominate all the other races.


    However, right after Yolande, Zen''s name had also jumped up to the second row.


    The two were very different. Although Zen also had a mysterious background like Yolande, he had a lot of motivation for advancing.


    Aside from Boris, several other ogre war generals also had the same thought. Several of them had even begun scheming on how to kill Zen. No price would be too high.


    They would even be willing to go as far as giving up ten seats, or even exchange with the humans, so long as Zen died.


    They wanted to prevent the rise of another warrior as extraordinary as Amber.


    The human race they had once looked down on and scoffed


    y can''t beat him in the arena, then the ogre war lords on top of the tower will probably bend the rules and kill Zen themselves."


    "Zen shouldn''t have entered the Talent Tablet for the test. He would''ve been fine if he placed on the fifth or fourth row but now, everyone''s seen just how great his abilities are. The ogres are surely on edge. They won''t allow someone like Zen to live long."


    "I agree. The ogres still regret not killing Amber in the past after the bloody lesson they have learned years ago. They''re smarter now and will definitely not let Zen off. Even if they break the rules, they would do their best to eliminate him!


    Besides, there''s still the Demon Night hanging around. Zen should also watch out for them!"


    Olivia and Elder Jing both wore long expressions upon hearing the discussions.


    The bystanders were right. It was impossible for the ogres to remain indifferent to this matter. It would not be beneath them to break the rules and they would send out a war lord to kill Zen to assure the survival of their race.


    Although the Purple Heart Sacred Place had a handful of powerful and influential human masters in the Soul Sea Realm, they would never be able to enter the Tower of Sin. No one would be able to get to the tower to help Zen. Moreover, humans only got four seats at the top of the tower.


    How could those four warriors resist the force of the over twenty ogres who also held seats?


    It wasn''t good news.


    Something big was brewing and troubles were approaching fast. However, the one who was now currently facing such a huge dilemma was still inside the test room, completely unaware of the things that were currently happening outside.


    After Zen completed the test, the surrounding light began to dissipate. Suddenly, a pair of eyes appeared right in front of him.

 Chapter 848 The Ultimate Test

    Zen had grasped the general idea of how the Talent Tablet worked in testing the talent and skills of the examinees.


    He found out that the first screening was to test the comprehension skill of a martial artist with regards to laws. Then the testing of the strength of corporeal body followed suit by gauging the physical power of the examinees through exerting immense pressure on them!


    So far, these were all that he knew about the test system. Other than these, he had no idea what other mysterious testing methods the Talent Tablet contained. But one thing was clear to Zen that when it came to the physical talent, he definitely wouldn''t lose to anyone!


    His body differed from that of an ordinary person. Even a body refiner couldn''t measure up to him, let alone any martial artist that cultivated life vitality. Once his body made a breakthrough and became the sacred weapon or reached a higher level, his body would become even more terrifying. Moreover, he would reach an incredible level in no time with great potential.


    Apart from the test on the physical body, the third test was a test on the soul. Zen had also passed this test painstakingly!


    Now that Zen had passed all the three tests, he was assuming that the test was finally over.


    His eyes darted pensively to the closed door on the wall facing him. The space surrounding him was so dark that it gave him an eerie feeling that it was not yet the end of the test. Trusting his gut feel, he knew that there was something more that lay ahead.


    ''What else should I be tested? Don''t tell me I will get a cultivation method this time!'' Zen thought as he chuckled to himself.


    This idea might sound absurd, but it was deemed possible. It could still be considered a way to test him. Knowing that the cultivation method given by the Tower of Sin would not be simple, he was still quite happy if he would get a cultivation method as a part of the test. But these were only blind and disorderly conjectures that crossed his mind.


    Just as he stood there in deep contemplation, wondering about what might happen, a pair of eyes suddenly appeared in the dark space in front of him.


    In this vast and diverse world, there were many different types of creatures with different looks and shapes. But no matter how much they differed, they had one thing in common¡ªthey all had eyes.


    Like for example, the Genuine Dragon had eyes, the Blue Phoenix had eyes, and humans also had eyes. It was a characteristic shared by all living creatures!


    When several rays of light became visible and gradually formed like a pair of eyes in front of him, he was flabbergasted. "Who are you?" Zen gawked at the pair of eyes as he asked.


    Another dot of light popped up in the darkness. It gently danced in the air and eventually formed a mouth. Soon after, a distant and ancient voice rang out, "Human, I am the weapon spirit of this Tower of Sin! "


    "Weapon spirit!" Zen''s eyes flashed with awe as he shook his head in amazement.


    "Yes!" The melodious voice continued, "As a weapon spirit, I''ve already existed in this tower for a million years¡­"


    "A million years!" Zen exclaimed, cutting off the weapon spirit in mid-sentence. He was shocked to hear that.


    In the Central Region, the Ancient Tycoon who had lived over a


    "


    As the weapon spirit''s voice faded away, the light in the surroundings started to change constantly. Simultaneously, Zen quickly fell, and he felt as if he was sinking into a starry sky!


    Mysterious various patterns consistently appeared and soon engulfed him. These patterns were very abstract, and each one was different. The aura exuded from them made Zen feel awed as he looked at them with reverence.


    This sense of overwhelming feeling seemed to come from his instinct!


    "What are these patterns?" Zen intently looked at the patterns in confusion. "Is this the final test? Then what exactly is this supposed to test me on?"


    While Zen seriously pondered over these questions, the first pattern quickly moved and approached him. The feeling was somewhat familiar. It dawned on him that it was similar to the way that his consciousness approached a star when he had cultivated the Stellar Body.


    This time, however, Zen was not moving towards the pattern, but rather, the pattern was crushing down on his head!


    As the pattern slowly approached, Zen felt extremely small. In the face of this pattern, he was like a grain of sand!


    "It made me feel bad!"


    Zen''s brows furrowed as the energy within his body exploded out, colliding with the pattern.


    "Boom!"


    A person appeared in front of Zen as a sudden white bright light flashed. The person was wearing a Taoist robe and had a short sword made of jade in his hand.


    As if everything was in sync, the weapon spirit''s voice rang out. "This is the Soul Symbol. The one in front of you is the Soul Symbol left after this master died."


    "And then?" Zen hastily asked as he raised his eyebrows.


    "Defeat him," the weapon spirit replied nonchalantly.


    "How strong is he?" Zen countered, seemingly anxious.


    "When he was alive, his strength was equivalent to a human master in the Soul Sea Realm," the weapon spirit expressed.


    Upon hearing the weapon spirit''s words, Zen turned speechless. Was this a joke? He mused that no matter how strong he was, he was not powerful enough to stand against a Soul Sea Realm master. It would take not many efforts for the Soul Sea Realm master to crush him with one hand.

 Chapter 849 Worries

    Powerful warriors at the Soul Sea Realm only emerged from sacred places and divine kingdoms.


    Once a sect had a member at the Soul Sea Realm, it would gain the right to establish a sacred place. If an independent warrior reached the Soul Sea Realm, then he or she would gain the right to establish a divine kingdom. Central Region never had a warrior at the Soul Sea Realm.


    Establishing either a divine kingdom or a sacred place required an endless amount of time and resources, and only a warrior at the Soul Sea Realm had the necessary qualifications to become a ruler.


    Above war fighters were war generals, above war generals were war lords, and above war lords were war sages. The warriors at the Soul Sea Realm were much stronger than war sages. Zen was a mere level ten war fighter, and there was no way he could be a match for a warrior at the Soul Sea Realm.


    Those at the Soul Sea Realm had the ability to split heaven and earth and could choose to ascend to the Upper World. A warrior at Soul Sea Realm needed to only raise a finger if he or she wanted to kill someone like Zen.


    Was the difficulty of the ultimate test truly this high?


    "Do not worry. These Soul Symbols are just the memories of the departed. They will suppress their cultivation to the same level as yours," the weapon spirit said.


    Zen nodded in understanding.


    Testing a war fighter''s potential by setting him up against a warrior at Soul Sea Realm was unreasonable. If that had truly been the set-up, then there was no doubt that Zen wouldn''t even be able to touch his opponent''s sleeve before he was exterminated.


    However, despite the suppression of the warrior''s cultivation, Zen''s chances of winning were still very low.


    Whether it was combat experience, law comprehension, or the mastery of life vitality or forceful energy, a warrior at Soul Sea Realm was just simply incomparable.


    Even if the warrior was suppressed to a level ten war fighter, he would still be able to easily defeat an ordinary war lord.


    Zen''s chances of victory were very slim.


    However, he was still determined to do his best.


    Pushing his thoughts of impossibility to the side, Zen took out his long sword from his space ring. Holding it in his hand, he suddenly dashed toward his opponent to strike.


    The Taoist priest raised his jade sword as well and effortlessly blocked Zen''s strike with a "ding."


    The block did not faze Zen, who immediately lifted up his sword in order to deflect the priest''s jade sword.


    However, the jade sword seemed to have a mind of its own as it gently swayed along with Zen''s, shadowing its every move.


    "Excellent defense!


    and, with his cultivation of the Soul Sea Realm, it was natural for him to have comprehended the third level of Thunder Law.


    Fortunately, the priest''s cultivation had been suppressed. Otherwise, Zen would''ve dropped dead the moment the lightning strike hit him.


    "Break it again!"


    Zen was once again back on track as his iron sword danced in the air, forming a strange line without any rules or restrictions. It looked weird, chaotic even, but it was able to avoid the priest''s block and successfully pierce through his heart.


    Plop!


    As the iron sword pierced through him, the priest cracked and shattered into fragments before dissipating completely like fine, white ash.


    Zen inhaled deeply. "Did I win?"


    Another pattern fell on his head.


    "The test isn''t over yet."


    Defeating the priest had greatly increased his confidence. He wasn''t as apprehensive, nor was he as pessimistic with fighting another suppressed warrior at the Soul Sea Realm as he had been before.


    While Zen took the ultimate test inside the Talent Tablet, the creatures waiting outside were feeling extremely confused.


    The test was taking too long!


    The longest it had taken someone to take the test was two hours. Yolande''s name had climbed up to first place in less than an hour.


    But Zen had been inside for three hours now.


    "What the heck''s going on? What did he encounter inside the Talent Tablet?"


    "Could something have happened?"


    "It''s already been three hours. What''s taking him so long?"


    Olivia was already beside herself with worry. Surely Zen did not encounter some kind of mishap, did he?


    Meanwhile, Elder Jing remained calm and unbothered by all of this. However, he did notice that the number of ogres on the tenth floor was increasing.

 Chapter 850 Fabian And Jarrod

    Elder Jing''s greatest worry was the ogres.


    As soon as Zen entered the Tower of Sin, he had become the target of a grudge of the ogres. Even then, the ogres would have let him go had Zen''s performance not been so outstanding.


    At least they wouldn''t break the rules of the Tower of Sin just to kill Zen.


    Although the ogres had many seats at the moment, they were still only a quarter of the hundred or so. Breaking the rules of the tower would have to come at a great price for the ogres.


    But now, the situation was different.


    They already had the lesson of Amber before, who had helped the Demon Night rise up rather rapidly. With that in mind, the ogres could not just sit and watch as Zen helped the humans rise up too.


    Moreover, Zen''s name had already surpassed Amber''s, and was already sitting neatly in the first row. Once a person like him matured, he would be able to wipe out the two sacred places of the ogres from the Sea God Continent.


    This was a big problem and any race was going to be severely worried in face of such imminent danger. Although the ogres were really strong, they were no exception to such fear, and when faced with this level of threat, they were not going to care about any rules. They wouldn''t give a damn about the so-called "safe area" and would kill Zen at any price, including turning themselves against all the other races.


    Not only were more ogre war lords entering the tenth floor, the number of Demon Night war lords was also increasing now.


    Suddenly, a bold laughter came from somewhere close by. Following that sound, a sense of great pressure came over everyone present there. All the creatures in the room, who were originally staring at the names on the wall, turned their heads.


    Another level ten ogre war lord was walking towards them.


    Elder Jing, Olivia and the other humans felt a chill in their hearts. "Malcom! One of the seat owners!"


    There were two methods to determine the strength of a race on the Sea God Continent. The first was to check the strength of the warriors of their sacred places, and the second was the strength of their seat owners in the Tower of Sin.


    The ogres had the highest number of seats and their seat owners were usually level ten war lords.


    And this ogre in front of them called Malcom was a seat owner too.


    Malcom strode forwards arrogantly, surrounded by a group of war lords. The other races'' creatures all gave way under his domineering aura.


    As for Boris and the other ogre war generals, when they saw Malcom, they went over to him and raised their fists, placing them on their own chests. This was a unique etiquette of the ogres they followed to greet their members.


    Malcom''s bell-like eyes stared at the wall. When he saw Zen''s name floating high in the first row, he let out a cold laugh. "Zen Luo


    oes not belong only to the ogres."


    "Ogres are used to being tyrannical. If they do kill Zen, then the other races will need to analyze and think carefully about whether or not there''s a need to start an interracial war and flatten the two sacred places of the ogres to the ground."


    The two sacred places the ogres had were the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place.


    Most of the races were indeed not a match for the ogres inside the Tower of Sin. But if every single one of the fourteen big races on the continent were to join forces, then with the help of the Demon Night''s Amber, trampling over the two sacred places of the ogres was going to be very much possible.


    This was also the reason why the ogres had given up more than half of their seats in the Tower of Sin earlier on.


    Malcom let out a cold snort, looked around at the creatures, and revealed a cold smile. "Rules? Ha-ha, rules have always been set by strong warriors. We, the ogres, plan to temporarily abolish the rules of the safe area. What do you say to that?"


    "That''s a bit unreasonable, isn''t it?"


    Just as Malcom had finished speaking, another tall figure appeared.


    From the very start of this conversation, Malcom hadn''t had the slightest trace of fear in his heart. Even while facing Fabian Zhao and Jarrod Zhou combined, he wasn''t afraid at all. The four human seat owners were but a small problem to the ogres.


    However, his face revealed a fearful expression at this new voice. He asked in a cold voice, "What? The Demon Night wants to intervene in this matter?"


    Whether it was the Tower of Sin or the Sea God Continent, only the Demon Night was able to fight evenly with the ogres. If the Demon Night were going to side with the other races, the situation was going to become extremely troublesome for the ogres.


    This was the reason why Malcom was so afraid.

 Chapter 851 Concession And Dispute (Part One)

    The tall and slender figure slowly approached with several Demon Night war generals following closely behind her.


    The members of the Demon Night were mostly women and the perfect race was almost entirely dominated by females.


    So many male creatures of all races could not look away at the sight of them. The men''s gazes were filled with greed and impure thoughts about the Demon Night women.


    However, they were to keep their lust and perversion to themselves. The moment they stared at the Demon Night woman at the helm, they immediately felt their eyes burn as if they were being melted by a hot flame.


    "AH!" "My eyes! My eyes!"


    "They hurt! I can''t see anything!"


    "Am I going blind?!"


    They all howled and screamed.


    "Why did you look? How dare you gaze at a woman as powerful as her with lust and desire? She is Madeline, one of the seat holders of the Demon Night in the Tower of Sin. Those who look at her with impure thoughts will only get hurt. I heard that she''s only a tenth-level war lord but her soul has already stepped into the Fighting Soul Realm."


    "Fighting Soul Realm? My word! Some of the war sages have not yet even reached that!"


    "Not everyone in the Soul Sea Realm possesses a soul at the Fighting Soul Realm. They say a soul like that is extremely powerful and will not be damaged by attacks from a normal soul."


    A look of surprise was evident in Madeline''s eyes as she looked upon the wall filled with names. Even though she had already received the news that a tenth-level human war fighter had gotten his name on the first row, seeing it with her own eyes still caused her a lot of shock and disbelief.


    A human warrior¡­ How could he be so talented? He was even stronger than the Demon Night''s Amber!


    Madeline took a glance at Fabian and Jarrod who had stepped forward upon her arrival.


    "Madeline, the rules were made in accordance with the fourteen races'' agreement," Fabian said. "Are we really going to let the ogres ignore that and repeal the rules?" Fabian looked at the crowd and, with a booming voice, stated his declaration, "If any of you have the ability to kill Zen in the arena, then we, humans, will naturally not say a word. However, if any attempt upon Zen''s life is


    Without the rules, all races would act recklessly!


    It was not something that the Demon Night wanted to see.


    The ogres could certainly break the rules but they had to pay the price. Otherwise, why would they need to strive for seats in the Tower of Sin? Why would they need the rules?


    Malcom sneered, "Compensation? We can offer compensation. As long as Zen dies, our Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and Dread Ogre Sacred Place are willing to bestow the humans with ten low-grade sacred weapons!"


    Jarrod was immediately infuriated by his words, "Ten low-grade sacred weapons? Do you think of us as beggars?"


    A sacred weapon was indeed precious but it wasn''t extremely rare in the sacred place. The Purple Heart Sacred Place itself had at least twenty low-grade sacred weapons.


    The human race would not compromise even if the ogres gave them one hundred, let alone ten sacred weapons. Zen was a priceless super talent that should be cherished and protected. Besides, sacred weapons could only realize their true potential in the hands of a master.


    Malcom sneered, "Ten sacred weapons and that''s it! I do not discuss with you humans, understand?"


    Fabian scoffed and shook his head. "It seems that you are still intent on ignoring the rules," he said. "Do you honestly think you can persuade us to give up on our super talent''s life by giving us so little?"


    Malcom was about to retort when Boris suddenly interrupted, "There''s no need to argue with them. I have a solution."

 Chapter 852 Concession And Dispute (Part Two)

    Malcom huffed, "You have a way to solve this? Tell me right now!"


    "Since those humans insist that we obey the rules, then we should give them what they want," Boris said. "We don''t need to compensate them with ten sacred weapons. When Zen comes out of the Talent Tablet, I''ll challenge him and kill him on the arena!" His words were confident as if he already knew who the winner of the battle was before it even began.


    Malcom, Fabian, and Jarrod all showed an expression of interest with Boris''s proposal.


    Fabian and Jarrod knew the human race did not have any bargaining chips in their hands to negotiate with the ogres. Their best bet was to get Zen up in that arena and win. His victory would serve to further strengthen the importance of the rules and help humans gain the other races'' support.


    Malcom, on the other hand, thought differently. Boris, to him, was the most outstanding talent in the ogre''s two sacred places and his cultivation base was a full cultivation realm higher than Zen''s. The gap between a tenth-level war fighter and a tenth-level war general was too great.


    Therefore, Malcom had no doubts that Boris would be able to kill Zen in the arena. This method would ensure that the ogres wouldn''t be breaking any rules so there would be no need to compensate the humans and they could legally get rid of Zen. It was killing two birds with one stone.


    In the unlikely event that Boris did fail, the ogres would still be able to ignore the rules and kill Zen.


    Malcom let out a roaring laugh. "I agree with this suggestion! What do you humans think?"


    Fabian and Jarrod chose not to say anything. The ogre''s agreement to fight in the arena was already a kind of concession. Although their hearts were full of worry, Fabian and Jarrod only nodded their heads.


    Olivia faintly sighed as she looked up at Zen''s name shining on the wall. She wasn''t an idiot and obviously knew the ogres'' malicious intentions.


    Even if Zen defeated Boris, the ogres might not also be willing to abide by the rules. Only hatred and competition existed between the two races, after all.


    ''Zen should not have entered the Tower of Sin. He should''ve just slowly grown and enhanced his cultivation in the Purple Heart Sacred Place. At the very least, he should have had enough strength to face off against these ogre war lords before he entered the tower. That should''ve been the perfect plan. With his talent, he probably doesn''t even need the tower''s help. As long as he focuses on his cultivation, a breakthrough isn''t way too far off. Ah, why have things come to this?''


    Olivia thought morosely, regretting Zen''s choices for him.


    Of course, she had no idea that Zen did not have the time nor the luxury to cultivate slowly. His sister waited for him to rescue her and, with each passing day, his worries only increased since he felt that there was no time at all.


    The Tower of Sin was the only place where he could quickly raise his cultivation base. He had no other choice.


    Besides, a talent would only grow stronger and far more powerful after going through a life or death experience. A peaceful environment could never yield an awe-inspiring hero.


    Everyone fell silent upon the presentation of this solution. The on


    opponent was only thrown a few feet backward.


    Sure, they were both thrown a good few feet backward, but compared to the distance Zen was thrown, the perfect man''s retreat distance was significantly shorter!


    "Indeed, it is such a powerful physical body. It''s not the slightest bit weaker than my fairy weapon body!"


    Doubt also appeared on the perfect man''s face. Despite being a mere Soul Symbol, he had still inherited the emotions of his previous master and regarded Zen''s powerful physical body as inconceivable.


    "AGAIN!" Zen roared as he circulated the power of the dragon scales in his body, activating one hundred scales.


    "BANG!"


    There was another violent force as the two collided once again. Zen was pushed back a hundred feet, but his opponent was pushed back for one hundred and fifty feet!


    "AGAIN!"


    "BANG!"


    Zen continued to unfurl the dragon scales'' power bit by bit, increasing his strength gradually. Over time, the distance Zen would be thrown back decreased while his opponent moved farther and farther backward. On their next collision, a stream of blood flowed out of the man''s mouth.


    "Golden blood?" The sight of it solidified Zen''s belief that his opponent was not human. How could a mere human being possess golden blood?


    The perfect man wiped away the blood from his mouth. Then he finally realized that he would not be able to win this battle with his physical strength alone. If this continued, he would be the one collapsing in the end.


    The perfect man changed his pose and suddenly clenched one of his hands into a fist.


    Faint traces of light appeared around his hand before forming a powerful looking vortex.


    ''That''s the forceful energy, '' Zen thought to himself. ''Although he was of the Celestial Position race, he still chose to refine his body. Since that''s the case, I''ll also show him my body refining technique!''


    At that moment, victory was no longer Zen''s goal. What he hoped instead was a breakthrough.


    "Stellar Body!"


    Zen had never used the Stellar Body in actual combat, but now he would finally get a chance. Now, he would see how powerful the Transcendent Divine Might truly was.

 Chapter 853 The Highest Authority (Part One)

    In that instant, Zen utilized his comprehension on the general principles of the Transcendent Divine Might and subsequently channeled the power of the stars into his body.


    There happened to be a total of eight moves in the first part of the Stellar Body. According to what the red dragon had stated before, the eight moves in the first part corresponded with the eight Path Platforms.


    Every time Zen managed to build a Path Platform, he would then be able to strike a move against his foe.


    However, as of the moment, Zen had only unlocked only one Path Platform. It was a fortunate thing that the Hundred Meetings Platform corresponded to the first move of the Stellar Body, which was the "Star Shakes the Earth"!


    If someone happened to take a glimpse of the sky, they would immediately observe that in the vast and distant darkness that stretched across the skies, a glowing star all of a sudden emitted an intense sort of bright starlight. From a great distance, the starlight which was initially the size of a speck of dust now appeared like a small pigeon egg. Needless to say, it seemed as if the light had magnified over a hundred times in an astonishingly short moment.


    This was the exceptional ability of the Stellar Body. Such an amazing power enabled any cultivator to absorb the force of the star into his own body and simply enhance the cultivator''s own abilities.


    At the present, it was indeed a marvelous thing to see as Zen''s own body was enveloped in a faint glow reminiscent of starlight.


    Considering that he had only managed to be connected with one star thus far, the starlight that emitted from his frame was rather dim. Nonetheless, it would be significantly better if he were to be connected with more stars in order that the starlight around his body could gradually become brighter. In the end, the goal was to make him give the impression of a shining star!


    Realistically speaking, the power of the star condensed by the Stellar Body was fundamentally different from the star power formed by the Sun Moon Stars Picture. After all, the spiritual projection method of the Sun Moon Stars Picture presented him a more concrete and tangible feeling as the power needed to be obtained by relying on the act of visualizing the stars. On the o


    guish that the cultivation method he used was the Stellar Body.


    With a faint smile that stretched across his lips, the man talked to him once more, "You are lucky to be able to possess the Transcendent Divine Might when you are merely a war fighter. As for your question, you have to find the answer yourself." he dramatically paused before looking at him in challenge. "If you want to pass the ultimate test, you have to resist my punch first."


    As soon as he had finished speaking, the man clenched his fist in preparation. The moment he tightened his grip, the meridians on his fist bulged on one by one. In normal circumstances, a human''s meridians would appear to take on a greenish hue, but this man was certainly not ordinary as his meridians reflected the color of a brilliant gold.


    "Celestial Position Devour!" he yelled.


    Within the span of a second, the forceful energy that the man harbored for a long time suddenly erupted. Although the man had lowered himself to a tenth level war fighter, the power that exuded from the man still shocked Zen and left him speechless.


    The reason why Zen momentarily halted his offensive move just now was because he was curious about the origin of the Stellar Body and he wanted to ask the other man what he knew about it. Judging from the way the man spoke and replied to his inquiries, it was crystal clear to Zen just then that he did not plan to discuss it with him. Huffing to himself, Zen promptly dropped the matter and went all out to strike his move.

 Chapter 854 The Highest Authority (Part Two)

    "Star Shakes the Earth!"


    If there happened to be spectators present to watch how the battle unfolded, they would have been terribly stunned and taken aback upon seeing the intense scene of their fight.


    Since both of them were now tenth level war fighters, it was unexpected for them to release powers that seemed far beyond the abilities of warrior generals. Furthermore, it was even almost a frightening sight to behold, given the fact that it was impossible even for an ordinary war lord to unleash such an explosive power of forceful energy like they had just done.


    The potent forceful energy within Zen''s body unceasingly exploded and the power of the star flooded into his fist at the same time. After the brightness dimmed a little, his fist flashed with dazzling starlight, as if Zen was holding a small star on the palm of his hand. In the blink of an eye, Zen powerfully threw a punch at his opponent.


    On the other side of the battle, his opponent''s punch was also something to be reckoned with. Just as the potent forceful energy abruptly surged out violently from his fist and created a huge vortex, the center of it was immediately noticeable--the radiance of his fist was strikingly similar to the image of a raging seawater.


    "Swish!"


    The sound of an uncontrolled flood of water was loud enough for it to leave a faint ringing in their ears. As the two powerful energies collided with each other, they consequently emitted rays of brilliant light that could have been able to make other people''s eyes go blind.


    At this moment, it seemed to be no longer a confrontation of the fists. Rather, the battle of forceful energies had just begun; the man who rose as the victor would have won the contest of strength.


    Blinking rapidly as a result from the vivid brightness, Zen struggled to see his surroundings clearly. However, he understood right at that very moment that what he needed to do was to keep moving forward and tear the Soul Symbol in front of him into pieces!


    It was in that instance when he realized that the power of the star was far beyond what Zen could ever imagine.


    Upon facing the punch of the man who owned the Tower of Sin, he deliberated by himself a couple of things he had observed. Firstly, if Zen emp


    s control everything that happens inside the tower," the voice explained, addressing Zen''s concerns.


    "What!"


    Emotions of surprise and satisfaction bubbled up in his chest at the news presented to him. "Doesn''t this mean that the Tower of Sin now belongs to me?"


    "Well, no. The Tower of Sin is not something you can refine as only the Celestial Position race can do so," the weapon spirit started to clarify. "You have just gained the recognition of the Celestial Position. Since it is impossible for you to refine it with your current strength, you can only control the tower within a limited range with my help, of course." the formless voice finished, patiently giving Zen a well-deserved explanation.


    "What do you mean? Can you explain further? Give me an example perhaps?"


    The young man persistently asked, fascinated by what he was currently hearing.


    "For example, you can now freely travel through the walls and floors of the Tower of Sin without anyone or anything stopping you on your way. Also, you can kick any living creature out of the Tower of Sin," the weapon spirit stated and completed its spiel.


    As the voice finished talking, Zen''s eyebrows immediately shot up and his mouth was agape at the implications of his new status. Grinning with unbridled excitement, Zen felt his heart pound in anticipation of his new privileges.


    With a start, it dawned on him that he ultimately had the right to decide who got to live or die among all the creatures in the Tower of Sin.

 Chapter 855 An Arrogant Name

    Zen was not an expert on Sea God Continent history, but he had a rough understanding of it thanks to Phoebe from the Demon Night.


    The Tower of Sin was a very important place for the many races that lived in the Sea God Continent. It was a trial ground directly related to their survival.


    Due to the innate significance of the tower, it was only natural that the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place wanted to take possession of it. Unfortunately, that was not something the other races could allow.


    A sole race''s occupation of the Tower of Sin was equal to killing off the other races. Therefore, it was something that must never be allowed to happen, which was why the control of the tower was relegated to different races who were able to get a seat at the top.


    Other than cultivating in the tower, the Dark Nether Cave at the foot of the tower was also equally important.


    It couldn''t be denied that the Tower of Sin was an indispensable part of a talent''s training path. And this was what made the Sea God Continent and the Central Region completely different.


    In order to maintain balance and order, various sacred places contended for their seats and shared joint control of the tower, so that it could be a feasible public training ground for their talents. Rules were agreed upon and set, so that warriors might be able to train and flourish.


    But now, Zen had just been given the right to eliminate anyone from the tower.


    From the war fighters on the lower floors to those so-called seat owners at the top, all of their lives were now in the palm of Zen''s hands.


    Such power and responsibility had him tingling all over.


    "Now that I have passed the ultimate test, it is time for me to go out," he said.


    "Of course," the weapon spirit replied. "Remember. As a weapon spirit, I am an omnipresent entity within the Tower of Sin. If you want to exercise your right, just call me."


    Zen nodded in understanding before heading for the entrance.


    Outside the Talent Tablet, the crowd continued waiting in bated breath for Zen''s return.


    The amount of time he had spent inside was several times greater than that of the average person, and the people waiting for him were growing restless.


    Yolande had climbed up to the first row like Zen, but it took her much less time.


    "Why hasn''t Zen come out yet?"


    "Maybe we don''t need to kill him personally anymore. He may have already died inside."


    "This has never happened before. The Talent Tablet''s test isn''t dangerous. It''s only a test of the limits of one''s talent."


    The discussions upset Olivia. The humans were clearly under a lot of pressure, and they''d be plunged into a deeper crisis if Zen did truly die inside.


    However, the buzz of speculation suddenly came to a halt when the wall suddenly began shaking.


    Olivia''s thin eyebrows were suddenly raised in anticipation. "Is he out?"


    It wasn''t just her. Elder Jing, Fabian, and Jar


    e its course, '' Madeline thought to herself. A high talent such as Zen was no doubt also endowed with great fortune. The ogres would have a hard time killing him.


    But there was still that challenge from Boris.


    Should Zen defeat Boris in the arena, the ogres would then gain the perfect excuse to not abide by the rules and kill him directly. With Malcom''s strength as a tenth-level war lord, Zen wouldn''t stand a chance.


    And, even if Fabian and Jarrod were able to protect Zen, there was still the matter of the ogres holding the majority of the seats in the tower.


    Four human seat owners against over twenty ogre seat owners? It would be like eggs dashing themselves against rocks.


    No matter how great Zen''s luck was, he had now truly reached a dead end. From how Madeline saw it, the human boy was doomed. A slight smirk found its way on her face with this conclusion.


    Just as everyone was admiring the golden words on the wall, the door finally opened.


    When Zen entered, a small crowd of people saw him off. Now, as he made his exit, the small crowd had become a black mass of creatures from all manner of races.


    He was taken aback at the sight, "Why are there so many¡­" He quickly looked around and was immediately comforted at the familiar sight of Olivia and walked over to her.


    Olivia''s eyes were watery as if she had been holding her tears the entire time. "You''re f-finally out," she said, her gentle voice trembling.


    Zen frowned. "What''s wrong?" he asked.


    Olivia shook her head and smiled before pointing behind him, "Look over there."


    Zen turned his head and was immensely shocked at the sight of the two golden words that had been carved onto the stone wall. He knew that the weapon spirit was the one who wrote his name there, but was it really necessary to make his name so big? Wasn''t that too arrogant?


    He was speechless. Had he known that this would happen, he would''ve had stopped the weapon spirit from doing so.

 Chapter 856 Being Made Fun Of (Part One)

    Oaks may fall, but the reeds can withstand a storm. Is it not better to bend than to break? Destruction always pursues the strong.


    Olivia knew this, and so did Zen.


    Zen had no idea about his own capabilities before he entered the Talent Tablet. Even if he did have countless skills, was it really necessary to have that label "Celestial Position" added right before his name? What did it even mean, anyway?


    It must have meant so much validation for such a recognition.


    Suddenly, a majestic aura rained down before Zen. He turned around and saw that it was an ogre war lord. Even if he had seen a number of them in his existence, he was still in awe every single time. However, the majority of them were not friendly at all.


    "A tenth-level war lord?" Zen''s eyebrows furrowed out of intense curiosity.


    "That''s an ogre seat owner," Olivia whispered into Zen''s ear, eyes fixated on the creature right before them.


    "You brat. You think you''re some hotshot, huh, having carved your name this big?" Malcom''s voice rang throughout the entire town, causing everyone''s ears to ring.


    The words that came out of Malcom''s mouth gave Olivia some palpitations. Her heart started to pump loudly, as if threatening to escape her chest. It had been one of the many things she feared. If Malcom killed Zen at that very moment, the humans could have done nothing but watch.


    "What''s the problem then?" Zen asked, his eyebrows twitching from the anger that was brewing inside of him. Unlike most, he wasn''t at all afraid of Malcom.


    Strange gazes were everywhere. Some expressions were so easy to spell out. Almost all of them were wondering where in the world Zen mustered up such confidence to stand up to someone like Malcom in that certain way. ''Is he asking for his death?'' they all thought to themselves.


    Every race that existed would have agreed that someone as skillful as Zen had an unfortunate fate. Ogres came for someone like him. They wanted him gone.


    The war between the humans and the ogres was personal, so the other races just watched the ongoing banter from a distance, staying safe from that kind of trouble.


    Malcom let out a laugh so sinister that it crept almost everyone out in sight. "I don''t th


    e tenth floor, it was occupied by tenth-level war generals, where talents from all races gathered.


    The tenth floor was a force to reckon.


    In order to reach the higher levels of the tower, the war generals cultivated their skills in the secret room and worked harder than most warriors on the other floors. It was tight.


    Due to the conniption between Boris and Zen, those war generals had sneaked out of the secret room to watch, too.


    In one of the spectator stands sat a young woman dressed in a long, green robe. Her hair floated through the thick air and her eyes were sharp as knives. Her name was Cheryl Mu, a divine-level talent of the Demon Night. A sight to behold.


    On the tenth floor in the Tower of Sin, Cheryl and Boris were always compared. The two of them were the most powerful talents among the young throughout the Sea God Continent.


    Keeping to herself at all times, Cheryl had also been doing her training in the secret room. A spell of Time Law was cast on her training room, which meant that ten days inside it was one day in the outside world.


    The two, Cheryl and Boris, had fought twice in the past. However, both of the fight resulted in a draw. Despite this, Cheryl still felt like she had suffered defeat.


    According to the rules of the arena, if both sides fought to a standstill, then they would exchange their Lucky Light. During those two fights, Cheryl had stored up a lot more Lucky Light than Boris. It was something that rankled her.

 Chapter 857 Being Made Fun Of (Part Two)

    It was only natural for Cheryl to have something she could take pride in. Being a member of Demon Night had that effect. Through that training, Cheryl planned to be the first in line and leave Boris behind. That was the exact reason she had spent all of her points on a training room that could interfere with the time flow rate.


    She was called out of the secret room for this event. Normally, it would piss her off, but knowing that someone had decided to accept Boris'' challenge gave her excitement to an unbelievable extent.


    At that certain time, Cheryl felt a pang of envy towards Boris, for she had her eyes on Zen as well.


    This guy had achieved the Celestial Position title and had worked his way as a tenth-level war fighter. His abilities must be astounding.


    Crossing his arms over his chest, Malcom allowed his eyes to travel through the arena. It was true that Zen''s talent had been proven by the Talent Tablet, but talent didn''t mean everything for a martial artist. After all, Boris'' cultivation was higher than Zen, and from Malcom''s point of view, the possibility of Zen being killed by Boris was very high.


    "If Boris fails to end your life today..." Malcom licked his lips out of eagerness before he continued, "I will do it myself."


    The ogres had already suffered greatly because of Amber, and now, Amber, with her own strength, could harm the existence of the Flaming and Dread Ogre Sacred Places altogether. This was unbearable for the ogres. Amber was a threat, and Zen was stronger than her!


    In the eyes of Malcom, Zen was already a dead man. It was either him or Boris, who did the deed.


    "Come on, Zen Luo!"


    one of the war generals shouted from one of the stands.


    His voice echoed throughout the arena, causing the others to hype up as well. Screams from different directions quickly filled the place.


    Human war generals from the tenth floor began to populate the place, too. Their shouts were loud and impressive.


    Zen nodded to his fellow humans in the audience, as if saying, "Let''s do this, yeah?"


    "I''ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. Finally, you''re standing before me. Kid, let me tell you this. It seems that your clansmen doubt your victory," Boris sneered.


    "And what do you mean by that?" Zen asked with a playful smile.


    "If they know so well that you''d win against me, why do they feel the need to cheer you on? My clansmen don''t need to shout my name to let me know they believe in my abilities," Boris answered, not even subtle with his arrogance.


    Boris'' words didn''t have a single effect on Zen. "There''s no point in speaking further. I think most ogres are reckless. You''re an exception though, aren''t you? Don''t stoop so low just to get a reaction from me. If you know so well that you''d win against me, why do you feel the need to use these cheap tricks?" Zen mocked his earlier words.


    "You''re right, kid. But please, do me a favor and go all out. The thought of you giving your best shot to kill me excites me all the more," Boris stated with a sly smile.


    The competition wasn''t as important as killing Zen. That was how it was for the ogres. That was how much they despised his existence.


    However, Boris had his own share of selfish thoughts. He truthfully wanted Zen to go all out, so that he challenged himself to give it his all as well


    f it.


    He tried to withdraw his weapon, but Zen''s sword was too big for him to do so.


    Strength had always been the pride of the ogres.


    The Demon Night relied on their agility, while the ogres basked in their pride of strength. Boris, an ogre, was defeated strength-wise by a boy.


    That was the ultimate humiliation!


    With his face turning red from the embarrassment, Boris, with all his might, mustered all of his ogre strength and was finally able to take back his saber. With a swift wave of his hand, the saber created a huge arc as it flew to Zen''s direction.


    Despite that forceful attack, Zen remained unaffected.


    Using the No Move technique, he was able to dodge Boris'' attacks. Zen''s technique was intangible, so his sword strikes were unpredictable and seamless. He moved like the wind.


    Clatter!


    Once again, Zen''s sacred weapon had sealed off Boris'' saber.


    "I did it again!" Zen beamed to himself.


    Upon seeing the boy''s smiling face, Boris started to grow sad and felt somehow defeated.


    Among the war generals, Boris only had one opponent, and that was Cheryl from the Demon Night. He even had the confidence to kill war lords of low levels. But today, he was being made fun of! Not even a war general but a mere human war fighter, Zen was able to put Boris to shame.


    This was a huge blow even for a big ogre like him to take.


    "Anyone who dares mock me will face his death!" A red light appeared on Boris'' eyes.


    His weapon, the Blood Devour, had a special martial skill, and that was to swallow its owner''s blood vitality and give off powerful strength.


    The power of the ogres'' blood vitality was far greater than that of ordinary creatures. But, the loss of blood vitality would ultimately have a negative impact on a martial artist. Thus, even Boris rarely used his blood vitality to nourish his saber, as it could cost him much.


    He had no other choice at that point.


    That brat of a human right in front of him had to die. He had to disappear, for the sake of himself as well as the ogres.


    When the raging energy from his body had fully entered the saber in his hand, the aura that burst out from him was ten times stronger than before. He was just getting started.

 Chapter 858 A Severe Blow

    At this moment, Boris looked like a wild beast from ancient times.


    Any warrior who could enter the tenth floor of the Tower of Sin would at least be a tenth-level war general. But regardless of their rank, their heart would start pounding if they were surrounded by Boris''s powerful aura.


    "Boris is really strong! Even a war lord on the eleventh floor might not have such an imposing aura."


    "Of course. Boris is known as the unbeatable war general, so he must be very strong!"


    "In my opinion, Zen is still the most marvelous talent. Although he''s only a tenth-level war fighter, he''s able to suppress Boris. If a warrior who has just reached the war lord realm isn''t a match for Boris, doesn''t that mean that Zen can defeat a small portion of the war lords by taking advantage of his cultivation base?"


    When Boris''s aura and power suddenly burst out of him, the forceful energy within his body also erupted. He stomped his feet on the arena and two sunken footprints appeared on the floor!


    "What great speed!" Zen''s gaze flickered as the long sword in his hand hovered lightly, instinctively blocking him from harm.


    Zen''s sacred long sword was small with a blade as wide as only three fingers while Boris''s broad-bladed saber was incomparably large.


    When Boris saw that Zen was trying to use a sword to block his saber, a vicious grin appeared on his face. As he charged toward Zen, he swung his saber and brought it down to Zen''s head with the momentum of thunder.


    "Thunder Hacking!"


    Boris wasn''t concerned about whether Zen was trying to block his attack with a long sword or a mountain on his back. No matter what it was, Boris could chop it all into pieces with one slash.


    The forceful energy surged out of Boris''s body. On the back of his saber, countless streaks of scarlet lightning appeared. This was the blade intent that Boris had learned, and it also contained the special power of thunder and lightning.


    There were many similarities between Boris''s blade intent and Rocher''s Extreme Thunder Sword Intent.


    "Why doesn''t Zen dodge?"


    "He''s even choosing to take the blow head-on!"


    "It''s too dangerous for him to let his sword collide with Boris''s large saber since his sword doesn''t have an advantage in the first place. Moreover, Boris''s saber is huge, so he might even chop it down!"


    Everyone''s face was filled with confusion as various thoughts went through their minds.


    "He''s too confident!" Olivia couldn''t help but shout out at this moment.


    Zen had other methods to resist Boris''s attack, but he chose to face it head-on. Apart from his incomparable confidence, Olivia couldn''t think of any other reasonable explanation for his actions.


    "Power of dragon scales! Activate!"


    The dragon scales in Zen''s mind lit up bit by bit, emitting jade-green light. As the heavy power continued to fill Zen''s body, an extremely confident smile appeared on his face.


    He had quite a few methods to resist


    wouldn''t mean much.


    "Swoosh!"


    A thick ray of Lucky Light shot out of Boris''s chest and settled into the token on Zen''s.


    It was just as Zen had estimated: he had obtained a considerable amount of Lucky Light on the tenth floor. This was one of the reasons why he had wanted to climb to the tenth floor as quickly as possible. On this floor, he could accumulate Lucky Light faster.


    Boris walked down the arena unhappily, carrying his saber. He looked like a walking corpse as he staggered along.


    Even though his warrior spirit was extremely tough, after the severe blow he had just faced, his spirit had been almost destroyed by Zen. Now, he''d have to cultivate more and gain some insights. If he could achieve enlightenment during his cultivation, then his strength would greatly increase. He would become more powerful and frightening than he was now. However, if he couldn''t gain enough insights or enhance his cultivation base, he might not be able to make any great achievement in martial arts in his whole life.


    "Zen, since our war general couldn''t defeat you, let me personally fight against you! Would you like to accept my challenge?" Malcom jumped off the spectator stand, ready to step into the arena.


    His words surprised everyone in the area. Their expressions changed all of a sudden.


    According to the rules of the Tower of Sin, the warriors in the upper floors could enter the lower floors, but they weren''t allowed to go into the arenas of the lower floors to battle with others.


    This rule was to maintain the balance in the Tower of Sin. If one couldn''t defeat his opponents on the floor he was in and went to challenge others on the lower floors to accumulate Lucky Light, the tower would be in a mess. Anyone would be able to accumulate Lucky Light this way.


    It was impossible for Malcom to not know about the rules. Since he was still choosing to come out and challenge Zen, it could only be said that he was being shameless.

 Chapter 859 A Fight Using The Space Law

    A seat owner had just challenged a war fighter. It was the kind of thing that probably had never ever happened before in the Tower of Sin.


    The seat owners were all tenth-level war lords, and one might even call them peak-level war lords. They were only one step away from becoming war sages, while Zen, who was a tenth-level war fighter, was two whole realms away from even becoming a peak-level war lord, let alone a war sage.


    Even though his potential was high and he was extremely powerful indeed, he still wouldn''t be a match for Malcom.


    According to the rules of the Tower of Sin, martial artists on the upper floors weren''t allowed to fight with those on the lower floors. Malcom had personally broken this rule now; the consequences of this action were too troublesome to imagine, which was the reason why the expressions of so many martial artists suddenly changed.


    If a seat owner from the ogres took lead and broke this rule, then the martial artists of the other races would ignore this rule and descend on lower floors too.


    If that happened, the Tower of Sin would fall into endless chaos again.


    No race wanted this to happen.


    Maybe that was the reason why, but in any case, just as Malcom was about to enter the arena, an ethereal voice suddenly called out, "You''re an ogre war lord, but you challenge a martial artist on the tenth floor. It''s against the rules, isn''t it?"


    Everyone looked towards the direction of the voice and saw Cheryl, who was dressed in green.


    Boris and Cheryl were the strongest warriors on the tenth floor. But why did Cheryl call Malcolm out like that? Didn''t she know that Malcom was intentionally breaking the rule in order to kill Zen? Or did the Demon Night want to maintain the order in the Tower of Sin?


    It wasn''t impossible when one thought about it. After all, the Demon Night enjoyed enormous benefits in the Tower of Sin, and the seats they owned were second only to the ogres'' in number. Only the Demon Night had the strength to confront the ogres.


    However, many creatures had heard the words of the Demon Night''s seat owner, Madeline earlier on and from her expressions, it seemed that the Demon Night did not want to interfere in this matter. Now, Madeline was sitting by unconcerned, but Cheryl, a junior, had come forwards to speak. Why?


    When Malcom was about to walk towards the arena, the expressions of Olivia, Fabian and Jarrod had also changed drastically. Fabian was hesitant about whether or not he should stop Malcom.


    Once Malcom made a move, it was very likely that the fight would evolve into a war between the humans and the ogres.


    The Purple Heart Sacred Place was definitely not a match for the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place, and there was a huge disparity between the power of the humans with four seats and the ogres with more than twenty seats in the Tower of Sin.


    Malcom''s large eyes turned as he sneered, "I know what I''m doing. A junior like you is unqualified to remind me.


    oud. I hope you can maintain your pride!" After Cheryl finished speaking, her figure flashed and she took a step forward. In the blink of an eye, she had crossed a distance of 60 to 70 feet and was now standing beside Zen. Then she brandished her sword and pointed it straight at Zen''s eyebrows.


    "The Space Law!"


    Zen smiled faintly. His body also flickered as he took a step forward and traveled through space.


    Cheryl''s sword seemed to have hit Zen, but in reality, Zen had already left where he was standing and had now appeared behind Cheryl. He also slashed down at Cheryl in the same way.


    "Both of them are using Space Law?"


    "Isn''t Zen a body refiner? It turns out that he also cultivates the life vitality!"


    "Just how many cards does this brat have in his hand?"


    In a situation where both sides had grasped the Space Law, it was often difficult to determine the victor in a battle.


    With the Space Law, one could freely travel about, so it was extremely difficult to completely block off the opponent''s escape route.


    Also, because of this suspense, the battle situation would become more and more intense, and the tempo would also become very high.


    Zen traveled through space and appeared behind Cheryl, who in the blink of an eye, also traveled through space and appeared on the side of Zen. However, when Cheryl thrust out her sword, Zen had traveled through space and left.


    Figures began to appear and disappear alternatively, leaving the audience dazzled. Although the two were dressed differently, they moved so fast that some martial artists weren''t able to distinguish them.


    Clang!


    Clang! Clang! Clang!


    While travelling through space, Zen finally caught onto a gap, and the two swords immediately clashed seven or eight times.


    In terms of pure sword techniques, Cheryl was at a disadvantage. Although she had watched the battle between Zen and Boris, and witnessed Zen''s No Move technique, she still couldn''t resist him because his moves were invisible.

 Chapter 860 Queen (Part One)

    Although sword moves were ever-changing, the fact still stood that there were certain rules to be followed in the end. No matter how exquisite the swordsmanship of someone might appear to be, it would always be based on changes in other swordsmanship. Nevertheless, there were always regulations that they would adhere to.


    In those moments wherein Cheryl fought against other swordsmen, she found it relatively easy to predict and anticipate their next move just by observing the tension of their wrists. However, she was at a loss right now due to the fact that Zen''s swordsmanship seemed to follow no rules as she could not simply foresee his next move.


    After they exchanged a few blows, it was not long after that Zen effortlessly broke through Cheryl''s defense and aimed his glistening long sword at her chest. Eventually, she sighed as she had no choice but to pass through space to escape being maimed by the sharp edge of his sword.


    In the beginning, Cheryl had actually expected to be unsuccessful in breaking through Zen''s defensive swordsmanship. Upon grabbing the opportunity to observe the battle between him and Boris, she accepted the realization that she would be unable to penetrate Zen''s extremely strange swordsmanship.


    On the other hand, just because she was incapable of breaking through did not mean she was not confident enough to defeat him.


    This was because a battle between warriors did not solely rely on swordsmanship as the only factor to determine the results. Most of the time, it would depend on the skillful individual who managed to bring a trump card into the fight.


    As soon as she finished travelling through space to increase the distance between her and Zen, she smirked as she planned her next move. The woman''s bright eyes flashed momentarily before she parted her red lips to shout, "Three-element Shadows!"


    Swish, swish, swish!


    In the blink of an eye, three daunting shadows rushed out from her body and proceeded to stand in three corners of the arena.


    Turning his head to scan his eyes at the length of the three shadows that suddenly appeared, Zen frowned slightly and briefly lowered his arms in hesitation. Different thoughts ran through his mind as he was not certain about what the woman intended to do.


    At the exact moment


    stem. Furthermore, the cultivation method passed down in their sacred place was somehow strange.


    "From now on, we can only compare our speeds." Just as another infuriating smile appeared on her face, Zen did not hesitate any longer and stepped forward, once again rushing to attack her.


    Unfortunately, the staggering slash he aimed at her had no effect whatsoever. Before Cheryl merged with a shadow and disappeared, her hand managed to thrust the sword towards him.


    Employing his quick reflexes, Zen dodged the abrupt movement of her sword and accelerated in the direction of the next shadow straight away. At the same time, a white light gleamed in his hand before the unbreakable broken flying knife became visible. The flying knife was aimed directly at another shadow before he threw it with power.


    As he used his flying knife to attack a shadow while simultaneously dealing with the shadow in front of him, there was only one shadow in the arena left unattended. Halfway through his offensive charge, he then abruptly threw the sword in his hand at the last shadow.


    Swoosh!


    Now, all the three shadows in the arena were under attack. No matter which one Cheryl chose to merge with, she would be injured.


    At this situation, Cheryl was slightly flustered to do her next move.


    It was true that once she activated the Three-element Shadows, she would be able to freely choose and utilize any of the shadows to merge with. However, it also limited the direction in which she could move to at the same time.

 Chapter 861 Queen (Part Two)

    It did not matter now which shadow she descended on because she would be instantly attacked by Zen. ''Now what?'' she thought to herself. In the perspective of Cheryl, this was indeed a difficult decision to ponder upon, given the limitations of her attack.


    Eventually, her silhouette flickered in a moment of desperation as she finally chose the location where Zen was as her next destination.


    Although Cheryl was not definite about her knowledge on the power of Zen''s flying knife thus far, she could tell with a glance that even though it was broken, its aura was extremely sharp and something that could not be underestimated.


    Contemplating by herself, she understood that if she had chosen another shadow, she would probably be pierced through by Zen''s sword. Furthermore, it was a sacred weapon and there was absolutely no way she would have been able to block it.


    With the limited options she had, she could have only selected the shadow Zen was dealing with at the moment. Since he had removed the sword in his hand by throwing it at the shadow, she seriously expected that his strength would be greatly reduced.


    This was due to the fact that Cheryl believed in the notion that swordsmen relied on their swords the most. If it ever happened that a swordsman willingly threw his sword out in a battle, then it meant that the man was ultimately prepared to gamble everything he had. Zen having no sword in his hand meant that she would then have a huge chance of defeating him.


    It was a common conception that a swordsman without a sword was like a tiger with its teeth pulled out.


    Unbeknownst to Cheryl, she would be in for a surprise when she eventually found out that Zen was even more terrifying when he did not have his sword.


    Upon the very moment Cheryl descended, she poised herself to face Zen''s fist directly.


    In the meantime, Zen had not bothered to activate the Stellar Body because he did not feel the need to use it to deal with the woman.


    "Split the light!"


    Even though Zen had already launched his punch, Cheryl did not hesitate to counterattack with a move of her own. Her long sword uncoiled and gleamed like a nimble green snake which released a faint azure light, aiming straight at him.


    em as threats.


    When this intense feeling of danger came over him, Zen abruptly retreated and created a reasonable distance between him and Cheryl. The woman''s fingers suddenly emitted a few rays of pitch black light as her nails seemingly extended. In honesty, Zen was concerned at the sight of the black light and it made him breathe unevenly.


    No matter how confident Zen was in his fairy weapon-like body, he certainly knew better than to let this woman scratch him with her dangerous looking fingernails.


    At any rate, Cheryl obviously did not plan on letting him go that easily. As she fiercely rushed towards him, she vigorously waved her sharp claws. The scene discernibly looked like a howling lynx facing its prey in the wild.


    Under the continuous pursuit of the outraged lady, the black claws almost scraped Zen several times but he was still able to dodge them in time. In the middle of scraping through and managing to avoid Cheryl''s frontal attack by mere inches, Zen forgot that her shadows were still in the arena.


    The instant Zen retreated to another corner of the arena, Cheryl''s figure instantly disappeared and materialized in the shadow behind him, about to attack him by surprise.


    "Crap!"


    He knew that the minute he was grazed by this woman, it would be a detrimental blow to him. Even if he did not die, he would be seriously injured from the brunt of her attack. Cursing at himself, he realized just then that he had been too careless this time around.

 Chapter 862 Queen (Part Three)

    In another moment of despondency, the sword spirit within Zen''s body suddenly emerged from him. Together with Lily, the black sword that was previously stored in his space ring appeared.


    As soon as Lily''s faint figure flickered to life, her hand immediately shot out and held the hilt of the wicked black sword. Pulling the black sword out of Zen''s space ring, she pointed it to the other woman''s direction before slashing it directly as a shield from the black light.


    Crack!


    Surprisingly, Cheryl did not dodge the sword at all. Even though she had seen the gigantic sword appear in front of her, she gave it no attention and did not give up on her attack. With a resolute mind, she confidently thought that nothing could have stopped the black light on her fingers.


    Before they knew it, five deep gashes suddenly appeared on the surface of the black sword. Looking up to the end of the blade, Cheryl momentarily saw Lily''s appearance from behind the sword when she slashed the weapon towards her.


    "What?!"


    With her mouth agape, Cheryl blinked briefly in surprise at what had just happened.


    To everyone''s disbelief, the sword in Lily''s possession stopped right beside Cheryl''s neck and did not finish what it had intended to do.


    As the crowd witnessed the astonishing scene right in front of their very eyes, they all sported the same looks of shock and confusion¡ªwhat exactly was going on in the arena? All of them at that moment had wondered the same thing: why did such a scene appear just as the battle was getting more and more intense?


    Zen shook his head and heaved a sigh of relief at the perfect timing of Lily''s arrival. In reality, he still had a few tricks up his sleeve, secret skills that he could utilize in order to defeat Cheryl. However, he was not willing to use them if he was not in a life or death situation. Never would he have imagined that the same girl who had looked so gentle before would be someone so ferocious when provoked. It was also unexpected that Cheryl, at that last few seconds, appeared to not care about her own life and was instead hell-bent on just reaching him with her claws.


    With his heart hammering beneath his ribcage, Zen realized that there was a problem, a deeply troubling yet strange problem.


    ''Why did my sword spirit suddenly become unruly?'' he thought to himself, puzzled at the behavior Lily manifested just now.


    The sword spirit had always been unfalteringly obedient to Zen''s orders up until that moment. If he sought her out and commanded her to fight, she would incessantly chase after his opponent. Moreover, if he needed her to defend him, then she would unquestionably be there to protect him with whatever it took.


    Assessing the desperate situation that just occurred seconds ago, Zen did ask Lily to block Cheryl''s attack, but when she appeared, she actually stopped the momentum of the sword in her hand when she swung it at Cheryl. Biting his lower lip unconsciously, he contemplated by himself once again, ''What is going on?''


    This was something that had never happened before.


    "Why did they suddenly stop


    suddenly speak?


    Sword spirits were indeed created when swordsmen constantly trained their sword intent, but it was relatively easier for Zen to get his sword spirit. What he had done to achieve this was he climbed up the mountain and kept on absorbing the sword spirits of other swordsmen.


    Logically speaking, even if he had absorbed and acquired numerous sword spirits back then, it should not have been so easy for his sword spirit to have a human figure.


    However, after having absorbed this woman''s sword spirit, a strange thing had happened¡ªhis sword spirit had become how she looked as of now.


    Shaking his head vehemently at his thoughts, he was sure that no matter what she looked like, she was still his sword spirit. Furthermore, the sword spirit was not a living being, but it was supposed to act according to his own will.


    At this moment, however, the sword spirit had spoken and left Zen speechless and startled by the implications that dawned on him right then and there.


    It was no wonder why the sword spirit had brandished the black sword and stopped before slicing Cheryl''s neck¡ªshe had her own rational thought processes, so she was naturally unwilling to kill her own clansman despite the order of Zen.


    In a flash, Lily turned around and stared indifferently into Zen''s eyes, her frame emitting an endless aura of a queen. It was as if a person like her was simply born to be superior over others, and all life forms were born to pay their respects and kneel at her feet.


    "You.." Zen started to speak, his hesitation wanting to clamp his mouth shut but he continued anyway. "Who are you?"


    As a matter of fact, no matter how big or intimidating the creatures that Zen encountered, he had never been as flustered as he was now, anxiously waiting for Lily''s reply. Even when having faced the Soul Symbol of the owner of the Tower of Sin, Zen did not feel an ounce of nervousness.


    Amidst the confusion rampant in his mind, his own sword spirit opened her mouth to speak. Such a strange occurrence had caused Zen to be tongue-tied.

 Chapter 863 They Are All Going Nuts

    The origins of Lily had always been vague to Zen. He had his suspicions and little theories about her.


    Generally speaking, sword spirits could only act according to their masters'' orders, like puppets controlled by a puppeteer, where they could only carry out simple, mechanical commands.


    However, Lily herself possessed a sword dance technique that even Zen couldn''t put his finger on. As a sword spirit, how could she know a martial skill that her master had never encountered? Even to the knowledgeable cyan dragon, it was a mystery. Now, even more so for Zen.


    Connecting the dots, Zen now came to an understanding that perhaps, his own sword spirit had the soul of the Demon Night queen, which meant that she had her own consciousness.


    Attaching one''s soul to the sword spirit wasn''t that difficult. When Zen first entered the Killing Sword Mountain, he chanced by Iceni who integrated a wisp of his soul into his sword spirit. According to Iceni, it didn''t take him much to achieve such.


    This Demon Night queen somehow managed to sneak her soul into the sword spirit. However, Zen was unable to detect it, no matter how hard he tried. If he wasn''t able to detect it himself, would the circumstances be the same for the cyan dragon?


    Looking at his sword spirit, Zen barely got his words out of his mouth. He only wanted to know who she was. The curiosity was enough to keep him up most nights.


    "My name isn''t Lily. It''s Lavender. That''s what I''m called," the sword spirit answered, looking uninterested towards Zen.


    "Lavender like the flower?" Zen asked.


    Then reminded of two particular people in the first row of the Talent Tablet, he recalled their names. One was called Fire, and the other Cliff. He let out a low sigh, trying to piece some more pieces of the puzzle together.


    It was rare for humans to name themselves after nature. For this reason, Zen assumed that Fire and Cliff might have come from the Demon Night race as well. Just like Lily¡­ Or Lavender.


    However, in the Upper World where there were countless races, there was no guarantee that those two people really came from the Demon Night race. Although rare, it wasn''t impossible for the other races to name themselves this way.


    "Can you please explain to me how you became my sword spirit?" At that moment, Zen had managed to control his mixed emotions. If anything, it was a relief to know that his sword spirit didn''t show any animosity towards him.


    "For the time being, I am unable to explain this to you. I hope you understand. For now, I''m going to need you to go to the Demon Night''s sacred place," Lavender told Zen, and then turned to Elder Mei and Madeline to ask, "What''s your sacred place called? What is its grade?"


    "Your Majesty, it''s called the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place. It is one of the most powerful sects on the Sea God Continent and it''s a seventh grade sacred place," Elder Mei respectfully replied.


    Their sacred place was the only seventh grade sect on the entire Sea God Continent. Amber, along with her extraordinary talent, had made it all possible.


    If the two sacred places of the ogres were to be combined, they could possibly be a little stronger than the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place, and could also be considered as seventh grade. If separated, however, they were still on


    d Elder Mei in 37th.


    It was not a joke, facing this two. Malcom was certainly at a disadvantage because their attacks were in sync.


    One of Malcom''s punches managed to fend off Madeline''s attacks. His other punch was able to push Elder Mei back a little, but she was still able to hit the ogre with her dagger. Malcom was injured. A stream of thick, green, ogrish blood streamed down from his right shoulder.


    Covering his wound with his palm, Malcom tried to put a stop to the bleeding. What he didn''t know was that Elder Mei''s dagger possessed a blade that had an ability to delay one''s healing. The ogre failed to heal himself on time.


    "Is this what I think it is? Has the Demon Night race started a war against us ogres?" Malcom blurted, his face filled with disdain. He couldn''t help but wonder how they got to that certain situation. Those two Demon Night fellows were definitely out of their minds. How could they just attack him without thinking of the consequences? Lavender''s origins had also preyed its way into Malcom''s head.


    "Anyone who dares to humiliate my queen deserves nothing but death," Madeline said coldly.


    "If we can easily wipe out two of your sacred places just to please our queen, how could you doubt our desires for a war against your kind?" Elder Mei confidently added.


    "Crazy! The members of the Demon Night race are mad! They are all going nuts!''


    Malcom''s mind was filled with nothing else but these thoughts. He found it difficult to wrap his head around the possible results of their carelessness.


    If he had known this would happen, he wouldn''t have agreed to let Cheryl challenge Zen. Now, his chances of defeating the human had decreased.


    It was a pity that Malcom was not a prophet. If he were, he could''ve seen such things coming. In fact, even Zen himself could not have predicted this, too.


    Whether or not Malcom had agreed to allow Cheryl''s request, the fight that was going on between him and those seat owners at that time would still be happening. It would not have changed a thing. But, as long as the fight in arena could last a little longer, Elder Mei should still have a shot in putting a stop to Malcom''s plan to kill him in due time.

 Chapter 864 Ten Top-level War Lords

    The arena had fallen into an eerie silence. No one dared to even breathe in fear of making a sound. They didn''t need to speak anyway since their facial expressions were enough to convey their differing thoughts at what had just transpired in front of their very eyes.


    Everyone had thought Zen was dead meat the moment he set foot in the arena. Even some of the humans had the same thoughts, too.


    The human race had lamented and grieved over the fact that they couldn''t protect a talent like Zen. They would''ve done all they could but the threat of dragging the entire Purple Heart Sacred Place into trouble hung over them. In the end, their weakness forced them to choose the preservation of the sacred place over their treasured talent.


    Malcom, on the other hand, had already planned to kill Zen as soon as the battle ended.


    As per their way of doing things, once they killed Zen, they would compensate the humans with ten sacred weapons. It didn''t matter whether or not the humans agreed since the weapons were nothing but compensation in order to get out of being punished for breaking the rules.


    Malcom had originally prepared to take action after Zen had finished the fight with Boris, but Cheryl, who was a divine-level talent in the Demon Night, and also on par with Boris, suddenly came forward and challenged Zen.


    This sudden challenge wasn''t something any of them expected and this greatly delayed Malcom''s plan. However, he comforted himself with the thought that Zen would die sooner or later and this was a sentiment shared, not just by the ogres, but by all other creatures in the tower¡ªincluding the humans.


    However, there was another unexpected twist that suddenly happened. A sword spirit that belonged to the Demon Night suddenly rushed forth from Zen''s body and was found out to be the queen of Demon Night.


    The appearance of this "queen" completely changed the attitude of the entire race. Their initial plan of standing back and staying on the sidelines was quickly chucked out of the window.


    Both Fabian and Jarrod were equally flabbergasted. They really didn''t know what was going on!


    Previously, the Demon Night had taken a neutral stance. But now they made a decision that was to the human race''s advantage. This decision was born from the fact that whether it be in the Tower of Sin or outside the Cursed Land, the Demon Night refused to lose to the ogre race.


    This sudden realization made both of them smirk.


    "I knew it. I knew it¡­"


    Olivia muttered repeatedly, her face red with excitement.


    She had noticed that Zen had been exceptionally confident as if everything was right under his control. At first, she was puzzled and couldn''t really pinpoint where his confidence stemmed from.


    But she now understood. Who would''ve thought Zen would actually have the queen of Demon Night with him?


    However, despite knowing the reason, Olivia couldn''t help but feel as if there was still something strange.


    Just now, Zen had looked as if he had been caught off-guard when the sword spirit beside him sudde


    like aura emitted from Maurice.


    "If that brat dies, we will let bygones be bygones," Maurice said.


    "Our queen is attached to that human''s body so he can''t die!"


    Elder Mei said firmly.


    A vicious light flashed in Maurice''s eyes. "Is that so? If that''s how it''s gonna be, then let''s fight it out!"


    His figure immediately dashed forward, avoiding both Elder Mei and Madeline and making his way towards Zen.


    "Maurice! How dare you!"


    "Stop!"


    Both Madeline and Elder Mei screamed, their hearts pounding with anxiety as they tried to stop the ogre war lord from touching Zen. They did not think he would act so recklessly since the Demon Night was still a powerful race. They didn''t expect him to be this decisive! Just exactly who had his back?


    They both asked the puzzling question to themselves as they rushed to stop Maurice.


    Could it be that the ogres had acquired some kind of secret weapon? Or maybe they had gotten the backing of some mysterious masters in the Tower of Sin?


    Two huge hands were determined to grab him but Zen was undaunted. He hurriedly jumped backward and dodged Maurice''s attack. He might be brave but he was not stupid and knew when to fight his battles. Even if Zen refined all the Lucky Light stored in his chest, the most he''d be able to challenge would be a level three or a level four war lord. Maurice was a top-level war lord and the most powerful one at that. He knew he stood no chance against him.


    The moment he saw him attack, Zen was quick to retreat back from the battle stage.


    Maurice sneered at Zen''s actions, "Brat! You are merely a war fighter. Do you really think you have any chances of escaping?"


    he sneered.


    Madeline and Elder Mei then suddenly appeared beside Maurice, determined to immobilize him. Meanwhile, Lavender, the queen of Demon Night, had gotten her black great sword and raised it high in the air.


    "Stellar Body!"


    Zen instantly activated his Stellar Body without hesitation and threw out a punch as he retreated!


    "Star Shakes the Earth!"

 Chapter 865 A Grave Silence (Part One)

    Maurice boiled with fury as Zen seemed to have a fighting spirit. He attacked while withdrawing back. No one ever dared to get on his nerves and challenge him. However, these were blows of a dying horse in Maurice''s eyes.


    "Losers never concede defeat despite their overthrow as they still fight like a cornered wild-monster. This is a futile battle and you are nothing close to a wild beast but an ant that can be simply suppressed and trampled upon. It''s of no use putting up a fight."


    Maurice was determined to kill Zen whom he thought was the primary source of all the pandemonium. As long as Zen died, the Demon Night would have no connection with human race and would not dare to challenge the ogre race. The enthusiasm of getting rid of Zen stirred up Maurice''s psyche. The aftermath of the Demon Night revenging after eliminating Zen together with their queen was less of his interest. After all the ogre race didn''t fear them.


    There was starlight expelled, and it had been unmistakably clear. This was because of Zen''s punch.


    Zen''s punch was more influential and vigorous despite it being underestimated for a mild punch. The dim light emanated hidden force from the punch. In the real sense it was more energetic than it seemed and it was even more powerful than any common cultivation technique.


    "Snap!" Being an ogre, Maurice was full of himself and assumed that he would smash the star radiance of Zen''s fist. His hands were masculine, meaning they had tremendous power, but he didn''t recognize that he chewed more than he could ingest. His confidence outweighed his capability. According to him, the potential he bore would be abundant to appease his ego while crushing the star radiance.


    There was a dazzling light that spurted out of Maurice''s right hand. This was way far beyond his inferences, since according to him his energy could beat the star radiance. The dazzling light was initiated when the two fighters'' fists struck. The forceful energy emitted from Maurice''s hand was immensely strong.


    An excruciating intense pain erupted from Maurice''s right hand because of the effect of the collision.


    His speed slackened. The fellow he assumed way belo


    ght of war lords of Demon Night made Maurice''s face turn dull. This changed his mood and his high spirits.


    According to the ranks, Maurice was the second despite him being considered the high and mighty. The top ranked positions were all seized by the Demon Night, who had a dozen seats in the Tower of Sin. Moreover, they had secured the first place among the one hundred and twenty-eight seats, which meant that the toughest seat holder came from the Demon Night.


    Esther Ling was the holder of the first seat and the person who spoke just now.


    Esther Ling, with a buoyant attitude, led the war lords of the Demon Night and proceeded towards them. She was confident and had faith in herself. She emitted an aura of tact and poise. Just a moment ago, the aura emitted from Maurice made many of the creatures on the tenth floor feel as if it submerged them in the lava. But now, they could feel vitality and vigor from Esther Ling''s aura, as if they were in the spring when the snow had just melted. Everyone felt immediately revived and vigorous.


    Esther Ling led the many top-level war lords of the Demon Night to ramble towards Lavender. Her eyes gazed across the group of people before her. Then she went down on one knee and greeted Lavender, "Your majesty!"


    All in unison the top-level war lords that followed Esther Ling acted and knelt down.


    After glancing at the top-level war lords, Lavender broke her silence and spoke, "Stand up."

 Chapter 866 A Grave Silence (Part Two)

    Glancing at Maurice, Esther Ling stood up and declared, "Long live our queen. Our lives are her majesty''s. Maurice, it''s not a harsh task for you to have a second opinion before passing a hasty decision."


    The Demon Night had grown in power over the past few years and had already surpassed the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and Dread Ogre Sacred Place. However, this race was not violent or bloodthirsty. So when facing the overbearing ogre race, they had always chosen to tolerate them. As long as the ogre race wasn''t doing something out of the way, the Demon Night wouldn''t push them too much.


    But today the case was different. The queen Lavender''s presence changed everything. The Demon Night didn''t give in to their woes. Their queen meant everything and Elder Mei had told Malcom that if that meant eliminating Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and Dread Ogre Sacred Place at all costs, they would gladly do so.


    Maurice had to act fast as there were so many roadblocks on the way. It was now or never to get rid of Zen, who by all channels was consistently one step ahead of him. This was the only option he had considering Esther Ling was present with other Demon Night war lords. "Esther Ling, our ogre race will heartily give up five seats in exchange for the life of that lowlife Zen."


    Five seats being granted voluntarily in exchange for Zen was an immense privilege and a walk in the park.


    The ogres had twenty-six seats in the Tower of Sin, while the Demon Night had sixteen. If both parties came to a truce and the offer was to be accepted, then both sides would have an equal number of seats, with each having twenty-one seats.


    Having the gate pass to the Dark Nether Cave was a mouthwatering chance. Various races had been contemplating for this chance, and gaining one more seat meant that they had five more qualifications to get in the Dark Nether Cave.


    The humans had struggled for so many years, yet they only had four seats. But now, the ogres just offered five seats to the Demon Night. This was equivalent to slicing a big bunch of meat off the ogre race, which was already a huge concession. And this concession was made only for the exchange of Zen''s life.


    Fabian and Jarrod always freaked out and Maurice''s offer made them agitated.


    The deal was too good for Demon Night to resist.


    Z


    ! War sages appeared in the Tower of Sin!" in the midst, one yelled out. This was like bumping into a dead man alive.


    Seeing those two ogres, Zen''s heart suddenly sank. The ogre race could now celebrate as they had strong ones who had reached the level of war sage, and the Demon Night was still in the darkness concerning this issue. How on earth could war sages step into the Cursed Land and enter the Tower of Sin?


    Relating to Phoebe''s words, this was like a reverie! ''How was this even possible?'' Esther Ling thought with her eyes wide open in shock.


    According to the hierarchy, the highest ranking in the Sea God Continent was the Soul Sea Realm masters!


    Below the Soul Sea Realm were war sages, and down further were war lords, war generals and the hierarchy continued.


    There were usually only a few powerful masters in the Soul Sea Realm in each sacred place. The war sages formed the real backbone of the forces.


    Tower of Sin had rules. These measures were put from its existence. The rule was that no Soul Sea Realm masters or war sages could enter the Cursed Land. If any of them dared to go against this rule they would perish.


    The rule was in place ever since the emergence of Tower of Sin and nothing changed. A particular trend cropped up because of the restrictions imposed on the Cursed Land. All the races decided to create transmission arrays and most of them led to the Cursed Land. To those warriors below the level of war sage, these transmission arrays were nothing more than ordinary transmission arrays!

 Chapter 867 A Grave Silence (Part Three)

    However, for war sages and Soul Sea Realm masters, they were baits and could end their lives.


    Back then, many war sages and a small number of Soul Sea Realm masters from different races ended up dead in the Cursed Land. This resulted in they being duped and sweet-talked to enter the transmission arrays. That was how they perished.


    Later it had become an unwritten rule on the Sea God Continent that both war sages and Soul Sea Realm masters didn''t use transmission arrays. Nothing prepared them to what they would encounter if they randomly entered any transmission array. They had to be extra cautious, since not refraining from entering the transmission array that led them to the Cursed Land was dangerous. They would encounter a shameful death.


    In front of them were the two war sages who suddenly appeared in the Tower of Sin. Lots of top-level war lords who witnessed stood in disbelief.


    There were tests that were carried out by the Demon Night and ogre race earlier on.


    They had tried to make their top-level war lords break through to the next level directly in the Tower of Sin!


    There was a curse. Anyone who fought in the Cursed Land would suffer the consequences. The effect was death. Such barriers didn''t exist in the Tower of Sin. This led to races figuring out that if war sages and Soul Sea Realm masters were not allowed to enter the Tower of Sin, would it work if war lords made the breakthrough in the Tower of Sin and became war sages there? Would the whole process elude them from the punishment?


    The result was surprising.


    The curse never inflicted any casualty at first. Those martial artist who managed to become war sages in the Tower of Sin were not eliminated by the curse. However, that was short lived. After they promoted themselves to war sages and stayed in the Tower of Sin for ten days, the effects of the curse were seen since one after the other newly-turned war sages died.


    Perhaps it was because they were in the Tower of Sin, those who completed their breakthrough and became war sages in the Tower of Sin did not die immediately. While those war sages who had directly rushed into the Cursed Land almost died a miserable death right on the spot in an instant. The few war sages who reached the new level from the top-level war lords in the Tower of Sin had a chronic death. Their body would fester and start rotting gradually. They would suffer all kinds of pain and finally die in agony.


    That experience frightened the top-level war lords of any race. The thought of that held them back from breaking through in the Tower of Sin. Instead, they opted to leave the Tower of Sin and the Cursed Land when they planned to make a breakthrough. They wen


    n, the situation for the ogre race declined. After Amber appeared, the black horse led the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place to soar to the top. For the past hundred years, whether it was outside of the Cursed Land or inside the Tower of Sin, the Demon Night had been suppressing the ogres wherever they went.


    Although the ogres were extremely annoyed, they didn''t have any way to change the situation. Most of time, they could only bear with it and swallow the pain.


    Everything was turned around. Today. The two ogre war sages were present in the Tower of Sin!


    A war sage was so mighty that it could sweep through the entire Tower of Sin. Considering the strongest martial artist in the Tower of Sin was only a top-level war lord, the two mighty war sages with the ogres meant super powerful combination.


    The powerful collaboration of ogre war sages and ogre war lords implied that the Tower of Sin would be under control of the ogres again.


    Zen was so pissed off by the hysterical laughter of the ogre top-level war lords and the two war sages. How could they dare laugh especially on this critical situation? Zen suddenly shook his head with a bored look. He took a deep breath, then infused his life vitality into his chest and suddenly shouted out loud, "What is so funny that you two dunderheads are laughing about? What''s so special about being war sages?"


    The ogre top-level war lords and the two war sages only laughed in a hasty manner. They did not use their forceful energy when they laughed to intimidate the crowd, while Zen had infused life vitality when he shouted. So his loud voice instantly drowned out all the laughter.


    There was a grave silence on the tenth floor of the Tower of Sin. One would think there was no one present. This was after Zen ended uttering his words.

 Chapter 868 Get Out Of Here

    The current situation was extremely disadvantageous for both the Demon Night and Zen himself.


    The number of the Demon Night war lords at top level was lower than that of the ogre war lords, but because of the powerful individuals in the Demon Night, the overall strength of the Demon Night members was higher than the strength of the ogres.


    However, the sudden appearance of two ogre war sages put both the Demon Night and the human race at an absolute disadvantage.


    But even in such a situation, Zen dared to berate the ogres in a brazen manner. Upon seeing that, all the living creatures wondered whether Zen had gone crazy.


    The smiles on Colin''s and Neil''s faces gradually faded away. The smiles of the ogre war lords at top level also disappeared.


    Today could be considered the day of the ogres'' showdown with other races.


    Since two ogre war sages had appeared in the Tower of Sin, the power of the ogres had greatly increased.


    Although the two ogre sacred places couldn''t threaten the Demon Night''s Heavenly Feather Sacred Place outside the Cursed Land, no race in the Tower of Sin could resist the ogres.


    "The superhuman talent, Zen?" Separated by the crowd of Demon Night war lords, Colin let out a sinister laugh. "Do you think you can do anything you want just because you have the protection of the Demon Night? Or are your eyes so blinded by others that you''re not able to see the situation unfold?"


    At this moment, even Esther and the other top-level war lords of the Demon Night had indignant expressions for Zen.


    They had no choice but to put their lives at risk to protect Zen for their queen. Lavender was still in the form of a sword spirit following Zen around, but the current situation was completely out of control. Esther was wondering about the price they''d have to pay to protect Zen.


    After the words Zen had just uttered, it was going to be very difficult for them to deal with this situation and wind this matter up.


    The appearance of the two ogre war sages meant that the authority over the Tower of Sin was in the hands of the ogres.


    Fabian secretly asked Jarrod through his life vitality, "What the hell is this guy doing? He shouldn''t be such a stupid person!"


    "Could it be that Zen has someone else to rely on?" Jarrod was also confused because he couldn''t figure out the reason why Zen was acting this way.


    Olivia was the only one who stared at Zen with a gleam in her eyes. She was certain that Zen had some kind of trump card up his sleeve.


    By now, she had already guessed that the appearance of the Demon Night named Lavender was completely beyond Zen''s expectation. But Lavender wasn''t Zen''s trump card.


    So what was his real trump card? Could it be that his real trump card was so strong that Zen wasn''t even afraid of the ogre war sages?


    Olivia couldn''t figure it out but she knew that there was no need for her to overthink it. She knew that Zen could turn the situation around no matter what.


    "Zen, don''t spout nonsense!" For the sake of the Demon Night''s queen, Esther controlled her temper and turned to the ogres. "Colin, Neil, I don''t care how you entered


    been able to get their names placed on the first row? Except for Yolande and Zen, there was no one else.


    Zen had even been admitted to the Celestial Position.


    It wasn''t an easily obtainable honor.


    The two invisible hands continued dragging the two ogre war sages toward the crack. As for Maurice, Malcom, and the other top-level ogre war lords, they could only watch in horror.


    At this point, there seemed to be nothing they could do.


    It would be fine if the two large hands were dragging two top-level war lords. They would be thrown out of the Tower of Sin, but they wouldn''t be harmed at all if they entered the Cursed Land.


    However, once the war sages entered the Cursed Land, they would definitely die.


    Everyone held their breath as they watched the two ogre war sages being thrown out of the Tower of Sin.


    The entire tower was buried deep in the ground, so there were layers of soil outside of the tenth floor. The invisible large hands dragged the two war sages out of the tower and then continued to drag them upward.


    In the end, the war sages broke through the thick layer of earth and ended up on the surface.


    Colin and Neil stood by the side of the Tower of Sin and glanced at each other, fear and trepidation appearing on their faces.


    The two ogre war sages who had been extremely proud of themselves just moments ago now felt the God of Death slowly approaching them.


    "Charge in!"


    As long as they entered the Tower of Sin, they would still have a chance of survival. The power of the curse wouldn''t appear instantly.


    With that thought, they activated all the forceful energy in their bodies and charged toward the door of the Tower of Sin.


    The two giant guards at the door saw two blobs of light quickly approaching them. The power that exploded out of those lights was so massive that the guards didn''t dare to stand by the door anymore. They hurriedly ran to the side and watched the scene unfold in front of them.


    Although Colin and Neil were moving at a high speed, many black spots had already appeared on the surface of their bodies.

 Chapter 869 Adoration

    The two war sages charged toward the door of the Tower of Sin at an extremely fast speed.


    Even though the door of the tower wasn''t opened yet, the two war sages had already pushed the forceful energy in their bodies to the limit. Just what sort of impact was there going to be?


    They were going fast enough to form a big hole in the wall of the tower, let alone the door.


    Clang!


    As expected, the door of the tower was instantly smashed into pieces and the two war sages charged into the first floor.


    Aside from those on the tenth floor and above, the war fighters and generals below were completely unaware of what was happening.


    On the first floor of the tower, a fierce battle was currently taking place.


    A war fighter from the Night Group was battling with a war fighter from the Giant.


    The war fighter of the Night Group was skilled at assassination in concealment, so his movements were extremely agile. He circled around his opponent, waiting for an opportunity to strike a deadly blow.


    However, the war fighter from the Giant brandished a black iron rod, protecting himself thoroughly without leaving any room for his opponent to attack him.


    As the two war fighters sized each other up, everyone watching them suddenly heard a heaven-shaking sound coming from the door. They turned and saw two ogres standing in the hall on the first floor of the tower.


    Fear appeared in the eyes of all the creatures as they stared at the ogres.


    "How strong are these two ogres? Why can''t I see through them?"


    "They seem to be ogre war lords."


    "No. Two years ago, I met a top-level ogre war lord, but he didn''t give me this much pressure. These two ogres are probably war sages."


    "Bullshit! How can war sages enter the Cursed Land? As soon as they step into the Cursed Land, they will be killed by the curse!"


    The war fighters on the first floor discussed seriously among themselves as they looked at the two ogre war sages.


    Neil and Colin had exhausted too much forceful energy just now. They were war sages, and their bodies had been stimulated by body refining techniques and were incomparably strong, but they were panting heavily now.


    "So, so close¡­" Neil heaved.


    "The Cursed Land isn''t as powerful as we thought." Colin turned to look at Neil, and a mixture of shock and fear appeared on his face. Pointing at Neil, he stammered, "You, you¡­"


    "What''s wrong?" There was a puzzled expression on Neil''s face, but it soon turned into terror.


    Large black spots began appearing on their faces. Some of the spots split open and black pus flowed out.


    The curse was finally beginning to show its power.


    The bodies of the two war sages suddenly be


    to face them, giving the ogres an overwhelming advantage.


    Never had they imagined that Zen would use some strange method to expel the two war sages from the Tower of Sin.


    Without a doubt, this scene would become a nightmare that would be repeatedly played in the minds of the top-level ogre war lords.


    As for Fabian and Jarrod, the two top-level war lords of the human race, they had extremely excited expressions on their faces now.


    Zen was revealing his cards one by one, shocking them time and again. Every time they saw Zen pull a mind blowing stunt, it would take them some time and effort to finally manage to accept it, but Zen would follow it up with an even bigger miracle.


    In fact, many people, including Fabian, Jarrod, Olivia, and Dylon, had been shocked by Zen so many times that they almost felt numb now.


    Even if someone were to come and tell them that Zen was the savior sent by the heavens to save them, they would accept it numbly because they no longer knew what to think.


    No one had imagined that the ogres would send two war sages, but Zen had defeated them as easily as falling off a log. Who else but him could be the savior?


    In a corner of the arena, Olivia''s eyes were filled with tears. Zen had become the only man in her heart. He was perfect!


    She had already loved Zen, but now, the affection in her heart had been replaced by adoration.


    Before long, the people that Esther and Maurice had sent to the upper floors to collect information returned.


    After they reported what had happened through their life vitality, Esther''s face revealed a faint smile. As for Maurice, his face was filled with dejection.


    Although the two of them didn''t announce the fate of the ogre war sages out loud, their expressions clearly showed everything.

 Chapter 870 Amber (Part One)

    Esther shot Zen a meaningful look.


    With Zen''s mysterious ways, he didn''t even need the help of the Demon Night; the ogres wouldn''t be able to do anything to him.


    At this moment, Esther couldn''t help thinking about how fortunate it was that Zen was close to Lavender. It was precisely because of this that the Demon Night didn''t have any enmity with him.


    But even if the Demon Night and the ogres joined forces, they wouldn''t be able to go up against Zen in the Tower of Sin.


    Esther''s gaze finally stopped on Maurice as she said coldly, "Maurice, do you still want to kill Zen now?"


    Maurice''s eyes twitched as he pulled a long face. After a long while, he spat out, "Let''s go!"


    Without the two war sages, the ogres didn''t have any advantage over the Demon Night. Furthermore, there was also Zen to deal with. Since even the war sages hadn''t been able to defeat him, there was no point in the top-level war lords fighting against him.


    The ogre war lords turned around and prepared to leave with Maurice.


    Meanwhile, Malcom was staring intently at Zen. Zen was a mere level ten war fighter, and Malcom had thought that he could kill him effortlessly. However, he had just seen Zen get rid of the two ogre war sages. If they didn''t kill Zen while he was still young, he would become a huge threat to the ogres in the future.


    But how could they kill him?


    No one could give Malcom an answer. He had interpreted the smile on Zen''s face as an indication that he was trying his best to remain calm. But now he realized that Zen was smiling because he was confident of himself.


    In the end, Malcom could only grit his teeth and follow Maurice.


    Some of the warriors had enough foresight to understand that the situation in the Tower of Sin was going to change. It was likely that the 128 seats on the top floor of the tower would be reshuffled.


    The ogres'' bodies were as large as mountains. After they left, the tenth floor seemed somewhat empty.


    Only then did Esther ask, "Zen, how did you do it?"


    Zen had thrown the two war sages out of the Tower of Sin without so much as lifting a finger, and the war sages hadn''t even had the strength to fight back. Esther couldn''t figure it out.


    "Don''t ask," Lavender said flatly.


    Hearing Lavender''s words, Esther immediately n


    suffered, and even the Purple Heart Sacred Place would have been affected. The ogres would have taken the opportunity to completely wipe out the humans'' sacred place. For the two ogres'' sacred places, this wasn''t a difficult matter. As long as they could deal with the elders at the Soul Sea Realm in the Purple Heart Sacred Place, it would be enough.


    "I''ll go to the Purple Heart Sacred Place, but before that, I have to go to the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place. Just wait for me," Zen promised with a smile.


    Fabian and Jarrod smiled back at Zen in gratitude. It was unprecedented for war lords to be so grateful toward a war fighter.


    The two of them clearly understood the meaning behind Zen''s words. Since he had already achieved this much, he would be bringing the human race along with him as he rose to power. Although only two ogre war sages had died today, they believed that in the near future, the entire Tower of Sin would be reshuffled.


    Zen turned around and left, heading to the living area. He wanted to rent a training room to refine the Lucky Light.


    Looking at his retreating figure, Olivia wanted to say something, but decided otherwise.


    As Zen sat quietly in the secret chamber, a smile appeared on his face.


    He suddenly realized how crowded his body was. Not only were there nine Genuine Dragons lurking in his mind, but there was also a huge furnace with an unknown origin. The sword spirit in his body was actually one of the queens of the Demon Night and she still had her own consciousness.

 Chapter 871 Amber (Part Two)

    This was really lively!


    Shaking his head, Zen pulled out the Lucky Light from his token and slowly began to refine it.


    Boris and Cheryl were the strongest among the level ten war generals. Both of them hadn''t lost any of their previous battles, so there was an awful lot of Lucky Light stored in their tokens.


    When Zen drew out the Lucky Light, the blazing white light was unimaginably thick.


    ''With so much Lucky Light, I should be able to make a breakthrough!''


    When he thought of this, the life vitality within his body suddenly revolved and traces of life vitality continuously refined the Lucky Light, pouring it into his body.


    Three days later, Zen left the training chamber. Cheryl, who was standing in front of the training chamber, gave him a broad smile.


    The Demon Night members were waiting for Zen to come out.


    Of course, what they wanted to see wasn''t Zen himself but the sword spirit in his body, which was also their queen Lavender.


    Zen nodded and said to Cheryl, "We can set off now."


    Although Zen was short on time, he had to take Lavender to the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place since he had already agreed to it.


    Moreover, there was still quite a bit of time before the Dark Nether Cave would open. Even if Zen wanted to return to the Central Region, he would have to wait until he entered the Dark Nether Cave and obtained the inheritance inside it. So, he still had plenty of time.


    Under Cheryl''s lead, Zen returned to the first floor of the Tower of Sin. After waiting at the entrance for a while, Esther, the strongest of the seat owners, brought two top-level war lords over.


    They all left the Tower of Sin together and headed south of the Cursed Land.


    Flying was forbidden within the Cursed Land. Whoever tried to fly would be pressed down to the ground by a horrible force. Zen had experienced this before when he first entered the Cursed Land. So, everyone could only travel on foot.


    Still, with their speed, they covered quite a distance within just a few hours. Soon, a large transmission array appeared in front of them.


    Cheryl rushed forward first and took out several life vitality crystals from her pocket. Then, she placed them on the transmission array. Once the life vitality crystals were placed, the entire transmission array erupted with light.


    "Go in." Esther nodded at Zen.


    Zen immediately stepped into the


    d had a lot of Lucky Light, she''d never attempted to refine it and always remained a war general. It had been as if she would never improve herself.


    He hadn''t expected the Yolandes he had seen to be just clones.


    With so many clones cultivating separately and then being recollected together, how terrifying would Yolande become?


    It was hard for Zen to imagine. He could only marvel at the wonders of the world. There were simply too many talents in the Upper World to think of such an incredible method of cultivation.


    The speed of their travel was naturally many times higher now that they were flying rather than walking. Although the holy tree looked very far, everyone was able to reach it within five minutes.


    The members of the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place had received news of their queen''s arrival in advance. Many of them were waiting on top of the huge holy tree.


    A crimson carpet was laid out along the thick trunk of the tree. At the end of the carpet stood a woman dressed in purple.


    Even though Zen and the woman were tens of thousands of feet apart, Zen could still feel the aura that she was emitting.


    The aura wasn''t overbearing but it gave off an incomparably heavy feeling, even much stronger than those of the ogre war sages and Eddie, who was at the Life and Death Realm.


    Staring at the woman''s figure, Zen had already guessed her identity. This woman was the leader of the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place. She was also one of the powerful warriors at the Soul Sea Realm. She was none other than Amber. Zen had seen her name on the Talent Tablet.

 Chapter 872 Statues

    Warriors at the Soul Sea Realm were at the top across the world.


    When one reached the Life and Death Realm or became a war sage, they could threaten the stability of the word if they continued to increase their cultivation. They would encounter crises that would be matters of life and death.


    A life and death crisis was actually a punishment to someone posed by the world when it was threatened by him or her.


    Once warriors reached the Soul Sea Realm, the punishments posed by the world could no longer hold them back, given their utmost strength. This was exactly why these warriors were expelled from this world and sent to the Upper World.


    However, there were conditions that had to be met for a warrior at the Soul Sea Realm to go to the Upper World. Amber''s talent was amazing, and she had only spent two hundred years trying to reach the Soul Sea Realm from being a nature creature. There was still a long time for her to go to the Upper World.


    The holy tree began to shake once Zen and Lavender had descended upon the thick trunk.


    The holy tree was as large as a castle, and when it shook, it felt like there was an earthquake. Amber knelt down on one knee before Lavender and said in a respectful manner, "Welcome, my queen."


    Lavender nodded indifferently, the fact that a warrior at the Soul Sea Realm was bowing before her making no change to her expression. It was as if she took it as a matter of course.


    Other powerful warriors at the Soul Sea Realm followed Amber and knelt down in unison before Lavender, along with the other war sages of the Demon Night.


    There were over a hundred thousand members of the Demon Night kneeling at the same time on the holy tree.


    Every Demon Night member was looking at Lavender with an incomparable piety.


    The three queens of the Demon Night were supremely looked up to by all of the members. In millions of Lower Worlds, there were countless sacred places belonging to the Demon Night, dedicated to them. But the three queens rarely visited the sacred places in person.


    Everyone belonging to the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place was overjoyed to see Lavender visiting their sacred place.


    The holy tree shook even more violently as its thick branches continued to swing. Zen could feel immense attraction to the holy tree, causing his feet to become firmly attached to it. No matter how hard the holy tree shook, he wouldn''t be thrown down.


    As the holy tree continued to shake, clear veins began to be seen on its branches. Beams of green light flowed through the veins and converged on the trunk of the holy tree. The green light rose along


    t was a woman wielding a murderous meteor hammer and was giving off a light blue light. It was hard to imagine the Demon Night using such a barbaric and cruel weapon.


    "She is the queen of punishment," Cheryl clarified.


    "Oh that explains it," Zen said, turning to look at the last statue.


    The last one was red, but the only difference was that the red light it was bathed in was very dim. It was far from being as dazzling as the lights that brightened the other two queens'' statues.


    The third statue looked exactly like Lavender.


    ''No wonder the members of the Demon Night were able to recognize Lavender as one of their queens in just a glance. It''s true that she looks exactly the same, '' Zen thought to himself. But why was the statue holding a spear in its hand?


    Wasn''t Lavender using a sword?


    Back then, Zen had accidentally obtained a sword spirit after entering the Killing Sword Mountain. The only place where Zen and Lavender had communicated was the Killing Sword Mountain.


    Since Lavender had entered the Killing Sword Mountain, she must be using a sword since she had already comprehended the consummate sword intent. But the statue showed that her weapon was a spear, not a sword.


    Zen was puzzled, and was just trying to figure things out when Lavender stopped in front of her statue, turned around, and said, "All of you can leave. Zen, stay behind. No one is allowed to enter the palace. It''s an order."


    As Zen''s sword spirit, she couldn''t stay too far away from him. So naturally, Zen had to stay behind.


    "Yes, my queen. No one is allowed to approach the palace without your order," Amber nodded and quickly retreated from the palace, taking along Esther and the other warriors at the Soul Sea Realm.

 Chapter 873 Two Bitches

    Now it was just Zen and his sword spirit in the empty palace.


    The innate queen''s aura slowly vanished from Lavender''s body. Now she was like an ordinary young member of the Demon Night.


    After Lavender had spoken in the Tower of Sin, there hadn''t been much interaction between her and Zen.


    He thought for a while before asking, "The weapon on this statue is a spear, so why is it that your sword was stuck in the Killing Sword Mountain?"


    "That is the Heavenly Fate, the holy spear of my clan. Before I turned 18, I was a swordsman," Lavender replied.


    So that explained it!


    Lavender''s simple answer immediately solved the mystery in Zen''s mind.


    If Lavender was the queen of the Demon Night, then she should be able to climb the peak of the mountain with her powers. Surely she wouldn''t just insert her sword halfway up the Killing Sword Mountain.


    Zen had assumed that when she had attained the Consummate Sword Intent, her cultivation level was not very high, and therefore, she couldn''t reach the mountaintop.


    "But why did you become like this..."


    Before Zen could complete his question, Lavender interrupted him. "There''s no need to ask. You''ll know in a while," she said without any emotion.


    She walked towards the azure blue statue and raised her hand. A faint ray of light emitted from her hand and a strange rune appeared in the light. She then slammed it down hard on the statue!


    Buzz...


    The statue glowed with a brilliant blue light.


    Zen''s eyes had been baptized by the sap of the divine tree, so he was able to see the changes on the statue clearly despite the blinding blue light.


    "This is¡­"


    Zen''s eyes were wide open. The statue seemed to be alive! She blinked her eyes a few times and the blue light gradually dimmed. Then, a faint smile appeared on her face.


    "Lavender must be communicating with another queen of the Demon Night," he guessed. It was possible that the many sacred places of the Demon Night in the Lower World maintained contact with the Upper World through these three statues.


    This method was very useful. Although the Upper World might not be able to transfer its resources to the Lower World, it could at least convey classified information to the Lower World, such as refinement techniques, through these statues.


    Was Lavender seeking the help of another queen?


    But that notion was dispelled when Zen heard Lavender speak to the statue in an unbelievably audacious tone. "Bitch, you didn''t expect me to still be alive, right?" Lavender mocked.


    "Ha-ha-ha!" The statue seemed to be alive as she covered her mouth and laughed. "Yo


    till spoke, "Then I''ll be waiting for you. You bloody¡­"


    Crack!


    The black sword smashed the remaining half of the statue''s head into pieces. Lavender stabbed the sword heavily into the ground. Her anger dissipated and she looked at Zen miserably.


    Zen stood there agape. He really didn''t know what to say.


    After a while, Zen asked, "You, you came here just to fight with her, didn''t you?"


    Lavender nodded. "Yes!" she admitted frankly.


    Hearing their squabble, Zen was certain that Lavender had come here looking for a fight, but he had never heard of such a bizarre way of fighting.


    "But¡­" Zen threw up his hands and looked at Lavender''s face. He wanted to say something to comfort her, but he didn''t know what had happened between Lavender and that woman.


    "You''ll help me, won''t you?" Lavender stared blankly at Zen. This was the first time she had ever asked him for a favor.


    This was an internal conflict of the Demon Night. It was definitely not a good idea for Zen to get involved.


    The Demon Night race wasn''t inferior to the Genuine Dragon.


    The three statues in front of him were the queens of the Demon Night, and their strength was beyond anything Zen could imagine.


    "I''m afraid I''m not strong enough," Zen replied, shaking his head.


    Although he had just stepped into the war general level, he was obviously not powerful enough. Not to mention the queen responsible for punishments, even Amber of the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place and many other warriors of the Soul Sea Realm could crush him with a single finger.


    Lavender stared at Zen and said, "It''s true that you''re not powerful enough now, but you are the most important chess piece in this game and will eventually return to your position!"

 Chapter 874 Chess Piece (Part One)

    "I''m just a chess piece?"


    Zen asked in bewilderment.


    "Right, the greatest era of this world has begun! Many talents have appeared in this world, but it is you who have the fate to lead the world of chaos. As long as you do not die, you will inevitably become the main character of this great world!" Lavender said, her face serious.


    Zen had always had trouble understanding the great world of chaos.


    Both the cyan dragon and Mist were keeping this matter a secret from him. Every time they spoke of a crucial point pertaining to it, they broke off, unwilling to continue talking about it. Even Zen, with his access to their conversations, was unable to understand the whole truth.


    "The beginning of a new great world? What does it mean?" Zen asked again.


    Lavender threw him an annoyed look. "Don''t you see that there are many geniuses in this era? Even within this boundless world, there are countless talents that appear out of the blue. Moreover, there are over a million boundless worlds and many Upper Worlds with talents beyond count."


    Zen nodded in agreement as he heard what she had to say.


    Zen had come across all sorts of geniuses on his way from the Cloud Sect.


    The Cloud Sect was only a small second-grade sect. It was always rare to see a warrior master the successful sword intent in the All Peaks Competition. And no swordsman had ever gained the consummate sword intent. But last time, two such talents had appeared in the All Peaks Competition that was held in the Cloud Sect. One was Zen, and the other was Rocher.


    In addition to the Cloud Sect, all sorts of divine-level talents had appeared in the later Martial Arts Contest that had taken place because of the Dragon Soar Arena.


    According to the distribution of talents in the Central Region, as long as a divine-level genius didn''t meet his downfall, he could be destined to enter the Soul Sea Realm. But in all these years, not a single Soul Sea Realm master had appeared in the Central Region.


    So it wasn''t just Zen who felt it strange. Members of the other sects in the Central Region were also wondering what was going on in this world.


    Lavender''s explanation helped Zen f


    cyan dragon said flatly.


    "What I care about is not benefit," Zen said seriously. "Moreover, Lavender, you have saved my life so many times as my sword spirit! I can''t promise you too much, but if I can do anything for you in the future, I will help you!"


    Lavender''s previously gloomy face lit up at Zen''s words, as if a ray of light was shining directly on her. She stared at him before lowering her head and saying, "Thank you."


    Zen smiled slightly and said teasingly, "But you are still my sword spirit. You can''t possibly continue to be my sword spirit and be attached to my body all the time, right?"


    "I will find a way to reconstruct my body, but I can''t do it right now," Lavender said after a moment''s thought.


    It was inconvenient for Lavender to do many things, since she was just a sword spirit at the moment. But her advantage was obvious. She could recover even if she were chopped into pieces. And as long as Zen did not die, she would not die.


    But she could only hide within Zen''s body. If she ever came out of Zen''s body and revealed herself, she would have to be near Zen.


    Reconstructing her body, on the other hand, was not a simple matter. Whether there was a chance for her to do so depended solely on her luck.


    Lavender realized something suddenly and said to Zen, "Isn''t your biggest goal to save your sister? I can order Amber to bring the Demon Night members to the Central Region to help you kill Eddie."

 Chapter 875 Chess Piece (Part Two)

    "Help me kill Eddie?" Zen''s eyebrows shot up.


    Lavender''s suggestion was worth giving a shot to.


    Eddie''s cultivation base was at the Life and Death Realm, and he had only been through three life and death crises.


    His strength might probably only be equivalent to that of a third-level war sage.


    There were at least a million third-level war sages in the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place alone. Even though Eddie was much stronger than a normal war sage, there were still Soul Sea Realm masters like Amber in the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place.


    With their combined strength, they could easily kill Eddie.


    If Zen were to bring this group of members from the Demon Night''s sacred place back to the Central Region, he would be able to defeat every sect in the Central Region.


    The difference between a sacred place and a fifth-grade sect was very great. But the gap between an ordinary sect and the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place was even greater because the latter was a seventh-grade sacred place.


    Zen still shook his head, his eyes determined. "Eddie has already become an obstacle of my warrior spirit. As for this obstacle, I''ll have to deal with him myself!"


    Although the warrior spirit could not increase a warrior''s combat strength, it was still undeniably important for a warrior. If Zen''s warrior spirit didn''t move on smoothly, it would gradually overcome him with depression and despair. It would, in the end, become his inner spirit demon and the biggest obstacle of his whole life.


    This kind of hindrance would prevent Zen''s cultivation from progressing at best and cause him to go wrong in his martial arts cultivation and spiral into madness at critical moments at worst.


    Back when Eddie had turned into a giant face above the Cloud Sect, Zen had sworn to himself that he would take Eddie''s life


    rds. This woman was too scary. Once she developed a grudge against someone, she would not stop working against her enemy until her enemy had been killed.


    Amber and the rest, on the other hand, had fear and trepidation writ large on their faces, seemingly at a loss of what to do.


    Lavender walked calmly in front and Zen followed her. The senior leaders of the Demon Night followed closely behind.


    This Demon Night queen''s behavior with the Demon Night members was completely different from her behavior with Zen.


    The huge holy tree was hollowed out in the middle, inside which was a hundred-story palace.


    Amber led Zen into the Demon Night sacred place''s treasure house to pick out a weapon.


    The sword of the Blood Fiend Emperor was huge and powerful, but it wasn''t at too high a level. What was more, when Lavender had fought with Cheryl in the Tower of Sin, Cheryl had grabbed her sword, leaving several deep grooves on it. It could be used appropriately but it also could break at any point in time. So Lavender needed to choose a new weapon now.


    The number of resources and treasures that a seventh-grade sacred place had far exceeded those that the Cloud Hall and the Ethereal Spirit Sect had.

 Chapter 876 Chess Piece (Part Three)

    In the Central Region, low-grade sacred weapons were already extremely rare, but not in the Sea God Continent. So when the ogres intended to use ten sacred weapons in exchange for Zen''s life in the Tower of Sin, Fabian had immediately refused it.


    They traveled from the top to the bottom. After passing through a huge root of the holy tree, Zen finally arrived at the Demon Night''s treasure house.


    Zen couldn''t help but sigh emotionally as he entered the treasure house.


    A huge luminous pearl stood at the center of the treasure house, emitting a gentle light. Over a dozen long swords were inserted around this pearl.


    All of these treasures were sacred weapons.


    "My Queen, the best weapon in our Heavenly Feather Sacred Place is a weapon that is at the top-grade of the sacred level," Amber said as a way of introduction.


    "Let me have a look," Lavender said flatly.


    Amber nodded, bringing Zen and Lavender to the back of the luminous pearl. She extended a hand and gently pulled out a long box from the ground. She opened it and pulled out a long sword from it.


    The sword was light golden in color and its blade shone with a quaint light that made it look like a vintage article.


    "This treasured sword at the top-grade of sacred level was obtained from the Dark Nether Cave. I am not proficient in using a sword, which is why I sealed it here," said Amber.


    "It''s a great sword!" Zen exclaimed, his eyes lighting up in pleasant surprise.


    What kind of opportunities did the Dark Nether Cave have for a weapon at the top-grade of the sacred level to have originated there?


    Lavender looked at the sword indifferently. After a moment, she stretched out one of her slender fingers.


    Amber held the long


    "This spear is the best in the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place. Please have a look," Amber said as she handed the spear to Lavender.


    This spear was of a grade that was inferior to that of Zen''s sword. It was not at a low grade but at the middle-grade of the sacred level.


    Lavender reached out to hold the silver spear in her hand and looked it over. Finally, she thrust the spear into the air.


    A wave of energy burst out, crackling through the air.


    Not only did the energy wave frighten Zen, it stunned even Amber who was at the Soul Sea Realm.


    Even though Lavender was just Zen''s sword spirit, her strength had grown along with that of the spirit''s master.


    And though the sword spirit''s cultivation base couldn''t be graded, it just might be on par with Zen''s cultivation, even a little lower than his.


    Lavender''s spear strike could not hurt Amber since she was at the Soul Sea Realm. But right now, Amber was unable to comprehend the spear intent and momentum that Lavender had mastered.


    After all, Lavender''s cultivation base was very high, far more than this, and what she had comprehended was far beyond what Amber could reach.

 Chapter 877 Restrain Themselves

    Lavender pulled back the silver spear and held it in her hand, rather satisfied with her new weapon. Seeing Zen''s startled expression, she said calmly, "It''s a pity that you focus on practicing the sword. Otherwise, I can teach you some spear arts of the Demon Night."


    Although Lavender had focused on practicing the sword too before the age of twenty, the sword techniques she had cultivated at that time weren''t the best techniques of the Demon Night. Her swordsmanship was no better than the swordsmanship Zen had mastered. Moreover, it was difficult for a man like Zen to perform the graceful sword dance.


    However, Lavender''s spear arts was extraordinary. It was one of the most quintessential and unique techniques of Demon Night.


    Zen blinked in response. Since he had chosen to practice the sword out of all the weapons, he wouldn''t give up so easily.


    It wasn''t good for martial artists to be greedy with the hope to master various kinds of weapons at the same time. Moreover, if Zen started to practice the spear, he would have to temper himself to comprehend the spear intent starting from scratch. That was something he certainly didn''t want to do.


    However, when Amber heard what Lavender had said, she felt differently.


    It was impossible for any of the three queens of the Demon Night to pass down their secret techniques to others. The other two queens of the Demon Night wouldn''t be able to master Lavender''s unique technique either. But it seemed to Amber that the queen didn''t mind teaching an outsider the unique technique of the Demon Night.


    It was strange. And together with the broken statue she''d seen in the palace, Amber guessed that something must have happened in the Upper World.


    Unfortunately, she couldn''t figure out what it was. Amber might be a leader of the seventh-grade sacred place, but even after a Soul Sea Realm warrior like her ascended to the Upper World, she was still nothing in the Demon Night in the Upper World. At most, she could only be considered the leader of a squad.


    As for the battle between the queens, Amber wasn''t qualified to get involved, unless she could grow and become a master of the Demon Night in the Upper World.


    Amber had already taken the test on the Talent Tablet and managed to get her name listed on the second row. Although such an achievement was extraordinary in the Sea God Continent, it was nothing in the Upper World.


    Back when she''d taken the test in the Talent Tablet, five names had ranked above hers. Now, two more names had appeared above hers: Zen and Yolande. Although Amber wasn''t in the Tower of Sin, many of the sacred places had their spies travel between the sacred places and the Tower of Sin to monitor every move in the Tower of Sin and bring back every piece of information.


    So of course, Amber already knew that Zen had kicked two ogre war sages out of the Tower of Sin in an instant.


    The human kid in front of her was someone to be reckoned with. If Zen had the ability to kick any living creature out of the Tower of Sin, then he was technically the controller of


    Heavenly Feather Sacred Place was to argue with the queen who was in charge of the punishment. However, Zen hadn''t come here in vain. He had obtained a top-grade sacred weapon and replaced the two crystals in his arms.


    Two days later, Zen left the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place together with Esther and Cheryl. They were headed to the Tower of Sin once again.


    During these two days, Amber had clearly indicated to Zen that if he wanted to wipe out the ogres from the Tower of Sin, the Demon Night would do everything in their power to help.


    The ogre race was not a friendly race. They were born killers and were very violent, which was the complete opposite of the Demon Night, who loved peace and order. Moreover, whether it was in the Tower of Sin or in the God Sea Continent, the ogres always acted against the Demon Night. It was only after Amber had led the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place to power that the ogres had begun restraining themselves.


    If there was an opportunity to get rid of the ogres, Amber would definitely not let it go. As a powerful master at the Soul Sea Realm and the leader of the Demon Night, Amber would not show mercy to the ogres. This was what the world was like. To be kind to her enemies was to be cruel to herself.


    After passing through the transmission array, Zen once again returned to the Tower of Sin.


    The two gates of the Tower of Sin that had been smashed by the ogre war sages had already been repaired.


    Before Zen had left, the only warriors who had known about what had happened on the tenth floor had been the warriors who had witnessed it. However, in the few days that Zen had spent in the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place, the news of how Zen had defeated the ogre war sages had spread through all the floors in the Tower of Sin.


    All the creatures already knew what had happened that day. No one knew who had spread this information or whether it had been spread intentionally. However, during this period of time, the ogres in the Tower of Sin had indeed restrained themselves quite a bit.

 Chapter 878 The Way Zen Went To The Tenth Floor

    When Zen stepped onto the first floor of the Tower of Sin, many creatures of various races stared at him with eyes filled with reverence.


    However, the eyes of the many ogre war fighters were only filled with unbridled fear.


    Even though Zen was a human war general less than twenty years old and had only been in the Tower of Sin for three months, he had already turned the tables for the entire human race.


    Despite being just a mere war general who used to be a war fighter when he had first entered the Tower of Sin, he had rendered the top-level war lords helpless, and had even used the power of the Cursed Land to indirectly kill two ogre war sages.


    No one in their right mind would attribute those to luck and coincidence.


    Regardless of the process, Zen had indeed succeeded and had thoroughly suppressed the arrogance of the ogres.


    In the past, from the first floor to the fourteenth floor of the Tower of Sin, regardless of whether it was an ogre war fighter or an ogre war general, they were all superior to other creatures. Their powerful race had more seats in the Tower of Sin than any other race, and they also had the most powerful forces on the Sea God Continent.


    Also, no creature dared to confront the ogres head on. Apart from the Demon Night, the other races could only clench their fists in anger in front of them.


    The reason why the ogres were so arrogant was that they were the most powerful race on the Sea God Continent.


    However, the ogres had been very restrained recently. From war fighters to war generals, and even war lords, their voices were not as loud as they had been in the past. One could even find a trace of fear and uncertainty on their faces as of late.


    It was because they didn''t know what Zen was going to do to them when he returned to the Tower of Sin.


    Would he drive all the ogres out of the tower? Or would he just kill them all?


    Zen seemed to have used some kind of power to expel the two powerful ogre war sages out of the Tower of Sin.


    But whether or not Zen could use the power of the Tower of Sin to exterminate the creatures in the tower, or whether he had any other methods, everything would still depend on how well Zen controlled the tower. The outsiders couldn''t figure it out. After all, the Tower of Sin itself was very mysterious. The creatures on the Sea God Continent didn''t know its origins or the secrets of the Cursed Land.


    In short, ever since Zen did what he did, the ogres had been acting like struggling fishes on a chopping board. They were in such a tricky situation. Now, as for whether they would fight Zen or would instead try to make peace with him, everyone could only wait and see.


    After entering the first floor of the To


    anding firmly at the side of the arena, watching her attack take effect. A ray of Lucky Light shot out from the giant''s body, shooting towards the token on her chest.


    Pak, pak, pak! A clear round of applause for her rang out.


    Slowly walking towards the arena, Zen stretched out his hands to clap with the spectators. At that moment, the eyes of all the creatures on the tenth floor were focused on him.


    In the days following Zen''s departure, many humans had already felt the subtle changes in the Tower of Sin.


    In this situation, even a fool would understand that the human race was on the verge of rising up.


    In the past, as long as humans stepped into the arena, they would encounter endless ridicule and hostility from other races. Their opponents would also never show mercy to them. Humans were likely to get severely injured or killed by their opponents in the arena.


    In the past few days, however, whenever humans walked into the arena, their opponents would always be extremely cautious. Even if humans were defeated, their opponents would not take advantage of the victory to pursue and take their lives.


    This change caused many of the humans to become overjoyed. It was very clear that this change originated from one person, and that person was Zen.


    Although the human race still only had four seats, it wouldn''t be long before that number would increase. Every human was excited for it, for how far the human race could grow. At first, all of that seemed like it would depend on how far the ogres would be willing to give in. Now, however, it seemed like it solely depended on how Zen would behave.


    And on that gracious day, Zen had finally returned.


    When Olivia saw Zen clapping his hands, a smile appeared on her lips. She then quickly jumped off the arena and walked towards him.

 Chapter 879 Negotiation

    "Good job!" Zen praised enthusiastically.


    The corners of Olivia''s lips curled up with pleasure as she smiled. "I''m far from being on par with you!"


    Olivia had already been a tenth level war general, while Zen had only been a tenth level war fighter before. Even after he had refined the Lucky Light, he still only ranked as a first level war general now.


    But Olivia knew that she was far from being a match for Zen.


    Apart from Olivia, all of the other human war generals on the tenth floor had also gathered around. Even Dylon, who was driven mad by jealousy of Zen, also looked at Zen with respect now.


    Now, not only had Zen shocked the entire Tower of Sin, he had also shocked the entire Purple Heart Sacred Place of the human race.


    When Zen had entered the Tower of Sin for the first time, people of the Purple Heart Sacred Place felt that as long as Zen grew stronger in the Tower of Sin, it was very likely that he would help the human race to win a seat.


    Humans were so weak. They would be very contented indeed if they were able to gain even one more seat in the Tower of Sin. After all, the four seats which they already possessed had not come easy.


    The higher Zen had climbed in the Tower of Sin, the more he had shown his strength and potential. The warriors in the upper floors of the Tower of Sin and the Purple Heart Sacred Place now paid more and more attention to Zen. After Elder Jing had met with Zen, he had concluded that not only would Zen help them obtain a seat in the Tower of Sin, but the seat which he would earn could rank within the very top. He would potentially enter into at least the top thirty among the 128 seat owners.


    Elder Jing thought very highly of Zen! However, since the day that humans had entered the Tower of Sin, not one of them had been able to rank in the top 50!


    From the moment in which Zen had entered the Tower of Sin, the four human seat owners at the top of the tower had also been closely watching his progress. No one had expected that after he got out of the Talent Tablet, he would have come into such a huge conflict with the ogres. The Demon Night was also involved.


    More unexpectedly, Zen had single handedly turned the tide. Even the two war sages, kept in the Tower of Sin through some secret means by the ogres, had been kicked out by Zen.


    Zen''s performance so far had greatly exceeded Elder Jing''s expectation every time. Of course, Zen had surprised and dumbfounded all the races on the Sea God Continent.


    The Tower of Sin had always been at the focus of all the sacred places of the Sea God Continent. Now Zen''s name had spread like wild fire throughout the Sea God Continent in just a few days.


    On the Sea God Continent, it was similar as in the Central Region where the talents who had a chance of entering the Soul Sea Realm were called divine-level talents. But there were two extra words that had appeared before Zen''s name on the Talent Tablet, which read, ''Celestial Position''. As a result, Zen was now called the Celestial Position talent by tens of millions of creatures.


    As to why these two words had appeared before Zen''s name, only Zen knew the reason.


    d what Olivia was hesitant about. However, he liked her straightforward approach. Truthfulness was a rare quality which he respected. He chuckled and said, "If possible, I will wipe out all of the ogres from the Tower of Sin!"


    Olivia gasped at Zen''s words. "Wipe out all of the ogres from the Tower of Sin? Can you really do that?"


    Zen shrugged and replied with equal honesty, "I am not sure, but I will do my best!"


    Hearing his words, Olivia felt relieved. Although she hadn''t spent much time with Zen, the man that she had come to know was not the type of person who talked big. He either said nothing or stuck it out to the end once he gave his word.


    "Right now, there are also different opinions conflicting within the ogre race. But I guess that they will still come to you for negotiation," Olivia looked a little worried as she said this.


    She only said half of what she had intended to say. The other half was actually that if the ogres promised Zen huge benefits during the negotiation, would he change sides?


    "Negotiation?" Zen cocked one eyebrow as he considered this possibility. Then he smiled and said, "Then I''ll see how much they can offer!"


    There were indeed disagreements raging within the ogre race.


    On the top floor of the Tower of Sin, there were a total of 128 spaces, each of them separated from one another, similar to the Sumeru Space in the space ring. However, space rings couldn''t house living beings, while the space on the top floor of the Tower of Sin didn''t have such a restriction.


    Each seat owner had their own space. This was also the reason why there were always only 128 seats at the top of the Tower of Sin.


    Every space had a door that bore the number of the seat in it. For example, Esther from the Demon Night ranked first out of 128 seat owners, so her space was number one.


    Maurice ranked second among the one hundred and twenty-eight seat owners, so his space was labelled as number two.


    During this period of time, the twenty-six seat owners of the ogre race gathered together every day, arguing endlessly about how to deal with Zen.

 Chapter 880 Argument

    Located in number two space was a huge volcano where lava constantly flowed down and gathered, creating a tall, fiery waterfall.


    The molten red waterfall further converged into a deep pool at the bottom of the volcano, like a fearsome devil''s lair.


    Each space was like a small, compact world.


    Even Soul Sea Realm masters wouldn''t have the ability to create such small worlds. It was a feat that could only be done by the great masters of the Upper World.


    All 128 spaces functioned like 128 individual worlds and had been inside the Tower of Sin since the very beginning.


    If one obtained the authority over a small world, he would be able to freely change its topography. One could split open the earth, flatten mountains, and create an entirely new landscape if he willed it.


    However, there was no vitality within these small worlds, so it was impossible to stay and train.


    Around the deep lava pool stood twenty-six black stone pillars, on top of which were the twenty-six ogre seat owners.


    Maurice stood on the first pillar. "Zen has already returned!" he declared in a loud voice as he swept his cold eyes over the crowd. "But we have yet to come to an agreement."


    "Just kill him directly!" a top-level war lord said sternly. "He is just a weak war general, while we are top-level war lords. If all of us work together and come at him, I''m sure we''ll be able to reduce him to dust," he added.


    "Agreed!" another top-level war lord chimed in. "If we''re afraid of a mere war general, we will lose our dignity! The other races will think we''re cowards!"


    Malcom snorted. "Cut the bullshit!'' he burst angrily. "Do you think you''re stronger than war sages Colin and Neil? Even the two of them couldn''t resist Zen. How sure are you that you can defeat him?"


    Malcom''s words effectively silenced the many top-level war lords present.


    However, one of them spoke, "So what?" The air was tense but the top-level war lord continued, "Zen can indeed summon the Tower of Sin''s power and kick us out. But the question remains. Can he actually use this power to kill someone? I don''t think so!"


    Zen had not killed Colin and Neil personally. He simply kicked them out of the tower and let the Cursed Land''s mysterious power finish them off.


    However, they, as top-level war lords, would not be affected by the Cursed Land. Even if Zen kicked them out, they could enter the first floor and climb up the tower all over again.


    And, if all top-level war lords rushed forward to fight Zen, it would be impossible for him to kick them out all in one go.


    Their plan, though potentially reckless, could just work.


    The questions remained though.


    How much control did Zen really have over the Tower of Sin? Could he directly kill someone? Or was it all just limited to him being able to kick someone out?


    Only Zen knew.


    Th


    .


    The orc war lord seemed to be an independent warrior and did not belong to any orc sacred place. He only focused on cultivation and did not pay much attention to the comings-and-goings of the outside world.


    He had entered the Tower of Sin as a war lord and would usually win through default victories and advance freely on each floor. He wouldn''t encounter obstacles until he reached the floor on which Zen was staying.


    The second-level war lord had challenged Zen and seemed to be unaware of his deeds. He had managed to advance through default victories from the first to the tenth floor, only staying on each floor for three days.


    When he saw Zen, the orc couldn''t help but sneer, "A human war general? And at the first level? Interesting."


    With full swagger, he walked onto the arena and challenged Zen.


    The war lord''s challenge piqued the interest of many of the tenth-level war generals. Even Cheryl and Olivia went to the spectator''s stand to watch.


    However, Zen frowned at the sight of the orc challenger.


    The expression on his human opponent''s face greatly displeased the orc war lord. "Human boy," he growled, "are you not satisfied with me being your opponent?"


    "Yes, I am indeed dissatisfied," Zen answered him bluntly. "You climbed all the way up here without obtaining any Lucky Light."


    Zen had stopped on the tenth floor in order to earn the Lucky Light. There was no trace of Lucky Light in the orc''s token, which meant Zen''s victory would be useless.


    The orc immediately felt his irritation rise. Zen''s words clearly denoted that he could easily defeat a war lord like him, but the victory would be worthless since he didn''t have any Lucky Light. He let out a cold, sinister laugh. "I once had a meal of human meat a few years ago. It tasted very delicious," he snarled. "If I defeat you, I will cut you up and serve myself a stew out of your meat!"

 Chapter 881 The Head-to-head Battle (Part One)

    It was the first time Zen had encountered a second-level war lord after becoming a war general.


    In spite of this, Cheryl and the other Demon Night members, as well as Olivia and the other human warriors were not overly concerned about him.


    Back then when Zen was only a level ten war fighter, he had already successfully defeated Boris who happened to be a level ten war general. It was well-known to everyone that Boris possessed powerful abilities that enabled him to be considered as the strongest divine-level talent in the two sacred places of the ogre. The early-stage war lord might not be a match for Boris.


    At the present, the orc war lord seemed to be impatient. As soon as he finished speaking, he grunted while lifting the two huge axes from his back, and rushed towards Zen.


    As a matter of fact, all of the orcs were short in stature, and the orc war lord in front of Zen was not even tall enough to reach Zen''s chest. However, what they lacked in height was made up in other aspects. The bodies of the orcs were sturdy, and their blood energy was far stronger than other races. For the orcs, injuries and fatal wounds were nothing to worry about, as their healing abilities were much stronger than other races.


    Upon seeing the orc war lord charging towards where he stood, Zen sported an apathetic expression on his face as he pulled out a long sword from his space ring.


    The moment the spectators observed the scene, they were immediately stunned by the appearance of the long sword in Zen''s hand.


    "This guy has changed his weapon again?" a member of the audience asked.


    "His previous long sword is at the low-grade of sacred level, right? His current sword¡­"


    "It is a top-grade weapon! It''s a long sword at the top-grade of sacred level," one of them mused before continuing. "That guy must be very wealthy to possess something like that¡­"


    In reality, a top-grade sacred weapon was rare indeed even in the sacred place.


    As a supreme master of the Demon Night, Amber would not lie to Lavender. The long sw


    es who can probably suppress Zen in the Tower of Sin are the top-level war lords!"


    Indeed, many of the creatures in the Tower of Sin thought highly of Zen. After all, Zen was just a first-level war general that had accomplished great things thus far. One of the main reasons as to why Zen could resist the second-level war lord was that this particular war lord was merely an independent warrior, not from the orc sacred place.


    In the Central Region, many independent warriors were much stronger than those who came from various sects. This was due to the fact that independent warriors'' strength grew more and more powerful and ultimately greater by totally relying on their own abilities. Although the sect warriors did possess some sort of sect inheritance, their battle experience was significantly inferior to the proficiency of independent warriors in that area.


    On the other hand, in the Sea God Continent, when it came to sacred places, the inheritance one might get was more important than battle experience.


    Furthermore, most of the warriors of the Sea God Continent had climbed up in the Tower of Sin after defeating numerous warriors from all kinds of races. Even the warriors from sacred places did not lack combat experience, so the independent warriors of the continent were substandard when compared to the geniuses of the sacred places.

 Chapter 882 The Head-to-head Battle (Part Two)

    For that reason, it was relatively easier for Zen to deal with this second-level war lord than to fight against Boris.


    Despite this, if he somehow faced a war lord from the sacred place, Zen reckoned that he could at most only defeat a second-level war lord or a third-level war lord. If it ever so happened that he encountered a fourth-level war lord or a war lord with a much higher level, he had to try his best to dodge and even flee the match. After all, his cultivation base was far lower than theirs.


    In the end, this was also the reason as to why Zen did not choose to advance into the next floor. On the eleventh floor of the Tower of Sin, Zen could indeed earn more points, but he would also have to face some war lords he could not easily defeat.


    There might be even more chances to acquire Lucky Light on the eleventh floor, but the risk was too high for Zen. After all, the amount of Lucky Light was just a bit larger than that of the tenth floor. Therefore, it was a wiser decision for Zen to accumulate it on his current floor. Moreover, he could gather the Lucky Light in an easier way if he had stayed, without facing any unpredictable and formidable war lords.


    Hearing the discussions of the audience while he was still fighting with Zen, the orc war lord could not believe his ears when he realized that they were resolute on the notion that he could not be a match for the first-level war general. The orcs had always been those kinds of creatures that always had a fiery temper, so it was understandable that he was now completely livid at the fact that they were underestimating his capabilities.


    In a flash, the orc war lord''s eyes glowed red and layers upon layers of forceful energy wrapped around his battle axe. At the same time, what appeared to look like dense red lights were discharged from his fists!


    With a gasp, a warrior from the audience exclaimed, "It''s absolute madness!


    lord, she wondered what Zen intended to do next after witnessing a fully enraged orc!


    Since Olivia was able to stay in the tenth floor, she had naturally fought with some of the orcs before. Furthermore, even though she had defeated three orc tenth-level war generals, it was not because Olivia''s strength was stronger than the orc war generals. It was more of the fortunate circumstance that those orc war generals were stupid even if they did have the amazing ability of recovering faster than normal.


    During the moments of her own fight against orcs, Olivia only needed to constantly dodge their attacks as her strategy was to thoroughly exhaust them until they eventually died on the arena. Even if her opponents managed to activate the madness mode, they would definitely be unable to do anything offensive to the incomparably quick-witted Olivia.


    However, if Olivia decided to conduct a head-to-head battle with an orc war general, she might not even be marginally close to defeating a seventh-level or eighth-level war general by herself, let alone a tenth-level orc war general.


    On the other hand, Zen did not dodge despite the odds stacked against him. With a determined mind, he planned to use his top-grade sacred long sword to fight with this orc war lord.

 Chapter 883 Dominant Physical Strength

    Despite facing against an orc war lord gone berserk, Zen stood his ground and refused to retreat.


    This encounter would only serve as the one of many fights he would be taking part in once he ascended the Tower of Sin''s upper floors. Although his cultivation base had been increasing at a faster rate, he still found it important to measure his true strength. Fighting this berserk orc war lord was a very good opportunity to do just that.


    Anyone who chose to walk the path of martial arts must always be adequately prepared and plan at least ten steps ahead. Zen, despite knowing that he had a good fate, knew that luck would not always be by his side. The only true way to survive a warrior''s life was to continually persevere and strengthen himself.


    Zen''s eyes flashed dangerously as the orc lifted his battle axe and prepared to swing it down.


    He immediately countered it with his sword and a powerful force was transmitted through the clashing of their two weapons.


    Zen felt his palm tingle slightly from the force waves that reverberated from the axe, through his sword, and up to his arm.


    Had it been another person facing the orc, he would''ve already let go of his sword!


    Clank! Clank! Clank!


    Each swing of their blades produced a crisp sound as they clashed. Both unyielding with their attack.


    However, just as the orc''s axe came in contact once again with the sword, the blade slid and suddenly went through the thick steel. Zen''s sword had sliced the orc''s axe in two!


    The orc war lord had originally been an independent cultivator so he naturally did not possess any good weapons. Though his battle axes were considered top-grade fairy weapons, they were still nothing against Zen''s top-grade sacred weapon.


    With his axes literally ripped to shreds by Zen''s blade, the orc war lord''s attacks ceased.


    But it wasn''t over. The orc threw away his weapons and let out an earth-shaking roar!


    Layers upon layers of forceful energy began to coat his body, taking on the form of sparkling, black scales


    "Another change? This is beast transmogrifying!"


    The beast transmogrifying method wasn''t new to Zen since he had seen Owen use it back in the Central Region. The only difference now was that an orc''s beast transmogrifying ability was inborn since a portion of their bloodline was originally inherited from wild beasts.


    As soon as the black scales covered his entire body, the orc war lord immediately rushed towards Zen.


    Zen sneered, "You think your layer of scales will be enough to block my sword?"


    A top-grade sacred weapon''s hardness and strength were out of this world! Undeterred by the orc war lord charging towards him, Zen stood his ground and lifted his blade.


    Against his top-grade sacred weapon, the layer of scales on the orc war lord''s body was like fragile sheets of paper. Zen swung his sword down and expected to cut through the orc''s flesh - however, this wasn''t what happened.


    The moment his blade touched the scales, a powerful force suddenly erupted fr


    a war lord! When that day comes, even if he does not use the power of the Tower of Sin, no one will be his match in this tower!"


    Zen walked to his long sword and put it away in his space ring before making his way out of the arena. Just as he walked out, a sixth-level ogre war lord came towards him.


    The moment the ogre made his approach, Olivia''s and Cheryl''s eyes quickly flickered.


    Although Zen was able to control the power of the Tower of Sin and was more than capable of protecting himself, the Demon Night and the human race could not be put at ease. Nobody wanted anything to happen to him at this point in time so both races had sent people to protect Zen in private.


    "Zen!" the ogre called out.


    Zen raised an eyebrow. "What do you want?" he asked indifferently.


    "Maurice wants to have a talk with you," the ogre answered, referring to their race''s elder.


    "When?" Zen asked, raising an eyebrow.


    "Tonight!"


    Zen nodded in affirmation, "I know it now. Thank you."


    Once he had delivered his message, the ogre quickly turned around and left. With him gone, Cheryl and Olivia quickly made their way towards Zen.


    Zen greeted Olivia with a smile, "You were right! They''re already in a hurry to negotiate!"


    Cheryl nodded at Zen''s words, "I''ll go inform Esther!" she said.


    No one would be able to guarantee that Maurice would be fair in the negotiations. As the number two seat owner of the Tower of Sin, he surely had some tricks up his sleeve. Esther''s presence was necessary since she was the only person who could intimidate Maurice.


    Cheryl made quick work of informing Esther about Maurice''s invitation while Olivia did the same to Elder Jing. Upon nightfall, many top-level war lords descended from the upper floors. All four seat-owners from the human race were present while Esther and the other three seat-owners from Demon Night also arrived.


    Since the ogres themselves had initiated the negotiations, the result of that night''s talks would be especially important.

 Chapter 884 Sincerity

    In this one particular hall at the living area on the tenth floor of the Tower of Sin, warriors who hung out there were asked to leave the place. Some with their heads bowed out of disappointment, some filled with rage. Regardless, they all made their way out.


    A group of top-level war lords had taken over. Back then, real rules included entering and leaving the place in your own free will. But, at that crucial point, rules were disregarded.


    Reluctantly leaving the place, some war generals kept their sentiments to themselves. A powerful war was brewing right before them, and to obey the order of the top-level war lords was the most honorable thing to do at that point.


    In the hall, Maurice was sitting on a corner with a scornful look on his face. Ogres all had impressive heights and enormous builds and Maurice''s figure was above the average due to his extraordinary height. Even for an ogre, he was exceptionally tall, even when he was sitting.


    Right behind him were three expressionless top-level war lords that gave out a terrifying aura. Despite all their differences, they were somehow thinking about the same things at that exact moment.


    The death of the two war sages was a huge blow to the ogres. It was not easy for them to bear. It caused their race a lot, so to speak.


    What had made things more complicated was Zen''s effect on the ogres. They were now in a dilemma.


    Zen was seated between Fabian and Jarrod. Even if Zen was capable of defending himself and controlling the Tower of Sin altogether, they just couldn''t risk Maurice attacking him.


    It was a grand idea that Esther took three top-level war lords from the Demon Night with her. If a war with the ogres started at that very scene, they would be more than prepared for it.


    "You truly are a young hero. For thousands of years, no living creature has ever completely controlled the Tower of Sin as you have. I''m no believer of fate, but with you, it just seemed like everything was meant to be!" Maurice laughed.


    "I don''t believe in fate either. It solely depends on the man himself. We make our own choices. We write our own stories. We make our fate," Zen smiled faintly in response.


    "A human once said that manpower has its limits. By assessing the situation carefully is how we determine whether or not we can proceed with our actions. Otherwise, we only suffer in the end." Maurice, amused by his own words, had managed to laugh once again.


    Indirectly, Maurice was trying to remind Zen that even he could have the upper hand in the war by working with the Demon Night or he could even expel the entire ogre race from the Tower of Sin, he just couldn''t disregard the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place as well as the Dread Ogre Sacred Place.


    Zen only chuckled as a response.


    "But I''m curious. How much of the entire Tower of Sin can you control? Legend has it that the Tower of Sin is actually a weapon of a powerful master from the Upper World. Is that true?" Maurice asked.


    There were countless speculations surrounding the Tower of Sin. Some said that it was place owned by a certain race for cultivation of some


    ked at Zen with a smile.


    Some of the top-level war lords standing behind Maurice had indignant and sullen looks on their faces. Giving five seats for the humans was a humiliation for them. Ultimately, this would mean that five ogres would lose their seats at the Tower of Sin.


    Both Fabian and Jarrod were thrilled about this.


    It was quite a generous offer. Five more seats for the humans meant that they instantly got twenty-five more tickets to enter the Dark Nether Cave. In addition to the previous four seats they had, they would have a total of nine. Even if they still didn''t qualify for the third rank at the tower, that was enough for them to rank fourth.


    At this moment, Fabian''s and Jarrod''s eyes were glinting with excitement like stars. How they hoped for Zen to take upon the offer! They itched to report such good news to the Purple Heart Sacred Place.


    The Purple Heart Sacred Place constituents only hoped for a single seat the first time Zen caught their attention.


    But earning five seats for humans while he was on the tenth floor, before he even reached the top of the tower? It was mind-blowing. They never imagined such a thing to occur.


    ''Hurry up, kid! What do you think?'' Fabian urged in her mind. Both Fabian and Jarrod clenched their fists in hopes that Zen would agree immediately.


    With eager eyes, Jarrod looked at Zen. The ogre race had imposed their authority over other races for a long time. It should be considered a huge gift for the human race that ogres were willing to give five seats to them. What if Maurice just suddenly changed his mind?


    Esther couldn''t help but sigh upon having a glance at how desperate Fabian and Jarrod looked. Human race had been weak for too many years, and they couldn''t change anything. Fortunately for them and for the fate of their race, Zen emerged. The mere thought of having five more seats was going to make radical changes for them. No wonder they got so excited. However, it was a matter of serious discussion. They should be more patient and wait for Zen to make a more clever bargain.

 Chapter 885 The Negotiation Broke Down (Part One)

    In the end, everyone''s gaze completely fixated on Zen.


    Wearing a deadpan look on his face, Zen appeared as if his mind was wandering somewhere else.


    Upon catching a glimpse of Zen''s expression, Maurice, as well as the other ogre war lords, all had to force themselves to remain composed, patiently waiting for him to say something.


    These war lords had been living for dozens, and some even hundreds, of years. At this point, each and every single one of them was gazing at a man who was barely even twenty years of age, anticipating what he was going to say. Truly, this was such a peculiar event.


    The ogres all had fiery tempers even from the time of their birth. One of the top-level war lords couldn''t take it any longer and outright said, "Brat, haven''t you made up your mind already? Five seats should already be more than adequate to give face to the human race!"


    The name of this top-level war lord was Bradley, and he belonged to the top ten top-level war lords of the ogres. Out of the 128 seat owners, he was ranked fourth, meaning to say, the power and standing he held were second only to Maurice within the ogres.


    Taking a brief apathetic look at the top-level war lord, Zen was still thinking about what would be the best course of action to take. A hint of a scornful smile even slipped onto his face.


    "We can discuss this matter the easy way or the hard way. However, it''s quite apparent that you''d rather choose the latter. If you continue acting like this, then you can just forget about those five seats. Even if it is just one seat, we still have to consider it carefully. And it''s five seats that we''re talking about here." Noticing the contemptuous smile on Zen''s face instantly ignited a fire inside Bradley''s heart. He was beginning to fume with rage.


    As everyone around them would know, ogres tended to


    eady tried his best to look friendly. After Zen finished speaking, Maurice''s expression gradually turned gloomy. "Since you don''t intend to live in peace with us, what do you want?"


    The corner of Zen''s mouth slightly rose. "The ogres give up all their seats and get the hell out of the Tower of Sin!"


    As the words were coming out of his mouth one by one, Fabian, as well as the other humans present, had all been kept at the edge of their seats, holding their breaths. Esther, on the other hand, lowered her stance, preparing herself in case something happened, worrying that the ogre war lords might not be able to take it anymore and start a fight. And it wasn''t just Esther, but all the other war lords of the Demon Night obviously became apprehensive, with their hearts pounding uncontrollably.


    The statement Zen had just made left everyone around him in shock. Ogres went there, genuinely intending to cooperate with humans, and yet there he was, asking all of them to leave the Tower of Sin. The audacity this brat had! How could this be happening?


    Through all of that, Maurice was still unyielding in his huge seat. And despite the grim look he had on his face, he still wasn''t showing any signs of being upset.

 Chapter 886 The Negotiation Broke Down (Part Two)

    Be that as it might, the top-level war lords of the ogres who had just been quietly standing behind Maurice couldn''t take the humiliation anymore. But the most infuriated one of them all was the second ranked ogre, Bradley. The immense rage he felt was written all over his face, and his majestic aura was spilling all over the place. He was prepared to make a move if need be.


    Aside from Bradley, the other top-level war lords were also heaving uncontrollably as they had their attention focused solely on Zen. They couldn''t wait to get their hands on him and devour him completely.


    Upon noticing that his companions were already raring to make the first move, Maurice waved his hand to dissuade them from doing so. Then, he went on and said in a rather subdued voice, "You want us to step out of the Tower of Sin. That is something we couldn''t possibly agree to. That is such an outrageous demand. You''re asking for too much. Choose something more reasonable."


    "Too much?" Upon hearing such an audacious statement, Zen couldn''t help himself from chuckling. "You wanted to have me killed. Wouldn''t you say that was too much? If I were not strong enough to defend myself, I can say for certain that I would have died hundreds of times by now. I have no intention of killing every single one of your kind. I only want you out of this tower. I wouldn''t really call that too much."


    Maurice was completely baffled by his crude remarks. Given that Zen had the nerve to say something like that, it would either be because he had so much faith in himself or because he was a stupid idiot who just wanted to run his mouth. It was clear that the latter had no chance of being true. From the way things looked, Zen was so confident that he could deal with the ogres with ease. To be


    ep breath.


    It wasn''t just the top-level war lords of the ogres who felt horrified, even the top-level war lords of the Demon Night and the human race visibly had fear embedded onto their faces.


    The control Zen had over the Tower of Sin was far beyond what anybody could''ve expected it to be.


    The strength Bradley had been endowed with was ranked fourth out of the 128 seat owners. He was only second to Esther of the Demon Night, Maurice of the ogres, and another top-level war lord.


    Taking into consideration the fact that Zen was capable of borrowing the power of the Tower of Sin to easily lay waste to Bradley, then, it should go without saying that he also held the power to annihilate every single creature inside the tower.


    Truth be told, even Esther and Maurice themselves wouldn''t be able to hold a candle to Zen.


    Mighty warriors wouldn''t just jump at the jaws of death. In spite of being certain that Zen wouldn''t lay a hand on her, Esther still looked so fretful, unsure of what could happen next.


    As for Fabian and Jarrod, their thoughts were all over the place. They had no idea how to explain what they were feeling after having witnessed all of that.

 Chapter 887 The Demon Night

    Zen''s gaze had been fixed on Maurice from start to finish. On the other hand, Maurice''s gaze hadn''t shifted away from Zen either.


    The Tower of Sin absorbed the brown-colored blood quickly until it left no trace at all.


    If no one moved Bradley''s body, then it would also be absorbed by the Tower of Sin within a day.


    It was this character of the Tower of Sin that enabled it to continuously operate. It never stopped absorbing external things to replenish its energy.


    This ability of the tower was very advantageous to the ogres before. They killed their opponents in the arena and absorbed their opponents'' Lucky Light. Then their opponents'' blood and bodies were absorbed by the Tower of Sin, therefore, refilling its energy. Moreover, the ogres were also using the Tower of Sin as a place to cultivate and improve themselves. That situation created the perfect co-existence between the two. It was perfect.


    It was in this same tower that the ogres had risen.


    However, things had changed dramatically. The power in the tower was now controlled by Zen.


    It was only then that Maurice understood how Zen had the right to determine everyone''s life and death inside that tower.


    Moreover, he also realized that they, the ogres, simply didn''t have the qualifications to negotiate.


    "Do you accept my conditions now?" It was Zen who broke the long silence.


    A bitter smile appeared on Maurice''s face. He had always thought that he was the master of the Tower of Sin. Even if Esther defeated him, he was the leader of the top ten top-level war lords of the ogres and was not afraid of the Demon Night at all.


    He felt that he managed his business in the Tower of Sin very well. Every time he returned to the two sacred places of the ogres, he would be rewarded with many things by the ogre warriors at the Soul Sea Realm.


    But then, facing Zen suddenly made him feel powerless. It was as if all the strength in his body had been sucked out as he stood before the young level one war general.


    This was indeed too unreasonable. Zen had only been in the Tower of Sin for a few months. More so, he had only climbed onto the tenth floor. Just what basis did he have?


    However, the young lad had the power of the Tower of Sin and it was that same power that wasn''t allowing him to resist.


    Maurice knew the consequences that he would face if the ogres were to be expelled from the Tower of Sin. Regardless of how much the powerful warriors at Soul Sea Realm valued him, he would encounter the wrath of all the ogres once they were pushed out of the tower.


    It was very likely for him to become the sinner of the ages and be despised by the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place.


    But what could he do? How could he resist?


    Maurice''s strength might be slightly stronger than Bradley''s, but the two of them were both top-level war lords. Maurice was number two while Bradley was number four among the 128 seat owners. The difference in their strength wasn''t that great.


    They coul


    had in his hand. He didn''t have anything else to threaten Zen with.


    A faint smile cracked Zen''s lips. "I believe you''ve already investigated me. Since I''m not from the Sea God Continent, what does the existence of the Purple Heart Sacred Place have to do with me? Besides..."


    "Besides what?" Maurice asked.


    "Do you really think that the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Flaming Ogre Sacred Place can make a move against the Purple Heart Sacred Place?" Zen continued to ask with a smile.


    "Why not?" Maurice''s eyes flashed. He suddenly realized that he seemed to have forgotten something.


    That was when a red light flickered as Lavender''s figure appeared once again next to Zen. The top-level war lords of the Demon Night immediately knelt on the ground upon seeing her.


    Even Esther knelt before Lavender and said, "Greetings, my queen!"


    Zen smiled at Lavender and then told Maurice, "You''ve forgotten about the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place."


    The Sea God Continent had fourteen great races. These races all had their sacred places.


    However, not all those sacred places were strong. For example, the humans'' Purple Heart Sacred Place was considered a sixth-grade sacred place because of the existence of several warriors at the Soul Sea Realm. Two thousand years ago, the human race didn''t even have their sacred place. There was only Purple Heart Sect.


    The humans'' sacred place was considered the weakest among all the sacred places.


    However, the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place were considered the peak of the sixth grade sacred places. Combining the two sacred places would enable the ogres to have a seventh grade sacred place.


    Nowadays, there was only one seventh grade sacred place on the Sea God Continent, which was the Heavenly Father Sacred Place. And the reason why the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place could be promoted to the seventh grade was because of Amber''s existence.


    Amber had also promised that she would give her all to help Zen.

 Chapter 888 The Game Of War (Part One)

    Lavender, as the queen of the Demon Night, exuded an air of superiority in front of anyone!


    Even the war sages, or the Soul Sea Realm masters would have felt that they were a cut below her, if they were to face her powerful aura, not to even mention the top-level war lords in the Tower of Sin.


    However, when only Zen was with her, she would drop her airs and become much more casual in her manner.


    For example, over the past few days while Zen had been cultivating in the practice room, she would come forth from his body and walk around. She would even nag about certain things around Zen¡­


    She was greatly different from how she had been before. This kind of contrast surprised Zen tremendously. Occasionally, she would even mutter a few curses, leaving him even more speechless.


    At hearing Zen''s ultimatum and seeing him summon his sword spirit, Maurice''s face had darkened completely.


    Maurice wasn''t an idiot. How could he forget the existence of the prominent Heavenly Feather Sacred Place on this continent?


    However, would the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place truly stand up and aid the Purple Heart Sacred Place because of this so-called ''queen''? Maurice could not help feeling doubtful about this.


    It seemed that the top-level war lords of the Demon Night did have a great respect for their ''queen''. However, if a war really broke out among the many grand sacred places, he assumed that the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place would not necessary desire to become involved.


    If Maurice had traveled with Zen on his last visit to the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place, he would have known that the Demon Night''s great loyalty to their queen was indeed true.


    To the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place, Lavender was like a spiritual totem. Even if she were to order the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place to attack the Flamin


    ment upon returning to the ogres'' sacred place.


    However, what Zen had suggested about the one-month grace period meant that Maurice didn''t have to take much responsibility for what would happen.


    After all, if the decision were shifted and became the responsibility of the two sacred places, it was no longer Maurice who would have to decide whether or not the ogres could stay in the Tower of Sin, but rather the powerful Soul Sea Realm masters in the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place.


    Thinking of this, Maurice was much relieved.


    "Oh, now I understand it." He then stood up and ordered the ogres beside him, "Remove Bradley''s corpse immediately. Today''s negotiations will end here!"


    Maurice then prepared to leave the hall. But after taking a few steps, he turned his head to Zen and gruffly said, "Thank you."


    Many warriors in the hall felt it strange that Maurice would say thanks to Zen. Only the few intelligent ones, like Lavender and Esther, got it, while all the others were all dumb struck.


    Zen had killed Maurice''s comrade and just forced him to possibly take all of the ogres out of the Tower of Sin. So why would Maurice have felt grateful to Zen after all this?

 Chapter 889 The Game Of War (Part Two)

    Zen smiled and shrugged. "You don''t need to thank me. We''re in different positions."


    After the ogres had left, Fabian said to Zen in a low voice, "Zen, will the Demon Night really aid our Purple Heart Sacred Place?"


    "Let''s wait and see. Besides, if the Demon Night doesn''t help, I can choose not to drive the ogres out of the Tower of Sin," Zen said with a smile.


    Zen''s words made Fabian extremely uneasy. No matter what, he had to send this news to the Purple Heart Sacred Place as soon as possible, so that they could prepare in advance!


    On the Sea God Continent, an intense game of war now raged around the Tower of Sin.


    Even though the Sea God Continent was an extremely chaotic place, the past ten years had been a peaceful time. Except for the constant expansion of both the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place in their territories, the other races were all relatively stable and peaceful.


    In the face of the growing oppression by the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place, the other races had been forced to keep their resentments to themselves. Whether it was in the Tower of Sin or on the Sea God Continent, the many races could only suffer the expansion of the ogres in silence and tolerate them bitterly.


    Recently, there were new movements from the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place. The two sacred places had actually declared an open war on the Purple Heart Sacred Place!


    This unprecedented breaking news shocked trillions of creatures on the Sea God Continent.


    The sacred place of the Giants stood between the sacred places of the ogres and the human''s Purple Heart Sacred Place. Normally, when an open war was declared among sacred places, such a war would mean that one side was going to completely wipe out the other.


    Howeve


    Zen had given the ogres to weigh and consider, the Tower of Sin continued as was usual, immersed in slaughter and plunder. It had been like this for countless decades.


    However, the three races of the Sea God Continent were repeatedly playing the game to test the waters.


    The Purple Heart Sacred Place was now on high alert. Many of the powerful Soul Sea Realm masters leading the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place had marched towards the Purple Heart Sacred Place.


    But at the same time, from the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place, Amber had led a large number of their elite warriors and they landed beside the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place.


    The intention of the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place was very clear: if the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place attacked the Purple Heart Sacred Place, then the two ogre sacred places would also be razed to the ground by the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place!


    Although the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place would suffer heavy losses itself if it was attacked by the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place, they couldn''t defy the order given by Lavender, and now wasn''t the time to consider what price they had to pay.

 Chapter 890 The Situation (Part One)

    The Purple Heart Sacred Place sprouted from the Purple Heart Sect.


    As for the words ''Purple Heart'', it was derived from the name of a spring water in the Sun Mountain. Its name was Purple Heart Spring.


    As this incomparably clean spring water flowed through the Sun Mountain, it would fuse with a very special type of mineral resource that was unique to the area. As a result of that, the spring water would have a distinctive purple glow. It was said that anyone who drank the water from the Purple Heart Spring would live healthily and strongly their whole life and would not get sick, even once.


    At that time, the Purple Heart Sect was also a small second-grade sect. However, under the pressure from the other races, the Purple Heart Sect had been forced to continuously merge with other human sects, until they finally grew into a larger sect, effectively becoming the most important refuge for humans.


    The Purple Heart Spring had now become the sacred spring water of the Purple Heart Sacred Place. Although this spring water didn''t have much effect on warriors, the numerous humans of the Purple Heart Sacred Place were still honored and proud to be able to drink from the Purple Heart Spring!


    Three human men stood beside the Purple Heart Spring.


    One of the three men wore a purple crown, and he looked very handsome and attractive. No one could tell how high his cultivation base was. His name was Miguel Situ, and he was the current leader of the Purple Heart Sacred Place. He had already reached the Soul Sea Realm.


    The other two were elderly men. Although they looked weathered and old, their eyes were sharp like lightning and they looked energetic.


    These two old men were also the masters of the Soul Sea Realm. They had a long lifespan¡ªsome warriors of the Soul Sea Realm who had lived for a long time c


    uter perimeter of the Purple Heart Sacred Place, they hadn''t taken any other action. The ogres had not dared to take a step closer to the Purple Heart Sacred Place, mainly because Amber was bringing her warriors into the range of the two ogre sacred places.


    Despite Miguel Situ not being worried, the humans of the Purple Heart Sacred Place were still worried.


    Majority of those people were still unwilling to tie their fate to Zen who was just a first-level war general!


    The warriors with the lowest ranks in the Purple Heart Sacred Place and even some strong war sages couldn''t trust Zen!


    This was considering that Miguel Situ had already spread the news of what had happened in the Tower of Sin. When people heard of that, instead of being comforted and excited for the future of human race, many chose not to believe it and called Zen a fraud. Many war lords and war sages even began evacuating their families away from the Purple Heart Sacred Place!


    That made Miguel Situ very upset, but there wasn''t much that he could do. He couldn''t enter the Cursed Land, and it was even more impossible for him to go against an ogre master of the Soul Sea Realm. The only thing he could do at that time was to wait.

 Chapter 891 The Situation (Part Two)

    As long as they survived a whole month, they would be able to see the results!


    If it would be just what Fabian had said, the moment Zen successfully expelled all the ogres, the humans would not just get five seats in the Tower of Sin¡ªthey could gain all the other seats abandoned by the ogres! And even if Zen decided to give some seats to the Demon Night, the humans would be able to keep at least a dozen seats.


    In this way, the humans would grow very powerful and prominent within a very short time. They would even become the second most powerful force in the Tower of Sin!


    The Tower of Sin was a mini version of the Sea God Continent. The strength of the various races in the Tower of Sin was a replica of the powers that existed in the Sea God Continent!


    If humans would be able to occupy so many seats and the number of human masters would only continue to grow larger and larger, before long, the Purple Heart Sacred Place would also become very strong and influential. By then, humans would truly rise to prominence in the Sea God Continent.


    And Miguel Situ was still very young. As long as he didn''t die anytime soon, he would be able to witness this resurgence in person! Under his leadership!


    If this happened, and if the human race and the Purple Heart Sacred Place truly prospered, Miguel Situ would surely be happy.


    "No matter what, we have to face what''s coming and try our best to fight the ogres!"


    "Well, I think it would be best if Zen comes to the Purple Heart Sacred Place..."


    The two elders continued to come up with ideas.


    Suddenly, a bitter smile appeared on Miguel''s lips. "It is hard to invite that guy to come here. I''ve already told Fabian to invite him twice, but he just won''t come! If all of us can get through this month, I hope that he can make a trip to the Pur


    y needed to bring her warriors there and observe. If the ogres wouldn''t attack the Purple Heart Sacred Place, then Amber wouldn''t act against the two ogre sacred places.


    Over two hundred years ago, Amber entered the Tower of Sin. At that time, she had accumulated a lot of enmity with the ogres, and the ogres were always against her.


    Amber had always wanted to find a chance to destroy the ogres. Unfortunately, no such opportunity had ever presented itself to her. Although the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place was a seventh-grade sacred place, if Amber forcefully fought against and destroyed the two ogre sacred places, the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place would also suffer huge losses. By then, the other races might take the chance to attack the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place.


    However, right now, Amber realized that Zen''s appearance had created the perfect opportunity for her to weaken the ogres without sacrificing a single soldier. What was better was she could even see the ogres slowly die out.


    Even if Lavender did not give this order, Amber would still choose to make a move¡ªthis move. She was not particularly friends with the humans, but in her eyes, the enemy of her enemy was her friend!

 Chapter 892 A Delicate Situation (Part One)

    The present situation on the Sea God Continent was extremely delicate. So much so that even the Tower of Sin was in a state of utter chaos, and the warriors were panicking hard.


    Since the Cursed Land was filled with all sorts of races, the tower situated there was almost like a mini version of the Sea God Continent itself. In fact, the information one acquired from the Cursed Land was even more valuable and important. Some people even earned their bread and butter by collecting information from the tower and selling it.


    Now, since the humans and the ogres had declared war on each other, the entire Sea God Continent looked like it had been hit by a massive typhoon. The Cursed Land itself seemed to be located in the center of that storm, and the Tower of Sin was the very eye of this cyclone.


    Zen, who was inside the tower at this delicate moment, was very calm. In fact, he wasn''t paying much attention to the events occurring outside the tower.


    However, there was still one small problem that he was facing right now. He couldn''t stay on the tenth floor anymore.


    The Lucky Light he had accumulated from his numerous battles over the last few days had caused Zen to advance to a second-level war general. His strength was already tremendous and it had increased now.


    The Tower of Sin really was a mysterious place. The pace at which he had advanced through the numerous cultivation levels was several times faster when done by utilizing the Lucky Light.


    This was also the reason why all the races on the Sea God Continent placed so much importance on the Tower of Sin. As long as their warriors were strong enough, they could advance continuously in the Tower of Sin, and at the same time, get sufficient training and practice through battles.


    At Zen''s current training and advancement speed, perhaps it wasn''t going to be long before he became a war lord.


    And ever since he had def


    re not going to go easy on them.


    And if Zen refused to budge, every single ogre member would have to leave the Tower of Sin, including all of their war lords who were at the top level!


    The moment Zen stepped onto the eleventh floor of the Tower of Sin, two level three war lords from the ogre race walked up to him.


    "You''re Zen, right? You''ve finally reached the eleventh floor! Are you interested in competing in the arena right now?"


    "You''re just a second-level war general. And you are daring enough to climb up to the eleventh floor. You''re really so reckless!"


    The two ogre war lords tried to provoke Zen into a fight.


    In fact, the ogres already understood clearly that they were unable to defeat Zen in the Tower of Sin. Even Bradley, the fourth strongest war lord among all, had been instantly killed by Zen. How could the warriors from any other races be a match for him!


    This meant that there was only one way left for the ogres now, and that was to kill Zen on the arena.


    That was just the way ogres were. Even though they weren''t strong enough to stand up against Zen, they were still willing to fight him to the death. In addition to Boris, there were lots of other tenth-level ogre war generals on the tenth floor of the Tower of Sin too.

 Chapter 893 A Delicate Situation (Part Two)

    After Zen and Maurice''s negotiations, many of the tenth-level war generals had volunteered to kill Zen on the arena. However, they had stopped trying to do that in the end.


    Zen was a bit puzzled at first. Considering the nature of the ogres, it was highly improbable that they could refrain from challenging him on the arena. Since they were unable to kill him outside in the safe zone, it was a pretty safe bet that this impetuous race would try to deal with him legally.


    In any case, he managed to land a default victory for the next several days and had no choice but to advance to the next floor.


    However, when he saw these two ogre war lords, Zen understood that everyone on the tenth floor understood that it was very difficult for them to kill him, so they decided not to challenge him here and force him to advance so that more powerful warriors could deal with him on the arena.


    There were fewer war generals on the eleventh floor and above. The vast majority of divine-level talents would stay on the tenth floor. Even if they had the qualifications to enter the eleventh floor, they still preferred to stay on since it allowed them to procure adequate amounts of Lucky Light and training. Only after breaking through and becoming powerful war lords, did they choose to enter the eleventh floor.


    Even if Boris and Cheryl had the ability to fight against level one and level two war lords, they still chose to stay on the tenth floor and continuously absorb Lucky Light. They were bound to break through on the tenth floor eventually and then they would advance to the next floor.


    Zen had no choice but to go up to the eleventh floor. In such a situation, the ogre war lords on the eleventh floor could now challenge Zen a


    luential and has the highest position in the tower has the right to make the rules for the tower. That is the foundation of the Tower of Sin! The Tower of Sin has operated according to this foundation for the past hundreds of years. Isn''t that why when the ogres occupied the whole Tower of Sin, no one dared to question or challenge them?"


    As the crowd continued with their discussions, Zen walked into the arena and pointed at the two ogre war lords. "There are still fifteen days left for the ogres. In these fifteen days, I will also give you the opportunity to challenge me!"


    "I''m going to kill him!" The ogre war lord who had gotten up from the ground had a furious expression on his face. As he finished speaking, he rushed towards the arena.


    For the ogres, there were only two options left. They could either attack and destroy the Purple Heart Sacred Place within the next fifteen days or kill Zen inside the Tower of Sin.


    Otherwise, it was inevitable that all the ogres got expelled from the Tower of Sin. This was going to be the greatest disgrace and humiliation they would face ever since the establishment of the two ogre sacred places.

 Chapter 894 Lavenders Strength

    The ogre war lord leapt up and ruthlessly stepped on the arena. His immense strength caused the arena to cave in slightly, but the arena quickly recovered and returned to its normal state.


    Suddenly, red lights flashed around Zen and Lavender''s figure appeared beside him. Stretching out her hand, she said to him, "Give it to me."


    "Give you what now? What do you mean?" Ever since Lavender recovered her consciousness, she had often jumped into situations on her own volition.


    "The spear!" Lavender answered, though her tone was indifferent.


    "What for?" Zen asked again.


    "Let me fight for you this time," said Lavender quietly, a wry smile gracing her lips.


    Perhaps she came up with such a proposal because she had stayed inside Zen''s body for a long time.


    Zen remembered the day Lavender wielded a spear at the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place in such an impressive manner. It was a sight to behold, and truly, he wanted to see it again. With a smile on his face, he tapped his space ring with his finger, and a long spear flew towards Lavender.


    Lavender expertly caught the long spear with one hand, and her aura suddenly changed. A burst of strong malicious aura escaped from her eyes.


    "What? Why the sudden substitution?"


    "She''s the Queen of Demon Night. You should feel greatly honored to see her fighting!"


    "That''s Zen''s sword spirit. It could be Zen''s substitute during the battle. It''s quite common to see that. However, it''s a strange thing to know that a substitute has its own consciousness."


    On the arena, eyes of the ogre war lord glistened. At that moment, he couldn''t care about anyone or anything else. Only Zen mattered to him. Even if he had to sacrifice his own life, he must kill Zen. The moment Zen was declared dead, he, the ogre war lord, would be considered a hero of the ogre race.


    In the two ogre sacred places, extreme heroism was extremely adored, and for the people there, dying on the battlefield would be a great honor.


    Being brought up like that, the ogre war lord didn''t care about the sword spirit, nor did he care if Zen was going to fight. His only goal was to kill Zen on the arena, and he was going to do that no matter what it took.


    With a deep breath, the ogre war lord let his forceful energy flow to his legs. The energy exploded, and it made him look like a fierce monster. All of a sudden, he broke out into a run, heading towards Zen and bypassing Lavender.


    But before the ogre war lord was able to get any closer to Zen, Lavender said, her tone once again indifferent, "I am your opponent, you ogre." Silent and graceful, Lavender lifted her spear and pointed it at the running ogre war lord.


    "Fuck off!" the ogre shouted, his gaze firm on Zen. As he rushed forward, he blocked Lavender''s spear attack with his saber. Successful in doing so, he ran faster towards Zen, his eyes filled with murderous rage.


    At that moment, Zen was standing in the corner of the fighting arena, his arms down and an indifferent expression on his face. Faced with the ogre war lord, he showed not o


    Zen, and thus ignored the existence of Lavender and her threat. As a result, Lavender finished him off easily.


    However, her second opponent seemed to be smarter and more cautious. He would still sacrifice his life to kill Zen and save his people, but he would never die without a fight. After what happened to the first one, he knew that he would be penetrated by Lavender''s spear before he could even come anywhere near Zen. He even had no chance of putting up a desperate fight.


    So he had to kill this woman before he could do anything else.


    Unfortunately, this ogre war lord did not accurately assess Lavender''s strength. There was a special ''force'' hidden inside Lavender''s spear, which even Zen couldn''t comprehend. Each and every spear attack could create a unique wave of energy, which terrified Zen, as well as the No. 1 genius of Heavenly Feather Sacred Place, Amber.


    Sometimes, Zen felt that this shapeless wave was similar to the weapon spirit inside the Tower of Sin since the weapon spirit''s power directly came from the tower''s previous owner. Could it be possible that Lavender was somehow related to the previous owner of the Tower of Sin?


    He might have to ask her when they had free time.


    Any person with common sense knew that this ogre war lord was no match for Lavender. He would never find a way to deal with Lavender''s spear skills.


    With just ten spear strikes, the ogre''s weapon was broken to small fragments the size of a grain of rice. At last, Lavender''s spear penetrated the ogre''s throat.


    After the ogre war lord''s limp, dead body fell to the ground, a white stream of light shot towards Zen''s chest.


    The Lucky Light of these two ogre war lords amounted to that of ten war generals. Zen was right about ascending the eleventh floor.


    It took Lavender less than ten minutes to kill two ogre war lords.


    Other ogre war lords who had decided to ascend to the arena to try to kill Zen felt both desperate and discouraged. If they couldn''t defeat Lavender first, how could they confront Zen?

 Chapter 895 Making Some New Rules

    On the topmost floor of the Tower of Sin, the many ogre top-level war lords had gathered in the No. 2 space, all wearing depressed looks on their faces.


    Although many of the ogre war lords were still lining up to challenge Zen on the eleventh floor, they clearly knew in their hearts that it was simply a futile struggle.


    Back when Zen had been a mere war general, he had already been able to easily defeat Boris. Now that Zen had become a second level war general, he was no longer afraid of facing ordinary war lords.


    The most important thing was that Zen was not a fool.


    So what if they managed to defeat him in the arena? He could still use the power of the Tower of Sin to kill anyone he wanted¡­


    Rules were nothing in the eyes of those who held power. They were only used to control weak warriors.


    Did they honestly expect Zen to obey their rules? That was impossible!


    These top-level war lords were also well aware of this.


    Many of the ogre war lords had already realized that their days were numbered in the Tower of Sin, and many of the top-level war lords had started to clean up their mess and prepared to return home.


    "We still have one last chance," Maurice suddenly said. "Who''s willing to stay?"


    "Do you mean to continue fighting desperately against Zen?" a top-level war lord asked in a disgruntled tone.


    Maurice stared coldly at the top-level war lord who had asked this. Sometimes, the brains of his comrades were addled.


    Another top-level war lord said, "Yes, there is indeed a final chance!"


    Maurice laughed heartily. "Moreover, there is a good chance of winning."


    More and more war lords came to realize what they were talking about, and their eyes flashed with rekindled hope.


    Yes, in less than half a month, Zen would begin to drive the many ogres out from the Tower of Sin.


    In the past, they had hid two war sages in the secret passageway below the Tower of Sin, and while hiding in that place, they could easily avoid the Dark Nether Death Light.


    When the Dark Nether Death Light in the Dark Nether Cave had weakened, it was highly likely that Zen would enter the Dark Nether Cave to explore. Even if he didn''t go there this year, he would go next year as well. Or if it was not next year, he would certainly go the year after that!


    The life span of a top-level war lord was very long and they didn''t mind waiting for a few years!


    Furthermore, they could still continue to cultivate in the secret passageway!


    There were many top-level war lords present, such as Maurice and certain others, who had been suppressing their cultivation levels to prevent themselves from breaking through to become war sages and then being killed by the spell of the Cursed Land.


    If they chose to hide away in the secret passageway, and cultivate until they could break through and become war sages, then they could wait for Zen to enter the Dark Nether Cave and kill him.


    Zen was undeniably a talent, and the strength which he had unleashed was very powerful. However, he was only powerful when compared to the ordinary war lords. For these top-level war lords, he was still nothing of importance. Moreover, it wouldn''t be long before these top-level war lords would bre


    er of Sin was indeed a wonderful place for cultivation. Zen was now a sixth level war general!


    According to the information he had received, the Dark Nether Death Light inside the Dark Nether Cave would weaken within three to four months.


    Therefore, Zen had plenty of time left to improve himself.


    To Zen''s knowledge, there was a period of time every year when the Dark Nether Death Light would weaken. However, this time was not fixed or predetermined. Sometimes it would be one month earlier, and sometimes it would even be one month later than expected.


    However, once it was activated in this period, the light would not inflict any damage in the first month.


    ''I am determined to retrieve that inheritance from inside the Dark Nether Cave! Then, I believe, it won''t be long before I can return to the Central Region¡­''


    As he thought of this, Zen''s eyes narrowed with pleasure. However, as he looked around, he suddenly saw Maurice, who was heading off into the distance, turn his head and give him a sinister smile.


    Zen''s heart tightened when he saw Maurice''s smile, and he frowned suspiciously.


    ''It would seem that the ogre race will not give up easily, '' Zen thought in his heart.


    Soon after, Zen began to sink. In a flash, his entire body had already been merged into the Tower of Sin.


    As the entire Tower of Sin was stuck upside down in the Cursed Land, Zen was actually standing on the first floor of the Tower of Sin. After his body had merged with the Tower of Sin, he continuously spiraled downward.


    He traveled through the first floor, the second floor¡­ the tenth floor, the fourteenth floor, and fifteenth floor...


    Soon, Zen arrived at the very top of the tower!


    Nothing else really mattered to him now. Default victory or qualifications to be promoted to the next level all became meaningless to Zen now.


    Even the ogres had already been driven out and banished by him. He no longer needed to care about the rules of the Tower of Sin.


    Standing in the center of the hall on the fifteenth floor, Zen suddenly said calmly, "All of the seat holders, please come forth! It''s time to make some new rules."

 Chapter 896 Redistribute The Seats

    Since the ogres had been expelled from the Tower of Sin, it was time to redistribute the seats.


    Previously, the ogres had occupied twenty-six seats, so how would these seats be allocated?


    Every race''s seat owners had their own plans in mind.


    At the same time, they also knew that Zen would distribute the twenty-six seats as he pleased.


    According to the current situation, Zen only had to take the Demon Night into consideration. After all, the Purple Heart Sacred Place was actually under the protection of the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place. If the Demon Night hadn''t protected the humans, the ogres would have wiped out the Purple Heart Sacred Place from the Sea God Continent.


    Although the Tower of Sin was important, a sacred place required decades, centuries, or even millennia of accumulation to truly rise in power.


    So, the seat owners of the other races estimated that out of the twenty-six seats, some of them would be allocated to the Demon Night while the rest would be allocated to the humans.


    Anyway, as long as Zen didn''t take away their seats, they would be thankful to him.


    The top-level war lords slowly gathered in the round hall and looked at Zen with a complex expression in their eyes. Each of them had their own thoughts.


    Who would have thought that the person who would reformulate the rules would be a human war general?


    Back then, in order to get a seat, every race had to go all out, even at the cost of their lives. However, the human war general had driven the ogres out of the Tower of Sin and obtained twenty-six seats in one go.


    Many of the top-level war lords admired Zen very much. What he had done was beyond their expectations.


    On top of that, Zen, with his current abilities, could expel all the races from the tower, including the Demon Night.


    Of course, he wouldn''t do that.


    There wasn''t much benefit for him in chasing the other races out of the Tower of Sin. Besides, although the Tower of Sin was important, the development of the sacred places was more important. With the skin gone, what can the hair attach itself to? Everyone took the Tower of Sin seriously because it was important for the development of their own race''s sacred place.


    If Zen turned the human race against all the other races, then the other sacred places would join forces to wipe out the Purple Heart Sacred Place.


    Zen had also considered the rules of the Tower of Sin.


    In fact, after so many years of evolution, the current set of rules wasn''t bad. Any creature that entered the Tower of Sin had to constantly tiptoe around the edge of life and death. Only the true elites could climb up the floors one after another.


    Powerful warriors could obtain more resources, Lucky Light, and points. The weaker ones would be eliminated and might even become nutrients of the Tower of Sin.


    The Tower of Sin was just a microcosm


    all of them were given to the human race, then the human race would have thirty seats, which would be more than enough.


    "Is there anyone who objects?" Zen asked.


    The other top-level war lords stayed silent as they knew that it would be useless to say anything. Moreover, what Zen had said made sense. Now, the Demon Night and the human race combined would have almost fifty seats, so the remaining seventy-odd seats would be allocated to the other races.


    The situation was similar to when the ogres had been present.


    At that time, the other races had been worried about the continued expansion of the power of the ogres and the Demon Night. It had been obvious that the Demon Night and the ogres would keep obtaining more and more seats while the seats of the other races decreased. In the end, all the seats would have fallen into the hands of the ogres and the Demon Night.


    Now, Zen''s new rule would put a stop to the expansion of the Demon Night because the number of seats held by the humans and the Demon Night would always remain the same. This wasn''t a bad thing for the other races.


    "No objections."


    "I have no objections either." The other races all nodded.


    Of course, Zen wasn''t asking for their consent at all.


    Out of the twenty-six seats of the ogres, Zen allocated eight to the Demon Night. As a result, the Demon Night now had twenty-four seats while the humans had twenty-two seats, becoming the second strongest power in the Tower of Sin.


    As for how Esther and Fabian planned to allocate these seats, Zen didn''t see any need to interfere in it.


    Esther was quite calm. Although having eight extra seats was a good thing for the Demon Night, it wasn''t enough to make her feel excited.


    However, it was a different story for the four human seat owners. Fabian and Jarrod seemed to be on cloud nine as they had suddenly gained eighteen seats. How would they distribute them?

 Chapter 897 Purple Heart Sacred Place

    The majority of the top-level war lords were found to be on the fourteenth floor of the Tower of Sin.


    Among these war lords, only the most outstanding ones could enter the fifteenth floor. They must compete with each other and the ones who won could obtain a seat. And each seat owner had an independent space on the fifteenth floor, and that was equivalent to a small world.


    But the big problem was that there were only fourteen of them, even if all the top-level war lords of the human race were counted together, including Fabian, Jarrod, and two other seat owners.


    Fabian was knocked unconscious by this sudden bliss. They were almost there but worry filled him at that moment as there weren''t so many top-level war lords to be seat owners.


    After contemplating about it, he then decided to ask for Zen''s opinion secretly with the use of his life vitality.


    The solution Zen came up with was a simple and straightforward one. He advised that if the top-level war lords weren''t enough, then Fabian must consider the level nine war lords as possible seat owners. Supposed they still couldn''t suffice, then level eight war lords would do.


    In the end, however, the seats were eventually given to top-level war lords. Fabian wouldn''t let level nine or level eight war lords be seat owners. He had still managed somehow to get several top-level war lords from the Purple Heart Sacred Place to take the seats. After all, in the vast sacred place, the number of top-level war lords was still not few.


    After dealing with this matter, Zen finally made a trip to the Purple Heart Sacred Place under Fabian''s invitation.


    He felt glad to accept such an invitation. He had never entered the Purple Heart Sacred Place before, even though he was human.


    But never did it occur to him that his fame in the Purple Heart Sacred Place was enough to make everyone know him!


    The elders of the Purple Heart Sacred Place had long started to publicize him the moment he made his debut in the Tower of Sin.


    At that time, Zen was a formidable war fighter. He had even defeated war generals of the other races. Humans could finally hold their heads high.


    The elders of the Purple Heart Sacred Place had confidently told the tens of millions of human warriors in the sacred place that Zen''s appearance would likely bring them a new seat.


    One more seat would give the humans more right to speak, as well as five more licenses to the Dark Nether Cave. It purely brought humans hope!


    So everyone''s attention was focused on Zen. His impressive performance was like soaring into the sky. He was like a breeze air that could revive the tiny dot of hope from anyone''s heart. And with his strength alone, he had taken control of the entire Tower of Sin in no time! Thus it was no longer a question of one more seat.


    Zen''s performance had greatly exceeded everyone''s expectations!


    The attacks from the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place, however, made some people within the Purple Heart Sacred Place feel disheartened and start to question and distrust Zen. But their emotions quickly stabilized after the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place took humans'' side.


    And now, Zen had successfully chased away all of the ogres within the Tower of Sin. This nightmare


    heir words, she felt her face heated immediately. Miguel and the others could only smile when these words reached their ears. In their eyes, marriage was about fate.


    Among these young talents, there was a 14-year-old child. As he intently watched Zen fly by, his red face flickered with a strange luster. He remained silent, but at this moment, his warrior spirit was constantly gathering an intense obsession. There was a grim determination raging within him.


    ''In the future, I will definitely become someone like Zen!'' he screamed in his mind.


    In fact, after a few years, he did it. He became the second person in the Tower of Sin to be recognized by the Celestial Position race. This was because he had the same fate as Zen. But this was also another story.


    Soon after, Zen was entering the main palace. He was treated rightfully as a distinguished guest. All the humans regarded him with respect and admiration.


    It was already a distinction and an honor to be entertained like this by warriors at the Soul Sea Realm. However, this was not the first time Zen had experienced it. The situation in the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place was even more outrageous than this.


    After fully settling themselves, Miguel and Zen began to discuss the matters of the Tower of Sin.


    Miguel wasn''t picky about Zen''s arrangements at all. With the permanent seats secured, the human race didn''t need to worry about losing control of the Tower of Sin. Not to mention that Zen had even dragged the Demon Night into this.


    "Zen, I guess you are planning to leave the Sea God Continent, aren''t you?" Miguel asked.


    It was not hard to guess. As long as Zen stayed in the Tower of Sin for one day, no one in the tower would be able to resist him. His arrangement, however, was created obviously to prevent the decline of the human race once he left the Tower of Sin. He had further linked the human race with the Demon Night. With that, humans would be much safer.


    "That is indeed the case," Zen nodded and openly admitted it. "I am afraid that I will have to leave after exploring the Dark Nether Cave. Therefore, I have come here to ask you about the secrets of the Dark Nether Cave! "

 Chapter 898 The Core

    Even if he had already predicted Zen''s choice of leaving, Miguel still couldn''t help but show his disappointment when he heard it come straight from him.


    In Miguel''s mind, if Zen could stay, he knew he would do greater things and achieve far greater heights than even Amber of the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place could had dreamed of.


    One could regard Amber as a savior. Two hundred years ago, the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place was far from the powerful stronghold it was today. Back then, the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place dominated the entire Sea God Continent and no other race dared to go up against them.


    There had also been a relatively large race called the Shadow Group which had its own sixth-grade sacred place on the Sea God Continent and was ranked fourth out of the overall races. However, due to a dispute with the ogres, the Shadow Group was quickly annihilated. Such was the power of the ogres back then.


    Later Amber had appeared like a dark horse and led the Demon Night race towards the peak, turning their whole situation around. Now, the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place had become a force no weaker than both the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place.


    Amber''s name was ranked on the second row on the Talent Tablet, but Zen''s name was even above the first row and had attained the special honor of being the Celestial Position talent. He was also someone who could control the Tower of Sin!


    Miguel was undoubtedly confident that Zen''s potential and future achievements would be immeasurable. He just found it a pity that such a talent like Zen did not come from the Purple Heart Sacred Place. Regardless, with the world at Zen''s feet, Miguel knew there was no way he could force the youth to stay.


    "Dark Nether Cave?"


    Miguel asked. "You plan to enter the Dark Nether Cave this year?"


    Zen nodded. "Yes."


    Miguel fiddled with his hands. "Wouldn''t it be a little bit of a rush? Though every race has seats and could send some of their warriors to enter the Dark Nether Cave, most warriors would choose to first attain the level of war lord before going in. There were some races who sent in their war generals to enrich themselves but these war generals could only reach the outer circle and no further. The deeper one ventures into the Dark Nether Cave, the higher the chances of dying!" he said.


    Every talent that had gone through the cultivation in the Tower of Sin entered the Dark Nether Cave at some point. In fact, Miguel''s entry to the cave was what changed his life.


    Although he was a divine-level talent, Miguel''s name had only remained on the seventh row on the Talent Tablet which wasn''t really an extraordinary feat. However, despite being ranked low on the talent test, he had risked his life to enter the Dark Nether Cave and brought back a Limitless Sword Array that turned his luck around. Even now, as a powerful master of the Soul Sea Realm, this Limitless Sword Array he had obtained years ago remained his most important trump card!


    However, Mi


    ?"


    "Yes!"


    Miguel replied with a faint smile.


    "Well¡­ what happened to them?" Zen asked.


    Miguel laughed, "None of them ever came back. They''re as good as dead at this point."


    The Dark Nether Cave''s core was shrouded with a dense fog. If one stood at the edge of the cave, he''d be able to see the fog and within it, a flickering, bloody light.


    No one knew what was inside.


    "The core?" Zen asked, a wry smile appearing on his face.


    The immortal Mist should really have told him more. Zen wondered what held Mist back from telling everything clearly to Zen. Instead, he only gave Zen a Jade Butterfly. He didn''t even say a word about the inheritance¡­


    Then, if Zen entered the Dark Nether Cave, should he search for the inheritance in the outer circle? Maybe he should enter the inner circle? Or was he supposed to venture into the core where he could possibly never return?


    Miguel clearly saw the smile on Zen''s face, "Are you planning on entering the core?"


    he asked before wearing an expression of extreme seriousness. "If you really plan on doing this, then I''ll give you a word of advice: you better give up on that idea!"


    Zen shook his head, "I will definitely enter the Dark Nether Cave. As for the core¡­


    I have not decided if I need to go there or not."


    Seeing that his resolve wasn''t dampened, Miguel could only warn Zen, "I remember one year when all the races in the Tower of Sin allied themselves with each other. They gathered 76 top-level war lords to explore the Dark Nether Cave''s core together. None of them ever returned."


    "Seventy-six top-level war lords?"


    Zen remarked in surprise.


    Miguel nodded, "Yes. They were the most outstanding war lords in each race. Although I know you are someone equipped with great destiny, the core isn''t a place one can enter by simply relying on luck. Even if I were to enter the core now, I would have no possibility of returning from there, let alone you!"


    A bitter taste rose from Zen''s throat. Miguel''s words were truly hard to swallow.

 Chapter 899 Preparation

    Collecting as much information as he could, Zen had already prepared himself for the dangers of the Dark Nether Cave.


    However, upon hearing what the master of Soul Sea Realm said, Zen was more sure that the Dark Nether Cave was an extremely dangerous place.


    About seventy top-level war lords had joined forces to explore this place, but in the end, all of them had perished. What was hiding in the core area of the Dark Nether Cave?


    ''Mist knew very well that it is extremely difficult and dangerous to explore the Dark Nether Cave, yet he sent me here. Is this one of his tricks?''


    Zen thought to himself. However, nothing stopped him.


    The chance to enter the cave was immensely tempting for other creatures, too, but it was of utmost importance for Zen. It was an opportunity he might not get again. He had no intention of missing it.


    Despite a hint of bitterness in his smile, Miguel believed in Zen. He also knew it was useless to prevent him from getting inside such a dangerous place.


    That particular trip to the human sacred place was more symbolic than literal.


    Led by Olivia, Zen attracted enough attention and gained applause wherever they passed by.


    The younger generation of the Purple Heart Sacred Place seemed to have a great deal of interest in Zen.


    In the eyes of the younger generation, Zen was unbeatable. His unique way of taking over the Tower of Sin and his ability to drive the ogres away were achievements that no one else could surpass.


    The humans grew an intense curiosity towards Zen. How could someone so young have achieved so much for his unripe age?


    Although incomparable to the objects he got from the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place, Zen was glad to receive rewards from the Purple Heart Sacred Place members.


    The Heavenly Feather Sacred Place gave him a top-grade sacred long sword. Even if Amber had plans of giving that sacred weapon to Lavender, it was Zen that obtained it eventually. Everything had its rightful owner indeed.


    The treasures and resources of the human''s sacred place were less than that of the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place, but Zen perfectly understood the circumstances.


    Asking him to inform the Demon Night that the Purple Heart Sacred Place had intended to ally with the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place, Miguel sent Zen to the transmission array.


    Truly, Zen had driven the ogres away from the Tower of Sin, but how were they to deal with the two sacred places of the ogre?


    If the two ogre sacred places were to declare war on the Purple Heart Sacred Place again, the humans would have no way to resist without the interference of the Demon Night.


    Although races seldom got any benefit from the alliance between different races, Miguel, who knew the relationship between Zen and the Demon Night, still hoped that Zen would be able to help him with this matter. At the very least, humans would be able to obtain the pr


    pursue the growth of cultivation and just continued to practice.


    Despite staying on the tenth floor for such a long time, Yolande failed to increase her cultivation. She also didn''t climb to the higher floor of the tower.


    Seeing Zen''s surprised expression, Fabian was quick to explain, "Yolande has taken the initiative to apply for a spot to enter the cave, so I gave her the permission."


    Yolande was human after all. Despite this, her talent was ranked in the first row. Moreover, Yolande''s contributions to the humans over the years were substantial and significant. It was appropriate for her to get a chance to enter the cave.


    Yolande casually walked over to Zen. She stared at him and said, "I will go with you on this trip to the cave."


    The confusion enveloping Zen grew. Being in the Tower of Sin for so long, Yolande definitely had so many chances of entering the cave. But why now? Why did she choose to follow him?


    Before he had the chance to say anything, a beam of red light shot up from Zen''s body. It slowly began to take the shape of a Demon Night. That was no other than Zen''s sword spirit, Lavender.


    Lavender, as calm as ever, looked at Yolande and said, "Zen, don''t let her come with you."


    "This¡­ Why?" Keeping the good impression he had of Yolande, Zen felt strange. Since she chose to be on his side, he thought allowing Yolande to come with him wasn''t such a big deal.


    "You know what''s in the cave, right?" Lavender asked Yolande while walking over to where she was.


    Lavender''s words immediately attracted the attention of many top-level war lords in the hall. In their eyes, Yolande''s and Lavender''s origins were mystical. It was possible that they knew something not everyone else did.


    At that certain moment, everyone was all ears to the ongoing banter between the two mystical ladies before them. After all, the more they knew about the cave, the more their survival chance increased.

 Chapter 900 A Dangerous Place

    Yolande blinked innocently. She didn''t want to lie. "Yes, I know," she answered truthfully.


    "What? Yolande, you know about the Dark Nether Cave?"


    "What exactly is in the core region of the Dark Nether Cave?"


    "How did the Dark Nether Cave form?"


    The numerous top-level war lords couldn''t hold themselves back and subjected Yolande with a flood of questions.


    Yolande turned her head away stubbornly. "I won''t tell you."


    Her disobedience rendered the top-level war lords speechless. How capricious this girl was!


    Yolande had already been on the tenth floor when these top-level war lords were still generals, and there she remained. No one knew where she came from. She had just always been there.


    These top-level war lords dared not do anything to her.


    "Lavender, what on earth is going on?" Zen asked. "Why don''t you let Yolande follow me?"


    Lavender blinked. "I don''t know how the Dark Nether Cave came into being, but it should have been a battlefield left behind by the world lords who fought here," she said through her life vitality.


    "What did you say? World lords? Who are they?"


    Zen asked, obviously shocked by this new piece of information.


    "World lords are supreme warriors of different worlds. Numerous masters died here and, if I''m not mistaken, the Cursed Land was a domain once created by the Cursed World lord who moved about the universe freely," Lavender said.


    The cyan dragon, having been a silent spectator all this time, finally spoke, "Right. The Cursed Land is very likely to be the cursed domain."


    Zen frowned. "Why didn''t you say that earlier?"


    It seemed like both the cyan dragon and Lavender clearly knew about this.


    "You didn''t ask," the two answered in unison.


    Their answer rendered Zen speechless.


    "The lord of the Cursed World was an extremely famous figure in the Upper World. His Great Curse Technique could separate hundreds of great worlds apart and imprint curses onto them," the cyan dragon narrated in his usual emotionless voice.


    "But why is the cursed domain set up by him ineffective against any warrior below the war sage level?"


    Zen couldn''t help but ask in curiosity.


    "You are too weak and can''t possibly be considered a part of the Cursed World. Therefore, the Cursed Land only curses warriors above top-level war lords," Lavender replied in a cold tone.


    Lavender''s analysis was indeed correct. When two armies clashed and built walls, that was to defend themselves from the soldiers on the other side. No one would build walls to defend themselves from ants.


    To world lords, all warriors below the war sage level were mere insects and were not worth the trouble.


    It was because of this reason that the Sea God Continent had been plunged into


    it, right?"


    he guessed.


    Fabian, who had been walking in front of Zen, nodded. "Yes," he confirmed. "Once, there was someone who went around the outer layer of the Dark Nether Cave. He found that the shape of the cave is identical to that of the Cursed Land on the surface of the earth."


    "Is the tingling sensation caused by the Dark Nether Death Light?"


    Zen asked.


    The cave, though vast, was not pitch black. In fact, it was filled with some kind of ominous, dark red light. Zen blocked the light with his hand and the tingling sensations immediately disappeared, but the moment he moved his hand away, the tingles returned and had evolved into strong stabbing pains.


    "Yes," Fabian confirmed once again. "Right now, the Dark Nether Death Light is weak and will only bring the feeling of being pierced by numerous needles. However, once it reaches its explosive phase, the pain will be unbearable and no one will be able to resist it."


    Jarrod then interrupted their conversation, "Let''s quickly descend. As we fly in the Dark Nether Cave, it will be very easy to attract the attention of fierce demons."


    The Tower of Sin was like a sharp knife, stabbing straight through the ground.


    They had all come out of the top of the tower and were now about to descend into the cave.


    Jarrod had been right. The Dark Nether Cave was not the place for idle chit-chat. Once upon a time, just as the ogre top-level war lords led their team to step out of the Tower of Sin, they immediately met an extremely powerful fiend who devoured ten top-level war lords at once.


    That fiend had always guarded this area of the Tower of Sin. It wasn''t really the Dark Nether Death Light that should be feared, but the dangers that lurked in the cave.


    Even if they were only at the outer layer, it was still extremely dangerous.

 Chapter 901 Strange Birds

    Over the years, countless war lords had succumbed to their temptations in the Dark Nether Cave and died.


    But even so, the pull of opportunities from the Dark Nether Cave was just too great. If one was lucky enough to get a good chance in the cave, he could make great progress in his cultivation and become much more powerful. Besides, warriors were born fearless and they all liked adventures.


    The Dark Nether Cave was the personification of a famous quote which said that wealth was sought from danger. If one wanted to obtain more, one needed to gamble more and, maybe, even gamble their own life. It was easy to lead a smooth and safe life, but since they had chosen to become warriors, why would they choose to be mediocre now?


    As soon as Jarrod finished speaking, everyone''s hearts tightened, and they quickly descended towards the cave bottom!


    The cave was astonishingly and imperceptibly tall. Some tall mountains could be seen towering in the distance, and even their peaks didn''t seem to be touching the top of the cave.


    A fast wind blew past Zen''s ears, and he landed firmly on the ground. Lavender didn''t stay inside his body anymore and came out armed, holding a long spear in her hand, as if she was a ghost floating beside Zen.


    Since she had chosen to fully assist Zen, she was going to go all out now.


    "There are plants here?" Zen''s keen eyes caught sight of some black plants growing on the ground.


    Even a top-level war lord would have been unable to withstand the Dark Nether Death Light. How could these plants grow there?


    Hearing Zen''s words, Fabian replied carefully, "These plants seem to be able to resist the Dark Nether Death Light. But as for just exactly how they are doing that and what principle lies behind their survival, I fear that is out of my league too..."


    Zen didn''t ask too much. There were too many mysteries in this world for him to study them all.


    After all the human warriors had landed, Fabian carefully looked around. Just as he was about to lead the group forward, an accident suddenly occurred.


    "Ah!"


    An intense scream came from somewhere behind them.


    "Shut up! What do you want? Death? You need to be silent in the Dark Nether Cave. Who made that ungodly noise?" Fabian roared angrily in a low voice.


    Although the number of warriors entering the Dark Nether Cave had increased several folds this time, they would still be in danger and even meet their death if the monsters at the outer area of the cave became aware of their arrival.


    "That wasn''t us..." someone whispered to Fabian.


    Everyone looked towards the source of the voice. Under the dim red light, a black bird appeared not far away. The bird was at least a hundred feet long, and its large mouth took up half of its body. Above its big mouth, there were two scarlet eyes which were glued on the warriors.


    Perhaps the most dreadful sight was that the bird was holding an orc war lord of top level inside its mouth. Half of the war lord''s body was hanging outside its mouth, and the other half had already been devoured by the bird!


    After the group of orc warriors left the Tower of Sin, they had descended rapidly down into the cave. However,


    hem!" Fabian said as he led the other warriors forward.


    As the leader of the group, he didn''t have the time to turn around and fight against the Swallowing Birds.


    Currently, everyone was at a loss, and Fabian was one of the few who had some familiarity with the Dark Nether Cave among the humans. He was very clear that if they ran in the wrong direction inside the cave, it was very likely that they would be completely annihilated. So he wanted to lead everyone on the right path and get out of danger.


    "Ah..."


    Another miserable shriek rang out. The arrow from the top-level war lord had hit the Swallowing Bird but the only effect it had made was to successfully infuriate the strange bird. With a dive, the bird caught the war lord in its jaws.


    The human warriors'' complexions became even paler. At this rate, most of them would be eaten up by these strange birds!


    "Quack!"


    A Swallowing Bird circled around, and then charged towards Zen, setting him up as its target.


    "You can''t!"


    "Protect Zen!"


    Fabian and Jarrod instantly became anxious.


    Before Zen returned from the Purple Heart Sacred Place, Miguel had been extremely worried about Zen since the latter was going to enter the Dark Nether Cave. Therefore, he had instructed Fabian and Jarrod that they must do their best to protect Zen, even at the cost of their own lives.


    Zen''s strength was not bad, but Fabian and others didn''t think he could resist this invulnerable strange bird!


    Zen''s eyebrows creased as he saw the Swallowing Bird fly closer and closer. He wasn''t sure if he would be able to beat this strange bird.


    Yolande, wearing a pair of wooden clogs, was standing about ten feet away from Zen. Seeing the bird getting closer, she slightly pressed her two fingers together and was about to make her move. However, when she saw Lavender''s expression, a faint light flashed in her eyes and she restrained herself from taking any action.


    At this moment, Lavender looked completely indifferent. The long spear in her hand had already stuck out. It looked like this seemingly casual spear strike contained a terrifying power!

 Chapter 902 Fight To Death

    Numerous formless energy waves rushed out from Lavender''s spear and they contained formidable force. Under her direction, they shot ferociously towards the strange bird.


    Bang!


    A special characteristic of the spear was that it could penetrate through anything with immediate and forceful effect. When Lavender had launched the strike with her spear, she had also gathered all of her own strength and focused it on the tip of the spear. This way, the power of penetration was extremely terrifying. When the spear intent shot towards the strange bird, it instantly penetrated through its seemingly indestructible skin.


    "It is useless..." Not far away, a top-level war lord who was fleeing in panic shook his head.


    Compared to the huge body of the strange bird, the spear was like a tiny needle. Even if the latter managed to pierce through the body of the Swallowing Bird, it would only cause it a little pain and the damage would be far from enough to kill it. It would even infuriate the creature even more.


    At the same time, Fabian and Jarrod came to sandwich Zen, one from the left, one from the right. Life vitality in the colors of black and white burst out from their bodies. When the two of them worked together, their strength would increase by several times. For the time being, the most important thing for them was to protect Zen, even if it meant putting themselves in the line of fire.


    Although they knew that Lavender was someone extraordinary, they couldn''t just let Zen''s safety completely lie in her hands After all, she was only a sword spirit attached to Zen''s body. And since they were interdependent, there wasn''t much of a difference between their strengths. How could she block the attack of that bird?


    After Lavender thrust out the spear, she gently twisted her hand which held the spear. Suddenly, an explosive sound rang out in everyone''s ears!


    It was as if countless bones had been broken, like the cracking sound of dried beans.


    Everyone raised their heads to look, only to see that the skin of the Swallowing Bird, which was more than a hundred feet long, had wrinkled all over. Its huge body seemed as if it had been twisted into a ball by someone''s hands. It looked like a gigantic crumpled rag now.


    "Bam!"


    Having lost the ability to fly, the bird fell heavily to the ground and rolled into the bushes on the side.


    Seeing this sight, even the top-level war lords had their mouths agape in disbelief.


    During the past few days, Lavender had frequently walked into the arena to fight since Zen had given her quite a few opportunities to practice. In any case, if Lavender won, the Lucky Light of her opponents would still be absorbed by Zen.


    All the top-level war lords present here had a smattering of the mysterious spear arts Lavender practiced. Some of them who were in the fourteenth floor of the Tower of Sin had once specially gone into the arena to challenge her with the mere intention of experiencing her spear arts, since they were known to be outstanding.


    Everyone knew that Lavender''s spear art was very powerful, but they had never expected it to be so amazing!


    When Fabian and Jarrod worked together, they were able to compete with a novice war sage. If they had sufficient strength, they could also kill this huge bird, but it was impossible for them to do such a smooth and clean stunt like Lavender had done.


    "Good spear art!" Zen praised and continued to run forwa


    med by the energy that Zen had unleashed with his fist was able to suck in the strange bird that had tried to attack him. As the vortex spun, the strange bird''s enormous wings began to curl and break.


    By the time the Swallowing Bird reached in front of Zen, its wings had already been twisted by the vortex and were firmly bound to its body. This strange bird fell down like a huge stick, its several dozen feet long beak sticking into the ground behind Zen!


    Although it wasn''t the right time to be in a daze, many of the top-level war lords were still dumbfounded when they saw Zen''s punch break the bird''s beak.


    Wasn''t this punch a bit too powerful? What kind of fist fighting technique was this?


    Zen''s victory greatly raised the morale of the crowd. After all, Zen was only a ninth level war general. But he had killed this strange bird like chopping a vegetable. So they thought as top-level war lords, they couldn''t perform any worse than him.


    Yolande had maintained a distance of ten feet away from Zen all the time. But now, she stepped forwards, her clogs making a loud clattering sound. She looked calmly at a strange bird. With a slight tremble of her fingers, two slender beams of radiance shot out from them.


    The lights shining on her fingers looked mysterious. The moment they were formed, they darted directly to the strange bird and hit it accurately in its big eyes.


    Its eyes were blinded by Yolande. The bird immediately lost its direction. It flapped its wings, and in the end, fell onto the ground head first. It rolled around on the ground after it fell. Struggling with its huge strength, it stirred up the dust and gravel into the air. Its powerful wings furrowed on the ground, leaving several ditches behind.


    At this time, no one had the time to pay attention to this particular strange bird. The blind Swallowing Bird was no longer a threat, and the ones causing the real problem were the ones circling above their heads.


    All of the top-level war lords launched their attacks at the same time. Different colors of forceful energy erupted and life vitality flashed in the air. With joint forces, even though two top-level human war lords had been snatched away by the strange birds, they were still successful in killing a dozen these fierce creatures!

 Chapter 903 The Bull-like Giant Toad (Part One)

    Fabian''s expression was filled with a barely contained joy. Everyone else also felt that it was truly unbelievable.


    Once people were forced into a corner, they would often be able to unleash a power that they could not believe they ever had.


    Previously, the reason why Fabian had asked everyone to run was that he was afraid of alerting the monsters in the Dark Nether Cave. Moreover, he was not sure if they could successfully deal with the Swallowing Birds.


    In the end, without any other way to escape, they had fought to the death and had actually triumphed.


    There were still a few Swallowing Birds circling restlessly in the air above them. These Swallowing Birds were not completely senseless, and they had soon realized that these top-level war lords below them were not an easy meal.


    However, they also clearly knew that there were no monsters in the Dark Nether Cave which were easy to slay. These birds belonged to the bottom of the food chain, so compared to the monsters who dwelt in the Dark Nether Cave, these humans were far easier prey to hunt.


    So they continued circling around the group of humans, refusing to leave. At the same time, they kept singing their eerie call, hoping to summon more of their own kind.


    "They are calling for their companions. Let''s leave, quickly." Hearing the cries of those strange birds, Fabian frowned and his expression darkened as he led the rest of the group away from the area, though the birds continued tagging along.


    Zen still remained in the middle of the group. This Dark Nether Cave was just like what Miguel had said; it was simply too dangerous! Even if Zen''s luck was incredibly good, it still wouldn''t be easy for him to successfully obtain the inheritance.


    No matter how fast they ran on the


    over. Their squawking presence in the sky almost blocked out the weak Dark Nether Death Light.


    "Wh-what should we do?" a top-level war lord asked in a trembling voice.


    "Scatter! Run away in all directions!" Fabian suggested in a timorous tone.


    "Even if we split up, we are not likely to escape. There are too many strange birds,"


    Zen interjected and looked at the flock of strange birds with a steely glint flashing in his eyes. He then asked, "In the outer area of the Dark Nether Cave, where would the most ferocious monster be?"


    "What do you mean?"


    Fabian asked, confused.


    "We lure these birds over there!" Determination showed on Zen''s face.


    At this point, the only thing left to do was take a risk. Although it was difficult to deal with so many birds, there must definitely be an even more powerful monster in existence inside the Dark Nether Cave. Besides, they would surely be killed by the birds if they stayed here. However, if they led the birds to another ferocious monster, they might be able to survive.


    Fabian''s mind was spinning very fast. There was no time left for him to even think about it, and Zen''s plan was the only feasible option.

 Chapter 904 The Bull-like Giant Toad (Part Two)

    Per chance, Fabian remembered that there was a forbidden area in the west of this area.


    The creatures who shared the Tower of Sin had constantly been drawing a map according to each''s experiences in exploring the Dark Nether Cave. The map was shared among all the races. Of course, there were some creatures who were not willing to share some of their fortunes or opportunities with the others and neglected to mark these on the map. They would not even tell the members of their own race.


    However, most races were quite generous when it came to informing others of areas of danger. After all, if one was able to mark out an additional forbidden area on the map, the others would have a better chance of survival.


    However, these dangers and forbidden areas were constantly changing. For example, if there was a ferocious monster lurking somewhere in the outer area, then it was very likely that by the next year, the monster would have moved its location so that the map would become inaccurate.


    It was rumored there was a Bull-like Giant Toad in the forbidden area to the west.


    That Bull-like Giant Toad had been there for a long time. While many races had ventured into that forbidden area, they had all been swept away by the Bull-like Giant Toad''s huge tongue. From then on, none of the warriors that entered the Dark Nether Cave dared to approach that forbidden area.


    Given the Bull-like Giant Toad''s strength, none of the warriors at the Soul Sea Realm, not to mention a war sage or a top-level war lord, dared to antagonize the beast as they were not able to deal with it.


    On any normal given day, Fabian wouldn''t have gone there, even if he was threatened with being beaten to deat


    But at the same time, they were all deeply worried.


    The Bull-like Giant Toad was truly a monster! Just its cry alone was already so terrifying. So how powerful was the Bull-like Giant Toad really?


    Was it really a good idea for everyone to charge at the Bull-like Giant Toad in order to avoid the birds in the sky? Were they not merely going to make a bad situation worse?


    Whether it was a good idea or a bad one, they had no other choice now. They could only charge forward. The strange birds'' speed was much faster than that of most of the top-level war lords. At this point, they all ran as fast as they could. Their hearts were beating in their chests, whether from physical exertion or fear made no difference.


    "Quack, quack, quack..."


    The sound waves being emitted by the Bull-like Giant Toad had spread out in all directions, and those birds in the sky were obviously affected as well. They seemed to hesitate momentarily before they continued flying closer.


    At this point, the flock of birds had almost reached the sky above the humans. If they were to dive down now, they would be able to cut off their path.

 Chapter 905 The Huge Tongue

    Although the Swallowing Birds didn''t have high intelligence, their instincts told them that there was a powerful monster ahead of them, so they decided to block the humans'' way to stop them from approaching the monster.


    The dense flock of birds circled around the humans as they swooped down, forming a giant tornado.


    "Fight!"


    Fabian furrowed his brows deeply, thinking that he was really done for this time.


    In fact, there was a dramatic change in the expressions of most of the top-level war lords. A few of them were able to maintain their composure, but the rest of them were wearing a look of despair. Even if they risked their lives in this situation, it would be no use. They lost all hope.


    It was easy for a person to give up on fighting if he thought that there was no chance of winning.


    "It''s over. We''re done for. It seems like we''re going to die in the Dark Nether Cave!"


    "We''re so unlucky! We should have retreated to the Tower of Sin long ago!"


    "We shouldn''t even have come to the Dark Nether Cave in the first place. It''s open every year, so why did we have to come here this year?"


    Some of them began to grumble with an expression of regret on their faces.


    Zen''s expression also darkened. Escaping from all the Swallowing Birds was going to be troublesome, even for him.


    However, he had never given up once in his life. Even in the face of certain death situations, he would still keep fighting.


    But now, the fighting spirit of the top-level war lords had completely dissipated. From the looks of it, all of them had given up on resisting.


    Zen shouted, "It''s just a flock of birds. You''re a group of top-level war lords and yet, you''re so useless!


    So what if we die? Fight to the death or die like a coward, which one do you choose?


    Since we''re going to die soon anyway, why don''t we go all out?"


    As Zen roared these words at them, his body began to glow with killing intent. After communicating with the Killing Sword Mountain, he began to unleash the surging malicious aura.


    Then, he swung his fists at the flock of birds swirling around them.


    Lavender and Yolande hadn''t said anything until now, but they didn''t seem to want to give up either.


    Anyway, both Lavender and Yolande were from the Upper World and possessed the strength of supreme warriors. They would remain calm even while facing the adversity of death.


    Being able to calmly face death was the most ideal state of mind for a warrior. This didn''t mean that they had to be unafraid of death. They just had to understand how to treat the possibility of death and adjust the


    . Zen stood firmly and continued to stare at the toad. He watched as the Bull-like Giant Toad stretched out its two thick forelimbs to leave the pool.


    "It''s coming over..." Zen''s heart tightened.


    At this time, the top-level war lords were still immersed in the joy and relief of surviving the onslaught of Swallowing Birds. They''d never imagined that they would be saved by a huge tongue that came out of nowhere. Although the tongue''s mucus had corroded a top-level war lord, at least a majority of them had survived.


    However, Zen was staring straight ahead and standing still, as if he had been glued to the ground.


    "All right, everyone. Hurry up and leave this place. Although we haven''t entered the territory of the Bull-like Giant Toad, we''re already very close. If it¡ª" Fabian started saying in an extremely cautious tone.


    But before he could finish, Zen shouted, "Everyone, run! Run in all directions!"


    And with that, the power of the dragon scales within his body exploded forth. With the strength of both his legs, he shot up into the sky.


    When everyone heard Zen''s warning and saw his swift escape, a strong sense of danger rose in their heart. The top-level war lords who had gathered there began dispersing in all directions.


    Just then, they saw the huge tongue shooting toward the spot where they had been standing just a moment ago.


    Bang!


    The huge tongue made an eighty-feet wide crater in the ground. As for the mucus dripping from the tongue, it continuously corroded the ground, emitting sizzling sounds.


    Everyone''s faces flashed with fear.


    For a moment, they all held their breaths. Then, the tongue started moving again. This time, it bounced up from the ground and shot toward Zen.

 Chapter 906 Run Away

    Zen''s expression changed drastically when he saw the huge tongue coming at him!


    ''Did this big toad know I saw it?'' Zen thought.


    However, there was no time for Zen to think whether the beast did or not.


    The others all successfully avoided the huge tongue thanks to Zen''s warning. But when Fabian and Jarrod saw this scene, their faces instantly darkened!


    Zen was currently the most important figure in the Tower of Sin. Others could die, but Zen could never be hurt and must always be protected.


    Although Fabian didn''t want to anger the Bull-like Giant Toad any more, he didn''t have any other choice at the moment but to attack it.


    "Zen, retreat! Quickly!"


    Immediately after shouting that, Fabian and Jarrod attacked the toad almost at the same time!


    The two of them worked closely together, and with their combined efforts, they were able to fight against a war sage!


    Two beams of sword radiance shot out from Fabian''s and Jarrod''s hands. First, the two energies circled around each other until they merged and became one, flying towards the large tongue!


    Since the tongue, which was coming at Zen at an extremely fast speed, was extremely large in size, it was impossible that their attack would miss its target.


    Boom!


    Although the two beams of intertwined sword radiance were comparable to an attack of a war sage, the big tongue remained unscathed when it hit it. It seemed like the attack felt more like an itchy spot for the tongue than a full-on attack, and so Fabian and Jarrod felt that their efforts were just huge failure.


    "Damn it!" Fabian screeched, frustrated by it. Seeing this scene, his and the others'' hearts sank. No matter how great Zen''s destiny was, no one would be able to save him under this dire situation!


    This was the Dark Nether Cave. It was under the Cursed Land, so there was no way a Soul Sea Realm master would suddenly pop out and save Zen. Besides, it wouldn''t help even if a Soul Sea Realm master had come. Fabian assumed that even if Miguel came personally, he still wouldn''t be a match for this toad.


    Facing the huge tongue which was approaching him swiftly, Zen''s mind was rapidly spinning, trying to find a way out. If the mere saliva on it could dissolve a sacred weapon, there was no way that he would be able to defend himself against it! Also, even if his special body was able to keep him from being killed by the poisonous saliva he would still surely face death if he was caught by the huge tongue and was swallowed by the Bull-like Giant Toad.


    The expression of Lavender, who was floating beside Zen, darkened. With a deep breath, she lifted her long spear, waved it a little, and suddenly, an invisible wave of energy shot towards the huge tongue!


    At the same time, Yolande who was not far away, also began to move. She pointed at the tongue with her finger and a ray of light shot towards it as well!


    Boom! Boom!


    The attacks of the two girls worked, especially after Lavender thrust out her spear, making it swirl in her hands. The invisible force that burst out from it constantly attacked the inner side of the big tongue, creating countless cuts on its s


    h I''m not sure what that black flame is, it seemed like it has inflicted the Bull-like Giant Toad extreme pain. However, if that black flame doesn''t come out of that tongue and the Bull-like Giant Toad retracts it back to its mouth, wouldn''t it mean that the black flame would burn in its mouth?"


    The huge tongue was still twisting and pounding the ground, until suddenly, everyone saw its front part burst into flames. The tongue was on fire! And somehow, a ten-feet stretch starting from its tip had already completely burnt!


    The air reeked of its singed flesh, like that of roasted meat!


    Swoosh!


    Only then did the wisp of black flame come out of the toad''s tongue!


    And the moment the black flame came out, the tongue rolled back, still wriggling as if it was fleeing in panic to avoid the black flame from burning again. As soon as the long tongue curled back, it instantly disappeared into the darkness not too far away.


    At this time, the black flame seemed to be very happy about its feat as it circled in the air and chirped merrily for a while before it returned back to the spot between Zen''s eyebrows.


    Without any pause for rest, Zen looked at the toad that had already left the pond and shouted, "Let''s hurry up and get away from here!"


    The mountain-like toad lay prostrate in the darkness. Despite them being miles away from it, it would just take it a single leap to get to where they were. And if that happened, not one of them would be able to escape!


    Everyone looked at the direction Zen was gazing at, but they did not see anything. However, they did not ask Zen about what he had seen. It was simple for them to imagine. If the mere tongue of the Bull-like Giant Toad was so horrible, they didn''t need to see what would come next. And despite not being able to battle it fully, they knew that they would be no match for it. Since Zen had already burned a piece of the toad''s tongue, it was more than wise for them to take the chance and run away!


    They would leave the giant toad be, and they had no plans - or nerve, for that matter - on taking it on again!

 Chapter 907 Zens Goal (Part One)

    Everyone left the area as fast as they could.


    Even in the outer area of the Dark Nether Cave, any place of great danger was an inescapable one. If any one of them was not careful enough, everyone would die there as a result.


    A faint green light flashed in Zen''s eyes. Even if he was retreating, he was still extremely alert.


    Although the Bull-like Giant Toad and its long tongue were proven to be very fast, Zen had quite a distance away from it, and he had plenty of room to either hide or dodge.


    However, if the giant toad were to pounce at him, he would be at his wit''s end. Everyone would definitely die.


    Zen noticed that the toad had already left the huge pond. It had taken two steps forward but then stopped and became still. Its dark figure had blended into the darkness, but its two large eyes, which were about the size of a house, were gleaming - and they were staring coldly at him!


    "Fortunately," Zen whispered, his breath labored. "It doesn''t intend to chase us." As he continued to retreat his eyes never left the toad in the darkness. After making sure that he was at a safe distance away from the huge monster, he finally turned around and followed the group.


    "Okay, where did that toad come from?" Lavender asked, turning to Yolande who was by her side.


    Several war lords glanced at Lavender with confused looks, wondering why she was asking such a question. The giant toad had been in this cave for a long time, and its site had already been clearly marked on the map of the Dark Nether Cave. It was said that this toad had never moved out of the pond, and there were no stories as to how it got there. It just had always been there.


    The monsters in the Dark Nether Cave were


    yway. We can wait for that and just enter again."


    "I don''t want to stay in this damned place any longer. I heard that anyone who enters the Dark Nether Cave has a slim chance of surviving. But in my opinion, it''s a 100 percent chance of dying!"


    As everyone joined in the discussion, Fabian and Jarrod slowly nodded in approval. This trip to Dark Nether Cave was indeed unlucky, coming in and immediately encountering such a huge crisis. To be safe, it was better to give the mission up and return to the Tower of Sin.


    However, they were not the one who would make the final decision.


    Fabian looked at Zen. He was the one who had a say in the whole thing.


    When Zen felt Fabian''s gaze on him, a faint smile graced his lips. "If you guys intend to go back, of course I won''t have any objections. But I won''t go with you. I will stay here."


    Lavender stayed quiet, but her calm gaze and red pupils that seemed to have faint flames circulating within seemed to convey that she would be staying with Zen. Yolande then broke the silence and said, "I will not leave Zen''s side. With him, I also intend to explore the Dark Nether Cave."

 Chapter 908 Zens Goal (Part Two)

    When he heard Zen''s response, Fabian quickly knew that it would be a difficult decision for him to make.


    To put it bluntly, all of the top-level war lords here including Fabian himself weren''t as important as Zen alone!


    The Purple Heart Sacred Place was actually relying on Zen to control the Tower of Sin. Even if all of the top-level war lords they were with died in this cave, the Purple Heart Sacred Place would be able to train more top-level war lords in the future, so they basically were unimportant characters. However, without Zen, the status of the human race would be restored to their former position.


    The reason why the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place of the Demon Night race had allied with the Purple Heart Sacred Place was also because of Zen''s sword spirit, Lavender. To put it bluntly, it was still for Zen''s sake. After all, there was no need for a seventh grade sacred place to ally with the Purple Heart Sacred Place, which just qualified to be regarded as a sixth grade sacred place.


    Fabian was not the only one to think of such things. Many other top-level war lords had the same thoughts. However, they were also aware how difficult it would be to further explore the cave.


    "The Dark Nether Cave is too dangerous to be in this time. I suspect that the Tide of Chaos has broken out. Why don''t we make the wiser choice and just retreat this time?" Fabian wasn''t ready to give up. In his mind, he knew that he would be able to persuade Zen to go back.


    "Tide of Chaos?" Zen asked doubtfully.


    "Yes, but that is just my speculation. It is said that the Tide of Chaos would erupt in this cave once every ten year


    lords left with the war generals, Fabian turned to Zen and said, "Well, now that we have chosen to stay, we will accompany you as far as possible! Zen, the thing that you want to obtain after entering this Dark Nether Cave must truly be something extraordinary."


    Hidden in the Dark Nether Cave were immeasurable treasures and endless good fortune. Even the people who had only reached the outer layer had been able to enjoy it. Although the treasures in the outer layer had been decreasing in number after so many years of people scavenging for them, there were still people who had been lucky enough to find precious objects during their ventures.


    "I don''t know," Zen answered vaguely.


    "You don''t know?" A strange expression appeared on Fabian''s face, "Then do you at least have a goal?"


    "Maybe. If possible, I would like to enter the core area of the Dark Nether Cave," Zen said. As these words came out of Zen''s mouth, Fabian''s and Jarrod''s faces were instantly colored with disbelief.


    ''What is this kid even thinking? Entering the core area of the Dark Nether Cave? Crazy!''

 Chapter 909 Black Nether Bead

    The outer area of the Dark Nether Cave had always been dangerous to anyone who dared to delve into its depths. Zen was well aware that a lot of people who once entered never made it out.


    Both Fabian and Jarrod didn''t have the intention of going inside the cave from the beginning. It was far too dangerous and the chances of getting out alive were slim.


    It took an intensive and advanced preparation for the warriors to be all set for their entry into the inner area of the cave.


    However, years of preparation didn''t mean a guarantee. A lot of warriors, most of the top-level war lords, had faced their demise in the said cave.


    It was also believed that numerous resources could be found in the inner layer. Those who were lucky enough to return brought with them enormous gifts from the cave. That was why countless warriors took the risk.


    While the others aimed for the inner layer of the cave, Zen, being the confident warrior, wanted to go into the core area.


    That part of the cave was a totally different story. None of the few who dared explore that particular area was able to return. It was basically a death trap.


    As written on the map, the outer layer of the cave was marked with a lot of threatening areas. The inner layer had lesser. The depths of the cave was somewhat still a mystery. For whatever it was worth, not a single soul had lived to tell stories about it.


    As for the core of the cave, the map had almost nothing to offer the seekers of wealth. It was completely blank, apart from vague directions, and had no markings of any sort. Not that it needed to be marked, as everyone knew it was deadly.


    "Zen, are you¡­ Are you joking?"


    Fabian uttered, looking at Zen with a deep concern written all over his face.


    Zen chuckled and responded, "Just take it as a joke if you will."


    When Mist passed the token to Zen and asked him to obtain the inheritance, he wasn''t able to explain the matter clearly. Having not entered the cave yet, Mist didn''t exactly have all the information with regards to the whereabouts of the inheritance. All he knew was that it was somewhere inside the cave. Mist told Zen that the Jade Butterfly would light up when he was closer to the item.


    Despite his carefree attitude, Zen was not of the reckless sort. He knew all too well that he was risking his life.


    At that moment, the Jade Butterfly stayed still. Deciding that he''d explore the outer layer of the cave first, Zen would enter the inner layer next if the inheritance was still nowhere to be found.


    Knowing that t


    ent drove other vicious monsters away to other places. During that particular time, most warriors had the chance to explore some more.


    However, the dangers were also greater than before. Due to her outstanding cultivation, Esther dared to enter such places. Earlier, Esther, along with a few Demon Night members, had obtained several Black Nether Beads.


    The said beads were of paramount importance. Each of them equaled to a middle-grade sacred weapon. Obtaining them, Esther had paid quite a heavy price. Two top-level war lords of the Demon Night had perished.


    "My Queen, these two Black Nether Beads were obtained by us. Please accept them." Esther respectfully walked up to Lavender and presented the two beads to her.


    Reaching the highest level of cultivation, Lavender''s soul, even just one of the many, was abnormally strong. The small part of her soul was still far stronger than many warriors from the Lower World.


    For that reason, it was almost impossible to nourish her soul some more. All the pills and techniques for nourishment had no effect on her at all. Even if Lavender entered the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place and absorbed the life power of the entire holy tree, changes would be slight.


    Labeled as treasures from the Upper World, the Black Nether Beads were used to repair damaged souls. Lavender knew that she could put those items into good use. Nodding her head to Esther''s gesture, she let Zen keep the beads for her.


    It was the greatest of all honors for Esther and the rest of the Demon Night members that Lavender accepted her offer. The Black Nether Beads could come in handy if Esther needed them, but they were absolutely not as important as Lavender.

 Chapter 910 The War Sage Malcom

    It was unavoidable that Fabian and the others felt envious of Lavender when Esther gave the Black Nether Beads to her. However, since Lavender was the queen of Demon Night, their jealousy was pretty much displaced.


    While Zen put away the two Black Nether Beads in his space ring, Esther knelt down in front of Lavender. "My queen, the Tide of Chaos in the Dark Nether Cave will make this place extremely dangerous. Please return to the Tower of Sin!"


    Esther had originally wanted to tell her queen that everything they would obtain in the Dark Nether Cave would be offered to her. But now, she restrained herself from doing so. Fabian would''ve no doubt already warned Zen about the Tide of Chaos and must''ve also tried to persuade him to return. The fact that Zen was still here made it obvious that both he and Lavender insisted on staying.


    It was the second time someone had tried to persuade Lavender to return to the Tower of Sin. Though it was for her own good, as well as for Zen''s good, Lavender''s face still darkened in displeasure from Esther''s words.


    Lavender knew that Zen was definitely not going to give up such a good chance to explore the Dark Nether Cave. Since he was the one who had made it possible for her to regain her throne, she felt immensely displeased upon hearing Esther''s words that could effectively dampen the young man''s enthusiasm.


    "I won''t go back," Lavender stated coldly.


    The queen''s coldness made Esther''s heart tremble. Knowing that her advice had been deemed useless, she immediately stood up. "Since that is the case, I humbly beg you to allow us to stay and explore the Dark Nether Cave with you."


    "That is a good suggestion!" Fabian exclaimed with great joy. Esther, after all, was the most powerful top-level war lord in the Tower of Sin. Back on the tenth floor, Esther''s name had managed to climb all the way up to the fourth row on the Talent Tablet. Now, with the strength of a top-level war lord, she was probably not much weaker than any common war sage. Fabian would feel more assured if she joined their party.


    Several days ago, Zen''s decision to follow the human war lords into the Dark Nether Cave had worried Esther greatly. She had even gone as far as to invite Zen to follow the Demon Night instead. Lavender was still a sword spirit who relied on Zen''s body to exist. If Zen died, so would Lavender. In the end, everything was all for the Demon Night Queen.


    Unfortunately, her offer was immediately turned down by Zen.


    Now, with the threat of great danger looming overhead, Esther had chosen to stay by Lavender''s side to protect her.


    Both Esther and Fabian hurriedly took out their maps with the intent of choosing a relatively easy route to explore.


    Yolande stood idle on the side while the two put their heads together to strategize. Suddenly though, her relaxed pose stiffened as she quickly turned around and pointed her slender finger into the darkness.


    "Whoosh!"


    "Bam!"


    Four people walked out from the forest and the one leading them wore


    eir cultivation level, in truth, it wasn''t easy for them to break through and become a war sage. Moreover, Malcolm had experienced a life and death crisis on his ascension!


    The secret passageway was large enough to fit a couple of humans or Demon Night members but it was too small for the ogres. Dealing with a life and death crisis in such a narrow space was extremely agonizing and Malcom almost didn''t make it!


    However, in the end, he managed to push through! Rehaan hadn''t broken through yet but Malcom''s current strength would be enough for them to kill Zen.


    "Shane has sent news," Rehaan reported. "They''ve found Zen."


    Malcom nodded at this new information and said, "Okay." Previously, Malcom had ranked lower than Rehaan but his recent breakthrough had switched their positions.


    "I''ve been stuck in this place for months. Now, I can finally leave," Malcom said as he came out of the other side and went into the Dark Nether Cave.


    Rehaan followed closely behind him. "I really wonder how Colin and Neil got through this,"


    he said as he stretched out his body. "That place is suffocating!"


    Malcom grunted, "Let''s go. The humans are able to play in the tower for a few months but it''s time for us ogres to take everything back," he said, cracking his knuckles. "It''s time to eliminate Zen."


    As the controller of the Tower of Sin, Zen had no doubt become a star. The ogres couldn''t really directly confront him. However, they couldn''t just sit idly by. They had a plan.


    Now that Zen ventured outside the confines of the tower and into the Dark Nether Cave, they would now be able to stand a chance against him. Malcom''s recent breakthrough was also a plus. So long as they killed Zen, the ogres would be able to return and take back their glory.


    When that happened, all the seats that were taken from them by the humans and the Demon Night shall be returned rightfully to them.


    No matter what, none of the other races could cultivate a war sage in the Tower of Sin, but the ogres could!

 Chapter 911 Scrambling For A Plant

    The Dark Nether Cave was illuminated by the Dark Nether Death Light all year round. To be able to grow under such harsh conditions, creatures that reproduced there must be stronger than those creatures outside the cave. It was an endless battle for the survival of the fittest.


    The grass surrounding some areas of the cave seemed to have a unique way of existing on the grounds. After being stomped on by countless footsteps, they immediately swayed back like nothing happened. They even had blade-like leaves, almost as if to defend themselves from other creatures'' attacks. The grass leaves were thin enough to cut an ordinary mysterious weapon. If one wasn''t careful enough, they could cause serious injuries.


    If ordinary and powerless creatures graced through these grasses, they could die. They could bleed to death even before they managed to get out.


    This sort of danger didn''t alarm the top-level war lords. The harm that the grass could cause could never penetrate through their protective life vitality.


    Gracefully moving forward, Esther led the way.


    Following right behind her was Zen and the others.


    A few of the Night Group members hid their breaths and swiftly moved around like ghosts.


    "What we see right before us is the Bloody Pass. Everyone, please remove all of your life vitality and forceful energy and do not make any sound," Esther said softly.


    "The Bloody Pass?" From afar, Zen was able to make out two small mountains, forming a specific angle. A path could be seen between them, which was the so-called Bloody Pass. It baffled them all however, why they had to take off their protection techniques.


    "There are two powerful monster lairs on the two sides of the Bloody Pass. One is the Azure Wolf, and the other is the Swallowing Bird, the strange bird we saw before. While passing through, we must completely be silent. Even the sound of our breaths can put us in danger," Fabian said, after which he took out a cloak from his space ring and covered himself with it.


    Despite the inability to understand the entire point of such action, the rest of the party did the same and then covered themselves with their cloaks.


    Unlike Zen, everyone else didn''t have the capability to resist the effects of the red light. The Dark Nether Death Light had indeed weakened, but its power could cause extreme discomfort to the victim. Not being able to avoid it would be like being pricked by a thousand needles. The cloaks were certainly essential as they could block the light.


    When they knew they were all ready, all of them held their breaths and began walking forward.


    A deafening silence embraced the surroundings. The four top-level war lords from the Night Group moved like the wind. None of them made any sound at all.


    The other war lords, as well as Esther, kept moving slowly.


    As they got closer to the Bloody Pass, they became more alert. From a distance, faint sounds coming from the Swallowing Birds could be heard. This meant that th


    e angry warriors surrounding her. Her moves were so quick and accurate that the tip of her long spear was able to obtain the plant in just a blink of an eye.


    A cold smile played on her face. Victory. Turning her back against them, she flew over to Zen.


    It angered all the four top-level Night Group war lords. One of them, making sure to speak in a low voice, said, "Give it back!"


    "What makes you think you have the right to take it?" Lavender retorted, lowering her voice as well.


    "If you don''t hand it back, we will call out for the Azure Wolves!" one of the rage-filled war lords of the Night Group exclaimed, grinding his teeth.


    As the Demon Night queen, Lavender was not affected by the others'' threats. "Do it then, if you dare." Possessing such strength and magic, Lavender refused to give in.


    Meanwhile, Esther and Fabian were starting to get annoyed. Those shady Night Group members should''ve not been there in the first place. They were all so well-behaved earlier. Now, they were acting like a bunch of animals fighting over a piece of meat.


    Staring at the tip of Lavender''s spear, one of the war lords noticed that the Moon Shadow Begonia still released a glow. This caused the warrior to charge directly towards Lavender, not caring about the other dangers of the mountains anymore.


    "Catch this," Lavender shook her long spear and tossed the plant to Zen. She began to rotate her weapon in her hands. Without looking, she was able to stab the figure behind her.


    Even if Zen were to fight that war lord, he wouldn''t stand a chance. As for Lavender, she did it without even taking a glance. It was a precise strike.


    Realizing that he was stabbed, the top-level war lord of the Night Group trembled in disbelief. How could he not have dodged that attack?


    As he fell down, this particular war lord let out a piercing cry. Some of it was out of pain, and some was to spite the beasts.


    Hearing the sounds he was making, everyone was paralyzed with fear.

 Chapter 912 The Purgatory Fire Snake

    The air was tense. Everyone moved slowly and did not even dare to breathe too loudly as they crossed the Bloody Pass.


    There were two kinds of monsters that lived on each side of the Bloody Pass. They did not get in the way of each other and normally would not cross the border. It was because of these two kinds of monsters that crossing the Bloody Pass was extremely dangerous, but as long as people paid attention, it would be alright.


    This was not the first time Fabian and Esther came to this place. The two of them had crossed the Bloody Pass many times unscathed because neither of them was stupid enough to alert the monsters that lived there.


    Of course, that was the case with them. It was more difficult to cross safely when you had a couple of idiots with you such as the members of the Night Group.


    "If we can return to the Tower of Sin, we will expel the entire Night Group!" Esther vowed through gritted teeth. "Run faster!"


    Zen hadn''t expelled the Night Group from the tower though he knew it would be a piece of cake since they had lost the ogres'' protection. It was primarily due to the fact that Zen did not want to risk offending other races and end up giving the ogres more allies. Nonetheless, it couldn''t be denied that the Night Group was in a very precarious situation in the Tower of Sin.


    The crowd did not have any time to think about anything else as they ran across the Bloody Pass.


    Only the top-level war lord of the Night Group that had been attacked by Lavender remained as he trembled on the ground. His eyes were filled with confusion. Why did that woman dare to make a move? Was she not afraid of catching the attention of the monsters?


    The top-level war lords of the Night Group were all up to no good and had secretly informed Malcom of Zen''s position. The plan was for the ogres to eliminate Zen and turn the tides around. As long as the ogres regained their control of the tower, then the Night Group would surely get a share of the benefits.


    Of course, that was the main goal while fishing up benefits in the Dark Nether Cave was a secondary initiative. The Moon Shadow Begonia was an excellent opportunity and they did not really think that these guys would actually dare to start a fight in such a place.


    He had not expected that the woman armed with the long spear would actually kill him so suddenly without even considering the severity of the matter. He wasn''t normally that weak since he was a top-level war lord of the Night Group that was famous for his top-notch body movements.


    Lavender just really took him by surprise.


    The moment he scr


    snakes. They weren''t too big and could not even be called pythons. In his eyes, they were just ordinary reptiles.


    However, Esther and Fabian did not share his sentiments.


    "Holy crap! We''re doomed!"


    "What should we do?"


    The two of them shouted at the same time.


    "What''s wrong?" Zen asked curiously.


    "Purgatory Fire Snake¡­"


    "They''re the most powerful monsters in the inner area! Why are they here in the outer area now?"


    "Seventeen top-level war lords of the Giants were killed in an instant by these two little snakes. Only one of them had been able to escape by using a secret technique to preserve his soul!"


    Though the Dark Nether Cave was usually chaotic when the Tide of Chaos broke out, the monsters in the inner area would rarely come out to the outer area.


    Though the inner and outer areas were not separated by that much distance, the monsters that resided in the inner area never ventured out of their domain. It was just some kind of unspoken rule.


    It had always been that way which was the reason why many top-level war lords dared to enter the Dark Nether Cave and even brought some war generals along for the experience.


    They were now faced with a big problem. The difference in strength between the monsters of the outer and inner areas was tremendous. Just how would they be able to push forward with the strongest monsters of the inner area standing in the way?


    Zen''s expression darkened at their words. He did not expect that two little snakes would be so fearsome.


    "Is there another way?" he asked, pointing at the path to his right.


    "No way!"


    both Esther and Fabian protested at the same time.


    Zen raised an eyebrow. "But why?"


    "That''s the way towards the inner area!"

 Chapter 913 Zens Decision

    The outbreak of the Tide of Chaos this time was an opportunity for Esther. However, the route she had planned was for the outer area of Dark Nether Cave.


    She wanted to explore new places that she thought would lead to great opportunities. Those places were originally inaccessible, but then, a path opened to these places after the Tide of Chaos arrived.


    On the other hand, Fabian had the same thoughts.


    Even without the Tide of Chaos, being fully prepared to enter the inner area wasn''t even something to think about at all, for the chances of survival in the inner area were simply too low.


    The danger level inside it even went worse now that the Tide of Chaos arrived. No one dared to enter the inner area nowadays.


    "Then let''s enter the inner area," Zen said in a serious tone, blinking his eyes.


    "Entering the inner area now is courting death!" Fabian replied.


    Zen looked at the dense mass of monsters behind them and then gazed at the two Purgatory Fire Snakes that were coiling not far away. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "Staying here is courting death too."


    That made everyone upset. Only the strange women, Lavender and Yolande, were able to retain their calm expressions.


    Zen was actually right. Behind them was an overwhelming number of Swallowing Birds and Azure Wolves. There was no doubt that these monsters could tear them to shreds. The two Purgatory Fire Snakes there didn''t look as powerful as the birds and wolves. However, it was also clear to Esther and Fabian that passing through those two snakes would not be safe.


    Nonetheless, they had no choice.


    "Let''s enter the inner area!" Esther immediately said in a stern voice after hesitating for a while.


    All of the top-level war lords present had grown up from killing and were very decisive at critical situations. Moreover, making a choice at this moment wasn''t even that hard. There was no other safer choice but to enter the inner area. Escaping would be futile for them if they delayed their decisions any longer.


    The moment Esther''s voice faded, everyone chose the right path and sprinted forward.


    The Swallowing Birds and Azure Wolves were getting closer and closer to them.


    "Speed up!"


    All of them sprinted towards the inner area with all their might.


    "They are coming!"


    someone exclaimed in terror. The thousands of Swallowing Birds were now hovering over them and began diving sharply.


    "Ahhh!"


    One of the war lords of Demon Night was drowned out by the Swallowing Birds and his miserable cries instantly stopped.


    The scene magnified everyone''s terror to the extent that their hairs stood! They sped up their paces as much as they could.


    "We can''t do this! I don''t think we''ll be able to break into the inner area," Fabian complained.


    "We are so close! Let''s


    uch a long time and all this while, this butterfly just remained staying there quietly with no reaction.


    It was only after he got into this place that the Jade Butterfly moved and worse, flared! From the looks of it, it seemed that the inheritance Immortal Mist had talked about was here in this place¡ªthe inner area.


    Fabian and the others were planning to stay there. They had decided to go back through the same route they used to come in. Obviously, none of them had any intention of exploring the inner area.


    Zen actually agreed with their judgment. There was nothing more valuable for a warrior than his life after all. Everything would be nonsense if they lost their lives.


    Nonetheless, he had never expected the Jade Butterfly to react to this place. Thus, he had no choice but to reconsider his thoughts. He was compelled to explore the inner area.


    Logically speaking, it wasn''t a problem if Zen would enter the Dark Nether Cave again next year. A year should be enough for him to become a top-level war lord. His Stellar Body would have probably matured by that time. More so, with the power of the Transcendent Divine Might, he might even be able to fight against a war sage.


    He would be more confident about entering the Dark Nether Cave by then.


    It was just that Zen knew that he didn''t have much time left.


    "You guys stay here." Zen shot a glance at Esther and Fabian. "I want to continue exploring the inner area."


    With a flick of her spear, Lavender silently followed behind Zen. Yolande also followed them without saying a word.


    On the other hand, Fabian and Esther were instantly worried about what they heard. They quickly sprinted before Zen and blocked him. "Zen, no matter what, I won''t let you continue to barge in!" Fabian said firmly.


    Esther then knelt on one knee and said to Lavender, "Queen, please think twice!"

 Chapter 914 The Life-saving Straw (Part One)

    Even if the Tide of Chaos had not erupted, Fabian and Esther would still have gone all out to stop them.


    However with the outbreak of the Tide of Chaos, everything in the inner circle had now changed. They were sure to die if they recklessly entered the inner circle now.


    Seeing Fabian stand in his way, Zen looked on helplessly. Fabian was not Zen and he did not understand what he was thinking. Moreover, Zen had no intention of sharing his secret with anyone.


    "Please get out of my way, I have something very important to do," Zen said calmly.


    Jarrod also barred Zen''s way to stop him. "Zen, you''re very important to our Purple Heart Sacred Place. We simply can''t let you go forward any further. You will die!"


    "Really?" A faint smile appeared on Zen''s face. "But what if I have more important things to do? Do you mean that I should give up on myself just because I am important to your Purple Heart Sacred Place?" Zen looked intently at them until they had to look away shamefaced.


    "This... Why would you have to give up on yourself?" Jarrod asked in puzzlement.


    Zen shook his head, as there was no way in which he could explain, and said, "I don''t need you to come with me. I''ll go by myself!"


    Lavender also looked questioningly at Esther who was kneeling on the ground. She lowered her head and asked, "What are you doing?"


    "My queen, the inner circle is not a place you can safely enter now. You''d better stay here and wait for the demonic beasts to retreat, and then we can leave here," Esther said as she lowered her head.


    Lavender was the supreme queen in Esther''s heart. Technically, Lavender was very powerful and there was no need for Esther to worry about her safety. However, Esther also understood that something had been ha


    process over and over again!


    Unfortunately, although they were able to survive for the time being using this technique, the demonic beasts were still lingering around them. They were still in a dangerous situation with the demonic beasts circling around them every time they materialized.


    Moving in this way was proving extremely inefficient. It would be almost impossible for them to reach the Tower of Sin in such a tedious way. Even if they wanted to continue like this, there was not enough time for them. Furthermore the life vitality crystals were far from enough to sustain their escape method!


    Though they had a great number of supreme life vitality crystals with them, these would be used up eventually. Every time that they used one then there would be one less left. Just in a short period of time, each of them had used up half of their life vitality crystals in order to cover a small distance indeed. If this continued, then it wouldn''t be long before they were left stranded and would be swallowed up by these beasts!


    "What should we do, brother!" one of the Night Group top-level war lords asked as they traveled in their temporary incorporeal forms.

 Chapter 915 The Life-saving Straw (Part Two)

    "How would I know?"


    "Who is going to lure these damn demonic beasts away?"


    In the thick smoke, the three constantly used some of their life vitality to communicate with each other.


    Just as the three of them were panicking, two rays of bright light suddenly appeared, coming from the path they were travelling along. One was black and the other red. When the rays of light came closer, they could see that they were two mountain-like figures.


    The three of them were stunned for a moment. Then, one of the Night Group top-level war lords said, "I¡­ I think we could be saved!"


    "It''s Malcom! They are coming!" the other Night Group top-level war lords also exclaimed.


    "Haven''t the ogres already been expelled from the Tower of Sin? They really can enter the Dark Nether Cave."


    The ogres hadn''t shared their secrets concerning the secret passageway under the Tower of Sin with the Night Group. It was impossible for them to share such an important secret with other races, even if the Night Group was their vassal.


    In fact, in order to achieve their secret goal, the ogre race had only issued an order to Shane, asking him to report back to Malcom through message rune as soon as he discovered Zen''s whereabouts in the Dark Nether Cave.


    Receiving the order, Shane had been puzzled for a long time. He had thought that the ogres would give him an order to assassinate Zen. He hadn''t expected that what he would receive was an order that simply required him to report on Zen''s movements to Malcom. After all, what was the use of reporting Zen''s movements to Malcom? Could it be that Malcom could actually enter the Dark Nether Cave by some other means?


    Or was Malcom hiding in the Dark Nether Cave all this time?


    These questions had puzzled Shane f


    hoping that he could save them. Seeing that he had suddenly stopped there, but made no move, he immediately realized that Malcom did not plan to save the three of them. Shane quickly sent a message to Malcom though his life vitality, "They have rushed into the inner circle! But I have left markers on their bodies, so that we can track them!"


    Of course, Shane wouldn''t simply tell Malcom where Zen was. If he did, he would then have nothing with which to convince Malcom to save him.


    "This old fox, he doesn''t want to tell us!" Rehaan laughed sinisterly.


    Malcom shook his head and said, "It is only survival instinct. Shane thinks that we are his life-saving straw. So he will not easily let us go. If we want to know where Zen is, then these three must be saved. Take out the flame-controlling scale that the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place has given us."


    Rehaan nodded and immediately took out a small golden scale. The ogre race had dominated the Tower of Sin for a long time, so they were more familiar with the Dark Nether Cave than the other races. The flame-controlling scale was a mighty weapon and might be potent enough to deal with the assembled demonic beasts.

 Chapter 916 The Crying

    The Swallowing Birds and the Azure Wolves were the most common monsters ever living in the Dark Nether Cave. In addition, there were also other monsters such as the Black Agouti, a fearsome rodent-sized beast which could gnaw a warrior to death in mere moments. They were only some of the demonic beasts living in the bottom level of the cave.


    In the very beginning, the ogres had controlled the entire Tower of Sin. Although other races were allowed to visit the top of the tower occasionally, they were strictly prohibited from entering the Dark Nether Cave.


    The ogres had acquired many different types of resources from the Dark Nether Cave, and used them to gain glories on the Sea God Continent.


    If it weren''t for Amber''s astonishing talent, no one on the Sea God Continent would have been able to confront the ogres.


    However, the ogres had also sacrificed a lot in their explorations of the cave. As a result, they had developed many methods, such as the flame-controlling scale, to cope with the Swallowing Birds and the Azure Wolves.


    The flame-controlling scale was only a medium-grade sacred weapon and not very effective in defending its owner from enemy attacks. However, when the ogres had realized that the Swallowing Birds and the Azure Wolves were afraid of flames, they had asked their weapon refiners to forge this weapon.


    Rehaan held the flame-controlling scale in his hand, and a trace of forceful energy was applied into one end of the scale. Instantly, light blue flames crackled and shot forth from the other side of the scale, and a few moments later half of the sky was shrouded in flames.


    The Swallowing Birds quacked madly, though a note of panic had entered their avian voices.


    At the same time, the Azure Wolves'' howls had turned into yelps of fear.


    When the beasts saw the light blue flames, they grew nervous and slacked in their attacks.


    "Go, go, go!"


    At Malcom''s order, Rehaan held the flame-controlling scale in his hand and transformed himself into a streak of light, flying towards the crowd of demonic creatures.


    The light blue flames followed Rehaan''s path and spread forward quickly. He now resembled a comet streaking right at the monsters.


    The Swallowing Birds quacked nervously.


    As the flames approached, the birds seemed to have seen their mortal nemesis. In the chaos, they scattered in all directions. At the same time, the Azure Wolves that had surrounded the three members of the Night Group also retreated quickly with deep whimpering sounds.


    With the flame-controlling scale, Rehaan could easily dispel their enemies.


    Looking at the three columns of smoke, Rehaan grinned fiendishly, "You can come out now, Shane!"


    As the smoke dissipated, the figures of Shane and the other two top-level war lords slowly appeared.


    "Rehaan, thank you..."


    Before Shane had finished speaking, Rehaan''s big fist had already planted a massive blow against his jaw.


    The Night Group did not excel at fist-fighting. Even though Shane ranke


    area.


    With the outbreak of the Tide of Chaos, those monsters should have been more restless and they should have attacked anybody who dared to enter their territories.


    But today, the entire area was deathly silent, and the silence was unnerving.


    "This sinister silence is really annoying!" Fabian clenched his teeth, trying to restrain his urge to scream. Although he knew that making too much noise in the inner area was unwise and suicidal, the eerie silence there was also very depressing! It felt as if something was just about to go wrong, and the sensation did not go away.


    Just as everyone was following Zen inside, he suddenly stopped, and cocked his ears as he asked, "Did anyone hear something?"


    "Hear what?" a top-level Demon Night war lord asked nervously.


    "Sobbing! The crying of a woman," Zen said calmly.


    "No!" Fabian felt the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. "Zen, don''t be so suspicious!"


    Jarrod also shook his head. "Zen, stop scaring me! Damn, I''d rather fight against those monsters than wander around in this gloomy place!"


    However, Yolande nodded, blinked her pale eyes and said, "I heard it too."


    "Really, you heard that?" Fabian was dumbfounded.


    Esther''s facial expression became increasingly solemn, and from her slender fingers she released a stream of life vitality, which then poured into her ears. Suddenly, Esther''s expression changed and she said in a whisper, "I heard it too!"


    "What is it?" Fabian asked fearfully.


    "I don''t know." Although Esther entered the inner area three years ago, she had never heard of such a sound before.


    "It doesn''t matter what it is. We shouldn''t linger here any longer. Let''s go!" Jarrod said with a trembling tone of voice.


    Meanwhile, the crying sounds had suddenly become louder! Now everyone could hear it! A voice that sounded like the weeping of a grieving woman came from behind them. That cry seemed to be filled with grievances and it was whispering something terribly wrong at them.

 Chapter 917 Stopping Fabian

    The terrifying voice sent a chill down the warriors'' spines.


    The warriors couldn''t help but want to turn around. They didn''t want to turn their backs to their enemy, and this was the only thing in their minds.


    However, just as they were about to turn around, Yolande looked on straight ahead, saying coldly, "Don''t turn your heads around! Those who do will die!"


    Hearing Yolande''s warning, Zen, who was about to look over his shoulder, immediately turned to look forward.


    Esther, Fabian, Jarrod, and the others did not turn around either, but one of the top-level war lords of the Demon Night had already whirled to get a glimpse of the thing behind them!


    Even though the rest of them did not turn their heads, they could see the expression on the top-level war lord''s face.


    The war lord''s eyes widened, unflinching, as if he had seen something inconceivable. Astonishment was written all over his face. The war lord wanted to scream, but when he opened his mouth, he found he couldn''t do so. Only a faint noise escaped his throat.


    Top-level war lords were creatures that had progressed through every stage of their lives and encountered possible deaths. What had these creatures not seen before? They had seen countless corpses and killed a great number of beings. They had defeated and killed numerous warriors before they could become the powerful war lords that they were.


    However, in that instant, this particular top-level war lord looked scared out of his wits.


    A low whine left his mouth, and very quickly, a strange smile appeared on his face. His eyes started to look glassy, losing their vibrance.


    Crack¡­


    All too soon, a crack could be seen on the war lord''s forehead. It progressively extended downward and very soon, his entire face, as well as the rest of his body, was covered in cracks. He looked like a piece of broken, glazed tile.


    Then his body collapsed with a loud sound, the clothes he wore still neat and undamaged.


    Watching the war lord keel over, Fabian grew frightened and helpless. "What the hell is it behind us?"


    Zen frowned deeply, the creases of his eyes contracting with caution. His mind was stable and strong, but he still felt he was under a lot of pressure.


    "I don''t know. Yolande, what should we do now?" Zen asked her.


    "Don''t look back! Don''t turn around, no matter what happens!" Yolande whispered in a warning, seemingly immersed in a strange state.


    Even without Yolande''s warning, no one would have dared to turn around now. The top-level war lord of the Demon Night was not weak. Indeed, he was much stronger than Fa


    the ground, hugged his head as he screamed. He didn''t get the chance to turn his head and look at the thing behind him.


    Suddenly, Yolande seemed to slowly come to her senses. Biting her lip, she said, "That thing is coming over. It''s going to be in front of us."


    "What should we do?" Jarrod asked in a hurry.


    "Run," Yolande said shortly.


    "Where do we run?" Esther asked.


    "Run ahead. Just remember, don''t turn around," Yolande said, pursing her lips.


    "When do we run?" Zen asked as he looked sideways at the tentacles continuously encircling him.


    "Now. Let''s go!"


    Before she could even finish speaking, Yolande had rushed forward.


    At the same time, Jarrod, Esther, and the other top-level war lords ran after her. The moment Zen took to his heels, he darted toward Fabian. Reaching out to grab Fabian''s collar, he intended to drag him along.


    Fabian''s soul had been pierced by Zen. All he felt was a sharp pain and was unable to acknowledge the situation he was in. Zen couldn''t just leave him alone here to die. Fortunately, he was strong enough to take Fabian along with him.


    As they ran, the sound behind them suddenly turned shrill.


    "Hoo..."


    They could hear the thing following them and moving rather quickly.


    Everyone had calmed down a bit by now. They thought that as long as they didn''t turn around, they wouldn''t die miserable deaths. However, if they continued to run like this, how could they rid themselves of that thing?


    "What should we do now, Yolande?" Zen shouted over.


    Yolande was ten feet above the ground and sprinting wholeheartedly. "Wait for me to handle it!" she replied back.


    "How long do we have to wait?" Esther asked her.


    Yolande just said, "I don''t know."

 Chapter 918 The Gate Of Samsara

    After that, Yolande extended her slender fingers which were pure white like green onions. Her ten fingers continuously danced through the air, and her life vitality was constantly pulled forth, forming one rune after another.


    "Those are divine textures!" As Zen looked at the runes forming in her hands, his eyebrows suddenly shot up. He recognized them! These runes were extremely similar to those the cyan dragon had taught him.


    "Divine textures aren''t unique only to the Genuine Dragon World. Humans can have extremely high attainments in divine textures as well," the cyan dragon replied plainly.


    "What on earth is she doing?" Zen asked the cyan dragon.


    The cyan dragon had also noticed the runes in Yolande''s hands. He said, "If I''m not mistaken, she wants to seal that thing."


    "Seal it?" Zen''s eyes flickered at this. Yolande continued inscribing divine textures using her life vitality and her nimble fingers only. Would the divine textures work?


    "Ho-ho, the origin of the divine textures is even more complex than you can imagine. If you advance into the Upper World in the future, you will naturally be able to explore these things," the cyan dragon replied.


    As the number of runes in Yolande''s hands increased, the glowing structure of the runes also became more and more complex.


    Ten, twenty, thirty, fifty¡­


    When she had command over a hundred runes, she waved her slender hand and the runes fell like rain, quickly flying out behind her.


    "Freeze!"


    Yolande commanded in an authoritative tone then.


    At her words, the mournful wails behind them stopped.


    "She did it?" Zen''s eyes flashed hopefully.


    After the sound disappeared, Esther also drew in a deep, shuddering breath. It seemed that Yolande had succeeded!


    "I''ve only temporarily sealed it, and only for a short period of time. Let''s go," Yolande urged them on.


    Her words immediately made everyone''s hearts skip a beat. They began to run forward. After running for several dozen miles, they finally stopped. No one dared to risk glancing backward.


    "Ouch!"


    Fabian let out a long groan and heaved a sigh. Only now did he find some relief from the pain brought on by the Spiritual Thorn. Although he was still in pain and unable to think clearly, he still knew what had happened just now. He said miserably, "Luckily, Zen, you saved my life."


    "Can we look back now?" Esther asked. Not only Esther, but all of the others were still immersed in a gnawing fear.


    Yolande nodded and said, "I think we''ve finally gotten rid of that thing."


    Only then did they dare to turn their heads.


    As warriors, not one of them was afraid of those powerful monsters. What truly scared them was the unknown things, just like the thing that had been floating behind them. Until now, no one had known what that thing was.


    They turn


    ite ordinary. There were no inscriptions or any identifying markings on it. It was only a small, single gate like those found in ordinary houses.


    "This is the relic?" Fabian asked doubtfully.


    "Yes, there should be words hidden on that gate." Esther was still on high alert. She shot out a stream of life vitality towards that gate while cautiously keeping her distance.


    Back then, she had brought the members of the Demon Night here. Just as they had figured out the hidden words, they had been attacked by a group of poisonous ghost martens. So they had no choice then but to give up and leave.


    After Esther poured her life vitality into the gate, a row of large words appeared on it.


    "I am Adolph. I spent my life in fruitless efforts and my dreams shattered here. It''s..."


    It was obvious that the words on the gate was an epitaph that Adolph had written for himself.


    Yolande looked at the gate, lost in thought. Her eyes flickered. As she blinked, her face revealed a brief trace of grief.


    Lavender knitted her brows and said in disbelief, "Adolph is dead? Unexpectedly, he too died here!" As she spoke, she turned to look at Yolande with a mysterious expression on her face.


    "My Queen, who is Adolph?" Esther asked in a hushed tone.


    Lavender smiled faintly and answered, "He was a powerful being whose name could have shaken the entire world. I didn''t expect him to die here. What a joke!"


    Hearing Lavender''s words, Yolande lightly bit her lips but didn''t say anything.


    "This gate should then be a treasure left behind by Adolph, right?" Esther asked again.


    "Yes, indeed. This is his life''s treasure, the Gate of Samsara!" Lavender said in her usual deadpan voice. In fact, she was as experienced as Yolande. However, the secrets of the Dark Nether Cave had originated from the human race, so she certainly didn''t know them as well as Yolande did.

 Chapter 919 Cultivate Warrior Spirit (Part One)

    Their eyes lit up as Lavender spoke the name of the treasure. If they could collect this treasure, then that would surely mean... Could it be?


    Adolph, the owner of this gate, had nature under his thumb, which meant this treasure must undoubtedly be at the sacred level at least. Treasures above this level had never appeared on the Sea God Continent.


    However, Lavender''s next words doused their hope, as if being drenched in ice cold water. "Don''t even think of refining the Gate of Samsara! It''s of no use. Leave alone you guys, even Amber won''t be able to do it."


    "Why?" Fabian asked.


    Lavender ignored his question and only said, "Try it and you''ll know."


    Admittedly, temptation of the Gate of Samsara was too great for everyone, including Fabian. If they could bring the gate back, it would, without a doubt, be the most precious treasure of their clan.


    Fabian and Jarrod didn''t believe Lavender and walked on towards the gate.


    Esther also wanted to give it a try, but Lavender was her queen, and she didn''t doubt what Lavender had said. If Lavender said that the gate couldn''t be taken away, that was it. Esther contained the impulse to try refining it in her heart.


    As Fabian and Jarrod walked towards the gate, they saw that the words on the gate became bigger and bigger.


    Each of these words gave out a blinding aura. Only then did they realize that this was precisely why it was extremely difficult to approach the gate.


    "It''s strange! Really strange!" Fabian exclaimed.


    The gate had been standing there for years. The aura of the words written on it was constantly weakening with the passage of time. But it still was frightening. Just a few words, without any visible source of power being poured into them, made it difficult for Fabian and Jarrod to advance.


    They couldn''t help but wonder about how powerful the owner of the gate was.


    It took Fabian and Jarrod quite a few minutes to get close to the gate. They were already sweating profusely as they gasped for breath.


    "This gate is so weird!"


    "But we''re finally here!"


    They rested for a while, during which, both of them were preoccupied with their own thoughts. Zen was also here, and the woman who had presented herself as his sword spirit


    "Serves you right," Lavender sneered.


    Zen put up his hands, as if to indicate people to leave him out. He was not going to get involved in this.


    "My Queen, what is the use of this gate if it cannot be taken away?" Esther asked Lavender.


    Lavender smiled mysteriously and said, "Although it cannot be taken away, it is very useful to you."


    "What? Why?" Zen chipped in.


    "As its name, the Gate of Samsara, suggests, one of its most important abilities is to let you experience the endless cycle of birth and suffering and death and rebirth. It can cultivate your warrior spirit," Lavender answered.


    "It can cultivate warrior spirit?" Esther, Zen, and the others felt that was rather inconceivable.


    "Yes!" Lavender nodded.


    Warriors of the Lower World like Zen, Esther, and Fabian felt that the warrior spirit had to be slowly sharpened. They had to constantly take blows, exert themselves, and stabilize their spirit. This was a method for a warrior to temper his spirit, and also a process for a young warrior to mature slowly.


    But in the final analysis, the warrior spirit was only a part of their personality. To put it bluntly, it was their spirit. How could they cultivate it? Zen and the others couldn''t figure it out at all.


    Looking at their disbelieving faces, Lavender said, "In the Upper World, all kinds of cultivation methods are unimaginable. Since the Gate of Samsara is here, I think Yolande wouldn''t mind if you enter to cultivate. Am I right, Yolande?"

 Chapter 920 Cultivate Warrior Spirit (Part Two)

    The confusion increased. What was Yolande''s part in entering the Gate of Samsara? Lavender''s words were baffling and didn''t seem to make sense.


    But Yolande nodded cautiously and said, "You''re right. I don''t mind letting you in."


    "You don''t?" Esther stared at Yolande in bewilderment. "You''re the owner of the gate?"


    Yolande didn''t reply, and Lavender didn''t seem to have any intention of explaining to them.


    However, according to Lavender, this gate was magical and could not be taken away, which was why, despite their doubts, they would not let go of this opportunity to cultivate.


    Spirit could only be tempered by warriors'' experiences, and it was related to warriors'' growing environment and how they saw the world.


    For example, a talent who grew up without obstacles was spoken highly of and seldom encountered problems in his training. But his spirit was very fragile, and he was vulnerable to heavy blows. Once he became frustrated, it was very likely that he would never rise again and be a warrior.


    But if he could withstand the blows, he would become more mature, tenacious, and confident.


    The spirit could be sharpened by repeated attacks, which was inevitable for the growth of warriors.


    The opportunity to sharpen the spirit was a matter of chance rather than choice. Even a minor mistake would bring about great negative effects. So it was strange to hear that they could cultivate their spirit.


    "I''ll go inside first," Fabian said, taking the lead and walking up to the gate.


    It was difficult to collect the gate, but there was no prohibition on doing so. Fabian pushed at it lightly and it swung open.


    There was a small whirlpool in the middle of the gate, moving slowly anticlockwise.


    "Is it dangerous?" The scene worried Fabian, but he knew that caution was important for safety. Yolande and Lavender seemed to know the origin of the gate, but no one knew what danger was waiting for them.


    Lavender shook her head. "Not at all. You can go in."


    Fabian nodded and continued to walk ahead. As soon as he stepped into the whirlpool, a golden light flashed, in which everyone felt the passage of time.


    "It''s the Time Law," said Zen, staring at the light.


    It was not some low level Time Law that could be ignored, but a high layer one. No one could explain its mystery.


    After all, the warriors on the Sea God Continent could only comprehend the first or the second layer of the Time Law. In the Central Region, no one could comprehend the Time Law. Compared with the Space Law, the Time Law was ra


    ing on the wall of the Burning Sky Imperial Capital, holding a golden machete and looking into the distance.


    "My hands and feet are out of control." He subconsciously wanted to move but failed.


    He then involuntarily waved his machete and roared at the front, "My dear generals and soldiers, the Burning Sky Imperial Capital has been destroyed. After I ascend the throne, I''ll rule the city with you all!


    "Charge!"


    Beneath the wall, many soldiers in gold armor charged towards the Burning Sky Imperial Capital.


    Fire beacons could be seen everywhere within the Imperial Capital and blood was flowing on the ground like water.


    As Zen looked around, puzzled, dozens of emerald green lights suddenly rose in the sky before him. The first person to come into view was Aura.


    Many martial artists who were at the Internal Elixir Realm stood beside Aura.


    "Zen Luo, you traitor! The Burning Sky Palace will kill you no matter what price we may have to pay!"


    Aura, along with the martial artists at the Internal Elixir Realm, surrounded Zen like a stream of inescapable light.


    Zen laughed wildly. He waved his golden machete and ran ahead to meet the attack. The two sides began to fight fiercely.


    Zen was in the body that charged, but he couldn''t control what he said or what he did.


    He only knew that he had become a traitor to the Burning Sky Empire and was about to usurp the state power. If he defeated the people in front of him, he would be able to rule the empire and become a new emperor in the Eastern Region.


    "Is this what happened in the past? Or is it a dream?"


    Zen calmly watched the fierce battle in front of him. Like an outsider, he watched the drama unfold.

 Chapter 921 Ninety-nine Cycles Of Reincarnation

    The battle lasted a whole day and night. Corpses lay all over the Burning Sky Imperial Capital, surrounded by fiery light. The war had plunged the people of the empire into suffering and misery.


    Zen had killed ten masters of the Internal Elixir Realm with his strength alone. Only Aura had been able to escape.


    After that, Zen led a troop of soldiers to the Burning Sky Palace.


    In the end, he successfully ascended the throne that he had fought for day and night. He stood at the top of the Burning Sky Palace, overlooking the world.


    A million strong soldiers dressed in golden armor were kneeling in front of Zen with great respect. It was a spectacular scene to behold and the peak of Zen''s life.


    Aura, the last remaining descendant of the Su Clan, had been captured.


    "Is this another life of mine?" Zen frowned. Although these scenes were an illusion in Zen''s eyes, they were still vivid in his mind. He could see all the details. Everything seemed real but absurd.


    "I should be the one to kill the last princess of the Su Clan!"


    With that, Zen leaped up with his golden blade in hand and slashed at Aura. However, just as his blade was about to touch Aura''s skin, a ray of sword light shot toward him!


    Ding!


    The sword light knocked Zen''s golden machete away from Aura.


    "Rocher?" Zen saw Rocher dressed in a white robe and looking at him with an indifferent expression. Although Rocher was standing before one million strong soldiers, there wasn''t the slightest trace of fear on his face.


    "Who are you?" Zen couldn''t help but ask.


    Rocher smiled faintly. "Who am I? I''m a swordsman."


    "Why have you come here?" Zen asked again.


    "The Burning Sky Empire is an ally of the Cloud Sect, and the Cloud Sect is under the jurisdiction of the Cloud Hall. I come from the Cloud Hall," Rocher said nonchalantly. "If you want to usurp the throne, you have to ask the Cloud Hall members for their approval first!"


    "Go to hell!" Zen roared and rushed toward Rocher.


    Ding, ding, ding!


    The two of them attacked each other, exchanging thousands of strikes in the blink of an eye.


    In the end, Rocher retreated one hundred feet and raised his long sword. At that moment, the color of heaven and earth changed. The sky was overrun by dark clouds and smoky fog. The momentum of Rocher''s sword strike suppressed that of one million strong soldiers.


    "With your strength, you are far from qualified to be able to take over this country!" After Rocher finished speaking, he stabbed Zen with his sword.


    This sword strike was so powerful that Zen wasn''t able to block it. Rocher''s sword easily cut off Zen''s head from his body.


    The moment he was killed, Zen felt resentment, anger, helplessness, and other sorts of emotions swarming his mind.


    "Is this... my fate in another life?"


    The scenes gradually disappeared, and Zen found himself immersed in darkness once aga


    warriors lose themselves. The maximum number of cycles a warrior can experience in the Gate of Samsara is ninety-nine." Yolande seemed to know everything about the Gate of Samsara.


    "I see..." Zen finally understood why he had gone through reincarnation ninety-nine times. However, from the beginning to the end, he hadn''t felt like he was losing his warrior spirit at all.


    Looking at the Gate of Samsara, Fabian smacked his lips and said, "It really is a magical treasure. If only I could take it to the Purple Heart Sacred Place."


    Lavender sneered, "Take it to the Purple Heart Sacred Place? Do you really think you''ll be able to keep the Gate of Samsara there?"


    "What makes you think we won''t be able to keep it?" Fabian was slightly indignant.


    "If a treasure of this level leaves this place, the aura it emits will not be hidden by the Cursed Land. The Gate of Samara might attract supreme masters from the Upper World. With their powerful strength, those masters can easily destroy the entire Sea God Continent and take it away," Lavender uttered indifferently.


    Hearing Lavender''s words, Fabian went pale in shock.


    Lavender was right. Some inheritances within the Dark Nether Cave were too powerful and precious to be kept by a small force of the Lower World.


    Zen looked at the Gate of Samsara. He was still slowly digesting and comprehending the complex emotions that he had experienced in the cycles of reincarnation. At this moment, he said, "Since that''s the case, let''s continue our exploration!"


    Although the Gate of Samsara was magical, it wasn''t the inheritance that Mist had mentioned.


    "I''m afraid you won''t have the chance to continue the exploration now!" A deep voice rang out, loud and deafening enough to make everyone''s ears tingle.


    Zen was shocked to hear this familiar voice. He looked in the direction where the sound had come from and saw Malcom''s burly figure some distance away.

 Chapter 922 Block Malcoms Attack

    "A war sage!"


    Esther''s eyes widened in shock. Judging from the aura emitted from Malcom''s body, she figured he had already become a war sage!


    Fabian''s and Jarrod''s faces darkened immediately.


    Hadn''t the ogres already left the Tower of Sin? How had these two ogres appeared here?


    The sudden appearance of these two ogres reminded them of Colin and Neil, who had also suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the Tower of Sin. The ogres had dominated the Tower of Sin for so many years and had grasped some secrets about the tower that no one knew about.


    However, as much as all the warriors were surprised, they didn''t show any trace of fear on their faces. On the contrary, their breaths were steady and their auras were calm and unperturbed. Even when they were facing a war sage like Malcom, they were surprisingly composed.


    Ironically, it was Malcom who was slightly puzzled. A doubtful expression appeared on his face and he became alert at once.


    What was wrong with these guys? Why weren''t they panicking at all when death was at hand?


    He could understand the nonchalant looks on the faces of the two freaks, Lavender and Yolande. Since they were from the Upper World, their dedication to martial arts had taken them to a level that warriors from the Lower World would never be able to measure up to.


    For example, Yolande hadn''t even considered entering the Gate of Samsara because the cultivation method in the Gate of Samsara was useless to her. She had divided her soul into a million parts so that millions of her avatars could cultivate continuously at the same time. With the experiences she would gain from all these various separate bodies combined, her method of cultivation was countless times more efficient than that of the Gate of Samsara.


    But why would Zen and Esther be so calm?


    Even the usually timid Fabian and Jarrod, the two top-level war lords of the human race, looked at Malcom with indifferent expressions. What was going on?


    Malcom was a little disappointed and upset. He had hidden in the narrow secret passageway under the Tower of Sin for a few months, waiting for this moment to stun them all. He had expected Zen and the rest to either flee in panic or kneel down and beg for mercy the moment he showed up. He''d never expected them to stand calmly without the slightest trace of shock or fear.


    After some thought, he sneered. "Do you think you''re still in the Tower of Sin? Do you think that Zen still possesses the omnipotent ability to kill anyone?"


    When Fabian heard Malcom''s words, he calmly said, "Of course we aren''t as stupid as you think we are. But since you''re here, only a calm mind will help us deal with you."


    The thing was, Malcom didn''t know that these warriors had just experienced multiple cycles of life and death. They had experienced many different lives in the Gate of Samsara and had gained deep insight on life and death. As a result, they were more strong-willed now. This was the effect of cultivation on the warrior spirit!


    If a person''s warrior spirit was excitable, it would bring trouble at a critical moment. He wouldn''t even be able to bri


    ish evil god that was charging straight at Zen. Even though Fabian and Jarrod had gone all out to block it, they couldn''t stop it.


    Seeing that the saber had gotten enough to touch him, Zen threw a punch.


    "Star Shakes the Earth!"


    A vortex formed by the starlight instantly engulfed the evil god unleashed by Malcom''s strike.


    "Shatter!"


    Zen knew the power of his Stellar Body. The force of this punch would be able to kill a war sage who was at the initial level, so it should be enough for him to resist Malcom''s saber.


    However, something strange happened. Everybody watched in horror as the fierce-looking evil god split into three just as it was about to get sucked into the vortex. Turning into three separate blade energies, it charged toward Zen from three different directions.


    "Damn it!"


    Zen''s face darkened. It was obvious that he had underestimated the strength of a war sage. Or perhaps he had underestimated Malcom''s strength!


    The ogres must have left Malcom and Rehaan behind as part of a prudent plan when they had left the Tower of Sin. It was true that Malcom had made a breakthrough to become a war sage. But it wasn''t as simple as it seemed.


    "Huh! Shatter!"


    At this time, Lavender thrust her spear out from the side of Zen''s body, and the tip of the spear stabbed into a piece of blade energy. With a slight twist of her long spear, the blade energy was shredded into pieces.


    At the same time, Yolande started her finger attack, shattering another blade energy.


    As for the last blade energy, it was forcefully blocked by Zen''s sword, a top-grade sacred weapon.


    Malcom was taken aback when he saw that these warriors were able to block his attack. Then, he shook his head. "You''re not bad, Zen. You seem to have improved a lot in the past few months and now I have to look at you with new eyes. Perhaps in another year, I will be far from being your opponent. Unfortunately for you, you''re still not anywhere near being able to defeat me now. And you won''t have any chance to surpass me in the future, because you''re going to die today!"

 Chapter 923 The Core Area

    After Malcom had finished speaking, he took a black fruit from his space ring. With a gentle pinch of his fan-like hand, the fruit was instantly crushed.


    A black smoke emerged from the fruit and started to swirl around him.


    "Five months ago, I said that I''d kill you, Zen! Today, you will surely die here!" The black smoke continued to gather around him and turned into a huge pair of black wings which seemed to have sprouted from his back.


    Seeing those large black wings spread out, both Lavender and Yolande frowned at the same time.


    "The ogres have actually obtained that guy''s inheritance," Lavender said with a cold expression.


    Zen could feel that the pair of black wings was extraordinary, but even with his growing experience, he still could not recognize what it was.


    "This is the fruit of the Dark Sky Mage," Yolande clarified.


    "The Dark Sky Mage?" Zen was stunned.


    "It''s just that his name was Dark Sky Mage and he was a being similar to a world lord. He possessed the strength of a world lord, but he didn''t actually control a world. Probably, he was equivalent to the existence of an independent warrior of the Central Region," Lavender explained.


    "What is the use of this fruit?" Zen asked again.


    "As you can see, the fruit can greatly increase his strength within a short period of time." Lavender shook her head and whispered to Zen, "Get ready to run!"


    The vision and perceptions of both Lavender and Yolande were far beyond those of Zen, Esther, and the other warriors of the Lower World. At the beginning, Lavender had not proposed that they escape, instead she had determined that both sides still had the strength to fight. Even though Malcom was a war sage, they could still oppose him.


    Esther and the other two top-level war lords of the Demon Night were capable of dealing with Rehaan and the three other top-level war lords of the Night Group. What Zen and the others needed to do was stall Malcom. Once Esther and her companions finished off their opponents, they could join forces with Zen and his companions. Malcom would probably not be able to win against them all.


    But Lavender hadn''t expected that Malcom actually had the fruit of the Dark Sky Mage. In reality, the fruit could not only stimulate the potential of one''s body, but could also enable one to use a kind of secret technique. As to whether or not Malcom possessed this secret technique, it would all depend on whether or not the ogres had obtained the complete inheritance of the Dark Sky Mage.


    With both hands on the spear, Lavender raised it and thrust it toward Malcom. An invisible and deadly wave was about to pierce through him.


    "Go!" Of course, Lavender didn''t think for even a moment that her attack would be able to kill Malcom. The only thing she could hope to gain would be time¡ªtime for Zen to retreat.


    Of course, Zen wouldn''t flaunt his true strength at such a critical time. As soon as Lavender finished speaking, he shot backwards like a flying arrow.


    On the other hand, Esther was leading the two top-level war lords of the Demon Night to fo


    resence. As long as Zen didn''t die, she wouldn''t disappear or perish.


    However, she was constantly being destroyed by Malcom and she had to materialize again and again. This was rather energy-consuming. The red light emitted by the sword spirit was dimming. If the energy of the sword spirit was consumed beyond a certain extent, she would only recover after slowly nurturing herself within Zen''s body.


    The situation now looked bleak for Zen.


    Esther, Fabian, Jarrod, and the others were also trying to think of a way to get rid of Malcom. Running away without offering any resistance did not mean that they had given up. For them, being chased by Malcom was also not going to be a good thing.


    During the chase, both sides continued to move forward. Ten miles, a hundred miles, two hundred miles...


    At this point, everyone slowly realized that something was wrong with the scene ahead of them.


    After they had previously entered the inner area, the surrounding scenery had slowly lost its color. But now, the surrounding landscape seemed to have disappeared. Around them there was only black ground now, while the trees, grasses, mountains, and the other things had vanished.


    "A fog is rising. The fog is starting to form around the area," Zen suddenly said.


    "Fog?" Esther''s expression suddenly changed when she heard Zen''s words. Even though she had just experienced thirteen cycles of reincarnation, her heart couldn''t help but tighten right now.


    Fabian and Jarrod looked up, and said in unison, "I don''t see any fog..."


    Yolande said affirmatively, "There is indeed fog, but it''s still very thin!"


    "Oh no, I''m afraid... I''m afraid that we''ve entered the core area!" Esther''s face sank, and her body abruptly came to a stop.


    As they spoke, the surrounding fog thickened. Even Fabian and the others could see a layer of faint fog slowly floating up. This fog was quickly becoming thick enough to be seen.


    As soon as they stopped, Malcom came over to them. At the same time, he said with a sneer, "Why aren''t you running anymore?"

 Chapter 924 The Fog

    Esther looked at Malcom. One after another, waves of life vitality spread out, and hundreds of flowers bloomed, forming a semi-circular domain of protection for everyone within.


    It was only after reaching the Soul Sea Realm could one have a domain of his or her own. However, Esther''s cultivation method was special, allowing her to create her own "Myriad Flowers Domain."


    "You think you will be able to stop me with just these flowers?" Malcom snorted contemptuously. The pair of wings on his back flapped as he took a step forward in the air. A fist shot out and the floral domain was instantly destroyed.


    Esther''s expression turned grim while a smug smile appeared on Malcom''s face. In the past, she was unbeatable, even Maurice wasn''t a match for her. But now, she couldn''t even withstand a single punch from Malcom.


    But she didn''t seem too perturbed. With a wave of her hands, more flowers bloomed to protect them. She said calmly, "Malcom, don''t you feel the changes around us?"


    "Changes?" He squinted his eyes and looked at the fog. Suddenly, he remembered something very important. His expression changed. "This is..."


    Just then Rehaan, Shane and the other two members of the Night Group rushed over. Rehaan shouted loudly, "Bad news! Malcom, we seem to have fallen into..."


    "Fog..." Malcom completed Rehaan''s sentence.


    Fog was a very common sight on the Sea God Continent. The weather would become foggy when winter was about to pass and spring was about to come.


    But here in the Dark Nether Cave, it was different. There was only one place here that had fog, and that was the core area. Encountering the fog was equivalent to entering the core area.


    The reason why the Dark Nether Cave had fog was still an unsolved mystery to the numerous warriors on the Sea God Continent. However, every single warrior in the Tower of Sin was grateful to the fog.


    The Dark Nether Cave was filled with Dark Nether Death Light all year round. Except for the monsters inside the Cave, none of the creatures outside could fight the Dark Nether Death Light. No matter how powerful they were, the Dark Nether Death Light would turn them to pus.


    It was believed that the Dark Nether Death Light originated from the core area of the Dark Nether Cave. However, every year, for a period of time, fog would rise up from the core area. It was precisely this fog that caused the Dark Nether Death Light to weaken greatly, giving the warriors in the Tower of Sin an opportunity to enter the Dark Nether Cave.


    Without this layer of fog, no one on the Sea God Continent would have ever been able to set foot in the Dark Nether Cave.


    Although the warriors were grateful for


    had indeed become very powerful. However, Esther had some trump cards up her sleeve too. If both sides used their full strength, they would definitely fight to the death. The final outcome would be hard to predict.


    "She''s right. Malcom, let''s think of a way to get out of this fog!" Shane said with a hopeful expression. But in his heart, he thought, today was the unluckiest day of his life. If he had known this, he wouldn''t have informed Malcom about Zen''s whereabouts earlier. He would rather be torn to pieces by the Swallowing Birds and Azure Wolves than die in this damned place.


    Malcom took a deep breath. "The fog is only a legend. No one knows what is exactly in it. I don''t think we can''t leave this place," he said coldly.


    Nobody knew much about the fog, and most of what they knew about the fog came from rumors and speculation. It was said that once somebody was trapped in the fog, it was impossible to leave it, but that might not be true.


    It was just some fog. Was it really enough to trap so many warriors?


    "Let''s just agree to disagree for the time being and put aside our differences. We''ll talk about it after we leave the fog," Esther suggested.


    "That''s not a bad idea!" Shane said with a flattering smile.


    Malcom glared at Shane fiercely, causing him to immediately shut up. He then nodded, "Alright! Let''s talk after we leave the fog! Let''s go back the way we came."


    The path they had taken to get there was not complicated. This area was completely barren, without even a small mound of soil. It was extremely desolate.


    Two teams of people, one in front and the other behind, carefully made their way back.


    The fog had been rather thin a moment ago, but now it was as thick as milk. Everyone''s vision was blocked by the blinding fog.

 Chapter 925 The Maze (Part One)

    Due to the unexpected appearance of the fog, the two sides temporarily stopped fighting and decided to escape the invasive fog first. However, they still remained a considerable distance with each other, making sure they were completely aware of the movements of their opponents.


    After all, they were enemies, not friends.


    As of the moment, Malcom had chased them for about thirty miles persistently. However, he was certain of the fact that he had not been there for long since he entered the region surrounded by the fog, as he estimated he only traveled for about four or five miles in total.


    Judging by the flying speed of this particular group of warriors, they fathomed that they should be able to return in a few minutes.


    Everyone''s hearts were seemingly troubled as they all visibly sported identical looks of apprehension--no one was certain enough to quell their doubts about whether or not they could even walk out of the fog.


    Five more minutes had passed by, yet they still found themselves still stuck in the thick fog. Glancing at one another with uneasiness, they knew that with their current flying speed, they should have flown dozens of miles in that short period of time. In spite of this, the fog still appeared to have no end in sight even if they felt they were closer and closer to way out. With furrowed eyebrows, they were slightly panicking at the fact that they could not even see any sign that indicated the edge of the hazy fog.


    "Damn it! We''re done for. It''s just like the rumors have said! Once we enter the fog, there will be no turning back¡­" a worried expression was painted across Shane''s features as he morosely uttered.


    "Shut up," Malcom berated. Although he still had the grit to maintain a false sense of calm on the surface, he could not deny the truth that he was a little alarmed and anxious by the way things were going. As a matter of fact, the ogre race was the race who happened to be the most familiar with the Dark Nether Cave. Previously, several races had joined hands to explore and discover what lay beneath the core area of the Dark Nether Cave. Moreover, the number of warriors that the ogre race had specifically sent out was more than that of the others. As not a single soul had returned, the ogre race suffered the mos


    fact, even a small kid could tell something that obvious so Zen''s words were undoubtedly a bit confusing to understand.


    Sighing once again, Zen gave Shane an indifferent look before walking closer to the offended man. Once he was at arm''s length, Zen reached his hand out and tore a piece of cloth from his sleeve. Nodding to the other direction, he said to Shane, "Come here."


    "What are you planning to do?" The man cautiously stared at Zen as he anticipated what he was about to do next.


    "Don''t worry, I only need you to help me conduct an experiment. I''m not going to fight with you," Zen simply said, crossing his arms against his chest.


    Truthfully, Shane did not want to go with him, and it was written all over his face just by the way he doubtfully looked between Malcom and the rest of his companions. If Zen were to suddenly attack him, with the watchful presence of several others by his side, how could he resist then?


    However, upon observing Zen''s genuine gesture, Malcom seemed to have his mind made up as he promptly ordered, "Shane, go over to him."


    Seeing as he could not deliberately refuse Malcom''s command, he had no choice but to brace himself and walk up to Zen who was patiently waiting for him.


    Raising the strip of cloth in his hand right in front of the hesitant man, Zen looked at Shane directly in his eyes before instructing him carefully, "Now, you don''t need to fly. You don''t have to use your life vitality or your other special senses. Just try to walk forward by instinct!"

 Chapter 926 The Maze (Part Two)

    "What is this¡­" Needless to say, Shane was terribly confused of what Zen was asking him to do.


    "Just do as I say," Zen urged him, giving him a pointed look.


    Distractedly turning his back to look at Malcom, Shane gulped once he saw him staring at him with such fierceness. With no other choice, Shane sighed in defeat as he walked over to Zen and the man instantly covered his eyes with the cloth. After blindfolding Shane, Zen then asserted, "Now, move forward."


    Under Zen''s directive, Shane took his first step forward and hesitantly walked further.


    "Go, keep going!"


    With Zen constantly urging him from behind, Shane lost his uncertainty little by little and his speed steadily increased as he rapidly strode onward.


    A hundred feet easily became two hundred, which reached three hundred in no time at all. Not a long moment after, he had walked over four hundred feet.


    The young warrior was already far ahead, and his figure slowly sank into the embrace of the fog, like a stone dropping into a vast lake.


    "Where am I? Can I stop now?" he asked, his voice briefly cracking due to him being slightly worried of his surroundings. In reality, Shane was not the type of person to be overly courageous in the face of something he feared. Furthermore, he was currently in the Dark Nether Cave. Who knew whether a demonic beast would suddenly jump out and swallow him in the next moment? As he was temporarily banned from using his sight, he felt his heartbeat rise erratically with the sudden realization that he was alone.


    Before Malcom was about to say something as he noticed something strange, Zen stopped him. At the same time, Zen activated his life vitality to talk to Shane directly, "Go, go on! You''re very close to the finish line!"


    Upon hearing the urgent voice, Shane quickened his pace significantly and rushed forward without hesitation.


    From the start of his walk until the end, everyone attentively observed Shane''s movements to see if what Zen was spouting was indeed true. Loud gasps were heard from the warriors as they watched Shane walk around in a big circle before finally returning to the starting point, which was beside Zen. Once he stopped, Zen then took the cloth off Shane''s face.


    The moment Shane opened his eyes and blinked to adjust his vision from the sudden brightness, he immediately saw everyone standing around him. Confusedly tilting his head to one side, he asked them apprehensively, "You¡­, you have been following me the entire time?"


    Everyone shook their heads in de


    eculation. Instead, he realized with a start that they had moved sometimes left, sometimes right, sometimes far away, and sometimes unnervingly close.


    It was as if they were lost in a special space!


    Despite his sudden alarm at what he had just become aware of, Zen did not dare reveal the secret to the others due to the following considerations. Firstly, it was unnecessary for him to divulge it as of now, and secondly, it might even cause more panic and anxiety.


    At the present, everyone continued to move forward even more cautiously. It was not just Zen alone who would occasionally drop down and make some marks, but the others soon followed his example.


    Without them noticing, five minutes had passed.


    Ten minutes later, they still persistently walked forward.


    Fifteen minutes later, they were still going at it, to no avail.


    Although some of them started to feel tired and worn out, the warriors determinedly strode forward even after two hours had passed.


    With their method, it was not long before they reached the four-hour mark.


    As time perpetually ticked on and on, everyone''s heart, as well as their hope in ever finding a way out, gradually sank to the bottom.


    Even though they did use their own methods to leave marks on the ground, it was to their disappointment later on when they eventually found out that the marks they had left were useless as they reappeared disorderly. For example, upon discovering the first mark and expecting to see the second mark next, they all groaned inaudibly as the sixth mark popped out in front of them instead.


    In this fog, panic seized their very bones as there seemed to be a massive space maze around them.

 Chapter 927 The Mysterious Red Dot

    "I, I can''t take it anymore!"


    As everyone walked quietly, Shane suddenly let out a scream and broke the silence.


    In this thick fog, they felt extremely alert and sensitive. Everything around them was depressing. Shane and others were already on the verge of despair.


    Fabian, Jarrod and Esther however were still calm. After all, they had passed through the Gate of Samsara and cultivated a high level on their warrior spirit. On the other hand, Shane and the others hadn''t entered the Gate of Samsara. Their warrior spirit was far from being stable enough to fight dangerous situations. They lacked confidence to face what was ahead of them and it could be imagined how frightened they felt at the moment.


    "If we stop and stay where we are, we''ll just die here," Malcom said indifferently. He was not in the mood to care about Shane.


    "It''s impossible for us to get out of here! We will die at this damned forsaken place!" Shane said with a crazily despaired look on his face.


    "Oh? You really think so?" Malcom waved his fists towards Shane, "If you don''t shut up I''ll send you to hell right now!"


    Seeing that Malcom was really going to give a blow, Shane immediately shut his mouth.


    In such bad circumstances, it was indeed not a wise choice to speak such depressing words like Shane did. It could very easily break the nerves of others!


    At that moment, one of the top-level war lords from the Demon Night suddenly pointed forward and shouted, "Look! What is that?"


    Everyone turned to look in the direction he was pointing to and saw a red dot in the distance.


    This strange red dot hung in the sky like a rising sun in the morning mist.


    The fog that surrounded them was thick enough to block everyone''s sights. No one could see anything 1000 feet away. How was the light emitted by that red dot able to penetrate through the layers of fog? Everyone could see it clearly.


    Zen raised his head as his eyes flickered with a bright jade-green light. Even his magic vision wasn''t able to look through the strange fog. However, when he activated his vision ability, the red dot became a little clearer.


    "This light reminds me of the Dark Nether Death Light. Don''t you think so?" Zen inquired.


    Esther nodded and agreed, "You''re right. It''s very likely that all of the Dark Nether Death Light in the Dark Nether Cave originated from this red dot shrouded in mist!"


    "Which means that after walking for so long we are not getting away from the fog. Instead, we''re actually getting closer and closer to the core area. We are actually moving towards the wrong direction ¡ª the direction of the core area!" As Fabian drew this conclusion he looked extremely frightened.


    Everyone couldn''t help but swallow hard in fear. They didn''t know what was in the core area, but obviously, they would get easily killed no matter what it was.


    "Let''s move away from it!" Malcom''s eyes lit up as he suggested, "Since we have the red dot as reference, we can move away from it and find our way out! Anyway, it won''t be wrong to get away from that


    ly revealed a cold sneer. She knew Yolande''s personality and that this girl had always been like this.


    "What is the other way if there indeed is one? Can you just say it once and for all?" Malcom said angrily.


    Yolande, without caring that they were shouting and getting angrier by the second, slowly explained, "We have to find the array plate that controls the array. Only then will we be able to leave."


    "Where is the array plate?" someone asked.


    Yolande shook her head, "I''ve never been to the Dark Nether Cave before, and this is my first time here. I don''t know how to find it. But my guess is that it''s somewhere in the core area."


    "Well, since you''ve never been in here before, how do you know about these things of the Dark Nether Cave?" Malcom asked as he stared at Yolande with doubtful eyes.


    Yolande blinked, lowered her head staring at the floor covered in fog and said, "I won''t tell you."


    "She keeps acting like this!" someone complained.


    Hearing this, Malcom almost went berserk and was about to attack Yolande.


    He suppressed the anger rising in his heart, and sighed deeply, "Now let''s move on and see where our fates will guide us to! If it''s impossible for us to leave here, we''ll head straight to the core area. If the luck is on our side, we might even get rare treasures and opportunities there!"


    Nobody said a word. Under such circumstances they had no other choice but to follow him.


    Resigned to their bad luck they felt calmer and ready to face all kinds of situations ahead. This was the only thing they could do. If they were to end their lives in this place, they could do nothing but give their best shot at fighting it.


    The red dot hanging in the sky had now grown to the size of a plate. They began to feel the power of the Dark Nether Death Light growing stronger. Even though the thick fog still surrounded them, the Dark Nether Death Light was able to penetrate through it. It was a life-or-death situation. The ultimate test was to defend their lives from the deadly light.

 Chapter 928 A Mummy

    Those rumors were not completely wrong. The Dark Nether Death Light had indeed come from the core area. To be exact, it was being emitted by the red dot!


    As the fog rose and covered it, the Dark Nether Death Light in the Dark Nether Cave was becoming weaker, which was why many creatures in the Tower of Sin had enjoyed the occasional chance to enter the cave.


    But now, as the group slowly approached that red dot, the Dark Nether Death Light became brighter, and it posed an even greater threat to everyone on the journey to the core.


    Thanks to the thick fog, they could still manage to resist the Dark Nether Death Light at first. But as they drew closer to the red dot, the power of the Dark Nether Death Light was becoming stronger. How would they be able to withstand it when they finally reached it?


    When this question entered their minds unbidden, everyone began to hesitate again, and their pace decreased¡­


    Previously, they had thought that, ''no risk, no reward''. They had hoped that if they shook off all of their worries and kept moving forward towards the core, there might be an opportunity which might present itself to get them out of there.


    But now, they knew without a doubt that they were heading down a path of no return. No one knew what awaited them, whether there were some extremely powerful beasts or monsters waiting for them in the core or not, but they all knew with certainty that just the Dark Nether Death Light alone was enough to claim their lives!


    "I''ll stop here! If I go any further, I will definitely die. The Dark Nether Death Light alone is powerful enough to kill me!" Shane crumpled down to the ground in a pitiful heap. Fear had gnawed at his fragile courage.


    The rest also stopped. Although Shane was a little timid, what he had said was right. No one present could resist the Dark Nether Death Light.


    At this point, Yolande glanced at Shane. Perhaps she too was exhausted, so she gently lifted up the hem of her dress and sat down beside Zen. She muttered, "It''s the same whether we keep walking or not."


    "What do you mean?" Malcom asked, confused.


    Yolande wrapped her arms around her knees and said lightly, "You will know in a little while."


    Malcom was already used to Yolande''s strange manner and he stopped asking. They had traveled for half a day, so they decided to rest here for the time being.


    Esther retrieved a water bottle from her space ring and raised her head to drink. Everyone else also took the opportunity to get some rest. The danger fraught journey had taken its toll on their bodies and minds.


    However, not long after they had sat down to take a break, Fabian pointed at the horizon and said in a trembling voice, "That, that red dot! It seems to have grown bigger¡­"


    Everyone looked up with fear and suspicion written on their tired faces. Indeed, even though they had stopped, the red dot had still grown larger!


    "What¡­what is going on?" Shane cradled his head in his hands, his face full of despair.


    Thinking of what Yolande had just said, Malcom glared at her and said coldly, "You knew about it from the beginning?"


    Yolande nodded and said seriously, "Yes. Even if we don''t move, we will still be dragged near to the


    e Sun World and also Yolande''s brother."


    "So, Yolande''s brother died here." Zen nodded his head with sudden insight.


    Hearing the conversation between Lavender and Zen, Malcom''s and Esther''s gazes flickered. Someone at the level of the leader of a world was a notion too distant for them to fully grasp. Even the big shots of the Upper World would never notice the Sea God Continent. However, since this mummy was a world lord and he died here, everyone wondered what kind of treasure he had left with him at this place. It could be beyond their wildest imaginings!


    Thinking of this, the eyes of Malcom and those of several others with him became greedy.


    They knew it would be very difficult for them to leave this place. However, as the saying went, ''Man proposes, god disposes''. If they could somehow manage to successfully leave this place and they missed such a good opportunity, they would regret it for the rest of their lives.


    Thinking of this, Malcom took a step forward and rushed towards the bottom of the crater.


    At this point, Yolande took a bracelet off from the mummy''s wrist. There was a golden skylark that hung at the end of the bracelet.


    "A space bracelet?" Weapon refiners could create Sumeru Space storage items in many forms. It could be a ring or a bracelet. Malcom''s eyes flashed with excitement at the sight of the space bracelet. Just as he was about to reach out his hand to grab it, Yolande turned her head and warned him, "If you ever want to walk out of this fog, I''d advise you to keep your hands away from this."


    Then all of the other warriors also walked down into the crater. Since Malcom seemed about to attack, Esther and the rest were on their guard. After all, Yolande belonged to the human race.


    When they heard Yolande''s words, their eyes widened. Malcom asked in a deep voice, "You mean, you have a way to get out of this fog?"


    Yolande didn''t respond. Instead, she put the bracelet carefully away, still quite expressionless. Then she took out a yellow talisman from her own space ring. She gently placed it on the mummy''s chest. With a light touch, the mummy suddenly opened its eyes!

 Chapter 929 Smelting The Giant Sword

    The mummy suddenly opened its eyes, startling everyone.


    Especially Malcom, who was standing the closest to Yolande. He suddenly retreated several steps as though he had been bitten by a venomous snake. He stared at the mummy warily.


    After all, the mummy used to be a world lord. He had the strength to control the world when he was alive. Now all that was left of him was a corpse, but the moment he opened his eyes, he caused fear in the hearts of the onlookers.


    Yolande glanced at Malcom lightly before saying, "I didn''t know how to leave the core area. But I do know now."


    Everyone stared at the mummy carefully, afraid that it might come back to life. They couldn''t imagine the strength of a world lord. Even one in ten thousand of his strength might be enough to kill everyone.


    However, along with fear, one more emotion shone in the eyes of the onlookers, and that was greed, just like it did in Malcom''s eyes.


    Regardless of the mummy''s previous identity, what he offered at this point was a great opportunity for everyone. Even the contents of the skylark bracelet that Yolande just took were hard to imagine.


    Although they all eyed the skylark bracelet, they still had to be reasonable. Yolande knew more about the Dark Nether Cave than anyone else, and she said that there was a way to leave this place.


    Opportunities were important, but survival was more important, so was leaving this damn place. They had to get out of the fog no matter what. Otherwise, they would die!


    Zen, on the other hand, had an altogether different concern. He asked Lavender in a low voice, "If Yolande knew her brother died here, why did she wait until now to enter the Dark Nether Cave?"


    He knew that it had been quite a long time since Yolande had entered the Tower of Sin. If her only goal was to collect her brother''s belongings, there was no need to wait until now to enter the Dark Nether Cave. After all, the Dark Nether Cave opened every year.


    Lavender shrugged her shoulders and said, "I''m not sure." After thinking for a while, she added, "Maybe it''s because of you."


    "Me?" Zen frowned.


    "It''s just a guess, but she has been following you from the beginning of the trip to the Dark Nether Cave. Collecting her brother''s belongings might not be her only goal. There is some other reason too," Lavender said. "That guy called Immortal Mist, who gave you the Jade Butterfly, may also have his own ideas. If you find the inheritance, then you''ll have to act according to the circumstances. He may not be a good person."


    It was purely speculation. From Lavende


    a small hill.


    But not this sword. It just did not budge.


    In the end, Malcom jumped down from the huge sword looking resentful.


    "I can''t take this sword away!" Malcom walked to the side with his hands behind his back. Having entered the treasure mountain but leaving empty-handed was indeed depressing.


    Now Zen walked towards the sword.


    "Humph! You think you can pull out the sword?" Malcom sneered.


    "Zen, the weight of this sword cannot be estimated. Even if your strength differs from an ordinary person''s, you still won''t be able to pull it out," Fabian reminded him.


    Zen smiled and said, "Who said I wanted to pull it out?"


    The moment he said that, Yolande immediately understood what he wanted to do. Lavender agreed, "This sword has no owner. Since we can''t take it away, it wouldn''t be a bad idea to smelt it."


    "Smelt it?" Shane narrowed his eyes and laughed. "It''s not that simple to smelt this sword!"


    "This sword of the Upper World has been standing here for countless years. The power contained in this giant sword is far beyond what we can imagine. Even if all of the weapon refiners in the world were invited here, they still wouldn''t be able to smelt it," Jarrod said and shook his head.


    Zen, however, did not speak. He walked to the side of the giant sword and sat down cross-legged. He had already used his black flame before them, and there was no need for him to conceal it. With a blink of his eye, the black flame in his mind shot out towards the giant sword.


    "The black flame..." Esther and Fabian had seen Zen''s black flame before, but Malcom had never seen it. The moment the black flame made contact with the sword, a small hole immediately appeared on its blade.

 Chapter 930 Rebuild Heavenly Body

    It wasn''t only Malcom who was shocked at the scene. Fabian and Esther were equally taken aback.


    Zen''s black flame appeared almost invincible upon exploding. It had even burnt the tongue of the Bull-like Giant Toad.


    No matter how powerful the Bull-like Giant Toad was, it was still flesh and blood. It was less shocking that the black flame could burn the toad like that. But the sword in front of them was definitely something stronger than a sacred weapon.


    It could even be a divine weapon.


    Although no one was sure, they could guess it was a divine weapon. But Zen''s black flame had even started to smelt the sword! And that too, in a very brief time!


    To Esther and the others, it seemed like an unbelievably fast speed, while to Zen, it seemed rather slow.


    Earlier in time, when any weapon was burnt by the black flame, a gentle flick of the flame was enough to burn all the impurities of the weapon. But this sword was different. It had resisted the black flame for a few seconds before it started to melt down completely. Parallel to that, a lot of heavenly essence started to fly towards Zen like water running in a stream.


    "That is a lot of heavenly essence!


    "Wow! This heavenly essence can be used to refine weapons!" Fabian exclaimed.


    But there wasn''t a single weapon refiner present at the scene. The heavenly essence was rare, but it wasn''t of much use for any unskilled, normal person.


    While Zen continued smelting the sword further, a small hole started to appear right at its center, gradually growing bigger and bigger. Finally, it grew as wide as the width of the sword and the bottom half of the sword turned into a burning, viscous liquid.


    Thereafter, the upper half fell on the ground with a loud bang, piercing it while causing a deep fissure into it.


    Zen did not even glance at it as he continued to smelt the remains of the sword, his eyes focused on what was now an undulating surface. The amount of heavenly essence produced by this sword was equivalent to that created by millions of fairy weapons combined! It flowed towards Zen in torrents and he collected it without letting any of it go to waste.


    Zen''s increased strength would also have an effect on the power of the dragon scales, making them much more important. If used correctly at critical times, the power of the dragon scales could produce a miraculous effect.


    Now that Zen had also established the Hundred Meetings Platform in his body and gone through body refinement, his physique had improved impressively. With his new form and the posture that came with it, he could withstand even greater strength.


    As he smelt the sword with all his force, in his mind he asked the cyan dragon, "What will happen if I light up all the dragon scales?"


    Until now, he had only lit up a few dragon scales, and he had never imagined lighting all of them at all. He couldn''t even have imagined how much heavenly essence it would take to do such a task.


    But now, he unde


    and stronger!


    The red dot in the sky was already the size of a wheel. Even with the multiple layers of fog blocking the red dot, the Dark Nether Death Light was able to exert and multiply the pressure on everyone''s protective life vitality.


    Although everyone''s life vitality could withstand it, the consumption rate was becoming faster and faster. In a very short period of time, Fabian had already taken out two supreme life vitality crystals, crushed them and absorbed the life vitality within to supplement himself.


    Malcom and Rehaan were even more troubled. They were body refiners, and relied on the protection of the forceful energy, which couldn''t be replenished with life vitality crystals. It could only be generated by their own bodies slowly.


    It was alright in the beginning as the pressure of the Dark Nether Death Light wasn''t too great and the consumption of forceful energy was minimal in its comparison. Malcom and Rehaan could withstand the Dark Nether Death Light with their powerful bodies alone, and did not need the protection of their forceful energy.


    But as they got closer and closer to the red dot, the Dark Nether Death Light became more intense, leaving them no choice but to use their forceful energy to protect themselves.


    They were not worried at the beginning. After all, the speed at which the forceful energy was generated within their bodies was faster than the speed at which the forceful energy was consumed.


    But it was now becoming very troublesome for them to maintain a balance between the two. They were unable to replenish the forceful energy in time, and were slowly running out of it.


    Once the entirety of their forceful energy was used up, their bodies would directly be facing the increasingly intense and deadly Dark Nether Death Light with no protection.


    That was almost like standing naked in a world full of flames, or a world full of ice! How could they possibly resist and get away alive with something like that?

 Chapter 931 The Wrong Move

    Malcom and Rehaan were in a tight fix. The condition at hand was now beyond their command. They weren''t imbeciles to fail to discover this for themselves.


    "Stop!" Malcom shouted in incredulity. His face portrayed coldness.


    Zen glanced at him and asked, "What is it?"


    "We are stuck. This is the furthest we can move," Malcom replied.


    The obstacle had out-powered them. Cultivating forceful energy was the fundamental reason they had this substantial burden on their shoulder. However, they were not the particular ones encountering this dilemma.


    Fabian and Esther could reaffirm their life vitality with life vitality crystals. They cultivated their life vitality instead of their bodies. But now, both the life vitality consumption and their life vitality crystal consumption were accelerating at a lightning speed.


    "Yes, Zen, if we continue marching ahead, we will have slim chances of combating the Dark Nether Death Light!" Fabian said in a distressed tone.


    Suddenly, Lavender sneered, "Didn''t you already know? You will be dragged closer to the red dot in this fog whether you move or not."


    The closer they drew to the red dot, the mightier the Dark Nether Death Light became. The logic of this caused their hearts to sink with dread. How would they withdraw themselves and be spared from this condition? Getting close to the core was a tremendous blunder because they wouldn''t have the restraint from the fog. Withstanding the Dark Nether Death Light would be an arduous ordeal.


    At the same moment, everyone peered at Yolande.


    "Put your life vitality into that stuff surrounding your neck," she said to Zen.


    Yolande had attached this crab-shaped substance around Zen''s neck in no time. As she did that, everyone present had been curious. Now that she mentioned the item, they all gazed at it.


    "What is that for?"


    "It looks like a precious gem."


    "Can it protect us?"


    Zen did what he was told without a question. Yolande''s voice expressed affirmation of being competent to guide everyone out of this fog. If that was the case, resisting Dark Nether Death Light wouldn''t be a hard nut to crack.


    Zen lifted his hand and infused an upsurge of life vitality into the crab in front of his chest.


    Zing, zing, zing...


    An orange glimmer of light radiated from the crab. It covered a section of two hundred feet, spreading quickly in all directions.


    Everyone was submerged when the light was emitted. Dark Nether Death Light had dwindled, and its pressure had slackened. Malcom and the others felt the hasty development.


    "It''s amazing. It can block Dark Nether Death Light!"


    "It seems that Yolande really has a plan!"


    "But why would she give that item to Zen?"


    Yolande''s method wo


    h Zen. Everyone looked at Yolande, who usually was calm. Her pale face shocked them. After all, this was a dangerous place. They all started to flee. In an instant, they all ran into the light barrier and kept on running.


    Shane marched on to the plant, but something weird happened just before he spread his hand out to dig it out. The plant suddenly grew taller and a small bud quickly surfaced in the middle of the two leaves.


    The bud blossomed. The mysterious part was that in bloom was an incomparably strange face instead of a flower. The odd face rumbled as a lion at Shane. Everyone glanced as Shane''s protective life vitality instantly dissipated. Afterwards his skin instantly disappeared, revealing the fresh red flesh, and very soon, the flesh also proceeded to disintegrate, exposing his white bones.


    After all this, the bones were not spared. They disappeared into thin air. The only item that was spared was a few fragments of clothing that hovered in the air before dropping on the ground.


    "What in God''s name could this be?" Malcom exclaimed, dumbstruck. Shane''s wretched state freaked the misery out of him.


    Fabian shook his head. "Who the hell knows? Here anything is achievable, so be ready to face the impossible!" he said.


    "But that thing has no hands or feet. It won''t be chasing us, right?" Jarrod asked.


    Yolande didn''t answer. Instead, she continued running in front along with Zen.


    As soon as Jarrod finished speaking, a touch of green appeared in front of the crowd. Everyone glanced over and saw that the green leaves were exactly the same as the ones they had seen earlier. Clearly the plant had just emerged from under the ground.


    Everyone finally understood why Yolande had asked Zen to run. The plant indeed had no hands or legs, but it was able to travel underground!

 Chapter 932 Watchdog Of Hell

    As the group of cultivators tried to flee, the plant grew rapidly and formed a flower bud that bloomed right in front of their eyes.


    "Die!"


    Malcom waved his fist in the direction of the strange plant.


    Malcom''s surging fist aura enveloped the plant with billowing smoke, creating a muffled sound.


    But when the smoke dissipated, he was astonished to see that the plant was completely unharmed. The flower bud continued blooming. Soon, the face of a ghost would form on it.


    "Hurry up! Let''s fly higher!" Fabian urged.


    Zen was fully alert. When he heard Fabian''s words, he instantly lifted his body and flew upward. The orange light barrier around the treasure hanging on his chest turned into a circular protection barrier that enveloped everyone within.


    Unfortunately, as they flew up to the sky, the green plant also started to grow upward at the same speed that they were flying.


    "Be quick! Don''t stop!" Jarrod roared.


    Everyone moved as fast as they could. By the time the flower bud fully bloomed and revealed the sinister face inside it, they were quite a distance away from it. All of a sudden, they heard a terrifying scream coming from behind them. Fear gripped their hearts.


    "It''s not over yet! Look at the ground!" A top-level war lord of the Night Group said with a fearful expression as he pointed below.


    Everyone looked down and saw many green dots appearing on the ground below them. It was obvious that each of these green dots was a sinister plant. In fact, there was only one plant, but its huge body was buried deep underground. At this moment, its roots were spreading upward and approaching them quickly.


    "It seems that we can only speed up and try to get away from it!" Move at your full speed! Follow me!" Zen said.


    As he finished his words, the forceful energy within his body erupted, leaving a thin line of smoke as he rapidly flew through the layers of fog. His speed had suddenly increased by 30 percent!


    When the others saw Zen speed up, they tried to keep up with him in order to stay inside his light barrier. Fabian and Jarrod exchanged a glance before they merged their life vitality together. The two formed a gray shadow and managed to keep up with Zen''s speed.


    Yolande didn''t have to use any secret techniques. She maintained the same speed as Zen and followed closely beside him no matter how fast he moved.


    Malcom, on the other hand, grabbed hold of Rehaan and tried to carry his companion forward. The pair of black wings on his back continued to flap as he followed closely behind Zen. Anyway, he knew that he would definitely die here if he failed to catch up with Zen.


    Esther also used her full strength to move fast. There was a faint white light flashing within her and the other two top-level war lords of the Demon Night as they closely followed behind Malcom and the rest.


    The two members of the Night Group,


    within the orange light barrier, they had to move at the same pace as Zen. The space around the orange light barrier was completely filled with the red-colored Dark Nether Death Light. They all stayed close to Zen for security, even Malcom.


    "Yolande, what exactly is this beast? Is it a legendary beast? Or a super legendary beast?" Esther asked out of curiosity.


    This unexpected exploration had caused Esther, Fabian, and Malcom to feel a great sense of crisis.


    "It is neither a legendary beast nor a super legendary beast. It''s a fierce beast that is called the Mad Scorpion. It''s actually the watchdog of hell," Yolande replied flatly.


    "The watchdog of hell?!" Everyone gasped in astonishment.


    They''d only heard of hell in ancient texts and legends. Nobody knew whether hell really existed or not. That was why they were all shocked by Yolande''s words. Esther took a deep breath and then asked, "Does hell really exist?"


    Yolande continued to walk forward as she shook her head and replied ambiguously, "Hell may exist..."


    "What do you mean?" Esther asked. She knew that Yolande might be unwilling to answer her question, but she had no way of forcing her to answer it. Anyway, this answer at least sounded better than the words, "I won''t tell you."


    "Where are we going now?" Zen asked after a moment of silence, staring at the gigantic beast.


    "Forward," Yolande said indifferently.


    "But what else could be ahead other than this beast?" Zen asked. Was she leading them into the abyss? Or were they about to enter this gigantic beast''s mouth?


    To his astonishment, Yolande said, "Your Jade Butterfly will give you the answer."


    Zen immediately took several steps back, his whole body on high alert. "How do you know that I have a Jade Butterfly?"


    The corner of Lavender''s lips curled up as if she had already expected this to happen. Her eyes were filled with mockery as she stared at Yolande.

 Chapter 933 An Outsider

    Yolande rolled her eyes and weighed her possible replies. The grey pupils in her watery eyes moved rapidly, making it seem like there were two snowflakes embedded inside her eyes.


    "Yes, of course I know," she finally said.


    "So you also know why I''m here?" Zen asked.


    Yolande nodded. "Yes, I''m very clear about why you''re here. But you''re just an outsider who doesn''t know the truth."


    "An outsider?" Zen frowned slightly.


    "Mist''s luck is not bad. I didn''t think that he would be willing to stay in the celestial tomb for so many years and sacrifice the chance of reincarnation. He was lucky that there finally came a person with the fate to lead the great world of chaos," Yolande said seriously. "But he didn''t tell you the whole story."


    "What is the whole story?" It was true that Zen knew little about this whole matter. He didn''t even know what the inheritance that he was pursuing exactly was.


    "You have your own path, so I don''t recommend you getting involved in this game," Yolande said.


    "What is the game?" Zen asked. Judging from Yolande''s tone, it seemed that he had been involved in a big dispute from the time he had left the Central Region and gone into the Sea God Continent. Now, it seemed that Lavender''s guess had been right. This dispute was most likely a dispute within the human race as well as a dispute in the Upper World. It seemed that Mist and Yolande were not on the same side after all. Zen had no idea what was going on.


    Yolande sighed. "It''s a dead end."


    Zen''s face darkened. "Can you explain it clearly?"


    "It''s hard to explain." Yolande shook her head and took two steps toward Zen. Then, she took a deep breath before turning her lips up into a smile. It was a rare sight to see. "But since you''ve already come to this stage, you''ll also have a part to play. I just hope that you''ll make the right judgment after getting the inheritance and have a clear mind about the path you want to take!"


    "Of course I know which path I want to take," Zen said seriously.


    No matter what the game was or what kind of dispute they were in, Zen would always stick to his own path and would not be easily influenced by others. No matter how the immortal Mist or Yolande wanted to take advantage of him, he would always make sure that they didn''t hinder his path.


    He didn''t care about whether they were on the righteous side or not. It had nothing to do with him.


    "Yes." Yolande nodded. "The road for those who have the fate to lead a world of chaos will always be their own path. Changing your path will be as difficult as changing the trajectory of the stars. Perhaps entering the Dark Nether Cave is a step in your path and I''ve unknowingly become your guide."


    What Yolande had just said was so mysterious that it confused not just Zen, but everyone else as well.


    As Zen and Yolande spoke, they were approaching the enormous abyss.


    The abyss and the beast hadn''t seemed far away at first. But even though they''d been traveling fo


    famous within the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place. In fact, Malcom and Rehaan weren''t the only ones who knew him. Fabian, Jarrod, and Esther had all heard of Huey before.


    This was because this top-level war lord called Huey had controlled the Tower of Sin for over a hundred years!


    Generally speaking, the top-level war lords in the Tower of Sin would do their best to suppress their cultivation. When they accumulated enough Lucky Light, they would leave the Tower of Sin to break through. It proved to be a very effective way for warriors to bypass the bottleneck in their cultivation. Therefore, the top-level war lords who walked out of the Tower of Sin would have no problem making a breakthrough to become war sages.


    However, suppressing cultivation was not an easy thing. After suppressing it for a long time, it was also possible for one to break through automatically. Therefore, when many top-level war lords felt that they were about to break through, they would leave the Tower of Sin and the Cursed Land. If they accidentally broke through and became war sages inside the Tower of Sin, it was equivalent to courting death.


    However, there had once been a freak in the ogre race, and that was none other than Huey.


    Huey had kept his cultivation level at the top-level war lord for over a hundred years. During that time, he had been the strongest seat holder in the Tower of Sin. The ogre race had been able to control the Tower of Sin for a long time, and more than half the credit for that went to Huey.


    As for how Huey had managed to suppress his cultivation and remain as a top-level war lord for over a hundred years, it was a huge mystery to all living creatures.


    Huey had been so strong back then that he could be considered the actual controller of the Tower of Sin. Therefore, even the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place had had to pay respect to him despite the fact that he was only a top-level war lord!

 Chapter 934 Heavenly Immortal Root

    Because of Huey''s existence, the other races hadn''t even had the slightest chance of winning a seat in the Tower of Sin. Although the members of the Demon Night were born strong, the ogres had still been able to suppress them until Amber appeared.


    However, the true decline of the ogres in the Tower of Sin was because of Huey''s sudden disappearance.


    No one knew if Huey was alive or dead. He had mysteriously disappeared from the Tower of Sin without a trace. No one knew where he had gone.


    In the beginning, the ogres had still been able to control the seats in the Tower of Sin. But after the sudden rise of the Demon Night decades ago, the ogres had lost the first seat to them. Since then, Esther had controlled the number one seat while Maurice could only control number two.


    "Huey''s disappearance was a great loss to us ogres." Malcom was upset. If Huey hadn''t gone missing, the Demon Night wouldn''t have been able to suppress the ogres.


    "Don''t you think it''s strange that Huey went missing just like that?" Yolande asked.


    "Strange? Of course it''s strange!" Malcom said with a frown. Then, as he stared at Yolande, he suddenly remembered something. "It''s you! You killed him?"


    Yolande nodded and turned around to look at the unimaginably large monster in the distance. "I was the one who killed Huey and turned him into nourishment for the Tower of Sin. His corpse was completely absorbed by the tower."


    "What?" Rehaan was dumbfounded.


    The reason for Huey''s disappearance struck Malcom after he recalled that Yolande had appeared out of nowhere around the same time that Huey had disappeared. Malcom had never linked those two events until now.


    The talent Yolande had displayed when she entered the first floor of the Tower of Sin had been extremely terrifying. As a result, the ogres would try their best to get her killed. However, just like Amber, Yolande''s strength had far exceeded the expectations of the ogres. No matter how hard they tried to kill her, she was always able to defeat her opponents.


    As a result, Yolande had easily entered the tenth floor of the Tower of Sin.


    Just when the ogres were preparing to get rid of Yolande with everything they had, she announced that she wasn''t going to enter the Talent Tablet. Moreover, she didn''t seem to have any intention of going to the eleventh floor. Since then, she had stayed on the tenth floor, much to the surprise of the humans as well as the other races.


    After the initial surprise wore off, the ogres continued to observe her for a while, but she


    out of the chasm?


    Even if Yolande hadn''t said anything, there was no idiot who would have stayed by the side of the chasm. Everyone turned around and followed Zen, leaving the edge of the chasm to get to a relatively safe place.


    "What is it?" Esther asked.


    No matter what it was, it was probably not much smaller than the Mad Scorpion to be able to create such a huge commotion in the chasm.


    "Actually, you''ve all seen it before," Yolande replied.


    "We''ve seen it before?" Everyone was shocked.


    Yolande nodded. "It''s the plant that chased us all the way here. What we saw were just the roots protruding out of the ground. Its main body is in here."


    Lavender smiled coldly. "It''s just a Heavenly Immortal Root!"


    "Why is it coming up?" Zen asked.


    Yolande, however, only said, "You''ll soon understand."


    As the roar became louder and louder, the sound became deafening to all of their ears. Zen and the others had no choice but to use their life vitality to temporarily seal off their own hearing. As the thing in the chasm got closer and closer to the opening, fear and anxiety became apparent on everyone''s face. But despite the loud noise, the Mad Scorpion was still fast asleep.


    "It''s here!" Yolande said as she stared into the distance.


    Sure enough, the next moment, everyone saw a giant plant climbing out of the chasm. On top of the plant, there was an incomparably strange and ugly face.


    The most frightening thing was that the strange face was facing them!


    The face of this giant plant wasn''t much smaller than the head of the Mad Scorpion. It was around the size of a mountain. However, the two eyeballs on its face were staring straight at Zen''s group!

 Chapter 935 The Roar

    Everyone''s heart suddenly skipped a beat.


    Let alone these people, even powerful warriors of the Soul Sea Realm would be dwarfed by the size of the monster. They looked like ants in comparison to it, and they instantly knew that they wouldn''t stand a chance against it.


    "Turn around, don''t look at it, and cover your ears," Yolande quickly ordered as she turned her head away from the huge monster.


    Quickly, the others followed suit. They turned their heads around and covered their ears as well. Any form of resistance was useless now.


    "Aooo!"


    The Heavenly Immortal Root suddenly raised its head and roared. The loud sound caused the entire Dark Nether Cave to tremble.


    As a result, the many sharp stalactites growing from the ceiling of the Dark Nether Cave began breaking, and one by one, they smashed and fell down on the cave''s floor.


    One of the stalactites, which was over 200 feet long, headed towards the group. At that very moment, Yolande''s eyes narrowed. As if on instinct, she raised her hand. A ray of light shot out from her finger, and it instantly shattered the crashing stalactite into many little pieces.


    As the whole cave shook, the root continued to roar fiercely. Five minutes passed until the cave was silent again.


    Yolande then turned to the others and said in a hushed voice, "The Mad Scorpion has awoken. Be ready."


    Everyone''s face contorted to show confusion, fear, and uncertainty. The giant beast had been sleeping, but obviously, it was impossible for it to continue sleeping when something as huge as the root roared relentlessly.


    Together, everyone turned around to look at the Mad Scorpion, and sure enough, it had already opened its eyes.


    Boom!


    Since the Mad Scorpion had only woken up from its long, long slumber, its eyes were still unfocused. With its huge palm, it touched the top of its head. As it did that, the Dark Nether Death Light above its head suddenly grew several times stronger. The scarlet light enveloped the entire Dark Nether Cave, brighter and stronger than even the sunlight.


    "Even the fog might not be able to stop this light. If there are other warriors inside the Dark Nether Cave, I''m sure that they have been killed, " Esther quietly said, her head lowered.


    Fortunately, because of the Tide of Chaos, most of the warriors had returned to the Tower of Sin. Only a small number of them wanted to take advantage of the Tide of Chaos to obtain greater chances in finding treasures inside the cave. And since they dared to take risks, they had to accept the cost that came with it, even if it was their lives.


    The Mad Scorpion''s huge head slowly turned around to glance at the Heavenly Immortal Root. Then it suddenly opened its huge mouth and roared back at the root.


    "Aooo!"


    Yolande''s expression turned to fear as she said to Zen urgently, "Quick, make a deep pi


    like they''re going to die in there!"


    The intense roar lasted for a long time, and the entire Tower of Sin continued trembling.


    Besides those in the Tower of Sin, people throughout the Cursed Land heard the roar as well. Two hours later, the roar had even spread throughout the entire Sea God Continent.


    In the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place, the purple clad Amber stood on the top of the huge holy tree. Her sharp ears were alert, listening for more. When the violent roar spread from underground, the holy tree of the Demon Night started to tremble.


    The holy tree had a soul. It uneasily confided its fear to Amber. At that moment, all the living beings in the sacred place of the Demon Night were terrified. It was as if the end of the world was drawing nigh.


    "Don''t be afraid. Take it easy." Amber gently caressed the tree, communicating with it in a soft voice to soothe its trembling heart.


    Apart from the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place, the Purple Heart Sacred Place of the human race, the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place of the ogres, the Eternal Night Sacred Place of the Night Group, and all the living creatures in the sacred places of the various races were all filled with unease and fear.


    A full two thousand feet!


    Within a short period of time, Zen and Malcom had repeatedly hammered the ground and they had dug a huge pit that was two thousand feet deep. The rocks and mud that had accumulated overhead almost buried them.


    However, even though they were hiding in such a deep pit, it did not lessen the unease in their hearts. The roar was simply too dreadful.


    After a long time, the roar gradually faded away. Because of the long distance, the gale above their heads gradually dissipated. After making sure that it was already safe, everyone started moving the rocks and soil above their heads away and slowly made their way out of the pit.

 Chapter 936 Swallowed By The Mad Scorpion

    The interaction between the Mad Scorpion and the Heavenly Immortal Root created strong gales that blew away more than a thousand feet in depth of soil surrounding the chasm.


    With the onslaught of the strong gales, the two-thousand-feet-deep pit that Zen and his companions had dug turned useless as it only seemed to be like a hundred or so feet against the raging force.


    The group couldn''t keep still, so all of them began climbing out of the pit as their hearts pounded wildly. As soon as they slightly emerged out of the pit, they felt their limbs shake as they took in that chaotic scene.


    In great apprehension, they watched the intense battle unfolding above the abyss. They seemed to be musing in unison that being able to survive this kind of havoc was indeed a blessing!


    The Mad Scorpion wildly roared as it rushed straight towards the Heavenly Immortal Root, which was equally savage. Nevertheless, the terrifying and earsplitting sound the Mad Scorpion grumbled did not cause any damage to the Heavenly Immortal Root. Instead, the latter quickly twisted its enormous root, which was as thick as a mountain, and brandished its ugly head to charge aggressively towards the Mad Scorpion.


    Bang!


    A booming sound soon reverberated in the air! That Mad Scorpion''s physical attributes were a bit deceiving. It looked huge, creating an impression of being slow and sluggish, but its movements were surprisingly agile.


    Just as the Heavenly Immortal Root reached its head over, the Mad Scorpion''s pincer landed on its hideous head with so much precision as a counterattack. The sound of this slap was like hundreds of thunderclaps exploding at the same time.


    On the other hand, Zen and the others could only temporarily shut off their hearings with their skills. Otherwise, the sound of the slap would surely damage their hearing abilities.


    Roar!


    After being assailed, the Heavenly Immortal Root turned its head again as if nothing happened and continued to rush towards its opponent. But then another attack from the Mad Scorpion followed.


    That slap was so terrifyingly powerful that if it landed on the Sea God Continent, it would surely destroy even a mountain range.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!


    After a series of continuous slaps, the incomparably ferocious Heavenly Immortal Root finally succumbed to its defeat against the Mad Scorpion.


    Lavender glanced at Zen and told him with her life vitality, "The Heavenly Immortal Root is nothing but only a type of vegetable."


    "Vegetable?" Zen''s eyes were fixated on the battle between the giant monsters as he repeated it in a daze.


    "Right. It''s a type of vegetable used to feed super legendary beasts. If you don''t believe me, you can ask the cyan dragon in your mind," Lavender said with a smile.


    Zen was indeed a bit curious, so he asked, "Man, is that so?"


    "Don''t listen to her nonsense! You know, strong warriors like me don''t need to eat anything." The cyan dragon, however, wasn''t willing to admit it.


    "But you needed to eat before you became strong. What did you eat then?


    they would immediately be shot to death by the Dark Nether Death Light. So naturally, everyone held onto Zen tightly for their dear lives! The group danced and dangled in the air, quickly revolving and being sucked into the Mad Scorpion''s big mouth. They felt dreadful as they witnessed the Heavenly Immortal Root being sucked into its big mouth, piece by piece.


    For the Heavenly Immortal Root, the Mad Scorpion''s mouth could be called simply as a mouth. However, to Zen and the others, it was like a huge cave that was tens of thousands of feet high. Even if ten mountain ranges were placed side by side, they could still be stuffed easily into the mouth of the Mad Scorpion.


    As far as the Mad Scorpion was concerned, Zen''s group could not even be considered ants or dust. They were merely close to nothingness. It was more likely that they didn''t exist in the Mad Scorpion''s line of sight.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    A few ten feet wide boulders were also sucked over by the Mad Scorpion. Some of the boulders directly smashed into Zen and the others. However, before the boulders could hit them, they were immediately broken by Yolande''s and the others'' attacks.


    After flying above the chasm for a while, they were eventually pulled inside the Mad Scorpion''s mouth. At that precise moment, the life vitality within everyone''s body suddenly disappeared strangely. As for Malcom and Rehaan, their expressions changed greatly. The forceful energy within their bodies had also vanished!


    Zen, who possessed both the life vitality and the forceful energy, found himself in the same situation. Whether it was life vitality or forceful energy, both faded without a trace at the same time.


    Earlier, when they were constantly being tossed around in the sky, they were still able to rely on their life vitality or forceful energy to stabilize their bodies. But now, their life vitality or forceful energy had strangely disappeared. They soon found themselves suddenly being blown around by the turbulent winds, falling heavily into the darkness.

 Chapter 937 The World Within The Mad Scorpions Body

    Malcom and Esther had always been relying on their life vitality or forceful energy to be strong and powerful.


    Now that they had lost these things, their main bodies were only slightly stronger than ordinary creatures, so as they fell and hit other objects in the darkness, they became dizzy from the impact just like everyone else.


    And since the crab ornament on Zen''s chest couldn''t be nourished by his life vitality, the orange barrier of light around it had completely disappeared.


    Luckily, the Dark Nether Death Light that had shot out of the Mad Scorpion''s head didn''t reach them. Otherwise, everyone would have been killed instantly by the red light.


    The crowd could no longer hold onto Zen''s body as they continued to roll down and scatter.


    The size of the inside of this gigantic beast far exceeded everyone''s imagination.


    Since the Mad Scorpion lay at the edge of the abyss, no one knew the length of its body. Its huge body extended all the way to the darkness below, but the part of its body that everyone could see above the abyss was already indescribably huge, like the ominous tip of an iceberg.


    Zen was still fine. Although he had collided with something along the way, his body was more solid than everything else. The giant rock that had been sucked into the Mad Scorpion''s stomach hit Zen, but Zen remained unharmed. In fact, the rock was smashed into a thousand pieces instead.


    On the other hand, everyone else was in danger. Since Esther, Fabian, and the others couldn''t activate their life vitality, they didn''t have anything to protect them. In this situation, even a small rock that was thrown at them could cause them to bleed.


    It was fortunate that the inner walls of the Mad Scorpion were soft. Otherwise, just bumping about along the inside of the Mad Scorpion''s body would be enough to kill them.


    When they finally hit a surface, they crawled there in the darkness for over ten minutes. Esther let out a muffled sound and they all fell back and forth until they reached the bottom. After passing through the dark passage, they were surprised to discover that there was a magical light in the Mad Scorpion''s stomach.


    But Zen was the only one who was in the mood to inspect their surroundings.


    Except for Zen and Yolande, everyone was injured. Esther was the most severely injured one, with several wounds on her body and a portion of her clothes stained red with blood.


    Even Malcom and Rehaan, who were physically strong, were injured. Rehaan was practically limping as he crawled up from the ground, and Malcom''s face was swollen to the point of looking comical.


    On the other hand, Fabian and Jarrod looked fine and di


    ow me."


    Malcom didn''t have the patience to do so. He stretched out his large hands toward Yolande, but just as he reached out, Yolande, who was wearing a pair of clogs, shook her body and leaped onto Malcom''s bulky arm.


    Taking two steps forward on his arm, she wrapped her arms around Malcom''s forearm and fiercely pressed down on it, taking advantage of her full body weight.


    Crack!


    Everyone heard the sound of a bone cracking. Malcom let out a miserable scream as his thick arm became limp and tilted to one side.


    Rehaan was startled. Just as he was about to charge over, Yolande jumped down from Malcom''s arm. Her petite figure was in stark contrast to Malcom''s massive body. She gave Rehaan a cold look and said, "If you want to leave this place and return to the tower alive, don''t talk rubbish!"


    She had shocked everyone by breaking Malcom''s arm with a mere twist.


    No matter how powerful she was, she was still a tenth-level war general. But now, she had broken Malcom''s arm with just one strike.


    Yolande didn''t care about the gazes of the surrounding warriors. She walked forward alone, while Malcom, dragging his broken arm, took out a pill from his pocket and swallowed it. Even if the healing medicine''s effect was really good, it would still take a few days for his broken arm to be completely healed.


    Zen''s eyes lit up as a thought struck him.


    After entering the belly of the giant beast, no one could rely on their life vitality and forceful energy. In that case, only the lowest-level martial skills could truly work there.


    What Yolande had just used was contortion, the most common martial art of an ordinary warrior. Even if Yolande''s strength was far inferior to Malcom''s, she had been able to easily break Malcom''s arm with her technique.

 Chapter 938 The Murderous Rats

    Malcom didn''t say anything. He could still rely on his strength to keep him safe inside the Dark Nether Cave.


    However, with his forceful energy being completely blocked, he couldn''t exert his strength to the full. Now, there was nothing he could do except for keeping his chin up.


    The land ahead of them was empty. There was nothing there but some withered shrubs.


    However, this didn''t mean that they dared relax their vigilance. They were afraid that some demonic beasts or monsters might suddenly appear and pounce on them.


    The group followed closely behind Yolande. However, Lavender, in her incorporeal form, was floating next to Zen. As his sword spirit she had no weight at all. Although some unknown power in this world had restrained everyone''s life vitality and forceful energy, it only exerted a minimal influence on Lavender.


    While everyone was walking forward, Yolande''s footsteps suddenly slowed and eventually stopped


    "What is it?" Esther asked in alarm, her hand going to the small knife which she carried.


    The warriors who had lost their life vitality were like tigers with their teeth pulled out. If they were confronted by some fierce beasts, they would not be able to fend off their attacks.


    Yolande''s gaze was fixed on a place not far ahead of them. Behind a pile of grass a fat, innocent-looking rat had stuck its head out. Its two soybean-sized eyes cautiously measured Zen and his companions. Its whiskers trembled in the air as it regarded them.


    "It''s just a rat," Malcom sneered trying to brush past them to continue walking.


    "Be careful of those Murderous Rats!" Yolande warned seriously, restraining him with a raised arm.


    "What?!"


    Given all that had happened, everyone was jumpy and scared of everything around them. Besides, during this adventure, they had come to know Yolande better. If it wasn''t extremely dangerous, she wouldn''t raise the alarm at all.


    They all looked around vigilantly. Fabian and Jarrod had even drawn their swords to prepare for any possible enemy attack.


    "There are many more of those rats." Fabian saw that three to four rats were lurking behind each and every clump of grass up ahead.


    "Just some rats, not something you should worry about," Jarrod said while shaking his head in denial of the seriousness of the situation.


    "They''re coming," Yolande warned again.


    Just then, everyone heard a squeaking sound. It was abnormally sharp and with very rhythmic variation in the sound, it seemed as if it was some form of communication.


    Hearing this squeaking sound, the innocent-looking rats seemed to grow restless. Their bean-sized black eyes were now glistening with ferocious luster. Their hair stood on end and appeared as


    by these creatures. As seconds passed by, the small hill forming over Zen became larger and larger. Soon it was a small mountain of rats which covered him!


    "Go get Zen!" Even now, Fabian couldn''t forget his mission. After killing dozens of Murderous Rats, he rushed over to Zen, followed closely by Jarrod.


    Before he could reach Zen, Lavender''s long spear stretched before him and barred his path.


    "What are you doing? If we don''t save him now, there''ll be nothing left of him!" Fabian asked anxiously, his face filled with confusion. He knew that Lavender was Zen''s sword spirit, and if he was killed, she wouldn''t live either. However, Lavender looked relaxed, bored even, and not at all concerned about Zen''s safety.


    Lavender answered indifferently, "Don''t worry, he''s fine!"


    Just as she finished speaking, they saw the Murderous Rats which were gnawing at Zen''s body started to scatter in all directions. Then, they heard a muffled sound coming from where Zen was trapped.


    "Boom!"


    The thousands of rats on Zen''s body were all sent flying into the air at the same time, falling in all directions. Their bodies were crushed and they went limp.


    Zen just stood there, in the nude, as his clothes had been torn apart by the rats. His body was barely bruised or hurt!


    Yolande stared at his naked body and blinked, wondering how could he have succeeded in resisting those disgusting rats. Meanwhile, Esther and Lavender looked at Zen boldly. Since females enjoyed superior status to males in the Demon Night, his naked body didn''t make them blush with embarrassment at all.


    However, Zen''s face had turned a bright red. Those rats had really embarrassed him! He hurriedly took a suit of clothes from his space ring which he donned while trying to avoid all the eyes which were focused on him.

 Chapter 939 Green-skinned Creature

    Although Zen couldn''t use the forceful energy and life vitality in this place, he could still rely on the power of the dragon scales inside his body.


    He had only used the power of over a hundred dragon scales, but the force of the huge vibration had instantly killed all the Murderous Rats that were attached to him!


    For Esther, Fabian, and some of the others, these Murderous Rats might have been troublesome to deal with. But for Zen, they hadn''t even been a threat. They couldn''t cause him any harm.


    Facing this group of Murderous Rats, everyone fought valiantly as they walked forward, forcefully slashing a path painted by blood.


    At this moment, the sound of banging drums suddenly came from the distant wilderness.


    Bang, bang, bang...


    When the drumming sound began to ring out, Zen and the others heard a squeaking noise.


    As the noise echoed in the air, all the Murderous Rats that were charging toward Zen and the others suddenly dispersed, fleeing in all directions. They crawled into the ground and disappeared in an instant!


    "That squeaking sound might be from the king of these Murderous Rats," Zen said as he looked at the corpses of the Murderous Rats scattered around on the ground behind him like a long, dark line trailing behind.


    Moments later, dozens of black shadows rushed toward Zen from the sky above the wilderness.


    From this distance, the other warriors with Zen weren''t able to see what they were clearly. A green film of light appeared over Zen''s eyes. His brows knitted together as he discerned the shadowy figures using his magic vision. "These things are able to fly in the air!"


    The creatures flying in the air were neither humans nor ogres, much fewer members of the Demon Night. Zen had never seen such creatures before. They were covered in a layer of green scales and all held a long spear in their hands. In an instant, they surrounded the group of warriors.


    The creature in the lead glanced at the group of warriors before raising his long spear in the air and staring at Zen from above. He uttered words in a strange language that none of the warriors had heard before.


    Zen and the others looked at one another with confusion written all over their faces. They didn''t dare to make a move.


    Now, it seemed that in this small world where life vitality and forceful energy were forbidden, there might exist other cultivation methods that Zen and the others were unaware of.


    "What are they?" Fabian asked with a frown.


    Esther shook her head. "Perhaps they''re the aboriginals of this world."


    "What should we do now? It seems that... they want to attack us," Malcom said in a muffled voice. Just now, he had suffered a lot of attacks from the Murderous Rats. From the moment he''d entered into the Mad Scorpion''s body, he had been constantly suffering setbacks!


    "Why should we feel afraid? If they dare to attack us, we''ll fight them to the death!" Rehaan glared at the creatures in


    However, even though this large net had trapped Zen and the others, it couldn''t trap Lavender. She easily escaped from the net.


    One of the green-skinned creatures pointed at Lavender and said something. Lavender blinked her eyes. She was short-tempered and didn''t hesitate to raise her spear at them. But before she could attack, Yolande said, "Lavender, stop."


    "Why? I don''t have to listen to you." Lavender hadn''t liked Yolande from the start, so she didn''t want to listen to her now.


    "If you want Zen to leave this place safe and sound, you must listen to me," Yolande said firmly.


    The moment Lavender heard this, she immediately paused. Of course she didn''t want Zen to be trapped here for the rest of his life. In the end, she threw the long spear into the space ring that hung on Zen''s chest. Then, she turned into a dot of red light and whirled into Zen''s body.


    This had caught the attention of the green-skinned creatures. They were all staring greedily at the space ring on Zen''s chest. However, they didn''t move toward it.


    The green-skinned creatures in the sky each pulled a rope and lifted up the large net. All the warriors were dragged up into the air. This large net seemed to be woven with special golden silk which couldn''t be damaged by an ordinary sword. And given that everyone was tightly bound by the large net, it was almost impossible for them to break free.


    "Now that they''re taking us back to their lair, we''re completely at their mercy. They can kill us whenever they want!" Jarrod exclaimed angrily.


    "Yolande, you said that you had a way to get us out of the fog, so what''s this? We''re doomed now," Esther added.


    Malcom remained silent. Yolande had broken his arm earlier, so he didn''t dare to say anything now.


    Yolande sneered. "You were trapped in the fog and you would eventually be pulled into the abyss by the Fog Array. Without me, you would have already died."


    No one dared to utter a sound hearing this.

 Chapter 940 Three Powers

    Being outside the Mad Scorpion''s body didn''t mean they could get rid of the fog, Yolande was right about this. No matter how much they tried to move, they were taken to the abyss.


    All of them figured that they were unable to fight against the Dark Nether Death Light. If it had not been for the crab-shaped ornament on Zen''s chest, all of them could have already been killed by the light.


    During such a threatening situation, they could only follow Yolande''s advice.


    "What are these green-skinned creatures?"


    Zen asked, his curiosity evident on his face.


    "Esther guessed right. They are the aboriginals of this world," Yolande replied.


    "But why would they want to kill us?"


    Zen asked again.


    "They live inside the Mad Scorpion''s body, and it''s these aboriginals'' duty to kill any intruders," Yolande answered.


    "What did you say that changed their minds?"


    Zen asked, glancing towards Yolande with a serious look on his face.


    "You''ll get your answer very soon," she said, avoiding making any more statements.


    Even though they were trapped inside that vast net, they still moved forward. Quick on their feet, they passed along many rivers and mountains beneath them on their journey.


    The world inside the Mad Scorpion''s body was more extensive than they had initially thought. Flying through the place took them two hours. Suddenly, they found a wooden wall standing right before them. Hundreds of sharp wooden sticks stood erect, serving as a defense for the city inside. It was a city that was built by those green-skinned creatures.


    Green-skinned guards surrounded the wooden wall, pacing back and forth for any strange movements and noises that might pose a threat. Some of them pulled the net, causing it to fly over the wall and land on a corner where a prison with iron fences stood.


    After unwrapping the large net where Zen and the others were trapped, the green-skinned creatures raised their spears towards him and his companions. One of them pointed a finger at the door of the prison and urged them to walk inside.


    They all looked at Yolande. She blinked her eyes a few times, signaling that it was safe for them inside the prison. Taking the lead, they all walked to the door. The others followed closely behind her.


    Before Zen could even enter the prison, a green-skinned creature raised a spear to block his path. The creature also said some gibberish that Zen didn''t understand.


    Looking down on his chest, Zen saw that the tip of the spear was pointed straight at the space ring on his chest. Greed was painted all over the green-skinned creature''s face.


    Even though Zen didn''t have a clue about what the creature was saying, he knew exactly what he wanted from him. It was the space ring on his chest.


    All of Zen''s treasures and wealth were stored inside the space ring, including a large amount of heavenly essence. He even put the crab-shaped treasure which he used to resist the Dark Nether Death Light into that sp


    old that kind of power in the Upper World," Jarrod said, his expression completely swelled with pride.


    The two ogres standing nearby, Malcom and Rehaan, remained quiet. Their hearts skipped a beat when they heard what Yolande just said. Ogres had been boasting inside the Tower of Sin that they were the perfect race, while humans were feeble, weak and inferior. Humans were not a match to ogres when it came to talent, intelligence, strength and others.


    However, the excellence possessed by Zen suggested that they were wrong.


    For some reason, humans somehow succeeded in gaining a menacing existence in the Upper World.


    At that particular moment, Lavender appeared. Smiling softly, she said, "Controlling such a number of worlds is really impressive, but it is definitely something humans should not boast about. They don''t even dare to put up a fight against the Demon Night!"


    Glancing at Lavender, Yolande shook her head, "I admit that your race is strong, but you can''t give birth to many babies. We couldn''t surpass your race over the last one thousand years. What about a hundred years later? Will you have enough warriors from your race to fight against us by then?"


    Despite the fact that the Demon Night members were of absolute strength, they were quite weak in reproduction and enlarging their population.


    Back when the Demon Night race had conquered a large number of worlds, they were not able to find enough people to be stationed there. Now, however, they controlled no more than a thousand big worlds.


    "In the Upper World, a race''s power isn''t based solely on the number of worlds it has controlled. Am I right?" Lavender argued.


    Yolande shook her head again and replied, "Let''s drop this. We should focus more on the conflicts between Supreme Lord of Original Sin and Supreme Lord of Oracle. I didn''t make it clear to Zen before because I thought I shouldn''t talk about these things before you."


    The truth was, Yolande was talking to Lavender.

 Chapter 941 The Heavenly Fragment

    The Demon Night was unique from all other races due to the fact that they possessed soul statues which allowed them to easily communicate with the Upper World.


    Thus, the members of the Demon Night in the Lower World were connected and united with their clansmen in the Upper World.


    Other races were different. Although some could communicate with the Upper World through secret methods, their links weren''t as close. For example, those in the Purple Heart Sacred Place knew next to nothing about their peers in the Upper World and were not aware of the important position the human race actually held up there.


    Among the three queens of the Demon Night, Zen''s sword spirit Lavender was the one in charge of killings. This was the primary reason why Yolande hesitated.


    Her fears were not unfounded. The human race and the Demon Night often competed with each other. The secret of the Dark Nether Cave was extremely important, and it was a dispute in the human race.


    Lavender let out a bell-like laugh after hearing Yolande''s words. "You don''t have to worry," she told her. "I''ve already lost everything. Zen is my only hope now."


    Lavender had followed Zen with the last shred of her soul and hoped that by sticking to him, she''d one day be able to make a comeback. However, for the time being, she would serve as Zen''s sword spirit.


    Zen stared hard at Yolande. "Tell me."


    Yolande shook her head. "My thoughts are somewhat naive. After all, the Heavenly Fragment will, at last, belong to Zen."


    Lavender whipped her head at Yolande in surprise. "What? Did you just say ''Heavenly Fragment''?"


    The Demon Night queen had thought that nothing else in the world could surprise her but, lo and behold, Yolande came and dropped this kind of bomb on her.


    The others, however, did not have such a strong reaction. Fabian, Jarrod, Malcom, Rehaan, Esther and the two top-level war lords of the Demon Night were surprised at the queen''s reaction to Yolande''s words.


    Among them, Esther was the most surprised. She was well aware of Lavender''s status and knew that she was a person who remained calm even in the face of the enormous Mad Scorpion.


    A Demon Night queen was no stranger to supreme legendary beasts, and while the Mad Scorpion was fearsome, it was only an extremely powerful vicious beast as a watchdog of the hell.


    Yolande raised a long, shapely eyebrow and looked at Lavender with threatening eyes. "The Heavenly Fragment belongs to the human race. It has nothing to do with the Demon Nig


    mate the cultivation of these green-skinned creatures. The rules they had grasped were in accordance to those of this small world. However, because it was built by the vitality between heaven and earth that the Mad Scorpion absorbed, the small world was also a great constraint to them.


    Zen approached the edge of the bars and pointed at the green-skinned guard who had taken his space ring.


    The guard had been playing with the ring, trying to figure out how it worked. Seeing Zen pointing at him and asking him to go over to him, the green-skinned guard muttered a few words and walked towards the cell.


    As soon as he was at an arm''s length, Zen extended his hand at lightning speed and grabbed his ring. He did not give the green-skinned guard any time to react and kicked the bars that were holding them captive. Even without the aid of forceful energy, Zen''s strength was outstanding as the bars crumbled and fell with one kick.


    BOOM!


    There was a loud bang when the five feet wide bars hit the floor and instantly crushed the green-skinned guard underneath. Zen walked over and stepped on his head, crushing his skull like a soft watermelon on a hot summer day.


    Zen lightly tapped his space ring and brought out a long spear. Without turning, he threw the spear towards Lavender who was quick enough to catch it. At the same time, Zen took out his own broken flying knife. He buckled the ring at the end of the knife on his own thumb.


    With a slight wave of his hand, the knife shot forward into the air with a whoosh.


    Since he wouldn''t be able to use his life vitality in this small world, this small flying knife had become an extremely useful weapon.

 Chapter 942 The Giant Stone

    The green-skinned creatures were all headless as the flying knife butchered them in a dash, rotating around Zen.


    A green-skinned creature was pierced by Lavender''s spear that was positioned to the distance.


    The group of green-skinned creatures were in distrust. They had underrated the warriors who could clearly be enforced on. The other green-skinned creatures that had left weren''t too far away. When they heard a deafening bang from behind them, their faces expressed disbelief. This was least expected from them.


    Zen was under attack. The green-skinned creatures shot up in the sky to Zen with spears on their hands. They were full of themselves, with lots of vitality and fortitude. Their commander had waved his cane and positioned it at Zen and the others while drawing a long face. This contributed to the green-skinned creatures attacking Zen.


    Zen stomped on the ground after channeling up the strength of dragon scales to his feet. A taunting smile emerged on his face. A sparkling light was radiated from the flying knife in his hand that spun rapidly after firing up in the sky.


    Zen outsmarted the green-skinned fellows. He was one stride ahead of them. He excluded all of them before they drew out their spears to attack. They all fell down in a thud.


    The living things had lesser cultivation techniques. Their cultivation techniques were divergent from those of Zen and the others. Their strength was equal to that of the war fighters on the Sea God Continent.


    The great world had stronger regulations. This suggested that the small world rules were substandard. The war fighters had enormous strength in the great world, leaving the green-skinned creatures to be less mighty.


    The green-skinned creatures captured Zen and the others. This was because of Yolande deterring them from contending with the creatures. If they had battled those creatures, they would have unleashed their wrath on them.


    Zen''s flying knife had already eliminated over ten green-skinned creatures instantly. Zen shot towards the commander of the green-skinned creatures as his shadow flashed.


    The warrior expressed valour. This sight left the commander of the green-skinned creatures in astonishment. This was absurd! Zen and the others couldn''t fly, and the green-skinned creatures'' leader noticed that. He had to act quickly and take this vulnerability as his weapon. He waved the cane in his hand and promptly hauled himself up towards the sky. This initiated a distance between them.


    The sound of horns could be heard from the environs!


    The green-skinned creatures had set up this place as a bastion. A troop of the green-skinned creatures were present in it. The sound of the horn was a signal, so when they heard it, the entire garrison was filled with the soldiers as they embodied themselves for a battle.


    Zen crouched as he inclined his knees. The leader of the green-skinned creatures had ascended into the air. Zen shot skyward. He had attained strength after an incessant flow of the dragon scales power surged out.


    Zen had collected more strength and his pace was way faster than the commander of the green-skinned creatures. Shock and d


    kinned creatures.


    The sacred places on the Sea God Continent outshone this city. In contradiction to the stronghold they encountered initially, this was way much better and more powerful.


    The troops of the green-skinned creatures surged towards the city gate. Suddenly, a group of green-skinned creatures appeared above the city barrier. These green-skinned creatures scraped their teeth as they struggled to wrest something away. Quickly, Zen and the rest heard a loud bang. A giant stone rolled out from the city and was stuck at the city gate.


    This didn''t trigger Zen at all and the rest. This was a walkover. Zen could easily jump over it with a single attempt despite the city wall was one hundred feet tall.


    "By the look of things we are not the only enemies these green-skinned creatures have," Zen spoke.


    "That should be the least of our concern. Our main agenda is to get the object and get out of this place." Lavender was about to fly up with the long spear in her hand. She was the only one in a position to do so as others were not in a position to fly.


    "Wait." Zen stopped Lavender. "Grant me the honour to do it."


    Esther and the rest glanced at Zen who walked slowly towards the giant stone. Fabian suspiciously asked as he glanced behind his shoulder. "What in God''s name is he trying to do?"


    His query was left unanswered. Zen solely walked over to the stone. There were rather a few green-skinned creatures shooting arrows or even throwing long spears towards Zen at the top of city wall. This never inflicted any change on Zen and his motion in propelling forward. These storms were harmless considering his level.


    As Zen approached, he lifted his head to glance at the giant stone. The stone was over two hundred feet tall, and it was like a medium-sized mountain which impeded the city gate.


    Zen breathed an exhale of relief, assembled his power of the dragon scales and struck a blow towards the giant stone.


    He had the urge of exploding in laughter but he held it back. He had to prove this race why he was much superior to them by showing off his capabilities.

 Chapter 943 Return (Part One)

    Zen''s punch was infused with great power. After it hit the giant stone, a soft, muffled sound rang out.


    Peng!


    The sound seemingly came from inside the stone. It was not very loud, but everybody heard it clearly.


    Soon after, multiple cracks began to appear on the huge stone, making it look like an egg with cracks on its shell. As the cracks continued to appear on it, the giant stone began to collapse. A loud rumble accompanied that, and soon enough, the huge boulder was turned into dust.


    Then, a gust of wind blew past.


    Huff, huff.


    Zen was immediately engulfed by the surging dust. After what seemed like an eternity, the dust finally dissipated and settled down, and the huge stone in front of him was no more. The only thing left was dust.


    Shock appeared on the faces of many green-skinned creatures who were on top of the city wall. It was only then did the creatures understand that the warrior in front of them was not someone they could underestimate. Immediately, they started screaming out words that Zen could not comprehend.


    Even Malcom could not hide the shock on his face. If it was him in Zen''s position, he would have had to use the forceful energy before he could easily turn such a large stone into such fine dust.


    But then the rules of this small world were different. Everyone was forbidden to use their forceful energy and life vitality no matter what happened. So basically, Zen just relied on his physical body''s force to do what he did. ''What kind of vicious beast is living inside Zen?'' Malcom thought, as he felt a bead of sweat stream down his forehead.


    Yolande understood Zen''s intentions, so she turned to one of the green-skinned creatures on top of the city walls and said something. After the creature told her his reply, she turned to Zen and said, "Let''s go inside."


    They then entered the city. Its style was very different from that of the human race''s city. Green-skinned creatures on the streets, who were all holding long spears in their hands, started surrounding them, but no one dared attack them. It seemed that Zen''s punch had left a deep impression on them. In their eyes, a powerful master like Zen would be virtually undefeatable.


    After a few minutes, the green-skinned creatures made w


    the side and stopped talking.


    The brocade box didn''t only contain the Heavenly Fragment. It also held a small array plate.


    "What is this?" Zen asked.


    "We''ll need it when we leave the Fog Array," Yolande replied.


    Hearing Yolande''s words, Esther and the others couldn''t help but be surprised, and their eyes suddenly lit up. They couldn''t care any less as to what the Heavenly Fragment was, but the array plate was extremely important to them as they would only be able leave the Fog Array with its help.


    After obtaining those two items, they no longer wanted to stay where they were. Because of that, they immediately packed up, and left the green-skinned creatures'' city, returning to their original path.


    "How can we ever leave the Mad Scorpion''s body?" Esther asked, sounding curious and hopeless at the same time.


    "The way we came in is the way we''d be able to get out," Yolande answered flatly, confidently taking the lead.


    "If we are able to escape the Mad Scorpion''s interior world, then the creatures of this world should also be able to leave, right?" Zen suddenly asked. It was a thought that had been sitting inside his head for quite a while.


    Yolande laughed loudly and started shaking her head. "The creatures, who are born inside the Mad Scorpion and follow this world''s rules, would not be able to see the exit of this world. We, being outsiders, are being suppressed and rejected by the governing force of this world, and so we are presented with a chance to leave!"

 Chapter 944 Return (Part Two)

    Hearing this response, Zen couldn''t help but be shocked. It was just as Zen had guessed before¡ªif the entire universe was inside some giant beast, then the masters in that universe would have to follow the world''s rules, whether it was how to use or how not to use their life vitality, their forceful energy, and all kinds of Law Power.


    Would this mean that even they, the masters of the world themselves, would not be able to perceive the exit of this whole world?


    To learn the answer to this question was tempting, but now was not the time for them to think about such things. Their mission was to leave the Dark Nether Cave first, and that was what they were going to do.


    Time went by quickly.


    The fog in the entire Dark Nether Cave started to gradually dissipate. In the blink of an eye, a month had already passed.


    All of the top-level war lords of the Demon Night and the human race gathered on the top of the tower. They all looked upset and worried.


    Elder Mei waited by the exit of the Tower of Sin every day, but there was still no sign of Esther and the rest.


    "It''s already been a month. If Esther and the others still don''t return, the Dark Nether Death Light will fill the entire Dark Nether Cave again!" a top-level war lord of the Demon Night said.


    Once the Dark Nether Death Light''s intensity reached its full force once again, the warriors in the Dark Nether Cave would definitely die. It had been like that since the Tower of Sin opened its doors, and there had been no exceptions.


    "Zen might be fine..." a top-level human war lord muttered.


    In actuality, the person the war lords of the Demon Night and the human race cared about the most was Zen, not Fabian or Esther.


    The reason why the Demon Night members were worried about Zen''s condition was because Lavender stayed closely with him. They did not want the queen of the Demon Night to perish in the Dark Nether Cave like this. As an extra level of precaution, Elder Mei had sent his race members back to the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place to check the queen statue of the Demon Night. As the statue was still glowing with a faint red light, wh


    Although there were news from the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place that Lavender''s statue was still flashing with a faint red light, Elder Mei did not believe that Zen and his fellows would be able to return. After all, after the Dark Nether Death Light had already recovered, no one would be able to return from the Dark Nether Cave any longer.


    Because of this, the majority of the warriors had concluded that Esther had also perished in the cave. Esther''s death would surely be a great loss to the Demon Night. After all, she was the strongest master among the seat owners. Without Esther to take charge of the situation, it would be difficult for the Demon Night members to fight against Maurice of the ogre.


    If Maurice returned to the Tower of Sin right now, the Demon Night would be in a very sticky situation.


    "Well, it''s over. It''s all over!" a top-level human war lord screamed with a sullen face. "Death is already knocking on our doors! Someone helps us!"


    All top-level human war lords looked scared and disappointed. Among the humans, only Fabian and Jarrod were in charge of the overall situation. The other warriors who held seats in the tower simply couldn''t be in charge of anything as they weren''t that powerful and remarkable. Most of the top-level war lords didn''t even have the qualifications to become seat owners before, and they only passed the time on the fourteenth floor of the Tower of Sin!

 Chapter 945 Return (Part Three)

    How would the human race survive the ogres? What would happen to them now?


    In the Cursed Land, there was a transmission array and all sorts of majestic patterns were engraved around it. There were even sculptures of birds and beasts around it, which appeared extremely mighty and domineering. This was the ogre''s transmission array!


    Since the ogres used to control the Tower of Sin, their transmission array proved to be a lot grander than those of the other races.


    With a flash of white light, a figure as large as a small mountain appeared. He was Maurice, the top-level war lord of the ogre!


    After leaving the Tower of Sin, many ogre top-level war lords chose to break through. Since they had accumulated plenty of Lucky Light after fighting for so many years, it wasn''t difficult for them to break through and reach the war sage level. However, even though it was easy for them to break the bottleneck and achieve a breakthrough, Maurice decided against it.


    The moment he was forced to leave the tower, he already planned a counterattack scheme. The moment Zen entered the Dark Nether Cave, Malcom and Rehaan would be able to kill him!


    And because of that, Maurice prepared to return to the Tower of Sin the moment Zen entered the Dark Nether Cave. He really wasn''t in a hurry to break through. After all, he still wanted to become the ruler of the Tower of Sin! And with that, within the two ogre sacred places, Maurice suppressed his own cultivation. He was waiting for this day!


    Following Maurice, many top-level ogre war lords walked out of the transmission array, with malicious smiles on their faces.


    The time they had endured being driven out of the tower had been enough, and now that their revenge was nigh, they were feeling good. The fact that their race was chased out of the Tower of Sin was an unbearable humiliation to them, and today, the time to take what was theirs had come.


    The numerous top-level ogre war lords started to approach the Tower of Sin, and


    out.


    The Night Group members who held the seats came out first. After they got out, they stood beside Maurice. The Night Group was always controlled by and depended on the ogres, and even if the ogres were driven out of the Tower of Sin, it was a thing that would remain unchanged. After all, their Eternal Night Sacred Place was under the protection of the two ogre sacred places.


    The top-level human war lords and the top-level Demon Night war lords were the last two to appear.


    Maurice took a glance at the top-level human war lords and suddenly let out a loud laughter, "Top-level human war lords... You were the creatures pestering the fourteenth floor in the past, right? What qualifications do you have to become a seat owner? Hahaha!"


    "Hahaha..."


    All the top-level ogre war lords started to laugh. Even the top-level war lords of the Night Group started laughing with them.


    The top-level human war lords were livid. They were angry, but there was nothing they could do about it. Strength was the only thing that mattered in the Tower of Sin, and they were nothing after losing Zen!


    On the other hand, the members of the Demon Night were relatively calm. After all, they had the powerful Heavenly Feather Sacred Place backing them up. Suddenly, they heard Elder Mei say coldly, "What do you want to do?"

 Chapter 946 The Situation

    The laughter of the top-level ogre war lords died down. Maurice slowly walked forward, his aura becoming more and more domineering. As he walked, a small pit appeared in the ground in front of him but quickly closed up.


    "What do we want?" Maurice stared coldly at Elder Mei and laughed. "We want the Demon Night to give up half of your seats. We want all of the humans in the Tower of Sin, both top-level war lords and war generals, to kill themselves right here!"


    The faces of all the humans and the members of the Demon Night darkened.


    "What? You want all of us humans to take our lives right here? That''s too much!"


    "The ogres are too overbearing! They''re puffed up with pride!"


    "The ogres have always been domineering. This time, the humans and the Demon Night are going to suffer great misfortune!"


    Ignoring all the comments, Maurice continued to stare coldly at Elder Mei. "Do you accept this offer?"


    In the past, the Demon Night would have never accepted such an arbitrary proposal. Even now, although they had gained a few more seats, they were unwilling to give up half of their seats.


    During this trip to the Dark Nether Cave, the Demon Night hadn''t suffered a great loss. However, their most important members, Lavender and Esther, hadn''t made it out of the cave.


    Elder Mei sneered at Maurice, "Maurice, do you really think that Esther is the only talent in the Demon Night?"


    Other than some of the humans, the 128 seat owners on top of the Tower of Sin were all top-level war lords. The top-level war lords all had varying amounts of strength, but the gaps between them weren''t too great. The Demon Night was much stronger than the ogres, so they weren''t afraid of them. But Maurice was a problem.


    Maurice erupted into laughter. "Oh? What else do you have then? The Heavenly Feather Sacred Place? No matter how strong the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place is, they won''t dare to start a war with our sacred places! Moreover, you should know very well that we have war sages in the Tower of Sin!"


    Maurice actually didn''t know whether Malcom and Rehaan were alive or dead. He hadn''t had time to investigate the secret passage, nor had he received a response when he had tried to use the message rune to contact Malcom.


    However, this wasn''t a big deal. Even if Malcom and Rehaan had died, the ogres could still train more war sages, because until now, they were the only ones who knew about the secret passage.


    After the appearance of the two ogre war sages, Colin and Neil, many races had begun to suspect that the ogres had done something inside the Dark Nether Cave.


    And their speculation was grounded. A long time ago, a few of the races had put forward various hypotheses and tried them all out. One of the hypotheses was that if warriors became war sages in the Dark Net


    the ogre top-level war lords behind Maurice also began to glow with forceful energy. A chaotic battle was about to break out.


    Determination flashed across the faces of the human top-level war lords. They knew very well that they were no match for Maurice, but they no longer had any choice. They had to kill the ogres, or they would be killed.


    "Since you all refuse to take your own lives, my clansmen will kill you!" A bloodthirsty expression appeared on Maurice''s face. Today, he was determined to kill all of the humans in the Tower of Sin.


    When Elder Mei heard Maurice''s words, she spoke to a nearby member through her life vitality. "Lead all the humans on the first to the fourteenth floors to the Cursed Land."


    It was absolutely safe in the Cursed Land. This was the only thing Elder Mei could do to help the humans now.


    The warriors sent to the Tower of Sin were all the talents of various sacred places, and the weakest ones were human-level talents. The human warriors in the tower were the future hope of the Purple Heart Sacred Place. Killing them was equivalent to killing the future hope of the humans'' sacred place.


    Elder Mei couldn''t save the top-level war lords now. However, she could lead the other human war generals, and fighters out of the Tower of Sin. Anyway, the Demon Night and the humans were still in an alliance, so even if Zen was dead, Elder Mei would still have to help Lavender.


    The truth was, the humans in the Tower of Sin were much smarter than Elder Mei was giving them credit for. Other than a small number of human warriors who were cultivating in training rooms, many humans had already left the tower one after another.


    When Maurice had led his race all the way up to the top of the Tower of Sin at such an astonishing momentum, all the human warriors in the tower had noticed it and easily assessed the situation.

 Chapter 947 A Rat-a-tat On The Door

    The Tower of Sin had not been peaceful this year.


    Many creatures in the Tower of Sin were discussing what to do. Some of the more timid creatures had already followed the human warriors out of the tower and entered the Cursed Land. If something bad happened, they didn''t want to be caught in the middle of it.


    Inside the Dark Nether Cave, Zen and his group were moving forward with an orange protective shield around them.


    As soon as they left the Mad Scorpion''s body, Yolande activated the pendant hanging on Zen''s chest and pushed Malcom and Rehaan out of the protective shield.


    The moment the two ogres found themselves pushed out of the protective shield, they released their forceful energy to protect themselves against the Dark Nether Death Light. But the forceful energy lasted for less than three seconds before it disappeared. At such a close distance, even a warrior at the Soul Sea Realm wouldn''t be able to resist the Dark Nether Death Light that was being released from the Mad Scorpion''s head. There was no way the two war sages could survive.


    Looking at Zen''s shocked expression, Yolande asked indifferently, "When were you planning to get rid of them?"


    "I wanted to know where they had been hiding first," Zen replied.


    "Malcom wouldn''t give you the chance. He would attack you the moment we leave the Fog Array. If he had managed to get your pendant, we would have been the ones to die."


    For once, Lavender agreed with Yolande''s words.


    Compared to Yolande and Lavender, Zen wasn''t experienced enough in dealing with these kinds of things. Or in other words, he wasn''t ruthless enough. Yolande and Lavender had much more experience when it came to these kinds of dangerous situations. When a group of warriors was exploring a place, only the most cold-hearted one would be able to survive and take all the treasures. The others would all be killed.


    By the time they left the Mad Scorpion''s body, the fog in the core area had already started to dissipate.


    "The fog is starting to dissipate!" Seeing that the fog had become extremely thin, Zen furrowed his brows in confusion.


    Yolande blinked her eyes. "It should be because of the time flow rate. The time flow rate inside the Mad Scorpion''s body is many times faster than that of our world. We might have been inside the Mad Scorpion''s body for only a few days, but a much longer time has passed outside."


    "Holy crap! So the Dark Nether Cave is closed now? That means that the humans in the Tower of Sin must be in a really bad situation now!" Zen''s face was gloomy. Esther looked worried too.


    If the ogres thought that Zen and the others were dead, it was very likely that they would have come back to the Tower of Sin. The members of the Demon Night might not be in that much trouble, but the humans would be in g


    ans will share them with the Demon Night."


    When Fabian, Jarrod, and Esther heard Zen''s words, their faces instantly lit up with joy. The value of this promise of Zen''s was too great.


    Without the obstruction of the monsters, the group was able to return to the Tower of Sin very quickly. Soon, they arrived at the bottom of the tower. They all used their life vitality and stayed close to Zen as they flew upward.


    But when they arrived at the top of the Tower of Sin, their faces fell. "The exit is closed," Esther said, taking a glance at the door.


    This door was the exit of the Tower of Sin. Every time the Dark Nether Death Light filled the entire Dark Nether Cave, the seat owners inside the Tower of Sin would close the door, with very few exceptions.


    Zen moved forward and pounded on the door with his fist.


    Bang, bang, bang...


    Meanwhile, Maurice, who was standing on the top floor of the tower, had just killed two human top-level war lords. The remaining human top-level war lords and the top-level war lords of the ogres were preparing to fight.


    At this moment, they all heard the sound of someone knocking on the door, leaving them stunned.


    How could there be someone knocking on the door after the Dark Nether Death Light had become intense?


    One of the top-level war lords of the human race shouted in joy, "Open the door! It must be Fabian and the others. No, it must be Zen!"


    Another top-level war lord of the human race tried to rush up the stairs to open the door. But before he could climb the stairs, Maurice''s fist smashed into his shoulder, sending him flying backward. The man spat out a mouthful of blood before losing consciousness because of his internal injuries.


    The top-level war lords of the ogres began to look troubled, and a trace of fear rose from the bottom of their hearts. Could it really be that brat again?

 Chapter 948 The Ogres Plot

    The air in the Tower of Sin hung heavily like a thick curtain.


    A nervous anticipation settled on the humans'' faces as they waited with bated breath.


    The moment that the Dark Nether Death Light once again illuminated the entire Dark Nether Cave, not a single one of the warriors inside would remain alive. Since the tower''s appearance up to this day, there had never been a single exception. Not even the top-level war lords could withstand the Dark Nether Death Light.


    However, in the hearts of the humans, small embers of hope were quietly burning¡ªtheir torch was carried by one particular man.


    Zen was different. Before him, no one else had been able to rise up to the Celestial Position on the Talent Tablet. Furthermore, no one had been able to control the Tower of Sin, even more so use its power to fulfil his desires. From the very first day that he entered the Tower of Sin, Zen had been constantly creating miracles.


    Perhaps this time, he would show them another miracle.


    The top-level war lords of Demon Night also shared this small hope. Only yesterday, news arrived from the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place. Lavender''s statue still shone with the faintest light. It was dim, but it had not yet disappeared. Lavender was still alive.


    Based on this indication, it was very likely that Zen had returned. How he had managed to pass through the Dark Nether Cave and avoid the Dark Nether Death Light remained a mystery to Elder Mei.


    Maurice''s face was set in firm lines, almost ice-like in its coldness. He snorted and said aloud, "No one is allowed to open the door. Perhaps it is just some monster that has approached it by chance."


    What he had just said was not nonsense. Many years ago, an extremely powerful monster had run into the Tower of Sin, and the tower shook violently at the force of the impact. Although the walls separated the creatures inside the tower and the monster, the top-level war lords on the top floor had stood terrified to death, not to mention the warriors on the other floors.


    That collision had brought forth panic. Many warriors of the lower levels had fled from the tower, and only after many months had passed did they return.


    Fortunately, the monster was not able to destroy the tower. After some moments of continuous crashing, it silently left, as if in defeat.


    "Right. It would be impossible for a mortal warrior to return. It must be a monster!" a top-level war lord of the Night Group said in agreement.


    At these words, Elder Mei was the next person to speak up. "Not necessarily," she muttered.


    Pointing at her, Maurice ordered coldly, "Don''t even think about opening the door!"


    Elder Mei remained calm at the face of his anger and merely shrugged her shoulders. "I will not open the door. If it is Zen who returns, he will naturally come in! The door can''t stop him," she said lightly.


    Zen had control over the Tower of Sin. Back when he was on the first floor, he had opened cracks in eve


    ing Zen''s pale, lifeless face.


    In the end, the Dark Nether Cave closed, Zen did not return, and he also lost contact with Malcom.


    Maurice knew that he had most likely sent Malcom and Rehaan to their deaths, but to him, it was a necessary sacrifice. In Maurice''s eyes, it was well worth it. At the very least, Zen would have died in the Dark Nether Cave.


    But at this point, with Zen standing before him in the flesh, Maurice realized that he had been completely wrong.


    Did Zen just have incredible luck? Even with such methods, Maurice had still failed to kill him!


    "How did you come back?" Maurice asked in a hoarse voice.


    Zen stood on top of the stairs and looked at him. Then, in a cold voice, he said, "Why should I tell you?"


    "Where''s Malcom? Where''s Rehaan?" Maurice asked again, his voice rising in volume.


    Esther then sneered. "Were those two your last hope? I would admit, sending two war sages after us was definitely a strong move. Unfortunately..." Her voice trailed off.


    "What? Where are they?" Maurice said.


    "Unfortunately, we killed them," Yolande replied nonchalantly, her face devoid of even the slightest bit of emotion.


    No other races besides the ogres were aware of the matter. How did Malcom and Rehaan, two top-level war lords, enter the Dark Nether Cave? And they even went after Zen? When had they become war sages?


    A flurry of silent questions rang inside the heads of all creatures present. The top-level war lords of the human race and Demon Night stood in complete shock, their eyes wide open.


    "The ogres are hiding secrets that we do not know. Colin and Neil were war sages, and yet they managed to stay in the Tower of Sin!" one of the war lords said.


    "This is no longer a crucial issue. What''s more important is that Zen was able to survive despite the attacks of two war sages. What''s more, his opponents were killed!" another one declared.


    A third voice rose and asked, "I wonder what else can stop Zen."

 Chapter 949 At The Foot Of The Tower

    Maurice let out a long sigh. He wasn''t that old. According to the calendar of the Sea God Continent, he was only about sixty years old, which was extremely young for a martial artist.


    However, with this sigh, he seemed to have become much older.


    Zen looked at Maurice and said coldly, "You haven''t answered me yet. Do you have a bad memory?"


    Hearing Zen''s words, many of the ogre top-level war lords revealed expressions of fear.


    Before, Zen had said that he would kill any ogre he saw in the Tower of Sin. Was he really going to fulfill this promise?


    Maurice hesitated for a moment before saying, "We''ll leave now."


    "Leave?" As Zen pointed at the corpses on the ground, a cold smile appeared on his face. "You want to leave after killing top-level war lords of our human race?"


    Maurice snorted, "What else do you want? Even if you control the Tower of Sin, you can''t afford to offend the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place!"


    Zen burst out into a fit of violent laughter, but there wasn''t the slightest trace of a smile in his eyes; there was only the intent to kill. "The Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place? Do you think I''m afraid of them?"


    Just as Zen was about to make his move, Esther stopped him. "Zen, how about we let them go?"


    The top-level war lords in front of them could be considered the backbone of the ogres. They would become war sages and even Soul Sea Realm masters in the future. If Zen killed them all, it would be a heavy blow to their sacred places.


    Moreover, this was tantamount to offending the ogres. Esther took the overall situation into consideration. If Zen really forced the ogres in the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place into a corner, then there was a high chance that the Purple Heart Sacred Place of the humans would be razed to the ground.


    "I know what you''re thinking," Zen said to Esther. "But today, all the ogres have to die!"


    After he finished speaking, he jumped down from the stairs and sped toward Maurice.


    "You dare?" An ogre top-level war lord could no longer hold back and rushed toward Zen. As he charged forward, the forceful energy within his body erupted.


    Zen waved his finger gently, and an invisible force instantly enveloped his opponent. Then, everyone heard the sound of cloth tearing.


    "Ahhh!"


    The ogre top-level war lord was soon torn into pieces, his brown blood splashing all over the ground.


    "I''ll offer your bodies to the Tower of Sin as sacrifices!" Zen''s face was ferocious and his entire body was b


    senses to slowly investigate his surroundings.


    After a few moments, he sneered. He took out a top-grade sacred long sword from his space ring and slowly approached in a certain direction.


    Fabian, Esther, and the others exchanged glances. Had Zen really discovered something?


    All of a sudden, a burly figure appeared from the side of the Tower of Sin. Maurice had been hiding there.


    "Zen, since you want to die, die with me!" Maurice roared.


    There was a dazzling flash of light above his head. Maurice had unexpectedly chosen to burn his spiritual altars!


    A martial artist that cultivated the life vitality system could cause his belly to explode and fight to the death with his opponent. A body refiner, on the other hand, could burn his own spiritual altars. If he chose to do so, the power of the forceful energy released would be appalling.


    However, this choice was irreversible. Once the spiritual altar was burned, it couldn''t be rebuilt.


    As a body refiner, Maurice had already had three spiritual altars. The power released by the burning of the spiritual altars was truly great. Although Zen continued to look indifferent, Esther and the rest all had a drastic change in expression.


    "Attack him!"


    Esther, Fabian, Jarrod, Yolande, and Lavender launched an attack at the same time.


    Esther''s strength alone was on par with Maurice''s, but since Maurice had chosen to burn his spiritual altars, his aura and strength had increased exponentially. He was now so powerful that he could singlehandedly resist all of their attacks.


    "Don''t kid yourselves! You can''t resist me!" As Maurice roared, a dense stream of fist radiance shot out from his hand. It was as if no one could stop him!

 Chapter 950 The Purge

    As the crowd looked at Maurice''s ferocious expression, a single thought flashed through their minds: this guy was crazy!


    Facing the frenzied Maurice, Esther and the others kept retreating. So did Zen.


    In this way, Maurice was always under the Dark Nether Death Light.


    Even though this area belonged to the periphery of the Dark Nether Cave and was quite far away from the Mad Scorpion, the power of the Dark Nether Death Light was still far from what a top-level war lord could resist.


    Moreover, in this crazy state, Maurice didn''t even activate his forceful energy to protect himself. He only wanted to fight Zen to death. The three spiritual altars in his body were already burning, so why would he care about his life? Maurice had no plan to live on at all!


    Zen retreated at lightning speed, and everyone followed closely behind him. As for Maurice, the moment he rushed out from his hiding place, his skin began to burn under the Dark Nether Death Light.


    As he sprinted forward, the skin on his body melted away, followed by his flesh and blood. His originally tall and sturdy figure gradually shrank, and his rough and brutal face melted away to reveal the skull underneath, making him look like a skeleton.


    "Ahhh!"


    As Maurice howled in pain, his attacks became more and more ferocious, and he managed to charge into the orange light barrier.


    At this moment, Zen''s eyes flashed, and he waved his long sword.


    "No Move!"


    Just because the name of the move was "No Move" didn''t mean that there wasn''t a move. This move was completely controlled by Zen, and he could freely bring it into full play.


    His sword attack contained a terrifying power. A raging sword intent roared and collided head-on with Maurice''s fist light.


    Cluck, cluck, cluck...


    Maurice''s body was almost burned to ashes by the Dark Nether Death Light. The flesh on his hands had completely disappeared, leaving only pitch-black bones behind. When his fist collided with Zen''s sword light, his bones began to crack and fall away.


    "Die!"


    Zen shouted. He didn''t cease his attack at all. The power of the dragon scales within his body erupted, forcing Maurice out of the light barrier.


    Maurice raised his head and fell backward. His eyes were filled with a sense of helplessness. He had lost the battle! Just like a snowman under the scorching sun, he turned into a pile of bones that fell into the Dark Nether Cave.


    Standing within the orange light barrier, Zen looked down in surprise. It had to be said that the ogres were indeed a battle race, and Maurice''s plan had been very meticulous. Unfortunately, he had underestimated the complexity of the Dark Nether Cave as well as Zen''s strength.


    "So that''s how it is," Esther said as she s


    nown that as long as he tried his best, he wouldn''t regret anything even if he couldn''t become the strongest warrior one day.


    Three months later, on the Heavenly Eagle Prairie, there were a few white clouds in the clear blue sky. The breeze blew occasionally. The sun was shining, but the weather was just warm enough for people to lie leisurely on the grass.


    Hundreds of tents had been erected on the prairie. A few strong and sturdy men were sitting on big horses, driving the sheep forward with half of their shoulders bare.


    The ogre race had been drastically weakening ever since their surrender. Originally, the Heavenly Eagle Prairie had been divided into three parts with the ogres, the Demon Night, and the humans occupying a third of the area each. But now, the entire Heavenly Eagle Prairie had become a true pasture for the humans alone.


    The surrounding herdsmen also slowly began to gather and form a small nomadic clan. There were warriors in this nomadic clan. If this nomadic clan was evaluated, it would be equivalent to a second-grade sect.


    All of a sudden, dozens of beams of light shot through the sky.


    The sheep began to flee in all directions as they felt the pressure from the sky. The herdsmen began to shout, trying to gather the sheep.


    A girl on the pasture raised her head to the sky, widening her big black eyes. She wasn''t afraid of the dazzling sunlight. She stared at it for a long time before excitement suddenly flooded her face. She turned around and ran to a nearby tent. "Father, Craig, it''s the True God! The True God is here!"


    Hearing the little girl''s shout, a young man suddenly jumped out of the tent, his face filled with excitement as well. In two years, the little boy had grown into a tall and handsome young man.


    "The True God? Where is he?" Craig asked excitedly.

 Chapter 951 Return To The Heavenly Eagle Prairie

    Back when Zen rescued Craig and his tribe from the ogres'' pasture, he had taken them with him and handed them over to one of the forces of the human race. The ordinary herdsmen were able to assimilate into this group easily.


    And now, Craig had also become a martial artist. He had also, surprisingly, reached the bone refining level.


    The tribe had not forgotten Zen, though they now understood that he was a warrior rather than a god. After some interaction with other people of their race, the herdsmen no longer confined to themselves and had come to know the martial art world and the situation of the entire Sea God Continent.


    But, even after opening their eyes to the reality outside of the pasture, they still regarded Zen as a kind of god or miraculous warrior sent by the heavens to save them


    If it wasn''t for him, they would still be living in that pasture, kept as food for the ogres.


    "Where is he? Tell me quickly!" Craig asked earnestly as he shook the little girl''s shoulder. The other herdsmen had also gotten out of their tents and gathered together after hearing what the little girl said.


    However, Craig was already a martial artist at the bone refining level and his hands already contained great strength. The little girl''s face immediately turned red with Craig shaking her violently.


    "Craig, stop!" one of the herdsmen scolded. "She won''t be able to speak if you shake her like that!"


    Craig realized the sense in his fellow herdsman''s words. He realized he was too excited and immediately released the little girl from his grip.


    The little girl rubbed her shoulder and glared at Craig, She huffed before pointing towards a certain direction in the sky, "Over there! I saw him head towards there!"


    The direction she pointed at was the exact same place that Zen had first appeared on this land which wasn''t far from the pasture they had first come from. Although the entire Heavenly Eagle Prairie now belonged to the human race, the tribe still avoided that pasture because of all the bad memories.


    "Whoosh!"


    The moment she pointed where she had seen him, Craig immediately shot out like an arrow. Since he had reached the bone refining level, he now had absolute control over his bones and could cross great distances with absolute agility.


    The other herdsmen were also excited. They hadn''t gotten the chance to thank Zen back then when he saved their lives.


    These pastures belonged to the Purple Heart Sacred Place and everyone on the Sea God Continent knew of Zen''s name. There was news of him every now and then but the herdsmen understood that, given the difference between their status, it would be extremely difficult for them to see Zen. They knew very well that, try as they might, they would never be able to set foot in the legendary Tower of


    immediately drop everything and come to her aid.


    Lavender nodded with a calm expression. "I see," she replied.


    Yolande''s colorful skirt fluttered in the air, "I hope your choice is correct," she said to Zen in a faint voice. "We will meet again one day!"


    Until now, Yolande was still conflicted with her choice of handing over the Heavenly Fragment over to Zen. Although her stand was different from that of Mist, she understood that handing the fragment over to someone fated to lead the world of chaos was the best choice. However, serious disputes still existed among several lords in the Upper World. She was worried if Zen would one day stand on the opposite side against her.


    Yolande''s Soul Split Spell divided her soul all over the continent. Her main body had reached the peak of the Upper World. As long as Zen remained on the path of martial arts, he would meet with her again sooner or later.


    Zen nodded at her words.


    Then, the two top-level war lords took out supreme life vitality crystals and began to place them onto the massive transmission array. The transmission array consumed a large amount of supreme life vitality crystals but the Purple Heart Sacred Place had no problem bearing the cost.


    At that moment, a figure appeared at the edge of the prairie and seemed to be running towards Zen at an extremely fast rate. It looked like the figure was a young man from the human race and over a hundred herdsmen followed behind him.


    Esther calmly gazed at the approaching herd, "Hmm?" she remarked, dropping her guard once she realized that the human warrior was only at the bone refining level.


    "Stop them," Miguel ordered. They weren''t going to let a handful of herdsmen disturb them at such a crucial moment.


    A few of top-level war lords were preparing to stop them. However, Zen waved his hand, "No, let them come to me."

 Chapter 952 Please Accept Me As Your Disciple

    It was the boy from the pasture, Craig.


    When Zen had first arrived at the Sea God Continent, none of the herdsmen had dared to resist the ogres, but this boy, Craig, had stood bravely next to him, showing his determination to fight against the enemy.


    Given his strength, Craig wouldn''t stand a chance, but it took a lot of courage to stand his ground knowing that the outcome would be bad for him. He was the only one who had dared to take a step forward while all the other humans stood to one side and trembled in fear.


    Now, Craig couldn''t tell the cultivation levels of the people in front of him. It was said that war fighters could fly in the air, so they must be stronger than war fighters. However, Craig also knew that his guess wasn''t accurate. His nomadic tribe had war fighters, but their auras weren''t anywhere near as strong as the auras of the people in front of him.


    ''Perhaps even the weakest of them are war generals, '' Craig thought to himself.


    He rushed forward with his sparkling eyes fixed firmly on Zen and knelt on the ground. "I-I''m a martial artist now. Please, please accept me as your disciple!"


    Craig''s sincere request caused all of the top-level war lords present, including Miguel and Amber, to laugh. In their eyes, this human boy was simple and adorable.


    Hearing Craig''s request, Zen shook his head. "I''m sorry. I don''t accept disciples. What''s more, I''m about to leave this place. Your cultivation is too low for you to be able to pass through the long-distance transmission array."


    However, Craig was more persistent than Zen had imagined. Still kneeling, he said, "I''ll follow you even if I have to risk my life."


    "Ho-ho, this boy is so determined!" a top-level war lord said.


    Craig had actually already begged Zen to accept him as his disciple when Zen had first arrived at the Sea God Continent, but Zen had refused at that time. And now, in the situation he was in, Zen couldn''t establish his own clan, let alone accept disciples. Zen had no choice but to refuse Craig once again.


    But Craig seemed to have no intention of standing up until his request was accepted.


    At this moment, one of the top-level war lords of the human race said to Craig, "Clearly, he doesn''t want to accept you as his disciple. How about being my disciple instead?"


    Craig had just reached the bone refining level, so he didn''t have the qualifications to join the Purple Heart Sacred Place. Even the simplest entrance exam would be hard for him to pass. Therefore, having a top-level war lord as his master would be considered a great honor for him.


    It was obvious that


    o leave," Zen said as Lavender''s figure turned into sword spirit and drilled into his body. Then, he turned around and bid farewell to everyone before stepping into the transmission array.


    As Olivia watched Zen''s figure disappear into the blazing white light, her eyes, which were filled with tender emotions, suddenly turned red.


    She might have a lot of things to say to Zen, but it was already an extravagant request for her to send him off at a time like this. How would she even get the opportunity to speak to him alone? Besides, even if she had an opportunity, where would she start from? Could she say that she wanted to follow Zen into the transmission array? This was obviously impossible.


    The light of the transmission array extended all the way into the distance until it reached the horizon. It drew a parabola in the sky and finally disappeared over the horizon.


    Miguel looked at the light and said, "I wonder just where this transmission array will lead to."


    "Perhaps in the future, we may be able to enter the transmission array too," Amber said indifferently.


    The Sea God Continent was actually a very barren continent. In terms of wealth and area, it was far from the Central Region. However, a dozen sacred places were located on that continent, while the Central Region did not have a single sacred place.


    The Tower of Sin was the reason for that. It was because of the existence of the Tower of Sin and the Dark Nether Cave that there were so many sacred places in the Sea God Continent.


    As Zen sped through the space channel, thoughts raced through his mind. The Central Region was his main battlefield. He had finally returned after receiving training in the Sea God Continent for almost two years.

 Chapter 953 A Rare Treasure

    The turbulent waters of the sea constantly lapped against the reefs on the shore. The Chaotic Ocean of Stars had been raging for most of the year, as it had been like this for centuries.


    There were countless fierce beasts lurking in this sea. Even the known warriors didn''t dare to recklessly enter this sea, let alone ordinary fishermen. Only the really strong warriors dared to explore this sea. After all, there were many treasures hidden in the Chaotic Ocean of Stars, along with the countless corpses of warriors who died in the sea every year.


    The Fish Dragon Sect was a third-grade sect. As it was located in the proximity of Chaotic Ocean of Stars in the far east, this sect had a much greater understanding of it than any other sects.


    This sect had pinpointed several sea areas near the continent. They knew very well that although the Chaotic Ocean of Stars was very dangerous, it was relatively safe in the several sea areas they had circled. At least, seldom did powerful beasts appear out of these few sea areas. Every year at the onset of spring, the Fish Dragon Sect would send multiple disciples to the surrounding areas to improve their strength through a vigorous training.


    The mission of the training was to kill a certain level-four beast in the water called "Black Cyan Clam". Although it wasn''t very strong in terms of attack, its defensive power was terrifying. It wasn''t an easy task to break the shell of the Black Cyan Clam.


    After killing the Black Cyan Clam, the warriors would get a chance of discovering a treasure called "Black Spirit Pearl". It was a very precious material to refine pills, very popular in the markets of the Central Region. Its demand usually exceeded the supply. It was also one of the main sources of income for the Fish Dragon Sect.


    In addition to the Black Spirit Pearl, the meat of the Black Cyan Clam was also a popular delicacy. After it was caught, it was dried and sold to the Central Region at very high rates due to its exclusivity.


    Today was the day the disciples of the Fish Dragon Sect were starting their training. Over ten thousand disciples in the Illuminating Soul Realm flew along the sea level.


    "Barnard! Our mission is to discover at least ten Black Spirit Pearls. If we don''t complete the mission, we will be punished." The one who spoke was a man dressed in black from top to bottom. There was a black scorpion tattoo on the man''s right cheek, granting him a gloomy aura.


    In the surrounding seas, there were many dangers even for Illuminating Soul Realm warriors. This was why they always traveled in groups of three or four while entering the Chaotic Ocean of Stars.


    The man who had spoken was among a group of five people. Finally, they began to hunt for the Black Cyan Clams. Compared to the other disciples of the Fish Dragon Sect, these five seemed to have a much stronger and malicious aura.


    "My luck isn''t so bad today! I think I''ve found something," said the warrior named Barnard, his eyes lit as he dove into the water below. The other two men looked at each other, then pulled out some water-avoiding pills from their pockets and took them at the same time. Soon, an


    enced warrior. He vigilantly looked around to confirm that there were no other warriors in the surrounding sea before he flew over to the suspicious area. To be safe, he took out a water-avoiding pill and gulped it in an instant before diving deeper in the water.


    They were all skilled divers. With the help of the water-avoiding pill, they sank to the bottom in no time.


    Their faces were remarkably shocked once they reached the bottom and saw what was in front of them. They had thought they''d be met with a rare treasure, but what they found was an actual person!


    "How could this man descend from the lightning?" A martial artist said through his life vitality.


    Barnard stared at the man, shaking his head, trying to make sense of what he saw. Suddenly, his eyes landed on the space ring that hung from the man''s chest. Immediately, a hint of greed appeared on his face. "He seems to be injured. How weird is it that he chose to meditate and heal in the water. Shall we..." said Barnard, exchanging glances with the others.


    All their lives, they had survived by looting and killing in the surrounding seas. This wouldn''t be the first time they would brazenly rob someone if they decided to do it.


    Even though they were now disciples of the Fish Dragon Sect, it wasn''t a big deal for them to occasionally go back to old habits and trades when no one was around. Moreover, even those large sects in the Central Region who prided themselves on being righteous were not completely clean and had done quite a few nasty things. It was a sad truth that the world of warriors was a cruel one.


    "But his strength¡­" a warrior started to speak, staring at the man meditating at the bottom of the sea. Hesitantly, he continued, "Barnard, this man is a martial artist in the Virtual Tribulation Realm!"


    Barnard''s face too displayed hesitation and reluctance. Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors were not people they could fight against. Even though the man in front of them was severely injured, it would be a piece of cake for him to take the lives of all these Illuminating Soul Realm warriors in no time.

 Chapter 954 Evil Of Human Nature

    Barnard hesitated for a moment, but ultimately chose to retreat. The five warriors moved toward the surface of the water and quickly left the place.


    Although Zen''s eyes were closed, he knew clearly that he had just been targeted by five people at the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    He was truly unlucky. Back when he entered the Sea God Continent for the first time, he had encountered a violent space windstorm and directly smashed onto the Heavenly Eagle Prairie. Now, when he returned, he had once again encountered a space windstorm.


    Fortunately, Zen had already comprehended the second layer of the Space Law. Moreover, his cultivation had also improved, so he was a lot stronger than he had been before. Even though the second space windstorm was more intense than the first one, he wasn''t seriously injured. However, a lot of power of space had permeated his body, and it was going to take a lot of effort to expel that power out of his body.


    "These five people know their own limitations." Zen''s eyes were closed as his pupils gently rolled under his eyelids.


    Just then, he sensed three people approaching and furrowed his eyebrows. Didn''t they say that there were very few signs of life in the Chaotic Ocean of Stars? Why were there so many people coming and going?


    The three warriors who were getting closer to Zen had also reached the Illuminating Soul Realm. Once they got closer, they plunged into the water.


    "Bess, I''ve found a Black Cyan Clam! It''s right at the bottom of that reef!" Zen hadn''t expected to meet three female warriors. They weren''t independent warriors but inner disciples of the Fish Dragon Sect. However, the Fish Dragon Sect''s trial at sea was not only for independent warriors. Even inner disciples had to complete the mission.


    After the three girls took water-avoiding pills, they continued to swim in the sea. Dressed in feathered clothes and swimming agilely in the sea, they looked like three mermaids.


    "Yes, there is a Black Cyan Clam hiding under the reef! First, we need to¡­ Ahhh!" One of the girls was talking when she suddenly noticed that there was a person sitting beside the reef. Her scream didn''t travel very far in the sea. Seeing the panicked expression on her face, the other two girls became curious. They followed her gaze and saw Zen, who was meditating at the bottom of the sea.


    "How can there be anyone at the bottom of the sea? Is he dead?"


    "Could it be that he''s cultivating there?"


    "It''s so strange." "Wait a minute. Look. He seems to be meditating and recuperating. Is he injured?"


    The three girls had great talents, but they came from a second-g


    ter how serious his injuries are!"


    At Elder Hu''s command, the other two warriors directed their life vitality, ready to launch an attack on Zen.


    Zen narrowed his eyes slightly and prepared to fight back. Suddenly, he heard a cry of surprise. The three female disciples had returned. "Elder Hu, what are you trying to do?" Bess asked.


    Elder Hu snorted before turning to Barnard. "Since they have a death wish, I''ll leave them to you!"


    When Barnard and his friends heard Elder Hu''s words, their faces immediately lit up. "Elder Hu, what do you mean by giving them to us?" Barnard asked.


    "Do whatever you want with them.Kill them after you finish." Elder Hu knew what was going through Barnard''s mind.


    "Great!" Barnard and his friends were immediately filled with excitement. Ever since they had joined the Fish Dragon Sect, they had had to follow the sect rules and refrain from sleeping with women. Moreover, these three girls were at the Illuminating Soul Realm. It would be thrilling to have sex with them!


    The five men charged toward Bess and the other two girls.


    The three girls might be simple and naive, but they weren''t idiots. They knew what would happen next if they stayed here.


    "Let''s go back! We have to tell our master!" An expression of ruthlessness crossed Bess''s face. The three girls turned around and sped away on the surface of the sea.


    The five men chased them with sinister smiles on their faces. "Go back? Do you think you''ll have the chance to go back?"


    At the same time, Elder Hu finally made his move. The moment he thrust his spear toward Zen, Zen''s eyes shot open. He looked at the three warriors at the Internal Elixir Realm with a faint smile on his face, as if he was looking at three dead men.

 Chapter 955 Fight Back

    When Zen''s eyes opened, the expressions of the three warriors at the Internal Elixir Realm changed. Elder Hu shouted, "Quick! Kill him!"


    All of the three knew that if they offended someone, it would be wise to eliminate that person. If they showed even the slightest bit of mercy, they would definitely face a lethal counterattack from the person.


    Therefore, there was no hesitation on their faces at all.


    Although Zen was about to face fierce attacks by the three warriors at the late stage of Internal Elixir Realm, he didn''t move at all. He gently touched the space ring hanging on his chest. A long spear and spots of light appeared before him.


    Lavender''s tall and slender body instantly materialized and she cast a charming smile at the three warriors. She extended her hand to take the long spear. Her nimble wrist flicked the weapon lightly and it instantly lashed out.


    Clang! Clang! Clang!


    The trio owned low-grade fairy weapons, which shattered immediately upon impacting with the spear.


    As soon as he saw the mid-grade sacred weapon, Elder Hu had a feeling this wouldn''t end well.


    A low-grade sacred weapon was very valuable in the Central Region. There weren''t many such weapons in the entire Central Region, but this woman even had a mid-grade sacred weapon.


    And who the hell was this beautiful woman appearing out of nowhere? A sword spirit that had a real shape? It was hard for the three of them to fathom.


    They didn''t think they could deal with her.


    The three warriors were already regretting their decision. But now that they had decided to kill Zen for his treasures, there was no use crying over spilled milk. If they were going to take his life, then they ought to be prepared to be killed in the fight too.


    The trio had been through many trials and hardships together, so they had a tacit understanding among each other, especially in situations where the outcomes didn''t look favorable. They quickly retreated in three different directions.


    But Lavender didn''t give them a chance to escape. The long spear in her hand shook lightly, and three invisible ripples of energy shot out. Warriors at the Internal Elixir Realm were only equal to level seven to level ten war generals on the Sea God Continent.


    Moreover, these three warriors were from Fish Dragon Sect, a mere third-grade sect. They were far inferior to Olivia and Cheryl, who were both divine-level talents.


    Plop! Plop! Plop!


    Blood pooled on the backs of all three warriors. They didn''t even have a chance to fight back. They fell into the sea like kites whose strings had been cut. Their blood turned the water red.


    "Done!" Lavender said to Zen with a tri


    easily to them. They had a lot of combat experience¡ªsomething Bess could never match up. So when they came to blows, he was a tough opponent for her.


    Barnard stepped aside, dodging the flying sword easily. He then moved forward and stood behind Bess. He rested his chin on her shoulder and blew a breath of air into her ear to tease her. He said softly, "Your cultivation level and strength are not bad, but it''s a pity that your combat experience is zero. If you continue to control the flying sword like this, you''ll never be able to stab me."


    Bess was disgusted at his words. She struck him with her elbow. At the same time, she summoned the flying sword back to her. She thrust the flying sword backwards hoping to stab him.


    Once again Barnard seemed to have preempted her attack. He took a small step aside and easily dodged it. He still hung close to her back like a ghost. This time, he even put his hand on her slender waist and said, "Bess, I already told you that you wouldn''t be able to hurt me."


    Bess'' combat experience was weak, but her willpower was exceptionally strong. Now she was going all out.


    Barnard loved to torture his prey, especially if it was this kind of a stubborn woman. He was still sticking close to her back, like a cat playing with a mouse before killing it.


    But this time, Bess'' flying sword did not miss. It stabbed a warrior who was standing not far away from her instead.


    The man was laughing obscenely and tearing another girl''s clothes apart. He was so engrossed in his disgusting act that he didn''t see or hear the flying sword.


    "Wray, be careful!" Barnard shouted. He did not expect Bess to suddenly attack someone else either. But his warning came too late. Bess'' flying sword had already pierced through the man''s chest.

 Chapter 956 Fish Dragon Sect

    Bess had never killed anybody before. But she was ruthless when it came to the warrior who was taking advantage of her friend. She made the flying sword spin when it pierced through his chest, creating a big hole.


    "Wray!"


    Barnard and his four companions had fought life-threatening battles over the years together. They had never failed due to their caution and strategic attacks. Who would have thought that one of them would be killed in the pursuit of these three girls?


    Barnard roared and tried to get a hold of Bess so that he could torture her.


    Bess had already stopped resisting; her face was filled with determination. She was already prepared to die as she knew she would never be able to defeat her powerful opponent.


    But Barnard suddenly stopped in front of her as if he was frozen on the spot.


    Bess heard an indifferent voice, "Use your flying sword to stab him again. Let''s see if you can kill him."


    She was slightly stunned. She looked around, but nobody was there. It looked like someone had cast a spell on the man in front of her. He stood there in a daze, not moving at all. This was a golden opportunity for her.


    She did not hesitate the slightest bit. She summoned the flying sword back to her and thrust it towards Barnard''s face.


    Although Barnard couldn''t move his body, he could still speak. "You stinking bitch! How dare you!" He was scared of Bess now. Her determined expression told him she was certainly going to kill him. "Who is it? Show yourself! You bastard!" he bellowed.


    Zen''s figure slowly appeared behind Bess. He looked at Barnard nonchalantly as if he was looking at a dead man.


    When Barnard saw Zen standing there unharmed, he was filled with rage and shock. ''Wasn''t this guy severely injured? He is just a warrior at the early stage of Virtual Tribulation Realm. Facing three warriors at the late stage of Internal Elixir Realm wouldn''t have been easy for him. But where are the three elders? Are they all dead?'' Barnard thought to himself.


    ''That can''t be possible!''


    Barnard''s speculations ended as Bess'' flying sword pierced through his head, leaving behind a trail of blood. The flying sword then fell powerlessly into the sea.


    Bess turned around and saw that the man in front of her was the same one she and her companions had pulled out from the sea.


    "Please hurry! Save my friends!" Bess had been nervous the whole time. After killing two warriors, she was on the verge of collapsing. Now that she was safe, she allowed her exhaustion to take over. She closed her eyes and passed out.


    She came around after a long time. She propped herself on her elbows and saw both her friends lying beside


    tely went silent. Lavender''s sudden appearance scared them, but it only lasted for a few seconds before the three surrounded Lavender and started bombarding her with questions.


    "Sis, why is your skin so pale?"


    "What material is your robe made of? Why does it seem like it is woven from tree leaves? But it''s very robust!"


    "Huh? Sis, why are your ears so sharp?"


    Lavender rolled her eyes helplessly and said to Zen, "I can''t help you anymore!" She then turned into spots of red light again and re-entered Zen''s body.


    Fortunately, the Fish Dragon Sect was built on a mountain near the sea. After flying over the sea, Zen noticed a large sect.


    Although the Fish Dragon Sect was only a third-grade sect, it had quite a few disciples. There were enough disciples to occupy around a third of the Purple Heart Sacred Place.


    This was also because there were too few humans on the Sea God Continent. Any decent sect in the Central Region had millions of disciples, and some large sects had tens of millions of disciples each, such as the Cloud Hall and the Ethereal Spirit Sect.


    When they arrived at the entrance of the Fish Dragon Sect, several hundred streaks of light flashed out from the sect. These streaks of light came from the constant operation of the sect-protecting array.


    Shortly after they arrived, two beams of light shot over to them. They were two warriors at the middle stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm. One of them questioned Zen, "Who are you?"


    Bess smiled and replied, "Elder Yu, this is Zen Luo from the Cloud Hall!"


    "Zen Luo from the Cloud Hall?"


    The two elders looked at each other in dismay. One of them had a confused expression. "Didn''t Zen from the Cloud Hall already die? Why are you pretending to be him?" he asked warily.

 Chapter 957 Master Xiao

    That year, Zen had left without saying goodbye. Ever since Mist''s celestial tomb had been opened, many top warriors of different sects had entered and obtained many golden opportunities, but many had also died. The sects in the Central Region had also undergone earth-shattering changes.


    Zen had been the first one to pass through the Wheel of Fortune in the tomb. But when the other warriors returned to their sects, they found that Zen was missing.


    No one knew whether he was alive or dead. The members of the Cloud Hall remained mum about Zen''s whereabouts, keeping the outside world guessing. Because of this, a vast majority of warriors believed Zen to be dead.


    Many warriors had relied on the enchanted lamps to enter the celestial tomb. Whatever had happened in the tomb could not be kept secret, and news of those unfathomable, terrifying things had reached far and wide. This meant that even Zen''s death wasn''t something that was hard to accept. After all, even the elders at the Virtual Tribulation Realm were bound to die. And Zen had only reached the Illuminating Soul Realm at the time.


    "Why is there a rumor that I''m dead?" Zen said with a wry smile. He really shouldn''t have left without saying goodbye. "Forget it. I want to see your leader."


    "It doesn''t matter whether you are Zen Luo or not. You''re not a member of our sect, so you''d better leave," a different elder of the Virtual Tribulation Realm said, not interested in the identity of the man before him. Right now, the situation in the Central Region was so unpredictable that it demanded caution at every step from every member.


    Bess said, "Elder Yu, Zen just saved our lives!"


    "Bess, shut up! You three, come over here!" Elder Yu berated Bess. He then turned to Zen and said coldly, "Friend, the region is in chaos. If you don''t leave now, don''t blame me for being impolite."


    Zen had come to the Fish Dragon Sect for one thing - for information about the Central Region. But he hadn''t expected the elders of the Virtual Tribulation Realm to be so rude. His face darkened and he said coldly, "Your disciples tried to take my life while I was recuperating. I think I want to settle this debt with you."


    "Don''t cast wild aspersions on my disciples. They wouldn''t do that!" Elder Yu retorted.


    "Elder Yu..." Bess started, wanting to say something. But the moment she opened her mouth, Elder Yu snapped at her yet again. "Shut up!"


    "Humph! I''m sure you came here to make trouble. Don''t be so arrogant. The Fish Dragon Sect is a third-grade sect. You are only a warrior at the primary level of the Virtual Tribulation Realm. I wonder what gave you the confidence to do so!" another elder of the Virtual


    t you report such a grave matter?"


    Bess was shocked but she recovered enough to reply, apology written large on her face. "It was Elder Yu who didn''t allow me to mention it. I tried to report it several times."


    Master Xiao glared at Elder Yu before smiling kindly at Bess and saying, "Tell me everything in detail."


    Master Xiao did not know the purpose of Zen''s visit. But he wasn''t the head of the Fish Dragon Sect for no reason. He was smart enough to surmise why Zen was here. There were only a few dozen Internal Elixir Realm warriors in the sect, and a majority of them always remained at home. The independent warriors were obstinate and unruly, so it was possible for them to do such a thing. But if the Fish Dragon Sect hadn''t done what Zen claimed they had, Master Xiao would not stay quiet and allow Zen to make slanderous charges against them. But if Zen''s claims turned out to be true, it would be a completely different story altogether.


    Bess then recounted the incident when they had found Zen at the bottom of the sea, moved him onto a reef, encountered Elder Hu and were ambushed by the independent warriors.


    Once Bess had finished talking, Master Xiao cast yet another glare at Elder Yu before addressing Zen politely, "Zen, it is indeed my sect''s fault. I''m so sorry. Let''s discuss the reason behind it in detail in my room."


    Zen was actually curious as well. Although the Fish Dragon Sect was only a third-grade sect, it had made a name for itself in the Central Region. The people he saw earlier had exuded a deep killing intent, unlike ordinary sect disciples.


    Zen wouldn''t refuse Master Xiao''s invitation. Moreover, Zen hadn''t planned on bringing this up but he had to after the two elders of the Virtual Tribulation Realm had made things difficult for him.

 Chapter 958 Heavenly Evil Divine Kingdom

    At the Sky Water Pavilion of the Fish Dragon Sect


    Steam was curling upwards from a cup of tea. Ten maids were dancing gracefully to a soulful tone of music.


    The head of the sect, whose surname was Xiao, was sitting on Zen''s left side with a big smile on his face. He asked, "Zen, there is a rumor in the Central Region that you died in the celestial tomb. Now that you''re here, all safe and sound, I am sure no one will ever believe that rumor again."


    Zen didn''t care about what people were saying about him. Instead, he directly asked in return, "You were saying there was a reason for the ambush? What was it?"


    Xiao sighed deeply and replied, "Looks like you haven''t been in the Central Region the last couple of years. You seem to be completely unaware of the situation here!"


    "I came here for that very reason precisely," Zen replied seriously. It was true. If it weren''t for his innate desire of finding out more about this region, he wouldn''t have stayed in this third-grade sect!


    Xiao nodded his head, and then continued, "After those fourth and fifth-grade sects visited the Mist Celestial Tomb and got back with treasures, the Central Region was quite peaceful for a while, though, and no problems were ever faced. That is, until about half a year later, when a new force suddenly rose from inside the Central Region itself. It was formed by Eddie and known as the Heavenly Evil Divine Kingdom."


    Zen''s expressions immediately took a serious turn at the news about Eddie. Eddie and Cloud Hall were his priorities. The former was highly related to Yan''s fate while the latter was associated with Letitia. However, despite his concerns, Zen showed no outwards signs of worry and listened attentively without interrupting Xiao.


    "It''s Eddie''s self-proclaimed kingdom. The warriors of our Central Region do not acknowledge it at all! However, that does not mean it is not causing troubles!" Xiao sneered.


    When a sect reached the sixth grade, it was qualified to be termed a sacred place. In theory, a sacred place was still a sect only, just like the Purple Heart Sacred Place on the Sea God Continent. When Zen had been there, it was a sixth-grade sect, while the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place was a seventh-grade sect.


    But establishing a divine kingdom was different, because the divine kingdom he created would belong entirely to Eddie alone! He could ascend to the throne of the kingdom just like an emperor!


    From what Zen could reckon, Eddie had established the Heavenly Evil Divine Kingdom in the Central Region only to gain more power. He was aiming to force the various fifth-grade, fourth-grade, and even the remaining lower grade sects into bowing down in recognition of his power.


    The warriors in the Central Region weren''t going to let that happen.


    As soon as Eddie had established the Heavenly Evil Divine Kingdom, all the sects had issued a joint statement, refusing to acknowledge the existence of his so-called Heavenly Evil Divine Kingdom.


    The point was that neither the World Commercial


    d Eddie''s history. He knew that Zen''s sister, Yan, had fallen into Eddie''s hands, so he understood why Zen was asking the question. "Not yet. It''s said that every single person in the Heavenly Evil Divine Kingdom is looking for women with the Purple Power Body," Xiao answered immediately.


    When he heard Xiao''s words, Zen heaved a sigh of relief. This was what had been worrying him the most in the past two years.


    It looked like luck was still on Zen''s side.


    Seeing the happiness on Zen''s face, Xiao reassured him, "Don''t worry. The Purple Power Body is so rare that it won''t be easy to find one."


    Zen nodded his head. Now that he had returned to the Central Region, the feud between him and Eddie was going to be settled once and for all.


    "You said that you were still healing. I can provide you with a place to stay. My Fish Dragon Sect has all kinds of medicine," Xiao hastily added.


    Zen smiled and declined politely, "That''s all right. I''m only passing by here. Since I''ve returned to the Central Region now, I must hurry back to my area. Thank you for your hospitality. Now I must rush back to Cloud Hall."


    After a long discussion with Xiao, Zen had managed to capture two pieces of information. Firstly, Cloud Hall was still safe and sound, and secondly, the third Purple Power Body hadn''t been found yet. Zen was satisfied with these two pieces of news.


    "Since you have important matters to attend to, I won''t keep you." Xiao knew he couldn''t stop Zen even if he wanted to. He stood up to send him off, and even summoned the three Virtual Tribulation Realm elders to escort Zen out of the Fish Dragon Sect.


    After Zen had turned into a streak of light and disappeared into the horizon, Elder Yu asked in a sullen voice, "Master Xiao, why are you being so courteous to this kid?"


    He knew of Zen''s identity, but since Zen didn''t have the slightest connection with Fish Dragon Sect, he couldn''t understand why Xiao was so polite to him.


    Xiao coldly snorted as he scolded, "What do you know!"

 Chapter 959 The Unexpected Information (Part One)

    Despite the fact that Zen was only at the Virtual Tribulation Realm as of now, Master Xiao knew the relationship between him and Letitia all too well.


    It was promising that Zen might eventually become the core leader of the Cloud Hall. Furthermore, Master Xiao wanted to have a chance to ask Zen for help in arranging a sect-protecting array. However, he encountered some dilemmas in doing so. First, it was difficult for him to turn to Zen for help. Second, he was not related to Zen in any way and he was also not his friend. Then again, it was fortunate that he was able to become acquaintances with him, and he therefore promised himself that he would be able to find a better opportunity to speak up next time.


    All of a sudden, a purplish black stream of light rapidly flew across the sky. Within the span of mere seconds, it had already traveled several miles.


    Even though Zen''s moving speed was extremely fast, it would still take him a couple of days to arrive at the Cloudy City. In order to reach the Cloudy City as soon as possible, he then planned to redirect his route. At the present, he was now heading towards the Ethereal City as his first stop, the big city to the east of the Central Region, instead of the Cloudy City itself.


    In reality, the Cloudy City was built with the support of the Cloud Hall, while the Ethereal City relied on the sustenance of the Ethereal Spirit Sect. As for the headquarters of the World Commercial Alliance, it was located in the Oracle City. As a matter of fact, there was an even bigger sect behind every prosperous city.


    Moreover, there were transmission arrays set up in these large cities that were accessible. If Zen could use them to pass through the Ethereal City this time around, it would take him a significantly less time to get to the Cloudy City.


    After two days had passed by, Zen successfully arrived in the air above the ancient city.


    If the Oracle City was considered to be the most prosperous city in the entire Central Region just because of the World Commercial Alliance, then the Ethereal City would be regarded as the most ancient city in the Central Region. This was due to the fact that the Ethereal Spirit Sect had a much longer history than that of the World Commercial Alliance.


    As Zen approached the Ethereal City and hovered a


    a token from inside the ring and bringing it up for every one of them to see. The disciple card that Zen acquired after joining the Cloud Hall seemingly gleamed in the sunlight.


    Humming to himself, the armored warrior pretended to look over the token several times. Truthfully, he was not from the Cloud Hall, so how could he ever determine if the disciple card the young man had showed them was actually real or fake? However, even if he was putting on an act as he scratched his chin in fake contemplation, he still had to try his best to check it.


    In fact, there were several stubborn independent warriors who were unwilling to join a sect and continued to live on their own terms. Despite this, these same individuals also had to enter these large cities to deal with their things. Because of this, they had no choice but to entrust others to make counterfeit copies of the disciple cards of those sects.


    After examining the token for a while, the armored warrior passed the disciple card back to Zen with an affirmative nod. As the group of armored warriors made way for Zen to pass through, Zen nodded as well before finally entering the Ethereal City.


    In this ancient city, the streets that adorned the town, as well as their assorted delicacies, were all distinctive. Upon feasting his eyes on the unique structures and famous treats, Zen did not rush to the transmission array. Instead, he strode towards the famous Moon Pavilion in the Ethereal City as he planned to rest for a short while before continuing with his journey.

 Chapter 960 The Unexpected Information (Part Two)

    The Moon Pavilion was not spectacularly large or tall like other establishments due to it being only three stories high. However, it was directly adjacent to the limpid river, and the scenery one could see if he happened to take a glimpse at it was extremely beautiful and elicited feelings of tranquility. Since ancient times, many people had turned up in this pavilion to recite poems. Thus, the Moon Pavilion had a first-class reputation as people spent a lot of money and time enjoying themselves there.


    Once Zen had randomly ordered a few simple yet elegant dishes, Zen looked into the distance, leaning his head on his hand absent-mindedly. Inside the pavilion, there were a handful of scholars shaking their heads and chanting an old song at the tables beside where he sat. When they were in high spirits, they picked up the chopsticks located on the table to beat the bowl from time to time. The men who beat the bowl seemed to be adept at beating it rhythmically, so the beating sound they made sounded pleasant.


    Amused at the performance, Zen also found it interesting when he heard this and even clapped after they performed. Grateful for the attention, those people flashed Zen a quick smile.


    As a matter of fact, most of the scholars situated in the Moon Pavilion were not warriors. At this time, Zen also sighed deeply, a little wistful at the thought that such a kind of ordinary life was also great and enjoyable in itself. Despite this, Zen ultimately understood that the path he had chosen for himself, a warrior, was something intrinsically valuable and there was no reason for him to retreat.


    From the first day he had started to pursue and cultivate the martial arts, he was destined to struggle against the heaven, the earth, and everything in between. Even though he thought it was possible for him not to reach the land of promise even if he kept on cultivating himself, he understood that he was definitely falling into the everlasting perdition if he retreated now.


    While the scholars busied themselves with playing and singing at the same time, several warriors walked in the pavilion. Apparently, these particular set of warriors were all at the Illuminating Soul Realm, and they i


    s original place. With their expressions visibly brightening and their eyes lighting up with undiluted surprise, they all instantaneously believed that they had just encountered a master.


    As for the group of warriors who were drinking the wine and enjoying themselves in their table, they were also reasonably startled by the sudden appearance of Zen. With a hard look, one of them glared at Zen and asked, "Hey, what was that for?"


    "Clank!" Without breaking eye contact, Zen passively dropped a supreme life vitality crystal onto the table. With a serious tone, Zen immediately said, "I''ll pay for the wine and food."


    The moment the warriors laid their eyes upon the glistening supreme life vitality crystal, they found themselves gasping and unable to look away from it. Everyone was well-aware of the fact that the prices of the food in the Moon Pavilion were awfully expensive, and an average person could definitely not be able to afford it. Nevertheless, it was possible for a warrior to dine there, as one or two low-grade life vitality crystals would be sufficient enough to pay for consuming food in the pavilion for half a month.


    Astonishingly, this supreme life vitality crystal that Zen casually threw out was more or less equal to about a million low-grade life vitality crystals. In other words, with this exceptional supreme life vitality crystal, Zen could book the entire Moon Pavilion and have extravagant meals there every day for several years.

 Chapter 961 Miss Xi

    The warriors were incredibly dumbstruck at the sight of the supreme life vitality crystal in front of them.


    Even if they were warriors in the Illuminating Soul Realm, a supreme life vitality crystal was still a massive fortune for them.


    Not everyone was as good as Zen when it came to making money. He was very capable and this was evident back in the Eastern Region when he used heavenly essence to easily earn cubic crystals. After his arrival in the Central Region, Zen delved into learning the technique of drawing divine textures. Now, given his high level of skill, any sect would be willing to pay whatever rate he provided just for him to set up a sect protecting array for them.


    A third-grade sect like Fish Dragon Sect did not even have the right to ask him for such a favor¡­


    One of the warriors swallowed thickly, "But¡­ it''s too much," he stammered.


    "After paying the bill, the rest will be yours," Zen told them.


    Their eyes sparkled with excitement, "R-Really?!"


    Zen nodded in confirmation. The amount he offered them would surely be enough.


    However, to his surprise, the warriors shook their heads. It was too good to be true from their perspective. To offer them something so precious like the supreme life vitality crystal for so little either meant Zen was baiting them or he was an idiot. Zen was certainly not an idiot.


    Zen sighed at their hesitation. "I don''t have any requests. I just want to hear about Miss Xi''s story," he said. "Tell me and the supreme life vitality crystal is yours."


    One of the warriors blinked doubtfully, "Is that really all?" he asked.


    Zen nodded. "Yes."


    A strange expression appeared on the warriors'' faces. One of them leaned forward. "You just arrived in Ethereal City, right?" he asked Zen.


    "Yes, I just arrived."


    "No wonder you wanted to know!" the warrior remarked. "It''s not really a secret, almost everyone in Ethereal City is talking about it right now."


    Zen frowned, "Don''t tell me¡­" he said faintly. "Does this Miss Xi actually have the extremely rare Purple Power Body?"


    The warrior''s eyes widened. "Oh, you knew about it already?"


    Zen''s gaze flickered. "I just guessed." This new piece of information he had obtained certainly made the situation extremely troublesome. His biggest weakness was his sister, Yan. Except for that, nothing else would make him a bundle of nerves. Back when he was only at the Illuminating Soul Realm, he had managed to kill Marilyn and delay Eddie''s plans, thus, keeping his sister relatively safe for the time being. Who would''ve thought another Purple Power Body would appear here in Ethereal City?


    "Miss Xi does possess the Purple Power Body," the warrior confirmed. "She has been targeted by Eddie and everyone in the Ethereal City has been panicking. We figure that it''s only a matter of time before he leads his Heavenly Evil Sect to attack us."


    Despite Eddie declaring his sect as the Heavenly Evil Divine


    oid talking about such things with him and Zen had come to realize that the customs between races were very much varied.


    Zen was greatly troubled, "We should at least find a man."


    Lavender suddenly pointed a slender finger at him.


    "Me?!" Zen quickly shook his head. "No. No, I can''t!"


    Lavender blinked her eyes and pouted. "Then what do you want to do?" she blinked her eyes and asked.


    "Let''s wait and see first," he said. It was a rather complicated situation given Miss Xi''s status. He wondered what Xander was going to do to solve this. Would he just continue to let his great-granddaughter act like this until Eddie finally came to take her away?


    He didn''t know that Xander was, in fact, also very troubled!


    News about his great-granddaughter possessing a Purple Power Body had spread and there was no way to stop it.


    In the past, such news would be received very happily by the clan. However, these were sensitive times with the threat of Eddie hanging over their heads. He just happened to be short of a Purple Power Body for him to successfully set up the Lustful Demon Array.


    Both leaders of the Cloud Hall and the World Commercial Alliance shared his concern and had already successively urged Xander to marry off his precious great-granddaughter.


    Xander was trying his best. He had even suggested for the clan''s master to use domestic discipline to punish her into relenting. However, it was hopeless. No amount of coaxing or threatening could get his great-granddaughter to yield. Her strong personality made her extremely obstinate and she claimed that she would rather die than marry someone she did not like.


    It was probably because of reading all those romantic novels. It made her obsessed with the idea of true love. Xander was an old man. He couldn''t possibly understand what went on in his teenage great-granddaughter''s head.


    In any case, she had to be married off right away. Otherwise, they would all be doomed!

 Chapter 962 Margaret Xi (Part One)

    The Xi Clan was a large, noble clan in the Ethereal City. In the olden times, however, the city only considered it as a second-grade clan. At that time, the whole city didn''t view the Xi Clan as a big family. After all, the Ethereal City had thousands of years of history, and there were many third-grade clans.


    But ever since a member of the Xi Clan became the leader of the Ethereal Spirit Sect, the Xi Clan''s status had exponentially risen, and it became a part of the third-grade clans in Ethereal City.


    The Xi Clan had almost ten thousand members, and they all lived in the Xi Clan''s castle, which lay in the east of the Ethereal City.


    At dusk, the lanterns at the gate of the Xi Clan''s castle would illuminate everything around it. Since the lanterns relied on the life vitality to emit light, the low-grade life vitality crystals were put in them, and they had been able to light up the lanterns for years now. A low-grade life vitality crystal was not cheap and readily available for everybody, and so an ordinary family would not be able to afford it.


    The light from the lanterns of the Xi Clan were outlining the walls of the entire castle. The sight was magnificent, and the common folk couldn''t help but admire the scenery of the night. They were amazed by the extreme wealth of the Xi Clan.


    At night, groups of people would stroll around the square in front of the Xi Clan''s house or lean onto the railing of the bridge. Some people chatted casually and some admired the lanterns. It was the brightest place in the entire Ethereal City.


    It was also because of this that many vendors had come to the area to set up stalls to sell all kinds of stuff, such as needlework and all kinds of small,


    ! I''m afraid that I''m not good enough to even be a remote match for her," the man, who had the surname of Han, responded as he slowly shook his head.


    "Well, you seem to have a clear estimation of yourself. There are no less than a thousand young men who have gone to the Xi Clan''s castle. Some of them are even heaven-level talents. And those men are only in their twenties and thirties, but they have a very high cultivation base already! But you know what? Every one of them was rejected! The young lady has a very particular taste about men and not one of them has passed it!"


    A young dame of such an influential, noble clan had a higher status than that of a princess in the mortal world, so when the Xi Clan started looking for a husband for her, it was considered as a major matter in the Ethereal City. It was on everyone''s mouth.


    In a quiet small courtyard of the Xi Clan''s castle, a sixteen-year-old lady was sitting upright under two jasper screens. She was cultivating herself.


    The young lady was dressed in white clothes with two light green ribbons hanging from her shoulders. Her fair and beautiful face was stunning.

 Chapter 963 Margaret Xi (Part Two)

    At that moment, a series of knocks came from the door of the small courtyard.


    Upon hearing this, the young lady frowned and rolled her eyes. At first, she was unwilling to get up and open the door, but the person kept on knocking, as if he himself was unwilling to stop unless she opened the door. And with that, she took a deep breath, and said, "Come in!"


    The gate to the courtyard was pushed open, and three people entered. The one in the lead was a young man whose eyes were very bright. He had a faint smile on his face. Quickly, he moved towards the young girl, passing through the screen. When he came upon her, he said sweetly, "Margaret." His eyes were twinkling.


    The young lady opened her eyes, looking morose. She stared angrily at the young man and said, "Brent, can you walk normally?"


    This young man, whose full name was Brent Xi, was a divine-level talent from the Ethereal Spirit Sect. He became a member of the Xi Clan by virtue of adoption. Since he grew up in the Xi Clan''s castle, he had a very close relationship with everyone in the clan, but especially with the young lady in front of him.


    Brent smiled as he put a bunch of scrolls in front of the young lady. Giggling like a child, he said, "I''ve received so many scrolls today!"


    When the young lady saw the scrolls, she became even angrier. The life vitality in her hand fluctuated, and then a blazing flame shot out. Soon enough, all the scrolls in front of her were in danger of catching fire.


    When Brent noticed what Margaret was trying to do, he pointed at the space in front of him and it suddenly distorted. Although Margaret was shooting the fire directly towards the scro


    et. How could they not be nervous and upset?


    A while ago, they found out that a spy from the Heavenly Evil Sect had sneaked into the city. They said that the Heavenly Evil Sect members had set their eyes on Margaret Xi, which caused the entire Ethereal City to be in an uproar. Rumor had it that the Heavenly Evil Sect was planning to attack the Ethereal City just to get to Margaret Xi.


    The few big clans of the Ethereal City immediately went over to the Xi Clan''s house in hopes that the Xi Clan had already found a man for Margaret Xi to get married to as soon as possible. Amidst the high-tension nature of their predicament, everyone still talked to the members of the Xi Clan about this matter in a friendly way because of Xander. Without him, they would have immediately taken Margaret Xi away.


    To put it bluntly, there were only two ways for Margaret Xi to choose to resolve the problem¡ªshe either could marry someone as soon as possible or she had to be killed. Under no circumstance could she be caught by Eddie.


    With those as their only choices, the whole Xi Clan started to feel pressured.

 Chapter 964 A Visit (Part One)

    After Brent had finished laughing to his heart''s content, his face turned serious once more as he spoke, "Today, in the Ethereal Spirit Sect, my master told me that he is not going to just let you continue to act however you please!"


    The master Brent was speaking of was the leader of the Ethereal Spirit Sect, Xander.


    If it wasn''t for Xander, how could anyone tolerate Margaret''s extremely obstinate behavior?


    Even though Xander always tolerated his wishful great granddaughter and let her get away with everything, the people of the Ethereal Spirit Sect and the Ethereal City criticized him severely for that. The situation was becoming very grave and it was time he prioritized the overall situation over her. All he had to do was sacrifice a girl of the Xi Clan. And in any case, the girl had to get married, and there were so many young talented men for her to choose from!


    "Did great grandpa really say that?" Upon hearing Brent''s words, a trace of sadness appeared across her face.


    Brent was a year younger than Margaret, but since he was still training in the Ethereal Spirit Sect, his thoughts were more mature than that of the latter. To comfort her, he told her, "Margaret, the master is under a lot of pressure too these days. Judging by the current situation, I''m fairly certain that Eddie is planning to make a move any time now!"


    "How dare he! Hang on! Look, our Ethereal Spirit Sect is the number one sect in the entire Central Region. If Eddie is really planning to make a move, he isn''t going to attack this place first." Margaret was initially about to rise up in anger but her thought seemed to calm her down.


    Brent smiled helplessly and asked, "Why do you think that he won''t attack the Ethereal Spirit Sect? The top three powers in the Central Region are the Ethereal Spirit Sect, the World Commercial Alliance, and the Cloud Hall.


    teeth and made a decision. "If that''s the case, I will prepare a poison. If Eddie really comes, I will take the poison and commit suicide."


    In the end, Brent sighed and left the place with the other two servants.


    The next day, in the earliest possible hour of the morning, a young man dressed in a green robe appeared on the square in front of the castle of Xi Clan. It had been very late when he had arrived at the Ethereal City yesterday. So he had stayed for a good night''s rest before going to the castle of Xi Clan. When dawn finally began to show in the morning, he immediately traveled halfway across the Ethereal City towards the castle.


    Just as he arrived at the square in front of the gate of the castle, he saw numerous people line up there. The line was so long that it looked like a long dragon that extended hundreds of feet from head to tail. There were over a hundred people in the square.


    There were all kinds of people in the crowd. There were strong and sturdy men, and scholarly men who were dressed up elegantly and with refined manners. As for their cultivation levels, they varied greatly. There were common people without any cultivation base at all, and also powerful warriors from the Internal Elixir Realm.

 Chapter 965 A Visit (Part Two)

    "This...have they all come here to vie for the chance to marry Miss Xi?" At the realization of this, Zen, who was standing beside the line, smiled in mild amusement. It seemed that Xi Clan had become really anxious. But he had heard that this contest had been going on for a long time now. He didn''t know why Miss Xi was being so picky. Was her heart lofty than the sky itself? There were so many suitors, so why the hell had she not found one to her liking? Zen wondered.


    "Hey, you newcomer! For the marriage contest? Line up at the back! A servant of the Xi Clan, upon seeing Zen standing away from the line, pointed at him and harshly scolded him. This servant probably thought that Zen was going to cut in the line.


    Zen was not angry at all. This servant was just an ordinary person and naturally could not tell Zen''s cultivation level. As for the other martial artists in the line, their expressions changed when they noticed that Zen''s cultivation level was at the Virtual Tribulation Realm.


    ''The man has stepped into the Virtual Tribulation Realm at such a young age. Which sect is he from?'' they wondered.


    On the Sea God Continent, it was not uncommon for a warrior of Zen''s age to become a war lord. For example, if Cheryl, Olivia and several other cultivators wanted to break through, they could achieve the same through hard training in the Tower of Sin.


    The speed of improving one''s cultivation in the Tower of Sin was far greater than what the outside world could measure up to.


    However, in the Central Region, reaching the Illuminating Soul Realm at this age was indeed surprising. Unless the big sects put in a lot of their resources to cultivate some talented disciples, people might never achieve this f


    tion was way too loud, it immediately alarmed the numerous warriors who''d lined up to propose marriage.


    Many of the warriors also walked over with puzzled faces.


    "Did you hear that? That brat said he was Zen Luo. Is that the same Zen Luo from the Cloud Hall?"


    "Isn''t he supposed to be dead? For the past two years, there has been no news of him at all. It was as if he had disappeared into thin air all of a sudden!"


    "Honestly speaking, I think it''s quite possible that he is really Zen Luo. Other than him, who else can step into the Virtual Tribulation Realm in just two years? Oh, right! There is also one, Brent, Ethereal Spirit Sect''s divine-level talent¡­"


    The steward of the Xi Clan looked at Zen in a daze, and then he asked cautiously, "You.. Are you really Zen Luo?"


    Zen smiled faintly. "Yes, I am."


    "Alright, I''ll pass on your message. Please wait a moment!" With that, the steward dashed into the castle as fast as he could, as if he was flying. Although this steward suspected Zen''s identity, it was not up to him to judge whether his claim was true or not. The master of the Xi Clan would come to a conclusion on his own.

 Chapter 966 Two Options

    Not long after, several streaks of light shot out from within the Xi Clan''s castle, immediately attracting the attention of many warriors who were there to woo Margaret.


    One of the streaks of light zoomed directly into the square. A boy shouted, "Zen!"


    The boy was none other than Brent.


    Two years ago, he had missed the opportunity to challenge Zen due to a sudden change during the Martial Arts Contest. He had always regretted it.


    In the past two years, Brent''s cultivation level had increased a lot, but Zen had disappeared without a trace, and rumors about his death were rife. How could Brent not be excited upon Zen''s arrival? He rushed out immediately, albeit a bit perturbed, because he also suspected that someone was pretending to be Zen.


    But to his intense surprise, the man was Zen himself.


    Zen, too, was surprised to see Brent. He knew that Brent was a divine-level talent of the Ethereal Spirit Sect, but he did not know that he belonged to the Xi Clan.


    "Hi Brent, it''s been a long time. How have you been?" Zen greeted him blandly without enthusiasm.


    "You have also stepped into the Virtual Tribulation Realm! Let''s have a fight, shall we?" Brent wasted no time in challenging Zen. He didn''t even bother about the fact that this was a special occasion.


    Obviously, Zen wouldn''t agree. He hadn''t come here to challenge Brent, but for the daughter of the Xi Clan.


    "Brent, stop messing around!" A middle-aged man followed closely behind Brent. Some keen observers had already recognized him. It was Robin Xi, the head of the Xi Clan.


    Robin Xi cupped his hands in greeting to Zen, and said, "I heard that you arrived at the Xi Clan, and I am greatly honored. This is not the place to talk. Come in, please!"


    Zen also cupped his hands and bowed down to Robin Xi. Then he followed the warriors of the Xi Clan into the castle.


    On his way in, Robin Xi wondered why Zen was suddenly visiting them.


    Zen had disappeared for two years and no one knew where he had gone. He was not related to the Xi Clan, so he wasn''t here visiting his family. It was safe to assume that he was here for Margaret, who had the Purple Power Body. Robin Xi had been worried about her for quite a while, and now Zen had arrived at the right time.


    Zen sat down in the main hall of the castle and exchanged pleasantries with the people of the Xi Clan. Warriors were unlike scholars and did not have any formalities. Robin Xi got straight to the point. "Zen, may I know if you are here for my daughter, Margaret?"


    Zen nodded, and


    ay that? I''d rather die!" She turned her chin up resolutely. She was rather defiant.


    Robin Xi raised his hand. He was about to slap her, but Margaret was obstinate, and she had no intention of dodging it. However, Zen stepped between them and stopped Robin Xi. He said, "Master Xi, please calm down. I have something to say to Miss Xi."


    Robin Xi couldn''t lose his temper in front of an outsider. He had no choice but to suppress the anger in his heart.


    Zen stared at the girl in front of him and said, "Miss Xi, you''ve misunderstood. I''m not here to woo you."


    She scowled at him. "I know. You''re only here to get to know me. At the same time, you want to show me your strength and eloquence, and tell me which clan you belong to and what immeasurable potential you have. Come on! Just admit it. You are here with the same purpose as the guys outside. A person like you can only be described in one word¡ªhypocrite. You are even more disgusting than those who are standing outside," she said mockingly.


    "Ha-ha!" Brent could not stop himself from laughing upon hearing this.


    "Brent! What are you laughing at? What''s so funny?" an annoyed Margaret berated him.


    Zen was speechless. He hadn''t thought that this quiet and refined young lady would be so bold and energetic. Moreover, she had a wild imagination.


    Now Zen said seriously, "I''m not trying to get to know you. You have the Purple Power Body, so it''s too dangerous for you to stay here. I have come to take you away from the Ethereal City."


    "Take me away? Just you?" she asked warily.


    "Leave with me, or die right now. It''s your choice." Although Zen''s tone was unusually calm, what he said was the cold, hard truth.

 Chapter 967 At Deaths Door

    Zen was not joking. His sister, Yan Luo, was truly the most important person in his life.


    Margaret was like Marilyn¡ªtheir mere existence was a threat to Yan. Marilyn had set herself against Zen, so he had no choice other than to kill her. Margaret, however, was completely innocent.


    However, regardless of whether Margaret was innocent or not, Zen still could not tolerate Yan being threatened. That was why he had decisively told Margaret that she could either follow him back to the Cloud Hall or be killed. It was that simple.


    Unsurprisingly, when Zen told Margaret this, she was stunned.


    Ever since she could remember, she had been considered the smartest girl around. Apart from Brent, she was the youngest in her generation and was the most beloved daughter of the family. Even Xander, who seldom came back to the Xi Clan''s castle, was fond of her. Every time he came back, he would ask Margaret to meet him.


    Since Xander was in charge of the Ethereal Spirit Sect, he had rarely shown up in the Xi Clan''s castle. Even if Robin wanted to meet him, planning for it would be a real pain. But despite his frequent absence, Xander had always been fond of Margaret, his great-granddaughter. At this critical moment, he was actually willing to send Brent to accompany Margaret because he knew of the good relationship between the two of them.


    One could only imagine how much Xander had doted on her.


    It was also because of this that the members of the Xi Clan chose to tolerate her behavior again and again, even giving her ample time to choose the man she was going to marry. They had already waited for so long, yet she still had not picked anyone she liked.


    If she was only a random girl from some branch of the Xi Clan, the members of the clan might have already married her off to someone, by hook or by crook.


    Considering all the love that she had received from the people around her since she was very young, Margaret didn''t expect that this man in front of her would be so insolent towards her, even daring to threaten that he would kill her if she refused to leave with him.


    Robin and Brent were also stunned. They could tell that Zen was not joking. As for the other members of the Xi Clan, such as Margaret''s seniors, their expressions significantly darkened after Zen''s remarks.


    Although everyone was having a headache about Margaret''s marriage, they wouldn''t dare force her to marry someone. So how dare an outsider come to the Xi Clan''s territory and think that he could treat Margaret like that!


    Brent frowned. Although he was an adopted son, he and Margaret had grown up together since they were young. The two of them were even closer than those related by blood. How could Zen threaten to hurt Margaret?


    Just as Brent was about to speak up and push Zen away from Margaret, Robin waved his hand and stopped him.


    With a confused expression, Brent turned to look at Robin. Margaret was Robin''s daughter. Wasn''t he worried about her safety at all?


    Although Brent felt fully puzzled, he chose to stay put and shut up.


    Margaret was Robin''s youngest daughter. How could he not worry about her safety? Howeve


    d death.


    ''Why won''t Dad save me? Why won''t he make a move? Why are the members of the Xi Clan staying still?'' she thought, tears already pooling in her eyes. Finally, she began to panic. In this situation, her survival instinct kicked in, and she began to struggle.


    "Dad! Save me!"


    But this did not lessen the hold of Zen on her neck. Slowly, her voice became shrill and colored with fear.


    As much as it was hurting him, Robin had no intentions of moving, and looked as if he hadn''t heard her.


    The malicious aura released by Zen was still rising. At the same time, he also released a portion of his soul pressure. Margaret definitely wouldn''t be able to block Zen''s soul pressure. If the pressure was too great, she might pass out immediately, so Zen didn''t release much of it. However, he made sure that it was enough for her to feel that the threat that he was posing against her was constantly increasing.


    "Are you sure you still want to choose death?" Zen asked, his voice deep and demonic. As he stared at the young girl in front of him, he thought of how he did not like being an evil person. The girl he was choking looked very beautiful and soft, so usually, men would feel like protecting her, even if it was the first time they had seen her. Zen was no exception to that. However, he valued his sister more.


    Margaret''s lips were turning pale. When Zen''s malicious aura and soul pressure slightly lessened, she immediately said, "I...I choose to go with you!"


    After that proclamation, all of Zen''s malicious aura was instantly poured into the Killing Sword Mountain. At the same time, his soul pressure disappeared without a trace. Margaret was put down, and immediately, she took a deep breath and then panted heavily.


    Seeing Margaret act like this, the members of the Xi Clan, including Robin and Brent, felt their hearts ache for her, but they were forced to do nothing.


    Margaret was like a frightened little bird as she stared at Zen, great fear in her eyes. She chose to give in in the face of death, and at the same time, she had developed a deep hate for Zen.

 Chapter 968 The Transmission Arrays Of The Ethereal City (Part One)

    A myriad of emotions crossed through Margaret''s face as she looked at Zen. "Tell me your name!" she demanded through gritted teeth.


    Margaret rarely left her home, but she was more or less well-informed about the young elites of the Central Region. She had not participated in the Martial Arts Contest of Oracle City two years ago, but she had lent Brent a hand in studying and forming strategies against his potential opponents.


    This man in front of her was undoubtedly young, and yet he had already reached the Virtual Tribulation Realm. He was no ordinary warrior.


    Earlier, Robin had sent word for her to go out to meet him, but without telling her anything about this man. Conflict had immediately arisen between her and Zen at their first contact, leaving no space for Robin to properly introduce them to each other.


    "Why? So you can find an opportunity to take revenge afterwards?" Zen asked with a smile, seemingly unaffected by her obvious aggression.


    "That''s right!" Margaret answered him quickly and without any trace of hesitation. She had no intentions of hiding anything. Granted, she was only a beginner of the Internal Elixir Realm, but she had the Purple Power Body. Once she had trained enough, her strength would be unmatched. A cultivator with the Purple Power Body would be able to stay in the Purple Power World for a period of time after reaching the Internal Elixir Realm. The length of the duration would increase more and more by cultivating herself to the Virtual Tribulation Realm. Finally, it would then be possible to summon the 99 billion huge swords and the true spirit from the Purple Power World. However, the cost of such power would be extremely high.


    Marilyn had previously tried to summon the true spirit upon her encounter with Zen at the Martial Arts Contest. According to the cyan dragon''s words, if Marilyn had be


    there was a chance, she would like to meet this Zen and see just what kind of person he was. However, after his journey to the Immortal Mist''s celestial tomb, Zen had disappeared.


    Brent himself, who had participated in the journey, presumed him dead.


    Margaret had always regarded this as a pity. Now, she had lost all chances of ever meeting the man that her younger brother had endlessly talked about.


    She eyed him from head to toe as he stood before her in the flesh. He was most likely around 20 years of age, as he was only 18 years old two years ago. The man in front of her matched that description, but was he that same Zen? Hadn''t he died in the celestial tomb? How come he was here in their midst?


    Brent blinked his eyes at his sister and sighed. "Yes, sister, he''s exactly that Zen."


    At that moment, the reason of his appearance dawned on her. She now understood why Zen had offered her two difficult choices. No one in the Central Region was unaware of the fate that had befallen Yan, his sister. Eddie had her in his grasp. Some of Margaret''s irritation slowly dissipated and was replaced by quiet respect as she realized that Zen would stop at nothing to save his sister. He would sacrifice everything, if necessary.

 Chapter 969 The Transmission Arrays Of The Ethereal City (Part Two)

    Naturally, she also understood that if she were to fall into Eddie''s hands, Zen''s sister would be in great danger.


    However, despite her understanding of the situation, Margaret still couldn''t forgive Zen. She would not let him off so easily after having treated her so rudely, and in front of her family! Margaret was proud by nature. Reining in her resentment, she wore a stoic expression in her face and said, "Well then. Even if you are that Zen, you be sure that I will pay back your rudeness in full some time in the future," she said, her voice still laced with anger.


    Zen merely gave her a brief smile. "I''ll wait," he replied calmly.


    Robin let out a sigh of relief from the side, grateful that the tension had not exploded into full-blown hostility. "Since you''ve already made your decision, then it''s fine. In fact, the leader of Cloud Hall has already invited Margaret, to keep her away from here, but this child is so stubborn that she has kept on refusing to go to Cloud Hall," he said, letting out another huff of air. Then, he added, "It''s already noon, and the servants have finished preparations for lunch. You can set off after you eat."


    A transmission array connecting the Ethereal City and the Cloudy City allowed for a direct passage, so going from there to Cloud Hall would be no trouble at all.


    Zen gave them a slight bow and said politely, "I am grateful for your kindness!"


    All of them moved towards the dining room, except for one figure. Margaret stalked off to the other direction, leaving behind with only one sentence. "I''m not going to eat with this man. I''ll be out after lunch!" she declared, then walked away.


    A wry smile appeared on Robin''s face. He turned to Zen and said apologetically, "Please forgive her. My daughter has always been like this."


    Margaret''s hostile attitude did not matter one


    gnoring the rules, but so what? Some of us have more important jobs to do. What? You want to fight us?"


    The other warriors fell silent at their intimidation. Most of them warriors were nature creatures, of which only a handful had reached the Illuminating Soul Realm, while the two warriors cutting in line were at the Internal Elixir Realm. There was too great a gap between the two groups. Provoking the two warriors further would only result to the other group''s loss.


    The silence of their surrender only served to fan the two warriors'' insolence. "That''s right. You lot should know your place. Weigh your own strength before you sputter out your nonsense!" they jeered.


    A quiet discontent settled over the crowd as the line slowly moved forward. The transmission arrays flashed white every time someone entered the space channel. As the two Internal Elixir Realm warriors approached one of the transmission arrays, one of them said in a lazy tone, "Alright, let''s do it!"


    The other person threw back a haughty glance to the others behind, as if challenging them to stop him. Then, he took out a purple-black bead from his chest and threw it towards the transmission array. The next moment, they both abruptly retreated.

 Chapter 970 Take Action

    Everything happened so quickly. There were a few Ethereal City guards who were standing by the transmission array, but since they were only at the ultimate level of the Illuminating Soul Realm, they were slow to react to what was happening.


    Destroying a transmission array wasn''t something that would benefit a person, and it would be highly harmful to others. Because of that, under normal circumstances, no one would maliciously destroy one.


    When the others saw the two Internal Elixir Realm warriors throw out the purple black bead, they immediately retreated to the side. After that, they saw that the bead emitted a fine line of lightning in the transmission array.


    Then, the radiance of the lightning burst out, emitting an intense light as well as the power of space. At the same time, violent explosion rang out.


    Clap! Clap!


    At the moment of the ear-splitting explosion, the area around the transmission array was swallowed by the bright light. The warriors who were queuing up and the guards that were standing by the transmission array were instantly annihilated. They didn''t even have the time to scream before they met their doom.


    "They have destroyed the transmission array!"


    "This is the Space and Thunder Bead! It contains the Thunder Law and the Space Law. It can completely destroy the space channel!"


    "Why did they destroy the transmission array? What is their goal?"


    The warriors who had a considerable distance from the site of explosion had already cried out in alarm, and had started to theorize what had happened.


    It wasn''t easy to destroy a transmission array. Once it was built, the entire space channel would be very stable. Even if the base of the transmission array was destroyed, the space channel would not be damaged. All they needed to do was to rebuild the base.


    However, the Space and Thunder Bead was different. The transmission array was something that wouldn''t be easily destroyed, but the said bead was specially designed for destroying it. The power of thunder and lightning contained within the bead would destroy its base. However, the worst thing about it was the power of space contained within it because it had the ability to mess up the space channel in the transmission array, and if that happened, the space channel could no longer be rebuilt.


    After the two Internal Elixir Realm warriors had succeeded, another transmission array leading to Oracle City, which was one mile away, was also destroyed. By then, the two ways leading to Cloudy City and Oracle City had been ruined.


    "What¡­ What is going on?"


    "I think I understand! These people are most likely from the Heavenly Evil Sect!"


    "They destroyed transmission arrays, so that the Cloud Hall and the World Commercial Alliance won''t be able to lend a helping hand. It''s very likely that Eddie is about to launch an attack."


    It was only a matter of time before people started identifying the reason for the attacks.


    Ethereal City had already done its best to prepare for such scenarios in adva


    rld of warriors. Whoever was the most powerful would keep the treasures for themselves. It was just the law of the jungle. If the independent warriors were in the sect warriors'' position, they would undoubtedly do the same.


    As Eddie had fully raised the morale of the troops, none of them thought deeply about what Eddie really wanted.


    "Very good! Then today will be the day the Ethereal Spirit Sect is destroyed!" Eddie roared coldly.


    Just then, a figure flew out from the Divine Kingdom Army. It was a white-faced scholar-like man at the middle level of the Virtual Tribulation Realm.


    He held an ancient folding fan in his hand. As the folding fan unfurled, everyone saw the word "Darius" written on it.


    He was the military adviser of the Divine Kingdom Army. He used to be an independent warrior and was quite famous in the south of the Central Region. However, he had offended the people from the Mysterious Luna Hall, so his family was killed by them.


    Darius had stayed hidden all these years, and when he heard that Eddie was about to found a divine kingdom, he knew that his chance had come.


    From his point of view, whether Eddie could build a divine kingdom or not was not important. What was important was that he would be able to take advantage of Eddie''s power to destroy the Mysterious Luna Hall. In a sense, both of them were using each other for their own personal gains.


    "I just received news that the young lady from the Xi Family is not in the Ethereal Spirit Sect. Instead, she is in Ethereal City," Darius said faintly.


    "Oh?" Eddie''s eyes narrowed. "It seems like Xander really doesn''t take me seriously. Well, I think that means I should go to Ethereal City!"


    "The two transmission arrays in Ethereal City have already been destroyed. However, I''m afraid that the Xi Family prefers death over dishonor," Darius said.


    Eddie frowned, a cautious look on his face. Darius was right. The Xi Family wouldn''t give him the girl with a Purple Power Body without an intense fight.

 Chapter 971 Escape

    "Aside from the news about Miss Xi, we''ve also acquired an interesting new piece of information," Darius said upon seeing Eddie''s grim expression.


    "What is it?" Eddie asked.


    "Zen has returned," Darius immediately replied.


    Eddie''s eyes immediately flashed with a malicious aura, "Zen¡­ Hmph! He actually returned!"


    Rumors and speculations about Zen dying had spread all over Central Region but Eddie did not believe any of it.


    He had seen firsthand how Zen became the ultimate winner of the Wheel of Fortune, signifying that he was a man of great destiny. Eddie did not believe that Zen was someone who would die so easily. The only way Eddie would ever believe Zen''s death would be if he killed him with his own hands.


    "What are you going to do now?" Darius asked cautiously, clearly aware of the malicious aura that emanated from Eddie.


    "Temporarily halt all attacks on the Ethereal Spirit Sect. Station everyone a hundred miles away while we wait for Simon''s men to arrive. Do not make a move until I come!" Eddie ordered.


    Simon, the Poison King, had recently joined Eddie''s Heavenly Evil Divine Kingdom despite them initially being on opposing sides.


    It was Eddie who extended the invitation and Simon accepted after weighing up the cost and benefits. Despite the conflict between them at the start, Simon had since put aside past grudges once he came to realize the benefits of joining Eddie and his divine kingdom.


    At that moment, Simon was already rushing over with a group of independent warriors.


    The Ethereal Spirit Sect must not be underestimated. It was not heralded as the number one sect in the Central Region for no reason. Although its sect-protecting array constructed by Arnold was not on par with Cloud Hall''s, Eddie knew that the Illusory Array was still capable of causing a great deal of trouble for his army.


    Moreover, the Ethereal Spirit Sect had Xander and Eddie did not dare to look down upon him. The joint forces of the Septuplets of Ethereal Spirit were comparable to a Life and Death Realm master''s strength.


    It would be difficult but if he managed to get the Ethereal Spirit Sect to yield, Eddie was sure that his Heavenly Evil Divine Kingdom would reap huge benefits.


    After Darius left to enforce his orders, a plan was already brewing in Eddie''s mind, "I want to see just how he will escape this time," he muttered to himself with a sneer. Then, he turned into a beam of light and charged straight towards Ethereal City.


    Meanwhile, inside the Ethereal Spirit Sect, Xander stood in a huge Eight Diagrams and looked up to the sky with a complicated expression.


    The Septuplets of Ethereal Spirit formed a unique formation that was in accordance with the shape of the Big Dipper. They looked up solemnly at the large number of warriors in the sky.


    The majority of their attackers were at the Illuminating Soul Realm and did not pose a


    There was no way he could stay in the castle with the threat of war upon them.


    Zen''s face darkened at his words. He immediately stood up and cupped his hands to Robin, "I''ll take the young lady out of the Ethereal City right now!"


    Had he not stayed for the luncheon, Zen would''ve already left Ethereal City with Margaret hours ago. He did not expect that a war would suddenly break out while he was casually eating lunch with the Xi Clan.


    Robin nodded, "I''ll bring you to her right now!"


    While Brent rushed to the Ethereal Spirit Sect, Robin led Zen towards Margaret''s residence.


    Inside her residence, Margaret was alone and sulking thinking that she was about to leave the castle. Her table was full of delicious food but she didn''t eat a single bite. Her mind was a mess and she was in no mood to eat.


    Bam!


    Her door and screens were suddenly smashed into smithereens as Zen forced his entry into her room.


    The two screens were made of precious jade and were of high value. Margaret liked them very much and had spent a lot of effort getting them two years ago. To think that Zen broke them just like that made her furious!


    "You! You must pay for the screens!" she shouted.


    ''This guy is truly despicable. He didn''t show any respect to me at all!'' she thought to herself as she seethed with anger.


    Robin ignored his daughter''s tantrum. "Margaret, forget about the screens! You have to go now!" he shouted in desperation. He did not know what to say to make his daughter behave at such a critical moment and it wasn''t really the time to lecture her.


    Zen did not even bother calming her down. There was no time to be gentle given the urgency of the situation. He just went directly to her and roughly grabbed her hand. "Let''s go!"


    He then immediately flew up and smashed her ceiling into pieces. Margaret''s residence was made of wood and sturdy iron but it was reduced to nothing by Zen just like that!

 Chapter 972 Illusion

    Zen shot up into the sky and smashed the beams. As soon as the beams broke, the house began to collapse and everything in the courtyard fell to the ground.


    "Oh, no! My...my courtyard!" Margaret was on the verge of tears.


    Zen sighed inwardly. This young lady didn''t seem to understand the situation she was in, but he didn''t have the time or the patience to sit down with her and analyze the situation and the danger she was facing. If this matter wasn''t related to Yan, he wouldn''t even care about this stupid girl.


    Carrying Margaret, Zen madly rushed in the direction of the transmission array. Although Ethereal City was enormous, with his current flying speed, Zen wouldn''t take long to reach his destination.


    However, at this moment, a strong aura descended from the sky. Zen''s face fell when he sensed this aura.


    "Eddie is coming!" His eyes flashed.


    At the sight of Eddie, Margaret turned pale. Just a moment ago, she hadn''t even been close to figuring out what was going on, but now, she knew. She''d never expected that the things the elders of the Xi Family had been worrying about would actually happen.


    "Zen Luo!" Eddie roared at Zen from above. "You''re fast. But if you hadn''t come here, you might have lived a little longer. Now you''re courting death! I''m going to kill you today!"


    Eddie had once been greatly frustrated by Zen, but he hadn''t been able to do anything about it, because Zen had been hiding in the Cloud Hall''s sect-protecting array.


    However, things had changed now. There was no sect-protecting array to keep Zen safe anymore.


    Eddie knew how good Zen''s luck was. But if he didn''t personally kill Zen, he would never be able to live in peace.


    Moreover, in just two years, Zen had been able to step into the Virtual Tribulation Realm. Although he was only at the primary level, his progress shocked and frightened Eddie. In another three to five years, Zen would be able to break through to the Soul Sea Realm. When that time came, there was no way Eddie would be able to defeat Zen. In fact, Zen would be able to snap him into two as easily as snapping a twig.


    Eddie''s grand plan was to found his divine kingdom, so he couldn''t allow such a huge threat to live in this world.


    He had to kill Zen today no matter what. For that reason, he had even temporarily stopped attacking the Ethereal Spirit Sect. Anyone could see how determined Eddie was.


    Whoosh!


    Zen refused to listen to Eddie''s nonsense. He quickly rushed toward the Sky Worm River in Ethereal Cit


    he replied, "Since I''ll die no matter what, I have to try to find a way out. You''re a sect master, so stop with the nonsense!"


    "I''m not a sect master. I am the lord of the Heavenly Evil Divine Kingdom." The outside world had assumed that the Heavenly Evil Sect was a sect force, but no one dared to speak of the Heavenly Evil Sect in front of Eddie. Generally, they would call it the Heavenly Evil Divine Kingdom.


    "Hmph! How shameless you are to claim to be the lord of the divine kingdom!" Zen sneered.


    "You''re already a dead man, but you''re still trying to get on my nerves! I''ll make sure you die a miserable death then!" Eddie suddenly increased his speed. The fist radiance in his hand started to flicker, and a powerful aura began brewing inside his body. The moment he found an opening, he would make his move.


    Feeling Eddie''s power, Margaret turned pale. Her face was filled with grief. She was afraid that she would really die on Zen''s shoulder today.


    However, she hadn''t expected that red dots of light would suddenly shoot out from Zen''s body. It was none other than Zen''s sword spirit.


    Once Lavender took on her complete form, she stood close to Margaret and, with a mocking expression on her face, gave Margaret a smirk. After that, she took the middle-grade sacred spear from Zen''s hand and charged at Eddie.


    ''She must be Zen''s transformed sword spirit, '' Margaret thought to herself. She had heard that Zen had a very special sword spirit, but why did his sword spirit have expressions? And why had she looked like she was laughing at her?


    Maybe it was just an illusion. Margaret began to wonder whether her eyes were playing tricks on her.

 Chapter 973 It All Looked Fishy

    Lavender turned around and darted towards Eddie with a spear in her hand. The next moment, she thrust the spear at Eddie.


    "A mid-grade sacred weapon!"


    Eddie''s eyes widened in amazement. There were only a few low-grade sacred weapons in the Central Region. How could he not be envious when he saw Zen''s sword spirit wielding a mid-grade sacred weapon?


    But at the same time, there was a hint of doubt in Eddie''s mind. Didn''t Zen''s sword spirit use a huge sword? How did it suddenly become a spear!


    Zen''s luck was truly beyond anyone''s wildest imagination. Not only had he broken through to the Virtual Tribulation Realm, he''d even managed to obtain a mid-grade sacred weapon.


    "It''s a good weapon. But it''s a pity that this mid-grade sacred weapon will come into my hands in the end. All of your luck and your secrets will belong to me!" Eddie was certain that Zen was hiding a huge secret. If he found out what it was, he would be able to become an emperor. And that was not all, he would even be able to attain greater power in the future. Eddie''s ambition would not be confined only to the Central Region. There existed four divine kingdoms on the other side of the Chaotic Ocean of Stars. The world was boundless. Eddie had been constantly conquering regions his whole life, and his final goal was to reach the pinnacle of the world.


    Defeating Zen was the most crucial step for him to reach success!


    Lavender''s spear was right in front of him but Eddie did not hesitate to counterattack. A brownish-yellow light flashed on his fist and shot towards Zen.


    "Humph! Break into pieces!"


    Lavender wasn''t scared. The long spear suddenly jolted and emitted a wave of formless energy. An astonishing power burst forth from it and immediately destroyed the radiance emitting from Eddie''s fist.


    Eddie looked at Lavender in utter disbelief.


    How did Zen''s sword spirit become so powerful?


    True, Eddie hadn''t employed his full strength in this punch, but if a mere sword spirit managed to block his attack, it was incredible! How could he not be astounded?


    Lavender looked at Eddie wickedly, "Surprised?"


    "You can actually speak?" Eddie''s jaw dropped when he heard her voice. How could a sword spirit speak? He was baffled. He had seen Zen''s sword spirit before. Although this particular one''s sword dance had been incomparably exquisite, it didn''t seem extraordinary to Eddie back then.


    The spear skills that the sword spirit had displayed were impeccable. Eddie was astonished beyond words.


    However, Eddie had recovered from the shock quickly. His expression became serious. He realized that the man before him was not as easy to defeat as he once thought he would be. He could no longer treat Zen as an amateur warrior who had just entered the Virtual Tribulation Realm. It was just like in the past, when Zen was only a martial artist at the Illuminating Soul Realm, a


    "You are not afraid of death, right? Why are you still holding on to Zen so tightly?"


    At first, Margaret was not very happy about being carried by Zen, however, as he was flying extremely fast, she had now firmly and instinctively grabbed his shoulder.


    "I¡­" Margaret''s face darkened. She did not know how to respond to Lavender''s jibes. She paused to think, and an idea struck her. Her stubborn temper rose again. "Zen, let me down," she commanded.


    "Let you down?" Lavender blinked and said, "Let you off so that Eddie can catch you and set up the Lustful Demon Array? You aren''t important, but Yan is a hundred times more important than you!"


    From Zen''s point of view, it was indeed so. It didn''t matter to him whether Margaret was dead or alive. He only wanted to take her away for the sake of his sister.


    "Then...then just kill me!" It was then that Margaret truly understood that there was no other path in front of her. She was either to die or just to tolerate all this.


    "Lavender, stop. That''s enough for her," Zen said nonchalantly.


    He didn''t know why Lavender was intentionally irritating Margaret. She might be doing it just to mock the young lady and make him give up on her and, maybe even kill her. But Zen would not let that happen.


    Although the world of martial artists was cruel, Zen could choose what he could and couldn''t do. Lavender''s solution would indeed be the safest and easiest one, but Zen did not want this innocent young girl to lose her life!


    He circled in the sky above the Ethereal City with Margaret in his arms. Meanwhile, Eddie was closing the distance between them. Just as Zen leaped into a palace-like building in the Ethereal City, he suddenly stopped and turned around to face Eddie, a strange smile playing on his face.


    Eddie became more alert when he saw Zen stopping suddenly. This kid couldn''t have just given up and wait to be captured. It all looked fishy.

 Chapter 974 Dragon-trapping Rope

    Zen seemed to be heading outside the Ethereal City and Eddie was glad to see him do that. As he did so, he sent a message to Simon using the message rune, asking him to help seize Zen with him together.


    But the truth was Zen did not escape from the Ethereal City. Instead he was flying around the city. Naturally, Eddie was wary of him.


    "What are you worried about?" Zen asked with a smirk. He was a mere thousand feet from Eddie.


    Eddie''s expression darkened. He looked around carefully, but did not discover anything suspicious. However, he couldn''t quell the doubt in his heart, which grew even stronger when he saw Zen''s smile.


    The two of them now stood still, staring at each other.


    "Since that''s the case, I''ll be leaving now!" Zen turned to leave.


    Seeing that Zen was about to leave, Eddie was immediately angered. He suspected that this was a kind of double bluff.


    He had no choice but to activate his life vitality. He suddenly accelerated, and zoomed towards Zen at a high speed.


    "Attack!"


    As he watched Eddie arrive in the air above the palace, Zen let out a loud shout.


    Under Eddie, rays of light suddenly burst out from the palace. Little by little, the rays converged to form lines. All streets, within a 1, 500-feet radius released a red light. It looked as though the sun had descended on the ground. The streets connected and evolved into a gigantic rune.


    At the same time, the Space Law Power suddenly reverberated within the palace. There were a few flashes of incandescent light, and Brent, Robin and the Septuplets of Ethereal Spirit appeared.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    The rays of light formed countless small dragons in the huge rune formed by the streets. They soared up to the sky and surrounded Eddie at lightning speed. Some dragons circled his limbs, while the others wrapped themselves around his body. In the blink of an eye, the small dragons had trapped him completely.


    "I''ve long heard about Arnold''s peerless relic hidden within the Ethereal Spirit Sect other than the Illusory Array. Today, I finally saw it¡ªthe Dragon-trapping Rope. It really is extraordinary!" Zen praised.


    He hadn''t witnessed the power of the Illusory Array of the Ethereal Spirit Sect. However, the power of this Dragon-trapping Rope was something that he sincerely admired.


    The Central Region didn''t belong to the Upper World. Unlike Zen, who was able to obtain the inheritance of the divine texture, Arnold did not have any predecessors from whom he could learn. He could only rely on himself to understand and create the runes. Even so, he was able to display the full potential of the rune technique. Zen could tell from the power of the Dragon-trapping Rope that it was not inferior to a three-star divine texture.


    Brent and Robin suddenly passed through the void and arrived in front of Zen.


    The Septuplets of Ethereal Spirit also slowly flew into the air; the seven of them were already on guard, holding their long swords and facing Eddie.


    the leader of the Septuplets of Ethereal Spirit, pointing his long sword at Eddie.


    There was no fear in Eddie''s eyes as he continued to sneer, "Indeed. You are a bit smarter than I thought, but unfortunately you are no match for me!"


    With that, a black mist erupted from between his brows. It instantly enveloped him, as well as the Dragon-trapping Rope. The mist seemed to be corroding the Dragon-trapping Rope.


    "Isn''t the Dragon-trapping Rope able to ban someone from using the life vitality? How is Eddie still able to use it?"


    "That isn''t life vitality. It must be some sort of secret technique that doesn''t require the use of life vitality."


    "We can''t let him destroy the Dragon-trapping Rope! Kill him! Now!"


    The Ethereal Spirit Sect had planned this for a long time. They were heavily relying on Arnold''s Dragon-trapping Rope to kill Eddie. Although this move was risky, once he was killed, the Ethereal Spirit Sect would have unparalleled achievements. Without Eddie, the Heavenly Evil Divine Kingdom would collapse on its own.


    It was for this reason that Zen had agreed to cooperate with the Ethereal Spirit Sect. After all, he shared the same goal with the Ethereal Spirit Sect.


    The Dragon-trapping Rope was extremely powerful. It was said that even a warrior at the Life and Death Realm had no way of escaping after being trapped within it. But Eddie had managed to outwit it using a secret technique.


    This scene caused anxiety in everyone, including the Septuplets of Ethereal Spirit. With their swords raised, six of them retreated while the rest one advanced. The array formed by the Septuplets of Ethereal Spirit was also their strongest technique.


    The leader collected the life vitality and sword intent of the other six people, and suddenly, a sword light erupted. Although he was only a warrior at the late stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm, the power of his sword was now comparable to the full force of a warrior at the Life and Death Realm.

 Chapter 975 The Dreamy Swampland

    To the Ethereal Spirit Sect, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity!


    How could the Septuplets of Ethereal Spirit dare to be negligent at this moment?


    Although the Dragon-trapping Rope was one of the Ethereal Spirit Sect''s trump cards, Eddie was still the number one warrior in the Central Region. This worried them and made them uncertain towards the whole situation. Furthermore, the black mist emitted by Eddie was continuously corroding the Dragon-trapping Rope. If Eddie would successfully destroy the Dragon-trapping Rope, the Ethereal Spirit Sect''s plan would fall apart and everything that they had done would be in vain. And they could not afford any of that.


    After the Septuplets of Ethereal Spirit formed the Seven-in-one Array, their collective strength had increased considerably. The one leading them had actually already reached the late stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm.


    Then, as the Seven-in-one Array could fuse the powers of the seven of them, they believed that if they were to launch a sword attack, it would definitely take Eddie''s life!


    Swoosh!


    The sword light of the person in the lead of the Septuplets of Ethereal Spirit suddenly erupted and pierced into the black mist.


    Everyone looked at the black mist nervously. Because Eddie was trapped by the Dragon-trapping Rope, he could not use his life vitality. Now, if the sword hit him, he would definitely not be able to block it.


    As Zen stared at the black fog, a sudden bad premonition arose in his heart. From the day he first stepped into the Central Region, he had already regarded Eddie as his opponent and the biggest obstacle in his path of cultivation. He did not believe that Eddie would be that easily dealt with.


    Compared to Zen, however, the others felt very confident. For example, Robin, the head of the Xi Clan, believed that if he could help the Ethereal Spirit Sect get rid of Eddie, the Xi Clan would be famous not only in the Central Region, but throughout the whole world.


    Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!


    Just as the Septuplets of Ethereal Spirit combined their powers to launch a powerful attack, sounds of metal breaking were suddenly heard. Soon after, everyone saw several beams of light shooting out from the black fog.


    Plop! Plop! Plop! Plop!


    The light beams contained a great amount of power, and they instantly hit the chests of the four people of the Septuplets of Ethereal Spirit. However, the light beams did not stop there¡ªthey all pierced through chests of the four people, causing blood to spurt from their chests and backs. The sudden attack created terrifying gaping holes in their chests, and after a few moments, the four people fell from the sky.


    It was only then that everyone was able to clearly see that the light beams were actually sword fragments. Not only was the sword attack of the Septuplets of Ethereal Spirit unable to kill Eddie, it had shot back at them after shattering, instantly killing four of them.


    "No!"


    "Brothe


    ie would be better.


    If it was anyone else, Zen would just leave alone, believing that Eddie would not cause trouble for others. However, since Margaret possessed the Purple Power Body, she was also someone that Eddie had to obtain. As he thought about it, Zen realized how hard of a decision he was being forced to make.


    "Kill you?" Lavender, who was flying alongside Zen, laughed coldly. "Are you not afraid of death anymore?"


    Margaret''s face revealed a determined look. "In the past, I was very afraid of death. But now I''m not afraid anymore."


    Today was indeed a sad day for Margaret. She suddenly felt that she was a fool in everyone''s eyes. Although the members of the Xi Clan treated her very well, no one trusted her, not even Brent, who she grew up with.


    With that, Margaret had become dejected like never before.


    As soon as she finished speaking, Lavender''s spear suddenly appeared, and it was pointed to Margaret. Lavender really intended to kill her. The tip of the spear was only inches away from Margaret''s forehead. In Lavender''s eyes, only by killing her would Zen be able to run away with all his might and successfully evade Eddie. She had wanted to kill Margaret for a long time now.


    "Stop," Zen suddenly ordered, his voice devoid of emotion.


    "Zen, if she dies, we''ll have a better chance of escaping! Think about that!" Lavender said, still aiming at Margaret''s forehead.


    "I know," replied Zen, staring straight ahead.


    "Then why don''t you let me kill her?" Lavender asked again. She felt it was unwise to drag a burden like Margaret especially in this kind of situation.


    Zen took a deep breath, and forceful energy burst out of him once more, propelling him to run faster. After his speed suddenly increased, Zen said, "I know another way."


    After they passed through countless mountains outside Ethereal City, a plain appeared. It was shrouded in clouds and mist. This was the biggest swamp in the Central Region¡ªthe Dreamy Swampland.

 Chapter 976 Mud

    There were countless fierce beasts lurking in the Dreamy Swampland, a place that until now, no one from the Central Region had been able to fully explore.


    When they had been up in the air, Eddie''s eyes had locked firmly on Zen, who had found it extremely difficult to get rid of Eddie. But the Dreamy Swampland was complicated, which meant that Zen now had the chance to shake Eddie off.


    Zen walked swiftly towards the Dreamy Swampland. Eddie sneered as he saw what Zen was about to do. "You want to enter the Dreamy Swampland? It''s a good idea, Zen, but luck isn''t on your side this time!"


    Eddie took out a message rune and pinched it. The rune began to burn. "Simon, a rat has entered the Dreamy Swampland. I''ve already killed the Septuplets of Ethereal Spirit, and it won''t be long before I take down the Ethereal Spirit Sect. Tell Darius to retreat 300 miles. Bring your men here!"


    Eddie was sure that Simon had been hiding in the Dreamy Swampland all these years. There was no one in the whole Central Region who knew the Dreamy Swampland better than Simon did.


    Zen had obviously made the wrong choice. Why would he choose to hide in the Dreamy Swampland of all places? It looked like it would become his grave today.


    Not long after, a flame rose up behind Eddie''s ears. Simon had sent Eddie a message through his message rune. The voice chuckled as it reassured Eddie, "To me, the Dreamy Swampland is like my backyard. Let me help you catch that rat!"


    Simon was only marginally weaker than Eddie and they weren''t affiliated with each other. Simon''s ambition was to establish a sacred place and Eddie''s dream was to establish his own divine kingdom. They cooperated with each other so that they could achieve their goals. Not for nothing were they the top martial artists in the Central Region.


    Despite everything, Eddie knew that they were only taking advantage of each other''s skills for the time being. A fight between them was inevitable once they achieved their respective goals. Simon was most likely hiding a trump card that Eddie did not know about, but Eddie was confident that he could take down Simon.


    No matter what the future held, there was no conflict between them right now and their cooperation seemed perfectly beneficial to both of them. After all, their targets were shockingly similar and they were both intensely ambitious.


    The moment Zen entered the Dreamy Swampland, he immediately lowered his altitude. He was now practically skimming the ground as he flew.


    The Dreamy Swampland had an extremely complex terrain. There were shallow depressions all around, the water in many of which looked clear from afar, but in reality, contained deadly poison. A sip of this water could kill even the most powerful of all creatures.


    Zen flew close to the ground, trying his best to hide his own scent. In order to conceal any life vitality and aura, Zen even made sure that Lavender stayed inside his body in the form of a speck of red light. He slowed down considerably because of this.


    Zen could not sense Eddie''s scent once he had entered the Dreamy Swampland. It w


    She knew that Zen had reached out only because he wanted to stop her from activating her life vitality and he hadn''t hesitated to extend his hand even though he knew that the snake would bite him. A jumble of emotions wreaked havoc within her.


    After pondering about it for a while, Margaret took a step forward and followed Zen.


    But since she was covered in a layer of mud, she felt uncomfortable all over.


    She had always been entitled to abundant resources for cultivation. Besides, she was also a heaven-level talent. With exceptional talent, she had never gone out to gain experience in dangerous places, yet she had already stepped into the Internal Elixir Realm. She couldn''t imagine how difficult it was for martial artists to survive in this cruel world. She also couldn''t understand martial artists who would risk their lives just for a low-grade spiritual weapon or those who endured endless trials and tribulations for several years just to get their hands on one small pill.


    She might have heard other warriors talk about how many hardships they had faced since they had become cultivators. But she had never experienced those hardships.


    From a certain point of view, this was her first time going out to gain experience.


    Zen walked slowly in the Dreamy Swampland, Margaret closely following him. They were fearful of being detected if they utilized their life vitality, because of which they didn''t dare fly.


    As they stumbled through the swamp, her eyes suddenly lit up as she saw a small clear pond since this meant that she could clean up in the water.


    She caught up and patted Zen on the shoulder, saying, "I want to take a bath."


    Zen looked at Margaret, amused, and then he looked at the clear, small pond beside him. He plucked a plant and threw it into the pond.


    Hissss!


    The moment the plant touched the water, it hissed and sizzled and started to turn black, emitting a faint smoke. It was obvious that the clear water in the pond contained a highly toxic poison.


    "Do you still want to take a bath?" Zen asked with a smile.

 Chapter 977 Hunt And Escape

    The entirety of the Dreamy Swampland was enveloped in a faint mist.


    Evidently, this fog was different from the fog in the Dark Nether Cave. The fog of the latter had been arranged using a magical array. If one failed to find the array plate, they would be stuck in the fog and never be able to leave.


    The fog of the Dreamy Swampland, on the other hand, could be considered a bit troublesome for ordinary people as well as to the martial art cultivators with low cultivation bases. For martial cultivators at Zen''s level, more attention to the complicated environment and the vicious beasts needed to be paid.


    Margaret''s eyes widened in disbelief when she saw the poisonous water of the pond. She did not have a strong body like Zen to resist the poison. She felt that if she were to get in the water, her entire body would be corroded by it until not even her ashes remained.


    "But I want to take a bath..." Margaret couldn''t stand her body in its current state, filthy and dirty.


    "Bear with it," Zen said, shaking his head. He shoved aside the bushes and continued to move forward.


    The direction he was heading in was the one Eddie had scanned through his senses. Normally, Zen would be moving away from Eddie, in the exact opposite path. Instead, he was following him. They hadn''t yet entered deep into the Dreamy Swampland. Eddie was already in there, and as long as Zen got out of the Dreamy Swampland, he might escape from his enemy successfully.


    He was clever enough to do the opposite. As per his judgment, Eddie had released his senses on purpose just to mislead Zen and make him think that he had entered deep into the Dreamy Swampland. When Eddie got the opportunity, he would attack him.


    If things went south, Zen would be in great danger.


    As Zen advanced ahead, he mulled over a plan to handle the upcoming situation. Suddenly, the expression on his face changed as he quickly bent down and pulled Margaret into the nearby bushes.


    In mid-air, a figure turned back into the fog, moving at lightning speed as it shot to the outskirts of the Dreamy Swampland.


    "I guessed right," Zen muttered, his eyes flashing with excitement. If he had just left the Dreamy Swampland, Eddie would have caught him.


    Eddie flew at full speed as he rushed out of the swampland. The thick fog could block anyone''s senses and even he couldn''t release his own for too far. They only stretched to a small area around him. What was most antagonising was that even though the Dreamy Swampland looked extremely desolate, there were countless creatures lurking within. If Zen were to hide inside, Eddie would not be able to discern him.


    For that reason, Eddie had to initially give Zen the wrong impression that he had entered deep into the swamp. Very quickly afterward, he would turn back from his way and rush out of the swampland with the speed of a shooting star!


    If Zen''s plan had been to escape Eddie, he would have chosen to exit the Dreamy Swampl


    e way as she lifted her dress with her hands. With every step she took, her lips curled with disgust and reluctance, and as she watched her sleeves sink into the pitch-black mud, she could not help but feel overwhelmed with repulsion.


    Zen had of course noticed her unpleasant expressions, but he could not afford to attend to this proud young lady under such urgent circumstances.


    Humans could vary a lot in their personalities. Lavender''s status was a thousand times higher than this young lady of the Xi Family. She was considered a top-level cultivator even in the Upper World. It could be said that she was born noble, meant to stand at the highest level of lives and look down on all living beings of the Lower World.


    However, after Lavender realized the situation she was in, she quickly acknowledged Zen as her master. She was so decisive in her choices that she placed all her hopes on Zen almost without hesitation. Margaret, on the other hand, seemed not to understand the situation around her.


    After they crossed over a patch of grass, a vast stretch of lagoon appeared in front of them. The lagoon was not deep. The water in it would only reach their waists, but since they didn''t dare use their life vitality to fly across it, they would only be able to slowly wade through the water.


    "There''s no poison in the water, right?" Margaret asked, turning to Zen.


    Zen stepped into the lagoon first. "No," he replied flatly.


    Margaret''s face broke into a small smile. At last she could wash the dirt off her body and clothes!


    They slowly made their way through the lagoon. Margaret used the water to wash the mud off her body. Her white clothes clung to her body as they got wet, outlining her slim waist and the graceful lines of her figure.


    Just as Margaret was concentrating on washing her body, a few ripples broke the surface of the water not far away from them. They silently raced through the quiet water surface, approaching Zen and Margaret.

 Chapter 978 Hiding

    Beneath the ripples lurked many grey scaled crocodiles.


    They were called Scaled Orange Teeth Crocodile. Their skin could be used to construct spiritual weapons. However, not a lot of warriors were willing to hunt and kill them.


    The reason behind it was that the Orange Teeth Crocodiles were too ferocious and their defensive power was immense. Even the warriors at the Internal Elixir Realm found it hard to kill them. Moreover, the reward for killing those creatures was only the skin that they had. That wasn''t much for the warriors, so risking their lives couldn''t have been worth it.


    At that moment, over a hundred Orange Teeth Crocodiles stealthily approached Zen.


    To avoid getting discovered, he withdrew his life vitality and didn''t even dare reveal his perception. That way, he wasn''t able to take notice of the crocodiles as well.


    Both Zen and Margaret moved toward the flowing water, but the faint ripples got closer to them by the minute.


    "Crash!"


    An Orange Teeth Crocodile emerged from the water and went to Margaret''s direction, opening its large mouth in an attempt to bite her.


    Those creatures were brilliant in camouflaging. If one didn''t pay close attention, he could mistake it for a rotten wood floating on the water. What was worse was they could move very fast.


    Hearing the sudden splashing in the water from behind her, Margaret turned around and was welcomed by an enormous crocodile mouth. She stopped dead in her tracks. The crocodile near her had two rows of sharp, orange teeth that could leave marks even on an iron.


    Normally, the ordinary Internal Elixir Realm warriors weren''t afraid of the Orange Teeth Crocodiles. However, Margaret was an exception as she didn''t have any experience in training. She had no idea how to deal with this particular creature should she encounter one.


    Suddenly, Zen''s figure appeared, lightly tapping on the surface of the water. Using his strength, he jumped over and directly stomped on the crocodile''s lower jaw. The crocodile quickly moved its upper jaw to try to bite into Zen''s leg.


    With no hesitation, Zen punched the crocodile in its upper jaw.


    "Bam!"


    The forceful punch Zen threw tore the crocodile''s mouth in an instant. Bright red blood spurted out and mixed right into the waters. Suffering from significant pain, the Orange Teeth Crocodile squirmed, causing waves of water everywhere.


    "Ah!"


    Margaret screamed. Six Orange Teeth Crocodiles appeared right beside her. Those creatures all seemed to agree that Margaret could make a sumptuous meal.


    Knitting his eyebrows, Zen couldn''t help but be pissed about the situation.


    Those crocodiles didn''t scare Zen at all. If they tried to eat him up as he just stood there, they couldn''t swallow him whole. However, killing all six of them at the same time would take some strategizing. If he employed his life vitality, he could instantly kill the


    hroughout the swamp. The sound didn''t last very long, so it made the warrior feel suspicious.


    It confused him whether it was a woman''s voice or it was a bird''s.


    Carefully, he decided to search around the area one more time.


    The Virtual Tribulation Realm warrior slowly floated in the air. He used his perception to check the ground bit by bit. After he rigorously searched through the swamp, he decided to check the grass again. At that time, he was getting closer and closer to Zen.


    As Zen stared at the approaching warrior floating in the air, he pressed Margaret firmly into him. His calm eyes showed a trace of pressure. If the warrior continued to be that meticulous, they could surely be discovered by him.


    ''I hope you''re lucky enough to fail to discover me here. Otherwise, you will be in great trouble, '' Zen thought.


    If the Virtual Tribulation Realm warrior discovered Zen, he had no other plans but to kill him.


    The warrior didn''t have the slightest idea that approaching Zen meant approaching his death. In his eyes, Zen was only at the early stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm staying together with Margaret who was just an early-stage Internal Elixir Realm warrior. In that situation, the Virtual Tribulation Realm warrior believed that dealing with them both was a breeze. If he could catch Zen, it could be regarded as his most considerable contribution.


    Just like the sect, there was also competition among the divine kingdom''s warriors. Being able to stand out among the other Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors gave more benefits especially when Eddie''s divine kingdom became more powerful and influential.


    Five hundred feet...


    Three hundred feet...


    Two hundred feet...


    One hundred feet...


    The muscles all over Zen''s body tightened. At that specific distance, he didn''t intend to use his life vitality. He knew that he could take down the enemy at once using his forceful energy.

 Chapter 979 The Underground Palace

    The Virtual Tribulation Realm warrior was only ten feet away. However, in the split second that it took him to discover Zen with his perception, the latter''s body was already erupting with forceful energy.


    Whoosh!


    The warrior did not even have a chance to react as Zen shot towards him with unbelievable speed and appeared right in front of him.


    "You¡­" He had wanted to ask the man in front of him if he was Zen. Everything had happened so fast that he was not really sure of what was going on.


    However, Zen did not give him the luxury of a reply.


    Bang!


    He felt a split second of intense pain as Zen''s fist landed on his chest. The punch immediately deflated his chest and the warrior immediately slumped onto the grass - dead.


    Zen''s moves were precise, meticulous, but also powerful. He was able to defeat his opponent with one blow.


    The sight shocked Margaret to the core. She was also a warrior and her cultivation level was by no means low, but the skills and strength Zen had just demonstrated left her slack-jawed.


    Margaret was no stranger to martial artist fights. Competitions among warriors from Ethereal City''s families were held every year and, as the young miss of the Xi Clan, a seat was always reserved for her in the stands. Her sharp eyes and reputation for predicting the winners with 80% accuracy were undisputed.


    But now, after seeing what Zen just did, the fights she witnessed back in the arena seemed no more than child''s play.


    Margaret would''ve never expected someone who had just reached the Virtual Tribulation Realm like Zen to be able to decimate a warrior at the middle stage of the same realm so easily.


    Nonetheless, Zen had no regard for Margaret''s thoughts. He flew down and forcefully grabbed her by the arm. "Let''s go!"


    Zen no longer hid his life vitality. He let it combine with his forceful energy as it erupted from his body and transformed himself into a streak of light that shot across the Dreamy Swampland


    His judgment had been correct. Simon and the other warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm were able to pinpoint his location the moment he killed that Orange Teeth Crocodile. He was able to cleanly kill one of them but it was no use. Simon knew where he was and he was coming.


    Although Simon had instructed Eddie to scout the area first, the instructions were quickly thrown out the window


    onfidence in believing Simon''s words.


    As Zen was now being chased down by Simon and Eddie together, he would definitely die, so it was all completely unnecessary for Simon to help Zen. It seemed that the Poison King had joined forces with Eddie, but it did not seem like the two were exactly on friendly terms.


    Masters like them were quite selfish and did not like to share their benefits with other people. Two tigers couldn''t live on the same mountain, after all. Most warriors wanted to climb to the top of the world.


    It was impossible for someone like Simon to submit to Eddie, and Eddie would never be able to tolerate Simon. Despite teaming up, there was unresolved and irreconcilable conflict that existed between the two of them.


    If Eddie got Margaret, he''d successfully manage a breakthrough and Simon would suffer bitterly.


    "To the right!" Zen immediately followed and turned to the right. "What now?" he asked through his life vitality.


    "There''s an underground palace ten miles ahead," Simon answered. "I can''t guarantee that you''ll be able to get rid of Eddie once you enter, but it should at least buy you some time." Beneath the Dreamy Swampland was a large underground palace that nobody but Simon knew about.


    It was an extremely dangerous place devoid of any treasures or opportunities. Simon had explored it twice but came up with nothing and almost died.


    ''The underground palace will also take both of your lives, '' Simon muttered coldly in his mind.


    His best choice was to lead Zen into this underground palace and leave him there to die.

 Chapter 980 Flames Of Fury (Part One)

    On this Dreamy Swampland, everyone got their own schemes.


    Zen wanted to take Margaret away and escape, while Eddie wanted to kill Zen and seize Margaret. Simon, on the other hand, wanted Margaret to die, and as for Zen, he didn''t really care how he would end. If he died, Simon wouldn''t benefit from it at all. All of Zen''s possessions would be taken by Eddie, so to him, it didn''t matter if Zen died or not.


    With his current speed, Zen would be able to close out the ten-mile distance in an instant.


    And truly, soon enough, Zen was able to see a large cave below them. This cave was surrounded by moss and ferns. Because of the lush vegetation around it, there was almost no light that could come into the cave, and so all they could see was a dark hole, which was the entrance of the cave, and nothing else.


    Without hesitation, Zen once again carried Margaret and entered the cave.


    "Huh?" When Eddie suddenly could not sense Zen''s life vitality, a puzzled look appeared on his face. Simon sneered in secret, but he pretended that he was surprised by Zen''s sudden disappearance. In no time, they reached above the cave.


    "This brat actually entered this underground palace!" Simon said in a feigned surprised tone.


    Upon hearing this, Eddie''s eyes narrowed. He turned to Simon in confusion and asked, "How did this kid know that there is an underground palace here?"


    Simon shook his head and replied, "This underground palace is very dangerous. I don''t know how he knew about it - maybe he knew that he couldn''t escape from you and so when he found out that there happened to be an underground palace here, he just entered it without much thought."


    After hearing what Simon had to say, Eddie gave him a suspicious gla


    orale was down.


    It was at this moment that Margaret started to pester him once again. "It''s so dark here," she started, the disgust in her voice evident. "I don''t like it."


    Unexpectedly, Lavender did not taunt Margaret for her complaint. Instead, in the darkness, she calmly stared at Margaret, scoffing at her peevishness in her heart.


    Zen didn''t say anything either and just kept traveling through the underground palace. He fled in any path he could take without really thinking about what could be ahead of him.


    "Could you find a way out? I don''t want to stay here any longer!" Margaret said once again.


    In her head, Lavender couldn''t help but sneer as she was already feeling Zen''s fury seething inside him. Lavender was very observant and intelligent and so she knew whenever Zen was already extremely agitated. And at this moment, he really was. However, the idiotic young lady of the Xi Clan kept on nagging and was as irritating as a fly. If this continued, Zen would surely lose his patience sooner or later!


    ''You know what? It would be best if Zen would end up killing this woman in a fit of rage, '' Lavender brooded resentfully.

 Chapter 981 Flames Of Fury (Part Two)

    "Get me out of here! Zen!" When she saw that Zen wasn''t going to say anything, Margaret''s child-like temper worsened. She had completely forgotten that the reason Zen was being chased all the way to the underground palace was entirely because of her!


    Boom!


    Zen suddenly threw Margaret to the ground, with a force so strong that


    Margaret''s supple body then hit the ground.


    As Margaret was at the primary level of the Internal Elixir Realm, the impact of her fall wasn''t enough to injure her.


    However, this unprecedented act of violence from Zen made Margaret dumbstruck. When she finally came back to her senses a few moments later, she suddenly screamed, "What are you doi-?"


    Pah!


    Just before Margaret could finish what she was trying to say, Zen had already planted a slap across her face!


    Everyone knew that Zen was a man of powerful strength. If he had concentrated his full strength on the slap, he would be able to smash Margaret''s head into pieces. However, Zen was able to control his strength, but the slap had still left a clear hand mark on her face.


    "If It hadn''t been for you, do you think I would ever have come here?" Zen said, shaking. There were very few people who could anger him. Other than Eddie, who was his sworn enemy, Zen was rarely genuinely upset by anyone.


    Actually, the predicament they were in today wasn''t something unconquerable to Zen. Throughout the years, he had already experienced many other life or death crises that were ten times more troublesome than this! He knew there was still a gap between his and Eddie''s strength, but in a fight between warriors, no one could be one hundred percent sure as to who would be the winner. But if he wer


    ow her life vitality had been sealed by Zen, and she wouldn''t have the strength to resist.


    Soon after, Zen held onto Margaret''s shoulder and pushed her to the ground. The place might not be very clean as they were in a wet and cold cave, but at this time, Zen couldn''t care about anything else.


    Lavender held onto her spear, floating beside him like a ghost, a cold smile on her face.


    "I''ve told you long ago to just take away her virginity energy yourself. If you had listened to me earlier, we wouldn''t have gone into so much trouble, being chased by that Eddie guy," Lavender said, as she shook her head. The customs of the Demon Night seemed to be very different from that of the human race. They didn''t have any notion of taboo. Like now, unlike any human girl who would be too ashamed to see a scene of intimate intercourse, Lavender fixed her beautiful eyes on the entangling bodies on the ground. There was not a trace of embarrassment on her face, and she was clearly not trying to avoid seeing it. Instead, she took great interest in what was happening and had enjoyed watching the scene in front of her thoroughly.

 Chapter 982 Conflicting Feelings

    Margaret was not expecting for things to come this far.


    Ever since she was young, she had been thoroughly accomplished. She could play the lyre, she was good at chess, her calligraphy and painting skills were excellent, and her innate talent for martial arts could make a lot of warriors green with envy. Coupled with her ravishing looks, it was no surprise that men continuously fell at her feet.


    Back in both the Ethereal City and Ethereal Spirit Sect, she was considered a lofty goddess whose holy presence was something ordinary people could only hope to bask in. Countless young, talented men had tried their hardest to curry her favor.


    There used to be a heaven-level talent in the Ethereal Spirit Sect. To celebrate Margaret''s birthday, he gathered sixteen Radiant Light Grass seeds from thousands of miles away to string into a bracelet as a gift for her.


    Those seeds only existed on the snowy mountains of the far west and were extremely hard to collect. They would glow faintly day and night, which made them viable to be turned into an ingenious gift.


    But in truth, people didn''t just use Radiant Light Grass seeds as makeshift beads for a bracelet. They were extremely valuable and the cost could be compared to that of a fairy weapon.


    Right after the young man presented Margaret with the bracelet, she immediately threw it on the ground as a show of blatant displeasure.


    The clan elders could do nothing but helplessly smile at her actions. Everyone in the clan doted on her. She was Xander''s descendant. Despite his fury, the heaven-level talent could do nothing but accept her rejection.


    Margaret used to be filled to the brim with arrogance. She had never thought that the day would come whe


    and, was already up. He quickly tidied himself and took out a loose set of clothes from his space ring. He tossed the clothes to Margaret and turned his head away to avoid looking at her.


    His actions enraged Margaret. ''You''ve taken my virginity but now you''re embarrassed to even look at me?'' she thought to herself.


    And she was right.


    Just now, Zen had pushed Margaret down in a fit of rage but only because he felt cornered and desperate inside the dark, dangerous, underground palace with Eddie hot at his heels. He was afraid of Margaret falling into Eddie''s hands, so for the greater good and also for the sake of his little sister, he had no choice but to do it.


    However, Zen was still a virgin, so he was still a bit embarrassed after they finished.


    In Margaret''s eyes, however, Zen was blatantly trying to deny their relationship.


    "Put your clothes on and we''ll find a way to get out of here," Zen said with his back to Margaret.


    For some reason, she refused. "No! I don''t want to!" she declared angrily.


    She quickly blushed at her impulsive words. Never did she think that she would be so shameless in front of a man.

 Chapter 983 Departure

    Under such circumstances, acting recklessly and shamelessly would only lead to bad consequences.


    Zen did not even turn around as he strode forward. Lavender, on the other hand, held her spear in her hand and took a glance at Margaret.


    As she was being stared at in such an outrageous way, Margaret looked as if she had been bitten by a venomous snake. Her face was contorted by pain and embarrassment. She quickly curled up and grabbed some clothes to hide her body from the prying stares. Even her servants had never seen her bosom before.


    With a cold laugh, Lavender quickly caught up with Zen.


    Despite them being in an underground palace, a sudden cold wind blew. It scared Margaret and so she hurried to put on Zen''s spare clothes, which were the wrong size for her slender body.


    The clothes were loosely wrapped around her waist and legs, but they fit her bosom tightly, which made her highly uncomfortable.


    Lamenting the state of her clothes, it suddenly occurred to her that she had some spare clothes in her space ring. It was something that she had forgotten because of the panic that she had felt a while back. As she was about to get into those, however, she saw that both Zen and Lavender were leaving without waiting for her. They were already a long way from her, and so she clenched her teeth, ran forward, and tried to catch up with them instead of getting her clothes.


    Zen didn''t look back. He walked forward, along the paths in the underground palace. Lavender glanced at Zen, unbothered by Margaret. She had a mysterious smile on her face.


    "What''s wrong?" Zen asked out of curiosity.


    "How are you feeling right now?" Lavender asked and smiled.


    Zen hesitated for a moment and then replied, "I feel that my energy is flowing more smoothly in my belly. Also, my life vitality seems to have become much purer."


    Lavender once again smiled strangely. This wasn''t the answer she wanted to hear. Since Zen had just deflowered Margaret and had taken her virginity energy, his cultivation base was supposed to be greatly improved. As much as Lavender wanted to pry even more, she realized that Zen would be embarrassed if she kept asking questions. And with that, she decided to drop the topic and continue in silence.


    This was how Lavender differed from Margaret. Having been a queen in the Upper World, Lavender had never been spoiled. She knew how to ask questions without embarrassing others.


    She then shifted the conversation to Zen''s body refinement and enhancement. "Two seemingly opposite or contrary forces may actually be complementary, interconnected, and interdependent in the natural world," she started. "As for female and male, if one of them is missing, then no life form will exist. In fact, there are some really powerful, effective and secretive female-male dual cultivation methods in the Upper World."


    "Dual cultivation methods? I was once told that they were dangerous and prohibited by the law." Zen asked with furrowed brows.


    Lavender smiled faintly and replied, "You people from Central Region have created some laughable and different standards to judge those things you people consider dangerous and illegal, although they''re not. But you know, right, wrong, legal, illegal, they make no difference in the universe. Moreover, this dual cultivation method encourages males and females to practice their ma


    the Heavenly Evil Sect gradually and aggressively expanded its influence, each and every warrior living in the Fire City was worrying about their career and safety. Because of that, those sects started to move to the south, and so did half of the warriors in the city. Even some regular citizens moved with them, seeking shelters and protection.


    Flying above the Fire City, Zen released Margaret''s hand and said lightly, "We have to say goodbye here. Turn south, bypass the Dreamy Swampland and you''ll get to Ethereal City."


    During the high-speed flight, Margaret had been lying on Zen''s back comfortably. Hearing Zen say goodbye to her, she was dumbfounded.


    The war between Ethereal City and Heavenly Evil Sect wouldn''t end easily. If Eddie failed to catch Zen, he would lead his warriors to attack Ethereal Spirit Sect again. The Septuplets of Ethereal Spirit were already killed. Although many warriors of the Virtual Tribulation Realm and Xander were still protecting the Ethereal Spirit Sect, the Sect-protecting Array wouldn''t be good enough to resist the enemy attacks.


    Would she be able to help anyone if she returned to the Ethereal Spirit Sect?


    "I..." Margaret wanted to say something, but she stumbled over her words.


    Zen cast a glance at her but kept silent. If Eddie had sensed that he had already left Dreamy Swampland, he might already be pursuing them right now. The way to Cloudy City was long and treacherous, and it would be inconvenient if he travelled with Margaret.


    Amidst all these thoughts, Zen still said nothing. He just turned around and walked away from Margaret.


    Margaret, floating in the air, looked at Zen''s disappearing figure. She bit her lip so hard that it bled. However, she could feel nothing except her resentment towards Zen''s coldness and ruthlessness. Finally, she got emotional, and an idea started to materialize in her mind.


    She floated in the air for 5 minutes before she felt a fire burning in her stomach.


    Boom!


    In mere seconds, some purple flames shot from her stomach and wrapped her inside.


    Those purple flames didn''t come from her life vitality, since her cultivation base had no fire attributes.


    It turned out that those flames were from the Purple Power World.

 Chapter 984 First Rank Purple Power Body

    The purple flames that erupted from Margaret''s belly wrapped around her body, and then she began to fall down.


    "Look! A giant fireball is falling from the sky!"


    "Oh my god! It has smashed Wang''s house!"


    "There''s someone inside the fireball. Is it a martial artist?"


    Most of the people left in Fire City were ordinary mortals. The martial artists with higher cultivation had left the city to go with their respective sects.


    For mortals, the war between different sects wasn''t important to them. Even if the times had changed, they would have lived the same life. No matter who ruled this continent, he wouldn''t make things difficult for mortals.


    Somehow, Margaret had managed to smash a tile roof house. The fierce purple flames were still burning, making it impossible for the people outside to get close.


    There were still some martial artists left in the city. Before long, three martial artists who had reached the nature level rushed over. But when they saw the purple flames, their expressions immediately changed.


    The power of the purple fire was so daunting that they didn''t dare to approach it. They could only watch as the flames continued to burn until the house was completely reduced to ashes.


    "There''s a person in the fire!"


    "The purple flames can''t even burn him. He must be a peerless powerhouse!"


    "You''re right. I wonder where he''s from and why he came to our city."


    Having only a fair amount of experience, the three martial artists didn''t know what exactly was going on.


    After a short period of coma, Margaret slowly woke up. After that, she entered a very strange state, and the talent of her Purple Power Body was quickly activated.


    Those who had Purple Power Bodies could communicate with the Purple Power World. Furthermore, they could even cultivate in that place.


    However, every Purple Power Body was activated at a different time. Back then, Marilyn forcibly activated her Purple Power Body with the secret method that Eddie sought for her sake, and she had also kept her virginity energy for Eddie.


    On the contrary, Margaret activated her body after her virginity energy was taken, so the effects were completely different.


    Although the Purple Power Body was rare, there were countless living creatures in the universe who possessed such. Several girls in the Central Region had Purple Power Bodies, so it meant that there were a considerable number of Purple Power Bodies in the entire universe. The Purple Power Body could be at one of six ranks.


    The humans in the Upper World divided the six ranks according to their colors. They were light-purple, cyan-purple, red-purple, blue-purple, exact-purple, and black-purple.


    Among them, black-purple was the highest rank, and light-purple was the lowest rank. Margaret''s Purple Power Body was at the black-purple g


    r if she''s rude. I like rude girls!


    When beauties are being rude, they look much prettier."


    Hearing that, Margaret''s eye twitched. The three martial artists suddenly felt a powerful wind blowing. Then, some dark shadows appeared in the sky.


    As soon as they raised their heads, hundreds of giant ancient swords had emerged in the sky.


    Each of these swords was several dozen feet long, hanging in the air as if they could fall down at any moment.


    "What... What''s going on?"


    "Why are there so many swords in the sky? Where did they all come from?"


    As Margaret cleared her throat loudly, the huge swords smashed down on the three martial artists at once.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    The swords smashed into the ground, creating deep cracks. Fire City wasn''t big, so when these swords crashed right through, it caused the entire city to shake. Those who didn''t know what was happening thought it was just an earthquake that hit them.


    The swords covered a vast area when they fell. The three martial artists wanted to dodge, but it was already too late. They didn''t even have the time to scream. Death, a gory one, came after them really quickly.


    With a smug look on her face, Margaret then flew into the sky. That was the first time she had ever killed fellow martial artists.


    After Margaret flew high up in the sky, a trace of hesitation appeared on her face. She didn''t know whether she should return to Ethereal City or go to Cloudy City. As she looked towards the direction where Zen had disappeared, a hint of grief appeared in her eyes. Eventually, she decided to fly to Cloudy City.


    The experiences she had in the Purple Power World had allowed her to know her own potential and true strength. Unlike before, she now had a bit of confidence in her own abilities.


    Despite everything that she had accomplished, she still didn''t know what she genuinely wanted.

 Chapter 985 The Internal Strife of Cloud Hall

    The warriors of Fire City could only stare at the scene before them.


    A huge, gaping crater had been left behind by the giant swords. The crater itself was littered with multiple sword marks.


    The miserable state of the three warriors at Internal Elixir Realm plunged the other warriors'' hearts in fear.


    As soon as the woman left, they all began to talk among themselves in hushed tones.


    "That woman is so vicious!" one of them exclaimed. "She just cut these three mighty warriors into minced meat."


    "Thank God I was able to run away. Otherwise I would''ve been killed as well. That woman looked soft and pretty, but she shouldn''t be underestimated. Her ruthlessness is no joke."


    "It''s best if we don''t get involved in this chaotic world."


    During this time, Zen was approaching Cloudy City at an extremely high speed. He had been flying the whole day and night without a break, and had replenished his life vitality by using quite a lot of supreme life vitality crystals along the way.


    Ever since his return from the Sea God Continent, Zen had wanted to return to Cloud Hall as soon as possible. He hadn''t expected that he''d be delayed with the numerous troubles that arose along the way.


    But that did not matter now. As the sun rose and painted the horizon with the colors of daybreak, Zen couldn''t help but smile once he saw Cloudy City in front of him. After a long, arduous journey, he was finally back.


    However, a trace of doubt crossed his features once he got close.


    "Huh?"


    he muttered to himself when he saw the sky above Cloudy City completely empty.


    Above Cloudy City, there used to be a huge floating rock which Cloud Hall was built on. This floating rock would change its location every now and then but only around Cloudy City''s immediate vicinity. However, no matter where he looked, Zen couldn''t find any trace of Cloud Hall.


    It seemed that it had completely disappeared.


    Had something happened?


    Zen immediately flew towards Cloudy City, his brows furrowed in worry at the strange situation.


    Before he left, Zen had set up a sect-protecting array around Cloud Hall. His array assured its impenetrability against the threat of strong opposing forces. Other than perhaps the Heavenly Evil Sect, Cloud Hall was virtually untouchable by the other sects.


    The Heavenly Evil Sect currently had their hands full attacking the Ethereal Spirit Sect, so it was unlikely that the Cloud Hall would be besieged by Eddie''s forces anytime soon. Besides, if the Cloud Hall had been in trouble, the members of the Xi Clan would''ve told him.


    There was no point in speculation. As soon as Zen entered Cloudy City, he headed straight for the Cloud School.


    Cloud School was one of the several sects under Cloud Hall. Its status was held in slightly higher regard than the Brum


    was like a huge eggshell that surrounded Cloud Hall from top to bottom. Once Zen reached the core which was located at the bottom, all he needed to do was extend an arm and use a bit of energy to modify the array to create a break allowing him to easily slip through. Once he was inside, he directly rushed into the depths of Cloud Hall.


    He could more or less guess what was currently happening.


    It was quite obvious that the Cloud Hall was currently in a state of internal strife.


    Cloud Hall''s defenses could be considered the best out of all sects in the Central Region. Even the Heavenly Evil Sect would not be able to penetrate through the sect-protecting array Zen himself had set up. However, it was a different story if the threat came from within Cloud Hall itself.


    After cultivating the Sutra of Empyrean Goddess, Letitia quickly recovered her full strength and, after practicing anew nine times, was finally ready to make a breakthrough to the Life and Death Realm.


    Reaching the Life and Death Realm was not difficult for Letitia. What was difficult was the life and death crises that came with it.


    Anyone who was able to enter the Life and Death Realm had to go through a few life and death crises whose difficulty varied from person to person.


    The more potential a warrior had, the more powerful his strength and the harder his life and death crisis would be. Letitia''s Sutra of Empyrean Goddess had been extremely troublesome to cultivate but led to her acquiring far greater strength than other warriors at the same level. After she reached the Life and Death Realm, her life and death crises were also going to be more terrifying than what any ordinary warrior would''ve faced.


    It was at this critical juncture that the Zhuo Clan of Cloudy City joined forces with several third-grade clans and suddenly launched an attack against Cloud Hall.

 Chapter 986 Scapegoat

    Cloud Hall had significantly risen in strength during the past few years. It was not just Letitia alone who had grown stronger, but Cloud Hall''s martial artists had all steadily improved.


    After it had set up the Small Circulation Killing Array, Cloud Hall was considered a quasi-fifth grade sect, though, in the eyes of the entire Central Region, it was already as good as a fifth-grade sect which could measure up to the Ethereal Spirit Sect. It was only a bit inferior to the Ethereal Spirit Sect in terms of history and legacy.


    Once Letitia successfully made it through to the Life and Death Realm, Cloud Hall''s status as a fifth-grade sect would be unshakable. By then, by taking advantage of the soaring influence of Cloud Hall, Letitia might be able to develop the Cloud Hall into a sixth-grade sect, and also the first sacred place in the Central Region.


    Unexpectedly, during a very critical moment for Letitia''s breakthrough, a serious internal conflict arose within Cloud Hall.


    It wasn''t anything sudden. The seeds of internal strife within the sect had already been planted decades ago.


    Cloud Hall was initially established through Cloud School''s constant development and its alliance with several third-grade clans like the Zhuo Clan, Shen Clan, Fei Clan, and Wu Clan of the Cloudy City. Over the years, it eventually grew out of Cloud School and slowly developed to what it was today.


    No matter how the Cloud Hall developed, the position of Cloud Hall''s leader had always been taken up by the descendants of these several great clans.


    Back then, Imogen had not come from any of these noble clans but was an extremely talented disciple of Iridescence Sect which was affiliated with Cloud Hall.


    She was powerful, strong, and extremely talented. A few major clans in Cloudy City were a bit dissatisfied with her origins but could not really argue against Imogen''s skills and competence.


    It was different with Letitia. Although she was raised up in Cloud School, the origin of her birth made it pretty clear that she was an outsider. Moreover, there was no shortage of talents from the various big clans. Emanuel, for instance, had the strength and competency to vie for the position of leader.


    However, Imogen passed the position down to Letitia which caused quite an uproar for the other large clans, especially the Zhuo Clan led by Emanuel.


    Though they could admit that Letitia was more outstanding than Emanuel in certain areas, her leadership had brought about a great change to the sect that a lot of them didn''t quite agree with. For example, her treatment of Zen was contested upon by many. It was only after Zen had built an indestructible sect-protecting array for the Cloud Hall that they shut up.


    However, it wasn''t enough. Those large noble clans were not as far-sighted as Imogen was. Even if Letitia brought many benefits to the Cloud Hall, they could not allow an outsider to take control of Cloud Hall.


    Emanuel was the one who opposed Letitia t


    aurie Fei could be considered as a master of defense in the Cloudy City. His Stupid Earth Cultivation, which was a perfect display of Earth Law, enabled him to diffuse enemy attacks dealt to his body and reroute it to the ground where the earth could bear the brunt of the damage.


    He had used this Stupid Earth Cultivation to block the attacks that were launched from the Ice Palace. Even Saint Morphens'' attacks failed to immobilize him.


    Once he reached the square, Rocher immediately rushed forward and struck him with his sword.


    Nobody expected that a disciple at the mere Internal Elixir Realm would be able to unleash such powerful strength!


    Laurie Fei was madly channeling the Stupid Earth Cultivation to try and fight the sheer amount of force contained within Rocher''s strike. It was so powerful that the force diffused into the ground managed to turn the earth within a hundred feet into fine powder. But he was still unable to break Rocher''s strike.


    In the end, Rocher''s strike was too great and ended up killing Laurie Fei with a single strike.


    This sheer demonstration of inhumane force was enough to scare all the warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm from charging towards the palace. Whoever dared would certainly die.


    Thus, Emanuel could only occasionally attack the Ice Palace from afar, which could barely cause real harms.


    "We can''t keep on like this!" Emanuel screamed in frustration. He had initially planned to capture Letitia in the shortest time possible but his warriors refusing to storm the palace in fear of Rocher significantly prolonged things. If Letitia made it through to the Life and Death Realm then all his efforts would have been in vain.


    "You!" he pointed at a Virtual Tribulation Realm warrior from the Shen Clan. "You go up there and take them on!"


    As long as they forced Rocher to attack one person, Emanuel''s forces could rush in and kill the rest of Letitia''s supporters. To put it bluntly, what they needed was a scapegoat.

 Chapter 987 Kill Three With One Strike

    When the warrior from the Shen Clan, who was at the Virtual Tribulation Realm, heard this, his expression instantly changed.


    Whenever Rocher used his sword, someone would surely be killed. He didn''t dare to fight against Rocher as it was simply courting death.


    Every warrior at the Virtual Tribulation Realm cared about his own life.


    While it was true that these clans were joining hands this time to work with Emanuel to fight against Letitia, it was also known that they were only doing it for their own interests. If Emanuel were to become the new leader of the Cloud Hall, all of them would reap some kind of special benefit.


    But still, the whole thing was not worth it for them if they had to pay the price with their own lives.


    "I''m not going. You can go if you want to," the warrior from the Shen Clan said, shaking his head fervently.


    Emanuel gritted his teeth and said coldly, "If you are all afraid of death, how will we barge into the Ice Palace?"


    All of the warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm looked at each other in silence. A few moments passed until someone said in a low voice, "Are you not afraid of death? Go first if you are not!"


    "Yes. Emanuel, you can go first! If you are the first one to charge, then we will be right behind you!"


    "As long as you take the lead, there''s no way we wouldn''t follow you!"


    As they shouted their sentiments, Emanuel became increasingly angrier. ''If I take the lead, I''ll be killed by Rocher, '' he thought to himself, looking around at the now impassioned warriors. ''Then the leader of the Cloud Hall won''t belong to the Zhuo Clan. It will belong to the Shen Clan, Fei Clan or Wu Clan. I''m not that stupid!'' he cursed inwardly.


    "Dad, I''ll go!"


    The one who spoke was Frank''s elder brother and Emanuel''s eldest son, Finlay.


    "You?" Emanuel said, stunned for a moment. Then, he suddenly smirked and shook his head, saying, "You are no match for Rocher."


    Finlay was only at the Internal Elixir Realm. Even if he was willing to go first, Rocher would not attack him as there was no need to do so. Saint Morphens could kill Finlay as easily as a single stab. There was no reason for Emanuel to send his son to his death.


    "If none of you are willing to go now, that bitch will reach the Life and Death Realm. Do you know what the consequences will be?" Emanuel asked coldly.


    Everyone suddenly became quiet, as if stunned by the question. From ancient times, those who tried to rebel but failed had come upon nothing good. Not only would they suffer, their clans would also be severely punished. Although it was impossible for Cloud Hall to wipe out these third-grade clans, still the punishment they were going to face was not something they could take easily.


    "Then... How about we attack together?" Finally, the warriors cheered in agreement, vicious expressions appearing on their faces. They were really going all out this time as there was


    word, their minds were still affected by his imposing aura, causing them to fail to think clearly.


    Whoosh!


    An extremely sharp sword radiance shot out.


    The speed of the sword radiance was so fast that there was no time for anyone to dodge. Everyone only saw a flash of light before they heard three distinct sounds ringing in their ears.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    They were the sounds of flesh being pierced by the sword radiance.


    At that moment, time seemed to stop. Regardless of whether it was Saint Morphens or Emanuel, everyone stood still, frozen in their spots. Everyone was stunned, and none of them dared to breathe.


    After a short while, the bodies of three warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm swayed. Their eyes were filled with unwillingness and anger.


    "Wh-why me?"


    Plop! Plop! Plop!


    With a thrust of his sword, Rocher killed three warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm. Despite Rocher being only at the middle stage of the Internal Elixir Realm, the Heavenly Sword that he cultivated was so strong! It stunned everyone! Even Zen could not do this when he had just become a war lord.


    "Lucas!"


    "Elijah!"


    A few angry roars came from Emanuel''s side.


    Seeing this, Emanuel let out a long sigh. Luckily, Rocher''s sword was not aimed at him. Otherwise, he would be a corpse on the ground by now.


    "Charge! Kill that brat!" Emanuel gritted his teeth and shouted.


    The remaining warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm were enraged. They were all warriors from third-grade clans, and those three warriors who had just been killed were their own brothers. How could they not be angry at this moment?


    The key point was that Rocher needed a long time to gather his energy after a strike. After that, he would only be an ordinary warrior at the Internal Elixir Realm and would be of no threat to any warrior at the Virtual Tribulation Realm.


    This was the right time for them to launch their attacks.

 Chapter 988 Arrive At The Right Time

    Rocher''s sword attack was originally meant to kill Emanuel and it wasn''t going to be hard for him to do that.


    Emanuel was the leader of the rebels, and it was him who had gathered all the third-grade clans in Cloudy City.


    However, for some reason, the moment he made his move, Rocher changed his mind.


    Even if he managed to kill Emanuel, it would not change the current situation too much. If Emanuel was killed, Rocher and his companions would still be unable to win the battle. The rebels could find someone else to replace Emanuel.


    This was why Rocher had chosen to kill three warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm at such a tricky angle. And even after that massacre, the effect on the situation as a whole was negligible.


    Saint Morphens and Emanuel were well matched in strength. The two of them, when engaged in battle, were fierce and swift, but the number of warriors on Emanuel''s side was still much higher than those on Saint Morphens'' side.


    As for Patrick, Lewis, and all the other warriors at Internal Elixir Realm, they had no way of fighting against cultivators at the Virtual Tribulation Realm, and they lost the battle in the blink of an eye.


    Whoosh!


    A warrior at the Virtual Tribulation Realm finally broke through the defense line. Holding a large, emerald green saber in his hand, he rushed furiously towards Rocher.


    "Since you killed my brother, you are going to die too!"


    Even before he had finished speaking, his saber had slid across and come down with a great might towards Rocher''s neck.


    Rocher lightly slid across the ground and the sword in his hand struck out once more.


    Ding! The sword was easily blocked by Rocher''s opponent.


    Rocher''s strongest move while practicing swordsmanship was the Heavenly Sword, and it had taken him a long time to accumulate the strength necessary to use it. Without this accumulation of strength, he was not a match for a warrior at the Virtual Tribulation Realm.


    Just as the warrior blocked Rocher''s sword, he suddenly turned around and threw a punch straight at Rocher''s chest.


    Bang!


    The fist landed heavily, and caused the victim''s chest to cave in deep. His entire body was thrown backwards and he rolled on the ground for several rounds before slowly coming to a stop. As Rocher gasped for air lying on the ground, stubbornness could be seen in his eyes.


    He had chosen to side with Letitia after discussing it with Patrick and Lewis.


    The main reason why they had chosen that side was mainly because of Zen.


    They knew the relationship between Zen and Letitia, and even though, at the beginning, the three of them were slightly hesitant, later on, even the usually timid Lewis had stepped forward to protect Letitia. There was no reason why Rocher and Patrick wouldn''t do the same.


    As for whether their choice was right or wrong, Rocher wasn''t clear. Perhaps sometimes, warriors didn''t have to rank their decisions by judging whether it would yield a profit or not. Perhaps somethings were jus


    as safe and sound. Emanuel was confident that he would surely be the new leader of Cloud Hall. As long as he could stall Saint Morphens and wait for everyone else to clean up the warriors, he would be able to charge into the Ice Palace and kill Letitia.


    If all his plans were being carried out in an orderly manner, the entire Cloud Hall would be his a few days later. With the protection of the Small Circulation Killing Array, even if he faced the Heavenly Evil Sect, he was not afraid. After becoming the leader of the Cloud Hall, he could use the resources of Cloud Hall to make a breakthrough. His future prospects were limitless!


    It just so happened that at this critical moment, that damned Zen had actually come back!


    Wasn''t he supposed to be dead?


    Although most people in the Cloud Hall believed that Zen wasn''t dead, Emanuel was paranoid enough to believe that Zen would definitely be dead and that there was no possibility of him coming back.


    How could Emanuel not be surprised when he saw Zen standing not far away and having reached the Virtual Tribulation Realm?


    The expressions of the warriors of the third-grade clans also darkened. How were they going to deal with Zen?


    "Humph, Zen! So what if you''re back? You are only at the early stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm and that''s nothing compared to my warriors. You seriously think you can turn the tables all by yourself? What a joke! Guys, let''s go and kill him!" Emanuel ordered.


    "Yes. He is just a warrior at the Virtual Tribulation Realm. He is no match for us!"


    "Let''s kill him together!"


    Emanuel''s words were very clever. The number of warriors on Letitia''s side was far too small, not to mention that most of them were only at the Internal Elixir Realm. Even with Zen''s help, the tables were not going to be turned.


    Four warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm activated their life vitality at the same time. Their bodies flashed as they instantly surrounded Zen from four different directions.

 Chapter 989 Reverse Of The Situation

    Four Virtual Tribulation Realm cultivators attacked Zen at the same time, two of whom were at the middle stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm. This was proof of how wary they were of Zen.


    Back when Zen was still in the Illuminating Soul Realm, he had already been able to defeat divine-level talents who had reached the Internal Elixir Realm. And now that he had stepped into the Virtual Tribulation Realm, nobody knew exactly how powerful he truly was.


    But they thought that no matter how powerful Zen was, it would still be difficult for him to fight four Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors at once.


    Morphens''s expression changed when he saw the number of enemy warriors attacking Zen. He took a step forward as his body began to become translucent and was about to use the Mystical Pace to approach and help Zen when Emanuel thrust his spear at him suddenly, forcing him back.


    Everyone''s eyes were focused on Zen. Rocher, Patrick, and their companions were worried, and it showed on their faces. It didn''t matter that Zen''s cultivation base had risen magnificently in the last two years. They still thought that he wouldn''t be able to fight four Virtual Tribulation Realm experts by himself.


    On the other hand, Zen''s eyes glittered with an excited confidence as he was surrounded by the four Virtual Tribulation Realm experts. His body became vague, like a mirage, constantly stretching and moving like a leaf creating ripples on water.


    "Is that an illusion?"


    "Is he using a bodily movement skill?"


    The four Virtual Tribulation Realm cultivators found themselves thinking as they watched Zen in exasperation.


    But since they had already made their moves and Zen hadn''t dodged them or made a move, how could they let go of this opportunity and not attack him?


    Different kinds of attacks rained down on Zen in the blink of an eye.


    However, a strange scene played out before everyone''s eyes. It looked like none of those attacks were touching Zen and he remained completely unharmed.


    It did look like the warriors'' swords and sabers were striking or stabbing Zen''s body, but since Zen''s body looked like something that didn''t physically exist at the moment, they seemed to slice through thin air.


    Morphens was fighting Emanuel but as he looked over in Zen''s direction, his concern turned to amazement.


    "He''s applying Space Law! And it is the Space Law of a higher layer!" Morphens exclaimed, immensely surprised. He wondered rather excitedly, ''Where had Zen been these past two years? How did he achieve this?''


    Emanuel, too, had his attention on the fight between Zen and the four other warriors. When he saw Zen''s strange bodily movement skill, he was shocked beyond reason.


    "How is this even possible?" Emanuel muttered disbelievingly. A bad premonition presented itself to Emanuel, telling him that he had probably underestimated Zen''s strength yet again.


    It felt like deja vu, because he had experienced this exact same feeling the very first time he had seen Zen.


    At first, Emanuel had thought that Zen was just a lucky fellow who had ascended from the Cloud Sect. He had almost killed Zen when they had come face to face at the close of the Cloud Road.


    But never had he thought that Letitia would st


    But Zen''s appearance had been unexpected and had thrown a spanner in the works.


    As a member of the Cloud Hall, Emanuel was now clear about Zen''s extraordinary talent.


    It wouldn''t be long before Zen would climb to the top of the martial world, and when that day came, no one in the Central Region would be able to match him.


    Emanuel was not God. He had never calculated or even dreamed that Zen would return at such a crucial moment.


    "Zen, spare me! Just this once! I will go into hiding and never enter Central Region again!" Emanuel begged for Zen''s mercy as he dodged his attacks.


    "I''m sorry but that''s not possible. I had already planned to kill you but since you are an elder of the Cloud Hall, I thought it was improper for me to do that. But you forced yourself into this position and now, it''s too late for you to beg for mercy," Zen said coldly as he traveled towards Emanuel, the distance between them decreasing each time he jumped.


    "If you kill me, my Zhuo Family will definitely become an enemy of the Cloud Hall! All the noble clans of Cloudy City will act against Cloud Hall!" Emanuel threatened.


    "You think all the noble clans in the Cloudy City will follow your Zhuo Family that''s just a third-grade clan? In your dreams, perhaps!" Zen retorted. He was now only ten feet away from Emanuel.


    "Then go to hell!" Now that he knew he couldn''t escape, Emanuel suddenly turned around and pulled out a black spear from his space ring. He stabbed it at Zen as he yelled, "Sun Extinguishing Spear!"


    The moment he thrust the spear, the tip began to glow so brightly that it felt like it could take away the radiance of the sun and the moon. Being an elder of the Cloud Hall meant that Emanuel was undoubtedly strong.


    But Zen didn''t even budge at Emanuel''s full-blown attack. Instead, he sneered as he grabbed the tip of his spear with his bare hands. With just a push, Emanuel''s top-grade fairy weapon bent and began to crack into pieces, an ode to Zen''s great strength.


    This was the last straw for Emanuel, his heart sinking into a bottomless abyss. The difference in his and Zen''s strengths was much greater than he had imagined.

 Chapter 990 Bragging

    With his weapon broken by Zen, Emanuel''s eyes flashed pleadingly as he continued, "Zen, I am an elder of Cloud Hall. Even I''ve committed a crime of rebellion, it shall be Letitia who will decide my fate. I¡­ I surrender! You can''t kill me!"


    His words made Zen hesitate.


    Strictly speaking, what he said was true¡ªEmanuel was the backbone among the elders of the Cloud Hall, making his status and position both higher than those of Zen. In fact, Zen was merely a disciple of the Cloud Hall without any promotions.


    As long as Zen didn''t kill him, Emanuel understood that he could use the influence of the Zhuo Clan to have Letitia spare his life at the very least. As long as he didn''t die right there, he would have a chance at a comeback sooner or later. Who knew what the future held?


    Many people in Cloud Hall were standing by the windows or at the corners of the buildings, watching the scene unfold in the air above Cloud Hall.


    In this rebellion, the majority of the Cloud Hall disciples had chosen to stay neutral. After all, it was a matter of internal strife among the senior leaders and had little to do with the common warriors of the Cloud Hall''s lower ranks.


    "Oh my god¡­ Zen is back! He''s chasing after Master Zhuo with bare hands!"


    "This kid is a real freak. After disappearing for two years, he''s back and he''s fighting against Master Zhuo!"


    "Are you guys blind? Master Zhuo can barely strike. This isn''t a fight¡­ he''s completely crushing him. Don''t you understand?"


    To most of the people within Cloud Hall, it didn''t matter who took control of the place. At this moment, all they cared about was watching a good show.


    Some of the younger generation from the influential clans weren''t in a good mood, particularly those from the Zhuo Clan. When they saw how Emanuel was being pushed back relentlessly by Zen, their expressions grew grimmer. Their cultivation levels were too low¡ªthey weren''t strong enough to participate in the fight.


    Standing in the Elite House was Frank who had been staring blankly at how Zen chased away his father and how he forced him to beg for mercy. Frank''s face darkened as a rainstorm inside him loomed.


    As his heart grew heavy, he glared at Zen, his heart filled with complicated thoughts.


    Back in the Cloud Road test, he was nothing short of arrogant.


    Back then, he appeared as though nobody in the world would succeed except him. Among the disciples of the younger generation, who could measure up to him? Frank had never had to take Zen seriously.


    However, in only two years'' time, Zen had grown into a figure that even his father would find difficult to deal with. Meanwhile, Frank was still stuck at the ultimate level of the Illuminating Soul Realm, unable to ma


    like a kite that had lost its string, falling limp to the ground.


    A heart-wrenching scream came from below, "Father!" Watching the scene was Frank, wide-eyed and distraught.


    But Zen only glanced at Frank indifferently before flying towards the Ice Palace, leaving everyone in Cloud Hall stunned in shock.


    But the shock wasn''t because Zen had killed Emanuel, instead, it was because of his last sentence¡ªLetitia was his woman?


    They didn''t know whether or not his words were true, but if he dared to say it in front of such a large audience, then perhaps it was true.


    Words failed to describe how they felt. Letitia was someone with a pristine reputation, not only in Cloud Hall, but in the entire Central Region. The woman was flawlessly beautiful and had incomparable talent and status to match. These things made her the perfect woman and a noble, superior leader in their hearts. How could she have suddenly become Zen''s woman?


    It was unbelievable.


    Just then, Zen heard Lavender from behind him, "Hey, since when did Letitia become your woman?"


    With a slight smile, he answered, "I was bragging."


    The Ice Palace was situated at the highest point of the Cloud Hall. Although many of the elders at the Internal Elixir Realm hadn''t left the place, they had already seen the outcome of the battle¡ªEmanuel was cleanly defeated by Zen. The elders who had been part of the rebelling force completely gave up resisting.


    The rebellious elders who were at the Virtual Tribulation Realm were weaker than Emanuel so if they were to resist, they would be courting death just as Emanuel did. All they could do was surrender obediently and wait for the Cloud Hall''s punishment. Having the support of several big clans behind them, it was unlikely that they would be killed. Still, they couldn''t escape punishment.

 Chapter 991 Small Heavenly Tribulation

    Zen was not concerned about everything that was happening now. Both Patrick and Lewis were healing their wounds at that moment, so Zen decided not to disturb them. So instead, he walked up to Morphens and asked, "How''s she?"


    Morphens nodded at Zen and knew why he was worried. "She''s fine," Morphens answered.


    "Don''t lie to me. If she''s okay, why would those guys dare to act so boldly?" Zen questioned, his face doubtful of the answer he just got.


    If Letitia was actually fine, Emanuel wouldn''t dare to do this no matter what his motivations were. Zen was afraid that something wrong must have happened to Letitia.


    It was only when he saw Zen''s expression on his face that Morphens realized that Zen had misunderstood the situation. He quickly said, "She is experiencing a life-and-death tribulation, that''s why these people were taking advantage of her!"


    "A life-and-death tribulation?" Zen looked shocked as he asked, "What about Lady Yu?" Suddenly, at that moment, all Zen wanted to know was what Imogen was doing.


    Even though Letitia was trying to break into the Life and Death Realm, Emanuel wouldn''t do anything bold or rebellious if Imogen was there, guarding the Cloud Hall.


    "She is out, seeking her own luck," Morphens replied lightly. Actually, Emanuel had tried to talk Letitia out of her decision about breaking into the Life and Death Realm at that moment. It would be difficult for Cloud Hall to deal with any possible threat or trouble if neither Letitia nor Imogen was there.


    However, Letitia insisted on making a breakthrough at such a critical moment. Heavenly Evil Sect was becoming stronger every day. If she was able to successfully enter the Life and Death Realm, she might get herself a chance to fight against Eddie.


    However, Letitia never expected Emanuel''s rebellion. If Zen hadn''t appeared at the right time, Emanuel might have already, with his people, broken into the Ice Palace and threatened Letitia''s safety.


    "I must go inside and check on her," Zen said, looking concerned and worried. Although he had never experienced the life and death tribulation before, he had been told that this experience was extremely dangerous and that the death rate was high. Those lesser warriors who rushed to get to the life and death tribulation had a high probability of dying there.


    "But Zen... Miss Ning has specifically ordered that no one could enter the Ice Palace at this moment," Morphens replied seriously.


    As a response Zen simply looked at Morphens and then slowly shook his head. Without looking back, he walked straight towards the Ice Palace. Morphens was about to pull Zen back but as he looked at Zen''s disappearing figure, he began to hesitate. If Zen hadn''t come to Letitia''s rescue, Emanuel must have already broken into the Ice Palace and put Letitia''s life in danger. Zen had earned his right to come inside and check on Letitia.


    Dense icy mist had permeated every corner of the Ice Palace. Zen could barely see anything as he pushed open the doors leading to the inner part of the structure. He then used his magical eyes to see things that were not far away from him.


    eafening thunders were heard, and black clouds gathered overhead.


    "So, is the Small Heavenly Tribulation coming?" Zen asked, looking outside. The emergence of the thunder surprised him greatly.


    Lavender nodded and replied, "Yes, this is one of the many anomalies before the Small Heavenly Tribulation descends."


    "If the Small Heavenly Tribulation is so horrifying, what about the big one?" Zen asked, as what was happening outside continued to intimidate and scare him.


    Lavender smiled and replied, "A strong warrior can endure nine Small Heavenly Tribulations, each one more terrifying than the last one. After this, warriors who get into the Soul Sea Realm have to confront the Big Heavenly Tribulations. As for their power," Lavender also started looking out and whispered. "It''s unimaginable."


    The Big Heavenly Tribulation was still far away from Zen, but the smaller one was approaching. As long as Zen continued to raise his cultivation and enter the top-level Virtual Tribulation Realm, he would face the Small Heavenly Tribulation soon.


    Boom!


    At that moment, a dragon-shaped bolt of lightning struck the roof of the Ice Palace!


    The Ice Palace had been built like a fortress, and its top floor was covered with thick ice spikes. However, the lightning, with its great force, was able to cause a large hole. Stones, ice cubes, and broken beams fell down.


    Luckily, those things didn''t hurt Letitia at all. Her eyes stayed closed, and cold air was suddenly coming out of her body. It was only moments away until the Small Heavenly Tribulation would fall on her body.


    With her full attention to the incoming ordeal, she wasn''t able to notice the presence of Zen in the Ice Palace.


    Through the large hole in the ceiling, Zen cautiously stared at the dragons in the sky created by the lightning. With a deep breath he asked, "How can these dragons go through the enchanted barrier?"


    The enchanted barrier called Light of Water was set outside of the Cloud Hall. However, it seemed to be incapable of stopping the electric dragons from coming into the palace.

 Chapter 992 Undergoing The Heavenly Tribulation

    The lightning dragons circled around in the air and then slowly descended from the sky as if they were real. They effused blood-curling steam that engulfed the entire Cloud Hall.


    After the internal conflict that happened, all of the warriors within the Cloud Hall were terror-stricken. The imposing momentum that they were experiencing at that moment gave the impression that the entire world was in a state of chaos.


    "Our leader''s life and death crisis is coming!"


    "I wonder whether she can pull through!"


    "If she is able to break through to the Life and Death Realm, it would be a celebration for our Cloud Hall!"


    Those who had reached the Life and Death Realm were the most powerful masters among all the warriors, as the Life and Death Realm was the boundary between the strong masters and the ordinary warriors in the entire Central Region.


    There were many Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors in the Central Region that guarded a handful of third-grade sects. However, there was almost no Life and Death Realm warrior in sight.


    As long as a clan or sect was handled by a Life and Death Realm master, it could definitely enter the ranks of the fourth-grade sects. But there were only a few fourth-grade sects in the Central Region, such as the Cloud Hall, the Bloodwood Cliff, and the Mysterious Luna Hall.


    The Bloodwood Cliff had a Life and Death Realm master back then, but he died while passing through the tribulation. Now, it became a struggle for the sect to cultivate a new Life and Death Realm master.


    Life and Death Realm masters always had a great influence on their respective sects.


    Ultimately, the grade of a sect was to be measured based on its overall strength and background. The strong warriors of that particular sect were regarded as the most straightforward excellence.


    Raising his head, Zen looked at the white lightning dragons as they slowly flew down. He had a grave look on his face and so many thoughts ran through his head. Seeing as those dragons were quite terrifying, he wondered if Letitia stood a chance.


    While Zen was worried about the situation, Lavender was not bothered. After all, she was used to that kind of scene. Glancing at Zen''s hardened face, she smiled. "Don''t worry about it too much. It is her decision to undergo the tribulation, so she must have prepared well for it."


    Zen just nodded in response and then allowed his gaze to fall back on Letitia.


    In the presence of the enormous dragons, Letitia''s petite figure looked even smaller.


    When the lightning dragons were only ten feet away from her head, Letitia suddenly stretched out her white hands, and a small jade card appeared in one of them.


    As she gently flipped her jade card, countless ice phoenixes shot out from it. Suddenly, the cold light started to increase in intensity, and then spiraled upwards.


    "What a pure Law Power!"


    A flash of light reflected on Zen''s eyes as he followed the movement of the ice phoenixes.


    The ice phoeni


    ddess.


    Surely enough, after Letitia had killed all those lightning dragons, a new surge of power and momentum began to spread throughout the sky.


    The dark clouds slowly changed color, turning from black to crimson red. It was as if an incomparably massive flame was rolling and burning within the clouds.


    Upon the appearance of that bright red cloud, a heat wave enveloped the vicinity. All of the warriors in the Cloud Hall felt it, and the heat wave caused a stir among them. They were all very alarmed.


    "Will the descending flames burn the entire Cloud Hall?"


    "I don''t think our leader should undergo the tribulation in the Cloud Hall. This Heavenly Tribulation is too powerful. I''m afraid that after she passes through it, the entire Cloud Hall will be destroyed!"


    "If she doesn''t do it in the Cloud Hall, where else can she do such a thing?" The warriors outside watched closely like tigers eyeing their prey. If Letitia was to be targeted by the warriors from the Heavenly Evil Sect, then she could easily fail to break through the tribulation. Those little warriors could get so distracting.


    Everyone in the Cloud Hall activated their life vitality, forming a thin layer of it to block the heat coming from the sky. They all took precaution.


    The vigor of the fire cloud was immense and all of it was aimed at Letitia. The heat wave''s effect on the Cloud Hall was only a segment of it.


    This time, Zen did not say anything. What Lavender said was right, and he had indeed underestimated Letitia. After all, he had left Letitia for two years, so how could Zen know what had happened to Letitia in the past two years?


    At that same time, the red cloud rolled downwards and dropped itself towards Letitia.


    The expression on Letitia''s face remained unchanged. She slightly flipped her finger, which not only prompted the activation of her jade card, but engaged her life vitality. When she gently pointed her finger upwards, the entire Ice Palace began to shake.

 Chapter 993 The Nightmare Tribulation

    The Ice Palace''s continuous shaking caused all the ice pillars to collapse and shatter into thousands of palm-sized crystals.


    The crystals converged above Letitia''s head and released a cold light.


    A small ice phoenix burst forth from the jade card and devoured this cold light, rapidly transforming itself into a huge, magnificent creature.


    "Aroo!"


    The ice phoenix screeched before charging headfirst towards the rolling red clouds.


    Swish!


    The red clouds swirled with ominous-looking flames and made the entire Cloud Hall unbearably hot and sweltering.


    The moment the ice phoenix entered the clouds, it began to rapidly melt and evaporate.


    However, as it melted, the thousands of crystals that had come from the Ice Palace continuously replenished its cold energy and kept it in flight.


    As the ice phoenix roamed the fiery clouds, the scorching heat within Cloud Hall began to dissipate.


    Lavender smiled faintly. "Her preparations were more thorough than I expected. The second wave of Heavenly Tribulation is more violent than the first one, but she is able to resolve it more efficiently!"


    Zen couldn''t help but agree. "It seems that the Life and Death Tribulation is less horrible than I''ve expected! I''m sure I''ll be able to withstand them in the future," he said confidently.


    Lavender couldn''t help but laugh. "Don''t be so sure! When it''s your turn to undergo the Small Heavenly Tribulation, its magnitude would probably be ten times stronger than this!"


    It was only a passing remark, but she couldn''t help but notice the way Zen stared at her blankly. "What? You don''t believe me?"


    Zen shook his head. "I would never doubt you."


    "Then why are you looking at me like that?"


    she asked.


    Zen shrugged. "I just didn''t expect you to let out such a pretty smile."


    Lavender had always been expressionless. Ever since Zen had obtained her as his sword spirit, she had never so much as cracked a smile and always remained poker-faced.


    When she began to talk in the Tower of Sin, the aura she emanated was incredibly domineering. Anyone who stood in front of her would fall short of breath, while those with a weaker aura would be unable to even raise their heads.


    However, Zen had been a witness to her rare, flustered state. Back in the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place, he had seen just how she and another Demon Night queen abused each other to the point that he


    eavens?"


    Just then, the flower petals reached Letitia, and the conversation about the different heavens was immediately pushed to the back of his mind.


    Letitia''s face was full of caution. She had felt the power of the Life and Death Tribulation and knew that this one wasn''t going to be as easy as the first two. Gently stretching her hands, she waited as the huge ice phoenix let out a huge screech and charged straight towards her.


    In the blink of an eye, Letitia and the ice phoenix became one as the latter melded and transformed itself into armor that covered her entire body.


    This was Letitia''s complete form. She immediately flew to the sky and faced the petals head-on.


    "The petals don''t look scary at all," Zen murmured. He couldn''t feel any sort of power from the petals, unlike the past two Heavenly Tribulations. They simply felt like ordinary flowers that filled the sky and floated down like gentle rain.


    Lavender, on the other hand, was quick to dispel his thoughts. "Every petal is a nightmare. The reason why the Nightmare Tribulation is so difficult is that it''s not aimed at a warrior''s body but at his soul."


    The petals looked normal, and a gentle touch from Letitia was enough to have one shatter into a million pieces. However, each time a petal broke, it quickly turned into a nightmare that attacked Letitia''s mind.


    A few dozen of them were alright, but pretty soon, Letitia had smashed through hundreds of them and was finally feeling the tribulation''s effects. Her face had gotten extremely pale, and every time a petal touched her, her entire body trembled.

 Chapter 994 A Familiar Figure

    The cultivation on the soul level was the hardest for martial artists. Zen was able to cultivate his body and cinnabar field while attending to the cultivation of the soul at the same time. However, only a few martial artists could cultivate on multiple aspects at the same time as Zen did.


    Compared to the ordinary warriors, Letitia''s soul was stronger, but still far weaker than Zen''s.


    If only dozens of nightmares attacked her soul, Letitia could withstand them without question. Now, there were thousands before her eyes. How was she going to manage?


    In just a matter of minutes, Letitia''s face had turned as pale as paper. She also began to stagger sideways. Evidently, it became a struggle for her to resist.


    "I think it''s time to give her a hand!" Seeing Letitia''s current situation, Zen''s concern grew bigger inside his heart. If a warrior''s soul was hurt, it could possibly cause irreversible damage to the warrior.


    "Just wait for a while," Lavender said, discouraging Zen from making any hasty actions. "These nightmares may look like they''re just here to attack her, but they also serve as a way to cultivate her. This could do her some good."


    Warriors had to go through a lot of hardships and tests so they could grow, and Lavender clearly understood when exactly to stop so the damage could be avoided.


    It was also known to Zen that Letitia must go through this process as well. As that saying went, "Too much caring and overthinking can confuse someone." Zen cared a little too much about Letitia and couldn''t afford to see her get hurt.


    Just as the petals were about to crash into Letitia, she suddenly took out a bronze-colored pill and swallowed it. Her face immediately flushed after taking the pill.


    Before attempting to make it through the Life and Death Realm, Letitia had repeatedly told herself that her attempt to make the breakthrough could only be successful. There was no room for failure.


    Now that the Heavenly Evil Sect had risen from the east and had become the biggest threat, the entire Central Region had fallen into chaos. Moreover, Imogen was facing a life and death crisis. So, she had no other choice but to go overseas to look for opportunities.


    The search for her fortune could cause her death. Both Letitia and Imogen knew this. Before she left, Imogen had discussed important matters concerning the Cloud Hall with Letitia.


    Upon her departure, she let out a heavy sigh for her worries about herself and Zen.


    ''If only Zen was still here¡­''


    Ever since Zen had disappeared from Mist''s celestial tomb, Letitia had gone to the Chaotic Ocean of Stars to search for him a few times, but to no avail.


    However, she firmly believed that Zen didn''t die and that he would one day return.


    Two years had passed very quickly, but Zen was still nowhere to be found. There was no information about him in the entire Central Region. It was as if he had completely vanished into thin air. Even if Letitia knew in her heart that Zen was out there somewhere, she couldn''t help but worry.


    Now that Imogen had left the Central Region, Letitia had put all of her bets in one s


    n the face of the life and death crisis was not on Letitia''s list. Focusing all of her attention on fighting those petals, she had already forgotten about what was happening outside.


    After Letitia swallowed the Soul-boosting Pill, the corrosive effect of the flower petals on her became weaker. She was on the verge of collapsing earlier that time, but with the help of the pill, her eyes lit up, and she lived through the attack of the flower petals.


    During that certain moment, Letitia had already endured over a hundred nightmare attacks.


    All of a sudden, the petals in front of her began to fall one by one, coming at her endlessly. She started to wonder whether or not she could really make it.


    The flush that once appeared on Letitia''s face had been replaced by paleness in just a matter of five minutes.


    ''I''m still unable to surpass this?'' Letitia thought to herself. A trace of sadness was painted all over her face. She could already feel that the effects of the pill were starting to fade away while the petals continued to rain down on her in a consistent force and speed.


    Of course, Letitia didn''t fully comprehend how difficult it was to overcome the nightmare tribulation. She could only blame her strength for not being able to move forward successfully. ''I''m not strong enough for this, '' she mentally scolded herself.


    As the nightmares continued to charge into her, Letitia gradually grew weaker. She felt as if her head was set in flames and could blow to smithereens at any given minute.


    ''Will I fail?'' Letitia thought once more, being really hard on herself at that point. Sadness rested on her face. She knew exactly what could happen if she failed. It wasn''t the depletion of their lifespan that killed most Life and Death Realm warriors in the Central Region, but the life and death crisis they went through. Death was just lurking around Letitia.


    Suddenly, Letitia began to fall into a state of trance. Her surroundings grew dimmer. Struggling to blink her eyes for clarity, Letitia was almost certain that a familiar figure was before her.

 Chapter 995 Letitia Survived

    Letitia slightly squinted her eyes. She felt a throbbing headache and her vision was blurry.


    This happened every time one''s soul had been injured. It was as if one was drunk and prone to hallucinations.


    She could see Zen.


    He was special to her and she missed him like never before. She realized she was hallucinating. She felt weak and like she was on the verge of death.


    Letitia felt disappointed and regretted feeling so overconfident. She thought she could survive this life-and-death tribulation, but now it seemed that she wouldn''t be able to do so. How could she be so stupid?


    She wished she could see Zen again. The illusion of him made her feel warm and gave her a bit of strength.


    After her being attacked by countless nightmares, illusions had formed in her mind. Those petals looked normal to others, but to her they were all strange beasts with various shapes and sizes. Zen was now in one of those nightmares.


    Zen''s figure appeared and quickly approached her.


    Letitia extended her arms and hugged him.


    Letitia had always thought highly of herself. She occupied a high status, much higher than Zen''s. After all she was the master and owner of the Cloud Hall. However, even though she was at a higher level, she had always liked Zen since they were on the Cloud Road.


    Right now she couldn''t even bare to think about it. It was just the illusion of Zen. It was not the real him.


    Zen was tall but not sturdy. With his training, he had grown one or two inches taller over the past two years, and surpassed Letitia by a full head.


    All she wanted was to embrace Zen. As she reached for the illusion of him, a tragic and miserable smile appeared on her face. She would think of Zen as death came to her. His image comforted her even though she felt like she had done nothing good. The illusion of Zen was better than no Zen at all.


    Zen saw that Letitia couldn''t hold on any longer. As the fear of losing her came over him, he flew to her holding the Heavenly Fragment in his hand. As soon as he got to her, Letitia hugged him affectionately, leaving Zen awestruck.


    Zen held Letitia in his arms and activated the Heavenly Fragment using the method that Lavender taught him.


    She told him that this Heavenly Fragment was very special and had very unique features. It could absorb an enormous amount of life vitality. She also warned him against causing a large fluctuation. All he needed to do was apply enough life vitality for it to work.


    As Zen injected a bit of life vitality into the Heavenly Fragment, it started to absorb those petals as greedily as a giant whale.


    Lavender had also told Zen that the Heavenly Tribulation was induced by the heavens and that it could be easily absorbed by the Heavenly Fragment. The two opposing heavenly forces mutually reinforced


    s grasped someone''s clothes. She was struck with confusion.


    "Am I still alive?" she thought to herself.


    She took a deep breath as if to make sure she could breathe. She opened her beautiful eyes abruptly and that was when she saw Zen''s handsome face. She felt a rush coming over her and her whole body trembled.


    Zen opened his eyes and saw her awake. He was sitting there and cultivating his martial arts. When he saw Letitia staring at him he felt relieved. He smiled and said, "You''re awake!"


    Letitia pursed her lips. She still couldn''t believe what she was seeing. She was afraid Zen was still an illusion, and that him sitting beside her was not real.


    She did not loathe illusions because at least illusions made her happy. She hoped that she could reach for him, even though it was just an illusion that she was staring at. Illusions lasted only for a moment and she wouldn''t want to make him disappear.


    "Say something." Zen said with a strange and worried expression on his face. Could it be that her soul had been damaged and her brain injured?


    Letitia looked up at the enormous hole overhead. The clouds above were drifting slowly, sending dazzling rays of light. The morning air was mixed with a wild and chaotic vitality from both Heaven and Earth.


    It wasn''t an illusion.


    It was Zen. He had come back to her.


    As she realized this, the corners of her mouth curled up. Her heart was filled with joy. She wanted to laugh loudly but her eyes suddenly turned red and she started crying compulsively.


    Zen was confused. Why was she crying? She was alive. The life-and-death tribulation had ended and she survived it. She had grown even more powerful than before. Why was she crying? ''Is it possible that her brain was severely damaged?'' he thought worriedly. Now she was laughing and crying at the same time. ''What the hell is wrong with her?''

 Chapter 996 Suppress

    Letitia was brought to the prestigious Cloud School many years ago. Since then, she had begun to practice the martial arts and grow in her strength. Carrying deep in her heart the hatred of having her entire family exterminated, she had never even cried.


    The only belief that kept her striving forward was that when the day came, she would avenge her family''s death.


    Compared to Cloud Sect, the competition at Cloud School was even more intense.


    This was understandable as the Cloud Sect was situated in a remote place. The people who had been competing with Zen were a few warriors from some clans. These so-called noble clans were not even worth a mention in the Central Region.


    On the other hand, the disciples of Cloud School largely came from the various third-grade noble clans.The reason why Letitia was able to stand out at Cloud School had a lot to do with her outstanding talent, but more importantly, it was her perseverance which made her succeed.


    When she first came to Cloud School, she had had no kin to turn to and had been all alone. At that time, she had only been a little girl, much younger than the other disciples. Furthermore, she was a stranger who hailed from another place, so she had been constantly ostracized by other members of the Cloud School.


    However, her sheer willpower, grit, and determination had ensured that she worked hard to improve herself step by step. With no one to support her, she stood out from the crowd of the millions of Cloud School disciples. At the same time, she secured the first place in the Cloud Road test.


    After entering Cloud Hall, she had become what one would describe as a dazzling star. She had come to be the disciple of Imogen, who passed her the Sutra of Empyrean Goddess. After dispersing her cultivation eight times, Letitia was finally able to become the leader of the Cloud Hall.


    Letitia was not a particularly strong person. Deep down, she was still like a little girl. Still, she suppressed all of her grievances, fears, and bothersome emotions deep down in her heart, never unloading them in front of anyone.


    Even in the face of death, she remained calm and composed.


    Despite possessing this ability to restrain herself, as soon as she saw Zen appear in front of her, she could no longer hold back her feelings and burst into tears.


    Back when everyone had been fighting for the Dragon Soar Arena, Letitia had fallen in love with Zen. This young man had encroached on her heart. However, at that time, Letitia had had a lot of misgivings in her heart that prevented her from facing her true feelings.


    Afterward, she had lighted the enchanted lamp and entered the celestial tomb. Although she had obtained a lot of treasures within, Zen had somehow disappeared.


    Only then did Letitia realize how important Zen was to her.


    In the following two years, she had never heard from Zen even once. Letitia had sent people from Cloud Hall t


    fferently while the latter failed to contain the hostility in her eyes.


    Letitia had watched Zen enter Cloud Hall and rise rapidly through the cultivation levels. She treated herself as Zen''s leader, master, and guide. Moreover, she had fallen in love with him. When another strange woman suddenly appeared beside Zen, even if she was only his sword spirit, Letitia felt skeptical and vigilant.


    Lavender was of a high stature, so she could see through things very clearly. After living for so many years, she knew more about human nature than both Zen and Letitia. Lavender simply smiled at Letitia''s question. "Yes, I come from the Demon Night."


    In the Central Region, there had once appeared ogres and demons, but no one ever encountered members of a race like the Demon Night. Letitia was understandably unfamiliar with them. Seeing the smile on Lavender''s face, Letitia still felt displeased. "Why are you staying with Zen?" she asked her bluntly.


    Lavender blinked, a trace of mischief flashing in her eyes. ''Since you like to suppress your feelings, I''ll allow you to suppress them even more, '' Lavender thought. She giggled and said, "I''m Zen''s sword spirit. We are originally one."


    They were originally one...


    The words sounded ambiguous, sounding as if Zen and Lavender were lovers. Before Zen had found a new body for Lavender, she had been in the form of the sword spirit, always residing within Zen''s body.


    Technically, what Lavender said was the truth.


    Letitia frowned and stared at Zen, obviously waiting for him to explain.


    "Lavender, don''t talk nonsense," he said. Then he turned to Letitia. "It''s a long story about her. I''ll explain it to you later. Right now, you still have to deal with the matters of Cloud Hall."


    Cloud Hall had just faced a rebellion and Letitia still didn''t know about it. Although Zen had suppressed the rebellion in time, Letitia was still required to decide on how to deal with the rebels.

 Chapter 997 Return To Cloudy City

    "Cloud Hall? What happened to Cloud Hall?" Letitia''s eyes widened as she asked.


    "You''ll know when we get out," said Zen as he turned around and walked towards the entrance of the Ice Palace.


    Letitia turned to look at Lavender, but Lavender gave her a meaningful stare in return. It seemed like the two easily understood what each other''s look meant.


    Lavender then turned back into a sword spirit and merged into Zen''s body. Like a baby, she huddled herself inside him, her face full of disappointment.


    The cyan dragon noticed this. Stealthily communicating with her, he asked, "Little girl, why the long face? What is bothering you?"


    Lavender replied coldly, "Stop talking to me!"


    With that, the cyan dragon could only let out an awkward smile. The red dragon, on the other hand, laughed out loud and said, "I guess our little girl has something on her mind."


    "Don''t call me ''little girl''. You two may be dragons, but you''re not in any way older than me!" Lavender once again replied coldly.


    She was almost a world lord in the Upper World. Moreover, as a queen of Demon Night, she was also the spirit totem of the race. Given her seniority, she understandably looked down upon the old dragons in Zen''s mind.


    As she knew what happened in the Genuine Dragon World, she knew everything about the origins of the nine dragons. They lived in Zen''s mind, while she was Zen''s sword spirit. All of them relied on Zen and never really offended each other.


    But since Lavender was in a bad mood right now, she couldn''t help but be a bit rude to them.


    "Warriors don''t use time to measure age. That''s just what mortals would do. Now you''re acting like a willful girl," the red dragon continued, as he curled his lips.


    At this, Lavender decided to just close her eyes and not speak. Her feeling was still running high, and she didn''t want to cause any more commotion.


    Zen was not aware of what was happening in his body. There were many things in it, and they were making his body crowded. In addition to the nine dragons and Lavender, the black fire in the mysterious furnace also lived there. It also had its own consciousness, but it didn''t have high intelligence.


    Morphens and the two other Virtual Tribulation Realm elders were still waiting outside the Ice Palace. The scene before them had visibly frightened them.


    Luckily, Letitia was alright, and it was enough to relieve them. As for the relationship between Letitia and Zen, there was no need for them to guess or ask. They just pretended that they didn''t see what had happened.


    It was a good thing that Letitia didn''t know that Morphens and the rest had already entered, because if she did, she would definitely feel burdened.


    After she walked out of the Ice Palace, she glanced at Morphens and said with urgency in her voice, "Morphens, Zen said that something happened in th


    o were able to enter Cloud Hall were all deities who had been reborn and were worth everyone''s worship. Also, Cloud Hall itself, as a divine place, was the most beautiful scenery in Cloudy City.


    "Let''s go up and meet them!" a warrior from the Fei Clan said with a laugh.


    "Let''s go!"


    "But where is Emanuel? Don''t tell me that he is too lazy to show up now that he has become the master of Cloud Hall."


    Whoosh!


    A dozen figures flew towards the Cloud Hall. However, they suddenly felt a strong cold air envelop them halfway through their journey.


    The cold air contained waves of killing intent that made their hearts palpitate. Fear suddenly was like sharp claws that grasped onto their hearts.


    Even the dull mortals could feel a great power radiating from Cloud Hall.


    On the edge of Cloud Hall, there was an independent platform, which extended through a stone pillar that was several feet wide. Letitia was standing on top of the platform. She was wearing a suit of armor made of mysterious ice which had the long feathers of the ice phoenix that were about thirty feet long. They hung down from her back to the bottom of the platform, swaying non-stop in the air, while her straight and well-proportioned legs were pressed together.


    She looked coldly down at Cloudy City. At the same time, she released her aura, which was as cold as that of any male warrior.


    "This is the aura of a Life and Death Realm warrior!"


    "It''s Letitia''s aura. She has succeeded in breaking through to the Life and Death Realm!"


    "Oh no! Did Emanuel fail? Or did he not make a move?"


    To everyone, it was very clear that Emanuel had failed, since Letitia was still standing on top of Cloud Hall. Despite that, they still held on to a sliver of hope in their hearts that Emanuel hadn''t made his move yet. It was this self-deceiving feeling that would arise every time someone was in the face of danger.

 Chapter 998 Pay In Installments

    As the head of Cloud Hall, Letitia already had possession of absolute control over it right after she reached the later stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm.


    But being "head of the hall" was just a nominal title and really didn''t mean much. Before being the true leader of Cloud Hall, she had to convince the elders, stewards, and disciples under it with her own strength.


    Only Imogen was able to rank higher than her in terms of power.


    Several noble clans had planned things well. They took advantage of the time when Letitia was undergoing her tribulations to make a move, which was nothing short of genius.


    Because Letitia had chosen to undergo the tribulations at this time, the noble clans had mocked her endlessly as they were plotting against her. As she was still a young lady, although she was gifted with immense power, she wasn''t able to figure out what the clans were thinking.


    Unfortunately for them, Lady Luck was not on their side. Zen was able to show up right on time to save Cloud Hall and Letitia herself.


    Now that Letitia had reached the Life and Death Realm, it would be hard for anyone, regardless of where they might come from, to rebel.


    And because of this, the clan masters had mixed feelings. All of them were shocked by Letitia''s sudden rise to power.


    Letitia leaned forward slightly and started to descend. Her long feathers flapped behind her, and she looked like an icy phoenix coming down from the sky.


    Behind her, Zen, Morphens, and the Virtual Tribulation Realm elders all left Cloud Hall one by one and flew towards the place where the warriors from different noble clans were floating in the air.


    After some time, Letitia suddenly froze in mid-air. She stared coldly at the clan masters and said, her tone dangerous, "Emanuel has been executed. He''s already dead. Now, I wonder how every one of you will explain the rebellion that you tried staging against me. Do not tell me you had no hand in it."


    Cloud Hall floated above Cloudy City, protecting the steady progress of the noble clans. They used to complement each other, but now, they had become mortal enemies.


    The clan masters stared at Letitia in a daze, speechless.


    They had families to support, and many important things were involved and sacrificed in the name of their rebellion. If they were not absolutely sure about victory, they would not have tried to challenge Letitia. But after hearing what Letitia just said, they all had realized that the confidence they had felt towards their plan was just a joke.


    "I know, the fact that I''m the head of Cloud Hall has always been a thorn in your tiny, tiny hearts," Letitia said. "But I want to say that Cloud Hall does not belong to any of you. It''s an independent sect - a fifth-grade sect in Cloudy City!"


    Somehow, in the eyes of these clans, Cloud Hall belonged to them. Indeed, in the early days of the Cloud Hall, they had contributed a lot to its development.


    However, they had forgotten that they were not the only clans admitted


    top-grade life vitality crystals. A supreme life vitality crystal was equal to a million low-grade life vitality crystals. That meant that a thousand supreme life vitality crystals were equal to one billion low-grade life vitality crystals!


    In order to draw up their sect-protecting array, Cloud Hall had spent several thousand supreme life vitality crystals, which were almost half of their wealth as they had only had about 10, 000 supreme life vitality crystals.


    But the four clans were different from Cloud Hall; they all had their own businesses. Under the protection of the Cloud Hall, every year, they would earn a great deal of money. If one person was worth a thousand supreme life vitality crystals, then over twenty Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors would cost more than 20, 000 supreme life vitality crystals.


    Unfortunately, even if the four clans used up their wealth, it would still be very difficult for them to gather enough crystals.


    "Master Ning, that would be too expensive! Our Wu Clan probably wouldn''t be able to gather enough crystals," the master of the Wu Clan said with a bitter expression on his face.


    Letitia sneered, "Well, I''m sorry about that. But if there''s a will, there''s a way. Think of how you can afford that, because if you fail to give me that," Letitia paused and looked directly at the master of the Wu Clan, "I will kill all of you!"


    The clan masters exchanged looks. They didn''t know what to say. Letitia''s move seemed kind, but in fact, she just took this opportunity to collect all the savings that the four clans had accumulated over the years.


    Money was important for warriors. If they didn''t have it, it would be hard for them to survive.


    Seeing the expressions on the clan masters'' faces, Zen floated in front of Letitia, smiling. He then said to them, "If you don''t have enough money, I have a way to help you."


    "What''s it?" The master of the Wu Clan asked as he stared at Zen.


    Zen said with a chuckle, "You can pay in installments."

 Chapter 999 Gifts

    Cloud Hall''s main focus was to bring forth stronger warriors. Its income depended largely on the missions they gave out.


    A portion of the rewards from the missions would go to the disciples who completed their tasks successfully, but the majority of the benefits acquired during the missions would be in the hands of Cloud Hall. However, despite Cloud Hall''s steady completion of its missions, this method of earning money fell behind to that of the large clans.


    The clans all had their own trades and businesses¡ªsome of which extended to mines, banks, escort agencies, and even brothels. The transmission arrays of the Cloudy City were under their jurisdiction as well. Anyone who used the transmission arrays had to pay a considerable sum of money.


    On top of all this, there were tens of millions of mortals in the Cloudy City. The mortals could not compare with the warriors, and the money they traded with was usually gold and silver. However, if one gathered all of the gold and silver in the city, it would amount to an astronomical sum. Gold and silver could be exchanged into low-grade life vitality crystals, and then into mid-grade life vitality crystals, and would then fall into the hands of the clans.


    These clans could not afford to take out 20, 000 supreme life vitality crystals in one go. Even Cloud Hall wouldn''t be able to do it, but it didn''t matter. Zen''s plan was simple. The clans could agree to a contract of payment with Cloud Hall. Installments could also be arranged.


    "Don''t forget to pay the interest!" Zen said with a smile.


    At his words, the leaders of the clans shifted in their spots, the corners of their mouths twitching. Letitia was already ruthless enough, and now here was Zen. The younger generation was terrifying. They had cultivated their skills in a pace that had never been seen before, and their talent and strength were more than formidable. And as if that wasn''t enough, they were both merciless.


    The clan leaders understood that it was the price they had to pay. They had risen up in rebellion against the Cloud Hall, but they had failed. This was the consequence of their failure. They had risked in a gamble, and it was time to pay the piper.


    After some time of discussion, the clan leaders rushed back home to prepare the life vitality crystals. Zen, on the other hand, went straight to Cloud Hall. Until today, he did not have much time to meet up with Rocher and the others since he had been preoccupied with worrying about Letitia. Now that he had some time on his hands, he couldn''t wait to see them and catch up.


    In truth, Letitia wanted to stop Zen, but she merely swallowed her words and said nothing.


    The dull and lifeless expression on the young woman''s face did not escape Saint Morphens'' notice. Letitia''s eyes were absent and downcast, and her shoulders drooped like the petals of a wilting flower. He said nothing as he observed her discreetly. It wouldn''t be wise for him to get involved in her personal issues.


    The sound of laughter and cheerful chattering rose from a small pavilion in Cloud Hall. Zen, Rocher, Patrick, and Lewis gathered together in merriment. On the table were various delicious dishes, and wine flowed like a river. With their cultivation, they didn''t need to worry about being intoxicated. Not even a hundred buckets of wine could make them dr


    composed Patrick was not able to hide his shock.


    "Zen, you aren''t planning to give this sword to Rocher, are you? That would be too wasteful!" Lewis said quickly and thoughtlessly.


    "What did you say?" Rocher barked at him as faint sword shadows congealed in his eyes.


    In a flash, Lewis'' figure disappeared from his original position, and he jumped behind Patrick. "I was telling the truth. A sacred weapon would be wasted on you! Why not give it to me instead, Zen?" he suggested.


    "Zen, is this one of the gifts you were talking about?" Patrick asked with a cautious look on his face. He wondered how Zen could have gotten hold of such a precious item.


    "This sword is for Rocher. It''s only fitting for a good swordsman to wield a good sword," Zen explained. He was a swordsman himself, and so he understood the value of a good sword.


    Rocher closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His eyes opened again and he looked at the long sword with his eyes burning with fervor and admiration. But then, he shook his head and tore his eyes away from the blade. "I can''t accept this, Zen. A sacred weapon is too precious," he said in a controlled voice, as if his own refusal pained him.


    Even Cloud Hall and the World Commercial Alliance only had one or two sacred weapons in their possession, and yet Zen was presenting him with one. His heart beat loudly in his chest as he marveled at the sword, but he couldn''t accept the gift. It was too valuable.


    Seeing the conflicted look in Rocher''s eyes, Zen smiled and said, "Don''t turn me down. Sacred weapons are priceless in your eyes, but I don''t think so. I want you to have this, Rocher."


    "You don''t think so?" Lewis gaped at Zen, his jaw flung open so widely that it could fall to ground any time. "Zen, where have you been these past two years?"


    Patrick also stared at Zen, speechless.


    Zen took out a pair of short swords next. There were four short swords in total¡ªtwin swords were sheathed within two mother swords.


    "This pair of short swords is also a low-grade sacred weapon." Zen glanced at Lewis after he finished speaking.


    "It can''t be...for me?" Lewis asked disbelievingly. His entire body began to tremble as he looked at the swords in Zen''s hands.

 Chapter 1000 Im Here For Zen

    There were only three people in front of Zen¡ªRocher, Patrick and Lewis. Rocher was a swordsman, and he definitely wouldn''t be able to use the pair of short swords. Patrick, on the other hand, didn''t use a sword at all.


    The only person who was suitable to use the pair of short swords was Lewis.


    So how could he not be excited when he saw the pair of short swords?


    Lewis was proudest of his movement skill. However, since his cultivation level was low, his movement skill could only be regarded as a method to run for his life if needed.


    Possessing a pair of short swords like this would make up for his shortcoming in attack.


    Zen smiled lightly and nodded towards Lewis.


    Lewis'' hands stretched out like lightning, and even before Zen had the opportunity to give the short swords to him, Lewis had taken them away. Zen and Patrick were amused by this reaction, while Rocher cast a reproachful glance at Lewis.


    Patrick was the most composed out of them. He just wore a gentle smile on his face. His cultivation method was mainly focused on Buddhism. Back in the Cloud Sect, he was even more powerful than Rocher.


    However, the Buddhist legacy was not flourishing. The famous Enlightened Heart Temple was barely a third-grade sect. Patrick could only rely on his comprehension to cultivate and because of that, his cultivation progress became slower than Rocher''s.


    Also because of his cultivation method, Patrick did not use a weapon. Because of that, what Zen had prepared for him was a defensive treasure, which was a low-grade sacred weapon. This defensive treasure, when paired with his Body in the Diamond-like State, would allow his defensive power to reach an extremely terrifying level.


    However, even if each of them had a low-grade sacred weapon, they wouldn''t dare to use it in front of others.


    The Central Region was unlike the Sea God Continent. It lacked sacred weapons. Only warriors at the Life and Death Realm or at the late stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm were qualified to possess sacred weapons. And if they were to carry out missions with these sacred weapons, then the primary target of people with bad intentions would most likely be them.


    While the four of them gathered at where they were, a beautiful woman slowly descended to Cloudy City.


    Zen had left Margaret in Fire City before he went to Cloudy City. She hesitated for a long while before she finally decided to look for him.


    She looked soft, like a woman who had never experienced anything hard in her life. Moreover, she didn''t look like a warrior at all. But then, it was true that she didn''t know much about the rules in the world of warriors, and because of that, she was frequently targeted by a lot of warriors.


    If Margaret was still the old her, it would have been almost impossible for her to safely reach Cloudy City. But after she fully activated her Purple Power Body, her strength became extremely high.


    The warriors who had set their eyes on Margaret were out of luck. Originally, they thought she was a weak woman, and even if she had a cultivation at the Internal Elixir Realm, they could s


    go.


    "I...I''m here for Zen," Margaret timidly replied.


    "Are you looking for Zen? Wait. Hasn''t he disappeared for a long time? He is not here in Cloud Hall!" the guard replied.


    Although Cloud Hall had been in an uproar for a while, only the middle and upper echelons were involved in it. The guard was just an ordinary warrior of the Cloud Hall, and so he was completely unaware that Zen had already returned. In the past two years, there had indeed been many warriors who had come to visit Zen, including people of the Runic Tower. The guard would dismiss them with the same reason.


    "What? Zen is not here?" Margaret''s expression changed as she frowned deeply.


    Although Zen had been pursued by Eddie, he still chose to go back to Cloudy City. He had the opportunity to shake Eddie off, so no one else in the Central Region could block him. ''It is impossible that Zen hasn''t returned to the Cloud Hall. This guard must be lying to me!''


    Margaret thought. Her voice suddenly turned cold as she said, "Don''t lie to me. Tell Zen to come out!" In her eyes, Zen had told the guard to say that he wasn''t there mainly because he didn''t want to see her. But she was wrong.


    But, why did Margaret follow Zen all the way here?


    Although she already hated Zen to death, she was still a traditional woman. She truly believed that Zen owed her, but at the same time, she didn''t know what she wanted to get from Zen.


    "I''ve already said it. Zen is missing and is not at Cloud Hall!" The guard was starting to get annoyed at Margaret. Even though she was at the Internal Elixir Realm, with the enchanted barrier blocking the way, he was not afraid of her at all. Even a warrior at the Life and Death Realm wouldn''t be able to break the enchanted barrier.


    Margaret slowly approached the enchanted barrier. With her expression dark, she shouted, "This is the last time I''ll say this. Let Zen out! Tell him to come and see me!"


    "Shut up, you crazy bitch! Go home! You''re not going to see Zen here!" the guard shouted back as he turned around to return to Cloud Hall''s entrance.

 Chapter 1001 What Brings You Here

    Margaret stared at the barrier in a daze as she floated outside of it. No one could decipher what she was thinking about.


    "Bro, what are you dong? That chick is so beautiful. Why didn''t you chat with her more?" the other guard asked when the guard who dealt with Margaret came back.


    That guard only harrumphed at the remark. "Stop making fun of me. She came here looking for Zen. The thing is, it looks like she comes from a noble family, so I don''t understand why she came here alone. I''m curious as what Zen has done to her that made her come to Cloud Hall without any backup."


    "Hmnn... Should we inform Master Ning?" the other guard inquired.


    "I think we should leave it for now. Master Ning has been busy these few days. We just need to watch the door and prevent anyone from entering Cloud Hall," a third guard said.


    As these guards discussed what was happening with hushed voices, their gazes didn''t leave Margaret. Standing guard for Cloud Hall was a tedious job, and they already considered it a treat to lay their eyes on such an elegant and stunning beauty as Margaret.


    After a short while of having her head down, Margaret raised her head and waved her hand. A crack suddenly appeared in the sky, from which a huge sword quickly descended. It then slashed down towards the barrier of Cloud Hall.


    Boom!


    As the huge sword landed on the barrier, an ear-splitting sound erupted. After that, a layer of ripples began to appear on the barrier of Light of Water.


    "Holy shit!"


    The guards were shocked by what just happened. They did not expect a beautiful lady like Margaret would be so daring and directly attack the barrier of Cloud Hall!


    "What happened?" one guard exclaimed as he looked at the huge sword that struck the barrier. "This bitch doesn''t know that the Cloud Hall is a fifth-grade sect!" By doing what she did, Margaret was only seeking death.


    "Hey, you! Stop what you''re doing! You do not want to cause any trouble here at Cloud Hall. Take that as an advice! Because if you continue what you''re doing, you won''t be able to leave even if you want to later!" a guard warned Margaret as he started readying himself for a fight.


    But it was as if Margaret didn''t hear any of what the guard said. Continuing her attack, ten cracks suddenly appeared in the sky and ten swords came out of them, each one slashing down towards the barrier.


    Thump! Thump!


    As the swords fell on the barrier like rainfall, their impact immediately increased tenfold. This time, not only did the noise scare the guards, it also alarmed the people who were in Cloud Hall.


    Soon, two stewards at the Internal Elixir Realm rushed out from Cloud Hall''s main entrance. With narrowed eyes, they looked at Margaret and asked, their tone scathing, "Who are you and why are you causing trouble here at Cloud Hall?"


    Margaret stayed silent and just looked at them. This time, she summoned over a hundred huge swords. After another glance at the guards and the two warriors, she let the swords fall on the barrier.


    Boo


    rned around and glared at the guards. Scared, the guards immediately explained the misunderstanding with an apologetic face, "Sir, we didn''t know you were back. We thought you were still in a distant land, and so we told her that." The guards were more than scared. If the barrier of Cloud Hall had been destroyed because of this incident, they would be severely punished.


    With that, Zen snorted. He then stared back at Margaret and asked, "What brings you here?"


    The others were also curious. Why was this woman looking for Zen?


    Margaret thought for a while and then shook her head. "I don''t know either."


    Morphens and the few elders looked at each other and tittered. They had lived for so many years and could roughly guess that Zen played the field outside, so the girl came after him. Not long ago, Morphens had witnessed a scene where Zen was hugging Letitia. He had no idea how things would end today.


    Of course, the one who had to solve the problem definitely wasn''t them, but Zen.


    Letitia looked at Margaret, her face full of conflicting emotions. Then she asked, "Are you the young lady from the Xi Clan?"


    Margaret summoned so many huge swords, just like Marilyn did when she confronted Zen a few years ago. So Letitia guessed that Margaret possessed a Purple Power Body. But then, she noted how she was only at the primary level of the Internal Elixir Realm, yet she could already summon so many swords. Obviously, she was much stronger than Marilyn.


    Currently, there were only three Purple Power Bodies in the Central Region, two of which were in Eddie''s hands. Since the third one was Xander''s great-granddaughter, Letitia had made such a logical conclusion.


    As Letitia had guessed her identity, Margaret nodded and said, "Yes, I am Margaret Xi."


    She thought the others would show her respect once she made herself known. However, Letitia just looked at her with a weird expression and asked, "You don''t know why you''re looking for Zen, but why did you come to the Cloud Hall for him?"

 Chapter 1002 Being Jealous

    As a woman, Letitia was very sensitive about that sort of matter. It was a rather sore subject for her.


    Looking at Margaret straight in the eyes gave her a glimpse of the truth.


    Due to her engrossment in the Cloud Hall, she had not been able to make the time to talk to Zen comprehensibly. What had happened in the past two years? Why did he come back? What happened in Mist''s celestial tomb?


    After she was done with work, she planned to have a talk with Zen.


    The young lady of the Xi Clan suddenly came to the Cloud Hall that time to look for Zen. Baffled, she wondered if something had happened between the two.


    Some time ago, Letitia had heard about Margaret, the young lady of the Xi Clan, and even suggested that the Ethereal Spirit Sect get her married as soon as possible. The young lady had the Purple Power Body. So, if she was to be caught by Eddie, the consequences were grave. Even Yan could get in trouble under such circumstances.


    How did she get acquainted with Zen? Did she follow him to the Cloud Hall?


    Upon hearing Letitia''s words, Margaret couldn''t help but feel a little humiliated. Although she had a terrible temperament and was headstrong, she was a lady from a noble clan after all. Those kinds of things were embarrassing to be discussed in front of so many people.


    The expression on Margaret''s face added confusion to Letitia, who was already mentally guessing the kind of relationship the two had. In a low voice, Letitia spoke, "Remove the enchanted barrier and let her in!"


    Under Letitia''s command, the enchanted barrier in the Cloud Hall was instantly removed. After Margaret got inside, the enchanted barrier covered the Cloud Hall again.


    The young lady flew straight towards Zen when she saw him.


    Stunned at that certain moment, Zen had no clue how to react.


    When they were in the underground palace, Zen had acted on his rage instead of being careful. Also, Eddie and Simon were nearby and very eager to find them. Zen was afraid Eddie might take Margaret away. If that happened, all hell could break loose. Ultimately, he chose to take away that woman''s virginity energy instead.


    Although Zen''s intentions were reasonable, he was undeniably being unfair to Margaret.


    Besides, it was inevitable for Margaret to be considered as the first woman in Zen''s life.


    Ignoring the glances she was getting from the others, Margaret floated over and leaned against Zen with her head lowered, almost like a child who had done something wrong.


    When she witnessed such affection right before her, Letitia''s face hardened. Anger filled her heart.


    However, as the leader of the Cloud Hall, she did not dare express her jealousy. Letitia handled her emotions quite well. Forcefully, she suppressed her displeasur


    The place that Zen had arranged for Margaret was quite decent. At least, it was much better compared to the living places of the other female disciples. However, Margaret still couldn''t get used to it.


    Ever since she was young, the environment of the place she had lived in for most of her life was always carefully selected, from the size, height and even the materials used for her bronze mirror that hung on the wall, up to the positioning of the bed and the materials of her pillows. Considering her current circumstance, she was being favored. However, it was still impossible for her to get some sleep.


    Sitting upright on the bed, Margaret wrapped her arms around her knees, staring blankly at the dark sky outside the window. A smile suddenly appeared on her face. Even if she wasn''t used to this sort of life, she was determined to endure for the sake of Zen.


    This picky and stubborn young lady seemed to have found a great, noble reason for completing a difficult task.


    If anyone else were to know that the somewhat simple and crude environment of the Cloud Hall actually caused Margaret to feel very morose and disappointed, they would be surprised.


    On that very night, she was not the only one awake.


    In the Ice Palace, Letitia continued reinforcing her cultivation base. Having just entered the Life and Death Realm, she needed some time to tend to her life vitality. Being in the Life and Death Realm could liquefy one''s life vitality. Only after she reached the Soul Sea Realm was she able to have a space to transform her life vitality into the Soul Sea. By then, she could create a world inside her.


    Although Letitia was cultivating in peace, she felt extremely agitated. From time to time, the words that Margaret uttered flashed through her mind.


    She wondered if she had the right to ask Zen about Margaret.

 Chapter 1003 The Bad News

    When the life vitality was condensed at its maximum, it would slowly liquefy. For the Life and Death Realm warriors this was a very smooth process.


    But tonight Letitia just couldn''t get the hang of it. Her mind was distracted. She couldn''t focus on her task so she kept failing.


    It was very dangerous for her to cultivate in this state of mind. Anything could go wrong in the martial arts cultivation and she could get seriously injured. Most warriors would choose to stop cultivating under such circumstances until their minds were in the right place again.


    However, Letitia was very persistent and while her mind was wandering she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her lower abdomen. She lost control of a strand of life vitality which suddenly charged up. As this small wisp of life vitality got out of control, it caused the rest of the life vitality in her belly to become erratic.


    Letitia tried to calm herself down and stabilize her life vitality with slow and steady breathing. Unfortunately it was already too late.


    The life vitality shot upwards uncontrollably, piercing through her elixir field.


    She felt the taste of blood in her mouth.


    She spat it out, realizing that if a wisp of life vitality had penetrated her elixir field it would cause damage to her belly. The elixir field was also the core and most fragile part of a warrior''s body and it would still be severely destroyed even after being partly damaged.


    Letitia tried to control the life vitality in her belly as she swallowed the pills. Slowly she started to feel better. The pills had taken effect but didn''t change her complexion. Her face was still as pale as before.


    Letitia decided to stop cultivating for a while because she was not able to focus on her tasks. She walked to the window and looked at the bright moon and noticed there were just a few stars in the sky. Suddenly, she noticed that one of the stars had a peculiar orange glow.


    "What kind of star is that?" Letitia frowned. She could feel that the light from the star was coming from far away and was shooting towards the Cloud Hall. It seemed like someone in the Cloud Hall had triggered the power of the star. She wondered how this was possible. In astonishment she decided to get closer. Her body gently floated from ground and suddenly disappeared from the Ice Palace.


    Zen did not overthink things like Letitia and Margaret. Right now he focused on releasing his perception into the universe to communicate with the stars. He had tried many times to communicate with the stars before but failed almost every time. On his first attempt however, he had been successful.


    But failing for so many times had affected him.


    Compared to other cultivation methods, the Transcendent Divine Might was much more difficult than he had imagined.


    Tonight, Zen''s consciousness successfully activated a star. It was a beautiful orange star. It irradiated a gentle and calming glow. Most importantly, it didn''t resist Zen at all.


    With every extra star activated, the power of the Stellar Body became stronger. There was still a gap between Zen''s strength and Eddie''s. Even though they hadn''t fought eac


    ice.


    There were seven influential third-grade clans in the Ethereal City, namely the Lin Clan, the Huang Clan, the Chang Clan, the Xu Clan, the Xiao Clan, the Chen Clan, and the Xi Clan. The Xi Clan occupied a leading position among the top seven noble clans. Margaret didn''t dare ask directly about the Xi Clan. It was too painful to even think about the destruction of the noblest clan.


    Aware of what she meant, Morphens went straight to the point. "The Xi Clan has also been attacked. I''ve heard that the Xi Clan was their major target and that the Heavenly Evil Sect wouldn''t rest until they were all gone. All members of the Xi Clan have been slaughtered, and the Xi clan''s castle has been burnt to the ground!"


    Margaret couldn''t believe it. Her legs felt weak and she felt like she was about to faint after hearing Morphens'' words. She knelt on the floor and stared in the distance with two glassy eyes. Streams of tears flowed down her face.


    She never believed such a large Ethereal Spirit Sect could be attacked and destroyed so easily. In Margaret''s eyes, her great-grandfather, Xander, was invincible. The Ethereal Spirit Sect had existed for tens of thousands of years and it was known as the Top Sect in the world. Now it had been completely destroyed. It was gone just like that.


    The elders of the Cloud Hall couldn''t help but shake their heads while seeing the miserable, helpless expression of that young lady. Suddenly Letitia also walked in the hall and coldly announced, "I just received news that a group of Xi Clan members is on its way to our Cloud Hall now."


    "The Xi Clan? That means that there are survivors?" Hearing Letitia''s words, Margaret felt hope again, and showed a glimmer of excitement in her eyes.


    Letitia replied, "Yes. They will arrive today. I might need your cooperation this time."


    "Cooperation? What do you mean?" Margaret asked again.


    Letitia felt that her answer would be too cruel. So she decided to let Margaret face the facts and accept the situation when the time was right. She said flatly, "You will know as soon as they arrive here."

 Chapter 1004 Exchange

    The fall of the Ethereal Spirit Sect was a piece of grave news for all of Central Region.


    The Heavenly Evil Sect had emerged victoriously in the siege of Ethereal City, completely annihilating its entire population through a direct massacre.


    Before the city''s siege, all the martial artists had left to fight and protect the Ethereal Spirit Sect. Only a few warriors remained and the majority of the people within the city were ordinary, non-martial artist residents.


    The sect battle did not concern them too much. The result of the fight between the Ethereal Spirit Sect and Heavenly Evil Sect would only serve to change the banners that hung on their city''s walls. The winning sect would rule Ethereal City and they were willing to blindly follow.


    They were so sure that they wouldn''t be touched by the war outside their walls. How wrong their assumptions all were.


    The Heavenly Evil Sect had no need for blind followers. After the breach of the city gates, the independent warriors that comprised of Eddie''s forces immediately set out to burn and pillage everything in sight. They left nothing and no one behind.


    The Cloud Hall''s elders, upon receiving the news, naturally felt depressed and hopeless.


    Zen felt pity especially for Margaret with the drastic change that this piece of news entailed for her.


    A steward entered the meeting hall to report. "The Xi Clan of Ethereal City requests a meeting!" he announced.


    "Let them enter Cloud Hall and bring them to me," Letitia ordered.


    Margaret quickly wiped her tears away. Just how many of their people survived? Did Brent survive? How about her father?


    Not long after, several people entered the meeting hall. The one in the lead wore the black robe of the Ethereal Spirit Sect. He clasped his hands in greeting, "Greetings, Master Ning."


    Margaret swept her gaze at the newcomers but could not find the ones she was looking for. "Didn''t they say that the Xi Clan would come? You''re all elders of the Ethereal Spirit Sect. Where are the members of my clan? Where''s my father? Where are my uncles? Where is Brent, Jacob?"


    She was right. The ones in front of them were not members of the Xi Clan but were instead members of the Ethereal Spirit Sect.


    The one in front was Jacob Qiu, a member of the Ethereal Spirit Sect who had a good relationship with the Xi Clan. He had managed to reach the Virtual Tribulation Realm in his thirties and would be soon promoted as an elder.


    He was also one of Margaret''s pursuers.


    Once, for her birthday, he scoured all of Central Region''s mountains to gather Radiant Light Grass seeds as a p


    y harm my sister."


    "Are you Zen Luo?" Jacob asked though, judging by his tone, he was pretty sure he was Zen.


    Zen nodded in confirmation.


    "Even so, we must save our leader!" Jacob insisted.


    "Yes, we need to rescue our leader first! Zen, our leader''s life is more precious than your sister''s!"


    "Your sister will only lose her virginity. Eddie might not kill her!"


    "Agreed. The Lustful Demon Array is also good for girls. She won''t suffer anyway!" a warrior of the Ethereal Spirit Sect chimed in.


    Zen was quick to pin him down. "Your leader is very important to you, huh?" he said viciously. "To me, my sister is the most important, while your leader is worthless. Do you understand?"


    Without any warning, Zen dealt a hard punch to the warrior''s chest. The warrior was already at the Virtual Tribulation Realm but couldn''t withstand a single blow from Zen. The punch sent him flying through the air and crashing onto the meeting hall''s wall.


    The expressions of the members of the Ethereal Spirit Sect instantly darkened.


    "You''re being unreasonable!" Jacob shouted in anger. "Is this how you bully others?"


    Letitia and the elders of Cloud Hall remained silent, while Zen sneered at Jacob. He had no plans wasting his time to reason with a warrior. To him, his sister''s safety had always been the top priority.


    Margaret felt her heart flutter at Zen''s actions. He had defended her at such a critical moment and she was thankful. Also she had realized that she no longer had any reason to retreat. Her back straightened as she glared at Jacob. "Actually, Zen also has a third reason!"


    Zen knew just what she was about to say, but the words were already out before he could even stop her. "I''m no longer a virgin!"

 Chapter 1005 Admit It

    To admit such a thing in public made Margaret''s cheeks instantly blush.


    The expression on the faces of the elders of Cloud Hall grew even weirder as they all turned to look at Zen.


    Jacob and the rest were stunned. If Margaret was indeed telling the truth, then she would no longer have any value to Eddie.


    "Ha-ha! Margaret Xi, in the Xi Clan''s castle, you acted as if you were a holy virgin. I didn''t expect that you had already fooled around with some loser." Since Margaret was no longer a virgin, Jacob''s plan was naturally foiled. He felt extremely resentful. For the longest time he had boasted that he would not lose to any man, but this woman did not even bother to look at him!


    "He''s not some loser!" Margaret replied defensively as she stared at Jacob.


    "Then who is he?" Letitia asked, curiosity getting the best of her.


    Actually, this had nothing to do with her, and only had something to do with the Xi Clan and Ethereal Spirit Sect. So when Letitia decided to chime in and ask specifics, it made her look like a gossip.


    However, Saint Morphens and the other elders of the Cloud Hall had already guessed that the man Margaret was talking about was most likely to be Zen, and that was the main reason why Letitia suddenly became so concerned about the topic.


    But as for the Ethereal Spirit Sect''s elders, they were still very confused as to what was happening. They looked at Letitia with strange expressions on their faces and thought, ''Why is this woman prying into something that doesn''t involve her?''


    At this point, Zen suddenly said openly, "It''s me."


    The moment he said that, the entire meeting room suddenly became silent. "Margaret is already my woman," he continued. "And because of that, I can''t let you take her to Eddie."


    Zen was not trying to hide the fact that it was him who took Margaret''s virginity, but he was embarrassed to admit it in front of Letitia. However, since things had come to this point, he couldn''t deny it any longer and he had to shoulder the consequences of what he had done to Margaret.


    When Letitia heard Zen confess, she couldn''t help but cast her eyes down, avoiding eye contact with him. Just last night, she was on the edge of spiraling into madness. Her face was already deathly pale then, but now, her face was completely devoid of color, as pale as death.


    "Gentlemen, I think it''s better if we adjourn this meeting. We still don''t have a good way to save your sect leader, and I don''t think we''ll have one if we continue," Zen said.


    Jacob gritted his teeth as he glared fiercely at Zen. As much as he wanted to, he could not take Margaret away forcefully, as he was on someone else''s territory. The leader of Cloud Hall was here, and Zen''s strength was also unfathomable. Taking Margaret away against Zen''s will was simply a death wish.


    Moreover, in this situation, even if he could take Margaret away, it wouldn''t mean much as apparently, she was not a virgin anymore.


    The warriors of the Ethereal Spirit Sect didn''t linger for too long and quickly left.


    After they left, the meeting hall immediately became silent.


    Margaret lowered her head and slowly lea


    pare to argue, she just drifted away quietly.


    After she had left, the elders stroked their chests, sighed, and said, "This won''t do. Let''s find Morphens and have him talk to her! She needs some sense drilled into her!"


    In comparison, Margaret was thriving and her days seemed to get better and better every day.


    Although she couldn''t help but feel sad when she thought of the things that happened in Ethereal City, in the end, she still found her home here. Even though she knew in her heart that Zen might not be that fond of her, she still treated him as her husband.


    Because of this, Margaret was now like a completely different person. She wasn''t thinking of things that would make her feel bad, and she even started going to Cloud Hall''s market to purchase some rare ingredients. She would use Cloud Hall''s kitchen to show off her exquisite culinary skills.


    Truly, Margaret might be arrogant, but she was born in a noble family. Other than cultivating, she was also extremely proficient at playing zither, arranging flowers, conducting tea ceremonies, painting, and especially cooking.


    In the past, she was the beloved daughter of the Xi Clan, and there were always many servants serving her. Now, she finally found a place to use her cooking skills. Every day, she would make exquisite dishes and wait for Zen outside the cultivation room.


    However, Zen didn''t cultivate for just one or two days. He would often go into closed-door training for five or six days without coming out. Margaret would eat some of the dishes that she had prepared, but the rest she still saved for him, until they eventually went bad. Even if she couldn''t see him for several days, she didn''t complain. She waited outside the cultivation room patiently, every day, with her delicious dishes.


    Those cultivation rooms were also being used by many disciples of the Cloud Hall. Everyone who came and went watched her wait.


    Besides the elders, all of the lower level warriors in the Cloud Hall had more or less known what she was doing here.


    They all knew that Margaret was waiting for Zen every day.

 Chapter 1006 The Victor (Part One)

    Many of the disciples of Cloud Hall amused themselves by discussing the matter. Most of them were green with envy. As they all walked past Margaret, they stole glances at her.


    "Zen''s the lucky guy, isn''t he? In just a span of two years, his cultivation has advanced unbelievably. He even brought back such a pretty woman who''s so fond of him!"


    "Stop complaining! If you were as brilliant as Zen, you''d have successfully set up a sect-protecting array like this by now. Then, you''d have your own lady to love you, too!"


    "Have you heard of the rumors? I heard that Zen and our sect leader also had a romantic past!"


    "Keep dreaming! Do you think a proud woman like our sect leader will take a fancy to a man like Zen?"


    "Come on! My source is pretty reliable compared to yours after all. This is something that an elder has personally confirmed. Things have been stiff between them lately though. It is said that it''s because of Margaret."


    News had spread out through different channels. For the well-informed warriors, such information wasn''t so difficult to obtain. If the rumors were indeed true, what could Zen do to pacify two women on his own?


    Crack!


    As Zen pushed the door open and made his way out of the cultivation room, his eyes swept across the crowd and then fell on Margaret, who was standing nearby, smiling at him.


    Unlike Zen, Margaret wasn''t known to be a cultivator that broke a sweat that much. She mostly relied on pills and various resources in reaching the Internal Elixir Realm. She didn''t really spend much time on cultivation. The life she lived was rather sophisticated.


    It was natural for warriors to dedicate all of their time on cultivation, for none of them wanted to fall behind. Even female warriors made sure of it. However, Margaret


    uld still block the footsteps of the Heavenly Evil Divine Kingdom?


    Right at that moment, the Heavenly Evil Divine Kingdom was slowly expanding to the center of the Central Region, swallowing up all of the mediocre second-grade and third-grade sects. How could the other less powerful sects resist? Almost without wasting a single soldier, the Heavenly Evil Divine Kingdom successfully won over the other sects. They all announced their attachment to the divine kingdom and became its vassal force.


    As the situation became more and more critical, the pressure on the elders of the Cloud Hall became as intense. However, as the sect leader, Letitia was completely unaware. She didn''t even leave her own Ice Palace.


    "We can''t let our leader go on like this. The Oracle City has already sent countless people over, but they can''t even meet her."


    "Right now, only the Cloud Hall and the World Commercial Alliance can fight against the Heavenly Evil Sect, but our leader has no reaction. What should we do?"


    "Alas! Although our leader has outstanding strength, she is currently troubled by personal feelings. This is really troublesome. Morphens, how about you go and persuade her?"

 Chapter 1007 The Victor (Part Two)

    In the past few days, Letitia had announced that she was going into seclusion and refused to entertain outsiders. Normally, it wasn''t a problem. Even ten years in secluded cultivation was normal. However, that was not the proper time. There was a war waging and the Cloud Hall couldn''t afford to not have a leader at such time.


    Saint Morphens was the person closest to Letitia, and at the same time, the one who understood her feelings the most.


    Although Letitia was already the leader of Cloud Hall, Saint Morphens still treated her like a child. After all, he was a lot older than her. He knew her personality quite well, so he already figured that there was no way to persuade her. Apart from her talents, her headstrong personality made her the leader of Cloud Hall.


    At the suggestion of many elders, Saint Morphens finally made up his mind and charged into the Ice Palace.


    In the Ice Palace, there was blue-colored frost scattered everywhere¡ªit was condensed from the life vitality released by Letitia when she was cultivating. While she was still at the Virtual Tribulation Realm, the frost did not have much effect on Saint Morphens. But now that she was at the Life and Death Realm, the frost released by her had become a great threat to him.


    Thus, after entering the Ice Palace, Saint Morphens carefully avoided the constantly flowing energy. Not only that, but he also revolved his life vitality to resist the coldness in the Ice Palace.


    When he bypassed the layers of frost and found Letitia, he didn''t know whether to laugh or cry at the situation that unfolded before him. She had actually fallen asleep there.


    When a warrior reached that certain level, they rarely fell asleep from exhaustion. They only relaxed t


    art, they were just a transmission array away.


    A month had passed. It seemed like the longest month to ever happen.


    As Letitia floated out of her Ice Palace, she chanced by Margaret. Her gaze accidentally fell upon her.


    The young lady was sitting by the door of Zen''s cultivation room, cupping her face with one hand while staring at the door. She looked dazed.


    "Margaret is my woman!" Those words lingered in Letitia''s ears. A part of her refused to believe that such words came out of Zen''s mouth.


    Letitia''s face sank; envy could be seen in her eyes. If she could let go of her identity as the leader of Cloud Hall and wait for Zen like Margaret did, she would feel very happy.


    At that moment, Margaret felt eyes on her from above. Slowly raising her head, she saw Letitia floating by not too far away from her.


    As the two women''s gazes met, Margaret blinked and smiled at Letitia, revealing her white teeth to her.


    Upset, Letitia just snorted to herself and flew away. What a lost cause!


    Meanwhile, Margaret turned her head back to look at Zen''s cultivation room once again, her face revealing a faint smile¡ªthe smile of a victor.

 Chapter 1008 Leaving Zen Out

    Most of the elders gathered around the meeting hall, waiting for Letitia''s arrival.


    Before Letitia stepped into the meeting hall, a fierce cold wind blew in and the entire place suddenly became as cold as ice. The strong killing aura immediately enveloped everyone and the few elders couldn''t help but feel flustered.


    With a sullen face, Letitia walked in. The elders looked at each other, all of them confused as to why their leader was exasperated.


    "What happened to her?"


    "Who has ruffled her feathers?"


    "Keep it down. She might hear us!"


    It was obvious that she was in a terrible mood. No one dared speak up in fear of offending her. That was the last thing they all wanted.


    Saint Morphens bowed to Letitia and then said, "Master Ning, every one is ready in the Cloud Hall. We can set off at any time."


    "Okay," Letitia responded absent-mindedly.


    Seeing her gloomy face, Saint Morphens couldn''t help but remind her, "Master Ning, Zen is not here yet."


    The elders stared at Letitia in unison to see how she would react to that.


    Ever since Zen''s return to the Cloud Hall, the elders had a new assessment of his strength. Although Zen was only at the primary stage of Virtual Tribulation Realm, he had easily killed Emanuel. His fighting capacity might have passed that of Morphens, making him an indispensable top fighter for the Cloud Hall.


    Although the sect wars had involved billions of martial artists, it was usually those top masters with formidable strength that had the power to decide the outcome of a battle.


    After a month of discussion, the Cloud Hall and the Oracle City finally reached an agreement. As the two strongest sects in the Central Region, they could not sit still and wait for death. They decided to join hands to fight against the Heavenly Evil Sect.


    At first, Saint Morphens had planned to notify Zen about their moves, but Letitia told him that she wanted to do it herself. However, Letitia returned to the meeting hall with a murderous look on her face, and Zen was nowhere to be seen.


    Everyone was confused about what was going on, especially Saint Morphens and the other elders.


    "There''s no need to bring him with us. Gather all the warriors at and above the level of Illuminating Soul Realm. We will set off!" Letitia roared, her aura detonating. The cultivation methods she had cultivated were already powerful, but after she stepped into the Life and Death Realm, her strength had undoubtedly increased by a mile. As they witnessed such surge of energy burst out from her, many of the elders felt a chill down their spine.


    Up in the air right above the Cloud Hall, countless disciples had formed an army that then flew towards the Cloudy City below.


    If one from the Cloudy City looked up, the person could see black dots falling from the sky. All of those dots were actually martial artists. It was a spectacular view for the commoners of Cloudy City.


    "I heard that the Cloud Hall is out to battle!"


    "Alas, the influence of the Heavenly Evil Sect has expanded rapidly! I think the Cloud Hall and the World Commercial Alliance are going to start the final counterattack


    owers there. Originally, there were only a couple of them. Now, there were too many.


    The number of flowers that had bloomed at the entrance of the practice room had increased to thirty-five.


    One day, a strong aura suddenly erupted from the practice room. That particular room was top-level in the Cloud Hall. The partitions in the room were all made of special metal, but even those were unable to obstruct the aura in the slightest.


    A smile found its way to Margaret''s face. "Has he broken through? Will he come out today?"


    Her now flushed face was full of hope as she gazed at the door. Thinking of what she had to say to Zen, she felt a bit embarrassed and hesitant.


    "Click!"


    The door to the practice room pushed open and Zen''s figure flashed out with a faint smile on his face. At that moment, he had already stepped into the middle stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm.


    "He did it! He broke through!" Margaret exclaimed, immediately standing up to walk over to Zen.


    "Sorry for the wait! How long has it been since I entered the practice room?" Zen had completely lost track of time upon his entry into a meditative state in the practice room.


    Margaret blinked and gently said, "Count these flowers and you''ll know how many days have passed."


    Zen''s gaze swept across the flowers, and his expression changed when he got the number, "Thirty-five days. I''ve actually practiced in isolation for so long this time."


    "It''s alright," Margaret reassured. She put her black hair to the side and softly whispered in his ear, "Zen, can I stay at your place tonight?" As she spoke with utmost tenderness, her cheeks turned completely red.


    Surprised for a moment, Zen nodded his head and disregarded his initial hesitation.


    The two of them were still quite young. When Zen took her virginity energy away, it was both their first time. Inevitably, they both craved the warmth they gave each other when they made love. The reason why Zen hesitated for a bit was that he still kept Letitia in his heart. He still didn''t know that she was no longer in the Cloud Hall. . . .

 Chapter 1009 The Power Behind the Heavenly Evil Sect (Part One)

    Zen left the training room with uneasy steps. There was less than the usual number of disciples in the Cloud Hall, but he didn''t give it too much thought.


    He never expected that not a single person in the entire Cloud Hall would inform him of the upcoming battle.


    Of course, Margaret didn''t know what was going on inside Zen''s mind. The words she had just said set her cheeks aflame. She buried her head in Zen''s chest, not even daring to look at him.


    Then, Zen''s warm fingers closed over hers as he took her hand and led her back to his room.


    Back in the underground palace, they had been all too aware of the danger that was closing in on them. Eddie had been persistent in his pursuit, and the two of them did not have much time to enjoy the happy moment of their coupling. Tonight, however, safe within the walls of Cloud Hall, there would be no danger or interruptions.


    They took as much as they gave¡ªlimbs entangling and lips leaving a trail of fire. Morning came and the flames had settled into a pleasant warm, blanketing them in the comfort of sleep.


    The next day, the earlier uneasiness that Zen had felt had turned into a foreboding sense. There was something terribly wrong with the Cloud Hall. The halls and rooms echoed emptily as only a few souls were seen. It seemed as if the Cloud Hall had been deserted, and there were even fewer people now.


    He wanted to ask Rocher and the other members about the situation, but discovered that they were nowhere to be found. Zen headed back to the meeting hall only to find it vacant. It was well past morning, and around this time, most of the elders would gather in the meeting hall to discuss important matters, but not a soul was here today. Zen''s confusion grew with each empty room that he had run across.


    He walked back outside and closed the door to the meeting hall. Just as he was about to turn away, he ran into Fernandez.


    Fernandez was one of the elders of the Cloud Hall. His skin was wrinkled with age and his hair gleamed silver, but there was a sharpness to his eyes and a purpose to his movements. This time, he was the one who stayed behind.


    With all the things happening all at once, several elders had to stay in the Cloud Hall and keep watch on the Small Circulation Killing Array. Eddie


    among the smartest and most cunning, and they would not just sit still and wait for their deaths.


    They took the first step in starting the war. The Heavenly Evil Sect had made no declarations of war, and so the World Commercial Alliance took it upon themselves to do so. Joining forces with the Cloud Hall had led to this turn of events: the two strongest sects in the Central Region had declared war on the Heavenly Evil Sect on the same day.


    Thus it was the beginning of the biggest war between sects in the Central Region for the last thousand years.


    Over a month after the declaration of war, both sides had earned victories and defeats. One moment, the Cloud Hall and the World Commercial Alliance would be celebrating their feats; the next moment, they would be on their knees with loss. The war was far from over. In the course of battle, the World Commercial Alliance had destroyed two outposts of the Heavenly Evil Sect, and the Heavenly Evil Sect was slowly advancing towards the central district.


    Everyone in the Central Region understood that this would be a true and decisive battle, with the victor taking everything. Whoever won could hold the fate of the entire Central Region in their hands.


    If Eddie won the war, the Central Region would be integrated into the divine kingdom. On the other hand, if the joint forces of the World Commercial Alliance and the Cloud Hall succeeded in defeating the Heavenly Evil Sect, a sacred place might be born. The war was one that would decide the future.

 Chapter 1010 The Power Behind the Heavenly Evil Sect (Part Two)

    Right now, things were at a standstill. It was as if both sides were cautiously keeping an eye on each other''s movement, trying to sound out their opponent''s intentions and next move. One of them would eventually lose patience, and once that happened, the final battle would commence.


    "So Letitia is still in the Oracle City, right?" Zen asked.


    Fernandez gave him no direct response and instead said earnestly, "Zen, the Cloud Hall needs you."


    "I see," Zen replied. Now that things had come to this point, he didn''t have any intentions of backing down. Letitia had gone too far this time. How could she not tell him about something as important as this?


    "Our leader seems to be in a bad mood recently," Fernandez uttered.


    Zen was surprised at the sudden comment, but he of course understood what Fernandez was hinting at. He smiled wryly, not knowing how to explain the whole thing to Fernandez.


    Unexpectedly, Fernandez said, "It''s normal for men to have several wives. Back in the day, I had more than twenty women. It is not so complicated, but keeping a woman happy requires that you woo her the right way." Fernandez could only freely speak these words to Zen in this circumstance. If Letitia was in the Cloud Hall, he never would have dared to say anything about this.


    Zen was very astonished at his subtle advice. Fernandez, despite his old appearance now, must have been quite the charmer in his younger days.


    For a warrior, having more than one wife was not uncommon of difficult. The status of a warrior in the Central Region was almost equivalent to that of an immortal. Even the poorest warrior would be a thousand times richer than an ordinary mortal. With this status, women naturally abounded around the warriors.


    Fernandez left Zen with these words. Zen remained standing on the balcony, looking thoughtfully at the rolling clouds above the Cloud Hall. "Would a woman really become happy again after I please her?"


    After some time, Zen returned to his room. He fou


    t of the transmission array constantly flickered, transporting people to and from places. In a flash of white, Zen and Margaret finally appeared at the Oracle City.


    There was a long queue of merchants lining up in front of the transmission array to leave the Oracle City. Suddenly, a beautiful man and woman appeared. The sight of them caught the attention of everyone around them as the people''s eyes looked at them admiringly.


    "Zen!"


    Before Zen and Margaret could step out of the transmission array, a voice rang out.


    The voice sounded familiar, but it was a faint memory. Zen could not remember exactly to whom it belonged. He looked towards the source of the sound and saw a handsome young man looking at him with a smile.


    His eyes widened as he finally put a face and name to the voice. "Owen?" It had been more than two years, but Zen would recognize the person in front of him with a single glance anywhere.


    The young man was the divine-level talent from the Woollen Grassland. Zen and Owen had participated in the Martial Arts Contest with a goal that was surprisingly similar: both of them were trying to kill Marilyn to prevent Eddie from creating the Lustful Demon Array.


    However, in the end, Owen had failed. He was defeated by Marilyn, and his loss cost him dearly. She almost destroyed his entire body.

 Chapter 1011 The Power Behind the Heavenly Evil Sect (Part Three)

    But now, the man in front of Zen was far from the Owen back then. He exuded more strength, and had actually stepped into the late stage of the Internal Elixir Realm. Very soon, he might be able to reach the Virtual Tribulation Realm.


    Owen possessed great talent. He was an independent warrior, but he had incredible luck, and it seemed as if opportunity favored him. On top of this, he only came slightly weaker than Zen and Brent in terms of strength. It would not be far from possible for him to become a powerful independent warrior in the future.


    "Did you join the World Commercial Alliance?" Zen asked.


    Owen nodded and spoke with a smile, "I see that you have already stepped into the middle stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm!"


    To this day, the two men still shared similar goals. One of them was to save his sister from Eddie, and the other wanted to rescue his lover.


    Owen was visibly delighted to see Zen. "Come with me," he said quickly. "You have just arrived at the Oracle City, so you might not be clear about the current situation."


    Zen nodded his head and took Margaret''s hand as they left the transmission array along with Owen. Then the three of them flew towards the World Commercial Alliance''s headquarters.


    "Are all the members of the Cloud Hall in the headquarters of the World Commercial Alliance?" Zen asked.


    Fernandez had already told Zen about the general situation, but he did not know the details.


    Owen''s eyes flashed. Then, he said, "All the warriors of the Cloud Hall and the World Commercial Alliance have been mixed up. Only a few members remain in the headquarters. The majority of them have already left the city."


    Zen knew that the war between the sects was intense, but what he saw in the city exceeded his expectation by far. The leaders from both sides had not yet engaged in battle with one another, but blood had already been flowing like a river, painting the streets of the city in red.


    Two days ago, in order to fight


    aring what Owen said, Zen felt confused, slightly frowning. Anxiousness crept inside of him as he thought of the warriors from the Cloud Hall who were fighting in the battles.


    Owen sighed and said, "Even we think so. A technique of this level and power is something that would take years to develop. Our leaders are speculating that it might have come from the four divine kingdoms."


    "The four divine kingdoms!" Zen said, his eyes widening, "Could it be that..."


    Owen met his eyes steadily and nodded. "Yes. There might be a divine kingdom behind the Heavenly Evil Sect," Owen said with certainty.


    Zen suddenly remembered the Holy Maiden and the prince of the divine kingdom in Mist''s celestial tomb. He had killed the prince, and the Holy Maiden had sworn to get vengeance. Now, her words as she vowed to take revenge on him echoed in his head.


    Back then, Simon had helped the Holy Maiden to dispel the curse she had received, and the old man of the divine kingdom had promised to give Simon the internal version of the Scripture of Five Poisons as a symbol of gratitude.


    Zen began piecing the puzzle together. There was a Chaotic Ocean of Stars between the Central Region and the four divine kingdoms. Could it be that there really were some members of the four divine kingdoms entering the Central Region?

 Chapter 1012 Twenty Percent More Chance Of Winning

    In terms of geography, the Chaotic Ocean of Stars was an impassable natural moat but the divine kingdoms had a much longer history than the Central Region, and there were innumerable cultivators among them who were capable of crossing the Chaotic Ocean of Stars.


    One thing was clear from Zen''s journey to the Immortal Mist''s celestial tomb that even Life and Death Realm experts, who were top-level cultivators in the Central Region, were merely qualified to be followers of the Holy Maiden and the prince in the divine kingdom.


    If the divine kingdoms had truly intervened, then who in the Central Region could take on the Heavenly Evil Sect?


    Zen had a somber expression. "Did you draw this conclusion by yourself?" he inquired.


    Owen shook his head. "Almost everyone in the commercial alliance agrees with this. And so does the leader of Cloud Hall," he informed.


    "Our leader? Is she in the Oracle City?" Zen asked, hope flickering in his eyes.


    Hearing this, Margaret immediately turned to him with interest, and a faint smile appeared on her face. Zen, who was talking with Owen, didn''t notice her expression.


    Owen, on the other hand, was curious. "How come you don''t know about the movements of the Cloud Hall, Zen?" he asked.


    Owen thought that Zen was a core member of the Cloud Hall. However, he had no idea about the pact between Cloud Hall and the World Commercial Alliance to fight the Heavenly Evil Sect together. It was very strange.


    Zen smiled in embarrassment. How could he explain the matter between him and Letitia to Owen? Besides, he didn''t think that there was actually a conflict between him and Letitia. In fact, he couldn''t figure out what was wrong. Letitia had suddenly become indifferent towards him for some unknown reasons, and he was at a loss as to what to do about it.


    This time, the Cloud Hall had sent out all their elites, leaving only Zen behind. How could he take it easy?


    However, after his previous interaction with Margaret, Zen had a vague understanding of how crazy women could be. Although he was annoyed by Letitia''s actions, he didn''t want to argue with her. After all, sometimes there was a communication gap between two genders.


    Zen simply couldn''t understand her attitude towards him.


    "I was cultivating in seclusion all that time and was indeed unaware of this. Owen, please tell me more," Zen said, forcing a smile.


    Owen replied gracefully, "The leader of the Cloud Hall didn''t stay in the Oracle City. Recently, she has been quite active and has been killing warriors of the Heavenly Evil Sect. For that reason, she rarely returns to the Oracle City."


    According to the original plan, the Cloud Hall and the World Commercial Alliance had joined hands to declare war on the Heavenly Evil Sect. As the only Life and Death Realm expert of the Cloud Hall, Letitia was supposed to stay put in the Oracle City.


    Sooner or later, there would be a decisive battle between Oracle City and the Heavenly Evil Sect. The Life and Death R


    larger than all the other sects. They had arranged those runes without worrying about the cost, and they were undoubtedly very powerful.


    Zen followed Owen to the conference hall of the World Commercial Alliance''s headquarters. When he entered, he saw many familiar faces. Besides Morphens and other elders of the Cloud Hall, the three heads of the World Commercial Alliance were also present. The Ancient Tycoon in the Oracle City, however, wasn''t there.


    "Zen! You''re finally here!" Dillon exclaimed in surprise, his round face turning red with excitement.


    "Mr. Shi, Mr. Yan, Mr. Mo," Zen bowed his head to greet them.


    In fact, after the World Commercial Alliance heard the news that Zen had returned to the Cloud Hall, they had asked Letitia to summon Zen to the Oracle City many times. However, she had evaded them each time saying he was in a secluded cultivation. Although the two forces had allied with each other, Zen was actually a member of the Cloud Hall, so they couldn''t intervene too much.


    After exchanging pleasantries briefly, Dillon said, "Zen, now that you''ve come to the Oracle City, you''ll cooperate with our World Commercial Alliance to fight Eddie, right?"


    Dillon worded his request cleverly. He knew that the conflict between Zen and Eddie could not be resolved, so he didn''t ask him to fight against the Heavenly Evil Sect but used Eddie''s name instead.


    Zen nodded tersely but replied firmly, "Of course."


    "Then please proceed to the Runic Tower. With your help, I believe that our chances of defeating Eddie will increase by at least twenty percent!" Dillon said excitedly.


    At least twenty percent...


    Everyone was shocked by Dillon''s words, but they quickly figured it out by themselves. If Zen could create an array that was stronger than the Cloud Hall''s sect-protecting array, then, coupled with the strength of the World Commercial Alliance, their chance of winning would undoubtedly increase a lot.


    The only question was whether Zen would agree.

 Chapter 1013 Youre My Subject

    Everyone''s eyes were on Zen, especially the three leaders Dillon, Hobbes and Haber.


    Zen had reached the Virtual Tribulation Realm and while this was a great boost to Cloud Hall''s combat powers, his rune skills were far superior to his strength. Naturally, everyone felt that Zen should join the Runic Tower.


    Everyone believed that Zen would have no reason to refuse. The World Commercial Alliance might need him to fight against the Heavenly Evil Sect and even Zen needed to rely on them to fight Eddie.


    But Zen''s answer was unexpected. He shook his head and said, "Mr. Shi, I''m very sorry. I can''t enter the Runic Tower right now."


    "But why?" asked a somewhat baffled Dillon.


    "Right now, I don''t have enough time to set up an array," Zen said, shaking his head.


    He drew divine textures, not runes. The amount of time he had spent and the things he had gone through far exceeded the requirements of an ordinary rune. Back then, he had spent almost two months setting up the Small Circulation Killing Array for Cloud Hall.


    Cloud Hall was only one-tenth of the size of Cloudy City, while Oracle City was more than three times the size of the Cloudy City. There simply wasn''t enough time to set up a protective array around the vast Oracle City.


    "But don''t worry. I will join the fight," he added.


    It was time for him to put an end to the conflict between him and Eddie. But before that, he still had something to worry about. He had not received any news from Yan since the last Martial Arts Contest.


    Eddie had wanted to take Margaret, so Zen assumed that Yan would still be all right. But where was she now? Where was Eddie hiding her? Zen had no idea at all.


    Dillon knew that he couldn''t change Zen''s mind. Back then, the boy was able to fight the warriors at the Internal Elixir Realm when he was at the Illuminating Soul Realm. He had crossed an entire realm! And now Zen had reached the middle stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm. Would he be able to cross a realm to fight against a master at the Life and Death Realm?


    If he could do this, then it meant that he had become much stronger than Dillon and the other leaders.


    "Zen, since you have made your choice, I won''t force you. You can form a team with the others and follow the army''s orders," Dillon said with a smile.


    Zen nodded and left for registration.


    Just as Zen was leaving the meeting hall, he saw a white figure shooting down from above, like a meteor, directly smashing


    happy requires that you woo her the right way", echoed in his head. But what should he say?


    "What are you doing?" Letitia looked up and held his gaze, her beautiful eyes shooting daggers at him. She had killed many people recently, so she was tainted with many malicious auras.


    However, apart from the malicious aura, there was a trace of panic in her eyes.


    Dillon, Hobbes, Haber, and the people from Cloud Hall were all looking expectantly at Zen. It would be amazing if Zen was able to persuade her not to leave the Oracle City again. They wondered how he would do it.


    "Tia, don''t be stubborn," Zen said gently, while staring at her earnestly.


    His words left the warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm in the meeting hall speechless.


    Zen didn''t think of himself as an outsider, nor did he regard Letitia as the leader.


    His words calmed Letitia, but out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Margaret behind him. As she saw the faintly discernible expression on Margaret''s face, the warmth in her heart was immediately replaced with anger. She yelled reproachfully, "What did you call me? How dare you call me Tia? I am the leader of Cloud Hall and you are a member, and so you''re my subject! Zen, you should know your place!"


    Watching the drama unfold before him, Dillon could sense that things weren''t going right. He wasn''t from Cloud Hall, so he didn''t know much about the relationship shared by Letitia and Zen. Although the elders of the Cloud Hall knew everything, they couldn''t possibly publicize it outside. Morphens couldn''t tell Dillon that Letitia acted willfully because she was jealous.


    Dillon rushed to mediate.

 Chapter 1014 The Spirit Container (Part One)

    Before Dillon could stop the two of them from fighting, it was already too late. Zen was already bursting with rage.


    Fernandez had initially told Zen to take the wiser route of coaxing a woman first to please her but his quick temper rendered the advice useless.


    Zen did initially plan to persuade Letitia but she did not listen and even said a few scathing words that made him really angry.


    Letitia sneered upon seeing the morose look on his face, "What''s the matter? Am I not right?"


    "Right? Right!" Zen exclaimed, forcing a cold smile on his face, "What you said is right! You may be the supreme leader of Cloud Hall. But from now on, I am no longer a member of Cloud Hall!"


    There was a collective gasp from Zen''s declaration. The situation had now deteriorated to such a horrible state with a fight brewing between Zen and Letitia.


    Owen figured that he didn''t really have a say in this issue so he chose to remain quiet by the corner. Zen''s actions stunned him. He couldn''t believe that the young man actually dared to speak to the Cloud Hall''s leader in such a rude manner.


    Letitia scoffed at Zen''s words. "You''re no longer a member? Do you think it''s that easy? Do you think the Cloud Hall is a place you can come and go as you please? Those who leave without permission will be chased down by the entirety of Cloud Hall''s forces!"


    It was at this point that Dillon, Hobbes, and Haber physically formed a human barrier between the two. Dillon even made a "hush" gesture that signaled Zen to stop talking.


    Of course, the young man refused to give in. "I''d like to see just how the Cloud Hall will chase me down and kill me!"


    As soon as he said those words, Letitia''s face crumpled up in sadness. Her eyes were evidently full of tears but, instead of prolonging her quarrel with Zen, she suddenly released her life vitality and turned into a flash of light that flew out of the Oracle City.


    "Miss!"


    "Miss!"


    Her sudden departure greatly worried the elders. Although her injuries were not severe, she would still need to stay in Oracle City to recuperate her health for a few days. Morphens was quick to transform into a streak of light to chase after Letitia.


    Zen, on the other hand, only snorted angrily before leaving the hall in a huff. Margaret, of course, followed clo


    She couldn''t really solve the problem for him nor make him feel better. She just wasn''t that important or close to him.


    After the two days, Zen registered himself into the World Commercial Alliance. He immediately accepted the task assigned to him and quickly formed himself a small team. Afterwards, he left Margaret in Oracle City and headed towards the east.


    The Heavenly Evil Sect was slowly expanding, from east to west.


    According to the experiences of other sects, the strategy for a sect war would often be like this: lower-level warriors from both sides would usually fight first and one side would often gain a slight advantage. Once the scales tipped slightly towards one side, the middle-level warriors would be sent out, and eventually the upper-level warriors. Once the best had come out for last, the sect war would not last long and would end with a decisive victory.


    There was also something called "lightning war" wherein all the sect masters would come out in the beginning and directly behead the top warriors of the other sect, thereby ending the battle quickly.


    All sorts of tricks and tactics were also employed for these wars.


    However, with the Heavenly Evil Sect, everything was different.


    Firstly, they made use of this type of weird fighting technique wherein they did not even send out their upper-level warriors to take part in the battle. Only the lower-level warriors were sent out and they would be enough to suppress the allied forces of the Cloud Hall and the World Commercial Alliance.

 Chapter 1015 The Spirit Container (Part Two)

    This was the case wherein the upper-level warriors of Oracle City had to fight against the lower-level warriors of the Heavenly Evil Sect.


    All Internal Elixir Realm warriors and Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors were separated into small teams. Each team moved in batches, raiding the Heavenly Evil Sect''s army and constantly trying to prevent them from total invasion and occupation. This strategy had been decided jointly by the Cloud Hall and the World Commercial Alliance.


    The method had proved very effective, in the beginning. The Heavenly Evil Sect was still in the stage of saving-up their strength so no upper-level warriors could be sent out to counterattack.


    However, recent events had seen more of the Cloud Hall and the World Commercial Alliance''s forces being decimated in greater numbers. Many of those who perished were at the middle and even late stages of the Virtual Tribulation Realm.


    While on his way to accept a mission, Zen coincidentally bumped into Rocher and the others.


    Rocher, Patrick, and Lewis had just finished a mission issued to them half a month ago and were on their way of accepting a new one.


    Thus, at Zen''s request, the four of them naturally formed a team.


    Lewis was very happy that they had Zen in their team. He still remembered how brave and remarkable the young man had been in the past.


    All three of them had long since agreed that Zen''s strength was already equal to that of a Life and Death Realm warrior. With a talent like that in their team, they knew that any difficulties they would face out in the field would be solved very easily. In short, there was a higher probability of survival in their team. Such thought pleased them very much.


    "Now that Zen has joined us, we have to change our team name! I think we should call it Red Maple Team!" Lewis declared with a smile.


    Rocher, however, did not really agree and sent him a cold glare, "It''s an awful name."


    "Awful? How is this possible? Well, if you don''t like it, we can call it¡­ Lewis Team!" he suggested once again with a grin.


    But Rocher shook his head in disappointment. "That''s even more terrible!"


    The four of them were currently flying at a low altitude but Zen slowed down and interrupted the brewing argument. "How about Eudemon Team?" he suggested.


    "Eudemon... It''s a good name!" Patrick said, nodding his head in agreement. The word meant guardian angel and benevolent spirit. Lewis, however, was a bit unhappy, "The name is too strange. I don''t understand it at all and it''s not as great as the ones I came up with..."


    Before he could finish, he heard a loud ''whoosh'' sound behind him. Rocher had drawn out his sword which made Lewis immediately shut his mouth.


    Three days later, the newly formed Eudemon Team arrived at a place one thousand four hundred miles to the east of Oracle City.


    The Heavenly Evil Sect had initially expanded from the east and invaded most of the northeastern area. However, the siege of Ethereal City effectively made them the main occu


    ge Virtual Tribulation Realm warrior with the cage I set up in Melody City!" a loud, sharp voice remarked.


    It was the voice of a child, probably three or four years old.


    "Who are you?" Zen asked, staring up at the blue enchanted barrier with caution.


    Not long after, a faint figure materialized hazily on top of the barrier. It had the outline of a person but it didn''t feel like one. Zen could only guess that what he was seeing in front of him was a soul, or rather, the projection of a soul.


    It was a skill that even Zen had never seen before in the Sea God Continent.


    Of course, within the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place, Lavender had used a similar technique to talk to the Demon Night queen from the Upper World. However, that happened beyond the scope of the Sea God Continent.


    "Who are you?" Zen repeated. "Answer me!"


    The hazy figure grew clearer and revealed a small boy with tender skin and an incredibly cute face. However, his appearance did not match with the sheer cruelty that emanated from his eyes.


    "You don''t need to know who I am. Once you enter my Spirit Container, you will just have to die, just like those guys," the child spoke viciously but his face looked extremely innocent.


    "The Spirit Container?" Zen asked calmly.


    The boy nodded and smiled coldly, "I don''t mind telling you. If I gather the soul power of several hundred thousand mortals in this small city, I can project my soul! And I have the Fighting Soul!"


    Zen quickly ruminated from the boy''s words. It seemed that most of the Virtual Tribulation Realm elders who died in the war had been killed by this boy whose Fighting Soul made it difficult for even Life and Death Realm masters to resist him.


    "You''re not from the Central Region, right?" Zen suddenly asked.


    The boy snorted, "Does it matter? Just go die. Then I''ll tell you!" The boy gave Zen one of his cold smiles before suddenly rushing into his mind. He obviously wanted to use his Fighting Soul to directly exterminate Zen''s soul.

 Chapter 1016 A Big Secret

    Zen had no idea how this boy was projecting his soul into this small city with a population of only a few hundred thousand.


    When he thought of the strange scene that occurred in this city and the Spirit Container that the boy had mentioned, Zen guessed that he must have controlled the souls of these people.


    Not only was this method unimaginable, it was also extremely cruel.


    There had been wars among the sects in the Central Region before. When a war broke out, it would involve millions of warriors and many lives were lost. However, not many mortals would be a part of it.


    On the one hand, it was easy to kill mortals as they had zero combat strength compared to warriors. On the other hand, killing so many mortals for no reason would bring far too much malicious aura. Thus, the gains were not worth it.


    Moreover, mortals were the foundation of the Central Region and countless talents were born from them. They were the cornerstone of the Central Region''s development. The Sea God Continent had the Tower of Sin where warriors could cultivate, but the Central Region had no such place for cultivation. Therefore, warriors would normally not kill mortals.


    If it weren''t for the Heavenly Evil Sect, it was possible that one or two sacred places might appear in the Central Region in another hundred years. And in another thousand years, there might be a seventh-grade sacred place and several warriors at the Soul Sea Realm.


    However, this time, the Heavenly Evil Sect had crossed the line. They didn''t care about the consequences.


    Seeing the boy drilling into his mind, Zen did not resist at all. Instead, he allowed him to crawl into his mind.


    "Have you given up on resisting? The warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm in the Central Region are too weak. Not only are you weak physically, but your souls are fragile too!" sneered the boy. The other warriors who he had killed earlier had at least tried to resist, but Zen wasn''t doing anything at all. This convinced him that Zen''s soul was weaker than those warriors''.


    Zen''s soul floated in his mind, emitting an emerald green light. It had almost reached the Jasper Fighting Soul Realm, but the cyan dragon advised him to stop training his soul. Once the soul seed was ready, his soul would merge with it and he would be able to break through to the Jasper Fighting Soul Realm.


    Making the soul seed seemed to be a very complicated task. Even with the cyan dragon''s expertise, progress was incredibly slow.


    Even though Zen had sto


    n the mirror.


    The face that appeared in the mirror was that of the boy.


    "Master Wallace! What''s the matter with you?"


    "Master Wallace! Wait a moment. I''ll go get the Lord!"


    The warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm in the hall left in a hurry. Master Wallace was behaving very strangely. Even if he was just projecting a soul in the mirror, the warriors were scared of being around him. They tried to escape under the pretense of looking for Eddie.


    Eddie appeared in the hall shortly.


    He had a strange expression when he saw the crack in the mirror. He cupped his hands and asked the boy in the mirror, "Master Wallace, what''s wrong?"


    "Humph! The strand of my soul that was projected in Melody City was devoured by someone," Master Wallace said abrasively.


    Eddie was surprised. He immediately asked, "Although it was just a projection of your soul, it still possessed the strength of the Fighting Soul Realm. Who in the Central Region could have the power to devour your soul?"


    "This person''s soul is incomparably powerful. And I''ve also discovered a big secret!" said the boy with a sneer.


    "Really? What secret did you find?" Eddie was eager to know.


    "There''s no need for you to know. When the Star Storm ends, I will personally come to the Sky Northern Region. Leave that young man to me!" The boy smiled wickedly. His face gradually faded.


    Master Wallace''s message made Eddie gloomy. It was not like he couldn''t guess who Master Wallace was referring to. There was only one person in the young generation of the Central Region whose soul was so strong¡ªZen!


    But he couldn''t solve the mystery of the secret that Master Wallace spoke of.

 Chapter 1017 River Wave City

    Eddie was very sure of Master Wallace''s origins.


    There was a vast continent on the other side of the Chaotic Ocean of Stars. On this continent, there used to be seven divine kingdoms along with a few other races.


    Compared to this continent, the Central Region was only a large island.


    Three of the seven divine kingdoms had been destroyed in the past in a war with the Dragon Lineage Human. Now, only four divine kingdoms remained.


    Master Wallace came from the York Divine Kingdom. The Holy Maiden who they had met in Immortal Mist''s celestial tomb came from the same kingdom.


    After their last trip to the celestial tomb, Elder Gong, the warrior at the Life and Death Realm from the York Divine Kingdom, had fulfilled his promise and given Simon the internal version of the Scripture of Five Poisons. During the past two years, Simon had spent most of his time cultivating it.


    As for the Holy Maiden, although she had vowed in the celestial tomb that she would lead the warriors of the divine kingdom to wipe out the Central Region, she hadn''t.


    After all, it was extremely difficult to pass through the Chaotic Ocean of Stars.


    This was due to the abnormally violent Star Storm that had been hanging above the Chaotic Ocean of Stars since many years ago. The Sky Northern Region and the four divine kingdoms were separated by this storm.


    According to Master Wallace, although the storm continued, it would subside with each passing year. Once the Star Storm weakened, the Holy Maiden would set off to flatten the Sky Northern Region.


    In this case, Eddie and the York Divine Kingdom were not on the same side. With Eddie''s personality, he would never be willing to become just a vassal. His ambitions extended beyond the Central Region. In fact, he even thought nothing of the four divine kingdoms. He was destined to step onto a higher level.


    He could only work with the York Divine Kingdom temporarily and take what he needed. He had obtained a lot of benefits from this kingdom, so, of course, he wouldn''t refuse their help.


    Eddie had speculated that there was a huge secret hidden within Zen''s body. The problem was that Zen was too cunning. The last time he had cornered Zen in the Dreamy Swampland, he had managed to escape. What was even more infuriating was that he had even taken away Margaret.


    After that, Eddie and Simon had worked together to wipe out the Ethereal Spirit Sect and had sent people to the Cloud Hall to get Margaret by exchanging Xander. Eddie had thought that this would be a cinch and that the Cloud Hall would be willing to do so. After all, Xander was the leader of Ethereal Spirit


    city around here?" he inquired.


    Rocher approached Zen with a strange look on his face. "To the southeast is River Wave City, but that is the Heavenly Evil Sect''s stronghold. A large number of its forces are gathered there. The place is easy to hold but hard to attack, so the alliance doesn''t have any plans to take down River Wave City at the moment."


    The territories belonging to the alliance and the Heavenly Evil Sect crisscrossed. River Wave City was one of the Heavenly Evil Sect''s territories and had the strongest army. It was an extremely important outpost of the Heavenly Evil Sect. It was said that Darius, the Heavenly Evil Sect''s military counselor, was in River Wave City.


    Zen''s eyes lit up at Rocher''s description. "She is there!"


    Zen transformed into a beam of light and dashed towards River Wave City.


    "Boss, what''s going on?" Lewis shrugged his shoulders.


    "Follow him!" Rocher and Patrick sped ahead without a word. Right now, they had unconditional trust in Zen.


    Zen was flying high in the sky and simultaneously trying to communicate with Letitia using the token, but she didn''t say a word.


    "Hello!"


    "Letitia!"


    "Tia!"


    "Will you say something?"


    No matter what Zen said, Letitia turned a deaf ear to him.


    This only worried Zen further. Who knew what unwise choices she would make driven by fury?


    So what if she was at the Life and Death Realm? Eddie had the support of the four divine kingdoms, and the Cloud Hall could not contend with their methods. Even warriors at the Life and Death Realm were nothing in front of the divine kingdoms.


    After covering a distance of over sixty to seventy miles, Zen stared at River Wave City in front of him. Immediately, a menacing rage burst forth from his eyes.

 Chapter 1018 As You Wish (Part One)

    Below the River Wave City, tens of thousands of Illuminating Soul Realm martial artists were sitting in a neat row and were releasing their life vitality as they maintained a meditative posture. They were all wearing the garbs of the Heavenly Evil Sect.


    Many of them would occasionally take out low-grade life vitality crystals, crush them, absorb their life vitality, and then release it through their own bodies.


    Above them, hundreds of Internal Elixir Realm martial artists were rapidly traveling back and forth. After being divided into groups, their life vitality would be gathered together and it would form several thick beams of life vitality that would then shoot upwards.


    Above these Internal Elixir Realm martial artists, there were six Virtual Tribulation Realm martial artists in green who were setting up a giant rune using the beams of life vitality. In the middle of the rune, there was one person - Letitia.


    No one in River Wave City could match Letitia.


    If what happened had happened in the past, no sect would be able to bring Letitia down, even if they gathered all of their warriors to fight as a single unit. In that scenario, Letitia would be strong enough to slaughter all of the warriors in River Wave City all on her own.


    But that was before. The Heavenly Evil Sect had developed an uncanny way to fight, and it had worked brilliantly for them. First, they would gather the life vitality of tens of thousands of Illuminating Soul Realm disciples in order to form a big array that could cover the sky. This big array would then be controlled by six Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors, and with that, they would trap their prey - Letitia, in this instance.


    Despite being a warrior at the Life and Death Realm, Letitia couldn''t break out of the bubble that was enclosing her. She continued to attack the rune, but she was already showing a trace of exhaustion on her face.


    Every time she accumulated her life vitality, a horrifyingly cold energy would burst out of her body. Under the extreme cold, the rune that was trapping her would greatly dim.


    Still, she would not be able to break through the rune. Despite that, no one from the Heavenly Evil Sect dared to underestimate her, and her strength as a Life and D


    of protecting him. Such a battle was not something that warriors of their level could get involved in.


    As all of these were happening, Zen started slowly approaching River Wave City. At that time, he was only five or six miles away from the city. Slowly, he raised the message token and said in a low voice, "Tia, I see you."


    While he was speaking, he was looking at Letitia who was still trapped by the rune. A burning attack was just launched against her and fortunately, she was able to dodge it. When she heard Zen''s voice, her head jerked up, and she immediately looked towards his direction. Her face was pained, but she still did not say anything and just continued to attack the rune.


    "I know you heard me," Zen said.


    Indeed, Letitia had heard him, but she was just unwilling to talk to him.


    "You don''t want to talk to me? Well then, I''m leaving," Zen said half-jokingly.


    But Letitia once again didn''t reply. Instead, he saw that she was once again starting to attack the rune. Unfortunately, the rune looked very stable, and Letitia''s attack did not harm it one bit. With an exasperated voice, Letitia suddenly replied, "Just leave. You''re no longer a disciple of Cloud Hall. My life or death has nothing to do with you."


    Upon hearing Letitia''s words, Zen couldn''t help but sigh. ''This woman is really stubborn, '' he said to himself. His anger was slowly brewing inside him, but he thought for a while and calmed himself down. With a deep breath, he said, "I''m sorry, Tia."

 Chapter 1019 As You Wish (Part Two)

    "Sorry for what?" Letitia replied emotionlessly.


    "I shouldn''t have spoken to you like that," he replied back, his voice hush.


    Letitia pursed her lips. The life vitality in her hand turned into a blue curtain of frost and ice, blocking her from the front. A raging inferno suddenly appeared in the rune and rushed towards her.


    Despite the great power of the raging inferno, it was still unable to break through the wall of frost and ice that Letitia had created.


    "There''s nothing that you shouldn''t have done. Don''t men always do the right things?" Letitia said, her voice as cold as her powers.


    A wry smile graced Zen''s lips. It seemed that Letitia couldn''t let go of what happened between Margaret and him.


    At this critical juncture, Letitia brought up old scores again. Zen didn''t know what to say.


    "I admit that I was wrong. I''m so sorry," Zen said apologetically.


    "I''m sorry, Zen. It''s too late," Letitia replied coldly.


    "Then how will you forgive me?" Zen asked.


    "I''ll forgive you if you die," she answered flatly. The wall of frost and ice around Letitia began slowly melting, so she abruptly shot out a strand of life vitality and began to reinforce it once again.


    "As you wish," Zen replied as he smiled. Without saying anything else, he flew towards River Wave City.


    "What? Wait! Oh no! Zen!"


    Letitia cried as she saw Zen rush down the city like a madman. With her eyes as wide as plates, she screamed in her heart, ''Are you crazy?!''


    Although Letitia was currently in a disadvantageous position, she would not die. Even without the help of others, she might still be able to escape the rune.


    The method of combining the powers of tens of thousands of warriors for a single purpose was not without its own flaws, and Letitia was hell bent on finding its weakness. The life vitality that was gathered toge


    became anxious. Although she could still protect herself from the rune, she wouldn''t be able to break through it in a short period of time.


    "Go to hell!" Darius laughed coldly as he waved the black banner in his hand again. Then, a yellow banner appeared, circling around his other hand.


    "Sizzle..."


    The life vitality of tens of thousands of Illuminating Soul Realm warriors turned into a huge blue electric net that suddenly wrapped Zen inside. At the same time, the electric net began to contract violently, releasing power that was far stronger than the attacks of ordinary Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors.


    Rocher''s eyes were tightly shut. He knew that Zen was facing great danger, which was why he was quick in gathering his strength. The power of the Sword Eye was terrifying, but it took a very long time to activate it.


    On his sides, Patrick and Lewis were standing guard.


    Despite wanting to do anything else, they couldn''t as their strength was below his.


    Boom!


    When the electric net reached its limit, it suddenly erupted, leaving a ball of incandescent light in its wake. As the light completely condensed, its momentum and might became comparable to the full force of a Life and Death Realm warrior.

 Chapter 1020 As You Wish (Part Three)

    Letitia''s heart trembled, and a strong feeling of regret sprouted in her heart.


    "Zen!"


    Even if Letitia was hit by this attack, she wouldn''t be able to escape without any kind of defense.


    While she knew that Zen had an extraordinary physique and had already broken through to the Virtual Tribulation Realm, she wasn''t sure if he could block such an attack.


    "Do you really want to die because of a single sentence? Don''t be so silly!" Letitia stared at the light, her face full of worry.


    Not long after, the blazing white light slowly disappeared. Many of the martial artists'' eyes were focused on it. Darius had a cold smile on his lips. He thought the man should have already turned to ash.


    However, his expression immediately darkened the moment he saw that the warrior he tried to kill was still alive, unharmed.


    "Am I stupid?" Zen asked, as he floated unharmed, with a smile on his face. He looked back and turned to where Letitia was.


    As Zen was safe and sound, Letitia''s anxious heart became fully at ease. However, her face darkened as she coldly said, "Well, you can go to hell!"


    The life vitality of over ten thousand Illuminating Soul Realm warriors, when gathered together, would be exceedingly terrifying. Even if Zen had the body similar to a high-grade fairy weapon, he still wouldn''t be able to resist such magnitude of power. If he had resisted the blow physically, he would have been seriously injured, if he didn''t die.


    However, before that power erupted, Zen had already circulated the power of the Space Law to float outside the space.


    This was what made the Space Law invulnerable. The Space Law and the Time Law were the two most mysterious of all laws. It was true that contr


    was in danger now.


    However, at this critical juncture, he would not easily retreat, much less flee. River Wave City was a sturdy fortress, so he wouldn''t leave it behind. Moreover, he knew that he couldn''t outrun the head of Cloud Hall.


    Right now, he could only fight as his life was on the line.


    Whirl!


    Darius quickly waved his banner, and the six Virtual Tribulation Realm elders also quickly changed their positions. While drawing life vitality to support the rune in the air, they were setting up another giant rune. The rune flashed and immediately shrouded in Zen''s direction.


    No matter what happened, Zen would not let Darius get what he wanted. He didn''t stop at all but flew straight towards the Illuminating Soul Realm warriors at the bottom of the group. If they kept supporting those Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors above, this array would never be broken.


    Zen knew how to break the array with a glance, and a sneer appeared on his face as he turned towards the Illuminating Soul Realm warriors. Since these independent warriors had chosen to join the Heavenly Evil Sect, then they must be ready to die at any time.

 Chapter 1021 The Decisive Battle

    The Illuminating Soul Realm warriors were sitting straight and upright in rows. Even when there wasn''t any trouble around, they were alert. So when Zen plummeted before them, the expressions on their faces changed drastically.


    They didn''t know much about him, but they were afraid of him. Even the three Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors, who had gathered the life vitality of over ten thousand Illuminating Soul Realm warriors, didn''t stand a chance against him. How could the likes of them resist his powers then?


    Besides, Darius had given out a strict order that no one was allowed to retreat without permission. They had to stay there even if they had to be killed. Those who violated such an order were to be executed without mercy.


    When Zen moved rapidly downward, those Illuminating Soul Realm warriors were his targets of slaughter. Since he was too powerful, they were only like a bunch of ants in his eyes, ready to be crushed in one stomp of his feet.


    Zen kept on attacking and killing those warriors in the River Wave City. Wherever he went, severed limbs and fresh blood flew in the air, forming a clear line of blood as if a giant picked up a paintbrush and drew one stroke of a shaky line using his red ink.


    At first, those Illuminating Soul Realm warriors could still hold on. The deterrence of the Heavenly Evil Sect was still very strong for these independent warriors who had just joined the sect. However, as Zen continued to kill more of them, countless malicious aura burst out of his body and those Illuminating Soul Realm warriors who were sitting still on the ground could no longer endure Zen''s attack.


    No one wanted to be killed by Zen like ants.


    "That guy is mad!"


    "If we stay here, we''ll all die!"


    "Flee!"


    In the beginning, there were only a few warriors who tried to run away. The supervisors on both sides brandished their sabers to prevent the warriors from escaping, and those who dared to flee were all killed by them.


    However, more warriors decided to escape as time flew. Eventually, most of them shot out in every direction of the River Wave City.


    Tens of thousands of Illuminating Soul Realm warriors scattered everywhere. Even Darius couldn''t control them. He didn''t have the ability to kill them all by himself.


    Seeing as the situation had already gone amiss, the Internal Elixir Realm warriors in the middle layer didn''t want to stay in their original place anymore. They also began to flee the city.


    Those independent warriors did not have much loyalty, to begin with. The reason why they chose to join the Heavenly Evil Sect was that the Heavenly Evil Divine Kingdom had a lot of power and the warriors could get some benefit if the Heavenly Evil Divine Kingdom took control of the Central Region in the future. Ultimately, their lives were the most important.


    If the warriors in the low layer didn''t provide enough life vitality, how could the six Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors be able to catch Letitia?


    The giant rune covering Letitia gradually dissipated. Then, Letitia slightly raised her hand, and bits of snow-white light condensed in her hand, quickly forming a large ice halberd.


    closer and closer to each other. Then, Zen stretched out his hand towards her and pulled her into his embrace. "Stop being so stubborn," he whispered.


    Letitia''s petite body suddenly tensed up, and the rage that was filling up her head went away. Her pair of beautiful eyes were filled with tears, and then she nodded and uttered, "Okay."


    They didn''t say anything else, just silently embracing each other like that.


    Three days later, Letitia finally returned to Oracle City.


    The news about the River Wave City being destroyed by Letitia and Zen had already spread throughout the entire Oracle City. Since the start of the war with the Heavenly Evil Sect, the River Wave City had been difficult to attack as it was strategically located. Back then, the Oracle City''s refusal to send troops to attack the River Wave City was based on various considerations, and the biggest scruple was that they were afraid that Eddie would directly fight a decisive battle with the allied forces of the Cloud Hall and the World Commercial Alliance.


    Since the Heavenly Evil Sect had become more powerful at the time, both the Cloud Hall and the World Commercial Alliance were no match even if combined. Now, both sides were saving up their strengths for the battle.


    However, just after the River Wave City had been attacked, the thing that the Oracle City members feared the most had happened at last.


    As expected, Eddie indeed lost his patience. Enraged, he led the army of the Heavenly Evil Sect and rushed straight towards the Oracle City.


    In the eyes of the World Commercial Alliance members, Eddie chose to take action at that particular time mainly because the River Wave City had already been destroyed.


    What they did not know was that Eddie did so because of Zen. He wanted to take the secret away from Zen and possess it before Master Wallace crossed the Chaotic Ocean of Stars.


    No matter what, the decisive battle that spanned over half of the Central Region was about to begin, and all the warriors in the Oracle City were about to engage themselves in it. The atmosphere turned heavier by the day.

 Chapter 1022 Challenging Zen

    The entire Oracle City was preparing for this decisive battle.


    Every day hundreds of runes were sent from the Runic Tower and placed all over the city.


    Every single warrior had stopped cultivating. As the time of battle approached, the air grew thicker. Cultivating would not change much, and they needed their focus on the right place.


    Every day there were over a hundred spies from the World Commercial Alliance returning from the front line. The Heavenly Evil Sect had chosen to attack Oracle City. This was not a surprise attack as they openly marched towards it. Eddie felt very confident in this battle and how easy it would be to destroy the entire Oracle City.


    The warriors of Cloud Hall were also in Oracle City. If Letitia and Zen chose to stay in the Cloud Hall, it would be a headache for Eddie because he was unable to break the sect-protecting array. Eddie was glad that the Cloud Hall had chosen to join hands with the World Commercial Alliance, and he swore to himself that he would wipe out both sects in Oracle City.


    If Eddie defeated the World Commercial Alliance and the Cloud Hall, there was no force in the entire Central Region that could stop him. All the other fourth-grade sects like the Mysterious Luna Hall, Black Mountain Sect, and Bloodwood Cliff, would have no other choice other than to surrender. Eddie had already planned to slaughter all of them.


    "Report! The army of the Heavenly Evil Sect appears 1800 miles to the south of Oracle City!"


    "Report! The army of the Heavenly Evil Sect appears 1, 000 miles away from the Oracle City!"


    "Report! 600 miles away!"


    "Report!"


    The army of the Heavenly Evil Sect was slowly advancing and approaching Oracle City. With each closer mile, pressure grew within the World Commercial Alliance and the Cloud Hall.


    In the past few days, Letitia had calmed down and recovered.


    Zen and Letitia were deeply entangled and felt more in love than ever. He told her that his greatest wishes were to save his sister and marry Letitia in a grand ceremony. That was what he would do if he survived the battle ahead.


    Letitia protested coquettishly, "I''m the leader of Cloud Hall and you are a mere disciple. People will laugh at us."


    Zen never cared about what other people thought and he would marry Letitia despite him still being a disciple of Cloud Hall.


    After returning to Oracle City, Letitia and Zen rarely saw each other as they were both busy. The elders of Cloud Hall felt relieved seeing Letitia alive and well. They needed her more than ever now that the battle was imminent. Their alliance was not as strong as the Heavenly Evil Sect. They needed their leader now more than ever.


    A


    le brat had already gained so much power. If Eddie could kill him, he would obtain whatever power that belonged to him. That was all he wished¡ªto destroy Zen and become invincible.


    "Zen! Do you dare to fight me now? I recall last time you ran away half across the Central Region for your life because you were too scared. Are you going to act like a coward this time too?" Eddie sneered at Zen. His body was covered in black aura.


    It was quite common for the leaders of both armies to challenge each other before a battle began.


    Even during a war among mortals, they would challenge each other. The leaders of both sides would fight and the morals of the victorious side would naturally rise, while the defeated side would have their morale plummet.


    Eddie was now challenging Zen to fight.


    After all, he was a warrior at the Life and Death Realm and he was considered the strongest in the Central Region. If he had to challenge someone, it should be Letitia or the Ancient Tycoon of the World Commercial Alliance that held a higher status.


    But Zen was the one he wanted to challenge, fight and destroy.


    The Ancient Tycoon opened his eyes and gently floated up from his chair. He then shouted to Eddie in an extremely hoarse voice, "The great number one warrior of the Central Region is actually challenging a junior. You are crossing the line. How about I play with you for a bit?"


    Just like Zen and Eddie, the Ancient Tycoon''s voice could be clearly heard by everyone across the Oracle City.


    Letitia also floated up and smiled at Eddie. "Eddie, I am the leader of Cloud Hall, yet you are challenging a mere disciple. Aren''t you afraid of losing your face?"


    Eddie let out a cold snort. His eyes were like daggers as he glared at Zen and he asked, "Zen, do you dare?"

 Chapter 1023 The Fight

    Zen clenched his fists tightly. Although he maintained a calm expression, he was abnormally excited.


    When he was still in the Cloud Sect, Zen had already listed Eddie as someone he had to kill. Even if he managed to save Yan, he had to kill Eddie. Eddie had become such an obstacle to his cultivation, and the only way to remove that obstacle was to kill him.


    He had waited for so long, and finally, the day had come.


    Zen moved quickly on his feet and stood on the edge of the city wall. As silently as an owl approaching its prey, he slowly floated towards the outside of the city wall. The more excited he was, the calmer his expression became.


    Seeing Zen leave the city wall, Letitia called out, "Zen! Are you really willing to accept the challenge?"


    Zen turned back and smiled at her. "Don''t worry!" he said reassuringly, a bright smile on his face.


    "But..." Letitia furrowed her brows and was about to speak when Zen suddenly said, "Don''t worry, Tia. I will not die. I will come back safe and sound and marry you."


    His voice was not loud, but many warriors of Cloud Hall were able to hear what he said clearly. Saint Morphens and a few other elders who knew of their situation couldn''t help but have a knowing smile on their faces. As for the warriors at the Internal Elixir Realm who knew nothing, such as Rocher and Lewis, surprise colored their faces.


    Lewis'' eyes were wide open as he nudged Rocher with his elbow. "Rocher, did you hear what I heard?" he asked in utter disbelief.


    Rocher''s eyes were closed, fresh blood slowly seeping out of them. He had been using his Sword Eye to accumulate the power of the heavens over the past two days. Only by doing so would he be able to unleash the full might of his Sword Eye.


    "Is it strange?" he replied, a slight smile on his lips.


    "Of course! It is really strange!" Lewis replied in a hushed tone, evidently scandalized by how Rocher was treating the whole thing as if it was normal.


    Rocher chuckled and shook his head. Then, he explained, "It''s not strange at all for Zen to do something like this."


    As for Letitia, the moment she heard what Zen said in front of everyone, her face suddenly flushed red.


    Zen already had his head turn towards where Eddie was. While his face was calm, his eyes were filled with determination. Using his life vitality, he said slowly and clearly, "Two years ago when I was still at the Illuminating Soul Realm, I warned you that you would only be spared if you let go of Yan. Unfortunately, you didn''t grab that opportunity. Now your chance is gone!"


    With that, Zen slowly drew out his sword from his space ring, and it started emitting a faint light. With the impressive sword fully in his hand, he waved it gently, and suddenly, a sword hum was transmitted. The hum was very soft and pleasant to hear.


    "It''s a top-grade sacred weapon!" Dillon suddenly shouted as his eyes


    ntent!


    He had been waiting for this battle for so many years. Because he came in with the sole goal of winning, he did not hold back every time he attacked. As he rushed towards Eddie at a high speed, he made sure that his sword was pointed towards Eddie''s heart.


    "No Move!"


    His attack looked crooked as his target was Eddie''s chest. There was nowhere else he wanted to stab Eddie but deep into his heart.


    On the other hand, Eddie held the Nameless Saber horizontally. Zen''s sword was a top-grade sacred weapon after all, and he was at a disadvantage. At the very least, he did not dare to use the Nameless Saber to block Zen''s sword.


    Clang!


    Eddie lightly touched Zen''s long sword with his blade, and skillfully swung it away.


    However, just as Eddie deflected Zen''s sword, Zen said faintly, "That''s going to be useless!"


    His sword tip drew a circle in the air, and it continued to stab at Eddie''s chest like a shadow. The "No Move" didn''t mean Zen had no move. It was a move created by Zen¡ªhe would only perform a single move, but it would manifest a countless number of moves.


    It was an unbreakable move!


    When Eddie saw that he could not avoid Zen''s sword attack, his face changed dramatically, and he quickly retreated.


    Suddenly, a strange smile appeared on Zen''s face as he gently raised the sword in his hand. The sword attack that originally looked normal suddenly underwent a tremendous change!


    After Zen tried to stab Eddie with his sword, it was followed by a sharp sword radiance, extending the tip of the sword. Because of that, it continued shooting towards Eddie''s chest. As Zen''s No Move combined with all the other basic sword moves, he had already reached the stage where he could use his sword as freely as he wanted.


    Eddie''s expression changed once again, and his body became rigid. All of a sudden, he came to a halt. The sword radiance cut into his ribs, causing blood to spurt.

 Chapter 1024 Contempt

    All the martial artists in Oracle City were overjoyed


    Before the battle, everyone had been apprehensive due to the difference in cultivation levels between Zen and Eddie.


    Eddie was someone who had gone through four life and death crises and each one had effectively strengthened him as a warrior.


    Zen, on the other hand, was in the middle stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm. Though it was an impressive feat for someone his age, the disparity between his and Eddie''s cultivation was still quite big.


    Sure, Zen had been able to take on Internal Elixir Realm warriors and even divine-level talents even when he was just an Illuminating Soul Realm warrior.


    But the difference between the Illuminating Soul Realm and Internal Elixir Realm was entirely different compared to the difference between the Virtual Tribulation Realm and the Life and Death Realm.


    This was the primary reason why both Letitia and the Ancient Tycoon had tried to stop Zen from taking on Eddie''s challenge.


    The only one who could challenge a Life and Death Realm warrior was another Life and Death Realm warrior!


    Warriors who reached this stage were considered the best in all of Central Region. Those at the Virtual Tribulation Realm were simply incapable of facing off against their Life and Death Realm peers.


    This was the root cause of everyone''s concern. No matter how skilled Zen was, the fact remained that Eddie was still a more experienced warrior.


    Of course, both Letitia and the Ancient Tycoon were constantly vigilant in making sure that Zen would not be harmed. Even if the one-on-one fight had been agreed upon, Zen''s safety was still of paramount importance.


    This was often how sect battles worked. Even if a sect willingly sent a warrior to battle, they would not allow their champion to die by their enemy''s hands. This was a tradition that had been kept in practice for thousands of years and this battle was no exception.


    On the other hand, if Eddie was ever put at a disadvantageous position, Simon would also not hesitate to attack.


    Zen had managed to land a strike on Eddie with his very first attack, much to the joy of the World Commercial Alliance. This attack signified Zen''s ever-improving prowess and the fact that he had the strength to challenge someone above his level.


    "Zen is so strong! Not only has he broken through to the middle stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm in just two years, he can also go head-to-head with a Life and Death Realm master!"


    "Indeed, but you forget that Eddie is no


    despite only being at the Virtual Tribulation Realm, but that was probably his limit. It''s only understandable that he couldn''t beat such a strong opponent."


    The warriors were abuzz with their discussions.


    But they all spoke too soon. Zen quickly reappeared on top of the pit. He shrugged his shoulders and patted away the dirt that settled onto his clothes. Granted, there was a bit of blood that trickled down from the corner of his mouth, but he treated it as if it was nothing. "It''s just so-so," he sneered, smiling coldly at Eddie.


    The discussions immediately halted once Zen made his reappearance. Everyone quickly realized how wrong their judgments were.


    Eddie huffed at the cocky smile on Zen''s face, "You''re being stubborn! Take this then!"


    Eddie roared and swung down his fists a second time. The giant, golden fist reappeared and quickly rushed down to crush Zen.


    Zen was faster and wiser this time around. He did not let the fist land on him. Rather, he waved his hand and let his forceful energy rush out of his body. The starlight within him began to circulate and surge towards his hand.


    "As I said, it''s just so-so, but you don''t know your own limits."


    He laughed coldly before punching towards the sky.


    "Star Shakes the Earth!"


    Boom!


    Zen''s body transformed into a blinding ray of light that punched through Eddie''s huge, golden fist, shattering it layer by layer.


    The sight stunned Eddie and the next thing he knew, Zen was already in front of him.


    "Now it''s your turn to go down,"


    Zen murmured as his fist came crashing down. Unlike him, Eddie did not possess an invulnerable body and would be smashed into meat paste if he got hit.

 Chapter 1025 Fiend

    Zen did not show any mercy or too much killing intent when he faced Eddie.


    In order to fight him, Zen had already adjusted his state of mind to be at its best. He looked calm and expressionless ¡ª neither happy nor sad.


    He suddenly threw a punch at his enemy, and the power of the forceful energy and the dragon scales erupted instantly.


    Compared to Eddie''s Supreme Emperor Fist, Zen''s punch did not appear to be so powerful, but it was much more deadly and brutal!


    Just as Zen''s fist was about to hit Eddie, a black mist emitted from Eddie''s body and enveloped him.


    Bam!


    When Zen''s fist struck Eddie, it didn''t feel like he was hitting a human body. It was as if the punch had landed on a thick cotton pad. The unstoppable fist was like a stone that had fallen into the sea and disappeared without a trace!


    ''What''s going on?''


    Zen''s brow furrowed.


    The black mist that emerged from Eddie''s body was very strange. Last time in the Ethereal City, the Septuplets of Ethereal Spirit had utilized the Dragon-trapping Rope, and launched their strongest attack, but it had not caused any damage to Eddie due to this same mist!


    Now, Zen understood why the Septuplets of Ethereal Spirit had been so shocked back then.


    But he still remained expressionless. With Eddie, he knew that anything could happen! What he needed to do was to stabilize his state of mind and showcase his might.


    Thanks to the black mist, Eddie did not seem to be harmed in any way, but Zen did not stop there. A second round of attacks followed!


    "I''ll take you down!"


    Bam!


    Zen grabbed Eddie who was in the black mist and released the forceful energy in his body once again, trying to push Eddie down!


    Boom!


    Just like that, Zen pushed Eddie all the way down into the big crater. He didn''t stop here; he pushed him further into the big crater and kept running.


    Hundreds of thousands of warriors on both sides witnessed the scene. Zen continued to force Eddie to the ground, causing dust to billow all the way up. The two of them were completely engulfed in the smoke.


    One lap, two laps, three laps¡­


    Zen was still holding Eddie down and running, plowing deep ditches that formed circles in the crater!


    Finally, Zen stopped. His eyes now had a faint killing intent. He threw his fist at Eddie again and a wave of intense explosions was heard!


    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!


    It was as if many firecrackers were going off at the same time the way they did during New Year celebrations. In the corner of the crater, smoke and dust were blooming like a mushroom. Nobody was able to see the battle clearly.


    On the city wall, the warriors of the World Commercial Alliance and the people from the Cloud Hall felt their blood boiling as they watched this scene!


    The strength of the Heavenly E


    good thing for him.


    As for the many independent warriors of the Heavenly Evil Sect, they now looked cheerful and hopeful. They knew that their Lord couldn''t possibly be so weak!


    The black mist surrounding Eddie gradually dissipated, and his tall, robust figure slowly revealed itself. His entire body was now covered in a layer of black scales, and a thin, long horn had sprouted on his head!


    "You have truly surprised me. Within two years, you have grown to be able to threaten my existence. I never expected such a talent to be present in the Central Region!" As he spoke, he slowly floated up into the air. With a vicious light glinting in his eyes, he stated, "However, your strength is not enough to defeat me!"


    Zen''s eyes were as calm as water. He asked, "Not enough? Do you think I am weaker than you?"


    "Your strength is far from enough!" Eddie roared, all the bones in his body began crackling. It was as though his bones had rearranged themselves, and his entire body underwent an astonishing change. The lower half of his legs bulged forward, as though they were an animal''s legs. The muscles on his body also started to swell. His entire body had doubled in size!


    Eddie did not look human anymore. His figure was as large as that of an ogre on the Sea God Continent.


    Zen was surprised to see this change in Eddie''s body. ''He seems to have some kind of special bloodline. What kind of race does he belong to? Is he an ogre? Or a dragon? Or another race...'' he thought to himself.


    A faint voice rang out in his mind. It was the cyan dragon who answered, "You guessed right, Eddie belongs to another race. But he is not a descendant of any of the over one hundred races in the Upper World. He is a fiend from the netherworld."


    "A fiend!" Zen''s heart skipped a beat but he calmly stared at Eddie, who was standing not too far from him.

 Chapter 1026 Netherworld Shaking

    Hell, netherworld, fiends, and ghosts.


    There were many records about these things in Central Region. However, they were all classified as legends that people would normally not be able to see with their own eyes.


    These legends were often described in a mystical but insubstantial manner in all sorts of books and fantasy stories. The authors would also take the liberty of adding a bit of flair in their storytelling.


    The existence of these things was uncertain but, judging from the cyan dragon''s words, Eddie was indeed someone who had the fiend lineage. Basically, Eddie was a living fiend.


    Zen had no idea how Eddie obtained his lineage, but the low-grade sacred weapon in his hands had the ability to summon the Netherworld Yaksha. He could more or less deduce that Eddie got it from either his Nameless Saber or some other method.


    Nevertheless, he was pretty certain that Eddie he faced right now was even more terrifying than before.


    Had it been in the past, this new information would''ve probably affected Zen greatly. However, the current Zen did not care. It did not matter if Eddie was a fiend or some god from the heavens, Zen would fight Eddie to the death if need be.


    "It''s not enough? In that case, I can still bring up my full strength!"


    Zen suddenly rushed towards Eddie with a punch loaded with the power of his dragon scales.


    "Bang!"


    Eddie''s hand shot out like lightning and blocked Zen''s fist just as it was about to swing down on him.


    None of the Life and Death Realm warriors and war sages could resist Zen''s punch. Just one blow of Zen''s terrifying strength would be enough to destroy them completely. However, Eddie did not avoid the force of Zen''s punch and caught it in his hand. Just as he had blocked Zen''s attack, a strange rune appeared in his eyes¡ªthe fiend race''s symbol! As the fiend bloodline within him was stimulated, an endless amount of fiend energy began to madly circulate within his body.


    Looking at such a strange pair of eyes sent a chill running down everyone''s spine. Even Zen felt a great pressure weighing down upon him but it was not enough to change his expression.


    "Ha!" Eddie sneered as he grabbed Zen''s fist and raised it high into the air. Using some momentum, he swung and threw his opponent directly onto the city wall in front of them.


    As he threw Zen, Eddie''s heavy, mountainous body followed closely behind.


    Letitia''s eyes flashed. Unwilling to stand by any longer, she jumped down from the city wall. "


    o barge into Oracle City alone so he was confident that he could defeat everyone there. His fist emitted a great amount of light as it shattered Letitia''s ice thorns one by one into shimmering pieces.


    "I''m afraid I''ll have to kill such a beautiful woman without mercy today." He then waved his hand as his life vitality surged out of his body like a tidal wave. He once again held his Nameless Saber and pointed it at Letitia.


    A wave of danger and worry plunged Zen''s heart into a panic. "Get out of the way!"


    He grabbed her by the hand and ran away as fast as he could. However, there was a faint, evil grin on Eddie''s face as his Nameless Saber began to follow Letitia.


    "You can''t dodge this, Letitia! You will die today! Don''t worry. Zen will follow you soon." The weapon in his hand shook in Eddie''s hand as if something appeared into this world and entered the Nameless Saber.


    That thing was extremely special. It only appeared for a mere three seconds but it was enough to stun all the warriors, mortals, and peerless masters of Oracle City into silence.


    Even those in the middle of a fight stopped with the feeling that they would die if they didn''t. There was a sense of instinctive fear that had washed over everyone so suddenly.


    Even Zen and Letitia felt it. It was as if a strange little monster had grabbed their hearts and squeezed them. Just what was hiding inside that Nameless Saber? How terrifying was Eddie''s attack?


    There was no time to guess. Eddie''s target right now was Letitia and Zen made it his top priority to escape with her.


    "Netherworld Shaking!"


    Eddie screamed and swung the Nameless Saber towards Letitia.

 Chapter 1027 The Life And Death Wind

    Just as Eddie was about to flourish his saber, another wave of significant power emerged from the top of the city walls, followed by an aged voice.


    "Eddie, it''s me you''re going to face!"


    If a man had lived for a thousand years, he was to become a legend. The one who spoke was the Ancient Tycoon, the pillar of the World Commercial Alliance. In the entirety of the Central Region, he was the only one who was over a thousand years old.


    For a long time, the Ancient Tycoon had been holding back. However, at that particularly critical moment, he decided to make his move. It was the perfect time to do so.


    Two years ago, only he had the capability to defeat Eddie. After Zen killed Marilyn during the Martial Arts Contest, Eddie tried to end him, too. Letitia, along with the three leaders of the World Commercial Alliance and Imogen couldn''t stop Eddie. It was only the Ancient Tycoon who could.


    That meant that the strength of the Ancient Tycoon was at least the same as Eddie''s.


    The Ancient Tycoon brought his hands together, his wrinkled skin twitching. He then reached out a withered palm towards Eddie, covering his face.


    However, before he could even attack, Eddie surprised him by saying, "Old man, I have disliked you for a long time. But for you, I might''ve killed Zen two years ago. Since you have a death wish, I will grant it for you!"


    Originally, Eddie had planned to use the Netherworld Shaking on Letitia, but he had a new target now. He swung his Nameless Saber towards the Ancient Tycoon.


    "Whir¡­"


    A bright yellow-colored wind came out of Eddie''s saber, sweeping across the Ancient Tycoon.


    The moment the yellow gust of wind left the Nameless Saber, that distinct feeling immediately spread out. All the living beings inside and outside Oracle City were all captured by fear at the same time. None of them dared to move and they all held their breaths.


    Quickly, Zen pulled Letitia to retreat with him. Even if he didn''t want to let the Ancient Tycoon fight Eddie on his own, the safety of Letitia was more important for him. As they went their way, he asked, "Cyan dragon, what exactly is that thing? Why is it that terrifying?"


    Before the cyan dragon could even reply, the wind had already swept towards the Ancient Tycoon.


    The wind didn''t seem to be that strong at all. It was almost as if it was only a gentle breeze and only caused the hem of the Ancient Tycoon''s robe to move a little. Immediately afterwards, the eyes of the Ancient Tycoon lost all their color, and he fell silently to the ground. He was lifeless.


    As Zen witnessed what just happened, the expression on his face drastically changed.


    In the midst of a fierce battle against his opponent, Dillon roared out in anger, "Sir!"


    Hearing Dillon''s lou


    lew.


    The most important thing for a warrior was to maintain his state of mind, but Letitia knew Zen very well. If at that kind of time he was still able to control his state of mind, then he couldn''t possibly be human.


    As humans were created to have emotions, getting upset from time to time was normal. They just needed to learn how to manage those emotions.


    Thinking of this, Letitia tilted her body and placed her hand on Zen''s robe, covering his chest.


    At the same time, under the circulation of her life vitality, a wave of ice-cold aura spread out.


    "Calm down, Zen," Letitia said softly.


    Zen felt a cooling sensation kiss his heart. His beating heart gradually slowed down. His tense face gradually relaxed, and the vexed look on his face disappeared without a trace.


    "You''re right. I have to calm down," he responded.


    One of Zen''s prides in life was his positive attitude, but that day, he almost lost it.


    During the countless dangers that he had encountered, his calmness had always helped him overcome them. He never thought he''d feel such distress because of Eddie.


    "Lavender!" Zen called out softly.


    A speck of red light instantly condensed around Zen. He reached out his hand and a ray of light burst out from his space ring. The middle-grade sacred spear spun around twice before landing in Lavender''s hand.


    "Do you want me to kill him?" Lavender asked with a smile.


    "No, it''s too dangerous. You aren''t his match!" Zen replied. He shook his head before he continued, "But please hold him back!"


    Lavender nodded. "No problem. You can count on me."


    As a sword spirit, Lavender only had one soul attached to her. She didn''t have any life force, so naturally, she wasn''t threatened by Eddie''s Life and Death Wind. Upon Zen''s command, she held the long spear and turbulently shot towards Eddie.

 Chapter 1028 Double Stars Brilliance

    Lavender was Zen''s sword spirit. And needless to say, her strength would consequently grow along as Zen gained strength. Most of the martial artists that had just entered the Life and Death Realm wouldn''t be a match for her if she would fight alone. However, fighting solitarily against Eddie would be too difficult for her.


    But of course, the outcome was the one Zen had expected it to be. Lavender wouldn''t be able to beat Eddie. And even if she could, he would not let her do it!


    Zen''s goal in life was to reach the peak of martial arts. At the age of twenty, he already had a perfect start. He had conquered and stepped into the middle stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm. However, Eddie had already become his nemesis.


    If he ought to advance further on the path of martial arts, he had to kill Eddie himself. Otherwise, Eddie would become his mental burden, haunting him in the future. Thus he would not be able to get far on the path of martial arts. More likely, it would be a hindrance for him in reaching the peak of martial arts!


    Zen found himself in deep concentration. He was contemplating that back when he had returned from the Sea God Continent, if he had invited Miguel, or even a powerful master like Amber to personally make a trip to the Central Region and help him, things would have been simple and he would have already gotten rid of Eddie!


    He was fully aware that as long as he asked, whether it was Miguel or Amber, they wouldn''t refuse him!


    With their cultivation level in Soul Sea Realm, they could easily defeat anyone in the Central Region. To boot, Amber was a rare talent. She was an outstanding master amongst the warriors at the Soul Sea Realm. Even a Life and Death Realm warrior like Eddie would pale in comparison. He wouldn''t be able to resist the attacks from these masters.


    After careful consideration, Zen chose to fight against Eddie himself. Nothing would be more important to him than to clear this barrier with his own hands.


    And now, the time indeed was the most crucial.


    At the precise moment when Lavender was able to hamper Eddie, Zen abruptly took Letitia. Then they both whirled around Oracle City before they attempted to rush headlong towards the city wall once again.


    At this time, the battle between the two sides was already in full swing!


    The army of the Heavenly Evil Sect was quite powerful. But the alliance between the World Commercial Alliance and the Cloud Hall was also a force to be reckoned with, especially the World Commercial Alliance which was widely known as a sixth-grade sect. Its strength was not something the Cloud Hall could measure up to!


    On the battlefield, hundreds of giant puppets came into sight. Their bodies which were as big as mountains constituted mainly of steel and iron. Under the command of the puppet technique, they simultaneously charged towards the army of the Heavenly Evil Sect.


    Life and Death Wind that Eddie released with the Nameless Saber.


    Eddie laughed sinisterly. "Now, both of you can go die!"


    "Dodge!"


    Zen was stunned for a brief moment when he saw the bright yellow winds, but with his quick reflex, he immediately dragged Letitia and sank down!


    To everyone''s astonishment, when the Life and Death Wind surfaced, it was as if it had a soul of its own. The winds just floated smoothly towards Letitia.


    The Life and Death Wind was indeed exceptionally unusual. Any living creatures would have feared it instinctively. Therefore, every time this Life and Death Wind came into sight, everyone''s heart would almost stop beating, and they would all stare blankly at the two bright yellow winds, as if they were anticipating for their last breath.


    Saint Morphens'' face sank, while the expressions of many martial artists in Cloud Hall also became heavy.


    When the three leaders of the World Commercial Alliance caught sight of this, their faces eventually became gloomy. They all thought that even their master was unable to withstand this strange wind and instantly lost his life, then how could Zen and Letitia possibly survive?


    Simon wore a sneer on his face. ''Zen is destined to die this time, '' he thought happily.


    At that stretch of time, the light in Zen''s hands began to flicker in a dazzling shine. He brought his hands together, and the two beams of differently colored starlight suddenly merged into one. In that fleeting moment, the entire world underwent a tremendous change!


    The sky became dark as if night had fallen all of a sudden. Everyone could only see two bright stars in the dark sky: one was orange, the other was purple. The two stars emitted unusual light, adding radiance and beauty to each other. And these light rays also shone brightly on Zen''s hands!


    "Double Stars Brilliance!"


    Zen calmly stated as he opened up his hands, his face as calm as water.

 Chapter 1029 The Law of Causality

    As a technique of the Transcendent Divine Might, the Stellar Body was far more difficult to cultivate than other martial skills.


    Just the thought of using the perception to traverse through the great universe alone was enough to stop almost all the martial artists. After that, communicating with the stars was even more difficult.


    Once one successfully mastered it and used the power of the stars to fight, coupled with his forceful energy, his power would be far beyond what an ordinary martial artist could imagine.


    Back in the days, the Supreme Lord Star was invincible in the Upper World with his Stellar Body technique.


    The first move of the Stellar Body technique, Star Shakes the Earth, was only its most basic application. Even so, it was enough for Zen to deal with the top-level war lords when he was a war general.


    The second move was a lot more complicated. It required the user to combine the energies of several types of stars to produce a much stronger power. Many stars had completely different characteristics. Some were unusually gentle while some were restless. When the forces were combined, they could reject each other. Once the warriors had mastered the second move, their power would increase exponentially.


    So far Zen had only managed to combine two stars. The more stars Zen could combine in the future, the stronger his power of the second move would be.


    In truth, the second move alone could be used as a separate martial skill and therefore it would take a long time to cultivate.


    As Zen separated his hands, the purple and orange star lights became intertwined. The two different types of star powers, like boiling water, formed a small body of light. A faint colorful mist was emitting from within and it looked like it could erupt at any moment.


    When Zen cultivated, he had mixed the two star lights together, but he could extract only very little power, about the size of a grain of rice. Even then, the power that erupted from it was difficult to imagine. Zen struggled to control it and almost blew himself up several times.


    Now these two types of star lights mixed together and could form a small ball the size of a fist that was constantly boiling. If it exploded in his hands, even if he had his body like a high-grade fairy weapon, he would be turned to ashes in an instant.


    Overall, the success rate of the Double Stars Brilliance was only about 40%. Zen hadn''t fully grasped it yet, so this was a great risk for him.


    Zen carefully stabilized the star lights in his hands. He saw the two bright yellow Life and Death Winds slowly approaching him.


    His eyes flas


    is mark. If she forced it open, the entire Sumeru Space would explode. In this instant, Zen felt too weak to use his life vitality. He was so tired and sleepy. Right now all he wanted to do was to curl up and sleep.


    His father hoped his journey of life never ended. Could this be the end of his life journey?


    Zen struggled to open his eyes. He saw Letitia lying in his arms with a serene face as if asleep and having a beautiful dream. Zen felt grateful. ''Maybe this is a good ending. Maybe this is a good way to go without pain, '' he thought.


    "Zen! Use your life vitality! Just a little is enough!" He could hear Lavender''s voice again. "Do you want to die? Use it now! Think about your sister! She''s still in Eddie''s hands! Even if Eddie dies, the others will never let her go. Do you want that to happen?"


    Yan Luo!


    As he heard his sister''s name, his heart started beating again. It was a weak and faint beat, but he had come back from the dead. He woke up. He had to save Yan. He couldn''t give up now!


    A wisp of life vitality came out of his belly and flew through his meridians, directly pouring into the space ring. The seal that had once locked the ring had been broken and it had become ownerless.


    Lavender quickly took out a small fragment from the ring. This fragment had a phoenix pattern engraved on it. As carefully as possible she activated the power within the fragment.


    The Law of Causality reigned all other laws. It was an unreasonable and tyrannical law that stood above all powers when compared with the various Original Laws of the world.


    The entity of heavens was the foundation of all causality, but even Lavender wasn''t sure if the fragment could destroy the causality that formed the Life and Death Winds.

 Chapter 1030 Contempt

    Everything in the world had a cause and an effect.


    This was because those who lived in this world were destined to lead a difficult life.


    With hard work in cultivation, warriors succeeded in making great achievements in the name of martial arts.


    Why was that?


    Compared to other kinds of Law Powers, the Law of Causality was the purest and most direct.


    But the cause and effect of all things were built upon the foundation of heavens¡ªwhen one round of heavens was created, all causalities were decided. Therefore, the power of the Law of Causality was the top authority of the heavens.


    No one in this world could completely comprehend the Law of Causality unless they were transformed into the heavens.


    Lavender looked at Zen nervously¡ªalthough there were several causes and effects within the Heavenly Fragment, it was still only a fragment. Neither she nor the cyan dragon knew much about the Law of Causality and the effect of the Heavenly Fragment.


    If Zen died, his sword spirit would gradually dissipate, leaving Lavender''s last strand of soul alone without support until it dissipated into the air as well.


    As for the cyan dragon, it would once again be sealed within the mysterious smelting furnace.


    At this moment, however, everyone''s attention wasn''t focused on Zen and Letitia, but on Eddie.


    The power of Zen''s first round of attack had already gone beyond what anyone imagined.


    The power of a middle-stage Virtual Tribulation Realm warrior was even much stronger than that of a Life and Death Realm warrior.


    Under such an attack, how could Eddie still be alive?


    As long as Eddie died, Simon would become the sole powerful master in the Heavenly Evil Sect. Because he was a Life and Death Realm warrior, he was a difficult one to deal with. But as the other warriors of the Heavenly Evil sect were not as powerful, Simon alone wouldn''t be able to defeat all his opponents at once. Perhaps the World Commercial Alliance and the Cloud Hall could take an advantageous position during the war when the time came.


    Eddie''s importance was clear to both sides, because only his life and death had a real impact on the situation, and their fights weren''t truly meaningful.


    The two rays of intertwining starlight gradually dissipated in the wind, along with the rocks, dirt, trees, and rubble from the city walls.


    As the dust thinned in the air, the person lying at the bottom of the huge pit came into view.


    The body was pitch black, like a completely burnt sweet potato, with charred skin on a motionless body.


    "It''s Eddie!"


    "Is he dead?"


    "He''s not moving¡­ He must be dead. It would be impossible for him to survive that attack."


    The w


    the foreign woman had an extraordinary background, he never thought he would hear such words come out of her mouth. Just what level of strength did this woman once have? What kind of force did she come from?


    Turning to Zen, Eddie muttered, "It''s strange. Zen''s life vitality is supposed to be completely gone, but he''s still alive."


    With that, he ignored Lavender''s spear and made his way to Zen.


    Seeing Eddie make another move, Lavender didn''t hesitate at all. As she shook her long spear, an invisible wave shot right toward Eddie.


    "Poof!"


    Although the power of the spear''s strike was just as powerful as Zen''s attack, when it stabbed through Eddie''s body, it seemed to pierce through the cotton fiber, distorted by some strange power of Eddie.


    Immediately taking hold of Lavender''s long spear, Eddie moved his hand, hitting and breaking Lavender into countless sword spirits which then began gathering within Zen''s body.


    After looking at the scene for a while, Eddie put the spear into his own space ring and continued making his way toward Zen.


    One hundred feet...


    Fifty feet...


    Thirty feet...


    Eddie''s gaze fell on a piece of debris on Zen''s chest. His eyes lit up, revealing a peculiar luster.


    "This fragment¡­"


    While he didn''t know the background of the fragment nor how powerful it was, he discovered that Zen''s life vitality was sustained by that very fragment. It led him to believe that it wasn''t any ordinary thing.


    Although Eddie could make use of the Life and Death Wind, it didn''t mean that he had control over it. In reality, Eddie hadn''t even figured out what the Law of Causality was. He only knew that the Life and Death Wind was truly magical, powerful, and dangerous, and any creature that touched it would come face-to-face with death.

 Chapter 1031 Margaret Summoned The Swords

    Eddie did not fully understand the principles behind the Life and Death Wind but that did not mean that he couldn''t use it to kill other people.


    Using the Life and Death Wind had permanent, negative effects on Eddie which subjected him to a considerable amount of risk whenever he used it. It was always a last resort option but since he needed to win this battle, then he would have no choice but to go all out.


    The fragment in front of him flickered with a multitude of colors. One glance would be able to tell anyone that this was no ordinary item and Eddie briefly wondered if this was the "big secret" Master Wallace had been talking about before.


    In Eddie''s opinion, Zen was a kid who had too many secrets. It would greatly benefit him if he could obtain Zen''s secrets, so Zen must be killed as soon as possible.


    He walked towards the young man with the aim of taking that piece of fragment from him. However, an extremely sharp sword radiance suddenly shot out towards him from outside the city wall!


    Whoosh!


    The sword radiance contained an intimidating momentum as it flew through the air.


    There was no time to react, not even Eddie himself could avoid the sword in time. Swift and sure, it was as if the sword represented the heavens that had come to punish Eddie for his sins.


    Pfft!


    The blade slashed at Eddie''s wrist and successfully cut off one of his hands.


    Meanwhile, a young man atop the city walls collapsed onto the green bricks below. The pressure he had exerted upon himself was evident by the two, thick streams of pitch-black blood beside him.


    Rocher lay on the brick with his sword in his arms. It took everything in him to make that strike and he had almost lost his life.


    ''What a pity¡­ It actually missed the vital parts, '' he thought to himself regretfully before fully passing out.


    But in truth, cutting off Eddie''s hand was already a huge accomplishment. Rocher, after all, was only an Internal Elixir Realm warrior but the power of his Heavenly Sword was perhaps already on par with that of the Transcendent Divine Might.


    His strike combined the natural law of the heavens! Rocher''s Heavenly Sword had gathered heaven''s momentum and conformed to the heavenly wishes. If he followed this path and ventured deeper in his cultivation, then Rocher''s future achievements might actually rival Zen''s!


    "That attack just now came from an Internal Elixir Realm warrior."


    "Yes! It is Rocher from the Cloud Hall who did it. Apparently, the Heavenly Sword he comprehended had enough power to kill a Virtual Tribulation Realm master. It seems it is actually true!"


    "What a pity that so many extraordinary warriors of the Wor


    h between Zen''s sword and the ones that Marilyn had summoned.


    But that battle only featured several dozen blades.


    The brewing fight right in front of them was an entirely different matter.


    Above Oracle City, the sky had been transformed into a field of gigantic swords.


    Just how many Heavenly Evil Sect disciples would survive once the rain of swords poured down from the heavens?


    It was only then that Eddie realized his mistake. "You!" he pointed an accusatory finger to Margaret. "H-How did you do that?"


    Margaret sneered and, with a flick of a finger, more swords rained down upon the battlefield.


    She was someone who possessed the best physique in the Purple Power World: a top rank Purple Power Body. The number of swords she could summon was naturally more than what an ordinary Purple Power Body could ever hope for.


    The several million swords she had summoned was not even the peak of her abilities. So long as she was prepared to pay the price, Margaret could summon all 99 billion swords and destroy the entire Central Region.


    But of course, that would be overkill.


    "Retreat!"


    "Quickly, run!"


    "We can''t escape! There are swords everywhere!"


    "Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang..."


    Huge swords continued their barrage onto the ground below, slicing all warriors into muddy flesh.


    Over a hundred thousand Heavenly Evil Sect warriors were killed in a manner of seconds.


    Only Simon and a few Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors were able to survive against Margaret''s tirade of attacks.


    The battlefield resembled hell on earth. Once the swords disappeared, all that remained were blood, flesh, and mud.


    Eddie could only look in disbelief at the scene in front of him. His grim expression signaled a storm that loomed over all of them.

 Chapter 1032 Unexpected Development

    It was customary that the few high-ranked warriors were the deciding factor of a sect victory.


    As long as he was not slain, Eddie alone was enough to win the war.


    However, his potential victory didn''t exactly guarantee him the complete control of the result.


    Even if he killed Zen, Letitia, and the Ancient Tycoon, who was to help him take over the Oracle City?


    There were still hundreds of thousands of warriors left in the Oracle City. Was he to kill them one by one?


    Usually, warriors of different ranks had to fight with their counterparts of the opposing side in a war.


    It was Eddie who won the battle of the upper rank. But after that, in just a drop of a hat, Margaret intervened and managed to eliminate all the middle and lower-ranked warriors of the Heavenly Evil Divine Kingdom. Exasperation was now evident on Eddie''s face.


    "Woman, you''re courting death!"


    Eddie yelled, his face red in displeasure.


    That time, he didn''t hesitate one bit and immediately reached out his hand towards Margaret. He could crush that woman into fragments with just one of his limbs.


    Margaret only blinked in response, her eyebrows furrowed slightly. Her beautiful face revealed a trace of contempt. She reached out her hands and pulled Zen and Letitia towards her, after which they three all disappeared in an instant.


    "The Purple Power World, right? That''s nothing impressive!" Eddie sneered.


    Since he had taken part in helping Marilyn activate her Purple Power Body, he knew everything about it. Unfortunately for Eddie, the number of swords that Margaret had summoned was beyond his expectation.


    After all, Marilyn had only been able to summon a hundred swords at most back then. Margaret, however, who was only at the early stage of the Internal Elixir Realm, could summon tens of thousands of times more swords than Marilyn. That was something Eddie had never anticipated.


    Right after he insulted Margaret, Eddie extended his arm to the spot where she had been. Eddie thought that Margaret must be hiding in the Purple Power World, but she was still connected to this world through a space node. Once he attacked that space node, Margaret could be forced out of where she was hiding.


    Back then in the Martial Arts Contest, Zen had been at his wits'' end when Marilyn hid in the Purple Power World. In the end, Zen had relied on the Space Law to find the space node, and that was how he had chased her out of the Purple Power World.


    Thinking that he could do just the same, Eddie frowned upon discovering that there was nothing in his hand.


    "How is this possible?"


    Eddie had clearly seen the place where Margaret had disappeared into thin air, and he had thought that the space node was there. How did that woman avoid his attack?


    "Didn''t you say that I was courting death?" Margaret''s indifferent voice rang out in the air. Then, she continued, "Was that mere exaggeration? Just try to kil


    Causality.


    Faint energy from the Heavenly Fragment had flowed into Zen''s body, and his consciousness had been connecting with that energy.


    At this time, Zen had been staying in a special state. He was analyzing the information within that energy.


    The information was too much for Zen to take.


    A round of heavens had recorded three point six billion years of history. In those specific records, one could find all that had happened during the great era, the one hundred thousand great worlds, the heavenly bodies, and the various outlands.


    Too many things could occur during those years, and not one creature could ever have the capability to record them all.


    For instance, the world that Zen was in had a historical record of only tens of thousands of years. Any earlier history was completely blank in books. This was only tens of thousands of years, let alone three point six billion years.


    However, the Heavenly Fragment wasn''t the entire heavens. Moreover, Zen had only absorbed a tiny bit of the energy it had released.


    ''What should I know?


    Why should I know it?'' Zen''s consciousness muttered to himself.


    There was no one to guide Zen. Right now, he could not communicate with anyone, including the cyan dragon and Lavender. He could only rely on himself.


    As he continued to analyze, he gradually felt a sign of emotion contained in the Heavenly Fragment.


    ''The heavens has emotions?''


    A strange thought suddenly popped into Zen''s mind.


    Lavender had once told him that it wasn''t a fragment of the present heavens, but of the previous one.


    From this small fragment, Zen could feel a hint of helplessness and sorrow.


    It was said that the heavens would complete a cycle every 3.6 billion years. If this was true, why had the previous heavens broken into pieces? Who had shattered it and broken it into pieces? That question appeared in Zen''s mind as he went on to analyze the power of the Heavenly Fragment.

 Chapter 1033 Cause And Effect

    The heavens also had emotions. Could it be possible that it was originally a manifestation of a living being?


    It was the ruler of the universe but how powerful was it really?


    The myriad of emotions that flooded through Zen made him understand the sheer helplessness the fragment had felt when it broke.


    He went back to what Lavender had told him: the current round of heavens was the sky. After the old one had been destroyed, a new round of heavens had to be established to replace it. Countless warriors, after breaking through to the Life and Death Realm, would encounter life and death crises, namely the small Heavenly Tribulations and the big Heavenly Tribulations. Both were coursed through the sky.


    Once the old round of heavens had been destroyed, the new one replaced it, but how?


    These were all still unresolved questions and unfathomable secrets for Zen, but his acquisition of the Heavenly Fragment meant that everything would unfold in due time.


    Besides the memories and emotions of the fragment itself, he also found something special.


    Rows of densely packed characters appeared and mapped themselves in Zen''s mind.


    Each row of characters followed a format: the upper row had golden characters while the lower row was of a darker gold, resembling a question and an answer.


    These characters were the Law of Causality recorded in the Heavenly Fragment, but of course, Zen had no idea what it was at the time being.


    The first row was the cause, and the second was the effect.


    This Law of Causality was the general principle of the universe. If a warrior wanted to cultivate cause and effect, he or she must choose this law that recorded all rules of causality.


    The seed one planted would grow flowers, plants, or trees.


    Hard work shall yield a harvest.


    The cultivation of a special technique would allow a warrior to break through at a certain time.


    Every living being, be it a simple plant or a mighty warrior, was encompassed by cause and effect, making the Law of Causality the superior rule of the entire universe.


    Fire Law, Water Law, Time Law, and Space Law could never hold a candle against it since they all belonged to the inferior laws.


    However, one couldn''t exist without the other. Both the superior and inferior rules existed side by side and played a part together as the universe accorded.


    Of course, the rules that had been recorded in the Heavenly Fragment were from 3.6 billion years ag


    might be the Heavenly Fragment that had caused such a shocking change to Zen.


    What exactly did he comprehend from the fragment? Did he activate some kind of Law of Causality?


    Just as she thought about it, Zen''s body suddenly began to expand. From an infant, he gradually grew up and became a little boy.


    "What''s going on?" Lavender''s eyes flashed. "Is he¡­ Is this body rebuilding itself or is it a reincarnation?"


    Even Lavender and the cyan dragon had very limited understanding of the Law of Causality.


    From what they knew, the Law of Causality was heaven''s purest law. Even Supreme Lords had difficulty mastering it. Therefore, those who managed such a heavy task were considered the best of the best.


    From what Lavender could remember, both body rebuilding and reincarnation could achieve this effect. However, there was no way to be sure since this was the first time she had witnessed this kind of Law of Causality.


    "Does it matter which one it is?" Margaret asked with genuine concern.


    "It doesn''t," Lavender replied. "If his body is rebuilt, it will only become purer. If his body is reincarnated, it won''t have any effect on him but I believe he will wake up."


    Zen''s body was like a freak existence in the entire universe. His body had already become purer after being infiltrated by the primordial energy.


    Body rebuilding was a kind of adventure to other warriors, but it might not be a good thing for Zen since a rebuilt body might not be as strong as his current one.


    "I see¡­"


    Margaret nodded. She did not understand or really care about what was going on. All she wanted was for Zen to wake up.

 Chapter 1034 Determined

    The change was quite visible as Zen''s body steadily expanded. When he had previously shrunk, Margaret had put his old clothes away. But now as he was growing bigger, he was bare naked.


    As she stared at the scene in front of her, Lavender was poker-faced. Margaret was glancing at Lavender, her face slightly flushed. Although Margaret was not a stranger to Zen''s body, seeing another woman watch Zen''s body wasn''t something she was used to.


    On second thought, she realized that Lavender had been in Zen''s body all the time, so Lavender probably knew him better than she did.


    In the past, Margaret had never thought about Lavender''s presence. Could it be possible that the intimate whispers she and Zen shared when they made love fell into the ears of Lavender? Upon realizing such an instance, Margaret''s face turned even redder than it already was.


    Seeing Margaret''s flushed cheeks, Lavender became confused. However, Margaret had always been rather weird, so Lavender didn''t mind.


    As Zen''s body continued to enlarge, he quickly grew into the body of an eight-year-old, and then into a teenage boy of eleven or twelve years old.


    Slowly, Zen''s figure returned to his original appearance. Once again, he looked like his old twenty-year-old self.


    The two women looked eagerly at Zen on the ground. Was he going to wake up?


    After waiting for a long time, Zen''s body suddenly trembled. Right after, he finally opened his eyes.


    In the Purple Power World, the sky was painted in a deep purple color. Streaks of purplish-black Aurora constantly circulated in the air, and on the horizon, an enormous purple sun emitted an unusual purple light.


    "What is this place?" Zen looked at this unfamiliar environment and then noticed that Lavender and Margaret were right beside him.


    Lavender immediately replied, "This is the Purple Power World. Margaret brought you here."


    Not caring about anything else, Margaret threw herself into Zen''s embrace. The joy on her face was palpable.


    Zen held onto Margaret and asked, "Where''s Eddie?"


    Whether Eddie was still alive or dead was very important at the moment, and it was still Zen''s greatest concern.


    "He''s still alive," Lavender answered concisely.


    "He didn''t die?" Zen lowered his head and murmured, revealing a trace of regret on his face. However, he caught a glimpse of Letitia who was beside him from the corner of his eyes. His expression changed drastically as he pushed Margaret aside and extended his hand towards Letitia.


    Back in the battle, Eddie had shot out two gusts of Life and Death Wind, one hitting Zen and the other hitting Letitia.


    Zen understood how dangerous the Life and Death Wind was. Even the Ancient Tycoon had no way to resist it. Thanks to the Heavenly Fragment, Zen was able to recover, but what about Let


    Array could have already been completed.


    Despite his relentless efforts of chasing them, it was Zen who successfully took Margaret away. It was him who took her virginity energy as well. What Eddie didn''t expect was that Margaret had taken such a huge risk just to save Zen''s life.


    It was evident that Zen''s luck was much greater than his. The thought of this dejected Eddie. If it wasn''t for the chain of cause and effect, he could''ve already killed Zen, and his disciples of the Heavenly Evil Sect could''ve avoided the giant swords summoned by Margaret.


    On top of the city wall, many of the martial artists at the Virtual Tribulation Realm looked at this scene with cold eyes. As for the three leaders of the World Commercial Alliance, they were stalemated by Simon. At that point in time, they were in no mood to fight.


    In the eyes of the martial artists of the Oracle City, as long as Zen was still alive, then they still had hope. If Zen was truly dead, then everything was over.


    "I think we should just surrender," a martial artist at Virtual Tribulation Realm said faintly as he sat on top of the broken wall of the Oracle City.


    "We warriors of the World Commercial Alliance would rather die than submit. Why should we surrender to them?" Apparently, not everyone agreed to such an idea.


    "But facing Eddie, we do not have the strength to fight back. Why waste our lives?"


    "It''s better to die a hero than live a dishonorable existence."


    Every martial artist at that moment had a different perspective towards the battle and its outcome. However, the majority of them didn''t express their opinions. In their hearts, there was still a tiny bit of hope.


    At that same time, Eddie noticed a node floating through the air. His face instantly lit up, but a sinister look replaced it not long after, "Let me see how you''d survive this time, Zen!"

 Chapter 1035 The Situation Reversed

    Everyone was paying close attention to Eddie''s movements. So when he spoke, his words broke the hearts of the warriors of Oracle City.


    They realized that Eddie must have found where Zen was hiding.


    And this meant that their last sliver of hope would be shattered to bits.


    Eddie didn''t hesitate. He took a step forward, making his fist radiance shine, and as he threw this powerful punch, it hit the space node with a resounding bang.


    Bang!


    Eddie''s face contorted as his fist hit the space node.


    A sharp sword suddenly emerged from the space node, instantly shattering Eddie''s fist radiance and directly stabbing his fist.


    Zen had a top-grade sacred weapon in his hand. Even though Eddie''s fist was covered with a layer of solid black scales, it wasn''t enough to block the sacred weapon''s attack.


    The long sword followed its path through Eddie''s fist and pierced his arm. A huge force emanated from the sword, pushing Eddie backwards.


    The long sword emerged from the space node, followed by Zen''s right hand that held it, and then his entire body.


    Since the nerves of the fingertips are linked with the heart, piercing his fingers left Eddie with a painful expression on his charred face.


    Rocher''s sword had cut off his other hand, making it impossible for him to pull out the sword assaulting his hand. All he could do right now was keep retreating.


    Zen did not give Eddie a chance to shake the sword off; he firmly held onto the sharp sword and pushed forward. He wanted to use the sword to nail Eddie to the city wall.


    Margaret was carrying Letitia as she followed Zen out of the space node.


    "It''s Zen! He is not dead!"


    "I told you so! He has been always lucky. No matter how dangerous the situation is, he can still escape. I really don''t know how he recovered this time. It looks like he wasn''t hurt at all!"


    "The leader of the Cloud Hall is still lying immobile on the ground. Is she dead?"


    A sudden furor of discussion began among the warriors on the walls of Oracle City.


    They''d been in despair because they thought that there was no one in the Central Region who could fight Eddie.


    Zen''s Double Stars Brilliance had previously completely convinced them that he was the only one who could come even close to fighting Eddie.


    And now, Zen had returned, full of vigor and vitality, looking like he hadn''t sustained any injuries at all.


    "Kill Eddie, Zen! Go for it!"


    "Zen, we support you!"


    "Zen, I support you! Mentally!" Lewis shouted at the top of his lungs.


    Patrick smiled helplessly at this. Rocher had fainted, thankfully, or he would have taught Lewis a little lesson or two.


    Eden and Brent had appeared in the Central Region.


    Eddie''s talent couldn''t be ranked as divine level. He could only be a heaven-level talent at most.


    It was possible for a heaven-level talent to enter the Soul Sea Realm, but the difficulty would be much higher. His own talent had always been a pain in the ass for Eddie. When he first found out that his son was a divine-level talent, he had naturally nurtured him with great care.


    "Talent doesn''t matter at all. I don''t give a damn about it. Once my Lustful Demon Array is set up, I will¡ª" As Eddie spoke, Zen''s hand turned and the tip of the sword twisted accordingly inside Eddie''s arm, causing his face to pale.


    "There''s no chance for that. I''ve said it before. You dared to take Yan away, which is why you must die." Zen had barely finished talking when the two of them crashed into the wall.


    Boom!


    A large part of Oracle City''s wall had already collapsed, and this collision smashed another great hole within it. Pieces of brick fell off one after another.


    Zen pulled the sword out of Eddie''s arm at the moment of impact and stabbed it into his chest.


    Now that one of Eddie''s hands had been cut off and the other shattered by Zen''s top-grade sacred weapon, he completely lost his ability to fight back. His only option as he faced Zen''s sword was to retreat. So he chose to run through the gates and into the city, gathering speed as he ran.


    The city wall was made up of a variety of huge rocks and beams. As Eddie bumped into the wall as he ran, these rocks and beams began to collapse in the direction that he was fleeing in.


    Zen did not hesitate. The sword intent in his hand spiraled upwards and reduced the nearby beams and rocks to dust. He chased Eddie down the entire way.

 Chapter 1036 Its Over

    The warriors outside of the city saw the city wall, which was more than ten miles wide, begin to collapse like dominoes.


    On the other hand, the warriors who were watching the fight on the city wall all quickly fled to avoid being trampled by the debris.


    Puff!


    During the chasing, Zen thrust again with his sword. Eddie did not dodge in time, and so the sword left a long and narrow wound in his chest, causing blood to spill out.


    If this happened earlier in the fight, right after Eddie activated his fiend bloodline and a special layer of scales appeared on his skin, Zen probably would not be able to cause him much harm.


    After all, even when Zen was using all his attacking methods, he could not break through Eddie''s defense.


    But now the situation was vastly different.


    Zen''s Double Stars Brilliance had completely burnt Eddie''s outer layer of skin off, and the flesh underneath that was very tender and utterly defenseless. It would take him a long period of time to fully recover and regain his previous defense. Because of that, he was unable to defend himself against the top-grade sacred weapon that Zen was yielding.


    If Eddie knew that Zen was still alive and that he would chase after him to kill him, he would have left the vicinity a long time ago and would have hidden in a remote place to recuperate and wait for his body''s defenses to fully be back on their prime before returning.


    But that was neither here nor there. He was now facing Zen with his body completely vulnerable to attacks and his strength greatly decreased.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    Zen chased him from one section of the city wall to another. From time to time, the figures of the two fighting warriors would appear among the shattered parts of the city wall. Everyone became dumbstruck the moment they saw this scene.


    "Zen is really fierce. He is not afraid of Eddie at all. I thought he had been killed by Eddie, but I was wrong. He appeared again and began hunting Eddie. Wow! I admire him so much!"


    "Zen''s power is no longer something we could comprehend. His strength cannot be measured merely by his cultivation. Although his level is lower than Eddie''s, Eddie is nowhere near matching his strength!"


    "We''re going to win! I can''t believe he could really kill Eddie!"


    The unbelievable scene unfolding before their very eyes immediately made the morale of the warriors in Oracle City rise. By the look of what was happening, the World Commercial Alliance and the Cloud Hall were being miraculously saved single-handedly by Zen!


    Boom!


    Finally, Eddie was able to get past the city wall and out of the city. As soon as he did, he ran towards Simon screaming, "Simon, help!"


    Eddie, who was the number one warrior in the Central Region, was being chased by a man who was only twenty years old and had a lower cultivation level than his. With that, his reputation already took a nosedive. Undoubtedly, this tale would spread throughout the region''s tea houses and restaurants, and would be the talk of the town in no


    y seconds! Ninety seconds!


    The corner of Simon''s mouth started to twitch. Only then did he admit, though unwillingly, that his poisonous net had no effect on Zen at all.


    ''What kind of monster is this brat?'' he thought, fuming with anger. Simon sighed in his heart just as Eddie did when he realized that Zen was no ordinary warrior. After all, he knew that his poisonous net was on par with Eddie''s Life and Death Wind. It having no effect on Zen shocked him immensely.


    Dillon, Hobbes and Haber were still struggling with the snakes, but were closely following what was happening below. All of them had huge smiles on their faces.


    Zen truly had the ability to stabilize any chaotic situation.


    Puff!


    Zen buried his sword into Eddie''s back again.


    Eddie was at the end of his rope, while Zen had just undergone a cycle of reincarnation. The two were completely different in terms of physicality and mentality.


    As the sword pierced through Eddie''s body, Zen''s forceful energy burst forth, pushing the sword down harder. It once again pierced through Eddie''s chest, pinning him to the ground. Eddie was down, and had a very low chance to get up once again.


    But how could Eddie be willing to give up?


    The moment he was nailed to the ground, he was about to jump up, but Zen was already one step ahead. Zen stomped on his chest, pushing him further to the ground.


    "It''s over," Zen said as he placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. His stare at Eddie was with finality.


    Eddie raised his head and looked at Zen, his eyes finally showing signs of panic. This sect war was a sure win for him, and he was so close to establishing his own divine kingdom. But thanks to this little brat, the situation had turned for the worse and over a hundred thousand independent warriors were all dead! Now, he himself would be killed by Zen.


    How could Eddie be willing to accept his failure?


    Just then, a strange smile suddenly appeared on Eddie''s lips. "It''s over? Ha-ha! It''s still far away from over! "

 Chapter 1037 Victory

    Zen stared calmly but coldly at Eddie. He knew from the beginning that this fight wouldn''t be easy and that Eddie would not give in without a fight.


    "Sooner or later the Central Region will be wiped out by the York Divine Kingdom. Hahahahaha!" Eddie laughed hysterically and his voice was sinister. His charred face looked like the face of a monster.


    He reached out his trembling hands to fetch the Eight-diagram Mirror from his space ring and with fierce strength he threw it at Zen


    who casually blocked and pushed the Eight-diagram Mirror to the side. The Eight-diagram Mirror fell and rolled a few times on the ground. When it came to a stop, a human figure slowly formed on its broken surface.


    Everyone was looking at Zen. The battle between Zen and Eddie was what they were most concerned about. They wanted to see what tricks Eddie would use at the end of his resources.


    A human figure slowly came out of the mirror. It was the figure of a boy that Zen had met before.


    Zen looked at the little boy coming out of the mirror. With a look of contempt in his face he asked Eddie, "Is this your last resort? Is this all you''ve got? He is a nobody, someone I defeated without difficulty."


    The boy suddenly spoke up, "Your name is Zen, right?"


    "So what?" Zen coldly replied.


    "You are right! Last time I lost our fight. We fought in the Melody City and that day I only lost a small part of my soul. Now that the Star Storm has stopped, you will get what you deserve. This is your end! Hahahaha! Soon the whole Central Region will become my land! And the secret hiding in the depths of your mind will also belong to me!" The boy laughed hysterically. That boy that had been defeated by Zen was Master Wallace.


    Eddie also laughed. "Zen, I advise you to give up. Stop resisting! You are doomed! There are countless masters at the Soul Sea Realm in York Divine Kingdom. They can kill you in a flash. If you choose to surrender now, I can consider giving you a dignified death. Think about it, at least your dear ones will have a corpse to mourn."


    All the warriors in the Oracle City trembled with fear hearing Eddie''s and Master Wallace''s threats. The Central Region was in the midst of a crisis and its defeat was imminent. How could they defeat Eddie now? Victory seemed so close and now all hope had vanished. How could they win with a York Divine Kingdom on Eddie''s side?


    And with the masters at the Soul Sea Realm¡­


    The current strength of warriors in the Central Region was no match for that of Soul Sea Realm masters. A master at the Soul Sea Realm could be enough to sweep the entire Central Region away.


    There were massive Star Storms in the skies above the Chaotic Ocean of Stars, so it was very difficult for people to travel from the divine kingdoms to the Central Region. Only a few martial artists had been to the divine kingdoms and there wasn''t much communication between the martial artists of these two regions.


    To the Central Region, the four divine kingdoms were far too powerful. The Star Storm acted as a great barrier that protected the Central Region.


    On the other hand, to the four divin


    ile was gentle and sweet, bringing a feeling of ease to those who looked at her. She reached out her hand, trying to touch Zen''s arm but he slowly avoided her and kept on walking towards Letitia.


    Margaret''s hand hung in the air and she felt heartbroken. She quickly gathered herself and reminded herself who she was. She rolled her bright eyes and followed Zen. She knew that Zen was in a bad mood and that this was not the time to be cranky.


    Walking up to Letitia, Zen held her body in his arms and flew to the sky. While floating in the air he looked down at the warriors celebrating.


    The army in the Oracle City did not suffer a great loss when compared to the Heavenly Evil Sect warriors. One third of the several hundred thousand martial artists of the Oracle City lost their lives, while almost all of the martial artists in the entire Heavenly Evil Sect were killed by Margaret''s giant swords.


    All of the martial artists had gathered and were happily celebrating. Someone from the crowd suddenly started to cheer, "Zen! The mighty!"


    The sound came out loud and clear. Soon all the martial artists were shouting his name.


    "Zen! The mighty!"


    hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of voices followed.


    All of the martial artists echoed and roared with their gazes turned to sky looking at Zen.


    Zen today had become the savior of Oracle City. No, he had become the savior of all of the sects in the Central Region.


    The martial artists then used their life vitality to amplify their voices and their cheers could be heard all across the Central Region.


    Their people had suffered enough and now was time to celebrate the end of evil. Their roaring cheer for victory was thunderous. They screamed so loud with their life vitality that the sound became terrifying. From now on everyone would fear and respect Zen, the Mighty.


    The common people in the entire Oracle City cheered happily and started to dance at the sound of roar as it drifted away.


    Zen lowered his head. He stroked Letitia''s black hair and softly whispered in her ear, "Tia, can you hear that?"

 Chapter 1038 Life Energy In The Bucket

    Zen''s heart was filled with sadness as he looked down at Letitia''s peaceful, unconscious face.


    He was a person who could normally keep his emotions in check but there was no way to hide the sorrow he felt at Letitia''s current state.


    He had emerged victorious in his battle with Eddie but it came with a terrible price. Most of Letitia''s life energy had been taken away and she was now as good as dead.


    This wasn''t something that he could ever have foreseen.


    The people outside continuously shouted his name and hailed him as their hero but Zen was in no mood to join in the festivities. He silently ignored the fanfare and flew towards Oracle City.


    The three leaders of the World Commercial Alliance followed closely behind him. Right now, they were very concerned about what the boy had said to Zen regarding the possibility of the York Divine Kingdom sending their people to the Central Region.


    If that truly happened, the Central Region would be plunged into the greatest crisis in history.


    War was not uncommon in the Central Region. In its most chaotic state, the entire continent was made witness to the great sect wars wherein every sect fought for their own, attacking each other relentlessly in hopes of coming out on top. The war that had been started by the Heavenly Evil Sect was by no means unprecedented in Central Region''s history.


    However, these sect wars were ultimately internal conflicts.


    The York Divine Kingdom was an entirely different continent and any battle fought with them could be considered a fight against a potential invader.


    One Soul Sea Realm master would be enough to sweep through the entire Central Region.


    Sure, they had Zen who was unprecedentedly strong but the fact remained that he was only a warrior at the Virtual Tribulation Realm. It would be impossible for him to go up against a Soul Sea Realm master. If a fight broke out between the Central Region and the York Divine Kingdom, who would rise up as their savior?


    This was a genuine concern. The Star Storm in the Chaotic Ocean of Stars had already stopped meaning that Soul Sea Realm masters could now easily pass through and reach the Central Region.


    A crisis loomed on the horizon but they were powerless to stop it.


    Three days later¡­


    Zen looked up at the sky silently as he stood in front of the palace''s entrance doors.


    An old man walked out from the palace and sighed with regret once he saw Zen waiting for him.


    Oracle City was considered the richest in all of Central Region wherein all famous weapon refiners, alchemists, runic experts and doctors gathered.


    This old man was an example of a famous expert doctor. His name was Zaine Xue and he could be counted as a first-rate, miracle-working healer in the Central Region where famous doctors from all over the world gathered.


    "How is she?" Zen asked him anxiously.


    But the expression on Zaine Xue''s face was enough to answer Zen''s question.


    If the cyan dragon himself claimed that he couldn''t do anything, what more a mere doctor in the Central Region could do?


    However, desperat


    bilizable force ready to go.


    Once all warriors had been gathered, they all advanced towards the Ethereal Spirit Sect.


    A few days later, Zen and several others appeared in the sky above the Ethereal Spirit Sect. Just as they arrived, all of the sect-protecting arrays in the Ethereal Spirit Sect had already been put in operation.


    Despite that the Ethereal Spirit Sect had been taken over by the Heavenly Evil Sect, the sect-protecting array Arnold had left behind had not been completely destroyed. Although Eddie had already died, there had never been a lack of ambitious martial artists in this world.


    The warriors of the Heavenly Evil Sect obviously hadn''t given up and actually used the sect-protecting array of the Ethereal Spirit Sect as a last-ditch attempt to prolong their survival.


    In the eyes of some of the Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors of the Heavenly Evil Sect, they only had to hold out until the York Divine Kingdom masters arrived and reversed the situation for them.


    This was the only reason why they had not bothered with dispersing and remained to guard the Ethereal Spirit Sect.


    "Arnold''s Illusory Array is incomparable but it can only resist Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors," Zen remarked. "Break the array!"


    The strength of the World Commercial Alliance''s three leaders was equal to that of a Life and Death Realm warrior. Together with Zen, and a lot of other Virtual Tribulation Realm Warriors, breaking the sect-protecting array would be no problem.


    The Heavenly Evil Sect was already doomed given that a lot of their Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors had already died or heavily wounded. Most of the warriors that survived had fled in all directions, living the rest of their lives in anonymity. There were not many who were willing to stay in the Heavenly Evil Sect and fight till death.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    The sound was deafening as the Illusory Array crumbled under everyone''s continuous attacks.


    Zen''s figure transformed into a beam of light as he rushed towards the Ethereal Spirit Sect.

 Chapter 1039 Threat

    The Ethereal Spirit Sect had been plunged into complete chaos.


    Back when they had attacked the place, the members of the Heavenly Evil Sect were arrogant and completely ruthless.


    Rather than just taking over the sect, they had also desecrated it. The carved plaque with the words "Ethereal Spirit Sect" that had decorated the Ethereal Spirit Hall in the past had been shattered and replaced by the invaders. The new plaque weighed more than ten thousand pounds and was gilded with sparkling gold. It read "Heavenly Evil Sect" which signified the complete takeover of the entire headquarters.


    It was a pity that such a grand plaque only hung for a few months.


    The Heavenly Evil Sect was like a meteor that had risen in the sky but ended up crashing into the earth later on. The independent warriors that had joined thought they would be able to lead a peaceful and noble life in the Central Region, but the death of their leader changed all that.


    It also did not help that most of the independent warriors that had joined had no loyalty ties to the sect. They merely joined but were not necessarily trained and molded by the Heavenly Evil Sect. At first, they couldn''t escape because of the elders, but once the elders themselves fled, the warriors soon followed.


    Eden had been left behind and stayed in the Ethereal Spirit Hall. Beside him were two women who had their six senses sealed off: Yan, and Owen''s lover. Both possessed the Purple Power Body.


    Their senses had been sealed until Eddie could find the third and final Purple Power Body. Through this secret technique, the two women''s cultivation base had already reached the middle stage of the Internal Elixir Realm.


    Eden sat on the large dragon throne, yet this was the most powerless moment of his entire life.


    Everything had been so different just a few months ago. He had happily visualized the future of the Heavenly Evil Divine Kingdom as the sole power in the entire Central Region. His father would be the king, and he would be the crown prince. They would be strong and unshakeable, and no one in Central Region would be able to resist them.


    But now, everything had come crashing down around him and he realized how childish his past dreams were.


    It was only then that he realized that Zen was his and his father''s invincible opponent.


    But did it really matter at this point? Wasn''t it already too late? He had nowhere else to go. There were still a few independent warriors within their Heavenly Evil Sect but they could all flee and conceal their identities.


    Eden might''ve been a divine-level talent but h


    usion after a while. This guy only desired revenge and wanted to kill Yan in front of him!


    How could he protect Yan''s life?


    How could he eliminate Eden as fast as possible?


    Zen wasn''t so confident about the situation. His movement speed was fast and he knew he could kill Eden in the blink of an eye using his forceful energy and his Cloud-chasing Lion talent. However, Eden''s life vitality threads wrapped tightly around Yan''s neck and just one slight move of his finger could kill her.


    No matter how fast he could move, Eden would be faster.


    "You look very calm," Eden remarked. "But I know you''re just pretending. I can see that you''re very scared!"


    "You''re right," Zen affirmed.


    "I am indeed afraid that you would kill my sister. But¡­"


    "But what?" Eden asked.


    "But..." Just as he spoke, Zen circulated his forceful energy and took a step forward.


    However, as he had thought, Eden was quicker and more vigilant than him. Zen''s figure only flashed for a moment but Eden''s finger had already tightened and drew more blood out of the two women''s necks.


    "Zen!"


    Owen shouted, hurriedly stopping Zen from advancing.


    "You take me for a fool?" Eden smirked at the two.


    "Do you, Zen?"


    Zen could only grit his teeth and glare at Eden in rage. The siege of the Ethereal Spirit Sect seemed to be backfiring on him. Had he known that this was going to happen, he would''ve just figured out a way to sneak into the sect and covertly rescue his sister. Zen truly did not anticipate Eden''s intentions and behavior.


    Eden, on the other hand, was just waiting for Zen to arrive so that he could kill Yan in front of him.


    This was all exactly what Eden wanted and they were now all playing by his rules.

 Chapter 1040 One Ten-millionth Of Power

    Warm blood continued to gush out from the girls'' necks, and then it soaked their clothes. Zen''s heart sank as he watched. Countless thoughts raced in his mind.


    Red blood continued to spill out of Yan''s neck. She was losing her life fast.


    Millions of miles away from the Central Region, strange birds circled a desolate mountain beneath the vast sky.


    All of the strange birds spread out their wide, expansive wings, which looked like the size of a small universe.


    On a closer look, there were many living creatures that tried to settle down on the birds'' bodies. Some of them were even warriors who tried to cultivate on the birds'' wings, in hopes of flying into the Upper World one day.


    But however large the strange birds were, they were nothing compared to the massive mountain behind them. They were like small black dots on the largest sheet of paper.


    Because of the mountain''s colossal size that exceeded people''s imaginations, its height was difficult to measure. No one could see the entire mountain even from any angle.


    On the mountain peak, several people quietly sat down as they gazed at the chaotic turn of events in the distance.


    Nobody knew how much time they had been sitting there. It could be a day or a thousand years, even.


    For them however, time seemed to stop and flow quickly in succession. A thousand years could pass in a blink of an eye.


    "There seems to be a problem. The pointer is about to die," a young man who wore a feathered crest said.


    "Yes, I feel it too. If we don''t do anything, then we will meet a dead end." Another white-haired old man nodded slightly.


    "Do something then," said the young man.


    Before either of them could respond, they were cut off by another voice.


    "I won''t.


    The guy couldn''t even protect his sister. Why did you choose him? He''s not the only one who can lead the world of chaos! Can''t you just pick another one?" a chubby man who stood at the edge of the mountain said.


    He shook his fat head to reject the young man''s earlier suggestion when no one seemed to agree with him.


    "You don''t know. He is very special, and the Heavenly Fragment is already in his hands," the young man muttered.


    "If you want to help him, do it by yourself. I don''t want to get myself involved," the fat man said in refusal.


    "Alright, I''ll go by myself!"


    With a huff, the young man disappeared from the mountain peak.


    Meanwhile, time passed quietly in the Ethereal Spirit Hall.


    Every passing second sent a jolt of pain to Zen''s heart. Every time he watched the girls'' bloody necks, he felt shattered.


    However, he


    Lord wouldn''t be able to make her look that alarmed.


    "You are the little girl from the Demon Night who is in charge of killings." The young man smiled and nodded at Lavender.


    After Lavender became the Queen of Killings, she had lived for many years in the Demon Night. However, she was still a little girl for the young man. Thus, Zen couldn''t even imagine how long this man had been alive.


    "Yan is Zen''s pointer. The two of them complement each other. It''s not good for you to take her away like this," Lavender shifted her gaze to the young man and pleaded.


    "Rather than making her suffer, it''s better to go to the last step and take her away. If Zen has the strength, she will still guide him up the mountain," the young man replied.


    No words came out of Lavender''s lips. She knew that she couldn''t change the young man''s mind. Even if she held a high position in the Demon Night, the young man was much stronger than her.


    However, Zen wouldn''t give his sister up to the young man that easily. He ignored the young man and Lavender''s conversation and continued to walk towards Yan. He felt a pang in his heart when he saw Yan''s six senses that were sealed. He wanted to remove the seal on her.


    "Don''t go any further." The young man stopped in front of Zen and stretched out a finger. "I don''t want to leave a shadow on your warrior spirit. If you go forward, I''ll let you feel my power!"


    "Your power?" Zen raised his eyebrows and glared at the young man.


    "Yes, one ten-millionth of my power." The young man smiled.


    He stretched a finger out, and then circles of light spread out from his fingertip.


    When Zen saw the light, his face became serious.


    Was that really just one ten-millionth of his power?

 Chapter 1041 Yan Woke Up

    Zen had no idea how this power was formed. He couldn''t even feel the waves of life vitality within it.


    No matter what kind of power this young man used, Zen had to go all out to fight him.


    The light quickly spread towards Zen, who concentrated with all his might and activated all the power of the stars that he could muster. Simultaneously, the power of the dragon scales that had begun to simmer erupted with a mighty boom.


    The collective force of his power was enough to destroy a mountain range or cut off a river in its path.


    But only when the light circles reached Zen did he realize the difference between him and this young man.


    The light circles looked peaceful. People couldn''t even feel the energy contained within them. But the moment Zen touched them, he felt a formidable force radiating from them.


    He wouldn''t be able to shake them off even if his strength increased tenfold.


    "Boom!"


    The first light circle suddenly exploded, and the rest followed in close succession.


    The energy within the light circles should have been enough to destroy the whole of the Ethereal Spirit Sect. But instead of spreading in all directions as it should have, it was behaving strangely and went directly towards Zen.


    Bam!


    There was another ringing sound.


    Zen was sent flying backwards like an arrow. He flew past the Ethereal Spirit Hall, the entire Ethereal Spirit Sect, the plains, and the Ethereal City.


    Zen, having been pushed by this powerful force, flew at a speed that was 20 times faster than when he flew with the burst of his life vitality and forceful energy. He had now managed to travel several hundred miles in a matter of a few seconds.


    Zen finally crashed into a lush forest, colliding and crashing through hundreds of trees before he finally came to a stop.


    The forest had become a mess. If one looked at the expanse from above, one could see a small path appear at the edge of the forest and gradually make its way inward. Broken tree trunks littered this path.


    This small path was one that Zen''s body had carved during his descent.


    A killer weasel stealthily ran across the forest. It was small in size, but was actually a ferocious third grade beast. Its gaze rested on Zen for a few seconds before it disappeared into the depths of the forest. The aura that Zen''s body was emitting clearly told it that he was not someone that it could provoke.


    Zen took a long time trying to suppress the shock he was feeling as he lay prostrate on the forest floor, but in vain. Had it just been one ten-millionth of his total strength? If the young man used his full strength, wouldn''t he be able to destroy this boundless world with just a wave of his hand?


    The energy


    ther troublesome to use, which was why the World Commercial Alliance rarely used it.


    Using this method to bring a few warriors at the Internal Elixir Realm to the World Commercial Alliance was meaningless. However, if it was for the Lustful Demon Array, this secret technique could be very valuable for Eddie.


    The process of sealing the six senses was extremely troublesome, and unsealing the six senses was similarly extremely complicated. If they were to bring Yan back, it was likely that they would have to take great efforts and spend at least several months before they could unlock the sealing.


    But this young man had carelessly waved his hand and solved the problem in the blink of an eye. It was truly incredible.


    Yan immediately woke up, her eyelids twitching before she opened her eyes. People could see the confusion in her eyes.


    Her six senses had been sealed for over two years, and even though she had been constantly cultivating during these two years, her entire body and mind had been sealed. If martial artists who were over a hundred years old had been treated the way Yan had been treated, the sealing probably wouldn''t have had much of an impact on them. After all, in the long years of a warrior''s life, it was common for a martial artist to go into closed-door cultivation for ten years, or even a hundred years.


    However, Yan was still young. In her short life so far, she had spent one-tenth of her time with her six senses sealed. This would have a negative impact on her body and mind.


    She was at a loss now, her mind filled with doubt as she looked at the strange surroundings and the strange faces in front of her.


    A familiar figure suddenly entered her sight, filling her oval face with surprise. She finally opened her mouth and called out to Zen. "Brother..."

 Chapter 1042 Confiding In Yan (Part One)

    The short lives of those two siblings were to be full of misfortunes. It was as if it was written in the stars that they had to go through such so that they might serve their true purpose.


    Ever since they got older, the chance to stay together became rare. Whenever they had an opportunity to be with one another, an obstacle came each time.


    Martial cultivators could keep growing stronger because of their natural advantage and unique luck, but it was almost impossible for them to escape their fate.


    Just like what others had told Zen, Yan was his ultimate guide in life. Every step that he took had a purpose that was related to her. Their lives were connected.


    When he was still in the Luo Clan, Zen had always intended to head to the Cloud Sect in search for his sister. After he successfully located her, his next objective was to save her. Because of his excellence as a disciple, he was able to take her away from the Hell Mountain.


    Unexpectedly, after a short period of reunion, they had been separated once again for several years. They never saw each other since.


    All of Yan''s six senses had been blocked, so she didn''t have much clue what was happening around her ¡ª not even the passing of time. Her memory had also stopped processing new thoughts and absorbing new ones two years ago.


    Back then, she despaired for the most part.


    The only thought that stuck with her, for the most part, was if her brother could really save her from Eddie.


    It was without question that Zen was extremely talented, but he was in the Eastern Region. Her brother had fought formidable opponents in the Eastern Region, but the Central Region had their own ferocious talents.


    ething on unfamiliar grounds that no one else ever did.


    Seeing Yan''s shocked expression, Zen smiled softly. In a serious tone, he reassured, "I will never lie to you. Eddie is dead, really dead this time. And it was I who killed him."


    "I believe you!" Yan responded firmly. Since Zen had already confirmed it, how could she doubt her brother? He said it himself, he wasn''t lying to her and he never could.


    For some reason, she couldn''t help but worry. She asked, "Then¡­


    Will you get me out of this place?"


    If Eddie really was dead, then she had finally regained her freedom. She could return to her brother''s side safe and sound and without any more obstacles. Her mind hadn''t stopped working despite all her blocked senses. While she was imprisoned in the world where only her consciousness existed, she had always looked forward to the very day her brother came to the rescue.


    However, Zen shook his head and said no.


    The expression on Yan''s face shifted quickly. Raising her voice by a notch, she asked, "Why?"


    At that moment, Zen turned his head and asked, "Can''t you give me a little more time?"

 Chapter 1043 Confiding In Yan (Part Two)

    If there was something that man knew well, it was patience. He only smiled at Zen and said, "Time doesn''t matter to me. Do as you wish."


    Time was limited for most ordinary mortals, but for people like him who had lived for millions of years, it didn''t really matter that much.


    "Thank you," Zen glanced at the man before he pulled Yan''s hand and walked out of the Ethereal Spirit Hall.


    Although the Ethereal Spirit Sect had been invaded by the Heavenly Evil Sect, it had also been chosen as their temporary headquarters. Therefore, its surroundings were well-preserved and taken care of. It was nothing like the Ethereal City, where the independent warriors had taken away all that they could carry and destroyed those they couldn''t.


    As they walked out of the Ethereal Spirit Hall, a green scenery inundated their eyes. It was a sight to behold.


    They walked side by side along a shady path lined by trees. Zen looked quite calm, while Yan''s face was filled with distress. She was bothered by the same question. Why couldn''t Zen just get her out of that place?


    "Why can''t you just take me with you?"


    After walking for a short distance, Yan suddenly stopped and asked. There was an unpleasant look in her eyes and her tone resembled that of a kid throwing a tantrum.


    After thinking for a while, Zen replied with all due honesty, "That man in the hall will be the one to take you, not me."


    "I don''t want to go with him," Yan replied, shaking her head. They had been separated for such a long time, and now that Zen had killed Eddie, was


    " Yan enthusiastically nodded. Although unhappy about their current circumstance, Yan genuinely wanted to know what had happened to her brother in those years that had passed. She was curious about his experiences and how he had managed to eliminate Eddie in just a short period of time.


    "In fact, I saw you at the Oracle City''s Martial Arts Contest two years ago. But your senses were fully blocked then," Zen said.


    "Really?" Yan exclaimed, having no single memory of that occurrence at all.


    They continued to stroll along the green path as Zen told his stories after the last time they saw each other. The Cloud Road test, the enrollment of the Cloud Hall, the Martial Arts Contest, the competition for the Dragon Soar Arena, the fight with Marilyn, the activation of the enchanted lamp from the celestial tomb, the journey to the Sea God Continent...


    Zen told every single experience he had to Yan without any reservation. They had been apart for too long, and the truth of all things was the only gift he could give her.

 Chapter 1044 Confusion

    Zen did not hold anything back from his loved ones. This included his fate to lead the world of chaos with Yan as his guide. He was a little muddled about these things, for they were mere guesses and conjectures, but he wanted Yan to understand that this was their fate.


    If he wanted complete control of his destiny, he needed to have enough strength. Unfortunately, he wasn''t strong enough right now. Far from it.


    Because he was unable to change his and Yan''s fate, he could only watch helplessly as Yan was taken away.


    Zen slowly narrated the situation while Yan listened on quietly. When Zen talked about all the dangers he had dealt with, she widened her eyes and covered her mouth with her small hands, a worried expression on her face.


    Yan found it hard to swallow that her brother had experienced so much danger in the past few years, and all of it for her sake.


    When Zen finished speaking, Yan let out a long sigh of relief. She vaguely understood their fate.


    The two siblings were destined to walk a life of struggle.


    However, compared to Zen, Yan was a bit more fortunate, for she only needed to be patient and wait for her brother.


    Zen, however, was risking his blood and life to fight his fate. In this journey of destiny, any misstep could lead him to death.


    "I''m sorry, but I understand now." Yan''s eyes were red. She knew that she shouldn''t have blamed him.


    Zen just smiled. "I should be the one apologizing to you. I''m worthless. If I had enough strength, I wouldn''t have let anyone take you away, even if it was God''s will. Certainly not that young man."


    Hearing Zen''s words, Yan smiled back. "I believe you. You''ll get stronger soon."


    Yan''s eyes shone with blinding trust.


    The reunion was short, but the brother and sister cherished every second of it. They strolled in the forest before reluctantly entering the Ethereal Spirit Hall.


    As they walked in, Zen''s gaze landed on the young man''s face. "I can allow you to take Yan away," he stated coldly.


    The young man''s mouth curved in a faint smirk. "You don''t have the ability to refuse."


    A streak of vital light left Zen''s eyes. He fixed his gaze on the young man, replying, "You are right. I''m not strong enough to stop you at the moment. But I will be one day. If anything bad happens to Yan before it, you will pay!"


    Zen didn''t feel that the young man in front of him was very hostile. His reason for taking Yan away was not so bothersome, so Zen''s tone was not too harsh.


    Unexpectedly, the young man k


    was worried about his sister even before the latter headed to the Ethereal Spirit Sect, so he had waited to discuss this matter with Zen.


    With Zen back at the World Commercial Alliance, Dillon wasted no time in approaching him.


    From Zen''s tone before, Dillon deemed that he had found a way to tackle the situation. However, Dillon couldn''t figure out how Zen planned to deal with the Soul Sea Realm warriors from the York Divine Kingdom.


    Perceiving the worries of Dillon and the others, Zen smiled. "I have a way to deal with the matter. The connections of the World Commercial Alliance are all over the Central Region. Please help me look for someone extraordinary who would be capable of curing Letitia."


    The confident expression on Zen''s face confused the three leaders of World Commercial Alliance. Previously, fighting Eddie had been difficult enough for him. Why was he so confident about facing the powerful warriors of the Soul Sea Realm? What the hell was Zen up to?


    Could it be that Zen had retained his strength and was able to face the powerful warriors of the Soul Sea Realm successfully?


    That was impossible!


    But if so, Zen wouldn''t have just let Eddie use the Life and Death Wind, causing Letitia to confront this fate.


    But what else could explain Zen''s utter confidence?


    The three leaders could not come up with an answer to this question no matter how hard they tried. Zen had never let them down before. They wondered if he truly had a solution.


    Dillon agreed to it, promising that the World Commercial Alliance would mobilize all their connections to find this one extraordinary person who could come up with a way to save Letitia.

 Chapter 1045 Ancient Jade

    Zen still felt the chances were slim.


    The famous doctor, Zaine Xue, had already examined Letitia and proclaimed that she was not injured, nor did she harbor any kind of disease. Her life energy was just depleted and left her in a vegetative state, like a wilted flower.


    There was no way one could bring a wilted flower back to life. However, Zen was not going to give up.


    Letitia was also struggling with her life, and he had no right to give up on her.


    Many disciples of Cloud Hall had already returned to Cloudy City through the transmission array. Since Letitia''s condition made her unable to take charge of the sect''s affairs, the elders agreed to have Zen become the interim leader for the time being.


    It was a very suitable arrangement. After his victory against Eddie, Zen was now the number one warrior in Central Region. It would be to Cloud Hall''s advantage to have such a strong person in charge of its affairs.


    Zen, however, refused.


    He had no intention of taking charge and, after the defeat of the Heavenly Evil Sect, he was sure that both the Cloud Hall and the World Commercial Alliance would now reign supreme in the Central Region with or without him as the leader. Besides, he had other important matters to attend to.


    Still, there was a need to appoint a leader for Cloud Hall.


    In the end, Zen chose Saint Morphens.


    The battle with Eddie left Saint Morphens with a few injuries after he had taken a punch from him. It had taken him a few days to recuperate, but he was now as good as new. It made sense to appoint someone like him since Saint Morphens had served as Letitia''s close confidant. Zen was at ease with him taking charge of Cloud Hall.


    Zen remained by Letitia''s side.


    She was like a sleeping beauty that showed no signs of ever waking up.


    He would sit beside her most of the time to cultivate. When he wasn''t cultivating, he''d comfort himself by quietly staring at her sleeping face all day long.


    During this time, the World Commercial Alliance had already spread the news throughout the entire Central Region.


    Their influence reached even the remotest areas of the Central Region. This was thanks to their monopoly of life vitality crystal trade and circulation in the entire Central Region.


    The population of the entire Central Region was abuzz with discussion.


    "I heard the bounty was a low-grade sacred weapon plus a thousand supreme life vitality crystals."


    "Isn''t that too high? Most ordinary third-grade sects don''t even pos


    "Treasure? You? What a joke!" a guard said coldly. "Take him away!"


    Realizing that they would never believe him, the beggar took out a tattered sack of cloth and held out a piece of ancient jade. "This ancient jade was left behind by an immortal and has the ability to restore a person''s life energy. I heard that Master Ning''s life energy has been exhausted. This ancient jade of mine is definitely useful!"


    "Fuck off!" the guard spat. How could he ever listen to the ramblings of a beggar? There were just too many swindlers in Oracle City nowadays. The guards had naturally gotten tired of listening to these kinds of gimmicks.


    Most of these supposed swindlers only dared to wander around the Heavenly Stellar Palace, but none had the gall to actually break inside.


    At first, Zen had no plans of interfering in this matter. However, the ancient jade the beggar had shown to the guards changed his mind.


    The beggar wasn''t lying. Zen could indeed feel the life energy from the ancient jade. Using his perception to scan it, he discovered that it was similar to a living thing.


    "Take him away! Make sure to put him behind bars. That''ll teach him!" A few guards had already grabbed the beggar by the shoulder, preparing to escort him out of the palace.


    It was then that Zen decided to make his appearance. "Hold on!"


    The leader of the guards immediately bowed down in shame once he realized that Zen had actually been alerted. "Master Luo, we..."


    "Silence," Zen said dismissively. He then turned to the beggar. "Come with me!"


    A look of ecstasy appeared on the beggar''s face at Zen''s words. As for the guards, they immediately let him go.

 Chapter 1046 The Beggar (Part One)

    There was no guarantee that this ancient jade would be of any use, but Zen would take any chance he could get. He was a desperate man clutching at straws.


    There was only one way to find out if it could heal Letitia. At the very least, he would be able to feel the life energy within this ancient jade.


    He had no more time to waste. Letitia, who used to be full of life energy, was quickly wasting away. The Life and Death Wind had all but depleted her life energy. Zen didn''t know how much longer she could last, and he prayed silently that she would be able to absorb the life energy inside the jade.


    He led the beggar into the room where Letitia was. Then, extending his hand, Zen said coldly, "Hand it over."


    The beggar took a step back in surprise and curled into a defensive stance. "If it''s effective, then the rewards..." he demanded, looking at Zen and maintaining his careful pose.


    "You will be compensated well, as long as it works," Zen replied impatiently.


    However, the beggar shook his head at this and said, "The things you are offering are of no use to me. I am only a warrior at the nature level." He paused before continuing, "I want to join the Cloud Hall or the World Commercial Alliance instead."


    Zen''s patience was wearing thin. He had no time for this beggar''s demands. Throwing a sharp glance at him, he answered, "If the jade works, I can help you. So stop with the demands and give me the jade."


    In the world of warriors, there was only one thing that mattered¡ªstrength. Zen could easily snatch the jade from the beggar. He could even kill him to make sure his mouth was kept shut. That was what many others would do.


    But not Zen.


    The beggar of course understood this


    e hundred years ago, the clan fell and no one was able to revive it.


    However, from the ruins of the clan, the eight pieces of ancient jade had survived and had been preserved to this day. They were the Li Clan''s most precious treasures. No one in the clan had ever thought of using them.


    Then came the announcement from the World Commercial Alliance that anyone who managed to save Letitia would be rewarded greatly. Hanson Li had caught word of this. The announcement already mentioned of something that had to do with life energy. Taking the jade, he went forward and tried his luck. The Li Clan had already been buried in the dust of the past, but he might be able to change his future.


    According to the old records of his clan, the ancient jade contained life energy, and from what he had seen just now, it seemed that it was indeed useful.


    Hanson Li was no fool. He knew that if he were to take all the pieces of ancient jade and give them all at once, he would not be able to make the most use out of them. There were also plenty of stronger warriors than him. If they were to snatch away the jade, all his hopes would be gone.

 Chapter 1047 The Beggar (Part Two)

    And so he made a plan. When he entered Oracle City, he found a few, secret places and hid the remaining seven pieces of ancient jade in seven different locations. Only he knew where they were. No one else would be able to find and use them except him.


    However, he was now facing a dilemma. He did not expect Zen to see through his plans so quickly. He fidgeted as he thought of the best way to answer his question. Zen was quick to notice the beggar''s hesitation, and he knew immediately that his speculation was right on the mark. He asked the question again, this time more sternly. "How many pieces of ancient jade are left? Where are they?"


    "I...I..." Hanson Li stuttered. He originally wanted Zen to swear on his warrior spirit that he would live up to his promise. That way, he would have a guarantee that he would get what he wanted, even if he had to give up the seven pieces of the ancient jade. However, under Zen''s severe expression, his tongue kept on trembling.


    Zen was getting more and more ticked off at the beggar''s seeming refusal to answer. "The things that I have promised will definitely be fulfilled!" he assured him. "In the future, you will be a member of the Cloud Hall and you will be under its protection. Now answer my questions," he demanded.


    Zen did not want to waste a single more second bargaining. He needed to know how many more pieces of ancient jade the man had.


    "Seven! I still have seven pieces of ancient jade. I buried them all outside Oracle City." The words poured out quickly from Hanson Li''s mouth.


    ''Seven...''


    Zen felt the heavy weight of disappointmen


    time that he had seen a piece of ancient jade that contained life energy. If Hanson Li could give him any clue, he was determined to go and find these pieces of ancient jade at all costs. He wouldn''t just sit still and watch as Letitia''s life energy dwindled.


    "Tell me," Zen repeated when the man did not answer. "Tell me everything you know about these jades, and 1, 000 supreme life vitality crystals will be yours. You will also become an elite disciple of Cloud Hall."


    Now that the Heavenly Evil Sect and the Ethereal Spirit Sect had been annihilated, the Cloud Hall was the largest sect in the Central Region apart from the World Commercial Alliance. Even when the Cloud Hall was only a fourth-grade sect, warriors from the Central Region had all been rushing in like a flock of birds, and competition had only escalated from then.


    As a nature creature with a mediocre talent in martial arts cultivation, Hanson Li could never hope to enter Cloud Hall. However, right in front of him was an opportunity to change his fate. How could he let this chance go by?

 Chapter 1048 The Soul Sea Realm Masters

    Hanson quickly nodded and said, "The ancient jades were left behind by my ancestor."


    Zen was also anxious and naturally impatient as the fellow in front of him wasn''t giving him a straight answer.


    "So, I don''t know where exactly the ancient jades came from..." Hanson repeated.


    Upon hearing this, a murderous look took over Zen''s face. He stared at Hanson and said coldly, "You''re playing a trick on me!"


    Hanson was stunned to find himself suddenly enveloped in Zen''s killing intent. His face turned deathly pale and his legs went weak. Unexpectedly, he knelt on the ground. "I don''t dare fool you. Please let me finish what I''m going to say first!"


    "Speak!" commanded Zen tersely.


    "The ancient jades have indeed been left behind by my ancestors. However, our Li Clan saved someone seven hundred years ago. That person... He is a master from one of the four great divine kingdoms!" Hanson quickly added, "Our Li Clan was able to develop and become more powerful because of him! Although my ancestors haven''t told me about the history of the ancient jades, I''m assuming they might have been left behind by him."


    "They came from the four divine kingdoms!" Zen suddenly raised his eyebrows.


    There was some truth in Hanson''s conjecture. He had never heard of the ancient jades in the Central Region but they contained miraculous life force.


    If the ancient jades came from the Central Region, other members of the region would have found them long ago as they were very powerful.


    Irrespective of that, Zen had finally found a clue. The life force contained in these ancient jades was not enough to wake Letitia up, so he had to make a trip to the four divine kingdoms!


    When Zen was lost in thought, he saw Hanson looking at him eagerly. He naturally understood what he was thinking, so he said, "Follow me."


    Hanson was overjoyed. He followed closely behind Zen and they went straight to the World Commercial Alliance.


    The atmosphere in the World Commercial Alliance was still solemn. Despite Zen''s promise of single-handedly dealing with the Soul Sea Realm masters of the York Divine Kingdom, Dillon and the others were still preparing for the battle.


    But no matter how much the World Commercial Alliance members, who were highly intelligent, tried, they still couldn''t come up with an effective strategy for the war.


    The Central Region and the four great divine kingdoms were on completely different levels. Up until now, the Central Region never had a sacred place in its true sense, and the four great divine kingdoms had a long history with quite a few Soul Sea Realm warriors. Thus it was possible that the four great divine kingdoms might be stronger than the Sea God Continent.


    Even Eddie, who was at the Life and Death Realm, almost destroyed the Cloud Hall and the World Comme


    ry simple! Indeed, I do not have the strength to fight a Soul Sea Realm master, but since the York Divine Kingdom will send their Soul Sea Realm masters here, we can also ask our Soul Sea Realm masters to fight them!"


    "What?" Everyone in the meeting hall was shocked.


    Soul Sea Realm masters? The Central Region didn''t have any such powerful masters.


    "Zen, are you joking?" asked an elder of the World Commercial Alliance, shaking his head. He did not believe Zen at all.


    "I am not joking," Zen said calmly.


    Everyone looked at each other in confusion, but they felt that Zen was being illogical. Hobbes questioned him, "If you have the help of the Soul Sea Realm masters, why didn''t they show up to help you when you were fighting with Eddie?"


    Zen was almost killed by Eddie in the battle against the Heavenly Evil Sect, and Letitia had been unable to wake up because of Eddie.


    Zen''s eyes flashed. "Because Eddie is someone I must kill on my own! In order to stabilize my warrior spirit, I must personally kill Eddie! This is my test and also the first step towards conquering the whole universe!" he exclaimed.


    Zen''s words reverberated throughout the room as an aura of majesty erupted from him. This was his domineering demeanor.


    His domineering aura was completely different from that of Eddie whose aura was extremely crass and imperious. Eddie couldn''t be bothered to reason with anyone and would suppress all those who opposed him. But Zen had an impressive aura!


    Who would have thought that he would actually risk his life to fight Eddie in order to reinforce his warrior spirit! He clearly had a safer option, but he was willing to risk his life and chose the most difficult path. And he would do so bravely.


    Everyone was silent for a long time.


    Finally Dillon asked, "Well, may I know where the Soul Sea Realm masters you mentioned are?"

 Chapter 1049 Charging Forward

    Everyone''s collective gaze was focused on Zen.


    Dillon''s question was also what everyone was most concerned about.


    Zen had said that they could have the help of the powerful warriors of the Soul Sea Realm. But they were nowhere to be seen. Where were they?


    There were many hermits in the Central Region


    who never ventured into active society. Even the World Commercial Alliance knew little about some of them. It was said that there were even two or three Life and Death Realm warriors among them. But who they were, no one knew.


    However, there were no powerful warriors of the Soul Sea Realm among the hermits.


    Where would Zen get the Soul Sea Realm warriors from?


    "Master Shi, I will give you the answer in seven days. Please be patient," Zen said, folding his hands respectfully.


    Dillon nodded. He believed in Zen the most. Moreover, Zen had no reason to lie; it would not benefit him in any way. Moreover, the powerful masters of the York Divine Kingdom were targeting Zen.


    As to the others, they were still somewhat skeptical about what Zen was saying. Seven days would pass by very quickly and soon enough, they would know whether or not Zen''s words were true.


    Hanson had originally followed Zen here, greedily hoping for rewards. But when he heard talks about the powerful warriors at the Soul Sea Realm, he suddenly felt dizzy and confused.


    However this meeting hall was full of warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm. A mere nature creature like him would tremble in the face of any one of them. He didn''t dare to interrupt.


    Sensing the lull in the conversation, he said in a low voice, "Well, about my reward¡­" and the voice trailed off.


    Dillon looked coldly at Hanson and then ordered someone beside him to take Hanson to get the supreme life vitality crystals.


    Hanson didn''t dare ask Zen about joining the Cloud Hall, but he was smart enough to understand the situation. Since Zen had agreed to it, Hanson believed that he would keep his promise. So he thought that he could go to the Cloud Hall once he had obtained a thousand supreme life vitality crystals. Once he told them that Zen had promised him about letting him join the Cloud Hall, the Cloud Hall couldn''t refuse him.


    Zen summoned Lavender once he returned to the Heavenly Stellar Palace.


    Lavender had been hiding within Zen''s body all this time, so she knew why Zen had summoned her.


    When they had left the Sea God Continent, Amber had connected a message rune to Lavender''s statue.


    Since Lavender''s soul was too weak, she was unable to communicate with the Demon Night''s sacred land through the statue like the other queens did.


    However, with the special message rune connected to the queen''s statue, she knew that it would work.


    Once Zen ignited the message rune, Lavender closed her eyes. Her eyelashes trembled as she entered a different state of mind.


    Tens of thousands of miles away, the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place stood on the Sea God Continent across the endless sea.


    The members of the Demon Night from the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place had a routine that consisted of worshiping at the supreme queens


    f the Central Region, a huge space windstorm suddenly whirled into existence.


    An enormous transmission array appeared in the air.


    Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! The space storm roared.


    Such a massive space windstorm could crush ordinary martial artists to pieces.


    But within this space windstorm was a squad of over a hundred warriors who seemed to have completely ignored the windstorm and forcefully rushed out of the transmission array.


    The group consisted of over a hundred warriors and was led by nine powerful warriors of the Soul Sea Realm. Everyone else were powerful war sages.


    "This is the Central Region? Zen''s hometown?" As Miguel glanced down at the distant coastline of the continent, he didn''t know what to feel.


    Before Zen had come to the Sea God Continent, the humans of the Purple Heart Sacred Place had always been like orphans, grabbing on to a corner on the Sea God Continent to survive. He hadn''t thought that the continent that Zen had lived on would be completely ruled by humans.


    "Let''s go," a powerful Soul Sea Realm master from the Demon Night said after she had looked over the place. She didn''t feel the same way as Miguel did. Their only motive that had driven the members of the Demon Night to come here was to serve their queen.


    And so, this group of over a hundred martial artists began to charge forward.


    "S-Sir, something terrible has happened!" A scream rent the air from the direction of the Fish Dragon Sect that was located in the outermost region of the Central Region.


    "What are you panicking about?" When Master Xiao, who was the leader of the Fish Dragon Sect heard the scream, his face darkened as he shouted at the person who had spoken, "When we cultivate our warrior spirit, the most important thing is to stay calm. Panic will not help you achieve anything!"


    Master Xiao fumed, his cleverness and sophistication coming to the fore.


    The Heavenly Evil Sect had ravaged half of the Central Region, and many of the third grade forces were destroyed. However, the Fish Dragon Sect managed to survive without much damage.

 Chapter 1050 Bitterness

    "But...but..." the person reporting the information stammered.


    "You can''t even speak properly. What a stupid good-for-nothing you are!" Xiao snapped furiously. The person reporting the matter was one of his subordinates for whom he had high hopes. The fellow was usually calm and steady, but today, he was blabbering like a moron.


    Xiao felt something was amiss. "What happened exactly?" he asked.


    "There...there are a lot of people outside, many warriors," the flustered man said.


    "Many warriors? What level of strength do they have?" Xiao asked again.


    "I''m not sure. Sir, you''d better check it out personally," the man suggested.


    Xiao snorted coldly. His puzzlement grew. ''What kind of warriors are these who have scared the life out of him?'' he wondered.


    He walked out of his residence and looked up. He saw around a hundred people floating in the sky.


    "What kind of strength..." he muttered as he looked at the army of warriors. He inhaled sharply and cold air filled his nose, making him cough violently.


    "Hem..."


    Xiao was a warrior at the middle stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm. However, when he saw the scene above him, he could not stop coughing, as if he could no longer control his body.


    "Life and Death Realm experts!


    They are all Life and Death Realm experts!


    There must be about a hundred of them!


    No, the first few are not Life and Death Realm experts. They are far more powerful! Are they the legendary Soul Sea Realm experts?" Xiao finally stopped coughing with great difficulty. His eyes were wide with disbelief.


    ''Oh, my God!''


    After a momentary lapse, Xiao''s mind began to work quickly.


    ''These martial artists can''t possibly be from the Central Region. There''s only one possibility: they must be from the four divine kingdoms on the other side of the Chaotic Ocean of Stars.''


    The Heavenly Evil Sect had fought against World Commercial Alliance and the Cloud Hall in Oracle City. The news had spread throughout the entire Central Region.


    People had also been spreading news that the York Divine Kingdom was about to invade the Central Region.


    However, Xiao was not anxious. His sect was merely a third-grade one. Even if the York Divine Kingdom really did occupy the Central Region, he could choose to submit to it.


    Back when the Heavenly Evil Sect was rampant, the Fish Dragon Sect didn''t fight back and chose to become a member of the former sect. Even Xiao himself had declared that he wanted to join the Heavenly Evil Divine Kingdom


    wrong?"


    "Have the powerhouses from the divine kingdom arrived? So fast!"


    "How should we deal with them this time?"


    The martial artists of Oracle City were in a tizzy.


    An Internal Elixir Realm warrior stood on the wall and inspected the situation. In the end, he mumbled, "There are around a hundred Life and Death Realm martial artists. How can we deal with them?"


    As the bells rang, the three leaders of the World Commercial Alliance and about twenty Virtual Tribulation Realm elders flew over. They gathered together, looking at the experts in the sky, horrified.


    Zen had said that he would ask Soul Sea Realm experts to help him, but Dillon and the others knew the reality. It would be a miracle even if one or two arrived.


    A favor from a powerful warrior of the Soul Sea Realm wouldn''t come easy. It would cost a lot.


    But it didn''t matter how many of them would come to their rescue. Even with only one or two Soul Sea Realm experts holding the fort in Oracle City, there would be a better chance of fighting against the York Divine Kingdom.


    After all, the York Divine Kingdom wouldn''t send too many Soul Sea Realm experts to the Central Region. Although the divine kingdom was far more powerful than the Central Region, the Soul Sea Realm experts were more valuable. They wouldn''t dispatch all their experts just to suppress the tiny Central Region.


    However, it was the experts of the divine kingdom who had arrived before the Soul Sea Realm experts Zen had mentioned.


    "There are nine Soul Sea Realm experts and ninety Life and Death Realm experts." Dillon said bitterly, "It doesn''t matter anymore whether Zen''s reinforcements come or not."

 Chapter 1051 Conflicted

    None of this group of super powerful masters would ever meet a rival in the Central Region!


    A master at the Life and Death Realm was equivalent to a war sage on the Sea God Continent.


    So Letitia, who had just entered the Life and Death Realm, was equivalent to a first level war sage.


    But in reality, all the Life and Death Realm masters and war sages had to experience life and death situations. They were the same as the Small Heavenly Tribulations that Lavender had mentioned.


    The Small Heavenly Tribulation was not just a life-and-death situation for martial artists, but also an important test for them.


    After the Life and Death Realm, one could advance to the Soul Sea Realm by passing a few Small Heavenly Tribulations. However, the number of the Small Heavenly Tribulations one had to pass was different for each warrior. Generally, in order to advance to the Soul Sea Realm, a warrior would have to go through at least five or six Small Heavenly Tribulations.


    Moreover, the higher the level of one''s talent, the more Small Heavenly Tribulations one would have to go through, and the more powerful one would become after entering the Soul Sea Realm!


    Therefore, the number of Small Heavenly Tribulations one had gone through also determined a martial artist''s future prospects.


    There were many war sages in the Sea God Continent, and the ones in front of them were the elite group. As per their cultivation levels, they were only a step away from the Soul Sea Realm! Most of them were sixth or seventh level war sages.


    They had already undergone six or even seven life and death crises.


    Any one of these war sages was much stronger than Eddie, who had endured only four life and death crises.


    In other words, even one of them would be able to single-handedly destroy the entire Central Region!


    Today, more than a hundred of them had gathered here and their combined power was terrifying!


    The warriors in the World Commercial Alliance were all shocked when they saw this scene.


    Dillon, Hobbes, and Haber felt their hair stand on end as a chill went down their spines. The last time they faced an attack from the Heavenly Evil Sect, they had the courage to fight back. But now, looking at these super strong warriors, they did not even have the courage to resist!


    The difference in power was too enormous. Any sort of resistance would be futile.


    Despite this, Dillon braced himself and flew forward. Bowing to the many super masters, he said, "I am the leader of the World Commercial Alliance, and I am here to greet you, powerful masters from the divine kingdom!"


    Miguel who was in the lead looked at the fat man in front of him indifferently and asked, "Where is Zen?"


    Dillon was indeed strong, but only in front of the warriors in the Central Region. For Miguel he was nothing more than a top-level war lord. In the Sea God Continent, a martial artist of his level could only be used in the fight for a seat at the top floor of the Tower of Sin.


    possess the ability to gain such influence on such a group, let alone on other masters of the Life and Death Realm.


    To do so, one had to establish a divine kingdom and set up a monarchy, only then would it be possible to make all the warriors in the Central Region submit. However, it would take a long time to consolidate imperial power and make all the warriors in the Central Region acknowledge and respect the monarch.


    Even so, the really powerful masters would not bow to the emperor in such a manner.


    But these powerful warriors of the Soul Sea Realm were kneeling in front of Lavender. It was really happening right before everyone''s eyes. The devout look on their faces came from their hearts ¡ª it was definitely not something one could fake.


    Dillon was speechless at this sight although he really wanted to shout, ''Oh! Heavens and earth! Somebody tell me just what happened?!''


    No matter how much they racked their brains, nobody would have ever guessed that the sword spirit inside Zen was the queen of the Demon Night, the spiritual totem that ruled over the entire Demon Night race. In the Upper World, even the world lords, who were much more powerful than Lavender, had to salute her, let alone the masters at the Soul Sea Realm. It was a perfectly normal thing for them to do.


    Lavender glanced at some of the powerful masters at the Soul Sea Realm and said lightly, "Please rise."


    Only then did the masters of the Demon Night stand up and respectfully retreat to the side.


    Dillon hesitantly floated over to Zen, and asked in a trembling voice, "Zen, what ¡­ what''s going on?"


    He had heard Miguel addressing Zen as Mr. Luo. Dillon suddenly wondered if it was appropriate for him to address Zen by his first name, seeing as he was inferior to the powerful beings present here.


    But Zen was only twenty years old! Should he be referring to Zen as "Master Luo"? This was too weird. He wouldn''t even treat Eddie with such reverence!


    Dillon was truly conflicted.

 Chapter 1052 A Sumptuous Meal

    Zen had no idea what was going on in Dillon''s mind.


    As he heard Dillon stammering, Zen knew that he was probably taken aback by Miguel''s group.


    Zen tried to reassure him by saying, "Master Shi, I would like to introduce you my friends. We have been fighting side by side for the past two years."


    "Friends..."


    Dillon felt happy hearing that Zen had made new friends while he was away. He actually felt overjoyed and his worries vanished quickly. With such a group of mighty warriors around, he didn''t have to be afraid of the York Divine Kingdom anymore.


    Now he was dying to know where Zen had been in the past two years to have made such a group of friends.


    And why these mighty warriors would be willing to make friends with a guy who had a much lower cultivation level?


    Hobbes had always been impatient. He wanted to talk to Zen right away and have him tell him the whole story. But there were over a hundred strong warriors before him, so he remained quiet hoping he would have the opportunity to do so later on.


    As for Haber, he was the quiet one. His expression didn''t change much when he saw these mighty warriors. But actually, he was just as shocked to see Miguel''s group as anyone else.


    "Friends? Great!" Dillon was stunned for a moment and then, with a smile from ear to ear, he said, "If you are Zen''s friends, you are our friends too. Welcome to the World Commercial Alliance. We''d like you to join us for dinner. You will be our honored guests. Please come in."


    Dillon didn''t dare to snub Miguel and his warriors.


    However, as he spoke, Miguel and the others didn''t react. They didn''t even nod or show a polite smile.


    Dillon might be famous in the Central Region as one of the three leaders of the World Commercial Alliance, and was a man of great influence. But in Miguel''s eyes, he was a minor character without importance.


    The warriors from the Sea God Continent only respected Zen and Lavender and would not bow to anyone else.


    Dillon was getting more and more embarrassed. He scratched the back of his head and turned to look at Zen for help.


    Seeing that Dillon was starting to feel embarrassed, Zen smiled and said, "Miguel, you must be tired from your journey. You came a long way from your home. I would like to invite you to a gathering in the city."


    Only then did Miguel nod. He and his group followed Zen and flew towards Oracle City.


    The grand hall of the Oracle City had been beautifully decorated for the occasion. Over a hundred wide tables were arranged in a single line. Beautiful female servants were shuffling through them, and exquisite dishes were being served.


    The World Commercial Alliance put on its utmost dedication to please these mighty warriors. No one had ever seen such grandeur in the history of the World Commercial Alliance.


    The chefs had prepared all kinds of exquisite dishes that were being served one after the other.


    Most of the ingredients were rarities that could only be found at the World Commercial Alliance''s warehouse. The meat


    as constantly being consumed. Although he used Hanson''s ancient jades to replenish Letitia''s life energy, that wouldn''t last forever. They needed to find more ancient jades and do so quickly.


    Right now Zen had to go to the four divine kingdoms to search for clues regarding that ancient jade.


    After the warriors from the Sea God Continent had settled down in Oracle City, Zen was filled with anxiety, hoping that Master Wallace of the York Divine Kingdom would come to the Central Region soon.


    Zen would be able to go on investigating the ancient jade once this problem had been solved.


    He had waited for almost a month now, but nobody came. He was very anxious and regretted breaking the Eight-diagram Mirror. He could have used it to provoke Master Wallace, urging him to quickly pass through the Chaotic Ocean of Stars.


    As Zen waited anxiously, Miguel and the others were enjoying their time in Oracle City.


    The Central Region might not be the best place for cultivation, but it was a very special place to enjoy life. For the first time in their lives, they didn''t need to worry about surviving and could appreciate a leisurely life, experimenting the delicacies and customs of the Central Region.


    As for the warriors of the Demon Night, they weren''t in a hurry either. They were accompanying their queen and that was their greatest honor as they were afraid that she would drive them away.


    Miguel and a hundred mighty warriors had stayed in the Central Region for 33 days now.


    Six beams of light were seen swiftly advancing in the sky above the Chaotic Ocean of Stars.


    Passing through the Chaotic Ocean of Stars was not an easy task. Even though the Star Storm had stopped, there were still berserk beasts on the way to face.


    Some of the beasts were level ten, while others were even level eleven. Their strength was comparable to warriors at the Soul Sea Realm.


    Even a mighty warrior at the Soul Sea Realm like Master Wallace had to be careful and avoid provoking those fierce beasts.

 Chapter 1053 Master Abraham

    Among the six warriors, two of them were at the Soul Sea Realm, while the other four were at the level of Life and Death Realm.


    It seemed that the warriors from the Central Region had guessed it right¡ªthe four divine kingdoms truly didn''t take the Central Region seriously.


    In their eyes, the location of the divine kingdoms was the center of this world. They believed that there was practically nothing across the vast ocean.


    A lot of warriors originated from the four divine kingdoms had been to Sky Northern Region for exploration during the remote ages until the middle ages. That sort of place, however, was simply impossible to find under any opportunities. Thus, there were very few warriors from the divine kingdoms willing to go to the Sky Northern Region, let alone pay a high cost to attack the said region.


    Thus, since the ancient times, the warriors that came to the Sky Northern Region were all those that offended the divine kingdoms and had chosen to flee. Since they had nowhere else to go, hiding in the Sky Northern Region was their best alternative.


    Only this time, it was different.


    The Holy Maiden of the York Divine Kingdom ordered Master Wallace to annihilate the Cloud Hall, a small fourth-grade sect.


    Initially, Master Wallace could not understand why the Holy Maiden was hostile towards a small sect in the Sky Northern Region that was tens of thousands of miles away.


    But later on, he soon realized that the young man named Zen had offended her.


    For this rationale alone, Master Wallace would not personally step into the Sky Northern Region. Being a mighty warrior at the Soul Sea Realm, he didn''t need to listen to the Holy Maiden.


    But this time he came to the Sky Northern Region. And this was naturally because of the secret in Zen''s mind!


    He happened to take a glimpse of what was in Zen''s mind at that incident where a strand of his soul was devoured. That was a huge temptation!


    Every time he thought of this, he could not suppress the excitement in his heart. He knew he had a better perspective. If he decided to keep this secret on his own, his future would be bright. Even the York Divine Kingdom would be trampled under his feet one day. And he was looking forward to it!


    The four divine kingdoms were undeniably too far away from the Sky Northern Region. Moreover, Master Wallace and his group had to avoid some dangerous areas along the way, so they tried their best not to provoke those powerful vicious beasts in the ocean.


    Several days later, the six warriors of the York Divine Kingdom finally appeared on the east side of the Sky Northern Region.


    "Wallace, there seems to be a small sect there. Let''s have a look." The other warrior at the Soul Sea Realm, who came with Master Wallace, was Master Abraham. They were close friends. And it was only because of Master Wallace''s invitation that he came here with him.


    These warriors of the York Divine Kingdom all perceived that the trip to the Sky Northern Region was not dangerous at all. They realized that this was a place where even warriors at the Life and Death Realm could rule over the entire area. To them, they could do whatever they wanted in the Sky Northern Region. They even agreed that in


    help them out. And this was when three divine kingdoms were annihilated.


    The remaining four divine kingdoms only gained the upper hand during modern times. And that was also the time when they completely exterminated the Dragon Lineage Human, turning it into a piece of history and legend within the divine kingdoms.


    Even if it was just a legend, the Dragon Lineage Human still had many inheritances and ruins, and these things were like gold mines that attracted warriors of the divine kingdoms to excavate them.


    Thus any secret related to the Dragon Lineage Human was incomparably precious in the divine kingdoms. Through the years, their warriors had dug up far too many benefits from the Dragon Lineage Human.


    "Why would I joke around with you? Wait till I catch this brat and search his soul, then you''ll know!" Master Wallace''s face revealed a smile brimming with confidence.


    Seeing how confident Master Wallace was, Master Abraham also believed in him by twenty to thirty percent. Anyway, there were a lot of warriors of divine kingdoms that had offended other strong warriors. And they resorted to hiding in the Sky Northern Region. But here, those warriors would eventually die. Maybe this secret was brought over by those warriors and captured by the warriors in the Central Region.


    "Since that guy has the secret of the Dragon Lineage Human, his strength should not be weak. I wonder if he has any helpers?" On the other hand, a hint of caution appeared on Master Abraham''s face.


    "Ha-ha!" Hearing the words coming from Master Abraham, Master Wallace burst out laughing. "That guy''s strength is not bad. He is at the middle stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm, and yet he killed a warrior at the fourth grade of the Life and Death Realm."


    "Really?" The eyes of Master Abraham flickered. Regardless of whether it was the Virtual Tribulation Realm or the Life and Death Realm, he didn''t give a damn. However, according to Master Wallace, the guy himself was at the middle stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm, yet he was able to kill a warrior at the fourth grade of the Life and Death Realm.


    This was very impressive.

 Chapter 1054 Answer My Questions

    In all the four kingdoms, for a martial artist at the Virtual Tribulation Realm to be able to annihilate another warrior at the Life and Death Realm was only something from the historical legends. It wasn''t just any normal occurrence. For that to happen was groundbreaking.


    Even Master Abraham could''ve never done such a thing.


    So when he heard Master Wallace''s words, he became deeply interested in Zen. At such a young age, he already possessed unbelievable strength. Perhaps, it was because of the secret inheritance of the Dragon Lineage Human.


    "You must not worry, Abraham. I don''t plan on deceiving you. When have I ever done such insolence? I believe myself to be trustworthy."


    Master Wallace suddenly rose to a higher height after his statement. He took a sharp breath as he looked onto the Oracle City, facing it head-on. A steady stream of energy gathered around him, and the sky overflowed out of nowhere.


    Then, with all his might, he roared, "Zen Luo! Zen Luo! Zen Luo!


    Come out! Come out! Show yourself!"


    Like a thunderclap, his voice boomed in the ears of many martial artists. It echoed in the entire Oracle City and everyone heard him clearly.


    The civilians, on the other hand, suffered. The reverberation of his voice exploded right in front of their foreheads like bolts of lightning. All of their eyes rolled to the back of their heads and most of them had fainted due to the intensity of Master Wallace''s voice.


    Even the weaker martial artists experienced great discomfort. Under the vibrations of the roar, they all felt their blood rushing up and down their body. Blood had come out of a few ears as their heart rates rapidly increased.


    It was without question. He was showing off.


    If a Soul Sea Realm martial artist decided to show off, what could he cause? How powerful could his aura be?


    For a period of time, he basked in his immense strength. Master Wallace was beyond proud of what he could do. He knew that all the warriors his voice reached trembled in fear.


    All of them didn''t act recklessly in the York Divine Kingdom. It was just like a ridiculously wealthy man in the big city. Where he lived, it was a challenge to make something of himself. Everyone was someone. But when he went to the smaller city, he felt like he could do anything. People out there were so easily amused.


    In the world of martial artists, this kind of action became ruthlessness and shamelessness.


    Feeling entertained by what Master Wallace had just done, Master Abraham laughed and also flew up right beside him. He also absorbed a portion of energy. "Wallace, you''re in a good mood! I''d like to give it a try too!"


    "Hey, Zen Luo! Zen Luo! Zen Luo!


    Come out and show yourself! What are you so afraid of? Come out!"


    Right behind them were f


    his?"


    "I''ll spare the life of the one who tells me first among the six of you." Zen smiled proudly like a kid, but his expression reeked of hidden savagery.


    All six of them shared the same expression once again. They were all overwhelmed by Zen''s words. Did they all hear him correctly?


    Master Wallace hissed, "What? Do you mind saying that again?"


    A young man at the Virtual Tribulation Realm had dared to show disrespect towards the masters of Life and Death Realm and Soul Sea Realm. For a moment, they thought the screws inside Zen''s head were all unhinged. What a crazy boy.


    "Okay, then. I said, whoever tells me the secret of the ancient jade, I''ll spare his life," Zen repeated. "Take this as a race."


    "What a waste of time. Abraham, your soul-searching skill can explore that guy''s mind to the greatest extent. I''ll capture him, and then you can sift through his soul!"


    The secrets Zen had inside his mind were not a secret to Master Wallace. He was also aware that the dragon''s soul wasn''t easy to deal with. The last time his soul entered Zen''s mind, it was killed. However, that soul he used had been strengthened by the Spirit Container. It was strong already.


    That was why Master Wallace wasn''t confident to enter Zen''s mind once again. If his soul was to be devoured by the dragon, then it wasn''t worth the risk.


    Meanwhile, Master Abraham had practiced a secret technique that could save a soul from being gobbled. That was the reason why Master Wallace brought him along. Otherwise, regardless of the friendship between them, he never shared any secret with him.


    As soon as Zen noticed that Master Wallace was about to make a move, a look of regret engulfed his face.


    "It seems that no one wants to answer my questions. Pity. I had no idea you didn''t value your lives that much. Well, then¡­ Come out, all of you!"

 Chapter 1055 Bewitching Domain

    The speed at which a Soul Sea Realm warrior could fly was unprecedented. Any warrior that had to chase someone at such a high level could never hope to catch up.


    Even a Soul Sea Realm warrior himself would have difficulty chasing after someone of the same level.


    Taking this fact into consideration, the forces of the Sea God Continent had made the necessary arrangements to prevent the escape of the York Divine Kingdom''s powerhouses. Over a hundred strong warriors hid within the nearby surroundings through the use of the Demon Night''s secret treasure.


    This treasure was known as the Emerald Tree that could be used to conceal a warrior''s aura. The seeds, once scattered, would germinate and turn into full-grown trees in just three days. These trees were short, about the height of a person, and were special in such a way that they allowed the people standing underneath to hide their aura.


    These trees were very effective when it came to planning an ambush, but they could not be used for escape. After all, the growth cycle of three days was too slow. If one ran for his life, he wouldn''t need it.


    From these trees, over a hundred strong imposing auras were suddenly released and surrounded Master Wallace, Master Abraham, and the others of the York Divine Kingdom.


    Six Soul Sea Realm masters from the Demon Night, as well as Miguel and a few others from the Purple Heart Sacred Place, spread out their own domains.


    A domain was something that a warrior could have once he reached the Soul Sea Realm.


    Each domain was unique to the warrior and was often based on the kind of cultivation technique he most excelled at.


    It was these various domains from the Demon Night and Purple Heart Sacred Place masters that enveloped both Master Wallace and Master Abraham.


    The two York Divine Kingdom masters were at a loss at their current situation. They had never foreseen such a thing coming!


    Zen was actually able to gather nine mighty Soul Sea Realm warriors!


    There were only a few Soul Sea Realm masters in the four divine kingdoms and Master Wallace and Master Abraham were two of them. Both held important positions in the York Divine Kingdom and enjoyed prestige that was even higher than the Holy Maiden''s.


    Breaking through to the Soul Sea Realm was comparable to the transcendence of a mere mortal to an almighty immortal.


    If it weren''t for the abnormalities that had occurred in the universe, those in the Soul Sea Realm would''ve already ascended into the Upper World by now.


    Master Wallace did not hold the warriors of Central Region in high regard. He knew that a mere Life and


    etreated and a figure immediately took his place. Miguel, who had the appearance of a transcendent being, stood protectively in front of Zen.


    Miguel gave his opponent a faint smirk.


    "You should fight with me."


    Master Wallace hesitated at the sight of another person. However, the frustration he felt at the thought of not being able to eliminate Zen allowed him to quickly get back on his feet. He quickly halted in his tracks and slapped his palm on the ground.


    A flash of brown-colored light swept through the battlefield, signaling the confrontation that brewed between the powerful Soul Sea Realm warriors.


    None of the Life and Death Realm warriors could do anything but watch in combined fear and awe. This was not a fight that they could interfere in if they valued their lives.


    Master Wallace''s light diffused around him. "Bewitching Domain!"


    he roared as the light expanded at an extremely fast rate.


    Those that were too slow and were enveloped by the Bewitching Domain immediately felt their heart beat wildly. A haze enveloped their minds and they had the sudden urge to attack the person nearest to them.


    It was because of the extremely powerful Bewitching Domain.


    Those drawn into the brown light were doomed to lose their sense of logic and mindlessly attack the people nearest to them.


    Given enough time, Master Wallace could envelop the entire Oracle City with his Bewitching Domain and wreak havoc all over the place. It would only take less than an hour for all martial artists to kill each other.


    However, he couldn''t really do that right now. Not when he was currently faced with nine Soul Sea Realm warriors. These were warriors on a whole other level who would not lose their minds in the haze.

 Chapter 1056 Ganging Up

    The many powerful masters at the Soul Sea Realm who were trapped in the Bewitching Domain felt their hearts beating rapidly at first. However, they soon returned to normal.


    Powerful warriors at the Soul Sea Realm fought differently from ordinary warriors. Their fights started with the suppression of each other''s domains, and this was followed by the collision with life vitality and physical bodies.


    A domain''s impact on a martial artist''s strength was enormous, and each martial artist''s domain was different.


    Some warriors'' domains could be very aggressive to the point of being insane and indomitable, while some other warriors'' domains only played a subsidiary role.


    The Bewitching Domain of Master Wallace could disrupt his opponent''s state of mind. His domain could cause a huge change in the mind of a powerful warrior at the Soul Sea Realm in a one-on-one fight. It could make the opponent extremely irritable for a short time and make it hard for him to draw out his strength.


    However, there were nine powerful masters of the Soul Sea Realm in Master Wallace''s domain. As the Bewitching Domain was spread across the nine of them, its impact would be reduced and wouldn''t be much of a threat.


    Miguel gently waved both of his hands within Master Wallace''s domain, sending out colorful strips, which spread out in spirals. These colorful spirals spun around Miguel several times, and then suddenly shone with rays of dazzling light. Miguel looked like a small sun, shining so brightly that nobody could even open their eyes.


    "A domain that can disrupt one''s mind? That is quite interesting, but it''s too weak. Ha-ha!"


    Miguel''s confident voice rang out from the light!


    The Purple Heart Sacred Place of the human race was a low-ranked sacred place in the Sea God Continent, but it didn''t mean that the elite martial artists of the human race were weak, because otherwise the Purple Heart Sacred Place would have been destroyed long ago.


    The human race would have been wiped out of the Sea God Continent for good, but they were able to sustain until now, largely due to the fact that they had relied on these three top-notch masters of the Soul Sea Realm.


    Miguel''s strength might be inferior to that of Amber''s, as well as that of the leaders of the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place, but it was significant enough to make him enter into the top ten rankings of the Sea God Continent!


    "Soul Division Domain!"


    The way the Soul Sea Realm''s domain worked was that one could use one''s own strength to carve out one''s own territory. By relying on one''s own strength, one could change the rules of the domain within a limited range!


    This was also what was called "snatching a turf from the world".


    Of course, the Soul Sea Realm''s domain had a limited range of influence, and the changeable rules were also relatively limited.


    If the domain''s influence could be spread throughout the entire universe and the rules could be changed as per one''s will, then the cultivator would gain contro


    iguel''s massive attacks. But Master Wallace was still in a miserable state despite being hidden in the turtle shell. His face took on a scary dark red color. Obviously, he had suffered great injuries.


    Miguel was surprised to see that Master Wallace had withstood his attacks. The Central Region was weaker than the Sea God Continent, but the inheritances of a divine kingdom were stronger than those of the Sea God Continent!


    If it weren''t for the turtle shell, Master Wallace would have been instantly obliterated by Miguel.


    "Humph, I am determined to fight you to the finish!" Master Wallace spoke to Miguel through gritted teeth.


    "Fight me?" Miguel smirked, "Or us?"


    Master Wallace thought he would have a one-on-one fight with him. Miguel was confident of defeating him, but it was very difficult for one master at the Soul Sea Realm to kill another in a one-on-one battle. Moreover, Miguel didn''t want Master Wallace to escape by using some tricks.


    The domains of several other powerful masters at the Soul Sea Realm began to inch towards Master Wallace.


    Seeing this, Master Wallace''s heart sank. Now he was surely doomed...


    He had ambitiously set out from the York Divine Kingdom and traversed the Chaotic Ocean of Stars in high spirits and hopes. He never thought that the Central Region would become the place where he breathed his last.


    All the powerful masters at the Soul Sea Realm attacked at the same time. Different domains entwined with each other, firmly trapping Master Wallace and Master Abraham within. For a moment, loud explosions burst forth from the sky, sending shivers down onlookers'' spines.


    The two mighty warriors at the Soul Sea Realm from the York Divine Kingdom finally perished with the nine powerful masters from the Sea God Continent ganging up on them. Dillon and the others, who were watching the battle from Oracle City, couldn''t help but shake their heads. It was such a pity that powerful figures, who had the ability to become emperors, were killed just like that.

 Chapter 1057 The Slave Seal

    Dillon sighed. It was not that he pitied Master Wallace. The almighty warriors of the Soul Sea Realm were born from tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of warriors. It took a lot of resources and time to reach the Soul Sea Realm, but it only took one quick moment to end them.


    This was the world of martial artists. Even if you stepped into the Soul Sea Realm and became an emperor, you still wouldn''t be able to escape your fate.


    It was very difficult to kill a Soul Sea Realm warrior. Even in the four divine kingdoms, the death of a Soul Sea Realm warrior was an earth-shattering event.


    Master Wallace and Master Abraham had been too careless. They were surrounded by nine Soul Sea Realm warriors with nowhere to escape. This was why they had ended up in such a sorry state.


    The battle had only lasted for a short time before they were both killed.


    Zen slowly floated into the air with his hands behind his back, arriving before the last surviving Life and Death Realm warrior.


    He had answered Zen''s question, so Miguel and the others let him go.


    Zen''s gaze was fixed on his face. He was a powerhouse who had endured five life and death crises, and was stronger than Eddie. However, when he faced Zen, who was only at the middle stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm, he was petrified.


    Of course, Zen knew he was not afraid of him, but the persons behind him.


    "You, you promised not to kill me," the warrior stammered.


    Zen nodded and laughed. "Yeah. I indeed agreed not to kill you, but I cannot let you stay in the Central Region, nor can I allow you to return to the York Divine Kingdom. What should I do? Do you have any ideas?"


    "Well..." The man''s face froze. He had originally planned to say Zen bullied him, but so what? Zen could easily kill him. After all, he had not used his warrior spirit to take the oath.


    The warrior thought about it for a while and eventually shook his head. "I can''t think of anything!"


    Not too far away from Zen, Miguel faintly smiled. "It''s simple. Just disable your skills!" It was a simple but cruel suggestion.


    A Life and Death Realm warrior whose cultivation was destroyed was as good as dead. But he had to pay a price for his life. Once he entered the Life and Death Realm, he would have to fight against the heavens'' law. He still had to undergo the Small Heavenly Tribulations after he was disabled.


    When the Heavenly Tribulations began, they would follow a certain pattern and descend in an orderly manner at a fixed time without mistake.


    The


    to enslave others."


    The cyan dragon was proficient in the divine texture technique. It appeared as though he was looking down on this type of divine texture.


    "Are you sure?" Zen asked, wanting to be a hundred percent sure. He would soon step into the four divine kingdoms. If he had a Life and Death Realm powerhouse as a guide, it would save a lot of time and effort.


    But if he was tricked by this fellow, then he might cause trouble in the Central Region once Miguel and the others left. Zen wanted to avoid this at all costs.


    The cyan dragon nodded affirmatively. "This is a very common slave seal. Once enslaved, he will not be able to resist, but there is a requirement. That is, your soul force must be stronger than his. If not, the slave seal will turn against you."


    "I see." Zen was very confident of his soul.


    Master Wallace''s soul had only reached the Fighting Soul Realm. Zen was sure that this Life and Death Realm warrior''s soul couldn''t be stronger than his own soul.


    He said to the warrior, "Well then, I will enslave you."


    The warrior was reluctant for a moment. However, even if he was having second thoughts, he didn''t have any other choice. He tossed the brown stone token at Zen gloomily.


    Zen gently caressed the divine texture as he infused his life vitality into it, instantly activating the slave seal. Then he directed the slave seal towards the warrior.


    The seal instantly stuck to the warrior''s forehead, releasing a little bit of light. When the light on his forehead disappeared, he had a dull look in his eyes. "My master, do you have any instructions?" He nodded to Zen.


    Zen smiled wickedly and said, "I want you to kill yourself."

 Chapter 1058 Set Off

    Zen''s words brought a trace of admiration on the faces of Miguel and everyone else. Here was a man at his finest! They knew that Zen wasn''t going to let the Life and Death Realm master take his own life, but this was perhaps the most important test the warrior could ever face.


    When the Life and Death Realm master heard Zen''s words, his eyes gleamed and gradually became clear. He looked like a normal person right now, but at Zen''s command, he suddenly stretched out his hands and gathered his green life vitality. The life vitality condensed into many sharp thorns which were about to hit his own head.


    Considering his strength, one thing was sure: if he slapped his head with his hand, he would definitely die.


    In the nick of time, Zen flatly ordered, "Stop!"


    When the Life and Death Realm master heard Zen''s order, his hand froze in midair. He looked at the latter inquiringly, as if waiting for Zen to issue the next order, almost like a man possessed.


    "Don''t kill yourself. Tell me your name," Zen coolly ordered him.


    The Life and Death Realm master nodded and complied, "My name is Francis Cao."


    "Alright. Francis Cao, follow me." After Zen had finished speaking, he flew downwards without looking back, as if he was certain that Francis Cao wouldn''t refuse his orders. Without hesitation, Francis Cao nodded and followed closely behind him.


    The slave seal he had on him was very powerful and unique. Once enslaved, a warrior wouldn''t lose himself and get turned into a puppet. In fact, he would still have his own consciousness. As long as Zen did not give any unusual orders, he would act like a normal person and no one would be able to see anything wrong from him.


    However, come what may, he could not disobey Zen''s words.


    In less than two hours, the greatest crisis in the history of the Central Region was easily resolved.


    Dillon and the others were highly relieved now.


    They didn''t have anything to worry about anymore. Since the very moment when Miguel had led a group of masters to the Central Region, those members of the York Divine Kingdom were doomed!


    In fact, Dillon and the others were now a hundred percent certain that Zen had now practically become the leader of the Central Region, even if he didn''t want to be. He had no choice but to admit this fact, even though he did not have the ambition to establish a divine kingdom.


    Even Zen could beat anyone in the Central Region if he brought out his own strength, not to mention the one hundred powerful masters from the Sea God Continent.


    Every single warrior in the Central Region knew as much. They only had to put two and two together to confirm that Zen was the most powerful person in the Central Region right now.


    Fortunately, Zen didn''t have the ambition to unify the Central Region. Otherwise, if he tried to establish a divine kingdom, who would be able to go up against him?


    However, what they did not know was that Zen did have an ambition. In fact, Zen''s ambition was greater than that of anyone in the Central Region and was beyond their imagination. His goal was not limited to this great world. He knew


    ked up at the sky. Today was the day that one hundred masters would leave the city.


    Naturally, the three leaders of the World Commercial Alliance had to send them off personally.


    However, what surprised everyone was the fact that Miguel and the other warriors didn''t accept any precious gifts for themselves. They also refused to accept the numerous treasures that the World Commercial Alliance had gifted them.


    After all, a low-grade sacred weapon that was treated as a treasure in the Central Region was a very common treasure in Miguel''s eyes. Thus they of course didn''t have any interest in the things that the World Commercial Alliance had given them.


    But what made people even more astonished was that Miguel actually packed a lot of ingredients from the Central Region with him and even asked the World Commercial Alliance for a few famous chefs...


    These chefs were also warriors, but they were only at the nature level. Even the most powerful one was only at the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    Upon learning that they could go to another continent to prepare food for those Soul Sea Realm masters, those chefs gladly agreed. They had been working hard in the World Commercial Alliance their whole lives, and they were only chefs. If they could serve these Soul Sea Realm masters well, perhaps the latter would be pleased and might give them a chance to break through. For the chefs, this was a rare opportunity.


    Before Zen left, he looked deeply at Letitia who was lying on the bed. But once he left the Heavenly Stellar Palace, all the sadness and disappointment disappeared from his face, replaced by a resolute expression!


    Soon after, Zen brought Francis Cao, who had been enslaved by him, to meet with Miguel and the others. They then rushed towards the eastern side of the Central Region.


    Miguel and the others returned to the Sea God Continent. As for Zen, he took advantage of the small period of time when the storm stopped raging on the Chaotic Ocean of Stars. He immediately decided to cross it and enter the territory of the four great divine kingdoms.

 Chapter 1059 Crossing The Chaotic Ocean of Stars

    The World Commercial Alliance had strictly dictated that news of Zen leaving the Central Region should not spread.


    Any sane person would understand that the World Commercial Alliance had firmly taken control of the Central Region and become its overlord. And now, Zen was guiding the alliance.


    This had started after Zen had defeated Eddie. The other fourth-grade sects had already learned to keep quiet because they had neither the courage nor the strength to fight against the World Commercial Alliance.


    As Zen led a group of unknown super masters to exterminate the powerhouses of the divine kingdom with lightning speed, fourth-grade sects such as the Bloodwood Cliff, the Mysterious Luna Hall, and the Black Mountain Sect could only bow their heads in submission. But they were glad that Zen had no plans to establish his own divine kingdom.


    If he really intended to establish a divine kingdom, take over all the sects, and combine the influence of the Cloud Hall and the World Commercial Alliance, who in the Central Region could resist him right now?


    But no matter what, Zen had great influence in the Central Region. This was why the World Commercial Alliance wanted to keep his whereabouts under wraps. As long as he was there, the York Divine Kingdom wouldn''t dare to do anything.


    Dillon and the others obviously believed that if the York Divine Kingdom were to go all out, even Zen wouldn''t be able to defend himself against it.


    However, each of the four divine kingdoms had their own axes to grind. They certainly wouldn''t go through so much trouble just for the Central Region, a region that was not even worthy of mention.


    In the skies above the Chaotic Ocean of Stars, two beams of light shot straight towards the east. After sending Miguel and the others away, Zen and Francis began to cross the Chaotic Ocean of Stars.


    The storm in the Chaotic Ocean of Stars could roughly last for any time between three to six months. Zen wanted to cross it whenever the storm paused.


    During this time, he had learned more about the York Divine Kingdom and the other three divine kingdoms from Francis.


    Compared to the Central Region, everything on this continent was controlled by the four divine kingdoms and there weren''t any sects.


    Establishing a sect was the same as establishing one''s own power, and the divine kingdoms would absolutely not allow this. This was because once a sect slowly rose to prominence, it would work against the divine kingdoms, even going ahead and establishing a new divine kingdom.


    Three of the seven divine kingdoms had been destroyed ages ago, leaving the four divine kingdoms and their setups intact. No new divine kingdoms had ever been established, resulting in the achievement of a grand unification.


    However, martial artists needed to cultivate, and divine ki


    e Virtual Tribulation Realm at the time.


    It wasn''t strange for someone at the Illuminating Soul Realm to kill an Internal Elixir Realm warrior. Many divine-level talents were able enough to do this.


    But the higher the cultivation level of warriors, the more powerful they were. And because of this, it was truly incredible for a warrior at the middle stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm to kill another warrior at the fourth level of the Life and Death Realm.


    As a Life and Death Realm warrior, every time Francis passed through a life and death crisis, he would feel as if he had been reborn. For Zen to challenge a Life and Death Realm warrior, one could only imagine the astonishing talent he had.


    After a moment of thought, Zen finally felt relieved. Joining a martial house was just a temporary measure. Right now, Letitia''s life was of utmost importance.


    So he made up his mind to join a martial house after entering the divine kingdom. He knew he couldn''t fight his way into the Feather Holy Sea against war kings and war emperors.


    Zen was immersed in thought when a huge whirlpool suddenly appeared on the surface of the sea before him.


    Even though the storm in the Chaotic Ocean of Stars had paused, there were still mountain-like waves rolling in the sea. When the whirlpool appeared, there were more than ten mountain-like waves spiraling and crashing ahead.


    "What a huge whirlpool!"


    This whirlpool was the size of about a tenth of the area of the Central Region. Its edges formed countless white bubbles, while its middle was still the blue color of the sea. But it was pitch black at the bottom of the whirlpool, as if it could lead to hell.


    Francis''s eyes bugged as he saw the whirlpool. He said urgently, "Quick, fly to the sky!"


    He might be enslaved by Zen and he might not be able to resist Zen''s orders, but he was still afraid of death.

 Chapter 1060 Arrival (Part One)

    Through the slave seal, Zen could clearly sense the fear in Francis''s heart. Since things weren''t looking well for them, they started looking terrified. It seemed that some fierce beast had suddenly appeared right before them. As Francis shot up towards the sky, Zen did so as well.


    In this boundless universe, humans were not considered as the sole rulers. Even in the Sea God Continent, there were many different types of intelligent races.


    Also, in this world, the area that the sea occupied far exceeded that of land''s. Because of that, the amount of fierce beasts that were inhabiting the sea was tens of thousands of times greater than that of the creatures on land.


    Many of them dwelt in the depths of the vast ocean, and it bestowed upon them richer resources and a wider space to grow and develop. It was more than what land could ever provide for them.


    This reminded Zen of the time when he had just entered Mist''s celestial tomb. When he was on that journey, he encountered high-grade fierce beasts that were comparable to cultivators at the Life and Death Realm. But then, the place where Mist''s celestial tomb was situated was not far from Central Region.


    At the center the Chaotic Ocean of Stars, there existed beasts that were comparable to powerful warriors at the Soul Sea Realm. There were even creatures which were more powerful than masters at the Soul Sea Realm.


    Splash!


    Just as Zen and Francis were rapidly rising up to the sky, a gigantic black shadow suddenly appeared beneath the vortex!


    As the loud sound of water splashing rang out, Zen looked back just in time to see a huge creature emerging from the water. Then, without warning, it leapt into the air!


    "What is that?" Zen asked as he stared at the huge creature behind him. Fear took a hold


    re even crazier and greedier than he had imagined.


    Ever since the incident with the four divine kingdoms, every time the Water-eyed Swallowing Beasts sensed any trace of a human, they would leap out of the water to attack.


    As Francis and Zen were talking, the Water-eyed Swallowing Beast had already completely leaped out of the water. It pounced on Zen and Francis.


    "Up! Up! We still need to go up!" Francis exclaimed anxiously.


    Their figures continued to ascend into the sky. Soon, they broke through the clouds and into the deep sky.


    "This... Can that thing really jump so high?" Zen asked as he gazed below him. He wanted to see how close the creature was to them but a thick layer of clouds had completely blocked his vision.


    Just as he thought that they were not being pursued anymore, he saw the colossal creature break through the clouds once again and continue to chase after them. Its sudden emergence disturbed the flow of air and even opened up a large hole in the thick clouds!


    "Good heavens! Keep on rising quickly!" Zen shouted once again, fear now evident in his voice.


    As Zen continued his ascent, he suddenly saw huge gusts of wind blowing towards them.

 Chapter 1061 Arrival (Part Two)

    "Strong gales are coming!"


    These gusts of howling winds were not invisible or colorless - there were golden lines embedded around them. With that, he was able to recognize what those were - the convective gusts of wind in the deep sky that were said to crush and destroy anything that got in them!


    Zen had seen such strong gusts of wind before.


    In order to cultivate the Stellar Body, he had to take advantage of the gravitational force of the stars to project his spiritual sense hundreds of millions of miles away. Every time he cultivated the Stellar Body, Zen would have to pass through the layer of strong gales.


    However, in the past, it was only his spiritual sense that went through such strong gales. But this time, however, he was facing them head on, and it was his physical body that had to pass through them.


    Zen knew that these strong gales would be able to destroy almost everything in their path. Even if Zen''s body was a top-grade fairy weapon, he probably wouldn''t be able to withstand them.


    With the intense wind coming nearer and nearer to him, Zen twisted his body and drew a circle in the air. He then rapidly flew towards the downwind of the layer of gusts.


    Seeing this, Francis followed closely behind.


    From his point of view, he couldn''t wait to see Zen get killed by the strong gales. Not one being would be willing to carry a slave seal and become someone else''s slave. No one in their right mind would agree to not have control over their own life. Not to mention, he was a master at the fifth level of the Life and Death Realm.


    When he caught himself thinking this, though, he quickly shook his head, as if to shake it off. ''After all, '' he thought, furrowing his eyebrows. ''Zen could control ev


    there was a large amount of dark red blood blobs. Needless to say, these were left behind by the Water-eyed Swallowing Beast who just got injured a while ago.


    As the two journeyed, they encountered so many dangers.


    For example, on the surface of the sea, a few reefs covered in mist suddenly appeared. They heard beautiful singing coming from them, the type of music that would seduce travelers to stop for a bit and rest.


    Zen and Francis almost got hooked by it. It was only when Zen approached the reef and he saw a few indistinct black figures standing on it that he was jolted into consciousness once again by the cyan dragon in his mind. Although he did not know what those terrifying shadows were, it was very clear that if he were to go near them, he would definitely die.


    On the other hand, Francis just smiled and kept flying towards the reef.


    Zen had no choice but to use the slave seal to command Francis to follow him, effectively rescuing him from the claws of death.


    They traveled cautiously through the treacherous Chaotic Ocean of Stars after that. After more than ten days of travel, Zen finally saw a continent in the distance.

 Chapter 1062 A Glance Will Take Your Life

    The continent in front of Zen that belonged to the four divine kingdoms was vast and boundless, and even he found it difficult to determine just how big it was.


    But he guessed that it was much larger than the Sea God Continent and the Central Region.


    "Which divine kingdom''s territory is this?" Zen asked.


    Francis smiled slightly before he replied, "We''ve come all the way from the Central Region and crossed the Chaotic Ocean of Stars. The Fire Divine Kingdom is part of the border of the Chaotic Ocean of Stars, while the York Divine Kingdom is the other part. I think this territory belongs to the Fire Divine Kingdom. Which divine kingdom would you like to enter?"


    "I''ll choose to enter the Fire Divine Kingdom then."


    Zen did not intend to cultivate and develop in any of the four divine kingdoms. His goal was clear; he wanted the life stones.


    Since he couldn''t enter the Feather Holy Sea, he had to choose a martial house.


    Zen was not familiar with the four divine kingdoms. In the same way, no one in the four divine kingdoms knew him. This time wouldn''t be like the first time he had entered the Sea God Continent and was hunted down by ogres the moment he had arrived.


    But he still had to be wary of the Holy Maiden of the divine kingdom.


    Since Zen had killed the prince of the York Divine Kingdom in Mist''s celestial tomb, the Holy Maiden had vowed to kill him for revenge. He wouldn''t be as foolish as to choose to enter the York Divine Kingdom of his own volition.


    There were a lot of people living in divine kingdoms, but powerhouses were rare everywhere. There were very few Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors in divine kingdoms. If Zen chose the York Divine Kingdom, he would be in a lot of trouble with the Holy Maiden.


    Francis had no objection to Zen''s choice and followed him, albeit carefully. He had survived in the Central Region. Although he had become Zen''s slave, if Zen died or the day came when he was no longer needed, the day of his freedom would surely come.


    As Francis had mentioned, the area near the sea was sparsely populated. They had been flying at a high speed for a long time but they hadn''t come across any city of any size. This place was even more desolate than the Central Region.


    But as they flew on, the number of towns they came across gradually increased.


    Zen looked around, only to find that most people in these towns were ordinary people. Even if there were martial artists, they had only reached the nature level.


    Of course, he wasn''t about to linger here and continued onward.


    Further into the Harlen Divine Kingdom, there were a few medium-sized cities. And then, slowly, a few large cities came into view.


    The layout of this divine kingdom was completely different from that of the Central Region. The cities in the Ce


    sake of the divine kingdoms."


    Zen had compared martial houses to sects, but in fact, he should have been comparing sects to divine kingdoms.


    For example, if the Cloud Hall was compared to a divine kingdom, then martial houses were like the Elite House within the Cloud Hall. It was not an independent sect, so all resources in the martial houses were given directly by divine kingdoms.


    Even if Zen called himself an independent warrior, no martial house would truly view him as one. Instead, they would view Zen as part of the divine kingdom.


    The moment he stepped into the Harlen Divine Kingdom, he was considered a member of the kingdom, not an independent warrior.


    Only now did Zen finally understand.


    He asked for directions to the Jade Martial House and headed towards it, Francis in tow.


    Since he couldn''t fly within the city, he went ahead on foot. A particular street in the city had a red wall to his right. The faint sound of waves could be heard from beyond it and he could smell the saltiness of the sea.


    "There''s the smell of the sea. Could it be...?"


    Zen had walked deeper into the Harlen Divine Kingdom, staying far away from the Chaotic Ocean of Stars. If there was seawater outside the walls, it would most likely be the Feather Holy Sea.


    Francis nodded and said, "You''re right. The Feather Holy Sea is right outside these walls."


    Just how mysterious was the Feather Holy Sea? He wasn''t allowed to enter or even look at it.


    But why? Zen was even more puzzled now.


    Francis wasn''t surprised at Zen''s confusion. He smiled and said, "The Feather Holy Sea is related to the ruling position of the four divine kingdoms. This inland sea is their forbidden land. Normal martial artists aren''t qualified to even take a look at it."


    "What happens if I do?" Zen asked.


    Francis laughed. "A single glance will take your life."

 Chapter 1063 The Jade Martial House

    For Zen, the Feather Holy Sea was a mystery. He wondered how such a small inland sea could gather so many secret lands.


    After hearing Francis'' words, he became even more curious. What really was the Feather Holy Sea? They were all under the same impression that ordinary warriors weren''t even allowed once to glance at it. Was it true that one could die right after looking at it?


    The idea was somewhat ridiculous for Zen.


    "Is the entire Feather Holy Sea surrounded by these city walls?" Zen asked, crossing his arms on his chest.


    "Yes, the city walls have been built in a complete circle, tightly surrounding the entire Feather Holy Sea. Hovering over the place is a farfetched task, as a no-fly ban is imposed. Once anyone breaks the rule, Life and Death Realm masters will come rushing to the scene," Francis answered.


    Truly, the vastness of the city walls around an inland sea was unimaginable.


    Hearing this surprised Zen all the more. Wasn''t that a bit too exaggerated?


    What kind of treasures were tucked in the Feather Holy Sea that made all risks they took worth it?


    The divine kingdoms'' war kings and war emperors weren''t a bunch of idiots. There was a reason behind everything that they had done.


    The more curious Zen became, the more urge he grew to go and have a look for himself. He wanted to see for himself. What was the Feather Holy Sea all about?


    "Are you thinking of breaking this no-fly ban? Let''s say you get past the Life and Death Realm warriors. The Soul Sea Realm warriors will appear next! Coming one after the other just to make sure you don''t find anything. It''s too dangerous," Francis warned.


    Zen shook his head and laughed. He understood Francis quite well, and he knew that it really was dangerous. To do something like that was a stupid idea. Francis told him days ago that if he were to forcefully break through the Feather Holy Sea, it could attract war emperors, too. Hence, he could lose his chance of getting in the Feather Emperor Secret Land.


    Finally, Zen left the city walls. It took him about five minutes to finally locate the legendary Jade Martial House.


    The Jade Martial House was equivalent to a sixth-grade sect. Its front door was built in such an unusual style, and countless warriors knelt in front.


    Glancing at the view, Zen realized that there were more than ten thousand warriors kneeling on the ground, and most of them were at the Illuminating Soul and Internal Elixir Realms. He frowned at the scene before him and asked, "What''s going on?"


    "The Jade Martial House is the martial arts sacred land of the Harlen Divine Kingdom. These warriors want to enter, but they failed to meet the requirements. They only hope that their sincerity will one day influence the members of the martial house and change their minds," Francis answered.


    What he heard astonished him beyond belief. Those warriors did such a thing just so they could


    wever, it was not easy for him to obtain a spot. He needed to be one of the top martial artists before he got the chance to get the spot.


    The reason for that was because all the warriors who managed to enter the Feather Emperor Secret Land were at least Life and Death Realm masters. Even if Zen passed the test and secured a good result in the martial house, he still had to compete with those Life and Death Realm masters if he really wanted to set foot in the Feather Holy Sea.


    Zen had long anticipated this, but he managed to stay collected. Besides cultivating, he even bought some books with him to learn more about the local customs of the four great divine kingdoms.


    The more he learned, the more he was advantageous. Opportunities always came to those who prepared well. As Zen made his way to the Feather Holy Sea to rescue Letitia, he had to be prudent before making any hasty move.


    Relatively speaking, that trip to the four great divine kingdoms was much more comfortable than the one to the Sea God Continent.


    However, it was clear to Zen that he was eventually going to compete against the masters.


    Half a month later, Zen had registered according to the instructions. After he obtained a token, he was finally allowed to walk into the entrance of the Jade Martial House.


    Just as he did so, four Life and Death Realm warriors aggressively rushed from behind him. When they were in front of Zen, one of them yelled, "Move!"


    Zen frowned slightly as he heard the sound coming just right behind where he stood. He turned his head to look and was met with a whip.


    With the same displeased look on his face, Zen watched Francis as he grabbed the whip. Then, his eyes fell on the person behind the four Life and Death Realm warriors. He was a young man who wore a brocade robe and appeared to be only at the age of seventeen or eighteen. However, he had already reached the late stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm.

 Chapter 1064 The Harlen Token

    The young man in front of Zen obviously came from a prominent family. He had a well-defined face, a finely-embroidered robe that looked quite expensive, and excellent manners.


    The four bodyguards at the Life and Death Realm he had with him informed Zen that this young man''s status was not modest by any means. He might even actually be a prince, like the one he had met so long ago back in Immortal Mist''s celestial tomb.


    If he wasn''t a prince, he was at least a very important figure here in the Harlen Divine Kingdom.


    Zen wouldn''t really know for sure. He had just arrived after all and was consciously making an effort to be careful since he was still unfamiliar with how things worked here.


    But, no matter how careful he was, trouble just seemed to gravitate towards him.


    "Are you also a candidate?" the young man said haughtily. Despite the good manners and fine facade, Zen knew that it would''ve been impossible for this young man to not have an arrogant side to him.


    "Yes," Zen answered curtly, trying to suppress his annoyance.


    "Great! I haven''t seen any independent warriors that are around the same cultivation level as you. I''m also going to participate in the assessment. Follow me," the young man ordered arrogantly.


    Martial houses functioned differently from the sects in Central Region. Here, they gathered multiple warriors in order to select those with decent enough strength to compete against the other divine kingdoms in the secret places.


    In Cloud Hall, the system would be to gather its own disciples. However, in the divine kingdoms, there was no such thing. Whoever had the strength could enter the secret places and excavate the treasures within.


    Zen froze at his command.


    ''Follow him?'' he thought to himself before shaking his head.


    "I''m sorry. I''ve always been alone and I''m not really used to being someone''s follower," he refused politely.


    One of the guards erupted into a white-hot rage at Zen''s words. "How dare you! Our young master has thought highly of you and granted you the honor of following him!"


    The guard''s anger did not faze Zen. "Since you think highly of me, surely you wouldn''t make things difficult for me, would you?"


    His words made the young man chuckle. "Good! You have guts. I like you." He looked back at his guards. "Let''s go!"


    His reaction left Zen feeling quite confused and a little bit shocked. He didn''t think he''d leave him alone that easily. He had actually gotten himself ready for a fight just in case. The four guards the young man had with him surely wouldn''t be an easy kill.


    Nevertheless, he was grateful for the avoidance of unnecessary drama. Though he knew he could take out warriors at the Life and Death Realm, he preferred to conserve his strength in case he had to escape from a warrior at the Soul Sea Realm.


    Francis let out a sigh of relief beside him. "Thank goodness you held yourself back."


    "Why?" Zen asked, rai


    fought to enter the martial houses.


    Warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm were different.


    These warriors had been on the path of cultivation for a long time and ordinary cultivation resources that the martial houses provided wouldn''t really be of much use to them at this point.


    Even the Tower of Sin could only breed top-level war lords. Warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm could only rely on themselves if they wanted to advance through experiencing life and death situations and making breakthroughs through adversity. If they were lucky, they might be able to obtain a good opportunity during their advancement which would then effectively open up the road towards enlightenment.


    It was this good opportunity that they all yearned for. The warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm that had come to sign up had the same goal as Zen¡ªto represent the Harlen Divine Kingdom and enter the sea of miracle.


    Some were independent warriors while a few came from other martial houses. They were probably from third-grade or even fourth-grade martial houses and came here to a higher grade martial house to be able to enter the sea of miracle.


    Hopping from one martial house to another did not really mean that one had turned his back to his original martial house. All martial houses worked for divine kingdoms after all.


    A woman at the Internal Elixir Realm came up to Zen as soon as he entered the courtyard. She welcomed him and asked if he wanted to participate in the test to obtain the Harlen Token.


    This Harlen Token was what he would need to enter the sea of miracle. According to the agreement among the four divine kingdoms, each would issue a corresponding number of tokens every year to those deemed worthy. These tokens were equal to the licenses to the Feather Holy Sea and those issued by the York Divine Kingdom were called York Tokens.


    Zen naturally nodded. His purpose was to enter the Feather Holy Sea after all.

 Chapter 1065 The Red Circle

    The woman at the Internal Elixir Realm started registering Zen''s information.


    Zen had been a bit worried, afraid that the woman would ask him where he came from. He had discussed this with Francis before and they decided that Zen should fabricate a new identity.


    Francis told Zen not to worry. According to him, the divine kingdoms didn''t care where the warriors came from and would treat them as independent warriors.


    After all, to the four divine kingdoms, it wasn''t important where the warriors came from as long as they had enough strength to obtain the resources from within the Feather Holy Sea. Once those resources were gathered, the divine kingdoms would receive a portion of them and that was what mattered to them.


    Moreover, the four divine kingdoms were surrounded by the sea. In tens of thousands of years, there had been few visitors from other continents. As a result, in the eyes of the emperors of the four divine kingdoms, every warrior in their territories would belong to their respective divine kingdoms.


    Zen answered each question without hesitation until the woman asked for his name. With a quick thought, he answered, "My name is Thad Luo."


    His real name, Zen Luo, wasn''t suitable for him to travel in the divine kingdoms. He didn''t want the Holy Maiden of the York Divine Kingdom to recognize him by his name.


    After registration, the woman smiled politely at Zen. She sealed all the information in a bamboo token and handed it to him. "The first round of the exam is scheduled in three days. On that day, all the warriors of this martial house and the independent warriors will gather. I hope you will perform well!"


    ''How kind!'' Zen thought to himself, though he knew she was being sarcastic. In her mind, this young man was a nobody and destined to fail in the first round.


    The competition in the divine kingdoms was rather fierce.


    There were only fifty licenses in the Jade Martial House, which meant that all warriors were fighting for fifty Harlen Tokens.


    There were nearly six hundred warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm alone fighting for the Harlen Tokens in the Jade Martial House. Most of these warriors were at the late stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm, which was much higher than the cultivation of this young man standing in front of her. Not to mention, the warriors trained by the Jade Martial House were much stronger than the independent warriors.


    There were also princes who participated in the contest fighting for the licenses. Randy was one of them, and he was certain he would be able to obtain a Harlen Token.


    Besides, there were two or three hundred independent warriors like Zen that signed up for the exam, and most of them were at the late stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm.


    The young man in front of her seemed to have a good foundation and was already at the middle stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm. At the age of twenty, this was an impressive achievement, but it was still too early for him to obtain the Harlen Token.


    The woman had no bad feelings towards Zen. In fact, she was sympathetic to him. She couldn''t help showing her true thoughts through


    e warrior, all the warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm remained quiet and didn''t move.


    Zen was suddenly taken back to his first day at the Cloud Sect. He thought about all the disciples who immediately started chatting with each other as soon as they heard about the exam. He felt quite nostalgic.


    Now he was at a whole other level competing against the strongest. The over a thousand warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm in front of him had different qualities. There were a few divine-level talents like Zen and Randy who had stepped into the Virtual Tribulation Realm at such a young age, but most of the warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm were not young. Their age ranged from tens to hundreds of years old.


    Naturally, they were not newbies who had just entered the martial world and got excited about everything.


    The mighty warrior at the Soul Sea Realm announced the list of candidates in the first round.


    "Thirty warriors will participate in the first round. From these thirty warriors, only three will remain. In other words, 90% will be eliminated," he said.


    Zen closed his eyes in introspection while listening attentively to him. He finished reciting the names very quickly, and Zen didn''t hear his name "Thad Luo." He wasn''t included in the first round.


    The disadvantage of being called in the first round was that the warriors were not familiar with the rules and environment. The ones left out could observe the rules first and be on their guard when they came to fight. However, not being aware of the rules could bring advantages to the smartest warriors who knew how to use it to their favor.


    Soon, thirty warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm entered the stage at the same time and stood within the red circle in the center of the square.


    The warriors were eager to begin the examination. The preliminary assessment was very important because the eliminated participants would be out of the competition and could no longer fight for the Harlen Tokens. As a warrior of the Harlen Divine Kingdom, everyone knew the importance of the Harlen Tokens.

 Chapter 1066 Victors (Part One)

    The moment the martial artists who were at the Virtual Tribulation Realm entered the red circle, they quickly charged towards its center.


    This red circle was only a few hundred feet in diameter, and a martial artist who was at the Virtual Tribulation Realm would be able to cross it in just one step. From the beginning, it was clear that every martial artist who entered tried their best to occupy the advantageous center spot in order to prevent others from pushing them out.


    "Get away! This is my place!" A warrior who was as robust as a gorilla roared to the others.


    This warrior was the first one who was able to get to the center point of the red circle. He stood there firmly while the warriors beside him glared at him ferociously, hatred and jealousy evident in their eyes. Despite that, the warrior stood sturdily in his place, his chin up. He was at the peak-level of the late stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm -- his temples were bulging, giving off a heavy aura, as if what he had practiced was an extremely aggressive cultivation technique. Because of that, no one dared to fight him for the central position.


    Just when the thirty of them had chosen their positions, a master at the Soul Sea Realm came into view and announced, "Now the first round... begin!"


    Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh¡­


    As soon as the Soul Sea Realm master gave the pronouncement, the life vitality of every warrior suddenly exploded all at the same time!


    Upon seeing this scene, Zen furrowed his eyebrows, and a strange look came over his face. He was confused and worried.


    The reason for that was because the power of the life vitality that erupted from those warriors was restricted inside the red circle!


    But after seeing that the other several hundred warriors didn''t seem to be perturbed by


    oment of chaos, the warrior who had been at the center of the circle was pushed out of the fighting area.


    "Puff! Puff! Puff!..."


    Breathing heavily, he spat out a mouthful of blood on the ground and glared at the people who had launched attacks on him.


    Less than a few seconds into the round, the most promising warrior had already been knocked out. It undoubtedly surprised many spectators who were expecting him to win the whole thing.


    The three powerful warriors of the Soul Sea Realm looked at each other, a faint smile gracing their lips. The three of them seemed to have expected this to happen as well.


    The warriors who had mocked Zen and his comment earlier glanced back at him with a shame in their eyes. Their unwavering confidence a while back was replaced with shame and doubts. ''This fellow seemed to really have insightful observations, '' they all thought.


    Amongst all the warriors present, the only ones who had predicted this to happen were the three mighty warriors of the Soul Sea Realm, and Zen.


    Aside from being strong, another thing that would help a warrior win this whole thing was wisdom. It might go unsaid, but it was the most important rule of the fight.

 Chapter 1067 Victors (Part Two)

    From all the people that were inside the red circle, only three people would remain at the very end. None of them were willing to be pushed out, and many of them shared the same tactic -- eliminate the strongest one first!


    Every martial artist had already evaluated each of their opponents the moment they saw them. ''You look weaker than me? Alright, since you don''t pose much of a threat to me, I won''t bother to wipe you out myself. You will either be knocked out by others, or when there are only a few people left in the circle, I will deal with you then! In any case, you are weaker than me, and it is only a matter of time before I defeat you. Why should I bother to waste my energy and time on you?'' That was a typical thought of many of the contestants in the red circle.


    Thus, everyone''s goal from the very start wasn''t to squeeze out the weakest, but the strongest!


    With such logic, who would be the first to be wiped out?


    Of course, it would be the fellow who looked the strongest! And it was exactly that arrogant guy who dared to occupy the most advantageous position inside the red circle!


    The moment he decided to take that center position, he already doomed himself to lose. The attack on him was instantaneous, and it was all his fault.


    It was out of instinct of survival that these martial artists chose to join hands against him.


    This test''s main goal was not to pick the strongest among the fighting warriors. It aimed to see who was the best at making decisions, and maximizing his or her strength according to that. Being strong was a plus, but only if you played the game right, otherwise you would be under attack on all sides right fro


    ous! Among the six martial artists, three of them would be able to stay and win the round. So every one of them had half a chance of passing the test!


    A few of them were fighting, but some were not and were just looking for the most advantageous moment to attack.


    However, if these Virtual Tribulation Realm martial artists did not fight, the Jade Martial House would have a way to make them fight! Suddenly, the red circle began to shrink!


    First, it trembled slightly and started to close up towards the center. The way it was narrowing was slow, so the warriors inside had the time to plan their next move.


    Despite the time that was being given to them, they couldn''t help but panic. The fighting area was getting smaller and smaller, and they would have to make a move in the next moments!


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    The first martial artist who had lost his patience was the first to be thrown out of the red circle.


    Following that, two other warriors were also instantly driven out.....


    The battle had come to an end, and the remaining three martial artists became the victors of the first round.

 Chapter 1068 The Arrogant Lord Randy

    Two things had become clear to everyone after the first test round among the Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors: first was to move fast, and the second was to keep a low profile.


    Those who hadn''t entered the circle had begun to size each other up again.


    They all took note of those they thought were pretty powerful. Strategy was key and it would be best to force the stronger ones out of the circle as soon as possible.


    This meant that the well-known, top-level Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors were at a disadvantage.


    Sure, they might''ve been stronger than the rest but their fame meant the others would work hard in eliminating them first.


    A low profile was the key strategy for these types of tests. The less your opponents saw you as a threat, the longer you could skirt around the edges and survive.


    Out of everyone, it was Lord Randy that was seen as the probable biggest threat. Although he was not a member of the Jade Martial House, he was still someone who was able to obtain his fiefdom at such a young age. His strength was also only inferior to the divine kingdom''s crown prince. Everyone''s minds thought of the same question: if all twenty-nine Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors united against him, would he be able to fight through them all?


    Lord Randy, of course, was not oblivious to what went on in the minds of the other warriors. Their stares made it very obvious.


    He snorted. "Only the weak would waste their time with tricks," he muttered to himself. He had chosen to go to the Feather Holy Sea in the name of a Lord and that meant he had to overcome all the obstacles and pass this test lest he brought shame upon the royal family. A couple of warriors wouldn''t be enough to stand in his way.


    Zen was regarding the situation with slight interest. His cultivation base was only at the middle stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm and he was a stranger here in the Harlen Divine Kingdom. His low profile was already a given and he could effectively use it to his advantage.


    "Looks like these guys already figured out how to play this game," a Soul Sea Realm master laughed heartily.


    "I hope we get some powerful young fellows this year," another remarked. "Last year''s journey was the worst harvest our divine kingdom had. We''ll be in big trouble if that happens again this year. We have to make sure that our Jade Martial House does better!" The Soul Sea Realm masters'' worries were not displaced.


    The costs of establishing and maintaining these martial houses came straight from the divine kingdoms'' deep pockets. They were built for the sole purpose of training elites who would discover and bring back treasure and resources from the Feather Holy Sea. A portion of the spoils went directly to the divine kingdoms while the rest went to


    simply banded together to shut his mouth and defeat him. However, Lord Randy was different because they were all well aware that his arrogance stemmed from his unprecedented power. They weren''t even sure if they''d be able to defeat him even if they joined forces together.


    Zen slightly shook his head at the other participants'' reaction, ''This guy''s smart, '' he thought to himself, pertaining to Lord Randy. ''He knows he''s famous so it would be useless for him to keep a low profile. Therefore, he''s doing the exact opposite by scaring everyone into submission with his arrogance.''


    If his opponents were too scared to band together, then they could never hope to defeat him.


    Arrogance came from power and if everyone was aware of how powerful one truly was, they would not question one''s arrogance and instead fear his potential.


    The round of test soon quickly began.


    The other warriors were immediately abuzz with discussion at this interesting round.


    "Who do you think will be eliminated first? Do you think it''ll be Lord Randy?"


    "I don''t think so. He''s too powerful. Nobody would be dumb enough to challenge him." "I bet that guy Thad will be first to go. He''s just at the middle stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm! What a joke!"


    "Yeah! Do you see how weak he looks? How could he possibly defend himself against his opponents? One single hit would be enough to send him flying!"


    "Look! Someone already targeted him. I guess it''s time for him to say goodbye!"


    The discussion was lively, especially with the thought of Zen''s swift defeat. The warrior that had targeted him rushed fiercely towards his direction, "You''re the first to go, pipsqueak!"


    Zen''s eyes gleamed with contempt but he reigned himself in. Instead of a counterattack, he skirted through the edge of the red circle and quickly sidestepped the oncoming warrior.

 Chapter 1069 Pursue Relentlessly

    As much as possible, Zen intended to maintain a low profile. To avoid showing off his real strength was his technique to gain a spot in the red circle. After all, there would be only three left.


    With his current standing, it wasn''t going to be difficult. As long as he constantly dodged the attacks, he could easily face a group of martial artists at the later stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm despite the red circle''s limit in size.


    In addition, his cultivation level wasn''t enough to gain all the attention. He wasn''t everyone''s main target at that point.


    To his surprise, a fellow warrior had attacked him for no specific reason, aiming to kick him out of the ring. That had left Zen confused.


    "Whooosh!"


    The air shifted as Zen''s figure floated, circling around the edge of the red circle.


    Since the beginning, Zen had always faced that same martial artist. ''Interesting, '' he thought with a faint smile plastered on his face. He managed to maintain his calm demeanor.


    After Zen avoided the first attack, his opponent should''ve known better. Logically, he should''ve just given up. Zen didn''t want to cause any trouble and didn''t even launch a counterattack.


    No one expected for that man to keep on charging towards Zen. He refused to let him go. The light that appeared out of his fist gleamed brightly as if telling everyone that he wasn''t going to stop until Zen was out of the ring.


    "Get out!" The man sneered as he hurled another attack on Zen.


    "Huff¡­ Huff¡­ Huff¡­"


    Stealthily, Zen''s movement flashed as he constantly tried to sidestep each and every attack coming from his opponent. Something was wrong with that fellow.


    That warrior had already given up on his defense and was focused more on putting all of his force on the attack. With that kind of technique, kicking someone out of the ring was going to be easier.


    There was no known conflict between him and Zen, so what he was doing was completely unnecessary. It gave the impression that he didn''t care about passing the exam anymore. He only wanted to eliminate Zen even if it meant risking his own life.


    Was there someone else behind all of that? Who was ordering him?


    From the corner of his eyes, Zen could see Randy. He let his gaze land on the man.


    With his hands clasped firmly behind his back, Randy stood in the middle of the red circle. Faint particles slowly began to revolve around him.


    Even if the Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors were in the middle of a battle, none of them dared to make a move on him. His eyes were on Zen.


    "I knew it. It''s him!"


    Zen said in a low voice as his expression darkened. ''He has always targeted me ever since I joined the martial house. What is his problem with me? Why does he want to make things harder for me?


    Did he send someone to test the limits of my strength?'' Zen thought to himself.


    Given his current strength, Zen could just easily finish off the man who was after him, but at that time, he was a bit hesitant. Something didn''t seem ri


    paths in all directions instantaneously. If Zen wanted to pass through, he could only take them head-on.


    As for the warrior who had been after Zen for quite a while, his aura had grown even stronger, and he had no other goals but to force Zen into a corner.


    At that moment, Zen''s figure flashed as he traveled through space for a distance and walked to the other side of the red circle.


    The three claws that Randy had tossed missed him and went straight for the warrior standing right behind him instead.


    No one could have predicted that Zen could travel through space. An obvious shock could be seen on Randy''s face as well. The warrior who had previously chased after Zen had his mouth open as he collided against Randy''s paw prints.


    "Puff¡­ Puff¡­ Puff¡­"


    Three sharp claws instantly cut open that warrior''s robe, and then a crisp sound could be heard. It seemed as if his protective armor had been cut into pieces as well. Then, dark red blood started to spray out of his body.


    Seeing that he had accidentally injured one of his own, Randy only coldly snorted. He didn''t care about that warrior''s life, nor his death. His eyes once again followed Zen.


    No one knew what he was thinking, but after the missed blow, he remained standing exactly where his feet were planted moments prior.


    Since no one was chasing after him, Zen felt much more relaxed. He let out a sigh of relief which he had seemed to be holding on for too long.


    There were only a dozen or so people left in the red circle, and they were still fiercely fighting with each other. Despite the intensity of what had just gone down, they still had the same objective, and nothing could stop them from attaining it.


    The battles during that round were a bit more intense than the previous ones where they fought for the last three places. With the presence of Randy, it became tougher. No one dared to challenge him. Therefore, he had claimed one spot as his, while the rest fought bloodily for the remaining two places.

 Chapter 1070 How Did He Do It

    The competition was highly intense and not many remained. Numerous warriors were kicked out.


    Zen was extremely cautious and agile. Whenever someone wanted to target him, his body would suddenly flash without the slightest bit of warning and he would distance himself from them, going far beyond their reach but still staying inside the circle.


    In the red circle, no one had a clear goal and they had not decided just one person that they wanted to take on. Instead, they were trying their best to kick out as many people as they could until there were only three people left. In such a scenario, obviously very few people would stubbornly chase after Zen all the time.


    Be that as it might, Lord Randy''s gaze, which was as vicious as that of a venomous snake, was still locked on to Zen all the time, which made him feel extremely unhappy.


    Similarly, just like Lord Randy, the three powerful masters who had reached the Soul Sea Realm had also focused their gazes on Zen.


    "He is well versed in the Space Law and even seems to have fully grasped its second layer. This boy has good potential!"


    "Judging by the strength he is currently showing, he can be considered a divine-level talent. He has the ability to reach the third tier in the Harlen Divine Kingdom. You know, I won''t be surprised if he manages to make it to the top of the third tier as well!"


    "Someone like him deserves a Harlen Token, but I''m a bit worried¡­"


    With their sharp insight, how could the three powerful masters at the Soul Sea Realm not see that Lord Randy was targeting Zen?


    "Lord Randy has already declared that he alone will obtain the Harlen Token in this round. I''m afraid that with his strong cultivation and powers, it won''t be hard for him to keep his word. What worries me is the possibility that he will make a move against Thad."


    "Alas. I have rarely seen such talent among independent warriors. I hope he can pass the test."


    "Well it''s going to be a bit difficult. Only four people in the Harlen Divine Kingdom are in the first tier, and the difference in the strength of warriors between the first tier and the second tier is extreme. Only if this Thad reaches the top of the second tier will he be able to contend with Lord Randy!"


    Of course, Zen didn''t know that these three powerful warriors of the Soul Sea Realm were worried about him.


    Lord Randy was indeed highly interested in Zen. When he had taken part in this test, he had planned to pay special attention to the young guys who took part in the test too.


    He had originally planned to search for talented people inside the Jade Martial House. However, the person who was ranked first in the Jade Martial House, was the crown prince''s right hand man, who went by the name Gregory. He was perfectly loyal to his master and it would be impossible to win him over, but this young man in front of Lord Randy was different¡­


    Randy had a special talent when it came to reading people, which was a trait he had inherited from his father. From the very first moment he had seen Zen, he''d felt that this young man''s strength wasn''t as simple as it appeared to be.


    Those powerful masters at the Soul Sea Realm could only assess Zen by his current performance. According to them, Zen''s strength was only at the top of the third tier, but in the eyes of Randy, t


    pponent.


    The fierce-looking warrior in front of him was determined to win this battle. As long as he could get rid of Zen, and the battle between the other two ended, there would only be three people left in the red circle, so he would definitely pass the test. No matter what happened, he had to pass the test. It was a crucial step which might influence his whole life.


    Therefore, he went all out to fight against Zen. He wanted to finish Zen in a single blow!


    In his eyes, Zen was nothing but a coward who only knew how to run away.


    Yet, at the very last moment, he clearly saw that Zen was retreating, but somehow, the fellow had appeared before him just as his eyes had blinked due to some sort of lightning flash. What was going on?


    This was impossible.


    The warrior was dumbfounded. He stared at Zen blankly, not knowing how to react.


    Zen ignored his dumb expression. He reached out his hands and grabbed his opponent''s hands. With a light snap of his five fingers, Zen locked the pulses in the warrior''s arms. This way, the warrior''s life vitality was going to be unable to reach his hands, making it even harder for him to break free from Zen''s grip.


    In fact, it was an unnecessary move for Zen to lock his pulses. His opponent had already forgotten how to revolve his life vitality and break free. While the warrior was still in a trance, Zen let go of his pulse and grabbed him with one hand. He then swung him around like a windmill, and threw him out of the red circle.


    It was such a smooth and clean stunt!


    The truth was that for martial artists at lower realms, this way of battling was very common. But once they reached the Internal Elixir Realm, the strength with which one''s life vitality burst out would be extremely terrifying and no one would dare to go near them.


    As a result, in the battles in the red circle, warriors were often driven out by other warriors'' forceful attack and strength, but nobody had been thrown out like that till now.


    At this time, when they saw Zen directly throw a martial artist out of the red circle, the other martial artists were also so shocked that they couldn''t utter anything. The same doubt crossed their minds, "How did he do it¡­"

 Chapter 1071 Push Comes To Shove

    Thud!


    The Virtual Tribulation Realm martial artist was thrown out of the red circle and he fell heavily onto the ground.


    His was in a much better state compared to other martial artists who were hurt or even heavily injured. The fall couldn''t hurt someone like him, especially at his level.


    But the embarrassment was too much.


    He would rather be injured and carried out than be chucked out like this. It was truly a great humiliation for him.


    However, he quickly regained composure when he got up.


    Martial artists in the divine kingdoms knew much more than those in the Central Region and the Sea God Continent. He knew that Zen''s speed was truly extraordinary. The distance, angle and timing were all perfect!


    He had summoned all his strength to prepare his attack on Zen. That was why he hadn''t been able to react quickly and had allowed Zen to get so close to him.


    There was only one explanation why Zen could make such a judgment. He was quick to react and his judgment was accurate. He had fought in countless battles, so he had this kind of fighting instinct. Such a fellow was undoubtedly terrifying.


    Keeping this in mind, the martial artist took a deep breath and observed Zen carefully. However, there was no hatred in his eyes, only reverence and fear. Those who had personally experienced Zen''s wrath could understand how terrifying it was.


    Everyone was also quite shocked.


    Although the martial artist was embarrassed to be forcefully thrown out by Zen, as a third-tier member, he was powerful beyond doubt. None of the people present had the guts to mock him.


    Most people were just surprised that he was thrown out. They didn''t see how Zen had done it. He was simply too fast.


    On the other hand, the three powerful warriors of the Soul Sea Realm wore serious expressions.


    "I have underestimated this guy. Given his strength, he definitely isn''t just a third-tier member!"


    "I''m sure he has the strength to reach the second tier!"


    "If I''m not wrong, he just used the forceful energy. Has he cultivated both body and life vitality?"


    It was rare to come across warriors who cultivated both body and life vitality anywhere. The Sea God Continent, the Central Region and divine kingdoms were no exception.


    Zen had just wanted to end the battle quickly. If it dragged on, he would have to reveal more trump cards. And he wanted to keep them hidden for as long as possible.


    his face. ''Lord Randy has gone too far in bullying us, '' he thought. ''I have gone all out to pass the examination, but now, he wants to break the rules and kick me out.'' He seethed inwardly.


    There wasn''t much time left. From the moment the red circle began to shrink, only 300 seconds were left. The confrontation and Randy''s talk had taken 135 seconds.


    "I have already passed the examination. Why are you¡­" The martial artist protested. He was unwilling to accept this, but more than that he was unwilling to fight Randy. All he could do was to argue with him.


    "Shut up!" yelled Randy. "I don''t want to repeat my words a second time."


    He stood in the center of the red circle, while Zen and the warrior stood on either side of him. As the red circle continued to shrink, the two had to move closer to him.


    As the martial artist saw the distance between him and Randy closing in, he clenched his teeth and began to sweat profusely. Clearly, he was not convinced. However, looking at Randy who stood not far away, he knew that he was no match for him. If he fought the Lord, he would be humiliated and seriously injured. What was worse, there would be more unforeseen trouble.


    Finally, he gritted his teeth and stood still. The red circle kept shrinking and moved past his feet.


    He was eliminated.


    Many warriors looked at him with pity in their eyes.


    This was a tough examination and the probability of passing it was low as ninety percent of the participants were eliminated.


    This martial artist had passed the examination, and yet he was forced by Randy to quit the game. What a shame!

 Chapter 1072 Lord Randy Lost

    Randy was the beloved son of the emperor of Harlen Divine Kingdom. He himself was a superb talent that belonged to the first tier. Even if the warrior was not willing to quit, he could do nothing.


    Since the entire Harlen Divine Kingdom belonged to his father, none of the warriors living in the divine kingdom dared to resist any kind of decision he made. No one could afford to offend the imperial members.


    The divine kingdoms were just like this. Compared to sect leaders, the imperial members were more domineering, condescending, and unreasonable.


    Even the powerful warriors at the Soul Sea Realm would show the utmost respect to Randy, even though he was only at the Virtual Tribulation Realm, due to his family background.


    Despite that, fear or indecision couldn''t be found on Zen''s face. He continued moving forward as the red circle shrank, his gaze firmly fixated on Randy, who was in the middle of the circle.


    Seeing that, Randy just smiled at Zen and asked, "What about you? Do you also want to give up?"


    Although he had only met Zen twice, he could tell that Zen was a man who was proud of what he could do. He had always been accurate in his judgment, and so he knew that someone like Zen would never easily give up.


    Of course Zen wouldn''t give up. He had traveled all this way here just to obtain the ancient jades to save Letitia. And doing so was no small feat.


    But then, he was not sure if he was really going to fight Randy.


    Upon his initial observation, he concluded that the guy was not weak at all. Although Randy had only attacked him once, Zen already thought that he was probably slightly stronger than Esther.


    And although Zen hadn''t seen Amber fight in the Tower of Sin, he was sure that Randy''s cultivation level would be more or less similar to hers when she had just become a top-level war lord two hundred years ago.


    Of course, that was only his rough estimate. He didn''t know for sure what Randy could do.


    Despite that uncertainty, Zen felt no fear. He had even killed Eddie, who was a warrior at the Life and Death Realm. He didn''t think Randy would be stronger than Eddie.


    The problem was that this was only the first round of the assessment. To be honest, it would be impossible for him to unleash all of his strength if he wasn''t in a life-or-death situation.


    With that, Zen started scheming. ''How would I be able to defeat this guy without showing him and everyone in here all I have?'' he thought carefully, his eyebrows slowly furrowing.


    If Randy knew what Zen was thinking, he would probably faint from anger. Fortunately, he had no means to do that. And also, all he wanted to do at that moment was test Zen''s strength as much as possible.


    As time passed, the red circle kept on shrinking. Zen continued moving forward, and the distance between him and Randy grew shorter and shorter.


    Thirty feet. Twenty feet. Ten feet!


    For warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm, at such a close distance, they could no longer use some of their moves or attacks.


    Zen and Randy stared into each other''s eyes, as if reading each other''s thoughts.


    Strength!


    This was a battle of pure strength!


    At this moment, all of the candid


    by his father. Although there were many princes in the Harlen Divine Kingdom, his talent set him apart, and because of that, the resources he received were abundant and generous. In this environment, his knowledge expanded, further than anyone else in the kingdom.


    With that, he knew that Zen''s strength shouldn''t have appeared in a warrior at the Virtual Tribulation Realm.


    Even a warrior who had experienced a life and death crisis would find it difficult to resist Zen''s strength. Just how did Zen manage to do it?


    His force was so hard to resist that it was like the tides of the ocean. A human would not be able to withstand such force.


    Although he was overwhelmed by this sudden realization, Randy was not willing to back down. He would see this test to the end, and he would succeed! There was no way he was going to retreat after all the boasting he did a while ago.


    He would rather Zen back out of the red circle right now and admit defeat. He would personally give a Harlen Token to Zen. After all, their purpose of competing in the exam was for the Harlen Tokens.


    It was just a Harlen Token!


    However, it was too late to say anything now. Under Zen''s overwhelming power, he had no choice.


    Thus, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Randy retreated.


    One step! Two steps! Three steps...


    Without doing anything flashy, he crossed the red circle. However, that wasn''t the craziest thing to happen in this whole round. As Randy continued retreating, his steps also became unsteady. In the end, everyone saw his legs weaken and he actually fell onto the floor!


    Everyone stared blankly at him, speechless at what was happening.


    Randy, whose talent was ranked in the first tier, actually was invincible among the young generation. In the entire Jade Martial House, only Gregory was comparable to him and his power. In the entire Harlen Divine Kingdom, only Edwin and the crown prince could match up to him.


    Randy and Zen weren''t fighting to the death just now¡ªit was just a simple contest of pure strength.


    Without a doubt, however, in a battle of strength, Randy was at an absolute disadvantage.

 Chapter 1073 Drawing Zen In

    The air was heavy as silence hung like a thick curtain. Hundreds of warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm stared in marvel at the scene unfolding in front of their very eyes.


    The eyes of the three mighty warriors at the Soul Sea Realm glinted with an ethereal light.


    These three warriors were the leaders of the Jade Martial House¡ªone of them was the head and the other two deputies. In the Harlen Divine Kingdom, they were considered the pillars that held the weight of the whole land in their shoulders. Naturally, they knew well the strength of Randy.


    Randy was a formidable opponent. Not only did he cultivate both body and life vitality, but more importantly, his physical constitution combined with the imperial family''s cultivation method could perfectly fuse forceful energy and life vitality. The two forces, when combined together, gave immense power to whoever wielded it. With this fusion, his strength surpassed that of anyone of the same level as him by leaps and bounds.


    Randy had not yet used his trump card. As of this moment, he had only used his fusion technique. However, Zen had not used any of his special moves as well. He had only used some of his forceful energy and half the power of the dragon scales.


    Just like this, Randy lost to Zen. The three leaders of the Jade Martial House observed Zen, pleasant surprise written on their faces.


    ''Could this man''s talent be ranked in the first tier? Is it possible that his strength would be on par with Lord Randy''s and the crown prince''s?'' they all thought.


    Regardless of whether they believed it or not, they couldn''t deny what they had witnessed with their own eyes. This man stood with his victory as clear as day, and they had the inkling that he had more to show them.


    "We misjudged him. This man is simply a monster. I really don''t know where he is from!" one of the three leaders said.


    "Ha-ha! It doesn''t matter. His presence will greatly benefit the Jade Martial House. Let us not discuss the disputes between Lord Randy and the crown prince. Since this man is participating in the assessment in the Jade Martial House, he naturally belongs here!" another leader said.


    "We''re in luck! Edwin Xiao of the Dark Martial House has overpowered our warriors. Now we have Thad Luo. I bet he is no inferior to Edwin," the third leader said.


    Gregory, the number one Virtual Tribulation Realm warrior of the Jade Martial House, stared at Zen as anticipation raced through him. His face held faint traces of excitement.


    "Thad Luo..." The name had a foreign sound, and it was one he had never heard of before. Gregory''s heart pounded wildly in his chest. Had the time and place been different, he would have already challenged Zen to a duel. However, this was the assessment of the Jade Martial House and he was in the presence of the three leaders. He would not mess with the rules.


    Gregory would not mess with the rules of the Jade Martial House. But Randy did whatever he wanted.


    The Harlen Divine Kingdom had many princes, but Randy''s status seemed so different from that of the


    xperience. He knew full well that the leader''s words were sensible, but he refused to listen to reason despite this fact.


    "Lord Randy, listen to me," Master He smiled meaningfully. The next moment, there were only faint movements of his lips. He was using life vitality to speak to Randy, so the others had no way of distinguishing his words.


    After a long while of what seemed to others as merely tense silence, Randy finally gave a slight nod of his head, and the imposing aura around his body dissipated. His face relaxed into a calmer expression as he beckoned to Zen. "I admit defeat. You are indeed a powerful warrior. I''d like to make friends with you, Thad. I will invite you to my house for a feast some other day!"


    Zen, on the other hand, stood in bafflement. There was a glaring contrast between Randy''s earlier attitude and current one. Who knew what he was up to?


    Of course, Zen was unsure. There were all sorts of conflicts going on in the divine kingdoms. After he had accidentally shown his strength, he might have unintentionally dragged himself into one of them as well.


    No matter what Randy was up to, it had nothing to do with Zen. Now, he just acted accordingly. As he was in the Harlen Divine Kingdom, it would do him no good if he embarrassed Randy. Paying his courtesies, Zen nodded and gave a polite salute to him.


    Only after Randy left did the crowd seem to breathe again.


    In the middle of the seeming calmness, Gregory observed quietly from the side, his eyes following Randy as he left. Then, quietly, he turned to look at Zen, a trace of vigilance flashing through his eyes.


    Although Gregory was a member of the Jade Martial House, he worked for the crown prince. The conflict between the crown prince and Randy had been going on for a long time. Zen had appeared out of nowhere and displayed tremendous strength. Whether or not he could win over Zen was a secondary matter, but such a character would not be allowed to follow Randy.


    He had to inform the crown prince of this matter as soon as possible.

 Chapter 1074 Ancestral Dragon

    Zen was not interested in the internal strife within the divine kingdom. He only cared about getting the Harlen Token.


    After passing the test today, the warriors had to return to the courtyard they had previously registered in. After passing the test, Zen had become a member of the Jade Martial House.


    The woman at the Internal Elixir Realm who was in charge of registration looked curiously at Zen. She wondered how Zen passed the test given that his cultivation was only at the middle stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm.


    The woman took Zen''s bamboo token back and gave him another purple token. This purple token was still not the Harlen Token. She informed him that from now on he was allowed to enter the Jade Martial House to study and practice, as well as to obtain a portion of the resources of the Jade Martial House.


    Other independent martial artists would be honored and excited at the chance to have access to the Jade Martial House''s materials and training facilities. The cultivation for independent warriors was extremely arduous, so it was a great opportunity for them to join a martial house to advance further. Zen, however, was not interested in studying nor using the resources of the Jade Martial House. Zen didn''t lack cultivation techniques or pills. He had completely relied on himself to improve his cultivation and, as of now, the martial house would not be of much help to him. The only thing that could help him was the Harlen Token.


    Zen left the Jade Martial House and met Francis who had been waiting outside for a while.


    Zen had given him an order beforehand, telling him to wait there for him so that they would return to his residence together. Francis did as he was told. He didn''t dare disobey Zen.


    Along the way, Zen played with the purple token in his hand. After thinking for a while, he asked, "How long do you think it will take me to get the Harlen Token and enter the Feather Holy Sea?"


    Francis smiled and replied, "One of the three secret lands will open every year but I''m not sure which one will open this year."


    The Feather Holy Sea contained the Feather Emperor Secret Land, the Divine Emperor Secret Land, the Mysterious Dream Secret Land, and the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land. Except for Feather Emperor Secret Land, Zen didn''t care about any other secret lands. He was expecting the Feather Emperor Secret Land to open this year, or else it would be extremely disappointing.


    "Is there a way to know which secret land will open this year?" Zen asked with a frown.


    "I guess so, but the opening of a secret land is controlled by the rulers of the four divine kingdoms. It is up to them to decide which secret land will open. I don''t know if it is possible to approach the rulers and ask them about this. I believe it will be a little difficult to get this information," Francis replied.


    Zen took a deep breath. If the Feather Emperor Secret Land didn''t open this year, he would have to wait for another year. He couldn''t wait that long. He didn''t have much time left. What should he do? Zen was not strong enough to influence the decisions of the rulers of the four divine kingdoms.


    "I see. You can leave n


    and so quickly."


    In the past, the seven divine kingdoms were considered sixth-grade sects but now the four divine kingdoms could be considered eighth-grade sects.


    It was a huge difference and upgrade even with just two grades in between.


    The Demon Night sacred place located in the Sea God Continent with Amber as the leader could only be considered a seventh grade sacred place.


    "What exactly is in the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land?" Zen asked curiously. He was wondering what the cyan dragon was looking for and why he wouldn''t just tell him once and for all.


    The cyan dragon answered, "In the past, the Dragon Lineage Human of the Lower World summoned a Genuine Dragon through blood sacrifice. That Genuine Dragon is our eldest brother."


    "Eldest brother?"


    Zen was shocked at the revelation.


    There were nine Genuine Dragons drawn on the mysterious furnace. These nine Genuine Dragons were of different sizes and lengths, and had different powers. But underneath the furnace lay the strongest and most intimidating Genuine Dragon. He had been asleep all this time and until now only the cyan dragon and red dragon had awakened.


    "Yes. Our Genuine Dragon race spread throughout a million worlds. Not everyone could use the blood sacrifice and successfully summon a Genuine Dragon to come for help. The reason why my eldest brother personally answered the call was because the Dragon Lineage Human had discovered an Ancestral Dragon Egg in their world. This Ancestral Dragon Egg is currently in the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land of the Feather Holy Sea!" the cyan dragon finally revealed what he was looking for.


    "An Ancestral Dragon Egg? What is that?" Zen felt confused and astonished at the cyan dragon''s words. He had never heard of the Ancestral Dragon Egg before.


    The red dragon laughed. "It''s very simple to understand. The Ancestral Dragon Egg is the egg of the Ancestral Dragon. There is only one Ancestral Dragon in this world and it is immortal. After it dies, a new Ancestral Dragon Egg will be born and then it will hatch and the dragon inside will become the new Ancestral Dragon."

 Chapter 1075 The Crown Prince And Lord Randy

    "Whoever can control the Ancestral Dragon shall have the power to control the Genuine Dragon race. As the most powerful super legendary beast, there is no way we are ever handing over the Ancestral Dragon egg to the human race," the red dragon said.


    Zen listened close, not even saying a word as the red dragon spoke.


    The red dragon continued, "The war in the Divine Kingdom Continent was actually a war between the human race and the Genuine Dragon race in the Lower World. Unfortunately, the human race never expected that after my eldest brother was summoned out by the blood sacrifice, he destroyed three divine kingdoms. In the instant of space collapse, he used a secret method to destroy the ascending passage of this world. Therefore, none of the living beings in this world can fly to the Upper World anymore."


    "What?" Zen''s eyes flashed as he heard such words.


    Being unable to fly to the Upper World had always been a problem for this world.


    After reaching the Soul Sea Realm, warriors originally could step into the path of the immortals.


    The likes of Miguel, Amber, and the Soul Sea Realm masters of the four divine kingdoms had been stuck within this boundless world and unable to fly to the Upper World.


    Other than the Dragon Soar Arenas, there were no other known methods to ascend.


    All living beings knew that there were problems in the world. However, not a single solution had come. Some questions remained unanswered.


    In the end, all of the Soul Sea Realm masters who could have ascended were trapped in this world until they just died. After the Five Aging Processes, they weren''t able to do anything more and got swallowed whole by depression.


    It was the last thing Zen had expected. It was the cyan dragon''s eldest brother who had destroyed the flying passage of his world.


    "Why did your brother destroy the flying passage in the first place?" Zen asked.


    The cyan dragon sighed before answering, "It was because of the Ancestral Dragon, of course. The egg was born in this great world, so my clan took care of it and let it hatch slowly under their wing. However, that had become known to humans, hence the war."


    "So that''s how it is," Zen said after a moment of silence. "In other words, the reason why you asked me to enter the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land is to obtain the egg and hand it to the Genuine Dragon race?"


    "The Genuine Dragon race? Huh!" The red dragon snorted with a trace of disdain. His tone was evident with anger.


    "Brother¡­" The red dragon had something more to say, but the cyan dragon stopped him. "That''s right, Zen. I want you to get the egg, but it must not be returned to the Genuine Dragon race," the cyan drago


    tayed in their kingdom, he couldn''t just ignore or kick those people out. He had more important things to focus on.


    "Your Highness, what brings you here?" he asked nonchalantly.


    With a smile on his face, the crown prince replied, "I heard that you passed the examination of the Jade Martial House as an independent warrior, so I wanted to meet you personally. You do have an impressive appearance with great talent. It really shows!"


    "I''m very flattered. The truth is, I''m nothing but a boor!" Zen responded after thinking for a moment.


    With the same smile, the crown prince said, "Come on. Let''s not stand on politesse. There''s a banquet at my house today. I would appreciate your attendance." Right after he spoke, he shot a look at the eunuch.


    A smile had crept on the eunuch''s face as well. He took out a shiny golden card and handed it over to Zen.


    As he looked at the card in the eunuch''s hands, Zen was a bit hesitant. Did he really want to be there?


    At that moment, he had figured out the purpose of that visit. Most likely, the crown prince wanted to draw him over to his side like Randy, but he was more polite.


    It was the way of the world. Those who showed you courtesy weren''t necessarily your friends.


    As Zen was contemplating whether or not he should attend the party, another voice from not too far away had reached their ears. "Brother! Why didn''t you come to see me after you arrived at the city?"


    It was Randy.


    Surprisingly, he was alone and didn''t have any attendants with him.


    The green robe he was wearing swayed as he strolled over towards them. He looked at the crown prince and then smiled at Zen. "Thad, how have you been?"


    Feeling even more baffled than he already was, Zen only nodded slightly. What did Randy and his brother really want?

 Chapter 1076 Being Watched

    Randy had extended his challenge to Zen just a few days ago.


    So it was kind of weird for Zen to see him act as if they were the best of friends who hadn''t seen each other for a long time.


    The smile was frozen on his face. "I''ve been fine." Zen said through his teeth.


    Randy put his arm around him in a brotherly manner before taking the golden invitation from his hand. He flipped it over before handing it back to the crown prince, "Zen''s already promised to go to my place today so your invitation is just way too late!"


    When had he agreed to visit his place? Zen had just received the crown prince''s invitation and was just thinking about what to do when Randy came out of nowhere and acted all friendly with him.


    Still, he appreciated his intervention. Despite Randy being arrogant and temperamental, he had an air of integrity around him. The crown prince, on the other hand, was too shrewd for Zen''s taste.


    Zen was not going to pass up this perfect opportunity to reject the crown prince''s invitation. He nodded his head as if to show his agreement with Randy''s words.


    "It is indeed too late to invite me now, Your Highness. Lord Randy''s already invited me to his residence," Zen said, patting Randy''s hand as a signal for him to get his arm off his shoulder.


    Randy''s hand refused to budge from Zen''s shoulder and there was a huge smile on his face.


    Back when his cultivation level was still very low, the crown prince did not even bother batting an eyelash at Randy''s direction. However, he gradually grew stronger and climbed the social ladder to a point wherein he could stand on the same ground as the crown prince.


    Still, the crown prince was over ten years older than Randy and was set to inherit the throne. Despite being conferred the title of Lord as recognition of his strength, Randy had fewer followers compared to his brother.


    The crown prince had recently heard of the warrior that had triumphed over Randy at the Jade Martial House. His interest was instantly piqued and he knew that he had to establish a relationship with this exceptional warrior. He had traveled from the capital all the way to Crane City just to see Zen to draw him to his side.


    But, it just so happened that Randy had burst out of nowhere and interfered with his plans.


    Of course he knew that these two only pretended to be close acquaintances to fool him. He was a crown prince and he knew how to play this game. And sometimes, he played his cards right and knew when to fold. He was not at a position to force Zen to do anything so he took the magnanimous route and gave a hearty laugh. "A shame! It seemed I did not come here on time."


    "You did arrive rather abruptly. I admire your speed," Randy retorted.


    There was a trace of hostility that flashed through the crown prince''s eyes but his face remained calm. With a smile he spun the wheelchair around and left, his entourage of masters following closel


    as his biggest crime against his brother. His power threatened the crown prince''s claim to the throne and when it came to the throne, the crown prince would not tolerate any kind of competition, familial ties be damned.


    The crown prince couldn''t really take action against Randy because of their father. However, he could still restrain his brother''s actions and make him suffer through other methods.


    And perhaps he had used the cruelest method of all: make his brother live inside a beautiful, hollow prison where he had no one he could trust.


    Of course, it did not just stop there, there was also that matter of entering the secret lands of the Feather Holy Sea. Randy knew he would need to gather warriors to form his own team. He couldn''t just go there on his own.


    The crown prince had ''offered'' his help to find people for him but Randy naturally rejected since he knew his brother''s real intentions. The problem, however, was that besides the crown prince, there was really no one else he could turn to.


    All the young, talented masters were already in the crown prince''s faction while the Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors that remained weren''t that powerful. Randy had managed to invite a handful of warriors who would be able to enter the second tier but they were still not enough. His meager force could never hope to contend against his brother.


    When he met Zen, Randy had already made up his mind to fight him. Under the guidance of the Jade Martial House''s master, he had managed to restrain himself with the hopes that this young man would be of great help to him.


    At last, they were finally able to enter the main hall. Francis remained at the door while both Zen and Randy were served tea by the servants. As soon as the tea was poured, Randy immediately chased them out.


    He looked up at Zen and stared at him with sparkling eyes. "Why do you want to enter the Feather Holy Sea?" he asked. "I think I can work with you."

 Chapter 1077 Corpses

    Randy was talking to Zen in a really polite way.


    As a superior Lord who hailed from a royal family, he had never lowered himself to cooperate with others before. Zen was the only exception.


    Although the crown prince had won over divine-level talents like Gregory and Edwin, along with the other talents from the two major martial houses, they weren''t that friendly to one another. They could only be regarded as the crown prince''s followers.


    Any powerful prince only wanted to train their own followers. But for Randy, he wanted to work with Zen.


    When Zen heard Randy''s words, his eyes were filled up with surprise. He lightly sipped his tea and looked at the scenery outside the palace. It was quite a sight, so he couldn''t help but allow his thoughts to wander.


    The moment he came to the four divine kingdoms, he didn''t plan to depend on any of the forces. However, if someone chose to cooperate with him, he wasn''t to refuse. After all, both sides could benefit from it.


    Despite Randy''s indisputable arrogance and conceitedness, he was still an honest man in Zen''s eyes. Besides, he was a prince of the Harlen Divine Kingdom. Zen refused to be anyone''s follower, but it was undoubtedly very suitable to act jointly with Randy.


    The only hindrance was the dispute between Randy and the crown prince, but that wasn''t Zen''s concern at that point in time. He wasn''t going to stay in the four divine kingdoms for long anyway.


    Upon noticing Zen''s hesitance, Randy spoke, "It looks like you still fear my brother. Am I right?"


    Initially, Zen''s response was to roll his eyes at Randy''s straightforwardness. He smiled and said, "I choose to work side by side with you. I''m here for the life stones in the Feather Emperor Secret Land."


    It was no secret that Zen was looking for the life stones, so there was no harm in telling Randy.


    "Oh? The life stones?" There was a meaningful smile plastered on Randy''s face. "Why didn''t you just say so earlier?"


    Zen''s heart skipped a few beats as he heard Randy''s words. He had traveled for miles on end just to find those things. If he could get them from Randy, then it could save him a great deal.


    In one clap of his hands, a servant girl made her way to Randy in small strides.


    "Bring me the life stones," Randy said softly, his voice almost sounded like a whisper.


    After the servant girl received Randy''s order, she bowed her head slowly and then exited the room carefully.


    There was burning excitement that was brewing inside of Zen''s heart. It was too extreme that he couldn''t conceal it himself. If Randy possessed the life stones, he was willing to pay any price in exchange for them.


    The expression on Zen''s face brought a smile on Randy''s face. "It seems that the life stones are of utmost importance to you. You want to save someone, right?"


    Life stones could replenish a


    de are the most precious treasures!"


    Corpses were treasures?


    Zen was confused all the more.


    The Feather Holy Sea was the gathering place of the Dragon Lineage Human. Many of them were killed in the blood sacrifice, so it had become a dangerous place for anyone.


    There was a long period of time when the four divine kingdoms were unable to enter the Feather Holy Sea.


    At some point, the Feather Holy Sea was considered more oppressive and powerful than the Cursed Land in the entire Sea God Continent. At the very least, living beings under the level of war sages could enter the Cursed Land, but it wasn''t the same for the Feather Holy Sea.


    However, no matter how dangerous the place was, there was still a way to break it. The legacy left behind by the Dragon Lineage Human was like fat meat in the eyes of the four divine kingdoms. How could they sleep soundly when they knew there was fat meat at their doorsteps?


    After searching again and again, they finally found a way to enter the Feather Emperor, the Divine Emperor, and the Mysterious Dream Secret Lands.


    The four divine kingdoms had gained so much from those secret lands. Finally, their eyes fell onto the last one ¨C the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land.


    The Heavenly Stellar Secret Land was the core of the Dragon Lineage Human, which was more impossible to enter compared to the first three secret lands. It had puzzled the four divine kingdoms for countless years. In order to explore it, countless martial artists in the four divine kingdoms had given their lives. Among them were many Soul Sea Realm masters.


    Finally, the four divine kingdoms compromised. They found themselves unable to enter all. The power of blood sacrifice within the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land was not something that they could just brush off their shoulders.


    Thus, they shifted their focus onto the corpses in the Divine Emperor Secret Land.

 Chapter 1078 Trust

    Both the Feather Emperor Secret Land and the Divine Emperor Secret Land were extremely dangerous areas for martial artists.


    However, they were nothing compared to the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land.


    In the Feather Emperor Secret Land, as long as one followed the rules of mining and had the expertise, there wouldn''t be any major problems.


    However, the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land was a land of corruption. Apart from the Dragon Lineage Human, no other living beings were allowed to enter.


    The four divine kingdoms had discussed this predicament together countless times. In the end, they were able to come up with an alternative method ¡ª


    they would use the corpses in the Divine Emperor Secret Land.


    Corpses of Dragon Lineage Human were preserved within Divine Emperor Secret Land. Many of them had been preserved using secret techniques, allowing them to withstand the ravages of time.


    If they occupied these corpses and entered the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land, they would not be rejected by the blood sacrifice inside.


    But even then, the four divine kingdoms were still in the most rudimentary stages of developing the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land. Plus it wasn''t easy to obtain these corpses from the Divine Emperor Secret Land and even when they did get them, there were many restrictions.


    Zen got a general understanding of these secret lands from Randy. The four lands were originally complementary to each other, and the Feather Holy Sea was home to the Dragon Lineage Human. However, there were many limitations to exploring this place.


    Zen knew that he definitely couldn''t rush into Heavenly Stellar Secret Land. The four divine kingdoms had spent so many years trying to enter it, and things weren''t easy for them even after they had gotten in. So obtaining the life stones and the Ancestral Dragon egg didn''t seem like an easy task.


    Even without the obstruction of the powerful warriors of the Soul Sea Realm or the experts of the Life and Death Realm, it wouldn''t have been easy for Zen to enter that place anyway.


    The collaboration with Randy seemed to be inevitable.


    "After I obtain the Harlen Token, I will form a team and enter the Feather Holy Sea. Since you want to excavate the life stones, you must also help me," Randy smiled. However, he was afraid that Zen wouldn''t stay.


    Even though he was a Lord and was bestowed many rewards every year, he was nothing compared to the crown prince, who was the future


    ies from time to time.


    Randy, too, was aware of this fact. The entire mansion was full of the crown prince''s spies, and everything was handled solely by him. To put it bluntly, the crown prince felt that Randy was too much of a threat and he wanted to imprison him.


    Randy was also wary of her and she knew it too. But she couldn''t stand such humiliation.


    She was enraged right now.


    She refused to comply and this made the Lord furious. An extremely sharp killing intent was released, which immediately enveloped her. "Dance or die!" said Randy, glaring at her.


    Hester''s heart trembled under this gaze. If the Lord decided to kill her, no one would be able to plead with him.


    Helpless, she gritted her teeth and agreed.


    As the musicians played the music, this woman danced in front of Zen and Randy.


    When he saw the reluctance and hatred in her eyes, Zen sighed. However, this was a royal family matter, so he couldn''t interfere.


    He realized why Randy was humiliating Hester by making her dance in front of a stranger. He hated the people in his mansion, including his wife. They all worked for the crown prince. It was unbearable, so he needed to vent his anger.


    But he also wanted to earn Zen''s trust.


    However, the Lord was too young and immature. He was not even twenty years old. He only wanted to achieve his own goals without thinking about the consequences of his actions. His own wife dancing for his guest would be a disgrace to himself. It was ridiculous!


    Unfortunately, the Lord didn''t care about this. On the contrary, it made Zen extremely uncomfortable ¡ª like he was sitting on a bed of nails!

 Chapter 1079 The Team

    Hester danced gracefully like a nightingale, but how could Zen be in the mood to appreciate it under such a strange atmosphere?


    Lord Randy was glaring down at Hester with a manic expression on his face. It was as though tormenting his wife was quite a pleasant way of venting his anger.


    So when the song was over, Zen quickly stood up from his seat and found a possible excuse to leave.


    He was apparently not interested in how Lord Randy was to compete with the crown prince. What he only wanted was to follow the goals he had set for himself.


    He was already pleased that he had obtained some life stones from Lord Randy''s manor, although the quantity was far from enough. Apart from that, he now had a clearer understanding of the Feather Holy Sea.


    And with him being more determined to enter the Feather Holy Sea, he wouldn''t waste time while he was waiting for that to happen.


    Aside from his planned cultivation, he also wanted to purchase more life stones.


    Anyway, Crane City was the second-largest city in the Harlen Divine Kingdom. And within this city, the Jade Martial House was considered a perfect place for cultivation, which was comparable to a sixth-grade sect.


    There were no sects in the divine kingdoms, but there were many large clans instead. Back in the Central Region, third-grade clans were considered the strongest. And there had never been a fourth-grade clan.


    In the Crane City, however, there were quite a few fourth-grade large clans, and even several fifth-grade clans. The masters of those clans were generally at the fourth or even at the fifth level of the Life and Death Realm.


    Since Lord Randy''s mansion possessed life stones, Zen believed that he could get more of these stones from those large clans in the Crane City. If they were willing to exchange those stones with life vitality crystals, he wouldn''t hesitate to make the deal.


    So once he was done with his daily cultivation, he spent all his spare time inquiring about the life stones.


    However, the result was quite disappointing.


    The life stones could replenish one''s life energy, so they were an irresistible temptation for every warrior. They were a must-have for everyone. When they were fortunate to obtain it, most of these people would instantly consume their life stone, so there were rarely any reserves of these precious life stones.


    With the said scarcity, Zen had to stop thinking about purchasing life stones. He could only wait for the exploration of the Feather Holy Sea.


    He had no final say on when he would go to that place because only the four divine kingdoms had the rights to allow warriors to enter the Feather Holy Sea.


    Half a month later, Lord Randy suddenly paid a visit to Zen. Without even bothering to exchange pleasantries, he commanded directly, "Come and follow me! I''ll introduce my teammates to you!"


    "Your teammates?" Zen was curious.


    He didn''t ask further and just followed Lord Randy straight to the Jade Martial House.


    The Jade Martial House


    y?''


    Camilla scoffed as she looked at Zen with a provocative gaze and grumbled, "I don''t believe it! Sweet little Randy, you are making fun of us for nothing."


    "You really think so?" Randy knew that if Zen didn''t show his real strength, it would be difficult to convince them. "If you think I''m making fun of you, you can spar with Thad and get your answer!"


    As soon as Randy finished speaking, they all stared at Zen with keen interest. It was apparent that they all wanted to challenge him.


    A trace of helplessness was revealed on Zen''s face. "There''s no need for this, is there?"


    "You are not the one to decide!" As soon as Camilla let out those words, she suddenly charged at him as she extended her slender hand to slap him.


    The moment she moved, thousands of hands suddenly appeared in Zen''s eyes, and she was like the Thousand-hand Bodhisattva. In the blink of an eye, she had slapped over a thousand times, blocking all of his escape routes.


    "She is unreasonably fast!" Zen''s eyes beamed with surprise. He unexpectedly discovered that there was a special Law Power that had erupted from this woman''s body. He had never seen this kind of Law Power before.


    "Time Law?"


    He knew that the two most powerful Laws in this universe were the Time Law and the Space Law.


    He had grasped and mastered the Space Law, but he had never seen anyone seizing the Time Law. He never expected that he would see it from this woman called Camilla.


    And it was all because of the effect of the Time Law that this woman was able to attack him so many times in a span of a blink of an eye.


    "Camilla! Lord Randy only allows you to spar with him! Don''t hurt him severely!" The warrior called Renzo warned from the side.


    Knowing Camilla who habitually lacked a sense of propriety, Renzo was afraid that she might get blamed by Randy if she heavily injured Zen, who was only at the middle stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm!


    Randy looked quite calm as if he wasn''t worried about Zen at all.

 Chapter 1080 Cooperation (Part One)

    Camilla smiled as she replied, "Don''t worry, I won''t hurt him!"


    But just as she finished talking, the palm shadows around Zen became more intense and intimidating by the minute.


    Her hands were delicate but she was capable of chopping a bronze statue made of fine iron into pieces. If Zen couldn''t think of a way to deal with her, then she would definitely hurt him.


    A light sparkled and burst out of Zen''s eyes as he tried to comprehend the Time Law that Camilla was using.


    "It won''t help if you don''t move. I''m really going to attack!" Camilla said with a hint of disdain as she saw Zen staring blankly at her. Who knew what kind of tricks this fellow had used to fool Randy into including him in the team?


    She used a majority of her strength to hack at Zen.


    Zen had been comprehending for a long time, but he finally shook his head. He reached out and easily grabbed Camilla''s slender hands. He then said softly, "The power of the Time Law in your strike is too little for me to comprehend."


    He had caught Camilla''s hands so swiftly and easily that it looked like Camilla had just offered them to him to hold instead of trying to attack him.


    Camilla was dumbstruck for a moment. She wanted to pull her hands back from Zen''s, but found that she couldn''t. It was as if her hands were clamped down by a pair of large pincers.


    Renzo and Barry had expected this to be a good show. They wanted to see what kind of method Zen would use to fight against Camilla''s attack.


    Camilla''s attack from the Thousand Lady Hands dazzled the people present there as if they had seen countless flower petals falling down. It contained a trace of the Time Law, which could change the time flow rate in a short period of time. It was next to impossible to break it; only method which was more powerful could do this.


    But they never expected Zen to break it with a simple move. They looked at each other, exchanging puzzled glances and they knew that each was more shocked than the other.


    A faint smile appea


    itying look pissed Camilla off to no end.


    Randy walked over, grinning. He said, "Alright, let''s call it a day. Thad''s strength should be no less than mine. He will definitely be of great help if he joins our team."


    "Humph!" Camilla huffed and puffed, unconvinced.


    Zen had casually broken her attack by simply reaching out and grabbing her. And with Randy''s obvious favor to him, she realized that Zen''s strength was at the same level as Gregory''s. He was an extraordinary talent who should have been ranked in the first tier.


    There were countless martial artists in the Harlan Divine Kingdom. But there were only four people at the first tier. And right now, Zen''s strength was beyond her imagination.


    Randy said to Zen, "I can tell that you''ve always been a loner. You don''t seem to understand the meaning of teaming up."


    Randy''s words reminded Zen of the Heavenly Evil Sect that Eddie had set up. Back then, the Heavenly Evil Sect had a special way to combine the life vitality of tens of thousands of Illuminating Soul Realm warriors, which made it possible for these low-level warriors to display a power that was terrifying to say the least.


    Zen nodded at Randy''s words.


    Randy waved at Renzo, Camilla, and Barry, and then walked to the center of the hall to extend a hand to Zen, saying, "You can try to attack me."

 Chapter 1081 Cooperation (Part Two)

    Renzo and Camilla stood on either side of Randy, while Barry stood behind him.


    ''Is Lord Randy trying to join forces with the others and fight alongside them?'' Zen thought. Zen glanced at the group curiously. Since he had already agreed to join Randy''s team, he was supposed to be integrated into it. As he thought this, his figure flashed as he charged towards Randy.


    Before Zen could even get close, Renzo extended his hand and waves of life vitality which were colored faintly purple surged out of his body and kept circling Randy swiftly and constantly.


    Camila smiled. She waved a slender hand and a thin curtain of light appeared immediately. When Zen rushed towards the light curtain, he felt everything around him, including his own speed, slow down.


    ''It''s the Time Law! And right now, all three of them are in complete support of Lord Randy!'' Zen thought.


    Randy''s figure flashed suddenly and appeared behind Zen. With a flip of his hand, he had placed a sharp dagger at Zen''s neck. It was a combined effort of several people, but it looked like they had done a perfect job.


    But Zen was swift to react. Camilla''s comprehension of the Time Law wasn''t deep, and with a slight twist of his body, he slipped away from Randy''s grip like a fish. A cocky, confident smile found its way to his face as he reached out, ready to snatch the dagger from Randy''s hand.


    In that instant, Zen felt a great tremor within his mind, as if an axe with the power to split a mountain apart had slashed through his head. Barry had launched a soul attack on him!


    Anyone else probably wouldn''t have been able to block this soul attack after these multiple attacks. Even if they managed to block it with a lot of effort, they''d probably have become distracted. And how could they block Randy''s attack when distracted?


    But Barry hadn''t realized or even imagined that Zen''s soul had almost entered the Jasper Fighting Soul Realm. The attack felt more like an itchy spot for Zen than a powerful spirit attack.


    Zen, however, didn''t want to reveal his full s


    d win. Because they were better at the art of cooperation.


    In this hall, when Zen cultivated with them, they would occasionally communicate with each other, asking and clarifying each other''s doubts about the martial arts.


    But it was Zen who asked the others for advice most of the time.


    The inheritances of the divine kingdoms were much richer than those of the Central Region. What was more, a considerable part of their inheritances came from the human race of the Upper World. Unfortunately, Zen didn''t know which force of the Upper World''s human race their inheritance came from.


    As time passed, Randy also became busier. Since he was busy with matters of the royal house, he rarely appeared in the martial house.


    Three months later, the Jade Martial House had gathered all the martial artists who had passed the test, including Zen.


    Zen had conjectured that the Jade Martial House had probably gathered them because the Feather Holy Sea was about to open. The Feather Holy Sea was like a treasury of the four divine kingdoms, at a similar position as the Dark Nether Cave in the Sea God Continent. He didn''t know how they were going to send the warriors into the Feather Holy Sea.


    Camilla, Barry, and Renzo, however, weren''t there. They belonged to Randy''s forces, so they hadn''t participated in the test. They would probably set out with Randy.

 Chapter 1082 Gathering

    The Feather Holy Sea was similar to the Cursed Land in that it was also located at the center of a continent. To most martial practitioners, it was also a forbidden area.


    Still, there was a fundamental difference between the two. The Cursed Land was a forbidden area for high ranked martial artists, while the Feather Holy Sea was forbidden to the low ranked martial artists.


    Every year, the four divine kingdoms would join forces to explore the Feather Holy Sea. The sacred place left behind by the Dragon Lineage Human was an inexhaustible trove to them. Apart from the resources in the endless sea around them, the most important part of their development was the secret lands in the Feather Holy Sea.


    In the eyes of the rulers of the four divine kingdoms, the Feather Holy Sea was the most precious treasure of all.


    All of the selected martial artists of the Jade Martial House boarded a huge ark which was something like a palace in the sky, with hundreds of floors above and below it. It was evidently large enough to accommodate tens of thousands of people.


    Following the other martial artists who had passed the examination, Zen entered the ark. After it ascended into the sky, it sped off toward the northwest.


    All of the Virtual Tribulation Realm martial artists were extremely excited about having passed the test.


    It was no wonder they were ecstatic. Those who were chosen by the four divine kingdoms to gain experience in the Feather Holy Sea would eventually become the proud sons of the heavens.


    It was known that out of the four divine kingdoms, 99% of Soul Sea Realm masters had achieved good results on their first trip to the Feather Holy Sea.


    The secret lands were a yardstick for the assessment of potential martial artists in the divine kingdoms. Every martial artist at the Virtual Tribulation Realm tried his best, sparing no effort.


    "Wow¡­ It''s so beautiful! I''ve always heard that the Feather Holy Sea is golden, but this is the first time I''ve seen it for myself!"


    "It''s said that the golden light within is the power left behind by the blood sacrifice of billions of lives from the Dragon Lineage Human."


    Many rushed to the deck of the ark to admire the sea from high up in the sky.


    Even Zen stood on the deck, admiring the golden waters. He could feel the power of blood sacrifice within the golden light. The defeat of the Dragon Lineage Human and the sacrifices of billions of lives must have left immense dissatisfaction.


    Trying to focus his gaze further away in the distance, he couldn''t find any traces of the secret lands. Its secret was still enveloped by the ocean.


    If Zen''s guess was right, the four secret lands should be four islands on the Feather Holy Sea. However, even though the Feather Holy Sea was merely an inland sea, the islands still weren''t visible.


    Patience was something he dearly needed on his way to his destination. These days, he was anxious more often than not. At such times, the anxiety was useless. Although he no longer had a rival in the Central Region, his strength was not enough to take down the entirety of the four divine kingdoms.


    Although the ark advanced at an extreme speed, it still took them two days and three nights to reach their destination. On the morning of the third day, a large


    kept increasing, and more and more Virtual Tribulation Realm martial artists arrived at the square.


    At that moment, Zen suddenly felt a light bloom in the corner of his eyes. Looking up, he saw a light appear in the west. Like a small sun, it quickly rose in the air.


    As the light got closer, Zen could see that it was a golden palace.


    The dazzling place flew over at an extremely fast speed. In the blink of an eye, it was right by the West Dragon River. Then, deep laughter was heard from within the palace.


    "Haha! Looks like I came too early. The other elders haven''t arrived yet."


    Immediately after, Zen saw hundreds of figures fly out of the golden palace. A middle-aged man with a flushed face was in the lead.


    In a mere glance, Zen could feel an irresistible aura from the man. It couldn''t be released by soul pressure. It was unique to superior men who had occupied high-ranking positions for a very long time.


    Even Amber of the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place didn''t have such an aura. After all, she had only ruled the place for over two hundred years. Zen had only felt it from Lavender.


    And of course, Lavender''s aura was still even sharper than this person''s. His aura was aimed only at the human martial artists, while Lavender''s could overwhelm almost all living beings.


    "Here comes Scott, the head of the Star Field Divine Kingdom!" The sharp sound reverberated again.


    ''So he''s the ruler of the Star Field Divine Kingdom. The four divine kingdoms are the rulers of this continent. His strength must be at least in the top four here, '' Zen guessed inwardly.


    Scott merely laughed. Instead of flying up to the palace as the others did, he stayed above the square for a moment, glancing at the many Virtual Tribulation Realm martial artists on the square. "Where are the people of my Star Field Divine Kingdom?"


    When they heard their ruler''s question, the martial artists, including those from the Wisteria Martial House and other martial houses from the Star Field Divine Kingdom, responded like thunder, "Greetings, my King! Here we are!"


    As hundreds of Virtual Tribulation Realm martial artists roared all at once, the very ground seemed to tremble.

 Chapter 1083 War Kings And War Emperors (Part One)

    "Ha-ha! Warriors of the Star Field Divine Kingdom, I can''t wait to see your performances!" Scott cheered exuberantly.


    As the emperor of the Star Field Divine Kingdom, he led the warriors behind him to stand on the highest platform.


    Among those following him were warriors at both the Life and Death and Virtual Tribulation Realms. In all likelihood, they were the princes and princesses of the Star Field Divine Kingdom.


    After Scott had arrived, a bright blue stream of light appeared from not too far away. It went down like a comet, dragging a long trail as it emerged.


    When the light approached closer, Zen discovered that it was a grand sword that had been magnified countless times.


    "The emperor of the York Divine Kingdom has arrived!" Some people were able to identify the great sword''s origin.


    As expected, when the huge sword stopped at the riverbank, some powerful warriors at the Soul Sea Realm showed up, followed by hundreds more.


    The same sharp voice announced again, "War Emperor York of the York Divine Kingdom has arrived!"


    Compared to Scott of the Star Field Divine Kingdom, War Emperor York''s personality was a bit more dismal. He flew through the square without a word and brought his men directly to the platform.


    As Zen took a closer look, he saw a woman with a veil covering her face right behind War Emperor York. His eyebrows twitched slightly, and he shrunk back into the crowd.


    That woman was none other than the Holy Maiden of the York Divine Kingdom.


    At that time, Zen had no idea about the current standing of the Holy Maiden in their divine kingdom. If she happened to recognize him, was it possible that the powerful warriors at the Soul Sea Realm of the York Divine Kingdom could come after him?


    Both Scott and War Emperor York were at the Soul Sea Realm. There was a gap in terms of strength among warriors at


    towards the bottom of the platform to take a bow. "Your Majesty, I, Titus Zhao, am representing the Wisteria Martial House."


    Being the emperor of the Star Field Divine Kingdom, Scott naturally had a good knowledge of the young warriors of theirs. He seemed to be quite confident of Titus Zhao. Smiling proudly, he said, "Good! Today, you shall fight. Now, who wants to challenge this young man?"


    As soon as Scott finished speaking, a beam of light flashed. It was another warrior who charged his way to the foot of the platform. He was from the York Divine Kingdom and looked rather well-built and was quite tall.


    "I, Logan Yun from Shadow Martial House of York Divine Kingdom, would like to challenge you."


    A faint smile appeared on War Emperor York''s face. Finally, one of theirs appeared. "Logan, you are said to be invincible among the warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm. I believe you won''t let me down this time," he encouraged.


    "I''m afraid my invincibility is only just a rumor, Your Majesty," Logan Yun humbly replied. Despite such a statement, it was evident that his confidence was strong, almost as if he didn''t care that much about the warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm that were present on the square.

 Chapter 1084 War Kings And War Emperors (Part Two)

    Since two warriors had already volunteered, the battle commenced.


    Once the sparring began, the crowd roared. Warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm were extremely strong, and nothing stopped them from showing everyone the depths of their strength and abilities. If they could, they would move mountains and overturn seas just so they could let everyone know how much they shouldn''t be messed with.


    Two warriors at the Soul Sea Realm on the platform walked down the stairs to wave their hands until they created thin lines that later on formed the enchanted barrier that surrounded the square. The space inside the enchanted barrier was where the battle took place.


    The enchanted barrier created by warriors at the Soul Sea Realm wasn''t just something that could be broken by any warrior at the Virtual Tribulation Realm.


    Thinking that those fights didn''t have much to do with him, Zen didn''t pay that much attention.


    After all, he wasn''t from any of the four divine kingdoms. What he was more concerned about was entering the Feather Holy Sea.


    However, he had no other choice at that time but be patient until a victor was announced.


    According to Zen''s estimation, that battle wasn''t going to last very long. There were only four warriors in the Harlen Divine Kingdom that could be ranked in the first tier. Soon, the warriors who were to represent the entire Harlen Divine Kingdom would only be four people¡ªthe crown prince, Lord Randy, Edwin, and Gregory.


    Even if the Star Field and York Divine Kingdoms were slightly stronger than the Harlen Divine Kingdom, the number of warriors that could be ranked in the first tier wasn''t too many. At most, there could only be around six or


    ed by life and death crises, so they were naturally not so naive or easily angered.


    That event happened about once each year. The warriors at the Soul Sea Realm didn''t care much about the ongoing banter. Their focus was solely on the fight that was happening mid-air.


    Titus Zhao had cultivated a polished fire-system cultivation method. In addition, he also seemed to have grasped the third layer of the Fire Law. Within those flames, extreme power of annihilation was contained.


    As he sized him up, Zen was able to confirm that Titus Zhao''s strength wasn''t that simple at all.


    But the other warrior named Logan Yun was even stronger. Space was constantly twisting around his body, forcibly blocking all the flames. Was it true that he really was invincible?


    ''Huh? Did he just use the space power to create thin layers of space to generate an armor?'' Zen wondered in his heart. At the certain realization, Zen''s eyes flashed. That was the third layer of Space Law. Even to him, that was something he was unable to comprehend for the time being. It was true that the four divine kingdoms really had a very deep foundation.

 Chapter 1085 Quarrels (Part One)

    Logan Yun''s proficiency in Space Law was actually more than what the other warriors had expected. Who knew that he had the ability to manipulate space into creating a layer of armor over his body?


    The question now was whether his opponent could tear through space.


    Majority of the warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm did not have the strength to break through space. This meant that there was a high probability for Logan to emerge from this fight unscathed.


    Zen couldn''t help but be amazed at how profound the inheritances of the four divine kingdoms were. With these inheritances, warriors in the divine kingdoms were supposed to be stronger than those in the Central Region.


    Titus Zhao''s attack was extremely sharp, but Logan Yun''s suppression made it hard for him to unleash his full force.


    If only he had the strength to tear apart space or if only he had also been skilled in Space Law, then Titus Zhao would''ve stood a chance. However, it was becoming quite apparent that his fierce attacks and formidable Fire Law would not be enough to win him this fight.


    The result was obvious to Zen at least.


    "I''m afraid Titus Zhao will lose," he murmured to himself, but the warriors beside him still heard it.


    To put into context: Titus Zhao was heralded as one of the most powerful warriors of the Wisteria Martial House and even in the entire Star Field Divine Kingdom. The warriors from his martial house looked up to him and prayed hard for his victory.


    So to suddenly hear an unknown warrior from the Harlen Divine Kingdom proclaim that their hero would lose was unacceptable to them.


    "How dare you say that!" one of the warriors from the Wisteria Martial House shouted at Zen. "Are you courting death, you brat?" Zen was quite startled at their outburst, but tried to not take their reactions to heart.


    "Titus is our Wisteria Martial House''s top warrior! He''s also one


    to calm the disturbance.


    The aura pressed firmly onto the heads of warriors of both martial houses. It was as if there was a solid mountain that bore down on their foreheads and kept them in place. Even Gregory was no exception. His breathing was labored and there was an unexplained heaviness in his limbs so that he couldn''t even find the strength to lift a finger.


    This was the power of a warrior at the Soul Sea Realm.


    Zen was the only one who remained calm and indifferent. He gazed up at the mighty warrior in the distance and gave him a faint smile.


    This surprised the warrior at the Soul Sea Realm. He could feel that there was a warrior that had not been affected by his aura at all. He gave Zen a curious look before inevitably retracting his power over the other warriors.


    ''Since when did the Jade Martial House have such a powerful figure? Even my aura couldn''t suppress him!'' he thought to himself, positively intrigued.


    The soul of a warrior at the Soul Sea Realm was trained to be in the Fighting Soul Realm. Under his aura, those warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm should''ve effectively been suppressed and unable to move. Zen didn''t show any signs of moving, but the warrior at the Soul Sea Realm just knew that he was unaffected.

 Chapter 1086 Quarrels (Part Two)

    ''A warrior at the Virtual Tribulation Realm possesses a soul at the Fighting Soul Realm? It''s impossible. Is it because he has a magic treasure with him that could resist my soul pressure?


    But not even the crown prince of the Harlen Divine Kingdom would have such an artifact, much less a mere warrior at the Virtual Tribulation Realm.''


    He remained curious but said nothing. His duty was to maintain order during the competition. This matter did not really concern him.


    Therefore, he only gave Zen a look and ignored him.


    Once the ruckus died down, the battle''s outcome had already been decided.


    Just as Zen expected, Titus Zhao''s attack was fierce and probably the most powerful among the warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm present. However, brute strength would not be enough to pull him through this fight. The warriors gathered here were all talented, young individuals with their own trump cards and cultivation methods. Logan Yun''s Space Armor was ingenious and proved effective in the fight against Titus.


    Bang!


    Titus Zhao crashed onto the ground. He hissed in pain before pulling himself into a kneeling position. "Your majesty! Forgive me. I have failed you!"


    Scott smiled in understanding. "Please rise! Victory and defeat are integral parts of a soldier''s life! There is nothing to forgive. Do not worry about it!"


    The emperor didn''t blame him and even comforted him! Nonetheless, Titus Zhao still felt dejected. He was supposed to represent both the Wisteria Martial House and Star Field Divine Kingdom in battle, but he felt that he had failed them and his peers'' expectations.


    It was a given that the warriors of the Star Field Divine Kingdom all had long faces. Many of them even wante


    m to look down on us!"


    The atmosphere was heated and Gregory wasted no time. He flew forward and suddenly took out a saber behind him. The blade was thick, resembling the tooth of a wolf and flickered with a faint blue light.


    ''A warrior at the Virtual Tribulation Realm has a mid-grade sacred weapon. I wonder if there are divine weapons in the divine kingdoms, '' Zen thought to himself.


    He wasn''t really concerned with the outcome of this battle. He wasn''t born in the Jade Martial House and wasn''t really a citizen of the Harlen Divine Kingdom, so he wasn''t as invested as the other warriors. The only reason he came here was for Letitia. Still, he needed to observe the battles in order to find out more about the other warriors.


    He worried a bit though. Since the crown prince chose Gregory to represent him, could that mean that Lord Randy might also ask him to fight in his place?


    It wasn''t because he was afraid to fight but, if he went on stage, he was sure to attract the attention of the York Divine Kingdom''s Holy Maiden. What should he do then? He still remembered how this Holy Maiden swore to kill him the last time they met.

 Chapter 1087 Space Chopping Sword (Part One)

    It was in a warrior''s nature to fight. Warriors fought with the other warriors, with their fate and even with the heavens.


    In Zen''s mind, there was no fear, only excitement when it came to a challenge.


    It was only through fighting others that a warrior could truly know his strength. It was competition that allowed one to further advance in the realm of martial arts.


    Zen itched to challenge all these divine kingdom talents in front of him. His body screamed to release his strength and engage all of it in a fight to find out just how strong these warriors were compared to him.


    However, there was a task at hand. Letitia waited for him back home and he had to collect all the life stones he could carry without ruffling too many feathers. Attracting the attention of the York Divine Kingdom''s Holy Maiden and Soul Sea Realm masters would only bring him a whole lot of unnecessary trouble.


    So it was rather necessary for him to keep a low profile.


    But it seemed Lord Randy was about to change all that. Wherever Zen went, there would always be someone who raised him up for all to see, and he wouldn''t be able to do anything about it.


    Lord Randy was certainly going to ask him to fight in his place.


    Both Lord Randy and the crown prince were in a head to head battle of proving themselves to Turner Zhou, their father and the emperor of their kingdom. Their strength was very much well known but it was their influence that was vital in gauging their true social power.


    The crown prince had powerful talents like Edwin and Gregory but Lord Randy only had Zen.


    There was a reason why he treated Zen so well. Despite his status, Lord Randy regarded the warrior as an equal and was openly honest towards him. This was because he wan


    is arm.


    "Buzz..."


    There was a vibration and then a slight buzzing sound.


    Soon enough, the light converged into a hazy, long sword that appeared in Logan''s hand.


    It wasn''t a physical sword, but rather, it was the space that was shaped into a long sword¡ªif that made any sense.


    Essentially, Logan had used space to forge himself a weapon. It seemed that his proficiency in Space Law allowed him to use it both for defense and offense.


    "That''s Logan''s Space Chopping Sword! Oh man, this is going to be exciting!"


    "That''s Logan''s ultimate skill. For Gregory to force him to use it means he really has driven Logan up to a wall."


    "It''s truly an impressive feat for Gregory but he should watch out. That Space Chopping Sword is definitely built to cut off an opponent''s limbs."


    The warriors'' discussions reached Gregory''s ears. It seemed that this Space Chopping Sword wasn''t something to be taken lightly. Gregory''s eyes were filled with determination. Who said he was taking this lightly? He was someone who came from nothing and worked hard his entire life to rise and become the top warrior among the younger generation in the Jade Martial House.

 Chapter 1088 Space Chopping Sword (Part Two)

    And he would keep working hard in order to gain recognition for his strength. Besides, the crown prince himself put his trust in him, so he had to win. One ultimate skill wasn''t enough to deter his resolve.


    "Did you hear that?" Logan asked indifferently. "My Space Chopping Sword was made to cut your limbs. If you want, you can leave behind one of your hands and I''ll let you go."


    "Crack!"


    A loud, resounding crack echoed from the stairs. The crown prince had smacked the ironwood armrest of his wheelchair, reducing the entire contraption into dust. Still, he remained seated as he floated in the air.


    The eunuch beside him was quick to react and fetched another wheelchair for him. He placed it carefully under the crown prince. The crown prince tutted. "Logan is too presumptuous!" he said and settled lightly onto the wheelchair.


    The rulers of the divine kingdoms could only smile at the crown prince''s actions. There was no need for them to interfere since the younger members were the ones to handle the matters of the younger generation.


    Other important figures were also seated on the platform on top of the stairs. There was the crown prince of the York Divine kingdom along with the Holy Maiden who had chuckled at the Harlen Divine Kingdom''s crown prince. "Are you angry now, Bram?"


    The Harlen Divine Kingdom was controlled by the Zhou Clan and the crown prince''s full name was Bram Zhou.


    Bram Zhou snorted but couldn''t be bothered by the Holy Maiden. He simply turned his attention back to the sky where the battle was still on.


    Lord Randy was already feeling at ease. Gregory represented the Harlen Divine Kingdom, but he wasn''t his man. The warrior had been invited by Bram Zhou and could be regarded as his representat


    challenge!"


    Bram Zhou forgot the rule because of his hanger.


    "Don''t be impatient, Bram or others will laugh at you," Turner told his son calmly.


    War Emperor York chuckled in agreement, "Turner''s right. There are some things that just can''t be rushed!"


    Turner shot a cold glance at War Emperor York. The four great divine kingdoms depended on and restrained each other, but it could not be denied that the York Divine Kingdom had become quite domineering over the last few years which made its emperor aloof and a show-off.


    The wins and losses of a few Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors didn''t really mean anything for these leaders of the divine kingdoms, but it was still a way for them to passive-aggressively compete with each other.


    Scott, Star Field Divine Kingdom''s ruler, turned to his son, "Horace, do you have any candidates you''d like to recommend?"


    Their top warrior had already been defeated by Logan, and Scott was now out of options, so he desperately prayed that his son would be able to help.


    Horace was the Star Field Divine Kingdom''s crown prince and naturally had someone he could send out. "Willard! You fight on my behalf!"

 Chapter 1089 Four Strikes (Part One)

    In the Star Field Divine Kingdom, there were a total of six talents who managed to enter the first tier.


    Despite Titus'' defeat, a lot of warriors were still ready to fight. After all, those six warriors didn''t include people from the royal family of the Star Field Divine Kingdom. The likes of its kingdom''s crown prince had a sure spot in the first tier rank.


    The Harlen Divine Kingdom, which Zen happened to be a part of, was weak compared to the others. Apart from Randy and the crown prince Bram, only Gregory and Edwin were most likely to enter the first tier. In addition, Gregory had already been defeated. Technically, they only had Edwin left who could fight the battle.


    Of course, that was what the other divine kingdoms thought about the situation of the Harlen Divine Kingdom. Zen had only made an exhibition of his abilities in the Jade Martial House, but he did not reveal too much of his strength. The other three divine kingdoms didn''t even know of his existence.


    Under the command of the crown prince of the Star Field Divine Kingdom, the martial artist named Willard Yue showed up to battle.


    If Willard Yue was to be defeated by Logan, then the Star Field Divine Kingdom had lost to Logan twice after Titus.


    As someone whom the crown prince of Star Field Divine Kingdom had highly recommended, Willard had to win. If he was to lose again, then the reputation of their kingdom could suffer.


    However, the martial artists from the Star Field Divine Kingdom seemed to be very confident in Willard''s strength. After he rushed up to the enchanted barrier in the sky, his fellow warriors were once again seething with excitement and hope.


    The warriors from Wisteria Martial House were the most pumped. Even Willard wasn''t exactly from their house, they had great expectations for him. As someone who came from the same kingdom, he could help save the Wisteria Martial House''s reputation if he defeated Logan.


    plan in his heart. Since Logan had boasted that he would defeat him with three strikes, then he needed to avoid those first.


    So instead of facing Logan''s first strike, he chose to escape.


    "Whoosh!"


    Since he was well-known for his speed, Willard had extraordinary bodily movements, too. Logan''s first strike was only able to cut a little piece from the hems of Williard''s robe, nothing more.


    Then, he began to spin in high speed inside the enchanted barrier. His intention was obvious. It was to avoid Logan''s Space Chopping Sword.


    Seeing this scene, Zen couldn''t help but slightly shake his head. As the saying went, "A brave hero always wins the most fierce competition." If one didn''t even have the courage to face the enemy head-on, then how could he win? Could it be that this fellow expected that Logan would let him go after three strikes? He was too naive.


    The three strikes that Logan mentioned were only to show off his power and to give Willard a little bit of pressure. Furthermore, he didn''t mention that he would admit defeat if he failed to take Willard down after three strikes.


    "Whoosh!"


    Despite Willard''s rapid movements, Logan was quite seasoned in Space Law. He only needed to take a single step to catch up with Willard and strike him with his sword.

 Chapter 1090 Four Strikes (Part Two)

    The Space Chopping Sword was like an invisible venomous snake that charged ferociously towards Willard.


    The expression on Willard''s face shifted drastically. He was scared. He had used all his skills as he forcefully swerved in the air. However, the sword was able to graze past his neck and sliced off a large portion of his thick, long hair.


    Instead of showing his disappointment, Willard showed his smiling face. After all, he still avoided Logan''s second strike.


    "You''ve dodged the second strike! Well done, Willard!"


    "One more! One more strike to avoid and you will make it!"


    "Come on, Willard! You got this!"


    the martial artists from the Star Field Divine Kingdom all exclaimed. All of them also knew that Willard was only trying to get past the first three strikes. He knew quite well that more was coming.


    At the top of the steps, the crown prince of the Wind Divine Kingdom who had remained silent for the most part, coldly looked at the cheering martial artists and said, "A bunch of idiots!"


    A lot of other warriors shared the same thoughts as Zen. What could happen after Willard dodged those three strikes? He couldn''t keep up like that. He didn''t stand a chance to win.


    Very quickly, Logan launched his third strike.


    The Space Chopping Sword directly swung past Willard''s back but was only able to slice a huge cut on his robe. With just one twist of his body, Willard had successfully dodged the third strike. So far, he had not yet been injured.


    "Three strikes! You weren''t able to triumph over me in just three strikes! You were wrong! You can''t defeat me in just three strikes!" The joy Willard expressed made it seem as if he had won at that moment. He was laughing loudly, and his face lit up with extreme excitement.


    Before he could continue rejoicing, the Space Chopping Sword followed him like a shadow. A trace of Space Chopping Sword pass


    th and advantages of the martial artists of the Upper World.


    Although Logan didn''t say anything about the warriors of the Upper World, how could the many Virtual Tribulation Realm martial artists not get the implication of his words?


    In front of the martial artists from the four divine kingdoms, he wasn''t shy of his pride. However, thinking about the masters in the Upper World humbled him greatly. Only when he was compared to the Upper World talents could he be considered weak.


    Logan''s words echoed throughout the inner thoughts of many powerful masters of the Soul Sea Realm.


    Those who had lived for ten thousand years shared one great regret in their hearts. All of them weren''t able to ascend to the Upper World.


    In the four divine kingdoms, they could undeniably dominate a place. But as martial artists, their pursuit was not limited in that continent. Moreover, being in the Soul Sea Realm wasn''t enough for them.


    Therefore, after living for about ten thousand years, many powerful masters at the Soul Sea Realm had left the Divine Kingdom Continent to search for more opportunities in the endless mysterious seas. They even wanted to find ways to enter other great worlds.


    Up until now, no one at the Soul Sea Realm had succeeded.

 Chapter 1091 An Invincible Opponent

    Even though he had received the praise of the emperor of York Divine Kingdom, Logan could only smile before asking, "Who else wants to challenge me?"


    Ever since Logan first wielded his Space Chopping Sword, two people already had their arms chopped off. The initial excitement of the Virtual Tribulation Realm martial artists disappeared and the crowd turned silent.


    It wasn''t that they lacked self-confidence. Out of all the martial artists of the divine kingdoms who could stand on the first tier, which one of them wasn''t an outstanding character of their respective martial house? If they didn''t have absolute confidence in themselves, they wouldn''t be able to stand on the first tier.


    However, Logan was just too outstanding, causing the talents on the first tier to hesitate.


    It would''ve been fine if they won, but what if they lost?


    They still had to head toward the Feather Holy Sea. Losing arms wasn''t a big problem, but they wouldn''t be able to return to peak condition in a short period, so it would be quite a burden along the journey.


    In the very beginning, the match had only been held for entertainment before entering the Feather Holy Sea. But after many years of evolution, it had slowly turned into a battle among the young warriors of the four divine kingdoms, giving them a chance to show off their strength.


    Even so, compared to exploring the secret lands within the Feather Holy Sea, it wasn''t all that important.


    With that, many of the first tier talents began to retreat.


    What they didn''t know was that the imperial members on the stairs were beginning to get angry. Although the Soul Sea Realm masters kept quiet, they were inwardly unhappy with Logan and War Emperor York.


    Once again, the Star Field Divine Kingdom was defeated. This time, it was the Wind and Harlen Divine Kingdoms'' turn.


    The emperor of the Wind Divine Kingdom didn''t say a word, nor did the crown prince and the other princes behind him.


    Turner, the emperor of Harlen Divine Kingdom, scanned over Randy and the crown prince Bram, his eyes flashing. Even in his silence, his gaze told them everything.


    Under such a gaze, Randy felt his heart heat up in nervousness. Just as he was about to recommend Zen, Bram was already one step ahead. In a clear voice, he said, "Edwin Xiao will fight on my behalf!"


    Randy''s gaze turned cold at his words, but he remained silent.


    ''Since you''re determined to make a comeback, just do it. Edwin is your last chess piece. If he''s defeated or even loses an arm, it will be a huge blow to your team. You''ll face many difficulties exploring the secret lands. Let''s see if you will fight personally after Edwin loses, '' Randy thought to himself.


    Indeed, Bram was rather anxious. He spoke highly of Edwin and Gregory, and he wanted to prove himself in front of Turner. He wanted to prove that he had good judgment and skill in controlling others. But Gregory let him down, having been so easily defeated in battle.


    Now, Edwin was the only one he could place his hopes on.


    The Dark Martial House was the largest martial house in the entire Harlen Divine Kingdom. Although it was considered a sixth-grade force like the Jade Martial House, the latter c


    win.


    "Cut the crap!" Holding his spear with one hand and pressing the spear''s body with the other, he swept his fingers along the spear.


    Hiss!


    Then, he lifted his spear. The weapon seemed to have a mind of its own as it turned into a snake, coiling around Edwin, with its tip pointing right at Logan.


    A smile hung on Logan''s lips as he gently waved the Space Chopping Sword in his hand. In the next moment, he struck a second time.


    After Edwin activated the spirit of the spear, it was like a beast with a keen sense of smell, attacking Logan the moment he got close.


    Tinkle!


    The tip of the spear pierced Logan''s body, but just then, the space armor covered his body once again.


    With that defense, the spear only left a deep mark on his space armor. It couldn''t completely penetrate it. Rather, it was impossible to break through in a single strike.


    Seeing this scene, the expressions of the Harlen Divine Kingdom''s martial artists seemed to turn grim.


    Originally, everyone was sure that Logan would be unable to condense the space armor after he had condensed the Space Chopping Sword. Presumably, he just believed it to be unnecessary.


    But this fellow possessed invulnerable space armor, as well as the Space Chopping Sword that could slice through anything in its path. How could they hope to defeat him? It was no exaggeration to say that their odds were slim to none.


    Just as they all thought, Logan, whose attitude began to take a serious turn, simply gave up on dodging and defense, allowing Edwin''s long spear to pierce him. Meanwhile, the Space Chopping Sword in his hand continued to slide into space and slash at Edwin.


    A third strike, a fourth strike, and then a fifth strike¡­


    After the fifth strike, Logan slid to the side. With a spray of blood in the air, another arm fell from the sky.


    The crown prince''s gaze flickered unsteadily. Disappointment was evident in his eyes as his brows creased. What should he do? Was he really going to fight on his own?


    At that moment, his gaze suddenly landed on a somewhat skinny figure on the square. It was Zen, with his eyes fixed on the battle.

 Chapter 1092 Zens Turn To Fight (Part One)

    After Edwin was defeated, except for Lord Randy and the crown prince himself, not a single powerful martial artist was present to grace the history of Harlen Divine Kingdom.


    The first tier of the divine kingdom continent was composed of the most outstanding divine-level talents. Such talented people were extremely rare and people who could match the best of them were impossible to find.


    There was a huge gap between the strength of the first tier and the second tier. Even the most powerful martial artists of the second tier itself would be instantly killed by Logan alone, so it was useless to dispatch them.


    The crown prince, who went by the name Bram, had never witnessed Zen''s strength. Back when the latter had passed the examination of the Jade Martial House, Bram was not present, but Gregory had personally informed him that an independent warrior who had appeared in the martial house possessed the qualification to be ranked at the first tier. This was a highly improbable truth and the crown prince''s curiosity was aroused.


    Without doubt, he was in dire need of such a talent, so he rushed to Crane City. At that time, he had thought that it would be easy to win over Zen since Gregory had told him that Randy had already become enemies with Zen.


    However, he did not expect Randy to break in.


    Judging from Gregory''s description, Bram only had a rough estimate of Zen''s strength. He was probably almost on a par with Gregory, maybe even a bit stronger. Even if he fought, he probably wouldn''t be Logan''s match.


    However, this wasn''t the crux of the problem. The key was, would Zen listen to his orders? What if he asked Zen to fight and Zen refused? What would he do then?


    When Randy saw the crown prince lost in thought, a sneer rose from the corner of his mouth. He knew that it was time for him to stand out. The Harlen Divine Kingdom had


    have to personally fight Logan.


    At his words, Turner''s lips hardened and an angry mask shadowed his face. He thought to himself, ''This is too much! He obviously knows the answer, but he asked that question deliberately to humiliate me! He''s giving me a hard time!''


    This match was just a review before the exploration of secret lands. It was like an appetizer. The words of War Emperor York were a bit too much.


    The anger on Turner''s face disappeared. War Emperor York was right. He really didn''t have any good ideas. Was he really going to let the crown prince fight? It was feasible, but even if the crown prince won, it wouldn''t be something honorable. Losing would be even more humiliating.


    If he was defeated, then what qualifications would he have left to be allowed to succeed the throne?


    Therefore, Turner had to think prudently before he appointed the crown prince to fight.


    Just then, the Holy Maiden of the York Divine Kingdom twisted her body and walked to her emperor. She giggled and giddily asked, "As far as I know, only Edwin and Gregory of the Harlen Divine Kingdom are qualified, barely! Now that their arms have been cut off by Logan, who is going to fight next? Is it Lord Randy? Or the crown prince himself?"

 Chapter 1093 Zens Turn To Fight (Part Two)

    At her words, Bram''s face flashed with hostility.


    In addition to the royal family, there was also a large secret sect in the York Divine Kingdom. The Holy Maiden was the most important person in the sect, and her status was as high as that of the crown prince in the York Divine Kingdom. Sometimes what she said was even more useful than the words of the crown prince himself.


    After all, if the crown prince wanted to ascend to the throne, he would first have to wait for his father to abdicate himself, or worse yet, die. Moreover, he had to step into the Soul Sea Realm before he was allowed to take on the throne. It would take thousands or even ten thousand years before his father abdicated, and it was very difficult for him to reach the Soul Sea Realm.


    However, if a woman was chosen to be a Holy Maiden by the secret sect, she would be able to command the secret sect of the York Divine Kingdom and would possess an extraordinary status.


    Bram smiled coldly and once again looked at Zen. Although he didn''t believe that Zen could defeat Logan, he didn''t want anyone to think that there was no powerful martial artist in his kingdom either.


    "Who said that no one in my kingdom can fight?" Bram suddenly asked coldly. He then turned his head and told Zen who was standing in the square, "Thad Luo, fight for me!"


    When Zen suddenly heard Bram call out his name, his eyebrows slightly furrowed. His gaze landed on Randy. Randy slightly shook his head while Zen slightly nodded his head but did not reply.


    Lots of martial artists were standing in the square. They had never heard of this name, so they didn''t know who the crown prince wa


    at this person is strong enough, I''m sure he really has some skills!"


    "So what? Compared to all Virtual Tribulation Realm martial artists, Logan is basically invincible. What can this guy do? After all, this Thad is only at the middle stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm. I bet he can''t take even a single blow from Logan."


    When the martial artists on the square saw that Zen was just at the middle stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm, they began to discuss among themselves animatedly. They all thought that the Harlen Divine Kingdom didn''t have any stronger martial artists, so Zen had been dispatched.


    At this moment, many of the powerful martial artists at the Soul Sea Realm also had weird looks on their faces.


    The crown prince had recommended Zen, but Zen hadn''t responded. After Randy had successfully invited Zen, Turner had an expectant look on his face. But once he realized that Zen had just reached the middle stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm, he was quite disappointed.


    The Holy Maiden of the York Divine Kingdom was staring at Zen with a puzzled expression too.

 Chapter 1094 You Are Zen Luo (Part One)

    The Holy Maiden of the York Divine Kingdom was named Marine Bai. The Bai Clan was a relatively unknown clan in the York Divine Kingdom, but ever since Marine Bai was born and had been chosen as the Holy Maiden of the secret sect, they had risen to fame.


    Back then, Daniel Liu, the prince of the York Divine Kingdom, whose talent was ranked ninth within the divine kingdom, had obtained an enchanted lamp from the celestial tomb. The lamp was something that a commoner had given to him.


    It was said that there existed a total of nine enchanted lamps in the entire world. Once all of them were lighted, those who held them would be able to enter the celestial tomb.


    Despite waiting for so many years, Daniel Liu had never seen the passageway to the celestial tomb activated. Through time, even Marine Bai had started being curious about it. On the third day of the third month every year, she and Daniel Liu would light the lamp together. At first, they were hopeful, but as time passed, their faith waned. She never imagined that a passageway would actually appear.


    Due to the two of them not having expected what happened, they weren''t prepared at all. Because of that, they hurriedly invited a few guards at the Life and Death Realm to enter the celestial tomb with them.


    Who would have thought that Daniel Liu''s life would be taken away during that trip to the celestial tomb? This matter caused a great stir within the York Divine Kingdom.


    After all, a prince had died. Even though War Emperor York had many sons and daughters, Daniel Liu''s talent was still ranked ninth out of the entire York Divine Kingdom. He could be easily considered as one of the most outstanding princes in the divine kingdom.


    What made the whole thing worse was how a nobody from the Sky Northern Region actually dared to go against the York Divine Kingdom!


    Any mighty warrior at the Soul Sea Realm from the York Divi


    r Master Wallace nor Master Abraham sent back a single word before their life tokens broke into pieces.


    The sudden extermination of the two mighty warriors threw the whole upper echelon of the York Divine Kingdom in chaos. Despite that, they still hadn''t made any moves yet. If something really happened in the Sky Northern Region, they probably wouldn''t be able to investigate even if they sent another two warriors at the Soul Sea Realm there.


    As a result, they kept the deaths of the two warriors as a secret from the civilians. They planned on first exploring the Feather Holy Sea before thinking about how to deal with it. The storms above the Chaotic Ocean of Stars would calm down every once in a few years, and when the storms subsided next time, it wouldn''t be too late to form a team of warriors at the Soul Sea Realm to explore the Sky Northern Region. If some powerful warriors had really appeared there, then they could just annihilate all the living beings in the entire region.


    Although Marine Bai still wanted to kill Zen, the lives of two warriors at the Soul Sea Realm that had been shockingly taken were more important. She couldn''t just send more people to the Sky Northern Region, and so she could only wait for the day to finally get rid of him.

 Chapter 1095 You Are Zen Luo (Part Two)

    So now, when she heard Randy call out the name "Thad Luo," her gaze immediately landed on that person. Granted that two years had already passed and Zen''s face had become somewhat unfamiliar to her, a person''s spirit and aura could not be changed.


    Moreover, the fellow''s surname was also Luo.


    ''Thad Luo? Zen Luo?''


    A cold smile suddenly appeared on Marine Bai''s face. She slowly walked to the edge of the platform and floated into the air, staring at Zen with eyes full of hatred.


    When War Emperor York saw Marine Bai fly out for no reason, a strange expression appeared on his face. "Holy Maiden, what are you doing?" he asked.


    Marine Bai turned to him slowly. With a smile, she replied, "Your Majesty, I''ve discovered something that is really interesting."


    "Something interesting?" War Emperor York''s brows furrowed. Confusion was evident on his face.


    "Hmm hmm." Marine Bai just nodded and then once again turned to Zen. Coldly, she said, "Thad Luo? Humph, you should be called Zen Luo right?"


    Since Zen had chosen the path wherein he could be easily recognized, he had naturally anticipated that the Holy Maiden would recognize him. With that, he had already come up with a few plans.


    He originally wanted to fly into the enchanted barrier in order to challenge Logan. Logan''s face was already filled with contempt as he waited for Zen to come. His thoughts were pretty much the same as the other warriors¡ªbecause the Harlen Divine Kingdom really had no other mighty warriors, they found and sent a warrior at the middle stage of Virtual Tribulation Realm to challenge him.


    After Marine Bai opened her mouth and spoke, Zen looked up at her and mirrored the strange look on her face. He then smiled and said, "My real name is Thad Luo. Who is ''Zen Luo'' and why do you


    e or not, I will kill him," Logan said, a confident smile on his lips.


    Marine Bai''s face showed a hint of hesitation as she tilted her head slightly. Suddenly, her eyes lit up as she turned to face War Emperor York. "Your Majesty, I''m sure this guy is Zen Luo from the Sky Northern Region. He was the one who killed Daniel! If you do not believe me, you can ask Elder Gong!"


    When they entered the celestial tomb, Daniel Liu had a total of five bodyguards at the Life and Death Realm by his side. After learning about the death of his son, War Emperor York was angered and killed the four bodyguards without hesitation. As for Elder Gong, he had been exempted from death because he had performed deeds of valor in the past.


    At this time, Marine Bai could only ask Elder Gong to identify Zen.


    "Holy Maiden, are you sure this is the person who killed my child back then?" When he heard Marine Bai''s words, War Emperor York''s originally gloomy face turned even grimmer.


    Actually, Marine Bai''s sudden appearance was a bit rash and rude. But according to War Emperor York''s understanding, although her personality was a little off, she wouldn''t be talking nonsense in such a situation.

 Chapter 1096 Strange

    Marine nodded and said, "Your Majesty, I am not mistaken!"


    The eyes of War Emperor York flashed like two poisonous snakes as he stared at Zen. He had already been convinced by the Holy Maiden but now that the man in front of him was a representative of the Harlen Divine Kingdom, he couldn''t act rashly. He controlled himself before asking the question he was dreading the answer to, "Kid, did you kill my son Daniel?"


    Zen shrugged, his face stoic as he replied, "I don''t know who Daniel is, nor do I know this woman. And I definitely don''t know what you''re talking about!"


    Turner couldn''t contain himself any more. Two of his men from the Harlen Divine Kingdom had been defeated. Not only the crown prince had recommended Thad to fight, even Randy had thought highly of him. Now that Thad was being questioned by War Emperor York, he could no longer remain silent as the king of the Harlen Divine Kingdom.


    "Lucien Liu, Thad belongs to our Harlen Divine Kingdom. He has already said that he is not the person you are looking for. Isn''t it inappropriate to make things difficult for him like this?" Turner asked patiently.


    Lucien Liu was the name of the War Emperor York. The entire York Divine Kingdom belonged to the Liu Clan. In theory, the York Divine Kingdom could be considered an eighth grade noble clan.


    Randy paled a little. He knew that Zen''s origins were shrouded in mystery and someone with such talent couldn''t have been a nameless person before. Randy and the crown prince had already secretly investigated Zen''s identity and background and both had received shocking news about him - he did not come from the Harlen Divine Kingdom.


    Since they hadn''t been able to find any information about Thad, they began investigating the guard standing with Zen. The result of this investigation puzzled them even more. This Life and Death Realm warrior called Francis actually belonged to the York Divine Kingdom and was also a steward of the secret sect.


    Such results made Zen''s identity seem all the more confusing. Of course, not that Randy cared much about Zen''s identity, but the key was that Zen could help Randy, and that was enough for him.


    As to the crown prince...


    Now, Bram was sure that what Marine had said was true. This fellow, who went by the name Thad must be from the Central Region.


    The crown prince, Bram, had wanted Zen to represent him in battle, but Zen hadn''t moved an inch, making it clear to Bram that he wasn''t going to listen to him. So of course, Bram wouldn''t come forward to speak for Zen. But he wouldn''t step up to expose Zen''s identity either. After all, Zen now fought for and represented the Harlen Divine Kingdom. It was impossible for Bram to do something that would put the Harlen Divine Kingdom at a disadvantage. If he did, his father would be greatly disappointed.


    Yet, right after Turner finished speaking, War Emperor York ignored him and snorted coldly. He looked at Zen and said, "I don''t need you to speak the truth. I will se


    Turner sighed softly and said, "Okay, Lucien Liu. No matter what, he represents our Harlen Divine Kingdom. Do not destroy his life energy! Let him live!"


    If Zen''s soul was completely destroyed, his life energy would be gone. But it was possible that if Zen''s shattered soul remained in his mind, he would not die. Instead, he would become a simpleton. Turner had had no time to stop Lucien from attacking Zen, so he could only ask Lucien to spare his life.


    It was better to become a simpleton than to become dead.


    But just as soon as Turner finished talking, a strange expression crossed Lucien''s face. He stared at Zen firmly.


    The situation had become entangled in a tight deadlock for a while. Many of the powerful warriors at the Soul Sea Realm noticed that something was wrong.


    It was not only Turner who felt something strange, but also Scott from the Star Field Divine Kingdom as well as War King Wind from the Wind Divine Kingdom. They were all confused and stared oddly at Zen before looking over at War Emperor York.


    Thad''s eyes were clear and full of spirit. It looked like he wasn''t hurt.


    What was going on?


    Could it be that War Emperor York had saved his strength?


    This was impossible. The four kings had been on their thrones for so many years, and they knew each other''s tempers very well.


    War Emperor York Lucien Liu had always been sullen, extremely cold-blooded and arrogant. If he chose to make a move, there was absolutely no possibility of him holding back at all.


    However, Thad seemed to be safe and sound. What had happened?


    Back on the stairs, many powerful warriors of the Soul Sea Realm had puzzled looks on their faces, unable to understand the situation at all.


    As time passed, not only did the powerful masters at the Soul Sea Realm feel that something was wrong, even the Life and Death Realm warriors and the other Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors had sensed Zen''s abnormality.


    Zen didn''t seem to have been harmed even a little.

 Chapter 1097 Determined To Protect Zen (Part One)

    The only excuse that the audience could think of to explain what was currently happening before their eyes was that War Emperor York had unexpectedly shown immense mercy to Zen. He couldn''t have gone all out to attack Zen.


    After the Soul Sea was created by martial artists, they created a world within their body in order to make it easier for them to cultivate their souls.


    The resources of the Lower World were scarce. It was completely incomparable to what the Upper World had. In the Lower World, the means for martial artists to cultivate their souls weren''t that many.


    In the Upper World, many talented martial artists could cultivate their souls and make their souls enter the Fighting Soul Realm while they were at the Virtual Tribulation Realm or Life and Death Realm. In the Lower World, however, many martial artists could only cultivate their souls and make their souls reach the Fighting Soul Realm after they had created the Soul Sea and had reached the Soul Sea Realm.


    Zen was a shining exception to this.


    From a certain point of view, however, this was not totally unexpected. First of all, Zen did not cultivate his soul in the Lower World. He had actually relied on the Dragon Soar Arena to ascend to the Genuine Dragon World. It was in that place that he had gone through the Owl Beast devil spirit''s test, and that made it possible for his soul to improve rapidly. Moreover, he was able to absorb a significant amount of soul force and that helped his soul to reach the Fighting Soul Realm.


    In the Lower World, the most powerful warriors at the Soul Sea Realm would easily suppress all the Life and Death Realm warriors. The gap between their level of soul was vastly enormous.


    Only after reaching the Fighting Soul Realm could on


    n River were basically the divine-level talents of the four divine kingdoms. Moreover, they were talents of the first tier and the second tier. There were rarely any third tier warriors among them.


    These divine-level talents even had a high possibility of stepping into the Soul Sea Realm in the future! But then, in the end, that was just a possibility. There still weren''t many warriors who had been able to reach the Soul Sea Realm.


    Despite this, nothing had stopped them from being conceited. After all, they were the best warriors in the four divine kingdoms!


    But at this moment, nothing could stop them from being shocked. Zen''s glaringly formidable strength wasn''t the main source of their surprise, however. After all, there were many ways to gauge a martial artist''s strength: cultivation method, strength, speed, cultivation level, and soul¡­


    The soul was just one aspect.


    Just like what War Emperor York had said, Zen''s soul was indeed strong, like it was close to the Jasper Fighting Soul Realm, incomparable to all of theirs. However, this did not mean that Zen''s all other aspects were very strong. After all, he had not shown his real strength yet.

 Chapter 1098 Determined To Protect Zen (Part Two)

    But the mere fact that Zen''s soul was close to the Jasper Fighting Soul Realm made them incredibly jealous. They didn''t want to believe what they were seeing and hearing!


    It was similar to a story about a group of young people, all in the same age, who were in the same starting line together. Every day, they would earn the same amount of money, but occasionally, one of them would earn twice as much. Every other person would get jealous, but since that was a normal occurrence, they would just carry on and try to earn as much as the guy who earned twice.


    However, one day, a person suddenly appeared. This fellow was around the same age as them, and his cultivation level was also around the same as theirs. However, in the end, he had earned a hundred, even a thousand times more money than them. How could everyone accept that lying down?


    Despite that, they still didn''t have the courage to try harder and catch up to what the new fellow had already earned.


    The three powerful masters at the Soul Sea Realm of the Jade Martial House were more surprised at War Emperor York''s words. They had seen Zen''s strength before and they knew what he was capable of. Not only did he have an outstanding level of comprehension towards the laws, but his own strength had also reached a terrifyingly high level. But now, the three of them had discovered that Zen''s soul was that powerful. Zen was indeed a flawless warrior!


    They then started to wonder: in the future, after he broke through and reached the Soul Sea Realm, how terrifying would his strength be?


    The eyes of crown prince Bram were firmly fixed on Zen. ''A soul close to the Jasper Fighting Soul Realm¡­ How could this be? And why? Alas, if I could wi


    had suddenly made a move and used his soul to attack Zen. Unexpectedly, Zen''s soul wasn''t weaker than his at all.


    With that revelation, his intent to kill Zen became stronger than ever. If he used life vitality to crush Zen, he surely wouldn''t survive. ''Zen wouldn''t be able to survive!'' Turner thought to himself, doubts starting to creep up on him.


    It would be a different case if such an extraordinary talent hadn''t appeared in the Harlen Divine Kingdom. But now that he had already arrived and everyone knew of his existence, Turner had to protect him at all risks.


    Whoosh!


    Turner''s figure flashed and soon he was standing between Zen and War Emperor York. After a few moments of silence, he calmly said to War Emperor York, "Lucien, it''s enough. As a king, don''t you think it''s a bit too much to attack a kid like that? It doesn''t matter if he''s Zen Luo or Thad Luo-- he''s a member of our Harlen Divine Kingdom!"


    Turner looked firm as he said this. The meaning behind his words was crystal clear. It didn''t matter if Zen had killed the prince of York Divine Kingdom or not - Turner was determined to protect him at all cost!

 Chapter 1099 The Battle Began

    Where there were people, there was also struggle. The four great divine kingdoms were closely related and mutually dependent on each other. There had never occurred a large scale war among them.


    However, that didn''t mean they didn''t compete with each other.


    On the other hand, because the four divine kingdoms maintained a close relationship with each other and couldn''t annex each other''s territories into their own, the covert competition among them got intense.


    It was also the reason why the divine kingdoms had established so many martial houses. Each one of them was interested in cultivating new talents.


    As the ruler of the Harlen Divine Kingdom, Turner was aware of how valuable Zen was. Although he still hadn''t seen Zen''s true strength, he knew that Zen was at the middle stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm and that his soul was close to the Jasper Fighting Soul Realm. It meant that he had become very powerful.


    Turner spoke kindly, but he wasn''t afraid of War Emperor York.


    In the past few years, the York Divine Kingdom had developed the most. It was ranked first among all kingdoms in terms of overall strength, while the Harlen Divine Kingdom, being the weakest, was ranked fourth.


    Still, if the strength of the divine kingdom kings were to be compared, Turner was not so inferior to Lucien.


    Hearing what Turner said, Lucien grew annoyed. "Turner, what do you mean?"


    "My meaning is clear," he replied calmly. "No matter if he is Zen or Thad, he is the member of the Harlen Divine Kingdom, for he is from the Jade Martial House of the Harlen Divine Kingdom!"


    A trace of a cold smile appeared on Lucien''s face. He harrumphed, saying, "Since you say it like that, does it mean that my son died in vain?"


    The corner of Turner''s mouth curled up slightly as he responded to this accusation. "If I''m not wrong, Lucien, you have more than twenty thousand descendants, right?"


    Some divine kingdom rulers were fond of women and had many sons. Each ruler had fathered a great many number, for as leaders of the kingdoms, the more sons they had, the better it was for them. Only then would they be able to choose an outstanding one to be heir to the throne.


    However, Lucien had more sons than the other divine kingdom rulers. He was extremely fond of women. His imperial harem stretched over a million square miles, equivalent to a medium-sized city. Tens of thousands of beauties were a part of it.


    The number of princes his wives had given him was probably close to twenty thousand. He probably didn''t even remember the names of all his sons...


    The princes weren''t worth a lot in the divine kingdom.


    They all had to rely on talent and strength alone in order to prove themselves and be in their father''s good graces. Most princes of inferior talent were eliminated cruelly


    his speculation was simple. The Sky Northern Region was a poor place, so it was impossible to cultivate a weapon refiner there who was capable of refining a top-grade sacred weapon. There might be a few of those there, but none of them could have found the materials required to refine a top-grade sacred weapon in the Sky Northern Region.


    Turner was a weapon refiner himself. He was well aware of the costs involved in forging a top-grade sacred weapon.


    Randy nodded. "I understand. However, Thad is a good, kind man, and we get along well with each other. We have a similar character and the same hobbies. Therefore, I gave him the life stones as a gift."


    "Well done. If a person like him is willing to stay in our Harlen Divine Kingdom, the benefits he would bring to us in the future are incalculable," Turner said.


    Listening on to this conversation between Randy and Turner, the crown prince, Bram, sunk in his seat, visibly displeased.


    Bram and Randy Zhou had competed for a long time, and now Randy Zhou had become the Lord. Even though Bram was the heir to the throne, he knew the competition between Randy and himself had not yet ended. Unless he could step into the Soul Sea Realm in the future and his father stepped down from the throne, Randy still had the chance to fight him for the position as the heir to the throne.


    And now, Bram''s hopes seemed to be dashing. The nervousness that Zen''s presence brought him could be well imagined.


    While they were talking, the battle began.


    Logan had toned down his contempt. He manifested layers of space armor while the Space Chopping Sword in his hand swung in the space. It was as if countless ripples broke through the surface of air, emitting rays of various colors in the sunlight.


    Logan took a step forward and a string of figures appeared in the sky. Strangely, he then materialized next to Zen.

 Chapter 1100 The Other Side Of Space

    The Space Law was such a powerful technique that Logan only needed to use two simple moves to defeat his challengers.


    He traveled through space and then slashed his sword to his rival before the latter could react.


    Though his strategy leaned on its simplicity, it seemed that no one was able to figure out how to dodge his attacks. Defeating the first-tier warriors from the other kingdoms was a breeze for Logan.


    After all, the Space Law wasn''t that easy to grasp. Most people had not the slightest knowledge about it, let alone knew how to cultivate or apply it. When Logan managed to comprehend the third layer of the Space Law, his strength was able to surpass other warriors of the same level.


    As he traveled through space during his attack on Zen, he was surprised to witness how his rival had also disappeared right before him. He felt the familiar power of the Space Law.


    "So he knows the Space Law, too¡­"


    Logan was startled by that revelation. He hastily swung his Space Chopping Sword but missed.


    There was a hint of sarcasm on Zen''s face as he looked at Logan from where he stood. They weren''t that far away from each other.


    Seeing Zen''s expression, Logan''s face flushed with anger. When did any warrior with the same cultivation level dare mock him? In addition, Zen was only at the middle stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm.


    The crowd began discussing their shared surprise. "I never expected that this Thad is also proficient in the Space Law! I bet he has grasped the second layer of it at least!"


    "But Logan has already comprehended the third layer of the Space Law! I wonder who comes out of this battle victorious!"


    "So what if it''s the third layer? I don''t think Logan has completely comprehended the third layer. He has grasped ten percent of it at most, so his advantage isn''t that colossal. Ultimately, their fighting abilities shall decide the outcome!"


    "If Thad doesn''t use his soul attack to crush Logan, I think his chance of winning is still slim."


    Many of the divine-level geniuses gasped in awe when they witnessed Zen''s own usage of the Space Law. They believed that he was one lucky kid. Not only did he possess a strong soul, but he also practiced the most formidable of all ¡ª the Space Law.


    "Seems like I need to take you more seriously," Logan said, renouncing all of his contempt by tightening his grip on the Space Chopping Sword.


    "Aren''t you serious enough?" Zen smiled. He knew that he was getting on Logan''s last nerve.


    "Die!" Logan yelled in gritted teeth.


    Taking another step forward, he disappeared once again.


    "Wait, what?" Zen''s eyes widened with how quick he was. He couldn''t sense any of Logan''s breath, too. For a moment there, it seemed that he completely disappeared from the world.


    Zen knew that it could be one of the abilities a warrior could possess after grasping the third layer


    llowed him to see through illusions and detect subtle changes and movements around him.


    Logan''s strategy of traveling through the void with the thought of assassinating him did shake Zen a little. However, he still had a way to solve that problem.


    When Zen had fully activated his magic vision, the entire world became green in his eyes. Even if Logan was walking on the other side of space, it was impossible that he didn''t leave tracks.


    Thanks to his magic vision, Zen noticed a tiny black line extending through the air. It was a trajectory left behind by Logan''s movement throughout the void.


    This black line could not be seen with the naked eyes nor be detected with soul perception as well. However, it was clear as day through Zen''s magic vision.


    It was of utmost importance to be stealthy at all times. So instead of just focusing on the strange line, Zen kept glancing around and pretended that he didn''t notice Logan''s movements at all.


    Meanwhile, Logan was also getting on full guard against Zen. He cautiously circled around him before he slowly approached from upfront. It seemed that he wanted to attack him by surprise from his front view.


    As the black line drew closer, Zen''s face started to grow hesitant. As it got close enough, he suddenly revealed a sly smile as he forcefully thrust his sword forward.


    The timing was perfect. His weapon collided against Logan''s Space Chopping Sword.


    Since Logan had just come out of the void, he had left a space crack behind him which was just enough for a person to pass through. Zen took advantage of this opportunity as he, not only forced Logan back, but followed him into the space crack as well.


    Previously, the Soul Sea Realm masters had created an enchanted barrier for the battles between the Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors. But now, both of them had disappeared from the arena where they were supposed to showcase their fight.

 Chapter 1101 Suffering A Lot

    Despite Zen''s extensive comprehension of space, his attempts to enter the void still proved futile.


    Logan was quick to attack and also quick to disappear. Although Zen could vaguely feel Logan''s presence, he could only clearly pinpoint his location just before he attacked. Zen was more or less a sitting duck.


    But not for long. Zen had already mapped out a strategy in his head. Since he could only locate Logan in that split second before he attacked, Zen steeled himself and waited for his strike.


    Three, four, maybe five seconds later, Zen felt a prickling sensation on his neck and he quickly determined Logan''s exact position. Not wasting this opportunity, Zen deflected his opponent''s strike and pushed him back into the void. However, he didn''t allow Logan to go in alone. Zen also slipped through the space crack and followed his opponent inside. This was when Logan realized that he had been too careless. He thought that his sudden, unpredictable attacks would''ve been enough to weaken Zen but the young man was actually smart and saw through his strategy. He had opened the space crack a bit too big and had let Zen in.


    The two vanished into thin air, greatly confusing the spectators back on the square. Where did the two fighters go? They stared at the sky blankly, not knowing where to find them.


    It was only the powerful Soul Sea Realm masters and a few of the Life and Death Realm warriors that kept gazing at the sky as if the fight hadn''t taken a strange turn at all.


    To see through the void, a warrior would need to develop his or her own special skill. Turner, for example, had eyes that shone with golden light that enabled him to see through everything.


    War Emperor York had eyes of the darkest night that let him do the same thing.


    Others turned to their magical items. One of the powerful Soul Sea Realm masters, for example, placed a transparent crystal in front of his eyes in order to watch the battle now happening in the void.


    The two warriors were currently engaged in a heated fight in the void.


    Zen''s entry into the void made Logan lose his composure, but only for a moment. The fact remained that this was still his territory, so with a loud battle cry, he lifted his Space Chopping Sword and brought it down upon his opponent.


    An ordinary sacred weapon would stand no chance against the Space Chopping Sword. It was a good thing that Zen''s sword was a top-grade sacred weapon that could go head-to-head with Logan''s Space Chopping Sword.


    As the two fought, Logan''s handicap soon became apparent.


    The martial skill he cultivated was simple, but by no means inferior. It focused on agility, strength, and precision. Logan preferred this method due to the fact that he wanted to achieve the best results using the most powerful swordsmanship technique in the shortest amount of time.


    It was similar to the minima


    ely sending them to their deaths.


    The warriors present here were at least at Virtual Tribulation Realm. They all stood still and patiently waited for the outcome of Zen and Logan''s battle.


    The powerful Soul Sea Realm masters already knew the outcome but those in the square were still clueless with the events that had transpired within the void.


    "I wonder who''s got the upper hand? Will Thad make it through?"


    "I believe he can win¡­"


    "I believe it too!"


    The martial artists of the Harlen Divine Kingdom could only place their hopes upon Zen.


    However, the warriors of the York Divine Kingdom could only laugh at their wishes.


    "These warriors are too naive! Logan has comprehended the third layer of Space Law. He is invincible! How could Thad ever win this? What a joke!"


    "Logan possesses the strength to fight a Life and Death Realm master. Thad is only at the Virtual Tribulation Realm so there''s no way he''d win. These people are delusional!"


    "Just let them be. Reality is cruel. Once Logan emerges as the victor, they''d wake up from their delusions."


    Those from the York Divine Kingdom were at ease given the terrifying display of strength Logan had already shown everyone earlier.


    At this moment, everyone suddenly felt a wave of energy coming from the sky. It was so strong that almost everyone immediately felt it.


    "They are out!"


    Everyone witnessed how a strange crack appeared in the air as a figure staggered out, evidently injured from the fight.


    "The battle''s over. Looks like Thad isn''t a match for Lo¡­" Before the York Divine Kingdom warrior could finish his sentence he realized that the miserable figure that had come out was none other than Logan!


    "Logan? He looks horrible!" The sight shocked the warriors of the York Divine Kingdom to the core.


    "It''s obvious he suffered a lot under Thad''s hands," a warrior with sharp eyes said, shaking his head.

 Chapter 1102 The Little Monster

    As soon as Logan escaped from the void, Zen came out as well.


    The counterattack that Logan had launched was useless. Zen used his No Move skill to easily divert the Space Chopping Sword.


    With a crisp sound, Zen threw out a strong punch.


    "Plink!"


    "Bam!"


    Those moves from Zen suppressed Logan to a point where he had no chance to fight back. He had become weak.


    With that punch, Logan''s armor wore out some more. It was now covered with cracks as if it could break apart at any given moment.


    "Again!"


    Indeed, Logan was one of those people who refused to admit defeat before their death. He would rather die than wave the white flag.


    "Plink!"


    "Bam!"


    In a situation where both sides'' strength was equal, it was usually the martial artist with a more powerful will who won.


    Unfortunately, when the difference in strength was too great, willpower could become insignificant.


    "Clang!"


    After that particular punch, a sound like glazed tiles breaking was heard. Logan''s space armor could no longer withstand the attack and shattered with a loud bang. Zen''s fist landed directly on Logan''s unprotected chest.


    A huge force passed through Zen''s fist and hit Logan in the chest. Like a falling meteor, Logan''s body heavily smashed downwards.


    The two of them had been fighting in the void and had already moved outside the enchanted barrier. Without the barrier, Logan had smacked into the square. As the martial artists below dodged, he crashed into the ground, creating a huge crater.


    Due to the strong winds, the rising dust was blown away like smoke.


    Logan''s motionless body lay flat in the huge pit. No one knew whether he was dead or alive.


    All of the divine-level talents of the four divine kingdoms stared blankly at him. It took them a while to accept his current condition, given his display of strength and might before that very fight against Zen.


    A few divine-level talents from the Harlen and Star Field Divine Kingdoms had been defeated by Logan. Moreover, his words had affected a lot of martial artists. He was extremely talented, yet quite modest. He had all the qualifications of a warrior who everybody looked up to.


    He was unrivaled among the warriors in the Virtual Tribulation Realm, and many divine-level talents could attest to that fact.


    But now, his space armor had been forcefully shattered by Zen''s power. He was like a dead animal lying in the pit, and it was safe to say that he had suffered a crushing defeat.


    "Great! Marvelous!" Turner exclaimed.


    Under Logan''s suppression, Harlen Divine Kingdom had suffered a lot of humiliation. Although it didn''t have an advantage in the past years, the talents of the divine kingdom were still able to compete with the others. It had never been defeated so miserably before.


    However, Zen had saved its reputation. Whether he came from the Harlen Divine Kingdom or not, he passed t


    m Continent, Nine Furnace Martial House was already close to the level of a seventh-grade sect, and the little monster was simply too important to them.


    His importance wasn''t the measure of his strength. That wasn''t the case.


    After all, he was only at the late stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm. He didn''t stand a chance against any mighty warrior of the Soul Sea Realm.


    The Nine Furnace Martial House did not lack Life and Death Realm and Soul Sea Realm experts, but they still needed the little monster. It was because of him that the York Divine Kingdom had been so prosperous and the younger generation of martial artists had progressed so fast in the last thirty years.


    He possessed an extremely special talent.


    A battle against the little monster was transcendental. Any martial artist that went against him easily fell into a state of epiphany.


    If a divine-level talent of the Virtual Tribulation Realm was stuck in a bottleneck, breaking through was a walk in the park when he fought with the little monster.


    In addition, the little monster''s talent was not only effective for Virtual Tribulation Realm martial artists. Possible, it could also work for the experts from both Life and Death and Soul Sea Realms.


    Relatively, the stronger the martial artist was, the weaker the effect was going to be. When one was at the same level as War Emperor York, the effect was minute.


    No matter what, almost all of the martial artists were drawn to the little monster''s magical skill. Even though he was an awful creature by nature, all of the Nine Furnace Martial House still treated him like God.


    Many of the Soul Sea Realm experts in the four divine kingdoms also planned to train the little monster. Currently, he was only at the late stage of Virtual Tribulation Realm, and his talent didn''t have much impact on the Soul Sea Realm experts. But, what if he were to be cultivated to the Soul Sea Realm?

 Chapter 1103 Fiona Huo

    War Emperor York, Turner, and even the ruler of the Wind Divine Kingdom all still wanted to further improve their cultivation to a higher level.


    Limited by the Lower World''s resources, many of the powerful martial artists of the Soul Sea Realm couldn''t get past that hurdle.


    Having such a special talent, the little monster naturally grabbed everyone''s attention. To all the divine kingdoms, he was a real treasure.


    His status gave him the privilege to be so unbridled, doing anything he wanted. No one would dare to give him any problems.


    Back then, in the York Divine Kingdom, he had taken a fancy to an unsurpassed harlot in a brothel and ended up fighting a talented prince. In a fit of anger, he took the prince''s life.


    The prince was only second to the crown prince, above even Daniel. After he was killed, War Emperor York was utterly furious, but he didn''t do anything to the little monster.


    After a moment of thought, Marine looked at Zen as he floated in the air. With a bite of her lips, she finally replied, "Yes, I want you to fight in my place!"


    "No problem." The little monster bared his teeth in a wicked grin. Paired with his strange black pupils, he was the embodiment of a humanoid monster. Rubbing his hands mischievously, he moved closer to Marine and began sniffing. "I want something back."


    The vile-sounding words gave Marine an awful premonition. The monster must have had some preposterous ideas in mind.


    "What do you want in return?" Lowering her voice, she asked anyway.


    Still rubbing his hands together, the monster spoke to her through his life vitality, not letting another soul hear their exchange.


    Suddenly, Marine''s face reddened before she angrily scolded the creature, "Do you have a death wish, little monster?"


    It wasn''t a surprise for him to make such an unbearable request. At the very least, the monster knew well enough to speak of such a taboo secretly through life vitality. If anyone else had heard it, it would have made a great influence on the secret sect.


    His request was rather simple. He wanted to sleep with her, just once.


    How could she ever agree to such a request?


    After getting the hint that she was truly angry, the little monster restrained himself. "It''s fine if you don''t agree to that request. But the next time the Reverse Spirit Channel opens, if there''s anything good released from the Upper World, would you let me choose first?"


    He spoke of the ability of the secret sect.


    It was also the reason why the four divine kingdoms supported the sect. Even the rulers had to be respectful toward Marine.


    Only the secret sect could connect with the humans in the Upper World. Every few years, the Upper World would distribute


    that streak and become the very first empress of the four kingdoms.


    But her looks were rather deceiving¡ªshe seemed weak and delicate. In fact, her demeanor was quite charming, indeed. As she gently turned around, circles of fire lotuses appeared beneath her feet. Stepping onto those fire flowers, she gracefully floated over.


    After entering the enchanted barrier, she sweetly smiled, and a faint light began circulating between her eyebrows. "I am Fiona Huo!"


    The introduction made Zen''s brows shoot up. He didn''t expect Fiona to be so polite as a princess. He replied in kind, "I am Thad Luo."


    "My father said that it''s shameful for a member of the royal family to fight personally. But in my opinion, my father rules the kingdom, not because of his dignity, but his true strength. If he wasn''t powerful enough to convince his people, there would be no use in worrying about his image," Fiona carefully explained.


    Her voice was as soft and gentle as sweet spring water. It was all too comforting to listen to.


    "I couldn''t agree more," Zen answered with a nod of his head.


    All fame was backed by strength. Without strength, it was rootless duckweed and water without a source. A bubble reputation was never even worth mentioning.


    "I wish to spar with you," Fiona said with a graceful smile.


    "I am deeply honored to be able to battle with the princess of the Wind Divine Kingdom," Zen said without hesitation. Initially, Zen believed that they would begin to fight right after their conversation.


    Much to his surprise, when Fiona saw the sleeping little monster in the square, a trace of fear flashed across her face. She then said to Zen, lowering her voice, "Listen, after our fight, everything will be fine if you lose. However, if you defeat me, you must pretend to have lost to me."

 Chapter 1104 The Powerful Princess

    "Oh? Why is that?" Zen asked with a strange expression.


    Fiona''s face was filled with worry. "If you defeat me, the little monster will definitely challenge you. He''s a madman, a true madman. He''ll kill you," she told Zen.


    He smiled at her words. She was truly worried about him given the seriousness in her tone. Fiona was indeed a pure, kind-hearted princess.


    Only under the protection of the royal family would someone like her grow up to be a powerful and pure martial artist.


    Zen appreciated her goodwill, "Thank you for your concern. I know what to do."


    Fiona knew Zen was a person who wouldn''t listen to other people''s advice. She nodded and said, "Alright. I''ll be making my move. Be careful!"


    Zen was rendered speechless at how nice Fiona was. She actually reminded him before she launched her attack.


    She was modest and obedient but her next actions caused Zen''s expression to change.


    Fiona raised her hand, revealing a red jade bracelet that emitted so much power. Zen felt his heart palpitate.


    His eyes widened as he stared at the bracelet "W-What treasure is this?"


    Noticing the intrigued look in his eyes, Fiona temporarily halted her attack. "It was a gift from my father," she answered.


    Her words rendered Zen speechless along with many of the martial artists in the square.


    It was absurd but also funny.


    Fiona was really just too nice. Instead of launching her attack, she actually stopped to answer her opponent''s question.


    "Ah, she''s so cute!"


    "She is the Wind Divine Kingdom''s princess! Don''t get any ideas!"


    "Hmph, don''t look down on her. Even if she tells you all her weaknesses, you''re still no match for her. She may be innocent but her strength is unfathomable!"


    Even War King Wind''s face had an awkward expression.


    "Your daughter is impressive," Turner said. "She''s also very cute."


    There was a slight buzz of discussion in the crowd regarding Fiona''s actions. However, her next words rendered them silent.


    "I like this bracelet very much. It''s a semi-divine weapon," she said, gently stroking the bracelet with her hand.


    A semi-divine weapon?


    Even that shocked Zen.


    There were certain levels when it came to weapons: a spiritual weapon, a fairy weapon, a sacred


    ona''s Time Law, at least, for now.


    Next thing he knew, Fiona was already beside him, her flaming arm ready to come down his head.


    There was simply no time for Zen to react but, just as she was about to attack, Fiona stopped halfway which greatly surprised the crowd. "It''ll hurt a bit if I knock you out, but it won''t injure you too badly."


    Her hesitation gave him time to escape. Zen travelled through space and put some distance between him and Fiona.


    He had a grim expression on his face. He was able to dodge only because of her warning; however, he knew he was only delaying the inevitable attack.


    "He has escaped?" But nobody could escape time. Fiona was a bit disappointed. She saw her warning as an extension of goodwill, but he actually took it as an opportunity to dodge.


    She thought he was being crafty but really it was because she was simply too kind-hearted.


    Still, she wasn''t too bothered. She possessed the power of Time Law, so she could always just catch him again.


    Fiona once again focused on changing time flow within a several hundred feet radius. Their surroundings had slowed and Zen felt as if he was moving in slow motion.


    She appeared in front of him once again, her flaming palm ready to strike him down.


    ''I won''t remind you this time, '' Fiona thought to herself.


    Of course, her kind-hearted nature still won her over. Instead of unleashing her full-strength, she only used around seventy-percent of her power since she didn''t want to kill Zen.

 Chapter 1105 Please Admit Defeat

    As a princess of Wind Divine Kingdom, Fiona rarely had a chance to showcase her true strength.


    The imperial families of the four divine kingdoms all had their own secret training grounds, some of which were built using methods from the Upper World.


    Never had Fiona competed with anyone in public¡ªeveryone had only judged her strength from her position in the Wind Divine Kingdom.


    No one truly knew of Fiona''s cultivation method, nor the laws she had comprehended.


    Though they all knew her to be strong, they never expected her to be this powerful. Faced against her, Zen had no way to fight back.


    Even though she had only used seventy percent of her power with that strike, the bracelet on her wrist slightly shook before vibrating intensely, releasing a great force.


    Puff!


    A sound like a watermelon being crushed reverberated.


    After that, Zen''s figure suddenly fell and crashed straight into the enchanted barrier.


    Fortunately, it was set up by a mighty warrior at the Soul Sea Realm. When he made impact, the barrier twisted and caved in, but the eyes of that mighty warrior flashed and he instantly restored it.


    If it were any other warrior on the receiving end of that strike, it would have been difficult for him to stand back up.


    Zen, however, had the fairy weapon''s physique. As soon as the huge force entered his body, it turned into primordial energy that let his body recover.


    Since his body had been refined into a fairy weapon, he never had the chance to refine it further. The fairy weapon''s physique was still not enough to use against a warrior as mighty as Fiona. Even as he tried his best, he could only manage to convert seventy percent of the force into primordial energy, letting the rest do him damage.


    Still, he was able to withstand it, sustaining only minor injuries. In his current physical condition, at least, it took mere seconds for him to recover.


    Fiona''s white and blue gown swayed in the wind. When she looked down at Zen, her expression filled with worry, as did her heart. Even though she held back, she thought the hit might have still been too much for him.


    But in the blink of an eye, her worries were dispelled. A smile of relief replaced her expression of worry as she watched Zen jump up from the enchanted barrier.


    ''This little girl is really kind as a saint, '' Zen sighed inwardly.


    "Hmm? You''ve taken a fancy to her?" Of course, Lavender didn''t miss t


    aw stars.


    Puff!


    Once again, Zen''s body crashed into the enchanted barrier.


    Under Fiona''s Time Law, Zen fell incredibly slowly. After she removed the Time Law, his speed increased astonishingly, and he smashed hard into the enchanted barrier below.


    "Will you admit defeat this time?" Fiona asked with a deep frown.


    "No, I won''t." Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, he shouted, "I won''t admit defeat!"


    "Then come face me again!"


    With that, Fiona appeared instantly in front of Zen. As the bracelet on her wrist trembled, her lily-white hand lightly brushed past him and Zen''s body charged into the sky within the enchanted barrier.


    This time, Fiona had used a hundred percent of her strength.


    "Do you admit defeat?" As she asked once again, she was turning extremely intolerable¡ªit was as though taking Zen down was making her extremely uncomfortable.


    Puff! This time, Zen rushed directly toward the left. Once again, blood spurted from his mouth.


    "Do you admit defeat?" Fiona asked again, sounding rather pleading.


    "No," he replied indifferently, looking up at her.


    Never did she think such a fighter existed in this world¡ªhis stubbornness was making her truly anxious at this point. Even though he was clearly no match for her, he endured with sheer willpower. After a moment, she suddenly opened her mouth and pleaded, "I''m begging you, just admit defeat!"


    She didn''t want to kill Zen, but he refused to admit defeat no matter how hard she struck. To other warriors, it was a simple matter¡ªthey would simply kill him.


    To Fiona, however, it was an impossible hurdle.

 Chapter 1106 Comprehend The Time Law

    At that moment, War King Wind, who had been watching the battle closely with his full attention, suddenly let out a long sigh.


    ''This is a trial for Fiona, '' he thought to himself.


    Fiona had never gone out to practice and gain experience through real life fights, but that didn''t mean she had never fought anyone. Ever since she had stepped into the nature level, her father had arranged for opponents to challenge her one after the other.


    Once Fiona was able to defeat an opponent of the same level as her own, he would arrange for stronger opponents. And she did not disappoint him. Once she had reached the third grade of nature level, she was already strong enough to defeat a warrior at the seventh grade of nature level.


    When she reached the tenth grade of nature level, she gained enough strength and experience to defeat an opponent at the seventh grade of the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    From that moment onwards, she basically became capable of defeating any warrior whose cultivation level was an entire realm above hers.


    Now, since she had entered the late stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm, she could easily deal with a warrior at the second grade of Life and Death Realm. In fact, it wouldn''t be too surprising if she managed to outwit a warrior at the third grade of that realm too.


    However, these battles had all been pre-arranged just to train Fiona, and the players in such battles would stop before they hurt their opponent for real. She was a princess of Wind Divine Kingdom, and even if War King Wind wanted the warriors he called in to go all out, who would dare to harm her?


    This kind of experiential learning, after all, did not put her on the border of life and death. Facing Zen now was also a big test for Fiona. War King Wind hoped that his beloved daughter would make the right decision, so that he wouldn''t lose too much face.


    Zen didn''t know whether to laugh or cry when he heard Fiona begging him to admit defeat. However, as a warrior, giving up was not an option. After laughing for a moment, he replied, "I won''t admit defeat even if you beg me."


    Fiona was at a loss as to what to do next. She looked around searching for someone else''s advice. When her gaze landed on her father, he closed his eyes. As a concerned father who wanted her to make her own way in the world, he did not want to give his daughter any hints at this point in time.


    Of course, since he did not say anything, numerous other warriors came up with some ideas of their own.


    As the many warriors of the Wind God Kingdom saw the expression on Fiona''s face, they began to shout out loud.


    "Your Highness, you can just kill him. This brat doesn''t know how to appreciate favors. You showed him mercy, but he didn''t appreciate it at all! Just kill him and be done with it!"


    ''Kill him?'' Fiona bit her lips and quickly stopped herself from pondering over such an idea. Ever since she could remember being herself, she hadn''t even kille


    d happened just now and whatever it was, it should have been impossible.


    Zen had been continuously beaten up and had no way of fighting back. This wasn''t to say that he wasn''t strong enough, but that the Time Law was too strong.


    With the Time Law in place, the advantage of fighting a warrior at the same level was unimaginably great. Zen should have lost to Fiona very easily.


    Therefore, Turner thought that even if Zen was defeated by Fiona, he would still protect him.


    At the same time, Turner was curious about why Zen didn''t admit defeat. ''Perhaps he is afraid that if he loses, the Harlen Divine Kingdom would abandon him and let him fall into the hands of War Emperor York, '' Turner thought. He even wanted to tell Zen with his life vitality that he would still protect him even if he lost to Fiona. After all, she had comprehended the Time Law, and Turner didn''t believe that Zen could win.


    In fact, no one did. And since Zen had been severely beaten by Fiona just now, Turner was feeling a bit pitiful. Just as Turner was about to stop Zen, he saw Zen dodge her attack!


    Now, Turner understood what Zen was doing. This guy had actually comprehended Fiona''s Time Law while he was fighting her.


    What was even more terrifying was that he seemed to have comprehended quite a few of it.


    War King Wind took a deep breath and then said, "We all know very well how difficult it is to comprehend the Time Law. I want to know whether this kid has really comprehended it during the battle just now, or was he already accomplished at it?"


    Scott, War Emperor York, Turner, as well as numerous other warriors at the Soul Sea Realm, were all immersed in deep thought.


    Time Law was one of the most difficult laws to comprehend. It was several times more difficult than the Space Law, and not a single person from the audience believed that Zen would be able to comprehend it through the Time Law Power that Fiona had displayed in such a short period of time.

 Chapter 1107 Zens Speed of Comprehending Time Law

    It wasn''t that these powerful masters of the Soul Sea Realm didn''t believe it, but they found it hard to accept that Zen had actually been learning the Time Law from Fiona.


    The Time Law of the four divine kingdoms was recorded on a totem. And the totem wasn''t something that belonged to the Lower World but was passed down from the Upper World through the Reverse Spirit Channel of the secret sect.


    But this particular totem wasn''t sought after a lot. In comparison, the totems that carried the third and fourth layers of Fire Law, and those that carried the Ice, Metal, and Thunder Laws were much more popular.


    The reason was simply because it was too difficult to comprehend the Time Law.


    They didn''t know what the situation in the Upper World was like. But there were no more than one hundred warriors in the entirety of the four divine kingdoms who could comprehend the Time Law.


    For example, the female martial artist who had followed Randy, Camilla, didn''t have any great talents in other aspects. But because she had comprehended 10% of the first layer of the Time Law, she had been able to reach the top of the second tier.


    Fiona''s talent was good enough, but it took her seven years just to completely comprehend the first layer of the Time Law.


    It had taken her only nineteen years to reach the late stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm. But it had taken her seven years just to comprehend the Time Law alone.


    Because of how difficult it was to comprehend the Time Law and also because it took too long a time, many martial artists usually gave up trying to study the Time Law from the totem. Some other warriors wanted to try their luck comprehending the Time Law on the totem but they ended up discovering that they didn''t have any talent in this aspect. So they also eventually gave up.


    The Time Law was indeed powerful. It frustrated many warriors who achieved nothing despite having spent so much time trying to comprehend it.


    Of course, there were people with great perseverance in the Divine Kingdom Continent. There was once a martial artist at the Illuminating Soul Realm, a prince of the Star Field Divine Kingdom with divine-level talent. He was obsessed with studying the Time Law and after spending a full 563 years on it, he had finally comprehended 60% of the first layer of the Law.


    Since he had spent too much time studying the Time Law, he had only been able to reach the primary stage of the Internal Elixir Realm after becoming over five hundred years of age. He had finally died when he had reached the end of his lifespan.


    There were only two types of people that cultivated the Time Law on the Divine Kingdom Continent. The first type was the martial artists who had a very strong affinity to the Time Law. Even in the divine kingdoms where many talents usually gathered, there was only a small number of such talented martial artists. And in the younger generation, only Fiona was gifted in comprehending the Time Law.


    The other ty


    ept such a difference.


    Whoosh!


    Fiona''s expression became more serious by the minute. Although she was an innocent and naive girl, she was way too serious about the cultivation of martial arts - more than anyone else. After all, just relying on one''s talent wasn''t enough for one to succeed in the pursuit of martial arts. Without strong will, perseverance, passion and seriousness, one wouldn''t be able to walk too far on this path.


    Fiona''s figure flashed and once again darted behind Zen. Zen''s speed was still relatively, extremely slow, but it was much faster than before.


    Poof!


    This time, Fiona thumped Zen heavily on his back. Zen twisted his body and used his elbow to block Fiona''s attack.


    Bam!


    A muffled sound rang out as Zen felt the breath whoosh out of him. But since he had been prepared in a defensive position, he wasn''t injured.


    A crackling tension filled the air, filling the atmosphere within the enchanted barrier with an unparalleled intensity.


    Fiona constantly struck out her palm. It was true that she had a considerable advantage in speed, but Zen had combat experience that Fiona couldn''t compare with. He could always predict what would happen in advance and defend himself against Fiona''s attack even before it happened.


    What was more astonishing was that not only was Zen able to block Fiona''s attack, the speed with which he was comprehending the Time Law was also rapidly increasing.


    By the time Zen had blocked thirteen strikes from Fiona, he had already been able to compress time by about eleven times. And by the time Fiona had struck Zen twenty times, Zen had already been able to compress time by about twelve times.


    Everything was difficult at the beginning. As Zen gained more insights into the first layer of the Time Law, his speed of comprehending the Time Law increased in leaps and bounds.


    A powerful master at the Soul Sea Realm figured out what was happening and shook his head. Fiona would be in a pickle, he thought.

 Chapter 1108 A Genuine Phoenix Descendant

    War King Wind and Turner along with the mighty warriors at the Soul Sea Realm were all observing this spectacle.


    Without the use of the Time Law, the speed difference between Fiona and Zen was huge.


    But the main thing to note was that while Fiona had the advantage of speed, she wasn''t able to deal with Zen. His body was just too strong. He was simply too domineering.


    As long as he continued to resist, his comprehension of the Time Law would become increasingly better. In the end, Fiona would be the one to lose.


    "Oh, no!" said a distressed Fiona. She could feel the change in Zen''s speed. He was getting faster and faster.


    Overall, he was still four times slower than her, but the gap was rapidly shrinking.


    She didn''t want to lose to Zen; she really didn''t want to! So after attacking him with her palm, she didn''t attack again. Instead, her slim and graceful body floated to a corner of the enchanted barrier. "Thad, give up," she called to Zen.


    "Why?" Zen had no idea what this little girl was thinking, but he was probably used to it.


    It takes all kinds of people to make the world. Two people''s personalities can be completely different. Zen learned this principle from Margaret''s character.


    "I''m going to use fire. If you can''t block this move, I''m afraid you''ll die," Fiona said earnestly.


    "Fire?" Zen raised his eyebrows slightly.


    His primordial energy had been accumulating in his body ever since he had refined his body last time. Now it was time for him to refine his body again and advance it to the next level.


    However, all this time, Zen had been unable to find a suitable fire source.


    Zen himself didn''t know what kind of fire source would be able to help him advance to the next level, but the stronger his body became, the more powerful the fire source he would need.


    He did possess a powerful fire source. It was the black flame within the mysterious furnace. But the black flame was far too overbearing. He did not dare to try it out rashly.


    Fiona was proficient in not only Time Law but also Fire Law. If Zen could borrow the power of her flames to help his body become a sacred weapon, it would be great.


    "Yes," Fiona nodded. "So you should give up. Don''t force me to use it. I can''t k


    heat wave.


    "Does Fiona have the Genuine Phoenix bloodline? Is she a descendant of the Phoenix race?" yelled someone.


    "The concentration of her bloodline is ridiculously high. It''s very likely that she''s a descendant of the Phoenix race."


    Zen''s eyebrows shot up when he saw the slowly congealing flames.


    Once Zen had absorbed the blood as well as the blood essence of Genuine Dragons. They were very good for the refinement of his body.


    However, he had only absorbed a few drops of them. So he did not have much of them in his body, and more importantly, he hadn''t absorbed enough Genuine Dragon blood, so he had not yet mastered the theurgy of the Genuine Dragons.


    But Fiona seemed to be the true descendant of a super legendary beast. Her blood density was ridiculously high, and the Genuine Phoenix phantom had actually been condensed to such a degree.


    When Zen was at the Cloud Sect, he had learned that Tracy possessed the Blue Phoenix bloodline. However, the Blue Phoenix could not compare to a super legendary beast, and was far inferior to Genuine Dragons and Genuine Phoenixes.


    Fiona was different, though. She seemed to have a complete Genuine Phoenix bloodline.


    From between her eyebrows, streams of flames surged out.


    The flames condensed continuously and slowly fused together to form a phoenix.


    The phoenix formed by Fiona was different from the one Letitia had created. Letitia''s ice phoenix was just an illusion, while this one seemed to be a real phoenix!

 Chapter 1109 Sun Flame Attack (Part One)

    Like normal beasts, super legendary beasts were also divided into different levels.


    A ninth level fierce beast would be equivalent to a human warrior at Virtual Tribulation Realm, a tenth level one would be equivalent to a human warrior at Life and Death Realm, and an eleventh level one would be equivalent to a mighty warrior at the Soul Sea Realm.


    Regardless whether the beasts were super legendary or normal fierce ones, once they reached eleventh level, their demon cores would liquefy, allowing them to open up a new world.


    Despite that, there was still a great disparity between a fierce beast and a legendary beast, a legendary beast and a super legendary beast.


    A super legendary beast, such as a Genuine Dragon or a Genuine Phoenix, would have a far superior growing speed and special talents over an ordinary legendary beast or a fierce beast. Like the super talents in the human race, they could also challenge opponents who were levels above them with ease.


    "We have contracted an alliance by the use of my spirit and my soul. The Genuine Phoenix named Fiery Shine, listen to my commands, and follow me!" At that moment, Fiona''s voice suddenly became extremely authoritative.


    The Genuine Phoenix which went by the name of Fiery Shine was Fiona''s contractual beast. The stronger the cultivator was, the stronger his or her contractual beast would be. Fiona was only at the late stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm, but she was already able to have such a beast under her command. Even in the Upper World, it was extremely rare for someone to have a Genuine Phoenix as a contractual beast!


    Much like the Genuine Dragon race, the number of Genuine Phoenixes in the Genuine Phoenix race was extremely small. For instance, the Genuine Dragon World had 49 fully grown Genuine Dragons. If you counted the young ones, its total number would still be less than a thousand.


    irectly at Zen, its eyes full of power. Its feathers, which were about a hundred feet long each, spread around Fiona.


    On top of each and every feather was a blazing flame, and from them streamed Fire Law. It was a beautiful sight to behold.


    ''The third layer of the Fire Law¡­''


    Zen thought. It was his estimate of the level of the Fire Law as he felt the intensity of it. The flames emitting from the Genuine Phoenix never ceased. They had the power to destroy everything, but at the same time, there was a vigorous life force hidden within them.


    Although this Genuine Phoenix was only at the ninth level, it made Zen feel a strong sense of being overpowered. This overwhelming force was much stronger than what Eddie emitted when they faced each other. Truly, a super legendary beast wasn''t something to be trifled with.


    If Fiona''s contractual beast had been a Genuine Dragon or an ice phoenix, the pressure on Zen would definitely have multiplied. The strength of this super legendary beast was probably comparable to that of a master at the fourth or fifth level of the Life and Death Realm. Fiona was also someone who shouldn''t be overlooked. Zen, with all his power and strength, did not have the confidence that he would be able to defeat them.

 Chapter 1110 Sun Flame Attack (Part Two)

    Because Fiona had mainly cultivated the Fire Law and the Time Law, the contractual beast she had summoned through her bloodline was a fire phoenix!


    Fortunately, Zen''s body was a fairy weapon, and it made him completely immune to fire. He was just worried that he didn''t have a chance to increase the strength of his physical body!


    The higher the strength of the body, the more power of the dragon scales Zen would be able to use. It was a piece of cake for Zen to gather weapons to refine heavenly essence, but his physical body would not be able to withstand too much force. If he utilized too much of the dragon scales'' power, his physical body would disintegrate.


    Fiona leaned backwards until she was finally sitting on the feathers of the great phoenix behind her. Then, she pointed at Zen with her finger and said, "Fiery Shine, Sun Flame Attack!"


    "Aoo!"


    The Genuine Phoenix named Fiery Shine suddenly raised its head and opened its mouth. The vitality of heaven and earth began surging through its body and it gathered in its mouth.


    ''It could directly absorb the vitality of heaven and earth?'' Zen thought, fully taken aback by what had happened.


    When the phoenix absorbed enough vitality of heaven and earth, it locked its gaze on Zen, who was standing not too far away.


    Just as the Genuine Phoenix was about to launch its attack on Zen, Fiona suddenly appeared in front of it. She placed her hand on the phoenix''s head and said something not audible to anyone but the two of them. It was as if she was whispering something to its ear. Then, they seemed to begin having a conversation. After a


    dmit defeat.


    Fiona revealed an expression full of regret. Summoning Fiery Shine was the decision made after careful thought. As a martial artist, she would never be able to escape a duel with another warrior. It was as necessary as eating was to humans: it was a rule that she could not break, no matter what.


    Since she couldn''t avoid it, she could only accept it. Fiona finally decided to fight with Zen with her real strength.


    This battle with Zen made her realize what her mission and responsibilities were, and she understood more clearly what expectations her royal father had for her!


    Before, she would''ve chosen to surrender rather than summon Fiery Shine to kill Zen.


    But this time was different. She did not want to disappoint her royal father.


    After seeing that her warning had no effect on Zen, Fiona''s eyes narrowed greatly. She turned back to her phoenix, and patted its head in a knowing manner. Fiery Shine had been waiting for a long time. After it received Fiona''s orders, it opened its mouth, and a ten feet wide beam of flame shot towards Zen.

 Chapter 1111 Not Powerful Enough

    An ordinary flame''s heat dissipated in all directions. When one made a fire, it would often burn wild and unpredictable, and that made it weak.


    The Genuine Phoenix''s Sun Flame Attack was different because the blazing white flame bound and centered the heat to its core. This made it hotter, better, and far more accurate when launched.


    As the white fireball came flying towards him, Zen only had one thought in his mind: it seemed that his clothes were about to be burnt once again.


    Just as this thought flashed through his mind, the flames immediately enveloped him and set his body aflame.


    "Hooo... hooo... hooo..."


    Despite the horrifying sight of Zen burning alive, he was calm. There was no need to worry for his own safety given that he had an immunity to most flames, save of course for the black flame within the mysterious furnace.


    The Genuine Phoenix''s Sun Flames looked terrifying but, in the end, they only contained the power of the first three layers of Fire Law which caused no harm to Zen.


    Now if the Genuine Phoenix had been a grown-up one, then he''d have a problem.


    A mature Genuine Phoenix was a fourteenth to fifteenth level super legendary beast comparable to a world lord or a supreme lord. Its size was also no joke given that it could grow to a thousand miles long in length. Never mind its flames, Zen would be smashed into smithereens with just a lift of its claw.


    The temperature began to reach an uncomfortably hot range and Zen''s body had turned as red as a hot-iron poker.


    Zen looked at his body expectantly, ''They should appear any minute.'' One thing he hoped would come out of his willingness to burn himself was for his body to finally become a sacred weapon. With the combined power of several thousand dragon scales and forceful energy, his strength would be boosted to the point that he''d be able to defeat Life and Death Realm warriors with ease once he entered the late stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm.


    However, this wasn''t what happened. After the Sun Flame Attack had continued for about a minute, nothing had come.


    "Eh? Why didn''t they appear?"


    Burning himself in phoenix flames wasn''t enough. Golden runes should''ve appeared in order for Zen to completely absorb the flames into his body.


    ''The flames aren''t powerful enough, '' he quickly concluded.


    This was troublesome. It seemed not even flames from the first three layers of Fire Law would be enough.


    ''That phoenix shouldn''t have just comprehended three layers of Fire Law, '' he thought to himself.


    The Sun Flames couldn''t be the phoenix''s most powerful attack. Ever since it appeared, Zen had already felt a mysterious power of Fire Law hidden within the beast. The power was muc


    h remained of his clothes.


    "Ah!" Fiona cried out, immediately averting her eyes at the scene.


    When he had turned against the current of the flames, Zen had walked over to Fiona and was actually quite close to the princess. Right now, his entire body was completely in full view of the pure, innocent girl.


    Some of the female martial artists in the square also averted their eyes but there were a few who shamelessly ogled at him and enjoyed the view.


    Zen felt a bit embarrassed at his current state but he had to have thick skin. Besides, there was another matter he should be concerned with.


    "Aoo..."


    His provocation had worked and the phoenix was now preparing a whole new wave of attacks for him.


    Fiery Shine''s feathers had spread out, informing every one of its anger. It emitted a wave of heat that was so strong, not even Fiona could withstand it.


    "What were you thinking? Why did you provoke it? Fiery Shine is truly angry now!" she blamed Zen, head still turned to the side.


    He did not answer given that he didn''t really care about the fight with Fiona any more. There was a more important matter that needed his attention. The heat wave was strong but he still wasn''t sure if it would be enough for him to advance.


    A fire ring suddenly appeared around the phoenix and Zen swore he felt some kind of special Law Power in that attack.


    His heart rejoiced, ''That''s it! That''s the attack I need!'' This was the mysterious Law Power he had sensed upon the phoenix''s appearance. This power was entirely different from that in the Sun Flame Attack earlier.


    The sight of the fire ring immediately alarmed Fiona. Her father, War King Wind was also greatly concerned to the point that he actually entered the arena through the enchanted barrier and forcefully pulled his daughter out.

 Chapter 1112 Nirvana Flames

    Without question, War King Wind had also specialized in fire-attribute cultivation methods. His comprehension of the Fire Law was way deeper than Fiona''s.


    Having been able to comprehend the third layer of the Fire Law, Fiona even owned a jade bracelet that was considered to be a semi-divine weapon. But this didn''t mean that she was able to resist all kinds of flames, such as the phoenix''s fire attacks.


    Truthfully, War King Wind was only testing Fiona. He absolutely didn''t want her to suffer any damage, which was why he brought her away from the enchanted barrier.


    Even Turner himself wanted to bring Zen out of the enchanted barrier. Since he had chosen to protect him, he didn''t want Zen to die in there. The problem was he found it hard to understand what Zen was saying.


    Previously, Zen was completely unharmed by the impact of the phoenix''s Sun Flame Attack. On his face, an expression of wanting more was plastered. What was the purpose of him infuriating the phoenix? Did he really hope for the phoenix to use its full strength?


    As he thought of it, Turner wasn''t able to do anything at all.


    Just as the War King Wind had pulled Fiona out of the enchanted barrier, the phoenix curled its body and began to shrink. The fire ring around it also began to condense rapidly.


    Fiona stood outside the enchanted barrier as she stared at the contractual beast. "Thad has provoked it. Now, it wants to use the Nirvana Flames to burn him," she said.


    The phoenix was the symbol for immortality.


    The overall strength of this species was slightly weaker than that of the Genuine Dragon, but their vitality was much greater. Even the Nine-head Snake, a kind of legendary beast who had a super healing ability, did not compare to the Genuine Phoenix in that very aspect.


    The phoenixes, unlike all the other beasts, could be reborn forever. As long as fire existed, they could come back to life.


    Why did Zen feel a kind of power that surpassed the third layer of Fire Law when Fiona summoned Fiery Shine? What was that all about? Ultimately, it was because it had reincarnated within the flames. Before Fiona summoned Fiery Shine, it had already died once.


    Death wasn''t a threat for the Genuine Phoenix. They could choose to die at any time and place, and they could also be reborn from any fire.


    During the process of coming back to life, phoenixes could release the Nirvana Flames. That was also the fourth layer of the Fire Law, also known as the Flames of Rebirth.


    Out of the ten layers of the Fire Law, the first one was called the "Raging Fire." The second layer was "The Ashes" while the third one


    In spite of the fact that it was a super legendary beast, it was to maintain a respectful attitude towards Zen once it was established that he could actually defeat it in a duel.


    Thus, the phoenix let out a long cry and flew out of the enchanted barrier.


    "Remove the enchanted barrier and let Fiery Shine come out," Fiona ordered.


    Hearing her words, the warrior at the Soul Sea Realm immediately opened the enchanted barrier. After Fiery Shine left the enchanted barrier, it flew towards its master.


    After Fiona whispered a few words of consolation into its ears, the phoenix''s mood seemed to ease up a little. Then, Fiona slowly approached the edge of the enchanted barrier and said to Zen, "I''ve lost this battle. You''re stronger than I am. There is no denying it."


    When War King Wind took action and brought Fiona away from the enchanted barrier, she had already lost to him.


    Now that she had admitted defeat, Fiona was convinced from the bottom of her heart. She really didn''t stand a chance against Zen.


    Knowing that she didn''t have to face up against Zen anymore, Fiona suddenly calmed down. She was quite satisfied with how their battle turned out.


    Zen nodded and smiled to her. "You''re not so bad yourself."


    "Mm, I know," Fiona joked, but Zen knew she meant it. After all, she was a force. She knew how strong she was, and so did Zen.


    After making sure no one else was around, Fiona whispered to Zen, "Let me remind you, that little monster really is powerful. You have to be careful, or he''ll kill you."


    In fact, Fiona could also tell that Zen''s ability to defeat her was related to his special talent. It seemed that he wasn''t afraid of the flames, but the little monster was a whole new different kind of evil.

 Chapter 1113 The Arrogant Little Monster

    After Zen''s victory, all of the divine-level talents of the four divine kingdoms became speechless. Most of them became evidently listless and restless.


    They might have had the impulse to challenge Zen after his fight against Logan, but after what just happened, any warrior with even the littlest self-awareness would understand that they would never measure up to him, even if they tried, for the rest of their lives.


    Such a sentiment was understandable¡ªZen was able to survive, even under such terrifyingly powerful flames! He didn''t obtain any kind of injury, and the only thing he lost was his clothes. Due to this, many people had started suspecting that Zen was not a human at all, or that his body was made up of some unknown substance. After all, Zen being unharmed was just totally illogical.


    Obviously, Zen didn''t care one bit about how any of them felt. After the golden runes disappeared, Zen''s body had already become a sacred weapon. More importantly, there was still a considerable amount of primordial energy in his body that he could use to further refine his already invincible body.


    Although going through body refinement was painful, he would happily bear it as doing so would bring tremendous benefits to him as a warrior.


    With his eyes closed, Zen began stretching his body. Slowly, he felt that he had entered a new level. A hint of joy appeared on his face before he opened his eyes and gazed at Randy, Turner and the others on the platform.


    Joy overflowing on his face, Randy gave Zen a thumbs-up. Zen nodded slightly and looked around, asking in a clear voice, "Who else wants to challenge me?"


    The Wind Divine Kingdom had failed. The next step was for the Star Field Divine Kingdom or the York Divine Kingdom to send their best warriors to challenge him.


    With the current situation, the most unhappy ones were the warriors from the Star Field Divine Kingdom. Ever since the beginning, they had never won a match. Although the Wind Divine Kingdom had lost, War King Wind had only sent one warrior to fight Zen, and that was Fiona.


    Despite the fact that Fiona had lost, the strength she displayed was already enough to prove her worth. In the younger generation of the four divine kingdoms, there weren''t many people who would dare say that they were match for her!


    After Zen defeated Logan and Fiona, the warriors that were ranked in the first tier of their own martial houses didn''t dare come up. Even with their current level of strength, they knew that they would be instantly defeated by Zen. They would only bring shame to themselves and their martial houses.


    Actually, the crown princes of the four divine kingdoms had the opportunity to challenge and defeat Zen. The thing was, no one knew if any of them would take that step forward.


    Just as the imperial members of the Star Field Divine Kingdom were considering this, someone had already stepped out. This person was none other than that little monster from the Nine Furnace Martial House.


    There were so many top warriors within the York Divine Kingdom, including some from the Nine Furnace Martial House. Their strength was not necessa


    ne-level talents.


    However, everyone had clearly seen the power that Zen had. He was so formidable that even the Genuine Phoenix could do nothing to him!


    Wasn''t it a bit too much for the little monster to say such a thing?


    At the little monster''s words, a strange smile suddenly appeared on Zen''s face. "You don''t seem to be a body refiner and don''t have any forceful energy."


    "You''re right. To deal with you, I do not need the forceful energy!" the little monster said again.


    "Okay." Instantly, Zen soared, quickly reaching the peak of the enchanted barrier.


    When warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm fought against each other, their battle space was always too small. Therefore, the Soul Sea Realm master had set up a large enchanted barrier. After reaching the peak, Zen looked down on the little monster below. He then asked with a cunning smile, "If that''s the case, how do you plan on fighting me?"


    "You!" The little monster''s expression suddenly froze.


    Even without life vitality, the explosive strength of the little monster''s body was still very strong. The problem was Zen had pulled away from him, and the little monster couldn''t even reach him.


    If it was another warrior who wanted to compete with him in terms of physical strength, Zen would certainly agree to such a request. Whether it was forceful energy, life vitality, or physical strength, Zen was not afraid of it at all. However, he could not bear to watch the little monster act so arrogantly in front of everyone.


    There were plenty of people who disliked the little monster. Even though many divine-level talents were able to break through their bottlenecks and obtain great benefits by sparring with him, the little monster was not someone whom many people liked. Well, how many people would like a guy who not only looked like a monster, but also had a cruel and erratic temperament?


    Seeing that the little monster was at a loss as to what to reply to Zen''s words, everyone took the opportunity to laugh. It was this laughter that made the little monster embarrassed and angry beyond measure.

 Chapter 1114 Flexible (Part One)

    The little monster had just said that he would not use his life vitality to fight Zen. He intended to only use his physical strength. However, without his life vitality, he would not be able to fly. Since Zen was already at the top of the enchanted barrier, how would he be able to attack him?


    Since he had already boasted about how he would not need to use his life vitality to fight Zen, he couldn''t break his own words. With that, he started to dart towards the edge of the enchanted barrier.


    "Run!"


    With his long hands and legs, the little monster looked bizarre. Once he started moving, though, every part of his body seemed to be playing huge part in what he was trying to achieve, giving him incredible advantage. He started looking streamlined -- a warrior with a goal.


    After running the whole distance of the fighting area within only a few seconds, he came upon the enchanted barrier. Without any hesitation, he started scaling it. When he was halfway to the top, he suddenly did an athletic somersault. With a powerful push against the enchanted barrier, he was finally heading towards the direction where Zen was standing.


    When Zen saw that the little monster had managed to charge at him without using his life vitality, his lips broke out in a sardonic grin.


    A very convenient skill a martial artist had was flying by using his life vitality, so that he could change positions at will. The fact that the little monster had managed to approach Zen just by merely sprinting and taking a giant leap in the air amazed and disgusted Zen at the same time.


    Suddenly, Zen''s figure vanished into thin air and reappeared behind the little monster, his arms outstretched as if he was trying to reach behind his opponent.


    "I can''t believe you are this


    e monster leaped higher into the air, but since he couldn''t find a place where he could push himself to gain momentum, it became impossible for him to dodge Zen''s fist.


    Bam!


    A powerful punch once again landed on the little monster''s back, again sending him crashing down like a shooting star.


    And just like the first time around, Zen still failed to hurt him. Seeing this, Zen clenched his fists, narrowed his eyes, and gritted his teeth. His opponent''s ability to withstand powerful blows was on par with that of his own body.


    Despite that, Zen and the little monster were fundamentally different in their natures. Zen had transformed his body into a magic weapon, and his body itself was now virtually invincible. After being refined by the Nirvana Flames, he now had the physique that could be considered as a sacred weapon, rendering him insusceptible to injuries and attacks.


    The body of the little monster, however, was on the opposite extreme side of the scale. His body seemed very soft as if he had no bones. That made any attack towards him seem like an attack on a sponge. Realizing this, Zen understood that it would be hard for him to hurt his opponent.

 Chapter 1115 Flexible (Part Two)

    "Shall we continue?" Zen once again asked nonchalantly.


    The little monster once again got up on his feet. After spitting on the ground, he looked up at Zen. There was a sinister smile contorting his lips. He did not say anything, and instead, once again leapt upwards towards Zen.


    Once again, Zen appeared behind the little monster. Since the power of five hundred dragon scales was not enough to hurt him, he planned to directly activate the power of eight hundred dragon scales. He hoped that would be enough.


    However, just as Zen was about to attack, the little monster''s hand suddenly twisted and came towards him.


    The whole scene was very confusing, but Zen quickly understood what was happening. The little monster''s arm just twisted backwards to come for him!


    This action would be impossible for a human to complete. It was just like trying to turn one''s neck 360 degrees. A normal person would suffer from broken bones if he or she attempted to do what this little monster had done.


    It was now clear that the little monster''s body was extremely flexible. While contemplating this fact, Zen wasn''t able to dodge the oncoming arm. It caught his arm, and its grip immediately tightened.


    Just like a rope, the arm coiled itself around Zen''s arm, effectively tying him down.


    "Ha-ha," the little monster chuckled, happiness evident on his face. "As I have told you, I don''t need to use my life vitality just to deal with you." His vicious grin widened. Suddenly, a huge force flowed through his arm, and he sent Zen flying towards the ground!


    Bam!


    Taken by surprise, Zen wasn''t able to ready himself for the attack. Because of that, he had no choice but to brace himself for


    he Nine Furnace Martial House''s senior leaders. It shook them up. Because of that, they decided to send over a thousand martial artists at the Internal Elixir Realm into the Seven Water Forest to investigate. It was only then did they finally discover the little monster. They had to chase after him for more than ten days before they were able to capture him.


    That year, the little monster was seven years old, and he only had the strength at the marrow refining level. No one had taught him any martial skills, and all of his cultivation had been achieved through his own comprehension.


    After the Nine Furnace Martial House captured him, they decided to spare his life. Even though he was dangerous, he only attacked ordinary nature creatures. The senior leaders of the Nine Furnace Martial House decided to keep him in order to unravel the secrets of his incredible body.


    They never expected that they would find out so much about the little monster''s body. First and foremost, his bones seemed to be extremely soft and flexible.


    Once, someone cut off one of his arms as an experiment. A few days later, he grew another.

 Chapter 1116 Smash

    Even a powerful Soul Sea Realm warrior would have to reconnect his broken arm if it was dislocated. Otherwise, he would become a cripple.


    No human body had such miraculous regenerative abilities. This was why the Nine Furnace Martial House was becoming increasingly interested in the little monster.


    The martial artists of the Nine Furnace Martial House secretly conducted research on the little monster''s body within the Nine Furnace Martial House. One day they discovered the little monster''s secret abilities, which could help other martial artists with their cultivation.


    A martial artist was born with some amount of talent. Some medicinal herbs could modify this talent, but these weren''t found in the Divine Kingdom Continent.


    In order to cultivate faster and reach a higher level, the four divine kingdoms had established numerous martial houses and constructed countless secret training grounds. They had organized all sorts of matches for martial artists at different levels during which they could constantly temper themselves, fight vicious beasts, and train for life-threatening situations.


    All this was done to unleash their talents and make the most of them.


    When the martial artists of the Nine Furnace Martial House discovered the little monster''s talent, they were all excited.


    A warrior at nature level was stuck at a bottleneck for many years. He probably would never have a chance to enter the Illuminating Soul Realm. However, after fighting with the little monster, he was enlightened and soon advanced to the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    This was the effect of the little monster''s talent.


    When he had first entered the Nine Furnace Martial House, he was only at the marrow refining level. He wasn''t even a nature creature back then.


    The Nine Furnace Martial House soon discovered that the little monster could help others break through a bottleneck during a spar. However, this was only possible if the gap in cultivation wasn''t too large.


    If an Internal Elixir Realm martial artist fought with the little monster, the effects would be minimal, but a nature creature would benefit a lot from fighting with him.


    The Nine Furnace Martial House had specially built a stone tower where they had chained the little monster, and every day, they would send in a different nature-level martial artist to fight him.


    Many martial artists at nature level died at the hands of the savage monster. But, those who survived could rapidly advance to the next level.


    The little monster was not a fool. Even though he was a fierce beast, he was smart enough to learn the purpose of this group of warriors.


    So he refused to fight. No matter how much the Nine Furnace Martial House abused him, or even cut off his hands and feet, the little monster still refused to fight.


    After several months of stalemate, the Nine Furnace Martial House finally compromised.


    It would be a waste to use the little monster simply to


    ade of? He should have been hurt many times by the little monster by now, right? But he looks just fine!"


    At this point, Zen became impatient. This little monster was even more difficult to defeat than he had thought. The first thing he needed to do was pull him off his body. So Zen suddenly turned around and twisted the little monster''s other hand, and then he suddenly leaped into the air and stomped heavily on the little monster''s chest.


    The little monster realized what Zen was up to. "You want to get rid of me? In your dreams!" he jeered.


    But in that moment, the forceful energy in Zen''s body suddenly erupted, and as he stretched his legs, the power of the dragon scales within his body also surged out. Zen was like a meteor, crashing into the edge of the enchanted barrier, but the little monster''s hands were still firmly entwined around his body.


    Zen had already anticipated this, so when he hit the edge of the barrier, he pulled with all his might.


    Pah!


    The little monster''s soft body crashed into the enchanted barrier.


    "In my dreams? I don''t believe that your body has no limits!" Zen swung his hands once again and pushed the little monster heavily. The little monster''s body instantly got stuck to the barrier.


    Bang, bang, bang, bang!


    A series of loud sounds echoed in the air as Zen swung the little monster''s body, smashing it into both ends of the barrier.


    Every collision caused the barrier to tremble. One could imagine how much the little monster''s body was suffering.


    "Um..." Seeing the little monster being treated like this by Zen, one of the Soul Sea Realm experts got worried and asked the War Emperor York, "Should we stop Zen? Although the little monster''s body is almost immortal, if this goes on, he might die."


    Many powerful Soul Sea Realm warriors had been anxiously waiting for the little monster to enter the Life and Death Realm. Now they were afraid that the little monster would be killed by Zen.

 Chapter 1117 Son Of The Plane

    Choosing to engage in close combat with Zen was a big mistake.


    Sure, the little monster''s body was indeed very special. He was virtually unmatched in terms of power and strength in the four divine kingdoms.


    Physical combat could be considered his forte and any fight that required brute strength would always work out in his favor.


    Unfortunately, he met Zen.


    Despite being unmatched in the four divine kingdoms, the little monster could never have hoped to compare to Zen''s strength. Not even a mighty Soul Sea Realm warrior would be able to withstand a punch from the young man.


    To add to that, Zen''s body had also just become a sacred weapon. An ordinary sacred weapon such as a saber or a sword could not compare to an entire human body in terms of width and physical attributes. Zen''s body, therefore, was naturally stronger than any sacred saber or sword.


    There was no way the little monster would be able to injure Zen in melee combat.


    There was no sugarcoating it. The little monster''s choice led him to his own doom.


    Meanwhile, War Emperor York stewed in anger as he watched the fight. Zen''s strike would''ve no doubt injured the little monster badly, but the war emperor remained silent and did nothing to stop the battle. He knew how tough the little monster was. He wouldn''t die so easily.


    Both War Emperor York and Marine had placed their hopes upon the little monster. They needed him to kill Zen. Any intervention from his part would mean admitting defeat for the little monster, and that was far from what he wanted.


    It was just that the little monster had been too arrogant. The decision to fight Zen using only brute strength, without any use of life vitality, was terribly stupid. The little monster brought this upon himself and it made War Emperor York terribly angry. According to Marine, Zen was a very capable fighter. He had managed to kill a fourth-level Life and Death Realm warrior, and even both Master Abraham and Master Wallace.


    However, War Emperor York remained skeptical. Zen couldn''t have possibly killed Master Wallace and Master Abraham though he suspected that their deaths might still be related to the young man.


    Bang, bang, bang!


    Zen''s onslaught of attacks continued and each strike that landed on the little monster made the expression on War Emperor York''s face grow darker.


    The other warriors watching, however, were the opposite. They, in fact, felt happy at the scene in front of them.


    The little monster had a less than amicable reputation among them. He was a notorious character who did all sorts of evil things. Had he been born as a divine kingdom crown prince, he would''ve long since been dethroned.


    He was someone who generated a lot of hate from the people around him, but nobody could really afford to offend him due to his strength. The only way to deal with the little monster was to outright avoid him.


    The Nine Furnace Martial House warriors were especially happy seeing the little monster be brutally abused by Zen. It was like the New Year''s celebration for them but five times better. They felt that Zen was helping them vent out their frustrations upon the little monster through hi


    on.


    He knew that once he broke through and entered the Life and Death Realm, he would be able to affect these Soul Sea Realm masters and help them attain a higher level. This was far from what he wanted. There was no way he was helping his enemies get stronger, so he chose to suppress himself in the hopes that he could break through the Virtual Tribulation Realm and instantly reach the Life and Death Realm.


    This was the only way he''d stand a chance against the Soul Sea Realm powerhouses.


    For the little monster, the requirement he set for himself was to be able to fight someone who was an entire realm higher than him. He was currently at the late stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm, but he could face off against a fifth or even sixth-level Life and Death Realm warrior.


    Once he broke through, he should be able to attain the third or even fourth level of the Life and Death Realm which would be enough to face off against Soul Sea Realm masters. He wouldn''t be able to defeat War Emperor York, but it would be enough for him to escape the Divine Kingdom Continent. It was only once he got strong enough that he would come back for revenge.


    However, his plans had come crashing down upon meeting this other "monster." Thad''s cultivation level was lower than his, but he was by no means any weaker than him.


    He had greatly underestimated his opponent before, but now, the little monster knew that he had to take this fight seriously. He finally activated his life vitality and let it flow throughout his body, concentrating it on his hands.


    A speck of golden light sparked in his palm.


    Zen couldn''t help but frown at this speck of life vitality as it gave off a very strange feeling that he couldn''t describe.


    It was as if the golden life vitality contained some kind of strange, complex rule.


    "No wonder you can''t kill him," Lavender said. She was also unable to determine the little monster''s origins before, but the sight of the golden life vitality in his palm confirmed something for her. "This guy isn''t a monster, but he isn''t exactly human either. He is the son of the plane."

 Chapter 1118 Natural Talents

    "The son of the plane?" Zen was momentarily stunned upon hearing Lavender''s words. What did she mean by that?


    "The great world that you live in can be seen as a separate plane. It is its own entity. Just as the stars have their own wills, so does this great world," Lavender explained patiently.


    The will of a great world was not of a single mind. Rather, it was a mirror reflecting the wills of all living beings. Their lives and desires intertwined, creating an aggregation.


    The vast majority of the living beings were the humans, and so the son of the plane took their form, even if not entirely. There were some small details that differed from that of an ordinary human''s physique, such as his forked tongue, wolf-like sharp teeth, and pitch-black pupils, accounting for the space meant for other living beings.


    Not every great world would have its son. It was born through destruction. Only when irreversible damage had been dealt, it would show its presence to repair the great world.


    "If my guess is correct, this little monster should have been born in this great world with the mission to repair the path to the Upper World," Lavender concluded.


    Her deductions were correct. The path to the Upper World had been destroyed by the Genuine Dragons, so the Soul Sea Realm masters had no way of ascending. It was because of this that this monster, or the son of the plane, was born.


    Despite her understanding of the situation, Lavender knew there was something amiss. "This monster must be this great world''s incarnation. However, his character is quite strange," she continued. "There must have been a lot of deviations in the process of his growth." She shook her head as she looked at the creature.


    When a great world needed restoration, the son of the plane would appear by chance in the form of a living being. He would be born naturally, like any other creature, and go through the stages of his own lifetime. Only after he had reached adulthood would his mission be revealed to him. Then, he would draw from the plane''s power to repair the great world.


    Just as Lavender had deduced, the little monster had indeed lived through a long and torturous life. Having been born hideous, he had been abandoned after his birth in the Seven Water Forest.


    No beast had touched him. They had instinctively recognized his true identity and raised him as one of their own kind.


    But the peace would not last for long. The warriors of the Nine Furnace Martial House entered the Seven Water Forest to cultivate, and in doing so, killed the vicious beasts. Seeing his kind fall down one by one at the hands of humans had awoken an unforgiving wrath in him and his heart had completely turned against the creatures that had once abandoned him.


    Lavender only smiled wistfully and said, "Well, this is still a good chance for you. The son of the plane is the embodiment of the will of this plane, and he carries the will of the entire plane. If he uses his own life vitality, he will release the great world''s natural talent, which can help you improve your cultivation base. Even the Lucky Light in the Dragon Soar Arena and the Tower of Sin would fall behind to its effect."


    The Lucky Light in the Dragon Soar Arena and the Tower of Sin was useful for al


    e late stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm.


    "How does it feel? Not bad, right?" The little monster grinned fiendishly as he stared at Zen. "Do you feel like your mind is clearer? Even your cultivation base is improving quickly. Your sense must be reeling from it," the monster said, then cackled once again.


    Zen didn''t say anything in response. He continued to quickly maneuvre himself through the space to avoid the golden spears, and at the same time, absorb the energy that they released.


    The monster knew that the energy he had released increased one''s cultivation base. However, since he did not yet know the great world''s will, he was ignorant to the fact that these lights were actually the natural talents.


    War Emperor York''s face darkened as he watched the battle. This was far from the result he had hoped for. His goal, along with Marine''s, was to kill Zen by the hands of this monster. But now, the little monster was forced to use his life vitality, and things were beginning to work to Zen''s favor.


    "This man is absorbing the monster''s magical energy!" some Soul Sea Realm masters exclaimed. They were unaware that the golden lights were natural talents, and they had called them magical energy instead.


    The little monster''s natural talents were not inexhaustible. Once he used too much of that power, his life vitality would become gray and lose the effect it had in increasing one''s cultivation base. In order to maintain its use, the Nine Furnace Martial House would secretly kill some geniuses every once in a while and feed their energy to the monster. Only then would his life vitality return to a golden color.


    In other words, the monster possessed the ability to devour talents from other warriors and then release them for his own use, allowing others to absorb them as well.


    In the beginning, the monster had not intended to use his life vitality, but he was obviously no match to Zen in physical strength. Now, after Zen discovered the little monster''s secret, he kept moving around the little monster, absorbing the magical energy from his life vitality. This was something that the War Emperor York had never even conceived possible.

 Chapter 1119 Admitting Defeat

    The little monster didn''t seem too worried about Zen absorbing his natural talent. For him, Zen was not any greedier than the mighty warriors of the Soul Sea Realm on the stairs!


    He had promised Marine to fight the battle, so he was not going to let Zen leave this place alive.


    Hundreds of golden spears thrust out and instantly, the enchanted barrier was riddled with holes. The mighty Soul Sea Realm warrior could only repair the enchanted barrier again and again.


    This little monster''s attacks were indeed aggressive. It looked as if he had firmly entrapped Zen within the enchanted barrier. However, it was merely a way for the little monster to vent his anger as it didn''t really cause Zen much trouble.


    After a while, when the little monster felt he had done enough, a strange smile appeared on his face. "That''s enough. Now it''s time to send you to hell!"


    Suddenly he moved and came in front of Zen in a flash, closing the distance between them in almost an instant. He was now less than two feet from Zen.


    Zen narrowed his eyes and threw a punch towards the little monster. But the little monster raised his hand to block it!


    With such a simple gesture from the little monster, Zen''s strength had vanished into thin air without a trace!


    This time, it was Zen''s turn to be shocked!


    How was it possible?


    Zen had feared that he would get trapped by the little monster''s flexible body. After all, he was a tricky creature to deal with. Therefore, he had activated the power of the eight hundred dragon scales when he threw the punch. Although it was not his maximum strength, he had used up about seventy to eighty percent of his strength!


    Even a powerful warrior at the Soul Sea Realm couldn''t block his attack, yet, this little monster had managed to do it.


    It was as if Zen''s strike, weighing thousands of pounds, was thrown by a child; it did not move even one hair on the little monster.


    Suddenly there was a deafening explosion from a mountain near the West Dragon River.


    Boom!


    This mountain range, which was over ten thousand feet high, stood beside the West Dragon River. Together with a mountain on the other side of the river, these mountains formed a gorge called Hidden Dragon Gorge, which was also a relatively famous gorge within the Divine Kingdom Continent.


    The huge mountain suddenly erupted with a mighty force. Following the explosive sound, the entire mountain range began to crack and collapse from the center. Huge rocks rolled down towards the West Dragon River, and massive waves crashed in the surging river.


    The large mountain suddenly collapsed.


    "What''s going on? There is not a single soul on the West Dragon River, then how did that mountain suddenly collapse?"


    ine kingdoms all remained silent. No one jumped out to refute or challenge him. He immediately felt bored.


    What he really wanted was for these idiots to get enraged by his words and come to fight him. Then he would give them a brutal beating. He had planned to torture them both mentally and physically, but no one was taking the bait. The game had become a little boring now.


    The little monster turned to stare at Zen with a mad look in his black eyes. "I forgot that the battle between you and me hasn''t finished yet¡­"


    Hearing this, Zen suddenly distanced himself from the little monster.


    "Are you scared? It''s too late," the little monster said with a menacing smile on his face. "Your talent is indeed much higher than those pigs. So I suppose you must taste better than them!"


    With that he suddenly pounced on Zen, revealing his sharp teeth at the same time.


    Whoosh!


    Zen was crippled with fear.


    If this fellow could truly divert his full power, then Zen had no way of defeating him.


    With Zen''s current strength, he could indeed topple mountains and cut off the rivers with ease. But the great world was so vast. When Zen''s power poured into the little monster''s body, it would fully get transferred to the great world. And it was impossible for Zen to destroy the entire universe. Even the powerful masters at the Soul Sea Realm couldn''t achieve that, let alone Zen!


    Perhaps the person who took Yan away from the Ethereal Spirit Sect had the ability to achieve that.


    Therefore, Zen didn''t attack again. He acted on conditioned reflex and retreated swiftly, instantly distancing himself from the little monster.


    However, in the limited space in the enchanted barrier, how could Zen deflect the little monster''s attack?


    Suddenly Turner said, "Zen, our Harlen Divine Kingdom admits defeat!"

 Chapter 1120 The Will Of This World

    Ever since Zen had begun cultivating, he had never admitted defeat. He had never even thought of giving up despite being in dire straits.


    However, Turner, the emperor of the Harlen Divine Kingdom, could not hold it in.


    Turner was like Randy. Both were more loyal to friends, unlike the crown prince.


    This battle did not involve any huge interests. Victory or defeat was only a matter of fame. It was not like Turner would lose his throne if Zen lost the battle. If that was how it worked, then it was not Zen''s turn to represent the Harlen Divine Kingdom.


    Even if Zen lost, it wouldn''t be a big deal. He had already defeated Logan and Fiona, and had already earned the Harlen Divine Kingdom a lot of honor and pride.


    Besides the little monster, who else from the four divine kingdoms would dare to challenge Zen? Those princes and princesses? They might be slightly stronger than Logan, but they were probably not even a match for Fiona. There was no way they could challenge Zen.


    As for the little monster, he was a mystery to them. Even after so many years of studying, the masters at the Soul Sea Realm still hadn''t solved the mystery of his origins. Judging from the beastly nature, he was definitely not human.


    And their guess was probably right. The little monster was not human. He was just the embodiment of the will of this world, and was called the son of this plane. It was equivalent to being a spokesperson of this great world.


    After witnessing the battle for a while, Turner was sure that there was no better way for Zen to deal with the little monster. If this went on, the little monster would eat Zen''s head. And this was not what Turner wanted to see.


    Randy heaved a long sigh of relief after he heard what his father said. Zen''s performance had already surpassed his expectations, and his goal had been achieved. Now, he was naturally worried that the little monster would kill Zen. But since his father had stopped the battle, Zen should be safe.


    But War Emperor York and Marine wore expressions that did not bode well. Marine said coldly to Turner, "Your Majesty, I''m afraid this does not look good."


    Turner looked at the Holy Maiden and asked with a smile, "This is just a friendly competition before we activate the entrance to the Feather Holy Sea. After so many years, it has slowly become a competition to review the strength of the younger generation of our four divine kingdoms. Since it''s just a competition, it''s perfectly normal for players to admit defeat, right?"


    Marine was just a young girl. She was rather naive when compared to Turner. She was at a loss for words at his little speech.


    War Emperor York, however, sneered, "Turne


    his cultivation level had been suppressed at the late stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm. War Emperor York hadn''t expected his strength to have risen to this level. Just what the hell was the little monster?


    Even the other masters at the Soul Sea Realm felt uncomfortable. The little monster was too dangerous. Ever since the Nine Furnace Martial House had proposed to raise the little monster to the Soul Sea Realm, many people had objected, afraid that they would be raising a snake in their bosom. This guy was not human at all. If he grew up, it would become difficult to control him.


    Now that they had seen the little monster''s aura bursting out, many of the masters at the Soul Sea Realm became even more worried. Although they could cultivate themselves with the help of the little monster''s talent, what would happen if they couldn''t control the little monster?


    Boom!


    Zen felt a white light flashing in his mind and a multicolored will entering it.


    ''He intends to use the will of the world to kill me?'' Zen thought, shocked.


    He did indeed possess a soul close to the Jasper Fighting Soul Realm, but even so, it might not be able to resist the will of the world.


    Before Zen could react, the colorful will crashed into Zen''s soul ruthlessly.


    Under the impact, cracks suddenly appeared on Zen''s originally sturdy soul.


    ''What a strong willpower!'' Zen''s soul began to retreat.


    "Ha-ha! Zen, isn''t your soul very powerful? Similar to that of a warrior at the Soul Sea Realm? Even stronger than that of a mighty warrior at the Soul Sea Realm? But how can it counter my attack?" The colorful will turned towards Zen and laughed maniacally. Although this will was the will of the great world, it did not awaken in the end. The little monster was still controlling it.

 Chapter 1121 The Embracing Souls

    Zen did not speak. He knew that he had probably reached his most dangerous moment.


    Retreat?


    He couldn''t possibly have his soul leave his body and give up his shell, right?


    And since he couldn''t retreat, his only option was to fight head on.


    Another silent collision. This time, Zen unleashed the Spiritual Thorn. But the thorn that was formed from his own soul shattered instantly the moment it came in contact with the colorful will.


    The will of the world was not something that his current level of soul could resist. Perhaps even a soul at the Jasper Fighting Soul Realm would be unable to suppress the will of the world.


    A sense of despair rose in Zen''s heart, clawing at his insides.


    "Ha-ha! Despair, right? You are still too weak!" the little monster said in Zen''s mind.


    But at this moment, a roar echoed from the depths of Zen''s mind.


    ROAR!


    Zen realized that was the roar of the cyan dragon.


    "Cyan dragon..." Zen''s brow creased slightly.


    Another roar accompanied the first; the red dragon had also awoken, sending a spine-chilling roar at the same time. They couldn''t escape the mysterious furnace, but each of them roared and simultaneously launched an attack against the colorful will.


    At this, a deep sense of grief began to take over Zen''s heart.


    The souls of the cyan dragon and red dragon hadn''t been repaired a lot. Before this, they had only swallowed an Owl Beast. If their souls had been at their best, they would probably have had the qualifications to contend with the will of the world. But not when they were in this state.


    Roar! Roar!


    The two soul attacks swept towards the colorful will, and two more soundless collisions occurred.


    Immediately after, on the mysterious furnace, the colors of the cyan dragon''s and the red dragon''s bodies darkened quite a bit, and the will of the world only flickered once. It wasn''t long before an even more gorgeous luster burst out and the little monster''s voice sounded again, "Interesting! There''s actually a furnace in your body. And what''s wrong with these dragons? Aren''t dragons super legendary beasts? Why are they so weak? Tsk-tsk!"


    Before he had even finished speaking, the will of the world struck Zen yet again.


    After this collision, Zen retreated again. He could feel his soul trembling and the number of cracks on the surface of his soul increasing. It felt like it would break apart at any time. And thi


    m Zen''s mind.


    "You want to escape? Too late," the cyan dragon said with a sigh.


    Soon after, a ray of seven-colored light shot out from the mysterious furnace. As the ray of light gently swept across, it sucked the will of the world into it in a flash of light.


    Lavender''s soul had become very weak, but when she saw this, she gave Zen a broad smile. "After refining the will of the world, you can absorb it. If the absorption goes well, you will inherit the will of the world and become the son of the plane."


    As Lavender spoke, Zen''s cracked soul floated towards her. He hugged her tightly.


    Two broken souls embraced each other in Zen''s mind.


    Lavender was astonished at Zen''s embrace. Her fiery red eyes flashed. Then she pursed her lips and closed her eyes.


    The mysterious furnace was still spinning slowly. After all, it was the will of the world. Even if this furnace wanted to completely refine it, it wouldn''t be easy.


    On the square, everyone was staring blankly at the sky. Zen and the little monster were motionless, as if they were engaged in a soul battle.


    "Zen already displayed the strength of his soul. His soul is not weaker than that of a mighty warrior at the Soul Sea Realm. But the little monster is really confident. He actually dares to use his soul to suppress Zen."


    "But didn''t you see the aura the little monster was emitting just now? This guy isn''t human at all. I feel that he just represented the entire world. What kind of nonsense did the little monster train in?"


    Everyone looked at the sky fearfully as they quietly waited for the outcome of the battle.

 Chapter 1122 Soul Nurturing Wood

    Five minutes had passed, but Zen and the little monster hadn''t budged, standing still and motionlessly like statues.


    A soul level confrontation would normally take a split second to finish, rarely stretching for this long. The confusion pulsed in the air, increasing with every second.


    The mysterious furnace continued to spin. After a long time, the lid of the mysterious furnace opened once again. The stream of multicolored will left the furnace and floated quietly in Zen''s mind, emitting a pure and multicolored light.


    "The will of this great world seems to have become extremely pure," Zen said softly as he gazed at the brilliant luster that reflecting off the will.


    Previously, the little monster had controlled the will of the great world and had infused into it a trace of evil energy. Something of the little monster''s nature had somewhat influenced the will of the great world.


    The cyan dragon said, "His soul has already been refined and now, the will of this great world has no owner. You can devour this will, Zen."


    The cyan dragon was referring to the little monster. The soul of the little monster had been refined, which meant that the will of this great world had been purified.


    Lavender extracted her hands from Zen''s and smiled, fatigue tinging her eyes. She then turned to him and said, "Go, Zen!"


    Zen did not notice the tiredness on Lavender''s face as he nodded and slowly approached the pure will. Zen was some distance away when the pure will began to flee from Zen, as if evading capture.


    Although the will of the great world itself hadn''t awakened, this will was still able to perceive Zen''s actions. It wasn''t willing to be devoured by Zen.


    But no matter how far it fled, it was still circling in Zen''s mind. It couldn''t escape Zen''s mind if no one was controlling it. So it was technically impossible for it to escape from Zen''s hunt.


    Zen''s soul finally caught up to the will soon after. The moment he touched the will, his soul trembled and a storm of information swept through Zen.


    Zen was drowning in a massive illusion and saw a world in front of him.


    "Is this the projection of the entire great world?"


    Countless mountains and rivers, boundless oceans, and trillions of creatures appeared before Zen''s eyes.


    Human figures began to appear before Zen, one by one. The number of faces that popped up was astonishing. Among them were ordinary mortals, nature creatures, and even powerful warriors of the Internal Elixir Realm, Virtual Tribulation Realm, and Soul Sea Realm.


    "Are these all of the humans in this great world?"


    These figures


    would slowly nurture it," the cyan dragon said rather nonchalantly.


    Soul Nurturing Wood?


    Zen''s face hardened as he gritted his teeth. What even was the Soul Nurturing Wood? He had never heard of it and now he was supposed to find it! How?!


    "This is a treasure from the Upper World. It''s normal that you haven''t heard of it," Lavender said. She didn''t have much hope of finding the Soul Nurturing Wood in the Lower World and looked dispirited.


    The Upper World!


    Zen''s gaze flickered as he said, "I can enter the Genuine Dragon World to search for it!"


    After the Martial Arts Contest ended in Oracle City, the Dragon Soar Arena fell into the hands of the Ethereal Spirit Sect. When the Ethereal Spirit Sect had been destroyed, the Dragon Soar Arena was later occupied by the Heavenly Evil Sect before being taken away by the World Commercial Alliance. In the end, the Dragon Soar Arena had gone back to Oracle City.


    Zen didn''t think it a problem for him to ascend to the Upper World.


    "I''m afraid we won''t be able to wait that long. Look at her! She probably won''t last beyond one or two days," the cyan dragon said flatly.


    One or two days!


    Even if Zen gave up exploring the Feather Holy Sea, he still wouldn''t be able to return to the Central Region within that time.


    Moreover, if Zen gave up exploring the Feather Holy Sea now, he would have to wait for another year to obtain the life stones. But Letitia wouldn''t be able to hold on for that long.


    At this point, Zen couldn''t help but clench his jaw. He became even more anxious. What should he do?


    His eyes flashed and he finally noticed the large mass of memories in his mind. Would he be able to find the Soul Nurturing Wood through these memories?

 Chapter 1123 The Wrath Of War Emperor York

    Light filtered through Zen''s eyes and he blinked slightly. He had now merged himself with the will of this great world--so in a sense, the massive amount of memories belonged to him now. However, he couldn''t fully digest the numerous memories, and could only observe them.


    Searching through memories was an easy task for him. All he had to do was to think about what he wanted to find.


    He filtered through them and not long after, he had found the information about the Soul Nurturing Wood.


    "There really is one! It''s in the Divine Kingdom Continent!" Zen exclaimed. His heart hammered excitedly in his chest.


    Thanks to luck and his talent, he had quickly found a Soul Nurturing Wood.


    It turned out that the Holy Maiden from the York Divine Kingdom was a Holy Maiden of a secret sect. The secret sect could open a channel called the ''Reverse Spirit Channel, '' which was used by the secret sect in the Upper World to constantly send resources to them.


    It was known that the Upper World was extremely rich in resources. They were so rich that the things they considered as trash turned into precious treasures when they reached the Lower World.


    As Zen sifted through the memories, he noticed that the many treasures and materials that passed down the Reverse Spirit Channel had mostly been distributed to the four divine kingdoms!


    Moreover, three blocks of the Soul Nurturing Wood had been passed down through the Reverse Spirit Channel!


    Two of them had been used already. Two souls from two powerful warriors at the Soul Sea Realm had inhabited two blocks of Soul Nurturing Wood. After they had entered the Five Aging Processes, the two Soul Sea Realm masters'' lifespans would come to an end.


    Even such powerful warriors couldn''t resist the Five Aging Processes. In the end, they had no choice but to abandon their physical bodies and parasitize their souls in the Soul Nurturing Wood.


    Right now, there was still a piece of Soul Nurturing Wood left. However, it was in the hands of War King Wind of the Wind Divine Kingdom.


    The Soul Nurturing Wood had similar effect as the Immortal Mist''s crystal ball. Back then, the Immortal Mist had parasitized his soul in the crystal ball, so in that way, he was able to keep his soul alive. War King Wind had also lived for more than ten thousand years, so he might have kept the Soul Nurturing Wood for himself. If he would enter the Five Aging Processes one day, he would be able to parasitize his soul inside the Soul Nurturing Wood.


    A piece of Soul Nurturing Wood was enough for one soul to survive another thousand years.


    Soon enough, Zen withdrew himself from the memories with a determined look. He must obtain this Soul Nurturing Wood at all costs!


    At that point, Zen looked at Lavender again. Her face was ghostly pale and she looked drained. The dense cracks on the surface of her soul seemed to get bigger. I


    feel pity.


    Many of the divine-level talents felt good, but the faces of the masters at the Soul Sea Realm looked the opposite...


    These powerful warriors of the Soul Sea Realm still waited anxiously for the little monster to enter the Life and Death Realm. Once the little monster reached the Life and Death Realm, his talent would help those said powerful masters, and help them break through the Soul Sea Realm.


    Once a martial practitioner reached the Soul Sea Realm, that would probably be their only goal.


    However, Zen had killed the little monster already!


    Even Turner, who was quiet throughout the fight, looked mad.


    "Zen! You actually dared to kill this little monster''s soul. You''re courting death!" an angry voice shouted. War Emperor York trembled with rage. He had never been so angry at a young man in his life as the ruler of the York Divine Kingdom.


    Many of the divine-level talents'' faces suddenly changed when they saw War Emperor York''s furious expression. Even Turner and the other powerful warriors at the Soul Sea Realm watched him apprehensively. It seemed that War Emperor York wanted to challenge Zen!


    Turner mentally sighed. He regretted it when he didn''t tell Zen not to kill the little monster. Although the little monster was alive in some way, he was still no different from the dead.


    However, Turner and the other powerful warriors of the Soul Sea Realm were also very curious. How did Zen kill the soul of the little monster?


    They had studied the little monster for so many years, but had never been able to unravel the mystery about him. But, they knew that this little monster was basically an immortal being.


    Not only was the little monster''s body indestructible, his soul was also quite special. He emitted a strange light all the time. Even the soul of a Soul Sea Realm master at the Fighting Soul Realm couldn''t compare to his soul!


    Thus, how did Zen kill it?

 Chapter 1124 A Punch (Part One)

    Feeling lost, Turner stayed silent and didn''t dare to argue with War Emperor York. However, his son, Randy couldn''t help but step up and speak for Zen, "War Emperor York, damages and injuries can''t be avoided when warriors fight with each other in a battle. Why did you blame this on Thad?"


    Other warriors couldn''t help but be surprised by Randy''s statement. Even Zen was astonished too. The fact that Randy had the courage to step up and speak to War Emperor York was already a feat worthy of praise.


    "Shut up! How dare you scold me? Who do you think you are? If you dare to talk anymore, I''ll immediately kill you!" War Emperor York was infuriated and he immediately shouted at Randy. He was too mad to choose what words would escape his mouth.


    Although Randy was highly regarded by Turner, he was just a prince who got a title in the Harlen Divine Kingdom. He was not even the crown prince. And now his father Turner had remained silent, it was not Randy''s place to criticize War Emperor York. It seemed foolish to other powerful warriors what Randy did.


    However, when War Emperor York roared at Randy, Turner couldn''t bear it any longer. After all, Randy was his son. Turner said coldly, "Lucien, what do you mean by that? How could you say that to my son in front of me?"


    "What do I mean? You try to guess. Humph!" War Emperor York did not have the time to waste with Turner. All he wanted was to vent his anger on Zen. They were not worthy of his attention right now.


    However, at this time, Zen laughed wildly. "Haha, War Emperor York, you''re the ruler of a divine kingdom and the emperor of the many martial artists, but it surprised me that you don''t even know the rules! Hmm, why were you so mad if what I only did was defend myself? Just now, that little monster wanted to destroy my soul. If I don''t counterattack, do you expect me to sit by and wait for him to destroy my soul just like that? That''s absurd.


    If I haven''t fought back, I might be the one whose soul got destroyed. How was that? That is truly the case of courting death! And in the end, my death would only be something


    he ground, rolling their eyes and fainting on the spot. Zen''s attention diverted to them, but he didn''t ignore War Emperor York''s moves.


    "Hahaha! Yes, you''re right. Damages and injuries can''t be avoided when warriors fight with each other. However, an eye for an eye. I will not be put upon. You, Zen, killed my son, and then the little monster. I have to settle accounts with you in the end! I have had enough of your arrogance!" War Emperor York said coldly yet full of fiery anger.


    However, Zen was still calm. He didn''t refute War Emperor York''s claim about his identity. Whether he admitted it or not, War Emperor York didn''t believe that he was Thad. Thus, Zen asked straightforwardly, "How do you want to settle the accounts? Tell me..."


    War Emperor York took a deep breath. The little monster was a trump card of War Emperor York. It was also because of this trump card that the York Divine Kingdom took a great advantage in the competitions within the four divine kingdoms. Now that the little monster was gone, his kingdom would suffer greatly.


    Firstly, the little monster could practice with the princes and help them cultivate faster. Secondly, once the little monster reached the Life and Death Realm, sooner or later he could help the mighty warriors at the Soul Sea Realm. Everyone eagerly waited for the little monster to grow. But it went in vain all of a sudden because of Zen!

 Chapter 1125 A Punch (Part Two)

    It was precisely because of these reasons that the other three rulers of the divine kingdoms had given way to War Emperor York on many matters. Even when it came to the distribution of the resources coming down from the Reverse Spirit Channel, the York Divine Kingdom would usually obtain far more amount than the other three! That was how the little monster was so useful to the York Divine Kingdom and its people. Now that the little monster had become a simpleton, he had suffered great losses! It was too big loss that he couldn''t simply let Zen escape easily from his wrath.


    "How? Why are you even asking a question with an obvious answer? Of course, you have to pay with your life, you foolish man! Now I will give you a chance. If you can take a punch from me, then I''ll let you go! Hah, there''s no way a mere human kid like you can do that, so prepare to die," he said, feeling insane. A sinister smile appeared on the face of War Emperor York. Right now, he was not in the right mind to take about anything else other than killing Zen.


    "Aah!"


    Fiona, who was at the top of the stairs, suddenly covered her mouth with astonishment. This scene was too horrible to witness.


    Let Zen take a punch from an almighty warrior at the Soul Sea Realm? That could not happen. Wasn''t that equivalent to killing him? He would probably die at this rate. As Fiona thought of this, a trace of sadness reflected in her charming eyes. She admitted that she couldn''t help but get worried about Zen''s safety at the moment. She was aware of how powerful War Emperor York was.


    Randy closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, looking very miserable at the sight of the scene. Even a lord like him would not dare to take a punch from War Emperor York.


    If it was a master at the Life and Death Realm whom Zen had to face, he might have the chance to battle against him. With Zen''s powerful body, he might be able to withstand a punch from a Life and Death Realm master. But for some powerful warrior at the Soul Sea Realm like War Emperor


    vitality and threw a punch, the power would be unimaginable. If possible, a warrior would prefer to kill himself than take a punch from a Soul Sea Realm master.


    Even if War Emperor York used only 30% of his strength, Zen would still be killed, not to mention 80% of his strength. This was the thought that was shared by the powerful warriors at the Soul Sea Realm present. What they could feel right now was only pity for Zen, and not even the tiniest bit of expectation that he would survive.


    Zen''s gaze was as calm as water. He nodded his head. He was also uncertain about the outcome, but he did not have a better choice at the moment. However, the will of the great world and his own body, which was a sacred weapon had given Zen some confidence, which was why he agreed so readily. He was relying on them right now.


    A cold smile appeared on the face of War Emperor York, thinking that he could finally avenge his son''s death and his loss of the little monster now. He had really begun to accumulate his life vitality. But at this moment, another voice suddenly rang out from the stairs, "Wait!"


    Gasping their breaths, everyone was intently watching Zen''s impending death. However, as a voice interrupted, everyone''s attention was diverted to the origin of the voice. The one who spoke was actually the daughter of War King Wind, Fiona.

 Chapter 1126 Spitting Blood

    Fiona''s interruption made War Emperor York completely out of patience. His face darkened as he turned furiously to War King Wind and spat, "Discipline your daughter!"


    But even War King Wind was clueless at what his daughter wanted to do.


    Fiona''s figure lightly floated towards the enchanted barrier. She landed just at the edge and promptly stretched out her left arm. The bracelet on her arm vibrated before sliding off her.


    She lightly hooked her finger on the bracelet and held it out for Zen.


    "I will lend this to you," she told him.


    There was a collective gasp at Fiona''s actions. Even Zen himself was caught off-guard.


    The bracelet she was offering wasn''t just a mere trinket. It was a semi-divine weapon. How could she just lend it to Zen so casually?


    "This can greatly enhance your strength!" she said, urging Zen to accept her offer.


    A smile appeared on Zen''s face when he realized how serious the princess was. "Thank you for your good intentions, but I don''t think I''ll need it."


    Fiona blinked innocently at his words. "What? Why won''t you need it?"


    This display of tenderness made War Emperor York irate and impatient. "Little girl," he said to Fiona. "This enchanted barrier wasn''t made to withstand the power of my fist, so I suggest you stand far away from us, or you''ll only end up getting hurt."


    Hearing this, War King Wind couldn''t idly sit by in the stands. He immediately rushed towards the enchanted barrier and pulled his daughter away from the chaos that was about to ensue within the arena.


    War Emperor York was a Soul Sea Realm master, after all, and nobody knew if the enchanted barrier would hold up against his attacks. Those near the enchanted barrier were thrown into a mild panic.


    If the enchanted barrier failed, they were dead meat. In an instant, all divine-level talents quickly retreated from the square and put a distance of around ten thousand feet between them and the enchanted barrier.


    The Life and Death Realm warriors and Soul Sea Realm warriors, however, remained unbothered. Their strength was enough to withstand a punch from War Emperor York.


    War Emperor York turned to Zen. "You brought this upon yourself, you brat. You only have yourself to blame for angering the York Divine Kingdom. Go to hell!" His fist flashed with purple light as he hurled a punch towards Zen.


    In War Emperor York''s mind, Zen was already a dead man.


    All the warriors present thought the same thing. The power of a Soul Sea Realm master was no joke, and an


    ent to display the full, hundred-percent extent of his power. The little monster had previously been under his control and he benefited a lot from him. However, since it turned out that Zen had inherited the little monster''s ability, then the other Soul Sea Realm masters would be the ones to utilize it while War Emperor York would be left in the dust.


    He had to kill Zen right here, right now. War Emperor York did not care whether or not Zen inherited the little monster''s ability. All he thought about then was Zen''s quick death at his hands.


    "Lucien Liu! Stop that right now!" Turner shouted.


    "Lucien Liu, let''s investigate first. What if Thad Luo..." War King Wind followed.


    Unfortunately, War Emperor York''s attack was just too fast and his fist was already close to Zen''s face.


    Zen''s expression darkened. "Do you actually think that a hundred percent of your power can take me down? You are going back on your word. How shameless!" he grumbled, forcing all the dragon scales in his body to activate.


    With this activation of the dragon scales, Zen''s strength wasn''t that much weaker than War Emperor York''s.


    Moreover, he had the skill to transfer any attack dealt to him just like what he did earlier. Meanwhile, the force of Zen''s dragon scales and the eruption of his forceful energy and life vitality were to be taken all at once by War Emperor York.


    Zen''s actions took War Emperor York aback especially now that the power that emanated from the young man was so terrifying.


    When Zen''s fist landed on him, it felt like taking on the force of an entire mountain. The punch sent War Emperor York flying and he spat out a lot of blood once he landed.

 Chapter 1127 Conformity And Defiance Of Heavens

    The other emperors had originally intended to stop War Emperor York, but none of them expected Zen''s counterattack could actually send him flying while bleeding out of his mouth.


    In the previous battle, Zen had relied solely on his own strength to wreck Logan''s space armor. It was known to everyone that Zen had the strength that was more powerful than that of ordinary martial artists. However, they didn''t have it in prospect that his abilities could stretch out even further. His strength was impeccable.


    Silence had reigned at the scene once again. How enormous was the difference between a warrior at the Virtual Tribulation Realm and a powerful master at the Soul Sea Realm? It was beyond imagination. A warrior at the Virtual Tribulation Realm had managed to scathe a powerful master at the Soul Sea Realm. It was quite hard to grasp.


    Even the old freaks who had lived for tens of thousands of years had never heard of such a thing.


    The higher one''s cultivation was, the deeper insight one had regarding laws and strength, but it had made it more difficult for the cultivator to challenge warriors at higher levels.


    For a nature creature to challenge a warrior at the Illuminating Soul Realm, it wasn''t such a difficult task for many divine-level talents. If a warrior at the Virtual Tribulation Realm challenged a master at the Life and Death Realm, it was believed to be difficult. But for a master at the Life and Death Realm to challenge a mighty warrior at the Soul Sea Realm, it was something impossible.


    However, the mighty warriors at the Soul Sea Realm present at the scene knew War Emperor York''s strength all too well. He had been too careless and even underestimated his opponent''s abilities. Because Zen was only at the middle stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm, he didn''t bother activating his life vitality to protect himself, nor had he employed the power of his domain.


    If War Emperor York had opened up his domain and used it to his advantage, then Zen couldn''t have been able to fight back. That was his biggest mistake.


    It was pride most likely. A mighty warrior at the Soul Sea Realm who activated his domain just to deal with a warrior at the Virtual Tribulation Realm? If such a thing spread out, his reputation could be stained. It was to be considered ludicrous, a sign of weakness!


    To add, War Emperor York was sent flying several hundred feet away. His eyes glinted with a strong intent to murder. If that gaze of his could kill, then Zen could''ve already died a thousand times.


    The punch that Zen launched towards him was so strong that he started to bleed. Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with one hand, he felt humiliated. It was witnessed by so many people, including the divine-level talents and princes of the York Divine Kingdom.


    "Although you''re only at the Virtual Tribulation Realm, the strength that you have is enough to become my opponent," War Emperor York coldly said, the previous murderous expression on his face now replaced with a strong sense of fighting spirit.


    As he reached the Soul Sea Realm, his warrior spirit had been thoroughly baptized through numerous battles. He knew the ropes of that life, as it wa


    gan to give off a powerful aura.


    Both Turner and Lucien were on the same level in regard to cultivation. They were all at the peak of the Soul Sea Realm. Due to their confinement to the Lower World, there was no way for them to cross that level. But in terms of power, Turner had lived for more than ten thousand years and was more than five thousand years older than Lucien.


    As long as Turner hadn''t yet entered the Five Aging Processes, Lucien couldn''t just easily defeat him.


    "Is this for real? The powerful warriors at the Soul Sea Realm are going to fight?"


    "From the very moment I was born, I have never seen a battle between two mighty warriors of the Soul Sea Realm. Wouldn''t the heavens and the earth be destroyed if all their powers are released for battle?"


    "Idiot! If the Harlen Divine Kingdom really does fight against the York Divine Kingdom then it can provoke a war of the divine kingdoms. Everyone will suffer! Maybe one day you''ll become nothing but cannon fodder!"


    Seeing such a scene, many of the warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm wondered if the two powerful warriors of the Soul Sea Realm would really begin to fight. Were they to run away to avoid getting hurt?


    Turner''s response got rid of War Emperor York''s aggression and arrogance altogether.


    It was known that Turner was indeed a good-natured man. He didn''t use his own strength to suppress others. However, in terms of strength, he was probably the strongest one among the four rulers present. His abilities were no less than those of the retired Soul Sea Realm masters who lived in seclusion.


    With the knowledge of Turner''s powerful strength and his firm stand on the matter, Lucien didn''t intend on making a move anymore.


    Coldly glancing at Lucien, Turner announced, "In that case, the warrior from our Harlen Divine Kingdom has won this battle!"


    Lucien glared at Zen. He was extremely displeased about the outcome of their duel. He snorted coldly and walked up to the stairs.


    Both War King Wind and Scott also took one last glance at Zen. War King Wind even gave him a kind smile as he returned to the stairs as well.

 Chapter 1128 A Difficult Question To Answer

    Zen was stunned when he saw the gentle smile on War King Wind''s face. What did his smile mean? Why was a dignified war king acting so polite to him? He was a nobody.


    Though curious, Zen felt grateful. Turner had protected him time and time again. He bowed to Turner and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."


    Turner shook his head and said "There''s no need for you to thank me. In fact, I should be the one thanking you. On behalf of the people of the Harlen Divine Kingdom, thank you!"


    Zen fought in the battle representing Lord Randy and the Harlen Divine Kingdom.


    The battle between him and the little monster had ended and Zen had been victorious. From now on no one would ever dare to challenge him again.


    Zen was able to neutralize a full-powered strike from a Soul Sea Realm master, which was an extremely powerful move. So now none of the warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm would dare to fight him. If any of them did, they would suffer great humiliation.


    Besides, this battle had been an evaluation of the warriors without involving any interest from any of the parties.


    Lord Randy suddenly asked with a smile, "Father, since Zen won the battle, what reward will you offer him?"


    "A reward? But of course! How could I forget?!" Turner turned to Zen and asked, "I hear you have an urgent need for life stones, am I right? We have a few left in our treasure house. Those..."


    Zen interrupted Turner refusing his offer, "Thank you, Your Majesty, but I don''t need the life stones now."


    Zen didn''t know exactly how many life stones were in the Harlen Divine Kingdom. He had been told that most of the life stones would be used up instantly after they were discovered and because their stock wasn''t large, a dozen life stones wouldn''t be enough to save Letitia''s life.


    Zen decided to go looking for more life stones on his own in the Feather Holy Sea.


    He was now mostly concerned about Lavender, who had fallen into a deep sleep. Her weak soul was now like a candle in the wind. It could be extinguished at any time so he had to work fast.


    He needed to find a piece of Soul Nurturing Wood in order to save her.


    "Are you sure, my friend?" Turner was surprised. He knew Zen had been eagerly inquiring about the life stones but now he was rejecting his offer without a second thought. He couldn''t figure out why. "Since you don''t want the life stones, what can I offer you instead?"


    Zen cupped his hands and begged eagerly, "Your Majesty, I would like a piece of Soul Nurturing Wood."


    "Soul Nurturing Wood?" Turner raised his eyebrows and stared at Zen with a curious look. The Soul Nurturing Wood served as a container for souls. Under normal circumstances it was useless. Why would Zen want it so eagerly?


    Turner didn''t have any Soul Nurturing Wood but that didn''t deviate his curiosity.


    He sighed


    uld help him to cover up his lie.


    "What''s the matter? Is it such a hard question to answer?" War King Wind asked with a smile.


    Zen gritted his teeth. He tried to think about something to offer War King Wind to trade for the Soul Nurturing Wood. Anything would be better than revealing his secret.


    To his surprise, Fiona suddenly broke the silence and said, "Father, it was me who told him about it."


    "What?" War King Wind couldn''t believe her words and looked at her with an astonished look. "You told him? When did you do that?"


    "Just a few moments ago when Zen asked his king about the Soul Nurturing Wood, I used my life vitality and whispered it into his mind," Fiona said with a graceful and calm smile on her face.


    "Is that so?" War King Wind asked as he stared closely at Zen.


    This was unexpected but since she offered to help him he wouldn''t be so stupid and deny it. He immediately nodded and said, "Yes, your daughter told me that you had a piece of Soul Nurturing Wood."


    Even though this excuse was far-fetched, it could work if both of them confirmed it.


    However, War King Wind didn''t believe Fiona''s words at all. He knew his daughter very well and, with just a glance, he could tell that she was lying. He was only curious about Zen''s secret, and since his daughter had stepped in, he would not make things more difficult for Zen.


    He passed the Soul Nurturing Wood to his daughter. Fiona walked towards Zen and handed the Soul Nurturing Wood to him.


    "Thank you!" Zen said with gratitude as he took the Soul Nurturing Wood and his hands trembled with excitement. Now he could help save Lavender''s soul.


    Fiona blinked and gave Zen a soft smile before she turned around and returned to her father.


    War King Wind had witnessed all his daughter''s acts and expressions. He raised his head to look at the sky. No one knew what was going on in his mind.

 Chapter 1129 The Light Column

    After Zen obtained the Soul Nurturing Wood, he quickly returned to the plaza. Even though he tried his best to keep calm, he still could not suppress the excitement on his face.


    The numerous Soul Sea Realm masters who saw this were certain that Zen wanted to use the Soul Nurturing Wood to rescue someone''s life, but they just had no idea who it was.


    As for War Emperor York and Marine, they looked highly displeased. They truly didn''t expect that the little monster they had sent out would fail to kill Zen. Aside from that, they were also fuming because Zen had been granted with incredible gifts. How could they cope with such a failure?


    Although the cyan dragon confirmed that Lavender''s soul could survive for a day or two, it was nothing but a probability and an estimate. That happening had the exact same chance as her soul immediately collapsing after a couple of hours!


    Zen hurriedly asked the cyan dragon, "How do you use this Soul Nurturing Wood?"


    But the moment he asked that, the shrill voice rang out again, and it said, "The fight is over. Now we will begin the sacrificial ceremony! Open the Feather Holy Sea!"


    The moment they heard the voice, all of the divine-level talents turned their gazes towards the platform. The matches that had happened beforehand were only a way to test the strength of the warriors. What was really important was the exploration of the Feather Holy Sea!


    Zen was not in the mood to pay attention to the sacrificial ceremony that was going to happen. For him, there was only one thing he needed to do before anything else¡ªplacing Lavender in the Soul Nurturing Wood.


    If Lavender''s soul had not fallen into a deep sleep, she could have entered the Soul Nurturing Wood all by herself. But because it was unconscious, the cyan dragon told Zen that he had to move her soul into the Soul Nurturing Wood instead.


    Zen looked around and found a relatively quiet corner in the wide plaza. He sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes before immersing himself in his thoughts.


    Inside his mind, he saw Lavender''s soul still lying quietly, cracks appearing on its surface.


    Zen flew over and hugged her, dragging her out from his mind.


    Before he did, however, he turned around to look at the mysterious furnace. The light shining from the cyan dragon and the red dragon on top of it had also dimmed down by quite a bit.


    Zen had paid a heavy price for his battle with the little monster, but the rewards he had reaped were great. First of all, after fusing with the world''s will, Zen''s soul had risen to a new level. More importantly, he could connect his body to the whole world.


    With that, the attacks he would suffer could be offloaded to the great world!


    Aside from that, there was still a tremendous amount of information that Zen had to fully explore.


    Hiss...


    According to the method taught to him by the cyan dragon, Zen placed the segment of the Soul Nurturing Wood between


    been thought of by the four divine kingdoms members. Presumably, they had also received help from the humans of the Upper World.


    After five minutes, the Feather Holy Sea slowly calmed down and the light column also began to dim.


    The surface of the Feather Holy Sea was still suffused with the faint golden light. However, compared to before, the color of the golden light was much, much lighter.


    After the light column disappeared, a person was standing there. That person wore a steel gray robe, and both of his eyebrows were snow-white. He did not seem angry, but had a solemn aura. He was a Taoist priest with white eyebrows.


    "Alright! The sacrificial ceremony is over. Everyone can get the dragon blood and enter the Feather Holy Sea!"


    The Taoist priest exclaimed. He was the person behind the shrill voice!


    As Zen looked at the Taoist priest, he seemed to notice him. After he casually glanced at Zen, he ordered the Soul Sea Realm masters of the four great divine kingdoms to give out the dragon blood.


    ''I can''t figure out how strong he is, '' Zen thought. Suddenly, his heart began to race.


    Even a Soul Sea Realm master would find it difficult not to let Zen figure out his cultivation level. This time, however, Zen was completely stumped as to what the Taoist priest''s cultivation level was!


    There was only one possibility. The Taoist priest was definitely not just at the Soul Sea Realm!


    "Aren''t only the Soul Sea Realm masters and those below this level allowed to exist in the Lower World?" Zen asked the cyan dragon in confusion.


    Theoretically, even the Soul Sea Realm masters couldn''t be tolerated by the great world. When Life and Death Realm warriors appeared in the world, the heavens would punish them with the life and death crisis¡ªsomething that could also be called as the small Heavenly Tribulation.


    Right after a warrior had reached the Soul Sea Realm, the heavens would bring down the large Heavenly Tribulation.

 Chapter 1130 The Blood Sacrifice

    Although it was very easy for a warrior to die from a Heavenly Tribulation, many warriors managed to overcome it and had even cultivated further, effectively making themselves stronger.


    If even the Heavenly Tribulation was unable to kill a powerful warrior, the world itself would make a way to make sure that the said warrior would be exiled from the world.


    Of course, this was what was called "going to the Upper World."


    However, it was a pity that there was a problem with this world''s path to the Upper World. Even if the world wanted to kick a mighty warrior out of its premises, it wouldn''t be able to.


    The cyan dragon replied lightly, "Yes. With the resources in the Lower World, a warrior more powerful than Soul Sea Realm masters would not be able to appear in the Lower World."


    "But that person''s strength surpasses that of Soul Sea Realm warriors," Zen started, slightly hesitating. "How is it possible that he''s here?"


    "Well, Zen, the answer to that is very simple. He is not a person from this world. I am sure that he came from the Upper World," the cyan dragon explained.


    "I see! That explains everything!" Zen said, his face lightening up, his heart even skipping a beat. Without wasting any time, he started searching the memory of the world''s will for the origin of this white-browed Taoist priest.


    "What?" he suddenly exclaimed, his face contorted due to surprise and frustration. "There''s no information on this guy!" It was only then did he discover that the existence of this powerful priest was nowhere to be found in the memory of the world''s will.


    "That''s very normal," the cyan dragon said, his voice soothing to calm Zen down. "While the world''s will you got is in a state wherein you can know everything about the world, this priest came to this world through the Reverse Spirit Channel. He is not a life form that was born in this world. Because of that, I am sure that he paid a considerable price to come to this world," he concluded, trying to make Zen understand.


    With that, Zen was successfully enlightened on the nature of the powerful being. However, something still wasn''t sitting right with him. "But I was able to find the Soul Nurturing Wood. Tell me, why couldn''t I find any information on this priest?"


    "Well, the Soul Nurturing Wood is a dead item. If you don''t believe me, you can check the Dark Nether Cave, Immortal Mist''s celestial tomb, and the fairy palace in the Eastern Region. It''s impossible to find the information on living things that don''t belong to this world."


    As he was still unconvinced, Zen did what the cyan dragon said. As he researched through the memory of the world''s will, he was able to find out that the things presented to him by the cyan dragon were very correct. He was unable to search the Dark Nether Cave, the Tower of Sin, and the fairy palace in his memory, but he was able to find the celestial tomb.


    Even without the cyan dragon''s explanation, Zen could already guess the reason why he couldn''t search these places. Even though Immortal Mist was also a warrior from the Upper World, he was born in this world and so Zen was able to find his existence in the memory of the world


    ey were wrong.


    They really didn''t imagine that Zen would be that strong. Not only did he crush the strongest talents of the divine kingdoms, he also injured a Soul Sea Realm master¡ªWar Emperor York, who was even an elite among the Soul Sea Realm masters.


    If they hadn''t personally witnessed this scene, they wouldn''t have dared to believe it.


    With that, the gazes that Camilla and the others shot at Zen had completely changed. Especially Camilla¡ªthe only thing in her eyes at that very moment was a fervent worship!


    Being able to form a team with Zen was an extremely fortunate thing. With him in tow, they sure would likely reap a great harvest from this trip.


    Zen nodded his head. "Alright. When should we set off?"


    "We can set off now," Randy said with a smile. "According to the rules, once you win against the warriors from the other three divine kingdoms, the warriors from the winning divine kingdom would be the first ones to enter the Feather Holy Sea. However, that is of no importance to us..."


    As they were talking, Bram, the crown prince of Harlen Divine Kingdom, had already led several people flying high into the sky. They followed the West Dragon River upstream, entering the Feather Holy Sea.


    "If that''s the case, then let''s go!" Zen said enthusiastically. The reason why he had joined the Jade Martial House and fought on behalf of Harlen Divine Kingdom was to enter the Feather Holy Sea. Finally, he would be able to step into it.


    Soon enough, Zen, Randy, Camilla, and the others were flying into the sky, heading straight for the Feather Holy Sea.


    Waves surged towards the shore of the Feather Holy Sea and the faint golden light still contained the power of blood sacrifice. The moment Zen entered the sea, he felt an omnipresent power wrap around him.


    ''Is this the power of blood sacrifice?'' Zen thought as his eyes flashed.


    Under the influence of the force of blood sacrifice, Zen''s flying speed had greatly slowed. The speed of Randy and Camilla had slowed down even more than his.


    As they continued forward, they felt an invisible hand pulling them into the sea.

 Chapter 1131 The Slow Arrows

    The scattered warriors all continued to head towards the Feather Holy Sea.


    The Feather Holy Sea was like a huge mine for them. After a sacrificial ceremony, the blood sacrifice power would get pushed to a lower level, but this would only last for around five days.


    After that, the blood sacrifice power would gush out from the depths of the Feather Holy Sea and cover the sea once again. Then even the Soul Sea Realm masters would find it difficult to take a single step forward.


    As the group slowed down, Zen, who was also following Randy, slowed down, and started descending slowly.


    However, several figures were shooting at them from the shore. The person in the lead was surrounded by lightning.


    Randy glanced back at the figure and said, "That is the crown prince of the York Divine Kingdom, Fredric Liu."


    In the previous match, Fredric Liu did not fight with anyone.


    The royal family wouldn''t usually participate in this sort of a battle, but since Fiona had already joined the fight, many princes of the divine kingdoms wanted to challenge and fight Zen.


    However, after Zen had fought with the little monster, War Emperor York had personally fought with Zen, but he had vomited blood after being punched by Zen. Seeing this, the crown princes of the divine kingdoms had all given up on this idea.


    If Zen was able to harm a Soul Sea Realm master, surely he must be very powerful and remarkable.


    However, this did not mean that they accepted defeat. After so many years, countless brilliant talents had appeared in the four great divine kingdoms. Zen''s strength might have surpassed them right now, but that did not mean they could not become more powerful than Zen in the future.


    Moreover, the crown princes of the divine kingdoms were armed with semi-divine as well as divine weapons. They still looked down upon Zen.


    "Whoosh, whoosh..."


    Fredric Liu, the crown prince of the York Divine Kingdom had led six warriors and advanced rapidly. Although Zen and Randy set off first, they did not pursue speed. So after a while, Fredric Liu overtook them.


    Fredric Liu glanced at Zen as he passed him by. He didn''t pause even for a moment and continued flying forward.


    "Fredric''s hidden talent is also extremely powerful. I have not seen him fight for seven or eight years. According to my estimate his strength is not inferior to Fiona''s," Randy warned Zen.


    But Randy was confident that Zen could defeat Fredric Liu. After all, even the little monster was no match for Zen. Furthermore, he had withstood every single punch of War Emperor York. No matter how terrifying Fredric Liu''s talent was, it would be difficult for him to fight Zen.


    Zen acknowledged this with a sli


    Just as she was about to fall, Zen arrived and reached out to support her.


    "Thank you!" Camilla smiled sweetly. Zen glanced at her indifferently and nodded slightly.


    It was extremely difficult for a Virtual Tribulation Realm warrior to fly on this island. Randy''s life vitality flashed gently in his hand and suddenly shot towards the paper boat. It spun for a moment, then quickly shrunk to become pocket-sized and flew back into Randy''s hand.


    He looked at the forest on the island trying to orient himself. Then he commanded, "Let''s go!"


    At the same time, many warriors entered the forest.


    Once entering the forest, Randy became extremely cautious. As he moved, he started to count in a low voice.


    "Sweet little Randy, what are you counting?" Camilla asked with a puzzled expression.


    Randy concentrated on counting, "Three hundred and thirty-six, three hundred and thirty-seven..."


    Except for Randy, it was the first time that Zen, Renzo, Camilla, and Barry had explored the Feather Holy Sea. They were all perplexed by Randy''s behavior.


    "Three hundred and ninety...


    Four hundred!"


    He suddenly stopped and said to Camilla, "We have entered the Slow Arrow Area."


    "Slow Arrow Area?" Camilla was thoroughly confused now.


    Randy nodded as he replied, "Yes. That is an extremely slow arrow. Everyone, be careful."


    Everyone was still baffled as to what exactly this Slow Arrow Area was.


    However, the moment Randy took the lead, a series of sounds erupted. A row of numerous arrows appeared in front of them!


    Every single arrow was flashing with a blue light. It was possible that they were highly toxic!


    Toxic arrows were very common, but the weird thing about these was that their speed was very slow. They were slower than the walking speed of an ordinary person!

 Chapter 1132 Dragon Arsenic

    An arrow was usually a symbol of speed. They were projectile weapons designed to be as fast as lightning, but the arrows coming towards them were the exact opposite.


    "These arrows seem to be bound by the Time Law. That''s why they''re so slow!" Camilla observed.


    Renzo couldn''t help but laugh when he saw the oncoming arrows. "They''re even slower than half of my walking speed. How could they ever hit anyone?"


    But Randy was quick to dismiss his humor. "Don''t underestimate these arrows. They contain Dragon Arsenic. It''s a type of poison that can kill even a Soul Sea Realm warrior. Many Life and Death Realm warriors have died because of these arrows."


    Renzo scoffed, not really believing what Randy had said. "The poison on these arrows may be powerful, but you can''t expect me to believe that a Life and Death Realm warrior has died because of the arrows.


    They''re so slow that even an old man could easily dodge them. How can they ever kill a Life and Death Realm warrior?"


    Randy shook his head at Renzo''s dismissal. "These arrows are all defensive measures left behind by the Dragon Lineage Human. I''m just telling you this because it''s better to be safe than sorry. You''ll see soon enough why we should be on guard."


    The seriousness in Randy''s voice clearly emphasized the danger of these arrows. Renzo was still skeptical but chose to remain cautious. It was indeed better to be safe than sorry.


    The five of them continued on towards the forest with Randy taking the lead.


    There weren''t a lot of arrows at first, so they could easily ignore them while they went on their way.


    The arrows came from the front and everyone just needed to carefully dodge them. It wasn''t hard considering that the arrows were incredibly slow.


    However, they soon realized the truth in Randy''s words when he told them they had to be careful. It wasn''t the speed they should''ve been concerned with, but the rapid increase in volume of the arrows the further they ventured inside the forest.


    In the beginning, three to five arrows flew towards them, which were easily avoidable.


    However, that number quickly bumped up to twenty, and the arrows now came from all directions. Sometimes the arrows would line up in a row and completely seal off a path ahead, which meant everyone would have to fly over or crawl their way through the obstacle.


    It wasn''t extremely back-breaking, but the suppression from the blood sacrifice did make it quite difficult for them to fly. It was good that they were skilled Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors and could still ke


    that one would not forget easily.


    The group could only look in horror as the warrior''s body hissed and fizzled until nothing was left of him.


    Randy had warned them that the Dragon Arsenic was an extremely potent poison, but none of them could''ve ever prepared themselves for such a scene. Even Camilla''s face was noticeably paler.


    There was apparent fear in their eyes once they realized the gravity of their situation. Their group had witnessed firsthand just how deadly these arrows could be, but they knew they had to push on. All of them had already been aware of the possibility of death the moment they chose to explore the Feather Holy Sea. They just needed to be more careful if they wanted to survive.


    "Let''s go," Zen said, before turning to Randy. "I''ll walk in front this time."


    According to convention, Randy should be the one to lead the group, but since it was Zen, he had no problems with the arrangement. The young man had time and again proven himself to be a trustworthy partner.


    With Zen in front, the group avoided the wall of arrows fearlessly. However, just as they were about to leave, a few figures suddenly appeared in front of them.


    "Fredric!" Randy frowned slightly at the arrival of the team led by the crown prince of York Divine Kingdom. They shouldn''t be here. According to his estimates, Fredric''s group should''ve already passed through the Slow Arrow Area since they were at the very front. Did they come back?


    "There''s no way out!" Fredric declared coldly once he saw them.


    "What? What do you mean?" Randy had come to this island before and knew that this was definitely the right path.


    "See for yourself!" Fredric pointed to the back helplessly.

 Chapter 1133 The Magnetic Stone

    Behind Fredric, arrows covered the sky and earth, coming straight for all.


    A sort of blue light shown on each of the arrows¡ªunder the night sky, the scene was beautiful, like thousands of stars shooting across the sky. But everyone was well aware that this beauty stemmed from the most lethal poison.


    "What? How do we get past this?" Renzo''s voice trembled.


    Before this moment, they had only seen hundreds of sharp arrows lined up on one side¡ªit wasn''t too difficult to get through the wall of arrows.


    But now, there seemed to be hundreds of thousands of arrows before them. If the previous wall of arrows was an ordinary wall, this one in front of them was like the wall of a grand city.


    Randy''s eyes flashed in urgency as he called out, "Let''s go around the arrows!"


    "It''s no use." Fredric shook his head before pointing to a beautiful lady beside him. "We''ve tried it. We''ve explored the width of this arrow wall and it seems to cover the entire Slow Arrow Area!"


    As they carefully discussed countermeasures, they began retreating as far as they could.


    As everyone moved back, more and more warriors began to gather, including the crown prince of the Star Field Divine Kingdom, Bram, Gregory, and the others. All of them joined in the retreat.


    "How strange! I''ve never seen so many arrows anytime I passed through the Slow Arrow Area before."


    "Is there something bad happening this year?"


    "For now, let''s focus on avoiding this wave of arrows. We can move on after this disappears!"


    With more and more warriors gathered, the entire crowd began calling out.


    At this moment, Camilla suggested, "Let''s head into the sea and disembark from the other side. Would that be a good idea?"


    The minute she finished speaking, everyone looked at her as if she were an idiot, leaving her rather embarrassed as her face flushed red. Randy then broke the silence. "I forgot to tell you all. This is the only path to the Feather Emperor Secret Land. There is no other path for us to take," he explained.


    As a result, dozens of teams and hundreds of divine-level talents were forced to retreat completely. After everyone left the Slow Arrow Area, the arrows began to dissipate one after another.


    "Again!" Gritting his teeth, Fredric continued to lead his team forward with gusto.


    Warriors who entered the Feather Holy Sea were supposed to be the most powerful, heroic, young elites of the divine kingdoms. How could they have been defeated by such a minor setback?


    Once again, everyone followed Fredric and stepped into the Slow Arrow Area.


    With a frown, Randy sai


    r taunting. It was clear that they didn''t buy Callan''s words.


    At this moment, Callan lightly tapped on a ring hanging from his chest. Following a flash of light, a huge boulder suddenly appeared before him.


    A dark green luster covered the surface of the stone, but it was mixed. Warriors could only sense the power of the Earth Law Power in ordinary stones, but certain special stones contained other Law Power, such as Thunder Energy Stone, containing the Thunder Law Power. Several different kinds of Law Power could be felt from the stone Callan just summoned.


    To be exact, there were five kinds of Law Power in the stone¡ªthe power of Metal Law, Wood Law, Water Law, Fire Law, and Earth Law.


    This kind of stone was not new to Zen. Before the Martial Arts Contest even began, when Zen had taken the pre-qualifying test, the World Commercial Alliance had used the exact same kind of stone¡ªthe magnetic stone.


    It was said that this stone had been excavated from the Magnetic Sacred Mountain at the bottom of the Chaotic Ocean of Stars. Although there was only a small piece of it in the World Commercial Alliance, Callan had taken out such a large piece of it.


    Seeing the magnetic stone, everyone was rendered speechless.


    Its origin was recognized by all¡ªthe problem was that the magnetic stone itself was extremely difficult to extract. Even a Soul Sea Realm master would have to expend a great deal of energy to extract one from the Magnetic Sacred Mountain.


    In the end, it was useless. Although it had gathered within it the power of the five elements, this power was extremely complex. Warriors couldn''t comprehend any Law Power from the stone. The stone itself couldn''t be used to refine pills or weapons.

 Chapter 1134 Pushing The Magnetic Stone

    At this moment, everyone was convinced that Callan did have something to help them pass through the area. The magnetic stone was virtually useless, save for its incredible toughness. Even a mighty Soul Sea Realm warrior wouldn''t be able to break it.


    The princes were all taken aback by this discovery. Why in the world would Callan carry such a useless and heavy object with him?


    Callan sneered at their speechless faces, "Do you believe me now?"


    His sister also had a smile on her kind face. "Follow us if you want to pass through the Slow Arrow Area," Fiona said.


    Fredric smiled helplessly, "Fine, you win. You already amazed me by carrying such a heavy thing with you."


    Callan nodded happily at his words. Using his life vitality, Callan took a deep breath and lifted the magnetic stone. It was as tall as two people combined and it was so heavy that even Callan''s sturdy body felt strained carrying it.


    Fiona noticed how red her brother''s face had gone so she reached out with a hand and let out a turbulent force from her jade bracelet. The little help was all Callan needed to ease the strain and continue on with carrying the magnetic stone.


    With the siblings'' combined efforts, they were able to carry the magnetic stone and lead the way.


    The other warriors closely followed behind with Fiona and Callan at the helm. This could be their only chance to enter the Feather Emperor Secret Land and they were not going to let this opportunity pass.


    Randy nudged Zen''s side with a smile, "Come on! Let''s also follow!"


    Zen rolled his eyes but humored the lord with a nod.


    A long line formed behind the magnetic stone which acted as a shield against the densely packed wall of arrows that were now on their way to them.


    The magnetic stone was impenetrable and impossibly hard but there were still a few whose stomachs lurched at the sight of the approaching arrow wall. If the magnetic stone wasn''t able to block the arrows, then they would be in trouble¡­


    "Clank!"


    They couldn''t really see what was happening beyond their magnetic stone shield but they could hear the clear clinking sound of the first arrow bouncing off it.


    More and more sounds rang out.


    "Clank! Clank! Clank! Clank! Clank!"


    It went on for a while until Callan''s and Fiona''s faces turned scarlet from all the effort of carrying the stone. It was apparent that they wouldn''t be able to hold out for much longer.


    "These arrows are powerful! Help!" Callan shouted.


    The arrows were not flying at their original speed. They were slowed down but only because of the Time Law.


    However, the arrows were still at full strength upon hitting the magnetic stone. Even Fiona was finding it difficult to withstand the onslaught despite she had utilized the power of the semi-divine weapon, a jade bracelet o


    ackluster attempt. There was nothing they could do but merely follow behind those warriors who were stronger than them.


    ''This guy''s strength is amazing. No wonder he could injure a Soul Sea Realm warrior, '' they all thought.


    At the moment, however, Zen could care less about what they thought. There was a crisis to be addressed and he continuously pushed the stone forward, keeping their party safe from the arrows.


    "Coming! They are coming!"


    someone screamed out. The arrows were quickly closing in on them and they had to move fast.


    "Hurry up!"


    "There are so many people! We can''t move forward!"


    Despite Zen''s display of monstrous strength, he was only one man and his efforts were still not enough.


    The warriors could not allow themselves to die there. Many of them constantly dodged the arrows through various leaps, rolls, and somersaults. In such a critical moment, no one had time to care about their manners. Everyone moved wildly in their desperation to survive.


    However, the arrows were relentless and there were still those who got hit.


    "Ahh¡­"


    The miserable screams began to ring throughout the vicinity as the arrows embedded themselves into the warriors'' bodies, rotting their flesh rapidly.


    "We''re almost there! Hold on!" Fiona''s face was flushed red and she was sweating. It was so much for her first time joining the Feather Holy Sea exploration. At first, she had been so happy when her father finally let her join. His overprotective nature had always gotten in the way of her pursuit of adventure.


    But now, after seeing the scene in front of her, she understood why her father had been so adamant with keeping her out of the exploration. The Feather Holy Sea was indeed filled with dangers.


    Just as she had shouted these words, four arrows came flying towards her from both sides. There was almost no room to dodge.

 Chapter 1135 Saving Fiona

    The arrows were fast, sharp and extremely dangerous considering that both stick and head contained the deadly Dragon Arsenic. One hit was all it would take to kill an ordinary martial artist.


    It was lucky that this group of warriors consisted of divine-level talents who knew how to dodge and possessed varied, unique skills to keep themselves alive. Despite having been surrounded by arrows on all sides, only a few perished under the attack.


    However, Fiona had not been so lucky given that she had been forced into a corner with nowhere left to run.


    Fiona was the princess of the Wind Divine Kingdom and her status was even higher than that of any ordinary crown prince. Any warrior would normally be happy to come to her aid since rescuing someone like her meant gaining favor from the Wind Divine Kingdom.


    However, the situation at that moment was dire. No one dared to risk their lives against the onslaught of the Dragon Arsenic arrows. Aside from containing deadly poison, these arrows were not ordinary projectile weapons. Instead of stopping or slowing down once they hit something, the arrows would greatly increase their speed to kill their targets faster.


    "Fiona!" Callan shouted in desperation once he realized Fiona''s position. The two of them enjoyed a relatively safe spot at the front of the line earlier but now, Fiona had found herself in an extremely dangerous situation with arrows cornering her in all directions.


    Fiona herself felt hopeless. Her eyes darted around, trying to find a way to get through this predicament.


    Thinking fast, her jade bracelet vibrated violently and a mysterious wave of Law Power emanated from her. Maybe she could use the Time Law to stop the arrows!


    But it didn''t. These arrows had already been infused with Time Law that was even stronger than Fiona''s. Even after using her powers, the arrows still continued their approach without changing a beat in their speed.


    When two warriors used Time Law at the same time, the stronger law would completely overpower the weaker one which was what happened with Fiona. Instead of stopping the arrows, the effect of her Time Law was redirected to the warriors around her instead, slowing down their speed.


    Realizing what had happened, Fiona quickly withdrew the Time Law in panic. She nearly killed the warriors near her when she unintentionally slowed down their movements so it was understandable that some of them had let out a few curses directed at her.


    Fiona was now left with no more options. Time Law did not work so she did not dare use any other martial skills on the arrows.


    anger''s way.


    At the same time, the two sharp arrows pierced through Zen''s hands but immediately flew away and vanished without a trace.


    Zen''s hands were comparable to a sacred weapon but the arrows were so strong that they were able to pierce through them. One could imagine how formidable the power contained within these arrows in the Slow Arrow Area...


    Fiona could only stare at Zen in a daze. Yes, she was now safe but her savior was now doomed!


    Blood flowed heavily from Zen''s hands while the blue Dragon Arsenic spread rapidly through his bloodstream. In a matter of seconds, the poison had made its way from his wrists to the other parts of his body.


    "Stop daydreaming! That guy''s now dead for sure! We have to push the stone ourselves!"


    "Thad can''t help us now! Let''s all push the stone quickly! Everyone, be careful! Don''t touch him or you''ll be poisoned too!"


    The other warriors knew they couldn''t rely on Zen''s monstrous strength now, not when he was doomed to die by the poison. They now had to push the magnetic stone themselves, otherwise, they would all die.


    Five to six figures rushed forward and began to violently bombard the magnetic stone with their combined strength.


    The combined efforts of these several divine-level talents had some effect but their strength could only move the magnetic stone a foot at most - significantly less than the distance Zen had managed by pushing it on his own.


    While the others were busy trying to push the stone, Callan, Fiona, Randy, and Camilla remained with their gazes fixed at Zen.


    ''The poison has spread throughout his body but¡­ why is his body not corroding?'' Both Fiona and Callan asked the same question inside their heads at the same time.

 Chapter 1136 Getting Rid Of The Poison

    Randy and Camilla were also quite shocked. Although they had every confidence in Zen and knew that he would be able to deal with everything fittingly, they still couldn''t figure out how he was able to resist the Dragon Arsenic.


    Perhaps the Soul Sea Realm masters could block the arrows which flew at such a slow speed, but at the same time, they were also unwilling to be tainted with the Dragon Arsenic. Other than being a secret poison produced by the Dragon Lineage Human, it was also lethally potent. Until now, there were no antidotes or formulas found in the four great divine kingdoms.


    How did he make it?


    But at this moment, a sudden scream reverberated in the air. From the sound of it, it was not far from where they were. Soon surprise engulfed them as they realized that there were more and more arrows coming from both sides, so it was getting harder and harder to dodge!


    Taking in the chaotic sight, Zen didn''t have time to explain anything to them, so he decided to urge everyone to rush out of the Slow Arrow Area first.


    "Get out of the way!"


    he roared. His body was tainted with the Dragon Arsenic, and yet he was still sprinting forward, which startled everyone.


    Visibly, the poison continuously spread over his body. By then, he looked like a blue-colored sculpture. Who would dare touch him?


    The people in front of him all moved aside immediately, making way for him to rush through as they heard him roar some commands.


    "Look at the Dragon Arsenic spreading in his body! Could it be that the poison affected him already?"


    "Damn it. It''s as though he''s gone insane. This guy is really crazy!"


    "At the very least, he is willing to go all out like this, push the rock and sacrifice his life for everyone else..."


    Those divine-level talents speculated among themselves as they keenly observed Zen. The Dragon Arsenic was lethal, so why was he still alive and kicking? Nothing gave them an inkling as they guessed that perhaps he might have a secret skill to extend his life for a short time. Once his breath dissipated, he had to die.


    "Bang! Bang! Bang!"


    Oblivious to Zen, several warriors who were working together with him in pushing the magnetic stone were wary of him. They cautiously dodged him as he continued hitting the magnetic stone.


    At Zen''s full strength, the magnetic stone inched forward until it finally gave way with a loud thud!


    A row of black walls which adorned the edge of the Slow Arrow Area appeared for everyone to see. Within these walls, there were round holes arranged according to the rules. And from these holes, arrows kept shooting out non-stop.


    Soon they realized that there were already three walls in the Slow Arrow Area seeming to cage them in as arrows continued to assault towards them from the front, left and right sides. Only the direction where all they moved in did not have such a wall. "Bang!


    Bang! Boom!"


    At this point, Zen quickly kicked the magnetic stone with such an impact that it was


    orth, a supreme life vitality crystal was nothing special for him, let alone these princes and princesses of the divine kingdoms.


    But he was just surprised that the shape of this supreme life vitality crystal was extremely exquisite after being sculpted.


    After watching closely Zen''s strange expression as he received the peach-like life vitality crystal, Fiona smiled and continued, "It was carved by me when I had nothing to do. Not bad, right?"


    "Crack!"


    Zen gently crushed the life vitality crystal and began to absorb the pure life vitality within it. He then nodded and agreed, "Not bad. Not bad indeed..."


    The warriors of the Divine Kingdom Continent normally led easier and more comfortable lives compared to those in the Central Region. However, the warriors of the Central Region all lived more leisurely than those who dwelled in the Sea God Continent.


    Consequently, warriors from both the Sea God Continent and the Central Region did not get to spend time on their hobbies. They only focused on their cultivation all the time.


    "Alright, let''s continue to move forward!" Randy uttered at this moment.


    Now that Callan, Fiona, and their team members stayed behind, Randy was well aware that they intended to form a new team. They all considered and took Zen as their leader. Fiona might look naive, but her strength might be more powerful than his. Thus in his eyes, it was also a good thing to form a new team.


    "After we pass by the Slow Arrow Area, we will now be heading to the Spirit Beast Area. However, because of the blood sacrifice, all the spirit beasts there have been killed," Randy spoke.


    The blood sacrifice of the Dragon Lineage Human pertained to the sacrifice of the life of the entire clan. In theory, there were no living beings left in the four great secret lands.


    "Doesn''t that mean there''s no more danger?" a divine-level talent, who followed Callan, curiously probed.


    Randy just let out a small smile and replied, "What do you think?"

 Chapter 1137 Spirit Beast Area

    Everyone needed to have a good understanding of the situation in the Feather Holy Sea before they entered it. The divine-level talent had just asked a stupid question by naively thinking that there would be no dangers in the next area.


    All four divine kingdoms had been exploring the Feather Holy Sea for many years, but they still hadn''t completely understood it. The biggest hindrance was the many dangers in it.


    However, compared to the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land, the Feather Emperor Secret Land, Mysterious Dream Secret Land and Divine Emperor Secret Land were much easier to explore. Thus, every year the four divine kingdoms explored Feather Holy Sea. They would leave the other three secret lands for their younger generation to explore.


    The powerful masters at Soul Sea Realm and Life and Death Realm wouldn''t sit idle once the Feather Holy Sea was opened. They would find a way to enter the most troublesome and most dangerous secret land¡ªthe Heavenly Stellar Secret Land!


    Randy said, "The Dragon Lineage Human once used the blood sacrifice to spread the curse, and many of the spirit beasts that were reared in this Spirit Beast Area also suffered the same fate. However, the ghosts of these spirit beasts were still floating in the middle of the area, so everyone must be more careful when entering the Spirit Beast Area."


    Actually, he had already sensed that something was amiss in the Slow Arrow Area. Based on this, he had estimated that the Spirit Beast Area would be more dangerous than before. Even if he was wrong, there was no harm in being extra cautious.


    Everyone nodded and continued to advance forward.


    The Slow Arrow Area was in the chaotic jungle, while the Spirit Beast Area was in a pitch-black grassland. The weeds in the soil were constantly squirming like bugs.


    "Everyone, try to walk at a brisk pace. Don''t stop!" commanded Randy as he looked at the wriggling weeds.


    "Why?" It seemed Renzo hadn''t learned his lesson. He stepped into the grassland before fully understanding Randy''s instructions. The moment he stepped on the grass, the weeds started to wriggle violently, knotting together and forming an obstacle. The weeds were trying to trip Renzo.


    "Is this what Lord Randy is referring to?" Renzo said with a look of disdain. These small weeds actually wanted to trip him ¡ª a warrior at the Virtual Tribulation Realm? Warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm were capable of splitting mountains. These were merely some weeds; he ignored them as they were insignificant to him¡­


    Renzo stomped on the knots, smashing them to pieces.


    However he never expected the w


    . Purple, blue and white colored bolts of thunder struck the ghost''s body one after another.


    They could obtain many Ghost Beads from the body of the Ghost Beast. The Ghost Bead could strengthen the soul and was highly valued even in the Divine Kingdom Continent. How could they give up merely because Fiona asked them to stop?


    "Crack, crack¡­" The lightning boomed loudly, producing deafening sounds!


    Seeing this, Renzo looked at Randy gloomily. "This Spirit Beast Area isn''t as terrifying as you made it sound," he remarked.


    They had suffered a lot in the Slow Arrow Area and almost lost their lives, so when they entered the Spirit Beast Area, everyone''s hearts tightened as they recalled Randy''s words. But now this ghost, who was being bullied by the martial artists, was completely at a disadvantage, and seemed to be incapable of fighting back.


    Randy smiled helplessly. "The last time we passed through the Slow Arrow Area, it was very easy and smooth, but we had encountered a lot of trouble in the Spirit Beast Area. This time, however, it''s the opposite!" he explained.


    Seeing that Fiona was still very unhappy about the ghost being bullied like that, Callan said, "Fiona, you can''t stop them. Let''s proceed!"


    While Callan was urging Fiona to leave, Renzo, Barry and the several others were reluctant to go, especially Barry, who practiced a particular kind of spirit-related cultivation technique. The Ghost Beads would benefit him a lot. So for a moment, he was in two minds.


    Suddenly the cyan dragon''s panicked voice rang in Zen''s mind.


    Although the soul of the cyan dragon was a bit dim, he hadn''t fallen into deep sleep like Lavender''s soul. The cyan dragon said, "Zen! Run! Leave the Spirit Beast Area quickly!"

 Chapter 1138 Heavenly Thunder Halberd

    The cyan dragon''s warning brought puzzlement to Zen''s face. He asked warily, "What''s wrong? What happened?"


    "The language that the Ghost Beast spoke belongs to the dragon race," the cyan dragon explained hurriedly.


    "The language of the Genuine Dragon?" Zen knew that the Genuine Dragon race had their own language. But when he had entered the Genuine Dragon World last time, he hadn''t found it difficult to communicate with the Dragon Lineage Human. So it hadn''t occurred to him that the Genuine Dragon race could have a language that was unique to them.


    "That''s right. The Ghost Beast is summoning other beasts from the Spirit Beast Area. If you don''t leave now, I''m afraid you won''t be able to leave later!" The cyan dragon warned.


    When the cyan dragon had finished speaking, Zen turned to find that the Ghost Beast was being struck by lightning over and over again. His face hardened with determination as he said to Randy and the others, "Let''s go! Everyone, let''s leave this place! Quick!"


    Randy became curious when he heard Zen urging them to leave. Zen hadn''t been in a hurry just moments ago. So why had he suddenly become so anxious?


    "Hurry up and leave! That Ghost Beast is summoning other Ghost Beasts," Zen urged.


    Randy was still apprehensive but when he saw the seriousness etched across Zen''s face, he didn''t ask any more questions and made to leave. But just as he was about to leave with the rest, he turned around and saw Bram, the crown prince of the Harlan Divine Kingdom.


    Bram had led Gregory, Edwin and the other members of his group to gather around the Ghost Beast. It looked like they also wanted to get some Ghost Beads from the Ghost Beast.


    Although there was a huge conflict between Randy and Bram, in the end, they were half-brothers, and both were wary of that fact. This made Randy say a few words to Bram through his life vitality.


    Bram glanced at Randy in surprise and frowned, but he still seemed to believe what Randy was saying. He then made to leave along with his group.


    But just as Bram and his men turned to leave, he heard the Ghost Beast let out a deafening roar that reverberated across the sky.


    "It''s dying! Everyone, come on!" Fredric shouted excitedly.


    "No matter how many Ghost Beads we get, all those who have attacked the beast can share them equally!"


    "You mean they can be divided equally among us? Are you dreaming? The one who is most powerful obviously gets more Ghost Beads!"


    But the expected didn''t happen. The lightning didn''t kill the Ghost Beast. Instead, it fell to the ground after a series of roars. At the same time, the weeds within a radius of several hundred feet sud


    ve a collective sigh of relief.


    Everyone maintained a certain speed as they advanced through the grass of the Spirit Beast Area. Fiona piped up, "Can we enter the secret land after passing through the Spirit Beast Area?"


    Randy nodded and said, "Theoretically speaking, yes. After we pass through the Spirit Beast Area, we will arrive at the center of the island. We can find the entrance to the Feather Emperor Secret Land there."


    They did not encounter any trouble in the later part of their journey and passed through the Spirit Beast Area easily. Soon after, a magnificent sight welcomed everyone''s eyes.


    Lines formed from all sorts of jades and lights outlined a world that looked like paradise. Every pavilion glowed colorfully. Usually, if a place was rich in color, it would look vulgar, at least to a certain extent. But this? This wielded a power that made everyone feel comfortable as they gazed at the perfect color matching.


    "It''s so beautiful!" Fiona was the first to rush in as she took in this scene. Her eyes flickered with emotion. Their journey had caused everyone to tense up, but beholding this beautiful scene caused them to relax.


    Zen slowly walked up and carefully observed the buildings in front of him. The buildings of the Dragon Lineage Human were quite exquisite, and the materials used to build them were mixed with luminous sand of various colors.


    The luminous sand absorbed the sunlight during the day and could reflect different kinds of lights at night. The sand still looked dazzling even after thousands of years.


    "Here is the entrance." It was not the first time that Randy had been to this place. He was already used to the scenery. He gestured to everyone and led them to the entrance of the Feather Emperor Secret Land.

 Chapter 1139 Pickaxes

    The civilization that the Dragon Lineage Human had built within the Feather Holy Sea was marvelous and had caught the eye of every single person. Everyone who was walking along the road would admire the buildings whose style was completely different from that of the human race, and in awe of their magnificent style and beauty. Several exclaims were heard every now and then.


    "If only I could stay here forever!" Camilla let out a deep sigh.


    "Stay here forever?" Renzo laughed and taunted. "So that the power of the blood sacrifice can squash you to death? What a choice!"


    There was a strong influence of the blood sacrifice on this place and only the Dragon Lineage Humans were able to survive inside. Rumor had it that some of the Dragon Lineage Humans were still living inside the Feather Holy Sea.


    Unlike the procession, Zen completely ignored these sights as he followed closely behind Randy. During this trip, he had to find life stones as many as possible. This was his main goal as he entered the Feather Holy Sea.


    Under the leadership of Randy, everyone progressed and suddenly, they saw a pyramid appear in front of them.


    The pyramid was very unique in terms of structure. From its base to its very top, every single one of its layers had numerous narrow doors about the width and height of a person. It was densely packed with these kinds of doors and these doors were such that each door would only allow one person to pass through it. The person who had built the pyramid most probably wanted only one person to pass through each door.


    "Which door is the entrance?" Zen asked curiously as he looked at the doors. He roughly estimated that there were at least ten thousand doors around the pyramid, and most probably several times more than that.


    To his surprise, Randy shrugged his shoulders and laughed. "They are all doors, and they are all entrances!"


    "But they are so many. How can they all be entrances?" Camilla looked at Randy with curiosity.


    Randy smiled and replied, "There are, in totality, 100, 000 entrances to the mine of the Dragon Lineage Human."


    Just as Randy was explaining the ways of the mine, they suddenly saw some blue-colored rings of light appear on the side of the pyramid following which, several warriors fell down from them.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Zen recognized that these warriors were the divine-level talents who had passed through the Slow Arrow Area with him. Only about half of them had chosen to stay in the Spirit Beast Area for a while, and the others had decided to walk through it as fast as they could. As a result, they were the first ones to enter the mine.


    Zen looked at them and saw that they were all carrying golden pickaxes. Something about the tools in their hands caught his eye. "Am I seeing things? Even their mining pickaxes are low-grade fairy weapons?"


    Hearing Zen''s words, Randy let out a laugh. "Bro, you seem somewhat ignorant. The mine of the Dragon Lineage Human is comp


    of whether he looked at the main stem or at the leaves of the plant, he saw that they were all flickering with a magnificent color. The main hue of this plant was light blue, like a layer of crystal wrapped in the outer layer, but the inner layer was a myriad of particles shining with hundreds of different shades.


    ''Wow! What exactly is this thing?''


    Just as this thought appeared in Zen''s mind, he directly fell on one of the leaves.


    ''These leaves seem to correspond with the doors of the pyramid outside.'' Zen raised his head to take a look. He had entered through one of the doors in the bottom layer and had fallen on the leaf at the bottom of the plant, missing several ones above him.


    ''The bottom of this leaf seems to contain ores! Could these ores have grown from the body of this plant?'' Zen''s heart skipped a beat. He finally understood what those colorful granules were. They seemed to be ores of all kinds.


    Zen looked up at the giant tree and awe appeared on his face as he pondered over the plant. ''There are really so many wonders in this world. I think it isn''t the plant itself that produces these ores. Instead, the plant takes the ores out from the bottom of the ground through its roots which then appear here.''


    The leaf under Zen''s feet contained several ores, each of a different color. He swept his gaze over them, but did not find any life stone that he wanted. However, since he had come in, he naturally had to take some of the ores with him. Therefore, he swiped the pickax in his hand at the leaf.


    Crack! With a crisp sound, sparks flew in all directions.


    When Zen''s pickax hit the blue-colored leaf, a small crack immediately appeared on it. Even a sacred weapon hadn''t completely cracked the leaf!


    "Wow! This is so tough," Zen exclaimed. Randy was right. Even digging the ores with a low-grade sacred weapon seemed to be a bit strenuous. It was highly probable that no pickax below the fairy-weapon grade could dig the ores out.

 Chapter 1140 Finding The Life Stones

    Zen was holding a pickax. It was a low-grade sacred weapon so it wasn''t difficult for him to cut open the leaf. As he continuously swung the pickax, the crack on the leaf became bigger until it burst open and a few ores of different sizes fell into his hand.


    These ores weren''t considered valuable. Even in the Central Region they could be considered rare ores, but they weren''t top-grade ores. The warriors of Randy''s level in the four divine kingdoms would casually discard these ores.


    Zen didn''t think like they did. He gathered the ores and saved them in his space ring. He felt hesitant for a while without knowing what to do. Since he had dug up the ores in this leaf, he should be able to choose to leave this place, but he didn''t know how.


    There was neither visible sky nor ground.


    Zen looked up and saw a warrior four to five layers higher than him. He was rapidly digging out ores from a leaf. After he finished, he leaped and fell down into the void below.


    Soon after, a ring appeared out of nowhere, spreading out like a ripple, and the warrior also disappeared within it.


    That was how he could get out. There was probably a transmission array beneath this tree that would allow a warrior to go out.


    Zen was prepared to follow suit and jump up, but in that instance he saw that within the scattered roots of the tree there were also some strange-looking ores.


    This large tree used its main stem to absorb many ores and drive them into its countless branches, and finally the leaves.


    "What will happen if I cut this branch off?" Zen thought.


    He immediately leaped towards a branch. Just as he was about to pull out his long sword, which was a top-grade sacred weapon, a strange force pulled him downwards.


    It happened so fast that Zen didn''t have much time to react. When he came back to his senses, he was already standing outside of the pyramid with his sword and pickax in his hands. Randy, on the other hand, stood before him with a smile.


    He looked at Zen''s long sword and chuckled. "It seems like you intended to cut off a branch of the tree. Countless people have already tried it before, but no one can do it!"


    Of course, the warriors of the four divine kingdoms had been exploring the Feather Holy Sea for so many years that they probably had tried everything Zen could think of.


    Cutting off a branch was definitely much more efficient than digging through a leaf. But it didn''t matter if it was a warrior at the Virtual Tribulation Realm, or a Life and Death Realm warrior, or e


    erous for him at all if he enters the layers below the 30th layer. However, the layers above that are completely different."


    Amidst the crowd''s discussion, Zen walked through a door in the 28th layer. A couple of seconds later, he fell down from the ring of light outside of the pyramid. He felt desperate.


    Once again he failed to find life stones that he needed in the 28th layer.


    Zen was feeling rather frustrated by now. He needed a great number of life stones, not just one or two. He estimated that in order to fully replenish Letitia''s life energy, he would need at least a thousand life stones. If he kept going like this, he would be lucky if he could obtain one or two hundred life stones.


    After falling from the ring of light, Zen picked himself up, grabbed his pickax and climbed up to the 29th layer.


    "What is he trying to do?"


    "Probably searching for some sort of ore."


    This time, Zen landed on one of the leaves in the 29th layer. The moment his feet landed on it, a glint flashed across his eyes and a faint smile appeared on his face.


    He finally found life stones!


    This light blue leaf was about ten feet wide and five feet thick. It looked like a huge blue crystal. Sealed within the leaf there were several pieces of egg-like ancient jade. These were the life stones he had been looking for.


    Zen counted sixteen life stones wrapped within this leaf. Although it was far from what he needed, it was still not a small amount. He would gather as many as he could and keep looking through other leaves.


    "What is this?" he murmured. In the middle of the life stones there was a shiny object that Zen couldn''t identify. He stared at it, puzzled.

 Chapter 1141 Jealousy

    The sixteen life stones formed a circle around the leaf and wrapped themselves around the glowing object. The said object emitted a blinding flash of light, which made it hard for Zen to figure out what it was.


    Without giving it much thought, Zen lifted the pickaxe up high into the air.


    "Crack!"


    He already knew that the leaves on the upper layers were thicker and bigger. Their blue color was also more vivid, and their structure was more solid as well.


    While the leaves were thick, their toughness exceeded Zen''s expectations. There were no cracks on the leaf at all when he slammed the pickaxe against it.


    "This..." Zen''s eyes widened, and he was clearly astonished.


    Although he only had a low-grade sacred weapon on him, he could easily split a mountain in half with his strength without having to use his forceful energy. Was the leaf under his feet really so tough?


    But Zen had finally found these life stones, so he wouldn''t give up so easily.


    As he thought of it, the power of a hundred dragon scales burst forth from his body. Then, he picked up the pickaxe again and hit the leaf with it!


    "Crack!"


    When the pickaxe hit the leaf, a small crack appeared on its surface.


    "The leaf is not that hard!" A faint smile spread on Zen''s face. He continued to swing his pickaxe when he saw that his attack was effective. The cracks spread more with each strike, and on his last blow¡ªit finally shattered.


    It was only then when Zen removed the broken parts with the pickaxe that the life stones underneath were revealed.


    The look in Zen''s eyes softened as he gazed at the life stones. Letitia was still waiting for him to bring back the life stones to save her life, so he carefully stored them one by one into his space ring. After he was done, he turned his gaze to the shiny object.


    Zen didn''t see through the thick leaf clearly just a while ago, but now he discovered that it was a square crystal. The light inside flickered continuously like water, and reflected a bright, white light.


    "I don''t know what kind of ore it is, but I''ll take it first!" Zen didn''t hesitate and placed the shiny ore inside his space ring. Then, he leaped again and descended into the void below. He followed a circle of flashing light and once again, he fell from the side of the pyramid.


    When Zen finally reached the ground and steadied himself, he was greeted by the sight of Callan, Fiona, and Randy.


    Randy gave him a faint smile. Just as when he was about to ask Zen if he''d obtained anything, he was disrupted by a loud s


    ife stones.


    "I give them to you!" Fiona said with a smile. She was quite a scrupulous woman.


    After the battle at the West Dragon River had ended, she remembered that Turner said Zen needed the life stones. Up until that moment, she had dug out many life stones, but no one knew whether she actively looked for them, or she unintentionally found them.


    As for the other things, Zen might reject them, but he would definitely accept the life stones.


    When the nearby warriors saw Fiona generously give the life stones to Zen, they became green with envy. While the life stones weren''t as precious as a fire stone, they were still worth a lot¡­


    Zen also didn''t want to take Fiona''s life stones without giving her anything in return. He''d dug up a dozen or so life stones as well, but he couldn''t possibly use them as a gift. While he thought of that, his lips suddenly curved into a smile. He said, "Thank you. But here, I also have something for you!"


    When he collected the life stones earlier, he found a shiny object in the middle of them. Zen wasn''t sure what it was. He only thought that it was extremely beautiful with its flickering crystal light, so it was a good idea to give it to Fiona.


    However, just as when he took the object out, Randy suddenly gasped loudly and violently coughed a few times. He then looked at Zen fearfully and asked, "Thad, are you sure you want to give that thing to Fiona?"


    The cubic object Zen took out was truly eye-catching, so it instantly drew everyone''s attention with its bright, white crystal glow.


    Almost everyone stared at the strange object in shock, while the divine-level talents looked at it with blatant greed and obvious jealousy.

 Chapter 1142 Climbing Up

    Zen didn''t know the value of this stone. He thought of the stone as a simple trinket he could give to Fiona in return for her gift to him.


    However, based on the reactions of everyone around them, there was clearly something more to this seemingly simple stone.


    Could it perhaps be something very valuable?


    Seeing that Zen remained silent, Randy swallowed and continued to ask, "Zen, are you sure about this?"


    "Of course," Zen replied as if he was merely giving a simple dishrag away.


    "But the value of this thing is immeasurable..." Randy reminded him.


    He wanted to tell Zen that the life stones were completely incomparable to the cubic stone he was currently giving away, but he didn''t want to be too straightforward and make things awkward.


    "I came here for the life stones. This cubed thing isn''t really important so here you go Fiona!" Zen said, throwing the shiny, cubic stone to the princess.


    Many of the other warriors wanted to stretch out their hands and catch the stone but Zen had thrown it in such a way that it precisely went to Fiona''s direction and no one else was able to get it.


    Meanwhile, Fredric and several of his friends wore visible scowls on their faces. They were most likely jealous of this good opportunity but they couldn''t just go up to Fiona and take the stone. After all, the rules of the four divine kingdoms were much stricter than those of the Central Region. They knew what would come to them if they broke the rules.


    Fiona caught the cube with her soft, gentle hands, "Thad, do you really have no idea what this is?"


    Zen shrugged and shook his head.


    "Nope." Fiona let out a bell-like laugh at his casual dismissal of the cube, "You really aren''t from our four divine kingdoms!"


    Zen didn''t recognize the stone meant that Zen was most likely not someone from around here but it wasn''t really important. Fiona simply meant it as a passing remark.


    Zen smiled in silence. He now started to think that he might have indeed excavated something special.


    "This shining stone is the Eye of Jaylen! Hmm¡­ You know what? This is way too precious. I can''t accept this!" Fiona then tossed the cube back at Zen before smiling at Randy, "Lord Randy, it''s better that you explain it to him. The Harlen Divine Kingdom knows it best."


    Randy smiled at Fiona''s display of kindness and tact. He turned to Zen and began to tell him of what this cube was, "Even the best weapon refiners in our Harlen Divine Kingdom are only able to forge semi-divine weapons. Even if they used up all the kingdom''s resources, they could never hope to forge a real divine weapon."


    The Harlen Divine Kingdom was well known for its expertise in weapon forging and refining.


    It was considered the best out of all the four divine kingdoms but


    ithout going to the 30th floor." He tried to pass it off casually but in truth, he was worried about Zen taking Fredric''s bait and also climbing up the 30th floor.


    Zen smiled. He wasn''t a fool. Of course he knew the implications behind Fredric''s dare. Besides, he had to search for as many life stones as he could with the limited time they were given.


    So, without wasting any more of his precious mining time, Zen leapt up to the 29th floor once again to search for more life stones.


    His luck wasn''t so bad. He didn''t get that much on his second try but found a lot on his third attempt.


    He gathered all the life stones he found and put them all inside his space ring.


    The life stones usually appeared in a cluster. Finding one life stone meant finding a dozen of them all at once. There were at least a dozen of them in a cluster and sometimes there would be as many as several dozens in one discovery.


    With this knowledge, Zen continuously went in the narrow doors of the 29th floor and fell out from the light circles ten, twenty, thirty times¡­


    His tenacity rewarded him with two to three hundred life stones but he didn''t feel that it was enough. He had turned over every single leaf on the 29th floor so he knew there wouldn''t be any more.


    The 28th floor gave him a small pile while the 27th gave him nothing at all.


    As time passed, Zen had only been able to hit one-fourth of his goal. He glanced up the 30th floor and Randy''s voice echoed in his mind about how difficult the floor was for Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors to explore.


    He wasn''t an ordinary Virtual Tribulation Realm warrior so he figured that maybe he had a shot. He wasn''t all that interested in exploring the 30th floor earlier but now that he got all possible life stones on the 29th floor, he figured that there was really nowhere to go but up.

 Chapter 1143 Trade

    When Zen came out of the pyramid, he was preparing to set off for the 30th floor.


    Every time Zen stepped out, he would find a large crowd gathering and discussing things. It was interesting¡ªZen wondered why they didn''t seize the opportunity to explore the pyramid. What were they all doing there?


    Eventually, Zen discovered that they were all gathering to trade for ores.


    Although it was unknown where the large tree sucked the ores from, those ores found in the pyramid were all unique. Through an exchange, the warriors could pick out what they needed.


    Just as Zen prepared to climb up, an idea dawned on him.


    When Zen walked over to the group, all the people suddenly fell silent.


    Having been a sensation with his previous performance, he certainly left a deep impression on the divine-level talents of the younger generation.


    Unbothered by their reaction, he brought out some ores from his space ring and piled them up on the ground. "Whoever has life stones can exchange them for my ores."


    Many of these divine-level talents had explored the floors above the 20th. But at most, they could only reach the 26th floor. None of them were strong enough to break the hard leaves further up, so they never brought back any ores from the higher floors.


    As Zen wandered the 29th floor, apart from the life stones, he found some other ores of good shapes and beautiful colors¡ªhe took those he could with him in his space ring.


    With the help of the pickax, which was a sacred weapon, and some power of the dragon scales, digging the ores out wasn''t a particularly difficult task for Zen.


    The higher the floor he reached, the better the ores he could find. But most of them wouldn''t be of any real use to Zen. There were some rare ores among them, with the value not less than that of life stones.


    It was no surprise how many of the warriors'' eyes immediately lit up with excitement the minute Zen threw out the stones he found in the pyramid.


    Some of the ores were exactly what they needed.


    The pile of ores were undoubtedly attractive. One of the warriors even pointed to the pile and offered, "I don''t have any life stones. Name a price for this jade green ore. I can buy it with my supreme life vitality crystals."


    These divine-level talents came from fifth-grade noble clans. There was no doubt that all of them were extremely rich. While they didn''t have any life stones, they did have more than enough supreme life vitality crystals.


    Shaking his head, Zen declined, "My ores are not for sale. If you want anything, you need to bring me life stones in exchange for it."


    Disbelief painted the warrior''s face upon hearing Zen''s words. The next moment, he shouted out, "Two hundred supreme life vitality crystals!"


    Zen didn''t even bat an eyelid. He didn''t want to explain his words to him twice.


    "Three hundred¡­three hundred supreme life vitality crystals." As the


    "How about this¡ªthree thousand and five hundred supreme life vitality crystals plus the twelve life stones in your hands for the Golden Warm Stone! No other price!"


    "You¡­" He could have obtained the pure gold with only six life stones, but this woman messed it all up for him. How could he not be frustrated? And he did intend to use the remaining six life stones to exchange for the Golden Warm Stone¡­


    Unfortunately, he couldn''t do anything to Camilla.


    Still, as he calculated 3500 supreme life vitality crystals, plus the 12 life stones for the Golden Warm Stone, he couldn''t deny that there was a chance of profit margin in the deal. In the end, he gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, deal!"


    After the deal was sealed, Zen took the twelve life stones from her hands, leaving the life vitality crystals. "Thank you. This is your reward, I don''t need them¡­"


    "How stupid!" Stuffing the supreme life vitality crystals in Zen''s hands, she continued, "Besides trading your ores for life stones, you can also use supreme life vitality crystals to buy life stones from others. They''re usually found in clusters. There are at least eight or ten of them in discovery, rarely six in a cluster. He said that he had six of them so obviously he hid some from you."


    Camilla''s analysis left Zen rather stunned¡ªthe woman was much more shrewd than he had imagined.


    However, Zen couldn''t be blamed for it¡ªhe had no knowledge of the market price of the ores. Since Camilla was a martial artist from the Harlen Divine Kingdom, she had been exposed to such materials and could distinguish them since she was at a young age. These ores were produced in Feather Holy Sea, and Zen failed to look up any information on them in the memories of the great world''s will.


    "Since you saved me before, I''ll help you exchange the life stones right here!" With a smile, Camilla added, "But you''ll have to pay me commissions for every deal I make."

 Chapter 1144 Living Off Ores

    Zen was extremely pleased to have such a shrewd woman like Camilla help him take care of the ores. The value of the ores did not matter and he couldn''t care less about the commission.


    "I''ll leave this to you then!" he told her before he left.


    Camilla knew her own strength. Her might as a martial artist only allowed her to mine treasures from the 19th to 20th floors but even if she worked hard, it was highly unlikely for her to find anything good. It was better for her to stay and take care of Zen''s ores. Maybe it was in business that she''d be able to display her talents more.


    She smiled gracefully at the people that waited in front of her, "My friends, you can choose as you please. You can also enjoy a preferential price! But the life stones come first!"


    The warriors rolled their eyes. Besides the first person who managed to bag a good bargain, they all knew that the rest of them were already one step behind. It was fortunate that the price charged wasn''t too outrageous so a lot of them still surrounded Camilla and her wares.


    Zen, on the other hand, was already busy climbing the pyramid. Soon enough, he reached the 30th floor.


    The 30th floor was usually reserved for Life and Death Realm masters but Zen would take his chance today. He easily passed through the narrow door and found himself landing on one of the leaves.


    The leaves on the 30th floor were twice as wide as those on the 29th floor. Here, the higher the leaves were, the larger, darker, and harder they were to break.


    Zen had gone inside the 30th floor for treasure but as soon as he landed on the leaf, he immediately felt a strong wave of killing intent.


    "Squeak, squeak, squeak¡­"


    He wasn''t alone.


    Beside him was a large insect that had been sitting quietly on the leaf before he arrived. The insect had six legs and was as tall as two people combined. It had a pair of brown, compound eyes and abdominal scales that shone and flickered with green light.


    Zen carefully stood up from his spot, keen to avoid the insect''s wrath but even the slightest movement was enough to alert the bug. It immediately pounced towards him!


    Zen frowned upon seeing this giant bug. He thought that all the creatures in the Feather Holy Sea had perished in the blood sacrifice. What was a living bug doing here?


    "Crack!"


    The bug had thrust its spear-like foreleg towards Zen and pierced a clean hole through the leaf.


    ''That front leg is sharp! What a great power!'' he thought to himself.


    And indeed, the bug''s leg was no joke. Back in the 29th floor, Zen would need to activate more than one hundred dragon scales to be able to break the leaves with his mining pickaxe which was already a low-level sacred weapon.


    ady gotten ten life stones for you! As well as two thousand supreme life vitality crystals!"


    The divine-level talents had a lot of supreme life vitality crystals but not many life stones.


    Zen nodded in approval before tapping his space ring. Seven to eight ores shot out towards Camilla instantly just as he charged straight up to the pyramid.


    "Ah, Violet Crystal, Crescent Moon Stone, and Jade Heart Stone¡­" Camilla listed down the ores'' names before they landed in front of her.


    It was an effective marketing strategy as the other warriors instantly rushed towards her. The jealousy was apparent in their faces as they looked at the ores.


    "What kind of luck does this Thad have? Even if he''s on the 30th floor, it would be impossible for him to dig out so many valuable ores in just one go!"


    "A few others have also entered the 30th floor but they only got a few ordinary items and two broken pickaxes. Why is he so lucky¡­"


    "He''s strong, powerful, and he also has good fortune. It''s so unfair!"


    If someone was able to attain something through strength and willpower, people would usually admire him. However, if someone achieved something through luck, people would often feel jealous and moan about the unfairness of life. They did not know that luck could also be considered as strength for a rare group of people in this world.


    Meanwhile, Zen was already on his way. He had to quickly kill that bug and get the stones. He quickly located the narrow door he had gone through earlier and entered the one right next to it.


    Each door corresponded to a leaf and taking the door next to the one he entered earlier meant he would be able to land on the leaf that the bug was on. If he was fast enough, the bug would still be busy eating ores and he could get his chance in eliminating it.

 Chapter 1145 Threat

    Zen rushed through the narrow door and fell straight down.


    His gaze was fixed on the leaf. The big bug was eating the ore in the leaf.


    One thousand feet, five hundred feet, one hundred feet...


    Power had already begun to accumulate in Zen''s fists.


    "Die!"


    Zen attacked. He was desperate for the life stones. Even if there was only one life stone in the bug''s body, he would kill for it.


    The strike contained the impact of the fall. Meanwhile, Zen also activated the power of five hundred dragon scales.


    He went straight for the bug''s back. However, as he approached it, the bug seemed to have a premonition. It stomped its two hind legs and evaded the punch by flipping to one side.


    Bam!


    Zen''s fist slammed forcefully onto the leaf. The giant leaf, along with the stem began to tremble.


    Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!


    The bug who was now twenty feet away from Zen, waved its sharp forelegs, provoking him.


    Zen looked at the leaf beneath his feet. His punch had already made quite a few cracks on it. He swept his gaze over it but could not find the life stone.


    His body was as hard as a sacred weapon and possessed terrifying strength. He could break the leaves on the 30th layer without using a pickax. Of course, it would be easier using one.


    "You want to provoke me?"


    Light flashed in Zen''s eyes as a look of determination came on his face. He bent his legs slightly.


    Although the huge bug was quick and nimble, Zen was confident of catching it.


    The bug was still waving its forelegs and squeaking, almost mocking him. Suddenly Zen leaped, covering the distance between them in a flash, his outstretched arms ready to grab the bug!


    The huge bug was even more agile than Life and Death Realm warriors. Its perception of danger seemed to come entirely from its instinct. Even though Zen had deployed a strategy to attack it, the bug still sensed danger through its incredibly strong sense of smell. Before Zen could launch another attack, it spread its wings, preparing to leave the leaf and flee.


    "You''re going nowhere!" Zen said.


    In that split-second, the forceful energy within his body erupted, and his body was propelled forward two feet!


    Zen''s body left the leaf. At the same time, the invisible falling force began t


    ll to the ground, Zen crushed its head. Its vitality was also very tenacious. Even without its head, it continued to swing its six feet, struggling for a long time before its legs slowly stiffened, and its life gradually ended.


    Zen dusted off his clothes and jumped off the dead bug. Camilla rushed to him. She had been in such a hurry she didn''t even have the time to transfer the pile of ores on the ground into her space ring; instead, she just wrapped the ores haphazardly in her clothes. "Thad, how, how did you catch a mineral-devouring bug?" she asked wide-eyed.


    "Oh. Is that a mineral-devouring bug?" Zen asked.


    By now Lord Randy had also hurried over from the circle of light. He noticed that Zen had already subdued the mineral-devouring bug. He was happy and surprised at the same time.


    Not just the Lord, but even the other practitioners in the mining tree had left the light circle and rushed over to Zen to see what the hubbub was all about.


    When Lord Randy heard Zen''s question, he laughed loudly and replied, "That''s right, Thad. That is a mineral-devouring bug. It devours ores from the tree."


    Zen looked at the divine-level talents, who were rushing over, with a strange expression on his face. ''Even though it is a mineral-devouring bug, it couldn''t be valuable. It only has some ores in its stomach, '' he thought.


    Before he could voice his thoughts, someone nearby said, "Zen, I would advise you not to touch this mineral-devouring bug. Otherwise, you''ll be dead for sure."

 Chapter 1146 The Soul Core

    Zen frowned upon hearing those words. It was the voice of Fredric, the crown prince of the York Divine Kingdom.


    He was not afraid of the threat Frederic posed. After all, among the divine-level geniuses that were there, not one had the strength to threaten him. Even Fredric was not qualified to do that.


    Zen''s strength was not on the same level as these divine-level talents¡ªhis was greater. This was a fact that many divine-level talents and princes were unwilling to admit.


    Since Fredric had dared to threaten him the way he did, then this mineral-devouring bug might not just be a simple bug. There must be a secret hidden within it.


    Smiling faintly, Zen''s gaze landed on Fredric. "I''ll be dead? But how will I die, Fredric? Care to elaborate?"


    Fredric also observed the mineral-devouring bug for a while. He really did not expect that Zen would be able to catch it with his hands. ''It''s the green kind!'' he thought to himself, breathing shallowly because of his anger. After a few moments of silence, Fredric smiled back at Zen. He then replied, "This kind of mineral-devouring bug is captured by the Soul Sea Realm masters every year! When did it become your turn to capture it? You''re unqualified to do that!"


    Zen''s gaze immediately shifted to Randy. Randy nodded and told Zen, "The mineral-devouring bug''s number is small. There are only about thirty to forty of them appearing each year. Even the Life and Death Realm masters have difficulty capturing those bugs, and usually, it would only be the Soul Sea Realm masters from the four great divine kingdoms who would be able to catch them."


    "Is this bug very important?" he asked.


    In his mind, the mineral-devouring bug was peculiar. As its name suggested, devouring ores was its main thing, but aside from that, it was also incomparably agile. Its reaction to the things happening around it was blazing fast. Zen traveled through space as he was trying to catch it, and even with almost no time to react, the bug was still able to avoid him.


    However, he didn''t believe that these bugs were worth the Soul Sea Realm masters'' troubles. That made him curious. Yes, the ores in these bugs'' stomachs might be valuable, but that still wasn''t enough to attract the Soul Sea Realm masters'' attention, practically making them obsessed with it.


    "Yes," Randy replied with an understanding smile on his lips. "These mineral-devouring bugs have a special ability. They can cut any leaf on the giant tree!"


    "What? So what if it can do that?" Zen asked, now more confused than ever.


    Randy knew that Zen would ask this question, and so he continued to explain, "Only the Life and Death Realm warriors would be able to enter the 30th layer and those above it. The reason is that they might encounter mineral-devouring bugs¡ªthose creatures pose an incredible threat to the Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors. Because of that, the Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors who aren''t that powerful are not allowed to enter those layers.


    As for the 40th layer and the above, only Soul Sea Realm masters could enter them mainly because in those layers, there is a high chance of encountering purple mineral-devouring bugs. Those are the matured


    a small chance of finding a Soul Core inside a purple mineral-devouring bug''s body, there was even a lower chance that a green mineral-devouring bug would have it inside it.


    Another key point in all of these was that a year might have passed since the mineral devouring bug devoured a Soul Core from a leaf on the top layers, and it would have already fully digested it...


    So, if a short while before the Feather Emperor Secret Land opened, a green or purple mineral-devouring bug flew up to the 45th layer or higher layers, dug out a Soul Core, swallowed it but still hadn''t digested it when a Soul Sea Realm master captured it, then the Soul Core would still be there and the Soul Sea Realm master would have the honor of obtaining it for his or her divine kingdom!


    However, in the span of a few years, it had already become too difficult even for the most powerful warriors to obtain a single Soul Core despite slaughtering several hundred mineral-devouring bugs.


    As the ores in the bug''s stomach slowly flowed out of it along with its bodily fluids, Randy''s eyes started to show a hint of disappointment. However, Zen only smiled as he continued watching what was happening. Seriously, he asked, "What''s wrong, Lord Randy? No Soul Core?"


    Randy nodded and replied, "No Soul Core!"


    Zen didn''t care about that too much. First, it still wasn''t clear to him what the function of the Soul Core truly was, and second, he was currently focused on finding life stones. A Soul Core was not a life stone, so he couldn''t care any less about it.


    Although this mineral-devouring bug apparently didn''t have a Soul Core in its stomach, the sheer amount of life stones it had made Zen incredibly satisfied.


    After a few moments, he turned to Camilla, who was beside him, and smiled. "Could you please help me sell these items?" he said pleadingly.


    Camilla''s eyes widened, and as a response, she pouted and said, "What the hell? No! They''re so dirty and disgusting!"


    Of course, Zen would not let a woman do such a dirty job. Chuckling, he personally took out the ores one by one from the mineral-devouring bug''s body fluids.

 Chapter 1147 Not Enough

    Zen took out the ores from the body of the mineral-devouring bug and handed them to Camilla.


    He did get a lot of life stones, but the number was nowhere near his goal.


    Letitia''s life energy was on the verge of drying up and these life stones could probably wake her up, though they couldn''t restore her life energy to her original state.


    Allowing Letitia into this kind of a situation had always been a great shame for Zen and he''d been deeply remorseful. The only way he could make it up to her was by obtaining as many life stones as possible.


    There was no Soul Core in the body of this mineral-devouring bug. Most of the divine-level talents were disappointed.


    They knew that even if Zen dug out a Soul Core from this bug, they probably wouldn''t be able to get their hands on it. But they couldn''t help but hope for a Soul Core when they saw Zen catch the bug.


    Once he had dealt with the body of the mineral-devouring bug, Zen turned to Randy, curiosity written on his face. "Why is this so-called Soul Core so important?" he asked.


    This was not a secret. Even the divine-level talents that entered the Feather Holy Sea for the first time seemed to be very clear about it. Randy simply told Zen, "Remember the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land that I mentioned to you?"


    Zen nodded.


    Many of the Soul Sea Realm masters weren''t interested in the Feather Emperor Secret Land, the Mysterious Dream Secret Land, or the Divine Emperor Secret Land. They were only interested in the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land, which was way more important than the other three secret lands. And that was where the secret of the Dragon Lineage Human and the Ancestral Dragon''s egg were located.


    "Could it be that the Soul Core is somehow connected to entering the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land?" Zen continued to ask.


    "That''s right. Only by obtaining a Soul Core can we become qualified enough to go to the grand graveyard in the Divine Emperor Secret Land and control the corpses of the Dragon Lineage Humans," Randy said with a smile.


    Zen''s eyes flashed at Randy''s words.


    He simultaneously felt a slight tremble in his mind and recognized it to be the vibration of the cyan dragon''s soul.


    Zen had promised the cyan dragon that he would get the Ancestral Dragon''s egg, but that was only if he had the chance.


    Even a powerful warrior at the Soul Sea Realm found it difficult to enter the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land. With Zen''s current strength, he might not be able to do anything.


    It was a good thing that the Feather Holy Sea opened every year. If Zen didn''t get through this year, he would only need to accumulate enough life stones. He would first go back to the Central Region and replenish Letitia''s life energy, and then when the time was right, he could come back to this continent.


    It


    Soul Sea Realm wouldn''t have been as good as him, right?"


    "I have nothing to say anyway. Let''s forget about what''s happening this year. Next year, I will definitely advise my father not to let him in. If this goes on, he''ll be able to dig out all the ores in the mine by himself!"


    "Alas! I want that Saint Forging Stone, but the price offered by that woman is too high. She wants 50 life stones in exchange for it. I really can''t take out fifty life stones! Not even one!"


    Many of the divine-level talents were also envious, but they didn''t dare rob Zen openly. Zen wasn''t afraid of anyone, and he had even dared to look down upon Fredric, the crown prince of the York Divine Kingdom. If they as much as tried to rob him, it would be difficult for them to escape.


    Zen''s mining efficiency was not inferior to that of the mighty warriors at the Soul Sea Realm. After borrowing the power of the dragon scales, his pure strength was comparable to that of some powerful warriors at the Soul Sea Realm, and he might even prove to be stronger than them.


    Moreover, the powerful warriors at the Soul Sea Realm would need to use up the reserves of their physical strength to mine like this, while Zen directly borrowed the endless power of the dragon scales. Although the power of the dragon scales would also be consumed eventually, with Zen''s current strength, the rate at which he used the power of the dragon scales was much slower than his recovery.


    This meant that he had an unending source of power. Given all this, who could compete with him when it came to mining efficiency?


    Moreover, the mining efficiency wasn''t the problem. The number of life stones was the problem here.


    "Camilla, how many life stones have you got?" Zen walked over and threw a brightly colored ore on top of the small mountain. There were at least a thousand ores piled up there.

 Chapter 1148 Black Star

    "Not many life stones, though I did manage to collect quite a lot supreme life vitality crystals. I already have over 30, 000 of them now," Camilla replied, pouting her lips. She knew that Zen was not interested in supreme life vitality crystals at all. All he wanted was life stones, and life stones only. But every single life stone that any other warrior had dug out had already been taken over. She had bought them at a very high price, and now no one had any life stones left. She had been using some rare ores to lure these warriors. Some of them had even tried borrowing life stones from others, but to no avail.


    All the life stones were here now, in Camilla''s hands. Who were they going to borrow from?


    "I see," Zen replied as he walked towards the pyramid once again.


    He had completed his exploration of the 34th layer of the pyramid now, and his target was the next one. There was even a chance that with increasing height, the chances of finding life stones decreased, but he still had to try.


    As he arrived at the 35th layer of the pyramid, he saw a special door.


    Every single door that he had seen on the pyramid was supported by two gray pillars, forming a narrow passageway that was only as wide as an average person. This essentially meant that only one person could enter at a time.


    However, there was a different door in the 35th layer. The pillars of this door were carved out of two Genuine Dragons. These two Genuine Dragons were staring at Zen with their mouths wide open, looking very lifelike and slightly scary.


    ''Why is this door different?'' Zen thought as a hint of curiosity appeared on his face. Perhaps this was special.


    Most warriors had chosen to mine for ores below the 30th layer, and none of the divine-level talents was willing to enter the 35th layer or above. The reason was very simple; it was going to be a complete waste of time anyhow. They couldn''t dig out the ores from the leaves of the 35 layer at all, and if they were to encounter mineral-devouring bugs, then their lives would be in danger as well. Even a simple green mineral-devouring bug would prove quite difficult for them to handle.


    Without much thought, Zen decided to investigate.


    After he stepped through the door, he fell down just like he had for the past 34 layers. Soon, he found himself on top of a giant leaf. However, this leaf was completely different from the others.


    The other leaves had been as beautiful and clear as glass. They had been glowing with an enchanting blue light. The higher the layer, the darker the blue. However, the giant leaf underneath Zen''s feet right now was glowing with a golden light.


    "This leaf seems to be very special." A curious expression appeared on Zen''s face as he began to size it up carefully.


    During his appraisal of the leaf, Zen''s gaze suddenly froze.


    "That is... a pickax! What rank is it? It looks special to me!" Zen cried out involuntarily.


    A short pickax was embedded in the middle


    is impossible for a low-grade sacred weapon to break so quickly and so cleanly!" Randy remarked with a puzzled expression. This pickax was a low-grade sacred weapon, and as far as he knew, it was completely suitable for mining. The head of the pickax was thick and wide. Normally, it would be extremely difficult to break it. It was not that Randy was blaming Zen for breaking the pickax. Obtaining a low grade sacred weapon was extremely hard, but Randy valued Zen more than some pickax.


    Zen replied honestly, "I found something strange in the 35th layer."


    "What?" When he heard Zen''s words, a look of realization suddenly appeared on Randy''s face. "You mean the pickax in the gold leaf, right? You didn''t try to dig that out, did you?"


    That light golden leaf was not hard to find and Randy obviously knew about it. Zen then nodded his head. He was a bit embarrassed for having broken his companion''s pickax.


    "Ha-ha! That explains it. Dude, my fault! I should''ve told you earlier." Randy then explained, "That golden leaf is impossible to break. The pickax that is wrapped in that golden leaf is called ''Black Star.'' It is recorded in the records of the Dragon Lineage Human. You know, it is a supreme divine weapon!"


    "A supreme divine weapon?" Zen was stunned. At first, he thought that divine weapons were similar to sacred weapons and were divided into top grade, mid grade, and low grade. It seemed that this was not the case. The truth was that Zen had never come into contact with a divine weapon before. Since right now both the cyan dragon and the red dragon were sleeping, and Lavender was immersed in the Soul Nurturing Wood, he had nobody he could ask about it.


    Randy smiled and replied, "I am not sure exactly how powerful a supreme divine weapon is. Anyway, this is how the documents recorded about the pickax. The most important usage of this pickax is not to defend against the enemy, but to mine. It is used to break the leaves on the top of the mine!"

 Chapter 1149 Purple Mineral-devouring Bugs

    From the 45th floor upwards, the hardness of all the leaves had reached an unimaginable level. Even a powerful master of the Soul Sea Realm couldn''t do anything about them. Perhaps even a warrior who was stronger than a powerful master of the Soul Sea Realm wouldn''t be able to break them either.


    After seizing the Feather Holy Sea, the four divine kingdoms had obtained a great deal of legacies from the four secret lands. Among them were a few ancient books that explained how the leaves from the top floor could only be broken by the Black Star pickax that was kept in the golden leaf.


    The big challenge was retrieving the Black Star pickax from the golden leaf and so far no one had been able to do so.


    This meant that it was impossible for them to obtain this supreme divine weapon and, therefore, it was less likely that they would be able to break the leaves on the top of the tree. It was all the more impossible to obtain the Soul Cores located inside.


    It was only when someone discovered the bugs that lived on the tree that they felt hope again. These bugs had no names but once the people of the divine kingdoms discovered that they ate ores to survive, they began calling them mineral-devouring bugs.


    The leaves that daunted even the most powerful masters of the Soul Sea Realm were an easy task for the mineral-devouring bugs. So, the warriors of the divine kingdoms stopped worrying about how to obtain the Black Star pickax and focused on studying the mineral-devouring bugs. Their hard work paid off and, in the end, they got the Soul Cores, which enabled them to enter the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land.


    The rumor that the Black Star pickax was impossible to get spread widely so everyone in the four divine kingdoms gave up on looking for ways to get it. Zen, on the other hand, had no idea about it. He had never heard of such a thing as the Black Star pickaxe, so he did not understand how challenging it was to obtain and he thought he might be able to get it out from the leaf.


    "Well, now I know why I failed to take it out from the leaf." Zen exhaled gently, feeling a little regretful for trying so hard in achieving something nearly impossible.


    He then decided to forget about it and move on. He got up and went back through the narrow door of the pyramid to search for the life stones.


    Zen''s pickax was broken but his fists were as strong as a sacred weapon. He just had to use a little more strength and put in a little more effort to break the leaves.


    For two hours he tried hard but had no results.


    In order to find the life stones, Zen gave up on mining other ores. The value of ores on and above the 35th floor was high but he did not have the patience or time or energy to waste on gathering more. He kept going in and out of the pyramid in order to look for the life stones in the tree.


    From the 35th floor all the way to the 40th floor, the number of leaves on each floor decreased. Zen went back and forth over a thousand times, carefully inspecting every leaf, but he still couldn''t find a single life stone.


    During the search for life stones, Zen had encountered a few green mineral-dev


    al-devouring bugs ranked them as eleventh-level fierce beasts, which meant that these six purple mineral-devouring bugs were equivalent to six mighty warriors of the Soul Sea Realm.


    Zen didn''t feel the power of any domain from these bugs but he was still taken by surprise by their abrupt attack. Without a second thought, he turned around quickly and leaped out of the leaf.


    "Squeak squeak squeak¡­" the chirping continued.


    The moment Zen leaped out, the leading purple mineral-devouring bug which was just three feet away from Zen, used its slender feet under its abdomen and tried to capture Zen.


    If Zen was seized by it, all the other five purple mineral-devouring bugs would immediately surround him and attack him together. Then Zen would be in great trouble. He had to handle the situation quickly.


    "You want to capture me? You are dreaming!"


    Zen twisted his waist in midair and a cold light flashed in his hand. He drew his long sword and slashed the purple mineral-devouring bugs with it.


    "Clank!"


    To his surprise, the invincible top-grade sacred weapon didn''t work. The purple mineral-devouring bug didn''t suffer a single scratch, not even a slight bruise from his sword. The purple mineral-devouring bug''s legs were not very thick, only about the size of a human arm. When Zen charged its top-grade sacred weapon into them, it only produced a crisp sound and a few sparks.


    "How come the armor of these bugs is so hard?" Zen was shocked. Suddenly he felt like he was pushed down by the reverse force of his strikes.


    He was falling extremely fast being pushed down by the reverse thrust of his strikes and the force of gravity. The purple mineral-devouring bugs kept on chasing him as he was falling. In fact, they were in a hot pursuit and actually dove down towards Zen.


    "Whoosh!"


    As he saw the bugs coming after him, he hurriedly sped up to run for his life. He frantically revolved his life vitality and, at the same time, he released the forceful energy in his body. These, combined with the forces dragging him down, made him fall at an incredible speed.

 Chapter 1150 Scavenging Through Garbage

    These level eleven beasts really were so much more powerful than Zen had imagined. He was fortunate enough because with his high speed, he was able to get rid of the purple mineral-devouring bugs. Jumping away, he fell straight into the ring of light at the bottom of the tree. The moment his feet touched the ring, he was worried that the bugs would chase after him and exit the pyramid in their pursuit. If they really managed to come out of the pyramid, how were the Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors going to fight against them?


    Thankfully, the bugs were unable to catch up to Zen, and when they discovered that there were a few other humans digging on the tree, they surged towards them like a tornado.


    Callan was completely immersed in mining in the 27th layer when he suddenly heard loud noises. He raised his head and his expression immediately changed.


    "Wh-what the hell are those things?" He blankly stared at those large purple-colored bugs which were rushing down rapidly.


    "Ahhhh! Help! Help me!" Not too far away from Callan, a divine-level talent was caught by a purple mineral-devouring bug and was immediately tossed into the air.


    When warriors left the leaves, they were pulled downwards by a massive gravitational pull even stronger than the Earth''s. However, a single purple mineral-devouring bug was able to completely cancel out that gravitational pull and throw a warrior into the air. One could imagine just how powerful the creature was!


    "Help me!" Other than instinctively calling for help, the warrior wasn''t left with much to do. The bug was simply too powerful.


    After the warrior was thrown into the air, the other bugs immediately surrounded him. They stretched out their slender feet and began to tear him apart.


    Mineral-devouring bugs only ate ores to survive and weren''t concerned about human flesh. This meant that by tearing their prey apart, they were simply torturing him in a cruel streak of fun.


    How could the body of a Virtual Tribulation Realm warrior withstand the tearing attacks of several level eleven beasts? The warrior''s screams and cries for help came to an abrupt stop after only a few seconds. Immediately after being grabbed, he was torn into pieces, and the bloody confetti from his corpse fell towards the bottom of the tree.


    When the other warriors, including Callan, saw this, their faces turned pale instantly. After witnessing such a dangerous event, even a fool would know that he had to run for his life. Everyone jumped off and dashed towards the bottom of the tree.


    Outside the pyramid, the vast majority of warriors weren''t even aware that such a fatal change had occurred. Most of them were still busy trading their ores or bargaining with Camilla.


    The number of supreme life vitality crystals that she had gathered had already reached around 70, 000!


    Such a number of supreme life vitality crystals was enormous, even for a crown prince of a divine kingdom, who would consider this a large amount of money. In each of the four divine kingdoms'' national treasuries, normally about 200, 000 to 300, 000 supreme life vitality crystals were stored. But in just about nine hours, Camilla had already earned around 70, 000 supreme life vitality


    ng either. I''m going to scavenge through garbage too!"


    "Yeah. Let''s go. It''s better than throwing our lives away here!"


    A lot of warriors were filled with righteous indignation when they heard this. They walked around the pyramid in groups of three or five and headed in another direction.


    Only then did Randy walk over with a wry smile. "Thad, did you really lure the purple mineral-devouring bugs down just now?" he asked.


    Zen nodded. There was nothing he could do except admit to what he had done.


    "How many?" Randy didn''t care about the life or death of the other warriors. Moreover, the warrior who had just died wasn''t from the Harlen Divine Kingdom which meant that he cared even less. The death of that divine-level talent could only be considered as his own bad luck.


    "I think there were five," Zen replied.


    Randy was rendered speechless.


    Zen had been able to lure five purple mineral-devouring bugs at once. The most surprising thing was that this fellow was able to escape unharmed. For a while, Randy didn''t know what to say.


    "I advise you not to enter the pyramid again, Thad. The 40th layer is too dangerous. If you get surrounded by five or six purple mineral-devouring bugs, then I''m afraid you won''t be able to escape either!" Randy advised.


    Zen shook his head slightly without any hint of hesitation on his face. No matter how dangerous it was inside the pyramid, he simply had to go in!


    Randy also knew that Zen was stubborn. He couldn''t persuade him, so he said nothing more.


    "Why were they talking about scavenging through garbage? What were they talking about?" Zen asked Randy before he ventured inside again.


    "Scavenging through garbage?" Randy smiled. "They are going to scavenge through the trash of this place to find some weapons which were not cursed. Perhaps they''ll do so in the abandoned arsenal. This place is known as the Feather Emperor Secret Land. It was originally a mine belonging to the Dragon Lineage Human. There were numerous weapon refiners of the Dragon Lineage Human who once came to this island to refine weapons. Among them, the most famous one is the Feather Emperor."

 Chapter 1151 Life Crystal

    The Feather Emperor Secret Land was actually named after a famous weapon refiner on this island. The entire Feather Emperor Island had been a place of mining and weapon refining in the past. This could be considered an arsenal of the Dragon Lineage Human.


    Back when the Dragon Lineage Human had been defeated, the members of the Dragon Lineage Human living on the Feather Emperor Island had been unable to destroy such a great number of weapons. But they didn''t want them to fall into the hands of the humans, so they cast irreversible curses on the weapons.


    These curses could not be removed, and the weapons that had been cursed could not be used. So for these divine-level talents, they had become trash.


    But there were way too many of these weapons, ranging from low-grade mysterious weapons and spiritual weapons to fairy weapons and sacred weapons. And there were probably several million of them. But there were a few that had escaped the curses and stayed unaffected by them.


    If anyone could find sacred weapons that had been spared by the curses, it would definitely be a huge advantage and work for them at a profit.


    But it was highly improbable that one could find weapons that didn''t have curses on them, which was why the divine-level talents referred to the process of searching for them as ''scavenging through garbage''.


    A section of the divine-level talents had given up mining and had instead gone to the arsenal to scavenge for weapons. However, a majority of the martial artists still thought that it would be more worthwhile to mine earnestly in the pyramid. But now that Zen had brought the purple mineral-devouring bugs down to the lower floors, they didn''t want to go into the pyramid. Mining might bring them some benefits, but no one was willing to lose their lives.


    "I see," Zen said, nodding. He had no interest in picking up trash, so he decided to enter the pyramid.


    Callan and Fiona also decided not to pick up trash for the moment. Even Fredric, Bram, and the other crown princes of the divine kingdoms hadn''t gone either. Given their status, even top-grade sacred weapons wouldn''t pique their interest, aside from semi-divine and divine weapons.


    They chose to stay out of the pyramid to keep themselves from danger. The warriors who stayed all looked at Zen.


    Zen didn''t care what others thought of him. But he had attracted the purple mineral-devouring bugs down to the lower floors, which had scared Callan and Fiona out of the pyramid. Zen then said to them, "If those purple mineral-devouring bugs return to the upper floors, I''ll come out and inform you."


    Fiona wasn''t very interested in mining and she had only entered the pyramid three times. Most of the time, she just sat in a corner and watched Zen go in and out of the pyramid.


    Fiona wanted to advise Zen against entering the pyramid, but after some thought, she decided not to say anything. Like Randy, she also knew that she couldn''t dissuade Zen from entering the pyramid.


    But Fredric, Bram, and several others became slightly happy at Zen''s words. After


    ry time and they always appeared in even numbers, like ten, twelve, or fourteen of them in a circle. A life stone should be a kind of fascicled material and would appear in a cluster every time.


    The ores before Zen''s eyes were also in the form of a circle. But the surface of these ores was translucent. Zen looked through the leaf and through the translucent outer shells of the ores. To his surprise, he found crystals floating inside them.


    ''These also have life energy! And it''s so rich and strong!'' The more closely Zen looked at them, the more he felt the power of the life energy. It didn''t matter that Zen was observing them through the thick leaf. He could still feel the full force of the life energy.


    Once a life stone was crushed, only a small amount of life energy could be released. They usually contained tiny amounts of life energy.


    However, the stones before him right now were different. Just a single one of them probably contained a thousand times more life energy than a life stone would normally have. That was to say, probably one such stone would be enough to completely restore Letitia.


    Seeing these small stones made Zen appreciate the marvelous things that Creator had made. And at the same time, he became very excited.


    ''One, I only want one of them! I''ll be happy even if I can take just one of them out!'' Zen thought. His gaze was firmly locked on the stones on the ground beneath his feet.


    The problem was that the ten leaves on the forty-fifth floor, the six leaves on the forty-sixth floor, and the three leaves on the forty-seventh floor had never been broken by any one. Not even the most powerful masters at the Soul Sea Realm in the four divine kingdoms had been able to move them. The four divine kingdoms had probably tried to seek help from the human race in the Upper World through the Reverse Spirit Channel. But they still hadn''t been able to deal with them.


    The brutal truth was that even though Zen only wanted to take one of them, it would still be as difficult as reaching the heavens!

 Chapter 1152 To Increase Strength Quickly

    As he stared at the round stones hidden under the leaf beneath his feet, Zen''s mind was in turmoil. He wondered at how he could take out the stones.


    "Just give it a try!"


    Zen told himself as he took two steps back and put pressure on his legs to gather his life vitality and forceful energy. At the same time, the power from the dragon scales flowed into his body continually. He activated all the dragon scales to summon his utmost strength.


    With his current formidable physique, the power of the dragon scales couldn''t burden his body as much as before.


    In addition, Zen closed his eyes and began to communicate with the stars.


    "Double Stars-"


    The moment Zen muttered to himself, starting a line of communication with the stars, the sky above the Feather Emperor Secret Land flashed with the brilliant light of two stars.


    Their immense power blended into Zen''s life vitality.


    "-Brilliance!" he shouted out the last word as he leapt up from the ground.


    Since he was on a leaf, he was not affected by the powerful gravity of the place. As he jumped into the air, his body rose to a height of about ten feet. He then rolled once before diving down toward the leaf below.


    His fist gathered powerful momentum and struck the huge leaf.


    The punch had gathered all the power that Zen could use up. He had also activated his Stellar Body alongside. It was infinitely stronger than the punch he had used to injure War Emperor York.


    Boom!


    As soon as his punch landed on the leaf, a violent sound reverberated around him. It was as if thunder itself had struck the ground. Anyone positioned on the huge tree would have heard it clearly.


    Below Zen were several scared stiff mineral-devouring bugs. Spreading their wings, they flew off in panic.


    Zen''s fist was still pressed tightly against the leaf. Traces of blood trickled from between his fingers and along the huge leaf.


    Even though Zen possessed a physique as strong as a sacred weapon, the toughness of the leaf under his feet far exceeded it. The heavy punch that he landed on it was like smashing an egg against a rock. Although the leaf containing the ores did not crack even a bit, his fist still hurt.


    ''The last three layers of the leaves are sturdier than the golden leaf below. No wonder even the Soul Sea Realm masters failed to take out the ores from within them, '' Zen reflected, however he was not too disappointed. He had already expected this and had only wanted to confirm the fact.


    The pickaxe ¡ª that was what he needed to solve this problem.


    If he could get the Black Star pickaxe, he should be able to dig out the ores from within these leaves. However, the pickaxe itself was wrapped within the golden leaf. Nobody from the four divine kingdoms had managed to extract it, and Zen knew it would be a near impossible task for him to do so as well.


    Failing to


    ou''re lucky, you might be able to find one or two sacred weapons at most among the cursed weapons. You could as well go on mining here."


    If Zen sold the mountainous pile of ores beside Camilla in the four divine kingdoms, the money would be enough to purchase five or six sacred weapons. That was far more than the value he could possibly get from the rubbish.


    "Camilla is right. With your strength, there''s no need for you to do something so foolish," Randy stated, agreeing with Camilla. Still, for some unknown reason, he felt that Zen wasn''t just going to the armory to pick undamaged weapons.


    "It''s fine. I''m just curious. I''ll come back later to mine!" Zen replied with a smile. Just as he finished speaking, he raised his head and happened to meet Fiona''s eyes.


    Although he had been busy going in and out of the pyramid, he hadn''t forgotten to pay attention to those around him. His sharp gaze was always aware of everything. He knew that Fiona''s gaze had been closely focused on him.


    As they locked eyes, Fiona showed him a soft, gentle smile and jumped down along the pyramid. Because of the suppression of the blood sacrifice''s power, no one was able to fly at this place, so she had created a fiery red barrier around her body with her life vitality and glided several dozen feet down before arriving in front of Zen.


    "Let me go with you! I would like to take a look as well," she suggested to Zen.


    Her goal for exploring the Feather Holy Sea and entering the Feather Emperor Secret Land wasn''t to obtain the ores and treasures. She had come here to gain experience.


    Zen smiled and nodded in approval. He turned around and led the way, going around the pyramid and following the straight path to its left. There were quite a few divine-level geniuses who were returning from the armory one after another. Their gazes fixed on Zen and Fiona with curiosity as they passed by the two.

 Chapter 1154 Purification Fire

    Now if Zen unleashed his strength fully, even if a powerful master at the Soul Sea Realm activated his protective life vitality to the maximum, he still wouldn''t be able to withstand a punch by the former.


    However, that did not mean Zen was completely invincible. He was still going to be unable to defeat a mighty warrior at the Soul Sea Realm. After all, the strength of warriors who were at the peak of the Soul Sea Realm was calculated not only by their physical strength. Their speed, martial arts, cultivation methods, and mastery of laws were all better than Zen and they could defeat him.


    Zen''s mind right now was focused on the golden leaf, and he was going to use his own strength to smash it open so he could take out the Black Star pickax!


    Thinking of this, Zen wanted to test the limits of his physical body.


    Thus, he began to gather the power of the dragon scales. However, just as he was about to pour the power of the dragon scales into his body, he suddenly heard Fiona shout from not too far away.


    "Thad? Where are you?"


    She had entered the arsenal along with Zen and had been looking around the weapons scattered everywhere. Looking at the curses on them, Fiona was wondering if there was any way to purify the weapons and lift the power of the curses that lay upon them.


    Among various Original Laws, some of the laws were supposed to have similar effects at sufficiently higher levels.


    For instance, the Space Law, the Thunder Law, and the Fire Law all contained a similar effect ¨C that of purification.


    However, the principle behind the purification ritual of different laws was different. The Thunder Law could create countless lightning sparks and a cultivator could release those sparks onto the target to purify it. However, the Fire Law worked in a different way. One could even say that the Fire Law burned the curses instead of removing them.


    Fiona had grasped the usage of a special type of flame: Purification Fire.


    The temperature of this Purification Fire was not very high. In fact, it was very low when compared to that of most common fires. Its lack of warmth could be judged from the fact that if one utilized this Purification Fire on normal firewood, the latter would remain completely unharmed. However, the Purification Fire was very effective against negative powers like the power of the curses. Similarly, it could also hurt evil creatures.


    However, Fiona wasn''t sure if her Purification Fire could work on such powerful curses. They looked dangerous.


    Thinking about that, Fiona decided to give it a try. A milky white flame appeared in her hand as she began to burn the power of curse on a spear!


    Fiona''s Purification Fire and the black flame in Zen''s mind were on two opposite extremes. The black flame in Zen''s mind could almost destroy everything. However, Fiona''s Purification Fire would not cause any damage to weapons.


    When the milky white flames emerged, the black smoke on the spear began to disappear and dissipate slowly.


    ''It works!'' Fiona thought as excit


    g man in front of him and told him calmly, "I don''t know what the consequences of these curses are going to be, but they are definitely not going to be good. But don''t worry, I can purify you!"


    "You can purify me?" Zen was shocked.


    "Yes," Fiona replied seriously. She wasn''t the type of woman who joked around.


    "Since you can purify me, then..." A smile appeared on his face as he said half of what he had intended to say.


    In Zen''s line of reasoning, if he had such ability, he would purify all those weapons one by one and sell them out... But the woman in front of him was the dignified princess of a divine kingdom. Of course she didn''t lack money and these fairy weapons and sacred weapons were nothing to her.


    Perhaps Fiona had figured out what Zen wanted to say. She smiled knowingly and ordered him, "Don''t move! And don''t worry! I know what I am doing."


    After she finished speaking, a milky-white flame rose from Fiona''s hand. Zen could not feel any heat from the flame.


    "What kind of flame is this?" As Zen stared at the milky white flame, a stunned expression appeared on his face and he couldn''t help asking.


    "This is the Purification Fire that can purify everything," Fiona replied and slowly pushed the flame towards Zen.


    When it touched his body, Zen didn''t feel any heat. On the contrary, he actually felt a chill being emanated from it.


    Zen found it miraculous that such a flame existed in this world, but as the chilling sensation continuously came to him, Zen''s mind became abnormally pure!


    That didn''t mean he was losing his mind. Fiona''s Purification Fire could not only purify the power of the curses, it could also purify all distracting and evil thoughts, as well as the ill intentions of all living beings. Of course, any normal person would have distracting thoughts throughout his life time. But when the Purification Fire was inside a person''s body, his distracting thoughts would be temporarily cleansed. Once it left his body, his mind would return to its previous self.

 Chapter 1155 Black Heart Fire Stone

    Fiona was in close proximity to Zen and kept on releasing the Purification Fire, slowly pushing the flame into his body.


    Zen could see the seriousness etched on her face.


    He didn''t have any desire towards her while his thoughts were being purified by the Purification Fire. His mind had entered a very strange state, in which he was able to appreciate the princess of the Wind Divine Kingdom with an extremely pure mind.


    Fiona''s skin was white as snow, her eyes pitch black and deep. Her eyelashes were constantly trembling, and her hair that was appropriately draped over her shoulders was like a beautiful piece of art.


    But as she became aware of Zen''s intense gaze upon her, Fiona suddenly felt shy. Her fair cheeks blushed crimson and her fingers trembled. The Purification Fire in her hand pulsed continuously as if it was beating at the same rate as her heart.


    Fortunately, her Purification Fire wouldn''t hurt anyone, and it wouldn''t burn Zen even when it randomly jumped about.


    After Zen had smelted the weapons and absorbed a considerable amount of the heavenly essence, the curse power within the weapons had also been absorbed by him. And the amount of this curse power that gathered within him was quite large.


    Although the purification ability of her Purification Fire was extraordinary, it still required extreme control over the Fire Law on her part. Even if she had comprehended the third layer of the Fire Law, she could only turn her life vitality into the Purification Fire that was only as thick as a thumb. And it would still take a lot of time to cleanse all the curse power within Zen''s body with her Purification Fire.


    But the curse power that Zen had absorbed did begin to dissipate under the effect of the Purification Fire. An hour or so later, fine beads of sweat began to form on Fiona''s forehead while the curse power emanating from Zen''s body became weaker and weaker.


    "Ah-ha! It''s done!" Fiona let out a long breath as her face split into a wide, comfortable grin.


    Even after Fiona had extinguished the Purification Fire, Zen''s gaze remained fixed on her. He had entered a truly wondrous state of mind during this hour.


    In Zen''s opinion, there were many other uses of Fiona''s Purification Fire in addition to expelling the curse power. For example, if a warrior could not calm down while cultivating, it would often result in a lot of distracting thoughts. Her Purification Fire, however, could remove all these distracting thoughts.


    And when Zen had been staring at Fiona for an hour without any distracting thoughts, her face had been deeply imprinted in his mind.


    Following this, a v


    e is this?" Fiona blinked and stared curiously at it.


    The siblings of the Huo Clan didn''t understand much about ores. Fiona''s curiosity was piqued even further as she saw Callan''s excitement.


    Zen also stared at the ore in bewilderment. He didn''t see anything special about it other than its unique shape. The clouds of fire were distributed in such a regular pattern that they were most likely carved by hand.


    Although Zen himself did not have the ability to identify ores, with his instincts and perception, he could probably distinguish between the good and the bad. And though some of the ores that he had given Camilla were normal ores, more than 70% of them were considered very rare.


    "This is the Black Heart Fire Stone! It is extremely useful for a warrior that cultivates the Fire Law. Fiona, this is for you!" Callan said with a wide smile.


    Zen''s expression twisted even more. Camilla blinked several times before asking, "Black Heart Fire Stone? How come I''ve never heard of this type of ore before?"


    There were over a thousand types of ores in the mine and Camilla could recognize almost all of them. But she had never heard of the Black Heart Fire Stone.


    She gazed at the stone in Callan''s hand. A whirl of thoughts went through her mind. ''Callan is a simple and honest person. It would be alright if he had dug up this stone by himself. But it would be a huge loss if he had obtained it from someone else. He might have been deceived by someone.''


    Thinking of this, Camilla used her life vitality to explain her thoughts to Zen.


    Zen had had his suspicions and Camilla''s analysis basically confirmed them. He asked, "Prince Callan, did you excavate this Black Heart Fire Stone yourself, or did you exchange it with someone else?"

 Chapter 1156 Dispute

    Callan didn''t understand why Zen had asked such a question. In any case, he replied in a stiff voice, "I didn''t dig it out myself. Fredric sold it to me. Is there something wrong?"


    As Fiona heard Fredric''s name, she also frowned. Of the four crown princes of the four divine kingdoms, only Callan, who was her younger brother, was honest and simple-minded. She didn''t like the other three, especially Fredric, who was the crown prince of the York Divine Kingdom. He was at the bottom of her list of likable men. He was extremely cunning and vicious. Although Fiona hadn''t seen him many times, he had left a bad impression on her.


    Thus, Fiona immediately asked, "How many life vitality crystals did you spend buying it?"


    Callan replied, "Nine thousand."


    The mentioned life vitality crystals were naturally supreme life vitality crystals.


    Nine thousand supreme life vitality crystals was not a small number even for a crown prince. It might very well have been more than half of Callan''s savings.


    Fiona took the Black Heart Fire Stone from Callan''s hand and frowned. Something didn''t seem right.


    Seeing his sister''s expression, Callan opened his mouth and told her, "Fiona, they demonstrated to me that this ore can withstand fire. They said that after refining it, it would be able to greatly consolidate the purity of one''s flames!"


    As Callan''s voice fell, a wisp of flame rose from Fiona''s hand. She was going to test the stone. Although the flame in her hand wasn''t large, the temperature was extremely high and it was hot beyond imagination. The power of the third layer of Fire Law wasn''t a joke.


    Under the heat of this pure flame, a crackling sound came from the Black Heart Fire Stone. Cracks immediately erupted from the exquisite clouds of fire on the stone as it began to melt under the immense heat and pressure.


    In the blink of an eye, the entire stone was incinerated into fragments.


    Callan''s eyes became wide open as he blankly stared at these fragments. His face filled with disbelief. His strength might not have been as great as Fiona''s, but he had also cultivated the third layer of the Fire Law. Before buying the stone, he had also used his own fire to try and burn it, and even after giving it a flame for several minutes, he was unable to burn it down. But how had Fiona turned the stone into fragments?


    At this time, Callan also understood that he had been deceived.


    Zen and Camilla thought that Fredric must have used some tricks to fool Callan. Callan was a dull and honest person, and it wasn''t going to be difficult to fool him.


    Fiona''s gaze was calm, but her face looked extremely frosty. She had an amiable personality and never liked to argue with anyone, but she was simply not going to allow anyone to deceive her brother!


    At this moment, the ring of light on the side of the pyramid slightly flickered. Fredric, carrying a pickax, came out from the mine. Once he was outside, the rings of light flashed one after the other and some of his followers also cam


    re Fredric himself could say anything, the divine-level talents who followed him began clamoring.


    In the four divine kingdoms, the power of the warriors was something that every commoner aspired for but could never attain. As for the warriors themselves, the power of the imperial family members was something they could imagine of, think of, and try to achieve, but never succeed in reaching.


    This sort of narrow-minded thinking had been built up over thousands and thousands of years in the four divine kingdoms. Zen, however, didn''t give a damn about it.


    To put it bluntly, the establishment of a divine kingdom depended on one''s own strength. If a divine kingdom''s imperial family members lost their strength, then the divine kingdom would automatically be in extreme danger. And since there were no Soul Sea Realm masters among this lot, Zen could beat every single one of these divine-level talents with his strength. As a result, he didn''t show Fredric the slightest respect.


    So what if Fredric was the crown prince of the York Divine Kingdom? Zen still had the Harlen Divine Kingdom backing him up. What was more, Zen was helping Fiona and Callan. Behind them stood the Wind Divine Kingdom. In other words, it was two whole divine kingdoms along with Zen against one.


    "You guys talk too much nonsense!" Zen sneered. His eyes fell on Fredric. "I will only say this once. Return the life vitality crystals to Callan and this matter will be over. Do not embarrass yourself!"


    The moment he said this, Fredric''s expression immediately turned extremely dark.


    Perhaps Fiona was very strong, but Fredric wasn''t too afraid of her. In his mind, one of the siblings from the Huo Clan was stupid and the other was too naive. He could beat them both.


    But now, Zen was standing up for them too.


    If Zen was a bit more polite, Fredric might have given in, but his words were too unpleasant to listen to. If he gave in right now in front of Zen, then everyone would believe that he was afraid of him.

 Chapter 1157 Are You An Idiot

    Ever since he entered the Feather Holy Sea, Fredric had been facing conflicts with Zen.


    The York Divine Kingdom already had an irreconcilable conflict with him. Both Marine and War Emperor York wanted to eliminate Zen as soon as possible.


    However, Fredric also knew that the difference between his strength and Zen''s own was too great, so he tried his best to endure these small conflicts. In Fredric''s eyes, Zen would be easily killed by his father when he left the secret land.


    But Fredric was still the crown prince of the York Divine Kingdom after all. Moreover, he was the most outstanding one of the four crown princes among the divine kingdoms.


    There was a limit to his tolerance. He had already tried his best to tolerate Zen, but Zen was too arrogant. How could Fredric endure it?


    An indescribable rage rushed straight to his head.


    If it were anyone else, Fredric would have already launched an attack, even against someone like the little monster. However, thinking about Zen''s almost abnormal strength, Fredric gritted his teeth and held back the impulse to attack him. "What if I don''t? What is it that you want? You want to fight me?"


    "No. I won''t dare attack you, and there is no need to do so!" Zen smiled as a trace of indifference appeared in his eyes. At the same time, a formless soul pressure slowly exuded from him.


    Zen''s soul was close to the Jasper Fighting Soul Realm. The soul pressure he emanated was enough to frighten the divine-level talents, including Fredric. Moreover, Zen''s soul had fused with the will of the world.


    Due to the rising conflict between the two of them, many warriors who had left the mine didn''t return to the pyramid. Instead, they watched the fight from the sidelines.


    Most of them knew that even if there was a conflict between Fredric and Zen, it would be foolish of them to step in and take action.


    The reason for this was simple. Zen was able to survive the attack of War Emperor York unharmed. In other words, a Soul Sea Realm master couldn''t do anything to Zen if he didn''t activate his domain.


    Which meant also that no warrior below the Soul Sea Realm could harm Zen.


    He would not dare make a move against Fredric either. He had already offended the York Divine Kingdom to a great extent.


    If Zen were to fight against Fredric here and injure or even kill him, War Emperor York would definitely not let him off the hook once he arrived at the Feather Emperor Secret Land to retrieve the Soul Core.


    Everyone was only here to watch the show.


    However, as Zen released his soul pressure, the expressions on the faces of the divine-level talents instantly changed.


    The aura released by Zen''s soul was not inferior to


    resistible stateliness.


    Fiona''s eyes lit up when she heard Zen''s words. On one hand, she was grateful that Zen had helped her and her brother out. On the other hand, his words awakened something in her.


    She had always been doted upon by her father, the emperor of Wind Divine Kingdom, which was why she was so innocent and elegant, even willful. But even though her father was the emperor of a divine kingdom, he was not bound to protect her forever. Her future could be very different. Perhaps she should reconsider her life goal.


    Zen didn''t care about the 9, 000 supreme life vitality crystals. He had already accumulated a massive amount of life vitality crystals just from selling the ores.


    Of course, Fredric didn''t care about these 9, 000 supreme life vitality crystals either. If he really returned them, it would mean that he was afraid of Zen, and that was the last thing he wanted.


    Therefore, even though Zen''s words were well-founded, Fredric refused his suggestion. The life vitality in his hand suddenly flashed, purple lightning wrapping itself around the Heavenly Thunder Halberd.


    The runes on the Heavenly Thunder Halberd began gleaming continuously. Clearly, these were activated by Fredric.


    The martial artists gaped at the scene, their expressions changing instantly. Many of them had witnessed firsthand the power of the Heavenly Thunder Halberd before. In a mere instant, it had killed many ghosts. The Heavenly Thunder Halberd was comparable to a Soul Sea Realm warrior''s attack.


    Many warriors retreated. Camilla, Fiona, Callan, and the others distanced themselves from Zen. Even if they didn''t die, they could still be severely wounded by the power of the Heavenly Thunder Halberd.


    "Alas! What an idiot!" Zen sighed softly and took another step toward Fredric.

 Chapter 1158 Time To Mine

    In that moment, Fredric''s nerves were also stretched taut. How could he not understand the arithmetic that Zen was talking about?


    The value of the Heavenly Thunder Halberd was simply impossible to measure within the four divine kingdoms.


    In the Upper World, perhaps the halberd was only worth several hundred thousand supreme life vitality crystals. But in the Lower World, no one could afford to buy it. All semi-divine weapons were priceless.


    The last time Fredric had used a halberd to protect himself, it had made his heart ache. Now he was going to use the last halberd against Zen.


    Crack!


    The surface of the halberd had a circular red rune and emitted fragmented lightning. As long as he lightly pressed his finger on the rune, the activated halberd would keep shooting.


    His fingers were trembling. The pressure that Zen had on him was too great, to the point that he was beginning to lose consciousness.


    And right now, he really wanted to give up. He feared Zen instinctively. His instinct constantly reminded him that he should not go against this man because he was not someone he could afford to offend.


    However, another voice sounded out, "Kill him! Even if you have to use a halberd to kill him, it will be worth it. Your father will reward you generously."


    Blood pumped furiously from his heart to his veins. His eyes became bloodshot as his finger pressed down on the rune on the halberd.


    A rumble sounded and


    a shrill whistling sound emanated from the short halberd. It was extremely unpleasant to the ears.


    This was the sound of the lightning channeling through the body of the halberd. A gigantic bolt of lightning abruptly burst forth from the halberd''s front.


    "Go to hell! Bastard!" shouted Fredric loudly. He refused to swallow his pride, so he refused to yield to Zen.


    Although his voice was drowned out by the thunderous roar, Zen was still able to clearly hear him.


    Zen smiled.


    In the blink of an eye, his entire body was covered by a thick bolt of lightning.


    This huge wave of lightning energy was like a river as it surged towards Zen and extended far into the distance.


    Crack!


    Every divine-level talent was blinded by the dazzling light.


    The thick bolt of lightning destroyed everything in its way as it rushed towards the vast Feather Holy Sea. There were still a few faint golden lights on the surface of the Feath


    th his strength alone. The gap was no longer just one realm, but two realms, even though Zen was only in the middle stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm.


    "He fainted," Zen said with a smile. "Let''s wait for him to wake up."


    Fiona let out a light breath and said, "There''s no need. It''s only 9, 000 life vitality crystals."


    It was a massive sum of money for Callan. Fiona was angry that her little brother had been tricked by Fredric and she just couldn''t tolerate the insult. But when it came to true value, 9, 000 supreme life vitality crystals were nothing at all.


    Fredric had also paid a heavy price for those life vitality crystals. The Heavenly Thunder Halberd that he had used moments ago had an immeasurable value.


    Now, Fiona began to worry about Zen. He had already angered War Emperor York. If War Emperor York came to the Feather Emperor Secret Land, would he directly attack Zen? If it really came to that, she would help Zen.


    If she stood out, her father would definitely support her. She had now made up her mind.


    "It''s time to mine!"


    And as quickly as that, Zen put this matter at the back of his mind. He still had work to do. After absorbing so much heavenly essence and igniting over 10, 000 dragon scales, he was to smash the golden leaf to pieces, take out the Black Star, and then move on to the top of the mine tree.


    But this was what he had assumed would happen. What would most likely happen was that he wouldn''t be able to break open the golden leaf, and as a result, wouldn''t be able to take out the pickax, which was a supreme divine weapon.

 Chapter 1159 Blood Arrows

    Under the fearful gazes of so many divine-level talents, Zen began climbing up the pyramid. He stopped at the 35th floor.


    "Why is he going to the 35th floor?"


    "I don''t know... But he seems to be going towards that narrow door!"


    "The golden leaf? His target is the Black Star pickaxe? It''s a vain attempt. Does he have a way to take it out?"


    A warrior who entered the special narrow door on the 35th floor would land at the middle of the tree, also the place where the golden leaf was. And within that leaf was a supreme divine weapon.


    This piece of information had been obtained from the Feather Holy Sea a long time ago, which meant that most of the martial artists in the four divine kingdoms were very clear on this.


    Everyone knew that there was a supreme divine weapon on the 35th floor, and it was a very strange pickaxe. But no one had been able to take it out.


    For so many years, many powerful warriors of the Soul Sea Realm had used many methods. But none of them had been able to break the light golden leaf and obtain the Black Star pickaxe.


    Zen, on the other hand, had just entered the 35th floor with full swagger. Could it be that he knew a way to break the light golden leaf?


    Zen had previously given the crowd the impression that he was capable of everything, which was why they had instinctively thought that it was possible for Zen to get the Black Star pickaxe. But it was a while before they shook their heads in denial, after considering the toughness of the job.


    "It is impossible! If it were that easy to get the Black Star pickaxe, the powerful warriors of the Soul Sea Realm would have obtained it a long time ago!"


    "Yes, you''re right. I guess that Thad is only trying it out there. But a supreme divine weapon is not ordinary. He can''t take it away!"


    "This guy''s brute force is very strong, but he has only managed to injure War Emperor York. He might not stand a chance to take out the Black Star pickaxe unless his strength increases tenfold!"


    As the crowd discussed Zen''s move among themselves, a few curious warriors even began climbing up the pyramid. The 35th floor was a bit dangerous for divine-level talents, but if they were to encounter the green mineral-devouring bugs, they could still escape in time. And as long as they didn''t run into the purple mineral-devouring bugs, there wouldn''t be any danger. The purple mineral-devouring bugs would usually stay on the 40th floor or above, and so far, only Zen had been able to attract them away from there once. So they thought it would be okay for them to go up there.


    Many martial artists entered the narrow doors on the 35th floor, as well as the doors below.


    And because only one warrior could pass through a narrow door at a time, a few brave ones even entered the


    troy the golden leaf with a combined attack, Zen assumed that he probably wouldn''t be able to break open the leaf with just the power of four thousand dragon scales.


    ''Five thousand!''


    Zen didn''t hesitate and continued to summon the power of more dragon scales.


    But Zen''s body was wracked with unbearable pain as the power of the five thousand dragon scales erupted. The pain came from every cell in Zen''s body, and the intensity was outrageous. This was unbearable!


    ''The state of forgetting myself!'' An idea suddenly struck him.


    Zen had employed a technique he had previously used. In the state of forgetting himself, Zen could temporarily forget about the pain of his body. In this state, it was as if it wasn''t his body that was suffering the pain, but someone else''s.


    The state of forgetting oneself, however, had its pros and cons, because pain was beneficial to the human body in some aspect. When pain came from the body, it was a signal to tell you that it was overloaded or that there was something wrong with it.


    If one couldn''t feel the pain, it would only cause more damage to one''s body.


    But right now, Zen had no choice. Since he had already made his decision, he would go all out.


    The power of five thousand dragon scales surged into Zen''s body. As every part of his body had swelled to the limit. The cracking sounds stopped, but in the next moment, a wound suddenly appeared on Zen''s chest.


    The sound of ripping cloth rent the air.


    A stream of blood burst out from Zen''s chest like a blood arrow shooting out, cutting open his clothes. Zen''s chest had been ripped open by the immense force, and blood was gushing out at an alarming rate, tearing his clothes to shreds.


    "Pa!" "Pa!" "Pa!" "Pa!"


    Soon after, blood arrows shot out from Zen''s back, legs, and shoulders, to everyone''s utter astonishment and shock.

 Chapter 1160 Failed

    "How did Zen get injured? I haven''t seen anyone attack him!"


    "It is indeed very strange¡­ What is going on with him?"


    "I have seen similar things before. When a martial artist absorbs too much power that his body is unable to withstand it, this is what happens! But Zen''s body is so strong. What kind of power would make this happen to him?"


    Zen gasped heavily, his expression betraying nothing. His body was on the verge of collapse. If he continued to increase the power of the dragon scales, his physical body might not be able to hold out against the strong pressure.


    Had the power of five thousand dragon scales touched his limits?


    He took another step forward with great difficulty. Even though he had entered into a state of forgetting himself and couldn''t feel the pain in his body from the pressure of this immense power, he was still a horrible sight to look at.


    ''Do I need to activate the power of six thousand dragon scales?''


    he wondered, a look of hesitation appearing on his face. However, he quickly gave up on this idea. Even though he had only taken one step forward, three to four blood arrows shot out from his body¡­


    ''Let me try this out with five thousand dragon scales.''


    Since he had already reached his limit, Zen wasn''t foolish enough to try to activate the power of six thousand dragon scales. If his physical body really collapsed, no one would be able to save him.


    Zen spread out his legs, his toes pointed and buttocks clenched. He stood firmly on the golden leaf, right above the spot where the pickaxe was located. Slowly, he clenched his fists.


    "Puff! Puff! Puff¡­"


    The power within Zen''s body drifted into his arms, each of the pulses in his arms bulging out like little snakes. At the same time, blood arrows continued to erupt from his skin. In an instant, the sleeves on his arms had been torn apart by the blood arrows.


    Even so, he gritted his teeth and slowly raised his fist.


    Zen didn''t dare use his life vitality or forceful energy. Now that Zen''s body had been thoroughly activated to its limits, it could be that just a little more strength would be enough to disintegrate his body and cause his body to explode.


    ''Let me release all the power!''


    Zen''s fist landed on the light golden leaf with a profound impact.


    The speed of his strike wasn''t fast. Since it contained such formidable power, he didn''t need to increase the speed to boost his power¡­


    As his fist approached the leaf, the immense force from his body began to pour out onto it.


    Zen''s body too began to shrink rapidly at this moment. Moments ago, his physical


    to see Yan again, he would need to practice tens of thousands of times harder than others.


    That was also one of Zen''s goals.


    Zen knew that if he advanced steadily, there would still be a long way to go in his life. There was a lot of time for him to grow, but Zen could not afford to waste a single second. He had to grow as fast as possible and challenge every peak he faced until he once again stood in front of that young man.


    Zen would not give up in the face of the light golden leaf and the Black Star pickaxe sealed within it.


    "Thank you!"


    Zen said faintly, pouring his life vitality into his voice.


    He said this to Randy, Fiona and Camilla who had been so kind to offer their help.


    Zen sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes once again, trying to think of a way to break the leaf beneath his feet.


    His physical body was unable to withstand any more power. It seemed like a predicament with no solution in sight.


    Time passed by. The warriors on the leaves stared fixedly at Zen. The scene was dull as Zen now sat still doing nothing, but every martial artist seemed to harbor a lot of patience. It felt like a movie where the climax was incoming, although for the moment it was uninteresting. The audience still waited with bated breaths. They wanted to know what kind of solution Zen would come up with.


    "There is no solution. He can''t make it!"


    "For over ten thousand years, the powerful masters at the Soul Sea Realm have received many ideas to solve this problem. They tried every possible way they could think of! None of them ever succeeded!"


    "It''s true that Thad is a rare genius, but every warrior who has reached the Soul Sea Realm is the best among all," another spectator commented.

 Chapter 1161 Crack

    Zen quietly sat on the golden leaf, his gaze becoming calmer and his mind becoming clearer as time ticked by.


    As of now, he was unable to unleash all his strength because of the limitations on his physical body. Right now, the most urgent thing was to push this limit.


    He pondered over it all. The power that came from the outside world was essentially the same as his own¡­


    If that was the case, he could transfer his own power.


    After obtaining the will of the world from the little monster, Zen was able to maintain a connection with everything in the great world.


    It could be a flower, a log, a mountain, or a sea¡­.


    Everything Zen saw could be linked to him magically. He could connect to things he had never even seen before. This was because the memories of the entire world were firmly stored in Zen''s psyche. He was now the spokesperson for this great world.


    He could feel the origin of the will of this great world. Certainly, he would explore it himself in future, but right now he had more important things to do.


    By transferring the power, Zen could take on immense strength while causing no damage to his own body, for another entity would replace him and absorb the strength. By the West Dragon River, Zen had taken on the punch from War Emperor York with the help of the mountains by the river. The vast Feather Holy Sea had helped him block the Heavenly Thunder Halberd from Fredric not so long ago.


    If he used the skill of power transfer, he could take on the power of ten thousand dragon scales, or even the power of one hundred thousand dragon scales. This way, the power that his body was supposed to consume would be borne by other things.


    However, the problem he was currently facing required a different solution.


    He now needed to pour all of his power into this light golden leaf. If he used the skill of power transfer, the power from the dragon scales would be transferred to somewhere else.


    ''Transfer...''


    Thinking of this, Zen tapped his forehead at an important revelation.


    He had been too rigid in his way of thinking. It dawned on him that he could actually use this ability of power transfer in a different manner.


    Seeing Zen''s behavior and his shining eyes, Randy''s eyes flashed. He wondered if Zen had come up with any good ideas.


    Fiona blinked, a smile starting to form at the corner of her mouth. With Zen''s intelligence, he truly might be able to find a way to solve this predicament.


    Suddenly, Zen rose. Standing on the top of the leaf, he took a deep breath.


    "The power of dragon scales!"


    The scales of the cyan


    "It''s a breakthrough. This really is extraordinary¡­"


    Their faces were full of surprise as various thoughts ran through their heads. However, except for a few people, such as Randy, Fiona, and Camilla, they were unable to contain the envy and jealousy in their hearts. It was almost as if it was their first instinct to feel jealous, like it was something unavoidable.


    Those who had been looking forward to Zen smashing the golden leaf didn''t feel the satisfaction they should have, for they had in fact wished that Zen would fail. Humans were such contradictory creatures.


    ''I''ll strike it again!'' Zen thought.


    He bent down once again, both his fists slamming down onto the golden leaf.


    Bam!


    A second crack appeared on the surface of the golden leaf, extending from the bottom of the first crack.


    Things had been tough in the beginning. After the first crack appeared on the golden leaf, it became its weakest point. Zen didn''t let up. He kept hitting the first crack to make it shatter.


    Bang! Boom! Bang¡­


    Zen''s powerful strikes landed on the golden leaf one after another. More and more cracks became visible.


    At the sight of the cracks, Zen narrowed his eyes. Waves of life vitality rushed into his trembling fists. Soon after, the waves transformed into specks of starlight that enveloped Zen''s body.


    "Star Shakes the Earth! Smash to pieces!"


    Zen gritted his teeth and threw out his final punch.


    Boom¡­


    Bang¡­


    They all heard the sharp, unmistakable sound of a crack. The golden leaf under Zen''s feet cracked from the middle, and at the same time, the stems of the golden leaf broke apart.


    The Black Star pickaxe unveiled itself from beneath the tens of thousands of broken pieces.

 Chapter 1162 The Robbery

    The divine-level talents could not remain calm when they saw the Black Star despite knowing they were no match for Zen.


    Several divine-level talents would easily take a risk to obtain even an ordinary divine weapon. This was a supreme divine weapon after all. Even if they had to pay for it with their lives, they would still try to take it because the temptation was just too much.


    Whoosh!


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Seven to eight divine-level talents shot out from the leaves in the 36th layer. Although they would be pulled down by an invisible force after they left the leaves, they were able to adjust their direction to a certain degree the moment they left the leaves.


    Of course, their target was the Black Star.


    It wasn''t just the warriors in the 36th layer, but the ones in the 37th layer also jumped down and joined in the fight for the Black Star.


    The warriors in the 34th and 33rd layers were also waiting for the opportunity to take action. They were only waiting for the Black Star to fall before they would join the fray without hesitation.


    When the golden leaf was destroyed by Zen, all the fragments, including Zen and the pickax, were thrown into the air by the force of gravity. The next moment, they were all pulled back down by an invisible force.


    "Thad, be careful!" Randy, who stood on a leaf not far away, shouted out loud. He was still a fair distance away from Zen and was unable to reach him. All he could do from this distance was warn him. It was the same for Camilla and Fiona.


    Zen''s face darkened when he saw the warriors rushing towards him. He had spent a great deal of effort getting this pickax. These guys sure knew how to take advantage of things! However, it wasn''t so easy to take advantage of Zen.


    "You want to rob me? You''re courting death!" Zen snorted derisively. Suddenly the soul pressure in his mind exploded.


    When he had released his soul pressure earlier, he had reserved some of it. Otherwise, with his soul fused with the world''s will, it would have been impossible for these Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors to even approach him.


    The Black Star was extremely important to Zen. He simply would not tolerate people trying to snatch it!


    Therefore, this time, Zen''s soul pressure had erupted with full force.


    He was falling extremely fast. In the blink of an eye, he had fallen from the 35th layer to the 20th layer with the Black Star and the fragments of the golden leaf in tow. This was not a short distance from where Randy, Fiona, an


    as they were no match for him.


    Meanwhile, the rings of light in the mine slowly faded away. Randy smiled and said, "Let''s go out and take a closer look!"


    After Randy took his step first, the other warriors also followed. They all jumped off the leaves and started falling down.


    Bram, the crown prince of the Harlen Divine Kingdom, had a smile on his face. Zen had exceeded his expectations long ago, and he could keep doing it over and over again.


    Previously, Bram had been insecure of Randy''s strength and had started to suppress him. He had always held the absolute advantage, but now, because of Zen alone, Bram would probably be suppressed by Randy, and he wouldn''t be able to turn the situation around.


    However, in the end, Randy and Bram were brothers. Perhaps there was no need for them to compete against each other like this. Bram looked relieved, and he also left the leaf.


    Everyone went back outside the pyramid while Zen stood nearby with the pickax in his hand. He was frowning slightly.


    Zen couldn''t figure out what material the pickax was made of. Even after he turned it in his hand over and over again and examined it closely, he still couldn''t see anything special about it.


    "Is this really the so-called supreme divine weapon? It doesn''t look extraordinary at all!"


    Whether it was the semi-divine weapon on Fiona''s arm or Fredric''s Heavenly Thunder Halberd, the momentum and might contained within them were incomparable to a normal sacred weapon.


    Apart from its extremely tough material, Zen couldn''t see how the Black Star was similar to a divine weapon. And this was not just a normal divine weapon; it was a supreme divine weapon.

 Chapter 1163 The Master Of The Black Star

    Every one of these divine-level talents was openly staring at Zen. They could hardly hide the greed in their eyes. But remembering the corpses lying in the crater vividly as if they were implanted in their minds, they held themselves in check.


    Stealing the pickax in Zen''s hand? That was not taking a risk at all. But instead, that was pure suicide!


    Thus everyone decided that they could only keep a certain distance from him and watch from afar.


    Zen quietly observed the Black Star in his hand. It was short in length, almost looking like a small hammer. He tried gauging its weight as he scanned its body for any markings. But no matter what he did, he still couldn''t figure out why it ranked as a supreme divine weapon. He was completely clueless.


    ''Does this pickax need life vitality to activate?''


    A strand of life vitality abruptly appeared in Zen''s hand as he thought of this, and he poured it eagerly into the pickax.


    Fundamentally, life vitality could easily invade a weapon. But he could faintly feel that this pickax was extremely resistant to life vitality.


    ''I should use my perception to explore it.''


    Then he started utilizing his spiritual perception to scrutinize the divine weapon. But every time he came into contact with the Black Star, he was also being blocked out by an invisible force.


    ''Do I need to put a drop of my blood onto it so that I''ll become its master?''


    Zen blinked his eyes as he mused what to do next. Then he suddenly flicked his finger, causing a drop of blood to spurt out. He aimed it immediately at the pickax, but it missed, falling to its side. It seemed to him that the weapon had some invisible force, not allowing the blood to touch its surface.


    "What?" he cried out, confused.


    Inspecting the Black Star thoroughly, he couldn''t help feeling as if he had entered a mountain of treasures but left empty-handed. There was nothing he could do about it.


    Sighing helplessly, he casually gazed at the divine-level talents in the distance. No one dared to approach him at this time, and he couldn''t count on a method from their mouths.


    Just as Zen was at a loss, a faint voice resounded in his mind, "Ha-ha! Black Star. This is a supreme divine weapon. I knew that it was buried in the Earth Tree, but I didn''t expect you to actually take it out." It was the voice of the cyan dragon.


    "You''re awake!" Surprise appeared on Zen''s face. He had initially thought that the cyan dragon would be sleeping for a long time.


    "I sensed this supreme divine weapon, so I woke up," said the cyan dragon in a voice that revealed a hint of exhaustion.


    Zen was in frustration. But a sudden realization hit him as he listened to the cyan dragon''s words. It seemed like he knew a lot about this mine as well as the Black Star. Glee was written all over Zen''s face as he said, "I don''t seem to be able to use this pickax."


    The cyan dragon chuckled heartily and replied, "It will be strange if you can use a supreme div


    e Black Star.


    Indeed, if one were to draw these one-star divine textures in the opposite order, it would be equivalent to drawing the lines of these ten-star divine textures.


    He had initially thought that the composition of a ten-star divine texture would be very complicated, but now it seemed that it was far from what he had imagined. The greatest truths were the simplest of all. They reached the same goal by different means.


    "And now?" Zen asked.


    "Use your life vitality to activate these one-star divine textures and then register them onto the pickax," the cyan dragon answered.


    Following the instructions given by the cyan dragon, Zen carefully imprinted a one-star divine texture onto the pickax. The moment he did so, one of the three ten-star divine textures on the Black Star suddenly glowed with light.


    Zen didn''t ask anything more as he appreciated the soft glow. He continued to imprint the second divine texture onto it, and the third one after that.


    Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!


    The Black Star was finally activated!


    A magnificent color appeared on the surface of the pickax, like a layer of oil being poured into water.


    "So beautiful!" Zen praised.


    "Don''t celebrate so soon! Put a drop of your blood onto the pickax. But let me remind you, this is a supreme divine weapon. It has its own will and will judge its master, and not everyone can be recognized as a master by it," the cyan dragon explained.


    "Hmm! Got it!" Zen nodded.


    After working so hard for so long, even if he really couldn''t become its master, Zen would accept it graciously. After all, he had done his best!


    Like before, Zen flicked his finger, and a drop of blood fell towards the Black Star again.


    He understood that if he really couldn''t become its master, then that would be his fate. He was no longer in a position to control the situation, but amidst that, he still stared at the drop of blood with great anticipation and with a nervous expression on his face.

 Chapter 1164 Unique Law Of Causality

    The drop of blood fell on the Black Star pickaxe but did not seep into it. However, it did not fall down or get repelled by the pickaxe either.


    It was slowly crawling on the pickaxe like a small insect.


    "Will it work?" Zen stared at it nervously.


    The drop of blood slowly slid from the top part of the pickaxe, moving all the way down. Zen''s eyes followed it as it slowly inched downward.


    As the drop of blood continued rolling downwards, Zen''s heart began to sink. It didn''t look like this was going to work.


    He was starting to lose all hope when the drop of blood gently swayed and then suddenly split apart. It spread out on the pickaxe and then got completely absorbed in it!


    "Huh! I succeeded?!" Zen was ecstatic!


    Soon after, he felt like he had established some sort of connection with the Black Star pickaxe. It felt like the bond between flesh and blood.


    Zen had experienced this feeling before. Back when he had condensed the sword spirit, he felt that his soul and that of the sword spirit were connected. But the difference here was that Lavender, the sword spirit, had her own soul and thoughts, while the Black Star pickax didn''t have a mind of its own. Its consciousness was only used to identify its master, so it was a simpler form.


    Buzz, buzz, buzz¡­


    Suddenly a dazzling light burst out from the three divine textures on the Black Star pickaxe. It pierced right through Zen''s life vitality and soared into the sky!


    "What''s happening in the pit?"


    "Who knows? Who has the courage to go over and take a look? Obviously Thad did all this to keep us from finding out what he''s up to. Now whoever goes there will be courting death!"


    "I don''t dare to go there. If I were to go over there, he would definitely kill me..."


    The corpses of the divine-level talents, who had tried to take the Black Star pickaxe from Zen, served as reminders of what lay in store for those who dared to approach the pit.


    After the light dissipated, Zen climbed out of the pit with the Black Star pickaxe and a smile on his face. In his mind, he was communicating with the cyan dragon, "Does this Black Star pickaxe have any special abilities?"


    Zen didn''t know what a supreme divine weapon could do, but judging from the fact that a mere semi-divine divine weapon like Fiona''s jade bracelet was so powerful, he assumed that the supreme divine weapon would have extraordinary powers.


    "The abilities of the Black Star pickaxe?" The cyan dragon replied, "This is a pickaxe. What abilities do you expect it to have? It can dig anything out."


    "It''s¡­"


    Zen was stunned at these words. "Just this?"


    "Isn''t that enough? Don''t look at it as a weapon. Though it''s a pickaxe, it''s an extraordinary one," added the cyan dragon.


    Zen''s heart sank. What the hell was this?


    When he had seen the three ten-star divine textures on the Black Star pickax, he had high expectations from it. That was wh


    ivine-level talent''s soul was harmed, it would be a problem. However, for the crown prince of a divine kingdom, it was no big deal. The York Divine Kingdom''s heritage was far beyond that of ordinary sects or noble clans. War Emperor York was just incensed that someone had dared to injure Fredric!


    To put it bluntly, this Divine Kingdom Continent belonged to the four royal families of the four divine kingdoms. The entire continent was like the backyard of these four families. The crown prince of Liu Clan was knocked unconscious in his own backyard! Who on this continent dared to challenge the authority of the royal family?


    When the War Emperor York asked the question, he already knew the answer. No one on the continent would dare to do so, except for Zen!


    There still was a small possibility that it might not be him because Zen had a violent fight with him once and he spared Zen''s life because Turner and several others persuaded him to spare his life. So he assumed Zen would not offend him further. And if he did, he knew he was inviting death.


    A divine-level talent of the York Divine Kingdom looked at the furious War Emperor York and shuddered. He replied meekly, "Your Majesty, it''s, it''s Zen. His soul pressure did this to the crown prince!"


    War Emperor York took a step forward and reached out to his son. He put his hand in Fredric''s robes and removed a necklace. The ornament looked feminine. The gem in the necklace had been completely shattered and its color had faded. War Emperor York clenched his teeth as he looked at Zen and yelled, "Zen! Kneel down before me and await your death!"


    Although this Heart Condensation Necklace was a top-grade sacred weapon, its value was equal to that of a semi-divine weapon. Now it was broken, and this made War Emperor York furious!


    Standing at the edge of the pyramid, Zen blinked and said calmly, "If I really wanted to die, why would I kneel down in front of you?"

 Chapter 1166 War Kings Anger

    They weren''t sure that the pickax in Zen''s hand was the Black Star that had been sealed within the golden leaf.


    War Emperor York was the first to react among them.


    A divine-level talent of the York Divine Kingdom was quick to react. When he saw that many of the Soul Sea Realm warriors had zeroed in on Zen, he immediately sent Lucien a voice message through life vitality.


    Lucien had his own suspicions when he saw the black pickax, but he couldn''t be sure. He could not believe that Zen had retrieved the Black Star pickax. However, after the divine-level talent''s reminder to him, his doubts were replaced by eagerness.


    Before the many powerful warriors at the Soul Sea Realm could react, War Emperor York''s figure flashed. Instantly, he was beside Zen.


    He was so fast that by the time Turner and War King Wind realized what had happened, the pickax was already in his possession. A look of ecstasy crossed his face.


    Zen stood on the edge of the pyramid and looked faintly at the overjoyed War Emperor York. He almost rolled his eyes.


    He didn''t resist War Emperor York. The pickax wouldn''t have been taken away so easily from him if he had put up a fight. If Zen had used the power of the four thousand dragon scales, War Emperor York would have been unable to snatch the weapon from him.


    However, there was a large chasm between Zen''s strength and that of War Emperor York''s. Zen didn''t want to anger the ruler too much and force him to attack him.


    In any case, the supreme divine weapon had already acknowledged Zen as its master. War Emperor York might have managed to get his hands on it, but it would be of no use to him.


    "Black Star pickax! It''s really Black Star pickax!" The War Emperor York''s face betrayed a euphoric expression as he laughed out loud.


    A lot of treasures were hidden within the leaves of the top three layers of the tree. Soul Core, in particular, was extremely critical to the four divine kingdoms. Up until now, they could only place their hopes on the mineral-devouring bugs, but those bugs rarely climbed up to the top to eat the ores.


    If War Emperor York possessed the pickax, he would be able to mine the leaf at the top.


    "Is it really the Black Star pickax?"


    "How was it taken out?"


    "Did Thad dig it out of the leaf on the thirty-fifth layer? How did he do it?""


    Many of the powerful warriors at the Soul Sea Realm had tried to extract the Black Star pickax without success. It came as a shock to them that the pick was truly the Black Star. Some of them were just tongue-tied.


    "Was it really Thad who dug it out?" War King Win


    ate.


    Should he just attack Zen?


    Wind and Turner would never condone it. Threatening wouldn''t work on Zen. After thinking for a while, he said, "Tell me the method to make the pickax recognize me as its master, and York Divine Kingdom will fulfill your wishes for the rest of your life! York Divine Kingdom can even groom you. We will spare no resources. All of the martial houses and secret training grounds will be open to you!"


    Intimidating him would be of no use. The only option War Emperor York had was to tempt him.


    Hearing this, Turner couldn''t help but roll his eyes. Was Lucien foolish enough to think that Zen was born yesterday? Harlen Divine Kingdom could already give Zen whatever York Divine Kingdom promised him. There wouldn''t be too much of a difference in resources. How could War Emperor York expect Zen to renounce a supreme divine weapon for what he was promising?


    "Lucien, give it back to Zen," Turner said. "Since the Black Star pickax has already accepted its owner, we can get Zen to help us mine the Soul Cores."


    "Humph, I, a dignified war emperor, need the help of a young fellow?" Lucien snorted, extremely reluctant to return the pickax.


    Boom...


    Flames burst out from beneath the feet of the fuming War King Wind, each flame transforming into a nimble fire bird. The fire birds hovered around him. This was War King Wind''s domain: the Firebird.


    "You may not need Zen''s help, but we do! All these years, we have tolerated you, while you have become more and more insufferable! I would rather leave this Black Star pickax in the hands of an outsider than let you have it! Lucien, return the Black Star pickax to Zen at once or we fight!"


    This time, War King Wind was truly enraged.

 Chapter 1167 Resign To Fate

    The other three divine kingdoms had always tolerated the York Divine Kingdom because of the secret sect and the little monster. But on the whole, the four great divine kingdoms had been harmonious with each other all these years as they were under the control of the humans of the Upper World. The whole Divine Kingdom Continent seemed like a joint force.


    Now War King Wind lost his temper because he could no longer stand Lucien''s behavior. Of course, it was also because of Fiona. He had figured out that she was actually very concerned about Zen.


    "This time he must be really angry. He means serious business!"


    "This is the second time. It''s been a long time since the four divine kingdoms had a conflict..."


    "Will War Emperor York take action?"


    A wave of heat spread out around War King Wind; it looked like he was about to attack.


    "Lucien, since you can''t control the Black Star, you should give it back to Zen," suggested Turner calmly.


    Scott also took a step forward and stood beside Turner. This time, nobody seemed to be standing on War Emperor York''s side.


    War Emperor York was outraged but he didn''t return the Black Star to Zen. Instead, his figure flashed as he charged straight towards the pyramid.


    He was unwilling to accept defeat.


    Even if he couldn''t control the Black Star, he had to try it out. After all, it was a supreme divine weapon. The pickax might be much stronger than a normal sacred weapon or divine weapon.


    Seeing War Emperor York dashing towards the 45th layer, the three divine kingdom rulers just sighed. War King Wind said, "Forget it. If he''s willing to give it a try, then let him."


    War Emperor York entered through the narrow door on the 45th layer and fell onto a leaf.


    There was a purple mineral-devouring bug resting on the leaf. When it noticed War Emperor York, it made two short creaking sounds and flapped its wings in preparation to pounce on him.


    Even before the bug could approach War Emperor York, he struck out a fist. An invisible wave of the emperor''s powerful energy blew the purple mineral-devouring bug away.


    In the past, War Emperor York would be interested in capturing this bug. However, now that he had the Black Star, he couldn''t be bothered.


    After chasing the purple mineral-devouring bug away, he took two steps forward and raised the Black Star in his hand. He brought the pickax down ruthlessly as his eyes gleamed with determination!


    Smash!


    Waves surged in the Soul Sea within his body. The power that his life vitality stimulated erupted i


    mber''s lifespan coming to an end? Does he need the life crystal to sustain his or her life?"


    "I have no idea. He is not a member of the four divine kingdoms after all."


    "I wonder if the Black Star can really penetrate that leaf..."


    "I, too, have some doubts. Although the Black Star is known to be a supreme divine weapon, no one has ever seen its true power!"


    The powerful Soul Sea Realm masters were discussing all this among themselves on the leaves, with anticipation in their eyes.


    Basically, the top three layers of the mine tree were like three transparent treasure boxes! However, they hadn''t been able to obtain the key to the treasure boxes for so many years. Now that the key had fallen into Zen''s hands, everyone hoped that he would be able to open the boxes.


    "This time, I''ll definitely succeed!"


    Zen''s eyes flashed in excitement, and he lightly struck the blue leaf with the pickax in his hand.


    He did not employ much power, but as he brandished his pickax, a mysterious force spread out! This was the power of the Law of Causality!


    "Ding..."


    The Soul Sea Realm masters held their collective breaths.


    The power was extremely simple but superior. The Soul Sea Realm masters could tell that they would never be able to fight it! The pickax seemed to be able to penetrate through everything.


    The moment the Black Star struck the leaf, an invisible force field around the leaf cracked! This was the leaf''s Law of Causality of absolute defense!


    When the two Laws of Causality were pitted against each other, the Black Star''s Law of Causality had the absolute advantage!


    Therefore, when Zen barely tapped the leaf, it began to shatter layer by layer...

 Chapter 1168 The Tribulation Flower

    The Black Star pickaxe clanked as it was knocked against the giant leaf.


    Cracks continued to surface on the azure blue leaf, a number of life crystals popping out one after another.


    Zen smiled faintly and waved his hand, gathering the life crystals into his space ring.


    He had felt somewhat disappointed after obtaining the Black Star, for it could only dig up things. However, since it was a pickaxe, that was its only function.


    Now that he possessed the life crystals, his most urgent goal at this place had been accomplished.


    Nonetheless, after investing so much effort in getting the pickaxe, he wouldn''t mind digging up some more ores.


    Just as Zen looked for his next target, he heard Turner speak to him politely. "Thad, now that you''ve obtained the Black Star pickaxe, I need a favor from you!"


    All the Soul Sea Realm masters wished to seek Zen''s help, but the one most qualified to make the request was Turner.


    After all, Turner had stepped in to help Zen quite a few times, and Zen was now regarded as a member of his divine kingdom. There was no reason for Zen to reject his demand.


    "Your majesty, please don''t hesitate to speak your mind. I will grant you everything that you wish," Zen replied, respect evident in his voice.


    Turner nodded his head in satisfaction. Since Zen recognized him as the king and had regard for him, it would be easy for him to put forth his request. "In order to enter the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land, the four divine kingdoms need a type of ore from these leaves. It is called..."


    "Soul Core, correct?" Zen had already heard about it from Lord Randy, so he immediately made a guess.


    "Yes, and there''s one about ten feet away to the left of your feet," Turner said politely, a smile lingering about his mouth.


    There happened to be a number of Soul Cores on the forty-fifth, forty-sixth, and forty-seventh layers. However, in the past years, they had placed all their hopes of getting the Soul Cores on the purple mineral-devouring bugs. For that reason, the four divine kingdoms had only obtained a total of a hundred or so Soul Cores thus far.


    That would have been fine if they still had all of those Soul Cores, however they had lost most of them along the way. This year, they only had thirty-six Soul Cores in their possession.


    Anyone who wanted to enter the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land would need to use a Soul Core to obtain a corpse of the Dragon Lineage Humans. The four divine kingdoms had so many Soul Sea Realm masters that the numbers of Soul Cores were far from enough. Because of that, each year the four divine kingdoms clamored over the allocation of Soul Cores.


    Fortunately, they might not need to struggle over that this year.


    The powerful warriors of the Soul Sea Realm shared this sentiment, all owing to this young man who was only at the Virtual Tribulation Realm!


    Following Turner''s instructions, Zen moved around, soon finding an ore under his feet. The ore had a perfectly round shape and thumped quietly like a small heart.


    "So this is a Soul Core? After obtaining this, I''ll have the right to enter the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land?" Zen''s eyes flickered with excitement. He finally had the chanc


    ne in the Lower World is qualified to ascend to the Upper World after reaching the Soul Sea Realm," the cyan dragon elucidated. "But in the Upper World, the Soul Sea Realm is just the beginning; the first step for a warrior to embark on his journey! As for the Small Heavenly Tribulation of the Life and Death Realm, it is not only a tribulation but also like a baptism of fire for all warriors. Whether it is in the Genuine Dragon World or any other supreme worlds, the Small Heavenly Tribulation in the Life and Death Realm has always been regarded as an important event. The more Small Heavenly Tribulations a warrior can get through, the greater his potential in the future."


    Warriors who had been promoted to the Soul Sea Realm after experiencing five or six Small Heavenly Tribulations belonged to the lower ranks in the Upper World.


    Similarly, warriors who had gone through seven Small Heavenly Tribulations to reach the Soul Sea Realm were considered as second-rate warriors.


    And among all kinds of forces, the warriors who could undergo eight Small Heavenly Tribulations were considered to be the top warriors, worth all efforts of the forces to train them.


    However, someone who could undergo nine Small Heavenly Tribulations was decidedly exceptional. Such a character would undoubtedly shake the status quo with his name and go down in the history books of the era. In every ten million years, there were only five or six people of any great race blessed to be such chosen ones.


    Zen was taken aback by the cyan dragon''s words. It seemed that there were no titles such as the heaven-level or divine-level talents in the Upper World. With the methods of the great races above, it would perhaps be quite easy for a warrior to reach the Soul Sea Realm. Nonetheless, it was almost impossible to change the number of the Heavenly Tribulations one was to undergo.


    "If that''s the case, the Upper World should also be keen on this Tribulation Flower, yes?" Zen asked.


    The cyan dragon smiled. "There are no Earth Trees in the Upper World. This Tribulation Flower is in fact a fortune for you warriors of the Lower World!"

 Chapter 1169 Life Vitality Started To Solidify

    The many supreme worlds in the Upper World were rich in resources, be it cultivation methods, inheritances or the vastness of the worlds.


    Thus, in regard to cultivation, the martial artists from the Upper World enjoyed far greater cultivation resources than the martial artists in the Lower World.


    To the martial artists of the Upper World, the warriors from the Lower World were nothing more than country bumpkins that came from remote mountains. Only a few of them could advance to a very high level.


    The Upper World certainly had its own advantage, but the martial artists in the Lower World also had their own unique advantages. For instance, the competition in the Lower World was less intense than that in the Upper World.


    The martial artists from the Lower World would also avoid the Tribulation Flower at all costs, as it could increase the difficulty of tribulations. The Life and Death Realm warriors hoped that after surviving a few life and death tribulations, they would be able to enter the Soul Sea Realm. So they could not wish that the tribulations increased in difficulty.


    On the other hand, for the martial artists of the Upper World, the Tribulation Flower was an absolute precious treasure. Even the value of a divine weapon would not match up to the value of the Tribulation Flower.


    Zen was not willing to be confined to the small Lower World. So, in order to prepare himself to advance from the Virtual Tribulation Realm to the Life and Death Realm, he would have to build a solid and strong foundation.


    However, the stronger a warrior was, the more difficult the Heavenly Tribulation the warrior would face. Since Letitia practiced the Sutra of Empyrean Goddess, her strength was far stronger than that of any other martial artists of the same level. Therefore, when Letitia broke through the Virtual Tribulation Realm and entered the Life and Death Realm, the small Heavenly Tribulation she suffered was unprecedentedly stronger. She even encountered rare nightmare tribulation.


    Zen was only at the middle stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm, and his strength was enough to fight against a powerful master of the Soul Sea Realm. If a powerful master of the Soul Sea Realm didn''t use a domain to restrict Zen, he would become invincible in the great world.


    If Zen wanted to advance to the Life and Death Realm, he had to face difficulties beyond imagination. Adding the effect of the Tribulation Flower, he might not be able to survive.


    Zen looked at the Tribulation Flower. It was a beautifully shaped object. Without hesitation, he walked towards it, grabbed his Black Star pickaxe and smashed it.


    An invisible force suddenly burst out from the Black Star pickaxe. Zen knew it was powerful and wondered if there was anything in the Upper World that could resist it. In this great world, however, nothing could resist it. The Law of Causality contained in his Black Star pickaxe was too powerful.


    "Clang"


    The Tribulation Flower suddenly shattered


    venly Stellar Secret Land. In the future, we won''t need Soul Cores anymore!" War Emperor York fell silent. This was all he could come up with to defend himself.


    As the other powerful masters of the Soul Sea Realm kept on discussing, Zen suddenly stopped rolling on the floor and his body started emitting a stronger aura.


    "What is happening? Thad''s aura is getting stronger!" a mighty warrior of the Soul Sea Realm said.


    "He pulled through and made it. Now his cultivation has reached the late stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm!" another master said.


    "He actually made it at this critical stage¡­ It is unbelievable!"


    Zen''s pain had disappeared and his life vitality had gathered in his lower abdomen and condensed to an unprecedented form. After being highly compressed, his life vitality which had been in the form of gas started to liquefy.


    Only martial artists at the Life and Death Realm were able to condense their life vitality. In other words, now that Zen entered the late stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm, he immediately started preparing himself to enter the Life and Death Realm.


    The life vitality within Zen''s cinnabar field continued to condense and it started to flow slower and slower.


    For most Life and Death Realm martial artists, the condensation process of life vitality was extremely slow. Not only that but the condensed life vitality would flow just like water. However, as Zen''s life vitality condensed, it actually became thicker and thicker, just like paste.


    "It''s getting harder for me to make the life vitality circulate! It seems like it''s going to freeze¡­" Zen frowned while sitting on the ground.


    The cyan dragon was shocked by what Zen said. "The life vitality is solidifying, this is so strange... I can''t believe the life vitality started to solidify when you just broke through to the Life and Death Realm!"


    Zen was in a state of confusion when he heard the cyan dragon''s words, "Does life vitality solidify? What do you mean?"

 Chapter 1170 Heavenly Tribulation

    Normally a martial artist would be able to liquefy his life vitality at the Life and Death Realm, and the elixir field would be able to store even more of it. Once the martial artist reached the Soul Sea Realm, he would be able to open up a world, and his elixir field would be transformed into a vast ocean.


    When warriors reached a higher level, they could even nurture life in the vast ocean, creatures that could reproduce, become civilized, or even cultivate.


    In this period, the liquefied life vitality would slowly solidify, forming continents on the Soul Sea.


    Logically speaking, at Zen''s current cultivation, he should still be far from solidifying his life vitality. But his life vitality began to solidify without explanation and cause.


    The cyan dragon was shocked.


    As knowledgeable as he was, he could not understand what was going on.


    As the life vitality within Zen''s body gradually solidified, its rotation speed became slower and slower. Suddenly, in this moment, a dark cloud appeared in the sky.


    "How did this dark cloud appear out of nowhere in such a clear sky?"


    "It''s indeed very strange. Why did the sky change so quickly?"


    "The dark cloud is expanding! Really fast!"


    Everyone was looking up at the strange scene in the sky.


    The black cloud that had splattered suddenly across the originally clear blue sky looked like a drop of ink dripping into a pool of clear water. The terrifying thing about it was that it was expanding at an incredible speed. It had covered the entire Feather Emperor Island in the blink of an eye.


    One moment, it was daytime, and the next, dark cloud had covered the sky.


    It had taken half a minute for the dark cloud to cover the Feather Holy Sea.


    And five minutes later, it had covered the entire Divine Kingdom Continent.


    The vast lands of the four divine kingdoms were now all enveloped by darkness. Oil lamps were lit in the large towns of all the divine kingdoms. A few people belonging to the older generation even began to mutter to themselves, looking at the sky as they prayed that the gods wouldn''t be angry with them.


    As Zen gazed at the dark sky, he suddenly felt an intense malicious intent. It was the evil intentions of heaven.


    "Is this my first small Heavenly Tribulation?" Zen wondered.


    He had once witnessed a small Heavenly Tribulation. A colossal phenomenon had occurred when Letitia had gone through one. Back then, the scope of the phenomenon only just covered an area up to just being above the Cloud Hall. The black cloud in the sky, however, was endless. One could only imagine how powerful the upcoming Heavenly Tribulation would be.


    "What a powerful aura! This is the life and death tribulation Thad will have to face." Turner sighed


    ent! It is a pity that you are too special. If the heavens want you to die, you will have no choice but to die. You will not be able to resist!''


    The other warriors at the Soul Sea Realm felt a chill steal through their hearts. Zen was probably finished now.


    Boom!


    Another bolt of lightning pierced the dark cloud, revealing the fact that the lightning dragon had already moved above Zen.


    ''Is it here?''


    Zen thought, eyes glinting, and began to extract traces of forceful energy from his elixir field. Because his life vitality had solidified, the difficulty of extracting life vitality had increased. The solidified life vitality hardly moved, but he could do nothing but get used to it. Over time, Zen''s meridians became much thicker than those of ordinary martial artists.


    "Body-protecting life vitality."


    A light purple-colored barrier of life vitality enveloped Zen.


    He then began to spread out his consciousness and communicate with the stars.


    "Stellar Body."


    Two streaks of starlight suddenly pierced through the thick cloud and met each other on Zen''s body.


    "This starlight! It''s the power of the stars! What kind of refinement technique is Zen cultivating?" a Soul Sea Realm warrior exclaimed, amazed. He was the one who had visualized the stars. But no matter how hard he had tried, he hadn''t been able to attract the starlight no matter how real it was. He couldn''t figure out how Zen had done it, how he had been able to mobilize the stars from so far away. This was simply too amazing!


    Looking at the starlight on Zen''s body, many of the experts at the Soul Sea Realm fell silent. They had thought that Zen had displayed his full strength at the West Dragon River. But it looked like he was still hiding a huge trump card within himself.


    Just how many trump cards did this kid have on him?

 Chapter 1171 The Thunder Law

    Zen had used his life vitality to protect his body as he activated the Stellar Body, but it did nothing to quell his disquiet. His eyes shone as cold as ever.


    Previously, when Letitia was undergoing her life and death tribulation, the first wave of the Thunder Tribulation had been the weakest, but the other waves of Heavenly Tribulation became stronger each time.


    Now, even the first wave of Thunder Tribulation had already been so terrifying in its intensity. What about the next waves of Heavenly Tribulations?


    Zen did not dare to imagine the frightening possibilities, nor did he bother to think any more about them.


    If he could not dodge them, then he could only strike at the right moment.


    As the lightning dragon was getting closer and closer to him, the dark cloud above his head roiled around, spinning in a slow circle. Then a hole opened at the center. A ray of light shot down from the hole, as if it had punctured the sky. It was a strange sight to behold.


    Like a pulse, the ray of light appeared only for a split second before a blazing white light covered it. Soon, to the disbelief and fear of many people, lightning morphed into the shape of a dragon claw and descended from the hole.


    The many powerful warriors of the Soul Sea Realm looked with wide open eyes at the scene that they were witnessing.


    The dragon claw reached out from the hole and began to tear the skies.


    The thick layer of dark cloud was torn apart. The crowd watched as the wisps scattered into shapeless masses.


    The next moment, the dragon''s body descended. The blazing white dragon head formed by the lightning suddenly let out an earth-shattering roar as it faced Zen.


    "Howl!"


    Immediately after, lightning appeared on its body, followed by another massive explosion.


    Zen''s eyes flickered at the sight before him. He willed his mind to be calm, his features settling into a placid expression. His eyes narrowed on the dragon and his dry lips moved to say softly, "Come on!"


    "Boom!"


    Lightning struck, as if to split the entire earth in two. The colossal dragon circled in the air before pouncing towards Zen.


    The dragon was the size of a mountain range, but it was rapidly shrinking as it charged forward. However, this was not an indication that its strength was weakening. It was gathering its power, preparing for its attack.


    "Heavenly Tribulations are calamities that come from the heaven. There is no way to avoid them, so I would have to take on this colossal dragon."


    Zen suddenly stood up from the ground. At the same time, a strong, vivid aura emanated from his body. Meanwhile, the lightning dragon continued to charge directly towards him.


    "It''s only a lightning dragon. All this is a facade. It''s far inferior to a real dragon!" Zen declared.


    Strength coursed into


    ce for a fraction of a second, and then the dragon was split in half from the middle.


    The warriors of the Soul Sea Realm could hardly believe what they saw. Zen had split the lightning dragon''s body into two.


    Zen exhaled deeply upon seeing what had happened, but the relief would only last for an instant. The next moment, the dragon that had been torn in two shot out to either side. Now, there were two smaller dragons, charging towards Zen once again.


    "The lightning dragon formed in this Heavenly Tribulation is simply indestructible. How will I be able to defeat it? It would be impossible to rely on my own body to swallow it," Zen said inwardly, his face hardening.


    The dragons didn''t give Zen any time to think. They charged towards him, one on the left and one on the right.


    "What should I do?" Zen could feel his anxiousness getting hold of him as he stood in the middle of the two lightning dragons.


    Just then, the cyan dragon faintly smiled and said, "Zen, have you forgotten about your own talent?"


    "My talent?" Zen asked in his mind as he watched the two dragons get closer and closer.


    "You have gone through the baptism by laws, and you know the Thunder Law best. As I have said before, a Heavenly Tribulation is a catastrophe for a martial artist, but it is also a chance! Many talents in the Upper World eagerly hope that their Heavenly Tribulations can become even stronger, so that they will have greater chances," the cyan dragon reminded.


    "Chance? Master the Thunder Law?" Zen narrowed his eyes.


    Of all the Original Laws, the Time Law was the hardest, followed by the Space Law. The Thunder, Fire, Ice, and Metal Laws, however, were relatively easier.


    Zen had gone through the baptism by laws, so he was able to quickly master the Time Law, which was the most difficult. The Thunder Law had been much easier to comprehend.

 Chapter 1172 Control The Thunder Tribulation

    ''Yes! Comprehend the Thunder Law and control it!'' Zen thought, his heart skipping a beat.


    One couldn''t blame Zen for not being able to think of this earlier as he had been focusing all his attention on resisting the Heavenly Tribulation. He didn''t realize that instead of fighting the Heavenly Tribulation, he could make use of it.


    Boom!


    Zen''s figure flashed as he suddenly descended, dodging the attack from the two lightning dragons. Both dragons entwined with each other, forming a bigger one again, and charged towards him.


    Crack!


    During this process, thick bolts of lightning struck out in all directions. Some of the lightning bolts struck the ground and were quickly absorbed by the earth, while other lightning bolts headed straight for the Soul Sea Realm masters present.


    All of the Soul Sea Realm masters had already activated their life vitality to protect themselves, but the lightning bolts were lashing about like whips, striking their shields of life vitality and causing them to tremble.


    ''Thunder Law!''


    Zen already comprehended the first layer of Thunder Law when he was at the Genuine Dragon World. This was the foundation of his Thunder Law.


    As Zen''s figure rapidly descended, he began to observe the Thunder Law contained within the enormous lightning dragon above him closely.


    The first layer of the Thunder Law was Annihilation.


    The second layer was Purification, and the third was Heavenly Tribulation.


    When warriors advanced to the Life and Death Realm, the life and death crisis triggered by them included the third layer of the Thunder Law. This was probably the reason that the third layer was called Heavenly Tribulation.


    However, the enormous lightning dragon that Zen was facing right now contained the fourth layer of the Thunder Law.


    He silently gazed at the enormous lightning dragon as his mind spun rapidly. The mysterious Thunder Law hidden within the dazzling lightning bolts was slowly being unveiled to him.


    The more compatible one was with a law, the faster one could comprehend it. After going through the baptism by laws, Zen could easily understand lower layers of various laws, though higher layers of laws were still a little difficult for him to comprehend.


    Nevertheless, understanding the Thunder Law in a short period of time wasn''t an easy task. Moreover, the lightning dragon didn''t let go of Zen. It charged towards him repeatedly, in an attempt to swallow him.


    This time, Zen did not resist. He was completely absorbed into the world of Thunder Law. The Thunder Law contained within every lightning bolt was like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle that swiftly started assembling in his mind. He w


    ith a frown. Even though Zen was able to transfer the power of the lightning into the Feather Holy Sea, the lightning dragon''s might did not weaken. How would Zen get out of the trouble?


    The Soul Sea Realm masters sighed when they saw this scene. They understood that they probably wouldn''t be able to withstand such a terrifying Heavenly Tribulation even with their strength of the Soul Sea Realm. ''Thad is indeed a freak! He has attracted such an intense counterattack from the heavens, '' they thought.


    He was someone who had angered even the heavens in the end!


    Everyone was pessimistic about Zen''s fate.


    However, after five minutes, everyone suddenly realized that something was not right. The lightning dragon''s body was slowly shrinking.


    "Is the Thunder Tribulation finally coming to an end? But how can it decline so fast?"


    "The downfall of the lightning dragon has just begun. I wonder what happened!"


    "It''s really strange. It seems like something has sucked the lightning away!"


    The Soul Sea Realm masters were also at a loss. They stared in bewilderment at the scene playing out before them. At this moment, Fiona pursed her lips and a trace of anticipation appeared in her eyes.


    Zen had exceeded her expectations time and time again. Although she was worried, she still had full of confidence in him and was certain that this time, too, Zen would be able to do the same.


    The lightning dragon was shrinking rapidly. It decreased from the size of a mountain range to the size of a small mountain in mere seconds. It continued shrinking until it completely disappeared.


    As for Zen, he was still standing on the ground. His entire body was charred black, but his pupils were shining brightly. A faint flash of lightning could be seen inside his eyes.

 Chapter 1173 Metal Tribulation

    The Heavenly Tribulation was a calamity that fell from the heavens. The lightning dragon was the creature of the heavens and had no master.


    After comprehending the fourth layer of the Thunder Law, Zen began to refine the lightning dragon.


    The Heavenly Tribulation was both a test for warriors and also an opportunity to enhance themselves.


    Thus, from the Life and Death Realm onwards, warriors had to pass life and death crises one after another; a life and death crisis was equal to a life and death trial. It would allow one to become stronger.


    Multiple rays of lightning surged unceasingly in Zen''s eyes. After he absorbed the lightning dragon, the electric currents continued to ravage his body. Thanks to his control over the Law Power, he was able to digest the massive amount of lightning.


    "He actually consumed all of the Thunder Tribulation! What a freak!"


    "It''s not like this has never happened before. When Lexer was making a breakthrough to the Soul Sea Realm, he had also absorbed the Thunder Tribulation."


    "It''s not the same. When Lexer was making a breakthrough to the Soul Sea Realm, the Thunder Tribulation he faced was only at the second layer. This huge lightning dragon contains the fourth layer Thunder Law."


    The Soul Sea Realm masters were also whispering to each other. Their faces were full of envy. The Thunder Tribulation did not cause much harm to Zen; it actually strengthened him.


    "Humph! The Thunder Tribulation was just the first wave of attack, yet it was so terrifying. What kind of damned things are behind this?" War Emperor York asked irritably.


    The dark clouds in the sky began to dissipate layer by layer, and light shone down through the enormous empty space that was revealed in the sky. The thick clouds began to dissipate at a visible speed.


    After a few minutes, the dark clouds that had formed over the entire continent completely disappeared, and brightness returned. Several Soul Sea Realm masters who had been fighting the tsunami also returned to the Feather Emperor Island.


    Right at this moment, a golden ray of light shot out from the horizon. Within the ray of light were more than ten figures, led by a white-browed Taoist priest who was dressed in robes. He was the one hosting the competition by the side of the West Dragon River.


    He was a human warrior from the Upper World.


    "Master Derek!" Turner greeted the priest respectfully.


    "Master Derek, are you here because of the Thunder Tribulation?" War King Wind asked as he flew up to greet the priest. The other Soul Sea Realm warriors also bowed at him respectfully.


    Derek descended on the pyramid with his followers and asked harshly, "Who is undergoing the tribulation? It actually has such great power!"


    The power of the Heavenly Tribulation caused by Zen was too astonishi


    ''Will there be a second wave of attack?'' he wondered.


    After passing through the first wave of Heavenly Tribulation safely, Zen raised his head and looked skywards.


    Ordinary warriors would only have to combat the first wave of Thunder Tribulation when they were making a breakthrough to the Life and Death Realm. But the more powerful one''s talent was, the more waves of Heavenly Tribulation they would have to deal with and the more powerful they would become. Even divine-level talents would often face more than one wave of Heavenly Tribulation, so the chances of Zen facing more than one wave were very high.


    Sure enough, a faint golden shadow appeared in the sky. The golden light became more and more obvious and golden swords began to appear slowly one by one.


    "This is the Metal Tribulation! This Metal Tribulation appears after the Thunder Tribulation. In all likelihood, it will be even more difficult to deal with!" cried a Soul Sea Realm warrior, who had experienced the Metal Tribulation before.


    However, Derek had a look of disdain on his face. He looked down on all the Soul Sea Realm masters in the divine kingdoms for their lack of knowledge. "It''s only a Metal Tribulation. What''s so surprising about that?" he stated indifferently.


    For him, neither the Thunder Tribulation, Metal Tribulation, Wind Tribulation nor Water Tribulation held much weight. Only the Lotus Flower would be able to determine a warrior''s true potential.


    While Zen''s Small Heavenly Tribulation was terrifying, he still hadn''t given birth to the Lotus Flower. So his feat was not that impressive.


    Golden swords covered the sky, each of them sparkling with a dazzling light. A thousand swords. Ten thousand. A hundred thousand. A million...


    As the number of golden swords increased, they blotted out the sky and the sun. It looked just like one, giant golden cloud.

 Chapter 1174 Lotus Flower

    As he looked at the golden long swords that kept gathering in the sky, Zen took a deep breath, his muscles tensing up once again.


    These golden swords were condensed by some law, but they did not contain any heavenly essence, which was why Zen was unable to tell the grade of these swords. But judging by the cold, silver flash of light that emanated from the edges of these swords, it was likely that they had immense power.


    A short while later, the golden cloud moved on its own, despite the absence of wind. With a ringing sound, the first golden sword shot down towards Zen.


    The rest quickly followed.


    The cloud formed by the golden swords transformed into a golden torrent that came surging towards Zen.


    Zen stood upright and firmly in his spot like a deep-rooted tree, his feet spread wide. His eyes glittered with a steely resolve as he looked at the golden torrent coming towards him.


    "When I underwent the Metal Tribulation, I wore my Demon Heart Armor and consumed over two hundred thousand supreme life vitality crystals, which was how I managed to survive the Metal Tribulation. These swords are much sharper than the swords I''ve faced before, and this boy doesn''t have the Demon Heart Armor to protect him!" the powerful master at the Soul Sea Realm who had gone through the Metal Tribulation shook his head and said.


    The Demon Heart Armor was a semi-divine weapon, an armor used to protect the body. As a defensive weapon, its value was on par with that of the common divine weapons. The powerful master of the Soul Sea Realm who had just spoken had borrowed it from War King Wind when he had to face the Metal Tribulation.


    War King Wind smiled helplessly at the master''s words. "If the Demon Heart Armor had still existed, I can lend it to Thad. But unfortunately¡­"


    The fact was that Demon Heart Armor had been destroyed dozens of years ago.


    While they were talking, the golden torrent had already charged towards Zen.


    ''They are coming!''


    As he looked at the first golden sword that was coming at him, Zen reached out and grabbed it, crushing it into pieces in a flash.


    ''This isn''t a real sword! It''s only condensed from the Metal Law and its strength seems to be inferior to that of a sacred weapon, '' Zen thought. He now knew the power of these swords after he had shattered the first golden sword.


    But in the next moment, the number of golden swords pelting towards Zen suddenly skyrocketed. He was unable to crush them all with his bare hands. Soon the golden swords came at him from all directions.


    Zen was like someone who couldn''t swim in a large river and was soon submerged within this golden torrent.


    Clank! Clank! Clank! Clank!


    Zen''s body was as sturdy as a sacred weapon. Every time a golden sword collided with Zen''s body, it would turn into golden powder. The tiny powder quickly turned into bits of Metal Law and dissipated in the air.


    But even though these golden swords were not as strong as Zen''s physical body, the edges of the


    e Holy Maiden of the secret sect, she was well aware of what was important and what was not. Since Zen had made the Lotus Flower bloom during his tribulation, the conflict between her and Zen was no longer important.


    Hearing their conversation, the powerful warriors of the Soul Sea Realm felt chills pass through their veins, causing them to become serious.


    Although these powerful masters at the Soul Sea Realm were mighty in the Divine Kingdom Continent and were considered powerful figures in the Lower World, they were nothing compared to the masters of the Upper World.


    Although they were the rulers of the seventh-grade divine kingdoms, they had spent many years but still hadn''t been able to completely occupy the Feather Holy Sea, which was only an eighth-grade sacred place of the Dragon Lineage Human. Then what would a ninth grade sacred place be like? What would a tenth grade sacred place be like? This was simply unimaginable!


    The pure white Lotus Flower slowly revolved above Zen''s head. After a long while, a pure white petal emerged slowly from the bud.


    The moment the petal came out, a fragrant smell wafted out from it and filled everyone''s nostrils.


    "This Lotus Flower is so fragrant!" Fiona couldn''t help but sniff the air. Although the fragrance was rich, it wasn''t unpleasant. Just a deep breath and the fragrance seemed to seep into one''s soul.


    "The first one," Marine said as she bit her lip. Though she had known the Lotus Flower from the documents, it was the first time she had seen a martial artist make the Lotus Flower bloom with her own eyes. And now she was actually looking forward to seeing more petals come out of it.


    Zen stood still on the ground, quiet as he looked at the Lotus Flower revolving slowly in the sky, his eyes clear as water. Through the cyan dragon''s explanation, he already knew what this Lotus Flower represented.


    As the Lotus Flower revolved, another petal came out.


    "The second one," Marine said, keeping up the count.

 Chapter 1175 Bloom

    If the Lotus Flower could produce three petals, it would make Zen qualified enough to become a core member of a ninth grade sacred place...


    "I knew this kid wasn''t ordinary. If he can ascend to the Upper World, he would soar to great ranks in the future!" Turner chuckled to himself.


    However, War Emperor York''s unpleasant voice rang out again. "Hmph, so what? No matter how talented this brat is, he is still trapped in the Lower World like the rest of us!"


    His words made Turner frown, but what Derek said next made the powerful warriors of the Soul Sea Realm blanch, their hearts pounding with nervousness.


    "If the boy can make the Lotus Flower produce enough petals, it will attract attention from the humans of the Upper World. It is very likely that they would be willing to pay a great price to help you restore the ascending passageway in this great world!" Derek sounded sure of himself.


    "What? Restore the ascending passageway?!"


    "How is that possible? Do the humans of the Upper World really possess such great power?"


    "If the ascending passageway could be restored, we could..."


    The powerful warriors of the Soul Sea Realm could not reign in their eagerness about this.


    They had worked hard to reach the Soul Sea Realm and become mighty warriors, but they were trapped in the Lower World and couldn''t advance to the higher realms. One could imagine what a blow this was to them.


    However, there was nothing that they could have done previously to fix the ascending passageway, for it was not something within the ability of the warriors of the Soul Sea Realm.


    If the ascending passageway was mended, it meant that they could ascend to the Upper World and pursue higher levels of martial arts and achieve greater personal strength¡­ Perhaps once they entered the Upper World, they would face even more arduous challenges, which meant that they would also face more life and death situations.


    However, the warriors living in this world would rather make a splash for a moment than live their entire lives without serious ambition. Moreover, a higher level cultivation meant a longer lifespan for them.


    At this prospect, the powerful masters of the Soul Sea Realm felt exhilaration run through their veins. As they trembled with joy, excited gasps escaped their throats.


    The three powerful masters of the Soul Sea Realm from the Jade Martial House were also present. They stared at Zen with strange expressions on their faces, the excitement in them clear to see. They had been anticipating Zen''s outstanding performance from the moment he entered the Jade Martial House, but they never expected him to possess the potential to change the course of their fate.


    At the moment, even War Emperor York was facing conflicting emotions. The grudges he held against Zen were nothing compared to a granted opportunity to ascend to the Upper World!


    "Ma...Master Derek... How many petals would be enough to attract the attention of the human race in the Upper World, so that they could help us repair the ascending passageway?" a powerful warrior at the Soul Sea Realm questioned.


    It wa


    ore effort. The number of the petals to be opened was already set and could not be changed by will. It was probably because the Soul Sea Realm masters were too aware of this matter that they were overcautious.


    While everyone waited in anticipation, the Lotus Flower still spun. However, they didn''t see any more petals coming out.


    "One more, just one more petal... Please!" a Soul Sea Realm master cried out, weeping soundly. He looked miserable. The supposed manner of a powerful warrior of the Soul Sea Realm was nowhere to be found in him. He was like a pitiful beggar. He himself didn''t know whom he was pleading. Was he begging Zen? Was it a cry to the heavens? Or to the Lotus Flower?


    The other powerful warriors of the Soul Sea Realm didn''t make a mockery of him. If his pleading worked, they would throw off their airs and beg as well. Now was not the time to save face.


    Zen blinked and stared at the Lotus Flower in the sky. He wasn''t aware of the great sensation he was causing among the crowd beside the pyramid. They expected more petals to open up.


    After waiting a long time, Zen sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes. The cyan dragon had told him that the number of petals the Lotus Flower would produce was determined by fate. It was not something that could be influenced by his will. It would be useless to worry too much.


    Zen understood that he could not change this. But the powerful warriors of the Soul Sea Realm expected something else. They didn''t know the origins of the Lotus Flower or what the use of it, but they believed that things came about only when one had utmost belief. At such a critical moment, they saw Zen not looking at the Lotus Flower closely, but sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, contrary to their expectations.


    War Emperor York was especially anxious. He rounded on Turner, his words full of embarrassment. "T...Turner, can you go talk to Zen and tell him to be more careful about this? He can sit and meditate at any moment, but at this crucial time, he should be more concerned about the Lotus Flower..."

 Chapter 1176 Seven Petals

    War Emperor York quickly looked back to the numerous times when he made Zen''s life hell and even wanted to put him to death ¡ª on more than one occasion.


    He thought it both funny and tragic that he was now on the verge of kneeling in front of that very same kid just to beg him to sprout more petals on that Lotus Flower of his.


    War Emperor York was the most ambitious among the kings which meant he was also the one who pined the most for ascension to the Upper World. Therefore, he couldn''t help but feel so distraught yet also so hopeful as he watched the petals on Zen''s Lotus Flower unfurl one by one. Now that it had stopped blooming, War Emperor York was ready to get down on his knees to see just a few more petals from that lotus.


    He didn''t really hold out hope at first since he thought it would be impossible for Zen''s lotus to have seven petals but he began to change his mind once he saw the flower reveal five.


    But now it had stopped blooming. He wanted to kneel, to cry, to beg, but that would be embarrassing given the animosity he and Zen had with each other. War Emperor York could only turn to Turner for help.


    He and Turner weren''t really in the best of terms but the two were able to hold themselves back given the harmony that the four divine kingdoms enjoyed with each other.


    Still, Turner couldn''t help but snort when he saw the embarrassed expression on War Emperor York''s face. He shook his head before stepping down the pyramid and walking towards Zen.


    He wasn''t doing it for War Emperor York. No, he was doing it for the sake of all Soul Sea Realm warriors of the four divine kingdoms.


    Turner stopped several dozen feet away from Zen. The young man still hadn''t completed his tribulation so Turner wasn''t sure if he should get too close to him. "Thad, can you hear me? Er, I mean¡­


    Don''t you think it''s improper to sit and meditate while the Lotus Flower is blooming?"


    Zen opened his eyes and looked up at Turner, "What do you mean, Your Majesty?" he asked with a perplexed look. "Why is it improper?"


    "I mean¡­" Turner trailed off, not really sure how to explain this to Zen. "Just¡­ maybe you should take it a bit more seriously?"


    Turner pointed at the Lotus Flower that slowly spun in the air.


    "Take it more seriously?" Zen repeated as he also looked at the flower. He understood what Turner had meant. They thought it quite halfhearted of him to meditate at this moment.


    The problem, however, was that Zen himself hadn''t really planned on taking this seriously in the first place.


    According to the cyan dragon, the number of lotus petals was something that had already been predetermined by destiny. Zen had no control over how many petals would unfurl from the bulb.


    Nonetheless, the serious look on Turner''s face was enough to make him feel a tiny bit embarrassed. Zen chuckled and got to


    ld eventually be followed by a seventh. This was within their expectations.


    A Soul Sea Realm master couldn''t help but sigh, "Ah¡­ if only it could have two more petals¡­"


    His remark caused Derek to snort with laughter, "Ah! Yes, if only he could summon a Lotus Flower with nine petals. If that happened then the Upper World would have no choice but to pay attention! No matter how large the cost, they would surely repair the passageway!"


    His words caused a glimmer of hope to appear among the Soul Sea Realm warriors'' faces.


    The ascension path was something that was too important for them. A seven-petal Lotus Flower only gave them a thirty percent chance but a nine-petal Lotus Flower could bump that figure to a hundred percent. They couldn''t stop themselves from hoping that more petals would bloom.


    However, Derek was quick to shatter their hopes once again, "It is a pity. A Lotus Flower with nine petals is almost impossible. It is something that is rarely seen even in a supreme world. I''m not saying that Lower World warriors are inferior but I''ve never heard of one that could summon a Lotus Flower with nine petals."


    His words effectively calmed down those Soul Sea Realm warriors once they heard his conclusion.


    Of course, a better result would be nice, but looking forward to it too much might only lead to bitter disappointment especially if the chances were already too slim. It seemed that they had no choice but to resign themselves to their fate.


    How could they possibly expect a warrior from the Lower World to summon a Lotus Flower with all nine petals? It was preposterous.


    The thought had all of them reverting back to their calm, collected Soul Sea Realm master personas who now stared indifferently at the Lotus Flower that continued to rotate slowly in the air.


    Another two hours passed and, to everyone''s shock, the flower started trembling once again!

 Chapter 1177 Mahayana Lotus Flower

    Every time the Lotus Flower trembled, a new petal would grow. As it trembled again, they anxiously waited to see another petal bloom.


    Derek''s words had discouraged the powerful warriors of the Soul Sea Realm from hoping that Zen could work wonders and impress the humans from the Upper World. The sight of the flower trembling again instantly drew everyone''s attention.


    Derek said that there might not be even one warrior in a supreme world that could make the nine-petal Lotus Flower fully blossom. Such a warrior would definitely attract the attention of the Upper World.


    As for the ascending passageway, no matter how much they would have to pay, it had to be repaired.


    Suddenly, Derek''s face became extremely serious. His eyes became sharp like lightning and he was firmly staring at the trembling Lotus Flower.


    He knew more about the Lotus Flower and the meaning of the bloom of its nine petals than any of the warriors at the Soul Sea Realm.


    Martial artists could cultivate martial arts complying with the laws of heavens. They could absorb the rules of heavens. In order to achieve this, they would have to go step by step, from the inferior laws to Original Laws, and to superior laws, which included the Law of Causality.


    However, cultivators who practiced martial arts by abiding to the heavens would eventually encounter a huge bottleneck. They would not be able to escape the cycle of reincarnation, nor would they be able to escape the shackles of the heavens.


    Only the martial artists that defied the laws of heavens could go beyond the heavens and obtain higher achievements.


    Not all the warriors could go beyond the heavens. Only a warrior that could activate the Nine-petal Lotus Flower into full bloom would have the potential to go beyond the heavens and be considered a talent in the Upper World.


    Moreover, the definition of talent was different across worlds.


    Being talented in the Lower World meant having special abilities. The people who had special gifts in certain aspects were considered talented.


    However, in the Upper World, being talented referred to creatures that could go beyond the heavens.


    A martial artist who had the ability to activate a Nine-petal Lotus Flower meant he had the full potential of going beyond the heavens. In any race or force, such a figure would be greatly valued.


    Compared to the Nine-petal Lotus Flower, the baptism by laws was not as impressive. Although Derek had been surprised when he found Zen was able to comprehend Fiona''s Time Law in a short period of time, it only caught his attention but not his admiration. It was far from the shock that the Nine-petal Lotus Flower brought to him now.


    From what Derek had told them, the group of Soul Sea Realm masters had come to understand that the appearance of a Nine-petal Lotus Flower signified something extraordinary and that even in a supreme world, not anyone could make it show.


    The problem was that this group of Soul Sea Realm masters had never been to the U


    the Lotus Flower began trembling again.


    "What is happening?" Zen asked with a confused gaze staring at the Lotus Flower. If all the nine petals had grown and the flower had fully bloomed, then why was the Lotus Flower still trembling?


    "Master Derek, what''s going on?" a powerful warrior at the Soul Sea Realm asked.


    Derek didn''t know what to say. The nine petals had fully grown and the Lotus Flower now had the perfect form. But it continued trembling as if something was trying to escape from it.


    For a moment, Derek couldn''t figure out what was happening. He was baffled and puzzled with what was unfolding in front of him.


    Looking at the Lotus Flower, Marine gently bit her lip, trying to search through the information she had got from the ancient documents in her mind.


    The secret sect had a long history. It was said that the inheritances of the secret sect could be traced back to the last era, which meant that secret sect already existed before many of the creatures were born in this era. The end of an era also meant the destruction of a round of heavens. However, in this universe, there would always be some powerful ones who could pass on the inheritances. Some inheritances could transcend time and even the heavens.


    Therefore, although Marine was not as knowledgeable as Derek, as a Holy Maiden of the secret sect, she had access to information that not even Derek was able to reach.


    The Lotus Flower had nine petals and the person who could open up all the nine petals had a great fortune bestowed on himself by the precious Lotus Flower.


    However, this was only the first level. The first level was the Hinayana Lotus Flower. If one could break through the heavenly barrier, one could enter the Mahayana realm, which was the second level.


    Thinking of this, Marine''s heart suddenly started to beat faster and she blurted out, "Master Derek, is Zen about to open the second level? The Mahayana Lotus Flower?"


    She wasn''t sure herself, so she could only ask Derek.

 Chapter 1178 A Thin Line

    Derek hadn''t the foggiest notion of what was going on, but that didn''t mean he was unaware of what the Mahayana Lotus Flower was.


    What was unexpected was the young man in front of him. He had never thought that such a young individual would be able to activate the Mahayana Lotus Flower.


    To him, such a thing was a complete impossibility.


    The Lotus Flower was divided into the Mahayana Lotus Flower and the Hinayana Lotus Flower. The Hinayana Lotus Flower was characterized by a maximum of nine petals, while the former was much more powerful and had a maximum limit of twenty-seven petals!


    There had been hundreds of warriors who had activated the Hinayana Lotus Flower, but it was extremely rare for any supreme world to have even a single warrior who could activate all the nine petals. Yet even with that kept in mind, in the last 3.6 billion years, the number of warriors who had achieved that wasn''t too small.


    However, the situation for the number of warriors who had activated the Mahayana Lotus Flower was completely different.


    In the last tens of thousands of years, there was, maybe, someone in a corner of some supreme world who had activated it. After all, the Upper World was simply too vast; one couldn''t blame Derek for being ignorant and ill-informed about these affairs.


    But despite his level of knowledge, Derek himself had never heard of anyone who had activated the Mahayana Lotus Flower.


    He only heard that Supreme Lord Lloyd of the Lloyd World had activated the Mahayana Lotus Flower after passing through the Reincarnation Tribulation 2.6 million years ago. As for other Supreme Lords, Derek was unsure whether they had activated the Mahayana Lotus Flower or not but if they had, news would have spread.


    One thing was certain: only a Supreme Lord could activate the Mahayana Lotus Flower. No wonder Derek didn''t believe that Zen could do that.


    Derek''s heart grew heavy and his facial expression turned glum. He could have accepted the fact that Zen had somehow managed to activate the Nine-petal Lotus Flower, but this news was beyond his level of control. He himself did not know what this meant. The only thing he knew was that this matter would cause an unprecedented sensation and would spread like wildfire if he were to report it to the Upper World through the Reverse Spirit Channel.


    He felt his throat dry up. It had been many years since the Upper World had sent him down to supervise the four divine kingdoms and obtain the Ancestral Dragon''s egg.


    Derek knew of his own fate. Most likely, he had only one way to escape this world: find the Ancestral Dragon''s egg and then he would be qualified to return to the Upper World.


    If he was able to discover a warrior who could activate the Mahayana Lotus Flower, his fate would also change, and he might even obtain unimaginable benefits as a reward.


    But, could Zen really do that?


    Derek was still puzzled. This possibility was so small that it was practically negligible. If he were to report this matter and later on it turned out to be fake, the consequences far outweighed the rewards.


    As he mulled this over, he suddenly had a feeling that it might be possible. The


    Northern Region, Derek had just spoken so highly of him. Zen''s future was prominent, and for once, War King Wind had found someone who was worthy to be Fiona''s husband.


    Therefore, he suddenly asked his daughter, "Fiona, what do you think of Thad?"


    War King Wind simply popped the question in front of so many people. Although Fiona was innocent, she was still an adult and immediately understood what her father was implying.


    Her charming eyes had originally been fixed on Zen. When War King Wind opened his mouth, her face turned red, and she retracted her gaze and pouted, "Father, what are you talking about?"


    War King Wind scratched the back of his head. He also knew that his daughter was shy, but this was an important matter to him. If they didn''t act quickly, maybe the others would see what was going on and seize this opportunity. They would then introduce their daughters to Zen. So he wanted to pair Zen and Fiona as soon as possible.


    When this conversation reached the ears of the other Soul Sea Realm masters, they all showed a trace of understanding. ''This guy is really cunning! With Thad''s potential, his future would be incalculable! No wonder he wants to marry his daughter off to Thad, '' they thought.


    But War King Wind wasn''t alone! The other Soul Sea Realm masters also had their own plans, especially those who had young and pretty daughters.


    The Lotus Flower in the sky slowly rotated and its color finally dimmed, slowly disappearing from everyone''s sight.


    When he saw this scene, Zen sighed and told the cyan dragon in his mind, "Alas! I thought that I would be able to activate the last petal too!"


    The cyan dragon sneered, "In your dreams, boy! To be able to activate even a single petal of the Mahayana Lotus Flower is highly difficult. You should be extremely satisfied. Also, as long as the Mahayana Lotus Flower has appeared once, it will appear each time you go through a tribulation."


    Zen nodded as he walked towards the pyramid. He still had a large amount of precious ores to deal with.


    However, at this time, a black thin line suddenly appeared in the sky.

 Chapter 1179 Black Light

    The thin line in the sky appeared all of a sudden. However, the moment it came into view, everyone, including Zen himself, froze on spot as if immobilized.


    Zen felt a great aura within seconds. The aura seemed to surpass the limits of living beings.


    They felt their bodies solidify and their blood stop circulating. Their hearts stopped beating and only their consciousness remained working. They felt that their souls were, under this thin line, like insignificant specks of dust.


    "What is that?"


    "How can something be so powerful? It is only a thin line, but I can already feel its might!"


    "I''m insignificant. I feel like nobody at all."


    Each and every Soul Sea Realm master had lived for tens of thousands of years. They had long lifespans, wide ranges of knowledge, and exceptionally mature minds. Their warrior spirits were meant to be as solid as rocks.


    However, the warrior spirits of some of the Soul Sea Realm masters started to show signs of breakdown under the power of the thin line.


    Its power was unleashed against Zen. The others were still some distance away from him and only he was bearing the brunt of it.


    Zen raised his head and gazed ahead at the thin line. A cold expression covered his face. "Cyan dragon, what is that?" Zen did not think too much of it. At the moment, he felt like he was facing a life and death situation, so he immediately inquired the cyan dragon about it. At the very least, he wanted to know if he had a way to escape this obstacle.


    However, the cyan dragon simply said, "I don''t know."


    Even the cyan dragon had not seen such a thing previously. He was indeed unable to answer Zen''s question.


    But soon, Zen came to know what it was.


    The thin line continued to extend several tens of feet in the sky. Soon after, it split into two. As the two lines separated, their heads and ends still connected; they formed an eye socket. In the center of this eye socket was a black eye.


    An eye!


    There were perhaps tens of thousands of species in the universe. Each of them had distinct appearances, but there was one similarity that they all shared¡ªthe eye.


    "It''s an eye. Whose eye is that?" Zen''s brows furrowed, a look of caution on his face. He did not feel any goodwill radiating from the eye. On the contrary, he felt a sharp hostility coming off it.


    ''No. Perhaps it can''t be called hostility, '' Zen thought. ''I do


    nster had been the incarnation of the world''s will, he himself hadn''t known about this.


    Zen had only uttered the words out of regard for the living beings of this world and the respect he had for himself.


    As soon as he finished speaking, the black light shot at him.


    Everyone present could only stare blankly at the scene before them. Seeing this black light, no one had thoughts of attacking it, for there was nothing they could do at all.


    The black light hit Zen''s chest in an instant and entered his body rapidly. In the next moment, his entire body, including his lips, the whites of his eyes, his nails, as well as his clothes¡ªall turned black.


    As this black light traveled across Zen''s body, it instantly wrapped around each cell to destroy it. If the insides of Zen''s body had been on display, everyone would have noticed that his brain, organs, bones, blood vessels, and every drop of his blood had turned black.


    It was an attempt to wipe Zen out. If the black light succeeded, not a single hair or cell in his body would be left in this world. Not a single granule of his body would remain.


    In one breath, a singularly terrifying power had been released.


    The cells and parts of Zen''s body tried to tolerate the immense impact of the energy.


    As the energy of the black light began to expand, the first mountain began to collapse.


    Boom!


    It was a mountain in the western part of Central Region that had endured the huge amount of energy and exploded from the inside, but not a single rock rolled down. Before it could collapse completely, it had disappeared.

 Chapter 1180 The Whole World

    Two snow flood dragons'' lair was originally built in the middle of the mountain, but suddenly, the entire mountain disappeared and the dragons began to fall down. Luckily, they managed to fly up. They were intelligent beings, but they still couldn''t understand what was going on. How did a mighty mountain just disappear all of a sudden?


    However, what happened next left these dragons flabbergasted. The towering mountains in front of them were rapidly disappearing. The moment those mountains started to collapse, they would disappear!


    "Boom, boom, boom, boom..."


    There were not many people in the western part of the Central Region. About fifty to sixty thousand mountains sat right next to each other. Even if a Virtual Tribulation Realm warrior wanted to cross over such a large mountain range, it would probably take him very long.


    Right this moment, these mountains were getting annihilated within seconds...


    This strange scene was not taking place only in the western part of the Central Region, but all over the entire Central Region. All the mountains were being destroyed!


    The three leaders of the World Commercial Alliance were holding a meeting on a small, thousand-foot-high mountain on the southern side of Oracle City. All of the investors of the World Commercial Alliance attended the meeting. Now, only the World Commercial Alliance stood out in the Central Region. However, Dillon did not hold any ambitions of forming a sacred place. The World Commercial Alliance was indeed a powerful force, but the members were all merchants after all.


    However, suddenly in the middle of the meeting, the small mountain started to collapse.


    Everyone was shocked, and before they could figure out what happened, the ground beneath their feet had disappeared. The entire mountain was instantly erased...


    "Are we under attack?" an Internal Elixir Realm warrior shouted. Although they had recouped from the previous attack of the Heavenly Evil Divine Kingdom, it had left a deep impression on many warriors.


    "Attack? Damn it!" Hobbes, who was floating in the air, cursed loudly.


    Many warriors could destroy a mountain, so could Hobbes and the others. It was not so difficult, but nobody could do it in an instant! This remarkable skill had captured their imaginations!


    An even more intense crumbling sound followed and the White Mountain, which was fifteen thousand feet tall, suddenly disappeared from Oracle City!


    In Oracle City, as long as people looked to the south, they would be able to see the black shadow of the White Mountain. It stood like a giant guarding the south of Oracle City. But now it had vanished without a trace!


    "The...the White Mountain has also been


    nter..." There was no trace of joy on his face. Instead, he appeared sad.


    He had indeed pulled through. While he was still in one piece, the entire great world had paid a huge price on his behalf.


    There were five million mountains in total destroyed. There might be a great number of living beings, including humans, which were sacrificed.


    "Zen withstood the black light; it was unable to kill him. This guy is really..." Marine was so shocked that his breath got caught in her throat.


    The Soul Sea Realm masters were also silent. They knew that Zen was able to transfer the black light''s power. The little monster from the Nine Furnace Martial House had displayed this ability more than once before. However, no one knew the limits of this ability. Could it be that there was no limit to how much power Zen could transfer?


    The Soul Sea Realm masters didn''t know much about the black light''s power. But the one thing they did know for certain was that it could destroy them all easily. Even if the number of the Soul Sea Realm masters increased by a hundred times, they still wouldn''t be able to survive the black light!


    But Zen was able to withstand this incredible attack. What had he sacrificed in order to do so? Where did he transfer the power?


    There were no mountains on the Feather Emperor Island, so many Soul Sea Realm masters had no clue that all of the mountains on the Divine Kingdom Continent had disappeared...


    Turner couldn''t take the suspense, so he asked him directly, "Thad, I know you have transferred the power to some other place, but... where did you transfer the black light''s power?"


    Zen blinked before he replied, "Mountains..."


    "Mountains? How many mountains?" Turner asked out of curiosity.


    "The mountains of the whole world," Zen responded sadly.

 Chapter 1181 Fix A Price

    A thick cloud of silence seemed to envelop the whole world...


    Many of the Soul Sea Realm masters were quiet as well.


    Suddenly, the silence was disrupted by a click of a tongue. "So, does it mean all of the mountains within the four divine kingdoms have been destroyed?" Turner asked.


    "It''s not just the mountains of the four divine kingdoms. The mountains in the Central Region and in other areas were destroyed as well. Almost all of this great world''s mountains have been destroyed," Zen honestly responded.


    In reality, many of the Soul Sea Realm masters had already had a tough estimate when Zen said he had transferred the power to the mountains.


    If a Soul Sea Realm master like War Emperor York took action to attack Zen, Zen would transfer the power of that attack, and that power would be enough to destroy a whole mountain range.


    The aura the black eye emitted was quite terrifying, and the power within the black light was extremely and unimaginably strong. If Zen transferred all of the power into the mountains, how many mountains would he need?


    The Divine Kingdom Continent had many peaks and mountain ranges of various sizes. There wasn''t any accurate record of the number of peaks and mountain ranges, but a rough estimate showed that there were at least several hundred thousand mountains out there.


    But with even that many mountains, would it be enough to counter the power within the black light?


    How many mountains would be needed to offset its power? A thousand mountains? Ten thousand mountains? Or a hundred thousand mountains?


    In reality, about five million mountains were needed to offset the power.


    All the mountains in the whole world had been destroyed, with the exception of some mountains in the Eastern Region.


    The Soul Sea Realm masters went silent, but they were shocked the next second. They realized how great its impact would be on the entire great world.


    And, what was the limit of Zen''s power transferring ability?


    He was actually able to freely transfer the power to the entire great world. Could it be possible that he could represent the whole of it as well?


    Someone had finally come up with an answer, but of course, they still weren''t able to guess that Zen had fused with the world''s will. Thus, it could be said that Zen himself was the whole great world!


    "What exactly is that black eye?" War King Wind asked in a low voice. He sighed deeply when he couldn''t find any answers.


    A single move had destroyed a huge portion of the whole world''s mountains. What on earth was that thing?


    Most importantly, the eye''s owner must''ve thought that Zen was too weak and incapable of blocking the bl


    hem to everyone like this?"


    Turner smiled and said, "That''s right. There are a lot of priceless minerals, so you should not give them to others like that. However, there are some things that we need. Thad, you can fix prices for them and sell them to us."


    "This..." Zen was stunned. He deeply suspected that there might be something wrong with those Soul Sea Realm masters. He wondered why they treated him so well after he had undergone a tribulation.


    Could it be that they were plotting something?


    Meanwhile, Derek and Marine silently observed Zen. The news about Zen would definitely be reported through the Reverse Spirit Channel, but now was not the time. They would wait until Zen had dealt with the ores first.


    Zen thought for a while, but still couldn''t figure out what was going on. He mentally communicated with the cyan dragon, but the cyan dragon also didn''t understand what those masters meant. After all, the cyan dragon also didn''t know that Zen was tied up to the ascending passageway.


    Since he couldn''t figure it out, Zen simply ignored this question and took out the ores one by one from his space ring.


    When Zen had previously dug out the ores, a lot of the Soul Sea Realm masters eagerly watched him. They were quite keen on what kind of ores Zen had.


    There weren''t many ores in the leaves of the forty-fifth layer to forty-seventh layer, but each ore had its own unique shape.


    For example, the first crystal that Zen had taken out from his space ring was like water as it slipped between his fingers and fell to the ground. However, the blue liquid quickly merged and formed a small round ball that continuously jumped about on the ground.


    Zen smiled and said, "In that case, how much can this Water Crystal cost if I sell it to you?"

 Chapter 1182 Divine Emperor Secret Land

    Life vitality crystals, from what Zen had learned from Lavender, were also in circulation and used as one of the main currencies in the Upper World.


    Since these mighty Soul Sea Realm warriors were very much willing to give him tons of supreme life vitality crystals in exchange for the ores, then of course Zen wouldn''t refuse them.


    Just as he finished speaking, a Soul Sea Realm warrior approached Zen, "I practice the Water Law and I just happen to need this Water Crystal. I''ll give you thirty thousand supreme life vitality crystals for it, how about that?"


    Thirty thousand supreme life vitality crystals were not a paltry sum so Zen naturally accepted. The first deal was quickly done.


    He had a surplus of precious ores in his space ring, each one worth thirty to fifty thousand supreme life vitality life crystals. Some could even fetch a price as high as a hundred thousand!


    These Soul Sea Realm warriors were loaded and could definitely afford Zen''s wares. To put into perspective, a divine kingdom''s treasury usually had around two to three hundred thousand supreme life vitality crystals.


    If Zen sold all his ores, he''d have an estimated profit of three million supreme life vitality crystals!


    He''d be richer than the entire divine kingdoms!


    Once he sold off his ores, Zen took out the Soul Cores and handed them over to Turner.


    These Soul Cores served as the key to entering the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land. It was useless for him to keep them as he didn''t know how to use them. It was enough for him to know that they would surely bring him into the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land.


    Still, he was very much curious about how these Soul Cores were used to enter the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land.


    The entire point of heading to the Feather Emperor Island for the Soul Sea Realm masters was to hunt for the mineral-devouring bugs in the hopes of obtaining at least one or two Soul Cores. They got lucky and were able to haul over a hundred which meant that they could send enough people to the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land and explore.


    "Alright! Since the Soul Cores have been distributed, it''s time to set off for the Divine Emperor Secret Land! Thad, let me bring you along!" War King Wind boisterously laughed as he pulled Zen to his side.


    Many of the Soul Sea Realm masters cursed War King Wind in their hearts, ''This old, cunning fox. Everyone knows that he''s planning to draw Zen to his side in order to gain the upper hand. He''s probably going to swallow his pride and even offer his precious daughter up in the process..."


    However, it wasn''t as if War King Wind hadn''t stood up in Zen''s defense before, so it was expected that Zen would be partial to him.


    In truth, after reaching the Life and Death Realm, Zen could now resist the blood sacrifice within the Feather Holy Sea. He had no need for anyone''s assistance and could simply rely on his own st


    imes and Fiona was no different. Ever since Zen defeated her by the West Dragon River, the seed of love had already rooted itself deep in her heart. However, she was still too young, not even 20, and she was too shy to express the emotions she felt for him. Meanwhile, her father shamelessly tried to match make her to the object of her affections which was greatly embarrassing on her part.


    Fortunately, the awkward moment was immediately dissipated by the black island that had appeared in front of them.


    Despite being quite far from the island, everyone could already feel the malicious aura that emanated from it. This was one of the four secret lands of the Feather Holy Sea - the Divine Emperor Secret Land.


    Rather than just an island, this Divine Emperor Secret Land was so much more. It was a place of death - a graveyard of the Dragon Lineage Human.


    Millions of corpses littered this island graveyard.


    After the Dragon Lineage Human''s blood sacrifice, all creatures turned into a cloud of bloody mist that became a powerful curse spread throughout the entire Feather Holy Sea.


    The corpses were not living beings so they were not affected by the blood sacrifice.


    Truth be told, if it wasn''t for the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land, there would be nothing worth of interest in this Divine Emperor Secret Land. Sure, there might be a few valuable burial items but it wasn''t anything a Soul Sea Realm master would be excited about.


    The power of the blood sacrifice in the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land was so strong that not even Soul Sea Realm masters could resist it. The only way to enter the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land was through the corpses of the Dragon Lineage Human which they could control with the use of the Soul Cores.


    This was precisely the reason why they had to go to the Divine Emperor Secret Land.


    Just as they landed, they found another batch of Soul Sea Realm masters already waiting.

 Chapter 1183 The Spirit Shrine

    The entire Divine Emperor Island was composed of a massive, black cemetery.


    On the shore of the island, the other powerful Soul Sea Realm masters had already been waiting for quite a long time. Strange looks of curiosity were revealed when they saw that the four divine kingdoms'' rulers came along with Fiona, Bram, and the other young warriors.


    "Your Majesty, why did you bring them to the Divine Emperor Secret Land?" a Soul Sea Realm master of the Harlen Divine Kingdom couldn''t help but ask.


    Since the group of masters waited in the same spot and hadn''t traveled to the Feather Emperor Island, they had no knowledge of Zen having obtained the Black Star and many Soul Cores.


    Since they didn''t have enough Soul Cores every year, these masters would vie with one another to enter the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land. Because of that, many of them argued indefinitely over the qualifications of obtaining the Soul Cores.


    Because of the lack of the Soul Cores, the masters went as far as to suggest an actual fight.


    While they considered it for a time, they found that it would be too unrealistic¡ªthe impact of the fight among the Soul Sea Realm masters would be extremely grand. If they were to hold real fights, the entire Divine Emperor Island wouldn''t survive a couple rounds.


    And since that problem hadn''t yet been solved, why did the kingdom rulers bring the princes with them? How come Thad came with them as well? Could it be that the divine kingdom rulers planned on assigning a portion of Soul Cores to these juniors this year?


    Eventually, Turner managed a faint smile and said, "Mario, bring out all the spare spirit shrines!"


    Upon that, one of the masters, Mario Zhou, furrowed his brows in shock. "Your Majesty, how many Soul Cores did you obtain this time? Must we use the spare spirit shrines?"


    The spirit shrine was used to stimulate the Soul Core, made by the blacksmith from the Harlen Divine Kingdom. Before departing this year, he counted twenty-nine Soul Cores, meaning there was a need for the same number of spirit shrines.


    Normally, if they obtained a single Soul Core after eliminating all the mineral-devouring bugs on the Feather Emperor Island, they would be considered lucky. Obtaining two Soul Cores would be completely unprecedented¡ªsuch an occurrence hadn''t happened in decades.


    Could it be that all the divine kingdom rulers were merely extremely lucky this time to have gotten over three Soul Cores?


    Since the spirit shrines weren''t anything precious, Mario Zhou had prepared two hundred of them. But no matter how many shrines there were, they would be useless if there weren''t any Soul Cores available.


    With a bland smile, Turner said, "Pull out all the s


    oon after, three black shadows appeared beside the shrines. From the silhouette of the shadows, others could recognize the three warriors'' souls¡ªfor instance, while Fiona''s soul seemed delicate, Callan''s soul seemed to stand tall and strong.


    Witnessing the scene, Zen proceeded to throw the Soul Core in his hand straight into the shrine. A moment later, he could feel a strong, magnetic force emanating from the shrine.


    It was aimed specifically at Zen''s soul. Instead of resisting, he allowed himself to get sucked into it.


    In an instant, Zen felt his soul fuse with the Soul Core before it appeared on the other side of the shrine¡ªit was then free to leave his body and roam about.


    After his soul left his body, Fiona, Callan, Randy, and all the others present looked over.


    The souls of Randy, Bram, and Fiona, looked a grey-green color¡ªthese were signs of instability. The souls of the Soul Sea Realm masters were pitch black, while the souls at the Fighting Soul realm were utterly stable.


    But Zen''s soul was blooming with green luster. The faint light emitted by his soul was the will of the great world!


    "Zen, your soul¡­"


    Through her consciousness, Fiona tried to reach him.


    Zen''s soul had been hidden within his mind in the past¡ªwithout entering his mind, no one would see it. But now, it was impossible for him to hide it.


    With a faint smile, he called to them, "Come on. Let''s go!"


    At this moment, many souls that had fused with the Soul Cores advanced deeper into the Divine Emperor Secret Land, which served as a perfectly renovated cemetery.


    After the soul bodies flew for some time, they stopped right at the entrance where a lamp hung near the gate.


    "Everyone, wait a moment," one of the Soul Sea Realm masters used his consciousness to envelop Zen and the rest.

 Chapter 1184 Soul Purifying Light

    Now that everyone''s soul had been made bare, their strength was heavily reduced, with Zen being the obvious exception to this problem.


    The reason behind this was that his soul was already several times stronger than his peers''. Although it hadn''t stepped into the Jasper Fighting Soul Realm yet, once a soul had merged with the world''s will, even a Soul Sea Realm master''s soul couldn''t compete with it.


    The lamp hanging in front of the cemetery was what the cultivators called a cemetery-guarding lamp.


    It was supposed to injure all of the ghosts, but at the moment, it might be dangerous to them too, since they were in a soul state, which wasn''t exactly human. This was exactly why the Soul Sea Realm master had stopped Fiona and the other young warriors. He was afraid that they would be eliminated by the cemetery-guarding lamp too.


    Zen stood still without the slightest signs of movement. He was trying to communicate with the cyan dragon in his mind. The Ancestral Dragon''s egg had been in the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land for generations after generations. These kings and warriors had tried all they could to fetch it for so many years, but all their efforts had been in vain. If Zen wanted to get his hands on it, he definitely needed help from the cyan dragon.


    The Dragon Lineage Human and the cyan dragon belonged to the Genuine Dragon. Since they shared a common ancestor, Zen was sure the cyan dragon could help.


    He soon received a response from the cyan dragon. It seemed like there wouldn''t be much of a problem. This put Zen''s mind at ease.


    "You guys wait a moment. Once this lamp is extinguished, you can go in. Not before that," the Soul Sea Realm master told Zen and his companions. There was a hint of warning in his voice.


    Very soon, Zen saw a black shadow rushing into the cemetery at an incredible speed.


    At the very instant the black shadow touched the periphery of the cemetery, the lamp suddenly exploded into a dazzling light and viciously shot towards the shadow.


    ''This light is also a type of soul attack!'' Zen remarked inwardly as his eyebrows suddenly twitched. There were quite a few miraculous things that the Dragon Lineage Humans had conjured up.


    However, that black shadow was the soul of a Soul Sea Realm master. When the light from the lamp shot towards the soul, a part of the soul suddenly changed shape and turned into a shield. He had a way to defend himself!


    ''The man actually turned his soul into a shield. Interesting!'' A smile appeared on Zen''s face when he saw this scene.


    The warrior who was trying to enter the cemetery was at the Soul Sea Realm, but his soul was only at the Fighting Soul Realm. Therefore, he couldn''t just withstand the lamp''s attacks directly. It was necessary for him to block it.


    However, considering the current level of Zen''s soul, he should be able to directly walk through without suffering too much damage from the lamp.


    Soon after they witnessed the soul of the Soul Sea Realm master enter the cemetery, the lamp suddenly flickered and then slowly dimmed down.


    At that moment, the Soul Sea Realm masters entered the cemetery one after another as the time was ripe. Zen and the other young warriors followed after.


    What greeted their eyes was astounding. The massive cemetery th


    fter that, a beam of light suddenly emerged from the top of the stairs and began to spread downwards at an extremely fast pace.


    "Hold on! Get on the platforms!" War King Wind ordered, and in an instant, everyone charged towards the platforms on either side. No one was caught in the hasty movement and they all climbed up safely.


    War King Wind stood on a platform towards the left side of the stairs, and his gaze was locked onto Fiona and Callan. Among all his children, he was most concerned about them. Naturally, he feared that they wouldn''t be able to get on the platforms in time and be killed by the Soul Purifying Light.


    By the time the wave of Soul Purifying Light had spread out all the way down, everyone had already jumped onto the platforms on either side, and no one got into trouble.


    They had only managed to climb up to the second floor, and the platforms came one after the other. Zen took a look at a coffin that lay in one of the two huts on the platform that he was standing on.


    ''Is the corpse in this coffin intact?'' He wondered and decided to use his perception to explore the insides of the coffin. Unfortunately, his perception was blocked by the coffin the moment it was released.


    The coffin seemed to be immune to his power, the same as the spirit shrine. It looked like the same material was used to construct both of those things, and it was able to completely isolate all perceptions from the outside world.


    Seeing that scene, Randy smiled and told him, "The corpses on the second floor are too weak. They are around the level of an Internal Elixir Realm warrior. They have no value at all. We need to choose the corpses on the upper floors."


    Zen smiled and nodded. He was well aware of the importance of using powerful corpses if they needed to enter the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land. A corpse that was too weak would be difficult to walk even a single inch in that place. Therefore, whether they would risk it or not, choosing powerful corpses was a necessity, if not a compulsion.


    Zen''s gaze shifted towards the top. He had no idea just how strong the corpses on the top floor were. Were they corpses of mighty warriors at the Soul Sea Realm?

 Chapter 1185 Danger

    Zen himself was uncertain of what corpse he would be able to take over or its strength, but in the end, the higher the floor was, the stronger the corpse would be.


    The Soul Purifying Light on the stairs lasted for about thirty seconds before it began to dissipate.


    War King Wind wasted no time. As soon as the light died, he used his consciousness to give orders to all the warriors.


    "Move!"


    At his words, all the warriors standing on the platforms on both sides of the stairs charged forward.


    There would be a thirty-second interval before the Soul Purifying Light lit up again. Taking advantage of this gap, everyone climbed up the next floor.


    The warriors hastily went up the flight of steps. With a tell-tale light, the Soul Purifying Light lit up once again. At once, War King Wind commanded, "Retreat! Go to the platforms!"


    Huts lined the platforms on the third floor to a big number. In strength, however, the corpses inside the coffins in these huts were only at the late stage of the Internal Elixir Realm when they were alive.


    The strength of the Dragon Lineage Human was far greater than that of the warriors in all the four divine kingdoms. Even the four divine kingdoms had countless Internal Elixir Realm warriors, so it was only natural that the Internal Elixir Realm warriors from the Dragon Lineage Human would be great in number. However, as Zen looked around the third floor, there were only around 600 to 700 huts.


    The warriors buried here were undoubtedly among the most important members of the Dragon Lineage Human. They had perished at a young age, and this cemetery served as the resting place for their corpses.


    Zen did not give the coffins a second glance. These corpses were far too weak, and they would be of no use to him.


    Meanwhile, the whole cemetery held its breath as the warriors stood in silence, awaiting War King Wind''s next orders. The Soul Purifying Light was a fatal threat to souls, and the actions of over a hundred people had to be in perfect coordination. The slightest hesitation or the split second of untimely movement would cost them their souls, turning them into soulless cadavers.


    "Warriors, keep your guards up! The Soul Purifying Light is spreading from top to bottom. The higher up we go, the shorter the time we have!" War King Wind stared at the Soul Purifying Light, watching it dim once again. The moment it disappeared, he gave orders once again. "Go!" he commanded.


    Without hesitating, pausing, or delaying, the warriors once again ascended the stairs in perfect unison.


    "Disperse!"


    War King Wind ordered. Everyone


    of him, using his own soul as a cushion.


    Zen''s soul was tenacious, but Fiona''s was different. One''s soul had the fragility of a newborn baby before entering the Fighting Soul Realm. Fiona''s soul had undergone training, but it was still delicate.


    Fiona, sitting on top of Zen absently, was still unable to break off from her daze. She had hesitated earlier, and it had almost cost her soul. In retrospect, even if she had been unable to advance with the others, she could have hidden on a platform on the third floor and waited until the wave of Soul Purifying Light dissipated. Once it had disappeared, she could charge forward once again. However, she had been overcome at the face of her looming death and was petrified.


    A long sigh of relief resounded as the Soul Sea Realm masters watched the pair out of harm''s way.


    War King Wind was filled with gratitude. After entering the Soul Sea Realm, he did not have much to worry about, and his attention was mostly on his daughter. Even if he succeeded in exploring the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land, it would be an empty victory if he lost Fiona.


    The other Soul Sea Realm masters were also relieved, though it had been more for Zen than Fiona. He was their only hope to go to the Upper World. If he died here, all their efforts would have been for nothing. To them, Fiona''s life would be a small price to pay if it meant Zen''s safety.


    The staircase continued to flash with the Soul Purifying Light. Fiona stood up from Zen''s body and communicated with him with her consciousness. "Thank you," she said.


    Zen smiled and answered, "It''s fine. Let''s keep going!"


    War King Wind no longer led the group up the stairs. Instead, he waited for Zen and Fiona on the fourth floor.

 Chapter 1186 Occupation

    It wasn''t that difficult to climb the stairs in the cemetery. As long as they seized the opportunity to make a move, they would meet no danger.


    Over the years, other than the first time that a Soul Sea Realm martial artist had died without knowing the situation in the tomb, no one else from the four divine kingdoms had ever died in it.


    Zen and Fiona carefully returned to the fourth floor after the Soul Purifying Light had extinguished twice.


    As soon as the two of them were in front of him, War King Wind expressed his gratitude to Zen. Then he and his men began to climb the stairs in the cemetery again.


    Most of the Soul Sea Realm martial artists managed to safely make it to the fifth, sixth, and seventh floors with more ease. But as they climbed higher, the time between each Soul Purifying Light became shorter and shorter.


    For them, the pressure wasn''t too great. However, to Virtual Tribulation Realm martial artists like Fiona and Bram, the pressure was immensely greater.


    "Bram, Randy, climbing up is too difficult for you. Even if you make it there, you probably won''t be able to occupy the bodies of those powerful martial artists. This floor should be your limit, so try to dwell on the corpses here," Turner said with his soul power.


    Although these martial artists had been dead for countless years, it was never an easy task to inhabit their corpses. The Soul Core could minimize the repulsion of the corpses, but the stronger the corpses were, the stronger the repulsive force would be.


    Bram, Randy, Fiona, and the other martial artists of the younger generation all nodded in agreement. Although they all had entered the Divine Emperor Secret Land with the help of the elder generation, it was a trial for them. But they were not required to obtain anything from this journey.


    "Let me help you open this coffin." War King Wind walked swiftly to the side of the platform. When he entered the hut, he purposely stood next to a coffin near him.


    Briefly, he closed his eyes and said a few words to himself before communicating through his consciousness, "These corpses have been here for countless years. You have to respect them."


    As he muttered these words, he stretched out his hands. Then like a wind, his hands changed their shapes and flowed smoothly along the grooves on the side of the coffin. When he felt that a part of his soul invaded the edge of the coffin, his soul fluctuated slightly, signifying that the soul power of the Fighting Soul Realm had burst out, thus lifting the coffin before everyone''s eyes.


    Inside the coffin was a woman at the Life and Death Realm.


    Historically, it was unknown just what method the Dragon Lineage Human used to preserve the corpses. Even after so many years, it still hadn''t shown any signs of decay. The


    d said, "Thad''s soul is already close to the Jasper Fighting Soul Realm. It is much stronger than our souls. Surely, you have the qualifications to go up."


    So Zen followed the group of Soul Sea Realm martial artists as they continued to climb up while avoiding the Soul Purifying Light.


    Fiona, Randy, and the others had their souls penetrated deep into their minds. Since they were all encased in bodies, the Soul Purifying Light wouldn''t cause any damage to them. Hence, they didn''t need to dodge the light at all but walked up the steps at ease.


    They all continued climbing up. On the eighth, ninth and tenth floors, the number of coffins became fewer and fewer while the corpses within the coffins became more and more powerful.


    Starting from the tenth floor, the corpses in the coffins had already reached the Soul Sea Realm.


    "I will choose this floor." A Soul Sea Realm martial artist stopped and occupied one of the corpses on the tenth floor with no qualms. His soul seemed to have just entered the Fighting Soul Realm. If not for Zen excavating so many Soul Cores, he wouldn''t have been able to enter the tomb this year.


    Besides, he wasn''t confident in his soul''s strength. Even if he went up there, he might die. So he decided to occupy a corpse on this floor.


    Still, on the tenth floor, powerful warriors of the Soul Sea Realm started to choose their own corpses one after another.


    On the eleventh


    and the twelfth floors, there were already sixty to seventy Soul Sea Realm martial artists who had already occupied a corpse.


    When they reached the thirteenth floor, most of them had already controlled a corpse, so they all came up the stairs with their bodies. Only Zen, Turner, War King Wind, War Emperor York, and Scott had not chosen a corpse yet.


    The five of them set their gazes on the thirteenth floor, surveying the area.

 Chapter 1187 Alessandro Feng

    There was no longer any need to avoid the Soul Purifying Light at the time Zen and the other four rulers stepped onto the thirteenth floor given that it was the top floor.


    The top floor was an open, circular platform wherein one could enjoy the view of the entire Divine Emperor Secret Land - except, there wasn''t really any view to enjoy. The entire scenery consisted of corpses and graveyards and nobody really appreciated looking at dead bodies.


    On the platform were coffins arranged in an orderly manner.


    The corpses placed within the structure, from the first to the thirteenth floor, were no doubt core members of the Dragon Lineage Human. Each coffin that they had passed by on every floor was exquisitely well-crafted.


    However, they couldn''t compare to the coffins that were on the top floor.


    Mysterious divine textures had been carved onto the surface of the rich, elaborately crafted coffins.


    Most of the runes glowed brightly indicating their activation.


    Zen was immediately filled with curiosity upon the sight. These divine textures needed a continuous supply of life vitality in order to keep running. Could it be that there was a massive life vitality crystal buried underneath this cemetery? It was the only explanation he could think of as he looked at these still-active runes.


    "How could this be? Just how many life vitality crystals could be enough to keep them active?" he couldn''t help but voice out his thoughts. Zen figured that not even one massive life vitality crystal would be enough to keep these divine textures running for thousands of years given that the Dragon Lineage Human had been destroyed in the blood sacrifice more than ten thousand years ago.


    Turner smiled at Zen''s puzzled expression. "These divine textures don''t get energy through life vitality crystals! Just look at the ground and you''ll understand."


    Zen followed Turner''s instructions and looked down. Indeed, there was a huge divine texture that was also carved onto the ground.


    Zen could recognize the divine texture and immediately understood.


    This was a seven-star divine texture - Spiritual Energy Gather. It was an extremely important divine texture, as emphasized by the cyan dragon when he taught Zen the divine texture techniques.


    This Spiritual Energy Gather that the divine textures on the coffins relied on to keep running could continuously gather the vitality between heaven and earth and transform it into life vitality.


    "However, these coffins are all engraved with divine textures. It would be a little difficult to occupy the bodies in the coffins, right?" Zen asked.


    "Yes. The owners of these corpses were all at the top-level of Soul Sea Realm. They were probably stronger than us when they were


    as they ran away, several other powerful Soul Sea Realm masters approached the coffin and started attacking the six-star divine texture.


    The divine texture quickly shattered under their combined efforts which made the seven to eight small, life vitality dragons slowly dissipate as well.


    During this entire debacle, Scott merely stood to the side and continuously repeated Alessandro Feng''s name over and over again. He didn''t even pay any attention when the dragons suddenly showed up and tried to chase the others.


    ''It looks like that name is really important, '' Zen couldn''t help but surmise.


    Once the defensive rune was broken, the Soul Sea Realm masters quickly put their borrowed bodies to work and slowly opened the coffin.


    Inside lay a silver-haired, middle-aged man - Alessandro Feng himself. Even with his eyes closed as a corpse, a powerful, domineering aura still emanated from him, indicating his superiority as a being.


    The four rulers also had this aura, but not as sharp as Alessandro Feng''s.


    He was, undoubtedly, a top master at the Soul Sea Realm when he was still alive. Perhaps he was even the strongest martial artist of the great world during his time.


    Scott immediately grew wary as he was hit by the corpse''s aura but he didn''t dwell too much on it. He turned around and gave a nod to the other three rulers before suddenly jumping into the coffin.


    The moment he entered Alessandro Feng''s body, Scott immediately stretched out his hand and pressed the spot between the corpse''s eyebrows. The corpse opened its mouth as if on reflex and Scott''s soul quickly entered through it.


    The Soul Core''s power spread throughout the corpse''s body very quickly. It went through its arms, legs, and viscera. Shortly after, the tall and sturdy body of Alessandro Feng crawled out from the coffin.

 Chapter 1188 Hard To Say The Name

    It was clear that Scott was far more powerful than Fiona. As Fiona tried to control her corpse, her movements seemed stiff, like that of a wooden doll¡ªshe could barely even walk properly.


    As soon as Scott entered the corpse, he appeared quite naturally, as if the body was his own. After he climbed out, he hopped up and firmly stood on the ground.


    Still, his experience was something to be considered. Having entered the Divine Emperor Secret Land countless times already, Scott was naturally much more skilled than Fiona in controlling corpses.


    When he climbed out, he put a palm to his forehead, revealing an expression of pain.


    At this time, the one in pain was certainly not Alessandro, for he had been dead for many years already¡ªit was Scott who was in great pain, this time.


    Simultaneously, in the middle of the platform on the top floor, a stone pillar suddenly began to rise.


    Crunch, crunch, crunch¡­


    The pillar was at least twenty feet wide. While it had always been in the center of the platform, having itself suddenly appear came as a shock to Zen.


    The other Soul Sea Realm masters, however, seemed to be used to it.


    As the pillar slowly rose up, Zen''s eyebrows furrowed in more confusion.


    Four table-sized rivets were in the middle of the pillar. Similarly, four pitch-black chains were hanging on the end of the rivets, extending toward a coffin in the middle, keeping it locked tight.


    This coffin was rather unique. With its azure color, it was a transparent, crystal coffin!


    Since it was embedded in the stone pillar, tightly locked by chains, the person inside couldn''t lie down properly. At that moment, she was standing inside the coffin.


    Inside it was a young girl, dressed in thin, white, unlined clothes. Her bare legs were firmly locked in place by the black chains extending to the crystal coffin.


    "What a beautiful young lady! Who is she?" the crown prince of the Wind Divine Kingdom muttered as he gazed upon the girl inside.


    Indeed, while he was used to seeing beautiful women every day, he still couldn''t help but marvel at the girl''s beauty.


    Looking at her for a short while, Zen couldn''t figure out what was going on in front of them.


    While everyone had their eyes fixed on her, her eyes suddenly opened. Her golden orbs then fixed down on every


    ly then did Zen truly understand.


    In fact, the Dragon Lineage Humans didn''t expect the four divine kingdoms to use the Soul Cores to manipulate their corpses¡ªthey still kept the corpses of the top masters to deal with some of their other affairs. But as the corpses were preserved in such a way, it was extremely likely that they would become zombies.


    To avoid this situation, the Dragon Lineage Human set up a method to deal with this in the cemetery. If the corpse really became a ''zombie, '' then the young girl would test the corpse''s mind. If that body didn''t pass the test, then the soul would be ejected straight out of the corpse.


    However, they had never expected that the souls that were removed belonged to human beings.


    "Don''t be discouraged. Scott, can you try again?" War King Wind tried to comfort him.


    Shaking his head, Scott responded, "Well, I''ll go to the twelfth floor and choose a corpse. Wind, Turner, Lucien, you can have a try!"


    As soon as he finished speaking, the Soul Purifying Light on the stairs faded away before Scott shot toward the twelfth floor.


    With that, War King Wind and Turner looked at each other. "Okay, let me do it this time!" War King Wind exclaimed.


    With that, he circled the platform. Instead of choosing Alessandro''s corpse, he stopped on top of a black coffin.


    When War King Wind''s soul stopped, a Soul Sea Realm master behind him said, "This is the leader of the Dragon Lineage Human from seventy thousand years ago. His name is Henk Feng¡ªit''s easier to remember his name."

 Chapter 1189 Federico Feng

    People belonging to the four divine kingdoms knew everything about the corpses in those coffins. They had spent years investigating them thoroughly in order to control the corpses.


    It wasn''t an easy task, learning the corpses'' names and retaining them. Given the names weren''t hard to remember, fusing their souls with the corpses caused the corpses to instinctively reject them.


    And being interrogated by the girl who was sealed in the stone pillar would cause the memories in their souls to become confused, making it hard for them to remember the names of the corpses.


    War King Wind had once succeeded in saying the correct name. But he couldn''t remember how he had managed to do it and his success had been the only one in all these years.


    When the masters of the Soul Sea Realm opened the coffin, they saw a thin old man lying within it. This man was Henk Feng, the one they had spoken of.


    War King Wind''s soul entered the old man''s corpse through his mouth.


    Not long after, his soul merged with Henk''s corpse and controlled it such that it slowly climbed out of the coffin.


    But the corpse seemed to be rejecting War King Wind''s soul rather strongly. As War King Wind controlled the corpse, trying to make it walk, it staggered like a drunken man and involuntarily moved towards the stone pillar.


    The following moments were most crucial. Only by saying the right name of the corpse could he escape control of the girl in the pillar. Since Scott had already failed, they thought that the chances of War King Wind succeeding were slim.


    As expected, the corpse''s face twisted under the girl''s interrogation, as if in pain. It shook severely, trying and failing to speak out the name, "Henk Feng."


    He ended up facing the same fate as Scott. The soul was forcefully ejected out by the mysterious girl in the pillar.


    War King Wind was dejected and it showed on his face. But he didn''t go to the twelfth floor to choose a corpse, like Scott had done. Instead, he fell into deep thought, wanting to try once again.


    But War Emperor York and Turner were in no hurry to give it a try. They walked around the coffins and tried to think of a good solution.


    In the past, the people of the four divine kingdoms couldn''t take even a single step into the Feather Emperor Secret Land, the Divine Emperor Secret Land and the Mysterious Dream Secret Land, let alone the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land. After years of scouting, they gradually found ways of entering the first three secret lands. If they could find a way to easily obtain the corpses of the ancient warriors at the top


    because of this, even if some powerful warriors passed away in the wilderness, no wild beasts would dare approach their corpses.


    The powerful repelling force within the corpse was driving Zen''s soul out of it. If it had been an ordinary Fighting Soul, it might have been instantly driven out of the corpse''s brain.


    That was why most Soul Sea Realm warriors of the four divine kingdoms had chosen the corpses of the eleventh and twelfth floors. They knew that it was too difficult for their souls to obtain the corpses of the thirteen floor.


    Zen''s soul was much stronger than that of a normal Soul Sea Realm warrior and even the four emperors, not to mention that he had fused with the will of the great world. His soul ignored the repulsive force and directly occupied the brain.


    However, even though his soul had merged with the brain, he was still unable to control the corpse. He had to wait for the Soul Core''s power to spread and fuse with the corpse.


    Streams of grey light surged through the man''s body. After a few seconds, Zen gradually regained some of his senses, finally feeling his limbs again. He soon felt that he could control this corpse as his own.


    "Get up!"


    Zen tried to rise from the coffin. But it was a little harder than he thought. As he made to stand up, he tottered unsteadily on his feet and fell back into the coffin.


    Although Zen''s movements looked funny, no one laughed at him. With his current age and cultivation base, it was his pride and joy to be able to obtain this corpse.


    Few moments later, Zen jumped up smoothly to his feet. His burly body was like a steel tower as he firmly stood on the ground. His eyes were the size of saucers as he opened them and looked around.

 Chapter 1190 Spirit Supreme Realm

    Everyone had gotten used to Zen''s lanky figure. It was awkward for them to watch Zen as he took on the tall and sturdy body of the corpse.


    Randy, Fiona, and Callan were some of the few people who looked at Zen and began to grin.


    A faint smile appeared on Zen''s face as he casually took a few steps forward. It hadn''t taken him long to freely control this corpse.


    But all wasn''t smooth. He suddenly felt a wave of pressure on his body.


    A red ripple spread out of nowhere in the empty mind of the corpse. The surroundings in his mind turned blood-red. The pressure wasn''t from the outside world but emanated from the corpse itself.


    Zen had gained control of the corpse through the Soul Core. But now, he found that he couldn''t control it at all. It waddled towards the stone pillar as Zen struggled and failed to control it.


    ''Here comes the question!'' Zen became cautious.


    He had previously seen War King Wind and Scott go through this process. They had not been able to resist the orders of the young girl in the stone pillar and couldn''t help but walk involuntarily towards the pillar.


    But this wasn''t what worried Zen. The probability that he might not be able to say the corpse''s name when questioned posed a greater worry for him.


    ''Federico Feng¡­'' Zen repeated the name in his heart.


    He felt the corpse stagger all the way and fall to its knees with a thud in front of the stone pillar. At the same time, he felt the blood-red ripple in his mind grow stronger and stronger. He knew that it was this blood-red ripple that completely isolated Zen''s soul from the corpse.


    In this moment, Zen felt everything become distant from him.


    Someone seemed to be talking to Zen, but he couldn''t hear a single word. The sound seemed to be coming from the sky, soft and harsh.


    His thoughts had become a mess.


    "Answer me! Your name!" the young girl''s voice came from the stone pillar.


    "My name? My name¡­" Through all the mental chaos, Zen could not remember the name of this corpse.


    ''It''s very strange! I can''t remember what this corpse is called at all. I clearly remembered it a moment ago!'' Zen thought dejectedly. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn''t recall anything about this corpse.


    "Tell me your name, or I''ll-" The young girl''s voice was clear, and Zen could hear every word she said.


    If he could not remember the name, he would be kicked out of this corpse''s mind. Zen had seen how War King Wind and Scott had bounced back from the bodies they had planned to occupy because they had failed to remember the corpses'' names. But the more he became anxious, the less likely it was that anything would come to his mind. It was as if the name had been completely


    as they saw Zen''s gaze. One of them said, "This girl¡­ is a master at the Spirit Supreme Realm! She is even stronger than Master Derek. How could one take over her corpse? And it is unclear whether she is dead or not!"


    Spirit Supreme Realm!


    Zen''s eyes gleamed.


    In the Upper World, the Life and Death Realm was just the threshold, while the Soul Sea Realm was just a beginning level. The Spirit Supreme Realm warriors formed the real backbone of the Upper World.


    Master Derek that the Soul Sea Realm master had mentioned referred to the white-browed Taoist who should also be at the Spirit Supreme Realm. And Immortal Mist should be at the Spirit Supreme Realm, too. But what about Yolande? Although Yolande''s cultivation level was not high, she had a million duplicates. Her strength probably far surpassed the Spirit Supreme Realm.


    And the more powerful beings were beyond Zen''s knowledge. Even someone at the Spirit Supreme Realm would be enough to make Zen look up to him.


    Thus, once he had heard what the Soul Sea Realm master had to say, Zen became even more interested in the girl in the stone pillar.


    "Forget about whether the girl in the pillar is dead or not. First of all, there''s no way to undo the chains, or to break the crystal coffin she is in. To control her body is completely impossible," Turner said.


    But Zen merely smirked and returned to Federico''s coffin. He stretched out his hand and took out a small space ring.


    When the many powerful warriors of the Soul Sea Realm saw this, they realized what Zen wanted to do. Their eyes immediately lit up with surprise.


    Fiona and Randy also came to understand Zen''s intentions. Even Callan, who had always been slow in thinking, said, "That''s right! You can open this crystal coffin with the Black Star pickaxe!"

 Chapter 1191 A Living Corpse

    The Heavenly Stellar Secret Land was bound to be the core of the Dragon Lineage Human given that it was above the other three secret lands.


    These Soul Sea Realm warriors had never succeeded in obtaining the Ancestral Dragon Egg. Zen knew he would have to find another way to do so.


    He knew that he had to obtain the Spirit Supreme Realm girl''s corpse.


    The other Soul Sea Realm warriors, especially War Emperor York, had gotten excited when he revealed his Black Star.


    It wasn''t because they didn''t want to obtain the young girl''s corpse themselves.


    It was because they couldn''t. No matter how hard they tried, none of them had ever been able to break her crystal coffin and the chains that bound her.


    Zen''s revelation of his Black Star filled them with excitement. To enter the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land, it was better to choose stronger corpses and if Zen managed to break the crystal coffin, then they could also finally try to take over the young girl''s corpse.


    But right now, they let Zen do his thing. Nobody was willing to compete with him against this.


    Surely, obtaining the Ancestral Dragon Egg would be a great achievement, but nobody was too stupid to stand in Zen''s way and risk offending him for this.


    Even War Emperor York, who originally had enmities with Zen, would not dare to compete and offend him now.


    Zen took the pickaxe out from his space ring as he approached the girl in the pillar.


    The four divine kingdoms'' plunder of the Feather Holy Sea had gifted them with the knowledge and understanding of each corpse''s identity, all except for one. The young girl in the pillar was deeply mysterious and none of them knew anything about her origins.


    Zen couldn''t help letting his wariness get to him. If the supposedly dead girl wasn''t dead, then wouldn''t they be in trouble if he let her out?


    His soul gently floated beside the stone pillar. The clear, crystal coffin gave him an undisturbed view of the girl that stood inside.


    She didn''t wear a lot of clothes, and her skin was littered with nasty scars. Heavy, iron chains tightly bound both her hands and feet.


    Why was she tied up like this? Who was she?


    These questions lingered in his head as he sized her up. However, Zen knew he wouldn''t really be able to find the answers by just standing there. He brandished the pickaxe in h


    ink of a logical solution to his current dilemma.


    "Who are you?" Zen asked through his consciousness.


    "Me? Didn''t you stare at me too many times already? Don''t you know who I am?" the girl asked, with a slightly offended tone to her voice.


    "You''re not a dead person, so why are you sealed in this cemetery?" he asked.


    "Who said I wasn''t dead? I have indeed died but I never expected someone to come after so many years just to occupy my body. Perhaps you want to accompany me?" the soul replied indifferently.


    "You''re dead¡­" Zen repeated to himself in puzzlement.


    So she was a corpse with her own soul and undamaged body. But how could she be dead if her heartbeat was even stronger than Zen''s?


    "I can''t really explain it to you clearly. However, since you''re here, you should stay with me. Don''t even try to escape!" the voice said once again.


    Zen quickly cupped his hands to show his sincerity. "Lady, I am so sorry that I unwittingly barged into your body. Please forgive me for offending you. Please be magnanimous¡­"


    The girl, however, cut him off, "What did you say? You ''unwittingly'' barged in? Do you take me for a fool? I wasn''t born yesterday, you know. You clearly wanted to take over my body. Do you think I will let you go? No way!"


    Zen frowned at her reply. Since she wasn''t going to let him go, Zen willed his soul to speed away from her mind.


    However, it was in vain. The girl''s soul seemed to be much more powerful than his. She merely snorted before red ripples suddenly appeared around the edges of her dark mind.

 Chapter 1192 The World In The Body

    The red ripples firmly locked Zen within the girl''s mind.


    He heard her chuckle. "You want to run? Your soul isn''t even at the Jasper Fighting Soul Realm yet. You actually think you can escape from me?" she said.


    His heart sank at her words. It seemed she was so powerful that the Jasper Fighting Soul Realm was nothing in her eyes


    That was the moment Zen knew that he was in big trouble.


    He launched several attacks against the edges of the girl''s mind but to no avail. His soul''s power was limited and he did not dare exhaust it. He gave up in the meantime once he realized that he wasn''t getting out of there that easily.


    He stopped resisting and settled on quietly floating in the darkness. He waited for a while before spreading his consciousness. "It''s useless to keep me here. Why don''t you let me out?" he tried convincing her.


    There was no response, and only silence pervaded the darkness. Zen could not control the girl''s body, so his soul was unable to sense anything from the outside. He was, to put it simply, trapped inside this pitch-black prison that was her mind.


    Zen continued to spread out his consciousness, trying to get her to talk.


    "Hey!


    Say something!


    Your body was bound in that crystal coffin for so many years, and I was the one who helped you break free from it!


    Your legs are still bound by the way. If you want to be truly free, you have to let me go so I can break the chains for you!"


    However, no matter what he did, there was still no response.


    Zen berated himself for ever entering the girl''s mind. The thought of never getting out of here made him extremely depressed. He should''ve just knocked her off the stone pillar and thrown her somewhere. It also frustrated him that he could''ve easily taken over any corpse back on the thirteenth floor, but he chose to enter this young girl''s strange and mysterious body. He was in this predicament because of his greedy decision.


    The warriors back on the thirteenth floor were powerful, but they were only slightly stronger than the country leaders. They could never hope to compare to this girl at the Spirit Supreme Realm.


    Everyone also wanted to take over her body, not just him, but he was the one t


    it was only normal for her to go mad after being locked up for so long.


    Zen realized that he had no choice but to resort to threats. "Let me out. My companions are waiting for me outside. If I don''t go out, they might destroy your body."


    Her face broke into a frown. "Your companions? You mean those little guys at the Soul Sea Realm?"


    ''Little guys at the Soul Sea Realm...''


    Those ''little guys'' were war emperors and war kings. To Zen, they were old monsters that had lived for tens of thousands of years, but to this girl, they were nothing.


    His silence prompted the girl to continue speaking. "You think they can hurt me after you opened the crystal coffin with the Black Star? I''d like to see them try. If they even dare to¡­" She paused for a moment before letting out a borderline maniacal laugh. "There really is an idiot coming over!"


    The girl momentarily closed her eyes. When she opened them again, a golden light flashed within her pupils. "It was a little guy at the Soul Sea Realm. I''ve already killed him," she drawled lazily.


    "What?!" How could someone just kill a Soul Sea Realm warrior so quickly? How was that even possible?


    "You''re lying," he said in a grave tone.


    The girl shot him a sharp look. "Lying? Why would I do that? I didn''t want to kill him, but you threatened me. I needed to teach you a lesson. I''ve disintegrated both that guy''s body and soul. Anyone who dares to steal Dragon Lineage Human''s bodies is seeking death!"

 Chapter 1193 God Of Creation

    A wave of silence washed over Zen when his soul entered the girl''s mind. The Soul Core had no effects, and his soul didn''t get ejected.


    However, the Soul Sea Realm masters were worried about Zen.


    Although the people of the four divine kingdoms had thoroughly checked all areas in the cemetery, this woman''s identity was still unknown. Even if she could speak, no one could figure out from her voice if she was dead or alive.


    Zen had smashed the crystal coffin as soon as he reached it, but it would be too risky to take over this woman''s body.


    But this woman had been locked up for an immeasurable amount of time. Even if she was a Spirit Supreme Realm master, her lifespan should''ve been long exhausted. She still wouldn''t escape death, even after having experienced the Five Aging Processes!


    It was impossible for the masters in the universe to escape their lifespans'' limitation. It was just that their lifespans had varying lengths.


    Therefore, taking such a risk was definitely worth it. At that time, War King Wind, Turner and War Emperor York wanted to give it a try. However, Zen managed to occupy the corpse before the others could take a chance.


    When they saw Zen enter the physical body, all movements suddenly stopped. Everyone became worried and wanted to see what happened.


    At that moment, several Soul Sea Realm masters, who controlled the corpses they had just occupied, approached the young girl''s corpse.


    The Soul Sea Realm master who was the nearest to the young girl''s body stood only a few feet away. When he looked closer, the girl''s eyes suddenly opened!


    The Soul Sea Realm masters were quick to react, since they occupied corpses of some powerful Soul Sea Realm masters. Although the bodies were all dead, the masters had activated most of the corpses'' strengths using the Soul Cores.


    However, the nearest Soul Sea Realm master still couldn''t escape!


    The young girl''s eyes were sharp, and had golden pupils. A golden light enveloped the Soul Sea Realm master in front of her, who suddenly howled out in pain.


    Soon enough, cracks began to form on the corpse''s skin, which was inhabited by the Soul Sea Realm master. The cracks continued to spread like the dry ground during an earthquake.


    The corpses had been in storage for at least ten thousand years. The blood in their bodies had dried up long ago, so no red liquid flowed out when the corpse collapsed. However, the Soul Sea Realm master''s soul was forced out of the disintegrated corpse.


    The soul continued to howl and couldn''t escape from the clutches of the young girl''s gaze. The Fighting Soul should''ve been unbelievably strong, but it quickly dissolved like ice in the hot summer heat under the golden light.


    In just a blink of an eye, it completely vanished.


    "So ruthless... This young girl is definitely alive!"


    "Everyone, move back. D


    ntly strike the continent. Only then would some low-level creatures begin to appear in the life vitality sea.


    After that, life would slowly evolve. It usually took hundreds, or thousands, or even tens of thousands of years to make the world fully alive and vigorous.


    "It took me one hundred and twenty thousand years to nurture this island as well as the various creatures in it," the young girl sighed softly.


    "After one hundred and twenty thousand years, it''s only this little..." Zen was stunned. This speed was much slower than he had expected.


    The young girl smiled and shook her head. "You don''t understand. The inner world''s nurturing speed is extremely fast. The birth of the first and most insignificant creature might take one hundred thousand years, but it would only take a few thousand years for this civilization to grow and prosper!"


    "So that''s the case," Zen said, blinking his eyes. He didn''t feel too much malice from this woman, so he asked again carefully, "But why did you lock me up here?"


    To Zen''s surprise, the young girl smiled and said, "Creating the world on my own is too boring. Stay here and create the world with me. Isn''t that very interesting?"


    In turn, Zen was utterly speechless and surprised when he heard her.


    He originally wanted to retort that it was not fun at all, but he didn''t say that. After a moment of thought, he said, "My soul left my body, and my physical body is still outside. My soul can leave my body for a few days, but if it stays outside away from my physical body for too long, I''m afraid that I will be in trouble."


    The young girl pouted and said, "It doesn''t matter." She added, "My soul is also disconnected from my physical body all the time. Look, my physical body is still alive and well, so is my soul! I have a way to make your soul immortal! This method was inherited from the Soul Race. Do you want me to teach you?"

 Chapter 1194 Turn Of Events

    Hearing what the girl said, Zen couldn''t help but roll his eyes. Perhaps, he had met a mad woman.


    The good thing was that she did not immediately kill him, otherwise, with her strength she might be able to destroy his soul within seconds¡­


    The problem was that if he really was confined in here, the situation could get quite troublesome.


    As he was lost in thought, a spiritual wave suddenly came over him.


    "Zen, you seem to have run into some trouble." This wave had come from the cyan dragon.


    The cyan dragon and the mysterious furnace were inside the head of his physical body, but Zen had already confirmed before that he was still able to communicate with the cyan dragon while his soul and body were separated. As for how the cyan dragon managed to know what Zen was up to, the latter had no idea.


    "Yes, there is a little problem. I seem to have met a crazy woman," Zen muttered.


    "Crazy woman?" the cyan dragon asked in a strange voice.


    "Hmm¡­" Zen narrated to him everything that had happened in the cemetery.


    When Zen mentioned that the woman''s pupils were golden, the cyan dragon interrupted him, "Are you telling me that this woman has a pair of golden eyes and was sealed within the crystal coffin?"


    "Yes," Zen answered.


    "Haha, so that explains it." The cyan dragon''s laughter rang through Zen''s ears.


    "What''s so funny? You''re a powerful figure in Genuine Dragon race. Don''t you have some way of helping me out?" Zen asked, irritated.


    At this moment, the woman stared at Zen''s soul and asked, "Who are you speaking to?"


    This world within the woman''s body had been created by herself. Even though Zen had communicated with the cyan dragon through his own perception, she still noticed that he was talking to someone.


    Zen pursed his lips and ignored her. The voice of the cyan dragon came through once again. "Zen, ask her if her name is Brianna Feng."


    "You know her?" Zen asked him.


    "Maybe," the cyan dragon replied. From his tone, it seemed that he was immersed in past memories.


    Zen nodded. With a smile on his face, he spoke to the woman. "Someone wants to know if you are Brianna Feng."


    When Zen said the name, the woman''s body trembled. The earth and heavens of this world were shaking violently¡­


    Rumble¡­


    With a crash of thunder, the entire island vibrated. The life vitality sea roared. Huge waves with the size of small mountains swept toward the island.


    On the island, the aboriginal humans were in a state of panic. They were fleeing and murmuring something in a language that Zen did not understand. It had probably been created by this woman hers


    ntered the Five Aging Processes. Zen assumed that she had used some sort of technique to delay that.


    The technique, apparently, was the Soul Sealing Spell. But she wasn''t the one who had imposed it on herself, it had been someone else!


    To a certain extent, the Soul Sealing Spell was able to delay the Five Aging Processes. In the Upper World, there were truly some powerful ones who could use this technique to extend their lifespans.


    However, the drawbacks of the method were obvious. Before anyone removed the Soul Sealing Spell, they would lose completely control of their body. Then their soul would be confined within their body. Except for creating their own worlds to kill time, there was nothing else that they could do then¡­


    Ordinary cultivators at the Spirit Supreme Realm could create a world in their cinnabar field using just a wisp of their souls. They did not need the entirety of their souls to enter the world.


    Brianna Feng had been deliberately put into a helpless situation. Her soul had been sealed into her cinnabar field by someone else.


    "I do not have control on my body, but if your soul has fused with the Soul Core, then I can help you control it!" Brianna Feng said, smiling widely.


    Could it work that way? Zen was speechless, but his face revealed his joy.


    Controlling her body had originally been Zen''s goal from the beginning itself. It seemed that he would be able to achieve his goal. However, he did not anticipate that the process would be so strange...


    He was fortunate that Brianna Feng and the cyan dragon were family. In the absence of this turn of events, he would have been in great trouble. Facing a soul of a master at the Spirit Supreme Realm, Zen would have had no way to survive.

 Chapter 1195 Made A Mistake

    "I''ll get you out of this inner world right now,"


    Brianna said and lightly waved her hand towards Zen. The next moment, he felt an invisible force enveloping him.


    Soon after that, his soul suddenly shot straight up into the sky. As he was flying in the air, he was struck by another bolt of lightning that startled him.


    After leaving the inner world, Zen returned once again into Brianna''s mind. As he was getting aware of his surroundings, he heard the woman''s voice.


    "I''ve sealed off all the power you released from the Soul Core earlier. But there shouldn''t be any problem now."


    Following this piece of information, strands of grey light began to soak into Brianna''s body. Zen''s soul was immersed in her mind now, and her bodily senses were slowly wakening.


    Unaware of these developments, Turner, War King Wind, and the rest of the company were standing around with gloomy expressions on their faces.


    The atmosphere was extremely depressing on the platform, and it was visible on everyone''s face.


    The longer they waited, the slimmer their hopes became. It had already been four hours since the unfortunate incident, but there was still no news of Zen, nor any communication from him.


    Everyone knew that Zen''s soul had probably perished long ago. It was just that they were still in denial and didn''t want to admit it.


    "Alas, we shouldn''t have explored the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land this time. It would have been completely fine if we didn''t try to get our hands on the Ancestral Dragon''s egg. What really gets to me is that we brought Thad with us. And now he''s gone..." a Soul Sea Realm master suddenly remarked. Regret could be seen on his face.


    "Give up on the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land? Humph! I don''t think Master Derek would have been too happy with that idea!" another Soul Sea Realm master refuted.


    "I don''t think so. Although the Ancestral Dragon''s egg is important, I believe Thad is more important than that. Furthermore, I am unsure that we will obtain the Ancestral Dragon''s egg this year anyway. So I guess we will have to try next year."


    "Guys, the problem is that Thad himself insisted on entering the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land! So it''s not actually our fault, and we can''t blame it on him either."


    Numerous powerful warriors at the Soul Sea Realm began animatedly discussing the matter.


    "Quiet!"


    War King Wind suddenly stood up and roared at them furiously. Although every single warrior on the platform was at the Soul Sea Realm, the authority of any one of the four emperors was unquestionable. Thus, when War King Wind roared, everyone shut their mouths.


    "I will take over a corpse on the 12th floor. And then we''ll head towards the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land!" War King Wind continued. He was already in a terrible mood to begin with after seeing what happened to Zen, so when he heard them make a ruckus, he naturally became extremely agitated.


    Hearing that her fath


    ck thought, Zen understood this point.


    Brianna had just killed a powerful warrior at the Soul Sea Realm. Now he was controlling her body, but they didn''t know who was pulling the strings. It would have been more strange if they didn''t run away. They didn''t know it was him.


    Since he was not familiar with the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land, he had to enter it with the people from the four divine kingdoms. As he thought of this, Zen quickly grabbed the space ring that he had placed aside and took out the Black Star. He gently waved it and shattered the chains on the woman''s legs.


    Then, he leaped down from the pillar.


    ''Wow! This body is awesome. A Spirit Supreme Realm warrior is indeed quite amazing.'' Zen could feel that the woman body was filled with power.


    His own strength was not weaker than a Life and Death Realm warrior. But if he didn''t use the power of the dragon scales, he would be weaker than a Soul Sea Realm master.


    The moment he stepped on the floor, he immediately felt that his chest was sinking. At the same time, a strange expression appeared on his face. The structures of a woman''s and a man''s bodies are quite different, and being in the former one felt quite strange.


    However, right now, Zen could not care any less about that. He quickly steadied himself, his feet lightly stepped on the floor and his entire body shot out like an arrow, closely following behind Turner and the rest.


    "We''re safe now, guys. That woman''s legs are still bound by the chains!"


    "Hmm, there''s no need to run then."


    "It was really dangerous just now though. Where did this woman come from? I thought Spirit Supreme Realm warriors would be driven away from this great world. Why is she here after all this time?"


    Just as the warriors of the four divine kingdoms relaxed, a Soul Sea Realm master looked back and saw the woman diving down at an extremely fast speed. His face darkened and he shouted out, "Run! She''s still after us!"

 Chapter 1196 A Strange Feeling

    Many heads swiveled around at the same time. Their shock was palpable at the sight of the woman at the Spirit Supreme Realm swooping down at such an unbelievable speed.


    They came forward in a mad rush.


    War King Wind grabbed Fiona and Callan and rushed to the front.


    Everyone knew that if they could run in the front, they would survive, and those who lagged behind would definitely die.


    "Holy shit! They are running so fast!"


    Zen exclaimed. He looked at the Soul Sea Realm masters in front of him, and saw that they were trying to dodge him at a speed that was mind-boggling. He was helpless, but he felt a slight heat blossoming in his lower abdomen that indicated waves of life vitality.


    This life vitality was drawn from Brianna''s inner world and was in continuous supply. Zen flew up into the sky by using the life vitality.


    Once they had entered the Divine Emperor Island, they couldn''t fly because of the blood sacrifice. The corpses they occupied didn''t have any life vitality, so they could only rely on the power of their own physical bodies. The group of Soul Sea Realm masters in front of Zen could normally fly freely in the sky, but now, they could only run around on the ground with their legs.


    However, their speed was still no match for the flying Zen, despite the mad dash.


    Whoosh!


    ''Wow! This speed is really amazing!''


    Zen thought in wonder. He himself was a little stunned. ''Is this the power of a Spirit Supreme Realm master?''


    He utilized the life vitality and shot out at a speed that he would never even have imagined. Even if he brought out his forceful energy and life vitality at the same time, his speed would not be able to hold a candle to his current speed.


    This speed meant that Zen had caught up to them in no time.


    But he was not familiar with this body and couldn''t properly control his speed. He had flown past them and landed in front of these Soul Sea Realm masters. After all, this body was not his own. Because he wasn''t able to coordinate properly, he smashed onto the ground when he landed, creating a large crater at the point of contact.


    "Hey, this is my body. Don''t do anything reckless!" Because of the Soul Sealing Spell, Brianna was no longer able to control her own body. But this was still her body. This kind of a random collision wouldn''t injure her body, but that didn''t mean that it was okay to treat it like that.


    Zen flashed an embarrassed smile and got to his feet.


    He walked over to the group of Soul Sea Realm masters with a smile on his face, but was only greeted with a strange chilliness.


    Most powerful warriors at the Soul Sea


    y if they ever needed anything important that the rings contained.


    The clothes on Brianna''s body were flimsy, and her slender legs were exposed. Fiona clucked her tongue as she paid attention to these details.


    However, when Zen picked up the clothes that Fiona had thrown over to him, he was rendered speechless. It was a set of emerald green dresses.


    Zen refused to wear them, even though he knew that Fiona only had good intentions. He took out a man''s outfit from his space ring and casually wrapped it around Brianna''s body.


    Now that Zen had taken over her body, it was easy for the four emperors to seize the bodies on the thirteenth floor. They returned quickly, once they had taken over the corpses.


    None of the emperors could contain the excitement on their faces, even though they were in someone else''s corpses.


    Only one of them had ever gotten a corpse on the thirteenth floor once. But this time, all of them had managed to get corpses. It was very likely that this time, they would be able to explore the entire Heavenly Stellar Secret Land in one go, and even obtain the Ancestral Dragon''s egg.


    "We still have to thank you this time," Turner said to Zen.


    War King Wind agreed and said, "That''s right. If it weren''t for you, we wouldn''t have been able to obtain so many Soul Cores, and we wouldn''t have been able to take over these corpses." War King Wind occupied Federico''s corpse, standing in the middle of the crowd like an iron tower, emitting a powerful, domineering aura.


    Zen smiled and said, "I''ll need all of your help in this secret land."


    He looked towards the end of the cemetery. The Heavenly Stellar Secret Land was above these other three secret lands. It was the core of the Dragon Lineage Human.

 Chapter 1197 Giant Shields

    The Divine Emperor Island was a huge cemetery, and the road was lined with many tombstones on both sides.


    The sacred place of the Dragon Lineage Human was an eighth grade power and the warriors who were buried in the cemetery were big shots. The ones who were buried on the platforms were core members of the Dragon Lineage Human. The Dragon Lineage Human had a lot of warriors with other surnames apart from ''Feng''. The warriors with other surnames were inferior. Even those at the Soul Sea Realm didn''t have the qualification to keep their corpses. These powerful warriors were buried in the cemetery after their deaths, and slowly faded into insignificance. The only difference was that their tombstones were in the shape of golden dragon heads, which could be recognized even from a distance.


    The powerful warriors of the Soul Sea Realm looked at the tombstones and felt sadness wash over them. If they couldn''t open the passage to the Upper World, they would never be able to break through to a higher realm. And they would, without a doubt, die if and when they ran out of lifespan.


    Others would hold big funerals for them, and they would sleep in delicate coffins, slowly fading out of memory.


    The martial artists of this universe had used their entire lives to cross this limit and escape death.


    The group encountered a dark forest once they had left the cemetery behind. At the edge of the forest was the tail of the Divine Emperor Island, and at the end of the island was a funnel-shaped area that lined a long, narrow sea.


    A twenty-foot wide road extended through the sea, cutting it into two. It looked like a brown ribbon lying on the surface of the sea and it formed a wondrous sight.


    Under the supervision of the white-browed Taoist priest by the West Dragon River, a ceremony had been held to dispel much of the power of the blood sacrifice in the Feather Holy Sea. However, the power of blood sacrifice around the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land did not weaken one bit. The golden sea water, like pure molten gold, beat continuously along this narrow road.


    The power of blood sacrifice in this area was so strong that even the mighty martial artists of the Soul Sea Realm couldn''t break through. But the power of blood sacrifice didn''t work on the Dragon Lineage Human. This was also why these powerful martial artists of the Soul Sea Realm wanted to occupy the corpses. Only then could they safely enter the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land.


    The towering figure of War King Wind stopped in front of the long, narrow road. He turned to everyone and said, "This is the Road of Saints of the Dragon Lineage Human. The entrance to the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land is at the


    en they had walked for more than a hundred feet, the sound of countless waves crashing against each other suddenly reached their ears, emanating from the surrounding golden sea.


    A number of dragon statues emerged from the middle of the sea. These statues had blue arrows in their mouths.


    War King Wind didn''t flinch as he said, "It''s coming. Stay alert! Grasp your shields firmly!"


    The eight powerful martial artists of the Soul Sea Realm became serious, and they gripped the huge shields tighter.


    They had barely taken another step on the Road of Saints when they heard a cracking sound.


    Whoosh!


    An azure light streaked across the sea''s surface, leaving a blue ripple in the air as it shot towards the box.


    Zen blinked at the speed with which the arrow''s light was approaching them. The Fast Arrow Area was probably more troublesome than the Slow Arrow Area by a large margin. If the powerful martial artists of the Soul Sea Realm were to be hit by the arrow, a huge hole would be left on their bodies. The blue arrows were most likely coated with Dragon Arsenic as well.


    Now that Zen had possessed Brianna''s body, he wouldn''t be able to escape if he was hit by the arrow. His own body was as strong as a sacred weapon, but Brianna''s body wasn''t.


    The arrow that had originally been a thousand feet away reached them in the blink of an eye and crashed into a giant shield on the left.


    Boom!


    Even a single arrow of such power carried an irresistible force under such a high-speed collision. The box formed from the giant shields tilted to the right, only just escaping from slipping into the sea.


    "Steady with the shields!" With a loud shout, War King Wind extended his huge hand and slapped the giant shield to his left, bringing the box back to the Road of Saints.

 Chapter 1198 Dragon Lineage Archer

    Once they had taken over the bodies of the corpses, the mighty warriors of the Soul Sea Realm were able to display and use seventy percent of their original power. But they hadn''t expected that the attack from just one sharp arrow could have such terrifying power.


    Several young warriors became nervous at their contact with the arrow.


    War King Wind noticed Fiona''s and Callan''s nervousness. He smiled and said, "Don''t be afraid. We''ve traveled the Road of Saints quite a few times in the past. There won''t be much danger."


    He had originally wanted to say that the real danger was within the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land. But as he watched anxiety ripple through the warriors, he decided against it, not wanting to cause too much panic.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    The effect of the first arrow crashing into the shields had barely subsided when three arrows came at them from their right.


    "They are coming from the right! Attention!" War King Wind yelled.


    The two powerful warriors of the Soul Sea Realm who were holding the shields on the right flank gripped the shields more firmly, bracing for impact.


    The arrows hit the surface of the shields with a clanging sound and smashed into pieces.


    Since they had taken careful precaution, the shield box only shook a little before the warriors balanced it back and continued on their path.


    "The arrows in the Fast Arrow Area are hard to dodge, but with these giant shields, it won''t be too much of a problem," the crown prince of the Wind Divine Kingdom said with a smile.


    After all, there were so many elders protecting them on this trip. The princes weren''t as nervous as they had been moments ago.


    The whooshing sound of consecutive arrows reached the ears of everyone.


    As the box formed by the giant shields went further along the Road of Saints, more and more dragon-shaped sculptures emerged from the sea, and more blue arrows shot out of the waters.


    These arrows came from all directions. Some appeared out of nowhere and some even came from the dragon-shaped sculptures that raised their dragon heads to shoot the arrows high up into the sky. As a result, the arrows came at them in a downward curve.


    Fortunately, the eight giant shields had firmly encased the warriors inside. No matter which way these arrows came from, they could not penetrate the shields. The shower of arrows could do nothing to them.


    Although the group wasn''t progressing at a fast pace, they had managed to traverse one-third of the path in about five minutes.


    Arrows kept raining down on the shields.


    War King Wind was focused on reminding the other Soul Sea Realm masters to keep thei


    to ninety mighty warriors of the Soul Sea Realm cramped inside, it definitely wasn''t enough. They were all squeezed in together, so there wasn''t much space for them to move freely.


    Once the arrow had pierced through the giant shields, everyone looked around, only to see four people standing motionlessly in their places.


    They all had small holes on their foreheads. It was pretty obvious that the black light had pierced right through their foreheads.


    The four of them were all at the Soul Sea Realm and they all had souls of the Fighting Soul Realm. But the power of this arrow was too great. It had penetrated their heads and entered their minds, directly shattering their souls.


    Thump! Thump! Thump!


    Once their souls were shattered, the corpses became owner-less and fell to the ground with eerie thumps.


    Both Callan''s and Randy''s eyes were filled with great fear. The place that they had stood in a moment ago was where the arrow had pierced through and shattered those souls. If it hadn''t been for Zen, who had pulled them aside, that black light would have penetrated their minds and destroyed their souls!


    "What ¡­ What is that?"


    "That statue, that human-shaped statue! His arrows can pierce through shields!"


    "What should we do? We can''t move very fast. We''re like a moving target!"


    Four mighty warriors of the Soul Sea Realm had died under this arrow. How could the others not be panicking?


    The key point was that everyone was bound within the box formed by the giant shields. The space was limited, and there was no room for dodging, unless they abandoned the box. But the problem was that if they abandoned the box, they would have to face the countless arrows out there. And that was something they would definitely not survive.

 Chapter 1199 Life-saving Moments

    Right now, they were stuck in a dilemma. They could neither retreat nor advance.


    The faces of the four emperors were so grave that it seemed as if they had turned to stone.


    "What on earth is that?" Zen asked, his eyes narrowed to slits.


    Turner shook his head. "I''ve never seen anything like this before."


    War King Wind frowned. "That humanoid statue is clever. He knows that we are occupying the corpses, so he aimed his arrow at their heads to kill them!"


    The warriors were all in possession of a corpse each, and right now, they were rather like zombies¡ªzombies with souls.


    If a corpse was shot through, it would only create a hole. It would not cause any fatal damage to the warrior, nor would blood flow out of the body.


    But if the arrow pierced through the head, the soul itself could shatter to pieces.


    The arrow could penetrate a shield of magnetic stone. Even the powerful warrior corpses that the four rulers possessed could not resist the force of the arrow.


    "Your Majesty, what should we do? Let''s go back!"


    "Your Majesty! Think of a way out of this."


    Some Soul Sea Realm warriors were obviously in a state of panic. On the other hand, Callan and the others, although frightened, didn''t say a word. Fiona and the other martial artists of the younger generation knew they didn''t have the power to work this out. They could only listen to their fathers and hope that they could figure out a way.


    But what could the four rulers do?


    War Emperor York, Turner, and Scott all had impatient looks on their faces. They had gone through great pains to obtain the bodies of the thirteenth floor and had originally planned to fight in the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land. However, they hadn''t even entered the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land yet when they had encountered this problem. How frustrating it was!


    At this point, War King Wind''s voice rang out. "Let''s charge! It''s our only option. The statue probably can''t move. Everyone, let''s charge together, with the giant shields!"


    As the king, even if he could not come up with a solution, he had the authority to make a decision on the spot. War King Wind did not know if his guess was correct. It was very possible that more people would die because of his orders, but no matter what decision he made, it was better than standing rooted to the ground and being shot.


    When the Soul Sea Realm masters heard his words, they no longer hesitated. Carrying their shields around them, they began trudging toward the Road of Saints.


    Surrounded by the shields, they tried to run faster, b


    behalf of Jade Martial House beside the West Dragon River. He had demonstrated his formidable strength. Clearly, he was much stronger than his peers. After entering the Feather Holy Sea, he had played a humongous part. Now, he was the only hope the warriors had left, if they wished to ascend to the Upper World.


    At the moment, besides gratitude, only regret remained in their hearts.


    Two Soul Sea Realm masters unbuckled the giant shields. Brianna was so petite a small crack was enough for her to get out.


    Zen forgot he was in her body. Her chest scraped on the edge of a shield on Zen''s way out. Brianna complained.


    Of course, Zen chose to ignore such complaints.


    Click!


    After releasing Zen, the two mighty warriors at the Soul Sea Realm instantly buckled up the shields again. The black light was certainly fatal, but the arrows were fatal too.


    Just as Zen left the protection of the shields, seven to eight blue arrows shot toward him. Within moments, they were a few dozen feet away from him.


    "Let''s go!"


    Zen''s life vitality had already been activated. The speed of a Spirit Supreme Realm warrior was striking. In the blink of an eye, Zen left his original spot and soared high into the sky.


    Perhaps it was because he didn''t reign in his life vitality and strength well enough. With a leap, he rushed to a height of about five thousand feet.


    "Be careful. If an arrow hits you, it would be a pain to deal with the Dragon Arsenic!" Brianna warned Zen in his inner world.


    Zen chuckled and nodded. His gaze swept across the golden ocean and locked on the Dragon Lineage Archer. As if sensing the stare, the archer raised his head, his pair of scarlet eyes finding Zen as well.

 Chapter 1200 Combat

    This Dragon Lineage Archer was a mere puppet, but he was designed to be the best archer there ever was.


    The moment the puppet''s gaze landed on him, Zen immediately felt shivers run down his spine as if he was a sheep currently being stalked by a deadly wolf.


    "Will you die if he shoots you?" Zen asked.


    It was a given that a Spirit Supreme Realm warrior''s body was even stronger than a Soul Sea Realm one, and Zen was curious just how much more resilient the former was compared to the latter.


    "Nonsense!" Brianna retorted angrily. "His bow is a semi-divine weapon, but his arrows are true divine weapons. How could I possibly block them with my physical body?"


    ''Arrows of the divine tier...'' The astonishment was apparent in Zen''s face. It was truly evident that the Dragon Lineage Human indeed had an eighth-grade sacred place when even a puppet guard wielded a divine weapon. It was no wonder that the black arrow light had been so glaring.


    That shiver he had felt before now escalated to a full-body chill as an uncomfortable feeling of wariness pooled in his gut.


    On the surface of the golden sea, the Dragon Lineage Archer had already notched a black arrow onto the semi-divine longbow and took aim.


    Zen''s eyes narrowed in contempt and braced himself to charge towards the archer. However, Brianna suddenly spoke in his mind. "Are you just going to charge? Using just my life vitality and my body to kill him? Just like that?"


    "What else can we do?" he told her.


    A Spirit Supreme Realm warrior''s life vitality and physical strength would be enough to crush a Soul Sea Realm warrior. Despite being fierce, the Dragon Lineage Archer would still be nothing compared to Zen''s speed.


    "But to activate... Hey!" Zen did not give her any room to argue and quickly charged towards the archer.


    "Zen''s attacking! He just charged towards the statue!"


    "I hope he destroys that thing in one go! May the heavens bless us!"


    "Stop talking nonsense! If the heavens really did bless us, then what''s the point of Heavenly Tribulations?!"


    "That statue is taking aim at Zen! I hope he''ll miss."


    All the Soul Sea Realm warriors watched with rapt attention as the agile figure of a young girl flew across the sky and swooped down with incredible speed.


    Zen''s eyes zeroed in on the Dragon Lineage Archer bel


    s was not the case at all. Zen''s own physical body was invulnerable to swords and spears, so he got used to dealing with enemies in such a brutal way. He forgot that although Brianna was at the Spirit Supreme Realm, her body was still made of flesh and blood.


    However, he chose to remain deaf from Brianna''s nagging. Instead, Zen pulled on the bowstring and released it as fast as lightning.


    The bowstring bounced back and let out a strange hiss as fish scale-like ripples appeared on the surrounding sea surface.


    The Dragon Lineage Archer froze in his spot as his scarlet eyes stared intently at Zen. Not much later, a thin line appeared on his neck before his entire head slowly slid off his body.


    The cut was clean and the puppet seemed to have been made of some sort of soft jade. Just as the head slid down onto a stone pillar, Zen quickly reached out to take the bow and arrows from the puppet''s body.


    He would be crazy to just throw away a semi-divine longbow and a quiver of divine-tier arrows into the sea.


    However, just as he was about to take the valuables, the Dragon Lineage Archer''s body suddenly moved. It seemed losing his head did not make him any less agile. The body quickly drew out a black arrow from the quiver and intended to stab Zen in the face.


    Just as he brandished the arrow, a loud explosion rang throughout the vicinity. The headless puppet''s arm quickly went slack and moved no more.


    Zen, on the other hand, smiled. He lifted his foot and quickly crushed the Dragon Lineage Archer''s head beneath him.

 Chapter 1201 Sea Abyss

    The puppet wasn''t a sentient creature. Obviously, Zen wasn''t idiotic enough to think that he would be able to get rid of him just by cutting his neck.


    However, the maneuver did achieve one thing. Once he crushed the puppet''s head with his foot, the headless corpse could no longer move. It stood still on the stone pillar.


    Then Zen calmly took away his long, dark, golden bow. It stood as high as a person, and there were several lines drawn on it in a bright shade of gold. The aura emanating from it was mysterious and powerful. Zen still didn''t know what material the bowstring was made from. Although it was as thin as a human hair, it was still incomparably flexible and remarkably sharp. When Zen merely pinched it lightly, Brianna''s finger got cut.


    "This is a semi-divine weapon, but pitifully, it''s a bow." Zen had never used a bow as a weapon before, and had no experience with it. But such a long-range weapon could sometimes have miraculous effects.


    After observing the bow in his hand for a while, Zen reached out and his hands easily extricated the quiver from the back of the puppet.


    "Divine-level arrows!"


    Zen almost shouted out in his ecstatic excitement. Though the arrows didn''t have any special abilities, the power that they shot out was extremely terrifying. Not only could they easily kill mighty warriors of the Soul Sea Realm, they could also penetrate through giant shields made of magnetic stones.


    According to what Brianna had said, if her body was hurt, she wouldn''t be able to escape either. This meant that Zen had to be careful.


    "Unfortunately, there aren''t enough arrows in here." Zen sized up the innards of the quiver. There were only about eight black colored arrows in it.


    Although these black arrows were divine weapons and therefore, extremely powerful, they were still for one-time use only, just like the Heavenly Thunder Halberds. Zen only had enough for eight shots.


    But something happened the moment his hand touched the quiver. His eyes flashed as he felt the aura of the Space Law transmit from it.


    "The Sumeru Space?"


    Normally, Sumeru Space recognized its own master only, but the Dragon Lineage Archer was just a puppet. This meant that removing his mark wasn''t the least bit difficult. Zen easily erased the mark from the quiver and then probed it with his own consciousness. Soon after, a look of pleasant surprise appeared on his face.


    In the Sumeru Space of the quiver, were not eight, nor eighty, but hundreds of black arrows.


    There were not only black arrows, but also arrows in another two colors. One of them was entirely red, with a small ghost head embedded in the front, and the other was a shade of dark green, as if it was filled with a strong life force. Zen wondered what these arrows could do.


    Whoosh!


    Zen was still investigating inside the quiver when a few more arrows flew towards him, trailing some blue light behind them.


    However, their aim went south as Zen flashed agilely and returned to his original spot. The two arrows with the Dragon Arsenic that had been shot at hi


    he abyss, but instead stood on the vertical road.


    From Zen''s current angle, it was as if he was standing on the entrance to a giant, round cave. Along with the road underneath his feet, golden seawater was also flowing slowly above his head, entering the cave from his left and right.


    "The Dragon Lineage Humans were extremely smart. They managed to somehow change the gravity of the world and established their core sacred place here!" Zen couldn''t help but sigh. No wonder the seawater was down here. Since the gravity and its direction were completely changed now, the direction in which the seawater would flow accordingly changed too.


    When Turner heard Zen''s sigh, he smiled and told him, "The Heavenly Stellar Secret Land has many miraculous things, but it also has numerous dangerous places, so we have to be careful. Especially after arriving at the Heavenly Stellar Sacred Place, we have to obey the orders. Do not act rashly."


    Zen nodded as he looked into the distance. The road under his feet once again extended outwards and they saw a huge city in front of them.


    Was this their first glimpse of the Heavenly Stellar Sacred Place?


    The eighth grade sacred place of the Dragon Lineage Human was called the Heavenly Stellar Sacred Place. After their fall, their sacred place had become a secret land for the four divine kingdoms to explore.


    There was no danger in front of them right now. Along with many other Soul Sea Realm martial artists, Zen and the others followed the road under their feet and proceeded towards the Heavenly Stellar Sacred Place.


    The road was only 50 to 60 miles long. After rushing forwards for less than five minutes, they arrived in front of the sacred place. At the end of the road was an arched gate made up of a dragon statue.


    After passing through this arched gate, they would enter the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land. However, the dragon carving on top of the gate had a bewitching red look in its eyes as it stared at the crowd. It seemed that it wouldn''t be easy to pass through this gate.

 Chapter 1202 The Sealed Sacred Place

    Zen gazed at the arched door of the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land in silence.


    Without a doubt, there were hidden mysteries on the other side of the arched door. It was not easy to pass through it. However, it was not the first time that the four rulers had explored the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land. They certainly must have methods to deal with it.


    At this moment, Turner and War King Wind stepped forward. They did not barge through the arched door immediately, instead, they walked over to the sides.


    The two of them took out two red dragon-shaped keys from their space rings and inserted them into the small holes on either end of the arched door. Nodding to each other, they turned the key at the same time.


    Crack!


    The jarring sound of shifting gears sounded, and Turner and War King Wind retreated at the same time. They saw the huge arched door slowly begin to rotate.


    The dragon-shaped door spun three times. The red light reflecting in the eyes of the dragon sculpture at the top of the door extinguished quietly. Following this, a jade-green light rose in its eyes and a transmission door appeared in the center of the arc.


    Seeing the sudden appearance of the door, Zen was slightly stunned. A clouded expression entered his eyes.


    The Heavenly Stellar Secret Land was located right behind the transmission door. Why did they have to go through this door to reach there? Wasn''t that unnecessary?


    Turner noticed Zen''s surprised gaze and said, "The Heavenly Stellar Sacred Place that you see is just an illusion. There are dangers aplenty inside. If you were to enter through it, only death would await you! In the past, many people from the four divine kingdoms have been fooled by the illusion, and a lot of them have died."


    "Illusion¡­" Zen muttered to himself.


    The beautiful and life-like city before him was an illusion. Zen was a little surprised at this revelation. It had obviously been created in order to mislead the invaders. If they had entered this illusion without knowing about it, they would only have had a slim chance of surviving.


    "Only through this transmission door can we enter the real Heavenly Stellar Secret Land. It has been opened now. Let''s go inside." Without wasting any more time, the powerful masters of the Soul Sea Realm entered the transmission door in succession.


    Zen nodded and followed the others through the door.


    After a short period of space transmission, an azure-colored city appeared in Zen''s field of vision.


    The entire city looked as if it had been carved out of crystal. The edges of both the giant and smaller buildings reflected a jade-blue crystal light. The city looked as if it had been pulled right out of a fairyland from someone''s dream. Everything seemed unreal.


    "It''s so beautiful!" Fiona couldn''t help but cry out in praise as the Heavenly Stellar Sacred Place revealed itself before her eyes.


    Beside her, Randy nodded. "It is indeed beautiful. I''m more than willing to believe that this city is an illusion, not the one that we just saw!"


    Pausing at the gates of the Heavenly St


    , Dragon Lineage Human preferred death over dishonor and practiced blood sacrifice using billions of lives of the race. The vast majority of the clansmen had not known about this decision. When the blood sacrifice began, the clansmen turned into clouds of bloody mist within seconds. Not even a bone was left behind. The blood mist gradually became the golden spell of blood sacrifice and spread all over the Feather Holy Sea.


    Afterward, the entire place was sealed up under the spell for a number of years until the four divine kingdoms explored the sites and entered the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land.


    Clop-clop!


    Eighty to ninety martial artists in the four divine kingdoms had entered the Heavenly Stellar Sacred Place this time. With such a large group walking into the empty city, they could all hear the echo of their footsteps. The sound made several youngsters especially vigilant.


    Seeing Fiona, Callan and a few others so nervous, War King Wind laughed. "Children, don''t be afraid. The danger of Heavenly Stellar Sacred Place cannot be found here. This is just an empty city. We''ve been here so many times before, but we''ve never encountered another living being."


    Indeed, because of the spell of the blood sacrifice, there were no living creatures anymore in the Feather Holy Sea. All the way through the sea and the three secret lands, Zen had only discovered one person who could be considered sort-of alive, and that was Brianna''s body¡ªwhich he had occupied.


    However, because Brianna''s soul had been locked up, it had separated from her body. In a sense, she was like the living dead, a zombie.


    "Okay." Fiona smiled and nodded. The empty sacred land made her feel cautious and she did not know why. She could not help but feel jittery. However, the very next second, she heard the sound of rustling, like a wild beast was chewing on some bones.


    Crack... Crack...


    "Huh?" Hearing the strange sound, Fiona stiffened. She immediately stopped in her tracks, her gaze sweeping over her surroundings. But the sound soon stopped.

 Chapter 1203 The Dragon-shaped Monster

    Fiona was puzzled.


    She believed her father when he said that the Heavenly Stellar Sacred Place might be an empty city, and there might not be anything else.


    But she wondered why her blood had pounded through her as she entered the Heavenly Stellar Sacred Place, as if an invisible force had begun to put pressure on her.


    "What''s wrong, Fiona?" War King Wind asked, concerned. He had tried comforting his daughter but Fiona didn''t seem to be convinced or relieved. Instead, she looked even more nervous.


    Fiona''s brown eyes were worried as she said, "I just heard a sound..."


    "Fiona, don''t be too nervous!" Callan also tried to console her.


    Fiona pursed her lips. She was afraid, but it probably wouldn''t be dangerous if her father and the Soul Sea Realm masters stayed with her.


    So she nodded and continued to follow them. But her nervousness didn''t go away.


    Zen walked up to Fiona and looked at her, frowning slightly at her nervous expression. There were people in this world who had special senses. Perhaps she really could sense something strange, seeing as she was a phoenix descendant.


    Fiona had hardly walked eighty feet when her body suddenly stiffened.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    The sound of bones being gnawed rang out again.


    Fiona suddenly turned her head while controlling the corpse to keep walking. She looked to the street nearby and came to a stop, as if she had suddenly become glued to the ground.


    "Fiona!" War King Wind frowned at his daughter''s behavior. Fiona had always been a clever, obedient girl. Sure, she was naive, but as a warrior, she was definitely not timid. If she were a coward, she wouldn''t have wanted to challenge Zen who had defeated Logan before!


    Many Soul Sea Realm masters looked at Fiona suspiciously. No one knew what she was up to.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    A clear voice rang out.


    In this spacious, sacred place, it sounded like a wild beast gnawing on bones.


    Such a sound belonged to a forest. But they were in the Heavenly Stellar Sacred Place right now and there weren''t any living creatures in the Feather Holy Sea. Everyone agreed on this. There were a few warriors who argued that there might be some living creatures hiding in the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land, but most other warriors didn''t think so.


    After all, the Feather Holy Sea was protected by the power of the blood sacrifice. S


    now-white bone.


    It wasn''t big and had a dragon head on a short body, looking like a small dragon. But it had a pair of long, snow-white fangs on either side of its mouth.


    "Is it a dragon?"


    "This isn''t a dragon, right? How can a dragon look like this?"


    "Even if it''s a dragon, there''s nothing to be afraid of..."


    The voice had shocked everyone, but the appearance of the small, dragon-shaped monster filled them with relief.


    Everyone had occupied a corpse, but their perceptions still came from their souls. Just with one glance, they could tell that this little thing wasn''t strong or powerful.


    "Fiona, are you afraid of this little thing? I can go and capture it for you!" a Soul Sea Realm master of the Wind Divine Kingdom said, controlling his corpse as he rushed towards the little monster.


    Zen shouted for the master to stop. "Don''t go there!"


    But the Soul Sea Realm master was too fast. In an instant, he was close enough that stretching his hand would help him catch the dragon-shaped monster.


    The dragon-shaped monster suddenly raised its head and opened its mouth¡ªa mouth that was completely out of proportion to its body. It roared at the Soul Sea Realm master.


    Its voice was extremely loud, completely at odds with its small body. The sound wave it let out forced everyone to cover their ears. They watched in horror as the upper half of the corpse that the Soul Sea Realm master had occupied disintegrated into powder.


    What was more, even half the house that was behind the Soul Sea Realm master also collapsed the same way as the master.

 Chapter 1204 Escape

    With a whooshing sound, the blue crystal-like structure turned into dust and scattered into the air.


    Everyone was stunned. The dragon-shaped monster hadn''t appeared to be dangerous. Perhaps it could only be considered a second-level or third-level fierce beast.


    But it had completely destroyed the corpse occupied by the Soul Sea Realm master with a single roar!


    What on earth was it?


    The soul of the Soul Sea Realm master had been within the corpse''s mind. Since the entire upper body was now shattered, his soul was probably destroyed as well.


    "Grab that thing! I''m going to take revenge for Nigel!" One of the Soul Sea Realm masters was enraged and rushed towards the dragon-shaped monster.


    "Be careful! This little thing is a little strange."


    "Stay out of way of its roar!"


    The dragon-shaped monster''s roar was powerful, and had even killed a Soul Sea Realm master. But most of the warriors present were at the Soul Sea Realm. For them, the roar was loud and amazing, but not that scary. So no one tried to escape from the spot.


    But just as the Soul Sea Realm master came up in front of the dragon-shaped monster, he skidded on the ground and turned around, rushing back.


    "Let''s go! Run!" the Soul Sea Realm master shouted to the crowd.


    Everyone looked doubtfully at the master, but their questions were answered when they saw hundreds of dragon-shaped monsters suddenly appear in the alley by the side of the street.


    It was not difficult to deal with this little thing. It was deadly dangerous, but subduing it wasn''t a difficult task. But hundreds of dragon-shaped monsters? Now, that was terrifying!


    The stunned looks on everyone''s faces instantly morphed into fear, after which War King Wind ordered, "Everyone, run!"


    But even before he had finished speaking, he noticed that everyone had already run away, with Zen leading the retreating pack.


    They were just about to turn into the main road when they heard numerous dragon roars.


    Dozens of sound waves drifted up from the alley nearby and shattered the ten crystal buildings into pieces. The dragon-shaped monsters'' roars were too powerful.


    It didn''t take long for the dragon-shaped monsters to reach the main road, chasing after the warriors. Each of the dragon-shaped monsters held their breath, as if they wanted to emit the deadly sound waves again.


    "Split up! Don''t stay here! Split up in two directions and gather at the Jade Lake!" The moment the order had left War King Wind''s mouth, the group of Soul Sea Realm masters split into two and rushed into two different streets.


    GROWL!


    As soon as they entered the streets, dozens of sound waves attacked them from different directions. The sound waves that were released into the sky did not h


    en a young Genuine Dragon could not have such a strong physical body. Everyone was completely helpless as they faced the dragon-shaped monsters. All they could do was to run away.


    Dozens of Soul Sea Realm masters were running fast in the Heavenly Stellar Sacred Place, avoiding the attacks of the dragon-shaped monsters. It was fortunate for them that the little monsters didn''t move fast. As the crowd ran madly, they managed to escape the pursuit of the little monsters.


    They had, very quickly, passed through half of the Heavenly Stellar Sacred Place, and soon arrived at the center of the Heavenly Stellar Sacred Place, gathering at the Jade Lake.


    Everyone was fearful and uneasy. Some of them, especially War King Wind, had entered the Heavenly Stellar Sacred Place so many times, so they knew clearly which place was safe and which was dangerous.


    It was impossible for living creatures to exist in the main city of the Heavenly Stellar Sacred Place. Even the most troublesome puppets did not exist here. But now that these dragon-shaped monsters had appeared out of nowhere, it was beginning to look like a bad omen.


    Fiona stood at the edge of the Jade Lake, her face still pale. When War King Wind saw his daughter''s expression, he felt sorry for her and tried to console her, "Fiona, those little things are powerful but they''re not that scary!"


    Zen appeared with a dragon-shaped monster in his hand. He had just flown around and caught one of the dragon-shaped monsters in his hand!


    Everyone looked at the dragon-shaped monster warily. But Zen had already sealed its mouth, so it could not pose a great threat.


    "Look, Thad has caught one with his bare hands. There''s nothing to be afraid of!" War King Wind said with a smile.


    But Fiona stared at Zen dazedly and said, "No, that''s not what I''m afraid of!"

 Chapter 1205 The Three

    Since she entered the Heavenly Stellar Sacred Place, Fiona had been acting strange.


    While the strange dragon-shaped monsters were indeed troublesome to deal with, they weren''t particularly deadly to the many powerful warriors at the Soul Sea Realm. After all, they were only cubs¡ªthey weren''t a threat so long as the warriors were careful enough to not be besieged.


    With a glance at Fiona, Zen grabbed the dragon-shaped beast and said, "I guess this is not what Fiona is afraid of. This is merely a cub."


    "Yes, I think so too!" a Soul Sea Realm warrior nodded with a solemn face.


    While it was dragon-like, the thing wasn''t quite a dragon yet. The very shape of the young beast was already terrifying. What would happen when it grew up later on?


    But even though this monster was still a cub, there could be a mother beast lurking around. Could their mother be in the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land?


    This conclusion wasn''t too difficult to come to¡ªmost of the powerful warriors at the Soul Sea Realm could easily figure it out.


    The most important question, however, was what kind of mother beast gave birth to these dragon-shaped monsters? And what level of strength did it possess? Would the crowd be able to resist it?


    The thought made the emperors frown. "How about having this year''s Heavenly Stellar Secret Land exploration end here? There will still be a great number of opportunities in the future," Scott suggested.


    In truth, what he wanted to say was that since the ascending passage would be opened because of Zen, sooner or later, everyone would be able to ascend to the Upper World¡ªthere was no need to risk their lives in the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land.


    The four emperors along with the Soul Sea Realm warriors of the four divine kingdoms had worked themselves to the bone, all for the benefits of the Reverse Spirit Channel.


    If they could ascend to the Upper World, they would obtain endless resources¡ªthey wouldn''t have to fight over the Ancestral Dragon Egg any longer.


    "But if Derek asks, how will we account for it?" one of the Soul Sea Realm experts asked cautiously.


    "Hmph! Why didn''t he just enter the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land himself? He''s stronger than us, so he''s just bullying us because we''re still unable to ascend to the Upper World. He''s just using trash from up there to trick us into working for him!" another Sea Soul Realm powerhouse exclaimed angrily.


    Although the four divine kingdoms listen


    y used Soul Cores to control the corpses of the Dragon Lineage Human and snuck into the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land. They should be natives of this great world," the silver-haired woman responded indifferently.


    Afterward, a tall and sturdy man walked over along the street, carrying a fiery red sickle on his shoulder.


    While the burly man walked toward War King Wind and the others, he remarked, "Seems like we''re lucky. We''re lacking in bait to lure that thing out. But since these live souls are in corpses, the bodies are perfect for bait!"


    It seemed as though the three of them weren''t taking the warriors seriously at all¡ªScott, War King Wind, and Turner were all utterly offended.


    "Friend, what do you mean?" War King Wind asked coldly.


    With a sinister smile, the silver-haired woman asked, "Who is your friend? Weren''t we clear? We''re capturing the Evil Dragon. We want to borrow your corpses¡­ and your souls!"


    "How conceited! To keep so many of us here? As if you could! Humph!" War Emperor York scoffed.


    Although the Soul Sea Realm warriors couldn''t use their full strength due to the occupation of the corpses, they were still at the Soul Sea Realm¡ªthey wouldn''t submit to defeat so easily.


    "Haha! Conceited? No one has mentioned that!" the silver-haired woman laughed in amusement.


    As the burly man walked to the other side, carrying the giant sickle, it seemed as though he paid no mind to Zen''s group. Faintly, he said, "Dorothea, capture them. Max can''t wait any longer!"


    With a slight nod, the silver-haired woman revealed an enchanting smile. And then, the flower in her right eye began to spin.

 Chapter 1206 Zero-Homers

    Across the great world, many powerful warriors at the Soul Sea Realm were on top of almost everyone. Since when had they ever been looked down upon like this?


    Even though these people seemed to have unfathomable strengths, many of the powerful Soul Sea Realm warriors looked indignant.


    However, the other side showed no interest in messing around with them.


    The flower in Dorothea''s eyes slightly rotated before she said in an aloof tone, "They are using the Soul Cores to control the corpses. As long as I disturb the power of the Soul Cores, their souls can all be imprisoned inside the corpses forever. It must be Max''s great luck that the god has sent them to us. They can be our baits! Haha, Max''s luck truly never fails!"


    When her soft laughter had died down, a wispy pink mist floated out from the flower.


    "Power of fragrance. Spiritual confinement¡­"


    "Hooo... hooo... hooo..."


    A faint fragrance quickly wafted out from her and trapped many of the powerful Soul Sea Realm warriors inside.


    At that moment, everyone suddenly realized that they couldn''t move the corpses anymore!


    "The Soul Core--the Soul Core stopped working! How is this possible!?"


    "The power of the Soul Cores must have been disturbed by that bitch!"


    "I can''t leave the mind of this corpse now!"


    Those powerful Soul Sea Realm masters had used the power of the Soul Cores to make the corpses move. Alas, Dorothea seemed to have easily disrupted the power of the Soul Cores!


    This meant that she could easily cut off the connection between the souls of these powerful Soul Sea Realm warriors and the corpses they occupied.


    But they had yet to realize the worst thing that happened. They previously thought that they could just abandon the corpses and leave--but some of the Soul Sea Realm masters tried doing so, and found that their souls were firmly locked inside the corpses'' heads, with no ways to escape.


    "Stop trying, it''s useless. A small group of souls at the Fighting Soul Realm won''t be able to break free from my spiritual confinement," Dorothea said indifferently, as she seemed to have sensed the Soul Sea Realm masters'' movements.


    At that point, even Zen couldn''t move!


    Although he had occupied Brianna''s body, which wasn''t dead, he had still used the Soul Core to control the body. The Soul Sealing Spell had made it impossible for anyone to forcefully control Brianna''s body, so Zen had no choice but to temporarily control her body with the Soul Core.


    "Now, everyone turn around." Dorothea smiled and walked past them, as all the corpses turned around simultaneously. Now, everyone was under her contro


    .


    Zen was speechless. "What''s the point of this?"


    "They think it''s meaningful, so they''re a bunch of idiots. Moreover, they''re very powerful idiots," Brianna said helplessly. "Just now, that woman has affected the power of the Soul Cores, but I can help restore it. Later I will find a chance to recover it, and you can slip away."


    "But they¡­" All of the top masters of the four divine kingdoms were under the woman''s control, the four rulers also included.


    "Who cares if they die or not," Brianna snapped.


    Zen''s eyebrows creased together. Indeed, it was none of Zen''s or Brianna''s business. Zen didn''t need to help the four divine kingdoms. But if he had the chance to save their lives, then he would not sit idly!


    Meanwhile, the corpses under Dorothea''s control advanced slowly behind her, just like wooden zombies.


    The powerful Soul Sea Realm warriors remained trapped and were still inside the corpses'' minds. However, they could still observe their surroundings. As they continued to move forward, dragon-shaped monsters rushed out from various directions.


    Dorothea continued walking forward as if nothing had happened. Just as the dragon-shaped monsters were about to pounce on her, the flower in her eyes gently rotated, and a faint fragrance wafted out. The dragon-shaped monsters immediately became dizzy, as if they had gotten drunk. Soon enough, they lost their strength and slumped to the ground.


    After a few more moments of slow progress, they passed by the Jade Lake and continued their way towards the center of the Heavenly Stellar Sacred Place.


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    Loud, booming sounds were heard from a distance not far away. The entire sacred place shook vehemently like boiling pot of porridge.

 Chapter 1207 Fishing

    Zen couldn''t move, and the great disturbance he felt in front of him was not helping in settling his nerves.


    "What the hell are these guys doing?" he asked Brianna in his mind, the shock obvious in his tone.


    Brianna snorted, "Only God knows. The Celestial Position race is made up of a bunch of weirdos. Do you know they once tried to destroy all the stars in the universe? They probably got to around more than twenty thousand stars until they were ruthlessly slapped by the heavens. Many of them died, so they had to give up their stupid plan."


    Zen was rendered speechless by her words.


    He remembered how he had been recognized by the Celestial Position race back in the Tower of Sin. Did that mean he was a member of this weird race?


    It would be for the best if he wasn''t.


    Zen''s body involuntarily moved forward, passing through piles of ruin until he saw a large circular crater. At the edge of the crater were six people. Among the six were the burly man and the black-clothed young man that Zen had met a while ago.


    In the middle of the crater, dragon-shaped monsters came out one after another.


    Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar!


    The dragon-shaped monsters immediately rushed towards the people that surrounded them.


    All six people were immediately targeted and struck with invisible sound waves from the dragon-shaped monsters.


    The sound waves, however, did not have the chance to do any damage as the black-clothed young man simply brandished his black saber and cut through the monsters.


    Black light continuously streamed from his hands as each strike cleaved the dragon-shaped monsters into a rain of bloody mist.


    "That thing is really patient. It just refuses to come out!" the burly man said.


    Dorothea walked over them, followed by the many Soul Sea Realm masters she had under her control. "In that case, maybe we should change our method." Then she turned to a man with a silver mask and said, "Max, you truly have superb foresight. The Heavenly Stellar Secret Land should''ve been empty, but we were able to find some baits we could use."


    The Celestial Position race had dispatched seven people to this world, and they now worked together to capture a creature from this huge crater.


    Max, who was wearing a blood-colored cloak and a silver mask, simply nodded at her words. "Let''s try it. It''s your turn now, Hank."


    "Sure, Max." one of them answered with a laugh. This one wore a tattered


    her in his mind.


    However, Brianna maintained her cool. "No rush! The owner of this fishing rod is only at the Spirit Supreme Realm. Among all of them, only that one called Max is stronger than me. The problem is how much of my strength you can unleash?"


    Brianna''s life vitality attribute was very different from Zen''s. Therefore, he wouldn''t be able to control this body effectively and utilize its full strength. Escape might be an option, but he wasn''t too confident that he would be able to really run away.


    He only had one chance and he had to be careful.


    However, his salvation came in the unlikeliest package. Just as the green thread reached for him, Dorothea interrupted, "Hank, leave this for me!"


    "She is alive!" Hank remarked in surprise, only realizing now that Brianna wasn''t a corpse but a living person.


    Dorothea nodded.


    "No wonder. I was wondering when your taste became so weird that you began to be interested in corpses!"


    Dorothea''s face scrunched in anger at his words. "Stop talking nonsense or I''ll kill you!"


    Hank merely chuckled, already used to her threats. The green thread lightly trembled and headed for War Emperor York instead.


    Only seventy Soul Sea Realm masters remained, and the chances of the four emperors being selected had been very high. It seemed War Emperor York was the unlucky one.


    Just as the fishing thread came for him, the flower in Dorothea''s right eye rotated slightly, releasing a bit of her restraining force.


    War Emperor York suddenly roared, "I am the emperor of the York Divine Kingdom. I will give you everything. Just spare my life!"

 Chapter 1208 Visualization

    Only one in a hundred million warriors could reach the Soul Sea Realm.


    And even a Soul Sea Realm master could only play a supporting role in the four divine kingdoms. For the past tens of thousands of years, the main characters of the four divine kingdoms had been the four emperors.


    In War Emperor York''s eyes, his fate was so great that he could ascend to the Upper World in the future. His future was limitless, so how could he be willing to die here?


    Ever since Dorothea had restrained his body, his thoughts had kept spinning and spiraling out of control. This was probably the biggest trouble he had ever faced in his life. He had never felt so powerless even when he had gone into the sea to hunt for the young Water-eyed Swallowing Beast.


    He knew he couldn''t fight back against his enemies with his soul in such a state. No matter how hard he tried, he still wouldn''t be able to think of a way to save himself.


    When Dorothea undid part of the restraining force, he didn''t scream like the warriors before him. He knew this was his only chance to tell his opponents that he was a dignified emperor and that he could pay any price in exchange for his own life. And he wanted to seize it.


    Hank waved the fishing rod in his hand lightly. This time, he did not intend to throw these corpses into the crater. Instead, he would hang them above the crater to lure the thing that lurked below.


    The front of the fishing rod was only as thick as a little finger, and the thin green thread was fine as a hair. But it was strong enough that six or seven corpses could be hanged without any problem.


    "An emperor?" Hank suddenly chuckled at War Emperor York''s words. "How big is your York Divine Kingdom?"


    "Thirty million acres of land. Four billion living creatures. I can give you my place! I will make you the emperor of York Divine Kingdom!" War Emperor York said rather desperately. Since he was suspended in midair, he could clearly see the situation within the huge crater. He noticed that at the bottom of the crater, there was a pair of huge, demonic red eyes. He knew he was pressed for time, so he took the chance to speak. Or perhaps it was begging for mercy.


    "Thirty million acres!" Hank didn''t know whether to laugh or to cry at this information. "How big is thirty million acres? It sounds pretty big."


    The York Divine Kingdom wasn''t small. Of the four divine kingdoms, it occupied the largest area of land. But it looked like Hank wasn''t interested in the slightest.


    Dorothea said calmly from some distance away, "Thirty million a


    e world? There was an Ancestral Dragon''s egg hidden in the sacred place of the Dragon Lineage Human. Could it be that this egg had hatched the Evil Dragon? This is impossible!"


    "Hey, what exactly is the Evil Dragon?" Zen asked again, now slightly annoyed by Brianna''s lack of attention.


    Brianna finally reacted and said, "The Evil Dragon is the opposite of the Ancestral Dragon. It is a faith inheritance derived from our race."


    "A faith inheritance derived from your race?" Zen said quizzically. He didn''t know what she was talking about.


    Brianna immediately replied, "Neither the Ancestral Dragon nor the Evil Dragon should exist. They are only creatures created by the illusions of our race."


    "Creatures created by illusions?" Zen felt that the more he listened, the more confused he became.


    Brianna understood Zen quite well. As a warrior of the Lower World, Zen''s knowledge of certain things in the Upper World was rather limited. She asked, "Hasn''t my Grandpa Josh told you that? Creatures created by illusions are not strange at all. It''s just like your so-called visualization. If you visualize something long enough, you can use the life vitality to create what you want."


    She continued, "Then, creatures of any race can visualize something together, and eventually produce something that doesn''t exist in the world. The secret sect of your human race is a good example. They gathered a trillion humans to visualize something together. Of course, they called it ''faith.'' They all believed in a sword embryo that didn''t exist! After a hundred thousand years, they finally created that sword embryo. And then, the most powerful human weapon refiner forged a legendary weapon with it."

 Chapter 1209 The Secret Of Visualization

    A warrior could turn his life vitality into something substantial by meditation and visualization.


    Take for example a saber: if a warrior wanted to turn his life vitality into a saber then he would have to spend a lot of time observing and contemplating the blade. The greater his concentration and the longer his visualization, the more powerful the life vitality saber would be.


    However, this kind of visualization was based on the life vitality. The more real the thing the warrior imagined, the more real the object transformed from the life vitality would be.


    Without any life vitality, a saber could never hope to take shape no matter how hard the warrior tried to visualize it.


    According to Brianna, if one hundred trillion creatures gathered together and visualized an object, then that object could be formed through sheer willpower alone. It was something beyond Zen''s imagination and comprehension.


    "You mean we can form a legendary weapon just by imagining it? Without the help of life vitality?" Zen asked.


    "It''s not strange," Brianna huffed. "Being the faith of the Genuine Dragon, the Ancestral Dragon can let the Genuine Dragon race become prosperous after being born in this world."


    "You can regard the Ancestral Dragon as your faith, but why did you let an Evil Dragon be born? Could it be that many members of the Genuine Dragon race have taken the Evil Dragon as their faith?" he asked curiously.


    Brianna shook her head. "How would that be possible? Who would be silly enough to do that? All creatures in this world have both light and dark sides within them. The Evil Dragon represents the dark side of the Genuine Dragon race, similar to hell. It seems that you have no idea that the entire hell came about from the contemplation of all creatures of the universe."


    Her words shocked Zen even more.


    The Netherworld River, the gate of hell¡­


    He would never expect that the hell had been formed through nothing but meditation and imagination. It seemed that if one really tried hard to imagine an object, it would really appear and exist in the physical plane.


    Thoughts were powerful and people should probably be more careful with what they imagined in their minds. The universe truly had a lot of surprises in store.


    "Roar!"


    The Evil Dragon roared in fiery rage as flames rose from its huge head. The strong man''s attack was nothing to the beast but he still angered it.


    "It''s going to spit dragon''s breath! Hank, tie it up!" the man with the silver mask ordered.


    "Huff, huff, huff..."


    Green threads began to spir


    the Wind Law. However, since she knew her physical body was compatible with the skill, then maybe it would be enough for her to help him escape.


    ""Bang, bang..."


    The Evil Dragon moved irritably, its battle with the seven Celestial Position members in full swing.


    Five minutes later, Zen suddenly opened his eyes.


    "How much of the skill have you mastered?" Brianna didn''t think he''d grasp much of the skill in a mere five minutes. It would be enough if he could activate the Wind Law of her life vitality.


    "I think I''ve mastered it," Zen said, flashing her a bright smile. To some extent, this skill was tailor-made for him. He was sensitive to the Cloud-chasing Lion''s talent and this skill was created based on the legendary beast. Brianna imparting the skill to him made him gain a new comprehension for it.


    "Aooo!"


    The Evil Dragon let out a deafening roar as it broke free from Hank''s grip, it''s body rising out of the large hole and into the air.


    "Vincent! Grab it and drag it back here!"


    "Don''t let it run away! Dorothea, release the confining power!"


    Brianna''s eyes flashed at the scene. "Now! This is the best time to escape. Are you ready?"


    "Yes!" Zen nodded.


    At that moment, Brianna''s interior world began to shake as an intangible power covered her physical body, expelling Dorothea''s confining power.


    Once the confining power was dispelled, Zen immediately felt his soul connect to Brianna''s physical body. He wasted no time mobilizing Brianna''s life vitality.


    "Eh?" Dorothea remarked, suddenly realizing that her confining power had been negated. Turning her attention away from the Evil Dragon, she saw Zen''s figure float like the wind and disappear with a flash.

 Chapter 1210 Spire

    Although every single person from the Celestial Position had his or her attention focused on the Evil Dragon, Zen''s sudden disappearance attracted their gaze. They noticed the sudden movement despite their lack of attention.


    "A little mouse has run away! Hey Dorothea. Isn''t she the one you have a crush on?" The black clothed young man taunted with a smile.


    However, the person wearing the silver mask said, "Don''t let her run around. Chase after her. There''s gonna be so much trouble if she breaks the Ancestral Dragon Egg''s hatch."


    The flower in Dorothea''s eye spun slightly as a look of astonishment came to her face. "Delroy has put up an enchanted barrier around it. It''s not gonna be destroyed, right? But I guess it''s best if I capture her and bring her back." After she finished speaking, she chuckled and chased after Zen with a bell-like laughter tolling behind her.


    Zen was crazily circulating the life vitality within Brianna''s body and continuously stimulating the Wind Law. His figure was moving like a shuttle and rapidly traveling through the air.


    "This fellow..."


    Brianna was completely shocked now and didn''t know what to say.


    To be able to grasp even thirty percent of the Cloud-chasing Skill in such a short period of time was a remarkable feat in itself. That was what she had told Zen but she didn''t have too much hope with him.


    In any case, she had taught the Cloud-chasing Skill to Zen as a frantic last-minute effort when she was left with no options. However, she had never thought that Zen would be able to grasp almost all of it in such a short amount of time.


    Just how strong was this fellow''s innate talent?


    If she were to count the capabilities this young man possessed, she would be at a loss. She already knew that the nine dragons had been residing inside his mind for a long time. And since he was chosen by her grandfather, it was clear that Zen wasn''t a common warrior. It was still shocking to see just how powerful he was, though.


    Even in the Genuine Dragon World, which was filled with hundreds of talented warriors, she had never seen someone with these many capabilities.


    Zen had actually grasped seventy percent of the Cloud-chasing Skill within a span of five minutes. In fact, judging by his speed, he might even have grasped more than eighty percent. The black lines Brianna could see behind her were something that only appeared when the Cloud-chasing Lion was running at its top most speed, which compressed the wind around its body to the maximum.


    Brianna herself could unleash the full effects of the Cloud-chasing Skill, but this cultivation technique was created from imitating the innate talent of a legendary beast, which was known as the Cloud-chasing Lion. When the Cloud-chasing Lion ran at full pelt, it would create black lines behind


    s climax.


    However, he chose to ignore the battle. But the slight moment of losing attention did cost him. While he was running, a white flower strangely appeared not far in front of him. That flower was blooming at an unbelievable speed, and Dorothea walked out from within the flower. She had a smile on her face as she told Zen, "Little thing, you won''t be able to escape!"


    When he saw this scene, Zen didn''t pause and swept past her again.


    Dorothea kept pursuing Zen in the Heavenly Stellar Sacred Place, still travelling at her leisurely pace. After a while, Zen noticed a transparent enchanted barrier covering a spire not too far away.


    "What is that?"


    Zen''s eyes flashed faintly when he saw the transparent barrier.


    It seemed that dramatic changes were taking place inside the barrier, whatever that place was. The bottom of the spire seethed and teemed with life, with all sorts of strange flowers and herbs covering the area. Vines were coiled around the exterior walls of the spire, and the strangest thing was that these plants were growing at a speed that could be seen with the naked eye. In fact, not only growth, Zen could even see death as the vines seethed, grew, twisted, withered and died.


    "Time! The speed at which time is passing within that barrier is remarkably fast!" "What exactly is inside that spire?" Zen enquired.


    Brianna shook her head. "I''m not sure. The barrier has almost completely isolated all of the auras from within and I can''t feel a thing."


    "Let''s go in." Regardless of what was inside, Zen didn''t think too much and charged towards the barrier. He didn''t have much of a choice anyway. The moment he approached the barrier, his life vitality gushed out and he punched the barrier with all of his strength.


    Boom!


    Even though he was controlling a Spirit Supreme Realm body, his punch did not even crack the barrier.

 Chapter 1211 Time Elapsing

    Before Zen could try anything else, another snow-white flower bloomed beside Zen. Dorothea quietly stepped out from it. When she saw Zen''s actions, she smiled faintly and told him, "The barrier cast by Delroy won''t be broken so easily. You might as well give up and save your energy!"


    Zen stared at her and asked, "What''s inside?"


    She chuckled, "If I tell you, will you obediently follow me? I guarantee that I won''t let you suffer or come to any harm!"


    Hearing this, Zen smiled, "In that case, you have to tell me first."


    "This is a sacred place; the Ancestral Dragon and the Evil Dragon appeared in here at the same time. At the end of this era, our Celestial Position will naturally collect them. We must stop the Evil Dragon, and also get the Ancestral Dragon." Dorothea answered.


    "So, is it the Ancestral Dragon inside this spire? Or is there more to the story?" Zen''s eyes glinted.


    Dorothea tilted her head and replied in affirmative with a smile, "Yes!"


    "Great!" Zen suddenly took out the Black Star pickax from his space ring and swooshed it down towards the enchanted barrier.


    Originally, Dorothea wasn''t concerned even though Max had been worried that Zen would run around and barge into this place, interfering with the incubation of the Ancestral Dragon egg. However, Dorothea was sure that this worry was unnecessary, since Delroy''s enchanted barrier was not that easy to break.


    Furthermore, she could sense that although the woman in front of her seemed to be alive, she was, in fact relying on a Soul Core to drive her physical body; this meant that she would be unable to unleash her strength.


    As for why Zen was able to use his unique movement technique, and how he was moving so fast, Dorothea could not understand. But no matter what, speed and strength were two different things. And the enchanted barrier that Delroy had cast contained a special Law of Causality, so it could not have been broken by an ordinary cultivator at the Spirit Supreme Realm.


    However, when Zen pulled out the pickax, her expression changed drastically. At the same time, the flower in her eye started to spin crazily and turned a dirty shade of red from its usual, beautiful white.


    "The supreme divine weapon Black Star!" Dorothea screamed.


    By the time she had finished, Zen had already brandished the pickax and struck the enchanted barrier. The barrier suddenly shattered. Since in its entirety, the barrier was a single entity, even if a single part of it was damaged, the entire barrier would instantly shatter like powdered glass!


    With a loud clang, the enchanted barrier collapsed.


    At the same time, among the group of six men who were still


    llar Sacred Place had disappeared from Zen''s sight.


    Anyway, since he could not see Dorothea chasing him anymore, Zen stepped through the door.


    Now he saw that in the empty space, there were glowing steps. These steps were circling around and rising up. Zen stepped on them and started to climb quickly.


    After climbing for a while, Zen suddenly saw a giant chain appear at the top of the stairs. He looked carefully at it and found that a small, glowing object was attached in the middle of the chains.


    In fact, it was completely tied up by the numerous chains that surrounded it.


    Zen stared intently at it and suddenly, his eyes sparked, "This is..."


    "The Ancestral Dragon egg," a calm voice sounded from within his inner world. It was obvious that Brianna had also noticed the object and recognized it.


    A faint smile appeared on Zen''s face, but then he heard Brianna tell him, in a tone that sounded like she was shaking her head, "You can''t take it away!"


    "I can''t? What do you mean? Why not?" Zen wondered.


    "If it were so easy to obtain, it wouldn''t have taken the four divine kingdoms and their emperors so many years," Brianna pointed out faintly.


    Zen agreed with her words. The Heavenly Stellar Sacred Place wasn''t that dangerous, yet the Soul Sea Realm warriors of the four divine kingdoms, who had entered the place so many times, had still been unable to get their hands on the Ancestral Dragon egg.


    "These are just some chains. I think I can handle them." Zen shook his head as he spoke, though his face revealed a look of doubt. He thought that those warriors hadn''t been able to get the egg because the chains were too hard to break. Luckily, he had the Black Star. It shouldn''t be difficult for him to break this chain. He had to try anyway.

 Chapter 1212 The Crack On The Ancestral Dragon Egg

    Devoid of any hesitation, Zen took out the Black Star pickaxe and held it in his hand. There wasn''t much time left for him. If Dorothea arrived, then he would be in a lot of trouble.


    However, just as he brandished the Black Star pickaxe and hit the chains, a seemingly odd scene transpired!


    As a supreme divine weapon, it was capable of destroying anything. There was rarely anything in the universe that it couldn''t crush.


    And to his surprise, it actually penetrated the chains!


    "Is it an illusion?" Zen was amazed and bewildered at the same time.


    The chains in front of him, as well as the Ancestral Dragon Egg that was wrapped in chains, seemed to be nothing more than illusions!


    He then hastily reached out his hands for the chains. His fingers infiltrated through them with ease, and he felt nothing!


    "What the hell is going on?" Zen wondered.


    Both the chains in front of him and the Ancestral Dragon Egg in the center were life-like. He couldn''t assimilate that they were only illusions. He could see them, but he couldn''t touch anything.


    Brianna smiled faintly and remarked, "If I guessed it right, the Ancestral Dragon Egg is sealed in another layer of space, so you can see it, but you cannot touch it!"


    "Another layer of space?"


    He was confused at her words. He was indeed proficient in the Space Law, and even before he had gone through the baptism of Laws, his affinity with the Space Law had achieved an unprecedentedly high level. Although after undergoing the baptism of Laws, he had no problem cultivating any Original Laws, he was still the most sensitive to the Space Law.


    At any rate, he had only reached the second layer of the Space Law. If he was given enough time to practice in the four divine kingdoms and was able to obtain the totems carrying the third and fourth layers of Space Law, he might have the chance to gradually comprehend them.


    However, after he came to the four divine kingdoms, there was not much time for him to practice. From the moment he entered the Harlen Divine Kingdom, he had busied himself in achieving his goal of finding and accumulating the life stones. Later on, he participated in the competition by the side of the West Dragon River. After that, he entered the Feather Holy Sea. He rarely had any time to think about anything else.


    "Yes, if I am not mistaken, this should be the fifth layer of the Space Law, the so-called Refraction! This Ancestral Dragon Egg seems to be sealed in another space. Everything you see is only the refraction through space! It is simply impossible to take out the Ancestral Dragon Egg that easily!" Brianna shook her head and added, "Unfortunately, I don''t specialize in Space Law. Back then, I could only comprehend a layer of it."


    "Because of this reason, War King Wind and the other rulers were unable to take away the Ancestral Dragon Egg?" Zen frowned.


    After all, mastering the Origina


    by step. He needed to find a topic to delay her.


    He turned to her after some thought as an idea came to his mind and asked, "Celestial Position, do you all belong to Celestial Position?"


    When Dorothea heard him mention the Celestial Position, she was surprised. She asked with confusion, "Eh? How do you know that?"


    He grinned slightly, then replied, "It''s because I also belong to the Celestial Position!"


    Hearing this, Dorothea showed an expression of disbelief. She giggled and exclaimed, "It''s impossible! Every member of our Celestial Position possesses a special mark. If you are a warrior recognized by our Celestial Position, I must be feeling the existence of that mark!"


    Zen smiled faintly as his expression became more at ease. "You should have noticed that this body doesn''t belong to me, right?"


    Dorothea nodded her head. Her power to restrain the Soul Cores was also effective on the girl in front of her, which meant that she had also relied on the Soul Core to control the physical body she was in now. However, Dorothea didn''t know about the Soul Sealing Spell on Brianna, so she felt very strange about the body in front of her as well. It was a living physical body, so why did she still need to control her physical body through the Soul Core? Wouldn''t it be unnecessary?


    Zen''s explanation, however, sort of answered some of her doubts.


    "You said that you obtained the recognition of the Celestial Position. But to think that you are only a martial artist from the Lower World, how did you gain the recognition of our Celestial Position?'''' Dorothea probed with a smile. She refused to believe what Zen said.


    From the corner of his eyes, he noted the crack on the Ancestral Dragon Egg was slowly spreading. He then quickly replied, "Tower, I obtained the recognition of Celestial Position in a tower!"


    The Tower of Sin originally belonged to the Celestial Position, so what he said was the truth.

 Chapter 1213 Unbelievable

    "A tower?"


    Dorothea asked with a skeptical expression on her face. There were three towers used for training in her Celestial Position race.


    In order to gain recognition of the Celestial Position, a warrior normally had to pass the Talent Tablet test in one of the three towers.


    However, one of the three towers had been lost, not to be found again. When Zen suddenly mentioned a tower, Dorothea was convinced a little.


    "What''s the name of the tower?" she asked with a frown.


    "Tower of Sin," Zen continued, his eyes fixed on the Ancestral Dragon egg, yearning for it. More and more cracks were appearing on its surface. On the upper half of the dragon''s egg, the cracks spread out like spider webs.


    "Tower of Sin... that''s not right!" Dorothea shook her head. "It''s not what the lost tower is called."


    Hearing her words, Zen smiled. He knew very well that he wasn''t lying, so he was confident that he could use this subject to engage her attention. "The Tower of Sin has fifteen floors. I took the Talent Tablet test on the tenth. I still remember the names on the first row of the Talent Tablet... such as Abigail Yun, Odom Gu, Cliff, Fire, and so forth."


    ''Odom Gu!''


    Dorothea was surprised to hear Zen utter the name, her smiling face immediately turning grave. "That was the Tower of Crystal. I believe you have been there."


    "Tower of Crystal..."


    Zen remembered that. "Tower of Sin" was the name given to it by the creatures of the Sea God Continent, but since it was the Celestial Position''s tower for training, it was naturally not called the same here. It seemed that it had originally been called the Tower of Crystal.


    The reason why Dorothea was so excited


    was that she heard a very familiar name escape Zen''s mouth: Odom Gu.


    Her full name was Dorothea Gu. Odom Gu was her father.


    "Where is the Tower of Crystal?" Dorothea Gu asked him.


    As Zen heard this, his heart skipped a beat. He seemed to have revealed something that he shouldn''t have revealed just to stall for time.


    Tower of Sin was very important to the Sea God Continent. It was the same with the Purple Heart Sacred Place of humans. Although the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place had already developed, the Purple Heart Sacred Place was still relatively weak. If they found out the whereabouts of the Tower of Sin and took it away, it would be impossible for the human r


    s Innate, Eight and so on.


    In fact, anyone who could obtain any of these titles was considered to be among the strongest warriors in the universe. The difference between the titles was quite small. But however small, it still made a difference.


    The titles were also classified into gold, silver, and bronze, where gold was the highest and bronze the lowest.


    "You say that you''ve obtained a title. So tell me, what title did you obtain?" asked Dorothea, staring at Zen.


    Zen looked puzzled, "It''s none of those that you''ve mentioned."


    Dorothea Gu frowned. "Is it Young Heart? Or Sea Arriving?" Those two titles were ranked at the very end. However, even so, they were impressive enough. Although Dorothea Gu had been listed in the first row, she hadn''t gotten any of those titles.


    "Neither," Zen said. "If I remember correctly, it was the gold ''Celestial Position.''"


    After Zen said this, the flower in Dorothea Gu''s right eye started to whirl. The root of the flower was buried deep in her eye. Seeing the flower spin like this, Zen wondered if she was in pain.


    What he didn''t know was that his words had set off a storm in her heart.


    "How...how is this possible? Celestial Position! Gold Celestial Position!" Dorothea Gu found his words incredible.


    As per Zen, he had been to the Tower of Crystal and indeed taken the Talent Tablet test. If he hadn''t seen the words "Celestial Position" inscribed on the tablet, he wouldn''t have known that such a title even existed.


    Dorothea Gu knew that for a fact, which was why she found his claim so hard to believe.

 Chapter 1214 Imprinting

    It was natural for any living being with a mind to desire improvement and betterment. Thus, all the races in the universe gave their all to expand and develop their forces.


    In order to improve their races in the fastest pace possible, they had to train their young talents just as vigorously.


    It was why every race had designed their own sets of rules to conduct a series of tests, which would evaluate the skills of the young members.


    Of course, each method of assessment differed greatly from each other.


    Aside from the observation of the Lotus Flowers, the testing methods from three races were considered the most accurate of them all: the Heavenly Path from the human race, the Ogre Abyss of the ogres, and the three magical towers of the Celestial Position race.


    Anyone who obtained any of the titles in the three magical towers would receive close protection by the Celestial Position race, and would be considered one of their core members. The same was also applied to those even of the lowest titles.


    Up until now, only less than a hundred thousand living members of the Celestial Position race had managed to possess a title. Eighty thousand of them held a bronze title.


    Eighteen thousand of them had a silver.


    Only one thousand managed to have a golden title.


    Among all of the members, only about sixty were given the Rakshasa or the Asura title.


    As for the Celestial Position title¡­


    Only six people were known to have it. They had all become absolute leaders of the Celestial Position race, and were considered legendary figures.


    That was why Dorothea felt taken aback by Zen''s words.


    She couldn''t believe that this person in front of her had such an exceptional talent, as if Zen had only existed in dreams.


    She had been previously delighted when she heard about the Tower of Crystal. They had come here to complete an important task of capturing the Ancestral Dragon and the Evil Dragon, and the information about the Tower of Crystal was an unexpected surprise. If they managed to bring back the Tower of Crystal to the Celestial Position race, it would definitely be recorded as a great contribution, even greater than the capture of the Ancestral Dragon and the Evil Dragon.


    However, all of that seemed insignificant now when they had discovered someone with a golden Celestial Position title.


    At that point, Dorothea wanted to stop the capture of the Evil and the Ancestral Dragons so that she could go to the Tower of Crystal and seek the truth. Once she had verified whether Zen had really passed the test of the Talent Tablet and obtained the golden Celestial Position title, they would


    but it was also influenced by the imprinting.


    After it saw Zen at first sight, a strong imprint had been formed in the little dragon''s mind. And because of the imprint''s effect, it recognized Zen as its mother.


    The seven people of the Celestial Position race had actually prepared to prevent the imprinting behavior. They had originally planned to use the Time Law to hatch the Ancestral Dragon first, then seal it and bring it back to the Celestial Position race before any imprinting could happen. This matter was to be done by the higher-ups of their race.


    However, the Ancestral Dragon had hatched out faster than they had expected, and Zen had accidentally run into this spire when Dorothea chased him, then he obtained the dragon''s acknowledgement on Brianna''s instructions.


    As he carried the small dragon with his hands, Zen thought that Dorothea would attack him out of anger, so he thought about how to escape.


    But Dorothea didn''t even move the slightest. She just stood there and blankly stared at him. She didn''t even pay the least bit of attention to the small dragon in his arms.


    "What''s wrong with this woman?" Zen was confused, so he asked Brianna''s soul inside the body. She shook her head and said, "I don''t know, either. Maybe she was taken aback by the amazing stories you''ve made up just now."


    "I didn''t make up anything..." Zen retorted. "Who knows?


    I don''t believe a bit of it, anyway," Brianna sneered. She had witnessed Zen''s bragging skills before, so she didn''t believe his words at all.


    "You should go with me!" Dorothea piped up from out of the blue.


    "Go with you? Why?" Zen was totally confused.


    "I won''t pursue the Ancestral Dragon egg anymore. But, you have to obey me first!" Dorothea said seriously.

 Chapter 1215 Explanation

    Dorothea was well aware of what the real priority was.


    Although the Ancestral Dragon was indeed important, it was still nothing compared to a warrior with the title of the golden Celestial Position.


    Even if they found out it wasn''t true, they would still be able to take away the Ancestral Dragon.


    An imprinting was always troublesome, most especially the imprinting on this Ancestral Dragon. Even the Celestial Position race would have to pay a considerable price if they wanted to remove it from the Ancestral Dragon.


    Still, that was only trouble¡ªtrouble that could be solved.


    And no matter how much trouble they dealt with, they probably still wouldn''t be able to get a warrior with the Celestial Position title. After a moment of thought, Dorothea decided to verify the matter before anything.


    Seeing Zen''s golden eyes remain vigilant, Dorothea knew he was still hostile toward her. With a slight smile, she said, "I won''t capture you. Can you follow me?"


    Albeit cautiously, Zen still nodded.


    With that, Dorothea started walking down the stairs step by step, while Zen followed behind, carrying the Ancestral Dragon in his arms.


    The two quickly exited the tall, pointed tower, leaving the area affected by the Time Law.


    Although they spent an hour in the tower, the time flow rate they were under the influence of sped up real time by a thousand¡ªto the outside world, they were in and out of the tower in an instant.


    The moment Zen stepped outside the tower, the time flow rate around him returned to normal¡ªall the plants around the area covered by the Time Law began to rapidly blossom, wither, and die in a cycle.


    Whoosh!


    A black shadow flashed toward Zen and Dorothea, like a swallow flying through the clouds before he stopped midair. It turned out to be a man in black called Woody.


    "Dorothea, what happened? Why did Delroy''s enchanted barrier shatter¡­" he asked immediately.


    But before he could finish his words, his gaze fell on Zen, who was standing still behind Dorothea. His focus shifted to the small dragon in Zen''s arms. Realizing what it was, Woody''s eyes shone aggressively.


    "What''s going on? The Ancestral Dragon¡­ Has it already hatched?"


    When Woody entered the pointed tower numerous times in the past, the Ancestral Dragon was ever-protected by a refracted space, and he was unable to take it for himself. All he could do was to make use of the time flow rate to speed up its hatching.


    So even if Delroy''s enchanted barrier was broken, they weren''t too nervous about it¡ª


    as it buried its small head into Zen''s chest¡ªby then, it had regarded Zen as its mother, thinking that Zen could protect it by all means.


    The roar was of the Evil Dragon in the distance.


    On that end, Max and the other four continued suppressing the young Evil Dragon.


    "Be careful! This Evil Dragon will seal himself up and undergo the fourth transformation!"


    "Stop it, or we''ll be in huge trouble!"


    "Attack its neck. I''ve already cut it open¡­"


    Boom, boom, boom...


    The powerful attacks landed right on the Evil Dragon''s body one after another, releasing intense light right on the surface of its body.


    At the edge of the large hole, the warriors of the four divine kingdoms were still blankly staring at the battle in the sky.


    The strength of these Spirit Supreme Realm masters was far beyond their imagination, but the Evil Dragon was also undeniably terrifying. It hadn''t yet grown up, but its strength was equivalent to an eleventh-level vicious beast''s, equal as well to that of the human Soul Sea Realm warrior.


    But an Evil Dragon of this level could fight against several Spirit Supreme Realm masters with its own strength. When this Evil Dragon grew up, how terrifying would its strength be in the future?


    Of course, the Soul Sea Realm masters were worried¡ªthey could barely protect themselves at the time. Most of them were already wondering how soon they would be killed.


    As Soul Sea Realm masters, they were considered powerful among the four divine kingdoms. But when faced with the Spirit Supreme Realm masters, they were practically nothing. And having their souls confined in the corpses didn''t help¡ªthey didn''t even have the strength to resist.

 Chapter 1216 Seal Itself

    The Soul Sea Realm warriors of the four divine kingdoms understood that they could only let themselves be slaughtered since they lacked the ability to fight back.


    Once the Celestial Position members subdued the Evil Dragon, they would most likely kill them all. The members didn''t need to kill them but there was really no merit with letting them go.


    As the saying went, "The weak will stand as easy prey to the strong." They were mere ants in the eyes of these Spirit Supreme Realm warriors.


    Each warrior that stood frozen against their will had differing views on their situation.


    Quite a few found themselves unable to accept the reality, and one of them was War Emperor York. At first, he had been unlucky and had been used as a bait to lure the Evil Dragon. However, his fate reversed when the Evil Dragon did not swallow him up and he was able to come back alive.


    Now with a second chance at life, War Emperor York was currently racking his brains trying to think of a way to escape from his current predicament.


    A few others, however, were not as afraid of death. War King Wind, for instance, did not mind dying that moment though he did feel extremely guilty for bringing Fiona and Callan with him. A parent would never wish death upon his children after all.


    Fiona, on the other hand, was indifferent to her own fate, too busy worrying if Zen had managed to escape.


    Roar!


    The Evil Dragon let out another horrifying bellow, twisting its long and narrow body as it tried to drill itself back into the large crater.


    "Don''t let it get in! Stop it!" someone shouted.


    Max, the one who wore a silver mask, held up a bent walking stick in his hand and blocked the top of the crater ahead of others.


    Roar!


    The Evil Dragon seemed to be wary of Max and immediately fired its burning breath towards him.


    The sight of devastating flames would''ve made anyone panic, but nobody could tell with Max because of his mask. He looked calm though, as he lightly held out his walking stick and summoned an irregular crystal shield out of nowhere, protecting him from the dragon''s attack.


    Noticing that its attack did nothing to its opponent, the Evil Dragon opened its mouth fully, intending to swallow Max whole.


    A fully grown dragon would be big enough to wrap itself around an entire continent, but this Evil Dragon was only at its infanc


    Max sighed, "Even though I''ve had my luck boosted, it seems there''s someone out there with a luck stronger than mine."


    He said those words bitterly.


    As a core member of the Celestial Position race, Max had once obtained a silver-colored title in the Tower of Illusory.


    After living for so long and undergoing a myriad of experiences, he had come to believe very much in destiny.


    Therefore, when he saw Zen with the Ancestral Dragon, he did not get angry but simply uttered a bitter sigh.


    "Dorothea, what''s going on? How could you let her take the Ancestral Dragon?" the burly man cried out, staring at Zen with a deep frown. It was defeat after defeat. The Evil Dragon had sealed itself which meant all their efforts had been in vain. And now, the Ancestral Dragon egg had been taken and actually hatched by a country bumpkin who had escaped from them.


    Dorothea''s eyes flashed. She was too lazy to answer the burly man the moment she landed.


    "Dorothea, what''s going on?" Max asked. "Is it because the Ancestral Dragon hatched when she rushed into the spire?"


    Dorothea nodded, "Sort of."


    "But how did she break my enchanted barrier?" the scholarly man asked. He couldn''t imagine just what kind of method Zen had devised to break the enchanted barrier he had set up so meticulously.


    Dorothea smiled lightly. "She has a supreme divine weapon in her possession¡ªthe Black Star. No matter how strong your enchanted barrier is, Delroy, it could never hope to stand against it. The Law of Causality contained in the Black Star is much stronger than yours!"

 Chapter 1217 Doubts

    When they heard about the existence or rather the presence of the Black Star, the Celestial Position warriors finally understood what had happened.


    The Black Star did not adorn the list of the most powerful weapons in the Upper World, mostly because of the fact that it was just a pickax and not suitable as a weapon.


    However, it was a supreme divine weapon; this meant that the Black Star was extremely useful in certain scenarios. So one could definitely call it a treasure, and it would be easily worth a king''s ransom.


    The middle-aged scholarly man named Delroy gave a slight nod. "Ah! I see! No wonder she broke my enchanted barrier. I was curious just how someone from the Lower World was able to do that. Turns out it wasn''t her own strength."


    He had obtained a title from the Tower of Illusory. And a title of Asura was not to be taken lightly, no matter what its color. The title that the man had received was bronze, but was the highest bronze title one could get. That alone was enough to make him extremely proud of himself and equally confident in his abilities.


    To his knowledge, no warrior from the Lower World could ever shatter his enchanted barrier. A Law of Causality that had with it associated a sort of "Relative Defense" was in that enchanted barrier. Who among the natives of the Lower World could figure out how to use a Law of Causality?


    Yet that was his knowledge. And even though Delroy''s thoughts were mostly correct, he had still underestimated the warriors of the Lower World. For example, Eddie from the Central Region had once used the Nameless Saber to activate a Law of Causality¡ªthe Life and Death Wind. This only partially violated Delroy''s beliefs. Eddie did not know about the Law of Causality and had only lured the Life and Death Wind over from the Netherworld River.


    Zen''s situation was more or less the same as that. He did not comprehend any Law of Causality that belonged to him, but had merely relied on the one which was present inside the Black Star to destroy Delroy''s enchanted barrier.


    "There''s no need to waste any more words now. We should just snatch the Ancestral Dragon and take it away. No wait! It is already hatched and has taken this woman as its mom. The imprinting can''t be reversed. There''s nothing we can do about it. Alas! All we can do is return to the Upper World and think of some other means," the burly man remarked in a thoughtful tone. He was also a little curious as to why Dorothea and Woody had not tried to snatch the Ancestral Dragon away, but instead brought the woman here.


    Max, however, was smarter than the burly man. Seeing Dorothea''s expression, he could see that something was up. "Dorothea, did you discover something? What are you not telling us?" he asked.


    Only then did Dorothea nod and reply, "Yes! I did make a few important discoveries." After a little bit of pause, she added with a smile, "Very important discoveries indeed."


    When everyone heard her cautious emphasis on the word "important," they became curious and turned their attention towards her.


    "Wha


    hat she had obtained the golden title of Celestial Position."


    The moment Dorothea said those words, the other six men lost it and started laughing out loud.


    The one with the most intense reaction was Delroy. Though it wasn''t physically that intense, he smiled arrogantly and then said, "Dorothea, you''ve gone mad. Do you know what you''re talking about?"


    Even Max shook his head slightly and remarked, "Dorothea, you''re still lacking in experience. How can you be so naive and believe something like that?"


    "Ha-ha! Dorothea, that sounds ridiculous and you''re better than to fall for that. What nonsense are you spouting!" The burly man also laughed.


    They simply could not believe Dorothea''s words at all.


    In truth, Dorothea was also skeptical of Zen''s words. After all, they were empty words, without any proof.


    However, her belief in Zen was based on her own judgment and she didn''t care what the others thought. "Max, the Tower of Crystal has been lost since a long time ago. As far as I know, before it got lost, it had only opened for a short period of time and no one had ever managed to obtain a title from it. But this woman herself was the one who mentioned the golden title of the Celestial Position. If she didn''t see it with her own eyes, how would she be able to speak of it? No such thing as a coincidence, right?" she asked.


    Delroy snorted lightly and said, "What if she got some information about our Celestial Position race from somewhere. Or perhaps someone she knew got the golden title?"


    "Someone else... There''s no such possibility." Max shook his head.


    There were a hundred thousand supreme worlds in the Upper World. The talents of every single race had already tried their best to go to the Celestial Position race''s trial towers. In the history, there had been only six living creatures who had managed to obtain the golden titles of the Celestial Position. Even if there were millions of great worlds in the Lower World, it was impossible for a creature of today''s generation to obtain a golden title.

 Chapter 1218 Verify

    Max was very sure that the girl in front of him couldn''t have obtained the title of golden Celestial Position.


    It wasn''t that they, a group of martial artists from the Upper World, were arrogant and looked down on the creatures that came from the great world of the Lower World.


    In truth, there were numerous creatures in the millions of great worlds and there were also many martial artists that had ascended to the Upper World by showing great talent and a strong warrior spirit.


    There were many creatures that had made extraordinary achievements after they ascended to the Upper World. Some of them had even become world lords or Supreme Lords.


    But, generally speaking, there was a great disparity between the martial artists of the Lower World and those of the Upper World. And such disparity meant that the warriors'' martial arts cultivation in the Lower World were greatly restricted since the time they were born. Restrictions existed everywhere.


    For instance, the vitality of heaven and earth in the Upper World was much more violent than that in the Lower World. The creatures that nurtured by the vitality of heaven and earth in the Upper World were stronger than those nurtured by the vitality of heaven and earth in the Lower World.


    In addition, there was also great disparity in resources, inheritances, and more between the Upper World and the Lower World.


    For this reason, they couldn''t believe what Dorothea said.


    "Dorothea, don''t forget the most important point. This woman said that she gained the recognition of the Celestial Position but I couldn''t sense the existence of the mark of our Celestial Position on her. She''s lying!" Delroy said again.


    Everyone''s eyes flashed. They were so shocked by Dorothea''s words that they forgot about what was truly important.


    To be acknowledged by the Celestial Position, one had to have his or her name on or above the second row of the Talent Tablet. If a person reached that level, the Talent Tablet would secretly put the mark of the Celestial Position on his or her body.


    Right now, they couldn''t sense the mark on the woman''s body. This meant that the woman was either lying, or had indeed entered the Talent Tablet and taken the test, but failed to have her name reach even the second row.


    Dorothea nodded. "Yes, I didn''t sense the mark on her body either. However, the physical body isn''t hers to begin with, the person inside simply took over it." Dorothea wavered in her belief after everyone offered their opinion in denial. Even though all facts supported her guess, she now felt that the absence of the mark was suspicious. Without it, the woman in front of her couldn''t possibly hold the title of the golden Celestial Position.


    "We can easily verify this. We just need to find the real body of the soul inside her and take a look. It''s an easy job." The tall and sturdy m


    hoosh¡­"


    From the sky above the Heavenly Stellar Sacred Place, a thin line extending from the center of the Heavenly Stellar Sacred Place could be seen all the way to the edge of the land.


    "Alright, you decide!" Woody smiled. To him, it didn''t matter whether these rats died or not.


    The flower in Dorothea''s right eye gently turned and removed the confinement on War King Wind and the rest of the warriors. All the corpses were free from the spell.


    Even so, none of the Soul Sea Realm masters chose to run away.


    The corpses they occupied could not use the life vitality. They couldn''t even fly or run fast enough. They simply had no power to resist the seven powerful masters at the Spirit Supreme Realm. If they tried to escape, they would be killed.


    "Let''s go now. Your physical body shouldn''t be too far away from the Heavenly Stellar Sacred Place, right?" Delroy said indifferently.


    "How far can it be? This great world isn''t even that big." the burly man sneered.


    Zen didn''t reply to the provocations. He turned to War King Wind and the others and said, "Everyone, let''s go together!"


    The martial artists of the four divine kingdoms silently nodded and followed Zen. As for the seven powerful masters of the Spirit Supreme Realm, they followed right behind everyone else.


    It took them about five minutes to leave the Heavenly Stellar Sacred Place. After the transmission array was recovered, the group once again entered the Feather Holy Sea. They would travel along the Road of Saints in the Feather Holy Sea and return to where they set off.


    When they reached the Road of Saints, all the mighty warriors of the Soul Sea Realm took out their huge shields. They planned to use them to block the blue arrows.


    Delroy smiled and said, "No need to use these!" Then, he gently waved his hand. His life vitality flashed and an enchanted barrier appeared, enveloping everyone within.

 Chapter 1219 Return To Their Own Bodies

    Although the blue arrows were supposed to be extremely strong, they could not pierce through Delroy''s enchanted barrier.


    Under its protection, everyone easily passed through the Road of Saints even under the constant barrage of arrows and entered the Divine Emperor Secret Land.


    "So that''s it! The Heavenly Stellar Secret Land is connected to a huge cemetery. No wonder you all took over corpses to pass through. These corpses must have come from the cemetery, if I am not mistaken?" Max asked.


    Although as members of the Celestial Position race, they all looked down on the strength of the warriors from the Lower World, the seven people of the company simply had to admire the way they had figured out to avoid being affected by the blood sacrifice.


    "That''s correct." Zen nodded slightly.


    "Then where are your actual bodies?" Max''s curiosity was aroused.


    "They are on the other side of the Divine Emperor Island," Zen replied.


    Normally, when they were returning, the warriors of the four divine kingdoms would place the corpses back in their coffins as they passed through the cemetery. That was what they had been doing every time they had come here.


    After all, there were very few corpses in the cemetery which had been preserved properly. In fact, the corpses of Soul Sea Realm warriors in prime condition were extremely difficult to get, and every time they used corpses, some wear and tear showed up.


    If these corpses were casually thrown away every time they used them, it was likely that there would not be enough corpses for them to use next time.


    This time, however, these Soul Sea Realm masters didn''t place the corpses back in their coffins. They controlled the corpses and passed through the cemetery, heading towards the coast of the Divine Emperor Island.


    Several Soul Sea Realm masters were guarding the coast of the Divine Emperor Island. After all, so many people had gone inside, and if their bodies were destroyed while they were in soul forms, things were going to be extremely troublesome. They would be left with no physical existence at all.


    Derek, Marine, and the others had not entered the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land and were also present there.


    Numerous spirit shrines were lined up on the shore, one after the other, and the bodies of the Soul Sea Realm masters who had entered the secret land were sitting on the ground in a meditative posture.


    "They''re back! They''re back!" shouted a mighty warrior at the Soul Sea Realm who was keeping an eye out while the others guarded the place.


    Marine''s and Derek''s eyes lit up. But then they noticed the corpses and their eyes revealed a strange expression. "What''s going on? Why didn''t they drop the corpses in the cemetery?" Marine asked in astonishment.


    Derek''s gaze was fixed upon a young lady in the front of the group. She seemed to be carrying something. In her arms was a furry little thing. Although it looked very strange and didn''t look like any animal, the aura that leaked out from it was v


    er in his hand, slowly walking over towards Derek.


    Both of them were at the Spirit Supreme Realm, and they had discovered that fact instantly. However, the seven Celestial Position warriors did not take Derek seriously as he was alone. Derek knew that he was too weak against seven people. Furthermore, the Ancestral Dragon was in Zen''s hands, so he did not care about the seven warriors. He tried to flatter Zen.


    Derek''s face immediately darkened at Woody''s words. "Who do you think you are? I work for the Supreme Lord of Thunder Punishment..."


    Derek knew that he probably wasn''t a match for these seven people. Their aura was astonishing. Fortunately, his backing was well-known throughout the whole universe. Facing these experts of the same cultivation level as him, Derek could only bring out his backing.


    However, just as he was proudly announcing it, the burly man in front of him laughed and said, "Ha-ha! How funny! Are you trying to scare us by mentioning a Supreme Lord? You can use that move to deceive the warriors of the Lower World. But we are from the Upper World. Your trick doesn''t work on us."


    "Deceive them?" Derek''s eyes narrowed.


    At that moment, Max cut in, "The Supreme Lord of Thunder Punishment is the weakest of the three Supreme Lords. But I have to admit that a Supreme Lord is not something we can comment about or take lightly!"


    "It''s good that you know that!" Derek replied proudly. It was obvious that the man standing in front of him and wearing a silver mask was the most powerful among them all. He might be able to fight the other six one-on-one, but he had no confidence in facing this foe. Therefore, Derek restrained himself when talking to him.


    "But even though you work for the Supreme Lord of Thunder Punishment, the Ancestral Dragon belongs to our Celestial Position race. Other races have no possibility of getting their hands on it," Max continued in a cold tone.


    "Celestial Position race?" Derek''s face twitched when he heard Max''s words.

 Chapter 1220 Condition

    A range of emotions, complicatedly intertwined with each other, flitted across Derek''s face as he learned that these seven were from the Celestial Position race.


    The Celestial Position race did not have a good reputation in the Upper World. It had a mixed background and a small population, but almost all of its members were elites.


    But the biggest problem was that they were a bunch of lunatics.


    Derek had originally hoped to scare these people by revealing the force that backed him. Although the force of the Supreme Lord of Thunder Punishment was the weakest of the three great human powers, it still occupied 2, 000 Supreme Worlds. It wasn''t inferior to any race.


    If he had known that these people belonged to the Celestial Position race, Derek wouldn''t have even bothered to talk.


    The problem, however, was that he had to get the Ancestral Dragon.


    The Soul Sea Realm masters of the four divine kingdoms stood aside and did not say anything. After all, the Ancestral Dragon would not fall into their hands, no matter what happened. If Derek was powerful, he could just snatch it from their hands.


    Derek rolled his eyes before saying, "So you all are from the Celestial Position race. But I''ve been trying to get the Ancestral Dragon for¡ª"


    Max interrupted Derek impatiently, "No matter how much effort you''ve put in, hoping for this bunch of natives to enter the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land to obtain the Ancestral Dragon''s egg was nothing more than a dream. We were the ones who hatched the Ancestral Dragon and took it out."


    Woody and the burly man were fiddling with the weapons in their hands, staring at Derek and grinning from time to time. It looked like they were quite eager to fight him.


    Derek said, "Even though you are from the Celestial Position race, you can''t be so unreasonable¡ª"


    Woody and the burly man were charging at him even before he could finish talking, trying to attack him without warning.


    The Spirit Supreme Realm warriors had a speed that was absolutely terrifying.


    The two men were aggressive as they attacked Derek, the crowd watching closely.


    Swoosh!


    But Derek was fast. As the two men moved forward, he retreated putting thousands of feet between them, shouting, "Stop! We can talk about it!" The small shield in his hand transformed into a ray of multi-colored light, blocking any attack from the front.


    The two men cursed in unison, moving back to Max''s side.


    The Soul Sea Realm masters of the four divine kingdoms


    ely excited, no matter how much she hated Dorothea.


    Dorothea giggled, temporarily forgetting about Zen and returning to be her cheerful self. She smiled and said, "The condition is that you have to marry me. What do you think?"


    "Ahem!" Zen began coughing violently.


    The Celestial Position race warriors shook their heads in exasperation. They knew about Dorothea''s personality and her sexual orientation very well.


    Brianna was silent, not knowing what to say at that moment.


    She was not like Dorothea. She was not gay, and it was impossible for her to fall in love with a woman, but the Soul Sealing Spell was much more torturous when compared to the prospect of being married to her.


    At Brianna''s silence, Dorothea blinked and said, "You also know that breaking the Soul Sealing Spell is going to be quite troublesome. I have to ask someone to help me, and I will have to pay a heavy price. This condition isn''t too much, is it?"


    Zen shook his head, but didn''t say anything. He didn''t have anything to do with the relationship between these two women.


    He had left the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land. He had also obtained the Ancestral Dragon and the life crystals to save Letitia. He would first return to the Central Region to wake Letitia up, and then bring this bunch of people to the Sea God Continent to find the Tower of Crystal.


    He didn''t know what Brianna and Dorothea were talking about, but in the end, Dorothea flashed a very satisfied smile. It looked like the two of them had reached an agreement.


    Max said to Zen, "We better not stay here any longer. Since you know where the Tower of Crystal is, take us there immediately!"

 Chapter 1221 A Bet

    The seven of them could do nothing about the sealed Evil Dragon. They could only send for more capable and powerful Celestial Position warriors from the Upper World.


    In comparison, the Tower of Crystal was even more important.


    Although Max and his men didn''t believe that Zen had gained the title of the golden Celestial Position, they really wanted to see how Zen had obtained recognition from the Talent Tablet. Was his talent listed on the second row or the first row of the Talent Tablet? Or had he obtained a bronze title?


    All these doubts needed to be clarified.


    But Zen said rather nonchalantly, "I will take you to the Tower of Crystal, but before that, I still have something important to do."


    Zen had planned that after he obtained the life crystals, he would return to the Central Region as soon as possible. But his plan had been delayed since he had promised the cyan dragon that he would enter the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land to take out the Ancestral Dragon Egg.


    He had obtained the Ancestral Dragon, but it was hard to say where it would belong in the end.


    Even if this Ancestral Dragon had an imprinting of him on it, the Celestial Position would never give it up. Moreover, Derek was also here, watching him covetously, and Zen was sure that he would not give up easily.


    But Zen was not worried. Neither Derek nor the warriors of the Celestial Position had shown absolute hostility towards him. Furthermore, he had obtained the title of the golden Celestial Position in the Tower of Crystal, so he only needed to cooperate with them. But before that, he had to return to the Central Region to save Letitia.


    "Important thing? Is that an excuse for you to back away?" Woody said coldly. Even if Zen possessed the mark of the Celestial Position, he had only gained recognition. Woody felt that Zen had boasted about his achievements, but didn''t dare try to prove it for fear of being caught.


    Zen looked witheringly at Woody as he replied, "I am not from the Divine Kingdom Continent. I came here only to seek life stones to save someone. If you don''t believe me, you can search for the Tower of Crystal in this great world yourself. This great world isn''t too big for you, is it?"


    Although this great world was not that big, it was still difficult to accurately pinpoint the location of the Sea God Continent. The four divine kingdoms were relatively close to the Central Region, but the Sea God Continent was too far away. It was not that the several warriors of the Celestial Position could not find it. But if Zen did not provide the coordinates and direction, it would be impossible for them to find the Tower of Crystal in a short period of time.


    "Humph! It''s so simple! We can directly search your soul. Dorothea is most


    again raised his cane and gently waved it in the air before bringing it down in a sharp slash. An irregular space crack appeared out of thin air.


    "Delroy, open it," Max ordered.


    Delroy nodded and walked towards the space crack that was over a hundred feet high. He stretched his hand and sent an enchanted barrier shooting out of it. Shortly after, the enchanted barrier started to rapidly expand. Cracking sounds rent the air before the enchanted barrier succeeded in opening the space crack. A small space hole had appeared.


    Hank took out the Eight-diagram Wheel that was several dozen feet wide. It grew as the wind came at it and it was pretty obvious that this was their treasure to fly.


    Woody and the rest of the group followed Max and jumped onto the Eight-diagram Wheel. Dorothea then looked at Zen and said, "Alright, let''s go!"


    Zen nodded. His eyes turned towards the group containing Fiona and Randy, and looked at them wistfully yet fondly. Although he hadn''t been in the Divine Kingdom Continent for very long, he had made many friends.


    A variety of thoughts flitted through the minds of the group Zen was looking at. Zen had saved them several times, but if it weren''t for Zen, they wouldn''t have been able to return from the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land. Even their fathers and all the other Soul Sea Realm masters of the four divine kingdoms wouldn''t have survived without Zen''s help.


    They were grateful to Zen, but now, Randy and the others were reluctant to part with him.


    They couldn''t talk to Zen, given the current situation. Even the four rulers chose to remain silent in the presence of this group of Spirit Supreme Realm warriors.


    As their gazes met, Zen smiled and said, "I will come back!"


    He had barely finished talking when Fiona suddenly turned into a fiery red shadow and ran towards Zen.

 Chapter 1222 Shadow Creature

    Seeing his daughter leave in a rush, War King Wind was rather shocked, and it showed on his face.


    Even as a king of the Divine Kingdom Continent and a top-notch warrior in the Lower World, he was nothing in front of the Spirit Supreme Realm masters.


    These seven masters had been acting a little crazily from start to end. He was afraid that his daughter''s behavior might irritate them somehow. While War King Wind wanted to stop her, his daughter shot out like an arrow¡ªhe couldn''t stop her in time.


    Caring about Fiona the most, War King Wind understood her personality rather well. He had already figured out long ago that his daughter took a fancy to Zen. She had always been so gentle and restrained¡ªWar King Wind hadn''t exactly expected her to be so impulsive when it came to such matters.


    Rushing out, Fiona stepped in front of Zen and stared at him with her most charming eyes. There was no smile on her face and her expression turned utterly serious.


    "Will you really come back?" Fiona bit her lips and softly asked.


    Seeing her expression, Zen faintly smiled and nodded cautiously, "Of course I''ll be back."


    Though she seemed ready to speak, it was an impulse, just now. At this moment, she realized that everyone was looking at her¡ªit made her blush. But this hesitation could only afford to last a few seconds. Sometimes, it was difficult for a young girl to do certain things. But no matter what, she immediately made up her mind¡ªshe took the necklace from her neck, walked up to Zen and put the necklace on him.


    While it wasn''t a precious thing, it was still her token.


    "I''ll wait for your return!" Fiona said. She had to put on the best-forced smile she could before turning around and leaving.


    Wearing the necklace, Zen watched Fiona''s back with a complicated expression. Silently, he nodded and then got on the Eight-diagram Wheel. As for Woody and the big man, they both had faint smiles on their faces¡ªboth of which Zen chose to ignore.


    In addition to Zen and the other seven members of the Celestial Position, Brianna was brought into the wheel.


    As the Eight-diagram Wheel slowly rotated, the warriors inside flew into the space hole. Not long after, the Eight-diagram Wheel disappeared from the members of the divine kingdoms. After Delroy removed the enchanted barrier of the space crack, it diminished rapidly. The crack was considered as something like the ''wound'' of the great world. Originally, the world had the ability to self-heal¡ªsuch a w


    ealthy world. After surveying the area for a moment, his gaze fell on something behind him. His eyes widened in shock as he shouted, "What is that?"


    A giant head, tens of thousands of feet away from the Eight-diagram Wheel, rapidly followed behind them.


    The head looked like that of a human being, but it was as large as a mountain. Instead of hair on its head, there sat numerous thick pythons.


    Unlike the others, Zen could make use of his magic vision to observe the giant head from a distance.


    "What do you see?" Max asked nervously. It was no easy task for them to deal with the Shadow Creature, after all. And while Max was curious about how Zen saw the creature, he didn''t dare question him.


    Zen could see the head approaching them. "A head¡­ a huge head!"


    "A head?"


    After a moment of pondering, the fear sank in as Max''s eyes widened. "This is terrible¡­ How could such a thing exist in the shadow of the great world?"


    Delroy looked devastated as he spoke in a trembling voice, "Oh no¡­ Leave this void right now!"


    "Leave the void? But the outside area is the sky above the Chaotic Ocean of Stars! This Star Storm is also..." Zen began uttering.


    But Max merely snorted at his reaction. "Compared to that creature, the Star Storm is nothing at all! Delroy, get ready!" With that, Max swung his cane in front of him once again. It was obvious that this time, Max had made complete use of his power, charged through his cane.


    "Crack!"


    With such great power, the cracking sounds of the space began blending¡ªit was extremely ear-piercing, as if tens of thousands of people were scraping their nails against a screeching surface.

 Chapter 1223 Black Wind Blades

    The space crack in front of them was quickly ripped open by Max''s crutch. Seeing that, Delroy clapped his hands and swiftly opened his palms. In an instant, an enchanted barrier spread open in the crack.


    "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh¡­"


    The ominous whoosh of the wind reminded them of their limited time as the thing behind them got closer and closer.


    Even without his magical vision, Zen was still able to make out the gigantic outline of a head that had opened its huge mouth, intending to swallow the Eight-diagram Wheel in one gulp.


    The Eight-diagram Wheel was around fifty feet wide but it looked like a tiny mosquito compared to that huge, cavernous mouth.


    If one turned around and squinted, he or she would be able to make out a few shadows that resided within that mouth. However, it was too dim around that they couldn''t distinguish the shape of these shadows. The horrible outlines of these mysterious beings caused a shiver to run up everyone''s spine.


    The Shadow Creature advanced at a frighteningly fast rate, quickly closing the distance with the warriors. Failure to go through the space crack and get out of the void in time would mean death by being swallowed into its huge, gaping mouth.


    At that moment, Hank suddenly took out a sharp weapon. Clenching his teeth, he cut his wrist open and slapped on the Eight-diagram Wheel!


    "Splash!"


    Instead of red, a stream of golden blood burst out and was immediately absorbed by the Eight-diagram Wheel.


    "Let''s go!"


    "Whoosh¡­"


    Hank''s blood obviously activated something in the Eight-diagram Wheel as rays of bright light suddenly burst out and it increased its speed two-fold!


    The light also illuminated the shadows that they had all noticed earlier and everyone gasped in astonishment at what they saw.


    Delroy and Max, however, looked more nervous than shocked, seemingly already aware of what they were currently facing.


    Thankfully, because of its increased speed, the Eight-diagram Wheel was finally able to enter the space crack!


    Seeing its prey have escaped, the Shadow Creature suddenly let out a cold aura that spread and covered the entirety of the Eight-diagram Wheel.


    This aura contained a variety of negative emotions like the desire for violence, bloodlust, cruelty, and reluctance to admit defeat.


    "Humph! That thing can only survive in the void. Once it steps out, it would be like a fish out of water and will surely not survive. It won''t dare come out and chase us," Max huffed with a cold snort just as they rushed out of the void. His words might have been sure but his face was still as pale as ever.


    However, just as he finished his words, they heard the sharp whistle of the wind above th


    e and wonder, the black wind blades immediately shattered to pieces.


    Meanwhile, Zen was in perfectly one piece, unharmed and unbothered.


    Woody couldn''t help but stare at him with his mouth gaping open. He was so shocked that he even forgot where he was and that there were millions of wind blades headed his way. He could only dumbly stare at Zen and wonder just how he did the stunt just now.


    What was this fellow''s body made of? A divine weapon? A supreme divine weapon? Or something that was even more powerful than a supreme divine weapon¡­


    It wasn''t just Woody. Dorothea, Delroy, Max, Hank, and everyone else had seen Zen''s actions and the surprise on their faces was evident.


    It was true that Zen had received recognition from the Celestial Position race and was regarded with a high standard. However, he was still a martial artist from the Lower World and would have to prove himself deserving of the title he had claimed.


    They never did bother to find out Zen''s actual strength¡­


    What was a mere first-level Life and Death Realm warrior to a group of powerful Spirit Supreme Realm masters after all?


    They didn''t even take Derek, a Spirit Supreme Realm master, seriously so what more Zen? Their race was made up of elites and the gap between a human and a Celestial Position member both at the Spirit Supreme Realm was huge.


    But here was Zen, breaking all these preconceived notions they had for him. Just how did he shatter those frighteningly powerful wind blades that contained five layers of the power of the Wind Law!? Sure, he might have some type of magic strength that helped him destroy the wind blades but still! Even a Spirit Supreme Realm warrior would''ve been instantly cut in half if he or she was hit by the wind blades but Zen was able to come out unscathed!

 Chapter 1224 The Seven Stars Plate

    The seven people from the Celestial Position race didn''t understand how Zen could break the black wind blades.


    Fifteen hundred miles away, there stood a mountain in the sea. It was estimated that it stood at a height of hundreds of feet above sea level. Zen directed the power to the mountain and eight explosions burst out in quick succession.


    The mountain looked colorful. It had remained unharmed over the millions of years it had been in the violent storm of the Chaotic Ocean of Stars, constantly slashed by the black wind blades.


    This mountain was the Magnetic Sacred Mountain that had been lost to the Chaotic Ocean of Stars.


    Most part of the mountain was hidden under the sea and only a small part stuck out of the water. Fierce waves swept and crashed against it and the wind blades kept cutting at it, but the mountain stood erect and unshakable.


    When Zen had fought against the terrible force of the Heavenly Tribulation, he had shifted all the force to the five million mountains in the great world. It caused every mountain, except the ones in the Eastern Region, to be destroyed.


    Zen hadn''t damaged the great world on purpose and he wasn''t willing to do so either. He had felt sorry, guilty even, and thought that maybe he had done so for his own sake. The Magnetic Sacred Mountain was so firm that nothing could harm it. He should have shifted the force to the Magnetic Sacred Mountain. It was a pity that the situation had been urgent at the time, and he hadn''t been able to think of it carefully before going ahead with his plan.


    He had learned a lesson from that incident and he became more cautious from then on, careful not to make the mistake again.


    A whirring sound announced that the Eight-Diagram Wheel was flying forward.


    The seven people of the Celestial Position race resisted the dense black wind blades with everything they had.


    Max held on to his crutch and said anxiously, "Delroy, we can''t go on like this. Sacrifice something you have!"


    "I''ve already used my Seven Stars Plate five times! I don''t want to waste it again," Delroy said reluctantly.


    Delroy owned a precious treasure called the Seven Stars Plate. It was a kind of a supreme divine weapon, but it could only be used seven times. Over the years, Delroy had survived several crises by relying on this Seven Stars Plate. It could be said that the seven opportunities of using the plate meant that it could save his life seven times.


    Which was why he really hated the idea of wasting one of his valuable opportunities here.


    "The


    ''s question reminded the others about what had just happened. Woody and Dorothea had just calmed down and hadn''t gotten to think about it. Everyone looked inquiringly at Zen. "You broke those wind blades with your fists. How are you not injured?" Dorothea asked, coming over to Zen, grabbing his hands, and examining them.


    Zen didn''t know how to answer this question. He just chuckled and said, "Compared to yours, mine is just an insignificant skill."


    Dorothea raised an eyebrow. "You don''t want to tell us?"


    "It''s really hard to explain," Zen smiled and said.


    They knew that Zen was acting modest and hiding something. But they couldn''t really force him to tell them his secret. After all, everyone had their own secrets to keep. Moreover, Zen was not their enemy and bore no hostility towards them. If it was confirmed that Zen had really attained the title, no matter what the title, they would be comrades-in-arms.


    Everyone lapsed into silence as they looked at the dense wind blades raging outside the enchanted barrier. Even the great masters in the Spirit Supreme Realm felt small and weak in the face of nature and its omnipotence. "Max, what is the creature that followed us in the void? The big head." Zen broke the silence.


    The storm was severe but the Spirit Supreme Realm masters were powerful enough to handle it. They could block the wind blades using their skills despite how troublesome the blades were. And going by Delroy and Max''s conversation, it looked like they still had other skills to manage the storm.


    But when the big head had chased them in the void, Max''s face had paled with fear. ''What in the Lower World could make him so frightened?'' Zen wondered.

 Chapter 1225 Return To Oracle City

    These seven warriors were all Spirit Supreme Realm masters and Max was probably the most powerful among them.


    But even though they were remarkable, they still ran away from the Shadow Creature. So what was hiding in the dark behind of this world?


    Even Zen was curious about this.


    Before Max could reply, Delroy said, "That is the God Despised Race."


    "The God Despised Race?" Zen repeated, his eyes flashing.


    Delroy nodded and said, "It is a race that is despised by the gods. Although the Shadow Creatures are divided into many races, the largest of them is the God Despised Race."


    Seeing that Zen and the others were listening curiously, Max nodded and said, "Delroy is right."


    Even the universe had a back side, but compared to that of the great world, the space of the Upper World was much more stable and hence, more difficult to tear apart.


    At the back side of the whole universe was a large, empty world. Though the Shadow Creatures were rare, their actual number in the back side of the universe wasn''t small. The God Despised Race ruled absolutely over the Shadow Creatures. They couldn''t leave the back side of the world, but they still had a great influence on the entire universe.


    "A race despised by the gods... Why do the gods despise them, though?" Zen asked.


    Max laughed, shook his head, and said, "I have no idea. Perhaps the world lords and Supreme Lords know the reason."


    Zen nodded, but he had an extremely uncomfortable feeling, as if there was something unknown invading his body. A sense of foreboding took over his mind as he continued to ask, "Then why would the God Despised Race enter this great world?"


    Zen was well aware of this sense of crisis. Ever since he had fused with the will of the great world, he had gradually become one with the entire great world. And now that he knew about the existence of such a terrifying thing at the back side of the great world, he naturally felt foreboding creep through him.


    "I have no idea, but I will report this to the Celestial Position race. But whether the Celestial Position race investigates the matter or not is not up to me," Max said, looking straight ahead.


    The God Despised Race was mysterious and strong, so the Spirit Supreme Realm masters would not be able to interfere with the race''s actions or resist them. Max''s current task was just to search for the Tower of Crystal.


    Zen nodded. No matter what these Shadow Creatures wanted to do, he couldn''t interfere with them with his current strength. It was better to rus


    l want to go?"


    "It''s none of your business," Dorothea said and jumped down with Zen. Dorothea probably thought that Delroy and Woody had been too haughty and gone too far. She said to Zen, "Don''t think too much about what they say. They are from the Upper World and are born with arrogance!"


    Zen smiled. He hadn''t taken this to heart at all.


    Zen had met a lot of arrogant warriors since he had started cultivating martial arts. He had traveled to many places and noticed that there was no dearth of such people in the C County, the Imperial Capital, the Cloud Sect, and the Cloud Hall. He had gotten used to this kind of arrogance. Though the six warriors on the Eight-diagram Wheel were Spirit Supreme Realm masters, they were all arrogant like other ordinary warriors.


    Two figures shot down from the sky and headed directly for the Heavenly Stellar Palace.


    Through the memories of the great world, Zen knew that Letitia had been at the Heavenly Stellar Palace for the past half year. He was in a hurry to meet her and wasn''t even bothered to inform the three leaders of the World Commercial Alliance.


    Just as Zen landed in the Heavenly Stellar Palace, hundreds of runes suddenly appeared around it.


    Zen and Dorothea were almost blinded


    as all the runes simultaneously emitted rays of brilliant light. The light flew towards Zen and Dorothea.


    "Do you have a death wish?"


    Dorothea did not know what was going on, and became angry as the flower in her right eye started spinning.


    The power of these rays of light was nothing to Dorothea, but the consequences of attacking her would be severe. She could strike back with a strength that could debilitate anyone.

 Chapter 1226 The Zither Player

    Seeing that Dorothea wanted to retaliate, Zen hurriedly waved his hand. "Don''t!"


    The strength of the Spirit Supreme Realm martial artist was terrifying. If a Soul Sea Realm martial artist could destroy a mountain range with a wave of his hand, then her attack could probably destroy the entire Oracle City in an instant.


    Swish! Swish! Swish!


    Those rays of light struck Zen and Dorothea but did not cause any harm to them. Zen''s body was as strong as a sacred weapon, while Dorothea had her life vitality to protect her. These runes of third and fourth grades could not harm them.


    "Who are you?"


    "The Heavenly Stellar Palace is an important place to the World Commercial Alliance. Whoever trespasses will become our enemy!"


    Dozens of figures flashed and appeared. The man in the lead had a handsome face and bright eyes. He held a curved blade in his hand. He looked at Zen with a surprised expression.


    Zen smiled and shouted, "Owen!"


    "Oh my God! Zen!" Owen sized up Zen a few times and his eyes flashed with happiness. "You''re back!"


    This was not the first time Zen had left the Central Region, nor the longest that they hadn''t had any news from him. Most people often thought he was dead. Although they were still worried about him going to the four divine kingdoms this time, they knew that he would return sooner or later. They just didn''t expect him to come back so early.


    "But the Chaotic Ocean of Stars..."


    Every other week, the World Commercial Alliance would send back news from the far east of the Central Region. The storm in the sky of the Chaotic Ocean of Stars had been triggered a few months ago.


    The storm was so powerful that it could even stop the Soul Sea Realm martial artists. If martial artists from the Divine Kingdom Continent wanted to enter the Central Region, they had to wait for the storm to stop. The storm was the Central Region''s natural barrier.


    Since the storm had already started, the Divine Kingdom Continent and the Central Region were completely isolated. So they wondered how Zen was able to return.


    Looking at the curious expression on Owen''s face, Zen smiled and said, "Why is the Heavenly Stellar Palace so heavily guarded?"


    Right now, the World Commercial Alliance was the most powerful in the Central Region, and Oracle City was the headquarters of the alliance. No one would dare to intrude the city.


    The alliance had dispatched many guards to protect the Heavenly Stellar Palace. It seemed like they were keeping guard against someone.


    Owen said, "Zen, you''ve been away from the Central Region for half a year, so you don''t know what has been happening here. Simon is doing eve


    Dorothea''s reply, Zen nodded his head and said, "Mr. Shi, I''ll be going in. I have the life stones with me."


    Everyone nodded heads, but no one followed Zen in. They knew about his relationship with Letitia and wanted to give them privacy. Besides, the Heavenly Stellar Palace was considered a forbidden area in Oracle City. Other than Margaret and a few female servants, no one else was allowed to go in.


    Zen went straight to the Heavenly Stellar Palace and Dorothea followed close behind him. There was already a servant girl waiting by the door, and seeing Zen enter, she obediently said, "Mr. Luo, Miss Ning is listening to the zither in the garden behind the palace. Please follow me."


    "She''s listening to the zither?" Zen could not believe her words. "She''s awake?"


    The day before, when Zen had secretly checked on Letitia, she was still sleeping. Now she was listening to the zither.


    The servant girl smiled and said, "You will know soon enough."


    After they passed through the Heavenly Stellar Palace, they came to an open backyard that was filled with all kinds of flowers and grass. There was a clear pond at the side that was filled with pink lotus flowers. The backyard looked peaceful, but Zen felt hundreds of defensive runes around.


    He smiled as the beautiful sound of zither floated into his ears.


    Not far away, he saw Letitia dressed in ice blue, lying on an elegant bed.


    Close to her, a girl in a purple dress played the zither with greatest skills. While plucking the strings with her fingers, her life vitality surrounded her, allowing her to play music beautifully.


    She was focused on playing her zither when she heard someone come behind her. Then she said to her maid expressionlessly, "Faye, bring the fresh flower tea over."

 Chapter 1227 Meet Again

    The person playing the zither was none other than Margaret.


    She had been missing Zen terribly ever since he had left. She didn''t care about becoming his wife; her biggest wish was to stay by his side.


    Even when Brent, who had also disappeared for a long time, had come to Oracle City after the Ethereal Spirit Sect had been rebuilt and offered to take her back, Margaret had turned him down.


    She wanted to wait for Zen here. That way, if he returned, she would at least be able to see him as soon as he came back.


    Margaret hadn''t returned to the Ethereal Spirit Sect. But the World Commercial Alliance had contributed quite a bit to help rebuild the sect because of her.


    The relationship between the World Commercial Alliance and the Ethereal Spirit Sect was by no means strained. And even though Margaret was a delicate woman, her strength had skyrocketed after she had activated the Purple Power Body.


    Even though she was only at the Internal Elixir Realm right now, she was strong enough that she could be counted as one of the top three warriors in the Central Region, thanks to the power that she drew from the Purple Power World.


    On that particular day, Margaret had summoned countless huge swords and killed countless warriors of the Heavenly Evil Sect. That scene was still fresh in everyone''s mind. If Zen was key to fighting the Heavenly Evil Sect, then it could be said that Margaret was the second most important person.


    But Margaret was not as well-known as Zen, and a majority of the warriors did not even know how the huge swords had appeared. Other than a few strong warriors, most people did not know that there was such a powerful woman in the Central Region.


    That was because Margaret had been spending most of her time in the Heavenly Stellar Palace. She could tolerate each passing hour, but her longing for Zen had been increasing with each passing day.


    Sometimes, when she was in a good mood, she would instruct the servant girl to bring the unconscious Letitia out to bask in the sun. She herself would concentrate on playing the zither, and this, more often than not, eased her yearning for Zen.


    When Margaret heard footsteps behind her, she thought it was her servant girl, Faye. She had asked her to fetch the tea that she''d made, but there was no response from Faye. The string of the zither in her hand twisted slightly and her brow creased. Margaret was still the same old arrogant young miss; it was just that she would hide her true colors before Zen. She got angry when Faye didn''t respond.


    "Faye?" Margaret''s voice had an ominous ring to it. She twisted the zither string in her hand and it began to vibrate at her irritation. Her yearning for Zen was the reason behind her agitation.


    "Why aren


    ally touched the Life and Death Wind, she would''ve been dead already. How could you have kept her alive? What''s more, you can''t even bring the Life and Death Wind from the Netherworld River."


    "It''s a secret," Zen said with a cunning smile. Letitia''s survival was also a part of the Heavenly Fragment''s contribution, and it restrained the Law of Causality in the Life and Death Wind. Zen of course wouldn''t explain too much to Dorothea. So he merely concentrated on doing his job. He took out a life crystal from his space ring.


    This life crystal was almost completely formed from life energy. The life energy within it was far more than that contained within a life stone.


    Dorothea''s eyes lit up at the sight of the life crystal in Zen''s hand. "That''s great!"


    Not just Dorothea. Everyone, including the three leaders of the World Commercial Alliance outside the Heavenly Stellar Palace, had felt a strong life energy radiating from it when Zen had brought out the life crystal.


    The life crystal was rare even in the Upper World. However, Dorothea had originally wanted to say that it would be a waste to use it that way. But considering that Zen had obtained it, she felt that she was not qualified to speak.


    It was as if Zen was holding not a piece of ore, but a living creature that radiated a strong life energy in all directions.


    He placed the life crystal on Letitia''s face and gently pinched it. The surface of the life crystal cracked, and Zen retracted his hand fast as lightning. The life energy was like a living thing and would enter the body of the nearest creature, and Zen was afraid that the life energy would enter his hand.


    A dense flow of life energy floated above Letitia, twisting into all kinds of irregular shapes.


    After a few seconds, the dense life energy seeped into Letitia''s thin lips.

 Chapter 1228 Letitia Woke Up

    After her life energy was drained, Letitia''s appearance did not change. However, anyone who saw her could feel that the life energy in her body was very weak and could only keep her sleeping.


    With the continuous infiltration of the life energy of the life crystal, Letitia''s pale and haggard face started to change.


    Her paleness gradually faded away and her cheeks became flushed once again. She now looked like she had regained her strength and energy.


    As for Margaret and Dorothea, they could also feel the life energy in Letitia''s body increasing rapidly. They could feel like she was suddenly emitting a strong life energy. Letitia was originally like a withered tree, but now new buds began to sprout and roots began to spread, giving people a sense of vitality and hope once again.


    Letitia had now absorbed all the life energy contained in the life crystal. Zen stared at her, his eyes filled with anxiety.


    "Why doesn''t she wake up?" he murmured.


    His eyes gradually darkened. The biggest reason for him to go to the Divine Kingdom Continent was to find a way to save Letitia. The life crystal was his only hope.


    She had absorbed all of its life energy and she looked better, so why was she still unconscious?


    "Zen..."


    Margaret felt sorry for him and was hoping to console him. Zen, however, was like an iron statue, standing where he was without moving an inch.


    A look of surprise covered Dorothea''s face, and her mouth opened slightly. She knew that after most of Letitia''s life energy had been drained by the Life and Death Wind, her body had activated its self-protection mechanism and forced itself to go to sleep. Only by doing so, Letitia would be able to save the last bit of life energy that she had within her.


    The flower in Dorothea''s right eye turned slightly and an intangible sensation spread through her. Soon, a smile appeared on her face. Her talent was the flower in her right eye. She was much more sensitive towards souls than other cultivators of the same level. That was when she realized that Letitia had already woken up.


    ''Zen has good taste when it comes to women, '' Dorothea thought to herself. Then, using her life vitality, she told Zen, "She is awake now."


    "What?" Zen''s heart skipped a beat at Dorothea''s words. When he saw Letitia pretending to be asleep with her eyes closed, he felt both angry and amused. Letitia had a lot of


    Margaret.


    "How about what?" Margaret was slightly stunned.


    "How about you marry me?" Dorothea giggled.


    When Margaret heard this, she glared at Dorothea furiously, and without containing her anger, she scolded her for the first time, "How dare you!"


    Zen and Letitia embraced and kissed for a long time before separating. She stared at Zen, who was just inches away from her. She had a sweet smile on her face, but it quickly disappeared. "Eddie..." she murmured.


    After being hit by the Life and Death Wind, Letitia had fallen into a deep slumber. She had no idea how long she had been unconscious, nor did she know about the battle with the Heavenly Evil Sect. Although Zen was standing before her, safe and sound, she couldn''t help but worry about everything that had happened.


    "He is dead. I killed him," Zen replied immediately.


    Letitia nodded her head. Since Zen was standing right in front of her, Eddie''s chances of survival were very low. But she could not figure out how Zen defeated Eddie and how he killed him.


    Zen briefly recounted the events that happened after Letitia fell asleep. As for his journey to the Divine Kingdom Continent to find the life stones, he only mentioned it briefly.


    Although Zen had concealed the hardships of the trip to the Divine Kingdom Continent, Letitia could guess that he had gone through a tough time. She leaned on Zen''s chest and asked him to tell her more details. He could only answer truthfully. As she listened to Zen retell his stories, she used her fingers to lightly draw circles on his chest, her mind wandering away.

 Chapter 1229 Borrowing The Eight-diagram Wheel

    As Zen narrated the dangerous moments, life vitality began to flash across Letitia''s slender fingers. A blue, icy chill slithered through Zen''s clothes and hit his chest.


    Normally, this kind of a chill could not hurt Zen. However, the force of it was too strong, and he could still feel the piercing cold when not using his life vitality to block it. She was as if scolding him for taking such risks.


    The two of them lost track of time as they talked and confided in each other, the world outside forgotten. An hour passed by quietly.


    Some time later, strange sounds of some animal echoed in the sky. "Caw! Caw!" A furry figure descended rapidly.


    The little thing was born with the ability to fly. It was able to bypass the restraints of the fifth layer of Space Law and directly jump out of the refracted space.


    However, it had only been short while since it was born. Although flying came to it naturally, it was not something it was skilled at yet. Due to incorrect estimation of the distance and its inexperience in controlling the speed, it whirled down from the sky and smashed to the ground like a meteorite, creating a huge pit.


    Letitia let out a small cry and frowned, vexed that their romantic time was disturbed like this. She looked at the little thing in the pit with annoyance, asking, "What is this?"


    "Caw, Caw!"


    The Ancestral Dragon had originally been placed on the Eight-diagram Wheel. Perhaps because it had been separated from Zen for too long that it was unhappy and had jumped off the wheel.


    It shook its head with vigor to shake off the dirt on its body, rushing toward Zen the very next moment.


    At the moment, Zen was holding Letitia in his arms. The little Ancestral Dragon butted in and forcibly pushed Letitia to the side. It made some noises as if in disapproval of Letitia.


    Seeing this, Zen was both irritated and amused. Although he had come to obtain this small dragon, he had not communicated much with this little dragon on his way back from the Heavenly Stellar Sacred Place. He had never expected it to be so jealous¡­


    The Ancestral Dragon had imprinted on Zen. It regarded Zen as its family, so in its mind, it would not allow anyone else to get closer to Zen.


    However, Letitia was somewhat indignant at being intruded upon by this unexpected animal. The Ancestral Dragon''s appearance was peculiar indeed. It looked similar to a seahorse, so at first sight she didn''t recognize that it was, in fact, a dragon. She reached out to push it to the side coarsely.


    However, as soon as


    rby. The wheel rotated slowly as six people stood on top of it. Beside them, a woman lay on the side. It was Brianna from the Dragon Lineage Human.


    Whether it was the six people standing or the woman lying down, they were all powerful in their cultivation. The aura they emanated far surpassed that of mighty warriors of the Soul Sea Realm.


    Wry smiles were evident on the faces of Hobbes and the rest. The people that Zen brought back were more intimidating than the previous ones, but what was troubling was that this time they didn''t even seem to be friendly with Zen himself! Any of these individuals could destroy the Central Region with a simple flick of their hands. It was not a wise decision to offend them.


    They were cold, aloof, and didn''t seem to like anyone approaching them. Dillon, who had the gift of the gab, could not find any opportunity to speak up. The difference in strength was too great and made him lose the courage to talk.


    Facing Woody''s cold face, Zen''s expression was indifferent. "It has only been two hours, why are you in such a hurry?" he asked in a monotone voice.


    "Humph. I have a lot of time, but there is no reason to waste it on you," Woody responded, snorting dismissively.


    Zen smiled faintly. His gaze passed by Woody and landed on someone else. He cupped his hands at Max, who was at a little distance. "Max, thank you for bringing me back to the Central Region. However, I have one more thing left to do before we set out. I want to borrow the Eight-diagram Wheel from you."


    Hearing this, Woody was even more displeased. "What? You still want to waste more of our time? How about we just stay and live here with you?" he asked mockingly.

 Chapter 1230 Track

    Woody''s face had signs of clear dissatisfaction. Max, however, asked, "I''m not in a hurry. But Zen, why do you want to borrow the Eight-diagram Wheel?"


    Zen smiled and explained, "I have an enemy who is hiding in the Central Region and I want to kill him before I leave. Our feud has gone on long enough, I believe."


    Those who knew about Simon were really surprised when they heard Zen''s resolution. He wanted to kill his enemy right now? More importantly, it was Simon he wanted to kill?


    The way they saw it, although Simon was building up his forces, he was still not as flippant and impudent as Eddie was. In fact, he could even be described as cautious in his actions. The World Commercial Alliance was well informed and had a remarkable number of intelligence sources in the Central Region, but they couldn''t be able to find him anytime soon.


    An interesting aspect about people whose cultivation had reached a realm higher than the Soul Sea Realm was that their temper was known to be short. They were already impatient and would get pissed off real soon. Furthermore, they didn''t seem to have a good rapport with Zen.


    Dillon spoke up and tried to warn Zen, "Zen, a clever rabbit has three burrows. It''s going to take us a long time before we can unearth Simon''s location. If he finds out that you''ve returned to the Central Region, he might even not dare to show up. Please take your time."


    Zen waved off the warning. How could he allow Simon to pose potential danger to him? If chances were that Simon would stay in seclusion and become a hermit who stood aloof from worldly matters, Zen might have let him go. After all, he didn''t like killing, but he was determined to kill his enemies without fail. If the person in front of him was not guilty beyond forgiveness, he would let him or her go.


    However, Simon was the kind of person who did not know what was good for him and actually wanted to try and reestablish the Heavenly Evil Sect. He had even tried that while Zen was away from the Central Region, which meant that Zen wasn''t going to let him go so easily.


    "Oh, that''s such a trifle for us. It won''t take too much time." Max nodded and continued, "Alright then. Tell us where he is hiding, and I''ll have Hank control the Eight-diagram Wheel and follow you."


    Woody''s face was filled with indignation. In his opinion, it was one thing that Zen was an outstanding and talented warrior, but this guy was most likely just a swindler or a nobody at the Life and Death Realm. How could he be allowed to order them around? To be direct and blunt, Woody felt that Zen was not qualified.


    Zen wasn''t even looking at Woody. He thanked Max, "Thank you so much."


    He then turned towards Letitia and Margaret and told them, "You guys hang on. I''ll be right back!"


    "But Zen, Simon..." Dillon was still worried.


    Zen gave him a calm smile to set him ease. "Mr. Shi, don''t worry. I know what I''m doing."


    With a slight whistle, the Ancestral Dragon left Margaret''s arms and jumped into Zen''s, who then stepped onto the Eight-diagram Wheel.


    ty.


    However, Simon had always been a cautious and maybe even a paranoid person. He was afraid of being cheated and wanted to send people to assassinate Letitia first.


    To his disappointment, the Heavenly Stellar Palace was so well-protected that he had yet to make a move.


    Today, Simon had gathered part of the old members of the Heavenly Evil Sect to discuss this issue.


    Before their meeting could convene, he suddenly saw a thin line appear in the sky. Like a shooting star it was, only the moment that it appeared, it shot towards him at an extremely fast pace. Its speed was just indescribable!


    "What''s that?" Simon''s eyelids twitched. He didn''t know why, but he had a bad premonition in his heart about this. However, he couldn''t pinpoint where it came from.


    Upon hearing his words, several, or rather all the subordinates of the Heavenly Evil Sect also raised their heads and turned around to look at the strange, newly-appeared object.


    "It''s an abnormal phenomenon!"


    "Thank you for stating the obvious!""Are we going to get a secret treasure today?"


    "Should we fly up and take a look?"


    No one could figure out where the streak had come from, and their faces were full of curiosity. Perhaps Simon was the only one who had a bad feeling about this.


    However, as it flew, the line, which had originally been flying parallel to the ground, slightly changed its direction and began heading straight towards Simon and his men.


    Simon''s eyes opened wide as a sense of danger arose from the depths of his soul. Although he still couldn''t see clearly what it was, he was sure that it definitely wasn''t a good thing for him. What if that thing hit him? The momentum it carried was terrifying due to its high speed and he still didn''t know what or how heavy it was!


    Only six seconds after the Eight-diagram Wheel had appeared in front of Simon, it steadily stopped above him and began to descend.


    When Zen''s figure appeared in front of Simon, his entire body was like a carved stone. He was terrified instantly.

 Chapter 1231 Shooting

    "Z..Z..Zen.. It''s Zen!"


    said one of Simon''s men as he trembled in fear.


    But Simon didn''t need to be reminded. He had already seen Zen himself.


    In truth, Zen was the only person that the remaining confederates of the Heavenly Evil Sect were afraid of. The scene of Zen killing Eddie was etched in their minds. It haunted them like a nightmare, one that they might not forget for the rest of their lives.


    Simon was extremely nervous, but his mind was racing. He first sized up Zen and discovered that he had broken through to the Life and Death Realm!


    Zen was currently at the first level of the Life and Death Realm.


    Despite that, he still had a chance to escape. Since Zen had returned to the Central Region, Simon thought that he could choose to leave the Central Region and escape overseas and never set foot in the Central Region again.


    However, when Simon glanced at the people around Zen, his face darkened, revealing an expression of utter despair.


    He could not read the strength of these people. This could only mean one thing¡ªthe gap between him and them was far more than a realm. A bitter taste filled Simon''s mouth, which was even more bitter than the most toxic poison he had made.


    "Is he the guy you want to kill? Do you need some help? If you want to kill him, one swipe will finish him." Woody raised his black saber and glanced at Simon casually.


    Meanwhile Delroy and the others just closed their eyes and concentrated on their cultivation. They didn''t bother dealing with a Life and Death Realm warrior from the Lower World. A warrior at such a level was nothing more than an ant to them. Why would they bother about an ant?


    Zen obviously knew that Woody didn''t really want to help him. They just didn''t want to waste time here. So Zen just shook his head and said, "I''ll handle this person myself," he said.


    Suddenly Simon took out two black beads. Although he was in despair, he still had a desire to live. Seeing that Zen was about to attack him, Simon''s life vitality suddenly surged.


    He crushed the two black beads in his hands and they emitted black poisonous mists, and his surging life vitality instantly made these mists spread!


    "Oh Lord! Ah¡­"


    "How can you¡­"


    "I¡­ I¡­"


    Simon''s subordinates did not expect him to activate the black beads without any warning. The poison contained in them was very powerful. The faces of the few Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors nearby immediately turned black and they instan


    le.


    He froze mid-air. His remaining life vitality was still working, causing him to float in the air.


    After a few seconds when his life vitality dispersed, his body fell from the sky like a heavy sandbag, smashing into a hill with a loud crash.


    "Thump!"


    Zen turned the longbow lightly and put it back in his space ring. Then he smiled at Max and said, "Thank you, Max. I''ve already killed the person I wanted to."


    Some confederates of the Heavenly Evil Sect still remained, but the Virtual Tribulation Realm martial artists meant nothing to him. It was not worth his time or energy to kill them.


    It had taken Zen only a quarter of an hour, from the beginning when they had set out from Oracle City to the time they had arrived at the Southern Sky Mountain to kill Simon.


    Max nodded slightly. Since Zen had settled all his matters, they could finally head back. Next, they would set off to find the Tower of Crystal.


    Soon after, Hank operated the Eight-diagram Wheel and returned to the Oracle City. At this time, everyone was gathered in front of the Heavenly Stellar Palace. When they saw that the Eight-diagram Wheel had returned, the three leaders of the World Commercial Alliance and Letitia were in a state of confusion. It had only been a while since they left. How did they return so quickly?


    To their surprise, Zen told them that he had already killed Simon at the Southern Sky Mountain¡­


    Zen''s efficiency stunned everyone. If one wanted to slaughter a chicken, one would have to sharpen the knife first. But, in such a short period of time, Zen had already taken the life of Simon, who was thousands of miles away.

 Chapter 1232 Back To The Sea God Continent

    The group of Spirit Supreme Realm warriors from the Celestial Position race had given Zen quite a bit of time to stay in the Central Region. It was now time for him to leave.


    However, Letitia and Margaret weren''t pleased with the news. They had only been with Zen for less than two hours, then he had to leave so soon. Nonetheless, Letitia knew that the group of super warriors in the Eight-diagram Wheel weren''t particularly friendly towards Zen, and now was not the time to protest. She could only hope for Zen to return quickly to the Central Region after he finished what he had to do.


    Meanwhile, Zen felt that it would be inconvenient for him to bring Brianna on his trip to the Sea God Continent. Thus, he decided to leave her here for now and ask the people of the World Commercial Alliance to take care of her.


    Naturally, Dorothea was unhappy about it. The cyan dragon had told Zen that although the Soul Sealing Spell was hard to remove, he did have some clues to the solution, and he didn''t need help from the Celestial Position race. Therefore, Zen didn''t mind Dorothea''s discontent. Besides, Brianna seemed to dislike her anyway.


    After Max had finished preparations, he waved his hand and etched a blood red cross-shaped rune in the Oracle City. After that, the Eight-diagram Wheel slowly rose up towards the sky, then headed towards the southeast direction as indicated by Zen.


    Zen already had a specific outline of this world''s map, thanks to the great world''s memories. The land only occupied twenty percent of this great world''s surface, and the remaining eighty percent belonged to the boundless ocean. On the west side of the world were several main continents, such as the Divine Kingdom Continent, the Central Region, among others. In addition, a massive piece of savage land lay in the north of the Divine Kingdom Continent.


    However, the Sea God Continent was an exception. It was isolated on the other side of the great world, which was why distinct cultures and customs flourished in it.


    A strong gust of wind blew against the Eight-diagram Wheel''s sides. After the Eight-diagram Wheel had left the southeast area of the Central Region, it flew in a quick and steady speed in a straight line.


    Going to the Sea God Continent without traveling through a transmission array meant that they would have to cross nearly half of the great world. Such a thing was impossible to do in an instant, even for those Spirit Supreme Realm warriors.


    Although Zen could enter the Immortal Mist''s celestial tomb again and use the transmission array to directly travel to the Sea God Continent, he still hesitated to trust the seven people from the Celestial Position race. He didn''t want to disturb Immortal Mist''s slumber because of them.


    Blurry lines of blue clashed in the middle of the horizon. It was as if nothing existed between the heaven and the ea


    an dragon felt happy about this prospect, he was also reminded of their previous sorrows.


    The Eight-diagram Wheel traveled extremely fast, so it only took them a few hours to reach the Central Region from the Divine Kingdom Continent. However, it still took them a full two days to travel from the Central Region to the Sea God Continent.


    They had encountered several huge fierce beasts along their way, such as an ocean beast with a twenty-thousand-feet-long body, and a giant bird with a wingspan of more than ten thousand feet, which made it look like a palace in the sky. However, these eleventh-level fierce beasts were aware of the Spirit Supreme Realm warriors on the Eight-diagram Wheel. They feared these warriors and thus, didn''t dare provoke them.


    As for Dorothea and the other Celestial Position race warriors, they were not interested in those beasts at all. There were rarely things in the Lower World that could arouse their interest. Their goal of this trip was only the Tower of Crystal.


    After two full days, a continent finally appeared before them. The Sea God Continent looked exactly as Zen remembered it on the day he left.


    "Where in this continent is the Tower of Crystal?" Delroy asked indifferently. "It''s in the center of this continent," Zen turned to him and said.


    "Very well," a cold smile formed on Delroy''s lips.


    "Let''s go over there," he said to Hank.


    But Zen shook his head and said, "If you want to get close to the Tower of Crystal, I''m afraid it won''t be as easy as you think..."


    "What do you mean?" Delroy asked with a frown. The rest of them frowned as well. Seeing was believing, as the saying went. Although Zen looked serious, they still doubted his words unless they saw the Tower of Crystal themselves.


    Zen answered seriously, "Because no warrior above the Virtual Tribulation Realm is allowed into the Cursed Land. Anyone who goes there will die."

 Chapter 1233 The Ghost Curse Spell

    In the past, Mist had also entered the Sea God Continent, but he had been intimidated by the Cursed Land. In the end, he set up a massive transmission array, connecting the two continents and then waiting in the celestial tomb for several years, long before Zen finally arrived.


    Because of that, Zen figured that Mist was a Spirit Supreme Realm expert. If he couldn''t enter the Cursed Land, the seven of them wouldn''t be able to enter either.


    Before, Zen had been able to enter the Cursed Land unhindered. But at that time, he was only at the Illuminating Soul Realm. Now, at the Life and Death Realm, naturally, he would be affected by the curse''s power.


    When Zen briefly explained the whole situation of the Cursed Land to everyone, Max''s expression turned slightly grim. Still, he ordered Hank to control the Eight-diagram Wheel to move forward.


    They managed to fly fast above the Sea God Continent. Not long after, a distinct line appeared in the Sea God Continent. On the surface, everything seemed perfectly normal. Inside the line, however, it was pitch-black. No plants or creatures seemed to inhabit it¡ªit was a pitch-black world.


    "Is this the Cursed Land?" Max could only stare at it and wonder.


    When Zen nodded, Delroy went ahead and said, "Let''s go down and take a look."


    As Spirit Supreme Realm experts, they weren''t reckless people. Since they already knew that it was a strange land, they wouldn''t dare rely on their own cultivation to forcefully break into it immediately.


    After the Eight-diagram Wheel slowly descended, the seven of them stepped down, one after another. With the Ancestral Dragon still in his arms, Zen followed and jumped down. The little thing looked at the Cursed Land, fear growing in its eyes. It seemed worried about Zen bringing it to such a place.


    "Gagoom¡­" the dragon went.


    Seeing how frightened the creature was, Zen patted its head and smiled gently, "Don''t worry. I won''t bring you in."


    But Zen was rather curious¡ªthis Ancestral Dragon had just hatched. Although it had a strong innate talent, it should''ve only been considered a first-level vicious beast, meaning it wouldn''t be affected by the curse. Perhaps, its fear was purely instinctive.


    Meanwhile, Max had an evident frown on his face as he examined the area. "Delroy, what do you think?"


    Taking two steps forward, Delroy approached the edge. Another step forward and he would ha


    -level war lords, they have made it to the late stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm, and they have to leave this Cursed Land. Otherwise, the curse will take their lives."


    The Cursed Land was forbidden to war sages and Soul Sea Realm experts, after all.


    Flatly, Dorothea explained, "This Ghost Curse Spell has set a target for it to take effect¡ªit isn''t difficult."


    "What should we do? How are we going to get to the Tower of Crystal?" asked the burly man.


    Staring at the Cursed Land, Delroy said, "I don''t believe this place is filled with the Ghost Curse Spell!"


    With a knowing smile, Dorothea returned, "You''ll know when you see it, won''t you?" The moment she finished speaking, the flower in her right eye began to spin, emitting a pink light a hundred times broader than the last one.


    In this moment of illumination, Zen, Max, Delroy, and the others were all astonished.


    An endless wave of little ghosts filled the Cursed Land. Because there were too many, they had to squeeze together¡ªthey were in a constant state of crazy squirming.


    Because it was too crowded, the ghosts seemed to devour each other. But soon afterward, new little ghosts would be born.


    "Kof kof kof..." Goosebumps rose all over Woody''s body. In a haste, he said, "Dorothea, extinguish that light!"


    It wasn''t just Woody. Other than Max and Dorothea, the rest looked absolutely horrified.


    It made Zen frown¡ªhe was the only one among them who had entered the Cursed Land. Never did he think that in the seemingly empty place, ghosts were already lining up. A chill crept up from the depths of his heart.

 Chapter 1234 A War

    The pink light that Dorothea released was able to reveal the true form of this Cursed Land!


    Had Zen been aware of the amount of ghosts that filled this Cursed Land, he wouldn''t have ever thought of entering it in the first place.


    Even Woody and Delroy were obviously unsettled, prompting Dorothea to extinguish the pink light with a hint of a smile.


    Once the light was gone, any hint of ghosts disappeared and the black Cursed Land appeared as empty as it had been before.


    Huff, huff¡­


    "S-So disgusting!" Woody heaved as he touched his chest in mild alarm.


    Max also shook his head, "In that case, it seems impossible for us to break in."


    Delroy nodded at his words. "We can''t resist these ghosts. We''ll be devoured completely if we force our way in. It seems the only thing we can do is to report this matter to the upper leaders."


    Max sighed, "Our trip to the Lower World has been fruitless. We failed to capture the Evil Dragon. And the Ancestral Dragon..." He couldn''t help but glance at Zen upon mentioning the Ancestral Dragon that had since imprinted on Zen. "Now that we can''t confirm anything about the Tower of Crystal, are we really just going back empty-handed?"


    Delroy shrugged helplessly. "Well, what else do you want to do?"


    Max set his eyes on Zen, his gaze somewhat calculating. "I want to enter the Tower of Crystal and take a look."


    Delroy couldn''t help but roll his eyes. The Cursed Land wasn''t just some place they could enter so easily, which was already obvious from what they had just seen earlier. Max, in Delroy''s opinion, was spouting nonsense.


    However, just as he was about to tell him off, an idea suddenly popped in Woody''s head, "Hey Zen," he said, turning to the youth beside him. "You knew we wouldn''t be able to enter this Cursed Land all along, didn''t you? You were just randomly bragging about that title you''ve obtained. We''d be unable to verify it anyway."


    Zen rolled his eyes and sneered but didn''t bother to argue.


    Max ignored this exchange and turned his attention to Hank. "Did you bring any puppets with you this time?" he asked.


    Everyone''s eyes suddenly lit up with hope!


    "Puppets!"


    "That''s right! Hank''s puppets could work!"


    Not only was Hank proficient in all sorts of flying tools, he was also a master puppeteer. If they could take advantage of his puppets, they''d be able to get through the Cursed Land with no problems. They still wanted to take a look at the Tower of Crystal, Woody in particular since he really wanted to expose Zen and his lies. The youth would have a lot of explaining to do if it turned out that his title wasn''t on the Talent Tablet.


    However, Hank''s next words would wi


    she had tried several times and finally advanced to a second-level war sage. However, despite her advancements, it was evident that she still found it difficult to deal with her fourth-level war sage ogre opponent.


    "Hahaha! Just accept your fate and surrender Esther! You''re a beautiful Demon Night woman. I don''t want your looks to go to waste. I know you and I are of different races, but if you become my captive, I''ll make you the happiest woman for the rest of your life!" Her opponent laughed hysterically, waving the fiery red saber in his hand. Bright red lights burst from the saber and headed straight for Esther''s vital parts.


    Zen couldn''t just bear to stand by and watch. He quickly jumped up and rushed towards her.


    Esther''s perception was extremely sharp and she was able to sense Zen''s approach even as she tried to dodge the ogre''s attacks. Thinking that it was another ogre that had come for her, Esther immediately swerved and launched a beam of light towards Zen, attacking him with flowers.


    Zen''s figure flashed and quickly avoided the blooms. "Esther, it''s me!"


    The sound of a familiar voice made her turn around in confusion. However, the moment she saw him, Esther''s face immediately lit up with joy. She never thought Zen would suddenly appear at such a critical moment!


    "Zen!" she called out with glee.


    The fourth-level ogre war sage who was chasing Esther also turned his head once he heard her mention Zen''s name. He too, couldn''t help but be stunned at his sudden arrival.


    Zen''s name was whispered and spat like a curse in both the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place. It was this guy and this guy alone that had driven their entire race out of the Tower of Sin. All of them knew this name despite never having seen him.

 Chapter 1235 Stake Everything On One Throw

    The ogre war sage before him had left the Tower of Sin several years ago, broken through the shackles of top-level war lords and stepped into the ranks of war sages.


    Naturally, now he could not enter the Cursed Land again, nor could he enter the Tower of Sin.


    This was why Zen''s name was etched in his heart as a painful reminder of the past. However, he had never actually come face-to-face with him before.


    So when he heard Esther calling out Zen''s name, he was very excited. "Zen Luo! Zen, I felt sad when I heard that you had already left the Sea God Continent. I didn''t think you would dare to come back here to court death! Interesting, interesting!"


    Esther got anxious when she saw Zen. She thought it was not the right time for him to be here. Although she saw that he had already broken through, he was still only a first level war sage.


    Of course, Zen''s strength couldn''t be measured by his cultivation level. Back when he was still a war lord, he had managed to kill a war sage.


    The problem was that the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place had started a large-scale sect war against the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place, and there were several Soul Sea Realm martial artists among them. And Zen would not be able to defeat them.


    "Zen, run! The Heavenly Feather Sacred Place is about to fall. Run for your life!" Esther screamed with all her might.


    Zen, however, remained indifferent to her warning. His eyes darkened slightly. "Why would the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place dare to attack the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place ruled by Amber?" he asked.


    Before Esther could explain, the ogre war sage interrupted, "Now that you are here, you won''t be able to escape! If you think you can, it is wishful thinking on your part!" He had been hearing about Zen for a long time. All the ogres in the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place hated Zen to the core.


    When Zen had driven the ogres out of the Tower of Sin, it was as if he had cut off the future of the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place. Without access to the Tower of Sin, they would surely decline sooner or later.


    When the top-level war lords went back to the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place, all the ogres, whether they were war sages or war fighters, had cursed Zen. As for the war sage in front of them, Zen had angered him so much that he demolished his own house. Little wondered then that he was thirsty for revenge.


    If he was allowed to enter the Cursed Land, he probably would have torn Zen to shreds.


    But that wasn''t possible. And now that Zen himself had come to him, how could he let him go so easily?


    Whoosh!


    Ogres'' bodies were huge and this particular war sage was like a small mountain. Wind whooshed as he rushed towards Zen. The saber in his


    h!


    In the sky above the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place, over a hundred beams of light were still rapidly zigzagging among each other. The Demon Night was currently at a complete disadvantage.


    Seeing this, Zen asked, "Esther, you still haven''t answered my question. How can the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place dare to attack the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place? Where is Amber?"


    Esther''s face revealed a trace of bitterness. "She is undergoing a tribulation."


    "You mean the Big Heavenly Tribulation?" Zen asked.


    "Yes! The Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place are taking advantage of this opportunity to attack our sacred place," Esther explained angrily.


    When one reached the Life and Death Realm, they would become a war sage. At this stage, one had to undergo Heavenly Tribulations. Small Heavenly Tribulations were for the Life and Death Realm warriors, while Big Heavenly Tribulations were for the Soul Sea Realm warriors. The Big Heavenly Tribulation was more terrifying than the small one.


    Although Amber''s talent was impressive, the Big Heavenly Tribulation was undoubtedly very challenging.


    In the past, the Tower of Sin had maintained a delicate balance within the Sea God Continent, and therefore, many races lived on friendly terms with each other, never offending each other openly. If Amber had undergone the Big Heavenly Tribulation at that time, the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place would not have risked attacking the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place.


    But now the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place had lost the access to the Tower of Sin. After the Demon Night and the humans quickly grew stronger, it would be only a matter of time before they were completely destroyed. Thus, when Amber was undergoing the Big Heavenly Tribulation, they had chosen to stake everything on one throw.

 Chapter 1236 Three Arrows

    "I see. That''s how it is," Zen said as he nodded.


    At that exact time, a massive flame suddenly blazed up in the sky. The sudden explosion was shaped like a volcano, and the heat waves it emitted scorched the plants in the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place.


    They weren''t the only things affected by the blaze, however. Even the war sages weren''t able to withstand the heat that was coming from the flames. Every one of them hid behind something, hoping to be spared by the fire''s power.


    As the flame spread out, an ogre slowly arose from it. On the ogre''s head was a three-pronged crown. He was wearing a golden armor and was holding a dark golden ghost staff in his hand. To say that he looked magnificent would be an understatement.


    A blue-clothed woman was who he was after. Her slender body was enveloped in a light blue Water Pattern Domain, blocking all of the flames outside its protection. However, no matter how hard she tried, she just could not get rid of the ogre chasing after her.


    "Lacey..." Seeing this, Esther became worried.


    Zen had met Lacey before. She was a Soul Sea Realm expert from Demon Night.


    The Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place had occupied the Tower of Sin for the longest time as they had three Soul Sea Realm experts more than the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place. That advantage, however, was easily cancelled by Amber, as she was more than a match for three or four ogres at the Soul Sea Realm. With her being able to easily overpower them, the two sides had been able to maintain a delicate balance.


    Lacey, on the other hand, was obviously not as lucky as her. Right now, she was being suppressed by the ogre at the Soul Sea Realm.


    Esther and all the other Demon Night war sages who were in the middle of a fierce battle with the ogre war sages, had dejected looks on their faces the moment the scene unfurled in front of their eyes. It greatly undermined their morale.


    "Lacey, Lacey, Lacey," the ogre said, chuckling, "the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place is destined to be removed from the Sea God Continent, so there''s no point resisting. All of you are beautiful ¡ªyou can just be us ogres'' concubines. That''s way better than being killed. Am I right?"


    Amidst all this shaming, Lacey remained calm and the Water Pattern Domain around her stayed sturdy. "Even if you successfully destroy the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place, the moment Amber returns, you ogres will sure pay a heavy price," she said coldly. "Lamar, do you really think Amber will let you off?"


    Amber was looked up to in the Sea God Continent as much as Zen was idolized in the Central Region. Both were considered the strongest warriors of their respective areas. With that, everyone knew that as long as


    gling to hold on to her protective barrier, also noticed the three black lights that were fast approaching. Her eyes were suddenly filled with surprise and uncertainty. Quickly, she traced where the black lights came from and saw a young human.


    ''Zen! Why is he here?'' she thought, confused.


    The three black lights were coming on so fast that Lamar gave up the idea of dodging them. ''I''ll take this head on!'' he thought, preparing for the impact. His bronze-colored arm, which was as thick as a human torso, swung the giant ghost staff, which was as big as a tree trunk. He violently smashed it towards the three black arrows.


    The ogres were indeed powerful, but the development of civilization in the Sea God Continent was far inferior to that of the Divine Kingdom Continent. It was even slower than that of the Central Region. The ogres could, at most, refine a mid-grade sacred weapon. On the other hand, weapon refiners from the four divine kingdoms could even make divine weapons. Of course, refining a divine weapon usually required help from the Upper World. Without the Reverse Spirit Channel, the four divine kingdoms wouldn''t have the ability to forge those kinds of weapons.


    Thus, the ghost staff in Lamar''s hand was only a top-grade sacred weapon.


    While Lamar was swinging his ghost staff at the three black arrows, trying to prevent them from hitting him, he heard three muffled sounds. Then, out of the blue, the three sharp arrows pierced his body.


    Lamar never underestimated the power of the three black arrows. The moment he saw them, he immediately dropped his attack on Lacey, and instead, focused all his energy on blocking them.


    However, the moment the black arrows penetrated his ghost staff, he realized that despite all the precautions he made, he still severely underestimated their power.

 Chapter 1237 Hope

    Lamar was a Soul Sea Realm master, which explained his speedy reaction.


    But the moment the black arrows pierced his ghost staff, his burly body began to twist.


    The three black arrows penetrated Lamar''s enormous body one after the other. But since his body had begun to twist, two of three arrows pierced his right shoulder and his thigh, and the third passed through his chest, close to his heart.


    Six small holes appeared in his body, pulsing with blood. Lamar was, however, a strong ogre, which meant that these injuries weren''t fatal at all.


    But that didn''t mean that the situation was not dangerous.


    Zen had aimed his three black arrows at Lamar''s head and heart. If Lamar hadn''t twisted his body at the last moment, he would have turned into a corpse by now.


    Lamar was lucky enough to avoid the three black arrows. He looked fearful as his gaze looked for the source of the arrows. As he found Zen, his fear turned to shock and fury.


    "He is a human being! An early-stage human war sage! How did he shoot out three terrifying arrows? This guy is definitely not from the Purple Heart Sacred Place! Where is he from?" Lamar muttered, staring at Zen.


    Esther, who was standing beside Zen, had clapped her hand to her mouth as she looked at Zen reverently. She had stayed with Zen in the Tower of Sin for a long time so she knew the extent of Zen''s strength. But she hadn''t expected just the three arrows to hurt the Soul Sea Realm master to this extent. This surprised her even more since Lamar was a strong ogre.


    And she could see that the three arrows had almost killed him.


    "You are just a human warrior but you''ve managed to injure me! You are remarkable! I''ll give you one more chance to challenge me. And then, I''ll let you die a miserable death!" Lamar said flatly.


    In his shock and anger, Lamar had even given up on attacking Lacey. He gathered the raging flames together and charged towards Zen at an unbelievable speed.


    Above the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place, the ogre war sages and the Demon Night''s war sages stopped fighting. The black arrows that Zen had sent flying towards Lamar had shocked them, too. And now, they sneered as Lamar dashed towards Zen.


    Zen''s black arrows had been a shock, but it could have been a fluke because Zen was merely an early-stage war sage after all. The ogre war sages believed that he might be in great trouble for provoking Lamar.


    Lamar''s body was like a small flying mountain as it charged towards Zen. It formed an increasingly expanding shadow under the sunlight


    tial Position.


    "Zen! That warrior is Zen!" an ogre war sage suddenly roared as if he had discovered something amazing.


    A majority of the ogre war sages present had never seen Zen before, but a small number of them had once been in the Tower of Sin and seen Zen there before. They had left that place and become war sages once they had made a breakthrough and reached the higher cultivation level.


    Moments ago, those war sages hadn''t been certain of Zen''s identity. The figure had been somewhat familiar, but they learned from the information of the two ogre sacred places that Zen had long since left the Sea God Continent.


    And now, someone had finally recognized Zen.


    "Zen! He''s that human warrior from the Tower of Sin!"


    "He''s the enemy of our two ogre sacred places!"


    "He was just an early-stage war lord a year ago. And he has become a war sage now!"


    "But how could a war sage like him defeat Lamar?"


    The ogre war sages looked surprised yet indignant. Back then, Zen had driven the ogres out of the Tower of Sin because the powerful masters of the two ogre sacred places hadn''t been able to enter the Cursed Land. But now, Zen wasn''t relying on the Tower of Sin, and had openly stood at the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place to challenge Lamar.


    Zen''s punch had even broken one of Lamar''s arms while he looked unarmed. Many of the ogre war sages were unable to accept this truth.


    The war sages of the Demon Night, on the other hand, had earlier been in a state of despair, but the moment they had recognized Zen, they became hopeful. Even though Zen was only a war sage, his battle with Lamar had revealed Zen''s strength. This was enough for Zen to become their hope.

 Chapter 1238 Stall Him

    Lamar was sent flying backwards, and crashed into hundreds of towering trees. The trees had already been burnt during the previous chaotic battles, leaving only carbonized tree trunks.


    After repeated collisions, an intense fire erupted from within Lamar''s body. He finally stabilized himself and looked at his empty right shoulder. The shock and anger on his face grew.


    When he heard someone shout "Zen Luo," Lamar was even more astonished.


    Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined that the skinny human in front of him was the one who drove the ogres out of the Tower of Sin.


    Boom!


    Rays of intense flames spread out from Lamar''s body. The high temperature immediately burned the thousand-year-old trees to ashes.


    Lamar slowly rose higher as he stared calmly at Zen with his huge eyes.


    His calmness was even more terrifying than his rage. By now, everyone knew that Lamar had finally begun to take things seriously.


    "You are Zen Luo!" Lamar asked Zen and stared at him coldly. "It is better to see once than to hear a hundred times. You''ve just become a war sage, yet you have such great power. No wonder the ogres were driven out of the Tower of Sin by you."


    Back then, when Zen had chased a group of top-level ogre war lords out of the Tower of Sin, Lamar was furious.


    For the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place, being chased out of the Tower of Sin by a human war lord was absolutely humiliating. Therefore, those top-level war lords who had left the Tower of Sin were useless existences in the ogres'' eyes.


    Back then, being reprimanded by Lamar, the top-level war lords did not dare to raise their heads. However, a trace of unwillingness could be seen in their eyes.


    At that time, Lamar could not understand why these war lords were not convinced. Now, he finally understood that he could not judge Zen''s strength based on his cultivation level.


    There wasn''t the slightest trace of fear in Zen''s eyes, and he was wondering how to deal with Lamar.


    His punch had damaged one of Lamar''s arms, but he understood that if Lamar were to activate the Raging Fire Domain, he would be unable to fight back.


    Once his connection with the great world was cut off, he wouldn''t be able to withstand the attack of a Soul Sea Realm master with the help of his sacred weapon''s physique.


    This was Zen''s hidden weakness.


    Lamar, who was slowly approaching Zen, continued, "Although I don''t know how you did it, the po


    also needed to focus on dodging Zen''s deadly black arrows. He had lost an arm, so it was even more difficult for him to focus on fighting Lacey''s tornadoes.


    It was a losing battle. Zen''s black arrows flew past Lamar''s ears several times and almost pierced through his head.


    "Hurry and help Master Lamar!"


    When the ogre war sages below saw Lamar in such a dangerous situation, they rushed forward to help him.


    However, the Demon Night war sages would naturally not let them come up. Soon, the war sages in the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place once again started a chaotic battle.


    Lamar cursed violently. He never thought that he would fall in trouble. If this carried on, he would be killed by Zen sooner or later.


    However, three more beams of light shot out from the horizon.


    Three more mighty warriors at the Soul Sea Realm!


    But when Lamar noticed who the three mighty warriors were, he was ecstatic while Lacey''s and Zen''s faces darkened.


    "Omari! Santino! Help me kill that guy who''s shooting the arrows!" he roared while resisting Lacey.


    Two of the three warriors in the sky were the other Soul Sea Realm masters from the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place. Omari and Santino were chasing down one of the Soul Sea Realm masters of the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place¡ªChantel.


    Chantel was slightly stronger than Omari and Santino, and she was able to continuously escape their combined attacks. Thus, from the start, she had lured the two ogre Soul Sea Realm masters away from the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place. After they circled around a corner of the Sea God Continent for over ten thousand miles, they had finally made a detour.

 Chapter 1239 Zens Friends

    "What? Kill the guy who''s shooting the arrows?" The two ogre Soul Sea Realm masters in the sky looked at Lamar, puzzled. They had thought that Lamar could defeat Lacey easily. But they hadn''t expected Lamar to be faced with such a huge disadvantage.


    Whoosh!


    Another ray of black light shot out from behind Lacey. The black arrow brushed past Lamar''s face, leaving a thumb-sized wound in his rough face.


    If this arrow had been two or three inches to the side, it would have pierced through Lamar''s brain and killed him.


    "You two! What are you waiting for? Hurry up and kill that brat. He is Zen Luo!" Lamar roared. He was furious at Omari and Santino for standing there like statues when he was so clearly in danger.


    "Zen Luo?"


    "That brat is Zen Luo?"


    Santino and Omari had noticed that the arrows shot by Zen were surprisingly powerful. Lamar had become truly helpless when Lacey had stalled him.


    "Ha-ha! So this is Zen! Lamar, I will help you kill him!" With a hearty laugh, Omari changed direction and flew past Lacey, straight towards Zen.


    As he saw this, Chantel, a Soul Sea Realm master of the Demon Night, didn''t wait for Zen or Lacey to say anything. Instead, she turned her body to face Omari and sent out tens of thousands of dark blue wind blades to stop him.


    "I am your opponent," Santino said as he came to stand before Chantel.


    The ogres had three Soul Sea Realm masters, but the Demon Night only had two. The situation had become extremely unfavorable for Zen.


    Besides the war sages and Soul Sea Realm masters in the sky, there were also countless war lords, war generals, and war fighters bathed in blood as they engaged in a life-and-death fight in the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place.


    However, the Demon Night members were extremely powerful. In battles between war lords and war lords, between war generals and war generals, and between war fighters and war fighters, the Demon Night had always gained the upper hand, forcing the ogres to retreat step by step.


    But right now, the war lords, war generals, and war fighters of the Demon Night did not wish to fight. They were focused on the battle in the sky.


    Their winning wouldn''t determine the results of the war. The war would be over if the Soul Sea Realm masters of the Demon Night lost. So when the Demon Night members watched the three powerful ogre warriors at the Soul Sea Realm enter the battle, despair filled them.


    "Are our queens unable to protect us anymore?" a woman of the Demon Night asked sorrowfully. The weapon in her hand had already dropped to the ground, her e


    can''t be that you have enough talent to obtain the golden title of the Celestial Position."


    Zen shrugged, not showing any signs of weakness as he faced Woody. He only smiled and said, "When I step into the Spirit Supreme Realm, I''ll beat ten guys like you."


    Dorothea laughed out loud and said, "That is quite possible!"


    To be honest, when Woody and Dorothea were at the Life and Death Realm, they couldn''t fight against a powerful warrior at the Soul Sea Realm. But Zen could do this. He would be considered a talented warrior even in the Celestial Position race.


    Woody, however, hadn''t been fond of Zen from the beginning, which was why he mocked him.


    The members of the Demon Night and the ogres stared at this trio as they chatted and ribbed each other.


    Lacey, Chantel, and many war sages of the Demon Night became excited as they saw who the two mighty masters were talking to. Some of them had felt that they had been collapsing before these two came along. They had been tensed for a long time and now, they could finally relax. Because at this moment, as they watched Zen banter with Dorothea and Woody, they knew that the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place would be safe.


    The ogres, on the other hand, had different thoughts. The three Soul Sea Realm masters, Lamar, Omari, and Santino, as well as the war sages, war lords, and war fighters, felt their hearts plummeting into a bottomless abyss.


    Zen and the powerful warriors seemed like friends, and this was a death sentence to the ogres.


    For the two sacred places of the ogres, this battle was a gamble. Everything was on the line. The appearance of Dorothea and Woody was probably a preamble to their disappearance from the Sea God Continent.

 Chapter 1240 Wipe Out The Ogres

    The two powerful masters of the Spirit Supreme Realm looked calm. It made the ogres tense. They felt as if they were trapped under a heavy mountain.


    "Stop chatting, let''s get down to business!" Dorothea''s words made Woody grumpy. He hastily ended the subject at hand, his gaze falling on the tall and sturdy ogres. Casually waving the Black Nether Saber, he said, "Fortunately, the race we need to wipe out are the ogres. I find I don''t have a very good opinion of them...."


    Dorothea smiled. "What a coincidence! I don''t have a good opinion of them either."


    In the Upper World, the ogre race was not considered to be weak, but they were too aggressive and overbearing.


    The Celestial Position had always taken a neutral stance in the Upper World. Their goals were vastly different from those of the other races. Human race, Demon Night, ogre race, and the other races all had similar aims of expanding their own races as the core, but the Celestial Position was formed by the talents of countless other races. They represented a unique group in the universe, their goals rather different from those of other ordinary races.


    Because the Celestial Position was neutral and strong, they shared a good relationship with most of the other races. For instance, they were on good terms with the humans, Demon Night and some other powerful groups in the universe.


    However, Celestial Position had a bone of contention with the ogre race. The ogres had a strong sense of loyalty toward their own race. They did not allow any ogre talents to join Celestial Position. If they found out that someone had betrayed them, they would banish them as traitors and hunt them down to the ends of the world.


    The ogres were also obstinate and fierce. They had fought Celestial Position several times. Sometimes, a few Supreme Lords had gotten involved.


    Thus, the ogres were not on friendly terms with the members of Celestial Position. Now that several Celestial Position warriors had come down to the Lower World and encountered these ogres, how could they possibly let them go unharmed?


    They were rather pressed for time. Even it was not for Zen''s sake, they would still take this opportunity to destroy the sacred places of the ogre race.


    Hearing Dorothea and Woody, Lamar got anxious. Even though he couldn''t figure out where the masters had come from, he would not subject his Flaming Ogre Sacred Place to destruction!


    "Tw-two respected masters! May I have a word with you?" Lamar asked, his coarse voice trembling.


    "Hmm? What is it?" Woody looked at Lamar indifferently.


    "This matter is with regards to a grudge between the two sacred places of our ogre race and


    ey and Chantel did not join the others in the killing. The outcome of this battle was a foregone conclusion, and the two of them clearly knew what to do next.


    Before Zen could even respond to Woody, Lacey respectfully bowed to him. "Master, the Demon Night will forever remember what you did today, but we do not know of the materials you require. We would certainly do our best to help."


    Woody chuckled. "Aha. They are not very special materials," he said courteously. "You should exterminate those little rats first."


    Seeing Woody''s attitude, Zen felt suspicious. Woody was a hateful man and never had anything nice to say. Why was he being so polite to the Demon Night?


    His face reflected his confusion. Dorothea, who stood beside him, chuckled and stated to him in a low voice, "The woman he fell in love with is from the Demon Night."


    Comprehension dawned on Zen. Now he knew why Woody was acting so strangely. The Celestial Position consisted of talents from different races. It was not unusual for Demon Night members to be a part of the Celestial Position. Indeed, Woody loved a girl from the Demon Night, so he was courteous to the members of the race. No wonder he had just gone all out to kill the ogres.


    At the moment, Chantel spoke up, her face full of worry, "Lacey, I don''t know how everything is going with Amber. If the Dread Ogre Sacred Place really went after her, I''m afraid she might be in danger..."


    Zen''s eyes suddenly flashed as he shuffled through the memories of the great world. He soon released a sigh of relief, saying with a smile, "Amber is fine. She is currently on her way back."


    He then lifted his head and looked into the distance. A few minutes later, a ray of light in the sky shot toward the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place.

 Chapter 1241 Ambers Return

    The streak of light was extremely fast as it approached the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place.


    Both Lacey and Chantel breathed huge sighs of relief the moment they realized who that streak of light was.


    It was Amber! Her arrival gave them hope but, at the same time, made them question just what kind of ability Zen had to be able to foretell her return. Could he see the future or something?


    Even Esther, who stood nearby, was equally perplexed. She then remembered the other time when Zen had exhibited such a skill. When he fought with Saroyan, Zen had been able to find out how long his opponent had lived accurately down to the number of the days. He also seemed to be aware of everything that went on in this great world. Was he, perhaps, an incarnation of an omnipotent deity?


    Whoosh!


    Their thoughts were interrupted by Amber''s frantic advance, her light purple robe swishing behind her as she drew closer. The anger on her face was very apparent when she saw the scene that awaited her.


    Since the fellows from the Dread Ogre Sacred Place dared to chase after her, she surmised that the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place would definitely attack the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place. She knew that Lacey and Chantel would not be able to stop the invasion just by themselves.


    Thick smoke rose above the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place, deepening her frown. If it was really destroyed, then she swore to kill every single ogre from both the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and Dread Ogre Sacred Place even if it cost her life.


    Fortunately, the sight of Lacey and Chantel unharmed calmed her heart especially when she saw a familiar, white-robed human youth.


    "Zen!"


    The sight of Zen clarified her thoughts. The Heavenly Feather Sacred Place''s victory against the ogres'' invasion definitely had something to do with him.


    "Amber!"


    Both Lacey and Chantel greeted her with joy once she arrived. "Amber, are you alright? The Dread Ogre Sacred Place knew about your movements and they took advantage of the fact that you were undergoing tribulation¡­"


    "You mean these three fellows?" Amber asked and suddenly held up three large heads in her hand. One of them was the leader of the Dread Ogre Sacred Place.


    All of them were at the Soul Sea Realm and had died by Amber''s hands.


    Zen smiled, realizing how valiant Amber really was. Not only did she safely pass through the Big Heavenly Tribulation, she had also been able to kill the three Soul Sea Realm ogres that had come to possibly eliminate her during her most vulne


    turing Wood!" she exclaimed.


    Her heart immediately dropped at the sight of the Soul Nurturing Wood. This extraordinary branch was used to help someone hold on to his or her last breath of life, which meant that Lavender, right now, was in a critically ill state.


    Zen''s face was also filled with grief. "Lavender blocked a soul attack for me. Her soul was on the verge of collapsing so I had no other choice but to place her inside the Soul Nurturing Wood."


    Amber gritted her teeth. "Let''s use the holy tree''s life force again. It would at least be able to awaken our queen."


    Zen, however, shook his head. "I don''t think that''s going to work."


    The entire Heavenly Feather Sacred Place was terribly devastated from the battle. If they wanted to restore it to its former glory, they would have to rely on the holy tree''s power.


    Right now, the huge holy tree was riddled with holes and if they used it on Lavender now, it would probably drain it of its power.


    "My queen is more important. I can feel the holy tree''s will and it is willing to sacrifice itself to save her!" Amber insisted.


    Zen could only sigh. "Lavender is like this because of me. I''ll find a way to revive her," he said. "Besides, the nourishment of the holy tree alone will not be enough to completely repair her damaged soul."


    The power of the Soul Nurturing Wood in his hand wasn''t any weaker than that of the holy tree. Its effects, however, were slower but it was enough to protect Lavender''s soul.


    Just then, they were interrupted by a yellow-robed Demon Night girl who bowed down to Amber.


    "Ailsa, what is it?" Ailsa was a third-level war sage so Amber was curious why she was here.

 Chapter 1242 A Despicable Bitch

    Ailsa had kept her head down all this time.


    However, Amber''s voice made her raise her head and they all saw how her eyes glowed with a strange azure light, like otherworldly fireflies on a dark, summer night.


    She immediately rushed towards Zen, hands outstretched and ready to snatch the Soul Nurturing Wood from his hands.


    Her actions shocked him and he was immediately on guard. He had never thought a Demon Night member would endanger Lavender like this!


    The queen''s soul was extremely weak and fragile. Any slight attack towards the Soul Nurturing Wood held the possibility of destroying Lavender''s soul completely.


    With a flick of his wrist, Zen quickly threw the Soul Nurturing Wood into the air.


    Ailsa''s eyes were trained onto the brown branch and she immediately launched herself into the air to grab the Soul Nurturing Wood. Zen, however, was quick to catch Ailsa by the ankle and pull her down forcefully.


    "Come down!"


    He threw the azure-eyed girl to the ground while he caught the Soul Nurturing Wood safely in his hands.


    The two guards beside Amber were immediately onto Ailsa and forced her onto the ground.


    "Ailsa!" Amber fiercely berated the girl. "What do you think you''re doing?"


    Ailsa ignored Amber and instead sneered at Zen. "You''re Zen, right?"


    Zen frowned. "This voice¡­" he murmured to himself. He had heard this voice before in the Holy Tree Hall from the queen statue that he had smashed into pieces.


    The members of the Demon Night immediately knelt on one knee upon hearing Ailsa''s voice.


    "Queen!"


    Their race had a total of three queens. Lavender was the queen of killings while the one in front of them was in charge of punishment¡­ It seemed this queen had used some kind of secret technique to temporarily occupy Ailsa''s body with the intent of harming or perhaps even killing Lavender.


    Amber had a rough guess why the Queen of Punishment wanted to harm Lavender but it was a dispute that she couldn''t really meddle with. Right now, she had to maintain a neutral fa?ade and see how the situation unfolded.


    Zen, on the other hand, was not part of the Demon Night race. For him, the dispute between the queens did not matter. If anyone wanted to harm Lavender then he would do whatever it took to eliminate that person.


    Zen sneered coldly, "Yes, I am Zen and you''re the Demon Night''s Queen of Punishment, right? May I know your name?"


    "You are not qualified to know my name," Ailsa said haughtily. "I advise you to hand over that Soul Nurturing Wood and let Lavender''s soul dissipate in this world. If you do that, I''ll consider letting you off."


    Zen suddenly froze, quite unsure of what he had just heard. However, onc


    punish and torture her for her despicable deeds.


    Now that the matter was taken care of, everyone went about their ways and the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place was left to recover.


    Its healing rate was actually incredible. The holy tree''s trunk was scorched black but the roots were fortunately untouched.


    These roots ran several thousand feet underground with a few extending over a hundred miles horizontally. It constantly absorbed nutrients from the earth and was a vital factor in speeding up the tree''s recovery process.


    As it healed, the tree also nourished the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place. Green seedlings had already sprouted all around which meant that it would be able to fully recover in no time at all.


    Meanwhile, Miguel and the rest members of the Purple Heart Sacred Place had teamed up with Lacey and the other Soul Sea Realm masters to attack the two ogre sacred places.


    After the ogre race''s expulsion from the Tower of Sin, it was obviously only a matter of time before they declined. What the other races did not expect was the swiftness of their extermination. In less than a year, the two imposing ogre sacred places would be wiped out by humans and the Demon Night!


    The ogre''s downfall was considered good news for the other races. The previously powerful race had been too brutal and tyrannical compared to the gentler human race and Demon Night race. Even after the humans took control of the Tower of Sin, they did not abuse their position to break any rules or annihilate other races.


    Within two days, the Demon Night members were finally able to gather all the materials Hank had requested.


    Once he had all the materials, making the puppets was a piece of cake for Hank. In just half a day, he was able to fashion eight puppets for them to use.

 Chapter 1243 Confirm

    What was amazing was that the eight puppets were all true to life. Every single one of them was the exact replica of the people in the group.


    Zen sized up the puppets. Finally, his gaze landed on the puppet that resembled him. He was shocked and disappointed. "Why is my puppet weaker than all of yours?"


    The materials used to make these puppets were very complicated. The strength of the seven puppets of the seven Celestial Position masters was equivalent to that of a Life and Death Realm warrior. However, Zen''s puppet''s strength was equivalent to that of a Virtual Tribulation Realm warrior.


    Woody retorted, "Isn''t that accurate? After all, you are still a lot weaker than us!"


    Zen rolled his eyes. He didn''t want to waste time arguing with this fellow.


    Max spoke up, "Anyway, it''s all done. Now we can control these puppets and enter the Cursed Land."


    Everyone nodded their heads. They had been waiting for some days and now they were eager to enter the Tower of Crystal. Everyone poured a part of their souls into their corresponding puppets. One after another, the puppets opened their eyes and came to life.


    But Zen was lost at this point. He didn''t know how to "split his soul", so he wasn''t able to pour a part of it into his puppet.


    While his soul was very close to the Jasper Fighting Soul Realm, he hadn''t actually stepped into the Jasper Fighting Soul Realm.


    So he hadn''t practiced the soul-splitting technique. He could only control the shape of his own soul for now.


    Splitting the soul involved peeling off a part of one''s soul to form a single entity, which was completely independent.


    Lavender''s soul was actually a fragment. Her physical body and main soul had already perished, thus that soul fragment was now her only remaining soul.


    Zen just didn''t know what to do! Woody flashed a mocking smile, enjoying Zen''s obvious discomfort. Thankfully Dorothea offered to help. "Zen, let me help you. First, detach part of your soul from your body," she explained.


    Zen did as Dorothea instructed. He squeezed out a portion of his soul from the spot between his eyebrows. Then, the flower in Dorothea''s right eye turned slightly, and an invisible force gently floated out. Zen felt the light pull of this force, and a wisp of his soul separated from the main soul.


    Now Zen was able to control this portion of his soul. He poured it into his own puppet and brought it to life.


    The eight of them sat down on the floor solemnly, while the eight puppets hopped onto the Eight-diagram Wheel. They didn''t waste any more time and immediately took off to the Cursed Land.


    The puppets would not be effected by the Cursed Land. The Eight-d


    d of three tiers, represented by three colors¡ªgolden, silver, bronze. There were various titles under each color. Although there wasn''t much of a difference between two titles of the same color, there was a huge gap between the lowest title and highest one.


    Celestial Position was the topmost title!


    "Golden Celestial Position. Wow! It really is that position! Ever since Aliza became the Supreme Lord four hundred thousand years ago, there hasn''t been anyone who has obtained the golden Celestial Position title," Max muttered.


    Four hundred thousand years might sound like a long time, but actually it was a very short time frame, if one considered the intervals between the appearances of two golden Celestial Position titles.


    Judging from the measure of time, an era lasted for 3.6 billion years, and during this era, only six warriors had obtained the title of golden Celestial Position. The warrior who had obtained the golden Celestial Position before Aliza obtained it tens of millions of years ago, or even hundreds of millions of years ago. This time span was beyond imagination.


    Dorothea''s face wore a smug expression now. She hadn''t done anything to harm Zen before, which was indeed the right decision on her part. She giggled and said to Woody, "Didn''t someone make a bet with me?"


    Woody looked pale. He was a serious man. His puppet didn''t have blood vessels, so it couldn''t blush in embarrassment. However, his real form, which was controlling the puppet in the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place, had turned red in the face. Of course, he was not really going to swallow the Black Nether Saber. But he didn''t know what to say to save his face.


    Max didn''t care about this silly bet between Woody and Dorothea. He suddenly remembered something very important.

 Chapter 1244 Titled As Asura

    Any Life and Death Realm warrior was bound to undergo the first Small Heavenly Tribulation before they reached the realm.


    Almost everyone who could obtain a title on the Talent Tablet would manage to do one thing during the tribulation for sure: activate their Lotus Flowers.


    What Max did not know was that Zen had undergone his Small Heavenly Tribulation at the Feather Emperor Island. At that time, the group of Spirit Supreme Realm warriors from the Celestial Position race were still in the Heavenly Stellar Sacred Place and trying to figure out a way to lure out the Evil Dragon. Obviously, they knew nothing about what had happened back then and just how far Zen had gone!


    It was only now that this crucial question finally crossed Max''s mind.


    He knew that almost all titled warriors could summon a Lotus Flower. What he was curious about was the kind of Lotus Flower that had appeared during Zen''s first Small Heavenly Tribulation.


    Was it a three-petal Lotus Flower? A five-petal one? Or perhaps a seven-petal one? Nine-petal?


    The golden Celestial Position title was already extremely rare and extraordinary, which meant that although it would have been Zen''s first time going through a Heavenly Tribulation, he was very likely to have summoned a seven-petal or a nine-petal Lotus Flower. Even a Mahayana Lotus Flower wasn''t out of the question either.


    "Zen, when you went through the Small Heavenly Tribulation, did a Lotus Flower appear in the sky?" Max finally couldn''t hold off and enquired in a low voice.


    There was a trace of respect in his voice. His attitude towards Zen had completely changed now.


    Truth be told, that was because he was very clear on what it meant for the Celestial Position race to find a golden Celestial Position warrior in this world. As an expert at the Spirit Supreme Realm, he was much stronger than Zen at present. However, the latter was like a seed with unlimited potential. His future showed promise and that was enough for Max to respect this guy.


    Even the arrogance of Delroy had been swept away now. A truth that he never would have believed had just been proven correct right in front of him, and he now knew one thing: there was nothing he had that gave him a right to be proud in front of Zen.


    All warriors from the Celestial Position race focused their eyes on Zen''s face, waiting for him to answer Max''s question. They had been curious about this too.


    Zen hesitated for a moment when he saw so many eyes focused on him. Then he replied, "Yes. It did."


    "How many petals? How many petals did your Lotus Flower have?" Delroy was even more curious than Max and forgot all about his arrogance.


    It was hard to explain just how the Lotus Flower and its petals were linked to one''s talents. The more petals it had, the greater was one''s possibility of surpassing the heaven. And talent had an effect on a warrior''s cultivation speed which increased with talent. Yet there was, for sure, a link between the Lotus Flower and the talent. People with low talents were usually unable to summon a Lotus Flower, and those with higher talents usually managed to conjure up a flower with more petals than those with lesser talents.


    Zen asked with a smile, "How many petals did your Lotus Flower have?"


    "You want to know about me first?" Max


    lready become a legendary figure in the Purple Heart Sacred Place. Nobody was arrogant enough to think that he or she could surpass a legendary figure like him.


    At this moment, Max ordered his puppet to walk towards Klein''s direction.


    A hint of doubt appeared on Klein''s face. He had just walked out of the Talent Tablet and had not noticed these eight strange guests who had strangely appeared on the tenth floor. Although they looked human outwardly, he could only feel their soul waves. There were no breaths or signs of life.


    The top-level war lords of the human race also stared at them warily. They had already gone on high alert upon seeing these unknown guests in the Tower of Sin, but since they were all attracted by Klein''s test result, they hadn''t bothered to deal with them till now.


    Suddenly, someone with hawk''s eyes noticed Zen who was standing a few feet away from Max and everyone else.


    "Zen! Hey, it''s Zen! I can''t even believe my eyes!"


    "Zen has returned to the Sea God Continent!"


    Just as they were about to cheer on, someone noticed it! "Wait, there''s something wrong with him. Although this guy looks like Zen, he doesn''t seem human at all..."


    "That''s because it''s just a puppet! What motives do you have for pretending to be Zen?"


    The Sea God Continent only had a few crude puppets. Nobody there was talented enough to create a puppet as vivid as Hank''s.


    The one he had made for Zen looked almost like Zen himself. However, there was obviously a difference between a real person and a puppet. And warriors who were powerful enough could detect that something was wrong with just a slight sweep of their perception.


    Just as everyone was feeling puzzled and cautious, a young girl, wearing a colorful dress, descended from the top of the stairs. Everyone heard her cold voice ring out, "That is exactly the Zen you know, but... It seems like his cultivation base has reached the level of a war sage, and therefore, he has to send in a puppet to enter the Cursed Land. This puppet technique looks like it has been inherited from the Celestial Position race. Am I right? And these seven people with him... You all are from the Celestial Position race, right?"

 Chapter 1245 A Man Without Destiny

    Actually, Max wanted to say something to Klein.


    According to Celestial Position conventions and rules, all warriors who managed to receive a title from the Talent Tablet would be invited to join. That was regardless of race.


    Now that Klein had obtained the silver Asura title, Max was naturally going to invite him to join his clan, especially considering the fact that the former''s title was better than his own.


    Amber would also have been invited, but she was only able to get a spot in the second row of the Talent Tablet. Although this was considered as one of the top results in the Sea God Continent, in the eyes of the Celestial Position, this was barely qualifying. The second row of the Talent Tablet was the lowest level of the Celestial Position.


    However, before Max could even open his mouth, the human girl had already spoken and inferred their origins. She had been able to learn of that through a single glance and that spoke to her powers. Max, Delroy and the others immediately became alert when they heard her say that.


    Zen''s cursory gaze swept over them and then met Yolande''s. A faint smile surfaced on his face.


    Yolande also nodded her head towards Zen and smiled in return. She then continued, "Klein is from the Purple Heart Sacred Place. He belongs with the humans who will give him an important position once he flies into the Upper World. I recommend that the Celestial Position does not do anything to interfere."


    Hearing Yolande''s words, Delroy and his clansmen frowned. This wasn''t something they wanted.


    Now that they had confirmed Zen''s talent, and in the process, accidentally discovered another one, they weren''t going to let the two of them go so easily. They would try their best to win over Zen and Klein.


    Max coldly asked, "And who are you? Which group of the human race are you from?"


    "That''s irrelevant." Yolande shook her head and continued in her usual, calm voice, "I''m just here to tell you that we won''t let you take Klein away."


    Delroy gave a cold snort. "Whatever! The flying passage in the great world has already collapsed. If we don''t take him to the Upper World with us, he will only get confined to this world for the rest of his life."


    "Don''t worry about that. It''s not going to be difficult to repair the flying passage." Yolande shook her head.


    Max took two steps forward and sized up Yolande with a sweep of his gaze before threatening, "You have just reached the Virtual Tribulation Realm. How can you stop us?"


    Yolande''s gaze was still indifferent. "You''re just a bunch of guys at the Spirit Supreme Realm. Why can''t I stop you?"


    At her words, seven pairs of eyes of the Celestial Position stared speechlessly at each other. How could this mysterious human girl actually tell their cultivation level


    t this go, what will happen?"


    "Well, that''s obvious. The tray will fall down on the ground," Dorothea replied. She couldn''t understand why Delroy would ask something like that.


    Delroy nodded and released his grip. The wooden tray in his hand fell to the ground, producing a crisp sound. "See. You predicted that the tray would fall down."


    "Come on!" Dorothea chuckled. "Everybody knew that would happen!"


    Delroy continued, "You knew that I would let the tray go. You knew the height of the tray and the speed and place of its fall, so you predicted what would happen."


    "Yeah. That''s common sense!" Dorothea nodded. She felt Delroy''s words were getting more and more mysterious.


    "What if," Delroy was becoming more and more passionate, "What if someone was able to predict everything that would happen in a span of all 3.6 billion years in this era, because he has already witnessed the birth of the era?" He asked.


    "But that is simply impossible!" Woody could not hold it in any longer. He stared at Delroy and burst out, "Can you predict what I will do next? No! And the era lasts 3.6 billion years. Countless creatures live in this universe. I know that some powerhouses in our clan are capable of predicting the future, but they can only peek a tiny bit into the primordial chaos. You know this better than I do, Delroy! This is impossible!"


    Seeing how passionate Woody looked, Yolande, who was kicking her clogs slowly postulated, "What if it''s not a person, but the heaven itself?"


    Delroy nodded. "The heaven has deduced everything. The birth and death of every creature has long been decided. Everything is predestined, including me standing here and saying these words."


    "The heaven..." Woody was somewhat baffled.


    Just then, Yolande turned towards Zen and asked, "Now do you understand what a man without destiny means?"

 Chapter 1246 Activate The Tower Of Crystal

    The entire grand era had been initiated by the heavens. Because of that, the heavens knew the fate of everyone living in the worlds like the back of its hand.


    It also meant that it was in control of everything¡ªhow and when a person would come into and leave the world, when would he or she laugh, when would he or she cry...


    However, there would always be accidents that would create exceptions from this rule. Throughout time, there were people who had fates that were not under the control of the heavens.


    In other words, the heavens could not calculate and foresee when and how these people would be born, and it had no idea how their fates would play out in the future.


    Zen looked extremely stunned. Even the cyan dragon in his mind was caught off-guard, and couldn''t do anything but sigh. "Alas! I never thought that I would ever feel inferior to this human girl. Zen, even the heavens doesn''t know anything about your future."


    Yolande slowly stood up and said, "That''s why I hadn''t tried to change Zen''s mind when he appeared and obtained the golden title of Celestial Position. As for you, people from the Celestial Position race, if you decided to persuade Zen to join you, I will not intervene. However, you cannot do anything to Klein, who just obtained the silver title of Asura."


    The seven members of the Celestial Position race were all silent. In their eyes, Zen had already become an anomaly.


    Max turned to look at Zen and asked, "Are you willing to join our Celestial Position race?" He believed that regardless of whether the heavens could tell Zen''s fate or not, since Zen had the golden title of Celestial Position, they could not afford to let him go. If they did, the Celestial Position''s upper echelons would find out, and it would mean a huge trouble for all of them.


    Zen thought for a moment, his thick brows furrowed. He then smiled and said, "I don''t seem to have any other choice."


    Woody sneered, "It seems like you have a clear estimation of yourself and your abilities."


    "Well, no one could see through my fate," Zen replied, smiling. "Joining the Celestial Position race doesn''t sound like a bad thing, but I have a request." With that, the expression on his face suddenly changed.


    "What request?" Max asked.


    "I need you to keep the Tower of Crystal on the Sea God Continent for 500 years."


    Zen had his mind made up since the very beginning. The tower was extremely important to the many races that resided on the Sea God Continent, especially the humans and the Demon Night.


    Even though the threat from the Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and the Dread Ogre Sacred Place would probably disappear in the near future, the Purple Heart Sacred Place hadn''t fully developed yet. If he let the Celestial Position memb


    that? The Tower of Sin belongs to the Sea God Continent!"


    "Although I am also very unwilling, according to the legends, this tower does belong to the Celestial Position race. Taking something that belongs to them could not be considered as overbearing, right?"


    "But then again, so what if we are unwilling? Have you heard? Those people are at the Spirit Supreme Realm! Do you know what the spirit Supreme Realm is? It is a realm even higher than the Soul Sea Realm. They could destroy our sacred places with a snap of their fingers!" Actually, even the guy himself didn''t know what the Spirit Supreme Realm was. He only knew that the Spirit Supreme Realm warriors were much more powerful than the Soul Sea Realm ones.


    Under the gaze of many creatures, the entire Tower of Sin suddenly began to shake violently.


    Boom!


    The buildings in the surrounding villages began to shake as well. It was as if there was a small earthquake. Some of the weaker houses even collapsed in the middle of what was happening.


    "Will they... will they make the Tower of Sin fly away?" someone muttered.


    Under the constant tremors, the tail of the Tower of Sin began to stretch continuously.


    The giant tower then started to act like a living being. With this extension, it grew taller in front of everyone''s eyes. The tower''s first floor quickly rose into the air. The two giant warriors guarding the door could only stand on the ground in a daze.


    Flying was prohibited within the Cursed Land, so no matter what happened, no one dared to fly.


    The tremor lasted for about an hour. After that, the section of the tower that was above the ground had significantly elongated, reaching a height of 16 floors. As for the underground section, it maintained a height of 14 floors.


    Delroy fulfilled his promise and fully activated the Tower of Sin.

 Chapter 1247 Going Back To The Central Region

    When the tremor stopped, many of the creatures were still in a daze, doubt etched on their faces.


    "It stopped just like that? What is going on? Weren''t the Celestial Position warriors taking the Tower of Sin away?"


    "Is this happening because they don''t have the strength to take it away?"


    "Maybe..."


    After quite a few minutes of speculation, they finally understood that the Tower of Sin hadn''t been taken away, and that the tower was now in its complete form.


    But in this process, they had learned an important piece of information¡ªthe Tower of Sin could exist on the Sea God Continent for only three hundred years. The Celestial Position members would take it away after the period was up.


    Creatures on the Sea God Continent were both relieved and worried at the news. The fact that the Celestial Position race was willing to give them a buffer was already a great favor.


    It was said that this buffer period had been granted because Zen had agreed to certain conditions of the Celestial Position race.


    What was more, the Celestial Position warriors had set up two transmission arrays in the Tower of Sin. One was connected to the Purple Heart Sacred Place, and the other to the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place. This way the Demon Night and human race could have greater control over the Tower of Sin. After all, once the war lords of the other races became war sages, they would have to use one of these transmission arrays to go between the tower and the outside world if they wanted to continue cultivating in the tower.


    Once the Eight-diagram Wheel had flown back to the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place, Zen pulled his soul out of his puppet. He smiled as he looked at it, an almost exact replica of himself. He said to Hank, "Can I keep this puppet?"


    "No problem," Hank said with a laugh.


    Hank might not be the strongest among the seven people of the Celestial Position race, but he knew a lot of things. He spoke rarely, but his straightforward character had impressed Zen.


    Zen put the puppet, an incredible likeness of a Virtual Tribulation Realm warrior, into his space ring.


    The Celestial Position warriors had had only one purpose in coming to the Sea God Continent: to take away the Tower of Crystal. But once it was confirmed that Zen had actually obtained the golden title of Celestial Position, he had helped the Sea God Continent warriors ask a great favor of the Celestial Position race.


    That was not to say that Zen was against joining the Celestial Position race. Although Brianna had called this race a crazy one, they were still a neutral force compared to the other forces in


    heir race about Zen, and others would take over. After that, they would continue to deal with the Evil Dragon. Minutes later, they activated the transmission imprint on the Divine Emperor Island and headed towards the continent.


    As he watched the Celestial Position warriors disappear, Zen thought, ''I think the Celestial Position race has a dispute with Master Derek and Marine.'' But he merely shrugged since it had nothing to do with him.


    He suddenly felt a sense of relaxation spread through his entire body.


    From the moment he had begun cultivating, time had been like a giant rock pressing against him, constantly pushing him forward. There were still things that he had to do, like helping Lavender recover her status and finding his sister.


    But these were still far beyond his reach, and he couldn''t accomplish them in a short period of time. For example, the young man who had taken Yan away was unimaginably stronger than Zen. Even now, with his current strength, Zen had no doubt that that young man could kill him a thousand times over with just a single glance. Even this great world might not be able to withstand his attack.


    So this was a rare moment of relaxation for Zen.


    He took a look around the Heavenly Stellar Palace. The hall was already empty. Letitia should have returned to the Cloud Hall once she had recovered. ''Would Margaret have followed Letitia back to the Cloud Hall?'' he thought.


    Just as he thought this, he saw a hefty guy flying over. It was Dillon, one of the three leaders of the World Commercial Alliance. The moment he saw Zen, Dillon broke out in a sweat as he shouted, "Zen, you''re finally back! Something terrible has happened! They''re fighting!"


    Zen was curious. "They''re fighting? Who?"

 Chapter 1248 The Unexpected Dispute

    It had been quite a while since Dillon had constantly watched the Heavenly Stellar Palace. When he heard that Zen had finally returned, he immediately rushed over to meet him.


    Meanwhile, Zen was confused when he saw Dillon''s anxious expression. What was he about to hear this time?


    A few puffs of air escaped Dillon''s lips before he relaxed, and told Zen everything. After that, Zen suddenly realized that Margaret and Letitia had fought again. What was their fight about now?


    It was known that Margaret''s and Letitia''s cultivation bases were far from each other. Letitia was a Life and Death Realm master, while Margaret was only at the Internal Elixir Realm. The Virtual Tribulation Realm lay between those two cultivation bases, so they clearly weren''t at the same level.


    However, Margaret''s strength wasn''t easily measured. She wasn''t just an ordinary warrior, since she relied not on her own strength but on the Purple Power World''s assistance from beginning to the end...


    As of now in the entire Central Region, Zen had both killed Eddie and Simon. Other than a few independent warriors who had yet to appear, Letitia and Margaret were probably the strongest and most powerful. If those two fought, a highly intense battle might ensue.


    It wasn''t long after Zen had destroyed the Heavenly Evil Sect that he had brutally killed Simon. The few members of the Heavenly Evil Sect who wanted to revive their sect were finally defeated, and the entire Central Region gradually became stable.


    The rebuilding of the Ethereal Spirit Sect and the Ethereal City also progressed slowly but orderly. The other sects also developed steadily, and the same could be said for the Cloud Hall and the World Commercial Alliance. On the other hand, the warriors had fewer and fewer things to talk about...


    Then suddenly, the battle between Margaret and Letitia became a hot topic in the Central Region, and it spread quickly like wildfire.


    Before, the warriors who loved to guess and gossip believed that Letitia and Zen were romantically involved. While most warriors knew about the relationship between Margaret, the young lady of the Xi Clan, and Zen, they didn''t know that it was she who had summoned the numerous swords that had killed the people of the Heavenly Evil Sect that day.


    Currently, the argument between the two women had escalated into a fight. Such news had of course, spread quickly.


    When news of it had spread, many began to feel jealous of Zen. Aside from Margaret being Xander''s granddaughter, Letitia attracted many warriors in the Central Region. However, Letitia always looked aloof on the exterior and had a high position and cultivation base. Thus, ordinary warriors were inferior to her. Most warriors who fancied her could only admire her in secret, and had no chances of getting close to her.


    But Zen had these two women infa


    own that Zen, who was quite powerful, had killed Eddie and even found some super masters to kill the masters of the divine kingdoms. But when she heard Xander mention Margaret so suddenly, she was surprised and her expression quickly changed. She turned around to look for Letitia and saw the younger woman with an unreadable face. At that moment, Imogen, who was known for her violent temper, got furious.


    She knew that Letitia liked Zen. Before, she didn''t think that Zen was good enough to deserve her most outstanding disciple, but now it seemed that the two of them were a perfect match. One was the leader of the Cloud Hall, the strongest sect in the Central Region, and the other one was the strongest warrior in the Central Region! They were definitely made for each other, but why did Margaret suddenly appear to meddle in their relationship?


    "She is just a nobody. How could she even deserve to marry a powerful warrior like Zen?"


    Everyone present were all reputable figures. Although the Ethereal Spirit Sect was under reconstruction, Xander wasn''t easy to deal with. It was only a matter of time before the Ethereal Spirit Sect would be powerful and prosperous just like before. Xander pulled a long face upon hearing Imogen. He was quite fond of Margaret, so how could he tolerate such insults towards her?


    Thus, the two of them began to quarrel and tension quickly filled the atmosphere. Meanwhile, Dillon, Hobbes, and the rest looked worried. They regretted holding such a banquet. No one expected that such a small matter would cause a commotion.


    If only Xander and Imogen argued, then this matter would be over. And everything would have to be discussed after Zen returned. But when Brent saw his sister being insulted like that, he was unhappy and thus spoke out in Margaret''s defense.


    Soon enough, Letitia and Margaret themselves got involved, and the ruckus had gotten worse.

 Chapter 1249 An Appointment For A Fight

    Letitia quietly sat in her seat, seemingly detached from all that was happening around her.


    However, Imogen continuously attacked Margaret verbally and the argument had now taken a nasty turn.


    Margaret had initially been very obedient and silent when she was with Zen but the insults thrown at her right now were too much. Imogen might be a Life and Death Realm master but Margaret felt no fear. She had her great-grandfather beside her, after all.


    "Master Imogen, you said I''m not worthy of Zen but so what?" she said stubbornly. "Although Zen and I haven''t officially gotten married, we''ve already done everything that a wife and husband are supposed to do!"


    Her words plunged the entire hall into an uncomfortable silence.


    A cup of top-grade, hundred-year-old wine sat untouched in front of Letitia but the moment Margaret spoke, she extended her jade-like fingers and downed the alcohol in one gulp. Her cultivation assured her that she would never get drunk but the strong taste still made her face flush, "Shameless," she muttered coldly.


    Sex was not a taboo subject in the martial arts world but the way Margaret boldly announced it to the entire Cloud Hall was a bit crass and insensitive.


    Letitia''s remark made Xander fly into a rage. "How can you speak like that¡­"


    Of course, Imogen wasn''t just going to let an outsider chide Letitia in their own territory. Not long after, the silence had once again plunged into a chaos of sharp words and nasty arguments.


    Not even Dillon, who was an exceptional mediator, could settle the two parties'' differences. This confrontation went on for quite a long time before ending with Margaret issuing a challenge to Letitia for a fight.


    "The location of the fight is in Cloudy City?" Zen asked after Dillon told him the whole story.


    Dillon nodded with certainty, "Yes. It''s in Cloudy City!" The moment Dillon confirmed the location, Zen was already on the move and immediately dashed towards the portal to Cloudy City.


    From the perspective of the World Commercial Alliance, the issue could''ve been solved peacefully, with no need for a formal challenge to a fight. For them, it was better that everyone prioritized settling their differences and living harmoniously.


    But it wasn''t their place, and besides, Zen had already returned. Perhaps he was the key to resolving this conflict once and for all.


    Once he entered the portal of the Oracle City, Zen swiftly flew through the channel headed towards Cloudy City. With his fast skilled bodily movement, it only took him a very short time to reach the other end of the channel.


    Swish¡­


    There was a flash of white light as Zen''s figure emerged from the transmission array and into Cloudy City.


    Several guards were statione


    ere was a gentle smile on his face. He looked at Margaret and then at Letitia. "What are you ladies doing?" he asked, pretending as if he didn''t know anything.


    "Zen!"


    The sight of the young man filled Margaret''s heart with relief. She really didn''t want to fight with Letitia to begin with and the huge swords from the sky immediately vanished as she ran towards Zen.


    Meanwhile, Letitia was still on guard, her mysterious ice halberd pointed at Margaret as she stared at Zen. She would never do something so brazen like throwing herself into a man''s arms, just as Margaret did just now, but there was an evident trace of sadness in her eyes as she looked at the scene.


    Huge smiles broke out from both Xander and Brent when they saw Zen. They both greeted Zen with smiles.


    Brent, the Ethereal Spirit Sect''s top talent, had always wanted to challenge Zen but never really got the chance. Still, he called him "brother-in-law."


    Imogen''s face quickly twisted in anger when she heard it, letting out a cold, obvious snort to indicate her displeasure.


    Zen quickly turned his attention to her and cupped his hands. "Master Imogen, I heard that you''ve recently returned from overseas. Congratulations! I''m very happy to see you."


    Imogen tutted, "Are you really happy? I think you must have wished I died when I was away overseas!" Imogen had always thought highly of Zen but his relationship with Margaret made her furious at the young man.


    Zen, however, retained the smile on his face knowing that resolving the conflict between the two ladies was the most important thing on the agenda. Since Imogen was clearly on Letitia''s side, of course she would be hostile to him.


    As for Letitia, she remained as still as an exquisite ice statue but the moment she looked at Margaret''s face, a cold chill surfaced on her face.

 Chapter 1250 Margarets EQ

    Margaret contentedly leaned into Zen''s embrace in joyful bliss. Right now, all that mattered was him and his comforting presence. Their surroundings and the current context of the situation did not matter so long as he was here.


    The young woman''s obvious smile was like a thorn that pierced through Letitia''s heart.


    Clang!


    The loud, clanging sound reverberated in her ears as the ice halberd fell from her grasp and shattered into a thousand crystal pieces of life vitality that dissipated and returned to the vitality of heaven and earth.


    "Master, I want to go back," Letitia murmured, turning away from the offending scene in front of her. Her back was straight and her gait was elegant, like an ice phoenix that flew back towards the Cloud Hall, heartbroken, but dignified. Zen, however, could tell that she was hurt.


    "Tia!"


    "Tia!"


    both Zen and Imogen shouted at the same time.


    The elder cast a burning glare at Zen before quickly following behind a sulking Letitia.


    A few elders remained despite Letitia''s and Imogen''s departure. One of them was Saint Morphens, who smiled bitterly at Zen.


    The young man had risen in leaps and bounds when it came to cultivation, and his extraordinary luck helped him survive multiple near-death experiences, but the same could not be said for his love life.


    It was normal for warriors to have multiple women. War kings and war emperors from the Divine Kingdom Continent even had thousands. An ordinary Illuminating Soul Realm warrior in the Central Region would normally have a group of women that he would regularly indulge in sexual relationships with.


    However, Letitia was different. Saint Morphens feared that she was someone who would never concede to such an arrangement. Moreover, Imogen was fiercely protective of Letitia and would not just stand by while Zen had another woman with him. Saint Morphens could only hope that Zen would be able to solve this matter on his own.


    Zen wanted to follow Letitia, but Margaret was already curled up in his arms like a sheep. She was obviously very emotionally overwhelmed, and he had no idea how to deal with it.


    This wasn''t his line of expertise. He was a hardened warrior who only knew the ways of battle and the path of cultivation. He had no experiences whatsoever when it came to love and emotions.


    Meanwhile, Letitia was already inside her Ice Palace where icy mist had already filled the place.


    A lifelike ice phoenix flew slowly around her. Although this ice phoenix was a creature produced by visualization, it had gained some semblance of intelligence for having existed


    t stay by his side.


    Men absolutely adored this kind of woman.


    Letitia thought about this for a while. Silence and the mysterious mist surrounded both master and pupil before Letitia''s eyes finally brightened in realization. "I can''t do it now," she said.


    Imogen, however, heaved a sigh of relief. Being unable to do it now did not mean that she would not be able to do it in the future. It seemed her pupil had thought things through.


    Meanwhile, in a quiet place in Cloudy City, both Xander and Zen found a chance to catch up and talk. Xander immediately expressed his gratitude towards Zen in helping rebuild the Ethereal Spirit Sect. If it weren''t for him, the Heavenly Evil Sect would''ve still used their base as headquarters and they would''ve been completely erased from history.


    As Zen talked with Xander, his mind couldn''t help but wander towards Letitia. Although she betrayed no expression on her fair face earlier, her figure that slowly floated away made his heart ache.


    Xander was a clever man. The reason he stood up for Margaret before was because she had no one else to rely on. But with Zen here, it would now be improper for him to get involved. Besides, Margaret had the upper hand in this. Zen also carried a lot of responsibility when it came to this issue.


    After their chat, Xander got up and left with Brent. Before leaving, Brent''s face was full of smiles and he kept asking Zen when he''d marry his sister.


    Once the people from the Ethereal Spirit Sect left, Margaret''s smile disappeared and a serious expression fell on her face. "I think you should go to the Cloud Hall," she suggested.


    "Why should I? I''m not going," Zen said.


    A smile appeared on her face. "Are you really not going?"

 Chapter 1251 Pestering

    Although Margaret seemed rather stupid while dealing with most things, she was very clear on matters regarding affection.


    She was keenly aware that she could not monopolize Zen. She did not want other women to get close to him, but she also knew that Zen was promising and would become someone remarkable in the future. He had already become the strongest person in the Central Region at such a young age. Certainly, he would not be limited to the small Central Region in the time ahead.


    Margaret would be deeply satisfied if she were to marry such a famous talent. But how could she possibly attempt to control him?


    Letitia had gone off in a huff, but Margaret just ignored her. Margaret was not someone to be trifled with. She could not sympathize with Letitia, but she understood that Letitia was important to Zen. She had said the words because she did not want to see Zen upset.


    "Why? What should I do if I go there?" Zen asked, forcing a smile.


    Margaret returned a smile, whispering into Zen''s ear, "Don''t all women want to be coaxed? She is the hall leader, but she is still childish when it comes to affection. She will be happier if you coax her with a few nice words..."


    Margaret''s voice sounded soft and pleasant as she talked to Zen.


    Zen smiled and kissed her lightly on the forehead. "You sound like you''re very experienced."


    Margaret''s face turned red, her eyes rolling as she shot Zen a coquettish glance. "Well, I''m not that experienced! I''m just giving you some advice!"


    However, Margaret''s words calmed Zen down a little. Although he felt that it was not easy to deal with this matter, he still knew that there were some things that he had to face on his own.


    After arranging a place for Margaret to stay, he was prepared to enter the Cloud Hall. However, suddenly, the Ancestral Dragon in the spirit beast bag on Zen''s back stuck out its small head and let out a ''quack'' toward Margaret. The dragon''s face revealed a friendly expression.


    "This little dragon..." Zen began, shaking his head.


    When he had been in the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place, the Demon Night members had gifted him a small spirit beast bag.


    Normally, a Sumeru Space could not keep living creatures. However, the space of the spirit beast bag had been specifically designed and arranged for them. Although there wasn''t much of it, it was enough for the young Ancestral Dragon to live inside.


    Perhaps the little dragon wanted to come out and get some fresh air after being stuffed up in the spirit beast bag for so long. This time, when it saw Margaret, it cried out to her and


    , just as Letitia was digging with all her might, a hand suddenly stretched out from the pile of ice dregs and grabbed her waist, pulling her up to the dregs. Zen slowly climbed out.


    Seeing that Zen was safe and sound, Letitia was both surprised and happy. However, anger and grievance replaced the emotions again.


    She had indeed been very worried just now. After all, her strength had increased manifold after she reached the Life and Death Realm. Her attack had been intense, but she did not expect Zen to emerge completely unharmed.


    Letitia was aware that since Zen had become a Life and Death Realm warrior, his strength had increased by a lot. She did not think that it would grow to this extent.


    "You... Get your hands off me!" Letitia was shy and furious at the same time. Her small and soft body struggled in Zen''s embrace.


    But Zen wasn''t willing to let go of her. He wrapped his arms around Letitia''s waist even more tightly, holding her by his side. With Zen''s current strength, how could Letitia break free?


    After struggling for a while, Letitia was exhausted. Her stiff body relaxed, but she still had on a long face as she stared at Zen with hatred.


    An idea suddenly struck her. Streams of life vitality burst out from her body, condensing into a large number of ice crystals that wrapped around Zen and transformed into a huge ice coffin. As the ice crystals accumulated one layer at a time, the coffin got larger and larger, tightly freezing the two of them inside.


    The cold was indeed piercing, but Letitia''s ferocious face only escalated Zen''s desire for her.


    It could be that Zen was unable to coax Letitia with some nice words, but he could use his actions to prove his affection for her.

 Chapter 1252 Wedding

    The ice that Letitia had condensed was as hard as iron, but still Zen''s power erupted, the muscles in his body trembling. Countless cracks appeared on the surface of the ice coffin. From the outside, the originally transparent and flawless ice coffin donned a milky white color due to the cracks.


    This was followed by a sharp sound when the ice coffin suddenly shattered.


    Letitia was still peeved. When the ice coffin collapsed, she once again released her strong life vitality and another ice coffin replaced it. However, soon after, Zen used his strength again and the new ice coffin broke down.


    As the ice shards continued to condense and collapse underneath the pair of them, their number kept increasing. The ice shards gathered together to form a small ice mountain, causing the two to ascend higher and higher.


    When Letitia went through her tribulation last time, the dome of the Ice Palace had almost been ruined by her. Afterward, it was reconstructed, leaving an opening in the dome. One could see the sky through it in the middle of the palace.


    As the ice mountain continued to rise, it pushed the two of them through the opening in the roof.


    Letitia''s Ice Palace was not only built in the deepest part of the Cloud Hall, it was also the highest point.


    Guards patrolled the Cloud Hall. Their eyesights and vision were strong. If the warriors below looked up, they would witness the scene at the top of the Ice Palace.


    Zen still held Letitia tightly in his arms when the ice mountain lifted them out of the roof.


    "Why is there an ice mountain growing out of the Ice Palace?"


    "Could it be that the leader is in the process of cultivating a new method? Is there a new breakthrough?"


    "Idiot! Can''t you see that there are two people on top of the ice mountain?"


    Although the discussions were taking place quite far away, as a Life and Death Realm warrior, Letitia had a keen sense of hearing. Even though their voices were hushed, she could hear them clearly.


    She felt embarrassed and ashamed. Lowering her voice, she said to Zen angrily, "Let go of me!"


    "I''m not letting you go!" Zen said to Letitia with resolution.


    "Please!" Letitia had never begged in her life, but she felt she had no other choice.


    "It''s useless even if you beg me." A trace of a smile surfaced on Zen''s face.


    The various elders, stewards, and disciples of Cloud Hall realized that they must stay away and give Letitia and Zen some private moments, but they could not contain their curiosity. More and more p


    s rare gifts alone were the size of a small hill about twenty to thirty feet high.


    The Cloud Hall had been whitewashed and had a bright, new look.


    The three divine textures created by Zen had made the Cloud Hall''s runic expert, Felix, feel inferior to him. Even if he expended all his energy, he still wouldn''t be able to set up a sect-protecting array as strong as Zen''s.


    However, Felix''s talent in runes was nothing to be ashamed of. By studying Zen''s divine textures, his knowledge of runes had increased manifold. Other than Zen, no one else in the Central Region was stronger than him. This time, Felix did help Zen.


    He created several runes to decorate the Cloud Hall. Their power was not exceptional, but as long as one replenished life vitality crystals to activate the runes, they effused different colors. Some rays projected onto the enchanted barrier named the Light of Water and morphed into flying dragons and phoenixes, dancing on top of it with exuberance.


    In the Cloud Hall''s Martial Arts Hall, a dense pack of warriors had gathered from all over Central Region. These big names were all leaders of various top clans and sects.


    Of course, the sect leaders of the fourth-grade sects, including the Mysterious Luna Hall, Bloodwood Cliff and Black Mountain Sect, were all present.


    When they had first met Zen, he had merely been a junior at the Illuminating Soul Realm. However, right before their eyes, Zen''s cultivation level soared without limits, and soon no one in the Central Region could contend with him. As they came up to congratulate him, they sighed in their hearts. They used to look down on him, but now all they could do was worship him.

 Chapter 1253 The Wedding Gift

    Margaret busied herself in the kitchen in the Cloud Hall. The way she held the kitchen knife was kind of stiff, but her swift motions of chopping made the knife glow with the sharpness of cold silver light.


    Today was Letitia and Zen''s wedding day, and it seemed like she was absent-minded while doing the chore. The knife she was using was made out of heptyl gold and was extremely sharp. Since Margaret was spacing out, she failed to notice the deep cutting marks she created against the ironwood chopping board.


    The clamor of voices outside kept ringing in her ears and made her distracted.


    Margaret helplessly pursed her lips as she continued chopping swiftly, turning the vegetables on the chopping board into tiny pieces.


    "Caw, caw¡­"


    The Ancestral Dragon let out a moan. Its tiny body curled up.


    Ever since the Ancestral Dragon had secretly eaten the dishes cooked by Margaret some time ago, it had almost forgotten about Zen. This glutton had been staying with Margaret almost every day.


    Margaret was in a trance. Perhaps, she unknowingly focused her attention on the commotion outside, so she slowed down in her work. The Ancestral Dragon made the noise to remind her to hurry up.


    "Be patient. Wait for a while, and your meal will be ready," Margaret said with a smile. She was completely oblivious that she had already shredded the vegetables into a puree.


    "Boom! Boom! Boom!"


    Above the Cloud Hall, a speck of sparkling and translucent radiance rose into the air, turning into multicolored clouds that spread beautifully across the sky. Margaret could see the scene clearly. But she didn''t stop what she was doing. The ironwood chopping board had already been broken into several parts by her!


    "Caw, caw¡­" the Ancestral Dragon whimpered again.


    "Wait for a minute..." There was still a faint smile on Margaret''s face as she appeased the Ancestral Dragon. But that smile never changed. It was like a mask, looking extremely stiff.


    "Caw, caw¡­"


    Bang!


    The kitchen knife in Margaret''s hand was shoved firmly on the stove. Her soft body slightly trembled, and a powerful aura burst forth from her body. "Didn''t I tell you to wait?"


    "Caw."


    Seeing that Margaret was about to go berserk, the Ancestral Dragon felt chills through its veins. It coiled up its small body immediately and buried its head in it.


    In the Martial Arts Hall, the grand wedding ceremony was carried out in an orderly manner. And as expected of martial artists'' wedding ceremony, it was usually very solemn. The cost of money for any part of this rite would entail a considerable amount that would be more than enough for an ordinary family to live for several hundred years. However, there was not so much red tape involved in Letitia and Zen''s wedding ceremony.


    Amidst the blessings and congratulations, Zen stood in the middle of the Martial Arts Hall, waiting for the arrival of the bride.


    Soon, his bride''s whole entourage slowly approached him on a cloud. Everyone''s gaze focused on Letitia who was wearing a red robe. She was surrounded by many servants who were dressed beautifully for such an occasion.


    Even


    come here to celebrate our wedding day, I''m already very contented. Please be seated here and have fun!"


    The other guests also nodded their heads. The two maids beside them added a table to make him sit above the salt. Although these maids did not know how strong this old man was, from the reactions of the top masters in the Central Region, they knew the old man was not someone to be trifled with. Even though this old man looked quite messy, they all knew that he was akin to a powerful being, who was far beyond their wildest imagination. So he must have the seat of an honored guest.


    To their surprise, the old man suddenly shook his head and said, "No!"


    Zen''s eyes flashed, confused. "Excuse me?"


    "A wedding ceremony is a great event in one''s life, how can I not prepare a wedding gift?" The old man then shook his head fervently.


    A look of helplessness appeared on Zen''s face. He wanted to roll his eyes in his heart, but he still managed to look nice. Why did some old men become so difficult to deal with as they were getting on in years? Perhaps in the future, when he grew old, he would also behave like this, he wondered.


    However, before Zen could say anything, a few of the more brave guests started to clamor.


    "Since you want to give them a wedding gift, then show it to us!"


    "You intentionally said so to keep all of us in suspense. You''ve already prepared the wedding gift, right?"


    "Then let everyone see what it is!"


    These guests who were speaking did not have a high level of cultivation and were only at the primary stage of Virtual Tribulation Realm. However, it was Zen''s wedding day, so they assumed that no matter how strong this old man was, he wouldn''t make things look ugly in such an occasion.


    The old man chuckled and nodded. "Ha-ha, how do you know that I''ve already had a gift for them?" With that, the old man''s body instantly flashed, and he appeared right in front of Zen, who didn''t even have time to react.


    After that, he faced Zen with his eyes wide open. Then everyone saw Zen close his eyes and quickly fall to the ground!

 Chapter 1254 A Divine Weapon

    The old man''s actions were sudden, and everyone''s faces changed drastically.


    However, there was also a small group of warriors who had a smirk on their faces. Like a comet, Zen had risen quickly to prominence and had been in the limelight for a long time. But in the end, even he was defeated by someone.


    Letitia''s expressions turned stern and her face became red with fury. She stomped her feet, and the pearl crown on her head swayed as she began to rush towards Zen.


    Imogen, Xander and the three fat alliance heads all had nervous expressions on their faces. They didn''t know what was going to happen next.


    However, before anyone could react, time suddenly stopped.


    In the Heavenly Stellar Sacred Place, when they had hatched the Ancestral Dragon Egg, the Celestial Position warriors had increased the time flow rate. This meant that every day inside the hatchery was just a few seconds. Time passed as quickly as sand running through one''s fingers in there. One year had passed in the outside world, while inside that barrier, a thousand years passed.


    And now, in the Cloud Hall, time had become a thousand times slower.


    Everything was happening at a speed that was a thousandth of the outside world. People moved slower than a snail. In fact, it was safe to say they weren''t moving at all. It was difficult for the naked eye to notice their movement.


    What was even more terrifying was the area that was affected. Time had almost come to a halt within a one-thousand-mile radius of the Cloud Hall. This was in stark contrast to the enchanted barrier, both in terms of direction and area.


    The birds in the sky stopped in midair, and the smoke leaving the chimneys solidified into a column that did not get dispersed. The ripples on the surface of the lake also remained the same. Of course this was only for the outside world.


    However, somehow, the Ancestral Dragon was unaffected by this change.


    "Gagoom¡­" the Ancestral Dragon cried. At its current age, its intelligence was the same as a human toddler''s. Although it was not affected by the change in the time flow rate, it was curious about why Margaret had stopped moving.


    Suddenly, as if by instinct, it seemed to sense something and flew out of the window, heading straight towards the Martial Arts Hall.


    The old man smiled and looked up at the sky before he left out a sigh, "Time waits for no one. Although your cultivation has advanced tremendously, resources in the Lower World are scarce. You''re still too slow. Let me lend a helping hand."


    Just as he finished speaking, the Ancestral Dragon flew in.


    "Gagoom...gagoom¡­"


    the beast called out anxiously when it saw Zen lying on the ground with his eyes closed. Its


    er said anything about it, but do you really think they are yours to keep?"


    Everyone was looking at each other in astonishment. Was this guy crazy? ''Why is this old man talking to his stomach? Is he a madman?''


    At that moment, Zen stood up and asked with a smile on his face, "Are there experts in your inner world who possess and use divine weapons?"


    The old man rolled his eyes. "There''s a guy inside my body. He''s reached the cultivation base of Soul Sea Realm. He directly occupies all the space in my body and proclaims himself to be the sacred emperor. He even hid the one thousand divine weapons I had stored in my inner world. He thinks that they are his own. Silly him! Damn! Bring them out!"


    After that, the old man pointed his finger and a bright gold bracelet suddenly appeared out of nowhere and floated into his hands. The old man now laughed, "I came in a hurry and didn''t have time to prepare something good. This bracelet is the only thing I thought was appropriate on this occasion. It''s a bit too simple. I''m embarrassed to give you this. But it''s a divine weapon after all, so I believe it will do the trick." The bracelet then floated towards Letitia.


    "A divine weapon..."


    Shock appeared on everyone''s face. Some of them couldn''t even believe what they were seeing and hearing with their own senses. ''A divine weapon is too simple?


    That''s a divine weapon for crying out loud!'' Some people began to curse inwardly.


    The most powerful treasures in the Central Region were only some mid-grade sacred weapons, and even those were very few in number. People might have read about them in books, but the general public at least had never seen them in real life.


    And the old man had just said that as a present, the bracelet was too simple. It burned the other warriors up.

 Chapter 1255 Margarets Doubt

    Zen was also taken aback by the old man''s words, but it wasn''t the divine weapon that incited this astonishment.


    Divine weapons were rare and precious, true. But with Zen''s current level of knowledge, he wasn''t too shocked after seeing one. He had, after all, a Black Star pickaxe!


    What shocked him was the old man''s words.


    Warriors at the Soul Sea Realm could open up a Soul Sea inside their bodies. But those at the Spirit Supreme Realm could in fact, solidify their life vitality and build up a world of their own. For example, Brianna had operated on her inner world for a hundred thousand years. But she had only managed to create a tiny island, and the creatures on this island were still going through a primitive period.


    Warriors at such a high cultivation level didn''t have much of a use for space rings. Their inner worlds could replace such small totems.


    This old man had also stored his treasures inside his belly. However, according to his words, there was also a Soul Sea Realm master in the world inside his body, and that was inconceivable.


    The inner world was formed and solidified through life vitality, and the lives inside it were created by borrowing the power of thunder. They bred and evolved very, very slowly.


    After those living beings developed their wisdom to a certain extent, they could then borrow the life vitality from within the inner world they were living in and cultivate on their own.


    However, the space within such inner worlds was limited, and the resources available were very few. After all, such inner worlds were tiny.


    But even after that, somehow, the person inside this old man''s inner world was able to cultivate himself to the Soul Sea Realm. Just how large was his inner world? Just how strong was this old man?


    Seeing that Zen''s face was filled with shock at his words, the old man waved his hand and told him, "Alright, I''ve already given my gifts to both of you. Now your wedding ceremony is the most important thing, so just leave me alone and get on with your shenanigans. You can talk to me later if you want!"


    Letitia bowed to the old man respectfully for the precious gift he had given her. Although this divine weapon was ''too simple'' in the old man''s eyes, it was still a precious item for her, and its value was more than a ''simple thing''. She knew that the old man had given it to her for Zen''s sake only, but that was no reason for her not to accept it with gratitude.


    At that moment, Margaret, who was going around in her everyday clothes, suddenly appeared some distance away.


    "Margaret!"


    "Sister!"


    Xander and Brent shouted at the same time when they saw her.


    In fact, the people of the Xi Family were not overly happy about today''s wedding ceremony. They didn''t want it to happen. However, it would be impolite for them to not attend, so they had to swallow their resentment and attend when Zen invited them.


    Before Margaret showed up, Xander and Brent had been very worried about her. They were afraid that she would be unhappy the entire day.


    Margaret nodded at her brother and her great grand


    more than happy to help her.


    After all, anyone with the Black-purple Power Body had the potential to control the Purple Power World. It was extremely rare to find someone who possessed it in the entire universe.


    The problem was that once Margaret had activated her Purple Power Body, she had only borrowed the huge swords from within it and had once pulled Zen and Letitia into the Purple Power World to save them. At other times, she had never used her powers and in fact, had steered clear of the world she belonged to.


    "No wonder the old lady didn''t notice you," the old man shook his head and then asked, "Do you want to become a master? How about I find you a teacher?"


    Margaret stared at him with a strange expression on her face. She felt like he was simply talking nonsense. She was willing to sit here and listen to him because he had told her that she could stay with Zen for countless years in the future, but now he was talking about irrelevant matters like teaching and becoming a master. Why should she become a super master? Why should she find a teacher? Did that have anything to do with Zen?


    Margaret was becoming impatient again, and she answered perfunctorily, "No, thank you. I have no interest in that."


    "What? You have no interest? Don''t you understand my words? You could become a powerful cultivator who can look down on everyone else in the entire universe!" What the old man didn''t know was that he was now deviating from the main point that he had mentioned just now and thereby, losing Margaret''s attention.


    "So what if I become more powerful than everyone else? What fun would that be?" Margaret began to doubt that the old man was just making a fool of her. She stood up from her seat and decided to leave with the Ancestral Dragon in her arms.


    Seeing her actions, the old man thought for a moment and finally discovered the crux of the problem. He now understood that this young lady had no interest in martial arts at all. But even so, he was not disappointed because he also found a way to convince her otherwise.

 Chapter 1256 Persuasion

    "Don''t go, little girl. Listen to me!" the old man hurriedly said. It was then when he realized he made a mistake¡ªnever had he thought that there would be such strange people in the world who treated martial arts like garbage.


    But then again, everyone had their own ambitions. In reality, he had seen many strange warriors of the Celestial Position. Since this young woman was interested in Zen, he could easily use him as bait.


    Seeing the old man''s expression, Margaret tried to put a damper on her temper and returned to her seat. Still wearing a cold expression, she asked him, "What is it you still want to say?"


    With a chuckle, he replied, "Although you aren''t the bride in today''s grand ceremony, I can guarantee that you can be the one to stay by Zen''s side for the days to come."


    That bit caught her attention. "What do you mean?" she asked, blinking her eyes as she focused.


    With a shake of his head, he looked at Letitia. "That bride isn''t half bad. She might be a top warrior in the Lower World, but that means nothing in the Upper World."


    Letitia''s talent might be on par with Fiona''s, or even Amber''s, but her name could, at most, be placed on only the second row of the Talent Tablet. This level could only get the recognition of the Celestial Position¡ªit was nothing special in the old man''s eyes.


    "Does this have anything to do with me?" Margaret said, sounding confused. As the old man talked casually, Margaret didn''t know how to respond.


    Chuckling again, he responded, "Why, of course it has something to do with you. Zen is a truly powerful warrior. How can such a remarkable warrior be limited to the mere Central Region?"


    "What do you mean by ''limited to a small Central Region''? It''s a vast area with abundant resources. Where else would Zen ever need to go in the future?"


    In her eyes, the Central Region was the whole world. Perhaps, she knew of a Divine Kingdom Continent not too far from there. Perhaps she even knew that the world was divided into several levels. But what did any of that have to do with her?


    The Central Region wasn''t half bad, in her opinion. As for Zen, it was perfect, as no threat could be posed to him in the area. Being able to live a peaceful and comfortable life in the region was already a plentiful blessing. Though Margaret wasn''t necessarily short-sighted, she wasn''t interested in anything else.


    For instance, after she awakened her first-rank Purple Power Body, Margaret also had a vague idea about her special physique. But never did she consider cultivating it, nor developing her strength¡ªit just wasn''t meaningful enoug


    he warriors with Purple Power Bodies were women, so it made sense for a woman to serve as her master instead of the old man.


    "But... where is she?" Margaret asked curiously.


    Stretching out his withered hand, he said, "Give me your hand!"


    In spite of the initial confusion on Margaret''s face, she offered her hand anyway.


    "Open your hand," he ordered again.


    Obediently, Margaret opened up her fair, delicate palm.


    Suddenly, a scarlet cross appeared on the old man''s finger. The divine texture within it was similar to the Celestial Position''s location rune, only smaller than the actual one.


    Whoosh!


    As soon as the scarlet cross appeared, it submerged into Margaret''s palm¡ªit was eye-catching across her white, tender skin.


    When Margaret raised her hand to examine it, her face filled with worry. "What is this?"


    "It''s only a location rune," the man replied. "When you enter the Purple Power World in the future, my wife will be able to find you!"


    "The next time I enter the Purple Power World... But I don''t intend to enter it," Margaret confessed. Unless someone chased after her, she wouldn''t hide in there any other time.


    The man''s eyes grew wide as he remarked, "Exactly how much do you hate cultivating? You have to find some time to enter the Purple Power World. So long as you do, my wife can find you! You must work diligently and strive for your own future happiness." With that, he gave an intentional signal with his lips as he turned toward the happy scene over there. At this time, many guests had already arrived and engaged in idle chat. Meanwhile, Zen and Letitia were brimming with joy.


    Throwing the couple a cold, unseen glare, Margaret nodded, now determined. "Okay, I got it now."

 Chapter 1257 Wedding Candle

    The old man couldn''t help but rub his forehead, trying to figure out just what happened to Margaret.


    His wife was the supreme master of the Purple Power World and countless warriors would kill to become her disciples. Margaret, however, was different. He was actually the one who tried his best to convince her to cultivate and become his wife''s disciple. It took him so long to persuade the young lady and she had finally agreed!


    He also had wanted to say something to Zen but it wouldn''t be appropriate given the context of the situation, so he could only put it aside for now.


    The celebration lasted for hours with festivities going on well into the night. It was very late when the guests finally departed, leaving the Cloud Hall in silence once again.


    Letitia sat stiffly on the bed, the sheets underneath made of exquisite golden silk and brown cocoon fibre. It felt like soft, buttery clouds underneath her touch.


    In this world, an ordinary girl was normally married at the age of fourteen or fifteen. Letitia was by no means old, but it was true that she had married a bit late compared to other mortal girls.


    She was also a virgin, which naturally made her nervous and also a bit frightened.


    The discomfort made her chatty, constantly finding random stuff to talk about with her new husband. "Who was that old man we met today?" she asked in a hushed voice.


    Zen shook his head and smiled. "I''m not sure."


    The old man had made no effort to reveal his identity, but he stayed in Cloud Hall for the meantime. Zen roughly guessed that he was someone powerful, maybe even a master sent by the Celestial Position. Or perhaps he was from the human race. After all, he knew Derek would have surely reported his information to the Upper World.


    Letitia''s bright eyes widened. "You''re not sure who he is? Then why did you take his pill?" Her expression was stern but the playfulness in her tone made her look adorable.


    Her face tugged on Zen''s heartstrings as he sat down next to her. "You also saw him feed it to me so¡­"


    It was true that he didn''t know what that pill was for but his body remained the same. There was no reaction so far so maybe it still hadn''t taken effect. Zen would have to wait to find out what effect the pill that old


    itment to walk the path of a warrior for love.


    "Whoosh..."


    With a light wave of her hand, a gigantic sword descended from the sky.


    "A sword..."


    "Whoosh..."


    "Two swords..."


    "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."


    Countless gigantic swords were summoned and descended upon the Purple Power World.


    These nine hundred and ninety-nine swords were densely packed in the sky, arranged by a certain order. These swords would normally disappear and return to their original positions after slashing down.


    However, Margaret was currently in the Purple Power World and her summoned swords did not return to their original positions.


    These swords were controlled by warriors from different sky regions of the Purple Power World.


    In the Southern Sky Region, a large ship decked in precious jewels glided in the sky. At the bow of the ship stood a woman, seemingly around 30 years old and still charming with her fair, exquisite face.


    Her purple robe floated elegantly around her figure as the wind whooshed past the ship. However, this serene image was quickly interrupted by the sight of huge swords dropping rapidly from the sky.


    The woman frowned. "What''s going on?"


    The gigantic swords of the Purple Power World had the ability to penetrate space and arrive at their destination in an instant. This could be considered as a type of Law of Causality so that no matter where a warrior was, in this world or another, they could make use of these swords so long as they had the Purple Power Body.

 Chapter 1258 Sword River

    The fact that the swords weren''t returned immediately after being borrowed was a nuisance. Instead, they had been pulled down from the Southern Sky Region, attracting the attention of the purple-robed woman.


    ''Could it be that someone is practicing the Colorful Sword Array?'' she thought curiously.


    The Colorful Sword Array was a kind of sword array in the Purple Power World. For a cultivator to practice it, eleven thousand colossal swords had to be used.


    But what happened soon after made her disregard the assumption completely¡ªthe number of gigantic swords that were pulled out of the deep sky before her increased.


    At first, only one or two swords fell. In the next moment, the number grew to dozens, then hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands¡­


    There had to be over a hundred thousand swords coming down¡ªthe number of great swords left in the sky of the Southern Sky Region was dwindling.


    "So many are coming down. Is the person taking them as some kind of food?" The woman''s expression shifted entirely.


    Although there was a great number of swords in the Purple Power World, there were also quite a lot of martial artists that possessed the Purple Power Body. Countless great swords would be borrowed out every day.


    But usually after these swords fell and fulfilled the task, they would be returned immediately. It was a rather normal thing to witness the swords constantly flying away and coming back.


    Very few people would ever attempt to summon all 99.9 billion great swords in one go¡ªsuch a person who could do that would need to at least possess the first-rank Purple Power Body, which was the black-purple body. But warriors at such a level were already powerful in themselves and normally didn''t need to use the swords. Although the weapons were powerful enough to destroy a great world, they weren''t much of a threat to the most powerful masters. In dealing with the masters, these swords only served as an intimidation tactic.


    In the instance of two masters fighting against each other, if one of them had the ability to summon numerous swords, then the warrior could wipe out all the disciples and supporters on the other side.


    Still, it was a rare occurrence. A year ago, the giant swords in the Southern Sky Region had once been summoned away on a large scale. Although it wasn''t clear who had done it, the astonishing number of swords being summoned away was enough to attract the attention of the powerful masters of the Purple Power World.


    Only when a high-rank Purple Power Body appeared could it be possible. At the very least, a third-rank blue-purple body or a second-rank exact-purple body warrior would be able to achieve it.


    Meanwhile, many people were sent to search through the Purple Power World, hoping to find w


    m happened to be rich enough, they could forge one hundred and ten thousand low-grade sacred weapons to be used in the sword array.


    But many masters in the Purple Power World could control 1.1 million great swords simultaneously¡ªall of which were top-grade sacred weapons.


    As for the super masters, they were able to control as many as eleven million great swords. In the eyes of these super masters, however, the divine weapons weren''t of much value. But because they couldn''t find eleven million divine weapons, they could only mix in a few divine weapons in the array.


    At that moment, the one performing the stunt could control millions of gigantic swords with ease.


    What was even more unbelievable was how the sword array changed according to a certain pattern. Through continuous practice, one could control the sword array more accurately¡ªthe weapons didn''t form the shape of a massive sword but instead formed varying figures.


    Whoosh¡­


    The purple-robed woman adjusted the angle of the ship and passed right by the densely packed bunch of swords. A woman in white stood below her, wearing a big smile¡ªshe controlled the swords with astonishing facility.


    ''Indeed¡­ she''s merely playing with them¡­'' The sight was rather disturbing to the purple-robed woman. ''She''s a young girl at the Internal Elixir Realm. How could she be doing this?''


    Jealousy surged within her¡ªusually, it was easy for women to fall victim to envy when faced with someone stronger than themselves. An Internal Elixir Realm martial artist was considered as weak as a newborn baby as far as the Upper World was concerned. Strictly speaking, a warrior at such level couldn''t even be considered to have passed the threshold of martial arts. Nonetheless, the girl before her was freely controlling all the swords as she pleased. It was too unfair, she thought.

 Chapter 1259 The Purple Jade Building

    The woman in the purple robe was jealous but she didn''t let it mess with her mind. She thought that Margaret''s ability of controlling the swords was amazing. Moreover, since Margaret could use millions of giant swords at will, her Purple Power Body must surely be at a high grade.


    As she thought this, the woman in the purple robe controlled the large ship and descended slowly.


    Margaret was enjoying playing with the swords. As her eyes flashed, she pulled them out one by one from the slowly spinning whirlpool. They came together to form words in the air.


    "In the cold, long night, only loneliness comes to me when I think of you."


    As Margaret gazed at the sentence in the sky, her eyes turned wistful. She might look happy as she played, but she still couldn''t drive away the loneliness in her heart.


    The woman in purple had already left the large ship. As she looked up at the words, a sneer took place on her face. "Such a pathetic woman!" she muttered acidly.


    She fumed inwardly for a while as she thought and then said to Margaret, "With your talent, you can choose any outstanding man in the entire universe once you achieve your cultivation. Why do you have to be so miserable?"


    Margaret had been too focused to notice the large ship and the woman in purple. But at the woman''s words, she turned and took a long look at her before saying, "No matter how outstanding the other men are, they won''t ever match up to him."


    "Other men are inferior to him? I don''t believe that," the woman in purple said disdainfully. According to her, Margaret only had a cultivation base that was at the Internal Elixir Realm and she didn''t know anything about the Purple Power World. She must have been born in some Lower World, and she was of the opinion that warriors of the Lower World were not very remarkable.


    Moreover, Margaret was just an Internal Elixir Realm warrior, which meant that the man she was longing for might not have a high-level cultivation base, probably at the Virtual Tribulation Realm. But if he was really so outstanding, he might, at most, be a Life and Death Realm warrior. And according to the woman in the purple robe, such a warrior was a mere nobody. The female warriors of the Lower World always had limited horizons and didn''t know that there were far too many outstanding men in the universe.


    Margaret did not want to talk about this and was a little incensed with the woman in purple, but she asked suddenly, "Are you my master?"


    She had learned from the old man that as long as she entered the Purple Power World, a ''master'' would naturally come looking for her. Since the woman in purple had appeared alone, Margaret''s mind had immediately jumped to the thought that perhaps this woman was her master.


    The woman in purple was taken aback at Margaret''s words.


    She was at the Spirit Supreme Realm, which meant th


    ating in the air.


    She had just learned from her disciple about the woman with a high-rank Purple Power body that her disciple had discovered. Her body might be at least a third-rank blue-purple body. At this news, she had hurriedly rushed over from the Purple Jade Building.


    The number of the Purple Power Bodies in the universe was huge. But most of them were light purple or cyan-purple. The light purple body and the cyan-purple body were at the sixth rank and the fifth rank respectively. The number of fourth-rank Purple Power body was extremely small. And if a woman had a fourth-rank Purple Power body, she had the qualifications to unconditionally join the Purple Jade Building.


    So when her disciple had told her that there was a woman with the blue-purple body, she was eager to meet her. She believed that Margaret might have the third-rank Purple Power Body.


    But she was left shocked when she saw Margaret. It wasn''t a third-rank or a second-rank Purple Power Body that Margaret had. It was much higher! She had the first-rank black-purple body. How had a first-rank Purple Power Body appeared? It was next to impossible! The beautiful woman was momentarily confused.


    "Master..." the woman in purple uttered softly, kneeling before her master.


    Realizing that she had lost her composure, the beautiful woman said to the woman in purple, "Bridget, please stand up."


    She then walked over to Margaret as Bridget went up to take the beautiful woman''s arm. As they came to stop before Margaret, she asked her, "What is your name?"


    Realizing that the beautiful woman was her master, Margaret bowed and replied, "My surname is Xi, and my first name is Margaret."


    "Margaret Xi?" the beautiful woman asked.


    Margaret nodded.


    The beautiful woman then said, "I''m the leader of the Purple Jade Building. If you take me as your master, then you''ll have to join the Purple Jade Building."

 Chapter 1260 The Soul Enchanting Building

    The Purple Jade Building was extremely famous in the universe, but Margaret didn''t know about it and also could not totally understand what the beautiful woman said.


    Although she had to join the Purple Jade Building if she wanted to become the beautiful woman''s disciple, Margaret didn''t mind it at all. With a smile on her face, she said to the beautiful woman, "Okay! No problem!"


    At this moment, the beautiful woman raised her head to take a look. Those large words that were formed by the giant swords seemed to form a poem which showed how much Margaret missed a man.


    Thus, the beautiful woman frowned and said, "The cultivation method of the Purple Jade Building emphasizes pure heart and few desires. If you still have any ties with the mortal world, you must get rid of them one by one. Don''t even think about anything else while cultivating here."


    "What..." Margaret blinked. It was different from what the old man had told her, but she still shook her head resolutely. "That''s impossible. If so, I will not join the Purple Jade Building or acknowledge you as my master!"


    The beautiful woman also did not expect that Margaret would change so quickly.


    But Margaret had the first-rank Purple Power Body, so the beautiful woman would not give up persuading Margaret to be her disciple.


    She coldly laughed. "You are still young and immature, so I won''t allow you to do any reckless thing as you wish."


    Margaret didn''t care how powerful the beautiful woman was, and she insisted on saying, "I will not join the Purple Jade Building! Don''t force me to do that!"


    When the woman called Bridget saw that her master pulled a long face, she quickly persuaded, "Margaret, my master''s suggestion is also for your own good. I think you had better..."


    Margaret got even more morose. She just wanted to be the beautiful woman''s disciple, but she didn''t know that there was such an annoying rule. At this moment, she did not say anything and was going to leave.


    But just as she was about to turn around, she felt as if her body was stuck in quicksand; she couldn''t move even a single step.


    "Caw!" However, the Ancestral Dragon was not affected in the slightest. It leapt onto Margaret''s shoulder and roared at the beautiful woman!


    "This little dragon... isn''t affected at all!" the beautiful woman exclaimed. The beautiful woman revealed a trace of surprise on her face.


    In truth, this Ancestral Dragon was able to break free from the shackles of most of Original Laws. Even the high-grade Space Law and Time Law had no effect on it.


    "Let me go!" Margaret wanted to leave here and return to the great world she had lived in. When she was unable to move, she suddenly waved her hand and all the giant swords in the sky smashed down.


    Meanwhile, the beautiful woman smiled faintly and waved her hand, which caused the gigantic swords


    udent and immoral woman! You don''t have the right to scold me!" The beautiful woman was livid when she saw the pretty woman on the bed appear.


    The barely clothed woman named Leah Zhao lifted her body up and coiled her legs like two thin snakes. She then placed an arm on the shoulder of one of the strong men. A charming smile lit up her face as she looked up at the poem in the sky. "Little girl, I see that you are not a virgin anymore. And you made such a gloomy poem in the sky with the giant swords because you miss a man very much, right? You should consider joining the Soul Enchanting Building. Not only can you play with all kinds of men, but you can learn about the secret female-male dual cultivation methods..."


    "Bitch!" the beautiful woman hissed before Leah Zhao finished speaking.


    Leah Zhao didn''t get angry even after being insulted. She simply smiled and said, "There is more than one way to cultivate martial arts. Krista, we''ve already argued many times, but you haven''t convinced me even once."


    Margaret stood in her spot and hugged the Ancestral Dragon. Her mind was a mess and she felt very confused, as she had no idea who were these people she encountered.


    She didn''t know that there were three buildings in the Purple Power World, and that they were well known throughout the universe. The beautiful woman, Krista Hua, was the leader of the Purple Jade Building, while Leah Zhao was the leader of the Soul Enchanting Building.


    However, these two buildings differed greatly from each other. The Purple Jade Building was a typical nunnery, so those who wished to enter it must have little to no desire and stop thinking about anyone or anything in their lives.


    As the name suggested, the Soul Enchanting Building was indeed a tempting place for many male warriors. Plenty of bold and promiscuous girls lived there, but not many warriors dared to enter such a place.

 Chapter 1261 Elder Apeiron

    Yes, sex was nice but it wasn''t incentive enough for men to enter the Soul Enchanting Building where few souls dare to tread.


    Why? Because no matter how much pleasure one experienced in life, it would all be for nothing if he ended up dying from too much.


    The women in the Soul Enchanting Building had no need to force anything on anyone. Their top-tier flirtation skills were enough to make any man never want to leave. Once caught under their spell, the men would indulge themselves in the sins of the flesh non-stop, until their bodies were drained and their life vitality greatly depleted. All their hundred or even thousand years of hard work and cultivation would all be taken away. The danger of damaging one''s core power was high and the worst that could happen was death.


    There was no way Margaret would join such a place. It was true that she wanted a man but that man was Zen and Zen alone.


    The Purple Jade Building, on the other hand, was a place where love was forbidden which she would also never accept.


    ''I was tricked by that wicked old man¡­''


    she brooded resentfully. What should she do now? She was already here. How would she be able to escape with these two people in front of her? She briefly wondered if she could use the space node to escape and go back to the Central Region. However, what if she brought trouble to Zen? This was truly a tight spot she found herself in.


    Meanwhile, as these questions rushed through her mind, Leah and Krista began arguing.


    The two bickered persistently, opposing each other as both were unwilling to give way. Margaret had a first-rank Purple Power Body, a very valuable asset for whoever got her as a disciple, so neither of them were willing to lose. Just as their arguing turned into screaming, an old and dignified voice called out, "Will the two of you go away!"


    Both Leah and Krista froze, their argument forgotten as an old woman walked into the scene.


    The woman wore a solemn expression on her face and held a cane in her hand.


    Despite having shouted at each other wildly just moments before, both Leah and Krista immediately composed themselves and extended a respectful greeting to the old woman, "Elder Apeiron!"


    The Purple Power World had three renowned buildings and a famous tower. One was the Purple Jade Building, the second was the Soul Enchanting Building, and the third was the Moon Building. But the one that held the absolute power over all of them was the Apeiron Tower!


    The old woman in front of them was none other than the tower''s owner: Elder Apeiron!


    The old woman hobbled slowly towards Margaret with the help of her cane. "Good, very good! That old fellow has found a good disciple for me!"


    Krista''s eyes immediately widened at the old master''s words, "Elder Apeiron, I was the one who found her first¡­" she whined. There was


    ately grabbed her hand at lightning speed.


    Letitia pouted cutely. "You''re so annoying. Let go of me!"


    But how could Zen let her go? He smiled and pulled her closer to his tight embrace.


    "Hmph, last night you¡­" she started to protest once again.


    Zen laughed, interrupting her before she could finish her words, "Don''t mention that. You almost froze me!"


    "You deserved it! You were so naughty! Be like that again and I''ll freeze you to death!" she teased.


    "I''m not afraid of being frozen. If you don''t believe me, maybe we should do it again¡­" He laughed suggestively.


    "No way! Do you think I''m an idiot¡­"


    The morning was filled with soft touches and cheerful laughter. This went on for a while until they had to get up and bathe. Letitia put her hair up in a bun, revealing her small and tender earlobes. After marriage, it was customary for the bride in the Central Region to tie her hair up in a bun for three days after the wedding day. The hairstyle changed her usual cheerful and playful look into that of a dignified young woman.


    Zen, on the other hand, made his way straight for the old man''s place. The mysterious old man still hadn''t left Cloud Hall and Zen had yet to figure out what he came here for.


    The Cloud Hall had arranged a tea house for the old man to rest in. Zen found him drinking tea leisurely once he arrived.


    Zen respectfully bowed before him just after entering. The old man chuckled as he saw another figure fly over from outside the tea house. It seemed that Margaret had also returned.


    Zen found it weird to see Margaret look so worn out as if she had just returned from a terribly long journey. Did she leave Cloud Hall yesterday? Where could she have gone to?


    He remembered the old man talking to Margaret yesterday and now she rushed over here so early in the morning. Did something happen between the two? Zen wondered curiously.

 Chapter 1262 Four Years (Part One)

    Margaret walked in, or rather, flew into the room with a faint smile on her face. She asked the old man in a sweet tone, "Sir, may I offer you a cup of tea?"


    The old man chuckled at the softness of her tone and nodded in agreement.


    The kind and considerate Elder Apeiron was the wife of this old man, and she had just become Elder Apeiron''s disciple the previous night, so it was only right that she now treated the old man in front of her with great respect. However, she was currently unwilling to let Zen find out that she was trying to improve herself in cultivation.


    Smiling upon the consent she had received, Margaret sifted a pot of green tea before brewing a cup and handing it over to the old man, who accepted with an ecstatic expression on his face.


    He was very happy to have found this girl. Laughing loudly, he showed his happiness, "That''s a good girl! No one among my disciples is so courteous like you!"


    He was sure that his wife must be very grateful to him for introducing such a talented disciple to her. And now, upon discovering what a sweet and good mannered girl she was, he felt even more pleased with his discovery. However, since he was able to read her mind, he also understood the bitterness she had borne in mind at the wedding ceremony the day before. It was his pity for the lovesick girl that had made him praise her to the skies in front of Zen, whether the effort bore fruit or not.


    Margaret smiled with gratitude as she prepared another cup of tea. She handed it over steadily to Zen and then retreated to one side, giving the two men some room to talk.


    After Zen had taken a small sip of his tea, he turned to the old man and began t


    in. He was sure that the old man wouldn''t let him ask it anyway.


    As he expected, the old man piped up, "There''s no reason for that at all! I''ve thought about it a lot. Anyone without a destined fate has to choose his or her own path. You possess the talent and the strength to lead the world of chaos, and yet, you are not destined for it. You will have to make a decision on your own. Nobody should interfere with your fortune or your future..."


    Zen took another sip of his tea in silence. Yolande had said similar words to him just some time ago.


    She was ready to fight the Celestial Position race for keeping Klein on her side. Klein was the one who had received the silver Asura title. However, she had said that she wouldn''t interfere a single bit with Zen''s matters. In fact, even after he had obtained the Heavenly Fragment in the past, she hadn''t had any reactions and had just let Zen make the decision by himself.


    Zen was indeed completely free to choose his path. But one little doubt was still nagging him. He felt that he still needed someone to point him in the right direction. He was conflicted.

 Chapter 1263 Four Years (Part Two)

    This time also, Zen had no intention of speaking out loud, but the old man still patted him on the shoulder and comforted him, "Nobody can repeat the paths of those who have become legends, nor could they ever predict the path for those who will. No one has the right to point the way for you. Not even a Supreme Lord! But you should remember one thing: even if I don''t bring you to the Celestial Position race, and even if your blood is not changed, you are already a member of our race. I believe you will remember the promise you have made in the Tower of Crystal!"


    With that, the old man stood up from his seat and waved the porcelain teacup in his hands as he asked Margaret, "May I have another cup of tea?"


    Margaret smiled and walked over to fill his cup. After the old man drank his third cup in one gulp too, he looked at the Ancestral Dragon roaming around near Margaret''s feet and said, "Oh, I almost forgot, we have also decided to leave the Ancestral Dragon here with you. Okay, I must go now! See you next time!"


    But Zen simply kept quiet in response. He was sure the old man would interrupt him again if he spoke.


    Therefore, it wasn''t he who responded to the old man''s goodbye, but Margaret.


    She smiled softly and asked, "Sir, what is your name? Would you mind telling it to me?"


    The old man tilted his head and smiled at her. His mouth moved slightly and a slight, invisible wave of life vitality spread out towards Margaret.


    After that, his figure flashed and suddenly disappeared from their sight.


    ''Nameless... The old man''s name is Nameless. No wonder he told Zen that he d


    e at that time. This was the happy future she was looking forward to.


    In the following days, besides accompanying Letitia and Margaret, Zen spent the rest of his time cultivating. Half a month later, he stepped out of the Cloud Hall and looked to the east.


    The Eastern Region...


    Four years had passed like a flash since he had set foot on the Cloud Road.


    To most warriors, four years were almost negligible compared to their long lives. But Zen had only been twenty years old at that time. Four years was already a fifth of his past life, and in these four years, his life had almost completely turned around. He had been through a lot during this time.


    "It''s time to go back now. It''s time to go back to the Clout Sect." He muttered to himself.


    In the last four years, Zen had travelled without even a day''s rest on the way. From the moment he left his home, he had never had the time to rest, and even when he was home, he hadn''t had an easy time. And now he believed that he needed to pay a visit to the Eastern Region now that he finally had the time.

 Chapter 1264 Return to the Cloud Sect

    As he looked south, a figure appeared in his heart, shocking Zen.


    The figure belonged to Aura, the eldest princess of the Burning Sky Empire who always took care of and protected him in the past. She was always dressed in green.


    After Zen had left the Eastern Region, he had channeled most of his time and energy into rescuing Yan. Aura had been waiting for him in the Eastern Region, but it was only now that he got the chance to return to her.


    He thought of Aura who ran about wildly in the palace with him, smashing one wall after another as she looked on, a carefree smile on her face. She didn''t have high expectations, always acting like a teacher who had enlightened him about the world. She had always tried her best to do everything the right way and never demanded anything.


    Zen felt a sudden sense of guilt as he thought of this.


    Zen''s reputation had risen rapidly within the Cloud Hall. After that, he had become very powerful and famous in the Central Region, his reputation spreading to the Eastern Region, too. This was enough to ensure Aura''s safety.


    Kenneth wasn''t the leader of the Cloud Sect for no reason. He was not a fool. He wouldn''t even dare let Aura suffer even the slightest of injuries.


    Zen wasn''t worried about Aura''s safety. He had once promised to return to the Eastern Region, but he hadn''t been able to keep his promise for a long time. According to everyone else, four years was not a long period of time. They thought Zen to be amazing, having achieved so much in the world and now returning to the Eastern Region, after having been away for such a short time. Zen had already had several chances to return to the Eastern Region before. But he had chosen to spend his time cultivating because of Yan.


    This looked like Zen had left Aura behind, without contacting her during the time he had been away.


    Zen could choose one of two routes to go back to the Eastern Region. One was to pass through the transmission array and enter the relics of the sixth-grade sect, and the other was to directly pass through the Central Region.


    In the past, Zen would probably have chosen the shortest route and passed through the transmission array.


    But Zen wasn''t in a hurry right now. It was as if he had a lot of spare time that he could use to relax. He travelled east with Letitia and Margaret, choosing to pass through the entire Central Region before entering the Eastern Region.


    "I''ve never been to the Eastern Region," Letitia said with a smile.


    The two women seemed to be happy as they made their way to the east. Zen didn''t know if they were still in conflict but at least now, they weren''t being openly hostile to each other.


    Margaret blinked and smiled. "I''ve never been there either, but I want to see Zen''s hometown where he grew up!"


    The Eastern Region was merely an extension of the Central Region. But it was stil


    remarkable performances. He had even tried to report Zen''s great performance to the top leaders, but was stopped by several saints.


    Kenneth had punished those saints, one even killed, in the All Peaks Competition. But once that was over, those saints had begun trying to get back at Steward Cao because of the humiliation they had faced. But Steward Cao wasn''t the reason behind Kenneth''s fury. Those saints had later found a reason and demoted Steward Cao to the position of a patrolling steward.


    "Why have you been demoted?" Zen asked curiously.


    Steward Cao was overjoyed, guessing that Zen was in a very high position now. He probably would not be able to get any benefit from Zen, but since Zen had himself asked about it, there might be a chance that Zen could help him be promoted to a higher position. It might be difficult for someone like Steward Cao to achieve something, but Zen might be able to help him get what he wanted just by giving an order.


    So he briefly told Zen about what had transpired.


    Zen nodded, but before he could say anything, Letitia frowned and said, "I have never been to the Cloud Sect before and had never expected such a boring thing to happen in a second-grade sect. I wonder how Kenneth manages the sect. If I meet him, I''ll have to punish him for that."


    Steward Cao''s jaw dropped a little as he heard Letitia refer to the Cloud Sect leader by his name. She was blaming the leader? And would she do that to his face? Who was this woman?


    Steward Cao did not dare ask, but he was secretly trying to guess Letitia''s identity.


    As he saw Steward Cao''s expression, Zen smiled. "Alright. Since the top leader is paying attention to this matter, I believe there should be no problem at all."


    "The top leader?" At Zen''s words, Steward Cao mustered enough courage to ask, "This fairy-like lady is..."


    "She''s the leader of Cloud Hall," Zen said with a nonchalant shrug.

 Chapter 1265 Auras Whereabouts

    The Cloud Sect was a second grade sect affiliated to the Cloud Hall.


    But to a majority of the disciples and stewards in the Cloud Sect, the Cloud Hall was a legend.


    There were very few disciples in the Cloud Sect who could enter the Cloud Hall.


    The All Peaks Competition was held every three years, and only the top three from the competition would earn tickets to the Cloud Road. But there were hundreds of thousands of disciples in the Cloud Sect, and they had only one in a hundred thousandth chance to enter the Cloud Road.


    Besides, the elites of the Cloud Sect would have to compete with the disciples of other four second-grade sects.


    The leader of the Cloud Sect could only be considered a steward in the Cloud Hall, at most. He didn''t even have the qualifications to become an elder. It could be deduced from this how high and mighty the Cloud Hall was.


    Zen had no intention of hiding anything, so he told Cao everything about Letitia''s identity.


    But he had overestimated Cao''s ability to accept this. Cao''s mouth was wide open as he looked at Letitia, his face fearful. He was lost for words at the moment.


    There were some elders from the Cloud Hall who had visited the Cloud Sect before. But the leader of the Cloud Hall had never personally been here. For a moment, Cao could not tell what was going on, but he was quick to recover. He bowed to Letitia and said respectfully, "I feel honored that Master Ning has personally come to the Cloud Sect. I will report this to our leader immediately!"


    It was up to Kenneth to judge if the person before him was the leader of the Cloud Hall or not. Cao only needed to perform his duty and pass the information to the leader.


    With that, Cao jumped onto his flying chariot and rushed into the Cloud Sect.


    "Cao, why are you in such a hurry? What has happened?" one of his companions asked.


    But Cao didn''t have the time to talk to him. He didn''t pause, ignoring the steward as he headed straight to the hall.


    "Crazy idiot!" the steward cursed at Cao. The other stewards were also baffled. What had just happened? They turned, only to find three people standing at the entrance of the Cloud Sect, the cultivation level of whom they couldn''t figure out. They were all startled and then became anxious as they thought of how Cao had left in a hurry.


    It didn''t matter who these three people were. All they knew was that they weren''t someone they could afford to offend.


    Moments after Cao had left, a burly figure rushed over to the entrance. It was Kenneth, the leader of the Cloud Sect.


    "Master Shi!"


    "Master Shi!"


    The stewards were good at judging situations through people''s expressions. As they watched Master Shi hurry over, they assumed that the three people standing at the entrance of the sect were someone important. But they didn''t have a clue who these three people were.


    When Kenneth arrived, he first saw Zen and was pleasan


    ion. Zen had earned all the resources he had relied on for practice through his own efforts. Kenneth had not expected Zen to become the strongest warrior in the Central Region within just a few years.


    Kenneth knew all about Letitia and Zen''s wedding ceremony which had taken place a while ago. But the Cloud Sect had only sent them a lavish gift. The people who were invited to the wedding ceremony were all leaders of the third-grade sects. Although the Cloud Sect was affiliated to the Cloud Hall, it wasn''t qualified enough to attend the wedding ceremony since it was only a second-grade sect.


    And now, Zen had suddenly returned to the Eastern Region. It was true that Zen''s family was in the Eastern Region, but what concerned Zen the most was still the Sky Princess Aura.


    Letitia and Margaret followed Kenneth and Zen for a tour of the Cloud Sect.


    As they moved ahead, Zen asked Kenneth through his life vitality, "Master Shi, where is Master Su?"


    Kenneth had expected Zen to inquire about this, so he replied truthfully, "After you left the Eastern Region, Aura was still confined in the royal palace. But half a year later, I brought her back to the Cloud Sect. She then returned to Drizzle Peak and did her job as a master."


    Kenneth had promised Zen that as long as he was around, nobody could harm Aura. He said that he couldn''t help Aura grab the throne, but he could guarantee her safety.


    A year after the promise, when news of Zen''s rise in fame in the Martial Arts Contest reached Kenneth, he changed his mind.


    Kenneth knew of the relationship between Aura and Zen. He knew that in the future, Zen would definitely become a core member of the Cloud Hall.


    Kenneth arrived at the Burning Sky Palace the day after he had obtained information about Zen''s achievement in the Martial Arts Contest and kicked Ray off the throne in front of all the civil and military officials. He then released Aura from her house arrest.

 Chapter 1266 Battle

    After Kane disappeared, Kenneth was the only representative of the Cloud Hall in the Eastern Region, so who in the Burning Sky Palace could stand against him?


    The Burning Sky Empire was merely an empire of mortals. They were as weak as infants in front of the warriors. No matter who the emperor was, what the powerful warriors decided was taken as the final word.


    The officials of the imperial court were stunned at seeing what had happened, but no one dared say anything about it. As for the several Internal Elixir Realm warriors who lived in the Burning Sky Palace, none of them were willing to meddle in the matter.


    Kenneth had given Aura two options. The first had been to depose Ray and ascend to the throne. The second one was to head for the Central Region to be with Zen.


    However, Aura''s decision surprised Kenneth. She did not choose to kill Ray to become the first empress of the Burning Sky Empire. She also did not leave the Eastern Region. Instead, she went back to Drizzle Peak of the Cloud Sect to continue to be a master.


    Kenneth told Zen about what Aura had done while he had not been present in the Eastern Region.


    Zen nodded lightly, a smile appearing on his face. It had to be said that Kenneth had done well enough. However, it surprised Zen that Aura was willing to stay at Drizzle Peak permanently.


    The two of them spoke through life vitality. "What are you guys talking about?" Letitia asked curiously.


    "Uh..." Kenneth was filled with embarrassment. Since Zen was using his life vitality to communicate with him, he naturally did not want to let the two women next to him in on the conversation. Kenneth could not reveal what they were talking about. He did not know what to say to Letitia.


    Zen smiled. "It''s nothing," he said. "Just some events that happened at the Cloud Sect. Tia, Margaret, now that you two are here, you should ask Master Shi to take you around. I have something to deal with."


    Margaret stayed silent, her eyes fixed on Zen. When she saw the gleam in his eyes, she immediately guessed at what the matter was.


    On the other hand, Letitia could not figure out what was going on. "What is it?" she asked again.


    "Master Ning, please follow me," Kenneth said quickly. "I will be showing you the various peaks of the Cloud Sect later..."


    Zen made up an excuse and left. Margaret and Letitia followed Kenneth, heading straight to the other direction.


    The moment Kenneth entered the main hall, he asked the maids to serve them food. However, before they could enter the hall, Margaret came to stand at the gates.


    Letitia glanced at Margaret. "What are you doing?"


    Margaret smiled. "Nothing. I can sense that something is wrong."


    "What''s wrong this time?" Letitia asked her.


    Margaret did not r


    h. He slowly approached them.


    Two disciples in black robes could be seen fighting on the battle ring.


    ''Why are the inner disciples fighting here?'' Zen thought, a bit puzzled. A smile split his lips when he spotted someone. "There''s Nory!" he muttered.


    Nory had been Zen''s first friend when he had entered the Cloud Sect. His temperament had clearly undergone a great change; different from what it had been when before. Most importantly, he had already become an inner disciple.


    His talent was average and he didn''t have enough willpower. Most of the time, it was only because of Zen''s encouragement that Nory was able to brace himself and progress on his cultivation. Back then, Zen had stepped up and taken action against the master of the Mo Clan because of Nory...


    It seemed that after he left, Nory had put in a great deal of effort into his cultivation. At the moment, he was standing on the battle ring, his life vitality exploding through. But his opponent''s strength was not to be taken lightly, who might be even more powerful than Nory. However, Nory''s willpower was unmatched. No matter how strong the opponent''s counterattack, Nory could resist it. He would not be willing to retreat or give in.


    Nory had indeed changed...


    Zen sighed silently, but as he continued to observe the battle, he frowned.


    The other warrior on the battle ring was obviously much stronger. He seemed to fight Nory effortlessly. There was an obvious playful expression on his face as he continued to strain Nory with his attacks. It was noisy but Zen could still hear the warrior''s comment. "You people are delusional. The Drizzle Peak doesn''t have it in them to be ranked as number one among the thirty-three peaks!" he spoke with a sneer. "Only Zen was the outstanding one here. After he left, this place turned just as ordinary as before."

 Chapter 1267 They Met Again

    The inner disciple''s face reflected his arrogance and craziness, his attacks getting fiercer by the minute.


    But a greenish gray aura remained on the surface of Nory''s body. His opponent wouldn''t be able to knock him down even if he let out a shower of attacks against him.


    The aura seemed unique, indicating that perhaps Nory had had his own fortuitous encounters.


    "Nory, you can do it!"


    "You can''t lose to this guy from Skytop Peak!"


    "Defend our dignity! We are the Number One peak!"


    Zen smiled at the crowd''s cheers. This battle was between the Skytop Peak and the Drizzle Peak.


    The Drizzle Peak had ranked first back when Zen had defeated Rocher and Patrick. Rocher was from the Skytop Peak, which ended up second. It was completely unexpected that this situation had remained the same to this day.


    Bang!


    Nory had blocked many of his opponent''s attacks, but one finally made it through to hit him and sent him flying to the edge of the battle ring.


    The black-robed disciple sneered as he walked towards Nory. He raised the weapon in his hand and asked, "Are you going to roll off yourself, or should I help you with it?"


    Nory gritted his teeth and then stubbornly clenched his jaw. The life vitality within his body began to gather. Despite his disadvantage, he still wanted to retaliate.


    "Looks like you won''t give up. I''ll simply have to disable you then!" The disciple of the Skytop Peak sneered again, raised the weapon in his hand and was about to smash it down on him.


    A voice sounded from across the crowd. "Enough!"


    The crowd parted as a woman made her way to the front. She was wearing a yellow waistcoat over a light yellow dress that accentuated her slim figure. Her face was as beautiful as a fairy''s, but it had been four years and she had become more mature.


    "Master Su!" Zen murmured as his eyes lit up.


    Aura did not see him as he was floating in the air. She walked up to the side of the battle ring and said to Nory, "You''ve done well enough. Surrender, Nory."


    "But Master Su¡ª" Nory hesitated, unconvinced.


    Aura smiled and said, "This is not perseverance, but recklessness. A warrior should know when to surrender."


    As she looked at Nory, Aura was reminded of Zen. After all, not everyone had talent like Zen''s. While perseverance was a very important quality, it was only when used together with talent that one could achieve the greatest of heights.


    But it looked like Aura''s words didn''t have an effect on Nory, who stood up and charged


    g all her energy on the Drizzle Peak, hoping to find more talented disciples, giving them the greatest help, and hoping for a better result. Only by doing so, would she be able to be patient for a little longer.


    Four years wasn''t a long time, and she hadn''t thought that Zen would come back. In these four years, she had heard that Zen had offended a strong warrior from the Central Region, gone missing, returned, looked for a capable doctor, and then left the Central Region for a foreign land that was far beyond her imagination, in order to save the leader of the Cloud Hall.


    The Eastern Region was too far away from the Central Region, and the information had not been transmitted smoothly. This meant that every emotion stayed with Aura for a long time until the next message was sent, before being replaced by another emotion, be it excitement, worry, hope, relief, or gratification.


    But Zen had returned today! ''Have I been waiting for him?'' she asked herself. Her mind was a mess. She could not think straight and did not know the answer.


    Suddenly, her body trembled, as a pair of hands wrapped around her.


    "Let me go!" Aura said, nervousness lacing her voice.


    She was still a master, even if she was not that older than the disciples of Drizzle Peak. Many disciples on the mountainside were looking at her. She felt embarrassed and shy.


    At her words, Zen hugged her even tighter and didn''t let go for a long time. "I''m sorry I''m late," he said apologetically.


    He had promised that he would come back.


    On the other side of the Drizzle Peak, Margaret and Letitia were hiding behind a rock. Margaret smiled and said, "Look! I guessed right."

 Chapter 1268 Go To The Fairy Palace Again

    Letitia was in an extremely bad mood. "He has so many women! He''s not a good guy!" she fumed.


    Margaret didn''t know why, but the sight of the normally dignified girl''s pout made her smile. Maybe she found it endearing. Margaret wasn''t sure, but Letitia''s jealousy seemed to cancel the bitterness in her heart. "But Zen got to know this woman first," she teased.


    "I don''t care! No matter what, he''s not a good guy!" Letitia huffed, her face red in anger.


    Margaret tutted, "If Zen was a bad guy, he would''ve just left and never come back. His righteousness is what made him keep his promise."


    But Letitia still adamantly shook her head as tears welled up in her eyes. "No! He is not a good guy!" she stubbornly whined.


    Margaret sighed in resignation and extended her sleeved arm towards her.


    Letitia flinched at her sudden movement. "What are you doing?" she asked.


    Margaret ignored her question and used her sleeve to wipe away the tears from her face. "He''s not a good guy, but he''s still our husband," she reminded Letitia.


    Her words stunned the crying girl in silence. Margaret was right. No matter what Letitia thought of Zen, at the end of the day, he was still her husband who she had to stick with through thick and thin. She knew she could get very possessive of him, but she had already known that someone like him couldn''t belong to her entirely. It was time she swallowed this bitter truth.


    Kenneth, on the other hand, couldn''t help but feel a bit jealous as he looked at Letitia. ''Zen is really so awesome!'' he thought to himself as he floated further away.


    It was normal for a warrior to have multiple women. Kenneth himself had dozens of women.


    Zen only had three, but the thing was, all his women were top-notch!


    Letitia was the leader of Central Region''s biggest sect. Although the woman beside her was unknown to Kenneth, he knew her background couldn''t be simple. Zen''s brides were sure to be of high status. How could they ever be compared with ordinary women?


    ''He just married Master Ning and held a grand wedding ceremony not too long ago, but here he is with Aura. Zen is indeed a real man!'' Kenneth thought, admiring Zen from the bottom of his heart. However, he also could not help but steal a glance at Letitia. ''She looks rather furious, but there''s nothing she can do about it...''


    Zen took his time comforting Aura. After a while, the topic finally shifted to her father.


    Kane had once been a steward of Cloud Hall, but disappeared during a mission. There was no news of him until now.


    Fortuna


    ays later, he left the Luo Clan and went west.


    This confused his ladies. Since Zen had already finished his tasks, he should be rushing back to the Central Region. Why were they heading west?


    Zen, of course, refused to tell them and chose to act mysterious. He simply told them that he was bringing them to a mysterious, secluded place.


    This "mysterious, secluded place" turned out to be the Dragon Valley of the Cloudy Mountain. It was the location of the fairy palace that Zen had entered before.


    This fairy palace was extremely strange. Aside from Zen, the only person that had ever come here was Immortal Mist.


    But, even with his cultivation level at the Spirit Supreme Realm, Immortal Mist was still unable to control the fairy palace and had only managed to obtain one more token than Zen. The token he got had the character "thunder" on it. He had given it to Zen, who had initially gotten the one with "wind."


    According to what Immortal Mist told him, this fairy palace did not have a name since nobody, in the entire a hundred thousand supreme worlds of the universe, had the qualifications to name it.


    Zen thought Immortal Mist might''ve been exaggerating, but he knew that it was a place he definitely had to explore before he ascended to the Upper World. He did not know if he''d be able to obtain the fairy palace''s secrets despite reaching the Life and Death Realm, but he would have to see.


    "So this is where you wanted to take us?" Letitia said, looking at the empty valley.


    "Follow me!" he said, walking towards a seemingly insignificant corner. He slowly walked between two bamboo sticks before a green light flashed and he disappeared right before their very eyes.

 Chapter 1269 Meet Saul Again

    The sudden flash which marked Zen''s figure disappearing left traces of curiosity on Aura''s face. This was something exotic! "Is that a transmission array?"


    The Eastern Region wasn''t exactly marked for its construction and presence of transmission arrays. The only one that had been built within the Cloud Sect was the one that led to the Cloud Road. Even that particular array was now in a dilapidated condition due to its lack of use and maintenance.


    To transfer a person through a transmission array required the use of a supreme life vitality crystal, and even someone as powerful and rich as Kenneth would be reluctant to do that.


    Therefore, when Aura saw the transmission array, she felt a little surprised.


    As for Letitia and Margaret, their expressions were unfazed. Transmission arrays in the Central Region were common, day-to-day objects. Sometimes, even some commonplace merchants who were slightly wealthy enough would choose to use transmission arrays for transporting their goods. Although it was expensive, it was safe and convenient.


    Zen hadn''t told them where he was leading them, but in Letitia''s eyes, even if this small Eastern Region had any secrets to keep, they would be nothing significant. Such a small place simply could not have some secret land.


    But in any case, she was willing to accompany her husband wherever he went.


    As soon as Letitia stepped into the space between the two bamboos, a white light flashed around her and she found herself in a strange place. A look of surprise appeared on her face now.


    "It looks like this transmission array does not have any space channel, and I don''t sense the power of the Space Law associated with it. That is unusual," she muttered.


    Behind her, Margaret and Aura also passed through the two bamboos and found themselves in the same place.


    The scenery around them was stunning due to the sheer magnitude of its size.


    "These trees are so huge. Is this the world of giants?" Aura looked at the trees that stretched tall as a mountain, her eyes filled with shock.


    At first glance, the surrounding scenery looked very normal indeed. But after careful observation for about a second or two, everything seemed to have been magnified countless times. Even the weeds that were growing below the trees were the size of a common house. It was as if this world was created specifically for giants.


    Zen chuckled when he saw their shocked expressions. When he had first arrived at this place, he was only at the nature level. He had been scared by the scenery too, and at that time, there was an unbelievably large white tiger on the other side of the enchanted barrier. Fortunately, the barrier saved his life.


    "What is this place?" Margaret asked curiously. In fact, to be perfectly honest, what this place was wasn''t important to her at all. But seeing that Zen seemed to want to surprise them, she decided to play along. This man had her heart, after all.


    Letitia and Aura were both curious in reality and looking towards Zen.


    Zen smiled cunningly and replied, "Come with me! I''ll show yo


    he had left the fairy palace last time. Saul had told him that this token would allow him to control the outer courtyard and enter the fairy palace.


    It was only a token. While it was true that he was the owner of this fairy palace, it didn''t grant him any authority over the place.


    The two enormous puppets immediately slowed down the moment Zen brought the token out of his space ring. Although they were still striding forward, it was obvious that they had no intention of attacking the company now.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    They walked up to Zen and knelt down on one knee.


    Zen nodded slightly, and then called out to the three of them. Though they were hesitant, the three continued walking into the inner courtyard.


    Actually, at Zen''s current strength level, these puppets couldn''t have hurt him at all. However, since he had a token that allowed him to control them, he was obviously not going to waste any time fighting them.


    After entering the inner courtyard, they saw a huge pond in front of them. Inside the pond, countless carps were rolling about.


    Zen, who was still holding the token in his hand, walked straight into the enormous pavilion with the three women. He then began to move the statues in the pavilion and arranged them according to some rule. They managed to simply pass through the pavilion.


    Soon after that, a voice floated their way. "Zen, my friend. It''s been a long time. I''ve been waiting for you for four years now."


    Not far away from them, stood a middle-aged man wearing a silken robe. This was Saul, who had given him the token the last time and who had been separated from Zen for quite a while now.


    He looked like a puppet too, but a soul was hiding within the puppet.


    Zen smiled and nodded at his friend. "You are right. It''s been a while. How''s everything going around here?"


    "You tell me! In four years, you managed to jump from a nature level warrior to a Life and Death Realm warrior. Your cultivation speed can be considered quite remarkable," Saul replied. "But it''s still not enough!"

 Chapter 1270 The True Path

    Saul''s words were confusing, and Letitia''s face filled with astonishment.


    In just four years, Zen had advanced from a nature level warrior to a Life and Death Realm warrior. Yet Saul was saying that his cultivation speed was still not enough.


    Such a fast pace of breaking through could be considered extremely rare.


    At least in Letitia''s knowledge, among all the years she had spent in the Central Region, she had never seen a person talented enough to have achieved such a fast speed.


    Just how high were this man''s standards?


    However, what Saul said next made Letitia more shocked. He sighed and told Zen, "And yes. I can see that although you are only at the Life and Death Realm, your foundation is much more stable than ordinary warriors. In fact, I know that your strength is comparable to a Soul Sea Realm warrior. But it is still not enough. You cannot break through the barrier to the True Path at this level, nor can you walk on it. Although I have some regrets, you still need to cultivate for a few years before coming back."


    ''Not enough?'' Letitia thought, speechless. Was this place still in the Eastern Region? Even a Life and Death Realm warrior was not qualified to pass through. What sort of legacy did this fairy palace have?


    Hearing Saul''s words, Zen did not seem to be dejected at all. Instead, he smiled and asked, "What if I have this token?"


    As he finished speaking, he took out the other token from his space ring. On the token in his hand was carved the word "thunder."


    This token had been given to Zen by Immortal Mist, who himself had suffered the Five Aging Processes. It had left him with only a strand of his remnant soul. If he had held onto this token, it would have been of no use, so he had given it to Zen as a gift, telling him that with this token, he could activate the True Path.


    This fairy palace was of great importance. Before ascending to the Upper World, Zen was going to try his best to control the fairy palace. To do so, he had to cross the true path. It was impossible to do so without that.


    Saul looked at the token in Zen''s hand, and remarked in a calm voice, "That''s Mist''s token. I guess he''s passed away now. I didn''t expect him to give his token to you. Yes, with this token, you can enter the True Path without breaking the barrier. However, with your strength, even if you were to enter the True Path, you would probably not be able to pass through the first stage."


    "What''s the benefit of passing the first stage?" Zen asked and his eyes lit up at the prospect.


    Saul replied, "There are a total of eight tokens in the fairy palace¡ªheaven, earth, water, fire, thunder, wind, mountain and valley. Other than the ''heaven'' and ''earth'' tokens, it is possible for you to obtain the other six tokens. These two, I fear are beyond you."


    "Six tokens? But I already have two of them; one with the word ''thunder'' and the other with the word ''wind.'' What if I end up with a token with the


    an I borrow some external force?" Margaret asked.


    Saul sized up Margaret and replied, "You seem to have the Sky Purple Body. There are hidden space nodes in your body, and you can connect to the outside world." Then he shook his head and added, "But no. It''s impossible to borrow external force in here."


    Purple Power Body had a different name in Saul''s mouth. Margaret did not care about the Sky Purple Body at all. Since she could not borrow any external force, she might as well skip the trial. With her current strength, she would probably not be able to pass the trial.


    When she chose to give up, even Zen had no way of convincing her. Right now, under Saul''s lead, Letitia and Aura were the first to undergo the trial.


    The trial didn''t last long. An hour later, the two women both passed easily.


    Letitia looked calm and relaxed, while Aura looked completely in contrast to that. Even after she had left the illusion world, her face was still as pale as a sheet. It was only after Zen gave her a pill to calm her down that she finally relaxed.


    Letitia had obtained the Cloud and Flying Birds Picture from her trial, which was only second to the Sun Moon Stars Picture.


    Her talent and strength were already extremely strong, so obtaining this result was not surprising. As for Aura, her result was extremely surprising. She had actually obtained the third picture, the Nine-day Cycle Picture.


    Seeing that Letitia and Aura had obtained their own Contemplation Pictures, Margaret felt a little jealous in her heart. But she still knew her own limits. If it weren''t for her Purple Power Body, she would be the weakest among the three women. She swore to herself that she would cultivate harder in the Apeiron Tower in the future so that Letitia and Aura would not look down upon her.


    After the two women passed the trial, Saul led Zen towards the True Path. They walked along a long, narrow road, until finally, before them appeared a pale yellow wall.

 Chapter 1271 Avoiding Shortcuts

    "This wall is the True Barrier," said Saul as he looked at the pale yellow wall.


    Zen walked forward and stretched a hand to touch the wall. This barrier was blocking the road ahead of him. According to Saul, he would have to break this barrier if he wanted to move forward.


    But since Zen had the ''thunder'' token, he had the right to pass the barrier directly.


    Zen''s eyes flashed as he looked at the pale yellow wall. "Is it really impossible for me to break this barrier?"


    "You can try if you want," Saul said with a smile.


    But it was Letitia who answered with a question, "Can I have a go?"


    "No problem," Saul replied.


    Zen smiled and stepped aside at Letitia''s interest in the wall.


    Letitia liked to take challenges. She and Zen were both at the first level of the Life and Death Realm. In her opinion, there might be a gap between her strength and Zen''s, but the gap should not be that great, which was why she wanted to test out her strength.


    Everyone stepped aside, giving way as Letitia walked forward gracefully to stand in front of the True Barrier. Her gaze was fixed on the wall in front of her, the life vitality within her body beginning to surge.


    "Aroo!"


    As more and more ice crystals began to condense, an ice phoenix appeared beside Letitia.


    Saul said, "It''s the Sutra of Empyrean Goddess. It is a pretty good cultivation method, but this cultivation method cannot be fully mastered. It can only be considered an abridged version."


    Letitia''s heart skipped a beat at Saul''s words.


    This cultivation method was considered to be a top-notch martial skill in the Central Region. Saul was a man who had knowledge and experience that was way beyond anyone''s imagination. If Saul had called the Sutra of Empyrean Goddess as something good, it would have been an extremely powerful cultivation method. But here he was, saying that it was only an abridged one!


    The Sutra of Empyrean Goddess was a cultivation method that Letitia''s master, Imogen, had passed down to her. Even Imogen didn''t know about its origins.


    "An abridged cultivation method?" Letitia asked curiously.


    Saul nodded and replied, "Yes, this Sutra of Empyrean Goddess has not been completed yet. All these years, I have been flipping through all the myriad cultivation methods in the library. I know I''m not wrong."


    It was abridged but Letitia had gotten too far into this cultivation method and had no choice but to stick with it to the end.


    Letitia gently turned her fingers, causing the ice phoenix to coil around her arm. She looked straight at the wall, a cold chill spreading out o


    h had faced Zen, he probably would have turned pale and teetered.


    Zen had become unimaginably strong in just a few years'' time. What did the future behold? What kind of a character would Zen grow up to become? A small place like the Central Region would not be able to restrain him.


    Aura pondered. She still couldn''t fathom how strong Zen would become. A strong sense of crisis overcame her.


    She did not know that two months ago, when the old man Nameless had told Margaret about her falling out once Zen advanced further, Margaret had already taken the necessary measures. She had made a plan to improve her cultivation and that was why she had gone to the Purple Power World to find a master for herself.


    The biggest problem was that Margaret had a special physique and already had a way to deal with the crisis. But what about Aura? What did she have to do to follow in Zen''s steps?


    She suddenly remembered that when Zen had first entered the Cloud Sect, she had argued with the old man in charge of the test to win over Zen. Now the boy had become such a powerful man she could only look up to.


    She felt sad as she thought this. Zen had returned and told her how he felt about her, but she could do nothing about it. She was like a puppet, unable to change anything.


    Aura was deep in thought, but Zen had already landed a punch.


    Powerful energy surged out, producing an intense airflow.


    Aura and Margaret wobbled on their feet as the currents moved around them. Letitia and Saul stood quietly on the spot and watched Zen''s punch strike out.


    Boom!


    The punch landed on the True Barrier, causing it to tremble. Cracks appeared on it, but they quickly narrowed and disappeared. Zen had failed in his attempt.

 Chapter 1272 The Universe Spirit Tablet

    Seeing this scene, Letitia curled up her lips and said to Saul, "It looks like this barrier cannot be opened at all!"


    The power that Zen''s terrifying punch released exceeded Letitia''s expectations, but it still wasn''t enough to break through the barrier. She started to wonder whether Saul was just trying to play a trick on them.


    Hearing Letitia''s words, Saul looked indifferent and responded, "Zen can''t break this barrier, but that doesn''t mean others can''t do so."


    "Hmm. If even Zen can''t break through this barrier, who else can?" Margaret asked indignantly. The three women had done all they could to defend Zen.


    Saul couldn''t be bothered to argue with these women. He directly turned towards Zen and told him, "Since you''ve already tried brute force, you should use the token with the word ''thunder'' now. Like I said, with your current strength, you can''t break through the True Barrier."


    However, Zen laughed and remarked, "I don''t need to use the token!" After he finished these words, a pickaxe appeared in his hand.


    When Saul saw the pickaxe in Zen''s hand, a hint of surprise finally appeared on his face. "The Black Star?"


    Zen nodded. This time, he brandished the Black Star in his hand and without hesitation, ruthlessly smashed it at the True Barrier!


    "Clang!"


    The True Barrier shattered with a loud bang as soon as it was hit by the Black Star. The incomparably hard barrier collapsed like a paper under the attack of the Black Star.


    Then, Zen asked Saul, "You''ve been staying in the fairy palace all this while, so how come you know this pickaxe?"


    Saul slightly smiled and the surprise on his face faded away. He told Zen, "In this universe, numerous warriors have created their own ranking of magic weapons, but the most popular one is the Universe Spirit Tablet. After this Spirit Tablet was created, the various races from all over the world also created a copy of it. As soon as a supreme divine weapon is born, it is detected by the Spirit Tablet, and its name appears on it..."


    "The Universe Spirit Tablet?" Zen suddenly raised his eyebrows.


    Saul nodded and continued, "If I remember correctly, as a supreme divine weapon, this pickaxe is most probably ranked in the top 900 places. The Law of Causality within the Black Star is at a very high level. But it is just a pickaxe after all, so it is not easy to bring its actual strength into play. If it was forged into a weapon like an axe or a sword, it might be able to find itself among the top 600 or 700 weapons of the universe!"


    Hearing this ranking, Zen nodded his head. He knew very little about the situation of the Upper World and was extremely curious about the Spirit Tablet. So he asked, "Are there over ten thousand weapons on the Universe Spirit Tablet? And are all of them supreme divine weapons?"


    However, Saul shook his head. "The number of the supreme divine weapons is small in the universe. A small uni


    s, Zen was surprised to discover that a miraculous change had occurred inside his body. The life vitality that was supposed to gradually solidify now seemed to be liquefying, and he could feel that his cultivation base had increased several times faster than before.


    Although the old man didn''t consider the pill to be something valuable, Zen was clear that this pill had awakened its intelligence, and it could even escape and attack people. Besides, its strength was also very powerful. No matter what the case was, the pill''s effects were far beyond Zen''s imagination.


    For now, all he knew was that his cultivating speed had increased greatly. Although he had spent most of the past two months with Letitia and Margaret, and had only spent a few days cultivating, Zen could faintly feel that his cultivation base had reached its limit. He thought that he would have to accept the second small Heavenly Tribulation and advance to the second level of the Life and Death Realm pretty soon.


    With Zen''s current strength, it would not be difficult for him to return to the Eastern Region from the Central Region and enter the fairy palace.


    Although What Letitia said made sense, Zen still shook his head. He wanted to try now. "Since we''ve already come here all the way, how can I give up so easily?"


    Saul smiled slightly. "I know you won''t give up so easily, but I still have to remind you. Your true strength is comparable to that of a Soul Sea Realm warrior, so yeah, there is a chance that you might be able to break through the first stage of the True Path. As long as you can get a token, that''s not too bad. You can even open the weapon refining workshop or a library with the token, which would let you gain endless benefits. So I suggest you should give it a try."


    Margaret asked in an annoyed tone, "What if Zen is injured? Are you responsible for that?"


    Saul just ignored her words. He could not be bothered to argue with her.

 Chapter 1273 Dark And Light Energies

    Zen knew that the girls were worried about him. So he looked at them, assuring them with confidence, "Trust me. I''ll be okay!"


    The girls showed concerns of varying degrees, but since Zen had already made his decision, how could they possibly interfere?


    Moreover, it was what the world was like. In the world of martial artists, except for Margaret who had grown up well-protected, everyone had to encounter dangerous situations on their path of pursuing martial arts. Aura had also experienced a few life and death situations. And Zen had saved Letitia from the jaws of death not long ago.


    Once Zen had set foot on the True Path, Letitia said, "Zen has a great destiny, and I believe he will pass successfully."


    Letitia hadn''t gone overseas with Zen and she had no idea what kind of danger Zen had encountered during his several trips. But she was very confident about Zen''s strength and luck.


    Just after Zen had set foot on the True Path, mists began to rise from either side of this ridge. There were two kinds of mists, each of a different color. The mist on Zen''s left was black, while the mist on his right was white.


    "These mists are very strange," Zen muttered, a strange feeling overcoming him at the sight of these mists. He felt like they could turn into everything in the world.


    Just as a trace of doubt arose in Zen''s heart, Saul''s voice floated into his ears, "These are Dark and Light energies. The first owner of the fairy palace had worked them out. You need to be careful."


    At the beginning of heaven and earth, everything was in primordial chaos. It was infinity. This infinity gave birth to the supreme ultimate that then produced two modes. The two modes represented two contrary forces and they generated the four images. The four images included east, south, west and north and the four images gave birth to the eight diagrams. The eight diagrams multiplied to become sixty-four diagrams and they continued to multiply themselves. There was no end to it!


    If the Dark and Light energies continued to develop, it was likely that they would lead to the origin of the entire world. Zen was unable to figure out the mysteries within them.


    But he didn''t need to know anything about them at the current stage. What he needed to do was to continuously advance on this True Path.


    As he thought this, Zen sped up and shot forward like a shuttle.


    The Dark and Light energies turned into strange flowers and plants as they rushed towards Zen.


    Zen''s expression did not change and a long sword suddenly appeared in his hand. He swung the long sword to the left and unleashed sharp sword intents. He then spun the sword to the right and grasped the sword with one hand. The sword intents soon wrapped around Zen to protect him.


    Rays of light from the sharp sword whirled in the air, and in an instant, the strange flowers and plants formed by


    e quite weak at reproduction and increasing their population. There were many talents in their race, but their population was still small and the number of powerful masters and talents they had was far smaller than that in the human race. Each race had their own advantages and disadvantages.


    The creatures standing in front of Zen made him feel strange. This race seemed to be a perfect combination of all the strong points of many different races. But why hadn''t Zen heard of this race before?


    Those perfect creatures charged towards Zen, taking advantage of the time he was spending pondering over his doubts.


    They seemed to have grasped some crucial battle techniques as they directly attacked Zen''s vitals.


    "Humph!"


    Zen grunted but recovered to throw a punch towards one of them. He didn''t use the power of the dragon scales. He was still in the early stage of the True Path so he thought he didn''t need a lot of strength. Zen was confident that he could bring a person down with one punch.


    But as Zen''s punch was about to hit him, the one standing in the lead suddenly curled up, reducing the impact he had to suffer. His bones began to twist in an astonishing way that no normal person could have done. He looked miserable as he rolled on the ground in pain. His shattered body began to recover a while later.


    Zen was shocked as he saw this.


    The people of this race gave Zen the impression that they were perfect beings, but they had never cultivated martial arts. Even though their bodies were pure, they were only nature creatures.


    The punch that Zen had thrown was very powerful. Even a warrior at the Internal Elixir Realm would get killed immediately. A nature creature was no match at all.


    Yet this guy had offset more than half the power in Zen''s strike by relying on his flexible body. More surprisingly, he had actually managed to get to his feet unscathed.


    How did he do it?

 Chapter 1274 The Sacred Race

    Zen was a Life and Death Realm warrior so he knew he could easily deal with these creatures if he really wanted to.


    But the way they were able to disperse the force from his attack with their bodies just shocked him.


    To put it into perspective, the Zen from the past, who was also a nature creature, would never have survived a single punch from the present Zen now. However, this creature had managed to resolve Zen''s strength. Although it seemed hard for him and he might have been severely injured, he was still able to move around smoothly.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    They pounced towards Zen one by one, none of them having practiced any cultivation method but still surviving Zen''s fists.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Zen purposefully did not increase his strength and these creatures were all sent flying by him. However, they all stood up from the ground and revealed faint smiles on their faces.


    "Do these guys have intelligence? Or did the person who set up this True Path deliberately arrange them this way?"


    The creatures were quick to come at him again, but this time, Zen did not pull his punches.


    Puff! Puff! Puff!


    He had activated the forceful energy within his body and launched a series of formidable attacks upon those who came at him. Anybody that got close was immediately smashed into a bloody pulp by his punch.


    The sight of the bodies exploding surprised him, not because of the gore, but because of the color of the blood that burst from the inside. "Golden blood?"


    As far as he knew, only those belonging to the Celestial Position race had golden blood. Zen, as an outsider who was recognized and became a member, had yet to have his blood changed but the fact remained that golden blood was the signature of the elite race.


    There must be a connection.


    His punches smashed the creatures into a pulpy, golden blood shower that then dispersed and transformed once again into Dark and Light energies. These energies coalesced and reformed into solid, human-shaped creatures that once again charged at Zen.


    This time, he noticed that the creatures had grown exponentially faster and stronger!


    "Forceful energy!"


    he remarked in shock when he felt it emanate from the creatures that were now rushing towards him.


    However, there was another peculiar thing: the way they moved seemed very similar to his own style.


    A sudden realization popped in his head: they were copying him!


    Zen couldn''t help but feel angry at this observation, "I''ll destroy you all from the inside out!"


    A bit of forceful energy wasn''t going to stop Zen from squashing these nature creatures. Zen took a deep breath and began to circulate the life vitality in his body, allowing it to surge into higher levels.


    But, the moment he tried increasing h


    on the shape of a human.


    The cyan dragon, for example, had morphed into a human named Josh in the past. Formidable creatures like him usually had a human form counterpart.


    But those races actually didn''t transform themselves into humans. The cyan dragon''s explanation quickly cleared things up for Zen who now understood that the transformations were not based on humans but on a more powerful race which looked quite similar to humans: the Sacred race.


    But that was not all. All races, be it human, Demon Night, ogre, or whatever, all inherited some kind of unique characteristic from this primordial Sacred race that caused them to choose different paths and adopt different systems of cultivation.


    It was the Demon Night who resembled the Sacred race the most. Newly-born Demon Night infants were already nature creatures which was an unrivaled advantage over other races. However, there was a cost to this inborn advantage. The Demon Night race was known to have more females than males which made their reproduction rate extremely low.


    "I understand it now," Zen said.


    However, another thought crossed his mind: If they were so perfect, then why had he not heard of them before? Why were there no traces of them? Did they all just disappear?


    He was about to ask the cyan dragon for his wisdom but a sudden flurry of attacks rained down upon him by the creatures.


    There was no way he was allowing himself to get hit given his current strength. The only thing Zen could do was to continue running in the hopes of dodging their attacks. Unfortunately, the creatures coming for him only seemed to increase both in number and power.


    Whoosh!


    Crack!


    Zoom!


    All sorts of Law Power attacks came at him: wind blades, fire swords, thunder strikes¡­


    Saul shook his head at the sight, "Zen won''t be able to take it much longer."

 Chapter 1275 The Token Of Mountain

    Letitia''s fists suddenly became clenched when she heard Saul''s indifferent words.


    An impossibly large number of Life and Death Realm creatures had surrounded Zen and were attacking him. The worst part was that every single one of these creatures was proficient in all sorts of Law Power. This was perhaps the biggest challenge for Zen.


    Aura put her hands over her chest and closed her eyes. She knew that she could not change or stop anything now and could only silently pray in her heart.


    As for Margaret, she didn''t care about rules and took a step forward, raising her hand.


    "What are you doing?" Saul asked indifferently.


    "I am going to break the True Path!" Margaret couldn''t be bothered to reason with others. She did not have Letitia''s rationality and cared only about Zen''s safety.


    However, before she could make her move, Saul piped up, "Your Sky Purple Body is indeed powerful, but you will not be able to activate the space nodes in here."


    Margaret was totally unwilling to listen to this guy. He was kind of a jerk. With a slight movement of her finger, she tried to communicate with the huge swords in the Purple Power World. Her hands circled the area a few times, but there was no response from her surroundings, nor were there any fluctuations. It was just as Saul had said; she could not communicate with the Purple Power World from this place at all. It was as if the place was magically shielded.


    She was at a loss for what to do now. Seeing Zen constantly struggling in the midst of so many kinds of Law Powers, she was really worried and scared.


    No longer able to bear it, she was about to step forward and jump onto the True Path.


    "What are you doing?" Letitia shouted coldly and grabbed onto Margaret.


    If Margaret had jumped onto the True Path before Zen, she wouldn''t have been in too much danger since the challenge would have been at lower level. But now, those warriors who had been conjured up by the True Path were all at the Life and Death Realm. How could she hope to fight against them?


    "But Zen..." Margaret said with a face full of worry.


    To be frank, Margaret was indeed smarter than Letitia in certain aspects, such as speculating on Zen''s thoughts. Her EQ was also higher than Letitia''s, but in the field of cultivation, she was far from Letitia as she could be. Letitia knew that Margaret would be simply courting death if she jumped onto the True Path now.


    Fortunately, since Margaret''s strength was far inferior to Letitia''s, no matter how hard she struggled, she could not escape Letitia''s control.


    At that moment, Aura chimed in calmly, "Don''t worry."


    Margaret looked at Aura and snorted, "You''re not worried about Zen''s life at all, are you?"


    "It''s not like that." Aura shook her head. "I believe in Zen. I know that he has the strength to fight back and win!"


    Letitia also nodded. "Zen''s limits and powers are far more than what they seem. Don''t listen to this idiot." With that, she pointed at Saul.


    The three women did not have a


    d look at the True Path. Her face was still filled with shyness and her cheeks were crimson. Zen''s clothes were gone, so she had turned her head away shyly. As for Letitia and Margaret, they were naturally not shy. After all, they had already had sex with him.


    The second stage of the test took an hour, and the strength of the Sacred warriors also rose several notches level. Although they still did not use any cultivation methods, the warriors created by the Dark and Light energies were all at the Soul Sea Realm. Even the Law Powers they had grasped had risen to the third or fourth layer.


    Fortunately, these guys did not know how to unleash domains. Once again, Zen merely transferred the attacks from these warriors to the Magnetic Sacred Mountain and the mountain simply absorbed all the attacks.


    However, Zen was focused on dashing forward on the True Path instead of fighting, and didn''t have the time to investigate the condition of the Magnetic Sacred Mountain.


    Even though it was impervious to swords and spears and such weapons, there was a limit to the amount of strength it could endure. Just how terrifying was the power contained within the continuous attacks of dozens of powerful warriors at the Soul Sea Realm? Could it withstand that?


    In reality, the majority of the Magnetic Sacred Mountain was located at the bottom of the sea. There was already a shallow crack in it, and that crack was constantly expanding.


    "Done!" Zen had passed the second stage of the True Path. However, it was only now that he saw Aura''s face blushing, and she suddenly turned around. He chuckled as he took out a set of clothes from his space ring and put them on.


    Following the descent of the vast fog, another token appeared in the sky.


    This time, it was a token of mountain.


    "What''s the use of this token?" Zen asked curiously.


    When Saul saw that Zen had obtained this token, a trace of happiness appeared on his face. "With this token, you can carry the fairy palace around with you!"

 Chapter 1276 A Prison

    Saul''s body had been created by the first owner of the fairy palace. He wouldn''t go through the Five Aging Processes, and his body would not break. In other words, even if he wanted to kill himself, he wouldn''t be able to do so. His soul was tightly sealed within, making it impossible for him to disperse his own soul.


    For Saul, guarding the fairy palace was a rather boring task. Dying was an extravagant hope for him.


    If only someone stayed in the fairy palace, it would be so good for him.


    All the previous owners had attempted to take control of the fairy palace, but all of them had failed. Saul had even hoped for the return of Immortal Mist, but in the end he also died because of the Five Aging Processes.


    Now, Zen was slowly gaining control of the fairy palace. Not only had he obtained the token of water, he had even managed to get the token of mountain.


    "Carry the fairy palace around with me? Is the fairy palace movable?" Zen asked.


    Saul nodded. "The token of mountain is the most special one of the six tokens. It is the projection of this fairy palace, and is equivalent to the entrance. You can regard it as the fairy palace itself. As long as you have the token, you can return to the fairy palace at any time you want." It seemed like Saul was in a good mood. "You can also treat the fairy palace as this woman''s Sky Purple Body and the token as a space node," he explained, pointing at Margaret.


    "So that''s how it is," Zen remarked. This way, if he wanted to return to the fairy palace in the future, he wouldn''t need to travel tens of thousands of miles to get to the Eastern Region. He could do so with the token of mountain in his hand.


    "Do you want to continue?" Saul asked.


    Zen had already obtained two tokens in a short period of time, but this time he chose to give up.


    In the next stage of the test, a large group of Spirit Supreme Realm warriors would probably appear. Although Zen could completely transfer all the attacks faced by him, the problem was that the Magnetic Sacred Mountain also had a limit to its carrying capacity. If a large group of Spirit Supreme Realm warriors used the fifth layer of any Original Law, their power would become unimaginably strong.


    If the Magnetic Sacred Mountain was destroyed, the overflowing power would probably damage the foundation of the entire great world. Zen was not willing to take this risk. Besides, now that he had the token of mountain, he could wait for his strength to in


    ars, I won''t complain. A thousand years is nothing. But the problem is, I''m afraid the monsters in the lower level of the prison can''t wait any longer."


    How could Zen have known what was going on?


    He and Letitia revived Margaret and Aura, and gave them some pills to calm themselves. Only then did they head towards the library.


    Naturally, the gate to the library was inordinately tall. Zen raised his head, but it was hard to see the top of the door frame.


    "Can I open the gate by just using the token of water?" Zen took out the token of water, and the moment he did so, a golden light flashed from the top to the bottom of the gate. With a muffled sound, the entire gate revealed a crack.


    Zen sprang into action and attempted to push open the gate. The gate looked as tall as a mountain, and Zen thought that it would take much effort on his part to push open the gate. However, the gate opened just with a light touch, and the scent of books wafted up his nose.


    Books don''t have a natural fragrance of their own. Surely the books in the library must be made from special wood pulp. Countless years later, the natural fragrance was still intact. It was an intoxicating smell.


    "Let''s go!" Zen smiled at Letitia. He was the first to enter the library. Letitia, Margaret, and Aura followed closely behind.


    Even after being shut for countless years, the library was still free from dust. In front of Zen stood bookshelves that were comparable to small mountains. As for the books on these bookshelves, each of them was thirty feet tall and twenty feet wide.


    "How can I read them?" Zen looked miserable when he saw such huge books.

 Chapter 1277 The Chaotic Storm Chronicle

    This was really depressing. The two stages of the True Path hadn''t been easy, and now, when he had finally entered the library, how could he return empty-handed?


    Zen leaped forward and jumped onto a bookshelf in the first row.


    The covers of every single book on this shelf were made of some kind of metal. They were extremely cold and tough, and the books themselves were enormously heavy. Although Zen couldn''t identify the materials of the pages inside, he was sure that they were more than strong enough to be used in weapon refining.


    He grabbed the side of a huge book and exerted all the strength he had in his body. However, the book did not even budge a single inch.


    "Is this book that heavy?" Zen exclaimed, as his expression suddenly changed. This was an impossibility.


    When his power exploded out, it was enough to tear apart mountains and the earth itself. However, he hadn''t expected the book to be this heavy.


    Zen had already been proud of his strength, but now he couldn''t even lift a book. A look of unwillingness and irritation appeared on his face. This time, the force of the dragon scales within his body suddenly erupted out, and he used every ounce of his strength to grab onto a corner of the book. Finally, he managed to pull it off the bookshelf.


    The three women were still looking up when they suddenly saw a book that was as big as a house crashing down towards them. Their faces also revealed astonishment.


    On the other hand, Zen''s expression changed drastically as he roared, "Dodge it quickly! Get out of the way!"


    The weight of the book was unknown, but Zen reckoned that it was no lighter than a mountain range. It was almost equivalent to the combined weight of 23 mountains, and if the three women were to be hit by it, even Letitia would not be able to survive such an onslaught. Margaret and Aura were even weaker than her so they had to get out of the way.


    Fortunately, Letitia''s reactions were extremely fast. She gently reached out her hands, grabbed both Margaret and Aura and retreated quickly to a side.


    The moment the three women got clear of the zone, the huge book directly fell on the spot where they had been standing.


    It was unknown what material was used to make the floor. But what was astonishing was that even when such a heavy book smashed down on it, not even a crack appeared. It was as though an ordinary book had been thrown to the floor.


    Zen didn''t know just how many years it had been since this fairy palace had come into existence. If it was built using ordinary stones, how could it have withstood the endless years of erosion? It would have already turned into ashes if that were the case. Any sort of material that could withstand the corrosion of time was no ordinary thing.


    Zen leaped down and turned towards the women with a helpless smile and an apologetic look on his face.


    Letitia glared at Zen, clearly


    e world in this book was in complete chaos. It was difficult for Zen to even describe the kind of space he was looking at. It was not an absolute darkness, since there were faint rays of light coming in from the surroundings. However, it was enveloped by layers of grey mist, and everywhere was diffused a black-and-white colored fog. Zen had seen this kind of fog before on the True Path¡ªit was formed by the Dark and Light energies.


    Boom! A massive bolt of lightning struck through the chaos out of nowhere. "I can''t comprehend the Law Power that is contained within this lightning!" Zen cried.


    The Thunder Law within the lightning was in a perfect and complete state, and Zen was unable to comprehend it. Compared to this bolt of lightning, the lightning that Zen had seen before somehow seemed incomplete. This was not a simple comparison in terms of power, but a comparison in terms of perfection. Although Zen could not see which layer of Thunder Law this lightning contained, he estimated that it was very likely to be the tenth layer.


    Zen''s line of sight was shuttling back and forth through the chaotic world at an extremely high speed. In fact, he was unable to control his own perception, as if he was following the movements of the owner of this book. It was like watching a picture with real time effects. Zen could see everything but only as a passive spectator, accepting the breathtaking scenes recorded in the book.


    A long while later, Zen finally exited the chaotic world of the book with a look of shock on his face.


    If what he guessed was right, then the chaos he had just seen was outside the universe itself. But what existence lay outside the universe? What did those bizarre scenes represent?


    Zen had not found the answers to those questions in this book. The owner of this book had traveled an unknown distance in the chaos, but beyond that chaos was chaos still. It was as if the chaos was endless.

 Chapter 1278 A Love Story

    When Zen withdrew his perception from the book, he discovered that Letitia, Margaret and Aura had also released their perceptions into the book under the old man''s guidance. They were standing blankly by the side of the book. This meant that right now, they should be wandering within the Chaotic Storm Chronicle.


    After a long time, the three women also withdrew themselves from the book; their eyes filled with endless shock. They had seen the same things he had.


    In fact, they were also unable to understand the book. They knew what it said, but what it implied was far beyond them. The world that the book depicted had shocked them greatly. They couldn''t help but wonder just how powerful the writer of the book was.


    When Immortal Book saw their expressions, he looked extremely satisfied, as if that was exactly what he wanted. As the person in charge of the library, he had scrolled through almost all of the books in the library, and it was said that he found an endless amount of joy in sharing them with anyone who came this way. In these long years, he had roamed the ocean of books and had seen many profound secrets. He wanted to share his thoughts with others, but there was no one that he could communicate with. It was indeed a pity.


    Of course he knew that the people in front of him were completely shocked by the primal chaos, and he felt extremely happy in his heart. He then told them, "The Chaotic Storm Chronicle is just a drop in the bucket when you are in this library. The things left behind by our master are all treasures and extremely valuable ones. If you want to read these books one by one, you will need many years to finish reading them all. Come on! I''ll recommend a few more to you guys."


    Zen, Letitia and Aura were looking forward to it. However, Margaret pursed her lips and pouted, "That was just a hazy world. It was boring. I guess whatever you recommend will be boring as well."


    "What?" Hearing Margaret say that, Immortal Book was unhappy. It was as if she had treated the most important thing in his eyes as rubbish. This was something he could not tolerate, so he spat out, "Young girl, what nonsense are you talking about? The books in this library are as numerous as the stars in the sky, and there will always be books that are suitable for you. What kind of book do you like? I will find it for you!"


    Margaret had just flipped through the Chaotic Storm Chronicle. Although she was also incomparably shocked, she didn''t like such kind of book. Now that Immortal Book wanted to recommend a book to her, she smiled cunningly and remarked, "I''m afraid that there is not a single book that I would like in here."


    "Humph!" Immortal Book snorted and pulled a long face. "That can''t be true. You name it, and I will have it. If I can''t find a book you like, then I won''t be worthy of the title of Imm


    Sutra of Empyrean Goddess she had cultivated was only an incomplete one and that she needed to practice a lot more. Although she wanted to follow in Zen''s footsteps in terms of cultivation and strength, it looked like the gap between them was widening day by day. If she could find a suitable cultivation method in this library, she would be more than willing to obtain it and get closer to her husband. In reality, she had thought about the future that she and Zen had, much more than Margaret had done. It was not until the old man had reminded Margaret about her powers that she then realized that Zen would ascend to the Upper World. But Letitia had long known about this and was getting ready to follow him. If she couldn''t keep up with his pace, she would be left alone in the Lower World in the future. Of course, she wasn''t willing for that to happen. This library was definitely an opportunity for her and she wouldn''t miss it.


    As for Aura, she was not as far-sighted as Letitia was. However, she only had one thought in her heart. She did not want to catch up to Zen''s level of cultivation, but only wanted to be able to follow him.


    The library was surprisingly large and could almost be considered bigger on the inside. Each bookshelf was equivalent to a mountain. They weaved through the bookshelves, as if strolling inside a valley. As they walked, Immortal Book told them, "These books were also written by our master.


    These are travel notes.


    These are verses and ditties.


    These are odes and songs.


    These are..."


    After a long while, Immortal Book stopped in his tracks and said, "These are the cultivation methods which were created by our master. All of the cultivation methods in this row are suitable for women."


    Zen''s eyes flashed at the words of Immortal Book. He then asked, "I wonder if there is any Transcendent Divine Might among these cultivation methods?"

 Chapter 1279 Falling Books

    When Immortal Book heard Zen''s words, he chuckled.


    Bewildered, Zen asked. "What are you laughing at?"


    Saul, who was staying beside Zen, looked impatient and grunted, "This old man has read too many books and likes to put on an act like this."


    Immortal Book just snorted at Saul and was not even bothered to quibble with him at all, but he quickly disclosed, "There is no good or bad cultivation methods in the world. And that Transcendent Divine Might you''re referring to must be related to the Law of Causality. That kind of cultivation methods are extremely rare, but yes, we do have some."


    Taking in all the information Immortal Book had revealed, Zen then queried the cyan dragon in his mind, "Is all Transcendent Divine Might related to the Law of Causality?"


    Zen only realized that the Law of Causality was so powerful soon after he took hold of Black Star. At that time, Zen was still practicing the Stellar Body. But until now, he hadn''t finished the first half part of it yet. So he had no understanding as to whether the Stellar Body had some kind of correlation with the Law of Causality or not.


    When Zen entered the fairy palace, the cyan dragon was also extremely astonished by the diversity of things inside. He merely maintained his silence, but he snapped out of his musing when Zen threw him a question. He then commented, "Yes, you can say so. The Law of Causality is contained in the large majority of Transcendent Divine Might. However, I only obtained the first half part of the Stellar Body, and the Law of Causality might be hidden in the second half part."


    "I see..." Zen nodded.


    Immortal Book took a glance at Saul and seemed to be annoyed by the way how he described him. He then spoke amiably to Zen, "I know you want to choose a cultivation method suitable for yourself, but there are simply too many cultivation methods here. However, since the owner of this fairy palace has constructed such a large library, which is for the benefit of the later generations, he has told me the method of determining and selecting the suitable cultivation method for each warrior." With these words, he led Zen and the others to show the different row of shelves. Then glancing back to Letitia and Aura, he stated, "The cultivation methods on this row are suitable for women, so you two come over here."


    Letitia and Aura both looked at Zen''s direction, who tilted his chin as if permitting them. Only then did the two ladies follow Immortal Book.


    Promptly, Immortal Book pointed to the ground and a circle of light became visible. Within that circle of light, there was a thin line that shot out continuously right from its edge. "Who wants to come in first?"


    Letitia''s eyes flashed, and she immediately stepped into the light circle.


    As soon as Letitia was inside the light circle, the entire bookshelf started to shake non-stop. The mountainous bookshelf shook as if there was an earthquake.


    "Bang..."


    All the books on t


    d, "Not bad. It seems that the Heaven and Earth Sword Skill has chosen you..." However, another large book from the bookshelf slowly moved out, halting Immortal Book in midsentence!


    "Huh?"


    "Huh?"


    At this moment, both Saul and Immortal Book looked surprised.


    There was no restriction imposed on selecting books in the library. So it was only appropriate for Zen to pick out a few more cultivation methods.


    Only Immortal Book could pick out the most suitable cultivation method for the warrior who wanted to choose one. Under normal circumstances, only one book would appear at one time, and now it seemed like there were two cultivation methods suitable for Zen to cultivate at the same time.


    "It''s rare to see two cultivation methods appearing at the same time, but I''ve seen such a scene before." Immortal Book''s astonished expression immediately vanished as a faint smile appeared on his face again.


    However, just as he was done commenting, a third book on the bookshelf slowly moved, revealing half of it, seemingly to be about to fall from the bookshelf as well.


    "The third book..." Immortal Book''s face now was wearing startled and amazed expression!


    Saul frowned and asked Immortal Book, "Does something wrong happen to your secret method? Why would three cultivation methods appear at the same time?"


    The secret method of Immortal Book was to help the warriors choose the most suitable cultivation methods for them. And there was usually one fitted for every warrior. Sometimes, there would be two books appearing, which could be because the warrior was almost equally good in two aspects. But now, three cultivation methods had appeared, and Saul suspected that there was something wrong with the secret method.


    Soon after Saul raised his suspicion, the other books also started to fall. The fourth book, the fifth book, the sixth book...


    Witnessing what was transpiring, there was a hint of fear emanating from Immortal Book. "Back off!"

 Chapter 1280 A Unique Book

    Each of the books was thirty feet tall standing upright, and the entire bookshelf in itself was basically a mountain, standing at least ten thousand feet tall. There were roughly three hundred or so rows in a single bookshelf. So all in all, the books must have numbered in tens of thousands just on a bookshelf.


    At that moment, the massive books seemed to have begun being dumped from the bookshelf.


    With each book''s weight equal to that of a mountain range, the huge crashes were rather horrifying!


    Holding out his hand, Immortal Book caught a few that were crashing down. Still, he couldn''t support them all.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Knowing that they had to move quickly, Zen grabbed Aura and retreated with Letitia, Immortal Book, and Saul following after.


    By the time they escaped, the entire bookshelf was empty¡ªall the books were strewn about the floor, piled up into a mountain.


    "Idiot! I told you there was something wrong with your method!" Saul shook his head in frustration.


    For a moment, all Immortal Book could do was stare at the scene before them in silence. Finally, he opened his mouth and said, "No, that''s not the case."


    "What is it, then?" Saul returned, rolling his eyes at Immortal Book. The latter was in charge of the library, but it hadn''t been opened for several years. Given what just happened, Saul was convinced that he was merely incompetent, having blown his chance after Zen finally got the library open.


    "I can hear these books," Immortal Book muttered. "All of the cultivation methods should be suitable for Zen."


    The words shocked Saul almost speechless. "Impossible!"


    All warriors had their strengths and weaknesses, without exception.


    When Zen first comprehended the Law Power, he was rather good at the Space Law, and then the others, most especially after the baptism by laws. Still, it had to be impossible for him to attract all the books on the bookshelf.


    Some of the cultivation methods were not divided by attributes, nor did they require warriors'' comprehension of the laws¡ªsome cultivation methods only required a certain level of the soul.


    There could only be one explanation¡ªZen


    ng he could be considered their master as well.


    So instead of fighting over the book, the two tried to work the book open together.


    Still, the book didn''t budge.


    "Old man, what do you think the situation is?" Saul asked in frustration. While his curiosity was overflowing, he had no clue how to attempt to open the book.


    Shaking his head, Immortal Book responded, "I''ve tried searching for a solution in our master''s memoirs, but to no avail. I don''t know what to do!" From the very beginning, Immortal Book tried to find answers within the memoirs.


    Having flipped through each book in the library thousands upon thousands of times, he could probably recite any book he wished¡ªit was too simple a task for him at that point. But never did his master mention such a book without a rune. Was it that important that it had to be hidden?


    "It must be some kind of deceptive trick. Master probably doesn''t wish for anyone to find this book. If that''s the case, there must be a seal on the book somewhere. With only our strength, I''m afraid we can''t open it," Immortal Book concluded.


    While Zen stared at the unmovable book, thinking about how to get it open, he knew that the books on the floor were already more than enough for his cultivation.


    But no one could deny that the strange book tugged at everyone''s curiosity¡ªno matter what kind of cultivation method was held in the book, Zen was determined to see what was inside.

 Chapter 1281 Footprints

    Apart from the lack of a rune, the book didn''t look particularly special to Zen. It was only a little bit thinner than the others.


    The cover seemed to be a dark red color as well, slightly darker than that of the others.


    Upon careful examination, Zen could see a thin layer of energy quietly circulating on the book''s surface.


    "What is this?" Zen asked as he stared at the layer of energy radiating from the cover.


    But Immortal Book only shook his head and explained, "It''s just a layer of Dust Repelling Spell. Although I clean the library every day, dust can''t be avoided. Master used the spell on most of the books."


    After circling around the book a few times, Saul shook his head in defeat. "I know Master''s personality. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn''t leave behind these unsolvable puzzles. And even if he did, he wouldn''t leave them in the library of all places."


    "Where is your master now?" Zen asked.


    If even the puppet their master had created had become immortal, then he must have been an extremely powerful warrior. It made Zen wonder where he had gone.


    "After Master entered the depths of chaos, he never came back," Saul muttered.


    "The depths of chaos¡­" Suddenly, Zen was reminded of the Chaotic Storm Chronicle¡ªthe chaos was seemingly unending. It was unknown how many years it would take to explore.


    Meanwhile, Immortal Book was still lost in thought.


    Though he was in charge of the library, he was completely clueless about the book¡ªit was rather humiliating on his part. He had stayed in the library for countless years, after all.


    After a long moment of pondering, Immortal Book said slowly, "Whatever the case is, the book is here. It must be a cultivation method that can be cultivated."


    "Cut the crap!" Saul sneered.


    But Immortal Book shook his head. "Master has collected countless cultivation methods in his lifetime. He has learned them all and is proficient in each."


    The fact caught Zen''s attention in surprise. "You mean that he has already practiced these tens of thousands of cultivation methods?"


    "Not only that. There are far more than just tens of thousands of cultivation methods in the library. With Master''s talent, he can master a single cultivation method in a day. It''s too simple for him at this point."


    The thought left Zen speechless¡ªsuch talent was probably too much for him to even comprehend.


    "However, during the last ten thousand years before Master left, one thing troubled him," Immortal Book contin


    of his motion, Saul''s and Immortal Book''s faces turned into those of panic. In an instant, Saul grabbed Zen''s hand and yelled, "Don''t!"


    "Master hates it when his books are destroyed," Immortal Book hurriedly explained. "The Law of Causality within the pickax is indeed powerful, but if you want to break the cover, that''s just wishful thinking. If you try to destroy this book, it will trigger the siren¡ªyou''ll be in deep trouble."


    When he saw the pair''s reaction, Zen sighed in defeat and put the pickax back in his space ring. At that moment, he felt truly helpless¡ªforget about cultivating the hidden cultivation method, he couldn''t even open the book itself.


    Suddenly, Aura, who wasn''t far behind, spoke up. "This bookshelf seems to have changed."


    "What? Where?" Saul asked in confusion.


    When she pointed at her feet, the rest took a look, only to see light footprints at their feet.


    The footprints looked faint on the pitch-black bookshelf, so no one had noticed until that moment.


    "Footprints! Where did these come from?" Saul asked aloud.


    Once again, Immortal Book''s face was riddled with confusion at the strange string of events. "I''ve cleaned this library countless times, but I''ve never seen these footprints before!"


    "No wonder you''re an idiot!" Saul threw another crack at him with a roll of his eyes.


    "Saul, how big is your master''s body?" asked Zen, keeping his eyes fixed on the footprints.


    "Master has a pretty huge physique. Though he can control it at will, he usually stays about the same height as the bookshelf."


    The bookshelf was about as tall as a mountain¡ªhow could such a giant leave those small footprints?

 Chapter 1282 Difficult Steps

    Something was amiss. Their master was enormous in size, so it was impossible for him to leave small footprints behind. He must''ve left them there on purpose.


    "Why did he leave behind such footprints?" Saul asked curiously. "What''s more, these footprints are exactly the same size as a human''s. Maybe he''d already known that this day would come," he added.


    Just after thousands of books had reacted to Zen, a special cultivation method appeared. And no matter how one looked at it, it didn''t seem to have appeared coincidentally at all but was specially arranged.


    "I think so, too. Our master knows everything in this world, thanks to his great theurgy. He should know what would happen today." "I believe our head already knew that one day Zen would enter the library. That was why he made this arrangement. We didn''t know what he''d done until today," Immortal Book said in agreement. However, he said those words to comfort himself as well.


    But on second thought, it was odd.


    Of course, Zen wouldn''t question the power of the fairy palace''s owner. Someone like him who had transcended the universe possessed great theurgy, without doubt.


    However, the old man from the Celestial Position and Yolande had already said that he was a man with no destiny, and no one in the universe could tell his fortune. Even if Immortal Mist tried to, it wouldn''t be genuine.


    Thus, it might be because of two things: either the owner of the fairy palace improved his ability to a certain level, and could even predict what Zen, a man with no destiny, would do; or it just so happened to be a coincidence.


    Right now, nothing seemed to matter anymore. The most important thing was to open this book.


    As Zen thought of it, he quickly flew towards the other end of the bookshelf. The faint footprints extended from the bookshelf''s center all the way to its end, and directly faced the huge book.


    Dust scattered as Zen stepped forward and followed the steps on the bookshelf.


    Never had he expected that just as his feet landed on the footprint, a powerful gravitational force reeled him in. It felt like his feet were welded onto the shelf, and made it hard for him to move a step.


    "How could this be?" he said with a frown. He tried to activate the forceful energy within his body and raise his feet.


    However, he wasn''t able to make even the slightest movement. The power that held his feet was so strong that he couldn''t even move an inch.


    When Immortal Book, Saul, and the three girls saw Zen, they all rushed and gathered around him.


    "Can''t you move?" Saul asked. He stared at Zen''s feet, which looked quite normal.


    Zen nodde


    ook like a creature with blood-red orbs.


    One step¡­


    Two steps¡­


    Three steps..


    Zen knew that he could have the strongest fighting strength when exerting the power of 5, 000 dragon scales. If he raised it to 6, 000 dragon scales by force, his body would be near its limit.


    Therefore, Zen advanced extremely slow. He walked even slower than an ordinary person. It was as if he had the weight of a mountain on his back.


    Four steps, five steps, six steps¡­


    With every single step he took, a gash appeared on his body and blood gushed out of it. Blood arrows shot out from the wounds and pierced through his clothes.


    One of the blood arrows shot towards Aura. Letitia reacted quickly. She waved her hand, and an ice crystal shield blocked the arrow. The blood arrow''s power had dented her shield, which made Letitia look at it with fear.


    How tremendous was the energy that filled Zen''s body?


    Aura reached out her hand and touched the dent on the ice crystal shield. The blood was frozen solid by the cold air when the blood arrow hit the shield. Aura was speechless as her finger touched the cold bloodstain.


    Seven steps, eight steps, nine steps.


    It was now that Zen had reached his limit.


    A breath of air escaped his mouth, which was stained with blood from his body. It then became a cloudy red mist. His internal organs couldn''t withstand such a powerful force and had gotten injured.


    Puff! Puff!


    More heavy pants came from Zen as blood seeped heavily from his wounds. He had only taken nine steps, but the footprints in front of him extended all the way to the other side of the bookshelf. It only took the palace master two to three steps to walk from one side of the shelf to the other, but it was thousands of steps for Zen.

 Chapter 1283 Pushing His Limits

    At this time, Margaret walked over to him and took out a dainty, white, silk handkerchief that she used to wipe the sweat off Zen''s brows.


    A pat here and there was all it took to ruin the pristine silk fabric, staining it with gunk and blood.


    Margaret smiled as she lightly wiped his face. "Come on!"


    She wasn''t as worried compared to Letitia and Aura. It wasn''t because she didn''t care but because she liked seeing Zen struggle every now and then. For Margaret, a man was the most attractive when he struggled through adversity.


    Zen nodded to Margaret, his hands reaching for his chest to take out some pills. Meanwhile, Letitia was prepared with a milky white pill beside them. This pill was extremely valuable and guaranteed to be effective since it came from Cloud Hall. She handed it over to Zen immediately.


    Zen took the pill from Letitia''s hand and swallowed it. The medicinal pill, coupled with Zen''s lightning-fast recovery rate immediately healed all wounds on his body. Though each bloody gash looked serious, they weren''t that deep and in the end, Zen emerged good as new. The only indication that he was ever wounded was the holes left on his clothes from the blood arrows.


    Zen finally realized that this road was meant to test his limit of strength. Mighty Soul Sea Realm warriors or even formidable Spirit Supreme Realm warriors would undergo the same thing if they set foot on this path.


    It was only by pushing himself to the limit would Zen be able to advance!


    Retreating was easy, all he would need to do was turn back and leave. However, that would mean throwing all his hard work down the drain.


    "I''m not afraid of some little test," he murmured firmly. The edges of his vision darkened, tunneling his focus on the several thousand steps ahead of him. The road ahead was difficult to go through, but he didn''t flinch a bit.


    "Go!"


    Zen let the power of the dragon scales surge through his body once again. Blood spurted out of him with each step he took.


    This time, Zen had taken ten steps. The price he paid for ten steps was twelve wounds on his body.


    The moment he stopped, Letitia was already beside him, stuffing another pill into his mouth. "This is the Ice Muscle Pill. I''ve got about forty along with around fifty Rejuvenating Pills. I don''t know if it''s enough since there are at least three thousand footprints..."


    she mumbled worriedly. Would these elixirs be enough to help Zen walk down to the end of the road? she wondered.


    Hearing this, Margaret quickly checked her space ring to see what she had. Unfortunately, instead of pills, all that was in there were neatly folded clothes of varying styles and a few unimportant trinkets. No pills were found there.


    "I still have some pills¡­" Aura offered meekly.


    Letitia scoffed, her eyes flashing dangerously.


    She sniffed the air and the bloody smell filled her nostrils. "You smell of blood," she remarked.


    "What are you doing?" he asked her weakly, leaning on her embrace.


    Margaret smiled. "I''m just giving you a warm hug to cheer you on."


    Zen couldn''t help but chuckle. "Do you think I''ll give up?"


    Margaret shook her head, her eyes shining with confidence as she looked up at him. "No. How could my husband, a mighty warrior give up so easily?"


    It was true that she felt bitter about the grand wedding ceremony Zen held for Letitia back in Cloud Hall, however, Margaret comforted herself with the thought that her wedding ceremony would be a thousand times grander once she accompanied Zen to the Upper World. Any displeasure on her end was hidden with her grand vision for the future.


    She would invite all the powerful masters in the universe and all her guests would be famous people with great reputations such as Nameless and Apeiron. Moreover, she would invite all the Supreme Lords to her wedding ceremony. Her wedding ceremony must be a thousand times, or ten thousand times grander than the one of Zen and Letitia¡­


    Margaret had set herself to invite all the Supreme Lords despite not really knowing what rank they belonged. It wasn''t a title she had heard of until she met Elder Apeiron. The creatures of the Upper World would no doubt be shocked if they knew Margaret''s plans for this grand wedding ceremony.


    Zen smiled down at her. "Of course I will not give up,"


    he said, patting her head before walking away from her embrace, taking on the path once again.


    There were no dangers on this path. It was only an arduous test that required him to push himself to the limit at every step. Three thousand footprints meant pushing his limits over three thousand times.


    Even a sacred weapon would probably turn to dust under this sort of repeated torture¡­

 Chapter 1284 Becoming A Disciple

    In the martial arts world, undergoing greater risk and exerting greater effort would often lead to greater rewards and it was this principle that Zen lived by.


    However, even if, at the end of this path, it was revealed that this grueling test that pushed him to the limit three thousand times was only an elaborate prank by the owner, he would still accept it. He didn''t need any reward, he just wanted this trial to end.


    He might have been blessed with exceptional luck but Zen knew he would have to undergo some pretty challenging obstacles every once in a while. This test was proving to be an exceptionally challenging obstacle for him right now but he could only keep the faith and move forward.


    Each step was excruciating and it was a struggle to even lift his foot forward. There was no doubt that this might be one of the most dreadful experiences in his life.


    Zen had considerably slowed down upon crossing the halfway mark of the road. It took him longer to rest and recover for each step as his body took on a toll from all the suffering he was made to endure.


    It was a good thing that there was no time limit set for this task. A time limit would''ve truly made it impossible to cross this path.


    After he had taken two thousand steps, Zen would have to rest for several hours for each pause. After two thousand and five hundred steps, he would have to rest one day and night every hundred steps forward.


    His three ladies faithfully accompanied him every step of the way, alert and always ready to give him aid. He was their husband and they were more than ready to serve him in whatever way they could.


    As for Saul and Immortal Book, the two of them had existed in this world for far too long. The amount of time it took Zen to traverse this path was nothing but a blink of an eye to them.


    Zen took a hundred steps a day.


    So seven hundred steps took him seven days.


    It was at the end of the seven days that Zen was finally able to step onto the very last footprint¡­


    He would''ve breathed a sigh of relief, perhaps even lain down, but he was not given any chance as a bright ray of light suddenly burst out from behind him.


    This bright light coalesced into a figure that stood at the starting point of the path. This figure followed the footsteps Zen had also taken but he crossed the distance of over three thousand steps in an instant - much faster than Zen did.


    The figure quickly brushed past Zen and walked towards the huge book, reaching out to flip the cover they had initially failed to open.


    "It''s opened!" Immortal Book squinted at the figure, "This¡­ Could it be the master?"


    Saul also tried to make out a face from the glowing figure, "Maybe it is? I can''t be too sure." None of them could make out any defining features from the figure. Perhaps what they saw was merely a shadow left behind by the owner.


    The book opened on the first page, revealing a door.


    It was only a book, and the door was only a picture, though it looked incredibly lifelike for Zen.


    The f


    he stars through the cultivation of Stellar Body. So it might work if he used the power of the stars to refine his body. The concept was possible but merely proposing it was not the same as actually doing it in practice. The presenter of the concept might not necessarily fully compile all the processes and practices that came with his proposal. In short, all he really presented was the idea of the method.


    Theory and praxis were different. And the difference could be too enormous that what came out of theory might be completely irrelevant from what had been originally proposed.


    But of course, a mere warrior from the Central Region was different from the fairy palace owner whose theurgy had already surpassed the range of the world and possibly even the heavens. So the concept that he deduced based on his knowledge would naturally be more reliable.


    There was incredible confidence coming from him in proposing this concept.


    Zen nodded his head, "Yes, I do!" he answered with no hesitations.


    The figure smiled at his ready answer, "Very well then, kneel down!"


    Zen couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow, "Kneel?"


    The figure laughed at his reaction, "Why? You don''t want to? You want to practice my cultivation method but you''re unwilling to become my disciple?"


    Become this person''s disciple¡­


    Truth be told, ever since he embarked on the road to martial arts, Zen had never truly had a master.


    Aura was his master but not in the traditional sense. Letitia, meanwhile, was the leader of Cloud Hall so he was more or less her subordinate.


    He did not really have anyone he could formally acknowledge as his master. He never would''ve expected that he would get one after suffering three thousand times and entering a door inside a mysterious book. The amount of things currently happening overwhelmed him a bit so Zen was quite hesitant.


    "Hahaha¡­ I also did not expect that I will one day have a disciple. You seem hesitant to make me your master. Don''t tell me you want me to beg you?"

 Chapter 1285 The Roaring Token

    At this, Zen no longer hesitated. He respectfully went down on his knees and bowed to the figure.


    He had earlier hesitated because he suddenly had to acknowledge someone as his master. And since he had accepted the owner''s legacy, he had to acknowledge him as his master. True men wouldn''t go down on their knees and Zen was no exception.


    But now that he had chosen to be the owner''s disciple, he did what he was supposed to do and paid his respects according to the rules.


    The owner was an extremely detached man who didn''t regard the ceremony of taking a disciple as important. When Zen bowed before the owner, an invisible force stopped him and helped him up.


    "It''s alright," the owner said, nodding. "We martial artists don''t attach much importance to worldly rules. Since you are willing to take me as your master, I will pass on the cultivation method in this book to you. Do you know why I set such a path for this book?"


    "I have no idea," Zen said, shaking his head.


    The owner continued, "I had spent tens of thousands of years calculating countless number of times before managing to create a brand-new path. I do not know what lies at the end of this path, but the cultivation method begins with replacing life vitality with chaotic energy. For this, you have to forcefully shatter your cinnabar field and introduce chaos into your body. Only those with great perseverance can bear the pain in this course. You relied on your willpower to walk down the path outside, but I still want to remind you that the pain of replacing life vitality with chaotic energy is far beyond what you can imagine. Do you understand?"


    Zen nodded, and said cautiously, "Yes, I do."


    The owner smiled at this. "It''s easy to say yes now. You''ll only know the pain later." He looked Zen up and down and said, "It''s strange. There seems to be primordial energy in your body. And you used it to refine your body once before, right?"


    Zen nodded. The owner seemed to know all the secrets of his body.


    "Your body is a little strange," the owner repeated, but didn''t go on about the secrets of Zen''s body. "Body refinement is also very painful, but the pain brought by replacing life vitality with chaotic energy is probably thousands of times greater than that brought by body refinement."


    Pain was something that could not be quantified. Some people found it unbearable while others had the strength to bear it.


    But the owner knew that there was an enorm


    have discovered the nine dragons. He simply had avoided pointing it out. So the cyan dragon hadn''t shown up of his own accord.


    "You mean he has taken advantage of me? It''s funny," Zen said, amused, finding it all very interesting.


    He had entered the fairy palace and obtained a cultivation method, and now, had gained so many gifts. No matter how he looked at it, he had taken advantage of his master.


    The cyan dragon chuckled and said, "It''s a good thing to take you as a disciple, as you have got a Mahayana Lotus Flower." It was obvious that the cyan dragon''s thinking was going on a completely different path from Zen''s.


    Zen didn''t press the issue because at that moment, a door had appeared behind him. He knew that the door on the painting had opened again. And then, he flew out, still looking wonderingly at the shiny fragments in his hands.


    As he flew, he followed his master''s instructions and crushed one of the fragments. The texture of the fragment was tough and brittle, and with a gentle pinch, it shattered into pieces. A palm-sized sculpture in the shape of a bear with its mouth wide open emerged.


    "What is this?" Zen examined the sculpture, confused and curious.


    Even the knowledgeable cyan dragon stared at the palm-sized sculpture thoughtfully.


    But Zen had already stepped into the huge book and walked out of the painting. Immortal Book saw the sculpture in Zen''s hand and laughed. "Master did leave a legacy in the book but I hadn''t expected him to leave the Roaring Token for you!"


    "The Roaring Token!" the cyan dragon cried out in Zen''s mind as he heard this. He had turned pale with fright.

 Chapter 1286 The Death Chain

    What the hell was the Roaring Token?


    Zen stared at Immortal Book in bewilderment.


    Immortal Book shook his head, preparing to showcase his knowledge. But Saul intervened and said, "This Roaring Token is an old object that was used by the master in the past. If one uses the Roaring Token to shout out something, his voice can be heard throughout the entire universe. The Roaring Token is very common in the universe, but our master''s Roaring Token is special. It can be used countless times."


    "Countless times!" the cyan dragon roared once again.


    "How could there be such a damned thing!" the red dragon roared after being uncommunicative all this while.


    The two Genuine Dragons were inexplicably excited. Zen was dizzy with all the roaring going on in his head. He had learned from Saul that the Roaring Token was just a tool to shout out words. Moreover, Saul had introduced the Roaring Token rather indifferently, which showed that it was perhaps not something important. But why were the two Genuine Dragons so excited?


    "Why?" Zen asked the cyan dragon, confused.


    The cyan dragon let out a long sigh and then said incredulously, "I know that the owner of this fairy palace is a True God who surpasses the heavens, but I didn''t expect him to actually have such a treasure..."


    "What do you mean? Can you explain more clearly?" The cyan dragon wasn''t helping relieve Zen''s confusion. This token was just a tool for shouting, so why did the cyan dragon marvel so much at it? The cyan dragon hadn''t been this excited when Zen had obtained the Black Star. Could it be that the Roaring Token was better than the supreme divine weapon?


    The cyan dragon said, "A hundred thousand supreme worlds are too vast and it is extremely inconvenient to communicate with others in the universe. A single Roaring Token can spread your voice throughout the entire universe!"


    "Oh..." Saul had just talked about what the Roaring Token did and the cyan dragon was merely repeating it all. Was spreading the voice all over the universe that important?


    Seeing Zen''s dubious expression, the cyan dragon smiled and said, "Once you fly into the Upper World, you''ll have the right to speak if your voice can spread throughout the universe. Which is why every race and every force demand that the Roaring Token be used an unlimited number of times!"


    The cyan dragon was trying his best to explain the Roaring Token to Zen.


    Zen knew that the Upper World was composed of a hundred thousand supreme worlds, but he didn''t have a clear understanding of the scope of these worlds.


    The supreme world was too large, which made gathering and making use of its forces extremely difficult.


    Besides, as the three great forces of the human race occupied nearly ten thousand supreme worlds, a wide range, communication became a b


    d thing.


    Zen did not forget that he still had one more important goal, and that was to find his sister. Although he felt that Yan was safe, he couldn''t accept the fact that she had been taken away by someone he did not know.


    If he were to fly into the Upper World in the future, Zen might have to use this Roaring Token to shout to Yan to see if she could reply.


    "I just can''t figure out how the owner of the fairy palace created a Roaring Token that can be used for unlimited times!" the cyan dragon said disbelievingly, still in shock.


    "I don''t care!" Zen couldn''t be bothered to think about this, as long as it was useful.


    Once he had put the Roaring Token into his space ring, Zen crushed the second fragment. As he did so, a shining chain appeared within the fragment. Zen pulled the chain out and said, disappointment lacing his voice, "This... What the hell is this?"


    In the beginning, he had thought that his master''s gift would most likely be a supreme divine weapon. And he had guessed that his master might give him at least a divine weapon. But now, as he crushed the fragments, he was confused as to why he was getting such strange things.


    When Saul saw the chain, he smiled and said, "This is the Death Chain!"


    "The Death Chain? What''s the use of it?" Zen asked.


    "When you first entered the fairy palace, did you trigger a Desperate Melee in the pavilion?" Saul asked as way of an answer.


    Zen nodded. He still remembered that Desperate Melee vividly. Everyone had been connected to each other by a special energy and fought a life-and-death battle as only one could survive in the end.


    "So that''s it. The Death Chain can lock you and your opponent together, and it would open only after the battle is over and one of the fighters is killed. Even if a Supreme Lord is locked up with you, he won''t be able to escape if he can''t kill you."

 Chapter 1287 The Extreme Pain

    Zen wasn''t stupid to lock himself in with a Supreme Lord.


    But thanks to Saul''s explanation, Zen understood that the Death Chain would be of great use. He could lock an opponent whose strength was on par with his so that he wouldn''t be able to escape.


    Zen felt that the Death Chain was much more practical when compared to the Roaring Token. The decision was in his hands and he could decide whether or not he would use it.


    Zen stuffed the Death Chain into his space ring, in no hurry to crush the remaining pieces. But he was anxious to figure out the cultivation method his master had just passed down to him.


    His master, who had created and named the cultivation method, had poured it into Zen''s mind. It was called the "Primal Chaos Technique." The name was rather simple; Zen suspected that his master was just too lazy to think of a suitable name.


    But the strength of warriors did not depend on their names. Likewise, the strength of a cultivation method was not something that could be determined by its name either.


    Zen was a little worried when it came to cultivating this method. After all, his master had only deduced it, and he himself had never practiced it. But if a cultivation method could be obtained and cultivated by many people, it wouldn''t be valuable enough and Zen wouldn''t take a fancy to it.


    This cultivation method was different¡ªno one had cultivated it before. If Zen started on this path, it would be one that no one had ever walked before. Who knew what he would find at the end?


    Zen followed the method recorded in the manual and slowly condensed the life vitality in his belly. The wisp of chaotic energy that had disappeared, jumped back to life and whirred in his belly. It was at this moment that he finally understood what pain was.


    Zen paled the instant the pain began shooting through his body. He was rooted to the spot, unable to move. Even his instinct to howl had disappeared.


    "What''s wrong?" Letitia asked nervously. When the three women saw that Zen seemed to have obtained some sort of inheritance after entering the book, they had become happy. But they became worried at the way he had paled so suddenly.


    The pain originated from his cinnabar field, as if something was grinding his belly without stop. The cinnabar field was the most sensitive yet most important part of a warrior. The pain spread and stimulated every nerve in Zen''s body.


    Margaret rushed forward and asked nervously, "Zen, are you feeling alright


    emely regretful. If he had known that it would be so painful, he wouldn''t have practiced this cultivation method no matter what.


    It was not that Zen''s willpower was weak. He was not almighty. Even if his warrior spirit and willpower were stronger than those of ordinary warriors, this kind of pain was not something that any living being could endure. And Zen couldn''t bear it either. Or maybe he could if he were a rock.


    How could the three women even smile when they saw the pain that Zen was in?


    Letitia fiercely guarded the Ice Palace. She let Saint Morphens take care of other matters that cropped up in the Cloud Hall.


    As time went by, the time that Zen remained conscious became longer and longer. This kind of pain did not numb the body. Every time a wave of pain rippled through him, it made him feel like his head was about to explode. He would rather not wake up than endure this.


    One day, Zen slowly came to consciousness, and the moment he woke up, he knew that he would have to spend a few more hours in torment.


    But he could hear a melodious sound wafting in. Margaret was caressing the strings of her zither, just outside the Ice Palace. The music was so beautiful that it made Zen feel at ease.


    Even though the music could not suppress the pain, Zen still felt slightly better. He struggled to get up, while Letitia, who had been waiting by his side for a countless number of days, immediately went up to support him. "Be careful," she said softly.


    But as he rose, Zen suddenly discovered that the pain in his cinnabar field had disappeared. The torment that had lasted for almost half a year had suddenly disappeared!

 Chapter 1288 The Chaotic Energy

    Of all human sensations, pain demands the most tolerance. The fact that Zen was able to endure such intense torture for a long time without losing his mind was testament enough to the strength of his will.


    When all the pain left his body, relief flooded his senses.


    Half a year had passed, and he had overcome the torture.


    Margaret and Letitia did not know that the pain had gone. As Zen straightened himself slowly, Margaret halted playing the zither while Letitia asked him softly, her voice expressing her deep concern, "Zen, are you alright?"


    A mischievous thought came to his mind as he looked at the two women''s faces. Deciding to play a trick, he shook his head slightly and affected an air of being in pain. "I...I''m afraid I can''t make it this time," he coughed out.


    Shadows immediately fell upon Letitia''s and Margaret''s faces at his words. Not far away, Aura, who had been praying for Zen, ran over to him in haste and held his hand.


    The three women hovered over him in somber silence. Suddenly, Zen''s arms shot out and pulled the three of them into his embrace. Margaret and Aura screamed; surprised gasps tickled his ears as he flew up into the sky and burst into laughter. He took them and jumped out of the Ice Palace''s roof with them in his embrace.


    Their worries fled as they floated in the air.


    Aura''s eyes were bright as she marveled at him. Zen''s strong arms were wrapped around her securely, and she felt the warmth of his skin on her own. Margaret laughed as she pummeled his chest, playfully castigating him for playing such a dirty trick. It was only Letitia who was different. Her eyes were as sharp as daggers as she glared at him, anger written all over her face. The next moment, a white, cold mist rose up in the air.


    "Hey! It''s freezing," Margaret complained, her mood going sour at Letitia''s actions.


    The cold draft touched them with its icy fingers and the other two women shivered.


    Letitia only let out a defiant "Humph" and slipped out from Zen''s arms, returning to the Ice Palace.


    The three women had been at peace for the past few months. It had been a standstill among them when Zed was unconscious, but now that he had recovered, the old discord had come to life once more. Jealousy was an emotion that could only be suppressed at most, but never dispelled or forgotten.


    Zen could only smile wryly before he let go of Margaret and Aura. He then followed Letitia and entered the Ice Palace, wanting to soothe her.


    That night, after he had bathed and changed his clothes, he sat alone on a platform in Cloud Hall. Letitia had calmed down after some time of coaxing, and he had some time in his hands. For the past months, he


    of the Fire Law. He had never imagined that it would have that much power. The fireball spread out and was eventually covered by the circular "Light of Water." The light reflected and took the form of the sun.


    "What unbelievable power!" Zen marveled at the sight.


    He had been right to direct the fireball towards the sky. The lingering flames had ignited quite a number of parts of the Cloud Hall, but left everyone unharmed. After the fireball exploded, the light remained for some more moments before disappearing. The Cloud Hall was awake, with disciples running around in haste to put out the fire.


    Zen gazed into the sky for some time even after all the light had disappeared. The cyan dragon''s words about primal chaos lingered in his mind.


    Other warriors trained their life vitality, which was a kind of energy created and bound by heavens. What Zen possessed now was chaotic energy, created by the primal chaos.


    Just now, he had only used the chaotic energy to activate the Fire Law. How much more powerful would it be if he used the methods in the manual that his master had created? As Zen became more and more familiar with the chaotic energy inside him, his future achievement might exceed his master''s expectations.


    His master had created the Primal Chaos Technique, but he had not practiced it himself. At present, chaotic energy had completely replaced the life vitality within Zen''s body. With this, he would be able to create his own cultivation method far beyond his master''s limits.


    Zen''s chest beat wildly in anticipation. The future held endless possibilities. No one had walked this path before, and it would be incredibly difficult for Zen to learn on his own. But he believed that once he completed his journey, a new era would open up by his own hands.

 Chapter 1289 The Way To Collect The Magnetic Sacred Mountain

    A warrior paved his cultivation path towards a unique goal.


    Some saw it as a road towards unlimited power and resources. Some saw it as a stepping stone to achieve recognition. Some saw it as an easy way to get beautiful women.


    Zen, on the other hand, was obsessed with the practice of cultivation itself. His main motivation was not gold, power, or glory but the sheer interest he had for it.


    In the past, Zen had created his very own sword move¡ªthe No Move. This time, he practiced a cultivation method that had been practiced by no one before. It was like walking a new, undiscovered path. He knew it was bound to be difficult, but he had faith that it would lead to a beautiful place.


    The large fireball greatly alarmed the warriors of Cloud Hall, but they quickly calmed down when they heard that it was only Zen cultivating.


    No one would dare argue nor admonish him. Zen, first and foremost, was a disciple of Cloud Hall''s Elite House. Moreover, he was now also the number one warrior in Central Region and the husband of Cloud Hall''s leader¡ªnobody could really consider him as a mere disciple anymore.


    Now that he had finished his goal of returning to the Eastern Region and taking Aura back, Zen could now rest and cultivate in peace here in Cloud Hall.


    Aside from that, he was also blessed to be graced with the company of three beauties. It wasn''t really as peaceful as he would''ve hoped since there was still a bit of conflict among them. None really entertained the notion of having to share a husband. Still, their dynamic worked.


    Margaret was relatively carefree and spent most of her time teasing the Ancestral Dragon or idling by Zen''s side. She should''ve, in theory, already made a breakthrough given the time and ample resources the Cloud Hall provided. Her Purple Power Body also gave her an innate advantage but the young woman just didn''t take cultivation that seriously.


    Margaret remained stuck at the early stage of the Internal Elixir Realm and did not seem to have any intention of improving herself¡ªat least that was what Zen thought.


    He actually had some doubts regarding this carefree lady of his. He hadn''t forgotten that old man from the Celestial Position race. Zen had tried to use the memories of the world''s will to find out what that old man and Margaret talked about back then, but he came up with nothing.


    He figured that it might be because the old man was technically an outsider from this great world so he might not necessarily be able to find out any information about him. Marga


    never used it, nor did he know the principle behind it.


    However, the moment he activated the token, the information flooded through his mind and he suddenly was able to understand how it worked.


    With this sudden influx of information, the image of the fairy palace appeared right in front of him. It was exactly the same as the one in Cloudy Mountain but relatively smaller in size.


    Zen quickly stepped into this mini fairy palace and was suddenly transported inside. Despite appearing to him as a smaller version, the place he had stepped into was incomparably grand and huge. Of course, it was all an illusion shown to him by the token.


    "So this is how it is supposed to be used," he remarked to himself. If he ever found himself in a pinch, he could take out the token and hide himself in this palace.


    Since he was already here, Zen made it a point to head towards the library.


    The library was an immense fountain of knowledge from which he could reap endless benefits.


    Instead of searching for cultivation methods, Zen looked for and gathered information regarding weapon refining and divine texture writing.


    Immortal Book whispered recommendations to his ear all throughout but Zen still managed to browse a few books he chose himself. In one of these books, he had unexpectedly managed to obtain some information regarding the Magnetic Sacred Mountain.


    According to the source, the Magnetic Sacred Mountain could actually be collected.


    It contained the power of five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. It was also extremely sturdy and unbreakable.


    It was also the reason why nobody in the four divine kingdoms showed any intention of targeting it.

 Chapter 1290 Cut The Mountain With Wind Blades

    It couldn''t be denied¡ªthe breadth of Zen''s master''s knowledge far exceeded his expectations.


    The book entitled "Myriad Manifestations of Nature" was a record of some of the universe''s extremely powerful and unique items, including the Magnetic Sacred Mountain.


    Not only was its refining method recorded in the book, but a number of other aspects went above and beyond Zen''s imagination. But because the materials for refining the mountain were rare, Zen had yet to find them.


    Although the origin of the Magnetic Sacred Mountain wasn''t wholly clear, it indeed existed in the great world. At the very least, it was not owned by anyone.


    If only the Soul Sea Realm masters of the four divine kingdoms could move the mountain, the mountain would have already settled on the Divine Kingdom Continent.


    But even while Zen finally had the method of collecting the Magnetic Sacred Mountain, there were still a number of hurdles to overcome.


    A violent storm had been hanging above the Chaotic Ocean of Stars since many years ago¡ªits wind blades were a great threat to even the Spirit Supreme Realm warriors. Although Zen had already consecutively advanced two grades and currently stood at the third grade of the Life and Death Realm, it was too unrealistic for him to attempt to block the wind blades with the strength he had.


    An important point to note was that the most crucial part about collecting the Magnetic Sacred Mountain was stripping off the bottom of the mountain. It was such a sturdy structure that not even dozens of Soul Sea Realm masters could destroy it¡ªZen couldn''t even dream of doing so.


    After a moment of pondering, Zen came up with a plan.


    At this time, the World Commercial Alliance suddenly released a message requesting all kinds of rare materials. Although these materials more or less appeared in the Central Region, they were extremely difficult to obtain.


    But brave men after great rewards never ran out. After all, how many people in the world could truly resist such temptations?


    Some of the materials had been kept in certain clans for generations. Now that they were sold at such a high price, they were all willing to sell them to the World Commercial Alliance.


    All the materials collected were piecemeal before being sent to the Cloud Hall one after another. Because of the great purchase momentum, it caught the attention of many other sects. After some investigation, it was revealed that the World Commercial Alliance was only helping the Cloud Hall, or perhaps, to speak frankly, it was helping Zen


    he world''s will, Zen had already ascertained that the mountain was to the west of the Chaotic Ocean of Stars. Instead of flying to the west, he flew south, going straight into the heart of the storm.


    Of course, he wasn''t planning on merely exploring the heart of the storm out of curiosity¡ªit was a necessary step for what he intended to do. If there was some powerful creature in the center of it, he would be doomed.


    While it was impossible for Zen to strip away the bottom of the Magnetic Sacred Mountain with his own strength, the power of the storm could be used instead.


    The wind blades were indeed ridiculously powerful¡ªZen was positive that transferring this power to the mountain could do the trick.


    One wind blade was probably not enough, but a hundred thousand, or maybe a million wind blades could work. Taking advantage of the wind blades, Zen believed the Magnetic Sacred Mountain could be removed from its base.


    A concrete method had to be decided.


    As Zen advanced to the center of the storm, the wind blades turned sharper and sharper. Even wind blades containing the third or fourth layer of Wind Law began appearing around him, the colors fluctuating from light to dark shades of cyan.


    ''It''s not enough. These wind blades are enough to threaten me, but they can''t shake the mountain, '' Zen thought, observing the blades sweeping around him. Even after he attempted to transfer the attacks to the bottom of the mountain, they had no trace of an effect on the mountain.


    ''I have to find those black wind blades!'' Fixing his gaze on the blades, Zen continued to advance. After he had flown for about half a day, the first black wind blade finally appeared before him.

 Chapter 1291 Are They Intelligent

    When he saw the wind blade, Zen got pleased, with a hint of joy on his face. He had finally discovered the black wind blade!


    Realizing that the black wind blade didn''t shoot in the right direction, Zen swiftly adjusted his direction and headed straight towards it.


    "Puff!"


    With a muffled sound, the wind blade that contained the fifth layer of Wind Law directly hit Zen''s chest!


    "Power Transfer!"


    When the black wind blade hit his chest, Zen ensured to simultaneously use the will of the great world to search for the Magnetic Sacred Mountain.


    After that, Zen''s gaze faintly flickered. An indistinct white mark became visible at the bottom of the Magnetic Sacred Mountain.


    The wind blade containing the fifth layer of Wind Law could only leave a faint mark. So how long would it take him to cut this massive Magnetic Sacred Mountain?


    There was a trace of depression in his face.


    But Zen resolutely would not give up that easily. During his stay in the Central Region, he not only focused on cultivating, but he also needed to prepare to fly into the Upper World.


    He quite fully understood then that preparedness ensured success and unpreparedness spelled failure. Since he was able to achieve it with a small price, why wouldn''t he do it?


    So he continued moving forward. As he plodded on, he mentally noted that the number of black wind blades increased, while the number of cyan wind blades decreased.


    "Puff! Puff! Puff!"


    The moving tracks of the black wind blades were different, and Zen could only try his best to use his body to collide with them. With this constant collisions, streams of power kept transferring to the bottom of the Magnetic Sacred Mountain.


    "Ten streams of power..."


    "One hundred...


    "One thousand..."


    In the eyes of the onlookers, these black wind blades were deadly, seeming to represent the death god. But it was not for Zen as he could not wait to charge at them.


    He swiftly hit them! Soon he had been able to smash three thousand black wind blades! When Zen checked the Magnetic Sacred Mountain, the power of the three thousand wind blades was transferred by him to the bottom.


    And now, he had finally cut a little part of the mountain, leaving a tiny cut as thick as a thumb!


    Witnessing this scene, Zen couldn''t help feeling disappointed. He was speechless!


    His effort of gathering the power of thousands of black wind blades only left a tiny mark on the Magnetic Sacred Mountain.


    He deduced that a large mountain was always thin at the top part, and was massive at the bottom. How many black wind blades would it take to peel off the Magnetic Sacred Mountain from its base? Would it need hundreds of millions or even billions of wind blades?


    If so, it might be impossible for Zen to execute that with the wind blades alone. Although there were a lot of black wind blades in the storm, and they were distributed in the sky above the Chaotic Ocean of Stars, but they would not r


    center of this storm. He wasn''t afraid of the double-colored wind blades. It was just that if he encountered some powerful creatures at the center of this storm, dealing with them would be impossible for him. Might he be able to escape by then?


    After a brief moment of hesitation, Zen braced himself, as he gritted his teeth and charged forward.


    As he made his way towards the center of the storm, he met more and more double-colored wind blades. Every single two-colored wind blade was able to leave a ten-foot-deep cut on the Magnetic Sacred Mountain. Although this mountain was huge, it would eventually peel off under such attacking and cutting of the wind blades. Zen''s mental state eventually became stable.


    However, just after Zen advanced for about two hundred miles, he discovered a new type of wind blade. It was a golden wind blade!


    What was stranger was that they were not like those ordinary wind blades which shot into all directions. Instead, they gathered and moved together, like a flock of birds flying smoothly in the air.


    "Are these wind blades intelligent?" Zen was amazed as he stared at the golden wind blades.


    So to speak, the wind blades were the things created in a storm. The stronger the wind blade was, the higher the level of Wind Law it contained. But no matter how powerful the wind blade was, it might not be able to produce a pearl of wisdom. To put it bluntly, it was nothing but just a gust of wind.


    There were too many mysteries in this universe that were left unsolved. And Zen fused with the will of the great world, making him all-powerful and invincible, but sadly some things still confused him.


    While Zen was too engrossed in observing the clumps of golden wind blades, some of them noticed him. One of the golden wind blades circled in the distance, and the other golden wind blades also started chasing after him!


    ''Flee!''


    At that unexpected turn of event, this was the only thought that crossed his mind.

 Chapter 1292 Rise Up

    The three thousand black wind blades had only left a tiny cut on the Magnetic Sacred Mountain.


    But only one double-colored wind blade was necessary to make a ten-foot-deep cut into the mountain.


    There was no getting around the fact that the difference in power of the two types of wind blades was immensely large.


    If a golden wind blade''s power was equal to that of ten thousand double-colored wind blades, then one golden wind blade would be enough to cut right through the Magnetic Sacred Mountain.


    All Zen needed to do was to attract a single golden wind blade¡ªif he managed to do so, it would save him heaps of time and energy. It would have been the perfect solution, except that there were over a hundred golden wind blades chasing after him simultaneously.


    If he led all of them to the mountain, their collective strength would be excessive. ''Where can I transfer all the extra power?'' Zen thought in frustration, furrowing his brows.


    Should he transfer it to the Divine Kingdom Continent or the Central Region? The blades'' terrifying power would probably wreck the Divine Kingdom Continent to pieces.


    Without any sound solution at the moment, Zen decided to flee.


    Fortunately for him, he had fast enough reflexes and a quick mind¡ªright after noticing the golden blades were after him, he flew as fast and far as he could to evade them in an instant. With that, he made sure to maintain a safe distance from the threat behind him¡ªin spite of all the precautions he had taken, the thought of a hundred golden blades flying after him at top speed was enough to send shivers down his spine.


    Zen was well aware of what the blades could do to him. With such power not far behind him, he knew that he would never be truly safe. ''The blades can easily catch up with me in a fraction of a second, '' he thought, beads of sweat running down his temples.


    At that moment, he gave up on thinking of a solution¡ªhe was somewhat unwilling to let the Divine Kingdom Continent and Central Region take the blades'' damage. He wouldn''t have the Sea God Continent take the hit too. If the blades managed to catch up to him, he would probably have to sacrifice the savage land after peeling off the mountain.


    Suddenly, a brilliant thought came to his mind. "I have a token with the word ''mountain'' on it. It should allow me to enter the fairy palace!"


    Just as he was readying himself to stage his plan, the golden wind blades stalled and began circling the air. In the next moment, they did a 180-degree turn and moved away from Zen.


    Puzzled, Zen stopped mid-flight when he saw the blades moving in the opposite direction. With a smile, he muttered, "They really are intelligent, huh?" Zen sighed in relief as he observed the golden wind blades disappear into the distance¡ªthat was too close an encounter.


    As he began to analyze what had happened, he realized one thing¡ªthe golden wind blades didn''t


    rength had a qualitative change. But at the moment, he was facing mere tenth-level beasts. Although their strength was comparable to that of the Life and Death Realm warriors, their intelligence was far inferior.


    Still, the chaotic energy also had a weakness.


    The life vitality was created by nature¡ªif a warrior''s life vitality was used up, he would be able to continuously absorb the vitality of heaven and earth to replenish it. If one wanted to do it quicker, one could make use of the life vitality crystal.


    Normally, the chaotic energy could only be refined and created within the warrior''s body. But according to the deduction of Zen''s master, everything in the world evolved from chaos. In turn, everything could be turned into chaos. Because Zen had yet to cultivate to such a state, he had to endure his weakness for the time being¡ªit was still impossible for him to do anything.


    The sword attack had killed dozens of tenth-level and ninth-level beasts¡ªthe creatures came to realize that Zen was indeed, very powerful. At that moment, they all ran for their lives.


    Fortunately for them, Zen had no intention of chasing after them. In the first place, he had no clue why the ferocious beasts attacked him¡ªperhaps they knew that he was going to move the Magnetic Sacred Mountain away. Still, Zen knew that he had destroyed the home they had inhabited for tens of thousands of years. If the creatures hadn''t recklessly attacked him, he didn''t have the heart to kill them.


    After chasing the beasts away, Zen swiftly laid out all the divine textures on the mountain. After finalizing the preparations, he began activating the textures one after another according to the method recorded in the Myriad Manifestations of Nature. Then, he returned to the very top of the Magnetic Sacred Mountain and activated the final divine texture. Suddenly, Zen slammed his palm hard on the surface of the mountain as he shouted, "Rise up!"

 Chapter 1293 The Hook In Shadow

    At the same time, the divine textures began to emit a faint halo of light, as if some mysterious power was wakening up. The halo was revolving around the Magnetic Sacred Mountain.


    And then, something incredible happened! The entire mountain itself shook and slowly rose up from the sea!


    The Magnetic Sacred Mountain, in appearance, was not so different from an ordinary mountain; it was about ten thousand feet tall and proportionately wide. However, it was definitely a lot heavier than an ordinary mountain. The latter was made of commonplace rocks, while the Magnetic Sacred Mountain was made of magnetic stones.


    These magnetic stones were tough, and slightly heavier than common rocks. They contained the power of five different elements, which prevented any type of law from invading them. That was the reason why the mountain could not be destroyed by knives or swords. There were other mountains in this world too. Some were the type which contained a lot of rich and pure iron ore. In fact, they might have been much heavier than the Magnetic Sacred Mountain. However, they were useless to Zen and he wasn''t going to refine them.


    As Zen continued to ascend, the part of the mountain which had been immersed in the sea gradually rose up towards the surface. Finally, the entire mountain left the sea level and floated in the air.


    Some living beings that had gathered on the mountain left their nests and jumped into the sea, startled by the sudden change in atmosphere.


    At that moment, Zen''s finger gently flicked and dozens of drops of blood left his body.


    "Blood Refinement Technique!"


    To take ownership of the Magnetic Sacred Mountain, not only did Zen need to set up the six-star divine textures, but there was also a more important part: the Blood Refinement Technique which was recorded in the "Myriad Manifestations of Nature".


    After the drops of blood had flowed out of Zen''s body, they slowly rotated and revolved around in the air. Under the circulation of the Blood Refinement Technique, they then began to merge with one another and quickly formed a palm-sized, blood-refined rune.


    The blood-refined rune continued to spin around and began to descend towards the gigantic mountain underneath it.


    The Magnetic Sacred Mountain was enhanced by the power of five elements, so it was hard to collect it because no matter which type of law was used, it wouldn''t be able to react completely with the mountain. However, the Blood Refinement Technique had a miraculous effect in refining the mountain.


    It was because of this reason that Zen had begun to admire his master more and more. However, he didn''t know whether or not the various secret techniques within the "Myriad Manifestations of Nature" were all created by his master. Maybe his master had collected them while he was travelling.


    As Zen''s blood-refined rune hit the mountain, the mountain began to shake at a much faster speed. Finally, it began to rotate at a pace which was comparable to that of the drops of blood and the blood-refined rune.


    Whir


    Thus, not only could these thirty three divine textures be used to destroy the power of the five elements of the Magnetic Sacred Mountain, even the most powerful sect-protecting arrays would become as fragile as an eggshell if they were attacked in this way.


    However, the Magnetic Sacred Mountain would be strong again once it recovered its power of the five elements. And that was when it would come in handy. At that time, Soul Sea Realm powerhouses could do nothing to the mountain, and even Spirit Supreme Realm martial artists could only sigh in helplessness if they encountered this mountain. If they wanted to break it by force, they would probably need five or even seven layers of Law Power. However, there weren''t too many supreme warriors with such Law Power in the Upper World, so the mountain would definitely be a great support for Zen in his future endeavors.


    Zen had obtained the Magnetic Sacred Mountain now and his goal had been achieved. However, just as he was collecting the mountain, his heart suddenly skipped a beat as an extremely uncomfortable feeling arose within his heart. His sixth sense was telling him something!


    "It seems like someone is spying on me." Zen''s brow creased as he swept his gaze across the area, spreading out his senses at the same time.


    The wind blades swept and the waves churned, but there was nothing else in the world. Not a single living soul. As for those living beings in the Chaotic Ocean of Stars, Zen had made them suffer bitterly, so they had hidden deep and wouldn''t dare to show up.


    Zen could not find any living creature spying on him, but the wariness in his heart grew even stronger by the minute.


    Right at that moment, a crack suddenly appeared in the space not far behind him. In fact, it looked like the very fabric of space had been cut open by someone. In that hole, it was pitch-black. It looked like the reverse side of the world where even sunlight couldn''t reach. At the same time, a long black hook shot out of it and rushed straight towards Zen.

 Chapter 1294 A Mad Rush To Ascend

    ''It''s the Shadow Creature!''


    Suddenly Zen''s head throbbed.


    The black hook seemed to be made from the bones of some animal and it was incredibly fast. It charged straight at Zen, trying to drag him into the space crack.


    But he was quick to react. Coincidentally, a gale swept over him. He immediately followed the gale and floated slightly in the air. His body suddenly drifted a couple of feet horizontally and dodged the hook just in time!


    The black hook missed its target and continued hovering in the air. Then it actually turned around and chased after Zen once again.


    "Cloud-chasing Skill!"


    How could Zen afford to stop?


    Even the seven Spirit Supreme Realm masters of the Celestial Position had fled for their lives in the face of the Shadow Creature. If he were to get dragged into this crack, he would be doomed.


    Whoosh!


    The storm contained a strong Wind Law. As he employed the Cloud-chasing Skill, the forceful energy within his body also erupted, giving Zen an amazing boost. His speed reached its peak.


    However, the black hook too sped up as it chased him. It seemed determined not to give up until it caught Zen!


    "Oh no! Why can''t I escape it?" Zen''s perception told him that the black hook was moving faster and getting closer to him. His expression darkened.


    When the black hook was only a dozen feet away from him, Zen suddenly turned around mid-flight, and the power within his body shot out crazily. If he could not escape it, he could at least try his best to get out. This was what was on his mind.


    However, there was a dramatic turn of events at this point. As Zen was focusing on fleeing, the hook suddenly straightened up. Although the tip of the hook was still emitting rays of cold light, it paused and couldn''t move from its spot at all¡­


    Zen''s eyes glistened as a smile appeared on his face. The hook wasn''t long enough to reach him.


    This hook was released by the Shadow Creature from the back side of the world. The hook could leave the back of the world, but the Shadow Creature couldn''t.


    In the next moment, the black hook retracted with a whoosh. It seemed as if the Shadow Creature had given up.


    However, Zen didn''t dare to drop his guard. The Shadow Creatures seemed to be active on the back side of the Chaotic Ocean of Stars. He was not sure what these creatures wanted to do with him, but it would definitely not be a wise decision to stay here. So he immediately sped away towards Central Region.


    Indeed, just as Zen had guessed, space cracks appeared now and then and hooks emerged from them to chase after Zen on the way back too.


    But Zen managed to escape in time when the space cracks appeared and the hooks stretched out. He had never been caught by any hook in his mad dash.


    This hot pursuit continued all the way to the edge of the Chaotic Ocean of Stars, only then did th


    led.


    They had dreamed of the day they could ascend to the Upper World. The appearance of this mighty force was great news for them.


    Five minutes after the repelling force appeared, a bright silver light erupted from the Harlen Divine Kingdom and shot up towards the sky.


    "Damn! Who is this guy that is flying away? Why the hell he is in such a mad rush?" Turner cursed as he stood watching this scene from the palace of the Harlen Divine Kingdom.


    The powerful masters of the Soul Sea Realm in the four divine kingdoms had been waiting for this moment for countless years. No matter how anxious everyone was, they couldn''t risk ascending recklessly!


    The four divine kingdoms had a good relationship with each other, and it was the strength of each divine kingdom that maintained the peace among them. If all the Soul Sea Realm masters in the Harlen Divine Kingdom ascended to the Upper World and only Turner was left, how could the divine kingdom continue its reign?


    It was a crisis situation, so Turner immediately summoned all the Soul Sea Realm masters in the Harlen Divine Kingdom to the palace.


    The problem was that all the powerful warriors at the Soul Sea Realm wanted to ascend to the Upper World. They could have immediately ascended to the Upper World after entering the Soul Sea Realm, but the truth was that most of them had been stuck at the Soul Sea Realm for countless years with no scope of ascending. Now they were in a mad rush to ascend to the Upper World and nobody could stop them, not even Turner!


    ''Everyone recognizes you as the ruler of the divine kingdom, and once I ascend to the Upper World, I might still regard you as my king for the sake of our old friendship. But if you think you can stop me from ascending to the Upper World, then you must be dreaming!'' Most of the Soul Sea Realm masters in the Harlen Divine Kingdom had this same thought in their minds.

 Chapter 1295 Improving Too Fast

    Several bright, silver lights shot up to the sky after Turner called a meeting. Only half of the Soul Sea Realm masters stayed and rushed towards the imperial palace, choosing to obey his command instead. Those that obeyed were mostly people who had a good relationship with Turner, with some coming from the Zhou family.


    Dozens of bright lights scattered all throughout the sky with the Soul Sea Realm warriors'' ascension. It was a wondrous sight that left all citizens of the four divine kingdoms in awe.


    Titles had been handed over, management of family affairs had been imparted and instructions to disciples had already been given. The Soul Sea Realm masters could ascend peacefully to the Upper World.


    Turner, War King Wind, Scott, and War Emperor York watched solemnly as they watched their subordinates ascend to the Upper World before them. Though happy for this opportunity, their hearts were a bit heavy at the thought of falling behind because of their responsibilities. They did not enjoy the same level of freedom as these warriors. They were emperors who needed to do more than just give a list of instructions to their descendants in order to ensure proper management of kingdom affairs.


    It would be quite a while before they could ascend with no worries.


    War Emperor York was especially infuriated. Almost all of York Divine Kingdom''s Soul Sea Realm masters had chosen to ascend with only one opting to remain - his younger brother.


    It didn''t help that they all readily chose to go their way the instant the passageway was repaired, completely ignoring War Emperor York''s summons. He had wanted to threaten them, to tell them that he would wipe out their clans if they ascended without his permission. However, he held himself back. He was also bound to ascend at some point. What if the enemies he made now came back and sought revenge on his clan once he left? It wasn''t practical to lose his clan over a momentary feeling of rage.


    Still, he couldn''t help but grit his teeth at the sight of the illuminated sky. He had never been a magnanimous ruler and had treated his kingdom''s Soul Sea Realm warriors harshly. Now that they had been presented with a way out of his bondage, it was no surprise that none of them were willing to obey him and they chose to escape from his clutches instead.


    There were considerably more Soul Sea Realm warriors that chose to stay from the other three divine kingdoms. However, the number was still terribly low and the Divine Kingdom Continent would be sure to see a reshuffling of powers among the four divine kingdoms. Gone was the age of the Soul Sea Realm masters, replaced by the emergence of the Life and Death Realm warriors who now had the oppor


    e kept rising steadily and Lavender''s soul was also slowly recovering in the Soul Nurturing Wood.


    As for Brianna¡­


    Zen had helped her communicate with the cyan dragon several times. According to him, there was no way to remove the Soul Sealing Spell while in the Lower World. She would have to return to the Upper World for that.


    However, it would be impossible for Zen to bring her along once he ascended in the future.


    There was a simple method to send her back through the Dragon Soar Arena but this suggestion of his was quickly shot down by both Brianna and the cyan dragon.


    Even though Brianna belonged to the Genuine Dragon race, she refused to return due to some conflicts with the other members. When Zen heard this, he quickly dropped the idea.


    He was left with no choice but to place her body deep inside Cloud Hall and have people guard it closely.


    He would just have to ascend to the Upper World, find a solution, and then return to the Lower World at some point in the future to help her remove the Soul Sealing Spell.


    Zen continued to improve as his cultivation base kept rising rapidly. He soon experienced his fourth life-and-death tribulation, just three months after his third.


    As his cultivation base rose, the intervals between the tribulations grew shorter and shorter.


    Truth be told, Zen had almost wanted to purposely impede the improvement of his cultivation. It was just a peaceful point in his life wherein he could relax and spend as much time as he wanted with his girls. However, there was no stopping his lightning-fast improvement.


    He told himself that he would try to suppress himself from ascending even if he reached the Soul Sea Realm.


    But after his fifth life-and-death tribulation, it seemed that the great world suddenly began to reject him.

 Chapter 1296 Ascending

    It was only after a warrior entered the Soul Sea Realm that he would be repelled by the great world since, it was only during this time that a world would''ve formed inside his body.


    Zen was only at the fifth level of the Life and Death Realm so he shouldn''t be feeling the repelling force yet. Why had it come so early?


    Besides, hadn''t he already fused with the world''s will? Why was it rejecting him then?


    He wanted an answer to his questions but it wasn''t something that the great world would be able to provide for him. Besides, the world''s will was not born out of a singular being but of a collection of all living creatures. To question it was folly.


    Still, Zen tried as hard as he could to fight off the repelling force by culling his cultivation.


    To his surprise, his resistance consumed all his strength. "This is not right!" he muttered to himself in confusion.


    During his investigation of the four divine kingdoms and the Sea God Continent through the great world''s will, Zen noticed that Amber and the other Soul Sea Realm masters had also felt the repelling force but were able to easily suppress it. In short, it didn''t cause as much trouble to them as it did to Zen who wasn''t even supposed to feel it in the first place!


    Ever since he broke through to the fifth level of the Life and Death Realm, the formless repelling force only grew stronger day by day. It almost grew exponentially.


    At first he was relaxed and comforted himself with the fact that he''d be able to resist it if he exerted enough effort.


    However, the following days proved him wrong.


    The second day was fine and he only felt a mild feeling of repellence. On the third day, however, the force was so strong that it completely distracted him from his cultivation.


    By the fourth day, his struggle was already very apparent from the bitter look on his face. As the days passed, Zen had to continually use more and more power to suppress the repelling force.


    Letitia had noticed this sudden change in his behavior and was extremely worried thinking that he was unwell.


    However, this couldn''t be possible since his level of cultivation rendered him immune to any kind of disease. There was no way that his suffering was brought on by some kind of ailment.


    When she asked him what was wrong, Zen tried to play it cool and assured her that he was okay.


    However, on the fifth day, Zen was unable to bear it anymore. He quickly gathered his three wives and told them the truth: that he was being repelled by the great world and would soon have to leave them for his inevitable ascension.


    The shock was clearly painted upon his three wives'' beautiful faces.


    They knew for a fact that Zen would one day ascend to the Upper World. It was his fate and they had long since accepted that a person as mighty as him was bound to go to a higher place. However, he was still at the fifth level of the Life and Death Realm! Why was the great world taking him away from them so soon?


    They wanted to shout, to cry, to hold onto him for dear life but the suffering etched on their husband''s face was too much for them to bear.


    Letitia felt particularly depressed o


    ia merely shook her head. "It wasn''t the right time."


    Margaret shook her head but smiled. "It doesn''t matter. I''ll tell him when I meet him!"


    Letitia stared at Margaret. "What do you mean?" she asked, feeling some sort of strangeness in her heart at Margaret''s words.


    "Nothing," Margaret said. "I''ll be leaving Central Region tomorrow. I''m going to go straight to the Ethereal Spirit Sect and bid farewell to my great-grandfather and Brent!"


    "You''re going to the Purple Power World?" Letitia asked.


    Despite that Zen hadn''t told her outright, Letitia knew Zen wanted her to take care of both Margaret and Aura in his stead considering that she was now the most powerful warrior in Central Region.


    Margaret nodded. "Yes!" she said with a smug face. With Zen gone, Margaret returned to her original wilful manner.


    "I forbid you to leave," Letitia ordered with a frown. She didn''t expect this at all.


    But how could Margaret possibly listen to Letitia? She let out a snort, "You have no right to stop me!"


    Letitia knew this very well, of course she had no right to tell Margaret where she could go. However, there was a selfish reason behind Letitia''s reaction.


    On the day of her wedding, she too had seen the old man from the Celestial Position speaking to Margaret. She assumed that their conversation had something to do with her Purple Power Body. Now that she had confirmed her suspicions, she was hesitant in letting Margaret leave. Letitia knew that once Margaret entered the Purple Power World and cultivated, she would advance way faster than she ever could and be able to ascend to the Upper World sooner.


    The two bickered about this for a while, not noticing Aura who had grown quiet beside them.


    Aura knew that she was the weakest among the three of them which meant she would have to put in ten times the effort in order to catch up. It would be hard but her determination had soared towards new heights. She was dead-set in working hard to be able to ascend and see Zen again one day.


    What she didn''t know was that, in the future, she would also have her own fortune.

 Chapter 1297 The Ascending Well

    Zen was enveloped by the bright silver light. He flew faster and higher with every passing minute.


    An invisible force pushed him away from the plane and towards the boundless sky.


    Living beings that were too powerful were usually excluded from the plane. But the Celestial Position warriors had probably used some kind of a secret technique to avoid the repelling force. It was like a person sinking into the water, not knowing how to swim and finding it difficult to overcome the buoyant force.


    If Zen ever had the urge to return to the great world in the future, he would probably have to master this secret technique.


    He looked down at the dark continents. At first, he could vaguely see lights from large cities like Cloudy City and Oracle City. But as he continued to fly upwards, the continents shrank in his field of vision.


    Soon after, he could look at the Divine Kingdom Continent and the Central Region.


    The sound of the wind mixed with a metallic noise gave rise to strong gales that assaulted him.


    These all-conquering gales, however, couldn''t cause any damage to Zen right now. The bright silver light had formed a special protective layer. Normal attacks would only pierce through his body, without causing any damage to him.


    Once he passed through the layer of gales, Zen continued to rise.


    He had already experienced this when he had practiced the Stellar Body. But at the time, he had relied on the gravitational force of the stars to activate his perception to soar. And now, it was his physical body that was roaming the skies. This, however, was not his own strength. He was borrowing the power of the great world''s repulsion.


    As he drew further and further away from the great world, his connection with it also grew weaker. A thought suddenly struck him at this.


    In the great world, he could freely transfer his power to any place in the world. But would he still be able to do it now that he had left the great world?


    Possessing the miraculous ability of transferring power made Zen invincible in this plane. No matter how strong the power was, it couldn''t do any substantive damage to Zen, unless the power was so great that even the entire great world could not hold it in. The great world would be destroyed if the power were to be that strong.


    But would he still be able to do that after leaving the great world?


    As he thought this, Zen tried to transfer his power but in vain. He smiled wryly. The transfer of power was no longer effective.


    He had lost this important ability after he had left


    ntinued, "I''ve heard that some of the Upper World''s sacred places would use the Ascending Well to bring warriors from all over the universe. And I think this is that Ascending Well. I just don''t know which human sacred place we have ascended to."


    "Must it be a human sacred place? What if it''s another race''s sacred place?" a bearded man asked, eyebrows raised slightly.


    The plain-clothed girl answered him, "It can''t be, because there is a mysterious between link among different members of the same race. But I''ve also heard that there were indeed situations where warriors ascended into other races'' supreme worlds. For example, if a human sacred place has just been taken away by the ogres, and we have ascended to this place, I''m afraid-" she hesitated.


    "Afraid of what?" a tall, thin warrior prompted.


    The girl smiled faintly and said, "We will have no chance of survival if we fall into the hands of the ogres."


    The others were taken aback at her words.


    In the Lower World, only top-level powerhouses could reach the Soul Sea Realm and ascend to the Upper World. They had impatiently chosen to leave the Lower World because they were eager to realize their ambitions. They wanted to reach higher realms and pursue supreme martial arts.


    But they would be doomed if they ascended into the wrong places, or even fell into the hands of the ogres or other cruel races.


    All of them were afraid - afraid of dying before they could even achieve something.


    The girl smiled at their expressions. "Don''t be afraid. This rarely happens. Our luck isn''t that bad!" Her gaze landed on Zen once she had finished speaking. How could he only have the cultivation of the Life and Death Realm?

 Chapter 1298 The Vitality Pressure

    Only after a breakthrough to the Soul Sea Realm could one ascend to the Upper World. This had almost become the law of the universe.


    The warriors in the Ascending Well were all at the Soul Sea Realm, but what was a Life and Death Realm warrior doing here?


    When the woman dressed in plain clothes had talked about ascending to a foreign race, she had been quietly paying attention to Zen, for she had sensed that he was the calmest of the lot even though he was only at the Life and Death Realm. Zen wasn''t pretending to be poised though; it was his usual state. He kept composure at all times, which implied that his warrior spirit was very stable.


    It was true that the rest of the warriors were at the Soul Sea Realm. So far, their warrior spirits had withstood the ravages of time and danger. However, it was still difficult for them to keep poised as Zen.


    Which was why the woman in plain clothes was all the more curious about Zen.


    "The water in this square well is comfortable, but it is not appropriate for us to keep soaking in it like this! Let''s get out fast!" one of the warriors voiced out.


    This suggestion was immediately echoed by the others. One of them swam to the well''s surface, floating toward its mouth.


    However, just when the warrior was halfway, a muffled sound escaped him. It was as if his head had hit an invisible wall. All of a sudden, he fell back into the well.


    "What is going on?"


    "There seems to be a transparent door at the top."


    The others were befuddled and wanted to know what had happened.


    Zen shot an indifferent glance toward the top of the square well before leaping up himself and reaching out to touch the void.


    Sure enough, there was an invisible enchanted barrier at the opening of well. If one wished to break through, one had to unfasten this enchanted barrier first...


    Zen was confident in his own strength, but he didn''t dare act on it. He was unfamiliar with this place, so it was better not to act rashly for now. Although he wasn''t afraid of trouble, he didn''t want to cause mayhem for no reason either.


    Plop!


    Sinking back into the water of the well, Zen said faintly, "There is indeed an enchanted barrier above. It must have been set up by someone else."


    The warriors in the well nodded at this. They looked at Zen curiously, the bearded warrior becoming more and more curious as he stared. Suddenly, he laughed. "You are only at the Life and Death Realm, so how did you ascend here? There is something entirely wrong with this picture."


    "That''s right. You''re just a Life and Death Realm warrior, but you can ascend to the Upper World! I''ve never heard of such a thing before!"


    "I was thinking that I was the weakest among this lot when I flew to the Upper World because I have only just created the Soul Sea. Never thought to find a Life


    ife vitality in his body. After practicing the Primal Chaos Technique, Zen''s cinnabar field had undergone a tremendous change. There was only the chaotic energy present within it which could not be activated by this frantic vitality between heaven and earth.


    Zen looked at the powerful warriors at the Soul Sea Realm strangely. "The vitality between heaven and earth is manic and difficult to tame and absorb. But should these warriors truly react like this?" he asked the cyan dragon. The Soul Sea Realm warriors could not tolerate this vitality between heaven and earth. Then what about the other warriors in the supreme world?


    The resources in the supreme world were abundant, but not all warriors were at the Soul Sea Realm. There would be countless mortals, nature creatures, and others at the Illuminating Soul Realm...


    If even the Soul Sea Realm warriors could not bear it, how did the nature creatures survive?


    The cyan dragon''s smile flickered in Zen''s mind. "There is nothing strange about it. The reason for it is simple. For fish living in the deep sea, it is difficult to survive in the shallow waters. If we force them out of the deep waves, I''m afraid their bodies would explode and then die."


    "I know. That is because of the water pressure there," Zen said, nodding.


    "Yes, the vitality between heaven and earth can also cause this because of the Vitality Pressure. These warriors might be at the Soul Sea Realm, but they require an adjustment period to adapt to this new environment. After this short time, they won''t feel so uncomfortable," the cyan dragon replied.


    "But when I went to the Genuine Dragon World, I didn''t feel this kind of Vitality Pressure," Zen said.


    Not only had Zen been to the Genuine Dragon World, he had been to the Purple Power World as well. Letitia and Margaret had also entered it, but they did not feel anything strange.

 Chapter 1299 Be Handcuffed

    The cyan dragon answered Zen''s query. There were differences among supreme worlds. In fact, neither the Genuine Dragon World nor the Purple Power World was considered to be a complete supreme world. The mass of vitality of heaven and earth in these two worlds was similar to that of the Lower World.


    Zen nodded his head in understanding. It was then that the armored warrior saw the reaction of the Soul Sea Realm warriors and laughed out loud. "Look at these fools! Ha-ha! Each time we open a well, we see it happen. It''s too funny!"


    The Soul Sea Realm warriors in the well were still angry, but they could not do anything about it. The sensation of their life vitality rolling inside their bodies was too unbearable. No one wished to float up the well.


    "It looks like there aren''t any people worth mentioning in this well. All right then. You should slowly get used to it." The armored warrior backed out as he finished speaking.


    Since the enchanted barrier sealing the well had disappeared, there was no need for Zen to stay in the well water any longer. The Vitality Pressure had no effect on him at all. Quick as a flash, he leaped out of the well and landed next to it.


    His gaze swept across the area, and a look of surprise marred his face. He did not expect there to be so many wells around him.


    Next to him were a number of wells densely packed together. Not far away from them were more than ten armored warriors searching along the wells one by one. ''There are a lot of Ascending Wells. Does that mean there are other Soul Sea Realm warriors in each of the wells? There could be hundreds of them. That''s the number of Soul Sea Realm warriors who have only come from the Lower World, ''


    Zen reflected and could not help but sigh.


    Meanwhile, his sudden appearance had alarmed the armored warriors around him.


    Zen stood by the side of the well and immediately attracted their attention. Under their helmets, their gazes were focused on him, full of astonishment.


    "What? Am I daydreaming?"


    "Wasn''t the enchanted barrier just removed from the well? How could someone adapt to the Vitality Pressure in such a short time?"


    "What a strange man!"


    A few of the warriors gazed unblinkingly at Zen.


    "You all have failed to realize the main point here. This young man is not just strange, he is the strangest of them all. Can''t you see? He is only at the Life and Death Realm!" an armored warrior voiced out.


    Many of the warriors were stunned as they realized this.


    The armored warriors were all at the Soul Sea Realm. Their mission was to guide the warriors who had just ascended from the Lower World. Over the years, the number of warriors they guided had only increased.


    A vast majority of the warriors stayed in the


    in experience before finding out the whereabouts of his sister.


    Once his strength increased, he would be able to help Lavender return to the Demon Night race. The best course of action would be to help her get rid of her opponent. Then he would help the cyan dragon build a Heavenly Body.


    Of course, each of these goals was more difficult than the last.


    For instance, Lavender''s own strength was on par with a world lord, and her opponent''s too. With Zen''s current strength, it would be too unrealistic for him to confront a world lord. If he wanted to achieve this goal of his, it would take him a long time.


    As for helping the cyan dragon build a Heavenly Body, it was not going to be simple either. To find Yan would be the hardest to achieve. At the same time, it was his most important aim. The commendable strength of the young man who had her was still imprinted on Zen''s mind. His own strength could not match his one in ten million. The gap between them was just too big.


    Time was still tight for Zen. He did not feel the slightest bit relaxed.


    He had just ascended to the Upper World, but now he was about to be locked up like a criminal. It would be strange if he were happy to be enslaved.


    Seeing the displeasure on Zen''s face, the armored warriors too grew unhappy. In their eyes, Zen was perhaps the best among the warriors who had just ascended to the Upper World, but he was still from the Lower World. His cultivation was only at the Life and Death Realm.


    "It is the rule. Regardless of whether or not you follow the rules, you must serve in the sacred place. You have no choice," one of the armored warriors said with a smile. "Don''t make things difficult for us now."


    Zen thought for a moment before nodding in resignation. He extended his hands and allowed the armored warrior to handcuff him.

 Chapter 1300 Go And Join My Uncle

    After Zen was handcuffed, he took a look at the materials the shackles were made of¡ªit made him shake his head.


    As it turned out, the Upper World''s resources weren''t as exaggerated as he had imagined. The shackles were a mere mid-grade sacred weapon¡ªmanaging to bind him was wishful thinking. Although there were some mystical divine textures on the shackles, Zen was confident that he could break through them with his own strength.


    But just as the armored warriors said, there was no need for him to make anything difficult for them. He was facing several Soul Sea Realm warriors, after all¡ªwith his current strength, he couldn''t make a complete escape.


    Even after ascending into the Spirit Reading World, he was well aware of the need to act according to his circumstances¡ªhe was no longer the reckless young man that lacked patience.


    With the shackles on Zen, an armored warrior took him to a nearby pavilion.


    Before the armored warrior left him be, Zen suddenly felt some movement in his spirit beast bag, followed by a cackling sound.


    It made the armored warrior give Zen a curious look. "You actually brought a spirit beast with you when you ascended to the Upper World? Is that a contractual beast?"


    Hearing the question, Zen thought he would be in deep trouble.


    The Ancestral Dragon was something the Celestial Position race was after, which meant that it was very valuable. If anyone found out it was with Zen, he would be cornered. In the calmest tone he could manage, he smiled and said, "Yes, it''s a contractual beast captured in the Lower World."


    With a nod, the armored warrior turned and left. After all, in the eyes of the Upper World warriors, there couldn''t be anything of interest from the Lower World. Luckily, for Zen, that particular armored warrior was too lazy to check his bag.


    "How dangerous!" Zen muttered to himself when the armored warrior was out of sight. "Hey, don''t make any noise." He patted the spirit beast bag. "If anyone catches you, I won''t be able to save you."


    After a few days of growth, the Ancestral Dragon had the intelligence equal to that of an eight or nine-year-old child, and understood Zen''s words well enough.


    Before Zen ascended, Margaret had cooked heaps of food to pack into the spirit beast bag. It was likely that the Ancestral Dragon had already eaten it all.


    With the body of a divine weapon, the Ancestral Dragon didn''t actually need to eat at all¡ªall it needed to do was absorb the vitality of heaven and earth to grow. But because Margaret had spoiled it with delicious food, it became rather picky. It seemed that it wasn''t pleased having to stay in the bag after filling himself up with a feast.


    But Zen''s threat was rather effective. The Ancestral Dragon treated him as its "mother," after all, and w


    pavilion wearing the standard shackles.


    These powerful warriors at the Soul Sea Realm all had an arrogant nature¡ªhow could they have been willing to wear shackles and be put under control? It was inevitable that they would clash with the armored warriors, but the latter showed no kindness whatsoever. Instead, they started with a warning¡ªno matter how great the warriors were in the Lower World, after choosing to ascend, they were back to zero.


    "In the Lower World, you may have been able to hold the life and death of thousands of people in a single sentence. You may have surpassed countless others where you came from. But in the Upper World, you are nobody!" one of the armored warriors roared at the powerful Soul Sea Realm warriors.


    The insult triggered two of them, making them exchange blows with the armored warriors. The result of the squabble wasn''t hard to guess¡ªthe two Soul Sea Realm warriors had to pay the price. They were shackled with special handcuffs, twice the size of the normal ones. These were divine weapons with two massive black balls hanging from them, restricting the warriors seemingly indefinitely.


    No one knew what material the black balls were made of¡ªeven the powerful warriors had trouble pulling them along. It seemed that it would be all too difficult to even fly away from the restraints.


    Three days later, all the Soul Sea Realm warriors left the Ascending Wells before staying with Zen in the pavilion.


    After the armored warriors counted the warriors that arrived, they registered all of their names before escorting them to a transmission array.


    The supreme world was so wide that even the almighty warriors at the Soul Sea Realm had to use transmission arrays to travel. Otherwise, it would take a warrior almost a year to travel the distance of over a hundred million miles between the two main cities.

 Chapter 1301 The Supreme World Channel

    Before entering the transmission array, Zen had noticed that the divine textures on it were unique.


    In the Central Region, transmission arrays were constructed by runes and driven by life vitality crystals. The principle was usually quite simple. The runes were used to make a transmission channel that was connected to the array in another place. The transmission channel could shorten the distance between the two places. For the warriors who previously spent several days flying to Cloudy City from Oracle City, it only took them less than five minutes to get to the destination through the transmission channel.


    However, the structure of this transmission array was completely different. Although the divine textures were unfamiliar to Zen, he could roughly guess at how they were put to use.


    Not only did the transmission array expand outward and form a transmission channel, it seemed to connect to something else. As for what it was, Zen had no idea.


    As the armored warrior activated the transmission array, the warriors who had ascended to the Upper World formed a queue. With a flash of white light, they entered the flying passageway.


    When Zen first entered the flying passageway, nothing seemed abnormal about it. It looked almost the same as the one in the Lower World. The entire channel was azure in color.


    Not long after, they passed through the azure transmission channel. Suddenly, a large transmission channel appeared before them.


    "The transmission channel is so stable!" Zen said as his eyes landed on it.


    This giant transmission channel was purple in color. Normally, a channel would only be thirty to forty feet wide, but this particular one was over one thousand feet broad.


    What surprised Zen most was that the channel was much more stable than an ordinary one. The surrounding space seemed to be frozen, so it might not be easy for anyone to break through it...


    However, just as they entered, they saw two warriors fly over from the other side of the transmission channel.


    They looked down at the warriors from the Lower World. One of them chuckled. "We won''t be able to accept all of them at the same time. It seems there are more than a thousand warriors here who have entered the Upper World."


    The armored warrior who was escorting Zen frowned. "They are all useless. The test is about to begin, and can our Spiritual Force Sacred Place count on these filthy warriors from the Lower World to pass?" He took out over a thousand supreme life vitality crystals from his space ring. "This time it''s quite a number of them who have to use this transmission channel. Can you give me a discount?"


    The man counted the life vitality crystals and smiled faintly. He picked hundreds of life vitality crystals and handed them back to the armored warrior. "Don''t talk to me about a discount. After all, it''s the Spiritual Force Sacred Place that pays the money..."


    The armore


    ight have about ten thousand supreme life vitality crystals in their possession, and some just over a hundred...


    One million supreme life vitality crystals was a substantial fortune in the eyes of any Soul Sea Realm warrior.


    The four divine kingdoms could be considered relatively wealthy. But, there were less than two hundred thousand supreme life vitality crystals stored in their national treasuries. It was unprecedented that they were required to offer up one million supreme life vitality crystals if they wanted to join the Spiritual Force Sacred Place.


    "One million life vitality crystals!"


    "How long would it take for us to dig up so many crystals?"


    "We would have to spend several hundred years here..."


    "I don''t want to join your Spiritual Force Sacred Place!" a warrior spit out in annoyance. "I just want to be an independent warrior!"


    The armored warrior chuckled. "You want to become an independent warrior? Well, then you have to provide two hundred life vitality jades!"


    Two hundred life vitality jades... That equaled two million supreme life vitality crystals!


    "That''s absurd! Why?" the warrior shouted in anger.


    The armored warrior was still smiling. "You flew into our Spiritual Force Sacred Place. Now you have to obey us."


    His tone was condescending and familiar. The Soul Sea Realm warriors immediately grew silent. They had cultivated in the Lower World for a long time before they reached the Soul Sea Realm. How could they not understand what was going on here?


    Under the circumstances, it was useless for them to ask why, for the answer was already obvious. They were only Soul Sea Realm warriors and would be unable to revolt against a large sacred place of the Upper World.


    Seeing the dejected warriors, the armored warrior took some pity on them. "Be mentally prepared and get to work. The Spiritual Force Sacred Place is quite lenient. Some other sacred places are even harsher!"

 Chapter 1302 Life Vitality Jade (Part One)

    Everyone was silent for a while after hearing that. They had to face reality. And the harsh and bitter reality was that although every single one of them was at the Soul Sea Realm, they had no choice but to bow their heads since they were in someone else''s territory now.


    After a few moments of silence, one of the warriors suddenly walked out and asked, "So if I pay a million supreme life vitality crystals, then I''ll be exempted from service?"


    The armored man replied, "Kind of. It''s not that you will be exempted from service. The very purpose of the service is to mine for life vitality crystals! If you can pay up enough life vitality crystals, you can leave at any time!"


    To everyone''s shock, as soon as the armored man finished his words, the warrior took off the space ring from his finger. He gently tapped it, and hundreds of thousands of life vitality crystals piled up on the ground like a small hill in front of the audience''s eyes!


    They were glittering like diamond and translucent and pure in texture. The vitality of the heavens and the earth contained within them was extremely rich and powerful. Anyone could tell that these were all supreme life vitality crystals!


    Although several of the newcomers had seen a great deal of wealth in their life, when they saw this small mountain of supreme life vitality crystals in front of them, their hearts began to thump wildly.


    "Here are a million supreme life vitality crystals. Can I leave now?" the warrior asked.


    The armored man nodded in satisfaction, but then shook his head and answered in the negative, "If you want to join the Spiritual Force Sacred Place, one million supreme life vitality crystals are enough to serve the purpose. But if you wish to become an independent martial artist and leave our Spiritual Force Sacred Place or the Spi


    re valuable and he only needed a hundred life vitality jades to earn his freedom. The questions was, could Zen dig out any of these life vitality jades from this dark and steep mountain range in front of him?


    Under the lead of the armored men, the warriors arrived at a gathering place. The chances of escape were zero since several Spirit Supreme Realm masters were scattered around to guard the place.


    Not far ahead, several martial artists seemed to have just flown in with pickaxes on their backs. After handing over all the life vitality crystals they had dug up, they got the count of crystals handed over recorded and then flew back. They went back and forth like this, digging for life vitality crystal in the mines, trying to be free as soon as possible.


    When the newcomers entered the gathering place, they also received their mining picks and tokens according to the rules.


    Although everyone was reluctant to go for the mining, they still had hopes that they would leave here soon. They had the same thoughts as Zen. Since only one hundred life vitality jades were needed to get them out of this place, their goal, therefore, was to dig out one hundred life vitality jades as fast as they could.

 Chapter 1303 Life Vitality Jade (Part Two)

    Coincidentally, over a hundred warriors also returned to the gathering place, just as the newcomers were about to leave. These warriors took out all of the life vitality crystals they had obtained and began handing them over.


    However, when Zen saw those life vitality crystals they handed in, he frowned. Although there was a massive amount of them in the pile, their quality wasn''t too high; there were just some top-grade life vitality crystals and a few supreme life vitality crystals among the lot. There was even a massive amount of mid-grade life vitality crystals. But he saw no life vitality jade in the piles.


    Zen walked up and asked, "Friend, may I ask why you only excavated top-grade and mid-grade life vitality crystals? Isn''t it too arduous to get these lower grade life vitality crystals? I mean, it would be easier if you got the life vitality jades instead..."


    Everyone''s goal was to get one hundred life vitality jades, which was equivalent to a million supreme life vitality crystals. In fact, if they exchanged them for top-grade life vitality crystals, the number would be too enormous. After all, a supreme life vitality crystal could be exchanged for about 100 top-grade life vitality crystals. That was to say, they had to gather one hundred million top-grade life vitality crystals to be free. So whatever the warriors had just brought in was worth ashes and sand.


    The warriors who had arrived in the Upper World with Zen were also concerned about this issue and they all cast their gazes over to them, full of curiosity and expectations.


    To their surprise, the warrior shook his head with a wry smile on his face. "If I don''t excavate these things, what else will I mine?" As he spoke, he took a look at Zen and the others and asked, "Are you


    Zen had also planned to excavate life vitality jades initially. But when they heard how difficult it was to get them, they immediately gave up on the idea and decided to dig for life vitality crystals instead. At least, they would be safe that way.


    They then left one after the other to start their work. The earlier they started, the faster they could leave this godforsaken place. No one wanted to stay here forever¡­


    As for the plain-clothed woman, she was holding onto a pickaxe in her hand with a sullen face. The poor girl had expected her uncle to come and pick her up. However, no one had come. She had no choice but to follow the others and take a shot at mining. She looked very depressed indeed.


    Zen examined the mountain range from a distance. Once he had put the token and pickaxe in place, he flew towards the mountain range.


    Even though the martial artist he had talked to had said that life vitality jades were very difficult to dig out and that the places where they could be found were very dangerous, Zen had no intention of giving up. He had a supreme divine weapon that was specifically used for mining and he was going to use that to earn his freedom.

 Chapter 1304 Freya Mu

    He was naturally unhappy to do hard manual labor after he had ascended to the Upper World, but Zen did not hold grudges against anyone.


    Back then, if he had let Yolande extradite him or even left with the Celestial Position members, he would not have been treated like this.


    However, since he wished to ascend on his own, he had to now face all kinds of things all by himself. He had left himself no other choice but to move on.


    Zen flew for a while and soon discovered that the woman in plain clothes had been following him all the way.


    He stopped at once. Turning around, he asked, "Why are you following me?"


    The woman in plain clothes flashed him a small smile. "Oh, nothing! I just think I would be lucky to dig minerals with you."


    "You haven''t asked me if I am okay with that," Zen said faintly.


    His words slightly stunned the woman.


    In fact, no one would expect a Life and Death Realm warrior to speak like this to a Soul Sea Realm master. One would think that a warrior at the Life and Death Realm would be eager to tag along with a Soul Sea Realm master. How could Zen, a Life and Death Realm warrior, have no desire to be with her?


    The woman in plain clothes smiled. "Okay. So do you mind me following you?"


    Zen shrugged casually. "It''s up to you."


    "Okay. My name is Freya Mu. May I know your name?" the woman inquired him.


    "Zen Luo."


    As soon as Zen uttered his name, he flew toward the mountain range without lingering for another moment.


    Freya Mu stared blankly at Zen''s back, her exquisite face betraying a helpless and bitter smile. She thought that Zen was just a Life and Death Realm warrior, but he was also arrogant. It seemed that he really had extraordinary abilities. She instinctively felt him to be very special. If she followed him, it would only help her fortune.


    Whoosh...


    Over the years, many warriors had entered the mountain range and returned with a plethora of treasures. Of course, there were some who never returned at all, becoming lifeless corpses on the mountains.


    The range had a total of over a hundred huge mountains, each one a hundred thousand feet tall. They were covered with mine holes of various sizes. These pits had been excavated by the predecessor warriors bit by bit.


    Zen had gathered information about the distribution of life vitality crystals across the mountains.


    There were many low-grade life vitality crystals on the top layer of the mountain range. If such a mountain range was found in the Lower World or even the Central Region, it would have been considered a rich mine.


    However, the Soul Sea Realm masters present here ignored the low-grade life vitality crystals. They needed one trillion low-grade life vitality cr


    r two stray pieces.


    However, as Freya Mu walked over, a look of surprise and joy washed over her face. "It''s not just one crystal. There seems to be a cluster of them growing here!"


    As Zen approached her, he saw through the sub-transparent quartz wall and found there was a mass of supreme life vitality crystals hiding inside. There might be several hundreds of them.


    "Look! I told you! My hunch is always right. I get luckier if I follow you." Freya Mu smiled, adding, "Let''s share them equally!"


    Zen nodded noncommittally.


    In fact, Freya Mu''s hunch had indeed been correct. When Zen had been in the Central Region before, his fortune had been much discussed by others. They came to the conclusion that he was a warrior with great luck.


    A warrior like Eddie might also have had great luck, but he devoured the good fortune of the people around him to strengthen himself. Such had been the case with Marilyn and Simon. Their luck was devoured by him and they ended up being killed by Zen.


    However, Zen''s own fortune spread to the people around him, such as to Letitia, Margaret and even the fat men from the World Commercial Alliance...


    Freya Mu had the right inkling because she was sensitive to the luck of others. However, it was not easy to be sure of such a thing, so she could only rely on her intuition.


    She was also a warrior who practiced the Ice Law. As she leaned to the side, she reached out and flicked a hand lightly. A gust of sharp, chilly air spread out along the piece of quartz, freezing the entire cave wall. In the cold, the incomparably hard quartz became brittle and countless cracks appeared on its surface. As she gently stretched her hand and touched the wall, it collapsed in an instant. Several hundred supreme life vitality crystals revealed themselves before them.

 Chapter 1305 The Roar From A Supreme Lord

    Although Zen didn''t bother concerning himself with the few hundred supreme life vitality crystals, Freya proceeded to carefully divide the crystals in half, splitting them with Zen.


    After securely stashing away all the supreme life vitality crystals they had gathered, the two sped up their pace downward. It wasn''t long after they realized they had reached the end of the cave.


    Initially, someone else had dug up the area but seemed to have stopped after a certain point at the lower layer of the mine.


    Examining the place, Freya couldn''t seem to find any other supreme life vitality crystals.


    "What should we do?" she asked, fixing her eyes on Zen, waiting for his decision. "Should we change direction and find another cave to explore? Or should we move forward and dig this further?"


    Pointing a finger to the ground, Zen replied, "We will go down!"


    "Down? You want to go to the lowest layer?" Freya''s eyes flashed with surprise.


    If they continued digging the cave horizontally, while it would be rather troublesome, they could still probably gather quite a number of supreme life vitality crystals. With their cultivation and strength combined, they could randomly dig up the lower layer¡ªeven if the mine caved in, it wouldn''t pose much danger to them.


    Going further down also meant heading toward the life vitality jades. She had also heard that eleventh-grade and twelfth-grade beasts awaited at the bottom. While the eleventh-grade beast wouldn''t be too difficult for her to beat, the latter would be all too tough for her¡ªthey were equivalent to the Spirit Supreme Realm masters. If Freya was unfortunate enough to encounter them, she would be led to her doom.


    In a moment, it hit her how ambitious the Life and Death Realm guy in front of her really was.


    All the while, Zen maintained a faint smile. He did not need the woman to follow him¡ªif she was unwilling to go along, he wouldn''t force her. In truth, he thought he would feel freer digging by himself¡ªthe feeling of having someone follow him felt like extra baggage.


    After taking two steps forward, he decided on a location. Extending his fist and gently waving it for a moment, the power of two thousand dragon scales gathered in his right fist¡ªhe smashed it heavily into the ground.


    Boom!


    In a single, powerful jab, numerous cracks appeared on the ground around him, spreading under his feet.


    Crack¡­ crack¡­ crack¡­


    Watching him go, Freya couldn''t help but raise her brows in surprise. ''This guy''s strength is extraordinary. From the looks of it, he wasn''t using his full power in the strike. But his physical strength is probably much more remarkable than mine, even though I''m at the Soul Sea Realm. Is he really only at the Life and Death Realm?'' she wondered.


    Then, Zen threw the second punch.


    Boom!


    The ground covered in countless cracks instantly gave way. Tiny fragments spread in all directions, forming a massive crater of seventy to eighty feet in depth under Zen''s feet!


    Standing in the middle of the huge cra


    s that the token was so precious that even the wealthiest in status couldn''t make a purchase because of the limited supply.


    But this time, the Supreme Lord''s roar aroused Zen''s interest. The Roaring Token seemed to be a rather curious thing¡ªhe could probably use it to search for Yan if given the opportunity.


    But for the meantime, he had to find the life vitality jades.


    As Zen and Freya slowly travelled through the naturally formed caves, they could tell how different it was from the upper layers. If any twelfth-grade vicious beasts sensed their presence, they would have no choice but to run for their lives.


    After squeezing through a passageway barely the width of a person, Zen stepped into some kind of wide clearing. A massive creature lay prostrate within the cave¡ªit had nine heads, all of which were lying quietly on the ground, sound asleep.


    "It''s a legendary beast, Nine-head Snake! A fully grown one!"


    "Shh! It''s a twelfth-grade beast. You can compare it to a Spirit Supreme Realm master!" "Let''s go back!" Freya whispered harshly into Zen''s ear. The sight made her extremely vigilant.


    But Zen only pointed to something in the distance. "Look over there!"


    In the area where the Nine-head Snake was in a deep sleep, a mass of milky white gems lay. Even though they were over four hundred feet away from them, the two could still feel the incomparably pure vitality of heaven and earth they contained.


    "Are those life vitality jades?" When the milky white gemstones came into Freya''s view, her eyes gleamed with excitement. While she knew that the twelfth-grade beast wasn''t something she could dare to provoke, she couldn''t ignore the pile of live vitality jades.


    If she could obtain them, it would make a third of her task accomplished. Even if the gemstones were to be divided between her and Zen, each of them could still get over ten.


    The weight of the gemstones made her consider the risks of heading straight for them¡ªthe Nine-head Snake was no obstacle to take lightly.

 Chapter 1306 Unable To Take Them Away

    In fact, both of them had never seen a life vitality jade before.


    The Spiritual Force Sacred Place did not treat the warriors who flew to the Upper World very well. They just set up an enchanted barrier around the mine and threw the warriors in, treating them like locked up prisoners.


    If the warriors wanted to get out, they had to hand over one hundred life vitality jades. It was no different from robbing them.


    The only good thing about it was that it made the warriors from the Lower World stop longing for the Upper World. It made them realize how helpless the Soul Sea Realm warriors would be once they ascended to the Upper World.


    The stones were exuding with life vitality, so they were most likely to be life vitality jades.


    However, it was not easy to take away the life vitality jades, which were placed not far away from a twelfth-level fierce beast.


    With Zen''s current strength, he could fight a Soul Sea Realm master. However, this twelfth-level fierce beast was equivalent to a Spirit Supreme Realm master, and the lifespan of a beast was often longer than those of humans. Besides, the Nine-head Snake was probably regarded as a legendary beast, so even if Zen fought it, he could not defeat it.


    As for Freya, she had only just broken through to the Soul Sea Realm. Perhaps she thought that she was stronger than Zen, but Zen didn''t think much of it.


    The two of them stared at the cluster of life vitality jades as they observed the sleeping Nine-head Snake. They were hesitant about reaching out to get the life vitality jades.


    Still, they did not want to give up. However, they were afraid that they would risk their lives if they tried to take away the jades.


    At the moment, Freya smiled faintly. "I have a hidden treasure and with its help I can hide most of my breath. This Nine-head Snake is still sleeping. I should go and steal those life vitality jades."


    Hearing Freya''s words, Zen did not utter a word. It would be good if she could successfully take them away. There was great risk in it, but the benefits they would reap were not small. Therefore, he nodded solemnly.


    Freya took out a light green muslin robe. The robe was as thin as a cicada''s wing. As Freya casually put it on her body, Zen''s face betrayed a trace of surprise.


    Indeed, it was just as Freya had described. Once her body was covered in the muslin robe, a large portion of her breath was concealed. Even with Zen''s incomparably keen sense of perception, it would have been difficult for him to detect her existence if he had not been paying attention to her. Of course he could not sense her through his perception, but if he observed with his eyes, he could see the noticeable green hue.


    However, the purpose of this kind of magic treasure was to conceal the breath. Moreo


    her hand did not move at all, nor did the milky white branch, as if the pair of them were made of steel and inlaid there.


    Even if it was an iron tree, it should not be able to withstand Freya''s tugging. It seemed to her that it would not be so easy to take away the life vitality jades.


    Freya took another deep breath. This time, she used sixty percent of her strength, but the life vitality jade still did not move at all...


    Finally, she tried to make use of ninety percent of her strength.


    Freya''s face was red with anger, but the life vitality jade was still hanging onto the branch.


    At this time, she understood that she would not be able to pick it with just her strength alone.


    She turned her head and looked at Zen helplessly. She could only give up and return to his side.


    "I can''t take it down..." Freya''s face revealed a trace of anger. She had just been about to succeed, but then she discovered that she could not pick the life vitality jade after all. Naturally, she felt dejected and disappointed.


    The Spiritual Force Sacred Place was the one to blame for all of this. If there was a shortage of life vitality jades there, they would send Spirit Supreme Realm masters to dig for the life vitality jades in the various mines of the sacred place. Usually, because of their abundant reserves, the Spirit Supreme Realm warriors could not be bothered to take action. Besides, if they went out to look for the life vitality jades, it would not only take them a lot of time, but also pose them great risks.


    If one wanted to obtain life vitality jades, they would usually make use of some kind of a tool to dig them out. It had to at least be a divine weapon!


    The life vitality jade had absorbed a vast amount of vitality between heaven and earth before slowly being created from the grounds. How could it be so easy to pluck it out?

 Chapter 1307 Run!

    Zen had a rough grasp of the scene he had just witnessed.


    Freya was not able to take the jades, but that did not mean that he couldn''t.


    Freya''s features morphed into frustration. Immediately, she said, "Let''s leave this place. If the beast stirs, we''ll be screwed."


    Zen, however, only reached out a hand towards her. "Hand it over," he said.


    Freya looked at his outstretched hand in confusion. "What?"


    "Your robe," Zen replied. "Lend it to me."


    A look of understanding dawned on her face. "You want to get the life vitality jades?" she asked, almost incredulously.


    Zen nodded. Freya did not know what to make of it. She was a full realm higher in cultivation than Zen. If she had failed to get the life vitality jades, what more could he do?


    As if reading her mind, he smiled. "Don''t worry. I can make it."


    She had her doubts, but as she looked at his determined expression, she knew she had to. It was as if something told her that Zen would succeed.


    After all, they were already here. It would be a pity to go back empty-handed. If Zen wanted to give it a try, she had no reason to refuse. She took off her robe and handed it to Zen''s waiting hand.


    "Thank you!"


    The robe cloaked one''s breath. Zen wore the garment, and instantly his energy was muted. His aura had become almost inaudible.


    Then, wordlessly, he rushed towards the life vitality jades at lightning speed.


    Freya barely had time to register what was happening. Zen was acting so recklessly. One of her hands went up in shock to cover her mouth. Her pulse picked up with his every step closer to the life vitality jades. She held her breath, not daring to breathe. He made no sound as he got closer, and she finally allowed a relieved sigh. ''This guy is too rash!'' she thought.


    As he approached the life vitality jades, Zen wanted to directly pull one of them down from above just as Freya had done.


    However, it refused to budge from his tug.


    Zen used the power of the dragon scales and gave it another pull.


    He had activated 1, 000 dragon scales, but it was to no avail. The life vitality jade remained wedged from above. This time, however, he no longer increased his strength.


    His current power would be enough to pull even huge mountains. This meant only one thing: there must be some Law of Causality hidden within the life vitality jades, which meant that this was not a problem that could be solved by force.


    As he thought of this, Zen''s b


    and Death Realm dares to steal my life vitality jades? Your attempts at escape would be futile. I advise you to stop the senseless running. These nine brothers of mine have been starving for a long time."


    Zen''s eyes flashed. It seemed that the Nine-head Snake was intelligent enough to communicate with humans. Coupled with its power, it was a dangerous enemy.


    The Nine-head Snake was considered to be among the ranks of legendary beasts, just like the cyan dragon. It was much smarter than ordinary humans.


    "Quick!" Zen shouted. "We will go through the cave in front of us!" Zen was running on the path that they had taken when they came. Freya was at a loss of what to do. If she didn''t follow Zen, she might have run away aimlessly. If it happened, she would have alerted more and more vicious beasts and brought more trouble.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    The two of them ran, and the Nine-head Snake kept up the chase.


    "Is there any way to make it slow down?" Zen asked.


    As soon as he finished speaking, Freya turned around. Her life vitality spread out from within her body, instantly condensing into a rapidly dancing snow ring.


    "Snowfall Domain!"


    In normal circumstances, when a domain was condensed, it would follow its summoner and move around. However, after Freya had condensed this domain, she immediately threw it to the snake. She followed closely behind Zen.


    When the Nine-head Snake passed through the Snowfall Domain, it slowed down. However, the next moment, it swung its tail forcefully and lightly knocked against the ground. The Snowfall Domain that Freya had condensed was shattered like shards of glass.

 Chapter 1308 Snake Venom

    The Snowfall Domain Freya condensed slowed the Nine-head Snake by a mere three seconds, but these three seconds were all it took for them to come out of there alive.


    This area was incomparably dangerous, but as with all great risks, the chances of obtaining live vitality jades were high.


    Still, it didn''t seem that practical for a newly ascended warrior to bet his life so early on in the game. No one was really willing to risk his life here in the mine.


    Majority of the Soul Sea Realm warriors opted to search for supreme life vitality crystals instead of risking their necks to find the life vitality jades at the bottom of the mine.


    With the three-second buffer Freya had provided them, the two immediately jumped into the vertical hole Zen had opened, shooting themselves upwards and away from the beast.


    However, the mighty Nine-head Snake wasn''t just going to let them go so easily!


    Hiss!


    The snake''s heads all stood up on alert as the beast launched its entire body up in the air.


    However, as it blindly followed its supposed prey, the Nine-head Snake failed to take into account its size and the fact that the hole was only twenty to thirty feet wide. It smashed onto the entrance violently, but remained relentless in its pursuit.


    Crack!


    Realizing that it wouldn''t be able to fit, the beast figured that maybe it would be better to use its formidable strength instead. The Nine-head Snake wasted no time and smashed its incredibly huge and strong body onto the hole, causing the collapse of the entire cave system. Despite the falling debris, however, its speed remained unimpeded.


    As they rushed upward, Freya continually unleashed her icicles upon the enemy.


    Freya''s icicles were strong since they came from a Soul Sea Realm warrior. However, the snake''s defenses were infinitely stronger and each attack did nothing to pierce through the thick scales that protected the beast''s flesh.


    Truth be told, the Nine-head Snake could be considered the weakest among all legendary beasts when it came to attack power. However, it had one unique trait that made it very difficult to deal with.


    This ability was regeneration wherein even if one beheaded the snake, the severed extremity would simply heal and regenerate over time. Zen, who had obtained a Nine-head Dragon''s blood vigor on Cloud Road, had emerged with a strengthened body and an increased recovery ability reminiscent of this beast''s unique trait.


    The only thing keeping both Zen and Freya alive right now was the weak attack and chase skills of the beast. Had it been any other level twelve beast, they would both be dead.


    It might be the weakest, but the Nine-head Snake was still a legendary be


    nake''s departure was a huge weight off their shoulders. Escaping with your life was probably the most adrenaline-rush inducing activity ever. However, they managed to harvest thirty-nine life vitality jades.


    "This exploration shall come to an end here. We''ll split these in half once we return," Zen said indifferently.


    Freya nodded in understanding. "Of course!" She felt at ease knowing that their distribution would be fair.


    The two of them simultaneously flew to the top of the mine. Zen used this time to carefully size up a life vitality jade in his hand.


    At first, one would think that the life vitality jade and the life vitality crystal were similar, but Zen knew that there was a difference between the two.


    Life vitality crystals were a special sort of ore that contained the vitality between heaven and earth. Supreme life vitality crystals were the same, but contained a lot more energy at a purer state.


    Life vitality jades, on the other hand, were like fruits that sprang from tree branches, condensed with the vitality between heaven and earth. They not only provided life vitality, but also had a multitude of other uses.


    A supreme life vitality crystal could cost around 100 high-grade life vitality crystals, but a life vitality jade would be equal to 10, 000 supreme life vitality crystals. Such was the difference.


    The life vitality jade in his hand was warm and smooth, and it emitted pure life vitality that any holder could absorb.


    Unfortunately, this was no use for Zen, who relied on chaotic energy instead of life vitality.


    As he thought about this, six to seven warriors appeared above them.


    They were all at the Soul Sea Realm. "Hold it right there!" one of them called out.


    "Eh? This one''s a Life and Death Realm guy!" another one jeered.

 Chapter 1309 Being Immoral

    Both Zen and Freya did not say anything. They were warriors who had immense experience on their back and had seen a lot of things. Therefore, they naturally understood that this group of people were not here with good intentions.


    Freya frowned and asked, "What''s going on? What do you want?"


    The bald warrior in the lead carefully stared at Freya with a curious gaze that lingered on her chest and waist for a while. The corners of his mouth slightly rose up with a malicious angle, and his eyes revealed an obscene look. "What do we want? We want to ask you something. That''s all." After that, he paused for a while and then pointed to the cave behind Freya. "Do you know how this cave was formed?"


    "No. How did it come into existence?" Freya asked with a sarcastic tone.


    "I dug it out! Bit by bit, I made this cave!" The bald warrior replied, patting his chest, as if proving a point.


    Zen''s gaze was still indifferent as he played with the life vitality jade in his hand. He had not said a single word till now.


    Freya''s face, on the other hand, was full of confusion as she asked, "Did you really dig the cave yourself? But so what?" This entire mountain was already filled with countless mine holes. If they wanted to dig out some life vitality crystals, they would have to dig them out anyway. There was nothing in there to be proud of!


    The bald warrior faintly smiled. "Don''t you understand what I mean? Well, you''re stupid. Not to worry, I like that in a girl! You see, since I dug this cave myself, all of the life vitality crystals that you brought out of it naturally belong to me!"


    "That''s right. That''s the principle!"


    "Ha-ha. Ernest is right!"


    numerous Soul Sea Realm warriors standing behind Ernest muttered, echoing his words.


    Freya had already figured out that this group of warriors were aggressive and they were there with malicious intentions. However, she had not expected that they would be so shameless. It was impossible for them to dig out such a monstrous cave. After all, those who had come here before them had already dug out countless mine holes, and there might be hundreds of thousands of holes in this enormous mountain range. Even if they really had dug such a cave, they shouldn''t force Zen and her to hand over the life vitality crystals.


    Freya pulled a long face as she asked in a cold voice, "Why don''t you just be straight? You are going to rob us, right?"


    The bald warrior bluntly responded, "Oh look at that! You finally understand. Ha-ha!"


    "How can you take these crystals away from everyone else under broad daylight? Won''t the Spiritual Force Sacred Place meddle in this kind of robbery or punish you for doing this?" Freya was looking annoyed now. The seven warriors in front of her were all at the Soul Sea Realm. Although Freya was also at the Soul Sea Realm, she was worried about Zen who was only at the Life and Death Realm. Although he had shown some incredible abilities just now, Freya still did not think highly of Zen''s battle prowess.


    After all, the gap between the Soul Sea Realm and the Life and Death Realm was quite broad. What was more, Zen hadn''t even opened up his own inner world yet, so he couldn''t use his own domain. Thus he would be unable to fight ag


    come you have so many life vitality jades?


    They are actually equal to several hundred thousand supreme life vitality crystals! Ernest, we are really very lucky this time..."


    When these warriors robbed in the mines, they could only extort a few hundred supreme life vitality crystals every month, and they might get about a few thousand life vitality crystals at most if they were lucky enough. The problem was that their group had seven members, and they had to gather seven million supreme life vitality crystals so that they would be able to leave. That was no mean feat and would take time.


    Everyone here was at the Soul Sea Realm, and after some warriors had been robbed once, they became shrewd and alert. Thus it became more and more difficult for these seven warriors to rob them.


    With so many life vitality jades suddenly appearing in front of them, how could they not be wild with joy?


    The bald warrior smacked his lips. Looking at Zen with joy on his face, he had some doubts he needed to clear. "I don''t know if you are really stupid or just too naive. Only a complete dunce would hand over so many life vitality jades so easily! Why did you show them to us?


    Even the most stupid man in the world would not do such a thing." The bald warrior called ''Ernest'' was quite curious about this.


    Zen stretched out his arm and replied, "Actually, before I entered the mines, I had already considered robbing. Compared to digging hard, robbery can help me get the life vitality crystals faster. However, after thinking about it, I kind of felt that it was not appropriate for me to do such a despicable thing. Also, I was not sure if the Spiritual Force Sacred Place would interfere in such a matter. So I decided okay, let''s go legit!"


    Zen slightly raised his head, slowly putting those life vitality jades back into his space ring. He gently opened his mouth, a faint killing intent appearing on his face. Although the killing intent was very light, it made those warriors unconsciously feel scared. "But now, I have to thank you for answering my question. So, the Spiritual Force Sacred Place wouldn''t interfere if I kill or rob anyone here."

 Chapter 1310 A Palm

    The seven warriors who had reached the Soul Sea Realm were left wondering if they had heard wrongly.


    At the same time, they were also wondering just where the chill had come from. It wasn''t so scary just now.


    They had been either rulers of some divine kingdoms or leaders of sacred places of sixth or seventh grade in the Lower World. Such places weren''t exactly full of Life and Death Realm people but these guys had seen their fair share of them.


    And from their very foundation, they always looked down on Life and Death Realm martial artists.


    Now, they saw that this young man at the Life and Death Realm looked like he wanted to have a fight here.


    Where did he find the courage? How could he even hope to fight seven martial artists at the Soul Sea Realm alone?


    Was he crazy? He was clearly biting off more than he could chew.


    Thinking about that, the seven Soul Sea Realm martial artists burst into a mocking laughter.


    Freya, who was standing beside Zen, was also dumbfounded. She really did not know what made Zen so confident and had no idea what the hell he was trying to do, except that he would die. Could it be that Zen had someone backing him? Wait, no! That was impossible! If Zen had a backer in the Upper World, why would he want to mine here? He would have been taken away long ago.


    However, although Freya was very confused, she still looked calm. Zen had already shown his incredible skills in front of her twice. Could it be that he had a way to deal with these Soul Sea Realm martial artists too, just like he had dealt with all their problems before now? On second thought, with Zen''s cultivation, he probably wouldn''t have any chance of victory. Thus, although she looked calm, she was actually very anxious.


    While laughing uncontrollably, the martial artists were also staring at Zen with derisive eyes. The one named Ernest, their leader, was laughing so hard that he couldn''t even breathe. But at the end, a vicious sneer curled the corners of his mouth. "I''ll give you a chance to live. Give me all the life vitality jades you have, now! And, if you give me enough jades every day, I''ll let you go. If you fail by the end of any day, your life..."


    "Thank you for your kind intentions, but I don''t need that chance," Zen interrupted and smiled, as the chaotic energy within his body suddenly erupted and he closed in on Ernest.


    During his last few months in the Lower World, Zen had diligently and painstakingly trained without stopping.


    In addition to cultivating the Primal Chaos Technique and the Stellar Body, he had also found some books which had the Original Laws in them inside the fairy palace''s library.


    Generally speaking, the Original Laws were carved on the stone tablets, but his master had directly recorded numerous kinds of laws in huge books. By reading these books, one would be able to completely master them without a single omission. With Zen''s perfect affinity, and his cultivation speed enhanced


    s, so they collected life vitality crystals by robbery.


    This group of seven people was relatively small in number. Some of them had even combined their strength to form a group of dozens of members. They even monopolized a mine in this vein. All the martial artists who entered their mine would have to pay a certain amount of life vitality crystals.


    When these seven people had first seen that Zen was only at the Life and Death Realm, they were confused. How could a Life and Death Realm martial artist come here? They couldn''t figure out why.


    However, they didn''t ponder over it too seriously. They weren''t going to pay much attention to a mere Life and Death Realm martial artist. They did not even take Freya seriously, let alone Zen.


    Now they finally understood that Zen''s cultivation and strength could not be underestimated. His strength was much higher than that of those who had just reached the Soul Sea Realm. Even Ernest had hardly been able to resist him.


    Freya''s mouth was slightly open as she thought about what had happened just now. She had an expression of disbelief on her face. No matter how imaginative she was, it was impossible for her to come up with a scenario where Zen was exactly his own backer.


    Zen looked at his palm with a faint smile on his face, as if the intense scene in front of them didn''t even happen. Then he asked, "I wonder if the Spiritual Force Sacred Place really does not care about us killing people for their goods. If so, that''s great."


    At his words, the faces of all the martial artists changed drastically and turned a deathly shade of pale and white.


    "We have to leave! Now!"


    As Soul Sea Realm martial artists, they made their decisions very quickly. They knew that Zen was trying to threaten them, but if they didn''t act tactfully, he would kill them without the slightest bit of hesitation. Therefore, no one dared to answer his question.


    Whoosh...


    In an instant, all of the martial artists had fled.

 Chapter 1311 Where Are You Yan Luo

    Some bystanders couldn''t help but sigh when they saw the two newcomers surrounded by Ernest and his men. It was an unlucky day for them since not only would they lose all their life vitality crystals, the woman was also surely going to be humiliated by this group of bullies.


    They earnestly watched the scene from a distance. Most of them had also experienced being blackmailed by Ernest before and had no desire to undergo such an experience ever again. They could only sympathize and hope these newcomers wouldn''t be hurt too much.


    To their utmost surprise, instead of being bullied, the Life and Death Realm kid suddenly punched Ernest and sent him flying through the air. They all couldn''t help but flinch when they heard an ominous crack once his body fell into the cave.


    This show of monstrous strength immediately changed the bystanders'' perception of Zen. No longer could they see him as a random Life and Death Realm kid. He was a devil that must be feared. Realizing that a bigger fish had arrived, they all quickly scattered and flew far away from that place.


    Zen couldn''t help but shake his head at the others'' reaction. He turned to Freya and gave her a smile. "Let''s go back and hand over these life vitality jades,"


    he said, before quickly flying away towards the gathering place.


    Freya quickly followed behind him. Their journey was quiet but her gaze spoke volumes at how much she regarded Zen with a new light.


    She had first thought of herself as stronger owing to her higher cultivation along with the fact that her uncle was also the lord of a big city in the Spiritual Force Sacred Place. Freya was not lacking in both physical and social power. She had initially planned to do Zen a favor by recommending him to her uncle to help the young Life and Death Realm warrior reach his full potential under his tutelage.


    However, seeing just what Zen was capable of, Freya now thought it stupid to think that he needed her or anyone''s help. It was, in fact, the opposite: she was the one who needed his help.


    This was a big blow to her pride but she couldn''t help but also feel extremely grateful since he did get her out of the earlier altercation.


    The two of them shortly arrived in the gathering place. Warriors were continually milling about the place. There were those that arrived to hand over their life vitality crystals. Others would rest for a bit while most went straight back to mining in order to gather one million supreme life vitality crystals so they could leave this damned place as soon as possible.


    Zen took out the life vitality jades and all the warriors present couldn''t help but feel extremely envious at his haul.


    It was unfortunate for these jealous warriors because numerous Spiritual Force Sacred Place warriors guarded the gathering place, making robbery an impossibility.


    "Eh? Aren''t you that warrior who just registered here not long ago?" the armored man in charge of collecting the


    was Luo and the given name was Yan. Yan Luo and Zen Luo¡­ No matter how she looked at it, the two names were unmistakably related!


    ''No, maybe it''s just a coincidence, '' she thought to herself. Zen might have surprised her with his strength but there was no way someone like him was in possession of such a valuable thing as a Roaring Token.


    It wasn''t just her. A lot of creatures who gained wisdom all across the universe were also puzzled by this voice.


    It seemed the voice uttered the name of a person he was looking for, however, this Yan Luo seemed to be someone obscure. Was it really necessary to have used a Roaring Token just to find someone?


    "Maybe it''s a descendant of some Supreme Lord. He might have a lot of Roaring Tokens on hand so he didn''t bother wasting it!"


    "This is really burning money! My God, a Roaring Token... Isn''t it too wasteful to use it like this?!"


    "Well, this wouldn''t be the first time. A son of a Supreme Lord once used a hundred Roaring Tokens to express his love for another Supreme Lord''s daughter back in the day. Rich people can be really wasteful sometimes."


    Back in the small cave, Zen continued to wait.


    According to Lavender, the young man that had taken Yan was even stronger than a Supreme Lord so Zen assumed that he should have a Roaring Token. And the young man had promised Zen that Yan would be safe with him. If Yan heard him then she would also definitely reply.


    However, Zen waited for a long while but did not get any response. His gaze gradually darkened


    There were only two reasons he could think of which would explain this situation: one, Yan had been unable to obtain a Roaring Token and couldn''t answer, or two, she was not within the range of this universe.


    The first reason would entail that Yan''s situation wasn''t as good as Zen had initially thought. She could be imprisoned or worse. Maybe the young man was mean and refused to give her a Roaring Token to reply to her brother.

 Chapter 1312 The Return Of Yolandes Clones

    A crease appeared between Zen''s brows at the thought of the second possibility: Yan was not in the universe.


    If that was true, then it would be a piece of bad news for him.


    The universe was too vast, and infinite even. How would Zen even begin to find his sister?


    If Yan was outside the universe, that would even be harder for him!


    There was a trace of unwillingness on Zen''s face when he thought about those possibilities. He stretched his hand, and then activated the Roaring Token once more.


    "Yan Luo, where are you?"


    For the second time, Zen''s booming voice reverberated throughout the entire universe as the Roaring Token gently vibrated.


    All the numerous races and living beings of the universe heard the familiar call of Zen once again.


    "Damn it. Who the hell is Yan Luo? Why is she so lucky? In order to find her, the man has used two Roaring Tokens without even batting an eyelid."


    "He''s rather wilful, I must say."


    "But the way he shouted was confusing. Even if he''s looking for someone, he shouldn''t shout like that, right? He should''ve at least told where he is. Who looks for someone like that?"


    What they didn''t know was that Zen didn''t have a powerful backer, nor was he a descendant of a Supreme Lord. Thus, he had to be careful due to his current strength and status. He couldn''t tell anyone his name or location. If he revealed too much information, others would come after him.


    After his second shout had been transmitted, he waited again for five minutes, but there was still no response.


    The seconds passed by idly, and Zen felt himself starting to get impatient.


    He had originally planned to use the Roaring Token to find his sister. After that, he would try to obtain enough life vitality jades and become an independent warrior. Finally, he would find a way to travel to the supreme worlds and see Yan.


    Alas, he couldn''t even finish the first step of his plan because Yan did not respond.


    In extreme dissatisfaction, Zen begrudgingly activated the Roaring Token again. And like what he did before, he shouted, "Yan Luo, where are you?"


    Just as his last word slipped out of his lips, a voice resounded in his ears. Someone responded to the call from his Roaring Token.


    "Hmph, so what if you''ve mastered the Energy Returning Incarnation? I''ll wait for you in the Autumn Mountain World. Will you dare to come?"


    Zen was already filled with anticipation when he heard the voice, but it turned out that it was from Supreme Lord Amritpal. An already agitated and impatient Zen became even more furious.


    He was afraid that his voice wouldn''t reach Yan''s ears. When someone had interrupted him, he became more ablaze with anger.


    However, he didn''t bother to provoke Supreme Lord Amritpal. But just as Supreme Lord Amritpal had finished speaking, another voice chimed in. "Just


    ad one or two. Given her special position, she had five.


    Five Roaring Tokens were already very rare to begin with. She wouldn''t have used them, unless for an especially urgent matter.


    But in just this short amount of time, she had heard Zen shout thrice already.


    "What a waste it is to find his sister with the help of Roaring Tokens." Yolande was at a loss for words. She had found out through her clone in White Emperor City that Zen had a sister named Yan Luo, who seemed to be related to a grade two sect in the Lower World.


    Later on, she was kidnapped and brought to the Central Region. However, Yolande had no idea how she came to the Upper World, since she didn''t find any clues from her clones'' memories.


    She just simply dispersed her clones like seeds, so she wouldn''t control wherever they went. Furthermore, it really was impossible for her to control a million clones.


    Next, she heard the two Supreme Lords who used the Roaring Tokens to curse and argue against each other.


    It was known that Amritpal and Myles had long been enemies. Their cursing had lasted for many years, and it was unknown just how many Roaring Tokens they had wasted.


    They were Supreme Lords, so they had many Roaring Tokens and they were free to use them in any way they pleased. Now, Zen, on the other hand, was not. How could he be so wasteful?


    Yolande scanned her surroundings. There were no signs of the ascending passageways opening up again. She assumed that her clones were still in flight, so she soaked her entire body in the bathing pool. The absorption process had made her weak and exhausted, so she had to immerse herself completely in the special liquid.


    The moment half her head was soaked in, she heard Zen''s angry curse. She coughed and exhaled repeatedly. She was so taken aback by Zen that she had swallowed a bit of the liquid, which made her cough more violently.

 Chapter 1313 Counting

    Owing to the Roaring Token''s incredibly valuable status, possession and use of it were usually reserved to the richest and most powerful warriors.


    Amritpal and Myles, both renowned as extremely strong warriors in the entire universe, were known to use it just to quarrel with each other.


    It was extremely troublesome for those who heard them constantly but nobody was willing to provoke the ire of these two, not even the other Supreme Lords themselves.


    It wasn''t because they were extremely, terrifyingly strong. It was mostly because Amritpal and Myles were both independent warriors who could afford to go on a reckless rampage if ever angered by anyone without having to think of too serious repercussions.


    So even if the way they used their Roaring Tokens disgruntled a lot of people, these people could only swallow their complaints and bear with it.


    They comforted themselves by simply cursing these two people in private.


    Zen, on the other hand, wasn''t really keen on subtlety. He actually blamed these two Supreme Lords with his own Roaring Token.


    It was stupid but also incredibly impressive.


    Yolande coughed to clear the liquid she had choked on moments before, dumbfounded by Zen''s boldness.


    ''What an interesting boy, '' she thought to herself. ''I really wonder where he is now after ascending from the Lower World.''


    She couldn''t help but agree with her clone in the Tower of Sin. Anyone without a destined fate was significant for the era and it wasn''t right for others to forcefully change their fate.


    "He doesn''t have a destined fate but if he happens to ascend to my world, then it must be destiny pulling strings to let us meet again," she murmured before walking out of the pool.


    Just as she left the fog, a faint green light enveloped her body, fitting her with an elegant green dress.


    At that moment, five to six transmission passageways flickered in front of her, containing each one of her clones.


    All the clones took off their clothes and were preparing to fuse into her main body.


    However, Yolande held up her hand, "Wait here for me. I need to go and deal with something first."


    The clones obediently froze, like puppets waiting for their puppeteer to pull their strings and allow them to move.


    The ''something'' that Yolande had to deal with was finding out the names of those who had recently ascended from the Lower World. She issued an order asking for a comprehensive list of these people and she was determined to go through this list meticulously.


    Her subordinate was baffled at this strange request of hers, not really sure why she''d want such information. However, Yolande was boss and there was no way he was going to neglect her order so he quickly set out to accom


    lace! Just who is he?"


    "Maybe he''s a rich Supreme Lord''s descendant? I''ve never seen such a spendthrift!"


    Similar remarks were made by various creatures all over the universe.


    But Zen continued counting.


    "Twenty."


    "Twenty-one..."


    "One hundred..."


    Both Myles and Amritpal were rendered speechless.


    Sure, the two of them had more Roaring Tokens than most people but it could never compare to the amount Zen had. Myles had a lot since he raised several hundred Roaring Tapirs. However, his current supply only amounted to a little over a hundred and the next batch of tokens wasn''t due to be produced anytime soon.


    Amritpal had less with only eighty Roaring Tokens.


    And even if their token collection was larger than any other Supreme Lords, the fact remained that they couldn''t afford to squander them away like Zen was currently doing.


    They truly could not comprehend just how this unknown young man from god knows where got ahold of so many Roaring Tokens.


    Trading just a few of these tokens would''ve been enough to obtain a huge amount of resources for his cultivation! Why did he choose to use them this way?


    While they ruminated on this, Zen''s voice continued to resound throughout the universe.


    "One hundred and ten..."


    "One hundred and twenty..."


    "One hundred and thirty..."


    The numbers only went larger and larger.


    Zen''s counting lasted for a full four hours. During this time the listeners'' feelings went from astonishment to disbelief, and then numbness. He was at the ten thousandth mark when a voice finally interrupted him.


    "Hey, what are you doing? Is counting so much fun?"


    It was a light, ethereal voice of a woman, and was extremely pleasing to the ears.


    But the moment the world lords and Supreme Lords heard this voice, their faces changed drastically!

 Chapter 1314 The Beast Attack

    He had been counting for hours now and he was all doing it just to prove a point to those two Supreme Lords.


    However, he did not expect a woman to suddenly interrupt him in the midst of his counting.


    Zen was excited at first since he had been looking forward to hearing Yan''s voice but then he quickly deflated when he realized that it wasn''t her. "It''s not fun," he replied to the woman grumpily.


    "Then why are you still counting? Are you crazy?" she asked.


    "It is quite boring. I don''t really want to talk anymore. I''m going to go cultivate now," he said, finally deciding to put away the Roaring Token he had been fiddling with for a while now.


    However, the woman on the other end quickly protested, "Wait! Don''t go. Do you want me to sing a song for you?"


    It was an innocent offer but a dozen voices suddenly rang out at her suggestion. Almost all of the reclusive warriors used their Roaring Tokens to speak!


    "No! Please don''t sing!"


    "Your voice is nice and pleasant but please don''t sing. No one wants to hear you sing!"


    "Hey, hey! Didn''t you promise us that you wouldn''t sing anymore?"


    Everyone spoke at the same time.


    Zen''s earlier argument with Amritpal and Myles was met with silence from the other Supreme Lords. Nobody deemed the spat important enough to arbitrate and use their Roaring Tokens for.


    However, this simple offer of a song was met by such loud refusal by all the Supreme Lords.


    Zen couldn''t help but be baffled at their reactions. She just wanted to sing a song. Wouldn''t that be better than listening to him count all day long?


    "I only want to sing a song. Why are you all so nervous?" the woman asked in a gentle voice. "Is it because my voice is bad?"


    "No! No one in the entire universe has a more beautiful singing voice than you but you promised us that you wouldn''t sing anymore!"


    "We think that your voice is wonderful but please don''t sing..."


    "Don''t sing. Please don''t sing!"


    The Supreme Lords'' ardent refusal made Zen curious. "Why are they afraid of hearing you sing? Is it because you''re bad at it?"


    The woman giggled. "They don''t like it when I sing, but I want to¡­"


    "We don''t think your voice sounds unpleasant, but just don''t sing¡­" Several of the Supreme Lords repeated, still trying to persuade her to change her mind.


    "Hmmm," the woman hummed as if thinking her next decision. "Okay. I won''t release the demonic sound from my voice. Don''t w


    rs, ensuring that every entrance, main road, and city wall were well staffed and well-guarded.


    It was as if the entire universe had prepared for war.


    Although they were told that her voice wouldn''t cause a beast attack, the events from long ago were still deeply etched in their memories. There was no way they were going to be lax in the midst of a possible beast attack.


    Nobody knew who she was and there was no way they could make her pay if she caused devastation all throughout the universe the second time around.


    Vigilance was paramount when it came to possible devastation.


    The Spiritual Force Sacred Place Zen was in was no exception. Its members were set for war with a large number of powerful masters already gathered to defend their land. There was no expectation set to the warriors who had recently ascended from Lower World. None of them really had any idea how terrifying a beast attack could be so most of them simply continued digging ores.


    Not long after, a clear, melodious voice echoed throughout the universe.


    "Reviving in the midst of the wind and leaves, floating under the shadow of the trees...


    The musical notes around my fingertips, for whom...


    The whistling wheels..."


    The slow and elegant melody was haunting and her lilting voice perfectly fit the song. It was like the sound of a nightingale singing on a cool, starry night.


    However, nobody was in the mood to appreciate her singing, save for Zen of course. Everyone was just too tense and too on edge to pay attention to her otherworldly voice when the threat of a mass-scale beast attack hung over their heads.

 Chapter 1315 Riyad

    Once her song was finished, the woman giggled and asked, "Am I a good singer?"


    "Absolutely!"


    "It''s such a wonderful song that belongs to the Heavens!"


    "I''ve never heard such a beautiful song before."


    It made their hearts ache to use their precious Roaring Tokens to praise this unknown woman, but the Supreme Lords had no choice.


    She might sound young, but she was someone none of them could afford to offend. Her displeasure might spell doom for the entire universe, after all.


    The woman snorted, "I''m not asking you guys! I''m asking him!"


    It was clearly obvious who she was referring to.


    Noticing that the young man who had counted for so long earlier had gotten silent, the Supreme Lords scrambled to get him speaking once again. "Say something boy!"


    Zen smiled to himself in his cave. He activated the Roaring Token in his hand and praised, "You''re a good singer."


    "Really?" she exclaimed. "Then can I sing to you every day?"


    Her voice was incredibly lovely but all the Supreme Lords would die of stress if she sang every day. How could they ever enjoy such good singing if the threat of a horrifying beast attack hung on her every note?


    Unfortunately, it was not their place to deny her of her wishes. They couldn''t afford to offend her though they wished Zen would reject this offer of hers.


    "Okay," Zen replied.


    "Great! By the way, I don''t know your name. How should I address you in the future?" she asked him.


    This immediately piqued the interest of the Supreme Lords.


    A name would greatly narrow down their options in finding this young man. These two fellows were incredibly interesting, and they all wanted to know just where they got their Roaring Tokens from and how they hadn''t used them up yet.


    However, Zen was no idiot. There was no way he was going to announce his name to the entire universe after scolding two Supreme Lords. His special Roaring Token would also be at risk if his identity was ever exposed.


    "I''m sorry, but it''s a secret," he said.


    "What a pity!" she replied in a dejected voice. There was a collective intake of breath as the Supreme Lords all thought that Zen''s reply had offended her, but the woman quickly spoke again. "It doesn''t matter, as long as you can chat with me. I


    h nothing but her wild guesses.


    In the midst of their conversation, they did not notice the eyes that watched them as they entered the mine.


    A kind of system had formed among those who had recently ascended to the Upper World.


    The warriors were divided into three factions with the most powerful one led by someone called Riyad Qiu.


    The bald warrior slapped to the point of death by Zen yesterday was actually one of Riyad''s subordinates. How would some baldy like him dare rob someone if he didn''t have a powerful backer?


    Riyad was someone who had already accumulated the required amount of life vitality jades. He had originally planned to leave as soon as he turned over his mined ores but decided to stay and accumulate more life vitality jades. He planned to use this surplus to purchase resources that could aid him in his cultivation once he left.


    The leaders of the two other forces also had the same plan. In fact, there was a kind of tribute system that had developed in the mine wherein the warriors not only had to give their earnings to the Spiritual Force Sacred Place, but also allocate a percentage to the three forces.


    The six warriors that had run away yesterday had gone to Riyad and aired their grievances. Riyad, as the one who held the most power in the mine, took Zen''s actions as a challenge to his authority.


    Newly ascended warriors were often conceited since they were not aware of who was boss. Those who offended Riyad''s men often disappeared without a trace.

 Chapter 1316 Confusion

    With regard to Zen''s cultivation level being only at the Life and Death Realm, Riyad was also a bit curious.


    Moreover, the few followers of the bald warrior described to Riyad earlier about how Zen had fought yesterday. Zen seemed to have great strength. He had actually sent the bald man into the mine with a mere slap.


    This strength was enough to make Riyad wary. Therefore, he sent three men to follow Zen into the mine.


    All three of them were Riyad''s best fighters. Although they were also from the Lower World, they were outstanding among the warriors, and their strength was far greater than the ordinary ones.


    Riyad had instructed them to kill Zen in secret.


    Although the Spiritual Force Sacred Place did not have much control over fighting and killing in the mine, Riyad was always very careful. If he killed too many warriors, the number of life vitality crystals he would have to hand in would decrease. If someone superior was angered, then the armored men who managed the mine would blame Riyad for this.


    Thus, under normal circumstances, Riyad didn''t kill people. As long as the warriors obediently handed over their life vitality crystals, he didn''t make things difficult for them.


    However, when it was time to act, Riyad did not hesitate in the slightest. Zen dared to kill his man, so he must pay with his life. Otherwise, how would Riyad become the leader of the strongest force? How could he get a foothold before so many of his subordinates?


    Freya was still immersed in her doubts and speculations. She carefully thought about it and realized that Zen had purposely avoided her the day before. In any case, she was completely unaware of his whereabouts during that period of time. He indeed had plenty of time to do other things.


    Just as Freya was making wild guesses, she heard someone talk to her in her mind.


    "Some people are following us," Zen said.


    Even though the three people behind them had intentionally concealed their auras, how could they escape Zen''s senses? As soon as he had left the gathering place, Zen locked onto the movements of the three people.


    However, he had not been sure of their intentions earlier. After all, it was possible that the three of them were just going to mine. However, after Zen changed directions several times, he realized that they were still following him.


    "Really?"


    At Zen''s words, Freya also noticed the three people following them.


    In fact, the three warriors didn''t try to hide themselves. Riyad had asked them to make Zen "disappear" in the mine. In their eyes, a Life and Dea


    use, he still had access to pleasure.


    The three women in front of him tried to roll their hips enticingly in an attempt to seduce him.


    Females were rare to find here. Only a few warriors were able to enjoy these women. Riyad, of course, was one of them.


    The three women had been top warriors in the Lower World. Perhaps they were holy maidens, or perhaps they had been empresses of divine kingdoms. It was a pity that after ascending, they had to cling to and depend on these men to make their living.


    While the three women were performing an alluring dance, Riyad''s complexion whitened. He crushed the metal wine cup in his hand into a ball.


    "The slave seals disappeared?" His expression turned grim.


    The slave seals he had planted on his own subordinates had completely vanished in an instant.


    It pointed to only one possibility¡ªall three of them had been killed.


    They were Riyad''s most capable men, and he was well aware of their strength. Moreover, the slave seals disappeared at almost the same time, which meant that someone had used a technique to kill the three of them in the blink of an eye.


    Did the young Life and Death Realm warrior and the woman at the Soul Sea Realm do this?


    This was impossible!


    Almost subconsciously, Riyad dismissed the idea in his mind.


    It was most probable that the three of them were lured to the bottom of the mine by Zen, where they encountered powerful vicious beasts. However, his men were very careful. They would not allow Zen to enter the depths of the mine.


    "Riyad! What''s the matter with you? You don''t look too good!" A woman shook her slender waist and sat on his lap.


    Riyad snorted coldly. "Nothing. Something interesting happened."

 Chapter 1317 The Mental Predicament (Part One)

    After he had killed the three warriors, Zen got lost in some deep thought. Something was itching in the back of his mind.


    Even Freya, who was standing beside him, could feel that something was wrong with him. It seemed that Zen was not in a good mood and after Freya continued to try talking to him for a while, Zen began to ignore her.


    The truth was that the problem that Zen was thinking about wasn''t really a problem in the eyes of other warriors.


    That was because even though they could work hard to achieve numerous kinds of things, they often lacked an ultimate and definite goal.


    In the early days, Zen had indeed been guided by Yan. Perhaps this was a kind of arrangement by his fate. And even now, Yan was still the main impetus to make him move forward!


    However, searching for Yan was something that Zen only had to accomplish, and not his ultimate goal. No. His ultimate and definite goal was something that came from the most resolute determination in his mind.


    His obsession was indeed to pursue mastery in the martial arts. He wanted to see what level of strength he could achieve as he continued his cultivation. Would he be able to control this world, or would he be able to go on and create his own world?


    After he had flown into the Upper World, it had come to his discovery that the rules here were similar to those in the Lower World.


    A feeling of disgust arose in his heart as he thought about that, and this sort of disgust would accumulate into confusion soon. If he still had to see the same scenery and go through the same experiences even after he reached higher cultivation levels and ascended to the Upper world, then he simply could not be interested in anything!


    What even Zen himself didn''t know was that he had


    comers didn''t know about Riyad''s power, but most of the warriors there knew clearly that even though he was also from the Lower World, it was better for them to not provoke him. This guy was known to be even harder to deal with than the armored warriors of the Spiritual Force Sacred Place. And that was saying something.


    The reason behind that was that those armored warriors were bound by the rules of the Spiritual Force Sacred Place. But there was nothing restraining Riyad''s behavior and he could do whatever he wanted. Although he was just a warrior who ascended from the Lower World, he had the power to decide the life and death of everyone else in this mine!


    Zen was still sitting quietly on the spot with his eyes tightly shut. He kept on pondering over the question which was puzzling him.


    Even the cyan dragon noticed the change in Zen''s mental state.


    However, he did not say anything and only carefully watched Zen''s every move. He had already guessed that Zen was in a mental predicament, and this was a very troublesome state to be in. What was worse, the more confidence and persistence Zen had before, the more difficult this predicament would be!

 Chapter 1318 The Mental Predicament (Part Two)

    No one could help Zen right now; even the cyan dragon''s simple teachings were meaningless. Zen could only rely on himself to convince himself and defeat himself. During the struggle, he had to fight with his mind and attitude and no one could meddle in it; unless they had a way of changing his mind. And changing someone''s mind meant changing their very soul and foundation. They would lose their memories and become a different person altogether.


    At that moment, Riyad walked up to Zen.


    Zen opened his eyes as he felt the presence of a Soul Sea Realm warrior in front of him. He then looked at Riyad indifferently. Although he hadn''t met him before, he could easily figure out his identity and guessed that the man in front of him was the one who had sent the three warriors to kill him today.


    "Where are they?" Riyad asked coldly with an icy stare at Zen.


    "Where are who?" Zen asked.


    Riyad laughed coldly and replied, "The three warriors. Who else do you think I am talking about? Will you pretend that you don''t know them?"


    "Ah yes. Them! Well... I killed them." Zen shrugged.


    "You killed them? On your own?" Riyad was skeptical.


    Zen let out a long sigh, and then responded, "Yes, just me. On my own..."


    When they heard the conversation between Zen and Riyad, a stunned expression appeared on the faces of the other warriors, who were busy cultivating or resting nearby.


    There seemed to be a conflict between Zen at the Life and Death Realm and Riyad at the Soul Sea Realm.


    Furthermore, Zen had actually killed three warriors who worked for Riyad...


    Was this guy really that powerful?


    If he tried to provoke Riyad, wo


    ed and he clenched his fists. He couldn''t tolerate Zen and was almost about to lose control. At the beginning, he just wanted to put psychological pressure on Zen so that he would obediently become his slave. He did not expect that Zen would not only ignore him, but also talk nonsense!


    He really wanted to attack Zen there and then but alas!


    In the end, he managed to suppress the anger inside and not say a word. Tomorrow, he would think of a way to deal with this idiot. Promising that he would kill Zen for sure, Riyad turned around and left.


    However, Zen did not let him go. Instead, he moved and in the blink of an eye, was standing in front of Riyad. He stared at him and asked, "What''s the point in pursuing to be powerful? Do you know that?"


    Riyad wanted to leave, but Zen blocked his way once more. The former was almost mad with anger now.


    As for the nearby warriors, their eyes were wide open as they watched this scene. One of them remarked in a low voice, "He is probably out of his mind after being scared by Riyad. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have the gut to block his way..."

 Chapter 1319 Upgrade

    If Riyad knew that Zen was going to act like a fool, he never would have come here tonight to meet him.


    His purpose for looking for Zen was very simple. He wanted to put the slave seal on Zen, making him be a slave under him. If Zen was unwilling to be enslaved, Riyad would choose to kill him. For those who were useful, Riyad would never kill them carelessly. This was one of the reasons why he could become so powerful in the mine.


    However, to everyone''s surprise, Zen was choosing to ignore this dangerous situation, and was even talking to Riyad like an idiot.


    If Riyad didn''t have any scruple about the public right now and made up his mind to kill Zen, Zen was sure to be dead by now, in everyone else''s eyes at least.


    "I warn you one last time. Get out of the way," Riyad snarled as he stared at Zen with a cold gaze. It was indeed an extremely shameful thing for him to be fooled by a Life and Death Realm warrior in front of so many people.


    Zen didn''t show the slightest signs of fear as he stared back at the man and asked, "Tell me. What is the purpose of becoming powerful?"


    A trace of killing intent flashed across Riyad''s eyes and he stretched out his hand to grab onto Zen''s shoulder. Since Zen did not back away in the face of the attack, Riyad decided to punish him; to hell with the rules and the witnesses.


    His hawk-like hand directly grabbed Zen''s shoulder. The life vitality within his body began to circulate. He seemed to have launched an effortless attack, but in fact, he was using almost 80% of his strength.


    Of course, no one else knew what was happening inside him. To them, it was most likely that Riyad had already used every ounce of his hidden strength. Zen''s bones were probably going to be shattered within about three seconds.


    However, they were astonished to see that Zen was standing motionless and he repeated his words...


    At that moment, Riyad got mad and unleashed his power. Zen''s shoulder gently swayed and emitted a counter attacking power which was so strong that his enemy couldn''t even stand upright.


    Under the attack of Zen''s power, Riyad, shocked by the terrible strength of his opponent, found his entire body starting to retreat rapidly. His feet plowed two grooves into the ground, and after he had been forced back hundreds of feet, his entire body flipped over and his fist smashed itself of its own accord into the ground behind him before he finally came to a stop!


    Riyad had actually released a terrible power by launching this punch. If he hadn''t done that, his bones wouldn''t have been able to withstand the immense and shattering pressure and would break apart into pieces inch by inch!


    Bang!


    When Riyad''s punch landed on the ground behind him, it caused the ground to sink slightly. Then, the surface of the ground started to roll up and formed a one thousand-feet huge crater. Several of the warriors, who were silently cultivating, were sucked into the crater too, and they all started to fly up into the air.


    Some of them, who were extremely focused on their cultivation and had been disturbed, were furious and their faces were filled with anger. However, when they saw Riyad, they didn''t dare to flare up. They were curious abou


    ntal predicaments was an extremely dangerous affair. Many warriors, who encountered such dilemmas, weren''t able to find the meaning of their own life and they never recovered. Some of them hid in the mountains, some became crazy, and some even killed themselves the moment they figured out the meaning of life...


    Zen, on the other hand, quickly walked out of this predicament through contemplation.


    After he had broken free from his confusion, Zen''s goal was even clearer to him now. His warrior spirit had also completed its transformation and had upgraded through this contemplation...


    An expression of grievance almost began to appear on Riyad''s face. He thought that it was rather unlucky and idiotic of him to provoke a fool like Zen!


    However, at that moment, with a gleam in his bright eyes, Zen smiled at Riyad and said the most unexpected thing, "Thank you!"


    Riyad frowned. He no longer wanted to talk to Zen. With a flick of his cape, he dashed towards the other side of the gathering place.


    He believed that Zen wasn''t insane, and was just playing around with him, like a cat with a mouse. He became even more indignant at the thought of this. Just as he had returned to where he lived, he saw two armored warriors standing at his door.


    When Riyad saw these two armored warriors of the Spiritual Force Sacred Place, a smile immediately appeared on his face. The reason he had been able to be so overbearing and supercilious in the mine was all because of the support of these two armored warriors.


    "Mr. Huang, Mr. Chen, why are you two here? Are you short of life vitality jades?" Riyad chuckled, and was extremely polite as well.


    After he had taken control of the mines, he had given out a lot of life vitality jades to these two warriors. The trio could be considered quite familiar and frank with each other. The armored warriors would let him do whatever he wanted to, and he would give them life vitality jades in return. This was their deal.


    However, one of the armored warriors just coldly uttered, "Riyad, I don''t want your life vitality jades today. But I am warning you not to take any action against Zen."

 Chapter 1320 Two Masters Visit

    Riyad''s face darkened upon hearing Chen''s words.


    Back in the Lower World, Riyad was incredibly famed and feared for his power. The reverence given to him by others made him proud and unyielding.


    He was a hardened warrior who did not tolerate insults. Anyone who dared to offend him suffered instant death.


    Zen''s humiliation wasn''t something he was ever willing to let go and he had already thought of so many ways to retaliate against the young man. But here was Chen warning him not to go after Zen. Riyad was immediately enraged.


    "Why?!" he exclaimed, not understanding the logic of Chen''s words.


    Huang shrugged. "No reason. It''s just a warning. If you listen to me, then that''s good. If not, then that''s on you."


    They were about to leave when Chen hesitated and leaned into Riyad''s ear, "It had taken that kid only a few seconds to adapt to the Vitality Pressure on the day of his ascension."


    With this information, the two armored warriors left without looking back.


    Their departure left Riyad conflicted. He could easily ignore the advice of other people but those two warriors had a close relationship with him. They might have been blunt but he knew they only told him those things for his own good.


    He briefly wondered if what Chen said was true. Did Zen really only take seconds to adapt to the Vitality Pressure after he left the Ascending Well? A deep frown was entrenched onto Riyad''s face.


    He remembered how he had taken a full five days to adapt to the Vitality Pressure after ascending to the Upper World. These five days were already considered fast since Riyad had shown great adaptive capacity upon his ascension. But a few seconds? This feat was highly likely a reason for the Spiritual Force Sacred Place to notice Zen.


    Many of the warriors born and raised in the Upper World had a slight prejudice against those who merely ascended from the Lower World. However, this prejudice was nonexistent to the Spiritual Force Sacred Place which was always hungry for more talents. Breeding and birth origin did not matter to this tenth-grade sacred place.


    Zen''s quick adaptation to the Vitality Pressure was immediately reported by the armored warriors shortly after the young man left the Ascending Well.


    There was a gap in strength between Lower World and Upper World warriors but every now and then, an extraordinary ascended individual would emerge.


    From the exact moment Zen started mining, the Spiritual Force Sacred Place had already dispatched a couple of eyes to observe this young man closely.


    It was fortunate that Zen had set-up a divine texture yesterday before using the Roaring Token. The divine texture served as a temporary screen from these prying eyes, hiding him away from the world.


    Meanwhile, the object of Riyad''s rage and intrigue currently sat in the open field, meditating with his eyes closed. Zen felt a strong sense of urgency every time his warrior spirit rose. His mind was always occupied with the list of things he had to do: helping Lavender regain her s


    arrior immediately nodded his head. "Yes! He is indeed in our mineral vein!"


    "Where is he?" Master Shen asked.


    The armored warrior fumbled and made an effort to crane his neck around. He couldn''t really keep an eye on Zen all day long so he currently did not know where the young man was at the time being.


    "Master Shen, Zen entered the mineral vein today," another warrior helpfully supplied.


    Master Shen nodded his head in understanding. "Then we shall wait for him here."


    Two mighty leaders of the Spiritual Force Sacred Place were willing to wait for a young, newly ascended warrior! It was shocking and mildly disturbing. Just what kind of background did Zen have to warrant such special treatment?


    They remembered how the higher-ups issued an order for them to keep an eye out for Zen due to his fast adaptation to the Vitality Pressure just after he came out of the Ascending Well. They kind of knew he was someone whom the Spiritual Force Sacred Place prospected for but could such small achievement actually warrant such a special kind of treatment from the two masters? The armored warriors would be lying if they said they weren''t envious of Zen right now. True, they were superior to these ascended warriors but there was no doubt that the achievements of the ones they enslaved were often set to be much greater than any of them could ever hope to imagine.


    Roughly guessing the intention of the two masters'' visit, the armored warrior in the lead quickly spoke, "Master Shen and Master He, since you two have come for Zen, I think there is something you must know.


    "What is it?" Master Shen asked.


    "Zen already handed over one hundred life vitality jades. He could have left the mineral vein but he still chose to continue mining. He wants to gather two hundred life vitality jades to obtain his freedom and become an independent warrior!" he said.


    Master Shen was silent but Master He let out a sinister laugh. "An independent warrior? Ha! I''m afraid that''s not up to him to decide."

 Chapter 1321 Holy City

    The armored men volunteered to enter the mine to find Zen but were rejected outright by Master Shen and Master He.


    Why were the two masters so patient?


    This refusal raised a storm of conjecture among the armored men. They mused over what kind of background Zen had, and some probable reasons as to why these two masters were adamant in waiting for him.


    They enduringly waited from noon until dusk before Zen finally returned from the mine.


    Freya, on the other hand, chose to leave the mine. After obtaining 100 pieces of life vitality jade, she went directly to her uncle. They only left a communication token for each other.


    In the supreme world, however, it was considered a joke to leave a communication token.


    This token was merely a method of communication in the Lower World. Its range could only reach as far as sixty to seventy thousand miles. The territory occupied by the Spiritual Force Sacred Place was over ten thousand times larger than this range. So in far too many instances, the communication token was all for naught. Save in the case when Zen was within sixty to seventy thousand miles away from Freya.


    Since Zen had relieved himself from his mental predicament, he had positively set his goals. He had just entered the Upper World and was still unfamiliar with the place. Accordingly, he had to explore by himself.


    In this stage of exploration, his priority was to awaken Lavender. She had been asleep for too long, and currently, there were no signs of her waking up. Zen had intended to accumulate two hundred life vitality jades and then go to find a treasure that would repair her soul.


    Luck was on his side today as he encountered the Nine-head Snake again. Aside from taking away seven pieces of life vitality jade from the snake, Zen had also uncovered a secret. He figured out that if he wanted to find life vitality jade, he would have to follow those vicious beasts that were fond of spending their days in the mine and absorbing the vitality of heaven and earth from the life vitality jade.


    If it weren''t for the fact that these beasts were too powerful, Zen seriously wanted to leave imprints on their bodies, and then he wouldn''t have to search for them for a long time every time.


    However, just as Zen returned to the gathering place, he sensed that there was something wrong.


    As his gaze swiftly swept across the place, his brows were scrunched together.


    "These two men are quite powerful."


    Up till now, Zen had seen many unimaginably strong people.


    Take the master that he had acknowledged in the fairy palace as an example. It was only a shadow left behind by his master, so estimating his true strength using that shadow was not easy. He only knew that his master was a figure that surpassed the universe.


    Next was the young man who had taken his sister away in the Ethereal Spirit Sect. That fellow''s strength was also hard to imagine. With Zen''s current


    The armored men surnamed Chen and Huang instantaneously felt a lingering fear in their hearts as soon as the realization hit them.


    Fortunately, the two of them had warned Riyad in time to not cause any trouble for Zen. If they hadn''t stopped Riyad at that time, the two of them probably wouldn''t have been able to survive if something bad had happened to Zen.


    Trembling with fear, the two of them made up their minds that they couldn''t let Riyad mess around. Although they had obtained quite a few benefits from him, they would be the ones to suffer if he provoked some extraordinary warriors who had ascended there.


    Under the envious gaze of the armored men, Zen asked doubtfully, "Holy City? What place is it?"


    The armored men were surprised at his question. However, after some thought, they realized that Zen was from the Lower World, so it was normal that he had no idea of Holy City.


    Master He said, "It is the core of our Spiritual Force Sacred Place. If the Spiritual Force Sacred Place is considered a great sacred place, then Holy City is its sacred place."


    This metaphor was very appropriate, and Zen understood immediately. He asked, "What if I refuse?"


    Hearing that Zen wanted to refuse, the armored men were heartbroken. As long as they could join Holy City, they would give up everything except their own lives.


    The two hall leaders did not reveal any expression of surprise. After all, they were people who had seen a lot of things. They were clear that there were a lot of grade 10 sacred places in the world, and some peerless talents might not want to join the Spiritual Force Sacred Place.


    Master He countered, "With your current strength, you don''t have the qualifications to refuse. For your understanding, we are asked to take you to Holy City."


    Since he had already said so, Zen had nothing else to say. They were all intelligent people, and with his current strength, there was no room for resistance.

 Chapter 1322 The Vast Holy City

    Zen was also curious as to why he was chosen when there were so many warriors.


    He didn''t know that he wasn''t the only one with this doubt. The armored men, other warriors, and the two hall leaders were also quite curious.


    It wouldn''t be a big deal even if Zen was talented and able enough to adapt to the Vitality Pressure in a short period of time.


    The supreme world was vast and there were many, many talented people in the Spiritual Force Sacred Place. How could he, of all people, go to Holy City just with his talent? They wouldn''t believe it, no matter what.


    Since Zen no longer resisted them, the two hall leaders finally set their minds at ease. They didn''t know that it was a matter of great importance to take Zen to Holy City. They only knew that someone who asked them to do that couldn''t be taken lightly. So they acquiesced, not daring to offend Zen.


    One usually had to find the armored men and go through some transfer formalities when leaving the mine. But the present situation, being an anomaly, excused the need for all formalities.


    The armored man in the lead even stepped forward at the right time and said seriously, "Zen has left the mine on an exceptional basis. He shouldn''t have paid the life vitality jades in the first place, so I will return them to him."


    What kind of logic was this? The speaker was quite quick-witted. He wanted to curry favor with Zen in front of the two hall leaders.


    The 100 life vitality jades was not a small amount for Zen at his current stage, which was why he gladly accepted them.


    The life vitality jade was nothing to the two hall leaders. They knew that the armored man was trying to curry favor with Zen. With a faint smile, they took Zen away.


    Once Zen left, the mine immediately went through a major reorganization. The warrior called Riyad was the first to bear the brunt of this crisis. He seemed to have fallen to great misfortune; all of the life vitality jades that he had accumulated over the years had been taken away and he had had to pay another 100 life vitality jades in order to leave the mine.


    The other warriors were green with envy when they learned that Zen had been taken away just like that. But they couldn''t do anything about it.


    Along the way, Master He had been conversing with Zen in an extremely cordial tone.


    The two hall leaders were curious about Zen and wanted to know who had ordered them to take Zen to Holy City. They wanted to find out who the big shot behind Zen was.


    But Zen himself was at a loss. How could he answer the two hall leaders? He didn''t know any big shot in this vast Spiritual Force Sacred Place.


    Zen foll


    thin lines were the same as roads in a city.


    The two hall leaders brought Zen to one of the lines and continued onward.


    Just like what Master He had said, all warriors on their line were flying in the same direction. Their speeds were different but they flew in an orderly manner.


    If it weren''t for these thin lines, the sky above Holy City would have been packed to the brim, and the warriors would have been unable to fly even if they wanted to.


    Zen had just been on the thin line for a short while when a rowdy group of warriors charged forward.


    They didn''t have the slightest intention of abiding by the rules. They were all shouting and chasing each other at a speed that was way higher than it should have been.


    They seemed to be in their early twenties but their cultivation bases were not low. Most of them had reached the Soul Sea Realm. Only a few were at the Life and Death Realm.


    As they spotted the rowdy group, the warriors who were flying in the same direction as Zen ducked out of line.


    Young as they were, they hailed from aristocratic families and were powerful enough that no one dared to offend them.


    The two hall leaders frowned as they saw this.


    They enjoyed a high status as hall leaders. But they didn''t want to stir up trouble in Holy City. After all, this place had a countless number of people with many different abilities. The leaders of the thirty-six halls were powerful figures in the Spiritual Force Sacred Place, but there were also many elders and other high-ranking people above them. So they had to avoid trouble whenever possible.


    Noticing that the two hall leaders had retreated, Zen also stepped aside. He hadn''t thought that two of the youths would change direction and actually rush towards him.

 Chapter 1323 Make Your Choice Now

    A lot of people were angered by the young group of martial artists that brazenly flew in the reverse direction of the line and broke the rules of flight above Holy City. However, they could do nothing to stop them.


    Zen, still unfamiliar with the city and not wanting to stir up trouble, merely moved to the side to avoid them.


    However, it seemed fate just had a way of stirring up trouble for him.


    Although he had gone out of his way to avoid them, two young martial artists rushed straight at him. There was a trace of a crazed expression on their faces.


    These two were obviously out for a fight. Unfortunately for them, Zen wasn''t someone who was afraid to retaliate against bullies. He had never hesitated to kill those who offended him in the mine.


    Seeing that these two weren''t going to let him go easily, Zen quickly gathered the energy in his body.


    The two hall leaders paled considerably in fright when they saw this scene. They had been tasked to deliver the young man safely to Holy City, so how could they ever explain themselves if anything happened to him?


    However, there was no time for them to intervene. The two young martial artists were already hurtling towards Zen at high speed. The only thing they could do was to shout and get Zen to move away since just one hit from these Soul Sea Realm warriors would be enough to terribly injure him.


    "Dodge! Hurry up!"


    To their dismay, Zen simply stood in the air and stared at the two men that charged at him.


    The two let out high pitched, mischievous laughter just as they reached Zen. Strangely enough, Zen''s face also broke out into a smile.


    The two young men relished in their mischief before noticing the strange smile on Zen''s face. This halted their laughter since they were confused as to how a Life and Death Realm warrior still had it in him to smile moments before crashing into two Soul Sea Realm warriors.


    The three inevitably collided with each other.


    A muffled sound reverberated into the air as soon as they all crashed into each other.


    Puff!


    "Oh my gosh!"


    The two masters had closed their eyes, not willing to face the possibility of their supposed ward being severely injured this early on. They didn''t expect Zen to be so unlucky.


    These group of troublemakers were from wealthy families in Holy City. Owing to their high status, they were mostly conditioned to look down upon others and mostly got away with their mischief because of their power. It was unfortunate that they targeted


    ypical route of defending himself. Maybe he would even let the two hall leaders beside him reason for him. They didn''t expect him to be so scathing with his words!


    Zen was someone who had already experienced many things in his life and he understood that there would always be people who were unreasonable. These young martial artists were troublemakers who never learned so he thought it best to teach them a lesson.


    Very few people had ever dared to stand up to these rich, entitled young warriors because of their physical and social power. They also had a group of seniors in the Spiritual Force Sacred Place to back them up. There was no way these warriors could be touched.


    But Zen was different. He went out of his way to scold and embarrass them in front of everyone.


    His scolding enraged these warriors. Reputation was paramount for them, way above their lives in terms of importance. Zen had just called them scum and it wasn''t something they were willing to accept. One warrior came forward. "Do you know who we are?"


    Whoosh!


    There was a flash of blue light as Zen activated his space ring. Suddenly, a sharp long sword was pointed at the speaker''s throat. "I don''t need to know who you are, nor do I care who your elders are. You are mere good-for-nothings who use your backgrounds to do what you want. Do you want to fight me together or one by one? Make your choice now!"


    Zen truly had no regard for these young warriors.


    His words shocked the two masters even further. They had never seen such an arrogant person, especially considering that Zen was a mere Life and Death Realm warrior against a whole group of Soul Sea Realm masters.

 Chapter 1324 Teaching Them A Lesson

    Countless warriors were moving through the crisscrossing spiderweb-like lines in the sky.


    These warriors were certainly not as timid as the ordinary mortals below. The dispute between Zen and the others aroused their interest. Thus, they all stopped to watch from the sidelines.


    Upon hearing Zen call the Soul Sea Realm warriors as scum and dare them to challenge him together, all the onlookers were thrilled as they anticipated to see a good show. They were all wondering why the guy at the Life and Death Realm was so arrogant.


    However, they knew that arrogance should come from power. He was undoubtedly courting his death if he didn''t have the strength to save himself.


    "Well, is it your strong body that you are bragging about, thus, you''re this arrogant? Are you even sure that you want us to fight you together? You are thinking too highly of yourself! I can teach you a good lesson by myself, you brat!" A long-haired youth walked out from that group of warriors.


    Zen smiled slightly as he raised the long sword in his hand. He was ready to accept the challenge.


    However, the two hall leaders wouldn''t let this ruckus happen since it was their duty to escort Zen to the Holy City. Therefore, it was also their task to stop this fight even if Zen was more than fit to fight.


    Master He moved a step forward and said to the young warriors, "I''m sorry but we still have urgent matters to attend to. We can''t accept your challenge now and I hope that you guys know when enough is enough."


    However, the long-haired youth paid no heed to Master He''s words and even scolded him. "Enough is enough? Who do you think you are? How dare you stop us?"


    Immediately, Master He''s face darkened in anger.


    There were many experts in the Spiritual Force Sacred Place. Besides several heads of the sacred place, about a hundred elders, and other important members, the leaders of the thirty-six halls like him were still honored higher than anyone else.


    In other words, Master He and Master Shen were ranked among the top 200 in this tenth-grade sacred place.


    Moreover, Master He''s cultivation base was only a little below to those world lords. Thus, he was extremely annoyed at being scolded by a merely 20-year-old junior.


    Master He sneered coldly, "Young man, regardless of who your parents are, you must be careful not to make troubles outside!" Pondering about the arrogance that this group of warriors was displaying, Master He guessed that they must have a strong background. Therefore, he tried to restrain his anger. He would have crushed them into ashes with just a wave of his hand if they were other ordinary warriors.


    "So what if I make some troubles here?" the long-haired youth snorted. He could obviously sense the powerful strength of the two hall leaders but he just didn''t pay it any attention.


    "If you do


    ly high level, the Grand Teleportation technique could cross an unimaginable distance, allowing the user to teleport between different supreme worlds.


    After they three disappeared, the effect of the Time Law slowly vanished and those young warriors regained their moving abilities. There was a grim expression on each of their faces as none of them could accept their great loss!


    "As long as you are still in the Holy City, you will never be able to escape from me!" The long-haired youth grinned fiendishly as he stuffed a pill into his mouth. It was an expensive eighth-grade pill.


    Regular warriors wouldn''t want to use such an expensive pill unless they were already at the verge of death. Although Zen''s slap made him look utterly embarrassing, it was still far less than necessary for him to take that pill. However, the finger marks on his face were a great shame to him. Thus, he wanted them to disappear as soon as possible and consumed the precious pill.


    The effect of the medicinal pill was astonishing. The finger prints left by Zen''s palm began to visibly fade away not even a minute after he swallowed it.


    However, even though the palm print on his face had disappeared, his heart was far from being at peace!


    Whoosh!


    After using the Grand Teleportation technique, Zen and the two hall leaders reappeared in another corner of the Holy City.


    Master He sighed and said, "Forget it. Let''s continue on our way now."


    When Zen saw the worry on Master He''s face, he said, "Master He, why do you fear those brats? They should''ve been taught a good lesson!"


    Master He didn''t say anything to answer him. Instead, Master Shen interrupted, "Zen, you don''t know this. Although we thirty-six halls are impressive in others'' eyes, we''re nothing compared with the Holy City. Those young warriors have a strong background and I''m afraid that they might not let you go easily."

 Chapter 1325 Myriad Spiritual Force House

    The Spiritual Force Sacred Place was a tenth grade sacred place and one of the three hegemons of a supreme world.


    And the core of the sacred place was within this Holy City.


    An elder was someone who enjoyed the elevated status of being a grand official. How could they dare provoke the elders?


    Zen had experienced things like this before, so he had gotten used to it. But he still smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern but I will be fine."


    "I hope so," Master Shen said, nodding.


    The three of them continued on their way.


    A few hours later, a large building, roughly the size of Oracle City, loomed before Zen.


    Zen was even more stunned to see that this building was neither built on the ground nor did it float in the air like the Cloud Hall. Instead, it emerged from the back of a giant tortoise!


    "This gigantic tortoise..." The giant tortoise beneath the building was obviously alive, but was prostrated on the ground, motionless. The aura that it was emitting, however, evoked a feeling within Zen that could only be termed ''ethereal''.


    "This isn''t a tortoise. It''s actually a huge snake but with a shell," Master Shen said.


    "A huge snake with a shell? And it allows humans to build the building on its back?" Zen asked as he watched on, his eyes wide open.


    Master Shen chuckled and replied, "Of course, it is the contractual beast of the leader of our sacred place, and it also guards the entire Holy City to ensure its safety!"


    "It doesn''t move under the weight of such a big building?" Zen asked again. He was very, very curious.


    "It hasn''t moved for three thousand years. I remember that three thousand years ago, it was in a different spot over there, and then later it has moved its position once¡­" Master Shen said.


    There were so many interesting things in the Upper World, and it became difficult to count after a while. Just one Spiritual Force Sacred Place had made Zen feel the novelty radiating off of it. So one could only imagine how many miracles existed in the other supreme worlds.


    Zen observed it for a few more minutes before following Master Shen and Master He towards the giant building.


    As they approached the strange snake, a group of armored warriors emerged from the building.


    These warriors were dressed in brown armor of dragon scales and all of them were at the Spirit Supreme Realm. They blocked the path of Zen and the two masters.


    "Who are you? Why have you come to the Spiritual Force Hall?" the warrior in the lead asked coldly.


    Master Shen merely smiled and showed him the token he was holding.


    The warrior looked around, surprised, before saying, "Master Shen! May I know what the purpose of your visit is?"


    "We are here at th


    if you need anything, you can come find me," the middle-aged man said as he looked at Zen, his face a mask.


    Master Shen and Master He led Zen away.


    Although Zen hadn''t conversed much with this middle-aged man, it had made Master Shen and Master He even more apprehensive.


    Their Saint Lord was at the level of a world lord and was one of the top masters in the entire Spirit Reading World. Even though he hadn''t gotten the title of a world lord, his strength wasn''t inferior to one.


    But today, the Saint Lord had been so amiable, asking Master Shen to get Zen a token and even telling Zen to come to him directly if he needed any help.


    Just who was backing Zen?!


    Master Shen and Master He had guessed that Zen might be related to an elder, but now, it looked like the ''important figure'' behind him was even more powerful than the Saint Lord. The Saint Lord wouldn''t have treated Zen so well otherwise.


    Everyone knew that the Myriad Spiritual Force House was the core of the Spiritual Force Sacred Place.


    Only the most outstanding disciples of the Spiritual Force Sacred Place were qualified to practice in the Myriad Spiritual Force House.


    Master Shen and Master He were both from the Myriad Spiritual Force House. Even if they weren''t the most outstanding warriors, they were still qualified to be leaders of some halls.


    This kind of place would only allow the most talented core disciples to enter. But Zen could not be considered a member of the Spiritual Force Sacred Place. Normally, an outsider wouldn''t be allowed to enter the Myriad Spiritual Force House. However, the Saint Lord himself had invited him to practice there, nobody would have any issues with this.


    Zen, who was at the Life and Death Realm, was becoming more and more mysterious in the eyes of the two hall leaders.

 Chapter 1326 Fenton Sima

    Zen didn''t plan to stay for long in the Spiritual Force Sacred Place, and he was not particularly interested in the Myriad Spiritual Force House.


    But since the others had intended well, he naturally wouldn''t refuse.


    Once Zen had left, the Saint Lord of the Spiritual Force Sacred Place clapped his hands. Two old men walked over from the side of the hall.


    "Saint Lord, what can I do for you?" one of them asked.


    The Saint Lord said, "Inform Fenton and have him challenge this young man to test out his strength."


    A strange expression appeared on the faces of the two old men, and one of them asked curiously, "Saint Lord, you want Fenton Sima to challenge Zen Luo?"


    "I''m afraid Zen Luo is not qualified to fight Fenton," the other said disdainfully.


    The Saint Lord, however, nodded and said, "Fenton has already passed through the nine small Heavenly Tribulations. But it''s hard to say if he will go through the tenth one. Zen, however, has only passed through five small Heavenly Tribulations. He is inferior to Fenton when it comes to cultivation level. But there must have been a reason that the alliance has chosen Zen. If Fenton can defeat him, I can send him into the alliance."


    The two old men looked on in disbelief at the Saint Lord''s words. "Saint Lord, are you saying that the alliance has chosen this guy?"


    The Saint Lord nodded, perplexed. "Zen is special, sure, but the alliance''s attention on him just because of that is unusual. I don''t understand this either. But the alliance will send people to pick him up, and before that happens, I want Fenton to challenge him so that I can introduce him to the alliance. If Fenton joins the alliance, there will be great benefits for him."


    The two old men nodded appreciatively. "You are so wise, Saint Lord!" they said in unison.


    Fenton Sima was the most outstanding talent of the younger generation in the Spiritual Force Sacred Place. He was the hope that sustained the whole sacred place.


    He hadn''t reached the Soul Sea Realm yet, but had already passed the ninth small Heavenly Tribulation.


    Most Life and Death Realm warriors in the universe would make a breakthrough and reach the Soul Sea Realm during the fifth or sixth small Heavenly Tribulation. Some outstanding warriors even had to experience seven small Heavenly Tribulations, while other talented warriors went through eight ones. The number of warriors going through nine small Heavenly Tribulations was quite small.


    The more small Heavenly Tribulations one overcame, the greater their potential would be in the future.


    Fenton Sima had already passed through nine small Heavenly Tribulations, but he still hadn''t reached the Soul Sea Realm. It was quite possible that he would attract the legendary tenth small Heavenly Tribulation.


    cross-legged. He then closed his eyes and began to meditate.


    Master He and Master Shen, who had led Zen into the Myriad Spiritual Force House, were flabbergasted at his behavior. Both had boasted about the various benefits of the Myriad Spiritual Force House. But it looked like he was not interested in any of this. What a weirdo!


    "Zen, the cultivation places of the Myriad Spiritual Force House are extremely useful for Life and Death realm warriors," Master He couldn''t help but remind him.


    But Zen merely smiled and said, "Master He, I appreciate your intentions. However, I have my own plans for the path of cultivation."


    The two masters knew they could not persuade Zen. Now that they had brought him to the Myriad Spiritual Force House, their mission was complete. They had nothing to do with everything else that was going on. So they bade their farewells and left.


    Zen sat in the corner and cultivated by himself, while the others glared at him, as if he was an eyesore.


    "This guy is probably just pretending! Do you think he is willing to leave empty-handed after entering a mountain of treasures? I don''t believe it. He''ll be anxiously requesting for the right to use the cultivation places in less than a day!"


    "That''s right. Our Saint Lord is willing to make an exception for such a mere warrior from the Lower World. This is a huge favor, but he dares to put on airs!"


    "I really want to teach this guy a lesson!"


    What Zen didn''t know was that he had infuriated a lot of people by just sitting there.


    No one bothered with his training. There weren''t many warriors in the Myriad Spiritual Force House. Most of them only glanced at him before leaving in a hurry.


    Three days passed.


    Those who had thought that Zen was putting on airs understood that he didn''t really need to train in the Myriad Spiritual Force House.

 Chapter 1327 Mervin Tie

    The warriors saw that Zen had no intention of entering the Myriad Spiritual Force House to cultivate, and immediately changed their opinion.


    "Who does he think he is?"


    "Such arrogance. Is he so great to think of himself above the Myriad Spiritual Force House?"


    "How dare a warrior from the Lower World disdain cultivating in here! Bastard!"


    The air shifted throughout the entire Myriad Spiritual Force House with the warriors spitting out indignant sneers about Zen. Soon enough, the rumors of an arrogant Lower World warrior even reached the Holy City.


    It was unheard of that a mere warrior from the Lower World had dared look down on the sacred place that many of them could only yearn for.


    Zen had become the target of everyone''s ire. At first, they saw it as nothing more than a joke, but now they seriously took offense in his actions.


    The sixth day arrived with a group of warriors appearing in the Myriad Spiritual Force House.


    Zen had recognized them instantly. He had seen them before¡ªthey were the young warriors who clashed with him when he had just entered the Holy City.


    Two of their strongest warriors had been beaten half to death after the fight. It had taken a few days for them to even barely recover.


    Most of these warriors were direct descendants of the elders of the sacred place. Their talent was undoubtedly of a high-level, but so was their arrogance. News had reached them about the warrior who had appeared and looked down upon the Myriad Spiritual Force House. There was no way that they would tolerate such humiliation.


    When the two warriors had regained their health, the group finally returned to the Myriad Spiritual Force House, where they belonged.


    Their anger fuelled by the rumors, they came and discovered a man sitting in one corner with his eyes closed in meditation. However, when they recognized who he was, their eyes widened in disbelief.


    "How could it be him?"


    "Humph! We''ve been looking for this bastard everywhere. I never thought that he would enter the Myriad Spiritual Force House."


    "What do we do now? Should we teach him a lesson?"


    That day after their clash, the group had immediately investigated Zen''s identity. The Holy City was such a broad territory, and finding even one person would prove to be a difficult task.


    They never had thought that they would see him in the Myriad Spiritual Force House, of all places, and on top of that, he was the same bastard in the rumors.


    "To think he''s a nobody. A scum from the Lower World. Isn''t this just hilarious?"


    "It''s best not to be careless. This bastard''s strength is a bit strange. It would be better to find someone to deal with him."


    "I''ll go find someone! I think Mervin Tie would be pretty good. Ha-ha!"


    These warriors were conceited in nature. Had ther


    accept, then you can just say so. How can you reject it with such outrageous reason? I''ve never known Lower World warriors are such cowards."


    The atmosphere grew heavy as the other talents of the Spiritual Force Sacred Place grew outraged at the scene. Zen was looking down on Mervin Tie, a warrior who was ranked among the top 100. This meant that he was looking down on them as well.


    Mervin Tie finally made his move. He took a few deep breaths, seemingly to calm himself, and then said to Zen, "It doesn''t matter whether you think I am qualified or not. You must accept my challenge. Otherwise, don''t blame me for what happens here."


    The Myriad Spiritual Force House was not a place where they could freely attack. However, at this moment, all of the warriors'' anger prevailed. Even if Mervin Tie broke the rules, no one would stop him for doing so. All they wanted was to see Zen get beaten up.


    Mervin Tie knew this as well, and he was prepared to take advantage of his favored position.


    Zen remained calm despite all the animosity directed at him. "You are not qualified, and I mean it. If you attack me, it''ll bring nothing but humiliation to yourself. Are you sure you are prepared for that?" he said seriously.


    Mervin Tie''s ears almost rang in his anger. His closed fists shook at Zen''s words. He no longer had any desire to talk. He circulated his life vitality. If Zen wouldn''t accept his challenge, then he would just have to force him into action.


    At this moment, a white-clothed warrior appeared. "Mervin, what he says is true. Your strength is still inadequate to face him," he said indifferently.


    "Fenton!"


    "Fenton Sima actually came!"


    "Is he here for Zen Luo too?"


    Fenton was the number one talent in the Myriad Spiritual Force House. Even the second-ranked warrior was very far inferior to him in terms of strength and skills.

 Chapter 1328 Thirteen Palaces Of Humanity Alliance

    If one took all the talents of Myriad Spiritual Force House and divided them into several tiers, Fenton would stand at the very top! All the rest, from the second place to the hundredth place, would belong to the second tier.


    And to think Fenton hadn''t even reached the Soul Sea Realm yet! That wasn''t all, Fenton had also already gone through nine small Heavenly Tribulations!


    Zen remembered the time when he swallowed the Tribulation Flower. According to the cyan dragon, this flower only appeared in the Lower World and was a rare treasure. Thus it was a benefit that only the martial artists in the Lower World could enjoy.


    The Tribulation Flower forced a martial artist to undergo nine life and death tribulations.


    It might sound horrible but these tribulations served to strengthen a warrior. Once someone entered the Life and Death Realm, the amount of small Heavenly Tribulation he went through would solidify his foundation and make him a more powerful Soul Sea Realm master.


    For Fenton, to experience nine small Heavenly Tribulations without the aid of any special flower was already rare. However, the Spiritual Force Sacred Place hoped for more. They prayed that the young man would experience the legendary tenth small Heavenly Tribulation!


    If a warrior experienced ten small Heavenly Tribulations in the Life and Death Realm and managed to withstand all of them then it was very likely for this person to become a Supreme Lord in the future!


    A Supreme Lord nurtured by them would be a great glory for the Spiritual Force Sacred Place! They all pinned their hopes onto Fenton.


    Their ranking in the Spirit Reading World was not an ideal situation. They were often subject to the suppression of the top two sacred places. However, this dynamic might change if Fenton became a Supreme Lord.


    There was no denying that Fenton was a treasured disciple. When he came up to speak, Mervin immediately fell silent.


    As Fenton was considered the strongest and the one with the most potential in the Myriad Spiritual Force House, his words were taken with the highest regard, even more than their supervisors'' words.


    If Fenton said that Mervin was not qualified, then he was not qualified! No questions asked!


    Everyone was silent since nobody had any initiative to argue. However, a trace of confusion still appeared in their eyes.


    Why did Fenton say that Mervin was not qualified?


    This newly ascended warrior named Zen was only a Life and Death Realm martial artist. It was glaringly obvious that he was not Fenton''s match.


    A talent that had already gone through nine small Heavenly Tribulations was a legendary force to be reckoned with. He was waiting for the tenth one to come. That was why he hadn''t reached the Soul Sea Realm. However, he could enter the Soul Sea Realm any time if he wanted.


    There was no way Zen could ever hope to compare to Fenton.


    To think of such a thing was laughable. How could a fift


    l Force Sacred Place also automatically belonged to the alliance.


    However, all the supreme worlds, including the Spirit Reading World, could only be considered as the outer supreme worlds of minor importance on the periphery of Humanity Alliance.


    When Fenton said he wanted to join the alliance, that meant that he actually wanted to join one of the thirteen palaces that formed its core.


    Each of the thirteen palaces occupied a supreme world and was led by a world lord who enjoyed a higher standing than the regular world lords of other supreme worlds.


    These thirteen palaces formed the core of the alliance, after all, and were greatly revered by all.


    To join the thirteen palaces meant access to the best martial arts sacred place in the world, which also meant getting in was extremely hard since admission was extremely selective.


    Only renowned talents with monstrous strength deserved a spot. They were either descendants of Supreme Lords and world lords, or had special physiques that were extremely rare and were thus valued highly.


    How could someone like Zen be selected by the thirteen palaces? What exactly was going on?


    The warriors present instantly felt envious of Zen. It also only took a moment for their jealousy to turn into rage. They didn''t like him then and they surely hated him now.


    What one did not have, they yearned for. And when they saw someone having this thing they wanted so much, it was in their selfish nature to start hating this privileged person.


    How could a nobody from the Lower World be selected to join the prestigious thirteen palaces of the Humanity Alliance?


    Fenton, however, was a righteous warrior and he did not carry these thoughts in his heart. He was neither jealous of Zen nor did he hate him. "I understand why the Saint Lord did this. Gold shines no matter where it is. It''s a good thing to enter the thirteen palaces but it is not the only path one can take to succeed," he said calmly.

 Chapter 1329 The Projected Reflection

    Hearing Fenton''s words, Zen clapped his hands out of the blue.


    Not many people had such a state of mind¡ªFenton''s attitude earned Zen''s admiration.


    It was the attitude of a true master.


    Although Zen did not know what the alliance was all about, judging from the crowd''s expressions, he figured it was a great place in the Upper World.


    But for a warrior living in this world, believing in oneself was crucial.


    Gold will shine no matter where it is. While it would be good if there was a shortcut to take, it would be putting the cart before the horse if one completely relied on everyone or everything else instead of oneself.


    "That''s right. I couldn''t agree more," said Zen with a smile as he stood up.


    Calmly, Fenton returned, "I don''t need your approval."


    "Indeed. But I accept your challenge!" Zen said nonetheless.


    "Good. I appreciate your courage as well." Fenton nodded in response.


    Never did he think he would ever lose. Even being at the Life and Death Realm, he had gone through nine small Heavenly Tribulations. While he hadn''t opened up a Soul Sea, his strength far exceeded that of any ordinary warrior of the Soul Sea Realm.


    If he lost to a warrior at the fifth level of the Life and Death Realm, he''d seem like a joke. Even if Zen was chosen by the Humanity Alliance, perhaps he had used some special way to make it happen. But for Fenton, it was unimportant.


    "He agreed! This brat actually accepted the challenge!"


    "Haha! I can''t say I like Fenton going ahead and challenging the brat, but I''m still looking forward to seeing this guy get crushed!"


    "He looks calm and composed now¡­I can''t wait to see him beg for mercy once he gets beaten by Fenton!"


    All of the martial artists in the Myriad Spiritual Force House seemed to get riled up¡ªthey could all tell that another good show was about to unfold.


    The ignorant brat from the Lower World had no clue what he was in for, but the talents of the Myriad Spiritual Force House were all well aware of Fenton''s strength. So it wasn''t only Fenton who was extremely confident in himself, it was all the warriors there¡ªthe blind faith they had in him was rather overwhelming.


    "In that case¡­ this way, please!" Fenton gestured with his hand as he spoke.


    Only then did Zen leave the corner.


    It was the first time since he entered the Myriad Spiritual Force House that he even stood from his spot.


    Zen then followed after Fenton as they walked along the Myriad Spiritual Force House, the other warriors gathering to follow behind them.


    "You''re still in closed-door cultivation? Hurry up and come out! Fe


    you, so it won''t remember anything you wish to hide. It''s the same as looking into a mirror."


    A mirror could clearly reflect a person''s image, but it did not store anything about that person before it.


    Zen''s misgivings were dispelled by that single metaphor. But in his moment of hesitation, he became an object of universal derision.


    "This warrior from the Lower World is so cautious¡­he''s probably too afraid of his secret getting exposed!"


    "I wonder how much that secret is worth¡­"


    "The poor tend to scurry for a place to hide¡­ you should get used to it!"


    Still, Zen''s concerns were justified.


    Not to mention the furnace in his mind, nor the Heavenly Fragment¡ªif the Roaring Token were to be revealed, he''d be stuck in deep trouble.


    Even Supreme Lords would go crazy over a Roaring Token with limitless uses¡ªZen had every reason to be extra careful.


    Not minding the derision, Zen calmed himself down instead and activated the diamond-shaped jade symbols.


    Swish! Swish!


    The moment Zen activated them, he suddenly found himself sinking into another space.


    But he wasn''t actually entering another space. Remaining where he stood in the Dragon Tiger Hall, he created an identical main body through reflection.


    ''This Illusion Space is truly interesting¡­one can fight with all his might here. Even when you''re killed off, only the projection dies. Avoiding any real damage, we won''t have any scruples going all out!'' Zen thought in delight.


    A slight smile tugging at his lips, Zen examined his surroundings. Where he stood, it was incomparably spacious¡ªthere was no end in sight. Fenton''s figure quietly appeared in the space, standing not too far away, just as his reflection entered the Illusion Space.

 Chapter 1330 An Interesting Habit

    Fenton was holding a jade sword in his hand and floating around quietly. He looked calm and peaceful.


    "I could have rejected the proposal of the Saint Lord," he suddenly remarked in a mysterious voice, playing with the jade sword casually. "Truth is, I am challenging you not only to fulfill the Saint Lord''s wishes, but also to prove a point to the thirteen palaces of the alliance."


    "And what might that point be?" Zen asked with a smile.


    "I want to prove to them that their choice is wrong," Fenton answered.


    Upon hearing that, Zen smiled faintly and told his opponent, "Then come! Prove it!" He raised his long sword in front of his chest. This was a top-grade sacred weapon.


    "A sacred weapon?" Fenton was surprised when he saw that.


    "Yes. So what?" Zen asked.


    "Nothing. Actually, it is understandable. You''ve just ascended and therefore, I don''t find it strange that you don''t have a divine weapon," Fenton shrugged his shoulders. Unexpectedly, he then sheathed his dark red jade sword and took out a light green one instead. "I have two swords. The crimson one is a secondary first-rank divine weapon called the State Sword. I would have used that against you but it would spoil my reputation if I did. The green one in my hand is a secondary third-rank divine weapon. It is only one grade above yours. I know that it would still be a little unfair to you, but I don''t have any sacred weapons. So I''m sorry." Fenton genuinely seemed like a warrior who followed fair play rules.


    "A secondary third-rank divine weapon? And a secondary first-rank divine weapon?" Zen was confused when he heard that.


    The warriors from the Myriad Spiritual Force House all laughed when they saw his face. Through a Picture Slab in the Dragon Tiger Hall, they could view the entire Illusion Space, and at the same time, the sound from this world was also transmitted to them. They could know everything that was going on here.


    "I told you that anyone who comes from the Lower World is a bumpkin. Hah!"


    "Maybe this guy has never even seen a divine weapon."


    "That''s a real possibility and it would be a hoot! In the Lower World, it''s very difficult for a weapon refiner to refine a divine weapon."


    They were all wrong. In fact, Zen had seen many divine weapons in his life than they would have expected.


    However, he had never studied the grades of the divine weapons. He had always thought that the divine weapons, much like the sacred weapons, were also divided into three grades: top, middle and low.


    But judging by Fenton''s words, that was not the case.


    The truth was, the lowest grade of the divine weapons was the secondary third-rank. It was one level stronger than a top-grade sacred weapon, which was called a semi-divine weapon


    Time Law was to practice the Time Law yourself.


    The same could be said for the Space Law.


    If someone had mastered the Space Law, he could move tens of thousands of miles in a single step. Thus, he could escape from his rival in a fight very easily and appear behind him the next instant.


    Hence, the Time Law and the Space Law were the basis of every law and also an essential requirement for all the warriors in the Upper World.


    When Zen and Fenton fought and chatted at the same time, there was a lot of discussion about them among the warriors in the Dragon Tiger Hall.


    "I didn''t expect that this guy would be able to ward off two attacks from Fenton."


    "Take it easy, Fenton hasn''t tried his best yet. Don''t you remember that he always defeats his opponent in three strikes?"


    "But this guy hasn''t used his full strength too. Look at his relaxed expressions! And he is still asking questions."


    "Hum, I think he''s just pretending. I think he is almost frightened to death in reality and just putting up a brave face."


    "Be quiet! Fenton is going to launch his third attack," someone shouted.


    Fenton had a basic habit that he would never defeat his enemy with a single attack. His first stab was only a symbolic greeting, while the second one brought suppression against his enemies. Only with the third stab would he release his real power and finally come out on top.


    Over the years, in countless fights, Fenton had never broken this habit. Many warriors from the Myriad Spiritual Force House had also experienced the power of Fenton''s third stab.


    In fact, some of them took this as an "honor" to boast in front of others, "I successfully dodged Fenton''s first two stabs."


    In the Illusion Space, a fierce momentum was suddenly conveyed from the frenzied gale. Zen''s face turned cautious in an instant.

 Chapter 1331 Different Types Of Law Power

    Fenton was probably the first talent Zen had fought since ascending to the Upper World.


    Victory or defeat in this battle had no effect on Zen. Moreover, death in the Illusion Space was nothing too serious. However, it had a crucial guiding role in Zen''s judgment.


    Facing Fenton''s third sword attack, Zen was naturally wary.


    Huff, huff ¡­


    In the endless Illusion Space, countless violent gales appeared out of the blue and circled around Zen.


    Soon after, the formless gales began to squeeze together, creating a strong spiral tornado in front of Zen, a layer of golden light covering it.


    "The Metal Law..." Zen''s eyebrows twitched. "Is this the perfect fusion of the two types of Law Power?"


    Fenton''s figure materialized once again next to the increasing number of gales that still fused together unceasingly. He no longer needed to hide his own figure.


    Just now, Zen had easily deflected Fenton''s second sword attack, which surprised the latter.


    However, Zen''s strength was reasonable and to be expected.


    Fenton didn''t treat Zen as any other ordinary warrior from the Lower World. Although he detested the foresight of the members of the thirteen palaces, he believed that they had an eye for outstanding warriors. Zen indeed had some remarkable skills.


    However, his evaluation of Zen so far was only limited to these certain ''skills''. An opponent of this level did not need to face Fenton''s full strength to be defeated. Thus, he believed that Zen would fail to block his third sword attack.


    When the gust of wind and the golden light merged together, Fenton stabbed his jade sword in the tornado.


    His jade sword was a secondary third-rank divine weapon, but being made of jade, it was extremely soft. As it pierced the winds, it instantly turned to dust.


    However, as the jade sword broke into pieces, Fenton kept his hold on the sword hilt and smiled at Zen. "I think we should talk outside of the Illusion Space..."


    Once Zen''s physical body within the Illusion Space was destroyed, his reflection would disappear, which implied that he would certainly ''die'' under the sword strike.


    "Whoosh!"


    Without waiting for Zen''s reply, Fenton lifted the sword hilt easily. The mass of wind suddenly changed shapes; turning into the blade of his jade sword from the rotating circle it had initially formed. Fenton extended two of his fingers toward the ''blade'', swinging the sword with his other hand with all his strength.


    Huff, huff ¡­


    A wind blade, flickering with golden light, charged straight at Zen.


    "The golden wind blade!"


    Zen was shocked to see it.


    He had seen this kind of golden wind blade before. In the middle of the Chaotic Ocean of Stars were a large number of golden wind blades. These seemed to possess some intelligence.


    They were far more powerful than the black wind blades and the two-colored wind bla


    in this instance and that there was in fact someone in this universe who could use chaotic energy.


    Indeed, he did not use any other cultivation methods, for the chaotic energy circulating in his body was a kind of cultivation method in itself that none of them had heard of before.


    When warriors absorbed the vitality between heaven and earth, they could transform it into life vitality to be used by themselves, which meant that they could utilize what was created by nature. After following the rules of using the life vitality, they could make it release great power.


    Chaos, on the other hand, was a purer substance. It was the very source of the world that was the cause of all formations, from a blade of grass or a tree to the mountains and rivers. The Law Power that erupted out of chaos was different from that of life vitality.


    The trials and tribulations that Zen had endured in order to cultivate the Primal Chaos Technique were something that ordinary people could not imagine undergoing. However, the rewards that he would reap in the future were also beyond his imagination.


    Fenton''s sword attack was powerful and seemed to overturn the entire continent. If his cultivation method had been performed somewhere else in the Myriad Spiritual Force House instead of the Illusion Space, it would have destroyed the place.


    In contrast, Zen''s sword strike seemed less powerful. As he swung the sword, a green wind blade condensed in the middle of the sword light.


    The wind blade formed by the third-layer Wind Law was far from enough to withstand Fenton''s strike. Many disciples of the Dragon Tiger Hall watched the battle with a mocking expression on their faces. They believed that the wind blade would be swallowed up by Fenton''s sword attack very soon, along with Zen''s body being engulfed and torn to shreds. They couldn''t wait to see Zen''s dejection upon leaving the Illusion Space.

 Chapter 1332 The State Sword

    In the Illusion Space, the combatants, Zen and Fenton, were maintaining a cautious distance from each other.


    The large and small wind blades collided together at this moment with a shower of sparks.


    In power and size, these two wind blades were completely opposite. Fenton''s was infused with the strength and power of metal. It was exceptionally sharp, seemingly able to cut through anything in the world, slicing it to pieces.


    Zen''s wind blade seemed to be an ordinary one, with only a few fragments of sword light emanating from it in occasional flickers.


    So, from the bystanders'' perspective, it was like a lion pouncing on a helpless rabbit. It seemed obvious who was going to win the fight.


    The instant the two wind blades collided, an ear-piercing sound rang out in the Illusion Space.


    It was the sound of the wind blades colliding with each other.


    "Sizzle¡­"


    At this moment, the power hidden within Zen''s cyan wind blade suddenly exploded.


    The cyan wind blade became like a ferocious beast. The moment it collided with the golden wind blade, it bared its hidden fangs and attacked.


    In just a split-second, the golden wind blade was completely defeated, as it was utterly engulfed by Zen''s cyan wind blade.


    But after that the terrific cyan weapon''s momentum didn''t decrease at all, even continuing to roll back towards Fenton to pursue the attack.


    In the Dragon Tiger Hall, witnessing this scene, the martial artists of the Myriad Spiritual Force House were silent for a moment before a tumultuous uproar broke out.


    "Th-this is..." someone stammered, too stunned to finish his sentence.


    "How is this possible? Fenton already has the fourth layer of Wind Law while Zen has only the third. How is it possible that Fenton has been defeated by Zen?"


    "Moreover, the cultivation method that Fenton practices is something special. He has also completed the fourth layer of the Metal Law. Thus, he is much more powerful than before."


    In the uproar, all of the martial artists'' mouths were left wide agape. Some of the martial artists even vigorously rubbed their eyes, as if they couldn''t believe what they had seen.


    At this moment, the Saint Lord of the Spiritual Force Sacred Place suddenly stood up and stared blankly at what was happening in the Illusion Space. Disappointment and chagrin were evident on his ancient features.


    The other elders of the sacred place were also left silent and dispirited.


    "What''s going on? How could this happen?" asked the Saint Lord, frowning as he stared at the Illusion Space.


    "Zen indeed only has the third layer of Wind Law, but now it seems he is much more powerful than that."


    The Saint Lord and the elders had already mastered the fifth or even the sixth layer of Law Power. They knew completely how powerful each layer of the Wind Law was. Even with the force of other cultivation methods, Zen shouldn''t have been able to harness such immense strength.


    T


    ttack before he finally dissipated Zen''s wind blade.


    Though the two of them had exchanged blows, Fenton hadn''t suffered any substantial damage, but his warrior spirit was deeply wounded. Every successful warrior had a certain arrogance which was usually well earned, but Fenton had just met his match and was brought low for a moment.


    Fenton was far-sighted and broad-minded, but incredibly proud. He might treat others kindly, but that was only if they didn''t hurt his pride, or if they didn''t pose any threat to him. He was so proud that he didn''t even bother to flaunt his pride.


    But now, that pride in Fenton''s heart was shattered by Zen''s attack. His eyes were filled with confusion, and he couldn''t stop asking himself why he had lost. That strike had completely shattered all of his long held beliefs that he had accumulated over the past years.


    It didn''t make sense!


    However, in the blink of an eye, Fenton suddenly bit into his own arm. The bite was extremely forceful, and blood instantly flowed out of the teeth marks, the intense pain instantly clearing his mind. The contempt within his heart for Zen completely disappeared, and was replaced by a serious attitude. He knew now that he was facing a great enemy. Fenton was a professional and was not about to give up.


    "You''re really strong.


    The thirteen palaces have shown good judgment. I was wrong.


    Among the younger generation in the Spiritual Force Sacred Place, you are the only one that I have had to fight using my full strength,"


    Fenton said. After he had finished speaking, he took out the jade sword which he had stored in the Sumeru Space.


    The State Sword was a secondary first-rank divine weapon.


    The moment he held the sword in his hand, a strange red light burst forth from the blade. When the red light reached Zen''s eyes, he sensed a majestic aura. This aura seemed to emanate from the life force of billions of creatures, and Zen felt both strange and awed.

 Chapter 1333 Sword Painting

    Zen was made familiar with the might of divine weapons back when he was still in the four divine kingdoms.


    The Upper World, however, offered a more defined grading standard for divine weapons. Fiona''s jade bracelet, for example, was a secondary third-rank divine weapon.


    The divine weapons the emperors of the divine kingdoms wielded were at the third-rank. Meanwhile, Fenton''s divine weapon was a secondary first-rank divine weapon - two levels higher than the divine weapons Zen had encountered.


    That meant that the power of this State Sword was not to be trifled with!


    The moment the weapon was activated, it felt as if the wielder had transformed into a mighty and aggressive monarch who ruled his state with an iron fist!


    Zen felt the suppression try to overwhelm him, to force him to bow down to this figure of authority. However, he refused to yield.


    His eyes glinted with scorn, "You want to suppress me?"


    Boom!


    A strong, equally oppressing force was suddenly released from Zen''s soul!


    A warrior improved in three areas during their cultivation: their bodies, their life vitality, and their souls.


    Zen''s body refinement and life vitality cultivation were completely different from other people.


    However, his soul training remained pretty standard in terms of technique.


    During his final stay in the Central Region, the cyan dragon had planted a soul seed for him so that his soul might finally be able to enter the Jasper Fighting Soul Realm.


    Although he had made a great effort to enter the Jasper Fighting Soul Realm, Zen did not really have much of an edge when it came to soul training and stayed in the Fighting Soul Realm for quite a long time.


    The Saint Lord of the Spiritual Force Sacred Place was already privy to the strength of Zen''s soul. However, even if reaching the Jasper Fighting Soul Realm as a fifth-level Life and Death Realm warrior was impressive in the Lower World, the standards were much higher in the Upper World.


    Nonetheless, the soul seed planted by the cyan dragon helped Zen a lot and gave him extraordinary powers.


    As Zen released his oppressing force, the soul seed was activated and increased his soul pressure threefold!


    Not only that, but his soul was also fused with the will of the great world he lived in. The imposing aura of the great world was fused and inseparable with Zen''s own soul pressure.


    The State Sword Fenton wielded was a secondary first-rank divine weapon forged long ago by a tenth-grade divine kingdom emperor''s lifeblood.


    Tha


    the list of those who had just ascended from the Lower World."


    Elder Gong let out a loud laugh, "We couldn''t have known that he would be so talented! Besides, if the thirteen palaces hadn''t discovered him, then he would still be down in the mines, digging for life vitality jades!"


    Elder Gong''s words seemed to have stirred the Saint Lord''s fury, "Check out the information of all the ascenders. Make an assessment of each person''s strength and talent and report everything to me. I''m giving you a month!" the Saint Lord ordered coldly.


    Elder Gong visibly paled, realizing the Saint Lord had unfortunately vented his anger on him. The data to be collected would be useful for the Spiritual Force Sacred Place, but not on such a large scale. There was no way they were ever going to find a second Zen anytime soon.


    Unfortunately, there was no going against a Saint Lord''s order. Elder Gong knew it was going to be a long, arduous time-waster on his part, but what could he do?


    During this time, Fenton was finally preparing his last strike - the final attack that would determine the winner of this fight.


    "Sword painting! May the sight of the entire state appear in front of me, and a wisp of wind shall create everything!"


    he chanted as he started swinging the State Sword in the air.


    A magnificent picture materialized from the State Sword''s movements as if it was a giant brush instead of a sharp blade. This picture drew the entire sight of the state!


    The gold signified the power of the Metal Law while the green was the Wind Law.


    The process of painting cut Fenton''s arms several times, letting the red blood essence swirl and add to the magnificent picture.

 Chapter 1334 The King

    This technique of using the sword to draw the state consumed a great deal of blood essence!


    And it was not easy for any martial artist to restore blood essence once it had been consumed.


    However, Fenton did not want to lose against Zen.


    Fenton didn''t think himself to be an invincible one among his peers, who were on the same level as him.


    Fenton was an undefeatable figure in the eyes of many warriors of the Spiritual Force Sacred Place. However, in the Spirit Reading World, he was only ranked in the third place.


    There were many extraordinary talents in the top two sacred places of the Spirit Reading World, such as the son of the world lord of the Spirit Reading World¡­


    Zen had only ascended to the Upper World.


    Be it the resources or environment, those in the Lower World couldn''t compare to those in the Upper World. Thus, the martial artists who had ascended from the Lower World were a great deal weaker than those who were born and raised in the Upper World from the start.


    This idea was carved into the bones of the martial artists in the Upper World and even Fenton was no exception.


    As his blood essence continued to spurt out, the golden colored state in the painting became tainted with a trace of the intense bloody aura!


    In the painting, the state was not a peaceful land where songs and dances were performed, signifying good times, but it was a place where horses trampled on the land and heroes contended for hegemony!


    Countless blood-stained soldiers were depicted in this sword painting. The bright red colors served as the finishing touches to this enormous State Painting!


    By now Fenton had accumulated enough energy for this strike! He swung his sword all of a sudden.


    "Pa¡­"


    When his sword struck, a beam of bright silver light flashed like a pair of sharp scissors, slicing the State Painting into two!


    All the images on the painting started to twist and distort, converging into the beam of light and charging towards Zen at the same time!


    "It''s coming!"


    Zen retreated quickly when he was faced with Fenton''s full attack.


    The power contained within this strike was extremely special. Although this State Painting had been created using the Metal Law and the Wind Law, and it was also infused with Fenton''s blood essence, it created an extraordinary and special intent!


    This kind of intent also put psychological pressure on Zen. Its power could not be underestimated.


    However, Zen was no longer the same warrior as before. He had many methods of dealing with this strike. The simplest and crudest one was to use the Magnetic Sacred Mountain.


    This Magnetic Sacred Mountain was so powerful that even the masters of the Spirit Supreme Realm couldn''t do anything to deflect it. The sword couldn''t move it even the slightest bit.


    But Zen''s inte


    as not very sharp. Within this endless intent, the illusory soldiers rushed over like tidewater. There were too many of them. Zen kept killing them desperately but there seemed to be no end in sight.


    Other than ordinary soldiers, there were also some generals wearing red armors! The illusory generals were even stronger, and it was even more difficult for Zen to fight them.


    Right now, he was in a dilemma!


    ''Fenton''s move cannot be endless¡­ '' When Zen unleashed his sword intent once more, a look of contemplation appeared on his face.


    Suddenly Zen''s figure flashed upwards, and the beam of light from Fenton''s sword followed closely behind him as if it was a maggot attached to his bone. Zen''s figure only paused for a moment before it dropped on him once again. He had to face the endless attacks from the illusion of the soldiers and generals once more.


    "I found it!" he exclaimed.


    The beam of light had absorbed the State Painting, and the state in it was ruled by people, and the mountains and rivers also belonged to the people. They must be ruled by someone!


    When Zen widened the distance between them, he discovered that there was a king dressed in yellow robes hiding deep within this beam of light.


    The soldiers, generals and the king must have been formed by a kind of spiritual projection technique, which was much more profound and extensive than that of the Lower World¡­


    "That''s him!"


    Zen did not retreat now. Instead, he charged straight at his target¡ªthe king!


    If he could kill him, the beam of light emitting from the State Painting would naturally dissipate!


    Seeing Zen''s actions, Fenton''s mouth curved slightly. "You finally found him. But do you think you can defeat him?"


    "Whoosh whoosh whoosh¡­"


    Zen shattered numerous illusions and in an instant, he had passed the thousands of soldiers and arrived in front of the king.

 Chapter 1335 Defeat Fenton

    The king exuded a bold and dignified aura. When he saw Zen charging towards him among a great number of men and horses, the graceful king rose.


    He then roared loudly and all the entire lands and rivers suddenly came together to form a long sword in his hand, which he slammed down towards Zen.


    This strike was hiding the sharpest killing intent within the sword light.


    Instead of being terrified by this, there was a hint of a smile on Zen''s face as he faced this sword strike.


    Zen found the unending onslaught from the illusory army difficult to cope but now that all the lands and rivers were contained in the king''s sword, he did not fear it at all.


    "Power of dragon scales!"


    Zen had activated the power of three thousand dragon scales. His sword moved from the bottom to the top as he slashed forward. Two rays of light intersected with each other.


    However, to his surprise, his top-grade sacred weapon couldn''t withstand the pressure and broke.


    Bang!


    Only half of the long sword spiraled forward, flying towards Fenton.


    Fenton had originally been staring attentively at Zen''s attack. Never in his wildest dreams did he expect that half of a broken sword would come flying at him. He was unable to dodge in time, and the broken sword directly pierced his chest.


    Even though he was severely injured, he didn''t move an inch. He kept his eyes fixated on Zen. Even if he was dead, in the Illusion Space, it was not a major problem. He only wanted to know if Zen could withstand this move. If Zen succeeded, he would lose, but if Zen couldn''t take it, he would win. Therefore, he didn''t deal with the broken sword that was stabbed into his body.


    Now that Zen''s sword was broken, what was he going to use to take the king''s sword?


    The top-grade sacred weapon was no longer suitable for Zen. A normal sword was only two inches wide, with a sharp blade and an extremely thin body.


    Zen''s physical body could only withstand the power of five thousand to six thousand dragon scales. He had just used the power of three thousand dragon scales, so the sacred weapon naturally wouldn''t be able to withstand the pressure. Add to that the heavy pressure from the king''s sword, and it snapped just like that.


    Zen was unable to obtain a better sword from the Lower World. If he had been able to access the weapon refining workshop in the fairy palace, then the situation would have been very different. However, he had just covered two stages of the True Path. He wouldn''t be able to use it currently.


    He didn''t have a sword anymore, but he could still use his fists.


    In that instant, Zen tossed away the other half of his sword and grabbed onto the king''s sword with his bare hand.


    He was using his bare hand to shoulder the


    d been extremely unhappy lately.


    He wanted to talk to Zen and find a way to turn this situation around. He wanted to see if he could pay the price to keep Zen at the Spiritual Force Sacred Place.


    If Zen stayed, then the young talents in the Spiritual Force Sacred Place would have an advantage in the competition with the other two tenth grade sacred places in the Spirit Reading World. With Zen''s power, they might even be able to turn their luck around and defeat the Spirit Reading Sacred Place.


    The competition among the young martial artists would not decide the structure of a supreme world, but it sure would decide the clashes of the sacred places.


    However, when he thought about the thirteen palaces, he gave up on that idea. The thirteen palaces had claimed Zen, so they must know him well.


    When he first saw Zen''s sacred sword break in the Illusion Space, he thought he could give him a second-rank, or even a secondary first-rank divine weapon as a gift to win him over, but on second thought, the thirteen palaces could offer him everything that he could offer too.


    Such a powerful young fellow might slip away from him. This filled the Saint Lord''s heart with deep regret.


    In the Myriad Spiritual Force House, Zen was quietly meditating for his cultivation. He could already feel that the sixth small Heavenly Tribulation approaching. He wondered if there was any difference between going through the Heavenly Tribulation in the Upper World and in the Lower World.


    Time quietly passed as he was waiting and cultivating. However, the big shot who wanted to meet him had yet to appear.


    One month later, an elder from the Spiritual Force Sacred Place entered the Myriad Spiritual Force House. He informed Zen that the people from the thirteen palaces had arrived and were currently with the Saint Lord.

 Chapter 1336 You Were Shouting So Loudly

    Zen had always been curious about this so-called "big shot." Not having much information, he had been a little wary of him or her.


    It seemed that the other party was spying on him from the shadows.


    But just how did the person learn of his existence? And how did this person discover that he was in the Spiritual Force Sacred Place?


    So when he heard the elder''s announcement, Zen immediately stood up.


    He followed the elder to the hall that he had been before.


    In the hall, all the elders of the Spiritual Force Sacred Place were already in their seats. The person who occupied the host''s seat was not the Saint Lord, but in fact a woman.


    This woman wore a long skirt sporting nine colors. The dress was made from the feathers of nine legendary beasts, which explained the nine different colors. The light blue feathers were the tail feathers of an ice phoenix and actually emitted cold air. As for the dark red feathers, they belonged to the tail of a fire phoenix. The cyan feathers were the softest ones from the back of a Celestial Mouse.


    This dress was priceless!


    The problem was that so many precious materials were wasted in order to decorate the dress. Clearly, the maker of this colorful dress was an extravagant person.


    A pair of white, small feet encased in a pair of wooden clogs rocked back and forth. Her gaze lightly swept over the elders in the hall. Whenever anyone met her gaze, their hearts would tremble slightly.


    In truth, this woman''s cultivation level wasn''t very terrifying. She was almost a world lord.


    And in this hall, the Saint Lord''s cultivation level was equivalent to a world lord. Of course, there was only one lord of a supreme world, and the lord of the Spirit Reading World was the Saint Lord of the Spirit Reading Sacred Place, not the Saint Lord of the Spiritual Force Sacred Place. Elder Gong, too, was also almost a world lord, which meant that his cultivation level was on par with the woman''s.


    But it wasn''t the woman''s cultivation level or strength that intimidated everybody, but her identity.


    She was one of leaders of the thirteen palaces. But more importantly, her father was a Supreme Lord, which meant she was a Supreme Lord descendant. Therefore, she enjoyed a high position in the alliance!


    Suddenly, several warriors appeared in the hall. One of them was emitting an aura that was several times stronger than that of the Saint Lord of the Spiritual Force Sacred Place.


    When he entered the main hall, he faced the lady and bowed lightly before her, saying, "Welcome to our Spirit Reading World. I''m the lord of the Spirit Reading World."


    He was the true lord of the supreme world, and also the master of the strongest tenth-grade sacred plac


    all elites. And while their actions and goals were quite bizarre, no one dared to look down on them.


    The key was that it was better to join the Celestial Position race than to join the alliance. Of course, the conditions to join the Celestial Position race were harsher, and it was not easy for warriors in the Upper World to be recognized or respected by the Celestial Position race.


    Zen smiled and continued, "And how did you know where to find me?"


    Yolande actually smiled and rolled her eyes, giving him a playful look. She responded, "You were shouting so loudly that I would be deaf if I didn''t hear you."


    When Zen had been using his Roaring Token to look for Yan, Yolande had heard him and figured out his identity. She had collected the names of all the people who had ascended to the 3, 000 supreme worlds in the last year. Scanning the names on the list in her hand, she had found Zen''s name in just five minutes. There were actually two warriors with the same name.


    Many warriors ascended from the Lower World, and there were cases where people shared the same name. However, after Yolande investigated the appearance and other characteristics of the two warriors, she confirmed that he had ascended to the Spiritual Force Sacred Place.


    However, at that time, she had been busy gathering her clones, so it was not a convenient time for her to go find him. Once she had collected all her clones, she had hurried over from the Mist Palace.


    Zen immediately understood what was going on. She had identified his voice when he had been using the Roaring Token. She must have known that his Roaring Token was unique.


    The faces of the world lord of the Spirit Reading World and the Saint Lord of the Spiritual Force Sacred Place turned serious. "He was shouting so loudly? What does that mean?"

 Chapter 1337 Speculation

    The world lord, Saint Lord, and even the elders were all extremely intelligent people.


    They could deduce everything based on a tiny hint and grasp a vast understanding of things that normal people would have trouble figuring out.


    Zen was shouting loudly. And Yolande heard him shouting. This was not hard to figure out!


    In the entire universe, only the Roaring Token was capable of such a feat. Nothing could even come close to it.


    Then they remembered something¡ªa while ago, there seemed to be a mysterious young man who spent over ten thousand Roaring Tokens at once. Could it be that Zen was the young man? What were the odds?


    When they thought of this, they all stared at Zen in shock. Their eyes were wide as they processed what this all meant.


    It was then that they realized how the other people around him were also staring at him as though they had been shocked by lightning. It was amazing how he didn''t look fazed at all, despite the exchanged glances and low murmurs. This only confirmed their speculation as their throats dried up. They regarded Zen with appalled eyes, more aghast than ever.


    Did this guy have Roaring Tokens in his hand? And there were so many of them!


    The atmosphere in the large hall became strange and restless.


    But after thinking about it some more, they began to deny their own guesses. One by one, they cast doubts upon themselves and their ability to perceive things.


    This was simply impossible.


    Where did a warrior from the Lower World get so many Roaring Tokens? They couldn''t imagine what he had to go through just to get his hands on them. Could he have done something really drastic? Could he have exchanged something vital in order to possess the Roaring Tokens?


    What Zen did not know was that, ever since he used the Roaring Token to clamor throughout the universe, the discussions and speculations about his identity spiraled out of control. For a long time, they kept wondering about who he really was, and even until now, they had not stopped.


    They still couldn''t figure out the identity of the mysterious woman before. Then here came a young, mysterious man, who they also couldn''t unravel so easily. The only difference was that while the mysterious woman started beast attacks in the universe through singing, the mysterious young man didn''t do much harm to the universe. He was at least gentler than the woman.


    However, it was hard for them to prove their speculations. The universe was vast, and it would be impossible for them to find someone who had used the Roaring Tokens among the 100, 000 supreme worlds. As long as the man didn''t show himself, they would have no way of finding out.


    The problem was that Yolande had purposely said it, making the impression that Zen was the one who used the Roaring Tokens.


    The reason why the world lord of the Spirit Reading World and the Saint Lord of the Spiritual Force Sacred Place thought it was impossible for Zen to be the young man was that they thought even a Supreme Lord would not be able to own so many Roaring Tokens. So how could a warrior from the Lower Wor


    ee licenses, one was already occupied by Fenton, which meant that the remaining two would depend on how they divided it up.


    Although the Spiritual Force Sacred Place already obtained a license, the Saint Lord thought that the licenses were granted because of Zen. It was fine for them to obtain an extra license, but the world lord did not think so. It could only be said that the Spiritual Force Sacred Place was lucky to have Zen, but the fact remained that it was too much for a sacred place to have two licenses.


    After Yolande brought Zen and left, a dispute started between the two sacred places because of the remaining two licenses. It even involved another tenth-grade sacred place in the Spirit Reading World. The Saint Lord of the tenth grade sacred place thought that the three licenses should be given to the three sacred places, one for each.


    There was a carriage floating above the Spiritual Force Sacred Place.


    The purple carriage was made with incomparable ingenuity. Strings of strange flowers and plants grew around the body of the carriage.


    The most astonishing thing was the two horses in front of the carriage. They were actually legendary beasts!


    Normally, legendary beasts were very arrogant and proud. They could enter into a contract with warriors and become their contractual beasts, but they could not be enslaved or tamed by warriors.


    This "Heavenly Phoenix Horse" was one of the few legendary beasts that could be tamed, but even taming it would take a lot of energy and time. So not only was the Heavenly Phoenix Horse an excellent mount, it was also a symbol of status.


    The rest of the people respectfully saw Yolande off as she brought Zen into the carriage.


    Judging from the outside, the spectators thought that this carriage was only the size of an ordinary carriage. However, after the doors were opened, a different world inside greeted them. It was as wide and wonderful as a palace.


    "Tell me. Where did you get so many Roaring Tokens?" Yolande asked with a smile.


    "Um..." Zen found it hard to explain.

 Chapter 1338 The Trans-border Channel

    Yolande was somebody he could trust.


    She thought that Zen had innumerable Roaring Tokens.


    But Zen would not be able to explain to her how he got the Roaring Token because it concerned the fairy palace, his master, and many other things that he would rather not discuss with her.


    So Zen chose not to explain and keep mum about the whole matter.


    Yolande also knew that Zen wouldn''t tell her the truth. Since he refused to explain it, she couldn''t force him to reveal his secret. At least he didn''t deny being in possession of these tokens.


    Instead, she asked, "Do you know the identity of that mysterious woman who was singing that day?"


    Zen shook his head absently.


    Like him, the mysterious singer also seemed to have countless Roaring Tokens. It was very likely that her token could be used countless times, just like the one in Zen''s hand.


    But he didn''t know who that stranger was.


    "All right!" She nodded believing him but continued sizing him up.


    The current Yolande was in her complete body. So from that perspective, this was the first time she had met Zen.


    One of her clones had taken the decision to allow Zen to ascend freely, and the Celestial Position had come to the same conclusion. She was very pleased with the fact that the Celestial Position did not force Zen to join them. But coincidentally, he had still ascended to the alliance. It was obviously his fate.


    There was no certain path for a man without destiny, but no matter what Zen''s future path was, she didn''t mind helping him.


    Aiding him was worth her while, especially since his Roaring Token could be used countless times. The token was very useful for many races, and perhaps she would need Zen''s help several times in the future. Since she didn''t have many Roaring Tokens, he could help her spread the news.


    As Yolande regarded Zen with these thoughts racing through her mind, he felt like she was seeing right through him. She made him feel naked and bare, like he no longer had any secrets from her.


    He knew that even though Yolande''s cultivation level was incredibly high, she didn''t have the expertise. The only reason he was feeling uncomfortable was that the gap between his and her cultivation levels was too great.


    This was exactly how he had felt when the Saint Lord of the Spiritual Force Sacred Place was sizing him up.


    Zen''s cultivation level was too low. In the Lower World, he was already a top-level warrior but in the Upper World, the Life and Death Realm was just the beginning for him.


    Most important


    y doubled their speed once again.


    In the beginning, Zen had been able to observe his surroundings from the supreme world channel. He had seen some martial artists flying in the same direction as them.


    However, on the fourth day, he was no longer able to clearly see the scenery outside his window. As the horses ran extremely fast, everything turned into blurry lines, making it impossible to tell if it was a person or something else.


    There were countless checkpoints in the supreme world channel, which required a fee to pass through. For an ordinary martial artist, the cost of traversing through a supreme world was astronomical. However, no one dared to stop Yolande''s carriage at any checkpoint.


    Even if they wanted to, it was impossible for them to stop given the current speed.


    On the sixth day, Yolande informed Zen that they had left the Spirit Reading World.


    "We have left the Spirit Reading World?" Zen thought that with their speed, they would have long since entered another supreme world.


    According to the current speed, if they wanted to cross over a thousand supreme worlds, they would probably need almost 20 years to reach their destination.


    However, the speed of the Heavenly Phoenix Horses continued to increase.


    After leaving the Spirit Reading World, they entered the trans-border channel, which was wider than the supreme world channel. Building these channels and connecting thousands of supreme worlds to each other like pearls in a necklace was a vast and unimaginable project.


    ''The supreme world channels are constructed mostly by world lords, so it must be the Supreme Lords who build the trans-border channels, '' Zen thought to himself.

 Chapter 1339 The Smell

    It took them almost three days to cross the second supreme world.


    However, the third supreme world had only taken them a day.


    As time passed slowly, Yolande and Zen crossed different supreme worlds one after another. All the supreme worlds were occupied by humans and these were just one of their three great forces. It was easy to see how powerful humans were across the universe.


    Zen had been busy with cultivation the whole time he was traveling swiftly.


    A month later, Zen felt the exquisite carriage finally stopped. He slowly opened his eyes and looked out of the window, seeing an orange crescent moon in the sky.


    "Here we are." Yolande pushed the carriage door open and walked out first.


    Zen followed Yolande. He suddenly thought of something and asked, "Well, if Fenton wants to come here, how long will it take?"


    Thinking for a moment, Yolande replied, "He has to do it by his own if the Saint Lord of his sacred place doesn''t help him. It should take about two to three hundred years for him to get here by himself."


    Zen was left speechless. That was a long time! Fenton was the pride of the Spiritual Force Sacred Place. Thus, the Saint Lord would surely not let him waste several hundred years of his time on such a trip. Moreover, crossing so many supreme worlds would require considerable expenses. Fenton would never be able to afford them.


    "Let''s go. Once you''re strong enough, you''ll realize that the universe isn''t as big as you first thought." Yolande continued walking ahead after speaking.


    Zen was left eyeing her from behind. Her colorful skirt was swaying beautifully and Zen couldn''t help but slightly smile before he followed her.


    As a matter of fact, this Yolande gave Zen a very strange feeling. Her two clones that Zen had met before were too different from her in personality. Although he knew the reason for that, he still felt different for this Yolande. However, if he was to base his idea from their gracefully slender figure, Zen was sure that they were exactly the same person.


    They both saw a large city after some minutes of walking. To him, the Upper World cities were like giant behemoths. Each city was as vast as the Central Region. Thus, he didn''t bother to check how big the city exactly was.


    He could see a giant stone pillar standing proudly within the city. It was so magnanimous that Zen could clearly see it even if he was hundreds of miles away. It must be tens of thousands of feet tall with a towering palac


    rful backing, right?"


    "I see! He''s from the Lower World!"


    The two martial artists with extraordinary backgrounds interrupted hatefully.


    "I can smell the disgusting smell even from a few feet away!"


    As a matter of fact, they were very respectful towards Yolande. However, they could tell that the man with an aquiline nose didn''t respect Yolande and even went further to humiliate her. Thus, they started blaming Zen.


    Yolande''s beautiful face showed anger, but she seemed to fear the man with an aquiline nose, so she held herself back. She honestly didn''t have any clue on how to explain what she did.


    At this moment, Zen chuckled and sniffed. He said, "Why don''t I smell it?"


    One of them said mockingly, "If one stays in the salted fish shop for long, he won''t smell the smell of salted fish. How can you smell your own smell?"


    "Oh." Zen sniffed again and said, "So that''s how it is. You two probably won''t be able to smell your own smell either!"


    "What smell do we have?" one of the martial artists asked aggressively.


    "Don''t you know that you guys smell like idiots?" Zen said with a smile while covering his nose. "Although it isn''t disgusting, it''s bad enough. This is not a good place to stay for long."


    Yolande giggled upon hearing Zen. Although she knew that Zen was someone who wouldn''t lose out, she hadn''t thought that his words would be so incisive.


    "How dare you!" one of the three men said angrily.


    "How dare you!" echoed Zen.


    "Bastard! Who do you..."


    "Bastard! Who do you think you are? Do you know who my father is?" Zen repeated again and even insultingly finished the second half of the man''s words.

 Chapter 1340 Weapon House

    Zen''s acting was vivid, and he was even able to guess what that man was going to say. Needless to say, the warrior was stunned.


    He said in a daze, "How did you know what I¡ª"


    "How did you know what I was going to say?" Zen continued, "It''s simple¡ªit''s very easy to guess what an idiot is about to say!"


    "Ha-ha!"


    Even Yolande, the leader of the Mist Palace, couldn''t help but laugh.


    The man with an aquiline nose was resentful. His eyes were cold and sharp as he glared at Zen.


    Meanwhile, the two talents from the Upper World were also glaring at Zen as they wanted to beat him up.


    Zen learned this from the old man from the Celestial Position race. He always accurately predicted what others were going to say. It could be upsetting at times.


    Zen knew how to observe people so he knew that the man with an aquiline nose didn''t have a good relationship with Yolande. Since they weren''t on the same side, Zen wouldn''t mind offending him. He was always a straightforward man.


    The man with an aquiline nose had enrolled two good disciples, wanting to show off in front of Yolande. It had gone smoothly at first. Warriors whose Lotus Flower had sprouted seven petals were rare in the universe. Naturally, he''d be proud but Zen ruined his good mood.


    "Kid, warriors don''t use their mouths to fight," the man said as he coldly stared at Zen.


    "Don''t bother teaching me anything. I have my own master. I don''t need you to teach me," Zen replied. Most warriors would be very nervous when facing a warrior who was as powerful as a world lord. Some would even get aggressive but Zen was noticeably calm.


    If he became too nervous, he''d make Yolande lose face. If he was too aggressive, he might get her in trouble. Zen had just told off the two disciples, not the man with an aquiline nose. The two disciples were of the same generation as he was, so it wouldn''t cause him much trouble. Zen tried to be as neutral as possible when talking to the man with an aquiline nose.


    "Master?" The man chuckled. "I wonder what cultivation level a mere warrior from the Lower World is at."


    A strange look appeared on Yolande''s face. ''Does Zen have a master?'' As far as she knew, Zen was pretty independent on his path of cultivation which meant he didn''t have a master.


    Hearing this, Zen said with a straight face, "I don''t know."


    "You don''t even know your master''s cultivation level? That''s ridiculous!" The man shook his head.


    Then Zen added, "But he''s someone that is widely respected and revered throughout the univer


    alents of the tenth-grade sacred place. The Mist Palace, as one of the thirteen palaces, was a place where talents from different sacred places gathered.


    Any one of them was good enough to become a core member of a tenth-grade sacred place. Even the Spiritual Force Sacred Place would have to try pretty hard to get Fenton into the thirteen palaces. They hoped that he could have better resources and opportunities there.


    After traveling through the huge Mist Palace for a long time, Zen finally found the Weapon House.


    At the entrance of the Weapon House, there were also two guards. These guards were much stronger than the ones on the stairs. They were warriors at the Spirit Supreme Realm.


    At that time, the guards were being surrounded by warriors.


    These warriors were all very young, roughly the same age as Zen. The older ones were only around 30 years old. They were all gathered together, pointing towards the Weapon House.


    "Today, the Weapon House has some new secondary first-rank divine weapons."


    "So what? Sounds like we can''t get one of them."


    "I want to try my luck!"


    "Bah! It costs 300 life vitality jades to try once. If you can afford, then go on and try it!"


    These warriors should also be talents that had been sent into the thirteen palaces by their respective supreme worlds. Needless to say, Zen was confused.


    One had to pay 300 life vitality jades to choose a weapon from the Weapon House?


    Zen had more than 100 life vitality jades in his hands. However, this was far from enough. He''d never heard of a place that required so many life vitality jades. So Zen, who had originally been planning to enter the House, stopped in his tracks.

 Chapter 1341 Weapons Under The Dome

    Standing at the entrance of the Weapon House, Zen keenly observed for a while and then saw two people walk over.


    They happened to be those who had clashed with Zen on the stairs of the Mist Palace previously. Each of them held a small jade pendant in their hands. After waving it in front of the two Spirit Supreme Realm guards, they were permitted to enter the Weapon House.


    Then a sudden realization hit Zen as he took in this scene.


    ''I''m so stupid, '' he mused. The jade pendant, which was given to him by Yolande, of course, had its uses.


    Accordingly, he walked up to the guards and also waved his jade pendant before entering the Weapon House right behind the two warriors.


    The other warriors standing outside the House made a ruckus and wanted to squeeze in just behind Zen.


    The faces of the two guards at the entrance darkened as they swiftly blocked their path.


    "We''re just going in to take a look. Given that we don''t have a jade pendant, we can''t choose weapons."


    "It doesn''t affect anything. Please let us in."


    Zen turned his head to look back and was speechless. ''I''m only picking a weapon. What is there to look at?'' he thought, shaking his head. It seemed that there was no lack of gossips everywhere, even in the Upper World.


    He didn''t expect that their pleas would be so effective. The guards just said, "Don''t make a ruckus in there! Anyone who doesn''t obey the rule will be thrown out."


    After receiving the approval of the two guards, those warriors gladly followed Zen into the Weapon House.


    "Hey! Hey! Hey, newcomer." A warrior at the eighth level of Life and Death Realm patted Zen''s shoulder from behind.


    However, before he could touch Zen, his body gently twisted, easily dodging this patter. He then asked indifferently, "What is it?"


    The warrior was surprised for a moment before he probed, "What rank of weapon do you want to choose?"


    Hearing this, Zen replied, "Naturally, the more suitable the weapon, the better."


    "Ha-ha, that''s a good answer. These juniors are now staring at the powerful weapons. They don''t know what suits them the best!" said a white-eyebrowed elder who was seated in a corner of the Weapon House.


    Zen nodded his head towards the old man and smiled. The old man then said, "If you want to choose a weapon, you can now hand over the jade pendant to me."


    After turning over the jade pendant, Zen carefully looked around the Weapon House.


    In the center of the Weapon House was a wide dome, and under this dome, there floated numerous balls of light.


    Zen silently scrutinized these balls of light. Then he figured out that they, in fact, contained weapons of all shapes and sizes.


    "There are loads of divine weapons!"


    No wonder when Zen asked Yolande whether there were divine weapons in the Weapon House, her face showed an expression of not knowing whether to laugh or cry. She probably thought that he had underestimated the Mist Palace.


    Each one of the weapons wrapped in these balls of light was a divine weapon.


    It was probably Zen''s words that made the


    sharply into the air.


    By the time Matteo Xie had jumped to a height of 20 feet, his speed had already slackened down. From the looks of it, he seemed to be struggling a bit.


    Keeping their eyes glued on this rueful scene, the surrounding warriors couldn''t help starting to discuss among themselves.


    "Rhydian Xie is extraordinarily powerful, but his little brother is nothing special."


    "I don''t think he can get a secondary first-rank divine weapon. Maybe he is even unable to get a secondary second-rank divine weapon. Tsk! Tsk! How embarrassing!"


    "Such a waste! I''d rather exchange my secondary second-rank divine weapon for his jade pendant so that I can give it a try. Maybe I can snatch a good one."


    Zen originally not understood what was going on with the balls of light, but now he finally comprehended. Matteo Xie was also a warrior at the ninth-grade of the Life and Death Realm, which made him comparable to Fenton in terms of cultivation level. However, it was not easy for him to seize a good weapon.


    Matteo Xie''s face turned red as he struggled harder and harder until he, at last, managed to get hold of a ball of light before plummeting down from the air.


    He had only clutched a third-rank divine weapon, which was an ax. And its estimated value was to be around 20 to 30 life vitality jades. The question whether it was valuable aside, he had undeniably lost his face.


    "I don''t want this!" Matteo Xie protested stubbornly after he got up. Throwing the golden ax to the side, he steadied himself and was about to fly up to the dome once again.


    However, the white-eyebrowed elder reached out his hand and gently pinched it. An invisible force suddenly pressed Matteo Xie down, who had just left the floor. He felt a sudden pang of pain as if he had been struck by a hammer as he fell to the floor.


    "Only the first time is for free. If you want to try again, you need to pay 300 life vitality jades first," the white-eyebrowed elder stressed coldly. "If you want another chance, you must pay upfront!"

 Chapter 1342 The Red Light Dots

    Seeing how his brother had worked so hard and still only managed to obtain a third-rank divine weapon, Rhydian was a little disheartened.


    As Matteo got up from the ground, a look of unwillingness crept on his face.


    With their status, they held third-rank divine weapons in contempt. Matteo, now standing on the side, said furiously, "I underestimated the pressure of the dome! Rhydian, I want to try again!"


    The cost of trying again was three hundred life vitality jades, which equaled three million supreme life vitality crystals. To most warriors, this was a stupendous sum.


    Of course, to the warriors of the Mist Palace, it was not a small amount of savings either. Although it cost a lot of life vitality jades, since Matteo desired it, Rhydian reached into his pocket and took out three hundred life vitality jades, throwing them onto the white-eyebrowed elder''s table.


    The elder smiled faintly. As the elder received the three hundred life vitality jades, Matteo once again leaped forward, flying toward the dome.


    In fact, with Matteo''s strength, he could have easily grabbed a secondary second-rank divine weapon. But what he got his hands on was a third-rank one instead. He was unwilling to accept this fact and decided to have a try once again. Since he had lost a chance already, this time he wanted to do his best to obtain a divine weapon of a higher rank.


    His target was a secondary first-rank divine weapon...


    Now that he had such a wild ambition, he had to pay the corresponding price. His goal was to possess a secondary first-rank divine weapon, but in the end, he was hit by the giant pressure before being smashed onto the ground. He had managed to receive nothing once again.


    Upon seeing what happened, Rhydian frowned as well.


    As for the other warriors in the Weapon House, they sighed. Matteo had wasted three hundred life vitality jades just like that¡ªfor absolutely nothing in return. It was really a pity.


    This time, Matteo was too embarrassed to try again, so he stepped aside silently.


    Suddenly, Rhydian took out four hundred life vitality jades and handed them over to the white-eyebrowed elder. He said, "Here are four hundred life vitality jades. Let me have a try this time!"


    ''Four hundred life vitality jades?'' Zen thought, his eyes flashing with surprise. Just now they said the task only needed three hundred life vitality jades. Why was Rhydian paying one hundred more life vitality jades this time?


    However, the talk of the warriors around Zen made him realize what was up.


    "Oh no. Rhydian is truly ambitious. He has his eyes on those first-rank divine weapons!"


    "Rhydian is very powerful.


    rrespondingly.


    Hence, Rhydian slowly flew up. Even so, the surge of energy was still very powerful. As he rose higher and higher, the gravity that he felt grew stronger and stronger.


    Right now, many white light dots floated around Rhydian. Within the dots were various secondary third-rank divine weapons. Weapons of this level naturally did not attract his attention. He continued to move higher without once glancing at them.


    Very quickly, he reached the light dots that covered the second-rank divine weapons.


    The warriors inside Weapon House once again started to whisper to each other.


    "He has already reached the place where the second-rank divine weapons are placed. It would be great if he were to just grab a second-rank divine weapon at random!"


    "That''s right. A second-rank divine weapon is not bad either. But since he has already handed over one hundred more life vitality jades, his target must be a first-rank divine weapon..."


    "It is tough to obtain a first-rank divine weapon. If he is unable to grab hold of it, I''m afraid he would leave empty-handed."


    At the moment, Rhydian''s face was completely red. Under the great gravitational pressure, it was much harder to ascend even by an inch. But he still gritted his teeth and slowly moved upward. Facing the white lights floating around him, he could not be bothered to even glance at them.


    He only paid attention to the red light dots that contained the first-rank divine weapons.


    As he slowly moved upward inch by inch, he passed the second-rank divine weapons and got to the area of the secondary first-rank divine weapons.


    He was now less than ten feet away from the red lights. As he looked at the four red light dots floating in the air, his eyes flashed with a savage gleam.

 Chapter 1343 The Second Page

    Rhydian had originally planned to unleash his full strength once he was about five feet away from the red light dots. While gravity was steady, he thought he could seize an opportunity to charge forward and get the weapon.


    It was said a master had once used this method to obtain a first-rank divine weapon.


    However, Rhydian had almost reached his limits for now. It would be difficult for him to raise his height even by an inch. At the moment, he could only rely on his own will to hold on.


    After several seconds, he finally managed to rise a few feet higher. He realized that he was now a spent arrow; if he didn''t employ his full strength now, he might never get another chance to do so. At the thought of this, he gritted his teeth and the life vitality within his body began to roll over in massive waves.


    Rhydian had been rising slowly, but now with his life vitality surging, he suddenly sped up.


    In the moment that his strength erupted, the gravity pressing down from the dome multiplied by several times.


    "I''ve been tricked!" he cried out.


    To himself, he wondered, ''Didn''t they say that there would be a delay in the increase of gravity? Why did the gravitational force increase the moment my power erupted?''


    The white-browed man sitting at the table had a sneer on his face. "By using crooked ways instead of relying on your own strength, you will always fail miserably!"


    Actually, it wasn''t that Rhydian had been tricked.


    It was indeed possible to collect the divine weapon from the dome by using this method in a certain window of time.


    The gravity divine texture on the dome constantly detected the martial artist''s condition. However, this detection had a certain degree of time-delay. Some martial artists discovered the loophole, so they suppressed their strength at the beginning when they flew to the dome and then unleashed it when they figured that it was time to take advantage.


    Although this period of delay was short¡ªless than the blink of an eye¡ªit was enough for a martial artist to ascend.


    Weapon House certainly could not allow such a loophole to exist. Although they did not explicitly ban it, they secretly repaired the divine texture on the dome and eliminated it.


    This was something that Rhydian didn''t know. He falsely believed that he could take advantage of the loophole and get the divine weapon.


    Although the life vitality within his body had been unleashed, the gravitational force too multiplied by several times. The burst of life vitality had driven his body higher by several feet, but it was still some distance away from the nearest speck of red light.


    Worse, the speck of red light intentionally floated toward him. He was only a foot away from the red dot, but the small gap was like a chasm for Rhydian.


    "I''ll go all out to get it!"


    Suddenly, Rhydian''s eyes flashed red. He bit down on the tip of his tongue and h


    ed him, so he wanted to take a closer look to see if he had better choice.


    "Sure." The old man nodded and quickly unrolled the picture scroll before handing it to Zen.


    There were a total of sixteen first rank divine weapons on the first page. Rhydian had picked out four swords out of these sixteen.


    Zen skimmed through the pictures one by one. Apart from the four swords that Rhydian had chosen, there were sabers, spears, bows, and even a bag of arrows¡­


    One look alone told Zen that he did not need to pay another one hundred life vitality jades to get any of these. However, after flipping over the paper, he discovered that there was another page of weapons.


    "Eh? There is a second page?" A curious expression appeared on Zen''s face.


    Only three weapons were pictured on the second page.


    When Rhydian saw Zen''s curious expression, his lip curled. "You don''t need to look at the second page. You can''t get those weapons!"


    Zen glanced at Rhydian indifferently. "What does that have to do with you? I''m the one who gets to decide which page I want to look at!"


    Rhydian was furious about picking a secondary third-rank divine weapon, but when he heard the kid who had only just entered Mist Palace speak to him in such a manner, killing intent arose within him. Matteo, who was beside him, said, "Brother, he is one rude brat!"


    Sensing Rhydian''s killing intent, Zen remained unmoved. Instead, he glanced at Metteo with contempt as he continued to examine the second page.


    The white-browed elder smiled. "Everyone must observe the rules of Weapon House. If you want to fight, go outside!"


    Of course, Rhydian would not fight here. He only wanted to intimidate Zen. The white-browed man turned to Zen. "The weapons on the second page were left behind by former leaders of the palace. If you pay another one hundred life vitality jades, you can choose one of those three items and I will put it on the dome."

 Chapter 1344 A Constant Speed

    The second page of the scroll wasn''t even a secret in the Weapon House.


    The tradition had been passed down through the generations of the Mist Palace.


    When an old leader of the Mist Palace left his post, he usually left behind one of his treasures and placed it in the Weapon House.


    These three weapons belonged to the previous three leaders of the Mist Palace.


    Even first-rank divine weapons would be classified according to quality.


    The divine weapons of the previous leaders were naturally more powerful and much better than ordinary first-rank divine weapons.


    So the rule was that if one wanted to place the first-rank divine weapons on the first page into the dome, they had to pay one hundred life vitality jades and they could then choose any four weapons to place in the dome.


    But if one wanted to place the first-rank divine weapons of the second page into the dome, they also had to pay one hundred life vitality jades, but could only choose one weapon.


    Zen observed these three weapons carefully.


    Of the three weapons, two were sabers¡ªthe Positive Energy Saber and the Flame Shadow Saber!


    Zen had never practiced saber skills, which meant that sabers weren''t suitable for him. He casually browsed through them, his eyes skimming over the picture.


    Soon, Zen''s gaze fell on the last weapon.


    A sword.


    "The Thunder Wind Divine Sword!"


    This sword was five feet long.


    The force of the sword was like the wind, and the attack of the sharp sword like the thunder.


    "I used this sword for two hundred thousand years in the universe and when I left my post, I placed it in the Weapon House.


    Those who are lucky to meet this weapon can get it with their own strength.


    I wish the one who obtains this sword is able to achieve greater things with the help of this sword."


    Zen read the text underneath the sword. Those words had probably been left behind by the previous leader of the Mist Palace.


    Once he had finished reading, Zen''s eyes flashed. He pulled out one hundred life vitality jades from his space ring and handed them over to the white-eyebrowed elder.


    The white-eyebrowed elder smiled and asked, "Have you chosen the weapon?"


    "Yes," said Zen, nodding.


    "What have you chosen? I''ll release it for you," the white-eyebrowed elder said, his smile steady.


    Zen pointed and said, "I want the Thunder Wind Divine Sword."


    The elder''s smile vanished. "This sword has been left behind by the leader before last," he said flatly.


    "Has this leader undergone the Five Aging Processes?" Zen asked.


    Zen was just a young man, and the time scale of the Upper World was way different from what he could imagine. It was likely that the previous leader had entered the Five Aging Processes since leaving his


    ng to be calm. I think he''s only barely holding on. I''ve seen too many of his kind!"


    "You''re right. This guy should be able to obtain a third-rank divine weapon at most!" Matteo remarked.


    When the warriors around them heard this, some of them whispered, "He is stronger than you. He can get a third-rank divine weapon pretty easily."


    The white-eyebrowed elder, however, continued to look upon Zen with an amiable gaze laced with a tinge of surprise.


    He had guarded the Weapon House for so many years and had seen many warriors try to obtain divine weapons. There were many peerless talents among them who had had great confidence in themselves. But the white-eyebrowed elder had always felt the fluctuations in their state of mind.


    Even though Rhydian had also slowly ascended, he still needed to make use of a portion of his strength to resist the gravity. Because of this, he hadn''t risen at a constant speed. He moved in jerks, sometimes fast, sometimes slow.


    This was very similar to a person pushing a car, with strength being rhythmically released bit by bit.


    There was, however, an exception. If the car was very light, the person pushing the car could deal with it pretty easily, allowing the car to maintain a constant speed. But when a person pushed a heavy car, he could maintain a constant speed only if he had immense strength.


    It was similar to how Zen was moving upward. His speed was even, not too fast, not too slow. He wasn''t going to slow down even a little. This meant that Zen''s strength was more than enough to deal with the gravity and suppress it.


    ''This guy has maintained a uniform speed right from the very beginning. He''s probably trying to show off his strength. But does he have enough of it? And how high can he reach with such a uniform speed?'' the white-eyebrowed elder thought to himself.

 Chapter 1345 I Know

    The Weapon House was quite spacious, but the dome above Zen was only about two hundred feet high.


    If it weren''t for this powerful gravitational pressure, any martial artist would be perfectly capable of reaching the top of the dome if they wanted to.


    When Zen had risen to fifty feet high, the gravitational pressure was almost equal to that of a huge mountain weighing down on his body.


    This wasn''t a problem to Zen. He was able to maintain his speed as he rose and he wasn''t even breaking a sweat. He kept his focus on the blue dot of light at the very center of the dome¡ªthat was his target.


    When Zen rose by another twenty feet, he was already able to touch the white dots of light on the lowest layer.


    When Zen saw the secondary third-rank weapons of all kinds wrapped in the white light dots, he didn''t let himself get attracted. He just shifted his gaze and continued to rise. He could only take one weapon in this attempt. If he caught any of the white light spots, he would be most likely pulled down.


    The gravitational force had already doubled when Zen reached a height of seventy feet, and it began to cause more pressure for him.


    However, the pressure was still very minimal as he continued to slowly rise.


    When Zen reached one hundred feet, the pressure from the gravitational force became even greater. At this point, what floated around him were third-rank divine weapons now.


    He continued to go up¡­


    When he reached one hundred and twenty feet, the gravity increased yet again. The specks of light around him were secondary second rank divine weapons now¡­


    He continued to rise...


    As this happened, all the warriors in the Weapon House were silent.


    It was only then that they realized that Zen''s calm demeanor wasn''t an act.


    Even if he wanted to fake it, he couldn''t because he needed the strength.


    When Rhydian had reached this height before, his face had turned red due to the pressure of the gravity. However, there was still no signs of changes on Zen''s face. He didn''t show any signs of struggling with the pressure either.


    The elder was shocked to witness this and it was written all over his face.


    "A boy has reached such a height and he''s still able to maintain his speed. Normally, the gravity should be having some effect on him already."


    When other warriors tried to obtain a weapon from the dome, it was normal to maintain speed as the warrior rose in the beginning. But Zen had already reached a height of one hundred and twenty feet. At this height, he was still able to easily control his speed. If his strength were to suddenly erupt sending him into a rush towards the dome, up to what height could he possibly reach?


    The elder had actually wanted to discourage Zen from trying. Zen had take


    ediately took out a message rune and as it burned, he recorded a voice message.


    "Master, there''s a young boy here whose purpose is to obtain a weapon. It looks like he just joined the Mist Palace. I was wondering who recruited him here. The boy is actually..."


    Before the elder could finish speaking, Yolande''s indifferent voice interrupted him, "I know."


    "How do you know?" The elder was surprised. He hadn''t even finished what he was going to say and the leader wasn''t even here in the Weapon House. How could she already know who he was referring to?


    "I was the one who brought Zen into the Mist Palace. Let him take whatever he can get from there¡­" When Yolande finished speaking, she cut off the message right away. Since she had promised Zen that she would help him recover Lavender''s soul, she had no intention of going back on her word.


    As for the elder''s words, Yolande didn''t take them to heart.


    Zen surely wasn''t the only martial artist entering the Weapon House at this time. However, Yolande was certain that the only person who could make this old man suddenly talk to him was Zen. As for the two fellows Timothy had brought, they just couldn''t surprise the old man.


    No matter what, she still had a lot of confidence in Zen¡­


    After Yolande cut off the message rune, the elder looked at Zen and realized that he was the boy who had been personally brought in by the leader of the palace.


    Even if it was the leader who had personally brought him in, that still wasn''t an explanation as to why Zen was so amazing. The elder thought this over. The thirteen palaces were intended to be the places where talents for the alliance were discovered and honed. Every year, leaders and vice leaders from every palace brought in so many talents and they were all amazing. However, even so, Zen''s talent was still too rare.

 Chapter 1346 Control The Light Dots

    The other warriors of the Weapon House didn''t know what was going on. They felt that it was very easy for Zen to keep ascending higher and higher.


    In addition to the white-eyebrowed elder, Rhydian also found the whole thing pretty mysterious.


    Previously, when Rhydian flew higher off the ground, he had also deliberately suppressed a portion of his strength. He did this because he wanted to conserve his strength in order to use it after reaching a certain height. So his purpose was different from Zen''s.


    Despite deliberately restraining his strength, he would still be suppressed by the gravitational force after reaching this desired height. But he couldn''t be as calm and composed as Zen and maintain a uniform speed.


    Judging by this, Zen''s strength was far from reaching its limit!


    One hundred and fifty feet, one hundred and sixty feet...


    Small white light dots were jumping around Zen haphazardly. Within these dots lay second-rank divine weapons.


    Some light dots even landed on Zen''s face. If he reached out to grab them, he could get them easily.


    However, he continued to raise his head, and the chaotic energy within his body spun more wildly...


    Second-rank divine weapons existed at one hundred and sixty feet above the ground, while the secondary first-rank divine weapons were located at a height of one hundred and eighty feet.


    There were only four red light dots at a height of one hundred and ninety feet. These red dots signified the first-rank divine weapons that Rhydian had paid for. They cost him four hundred life vitality jades.


    The only divine weapon that Zen had chosen, with a blue light dot, floated at a height of two hundred feet. The blue light dot was constantly dancing close to the ceiling of the dome...


    "Rise..."


    The gravitational force was also getting stronger and stronger now!


    Zen was finding it hard to move up now. However, he maintained a delicate balance and made his chaotic energy spin faster and faster. At the same time, he used the power of the dragon scales to resist the gravitational pull.


    The dragon scales within his body lit up one by one like a string of lights.


    Five hundred dragon scales...


    One thousand...


    Two thousand...


    When four thousand dragon scales were activated, he had already reached a height of one hundred and ninety feet!


    If he moved horizontally at this moment, he could have pursued the four first-rank divine weapons.


    "This guy''s real target is the Thunder Wind Divine Sword..."


    "Actually, if he grabs a first-rank divine weapon, he would make a fortune! But this guy seems to be unsatisfied with those divine weapons."


    "Nonsense! He has the ability to chase the better weapon, so surely he would not pick the worse one."


    The warriors had already gauged that Zen possessed the strength to do so!


    t of their friends for a year...


    Zen''s body stabilized at a height of two hundred feet. He knew that if he relaxed even slightly, his efforts would be for naught and he would fall straight to the ground like Rhydian.


    Therefore, after reaching this height, he concentrated all of his energy on resisting the force of gravity and did not rush to chase after the blue light dot.


    The blue light dot continued to flutter about without any care. Occasionally, it would move closer to Zen to tempt him but just as it came close to him, it suddenly leaped away.


    Three seconds...


    Six seconds...


    Zen''s breathing became heavier and more strained.


    His physical body had already reached the limit at which he could bear the power. If he were to increase the power by even the slightest bit, it would break his physical body and he would come smashing down to the ground.


    "He is lost in thought even at a height of two hundred feet. This guy is really strange..."


    "He is probably concentrating on that blue light dot. Hovering at the height of two hundred feet is just too scary. Right now it''s like he''s walking on a tightrope. He can slow down. After all he can still withstand it, but he can''t make any mistakes. Otherwise he''ll just fall down!"


    "But even if he moves slowly, there must be a limit. He''s just standing still there!"


    At this moment, the white-eyebrowed elder was already standing and looking at Zen...


    A thought suddenly appeared in the white-eyebrowed elder''s mind. He did not think that Zen would obtain this Thunder Wind Divine Sword so easily. He wanted to see the limit of Zen''s strength!


    The white-eyebrowed elder had personally set up these light dots. If he wanted, he could easily control them.


    He didn''t mean to make things difficult for Zen. It was just that he was really curious and wanted to see whether Zen could hold on or not...

 Chapter 1347 Complaints

    Zen bid his time for a while at this height.


    He could already clearly see the trajectory of the blue light dot.


    As he determined the direction it was going in, a bright light flashed in his eyes as his body moved ahead.


    Whoosh!


    Even though the surge of energy within his body was close to its limits, he did not slow down as he rushed forward.


    As per his judgment, he should have an eighty percent chance of making it.


    The warriors on the ground were quite excited.


    "His victory is in sight! He can still maintain such a speed even now! He''s extraordinary!"


    "Any of those three divine weapons would be invaluable. He will possess one so soon after entering Mist Palace. I really envy him."


    Zen leaped toward the blue light dot, the distance between the two rapidly shrinking.


    The light dot drifted aimlessly. However, Zen had estimated the possible trajectory in the next few seconds and waited there ahead of time.


    It could be said that Zen was one step ahead of the light dot in reaching its destination. As the light dot moved, it only came closer to him.


    "It''s close!"


    At the moment, a hint of a smile rested on Zen''s face as he stretched his hand to grab the light dot.


    When the light dot was less than a foot away from his hand, it suddenly seemed to have sensed danger ahead and stopped mid-air.


    The smile on Zen''s face froze. As he clenched his teeth, his body flashed as he made a move to grab it.


    However, as he did that, the light dot retreated backward.


    Zen, along with the warriors of Weapon House, was greatly surprised.


    "Seriously? I have never heard of anything like this! The light dot has slipped away!"


    It was similar to how Rhydian had been trying to grab the red light dot earlier, but when he almost touched it, it left him.


    The warriors knew that the light dots were floating randomly. In Rhydian''s case, they blamed it on his misfortune. They thought that if his luck had been a little better, he would not have failed.


    But the way the blue light dot moved away just now was outrageous.


    The moment it was about to reach Zen, it stopped abruptly. When Zen had reached out to grab it, it looked like it darted away at will.


    It was unbelievable.


    Zen did not let it bother him too much. He did not want to waste more of his time and was not discouraged by failure. On the contrary, he tried his best to maintain his height. As he had leaped toward the light dot, his body fell four feet down. He now slowly ascended, his face beginning to turn stormy. It was quite difficult for any warrior to maintain his or her height while at the same time resisting the great gravitational force.


    However, the warriors b


    grew louder and louder and the atmosphere grew tense. Some of the warriors stepped forward to the white-eyebrowed elder. "Elder Yue, have you tricked us?"


    "That''s right. If you don''t want to give us the weapons, just tell us frankly. Don''t fool us!"


    "Hey man! Come down. You can''t get the weapon. Elder Yue is just making fun of you!"


    As the crowd clamored, the white-eyebrowed elder could no longer hold back his misery. His face was red from embarrassment. If this news were to get out, no warrior would come to the Weapon House again. That had not been the original intention.


    He had just discovered that although Zen could not catch the light dot by himself, his physical strength was extraordinary. Zen managed to keep himself at a height of two hundred feet. As soon as his height was lowered, he unfailingly increased it again.


    The white-eyebrowed elder had no way to determine the limits to Zen''s strength. If he increased the gravity of the divine texture by several times, Zen might be unable to withstand it. However, it was troublesome to modify the divine texture.


    As the elder stood being ridiculed by everyone in a slight daze, Zen took it as an opportunity to rush forward.


    He had already noticed the situation below and could guess what was happening. Losing no time in taking advantage of this, he once again moved toward the blue light dot. He drained almost all of his potential and increased his speed substantially. Zen reached out to grab the blue light dot and then descended at full tilt. Steadily, he landed on the ground and a sharp sword of astonishing length appeared in his hand.


    Even though Zen had now obtained the sword, the other warriors did not stop accusing the white-eyebrowed elder. The scene seemed to be getting a bit out of control.

 Chapter 1348 Unexpected News

    Zen didn''t even have time to examine the first-rank divine weapon in his hand before he heard the martial artists continuously denouncing the white-eyebrowed elder. The martial artists were not happy with what he did.


    The white-eyebrowed elder was a high-ranking senior. However, now he was besieged by so many martial artists of the younger generation. Plus, he was in the wrong, so he didn''t know what to say. Respect aside, he was supposed to apologize.


    "What, what are you talking about?" Zen walked over with a light smile on his face.


    The white-eyebrowed elder realized that if he did not give an explanation, the juniors wouldn''t let him go. He sighed and grudgingly said to Zen, "I''m so sorry about what I did just now. It''s not that I did not want you to obtain the sword; but, I was curious about your limits and thus, I controlled the light spot."


    "You finally admit it! You have indeed controlled the light spot!"


    "What a shame! The Weapon House might as well change its name to Dark Heart House!"


    "I don''t believe you anymore." The martial artists all roared at the elder in protest.


    The white-eyebrowed elder had admitted his mistake, but the martial artists were still aggressive, making it hard for him to back down.


    Surely, Zen knew that the blue light dot was being controlled by the white-eyebrowed elder. However, in the end, Zen had obtained the sword, and he even accepted the elder''s excuse. Zen waved his hand and said, "It''s alright. It was just a little strenuous activity."


    If the white-eyebrowed elder had insisted on not letting him have the sword, then Zen really might not have been able to obtain it.


    Since the elder had now made an apology, the martial artists who had a strong sense of justice quelled the anger in their hearts. Then, they looked at the first-rank divine weapon in Zen''s hand with envy. It was a magnificent weapon, and they would all have relished having it.


    For the vast majority of martial artists, an ordinary first-rank divine weapon was even something that was far beyond their reach.


    The standard length of an ordinary long sword was three feet and three inches, but the Thunder Wind Divine Sword was five feet long. It was nearly fifty percent longer than an ordinary sword; this ensured a further reach during combat, making its wielder formidable.


    Furthermore, its blade was slightly wider than that of an ordinary sword. It was somewhat similar to a heavy sword, but the blade was extremely thin and therefore more lightweight. In a sustained battle, it would enable another advantage to the martial artist who possessed it.


    At a glance, the sword had two layers. The inner core was light blue, while the outer edge was golden red. The hilt was engraved with complex patterns. From its appearance, it more resembled an exquisite piece of art, than a weapon.


    As for its power¡­


    Zen hadn''t known that he was being tested here. This group of martial artists had helped him, so he didn''t mind letting them admire his sword for a while longer. After a while, he placed the swor


    th Zen''s cultivation level, he could at best have obtained a third-rank divine weapon. If he was lucky, he would have been able to claim a secondary second-rank divine weapon. However, Timothy did not care about this at all.


    Zen smiled faintly and then took out the five-foot-long Thunder Wind Divine Sword from his space ring and said, "I''ve got this."


    The power contained within the Thunder Wind Divine Sword was astonishing. Even though Timothy had his back to Zen and was going to enter the hall, he felt the sword light pierce his back. The weapon emanated power and awed all who were near it.


    Timothy was almost as strong as a world lord. Only extremely sharp divine weapons could make him feel this awe. Ordinary swords had no effect on him.


    He had already taken a step into the True Mysterious Hall, but now he looked over his shoulder and stared intently at the weapon in Zen''s hand.


    He was very familiar with the Thunder Wind Divine Sword.


    And he had even used it for a period of time many years ago.


    However, as the vice leader of the Mist Palace, he was only qualified to use it, and could not claim it for himself.


    He hadn''t expected that Zen would actually be able to take ownership of the sword. His face was filled with an expression of disbelief.


    Actually, he wasn''t the only one who was surprised. Yolande''s beautiful eyes were also filled with surprised awe. When Elder Yue had spoken to her via the message rune, she was doing her best to restore Lavender''s soul, so she didn''t talk anything else with him. Originally, she had thought that Zen had taken a secondary first-rank divine weapon, or an ordinary first-rank one.


    However, she had never thought that Zen would actually be able to claim a former leader''s Thunder Wind Divine Sword. She just couldn''t believe it! Never, not even in her wildest dreams, had she considered Zen to be that powerful.


    She couldn''t help but shake her head. From her memories, she recalled that Zen had always been like this, always causing others to be surprised.

 Chapter 1349 Dazzling Light

    Despite Yolande''s shock, she had absorbed the memories of her two clones who had known Zen for quite some time. It was astonishing that Zen had managed to obtain the Thunder Wind Divine Sword, but it didn''t take her too long to accept this fact.


    That was also why she had been very calm when the manager of the weapons used the message rune to inform her. She believed that Zen was able to obtain a good weapon.


    Still, Zen had exceeded her expectations and had obtained an extraordinary first-rank divine weapon.


    Timothy was even more shocked. He stood frozen at the entrance of the hall.


    He was prejudiced against those who ascended from the Lower World. In addition to that, he was incompatible with Yolande, so he naturally wasn''t happy to see this happen.


    Even if he didn''t bump into Zen right then, he would surely hear about him obtaining the Thunder Wind Divine Sword sooner or later.


    The sword was so precious that even though he was the vice head, he was allowed to borrow it for a short time.


    But now, it belonged to Zen, completely!


    He was just a fifth level Life and Death Realm junior, and he had been in the Mist Palace for less than a day and yet he managed to snap up the sword.


    It wasn''t hard to imagine how much this frustrated Timothy. If Yolande wasn''t there at the point, he might have played the bully and just snatched the sword from the boy''s hand.


    But then again, he was the vice head of the palace. It would be too shameful if he really went so far as to snatch the sword from Zen!


    He just glared at Zen and the sword in his hand angrily. The sword that he had once desired was now detestable in his eyes. Finally, he turned around and entered the True Mysterious Hall.


    "Congrats to you," Yolande smiled at Zen. She was quite happy to see Timothy looking dejected for the second time that day.


    Zen merely nodded in reply. He was more worried about Lavender.


    Yolande, of course, understood this looking at his expression. However, this was not the place or the time to discuss this matter, so she led Zen into a hall.


    After they made sure that nobody else was around, Yolande took out the Soul Nurturing Wood and passed it to Zen.


    He scanned the wood after taking it from her. He could feel that Lavender''s soul was now much stronger than before, in fact it was even stronger than his own. He was also surprised to see that the surface of her soul was emitting a faint layer of silver-colored radiance.


    "Her soul... It''s at the Silver Fighting Soul Realm!" Zen exclaimed.


    When a soul was strong enough, it could reach the Fighting Soul Realm. At this realm one''s soul would be considered strong enough to assist one''s physical body in battles.


    Zen''s soul had already entered the Jasper Fighting Soul Realm. Above that was the Silver Fighting Soul Realm, a much stronger and


    reasons, she believed that she had done nothing wrong.


    She sized up Zen with a hint of curiosity on her face, "You''ve only reached the fifth level of the Life and Death Realm but you''ve already ascended to the Upper World. You didn''t ascend on your own. You had some help, didn''t you?"


    Free ascension through the ascending passage was an ancient and rigid rule. Lavender had never heard of a warrior who could ascend on his or her own without reaching the Soul Sea Realm.


    Zen shook his head and answered earnestly, "Yes, I ascended on my own through the ascending passage."


    "But..." A baffled expression appeared on Lavender''s face.


    Zen smiled softly. Lavender had been in a deep slumber for a long time. He began to tell her about his journey to the Divine Kingdom Continent, as well as everything that had happened after that...


    At the same time, about thirty thousand supreme worlds away from the Mist Palace, a pretty woman in a yellow robe stood quietly in front of a statue, her eyes full of hatred.


    This charming woman wasn''t human. She had a perfect figure quite unlike an ordinary human girl, and the biggest difference was her long, pointed ears.


    She was another queen of the Demon Night race ¡ª the Queen of Punishment, who had two head-on conflicts with Zen!


    There were three queens'' statues in her palace just like the ones in the other residences of the Demon Night race.


    These days, she had been keeping an eye on the statue of Lavender, the Queen of Killings.


    She knew that Lavender had been on the verge of dying. There was only a faint light on the statue; it hadn''t vanished completely. It seemed that Lavender''s soul would die anytime now ¡ª something she was looking forward to!


    But earlier today, the statue had suddenly started emitting a dazzling red light. The red light had a thick aura of slaughter, and it was quite disturbing to her eyes.

 Chapter 1350 I Have A Roaring Token

    The Queen of Punishment stared blankly at Lavender''s statue, which seemed to stare back at her. She''d felt a deep sense of foreboding¡ªif she did not kill Lavender the soonest possible, she might end up being dethroned.


    She had learned from the queen''s statue that a strand of Lavender''s soul still remained. As long as the statue wasn''t completely dark, Lavender''s soul was alive somewhere in this universe.


    However, the Queen of Punishment thought that it was useless. Lavender''s soul would soon vanish any time, like a candle flame amidst a gale.


    Thus, she didn''t think too much when she found out about Lavender through the queen''s statue.


    The remaining soul had little to no effect, and at that time Zen was only a Virtual Tribulation Realm warrior. To her, Zen was no more than a mosquito.


    The second time the Queen of Punishment saw Zen, he had broken through to the Life and Death Realm. It had only taken him a year or two and he also had quite the fast cultivation speed. However, she still didn''t consider him a big threat. In her opinion, warriors at the Virtual Tribulation Realm and the Life and Death Realm weren''t that powerful.


    Nevertheless, she had decided to be on guard during that time.


    That was why she had forcefully controlled the members of the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place¡ªshe had intended to destroy Lavender''s soul. However, Zen had discovered her plan in advance, and managed to stop her from fulfilling her plan.


    And now, Lavender''s soul had gotten a million times stronger!


    It was further confirmed as it was something that she could sense from the statue, which was filled with killing intent.


    ''An almighty master has helped Lavender repair her soul...'' The Queen of Punishment''s face was unreadable. ''It seemed like that man has ascended to the Upper World, '' she thought.


    While Lavender''s soul had been repaired, it still wasn''t enough to threaten the Queen of Punishment¡ªonly later, she had discovered that Lavender''s soul which used to be like only a spark, seemed to have the power to burn now.


    Therefore, the Queen felt uneasy and threatened.


    It was possible to restore Lavender''s soul now, which meant that she could obtain a complete physical body in the future. She might even recover her cultivation and be strong enough to fight back against the Queen of Punishment.


    With that thought in mind, the Queen of Punishment began to feel queasy. Even Lavender''s statue looked like it had a mocking look in its eyes.


    "How dare you mock me?" With teeth clenched, the Queen of Punishment angrily flicked a finger. An invisible wave of energy rippled out, which caused Lavender''s statue to crack and suddenly collapse.


    The queens'' statues which were scattered throughout sacred places of the Demon Night were made of different materials. Those that were in the Queen of Punishment''s hall were made of the best adamantine spar, but could not withstand the power of a light flick from her finger


    a queen!"


    "So the Queen of Punishment is called Elena," Zen said. He decided to remember her name by heart, as he couldn''t always call her a bitch.


    Suddenly, Leroy Meng responded right away, "You bitch, you''re not even qualified to call me a traitor! Lavender''s soul has recovered a lot, and some powerful master might''ve even helped her. I''m sure that you''ll be dethroned someday. I am indeed about to enter the Five Aging Processes, but I believe that I could wait and see you be exiled in the future!"


    Leroy''s words had sent Lavender into a state of frenzy.


    Back then, Lavender had always maintained a calm and cold exterior no matter the situation. However, she was extremely excited right now, which had never happened before.


    "A powerful master has helped her? Ha-ha! Just so you know, only a part of her soul has been repaired, and she hasn''t completely recovered yet. She even has no way of responding to you right now. I''m afraid that she doesn''t even have a Roaring Token!" the Queen of Punishment sneered. At that moment, a few other voices from around the universe chimed in as well.


    "Leroy, find a suitable replacement for Lavender, as the Queen of Killings is right.


    Why are you still so stubborn? Can''t you see the current situation now?"


    "Now, it''s impossible for Lavender to return to the Demon Night. Her remnant soul won''t be able to hold on for long..."


    "Leroy, do you think we''re only good for show? Who in the universe could cast Elena off the throne? You? Humph! Don''t be so silly!"


    Those who responded with the Roaring Tokens were none other than the Night Demon''s Supreme Lords, who were all supporters of the Queen of Punishment.


    When Lavender heard their words, she bit her bottom lip and said, "It''s really sad that I don''t have a Roaring Token..."


    While Lavender felt gloomy, Zen simply smiled.


    Lavender saw Zen and frowned. "What''s so funny?"


    "Because I have a Roaring Token," Zen said with a sly smile.

 Chapter 1351 Beg Me And Ill Stop Talking

    Although Zen told her what happened after she fell asleep, he barely had enough time to go into detail. As he first explained what unfolded, the Roaring Token was missing from his narration.


    But Lavender was someone Zen trusted absolutely¡ªhe had no need to hide anything from her.


    Of course, Lavender was rather taken aback to have heard that Zen was in possession of a Roaring Token.


    But even the Roaring Token wasn''t something all too precious in Lavender''s eyes.


    She was the queen of Demon Night, after all. Although she wasn''t the strongest, she was still the Demon Night''s spiritual totem¡ªeven the Supreme Lords had to bow before the three queens.


    In the past, she had over three hundred Roaring Tokens, much more than what many Supreme Lords possessed.


    Even though it wasn''t much to her, a single Roaring Token was already extremely valuable to ordinary warriors or Zen.


    Zen was someone Lavender believed to know very well. While it certainly wasn''t difficult for him to earn life vitality crystals, it wasn''t too long ago when he ascended to the Upper World. A Roaring Token was worth a year''s expense of a tenth-grade sacred place¡ªhow could Zen have possibly obtained one?


    "Did Yolande give it to you?" Lavender asked after a moment of thought.


    But Zen only shook his head. "No, it''s mine." With that, he handed her the token and said, "Feel free to use it. I''m not fit to speak¡­"


    "What? Why?" Lavender asked curiously.


    "You''ll know in a while," Zen said with a smile as he shook his head.


    The fact that Zen had used the Roaring Token to curse Supreme Lords had escaped Lavender. He even had used it to count the numbers merely to kill time¡ªmost people should have remembered his voice.


    But there were tens of millions of creatures in the universe¡ªany two people could easily have similar voices.


    If Zen were to use the Roaring Token at this moment, it was likely that Elena would suspect him. With that, he decided to let Lavender speak for herself.


    Under Lavender''s odd gaze, Zen helped her activate the Roaring Token. She coldly said through Roaring Token, "Elena, who said that I don''t have a Roaring Token? I want to see how long you can keep being so arrogant, you bitch! I, Lavender, as the Queen of Killings of the Demon Night, will forever be queen. I will not die so long as the Demon Night race exists. And, I will definitely remove you from the throne!"


    The sound of her voice rang through the entire supreme worlds through the Roaring Token.


    Since she thought she only had one token, it was her only chance at speaking to the entire supreme worlds¡ªshe had to make the most of it.


    "Lavender, you really came back! Where are you?" In an instant, Supreme Lord Leroy''s voice came through.


    Queen of Punishment E


    ment she heard the sound, the corners of her mouth tugged up. She couldn''t help but shake her head, ''This Zen is truly vicious¡­''


    As for the Supreme Lords of the other races, they could only keep their mouths shut.


    The argument between the two queens of the Demon Night had nothing to do with them, but many races were rather entertained to see the scene.


    Although the Demon Night race wasn''t high in number and they didn''t occupy that many supreme worlds, they were an extremely powerful race. The more intense their internal strife was, the smugger the other races could be.


    But all the other races also found it rather strange¡ªwasn''t the Queen of Killings close to demise? Where on earth did she get so many Roaring Tokens? Why did it feel like the Roaring Tokens kept losing their worth?


    At first, the mysterious woman appeared, followed by another mysterious youth. And now, it was the Queen of Killings of the Demon Night who squandered the Roaring Tokens. Just how did they obtain so many of them?


    And now, Elena seemed like she was going crazy.


    In the middle of it all, Elena already regretted that she had started the verbal war with Lavender¡ªthe latter seemed to have endless Roaring Tokens.


    In the hall, Elena covered her ears, desperately trying to stop the voice from reaching her ears. But the sound of the token was impossible to avoid¡ªit was pouring directly into her mind.


    "Enough!"


    Shouting as loud as she could, Elena activated a Roaring Token.


    "Enough? Beg me! Beg me and I''ll stop talking," Lavender returned coldly.


    "You''re a wisp of soul at its last breath. Do you really think you deserve me begging you? You must be dreaming!" Elena replied resolutely. How could she go and beg for Lavender''s mercy in front of the entire Demon Night race?


    "Then¡­ I''ll go on," Lavender''s voice resounded.

 Chapter 1352 Image

    This scolding battle was even way more outrageous than the one Zen had participated in last time.


    To put it into perspective, this one had been going on for at least fourteen to sixteen hours now.


    Lavender paused, noticing the stunned expression on Zen''s face.


    "Is there something wrong?" she asked.


    "No, nothing''s wrong! Just curse as much as you want," Zen assured her.


    Lavender''s face reddened in embarrassment, realizing just how much she had cursed in front of Zen. She didn''t know why, but she didn''t feel good about the possibility that Zen might see her as a shrew...


    So she shook her head and stopped the scolding.


    Contrary to what she thought though, Zen completely understood her need to vent. At least she could use this Roaring Token to nag at the Queen of Punishment and make her feel uncomfortable whenever and wherever.


    She handed the token back to Zen and watched him put it away. "Where did you get this Roaring Token?" she asked.


    Lavender had used Roaring Tokens for tens of thousands of times in the past but she never thought this kind of token existed. She never thought someone would be able to create a Roaring Token that could be used for an unlimited number of times.


    "I''ve told you about the fairy palace, right?" Zen said.


    Lavender nodded. "Yes¡­"


    She''d heard about it but never really paid much attention whenever Zen mentioned it. The fairy palace of the Lower World wasn''t anything remarkable to someone like her.


    "I obtained this Roaring Token from the fairy palace. I might be able to enter that place again in the future. You''ll know more about it by then," he told her.


    Lavender didn''t think the fairy palace would contain such a divine object. It seemed her perceptions were wrong and the palace itself was actually an extraordinary place.


    Just as they were talking, the entrance to Zen''s small palace was thrown open with a bang.


    "Brat! I''ve been waiting for you day and night! Why do you still stay at this place?" the intruder roared as he entered.


    Zen shook his head and threw a wink at Lavender. She nodded her head and quickly slipped back into his body.


    Sighing, Zen gathered his wits and prepared to meet the people in front of his abode.


    A group of warriors were gathered by the entryway. Zen was already familiar with these types of situations but he was still perplexed as to why there were suddenly so many people in front of him. He had just entered the Mist Palace and had yet to make enemies so he didn''t know what this ruckus was for.


    "What''s up?" he asked faintly, looking more


    chest onto the small palace wall behind them.


    Zen stood to the side and held onto the Thunder Wind Divine Sword tightly. "Nine seconds pass quite fast," he muttered indifferently.


    Everyone was gobsmacked at what they had just witnessed in front of them!


    "Such fast speed!"


    "He''s crazy strong! Jared Bi was sent flying with just one punch!"


    "Jared Bi''s strong but he''s too arrogant for his own good!"


    They understood that Zen might have possessed some sort of extreme strength since he was able to obtain the Thunder Wind Divine Sword. However, the fact remained that he was still only at the fifth level of the Life and Death Realm. There was no way he could fight against a Soul Sea Realm master. Or could he?


    Zen''s lightning-fast punch had made everyone second-guess their assumptions for this young man.


    "I should have tested the sword''s power just now¡­" Zen muttered to himself, shaking his head in regret as he walked away from the scene.


    The power of this sword...


    His offhanded remark made those who heard it gulp in fear. If his punch had already been enough to heavily injure Jared Bi, what more could his sword?


    The thought hung over their heads as a threat. At that moment, they knew Zen would not hesitate to kill anyone who got in his way.


    Just as Zen was about to close the door behind him, a voice rang out through the entry hall, "Wait!" A short warrior had burst through the crowd.


    "What is it?" Zen asked.


    "I''ll give you money for the sword! I''ll make sure the price will be fair and good!" the short warrior uttered.


    However, Zen shook his head. "It''s not for sale."


    "Three hundred thousand life vitality jades!" the short warrior exclaimed in one breath.

 Chapter 1353 Fight For The Sword

    Everyone''s breath hitched at the amount this short warrior was proposing. A life vitality jade''s value was ten thousand times higher than a mere life vitality crystal.


    With this conversion rate, that would mean that three hundred thousand life vitality jades would be equal to three billion supreme life vitality crystals! Just thinking of such stupendous amount was enough to have someone''s palm itching.


    The Thunder Wind Divine Sword was indeed a first-rank divine weapon, but offering three hundred thousand life vitality jades for it was still too shocking.


    Nonetheless, the warriors knew the bidder could afford it.


    "Caleb''s family controls 80% of the mines in dozens of supreme worlds. The price of three hundred thousand life vitality jades is something he could definitely afford!"


    "But if I were the one who had the sword, I wouldn''t sell it even for a price that good. Life vitality jades can be earned through time but acquiring a first-rank divine weapon is just once-in-a-lifetime! Besides, having such a great weapon can increase your chances of survival in a tough fight!"


    Caleb Jia did not pay attention to this idle talk and merely stared at Zen expectantly. "What do you think? The price I''m offering is fair, isn''t it?"


    However, Zen shook his head. "I''m sorry. It''s got nothing to do with the price. This sword is simply not for sale."


    Caleb Jia was powerless against Zen''s refusal. There was no way he could resort to force since his abilities were far inferior to those of Jared who had already been beaten up by Zen.


    Zen turned to close the door again, not really willing to waste even more time bothering with these Ice Cloud House warriors.


    Just as he was about to pull the door shut, a life vitality jade was suddenly thrown into the gap and rolled towards him.


    A voice rang out from the crowd, "Jim of the Swallow Cloud House wants to exchange a single life vitality jade for the sword. If you give the sword to him, he will ensure your safety in the Mist Palace. If you refuse, your life may become forfeit in your stay here."


    "This..."


    Such an obvious display of arrogance had Zen raging in his mind.


    There was clearly something wrong with these warriors. He was the one who took this sword from the Weapon House. It rightfully belonged to him. These warriors were greedy and were not willing to work hard enough to go to the Weapon House and take it for themselves. Now that he had it, all of them were scrambling to take it away from him.


    His goal in sending Jared flying with a single punch was to intimidate these warriors so they would leave him alone. He didn''t expect that they would be far more insistent when it came to the sword.


    And now the warriors from the Swallow Cloud House also wanted to take it.


    He was aware of the gap in power between the two Houses. The Ice Cloud House couldn''t be compared with Swallow Cloud House in terms of disciples, but Zen did no


    if it''s left under your possession. I advise you to sell it to me. It''s the best choice you can make for yourself and for the sword!"


    Apparently, according to this crazed maniac, Zen had to give him his sword with three reasons: first, he collected swords and treated them as friends; second, his cultivation did not match with it; third, it was going to be sad if it was left with him. Just what kind of logic was that?


    He had a lot of reasons to refute but Zen didn''t feel like it would be worth it. It seemed the only way to establish his prestige here in the Mist Palace was to fight someone so these warriors would stop messing with him. It seemed he had to do the same thing he did back when he was still in the Lower World.


    Taking Zen''s silence as his refusal, Jim once again spoke through the door, "Don''t be so silly and reckless. If I fight with you, you''re just going to end up losing an arm or a leg..."


    And with that, Jim slowly walked towards the palace entrance, fully intent on entering Zen''s abode.


    Everyone knew Zen was definitely not going to hand over the weapon willingly. Jim, on the other hand, was a powerful warrior of the Swallow Cloud House. They couldn''t help but sigh, knowing Zen was going to suffer under Jim''s hands.


    Inside the palace, Zen''s eyes suddenly opened. He sat cross-legged on the floor and waited.


    The Thunder Wind Divine Sword lay still in his hands and Lavender watched as his eyes grew sharper with each passing moment.


    Just as Jim was fifty feet away from the palace entrance, Zen''s arm shook and the sword suddenly trembled. The momentum of wind and thunder fused with his sword intent and a faint, invisible wave burst out.


    He hadn''t used all of his strength since he wasn''t intending on killing anyone. The Mist Palace''s rules were still unknown to him since he was a newcomer. All he really wanted to do was to teach Jim a lesson.


    However, that formless wave had given Zen a fright!

 Chapter 1354 Law Power Enhancement

    An invisible wave of energy shot out of the Thunder Wind Divine Sword. But it could only create a crack on the gate.


    The wave of energy released a lightning that was dark blue in color and a black-as-night wind blade. These two kinds of Law Powers intertwined together to form a blurry figure that rushed at Jim.


    "What is this?"


    Zen asked, his gaze suddenly freezing.


    "The fourth layer of the Wind Law and the fourth layer of the Thunder Law!"


    Until now, Zen had only grasped the third layer of the Law Powers, irrespective of whether it was the Wind Law, the Thunder Law, or the Fire Law.


    But when he poured the chaotic energy into the Thunder Wind Divine Sword, it had actually touched upon the fourth layer of the Law Powers.


    Lavender wrapped her arms around her knees and looked at Zen''s sword light through the crack. "This sword has the ability of Law Power enhancement," she said, impressed. "It''s not bad for a first-rank divine weapon."


    "Law Power enhancement?"


    "Yes. This sword can help you increase your Law Power."


    "Doesn''t that mean that I can display the fifth layer when I comprehend the fourth layer of the Law Power?" Zen''s eyes lit up.


    Lavender shook her head. "It isn''t that easy! The gap between the fourth and the fifth layers is huge. Controlling the first few layers of the Law Power isn''t difficult, but things are completely different when it comes to the higher layers. This sword can only enhance your Law Power, but it can''t help you increase the layers."


    Zen nodded in dawning comprehension. "So that''s how it is!" It was already turning out to be of great help to him.


    What was more, the sword seemed to have more benefits than just this. For example, the blurry figure!


    Jim was a warrior belonging to the Swallow Cloud House, and was extremely confident in his own strength. The warriors from the Ice Cloud House and those from the Swallow Cloud House weren''t easy to deal with. People who could enter the Mist Palace could be considered top talents in the Upper World, and only extremely powerful warriors of ten-grade sacred places were qualified to enter the Mist Palace.


    Only by standing out in Ice Cloud House and joining Swallow Cloud House could they be considered super talents, worthy of the alliance spending resources in nurturing them.


    This was why Jim was so arrogant. According to him, this new member of the Mist Palace had obtained the Thunder Wind Divine Sword through sheer luck.


    He had even thought that Zen wouldn''t dare fight him.


    But the moment he walked over unhesitatingly on


    st a fierce glance in Zen''s direction before making a quick exit.


    No other warriors dared linger or approach Zen''s house.


    Jim belonged to the Swallow Cloud House, but had almost been disabled by Zen''s sword strike. How could this group of Ice Cloud House warriors not learn a lesson from Jim''s fate? Wasn''t this courting death?


    In no time, the area in front of Zen''s door had emptied.


    The corners of Zen''s mouth curled up in a smile at this.


    Finally, peace and quiet!


    Zen hadn''t thought that he would attract such a huge reaction with just a sword strike. The people in the Mist Palace weren''t easy to deal with. But he was sure no one would look for trouble with him in the near future.


    "What are your plans after this?" Zen asked Lavender cautiously.


    Zen''s strength at this moment was far from enough in the Upper World. Even someone at the Spirit Supreme Realm could beat Zen very easily, let alone a world lord.


    The Queen of Punishment, on the other hand, had the cultivation of a world lord. At Zen''s current strength, he wasn''t even qualified to stand in front of her.


    "I''ll wait!" Lavender said with a queer smile.


    "Wait for what?" Zen asked again.


    "Wait for you to grow," Lavender replied.


    This answer left Zen speechless, unsure of whether to laugh or to cry.


    At this stage, Zen''s cultivation had already reached the peak of the fifth grade of the Life and Death Realm. He should have been prepared to fight against the sixth small Heavenly Tribulation.


    But just as he was preparing for it, someone else had come to the Mist Palace. To Zen''s surprise, it was the previous owner of the Thunder Wind Divine Sword, who was also the previous leader of the Mist Palace.

 Chapter 1355 Well Give It To You

    In the hall on the highest floor of the Mist Palace, sat an old man wearing a long black robe. Next to him was a young woman wearing a cyan dress.


    The girl was very young. She was only twenty years old¡ªtwo years younger than Zen.


    "I happened to drop by this world, so I thought I would visit you. By the way, I want you to do me a favor," the old man said slowly.


    Yolande, who was sitting on the side, was extremely respectful to the old man as she replied with a smile, "Master Xiao, please tell me. I''ll do my best to meet your demand." As she spoke, she sized up the girl beside the old man and continued, "Could it be that you want to let this girl cultivate in our Mist Palace?"


    The reason Yolande was being so respectful to the old man was that he was one of the previous leaders of the Mist Palace and also the previous owner of the Thunder Wind Divine Sword. His name was Kyron Xiao.


    He was truly outstanding. It was rumored that he was planning to make a breakthrough to become a Supreme Lord. He was considered a popular character in the alliance.


    Kyron Xiao shook his head, before saying, "I had hosted the Mist Palace for 13, 000 years, and had taught countless disciples. However, I have never accepted a personal disciple. But now I have one. She is my only and last personal disciple."


    The cyan-clothed woman beside him stood tall with a trace of arrogance on her face.


    Yolande smiled at the woman''s expression. If Kyron Xiao really became a Supreme Lord, this woman would be considered a Supreme Lord descendant. She had every reason to be arrogant having the opportunity of inheriting the resources and cultivation methods from a Supreme Lord at this age.


    "Congratulations, Master Xiao, for having such an outstanding disciple. If I''m not mistaken, your disciple seems to have the fate to lead the world of chaos," Yolande remarked.


    Kyron Xiao seemed to be very happy. After he finished laughing, his face revealed a hint of dejection. He let out a sigh and said, "The world of chaos has already revealed itself. Even Supreme Lords are destined to just be bystanders. We will have to see how the favorite warriors of this era will perform on the stage of the world of chaos."


    His disciple immediately said, "Master, I will definitely not let you down!"


    Kyron Xiao nodded and said, "You certainly won''t disappoint me, Layla." Then, he turned to Yolande and said, "If I remember correctly, the alliance is going to hold ''Passing the Torch.'' I want Layla to participate in it on behalf of the Mist Palace. Would you please do m


    nk divine weapon so seriously. After tidying up, he rushed over according to Yolande''s directions.


    He quickly entered the large hall led by two stewards.


    When Kyron Xiao saw Zen, he stared at him unblinking. A bewildered expression came on his face, but he quickly suppressed it and said with a smile, "I heard that it was you who took away my Thunder Wind Divine Sword."


    Zen cupped his hands towards him and said, "Yes. It was me who took away your Thunder Wind Divine Sword."


    "Good! You''re at the Life and Death Realm and have only experienced five small Heavenly Tribulations. I think you will make good use of it," Kyron Xiao commented.


    "From what you''re saying, I hope you don''t want it back?" Zen asked.


    It was Layla Ai who spoke first. "Are you kidding me? Master doesn''t care about a first-rank divine weapon. Why would we want it back? We will give it to you."


    Zen bristled at her comment. "I took this sword with my own strength, and I also spent life vitality jades. How can you say that you''ll give it to me?"


    If Kyron Xiao had made this statement, Zen wouldn''t have gotten so offended. But the woman beside him made it sound like she was doing charity to him. She got on his nerves. ''I''m not a beggar. And this sword is not given by you!'' he thought angrily.


    "You..." Layla Ai bit back her retort when her master shook his head and said, "Indeed. The rules of the Weapon House were set by my master back then. Whoever has the ability to take a weapon in the Weapon House shall be its owner. Young man, since you have obtained the Thunder Wind Divine Sword, I shall also give you a set of mind method. Otherwise, the power of this sword will be greatly reduced in your hands."

 Chapter 1356 Smell Of Gunpowder

    The true secrets of the Thunder Wind Divine Sword lay within the shadow of the figure.


    The first time Zen had wielded the sword, he discovered this mystery and pondered over it for a long time.


    Each time he swung it, it would produce lightning and wind blade, and at the same time, a human figure would appear alongside them.


    Curiously, Zen felt that he had a connection to it.


    However, he had tried many times to control that figure, but he could not do so. Eventually, Lavender came to the conclusion that perhaps a certain cultivation method existed to match this Thunder Wind Divine Sword. It might be very difficult for Zen to get knowledge of this method.


    Therefore, when Zen heard the words of the former leader of the palace, he raised his eyebrows and asked, "The mind method in relation to the Thunder Wind Divine Sword?"


    Kyron nodded. "It seems you''ve already tried to wield the sword. I''m afraid you won''t be able to control the Nether God Shadow within it¡­"


    "Yes, I''ve tried many times, but I couldn''t grasp the technique," Zen replied.


    "It is not something that you can master merely by trying," Kyron said as he took out a jade slip and handed it over to his disciple, Layla.


    Layla wanted to step forward and hand it to Zen, but with a quick thought, she gently tossed the jade slip in the air. The slip then flew toward Zen slowly.


    She didn''t use her life vitality or any other method to throw the jade slip at him. Instead, she manipulated time in the space between her and Zen.


    "Time Law?" Zen smiled at this silently.


    In truth, this was only the first layer of the Time Law. Any martial artist who had comprehended the first layer would be able to do so, but Layla had used the Time Law in a clever manner. She had precisely calculated the distance between her and Zen to direct the law within the range.


    It was obvious that she did it to show off her skills.


    Zen had taken away the sword before her, and she was still unwilling to accept that. She wanted Zen to understand the chasm between him and her.


    Layla, in fact, did not care about the Thunder Wind Divine Sword. She knew her fate. As long as she did not die, she would be the star of this era. As the world of chaos slowly unleashed itself, she would eventually become one of the top warriors.


    As for this boy, Zen... he was nothing!


    Zen felt a trace of hostility coming from this woman in cyan. It left him a little baffled.


    Of course, he did not take this to heart.


    As the jade slip slowly flew toward him, it got slower once it reached halfway. Although it still moved forward, its speed was like that of an inchworm. If one did not look carefully, one would think that the jade slip was frozen mid-air.


    Seeing this, Zen smiled as he took a step forw


    was known as the ''Nether God Mind Method''. With this technique, a cultivator was able to control the ''Nether God Shadow'' within the Thunder Wind Divine Sword.


    The first time he used the sword, the shadow only performed a barging fist. After days of training with the Nether God Mind Method, the movements of the figure had become much more complicated.


    Whoosh!


    The figure in the large hall rushed forward. After a confident stride, it turned and meandered ahead before doing a somersault and gradually dissipating into thin air.


    Zen wielded the sword once again and another shadow of a figure shot out. A dense stream of fist radiance emerged from its hand. Within a short period of time, the shadow had performed an entire set of boxing movements before gradually disappearing again.


    Swoosh!


    Zen drew back his sword slowly and fell into deep thought.


    If a single strike was capable of producing a single Nether God Shadow, did that mean he would be able to make multiple Nether God Shadows if he swung the sword in successive motions?


    As he thought of this, Zen extracted a large amount of chaotic energy from his cinnabar field and let it gush into the long sword. Suddenly, killing intent clouded his eyes as he quickly brandished the Thunder Wind Divine Sword.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Zen struck ten times in one breath.


    To an ordinary swordsman, it was not tough to thrust a sword so many times in the blink of an eye.


    But as Zen finished the ten strikes, ten Nether God Shadows appeared before him, each performing a different set of movements.


    If the original possessor of the Thunder Wind Divine Sword, the former leader of Mist Palace, had witnessed this, he would have been dumbstruck. He had never imagined that someone would be able to use the Nether God Shadow successfully to this extent.

 Chapter 1357 Helpless

    All divine weapons had great, impressive origins, not to mention the first-rank divine weapon.


    Even though the Thunder Wind Divine Sword couldn''t be ranked within the Universe Spirit Tablet, it was definitely a masterpiece that one couldn''t deny.


    Kyron Xiao was the owner of this sword. In the past, he had only been able to create three Nether God Shadows simultaneously, when he wielded the sword. According to the description of the Nether God Mind Method, the Thunder Wind Divine Sword could only produce three Nether God Shadows at most.


    It was not that Kyron''s sword technique was not fast enough. With his high cultivation level, his understanding of sword techniques was not something that Zen could compare with. It was just that when the fourth Nether God Shadow appeared, the first Nether God Shadow disappeared so as to maintain the balance. It meant that only three Nether God Shadows could appear at the same time, regardless if a new Nether God Shadow appeared or not.


    But now, when Zen casually struck out with his Thunder Wind Divine Sword, ten Nether God Shadows appeared side by side. He had undoubtedly broken the rules of the Nether God Mind Method.


    As for the reason, Zen could not explain it, but he could only attribute it to the chaotic energy. It seemed that the effects of the cultivation methods and the laws activated by the chaotic energy were increased by a lot, hence also increasing the number of Nether God Shadows. It was the only plausible explanation that Zen could come up with, although he had no way to prove it.


    Besides, his attention was mostly on the Nether God Shadows and not the reason why they appeared. He must admit that this method was quite interesting.


    Using the Nether God Shadows, Zen created countless battle techniques, such as a few strikes where the Nether God Shadows were coordinating with each other, or just using the huge-crowd tactics to attack all at once. There was indeed much more room to improve and he was willing to grind until the technique reached its full potential.


    In addition to these Nether God Shadows, Zen had his own sword spirit¡ªLavender. She could hide amongst the Nether Divine Shadows to carry out assassination.


    Now that she had recovered most of her soul power and possessed the Silver Fighting Soul, she would be able to kill even powerful masters if she caught them off guard...


    The news that Zen took the Thunder Wind Divine Sword after entering the Mist Palace had quickly caught other warriors'' attention. They couldn''t believe that he was able to do such a thing.


    As for that sword attack performed by Zen, it had been widely spread and discussed by others in the Mist Palace.


    The warriors of the Ice Cloud House did not dare provoke Zen, but the warriors of the Swallow Cloud House


    were very concerned about this matter. Some of the talents even threatened to challenge Zen, as though they were not aware of the dangers they''d be facing once Zen took up the challenge.


    On the other hand, several top talented warriors from the Swallow Cloud House reacted indifferently as they didn''t have much interest in Zen.


    After all, those super talents were still quite reserved. The Thunder Wind Divine Sword was indeed attractive, but if they took action against a Life and Death Realm newcomer because of a minor matter like this, their image would suffer.


    As for that remarkable sword strike, it seemed like they did not pay attention to it.


    Because the tor


    aused by Layla Ai, the entrance to his residence was once again bustling with noise and excitement. He was so unlucky to be this woman''s neighbor. Even worse, their residences faced each other, so they almost shared the same entrance.


    It was early in the morning, and Zen had spent the entire night cultivating. He didn''t appreciate the noise at all.


    Lavender quietly lit three incenses to help Zen concentrate his focus. The faint fragrance could make people feel refreshed and at peace.


    Suddenly, there was an explosion of noise outside.


    "I, Ryker Lu of the Swallow Cloud House, accept your challenge!"


    Immediately after that, there was a burst of cheers. It seemed everybody wanted to see Layla Ai lose.


    "Come on, Ryker. Do your best!"


    "This woman is too arrogant. We should teach her a lesson!"


    "Ryker Lu is ranked 79th in the Swallow Cloud House. This woman shouldn''t be a match for him..."


    Zen could not help but reveal an amused yet annoyed smile on his face. This kind of disturbance really did not stop whether he liked it or not.


    In the past few days, there had been four or five warriors who had come to challenge Layla Ai. Moreover, they were all from the Swallow Cloud House, including the warriors ranking among the top 400, top 200, and even in the top 100.


    Among them, Ryker Lu was ranked 79th.


    The previous warriors had all suffered a crushing defeat while fighting Layla Ai.


    The more miserable the warriors of the Swallow Cloud House had become, the more they wanted to triumph over Layla Ai.


    If the warriors of the Swallow Cloud House did not win in the next round, this challenge would continue until Layla Ai was successfully defeated.


    That also meant the commotion would go on for a long time. Zen truly hoped that Ryker Lu could defeat Layla Ai. Otherwise, he would have to suffer through the noise every single day.


    Lavender faced the door and glanced indifferently before saying, "This Ryker Lu isn''t a match for Layla."


    The power of her soul perception was much stronger than Zen''s, and he knew better than to question her. Even from such a distance, she could still determine the level of a warrior''s strength.


    Zen helplessly pursed his lips, wishing someone strong enough would come and finally bring peace to his mind and the surrounding area.

 Chapter 1358 The Red Cloud Ring

    As speculated, the waves of life vitality quickly erupted outside his residence.


    Under the pressure of the intensely hostile atmosphere, the doors and windows of Zen''s small palace began to shake continuously, as if a violent storm had begun outside.


    After a few seconds, a miserable scream was heard from outside the palace. Soon after, Zen heard a sound of wind. He frowned. Without a moment''s pause, his palace''s door was smashed open by a heavy object with a thud!


    It was Ryker''s body that had smashed open the door effectively crumbling the door to pieces.


    He had smashed through the front door swiftly. The momentum of his body did not weaken by the slightest extent. Hence, his body crash landed on the ground and left a messy ditch. After invading through the palace wall and creating a large hole, he flew out of Zen''s small palace.


    Zen stood there alone and felt perplexed as he curled his lips helplessly. This was the second time that such a thing had occurred.


    The warriors outside the palace sighed.


    "Alas, even Ryker has been defeated so easily!"


    "Could it be that this woman in the Life and Death Realm is so invincible that she can defeat the warriors of the entire Swallow Cloud House all by herself?"


    "I really hope that''s just a rumor and someone can defeat her!"


    They sighed as they glanced at Zen constantly.


    Both Layla and Zen had just joined the Mist Palace, and they had almost blossomed into neighbors.


    Both of them were Life and Death Realm warriors, but Layla''s cultivation base was slightly higher than that of Zen, as she was at the ninth level of the Life and Death Realm, while Zen had just reached the fifth level.


    Seeing the warriors of the Swallow Cloud House being defeated by Layla, they couldn''t help but compare Zen with Layla.


    The duo were extremely powerful, and those warriors couldn''t help but wonder the result of a duel between them.


    It was a pity that Zen seemed to focus solely on his cultivation and didn''t have any intention of challenging Layla.


    When he first arrived here, he caused a spontaneous chaos only because he took away the Thunder Wind Divine Sword. But the disturbance quickly subsided. Everyone was well aware that Zen wasn''t the type of a warrior who would constantly stir up trouble.


    "Is there any way to persuade Zen to challenge Layla?"


    "No. Don''t you see that Layla is doing this deliberately? She has quite intentionally smashed Ryker into Zen''s palace. This was a blatant provocation. Zen was able to tolerate it during the previous attempt. This time, he might still tolerate it, yet again..."


    "Our Mist Palace is filled with talented individuals, but now we are suppressed by a woman. What a disgrace..."


    Zen followed the ditch on the ground and walked to the door. At this moment, Layla, who was dressed in cyan, also came over.


    Before Zen could say anything, Layla uttered, "I will compensate you for the damaged items..."


    Zen frowned. "Your meagre sum of compensation is not the principal matter of concern here. This is the second time this sort of an incident has occurred here. I''m inclined to believe that you did it on purpose."


    Layla smiled lightly, but refused to admit to his allegation. "I didn''t do that deliberately. During the challenges


    tempted to establish communication channels with the stars, hoping to trigger a few more stars eventually. However, it was very difficult for him to activate those stars. Hence, he was determined to make as many attempts as necessary.


    While he was in the Lower World, Zen would have to spend almost an entire night letting his senses separate from his body. Thus, a day would often pass in a blink of an eye.


    Now that he had ascended to the Upper World, the distance between him and the stars was much closer and the time it took to cultivate was even shorter. Thus, whenever night fell, Zen would patiently attempt to establish a communication with any of the many stars that caught his attention.


    Owing to his perpetual and frequent efforts, the number of stars that had triggered due to Zen''s efforts increased to six.


    The only Transcendent Divine Might he had was a fragment of a book, but Zen would still work hard to cultivate it. His determination was unmatched. The opponents he had to face in the future would be stronger than all the ones he had to face so far. Elena, the Queen of Punishment of the Demon Night, was one of his prospective opponents, but her strength was so powerful that he feared facing her in direct combat. Moreover, if he wanted to rescue Yan, he had to face even more enemies who would pose an even dangerous threat to his own very existence. Thus, Zen was left with no option but to continue cultivating without a moment''s pause.


    One month later, a frightening voice was heard throughout the entire Mist Palace.


    Yolande''s figure was like that of a pristinely white lotus, floating all alone in the sky. She said bluntly, "The Passing the Torch begins!"


    After she had proclaimed the commencement of the event, a few more figures floated out. It was none other than Timothy and the other vice leaders of the Mist Palace.


    "All the warriors in the Mist Palace who can pass through the Red Cloud Ring, please follow me!" Yolande then gently pointed her finger upwards and a ring appeared in her hand. It immediately spread downwards. That crimson ring was over a hundred feet wide and occupied a position above the heads of many warriors.

 Chapter 1359 The Pursuer

    The warriors in the Ice Cloud House and the Swallow Cloud House walked out of their residences and looked at the crimson ring in the sky.


    Some of them were unusually excited, while some of them were obviously dejected.


    Only after passing through the Red Cloud Ring would they qualify to follow the palace leader and participate in Passing the Torch. But not all could pass through the Red Cloud Ring.


    In fact, the warriors who joined Mist Palace had good knowledge of their own talents. They knew whether or not they would cross through the ring.


    The excited ones were confident in their skills, while those who stood by gloomily believed that they would never be able to pass through.


    "I have heard that only the warriors who have activated a Lotus Flower of at least five petals qualify to cross the Red Cloud Ring!"


    "Not necessarily. In the past, some warriors who had only activated the Three-petal Lotus Flower passed through as well. However, most of those who crossed over were the ones who had activated a Lotus Flower of at least five petals."


    "When I went through the tribulation last year, the Lotus Flower that I manifested only had three petals. Does that mean there is no hope for me?"


    The warriors looked at the ring and whispered among themselves.


    At this time, a figure soared into the sky and flew straight toward the Red Cloud Ring.


    "He is Jonah Zhan from Swallow Cloud House! He will no doubt pass through the Red Cloud Ring!"


    Jonah Zhan flew speedily. In the blink of an eye, he arrived before the Red Cloud Ring. Without hesitation, his body gently swished, flashed, and passed through the Red Cloud Ring.


    Whoosh!


    The moment he passed through, the ring released a dazzling scarlet light.


    "What blinding red light! I heard that Jonah Zhan released a Five-petal Lotus Flower a few years ago. Judging from the dense red light, he must have activated a Seven-petal Lotus Flower this time!"


    After Jonah Zhan passed through the ring, he stood behind one of the vice leaders who had brought him into Mist Palace. Jonah Zhan could be considered the vice leader''s direct descendant.


    The vice leader smiled briefly, pride evident on his face. At the same time, Jonah Zhan looked haughtily as he stared into a distance below the Mist Palace.


    After the first warrior passed through the Red Cloud Ring, the second warrior also rose quickly.


    As this warrior rushed toward the ring and was about to pass through it, the ring suddenly emitted a black light. Soon after, a transparent membrane appeared in the center of the ring, blocking the warrior and preventing him from making his way through.


    "Has he failed to pass?"


    "Yes, he i


    in Yolande, then the first thing he needed to consider was his own cultivation.


    Hearing this, Yolande pursed her lips. She uttered in a cold voice, "Javier, who you encountered was only a clone produced by the means of my cultivation method! It was just an illusion. Please don''t indulge in such a dull daydream!"


    At this reprimand, Javier Xue gritted his teeth and moved to stand behind her. Although he looked disappointed, his eyes still glittered with passion.


    "What is going on with Javier?"


    "Haven''t you heard of it? When our palace leader practiced the Soul Split Spell, she divided her soul into a million parts so they could all train in the Lower World. Javier too was a warrior of the Lower World. He fell in love with one of her duplicates!"


    "He is a strange one. Rumor has it that when he ascended to the Upper World, he stayed in a place more than sixty supreme worlds away from our supreme world. It is due to his perseverance and luck that he managed to cross so many supreme worlds and arrive at the Mist Palace."


    "He can be eccentric. No matter where he goes, his talent is impressive enough to be thought highly of by others. As long as he wills it, others have no reason not to keep him at the Mist Palace!"


    "He was infatuated with one of the leader''s clones. Now that she has gathered all of her duplicates into herself, it''s not the same thing!"


    Astonishment was written all over Zen''s face as he heard the words.


    Comprehension dawned on him soon enough.


    Before flying into the Upper World, Javier Xue had encountered Yolande''s duplicate in the Lower World. However, who he met was just her clone. Right now, he was trying to prove his talent and strength in order to pursue Yolande herself.


    It would never work. Zen shook his head slightly.

 Chapter 1360 Dazzling Light

    When Zen had ascended into the Upper World and met Yolande, he felt a sense of unfamiliarity.


    In fact, even now, this feeling of strangeness had not yet disappeared.


    In Zen''s eyes, the Yolande in front of him was not any different to the two clones from the Lower World when it came to appearance. However, she was clearly a completely different person.


    In other words, the Yolande he had known had disappeared, replaced by this one.


    Even though the Yolande before him had inherited the memories of the two clones, those memories were just two in a million.


    The reason why Yolande had such a deep impression of Zen was because she had extracted the memories of him from the memories of a million clones of herself.


    If Yolande had not also extracted her memories of Javier, he would have been a stranger to her.


    Javier had come to the Mist Palace because he had feelings for Yolande, and she had noticed him because of his outstanding performance. She understood his intentions. But it still did not change the fact that he was like a stranger to her.


    However, from the looks of it, Javier would not give up until he had achieved his aim. Zen shook his head slightly. So what if Javier proved his strength in the future? It was not like Yolande would fall in love with him just because he was powerful. If she were an ordinary woman, it might have been possible. But she was the daughter of a Supreme Lord, and she had power and a high position. How could she give herself over to someone so easily?


    Of course, this had nothing to do with Zen.


    The warriors below continued to fly toward the Red Cloud Ring in an orderly manner. Those that passed through stood behind the leader and vice leaders of Mist Palace. Those that failed left in disappointment. Gradually, fewer and fewer warriors were flying up.


    "Are you still not going?" asked Layla, who was standing next to Zen.


    "You should go up first," Zen said.


    "Actually, I want you to go first," said Layla. "But since you suggested it so nicely, I''ll go first!"


    The next moment, Layla''s feet lightly kicked the ground. She rose up and after circling in the air for a while, she nimbly moved toward the Red Cloud Ring. She turned around and cast a proud smile at Zen before flying toward the ring.


    The instant Layla passed through the Red Cloud Ring, a scarlet ray of light was released. The ray of light spread rapidly along the ring.


    Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!


    The entire Red Cloud Ring began to hum with a sound.


    At the same time, dazzling rays of light surged up the Red Cloud Ring like waves, unwilling to diminish.


    The light was so bright that the Red Cloud Ring no l


    ive performances was Layla, and the other was Zen. In truth, many of the warriors of Mist Palace were curious as to which of the two was more powerful.


    However, Zen had only fought two warriors at Mist Palace. The first time, he had defeated a warrior from Ice Cloud House. The second time, he had almost taken Jim''s life.


    Jim was ranked after two hundred in Swallow Cloud House. It was difficult to ascertain Zen''s true strength from that encounter.


    However, Layla had defeated more than ten people in a row. Among them were those who were ranked among the top few hundred in Swallow Cloud House, and those who were ranked among the top several dozen. The fourth-ranked warrior in Swallow Cloud House had also been defeated by her.


    When Layla passed through the Red Cloud Ring, the light that she attracted was several times brighter than Javier''s. It made everyone realize that the girl''s potential far exceeded their imagination.


    Therefore, although the vast majority of warriors did not like Layla, they thought she was far stronger than Zen.


    "Hurry up! Come up!" Layla stretched out her palm toward Zen. Her five slender fingers were spread open, as if she wanted to give a hand to him, who was more than a few hundred feet away.


    Zen nodded and circulated his chaotic energy to slowly float up to the Red Cloud Ring.


    "Zen doesn''t seem confident enough."


    "No one knows how many petals his Lotus Flower has sprouted. Could it be that it only sprouted three petals? Is he afraid that he can''t pass through the Red Cloud Ring?"


    "That''s impossible!"


    "There is only a small possibility that he will cross the ring. I know how many petals my Lotus Flower sprouted, and so do you. Look at Zen! He is hesitating. He is afraid that he can''t pass it."

 Chapter 1361 Who Has The Final Say

    A smile appeared on Yolande''s face when she heard these words. Her confidence in Zen, however, was strong.


    She didn''t know how many petals Zen''s Lotus Flower had sprouted, nor did she receive any such related memories from her two clones. Zen had gone through the Heavenly Tribulation while he had been on the Divine Kingdom Continent. One of her two clones had then been in the Eastern Region, while the other on the Sea God Continent.


    She did not ask Zen about it. Since he already had obtained the golden title of Celestial Position in the Tower of Sin, it would be comical if he could not even pass the Red Cloud Ring.


    Zen maintained his normal speed as he slowly flew toward the Red Cloud Ring.


    Those who had failed were all standing below. Curious as to whether or not Zen would pass the Red Cloud Ring, everyone had their attention on him.


    Although Zen''s speed was slow, the height of the Red Cloud Ring was only about two to three hundred feet. In a short while, he arrived before the ring.


    The Red Cloud Ring in its normal state was like a red-hot iron ring, showing streaks of dark red light.


    Under the gaze of everyone present, Zen quietly headed in the direction of the Red Cloud Ring.


    It was clear to see that the Red Cloud Ring did not produce the transparent membrane to block Zen. Furthermore, the moment he passed through, the Red Cloud Ring seemed to sense something. A streak of scarlet light began to accumulate on the ring.


    "The momentum of the light is so fierce. It seems to surpass Layla''s light."


    "That can''t be possible. The light the Red Cloud Ring released when Layla passed through probably reached the ring''s limit. How could that be surpassed?"


    "Let''s wait and have a look first. There will always be a superior!"


    In the air above the Red Cloud Ring, Layla bit her lips and stared intently at the Red Cloud Ring.


    Why was it that she considered Zen her opponent?


    The reason was definitely not because he took away her master''s Thunder Wind Divine Sword.


    However, that day, her master had told her in secret that Zen had the same fate as her¡ªthe fate to lead the world of chaos. Moreover, there seemed to be some uncertainty about Zen''s fate, which meant that no one could tell for certain how his future would turn out.


    Zen was qualified to be her opponent.


    Layla did not take the talents of Mist Palace seriously at all. For instance, although Javier was a powerful and talented warrior, she thought he was no match for her.


    As such, ever since she had entered Mist Palace, she could have lived in a secluded place to cultivate without any disturbance. However, she had chosen the small palace in Ice Cloud House to become Ze


    g extinguished only after Zen had crossed it.


    However, Timothy''s words triggered the anger of the warriors below who hadn''t passed the test.


    Only less than ten percent of the warriors had passed through the Red Cloud Ring. The other ninety percent would not be able to participate in Passing the Torch. Obviously, they were disappointed and unhappy.


    When they heard Timothy''s words, they joined in as well.


    "That''s right. If you let him pass, shouldn''t everyone else be able to pass as well?"


    "You have to make him pass it again. Or else it is fraud!"


    They shouted out aloud.


    Hearing the voices of the warriors below, Yolande was furious. Her eyes became cold as ice.


    She had already guessed what the problem was, but she didn''t want to say it. Just now, when Zen had passed through the Red Cloud Ring for the first time and the light extinguished, she had figured out what happened¡ªhe had activated the Mahayana Lotus Flower.


    The Red Cloud Ring could only sense the Hinayana Lotus Flower. Beyond this, the ring did not react normally, so its light extinguished straightaway.


    According to Yolande''s previous deductions, Zen''s Lotus Flower had at least sprouted seven petals. It was very likely that it had sprouted nine petals, like Javier''s, or perhaps it was the top-level Nine-petal Lotus Flower, like Layla''s. However, she had never expected Zen to activate the Mahayana Lotus Flower when he was only at the fifth grade of the Life and Death Realm.


    However, her deduction was only based on the reaction of the Red Cloud Ring. How many petals had Zen''s Mahayana Lotus Flower sprouted? Eleven petals? Thirteen? Or even fifteen? She did not ask Zen.


    Facing Timothy''s doubts, she only laughed coldly and stared at him, saying, "In Mist Palace, who has the final say?"

 Chapter 1362 In The Apeiron Tower

    Yolande wasn''t argumentative type. She respected the opinions of others, as long as they respected hers.


    Although she was the leader of the Mist Palace, she spent most of her time cultivating in silence, and did not take her position overly serious.


    As for the reason why Timothy had always been so aggressive and was always stirring up trouble for her, it was nothing more than a dispute over leadership of the palace¡­


    This time, however, Yolande did not remain silent. Instead she questioned them firmly, "Who is in charge here?"


    After all, she was the leader of the Mist Palace!


    The other vice leaders of the palace hadn''t had any disagreement on this matter to begin with. They were all well aware of the reason for the dysfunction of the Red Cloud Ring. It was most likely because it couldn''t accurately test Zen''s ability, so it had failed to work properly.


    However, Zen did indeed possess the skills and power to participate in Passing the Torch. If Zen was not qualified, he would have been bounced back when he just started to pass through the Red Cloud Ring.


    They were all just curious as to how many lotus petals Zen had activated.


    As for Timothy, he was simply looking for trouble, as usual.


    Now that Yolande had taken a stronger stance, Timothy''s eyes revealed only traces of malice, but he didn''t dare to say anything else.


    As for those martial artists that hadn''t passed the Red Cloud Ring, how could they dare to say anything in front of Yolande? It would just seem like crying over spilled milk to become disgruntled afterwards.


    "The selection by the Red Cloud Ring is now over. The three hundred and fifty-six martial artists who have passed the Red Cloud Ring, come with me!"


    As Yolande finished speaking, she turned around and flew off in a specific direction. The martial artists of the Swallow Cloud House that Javier was from looked at each other curiously and followed closely behind Yolande. The other vice leaders of the palace also led their martial artists to follow after her.


    Zen and Layla were the last to leave.


    The two of them were considered to be freaks within the Mist Palace. Although they were nominal warriors of the Ice Cloud House; in truth, they had strength comparable to that of the warriors of the Swallow Cloud House! Most surprisingly, both of them were Life and Death Realm warriors, and what was most difficult to believe was that Zen was only at the fifth level of the Life and Death Realm¡­


    Following after Yolande, the group left the Mist Palace and entered the space tunnel.


    Over the next sixty hours, the massive group of several hundred people traveled through the space tunnel with Yolande in the lead.


    Although their speed wasn''t slow, as they traveled across the supreme world, it would usually have taken them years. Even though they were travelling via the supreme world channel, the distance that many martial artists had finished was nothing compared to the size of the supreme world.


    After they followed Yolande out of the space tunnel, a large city with strange spiraling towers appeared in front of them. This was not their destination; it was only a stop along the way.


    Although to the martial artists, this was only a stop, there were tens of millions of living creatures inhabiting the foreign city.


    After they landed, everyone boarded a large ship of a foreign design. Once more they entered a supreme world channel and continued on their journey.


    For


    ? She simply didn''t have a work ethic which could support her advancement.


    Therefore, she had become more and more resistant to the practice sessions in the past few days, annoying the other disciples in the Apeiron Tower with her relentless wailing and moaning. She was acting like a spoiled child!


    Margaret hadn''t been in the Apeiron Tower for very long. Compared to the thousands of years of time many warriors spent in training, the several months she had stayed here were really a short span of time. However, in these few months, Margaret had already broken various records, and her outstanding talent had made the other disciples extremely jealous of her.


    The main reason for her excellent performances was because of her special Purple Power Body. Ordinary martial artists'' Purple Power Body was far inferior to hers, and the cultivation methods taught in the Purple Power World were almost all related to the Purple Power Body. This gave her a distinct advantage.


    What left everyone even more speechless was that Margaret wanted to give up after such a short time of practice. If she really did give up, her great talent would go to waste!


    Elder Aperion of course wouldn''t allow that to happen. Although she had been away for a few days, she had instructed a few elders to take care of Margaret in her absence. She had truly treated Margaret as a treasure. It was no wonder that Margaret had attracted so many jealous gazes.


    "Margaret, on the path of martial arts, perseverance and willpower are keys for success. If you give up so easily, how can you have any achievement in the future?" an elder said, hoping to inspire her.


    "I don''t want to have any more achievements. I have a husband, and I''m just a common girl!" Margaret whined sulkily.


    Another elder shook her head and said, "I know that your husband is not an ordinary warrior. The world of martial artists is also very cruel. Even if you are husband and wife, you have to be a match. You need to be able to keep up to him in his cultivation and journeys. And in the future, if you want to always be with your husband, you have to work hard now!"


    "Zen, Zen isn''t that kind of person!" Margaret wailed again, and angrily refuted the elder''s advice. Anyway, Margaret could not stand this kind of repeated practice any longer.

 Chapter 1363 Orange Sea World

    Hearing Margaret''s words, another elder laughed and said, "I admit that you are right to a certain extent. However, it''s quite normal for a man to have several wives. And since he has ascended to the Upper World, it''s possible that he might have found a new partner there. How are you going to compete with his new wife, if you are not strong enough?"


    Actually, this was pure speculation on the elder''s part. She didn''t know Zen, and so she didn''t know his true character. She had only heard from the tower head that her husband thought highly of Zen''s strength and talent. She hadn''t witnessed it first-hand.


    But she wanted Margaret to focus on her cultivation, so she had no other choice but to spout this sort of a nonsensical theory. She wanted to motivate Margaret to concentrate on her cultivation.


    "Well, I don''t care!" Margaret declared.


    This method had been used too many times. It was pretty effective originally, but gradually it was becoming more and more ineffective due to the boredom of cultivation.


    Margaret sat grumpily in the corner, unwilling to pick up her sword and continue with her training.


    Margaret was throwing a tantrum and the elders were out of ideas to persuade her. Everyone was at their wits'' end. This girl was such a stubborn student!


    It was all the more frustrating for the elders as Margaret had a great talent for cultivation that was not inferior to her brother''s. However, she was obstinate and had always been pampered by the elders in her clan, so no one was able to arm-twist her into cultivating.


    Perhaps Zen would be the person who could tame this shrew.


    Those elders in front of her were all famous figures in the Purple Power World, yet none of them had a way to persuade her into cultivating.


    Just then a figure quietly walked in and stood not far away from them.


    When Margaret saw that person, she said in an aggrieved tone, "Master!"


    The others noticed her too and turned to greet her respectfully, "Elder Apeiron!"


    Elder Apeiron strolled towards them. Seeing the grievance on Margaret''s face, she smiled softly and said, "I heard that the Illusion Battlefield will open in a few years."


    Margaret looked at her with curiosity and asked, "Master, what is the Illusion Battlefield?"


    Elder Apeiron smiled and asked, "You have cultivated in an Illusion Space before, haven''t you?"


    Creating Illusion Space was a very common practice in the Upper World. Many great sacred places had this sort of space, which served as a platform for warriors to spar with each other.


    Margaret nodded in reply. She had practiced in that space as well.


    Elder Apeiron continued, "When the Illusion Battlefield is thrown open, all the younger-generation warriors from different races all around the universe will compete and fight with each other. I believe Zen will also participate in


    n he had. So he didn''t even know what Passing the Torch was actually about.


    Two hours later, the warriors from the Mist Palace finally arrived at the island.


    After walking on the island for an hour, a huge rock appeared in front of their eyes.


    The rock was about ten thousand feet high and a hundred thousand feet wide. A poem was carved on to its surface.


    The poem was etched deep into the mammoth rock, and the words seemed to contain some kind of magical power within them. Many warriors looked uncomfortable as they stared at the words, as if the strokes of the words contained sharp swords, which could cut their hearts out any minute.


    However, most warriors tried to suppress their discomfort when they looked around and found out that other people remained calm. As warriors, they refused to admit being inferior to others. Since other people could bear the pressure, they would try to stand it as well in order not to lose their faces.


    Layla suddenly turned to Zen and asked with a smile, "How do you feel?"


    He stared at the words on the rock and replied softly, "I feel a little uncomfortable."


    Her lips curled as she said, "You''re an honest man. Look at those fellows in front of us. They are all in great pain but still pretend as if nothing has happened. They are dead determined to save their faces!"


    She didn''t bother to lower her voice so some warriors heard her. They were furious but also embarrassed because she had revealed their true feelings. The writing on the rock was indeed torturous for many warriors.


    "This poem was carved by a Supreme Lord with his sword. The sword intent contained within the words can aim directly at one''s heart. His sword intent was praised to be perfect, having absolutely no flaws!" Layla explained. She could feel the anger of the warriors, but she didn''t seem to mind it in the slightest as she continued to enlighten Zen.

 Chapter 1364 Supreme Lord Swords Legend

    Zen''s eyes lit up at Layla''s words. "No flaws?" he asked.


    Although Zen had comprehended the consummate sword intent and even created the No Move, he did not dare guarantee that his sword intent would have no flaws whatsoever.


    However, the No Move did not have a fixed style. If one wanted to break it, one would have to move heaven and earth to do so.


    That did not mean that no one could break it, but so far, Zen had not encountered anyone who could.


    "Of course. How could the sword intent of the master of Killing Sword Mountain have any flaws?" Layla asked with pride.


    "The master of Killing Sword Mountain?" A curious light gleamed in Zen''s eyes.


    Layla pursed her lips. ''Zen really has come from the Lower World, hasn''t he? He doesn''t seem to know anything at all, '' she thought.


    Suddenly, a cold voice resounded in Zen''s mind. It was Lavender. "She was referring to Supreme Lord Sword. Among so many Supreme Lords in the universe, he is an extremely powerful one. His sword is lodged at the top of the Killing Sword Mountain, which is the highest position. If you have any questions, ask me. Don''t ask this woman again!"


    Needless to say, Lavender found Layla intolerable.


    However, Lavender did not know much about the affairs of the human race, such as the broken Orange Sea World. Neither did she know enough about Passing the Torch. After all, these were internal matters of the alliance.


    But how could she not know about Supreme Lord Sword and the Killing Sword Mountain?


    Zen nodded in understanding, but his eyes were still fixed on the poem on the huge rock.


    Each word of the poem was about several hundred feet in height and width. As he got closer to the words, he could feel the sharp sword intent radiating from them.


    The warriors at the front had already turned their heads away, unwilling to look at the giant words.


    However, Zen''s gaze grew more and more intentional.


    Under such an intense gaze, the large characters seemed to move. Suddenly, a sword intent shot straight at Zen.


    The shadow of the sword intent was very faint. Zen stared at it for a long time but could only see vague outlines.


    Zen did not fight back. He let the sword intent come at him. The moment the sword intent pierced into his body, an uncomfortable feeling arose in him, as if somebody had truly stabbed him with a sword.


    So the reason why everybody felt uncomfortable when they saw these words was because of the invisible sword intent.


    Zen''s eyes lit up at the thought.


    Could this invisible sword intent temper his own sword intent?


    created by swordsmen who sat quietly in front of the rock, in order to meditate."


    There were warriors who had great perseverance. In order to comprehend Supreme Lord Sword''s sword intent, they had been willing to spend all their lives here, no matter how arduous it was.


    Some Life and Death Realm warriors almost threw away their entire life''s worth of time before this giant rock. Just like that, they sat and meditated, visualizing and comprehending, hoping that one day they would be able to see through the mystery of the poem.


    If one sat here for tens of thousands of years, it would cause the ground to cave in and a pit to appear.


    As he heard this, Zen sucked in a sharp breath of cold air before asking in concern, "Did anyone succeed?"


    Yolande had a small smile on her face as she shook her head. "No, not a single one of them."


    "What? They spent their entire lives here, yet they failed. It must have been such a loss to them." Zen sighed.


    "They were like gamblers. The more they lost, the more stubborn they became. In the end, they were no longer able to leave and spent their entire lives on the gambling table. They thought that if they won, they would learn the outstanding swordsmanship. But they lost, so they could only accept the bitter outcome," Yolande said.


    "Truly admirable," Zen said.


    However, Layla frowned. "It''s not like everyone just accepted the outcome so easily. There were still some who could not do it. A lot of people accused Supreme Lord Sword right after going through the Five Aging Processes. It is said that they too carved their words here, but I don''t know exactly where."


    Yolande shook her head and pointed in a direction. "They are over there."

 Chapter 1365 Comprehension

    Zen and Layla looked in the direction which Yolande was pointing in, and saw some dense words inscribed on the rock.


    Some of these words were huge and some were small. The huge ones were as tall as a person, while the small ones were only the size of a palm. They were written in a myriad of styles.


    "I gave up my great future and spent all my life here, yet ended up gaining nothing. I must tell everyone in the universe that this is only a scam concocted by Supreme Lord Sword!"


    "Liar! Supreme Lord Sword is a great liar! I wasted ten thousand years of my time here and only encountered the Five Aging Processes. If I am able to reincarnate and am fortunate enough to come here again, I will definitely shatter this stone."


    "Alas! Newcomers, stop dreaming. Just focus on cultivating your own methods. If you want to comprehend Supreme Lord Sword''s sword intent in these words, be warned that this is just nonsense! Life is so short. Don''t waste your time here."


    Between these dense lines of writing, there were traces of pessimism and advice scattered for the later generations, by the prior generations, to give up on the futile observation.


    Seeing the words, Zen sighed and shook his head. He could understand these people''s feelings. They had spent all their lives here, but in the end, they had gained nothing. If he was one of them, he himself would find it hard to accept this fate.


    "Why is there no one here now?" Zen asked curiously.


    From the pits on the ground, Zen could imagine that there should have been many warriors who had come here to observe the rock, but now, he didn''t see any signs of them. Their bodies had over years shaped pits in the ground where they had sat in watchful meditation as they had all focused on the rock.


    "Since the Orange Sea World became the place for the alliance to hold Passing the Torch, ordinary warriors aren''t able to enter it. Moreover, no one in living memory has been able to comprehend the mysteries within it, not for millions of years. Many warriors have also begun to doubt the legend. However, there are occasionally warriors who would come to meditate," Yolande said as she looked around before shaking her head. "But I don''t see them today."


    Layla stared at Zen and asked, "Zen, are you sure you saw that white sword shadow?"


    Although Yolande and Layla didn''t think that Zen was lying, they still didn''t dare believe that he could see that white sword shadow.


    After all, in the past millions of years, countless warriors had come to observe the rock and not a single one had managed to discover the secret. It was inconceivable that Zen would see the white sword shadow right after he had just arrived here.


    The vice leaders and talents of the Mist Palace waited at the side of the huge rock, avoiding the intimidating aura of the words with downcast eyes.


    "What are they doing?"


    "It seems like that guy said he saw through the mysteries of the rock!"


    "That is simply impossible! Su


    him in a jeering tone, "Ha-ha! We have a new friend here. These last few years, few young warriors were still interested in Supreme Lord Sword''s mystery."


    Zen''s peaceful state of mind was shattered by the harsh voice. The white sword shadow immediately disappeared. He frowned in disgruntlement.


    He hated being disturbed at this moment of intense concentration.


    Warriors all hated being disturbed when they were cultivating. That was why they preferred to cultivate in seclusion. Interruptions were considered extremely rude, and the interrupted warrior had every right to become vexed and seek retribution.


    After all, even a light cough might cause a warrior immersed in cultivation to spiral into madness.


    His face became dark and sullen, and Zen raised his head to see who it was. It was a middle-aged man in dark shabby clothes. He was slightly fat and filthy. Probably, no one knew how many years it had been since he had taken a bath, or how many years he had neglected grooming the matted beard on his face. He was rather shabby looking.


    The man was very excited at the sight of Zen and called out to his friend, "Landry! We have another friend. Come over here!"


    Swoosh!


    Another man flew over at a fast speed. He was thinner than the first one, but he looked equally dirty.


    ''Their cultivation levels are surprisingly not low at all, '' Zen thought. He guessed that they were both at the Spirit Supreme Realm.


    The warrior named Landry Chen sized Zen up with a smile, his dark eyes glittering excitedly, and he asked, "Young man, do you want to comprehend the mystery hidden within the huge rock?"


    Zen nodded slowly. That was the reason why he had stayed here. Seeing the two warriors'' bedraggled status, he asked, "How many years have you been here?"


    Landry Chen and the fat man looked at each other and smiled slightly insanely. Landry Chen pointed at the fat man and said, "This is Damian Xu. He has been here for more than twenty thousand years."

 Chapter 1366 Get Hurt

    Zen had learned from Yolande that most warriors had spent tens of thousands of years on this island, observing and gaining insights.


    But after learning that Damian had studied it for twenty thousand years, Zen could not help but marvel at that!


    The scenery of this Willow Island was pretty good. No matter what, staying there for twenty thousand years meant that one would have to face the expansive and bare rock all those years. One could almost imagine just how boring it was!


    Zen turned to look at Landry and asked, "What about you?"


    Landry chuckled and proudly stretched out his fingers. "Sixty thousand years..."


    Sixty thousand years!


    Zen took a deep breath.


    Zen was merely in his twenties. But Landry had stayed there for sixty thousand years only to observe and to try to unravel the mysteries left behind by Supreme Lord Sword.


    Landry, who seemed to be accustomed to the shocked expressions of others, softly chuckled. "Sixty thousand years is nothing. Previously, there was an old fellow who stayed here for one hundred and thirty thousand years. But after breaking into the Five Aging Processes, he returned. Perhaps he has died already..."


    The two of them had no ill intentions at all and were even quite friendly to Zen. It was only after their conversation that they understood that Zen had come to participate in the Passing the Torch.


    "Since you can participate in the Passing the Torch, you must be a warrior, who is highly valued by the thirteen palaces. There would still be a long way to go in your life, so I suggest that you should not contemplate at the stone. That particular stone has a kind of enchanting magic, and once you are obsessed with it, you will be unable to extricate yourself from it without difficulty. I''m afraid that you will also waste your time on it like us by then," Landry warned.


    "Since you know that it is just a waste of time, why haven''t you left?" Zen couldn''t stop himself probing out of his curiosity.


    A bitter smile crept on Damian''s face when he heard Zen''s words. "Ha-ha. We have spent all these years here, but now you want us to leave? Doesn''t it mean that all my previous efforts will be wasted?"


    "If truth be told, we also know that we can''t obtain anything here, but so what if we refuse to leave? We can no longer engage in accomplishing some things and make great achievements in other respects too. So, we might as well hold on, and die here," Landry disclosed as he smiled helplessly.


    Zen hadn''t been able to fathom it before. Since those warriors couldn''t succeed in obtaining Supreme Lord Sword''s inheritance, they could give up on it, but sadly, they didn''t choose to give up. Now, he could deeply perceive how their mindsets worked.


    On the path of martial arts, ''perseverance'' was fundamentally the most important thing. A warrior, who could persist and endure, had firm determination and was highly resolute


    ly injured himself, but what''s the use of playing this trick in front of us?"


    The two of them quietly talked through the life vitality. They had encountered all kinds of things there before. They could be considered as the experienced elites. But after making a random deduction, they believed that Zen only pretended to do that in front of them and that he had purposefully spat out blood.


    They nonetheless failed to understand that there was no need for Zen to act like that in front of them. They had spent their entire lives there and it was of no value. Even though Zen''s cultivation level was not high, he still had the qualifications to participate in the Passing the Torch, which meant that he was one of the remarkable warriors of thirteen palaces and that he would surely have a promising future. Thus he didn''t need to deceive Landry and Damian.


    Zen was naturally not clear about the thoughts of these two warriors, but his face revealed an unconvinced expression.


    He had just released a strand of sword intent, but it was swallowed again by the white sword shadow. Moreover, when the sword intent bounced back, it actually injured him, which meant that he was hurt by his own sword intent!


    "Again!"


    "Whoosh..."


    This time, Zen did not send out the sword intent. Instead, he wrapped the sword intent around Thunder Wind Divine Sword. And he patiently waited for the white sword shadow to approach. Then, he hit it with his sword!


    That white sword shadow was still an illusion, so when the two swords clashed, there was no sound at all. But this time, Zen''s sword directly deflected the white sword shadow, but the white sword shadow circled and shot into Zen''s body again!


    ''I can''t block it, and it seems to be useless for me to do that, '' Zen thought, frowning. It seemed that even if he saw the white sword shadow, he wouldn''t be able to do anything with it!


    Surprisingly, this time, Zen was not injured.

 Chapter 1367 Hone His Sword Intent

    Countless warriors had spent years in this place but none had ever been successful in comprehending the mysteries behind it.


    Zen did not expect himself to comprehend anything at all in the short amount of time he was there.


    In all honesty, he didn''t stay to comprehend anything, but he was just curious about the white sword shadows that had been left behind by Supreme Lord Sword.


    When he carved this poem, Supreme Lord Sword also inserted his insight of swordsmanship into the words.


    These words, inscribed with his insight, had constantly released white sword shadows for over a million years now...


    But not everyone could see these sword shadows. Fortunately, Zen was able to see them with his concentration.


    He was able to resist these sword shadows using his own sword intent. He was still curious, however, and decided to try blocking them with his sword. To his surprise, the sword shadows quickly avoided his blade but still continued to dash towards him.


    It seemed that these white sword shadows couldn''t be blocked.


    But Zen wasn''t going to give up that easily.


    Again!


    He did not release his sword intent since doing so would cause the sword intent to be devoured by these white sword shadows.


    There was no doubt that he would suffer serious injuries if he wasn''t careful. He had to take this seriously!


    He tried it once again. Using his five-foot long sword, Zen lightly blocked the white sword shadow. It quickly bounced off his blade but suddenly began spinning in the air and headed towards Zen once again.


    This was all according to plan. Once it got close, Zen swung the Thunder Wind Divine Sword and flicked the white sword shadow away once again...


    and again, and again, and again.


    He did this for a couple more times, his sword brandishing blue sword flowers and deflecting the white sword shadow time and time again.


    A mere three seconds had passed and Zen had already deflected the sword shadow for a total of seven times.


    After seven hits, the white sword shadow stopped its attack and suddenly shattered!


    Zen''s eyes widened in wonder, "It broke?"


    The white sword shadow shattered into hundreds of faint, light sparks that all floated in the air and shot towards Zen''s body.


    "Is it the sword spirit?" he asked curiously.


    "Sword spirit?" Lavender, who was still inside his body, asked. "Why can''t I see it?"


    Zen shrugged, "I don''t know¡­"


    Not even Lavender seemed to be able to see the white sword shadows and the white light dots. It seemed Zen was the only one.


    And the white light dots that headed towards him didn''t seem to be the sword spirit at all¡­


    Zen couldn''t help but feel as if there was something terribly wrong.


    The poem etched onto the stone con


    o longer any need for her to be attached to the sword spirit. It only served as a hiding place for her now since she had gotten used to using it as her shell.


    Looking at it now though, she couldn''t help but wonder how Zen was able to strengthen it. Did something happen during the time he spent blindly swinging his sword in the air?


    Thankfully, the young man quickly came to. The piercing pain he had felt was only illusory and did not really have the capacity to cause any physical harm to his body.


    "Lavender?" he called out, seeing her beside him.


    "You seem to have honed your sword intent just now," she told him.


    But Zen scratched his head. "I''m not really sure," he said. The image of the white sword shadows crossed his mind but he felt a bit scared just thinking about it.


    "I''ve become stronger!" Lavender smiled at Zen.


    The wording wasn''t really correct. Lavender''s soul was at a level that the sword spirit couldn''t hope to match. It was Zen''s sword spirit that became stronger and not really Lavender, but she still said it for the heck of it.


    "Ah..." Zen murmured, and the weird foreboding feeling still hadn''t left him.


    The aura released by the sword spirit seemed sharper and more forceful. It did not come from Lavender''s soul at all, but from the sword spirit itself.


    Still, he smiled back at Lavender. "Indeed. It seems I can hone my sword intent by using the white sword shadows!"


    Though his sword intent had reached the consummate level, it was not yet at its limit. Back when he entered the Killing Sword Mountain, Zen had only inserted his sword into the mountainside.


    It was good that he was able to strengthen his sword spirit but the white sword shadows still made him feel queasy inside.


    Did the path towards becoming stronger entail so much suffering? It seemed so.

 Chapter 1368 My Heart Is Going To Explode

    Zen did not expect himself to solve the mystery left behind by Supreme Lord Sword. That was giving way too much credit to his abilities.


    These white sword shadows had indeed proven useful in improving the strength of his sword spirit.


    However, they also gave Zen extreme pain. Every time a white sword shadow passed through his body, his heart would suffer this intense, piercing pain.


    After being subject to the attack of thousands of white sword shadows, he was surprised that his heart was still intact since he felt as if it was going to explode.


    Still, he had been through worse. The piercing sensation in his heart was nothing compared to the excruciating pain he had experienced when he replaced his life energy with chaotic energy. There was no way he was going to back down just because of a little pain.


    Zen returned to the site of the huge rock but was surprised to see the two Spirit Supreme Realm warriors staring at him as he approached.


    These two originally sported benign faces but now looked as if they were about to murder him.


    "You, you¡­ What did you do?" Landry asked with a trembling voice.


    "How did you do it? What have you done¡­. How did you make the feeling disappear?" Damian asked as well.


    Their eyes glazed over, making the two of them look like mad beasts who had been shaken out of their peaceful abodes.


    The two of them had spent tens of thousands of years meditating on this spot, dreaming that one day they would form some sort of magical connection with the words etched on the giant stone.


    The giant stone had been there long before the two of them. It had been subject to the weathering of the elements but still emitted a fierce aura that remained unchanged despite the passage of time.


    However, Zen suddenly arrived and enacted such a strange change to this place. How could they remain calm?


    These two had spent their lives meditating, therefore, their physical strength was far inferior to other average Spirit Supreme Realm warriors. Their minds had also lost all hunger for blood and had been conditioned for peace. However, this change made their emotions bubble up to the surface!


    Supreme Lord Sword was one that could battle with True Gods after all! The swordsmanship he left behind was powerful enough to defeat a deity, so long as one was able to comprehend it. The two Spirit Supreme Realm warriors had spent all this time and this effort trying to unlock the mysteries of this technique. Whatever they sought to gain, they understood that they would have to pay for. However, the sudden arrival of this newcomer had thrown everything off balance.


    "I didn''t do anything!" Zen quickly claimed.


    "Impossible! You better tell us the truth!"


    "Do you think we were born yesterday? Who are you fooling?"


    The two of them had initially chosen to watch calmly on the side. They didn''t really think Zen would be able to comprehend an


    ious form.


    They were certain that Zen had uncovered a few mysteries but neither of them could find out what.


    They were so desperate for answers, almost on the brink of losing their minds but they knew it wouldn''t end well for them if they hurt a martial artist of the thirteen palaces.


    It hadn''t been easy ever since the Willow Island became the thirteen palaces'' territory to hold the Passing the Torch. The two of them had paid a large amount to bribe those in charge to let them stay in this spot.


    Laying a single hand on Zen''s head would mean courting death, as all the powerful warriors of the thirteen palaces had now gathered in the Willow Island.


    Instead of harming him, perhaps they could work with him? When Zen comprehended the mysteries of Supreme Lord Sword, maybe they could get a share of the mysteries as well?


    They were going nuts with all the thoughts that were going through their heads but they had to fight off the impulse of kidnapping Zen and forcing him to spill his secrets¡­


    A moment later, however, Zen finally came to.


    After that last round, his sword spirit had now become even more powerful! It was not impossible to block these white sword shadows and this fact fired Zen up for the next fight.


    "I''ll practice it again!"


    he roared, readily approaching the torrential wave of the white sword shadows. He slashed out seven times with his sword, the sword shadows were activated and came at him like a torrent once again, and he was once again submerged by them¡­


    He was able to hold on for a few seconds longer this time before fainting once again after his heart reached its breaking point.


    It was a cycle of fighting, being submerged by the white sword shadows, fainting from the pain, and waking up once again.


    Lavender, his sword spirit, on the other hand, was continuously growing stronger at a visible rate. Zen could also feel that his sword intent had changed once again.

 Chapter 1369 Crack

    A drop of sweat ran down Zen''s forehead. After a long and arduous process, his consummate sword intent was almost perfect now.


    There seemed to be ample streams of consummate sword intent cyclones, which Zen had often seen before. This consummate sword intent had almost reached perfection, and looked like it was impossible to advance it any further.


    But just in a split second, Zen was shocked to discover that his consummate sword intent suddenly became extremely unstable!


    In the past, Zen could easily release the sword intent with just a thought, as if it only came from his arm. However, Zen now felt that it was quite hard to control¡ªeven if the faint sword intent that lingered around his long sword had gotten increasingly powerful.


    Therefore, the whirlwind formed by the sword intent wasn''t enough anymore. It suddenly became fidgety like a snake and constantly jumped around Zen''s sword.


    To put it simply¡ªinstead of becoming stronger, the sword intent only became worse!


    Zen''s lips curled down into a frown. "Why did the sword intent suddenly become like this?" he complained.


    While honing the sword intent with the help of the white sword shadows did greatly enhance the sword spirit, Zen now found it difficult to control the sword intent.


    There was a slight trace of hesitation on Zen''s face. Should he continue this?


    While his eyes roamed around the scattered white shadows, he felt his determination rise up again.


    Zen was the type of person that once he set out to do something, he would do his best. Giving up halfway simply wasn''t in him. Thus, he decided to see how his sword intent would develop at this rate.


    At this stage, Zen''s sword intent was impossibly strong¡ªbut he managed to suppress it by force.


    In addition, the speed at which the white shadows were being chopped down had increased much greater as the sword intent became even sharper.


    It was a good progress, and it was now possible for Zen to shatter the white sword shadows in about four sword strikes instead of the usual seven.


    It didn''t come a surprise for Zen to hit hundreds of white sword shadows with his sword when he faced a torrent of them. And true to his prediction, he had done the job in just four consecutive strikes!


    The grey, rocky surface of the stone seemed to mirror Zen''s mood. His feet ached slightly as he had been standing in front of it for four hours.


    As he tried his best to kill the white sword shadows, Yolande''s voice reverberated throughout the area.


    "Zen, are you still contemplating the words on the huge stone? The Passing the Torch is about to begin..." she said in a faint voice. Her question was met with a slight pause.


    "Can you wait a bit longer?" Zen finally responded.


    "Sure I can, but we''ll have to hold the first round of the test after the Passing the Torch begins. You should come over as soon as possible..."


    The disciples of thirteen palaces were still required to undergo a test together. If Zen would be late for the test, he might b


    irit was just an illusion at the beginning. Although Lavender looked exactly like an ordinary person, she actually looked a bit different from an actual human on a closer look. She was like a reflection in water while floating in the air. The strong light could even penetrate her body!


    However, at present, if Lavender didn''t tell anyone that she was a sword spirit, nobody could know the truth! She looked just like a real body.


    From her flowing black hair to her snow-white skin, her whole body looked so vivid and life-like. She was no different from an ordinary person, and her body looked convincingly solid.


    She slightly raised her wrist and lightly touched her arm. "It seems that the sword spirit body becomes real! And when I control this sword spirit body, my strength will increase by a lot as well," she said with a faint smile.


    Back when she didn''t have a vessel, she had still liked to rely on Zen''s body. It could be said that she wasn''t that motivated to find a body for herself.


    Now that this had happened, Lavender thought that she had also made a good choice in life when she accompanied Zen.


    Meanwhile, Zen glanced at Lavender. He felt his heart race at the sight of her glossy hair and fair face. However, he soon turned back his attention towards the enormous stone.


    It looked like there was no way to reveal the secret left behind by Supreme Lord Sword.


    It had taken him several hours to strengthen his sword spirit to such an extent. This was already considered a good harvest. As for figuring out the secret of Supreme Lord Sword, that was something that could just depend on one''s luck. Zen would not persist.


    In addition, the Passing the Torch had already begun, so Zen wasted no time and flew towards one side of the huge stone.


    Not long after Zen left, the two Spirit Supreme Realm warriors, Landry and Damian, were still blankly focused on the huge words on the stone. Suddenly, a slight rupturing sound came from one of the words, and a crack appeared!

 Chapter 1370 The Purification Pool

    The mood of the two warriors was extremely complicated.


    They discovered that the sharp sword intent contained within the words had completely disappeared.


    The source of this problem must be Zen. They could not think of anyone else.


    But they did not dare stop Zen and force him to reveal the truth. Moreover, he probably did not know what the truth was. It was possible that he was unaware of what he''d done.


    Therefore, they could only watch Zen''s retreating figure and continue to stare at the words on the giant rock in a daze.


    After losing the sharp sword intent, these large characters lost their charm although they still looked the same as before. Even the brush edges of the characters were no longer sharp and forceful.


    If someone had said that this poem was carved by a Supreme Lord, the onlookers would have nodded in agreement. After all, only a Supreme Lord could carve such sharp characters.


    But now, if others were to see it, they would think that it was carved by an ordinary craftsman. There was nothing special or extraordinary about it. It almost looked disappointing, if they were being completely honest.


    "That brat took away the charm in those characters. What exactly is going on?" Landry asked with a sullen face.


    Damian shook his head, his expression dispirited.


    Right at this moment, a crack suddenly appeared on one of the characters. The two men were shocked.


    This huge rock had never been damaged by anyone before. But a crack appeared just now. Wasn''t this extremely abnormal?


    The two of them looked at each other with excitement written all over their faces.


    They were the only two among the countless warriors that had stayed here to the end. Perhaps what was happening in front of them was the turning point in their fates.


    Meanwhile, Zen did not know that the characters cracked after he left.


    When he arrived at his destination, he saw magnificent ancient buildings that stood there for countless years.


    Yolande and a couple dozen other people were waiting in this place.


    "Yolande, there is still one more person from the Mist Palace who has yet to come. It has already been several hours. If he still hasn''t arrived, then I''ll have to seal the Purification Pool!" said an old man dressed in cotton clothes. He had an impatient expression on his face.


    To any warrior of the thirteen palaces, Passing the Torch was a great fortune. But there was actually someone who was yet to arrive, and it was unknown just what he was waiting for. The old man grew frustrated and angry.


    Yolande shrugged and said, "Just wait."


    A tall and slim woman dressed in jade-green sneered. "Tsk! Tsk! Yolande, I''m so envious of you. If it were someone from other palaces, I''m afraid the Purification Pool would have already been sealed!"


    This time, all the leaders of the thirteen palaces had rushed over from thirteen different supreme worlds to participate in Pass


    nk, but he remained on the surface of the pool.


    Seeing Zen having trouble with it, Yolande said, "You can sink down. The Purification Pool will help clear up your soul for a short period of time and increase your perception by several folds!"


    What Zen didn''t know was that the warriors from the thirteen palaces had had a round of competition in the Purification Pool.


    The Purification Pool''s water buoyancy was extremely great. It was only twenty feet wide and twenty feet deep, yet it was already this resistant. If its area was expanded by several times, even a mountain range would still be unable to sink down.


    Many warriors were proud about being able to sink to the bottom so as to show their strength.


    But this was not such an easy feat. Most of the warriors in the thirteen palaces couldn''t sink to the bottom of the Purification Pool, and most of them only stayed in the middle section.


    Of course, the thirteen palaces didn''t lack powerful warriors. Just like Layla, Javier, and the other warriors, they had seamlessly sunk to the bottom. There were more than ten warriors in the thirteen palaces that were able to overcome the challenge.


    In truth, it didn''t matter whether or not one was able to sink to the bottom. This was only a way for warriors of the thirteen palaces to compete with each other.


    "Young man, you can try and see how deep you can go," a palace leader said to Zen with a smile.


    Zen looked at Yolande. "Is it really that important to sink to the bottom?" he mouthed.


    Seeing that Yolande shook her head slightly, Zen did not bother to pay attention to the palace leader who had just spoken to him. With a flip of his body, he entered the Purification Pool without sinking to the bottom.


    The palace leaders, including the old man who just offered him a smile, started to frown in disappointment. What a huge let down this was! They had waited for a very long time only for the sake of this guy.

 Chapter 1371 Law Storm

    The Purification Pool was also a place to gauge the strength of martial artists of the thirteen palaces.


    In the previous few hours, thousands of cultivators had jumped into the pool and made a show of their abilities.


    The pool was an important aspect of Passing the Torch. The leaders also informed the warriors of their own palaces to exhibit their strength.


    Among the warriors of the thirteen palaces, Layla from Mist Palace had previously sunk into the bottom of the Purification Pool the fastest and the most effortlessly.


    In just a few seconds, she had quietly sunk twenty feet into the depths of the Purification Pool. The resistance of the water in the Purification Pool seemed not to hinder her in any way.


    Zen was also from Mist Palace but he had arrived late. In the end, he had not put up an extraordinary show.


    Whether or not Zen used his full strength, he was floating at such a shallow depth right now that he could only be ranked below average with his current performance, or even among the most incompetent martial artists of the thirteen palaces.


    "I was wondering what kind of an extraordinary talent he was. It seemed I have waited in vain!"


    "The boy could not be so intelligent since he actually believed the mystery left behind by Supreme Lord Sword."


    "All right, we can seal off the path of Passing the Torch now!"


    "I still want to check on how the little ones in my palace are doing?"


    Some of the leaders of the palaces were dissatisfied when they heard the announcement.


    The voices passed through the clear pool of water and reached Zen''s ears, but he looked calm and indifferent. It was then that he noticed Yolande looking at him. He grinned at her.


    The two of them smiled at each other knowingly at the same time, neither of them knowing what the other was so amused about¡­


    After that, Zen turned back to what he had to face. Immersing himself in the water of the pool, Zen felt his spirit become more refreshed. He became quicker in thinking.


    As Zen left the Purification Pool, the old man in the cotton clothes clapped his hands. A huge word¡ª''seal''¡ªappeared in the sky.


    When the word appeared, it immediately locked them out from the Orange Sea World on the outside. It was as if an independent space had formed within the scope of the word.


    ''What a powerful technique!'' Zen was somewhat surprised to see the old man''s skills.


    This old man in cotton clothes must be halfway into becoming a world lord, or at least had the strength equivalent to that of one. The great theurgy he had displayed through his cultivation amazed Zen.


    After the path to Passing the Torch was sealed off, Zen followed the crowd and entered a square. A few square stones were placed in the square.


    Each of the stones was about two feet in length and was engraved with densely packed words the size of mosquitoes or flies.


    At the end of the square were thousands of warriors sitting on the side. They held a square stone carving in their hands, con


    ed half of the square to reach Zen''s side. She gently lifted up the hem of her dress and sat with her knees on the ground. After placing the stone carving beside her, she asked him, "I''m talking to you, can''t you hear me?"


    "I heard you," Zen replied indifferently as he read the laws of the stone carving.


    "So then why didn''t you respond?" Layla persisted.


    Zen shrugged. "No reason. I just didn''t feel like it."


    "Why? I don''t remember doing anything to irritate you!" Seeing Zen''s perfunctory attitude, Layla did not relent.


    Zen suddenly felt a headache coming. He just hoped that she would not make a commotion just to disturb him, but he was not a man who could be rude to a woman. He exhaled and stared at Layla. "All right, what do you want to ask me?"


    Layla rolled her eyes at him before asking with a smile, "What did you figure out from the words Supreme Lord Sword left behind?"


    Zen shook his head. "There are people who haven''t comprehended anything after having meditated for tens of thousands of years. What secrets can I figure out?"


    "You haven''t figured out anything, yet you have stayed there for so long?" Layla continued, baffled.


    She would not stop nagging him.


    Zen could not help but roll his eyes heavenward. "Could you stop talking, please? I still need to contemplate on this stone carving!"


    He had already been late here for a few hours, and now that Layla kept pestering him non-stop, Zen was unable to contain his frustration any longer.


    "Oh¡­" Layla wore a resentful look on her face. "In fact, if you want to comprehend the six kinds of Law Power on the stone carving, you need plenty of time. The Law Storm is a fusion of many different Law Powers, so the more you comprehend now, the further you will go¡­"


    "Law Storm?" Hearing this, Zen raised his head.


    Layla knew that he would be curious about that, so she smiled, choosing to keep him in suspense. "Don''t you wish to figure out the stone carving by yourself? Why are you asking me?"

 Chapter 1372 The Enchanted Barrier Tower

    Layla had finally succeeded in arousing Zen''s curiosity, and her face now revealed a complacent smile.


    She then raised one corner of her mouth in a meaningful way and smiled, "You said that you don''t want to say anything and just want to focus on studying the stone carving, right?"


    In response, Zen merely glared at her with a cold gaze. He seemed to dislike being kept in suspense.


    Layla seemed to sense that and stopped beating around the bush. "The most important part in the Passing the Torch is to advance through the Law Storm. The storm is formed of every single law power in the entire universe and can be a bit, feisty..."


    "Every single type of law is contained in the storm?" Zen confirmed.


    Layla nodded. "Yes. But don''t worry. Those laws are extremely fragmented, left behind by numerous Supreme Lords as they fought in the past. The Law Storm is imprisoned within the Enchanted Barrier Tower!"


    The Enchanted Barrier Tower had also been left behind by a Supreme Lord. In appearance, it was much like a tower, but was in fact, an enchanted barrier. It had been created many years ago and things were much different now.


    Several Supreme Lords had fought in the Orange Sea World, which ended up disintegrating this supreme world. As a result, the laws left behind by them had become disordered and uncontrolled, making the Orange Sea World a dangerous and chaotic place. Any warrior visiting it would be dead within seconds if he or she wasn''t careful enough and got trapped in the chaotic law current.


    Later, a human Supreme Lord had taken a planned risk and gathered all of the law currents together, trapping and enveloping them within the Enchanted Barrier Tower. The broken Orange Sea World gradually became peaceful after that.


    The chaotic law currents within the Enchanted Barrier Tower had also weakened over time, losing much of their energy. Later on, they interacted and formed a storm. But time had passed so much since then that even the storm''s might had weakened by a great deal. In the last several hundred years, it had weakened enough to be used as a method of testing the warriors of thirteen palaces.


    After hearing Layla''s instructions, Zen understood what was going on. No wonder the warriors of thirteen palaces were required to comprehend those stone carvings; they had six types of laws on each of their six sides. The Law Storm was actually a combination of many different Original Laws, which meant that in order to resist it, they needed to comprehend a sufficient amount of Law Power.


    "So we are going to make an effort at the last moment, huh? It would be useless you know. Even if we spend twenty days cultivating here, it won''t be enough. Forget about forty hours! If you want to make greater achievement in the Law Storm, you will have to rely on your accumulation of knowledge and cultivation base in the past!" Layla told him arrogantly.


    Zen glanced at her indifferently, realizing that she was both proud and confident in herself.


    "Even so, I have to do what I have to do," Zen responded.


    "Look! I told you. It''s just useless! Like I said, I don''t need to comprehend this stone carving. I can surely obtain first place and break the record here without doing that! Let''s just chat!" Layla smiled.


    Zen rolled his eyes in response. "Layla! I''m not as confident as you are." After he finished spea


    nd miles will get you only one Tribulation Exterminating Pill..."


    "Mmm. This reward for Passing the Torch seems to be too small!


    "Are there any other prizes? Please tell us..."


    These warriors were participating in Passing the Torch just for its rewards. Naturally, they would pay attention to them and want bigger ones to be present.


    The old man continued, "Those who can travel three thousand miles will be rewarded with a secondary first-rank divine weapon!"


    Zen had been slightly interested in the Tribulation Exterminating Pill. He felt a bit of a lack of interest when it came to the secondary first-rank divine weapon.


    As for the warriors from thirteen palaces, they were also somewhat dissatisfied.


    "I heard that the warriors who traveled three thousand miles in the last Passing the Torch were rewarded with first-rank divine weapons, but this year the reward is just a secondary first-rank divine weapon... So cheap!"


    "Indeed, the rewards seem to have decreased in grade this time. What happened I wonder?"


    The old man dressed in cotton clothes didn''t care about everyone''s dissatisfaction and continued with his announcement, "As for the reward of traveling ten thousand miles, I will announce it when someone of you is able to make it!"


    Obviously, the old man wanted to keep everyone guessing and increase suspense.


    The crowd was naturally unhappy...


    It was extremely difficult to advance through the Law Storm. Very few warriors would be able to move forward even for a thousand miles.


    As for reaching the three thousand miles mark, most likely, only about a dozen warriors would be able to do so.


    Ten thousand miles was a dream that was unimaginable. The warriors of thirteen palaces wondered whether there was even a single warrior who could travel ten thousand miles. To be honest, there was no point in announcing the rewards of this case. No one would make it!


    Although everyone was dissatisfied, no one chose to give up. They were clear that the benefits attained by Passing the Torch were not limited to just this. If they were able to achieve a good result, then they would be highly valued in the palaces. And they could also get a lot of resources several times more than they had now.

 Chapter 1373 At The End Of The Line

    Under the instruction of the old man in the cotton clothes, the crowd of warriors rapidly moved towards the Enchanted Barrier Tower.


    Although it was called the Enchanted Barrier Tower, it didn''t look like a tower. It was in fact a massive space that had Law Storm tightly locked within it.


    As the Law Storm continued to rage, it was as if this space was limitless; but, in reality, there was a boundary. In the deepest part of the Enchanted Barrier Tower, there was a mighty power lingering there, left by the fight among several Supreme Lords. Anyone who got sucked into the power would suffer the inevitable consequence, and their bodies would be smashed to smithereens.


    Of course, that would only happen when one reached one hundred thousand miles into the tower''s depths. It was impossible for the younger generation of the thirteen palaces to reach such a depth. Hence, they were quite safe still.


    Thousands of martial artists entered the Enchanted Barrier Tower¡­


    As soon as they entered the Enchanted Barrier Tower, everyone felt a strong Law Power rushing towards them!


    "This Law Power contains many different laws!"


    Zen raised his head cautiously and looked ahead. The laws in front of him formed a violent storm that covered nearly every corner of the Enchanted Barrier Tower.


    Even though they had just entered the tower, everyone already felt a formidable pressure building around them. Many of the martial artists immediately revolved their body-protecting life vitality to protect themselves¡­


    Only a few of the gathered talents did not use body-protecting life vitality, such as Javier, Layla of the Mist Palace, and the other top talents of the other twelve palaces.


    As for Zen¡­ He did not use the body-protecting life vitality to protect his body either, not because he did not want to, but the problem was that he did not have life vitality anymore. Although the characteristics of the chaotic energy and life vitality were very similar--and to a certain extent, the chaotic energy could be regarded as an enhanced version of life vitality--the chaotic energy was not distributed evenly like the life vitality when it surged out.


    Or perhaps Zen just hadn''t grasped the method to make it emerge more evenly yet. However, this was not the appropriate place to experiment now.


    The martial artists of the thirteen palaces had been gathered here from many supreme worlds. They would become core members if they chose to stay in any tenth grade sacred places. And right now, each of them wanted to outperform the others. Competition was stiff!


    Seeing that Javier, Layla, and some others had easily adapted themselves to the Law Storm without activating their body-protecting life vitality, the other warriors were soon convinced that they were really extraordinary talents.


    However, when they saw that Zen, who was a warrior only at the fifth level of the Life and Death Realm, hadn''t used his body-protecting life vitality either, they had disdainful looks in their eyes.


    "Just keep bluffing. If he can''t hold on for more than one hundred miles, that would be truly shameful!"


    "Ha-ha, there are always people who make a fool out of themselves..."


    This year, the test in the Enchanted Barrier Tower was not a competition of speed. They needed to use their skills and strength to walk through the Law Storm as far as they could. After they entered, some moved fast, some were slow, but they all started to explore deeper into the tower.


    In the beginning, the crowd was gathered


    this moment, the old man in the cotton clothes pointed at someone and laughed. "This kid is actually the last one!"


    Everyone''s eyes swept across the tower and discovered that Zen was now at the end of the line!


    Thousands of martial artists had formed a long line as they moved forwards through the Law Storm in the tower. Only Zen was left behind, and he was at the ending of the line. This naturally attracted a lot of attention and speculation.


    The leaders of the palaces also smiled condescendingly. Zen was the last one that had arrived. Currently, he also stood last in the test of the Enchanted Barrier Tower. It was indeed strange.


    Several of the leaders even glanced at Yolande, their gazes faintly mocking, and she could almost see them shaking their heads imperceptibly.


    "This boy has actually not used the body-protecting life vitality?"


    "Interesting. I don''t know why, and he''s moving so slowly!"


    Yolande still looked very calm. She believed in Zen''s strength, but she was becoming a bit curious. What was Zen thinking?!


    Zen still kept everything under his control, maintaining a steady speed as he advanced. The fragments of laws in the air were in complete disarray, making it impossible for him to comprehend them. Of course, he wouldn''t have comprehended the Original Laws here. This place defied all notions of what should be and what shouldn''t be.


    And at this time¡­


    The dozens of martial artists that were walking at the front of the line had already traveled eight hundred miles. They began to rush forward to cross the one thousand miles line! Everyone wanted to be the first.


    Although the first one to reach the one thousand miles would not receive any extra rewards according to the rules, the old man in the cotton clothes would announce the names of the top ten warriors who had passed the one thousand miles mark. It would also bring honor to the palaces that they belonged to. Warriors were all lured by esteem and prestige.


    Of course, Layla strived hard, though not for the honor of the Mist Palace. She was a very proud warrior. How could she be willing to fall behind? She would not let herself fail and prepared for the final sprint.


    At an extremely fast speed, she charged forward through the Law Storm. Right now, she was still ranked third, but her only goal was to become the first¡­

 Chapter 1374 Winner Of The First One Thousand Miles

    The long line that the four thousand people had formed could be divided into three echelons.


    The first echelon had only about twenty martial artists, and they had already advanced eight hundred miles in the Law Storm.


    Although this region''s Law Storm was much stronger, these super talents didn''t feel any pressure.


    They were competing against each other to be the fastest. The moment they had entered the Enchanted Barrier Tower, they had rushed off at full speed towards the one-thousand-mile mark.


    The fastest warrior at the moment was one from the Shadow Palace whose surname was Li. He was completely surrounded by a black domain that immediately swallowed any law fragments that approached him. He was using this method to advance rapidly, and the law fragments in the Law Storm were failing to hinder him.


    Javier was the second fastest. He was an excellent warrior among those who had ascended to the Upper World. There weren''t any tricks involved in his advancing within Law Storm; he relied completely on his own strength. He kept an eye on the Law Storm as he advanced.


    "Nine hundred miles done," Layla mumbled to herself. "Another 100 miles to go." She smiled at this and ground to a halt.


    The martial artists in the first group weren''t too far apart from each other, just a mile or so apart. Everyone was pushing their individual speeds to the limit.


    So when Layla stopped suddenly, the other warriors rushed past her, leaving her behind.


    In the blink of an eye, she had dropped from the third place to the end of the first echelon.


    The martial practitioners who had surpassed her were puzzled. Nobody knew why she had stopped so suddenly.


    But Layla only paused for a minute. With a light flick of her wrist, green rays of light spread out from behind her back, forming two wings that radiated the green light.


    She flapped her wings gently and nimbly flew forward.


    Whoosh!


    Her speed left a trailing smear behind her.


    By then, the martial artist surnamed Li had become excited. He had already traveled 950 miles. He only needed 50 more miles to reach the destination.


    He did not care about the reward, a mere Tribulation Exterminating Pill. Everyone could obtain that. But the Shadow Palace had secretly promised him that if he came to be the fastest to finish traveling one thousand miles, he would be rewarded with a first-rank divine weapon.


    He wanted to help Shadow Palace get this g


    ordered Law Powers around him. But although the Law Storm was a little stronger, it still didn''t put much pressure on Zen.


    Outside the Enchanted Barrier Tower, the old man in cotton clothes said, "Three thousand miles is a hurdle. Many warriors would be eliminated before they reach the destination."


    One of the palace heads nodded and replied, "Some of the Law Power will condense after a thousand miles. It becomes stronger. The key question is: how will these warriors deal with it?"


    "Where is the slowest little guy? Is he still at the end?" A palace head laughed.


    "That''s right. That little fellow is quite strange. He''s already beyond a thousand miles, but he still hasn''t used his life vitality. Could it be that he doesn''t intend to use it at all?" another palace head said, amused.


    These palace leaders had discovered that Zen was special.


    This wasn''t, in any way, a form of praise. They just thought he was weird.


    They were all paying attention to the martial artists of their own palaces. Layla had won the first prize in the first one thousand miles. Now it was time to compete in endurance, to see who could travel the farthest in the Law Storm.


    Many martial artists were having a difficult time walking forward in the endless Law Storm. The martial artists of the first group had kept their pace, but those of the second group had slowed down by a great deal.


    From time to time, a highly powerful fire spirit would emerge from the storm and fly towards the warriors.


    Sometimes, a black wind blade would appear all of a sudden.


    These dangers were fatal, so everyone had to be careful.

 Chapter 1375 Being Eliminated

    As everyone else receded their pace, Zen maintained a steady speed as he eventually caught up with the other warriors.


    Without further delay, he surpassed a warrior. Soon, he passed by the second, the third, the fourth...


    The warriors at the tail were likely to be defeated because their strength and speed seemed highly inadequate and they wouldn''t be able to catch up in time. Some of them, facing the threat of a fierce Law Storm, even considered of giving up altogether.


    After all, every warrior had a distinct goal, one that might be significantly different from another. Some warriors were aware that their own strength was limited, so they would be satisfied with just a Tribulation Exterminating Pill.


    However, there were also some warriors who persevered despite all odds, even though their strength was barely enough. They realized that they wouldn''t be able to cover 3, 000 miles, but they chose to challenge themselves to the last minute rather than surrender once and for all. The attitude of a warrior was of prime importance in his life.


    An unusual space unexpectedly appeared inside the Law Storm. A warrior had accidentally entered and was in fact bound by that space. He surely wished to escape, but perhaps it was too late. At that precise moment, a sharp black wind blade suddenly appeared in front of him, swiftly chopping off his arm.


    Another warrior inadvertently triggered the fluctuation of some law and was surrounded by many red flames. Simultaneously, sharp golden lights enveloped him and several holes appeared in his body.


    After 1, 000 miles, situations like these were not novel. More and more warriors got injured and they could only give up midway.


    The speed of the warriors in the third and second tiers receded drastically. Every warrior appeared to be very cautious on his way forward.


    However, the speed of the warriors in the first tier still couldn''t be underestimated.


    They were considered to be the elites of the thirteen palaces. They were also the selected elites from among the elites of the three thousand supreme worlds.


    Moreover, most of them were warriors who had activated the Nine-petal Lotus Flower.


    Whether it was their hard work and determination or their gifted talent and ultimate perseverance, they simply couldn''t be matched by ordinary warriors.


    Therefore, the warriors in the first tier had gotten miles away from those of the second tier.


    When the warriors in the second tier barely touched 1, 700 miles, Layla, who was the confident leader in the first tier, had victoriously covered 2, 000 miles.


    The warriors in third tier had just reached 1, 500 miles. They indeed had a sad existence.


    Zen found himself at the middle of the third tier.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Ice spears suddenly appeared within the Law Storm, enveloping an area not too far away from where Zen was standing.


    There was a warrior just ahead of Zen. His face seemed to showcase a faint trace of fear. Just as he was about to flee, he discovered that his speed


    er first position and was the center of attention. Besides, her background was rather special as well. Although she was participating in Passing the Torch representing the Mist Palace, the palace leaders didn''t treat her as a warrior of the Mist Palace.


    Therefore, many of the palace leaders were rather generous in their praise for Layla.


    "This girl must be the center of attention in the world of chaos!"


    "That''s what I think too. Kyron Xiao has the insight to recognize sheer talent at a single glimpse."


    They talked about Layla extensively as the warriors kept struggling to move forward.


    Layla appeared to be unusually calm; she neither seemed tensed nor excited. After passing 3, 000 miles, she used her time for a quick rest. Speed was no longer the key factor from the 3, 000th mile to the 10, 000th mile, so she was in no hurry. She bit her lips and shot a quick glance behind her. ''Why is Zen still not here?'' she wondered.


    The second one was not the warrior whose surname was Li from the Shadow Palace, but Javier.


    Javier was one of Yolande''s admirers. He was panting. Relying on his greater willpower, he surpassed the warrior with the surname Li and became the second one to cover 3, 000 miles right behind Leyla.


    He looked at the boundless Law Storm and cried out in his mind, ''Yolande, can''t you see? I will definitely grow up to be good enough for you!''


    The third place...


    The fourth place...


    All of the warriors in the first tier slowed down after reaching the 3, 000-mile mark.


    There was still a long way to go. The 10, 000th mile was a huge hurdle, and not many had successfully covered it.


    After a surprising turn of events, Zen finally left the third tier and entered the second tier. When he entered the second tier, the second tier had passed 3, 000 miles. The second tier originally was composed of over 1, 000 people. Now, there were only about 300 people as 70% of them had been eliminated. The competition had gotten fierce and the prize seemed near, yet so far.

 Chapter 1376 Tenth Tribulation Introducing Pill

    In the Enchanted Barrier Tower, the 3, 000th mile was a huge hurdle.


    In the first tier, not a single warrior was eliminated. But in the second tier, 70% of the warriors were eliminated.


    As for the third tier of warriors, they were even more desperate. 90% of them had been eliminated, and only 300 out of the 3, 000 warriors had passed this stage.


    However, the warriors who had covered 3, 000 miles were already very proud of themselves. The alliance would invest more resources to train them. As for the reward of a secondary first-rank divine weapon, it was simply insignificant in their eyes.


    After 3, 000 miles, the warriors in all the tiers had slowed down greatly.


    Zen, however, maintained his own speed.


    If people had been paying full attention to him, they would''ve known that his speed hadn''t changed at all since the beginning.


    Moreover, he still hadn''t used life vitality to protect his body. He only relied on his own strength and body as he faced the vicious Law Storm.


    Only Yolande had been watching Zen from beginning to end.


    It didn''t take long for someone else to take notice too.


    As the old man in cotton clothes was looking at the warriors in the first tier, he looked back and discovered something wrong with the second tier.


    "Huh?" The old man''s eyes lit up. "This young man isn''t using his life vitality to protect himself!"


    When he looked over, his expression froze. "Isn''t that the guy who was late? Wasn''t he at the tail? When did he catch up with the second tier? And he even went over 3, 000 miles."


    3, 000 miles wasn''t much of an accomplishment to the old man.


    Zen didn''t exactly perform the best before, so the old man had completely forgotten about him. If it wasn''t for the fact that Zen wasn''t using his life vitality, the old man probably wouldn''t have noticed him.


    However, Zen, who had been lugging around in last place, was now suddenly catching up. It was as if he had been teleported. Naturally, the old man was surprised.


    "Is this the same guy who was in the last place and refused to use life vitality to protect himself?" asked another palace leader.


    "That''s him! How interesting! I didn''t expect him to catch up to the front of the second tier."


    "It''s a bit strange. He has covered 3, 000 miles, but still hasn''t used his life vitality to protect himself. He''s very confident in his own strength!"


    "There are a lot of interesting people in the Mist Palace right now. Layla aside, even the one who''s in the second place is from the Mist Palace."


    The rest of the palace leaders turned their attention towards Zen.


    "I would like to see if thi


    "


    "Oh my God! If I had known, I would have fought with all my might."


    The Tenth Tribulation Introducing Pill was able to introduce the Heavenly Tribulation. It had the similar function of the Tribulation Flower that Zen had swallowed on the Divine Kingdom Continent.


    The Tribulation Flower could increase the number of Heavenly Tribulations to nine.


    There were many warriors in the Upper World that didn''t need to swallow a Tribulation Flower. With their talent, they would eventually anger the heavens. Naturally, they would have to face countless calamities. Talents in the Upper World all had to face nine Heavenly Tribulations.


    If a warrior entered the Soul Sea Realm with the cultivation of the eighth grade of the Life and Death Realm, then he or she would not be qualified to be called a talent.


    The Tenth Tribulation Introducing Pill was very rare. Even though the Tenth Tribulation Introducing Pill and the Tribulation Exterminating Pill were both pills related to Heavenly Tribulation, the two couldn''t be mentioned in the same breath.


    The Tribulation Exterminating Pill was only a seventh grade pill, while the Tenth Tribulation Introducing Pill was a ninth grade pill.


    The most important thing was that this pill could help a warrior trigger the tenth Heavenly Tribulation, which was also called the Perfection Tribulation. This was because after the tenth Heavenly Tribulation, a warrior''s foundation would then go into a perfect state which, of course, was important to a warrior.


    Layla pursed her lips and continued moving forward.


    After she had passed 10, 000 miles, Javier was right after her. However, there were two deep holes with blood in his legs and his clothes were torn apart. He looked rather miserable.

 Chapter 1377 Gap

    Except for Layla, the rest of the warriors from the first tier were injured in varying degrees.


    All the warriors were equipped with many healing panaceas, but the problem was that the Law Storm was everywhere in the Enchanted Barrier Tower. There was no place for them to hide and heal their wounds.


    Therefore, at this moment, everyone had to endure the pain and keep moving forward. It was a true test of their endurance.


    After Javier covered the distance of ten thousand miles, the other warriors on the first tier also sprinted to cover the same distance!


    Only two or three warriors had managed to travel ten thousand miles during the Passing the Torch in the past. Sometimes, only one warrior managed to do this. But this time, the number had increased significantly.


    By the time Zen reached the ten-thousand-mile mark, he was already ranked thirteenth.


    Other than occasionally dodging a powerful Law Power in the storm, he had been able to move forward at a constant speed!


    But he wasn''t faster than some of the other warriors who had used special methods to increase their speed. They used these methods as a boost in the last stretch of the test and sprinted as fast as they could.


    But Zen was much calmer than the other warriors and he wasn''t injured...


    As of now, Layla and Zen were probably the only ones who were completely unharmed in the Enchanted Barrier Tower.


    "There is something very strange here! This guy called Zen seems to have maintained the same speed from start to end!"


    "Well, his speed is neither fast nor slow¡ªhe maintains a steady pace. In a Law Storm of this level, it''s hard to believe that he is completely unharmed!"


    Hearing this, Yolande''s eyes flashed faintly. It was only now that these warriors were noticing Zen''s amazing performance...


    He had now become the center of attention.


    Although he still hadn''t made it into the top ten, his calm demeanor made him appear enigmatic.


    Zen had maintained his ranking in the top thirteen for five minutes, while two super talents in front of him had been injured in succession and were eliminated from the Enchanted Barrier Tower.


    With their elimination Zen moved up to the eleventh position!


    The warrior ranked tenth wasn''t too far from Zen. It seemed as if he had also been ravaged by the Law Storm, and was finding it extremely difficult to even take a single step further. It was easy for Zen to surpass this injured warrior and enter the top ten now.


    Zen was closing in on his opponent, but just as he was about to sur


    f-confident!"


    "She can travel twelve thousand miles with such ease. This woman... This woman might have the qualifications to challenge the record set by Supreme Lord Illusion!"


    Not many warriors remained in the Enchanted Barrier Tower, and the few who were there garnered attention by the others. Layla, who was previously ranked first, naturally received the most attention.


    She only wanted to talk to Zen when she had returned resolutely, which stunned the palace masters.


    Other warriors found it difficult to take a single step forward, but Layla seemed to advance in such a fierce Law Storm pretty easily. Everyone marveled at her remarkable ability!


    Meanwhile, Zen continued improving his ranking.


    Ninth place, eighth place, seventh place...


    With his steady progress, he quickly entered the top five and then the top four...


    By the time they reached the 13, 000th mile, he was already in the top three.


    This was because seven of the top ten warriors had already been eliminated!


    The strangest thing was that the top three warriors were from the Mist Palace.


    Layla was still in first place, Javier was second and Zen was third!


    The palace leaders and vice leaders from the other twelve palaces looked very embarrassed at this point.


    In the past, their warriors had excelled in this competition. However, this year, it seemed that every palace had some remarkable talents, and all of them had attained the ten-thousand-mile mark. All the warriors, who were still moving forward after traveling ten thousand miles, belonged to the Mist Palace. It was obvious that the gap between the warriors of the Mist Palace and those from other palaces was very large.

 Chapter 1378 Sixteen Thousand Miles

    The leader of the Shadow Palace sighed. "It seems that the warriors of the Mist Palace are performing very well this year."


    The other palace leaders were also speechless. They didn''t know where and how the Mist Palace had found such remarkable talents. It seemed that these three warriors could easily break the record¡ªa distance of fourteen thousand miles!


    Yolande was still calm.


    Yolande thought that Zen had much greater potential than this. He could achieve far greater things.


    At this moment, the old man in cotton clothes spoke, "Zen and Javier are warriors who ascended from the Lower World, right?"


    Yolande nodded. "Yes."


    The old man dressed in cotton clothes chuckled and said, "It looks like we got another miracle from the warriors of the Lower World..."


    This so-called miracle of the warriors, who had ascended to the Upper World, was just a concept that circulated in the Upper World.


    Over the years, there had been many warriors who had ascended from the Lower World, but most of them were just ordinary warriors with ordinary abilities.


    This was also pretty normal. Generally, the cultivation methods, inheritances, and resources of a supreme world were much superior to those of the Lower World.


    So all those who had ascended from the Lower World were always amazed at what they saw in the Upper World. However, some of them had managed to surprise everyone with their skills and strength after they ascended.


    For instance, Supreme Lord Illusion''s great talent surprised all of the members of the whole alliance before. After becoming a Supreme Lord, he became one of the most outstanding Supreme Lords ever.


    "A miracle of the warriors from the Lower World... Can it really be called a miracle?" A palace leader shook his head.


    "Are you saying that they might be able to break the record of Supreme Lord Illusion?" another palace leader asked.


    The old record of eighteen thousand miles was difficult enough to beat and not even the most talented warriors of thirteen palaces could even dream to break it.


    In the previous Passing the Torch, no warrior then had the ability to break this record.


    The old man dressed in cotton clothes only chuckled and didn''t say anything more.


    In the Enchanted Barrier Tower, Layla didn''t stay any longer. She was like a jubilant skylark, just freely flying through the Law Storm.


    Now that she was sure that Zen was following her, she didn''t need to wait any longer. She wanted to leave him as far behind as possible.


    Layla''s flying speed had now increased by double. No matter how crazy the Law Storm was, it was unable to hinder her agile figure.


    Javier, meanwhile, was exhausted.


    Javier had already cultivated in seclusion before he joined the Passing the Torch.


    Zen was brought


    e has so many clones so you''re not the only one she''s encountered."


    Javier was silent upon hearing this and he didn''t look so indignant anymore.


    Zen continued, "I know you want to prove yourself to Yolande but you seem to have made a mistake."


    "What mistake?" Javier said coldly.


    "The Yolande you like isn''t the same Yolande you are meeting now...


    The clone is not the main body after all. After Yolande devours the clone, it will disappear from this world...


    So you don''t need to prove anything to the current Yolande."


    Zen wasn''t a relationship expert but since Javier had ascended to the Upper World like he did, he didn''t mind saying stuff like this to him.


    Suddenly, the atmosphere outside the Enchanted Barrier Tower became awkward.


    Even Yolande, who normally kept a straight face, had a strange expression. The rest of the palace leaders were knowingly eyeing Yolande.


    As for the old man in cotton clothes, he chuckled and said, "Now these young warriors are very strange and interesting. I can''t believe they can manage to talk about things like that in the middle of this Law Storm!"


    Javier was calm upon hearing what Zen had said. Zen shook his head as if he thought there was no use persuading Javier anymore. He just wanted to tell Javier what he thought. To Yolande, her clones were just trivial memories. She couldn''t possibly reciprocate Javier''s affection.


    After Zen finished speaking, he didn''t linger anymore and continued moving forward. It was up to Javier if he was going to accept it or not.


    As they got distracted by Zen and Javier, everyone quickly turned their attention to Layla who had already traveled over sixteen thousand miles.


    She was only two thousand miles away from Supreme Lord Illusion''s record. However, as she reached this, it was increasingly becoming difficult to move forward.

 Chapter 1379 An Incredible Record

    "She''s already reached the 16, 000th mile. This Layla, she''s really amazing¡­"


    "I have no doubt that this woman is going to be admitted to the Spring Fragrance Pavilion when she passes the test of Passing the Torch!"


    "It''s truly impressive. Back when I took the test in the Enchanted Barrier Tower, I was only able to travel 13000 miles. That was already my limit!"


    The leaders of the palaces were all shocked at Layla''s capabilities.


    Even though she''d already impressed them earlier, they never thought that she would break a record.


    Everyone was more amazed at what happened next.


    When Layla surpassed the 16000 miles'' mark, she increased her speed again. Her body was then covered in a layer of cyan light and a small crack appeared on the spot between her eyebrows where a small cyan stone could be seen.


    The stone was about the size of a fingertip and it looked nothing out of the ordinary.


    When the leaders saw the stone, they seemed to be shocked. The old man in cotton clothes even stood up in surprise.


    "The Wrath of the Ocean!"


    "She actually has the Wrath of the Ocean!"


    "That old Kyron really did hide it quite well¡­."


    Some were surprised while some sighed.


    The other martial artists who were also watching were confused. They didn''t know what the Wrath of the Ocean was.


    The old man in cotton clothes descended slowly back to his chair and muttered, "That''s not right. If Layla has the Wrath of the Ocean, it''s impossible that the Spring Fragrance Pavilion didn''t know, and Kyron wouldn''t have sent her to participate in Passing the Torch in the first place¡­"


    "From the looks of it, he probably doesn''t know that Layla has the Wrath of the Ocean.." Yolande said as she nodded. She was suddenly looking at Layla in a different light.


    In fact, Yolande had always thought that Zen would surpass Layla sooner or later. It was something she''d always believed in based on the memories of two of her clones.


    However, when she saw that Layla had the Wrath of the Ocean, she started to question her judgment.


    The Wrath of the Ocean was an extremely special and powerful talent.


    In the Upper World, special talents, skills, and physiques weren''t uncommon. For instance, there was an ancient ogre who had a physique that was indestructible. When the cultivator reached a certain realm, his body could never be destroyed. Even when he was turned to fine powder, he could still recover.


    Other examples were the Purple Power Body, the Genuine Phoenix and Genuine Dragon bloodlines, and all sorts of legendary beasts bloodlines. There were some martial artists that came from these bloodlines and it wasn''t uncommon at all. Just like the Dragon Lineage Human of the Genu


    hat she would set would be one that wouldn''t be surpassed anytime soon by anyone. What she had achieved today was outstanding even more so than the record Supreme Lord Illusion had set before.


    Just as they expected, after Layla broke through the 24000 mark, her speed was still astonishingly fast without any signs of decreasing or stopping.


    As for Zen, he had seemingly stopped at the 18000 mark and he wasn''t moving as if he was meditating.


    Yolande pursed her lips as she gazed at Zen. She was a little worried. From the very beginning. She had thought highly of Zen and hoped that he would surpass Layla. But now, Zen was seemingly stuck in the middle of the Law Storm. ''What is he up to?'', she wondered.


    "25000 miles!"


    "26000 miles!"


    "27000 miles¡­ I''m going crazy, this woman''s a freak!"


    Layla didn''t slow down until she reached the 28000th mile.


    "She finally slowed down¡­"


    "She has already surpassed Supreme Lord Illusion''s record by 10000 miles. That''s unbelievable!"


    "Of course she has to slow down. If she continues to advance deeper into the tower, then she''ll reach the place where the Law Storm is completely out of control. There''s an inner layer of the Law Storm that''s impossible to be seen."


    Layla''s speed rapidly decreased. After reaching the 28000th mile, she had advanced another 200 miles before she came to a stop.


    Not long after, Layla''s figure appeared at the entrance of the Enchanted Barrier Tower with a huge smile on her face.


    While she was proud, she was still approachable. The martial artists from the thirteen palaces looked at her with great admiration as if she were some superior being.


    When Layla returned to the side of the square, she looked up at the Enchanted Barrier Tower and asked, "Where''s Zen? Eh? He''s still at the 18000 mark?"

 Chapter 1380 Not Bad

    Layla tried to find out where Zen was before she left the Enchanted Barrier Tower.


    However, in the face of the boundless Law Storm, she naturally couldn''t know where Zen was or whether he had even been eliminated from the test already.


    "So Zen reached the 18, 000th mile, right?"


    Layla smiled. Even though she had left the Enchanted Barrier Tower before him, she was confident with what she had achieved. She knew that there was no way Zen would be able to beat her record.


    Admittedly, 28, 200 miles was the best she could do.


    After reaching the 28, 200th mile, Leila could feel the pressure.


    The Law Storm could only be described as terrifying. The power of both thunder and fire mixed together, the extremely compressed wind blades, and the frost that could freeze anything...


    If Layla had tried to push herself and realize her full potential, she might have been able to travel another thousand miles further.


    However, she didn''t think it was worth it. She believed she did her best and people were already impressed enough with her.


    It was more than enough for her that she had beaten ordinary warriors and the talented ones too. She could proudly hold her head high in front of anyone including Zen.


    It was so satisfying to see the astounded looks of all those warriors from the thirteen palaces.


    She couldn''t help but feel fulfilled as everyone looked at her with much respect and admiration.


    "Layla, please come upstairs," she heard Yolande''s voice calling for her.


    Layla nodded lightly in response. Her embroidered shoes clattered on the floor as her small figure floated over so that she was in front of all the leaders.


    Before, these leaders never really paid that much attention to Layla.


    They were all powerful warriors that were qualified to be world lords and were regarded with prestige.


    Layla was just a junior compared to them. She was much inferior in terms of age and her cultivation base.


    But after what they had just witnessed, they regarded her now with respect and admiration.


    Even standing in front of these powerful figures, Layla wasn''t nervous at all. Instead, she turned to the old man wearing a cotton robe and asked, "If there''s a reward for crossing 10, 000 miles, shouldn''t there be a reward too for crossing 20, 000 miles?"


    The old man was dumbfounded.


    He''d never considered before that someone could reach 20, 000 miles.


    So he hadn''t prepared a reward for such an achievement.


    One of the leaders said with a smile, "There should be a reward for her! 28, 000 miles. That''s amazing! She deserves the best reward!"


    "I agree! She should get a reward at least for the new record she has set!" another one chimed in.


    The old man hesitated for a moment. What reward would be proper? He had trouble figuring it out


    ok and said with a slightly surprised voice, "He has reached the 18, 000th mile. That''s not bad."


    In fact, 18, 000 miles was not bad at all because it was excellent. This was Supreme Lord Illusion''s record back then. Plus, Zen was actually at 18, 300 miles already which meant that he had already broken Supreme Lord Illusion''s record.


    This achievement was far from ''not bad.''


    However, since Layla had just set a record of 28, 000 miles which was 10, 000 miles ahead of Zen, Zen''s achievement suddenly paled in comparison.


    Yolande discreetly pursed her lips and said, "Zen seems to be meditating. I think he''s still going to go farther."


    Yolande couldn''t be sure. She had guessed that Zen would beat Supreme Lord Illusion''s record and she had turned out to be right.


    However, she wasn''t sure how far Zen could actually reach. She could only make a conservative estimate.


    Layla also looked towards the Enchanted Barrier Tower and said with a smile, "I agree! Zen''s achievement is already great! He might go a bit farther and he might even reach the 20, 000 miles'' mark!"


    Yolande shot her an annoyed glance. She disliked Layla for her arrogance. Layla seemed to doubt that Zen could break her record.


    Yolande secretly hoped that Zen would beat her. However, she knew how difficult it was to break the astonishing record that Layla had just set. For some reason, she felt upset about this.


    The lord of the Sunset World said, "Let''s just see if this boy will surprise us. If he can reach the 20, 000 miles'' mark, I will also give him my reward. I just wonder how long he''s going to meditate there. It''s a bit difficult to meditate inside the Law Storm, after all."


    The crowd then fell into silence as they observed the last person in the Enchanted Barrier Tower. Zen hadn''t moved in a while and everyone was wondering how long this would last.

 Chapter 1381 The Prototype

    For the most part, there was no actual suspense regarding the contest results in the Enchanted Barrier Tower.


    Layla had not only broken the record set by Supreme Lord Illusion, but had also set a new record herself.


    She had raised the bar higher by setting a record that was even more difficult to beat.


    To put it simply, beating her record would be like turning the world upside down¡ªimpossible!


    Zen had broken the record set by Supreme Lord Illusion. In spite of that, everyone was convinced that he wouldn''t be able to break Layla''s incredible record.


    Eighteen thousand miles was already an insurmountable record, let alone twenty-eight thousand miles.


    Since Zen was the last person to come out of the Enchanted Barrier Tower, everyone''s attention was focused on him.


    As time went by, Zen remained motionless in the Enchanted Barrier Tower like a monk in meditation, as if he was trying to comprehend something.


    Layla curled her lips and darkened her eyebrows. Her eyes shone bright, reflecting the strong light from the sun.


    Despite the first eighteen thousand miles being a bottleneck, it was relatively easy to finish. Beyond it, the Law Power was compressed to the limit.


    All of the law fragments were condensed together to form the dark Law Storm.


    Earlier when Supreme Lord Illusion stopped here, it was most likely due to the Law Storm.


    However, Layla did not linger there for even a moment. After she opened Wrath of the Ocean, her focus kept her rushing on forward.


    Although the dark Law Storm was fierce, it didn''t pose much of a threat to Layla.


    Meanwhile, everyone else wondered what was going on inside Zen''s mind.


    Two minutes had passed.


    Five minutes...


    One hour...


    Two hours...


    Four hours...


    The heads of the palaces and the lord of Sunset World, however, remained calm. After all, they were all strong and experienced warriors.


    To them, this length of time was like a fleeting moment.


    On the other hand, the warriors in the plaza were starting to become a little anxious.


    It wasn''t that they were feeling impatient.


    After all, they had gone through countless tough training and boring practices to become so strong and resilient.


    A mere few hours of waiting was nothing to them. Sometimes, when they practiced closed door cultivation, they would spend at least an entire year with no one but themselves to keep them company.


    However, Passing the Torch did not consist of only one trial in the Enchanted Barrier Tower. They were eagerly looking forward to the next trial. With this expectation, it wouldn''t be a surprise if they felt as though time was passing dreadfully slowly.


    "What is Zen doing? He is wasting everyone''s time."


    "Who knows? Th


    up!"


    "Does he plan to leave the Enchanted Barrier Tower or continue to move forward?"


    "It looks like he''s starting to move forward."


    "He''s actually walking with his legs."


    "He''s finally flying."


    "He is still very slow."


    "He is accelerating! Wow, he is moving really fast!"


    "But... he still hasn''t used his life vitality! It seems like he isn''t using any secret techniques. So how can he be so fast?"


    "Oh God!"


    The practitioners, on one side of the plaza, who had been complaining nonstop before, were now clamoring again. Of course, this time they weren''t complaining about Zen''s delay, but rather they were amazed at his speed.


    Zen was advancing even faster than Layla from before.


    The heads of palaces, at this moment, had very interesting expressions on their faces. The lord of Sunset World was looking at Zen attentively.


    Zen knew why Layla was able to travel 28, 000 miles at such a high speed. She did so by opening the Wrath of the Ocean.


    However, Zen was relying only on his own strength. Despite his vast knowledge and experience, the lord of Sunset World was unable to figure out how he did it.


    "Zen seems to be even more powerful than Layla," one of the heads of the palaces exclaimed, mouth agape in astonishment.


    "That seems to be the case, but he still hasn''t covered twenty thousand miles. I don''t think he will be able to break Layla''s record," argued another palace leader.


    Yolande remained indifferent just as she was before, but the corners of her mouth curved into a faint smile.


    The surprise in Layla''s eyes was undeniable as she stood on the top floor. However, after she pursed her lips, she faintly said to herself, "I know you won''t stop at 18, 000 miles, otherwise you wouldn''t be fit to be my rival. But to go beyond 28, 000 miles is impossible!"

 Chapter 1382 Break The Record

    Zen didn''t really absorb the Law Storm into his body.


    It could be because of the high degree of concentration of the Law Storm that it had the elementary form of chaotic energy. It seemed that there was some sort of "restoration" taking place in the Enchanted Barrier Tower.


    However, the Law Storm was not chaotic energy, and it wouldn''t be good for Zen if he absorbed it into his elixir field.


    Nonetheless, Zen was satisfied that he could make use of the Law Storm.


    He was aware that the Law Storm couldn''t obstruct him anymore. It was as if he was flying in the outside world. He felt rather relaxed.


    As Zen increased his speed, he flew forward like a bat out of hell.


    Thus, the palace leaders became more and more surprised.


    In an instant, Zen had passed 19, 000 miles.


    And then, 20, 000 miles....


    21, 000 miles...


    22, 000 miles...


    Zen did not stop and continued onward at full speed.


    "This is so amazing! He is like flying in the outside world."


    "What secret method is this guy using? He must be cheating!"


    Javier was still healing himself at the corner of the plaza. A bitter smile cracked his lips after he witnessed the performance of Layla and Zen.


    ''Darn, I was so naive.


    I wanted to prove myself so bad and be the number one in Passing the Torch.


    Why didn''t I think of how impossible that was with Layla and Zen around? I''m far behind to either of them, '' he thought.


    Meanwhile, Layla could no longer stay calm.


    Her heart pounded and her hands clenched into fists. Her fingertips were beginning to turn pale due to the amount of strength she was using. Thus, her blood couldn''t flow to her fingertips anymore.


    "He passed 23, 000 miles! Will he continue?" uttered Layla to herself while looking sideways at Zen. She really wanted to call for a halt. She wanted Zen to stop. ''Stop moving! Stop moving!'' she kept yelling inside her head.


    However, Zen just kept moving forward.


    23, 000 miles...


    24, 000 miles...


    25, 000 miles...


    "He has already passed 23, 000 miles." The lord of Sunset World clapped his hands and laughed. "Amazing! Truly amazing! I missed his performance earlier. I didn''t expect this guy to be capable of doing something like this."


    "Well, it looks like you are going to suffer a great loss," joked Yolande with a smile.


    As a reply, the world lord laughed. "I have always been generous to the juniors. Since I''ve promised, I won''t go back on my word."


    Yolande suddenly thought of something at that time. Thus, she flashed a smile and asked, "There is a reward for passing 20, 000 miles. I wonder if there''s another reward for passing 30, 000 miles."


    Surprise showed on the world lord''s face. On the other hand, all other palace leaders looked at the


    ody expected for her record to be broken in this grand era.


    However, the shocking reality was now screaming at their faces.


    It was as if Layla''s record wasn''t terrifying and suffocating enough that Zen easily broke it.


    Layla''s record only lasted for a few hours.


    "Will Zen continue moving forward?"


    "Can he pass 29, 000 miles?"


    "The space after 28, 000 miles is already the inner circle of the Law Storm. The difficulty isn''t the same as how it was in the outer circle. Thus, Layla chose to leave the space 200 miles after she reached 28, 000. I believe that Zen will give up now that he has broken Layla''s record."


    The audience all thought that Zen would be leaving the Enchanted Barrier Tower now since there was no one competing with him anymore. He had already taken the first place, and it would be of little significance for him to still advance.


    However, they were wrong.


    This was because Zen wasn''t thinking of surpassing anyone and had only been following his own will to move forward since he started.


    The only person he wanted to challenge wasn''t anyone else but himself.


    Thus, he didn''t stop and continued charging forward.


    "We won''t be able to observe him any longer once he enters the inner circle," a palace leader said while staring at the dark gray Law Storm.


    "But we can still feel his position. He has already reached 29, 000 miles," the world lord said with a helpless smile. He now realized that Zen''s goal was to pass 30, 000 miles.


    At that time, one of the palace leaders said, "At around 29, 000-mile mark, I remember that there is a flame pool. There is the Immortal Profound Flame left by Supreme Lord of Profound Flame. Even after all these years, the flame pool still hasn''t been completely absorbed by the Law Storm. I don''t think Zen would cross that flame pool."

 Chapter 1383 The Flame Pool

    After Zen entered the inner circle of the Law Storm, no one could see him, but they could still feel his position and deduce how many miles he had covered. This was truly becoming an interesting spectacle to observe, and the palace leaders all followed Zen''s progress with bated breaths.


    The palace leaders were all extremely familiar with the Enchanted Barrier Tower.


    When that palace leader had mentioned the flame pool earlier, the other leaders immediately understood what he was talking about.


    The flame pool was located at the 29, 800-mile mark. This was where the Immortal Profound Flame had been left by Supreme Lord of Profound Flame.


    In the chaotic war among several Supreme Lords many years ago, the Law Power that they had used had nearly torn the entire Orange Sea World apart. The remnant might of the Law Power reverberated throughout the entire supreme world, turning the Orange Sea World into a dead world.


    In the end, the alliance took a fancy to the Orange Sea World and used the remaining land as a training ground, while they named it Passing the Torch. The alliance had made the best use of the Orange Sea World''s remains.


    The remaining Law Power had slowly evolved, disintegrating into various law fragments, and then finally intertwined together to form this massive Law Storm.


    However, not all of the Supreme Lords'' remaining Law Power had disintegrated. Some of it still lingered in the Orange Sea World.


    The skills of some of the Supreme Lords were able to transcend both space and time, such as the Immortal Profound Flame.


    Even though it had endured for countless years and was engulfed by the Law Storm, the Immortal Profound Flame still maintained its exuberant state, burning fiercely within the Enchanted Barrier Tower.


    It wasn''t that the Immortal Profound Flame hadn''t been disintegrated at all, but rather that it had also been disintegrated into a considerable amount of Fire Law fragments. And these Fire Law fragments had also fused with the Law Storm.


    But even after so many years, when some of the palace leaders entered to investigate, they discovered that the flame pool still contained much danger.


    The flame pool would not have been worth mentioning to the palace leaders, but it was still something left behind by a Supreme Lord. For warriors at the Life and Death Realm or the Soul Sea Realm, it was like hell. Zen was going to face an obstacle the likes of which he had never dealt with before.


    Yolande, the other palace leaders and the lord of the Sunset World were well aware of it.


    That was why that palace leader had firmly told Yolande that it was simply impossible for Zen to reach 30, 000 miles.


    This was equivalent to letting a newborn child walk into a blazing fire. But Yolande confidently said that this child would be able to do so. This was a very laughable hypothesis!


    29, 600 miles...


    29, 700 miles...


    29, 800 miles...


    vious benefits for his strength development.


    However, Zen felt some hesitation when he stopped in front of the flame pool.


    The flame pool was something left behind by a Supreme Lord. Perhaps the remaining might within it had weakened countless times over the years, but the purple flames still made Zen feel a brief tingling of fear. There was something ominous and threatening about the purple flames.


    Would his sacred weapon body be able to withstand the burning of these purple flames? Was he overestimating his skills? Would he soon face the music? Warriors were all endowed with a certain elevated sense of self, and though this was one of their best assets, it could also be their downfall.


    Previously, Zen had also understood that with his sacred weapon body, he didn''t seem to be afraid of any flames. However, this time, the flames he encountered were completely different. And clearly more deadly!


    If he did not succeed and died here, it would be a tragedy. To have come so far and then fail was a tragedy which he could not allow.


    Thinking of this, Zen slowly walked to the edge of the flame pool. The closer he got, the more he could feel the fierce heat blowing against his face. Great, shimmering heat waves drifted lazily across the air.


    When he was still about 100 feet away, his clothing burst into flames and then turned into a pile of white ashes, scattering from his body. Flexing his powerful body, Zen struggled on.


    "These are the most powerful flames among all of the flames that I have ever come in contact with," he murmured appreciatively.


    Zen was both vigilant and hopeful in the face of the roaring flames. He knew that he was taking a risk, but there were some dangers that he had no choice but to face. His honor demanded it, and he didn''t back down from a challenge.


    He slowly walked to the edge of the flame pool and stared at the violent flames as he extended his hand into the flame pool.

 Chapter 1384 The Divine Flame World

    To be safe, Zen only stretched out one hand.


    If these flames could really incinerate his body, then he would be able to retreat in time. Losing one arm was better than losing his entire body.


    Zen was being naive, though.


    The moment he touched the purple flames, they spread from his arm throughout his body at a speed that far exceeded his imagination. There was no time for him to react at all.


    The scorching heat from the flames poured directly into his body, spreading to every bone and every organ.


    "This is bad..." Zen''s face darkened. He hadn''t thought that these purple flames would be so powerful.


    He gritted his teeth while bearing the scorching heat of the purple flames. As for whether or not he would succeed, it was up to the heavens.


    Zen had been tempered by flames before, but this time his body reacted way faster and much more violently.


    Under the burning of the flames, his body turned red, as if he was a statue that was melting into molten steel.


    At the same time, golden vortexes appeared on the surface of his body and started to spin quickly.


    When the golden vortexes began to absorb the purple flames, Zen started to feel relieved.


    Although Zen felt confident, he couldn''t help but worry that the flames left behind by the Supreme Lord were too powerful. It was true that his physical body was comparable to a sacred weapon, but these flames were impressive. He knew that if he were to throw a sacred weapon into the fire, it would instantly turn into molten metal.


    Zen never thought that these flames would be so fierce. He felt relieved that his body reacted incredibly fast, or he wouldn''t have been able to withstand the heat.


    Now that he had already absorbed some of the purple flames, he decided to wait before crossing the flame pool until his body had settled.


    As the dense golden vortexes were crazily absorbing the purple flames, he soon found out that there was something wrong.


    The golden vortexes were absorbing the flames too fast, just like a starving boy wolfing down his food. Each time the golden vortexes were activated, they would be able to completely absorb the flames within a short period of time. They were just like vicious beasts that had starved for a thousand years, and were extremely greedy for the flames.


    Now, even though his body had been absorbing the flames for so long, the purple flames on his body would not disappear. They kept on burning even more brilliantly making Zen shine.


    From a distance, Zen looked like a burning pillar of fire. A long tower of fire soared up above his head, charging straight to the top of the Enchanted Barrier Tower.


    "These purple flames keep coming. It seems like I will never be able to absorb all of them."


    Zen pla


    ood.


    When the cyan dragon brought the Ancestral Dragon up, Zen realized that the Ancestral Dragon seemed to be able to ignore all laws.


    When he was in the Heavenly Stellar Secret Land, Zen had been unable to take out the Ancestral Dragon egg. The Ancestral Dragon had been able to easily ignore the limit of the spatial refraction. However, Zen and the Spirit Supreme Realm warriors of Celestial Position couldn''t enter the refracted space.


    "The Ancestral Dragon..."


    A light flashed through Zen''s eyes as he looked at the spirit beast bag.


    But he didn''t reach out to take the spirit beast bag. He lightly flicked his fingers towards the bag from a distance and, in a flash, the baby dragon dashed straight towards him and pounced into his arms.


    The little guy had spent most of its time in Zen''s spirit beast bag. Although the interior space of the spirit beast bag was big, it still felt stuffy and had to run outside to take a stroll.


    It simply jumped onto Zen''s body, ignoring the Immortal Profound Flame just like it had ignored the spatial refraction before. The Immortal Profound Flame indeed did not cause any harm to the Ancestral Dragon.


    ''This little guy is immune to all Original Laws.''


    Zen held out his hands in front of the Ancestral Dragon. The purple flames on his hands continued to burn, without any sign of weakening.


    When the Ancestral Dragon saw this it opened its small mouth and swallowed the flames burning on Zen''s hands.


    Before long, Zen began flying across the flame pool. He would still catch the Immortal Profound Flame while flying, and he did not let the Ancestral Dragon clean the flames on his body. He wanted to wait until after he had covered these two hundred miles.


    Just then, the warriors outside the Enchanted Barrier Tower discovered that Zen had once again advanced!

 Chapter 1385 Thirty-six Thousand Miles

    "This brat¡­ he dared to break into the flame pool!"


    "Anyone who touches the Immortal Profound Flame is doomed to be burned into ashes! Is this kid not afraid of death?"


    Zen had stood in front of the pool for quite a while and all the leaders thought he would eventually give up and turn away. However, one could imagine their shock when he actually went and jumped into the pool!


    The Immortal Profound Flame was an inextinguishable fire that would never cease to glow. If one valued their life then one would choose to steer clear of it, and it would be a blind faith if one chose to continue moving forward.


    All these leaders had extensive knowledge and experience of the world while their strength could be considered close to the level of world lords. But despite their wisdom, it seemed they could still be surprised.


    "Sir, shouldn''t we bring that kid back?"


    one of the leaders asked the Sunset World lord. The world lord pondered for a moment. It would be quite a pity if such an extraordinary warrior like Zen died in the Enchanted Barrier Tower.


    Layla was definitely set to be admitted to the Spring Fragrance Pavilion.


    Zen, on the other hand, would probably be sent to the Gauze Pavilion!


    There was no way the Sunset World lord could allow this young man to die. He suddenly stood up and prepared to go after him!


    A world lord''s stride could cross tens of thousands of miles in just a blink of an eye.


    However, a gentle voice froze him in place, "Sir, please wait¡­"


    The sound of Yolande''s voice caused a strange expression to appear on the Sunset World lord''s face, "Oh? What is it?"


    "There''s no need to bring Zen out. He¡­ He won''t perish," she told him.


    She had initially been worried about Zen and also thought conclusions of these leaders were indeed reasonable, and she could also predict what would happen if Zen stepped into the flame pool.


    However, after thinking more about it, she realized that Zen was not someone who would do something so recklessly. Since he had chosen to move forward, then he probably knew what he was doing. There was no need to worry about him.


    These leaders'' worries were reasonable and not unfounded but Zen had proven time and again that he wasn''t someone that could be judged by common standards.


    The Sunset World lord stood his ground after hearing Yolande''s words. He stood back and looked towards the place where the young man had vanished. He too wanted to see if Zen would make it.


    With this, the many leaders'' worries abated, especially when they saw what happened to him next.


    Within the flame pool, they witnessed th


    absorbing the Immortal Profound Flame. Zen had to get rid of it now because Lavender had reminded him that he would walk out of here with the ball of Immortal Profound Flame on him. But he didn''t think it would be acceptable if others saw him like this.


    After the Ancestral Dragon completely devoured the Immortal Profound Flame, it burped loudly, indicating that it had eaten its fill.


    Zen then stretched his hand out towards the little dragon.


    With a snort, the Ancestral Dragon obediently went towards him and Zen stuffed it inside the spirit beast bag. His actions seemed to have displeased it as the little dragon moved wildly for a little bit before finally becoming still.


    With the extinguished Immortal Profound Flame, Zen''s molten red body finally began to cool down.


    His tempered physique had once again risen another level though he couldn''t be too sure what rank he had reached since he didn''t see any evidence of divine textures on his chest. He could only figure it out in the future.


    However, his strength still increased greatly!


    To test this out, Zen began to condense the power of the dragon scales.


    The surging power quickly rushed into his body!


    One thousand dragon scales...


    Three thousand dragon scales...


    Five thousand dragon scales...


    Ten thousand dragon scales...


    Fifteen thousand dragon scales...


    He had already activated all the dragon scales that had been lit up, but he felt nothing different in his body. All he could feel was the raw power surging through his veins!


    He clenched his fist and marveled at how such a small action could release such a huge force that actually distorted the surrounded space!


    It seemed that he would need to collect more heavenly essence¡­

 Chapter 1386 The Cold Plum Blood Spear

    Gathering the heavenly essence was not a difficult task for Zen.


    In the past, he was restricted by his own sacred weapon body, but now that he was more powerful, he was no longer stopped by it.


    His physical body had already become a divine weapon. Although he didn''t know what grade of weapon it was, it would definitely be able to contain more than ten thousand dragon scales...


    Thinking of this, Zen suddenly patted his head in self-assurance.


    Would his body become a supreme divine weapon if it continued to gain more power?


    ''I''ve heard that the Universe Spirit Tablet is very special. Although the Law of Causality contained within it is useless in battle, it could detect all the magic weapons in the universe, '' he thought.


    If his physical body became so strong, would his name also appear on the Universe Spirit Tablet?


    Impressive as it was, Zen did not consider this a good thing for himself. He didn''t want his special physique to be exposed to others.


    Hence he voiced his concern.


    Both Lavender and the cyan dragon passed their judgment at the same time, believing that it was indeed possible for his name to appear on the Universe Spirit Tablet!


    His current physical body appeared to be made of flesh and blood, but his essence had already been changed by the Divine Flame Cauldron. In many ways, his body had the characteristics of a weapon.


    One might say that he was half-human and half-weapon...


    This sort of situation had never taken place in the universe before. Lavender and the cyan dragon thought it might be possible, but they were not a hundred percent certain that his name would really appear on the Spirit Tablet.


    When Zen stopped in front of the lightning waterfall, the world lord of the Sunset World, Yolande and other palace leaders thought he was about to cross it.


    Even Yolande was starting to get nervous. If Zen really did cross it, she would personally go in the waterfall and bring him out...


    However, after reaching thirty-six thousand miles, Zen paused for a moment and changed his mind. Then, he suddenly appeared at the entrance of the Enchanted Barrier Tower!


    At this moment, Zen''s physical body upgraded to another level as he got burnt by the Profound Flame. His clothes were charred, so he took out a spare set of white clothes and put them on. He looked vivacious and extraordinary.


    Many warriors who had returned from the Enchanted Barrier Tower were either injured or covered in dirt. Zen had traveled thirty-six thousand miles, going twice as far as Supreme Lord Illusion and eight thousand miles farther than Layla. It was not hard for the warriors of the thirteen palaces to imagine the danger involved in this journey.


    But Zen looked perfectly fine, as if he had just returned from a vacation.


    Many warriors were speechless an


    ourt. He would have to make a choice.


    Lavender said flatly, "Zen, you don''t need to use up two rewards for the spear."


    But Zen was still hesitant. He considered Lavender to be very powerful. If he could help her get an even better spear, he would not think twice about it. He didn''t care whether he was sacrificing one or two rewards for this purpose.


    Reading his thoughts, Lavender said, "No need! I just want the black spear on the right side."


    Since Lavender was determined not to get the first-rank spear, Zen could no longer insist on it. He nodded to the lord of the Sunset World and said, "There''s no need. I want this spear!"


    said Zen pointing at the black spear on the far right.


    "Oh?" A look of surprise flashed across the Sunset World lord''s face. "You seem to have a really in-depth knowledge of spears. Or is it someone else who gave you this advice?" he asked looking in the direction of Yolande.


    The four spears were ranked at around nine thousand on the Universe Spirit Tablet, and the Cold Plum Blood Spear that Zen selected was the best among the four options he was given. It currently ranked nine thousand and thirty-sixth.


    Every month, the Universe Spirit Tablet would be refreshed and the words written on it would change. The rankings of the weapons also changed constantly, and the lower the grade of the weapon was, the more its rank fluctuated. However, this Cold Plum Blood Spear was more prized than the other three spears.


    Zen had chosen it without thinking too much, so the lord of the Sunset World believed that it was Yolande who advised him to pick that spear.


    Yolande naturally knew that it was Lavender who had asked Zen to choose that spear. She shook her head and said to the lord of the Sunset World, "I have never spoken to Zen through my life vitality. Besides, you can always feel the life vitality fluctuations."

 Chapter 1387 Challenge

    This was the truth. Although the others couldn''t hear the life vitality sound transmission, they could still feel it.


    The Sunset World lord was very sensitive to life vitality.


    He was unable to detect any life vitality fluctuations around Yolande and Zen.


    The Sunset World lord nodded and looked impressed. A martial artist''s vision was often very important.


    He stretched out his hand and flicked the Cold Plum Blood Spear, and the spear went spinning towards Zen.


    Zen grabbed the spear and studied it closely. He discovered that there were faint traces of plum blossoms on the shaft of the spear.


    A trace of chaotic energy emitted from his palm and got absorbed within Cold Plum Blood Spear silently.


    The plum blossoms on the shaft gradually revealed themselves, turning into streaks of blood-red plum blossoms. Under the blood light, they bloomed to become more vivid and glistened, while at the same time, they exuded an aura from remote ages. Since the name of the spear had the word "blood" in it, there must be a story behind it.


    "Eh? How is your life vitality so refined? The color of the plum blossoms that is activated is so bright." The Sunset World lord had a strange expression on his face.


    With his cultivation as a world lord, the life vitality he had accumulated was countless times greater than that of a kid at the Life and Death Realm. However, even he was unable to awaken the ancient blood to this extent. So how did Zen do it?


    It was only possible if Zen also possessed a strand of ancient blood, which was able to interact with the ancient blood within the spear.


    However, the Sunset World lord was unable to detect the aura of an ancient bloodline from Zen''s body. He was bewildered now.


    All talents had their own secrets. For example, Zen was able to fly 36, 000 miles relying only on his own physical strength. What abilities did he have that allowed him to travel so far? It was a mystery. And the Sunset World lord didn''t intend to probe.


    The other palace heads also looked at the spear in Zen''s hands with a trace of envy in their eyes.


    The weapons held by the palace heads were somewhat on par with Zen''s spear. How could anyone not envy this kid who had obtained such a powerful weapon at this level?


    "Sir, do tell us what is the reward for traveling 30, 000 miles?" Yolande cut in again.


    The Sunset World lord chuckled in response and said, "I will reveal it to Zen when the Passing the Torch ends!"


    Unlike the Celestial Position''s Tower of Crystal, Passing the Torch was a pure trial, and this trial was divided into two parts. The first p


    by surviving the extinction period.


    "What''s so strange about that? It''s said that the Illusion Battlefield has always opened during the war of the worlds. Perhaps, it is a prelude to the chaos worlds." Layla thought this was common knowledge, but it was necessary to elucidate to Zen.


    "I understand," he said, nodding.


    Now, everyone''s attention was on the trial in the ancient hall.


    Under the instructions of the old man, a row of Picture Slabs were hung up for people to watch the trial in the ancient palace.


    The two hundred people entering the Illusion Space together were definitely not going to fight with each other at the same time.


    It was only when the Picture Slabs were hung up that Zen clearly saw that the warriors had been continuously accepting challenges after entering the Illusion Space.


    Soon, martial artists were getting eliminated from the competition. Their projections died in the Illusion Space. When the original bodies opened their eyes, they dejectedly left the ancient palace.


    Over time, the challenge became more and more difficult, and more and more people exited the area.


    The last person endured a total of eleven rounds before his projection finally perished in the Illusion Space. When he opened his eyes, he discovered that he was the only person left in the ancient palace. A smug look appeared on his face.


    When all two hundred of them had left the ancient hall, the old man shook his head and said, "Even the one with the best results in this round has only accepted eleven challenges. This is quite disappointing."


    It was obvious that the old man''s opinion of the two hundred warriors was not high. He didn''t even announce the name of the warrior who took the first place.

 Chapter 1388 The Peeling-off Words (Part One)

    "The second group!"


    The old man dressed in cotton clothes stretched out his hand and once again casually made a mark on the name list, in the end selecting two hundred warriors'' names.


    As those names floated out, the warriors, who saw their names, entered the ancient palace.


    As for the challenges in the Illusion Space, the vast majority of the warriors were able to hold on for the first six rounds.


    After six rounds, the difficulty level increased dramatically. There were more and more warriors expiring then, and once they were vanquished, they would be eliminated from the Illusion Space.


    Seven rounds, eight rounds, nine rounds, ten rounds¡­


    As the difficulty increased, the number of eliminated warriors also increased.


    However, there were a few who were more powerful, and displayed eye-catching talents in the second group.


    For example, the warrior who was surnamed Li lasted for an amazing 19 rounds before he was finally eliminated!


    This time, the old man in cotton clothes was somewhat satisfied. He said in his customarily dry voice, "Among this group of warriors, Rafael Li has held on for nineteen rounds. Not bad!"


    A faint trace of a smile appeared on Rafael Li''s impassive face. He then glanced at Zen and Layla, hoping for a reaction on their part. A talent who could enter the thirteen palaces was, after all, quite conceited.


    Before participating in the Passing the Torch, Rafael Li had been very confident of his own strength. However, in the Enchanted Barrier Tower, he hadn''t performed as well as Zen and Layla had!


    Even though he had thought that it would be very difficult for him to get a first place, he had never expected that the gap between him and these two warriors would have become so large...


    The trial in the Illusion Space was not a competition of endurance, but a display of the strongest combat power one


    lace.


    Even though two hundred warriors entered the ancient palace each time, the warriors might still need to be divided into over twenty groups, as there were more than four thousand warriors. So Zen had to wait for a long time before he took his turn in entering the ancient palace.


    Layla could also roughly guess what was going on, so she did not raise her head to look for her name.


    As more and more warriors entered the Illusion Space, some of them achieved amazing results.


    Some warriors might have only walked about eight thousand miles or even five thousand miles within the Enchanted Barrier Tower during the previous challenge. But, they had still managed to obtain good results this time. Testing different skills led to great accomplishments.


    After all, while the warriors had stayed in the Enchanted Barrier Tower, they had just faced the test of endurance and the comprehension of laws. Being a warrior was determined by more than just two skills.


    It was true that their fighting strength was linked to these things, but there were some warriors who simply weren''t able to display their full strength in the Law Storm. In a different environment, these warriors were able to rise to the occasion and achieve greatness.

 Chapter 1389 The Peeling-off Words (Part Two)

    Because of this, the rankings had undergone a dynamic shift. The warriors from some palaces, such as the Coldness Palace and the Gold Palace, obtained good results, and some of them had even held on for twenty rounds. This was an impressive display of martial arts and cultivation.


    The palace leaders naturally felt proud and elated. The achievements of their subordinates added to their own esteem, after all.


    However, when their gazes inadvertently landed on Zen and Layla, they started to feel slightly displeased. The final results of the match were hard to determine for now, since Zen and Layla hadn''t even taken part in the battle yet. It was still anyone''s game.


    Several hours later, it was finally the last group of warriors'' turn to challenge!


    The last group included one hundred and sixty-three warriors, less than the two hundred warriors who had numbered the previous groups.


    The old man didn''t even need to call out the remaining warriors, because they already knew that it was their turn now. This was their chance to impress now, and tensions ran high after a whole day of waiting to be called.


    However, when the old man marked and selected the names for the last group, Zen and Layla were still unable to find their own names¡­


    What was going on? Zen was astonished and confused.


    Layla tilted her head also with a deeply puzzled look on her face.


    The old man dressed in the cotton clothes hovered in the air, and seemed to have noticed their expressions, so he said, "The two of you are in the next group!"


    "Is that really necessary..." Zen looked morose at that moment. As for the old man, he had a calm expression, as if it was all a matter of course. He was extremely willful and insisted on arranging Zen and Layla in the last group.


    he stone for tens of thousands of years, now he treated these fragments as treasures... They were as relatives to him, and had become his family after he had spent so many thousands of years observing them.


    As the last piece of stone fragment fell down, all the words on the giant stone wall peeled off, leaving only a few lines of uneven writing at the edges. Both Landry and Damian stared in awe at the barren rock face now. They waited expectantly for a moment, and then they both stepped back from the rock face.


    There was no reaction, nor was there any mystery...


    A bitter smile appeared on Damian''s pale face and heaving a deep sigh, he said, "From now on, we can be free."


    "Free? Ha-ha... Sixty thousand years! Sixty thousand years! I''ve been sitting here for sixty thousand years!" Landry''s laughter was somewhat hysterical as it echoed back off the blank rock. He had stayed there for three times longer than Damian. Back then, when the Willow Island was turned into a place for the Passing the Torch, all the warriors who were in front of the huge stone had to leave there. Landry had tried his best to strive for the chance to stay there, and he finally made it!

 Chapter 1390 Long Hair

    Even after spending so much time and energy, the two warriors got nothing. It was such a big blow!


    Their expressions were deranged, and they were unable to control themselves.


    Suddenly, a shallow layer of white mist appeared on the huge rock, floating in the air.


    At first, the layer of white mist was very light, almost invisible to the naked eye. The two of them were sitting on the ground, venting their feelings, and they didn''t notice it.


    The white mist became thicker and was more conspicuous.


    Landry was lying on the ground, looking at the sky as his miserable laughter resounded in the air. Damian, however, was staring at the rock. His crazy smile froze on his face, and a stunned expression filled his eyes.


    Landry sensed that something was amiss when he looked at Damian, so he asked, "What''s wrong?"


    Damian surveyed the rock and pointed at the white mist. "What...what the heck is that?"


    Upon hearing these words, Landry quivered and suddenly turned around. He stared intently at the rock, and suddenly a bright light emitted from his eyes. He was ecstatic now.


    "This...this is... the sword cloud left behind by Supreme Lord Sword! This... This is..." Now Landry was so excited that he couldn''t even speak clearly anymore.


    Damian was just as thrilled. He was gaping at the sight before him.


    Wisps of the white mist in front of his eyes were slowly floating out from the huge rock. The mist contained water, as the huge rock was damp.


    The mist was condensing very slowly, and it took a while for a thin layer to appear. Landry had deduced that it was a sword cloud, but he could not see its shape right now. He could only wait for the mist to condense.


    Zen, on the other hand, naturally wasn''t aware of what was happening at the huge rock.


    Except for him and Layla, all the candidates had completed their tests.


    As the old man in cotton clothes had made the arrangements, Zen and Layla did not have much of a say in it. He called out the last two names, and the two young warriors stepped into the ancient palace.


    A moment later, Zen stepped into the Illusion Space.


    The Illusion Space seemed to be engulfed in a thick fog, as if it was a paradise on earth. The ambiance had an ethereal feel to it.


    In the fog stood many circular stone platforms. There were a total of two hundred stone platforms to accommodate the two hundred warriors who underwent the trial at the same time.


    Zen was standing on one of the stone platform


    tate. In the second round, his speed increased a little. The long sword in his hand swiftly destroyed the white-robed warriors who were advancing on him.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Compared to the first round of soldiers, these warriors were slightly stronger. But Zen was able to take care of them without much trouble.


    Thirty seconds later, Zen passed the second round.


    However, Zen found that Layla was still standing where she was, with her long hair spread out on the platform. She was staring at him with a proud smile.


    Zen was astonished. He had thought that passing the second round in thirty seconds was fast enough. He hadn''t expected that Layla to be faster than him in this round too.


    She mocked him, "You''re really slow."


    Zen shrugged and turned around to step on the third disk.


    This time, a group of bronze-armored warriors appeared on the platform.


    But Zen wasn''t in a hurry to fight the bronze-armored warriors. Instead, he locked his gaze onto Layla. He wanted to see how she was able to achieve that mind-blowing speed.


    Layla had activated the third round. The moment the bronze-armored warriors appeared, she gently raised her sword. When she noticed Zen''s gaze, she smiled sweetly, and her cyan sword vibrated. All the warriors shook violently, and almost instantly their armors exploded. All the warriors vanished.


    "Wow! That is truly amazing!" Zen exclaimed. He was stunned and was not sure how she did it. No wonder she was able to pass the trials so quickly!


    Meanwhile, the warriors on his platform had already surrounded him. He was jolted back to the situation on hand and began to deal with them.

 Chapter 1391 A Sheep

    For both Zen and Layla, the first few rounds of the trial were hardly challenging.


    But the observing crowd outside measured the strength of the two by how fast they passed the trial.


    "Zen is still a bit weaker than Layla¡ªhe''s naturally faster than the other warriors, but he''s still inferior to her."


    "Is there any point in comparing their speed, though? I believe that Zen can do it too, but it''s not really necessary. It''s not like whoever''s the fastest can always win."


    "It''s still a significant factor to consider. Speed and strength should be proportional. Some warriors will slow down after passing the fifth round, making it even more difficult to pass through the sixth round¡ªthey''ll barely make it through the seventh round and probably fail at the eighth round."


    The palace leaders had no comments to make at present.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    As the formidable sword beam swept across the area, Zen swiftly cut the bronze-armored soldiers to pieces.


    By then, Layla had already passed the third round of the trial. She could have easily stepped on the fourth disk, but she decided to wait for Zen to pass the third round as well before stepping onto the fourth disc.


    It was a form of provocation¡ªevery time she opened a new round of trial at the same time with Zen, she could finish it faster than he could.


    Then, the fourth round was activated.


    Suddenly, many strange-looking white beasts appeared on the platform.


    Perhaps Zen had felt Layla''s provocation and purposely sped up his movements.


    As soon as the fourth round began, Zen infused a sliver of chaotic energy into the Thunder Wind Divine Sword, triggering the sword in his hand to thrust forward rapidly. In the blink of an eye, he had thrust out over ten stabs.


    Crack!


    At this moment, about a dozen sword lights that brought along with wind and thunder aggressively shot out.


    In an instant, all the white beasts on the stone platform were defeated by Zen. He passed the fourth round!


    The white beasts appeared stronger than the warriors from before. When Layla raised her sword to make use of the same method, the white beasts only spat out blood. After the second vibration of the sword, they fell to the ground.


    In the fourth round, Zen worked faster than Layla. After she finished off the white beasts, she intended to start the fifth round after Zen had finished the fourth. But this time, he was calm and composed, standing in the middle of the platform. The corners of his lips tugged up as he stared at her.


    "Humph!"


    Layla snorted, pursing her lips in annoyance as she immediately began the fifth round.


    Since the two were competing in terms of speed, the tempo of the round sped up increasingly.


    In the


    e tenth, over ten sparring partners would be assigned to enter the Illusion Space and fight against a warrior. Each time, two hundred warriors would accept the trial in the Illusion Space.


    So on the other side of Willow Island, there were over 30, 000 sparring partners on standby. Every time a warrior entered the eleventh round, the sparring partners would enter the Illusion Space and surround the warrior within to attack.


    With this arrangement, not all sparring partners had the chance to enter the Illusion Space. Even as sparring partners, they still had to fight for the position. Every sparring partner had to work especially hard. And because in the Illusion Space, ultimately, no one died, the sparring partners could try all means to defeat their opponents without limit.


    These sparring partners were talents of many sacred places¡ªit was only that their talent wasn''t quite enough for them to enter the thirteen palaces. Their hearts yearned for it and they couldn''t help but be filled with envy toward the warriors of the thirteen palaces.


    Since they had the opportunity to fight with a warrior from the thirteen palaces, even if they weren''t a good match and were likely to be killed, they would still try to inflict as many blows on him as possible.


    In this way, they were exceptionally vicious.


    Zen nodded slightly as he heard it. The arrangement might be rather troublesome, but it wasn''t anything Zen couldn''t handle.


    "Guys, he''s only at the fifth grade of Life and Death Realm¡ªthis is an opportunity! We must finish him in the eleventh round to get a good reward out of this!"


    The dozen or so sparring partners turned into something like a pack of hungry wolves as they discovered a sheep strolling on the prairie. With that, they surged forward and began attacking Zen mercilessly.

 Chapter 1392 Torture

    On the other side of Willow Island, tens of thousands of warriors were gathering together in a large square.


    The journey into the Orange Sea World was a great opportunity for these warriors to spar with the talents of the thirteen palaces. Not only that, if they got to injure or kill any talent, they''d receive quite a number of rewards.


    And it was these rewards that made them salivate with greed.


    However, this round of Passing the Torch was coming to an end. They could only wait until the next Passing the Torch if they wanted to participate.


    "There are one hundred and sixty-one opponents in the last round¡­ Shouldn''t the test be over?"


    "Yes. It''s not two hundred, so those warriors should be the last group. However, they have now especially arranged two warriors to fight!"


    "If my guess is correct then this fight is going to be a good one! These two people should be extremely special or outstanding! A test with only the two of these warriors could only mean that they are going to be exceptional!"


    "Outstanding? Exceptional? It''s just two Life and Death Realm martial artists. I bet that kid at the fifth level won''t even pass our first round of sparring!" This first round of sparring referred to Zen''s eleventh round of test. Because these martial artists had only started to get involved in the Illusion Space from the eleventh round, those who got eliminated in the first ten rounds had no chance of ever meeting with these warriors.


    The warriors all talked amongst themselves as they observed both Zen and Layla through the Picture Slab.


    "No matter what, we''ll just have to wait and see how our buddies will perform for this round¡­"


    The warriors had all been strictly subdivided according to their strength, with the more powerful ones going into the arena in the later rounds.


    Back in the Illusion Space, both Zen and Layla were quickly swarmed by their opponents.


    It was impossible for them to easily defeat these warriors by simply slashing at them with their swords. Their opponents were all living, thinking beings who used various strategies to fight them: some ran away, others faked their movements, while a few had decided to launch fierce, all-out attacks.


    However, their cultivation method was still very limited. Their only strength came from their sheer number but they were all basically only at the seventh or eighth level of the Life and Death Realm.


    They were a mere two or three levels higher than Zen and posed no threat to him whatsoever.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Several lights burst forth from the Thunder Wind Divine Sword!


    "Ahh¡­"


    The lights shot out and instantly killed four people. The other thirteen were fortunate enough to have used their movement techniques and managed to avoid the sharp lights.


    The warriors were mere projections in this Illusion


    ing dirty to Layla.


    However, not one of them could even lay a single strike on her. The fastest of them, after getting at least twenty feet away from Layla suddenly began to feel his heart beat strangely!


    In fact, all of them found it hard to breathe and control their bodies.


    And then, an intense pain suddenly burst from their cinnabar field!


    A warrior would typically pass out once the pain became too much for his physical body to bear. However, they all remained conscious despite being tortured by the vibrations of Layla''s sword.


    It was as if they were prisoners who were constantly being tortured and woken up with cold water.


    The pain was too much and they all wished they could ''die'' as fast as possible to escape the suffering in this Illusion Space.


    That was when they realized that they might have underestimated their opponent. Layla might have looked unsophisticated but she was very capable of making sure her enemies suffered for doing her wrong.


    Right now, she shifted her focus from competing with Zen to accurately controlling the pain her opponents were feeling instead.


    It lasted for a few seconds, a minute, a few minutes¡­


    but it felt like hundreds of years for these warriors!


    At that moment, voice of the old man in cotton clothes rang out, "Layla, stop¡­"


    he murmured magnanimously. These martial artists had been invited by the thirteen palaces, after all. It wouldn''t be too good if she went on to torture them like this.


    "Humph!" she scoffed.


    Layla drew a circle with the tip of her sword, her ten feet long black hair casting down from her chest, waist, and going all the way to her legs. The end of her hair spread spirally as she stabbed the sword into the platform and used her finger to lightly flick on its steel surface, producing a clear, metallic sound.


    "Pop¡­"


    The suffering warriors instantly exploded into a bloody mist.

 Chapter 1393 Strategies

    Zen had already completed the eleventh round of the challenge. He stood on his platform, observing Layla''s battle.


    He could not force back a shake of his head as he watched.


    Layla was using some sort of profound Sword Cry Technique. The place rang with the blood-curdling cries of her opponents. It was brutal torture, the violence extending to the spectators. Soon enough, the old man in the cotton clothes came forward to put a stop to it.


    The blood mist exploded and the martial artists were kicked out of the Illusion Space.


    The match was over; however, the image of pain was something that would haunt them forever. The memory was paralyzing, as if they were reliving the same ordeal.


    Their faces had turned deathly pale, a few of them not managing to keep hold of their consciousness and fainting.


    The martial artists on the other side of the Willow Island bore witness to this with growing rage.


    The violence was needless. Layla was a top talent of the thirteen palaces. That had been established, but there was no need to go to the lengths of torture in which she subjected her opponents, since everyone here was a training partner. How could she use them as a display of power?


    "That little bitch!"


    "I will defeat her in the second round to teach her a lesson!"


    "But we can only send out the martial artists from the second group for the second round. With her strength, I''m not certain they will be able to stop her..."


    "Even if they can''t stop her, they will have to put her in her place!"


    The plaza was abuzz with sounds of disorderly voices and mutters.


    The tens of thousands of people in the plaza were divided into dozens of groups and ranked according to their strength and cultivation levels.


    The second group of martial artists would be facing the twelfth round of trial in the Illusion Space. In terms of strength, they had a slightly higher rank than the first group.


    At this time, a youth garbed in white walked out from the crowd. "Everyone, quiet down!" he spoke in a loud voice.


    A hush fell over the plaza at his words.


    This young man in white was not that strong. His cultivation was at the seventh level of the Life and Death Realm, and he was assigned to the first group. Zen and Layla were the last two at the other side, and there were quite many martial artists in the first group. He was inferior to the others, so there was no chance for him to fight.


    They surely sent their best warriors to fight Zen and Layla, so the trials the two underwent were more difficult than those of the previous martial artists.


    The young man in white was named Adrian Rao. He was weaker than the others, but he had a nimble mind, brimming with resourcefulness. Previously, when they had been grouped up, he had given a lot of sound opinions and devised strategies with other martial artists that led to their victory over the others from the thirteen palaces.


    "Adrian, what are you saying?" a martial artist inquired.


    Adrian turned to him, his eyes glinting with certainty. "It will be impossible to defeat these two martial artists in the twelfth round, but I have an idea. I hope that you all can cooperate. It might give us a good chance."


    t Zen released his Nether God Shadows, his opponents used different kinds of Law Power to dodge his attacks.


    Some used the Space Law to create illusions, some used the Earth Law to take cover under the earth and make themselves invisible, and some made use of the Wind Law to fly.


    What was unusual about all of this was that despite using different approaches, none of them was fighting him directly.


    Was this an obstacle that the old man had intentionally set up? Or had someone devised a plot against him?


    Zen speculated the possibilities for a moment, his face wearing a pensive expression, but soon enough, a faint smile appeared on his face. It did not matter what their goal was; he only needed to follow his own plan.


    The other martial artists'' movement techniques were powerful, so he could no longer stay where he was.


    As he began to move, he was pulled back by something from underneath. Looking down, he discovered that a brown vine had appeared beneath his feet and firmly tied him to the ground.


    ''It will take more than a flimsy vine to tie me up, '' Zen thought to himself.


    Ignoring the coiled strand on his leg, he took a step forward. At first, he thought of forcing the vine to tear apart with the impact of his movement. However, he did not imagine that the vine was extremely tenacious. Not only did it remain intact, it even grew longer as it moved along with his body.


    Whoosh!


    With a backhand slash, the vine snapped in half. Immediately, two more vines sprang from the ground and once again restrained Zen, gripping him in their tight hold. It was at this same time that the martial artists who had been dodging his attacks began to charge towards him from all directions.


    This scene had left the martial artists of the thirteen palaces bewildered and slightly impressed. It was beyond their expectations that these fellows would work together so well.


    Even the lord of the Sunset World and the others had surprised expressions on their faces. One of the palace masters said faintly, "Someone from the Willow Island must have offered advice. I hate to admit it, but it is a clever plan."

 Chapter 1394 The Space Characteristic

    The warriors'' attacks were futile under the suppression of absolute strength. At most, it could only create some obstacles for the opponent. This was the view shared by most of the warriors.


    Since Zen had easily broken through the eleventh round of the test, the twelfth round shouldn''t cause too much trouble for him.


    There wasn''t any trace of panic on his face, even if he was being attacked by more than a dozen warriors and his movements were restricted by vines.


    As the warriors surrounded him, a crackling sound suddenly came from the Thunder Wind Divine Sword!


    The difference between these warriors and those from thirteen palaces was not just in terms of talent or strength. Those warriors from thirteen palaces were also advanced when it came to the weapons they wielded. Those warriors wouldn''t have any difficulty at all obtaining a third-rank or secondary second-rank divine weapon in the Weapon House.


    Zen''s Thunder Wind Divine Sword was one of the amazing first-rank divine weapons.


    The sword would be much more powerful once combined with the Law Power that was erupting from the chaotic energy. It was something that these warriors could not withstand. Moreover, there was also the unstoppable Nether God Shadow.


    The power of thunder suddenly spread out around Zen. The bright blue lightning was only as thick as his pinky but it formed a circular thunder net with Zen as the center! This was equivalent to using a layer of thunder net to sift through the entire platform. There was no room for escape at all...


    The warriors attacking him immediately burned as if struck by lightning. Their bodies turned pitch black and after hovering in the air for about three seconds, they fell onto the platform.


    After that, Zen smelled the scorched flavor.


    "Whoosh, whoosh..."


    Another figure appeared in the air right after the thunder net eased out.


    This warrior''s main cultivation method was making use of the Space Law and it was only him who survived the attack.


    However, just as this warrior had avoided the attack and was plotting to assassinate Zen, seven figures had appeared before him. These were the seven Nether God Shadows cast by Zen. In the blink of an eye, they had torn that warrior into pieces.


    Zen then passed the twelfth round...


    Compared to the eleventh round, the twelfth round was a bit strenuous for Zen. It was relatively more challenging than those he had already passed.


    What he didn''t know though was that there were tens of thousands of warriors with depressed faces, standing just on the other side of the Willow Island. They had made a plan to force Zen to use the ace in the hole. However, Zen only relied on the Thunder Wind Divine Sword even after twelve rounds.


    Could it be that he relied solely on this sword?


    The warrior named Adrian was still indifferent while sucking the wooden stick. Zen''s stat


    e space outside of the sword shadows to directly collapse. She actually erased the surrounding space!


    "That is Kyron''s Space Erasing Hand! It seems that he treats Layla well and even taught her such a great skill," remarked the lord of the Sunset World. His eyes were gleaming with familiarity as he watched the girl''s cultivation skill.


    "This isn''t how a Space Erasing Hand works. She''s wasting it." Yolande commented flatly.


    The Space Erasing Hand was one of Kyron''s famous consummate skills.


    It would require a deep comprehension of the Space Law for a warrior to use such a skill. When performing this skill, the warriors would need to stretch out their hands to touch the space and erase the place surrounding them, making it disappear.


    Of course, the space that Kyron could erase was naturally large compared to what Layla could. The girl was only able to erase the space outside of her sword shadows. It was a circular space that was over one hundred feet wide.


    The warriors using the Water Law cultivation were standing around the edge of the platform at first. However, their bodies had no option but to involuntarily moved as soon as the space around them was erased.


    This was also a special characteristic of space. Normally, a warrior who cultivated the Space Law might not be able to use the Space Erasing Hand. Nonetheless, they still understood the principles behind it.


    If a section of space in the middle was missing, the sections of space on both sides would instantly stick together!


    Those warriors were in the outer space of the platform when Layla had erased a circle of space in the middle. Thus at this moment, all the warriors were pulled to the center by the space as a section of space had been missing.


    And in the center of the platform, the sword shadows were still rapidly spinning. In a blink of an eye, those warriors, who had been pulled in, were cut into pieces.

 Chapter 1395 Purpose

    Under the furious onslaught of Layla''s sword shadows, the warriors standing up against her had almost no room to fight back.


    They were quickly sliced into pieces and kicked out of the Illusion Space, never to be seen or heard from again.


    As her life vitality gently revolved, Layla''s body began to emit a white mist, and the moisture from her wet clothes instantly disappeared, as if the mist was a warm and comfortable fire. She put both of her hands behind her head and gently stroked her astonishingly long hair. The white mist now surrounded her hair too and spread to the end of her long, lustrous locks.


    Even so, Layla''s expressions weren''t exactly happy. Though busy fighting, she still had been able to notice Zen, who had passed the twelfth round of the test long before her. He was standing in front of her with a long sword in his arms, looking at her with a meaningful gaze!


    She looked towards him and gave him a fierce glare, "Don''t be cheeky! I''ll be faster than you in the next round!"


    Zen smiled faintly and a noncommittal expression appeared on his face in response. He then silently started the thirteenth round...


    Adrian had already arranged three groups of candidates to deal with them in the thirteenth round. Right now, he was going to take care of a more serious matter.


    While Zen and Layla were fighting, he passed through a crowd of people in the enormous square and headed towards the large cages...


    These cages were seven in number and placed on a high platform. If a warrior was able to hold on to himself through the final challenge, these cages would be opened and the condemned prisoners within them would be released. This was the ultimate trial of the Passing the Torch event.


    The cages were enormous, but the warriors inside had been standing ever since they had been locked in. One among them was a burly and sturdily built man, who looked like the most powerful of them all.


    From beginning to end, the burly man had never opened his eyes...


    All of these prisoners were extremely strong and even from a distance, emitted an extremely ruthless aura. Almost all of the warriors who participated in the training were unwilling to approach this platform.


    Adrian flew towards the platform and headed straight for the large cage in the middle.


    Inside it, the burly man was sitting still with his eyes closed. "Who are you?" he asked when he sensed someone approach him.


    "My name is Adrian Rao," Adrian replied with a smile.


    "What do you want?" Came a gruff and succinct response.


    Adrian placed his head next to the pillar of the cage and softly uttered, "I want something; it''s about the secret treasure of the Dark World..."


    Before Adrian could even finish his words, the burly man''s eyes popped open and he stood up.


    The instant he opened his eyes, an extremely sharp soul suppression force was abruptly shot out, making Adrian''s body tremble in fear and crumble down. Immediately after that, his face turned extremely pale and he spat out a mouthful of blood.


    "You are just a nobody! How and what do you know about the secret treasure of the Dark World?" The tall man uttered furiously.


    Although Adrian had just spat out a mouthful of blood, a faint smile still appeared on


    e all discussing about the fight with excitement. Suddenly, someone greeted Adrian, "Adrian, we failed to deal with that woman. How can we break her move and win against her?"


    "The warriors in the third group also can''t hold on for much longer against her. She is too powerful! Adrian, think of a way!"


    A faint smile appeared on Adrian''s face. He replied with a serious tone, "It''s fine. The next group should be..."


    In fact, he had no interest in attacking Layla and Zen right now. However, in order to deal with this group of hot-blooded fellows, he naturally had to pay a price. After a series of detailed analysis, he was rewarded with a resounding cheer from the warriors present there. After that, he selected some of the warriors to form the fourth group and sent them into the Illusion Space for the next round.


    The fourteenth round...


    The fifteenth round...


    The sixteenth round...


    Inside the ancient palace, the warriors from the thirteen palaces could clearly see that the strength that the two contestants were displaying inside the Illusion Space was far beyond their imagination.


    If the warriors who had passed nineteen rounds before them took part in the fights that were going on right now, they probably wouldn''t have lasted even for the first sixteen rounds.


    However, Zen and Layla were not ordinary warriors after all. Although they felt that it was getting increasingly difficult to win by the moment, they were still able to suppress their opponents and had passed every round of test till now with their own strength.


    However, there was still a slight difference between the two of them...


    Zen was still only relying on his Thunder Wind Divine Sword and had not yet showed signs of using any other weapon.


    However, Layla had already used a number of her trump cards. Each time she made use of a new supernormal skill, her opponents would be able to come up with a method to restrain it, making that skill useless in the next round. This was going to reduce her number of moves with every round.


    But an advantage she still had was that the number and quality of martial arts she was proficient in were unimaginable.

 Chapter 1396 The Final Round

    Of course, Layla was capable of dealing with these annoying opponents. However, after being targeted by them so deviously, she became rather irritable.


    She and Zen entered the twentieth round not long after these bloodthirsty fights.


    Twenty rounds was the best result that previous warriors of the thirteen palaces had achieved.


    Before this, no one had been able to pass the twentieth round because, the opponents at that level were all warriors at the middle stage of the Soul Sea Realm who had undergone at least four big Heavenly Tribulations.


    For the talented martial artists of the thirteen palaces, it was not difficult to challenge those above their cultivation levels. However, dealing with several Soul Sea Realm martial artists at the same time was quite challenging.


    So it was in this round that Zen and Layla finally felt the immense pressure they were facing.


    There was a huge chasm between the Soul Sea Realm and the Life and Death Realm. What was most troublesome were the domains of the Soul Sea Realm warriors. The suppression of each of these domains had caused a lot of trouble for Zen and Layla.


    "Finally, things have become tricky for them. These two should not have stopped at the twentieth round, right?" a palace leader asked.


    The Sunset World lord nodded his head indifferently. "That''s hard to say. This is after all a one-to-many fight, completely different from the test of the Enchanted Barrier Tower. The opponents they have to face are also vastly distinct¡­"


    "Zen could fight back the attacks of the Soul Sea Realm warriors even though he is just at the fifth level of the Life and Death Realm. I wonder what he will be capable of once he breaks through to the Soul Sea Realm." The leaders were paying more attention to Zen because of his extraordinary performance in the Enchanted Barrier Tower.


    However, another palace leader had a different question in mind. He looked at Yolande and said, "I seem to have overlooked something. How many petals did Zen''s Lotus Flower have?"


    Hearing this question from the palace leader, everyone looked at Yolande curiously.


    Before the warriors participated in Passing the Torch, a selection process had been held for all the martial artists from the palaces. The Red Cloud Ring could sense the strength of the warriors and roughly deduce the number of lotus petals that they had activated.


    But Yolande shook her head and said, "I don''t know."


    "You don''t know? Could it be that Zen failed the test?" a palace leader asked.


    "No." Yolande continued, "When Zen passed through the Red Cloud Ring, its sensing power closed because it reached its saturation point. It was impossible to deduce how many petals Zen had activated."


    Hearing Yolande''s words, many leaders were shocked.


    The Sunset World lord stared, his eyes flashing. "Does that mean it''s likely that Zen activated the Mahayana Lotus Flower?"


    In the universe, the Hinayana Lotus Flower and the Mahayana Lotus Flower were both important milestones. Martial artists who could open the Nine-petal Lotus Flower were considered to be top talents, but the number of them who could activate the Mahayana Lotus Flower w


    s of martial artists, divided according to their levels of strength. Each group corresponded to the eleventh to the twenty-fifth rounds of the test in the Illusion Space.


    The martial artists of the fifteenth group were prisoners of the three cages on the high platform.


    The twenty-fifth round was the final round of the test¡­


    From beginning to end, Adrian had been the one to work out the strategies and give suggestions. Even though his plan had not been successful against Zen and Layla, everyone had seen its effect. Therefore, they were happy to have Adrian give them orders. At that moment, he once again stepped onto the high platform on top of the enormous square.


    "If we want to fight that woman, we''ll have to send these condemned prisoners into the battlefield¡­"


    "I heard that these condemned prisoners were all extraordinary characters who came from the Villain World!"


    "If they can defeat those two in the ultimate round, they will be able to get their freedom. I believe they would go all out for it, right?"


    Under the gazes of the crowd, Adrian walked toward the tall and sturdy man and asked, "Two people have entered the final round. A man and a woman, which one do you choose to fight?"


    The burly man asked arrogantly, "Are you joking? How could I choose a woman?"


    "I suggest you choose the woman. The man is very strong and has an unfathomable level of strength. I, at least, haven''t seen his limits so far," Adrian said in a low voice. After so many rounds, he had not even accomplished his goal. What vexed him especially was that he could not figure out how far Zen''s strength went.


    "How strong is he?" the burly man asked.


    "He''s at the fifth level of the Life and Death Realm," Adrian replied truthfully.


    The burly man narrowed his eyes and looked at Adrian coldly. "Are you insulting me? Saying that he is strong at that level!"


    Even if the man Adrian had mentioned was considered to be a top talent within the thirteen palaces, the fact that the man was still only at the fifth level of the Life and Death Realm was the only thing that vexed the burly man.

 Chapter 1397 Brother

    This man''s pride was steep and could not allow him to accept the fact that his opponent was a mere fifth-level Life and Death Realm warrior.


    And could his opponent even be called a warrior? In front of him would be no man, but a mere kid. The burly man couldn''t help but scoff in disbelief. However, he was also reminded of the fact that this kid was still a talent of the thirteen palaces. Was it really wise to look down on him this early in the fight?


    It also did not escape his attention that this kid had made it past the twenty-four rounds that were pre-requisite to facing him. Only those who managed such a feat could be considered a top existence within the thirteen palaces.


    How in the world was he only at the fifth-level of the Life and Death Realm?


    "Don''t underestimate him. I''ve been watching him for the past twenty-four rounds and I''m certain that this guy hasn''t even shown us half of the stuff he can do," Adrian advised him. "If I had a guess, I''d say he was only using around thirty-percent of his true strength."


    "Thirty-percent? Against several warriors of the Soul Sea Realm?" the burly man remarked in surprise.


    "That''s why my suggestion for you is to choose that woman," Adrian told him.


    Zen and Layla had both emerged victorious in all twenty-four rounds. They were like battering rams that rushed unimpeded against all those who stood in their way. Adrian''s slight change in tactics gave them a bit of trouble but the two still managed to emerge victorious.


    Zen was a low-key fighter who preferred to use his long sword as his primary weapon. Layla, on the other hand, preferred flashy movements and unique martial art techniques, filling the crowd in awe with epic scenes on the battlefield.


    This dynamic told a lot about these two. Because of Zen''s low-key nature, Adrian realized that he was most probably hiding a lot of his strengths and techniques which made him an unpredictable opponent. Layla, on the other hand, showed all her skills off but this might also backfire on her since predictability was never an advantage in battle.


    The palace leaders shared his view, even the Sunset World lord thought the same.


    These people were all ranked higher in terms of strength and knowledge but Adrian''s intuition amazed them.


    Unfortunately, the burly man did not heed Adrian''s advice.


    "Nah, I think I''ll go with the boy," he snickered. "A warrior who possesses such strength while still at the Life and Death Realm is worth my attention."


    Adrian''s face darkened at his words. Truth be told, he wasn''t at all interested with these so-called talents. His to-do list was already full: defeating Layla, freeing the burly man, and excavating the secret treasures of the Dark World.


    The entire point of this trial was for them to win, no matter what. Zen was obviously a hard opponent and Adrian wasn''t that confident of their victory against him.


    He was about to talk him out of fighting Zen


    vilion before his life was turned upside-down and he was sent to the Villain World. For his whole life, he chased power and challenged those stronger than him. Yet, this time, it was the other way around. Today, he faced a kid who ranked lower than himself.


    His cultivation base had remained stagnant in the Villain World given its scarce resources but he did not fear a mere Life and Death Realm warrior.


    He looked Zen up and down and tried to size him up while Zen did the same to him.


    To Zen, the burly man''s cultivation base was quite firm and powerful but he also sensed a strong level of pride in him. There was no doubt that his opponent was a hardcore fighter with formidable strength! Zen sighed. ''This is going to be a tough fight, '' he thought to himself.


    However, just as the two looked at each other''s eyes, a yell was heard from the battlefield right next to them, "Brother!"


    Zen was astonished by Layla''s scream as were the audience who watched with agape mouths as the scene in front of them unfolded.


    The burly man gazed at Layla in confusion. He knew he had a sister but he left her ten years ago after being sent to the Villain World. She was only around seven or eight years old at the time which was why he didn''t recognize her at first glance.


    "Brother! It''s me! Layla!" she shouted, her heart bursting with anxiety on whether he remembered her or not.


    Her declaration of her name cleared the remaining doubt on the man''s face and replaced it with a kind of light that had evaded him for a long time.


    The little girl whom Adrian had mentioned was actually his sister¡­


    And to think that she had grown up to be such a powerful warrior, the feelings rushed over him like a tidal wave as he tried to process this piece of information. He couldn''t believe that he almost faced against his very own sister!


    Even the Sunset World lord sat in shock, also not expecting this kind of coincidence to occur in this ultimate trial.

 Chapter 1398 Lincoln Ai

    The usually placid face of the Sunset World lord was now marred with confusion. "Who is this person?" he asked.


    However, Yolande merely blinked upon hearing his question and stayed silent.


    At that moment, one of the palace leaders spoke up. "I remember him. This is the little fellow who held a grudge against the son of the Supreme Lord Winfred during the Heavenly Fruit Assembly!"


    That specific incident wasn''t long ago, and it had only been a little more than a decade. The mere mention of it made the other palace leaders remember it as well.


    "This man''s name should be Lincoln Ai, that peerless talent of the Major Cultivation World. Back then, the Gauze Pavilion wanted to break the rules to include him in their group, but the dispute between him and the Supreme Lord Winfred had him exiled to the Villain World," another palace leader chimed in. "Layla Ai...


    Lincoln Ai... Are they really siblings?"


    Meanwhile, the martial artists from the thirteen palaces outside the ancient hall seemed to have an even more intense reaction than the palace leaders themselves.


    Lincoln Ai was just a talent from the younger generation in the eyes of the palace leaders. They didn''t have a strong memory of him. Their dispute wasn''t anything big back then, and it was normal for him to be unknown to the people like the Sunset World lord.


    However, Lincoln Ai was popular among the younger generation. The moment his burly figure appeared, some martial artists had already recognized him.


    "It''s Lincoln Ai! He actually got released from the Villain World!"


    "Lincoln Ai is Zen''s opponent! If the Supreme Lord Winfred hadn''t punished Lincoln Ai back then, he would''ve probably reached the Spirit Supreme Realm now!"


    "Not just the Spirit Supreme Realm! His cultivation was only at the Life and Death Realm at that time, and he was supposed to be recruited by the Gauze Pavilion. His future could''ve been limitless... What a pity!"


    For many of the common martial artists, it was easy for Lincoln Ai to have the support of the lower-level martial artists because he had been oppressed by Supreme Lord Winfred. There were various legends about him everywhere, and even a rumor that he had once entered hell and fought all sorts of evil spirits just to save a friend.


    The core members of the alliance might be unfamiliar with all those legends, but the lower class of martial artists thought all of them were superb.


    "I didn''t expect Layla to be Lincoln Ai''s sister!"


    "Both these two siblings are indeed powerful. Lincoln Ai was fierce, having sparred with the overly proud son of Supreme Lord Winfred at the Heavenly Fruit As


    "You''re now my opponent for this round, which is not bad for a man with a cultivation at the fifth level of the Life and Death Realm. Don''t listen to my sister. Use everything you''ve got! If I can''t defeat an opponent whose cultivation level is far inferior to mine, then I would rather not have my freedom."


    Zen felt annoyed, and once again muttered to himself about these siblings'' proud personalities.


    On the other hand, Layla felt conflicted. She knew her brother''s character. There was little to no possibility of convincing her brother in such a situation, so she was extremely anxious for this battle.


    "Make your move!" Lincoln Ai''s booming voice reverberated throughout the area. He took this battle quite seriously even if Zen was only at the fifth level of the Life and Death Realm.


    Since Lincoln Ai said so, Zen lightly held the Thunder Wind Divine Sword horizontally and made a polite gesture.


    After that, a beam of light flashed from the sword''s tip. The lightning and wind blades carried a figure as they charged towards Lincoln Ai.


    Meanwhile, a handful of martial artists outside the ancient palace were talking about Lincoln Ai. Their discussion never seemed to die down. On the contrary, it only became more intense.


    "Why didn''t Zen admit defeat?"


    "I saw that Zen had intended to admit defeat, but Lincoln Ai didn''t let him."


    "What? Lincoln Ai is powerful! Does he need Zen to admit defeat? What a joke!"


    "I think so too. Although Zen has some ability and has gotten to enter the final exam, I''m afraid he''ll stop at this round since he''s faced with Lincoln Ai. After all, even the son of Supreme Lord Winfred lost to Lincoln Ai. He was ruthlessly humiliated. It was the very reason that Lincoln Ai had been exiled."

 Chapter 1399 Exchanging Punches

    The crowd''s voice from the outside did not reach the confines of the Illusion Space.


    Layla had intended to watch the fight between her brother and Zen, but she was occupied at present with her opponent.


    "Focus on our battle, little girl. Ha-ha!" he taunted. His derisive laugh was accompanied by a strange, ghost-like aura that emerged from his body. It turned into fist-sized skulls and shot straight toward Layla.


    At present, Layla''s brother was fighting for his freedom. The thought weighed heavily on her even as she fought her own battle.


    She made no response to the warrior in front of her, her figure dancing gracefully in the air as her long hair swirled with her movements. Her eyes remained fixed on Zen.


    Zen attacked with his sword, and Lincoln let out an almost manic laugh. Golden light flashed from his body as he blocked the wind blade with his bare hand.


    Crack! Crack!


    The next moment, the blade scattered into pieces. The lightning that struck Lincoln''s body did not affect him in the slightest. Zen then used the Nether God Shadow, but once again, it was smashed to pieces.


    Having solved Zen''s another move, Lincoln took large strides and dashed straight towards him.


    Zen remained calm even as Lincoln stopped his attacks one after another. The battle was his sole focus¡ªhe thought of nothing else but the present fight.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    In the blink of an eye, ten Nether God Shadows shot out from Zen''s hand.


    Upon seeing the surging Nether God Shadows, Lincoln roared. The golden light around his body became even more resplendent. The light clothed him like a second skin, giving him the appearance of a golden figure. The luminous glow was almost blinding.


    Zen''s Nether God Shadows were strong and fierce, but stood no chance against Lincoln. As soon as they approached him, they splintered to a thousand pieces.


    "Lincoln has a profound comprehension of the Metal Law. This is probably going to be troublesome, even for Zen," a palace leader remarked.


    At this, another palace leader shook his head. "That may not be so. Zen was able to cross the flame pool. He must have uncovered secrets unknown to anyone else. He had only used Thunder Wind Divine Sword in the first twenty-four rounds of the trial. We still do not know what sort of trump card he might be hiding."


    Compared to the other warriors, the palace leaders'' appraisement was naturally much more accurate.


    As for the warriors from the thirteen palaces, they had kept on flattering Lincoln, cheering at his every movement.


    After destroying Zen''s Nether God Shadows, Lincoln took a step forward, quickly closing the distance between him and Zen. A streak of Time Law simultaneously erupted from Lincoln''s body. In an instant, the entire platfo


    f the moment to press her closer.


    Zen continuously dodged the golden beams of light while keeping his strength to a certain level in order to prevent his Thunder Wind Divine Sword from being wrenched from his hand. At the moment, he was in a somewhat passive position.


    The Nether God Shadows dealt no damage to Lincoln. Lincoln''s metal-attribute cultivation technique was overwhelming, but it was not that Zen did not have any way for a counterattack. He could use the Nether God Shadows to send Lavender to Lincoln''s side. With her current strength and the Cold Plum Blood Spear, she would only need one spear strike to kill Lincoln.


    However, Lavender''s identity was a very sensitive matter. Other than Yolande, Zen didn''t trust anyone else in here. Moreover, in a fight like this, he did not want to rely on Lavender''s help.


    As he considered all this, Zen put the Thunder Wind Divine Sword back into his space ring. Then, his figure flashed as he charged towards Lincoln.


    From the beginning, Lincoln had been trying to force Zen to engage in close combat with him. As he saw him move forward, a faint smile appeared on his face. He was most confident of his own body.


    He had trained the Metal Spirit Body with the help of the Metal Law¡ªhis body was as tenacious as a divine weapon. No one would match him in close combat.


    "Finally!" he shouted. "You decided to not waste my time." Lincoln smiled.


    Zen''s expression remained calm. He did not speak, but he felt his body hum with the power that had been long stored away since the start of the battle.


    Boom!


    Lincoln faced him head on, returning the punch with just his raw power. At this moment, the strength of their physical bodies would be the decisive factor in the outcome.


    A loud noise echoed around the two men, followed by a drastic change in Lincoln''s expression.

 Chapter 1400 Stars

    Had it been any other Soul Sea Realm warrior, his body would have already been shattered by the force of Lincoln''s punch.


    The number of warriors that had been smashed by Lincoln''s punch in the Villain World was countless by now. It was only because of his Metal Spirit Body that he was able to survive all his battles to this day.


    Lincoln was well aware of his power, and took great pride in it. He had almost forgotten what it felt like to be surprised by an opponent¡ªhe did not have much reason to be, until today. The moment Lincoln came into contact with Zen, his body vibrated with a strength that was as vast and immeasurable as the ocean.


    The golden light on his body faltered, and he retreated on the platform.


    It was only when he reached the edge that he stopped.


    ''Such power! This brat''s physical body is actually stronger than mine!'' he thought in disbelief, and a look of bewilderment appeared on his face.


    Every cultivation method had its own unique characteristics. He couldn''t be certain which law Zen focused on, but it was definitely not the Metal Law. For warriors who practiced the Metal Law, their greatest pride lay in the Body in the Diamond-like State.


    How come Zen was able to make his body so tough?


    In his puzzlement, Lincoln failed to notice his opponent. Zen stood on the other side of the platform, his face mirroring Lincoln''s own surprise.


    He had already used the strength of 8, 000 dragon scales in the punch that he threw earlier.


    An ordinary warrior at the Soul Sea Realm would not be able to withstand the power of just 2, 000 to 3, 000 dragon scales. Even War Emperor York had been forced back by a single strike from him. 8, 000 dragon scales was out of the question. Had the War Emperor been hit with this power, he would have been killed immediately.


    He observed Lincoln from where he was. His opponent had been forced to retreat, but other than that, he showed no other sign of damage. Lincoln''s strength was turning out to be much stronger than he had expected.


    Outside the ancient palace, the scene was punctuated with sighs from the spectating warriors. Close combats such as this always turned out to be among the most gruesome. The air shifted around the warriors as they watched. No blood had been drawn as of yet. They had no longer been thinking about the outcome of the battle. Instead, they were looking to see more blood.


    "So this is your trump card," Lincoln said, his eyes sharply fixed at Zen. "Your body is comparable to a divine weapon, and you possess terrifying strength." His lips split into a broad smile and he continued, "However, this alone might not be enough to win against me!" The confident glint was back in his eyes, although one could tell that he was exercising more caution.


    The next moment, a crack broke in his forehead, revealing a small cyan stone.


    he watched.


    He had not the slightest interest about the relationship between Lincoln and Layla. All he wanted was for Lincoln to defeat Zen.


    Previously, he had thought that Layla was inferior to Zen. However, now that she had displayed such power, it had left Adrian astonished. At the same time, he grew anxious about Lincoln. He didn''t want him to lose the battle.


    "No matter how hard we try, some things just won''t go as we wish. Fate is cruel," he muttered, shaking his head. His mind was resigned to whatever the outcome of the fight would be.


    Lincoln smiled faintly. His chest was filled with pride for his sister. After the Wrath of the Ocean was activated, the golden light around his body shone even brighter. He clenched his fists and turned to Zen. "Fight me!" he shouted.


    Zen nodded his head in response. A silent understanding passed over the two men. The outcome of this battle was no longer important. Lincoln was as proud as Layla, but he was principled.


    It would not be easy to meet such an opponent. Zen''s body thrummed with excitement. His gaze turned more serious as he looked at Lincoln. Then, in the boundless starry sky of the Orange Sea World, a few rays of starlight suddenly appeared.


    These stars had always hung above the universe, shining down upon the countless supreme worlds.


    But they were not visible due to their great distance. Such eye-catching luster was not often seen by human eyes.


    However, at this moment, those few rays of starlight shot straight towards the ancient hall.


    At almost the exact instant that the stars flickered, the Sunset World lord frowned, and the expression on his face grew from bewilderment to shock. "Don''t tell me Zen has cultivated the Stellar Body?"


    A palace leader echoed his surprise. "It''s the Transcendent Divine Might that Supreme Lord Star had left behind many years ago. Where did Zen learn it from?"

 Chapter 1401 Kindness

    The Transcendent Divine Might was something that was known to be quite rare even in the Upper World.


    Only Supreme Lords could create Transcendent Divine Might!


    The cultivation methods in the upper world were compiled by relying on the rules of the entire universe¡­ There were so many factors involved that they could not have been quantized.


    For example, the visualization technique allowed the cultivators to obtain intents and insights through visualization of all the living things in the world. A creature could utilize his deep comprehension of the universe to create an entirely new cultivation method.


    However, most of these martial arts only involved very inferior laws. But the Transcendent Divine Might used the most superior law of all, which was the Law of Causality.


    Once the Law of Causality came into picture, extraordinary things began to happen. Its power could be understood from the fact that the Black Star pickaxe Zen had contained a kind of Law of Causality that was unsuitable for combat, but was still powerful enough to be ranked among the top three thousand on the Universe Spirit Tablet¡­


    Treasures and weapons had to be carried with warriors. They were limited. However, a Transcendent Divine Might required the cultivator himself to grasp the Law of Causality. Thus, it made a great deal of difference to his chances and power.


    Since a living being had limitless intelligence on his hand, he could progress. The grasp of a Transcendent Divine Might was equivalent to a pass that would allow one to reach the highest and the mightiest rules of the universe. This way, the cultivator could then grow endlessly. Even the most powerful supreme divine weapon could not be changed once it was forged.


    The Sunset World lord had once grasped a Transcendent Divine Might by chance. This chance achievement had allowed him to take a huge leap and become a grand world. But he was the only one to do so. Even among the leaders and vice leaders of the thirteen palaces present here, Yolande was the only one who possessed a Transcendent Divine Might. Since she herself was a descendant of a Supreme Lord, she had once had a chance to cultivate a Transcendent Divine Might and caught onto it.


    It was also deemed extremely difficult to cultivate a Transcendent Divine Might. Each type of it was more difficult than the other and as unique as a fingerprint. The Soul Split Spell that Yolande cultivated had paved the way for her to cultivate the Transcendent Divine Might.


    As for Zen, he had spent a lot of time cultivating the Stellar Body after coming to know about it. He would have progressed very far indeed but that was the future. Right now, he was still very young and had only reached the third level of the cultivation method so far. Moreover, the Stellar Body he possessed was an abridged version.


    Even so, when he had employed the Stellar Body technique and drew upon the power of the stars, it had left many leaders of the palaces stunned.


    "Ummm, guys! Supreme Lord Star spent his entire life comprehending the stars. As far as chronicles go, when he drew upon the power of the various stars in the sky, he managed to transform their light into swords and then crossed over ten thousand worlds to kill Supreme Lord She


    could pass this final round. After all, it was just a challenge and he would have far bigger opportunities to prove himself.


    When he had seen Layla''s sad and melancholy face, he had suddenly felt that it resembled the expression on Yan''s face a lot. He had been slightly moved at that moment¡­


    Outside the ancient hall, the old man in cotton clothes floating in the air also had a strange expression on his face. Not only him, the leaders of the thirteen palaces, including Yolande, and the Sunset World lord looked strange. They had also sensed what had happened just now.


    They all came to the same conclusion in their hearts that Zen had lost this round deliberately!


    The only reason they could think of when pondering over why Zen had deliberately given up was that he wanted to help Lincoln gain his freedom.


    Relatively speaking, Zen and Layla were competitors. Besides, Layla had provoked Zen time and time again¡­


    ''I didn''t expect this Zen to be such a good fellow," one of the leaders remarked, shaking his head. "You know, in this world of martial arts which always follows the rule of natural selection, kindness isn''t a merit."


    However, the Sunset World lord chuckled and replied, "To the weak warriors, perhaps kindness is a fatal weakness, but to the absolute strong ones, kindness is a mercy that should not be taken lightly¡­"


    Every race and every creature in the universe was almost always in a constant state of danger, since the universe was filled with uncertainty and turmoil, making this a world where the strong preyed on the weak. If a person''s strength was insufficient, then being kind would only bring him bad luck and fate. No good would fall to such a person as his kindness would be taken advantage by people with ill intentions. But when this person''s strength was strong enough, then even if he compromised or gave way, it didn''t matter to him, because his foundation was extremely strong and no one could shake it. The worst that could happen to him was a temporary defeat of his own will.


    Though Zen had yet to reach that level, in the eyes of the Sunset World lord, he was going to reach it pretty sooner than people thought.

 Chapter 1402 Introducing The Heavenly Tribulation

    After a while, Layla emerged from the Illusion Space.


    At this moment, the beam of happiness was evident in her demeanor.


    Before leaving the space, her brother told her that he would be released in the near future ¡ª he promised to visit the Mist Palace right after to visit her. Their reunion day was just around the corner.


    As she walked out of the ancient hall, she turned to Zen with a huge smile on her face. A kind of complacency and arrogance surfaced in her eyes.


    She was the only one to have passed the ultimate test in the Illusion Space trial.


    Although admittedly, her opponent''s strength was far inferior to her older brother''s.


    But she believed that it was merely Zen''s bad luck that got him her brother as his opponent. While she might not have managed to beat Zen in a one-on-one fight, the results proved, at the very least, that she had better luck than he did. A warrior''s good luck was also a kind of strength, after all.


    In spite of her outward display of arrogance, Zen merely nodded graciously in reply with a face that remained calm and expressionless.


    Zen''s indifferent reaction left Layla rather disappointed ¡ª shouldn''t he have been frustrated after having been defeated by her brother and in turn losing to her in the trial? Why couldn''t she find any signs of frustration on his face?


    Without the delight of relishing in Zen''s frustration, Layla somehow felt unfulfilled. But when she thought about how soon she would be reunited with her brother, her mood shot up instantly.


    After Zen and Layla left the Illusion Space, the old man announced the warriors'' rankings in the event, proceeding to hand out their respective awards.


    The Tribulation Exterminating Pills, the divine weapons, and the Tenth Tribulation Introducing Pills¡­


    Most warriors from the thirteen palaces could at least get a Tribulation Exterminating Pill as a reward for participating in Passing the Torch.


    Additionally, those who managed to reach 3, 000 miles in the Enchanted Barrier Tower could obtain a secondary first-rank divine weapon.


    For warriors at their level, such a weapon was already a pretty good reward. But few of the warriors were qualified to receive it. Reaching 3, 000 miles in the tower was no easy feat ¡ª many people had been eliminated early on.


    After that, the old man recited another list of names.


    These were the names of the warriors who reached 10, 000 miles, all of whom were qualified to obtain a Tenth Tribulation Introducing Pill.


    This batch of pills was easily more valuable than the secondary first-rank divine weapons.


    And of course, both Zen and Layla were on the list. After the group of warriors gathered around the old man, he pulled out a small jade pot and opened i


    he Soul Sea Realm after he passed. After opening up his Soul Sea, his strength would increase significantly, securing him a place in the Upper World.


    "I never would have expected Javier to start his tenth Heavenly Tribulation first. It seems like a formidable one!" someone in the crowd commented.


    "Did you really think he''s an ordinary warrior? Come on, he''s ranked third in the test of Law Storm! Without any rare genius like Zen or Layla, he would have been ranked first!"


    "The Lotus Flower! His Lotus Flower appears! It''s a Nine-petal Lotus Flower!"


    As they discussed, a faint image of a Lotus Flower appeared before floating over Javier''s head in silence.


    The flower seemed to be in full bloom as it slowly spun in the air.


    Just as the other warriors had said, both Javier''s talent and strength prevailed over most of the other young warriors in the entire alliance. While he should have attracted the crowd''s attention, he paled in comparison to Zen and Layla ¡ª they were just too exceptional.


    Neither the palace masters nor the Sunset World lord paid him any special attention.


    Boom!


    "It''s a divine lightning!"


    "The Evil Fiery Poison!"


    "Look at the mist and shadows!"


    "This is indeed an extraordinary small Heavenly Tribulation!"


    As Javier began to undergo his tribulation, the small Heavenly Tribulation intensified.


    The palace masters looked perfectly calm as they watched from the sidelines. For warriors at their level, the power of such Heavenly Tribulation was nowhere near enough to make them budge.


    "Javier''s tenth small Heavenly Tribulation is quite powerful. He will surely excel to the top after he reaches the Soul Sea Realm. I''m only curious as to how powerful Layla''s tenth small Heavenly Tribulation will be," commented a palace master in a regulated, calm voice.

 Chapter 1403 Fourteen Petals

    Many of the palace leaders paid no attention to Zen.


    The reason for this was quite simple.


    At present, Zen was at the fifth level of the Life and Death Realm. The sixth small Heavenly Tribulation was incomparable with the tenth small Heavenly Tribulation that Layla had to face.


    And so things proceeded with everyone''s gazes fixated on her.


    As Javier started the tenth small Heavenly Tribulation, the warrior, with the surname Li, began to undergo the same trial. In addition to him, several other warriors started to experience their tribulations too.


    Across the sky spanned all kinds of the Heavenly Tribulations'' powers. Voices escaped through the clouds like the beginnings of a tumultuous storm.


    Two hours had passed.


    Javier''s small Heavenly Tribulation had finally come to an end. The Lotus Flower gently spun, its shadow gradually dissipating.


    An immaculate Soul Sea sprung in his body. In its perfection, he was now the epitome of a Soul Sea Realm warrior. As his cultivation base increased, the Soul Sea inside him would grant him greater power. It opened up endless possibilities¡ªsome of which could only be obtained with the help of the immaculate Soul Sea.


    Javier closed his eyes and reinforced his cultivation base...


    On the other hand, the small Heavenly Tribulations of Layla and Zen had yet to arrive.


    The Tenth Tribulation Introducing Pill couldn''t guarantee the arrival of Heavenly Tribulations on all people. Layla felt the beginnings of her anxiousness grow as time stretched longer. Zen, however, did not share this worry. It did not matter whether his sixth small Heavenly Tribulation came or not. After all, as his cultivation base increased, it would come sooner or later.


    To Layla, the tenth small Heavenly Tribulation was of utmost importance. She could not afford to let her chance pass.


    Another hour passed, and all the warriors who had taken the Tenth Tribulation Introducing Pill had passed through the tenth small Heavenly Tribulation. From among them, those who managed to reach the ninth level of the Life and Death Realm were all considered outstanding. The Heavenly Tribulations that they triggered were indeed tremendous, but they had come fully prepared¡ªdeath was no danger.


    Two warriors had immediately fainted after passing through the tenth small Heavenly Tribulation. This failure was brought about by arrogance. They had underestimated the power of the Heavenly Tribulation and overused their strength.


    "It hasn''t come yet.." Layla murmured, her voice edged with anxiety.


    She threw a tentative look at Zen''s direction. He looked calm, as if the prolonged waiting did nothing to agitate him in the slightest.


    It was right at this moment


    that a faint shadow appeared over Layla. It grew denser, until a Lotus Flower revealed itself.


    "It''s here!" Layla exclaimed, a look of surprise crossing over her face.


    At the


    front of their very eyes.


    The Lotus Flower above her continued spinning, and an even larger Lotus Flower appeared above it. The second flower had even more petals.


    The Hinayana Lotus Flower had a total of nine petals, and the Mahayana Lotus Flower had a total of twenty-seven.


    When the Mahayana Lotus Flower appeared, the first lotus petal on it slowly unfolded. It was followed by a second, a third, fourth, and fifth...


    Layla raised her head to look at the lotus that was constantly blooming. Her tired face brightened with a faint smile.


    Five lotus petals bloomed. With the addition of the Hinayana Lotus Flower''s nine petals, there were a total of fourteen petals.


    After five petals opened, the Mahayana Lotus flower began to fade and after some moments disappeared.


    The palace leaders looked at Layla with conflicted expressions. The Passing the Torch was arranged to test the junior warriors of thirteen palaces, but the abilities that Layla had displayed were something that sparked the envy of even the palace leaders themselves.


    When Layla''s Lotus Flower had disappeared, Layla glanced at Zen and smiled meaningfully.


    Back in the Enchanted Barrier Tower, he had bested her due to the fact that she had come out in advance.


    Then, Zen had lost to Layla''s brother in the Illusion Space. She was able to win over him only because her brother was too strong. If it was her skill against his, Zen did not fall much farther behind her. This closeness in their strengths irked her. She had wanted to put a gap between them and establish herself as undoubtedly the better warrior.


    Layla smiled in satisfaction. With her results this time, how could Zen match up to her now?


    Zen was no fool. He understood instantly what was in Layla''s mind. However, he remained unbothered.


    At this moment, he cared more about his sixth small Heavenly Tribulation. He waited, wondering why it still hadn''t arrived.

 Chapter 1404 Golden Snakes

    The Tenth Tribulation Introducing Pill couldn''t have lost its effectiveness already, could it?


    The tribulation Zen had attracted was not the tenth small Heavenly Tribulation, but the sixth. Actually, even if he hadn''t used the Tenth Tribulation Introducing Pill, the tribulation would still have descended because his cultivation had already reached that level. This was disappointing to Zen, to say the least.


    Why had the small Heavenly Tribulation still not shown up?


    Yolande glanced at Layla and frowned. She had also been looking forward to Zen''s small Heavenly Tribulation. Although it wasn''t the tenth one, she was still able to observe how many petals Zen''s Lotus Flower would sprout.


    However, Layla''s expression made Yolande dislike her. There was a hint of condescension in her eyes, and it was unbecoming in Yolande''s opinion. Layla didn''t seem to know that Zen had actually purposefully held back his strength in the Illusion Space and, as a result, had lost to her brother. Why didn''t he explain it to her?


    Now, only Zen had yet to undergo his tribulation.


    It was impossible for other warriors to just wait like this. Normally, after the Tenth Tribulation Introducing Pill was used, it would usually trigger the Heavenly Tribulation within two hours. Other than the special case of Layla, it was impossible for a warrior to bring down the Heavenly Tribulation after two hours.


    Someone suggested that the old man in cotton clothes remove the seal. This meant that the Passing the Torch would have come to an end.


    The old man greatly admired Zen in his heart. However, since his small Heavenly Tribulation had not come, it was likely that it would not come. He was very confident about this point and sadly nodded his head. "Alright!"


    With that, he waved his hand, preparing to completely remove the seal and end the Passing the Torch.


    However, at this moment, streaks of golden light suddenly appeared in the sky, drawing the attention of everyone present.


    After the streaks of golden light appeared, they intertwined with each other like little golden snakes writhing in the sky.


    "Huh?" When the old man saw the small golden snakes, his face revealed a surprised expression. "What are they?"


    The gazes of many palace leaders, Yolande, the lord of the Sunset World, and the others all uniformly shot towards the air above Zen''s head. Their faces were all filled with strange and uncertain expressions. The golden light reflected off their faces as they looked up to the sky.


    And in the same instance as these little golden snakes appeared, a faint image of the Lotus Flower appeared above Zen''s head!


    "It''s here! Zen''s sixth small Heavenly Tribulation!"


    "What are you so excited about? It''s just the sixth small Heavenly Tribulation. Which one of us has not experienced this before?"


    Zen was at the fifth grade of the Life and Death Realm, and it was indeed the lowest here. It was not a ranking to be particularly excited about. Among the warriors of the thirteen palaces, there was no one who was weaker than him in terms of cultivation level.


    They had all experienced the sixth small Heavenly Tribulation, so there was nothing to be surprised about. However,


    one through the tenth small Heavenly Tribulation, while Zen was only at the fifth grade of the Life and Death Realm, which meant that he had only gone through five small Heavenly Tribulations. But his Mahayana Lotus Flower had already sprouted twenty-six petals.


    What Layla did not know was that Zen had already activated the Mahayana Lotus Flower during his first small Heavenly Tribulation, and that it had already sprouted twenty-six petals back then. If she knew, Layla might have passed out on the spot.


    Even now, she was still dealt a heavy blow. Her ego was in pieces at the monumental defeat.


    Although the Lotus Flower was an illusory existence, it was a measure of a warrior''s chances of surpassing the heavens in the future.


    Furthermore, no one was able to predict when he would activate the Lotus Flower or how many petals it would sprout. No matter how Layla thought about it, she was still unable to change the fact that there was such an obvious gap between her and Zen. Now she had to face her own short comings.


    "This is too much..." Layla muttered these words in a low voice, almost sounding like a growl.


    She felt that Zen had gone too far, but she had forgotten that from beginning to end, he had never had the intention to compete against her. Even though he had attended the Passing the Torch, he had just wanted to obtain the reward and he wasn''t concerned with the status the Lotus Flower bestowed.


    On the contrary, it was Layla who had targeted Zen from the beginning, and had even provoked him without any reason. But now, when she felt disappointed and wronged, she subconsciously began to believe that he had targeted her on purpose. She was laying the blame squarely at his feet.


    The golden snakes in the sky extended continuously after the Mahayana Lotus Flower appeared. They grew from a few feet to several dozen feet, then to several hundred feet. They spiraled in the air and shot towards Zen.


    The world lord''s face changed when he saw the little golden snakes. He felt that these little golden snakes were a bit familiar. Suddenly, he seemed to remember something and cried, "Holy crap!"

 Chapter 1405 Luck-devouring Snakes

    The various palace leaders looked at the lord of the Sunset World in confusion. One of them opened his mouth and asked, "What''s going on?"


    The world lord''s gaze was fixed on the golden snakes as he spat out, "Luck-devouring Snakes!"


    "Luck-devouring Snakes? Do those creatures truly exist?"


    "Now that I think about it, they do seem somewhat similar to the legendary Luck-devouring Snakes."


    "The Luck-devouring Snake Tribulation. That is a legendary tribulation. How could a Life and Death Realm warrior encounter it?"


    The palace leaders did not recognize the origins of these golden snakes, but they immediately understood what this meant after hearing the world lord''s words.


    The warriors of the 100, 000 supreme worlds had a much clearer understanding of fate than those who belonged to the Lower World.


    Warriors could defy the Nature Law and change their fate through mere cultivation. Eventually, they could become immortals.


    Ordinary people had short lives spanning a few decades. However, after cultivation, they could live for much longer, and this defied the Nature Law. The heavens would naturally punish warriors once they entered the Life and Death Realm, by using the Heavenly Tribulations.


    Warriors could also change their fates through cultivation. Although almost everyone''s fate was sealed, warriors could use every possible method to change it.


    Every single one of the warriors was constantly in an attempt to rewrite his or her own fate.


    A mortal might come face to face with a bucket of water that could not be lifted, an indestructible city, or a cup of poisoned wine that a king gave him which he could not refuse.


    But what a warrior faced was far worse¡ªa mountain that he could not break, an opponent he could not defeat, or a Heavenly Tribulation that he could not subdue, even if he exhausted all of his strength.


    This was also the reason why the warriors of the Upper World attached great importance to the Lotus Flower. It was because the fate of all creatures was decided by the heavens¡ªfrom the stars to the insects and the ants. But the Lotus Flower determined a warrior''s talent, which was also the possibility whether the warrior could shake off the control of the heavens.


    If one could withdraw from the control of the heavens, then his fate was in his own hands and he would secure true freedom. If one could not change his fate, however, then he would be reincarnated again and again. He might have been a human in this grand era, but in the next, he could be a Supreme Lord, or a speck of dust. In the end, he would not be able to escape this loop.


    The more petals one''s Lotus Flower sprouted, the stronger one''s luck was. This was a widely accepted conclusion in the Upper World. Although the Lotus Flower was not a symbol of talent, it was often more important than even that.


    The lord of


    leaders, however, were clearly worried.


    A warrior who was in the process of undergoing the Heavenly Tribulation could not rely on the help of outsiders. They could only depend on their own strength to bear through the trial.


    The world lord had assumed that Zen had a plan to deal with this, but when he saw the scene before him, he knew that Zen did not know how to handle the Luck-devouring Snakes.


    The Luck-devouring Snakes paid no attention to Zen. They continued to slither in the air after Zen shifted his position, as if changing their direction again. Then they continued to devour his luck.


    "A Luck-devouring Snake isn''t a creature. It can be said that it exceeds the existence of any living being." The lord of the Sunset World fixed his eyes on Zen as he continued, "If I remember correctly, I''ve seen an example of this in the records of the grand eras. Countless grand eras ago, another warrior had encountered the Luck-devouring Snakes. Anyone qualified to attract the Luck-devouring Snakes naturally possesses good fortune. After the Luck-devouring Snake Tribulation descended on him, however, he could only watch helplessly as the snakes devoured his luck without encountering any sort of resistance!"


    A palace leader could not help but shake his head. "In other words, Zen''s struggle is futile."


    "What a pity! I was really looking forward to seeing the extraordinary future this little fellow would otherwise have!" Another palace leader sighed in disappointment. Although Zen did not come from this particular leader''s palace, the latter cherished talents. He could not help but be silently dejected at the prospect of witnessing the end of such a talent.


    As for Yolande, her expression remained calm. To her, Zen was a warrior who turned unfavorable situations into miracles. She still believed that he, who had turned things around so many times, could do it once again.

 Chapter 1406 The Outline

    The Luck-devouring Snakes continued to circle in the air, gnawing continuously at Zen''s luck with soft sounds.


    They did not cause any harm to Zen''s physical body, but Zen''s expression became more and more grim...


    Crack, crack...


    The soft chewing sounds were like those made by a silkworm that nibbled on mulberry leaves. The snakes were wearing down Zen''s luck slowly.


    It went without saying that luck was of great importance to him, but it just so happened that these Luck-devouring Snakes were completely illusory.


    They did not seem to exist in this world, and Zen could do nothing about them with his current strength.


    Even the cyan dragon in Zen''s mind let out a faint sound resembling a sigh. It was only because Zen''s good fortune was too great that he was facing this terrifying Luck-devouring Snake Tribulation today.


    Since ancient times, there had been no method recorded in any ancient books to resolve this tribulation, regardless of which scripture it was.


    Both the cyan dragon and Lavender could not think of a way out. This was an unstoppable Heavenly Tribulation. Perhaps no one could resist it.


    Zen grew worried and was at a loss about what to do. However, as time passed by, he calmed down, gradually composing himself and his slightly anxious state of mind.


    He turned over and coiled his legs in the air. Then he quickly fell down and returned to his original spot, his expression returning to a tranquil one...


    It was not that Zen had chosen to give up. Ever since he had made up his mind to cultivate the martial arts, he had never once thought about giving up on anything.


    No matter how strong the Heavenly Tribulation and his opponent was, they would never make Zen yield.


    The Heavenly Tribulation was not a deathly tribulation. Otherwise, most of the warriors in the universe would have died long ago because of it. Since the heavens let such a powerful Heavenly Tribulation manifest before him, it must contain a profound meaning. Zen realized that he had to be calm mentally and observe first, instead of becoming anxious.


    No matter how unlucky he was, he would not die so quickly. This was how he comforted himself silently.


    Crack, crack...


    The Luck-devouring Snakes still gnawed in the air as they slithered around. They seemed to have taken a liking to Zen''s luck. It was like exquisite food to them and they swallowed it one bite at a time...


    "Zen is able to maintain his composure. He is truly remarkable," one of the palace leaders pointed out.


    "Maybe he has already figured out a way to overcome this," another palace leader said.


    "Ha-ha... Forget about Zen; even the Supreme Lords of the supreme worlds


    riors¡ªby relying on their own comprehension of the Law Power¡ªcould summon a hurricane ten thousand times stronger than this strong gale with a single thought.


    However, no one knew where this gust of wind came from and how it was formed. It was all too strange.


    Just as everyone was wondering about this, a warrior suddenly pointed at Zen''s back and said, "Look! What is that?!"


    Behind Zen was nothing. However, it was precisely because of this that the situation seemed even stranger.


    The strong wind was howling non-stop, and as it blew to every corner, it inevitably brought up a bit of dust. Everything became a bit blurry all of a sudden, but many warriors could still see their surroundings.


    When the strong wind blew behind Zen, they discovered something strange.


    The wind seemed unable to pass through Zen''s back. This was because the wind, which carried traces of dust with it, had drawn a faint shadow behind Zen. It was the shadow of a giant.


    Or at least, it was what could be called a shadow in some ways. The wind could not penetrate it, and a faint virtual outline had been drawn.


    It was quite a coincidence that the Luck-devouring Snakes were nibbling along this outline. It looked like they were gnawing on a nonexistent giant!


    When he heard the voices of the crowd, the expression on Zen''s face remained calm. However, as he turned his head to take a look, his eyes twinkled.


    The outline of a giant? What was this about?


    Since the Luck-devouring Snakes were devouring on the giant, could this shadow be called his luck?


    Why did his luck assume this form?


    Although Zen was able to maintain his composure, he could not help but be perplexed when he saw this strange scene.


    More importantly, since when had this shadow been following him?

 Chapter 1407 Great Luck

    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh...


    The wind had remained persistent.


    Everyone watched the strange scene unfolding in front of them, with no one knowing what exactly it meant.


    "Is this my luck?


    One''s karmic luck is innate. Then, does that mean that the silhouette of this giant has been with me ever since I was born?


    But if it is the case, then it would have accompanied me through the Eastern Region, the Central Region, the Sea God Continent, the Divine Kingdom Continent, and the ascension...


    Why does my luck take this form?''


    An onslaught of questions flooded Zen''s mind as doubts tugged at him and filled him. Those Luck-devouring Snakes were still hanging suspended in the air, continuously devouring the giant''s body.


    The Sunset World lord wore a puzzled expression.


    The Upper World had a thorough and deeply-rooted understanding of karmic luck. It was something that couldn''t be seen or touched, but everyone knew that karmic luck was ever-present. There were only certain methods that could influence it to some extent.


    However, fate was formless. And yet, here was its manifestation, with an undeniable shape.


    In retrospect, the Luck-devouring Snake was also an existence thought to be found only in legends. A creature eating away one''s luck sounded absurd, but to witness it was another thing entirely.


    One could only imagine how shocked everyone was when they saw it happening to Zen.


    They had yet to recover from their astonishment when the giant''s silhouette started to move.


    No wind penetrated this area, and the giant''s shape became more defined. The spectators watched the outline of a giant change in shape and redirect the path of the wind, creating the illusion of movement.


    It brought a heavy hand to its body, right where the creatures devoured it.


    The next instant, one of the golden Luck-devouring Snakes had been reduced to dust.


    "This ¡­"


    It was as if the lord of the Sunset World had lost all capacity for intelligible speech. He gaped the scene, wide-eyed and wordless.


    The other palace leaders mirrored his expression on their faces. What was happening before them was something beyond their comprehension. Even the most knowledgeable among them had no explanation for the events they had witnessed.


    After the first Luck-devouring Snake had been smashed, the giant''s outline once again waved its hand in the air, slapping its body. In a split second, another snake was pulverized. Bits of gold powder scattered in the air.


    This went on with a third, a fourth, a fifth ¡­


    The palace leaders, still unable to speak, watched the


    alace leaders discussed their conjectures amongst themselves.


    In their eyes, the Heavenly Tribulation was among the absolutes in the entire universe. How could the heavens make mistakes?


    At present, Zen''s karmic luck seemed to be incredibly powerful. Up until this moment, no lightning bolt had struck him. It was all too strange.


    An expression of surprise surfaced on Zen''s face as he avoided the lightning strikes from the tribulation. He couldn''t explain it himself, but it seemed that his luck had suddenly increased to unimaginable heights.


    Yolande had the same thing in mind. Suddenly, she rose and closed the distance between her and Zen. He was preoccupied with his tribulation. Extending her hand, she sent an intangible wave surging towards him.


    The palm strike contained a thousandth of her strength. Had Zen been sitting on the spot, he would have had no chances of dodging it.


    Another strange occurrence once again took place. Before Yolande''s strike could reach Zen, the air shifted around, creating a windstorm that erupted and directly clashed with Yolande''s palm strike, effectively circumventing the attack.


    When the other palace leaders saw this, they became more confused than ever.


    Zen was still dodging lightning, seemingly oblivious to what had just taken place. It was impossible for the windstorm to have come from him. It had been formed naturally. But why?


    The Orange Sea World was a broken world, but it had always been secure. Many years of operation by the alliance was testament to its stability. The possibility of a space windstorm appearing in such a stable space was almost nonexistent.


    And yet, with the most minuscule probability, the windstorm had undeniably appeared.

 Chapter 1408 Endless Heavenly Tribulations

    The appearance of the space windstorm that set off Yolande''s attack had to be more than mere coincidence.


    However, no one had the means of explaining how such a force emerged and why it had deflected Yolande''s hit.


    The other martial artists were fixated on Zen and failed to notice what had just happened. It was one enigma after another. How was Zen able to dodge the Heavenly Tribulation? Not one lightning ray had touched him since it had started. Then there was the leader of the Mist Palace striking out her palm towards him, and the next thing they knew, a strange space windstorm had materialized.


    They were at a loss as they struggled to put the fragments of the puzzle together.


    Amidst the warriors'' confusion, Layla stood on one side, silent and pensive, as if she was trying to figure something out.


    Her feet lightly tapped the ground, causing cracks to appear beneath her feet. With a barely noticeable wave of her finger, a small stone shot up from the ground.


    She grabbed the stone and threw it straight at Zen''s direction.


    The stone was not large in size, but it moved towards Zen in an overwhelming speed. In a matter of seconds, it had arrived in front of him.


    "Boom!"


    Just as it was about to hit him, another bolt of lightning struck at his side, smashing the stone into pieces¡­


    From where she stood, a faint smile played on Yolande''s lips. "It seems that Zen''s luck has now reached unimaginable heights. It''s almost as if he is invincible," she said.


    The Sunset World lord also smiled helplessly at the unexplainable coincidences that kept happening one after another. That Zen had indeed increased his luck when he had absorbed the Luck-devouring Snakes. That might be the most plausible conjecture as of the moment...


    The Upper World held a number of methods that could temporarily change one''s luck. The effects of these techniques, however, were minimal at best. For instance, there was the "prayer for fortune" in a secret sect, and there existed divine weapons that could increase one''s luck. The Sunset World lord, Yolande, and the others, viewed these methods and items as charms that had more to do with psychological effects than actual changes in one''s fortune. The changes, if there were any, remained obscure and were yet to be defined.


    However, the scene in front of him was different and defied all logic¡­


    Zen''s luck had undeniably changed after he absorbed the Luck-devouring Snakes.


    With this much luck, it was as if god himself was in Zen''s favor.


    There had already been more than enough proof. The probability of a space windstorm appearing on Willow Island was close to none - perhaps only about one in a hundred trillion. Even more so was the chance of it arriving at the exact same time with Yolanda''s strike.


    However, the Sunset World lord had witnessed both things happen in front of his very own eyes.


    "It''s a bit of a waste that he is only able to use his luck this way," he said, shaking his head regretfully. It was a pity that those Luck-devouring Snakes couldn''t be restored. Had Zen saved one or two of them, he would probably have greater use for them in the futur


    Heavenly Tribulation was truly bound to appear, or perhaps it was Zen''s great luck that called it forth.


    As the shadow of the Lotus Flower reappeared, the eighth small Heavenly Tribulation descended¡­


    Zen sighed as a wry smile appeared on his face. He couldn''t believe his eyes. With how things were turning out, he was no longer sure if his fortune was a blessing or a curse.


    "To undergo three Heavenly Tribulations consecutively¡­"


    "This man...He has risen from the fifth to the eighth level of the Life and Death Realm in less than four hours. "


    Many of the martial artists stared at the flower''s shadow, all of them speechless.


    It was uncommon to see someone undergo two consecutive Heavenly Tribulations, but it was not entirely unheard of. For a martial artist to experience three Heavenly Tribulations in a row, however, was something else.


    Zen steeled himself to face the next round of tribulation. Another hour passed¡­


    "Four consecutive small Heavenly Tribulations?"


    "After he finishes this round, his cultivation will be at the ninth level of the Life and Death Realm!"


    "With this progress, is he going to break into the Soul Sea Realm?"


    "If you remember, this Zen had taken the Tenth Tribulation Introducing Pill. Could it be due to this that these Heavenly Tribulations were triggered?"


    "There seems to be no end to it!"


    As Zen looked at the terrifying power of the Heavenly Tribulation condensing in the sky, he didn''t know how to respond. What the others said was true. The tribulations indeed seemed to be endless. Truthfully, he was anxious to increase his own cultivation - he wanted to see what he would be capable of after he created his own Soul Sea with his chaotic energy.


    However, he did not expect things to happen this quickly.


    Another hour later, Zen stared at the shadow of the Lotus Flower above his head with blank eyes. The Lotus Flower had only bloomed thirty five leaves, with nine leaves in the lower layer, and twenty six leaves on the upper layer. The last leaf had remained closed, and the tenth Heavenly Tribulation was coming...

 Chapter 1409 Gods-intimidating Strike

    Tribulation was harsh. Not everyone was lucky enough to survive it, so it was rare for a warrior to continuously undergo it.


    Even Zen himself hadn''t thought that he could trigger five consecutive small Heavenly Tribulations.


    Fortunately, his physical body had advanced once again. With his unimaginably strong luck, it wasn''t that hard for him to deal with the tribulations.


    Zen''s cultivation had rapidly increased after experiencing the Heavenly Tribulations.


    He was currently a warrior at the tenth level of the Life and Death Realm already.


    Strictly speaking, the Life and Death Realm didn''t have a tenth level. It was because once someone had entered the sixth level of the Life and Death Realm, their life vitality would liquefy continuously. The longer this process took, the more perfect the Soul Sea formed inside their body would be.


    After the warriors reached the tenth level of the Life and Death Realm, their life vitality would quickly liquefy and form a flawless Soul Sea. This meant that they actually had reached the Soul Sea Realm.


    However, Zen''s situation was a bit special.


    Layla''s and Javier''s elixir fields were naturally evolving into their Soul Seas.


    Zen had also attempted to check his own elixir field after he passed the tenth level of the Life and Death Realm. He wanted to see if the chaotic energy inside him had successfully evolved into his Soul Sea.


    When Zen''s master had taught him the Primal Chaos Technique, his master had deduced that since the chaotic energy was the essence that formed the universe, it should also be able to form the Soul Sea. But different from the sea of life vitality, the Soul Sea created by chaotic energy would be a true world.


    A warrior could gradually nurture a world inside his body once the Soul Sea opened up at the Soul Sea Realm. From there, all kinds of creatures would be nurtured, forming a new country, a new society, and a completely new culture.


    However, there was a law which governed such a world. Any creature that was raised in it was not allowed to leave its premises. If they left, the laws of that world would prevent them by disintegrating them into life vitality again.


    This specific rule was also the strongest Law of Causality in the universe. So far, no one had been able to break this rule.


    There was an abundant supply of legends and stories that were passed down in the supreme worlds. Among them was a tale about a Supreme Lord who fell in love with a woman nurtured in his inner world.


    The Supreme Lord had thought of many ways to bring the woman out of his inner world. And so, he had spent thousands of years traveling throughout the universe to find a solu


    thers followed suit.


    One by one, the palace leaders, even Yolande and the old man in cotton clothes began to focus on the clouds.


    While Zen and the others couldn''t move as fast as the palace leaders and world lord who could teleport, they weren''t slow either. They quickly rushed as well and when they saw the sky upon arrival, they immediately understood what was happening.


    Someone must have triggered the secret left behind by Supreme Lord Sword.


    At this point, no one really cared about who exactly had done it and how they triggered it. No one wanted to miss out on such a great chance. They all raised their heads and tried to understand the sword intent as much as they could.


    Zen''s eyes moved to look at the figures in the clouds. His jaw dropped, and his gaze became slightly dazed.


    This strike was quite similar to Zen''s No Move. In fact, they were even indistinguishable.


    But of course, they were still greatly different in nature.


    They were both only one strike, and both were created under the principle that the greatest truths were the simplest. However, Supreme Lord Sword''s move was a lot fiercer than Zen''s.


    Zen''s No Move couldn''t be broken because it had no fixed form. Meanwhile, Supreme Lord Sword''s strike couldn''t be broken either, but it was because it had an extremely fixed form.


    So even with the same principle, the two strikes were vastly different due to the completely different methods.


    However, it had to be said that Supreme Lord Sword was superior. This Supreme Lord with the title of "Sword" was one of the martial arts ancestors when it came to comprehending sword moves.


    Still, Zen had an advantage. Since he understood the No Move, it was easier for him to grasp the depth and intensity of the Gods-intimidating Strike.

 Chapter 1410 Thirty Percent

    The warriors on Willow Island wasted no time in comprehending the sword intent in the clouds.


    The sword practitioners were able to comprehend the sword intent faster than the others owing to their natural advantage.


    However, the saber and spear practitioners were not simply going to let this opportunity pass. Intents were similar and they could still seize this chance to comprehend each strike in the clouds.


    Zen stood still and stared at the sky, lost in his thoughts for a moment. He smiled after he realized something.


    ''So that''s why I found it so hard to control my sword intent after I tempered it.


    This sword move¡­is a last resort move! Its aim is to kill in one shot. One must lay everything on the line in that one thrust, even his own life!


    Such an extreme sword intent could only be matched by such an extreme move.''


    The realization hit him like a ton of bricks.


    The first step to comprehending a sword intent or practicing a cultivation method was learning how to control it. Only by turning the sword intent or cultivation method into one''s own power, one could release the power to achieve his goals. Warriors had to practice martial arts step by step in order to grasp and control the higher levels of the cultivation method they practiced. The more a warrior was able to exercise control, the more power he would be able to use and release.


    However, Supreme Lord Sword skipped this step altogether. He had abandoned all reasoning and simply performed this sword intent without any reason for control.


    "The only way to compete with a True God is if one abandons all reason and simply throws it all in. Is that the reason why Supreme Lord Sword is said to be on par with the True God?" Zen couldn''t help but mutter to himself.


    His conclusion would''ve greatly pleased Supreme Lord Sword had he been standing beside him. A young man who had just managed to break through to the Soul Sea Realm was able to perfectly sum up things based only on the sword move Supreme Lord Sword performed.


    Zen''s baptism by Supreme Lord Sword''s sword intent meant that his comprehension speed was much faster than anyone else.


    At that moment, Willow Island stood at a complete standstill.


    The warriors below the thick clouds were determined to utilize every second in comprehending the sword intent carried by the clouds.


    Two hours¡­


    Twenty hours¡­


    Two days¡­


    It wasn''t until three days later that the sword clouds gradually faded away and revealed the purple sky. This magnificent sight was the result of the blue heavens reflecting off the waters of the Orange Sea World.


    A few warriors remained where they stoo


    ehend thirty!


    Those leaders looked sullen. How could such an old Spirit Supreme Realm warrior comprehend so much more than those mighty talented leaders? It didn''t make any sense!


    None of them considered the fact that this old man had spent sixty thousand years just sitting by the stone and trying to comprehend the intent hidden within the words left behind by Supreme Lord Sword.


    His intensive studying had paid off and Landry, along with Damian, had gotten so much more insight than even the Sunset World lord!


    "Whoosh-"


    a sharp, shrill sound emanated from the tip of Landry''s sword.


    This strike contained mere thirty-percent of Supreme Lord Sword''s power but the results were frightening. To put into perspective: a Spirit Supreme Realm warrior''s power could never hope to compare to this mere thirty-percent strike.


    The cracked sword pierced through the huge stone, and left it crumbling under its power! This rock had been bigger than a mountain but it immediately cracked and crumbled into pieces as it collapsed.


    The sight overwhelmed Landry whose eyes began to tear up.


    He had already given up all hope of ever achieving anything in his life after staying in this place for thousands of years.


    Like all the other warriors who had chosen to stay here, despite knowing that it was a dead end, all he could do was meditate and hope that an event such as this would come one day.


    A vast majority of warriors had already given up or were driven away due to the Orange Sea World''s exploration. Only Landry and Damian stubbornly remained and even ended up shelling a huge amount just to stay there.


    They had been hopeless, waiting for their Five Aging Processes to come and their lifespans to end. However, the day was yet to come.

 Chapter 1411 The Sword Practicing Hall

    They would never have believed that a miracle would really come if it were not for the sudden appearance of those sword clouds.


    It was surreal, to say the least. They had stayed there for tens of thousands of years holding onto the hope that one day, a miracle would appear and absolve them of all the hardship they had endured. It wasn''t easy. Such a long time of waiting was sure to weaken any person''s resolve no matter how strong their will was when they started. All those years waiting had made them forget just exactly what kind of miracle they were waiting for.


    Until, of course, the sword clouds arrived. It was truly that miracle, coupled with their long-standing suffering of waiting here for tens of thousands of years, that resulted in their comprehension of around thirty-percent of the Gods-intimidating Strike. That alone, however, was not enough to assure them of greatness. Their old age and subpar talents would still make it difficult for them to achieve great things in the future.


    Thousands and thousands of years were wasted just meditating by the huge stone. They had completely neglected nurturing their inner world and consolidating their cultivation base.


    Still, these two had enough knowledge between them to make a name for themselves at some lower ranked sacred place somewhere.


    In fact, their futures weren''t half-bad. The slightly younger warrior, Damian Xu, would go on to become an elder of a certain great sect. The warrior named Landry Chen, on the other hand, would become a swordsmanship master who would eventually impart his understanding of the Gods-intimidating Strike to the younger generation.


    Layla tilted her head as she looked at Zen. "How much were you able to assimilate?" she asked with a sly smile.


    "To be honest, not much," Zen replied with a shake of his head.


    Layla sighed. "I think I grasped around fifteen percent of the Gods-intimidating Strike. It''s unfortunate that this kind of skill is incompatible with my state of mind, which means it''s going to be harder for me to master it."


    Her words were humble but there was that underlying tone of pride in her voice. Majority of the warriors, after all, were only able to grasp five to ten percent. Layla was probably the one who was able to absorb the most knowledge.


    Nevertheless, she still couldn''t hope to be on par with Zen.


    Despite what he had said, Zen had almost completely mastered this sword skill.


    He had already swallowed those white sword shadows and honed his sword intent prior to the arrival of the clouds. The Gods-intimidating Strike now felt as if it was custom-made for him.


    One shouldn''t be mistaken though. It wasn''t purely by just absorbing those white sword shadows that he was able to fully comprehend the skill. A few years ago, back when Zen was still a nature creature, he was able to learn the most valuable of all lessons: the greatest truths were the simplest, and so were the great


    now! It was truly too bad that there was nobody here in the Mist Palace he could ask to try this skill on.


    Wasting no time, Zen quickly unsheathed his Thunder Wind Divine Sword and pointed the tip towards the enormous mountain range!


    This simple movement caused such a great difference in his aura. It felt as if Zen''s gaze alone would be enough to cut through rock and split this entire mountain range!


    "The Gods-intimidating Strike is unable to gather momentum¡­


    I have to brandish the sword the moment I raise my hand.


    No momentum, no hesitation¡­ I must forget my emotions. This mentality has already been tainted with a trace of divinity..."


    According to legend, it was only when one forgot emotions that they could become a True God. Supreme Lord Sword had done this very thing: he threw away all emotions in order to create this one, powerful sword strike.


    This kind of mentality was overwhelmingly wondrous. Zen felt as if he was able to grasp it momentarily before it suddenly slipped out of his mind in the blink of an eye.


    This was normal. An epiphany was always something that came and went instantly. Ideas were fleeting and warriors would often have to work hard in grasping their slippery conclusions time and time again. It was okay since Zen was only intending to practice the move for the time being. The epiphany might be quick and slippery but it was sure to come back again in the future.


    As Zen threw all hesitation aside, his sword intent flashed and emitted a faint light as it shot out from his long sword...


    The sword intent was uncontrollable as it constantly spread throughout the space but that was the point! It should not and did not need to be controlled! Zen could only follow his own comprehension as he thrust the sword towards the direction of the mountain range!


    He quickly felt a tremendous change in the sword intent. It seemed to have a mind of its own as it forged its own way with the attack...

 Chapter 1412 Crack (Part One)

    The day Landry had comprehended thirty percent of the Gods-intimidating Strike was one to be remembered. The explosive power he had unleashed had also shaken many palace leaders who were also there.


    Those who were almost as powerful as world lords were not afraid of Landry''s sword attack, but they still were quite jealous of him. To their dismay, they had just found out that even a Spirit Supreme Realm warrior like Landry with no great talent in himself was able to unleash such power.


    On the other hand, Zen''s strike was an almost complete move of the Gods-intimidating Strike.


    Although, in terms of pure swordsmanship, he did not dare to call himself a master, but he was still quite confident in himself. This was a sword skill created by a Supreme Lord and he did not have the qualifications to evaluate it too much.


    However, by relying on his own insights into the sword intent of Supreme Lord Sword, he was able to unleash almost ninety percent of the Gods-intimidating Strike''s power... Such power was unbearable.


    To put matters into perspective, he simply could not release ninety percent of the power. If he were to do so, this entire supreme world would have been cut in half!


    As a response to his attack, a faint sword intent flew out at an extremely fast pace. At the beginning, it did not seem to be shocking at all. In fact, after the sword intent had entered the endless golden and silvery mountain, it disappeared without a trace.


    Zen was looking as calm as the eye of the storm, but there was a hint of confusion on his face. What was going on?


    His strike did not seem to be too powerful if evaluated purely in terms of power.


    Could it be that he hadn''t completely comprehended the Gods-intimidating Strike?


    He had of course


    oud rumbling sound suddenly reverberated throughout the entire Illusion Space!


    This enormous golden and silvery mountain had been transformed from an eighth-grade divine texture and reinforced by sixty thousand auxiliary divine textures. It was modelled on the legendary Golden-silver Demon Mountain. Both its height and width were far beyond Zen''s imagination.


    If he were to climb up as fast as he could from the foot of the mountain, he would probably have to climb for a year or so to reach the peak. If the mountain was placed horizontally on the ground and if a ground to hold it existed, it might take up several great worlds...


    Since the Illusion Space was extremely spacious and endless, such a huge mountain could easily be formed by the divine textures and placed there. When Zen had entered this Illusion Space, he couldn''t see the peak or the bottom of the mountain because of its unimaginable size.


    The rumbling sounds that had started after Zen left continued for several hours.


    Zen had entered the Illusion Space around midnight, but the rumbling sounds had not stopped for a long time. They lasted all the way until the sun had risen in the morning.

 Chapter 1413 Crack (Part Two)

    The warriors of the Mist Palace were very diligent.


    To any cultivator, being given a chance to enter the Mist Palace was enough to make them proud among their entire generation.


    However, after these so called talented warriors from supreme worlds gathered there, they discovered that their past pride and power were nothing compared to what was on display in the Mist Palace.


    Early in the morning, a warrior named Gorman Gao, carrying his maple-leaf spear, entered the Sword Practicing Hall. He had once been the absolute pride of his family. Ever since he had become a warrior, he had been surrounded by envious gazes from all of his relatives.


    After successfully joining an eighth-grade sacred place, his remarkable ability had quickly attracted the attention of a tenth-grade sacred place. Then he was brought to that tenth-grade sacred place, and had even taken the lord of the sacred place as his master. Afterwards, his master had tried every means possible to succeed in sending him to the Mist Palace.


    Gorman Gao had thought that with his great talent, he would definitely be able to become one of the most powerful warriors in the Mist Palace. Yet his dreams had come crashing down on him.


    After arriving there, he had begun to feel self-abased and disappointed. He had once been proud of himself for activating a Lotus Flower with one lotus petal. It was a symbol of surpassing the heavens. But he saw that there were numerous warriors of the Mist Palace who could activate even more petals of the Lotus Flowers, and he was a nobody among them. He even didn''t have the qualifications to take part in Passing the Torch.


    However, a talent should not just be arrogant. After adjusting his attitude, Gorman Gao had fo


    ountain.


    But now, Gorman Gao was very astonished to discover an endless crack which stretched for countless thousands of miles. He had no idea what had happened in here.


    Thinking about this, he left the Illusion Space. He then walked to a corner of the Sword Practicing Hall. There was a tall curtain hanging at the corner of the hall.


    All attacks at the Golden-silver Demon Mountain were recorded on the curtain.


    Gorman Gao didn''t know the exact calculation method to calculate someone''s strength, but in theory, it should have been based on the reference base of an early-stage Illuminating Soul Realm warrior. Perhaps this measurement method wasn''t particularly accurate, but it could easily be used as a reference.


    With a single attack, Gorman Gao could achieve an effect three times as much as that of an early-stage Illuminating Soul Realm warrior. In other words, his one attack was equal to three times the strength of such a basic reference warrior.


    However, this kind of result was not a good one. In any case, he wanted to figure out just how powerful the attacking strength of the warrior who had left such a terrifying mark was.

 Chapter 1414 Lincoln Arrived

    The curtain in the Sword Practicing Hall displayed the rankings of warriors.


    If Gorman remembered correctly, the topmost record had been set by Javier, and it was 32 times stronger than a warrior at the Illuminating Soul Realm.


    Going purely by this, Javier''s strength should be more than ten times that of Gorman. However, there were many variables in a fight. Some cultivation methods were extremely powerful, but they might not be able to evoke particularly great power.


    Therefore, it was not certain that Javier was definitely ten times stronger than Gorman, but it was certain that Javier was much stronger than Gorman.


    When Gorman''s gaze fell on the screen, he was stunned.


    "Three hundred and seventy-nine times? This is impossible!"


    Gorman was dumbstruck for a while, unable to form a sentence.


    In terms of pure power, the number one on the screen was over a hundred times more powerful than him. This person was also more than ten times stronger than Javier, the number one disciple of the Swallow Cloud House.


    "This is impossible," he murmured again.


    A warrior who was capable of invoking such power was definitely not at the Soul Sea Realm. He would at least be a Spirit Supreme Realm warrior.


    This was the conclusion Gorman arrived at.


    However, the strongest disciple in the thirteen palaces was at the Soul Sea Realm. The Mist Palace would not enroll a disciple at the Spirit Supreme Realm.


    ''It should be a steward from the Mist Palace. Or maybe an executive, or the palace leader, or some vice palace leader, '' he thought.


    But this was a low possibility, as the Sword Practicing Hall was a cultivation place only used for sword practicing. Gorman had never seen an executive from the Mist Palace practice in here before.


    After all, if they were to practice in here, the records on the curtain screen wouldn''t be just a hundred times higher than the power of an Illuminating Soul Realm warrior, it would be tens or even hundreds of thousands of times higher. And the Illusion Space would not be able to bear their attacks.


    As the sky gradually brightened, more and more warriors entered the Sword Practicing Hall. Many warriors checked the rankings on the screen before entering the hall.


    For the disciples of the Mist Palace, this was a glorious place.


    "Three hundred and seventy-nine times? Who created this record?"


    "Am I dreaming?"


    "Could it be Zen?"


    Most of the warriors present didn''t have the qualifications to participate in Passing the Torch, but some of them guessed that it was Zen.


    After all, news of the competition in Passing the Torch had already spread throughout the Mist Palace. Even those warriors who didn''t have the qualifications to join Passing the Torch had heard about the show


    "These two are so lucky. I''m so envious of them."


    But they could do nothing. If they could achieve results like Zen and Layla, they, too, would be highly valued by the Spring Fragrance Pavilion and the Gauze Pavilion.


    After joining the Gauze Pavilion, each warrior was presented a Gauze Token. With this token, one could travel freely through the alliance''s supreme worlds. No one was allowed to intercept them. Moreover, as long as they were in the alliance''s territory, they would be able to obtain help by showing their Gauze Token.


    Traveling through the supreme worlds was not an easy task for many warriors. Traversing several supreme worlds often meant an expensive price¡ªthe toll for travelling within a supreme world as well as travelling between two supreme worlds was enough to consume the life savings of an ordinary warrior. Zen still had many things to do in the supreme worlds. If this token solved so many problems, he naturally would not refuse it.


    Sometime later, Lincoln, who had fought with Zen in Passing the Torch, finally arrived at the Mist Palace.


    He had rushed straight to the Mist Palace after he was freed.


    He had spent nearly two months reaching this place due to the unimaginably long distance between supreme worlds.


    After reuniting with Layla, Lincoln asked his sister whether Zen was still in the Mist Palace.


    This made her curious as to why her brother was so concerned about Zen''s whereabouts.


    In her eyes, Zen was nothing more than the defeated opponent of her brother.


    But Lincoln had told her that he was only able to obtain his freedom because Zen had let him win.


    Layla was surprised to hear this. She recalled Zen''s indifferent smile and finally understood everything. She was now completely convinced that he was stronger than her in every aspect, be it talent or strength.

 Chapter 1415 The Secret Treasures

    Zen was a bit surprised that Lincoln had taken the effort to come and visit him.


    The reason why he had decided to deliberately succumb to defeat before Lincoln was that he felt that Layla''s experiences were somewhat similar to his.


    However, the issues Zen was facing were even more troublesome. As of that moment, he didn''t have the slightest idea of Yan''s whereabouts. Although he had used the Roaring Token to shout throughout the entire universe, his efforts went in vain.


    Lincoln was also a straightforward person. After he''d arrived, he bowed quite low before Zen to express his sincere gratitude.


    It might have been a trivial matter as far as Zen was concerned, but for Lincoln, the meaning of gaining his freedom was extraordinary.


    Sometime ago, he had offended the son of a Supreme Lord and was exiled to the Villain World. Hence, his future prospects were practically ruined. A meagre lifespan of just 800 years was too short for warriors, but now having obtained freedom was an extensively fortunate thing for him.


    Layla, on the other hand, sat quietly by her brother''s side. Feelings originating inside her were naturally very complicated.


    From the moment she entered the Mist Palace, she had treated Zen as her opponent, and she had provoked him very frequently. However, he remained unmoved no matter what, and he had gone to great lengths to help her brother obtain his freedom.


    "This time, I''ve come here almost entirely for the sake of my sister. But I have another important matter to discuss with you!" Lincoln cupped his hands and said.


    "What is it?" Zen seemed to be faintly surprised. He was under the impression that Lincoln had arrived only to thank him.


    Lincoln''s eyes flashed, his face revealing a trace of vigilance. He extended his hand and took out a light yellow divine texture. After pouring his life vitality into it, an invisible enchanted barrier began to spread out, enveloping the three of them within it.


    Noticing that Lincoln was being overly cautious, Zen was intrigued. What exactly was so important that he needed to be this cautious?


    After that, Lincoln cupped his hands again and said, "If this was occurring some time ago, I wouldn''t have told anyone about this even if my life was at risk. But you are different. You are


    in the Dark World after half a year.


    Zen wouldn''t go back on his word.


    After the brother and sister left, Zen asked Lavender, "Lavender, what''s wrong with the secret treasures of the Dark World? Why did you wish my presence in this team?"


    Hearing his innocent question, Lavender gradually condensed in front of Zen. She smiled slightly before uttering, "The secret treasures of the Dark World were a legend from an hundred thousand years ago. However, as the person involved, I happen to know some of the secrets within. There are some things that are quite important to you."


    "I don''t know if this warrior named Lincoln really has a way to obtain the secret treasures, but it''s certainly worth a try."


    Hearing Lavender''s words, Zen silently nodded his head in approval.


    He couldn''t have stayed at the Mist Palace to cultivate forever. Furthermore, he had promised Lavender that he would help her return to the throne.


    Half a year''s time was simply too short for the warriors of the Upper World. In order to travel through the supreme worlds, one had to travel for months, and after a simple preparation, Zen bid farewell to Yolande. Yolande was not at all astonished by Zen''s abrupt departure. Even the warriors of the thirteenth palaces would look for an opportunity to go out and train, not to mention the fact that she had promised Zen that she would not give him much restraint from the very beginning.


    Without further delay, Zen quietly left the Mist Palace and barged into the supreme world channel.

 Chapter 1416 Resources

    Zen left on a Heavenly Phoenix Horse.


    This legendary beast that was used for travelling was considered rare even in the Upper World. Naturally, it was gifted to Zen by Yolande in honor of all Zen''s accomplishments.


    After he had left, Yolande turned around and returned to the depths of her palace.


    On a flight of stairs deep within the hall, there was an obscure and complex divine texture carved into it. As Yolande stepped onto the stairs and activated the divine texture, a black figure began to emerge from the air around her.


    "Father," she called out.


    Yolande''s father was Supreme Lord Healum, one of the three great heads of the alliance.


    Supreme Lords were the most supreme entities in the entire universe. Even Yolande would not disturb her father easily, unless she had an important matter to discuss with him. Theirs was a formal, but familial bond.


    Supreme Lord Healum had an indifferent expression. Even when he was facing his own daughter, his tone of voice didn''t contain the least bit of emotion. He was consumed by his status, and had left the more mundane emotions, such as love, behind. "Has that brat left?" he asked.


    Yolande nodded absently.


    "I will do everything I can to help you with your plan. However, there are no secrets under the heavens. If you can think of something, then they can think of it as well," said Supreme Lord Healum in warning.


    Yolande smiled sweetly. "Of course, I know that. There are a lot of people who know that Zen is a man without destiny. So what? What can they do about it? The fate of a man without destiny cannot be deduced or determined. It is a path that no one can estimate. I am only being very careful in pushing Zen from behind. Who can say for sure about what will happen in the future?"


    "That''s true. The most difficult thing for a schemer is to jump out of a rut. Yolande, you''re not good at scheming, but this time you are doing great," Supreme Lord Healum complimented, though his tone remained indifferent.


    "Thank you, Father, for your appreciation," Yolande smiled sweetly despite the customary cold shoulder which he gave her.


    "However, you still have to be careful. Zen''s luck is truly rare, and the things he is trying to accomplish are not trivial. For example, he wants to help the Demon Night''s Queen of Killings regain her throne. That will be extremely difficult. If he were to die on that mission, it would be a pity and a waste."


    "Yes, Father. I understand."


    Her father had always spoken very little. A Supreme Lord was at the stage where they could sever all emotions and attempt to obtain a trace of divinity. He had almost ceased to be human now.


    Because of that, her father had never revealed any emotions since she was born. He was still as cold as ever today, but Yolande was very happy to hear him say so much to her, and he even showed a minuscule trace of concern.


    Ever since she had reported Zen''s news to her father, Healum had shown much interest in Zen. This was the first time she''d received her father''s praise since she''d become a martial artist. Though she had told herself that she didn''t need his approval, the validation was nice.


    Traveling on a legendary beast through the passages of the supreme world


    limits.


    When he thought about it later, he found it had indeed been a very laughable thing to do.


    The universe was simply too vast. One supreme world was already far beyond their imagination in size. In the Lower World, the most powerful message rune could travel around thirty thousand miles; and though the quality of the message rune that Freya had exchanged with Zen was even higher, it could only reach sixty thousand miles.


    Sixty thousand miles in the great world was enough to cover a continent, and could even transmit their voices between two continents.


    But in the Upper World, this distance would seem ridiculously short. Even when Zen was in the Enchanted Barrier Tower during Passing the Torch, he had withstood the Law Storm and had rushed over a distance of thirty thousand miles.


    Since this message rune was ringing in his ears, it meant that the distance between him and Freya was within sixty thousand miles. In a supreme world, this distance was very short, almost equal to the distance from his home to the market.


    Zen wasn''t overly familiar with Freya. Back then, in order to leave the mines, the two of them had a mutually beneficial use of each other. It had been because of Zen that she was able to leave the mines earlier. Of course, what happened afterwards proved that even if Zen did not mine, there would in any case be people who would take him away.


    ''Freya is in trouble?''


    Zen didn''t know when she had burnt her message rune. Perhaps it was several months ago, and that message rune had still been reverberating here. There was no way to tell.


    She had told Zen that one of her uncles held the position of city lord in the Spiritual Force Sacred Place. Zen supposed that, given her status, she would be treated better than ordinary warriors who had ascended.


    A hint of hesitation appeared on Zen''s face, but he still lightly patted the Heavenly Phoenix Horse''s neck. Following Yolande''s instructions on riding the magnificent beast, he stopped the Heavenly Phoenix Horse, and turned around to leave the passageway. Zen would never leave a friend in need, and he wanted to find out what trouble Freya was in.

 Chapter 1417 Imprisonment (Part One)

    Zen dashed forward with the Heavenly Phoenix Horse as his mount.


    Only a month had passed since he had made the appointment with Lincoln, and five more months were there for Zen to do whatever he wanted.


    He had met Freya through a chance encounter but she had helped him to collect life vitality jades in the mines.


    He wondered what kind of trouble she got into after they went their separate ways.


    Pondering this, he spurred the horse onward and left the trans-border channel. The soldiers guarding the passage sized up his horse and were immediately respectful towards him.


    Normally, it cost travelers a large amount of life vitality jade to use this passage, so Zen was about to pull out his Gauze Token, which would give him a free pass, but to his surprise, the soldiers permitted him through without asking for the toll.


    These soldiers were obviously smart. They knew that a warrior using a legendary beast as his mount was not someone they could afford to offend. If this distinguished visitor on the Heavenly Phoenix Horse had a bad temper, they would regret inconveniencing him. Therefore, no one dared to keep Zen even for a second.


    After Zen left the trans-border channel and entered the common teleportation channel, the soldiers stared after him and began to discuss in low voices.


    "Oh my god! It''s a Heavenly Phoenix Horse! Such a rare thing in a remote supreme world like ours!"


    "I bet that even the Saint Lord of our Spiritual Force Sacred Place doesn''t have the ways and means of getting this horse. Who''s this talented young man?"


    "Could he be the son of a world lord? He must be! There''s no other explanation. But it''s strange that he has no arrogance of a rich man. Instead, he seems like an easy-going man..."


    They didn''t know that six months ago, Zen had just ascended


    ch cities.


    After arriving at the Bright Sky City, Zen ordered his Heavenly Phoenix Horse to descend to the ground. There was a no-fly ban in the city, so it was not a good idea for him to ride his flying horse into the city.


    After he landed, he took out the spirit beast bag, wanting to drive the Heavenly Phoenix Horse into it.


    The space inside the spirit beast bag was quite large, but to Zen''s surprise, the Heavenly Phoenix Horse seemed to be rather resistant to the spirit beast bag. It raised its forelegs and kept retreating, refusing to enter the spirit beast bag.


    "What''s wrong?"


    The horse had been very docile the whole way. So Zen was perplexed by the beast''s reaction. He couldn''t understand why it resisted the spirit beast bag.


    "Could it be because of the Ancestral Dragon?" Lavender asked.


    The Ancestral Dragon was a very special creature after all. Despite its submissiveness to Zen, its overwhelming aura couldn''t be ignored. The Heavenly Phoenix Horse was also a legendary beast, but it had an instinctive fear of the Ancestral Dragon, so Zen had no choice but to lead the horse into the city.


    On the way, he continued communicating with Freya through the message rune.

 Chapter 1418 Imprisonment (Part Two)

    Although she told Zen that she was in great trouble, she was equivocal about it and wouldn''t divulge much information about the nature of her problem.


    He had no choice but to keep following her directions. He arrived at the appointed place and saw a residence with a pretty good environment. To his astonishment, there were four Soul Sea Realm warriors guarding the residence. He also sensed several divine textures around the house, as well as the presence of hidden auras of powerful warriors inside the building.


    Seeing this scene, Zen immediately understood what was going on. Freya was imprisoned here by someone!


    "What are you doing here?" yelled one of the guarding warriors when he noticed Zen.


    Admittedly, these warriors were not as smart as the soldiers guarding the trans-border channel. The soldiers guarding the trans-border channel had seen many warriors from different places every day. Thanks to their occupation, they had a clear understanding of mounts, which was why they were able to recognize the Heavenly Phoenix Horse at a single glance.


    These warriors were under the city lord''s order to guard this place. Although they sensed that Zen''s horse was not an ordinary beast, they weren''t afraid of offending him.


    Zen frowned at their bad attitude. He raised an eyebrow and answered honestly, "I''m looking for Freya."


    The warriors exchanged glances with each other. They knew that Freya had just ascended from the Lower World not long ago. They couldn''t figure out how Zen knew her.


    "We don''t know anyone by this name. Now get out of here!" The same warrior replied impatiently.


    But Zen pointed towards the residence and said, "I know she''s inside the building. She just sent me a message using her life vitality."


    Since Zen had exposed their lies, the warriors had to gi


    ed that their experiences in the Upper World would be so different.


    In a last-ditch attempt, she had asked Zen for help through the message rune even though she knew that with his current strength, it was almost impossible for him to save her.


    Her uncle was the city lord and his cultivation base was at the late stage of the Spirit Supreme Realm, while Zen was just an ordinary warrior who had ascended from the Lower World.


    Zen smiled faintly at her and said, "No wonder you asked me for help. I didn''t expect your uncle to imprison you!"


    "I used the message rune because I didn''t have any other choice. But you should leave, Zen. I don''t want to get you into trouble," Freya said, shaking her head. She calmed down a little after she saw Zen, and resigned to her ugly fate. Finding her uncle had been her own choice, while Zen was just a friend who she met in the mines. There was no reason for him to risk everything and save her.


    Besides, even if Zen wanted to save her, he probably wouldn''t be able to do so.


    But to her surprise, he extended his hand towards her and said firmly, "Come with me. It''s all right."


    Hearing his words, the guarding warriors'' faces immediately darkened.

 Chapter 1419 The City Lord

    No one dared cause trouble here.


    While Bright Sky City was insignificant in the Upper World, it still had the support of the Spiritual Force Sacred Place.


    Not even someone like Zen, nor the other martial artists at the Spirit Supreme Realm, nor those at levels even higher than the Spirit Supreme Realm would ever dare to stir up anything risky.


    If they offended Bright Sky City, they would, in turn, offend the thirty-six halls, and then the Spiritual Force Sacred Place¡ªthe Saint Lord of the sacred place was much stronger than a world lord.


    The martial artists showed mercy to Zen. To begin with, Zen''s bearing was already extraordinary, and his horse in tow was nowhere near ordinary. Anyone would assume that he had a special background.


    But at that moment, Zen had completely ignored their warnings¡ªhe was determined to take Freya away. Some would have called it wishful thinking.


    "What do I mean? Don''t you understand?" Zen replied with a smile. Then, he turned to Freya. "Let''s go."


    His frankness stunned her for a moment¡ªshe was moved by Zen''s utter willingness to come and see her in spite of everything he had to endure.


    But even though he had broken through to the Soul Sea Realm, taking her away was basically impossible. They couldn''t afford to offend the city they were in.


    "Zen, you have to go. I¡­ I can''t leave." Freya shook her head in defeat. In that moment, she regretted burning up the message rune to ask him for help. There was never any hope, in the first place, but because Zen was the only one she met after ascending into the Upper World, burning the message rune for him seemed like the only thing to do. Anything was better than nothing, after all.


    The chance of him receiving the message was incredibly slim, yet he got it anyway after leaving the mine. But what for?


    The four martial artists had already made their moves, surrounding Zen from all directions. Their compelling eyes were fixed on him, silently willing him into submission. The leader of the group had a particularly icy glint in his glare. A bright silver short sword was in his grasp, a kind of black light revolving around it. "I''ve already given you a chance to back down. Now, I won''t let you escape!"


    The second he finished speaking, he moved in to attack Zen.


    These martial artists were no pushovers. It was clear that they thought highly of Zen. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have waited so patiently. They were under the impression that Zen just didn''t know what was good for him¡ªhe must''ve had a death wish if he wanted to take Freya away in those circumstances.


    Four martial


    the horse''s neck, it raised its hooves before shooting toward the sky as if it could run on the clouds.


    At first, it didn''t feel particularly fast. But in only nine seconds, it was already in the sky. When it arrived the height of ten thousand feet, a huge net suddenly appeared in the sky to stop Zen in his path.


    The strange net seemed to cover the city''s entire sky.


    "It''s a no-fly ban," Freya reminded him.


    When he saw the restriction, Zen''s expression didn''t shift in the slightest. As he brandished his sword once again, the sword''s light rippled like billowing waves.


    Clang! Clang! Clang!


    When Zen''s sword hit the net, crisp sounds resounded from the impact. But the slashes did nothing for the restriction. Zen was puzzled.


    As he wondered why nothing was working, a burst of vigorous and powerful laughter suddenly resounded from afar.


    "Haha! Well well, this is a first. How dare you cause trouble in the city?" From not very far away, ten beams of light flew over. The leader, wrapped in a blood-red light, wore a robe just as red. His eyes seemed to emit some kind of uniquely fierce aura as if he had just practiced some extremely powerful, evil technique.


    Seeing that person fly over, Freya''s expression shifted drastically behind Zen. "Uncle¡­"


    Hearing her voice, Zen began sizing up the group''s leader, his expression turning deadly-calm. "A Spirit Supreme Realm powerhouse. Is he your uncle?"


    "Yes." Frey nodded. "He''s also the lord of Bright Sky City."


    As she spoke, the martial artist wearing a blood-red robe arrived. He glanced at Zen indifferently before his gaze landed on the Heavenly Phoenix Horse. He became stunned for a moment, a trace of greed appearing on his face right after.

 Chapter 1420 What Price

    The warrior''s blood colored robes flapped with the wind. Naturally, he could tell that the horse Zen rode was no ordinary one.


    The animal puzzled him at first glance, but once he sensed that the horse had the bloodline of a legendary beast, he was certain that this youth was riding the famous and precious Heavenly Phoenix Horse!


    It was known that martial artists couldn''t travel fast enough across a supreme world if they only relied on their physical bodies to fly.


    It would still take a long time even for warriors of the Spirit Supreme Realm to travel across a supreme world through a space tunnel.


    There were a few ways to move through supreme worlds: by mastering the skill of spatial transference, by using top-rank treasures to fly, or by riding a legendary beast.


    For example, the Azure Smoke Bird and the Heavenly Phoenix Horse which Zen rode were legendary beasts which were of great help for warriors'' travels.


    However, it was extremely difficult to capture a legendary beast; and even harder to suppress and tame one.


    The warrior''s brows furrowed. The Heavenly Phoenix Horse the young man rode had actually been tamed...


    He clearly knew what a tamed Heavenly Phoenix Horse meant. It was likely something that even the Saint Lord of the Spiritual Force Sacred Place was keen to possess.


    If the warrior could get the Heavenly Phoenix Horse, he wouldn''t use it for himself. It wasn''t something someone of his level could own--but if he offered this legendary beast to someone with a higher rank, he would greatly benefit from it.


    As the warrior thought of it, the greed in his heart continuously entangled him like dark, black vines.


    However, the warrior was not a fool. It was impossible to capture such a creature in the wild. Even if they were strong enough to capture one, there was no way for them to tame it.


    He glanced at the young man once again. Since he possessed a domesticated Heavenly Phoenix Horse, he must''ve come from a powerful background.


    It was this very reason the warrior didn''t choose to fight Zen directly and take his Heavenly Phoenix Horse away. Instead, his face softened as he said, "Freya, as your uncle, I have treated you well. Why did you run away like this?"


    Ever since Freya had chosen to escape with Zen, she knew that there was no turning back. "Uncle Julian, I''ve traveled far to reach here after I ascended to the Upper World, hoping to have your help in securing a better future for me. Alas, you will just make me a human cauldron, and sacrifice me to help someone in his cultivation. How could I willingly become someone else''s human cauldron?" she said coldly.


    In turn, the warrior in blood red robes forced a smile. "Freya, you might have misunderstood me. I have strived hard in the Upper World. I can tell you from my experience that it is muc


    rful Zen was, he probably couldn''t beat her uncle.


    The warrior in blood red robes gazed at Zen for a while then said, "Interesting... But your strength isn''t enough..."


    After that, a violent and malicious aura shot out from the warrior and spread out like a tide. The weaker martial artists and the many mortals in the entire Bright Sky City all trembled in fear under the pressure. The majority of them didn''t even dare raise their heads.


    Meanwhile, the Life and Death Realm and Soul Sea Realm warriors watched the battle in the sky from a corner of the city.


    "The lord of the Bright Sky City actually came down personally to fight!"


    "Why does his opponent seem to be a kid who has just entered the Soul Sea Realm?"


    "Don''t underestimate that young man. He has instantly defeated six warriors at the late stage of the Soul Sea Realm! Is he a core talent from a sacred place?"


    In the battle, a mass of constantly boiling blood rose up from the warrior''s hands. It swirled continuously until it gradually formed into a blood red long spear.


    He waved the blood red spear for a bit, then pointed it at Zen. "You''ll soon know the price you have to pay!" he declared.


    Zen''s face hardened at that moment, and he didn''t say another word. This was his first time to face a Spirit Supreme Realm master. As he lightly swung the Thunder Wind Divine Sword, a ray of lighting and a wind blade crossed paths with each other. On the other hand, Nether God Shadows rushed towards the warrior in blood red robes from different directions.


    "Come on!" the warrior in red shouted.


    The blood red spear quickly shot out several times. Each strike had successfully hit Zen''s Nether God Shadows and shattered them!


    But he wasn''t finished. After he broke Zen''s Nether God Shadows, his long spear charged straight towards Zen, like a cyan dragon that dove into the depths of the sea.

 Chapter 1421 The Shocking Sword Strike

    In the eyes of the warrior dressed in the blood-red robe, Zen had just overestimated his own strength, and it would be reckless for Zen to attack him.


    However, in Zen''s opinion, it was a chance for him to test his strength.


    The Spirit Supreme Realm warrior''s strength was much higher than any Soul Sea Realm warrior''s. When Zen had been in the Lower World, the strength displayed by the seven Spirit Supreme Realm warriors of the Celestial Position had surprised him, making him marvel at their power. However, although the warrior in the blood robe was also at the Spirit Supreme Realm, he was only the lord of a city in the Spiritual Force Sacred Place. His strength might not be on par with the seven warriors of the Celestial Position. Either way, Zen was curious to find out.


    When he saw his Nether God Shadows being instantly shattered, Zen rapidly retreated, ignoring the no-fly ban on the sky!


    ''The strength of a Spirit Supreme Realm warrior is indeed more powerful than I have imagined. This man is merely the lord of a city, and his talent might not be so outstanding. However, the power of that blood spear is beyond my expectations, '' Zen marveled.


    Zen was constantly pondering this information in his mind. Facing the thrust of the blood-red long spear, Zen gently waved his long sword, causing wind blades and lightning to once again shoot towards the warrior in the blood robe. This attack proved ineffective though. The blood-red spear was very strange. In an instant, it turned into many blood flowers, which mixed with the Law Power, instantly melting the wind blades and lightning.


    "It''s no use, Brat. Among warriors of the Soul Sea Realm, you are indeed very remarkable, possessing a formidable strength; however, your comprehension of the Law Power is still not developed enough..." After he finished speaking, the warrior dressed in the blood robe raised his blood-red spear once more. In an instant, the no-fly ban on the entire Bright Sky City seemed to cooperate with him!


    The black net, which had been filled with streams of blood aura at the beginning, started to turn into a dark red net. Under this large net, tiny blood threads extended out and continuously interweaved, forming a huge blood net cage that locked around Zen and the warrior dressed in the blood robe.


    Freya quietly sat on the Heavenly Phoenix Horse with a nervous expression on her face. Fighting against the warrior in the blood robe earlier, Zen had been forced to keep on retreating. Now he had become trapped in the large cage, there was nowhere for him to retreat anymore! He was trapped!


    "It''s over... You and Freya ascended to the Upper World at the same time, but I do not know how you managed to obtain a first-rank divine weapon and that Heavenly Phoenix Horse in the short span of a single year. However, that is no longer important, because everything that you possess will now be mine!"


    In the cage, the greedy look upon the face of the warrior in the blood robe gradually became more and more intense. He no longer hid anything from Zen and leered at him with a terrible rage.


    Zen merely glance


    Place controlled a thousand cities. In the eyes of the lord of Bright Sky City, those masters were very mighty and powerful, and were extremely important figures within the Spiritual Force Sacred Place. After the blood man completely absorbed the blood in the pool, he rushed out of the chamber, still dripping crimson splashes on the cobbled floor.


    The power that had erupted from Zen''s sword strike was too strong. It had easily pierced through the physical body of the warrior in the blood robe, and had also easily destroyed the no-fly ban. The sword intent had stretched out across an extreme distance, spanning tens of thousands of miles. Only then had the sword force that Zen had gathered finally dissipated.


    Even after dissipating, the power of that sword momentum was still felt by a great many warriors.


    Many powerful warriors within a radius of over one hundred thousand miles all felt the formidable sword power at the same time. The lords of more than one hundred cities came forth out of their residences and raised their heads to look at the echoes of the sword strike that was coming from the west. Their faces were all serious and ireful.


    Under normal circumstances, the Spiritual Force Sacred Place did not experience any large conflicts. After all, ordinary warriors did not dare to fight within the Spiritual Force Sacred Place. However, who were the warriors that had been fighting just now? And only a powerful Spirit Supreme Realm warrior, who used all of his strength, would have been able to unleash such power....


    Many of the city lords felt the remnant power of the sword attack and rushed towards Bright Sky City. The first to arrive at the city was a hall master of the Spiritual Force Sacred Place.


    This master''s surname was Shen, and he could have been considered an acquaintance of Zen. When Zen had left the mine in the past, it was Master Shen and Master He who had led him to the Holy City. There was a history between him and Zen.


    He had just hastened over when he saw a bloody figure emitting a bloody light rushing towards him.

 Chapter 1422 Jevan Shen (Part One)

    The sudden burst of power in the sword attack which Zen unleashed indeed alarmed Jevan Shen.


    Jevan didn''t think the sword strike was that powerful at first. In fact, because there was a considerable distance between them, he had yet to witness the full power of Zen''s sword strike with his own eyes.


    But, he did detect a very unique intention from the aura emitted by the sword.


    That was also why he had come looking for them. He even searched and went all the way to the Bright Sky City for the source of the sword strike.


    By the time he arrived at the Bright Sky City, he saw a mist of blood shaping in the form of a human rushing towards him.


    Jevan glanced over indifferently with his brows knitted, "Julian? What''s wrong? What made you like this?"


    Jevan was in charge of over a thousand cities, and only thirty of them were under the control of the warriors who had ascended from the Lower World. Julian was one of the city lords whom Jevan happened to know well.


    "S...sir... My body was destroyed by a brat. He has turned me into this, a blood shadow of my own self!" The lord of the Bright Sky City informed Jevan in a dejected tone. Suddenly, a gleam of hope flickered in his eyes, "But sir, that punk had a piece of treasure in his possession. I guess he hasn''t left the Bright Sky City yet."


    "Oh?" A strange look took over Jevan''s face. ''How could someone in possession of a treasure dare to seek trouble in the Spiritual Force Sacred Place?'' The recklessness confused Jevan.


    "Sir, I will take you there right away!" offered Julian hastily. Without further ado, Julian led the way with Jevan followed him closely. Since Julian''s physical body was destroyed, it was impossible for him to covet Zen''s Heavenly Phoenix Horse or the first-rank divine weapon anymore. However, if he were to help Jevan attain these treasures, he might benefit more from him later.


    At the same time across the city, Freya was on the Heavenly Phoenix Horse with Zen. She was gazing at Zen with admiration. During this short period of time, he had slain the lord of the Bright Sky City, be


    s a trustworthy partner to her now. So she lightly tilted his body and tried to hide behind him without giving it much thought.


    Zen scanned the two men standing in front of them. To everyone''s surprise, a faint smile appeared on his face. He seemed to have sensed Freya''s nervousness, so he moved toward Freya and tried to comfort her with a soothing voice, "It''s all right; he seems to be one of my acquaintances."


    Following the ''blood mist lord'' of the Bright Sky City, Jevan rushed to the west side of the city. Before he arrived there, he was quite confused about Julian''s description of the intruder. But, when he reached and finally saw Zen with his own eyes, the questions in his mind vanished. Standing in front of Zen, Jevan raised his eyebrows and looked him up and down.


    There was no big change in Zen''s appearance, apparently. After breaking through to the Soul Sea Realm, Zen''s cultivation base had advanced by leaps and bounds. It seemed to Jevan that his temperament had become even more powerful. This made him somewhat suspicious for a moment.


    ''Zen should have been taken away by the palace leader of the Mist Palace. He shouldn''t be here! Even if he did escape the Mist Palace, why on earth is he here at the Spiritual Force Sacred Place all by himself?'' Jevan thought to himself. In fact, for a moment, he wasn''t sure whether the young man next to him was Zen or not!

 Chapter 1423 Jevan Shen (Part Two)

    "Sir, this is the kid I was telling you about. He has a first-rank divine weapon and the Heavenly Phoenix Horse as his mount." Julian told Jevan in a low voice, "And the woman beside him is the woman I was going to send to you. She will be the best human cauldron ever for cultivation."


    Upon hearing her uncle''s words, Freya was both sad and angry. Her uncle wanted her to be the human cauldron for someone who had power over him! It seemed that the man that her uncle was talking about was this very person standing right in front of her. Suddenly, she felt awful about going to her uncle when she got into the Upper World. She never dreamed that her own uncle would be such a despicable person who even tried to get his hand on his own niece!


    Averting her gaze from her sinister uncle, Freya turned her eyes on the other man accompanying him. This person''s cultivation base was much higher than her uncle''s. She wondered if Zen was strong enough to deal with him. Although Zen''s performance was astounding in Freya''s opinion, no matter how talented he was, there was still a limit of his capability. ''Defeating his uncle whose cultivation is a whole realm higher than his was already a miracle. How could he possibly defeat this person who might be two or more levels above him?'' This thought instantly worried Freya.


    The stranger sized up Zen for a few times and a modest smile appeared on his face. He waved at Zen and spoke to him in a very friendly tone, "Zen, it''s good to see you again so soon."


    Upon seeing Jevan, Zen nodded slightly and replied, "Master Shen, good to see you, too."


    Both Freya and Julian were shocked at this friendly exchange. Both of them just stood there, dumbfounded as they had assumed that these two were enemies. However, shortly after, a smile eventually appeared on Freya''s face. She assumed that this man was nothing like her own uncle.


    Even if Julian was in the form of blood mist, Zen could still see the unease on his face, quite contrary to his niece.


    ''This can''t be real! Master Sh


    proper management that caused my man to make such a big mistake. I sincerely apologize for that." After he finished groveling, he glanced at Julian who was standing beside him and continued deliberately, "I know now that this subordinate of mine is extremely vicious. If he was going to treat his own relative in such horrible way, then he has decided his own destiny, which is to be expelled from the position of city lord. I hope this decision will ease the tension of your beautiful female friend."


    Now, if Julian''s face was in its true form, it must''ve turned pale like a blank piece of paper. He was deeply terrified that his horrible premonition had come true!


    Without a second thought, Julian turned around all of a sudden and ran like he was being chased by the devil. As a human-shaped blood mist, he was able to run at a greater speed. In a split second, he had put fifty feet between them.


    Jevan sneered and pointed his finger at Julian, as though anticipating this outcome. Almost immediately, Julian let out a blood-curdling scream. At the same time, he collapsed and turned into several streams of blood froth. Then, the blood froth changed its shape repeatedly as if it was being compressed by an invisible hand. Gradually, Julian was kneaded by the compressing air, and shrank into a small piece of blood vigor, as light as a feather.

 Chapter 1424 The Feast

    To be able to gain the position of a hall leader in a tenth-grade sacred place, Master Shen was definitely a clever man.


    He was indeed acutely aware of what it meant for Yolande, the leader of the Mist Palace, to turn up unexpectedly and take Zen away personally.


    Though he fell short in terms of the ability to carry out an investigation and deduce the secrets within, he didn''t need to know that.


    It was more than enough for him to be enlightened that the one who took Zen away was the leader of the Mist Palace and also the daughter of a Supreme Lord. When she had come here, the lord of the Spirit Reading World had personally welcomed her. The thirty-six hall leaders didn''t even have the chance to meet her.


    From the very beginning, Master Shen had considered that Zen might have a solid base and strong background within the sacred place. It was also because of the Saint Lord''s orders that they had brought him to the Holy City.


    However, little did he expect that Yolande would come to this supreme world and take Zen to the Mist Palace herself.


    Such a background truly made Master Shen afraid for a while. They even cautiously recalled whether they had taken good care of Zen on their way to the Holy City.


    And now, Zen had currently returned to the Spiritual Force Sacred Place.


    Undoubtedly, that was a journey across over a thousand supreme worlds! Even if it was Master Shen himself, crossing over the same distance was still an exceedingly difficult task. He would probably have to spend all of his wealth and endless time.


    Zen had left for the Mist Palace, which was over a thousand supreme worlds away, and just briefly returned.


    Even Zen hadn''t realized that this was a magnificent feat in many warriors'' eyes. At the very least, there weren''t many Soul Sea Realm warriors who could cross over so many supreme worlds. Only the top talents of supreme worlds had the resources and ability to do so.


    Master Shen then discreetly swept his gaze over the place and immediately recognized the Heavenly Phoenix Horse behind Zen. Although he was unable to determine the origin of the sword in Zen''s hand, spotting a first-rank divine weapon based on his experience was easy as falling off a log. Likewise, the strong aura of the Law Power, being faintly transmitted from the sword, was too outstanding among the first-rank divine weapons for him not to notice.


    If it was merely an ordinary warrior leading a Heavenly Phoenix Horse and holding a first-rank divine weapon instead of Zen, Master Shen might seriously scheme to kill him and seize his treasures away. After all, obtaining these extraordinary things in this life would be rather difficult for him. Be that as it might, he didn''t have the guts to act rashly and assault Zen.


    Not only did he not dare to behave recklessly, he even raised his hand and destroyed Julian''s blood essence. Then he refined it into a piece of blood essence spirit.


    Soon after, he found himself apologetical


    down everything as if it was her only meal.


    With the way Freya devoured her dish, none of the numerous maids at the Soul Sea Realm in the hall dared to laugh at her. They didn''t even have the nerve to look at her with a hint of despise in their eyes.


    Zen and Freya were both at the early stage of the Soul Sea Realm. Their cultivation level was even lower than that of the dancing and singing ladies in the hall. However, the two of them were their leader''s distinguished guests. Under these circumstances, who would be bold enough to show the slightest bit of contempt? Otherwise, they would be courting death.


    As for Zen, he didn''t gobble his food as Freya did. After gaining admission at the thirteen palaces, he now understood that from the time when he was a warrior at the Soul Sea Realm, every step he advanced would not only depend on his talent but would also consume a large number of resources.


    What was placed before him at the feast was not the resources he deemed to consider as vital. Even the several tenth-grade sacred places would fall short in supplying the resources he needed.


    "Zen, you had gone to the thirteen palaces earlier, but why did you decide to come to our supreme world this time?" Master Shen started to probe curiously. "If I remember correctly, the distance between the Mist Palace and the Spirit Reading World is one thousand three hundred and twenty supreme worlds."


    Zen had already guessed that Master Shen would not let him off easily with this question. With a faint smile, he responded, "I can''t possibly stay in the Mist Palace forever to cultivate. Even the warriors in the palace would have to go out to train. I just have an appointment with a friend in the Dark World."


    He felt that there was no need to hide his whereabouts, so he did not conceal anything.


    Freya, who was sitting beside him, was quite stunned as her eyelashes trembled. What did it mean that he had traveled across more than a thousand supreme worlds?

 Chapter 1425 Let Me Serve You

    All that Freya had known about the supreme worlds was from hearsays and stories. The Upper World had always been described as a place so immense that one could only imagine its vastness.


    A normal warrior at the Soul Sea Realm would have to expend all his life earnings in order to use a space channel that linked supreme worlds.


    Even Simply traversing across the Spiritual Force Sacred Place would take a considerable amount of time.


    And yet here was Zen, a warrior who had travelled to a place which was more than a thousand worlds away. Furthermore, he came back! It was truly an incredible feat.


    Freya had no knowledge of the thirteen palaces that Master Shen had spoken of, but she seemed to have understood Zen''s history bit by bit. He was an extraordinary warrior. What could be his reason for appearing in an Ascending Well? He had even mined with her.


    The contradictions were tangled threads that she failed to unravel.


    Zen had spoken freely, but Master Shen did not probe into his true intentions of this trip.


    At some point in their conversation, Master Shen steered into another direction. Turning to Freya, he asked, "Young lady, you are Julian''s niece and had also ascended to our Spiritual Force Sacred Place. I wonder what your plans for the future are."


    Master Shen was a clever man. He could see that Freya and Zen got along quite well, but he had gleaned from his earlier conversation with Zen that he was simply passing by, and by chance had saved this woman. It was likely that Zen would not bring Freya along as he headed to the Dark World. Master Shen''s question spoke of another implication¡ªknowing that Freya would not be travelling with Zen for long, he would be offering her a position in the sacred place.


    A faint smile crossed Zen''s lips for a moment. Master Shen was indeed a person of wisdom. He remained silent as the older man waited for Freya''s answer. Zen and Freya were acquaintances at best, and they had yet to be closer to consider each other friends.


    The question made Freya turn nervous. "I...I don''t know..." she stammered.


    Her thoughts swirled wildly in her head as she considered the question.


    She had gone to her own uncle, but he had offered her nothing but disappointment. He offered her no assistance, and had even wanted to send her off to another man as a gift. Now that her uncle was dead, she had no direction. No clear answer came to her even as she pondered over the question.


    Master Shen''s next words came as a surprise. "If you would like, I can help you enter the Myriad Spiritual Force House of our Spiritual Force Sacred Place. It would give you a chance to hold the position of a city lord in the future. I can keep your uncle''s position for you. What do you think?" he said with a smile.


    ''The Myriad Spiritual Force House? A city lord?''


    Freya''s thoughts were all in a muddle. There had


    diligently, not even sparing a moment to rest.


    Apart from cultivation, he was also still reflecting on the Gods-intimidating Strike that he had just comprehended.


    The most profound aspect of the technique was still beyond him. Perhaps he would never be able to unleash that sword strike unless he abandoned all emotions.


    It was a task that demanded much, but Supreme Lord Sword had perfectly executed it.


    It was not that Zen overestimated himself and compared himself to a Supreme Lord.


    It was just that he already had a rough notion of the Gods-intimidating Strike''s secret.


    In the legends of the Upper World, it was said that one could become a True God after abandoning his emotions.


    The very few Supreme Lords who were able to jump out of the heavens were the ones that could successfully sever ties to their mortal nature and lay claim to a True God''s character. Only then would they have the qualifications to become True Gods.


    Abandoning all of one''s emotions was a feat that troubled even Supreme Lords.


    Like those who were cursing at each other with the Roaring Tokens, all of them possessed violent tempers, and this anger was the most difficult to subdue.


    Despite their unbelievable strength, this was the task of a lifetime.


    Even Supreme Lord Sword had yet to become a True God.


    However, the power of his sword strike would be enough to face a True God. Legend had it that he had once injured one. There was only one explanation for this. His Gods-intimidating Strike had been executed in a completely emotionless state, but he was still unable to completely relinquish his emotions. Had he done so, he would have long since become a True God.


    Supreme Lord Sword must have used some other method as replacement, or perhaps he had found a way to reach a state when he was free of emotions. Zen pondered for a long time, thinking of what method Supreme Lord Sword had used.

 Chapter 1426 Secret Sect

    For the past few days, Zen had been in deep thought.


    He didn''t know much about Supreme Lord Sword, other than he was the owner of the Killing Sword Mountain.


    When Zen was still a nature creature, he had once stepped into the Killing Sword Mountain after comprehending the consummate sword intent. Now, he finally realized that the sword stabbed into the summit of the Killing Sword Mountain might belong to Supreme Lord Sword, and that it was also the white sword shadow in front of the huge stone.


    Zen wondered if one had to use the sword of Supreme Lord Sword to perform the Gods-intimidating Strike.


    Zen immediately rejected this thought. The Gods-intimidating Strike required a type of comprehension that matched that of a divinity. And those who could not display the strike perfectly were probably not in their right state of mind.


    If a warrior had completely comprehended the sword strike, then he would be able to unleash a terrifying power even if holding a blade made of grass in his hand. It was true that the two-foot sword of Supreme Lord Sword was a powerful treasure but, in the end, it could only be used to help a warrior perform the Gods-intimidating Strike better.


    Zen couldn''t stop thinking about these things. As for Freya, she had already packed up her stuff and planned to set off on their journey.


    "Right now, we are in the Spiritual Force Sacred Place," Freya said as she poured her life vitality into a jade slip. In an instant, a giant map appeared around the two of them.


    This jade slip contained a two-star divine texture and was able to draw a map within it. This display of the map was both intuitive and convenient.


    On this map, Freya carefully marked their current location, which was also the location of the Void Flower Hall.


    "I''ve already learned about the entire Spirit Reading World and found out the location of the Dark World. We can pass through this space channel to get to the supreme world channel, so that we can get there faster. Then, we can travel all the way north to the trans-border channel..." Freya said seriously, "Strictly speaking, the Dark World isn''t the territory of the alliance. In fact, although the Supreme World is very close to the alliance, there are still many living creatures of all kinds and races gathered there. Besides the human beings, there are other powerful races, including the Demon Night and the Ogres..."


    Zen felt taken aback with Freya''s words.


    "Did you collect all this information in the past few days?" Zen asked.


    Freya nodded, and then replied, "It''s not difficult to get information about these matters in the Void Flower Hall. I just asked around."


    She didn''t know anything about these matters before. She didn''t even know about which supreme worlds were next to


    n and Freya were travelling through Auspice City and moving towards the place that Lincoln designated.


    Just like the Holy City of the Spiritual Force Sacred Place, many lines formed by the divine texture were also carved into the sky. All living beings flew along those lines in an orderly manner.


    After travelling for an hour, Zen and Freya landed on the ground.


    At this moment, a grand and imposing building appeared in front of them. It was a large circular building supported by hundreds of huge stone pillars. A special circular rune was drawn in front of the building.


    In front of this building, there were a lot of warriors going in and out. Most of them were human warriors.


    "What... place is this?" Zen asked.


    Freya got flustered as she heard Zen''s question. Although she had a thorough understanding of the Dark World, it was impossible for her to understand everything about it in such a short amount of time. Moreover, this was only a single building in one of the large cities. There might be over one hundred large cities in the Dark World.


    Noticing Freya''s panic, Zen couldn''t help but laugh. Freya was serious all the time and even though being serious was a virtue, there was no need to take his question so seriously. He was only asking casually.


    "It doesn''t matter. I''ll go ask around and figure out what it is," Zen said with a smile.


    Freya shook her head and uttered, "I will go then..."


    However, at this time, a warrior wearing a long white robe walked up to them and said to Zen, "Hey, if you want to enter, I can show you in!"


    Zen was immediately curious but Freya asked, "What is this place?"


    The warrior spoke proudly, "This is the Luster Force Secret Sect. Have you heard about it?"


    "Secret sect?" Zen''s eyes suddenly flashed as he remembered the Holy Maiden of the Divine Kingdom Continent.

 Chapter 1427 The Second Sword Embryo

    The man in white nodded. "The Luster Force Secret Sect is the biggest secret sect of the human race. Do you have any interest in joining us?"


    Freya stood beside Zen, the eyes beneath her thick lashes filled with curiosity.


    She was also an ascended warrior and did not know any better about the Upper World than Zen. Previously, she had only gathered some information about Zen''s destination and so was able to answer his questions. But she had never learned anything about secret sect and had no idea what it was about.


    At the man''s invitation, Zen did not speak.


    The white-robed man did not force Zen to give him an answer. Instead, he invited Zen with utmost sincerity to follow him to the secret sect.


    Entering the grand and imposing building, Zen saw people everywhere¡­


    There were all kinds of people present. Most were ordinary without any cultivation. They ranged from old men to children less than ten years old. At least a million people occupied the huge square.


    The people spread out in circles and knelt on the ground. They muttered something, bowing down before the center of the square.


    People closer to the inner circle had a higher level of cultivation. About a dozen Spirit Supreme Realm masters were also present in the inner circle. The outer circle was basically filled with ordinary citizens.


    Zen''s gaze finally landed on the center of the square. In the center was a round, transparent sphere. At the bottom of this sphere was a kind of light green liquid which took up one third of the volume of the sphere.


    When Zen looked at the sphere, he felt a faint soul pressure exuding from it.


    However, the soul pressure did not have any malicious intent. Neither did it have any kind purpose. It was merely emitting pressure that did not cause any effect.


    "This... What is it?" Freya asked.


    The white-robed man suddenly spread out his hands and said with a trace of a fervent worship on his face, "This is what we believe in. It''s our God, still in its embryonic stage. As long as everyone gives their most sincere love, our True God will gradually grow and reveal Himself and deliver all living creatures from torment..."


    These were words that he had perhaps repeated countless times, for he said them with great fluency. It was similar to the way Freya had repeated the names of places on the map before. However, every glance and every action of the white-robed man complemented his words, and unknowingly, a listener could well be convinced and brainwashed.


    This method might work on mortals and even some martial artists with weak warrior spirits, however, Zen did not feel anything, and even Freya''s face revealed disapproval.


    At this moment, Lavender''s voice came to his ears. "What he said sounded sanctified, but it''s just for the sake of collecting


    the talent of being immune to all Original Laws. It would be next to impossible for anyone to hurt it or try to capture it using uncommon tricks.


    However, Zen could not release an Ancestral Dragon in the midst of so many people, just so it could devour the Faith Energy. The Faith Energy in the sphere had accumulated over an unfathomable number of years, and it was still not much. Realizing that the sphere would not be taken away anytime soon, Zen knew that he needed to think carefully and work out a good plan if he wanted to help the Ancestral Dragon consume the Faith Energy. At the very least, he should observe first and find an opportunity later...


    Thinking of this, Zen prepared to leave.


    However, the white-robed martial artist who had been preaching all this time shifted, suddenly aware that Zen was about to leave with Freya. He instantly stood before Zen and tried to maintain an amiable manner as he asked, "Friend, now that you have visited our Luster Force Secret Sect, why don''t you join us? If you join, you will get benefits you cannot imagine!"


    Zen replied faintly, "I do not need any benefits."


    "Friend, having faith can purify your heart and mind. This will be good for you," the white-robed martial artist insisted with a smile.


    "I don''t require any benefits, haven''t I made myself clear?" Zen looked indifferently at the man.


    Unexpectedly, the white-robed warrior then said, "All living beings in Auspice City understand that one has only two choices after entering the shrine of our Luster Force Secret Sect. You can be carried out of this place dead, or you can kneel before the square¡­ You see, those members of Demon Night who worshipped their queens also ended up joining our Luster Force Secret Sect!"


    After he finished speaking, he pointed to an area in the square, where Zen spotted a few members of the Demon Night.

 Chapter 1428 Stealing The Faith Energy

    The piety of the Demon Night in their faith was something Zen was well aware of. To the entire Demon Night, their only faith consisted of the three queens, Lavender, Elena, and the last queen.


    Regardless of whether it was in the Upper World or Lower World, in any sacred place of the Demon Night race, their faith remained the same.


    Such a thing couldn''t easily be changed in a person, after all.


    The moment the members of the Demon Night were born, they underwent the baptism of the queens'' statues, engraving their fealty into their bones. The Luster Force Secret Sect recruited a few of the Demon Night race members into their sect most likely because they had some special means to make the latter obey.


    Seeing Zen''s solemn expression, the white-robed martial artist''s smile slowly faded. "Do you need me to spell it out?"


    "It seems as though I can''t refuse¡­" Zen suddenly commented with a smile.


    The other man seemed pleased upon hearing this as he said, "You''re a smart boy. I believe you can become a good believer. The gods will definitely protect¡ª"


    "No, I won''t join you," Before the man could finish his statement, Zen interjected.


    The man''s expression froze and his gaze upon Zen turned cold. "Do you know what it means to refuse?"


    "I don''t know." A faint smile surfaced on Zen''s face. "But I don''t want to waste time creating a sword embryo for some Supreme Lord."


    It was no secret that the Luster Force Secret Sect was making a sword embryo. Only the highest of figures in the Upper World were made aware of it, but in the name of ''god, '' the Luster Force Secret Sect still managed to gather a remarkable number of believers. In the eyes of many, after all, a Supreme Lord was hardly different from a god.


    With that, Zen''s straightforward words were deemed blasphemous. The face of the white-robed martial artist darkened as the corners of his mouth curled up into an icy smile. With a gentle wave of his hand, he triggered several rays of light to shoot out from the upper floor of the shrine¡ªseveral warriors clad in golden armor could be seen in each ray.


    "Capture the man who slandered our god. We''re going to burn him to death with hellfire." With that, the white-robed martial artist commanded the warriors to seize Zen.


    But Zen seemed rather down¡ªthey had merely stepped inside to take a look around, but escaping turned out to be such an ordeal. What kind of damned place was this?


    In a flash of green light, the five-foot-long sword appeared in his hand. Then, Nether God Shadows shot out from the sword edge, rushing toward the golden-armored warriors from


    armored warriors seemed to leave a rather deep impression on her¡ªthey were like puppets as they went all out in their attacks, not seeming to have a lick of concern for their own lives. Given the scene earlier, she assumed they had slave seals or had been controlled by some other special means. Anyway, she had no intention of joining the secret sect and turning into a puppet.


    "There''s a little guy who is hungry," was all Zen said in return.


    Freya seemed puzzled until she saw him pull out the small Ancestral Dragon from his spirit beast bag.


    The little dragon made some gurgling noises before tilting his head toward the shrine. It was clear that he had smelt food¡ªhe began struggling, trying to free himself from Zen''s grip.


    "This... What is this?" Freya asked, still puzzled.


    It was no surprise that she didn''t know what the animal was¡ªthe dragon was still too young and looked nothing like a Genuine Dragon.


    Without answering her question, he said to the dragon, "Go! But you must be careful."


    With that, he released his grip on the creature and the dragon sank into the ground in an instant, disappearing from their view.


    Because Zen didn''t answer, Freya decided not to ask any further¡ªit was Zen who did so, and he must have had his reasons.


    Inside the massive square inside the shrine, every believer was busy mumbling to themselves as they fell prostrate on the surface, offering their Faith Energy.


    What they had yet to realize was that the tiny Ancestral Dragon was rapidly moving underground, approaching the center of the square.


    When it felt its ''food'' above it, it changed course and carefully slithered into the stone pillar above its head. The pillar was just the one holding up the sphere.

 Chapter 1429 Previous Subordinates

    Over a million people crawled through the area, tirelessly offering their Faith Energy. Even after spending a year, they were only able to form a sliver of it.


    Only a third of the sphere was filled with the Faith Energy, which was offered by millions of people praying day and night.


    The Ancestral Dragon was now hidden behind the stone pillar, moving upward.


    After some time, it arrived at the top of the pillar where a convenient, spherical-shaped container held the Faith Energy.


    It was a unique divine weapon that could contain Faith Energy, but that was nothing to the Ancestral Dragon. It simply opened its mouth wide and bit into it.


    Crack!


    A crisp sound resounded from the middle of the plaza.


    The Ancestral Dragon bit into the bottom of the container, leaving a hole in the surface. The green Faith Energy easily poured into its mouth.


    All the creatures on the plaza raised their heads, stunned speechless.


    All of them were kowtowing with sincerity, completely ignoring the outside world. When Zen had fought the golden-armored warriors, no one was even curious enough to take a look at them. In their eyes, any distraction would mean them desecrating their god.


    But now, their god embryo was broken.


    All the believers were stunned in silence.


    Their god represented everything to them.


    How could their god embryo possibly be broken?


    Soon after, everyone heard the sound of huge gulps of water being swallowed, the Faith Energy in the container visibly decreasing.


    "What is that?"


    "Someone is stealing our Faith Energy!"


    "Just what is that thing?"


    All the corners on the square were thrown into a mess.


    To all the believers, the outside world was of no importance¡ªonly their own faith mattered. The green liquid in the sphere was proof of that faith. Over a million people spent years in there to form the liquid, and it almost hurt how easily it was swallowed up in the blink of an eye.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    It wasn''t only the believers. The other powerful warriors within the shrine were also startled speechless. Several white-robed warriors flew out from the depths of the shrine and took a look at the container before their expressions filled with exasperation.


    The Faith Energy they had painstakingly accumulated for years upon years just disappeared in an instant.


    In truth, the Luster Force Secret Sect wasn''t particularly heavily guarded. Although the Faith Energy was a precious resource, no warrior would try to steal it¡ªit was essentially useless to regular warriors.


    Soon, the believers began to chase


    ther rough¡ªthey liked using blood-red iron flame rocks to construct buildings. Inside the black bricks, faint red flames seemed to flow, giving onlookers a feeling of vigor. Meanwhile, humans'' architecture stood very neat, horizontal and vertical, and well-organized.


    But the north of the city, the gathering place of many Demon Night members, was made up of massive forests. The roads narrowed into the ground, and even the roots of plants could easily make one stumble over them.


    If any other race were to enter the place, it would probably be deemed troublesome. But for Demon Night members who lived on the holy trees since birth, it was no issue.


    But the other races wouldn''t simply rashly barge into the Demon Night''s gathering place. Naturally, Zen''s sudden arrival earned many surprised gazes from the Demon Night members.


    It was a rather good thing that Zen had Lavender as a guide. Under her instruction, he found the central area of the settlement. It was a huge tree with a height of a thousand feet.


    The area was not a sacred place of the Demon Night, so it was naturally impossible for a holy tree to have been settled there. But the appearance of such a massive tree in Auspice City made people rack their brains for an explanation.


    Just as Zen approached, two Demon Night members stood in his way. One of them gripped a long spear in her hand as she pointed it at his chest. "Halt, human!"


    "What brought you here? Is there someone you are looking for?" the other woman asked.


    Only a few number of humans had visited the Demon Night''s gathering area. And when they did, it was only for business. The Demon Night had a specific group of warriors responsible for dealing with the other races.

 Chapter 1430 Destroy The Statues

    The long spear before Zen emitted a sharp cold glow. Nonetheless, his face remained void of any emotions.


    Facing the questions asked by the Demon Night women, he reached for the tip of the spear and gently pinched it. He then smiled and said, "I''m not looking for anyone."


    The Demon Night women didn''t attack. In a normal situation, all they would do was drive away those warriors from other races that were barging in. They were sent here by the sacred place to trade with other races after all. It wouldn''t be good for their sacred place if they just randomly killed creatures from other races.


    "If you are not looking for anyone, then leave!" she warned while looking at Zen. She felt rather strange that he didn''t look nervous at all.


    They had thought that Zen would obediently leave after hearing their warning. However, they had never expected the man to push the spear away from him instead and utter, "I''m not looking for anyone but I''m not leaving either."


    "Then you are looking for death!"


    This was the center of the Demon Night''s residential area. These women were the guards here. Thus, they couldn''t allow Zen to just cause any trouble.


    The Demon Night woman thrust forward as soon as her voice faded.


    She was at the Soul Sea Realm and was holding the spear with both hands.


    Her attack was actually very powerful!


    Nonetheless, her spear only managed to move forward three inches and couldn''t go any further than that.


    Zen smiled as he pinched the tip of the spear.


    Disbelief flooded the Demon Night woman''s eyes. She never thought that this human warrior before her could seal off her spear with just two fingers.


    Unwilling to give up, she used all her might to pull her weapon away. However, her spear remained motionless.


    This situation was only possible if the strength between her and the human was almost equal.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Two Demon Night women who were standing by also joined the battle when they saw their friend at a disadvantage. They pounced over from above Zen''s head. But then he abruptly released the spear, took a step forward, and charged towards the tree.


    "Stop him!"


    one of the Demon Night women shouted.


    Facing the fierce attack from behind, Zen simply waved his hand and sent the two weapons flying away.


    Although Zen''s expression was indifferent, his gaze was grave. This was because Lavender had reminded him more than once that this was the first and most important step in helping her take revenge.


    Boom!


    A loud sound echoed out. The door at the bottom of the big tree was directly smashed into pieces by Zen''s body. Wood chips fell to the ground, and the


    t still failed to destroy two Nether God Shadows.


    Clank! Clank!


    Two queens'' statues were instantly smashed to smithereens.


    The statues of Queen of Life and Queen of Punishment were destroyed.


    The pink-clothed woman''s expression went even darker and madder. Her originally indifferent eyes were now filled with a want to kill. Any Demon Night member would defend their queens, and breaking their queens'' statues was the greatest blasphemy to their queens.


    "Kill him! Kill him!"


    "How dare he destroy the queens'' statues!"


    "Death penalty!"


    The warriors at the bottom of the tree also followed behind. Their eyes were flooding with rage as they saw fragments of the statues flew all over the place.


    The pink-dressed woman did not hesitate any longer and released two formidable flying shuttles to attack Zen. Two blue-colored lightning balls engulfed the shuttles'' surface.


    The balls of lightning were only the size of a fist, but the power contained within them made Zen''s heart jump with fear.


    "I''m afraid that the Thunder Law has already reached the fifth layer. Lavender, if you don''t come out and help me now, I''ll be in trouble!" Zen calmly said.


    As soon as his voice fell, a blood-red shadow shot out from Zen''s body. The moment that figure condensed into existence, the Cold Plum Blood Spear in his space ring shot out too and was caught by that figure.


    Clank! Clank!


    With two crisp sounds, the two flying shuttles with terrifying balls of lightning were easily brushed aside by the figure.


    Upon seeing this, the pink-clothed woman, who was in the lead, furrowed her eyebrows and became even more furious than before. However, her expression drastically changed when she recognized the figure that had appeared next to Zen.

 Chapter 1431 The First Step

    Every member of the Demon Night race knew very well what Lavender looked like and what she smelled like. To some extent, they were even more familiar with her than with their parents.


    From the moment they were born, they would be baptized in front of the queens'' statues. The Queen of Life could make their life energy grow stronger, the Queen of Punishment could make them observe the laws of the Demon Night race, and the Queen of Killings could boost their courage, making them understand the killing way.


    At this moment, although Lavender was now only a sword spirit, her soul force had already recovered 60%. The Cold Plum Blood Spear in her hand exuded a majestic aura.


    As the Demon Night martial artists of the Ginkgo Pavilion witnessed this, their hearts suddenly trembled. They realized that their queen had actually arrived¡­


    The Dark World was a remote area where many races gathered. The whole supreme world was mainly a place for trading. Although the human race, Demon Night, and ogre race all had a tenth grade sacred place here, among the various races, they were still considered relatively weak forces.


    Therefore, when these warriors of the Demon Night saw the sudden appearance of their queen, they were all stunned!


    To them, the personal visit of any queen here was an unparalleled honor. In the hearts of the members of the Demon Night race, a queen was even more important than a Supreme Lord.


    Thump! Thump...


    All of the Demon Night members knelt down right away to honor their queen, Lavender.


    Floating high up in the air, Lavender looked down at her subjects. Her gaze finally landed on the woman in pink. "What''s your name?"


    "My queen, you can call me Nela," the woman in pink answered sincerely.


    In fact, a few months ago, all the members of the Demon Night knew that their Queen of Killings had returned to the Upper World, and that she had a conflict with the Queen of Punishment.


    At that time, Lavender had used Zen''s Roaring Token to quarrel with the Queen of Punishment. Not just the Demon Night race, everyone knew about this.


    After all, this was an internal conflict within the Demon Night race. Some of the races that hated the Demon Night race was expecting to watch a good show. After all, the return of Lavender would definitely cause an internal strife within the Demon Night race.


    Lavender coldly nodded, and then continued, "Nela, I want all of you to make an oath of allegiance to me, in front of the statue."


    Upon hearing this, Nela and her other subordinates uneasily raised their heads¡ªdiscomfort evident on their faces. The task Lavender was asking them to do was extremely difficult.


    Actually, they had the same concern as the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place did back then. Even though Lavender was their queen, she was only one of their queens as the Demon Ni


    vely to their oaths.


    The oath of the Ginkgo pavilion was the first step for Lavender''s return to the throne.


    After everyone made their vows, Lavender said lightly, "You can all stand up now."


    Nela nodded and led the many warriors of the Demon Night to their feet. Since she had made a vow to the queen, it meant that from now on she would only serve Lavender as her queen.


    However, to them, this was still a supreme honor. Every day, they would worship the queens'' statues but most of them would never be able to see their queens for their whole life. Now that Lavender had come here personally, how could they reject her?


    Although it was a painful choice for them to give up on the other two queens, it was still a great opportunity for them to grow.


    Once Lavender returned to the throne, they would definitely be valued for their support and loyalty.


    "My queen, what can I do for you?" Nela asked as she rose. Lavender coming here definitely meant that there were very important things to be accomplished. Otherwise, she wouldn''t have taken the initiative to come here herself.


    Lavender said simply, "I want you to head to the Eternal Night World to find someone and give this jade slip to her."


    As Lavender spoke, Zen, who was by her side, took out a jade slip. It was a jade slip that had been created beforehand and contained extremely important information.


    "Eternal Night World¡­" Nela raised her eyebrows. She also knew that the Eternal Night World was the supreme world where the Queen of Killings used to live. Since the Queen of Killings disappeared, the entire Eternal Night World was taken over by the Queen of Punishment.


    However, since she had already taken an oath of allegiance to the Queen of Killings, Lavender''s orders were not to be disobeyed. She had no reason to refuse even if she was asked to go to a mountain of swords and a sea of flames.

 Chapter 1432 Try It Out

    Before heading to the Ginkgo Pavilion, Lavender had thoroughly considered the pros and cons of her journey.


    With the authority and confidence she possessed, it was sure that this tenth grade sacred place in the Dark World would submit to her and her alone.


    But subduing a tenth grade sacred place was practically meaningless to her, and it was in fact, dangerous. It would help her very little in her fight against Elena and would alert the enemy too.


    All of her activities would have to be done in secret. The fewer people knew about it, the better.


    The Ginkgo Pavilion had been set up in Auspice City by the Purple Bamboo Sacred Place. It was basically a trade-hub that spent much time trading with the other forces in Auspice City, which meant it always had a rich collection of treasures and abundant resources at hand.


    After taking a look at the resources they had, Lavender merely shook her head. None of them had caught her eye.


    After all, the Dark World was just a small place at the outskirts of the Upper World, and was nothing when compared to the Mist Palace. These resources might have been extremely precious to some ordinary warriors, but they were of no use to Lavender or Zen.


    She was far more concerned about the secret treasures of the Dark World.


    In any case, although the resources and treasures that lay there did not catch her eyes, she did pick up quite a lot of life vitality jades.


    Every year, when the Ginkgo Pavilion traded with the other races, they turned over the life vitality jades to the Purple Bamboo Sacred Place, which meant that there was an abundance of them in here.


    To not arouse suspicion at the Purple Bamboo Sacred Place and protect Nela, who was in charge of handing over all the life vitality jades to the Purple Bamboo Sacred Place, Lavender only took about one fifth of them. Even then, the number of life vitality jades she collected was close to thirty thousand.


    Zen no longer needed life vitality jades because of the enormous changes that had happened inside his body. However, the more money and treasures one had, the better. It might come in handy some day. Previously, Zen had risked his life to gather about a hundred life vitality jades. To any warrior of the Soul Sea Realm, these thirty thousand life vitality jades were no less than an enormous fortune.


    After staying in the Ginkgo Pavilion for two days, Nela resigned from her post in the Purple Bamboo Sacred Place. Then she found an excuse to leave and set out to the Eternal Night World with the jade slip that Lavender had given her.


    At the same time, Zen quietly returned to his residence in Auspice City, waiting for the arrival of Lincoln.


    Some months earlier, Lincoln and Zen had agreed to meet each other in half a year. In the blink of an eye, time had gone by and now, only some forty days or so were left till the day they were supposed to meet. Zen was actually worried whether Lincoln would arrive here at the scheduled time or not.


    One and a half months later¡­


    Zen was still immersed in his cultivation.


    After breaking through


    r when activated by chaotic energy would increase several times. For that reason, Zen had strong expectations with his experiment, and was quite confident that the chaotic energy would be able to generate the "demonic life vitality".


    As Zen practiced the mind method in the Heavenly Ogre Fist, the chaotic energy within his body boiled¡­


    A trace of chaotic energy extricated itself from Zen''s cinnabar field and circulated along his meridians. Finally, it shot out from his fingertip. A thin strand of gray chaotic energy, much like a thick mist began to float around his hand.


    ''This strand of chaotic energy was activated by the mind method of Heavenly Ogre Fist. I wonder if it possesses the devouring power.'' Zen was a little nervous, but in the blink of an eye, his nervousness completely disappeared and eagerness took its place. He laughed and thought to himself, ''Even if I fail, I can look for another method. Who''s there to stop me? What is there to be nervous about?''


    Thinking about that, he reached into his space ring and brought out a supreme life vitality crystal. Streams of thick life vitality were preserved in this small stone.


    Zen did not immediately crush the life vitality crystal. Instead, he gently tapped the stone with his finger and a small hole appeared. A wisp of pure life vitality flowed out from the hole!


    Before it could properly escape, Zen injected the chaotic energy on his fingertips into the life vitality crystal, his eyes staring straight at it with a firm gaze.


    "Not working?"


    Through the transparent stone shell, Zen could see that the brown chaotic energy was continuously swirling within the life vitality crystal. It didn''t fuse with the milky white life vitality within the crystal, nor did it show any signs of trying to devour the life vitality¡­


    Zen curled his lips. It seemed that he''d been too naive and the experiment had failed.


    ''Ah well. Wait!'' Just as Zen was about to put the life vitality crystal back into his space ring, the entire crystal suddenly exploded right in front of him!

 Chapter 1433 The Creation of The Soul Sea

    Zen was startled as the supreme life vitality crystal suddenly exploded.


    It shattered into tiny fragments, but the life vitality it contained did not shoot out. Instead, it was replaced by several wisps of chaotic energy.


    Zen had transferred only a small amount of chaotic energy into the stone shell. Now, it had increased greatly from the original measure.


    However, due to the impact from the explosion, the currents of chaotic energy looked like thin whips that lashed out fiercely in all directions, leaving behind in its wake countless tiny dents in the room.


    "Hiss, hiss..."


    From the dents, other strands of chaotic energy slowly rose up like little gray snakes.


    Zen''s eyes widened as he looked at the scene in front of him. He was beyond bewildered at what was happening.


    In only a few seconds, the small dents in the room had multiplied. The little gray snakes of chaotic energy quickly eroded everything in their surroundings, while giving rise to more strands.


    "Zen, if you don''t do anything about all this chaotic energy right now, this house will collapse!" The cyan dragon''s words rang faintly in Zen''s ears with warning.


    At this, Zen finally came back to his senses!


    He waved his finger lightly, and the strands of chaotic energy quickly shrunk. One after another, the little gray snakes crawled out of every corner of the room and gathered in Zen''s hand.


    Zen was now holding chaotic energy that was a thousand times larger than before. The wisp of chaotic energy that he had poured into the crystal was not much thicker than a thin thread. Now it was the size of a fist.


    "It seems that the chaotic energy can absorb much more than the life vitality in the crystal. If things have continued, it would have swallowed the whole house..." Zen said in a daze, staring at the mass of chaotic energy in his hand.


    The cyan dragon broke through his musing. "It is capable of more than that. Chaotic energy would be able to devour everything..." he said.


    The cyan dragon was unable to keep his composure at the turn of events.


    The suggestion that Zen tried things for himself came from the cyan dragon, and from the look of things, the chances of failure were far greater than the chances of success.


    The cyan dragon had lived through hundreds of thousands of years and had seen many different kinds of cultivation methods. When Zen had first entered the Cloud Sect to select his cultivation method, the cyan dragon kept the Heavenly Ogre Fist in mind. It was a technique that could manipulate life vitality into such power that it would be able to ravage and devour everything. It was a very unique cultivation method, and its origins had remained unknown. No one could even be sure that it originated from the ogre.


    Zen had been preoccupied with other things, and thus was not able to take time to discover the history behind th


    nd he did not feel full for a long time.


    However, as Zen continued to devour things with his chaotic energy, the chaotic energy inside him increased, and the entire inner world began to narrow down, making the chaotic energy contained within him start to condense.


    Once the concentration of chaotic energy had reached its limit, it would be able to liquefy. Zen continued to pour chaotic energy inside him while paying attention to the changes in his body.


    He was not disappointed.


    Soon enough, his inner world was made visible¡ªmasses of chaotic energy gathered together and formed a brown colored liquid that quickly sank into the depths.


    After the first portion of chaotic energy started to liquefy, the entire internal world underwent a tremendous change. As the brown liquid continued to form, edges had begun to appear...


    For six days, the liquefaction continued. On the seventh day, the brown sea in Zen''s inner world began to slowly fluctuate. He had already stepped into the Soul Sea Realm after passing through ten small Heavenly Tribulations, but he had only truly created the Soul Sea today. Compared to other Soul Sea Realm warriors'' Soul Seas, his was much different... The constantly churning waves of his Soul Sea would enable chaotic energy to completely swallow even a divine weapon.


    Not long after Zen''s Soul Sea was established, a familiar voice rang in his ears. It was Lincoln who contacted him by burning the message rune Zen had given him before. It seemed that he had already arrived at the Auspice City!


    With Lincoln''s invitation, Zen had arrived at the Dark World and had been waiting for word from him for a long time. Circumstances appeared to be in his favor, as Lavender knew of some of the Dark World''s secrets. Zen had every intention of getting the resources there.


    Zen responded to Lincoln''s message and told Freya to pack up and make preparations to set off.

 Chapter 1434 The Dark Underground Palace

    Lincoln had given him directions in his message. Zen and Freya traveled through Auspice City and after a few minutes found themselves in a commoners'' district.


    People from different levels and social status lived in the area. Most of them were ordinary people, but some of the wealthiest men were able to afford to hire some martial artists who served as guards to their houses. Thus, low-level martial artists, such as those in the Illuminating Soul Realm, could be seen occasionally.


    In this kind of setting, the arrival of two martial artists of the Soul Sea Realm was something that immediately attracted curious gazes.


    Young boys watched Zen and Freya with yearning. The auras that surrounded the two were far stronger and more arresting than those of the martial artists they usually saw. Soon, these boys trailed behind them, no doubt attracted to their energy.


    A frown appeared in Freya''s face even as she followed closely after Zen. She did not understand why they were in this place.


    They walked for a short distance. Then, a large manor came into their sight. A fat landlord bowed respectfully at the entrance, leading the two into the manor.


    He was one of the affluent merchants in this region. That was what common people thought. All of his wealth would amount to no more than one or two thousand supreme life vitality crystals- a number that, to martial artists, was not even worth mentioning. However, it was quite an accomplishment for an ordinary mortal to earn this much without a martial artist''s ability. After all, this was the rough equivalent to the annual expenditure of a third-grade clan.


    The landlord did not know who Zen was. None of the several martial artists that he hired to guard his house did, either. They could not even tell Zen''s and Freya''s cultivation levels, more so their identities. All the landlord knew was that the two had unimaginable strength. For a mere mortal, he possessed shrewdness that served him well.


    He had always treated martial artists with reverence, no matter who or what level they were. Upon their arrival, he would respectfully lead them into his mansion and ask his wife and children to stay in other places in Auspice City, leaving behind some servants to serve his guests. All of this served to his self-interest as well. He knew that with their strength, they could easily turn decades of hard work into dust, and there was no one to help him if that happened.


    Zen and Freya were led into a room that seemed like a cellar.


    The oil lamps that hung on the wall had all been extinguished, and no lamps provided light. He had been given explicit instructions not to light any lamps, and did not dare to disobey.


    Right now, he only wished fo


    Lincoln had promised Adrian thirty percent of the secret treasures of the Dark World if he helped Lincoln regain his freedom. Adrian was extremely smart, but his cultivation and strength were far from enough, so he invited those seven brothers to come together.


    They were independent warriors from the Upper World. Upon receiving the invitation, they found out that the one who was able to open the underground palace was a warrior who was merely at the later stage of the Soul Sea Realm. It wounded their pride, and they began to hold Lincoln in contempt. Moreover, they would get only thirty percent of secret treasures, which was far from enough for them.


    To their surprise, Lincoln had invited Zen in addition to Adrian and themselves. This newcomer''s cultivation level was even lower. What right did he have to get a portion?


    Adrian''s words worked. He had managed to persuade the two sides and the tension on the atmosphere thawed out.


    Of course, the seven brothers didn''t want Zen with them. He was a nobody. However, only Lincoln knew the way to enter the underground palace. With Adrian''s persuasion, they had no choice but to temporarily restrain their tempers.


    Lincoln had a fiery disposition, but he had always been a man of his word. He had promised Adrian thirty percent, and temporarily set aside his own anger. "The complexity of the underground palace far surpasses your imagination. Before we enter it, we need to make some preparations. We can''t set out without being fully prepared," he said, more calmly now.


    He knew very well that they would have to fight against the evil energy in the underground palace. After devising a good plan, they left the mansion and headed to Auspice City to secure some items. Then, they gathered once again at the place that Lincoln had designated.

 Chapter 1435 A Long Narrow Passage (Part One)

    The Dark Underground Palace wasn''t considered a secret place in the Dark World.


    Many creatures in the Dark World were also well aware that there was an underground palace here. However, in the last hundred thousand years, no one had been able to enter its mysterious depths.


    Legend had it that a Supreme Lord in remote ages had once passed away in this place hundreds of millions of years ago.


    Time was the most powerful opponent of all warriors. Even a Supreme Lord''s lifespan was not without its limits. If a Supreme Lord was unable to become a True God, he or she would eventually encounter the Five Aging Processes and die. Immortality could not be achieved easily.


    Therefore, the eternal life was also one of warriors'' ultimate goals.


    It was said that before this Supreme Lord from remote ages had passed away, he had used extremely special methods to set up an incomparably grand underground palace, and that he had left behind all of his knowledge and inheritances within it. It was rumored to be a treasure trove for any martial artist.


    Each time the Dark Underground Palace was opened, the time and method required to open it were different.


    In the endless years since it had first been established, there had been many warriors who had entered the underground palace and obtained great benefits from it. However, entering the underground palace was not something that any warrior could hope to accomplish.


    Lavender had once entered the Dark Underground Palace. This was already ten thousand years ago when the underground palace had opened.


    When Lavender had once been in the underground palace, she had also obtained a wealth of resources and benefits. Therefore, when she had heard that Lincoln had also found a way to enter the Dark Underground Palace, she immediately made Zen agree to accompany him. If she remembered correctly, the resour


    because of the geopolitical formalities, which they all observed, these three sacred places interacted extremely well with each other. There wasn''t much competition among them, and they maintained trade relations with each other. So it could be said that these three sacred places were the windows through which the three races interacted with each other. However, in other supreme worlds, the three races still fought against each other and all kinds of conflicts never ended.


    The Magnolia Sacred Place was a tenth-grade sacred place established by the human race.


    In the center of this sacred place, there stood a towering palace that pierced the clouds. Two black-clothed warriors were rapidly entering the palace now.


    "Saint Lord, a few warriors have entered the underground palace again today," said one of the two black-robed warriors in a respectful tone.


    Their leader, who sat enthroned in the palace, asked with an indifferent face, "Who are they? What is their race? Do you know their cultivation levels?"


    "They are human warriors. There are only eleven of them in total. Seven people are at the Spirit Supreme Realm. The other four are all at the Soul Sea Realm," the black-robed warrior again answered very respectfully.

 Chapter 1436 A Long Narrow Passage (Part Two)

    The leader shook his head. "Every year, there are some overconfident warriors who enter the underground place, thinking that they can open it and find some treasures."


    "But, Saint Lord, the activation of this underground palace doesn''t have any fixed pattern. Maybe they can succeed in opening it this time," the black-robed warrior said.


    The Saint Lord of the Magnolia Sacred Place smiled and said, "It doesn''t matter. I''ve already set up a monitoring array in the underground palace. If the underground palace is opened, I''ll receive the news immediately. If they really succeed in opening it, it would be the best news for us, and I can then send our disciples there."


    When Zen and the others had been walking in the passage leading to the underground palace, all three biggest sacred places in the Dark World had somehow received the news.


    These sacred places had only paid attention to the movements of Zen and his companions. Other than that, they didn''t do anything.


    Every once in a while, warriors would seek to enter the underground palace for a variety of reasons. But the last time that the underground palace had opened was over a hundred thousand years ago. It had never been successfully reopened since then.


    However, this did not mean that the three sacred places did not value this underground palace. It was a place of strategic importance and whichever warriors did make it into the palace would gain the upper hand in the current status quo among the three races.


    This was, after all, the resting place of a Supreme Lord from remote ages. Although the underground palace had been opened so many times before, no one had managed to take out the most important secret treasures. The entire Dark World was stil


    em was a solid wall. It seemed that they had indeed reached the end of the passage. But then, their faces were filled with disappointment. Stepping closer, they found that this was only a turn in the passage. After turning this corner, there was still an endless passage stretching ahead of them.


    "Go on," Ab Hou said helplessly. His brothers had become more and more impatient.


    However, at this moment, Lincoln said, "Wait."


    Everyone''s eyes focused on Lincoln. Ab Hou asked impatiently, "What is it?"


    Lincoln couldn''t be bothered to answer these brutish warriors. These seven brothers were only able to follow him into the underground palace because of Adrian. Completely ignoring them, Lincoln took out a divine texture from his space ring and pasted it onto the wall of the passage.


    Afterwards, Lincoln concentrated and poured his life vitality into the divine texture. A faintly green light began to spread out, shining onto the wall in front of them.


    With a grating sound of stone on stone, the wall slid to the side in a shower of dust and cobwebs. As the wall on the side of the passage opened up, another passage appeared before them.

 Chapter 1437 Snake Heads (Part One)

    "Two passages?" From the look on his face, Adrian seemed to be quite surprised.


    Curling his lips, Lincoln said, "If you decide to take the passage on the left, you won''t ever be able to step foot into the Dark Underground Palace until the end of time!"


    Originally, when he agreed to Adrian''s request, it had been solely because he helped him to gain his freedom. Back then, he wasn''t really expecting that Adrian would be insisting on taking the seven Spirit Supreme Realm warriors along with them.


    To be capable of cultivating to such a level, it should go without saying that none of them were fools. Lincoln might have been so relaxed all the time, but he was also quite a brave and cautious man. The seven brothers, on the other hand, were by no means good people. There was a good chance that they''d opt to take all of the treasures the moment he opened the entrance to the underground palace.


    Be that as it might, Lincoln had faith in his own abilities. And on top of that, he was even more confident in Zen''s capabilities.


    If they could behave well in the process, things would be good, but were they to do something that troubled him or Zen, they would just be shooting themselves in the foot.


    The moment the hidden passage was opened, a dark and numbing aura blew out from deep within. It felt as though a countless number of ghosts had been rushing toward them, with each and every single one of them baring their fangs and swinging their claws, raring to tear everyone to shreds.


    "Such a dense amount of dark energy!" Ab exclaimed in awe.


    "It''s a good thing that I brought this with me."


    Adrian, who had been standing on the si


    have any qualms about getting rid of them whatsoever.


    Right now, it wasn''t just the people from the Magnolia Sacred Place who had their eyes on them.


    In the Purple Bamboo Sacred Place of the Demon Night, there were also some warriors who had been keeping a watchful eye on them.


    "They have already located the second passage. It looks like they came prepared, or at least, they didn''t come barging in." The Saint Lord of the sacred place stood atop the highest leaf. Despite the leaf being just about the size of a palm, it was still able to hold the weight of a warrior.


    "They''ve just arrived at the second passage. That doesn''t really count for anything, given the fact that they still have seven passages ahead of them. What''s more, with regards to this matter of the Dark and Light Nine-turn Passage, it wasn''t much of a secret anyway. One could easily ask around in the Dark World and learn about it. The only thing we have to do is wait and see whether they really have a way to open the underground palace or not," stated another Demon Night woman, with a smile creeping onto her face.

 Chapter 1438 Snake Heads (Part Two)

    If one intended to get to the Dark Underground Palace, there was no other choice but to go through the Dark and Light Nine-turn Passage, and all of those nine turns had to be chosen correctly. If they so much as made a mistake along the way, then entering the underground palace would be out of the question, and one could only aimlessly go through the endless maze of passages.


    The level of difficulty of making it through the Dark and Light Nine-turn Passage might not appear to be too high at first glance. One would have to accurately choose between two different passages nine times. If one were to pin their hope solely on luck, the probability of getting through and choosing all the correct passages was only one in 1, 028.


    In any case, it wasn''t really that big of a secret in the Dark World whether one should take the light or the dark passage. One could find that out without difficulty by simply asking around in this supreme world.


    However, at this moment, the three great races were all hoping that Lincoln''s group had not learned of this secret from asking around in the Dark World, but from other supreme worlds. Only then would they be able to have hopes of opening the underground palace.


    The things that the Supreme Lord from remote ages had left behind were exceedingly tempting to any tenth-grade sacred place. For that reason, it shouldn''t come as a surprise that everyone, be it ogres or Demon Night members, would have their attentions completely focused on every single person who had stepped foot into the place.


    After a couple of hours of walking along the dimly-lit passage, Lincoln suddenly stopped once again. Then, he proceeded to open up a light passage that didn''t seem to contain a


    r had his gaze fixated on the scene that was happening in front of him and let out a blaring laugh, appearing as though he had great confidence in Lincoln''s following actions.


    There was a total of nine ways to open the underground palace created by the Supreme Lord from remote ages, and those nine ways had been carefully passed down from generation to generation in great secrecy. None of the methods which could be used to open the underground palace were alike, so it was almost impossible to work those things out. And above all else, the Supreme Lord had placed quite a troublesome enchanted barrier inside the underground palace for undisclosed reasons.


    For a Soul Sea Realm or Spirit Supreme Realm warrior, this enchanted barrier could be considered as an overwhelming experience. Be that as it might, to a lot of world lords and Supreme Lords, it wasn''t really something particularly worth mentioning.


    The main problem was that as long as the enchanted barrier received any sort of damage, everything in the underground palace would be destroyed instantly. For that very reason, not a single mighty warrior could force their way in.

 Chapter 1439 Little Moths

    The Supreme Lord''s origin was extremely mysterious mostly because it was literally ancient history that had been forgotten due to the passage of time.


    This underground palace had already been explored before but none of the warriors who went in had managed to successfully unravel the mystery behind the Supreme Lord''s true identity.


    This wasn''t a normal occurrence. The origins of each and every Supreme Lord were meticulously recorded, documented, and compiled ever since the start of the grand era. To forget such important information was extremely rare. A Supreme Lord, after all, had a fixed, constant position in the universe and the replacement of one was usually only due to the death of a former one, which would no doubt generate a lot of attention and shock from the heavens.


    However, nobody found any clues or documents pertaining to the origins of this Supreme Lord in the Dark World.


    The Nine-head Snake statue at the entrance of the underground palace served as the only hint that the Supreme Lord might likely possess this creature''s bloodline. There were nine entrances, each corresponding to an individual snake head.


    Each head meant an opportunity to open up the underground palace.


    Every time an entrance was opened, the snake''s head would break and an enchanted barrier would open. The underground palace would then patiently wait for the next time it could be opened.


    Lavender had entered this palace a hundred thousand years ago through the sixth snake head. A hundred thousand years later, Lincoln obtained the opportunity to explore the palace through the seventh snake head.


    The sacred places in the Dark World paid careful attention to this underground palace and were always aware whenever someone was able to gain the opportunity to open up an entrance.


    If Lincoln could open the entrance, then the sacred places would waste no time sending their young elites over!


    Everyone waited with bated breath as Lincoln entered the seventh snake head. It was incredibly silent, especially since the palace was located miles underground. A needle dropped on the floor would no doubt echo through this palace.


    However, the silence was broken by


    or on their faces. One of them even pointed at Coy''s body. It was then that Coy shook the Glint Pearl and aimed it towards himself.


    The sight made Freya gasp and she couldn''t help but tightly grasp onto Zen''s clothes.


    Meanwhile, his brothers retreated a few steps back in unison!


    The sight was horrifying. The Glint Pearl perfectly illuminated the way the darkness literally consumed Coy, eating away at his flesh and blood. The weird thing was that he didn''t feel any pain nor did he feel anything was amiss.


    However, the horrifying sight still overwhelmed him.


    "Ahhhhhhhhh!"


    he screamed, running back towards everyone!


    "No! Don''t come here!"


    "Just stay there and die!" his brothers all said.


    Despite being initially confident in their skills, their brute strength would only prove useful against ferocious beasts. The mysteries of the unknown were way scarier than any vicious creature.


    "What should we do?" Freya asked Zen in panic.


    However, he merely grabbed Freya''s waist and let out one single order, "Retreat!"


    Whoosh!


    Their group was quick to follow his command, along with the six brothers.


    Coy, who had been running towards them, was no match for the corrosive darkness. He rapidly lost the remainder of his body and all that remained was his skeleton that smashed loudly onto the ground. The Glint Pearl he once held as a beacon also rolled down the floor and reflected the dancing little moths in the dark.

 Chapter 1440 Dodging In The Darkness

    The Glint Pearl was the only glowing object amidst the dark surroundings, but little inky black moths the size of a finger continuously circled around it.


    The moths seemed to hate the light, so a few of them suddenly shot towards the Glint Pearl, and in a second, the last ray of light was gone. Once again, the moths sank into the darkness.


    Shock was written all over Ab''s face. "These are..."


    "These are Cannibal Moths! And here... This is the Nether Water!"


    "The dripping sound we heard just now was from the Nether Water!"


    "We should leave now¡­"


    The seven Hou brothers who had mocked Zen just a while ago were now scared out of their wits.


    There was a Magical Insect List in the universe, and all the insects ranked in the list had extremely powerful abilities. The Cannibal Moth was one of the very dangerous insects included in the list.


    For instance, the Ice Jade Butterfly was ranked fifty-first in the list. Although it was deceptively beautiful, it was immensely lethal: any living being exposed to its cold poison would freeze quickly; even their souls would no longer fall into the path of reincarnation.


    The vicious Cannibal Moth was ranked twenty-first on the list. It normally lived in the form of an insect egg in the Nether Water, and would remain like so even after thousands of years. As long as it was under the Nether Water, the insect egg could live up to a hundred thousand to even a million years long.


    However, once the Cannibal Moths felt the existence of a living creature and needed to search for food, the insect eggs would control the Nether Water and let it flow out. Then, the Cannibal Moths would hatch out from the insect eggs and search for food in the darkness!


    At that moment, Zen used his magical eyes to see the drops of Nether Water that dripped down from above. In a blink of an eye, the finger-sized black moths had hatched and come out of the water.


    They wouldn''t be much of a threat if they were ordinary moths, but Zen had felt the strong aura of the extremely rare Dark Law. He had encountered this kind of Dark Law before in the Enchanted Barrier Tower. This Law Power seemed to be the light''s enemy and could devour all the light, which was why the underground palace was pitch black.


    Zen knew that the moths weren''t ordinary when he saw them. Thus, he asked Lincoln to open the entrance to the underground palace the soonest possible.


    Meanwhile, the fearless seven Hou brothers seemed to ignore the danger, so Zen didn''t say much anymore. He couldn''t be bothered to remind them!


    The seven Hou brothers were a colle


    to the darkness. His eyes looked up at the Nine-head Snake''s statue. Luckily, the Cannibal Moths didn''t spread out to that direction. If they did and also blocked Lincoln''s way, Lincoln might not open the underground palace''s door.


    Lincoln also knew that something unexpected had happened outside, but he was currently using the method he learned from the man in the Villain World to open the underground palace gate. He couldn''t afford to be distracted now. He could only anxiously say, "Wait a moment..."


    "We can''t wait anymore! Why are you so slow even when you''re opening the door?" Ab couldn''t help but curse in the dark. He never expected to encounter such strange insects there, and he had lost three of his brothers in the blink of an eye!


    Just as the last curse slipped out of his lips, they heard another miserable scream in the dark. Clearly, another person had been taken by the Cannibal Moths.


    The moment they heard the scream, Ab angrily punched the air and sent the next person flying.


    "Ab, that''s Gil!" Baal said angrily. "If I don''t do that, we''re all going to die!" Ab coldly shot back.


    Everyone felt their hearts sink into despair as they kept backing away. However, the Cannibal Moths were everywhere.


    They didn''t know if retreating was the right choice, but they all did it on instinct.


    On the contrary, it was much easier on Zen''s side. He could see the distribution of the Cannibal Moths, so he was able to avoid attracting them as much as possible as he carefully dragged Freya along. He had managed to dodge three or four groups of Cannibal moths now, but the dripping sounds continued, which meant more Cannibal Moths had hatched, and there was less space for Zen and Freya to retreat.

 Chapter 1441 Open The Door

    As the space for dodging became more and more limited, Zen''s gaze became incrementally more serious.


    Couldn''t these Cannibal Moths be killed?


    Just now, Zen had also clearly seen that the instant Deke and Finn rushed out, they had also activated their protective life vitality. At the same time, they circulated their life vitality which turned into a violent storm to protect themselves.


    Even so, they were still unable to resist the Cannibal Moths and were still hard pressed. The strength of Deke and Finn was as nothing when compared to that of Zen, but they were still Spirit Supreme Realm masters.


    However, although there were some strange insects in the world, there should be some methods to restrain them¡­


    Generally speaking, these evil and strange insects tended to be afraid of thunder and lightning. As Zen brought Freya alongside to avoid the insects, he saw a lone Cannibal Moth floating slowly towards them from the darkness. Its tiny shape was ghostly in the darkened space.


    At this moment, an idea occurred to Zen. A ripple faintly appeared in the sea of chaotic energy within his body, as if he wanted to form a flash of lightning.


    "You''re thinking too much; it''s useless!" Lavender spoke up at this moment.


    At the same time, the cyan dragon also cautioned, "The Thunder Law will have no effect on the Cannibal Moth. Moreover, the lightning that is produced by the Thunder Law will instead attract a greater number of Cannibal Moths!"


    Hearing their warnings, Zen suppressed the power that was going to erupt. No wonder Ab and the others hadn''t used this method.


    "Then what should we do?'''' Zen asked with a frown as he looked at the phantasmal moths floating towards them with ravenous intent in their beady eyes.


    "Wait! Just wait until the door of the underground palace is opened, then you can rush in," Lavender advised. She had entered the underground palace before, but it had been one hundred thousand years ago, and at that time, there hadn''t been any Cannibal Moths. If she had encountered those Cannibal Moths back then, she would have reminded Zen to be well prepared, and they wouldn''t now have fallen into such a difficult situation.


    Upon hearing Lavender''s words, Zen nodded his head slightly. He could only drag Freya along as he continuously paced back and forth to avoid the moths.


    However, as more and more tinkling sounds rang out, the number of Cannibal Moths that hatched out of the Nether Water also increased. Soon, there was almost no room remaining for them to dodge the clumsy insects.


    "Ahh¡­"


    Another blood-curdling screech rang out, and the sound of bones collapsing could be heard. It was likely that another person had been overwhelmed by the sheer number of the insects and had been devoured by the Cannibal Moths.


    Freya''s heart thumped rapidly in fear. She didn''t know how long they would be able to hold on in this desperate situation. Any second now, she would perhaps be devoured like the other people, with only skeletal remains left¡­


    Zen''s brows furrowed deeper. The densely packed Cannibal Moths had already completely sealed off the surrounding space, and there seemed to be n


    ple Bamboo Sacred Place. The queen which she mentioned was Lavender.


    As for the one who led the ogres, he was the Saint Lord of the sacred place of the ogres¡­


    They had been observing the situation at the entrance of the underground palace the whole time. They did not care about the life or death of Zen and the seven brothers of the Hou family. To these leaders, life was cheap. However, the moment the door of the underground palace opened, they had brought the young elites from their sacred places and rushed over!


    The underground palace had previously repelled strong warriors with a high level of cultivation. The three leaders of the sacred places were all expectant world lords. If they rashly forced an entry into the underground palace, it would collapse and be ruined. Although the three powerful leaders couldn''t enter, they could still send many of the Spirit Supreme Realm warriors in their sacred places into the underground palace in their stead.


    Ab had completely fallen into despair. Earlier, while still in the darkness, he had only been able to watch as his brothers died one by one, turning into piles of lifeless bones. He had not known for how long he could hold on, and when his six brothers had all died, a group of people suddenly appeared and easily killed those Cannibal Moths! He stood slack-jawed and stared at the newcomers in stunned amazement, while his emotions were in turmoil.


    Flames of fury then rushed into his mind. "You¡­ " Why didn''t you come earlier?"


    Normally, Ab would never speak so insolently to these powerful masters. However, when he looked at the piles of bones, which were all that was left of his brothers, the bitterness in his heart overwhelmed him.


    The Saint Lord of the ogres glanced coldly at Ab and sneered. He didn''t even bother to speak to Ab or express his condolences. A Spirit Supreme Realm warrior was not in a position to question him. With a slight flash of his mountain-like body, a bloody light condensed at the tip of his finger. There was a mighty power contained within the blood light. Obviously, he was intent on killing Ab.

 Chapter 1442 So Many People

    In the eyes of the Saint Lords from the tenth-grade sacred places, Lincoln''s group was nothing more than a key to open the door.


    As long as the door was opened, they were of no use to them. To kill them would be as simple as crushing an ant.


    Ab could feel the power of the bloody light. He also felt that as long as he touched even a trace of it, it was very likely that he would be reduced to ashes. His face immediately turned deathly pale. He lost control of his emotions at the deaths of his six brothers. Finally, he realized that he had offended people whom he never should have offended.


    Moreover, they were from the ogre race. People like him were nothing more than grass to them; they could trample on them as they pleased.


    Seeing the blood light emit out, Ab did not even have the courage to dodge it. After all, a world lord was two realms higher than him. How could he match up to that?


    But at this moment, the Saint Lord of the Magnolia Sacred Place reached out and a light blue screen appeared in front of Ab. The Saint Lord said indifferently, "Yosef, haven''t we, the people from the three sacred places, agreed that we won''t kill anyone, no matter which race comes to open the underground palace?"


    Hearing his words, the bloody light in the hands of the Saint Lord from the ogre race gradually faded away. It did not make much difference if he killed an ant! He only gave a faint snort and paid no more attention to Ab.


    The human Saint Lord glanced at Ab quickly. Considering that he was also from the human race, the Saint Lord said, "Since you''ve chosen to enter this underground palace, you should have been prepared to pay for it with your lives. For martial artists, to experience trials is an everyday occurrence in this world. Try your best to survive."


    What the human Saint Lord meant was simple¡ªsince Ab led his companions to explore the underground palace, he must be ready to compensate for it with their lives. He could not accuse someone else for not rescuing him in time, just because he himself was too weak to survive. It was immature of him.


    How could Ab not understand this truth? He was just unwilling to accept it.


    When he looked up, he saw Lincoln, Zen, and Freya jump down from the Nine-head Snake statue. Once again, Ab felt it to be unfair.


    He knew Lincoln was strong, but why were Zen and Freya left unwounded? Just now, the two of them had been surrounded by the Cannibal Moths. How did they escape from that danger? Ab was clueless.


    As Zen leaped down, the human Saint Lord''s gaze landed on him. A flicker of appreciation appeared on his emotionless face. The Saint Lord saw clearly that the young man had some kind of a magical power to see through the theurgy of the Dark Law. Under the siege of the Cannibal Moths, he managed to evade the attacks and hold on till the last moment.


    Zen''


    not made the promise to the other two Saint Lords, he would have killed them a long time ago. To the Saint Lord of the ogre race, Zen, Lincoln, and the others were merely the key to the underground palace. Once it was opened, it hardly mattered what happened to these warriors.


    When the human Saint Lord saw this, he did not say a word to stop them. As long as the Saint Lord of the ogre race did not kill anyone, he would not be breaking any rules.


    Suppressed by the invisible power of the Saint Lord of the ogre race, Zen''s mouth twisted into a tight frown. Suddenly, the power of the dragon scales surged up inside his body. He stared at the invisible power as he lifted his foot.


    The Saint Lord of the ogre race possessed the cultivation of a world lord, but due to the history of the Dark World, there were no world lords. Therefore, he could be considered an expectant world lord who had the cultivation of a world lord, but did not possess the true abilities of that title. Similarly, the Saint Lord from the Spiritual Force Sacred Place in the Spirit Reading World was also an expectant world lord.


    Although the invisible force that bound Zen and the others did not look anything extraordinary, the Saint Lord of the ogre race possessed a cultivation of a world lord. He was one of the top three warriors in this supreme world and so his invisible power was unimaginably great.


    Lincoln, who was beside him, struggled furiously, but it was next to impossible for him to break free from the restraints of the invisible energy.


    However, Zen continued to activate the dragon scales one by one. As the incrementing power poured into his body, he took a big step toward the entrance of the underground palace under the restraint of the immense invisible force of the Saint Lord of the ogre race.


    The Saint Lord could not help but exclaim in surprise. He looked at Zen with bewilderment.

 Chapter 1443 The Endless Abyss

    It made no sense. How was it possible that Zen, a warrior who had just reached the Soul Sea Realm, could break free from his restraining power?


    Yosef could hardly believe his eyes.


    His binding technique didn''t look threatening, but it made up for what it lacked in presentation of strength, like a giant bearing down his weight to squash a miniscule, feeble insect. Perhaps he too had been fooled by appearances. This particular insect he was dealing with was much stronger than he thought.


    Zen felt a huge force pressing down on his body. He was struggling, but he was able to resist it, walking with big, forceful steps towards the entrance of the underground palace.


    Not only Yosef had been surprised by the sudden turn of events. The Saint Lords of the Demon Night and the humans watched with strange expressions on their faces. Clearly, none of them had expected this.


    "How interesting," Yosef sneered. He was not one to lose. Once more, he raised his hand to press a thick finger towards Zen, doubling the force of his bindings.


    Zen felt a greater force enveloping his body. He was the sole target of Yosef''s technique, and all of its power was directed at him. He felt his muscles complain as the force around him grew heavier.


    For a moment, Zen closed his eyes and focused. With a deep breath, he activated the power of more than ten thousand dragon scales in his body.


    The spectators watched Zen pause for a moment. The next thing they heard was a loud crackle coming from within his body as it expanded.


    "Hey!" Blood rushed to Yosef''s head as rage took over him. It was simply ridiculous that a mere warrior at the Soul Sea Realm would be able to subdue the strength of his giant finger. In a fury-filled move, he poured all strength and sent his entire palm towards Zen''s head.


    "Yosef, think about your position. You are a Saint Lord. It would be disgraceful to compete with a junior!"


    The human Saint Lord could no longer stand Yosef''s contemptible pride. With a light wave of his hand, he dispelled the tremendous force that came from Yosef to Zen.


    The next second, Zen felt freed from the invisible force that bound him earlier. The human Saint Lord then released the force that had been suppressing Lincoln''s and Freya''s bodies.


    The human Saint Lord''s words poured over Yosef''s senses like ice, dousing his rage and pulling him back to his senses. Yosef chuckled. "I am not competing with him. I just think that he is a bit interesting."


    With Yosef''s anger visibly pla


    at the bottom of this abyss.


    They continued to descend, their senses tingling with agitation


    as the wind blew past their ears. They kept falling for five minutes.


    As they descended, Zen''s eyes wandered around the surroundings within the abyss. It was impossible to decipher what sort of theurgy the Supreme Lord had used, or the reason why he built such a strange abyss.


    However, one thing was clear. The creator had undergone great lengths in order to construct the dark space.


    Having reached a wall with his questions, Zen turned to ask Lavender once again.


    "I do not know," she answered simply. "A hundred thousand years ago when I explored this abyss, my cultivation was just at the Spirit Supreme Realm. I am more or less familiar with the underground palace, but I had not succeeded in discovering all of its secrets. The Supreme Lord''s origins are obscure and mysterious. Until today, no one has been able to uncover his true identity. There is a possibility that he constructed his own grave in this way in order to choose a worthy successor. That, however, is only my guess."


    A long time had passed since the abyss'' creation. No one knew what sort of tribulations the creator had gone through in the past before he built the underground palace.


    "Be careful," Lavender warned. "If I remember correctly, the first ordeal in the Endless Abyss should arrive at this time."


    Zen''s blood froze as he looked down. There, at the bottom of the pit were dark-green vines as thick as an arm, their spikes densely packed together.


    He was only several thousand feet away from the vines. At the rate of their fall, the vines would pierce them immediately.

 Chapter 1444 Lashing

    There was still a slight difference between their falling speeds.


    After descending for a while, they realized that even though they could not fly up above, they could change their stature and adjust their speeds.


    By lowering one''s head, the four limbs would naturally come together and the falling speed would increase.


    By stretching one''s limbs, the speed of one''s descent would decrease because of the fluttering clothes.


    Right now, none of them had any idea how to deal with their current crisis. They tried to adjust their speeds to be as slow as possible and stuck close to each other.


    With this rapid descent, they charged into the dense vines.


    Mysterious Life Law surfaced on these vines. It was as if they had their own set of brains. As Zen and the others came to be surrounded by the vines, the vines turned into long whips and lashed out at them.


    Pah! Pah! Pah¡­


    Loud sounds erupted from the lashing vines, akin to the explosion of a firecracker.


    Except for Zen, the other warriors activated their life vitality to protect themselves quickly. Most of the ogres summoned their forceful energy to shield their bodies as soon as they could.


    However, the power contained in these vines far exceeded their imaginations.


    As a vine lashed out, a warrior''s life vitality was instantly torn apart. He would be fiercely smashed into the deep abyss walls and continue to fall down.


    No one was able to fly or adjust their positions, so they could hardly dodge the vines.


    The vines seemed to contain some kind of special power which was strong and intense. No matter what treasure or cultivation method one used, the vines would break through and whip the warrior''s body. The pain almost instantly killed him. It was as if the vines were whipping him both physically and mentally.


    Miserable cries echoed through the abyss. The warriors twisted in pain, their faces revealing their suffering.


    Zen was the only one who seemed calm in the face of the vines lashing at him.


    The whips were strong but it was impossible for them to break through his divine weapon-like body. The whipping only caused him to twist and spin. The pain was easily dispelled by a warm current flowing through his body.


    However, when he turned around to look, he saw Freya being whipped by the vines. Her body twisted in the air at an uncontrollable speed.


    Zen had thought that Freya was a timid girl from how she had acted before. Facing the Cannibal Moths, s


    ve up or change his mind. He was confident in his own talent but just like Lavender had pointed out, compared to the other geniuses of the Upper World, Zen lacked resources, not talent.


    Zen decided to do his best to gather resources along the way. In the Upper World, it was the effective way for him to grow stronger.


    Lost in thoughts, Zen heard a timid voice. "Zen, Zen, could you... Could you let me go?"


    Hearing this, Zen realized that they had already passed the vines. There was no longer any need for him to keep Freya in his arms.


    He loosened his grip and gently let Freya go. He gave an embarrassed smile and said, "Sorry."


    Freya''s face blushed a little. As she stared at Zen''s embarrassed face, she realized how interesting he was. She then made up her mind. No matter how hard it got to pass the abyss of the underground palace, she would follow Zen closely.


    The warriors tried to maintain a normal speed as they fell.


    From the moment they had entered the underground palace, they had descended tens of millions of feet already.


    They did not know when it would come to an end. After experiencing the whipping of the vines, they had become even more vigilant.


    Only then did Zen ask Lavender, "What will happen if we go further down?"


    "Hmm? Let me think. A hundred thousand years have passed since I was here last time. I need some time to recall." Lavender hesitated for some moments before continuing, "If I remember correctly, the second round is the Blade Mountain Trap."


    "The Blade Mountain Trap?"


    Although Zen didn''t understand what this was, a bad premonition rose in his heart as he heard the name.

 Chapter 1445 Trick

    The warriors who entered the Endless Abyss wished to possess the treasures of the underground palace.


    But after experiencing the attacks of the strange vines, the warriors realized that the benefits of the underground palace were not to be easily obtained.


    Most of the warriors had tolerated the whips of the vines, but other than Zen and Freya, most of them had suffered light or heavy internal injuries. Moreover, the whips of the vines had obviously cast a shadow over the warriors.


    The first round of the Endless Abyss had been tough to tolerate. The next test would no doubt be even more difficult.


    It had to be known that the warriors were only talents of the three tenth-grade sacred places in the Dark World.


    Whether it was the human Magnolia Sacred Place, the Demon Night''s Purple Bamboo Sacred Place, or even the ogre''s sacred place, none of them could be considered as particularly important or popular compared to the sacred places in other supreme worlds.


    Among the talents sent out by the three races, a few of them were at the Soul Sea Realm, while the majority were at the Spirit Supreme Realm. They might be slightly stronger, but they could not be compared to the talents of the thirteen palaces.


    Entering the Endless Abyss meant that they would encounter opportunities to grow stronger. However, the treasures obtained would need to be handed over to their respective sacred places. Presently, many warriors were beginning to want to retreat.


    The issue was that they fell straight down as they stepped into the abyss. They could not manage to fly, so they could not go back.


    Just as everyone was starting to feel depressed, they saw something deep in the abyss. Purple dots of light floated in the air at a distance.


    These purple lights were in a relatively motionless state. However, because everyone was falling rapidly, they felt the lights rapidly approach them in their vision.


    "What are those dots?"


    Some of the warriors reacted quickly and reached out to grab the spots of purple light.


    "Hey! Those are divine textures."


    "It''s an ancient divine texture!"


    "It seems like the purple spots can help us return to the entrance!" a warrior cried out in excitement.


    Zen and Freya also grabbed on to a purple light dot respectively. The moment they caught hold of them, indescribable consciousness effused from the dots. Everyone instantly understood their function.


    "Return..."


    Zen smiled as he held the dot and crushed it with a gentle pinch.


    It seemed like the Suprem


    en asked Lavender.


    Lavender smiled. "You''ll know soon enough!"


    Just as she finished speaking, three giant blades surfaced in the abyss, forming a small angle at their top.


    Although the number of blades had increased, the warriors still had space to dodge them because of the wide cross-section of the abyss. Only one person was not careful enough. He fell passing by one of the blades and was almost cut into two pieces.


    However, as everyone continued to descend, the number of blades in the abyss grew.


    Four, five, six...


    As they fell, there was no place for them to dodge the incoming attack. Their bodies were not nimble enough to shift around. They carefully avoided the nearing blades, but they were still surrounded by danger.


    "Ah!!!"


    One of the warriors was not able to shift in time and his arm was cut off by the blade. Drops of blood splashed out like rain of blood.


    Hearing the pitiful cry, Freya bit her lip and stared at the blade below her. One could imagine what it would be like being cut by that blade. If the vines only gave her a painful whipping, the blades would cost her life!


    She focused her attention on trying to dodge the silver-white blades.


    However, just as was the case with the other warriors, it was difficult to reverse directions in the air. They were very inflexible at the moment.


    Thinking of this, an idea suddenly flashed in Freya''s mind. She looked toward the top of the abyss. Then, she turned her body and slowly approached the side.


    Seeing Freya''s movements, Zen''s face was filled with doubt. At the same time, Lavender''s voice rang out, "Ha-ha, that girl is quite smart. She has discovered the trick so quickly!"

 Chapter 1446 Fight For The Chance Of Survival

    The walls of the abyss were smooth and there was nothing to cling on to.


    Previously, martial artists had tried to shatter the walls of the abyss. They had first wanted to make a big hole in the wall, but it was not long before they realized that all attempts would be futile.


    A faint enchanted barrier was present on the walls of the abyss. The enchanted barrier was not so conspicuous, but with the level of strength of this group of warriors, it was impossible for them to shatter it.


    However, Freya did not want to cling to the wall. Instead, she moved to make her body as close to the wall as possible, maintaining a distance of about a foot from it. When several enormous blades appeared from below again, she slapped the wall with the palm of her hand. By taking advantage of the counterforce, she was able to control her position in the abyss and dodge the huge blades.


    Zen''s eyes twinkled when he saw Freya''s movements.


    The warriors had fallen from above but were unable to fly. It was indeed difficult for them to evade the huge blades. If they did not dodge them in time, the blades would cut them off. Freya''s method proved to be helpful.


    Those who were willing to stay in the abyss were those with strong willpower. Facing the cold glint of the enormous blades, everyone was a little scared, but they clenched their teeth with determination and persevered. Seeing how Freya avoided the blades, they all followed suit, adjusted their positions, and approached the walls of the abyss.


    In the abyss, the scene was such that the warriors clung firmly to the wall and each time a batch of blades appeared, they hit the wall. Some warriors stomped on the wall with their legs, while some martial artists only used their hands to hit it. In this way, they managed to survive the marathon of blades that came at them.


    However, as they descended farther down, the number of blades increased. At the start, only two or three giant blades appeared deep into the abyss. Later, there were seven, eight, or even ten blades entangled together, leaving everyone with less and less space to pass through.


    "Pfft!"


    Zen reached out to tap the wall of the abyss and his body drifted twenty to thirty feet horizontally. His goal was to move to the position above the chasm in the middle, between the blades, which was about five to six feet wide. Zen could then easily pass through the gap and avoid getting pierced by the blades.


    But just as Zen adjusted his position and was about to rush toward the gap, he heard a loud, deafening sound. It was from an ogre who had hit the wall of the abyss. The counter-force made him


    ollision, the two of them were distanced from the gap between the blades. Awais wanted to shift, but it was too late to find another gap. Looking at the blades that exuded rays of cold light from below him, a look of despair covered his face. Before he could sense his impending doom, he instantly activated the purple light dot, hoping that he could use the divine texture to return to the entrance of the underground palace before he was cut to pieces by the blades.


    As for Zen, he had calculated the amount of impact force he would take on before colliding with Awais. He and Awais were like two clashing marbles, and the instant Zen was pushed back, his body flew in another direction. In that space was another ogre martial artist.


    This particular ogre martial artist had already adjusted his position and thought that all he needed to do now was to wait to fall into the gap below without any worries. He would then pass through the layer of blades. Seeing Zen fly over, the ogre martial artist was stunned and shouted, "You, you dare to touch me?"


    Bang¡­


    However, the problem was not that Zen dared to do so. Even Zen himself was unable to control his movements. He directly collided into the ogre martial artist and sent him flying back, but Zen''s own body firmly stopped above the gap.


    Suddenly, the enormous blades formed a fatal net, closing in on the crowd.


    Except for Awais and the other ogre martial artist who had just been sent flying by Zen, the warriors dropped into the openings of the net, namely the cracks between the blades, and safely passed through.


    Awais''s body fell straight onto the blades. At the instant before his body was about to be cut by the blades, the purple light wrapped around him and flew upward...

 Chapter 1447 Windy Tunnels

    All of this happened in a span of just three seconds.


    Awais had activated the divine texture when he had knocked into those blades, causing his body to become engulfed in the purple light as he came to a standstill. And then, the purple light tugged at him forcefully and pulled him out of the blades.


    He would have been sliced into pieces if he had been any slower.


    But he was already heavily wounded, his body having been riddled with several terrifying bruises and cuts. And now that he had used the divine texture, there was no chance for him to return to the Endless Abyss for a second time.


    Since Awais was one of the top geniuses of the sacred place of the ogres, this showdown had resulted in a burning resentment towards Zen. As he was pulled back by the purple light, he roared at Zen who was down in the abyss, "You brat! Even if you can survive the abyss, I can guarantee that you won''t be able to leave the Dark World alive!"


    The other ogre warrior wasn''t as lucky as Awais. He hadn''t expected Zen to crash this suddenly into him. Having been caught off guard, he hadn''t had the time to even react before two intersecting blades cut through his body into pieces.


    Nobody would blame Zen for this warrior''s death, though. They all knew that Awais had caused it.


    The tragic end of the two ogre warriors caused everyone to look at Zen in what could only be a mix of caution and trepidation.


    Zen had been ambushed by Awais, but had reacted quite quickly, leaving him unharmed. He had also managed to take revenge and wound two ogre warriors. He was undoubtedly an opponent that couldn''t be trifled with, whether in terms of intelligence or strength.


    What made this even more incredible was that he was only at the early stage of the Soul Sea Realm.


    Seeing how the two ogre warriors had found themselves in such a miserable situation, most of the warriors now refrained from competing with each other. If one of them tried to struggle with another for a gap between the blades like Awais had done, they would most likely end up in pieces.


    The blades finally disappeared after about an hour. Just as everyone began getting curious about the next trap, someone suddenly shouted, "Look! There''s a platform down there!"


    There had been nothing for them to cling on to ever since they had entered the underground palace and started falling into the abyss. But the appearance of the platform had immediately attracted everyone''s attention.


    "Let''s go there!" a Demon Night woman ordered, her golden hair swishing with her every gesture.


    The other warriors of the Demon Night race quickly adjusted their posit


    cave, their eyes wide as they took in the rare treasures and resources that filled this cave.


    These treasures were precious, even to a tenth-grade sacred place.


    "How can we get there? Can we fly over to the other side?" someone asked.


    Since they were not within the Endless Abyss, some of them tried to float to the sky but quickly discovered that they still couldn''t fly.


    "How can we get our hands on those treasures if we can''t fly?" a warrior complained.


    The blonde woman from the Demon Night race glanced around again and said, "Over there!"


    Everyone followed her gaze and found that there was a row of naturally formed stone platforms on this side of the cave. They could see the whole row of platforms from where they were standing.


    There were a total of over a hundred stone platforms, and at the bottom of each platform was a circular windy tunnel.


    The tunnels were an explanation to the melodious wind they had encountered. Strong gales blew out of these tunnels, and when these gales rushed out from below the stone platforms, it sounded like someone was whistling. The different sizes of these platforms resulted in different pitches of the sounds, making it sound like someone was playing a flute.


    The blonde woman jumped onto a stone platform and bent to observe the windy tunnel below. After a while, she turned to the others and said, "It looks like every windy tunnel has a different route."


    "You are right! If we enter different windy tunnels, we will arrive at different positions on the other side and obtain different treasures!" someone said and many other warriors agreed with this.


    Suddenly, a human warrior pointed to the top of the cave and shouted excitedly, "Look! What''s that at the top of the cave?"

 Chapter 1448 A Seed Of The World Tree

    At the top of the giant cave, there was a small crack. And there was a sere grass vine tumbling out from that crack. Its withered leaves were mere remnants growing against the shriveled stem.


    There was nothing special about this dried vine itself, but there was an extraordinary tree seed hanging on its tail. The seed was the size of a thumb and bright yellow all over. And its surface was extremely smooth. It was unknown how many years it had been hanging there, balanced between the heavens and the lands beneath.


    Everyone was, however, engrossed in looking at numerous strange flowers and herbs in the cave. And because the seed was far away from them, nobody had noticed the small, shiny treasure.


    Suddenly, the loud, excited shout of a warrior attracted everyone''s attention.


    All sorts of exotic flowers and herbs could be seen in this cave, causing everyone''s eyes to water with zeal. Apart from Zen and Lincoln, most of the other warriors were from the three tenth grade sacred places of the Dark World.


    The resources in the Dark World were scarce, so they didn''t see as many rare treasures as the warriors from the thirteen palaces did. Every rare flower and herb in this cave could give them each a great advantage.


    And when they saw the seed, desire burned strongly in their eyes.


    However, the three Saint Lords at the entrance of the underground palace frowned deeply when they also noticed the seed.


    "If I''m right, it''s a seed of the World Tree!" The eyes of the Saint Lord from the ogre race were tainted with a trace of greed. He desired the seed as soon as he saw it.


    The Saint Lord from the Magnolia Sacred Place shook his head slightly, and said in a regretful tone, "Our cultivation has broken through the Spirit Supreme Realm, and our inner worlds have already solidified. A rare treasure like the World Tree seed is useless to us."


    The Saint Lord of the Demon Night looked unperturbed and calmly said, "They are lucky to find a seed of the World Tree, but it''s hard to tell whether they could reach it. As far as I know, the World Tree seed has been hanging above the cave for countless years. The underground palace has been opened several times, but nobody has ever come close to claiming that seed."


    The underground palace had been opened six times before. The most recent time was when Lavender, the queen of the Demon Night, had entered here. The World Tree seed was one of the rarest treasures in the universe, and she had not been able to obtain it last time.


    At that time, Lavender''s cultivation base had not been as strong as now. Although she had already been the queen back then, she had not been able to obtain the seed, even with the Demon Night''s elites to help her. It was a bit unrealistic for these young men to hope to obtain it.


    So for the Saint Lord of the Demon Night, the seed was still nothing more than a shiny bauble in the end, although the World Tree seed was an attractive pursuit for most.


    The three Saint Lords were silent once more, as they waited to see what would happen next.


    "This is the legendary World Tree seed. It can transform into the very foundation of a warrior, and grow along with their i


    he force of the gale was terrifying! His elephant-like body was like a leaf being swept away in the gale, haphazardly moving along a certain path in the cave!


    "This turbulent current is rushing upwards!" an ogre shouted excitedly.


    The other warriors immediately became anxious. There was only one seed, and if it was taken away by that ogre, the others would not have any chance then.


    However, at this very moment, the turbulent wind that was lifting the ogre up suddenly changed direction and violently swept downwards. The ogre, caught in this wind storm, didn''t have any chance to resist at all. He had been only like a leaf floating in the wind, but now he plummeted, falling into the depths of the cave.


    Some of the warriors with good eyesight could see the unwillingness on the face of the ogre. Fortunately, when the ogre passed a stone pillar, he reached out and grabbed a precious fruit from the stone pillar. At least, he had gotten one treasure now.


    Having learned the lesson from this ogre, everyone became very cautious. They didn''t want to take any action without consideration and they wanted to observe the turbulent wind''s rules first.


    Zen leaned against the wall, looked at the seed of the World Tree at the top of the cave, and asked, "Is the seed really that important?"


    "Of course, if not, then why did I let you agree to Lincoln''s invitation? This World Tree seed is one of my goals. You have to get it!" Lavender answered in an unquestionable tone.


    "But... The chances of getting it are so small." Zen shook his head in astonishment.


    His luck was indeed not bad, but it hadn''t reached the point where he could accomplish anything he wished for. When he had absorbed the Luck-devouring Snakes during his tribulation, he had indeed been quite lucky, almost to the point where he had achieved what he wished for, but it had only maintained for a short period of time. If he had absorbed a few more Luck-devouring Snakes already, he would have been confident that he could obtain the World Tree seed.


    "Your chances are small, but I have a plan," Lavender said with a faint smile.

 Chapter 1449 Difficult To Get

    Lavender had indicated that she had a way to get the seed, so Zen didn''t say much and just stood aside, watching.


    Many warriors also knew that the chances of obtaining the seed of the World Tree were very small, so they had to take a step back and focus on getting the other treasures.


    After the warriors had chosen their targets, they selected one of the stone platforms and jumped down, drifting along the wind path. Whether they could attain the thing they favored or not would depend on their luck.


    After pondering for a while, the lady with the golden hair who had led the people from the Demon Night also walked onto a stone platform.


    She didn''t rush to jump down from the stone platform. Instead, she removed a small scented sachet from her space ring. She gently touched the sachet, and a faint pink scented fog appeared.


    Even though there was a violent wind blowing in the cave, everyone was able to smell the fragrance. It was an extremely refreshing smell.


    Everyone was perplexed when they saw this scene. What was the blonde woman trying to do?


    "Hey, I did the same thing back then. Someone must have taught her this method," Lavender''s voice rang out again.


    Zen studied the blonde woman''s actions carefully and said, "She... Does she want to determine the direction of the gale?"


    "Yes," Lavender said nodding.


    As the pink fog dispersed, it floated into the wind tunnel below the stone platform, leaving a pink trajectory in its wake!


    This fragrant fog was swirling around in the cave. After circling a few stalagmites, it made a turn in the air and floated to the opposite side of the cave.


    "We can clearly see the path of the wind this way!"


    "Try different platforms one after another. One of them is bound to succeed. This is indeed a good method!"


    Many warriors were impressed by the intelligence of the woman from the Demon Night. Several warriors even quietly approached the stone platform. If this woman really succeeded, then they could jump into the wind tunnel instantly. There was only one seed of the World Tree in the world, and nobody wanted to give up such a great opportunity.


    "What should we do? Do you want me to go up first?" Zen asked Lavender. Since she knew the way to get the seed of the World Tree, he should go ahead of others. If this woman from the Demon Night had really found a way, things would have been much more troublesome!


    But Lavender smiled, "It doesn''t matter, she won''t be able to test it out this way."


    The blonde woman''s


    themselves.


    "Huff, huff..."


    Lincoln used the force of the gale to rush to the top of the cave. The seed of the World Tree was right in front of him now!


    But right then an invisible wind blew from the side, forcefully changing Lincoln''s direction and pushing his tall and sturdy body to another direction.


    Soon after, he landed on the opposite side of the cave. Looking at the seed of the World Tree, he clenched his teeth angrily.


    The other warriors also sighed in frustration. They were happy that Lincoln didn''t get the World Tree''s seed, and that they had a shot at it but it also proved that the chances to succeed were very small.


    Driven by mixed emotions, the other warriors jumped into the wind tunnel and used all their power to try to get the seed.


    Some of the warriors had luck on their side. They had chosen the right wind tunnel as well as the correct angle but they still hadn''t been able to obtain the World Tree''s seed.


    A while later, most of the warriors had already reached the other side of the cave, leaving only Zen, Freya and Adrian with a few people.


    Adrian looked very depressed!


    He had planned this trip to the underground palace for a long time, but he never would have expected it to be like this. Although there were many opportunities here, one needed to rely on their own strength to fight for them. But his strength was obviously not enough.


    Feeling helpless, he also jumped into the wind tunnel. Whether he could get what he wanted or not depended on his luck.


    Freya glanced at Zen and said, "I''m going too."


    She didn''t have a specific goal. If she was lucky, she could just take any one of the treasures away.

 Chapter 1450 A Conflict

    Even though Freya had already ascended to the Upper World, she wasn''t exactly an ambitious person.


    She didn''t even recognize the rare, invaluable treasures found within the cave. She learned from the discussions of others that the tiny World Tree seed at the top of the cave was an extraordinary object.


    However, she did not target this tree seed, but instead focused on the side of the cave, where there was an ice lotus emitting a cold aura.


    She mainly cultivated the Ice Law. This ice lotus would be useful to her, but she wasn''t sure if she could do it. After all, not all martial artists that had entered the wind tunnels would be able to obtain what they wanted. Some of them came out empty-handed.


    Seeing Freya''s expression, Zen smiled and encouraged her, "Try your best! You can do it!"


    Zen couldn''t help her much after all.


    Freya nodded at this. She felt encouraged and was feeling a bit more confident now. "Thank you! I''ll try my best!"


    She stretched out her arms, releasing a stream of cold air. Her entire body was like a kite as she flew along a wind tunnel.


    Perhaps it was because she was a little flustered. As she was floating in the wind tunnel, her petite body continuously twirled. After a long while, she finally managed to stabilize her body.


    Her eyebrows were knitted together, completely focused. She understood that although this ice lotus was valuable, it wasn''t a life-and-death thing for her. However, when she thought that Zen was watching her from behind, she took it more seriously. She''d decided that she was going to get that ice lotus.


    "Still another hundred feet."


    As Freya was getting closer and closer to the ice lotus, her expression became increasingly solemn. Although these wind tunnels didn''t intersect with each other, the wind still caused her to sway back and forth every now and then.


    "Here it is!"


    Freya stretched out her hand when she saw that the ice lotus was just inches away from her now. Just as she was about to reach for the ice lotus, her body was suddenly dragged towards the opposite side by the violent and strong wind. Her hand was still reaching for the ice lotus.


    She gritted her teeth as an icy blue ribbon appeared in her hand, sweeping towards the ice lotus. As the ice lotus was pulled by the ribbon, an extremely cold aura burst forth. Freya''s face brightened as she finally got the ice lotus.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Soon she was standing on


    rm. The wind tunnel underneath it was relatively remote.


    Zen had observed that no martial artist had chosen this wind tunnel until now. The reason was simple: when the Demon Night blonde had her test here using the scented mist, the wind in the tunnel flew downwards to the bottom of the cave.


    Everyone''s goal was to go up, so no one would choose to go down such a wind tunnel.


    However, since Lavender had asked him to choose this tunnel, he had no choice but to follow.


    Inside the cave, there were only two or three martial artists that didn''t follow the wind to the other side. But by now, Zen had gotten everyone''s attention.


    "He seems to have chosen the most unreliable tunnel."


    "It''s useless. Some people like to think outside of the box, but the wind in that tunnel goes down all the way. He doesn''t even have the slightest chance."


    "Yeah, I think so too."


    They discussed amongst themselves as they watched Zen.


    When Zen had finished preparing, he took a step on the stone platform and his entire body merged with the fierce wind that was blowing out from the tunnel.


    Whir! Whir! Whir!


    Zen flew down against the wind.


    His body kept descending at an angle of 90 degrees.


    However, after he descended for over two hundred feet, he maintained a certain angle and slowly moved upward.


    With the fast speed of the wind, Zen was able to hover to the right of the cave in less than three seconds.


    "To the left!" Lavender''s cold and brisk voice came through.


    Upon hearing this, Zen quickly hit the stalagmite on the left, and then he charged out of the tunnel and went around to another one.

 Chapter 1451 Getting The Tree Seed

    Each wind tunnel had a different trajectory, but the final destination for all would be on the other side of the cave.


    Zen wasn''t the first warrior to change the wind tunnel. For example, Lincoln and some other warriors had also changed the wind tunnel several times.


    However, Zen''s change in direction this time was completely incomprehensible to the other warriors. They believed that he had gone completely off course.


    Whether it was Lincoln or the other warriors, they were all rushing upward. Their goal was clear, since their only goal was the seed of the World Tree.


    This time, Zen had switched from one wind tunnel to another, but his position was getting lower and lower.


    "Now, switch again!" Lavender''s voice came again, as a series of sharp barked commands.


    With a stomp of his feet on a towering stone pillar, Zen broke away from the wind tunnel and once again changed his path! It was a combination of Zen''s physical prowess and Lavender''s dynamic directing.


    "Right! Now!"


    "To the left."


    With the crispness of Lavender''s series of orders, Zen had almost completed a dazzling acrobatics performance! His body was a whir against the air as he darted and thrust, changing direction like a bird in flight.


    He leaped into the cave with the help of the wind, but he still stayed at the bottom of the cave.


    "Look at this guy. Is he here for doing acrobatics?" a warrior said as he looked at Zen in a stunned daze.


    Even now, Zen still hadn''t been able to claim a single treasure. However, his movements made many warriors silently admire him in their hearts. If it were them, it would be difficult to have managed such aerial maneuvers, especially when they were all being swept away by the strong gales.


    After changing between wind tunnels thirteen times, Zen arrived at the very center of the cave.


    When Zen reached the center, a strange phenomenon occurred.


    At this moment, Zen was neither advancing nor retreating. He was floating, suspended in the middle of the air. And around him, there seemed to be a slowly rising current of air that wrapped around his entire body, and made him float ethereally towards the seed of the World Tree at the top of the cave!


    "What¡­ What''s going on?"


    "This guy can''t be flying by himself, right? This place clearly doesn''t allow us to fly!"


    "I think there is a rising wind that is directly lifting Zen up!"


    Witnessing this scene, Freya became extremely excited. The difficulty of getting the seed of the World Tree was so great that Freya did not even dare to think about it. There seemed to be nothing now that could stop Zen!


    A look of excitement also appeared on Lincoln''s face. Although he had not obtained this seed of the World Tree, Lincoln had always been in awe of the people who were stronger than himself. Lincoln could only respect him for doing what they had thought impossible!


    As for the warriors of the three sacred places of the Dark World, their eyes were almost spitting fire as they were also calculating Zen''s stre


    brute''s threat.


    Just now, this ogre warrior was the one who had snatched away Freya''s ice lotus!


    Zen had already decided earlier, when the ogre had offended Freya, to kill this ogre warrior. However, this fellow still dared now to threaten him. Besides laughing in ridicule, Zen could only sneer!


    With a grin, Zen swallowed the seed in one gulp. Then, he drew out a beam of the chaotic energy from his cinnabar field, which allowed him to hook this seed down into his internal world. Zen paused then and waited for a reaction.


    The chaotic sea in Zen''s body was still calm, not even a ripple could be seen!


    As for the other warriors, whenever they activated their cultivation methods, the Soul Sea within their bodies would stir up great, stormy waves. But, this rarely happened to Zen''s chaotic sea.


    This chaotic sea, which was condensed of chaotic energy, seemed to be much thicker than the life vitality seas which other warriors commanded.


    "Pop."


    After the seed of the World Tree had fallen into his cinnabar field, it went straight into Zen''s chaotic sea. There was only a ripple on the calm surface before it sank and disappeared.


    "That''s it?" Sensing this continuing stillness, Zen asked Lavender.


    Lavender shrugged and said, "What else do you want? The seed has already fallen into your cinnabar field. No matter what you do, you can''t take it out now. Just wait and see. It will take some time for the seed of the World Tree to take root and sprout."


    Hearing this, Zen nodded, and his eyes once again turned to that ogre warrior!


    As the ogre warrior saw Zen swallow the seed of the World Tree like that, he felt a great pain in his heart, which made him feel like his heart had begun to drip with blood. Of course, it wasn''t just him who was in a bad mood, the other warriors weren''t happy either. They had all coveted the World Tree''s Seed.


    Most people had this mentality. When they were unable to obtain something, they often wished for others to be unable to do so as well!

 Chapter 1452 Fight The Ogre Warrior

    The warriors, including the ogres, humans, and the Demon Night members, stared at Zen with dark eyes.


    "The seed of the World Tree has been swallowed by him!"


    "Can we get it back by cutting open his stomach?"


    "That is impossible. Once an Elixir Field Treasure is devoured, it enters the warrior''s inner world. If we kill him, the inner world will collapse as well, and then everything within will be annihilated!"


    "Then we can do nothing about it."


    Once an Elixir Field Treasure was devoured, not even the person who had swallowed it could take it out, let alone someone else.


    Zen, who was floating at the top of the cave, had not moved an inch. From what Lavender had told him, it would be best if he rested for a moment after swallowing the World Tree''s seed, so that it could sink safely into the sea of chaos in his belly.


    As for the other warriors in the cave, their gazes reflected their desire to kill Zen, but he turned a blind eye to them.


    While everyone was deep in discussion, the ogre warrior smiled widely. His smile was ferocious. Anyone could see that the ogre wished to devour Zen in one go.


    "Kid, I already warned you before. If you dare to swallow the seed, this underground palace becomes your grave!"


    The platform across the cave was small. But as the ogre warrior released his aura, the other warriors began to retreat.


    "He has the Ancient Evil Ape bloodline!"


    "That bloodline is very pure."


    "Once that human brat comes down, we will work together to attack him. Perhaps the World Tree''s seed hasn''t entered his elixir field yet."


    Zen''s previous performance had made the warriors of the three tenth-grade sacred places wary of him. But when the ogre warrior who had activated the Ancient Evil Ape bloodline took the lead, the others responded in unison.


    If they killed Zen, there might still be a sliver of a chance to win over the World Tree''s seed. If they did not act now, that chance would cease to exist.


    Under this increasing greed, the warriors would easily lose their heads. After all, obtaining a World Tree''s seed meant that their future paths would expand and their destinies would become full of countless possibilities. In addition to that, no one wished to live in their barren supreme world forever.


    In comparison, the Demon Night warriors were much more reserved. The blonde-haired woman of the race pulled her people into a corner. Although she was disappointed that Zen had obtained the World Tree''s seed, he had done so with h


    e far inferior to those that the warriors of the thirteen palaces possessed. For the warriors of the thirteen palaces, this first-rank divine weapon was of course extraordinary, but to the Dark World warriors, it was a fantasy coming true. It was much like the World Tree''s seed that Zen had swallowed.


    The moment Zen took out his sword, he flew over at a fast speed. The ogre warrior with the Ancient Evil Ape bloodline raised his dark golden hammer.


    An earthen yellow light gathered on the giant hammer, causing the ogre warrior''s aura to become several times more intense. Once again, he roared loudly, "Earth, go berserk! Tear apart the sky!"


    Normally, most ogre warriors focused on refining their bodies. This particular ogre warrior''s body was not inferior to those of the ogre body refiners, and he also specialized in the Earth Law. With the two different kinds of cultivating systems, the power of his hammer strike was much more forceful.


    As the other warriors witnessed the ogre warrior''s full attack, they could not help but widen their eyes. The hammer strike could smash Zen and his sword into a pulp. Although Zen''s sword was a first-rank divine weapon, the sword blade itself was not too thick. It could easily be bent or broken.


    Freya looked at Zen, her heart racing with worry. However, when she saw the smile on his face, an inexplicable confidence rose in her heart. Zen certainly knew how to deal with this.


    The moment the ogre warrior swung his hammer, the Thunder Wind Divine Sword in Zen''s hand charged at his opponent.


    Zen did not choose to dodge the ogre warrior''s attack; rather, he faced him head on as he wielded his sword.

 Chapter 1453 A Loop (Part One)

    The moment Zen decided to face the ogre warrior''s hammer head-on, a lot of people thought that he had lost his mind.


    Because essentially, in a situation such as this one, the odds of winning were completely against a Soul Sea Realm warrior.


    In the general run of things, when human warriors engaged in battle with ogres, they would opt to think of something else and would in no way face the enemies head-on.


    That being said, at this moment, a strand of cold light manifested on Zen''s Thunder Wind Divine Sword all of a sudden. And at the same time, an immeasurable amount of malicious aura began gushing out from his body.


    In just a few seconds, an unstable malicious aura spread out, effortlessly keeping the Ancient Evil Ape''s aura that the ogre warrior emitted in check. Not long after, everyone watched as Zen slashed his five-foot-long sword down on the giant hammer.


    Boom!


    At the point of impact between the long sword and the giant hammer, the only thing the crowd could hear was a somewhat muffled sound. It was in no way clear whatsoever.


    The next scene they witnessed left everyone watching from the sidelines utterly dumbfounded.


    The Earth Law which had been enveloping the dark golden giant hammer had just gotten shattered by Zen''s sword with such ease.


    From the looks of it, the slash from Zen''s sword came out with a relentless force, splitting the giant hammer in half without difficulty.


    It was worth mentioning that the ogre warrior''s hammer had already been infused with his full power. If it were in the Lower World, even a continent would collapse from that mighty hammer strike.


    Be that as it may, Zen wasn''t the slightest bit fazed. Quite the opposite, at the swing of his sword, it gave the impression that


    is one, try not to fight back. You should just ask me to lend you a hand."


    Freya was in a state of euphoria at the moment. In her eyes, Zen had the appearance of a superhero. Just how many people would be willing to do something for others? Probably not a lot.


    She understood full well how genuine Zen''s words were.


    From the moment he grabbed the space ring to the point when he picked up the icy lotus, Zen was perfectly laid-back, keeping his guard lowered down.


    The other warriors who had intended to gang up on him before had been caught completely off-guard, simply keeping silent as they watched him move.


    In spite of the fact that they had been planning to come at Zen all at the same time, they couldn''t gather the courage to pull it off. As they marveled at the lifeless remains of the ogre warrior, they could already tell what the outcome was going to be if they were to raise arms against Zen. The strength this guy possessed was comparable to that of a devil, and these people, who were merely at the Spirit Supreme Realm, wouldn''t even be worth mentioning before Zen. Deep inside, a few of those warriors couldn''t help but feel an immense fear.

 Chapter 1454 A Loop (Part Two)

    With regards to the other ogre warriors, their hearts had obviously been brimming with so much anger after they witnessed how Zen had completely disgraced their companion by throwing the items he had within his space ring all over the ground. Out of all races, the ogre warriors could probably be considered as the most prideful one. If they could bring honor to their race, they would have no qualms about putting their lives on the line. Meeting their death while standing on the battlefield would even be a great honor.


    In spite of feeling that way deep in their hearts, at the moment, not a single one of them could muster up the courage to anger Zen. No one could even hold him responsible for anything.


    "Let''s go ahead. Refining this icy lotus should be of huge benefit to you," Zen told Freya, letting out a soft smile before turning around and walking away.


    Nodding her head in response, Freya stored the icy lotus in her space ring and proceeded to follow after Zen. As she walked by the remains of the ogre warrior, she saw up close what a mess was left all over the ground. In that pile, there were many rare and precious objects, and the hundreds of life vitality jades scattered all over was in no way a meager amount of wealth.


    A tinge of hesitation crept onto her face. Considering that the ogre warrior had died at the hands of Zen, these items now technically belonged to him. So, wouldn''t it be such a waste to leave them lying on the ground?


    In any case, Zen didn''t pick them up, so she opted not to take anything from it as well. That was the least she could


    ined to Zen in great detail.


    Nodding his head in response to what she said, Zen was finally able to wrap his head around the concept and find out more about the Endless Abyss.


    "You might not have realized it yet, but after what you have been through so far, you''ve actually already completed one full lap around this loop. Of course, after that comes the second lap," Lavender added.


    "All in all, how many laps did you make back then?" Zen asked straightforwardly.


    "Four laps. When I reached the fourth lap, the things I had to come face to face with became much too dangerous, so I had to give up," Lavender flatly answered.


    Despite merely being at the Spirit Supreme Realm at that point, Lavender had actually become a queen already. She was quite an honorable queen that she even held sway over the Supreme Lords of the Demon Night, so she by no means lacked any sort of resources. It was due to her being concerned of her own safety that she decided to just give up.


    "However, you can''t give up this time," Lavender went on and added.

 Chapter 1455 Freezing Cold

    Lavender had high hopes for Zen.


    To be exact, she didn''t just have high hopes, she had placed her entire faith in him.


    It wasn''t because he was the only person in the universe who could help her. Lavender knew well that she could contact her old subordinates once she ascended to the Upper World. She''d even be able to ask help from Supreme Lord Leroy.


    However, there was just that gut feeling inside of her that knew Zen would be the one to ultimately help her regain her throne.


    Opening the entrance of the underground palace might have been coincidence or it might also be another manifestation of Zen''s incredible luck.


    Lavender remembered her own journey within the abyss of the underground palace in the past. She hadn''t been able to pass the fourth round which was a great pity on her part. This underground palace in the Dark World held a lot of secrets, some even more special than others and she failed to uncover them at that time.


    That was why Lavender added those words.


    However, all Zen did was nod and that was when she knew that her worries had all been unnecessary.


    She should know by now that Zen wasn''t someone who gave up easily.


    She had not forgotten his trial back at the Killing Sword Mountain where each step was torture and took everything from him. However, even if Zen consistently reached his limit, he never backed down.


    He was someone who never gave up, someone who gave it his all and then some more. There had been no need to remind him.


    Lavender was the Demon Night race''s sharpest sword. She had led her entire race to conquer many supreme worlds. Each step she took was tinged with the blood of her enemies.


    She wasn''t warm, far from it. Lavender was cold and ruthless-a hardened killer but there was this sense of relief every time she shrank into Zen''s body. There was just this feeling of security she had with him.


    Falling into this Endless Abyss meant endless and unexpected dangers for all of them. A split-second distraction was all it took for one to lose his life, however, Lavender did not feel the slightest bit of worry. And that was all because of him-Zen.


    Whoosh!


    The aforementioned young man wasn''t aware of the things currently running through Lavender''s head. He was way too focused on his fall.


    The previous Blade Mountain Trap hadn''t posed that much a threat but that only meant that things were about to turn up a notch soon enough.


    If he ever felt t


    ronments but this was a whole new level of extreme. Those who really couldn''t take it had used the divine texture to return. The potential of finding great treasure was tempting but temptation could only push one so far. Not many people were willing to risk their lives just for mere precious trinkets after all.


    For those that remained, they held onto the hope that they would soon pass through this area. However, just as they were thinking it was all going to be over, a diamond-shaped ice crystal with the size of a human suddenly appeared below them!


    Whoosh!


    The appearance of this huge diamond-shaped crystal caused Zen to feel as if his brain was about to freeze from the intense cold!


    His reaction time was much slower and it was only when the crystal was around fifty to sixty feet away from him did Zen realize what was happening! He quickly twisted his body and dodged the oncoming projectile!


    He was lucky to have avoided it, as did Lincoln and Freya.


    However, a human warrior had been too slow.


    An ordinary ice crystal wasn''t too dangerous. Even one that was the size of a mountain wouldn''t pose that much harm to a hardened warrior.


    However, this was not an ordinary crystal. The moment it made contact with the unfortunate warrior''s skin, the crystal immediately froze him and smashed his body into pieces from the sheer impact!


    Clang!


    It was a terrible sound, like a piece of shattering glass or porcelain.


    The sight horrified many. Zen, and most of the warriors in the abyss sported grave expressions on their faces upon realizing the gravity of danger their lives were currently in.

 Chapter 1456 Human Pyramid (Part One)

    The Endless Abyss in the underground palace seemed to be much easier to pass than those legendary dangerous places of similar renown in the Upper World.


    This abyss was constructed by the Supreme Lord from remote ages through substantial effort. These warriors even saw this underground palace as a trial, where they could obtain golden opportunities and precious treasures. It was a means for testing themselves, and finding their measures.


    However, only now did they realize that they had seriously miscalculated.


    Anyone who was not careful in this abyss would immediately be killed!


    After the warrior was ripped into pieces, his broken limbs fell down above everyone''s heads. As they descended relatively slower than those alive warriors, the warriors were constantly below the bloody shower which followed them.


    "Another one!" a fighter screamed with a note of fear in his voice.


    Just as the voice rang out, the crowd heard a whistling sound coming from below, heading straight for them. It grew in intensity as the noise drew near.


    However, Zen was on the left side of the abyss at this time, and the diamond-shaped ice crystal was only the size of a person. So it seemed that he would not get hit by the diamond-shaped ice crystal.


    There were dozens of warriors falling down in the abyss at the same time, and the diamond-shaped ice crystals were rising at a much faster speed. Even if they noticed the diamond-shaped ice crystals, it would not be easy to dodge them during their descent. There was little room for them to maneuver.


    Previously, as they were passing through the Blade Mountain Trap, they had maintained a careful distance from the walls of the abyss. When several giant blades appeared, they would nimbly adjust their positions by pushing the abyss walls. But now there were i


    towards Freya. Zen had collected a lot of pills in his space ring. That was a Heating Pill, which was able to catalyze one''s life vitality and emit a great amount of heat, although it was not a high level pill. Freya practiced the cultivation method of the ice attribute, but the cold energy emitted from the diamond-shaped ice crystal had still been too much for her to take. Her body was shaking heavily from the chill, and she gratefully accepted the Heating Pill.


    Although the cold energy of this diamond-shaped ice crystal was terrifying and its speed was difficult to dodge, it was only an ice crystal after all. As long as one didn''t come into contact with it, you could easily survive it by shattering it in advance. It was simply a matter of avoiding the ice, and remaining alert.


    Everyone had already gotten ready again for the approaching diamond-shaped ice crystals. Some of the human warriors pulled out a row of flying knifes in their hands. As for the warriors of the Demon Night, they all took out their bows.


    "Shoop! Shoop!"


    Accompanied by two whistling sounds, two more diamond-shaped ice crystals shot out from the bottom of the abyss! Their frigid shapes were quickly approaching.

 Chapter 1457 Human Pyramid (Part Two)

    However, this time, just as the two diamond-shaped ice crystals appeared, two crisp sounds also rang out. A green light and a purple light shot towards the diamond-shaped ice crystals at the same time. The accuracy was unmistakable.


    "Clank! Clank!"


    Following the two crisp sounds, the two diamond-shaped ice crystals instantly exploded and shattered outward into streaks of cold air before disappearing from everyone''s sight.


    The archers were now two women of the Demon Night.


    Although the many warriors were competitors in this abyss, everyone could only go further by working together. When faced with the threat of the diamond-shaped ice crystals, enemies had to become friends, and fight for a common goal - survival.


    As they were continuing to fall, all the warriors had now understood this principle. Facing those diamond-shaped ice crystals, they didn''t hold back their strength anymore. Every one of the warriors was now accepting the responsibility for destroying the dangerous diamond-shaped ice crystals.


    Whenever the diamond-shaped ice crystals flew over, someone would always take the initiative to smash them into pieces. The ones who contributed the most were not humans, but those from the Demon Night. Although the warriors of the Demon Night were good at different kinds of weapons, the most common weapon they used was a bow and arrows. Almost everyone of their warriors was equipped with a longbow. Hence, they had a reputation for proficiency in shooting which was unmatched among their human and ogre counterparts.


    At the beginning, there was only one or two diamond-shaped ice crystals, but soon, the number of these dangerous hazards began to increase exponentially. Surviving the gauntlet of the rising diamond-shaped ice crystals was becoming even more dangerous now.


    Three, four¡­


    They were all trying to shelter themselves behind Zen now.


    Not only the human warriors, but also the ones of the Demon Night and the ogres, were also coming, one after the other. They formed a straight line, as if they were a living pyramid, during the rapid descent.


    Looking at the neatly arranged pyramid above his head, a helpless smile appeared on Zen''s face. He couldn''t blame these guys for taking advantage of the situation. Arranged like this, they would indeed avoid a lot of trouble. There was safety to be secured in this pattern. All Zen needed to do was to break the diamond-shaped ice crystals that had shot up from the bottom.


    Therefore, with Zen as the leader and apex, this pyramid formed by humans, ogres and Demon Night members continued plummeting downwards at top speed.


    After about an hour, the number of diamond-shaped ice crystals began to decrease. Although the surrounding cold energy was still high and copious, the temperature had also increased by quite a bit. Things were definitely looking up for them.


    It seemed that they had passed through this round of trial. However, just as everyone''s mood was slightly released and tensions faded, a soft laughter suddenly rang out.

 Chapter 1458 Snow Demon

    Suddenly, a feminine laughter came from the chilling abyss, making all the martial artists nervous once again.


    "This sound¡­ Where did it come from?" a warrior asked worriedly.


    Everyone heard the soft laughter but nobody could tell where it was coming from¡­


    "Hee hee¡­"


    Immediately, everyone heard the sound again.


    The soft laughter rose and fell, echoing in everyone''s ears.


    "What the hell is that?" an ogre martial artist roared incredulously.


    Nobody answered his question; not because they didn''t want to, but because no one knew where it was coming from!


    Zen''s expression was wary, but he still asked in his mind, "What is that?"


    Lavender hesitated for a moment, then replied, "If I remember correctly, it must be the Snow Demon¡­"


    "The Snow Demon?" Zen''s eyes flashed.


    Lavender smiled faintly and said, "The Snow Demon won''t pose much of a threat to you."


    While he was pondering over Lavender''s words, a white shadow flashed before his eyes, before disappearing into the depths of the abyss!


    It was not only Zen who saw the quick flash of the white shadow, everyone else saw it, too.


    "What is that? This white thing seems to be circling us!" shouted a warrior.


    "Snow Demon! I know it! This damned thing can only exist in the frozen land¡­ Isn''t the Snow Demon a kind of evil creature, which only exists in the Snow World!?" another fighter yelled in panic.


    As soon as the martial artist finished speaking, white shadows emerged from the walls of the abyss one after another. They seemed to have no fixed form and could freely travel through space, and these white Snow Demons maintained the same speed as the warriors. They circled the crowd of martial artists, getting closer and closer to them!


    "Everyone be careful! The Snow Demons can take over people''s souls, and make people lose themselves!" reminded another warrior.


    "Ha-ha! This damned thing can make me lose myself? What a joke!" roared an ogre martial artist. With a wave of his hand, he threw out a saw-toothed rotating wheel.


    The rotating wheel had sharp saw teeth embedded all around it, and it spun towards a Snow Demon. However, it only penetrated the Snow Demon''s body lightly, and did not cause any damage to it!


    The Snow Demon was a famous evil creature in the Snow World. It could transform into different forms and was able to know the most important person to a warrior. It would then transform into that person to mislead the warrior. If a warrior was enchant


    man. Although he was determined to find Yan, he did not know when he would meet her again. Facing the fake ''Yan'', he could not help but want to see her more¡­


    Zen''s heart softened. At that moment, a flaw appeared in his state of mind.


    At the same time, the Snow Demon''s eyes suddenly shone with a dreamy color¡­


    When the dreamy color flashed, Zen''s eyes also reflected the same color. He was completely lost in the illusion. Zen''s entire body was blankly falling down.


    Lavender was still curled up within Zen''s body, doing nothing to stop this.


    But the cyan dragon spoke up to him at this time, "Why didn''t you remind Zen? He should have avoided getting lost in this illusion."


    Snow Demons might be a deadly existence for martial artists with weak warrior spirits, but for a martial artist like Zen, they were not too much of a problem. Especially since he still had Lavender, the cyan dragon and other dragons in his body to help him.


    The cyan dragon remained silent, but that did not mean he did not pay attention to Zen. However, since Lavender was very familiar with the Endless Abyss, it was her place to advise Zen. The cyan dragon naturally did not interfere too much.


    But Lavender hadn''t stopped Zen. Instead, she just let him get immersed in the illusion created by the Snow Demon. This confused the cyan dragon.


    Lavender smiled faintly and replied, "That was Zen''s own choice. Since he misses his sister, just let him stay in the illusion for a bit longer and I believe that he will be able to come out by himself¡­"


    After hearing this, the cyan dragon couldn''t help but roll his eyes, which were emitting a mighty aura.

 Chapter 1459 Experience

    The interaction between the Genuine Dragon and the Demon Night was not much.


    Granted, the cyan dragon inside Zen had already known Lavender for quite some time now and naturally understood her personality more.


    Despite being already a hundred thousand years old, Lavender was nothing more than a child in the cyan dragon''s eyes whose emotions he could predict just by looking at her face.


    And right now, she was clearly dissatisfied with Snow Demon''s appearance as Yan.


    Ever since she ascended the throne, Lavender had been heralded as the Demon Night''s killing symbol that struck fear into the hearts of outsiders.


    Elena was her counterpart. She represented the Demon Night''s law and enacted punishment against clansmen who committed heinous crimes.


    A queen''s ascension was always significant as those who took the throne would also become a symbol for the entire race. It was even said that a Demon Night queen was tainted with a trace of divinity.


    After countless years, Lavender was no longer just an ordinary queen though she also could not be considered a True God. Still, the Demon Night regarded her as a goddess: all-powerful and mighty. However, despite being a pseudo-divine, it seemed Lavender showcased a very human emotion: liking Zen.


    Even the cyan dragon was surprised at this realization. However, it had nothing to do with him so he just let it be for now. Right now, the Snow Demon had caught Zen in its grasp and was a witness to the young man''s greatest weakness. The cyan dragon only hoped that Zen would be able to work it out for himself as soon as possible.


    The illusion wasn''t fully the Snow Demon''s work. All it really did was to build up the foundations by digging out a person''s greatest desire. The rest of the picture would be supplied by the person himself who then essentially painted his own fantasy.


    And Zen''s deepest desire painted the most beautiful picture of warmth and serenity. It was around sunset and the entire Luo residence was covered with faint, orange light.


    Zen was on the roof of the mansion with a serene view of the C County laid out before him. There were no fights and no noisy rackets, but just him, his family, and this peaceful, wonderful view.


    He couldn''t remember the last time he experienced such peace and silence. The past few years had been hard on him as he spent every waking moment trying to strengthen himself and gain power. His life had been nothing but a constant uphill climb and the summit didn''t seem to be anywhere near.


    Yan sat beside him, flipp


    the Snow Demon pretended was taller than the real one and was undeniably more handsome.


    It is often said that we often idealize the people we like. Those we hold dear in our hearts, for example, would always appear more handsome in our minds than they do in real life. If we hate a person, however, then the opposite would apply: they would look uglier instead.


    Zen didn''t realize Freya thought of him that way which embarrassed him a bit.


    "What do we do now?" he asked, trying to divert the topic. "Do we wake them up or wait until they break free?"


    The Snow Demon hadn''t done any sort of harm to Zen. However, that didn''t mean that it wasn''t dangerous. If a person let his heart be confused by the monster then his soul would be devoured entirely. The only thing that would be left behind was his body which would then serve as an empty shell for the Snow Demon''s possession.


    "Let''s wait. Snow Demon can confuse people but I think they all have a high chance of breaking free from their illusions," Lavender advised.


    At that moment, a warrior suddenly opened his eyes and a strange smile broke through his face. He let out a burst of shrill, feminine laughter and summoned a long sword to his hand before charging straight towards Freya.


    "That warrior! He''s already been occupied by the Snow Demon! He can no longer be considered as a human! Kill him," Lavender ordered.


    Even before Lavender said that Zen had already known that there was something wrong.


    He quickly reached out and grabbed onto Freya to pull her beside him. There was a bright flash of light just as he took out his sword from his space ring and sent forth three Nether God Shadows towards the warrior.

 Chapter 1460 Ancient Treasures

    The warrior lost control of his faculties as the Snow Demon took over his body like a string puppet.


    Although the human warrior was at the Spirit Supreme Realm, the Snow Demon who occupied his body probably couldn''t even unleash at least ten percent of his strength.


    Lavender had previously given a firm order, and Zen didn''t hesitate to comply. After the Snow Demon had occupied the human warrior, he could no longer be considered human.


    His legs turned to jelly as he swayed and grasped the long sword with some difficulty, He wanted to resist those three Nether God Shadows, but the Snow Demon couldn''t even draw out his life vitality. How could he resist then?


    In the blink of an eye, the warrior''s body dropped dead, courtesy of the three Nether God Shadows.


    After Zen was finished with the warrior, he once again focused on Freya.


    While Lavender wasn''t worried, Zen still checked up on Freya just in case. After all, being possessed by a Snow Demon was equivalent to death. One couldn''t blame Zen for being worried that Freya wouldn''t get to escape from the Snow Demon''s illusion.


    But just as he turned his head, he saw a blast of cold energy which suddenly burst out from between Freya''s fingers. A stream of blood from her fingertip immediately followed.


    Suddenly, her body twitched and her eyes opened. Her lids fluttered to reveal a gaze as clear as water. When she saw Zen looking at her concernedly, she smiled and said, "I''m fine."


    Zen couldn''t help but be surprised as he eyed Freya''s wounded finger with confusion. "What''s this?" he asked.


    "Just now, I was afraid that the Snow Demon would bewitch me, so I formed an ice spike using my life vitality. Then I held onto it. If I didn''t melt the ice spike within five minutes, it would explode," Freya explained.


    It was known that the Snow Demon could build an illusionary land for warriors where they could immerse themselves in wonderful dreams, and then used this opportunity to devour their souls and occupy their bodies.


    However, Freya''s little trick had worked. The moment she felt the pain, she would have a chance to break out of the Snow Demon''s illusion.


    Zen couldn''t help but admire her. He realized that even though Freya wasn''t particularly strong, she was quite intelligent. She knew how to make use of small tricks, and those tricks could prove significant in critical moments.


    At that point, more and more warriors regained their consciousness.


    While the Snow Demon was fierce, the warriors who had already come this far had strong warrior spirits, which meant that they could shake off the illusion anytime soon.


    Most of the warriors still struggled to get out of the Snow Demon''s illusion, but a few of them unfortunately lost themselves and were possessed by the Snow Demons. Th


    limit once the divine textures had been inscribed on them. Some extraordinary divine weapons might be able to stay the same after a million years, but after hundreds of millions of years, they too weren''t spared from the corrosion of time. In fact, all of them weren''t even considered "ancient treasures" now.


    No wonder Lavender had left the cave after she looked around.


    However, some warriors weren''t willing to leave empty-handed. Perhaps they would not be able to make it to the next cave, and weapons were what they needed the most. After a moment of hesitation, they soon dug through the treasures, in hopes of finding something special.


    Many of the warriors rummaged through the mountain pile of various weapons, and picked one weapon after another.


    Once they were satisfied, they placed the weapons into their space rings, even if they knew that the weapons were all just scrap metal. Although the ancient treasures had lost their magic and weren''t worth much, they still had a certain collection value. But of course, their collection value was also low.


    Freya blinked, and joined in the search as well.


    On the other hand, Zen did not join them. It wasn''t that he looked down on such things, but he still had a little doubt.


    Were these ancient treasures really the Supreme Lord''s inheritance? From the looks of it, something wasn''t right. The Supreme Lord had meticulously planned out the Endless Abyss, and then spent a lot of effort spreading the keys and methods that could open the underground palace throughout the entire universe. He would''ve foreseen that the weapons he had left behind would definitely become a pile of junk after hundreds of millions of years.


    However, the Supreme Lord still did it despite knowing that it was the case. After Zen thought about it for a while, he felt that there was something fishy going on.

 Chapter 1461 Livingston

    Compared to the previous cave, this one was clearly smaller and could be easily surveyed with a single glance.


    There was nothing strange about the surroundings, and it was almost dull in appearance.


    Zen noticed that Freya was carefully picking up the ancient treasures. Naturally, he didn''t leave immediately, but strolled around in the cave. He was making a final check on the cave, looking for any signs that they had perhaps missed.


    After circling the cave once, Zen was now even more sure that there were no other mysteries to be found in the cave.


    When Zen looked back again, his eyes widened. The ancient treasures that had been piled up like a small mountain were reduced by half. Obviously, the warriors had put the other half into their space rings. The wealth had truly been pillaged now!


    When seeing this scene, Zen could not help but shake his head. After the heavenly essence within these ancient treasures was lost, the value of these ancient treasures was no longer great. They had been reduced to mere trinkets now.


    A faint smile flirted over his face. Just as he was about to take a step forward, he noticed a sword plunged upright in the ground nearby.


    ''Perhaps this sword can''t even be considered an ancient treasure. I wonder who stabbed the sword into the ground, '' Zen thought. His eyes narrowed slightly as a look of bewilderment surfaced on his face.


    The ancient treasures that were piled into a small mountain had been eroded by the passage of time, and the heavenly essence within them was long gone. But strictly speaking, each and every one of them had been of the highest quality.


    However, the sword in front of him seemed to be of a much lower grade. Even the edge of the sword blade had been rendered dull over time. Was this really a sword?


    Despite being unable to obtain what he wanted in this cave, Zen was not discouraged. When he saw the sword, his interest was piqued. It was so strange and out of place, since it was clearly of an inferior quality to the other treasures.


    When he thought of this, Zen took two steps forward and extended his hand to grasp the exposed blade of the sword. It did not move at all! The sword remained plunged into the ground, as if the very ground was holding fast to it.


    "Huh?"


    Zen became even more curious. Although he had only exerted a slight amount of strength, it should probably have been an easy task to pull out the sword. Was it because most of the sword was buried in the earth?


    Zen stood firmly on the ground and held the sword with both his hands, resting one hand on the blade. The blade of the sword was already dull, and it did not cut his hand at all. However, even if it was not dull, with his current body strength, it should not be too much of a hindrance to him.


    Grasping this sword, Zen suddenly exerted his full strength and pulled with all of his might.


    A huge force was suddenly released upwards as the blade was finally freed from the earth.


    Boom!


    At this moment, the entire cave seemed to tremble as if in fear.


    The warriors who were still picking throug


    ife vitality crystal from his space ring, and inserted it into the groove in the puppet''s back. There was a loud clicking sound.


    The moment Zen slotted the supreme life vitality crystal in, the puppet suddenly cried out in excitement, "I...I can actually..."


    Immediately though, the voice weakened again, and Zen was no longer able to hear what it was saying.


    Zen''s eyes were clouded with confusion. But as he stared at the groove, he instantly understood that the supreme life vitality crystal had been instantly exhausted.


    "That''s fast!" Zen was left speechless. The life vitality contained in the supreme life vitality crystal seemed to be far from enough. The speed at which the puppet had consumed the life vitality was also astonishingly fast.


    Without thinking too much, Zen once again took out a life vitality jade from his space ring and once more inserted it into the groove.


    "I...I actually come back to life! I can''t believe it!" the puppet called out excitedly again.


    Zen stared at the puppet and asked, "Who are you?"


    The puppet sized Zen up and then slowly collected its limbs and moved towards him. It took a while before it smiled and said, "I¡­ I''m Livingston. Ha-ha!"


    This puppet seemed to think that reporting its name would shock all of the warriors in the cave, and its voice also contained a trace of pride.


    However, after he finished speaking, many of the warriors were still clueless and they stared at the puppet in confusion.


    "Livingston?"


    "I''ve never heard of it."


    "Does this name have any background?"


    Zen also asked the same question in his mind. Not only had Lavender never heard of it before, even the experienced and knowledgeable cyan dragon didn''t know who Livingston was. Clearly, the puppet had faded beyond memory over the centuries in which it had been buried.


    "Huh? You don''t even know who Livingston is?" The puppet''s voice contained grief and indignation. "I am the number one weapon refiner in the universe! Are you guys ignorant or simply massively ill-informed on such matters?"

 Chapter 1462 The Origins

    The number one weapon refiner in the universe. What an awe-inspiring reputation.


    These juniors were ignorant and ill-informed, and never had heard of the name of Livingston, but they were greatly shocked.


    The puppet was furious, but he turned his nose up in the air.


    Many of the martial artists stared at him in a daze, including Zen.


    "The number one weapon refiner in the universe?"


    "Don''t give yourself airs. What I see before me is just a lousy puppet. How dare you claim to be the number one weapon refiner?"


    "It''s known to all that among all clans in the universe, the number one weapon refiner is Delroy Xu from the Celestial Position."


    Weapon refiners played a significant role in the world of martial artists. The sacred places of all the races had their own weapon refiners, but first-class refiners were apparently rare. The Universe Spirit Tablet was often modified because of the existence of these refiners.


    The title ''number one weapon refiner of the universe'' fell like thunder upon the ears of most martial artists.


    There was no question that the number one weapon refiner of the universe was Delroy Xu. No one dared to doubt that. The reason for it was obvious. The supreme divine weapons ranked from one to ten on the Spirit Tablet had all been refined by Delroy alone.


    They were all puzzled about this puppet and could hardly believe him when he said that he was the number one weapon refiner in the universe.


    "I''m not boasting! I am Livingston! Go and ask your elders. I..." Livingston exclaimed dramatically, waving his arms about. However, as he spoke, his voice became softer and softer. After a while, he was no longer able to move at all and his voice once again became inaudible.


    Perhaps the life vitality jade that Zen gave him was completely used up now.


    "The puppet is fascinating. I will bring him to Magnolia Sacred Place to study him." A human martial artist smiled as he stepped forward, holding ten life vitality jades in his hands. He wanted to supplement the jades for the puppet.


    He was clever. The puppet might have been found and unearthed by Zen, but it seemed that he had his own thoughts. Thus, he could be classified as a living being.


    This way, it was up to the puppet to decide whom he wanted to follow.


    The human martial artist handed over ten life vitality jades to Livingston, trying to please him. If he persuaded the puppet to leave with him, Zen would presumably not stop him.


    However, he had only taken a few steps when one of his legs got stuck to the ground. He was unable to move any farther. Zen stared at the human martial artist indifferently. Although there was no killing intent in his gaze, the human martial artist did no


    pon refining workshop in the fairy palace.


    The workshop was yet to open, but as Zen''s cultivation level increased, he would once again set foot in the True Path. By then, he would need Livingston''s help after obtaining the token to open the workshop.


    It did not matter whether or not Livingston was the number one weapon refiner in the universe. If he was able to refine so many divine weapons, his refining skills and techniques must be extraordinary. He was also a puppet, which was a fact that appealed to Zen. If his origins had been different, or if he had been a refiner from a large clan, Zen would probably not have considered taking him to the fairy palace.


    Thinking of this, Zen smiled. "Do you still want to refine weapons?"


    "Of course, I was born to refine weapons. If I didn''t refine weapons, I would have long been dead!" Livingston''s voice rose to a crescendo once again.


    Zen did not expect Livingston to be so excited at his proposal, so he was a bit speechless. "If that''s the case, I know of a weapon workshop where you can put your superiority into full play."


    "A weapon workshop? Ha-ha!" Livingston sniffed arrogantly. "There is no refining workshop in the universe that could accommodate me." He paused for some seconds before continuing, "However, I can make do with it."


    Livingston changed his attitude abruptly. Because he was addicted to weapon refining, he could not be too picky about his place of work. However, he still had his pride. He turned up his noses at ordinary places.


    Zen did not bother to waste more words with Livingston. He straightaway grabbed him and stuffed him into the spirit beast bag. Living beings could not exist in the Sumeru Space, but Livingston''s soul was in the puppet, so he would have to stay in the spirit beast bag for the time being.

 Chapter 1463 The Malicious Aura In The Abyss

    Zen grabbed Livingston and thrust him into his spirit beast bag. His gaze scanned the bag to make sure he had placed him well.


    The other warriors had traces of envy on their faces...


    They were not sure if Livingston''s weapon refining skills were truly that stupendous. However, he did just mention that he was the one who had refined the bunch of ancient treasures before them.


    The ancient treasures were not low-rank weapons. A weapon refiner like him would be extremely sought after in any tenth grade sacred place.


    Even if Livingston was a swindler, he could at least unravel the secrets of the underground palace after living here for so many years as a puppet.


    Now that Zen had simply picked up Livingston and thrown him into his spirit beast bag, the other warriors were naturally unhappy.


    However, they could do nothing about it. Zen did not plan to reveal anything about what he was up to. Obviously, he did not want Livingston to disclose too many secrets, so he threw him into the spirit beast bag at the first opportunity¡­


    Besides the martial artists of the three sacred places, the three Saint Lords outside of the underground palace were also upset to see what Zen had done.


    The Saint Lord of the human race shook his head and said, "This boy is going too far. He shouldn''t want everything for himself!"


    A weapon refiner able to refine divine weapons was an important asset in any tenth grade sacred place. The Saint Lords were most aware of this. The shortage of divine weapons in Magnolia Sacred Place was a constant source of burden for its Saint Lord.


    Although Magnolia Sacred Place was responsible for a part of the trade, it was only a trade channel for the Humanity Alliance. They did not get any real benefits.


    "Ha! For now, just let him take everything he wants in the Endless Abyss. It seems this kid has come into a fortune, but he still has to leave the underground palace. I want to see if he can make it out of the Dark World alive!" the Saint Lord of the ogre race said, an ugly sneer on his face.


    These words caused the human Saint Lord to frown. "No matter what, the boy is from the thirteen palaces. If he can return here safely, I will ensure that he also leaves this place safely. Don''t ever entertain that idea again¡­"


    Zen, who was in the underground palace, was naturally not privy to this discussion. After he stuffed Livingston into his spirit beast bag, he called Freya and left the cave. As for the pile of ancient treasures, Zen did not even spare them a single glance.


    Hearing Zen call her, Freya hurriedly collected a few ancient treasures before following him contentedly.


    Silently, she calculated how many life vitality jades these ancient treasures could be exchanged for. Just


    .


    But usually for the martial artists, the malicious aura in their bodies was within the range of their control. For the martial artists who practiced evil cultivation methods, it was a different case. They were required to kill more creatures in order to gather more malicious aura¡­


    When the malicious aura in them accumulated over time, inner demons and all sorts of demonic barriers appeared in their hearts. Especially, when one cultivated, it was easy for the cultivator to go wrong in his martial arts cultivation and spiral into madness.


    But because martial artists were used to living with their malicious aura, the one in the abyss should not have affected them much, even though it was strong. After all, the aura was not within their bodies. Facing its turbulence, many of the martial artists were a bit nervous, but they were not afraid.


    However, not long after, they discovered that they were completely wrong.


    As they continued their descent, the malicious aura in the abyss became increasingly thicker. At first, the blood-red light only flowed along the cracks in the walls of the abyss. But as everyone continued to fall, the malicious aura condensed into red specks of light that floated around the abyss.


    The specks of light could be seen everywhere. Even if the warriors gathered toward the center of the abyss, they could not avoid them. They kept colliding with Zen and the other warriors.


    Once someone came into physical contact with these red specks of light, the malicious aura would enter into the martial artist''s body and be instantly absorbed¡­


    At first when they absorbed a few specks of light, the warriors did not feel anything. But as the number increased, they became more agitated. Their hearts beat wildly and they felt as if they wanted to tear everything around them into pieces.

 Chapter 1464 Killing Each Other

    Killing could easily become an addiction. The more lives one took away, the easier it was for the malicious aura to grow deep within.


    The red specks of light were highly concentrated malicious aura¡ªa single speck was the result of slaughtering over a hundred thousand living beings. Because they constantly absorbed these specks of light, the great impact on them was undeniable.


    Freya''s chest was heaving. In her gentle, calm eyes, a glimmer of red light then appeared.


    Like the other martial artists, her heart seemed to grow wildly restless. The urge to tear apart every single thing in sight was strong within her. Even as she did her utmost to restrain herself, she could feel her reason gradually fading away.


    Huff!


    She condensed a stream of cold air.


    Instead of releasing it toward the other martial artists, she made the stream shroud her own body.


    The life vitality wasn''t to protect herself¡ªmerely releasing the cold air was basically the same as cutting herself. In an instant, she was almost completely frozen solid.


    The invasion of cold air lifted her spirit, allowing her to maintain a clear mind.


    The other martial artists, on the other hand, were already unable to hold themselves back.


    The ogre martial artists were the first to launch their attacks.


    To begin with, they were naturally extremely bloodthirsty, so the malicious aura within their bodies was already much more than that of other martial artists. Such a massive amount of the aura triggered the already restless blood within them to boil even more.


    "Ah!"


    one of them roared. All his muscles tensed up, his veins bulging like earthworms under his skin. Then, he rammed into a human martial artist beside him.


    Small as he might have been beside the ogre, the human didn''t want to let himself be outdone so easily. Instead of cowering in fear, he chose to fight the monster head-on.


    Bang!


    With a reverberating sound, the two of them collided, only to be repelled at the same time, rebounding against the abyss wall.


    Both were severely injured from the collision. Blood flowed from their eyes, ears, noses, and mouths, yet there didn''t seem to be a trace of pain on either of their faces. Beating the wall, they attacked each other again with the added force of the impact.


    Earlier, when everyone avoided the malicious aura on the wall, they gathered in the center of the abyss. Now, the aura affected them greatly, forcing them into a state of frenzy, stimulating bloodthirsty fights.


    "I''m going


    s.


    "You¡­ Go to hell!"


    In a frenzied state, martial artists attacked the persons closest to them. Since Zen stayed by Freya''s side, he became her first target.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    As Freya''s fingers danced like flying shuttles, transparent ice blades flew toward Zen.


    Facing the attack, Zen could only smile wryly. Then, with a wave of his fists, streams of fist radiance appeared.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    The first radiance erupted, immediately shattering the ice blades.


    As he countered, he managed to move closer to Freya.


    With her current strength, she couldn''t injure Zen at all. When he got within range, he reached out to grab her.


    As Freya had fallen into a frenzy, her fighting instinct had been stimulated to the extreme by the malicious aura. She struggled, twisting her waist and kicking Zen''s chest as much as she could. In a flip, two ice hairpins appeared in her hands and pierced toward Zen''s ears.


    In some ways, malicious aura was rather beneficial to martial artists. It could stimulate their fighting instinct to the absolute limit. The strength Freya was displaying was at least thirty percent better than usual. Such attacks would be difficult for ordinary martial artists to guard against.


    But Zen was strong enough to resist. A faint smile still rested on his lips as he tilted his head back to avoid the two ice hairpins Freya had whipped out with the intent to kill him. When she crossed her hands, he grabbed onto her slender arms with a single hand and pulled her toward him.


    Even with her hands restrained, she didn''t give up resisting. Instead, she twisted her hands in another attempt to break free from Zen''s grasp.

 Chapter 1465 The Power Of Three Queens (Part One)

    As though they had gotten caught between two iron pincers, Freya''s hands were bound. How could she possibly break free?


    Having said that, the look on Zen''s face became rather alarming. How was he supposed to get rid of the malicious aura in her body?


    Initially, the malicious aura was just gradually accumulating, and the speed at which it progressed wasn''t really that fast. It was quite possible that there were martial artists who weren''t capable of killing a hundred thousand living creatures even after a couple centuries. However, there was a handful of evil martial artists who could lay waste to people in multiple cities in just a short span of time, and they were inclined to pull stunts that angered the people.


    But at this moment, there were a lot of martial artists who had accumulated a vast amount of malicious aura at such an alarming rate. How on earth would they be able to get rid of all that?


    Even if Zen were to lend Freya a helping hand in leaving the underground palace, the malicious aura residing in her body would still pose a significant threat.


    If it came to that, then the Endless Abyss would only end up being a cul-de-sac for them.


    At this point, Zen, who had stepped foot into the Killing Sword Mountain, was the only person who could withstand it by making use of the mountain. In the end, the other martial artists started to lose their minds and fight amongst each other. Right above Zen''s head, violent energy was fluctuating. If this didn''t come to a halt, none of them was going to make it.


    As all of these thoughts were running in circles in his head, Lavender told him in his mind, "There''s no need for you to worry. Freya is going to be just fine as soon as she gets out of this area. In the past, when I b


    this was her best option to get away from it. Unfortunately for her, after safely avoiding it a number of times, Lincoln was able to back her into a corner.


    Having been caught in such a situation, a somewhat stern look crept up onto her face. Raising the lantern she was holding, a few unclear words came out of her mouth.


    Zen wasn''t really able to catch what she was saying, but he noticed that in that moment, the expression on Lavender''s face suddenly shifted.


    "Oh, no! I have a bad feeling about this. A storm is brewing!"


    "Why do you think that?" At present, Zen was at the tail end of the group. In spite of the fights being quite intense, it didn''t really have much to do with him.


    Based on what Lavender told him, the only thing he had to do was to endure this part. So, right now, he was simply watching the fights from the sidelines. As far as he was concerned, as long as he could keep Freya in check and stop her from taking part in the fights, that would be enough.


    "It appears that this girl possesses the ancient Demon Night bloodline! What she''s doing right now is summoning the Power of Three Queens!" Lavender said, sounding a bit anxious.

 Chapter 1466 The Power Of Three Queens (Part Two)

    "The Power of Three Queens?" Zen was a little nonplussed, given that he wasn''t really expecting anything like that.


    Nodding her head in response, Lavender went on and said, "There is but a very small number of Demon Night martial artists who are still preserving the ancient bloodline of the clan, giving them the permission to utilize the Faith Energy stored within the three Pools of Faith of the clan. But, why was it that she chose to stay in the Purple Bamboo Sacred Place?"


    The three Demon Night queens she had just mentioned were being worshiped by over a trillion clansmen who were following them. Because of that, the Faith Energy was shooting up at a constant rate. Their Faith Energy in particular was quite noteworthy. And the power which they could borrow from the Faith Energy was especially remarkable.


    The Faith Energy was all accumulated together and channeled into the three pools.


    In addition to the three queens who could freely make use of these three pools as they saw fit, there was a handful of martial artists that possessed the ancient Demon Night bloodline. Meaning to say, all of them were also qualified to borrow the Faith Energy from the aforementioned pools. They might only be able to borrow a fraction of that Faith Energy, but the amount of energy that erupted was still so terrifying.


    That being said, not a lot of martial artists possessed the ancient Demon Night bloodline. And once they were identified, they would automatically be recruited into the core sacred places of the Demon Night. With that in mind, why on earth would this golden-haired girl bother staying in the Purple Bamboo Sacred Place in the Dark World?


    That was something that kept Lavender at a loss.


    After the golden-haired girl was done chanting the


    ady been extracted. And before long, the third Faith Energy made its way through the endless space and reached the abyss. In spite of that, something completely unexpected happened. This red light didn''t go straight into the golden-haired girl''s body, and for some reason, it directly reflected onto Zen''s body. After that, it suddenly refracted and surged out towards the girl.


    "Ahh..."


    As she witnessed this, even the girl herself had gotten caught in a daze.


    But as luck would have it, all of the Faith Energies had already been gathered together, forming a three-colored light barrier that surrounded her whole body.


    Even though Lincoln''s onslaught was becoming increasingly terrifying, causing the light barrier that materialized to reverberate, it still couldn''t manage to shake the light barrier in the slightest.


    The girl opted not to fight back. In a state of bewilderment, her gaze was still completely fixated on Zen.


    And it wasn''t just her who felt that way. At this moment, the Saint Lord of the Purple Bamboo Sacred Place, who was outside the underground palace, had an extremely dreadful look on her face as well, with hesitation written in her eyes.

 Chapter 1467 Caught In A Dilemma

    Zen''s strength was not enough. He had a much longer way to go before being able to protect Lavender.


    Hence, the fact that she was hiding within his body was a secret that could not be revealed.


    Once Elena found out, there would be an endless pursuit for Lavender. She would not give her even a moment''s peace. It had already been quite some time since Lavender had left her throne. It was impossible for her current subordinates to face Elena.


    Now was not the time to disclose this secret.


    However, when the blood-red Faith Energy refracted on Zen''s body, the secret was bound to be out.


    Rumble... rumble... rumble...


    Under the malicious aura''s control, Lincoln relentlessly attacked the golden-haired woman''s three-colored light barrier like a rabid beast.


    In her distraction, the golden-haired woman had already forgotten to retaliate. Her eyes were fixed on Zen, her forehead creased in confusion.


    "My queen? Why did the light refract on a man? What''s going on?" she mumbled.


    Outside the underground palace, the Saint Lord of the Purple Bamboo Sacred Place watched, her doubtful expression becoming more serious by the second. "Our queen has been missing for a long time. It seems that she has been in the body of this human warrior!"


    The expressions of the faces of the Saint Lords of the ogres and humans changed more dramatically.


    Not long ago, the two Demon Night queens had been cursing each other with Roaring Tokens. Now, it seemed that the long-missing Queen of Killings had been in this underground palace.


    Zen''s face darkened. This was a seriously troublesome situation.


    Swish!


    The blood-red light vanished as Lavender extinguished the Faith Energy from the distant space. The golden-haired woman''s three-colored barrier lost its red ray. However, it still held enough power to block Lincoln''s attacks.


    It was too late. There was no point in extinguishing the Faith Energy reflected on Zen''s body.


    Not long after, Elena''s manic laughter resounded.


    "Hahaha! I thought our little game of cat and mouse would continue for a little while longer. I hadn''t expected to catch you so soon. My, my, Lavender. You disappoint me. You turn out to be even more stupid than I thought!" Elena had used the Roaring Token to spread her voice throughout the entire universe. It reached Zen''s and Lavender''s ears clearly.


    Everyone in the universe now knew that the Queen of Killings of the Demon Night had been found.


    "My queen, where are you?" Supreme Lord Leroy''s voice called out, his tone urgent. He was one of the most powerful among Lavender''s old subordinates, and he had been gathering information on Lavender to find her whereabouts. What Elena said caught his attention.


    There was a slight shift in Yolande''s expression as she watched from within the Mist Palace. Lowering her head, she muttered, "This is bad."


    This was an internal affair of the Demon Night. Yolande couldn''t interfere. Had it been any other matter,


    ming around the walls.


    These lights were from the extremely pure Power of Purification!


    The specks glistened like snowflakes, swirling gracefully in the depths of the abyss and quickly entering Zen''s and Freya''s bodies.


    The Power of Purification did not have much of an effect on Zen. The malicious aura he absorbed had by now been completely wiped off and sent into the Killing Sword Mountain. However, he felt himself seized by calmness, as if his anxiety was slowly dissipating. The Power of Purification did not only affect one''s body but also cleared one''s mind.


    As the Power of Purification entered Freya''s body, the malicious aura in her body began to wane rapidly, the red light in her eyes fading like a mist lifting with the wind.


    Not long after, Freya''s body was completely freed from the malicious aura, and her expression returned to normal.


    "Z-Zen..." Freya called.


    Just now, she had fallen into a frenzy. Her mind had been dominated by the malicious aura, so she didn''t know what had happened.


    "Leave the Endless Abyss," Zen said simply, not elaborating further.


    At this, Freya''s expression instantly froze. Zen had spoken seriously instead of the cordial way he usually addressed her. She lowered her eyes as she bit her lip and uttered, "Hmm." She knew that she was nothing but deadweight. Her following Zen was holding him back. It made perfect sense that he would want her to leave the underground palace as soon as possible.


    Zen watched shadows cross over her features. The tremble in her lips betrayed her emotions even as she answered him in a levelled voice. Zen gave her a reassuring smile and said, "It''s not what you think. I have other things to take care of."


    "Other things?" Freya asked in a concerned voice.


    "You''ll find out soon enough." Zen turned back to approach the wall, and with a stomp, sped up his sprint, leaving Freya to stare after his receding figure.


    Shaking her head, she activated the divine texture.

 Chapter 1468 The Ghosts

    Freya knew very well that even if it was a minor problem, she wouldn''t be able to solve it for Zen.


    Judging from Zen''s expression, he had indeed met with quite a big trouble this time. She had to be as supportive as possible since she could do nothing to help.


    After the divine texture was activated, a purple light enveloped her as her descent rapidly came to a halt, following which, the purple light brought her upwards rapidly.


    Zen''s current falling speed was more than three times faster than before, and he was in a highly tense state from the exertion.


    He hadn''t expected that this trip to the underground palace would bring him so much trouble.


    However, nothing was certain in this world. The unexpected was bound to happen, and everyone''s life was different. Zen''s fate was not predetermined and could not be predicted.


    Nevertheless, what Zen was facing now was a serious dilemma, but not a hopeless one.


    Now he had to seize the time to explore the Endless Abyss first. Long ago, Lavender had stopped at the fourth lap of the abyss. However, she had come to the conclusion then that there was an even bigger secret hidden in the fifth lap of the abyss. Perhaps that secret could help Zen to escape from his current predicament.


    The sound of the wind blew crazily in Zen''s ears as his speed became faster and faster in exponential bursts.


    Not long after, he saw another stone platform appear in front of him.


    "The third cave!" Zen''s gaze froze in anticipation and trepidation.


    "You don''t need to enter it," Lavender stopped him. "There are all kinds of protective treasures scattered around the third cave. Although they are attractive, it will cost a lot of time to obtain them."


    As Zen heard Lavender''s words, his eyes briefly flashed before he nodded. He did not adjust his position, but continued to descend rapidly, his gaze sweeping past the third cave.


    After quickly dashing past the third cave, Zen entered the fourth lap of the Endless Abyss with focus and determination.


    "The fourth lap will be a little more troublesome. Be careful," Lavender warned.


    "Understood," Zen replied briskly. At the same time, he held his long sword in his hand, and the dragon scales within his body began to light up as well. His body began to accumulate a vast amount of power as he prepared himself for the unexpected.


    Lavender, who had stayed inside Zen''s body, was equally nervous, but when she noted his serious expression, she suddenly smiled confidently. Although she had warned Zen, she still believed that he would be able to make it through the fourth lap. It had to be said that she had put Zen under a lot of pressure before, in the hopes of preparing him.


    ''Rest assured, Zen. Anyway, I have already been exposed. I will help you with the remaining path in the abyss, '' Lavender secretly thought.


    There were Demon Night martial artists present within the Endless Abyss. Moreover, the Saint Lord of the


    special and insidious. Although it did not cause much pain to Zen, other than the cold, he soon felt his reaction speed begin to slow down.


    "Awoooo..."


    As Zen''s speed fell, more ghosts attached themselves to him and clambered all over his body.


    Ten, a hundred, a thousand¡­


    Seen from a distance, Zen''s figure had completely disappeared. The ghosts clung to each other, tightly wrapping around Zen and forming a huge round ball that slowly fell towards the bottom of the abyss. He seemed to have become completely lost in the ghostly attack.


    The bodies of these ghosts were extremely light, but as Zen was wrapped by them, his falling speed had been greatly reduced.


    "What should I do?" Still wrapped within the ghosts, Zen knitted his brows in consternation. Even though he could use the Thunder Wind Divine Sword to release lightning, with every lightning bolt being able to annihilate dozens of ghosts, the speed at which he could kill them was far from being able to match the speed at which these ghosts were latching on.


    The most troublesome thing was, as the dark energy attacked him, Zen''s body and his reactions became slower and slower, and his speed plummeted.


    He had tried to expel the dark energy, but it seemed to be useless. The dark energy circulated rapidly throughout his body and even moved through his meridians, approaching his belly with every second that he was being invaded by the ghosts!


    Lavender''s voice sounded very faint as she spoke from within Zen. She could feel his anxiousness and quietly said, "Let me deal with them."


    At this moment, Lavender''s figure left the protection of Zen''s body, and expanded to overlap with the ghosts. At the same time, a red light passed through the endless space and gathered all over her body.


    Previously, Lavender had been afraid of exposing her location, so she did not dare to use her own Pool of Faith. But now, having already been discovered, she no longer feared anything.

 Chapter 1469 The Power Of Incense (Part One)

    There were many people who worshiped the great Buddha and other deities in all kinds of temples around the universe. The incense just kept on burning continuously, making lazy tendrils of fragrant smoke that wafted through the air.


    Belief was held only in the believers'' eyes. When there were hundreds and thousands, or even millions of creatures who fell to their knees and burned incense in reverence, even a Buddha made from clay would become their god. Their belief made it so, and gave power to the inanimate.


    This was the power of incense, and it worked wonders. In the eyes of the martial artists of the Upper World, the power of incense was just like the power of Faith Energy!


    A single belief might be insignificant, but with tens of millions, hundreds of millions, even hundreds of trillions of beliefs converged together, the power would become staggering. It was similar to the way in which countless streams converged into a river, and countless rivers converged into a great river, and then numerous great rivers converged into an ocean, and countless oceans would eventually flow in one direction, and become the Pool of Faith of the Demon Night.


    The cultivation of the queens of the Demon Night wasn''t even the strongest in the entire universe. The three queens were only equivalent to world lords, but with the Faith Energy absorbed by the countless statues of the queens, and with the Faith Energy gathered from the millions of subjects worshiping them, they had the ability to defeat the Supreme Lords! Belief was their power, perhaps even more so than mere cultivation.


    As the Faith Energy continued to gather around Lavender''s body, her aura also became increasingly powerful, and the blood-red light in her eyes developed a staggering intensity!


    "Now! Break!"


    From the depths of the abyss, a stream of thin, blood-red ligh


    ghtened as both of his feet stepped on the spear and pushed forward with an extreme force that propelled him forward at an incredible speed!


    "Whoosh¡ª"


    In this instant, with the momentum gained from the Cold Plum Blood Spear shooting down at him, Zen''s speed was at its limit as he surged downwards¡­


    Many supreme worlds away from the Dark World, Elena had a faint smile fluttering on her face. Her ten-foot long dress trailed behind her on the pristine ground.


    Behind Elena came a finely-dressed man of the Demon Night. He had silver hair, a handsome appearance, and a lean and lanky body. The biggest difference between him and a human warrior was his long, pointed ears. By the standard of the aesthetics of the Demon Night race, whether or not one''s ears were straight up was one of the most important beauty indicators¡­


    The members of the Demon Night were mostly women, and they were usually more talented than male warriors in the group. Thus, in the various supreme worlds where the Demon Night members existed, there were very few men who had achieved the cultivation level of a world lord. This man had a cultivation equivalent to that of a powerful world lord, and was thus considered even more accomplished and rare.

 Chapter 1470 The Power Of Incense (Part Two)

    "Enzo." Elena''s voice sounded indifferently.


    "Yes, my queen." Enzo, the man in the fine clothes, placed his hand on his chest, waiting for the order from his queen.


    "Seal off Lavender''s Pool of Faith, and then send out Salvador, Viveca, Aneisha, and Elspeth to head for the Dark World!" Elena ordered.


    Hearing this order, Enzo looked hesitant. "But what about the Board of Elders¡­"


    "They won''t say anything." Elena''s face remained expressionless. As the Queen of Punishment, the controller of the court, who would dare to gainsay her now?


    "Those who speak against me will join the dead," Elena added.


    Sealing the Pool of Faith was a massive taboo.


    This was because the three Pools of Faith absorbed the Faith Energy from the trillions of members of the Demon Night, through the three queens'' statues every second of every day. This was Lavender''s source of power.


    Once the Pool of Faith was sealed, it would be impossible for Lavender to extract Faith Energy from her Pool of Faith, and the Faith Energy of the trillions of members would also not be able to replenish her Pool of Faith!


    The queens of the Demon Night were not always the same. Lavender would die, and so would Elena, eventually. However, the Demon Night would always have three queens. Once the old queens died, they would choose others to become their new queens.


    Strictly speaking, the three Pools of Faith did not belong to any single one of them. They were the most precious and prized possession of the entire Demon Night race¡­


    Forcefully sealing a Pool of Faith would inevitably result in a backlash from the Board of Elders! This was tro


    . It would be a priceless find to reclaim the Sacred Thunder Bamboo.


    Now that one hundred thousand years had passed, how many inches had the Sacred Thunder Bamboo grown? Had it thrived and become a fantastic and magical forest of bamboo? If Zen could harvest some of the sacred shoots from the Sacred Thunder Bamboo, he could then comprehend even the most powerful and profound mysteries of the sixth layer of the Thunder Law! How incredibly powerful Zen would then become!


    But now, Lavender wanted to help Zen quickly pass through the fifth lap since time was now against her!


    Perhaps with Zen''s own strength, he would also have been able to pass through the fifth lap by himself. However, there was not much time left, and right now, they had to progress as fast as they could. As for the Sacred Thunder Bamboo, they would still have a chance to obtain it after they passed the fifth lap!


    "Whoosh¡­"


    Zen swept past the fourth cave at lightning speed, like what he had done with the third one, and then he entered the fifth lap, which was the final circle of the Endless Abyss!

 Chapter 1471 A Whirlpool

    The dark abyss was illuminated by strings of lightning segments intertwined with each other, which formed a single thick lightning bolt that hung in the abyss.


    Every time Zen touched the lightning bolt, a thunderous roar erupted from the abyss, accompanied by explosions of 30 to 40 feet wide balls of lightning.


    The lightning balls were terrifyingly powerful. The Thunder Law inside them had broken through the limit of the fifth layer, and had reached a degree which Zen couldn''t understand anymore.


    Such was its tremendous power, that even Zen''s divine weapon body found it hard to resist.


    However, Zen still sped downwards with gritted teeth. He had reached his speed''s limit, so it was impossible for him to stop even if he wanted to.


    Crack!


    A lighting ball exploded under Zen''s feet. Blazing white light erupted from the explosion and shone harshly upon Zen''s eyes, followed by a huge force of impact which began to press down on him.


    Boom!


    As a result, the huge impact stopped Zen''s descent, and he was sent flying high up while his whole body spun in the air.


    Zen soon stabilized his body after that disastrous incident, but a stream of blood flowed from the corner of his lips.


    "This is too dangerous!" he mumbled.


    His eyebrows twisted into a slight frown, but he didn''t look deterred in the slightest. He used the momentum of his descent to charge downwards once again.


    Meanwhile, Lavender was beside him and saw everything. Her usually cold face was warmed up by a faint smile as she floated behind Zen. She closed her eyes, and let her pure white arms pass through his underarms.


    Her sharp wings formed by the Faith Energy then began to bend constantly. The wings not only wrapped around her, but Zen''s whole body as well.


    "Go on!" she ordered.


    Whoosh!


    Since Zen was under Lavender''s protection now, the speed of his descent suddenly increased several times.


    On the other hand, thick lightning strands were repeatedly triggered. The number of exploding lightning balls in the abyss also increased as violent rumbling sounds echoed throughout.


    Fortunately, the lightning balls couldn''t penetrate the wings, no matter how powerful they were.


    Soon enough, they had descended all the way down, and there was no obstruction.


    After they passed through the area filled with thunder balls, they were next greeted by thunder spirits with their own will.


    The thunder spirits looked strangely adorable as they floated about in the abyss. They sometimes even l


    ion, then ordinary things would probably just degrade into a pile of dust.


    No matter how Zen looked the house, it was just an ordinary stone house to him. Even a warrior could build one in just a few seconds.


    Lavender''s eyes fell on one corner of the stone house. "There''s a back door," she said.


    Zen nodded in response, and opened the door as Lavender requested.


    The moment Zen pushed the door open, a strong gravitational force tugged at him.


    Lavender felt it too, and wanted to stabilize her body and resist it at first. However, she was shocked when the force had dragged her easily through the small door. She realized that even if she borrowed the Faith Energy, it was useless against this strong pull.


    "Wow!" Zen exclaimed.


    Both of them now stood beside each other in an unknown space, which was filled with countless stars of various sizes.


    "So many stars... Is this an Illusion Space?" Zen asked. The magnificent stars looked like twinkling lamps as Zen marveled at them.


    Lavender shook her head and said, "It''s not an Illusion Space. Our bodies were pulled inside this place, but the Illusion Space is just a projection."


    "These stars seem to be different from the stars in the universe," Zen murmured as he gazed at them.


    He had cultivated the Stellar Body, which required him to observe the stars every day. Thus, he was quite familiar with them. While it was impossible for him to count all the stars in the universe, he was sure that the constellations in it weren''t arranged in this way.


    The stars arranged themselves in an orderly manner in front of them. They looked like a huge whirlpool, which revolved around the center.

 Chapter 1472 Osborn

    The stars before them were a complete, albeit scaled-down version of the universe. It was, quite frankly, a magnificent sight!


    However, Zen didn''t just jump into the abyss to go through all those tests just to see stars.


    He reached out to grab his spirit beast bag to pull out Livingston.


    The puppet had been forcibly stuffed into the spirit beast bag previously, so when he got out, he immediately took in his surroundings.


    "Huh? You''ve barged into Osborn''s residence!" Livingston exclaimed.


    The puppet was someone of great origins. Both Zen''s and Lavender''s eyes lit up at his remark.


    Zen hadn''t had the time to bring Livingston out lately because of all the things he had to do while in the abyss. He only found an opportunity to finally seek counsel with the puppet after reaching the bottom. He figured that asking Livingston for advice would be useful in breaking through this stage.


    "Oops, that''s not right," Livingston said with a laugh. "The entire Endless Abyss is technically Osborn''s residence. But this small Milky Way was constructed by me personally. It is a complete replica of our universe down to the very last star. Whatever you see here is in sync with the sky outside. Osborn used it to cultivate his Transcendent Divine Might¡ªStar Plucking Technique!"


    Zen immediately shot Lavender a look.


    The sight of this Milky Way had awed them, but Livingston''s revelation had now truly put them in a state of bewilderment.


    "Star Plucking Technique? Transcendent Divine Might?" Lavender repeated in wonder.


    The Transcendent Divine Might was something that only a Supreme Lord could create. There might be a lot of Supreme Lords in this universe, but that number remained constant and Lavender knew just about every single one of them. However, this was the first time she had heard of the Star Plucking Technique.


    Only two kinds of Transcendent Divine Might used the power of the stars; one was Zen''s incomplete "Stellar Body" while the other was the "Dual Forest of Stars Theurgy" cultivated by an ogre Supreme Lord. She had never heard of a third technique.


    "Even I do not know of this Star Plucking Technique," the cyan dragon said.


    Lavender shot a look at the rotating stars. "The universe regards the heavens as a supreme existence. Do you know the name of the current round of heavens?"


    Each round of heavens had its own will and its own name.


    The origins of this ancient yet unknown


    y imagine the kind of weapons the greatest weapon refiner could make.


    However, that was a discussion for later. There was still a more important matter at hand.


    "Was Osborn a Supreme Lord of the previous round of heavens?" Zen asked.


    Livingston nodded in confirmation before walking towards the miniature universe in front of them. He reached out to casually pick up a star and the entire galaxy revolved at a much faster speed. Zen and Lavender could only watch as a path started to form right in the middle of the Milky Way.


    "Back then, in order to have a long lifespan, I begged Osborn to find the rarest material in the entire universe to help me create this puppet body. The price was to stay in this place and help him refine weapons for 400, 000 years. This puppet body is driven by life vitality, and I am unable to absorb vitality between heaven and earth. Osborn would send me a massive amount of life vitality jades once in a while, but suddenly, the deliveries stopped."


    After using up the life vitality jades, Livingston was lulled into a deep slumber and the rest was history.


    "I created this Milky Way. Osborn should have died long ago. I wonder what other treasures he left behind. Come with me," he said, beckoning them towards him. Zen couldn''t help but notice the tinge of sadness in the puppet''s tone.


    Billions of years had passed in a single dream. The world he once knew was no more and the friends he once had were all dead. Livingston was alive, but the world he knew was already dead.


    Zen and Lavender followed behind him into that ray of starlight within the rotating Milky Way.

 Chapter 1473 The Shake Of The Heavens

    The experience of walking along the road of stars was indescribable.


    Zen and Lavender could not help but size up the surrounding stars.


    Those countless stars were densely packed. No one knew what method Livingston had used to imprint the stars in the previous round of heavens and condense them into a star plate of this size.


    Similar to the stars that Zen communicated with, the sizes of these stars differed greatly from one another.


    Some of the stars were several dozen or even a hundred times larger than a person. However, most of the stars were like tiny grains of sand, extremely tiny.


    "Hm?"


    As Zen walked along the road of stars, he noticed a small azure star floating beside him. It was only the size of a fingernail. Nonetheless, it was extremely beautiful as its surface seemed to be covered by a sea. It was just that it was so tiny, so Zen couldn''t see its surface clearly.


    Other than this tiny star, there was also a fireball that was countless times larger than it.


    "It''s so beautiful!" Lavender exclaimed.


    However, just as Zen was about to reach out and grab the azure star, Livingston at his side stopped him. "There are many stars in the star plate and every single one of them is very important. They are part of the Milky Way. Thus, you can''t take them away."


    Zen shrugged his shoulders. He let go of the small azure star and continued to walk forward.


    Although the road of stars didn''t seem long, he realized that it was indeed very long while he was walking. Livingston''s body was clattering as he led them. Thus, they were walking really slowly.


    It took about an hour for Zen to realize that the distance between him and the center of the Milky Way was not getting any shorter.


    "How long will it take for us to walk like this?" he asked.


    "Well, crossing this half of the star plate at this speed will take about two days and two nights. Back then, I spent hundreds of years building the star plate, and every star was completed..."


    Zen rolled his eyes. He did not wait for Livingston to finish speaking before he grabbed Livingston and started sprinting on the road of stars.


    Now he had to make the best use of his time. He must be nuts if he followed Livingston''s pace.


    After a short while, Zen had crossed over half of the star plate and arrived at the center of the Milky Way. There was a massive sphere of light, emitting blinding scarlet rays.


    The sphere of light was around 10, 000 feet wide. The sand-like stars that surrounded it were almost negligible.


    "Is this the sun of the last


    ed and twenty-ninth one?! It is impossible! No one can forcefully be one of us!"


    He was not the only one to be shocked. In fact, all of the other Supreme Lords in the universe were looking up at the sky in confusion too. What was happening before them exceeded their scope of knowledge.


    There was no Supreme Lord in this universe at the beginning of a new grand era. Therefore, there was no one to bear the Heavenly Destiny.


    But as millions upon millions of years passed, the universe, which had suffered the mass extinction, began to give birth to new life forms.


    The races were slowly established and evolved in the span of hundreds of millions of years due to various reasons.


    Then, a competition started.


    There was a limit to the number of the Supreme Lords that bore the Heavenly Destiny. As the saying went, the early bird caught the worm.


    At this point, whoever could surpass the world lord level would be bestowed the title of Supreme Lord and be able to bear the Heavenly Destiny.


    Humans were at the forefront in this grand era under this new round of heavens called Cosmos. Thus, humans had the highest number of Supreme Lords. With the Supreme Lords of the three great human forces added together, the Supreme Lords of other races were far from matching this number.


    In a perfect situation, nobody would be able to become a Supreme Lord anymore since there were already one hundred and twenty-eight Supreme Lords. Even if other martial artists surpassed the world lord level, they shouldn''t be getting to the Supreme Lord level anymore. They would have to wait for the Supreme Lords to die first before they could seize their Heavenly Destiny and become new Supreme Lords.

 Chapter 1474 Ascending (Part One)

    The rules set by the heavens were perfectly ironclad. No one could ever fly in the face of them.


    After reaching the status of a Supreme Lord and bearing the Heavenly Destiny, one could make use of the Law of Causality to construct their own Transcendent Divine Might. And apart from that, their lifespan would also be significantly extended.


    There were simply not enough positions available for the Supreme Lords. In its entirety, the universe had a hundred thousand supreme worlds, and every single supreme world had their own world lord. Also, there were dozens of grand world lords who ruled over some supreme worlds.


    That being said, there were only 128 world lords that could have the chance of bearing the Heavenly Destiny and becoming a Supreme Lord.


    For that very reason, whenever a Supreme Lord would draw his last breath, there was bound to be a fierce battle between the world lords to get their mitts on the vacant position.


    Be that as it might, this time, a completely unexpected exception cropped up.


    For some unknown reasons, an extra position for a Supreme Lord had suddenly appeared from out of the blue.


    This additional position seemed to have altered the fate of the heavens, causing it to tremble violently and bringing chaos to the rules set by the heavens.


    Every single one of the Supreme Lords had a somber look on their faces. They were clueless as to what was about to happen because they had never been in a position such as this one. What on earth could end up happening now that there was an extra position for a Supreme Lord? How did this come to be? What caused it to manifest in the universe? Just how were they supposed to take this extra position in hand?


    Given the fact that it went completely against the rules imposed by the heavens, it had quickly caught the attention of all the powerful figures in the universe.


    as a very important treasure for every warrior from any of the races, and yet here was Zen referring to it as useless trash!


    A tinge of a smile crept onto Lavender''s face as she said, "Indeed, it might be of no value to you at the moment, but after you become a world lord, I assure you that it''s going to be very beneficial to you by then. What I''m dying to know right now is what''s going to happen if one more Supreme Lord appears apart from the 128 current Supreme Lords."


    Livingston was in the dark as to what was going on with Zen and Lavender right now.


    It should be recognized that the Crown of Destiny was something that everyone would be willing to put their life on the line for. However, it couldn''t dramatically give Zen an instant boost. Earlier, Elena had already made her move, making it even more difficult for them to get out of the underground palace. And there was just no way Zen would be able to continue cultivating here until he could reach the level of the world lords and then bear the Heavenly Destiny and eventually become a Supreme Lord. That was obviously totally out of the question at this point.


    In comparison, figuring out a way to get out of the underground palace was of the utmost importance to them.

 Chapter 1475 Ascending (Part Two)

    However, one thing they were completely oblivious about was that all of the 128 Supreme Lords in the universe were now frantically trying to calculate the location of the Crown of Destiny.


    Concurrently, just outside the underground palace, every other warrior who had entered the underground palace had returned outside one by one.


    This expedition deep into the underground palace was quite an abundant harvest for these warriors. Apart from the second cave, they were all able to acquire good fortunes in the third and fourth caves.


    Sad to say, the number of casualties inside the underground palace was quite huge. All in all, more than half of the members of the Demon Night race, the humans, and the ogres had lost their lives during the exploration.


    Having already received Elena''s instructions, the Demon Night Saint Lord was lying in wait for Zen and Lavender to come out of the underground palace. Never in her wildest dreams would she have thought that this trip to the underground palace would involve such a big issue!


    In any case, deciding on which side to pick between the two queens was such a no-brainer. Elena had already sent out Salvador, Viveca, Aneisha, and Elspeth into the Dark World. Although she still had some qualms regarding Elena''s orders deep inside, as the Saint Lord of the Purple Bamboo Sacred Place, she was the one responsible for the well-being of the entire sacred place. Most importantly, she knew full well what the repercussions would be for going against Elena''s orders. With Elena being the only authoritative figure in the Demon Night race, it would be foolish to oppose her.


    As luck would have it, the only thing she had to do was to wait here and let Elena''s men take care of everything. With the level of strength she had at present, she could lay waste to Lavender and Zen with such ease. However, if Lavender were


    And in no time at all, the underground palace in its entirety was already shaking uncontrollably!


    At the same time, the warriors standing close to the entrance to the underground palace had been thrown off balance. They had no idea what was going on inside, but they all watched in awe as the space outside the underground palace started to collapse.


    "The underground palace looks like it''s shifting!"


    "How could this possibly happen? The Endless Abyss is actually moving?"


    "Only God knows what the hell has caused this phenomenon!"


    Even the three Saint Lords themselves had confusion written all over their faces as they feasted their eyes on this. Their attention was completely fixated on the inconceivable event that was transpiring right in front of their very eyes.


    The Reincarnation Plate was a sizeable space tool. Having it under his disposal, Zen made it ascend from tens of thousands of miles deep underground!


    Not long after, a great chasm appeared in Auspice City right at its very center. One after the other, the houses started to cave in, and a thick cloud of dust started to form. In the end, everyone was forced to watch in disbelief as an enormous golden plate came out of the crack and floated into the air.

 Chapter 1476 Threat

    The moment the Reincarnation Plate lifted off the ground, the three Saint Lords appeared above the Auspice City.


    As they looked at the plate, they couldn''t help but frown.


    The warriors of the Dark World truly had many conjectures¡ªsome could speculate that the huge underground palace could be some kind of space tool.


    When seeing such a massive magic treasure, all of them were surprised.


    But the three Saint Lords all belonged to different forces, so they all had different thoughts on their minds.


    Naturally, the Saint Lord of the Demon Night forbade Lavender to leave. Although she was rather inwardly hesitant, she also knew that there was no other way out¡ªif she let Lavender go, she would be implicating the entire Purple Bamboo Sacred Place.


    But before she could even make a move, the eyes of the ogre Saint Lord flashed as he burst out in a cold laughter, "Heavenly Ogre Palm Print!"


    Even though the Saint Lord of a tenth-grade sacred place wasn''t considered a world lord, he still had the same extent of cultivation base. That in itself made him extremely powerful.


    The instant the Saint Lord attacked, all the vitality between heaven and earth in the sky above the Auspice City began to move in chaos. A massive palm print formed in the sky, no smaller than the Reincarnation Plate.


    In the depths of the plate, the palace surrounding Zen completely disappeared, leaving only himself and the three thousand six hundred divine textures.


    From where he stood, Zen could see everything that was happening in the outside world. As the giant palm print came into view, a hint of seriousness flashed through his eyes.


    It would have been ideal if he could flee through the Reincarnation Plate¡ªif it were to be broken, he would have no choice but to make use of the token that read ''mountain'' to get back to the fairy palace. But that was Zen''s last resort¡ªhe firmly decided not to do it unless he didn''t have any other choice.


    The palm print contained the power of extermination of all living things¡ªit was the strongest attack Zen had ever seen.


    Even if he had a divine weapon body, that wouldn''t have stopped him from disappearing into thin air under the power of the giant palm print. Although Livingston was confident in the Reincarnation Plate, Zen''s and Lavender''s expressions turned grave.


    Boom!


    After an exploding sound, the palm print suddenly covered the Reincarnation Plate, making it rattle and descend several dozen feet.


    Zen''s feet were firmly rooted to the ground. Both his hands moved like shuttles as he controlled the divine textures, doing his best to stabilize the plate''s height.


    "Haha! This guy may have the cultiva


    threat would be useless. Because Freya was merely good-looking, not as powerful nor precious as she was made out to be, Zen probably wasn''t willing to hand over the Reincarnation Plate because of her.


    "The consequences of not handing over the Reincarnation Plate is very simple." After the ogre Saint Lord finished those words, the two little snakes coiled around Freya''s white neck, spitting out slender, forked tongues. "These Iron Snakes can make this woman suffer terrible torment, enough that she would wish for death."


    Zen''s face turned gloomy as he stared at Freya. After a moment of pondering, he suddenly sneered. Then he said, "I understand, but you seem to be the Saint Lord of a tenth-grade ogre sacred place."


    "So what?" The ogre only snorted.


    "I wonder if this tenth-grade sacred place is important to you. I remember that it should be up north in the Dark World. But I don''t know if you''d be sad if I destroyed this tenth-grade ogre sacred place!"


    "How dare you!" Hearing this, the ogre Saint Lord got furious.


    But with a wave of his hand, over a hundred divine textures were activated. The entire Reincarnation Plate slowly spun before shooting to the north.


    The Reincarnation Plate was a space tool used by the Supreme Lord, with an extremely fast speed of travel. Relying on the plate, Zen managed to block the attacks of the Saint Lords. But he couldn''t make his counterattack. The three thousand six hundred divine textures didn''t have such an ability.


    Just by relying on the enormous size of the plate and its unshakeable outer shell, it was enough to set a rampage within the ogre sacred place.


    Boom!


    In a flash, the ogre Saint Lord caught up from behind and once again placed his palm on the Reincarnation Plate, intending to stop Zen.

 Chapter 1477 Retreat

    The ogre Saint Lord had struck a terrifyingly powerful blow but it still hadn''t been able to stop the Reincarnation Plate.


    "If you don''t stop, I''ll kill this human girl right now!" the voice of the ogre Saint Lord sounded once again.


    Zen snorted before replying coldly, "I will flatten your sacred place if you dare kill her!"


    Having said this, Zen acted immediately and increased the speed of the Reincarnation Plate.


    Under Zen''s control, the massive Reincarnation Plate began to gather speed. As it flew up in the air, it caused a giant tornado that quickly swept over the place.


    Zen looked on in amazement as the speed of the Reincarnation Plate far exceeded his imagination.


    Flying through a supreme world usually took a long time. In order to save time, most martial artists chose to go through the supreme world channel.


    Their original location and the sacred place of the ogres were quite far apart. Even if the warriors of the Soul Sea Realm made a round trip between these two places, it would still take them a long, long time if they didn''t go through a supreme world channel.


    But now that Zen was being pursued by the ogre Saint Lord, in less than two hours he saw a number of black buildings with unusual styles crop up. This was one of the biggest cities of the ogre race. Zen had already reached the territory of the ogres.


    He made the Reincarnation Plate crash downwards with an ear-splitting rumble.


    It plowed through the earth, dragging into existence a ditch that was hundreds of miles long and several miles wide.


    If one looked from the sky, it looked like a horrible scar had suddenly appeared across this large ogre city.


    And nobody knew how many of the ogres living in the city had died.


    The ogre Saint Lord''s eyes flashed as he saw this scene.


    This guy really acted on his words!


    This ogre city was only a border city and the ogre Saint Lord wouldn''t necessarily care if it was destroyed. But if this fellow were to continue destroying cities like this and if he reached the core area of the sacred place, it was possible that he would completely destroy all the property that the Saint Lord had accumulated over the years!


    A deep rumble sounded again.


    The Reincarnation Plate continued to wreak havoc on the city and carried devastating disasters with it wherever it went.


    All the ogre martial artists in the city flew up, all of them looking at this massive plate in shock and anger. These burly ogre martial artists looked like insignificant mosquitoes in front of the Reincarnation Plate. They had no idea why such a catastrophe should come to them.


    Some of the ogre warriors even tried to fight back. But even the ogre Saint Lord couldn''t shake the Reincarnation Plate off and they were only ca


    rance that Supreme Lord Osborn had meticulously set up.


    However, once Zen took control of the Reincarnation Plate, he sealed off the entrance. He knew through these divine textures that there were many entrances to the Reincarnation Plate, and one of them was at the very bottom.


    The ogre Saint Lord stood on the sidelines in silence.


    Zen said to him rather nastily, "You, get way from here!"


    The ogre Saint Lord''s face flashed at Zen''s words. He was a dignified Saint Lord! How could he tolerate a junior shouting at him like this?


    "You brat-" the ogre Saint Lord gritted his teeth as he spoke.


    "I don''t want to waste time listening to your nonsense. If you don''t want your tenth grade sacred place to be destroyed, then move away!" Zen''s voice sounded again from the Reincarnation Plate, his tone indicating that there was no room for argument.


    The ogre Saint Lord let out a long breath, but all he could do was step far away from this place.


    The ogre Saint Lord had originally had a plan. If this human girl were to enter the Reincarnation Plate, Zen would definitely open an entrance. He could take this opportunity to travel over space and enter it.


    But chances of success were very slim. Moreover, this boy had a personality that told him he would definitely take revenge. If he were to fail, his tenth grade sacred place might really be destroyed.


    After much consideration, he chose to retreat.


    What he didn''t know was that there was a Crown of Destiny in the Reincarnation Plate.


    The tremor of the heavens caused by the Crown of Destiny could only be felt by the one hundred and twenty-eight Supreme Lords.


    This Crown of Destiny was something that could make any world lord go crazy for it. If he had known this, he would probably have gone all out, since it was a chance to carry the Heavenly Destiny!

 Chapter 1478 Lavenders Subordinates

    Freya carefully walked in an empty world.


    The background of the palace had disappeared. She felt like she was walking on the floor, but the ground below was now transparent, and she could clearly see the mountains and rivers far below. What a strange feeling it was.


    "Zen, where are we?" Freya asked curiously.


    "The Reincarnation Plate," Zen replied.


    Freya''s face became depressed. Zen''s answer was the same as not answering. Where did this big space tool come from?


    Zen smiled when he saw Freya''s expression. He then briefly recounted what had happened after Freya left. After listening to him, she suddenly came to a realization.


    "So the Endless Abyss turns out to be a gigantic space tool." Freya''s expression became filled with surprise.


    Space tools weren''t anything rare. They were quite commonly seen in both the Upper and the Lower Worlds, but it was simply inconceivable that the Reincarnation Plate was in fact a space tool which could block the full force attacks of world lords.


    A world lord, as the name suggested, was the lord of a world.


    In the entire universe, there were trillions of lives. World lords were only ranked second to Supreme Lords.


    Being coerced by Zen, the world lord had to let Freya go. For a moment, Freya didn''t know how to express her complicated mix of feelings.


    The ogre Saint Lord had used her to threaten Zen, but Zen didn''t give up on her or run away. Instead, he had tried to think of a way to save her. When she thought about this, she felt warm in her heart. Zen had not abandoned her.


    "Where are we going now?" Freya asked after thinking for a while.


    "Now we have to leave the Dark World. If we don''t leave now, I''m afraid we won''t be able to leave later." Zen''s expression had turned more serious.


    The Reincarnation Plate was indeed incomparably sturdy, and able to block the attacks of the ogre Saint Lord. But there were simply too many powerhouses throughout the universe. Although the ogre Saint Lord was as strong as a world lord, he still was not a world lord. The real world lords would be much stronger than him.


    And now that Lavender''s identity had been exposed, Elena would lose no time to make her move. She would definitely send her men to chase down and kill Lavender. It was very likely that she would send world lords, grand world lords and even Supreme Lords. Those were odds that even Zen would struggle with.


    The situation was still very grim, and now was definitely not the time to relax or let down their guard.


    "Where are we going after leaving the Dark World?" Lavender asked the same question.


    "Hmm?" Zen was slightly surprised.


    When he thought of this, traces of hesitation appeared on his face.


    Should he return to the alliance?


    The alliance''s three thousand worlds would be able to accommodate him. Furthermore, he had joined the alliance''s Gauze Pavilion and possessed quite a few privileges in the alliance.


    But now that both his and Lavender''s identities had been exposed,


    oven their mettle.


    In the past, they were all juniors of the Demon Night, but by then, Lavender had become a queen, and they became her guards.


    Salvador had almost sacrificed his life to protect Lavender while exploring the Endless Abyss. He would have gladly done so in the past. Yet, now it seemed that he was here to claim that life.


    100, 000 years later, the four had already become world lords, but their status and strength were even higher than those of normal world lords.


    They had held good relationships with Lavender, but now they were sent here by Elena to chase down Lavender.


    In fact, Elena had many powerhouses that served her, and some of them were much stronger even than these four, but since she had chosen to send them to kill Lavender, she must be fully confident in their abilities. At the same time, Elena wanted to show off.


    ''Lavender, these people were the closest to you, but they have chosen to betray you. What qualifications do you have to fight with me?''


    Elena thought to herself arrogantly. This was exactly the reason why she had sent Salvador, Aneisha, Viveca and Elspeth.


    Hearing Lavender''s voice suddenly change, Zen controlled the Reincarnation Plate as he rapidly advanced. He turned his head and stared blankly at Lavender, seeing her pain and disappointment. However, he didn''t know how to comfort her.


    Boom!


    At this moment, there was another violent vibration.


    One of the four was a martial artist in a white robe. He held a pale green long spear in his hands. With the thrust of his spear, he had nearly flipped the entire Reincarnation Plate over!


    "His spear attack is so strong!" Zen''s eyes narrowed as he tried to control the divine textures. It was only with great difficulty that he finally managed to stabilize the Reincarnation Plate.


    Just then, Lavender said, "Let me talk to them."


    Zen remained silent as he activated another divine texture. Then, Lavender''s voice drifted out from within the Reincarnation Plate.

 Chapter 1479 The Past

    "Salvador..."


    The sound of Lavender''s voice drifted out of the Reincarnation Plate and echoed in this space.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Salvador swung the spear in his hand and knelt down on one knee with eyes dark as ink.


    "My queen."


    He was dressed in a snow-white robe and his long silvery-gray hair hung behind him. His delicate face was more beautiful than the face of any of the women that accompanied him.


    Salvador was the only man in the group. The other three¡ªAneisha, Viveca and Elspeth¡ªwere all women.


    As Salvador knelt down on one knee, Aneisha, Viveca and Elspeth all followed suit.


    In the Reincarnation Plate, Lavender looked attentively at the four. "You... How have you been?"


    At Lavender''s greeting, the four warriors trembled as they recalled their troublesome past.


    Seven hundred years ago, a vision happened in the universe. A crack appeared in the intact heavens; a corpse fell from it and landed on the Dark Purple Star.


    It was said that the corpse was the body of a True God.


    Countless races in the Upper World were excited at the news and sent warriors to the Dark Purple Star to investigate the corpse. The Demon Night was no exception. Lavender sent Salvador, Aneisha, Viveca and Elspeth to the Dark Purple Star too.


    That day, Lavender saw them off in person from her Hollow Hall.


    The four warriors would have to compete with the top warriors of the other races, but Lavender had faith in them. Together, they could defeat a Supreme Lord.


    While Supreme Lords seldom showed interest in these types of happenings, this mission was not that hard to the four of them.


    However, right after the four left, Lavender was struck with a bad feeling that made her feel ill. She could tell that something bad was about to happen, but she didn''t know what exactly it was.


    Whenever this type of feelings came over her, she would ask Supreme Lord Leroy for counsel. But this time, Supreme Lord Leroy was still in closed-door cultivation, and she couldn''t interrupt him.


    Right at that moment, Lavender heard the sound of chains. Then, she saw Elena appearing in front of the Hollow Hall. She was wearing a blue armor, the Saint Sky Armor, and holding her weapon, the Saint Thunder Meteor Hammer.


    The Saint Sky Armor and Saint Thunder Meteor Hammer were two supreme divine weapons of the Demon Night. They both ranked top 50 in the Universe Spirit Tablet. When Lavender saw Elena armed, she immediately realized what she was up to.


    Instantly, the Saint Killing Spear appeared in Lavender''s hand. Meanwhile, ripples quivered across the surface of Lavender''s Pool of Faith. She adopted the fighting stance and began to extract the Faith Energy from the Pool of Faith.


    If Lavender was in her best condition, with the help of her Pool of Faith and her spear, she co


    at that time.


    That invisible spear strike stabbed the surface of the Reincarnation Plate, bursting out with a huge noise.


    Boom!


    The Reincarnation Plate didn''t break, but its surface caved in notably.


    Meanwhile, the other three ran after the Reincarnation Plate and used their own weapons to attack it.


    Bang! Bang!


    Zen frowned and didn''t say a word. He was focused on controlling the Reincarnation Plate, which moved forward at full speed. Salvador, Aneisha, Viveca and Elspeth chased after the Reincarnation Plate and kept moving forward attacking it.


    Not long after, cracks appeared on the surface of the Reincarnation Plate one after another. No matter how fast the Reincarnation Plate moved forward, it was unable to shake the four off.


    Crack! Crack!


    The divine textures around Zen exploded one by one.


    "They are too powerful. The Reincarnation Plate is unable to stop them," Livingston said with a bitter smile. "I''m afraid it will break under their attacks."


    Nervousness was written all over Freya''s face. She even tried to hold back her breath in order not to disturb Zen. She knew she was of little use at this moment. All she could do was keep quiet.


    "Let me out!" Lavender suddenly said.


    "No!" Zen turned her down without hesitation. Lavender''s soul had recovered 60% and her sword spirit body was more powerful now. She might be able to fight a Spirit Transformation Realm warrior, but she was unable to block a world lord''s strike.


    "The Pool of Faith is not sealed yet, so I can stall them for a while longer." After saying that, Lavender activated several divine textures around them.


    Holding the Cold Plum Blood Spear, Lavender appeared outside the Reincarnation Plate. As soon as she left the Reincarnation Plate, the huge wings formed by the Faith Energy spread on her back. She swung her spear and stood before Salvador.

 Chapter 1480 Suicide

    Salvador''s eyes softened as he saw Lavender, and he withdrew the long spear that he''d been holding and intending to stab her with.


    The four people who had been attacking the Reincarnation Plate paused at the same time.


    Lavender gently flapped her wings and descended slowly to stand behind the Reincarnation Plate, fixing a stoical gaze on the four people in front of her. "Why did you stop?"


    The four of them remained silent.


    They had been through an excruciating ordeal, having chased the Incarnation Plate all the way here.


    They had battle of contradicting emotions going in their hearts during the chase. The enormous Reincarnation Plate was just a buffer.


    They knew they could smash it. But what would happen next?


    Would they really kill Lavender?


    The four of them glanced at each other, despair filling their eyes.


    Lavender understood their expressions and their situation. She smiled what could only be an indifferent yet dangerous smile as she gently waved the long spear in her hands. "Who will make the first move?"


    None of the four moved.


    Lavender was strong enough to use Faith Energy but was still too weak to fight them.


    With their strength, they could kill her in an instant.


    But the four of them were stiff as statues as they flew behind the Reincarnation Plate.


    Not a single one of them charged forward.


    The Reincarnation Plate flew through space, the two sides in a strange kind of stalemate.


    Suddenly, ringing laughter resounded in the universe once again. Elena''s voice.


    "If you don''t do it, I will! The Punishment of Eternal Night has not been used in a long time!"


    The faces of the four darkened at Elena''s declaration.


    The Punishment of Eternal Night was one of the cruelest punishments of the Demon Night.


    If Elena used it to punish them, their clans would suffer the most and die. The pain of the physical body wasn''t the point. In fact, in the Punishment of Eternal Night, the souls of their clansmen would be extracted and placed in a Demon Night''s soul prison, in which there was no life or death; only eternal torture.


    Usually, only the most sinful traitors of the Demon Night were punished with Punishment of Eternal Night.


    But now, it was going to be used on their loved ones.


    "I''ll give you guys five minutes to think about it. After that, you won''t have a choice." Elena''s voice dripped sweetness, and it was obvious she was enjoying this moment the most.


    Once Elena''s words had faded out, Sa


    e fly freely in the universe. He opened an exit and arrived at the end of the plate.


    He saw Lavender sitting there alone, four dead powerhouses standing lifelessly before her, pierced through by the Cold Plum Blood Spear.


    All of these four had the strength to traverse the universe, and they were more powerful than many grand world lords. Even their corpses emitted a powerful aura.


    Zen floated over to stand silently behind Lavender.


    She was his sword spirit, and he and she had always been one. Even though he stood behind her and did not see her sorrowful expression, he could still feel her pain.


    The four of them were probably facing a deathtrap, already having prepared this plan in their hearts.


    They didn''t want to kill their queen.


    But disobeying Elena''s orders meant that they had to watch their own family members, relatives, and clans suffer in Punishment of Eternal Night, which was something they weren''t willing to see.


    In this kind of conflict, they could only choose to die by Lavender''s spear. Only by committing suicide like this could it not be considered as disobeying Elena''s will.


    "Lavender, get up," Zen suddenly said.


    She didn''t move.


    "Get up!"


    Lavender still did not move.


    So Zen began to control his sword spirit with a single thought. Thanks to this, Lavender''s body started to float off the ground.


    She was the body of Zen''s sword spirit, and he could control her on his own. But after Lavender''s soul took over the sword spirit''s body, it was usually controlled by her.


    Under Zen''s control, Lavender floated in the air, looking at him, her eyes lacking the vigor they had in the past.

 Chapter 1481 The Despicable Queen

    Lavender stared blankly at Zen. She looked like a doll without emotions.


    In a moment of great grief, her mind stopped working.


    Zen looked at her with pity. Seeing that Lavender was unable to move, with a simple thought he controlled her light sword spirit and pulled her into his embrace.


    With her hands hanging down, Lavender still did not move.


    ''You didn''t kill them.


    This is exactly what Elena wanted. Either the four of them would die, or you would die. This is not your fault.


    I will help you kill Elena. I will help you! I promise!''


    Zen thought.


    "Thank you!" Lavender said.


    "What?" Zen was stunned.


    A trace of gleam flashed Lavender''s dazed eyes. Her mind was connected to Zen''s, so she could feel his determination and decisiveness as his thoughts ran over his mind.


    "I won''t compromise. I promise you I''ll kill her!" Lavender said softly.


    She was sad because of the death of Salvador, Aneisha, Viveca and Elspeth who had once been faithful to her. She had started her path as a remnant and she had put a lot of energy into becoming so strong. She would not change her mind so easily after she made a decision.


    When Zen saw that Lavender had recovered a little, the corner of his mouth curled up slightly. However, he continued to ask, "Who is that? Who do you talk about?"


    "Elena! I will kill her with my own bare hands!" Lavender''s voice grew louder and louder and a hint of lust for blood appeared in her eyes.


    Zen continued to encourage her, "Say it louder!"


    "I will kill you, Elena!" Lavender kept on screaming out loud. Her voice, which was usually very melodious, turned into a high-pitched scream, just like the angry roar of a young girl.


    The fury in her eyes became intense as did her killing intent.


    Zen, on the other hand, pointed his finger at the sky full of stars, saying, "They can''t hear you. You have to speak louder!"


    Lavender wanted to keep on shouting but Zen extended a finger and pressed it on her lips. With a slight smile, he took out the Roaring Token, which had already been already activated. "Now they can hear you."


    Lavender tensed up as her chest contracted. She then roared with the Roaring Token.


    As such, the entire universe was filled with a high-pitched scream. It was a declaration that resounded throughout the entire universe.


    "Elena! I will kill you! You will pay for this!"


    An intense scream suddenly burst out, making all the living creatures in the universe get startled. Some fierce beasts who had yet to develop their intelligence grew so restless that they started attacking without reason.


    After a while, Elena''s voice was heard once again. "Ha-ha! You want to kill me? Lavender, do you think that you are safe? I just sent you


    s would surely notice and think of this matter just as Freya did.


    More than a year ago, a mysterious young man appeared with many Roaring Tokens that he used to curse Amritpal. Then, he used the Roaring Tokens to chat with a mysterious woman.


    No one had figured out who that mysterious woman was. During this one year, she and that mysterious young man seemed to have disappeared.


    Afterwards, Lavender''s voice suddenly resounded throughout the universe. Not long after that, the voice of the mysterious young man could be heard once more.


    Anyone could see that the mysterious man was Zen who spoke now and Lavender''s Roaring Tokens should have come from him.


    "Hey, young man, you have so many Roaring Tokens. Where did you get them?" As expected, at this time, a Supreme Lord roared out a question to Zen with a Roaring Token.


    Zen was not afraid at all. He had already provoked Elena and wasn''t afraid of provoking a Supreme Lord. "It''s none of your business!"


    The Supreme Lord became infuriated at Zen''s answer. "Brat, do you know who you''re talking to?"


    "You are a Supreme Lord, right? So what?" Zen replied.


    "Since you know who I am, are you not afraid of being killed? You know I can find you through the Demon Night, right?" the Supreme Lord said with a sneer.


    Hearing these words, Zen once again activated the Roaring Token and laughed arrogantly. "I can block the Queen of Punishment''s chase. So even if there is one more Supreme Lord attacking me, I can still easily deal with this situation. Why do you think I would be afraid of your threats?"


    His words were extremely arrogant. Lavender reached out her hand to cover the Roaring Token while she smiled and shook her head. "Alright, I''m fine now. You can put it away now."


    She knew that Zen had put in a lot of effort just for her sake.

 Chapter 1482 To The North

    It was very dangerous for martial artists to expose themselves in the Upper World.


    A single Roaring Token that could be used infinitely was enough to cause many Supreme Lords to fight over it.


    Nonetheless, Zen didn''t even hesitate to transmit his voice using Roaring Token. He was obviously ready to throw caution to the wind.


    Lavender knew that Zen still had the fairy palace to rely on. However, Elena, as well as many Supreme Lords, had tailed him.


    Zen could easily compete with Spirit Supreme Realm powerhouses with his strength. But what if he faced those Spirit Transformation Realm martial artists? Or world lords? Or Supreme Lords?


    There wouldn''t be an option for Zen to retreat if that happened. He was too impulsive.


    He wasn''t the type of person to bother about those things though. He just followed his heart regardless of how dangerous his decisions were. He was ready to pay any price.


    Looking at the corpses of Salvador, Aneisha, Viveca, and Elspeth, he asked, "How should we deal with them?"


    Lavender sighed lightly and replied, "Keep their corpses for the time being. If I can return to the Demon Night one day, I''ll bury them in the queens'' tomb."


    One of the highest honors a martial artist of Demon Night could get was to be buried in the queens'' tomb. Only the greatest martial artists and those who had made special contributions to the Demon Night could be buried there.


    Although Lavender couldn''t bury them in the tomb now, it didn''t mean she wouldn''t be able to do it in the future.


    World lords'' corpses would not rot even after ten thousand years. It wouldn''t be difficult to store them away. Following Lavender''s instructions, Zen carefully stored the four corpses.


    Lavender then floated at the end of the Reincarnation Plate and stopped before a spear.


    Salvador had thrown out his spear before killing himself. Now it was stuck on the surface of the Reincarnation Plate.


    "This is the North Dawn Spear. It was forged from the north dawn crystal. I gave this to Salvador. I didn''t expect that he still used it after such a long time," she muttered.


    The North Dawn Spear was only a first-rank divine weapon. Although it was on the list of the Spirit Tablet, its rank was not high. It was ranked around seven thousandth.


    In reality, Salvador had the ability to acquire a supreme divine weapon when he was still alive. However, he chose to stay with this spear for a long time.


    Lavender stretched her hand to take out the North Dawn Spear. She stroke it gently, running her delicate fingers to its shaft. Not long after, a soft smile appeared on her face as she turned around and placed the spear into Zen''s space ring.


    The Reincarnation Plate continued to fly deep into space.


    There were 100, 000 supreme worl


    eya, and Lavender followed him.


    The instant they entered, the scenery around them underwent a tremendous change. The originally small fairy palace suddenly became incomparably tall and the towering walls rose up more than thousands of feet.


    Freya curiously looked around. The fairy palace was very new to her. She couldn''t figure out where Zen came from. How could a Soul Sea Realm martial artist have such a fairy palace like this?


    "This... This fairy palace..." Livingston''s face was filled with astonishment.


    Freya, on the other hand, couldn''t contain her curiosity. She knew that the fairy palace was extraordinary but she couldn''t see anything special about it.


    However, Livingston was different.


    When his gaze landed on the walls of the fairy palace, the two rays of light on his head began to flicker.


    "Oh my God!"


    Clang! Clang! Clang!


    Livingston stepped forward rapidly. It was hard to imagine how an old puppet could move so fast.


    Then, he threw himself onto a wall, stretched out his claw and gently drew a line on the cyan brick.


    The brick was not very sturdy. As Livingston scratched it with his claw made of metal, a shallow groove was left. Surprisingly, a moment later, the groove started to wiggle and returned to normal.


    "This, this is... A cyan brick made of light peace sand!" Excitement was flooding Livingston''s face. He took two steps back, looked at the wall which was thousands of feet tall, and exclaimed with even more excitement, "The whole wall is made of light peace sand!"


    Freya asked curiously, "What is light peace sand?" In her eyes, this was just an ordinary cyan brick.


    "It is the best material! That is impossible! I dare say no one is able to gather so much light peace sand throughout the universe. Ha! I''m going crazy!" Livingston seemed to be unable to control his emotions.

 Chapter 1483 Unconvinced

    Livingston threw himself crazily onto the cyan brick, as if he had met his most beloved lover after a long absence.


    After lying on the ground for a short while, his gaze shifted to the wide open space in the fairy palace.


    Clank! Clank!


    He then lay down on the ground again and began to carefully observe the details on the floor which was over one hundred feet in length and width.


    "No way!"


    After a while, he let out a high-pitched shriek of excitement.


    Immediately afterwards, he used his claw to carefully tap on the floor and shouted in disbelief, "This is emperor vigor stone, a genuine emperor vigor stone! All my life, I''ve only seen a piece of emperor vigor stone once, and it was only palm-sized."


    Livingston had enjoyed an exceptionally long lifespan, even longer than those of some of the Supreme Lords. Just as the puppet had said, the emperor vigor stone was indeed extremely rare.


    However, the floor of the fairy palace, which was as huge as a plaza, was completely inlaid with the priceless emperor vigor stones. It did seem extremely exaggerated.


    A hint of a smile flashed onto Zen''s face as he watched Livingston''s crazed performance while the puppet continued to admire the stones. It seemed that Zen had found a knowledgeable fellow this time.


    Zen had known that the fairy palace was extraordinary, but he hadn''t truly noticed the floor and walls before. He would also never have thought that the materials needed to build the fairy palace would be so rare. It gave him quite a shock to discover this.


    Just then, Saul appeared. He greeted Zen with a slight bow. Then he smiled warmly and said, "Master, you''ve returned."


    Zen had previously obtained three tokens and had acknowledged the first master of the fairy palace as his master, so he was now considered to be a half-master of the fairy palace.


    Before Zen could reply to Saul''s greeting, Livingston rushed forwards.


    "Are you a puppet?" Livingston crawled all over Saul as he looked him up and down, sometimes tapping on Saul''s legs and sometimes tapping on his chest. "You are really a puppet! Heavens! I didn''t ever believe it possible for someone to be able to make such a perfect puppet!"


    Livingston was very proud of his skills in weapon refining, but he didn''t hold a candle to the creator of Saul.


    Although the puppet that Livingston had made for himself was ugly, it contained an incomparably perfect Life Law within it. This was also the reason why his soul had been able to live until now without withering over time.


    In Livingston''s eyes, except for him, there had probably never been anyone else in the world who could achieve such a remarkable accomplishment.


    However, now that he saw Saul''s puppet body, Livingston finally understood what it meant to have met his match, or perhaps his peer. His own puppet body was simply insignificant when compared to Saul''s.


    Saul looked at Livingston and said with an indifferent expression, "Don''t touch me so randomly."


    Livingston was deeply fascinated, and he was not willing to stop. How could he? Although he had stoppe


    inaudible cry. Then he once again took out life vitality jades, supported Livingston up into a sitting position, and slotted the life vitality jades into the groove on his back.


    Very soon, Livingston was able to move again. Immediately after he recovered, he said, "Why can''t I go in the workshop?"


    Zen shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. "The reason is simple. I don''t have the right to enter it, so neither do you."


    "Ahh¡­"


    Livingston let out a miserable cry and leaned back against the invisible barrier. He eagerly looked at the workshop, which was just out of reach, wanting to open a hole on the door. "How can I get in?"


    "It depends on luck," Zen answered.


    Zen would definitely push his way through the True Path. After all, he only had three tokens with him. However, he wasn''t too sure if he could obtain the token to open the weapon refining workshop, so he didn''t make Livingston any promises.


    Livingston was very disappointed as there was clearly no hope for him to enter the workshop. He clambered to his feet to follow Zen in leaving, but turned to look back repeatedly with every reluctant step. He kept saying, "It depends on luck? What kind of luck will it take to open the workshop?"


    Saul, who was leading the way, calmly said, "With your lowly weapon refining skills, even if you manage to open the workshop, you still won''t be qualified to control it!"


    "How is that possible?"


    Livingston, after years of believing that he was the best weapon refiner, was not convinced by Saul''s doubt.


    People could doubt everything about him, like his life, but he absolutely would not allow them to doubt his weapon refining skills. He had intentionally turned himself into an ugly puppet just to survive in the world and study his refining skills. How could people doubt him without even knowing all that he had survived?


    Saul smiled faintly. He pointed at the library and said in a conciliatory tone, "My master''s library contains a myriad of things, including many books on weapon refining. You are free to read them."

 Chapter 1484 Preparations

    Livingston still wasn''t convinced even as he followed Zen into the library.


    Now that they were in this fairy palace, Zen wanted to help Freya and Livingston settle down into the fairy palace. He also advised Freya to look around and pick out a book that might help her cultivate. Her original cultivation method was derived from the great world she had originally come from.


    Livingston was in awe at the sight of so many books before him. He effectively ignored those on cultivation methods since they would be useless for his current puppet body. What piqued his interest were the numerous texts on weapon refining, so much so that he even refused to leave after entering the library, too engrossed with his reading.


    Once the two were settled, Zen immediately departed and, with a gentle tap of his hand, shrank the majestic fairy palace back into the palm-sized token in his hand.


    The Reincarnation Plate was in tatters but it wouldn''t be destroyed so easily in such a short period of time. Zen was confident that if Elena''s subjects launched an attack, then all he would need to do was to step back inside the fairy palace. However, catching him at this point in time was unlikely since they would need to destroy the Reincarnation Plate first.


    Once done with his preparations, Zen once again controlled the Reincarnation Plate and flew straight through the sky to roam around and explore the universe.


    In the Demon Night''s core supreme world: the Punishment World.


    This supreme world''s structure was incredibly unique owing to the fact that it was entirely made up of one huge mountain.


    This mountain was aptly named Punishment Mountain with its foot starting just at the edge of the world and extending all the way to the center.


    Of course, the residents of this world couldn''t really feel like they were living in a mountain, because this mountain was just too huge. The only way one would be able to discern the form of the landmass was if they looked at it from a distance in space.


    The Heavenly Punishment Palace stood like a beacon on the mountain world. Today, numerous Demon Night warriors gathered at its gate.


    These warriors, both men and women, that had gathered here were elders of the Demon Night who had lived for millions of years. A few had even undergone the Five Aging Processes already. They were mostly weathering away as they waited for death to consume them. There was no longer any possibility of extending their lifespans since they were mere world lords that could never attain immortality.


    "Let Elena out! We want an explanation!"


    "She has to explain what she did to the Board of Elders!"


    "We can''t let her mess thi


    ld never dare to charge into the Heavenly Punishment Palace forcefully.


    In the midst of the protest, a silhouette quietly appeared in the center of the palace. This newcomer was a tall man clad in a long, plain robe held together by a python patterned jade belt.


    "My queen," he addressed Elena but did not bow to her.


    Elena smiled at him cordially atop her throne. "Gunter, what''s wrong?"


    she asked the Demon Night Supreme Lord.


    There weren''t a lot of Supreme Lords in their race. They only had four so far. This was taking into account the hundreds of supreme worlds and countless sacred places that the Demon Night occupied. Supreme Lord Leroy was able to obtain the Crown of Destiny with the help of Lavender and her clansmen.


    This did not mean that the Demon Night was weak, but only 128 creatures were given the privilege to bear the Heavenly Destiny. No matter how gifted a newcomer was, he or she could not ascend the role if all positions had been filled up.


    It did not matter how talented warriors were. Without the Crown of Destiny, they would never be able to break through.


    Supreme Lord Gunter was one of Elena''s supporters and his presence here made her nervous.


    Did he come here for the exact same reason those elders that currently protested at her gates had? Was he here to dissuade her?


    That might be troublesome if that was the case. Supreme Lord Gunter''s suggestion would be something she could not set aside so easily.


    However, his next words made her heave a sigh of relief.


    "The heavens trembled," he said.


    "The heavens trembled?" Elena repeated and a trace of ruthlessness appeared on her exquisite face.


    She was not a Supreme Lord and did not bear the Heavenly Destiny, so she could not feel the vibration of the heavens.

 Chapter 1485 Abolish

    When one heard the word heavens, it was often associated with grace, strength, and the ability to sustain a whole grand era.


    Generally speaking, the current round of heavens was quite stable. If something interrupted this stability, great consequences definitely awaited.


    Most of the time, it included the fall of a Supreme Lord and the reappearance of the Crown of Destiny.


    There were only 128 Supreme Lords in the whole universe, and all of them had extremely long lifespans. And while a Supreme Lord''s death was a rare thing, it was also a great opportunity for all races.


    The Supreme Lords were so few that even a large race like the Demon Night race only had four Supreme Lords. Thus, it was considered highly important to have another Supreme Lord.


    Now, not all four of the Demon Night race''s Supreme Lords supported Elena.


    Although Supreme Lord Gunter was one of her strong supporters, Supreme Lord Leroy had always stayed hidden and was always a steady supporter of Lavender. As for the other two Supreme Lords, one of them stood by the Queen of Life, while the last one remained neutral but occasionally followed the Board of Elders'' commands.


    If Elena could obtain another Crown of Destiny, the Demon Night race would have the fifth Supreme Lord who would give her his or her unwavering support. This way, her dominance would further be strengthened.


    "The heavens just trembled¡­ Did a Supreme Lord die?" Elena asked, her eyes alight with a beautiful blue sparkle. Gunter shook his head respectfully in response.


    "No, my queen. All the Supreme Lords are still alive," he answered.


    "No? Are you sure?" Elena cocked one fine brow. She was surprised by his answer, so she asked, "Then what caused the heavens to shake?"


    Gunter''s face held a trace of doubt. He hesitated for a moment, but continued, "Although no Supreme Lord has died, I can feel that there is an extra Heavenly Destiny!"


    "An extra Heavenly Destiny?" Elena repeated, apparently taken aback by his statement. "How is it possible? I''ve never heard of such a thing."


    A round of heavens only settled 128 Heavenly Destinies for the Supreme Lords to bear. This was common knowledge in the entire universe, and was also regarded as an unbreakable law. Thus, Elena was confused after she heard what Gunter had said.


    "I don''t know why, either," Gunter said and shook his head. He had no idea what would happen if someone had forcibly carried the extra Heavenly Destiny, but the Crown of Destiny was something they had to fight for no matter what. "Anyway, I have already figured out the location of this Crown of Destiny," he added.


    "Where is it?" Elena asked eagerly. "It''s in the Dark World," Gunter said.


    "However, it has been constantly changing its position since the day before yesterday. It seems that it has already flown into the deep space, headed towards the Northern Sky Region," he added.


    A hint of curiosity flashed in Elena''s eyes. Then, she suddenly


    ace as a faint, blue light flashed from within her body. Her perfectly sculpted face looked unabashedly hostile as she said, "Indeed, the Board of Elders is no longer of any use to me. If you don''t mind, I will just abolish it."


    "Abolish?!"


    "How dare you!"


    Elena''s words were like a giant stone thrown into a very quiet lake, and caused a ripple of an uproar among the elders.


    The head of the Board of Elders was an old man who had lived for over eight million years. He jumped up and pointed accusingly at Elena''s face as he scolded, "Back then, we shouldn''t have helped you get to the top. How could you do this to us..."


    Meanwhile, Enzo frowned and decided to step forward and stand in front of Elena. Even if this old man was the head of the Board of Elders, offending the queen in such a way would still be regarded as an outrageous act. Still, it would be troublesome for them if he insisted on his seniority.


    On the other hand, Elena remained stoic as ever. "Gunter," she said in her iciest tone.


    Behind her, Gunter quietly walked forward and looked the head of the Board of Elders in the eye.


    The old man froze for a moment and seemed to have thought of something. Suddenly, his eyes widened as he shouted in anger, "Gunter! How dare you! You can''t!"


    Before Gunter had become a Supreme Lord, he had also been a member of the Board of Elders. When the Demon Night race had obtained a Crown of Destiny back then, they had decided to choose a member of Board of Elders to bear the Heavenly Destiny. It was the head who had recommended Gunter for the job.


    Never had he expected that millions of years later, he would actually die in Gunter''s hands!


    Thump!


    There were no demonstrations of power, no gruesome fights, and no flows of life vitality.


    The head of the Board of Elders, a Demon Night warrior and also a grand world lord, fell to the ground with a loud thud. All it took for death to claim him was a single glance from a Supreme Lord.

 Chapter 1486 Riddled With Holes

    Looking in horror as the old man fell to the ground, everyone from the Board of Elders seemed like they had just been hit by a truck.


    Never in their wildest dreams would they have thought that Elena would actually have the guts to put them down, let alone their leader.


    "If you insist on continuing with this nonsense of yours, I don''t give a rat''s ass about killing each and every single of you."


    After stating that, Elena went ahead and took Enzo as well as Supreme Lord Gunter away. In any case, she just couldn''t afford to waste her precious time on these over-the-hill fellows of the Board of Elders.


    At first, she actually intended to have a bit of fun in this game of cat and mouse between her and Lavender. That being said, in the case of Crown of Destiny, she was fully cognizant of the fact that it was about time for the game to reach its conclusion.


    "Enzo, tell Maddox and Tanya to finish the job without delay. And as for the Crown of Destiny, if they happen to locate it, then bring it back to me right away." Elena gave out her order.


    "Crown of Destiny?" Enzo was in a state of shock, with his eyes completely glued to Supreme Lord Gunter.


    Supreme Lord Gunter simply nodded his head to reaffirm it. "A Crown of Destiny has suddenly appeared. There''s a good chance that it''s with Lavender."


    "I see." Enzo had always been quick on the uptake, so there was no need for them to say anything more.


    Meanwhile, in a star in the universe.


    There was a storm raging incessantly within the star. From afar, it was much like a scar on the surface of the star, stretching out for millions of miles. Little by little, it moved around on the star''s surface.


    In truth, this storm was actually a fusion of thunder and fire. What was more, it had not faltered at all for a million years.


    Under such extreme conditions, not a living being could ever hope to pull through.


    Be that as it might, there was one person who was sitting in the very eye of the storm. With his arms outstretched, he had been continuously making calculations using his fingers!


    "Not here."


    Upon making that statement, he proceeded to raise his hand once more and carried on with his calculations! His mind was completely engrossed in finding something.


    "Not here either!"


    Then, he simply started calculating again.


    And before one could say "knife", that person opened his eyes, revealing a radiant glow that was like that of the stars. "I''ve done it! Ha-ha, it''s making its way to me! This Crown of Destiny... It''s destined to be in my hands!"


    When he was done speaking, his silhouette vanished into the massive storm. At that exact same time, the storm started to die down bit by bit!


    In the vast universe, a great many Supreme Lords had been trying to calculate the current position of the Crown of Destiny.


    For each of those Supreme Lords, their methods of calculating it might have varied, but all of them were perfectly capable of figuring out the location of the Crown of Destiny. This could only indicate that they had all locked on to Zen''s whereabouts and were already starting to adopt measures.


    This was something that even Zen himself was not able to foresee!


    Indeed, he had a lot of faith in his fairy palace. However, that was just when he was holding


    ate with ease, leaving a bowl-sized opening on its surface. After that, the second one followed suit, then the third one, the fourth one... It appeared that there was no stopping that attack whatsoever.


    Pfft pfft pfft pfft...


    To put it simply, these crystal swords were much like a relentless rainstorm. It didn''t take too long before the whole Reincarnation Plate became riddled with holes.


    On top of that, after piercing right through the Reincarnation Plate, they actually managed to penetrate even the bottom of the plate as well as bounce back.


    After that vicious onslaught, the crystal swords shifted their direction, hurling once again into the Reincarnation Plate.


    Pfft!


    And just like that, the Reincarnation Plate was now chock-full of crystal swords.


    As Zen was seated at the bottom of the plate, a crystal sword pierced right through the palace and was coming straight at him.


    Because he was sitting on the ground, Zen went hell for leather in order to evade the crystal sword. All he could do was watch as the crystal sword disappeared into the ground, but after that, he simply moved back to his original position. He still persistently operated the Reincarnation Plate. Throughout all of that, the expression he had on his face never shifted, not even once.


    There was no doubt that this Reincarnation Plate was indeed such a high-grade space tool, but considering the current level of Zen''s strength, there was no way for him to prevent it from receiving damage. The best he could do at this point was to just make the most of what was left by having it go as far as it possibly could!


    Pfft pfft pfft...


    While Zen was still preoccupied with maneuvering the Reincarnation Plate, another set of ten or so crystal swords made their way into the palace. In response, Zen''s figure flashed one more time as he went on and continued to concentrate on navigating the plate.


    As these crystal swords ceaselessly hurtled to and fro, the Reincarnation Plate had become perforated all over.


    "The time is now. Let me do it myself." At this point, the woman held a ten-foot-long saber parallel to ground behind her, and a cold light suddenly enveloped the blade.

 Chapter 1487 The Moving Fairy Palace

    The two Demon Night warriors were a man and a woman. The man was called Maddox, and the woman was called Tanya.


    They were Elena''s most capable subordinates, and their strength was on par with Viveca, Aneisha, Salvador, and Elspeth.


    However, since the two warriors had followed Elena all these years, the benefits they had obtained were naturally much greater than those of the latter four.


    The weapons in their hands were both supreme divine weapons.


    The crystal sword in Maddox''s hand was called Infinite Crystal Sword. As long as he was strong enough, he would be able to turn the crystal sword into two, then into four. The stronger he was, the more crystal swords he would be able to divide. Each crystal sword would have the same power as the original one.


    On the Universe Spirit Tablet, the Infinite Crystal Sword was currently ranked the 2, 120th.


    As for the weapon in Tanya''s hand, it was a machete called Slash. The machete''s weapon refiner was a man with a very strange temperament. He had made only a few weapons, each of which was named with one word and was listed in the top 3, 000 in the Universe Spirit Tablet rankings. Moreover, every weapon also contained a Law of Causality.


    When Tanya waved the Slash, the cold glint on the blade suddenly became so bright that no one could look at it. It was as if a star had been embedded on the surface of the machete.


    With a wave of the machete, Tanya sent forward an attack.


    Whoosh!


    The blade light spread out in the shape of a fan, making it seem as though a gigantic fan had appeared in the vast sky.


    Anything that came within the range of the light would be cut in half.


    The Law of Causality in Slash was very similar to that in the pickax named Black Star. However, the Law of Causality in Black Star was penetrating everything while that in Slash was cutting everything in half.


    Tanya had intentionally brandished the machete in such a way so as to cut the Reincarnation Plate into two.


    However, when the fan-shaped light had extended enough to almost touch the Reincarnation Plate, the enormous plate suddenly rose to a higher altitude, dodging the attack in an extremely strange manner.


    In fact, Zen was the one who was controlling the Reincarnation Plate. He couldn''t avoid the densely-packed crystal swords, but he had the confidence to avoid the slowly-spreading blade light. He was not an idiot who knew nothing but to run as fast as he could.


    Seeing the sight, Maddox couldn''t help but laugh.


    The Reincarnation Plate was so large, yet Tanya had missed her target. It was indeed a joke.


    Tanya had never thought that the Reincarnation Plate would be able to dodge her attack even though it was riddled with holes.


    There was a hint of anger in her eyes as she


    unable to deal with the small fairy palace. The fact that there was nothing they could do about it was a great humiliation to them.


    Inside the fairy palace, Zen was standing on a square. Saul was standing behind him. In front of them was a crystal wall, and on the crystal wall was an image of the outside world.


    To be more accurate, what was outside the fairy palace was not a part of the universe at all; it was a place unknown to Zen. The real outside world had been blocked by the enchanted barrier that was being released from the fairy palace.


    The small fairy palace which was being pursued was nothing more than an illusory manifestation of the real fairy palace.


    "It seems that we can''t get rid of them." Zen looked at the image of the two Demon Night warriors chasing after him on the crystal wall.


    Saul smiled slightly. "Zen, there''s no need to worry. These two have comprehended spatial transference, so the fairy palace can''t flee by flying alone. However, we don''t need to be afraid of mere world lords. Even if the fairy palace remained motionless, they wouldn''t be able to break through it."


    Zen nodded. He still didn''t know how to resolve this crisis, but at the very least, he was able to guarantee his own safety as well as Lavender''s. Right now, all he could do was take one step at a time and see how long Elena could pester him like this.


    The chase lasted for about two days, and the distance between them and a bright yellow star in the Middle Sky Region was getting closer and closer. This whole time, although Maddox and Tanya were pursuing them with all their might, they still couldn''t do anything to this small fairy palace.


    However, just at this moment, a streak of black smoke appeared behind the two of them. As the black smoke rolled over, a giant hand reached out and grabbed at the two of them.

 Chapter 1488 The Gathering Of Many Supreme Lords

    Suddenly, a giant hand grabbed at Maddox and Tanya. Even with their abilities, they couldn''t escape it.


    In the blink of an eye, they were caught in the grip of the giant hand.


    Tanya''s face darkened. Her machete and her body were tightly grasped in the huge hand. Slash unexpectedly released a circular light screen that continuously spread in an attempt to forcefully push the huge hand apart.


    Maddox also released his own power to try and break free from the giant hand.


    "May I ask who you are? We are from the Demon Night, and we are here to act on behalf of our queen!" As Maddox struggled, Tanya revealed their identity.


    At this, a sneer came from the sky. "So you''re from the Demon Night. You can scram now!"


    After that, the giant hand gently pinched the light screen that Tanya had created, causing it to shatter with a loud bang. Then, it suddenly swung forward and threw the two of them into the air.


    A Supreme Lord''s strength was unimaginably great. With just a gentle toss, Maddox and Tanya began to roll in the air. In the blink of an eye, they flew tens of thousands of miles before slowly coming to a stop.


    The two of them exchanged glances, frowning. Although their strength was extraordinary among the world lords, it was still too insignificant in the face of a Supreme Lord.


    The difference between a warrior that carried the Heavenly Destiny and a warrior that didn''t was just too great. A warrior could only become a Supreme Lord if he or she possessed a Crown of Destiny and carried the Heavenly Destiny.


    "What do we do now?" Maddox asked.


    "Our queen and Supreme Lord Gunter must be rushing here at top speed right now! Even if this Supreme Lord snatched the Crown of Destiny, he wouldn''t be able to take it away," Tanya said with a cold snort.


    It took a warrior a certain period of time to carry the Heavenly Destiny after he or she obtained a Crown of Destiny. Even if this Supreme Lord took away the Crown of Destiny and passed it on to a world lord beside him, that world lord wouldn''t be able to carry the Heavenly Destiny in such a short period of time.


    Furthermore, during the process of carrying the Heavenly Destiny, a warrior had to communicate with the heavens without moving even a single step.


    If this Supreme Lord obtained the Crown of Destiny and immediately fled, he might be able to run away. However, other Supreme Lords would chase after him.


    Every time a Crown of Destiny appeared, many great races would fight for it. Maddox and Tanya felt rather frustrated right now. If Elena had sent them to kill Zen from the beginning instead of sending Salvador, Aneisha, Viveca, and Elspeth, they might have already


    the net. "Zenia! You are simply courting death!" he said in a cold voice.


    As the ogre Supreme Lord finished speaking, the blue threads intertwined and gradually formed a beautiful and exquisite figure in the air. In an instant, the threads turned into a young and beautiful human girl. With a slight smile on her face, she stared at the ogre Supreme Lord.


    "Hi, Addison. I''m just looking for the Crown of Destiny. There''s no need to get so worked up." Supreme Lord Zenia had a frivolous smile on her face as she stared at the ogre Supreme Lord.


    The ogre Supreme Lord was the famous Supreme Lord Addison. He was considered one of the oldest and most famous Supreme Lords in the universe, and his lifespan could also be considered one of the longest.


    ''Another Supreme Lord...''


    Inside the fairy palace, Zen''s expression once again sank. The sudden appearance of two Supreme Lords was indeed beyond his expectations.


    Even though he was extremely confident in this fairy palace, facing two Supreme Lords was still hard to imagine.


    Right at this moment, a ball of purple flames suddenly burst out. The flames seemed to contain the might to burn the heavens. At once, a flash of scorching heat spread, causing the entire desert to turn into a blazing hell. Then, a figure walked out of the flames. "I always thought I was fast, but I never thought that you two would be even faster! Ha-ha!"


    "Another Supreme Lord!" Zen exclaimed. His heart skipped a beat as a wry smile appeared on his face.


    The allure of the Crown of Destiny was actually this great. In the blink of an eye, it had attracted three Supreme Lords. He didn''t know if there would be more Supreme Lords to come.


    Just as this thought appeared in Zen''s mind, a fourth Supreme Lord slowly appeared in the sky.

 Chapter 1489 Elena Arrived

    The area spanning a tenth-grade sacred place was already unimaginably large, and within a supreme world, there were only two or three world-lord level warriors.


    Ordinary warriors had very little chances of meeting a world lord even once in their lifetimes.


    As for Supreme Lords, although they were scattered throughout the one hundred thousand supreme worlds, they were all legendary figures in the universe.


    From the moment a warrior stepped onto the path of cultivation, they broke through their limits step by step and became even more powerful.


    Once a warrior''s cultivation reached a new realm, he or she would name the realm


    The five levels of body refining, nature level, Illuminating Soul Realm, Internal Elixir Realm, Virtual Tribulation Realm, Life and Death Realm... After that, there were the Soul Sea Realm, Spirit Supreme Realm, and Spirit Transformation Realm. Eventually, a warrior became a world lord.


    In theory, a world lord was the last realm warriors could reach. It was the end of the cultivation path warriors could reach with their talent and perseverance.


    It was impossible to walk farther with only those two aspects. If a warrior wanted to continue on that path, he or she would need a Crown of Destiny. Only by carrying the Heavenly Destiny would they be qualified to become Supreme Lords.


    There were only 128 Supreme Lords in the entire universe. Four had already appeared before Zen.


    Zen was also a bit speechless at the moment.


    He knew that these Supreme Lords had come for his Crown of Destiny. It seemed that the crown was far more important than he had imagined.


    What was worse was that the number of Supreme Lords who appeared before him was still increasing.


    Five...


    Six...


    Seven...


    Buzz...


    At this moment, the sword spirit inside Zen''s body manifested next to him. Lavender stood beside him and stared indifferently at the sky.


    "Supreme Lord Gunter." She frowned.


    "Supreme Lord Gunter?" Zen''s gaze was fixed on the seventh Supreme Lord. From his appearance, he was able to determine that the Supreme Lord was a Demon Night member. However, he had not heard of him before.


    "Since Supreme Lord Gunter has come, Elena would be here too," Lavender said flatly.


    "Elena!"


    When Zen heard this name, killing intent flashed through his mind.


    Zen had never wanted to kill someone as much as he wanted to kill Elena. Not even Eddie, who had been his great adversary. If Eddie had been willing to let Yan go, Zen would have let him go as well, even though he badly wanted to do away with him.


    However, this woman was an exception.


    Lavender still looked at the sky as a deep blue light appeared there. At the front of the light was a person wearing the Saint Sky Armor and slowly approaching them, the Saint Thunder Meteor Hammer in her hands.


    The woman was one of the three queens of the Demon Night race,


    had killed a Supreme Lord in order to help Leroy get a Crown of Destiny.


    Every Supreme Lord''s death was an event that shook the heavens in this universe. Killing a Supreme Lord had far-reaching consequences and was tough to boot. Even a top-rank Supreme Lord did not have complete confidence that he or she could kill a low-rank one.


    However, Lavender had managed to do it. She was also the first world lord to kill a Supreme Lord, even though she had relied on the Faith Energy of the Pool of Faith.


    They could not forget how it had happened. Since then, Lavender''s name was remembered by each and every Supreme Lord. It was the Queen of Killings who had killed a Supreme Lord, with no Heavenly Destiny on her shoulders.


    Several hundred years ago, Lavender had suddenly vanished in the universe.


    Even though the Demon Night members had tried their best to conceal this matter, the statues of the queens were spread throughout the various sacred places of the race. It was almost impossible to hide something so huge.


    To the Supreme Lords of other races, it was good news. Later on, they got to know that the two queens of Demon Night were engaged in an internal conflict.


    Now, it seemed that this matter was true.


    The most powerful queen of the Demon Night was hiding in this tiny fairy palace! Since she possessed the Crown of Destiny, why did she not try to carry the Heavenly Destiny? The Supreme Lords present were clearly suspicious.


    Elena did not pay any attention to the conjectures of the Supreme Lords. As she stopped a certain distance from the mini fairy palace, a small smile bloomed across her mouth. "Lavender, it''s time to come out, don''t you think?"


    Lavender''s gaze was fixed on Elena''s face. She, who was usually so calm and indifferent, couldn''t keep her cool anymore. Just as she was about to speak, Zen suddenly reached out and stopped her with a smile. "Let me handle this bitch."

 Chapter 1490 Drag More Supreme Lords In

    Right now, the fairy palace was Zen and Lavender''s last shelter.


    If the fairy palace was destroyed, Zen would have no choice but to accept his fate.


    Now that he was facing so many Supreme Lords as well as Elena, he seemed to have fallen into a deathtrap. However, he didn''t mind making the situation more complicated if it meant that he could find a way out.


    With that thought in mind, he took out the Roaring Token. A moment later, Zen''s voice resounded throughout the entire universe.


    "Hi bitch, we meet again!"


    When Elena heard Zen''s words, a trace of anger blossomed in her icy gaze.


    ''How dare he insult me!'' she thought.


    As an exalted queen of the Demon Night, how could she tolerate a mere Soul Sea Realm warrior humiliating her?


    However, her face was still calm. She said coldly, "In my eyes, you''re just a nobody. A Soul Sea Realm warrior doesn''t have the qualifications to even talk to me. Let Lavender out!"


    Zen opened his mouth again.


    "Humph! In my eyes, you aren''t even a queen of the Demon Night. You''re just a bitch. You want us to come out? Not a chance. Why don''t you come in if you''re powerful enough? There are many treasures in this fairy palace. Other than the Crown of Destiny, there is also my Roaring Token. This thing should be something that surpasses the heavens, right? It has limitless use."


    Zen''s words shocked all the intelligent creatures in the 100, 000 supreme worlds.


    "A Soul Sea Realm warrior has a Crown of Destiny?"


    "According to the legends, a Crown of Destiny is what allows a world lord to become a Supreme Lord. But now, it has been obtained by a mere Soul Sea Realm warrior."


    "If I have this Crown of Destiny, I can become a Supreme Lord!"


    All around the universe, warriors at a low cultivation level just said whatever they pleased. The truth was, if this Crown of Destiny truly fell into their hands, it would just be a hot potato. They wouldn''t gain anything out of it. In fact, they might even lose their lives.


    However, some of the world lords were immediately envious.


    Every supreme world in the universe had a world lord, with the exception of a few extremely barren and harsh supreme worlds. Some supreme worlds even had two to three world-lord level warriors, such as the Dark World and the Spirit Reading World.


    When these world lords heard Zen''s words, they immediately wanted to obtain this Crown of Destiny as well.


    They had already reached the peak of their cultivation path.


    The only way they could take a step further was to obtain a Crown of Destiny.


    They couldn''t understand how it had been obtained by a mere Soul Sea Realm warrior.


    "Bring that Crown of Destiny here!" "I''ll ask my grandpa to obtain the Crown of Destiny for me."


    "Where is this brat now?"


    Some ordinary world lords could do nothing about it, but there


    n she had just discovered Zen, she should have personally gone to the Dark World instead of dragging things out and sending people to exterminate him. That had wasted a large amount of time.


    If not for this, she would probably have taken away the Crown of Destiny and Lavender''s life a long time ago.


    Now that Zen had disclosed his possession of the Crown of Destiny and the Roaring Token to attract even more Supreme Lords, the situation had become a little tricky. He could cut a deal with a top-rank Supreme Lord and exchange the Crown of Destiny for a guarantee of his safety.


    Since the situation was complicated, it was beneficial for Zen.


    Because of this, Elena no longer had any hesitation. As the Faith Energy filled her body, the Saint Thunder Meteor Hammer in her hands began to emit over 10, 000 bolts of lightning.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    Her attack was about to smash straight down upon the fairy palace.


    However, just as Elena made her move, Supreme Lord Addison''s black smoke rapidly spread over. He had been the first Supreme Lord to arrive, and with his tyrannical personality of an ogre, how could he give up his prey?


    Dozens of giant hands made of black smoke grabbed at the fairy palace from different directions.


    However, just as Supreme Lord Addison moved, countless tiny shadows erupted from Supreme Lord Gunter''s body. Each shadow was only the size of a palm, but they contained a unique Law of Causality that seemed to completely melt away anything that touched them. The black smoke hands of Supreme Lord Addison were no exception. In the blink of an eye, they had completely melted away.


    However, even though Supreme Lord Gunter had blocked one of the Supreme Lords, he was unable to stop the remaining five Supreme Lords. All of them came over at almost the same time. They couldn''t stand aside and let someone else take the Crown of Destiny.

 Chapter 1491 Transformation

    The power of a Supreme Lord was simply magnificent.


    If the several Supreme Lords present there released all of their powers at once, then they would probably be able to instantly shatter this giant Yellow Sand Star!


    They were restraining their strengths even when they were fighting for Zen''s fairy palace. In reality, they were not looking at this battle as a matter of life-and-death at all.


    But even so, the power that erupted from these Supreme Lords was far superior to that of an ordinary warrior. They were just beyond imaginable.


    As Addison roared in both anger and shock, the other several Supreme Lords all joined in the battle at the same time.


    The first target of these Supreme Lords was to get the mini fairy palace located on the desert.


    Elena slightly furrowed her brows upon realizing that. Her eyes flashed with hostility when she immediately raised the Saint Thunder Meteor Hammer in her hand. As the hammer gently shook, it released a streak of lightning of a hundred thousand feet long!


    Countless beams of lightning circled her, forming a massive vortex around where she stood.


    The Thunder Law contained within this thunder had already reached the eighth layer or even the ninth layer!


    Even a Supreme Lord would have no choice but to back away if faced with a sharp vortex of thunder.


    Thus, the faces of the Supreme Lords were suddenly flooded with both surprise and anger. The Demon Night''s Queen of Punishment really took action to attack without the slightest hesitation!


    All the other Supreme Lords were startled except for Elena, who remained calm and determined. How could she allow others to snatch away the things she wanted to get?


    After the lightning dissipated, she looked down and was slightly stunned, finding out that the mini fairy palace was already gone!


    "It''s too childish to expect to run away..."


    In Elena''s eyes, relying on a space treasure to escape before so many Supreme Lords was simply daydreaming!


    She then gently raised her hand and instantly, a huge crack appeared at the edge of the desert on the Yellow Sand Star. It didn''t even take a second when the crack continued to extend and circled the entire desert!


    Beneath the desert was soil and beneath the soil was a layer of rock stratum.


    "Rumble..."


    The desert, the soil below the Yellow Sand Star, the rock stratum and even the mantle underneath the star''s surface were completely lifted by Elena.


    If one were to look from above the starlight, it seemed that a giant was holding a ladle, scooping up a large part of the Yellow Sand Star!


    She was that strong!


    There was a huge pit that was thousands of miles deep at the bottom of the dessert.


    After digging up the ground, Elena once again waved the Saint Thunder Meteor Hammer in her hand. With a light wave, the ham


    shapes. After entering the interior of the Yellow Sand Star, it directly transformed into a palm-sized stone!


    Just as the fairy palace had completed its transformation, a Supreme Lord waved his hand and once again the massive desert was dug out from the Yellow Sand Star. The Supreme Lord used the same method as Elena''s and then burnt the desert with the blazing flames.


    Being burnt by the flames, the desert sand turned into numerous transparent crystals which began to melt.


    Not long after, a desert of one hundred miles long had been burnt down and only a little part of it was left. A few scattered items fell to the large hole at the bottom of the Yellow Sand Star.


    As a stone among the items, the fairy palace kept tumbling in the air before falling into the hole and stopped moving.


    The Supreme Lord got no clue that what he was searching for just flew out somewhere!


    "Huh?" A wondering expression appeared on his face.


    He stood bewildered, looking at his empty hand. He almost grabbed it! How could the fairy palace disappear? He had burned the entire desert, yet he couldn''t find that fairy palace again.


    "There was no space fluctuation happening right now. That space treasure must be on top of the Yellow Sand Star!" another Supreme Lord said indifferently.


    "Humph! I reckon that the fairy palace must be here." Another Supreme Lord began to count on his fingers and try to figure out the palace''s location. As long as the Crown of Destiny wasn''t carried by anyone, it wasn''t difficult to figure out its position. Moreover, the Supreme Lord was not far away from the Crown of Destiny, so it would not be so complicated to deduce its location!


    The Supreme Lord, who was calculating the space, suddenly turned towards the Yellow Sand Star. Then with a frown, he muttered, "It is indeed still on the Yellow Sand Star but what happened just now?"

 Chapter 1492 Burn The Star

    A look of confusion appeared on the faces of all the Supreme Lords.


    Even Elena, Supreme Lord Addison, and Supreme Lord Gunter stopped fighting.


    Nothing could escape from these mighty warriors, and that was precisely why they had started fighting. They had been confident that the mini fairy palace wouldn''t be able to go anywhere.


    But now, it had inexplicably disappeared.


    Escaping under the watchful eyes of so many Supreme Lords was impossible.


    The Supreme Lords quickly began to analyze the situation, and they all soon came to the same conclusion¡ªthe fairy palace hadn''t left the Yellow Sand Star and was merely hiding within it.


    Faced with this tricky situation, the Supreme Lords that gathered on the Yellow Sand Star naturally stopped quarreling.


    They had all come for the Crown of Destiny, and that was their only goal. They had no interest in sparring with other Supreme Lords.


    Elena''s cold gaze swept across the surface of the Yellow Sand Star over and over again, but she did not find any clues. In the end, her hostile eyes fell upon the other Supreme Lords. She cursed inwardly, ''If it weren''t for these bastards, the fairy palace wouldn''t be able to hide from me.''


    Whoosh!


    A few more figures descended from the sky. Several other Supreme Lords had rushed over.


    "Supreme Lord Myles!" someone exclaimed.


    Supreme Lord Myles was a mid-rank Supreme Lord. Even Elena frowned at the sight of him.


    "Supreme Lord Amritpal!"


    When Supreme Lord Amritpal descended, his gaze first landed on Supreme Lord Myles.


    The two of them were a famous pair of rivals, bringing joy and entertainment to all creatures in the universe. They had been challenging and quarreling with each other for countless years, but they hadn''t fought against each other even once. Many Supreme Lords had asked them why they hadn''t engaged in a real fight, but the two of them always ignored those questions.


    Now that the Supreme Lords gathered on the Yellow Sand Star saw these two appear together, they thought that the two would immediately start bickering again. They never imagined that these two Supreme Lords would greet each other so warmly. It was as if they were good friends who hadn''t seen each other in a long time.


    When two Supreme Lords fought against each other, the Crown of Destiny would dissipate after one of them died, and then it would randomly appear in a corner of the universe. So after a Supreme Lord killed another, the greatest benefit would fall into the hands of others. As a result, Supreme Lords would not fight to the death against each other unless they were sworn enemies. Previously, when Elena had fought with four Supreme Lords, none of them had used all their might.


    Not long after, more Supreme Lords arrived.


    The number of Supreme Lords circling Yellow Sand Star had reached twenty.


    It was extremely rare for so many Supreme Lords to be


    then it began to slowly melt.


    "He wants to burn the entire star down," Zen murmured. His eyebrows twitched. "Supreme Lord Amritpal is such a decisive man!"


    When Supreme Lord Amritpal began to burn the Yellow Sand Star, Zen sensed a faint trace of sorrow in his perception. When that feeling of sorrow was transmitted to him, he instantly understood that it came from the will of the stars.


    Stars had their own will. Zen had understood that long ago when he had practiced the Stellar Body. So far, he had already activated more than 20 stars. The sadness of the stars that he felt was emitted from the stars that he himself had activated.


    It was a pity that he couldn''t do anything to prevent this.


    Zen shook his head slightly. He could only watch as Supreme Lord Amritpal continued burning down the Yellow Sand Star.


    Boom!


    Under the embrace of the fire dragon, a huge crack appeared in the middle of the Yellow Sand Star. It was actually starting to fall apart.


    However, the flames of Supreme Lord Amritpal did not die down. Instead, they continued burning the Yellow Sand Star with fierce intensity.


    Under the constant burning, the Yellow Sand Star''s size continued to shrink. The easily incinerated materials within the star were burnt away.


    Within five minutes, the diameter of the Yellow Sand Star shrank from 80, 000 miles to 40, 000 miles.


    An hour later, the Yellow Sand Star shrank down to just 10, 000 miles in diameter.


    Just like that, a huge star had been slowly burned down. However, the fairy palace was still quietly lying inside.


    "Humph! Let''s see how long the fairy palace can hold against such heat. Let''s see how long it can hide. Brat, you scolded me back then. I can reject that Crown of Destiny, but I will definitely take your Roaring Token!" Supreme Lord Amritpal was someone who held grudges. He still remembered the time when Zen had insulted him when he was feeling down.

 Chapter 1493 A Grain Of Sand

    Even if Supreme Lord Amritpal released his hottest flames, the rate at which the Yellow Sand Star burned had slowed down.


    This star''s surface was only soft sand and underneath was ten miles of soil.


    Beneath the soil was a layer of hard rock, under which lay the mantle. The mantle was made of tougher stuff than normal rock and encased the very core of the star.


    A star''s core was extremely sturdy and its weight was equally astonishing. A palm-sized core was equal to the weight of an entire mountain.


    It was impossible for Supreme Lord Amritpal''s flames to burn the entire star out in just a short period of time.


    "Leave the Crown of Destiny to me. There is someone in my clan who urgently needs it,"


    Supreme Lord Myles said, taking advantage of the situation.


    "Someone in your clan needs it? Are you joking? You''re not the only one who needs the Crown of Destiny!" a Supreme Lord protested.


    It was a fact that there were many world lords in this boundless universe but too few Crowns of Destiny.


    Nearly twenty Supreme Lords had arrived, and Zen''s use of the Roaring Token was only going to invite more. A huge problem had now posed itself: who took ownership of the Crown of Destiny?


    It was not something that could be halved, nor could it be shredded into pieces for distribution.


    "Humph! You greedy guys! All you think about is this Crown of Destiny, but none of you has ever considered the most important thing! This is the 129th Crown of Destiny. If there really is someone who carries the Heavenly Destiny, then has any of you thought about what would happen?" another Supreme Lord asked in a clear voice.


    His words plunged everyone into silence.


    A single round of heavens could only carry 128 Heavenly Destinies. This number had always been constant.


    What would happen with the emergence of the 129th? Nobody knew.


    Would it perhaps trigger the collapse of heavens? Would it end this grand era so suddenly? The risks were numerous and too heavy to even start comprehending.


    The silence was heavy among these mighty Supreme Lords, and it was only broken by the appearance of another one of their ranks. "Ranell! You''ve finally come!" Supreme Lord Addison greeted.


    Supreme Lord Addison had been the first one to arrive, but the arrival of so many others had pushed him to the very edge of the crowd.


    He was one of the oldest Supreme Lords, yet prestige was not determined by age but by the Heavenly Destiny. The power of the Law of Causality contained with


    A hundred miles in diameter...


    The initial layers had been burned away, leaving behind a solid glazed substance that was similar to hot, molten metal.


    Ten miles in diameter...


    One mile...


    A thousand feet...


    Finally, the star core made its appearance. The 80, 000-mile diameter Yellow Sand Star was no more. All that remained now was this small core which was the size of a person''s fist.


    The sight of this black object made the Supreme Lords'' faces fall.


    "Where is the mini fairy palace?"


    "He couldn''t have possibly escaped, right? Did he run away through spatial transference? That''s not possible! We would''ve seen it if he did!" Questions ran through each of the Supreme Lords'' minds but none of them could comprehend just how the small fairy palace suddenly disappeared right under their very noses. Perhaps it was in this fist-sized, black star core?


    Supreme Lord Amritpal extended a hand and made a few calculations with his fingers. "Continue to burn the star core!" he declared with a cold sneer. "The fairy palace is truly very interesting! It is actually hiding inside the very core itself."


    And he was right. The mini fairy palace had turned into a grain of sand that had drilled itself into the very center of this impossibly hard star core.


    And as long as Supreme Lord Amritpal continued with his incineration, then the mini fairy palace would eventually be exposed.


    There was another huge burst of flames as the star core was once again set alight by the Supreme Lords. From the size of a fist, it shrank down to the size of a pebble, until it finally vanished and left behind a grain of sand that slowly rotated in the air.

 Chapter 1494 Showing Their Special Skills

    Such was a rare phenomenon, that it could almost be considered a miracle: a star over 80, 000 miles in diameter was forcefully refined just like that! No one else but a Supreme Lord could accomplish such a feat.


    They were so powerful that even a grain of sand couldn''t escape a Supreme Lord''s heightened senses. When they discovered this particular grain of sand, however, they couldn''t help but be surprised.


    When the Supreme Lords saw the little fairy palace back then, they didn''t think much about it. It didn''t matter to them as it was just a space treasure.


    Now that they had a closer look at this grain of sand, they realized that it wasn''t just an ordinary treasure¡­


    Because that grain of sand had undergone tempering of Supreme Lord Amritpal''s fire!


    However, the Supreme Lords couldn''t see the mysteries inside the grain of sand. Then again, it was the only thing left unrefined from everything that Supreme Lord Amritpal''s fire had burned. Thus, it could be said that the grain of sand was the embodiment of the little fairy palace.


    It floated about in the air for a while, and then it shot towards the north!


    One Supreme Lord wore a cold smirk, before he stretched out one hand and tore apart a vast space. The grain of sand was sucked into the shattered space. Then the surrounding spaces folded together and used their power to easily bind the grain of sand inside it.


    "Such a powerful space treasure is truly unheard of," a Supreme Lord said with a shake of his head.


    There were only a select few treasures that could cause a Supreme Lord to have such thoughts. It was difficult to tempt them¡ªthey wouldn''t budge even if a supreme divine weapon appeared in front of their faces.


    However, this fairy palace had so many changes that even the Supreme Lords present couldn''t see through it. It had even withstood Supreme Lord Amritpal''s fire.


    Therefore, the Supreme Lords naturally wanted such a space treasure.


    Before, they only wanted the Crown of Destiny and the Roaring Token, and destroy this space treasure. Now, they sang a different song. This space treasure was definitely a rare treasure.


    "Your name is Zen, right?" one Supreme Lord, who remembered Zen''s name, said. "You can come out. Although we Saya people are not a big race, we can ensure your survival if you offer this space treasure and the Crown of Destiny with both hands!"


    "Survival? Ha-ha! Kid, although you are only at the Soul Sea Realm, I can make an exception and accept you as my disciple. The price would be your Crown of Destiny and this ever-changing fairy palace," Supreme Lord Ranell of the ogres casually said.


    On the other hand, Elena''s blood ran cold upon hearing


    powerful in the universe, even though there were countless incredible mysteries and many dangerous lands as well.


    They were all nothing in a Supreme Lord''s eyes. Since they had lived for a hundred million years and counting, it was hard for them to find anything that could surprise them.


    However, this grain of sand was out of their imagination. To add to that, they were also more interested in Zen''s space treasure too!


    "Let me do it!" Supreme Lord Ranell said and stepped forward. Since he was a mid-rank Supreme Lord, he was far more powerful than the Supreme Lords who had previously tried.


    He already had a saber in his hands¡ªthe Imperial Mysterious Saber. This saber was refined from the last Mysterious Bone Demon of the universe, and it was ranked 27th on the Universal Spirit Tablet!


    The Mysterious Bone Demon had a special talent. It could disrupt the vitality between heaven and earth, and could even absorb an unlimited amount of it. It was because of this ability that the Mysterious Bone Demons had been exterminated. Their race consumed far too much vitality between heaven and earth. It was something that the heavens couldn''t tolerate!


    The last living Mysterious Bone Demon had been captured by the ogres'' weapon refiner, who had then created the Imperial Mysterious Saber out of it.


    The saber suddenly slashed out, and a crescent-shaped saber light appeared in the sky. As a result, the vitality between the heaven and earth in the sky was disrupted. It spread out everywhere in insanely fluctuating amounts!


    It was all too much to take¡ªthe vitality between heaven and earth contained in this saber light was far beyond the imagination of an ordinary martial artist.


    "Whoosh!"


    At that moment, the beam of saber light shot towards the grain of sand!

 Chapter 1495 Warning (Part One)

    There was a blinding flash as the Supreme Lord''s saber swept through the air and accurately hit that single grain of sand.


    The moment the steel tip of his saber hit the grain, he noticed a hairline crack appear on his crescent blade light.


    In the end, his crescent blade light couldn''t even swat the tiny grain away. The tremendous force of his slash was wasted and merely continued passing through half of the universe to pierce through thousands of stars before totally dissipating.


    The tiny grain of sand merely floated on the spot as it slowly rotated in the air.


    The results greatly dismayed Supreme Lord Ranell. He was a mighty Supreme Lord yet he couldn''t even cause any damage to this tiny grain of sand!


    He raised his saber to try again but another Supreme Lord stepped forward and indicated that it was now his turn to attack the sand grain.


    The Supreme Lords all took their turn trying to break this grain of sand one after another. They exhausted all of their abilities and used every kind of Law of Causality they knew but to no avail.


    It wasn''t just the Supreme Lords. Even Zen and Lavender, who currently hid within the fairy palace, were equally shocked at the extreme resilience of the sand grain.


    This fairy palace had always been Zen''s final fort, a place where he could hide when things immediately went south for him ¡ª a sanctuary in times of desperation.


    He relied greatly on this fairy palace but even he did not expect that it would be able to block even a mighty Supreme Lord''s attack.


    He was extremely nervous earlier but witnessing the Supreme Lords fail one after the other relieved him greatly. The strength of the palace wasn''t something to be trifled with.


    It seemed that he had greatly underestimated his master and the origin of this fairy palace.


    He knew his master was someone who had surpassed the heavens and this fairy palace was something extraordinary but never to this extent!


    What exactly was the world above heavens like? And just how powerful was his master''s culti


    egy greatly amused Zen. A Supreme Lord''s poison was a thousand times stronger than regular ones but it still wasn''t enough. This tiny grain of sand drove these Supreme Lords mad!


    Several more Supreme Lords arrived and their number was now close to thirty.


    They all came from different races and represented the different forces of the universe.


    Buzz!


    There was a slight buzzing sound as another burst of light signaled the arrival of another Supreme Lord.


    The light slowly condensed into a figure of a man and the sight of his face changed the expressions on everyone''s faces.


    Although the figure was of a man, this latecomer did not come from the human race but from the Celestial Position race.


    This race was peculiar and was a hybrid of many different races. Whether it was a human or some other member of another race, one would have to go through the pre-requisite blood exchange to become a true Celestial Position member. It wasn''t a large group but every single member was powerful, especially their Supreme Lords.


    However, the race was also well-known for being unreasonable. The arrival of a Celestial Position Supreme Lord meant that things here were about to get complicated soon enough.


    "Supreme Lord Marcello! Did the Celestial Position race also come to have a finger in the pie?" Supreme Lord Ranell asked with a sneer.

 Chapter 1496 Warning (Part Two)

    Although the Celestial Position was effectively a multi-racial group and was generally tolerant of the differences of their members'' origins, their relationship with the ogres was extremely bad.


    Supreme Lord Marcello''s gaze was hard and cold, "What did you say? Have a finger in the pie?" He scoffed and continued, "Our race has been involved from the very beginning, and yet we won''t demand anything from the young man."


    "What do you mean?" Ranell asked curiously.


    The other Supreme Lords listened intently, also perplexed by Marcello''s words.


    The Celestial Position Supreme Lord pointed at the tiny grain of sand that slowly spun in space, "Because the young man in this space treasure is a member of our race!"


    This declaration surprised and displeased the Supreme Lords present.


    "A member of your race? I don''t believe it! I''ll say he''s a member of the ogres then!" Ranell snorted.


    The other Supreme Lords quickly sided with him. They were simply unwilling to believe Marcello''s words.


    However, Marcello remained a picture of calm despite the disbelief from the other Supreme Lords, "Zen passed our race''s test and has obtained the golden Celestial Position title. He is a significant member of our race."


    This revelation surprised the other Supreme Lords greatly. Golden Celestial Position titles were extremely rare and appeared only a few times during this grand era. However, they were quick to hide their surprise and replace it with their skeptic looks.


    Who knew if Marcello was merely speaking nonsense? Did he want to take this young man away with this casual excuse? What if his real agenda was to take the Crown of Destiny and the space treasure all to himself? Ha! In his dreams!


    "So what if it''s a golden Celestial Position title?" a Supreme Lord uttered with disdain.


    Marcello smiled, already catching on as to where this hostility was coming from. "Don''t worry, I''m not here to fight with you over the Crown of Destiny. Although it''s important, our race doesn''t take it that seriously!"


    Anothe


    loss as to what she should do.


    "Hey, human boy, did you hear that? The Celestial Position race will protect your life. You better leave that fairy palace now and we''ll spare you. Otherwise, I''ll cut off the vitality between heaven and earth and you''ll be trapped inside there for a million years! Remember, you''re only at the Soul Sea Realm! Your lifespan will not exceed one hundred thousand years!" a Supreme Lord threatened. The Celestial Position race''s warning did not deter them in the slightest to attain their goal. These Supreme Lords had endless time to confront Zen here.


    "Do you really think the words of the Celestial Position race head would be enough to scare us?" Ranell sneered. "Let''s see just how long you''ll last, human boy!"


    Zen''s eyes flashed when he heard their threats. He quickly turned to Saul, "Looks like there''s no need for me to hesitate. Since these fellows are too stubborn, then just do as you''ve suggested earlier!"


    Saul smiled, "You are too merciful. It''s no big deal to kill several Supreme Lords. What''s more, their death would mean more Crowns of Destiny. I can''t wait to see what interesting things will happen after that."


    As soon as he finished speaking, a beam of light suddenly shot out from the grain of sand. It had burst out so suddenly that the Supreme Lords didn''t even have the time to react to it.

 Chapter 1497 Only One Can Survive

    A black and white band of light appeared suddenly with a maximum speed.


    When the Supreme Lords finally realized what happened, the band of light had already connected the five Supreme Lords together.


    All of the Supreme Lords present stared at it without being able to recover from the surprise it had caused.


    Within the fairy palace, this band of light was released precisely from the pavilion in its center. It was also the Desperate Melee that Zen had inadvertently triggered when he first went to the fairy palace.


    Once the living creatures were trapped by it, only one of them would be able to survive.


    "Is this Desperate Melee also effective on the Supreme Lords?" Zen asked, looking at the band of light outside of the fairy palace. When Zen had entered the pavilion before, he had been tied up with a group of Illuminating Soul Realm warriors. At that time, the Illuminating Soul Realm warriors weren''t able to break free. Would the same happen to the Supreme Lords?


    Saul smiled faintly. "Why wouldn''t it work? They are mere Supreme Lords and each of them only bears a Heavenly Destiny, so even they cannot escape its powerful force!"


    "Mere Supreme Lords? Only a Heavenly Destiny? How can you say things like that so easily?" Zen was shocked with his words. Judging from Saul''s tone, he didn''t think much of the Supreme Lords.


    "Yes, this Heavenly Destiny is just a Law of Causality in the universe. With the rules contained in the Desperate Melee, if this group of Supreme Lords can break free, then they''re really amazing." Saul looked extremely relaxed, as if he was not worried if the Supreme Lords would be freed from the Desperate Melee or not.


    The five Supreme Lords that were trapped on the Desperate Melee were Addison from the ogre race, Gunter from the Demon Night, Myles, and other two Supreme Lords.


    The Supreme Lords didn''t reveal any emotions or show that they were worried about what was happening. Gunter was actually smiling. "This band of light seems to be some sort of restriction. I can feel that it''s transmitting an intention. I just can''t figure out what it is exactly."


    "I think it wants us to fight among ourselves. And only one of us will survive." Addison was stunned for a moment, and then his face revealed a sneer.


    "This is actually funny!" Myles gently waved his hand and ripples of water appeared on his hand. The water glowed and was about to cut the band of light in half.


    However, as this water glow passed through, the band of light remained the same.


    "Huh?" Myles frowned slightly.


    The other Supreme Lords also tried to use their own methods to destroy the band of light, which was only two fingers wide. But it remained intact and seemed to be able to withstand any attack. The five Supreme Lords were still chained to each other.


    All of the Supreme Lords started to feel intrigued by th


    warrior''s cultivation of martial arts reached the extremes, training the mind was even more important than cultivating the martial arts. However, at this moment, Yolande''s mind was like a tide, churning and rolling, unable to calm down.


    Yolande wasn''t the only one who was so astonished.


    Many warriors who had heard of his name were confused about him.


    Those warriors included Master Shen and Master He from the Spiritual Force Sacred Place, the Saint Lord of the Spiritual Force Sacred Place, Lincoln who stayed in the Dark World, as well as the talents of the Mist Palace, such as Javier and Layla.


    They looked up to Zen''s terrifying talent. They still regarded him as a Soul Sea Realm warrior. If he was just slightly stronger than them, they could still accept that.


    However, it had only been about half a year, and Zen was already able to go against Supreme Lords. Judging from Zen''s tone of voice, it seemed like he was going to kill the four Supreme Lords without mercy.


    They were not the ordinary warriors, but four Supreme Lords.


    There were only a few Supreme Lords in the alliance.


    "What is Zen doing?"


    Layla was standing on a star in the Western Sky Region. Purple ice crystals were scattered around her, and it was hard to tell what she was thinking.


    Zen, who she had once regarded as her greatest opponent, had grown to be so powerful in such a short amount of time.


    The polar region of the star was a perfect place to cultivate and gain experience. It was her master, Kyron, who had personally brought her up here. At this time, Kyron had also descended by Layla''s side, and he was looking towards the Middle Sky Region. His face was also filled with surprise as he said, "He shouldn''t be relying on his own strength. Perhaps he has some sort of trick up his sleeve. The Illusion Battlefield will begin in just a few years. Layla, you should focus on your cultivation."

 Chapter 1498 Groveling

    This sort of conflict was not something that an ordinary martial artist could participate in.


    Yolande was not apt to do it, and so was the case with Kyron.


    However, being incompetent did not mean that they did not pay heed to it.


    The three great human powers¡ªthe Humanity Alliance, the Thoughtless Minds, and the Blessed Buddha Land¡ªwere all watching closely.


    The Demon Night, the ogres, the Celestial Position, and the thousands of other Upper World races were also paying close attention in silence.


    It could be said that the entire universe was focused on this place. On this day, they had memorized a name, and the name belonged to a warrior who was only at the Soul Sea Realm.


    The faces of the Supreme Lords gradually darkened, revealing their frustration.


    As the other Supreme Lords looked at the black and white light band, they turned deathly pale. At the same time, they felt relieved that they had not been caught by it.


    The situation in front of them had suddenly turned chaotic.


    Among the five Supreme Lords, only one could live.


    These five Supreme Lords were closely related to the others. For example, Addison and Ranell were from the same sect and race. If Addison decided to attack, Ranell would undoubtedly help him out.


    Furthermore, if Supreme Lord Gunter were to make a move, Elena, Queen of the Demon Night, would not just stand by and watch.


    The price of a duel to the death would be too high. It might even cause the entire universe to be thrown into turmoil.


    The trouble was that even after paying so much, they did not receive anything, owing to Zen''s trickery. He was just some kid at the Soul Sea Realm. How could the Supreme Lords be willing to accept this?


    The Supreme Lords present thought things through. They chose not to act. Instead, they looked toward the grain of sand. The black and white light band had come out of the grain.


    A faint smile rested on Addison''s face. With one leap, he appeared right before the grain of sand. Just as he was about to open his mouth, he stopped, not knowing what to say.


    To plead with a nobody at the Soul Sea Realm was indeed embarrassing for a Supreme Lord like Addison. After mulling over it for a while, he finally spoke up. "Your name is Zen, correct?"


    "Supreme Lord Addison. What is it?"


    Zen''s indifferent voice resounded through the universe.


    Addison raised his head and looked at the sky. In his heart, he cursed Zen viciously. ''This kid apparently wants all creatures of the hundred thousand supreme worlds to know that I''m groveling before him.''


    In the end,


    ake action.


    The first to attack was Myles. A faint water pattern appeared on his body and a water ring appeared behind him. A spine-chilling aura began to emit outward.


    Whoosh!


    Myles'' first target was Addison himself!


    Myles had considered it before making a move against Addison. He was a mid-rank Supreme Lord and was stronger than the four in front of him.


    If there were only the five of them without the other twenty-odd Supreme Lords watching, then his chances of winning would undoubtedly be the greatest. But Supreme Lord Ranell was still backing Addison up. Ranell was also a mid-rank Supreme Lord who was not weaker than Myles.


    Sooner or later, Myles would face Addison, and Ranell would help the latter. Rather than leaving Addison to the last, it would be better to kill him first. Once Addison died, Ranell would be upset, but he might not act on it.


    This was why he chose Addison to be his first target.


    "You!"


    Amongst the Supreme Lords, Addison feared Myles the most. He also had a plan in his head. Once the Supreme Lords were almost done fighting, he would fight the survivor together with Ranell. This way, his chances of victory would be much higher.


    However, he had not expected Myles to choose him first. It was obvious from Addison''s face that he was both shocked and angry.


    As soon as Myles moved, Gunter attacked at the same time.


    As for the other two Supreme Lords, they were not slow either.


    When a Supreme Lord attacked, the power released was very intimidating.


    The battle of these Supreme Lords was enough to shatter a supreme world.


    What was more, they were bound within a hundred miles.


    Boom!


    With a deafening explosion, the battle finally began.

 Chapter 1499 Die One After Another

    As the battle began, nearly twenty of the Supreme Lords retreated at the same time in great haste, afraid that they would be caught up in the conflict.


    As for Elena, Ranell, and the other Supreme Lords, not only did they not leave, but they even charged forward at this moment...


    In the realm of world lords, it was difficult to determine the victor in a battle between these warriors.


    The reason was that the world lord had basically comprehended the spatial transference, and perhaps he wouldn''t be able to beat his opponent, but it wasn''t difficult for him to escape.


    After using the skill of spatial transference, the warrior had already traveled one million miles in only a moment! He was in a sense therefore unreachable.


    There had once been two world lords who had fought and chased each other for over ten years, and they had traveled through a hundred thousand supreme worlds¡­ There was no way to delineate the battle zone, when the combatants could ''disappear'' in an instant.


    As for the battle between two Supreme Lords, one of them could defeat the other. But it would be impossible for the Supreme Lord to kill the other if the opponent wanted to escape!


    A Supreme Lord would be killed unless there were several Supreme Lords working in collusion, or if the few top-rank Supreme Lords that had the highest Law of Causality were involved!


    But now, the five Supreme Lords were trapped in a Desperate Melee within the open range of one hundred miles.


    Whether they made use of the spatial transference, their special fleeing skill, or other methods, they were unable to escape from the band of light which bound them, nor were they able to leave the area of one hundred miles. Despite these restrictions, they were able to jump around within this massive battle zone.


    Since the very start of the grand era, nothing like this had probably ever happened before!


    As such, battles within a hundred miles were exceptionally fierce!


    Zen and Lavender, who were standing within the fairy palace, silently looked up into the sky. This grain of sand which the fairy palace had transformed into was located in the very center of the battle! It was a whole new experience to have front row seats!


    In the sky, there was a dramatic play of all sorts of illusory colors and lights. Other than that, it was practically impossible to see anything else...


    Zen simply couldn''t understand this level of battle! The scope was too massive.


    The only thing he could discern was that those extremely profound Water Laws were being created by Myles. As for the shredded shadows, they might be from Gunter of the Demon Night...


    Even if he couldn''t understand it, and could only distinguish the Law Power, the mass of light around Zen still gave him a great shock. It wa


    shocking, gaping wound on the side of her thigh. Fresh blood flowed down from the wound to drip on top of her toes, drop by drop. Before the blood reached the surface of the supreme world, it had already been air-dried and had dissipated in the wind...


    Elena had tried her best, but she still couldn''t save Gunter.


    In truth, Gunter was the third Supreme Lord to have perished. After Gunter died, Elena left the center of the battle. The fighting there was just too intense, and even Elena couldn''t withstand the frenzied attacks of the gathered Supreme Lords.


    She had personally made a trip there. She would never have thought that not only would she fail to exterminate Lavender and obtain the Crown of Destiny, but she also lost Gunter in the battle.


    From that point on, the Demon Night had then lost one more Supreme Lord. The Board of Elders'' head had also died. Losing one more Supreme Lord had a great influence on the Demon Night. Because of this, if Elena returned to the Demon Night, she would probably be held accountable for the loss and failure by the other two Supreme Lords.


    Elena let out a deep sigh. At this moment, a strong feeling of helplessness overwhelmed her mind. Zen and Lavender were so close to her, yet she couldn''t do anything to them! It was galling.


    She could do nothing but give up for the time being...


    Elena was really unwilling to accept the fact. Defeat was not a word she was used to.


    Right now, it wasn''t just she who was disappointed and indignant.


    Of the five Supreme Lords, four had perished!


    A Supreme Lord represented a race and with that Supreme Lord''s support, that race could grow stronger within the 100, 000 supreme worlds of the universe. After the four Supreme Lords had died, how could the members of the races which were supported by them be willing to submit to such a situation?

 Chapter 1500 Heading North

    Supreme Lord Myles was the only one who had survived among the five Supreme Lords.


    However, his aura was declining and his face was as pale as a sheet right at this moment.


    As a mid-rank Supreme Lord, his strength might be slightly higher than the other four Supreme Lords. Nonetheless, one''s strength was no longer important in such a chaotic battle. The only thing he relied on to survive was a wisp of luck.


    Supreme Lord Myles stared at the grain of sand with lingering fear. He had to admit that Zen truly had the qualifications to be so arrogant by relying on the fairy palace.


    All of the Supreme Lords deliberately maintained a certain distance from that grain of sand, afraid that they would once again be caught by that black and white light band.


    On the other hand, Supreme Lord Ranell had a sullen face. He had joined the fight earlier to save Supreme Lord Addison. It was unfortunate that he failed to save him and even got himself severely injured in the process.


    However, unlike all the other Supreme Lords who stayed far away from this grain of sand, Supreme Lord Ranell even approached it alone. His face was cold as he sneered, "The Desperate Melee is truly amazing. It is indeed beyond imagination. But I''m here alone, so you are unable to use the Desperate Melee on me, right?"


    Supreme Lord Ranell was probing.


    He already knew that the Desperate Melee was just an array that would cause all living things bound up to kill each other. This type of array was not rare in the Upper World. Many great races had arrays with similar functions.


    For example, if a hundred people entered the Hundred-in-one Array together, only one person would survive. This person could also absorb the energy of other people''s flesh and blood to strengthen his or her own body. This was the ogres'' array to cultivate their elite warriors. The only one to survive the brutality would be an elite warrior.


    The Slaughter Feast Array had the same effect. It was being used by the Upper World''s Blood Spirit race.


    However, normal arrays had no effect on Supreme Lords or even world lords.


    That black and white light band just now was something that not even Supreme Lords could break free from. This was truly unbelievable.


    Zen looked at the overbearing Supreme Lord Ranell, a smile on his face.


    "Yes, I''m unable to use the Desperate Melee on you alone. But what is the use of you standing here? Are you planning to guard here forever?" he asked.


    Supreme Lord Ranell snorted. "There is no need for me to guard this place. A mere Soul Sea Realm warrior like you isn''t worth dealing with personally. I will only send a world lord to guard this place. I''m afraid you will never be able to leave this fairy palace for the rest of your life!"


    The other Supreme Lords also agreed after hearing Supreme Lord Ranell''s words.


    Tricking and killing four Supreme Lords was a heinous crime. How could they t


    several hundred miles away from Tanya. Otherwise, the light band of the Desperate Melee would lock the two of them, causing one of them to die.


    At this moment, a faint luster appeared on the surface of the grain of sand. The originally slowly rotating grain of sand began to rapidly spin, gradually expanding into a palm-sized fairy palace. This mini fairy palace continued expanding.


    Maddox stared at the constantly changing fairy palace without even a blink. The tiny thing had expanded all the way until it transformed into its original size.


    Both his and Tanya''s expressions grew complex. He couldn''t help but sigh. There was actually such a precious treasure in this universe.


    Whoosh!


    After the fairy palace had been restored to its original size, it continued to flee towards the north.


    Maddox and Tanya glanced at each other from afar and followed behind the fairy palace. Their goal wasn''t to destroy the fairy palace but to keep Zen inside it. Wherever the fairy palace ran, they would follow.


    Inside the fairy palace, Zen had already entered a meditative state and began a new round of cultivation.


    The power of the fairy palace came from his master, which was also the first owner of the fairy palace. In other words, its power wasn''t his.


    It was impossible for him to stay in the fairy palace for his entire life.


    However, Supreme Lord Ranell''s words had brought him some trouble. If they really sent their world lords to take turns to guard outside the fairy palace, it would be equivalent to isolating Zen from the outside world. He wouldn''t be able to step out of the fairy palace.


    At this moment, Zen couldn''t think of a way to solve it. If he were to leave the fairy palace now, he would be killed instantly by the two Demon Night world lords. He could only make the fairy palace move towards the Northern Sky Region.


    Another voice suddenly echoed around him just as he entered his meditative state.

 Chapter 1501 How To Obtain A Satisfying Heavenly Destiny (Part One)

    "Hi guys. I seem to have missed something interesting."


    It was the laughter of a young girl.


    Zen had heard this voice before. The first time he had used the Roaring Token, this girl had replied to him and sung a beautiful song.


    She had then fallen silent for more than a year.


    But at this moment, the young girl''s voice unexpectedly resounded throughout the universe.


    "No big deal. I was just surrounded and attacked by a bunch of Supreme Lords," Zen replied with his Roaring Token.


    He was just surrounded and attacked by a bunch of Supreme Lords?


    Zen''s indifferent tone rendered all the intelligent creatures in the universe speechless


    and angered the Supreme Lords who were rushing back to their own races. But what difference did it make? It was impossible to pull Zen out of the fairy palace, and they could do nothing about it.


    Zen not only had an indestructible space treasure, he also had a Roaring Token that could be used an unlimited number of times. They were upset enough that they couldn''t do anything about Zen, and now he was even bragging about it.


    The Supreme Lords felt a grievance they had never felt before.


    "Awesome!" the mysterious girl praised.


    Zen looked on indifferently as he placed the Roaring Token before him.


    He wouldn''t respond to the girl if it wasn''t absolutely necessary. He had nothing to do with her, and the two of them had only communicated with each other once by using their Roaring Tokens.


    But Zen understood that the Roaring Token in the girl''s hand could be used an unlimited number of times, just like his own.


    Zen''s Roaring Token was given to him by his master and was not a product of the current round of heavens. The Roaring Token in his hand and the fairy palace were both products that surpassed the heavens.


    Thus, Zen guessed that this girl was n


    aw of Causality, they could take a leap and become a top-rank Supreme Lord, the strongest in the entire universe. This could change the fate of an entire race.


    The Celestial Position race had used this rule to become the top race in the universe.


    In the beginning, there were two Supreme Lords in the Celestial Position race. One of them carried the Heavenly Destiny of Revival.


    The corresponding Law of Causality of the Heavenly Destiny of Revival could revive those who had died.


    This Law of Causality was not particularly strong and didn''t have much of an effect during battles.


    But back then, in the Celestial Position race, an extremely powerful world lord had appeared and received the title of the golden Celestial Position from the Talent Tablet. This world lord had been waiting for a long time for the chance to obtain a Crown of Destiny and carry the Heavenly Destiny.


    This world lord had waited for close to 200, 000 years when one of the Supreme Lords finally died, and the world lord seized his chance. The members of the Celestial Position had successfully obtained the Crown of Destiny for him. The world lord had successfully carried the Heavenly Destiny, but the result wasn''t satisfactory.

 Chapter 1502 How To Obtain A Satisfying Heavenly Destiny (Part Two)

    Since he had merely obtained a low-rank Law of Causality, he would only be a low-rank Supreme Lord his entire life.


    And because of this, the Celestial Position members killed him.


    Following this, the Supreme Lord who carried the Heavenly Destiny of Rebirth resurrected him.


    After he died, the heavens shook and the Crown of Destiny dissipated. After being revived, he became a world lord again.


    Not long after, the Crown of Destiny appeared again, and was captured yet again by the Celestial Position race. This man carried the Heavenly Destiny again but was still not satisfied as the second Law of Causality he had obtained was still a low-rank one.


    The members of the Celestial Position killed him, and the Supreme Lord revived him again. He then carried the Heavenly Destiny again.


    The Celestial Position race had made full use of this rule to obtain all sorts of strange Laws of Causality.


    For example, he had obtained a Law of Causality that could see through everyone and a Law of Causality that could control the movements of stars. He had once even obtained the Heavenly Destiny of Sound. It was similar to a Roaring Token and could make his voice heard across the whole universe. The Roaring Token was a precious treasure, but if a Supreme Lord''s special talent was the same as a Roaring Token, this was not acceptable.


    Most Crowns of Destiny wouldn''t be of much use to the Celestial Position race.


    This had been repeated 13 times, and the Crown of Destiny also dissipated and was reborn 13 times. On the fourteenth time, the Celestial Position race finally obtained a top-rank Law of Causality, which was also the strongest one in the universe. It finally allowed this world lord to become a top-rank Supreme Lord.


    He had finally become the leader


    . They could only swallow the humiliation and say nothing in return.


    "Ha-ha!" Zen laughed at the girl''s answer.


    "What are you laughing at?" The girl turned her attention to Zen.


    Zen smiled and said, "Nothing. Hey, can you do me a favor?"


    What Zen had never expected was the girl to take the lead before he could say anything. "Looking for Yan Luo, right?" she said.


    Zen''s heart sped up at the indication that she knew something.


    "Yes, I am looking for a woman called Yan Luo. Do you know where she is?" Although his voice was calm, truth was that he was extremely excited, and it was hard to conceal his excitement.


    But the girl''s next sentence filled Zen with disappointment.


    "I don''t know. It''s just that you said that you were looking for her the last time," she said, seeming to sense Zen''s mood.


    At this, not only were the Supreme Lords infuriated, even Zen wanted to scold her.


    Lavender snorted. She looked up at the sky and said, "Ignore her. She''s just another stupid woman!"


    Zen shrugged and prepared to put away the Roaring Token. But the mysterious girl said something that stopped him short. "I can ask around for you. But I have a condition."

 Chapter 1503 Tell A Story (Part One)

    ''Seriously? Ask around? A condition?''


    Zen was about to put away the Roaring Token when he heard the girl''s words. A glimmer of hope then appeared in his eyes and his whole body turned frigid without warning.


    He ended up grabbing the Roaring Token and activated it!


    "So, you''re going to lend me a hand?" Zen asked, feeling a bit enthusiastic.


    "Yes, but the best I can do is to ask around for you. There''s no telling whether I''ll actually be able to find Yan or not," the peculiar girl replied.


    "You mentioned something about having one condition. What is the condition?" Zen asked again, with his stomach about to be tied into knots.


    Right now, lots of things were running through his head as he tried to weigh things out. What kind of demands could this mysterious girl ask for?


    He would do what he could. The thing was, at the moment, he couldn''t really leave this fairy palace. If this mysterious girl would require him to take care of a few things, he might end up failing to complete his mission, which could be quite problematic for him. But he would try to come up with something. This was about Yan. There was no way he would give up that easily.


    After a period of silence, the mysterious girl let out a soft chuckle, "There is only one condition. I want you to tell me a story. I''ll die of boredom staying here!"


    Plop!


    The second he heard her request, Zen quickly planted his forehead into the ground.


    Slowly lifting his head up from the floor, he was at sixes and sevens whether he should laugh or cry.


    With another shrug of her shoulders, Lavender flatly remarked, "As I''ve said before, this woman is stupid."


    But it wasn''t just Zen who had no idea if he should laugh or cry. Apar


    ese stories began surging toward him like a tidal wave. With the size of the great world he had come from, it was a given that there were a great many stories which even Zen had never read or heard of.


    It shouldn''t come as a surprise that the story that was being passed on the most from generation to generation in the great world he was from was also the most well-known.


    The story was entitled "The Heroic Wife." He ultimately decided to pick that one.


    Upon activating the Roaring Token, Zen stated, "If you can really help me find a way to get to Yan, then I''d gladly tell you a great story!"


    "Of course," the mysterious girl softly responded.


    "A long time ago, there was a mountain known by all as the Mountain of Lady Yue. At the very foot of the mountain..."


    This story "The Heroic Wife" in particular took place around a millennia ago. It had been widely spread all throughout the four divine kingdoms. Zen had never actually read it before in his life, and now, he was reading it word for word as he perceived in from the memories in his head. His faint voice could be heard resounding in every part of the vast universe.

 Chapter 1504 Tell A Story (Part Two)

    Even though he was giving an account of this story directly to the mysterious girl, the living beings in the universe had no way to steer clear of the sound of the Roaring Token. For that reason, trillions of lives were forced to listen in on his story.


    It was the first time that a man was heard telling a story to all living beings in the universe.


    Zen read it aloud part by part based from his memory. In dribs and drabs, his attention became riveted on the story.


    In all sincerity, this story was indeed truly captivating.


    It was about the tale of a woman from the State of Yue whose husband had been falsely incriminated by a traitor. Because of that, she made an oath to make the culprit pay at all costs. The chain of events kept a lot of the listeners on the edge of their seat.


    Zen had been at it for two hours already without stopping, yet he had barely even covered half of the overall story.


    "The woman''s sword attack brought about a series of events..."


    At this point in the story, it had come to its most crucial juncture.


    Every creature that could breathe in the universe were idly listening to Zen''s supposedly gripping story. But because of the varying cultures and languages all over the universe, there were bound to be a few of those who might not have the faintest idea what he was blabbering about.


    Be that as it might, a great deal of creatures had been listening to it attentively. And it wasn''t just the ordinary mortals, but even Soul Sea Realm warriors, world lords, and even a number of Supreme Lords who had been pricking their ears, tuning in to Zen''s story.


    When he finally stopped talk


    er about an hour, he raised the Roaring Token once again.


    "Now I''m ready to continue where we left off. After that unforeseeable event which had befallen her husband, she didn''t give a damn about her own life anymore..."


    The rest of the story was narrated for six hours straight. When it finally got to the exceedingly tragic but beautiful scene, even Zen himself couldn''t help but feel touched deep inside. It was quite possible that the cultivation base and strength of the martial artists of the great world weren''t strong enough, but whoever it was who managed to put out such a compelling story without a doubt possessed great talent.


    By the time the story finally reached its conclusion, the mysterious girl could clearly be heard weeping. As it turned out, she was actually moved by the final plot of the story. And it should go without saying that she wasn''t the only one who felt that way. Truth be told, a lot of creatures who had been paying close attention to the story felt so touched as well, but it was just that they didn''t have a Roaring Token to cry their hearts out.

 Chapter 1505 Embark On True Path Once Again

    The audience in the universe reflected on the story that Zen told them.


    Of course, not all living creatures liked to listen to such things.


    Many martial artists needed to cultivate in seclusion and not be disturbed at all. Once they had cultivated to a critical point, a single disturbance could cause their cultivation to go berserk.


    The sound of the Roaring Token was unstoppable in the entire universe. Whether it was deep underground or far into the sky, it could be heard without any obstructions. There was no way to resist it.


    The Supreme Lords had only a few Roaring Tokens. Normally, only one of them would be used in a day. Sometimes, they did not use it even once in fifteen days. Even so, once it rang out, it was not a small risk to the martial artists undergoing a tribulation or breaking through their bottlenecks, for it could possibly jeopardize their tasks.


    But now, Zen had used the Roaring Token to tell a story, and he narrated it for several hours.


    It was torture enough for these martial artists.


    Some practitioners had even given up on their training. They became resentful of Zen.


    However, the lifetime worth of these martial artists might not be enough to purchase a Roaring Token. Even if they were angry, Zen would not be able to hear them.


    Not long after he finished telling his story, Zen heard a series of clanging sounds behind him. He turned to see Livingston rushing toward him speedily. In the blink of an eye, Livingston used his hands to grab onto Zen''s arms and said in an excited tone, "Z-Zen..."


    "What is it?" A strange expression appeared on Zen''s face.


    "I...I..." Livingston continued to gesticulate frantically, unable to speak clearly. After a long while, he finally said, "Can you open that weapon refining workshop? Immortal Book said that you could do it!"


    To open the workshop, Zen had to embark on the True Path once again. He could obtain a token immediately after passing a stage of the True Path.


    Zen''s current cultivation and strength had improved by quite a bit. He was confident that he would be able to take another step forward in the True Path. Perhaps, he might even be able to take two steps forward.


    However, the tokens he obtained from roaming about the True Path would be randomly distributed. In addition to the token required to open the weapon refining workshop, there were also tokens for the pill refining workshop, as well as the training tower. Zen could not guarantee for certain that he would get his hands on the one required for the weapon refining workshop.


    Therefore, he smiled faintly and said, "This time, as I''ve returned to the fairy palace, I will certainly try to overcome the True Path once again. However, I can''t guarantee you that I''ll be able to open the weapon refining workshop."


    Clang! After hearing Zen''s answer, Livingston fell to the ground. A


    d too much. His cultivation was still too low, so he needed to train more.


    "Kill!"


    As he slowly brandished his sword, dozens of Nether God Shadows escaped from it. They went in different directions to encounter the Sacred martial artists.


    Pfft, pfft, pfft...


    As the Nether God Shadows closed in on the Sacred martial artists, they easily tore their opponents to shreds, quickly turning them into Dark and Light energies.


    Zen was aware that it would not be difficult for him at the beginning of the third stage of the True Path.


    Just the Nether God Shadows themselves were enough to tear apart the Sacred martial artists. He maintained his speed and continued forward.


    However, after about five minutes, the strength of the Sacred martial practitioners formed by the Dark and Light energies seemed to increase. Almost all of the martial artists who appeared before him were at the late stage of the Soul Sea Realm.


    "Elites from Sacred race?" Zen''s gaze darkened as he stared at them.


    These warriors from Sacred race were clad in golden armors, with exquisite patterns carved onto them. They held all kinds of divine weapons in their hands. It was obvious that they were unlike the Sacred warriors whom he had encountered before.


    The punches of the Nether God Shadows were far less effective than those of the elites. The elites easily cleaved the Nether God Shadows into pieces and then circled round Zen.


    Facing the first Sacred elite, who rushed at him, Zen wielded the Thunder Wind Divine Sword in his hand.


    Clang!


    A crisp sound rang out. Zen''s face revealed some surprise. His sword attack had been blocked by a Sacred elite, who was using a halberd!


    Zen snorted dismissively and turned his sword in a soft motion. His weapon flashed like lightning as it went around the elite''s neck. When a spurt of golden blood squirted out, Zen''s figure was already a thousand feet away.

 Chapter 1506 Gus

    Zen''s silhouette flew through the air, his sword light like wheels of light.


    Although these Sacred elite warriors had their own consciousness and techniques, Zen was able to easily kill them without much effort.


    Within five minutes, he had travelled nearly half the distance on the True Path.


    Freya, Livingston, Lavender, and Saul stood at the starting point of the True Path in silence as they watched Zen fight.


    "Zen''s cultivation speed is not slow. Two years ago, he was only at the first grade of Life and Death Realm," Saul commented. In truth, Zen had not relied on his own strength to pass the second stage of the True Path two years ago.


    Freya glanced at Saul furtively. In two years, Zen had crossed a great realm! Yet Saul''s only conclusion was that Zen''s cultivation speed was not slow. In her eyes, his cultivation speed was pretty unbelievable. Back then, she had expended a country''s resources in order to break through that realm.


    Lavender nodded in approval. "It is indeed not slow, but it is still not enough. Isn''t the Illusion Battlefield about to open? Before Zen enters the battlefield, his strength will need to increase even more!"


    As for Livingston, he stood frozen as he watched Zen. He did not care whether or not Zen had improved or how much he must improve further. He only cared for the weapon refining workshop in the fairy palace.


    In just a few moments, each of the Sacred elite warriors had been eliminated by Zen.


    Strangely, the Dark and Light energies on the True Path did not condense again. Zen was the only one running on the path.


    "How is the third stage so easy to pass?" A look of doubt passed Zen''s face.


    Zen naturally would not miss the chance to pass through the True Path. Since there was no resistance, his speed increased a bit.


    However, the situation did not last for long. After a while, the Dark and Light energies slowly began to circulate and gather once again. This time, they gathered at a single point. Ever so slowly, they morphed into a person.


    "Who is it? Who''s there?" A grave look marred Zen''s features as he took in the human figure. There was no way that such a flaw would appear on the True Path. This person must indeed be strong.


    Not long after, the human form became more and more distinct. It was a young man dressed in cotton clothes. His hands and feet were bare, and he did not hold any weapons in his hands.


    "A warrior at the early stage of Soul Sea Realm?"


    Zen was puzzled as he sized up his opponent. The cultivation level of this young man was almost the same as his. Previously, the elite warriors from the Sacred race he had


    only have been formed through the Dark and Light energies, and I might only be at the Soul Sea Realm, but I think you will find yourself unable to pass through me. If you show me some respect and just answer my question, I will let you pass unharmed."


    As he spoke, he got closer and closer, now only a few feet away from Zen.


    "That sounds like a good idea." Zen smiled. "But I don''t want to do that."


    As he spoke, Zen''s sword light flashed, a chilling blue light leaking from the Thunder Wind Divine Sword, straight toward Gus'' head.


    Whoosh!


    Ding!


    Gus'' feet were as if nailed to the ground, and his body did not move at all. Instead, he leaned to the side. He tapped at the Thunder Wind Divine Sword slightly, and it began to violently tremble once again and left Zen''s hand.


    Zen seemed to have expected this move. He did not pursue his sword. Instead, with the power of over ten thousand dragon scales that had poured themselves into his two fists, he threw two punches at Gus with all his might.


    "Hey now, Zen. Get this right. I am from the Sacred race. The difference in power between you and me is¡ª"


    Bam!


    Gus did not take Zen''s attack seriously. He chuckled, about to be at the receiving end of both of Zen''s fists. He merely swung one hand out.


    It was not that Gus looked down upon Zen. The Sacred race had originally been a perfect race. It was the origin of all primates. Humans had been born out of the Sacred race and had inherited some of their strength.


    However, Gus did not expect the formidable power stored in Zen''s fists. After all, Zen was only at the Soul Sea Realm. Before Gus knew it, he was sent flying backward by Zen''s fists. He didn''t drop to the ground until he had flown thousands of feet in the air.

 Chapter 1507 Gods-intimidating Strike

    Puff!


    A mouthful of golden blood sprayed forth from Gus'' mouth.


    The Dark and Light energies were very special, and the life form which they created was no different from a real one.


    Gus extended his hand to wipe away the golden blood from the corner of his mouth. A peculiar light flashed through his eyes as he looked at Zen with new respect.


    "Master always has sharp instincts. You are a talented warrior," Gus commended him. He stood up, regaining his feet and checked his own status. "However, to be able to be accepted by Master as a disciple, one has to be one in a million. Our eldest fellow disciple is a super talent too. But Zen, I don''t think that you can possibly defeat me. I will give you one more chance. Give me a salute, and¡ª"


    Before he could finish speaking, Zen had already turned around. He controlled his sword which was not in his hand with his mind and made it fly towards Gus. Meanwhile, he himself was flying towards the finishing point of the True Path. He was too bored by this senseless prattle to listen to this fellow.


    Seeing Zen''s flying figure, Gus gnashed his teeth and chased after him in hot pursuit.


    Ever since he had become a disciple of his master, Gus had been constantly bullied by his eldest fellow disciple.


    Back then, his master had been in his prime years and had wanted to find a successor for his two outstanding cultivation methods.


    His master''s first disciple had joined their sect only a few hundred years before Gus did. And because of the gap of a few hundred years, Gus had been bullied by him for countless more years, and he still hadn''t been able to turn the tables, even now.


    If this went on, the possibility of him repaying the insults and tortures of the past, would be very small in the future indeed.


    Now that he had finally found a junior fellow disciple, how could he let him go?


    If his original body came into being, he would naturally then be bullying the weak. With Gus'' true strength, a single glance would have been enough to instantly kill Zen.


    However, this body formed by the Dark and Light energies had the same level of cultivation as Zen. This leveled the playing field.


    "Don''t run! Zen!" Gus suddenly leapt into the air and his strange figure flashed into succession as he easily overtook Zen and appeared in front of him.


    "Get out of the way!"


    Zen similarly jumped up and circled around him. His sword also arrived at his side. Then, he grabbed onto it and suddenly thrust it at Gus.


    Zen''s strength exploded out completely in the tremendous strike that followed.


    He was in a different situation than Gus. His only goal was to pass through the True Path. If Gus wanted to provoke him, then Zen would kill him without hesitation.


    Gus looked at Zen''s sword and a calm smile spread over his face. Although he was only at the early stage of the Soul Sea Realm and was about the same level as Zen, the difference in experience between the two was far greater.


    "This strike is not bad! Master doesn''t use a sword, so you must have figure


    sword intent was now attached to the Thunder Wind Divine Sword.


    The Gods-intimidating Strike was extremely powerful. When it was used by a Supreme Lord, it could even injure a True God.


    However, this was not the most terrifying part of the Gods-intimidating Strike. In the history of the universe, countless talents had created many miraculous martial skills, some of which were extremely terrifying. Combined with the Laws of Causality of some Supreme Lords, they might not be weaker than the Gods-intimidating Strike.


    However, either the cost to use these heaven-defying martial skills was enormous, or the time needed to prepare was extremely long. Either way, it was not a swift battle tactic.


    When warriors fought each other, the long period of preparation for a martial skill was also a major flaw. It could not be used to fend off an immediate attack.


    However, the Gods-intimidating Strike was very special. It did not even require a brewing process, and it could be performed at will. That alone made it intimidating to not just the gods.


    When Zen entered the state of abandoning all of his emotions, his sword was suddenly thrust out.


    "Do you still dare to take it head on?"


    After he finished speaking, Zen''s sword had already arrived in front of Gus.


    Gus had already seen that Zen''s sword attack this time was extraordinary, but how could he willingly show his fear? He continued to extend his hands, intending to receive Zen''s sword blow with the same force as before.


    The sword blade was again received by Gus.


    But at the same time that he caught Zen''s sword, the powerful sword intent left the blade and continued to charge straight at him.


    "Gods-intimidating Strike!"


    This sword strike could cut through the heavens, destroy tens of thousands of laws, and even exterminate a True God. It was unstoppable.


    It was true that Zen had displayed such terrifying power, as he had already comprehended 99% of this sword technique. How many people at the same level could contend against him?

 Chapter 1508 Emotion Closing Godly Way

    At this moment, the power contained within the sword intent caused Gus'' expression to change drastically. Stunned, he cried out inwardly.


    Almost in an instant, he let go of the sword in his hand and leaned backward, trying to avoid the daunting sword intent.


    But when Zen truly launched the power of the ''Gods-intimidating Strike'', even Zen himself would not be able to control the strong power it contained.


    The piercing sword intent went straight for Gus and impaled his chest. It pierced through his chest, as if it had not encountered any physical resistance whatsoever. The sword intent escaped out of his back. Golden blood blossomed into golden flowers, morphing into the Dark and Light energies that gradually dissipated.


    "You should have done that a long time ago!" In the distance, Freya stared at this scene in front of her. The corner of her mouth slightly curled up and she let out a long sigh of relief.


    Regardless of the level of Zen''s true strength, in Freya''s heart, he was already invincible.


    Aside from the fact that Zen was unable to fight world lords and Supreme Lords, when had he ever suffered a loss while facing a Soul Sea Realm or Spirit Supreme Realm warrior?


    Freya''s insight was naturally inferior to that of Lavender. It was even inferior to Livingston''s. Livingston was indeed immersed in the path of weapon refining, but he had also been a powerful world lord back then.


    When Livingston and Lavender had seen Gus materialize, they realized that he exuded profound strength. Although he had only been at the Soul Sea Realm, they felt that Zen was in trouble.


    But how could Freya feel that?


    She only saw that the young man was unarmed, yet he had snatched away Zen''s sword two or three times in succession. Zen, meanwhile, had almost no strength to fight back!


    When she saw Zen continuously suffer setbacks, she had been incredibly nervous. She also hated Gus. He had known Zen was his junior fellow disciple, yet he attacked ruthlessly. Clearly, Gus was not a very righteous person.


    However, it was not long before she saw Zen unleash the astonishing sword attack, injuring Gus. Her heartbeat finally returned to normal.


    The smile on Gus'' face had frozen.


    Even though he was only at the Soul Sea Realm, his eyes were sharp.


    When Zen unleashed his sword intent, Gus realized that it was passed down in the Emotion Closing Godly Way.


    The specialty of the Emotion Closing Godly Way was decisive killing. The instant one executed a sword move, one could completely close off all his or her emotions.


    However, one usually had access to the edge of the Emotion Closing Godly Way only after becoming a world lord. Even a Supreme Lord would not be able to display the full extent of the Emotion Closing Godly Way, but the aura contained within Zen''s sword strike seemed to have reflected that.


    ''Is this boy truly only at the Soul Sea Realm?''


    Gus suspected that Zen was


    ons than ordinary puppets. "I never thought that Gus would find it hard to tackle Zen!" he said.


    Freya looked at Saul curiously, thought for a while, and said, "Wasn''t it obvious? Zen has a weapon, but Gus... he is unarmed, and he is also just at the Soul Sea Realm." She had originally wanted to point out that Gus was already coping well, being at the early stage of the Soul Sea Realm. He was still able to fight Zen to this extent. However, right now she was inside the fairy palace, which she felt was extraordinary in itself and it intimidated her. She was too embarrassed to retort to Saul.


    Saul gave her a small smile and said, "You don''t understand. Gus possesses the bloodline of a king of the Sacred race and is considered a top existence in the race. My master took him in as a disciple, so how could he be weak? You treat him as an ordinary warrior at the Soul Sea Realm? Pah!"


    The ''master'' that Saul was referring to was naturally Zen''s master as well.


    Even though Lavender, Livingston, and Freya were not aware of Gus''s origins, Saul knew of it all too well.


    As someone who had surpassed the heavens, Gus was now someone who could secure a place even in the world above the heavens. Even though he was only at the early stage of the Soul Sea Realm now, in fact, he should still be much stronger than Zen.


    However, Saul was only expressing his feelings. If his master were to come to know of Zen''s strength, he would be extremely pleased. As for the fight on the True Path, Saul would naturally not stop it.


    Puff!


    Some more golden blood spurted out.


    By now, Zen had chopped up most of Gus''s body into pieces. His body parts turned into Dark and Light energies and gradually diffused in the air.


    Only his head and upper body were left on the ground now. He could not dodge the attacks any more.


    However, Zen''s offense slowed down. He walked up to Gus and squatted down, saying, "Speak. Now we can have a good talk."

 Chapter 1509 The Endless Divine Land

    Zen''s goal now was to pass the third section of the True Path.


    Gus had ambushed him in the third section.


    Although Zen believed that Gus was his master''s second disciple, he did not hold back at all.


    Gus was too strong. If Zen gave him a chance, Zen might lose to him.


    Right now, Gus could no longer fight back, so it was a good time to have a talk, like he had suggested earlier.


    Seeing Zen''s cunning smile, Gus rolled his eyes. "How could you treat me like this?" he asked in anger.


    He had been bullied by his master''s first apprentice for a number of years. Now that he had met the third apprentice, he thought he would turn the situation around in his favor. To his chagrin, however, Zen fought him fiercely at their very first meeting. It disgusted Gus to no end.


    Zen''s smile grew an inch wider. "Is this what you want to talk about?" He held the Thunder Wind Divine Sword in his hand as he spoke, as if ready to cut Gus'' head off at any moment.


    "Of course not." Gus was unhappy to a great extent.


    Zen paused for some time and asked, "What exactly do you want to say?"


    "You know what, I did this for your own good. In any case, we have the same master," Gus said in despair. "If our senior fellow disciple comes to know about this, he may decide to punish me again."


    Zen continued to look indifferently at Gus, not saying a word.


    "You''re a member of the fairy palace, but you''ve only cultivated the Primal Chaos Technique. Your other cultivation methods don''t originate from the library, correct?" Gus asked.


    Zen nodded slowly. He was not sure how Gus knew of it, but he had indeed not chosen to cultivate the other cultivation methods in the library.


    There were all kinds of martial arts in the library; even the Transcendent Divine Might was commonly seen, but Zen believed that he was suited the best only to certain cultivation methods. In addition to the Primal Chaos Technique, he had only read books on the Original Laws in the library.


    "Ah, what a waste! You have many treasures, but you don''t make good use of them." Gus heaved a sigh, curling his lips in distaste.


    "Hey, your body is fast disappearing. Could you just get to the point?" Zen reminded him.


    The Dark and Light energies had transformed into Gus'' body. Now that he was severely injured, the part of the body above his chest was slowly dissipating back into Dark and Light energies.


    However, Gus himself did not care a bit. He continued, "This wisp of my soul isn''t able to tell your fortune. But as my master''s disciple, if you can''t even cross the heavens, it''s a joke. To be honest, if y


    ere is nothing under the heavens that I cannot know, except those without destiny. That is the only explanation to this." The boy frowned as he stared at his fingers. He glared at Gus and continued," You have cultivated the special vision technique and a wisp of your soul fragment alone can tell the fortunes of others. Since you met him in the fairy palace, why didn''t you tell his fortune?"


    "Well..." An innocent expression appeared on Gus'' face. "Brother, I have recommended three cultivation methods to him."


    "That''s not enough! What a good-for-nothing!" The boy gently patted the cyan ox and it struggled a few times before standing on its feet. "I am leaving."


    As he finished speaking, the cyan ox lifted its four hooves and soared into the sky.


    Just then, Gus remembered something. He smacked his head. "Brother, there''s one more thing! As far as I know, our little brother cultivates the Emotion Closing Godly Way."


    "The Emotion Closing Godly Way?" The boy turned around with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Isn''t he only at the Soul Sea Realm?"


    Gus shrugged. "I too find it strange. He has mastered much of the Emotion Closing Godly Way. When my soul fragment transformed into a Soul Sea Realm warrior, it was killed by his sword intent!"


    "You are truly useless." Saying this dismissive statement, the boy swiftly left with his ox.


    Gus was visibly upset as he watched his brother leave. He sat down on the top of the building, looking sulky.


    Over the years, he had always been looked down upon by his senior fellow disciple. By now he was accustomed to it.


    However, a faint smile soon emerged on his face. If Zen could cross the heavens in the future, he would have a little brother to bully too!

 Chapter 1510 The Weapon-Refining Workshop

    Zen was running at top speed along the True Path.


    The second half of the third section of the True Path had been secretly changed by Gus. He himself was the only test.


    Now that Zen had defeated Gus, the Dark and Light energies no longer condensed, and there was no longer any resistance. Therefore, Zen passed through the rest of the path with ease.


    Not long after, Freya, Livingston, and the others appeared in front of Zen.


    After he passed through the True Path, a white light flashed in the sky as the dense fog dissipated. Then, it slowly descended. It was a token of the fairy palace.


    Everyone''s gazes, including Zen''s, were focused on the token.


    Livingston screamed out, "A token! Is this the token used for opening the weapon refining workshop?"


    When it came to this adventure along the True Path, Livingston was the one who cared the most about the result.


    Saul said in his usual emotionless voice, "Except the tokens of heaven and earth, it could be any of the other six tokens. Weapon refining needs fire, so the token of fire is related to the weapon refining workshop. It''s only a one-in-six chance."


    "A one-in-six chance!" exclaimed Livingston, shaking his metallic head. This probability was neither high nor low, and it immediately made him feel excited.


    The corners of Zen''s lips curved up slightly. To him, anything was fine as long as the tokens didn''t repeat themselves.


    As the token slowly descended, Zen reached his hand out to grab it and flipped it over.


    "What token is it?" Livingston waved his sharp claws, looking extremely excited.


    Zen gently waved his hand and, with a smile, showed the token to Livingston. On the front of the token, the word "fire" was impressively carved in large letters.


    Livingston tossed his head back in a howl of berserk laughter. "It really is the token of fire! Luck is on my side. The heavens have given me what I want!"


    Freya, Lavender, and even Saul couldn''t help but roll their eyes at Livingston.


    The fairy palace was a place that surpassed the heavens. The things above the heavens had nothing to do with Livingston''s luck.


    If anything, this was Zen''s luck.


    After obtaining the token of fire, the group walked back to the main courtyard of the fairy palace and followed the path in the pavilion. As Zen activated the token in his hand, the door to the weapon refining workshop opened.


    Zen was the first to enter, and Livingston, who could hardly wait, followed right behind him.


    After entering the workshop, Zen looked around in surprise.


    There were


    e had expanded by more than ten times.


    "Yes, it''s one of the three most perfect flames. By ''perfect, '' I mean that they are the most suitable for weapon refining. Other than the mixed element flame, there are two other perfect flames. One is the Sun Spring essence flame, and the other is the divine flame. These two types of perfect flames are not easily obtainable. It is said that the Sun Spring essence flame exists exclusively in the Sun Spring. As for the divine flame, it is said that it is born within the Divine Flame Cauldron."


    At first, Zen had no interest in Livingston''s answer.


    However, when Livingston mentioned the Divine Flame Cauldron, Zen''s eyes suddenly flashed.


    It turned out that the black flame within the Divine Flame Cauldron was the divine flame, one of the three perfect flames.


    Livingston, however, didn''t notice the change in Zen''s expression and continued to impart his knowledge to the others even though he himself had only learned these things a while ago.


    While he was speaking, his eyes fell on a nearby weapon refining furnace.


    Bang!


    Livingston casually threw away the Primeval Death Spirit Wood in his hand and rushed toward the furnace, which was placed in a corner of the workshop.


    It had a very unique shape; the bottom was thin and the top was thick. It looked like a large wine pot, with the mouth missing.


    Livingston threw himself at the furnace and opened the door at the side of the furnace. Soon, a rainbow-colored light shot out from within. Surprisingly, the furnace was still burning, and there was a red-hot sword embryo lying inside.


    Obviously, the sword embryo had been burned for hundreds of millions of years in the furnace.

 Chapter 1511 Star Essence Iron

    The sword embryo was a piece of the Star Essence Iron that had been forged before. As soon as Livingston''s eyes landed on it, they were glued to it.


    The sword embryo was not a refined one. It had been absorbing the flames from the furnace for many years, so it exuded a rainbow-colored light.


    The craft of weapon refining was very complicated.


    The process involved lots of steps, and refining a high-grade weapon needed more operations. The higher the grade of the weapon, the more intricate the process of refining it.


    The most crucial step of refining a weapon was smelting the metal.


    Many unimaginable materials existed in this world, such as the Star Essence Iron, which was derived from a star known as the ''Dark Star''. The Dark Star was very small and it could not shine, so it was tough to locate it.


    Every substance made out of the Dark Star was surprisingly heavy.


    Even a piece of it the size of a fingertip could weigh as much as a hundred thousand mountains. Undoubtedly, the Star Essence Iron weighed a lot more.


    It was almost indestructible.


    Even if someone was to obtain a piece of the Star Essence Iron, it would be difficult to preserve it. After all, it was too heavy.


    Once upon a time, a peerless master had taken a piece of the Star Essence Iron from the bare Dark Star, but he had no way of keeping it. When this piece fell to the ground, it directly penetrated into the earth, forming a small but bottomless hole.


    Storing the Star Essence Iron was indeed asking for trouble. Once, someone had tried to place it into the Sumeru Space, but the weight of it instantly broke through and smashed the space.


    However, such a problem could not defeat humans. The warriors of this universe were brave in the face of all difficulties and tried to figure out the solutions to them with their endless efforts.


    It had happened that once, someone used a weaker material to create a bracket and then placed the Star Essence Iron on the top of the bracket. Three hundred thousand giant logs were then used to build up a huge chassis under the bracket to support the iron''s weight, with eight million divine textures placed around it as well.


    The bracket finally succeeded in holding the Star Essence Iron. The eight million divine textures were simultaneously activated and supported the huge chassis as well as the bracket to hold the Star Essence Iron.


    Before this activation, when the piece of Star Essence Iron was placed onto the bracket, the entire chassis sunk thousands of feet deep into the ground due to the massive weight, forming a huge crater.


    It was only after activating the eight million divine textures and forming a powerful floating force that the ch


    ade out of wood?" Curiosity was all over Zen''s features.


    Many people knew that fire and wood neutralized each other. A metal pair of pincers would melt in these rainbow-colored flames. Would this wooden pair of pincers not burn in an instant?


    "Master, you can try first," Saul said with a smile.


    Zen nodded quietly. He reached to take the pair of pincers and was dumbstruck when he held it. "Eh? This pair of pincers... It''s weightless!"


    Everything in this world had weight.


    Even the air had weight. The clouds floating in the sky turned into water upon condensing. The weight of the water was then equal to the weight of the clouds. Similarly, although paper and feathers were all very light, they still had a certain amount of weight.


    However, the pair of pincers in Zen''s hand was actually weightless. He did not feel as if he was holding something light in his hands. It was like he was not holding anything at all. The pair of pincers was entirely without weight.


    Saul laughed, "Master, you can try to lift the embryo with this pair of pincers."


    Zen was curious as he looked at the pair of pincers. Since Saul had requested him to try to lift the sword embryo with it, he stuck the pair of pincers into the furnace with some hesitation. It then clamped onto the sword embryo.


    As it did so, a strange sensation spread through Zen''s hands.


    At this moment, it was as if the sword embryo had lost its weight as well. With a gentle lift of the pair of pincers, the sword embryo lifted like it was a feather. Zen quickly pulled it out of the furnace.


    The sword embryo, glinting with rainbow-colored light, had not been refined. It had a coarse surface and looked nothing special. It was no doubt that the sword embryo could be processed and forged into a peerless divine weapon.

 Chapter 1512 The Beginning Of The Illusion Battlefield

    Two strange rays of light shot out of Livingston''s iron head. They glowed with vigor.


    Even though his puppet body was simple and crude, it was still able to express his emotions. The radiance clearly indicated that he was excited.


    "How.. how is this possible?" he exclaimed with surprise.


    It was hard to believe that this large piece of Star Essence Iron, which was unimaginably heavy, had been picked up by Zen so easily!


    It was something beyond Livingston''s imagination.


    Zen swung the sword embryo in a circle and smiled at Livingston. "Do you also want to give it a try?" He then handed the pincers to Livingston.


    Livingston took the pincers from him and discovered that as he held them, he did not feel their weight at all. "What a miracle!" he said. "This tool is extraordinary!"


    He had high expectations of the weapon refining workshop and knew that the items here were all special, but still, this miraculous tool exceeded his expectations.


    He examined the pincers closely but could not find anything special in them. Livingston failed to understand how the heavy iron became weightless by the tool.


    "This pair of pincers is made of the Infinity Stone, so theoretically, it should be able to lift anything, regardless of the weight it has," Saul explained in a flat tone.


    "The Heavenly Destiny of Infinity!" Livingston shouted out a strange term at Saul''s explanation.


    Saul gave him a surprised glance and asked curiously, "What''s that?"


    "It''s the Heavenly Destiny of the last grand era. It was contained in the Crown of Destiny which was obtained by Supreme Lord of Infinity!" Livingston recalled.


    The so-called Heavenly Destiny of Infinity was also a Law of Causality. After the Supreme Lord of Infinity grasped such a Law of Causality, he could lift anything, including the sun, the moon, and the stars.


    "Oh, that''s impressive," Saul responded listlessly. He then turned to Zen. "Zen, my master, you don''t have to worry about the weight of the sword. There should still be some Infinity Stones in this workshop. After the Star Essence Iron is shaped into a sword, its hilt can be made out of the Infinity Stone. Then you can use the sword at will."


    Zen nodded in agreement.


    Judging from the materials alone, it would be nearly impossible for his opponents to destruct and damage this new sword of his.


    But how powerful it turned out to be would depend on Livingston''s workmanship.


    "This is great!"


    Livingston was wild with joy. He held the pincers in his hand and toyed with the sword embryo skillfully.


    Clang!


    He was so happy that he threw the iron upward and loosened the grip of the pincers at the same time.


    "Watch out!" Freya screamed. His outrageous action scared the life out of her.


    Although the sword embryo was only four inches long, it weighed more


    or the Thoughtless Minds, no Supreme Lords from their group had died previously. The newly obtained Crowns of Destiny undoubtedly enhanced their human force by a wide margin.


    The Thoughtless Minds had originally been the greatest force of the human race. They had controlled four thousand supreme worlds. Its leader, the Supreme Lord of Original Sin, was one of the few top-rank Supreme Lords in the universe, and his Heavenly Destiny contained an extremely powerful Law of Causality. After this particular war, two members of the Thoughtless Minds would become Supreme Lords. This fact was the cause of worry for the rest of the races and the other two big human forces ¡ª the Humanity Alliance and the Blessed Buddha Land.


    Zen, however, knew nothing of these events in the outside world. Since he could not leave the fairy palace, he decided to cultivate in seclusion.


    Time went by quickly.


    One year.


    Two years.


    Three years.


    Four years.


    In the blink of an eye, five years had passed.


    To most warriors, five years were almost negligible compared to their long lives.


    Freya, for example, was much older than she looked. But for Zen, five years was already a sixth of his past life.


    In these five years, Zen experienced three big Heavenly Tribulations, while his cultivation base reached the middle stage of the Soul Sea Realm.


    As for the seed of the World Tree, it grew inside Zen''s Soul Sea of chaotic energy. A trunk also emerged from the surface of his Soul Sea.


    One day, the heavens suddenly shook again.


    This time, it was not because a Crown of Destiny had appeared. The one hundred and twenty-eight Supreme Lords were all alive, so no Crowns of Destiny were to appear.


    However, the creatures in the one hundred thousand supreme worlds around the universe paid close attention to it.


    They knew the Illusion Battlefield was about to begin.

 Chapter 1513 Margarets Journey

    Strictly speaking, the opening of the world of chaos in the universe was an imminent crisis.


    Before the danger arrived, the heavens had sensed it and let the great luck reach the remarkable and matchless talents in the universe.


    This meant that those talents had the fate to lead the world of chaos.


    Those who possessed good fortune would go on to become the great men and women of the era. Their luck was different from that of ordinary people.


    However, there was still a chance that the one with the fate to lead the world of chaos would die. With the advent of the world of chaos, those warriors destined to fight would compete with each other and strive to become the main characters of the world.


    It was said that such a person would lead the races to combat the great danger that was going to befall the universe...


    The opening of the Illusion Battlefield would enable the warriors to compete with each other. The most powerful talent of the grand era would then be selected during the battle.


    In these five years, besides cultivating, Zen had used the Roaring Token to tell stories...


    However, the mysterious young girl did not have enough time daily. She seemed to spend most of it sleeping and cultivating, waking up once or twice every other year.


    The first thing she did when she woke up was to force Zen to tell her stories.


    At this time, Zen too asked the mysterious girl for any information regarding Yan.


    The young girl told Zen that she had entrusted the search for Yan to others, but had not received any response yet.


    Even though Zen was disappointed, he was still willing to tell stories.


    He was unable to confirm anything at present, but the world above the heavens was still too ethereal to him. That mystifying world was something that even the one hundred and twenty-eight Supreme Lords knew nothing about...


    Perhaps only this mysterious young girl could help him find Yan.


    As the heavens shook, indicating the opening of the Illusion Battlefield, the mysterious young girl woke up once again. However, this time, she did not rush to ask Zen to tell her a story. Instead, she announced in a strange, cold voice, "The Illusion Battlefield has opened. This time, the battlefield would accept all Soul Sea Realm warriors of the universe..."


    As the mysterious young girl finished speaking, all the stars spun speedily.


    Zen opened his eyes. He was sitting on the square of the fairy palace...


    "The Illusion Battlefield is your opportunity to shine. If you were to obtain a good ranking in the battle, the world lords guarding outside would leave soon..." Lavender spoke flatly as she glanced at the stars in the sky.


    "I have tricked and killed the Supreme Lords of their races. Would they be willing to leave without avenging them? Would Elena let us off the hook as well?" Zen asked. At this moment, he had no idea what the Illusion Battlefield was all about.


    Lavender smiled faintly. "Elena, of cour


    was so enthusiastic that she almost jumped up.


    She had been waiting for this day for a long time.


    Elder Apeiron nodded with certainty. "All Soul Sea Realm warriors can enter the Illusion Battlefield. You are in the Purple Power World, where the spots of light cannot shoot in. Once I take you out of the Purple Power World, you can enter the Illusion Battlefield as well."


    "Are you sure Zen can enter the Illusion Battlefield too?" Margaret was still unsure.


    Elder Apeiron gave her a small smile. "I am not sure if he can enter the Illusion Battlefield right at this moment, but I am sure he will enter it sooner or later! However, If you want to meet him, you have to rely on your own strength for an opportunity to come."


    Hearing this, Margaret was confident. "Okay. Master, I understand! I will put my best foot forward in the Illusion Battlefield."


    Seeing Margaret''s confidence, Elder Apeiron nodded in satisfaction. "I believe you can obtain a good outcome. You are my most outstanding disciple yet. You also have the most powerful Purple Power Body. I hope you can succeed this time. Now, let''s go. It''s time for me to get you out of the Purple Power World..."


    In the last five years, Zen had used the Roaring Token many times in the universe. So how could Elder Apeiron, who often left the Purple Power World, not know of Zen''s movements?


    In fact, she was even aware that Zen had been besieged by the world lords of several races in the Northern Sky Region...


    However, to make sure that Margaret focused on her cultivation, Elder Apeiron did not want to convey this piece of information to Margaret. If Margaret was strong enough, she would meet Zen in the Illusion Battlefield easily.


    Margaret strode forward, now prepared to leave the Purple Power World with her master. She looked at the world covered in purple halos, her heart full of strong emotions. She knew that her journey was about to begin, and that she was about to search for Zen.

 Chapter 1514 Gathering

    All the talents of the young generation were eagerly rubbing their hands together in anticipation of the opening of the Illusion Battlefield.


    The various successors of the world lords and the Supreme Lords were all well prepared.


    Some of the hidden supreme divine weapons also changed hands. Although the warriors at the Soul Sea Realm might not be able to use the full strength of the supreme divine weapons, the weapons would help them greatly.


    Thoughtless Minds, Blessed Buddha Land, Humanity Alliance, Celestial Position, Demon Night, ogres, Giants, Saya race...


    All the Soul Sea Realm warriors from every race of the Upper World would enter the Illusion Battlefield within five days.


    Among them, there were some warriors at the Soul Sea Realm who were in dire straits.


    For them, this was also an opportunity to change their fates.


    For example, a Soul Sea Realm warrior who was trapped in a fearful land of a supreme world and couldn''t escape even after hundreds of years of struggle and survival.


    However, with the light spot shooting out of the heavens, he could temporarily enter the light spot and avoid the danger in front of his eyes.


    The so-called Illusion Battlefield had the same principles as the Illusion Space; the warriors'' physical bodies didn''t enter the Illusion Battlefield, only their projections did.


    But for these warriors, standing in the shadow of the light spot was tantamount to being protected by the heavens. Therefore, no Soul Sea Realm warrior had to worry about the safety of their physical bodies. That simple spot of light meant that the universe had the strictest Law of Causality. Even a Supreme Lord would not be able to break it.


    Meanwhile, in a prison in a tenth-grade sacred place of the Demon Night race in a core supreme world, a Demon Night woman''s hands were tied to a huge bronze pillar.


    Black raindrops occasionally dripped from the ceiling of the prison.


    These raindrops had an extremely strong corrosive property. They would form a massive crater if they touched the ground. So naturally, if they fell onto a human''s body, they would corrode the human''s flesh and blood!


    This was an extremely painful punishment for the Demon Night race. Warriors were tied to a bronze pillar and left to rot under the rain. These warriors often had thousands of wounds on their bodies, but even if they were in unbearable pain, they could not choose death. The bronze pillar behind them had a special property as well: the Queen of Life of the Demon Night had personally added the energy of life into it such that after a day of punishment, the bronze pillar would emit strong life energy, causing the Demon Night prisoners to recover completely.


    The woman from the Demon Night endured this punishment day after day, year after year. Whether it was her physical body or soul, she suffered unimaginable torture.


    T


    ne wrong in all the Illusion Spaces in the universe.


    An Illusion Space was not a rare thing. The great sects, sacred places, and races all had their own Illusion Space built for martial artists to cultivate and spar with one another.


    But after the opening of the Illusion Battlefield, all the Illusion Spaces had been completely blocked, making it impossible for anyone to enter them.


    At the same time, a pyramid began to appear above every Illusion Space.


    It was a giant pyramid formed by names.


    On this pyramid, the names of all the warriors at the Soul Sea Realm in the 100, 000 supreme worlds were lined next to each other. The number of names on the pyramid was increasing rapidly.


    In the entire universe, there were 128 Supreme Lords, over 200, 000 world lords, hundreds of millions of Spirit Transformation Realm powerhouses, and hundreds of billions of Spirit Supreme Realm powerhouses.


    As for warriors at the Soul Sea Realm, they existed in trillions.


    All the creatures of the 100, 000 supreme worlds were curiously searching for something.


    Right now, the Illusion Battlefield had not yet officially begun, so the names on the pyramid were not arranged in any rank or order. They were all gathered at the bottom of the pyramid, and looking for a particular warrior''s name was the same as looking for a needle in a haystack.


    However, all of the great races, Supreme Lords, and world lords had already set their sights on the pyramid of their own races, hoping to see the names of their races'' talents appear at the top!


    In these five days, the number of names in the pyramid continued to rise rapidly. Many warriors at the Soul Sea Realm were joining the Illusion Battlefield this time.


    Zen sat quietly on the ground, closing his eyes to rest his mind.


    120 hours passed. Five days and five nights...


    Following the sound of a clear and cold voice, he suddenly opened his eyes.

 Chapter 1515 In The City

    When Zen suddenly opened his eyes, the entire world had undergone an earth-shattering change.


    His projection had already entered another world, a humongous Illusion Space.


    This sort of massive Illusion Space was equal to fifty supreme worlds!


    In reality, the Illusion Space was divided into fifty parts. Each of the parts looked like separate supreme worlds and all the warriors were scattered throughout the fifty supreme worlds.


    Zen was currently in a large city inside one of those supreme worlds. The place was packed with warriors from all different races. All of them were at the Soul Sea Realm!


    After getting up, Zen looked around at the scenery.


    The Illusion Battlefield looked so real that it could be mistaken for a real supreme world. However, the Illusion Battlefield was in a closed state most times and there were only a few chances for warriors to enter it when it opened.


    The city before Zen didn''t look like a human city.


    All the buildings'' roofs were painted with just two colors, black and red. There was also a faint red light circulating constantly in the cracks of the buildings. It was the stone materials used for these buildings. The stones contained a layer of flowing magma!


    "The ogre''s city?" Zen''s eyes flashed.


    The myriad of warriors from one hundred thousand supreme worlds were also distributed within this Illusion Space according to a certain rule.


    Zen was located in the Northern Sky Region which was relatively close to the ogre''s city. Thus, there was a huge possibility for him to be distributed in the city of ogres.


    Looking around, he noticed that all warriors surrounding him were as tall and sturdy as small mountains. There were only a small number of human warriors and warriors from other races.


    Unfriendly gazes showed on the ogre warriors'' faces the moment they saw Zen.


    However, Zen didn''t pay much attention to them.


    It didn''t matter which region he was in.


    The battle of the Illusion Battlefield was only for the strongest young warriors of the entire universe. In other words, everyone had to face trillions of opponents!


    Since Zen had to face trillions of Soul Sea Realm warriors, it was no longer important if his opponents were human beings, ogres, or from other races. What was important to him now was to defeat all his opponents and become the sole winner in the Illusion Battlefield.


    Zen would think this way, but the other human warriors might not. The human warriors that were assigned to this city all looked extremely morose and depressed.


    Some of the human warriors were relatively close to the ogre''s territory before they entered the Illusion Battlefield. Such as those human warriors from the sacred place of the Dark World. After they ent


    n''t help but take two steps back after being intimidated by Zen. It was like an invisible power that pushed him back. When the ogre regained his composure, his face was flushed red. Nonetheless, a trace of fear was already visible in his eyes as he looked at Zen again.


    The warrior in the cloak took a deep drag on his pipe and blew out a smoke ring. His eyelids drooped down as if he didn''t see what happened.


    Just then, another warrior uttered, "What are you doing?"


    The one who spoke was an ogre warrior wearing a silver armor. His silver armor seemed to be a rare treasure and judging from its color, it could be ranked as a second-rank divine weapon. It was easy to gauge that the armor was a defensive tool that could even be compared with a secondary first-rank divine weapon.


    "Young master Ezra! There are two human warriors here who do not want to follow your orders!" an ogre warrior said.


    Ezra, who was a tall and strong ogre, came out of the crowd and looked down at Zen and the warrior in the cloak. He said coldly, "I''ll give you two one more chance. Just obey me and line up over there!"


    Zen and the warrior in the cloak glanced at each other.


    Ezra was as weak as a sheep in their eyes, so they believed that they could easily deal with him.


    Zen smiled. "Obey you? What good is there in doing that?"


    "I''ll let you off after I kill you twice in the Illusion Battlefield!" Ezra responded coldly. It seemed that he regarded killing Zen twice as a mercy to Zen.


    The warriors wouldn''t really die or leave the Illusion Battlefield after they were ''killed'' in the Illusion Battlefield. Instead, they would return to the city to "revive". In Ezra''s opinion, killing these foolish humans twice would be an act of kindness. If he had every intention of killing them, he could kill them countless times!

 Chapter 1516 Fatten The Opponents

    In response to such a proposal, Zen only smiled.


    "Who cares what they say! These trashy people can''t spit out anything good!" the cloaked warrior said to Zen.


    "My fault," said Zen. Then he said nothing more.


    Ezra''s face revealed a trace of sullen anger when he saw the attitude of the two human warriors. He pondered for a moment, then took two steps forward, and approached the two with a sinister smile. "You will regret it!"


    The cloaked warrior immediately raised his hand to cover his nose. "Honestly, I''m feeling a little bit regretful now!"


    Ezra looked confused. He then heard the cloaked warrior continue, "Your mouth stinks too much."


    The young ogre lost his composure and now was utterly enraged. Standing upright, he roared to his followers, "You guys follow behind these two. As soon as they step out of the city, kill them without mercy!"


    "Yes, young master!"


    After hearing Ezra''s order, all of the ogre warriors present immediately surrounded Zen and the cloaked warrior.


    Two hours quickly passed by.


    Right at this moment, the cyan-colored curtain of light surrounding all the cities of the Illusion Battlefield vanished simultaneously.


    Witnessing this, many warriors rushed out of the cities. What followed then was an endless slaughter!


    "Time''s up. Let''s go out of the city," the cloaked warrior suggested.


    Zen nodded as the two of them sauntered towards the entrance of the city together.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    As Zen stepped forward, he noticed faint red rays of light flying back from the outside of the city.


    These rays of light represented those warriors killed outside the city.


    According to the rules of the Illusion Battlefield, the body of warrior who was dead would return to a city nearby in the form of a stream of light after it dissipated. Soon after, that warrior would be resurrected.


    For most of the young warriors, the Illusion Battlefield was not only a place to compete but also an excellent place to gain experience.


    While Zen and the cloaked warrior wandered out of the city at their own pace, two squads of ogre warriors were following them behind. They had been ordered by Ezra to kill them the moment they got out of the city.


    However, they didn''t know what kind of people these two human warriors were.


    "I don''t want to fight with you for the time being," the cloaked warrior told Zen. The city gates were right in front of them.


    "It doesn''t matter. I can wait," Zen replied casually.


    "That''s good." The cloaked warrior was beaming, very happily.


    Usually, when other warriors dashed out of the city gates, they would either rush towards their targets or quickly leave the city. They were all very alert and would never stay in front of the city gates.


    However, after the two of them stepped outside of the city gates, they still maintained a slow pace as they moved forward.


    The uncaring behavior of these two confused the ogre warriors who were keenly following behind. The ogre warriors originally thought that Ze


    s in front were blocking the way, the others behind them were unable to leave the city. As the ogre warriors at the rear end had no idea of what was happening, they began to curse heatedly.


    However, no matter how much the warriors behind them cursed and grew impatient, the warriors in front of them refused to budge. In the end, many of them could only choose to leave through other city gates.


    Observing this scene, Zen knew that his plan had been foiled. The ogres were no fool. Knowing he and the cloaked warrior were guarding the city gates, they wouldn''t recklessly act to let him slaughter them. In the Illusion Battlefield, though their death was not real, they would still suffer by losing part of their Illusion Points.


    As if on cue, the two of them looked at each other helplessly and could only turn away from the city gates. However, the two of them quickly headed in different directions.


    They both knew that there would be a battle between them in the end, but that moment wasn''t the right time. They needed to wait for the opponent to accumulate enough Illusion Points before they could set the match.


    The instant Zen turned his back from the city exit, he had chosen a route that allowed him to advance at a leisurely pace. He was reflecting thoughtfully on how to accumulate Illusion Points.


    It was downright unrealistic to merely stand at the city gates and wait for the warriors to come out. Killing a warrior would only earn him 50 Illusion Points. And by slaying that same warrior for the second time, the Illusion Points that he would only obtain was 25. This was not the appropriate way to accumulate Illusion Points.


    As he mulled over this, Zen''s gaze accidentally landed on a mountain peak a short distance away. After pondering for a few moments, he then leaped onto that mountain peak.


    "I was in too much of a hurry. The sheep have not gotten fat yet, and the wolves have not gotten fat either. I can wait a little longer until the sheep and wolves all get fat," he murmured.

 Chapter 1517 Not Interested

    Zen thought about it for a few moments, and then decided not to linger anymore.


    He rose up ten feet above the ground in a flash, like a graceful eagle soaring high in the air.


    Once Zen and the cloaked warrior were gone, the group of warriors who had gathered in the city emerged from the gates like an army of crabs.


    Once they had left the city gates, all of them scattered everywhere as they tried their best to stay away from each other.


    This was the rule of the Illusion Battlefield.


    It was known that once they left the cities, dangers lay ahead.


    They could be skilled hunters, but that didn''t mean they couldn''t become prey to others.


    An ordinary-looking ogre warrior rushed out of the city gates along with the other warriors. Once he got out, his lips curved up into a strange smile.


    "Purple Flame Explosion!"


    Purple-colored flames suddenly exploded from the ogre warrior''s body.


    The profound Fire Law formed ripple-like flames. The flames then spread outwards, while the ogre stood still in the center.


    At that point, more than a hundred warriors had emerged from the city gates already.


    When the other ogre warriors sensed what was happening, they all displayed their life vitality or forceful energy and tried to protect themselves from the burning hot purple flames.


    However, the purple flames were too powerful, burning the ogres'' protective life vitality or forceful energy like it was a thin piece of paper. Their fiery tendrils were like an animal that licked the warriors'' bodies.


    "Aaaargh!"


    "These damned flames fucking hurt!"


    "Be careful!"


    In the blink of an eye, the purple flames had burned all of the warriors.


    Some of them used escape techniques and flew into the air. But the faster they moved, the more flames they ignited. They only got to fly about half their intended distance before they burned into ashes, scattering in the air.


    Some of them used crystal clear ice shields to block the flames from their bodies, but the power of these flames was beyond imagination. The ice shields they formed instantly melted, and they still got burned to a crisp.


    After those warriors died, a beam of red light shot up from everyone''s body and flew back to the city.


    As for that ogre warrior, he absorbed half of the Illusion Points of the dead.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    The ogre warrior stood casually at the city gates with a cold smile. Purple flames slowly pulsed in his palm as he eyed the warriors inside the city.


    The ogre warrior''s flames had spread to around 10, 000 feet in diameter, but those that spread towards the city vanished completely in a mere second.


    At the current stage, the space within this city was still safe. Any attacks would be n


    get if I hunt stronger beasts," he murmured.


    Zen''s figure flashed once more as he leapt onto the hillside and rushed forward at a moderate pace.


    If ever he encountered any beasts along the way, then he would attack and kill them.


    A vicious beast of the same level as the deer with gray horns would only give Zen one or two Illusion Points. The amount of Illusion Points was negligible, and he did not care about it.


    According to the rules of the Illusion Battlefield, the initial accumulation of Illusion Points was not important. After some of the stronger warriors had accumulated enough Illusion Points, Zen would kill them to snatch their points.


    Zen could even just lie here and cultivate, or even find a place to sleep.


    But he had finally gotten a chance to leave after being trapped in the fairy palace for so many years. Thus, he actually wanted to wander aimlessly around the vast Illusion Battlefield.


    Just as Zen slowed down his speed, his eyes suddenly flashed and the corner of his lips slightly curved up.


    He paused in mid-air, then turned his head and looked down. "How long are you planning to follow me?"


    The wilderness was completely quiet except for his voice, as if there were no other life forms.


    "After you accumulate a little more Illusion Points, come and find me again. I am not very interested in you right now," Zen said indifferently, and continued to fly forward.


    Three people had been following Zen, so they definitely didn''t have the time to accumulate enough Illusion Points. Zen would only earn 150 Illusion Points even if he killed all three of them, so he really wasn''t interested.


    There was the sound of rough laughter; then three burly figures appeared out of thin air. Three impressive ogre warriors eyed Zen.


    "Ha-ha! But we are interested in you!"

 Chapter 1518 Eight Smoky Melodies

    Compared to the other ogre members, these three ogre martial artists were shorter and their armors were very special.


    Their armors might be black at first glance but they reflected different colors whenever hit by sunlight.


    These armors were made from "Light Accumulation Iron". After activating them, they would change colors according to the surrounding environment. Combined with some divine textures, they could enable their users to disappear. Most warriors would not feel them around even if they were close to them.


    This method was useful to ordinary warriors at the Soul Sea Realm, but not to Zen.


    Zen''s current perception was far stronger than that of an ordinary martial artist. Thus, he could easily detect them even though they were concealing their presence.


    These three ogre warriors had developed an intention to kill Zen since they saw his extraordinary strength at the city gates. Truth be told, they planned to execute him upon seeing him leave the city by himself.


    The three of them were not weaklings. They were so powerful when they worked together. They had already killed a Spirit Supreme Realm master before. And now, they were silently tailing Zen.


    A trace of boredom appeared on Zen''s face. He had been silent for years but he was ready now. He was just like a butterfly that had emerged from his cocoon. His mind had also quietly changed. He now needed to fight for a spiritual baptism of his own.


    He looked down at the three ogres below him and muttered, "Since you''re interested, then come on. Let''s fight."


    The three looked at each other while sneering. Amid their laughter, they all quietly vanished from Zen''s sight.


    This method of concealment was indeed very effective.


    The method wasn''t only covering their voices and auras. It was also making them invisible!


    Zen smiled as he watched the three of them quickly disappear.


    He had originally wanted to wait for the grasses and sheep to grow, and then he could finally participate in the fight. Before that, he would just relax in this wilderness. However, these three fellows came to him and he wouldn''t mind a little fun.


    Zen had also dabbled in the three cultivation methods recommended by Gus in the past five years.


    Zen had never stepped out of the fairy palace for five years and no one had been able to fight with him. Lavender was not suitable to fight with him since she was a sword spirit. Plus, the difference between his and Freya''s strengths was just too great. Although Freya had also made great progress during these five years, she was still not qualified to spar with Zen.


    After the three ogres had hidden, they used the technique of restraining their breathing and rushed towards Zen from several directions. Their fig


    began to synchronized his mind along with this cultivation method.


    The three powerful techniques used together created ripples of energy!


    Especially the machete-wielding warrior whose slash sounded of whistling wind.


    However, Zen was like a wisp of cyan smoke at that time, wandering about in this world.


    The machete broke through space and reached Zen''s back. This machete was as fast as lightning. An ordinary person would not be able to clearly see the machete''s shadow.


    Nonetheless, Zen''s body moved with the machete just when it was about three inches from his back.


    It wasn''t Zen who was moving, but rather the machete was ''pushing'' him away!


    When the slash didn''t hit him, the machete-wielding martial artist didn''t hesitate at all and slashed the second time!


    Zen still maintained a distance of three inches away from him and the warrior still failed to slash Zen!


    The third slash!


    Still three inches!


    The ogre martial artist was stunned upon seeing what was happening.


    Nevertheless, he didn''t slow down from attacking amid his shock.


    ''What was this movement technique?''


    He had never seen such a strange movement technique!


    Zen''s body seemed weightless. As long as he swung his machete, it would push Zen away from a certain distance. He would continue slashing but the machete continued pushing him!


    He would never be able to slash Zen this way!


    He had always maintained a distance of three inches from Zen. These three inches were like an insurmountable natural moat!


    The Imperial Slash was a remarkable swordsmanship. It had the seven slashes that an ogre emperor thought to be the most powerful. It contained an extremely blade intent that was sealed within the seven slashes.


    However, this Imperial Slash could not even touch Zen''s clothes and he did not resist at all.

 Chapter 1519 Strange Movement Skill

    Both the ogre and Zen were at a standstill. The former had ceased his attacks while the latter merely floated in the air.


    Zen was already aware of the peculiarities of the Eight Smoky Melodies when he began cultivating it.


    He even asked Freya to fight with him at one point just to see how special the movement skill was. She had used her long sword during their fight but not once was she able to land a strike on Zen.


    There was no such thing as absolute motionlessness in this world.


    Even stationary things such as trees and grass would sway every now and then from the wind and other stronger, external forces. The stars in the sky did not merely twinkle in place but spun at various speeds in space. Even the hundred thousand supreme worlds were mobile. There had been cases of numerous supreme worlds colliding with each other every now and then. Of course, the process took millions of years but the fact that there were cases of collision was sufficient proof of the mobility of the worlds within this universe.


    The slightest of movements could have the potential to cause the greatest of catastrophes. It was through the Eight Smoky Melodies that these slight ripples of mobility could be used as the greatest shield.


    The slightest fluctuation of movement was enough to push Zen''s body into motion and this was the reason why the ogre''s attacks did not hit him at all.


    Freya''s strength was nothing compared with the three ogres but that did not mean that they were anything special in Zen''s eyes.


    He merely thought of them as test subjects¡ªa good opportunity to find out just how powerful the Eight Smoky Melodies truly was.


    "Huff, huff..."


    The machete-wielding ogre huffed as he tried to gather his wits. Meanwhile, the second ogre was already at the ready with his spear that he immediately thrust at Zen with full power.


    "Snake Spear!" he bellowed.


    This spear of his was special with its tip formed like a snake''s head. When thrown, this serpent-like spear would often strike fear to an enemy''s heart in the midst of battle.


    However, even as the snake spear hurtled towards him, Zen remained calm and unyielding.


    Instead of dodging, Zen stretched out and stood upside down but he kept his eyes on the black spear that came closer to impale his head.


    Three inches away from his brow and Zen could fairly make out the cold, black glow that encased the tip of the weapon. He could see the shallow lines that ridged its surface, and appreciate the somewhat decent craftsmanship of the weapon refiner of this spear.


    Three inches¡ªthat was all the distance it needed to travel to embed itself on Zen''s skull.


    But these three inches was an unattainable and everlasting distance for the spear, as if there was an invisible barrier that prevented it from getting closer.


    "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh¡­"


    The spear was thrown with a heavy force and it cut t


    he didn''t know just what the heck was happening.


    "What the hell is this Eight Smoky Melodies? Isn''t this too much of a crazy movement skill?" he couldn''t help but mutter in disbelief. He didn''t know why but he always managed to put three inches between him and his opponent. He briefly wondered if he ended up being tricked by Gus, that unreliable buffoon.


    Zen shook the smoke from his body and slowly rose in the air while his opponents quickly fled in opposite directions.


    "Whoosh..."


    The ogres were quick to scatter after realizing that they wouldn''t be able to defeat him. They had been secretly following Zen all this time but this experience had greatly destroyed their confidence in defeating him. Unfortunately, Zen wasn''t going to let them go so easily.


    The ogres were around ten thousand feet away from him now but he knew it wouldn''t be difficult to deal with them considering his strength.


    Fleeing from battle was often considered dishonorable but the ogres couldn''t be bothered with codes of conduct anymore, not after seeing what Zen was capable of on the battlefield.


    It was fortunate that they were only at the Illusion Battlefield and still had the chance to be reborn after dying, granted they would lose half of their Illusion Points.


    The ogre who shot an arrow at him was a completely unexpected opponent. However, this supposed ace was left dumbfounded after witnessing the scene of how Zen avoided and outwitted the strong arrow shot towards him.


    He thought he had Zen with that arrow, but it turned out he was wrong.


    The ogres, after realizing that Zen was hurriedly chasing after them, quickly activated their armors in the hopes of disappearing from his sight.


    However, it was all in vain.


    Unable to escape their fate, three red dots of light wrapped around the ogres'' souls and then shot towards the main city where they would have no choice but to wait for their revival.

 Chapter 1520 The Celestial Mice

    Red dots of light kept shooting back toward the main city.


    Martial artists were being killed constantly with up to half of their Illusion Points being extracted. But after some waiting in the main city, they were resurrected.


    Such a system was an excellent opportunity for them to cultivate.


    Not all warriors had the chance to enter the Illusion Space, after all.


    In reality, only tenth-grade sacred places could establish the Illusion Space in their core practice areas in a supreme world.


    Normally, only the core talents of the sacred places had the right to enter the Illusion Space.


    But this Illusion Battlefield was open for the 100, 000 supreme worlds. All warriors of the Soul Sea Realm, regardless of origin or talent, could freely enter and fight within.


    Some warriors of the Soul Sea Realm clearly understood the fact that it was simply impossible for them to get a good ranking in the Illusion Battlefield with their strength.


    There were simply too many talents to be found from a hundred thousand supreme worlds.


    Inheritors of the small sacred places, descendants that city lords had nurtured with all the resources they could gather, the core talents of the various sacred places, the descendants of the Saint Lords¡­


    Counting these martial artists alone, they added up to an extremely staggering number. Moreover, there were descendants of numerous world lords, Supreme Lords, even the martial artists that were fated to lead the world of chaos¡ªthe stars of this world.


    To compete with such remarkable talents¡­how difficult would it be for the common warriors to rise up in the Illusion Battlefield?


    After giving up on the idea of achieving a high ranking, some martial artists decided not to be too upset about losing Illusion Points. They would just constantly go to fight outside the city, cultivate their skills, and be revived if they got killed. The process was cyclic, and they managed to gain experience and learning to strengthen their warrior spirit through the repeating life and death trials.


    Above the Mist Palace, a massive pyramid also appeared.


    Many martial artists looked up to it from time to time, checking on the rankings.


    "Zen''s name¡­ is still nowhere to be found," an old man remarked as he respectfully stood beside Yolande. "There are way too many names in the pyramid''s lower levels. I can''t find his name! But Layla Ai''s name already came up...130, 000th in her supreme world, and the 4, 600, 000th in the entire Illusion Battlefield!"


    With Yolande''s and the old man''s perceptions, they could easily find their targets among the millions of names.


    But after Zen left the city, he barely got any Illusion Points


    s not impossible that Zen might defeat them.


    Slowly, he trailed down the mountain.


    The three mice, prostrated on the ground, raised their heads vigilantly. Their bean-sized black eyes fixed on Zen as they made creaking sounds¡ªthey seemed to be communicating with each other.


    While Zen remained calm, he became much more cautious. The Celestial Mice were not to be trifled with.


    Slowly, Zen approached them.


    Two hundred feet¡­ one hundred and fifty feet¡­


    Then a hundred feet.


    Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!


    The moment he stepped within that distance, the mice suddenly disappeared from his sight.


    Only three blurry shadows flashed before him when he felt a sharp pain as if something stabbed his body.


    Soon after, the three Celestial Mice appeared, not far away from him. They formed a triangular formation and surrounded Zen, revealing their sharp front teeth. Multicolored lights seemed to radiate from the teeth¡ªthat was where their talents lay. Because they also contained a Law of Causality, they could be used as a lethal weapon to kill prey in an instant.


    Puff, puff, puff!


    Then, three streams of blood flowed from Zen''s left shoulder, chest, and leg.


    Their attack was undoubtedly fast.


    At that moment, Zen cared nothing about the wounds on his body¡ªthe speed of the three tiny Celestial Mice already exceeded his imagination and he wasn''t foolish enough to chase after them.


    Locking his target onto the shining cave, he started walking toward it.


    Just as he made his move, the three mice disappeared once again.


    The moment they disappeared, Zen drew out his Thunder Wind Divine Sword. The sword''s shadow then appeared, acting as his shield. Simultaneously, dozens of Nether God Shadows emerged from the tip of the sword, spreading out around Zen.

 Chapter 1521 Thunderbolt Annihilation

    The outermost layer of Zen''s protection was made up of dozens of Nether God Shadows, while the sword light from the inner layer protected him like a spinning wheel.


    Zen''s defense was impenetrable.


    But even so, he still found himself unable to block the advancing attacks of the three Celestial Mice.


    The awe-inspiring speed at which these three Celestial Mice advanced greatly exceeded Zen''s anticipation.


    The three tiny golden rat shadows drilled through the dense ghostly Nether God Shadows at a speed which the human eye could not track. Although Zen''s sword light revolved around him like a roulette, it was not a real one after all, just an illusion created by the sword''s high-speed rotation. There were still gaps which the mice could use.


    Those Celestial Mice were so small that they could easily slip through these cracks and then they swiftly closed in on Zen.


    "Puff, puff, puff!"


    Three blood sprays spurted out as the mice bit Zen, just like before.


    One of the mice bit Zen on his clavicle. At the critical moment, he had leaned backwards slightly, otherwise his throat might have been severed by the rodent fangs.


    Although the wound caused by the Celestial Mouse''s attack wasn''t big, the mouse''s teeth were almost invincible. Normal damage to Zen''s body couldn''t harm him at all, but when faced with the rat''s attack, he couldn''t resist at all! The teeth marks were vividly seen on his flesh.


    "Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak¡­"


    In the blink of an eye, the three Celestial Mice appeared nearby. They were still maintaining a cautious distance from Zen and communicated with each other with high-pitched squeaks. However, a trace of ridicule seemed to glitter in those bean-sized black eyes.


    Legendary beasts were all known to have intelligence, so the Celestial Mice were no exception.


    Zen grew calmer and calmer as he watched his tiny adversaries.


    The Celestial Mice were ranked number one among all legendary beasts. Their race might even be second only to super legendary beasts.


    It was said that the reproductive abilities of the Celestial Mice was much stronger than that of other legendary beasts. Right now, Zen was only facing three Celestial Mice, so the pressure wasn''t too great. However, if he were facing hundreds of them, he might be running for dear life by now.


    In terms of speed, Zen probably wouldn''t be able to do anything to them. He wouldn''t even be able to track their small bodies, how could he hope to kill them?


    The habits of these Celestial Mice were quite strange. If Zen didn''t move, they wouldn''t move either. However, once he moved, they would launch the most precise series of attacks in the shortest amount of time. They were perfectly coordinated with each other. Human warriors would struggle to match their synchronicity.


    Zen now stood quietly in the same spot, deep in thought. Not long after, a faint smile appeared on his face.


    Following the appearance of a few ripples on the surface of the sea of chaotic energy, the white smoke once again appeared around Zen''s body.


    "Eight Smoky Melodies!"


    time, their squeaking sounds became sharp and urgent!


    Enormous pressure suddenly formed in the sky. Mysterious Internal Momentum Law was arranged neatly in the air. Only when one was undergoing a tribulation would such a strange phenomenon occur. However, Zen had forcefully drawn this Thunder Tribulation over.


    "Crack!"


    In the sky, a thick dragon-like bolt of lightning circled around once before descending with white hot energy!


    This Thunder Tribulation, which had been attracted by Zen, began to baptize the entire area within a radius of a thousand feet! The lightning struck simultaneously and continuously all over the area within the ring.


    Even at this moment, the three Celestial Mice did not choose to give up. They pushed their speed to the limit and even hid in the gaps that occurred between the branches of the lightning bolt.


    However, the power of this Thunderbolt Annihilation was too great. It nearly covered every inch of an area of a thousand feet. As more and more lightning gathered and the lightning became larger and larger, there were no more gaps left; the three Celestial Mice had nowhere to hide.


    Several minutes later, the sky gradually cleared and returned to normal.


    The three Celestial Mice lay smoldering on the ground, their bodies charred. Not long after, their corpses gradually disintegrated, and at the same time, each of the Celestial Mice created a thousand Illusion Points that moved swiftly towards Zen.


    "There are actually three thousand Illusion Points?" A smile appeared on Zen''s face.


    His goal had been the cave, but he hadn''t thought that he would receive such a valuable reward for killing each Celestial Mouse. However, compared to what the other martial artists achieved, three thousand Illusion Points was nothing.


    Once a martial artist had killed sixty of the other martial artists, they would get three thousand Illusion Points as a reward. In the Illusion Battlefield, some radical martial artists had already killed thousands of their opponents, while reaping massive rewards.

 Chapter 1522 Ezra

    Zen didn''t even bother to check his ranking.


    Not because he didn''t want to fight for a good ranking in the Illusion Battlefield, but because the battle itself had just begun.


    He actually planned to get the best results. However, looking at the ranking this early wasn''t something he would be anxious about.


    After Zen absorbed the Illusion Points, his gaze fell on the cave which was guarded by three Celestial Mice. He didn''t know what was hidden inside the cave.


    He was already walking towards the cave''s entrance when a light beam slowly formed before him and blocked his path.


    At the same time, some words flashed through Zen''s mind:


    "To enter the Evil Wind Cave, one has to pay three hundred thousand Illusion Points!"


    ''Three hundred thousand Illusion Points!'' Zen bitterly smiled at that thought.


    He had only collected less than four thousand Illusion Points so far. Thus, he needed to get more points for him to enter the cave.


    It was depressing for him that he couldn''t enter it even after spending so much time and efforts fighting those mice. However, he had borne this place mentally as he couldn''t help but wonder what was inside it. Not only was it guarded by three legendary beasts but it was also asking for three hundred thousand Illusion Points.


    Making up his mind, Zen didn''t stay in that place any longer. He turned around and flew into the air, quickly returning along his original route.


    "Whoosh."


    After five minutes, the main city appeared once again in front of Zen.


    An ogre in silver armor was shrouded in a bloody aura right now. In his hands were a pair of massive bloody axes that were crazily brandished by him.


    This ogre warrior was Ezra, the same warrior that Zen encountered in the city before.


    Ezra had a privileged and wealthy background. Although he was not considered a core disciple of a tenth-grade sacred place, he was born in a wealthy, famous clan that was comparable to a tenth-grade sacred place.


    He had obtained his clan''s most valuable treasure when the Illusion Battlefield opened.


    Not only did he put on the holy ogre armor, but he even took a pair of secondary first-rank divine weapons, the Ogre Blood Axes!


    He had spent the last few hours organizing a group of ogre warriors for killing all the other warriors from other races. He alone had slaughtered six hundred human warriors and about four hundred warriors from other races.


    In the first round alone, he had earned more than fifty thousand Illusion Points and his ranking in the Illusion Battlefield immediately soared to the top!


    He kept slaughtering the same warriors after they revived in the second round. The Illusion Points in a warrior''s body were reduced by half whenever they died. With Ezra killing those warriors t


    city wall turned silent by their shocks.


    "The bloody axes... I thought they were just illusions!"


    "Humph, the strength of Ezra is quite average. He only relies on his clan''s Bronze Blood and those two divine weapons!"


    "Since he has these two divine weapons in hand, his attacks are unmatched. Besides, he is invulnerable to swords and spears!"


    The strength displayed by Ezra was so formidable that the warriors inside the city didn''t dare to leave the city.


    Ezra held two bloody axes and knocked the blunt part of it against his armored chest. Under the stimulation of the Bronze Blood, he roared towards the many warriors in the main city, "Idiots! Come out quickly and let me kill you! Other than contributing your Illusion Points, what else can you do?"


    It had to be said that Ezra was one of the smarter ones among the ogres. When he first entered the Illusion Battlefield, he was able to persuade the warriors from the same race to help him accumulate Illusion Points.


    However, he was still defiant even after accumulating enough points as he tried to provoke others. His provocation targets were not limited to the warriors from other races. In fact, all of those that he killed now were ogres!


    "Boaz! Go and challenge him!"


    "Damn it. I have helped him tie up so many human warriors before. How could he intend to kill me?"


    "Alas, this is the Illusion Battlefield and all of us have to take everyone as the opponent, regardless of race. We were so stupid to help him in the beginning!"


    "Bang, bang, bang..."


    Ezra''s two bloody axes repeatedly smashed against his chest armor with a deafening sound. His eyes were dark red, but a trace of cyan gleam could be seen within. This was the effect of the Bronze Blood.


    Just as Ezra was provoking the other warriors excitedly, Zen''s figure suddenly appeared behind him.

 Chapter 1523 Strength

    Zen did not hide his aura. His eyes glinted fiercely as he approached Ezra.


    On the other hand, Ezra got too excited that he ignored the person behind him.


    He suddenly turned around when Zen was just three steps away from him. Since he was under the Bronze Blood''s control, he acted out of instinct without any thought!


    Ezra hadn''t even seen Zen clearly before he subconsciously attacked Zen out of reflex.


    The massive pair of bloody axes flashed with a blood-red light and smelled thickly of blood. The axes swung down heavily in a horizontal manner, like two brushes painting a bloody piece in front of him.


    Whoosh!


    The axes emitted a powerful aura in each heavy swing.


    Ezra''s attack under the Bronze Blood''s activation had no moves--because he didn''t need to use any!


    His attack''s violent power felt like it could crush mountains and the earth. Everything within the axes'' slash''s radius were obliterated without a second thought.


    A vast majority of martial artists would choose to retreat and look for another opportunity in the face of such an attack.


    It was an absolutely unwise choice to confront an ogre martial artist--especially one who had activated the Bronze Blood!


    Despite all the odds, Zen did not retreat.


    Zen still firmly stood three inches from the bloody axes, no matter how fast or heavy the weapons were swung.


    He was like a butterfly in the eye of a storm. The strong wind could destroy houses and trees; but the little butterfly would always dance along with the wind.


    All the martial artists who hid in the main city were all dumbfounded when they saw Zen.


    The main city lay a bit farther away from Zen, so he seemed like he was glued to the bloody axes from the martial artists'' point of view.


    The scene created an illusion. It was as if Ezra wanted to throw Zen off the axes, rather than chop him off with them. However, Ezra couldn''t get rid of him no matter how hard he tried.


    "What did this guy do? How did he do it?"


    "Maybe he practiced a very strange cultivation method and glued himself to the bloody axes!"


    "But that doesn''t sound right¡­ if he was stuck on them, why wouldn''t Ezra smash the axes on the ground to kill him?"


    Numerous ogre warriors discussed and argued among themselves about what was happening to Zen.


    However, Ezra had indeed done so, just as they finished talking. This kind of illusion wasn''t a rare thing for martial artists--thus, Ezra too, had a strange feeling that this man was stuck to his axes.


    With the pair of bloody axes raised high in the air, Ezra proceeded to heavily swing them downwards!


    As gravity pulled the axes down, Zen had somehow strangely squeezed out from the gap between the axes'' edges and the ground when he was three inches above the floor line.


    B


    also much tougher.


    Sadly, the truth was laid out in front of them. Many ogre martial artists subconsciously shook their heads, as if they didn''t want to believe this; but their eyes didn''t lie to them.


    "How did he do it¡­"


    "There weren''t any fluctuations of life vitality. This human didn''t seem to have cultivated the life vitality system!"


    "No, that''s not right. He isn''t a body refiner either. I didn''t sense the eruption of his forceful energy!"


    Many ogre martial artists were silently transfixed on Zen for a while, before they began to talk about him all at once in especially loud voices.


    Then, they came to an even more frightening conclusion amidst their discussions.


    Zen didn''t rely on his life vitality or his forceful energy. He used his physical body and his own strength instead to block the two axes.


    "Where did this freak come from..." one of the ogre martial artists murmured. But of course, Ezra was probably countless times more shocked than the spectators.


    He had the Bronze Blood and he was a descendant of a golden family of ogre race.


    Although he couldn''t compare to those world lords'' or the Supreme Lords'' descendants, he was still more than enough to become a core disciple of a tenth-grade sacred place! He was excellent in both aspects, be it talent or bloodline.


    The Bronze Blood could increase his strength by more than three times after it had burst. Combined with his cultivation of the blood strengthening forceful energy, even a warrior at the Spirit Supreme Realm wouldn''t withstand the might of his axes!


    However, this human warrior who didn''t even look built or sturdy at all, had just squeezed his axes with his bare hands?


    He felt a deep sense of humiliation within him as he looked at the smile on Zen''s face. To make things even worse, he couldn''t pull out his pair of bloody axes!

 Chapter 1524 Wolves Were Back

    Ezra''s bloodshot eyes glowed an intense cyan as he fully activated the Bronze Blood.


    The effects were instantaneous on his body: thick, snake-like veins popped underneath his skin as his meridians significantly bulked up on his arms and his muscles.


    The amount of power within him would be enough to overturn mountains in the Lower World.


    But not here. His strength wasn''t nearly enough to pull the two axes out of Zen''s hands.


    ''Just a bit more¡­ He should''ve already reached his limit!''


    Ezra thought, urging himself to go on.


    "Slash at him now!"


    Ezra roared. Since he couldn''t pull the bloody axes away then he would have to recalibrate his strategy. What if he pushed instead?


    With a roar, Ezra threw his entire weight onto his bulked-up arms and violently pushed the bloody axes towards Zen. The sudden change should''ve caught the young man off-guard, perhaps even made him drop the axes.


    But that wasn''t what happened. Whether he pushed or pulled, Ezra''s efforts remained ineffective against Zen.


    "Hey, dude!" Zen called. Ezra frowned when he saw the mocking smile on his opponent''s face. He was then caught off guard by the sudden force that Zen exerted into his hands.


    "Crack!"


    The bloody axes that he had been holding suddenly started to split and crack along their surface.


    "Plop!"


    The force was devastating on the axes which quickly shattered into fine fragments right in front of everyone''s eyes.


    Ezra could only watch in despair as the mighty axes were reduced into wooden stumps.


    These bloody axes were his clan''s greatest treasure but there was another cause of his frustration.


    It was important to remember that they were in the Illusion Battlefield where nobody died and no weapon was damaged for real. Everything and everyone were mere projections and whatever weapon was damaged within the arena, whether it was a simple stick or a clan''s treasured weapon, was only a copy. The real one was perfectly safe and sound outside the battlefield. This was why divine and supreme divine weapons could be used by mere Soul Sea Realm warriors. Such weapons of caliber were often only wielded and owned by world lords, grand world lords, or Supreme Lords. It was only in the Illusion Battlefield that lower-ranked warriors had the opportunity to take these weapons out for a spin. The bloody axes that had unfortunately shattered into a million pieces just now were still safe and sound in the real world.


    So why was Ezra finding it so hard to stomach the loss of his weapon?


    It was because of the fact that Zen was able to crush a secondary first-rank divine weapon with his bare hands and Ezra wasn''t willing to accept the horrifying strength his opponent had.


    The young man in front of him couldn''t be this strong, right? He couldn''t be. But as Ezra gazed at the two wooden sticks in his hands, the disbelief gradually turned into some kind of deep-seated fear. He looked up at Zen and couldn''t help but think to himself, ''This guy is a monster.''


    "It''s ove


    main city, another three charged towards him.


    He wasn''t that much interested in this group considering his experience with the former. It was evident that they only had a few Illusion Points based on the aura that they exuded.


    Zen didn''t have the time to bother with them so he quickly took a step through space and disappeared right under everyone''s noses.


    With his departure, the warriors on top of the walls sighed while those on the outside began to move once again.


    Meanwhile, back to Zen: he had once again encountered another ogre, almost at the same level as Ezra''s, who was continuously harvesting Illusion Points from ordinary warriors outside the city walls.


    He was cocky but it was his unfortunate luck that he ran into Zen who was very interested in his stock of Illusion Points.


    Like all of Zen''s other opponents: the ogre quickly turned into a red dot and flew back into the main city.


    Zen had encountered two ''sheep'' outside the main city, one being Ezra and the other being this ogre. He absorbed an additional thirty thousand points this time and his accumulated number of Illusion Points had now reached around seventy thousand. His ranking in this supreme world was already at the four hundred and ten-thousandth place while it was at the nineteen millionth place in the Illusion Battlefield.


    This was incredibly high but still not enough to be noticed. He still had a long way to go to reach the top.


    Zen was hard at work harvesting as many points as he could. The warriors he faced were the sort to spend a lot of time fighting over a target for mere fifty points but he was someone who got tens of thousands by easily defeating one skilled warrior.


    However, it wasn''t just him who made his return.


    There was a saying: grass was eaten by sheep, and sheep were eaten by wolves.


    Zen was a wolf who fed on these fat sheep who gave him lots of Illusion Points.


    However, he wasn''t the only wolf in town and he was about to meet another of his kind very soon.

 Chapter 1525 Layne

    In the Illusion Battlefield, the weak martial artists were defeated one after another.


    Some of those who were originally at the top of the list fell to the bottom rather rapidly.


    Meanwhile, some of the lower-ranked martial artists were surprisingly rising to the top.


    All the races paid close attention to every update on the rankings as shown on the pyramids above their Illusion Spaces.


    The crowd kept a particularly close eye on the names of the top talents of every race. Many paid special attention to one name, Zen Luo.


    At that point, Zen Luo was a name often heard and well-remembered throughout the universe¡ªeven the top talents of different races, the sons of Supreme Lords, and the successors of world lords simply couldn''t match up to him.


    And there was one simple reason behind it¡ªhe had the Roaring Token.


    Trillions of living beings could be found in the universe, and every one of them could hear the sounds transmitted by the Roaring Token. The mysterious girl shouted out Zen''s name repeatedly.


    The news of Zen being surrounded by dozens of Supreme Lords and killing some of them from years ago spread like wildfire throughout the universe.


    Since ancient times, he was the first martial artist to enjoy such fame and glory¡ªnot even the Supreme Lords had such.


    Not only Yolande kept an eye out for Zen''s ranking¡ªthe members of the Celestial Position and the rest of the universe had their eyes hot on it.


    Because Zen was so well-known, even the Supreme Lords grew curious as to how he had performed in the Illusion Battlefield.


    But the search left the people quite disappointed.


    With the trillions of names on the pyramid, the names on the lowest levels were almost totally stuck together, making it impossible for anyone to make anything out.


    Only the first few million martial artists were notable. They had accumulated quite a lot of Illusion Points, after all, and the gap between them and the rest was huge.


    To find Zen''s name, people had to go all the way down from the top of the pyramid¡ªthey went through tens of millions of names, but Zen''s couldn''t be found.


    "Doesn''t Zen Luo have an extraordinary fairy palace? Why isn''t he ranked among the top ten million?"


    "That''s simple¡ªhe got that indestructible fairy palace only by good luck. He may not even be that talented, let alone skilled enough to make it to the top ten million. It seems as though he''s weaker than the talents in some core sacred place."


    "You''re right. The top ten million is a pretty low standard. It seems like a disaster will be unfolding soon."


    "Disaster? What disaster?" someone cur


    main city. After obtaining a few Illusion Points, they quickly hid themselves in the main city. When Zen came back, the weak ones were already defeated. During his return, Zen had only encountered two warriors who could be called "sheep".


    Not long after, a rather skinny figure slowly rose from the pit.


    This person was none other than that Layne everyone was talking about. A streak of purple devil flame turned into a giant hand beneath his feet and lifted him up.


    Although Layne was also an ogre martial artist, he wasn''t as tall as his clansmen. While still being much taller and stronger than humans, he was considered puny among the sturdy ogres.


    After Layne emerged from the pit, his eyes swept across his surroundings. As he spotted the many martial artists hiding within the city walls, his expression turned mocking.


    Even if they took the initiative to leave the city, he wouldn''t bother killing those cowards.


    But when the gaze of Layne swept along the edge of the city wall and extended to its very end, he saw a lone figure floating in the corner.


    It was Zen, dressed in cyan.


    A hint of doubt swept across Layne''s face. Why wasn''t he hiding within the city walls like the rest of the human martial artists?


    As the successor of the Ogre Flame World lord, conquering this city was merely a trivial goal for someone like Layne¡ªwhat he truly wanted was to fight with the real top powerhouses in the Illusion Battlefield.


    From the beginning, Layne had always looked down upon the city, including all its martial artists.


    So when Zen didn''t hide himself from him, Layne was left rather puzzled. Had this human been scared silly?


    As he wondered, he saw Zen fly toward him slowly with a warm smile on his face.

 Chapter 1526 Beaten

    The smile on Zen''s face was undoubtedly quite annoying in Layne''s eyes.


    Humans were considered a most formidable race in the universe, but in this main city, ogres were in the majority!


    The other races were all unintentionally assigned to the main city, but these warriors were nothing more than cannon fodder.


    Now that Layne was standing here, the tens of thousands of martial artists in the main city didn''t dare to take even a single step¡­ Was this human youth strutting around before his eyes an idiot?


    Zen''s smile became rather confusing at this moment.


    Layne didn''t know that, although he was one of the raiders in the city, he was nothing but a fat sheep in Zen''s eyes. At this moment, Zen fretted that Layne would return to the main city.


    Already, Layne had accumulated 200, 000 Illusion Points. Even if Zen could get half of that number, that would be 100, 000 Illusion Points; while, Zen currently only had a total of over 70, 000 Illusion Points!


    "Where did this human warrior come from? He actually went straight at Layne?"


    "Does he want to die?"


    "I know this guy. Previously, he killed Ezra in the southwest! He''s a powerful warrior! He shattered Ezra''s axes with his bare hands! They were a secondary first-rank divine weapon!"


    Secondary first-rank divine weapons were as nothing in Zen''s eyes.


    However, in the eyes of the many warriors of the Soul Sea Realm, they were treasures which could only be found by luck.


    "Is this guy really that strong?"


    Upon hearing these words, the city''s ogre martial artists'' eyes all looked at Zen with new respect.


    "Even so, he''s not a match for Layne. They¡­ They will never be in the same league in terms of strength. Layne has already comprehended some profound mysteries within the Fire Law, and has made them his own to use. This boy actually dared to take the initiative to provoke Layne. Does he think that he has collected too many Illusion Points to lose?"


    As they discussed this event, a small number of the human martial artists'' eyes began to shine with a bright light!


    These human warriors had been unilaterally assigned to the main city, and could only accept their unlucky fate. The difference of races didn''t matter in the Illusion Battlefield, and only their strength mattered. These ogre warriors would even kill each other in squabbles between themselves. However, as long as the small number of human warriors left the main city, they would all be immediately targeted.


    It was because, firstly, the human warriors in the main city were indeed a bit weaker. Secondly, they were of a different race; and thus, they were more vulnerable to attacks.


    Hearing that this human youth in front of them had actually displayed such strength, they also began to feel a bit proud, and it could be said that watching Zen''s combat had actually helped them vent their pent-up anger.


    However, having witnessed the battle that Layne had fought just now, they couldn''t help but worry for Zen. After all, the strength displayed by Layne was too te


    oints. It was just that the rules set for this Illusion Battlefield had not worked to his advantage. However, if he were to win this round, he could indeed take away half of Layne''s Illusion Points. But if Layne really lost to him, then he would probably choose to hide in the city and never come out!


    The Illusion Points which Layne had were quite a lot. Zen had to convince Layne that he wouldn''t admit defeat.


    "Boom!"


    Zen''s body shook once again, as if he was trying his best to avoid Layne''s attack, but this time, he still failed!


    As a ball of purple flames exploded, Zen''s figure once again flew outward and heavily collided with the city wall¡­


    This city wall had been constructed according to the rules of the Illusion Battlefield, so it was naturally indestructible. Even such a violent collision was unable to destroy the city wall, and as a result Zen was left hanging on the surface of the wall like a macabre decoration.


    Even if Zen''s physical body was as sturdy as a divine weapon, once his body hit the city wall, without any protecting buffer, the blood in his body still boiled. Zen had to carry out his plan, so he chose to tolerate this.


    "He''s not dead yet? He does seem to have some special abilities¡­"


    Layne sighed heavily. He had originally thought that Zen would immediately bump into the city wall and end his life. However, this fellow''s physical body was so toughened that it should be considered a rare natural gift. But a purely strong physical body was of no use at all. It was only a target which made him end up being beaten by his opponent.


    Without thinking too much, Layne once again charged at Zen!


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    "Boom¡­"


    As Zen was repeatedly thrown to the wall, the warriors on the city wall were amazed by what their eyes were seeing.


    Wasn''t it too tragic for Zen to become a live target?


    However, just at the moment that Layne was about to charge towards Zen again, an imperceptible smile formed on Zen''s face.


    ''It''s about time...'' Zen thought.

 Chapter 1527 One Hundred And Forty Thousand

    Layne was again preparing to launch the same attack by spreading his wings and flying at Zen. He was hell-bent on destroying Zen.


    To wantonly indulge in his brute strength and practice by using Zen as a target, this was a bit of a pleasure for Layne!


    However, this time, Zen didn''t appear to be evading Layne''s attacks, but instead, he chose to face him head-on. His left hand twisted slightly, while his right hand was raised to one side!


    "Grappling..."


    As the martial artists saw this, their expressions became both awed and concerned. They exchanged curious looks and then turned back to the titanic battle which raged outside the city.


    Ogre martial artists mostly focused on practicing body refining. Grappling was the most basic of martial arts. It could be classified as a basic fighting technique! How could such a technique beat the might which Layne wielded?


    Was Zen counting on capturing Layne by using the grappling technique? Would Layne even fall for that?


    More and more, they felt that there must be something wrong with Zen''s head. Clearly, the sun had addled his brains!


    Layne also laughed coldly as he flapped his wings slightly behind his back. His flying posture became even more elegant as he accumulated speed, and then launched himself to charge straight at Zen!


    Although the strength that Zen had displayed couldn''t even withstand a single blow, Layne''s alertness hadn''t decreased in the slightest.


    He didn''t believe that Zen had shown his true strength and skills!


    But no matter what tricks this guy was playing, Layne always thought that Zen was under his control. Playing tricks under his absolute strength was meaningless.


    "It''s over!"


    As he rushed towards Zen, the purple flame in his hand rapidly bloomed like a wildly growing flower!


    But at this moment, Zen''s right hand shot out like a bolt of lightning, and with a gentle squeeze of his hand, he snuffed out the purple flame in the blink of an eye.


    Then, like a snake, his left hand grabbed onto Layne''s arm. Having underestimated Zen''s strength, Layne was dumbstruck as an unfathomable force now quietly appeared!


    Crack!


    A clear shattering sound could be heard by all.


    Zen had just broken Layne''s arm using only one hand!


    A hint of disbelief flashed across Layne''s face as another ball of fire appeared in his free hand. He wanted to smash it right against Zen''s head again!


    However, Zen once again extinguished the flames with lightning speed, and at the same time he grabbed Layne''s remaining hand!


    Within this grasp, Layne felt as if he was being clamped down on by a pair of pliers. There was almost no chance for him to move at all.


    Witnessing this scene from the top of the city wall, the surrounding martial artists became even more confused.


    Once warriors reached the Soul Sea Realm, the competition between them was either based on their life vitality cultivation or their martial skills.


    Zen''s sudden use of the grappling technique was already quite inconceivable. Why would Layne also want to ''play'' with Zen? The two of them were locked in a stalemate. Were they go


    od intentions. Zen had just gotten such a large amount of Illusion Points, it would be a huge loss if Layne had to take them back with interest.


    Hearing this kind reminder, Zen only smiled and nodded towards the human warrior. However, he didn''t move his feet. He remained standing outside the city, looking in the direction of the main gate with an indifferent expression as he quietly waited.


    In the main city, a dot of red light was slowly floating.


    As the red dot of light continuously fluttered about, it slowly began to grow larger. The fingertip-sized dot of light gradually became the size of a fist, and then rapidly expanded to become a ball of light with a diameter of ten feet. This ball of light was filled with a strong Life Law!


    Revival in the Illusion Battlefield was a bit different from the revival in the Illusion Space.


    After one died in the Illusion Space, they would be kicked out of the space. When a defeated martial artist entered the Illusion Space again, there would be another projection of him.


    While on the Illusion Battlefield, after a martial artist had died, he had to rely on the power of the heavens to completely ''revive'' himself. Thus, when some martial artists discovered that this ball of light was filled with an intense Life Law, they simply didn''t go outside of the city. Instead, they specifically searched for these masses of light that had been revived to perceive the Life Law in them.


    In any case, there were endless deaths outside of the main city, causing endless resurrections. Thus, the main city was filled with floating red lights, one after another. For many martial artists that didn''t have the chance to perceive high-level Original Laws, this was also an opportunity for enriching their cultivation.


    Not long after, a figure slowly formed within the ball of light!


    After the figure was fully formed, his body suddenly trembled. He came out of the ball of light and shot a fierce stare at the group of martial artists that had surrounded him to meditate on the Life Law. Then, he flew out of the city!

 Chapter 1528 Kill Him Once Again

    To Layne, this was the greatest humiliation!


    He had been killed by a human warrior using a simple technique. The anger in his heart continued to swell.


    The reason why Zen could easily defeat Layne was that his strength was high. Layne, with his current cultivation base, was unable to stand tall against his might.


    However, that did not mean that Layne would so easily lose to Zen!


    Zen''s body was strong and he had inborn divine strength, but these two aspects were not worth much in Layne''s eyes.


    Layne had more and better abilities. He had made many kills. Moreover, he had comprehended the profound mysteries of the Fire Law. Those were something that only belonged to him. To some extent, it could be said that he had comprehended that Law of Causality all by himself.


    However, he was killed by the human warrior even before he could put his brilliance on display. To put it bluntly, he had been tricked by Zen.


    How could Layne accept that?


    He rushed out of the city in a hurry the moment he was revived.


    Right now, what worried Layne the most was that Zen had hidden himself within the main city.


    He had already made up his mind while waiting to be revived as a soul. No matter where Zen was hiding, Layne would hunt him down!


    Unless Zen gave up on accumulating Illusion Points, Layne would follow him the entire way.


    When Layne''s hawk-like sharp gaze swept around as he stood on the city walls, he was slightly stunned by what he saw.


    Not far away, Zen floated in the air. It seemed that after Layne was killed, Zen had not even moved an inch.


    Zen too noticed Layne''s stare. The corners of his mouth curled up as he smiled faintly at his opponent.


    When Layne saw Zen''s haughty smile, the flames of fury that had filled his chest poured into his head.


    Without the slightest hesitation, Layne jumped up from the city wall. At the same time, the pair of purple flaming wings on his back soared. The wings extended over a distance of a thousand feet as they charged toward Zen.


    Usually, Layne was a very vigilant warrior.


    In the Ogre Flame World, the competition was fierce. Layne, as successor of the world lord, did not rely solely on his talent.


    From the very beginning itself, Layne had regarded Zen as a ''sheep'', so to speak. He assumed Zen to be a timid and run-of-the-mill warrior. But now, Layne had been defeated by the sheep!


    It could be said that Zen had successfully infuriated Layne, causing him to lose his rationality.


    When warriors went into a fit of rage, their strength would often increase or even exceed their limits.


    Layne''s next attack would co


    , the warriors could not help but stare in astonishment.


    "The Heavenly Tribulation is aimed at Layne?!"


    "Could the Heavenly Tribulation have been pulled down by the human warrior?"


    "How is this possible? I have never heard of such a thing before! Don''t you know that the Heavenly Tribulation only happens when a warrior is about to break through his cultivation base? It''s the wrath from the heavens!"


    The Heavenly Tribulation was a punishment, because the heavens could not tolerate the warriors becoming more strong and powerful. So how could the heavens follow a human''s order and activate the punishment?


    The warriors present had never heard of such a cultivation method before, so they did not think that explanation was reasonable.


    It was a mere coincidence.


    Zen had been waiting on his spot and Layne just happened to come at him while the Heavenly Tribulation was about to descend and interrupt them.


    How big of a coincidence!


    After the Thunder Tribulation disappeared, Layne''s figure also gradually faded away. A dot of red light once again flew back into the city. At the same time, dots of yellow light dissolved into Zen''s body.


    Previously, when Layne had been killed by Zen, Zen had obtained 140, 000 Illusion Points. Now, after killing him once again, Zen obtained another 70, 000 Illusion Points.


    This meant that Zen had earned a total of 210, 000 Illusion Points just from Layne.


    "I wonder if he will come again. 30, 000 Illusion Points is not a small number," Zen murmured airily.


    As for the surrounding warriors, they trembled in their hearts as they looked at Zen''s easy smile. Now, they were certain that the Heavenly Tribulation was most likely brought down by him. How did this human do it?

 Chapter 1529 Killing Layne For The Third Time

    There were also some strong masters scattered among the warriors on the city wall, and some of them were even stronger than Layne.


    Compared to the furious and excitable Layne, these masters were much calmer and more composed.


    When Zen had killed Layne for the first time and had obtained his 140, 000 Illusion Points, there were also some strong warriors on the walls who couldn''t resist the impulse and wanted to leave the city to immediately challenge Zen.


    They were all constantly evaluating Zen''s strength, and there were even a few ogre warriors among them who secretly negotiated with each other to attack Zen together, believing that a team effort might win the day.


    However, they all felt in their warrior hearts that Zen was an unfathomable and formidable adversary, so they eventually gave up on this idea, choosing to wait instead.


    When they saw that Layne had been killed by Zen for the second time, they all heaved a collective sigh of relief. Fortunately, they hadn''t leaped into action to attack Zen just now. They also could see that Zen was in a state of extreme readiness and wanted to fight and kill them...


    Since Zen had so easily dealt with Layne, his actual strength which remained hidden was likely much more than what they had seen. People always feared what they couldn''t see or understand, and Zen was a mystery to them.


    Zen was still floating in the air with a faint smile ghosting on his face. In the eyes of the many gathered warriors, his smile seemed even more unfathomable and mysterious.


    Not long after, a figure dashed madly towards Zen from the city, howling as he went. It was Layne, who had been killed twice already by Zen!


    Being killed twice by Zen was an unforgivable mistake in Layne''s eyes. At this moment, Layne was in a blind rage, as indignation and outrage had uncontrollably consumed him!


    This was also the main difference between a warrior from the Upper World and a warrior from the Lower World.


    The resources and even the vitality between heaven and earth of the warriors from the Lower World were hardly comparable to those of warriors from the Upper World. So in order to escape from the great world and fly into the Upper World, the Lower World''s warriors had to put in far more effort than warriors of the Upper World had to invest.


    For example, the Soul Sea Realm warriors could be called masters in the Lower World. They were already considered the most powerful warriors in the great worlds. The amount of time they spent reaching the Soul Sea Realm was also countless times more than the amount of time the Upper World''s warriors spent. This required a much more advanced level of dedication.


    As for the talented ogre like Layne, he was born when the world of chaos had begun and he was able to cultivate countless times faster than warriors did in the past. His warrior spirit hadn''t gone through the test of time, and he had also encountered very few dangers which would have molded and shaped his warrior spirit. Although his strength was far greater than that of those who had ascended from the Lower World, his mental state was inferior to that of the warriors who flew into the Upper World. He lacked the experience that they had earned the hard way.


    Layne would, of course, not accept the fact that he had been defeated by Zen twic


    Of course, Zen was much more remarkable than others, and merely describing him as excellent was obviously a bit inappropriate. The reason why he hadn''t won a much higher ranking yet was simply because the speed at which he collected the Illusion Points had slowed down a bit...


    At this moment, all the warriors of the Mist Palace were gathered in front of the pyramid, staring at the countless names from which the pyramid was formed.


    "The one who retains first place is still Nathan Xuanyuan from the Thoughtless Minds!"


    "Nathan Xuanyuan is the Godly Genius of the Thoughtless Minds! It''s been said that he has relied on the great skill of Supreme Lord of Original Sin to swallow a Heavenly Fragment and has therefore successfully endured the great suffering in his heart caused by the internal momentum. He indeed has the strength to rank first!"


    "Alas, our Mist Palace''s warriors don''t seem to have achieved great results, and none of them is outstanding! Up until now, not a single warrior has entered the top 10, 000! Layla is actually ranked around 110, 000th... I never thought that Javier''s performance would be better than hers, but he''s actually entered the top 80, 000!"


    "Don''t be so anxious. This is only the beginning. Zen has also not appeared yet, right?"


    "Well, I haven''t even found Zen''s name so far!"


    "I found Zen! He is ranked 3, 930, 000th! He has just entered into the top 5 million!" a warrior from the Mist Palace shouted in excitement.


    When Yolande, who had been silent all this time, heard those words, her eyes suddenly lit up brightly.


    Since the opening of the Illusion Battlefield, Zen had completely disappeared. Yolande had even suspected that Zen hadn''t entered the Illusion Battlefield! Now that she had finally heard Zen''s name for the first time, Yolande was greatly relieved.


    She trusted Zen. As long as he entered the Illusion Battlefield, he would definitely strive to achieve a good result!


    "He is only ranked 3, 930, 000th... What on earth is he trying to do?" someone grumbled in dissatisfaction. Regardless of the other fighters, Zen''s performance was completely inconsistent with the great performance he had delivered in the Passing the Torch!

 Chapter 1530 Deduction On Illusion Points

    The sound of doubtful whispers and chatters filled the area.


    It was because Zen was a cultivator from the Mist Palace.


    It would be acceptable if it was any other warrior. After all, warriors who had entered the top five million rankings were already considered as outstanding individuals in the whole universe.


    However, Zen had already set so many frightening records before that. Even the sword attack he had left in the Sword Practicing Hall still sat firmly at the top of the list, and shocked almost all the martial artists who entered the Sword Practicing Hall!


    Thus, the people were quite disappointed to know that such a man was still in the three million, nine hundred thousandth place in the rankings.


    It was even better if they didn''t see his rank in the list instead.


    There were Illusion Spaces in many places in the universe, and they were also in almost every sacred place. Zen was famous for tricking and killing Supreme Lords and occasionally telling stories through the Roaring Token, so it was natural for many people to look for his name.


    In addition, many more had also discovered his existence when he entered the top five million rankings.


    "Tsk, Zen is only so-so. The Illusion Battlefield has been opened for so long, but he is only ranked among top four million..."


    "I told you. This Zen is just lucky that he got that strange fairy palace. His own strength is not worth mentioning! How can he compete with the talents from the one hundred thousand supreme worlds?"


    "If he''s weaker than the others, he shouldn''t enter the Illusion Battlefield and embarrass himself!"


    "I heard that Zen got trapped in the fairy palace because he had killed four Supreme Lords. That is equivalent to a capital offence. Maybe he is also looking for a breakthrough in his cultivation to deal with that problem!"


    ...


    There were countless living beings in the universe, so many of them had still recognized Zen among the five million ranked names despite many creatures didn''t know him well. But soon enough, Zen''s ranking had spread throughout the universe.


    The ones who received the most attention were usually those who ranked in the top 100. However, Zen was an exception.


    Meanwhile, Zen himself floated about outside the main city.


    Many warriors in the main city got intimidated of him after he had killed Layne.


    Everyone there clearly knew how powerful Layne was. The majority of them couldn''t even withstand a single attack from him. Yet, this human martial artist named Zen had killed Layne three times--like he was a monster.


    With Zen''s display of his unfathomable strength, no warrior in the city was willing to surrender the Illusion Points they had painstakingly accumulated themselves.


    It wasn''t that there weren''t any martial artists who challenged


    e isn''t small either. One kill is worth a thousand Illusion Points, and I can get another 3, 000 Illusion Points every time I kill them¡­ A strong person can repeatedly kill the Celestial Mice here, '' Zen thought.


    Although it was a relatively safe method to acquire Illusion Points, many Soul Sea Realm warriors still found it tough to kill a Celestial Mouse, so that they would rather kill warriors outside the city.


    While Zen thought that their method of accumulating Illusion Points was a bit stupid, yet the speed at which he was accumulating the points wasn''t too fast either.


    ''I''ll enter the cave first. There must be something important inside since the Illusion Battlefield arranged them!''


    With that in mind, Zen didn''t hesitate any longer and he charged towards the three Celestial Mice in a flash.


    Since he had some experience before, dealing with the Celestial Mice now would be much easier.


    He used the Eight Smoky Melodies and the Thunderbolt Annihilation and lured the Celestial Mice into the thunder, then used the Heavenly Tribulation to kill them.


    After the 3, 000 Illusion Points entered his body, he headed straight for the cave.


    Just as he approached the cave, a beam of light blocked his path and a thought spoke in his mind.


    "Entering Evil Wind Cave requires 300, 000 Illusion Points."


    Zen nodded his head indifferently when he heard those words. "Alright," he said as he stared at the pitch black cave.


    "Whoosh!"


    There was a strange pulling force from the cave, which then pulled out the yellow points of light from Zen''s body. After that, all the yellow Illusion Points entered the beam of light.


    Zen had lost 300, 000 Illusion Points in a blink of an eye.


    Even if Zen had made this decision, he still felt his heart ache when he saw the numerous Illusion Points he''d worked so hard for quickly got taken away.

 Chapter 1531 The Ancient Temple

    Zen''s ranking fell dramatically the moment the Illusion Points left his body.


    The rankings in the pyramid were volatile given the heavy competition among trillions of warriors in gathering Illusion Points. The positions rose and fell constantly, even a tiny gap in points was enough to make a big difference.


    Those in the mid and bottom tiers did not normally merit much attention.


    But those at the top did. The top-tier warriors usually just changed spots amongst each other depending on the amount of points they had accumulated. However, the entire system would know if one of them ever lost and died.


    This was the case with Nathan who had previously been ranked as number one. It was quite a shock for everyone when he suddenly fell from the top spot all the way to the 40, 000th place.


    The only explanation they could come up for this was that he had been killed and had lost half of his accumulated Illusion Points.


    There were two points to be noted about this: the first one was that someone had managed to kill the number one warrior, and the second was that despite having lost half of his Illusion Points, Nathan was still at the 40, 000th place.


    It was quite a bit of speculation as to who exactly managed to kill him.


    Who had the skill to slay a Godly Genius of the Thoughtless Minds such as Nathan?


    They didn''t know at all.


    Back to Zen: his ranking still wasn''t that high but he was starting to make a name for himself.


    A number of warriors currently watched out for him, recognizing the potential the young man had in the rankings. So it was only natural that those who had paid attention to him were also curious why his name suddenly disappeared.


    Yolande, meanwhile, was astonished at this sudden turn of events.


    It was highly possible that Zen had been killed considering how much he had fallen down the ranks.


    If he lost half of his accumulated points, then she could more or less guess what ranking he was now at.


    But to her surprise, she did not find his name there. Yolande continued searching all the way down to the 12 millionth place but still couldn''t find Zen''s name.


    ''How could this be?'' she wondered.


    Even if he died once, it would be impossible for him to fall out of the top 10 million just like that. Or could it be¡­ Did Zen die twice in just a short period of time?!


    That shouldn''t be possible. Considering the amount of time it would take to bring someone back to life was quite long, dying twice in succession was extremely unlikely. "He didn''t. Did he?" she couldn''t help but mutter to herself in disbelief.


    She wasn''t worried, just shocked. Back in the Passing the Torch, Zen''s ranking had also started low but had been improved swiftly over the course of time. That young man had no problem bouncing back to the top right after having been kicked to the absolute bottom. The only reason she was still bothered was the fact that his ra


    ty though he didn''t really think it was likely. He had just paid 300, 000 Illusion Points after all, so this trip had better be worth it.


    Knowing all this, Zen then made his decision to pass by the Maitreya Buddha and proceed into the temple''s adytum.


    Unbeknownst to Zen, the statue he had carelessly passed by had now dropped its smile.


    The Maitreya Buddha''s eyes and mouth had turned upside down, indicating the malice present in its expression.


    Truth be told, it was the stuff of nightmares.


    Bang!


    Zen jumped from the loud noise of the two doors slamming shut behind him. He had just entered the adytum but it seemed he was now trapped inside.


    The doors were wooden and were mostly in a state of disrepair. He could easily shatter them from the looks of them but Zen decided against it.


    Looks could be extremely deceiving. If an ancient temple had the capacity to trap someone like him, then he didn''t think he''d really be able to shatter these decrepit doors so easily.


    Realizing he had nowhere to go, Zen quickly glanced around and took in his surroundings.


    Four other Buddha statues joined him in this quiet space. These statues wore monastic robes and held long sticks that were pointed towards the center of the adytum where Zen was currently at.


    "Are they arhats?" Zen muttered in confusion.


    Just as he sized these statues up, his ears suddenly perked up at the sound of something crackling.


    He quickly whipped his head and immediately realized the cause of the noise.


    The four Buddha statues had cracked but not from damage. They cracked because they were quickly beginning to mobilize.


    Within a short period of time, these four, formerly non-living, statues were fully mobile. They jumped off their lotus-shaped bases and immediately charged towards Zen.


    You''d think being made of stone would slow them down, but they ran like average, flesh-and-blood humans which didn''t help Zen one bit.

 Chapter 1532 Golden Buddha

    The four arhat statues held long sticks in their hands. One of the statues pointed, one stabbed, one hacked, and one swept. The coordination among the arhats was flawless.


    They were not too speedy and their power not too shocking, but when Zen looked them over, he could not find any imperfections in them. The shadows of the sticks seemed to have sealed off all of Zen''s escape routes.


    "What exquisite stick techniques!"


    However, even if there were no flaws, it did not mean that Zen failed to break through the stick attacks of the four arhat statues.


    He took a step forward perfunctorily and his figure disappeared from where he stood, appearing behind one of the arhat statues in the next instant.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Even though Zen had teleported through space, three shadows of the sticks still followed him.


    Facing these stick shadows, Zen seemed to be calm. His right hand moved like lightning and pressed on the arhat statue in front of him.


    Clang!


    The arhat statue shattered, accompanied by the sound of debris disintegrating.


    The moment the arhat statue broke, Zen leaped like a fish out of water. He took Sword Steps to avoid the three stick shadows, then he teleported through space again and appeared behind another arhat statue.


    He hit this particular arhat statue like he had done to the other one.


    Clang!


    The stick techniques of the four arhat statues were indeed marvelous and their teamwork flawless.


    But anyhow, he was facing only four stone arhat statues. With Zen''s tough physique, allowing these stick shadows to hit him could not cause him much damage.


    Clang!


    Clang!


    Within moments, all the four statues were destroyed by Zen.


    Now Zen''s gaze landed on the entrance of the adytum. The instant the arhat statues shattered, the adytum''s door opened by itself. There was no wind that assisted it.


    "There is another adytum within the adytum?"


    Zen was confused. Before he entered the ancient temple, he had observed that it was not large. However, now he could see another adytum inside the adytum. The size obviously exceeded Zen''s calculations.


    Despite his doubt, Zen did not hesitate and once again stepped into the new adytum.


    Entering the second adytum, Zen looked around and found another group of four arhat statues.


    "Another four statues..."


    However, these four were slightly different from the previous group.


    The four statues in the first adytum had been the Holding Staff Arhats. Their eyes were solemn and alert, and they had a spirit of eliminating devils.


    But the arhat statues in the second adytum looked quite jolly. They celebrated with their hands held high. Zen glanced at them and found himself influenced by their aura. He felt much more relaxed.


    "Happy Arhat..."


    Many kinds of arhats existed in the world. Although Zen had never been to the Blessed Buddha Land before, he knew


    h the four arhat statues, they were repelled by mysterious palm shadows.


    "Come on!"


    A glint flashed in Zen''s eyes.


    The Thunder Wind Divine Sword had been activated to its limit by Zen. Other than the Nether God Shadows, the wind blades were like blossoming lotuses. Each of the wind blades floated along with the wind like petals. However, these ''petals'' contained a very powerful and destructive force.


    There were also streaks of lightning that shot out. The release was slower than that of the wind blades, but they reached the arhats before the blades did and struck at the four Taming Tiger Arhats.


    Crack! Swish! Swish!


    All kinds of powers were being emitted within the adytum. Zen, who was in the middle of the powers, looked like the center of a typhoon. He still looked on calmly, no hint of panic in his stance. Not even the sleeves of his robes swayed in the chaos.


    The four arhat statues deployed their hitting method to the extreme. Every single one of the Taming Tiger Arhats brandished the power in their palms. As one palm print swung out, a faint image of a fierce tiger pounced out. In an instant, three to four hundred palm prints were launched. The four Taming Tiger Arhats all waved their palms at the same time, as if a thousand fierce tigers were circling and roaring around Zen!


    The shadows of the ferocious tigers slowly nullified the momentum launched by Zen''s sword. The two sides had come to a deadlock.


    At this moment, deep within the ancient temple, a massive golden Buddha opened its eyes.


    The golden Buddha held a sword in one hand and a lotus in the other. His face was calm and imposing. He was indifferent when he felt Zen''s sword aura.


    "In this grand era, another young fellow who cultivates the Emotion Closing Godly Way has come. The Emotion Closing Godly Way has been sealed for over a hundred grand eras. How has it suddenly appeared a number of times in a row?"

 Chapter 1533 The Genuine Dragon

    This great Buddha was rather seemingly lost in thought for a moment.


    In reality, Zen did not, in any way, utilized the Gods-intimidating Strike at the given circumstance, though after practicing the Gods-intimidating Strike for years, Zen had become proficient in that sword skill like it was a piece of cake. And with time, his heart gradually discarded a lot of intense emotions.


    But in spite of everything, he couldn''t afford still to sever or detach all of his emotions outright. Since this was the case, his execution of the Gods-intimidating Strike was nowhere to be perfect.


    Even though he had never put to use the Gods-intimidating Strike for all these years, there was still a lingering trace of ruthlessness hidden within his sword attacks. This ruthlessness didn''t escape the great Buddha''s notice. And he even further realized that what Zen learned and practiced before was the Emotion Closing Godly Way.


    Traces of chaotic energy were forcefully extracted out by Zen from the chaotic sea.


    The strands of chaotic energy had transformed swiftly into lightning and wind blades that scattered freely in every direction. There were even Nether God Shadows that appeared among them.


    Squarely confronting the four arhats for merely fifteen seconds, Zen was quick as he charged towards one of the Taming Tiger Arhats as the light in his eyes flickered.


    The four arhats undoubtedly could take the lightning and wind blades from the Thunder Wind Divine Sword by carrying out violent and forceful palm counterattacks. However, having reached their limits now, they were on the verge of losing their edge. Their moves looked finely exquisite, but still, there were flaws discernible in one''s naked eye.


    Zen''s eyes were too sharp to let their flaws go unnoticed. Taking advantage of this, he rushed closer to the arhat in no time.


    He was rushing head-on as fast as lightning.


    Zen had already positioned his palm fluidly flat on the arhat''s chest long before the latter realized what was going on.


    "Break!"


    With Zen uttering the single word, a loud bang rang out as a distinct handprint appeared on the firm chest of the Taming Tiger Arhat. And within just seconds, the cracks, surrounding the handprint, quickly spread out covering the entire arhat''s body.


    Though Zen launched his attack a bit later than his opponents, his one powerful strike had defeated one of the arhats in a matter of split seconds. The wind blades smashed the arhat, and directly blew away the rubble.


    After successfully shattering the arhat statue in front of him, Zen did not stop himself for a moment. His deft figure lightly spun around, and the long sword hanging by his side suddenly moved in up thrust motion, sweeping out a dazzling sword light in the air. He then surged towards another Taming Tiger Arhat next to him.


    "Bang!"


    The blazing sword light instantly engulfed the Taming Tiger Arhat wholly.


    The arhat had been throwing several powerful palm shadows towards Zen, but its movement froze midway. The moment Zen turned his back to dash towards the next arhat, fine thin cracks had appeared and also spread out instantly on the arhat''s body, breaking it into smooth pieces.


    "Pah! Pah!"


    The remaining two Taming Tiger Arhat


    as they struck out, aiming towards Zen''s chest.


    Zen engaged a sneak attack but failed. And he hadn''t been able to counterattack in defense when the arhat managed to assault him in a short space of time!


    "What a powerful strength!"


    Zen quickly felt a sudden surge of overwhelming power gushing towards him.


    His entire body was sent flying backward with a loud thud as his two feet plowed a jagged groove into the ground. Then, he heavily smashed into a wall before landing at last on the other side of the adytum.


    "Boom!"


    When Zen collided with such a powerful force, the shock was so nasty and violently forceful!


    In the Lower World, if he hit a mountain like this, not only it would collapse, but also the row of mountains behind it would crash down successively like a domino effect.


    The walls of the adytum quite looked old and dilapidated. It was as if a strong gale could destroy this ruined ancient temple in one blow. But with that kind of force, the walls of the temple sustained resistance and not even budged at all when Zen''s body slammed into it!


    But still and all, here was the Illusion Battlefield.


    The city walls here also looked ordinary, but even the most powerful warriors couldn''t destroy them. There must be plausible explanations for this. But come to think of it, how could it be possible that the things constructed by the heavens would be so easy to destroy?


    Zen wasn''t in the mood to think about all this. His sole focus was on the Genuine Dragon on the arhat''s shoulder!


    Though part of the immense strength possessed by Zen was from Genuine Dragons as well, he had never thought that this arhat would be able to do the same.


    At the time the arhat had struck out with its palms, the dragon scales on the Genuine Dragon also began to light up one by one, flashing with a jade-green luster.


    This Genuine Dragon was only a stone sculpture, so Zen could still take it down even though its power was seemingly terrifying after it illuminated all of the scales on its body.


    However, if it were a real dragon, then Zen would have been long smashed to ashes right after all the scales in its body turned ablaze.

 Chapter 1534 Multiple Stars Brilliance

    Zen did not dare to underestimate these four Taming Dragon Arhats.


    The power of the dragon scales had reached a terrifying level. An ordinary Soul Sea Realm warrior would have been torn into pieces if he was hit by that powerfully infused palm!


    Though Zen was leaning against the wall, his heart was filled to the brim with a competitive spirit!


    Both of them possessed the power of the dragon scales, but he wanted to see just who had the strongest power!


    The Genuine Dragon on the Taming Dragon Arhat''s shoulder was very remarkable indeed. It was a pity that Zen was in the Illusion Battlefield, for although he could use the power of his dragon scales, he could not let the cyan dragon''s soul project inside. In the Illusion Battlefield he was unable to communicate with the cyan dragon, and in the same way, he could use the sword spirit, but he was also unable to communicate with Lavender. Even if he summoned the sword spirit, Lavender''s soul was not within it. Zen was fighting on his own in here, and could not consult with either the cyan dragon or Lavender, upon whose counsel he had come to rely greatly.


    As he thought of this, Zen did not hesitate further. The nearest Taming Dragon Arhat was already rushing towards him, and as the Arhat clapped its hands, the Genuine Dragon on its shoulder began to shine with a green light, and the power of dragon scales poured into the arhat statue!


    As Zen weaved his hands, the power of the dragon scales also surged into his body. Without the slightest intention of dodging, he also stretched out both of his palms, readying himself to face the charge.


    "Roar!"


    In comparison, the Taming Dragon Arhat''s two palms also stretched out, but were accompanied by the sound of the dragon''s roar. The stone sculpture of the Genuine Dragon on the Arhat''s shoulder also raised its head and roared, adding its voice to the charge. The momentum created seemed even more formidable.


    In the blink of an eye, two sets of palms slammed into each other!


    "Boom!"


    Accompanied by a loud booming rumble, Zen''s body was once again cast backwards upon impact.


    As Zen flew backwards, he felt that his blood was roiling and he also felt extremely uncomfortable. The power of the Taming Dragon Arhat was indeed extraordinary!


    However, when Zen was sent flying, so was the Taming Dragon Arhat.


    If the Taming Dragon Arhat had just been an ordinary Buddha statue, Zen would surely have smashed the Arhat into powder with the might of his palm strike.


    But the Taming Dragon Arhat was several times stronger and fiercer than the previous sculptures that Zen had encountered. After all, the body of the Taming Dragon Arhat had to withstand the power of the dragon scales from the Genuine Dragon''s statue. If the Arhat''s body was not strong or firm enough, it might collapse before the formidable power was released into it.


    Zen''s previous physical body too could not bear much power of the dragon scales. If he had forcefully channeled the power of the dragon scales into his body, his physical body would have collapsed first.


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    Two loud echoes reverberated within the adytum.


    The sounds had been cause


    s. They looked weightless, but the power contained within them could not be underestimated.


    The three hundred beams of starlight mixed together, with a great multitude of varying colors: crimson, orange, yellow, green, white, purple, blue, and red. Those gorgeous colors fused together and formed a motley rainbow of starlight, but as a result they were becoming extremely unstable!


    After this multicolored mass of starlight had formed, Zen immediately shot it out. If he hesitated for even three seconds, Zen would probably have been swept up in it too and been devoured by the might of this starlight!


    "Multiple Stars Brilliance!"


    "Buzz¡­"


    A deafeningly sharp sound exploded from the multicolored starlight!


    At this moment, the mass of starlight arrived in front of the four Taming Dragon Arhats.


    "Explode!"


    This condensed mass of starlight contained the intense power of three hundred stars. When it erupted and exploded, the different kinds of power were repelled and fused with each other. The starlight emitted was extremely powerful and shocking!


    The entire adytum was covered in the blinding starlight, making it impossible for anyone to clearly see the situation within!


    However, the massive golden Buddha within the depths of the ancient temple opened his eyes and stared intently at the adytum, with an indifferent expression on his great, rounded face.


    The golden Buddha saw that the four Taming Dragon Arhats were constantly shattering, and that the stone sculptures of the four Genuine Dragons on the Arhats'' shoulders were also beginning to shatter... Even though the strands of golden light inside their bodies actively tried to repair their bodies, the light had immediately been destroyed by the starlight the moment it had appeared...


    "The Taming Dragon Arhats cannot be killed. Help me test this guy. I want to see just how much of the Emotion Closing Godly Way he has mastered..."


    After speaking, the golden giant Buddha waved the lotus in his left hand, and with a golden flash, the Taming Dragon Arhats, which were supposed to have been destroyed, had all recovered!

 Chapter 1535 Past Solemn Kalpa

    The golden light of the four Taming Dragon Arhats had been annihilated by the starlight.


    But with the interference of the giant golden Buddha, the light within their bodies grew even more resplendent. The stone statues that had been shattered previously merged together within seconds, returning to their original states.


    The starlight that dispersed throughout the adytum dimmed gradually.


    Zen''s figure emerged from the shadows. When he looked at the four unharmed Taming Dragon Arhats, his face revealed a look of surprise and the expression on his face turned cold.


    He was stunned at how strong the four statues of the Taming Dragon Arhats were.


    This was the first time that Zen had used the Multiple Stars Brilliance, but he had no doubt about its enormous destructive power. It was the most explosive move in the Stellar Body.


    Such a strong attack was still unable to defeat the four Taming Dragon Arhats. What happened confused Zen. He had not predicted this.


    He had encountered all eighteen types of arhats in succession in the adytums. The strength of the arhats increased ever so slightly as he passed through the adytums one by one, but that difference was not very noteworthy.


    The Taming Dragon Arhats resided in the last adytum. It was not a surprise that they were stronger.


    So far, Zen''s methods had failed to destroy the four arhats. This meant trouble for him.


    What he did not know was that the arhats had returned to their original state only because someone had intervened in secret.


    The four Taming Dragon Arhats did not stop moving as the dragon scales of the Genuine Dragons on their shoulders quivered and shone. Once again they charged toward Zen from four different directions.


    If it had been any other martial artist facing the arhats, he would have perhaps lost all hope in such a situation.


    However, to Zen, the trouble before him was just a trouble that he had to tackle.


    Facing the four arhats coming at him, Zen''s face was inscrutable. Once again, he raised the Thunder Wind Divine Sword high in the air. The long and narrow sword had been hanging at his side. A faint sword intent lingered around the sword blade, curled like a venomous snake. It then spread forward in the air.


    Zen''s gaze was cold as he looked at the arhats. It was as if he had become an expressionless statue at this moment.


    Just as he raised the Thunder Wind Divine Sword, something flickered in the eyes of the giant Buddha who was residing in the depths of the ancient temple.


    "As I expected, the boy cultivates the Emotion Closing Godly Way... Although his cultivation is not yet complete, he has reached his limits for he has comprehended this cold and cruel sword intent at his Soul Sea Realm cultivation. If he can finish the last bit of the Emotion Closing Godly Way and comprehend the


    was abnormally forceful. It could heal the wounds of the arhats right away.


    The golden light, in fact, was a power that came from the Buddhist scripture, ''Past Solemn Kalpa''!


    Buddha''s heart held onto the past. Therefore, after going through the tribulation of life and death, it was restored to its original state.


    The golden light was what caused the statues of the Taming Dragon Arhats to return to the state they had been in before being hacked to pieces.


    However, the stone statue was still just a statue, after all. The golden light was not infinite. As Zen attacked it repeatedly, the golden light seemed to lose its vigor.


    "If you still wish to recover, I will turn you all into dust!"


    Zen''s emotionless voice rang in the air as he brandished the Thunder Wind Divine Sword in his hand, breaking the rocks to even smaller pieces!


    As the light flickered and grew weak, Zen knew that this battle was about to come to an end.


    Just as this hope emerged in him, the golden light in the rubble suddenly brightened. It was now ten times more luminous than the light from before.


    At the same time, the broken pieces of stones vibrated strenuously, as if about to stick together once again.


    "What!"


    Zen realized that something was wrong.


    The golden light had clearly gone pale moments before. How did it get so brilliant all of a sudden?


    The sword in his hand did not stop. Zen looked ahead into the depths of this ancient temple and sensed that something was amiss. Had someone intervened in the fight just now?


    A thought rose in the mind of the golden giant Buddha. His Buddhist heart had already reached the Mahayana stage. However, as he saw Zen display such a frosty sword move so casually, he pondered on it in silence.


    The young boy at the Soul Sea Realm seemed to execute the martial skill without using his life vitality. How was it possible?

 Chapter 1536 Teleportation Token

    The giant golden Buddha could''ve just let Zen go.


    However, he was too curious about him to do that.


    This young man had relied on his own strength and went past all the eighteen arhats. This was someone who was worth attention.


    Once Soul Sea Realm warriors opened up their Soul Seas, their life vitality would liquefy, turn into seawater, and get stored in their inner worlds.


    This way, a Soul Sea Realm warrior would be able to store huge, but still limited, life vitality in their bodies.


    The size of a warrior''s Soul Sea was limited.


    The golden Buddha had previously deduced that Zen would only be able to use the Gods-intimidating Strike twice, at most.


    One strike would''ve already consumed more than half of his life vitality.


    A second one would dry up his entire Soul Sea.


    Despite being more talented than other people, Zen''s Soul Sea still wouldn''t be limitless. His capacity was just naturally limited.


    Not even a second Soul Sea would help him. In fact, it would only add one measly sword strike to his limit.


    This would mean a total of three strikes. It was worth noting that, in this universe, anyone who could summon the Gods-intimidating Strike four times would already be considered as one of the most powerful figures amongst the major forces.


    Of course, Zen was someone who continuously defied conventional expectations. He hadn''t used two, or three, not even four strikes. Zen Luo stood there calmly and released seventeen sword strikes against his enemies.


    To say that the golden Buddha was shocked was an understatement.


    There was just no way! This young man had just done the impossible. Did he perhaps have a treasure that could instantly replenish the life vitality in his body? Maybe he practiced some sort of magical skill that enabled him to constantly extract life vitality from somewhere? But if he had done so, the golden Buddha would''ve surely noticed.


    Curious about how this young man managed to do this, the golden Buddha quickly activated the golden light hidden within the four arhats.


    The golden Buddha wasn''t the first to doubt Zen like this. Gus, whom the young man had run into a few years ago, also had the same reservations.


    The only reason why Gus was able to go beyond his doubts was because of his faith in his master and the rigorous conditions his master required in accepting a disciple.


    Zen''s chaotic sea, which was incomparable to the sea of life vitality, was thus quickly noticed by Gus.


    The golden Buddha was perfectly aware of the existence of chaotic energy. It could be considered the energy of origin for all living beings, though, at the same time, it was also the energy of death. Chaotic energy was poison for all living things and anyone, except perhaps a great avatar, would die with a single touch.


    Thus it never entered the Buddh


    asts or teleportation. It was through teleportation that the Supreme Lords were able to get to the fairy palace back then.


    "With this Teleportation Token, can I teleport myself across the universe?"


    Zen had spent 300, 000 Illusion Points in entering this cave so it was only natural that he had high hopes.


    Fortunately, he thought the Teleportation Token he got was an equal exchange for the loss of so many Illusion Points.


    This was something that could solve an annoying problem he currently faced.


    The Illusion Battlefield Zen was in was divided into fifty supreme worlds.


    If he did not want to use a passageway, then crossing a supreme world was going to be very time-consuming and exhausting for him.


    However, this Teleportation Token changed things. With this, he would now be able to travel back and forth the supreme worlds with little effort.


    This thought made him very excited.


    Zen quickly grabbed the token and took another look at the ancient temple''s depths.


    He could feel the presence of a number of powerful individuals within the inner court but he knew it was not in his authority to pry.


    After placing the token in the Sumeru Space, Zen quickly turned his heel and left.


    As soon as he stepped out, he was suddenly transported back to the outer courtyard where the little six-winged worm flickered into existence once again, as if waiting for him.


    Zen couldn''t help but notice the smile that had replaced the worm''s earlier vicious glare.


    He followed it on the path towards the entrance. The spinning lights were still there but Zen now found himself walking at ease which was a huge difference to how tense he was when he had first entered.


    Just as he reached the entrance, he heard a loud noise and a bit of a scuffle. From his position, he saw numerous Illusion Points at the mouth of the cave and the corpses of several warriors.

 Chapter 1537 Getting The Illusion Points Effortlessly

    The sounds of metal weapons clanking against each other were heard. The ground shook as about seven ogre martial artists fought against three Celestial Mice.


    Zen had killed three Celestial Mice when he had entered the cave before, but three more had appeared after.


    While Zen had discovered the cave a bit earlier, other martial artists came across it as well.


    A martial artist had probably first discovered the cave, but couldn''t defeat the Celestial Mice. Thus, he returned to the main city and asked his companions for help.


    There were currently about seven surviving martial artists left, who all saw the Illusion Points on the ground condense into balls and float in the air. Then, the corpses of the dead martial artists gradually disappeared.


    Zen counted the Illusion Points that turned into balls of light and estimated that there were more than ten of them. He reckoned that the Celestial Mice had killed more than ten martial artists who had been sent back to the main city to be resurrected.


    It was known that martial artists who killed other martial artists could absorb their fallen opponents'' Illusion Points for themselves.


    However, the Celestial Mice didn''t absorb Illusion Points. The martial artists released half their Illusion Points after they died, so the points in front of Zen didn''t have an owner now.


    He could get these points effortlessly. There was no way he was letting them go!


    He moved towards the first ball of Illusion Points in a flash. He lightly touched them, and then his body easily absorbed the yellow Illusion Points.


    Meanwhile, the seven ogre martial artists saw what Zen did.


    "How dare you!" "You''re courting death!"


    "If you dare to absorb the Illusion Points of our brothers, we will chase you all the way to the ends of the earth!"


    Their loud and furious shouts resonated throughout the wilderness, but they were still busy dealing with the three Celestial mice.


    The three Celestial Mice were still moving at a weird speed. They used their sharp front teeth to bite the ogres'' bodies from time to time. Their teeth which could gnaw through the ogres'' armor could be used as divine weapons. Although the ogres had thick and rough skins, they had gotten deep wounds which even revealed some of their bones.


    These ogres knew that treasures were hidden in the cave. However, they had to join forces since the Celestial Mice were just too strong.


    The sky turned a tad darker, and more than ten martial artists had been killed by now.


    Luckily, the Celestial Mice didn''t absorb the Illusion Points. The dead martial artists were sent back to the main city by force. Then, they could just rush back to the cave and absorb their Illusion Points after they were revived.


    umerous Illusion Points.


    The Illusion Points floated in the air for a moment before they finally flew towards Zen''s body.


    The six ogre martial artists got to make it until the end. They were much stronger than their clansmen who had been killed before, so they had more Illusion Points. Each of them had 10, 000 Illusion Points on average.


    Combined with the three Celestial Mice''s Illusion Points, Zen''s Illusion Points had now been restored to 130, 000.


    "I''m pretty lucky," Zen said with a small smile as he floated gently and gazed into the distance.


    This supreme world contained countless main cities, and the Illusion Battlefield was divided into fifty supreme worlds. Now that he possessed the Teleportation Token, he no longer needed to return to that main city. Now was the time for him to frantically plunder the Illusion Points.


    However, he still had to make sure if the Teleportation Token was effective as he expected it to be.


    With that in mind, he took out the Teleportation Token that was forged from white jade. He then extracted a trace of chaotic energy from the chaotic sea and injected it into the token.


    The Teleportation Token released a faint white light the moment it was activated, which was then extinguished.


    A crease formed between Zen''s brow at the strange scene.


    "The Teleportation Token¡­ Is it useless?"


    However, the Teleportation Token in his hand suddenly began to tremble violently within the next second.


    A powerful force was transmitted from within the Teleportation Token, and then Zen was quickly wrapped in the blazing white light. It was so bright that it was as if a small sun had risen from the wilderness.


    After quite a long while, the incandescent ball of white light dissipated.


    It was gone in a flash, and it took Zen with it from where he stood.

 Chapter 1538 Teleportation

    After activating the Teleportation Token, Zen entered a mystical space.


    Countless red dots lay at his feet as he stood still in a daze.


    According to his conjecture, this Teleportation Token could be used to help him execute the Grand Teleportation technique, allowing him to traverse millions of miles away instantly and move freely within this supreme world.


    Never did he expect that after activating the Teleportation Token, he would be able to escape into such a wonderful space¡ªit completely exceeded the scope of anyone''s imagination.


    "The red dots below should represent all the main cities of this supreme world¡­ This is where I belong!"


    The red dots below scattered until they were evenly distributed on the surface. Among them, one dot was cyan in color¡ªnot far from this dot was another main city.


    This was where Zen arrived after entering the Illusion Space¡ªnever did he imagine that he would be assigned to the outskirts of the supreme world.


    Just like the map indicated, the main city wasn''t too far away from him.


    Except this area, the other cities were still a rather long way from there.


    Recklessly, Zen decided that if he relied on his flying speed to move forward, it would probably take him quite a bit of time to reach the neighboring main city.


    "Can the Teleportation Token only be used as a map?"


    If this token could mark the main cities but failed to teleport Zen away, then what was the point of Zen going through so much to obtain the token? The time and effort he put into it would have been for naught.


    With that thought, Zen carefully fumbled with the token.


    After a moment of drifting in this space, Zen headed straight for one of the red dots.


    Just as he arrived at the top of the red dot, the one below him started spinning until a white light shot out from its center. It began spinning faster and faster while releasing an intense force of the Space Law.


    "This is a transmission channel! Furthermore... This channel seems to connect directly to the main city that this dot signifies.


    How interesting¡­


    If that''s the case, won''t all the main cities be free to visit?"


    Zen''s heart pounded rapidly¡ªif this was the case, he could easily loot all the main cities of the supreme world.


    The space wasn''t particularly large¡ªit was only a few dozen miles wide. When Zen walked around in the space and passed a red dot, it would spread out, creating a teleportation channel, offering him a path to enter the main city. If he entered the passage, the transmission channel would disappear.


    A supreme world had tens of thousands of main cities, meaning that Zen had seemingly limitle


    sn''t keen on bringing it out in front of anyone else. For now, he merely appeared in the city¡ªhe decided he would let the people guess for themselves.


    "This is a city where human warriors gather."


    After examining his surroundings, Zen came to such a conclusion. This main city had the same architectural style as the human race''s, after all, and everyone around him seemed to be a human.


    But whatever the race, it wasn''t important to Zen. He chose to enter the city to challenge those fat sheep and obtain their Illusion Points.


    With that thought, Zen left the central zone and prepared to try his luck outside the city.


    But just as he was about to step outside, a warrior called to him, "Did you just arrive in this city?"


    Hearing the question, Zen stopped in his steps to turn around and look the warrior in the eye. "Yes. What''s wrong?"


    "We have rules in this city. Visitors have to register and surrender half of their Illusion Points to the city lord in order to leave safely," the warrior explained, giving Zen a careful look.


    "City lord? We are in the Illusion Battlefield. How could there be a city lord? As for my Illusion Points, they''re inseparable. How can I just hand them over to the city lord?" The fact rather surprised Zen.


    "I''m not sure if the other cities have city lords," the warrior replied. "But we do. As for the payment of points, it''s simple. If you let the city lord kill you once, you''ll easily be surrendering half."


    Finally, Zen understood¡ªhe didn''t know whether to laugh or to cry at the ridiculous thought. The term ''city lord'' still took him aback. It seemed likely that the city lord was someone like Ezra, who relied on his influence and power to squeeze out points from others, more deserving warriors.

 Chapter 1539 The City Lord (Part One)

    However, in this main city, the nefarious deed of squeezing or nipping others'' Illusion Points was done openly and systematically.


    Someone had become the self-proclaimed city lord and more than that, the lord had ordered all the martial artists in the city to submit to his or her will and laws. In fact, handing in half of their Illusion Points was the same as getting killed once by the city lord. The self-proclaimed lord was so brazenly arrogant to demand that term to be met.


    When the warrior saw Zen''s outraged expression, he warned, "I advise you to obey and go register right away, otherwise you may not be able to leave this city ever again!"


    "What do you mean ''unable to leave the city''?" Despite Zen''s cold agitation, his interest was also piqued at the same time.


    If this "city lord" had really been milking all of the warriors in the city for their valuable Illusion Points, then the number of Illusion Points that this individual had amassed must be huge indeed! Zen could only smile at the juicy target that this had created.


    In confronting this "city lord", it would save Zen a lot of trouble to secure a prodigious amount of Illusion Points in one fell swoop. Zen''s grin spread even further and he looked like a cat that stole the cream.


    The warrior chuckled. "The city lord has already taken control of this city. If you do not register and hand over your Illusion Points, you will be an easy target for hordes of other warriors who will attack and kill once you leave the city! Under this situation, how do you expect to leave and survive?"


    Zen''s eyes flashed faintly. He did love a challenge! The situation the warrior had described was only for ordinary martial artists.


    Since the main city was so big, even if he proved to be no match for the city lord


    d in this city in the first place, but they had accidentally trespassed into the surrounding areas of this city while exploring the wilderness. As a result, they were killed by the many vicious legendary beasts which roamed in this region.


    According to the rules of the Illusion Battlefield, if any warriors died in the wilds, they would be made to revive in the nearest main city. This main city was the closest to them, so after reviving, they would automatically enter this city¡­ Entering this main city meant that they would have to be killed by the city lord again in order to leave here safely.


    The reason why Zen was queuing here was not to hand over his Illusion Points. Illusion Points were so precious, how could he give them away to others so easily?


    His target was the city lord of this main city!


    After waiting for about five minutes in the long line, it was finally his turn.


    "Name!" The warrior in charge of registrations called coldly.


    "Thad Luo," Zen said faintly.


    "Which force of the human race are you from? Which world? And which sacred place?" the warrior continued to ask, barely looking up at Zen as he began to scribble with a quill on a parchment.

 Chapter 1540 The City Lord (Part Two)

    "Why do you have to know these things?" Zen asked.


    "Answer my questions!" The warrior now stared coldly at Zen.


    The corner of Zen''s mouth twitched into a faint smile when he saw the warrior''s stern face. The "city lord" must have a strong background since he had so many warriors to serve him; otherwise, there wouldn''t have been so many people following him.


    After all, everyone was of equal status in the Illusion Battlefield. This reminded Zen of Ezra, whom Zen assumed must also have a strong background among the ogre race. However, Ezra had only managed to trick a small number of ogre warriors to serve him in the beginning. When many of the ogre warriors realized what was really going on, no one had followed his orders.


    The reason why this "city lord" had such a rallying power could only be due to his status outside of the Illusion Battlefield!


    "The Humanity Alliance, Spirit Reading World, Spiritual Force Sacred Place," Zen replied mechanically.


    Hearing Zen''s words, the warrior lightly sized him up, then he called another martial artist and said, "Okay, follow him to the outside of the city. After you''ve paid your Illusion Points, you can leave!"


    Zen''s face was expressionless as he followed the other warrior to the north gate of the main city.


    When he arrived at the edge of the city, Zen finally understood why the first warrior had warned him that there would be no chance for him to leave this city without permission!


    On the walls of the main city, at every hundred feet, stood a Soul Sea Realm warrior who was like an iron tower. These warriors were wearing black armors and wielded light golden sabers in their hands. They looked as solemn and unforg


    s in narrow slits. He had been gathering energy for a long time, and now that he activated the black sword in his hand with that energy, he could use it like it was an extension of his body.


    The radiance on the sword erupted. In the blink of an eye, the black long sword had slashed out!


    "Puff, puff, puff¡­"


    As blood splashed, seven or eight red dots of light wrapped around the souls of these martial artists and flew into the main city behind them where they would wait to be resurrected.


    In addition, the yellow light dots of their Illusion Points burst forth from the ground. Because these martial artists had been slain by the blue-robed martial artist, these Illusion Points shot directly towards the blue-clothed martial artist!


    ''It certainly saves a lot of time in accumulating Illusion Points this way...'' Zen thought. Following this line of logic, the number of Illusion Points which this guy had accumulated must definitely be quite significant. "Is he the city lord of this main city?" Zen asked immediately.


    To his surprise, the warrior who was leading the way shook his head and said, "No, he''s not."

 Chapter 1541 Pay The Illusion Points

    "He''s not the city lord?" Zen asked in confusion.


    "Our city lord does not need to kill warriors to accumulate Illusion Points," the warrior explained. "This particular warrior is the city lord''s subordinate. He helps the city lord obtain the Illusion Points, and then hands them over to the city lord."


    Naturally, the "handing them over" could only be achieved by the city lord killing the subordinate.


    This meant that the city lord had no need to personally kill the numerous warriors in the city to harvest Illusion Points. Instead, the city lord had this subordinate kill them, and then killed the subordinate to obtain the Illusion Points.


    As Zen realized this, he smiled ruefully. He actually felt a trace of admiration for the city lord.


    The city lord was only a warrior at the Soul Sea Realm. However, in such a short time, he or she had established a set of rules in the Illusion Space and was able to implement them layer by layer. Whoever this person was, he or she was obviously a talented person.


    "Next batch!"


    The blue-robed warrior brandished his black sword. His sharp, hawk-like gaze swept across the area as he calculated his next move.


    "Move!" urged the warrior who had brought Zen here. "Once you pay half of your Illusion Points, they won''t make things difficult for you again."


    About seven or eight warriors flanked both sides of the city gates, all clearly very self-conscious. They walked toward the blue-robed warrior and let him kill them one by one, giving away half of their Illusion Points to him in the process.


    Zen was a bit depressed as he followed the warriors.


    His target was the city lord, not the blue-robed warrior in front of him.


    By doing this, the city lord must have accumulated a large number of Illusion Points. If Zen were to kill the city lord, he could obtain half of those Illusion Points as well, which was the most economical way to do it.


    However, he had not expected the city lord to avoid coming here personally. Instead, the city lord had sent over this particular subordinate.


    The blue-robed warrior glanced knowingly at the warriors. His eyes then fell on Zen. He could faintly feel the hidden aura in Zen.


    However, he did not take it seriously. No one in this city dared disobey the city lord, unless they planned to stay in the city forever.


    Surprisingly, such warriors really existed. Some people could not bear to have such a method used against them, but they could not fight the system. Thus, they stayed in the city and cursed at the city lord and his or her subordinates at every opportunity.


    But what was the use of it?


    Fighters relied on strength, not their tongues.


    "Stand well," the blue-robed warrior said coldly. He waved the black sword in his hand in a circle and once again felt an uncomfortable feeling rise in his heart. His eyes met Zen once again, and he asked, "What is your name? Which force are you from?"


    "I''ve already been registered," Zen re


    were wide like saucers, a hint of fear in them.


    He had followed his young master for years and encountered many capable warriors. He had also heard of the various talents from the Thoughtless Minds.


    However, Zen was able to catch his black sword with just one hand while remaining unscathed. He had surpassed the scope of other talents. He was, quite simply, a freak of nature!


    On the city wall, the other warriors witnessed this scene in silence.


    Truthfully, they were happy to see what happened. Some of them had no choice but to serve the city lord. They had paid up their Illusion Points to him or her, however unwilling they might be. Their dignity did not allow them to accept these rules, but they were powerless against the Ji Clan.


    Zen''s display of power had helped them vent their anger, and from the looks of it, it was going to be a good show.


    "I said you could only take my Illusion Points in your dreams." Zen smiled as he held the black sword between his fingers and squeezed it forcefully.


    Bang!


    A crisp sound rang out as Zen broke the black sword into two pieces.


    The blue-robed warrior took a deep breath. The black sword had been a secondary first-rank divine weapon and had been given to him by the city lord.


    The loss of a weapon in the Illusion Battlefield did not mean that his weapon had disintegrated in the real world as well. However, the warrior still felt a faint sense of foreboding when Zen broke the secondary first-rank divine weapon so effortlessly.


    Whoosh!


    The blue-robed warrior already had a plan in mind. He decided to steer clear of Zen for some time and rushed to the city gates.


    "Wait up! You think you can get away with this after wanting to kill me? You can leave, but you still have to give me the Illusion Points!"


    Zen said with a smile. How could he let this fat sheep escape?


    The warrior''s Illusion Points could not be compared to the city lord''s, but they were certainly not little in number.

 Chapter 1542 A Girl In A Purple Dress

    The blue-robed warrior''s jaw dropped in shock at the scene in front of him.


    His right hand made the sign of the cross when he felt the explosive power behind him. Then three swords flew out of his space ring.


    Each sword that flew out was a different color. One was gold, then silver, and lastly, bronze.


    The surfaces of their blades were engraved with beautiful lines, which made their appearances more eye-catching.


    The city lord, who was also the young master of Ji Clan, had given him the black sword, which Zen had twisted and broken. These three metal-colored swords, on the other hand, were his usual weapons. They had been with him for years and were connected to his soul.


    A gust of wind blew sharply as the three swords flew and resonated with each other. Then, their blades began to rotate rapidly.


    Puff! Puff! Puff!


    As the three swords spun around the blue-robed warrior, they formed a tri-colored tornado.


    "Three-sword Spinning Kill!"


    The tornado sounded like a strong, howling wind. It was like a huge dragon that flew in the air, wanting to kill Zen.


    However, Zen rushed straight ahead without any hesitation like the sharpest spear.


    Ping! Ping! Ping!


    There were loud, metallic clanging sounds as the three swords hidden within the tornado clashed against his body.


    However scary it might seem, Zen didn''t need protective armor since his physical body was like a first-rank divine weapon. Thus, his body wouldn''t be hurt even if the swords were sharp.


    The only thing that bothered him was his own clothes. All the strangling and killing had torn Zen''s cyan cotton clothes into strips and shreds. Then again, this wasn''t the first time it happened to him. It was why he had to have new sets of clothes from time to time.


    Zen passed through the tri-colored tornado by force and charged straight at the blue-robed warrior, his hands extended out like lightning.


    When the blue-robed warrior saw that he wouldn''t be able to escape, he somersaulted like a kite and flicked out a golden ball, which suddenly shattered.


    "Do you really think you can have my Illusion Points? In your dreams! My Illusion Points are all collected for the city lord''s sake! Hahaha!"


    Meanwhile, Zen was simply confused at his words. He only needed to kill this man and get half of his Illusion Points. Why was he saying things like Zen couldn''t get the Illusion Points?


    His thoughts were disturbed when the golden ball the blue-robed warrior had crushed emitted a violent aura, which spread out in various directions.


    Boom!


    Zen judged that the situation wasn''t right, so he quickly retreated to the back.


    He went back so fast that the distance between him and the blue-robed warrior was now over a hundred feet!


    The golden ball shattered in just three seconds, and then strands of hair-like blood red lightning exploded from within it.


    The stran


    ike were not popular among the warriors. However, all kinds of novels were popular.


    The reason behind it was still Zen.


    Although many warriors were annoyed when he had told stories to the mysterious woman with his Roaring Token, some still listened and became interested.


    However, Zen still had to cultivate so he had little time to tell stories. Besides, he told stories because of the mysterious woman. The other warriors would gather and listen to the stories when the mysterious woman came out of seclusion; but when she hid, Zen wouldn''t tell any tales at all.


    There were many warriors in the universe, but even more mortals, who were more culturally inclined than the warriors.


    The warriors soon found that spending a life vitality crystal was enough to buy countless novels. They could even hire hundreds of storytellers to tell stories every day. It had become the most fashionable thing among them in the last few years.


    Because of this, the status of some mortals rose greatly. For example, a storyteller emerged in a small city under the command of a sixth-grade sacred place of the Thoughtless Minds.


    All the stories he told were written by himself. He was very good at his storytelling, whatever his mood or demeanor was. A warrior in the sacred place admired him, so his status rose bit by bit when he was introduced. It was even said that he caused two sacred places to fight over him.


    Later on, a warrior even gave the storyteller a pill, which gave him an extra few hundred years of lifespan. This was already very shocking among mortals as even some of the small countries'' kings would not receive such treatment.


    But all in all, the elevated status of the scholars was all thanks to one person, and that was Zen.


    If it weren''t for the fact that he used the Roaring Token to tell the mysterious woman stories and caught the interest of some warriors, there wouldn''t be such a trend.

 Chapter 1543 Norton

    She was pretty comfortable in her chair, feet propped up by a small stool as she read the silk book with relish. It was the latest novel of a popular series that she religiously followed.


    To say that she was a fan of popular novels was an understatement. As a Soul Sea Realm warrior, memorizing and retaining all the information in this silk book was very simple. All she would need to do was to use her full perception to engrave the words in her mind.


    But where was the fun in that? That was hardly a pleasurable way of reading.


    No, to make sure that she truly grasped the plot and fell in love with the characters, she needed to read these novels word for word. There was just this thrill of suspense in everyone''s slowly unfolding fates page by page.


    Just as she was about to get to the good part, a large mass of yellow Illusion Points flew into her room and towards her.


    The woman frowned as she absorbed the Illusion Points, "What happened?"


    she muttered in annoyance. It greatly displeased her to be disturbed at the most intriguing part of the story.


    "Who killed my man?! You will regret it!"


    She carefully folded the corner of the page, marking the part where she left off before carefully packing it into her Sumeru Space.


    She then quickly left the comfort of her chair and headed outside. It was cold but her small, dainty footprints left a rather enchanting sight on the white powdery snow.


    Meanwhile, Zen was quickly advancing along the city walls.


    He was right. The city lord did have more than one subordinate.


    All in all, she had a total of eight people who helped her collect Illusion Points at each city entrance.


    These eight people had been her personal bodyguards in the outside world.


    It was only natural that they remained her subordinates here. These eight guards were perfectly willing to hand over their accumulated points to her here in the Illusion Battlefield.


    These warriors had a less than amicable reputation in the city. They were nicknamed ''butchers'' due to their cruelty and often questionable methods of collecting Illusion Points from other warriors.


    Zen''s speed meant it only took him a few minutes to reach the other side of the main city.


    There was a tall human warrior that stood in front of the city gate. He had an air of intimidation to him especially with the forbidding golden hammers he held in each hand.


    The warrior opened his mouth and projected his clear, loud voice, "Stand still! If you all cooperate then I''ll be able to finish you with just one slam of my hammer. You won''t feel any pain and the next thing you''ll know, you''ve already been resurrected back in the city."


    There was a line of warriors in front of him getting ready to give half of their accumulated Illusion P


    like a man!" Norton roared with blind fury.


    Clang! There was another loud ringing sound as Norton smashed his hammers together and released powerful waves in the air.


    As he did this, he quickly charged towards Zen by moving his sturdy legs in a rather mysterious manner.


    As he charged, Norton waved his arms like crazy and formed numerous hammer shadows that served to protect him.


    His movements were so fast and erratic that not even Zen was able to see through him.


    It was reminiscent of a mad bull that thought of nothing but death and destruction as he blasted through everything and everyone.


    Such display of fierceness quickly caught the attention of the other warriors who were initially waiting in line. Norton''s hammers were intimidating but not so much when it wasn''t being directed at them.


    "Oh man, that dude''s going to get it. Norton''s attacks can''t be dodged!"


    "Norton''s hammers will probably scare the shit out of him. Those things are enough to smash him into meat paste."


    "You know I heard something interesting. Once, when he got angry with the city lord, Norton smashed his hammers onto the walls and shook the entire city!"


    Of course, this was a gross exaggeration.


    All the main cities in the Illusion Battlefield were created by the heavens and were an incarnation of heavens'' rules. It was impossible to shake their walls.


    Still, it was a nice embellishment to the tales of Norton''s great strength.


    However, Zen remained calm and collected, just as always. This strong opponent was only one of the many other strong opponents he had faced in his lifetime. The young man stood still on his spot but his power was currently circulating through his body and surging towards his arms. He looked up and locked gazes with an approaching Norton and his protective hammer shadows, ready for a fight!

 Chapter 1544 The Falling Snow (Part One)

    The golden hammer shadows in front of Zen belonged to a mysterious hammer technique with thousands of years of history behind it.


    As the moments passed by, more and more golden hammer shadows appeared out of nowhere, making it impossible for anyone to tell if they were real or fake. It was, without a doubt, not an easy feat to break them.


    Hopeless as it might seem, Zen had no intention of breaking through them. He was more inclined to employing the brute force to fight back. And that was the most efficient method rather than taking a sneaky way out.


    It was widely-known that Norton''s strength was extraordinary. Everyone presumed that no warriors sharing the same level as him could match up to him just with brute force. Even for the city lord herself that Norton had served for years, she was certainly stronger than Norton, but her brute strength was not up to par with that of him. Therefore, to fight Norton in this way only meant giving in to a resounding defeat!


    Zen, on the other hand, would not be put at a disadvantage, since he had the power of dragon scales and the divine weapon body. Even a powerful warrior, who had a much higher cultivation level than him, would be in a vulnerable state, let alone those warriors who were also at the same level as him.


    These strapping attributes of Norton made Zen not to retreat a single step. Instead, he shifted towards Norton.


    "You have some nerve! I''ll kill you in an instant!"


    Norton growled under his breath as he watched Zen rushing towards him instead of running away. Bracing himself, he then poured all his strength into his arms. Moments after, the Soul Sea in his body began to stir up monstrous waves as his immense power spread out, ready for a kill. He was like a god of strength, summoning all the golde


    ''s chest, another loud sound rang out!


    Zen''s gaze flickered when he heard this sound, but he secretly sighed in his heart, noting that Norton had a precious treasure to defend himself!


    A defensive treasure that could support the power of ten thousand dragon scales was at least a first-rank divine weapon. However, even if a precious treasure protected his chest, Norton would still be heavily injured, and that was inevitable. The precious treasure could only mitigate the injuries he would sustain. Unless it was a supreme divine weapon, it could not completely defend him against the attack.


    Zen was more worried about Norton possessing a golden pill. It was clear as day that all his previous undertakings would go down the drain if Norton happened to attempt to squish a golden pill and kill himself.


    Norton was thrown backward by the compelling brute force. He knew he was seriously injured as he could feel the immense pressure still lingering in his internal organs. It also shook his inner world, causing his Soul Sea to collapse!


    At this point, Norton wasn''t thinking about protecting his own life, but he was in dire need of keeping his young master''s Illusion Points!

 Chapter 1545 The Falling Snow (Part Two)

    He could be resurrected if he lost his life, but if Zen took his Illusion Points, then what he would face was probably the young master''s harsh punishment!


    For this reason, the moment Norton was sent flying backward, a golden pill abruptly appeared in his hand!


    But before his palm could touch the golden pill, he heard a sneer!


    With his quick-thinking, coupled with his agile movement, Zen had managed to get close to Norton. He had anticipated that Norton would put the golden pill in to use. But Norton''s sudden attempt to smash it turned futile as a sudden streak of blue light flashed!


    Shock engulfed him as Norton felt a numbing dull ache at his right hand!


    His hand had been cut off in an instant by Zen''s Thunder Wind Divine Sword as Zen flew high into the air with the golden pill in his hand.


    Zen''s movements were neat and swift. His body flashed as he snatched the golden pill out of Norton''s severed hand. Then with a tumble, his knee was pressed against Norton''s chest, while he aimed the edge of his sword at him.


    "My young master won''t..."


    "Puff!"


    Zen didn''t let Norton finish his words. If they stayed somewhere else, he would have listened to what he was about to say.


    This city was mysteriously strange in an odd way. And he was kind of afraid that the Illusion Points would suddenly fly away. Thus he thought he should kill Norton first. He just intended to get Norton''s Illusion Points, not wanting them to take off in the air.


    Until now, Zen still couldn''t fathom why the Illusion Points would automatically fly out after the warrior in the blue clothes died.


    And as soon as Norton died, be


    a supreme treasure, since its power was so terrifying. Fortunately, this was good for one-time use! Still, if a warrior released the golden pill in the face of an enemy, it would have a miraculous effect!


    But this golden pill needed to be crushed before it could be activated. Could it be that this golden pill could only be used to commit suicide?


    While he was keen at observing the golden pellet, Zen suddenly felt that it was heating up. He could tell that there was a formidable power surging within. Sensing that it would explode, he almost reflexively tossed the golden pellet far away!


    "Puff!"


    After the golden pellet hovered over one hundred feet in the air, a dense mass of blood-red lightning was emitted from it!


    Zen was stunned by encountering this scene. If it weren''t for his quick reaction, he probably would''ve been caught up in the lightning as well!


    Zen felt a chill coming from behind him. When he turned his head, he saw a woman. She was dressed in purple clothes, and slowly making her way towards him, with snow falling silently and trailing behind her.

 Chapter 1546 Lucille Ji

    The woman was wearing a purple silk robe with exquisite embroidery. The ivory white ribbon which decorated her long ebony-colored hair slowly fluttered behind her like a banderole from a masthead, making her look like a fairy from a painting.


    She walked daintily in her crescent-shaped embroidered shoes and explored around the edge of the city wall. With every step she took, a step formed by ice was created on the ground and these supported her light footsteps, permitting her to float forward a distance. The icy steps shattered with a loud bang once she had stepped off from these frozen perches, so every light step she took was accompanied by the clear and melodious sound of ice shattering.


    Crack! Splash!


    Zen''s eyes were calm as he looked at the purple-clothed woman. However, he was on guard, and his four limbs quietly spread out in preparation for anything.


    Cultivation was a standard that measured a warrior''s strength. But, in the Upper World, this standard was no longer the most accurate.


    For example, a powerful warrior at the Soul Sea Realm could be far stronger than a normal warrior at the Spirit Supreme Realm.


    Zen had personally killed Spirit Supreme Realm warriors before, and this situation had not only existed for him. Many powerful warriors throughout the universe, as well as the ace talents of various races could do the same. Cultivation had therefore become somewhat of a moot point now.


    When Zen felt this woman''s cold and sharp aura, he also felt that her strength was prodigious. She might even be the strongest warrior he had encountered since he entered the Illusion Battlefield.


    "The city lord is here!"


    "Is this woman the lord of this city? She is so beautiful and innocent-looking, like a fairy."


    "Why would it be strange that a girl from the Ji Clan is so beautiful and looks like a fairy?"


    The onlookers discussed it among themselves.


    On top of the city wall, many warriors were enraptured by this woman''s appearance, and their eyes began to shine with a radiant light. Only a perfect object could cause these glowing expressions to populate the faces of the warriors.


    The woman in front of them was indeed perfect.


    Zen''s eyes followed suit and also glowed in admiration. In terms of appearance and demeanor, Lavender was probably the only one who could compare to this perfect woman.


    However, her temperament was completely different from Lavender''s.


    Lavender radiated a feeling of supreme nobility, as if she was a goddess which had descended upon this world. Moreover, with every movement, Lavender would reveal resolution and killing intent. A fiery heart was hidden within, under her ice-cold exterior, just like a frozen volcano waiting to erupt.


    The woman in front of him, on the other hand, was wrapped in an aura of serenity and peace.


    Just like the falling snowflakes, her cold aura didn''t make people want to resist her, but made them calm.


    However, Zen could feel that there was a faint killing intent hidden just beneath the frosted facade. This killing intent was extremely arrogant, as if she had earned the confidence to kill and take the lives of all living beings. And those "living beings" naturally included him.


    t now it became an epic snowstorm in the middle of winter.


    Hooo...hooo...hooo...


    Not only did the snowflakes get bigger, but the wind also picked up and became stronger.


    In the midst of the swirling snowstorm, Lucille Ji''s body suddenly flew towards Zen.


    Whoosh!


    When she was slowly strolling through the snow, she was an elegant lady. But once she moved onto the battlefield, she became like a bolt of lightning, not at all inferior to a man.


    In the blink of an eye, the distance between her and Zen had narrowed to less than 10 feet.


    Zen''s long sword also suddenly rang out.


    "Nether God Shadows!"


    Whoosh!


    Crack!


    As Zen infused his chaotic energy into the Thunder Wind Divine Sword, a twisting bolt of lightning shot out towards the woman with a sharp electric crackle.


    This lightning was followed by a sharp wind blade.


    After the wind blade, there came numerous Nether God Shadows, each of which displayed a different fist technique in attacking Lucille Ji.


    On top of the city wall, all of the warriors were fixedly staring at the scene before them. They almost held their breaths in anticipation of what they believed was an inevitable outcome.


    Many of the warriors in the city had witnessed or even experienced Lucille Ji''s strength at first hand, so they didn''t dare to cross over the city wall by even half an inch. This was because they clearly understood that only the rules of the city could protect them.


    "Why do I feel that it''s not fair? Has the city lord suddenly become generous, since she only plans to kill this brat three times before letting him go?"


    "The city lord''s personality has always been very contrary. She is temperamental, and I''ve heard that it has something to do with the books she''s reading. She seems to be easily influenced by the stories in the books."


    "Sometimes gentle, sometimes brutal... I find this personality type very attractive."


    "Attractive?" "She is an ace talent of the Ji Clan. Do you think you can hold a candle to her?"


    This battle had just begun, and many warriors were also taking advantage of this opportunity to discuss it in whispers.

 Chapter 1547 A Giant

    Zen''s first round of attacks was merely a trial run.


    Still, that didn''t make it something that could be taken down so easily.


    Under the full force of the Thunder Wind Divine Sword, regardless of whether it was the lightning or the wind blade, it was extremely sharp. Under Zen''s control, the Nether God Shadows were all in different styles but all gave meticulous punches and kicks. For his opponent, it was no simple task to deal with the Nether God Shadows.


    During the three waves of attacks, Lucille''s clear eyes were clouded.


    At this moment, she made a gesture¡ªpressing the tips of her thumb and forefinger together, keeping the other three fingers raised. Her slender pinky was the most prominent, while the ring it wore emitted a faint, yellow light.


    "Earth Protection," Lucille said softly.


    The yellow light gradually condensed and formed the shape of a giant. It stood thousands of feet tall, enveloping Lucille within.


    The light brought along a heavy aura.


    Boom!


    The lightning emitted by Zen struck the yellow light heavily, leaving only a faint, charred mark before disappearing in the blink of an eye.


    As for the wind blade, it could only cut through an inch.


    Although the Nether God Shadows'' fist techniques were undoubtedly exquisite with flawless coordination, they were unable to break through the powerful defense. It was even harder to reach Lucille as she stayed within the giant.


    "Such strong defense!" Zen said with a raised eyebrow. Although he knew that the five rings on Lucille''s hand were extraordinary, their true power exceeded his imagination. And at that point, she had only activated one ring.


    After blocking Zen''s attacks, Lucille raised her palm toward him. With the corner of her mouth slightly curled up, she smashed her palm down.


    The action triggered the giant to do the same¡ªit smashed straight down on Zen.


    Boom!


    An earth-shattering sound resounded. Vibrations rippled out from the impact.


    If warriors witnessed the scene from above, they would see a gigantic palm print on the empty space next to the city. Surrounding it were countless cracks, rapidly spreading out and expanding. The surrounding earth continued to shake.


    When the giant palm landed, Zen flew backward, barely dodging it.


    As he looked at the palm pri


    lightly patted her fair, clean hands, the giant slapped its own.


    Her clear eyes pierced through the yellow light to observe the situation outside.


    Under her continuous slaps, the soil scattered, and Zen''s figure was revealed.


    The mud and gravel helped reduce the impact for Zen, but once they scattered away from him, the impact on him was direct.


    Pak, pak, pak!


    But something wasn''t quite right, and surprise grew clear in Lucille''s eyes.


    Even as Zen was slapped by the huge palms, Lucille could see that his aura hadn''t weakened in the slightest, and there were no visible injuries on his body.


    ''It''s no wonder he killed Norton like it was nothing. His body is actually this strong!'' she thought.


    The fact made her eyebrows furrow.


    The fingers of her left hand gently rose, binding Zen to her palm, as she raised her right hand and pressed down hard on him with her index finger.


    As Zen lay on his back in the giant''s hand, the giant''s finger pressed down on him with a frightening force.


    The power of this attack was concentrated¡ªeven more terrifying than the massive palm attacks.


    But at this moment, Zen smiled and raised his fist toward the giant''s finger.


    Compared to the giant''s finger, Zen''s fist was almost invisible¡ªthe mere tip of the giant''s finger was several times thicker than his whole body.


    The scene was shocking.


    In front of this giant, Zen was merely an ant that could be crushed with a finger.


    In the eyes of the bystanders, he was completely trapped in this calamity.

 Chapter 1548 Magnetic Sacred Mountain

    "This guy''s vitality is really something else! If it was someone else, they would''ve already been slapped into meat paste!"


    "Maybe he has some treasure that he''s using to protect himself? Ah, but no matter how great that treasure is, he shouldn''t be able to block that finger attack!"


    "I think this is the first time Lucille used her Five-element Finger Chain. It is a supreme divine weapon ranked the 230th on the Universe Spirit Tablet. It''s the Ji Clan''s most precious treasure!"


    "This guy still wants to resist? Seriously?"


    There was a lot of commentary from the warriors who watched from the city wall and were clearly enjoying this fight happening right before their very eyes.


    In this world, there were more or less three thousand supreme divine weapons.


    These weapons, mighty and divine, were mostly controlled by world lords and Supreme Lords. Not many warriors had the luxury of seeing weapons of this caliber up close but they had more or less heard of them. Many of those present could clearly tell the origins of the Five-element Finger Chain.


    This was the reason why they were all so hyped-up since this was probably the only time in their lives that they''d be able to see a supreme divine weapon at work.


    "The Five-element Finger Chain was created from a five-colored divine stone. It contains the power of five different Original Laws!"


    someone graciously supplied just as the giant finger came crashing down.


    Boom!


    There was a loud booming sound as Zen''s fist collided with this giant finger.


    Everyone expected him to be crushed by this attack owing to the sheer discrepancy in proportion of Zen to this giant finger.


    However, everyone gasped in surprise upon seeing the sight before them.


    There was a gap between the finger and the ground. In between was Zen who remained standing!


    Once the dust settled, Zen remained where he stood but there was an evident smile on his face.


    The giant forefinger, condensed from Earth Law, suddenly exploded and scattered by the wind.


    Zen''s punch had actually managed to break through the attack!


    "This¡­ This guy!"


    The audience on top of the city wall was rendered speechless by this scene.


    The same time the finger exploded a wound appeared on Lucille''s finger.


    "Ow! It hurts," she frowned as fresh blood spurted from the wound.


    The pain was mostly a piece of cake for any warrior.


    Even someone who had just recently entered the early stage of body refining would not even blink from losing a finger, let alone a small scratch.


    However, Lucille had always been


    he couldn''t even move!


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    Cracks began to appear on the giant''s shoulder. The mountain''s weight was definitely too much to bear and anyone who had to stand underneath was sure to get crushed.


    There was a faint smile on Zen''s face as he watched this scene. Now that he had his enemy where he wanted, he took this opportunity to finally get close to Lucille.


    He hoped this would be enough to kill her. He just couldn''t help but feel excited as he thought about just how many Illusion Points were stored inside her body.


    However, just as he was about to get near her, Lucille''s eyes flashed dangerously. With a flick of a wrist, she quickly dissipated the Earth Law that had condensed the giant from existence.


    Without any more resistance, the Magnetic Sacred Mountain quickly smashed down to the ground!


    Anyone who had the unfortunate fate to be underneath this mountain was doomed.


    However, just as the mountain rushed down towards her, Lucille lightly tapped the ring on her right thumb and pulled out a faint golden wind from it. With a gentle wave, she quickly disappeared from the spot.


    The Magnetic Sacred Mountain heavily pressed down onto the ground that immediately crumbled underneath its weight. It took a couple of hundred meters before the mountain settled and finally stopped sinking.


    Huff!


    To everyone''s surprise, Lucille, who had previously been underneath the mountain, now stood on its peak, courtesy of the golden wind.


    It was extremely windy at the top, owing mostly to the results of their battle.


    Ivory ribbons flapped wildly behind her as the wind harshly whipped past.


    From here, she looked down at Zen with a strange, unnatural expression.

 Chapter 1549 The Five Elements Godly Way

    The scene in front of Lucille was totally out of her expectation--she didn''t foresee the appearance of a Magnetic Sacred Mountain.


    It wasn''t just her. All of the surrounding warriors gasped in shock as well when they saw it.


    "Where did this brat move this mountain from?"


    "Lucille was almost pressed under the mountain! This mountain even destroyed her Earth Element Power..."


    "I can carry an ordinary mountain, but this mountain is especially heavy that it''s out of this world!"


    "This mountain has colorful lights and the aura of the five elements. It seems to be a Magnetic Sacred Mountain!"


    Many warriors also did not expect that Zen would use such an unreasonable method to break Lucille''s Earth Element Power.


    Meanwhile, Lucille floated in the air and looked down at the Magnetic Sacred Mountain with a shocked but unwavering gaze.


    "This is the Magnetic Sacred Mountain! You have refined it yourself!"


    However, Zen just looked at her impassively. Although he had refined this Magnetic Sacred Mountain for a long time, he rarely brought it out to his fights. He also wondered why Lucille was so surprised when she saw him summon the Magnetic Sacred Mountain.


    "Yes, you''re right! Why are you so surprised?" Zen said airily. Back then, Zen had found the method of refining a Magnetic Sacred Mountain in the Myriad Manifestations of Nature.


    The five elements of the Magnetic Sacred Mountain were mixed, and it couldn''t be refined no matter what type of Law Power was used.


    Some warriors in the Upper World had tried to refine ordinary mountains through the Earth Law--but ordinary mountains weren''t that hard, so it would be stupid to use them in a battle.


    Besides, a Soul Sea Realm warrior could easily break the earth, and even more an ordinary mountain. Only a sturdy mountain like the Magnetic Sacred Mountain could be used to fight against enemies, but few of people in history had refined it.


    However, the Blood Refinement Technique from the Myriad Manifestations of Nature had a miraculous effect on refining the Magnetic Sacred Mountain.


    Since Zen owned the fairy palace, he was lucky to find the Blood Refinement Technique in the library. However, he wasn''t aware that this technique wasn''t passed down in the Upper World.


    Lucille was quite familiar with the Magnetic Sacred Mountain since she had the Five-element Finger Chain, and the combination of the five elements was her cultivation method. The Magnetic Sacred Mountain could evenly combine the laws of the five elements, which made it a wonder of the universe.


    The combination of the five elements was to completely merge the five Original Laws with each other. This was one of the methods to step into the Godly Way--the Five Elements Godly Way.


    In this universe, there were several Supreme Lords, several hundred thousand world lords, and numerous martial artists who had surpassed the Soul Sea Realm, the Spirit Supreme Realm and the Spirit Transformation Realm. Yet, only a handful of them h


    y... Does he have the confidence to defeat me?''


    However, Lucille still didn''t take him seriously, even though his Magnetic Sacred Mountain had broken her Earth Element Power.


    She knew well that this young man in front of her was indeed not bad, but it was impossible for him to defeat her. Hence, Lucille was more curious about him. ''How is this guy so confident?'' she thought.


    Lucille paid her last thought no mind and simply said, "You can put forward other conditions, and my Ji Clan will try to fulfill them for you. I am not referring to the Illusion Battlefield, but the outside world!"


    Thoughtless Minds was one of the three great human forces, and the Ji Clan was the third largest family of the Thoughtless Minds. The Ji Clan was still a behemoth even if compared to many other races in the Upper World, not to mention a warrior of the Soul Sea Realm.


    In Lucille''s eyes, the Ji Clan could easily fulfill any request this youth had.


    "Conditions..." Zen smiled as he stared at Lucille. "I''m not interested in that. I think a fight between us is much more fun!"


    The Thunder Wind Divine Sword appeared in front of his chest once again as he spoke, and the smile on his face turned hard and serious.


    Zen didn''t care about the Ji Clan.


    He could even teach her the Blood Refinement Technique without rewards.


    The Myriad Manifestations of Nature was an essay written by his master. It recorded strange happenings and also mentioned this Blood Refinement Technique, which wasn''t anything important.


    It was simply because Zen didn''t like this haughty woman''s attitude!


    He originally intended to stay outside the main city to get Lucille''s Illusion Points, but now she said that she would spare his life for the Blood Refinement Technique. There was no way he''d agree to that!


    At the same time, Lucille''s eyes darkened at Zen''s actions. Her voice deepened as she murmured, "It seems that you need a good lesson. Very well, I will make you understand the gap between us¡­"

 Chapter 1550 Golden Sword Rain

    Lucille''s eyes held determination as she raised her wrist again and gently waved her fingers in the air. The thin chain dripped and hung down like crystal droplets between her fingers.


    "Metal Element Power!"


    The ring on her ring finger started to glow with a faint golden light, which gradually formed into a golden sword.


    The sword formed by the golden light didn''t have a fixed shape. The rhombus-shaped golden ray was bound to Lucille''s hand as it glinted marvelously under the light, like a snake''s flicking tongue.


    At that moment, Lucille had quickly made her decision!


    She could tell that Zen wasn''t someone who would easily admit losing. Only by defeating such a man could she make him realize the gap between him and reality.


    Thus, she finally decided to kill him once. If he got mad, she could just pay him 500, 000 Illusion Points as an apology.


    "Whoosh!"


    A gust of golden wind blew and Lucille''s figure faded away into the wind, gone from everyone''s sight in a blink of an eye.


    Zen scanned his surroundings, and then his whole body suddenly flew backwards after he just focused for a second!


    "Shoop! Shoop! Shoop!"


    As Zen flew backwards in the air, a series of gilded swords came crashing down from the sky like a golden storm.


    Each swing of the gilded swords left a deep hole in the ground. The usually empty space was filled with small, densely packed holes in just a second. It looked like a complete mess!


    The rain of golden swords covered an enormous area. At first, Zen couldn''t escape the storm of swords no matter how fast he retreated.


    After all, there were so many golden swords that even Zen couldn''t completely dodge them all!


    "Bash!"


    One golden sword suddenly pierced Zen''s collarbone!


    Had it been any other warrior''s body, the golden sword would''ve completely penetrated it and crushed it on the ground.


    However, the sword only cut through Zen''s flesh. One end of the sword was embedded into his shoulder blade.


    The spectators on top of the city wall couldn''t help but admire Zen''s immense strength. However, Zen was slightly shocked inside and thought, ''How could the golden sword''s penetrating power be so strong?''


    Lucille summoned the golden sword with merely a ring on her Five-element Finger Chain, which could be considered a type of profound mystery of the Metal Law. As even the rain of gilded swords could break his divine weapon body, he couldn''t imagine what that golden sword in Lucille''s hand could do.


    "Shoop!"


    Meanwhile, Lucille floated far away as her cold eyes looked at Zen''s flickering figure. "If you can''t hold on, you can fly back to the main city. You will then have time to consider what you want f


    Even though there was a deadlock, the battle was still quite entertaining. The martial artists found it amazing to watch Zen''s figure shuttle through the rain of golden swords.


    Some of them even looked at Zen with such delight that they wanted to find a trace of mystery in Zen''s technique and comprehend it.


    The Eight Smoky Melodies'' only principle was to take advantage of the situation. There was no mystery or pattern. It was simply impossible for them to see through any of it by just relying on Zen''s floating movement technique.


    "This man!"


    At that point, Lucille couldn''t hold herself back anymore.


    There was no way she''d believe that she couldn''t deal with him.


    As she thought about it, Lucille disappeared in the golden wind again.


    "Here she is!" Zen murmured.


    He had been floating in the golden sword storm for quite a while now, waiting for this very moment!


    The golden wind flashed, and then Lucille suddenly appeared behind Zen. The golden light in her palm shot out and extended into a ten feet long golden sword, which pierced towards Zen!


    However, it was like Zen had grown a pair of eyes behind him. His body started to sway in a spiral movement as he followed the golden sword and circled around it, careful to keep a distance of three inches during the whole process.


    Then, he appeared in front of Lucille in a mere second. The Thunder Wind Divine Sword in his hand flashed with a blue light as he swung it towards Lucille''s face!


    Their distance now was the closest they ever got to each other, ever since their fight had started.


    Lucille didn''t expect that Zen would fly backwards and his extremely precise control of the distance. He had flown close to her golden sword but always kept three inches between them. His method was simply amazing!

 Chapter 1551 Competing Against Zen

    At the macro level, measuring a warrior''s strength was to measure his momentum and might.


    But at the micro level, a warrior''s true strength was measured by their ability to control their power and movement speed. This ability could be regarded as the absolute control of strength.


    As a sort of test, some warriors placed birds in their hands. When the birds were about to fly away, the warriors would move their hands slightly, making the birds unable to move their feet, causing them to fall back into the palms. Such was a sign that warriors had mastered the skill of absolute control.


    But such a method wasn''t flawless. Even the early-stage warriors, still going through body refinement, would be able to grasp what was known as the "skill of stopping birds".


    Some warriors who were more skilled could even place the bird on their heads, shoulders, and chest. Even in these positions, the warrior could stop the bird from flying away.


    Some could even stop not only birds, but also flies and mosquitoes.


    As mosquitoes were much smaller, the warriors had to be able to sense and withdraw the force that supported them the moment they flew away. This test was more difficult than stopping a bird.


    But compared to what Zen was currently doing, stopping a mosquito was a mere side trick.


    When Lucille was looking down on Zen from high up in the sky, watching his strikes and skill in movement during his performance in the sword rain, she already noticed how remarkable he was.


    As she tried stabbing him with her sword, she suddenly realized the mysteries within it. Zen maintained a distance of three inches from each of the descending golden swords, circling the sword that she thrust out. This was a display of his absolute control of strength and movement speed.


    Never had Lucille seen control to such an extent.


    How did Zen do it?


    After witnessing his strange movement skill, Lucille decided to take Zen on as an opponent qualified to face her.


    Whoosh!


    Not giving Lucille a chance to consider anything else, he flew backward and swung the Thunder Wind Divine Sword directly toward her.


    Facing his sword strike, Lucille didn''t dodge.


    Given the situation, all of her attention was focused on his movement skill, but she wanted to find out what method he used to control his distance so exactly.


    When the blue sword light struck down, Lucille raised her right hand and grabbed onto his sword.


    Whoosh!


    Lucille''s right hand was adorned with the Five-element Finger Chain, connecting with her five fingers, forming a layer of protection.


    As she stretched out her hand, she made use of the chain to grip the sword firmly in her hand.


    While fighting warriors at the same cultivation level, Zen had always been the only one to grab hold of others'' sword


    journey. Naturally, he didn''t have the time to buy any fairy or sacred weapons, so he thought it was quite a shame.


    Once, Zen had every intention of asking Livingston to forge some weapons for him to melt.


    But Livingston was completely immersed in refining weapons and wholeheartedly tried to turn the sword embryo into a real one. In the past few years, he barely left the weapon refining workshop.


    Facing Zen who had doubled his power, Lucille fell once again.


    This time, it became clear to her how stupid it was to fight against Zen. And she had another issue¡ªthe life vitality in her body had already been completely used up. As the life vitality in her inner world was just sucked out, over 99% of her life vitality sea had already been depleted.


    "It should be over, right?"


    Zen smiled faintly as the sword intent suddenly appeared in the Thunder Wind Divine Sword. The sword intent moved along the blade and flew straight at Lucille in an instant.


    If she was hit by it, she would have already been beheaded and would''ve had to return to the main city for revival.


    It wasn''t that Zen was merciless, but in order to get the Illusion Points, he had no other choice but to kill her.


    "Hmph!"


    Lucille only snorted coldly. Before Zen''s sword intent could reach her, a golden wind swept over and Lucille''s figure disappeared once again.


    Not even Zen could match her speed.


    Keeping her balance, Lucille lightly patted her wrist and pulled out dozens of life vitality jades. The moment she brought them out, she crushed them in her hands, releasing the life vitality, turning it into white fog. Quickly, she absorbed it all and replenished the life vitality within her body.


    Relying on only her speed, she already made herself invincible as she faced Zen just then. But in the contest of pure strength, Zen clearly had the upper hand.

 Chapter 1552 The Crescent Blade

    Generally speaking, Soul Sea Realm warriors should only need three life vitality jades to replenish their Soul Seas.


    However, Lucille was different. As the ace talent in her family, she was personally assisted by her patriarch in expanding her Soul Sea by three times when she established it.


    This was essential since she practiced the Five Elements Godly Way which made her consume far more life vitality than the average warriors.


    Zen''s chaotic Soul Sea was quite suitable for the Five Elements Godly Way if one thought about it since the chaotic energy condensed within his body was far greater than an ordinary life vitality sea.


    Lucille, who needed to replenish her Soul Sea, quickly shattered ten life vitality jades all at once.


    A torrential rain suddenly poured down in her inner world, flooding her almost dried-up Soul Sea with much-needed life vitality.


    As she got her bearings, Lucille couldn''t help but stare at Zen in astonishment.


    She never thought his strength would be this terrifying!


    Or was it strength? That couldn''t be it. Lucille was someone who had witnessed many displays of innate superhuman strength. Norton was a good example.


    That guy and also his father were both born with great strength and berserker-like qualities. Norton''s father had the cultivation of a world lord and was quite famous in the Thoughtless Minds.


    They were the type of people who drew confidence from their bodies'' strength and used whatever means to fight for what they wanted.


    For them, reaching an extremely terrifying level of sheer strength was paramount. It was by relying on pure energy could they hope to one day shatter space, destroy the heavens, and become gods.


    Such was the way of a berserker warrior.


    Of course, nobody knew for certain if what people like Norton and his father aimed for was possible. Nobody had yet reached such a level of strength to shatter space and destroy the heavens in the current grand era.


    However, the universe was filled with countless warriors with varying cultivation methods. No one way was absolute.


    For some, strength was the only way to go while others might not necessarily think the same way.


    Norton, however, was his father''s successor and surely went on to follow his path.


    He was already pretty powerful as a Soul Sea Realm warrior. Lucille herself had never seen anyone on par with him when it came to strength.


    But Zen had been able to kill both Norton and Ethan.


    It wasn''t just strength that Zen possessed but superhuman power. Norton and Ethan were no match for him.


    However, there were varying opinions a


    mmoned a white mist and let it surround his body.


    "The Eight Smoky Melodies."


    He was able to activate it just in time to come face to face with Lucille. The golden wind aided her speed and helped her get to Zen quickly. The young girl was upside down and obviously looked at him with intense killing intent.


    Whoosh!


    Her entire body spun 180 degrees and the Crescent Blade on her feet drew a blinding half-circle as it came slashing down towards Zen.


    These events all happened extremely fast.


    From the moment Zen activated the Eight Smoky Melodies to Lucille slashing down the Crescent Blade towards him - everything took place in just a blink of an eye.


    The spectators were at the edge of their seats. One moment Lucille was shattering life vitality jades and the next she was upside down and already so close to Zen!


    Meanwhile, Zen couldn''t help but think just how lucky it was that he was able to activate the Eight Smoky Melodies just in time. Any strike from Lucille would cut his head off already if he wasn''t careful.


    He quickly flew backwards just as she struck.


    But the Eight Smoky Melodies'' reaction was quite slow.


    Back then, Zen was able to avoid his opponents'' attacks effortlessly. The fiercer and faster the attacks, the better he could dodge them.


    He was always able to maintain a distance of three inches between him and his opponents.


    That time, when he faced against an ogre warrior in the wilderness who shot an arrow at him, Zen was able to dodge it with mere three inches to spare.


    However, Lucille''s movements were incredibly fast, far surpassing the Eight Smoky Melodies'' limits. The Crescent Blade had gone past the distance of three inches and was close to slashing Zen''s face!

 Chapter 1553 Death Chain (Part One)

    As Zen released the Eight Smoky Melodies, his entire body tumbled backwards!


    The Crescent Blade left a bloody scar several inches long on Zen''s face in almost the same instant that the barrier of the Eight Smoky Melodies threw him backwards!


    The tumble motion was Zen''s sharp reaction to the impending crisis, and it was this movement that had saved him from calamity.


    If he hadn''t thrown himself backwards, Lucille''s attack would have crushed Zen''s head with that Crescent Blade.


    Huff! Huff!


    Both of them had flipped in the air! Lucille was repelled backwards by the smoky barrier which Zen had created.


    When Lucille saw that she did not manage to do anything other than scratch him with her formidable attack, she coldly snorted. With a sweep of her golden wind, her figure disappeared again. She appeared again and assumed a station another hundred feet from Zen, and stood on the top of the Magnetic Sacred Mountain!


    ''This guy''s reaction is really fast...'' she thought, secretly impressed.


    In the eyes of the bystanders, Lucille had launched an attack right after she had recovered. It could be said that she seemed to be in a hurry!


    However, she knew very well that, whether it was its timing or angle, this move had already reached its limits, and she still had not managed to do more than give Zen a close shave! She hadn''t expected that Zen would still have been able to dodge the sudden attack which all of her other opponents had been unable to defend against in time.


    As for Zen, he was quite speechless as he looked at the small embroidered shoes on Lucille''s feet and the Crescent Blade concealed under them. Gingerly, he wiped away some of the blood which was trickling from the cut along his face. Zen was not overly concerned by this superficial injury as his body would heal swiftly.


    ''This woman has so many tricks up her sleeve!


    Even something as mundane as a pair of embroidered s


    d, and they didn''t deal as much damage to him as Lucille had already done.


    It was obviously impossible to also trap Lucille with Heavenly Tribulation as Zen had done with the Celestial Mice! She was so much more powerful than that already.


    While Zen was being attacked by Lucille, his mind was also working hard. He knew that if he couldn''t break out of this situation, he would lose sooner or later!


    Puff!


    Puff!


    Streams of blood sprayed out again, as Lucille kept advancing her swift attacks and then retreating again.


    "Ha-ha, Lucille becomes really serious now. Look, her attacks are as smooth as flowing water, one after one. She doesn''t allow her opponent a chance to catch his breath!"


    "With her strength and speed, I''m afraid that she could easily kill a warrior at the middle stage of the Spirit Supreme Realm."


    "Like I said, an ace talent is an ace talent. How could this guy hope to defeat her? What''s more, Lucille has only displayed half of her power so far, right? I heard that Lucy has also entered the Illusion Battlefield. Lucille has actually entered the Illusion Battlefield under two identities at the same time! She must have divided herself to be able to achieve that feat. But I wonder if she will become one with Lucy in the later battles?"

 Chapter 1554 Death Chain (Part Two)

    ...


    Lucille''s repetitive attacks were becoming much more skillful, and definitely more ferocious!


    She had specially focused her attacks on Zen''s vital parts, and every move of hers could kill him. At the speed of light, she slashed and cut at his eyes, throat and abdomen, hoping to blind, decapitate and disembowel him.


    It was because Zen''s ability to predict danger was so extremely accurate that he could always avoid the most serious injuries at the last critical moment, but the wounds on his body had still continued to increase! She was slicing him up bit by bit.


    "Die!"


    Another golden wind gathered momentum and swept over!


    A murderous smile appeared on Lucille''s face and there was a twinkle of expectation in her dark eyes now.


    She had found an unexpected flaw in Zen''s defenses, and after this attack, she would be able to end his life!


    Being in a stalemate with this insignificant person for so long had forced her to use the Crescent Blade, and Lucille couldn''t help but sigh in her heart that this universe was truly marvelous. It was a wonder that such a powerful yet insignificant person had shown up from nowhere, while she had not noticed him at all. She then realized that earlier she had underestimated the difficulty of the Illusion Battlefield. This display of prowess had been both entertaining and challenging and Lucille was feeling contented at this opportunity to really display her talents.


    However...


    This time, her attack missed Zen. The warriors on the wall gasped in puzzlement and looked at each other with confused faces. How could Lucille miss?


    Zen had deliberately shown that flaw.


    Lucille did not care overly much that she had missed in her attack on him. This kind of duplicitous action could only be described as boring trickery in her eyes. She only valued strength and skill, not deception.


    Since Zen was, in her opinio


    ille in front of him was surprisingly fast. Zen had dodged and retreated while pondering on how to break the situation, then he suddenly remembered that he still had this magic weapon and he wondered if it would work. He had actually never used it before!


    Whoosh!


    Streaks of golden wind were flashing.


    Lucille''s silhouette kept appearing and disappearing in the golden wind. However, no matter how much she struggled, she couldn''t get more than ten feet away from Zen as the chain held her locked in place.


    No matter how fast she was, she still couldn''t break free from this chain.


    Although Zen looked miserable with his multitude of bloody cuts, he knew that he had already won when the Death Chain had locked onto Lucille!


    The Death Chain could only extend a distance of ten feet. With a slight tug from Zen, Lucille was yanked back by Zen''s immense power.


    Realizing that she was unable to escape from his chain, a determined look appeared on Lucille''s face. She no longer struggled meaninglessly; instead, she once again drained all of the life vitality in her body. Accompanied by the brilliant luster of the Five-element Finger Chain, the life vitality turned into a five-colored palm print and rushed towards Zen with murderous intent!

 Chapter 1555 Rising Rapidly

    Facing Lucille''s five-colored palm print, Zen''s face was filled with happiness.


    In that instant, Zen activated the power of 30, 000 dragon scales.


    He also sent a palm strike toward Lucille. However, within this ordinary palm strike was an unimaginable power.


    In fact, it was out of helplessness that Lucille had used the Five-element Palm Print against Zen.


    It was just like what the bystanders had said: Lucille was not in her complete form right now.


    At this very moment, in another supreme world of the Illusion Battlefield, there was another Lucille¡ªLucy.


    One Soul in Two Bodies...


    Although such cultivation methods were rare in the universe, they did exist.


    It was similar to Yolande''s cultivation method, with which she could split her own soul into a million pieces.


    However, after she activated the Soul Split Spell, she could only gain enlightenment.


    On the other hand, with Lucille''s One Soul in Two Bodies, although the two bodies shared one soul, they could cultivate separately. When the two of them merged, she would become complete as the true ace talent of the Ji Clan!


    Because of this, right now, Lucille could only use the Earth Element Power and the Metal Element Power. The other three Original Laws were very weak, so the powers of the five elements she released weren''t complete.


    Bam!


    This palm print was the only choice Lucille had.


    If Lucy was here, it would be hard to say whether she would have won or lost against Zen''s palm strike. Since Lucy''s combat style was completely different from hers, after the two of them merged, their strengths and weaknesses would complement each other, which would give her the perfect form of the five elements. That was the true cultivation of the five elements.


    But now, under Zen''s attack, Lucille''s Five-element Palm Print started to crumble.


    "It''s over," Zen said with a smile. After breaking Lucille''s attack, he placed his hand on Lucille''s forehead. He had a gentle expression on his face, as if he was merely helping Lucille wipe the sweat on her forehead.


    However, with a light wave of his hand, a huge force spread out, causing Lucille''s body to directly disintegrate in front of everyone.


    A red light wrapped around Lucille''s soul and flew toward the main city.


    At the same time, the Illusion Points burst out from her dissipated body.


    Countless Illusion Points began to spread out and grow, reaching 20 to 30 feet.


    The martial artists on the city walls were seeing so many Illusion Points that all of their eyes almost bulged out in surprise.


    Since Lucille had been the "lord" of the city, there were eight "butchers" that had helped her gather Illusion Points day and night. Under her absolute control, the number of Illusion Points she had collected was definitely not a small one.


    Although everyone had been mentally prepared to see


    rious great Clans. They were unique existences who exceeded the ace talents. These Godly Geniuses were strong enough to change the fate and direction of their clans!


    Any clan would be willing to spend all their resources on their Godly Geniuses.


    This was because there was a saying in the universe that went, "To destroy a powerful clan, one must first kill the Godly Genius of that clan!" If the Godly Genius wasn''t killed, they would rely on their monstrous destiny and incredible talent to fight their way back one day.


    Therefore, when it came to great clans, even when their clans were destroyed, their Godly Geniuses could not be killed. The Godly Genius was only a seedling, but could become the future of the entire clan.


    There was something mystical about these words. After all, some of the great clans had a very solid foundation. If the Godly Genius of such a clan really did perish, then the clan would be able to foster a new one.


    However, from this saying, it could be seen just how much importance these clans placed on their Godly Geniuses.


    To be able to make it into the top ten of the entire Illusion Battlefield was already very impressive, but Lucille had an innate advantage in the Illusion Battlefield.


    While everyone in the Illusion Battlefield was fighting alone, Lucille had two bodies, both of which were extremely strong. Naturally, her number of Illusion Points was twice that of the other ace talents, and even the number of some Godly Geniuses.


    Even so, the Ji Clan was not satisfied with Lucille''s ranking.


    They wanted Lucille to be the first. There was no second choice, only first! After nurturing her for so many years, the Ji Clan would be ashamed if she didn''t become the first.


    However, on the pyramid in front of the Ji Clan and the patriarch, Lucille''s name suddenly fell down rapidly.


    From the 7th rank, she dropped directly down to the 700th!

 Chapter 1556 Lucy

    The competition in the Illusion Battlefield was quite intense.


    Since there were many main cities in the Illusion Battlefield and the majority of the martial artists could only move in a certain area, it was impossible for them to pass through many main cities in a short period of time.


    Therefore, the vast majority of warriors attacked and killed others to get Illusion Points around a main city.


    Of course, everyone had different ways to get Illusion Points.


    Lucille, for example, took control of a main city and collected Illusion Points like she was collecting tax. All the warriors in the city had to pay "taxes" and no one could escape.


    Of course, if she had collected Illusion Points merely by taking up a city, it would have been impossible for her to reach such a high ranking.


    However, Lucille practiced One Soul in Two Bodies. Her duplicate form, Lucy, was wandering around in another supreme world to gather Illusion Points there.


    The number of Illusion Points Lucy obtained was also recorded under Lucille''s name.


    This was the main reason why Lucille had been able to take the lead and be ranked seventh in the pyramid. It was such a great feat that the entire Ji Clan felt proud of her.


    After all, in the Thoughtless Minds, only two people had managed to fight their way into the top ten. One was Nathan, who had been ranked first before, while the other was Lucille. After Nathan''s ranking had dropped for no reason, Lucille was the only martial artist from the Thoughtless Minds who had entered the top ten.


    The Ji Clan''s patriarch was also quite happy when he saw this. He repeatedly exclaimed that the Ji Clan finally had a worthy successor.


    However, at this very moment, Lucille''s ranking rapidly dropped! It dropped all the way from the 7th to 700th!


    The master of the Ji Clan stared fixedly at the names on the pyramid with a grim expression on his face.


    "Someone has killed Lucille once!" the master of the Ji Clan said coldly.


    Unfortunately, people outside the Illusion Battlefield were not able to observe what was happening inside. All they could do was to wonder who had the strength to kill the ace talent of the Ji Clan.


    "Hmph, the person that has defeated Lucille wouldn''t be a nobody. I wonder what gave the person the courage to provoke my niece!" one of the elders of the Ji Clan said with a stern voice. Big clans were usually domineering. In the Ji Clan, Lucille was the apple of everyone''s eyes. How could they tolerate someone attacking her and killing her?


    "As I said before, we should have let Lucille merge with Lucy. One Soul in Two Bodies would greatly reduce her strength. Why take the trouble of using such a method!?" another elder said angrily.


    Being a duplicate of Lucille, Lucy had extraordinary power as well. The key point was that only when the two fused together could Lucille unleash her full power.


    Before the Illusion Battlefield opened, there had been a dispute among the Ji Clan about whether or not t


    anning to go to another main city.


    When the martial artists in the main city saw Lucy preparing to leave, they were secretly relieved. The sooner this plague left, the better!


    But just before she left, Lucy discovered that her ranking had started to drop drastically.


    "Who... Who killed me?"


    Lucy closed her eyes.


    She could connect to Lucille through telepathic communication. After a moment, Lucy had the answer to her question.


    ''A warrior called Thad Luo¡­


    If I want to find this guy, I''ll probably have to cross supreme worlds. I''m currently unable to do it.


    However, with the strength this guy possesses, I''ll eventually encounter him.''


    As she thought of this, her blurry eyes lit up with a clear ray of light.


    In another main city, a human figure slowly emerged from a green ball of light.


    It was Lucille, who had been killed by Zen. She was reviving very quickly.


    Not long after, the ball of light broke into pieces and Lucille appeared from within. She looked in the direction of the main city''s exit with a depressed look in her clear eyes.


    "Young master!"


    "Young master!"


    Norton and Ethan had been waiting for a long time beside the green sphere of light.


    Back when Norton was defeated by Zen, he had initially been unwilling to accept it. But now, after seeing that even Lucille had been defeated by that guy, he realized that there was a huge gap between him and Zen in terms of strength.


    Lucille gave a slight nod before walking toward the city gate.


    On top of the city wall, all the martial artists looked at Zen with awe in their eyes.


    This kid had really done it. He had killed Lucile, the ace talent of the Ji Clan!


    In the eyes of these Soul Sea Realm warriors who had resigned to their fate, it was simply incomprehensible to them that a Soul Sea Realm warrior could kill Lucille.


    After all, Lucille was an undefeatable legend. No one in the main city could become her match, let alone kill her.


    And yet, Zen had done it.

 Chapter 1557 Deal

    Nobody had ever considered the possibility of Zen defeating Lucille.


    Sure, the fight between the two was heart-thumping but they never thought that this young man would actually succeed in killing the powerful young miss.


    Whispers began to circulate through the crowd. Just who exactly was this young man? Where did he come from? Who was his teacher?


    They were all itching to find out.


    "Lucille is here!" someone declared.


    Many of them turned their heads to look. Lucille had indeed been revived and was slowly walking towards the top of the city wall.


    "She didn''t leave the city immediately after she was revived. She went up the wall instead!"


    "She doesn''t want to challenge that guy again?"


    "Does that mean she''s accepting her defeat?"


    They all thought Lucille would hurry back and challenge Zen to a rematch the moment she was revived. They never saw her as someone who gave up easily. It seemed they were wrong.


    Meanwhile, Zen remained perched on top of the Magnetic Sacred Mountain, as if waiting for his opponent.


    There was a high chance of heavy conflict between the two of them. However, he didn''t expect that she would choose to climb up the city wall instead.


    Zen looked down at her from his place on top of the mountain with a smile. "Don''t you want a rematch?"


    Lucille shook her head. "No, I don''t," she replied firmly.


    But it wasn''t out of cowardice. The goal for the Illusion Battlefield''s first phase was to accumulate as many Illusion Points as possible. She couldn''t do that if she ended up losing to Zen again and again. Lucille was stubborn but she wasn''t someone who fought battles that she wasn''t confident she''d win.


    "We''ll have a chance to fight each other again sooner or later," she told him. "When that time comes¡­ I hope you''re ready."


    Lucille gave Zen a knowing smile. When the time came for them to meet on the battlefield once again, she would''ve already fused with Lucy. By then, there was no way she would lose!


    Zen shrugged. "Sure!" he said before rubbing the back of his head. "I have a question though."


    "What is it?" she asked.


    "Why was it that the blue-clothed warrior''s Illusion Points were absorbed by you?" he asked.


    He already asked her this before but Lucille chose not to answer. He brought it up again only because he was really curious about this matter and still couldn''t figure out how she did it. No matter how strong she was, there was no way Lucille could bend the Illusion Battlefield''s rules.


    The young girl gave him a knowing smile before holding out a golden p


    n more points from more sheep.


    Just as Zen was about to leave, Lucille pursed her lips and finally opened her mouth, "Wait! Wait!"


    Zen stopped and turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow.


    "I can make a deal with you!" she said through her life vitality.


    She couldn''t let him go that easily. The method of refining a Magnetic Sacred Mountain was too important to pass up. She needed to learn it for her cultivation of the five elements.


    "What kind of deal?" Zen asked.


    There was a trace of emotion that appeared on Zen''s face as he followed the slight movement of her thin lips.


    Five minutes later, he found himself in front of a house at the corner of the main city.


    Zen sighed as he looked at the quaint house and felt a certain sense of serenity from it. He couldn''t help but feel a bit jealous of Lucille who spent her days idling by in this house but still ended up accumulating so many Illusion Points to herself. While, Zen was out there fighting against anything and anyone but the amount he earned was actually less than a tenth of her Illusion Points.


    Inside, Lucille stood in the middle of the courtyard, holding a row of blank jade slips in her hands.


    With a delicate voice, she uttered the word, "seal" and held the jade slip up to Zen. "I will teach you how to refine the magnetic power in the Magnetic Sacred Mountain through this jade slip but that''s it. How you use it will depend entirely on your own comprehension!"


    Zen nodded in understanding and made a move to take the jade slip from Lucille.


    However, a trace of hesitation appeared on her face.


    ''What if I give this to him but he refuses to teach me his method of refining a Magnetic Sacred Mountain?''

 Chapter 1558 A Familiar Face

    Once she gave him the jade slip then Lucille would have no more means to make Zen accountable to their deal.


    The use of magnetic power as a secret cultivation technique wasn''t even passed down in her own clan. This was privately taught to her by the patriarch himself!


    Lucille usually sat within the Magnetic Sacred Mountain while cultivating with the five elements. She did this in order to extract the surrounding magnetic power in order to aid her cultivation.


    However, the Magnetic Sacred Mountain was incredibly heavy and it was impossible for her to carry it around like Zen did if she didn''t know how to refine it.


    Had Zen been any other stranger, there was no way she was going to give him such a secret technique.


    But Zen''s knowledge of the refining method was too precious to pass up!


    She couldn''t just let him leave, not with the knowledge that he had something of value to her. All Lucille could do was to swallow her pride and exchange information with Zen.


    Zen, on the other hand, was no fool and quickly noticed the trace of hesitation on Lucille''s face.


    He knew perfectly what she was thinking but he simply waited for her to make her choice.


    If she didn''t believe in him then he could just leave. Now that he knew the potential of the mountain''s magnetic power then all he needed to do was to enter the library and search for more information regarding it. Finding this method shouldn''t be too difficult.


    However, that would mean waiting until after he got out of the Illusion Battlefield. Since Lucille was offering up the information to him now then that would be extremely convenient for him.


    Lucille chewed on her lip but her shoulders visibly slumped in resignation. "You can''t spread this technique to others. If you do, my Ji Clan will hunt you down to the darkest corners of the universe!"


    Zen would''ve rolled his eyes but that wasn''t exactly polite.


    He was someone who had already killed four Supreme Lords. He was not afraid of the Ji Clan nor the fact that they might also be included in the long list of those who currently waited for him at the gates of his fairy palace.


    Still, he nodded in understanding and took the jade slip that Lucille gave to him.


    With it in his hands, Zen quickly infused his senses into the jade slip and began to rapidly memorize the technique.


    Just as she said, this technique alone would be enough to help him extract the magnetic power from the Magnetic Sacred Mountain.


    Fortunately, Zen came upon an epiphany the moment he was done memorizing it.


    A trace of nervousness appeared in Lucille''s heart once she saw the change in Zen''s expression.


    She wasn''t usually so jumpy but this technique had been passed down to her from the patriarch. The repercussions of him finding out that she gave it to an


    e Illusion Battlefield was initially fairly distributed with a hundred points per person.


    However, this was a competition and, as time passed, the Illusion Points slowly began to get concentrated within certain groups of people.


    The Illusion Points possessed by the ''grass'' were transferred to the ''sheep'' who were then, in turn, eaten by the ''wolves.''


    In the end, the ''wolves'' would also perish in the hands of the ''lions'' and ''tigers.'' Such was the way of the warrior.


    If Zen wanted to rank higher, then he would need to continuously collect more Illusion Points!


    Right now, he had around five million Illusion Points and it was probably enough to let him stand among the top ten thousand.


    However, he shouldn''t be complacent. Other warriors were constantly collecting Illusion Points and the five million he had now would be nothing after a few hours since there was someone bound to pass by him on the way to the top.


    The only way Zen could remain where he stood was to persevere and continuously farm for Illusion Points, further increasing the accumulated points he had in his body.


    Whoosh!


    Zen''s eyes gazed over the map, and he quickly swooped down to the main city of his choosing. He landed heavily on the ground and immediately saw a sprawling emerald green field in front of him.


    There were towering trees that reached into the clouds with tree houses built onto each one. The city walls were made up of rows upon rows of intertwined old tree roots and there was evidence of dense life force that poured into them.


    Zen''s eyes flashed in curiosity as he took in the scene. "Is this the main city of the Demon Night race?"


    The sight was interesting but he reminded himself of the reason why he was here in the first place: to gain more Illusion Points.


    However, he never expected to meet up with a familiar face in this area.

 Chapter 1559 Ambers Whereabouts

    The surrounding conditions or situations of the two main cities that Zen had passed through were entirely different from each other.


    Social circumstances, like the personalities and habits of the various races, were some of these related differences.


    The ogres, for example, were truly aggressive by nature. And since they had already entered the Illusion Battlefield, their brutish character became dominant, causing them to fight fiercely with each other.


    However, humans were in a so-called "centralized" state. In Lucille''s city, the prevalence of occasional wars among the warriors happened regularly. But the vast majority of the Illusion Points obtained in these sporadic fights were being taken by Lucille''s eight subordinates to be handed over to Lucille.


    She was the veritable city lord. Everyone could cut each other''s throat, but in the end, everyone had to "pay taxes" to her.


    Under the suppression of Lucille, she maintained order within the main city of humans. If it weren''t for her control, human warriors would continuously fight each other, making the whole city be in a state of chaos!


    On the contrary, the main city of the Demon Night was entirely in a state of order!


    The Demon Night was primitively a race that strictly followed orders. There were very few conflicts between the members, so they were always united against the outsiders when they were attacked or encountered other bad things.


    There weren''t many warriors in the main city of the Demon Night. Nearly half of the warriors left the city to explore the infinite wilderness outside. And to obtain some Illusion Points, they killed the beasts in the wilderness.


    Of course, the Demon Night would also issue some challenges to each other. However, they would fight somewhere outside the city after being invited by their opponents. But other warriors would not participate in the battle or suddenly attack anyone.


    Seeing such an order in the city, Zen was sensible in not directly attacking others to get Illusion Points.


    Although there were a large number of warriors of the Demon Night around the city, they weren''t that cautious of Zen. In this city where everyone complied with the rules, the newcomers were also expected to abide by them.


    There were also a small number of ogre warriors and human warriors going in and out of the city gate. They also strictly followed the rules and didn''t randomly plunder other warriors'' Illusion Points.


    "It seems like I''ve come to the wrong place..."


    A depressed expression appeared on Zen''s face. The biggest function of the Teleportation Token was to allow him to teleport to different main cities.


    In this kind of situation, Zen would only need to travel to different main cities and kill warriors, so that he would be able to acquire a considerable amount of Illusion Points.


    However, most of the warriors in the city of the Demon Night had gone to the wilderness to kill fierce beasts. But the number of Illusion Points they had accumulated was not much. The points were scattered among them and were not gathered together by one warrior


    on Token could not be used now, he had originally planned to head towards the cities in the north. If he were to follow them to the abandoned tower, it would be a good idea.


    Thinking of this, Zen also planned to join this team.


    But before Zen could say anything, the third warrior of the Demon Night spoke, "Directly to the north of the city, there is a Deadwood Gate twenty-four thousand miles away. We need urgent assistance. Those who are willing to join and successfully rescue Amber and Aurora would get five hundred thousand Illusion Points."


    As the warriors present heard these words, all of them had every intention of joining the rescue.


    Five hundred thousand Illusion Points were already enough for many warriors. This number was enough for them to rank in the top ten million in the Illusion Battlefield!


    But this Deadwood Gate was a rather dangerous place. Now that the warriors were asked to go there for the emergency rescue, they were confused as to what had happened.


    One of the warriors asked, "Amber and Aurora have led the elites of the main city to explore there, right? Did they fail?"


    The Demon Night''s warrior shook her head and replied, "No. They did not fail, but encountered a sudden attack from another group. Most of the members of that group are ogres. Amber and Aurora are trapped inside the Deadwood Gate. They are in great danger now!"


    "It is the ogres that do such an evil thing again!"


    "Those despicable ogres only want to rob others..."


    "I''m willing to go to the Deadwood Gate!"


    It wasn''t that the Demon Night members didn''t have the strength to plunder other warriors'' Illusion Points at all, but they didn''t like to fight for anything by nature, nor did they like to expand.


    Thus, this exceptional, powerful race only occupied a bit over three hundred supreme worlds in the Upper World. Their territory was not expansive, severely not in proportion with their strength!


    However, Zen didn''t care about this. He just paid attention to the name "Amber" that the warrior of the Demon Night mentioned.

 Chapter 1560 Deadwood Gate

    When Zen ascended to the Upper World, Amber had probably not yet done so.


    The ascending passageway had been repaired then, with no obstacles left for ascending in the great world which then welcomed an ascension rush.


    Many warriors of the Soul Sea Realm in the Lower World had chosen to ascend.


    Zen shuffled through the memories of the great world and could not find any trace of Amber in the Sea God Continent. He figured that she had probably chosen to ascend.


    After all, Amber''s talent was good. Although she was only in the second row of the Talent Tablet, she could still develop quite well in the Upper World. Geniuses from several races and groups had gathered together in the Celestial Position. This could very well include Amber.


    But the Upper World was huge, and the hundred thousand supreme worlds so vast and endless that even Zen was unable to find any trace of her.


    Now that he suddenly heard her name, Zen''s eyes lit up.


    "Is she the same Amber I know?"


    There was no dearth of warriors at the Soul Sea Realm. It was quite possible that there was another warrior with the same name.


    The Deadwood Gate was in the north, which was the same direction for which Zen was heading. Moreover, one could receive five hundred thousand Illusion Points there.


    Even Zen, who already had millions of Illusion Points, was tempted.


    However, because the rewards were so great, it was granted that the tests would be tough. Moreover, they had to fight another squad, and there were not many martial artists who could be considered competent enough to do so.


    "Bring me along! I''m willing to help Aurora and Amber!" A warrior stepped forward, a sincere tone in his words.


    The Demon Night woman, who had come to recruit warriors, glanced at the warrior but shook her head. "You? If you don''t have enough strength, going there will only be a waste of the Illusion Points you''ve so painstakingly accumulated!"


    "I ¡­" The martial artist''s face reddened.


    The woman did not seem to care about the warrior''s embarrassment. She swept her eyes over the crowd and asked, "Anybody else thinks that you are able enough to follow me?"


    "I do!"


    From the top of the city wall, a male member of the Demon Night jumped down.


    This warrior wore black armor and sported a confident smile on his face. As he left the city walls, he flew toward the crowd.


    The woman looked at him and nodded. "You qualify!"


    "Me too." From the crowd, a long-haired Demon Night woman walked up to her slowly. Her red hair was infused with vitality and on her back was a large, dark-green bow. The bow emitted a vigorous and dazzling force of the Life Law.


    Not long after, three more warriors of the Demon Night chose to join in.


    Zen, who had been observing from the sidelines for a long time, also slowly made his way over. He asked in a clear voice, "Can I participate as well?"


    The warriors looked at him suspiciously as soon as the w


    is kind of alertness on their part was inevitable.


    The Demon Night tolerated it well. If the same thing had happened to the ogres or the humans, they would have perhaps fought Zen on the first opportunity. They would have certainly not brought him along.


    Shoop! Shoop!


    The group of eight warriors flew swiftly through the air.


    A journey of twenty-four thousand miles was considered long by most ordinary people. However, for warriors of the Soul Sea Realm, it was short because of the meteoric rate at which they covered it. Back when Zen had been in the Enchanted Barrier Tower, he had traveled nearly forty thousand miles.


    Half an hour later, one dead tree after another appeared in the wilderness on the ground below them.


    The dead trees had withered away completely. They looked like they were stuck in the ground, now only lifeless tree stumps.


    "These withered trees... They still seem to contain some life force," Zen commented, staring at the dead trees.


    Vivian, who had been flying beside Zen, smiled as she heard his words. "Yes, the dead trees have turned into spirits. If someone intrudes on this dead forest, they will rise up and launch attacks."


    "Is that so?" Zen''s eyes flickered with curiosity.


    "There are a lot of dead tree spirits in here, but the rewards for killing them are simply too small. Eliminating one only secures you two Illusion Points," Vivian added.


    "Hmm, interesting." Zen had thought that the many dead trees down below would help him garner a number of Illusion Points, but he did not expect the rewards to be so little. Only two Illusion Points! Even if he killed ten thousand dead tree spirits, he would only get twenty thousand points. It truly was not worth the massive effort.


    Right at this moment, the group encountered two giant dead trees before them. The dead trees extended their trunks and intertwined with each other, forming a great tree gate. This was, in fact, the Deadwood Gate.

 Chapter 1561 Save A Demon Night Woman

    Between these two massive dead trees was an enormous whirlpool of mysterious, fluorescent silver.


    "We need to go into that whirlpool. But be careful. The Deadwood Gate will attack you!" Vivian warned, taking the lead.


    Just as she finished her sentence, the two gigantic trees began to shake ominously.


    The entire party saw how the seemingly dead trees literally came to life as they whipped their branches violently towards them.


    Vivian wasn''t kidding when she said that the gate would attack them.


    There was no time to waste, however, and the group decided to forge ahead with Vivian in the lead. The moment they got in range, the trees'' branches suddenly whipped towards them violently.


    Whoosh!


    The branches glowed a mysterious deep green light, signifying the power of the Life Law! The force contained within those branches was unfathomable as the attacks caused even space to tremble.


    "Be careful!"


    Vivian reminded them. They were mere small flies in the face of these formidable trees and just one swat would be enough to turn them into a pile of blood and dead flesh.


    Whoosh!


    One of the tree branches targeted and lashed out towards Zen.


    He was calm and simply lowered his body to dodge the oncoming branch.


    However, just as he dodged, three more branches came for him!


    Fortunately, his Cloud-chasing Skill was enough to help him dash through the gaps among the branches. There was still no need to bust out the Eight Smoky Melodies since he could still keep up with this level of attacks from the trees with ease.


    However, the others weren''t so capable. The Demon Night archer let out a muffled cry after being struck by one of the branches.


    Pak!


    The force from the attack was too strong and immediately knocked her unconscious.


    However, before she could fall to the ground, three more branches extended from one of the trees and wrapped around her body.


    Vivian''s eyes froze when she saw the branches starting to pull their unconscious party member into the tree''s trunk. "Save her!"


    Two other Demon Night warriors were quick to heed her call. They too wanted to save the unfortunate warrior from the branches.


    However, just as they charged forward, ten branches swatted them away and forcibly pushed them back a couple of feet.


    There was just no going about it. The trees were just too strong.


    It was a really glum situation that they were in. They came here because they wanted to rescue their companions trapped inside, but before they could even enter the Deadwood Gate, they were going to lose a member of the group.


    Dying in the Illusion Battlefield wasn''t really a great deal since no one here died for real, bu


    ible dead weight to the group three seconds ago, but now he pulled a stunt like this and surprised all of them.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Zen''s face was calm and serene as he held the woman in his arms.


    However, the trees weren''t yet done as multiple branches came for him once again. There was no need to dodge though; all he needed to do was punch them.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    Each strike of his fist shattered the branches that tried to come for him.


    With just his strength alone, Zen knew he could absolutely tear apart these two enormous dead tree spirits with his bare hands.


    It was only the fact that these trees formed the frame of the Deadwood Gate that restrained him from doing so. He didn''t want the gate to disappear just because the trees proved to be too troublesome.


    "Forward!


    Let''s go!" Vivian yelled through the chaos. It was at that moment that she knew she had chosen the right person. Zen''s strength was even far greater than she had imagined.


    That meant Aurora and Amber''s predicaments had a high possibility of being solved.


    However, something lingered at the back of her mind.


    Zen wasn''t a member of the Demon Night. What if he led the humans and took over the Deadwood Gate? That was a possibility that Vivian had to watch out for.


    The Deadwood Gate was a great place to gather Illusion Points. Both Aurora and Amber were able to enter the top three thousand in this world just by using this gate.


    But Vivian knew there was no going about it now. She had already brought Zen here and had no choice but to let him do as he pleased.


    Since he was willing to go out of his way and rescue their team member, then that might mean that he was truly a good person. Vivian could only pray he wouldn''t turn himself against them in the end.

 Chapter 1562 Sacrifice

    Without any further hesitation, they entered the giant whirlpool in the middle of the two dead tree spirits.


    They figured they would be safe there for the time being.


    Vivian took the woman from Zen''s arms, prepared her longbow and pulled out a green arrow from the quiver behind her.


    Turning the arrowhead, she wielded it in her hand and shot straight toward the woman''s forehead.


    The scene was startling, even for Zen, but he soon realized that the green arrow was not meant to kill.


    The weapon contained strong life energy. Piercing the woman''s body with it was harmless¡ªit could probably even save her.


    Clearly, Vivian was there to treat the woman. The other warriors, on the other hand, were all busy sizing Zen up carefully.


    Just how powerful was Zen to have managed to disentangle himself from the two enormous dead tree spirits?


    The gazes of the surrounding warriors naturally became cautious. When they thought of what they said to Zen just earlier, they all felt a lingering sense of fear.


    If they truly angered this man, none of the Demon Night members there would even survive.


    A moment after the green arrow pierced through the woman''s forehead, she woke up.


    The instant she opened her eyes, she looked bewildered.


    When she was knocked unconscious by the branches, she was certain that she was going to die.


    The next time she woke up, she assumed she would find herself in the city.


    Never did she expect to find herself at the Deadwood Gate. Examining her surroundings, she saw Vivian standing beside her. It was as if she were dreaming something unfathomable.


    Noticing the woman''s confusion, Vivian explained, "That human warrior saved you."


    ''That human warrior...'' The woman''s gaze landed on Zen and she sent him a look of gratitude.


    While Zen merely nodded slightly at the woman''s gesture, he sized up the world behind the Deadwood Gate.


    In front of him stood an extremely tall, sturdy, and giant tree. The trunk must have been several hundred miles wide, its height even more so indescribable¡ªit was so tall that the top seemed to disappear into the atmosphere.


    When Vivian saw Zen''s gaze, she took the initiative to explain, "This tree is an ancient Sacred Ailanthus, the holy tree of the ancient sorcerer race. There are a total of thirteen branches of the holy tree and our Demon Night warriors are trapped on the seventh branch."


    ''An ancient Sacred Ailanthus? The ancient sorcerer race?'' The terms only confused Zen fu


    m. With his divine weapon body, he was immune to poison, after all.


    He could easily lure the bugs away from them and return in one piece.


    But Harley''s words were deeply displeasing. He was a human¡ªwhat did the lives and deaths of the Demon Night members have to do with him? And Zen cared only about Amber. Back on the Sea God Continent, she had helped him tremendously, after all. He couldn''t give less of a damn about the other Demon Night warriors, in truth.


    Harley''s words made Vivian''s face darken. But with a cold expression, she said, "If you go down and lure the bugs away, I will report it directly to Aurora to make up for the Illusion Points you will lose. You will also be compensated for double the amount. Otherwise..."


    Although there weren''t many internal battles in the city of the Demon Night, the consequences were dire for anyone who went against the norm.


    At her words, Harley hesitated for a moment. In the end, he gritted his teeth, turned around, and charged down.


    Shoo! Shoo! Shoo! Shoo!


    As he flew downward, an orange light flashed around him, where countless spears of majestic auras flew out.


    Harley''s attacks drew in the attention of the hundreds of Ailanthus Venomous Bugs following behind the group. They flocked together and charged at him.


    "Go to hell!" he yelled.


    Being forced to die would be frustrating for anyone¡ªHarley took the chance to attack the bugs without restraining his anger.


    But while the orange spears were sharp, they were still insufficient to break through the bugs'' shells. With clear sounds of impact, black venom seeped out from their horns, shooting straight toward Harley.

 Chapter 1563 Sorcerer Race

    The black venom was extremely corrosive! It aggressively disintegrated anything it touched.


    In the blink of an eye, the orange protective light shining over Harley was completely corroded.


    Immediately, the frightened crowd heard an intense and ravenous roar coming from below!


    Although warriors would not really die after being killed in the Illusion Battlefield, the pain they experienced was still real. Being slowly disintegrated and eaten by this venom until death set in, was not going to be a pleasant experience. Quite the opposite, as the pain was excruciating.


    When the warriors heard this beastly voice coming from the deep, their hearts trembled slightly, and they nervously looked for a way out.


    "Let''s leave quickly. After successfully passing this part, we should be able to reach the first branch!" Vivian said, trying to seem brave.


    Seeing what Harley had suffered, the group did not stop, not even to catch their breath. They were all afraid that the Ailanthus Venomous Bugs would catch up to them once again.


    Not long after, Zen''s eyes flickered with a faint green light. Through the dense white mist, he could see a thick branch!


    Just one branch alone was thick enough to support a city!


    This sorcerer race had been an extremely powerful race in remote ages, and this Sacred Ailanthus was the sacred place where the sorcerer race had dwelt.


    The grand sorcerers of the sorcerer race were also at the same level as the Supreme Lords. Among them, there had been one of the grand sorcerers who even had one of the most powerful Heavenly Destiny in the entire universe!


    This Heavenly Destiny was powerful enough to instill fear in everyone, even those in modern times would still quake at the thought.


    It was said that the grand sorcerer who possessed this Heavenly Destiny only needed to know the name and appearance of his enemy, and then he would be able to turn his thought into a ferocious attack and kill the enemy by merely imagining that scene! He was therefore killing with his mind.


    That meant that if Zen mastered this Heavenly Destiny, he only needed to picture the scene of him killing someone after knowing what the person looked like. That person would be killed immediately! Like the snap of his fingers!


    The imagination of living beings was limitless, who could resist such a terrifying Heavenly Destiny?


    This was truly a killing method that could be used simply by thinking about it.


    However, for some unknown reason, this sorcerer race had suddenly disappeared from the universe, and not even a trace of them, their elders, or their weapons could be found!


    The sorcerer race, which originally controlled thousands of supreme worlds, was a highly intelligent and large race even in the ancient times. However, the entire sorcerer race disappeared mysteriously, and even the bones of this race could no longer be found in any of the sacred places. This matter was considered a wondrous story of this grand era, and up until now, it had been seen as a huge mystery!


    "We can go straight up, so why are we stopping here on this tree branch?" Zen asked as he nimbly stepped onto the huge tree branch.


    Vivian shook her head and said, "It''s not that easy from the first tree branch onward. There is a powerful killing spell hidden within.


    ight would dare to stand against the Queen of Punishment. A few years ago, even the head of the Board of Elders was killed by the Queen of Punishment! Now, no one was safe.


    However, since Aurora had even considered freeing Amber, she was very happy with this small gesture. Aurora was her only friend in the Upper World!


    In these three times passing through the Deadwood Gate, Amber had voluntarily given up her Illusion Points, and given them all to Aurora. This was the only thing Amber could do to help her.


    They didn''t expect that this time, just as they had reached the seventh tree branch, they would be attacked by a roaring group of ogre martial artists!


    For the past few hours, they had been struggling to hold on by using Aurora''s Falling Leaves Array and Amber''s well-honed sword techniques.


    The truth was that even if she died, it wouldn''t be a tragedy. At least the time Amber had spent in this Illusion Battlefield was a happy memory for her. She held the sword lightly and looked at Aurora, who was controlling the Falling Leaves Array. Facing the chaotic attack of the ogre warriors, Amber, however, felt a sense of peace descend on her.


    Above this tree branch, there were many thumb-sized leaves scattered about in an intricate pattern.


    The edges of these leaves were like the razor edge of a blade. If one did not pay attention, these leaves could easily cut through both forceful energy and flesh.


    It was also these sharp leaves that had shredded and created utter mayhem, and had blocked the attacks of more than ten ogre martial artists!


    All the ogre martial artists were riled up and irritable. They stamped their great feet and grunted with malcontent.


    Once the ogres stepped into the Falling Leaves Array, not only would they have to face being cut to pieces by the exceptionally sharp leaves, but they would also have to face the sword radiance of the woman of the Demon Night.


    "This time, I must rush through. I must rip these women of the Demon Night apart, and spill their blood with my blade," an ogre warrior standing in the middle roared desperately. It was obvious that this group of ogre warriors had finally lost their last ounce of patience.

 Chapter 1564 Aurora

    The ogres'' eyes turned red with fury.


    They had gathered as a team when they entered the Illusion Battlefield¡ªthey already managed to plunder three whole cities.


    Two of them could be ranked in the top 500, 000 of the entire Illusion Battlefield, and in the top 10, 000 of this supreme world.


    By chance, they ended up at the Deadwood Gate.


    Encountering such hefty resistance was completely unexpected.


    Even after wasting several hours on it, they were unable to push through the attacks from the Falling Leaves Array. Having lost two of their teammates, they were already beyond their limits of patience and control.


    After the ogre roared, a giant shield appeared on his arm. "I''ll charge in front. You guys, follow me all the way. Cheer up, now! I don''t think these girls will last much longer!"


    "Let''s go!"


    "Damn it! This is such a waste of time. What kind of treasures are on top of this damned wood?"


    The others also followed suit in yelling and complaining¡ªthey couldn''t hold it in any longer. Their strength had already been activated, preparing to take down their enemies once and for all.


    On the front line, a tall woman from the Demon Night stood beside Amber.


    She had long, blue hair as if it was dyed by the color of the sky itself.


    At this moment, countless fragmented leaves surrounded Aurora''s hand, much like a bracelet made of leaves.


    "Amber! We probably won''t be able to hold on any longer," Aurora said, looking helpless.


    "Never mind! We''ll have another chance," Amber assured her with a faint smile.


    But to that, Aurora frowned, deep in thought. With a flick of her fingers, the edges of all the leaves in the array began glinting with golden light. Those leaves seemed to turn sharper and fiercer. "I like your optimistic attitude. If you can obtain your freedom, then even in the Demon Night of the Upper Realm, you''re sure to have a brilliant future ahead!"


    With that, Amber smiled¡ªsuch laments from Aurora weren''t new to her.


    But what Aurora wished for was quite a long shot. While the restrictions on the warriors of the Demon Night weren''t unreasonably harsh, the order of their queen was still an iron law.


    Who Amber had offended was the Queen of Punishment herself¡ªhow could an ordinary warrior like her survive the grave consequences?


    "Those dirty bastards are coming!"


    "Let''s go then!"


    Determination grew more evident on the faces of the two Demon Night women.


    Fightin


    pact was terrifying¡ªit was as if he was waving an entire mountain in his hands.


    "Not dodging?"


    Beside the array, Aurora looked stunned¡ªshe was completely at a loss to what Zen was planning to do.


    Zen''s palm reached out and transformed into a blade force, slashing upwards diagonally.


    The strike wasn''t particularly fast¡ªit was even rather slow. But the hidden power in it was something no one could possibly imagine.


    "Bang!"


    The collision between Zen''s palm strike and the mace resounded.


    At that very moment, the others'' eyes widened as they sucked in a breath of cold air.


    The thick mace broke easily under Zen''s palm.


    After the upper part of it shattered, it flew backward, as it dissolved into countless black fragments in the air. They scattered, causing some kind of black rainfall on the tree.


    Simultaneously, the ogre''s hands holding the mace suddenly split open, spurting out brown blood.


    First, his fingers, then his palms and arms¡ªby the end of it, even his shoulders were split open.


    And all were from a single strike of the palm.


    Standing behind Zen was Vivian, who seemed to have two stars rising in her very eyes. This person''s strength was well beyond her imagination.


    Although Aurora, who was of a noble background, had witnessed many extraordinary things in her life, she couldn''t help but widen her eyes with great shock at witnessing the scene¡ªshe also couldn''t deny the feeling of an intense threat.


    While she probably had some strength left over to fight the ogres, after considering Zen''s strength, she felt a sense of helplessness in her heart¡ªshe was no match for him.

 Chapter 1565 An Old Friend

    Aurora''s usually clear eyes darkened a bit. She and Vivian had the same reason why they compared themselves to Zen.


    A martial artist would naturally be cautious in the face of a powerful opponent. It was because of this that they were even wary of their companions sometimes.


    Aurora and Zen did not know each other.


    Zen seemed to have been brought in by Vivian. However, why would he be willing to help her if he was strong enough on his own?


    The Deadwood Gate was a supreme sacred place where martial artists grabbed Illusion Points. They would receive at least a few million Illusion Points every time they entered. If Zen took control of the place, the Demon Night wouldn''t be able to do anything.


    Therefore, no one could blame Aurora for being worried.


    All the ogre martial artists were afraid and nervous because of Zen''s attack.


    The ogre martial artists had good perception, even though they were irritable. They were well aware that they were at the point where they were on the verge of death.


    There was only a path in the huge tree branch. Zen guarded one side, and the Falling Leaves Array was on the other side. They would lose their chance of resistance if they were surrounded.


    "Kill this guy first!" the ogre martial artist with the giant shield on his shoulder said quickly.


    Then, he dashed forward as soon as he finished speaking.


    The other ogre martial artists followed suit since they understood their current situation.


    The ogre martial artists'' tall and sturdy bodies looked like small mountains when they pounced towards Zen.


    On the contrary, Vivian stayed at the other side of the tree branch and did not lead the Demon Night members to follow Zen. Instead, her mouth gently moved, as if she was communicating with Aurora.


    However, neither Vivian nor Aurora made a move.


    Meanwhile, Amber was lost in her own world.


    She simply stared indifferently at the young man in the distance.


    He was just a youth back then when he had arrived at the Sea God Continent. He was rather lanky and even a bit immature.


    However, Zen gave her a strong sense of confidence now. He could kill all the ogre martial artists in front of him with just a wave of his hand.


    How hard would it be for a martial artist who could kill Supreme Lords to kill some ogre martial artists?


    Amber decided to believe in his strength since she knew him.


    Boom!


    The giant shield in the hands of the ogre martial artist at the front exploded with a violent crash.


    Opposite him was Zen who dashed fluidly like a ghost as he continuously moved around the ogre martial artists.


    He moved so gracefully that he could still slip into the smallest gap like a wisp of


    Leaves Array.


    "Amber?"


    Aurora was slightly surprised, but she saw that Amber had a slight smile on her face.


    Amber nodded at Aurora and said, "Don''t worry. He''s an old friend of mine."


    "He''s your old friend?" Aurora couldn''t help but be stunned.


    Amber continued to nod and smile, and then added, "Remember what I told you before? There is only one person in the universe who can change my fate, and that is him."


    Aurora was now even more surprised.


    During their adventures, Amber had told her briefly about what happened to her in her past.


    For example, how she had offended the Queen of Punishment, and how she was imprisoned and bore the cruel torture.


    Amber said that there was only one person in the universe who could save her. This person was the storyteller in the universe. He had a special Roaring Token. Moreover, even dozens of Supreme Lords couldn''t do anything to him.


    If she followed what Amber said, then this person must be Zen indeed.


    Even if he had many detractors, Zen was already a legend in the universe.


    Despite his many feats, his strength set off a storm of speculation among martial artists.


    Some people said that since Zen had inherited the fairy palace, his own power must be terrifying. He could go toe to toe against ace talents and Godly Geniuses of many various races.


    Others said that he was mediocre, and that he relied on external objects when he''d killed the Supreme Lords. He wasn''t a powerhouse as he seemed to be, and was simply a nobody among the crowd.


    However, he could definitely fight the ace talents judging from the strength he had just displayed.


    Aurora''s heart hammered in her ribcage as the legendary young man was standing right in front of her.


    Then, she asked, "Are you the Zen that Amber mentioned?"

 Chapter 1566 Anticipation

    Zen wouldn''t hide anything from Amber.


    A faint smile hung on his face as he nodded in acknowledgment.


    At this moment, Vivian and the other Demon Night warriors followed behind.


    But Aurora''s words had stunned Vivian for a moment.


    "Thad is Zen¡­"


    He was the human warrior who had managed to trick and kill Supreme Lord Gunter.


    Vivian''s family was a side branch of the Demon Night. Six Years ago, Maddox stood as the branch''s leader and participated in hunting Zen down ruthlessly.


    It was difficult to determine who was on the right side of that internal strife. But after confirming that Thad was Zen, Vivian was astonished.


    Regardless of anything, since Zen was Amber''s friend, he could probably be trusted.


    With that thought, Aurora and Vivian felt a sense of relief.


    Something flashed slightly in Aurora''s eyes before a bright smile appeared on her face. "I didn''t know you are Amber''s friend. I''m so sorry for offending you earlier. Thank you for helping us."


    With that, she waved her finger and a small, black tree appeared in her hand. The little tree went up to only four feet high, with its branches only as thick as her pinky finger. Not a single leaf was on it.


    As she pulled it out, the branches began quiver before leaves grew from the branches¡ªit was a rather magical sight.


    In the blink of an eye, the bare black tree had turned into a small, fully grown tree. Only when she put it away did she look at Amber, with her situation in mind. When she saw Amber hesitate to say something, she put on a brilliant smile and said, "You two got to meet again, so you probably have things to talk about. Amber is in a predicament right now."


    "A predicament?" Zen''s eyes flashed as he stared at Amber.


    At this moment, embarrassment and uneasiness crept into Amber''s demeanor.


    Back in the prison, she had thought of ways to spread the news of her imprisonment.


    But the universe was all too vast¡ªit wasn''t an easy task to find a certain man from among a hundred thousand supreme worlds.


    As for the Roaring Token, world lords couldn''t even attain them easily, let alone a Soul Sea Realm warrior like Amber.


    Now that she had finally crossed paths with Zen, it seemed like some kind of act of providence.


    But now that she stood before him, her mind came up blank.


    Perhaps Aurora could see through her nervousness, which made her bring up Amber''s situation.


    "That''s right. She''s imprisoned and has been sentenced to the punishment of being burned and corroded. It''s a punishment second only to the Punishment of Eternal Night. Her body has suffered under corrosive rainfall. After a few days of punishment, her eyes rot, her skin festers, and her muscles and bones end up corroded. Her body get


    o consider whether or not their races could be attacked by the Demon Night easily.


    In the entire universe, Zen was the sole person qualified to do so.


    He had once killed several Supreme Lords, after all.


    Four powerful Supreme Lords had perished at his hands.


    When Zen said these words, the Demon Night warriors turned even more furious.


    But as their leader, Aurora said nothing. What could the other warriors say?


    But these warriors from the Demon Night were still unconvinced. It was very reckless for a Soul Sea Realm warrior like Zen to kill their queen within three years.


    The gap between the Soul Sea Realm and the realm of the world lord was indeed wide. The Spirit Supreme Realm and the Spirit Transformation Realm lay between the two cultivation realms.


    To increase their cultivation base and match up to the world lords, some warriors would spend hundreds of thousands of years, even millions of years, to practice their cultivation.


    But Zen had made a promise that he could bring Elena down in a measly three years.


    "I can endure it for three years," Amber responded with a nod, her eyes gleaming with hope.


    While she wasn''t certain Zen could manage to do it within three years, she was firm in deciding to keep on enduring the years of pain as, at the very least, he had given her hope.


    When Zen was on the Sea God Continent before, he had already completed numerous seemingly impossible tasks¡ªhe was a miracle-maker.


    Rare were people like him.


    When he saw her expression, he couldn''t help but feel guilty.


    After all, it was because of him and Lavender that Amber was stuck in such an awful predicament.


    Zen wasn''t a savior¡ªhe wouldn''t deliver all things from suffering or their troubles. But he wouldn''t just stay out of the matter if someone he treasured was in trouble.

 Chapter 1567 Explosive Ferocious Ant (Part One)

    Aurora walked to the side, but she was quietly looking Zen over from head to toe.


    It wasn''t just her. The other warriors of the Demon Night, such as Vivian, were also reconsidering Zen. He was not quite what they had expected.


    However, there was a hint more than curiosity in Aurora''s eyes.


    He said that he would kill Elena within three years. She thought this fellow was truly interesting! However, she was still mystified as to how he would manage to reach this step. She wanted to ask Amber about it when she had more time.


    After chatting for a while, Amber had calmed down and her heart took up a more normal rhythm.


    At the very least, her decision to enter the Illusion Battlefield had proven correct.


    Next, Aurora once again took charge of the group and they all stepped on the plate at the end of the tree branch.


    When the scribbled golden words needed to break the spell, once more appeared under everyone''s feet, they began to ascend yet again. Not long after, they arrived at the eighth branch of the Sacred Ailanthus.


    As Zen landed on the eighth tree branch, he immediately saw that it was filled with giant ants!


    There were a lot of tall spikes on the bodies of these vicious ants. Their shells were red, and there were flames dancing in their slightly translucent bellies, making them look like big lanterns. If it weren''t so dangerous, it would have been a comical scene to witness.


    "The Explosive Ferocious Ant. Once each of these ants are killed, there will be a violent explosion. It would be best for everyone to spread out a bit," Aurora ordered. She had wandered through the Sacred Ailanthus three times before, so she naturally knew every single one of these vicious creatures like the back of her hand. The others all heeded her instruction and spread out cautiously


    his heart he knew what they were waiting for.


    He realized that they wanted to watch him take action, and see how powerful he was.


    "I''ll give it a try then!"


    Zen smiled as he leaped up and immediately rushed forward. However, he did not attack when he brushed past the nearest Explosive Ferocious Ant. Instead, he gently tapped the Explosive Ferocious Ant on its back with the tip of his foot and charged forward once again, with his clothes fluttering in the wind!


    Being stepped on by Zen, the first Explosive Ferocious Ant crawled at an extremely fast speed and chased after him.


    But Zen ignored it and continued running forward!


    Tap!


    With a flip, he brushed close by another Explosive Ferocious Ant.


    Thus, there were two Explosive Ferocious Ants now chasing after Zen. The other members of the group grew uncomfortable at the sight of Zen being chased after by these dangerous creatures. If one of them exploded....


    "What is Zen doing?"


    "He wants to gather the Explosive Ferocious Ants together!"


    "He must be crazy!"


    Witnessing this scene, the warriors of the Demon Night couldn''t help being worried about him. It seemed like a suicide mission that Zen was embarking on.

 Chapter 1568 Explosive Ferocious Ant (Part Two)

    Although the Explosive Ferocious Ant itself was not a powerful foe, its explosive power was extremely terrifying. No matter who was fighting against the ants, they would have to be cautious when dealing with them.


    Therefore, the only way to pass through the eighth tree branch was an arduous task which would exhaust one''s strength. One had to lure the Explosive Ferocious Ants aside and kill them one by one.


    However, watching Zen brazenly charge into the group of ants, Vivian and the others'' hearts did indeed lurch, and they almost rushed after him.


    However, a faint smile was growing on Amber''s face!


    Strictly speaking, she hadn''t had much interaction with Zen before. However, back in the Heavenly Feather Sacred Place, the various incidents which Zen had featured in, had also been spread in detail from the Tower of Sin. She knew that this was Zen''s usual way of doing things. If he was to follow the rules, he would not be ''Zen''. He could never wait inertly for someone else to take action, Zen always rushed in and his bravery always carried the day.


    Zen didn''t stop at all as he jogged past them, and the number of Explosive Ferocious Ants following behind him grew in number until it was a lengthy train of ants that covered the ground!


    "There are so many Explosive Ferocious Ants. If they were to all explode together, how powerful would the explosion be?"


    "Isn''t he afraid of being blown up and dying? He would lose a lot of Illusion Points if that happened!"


    Aurora was staring curiously at Zen''s actions. Hearing their discussions, her face changed as if an idea had suddenly occurred to her. She then said, "Back off! Everyone, back off! Stay as close to the main trunk of the Sacred Ailanthus as possible!" She seemed to know what was coming.


    Now, everyone could see that Ze


    llowing clouds of dust and spent chemicals!


    Accompanying the explosion was an extremely powerful shock wave that spread out in all directions like a flood.


    Even the Sacred Ailanthus, which was as big as a mountain, was shaking gently!


    Zen maintained a careful distance from the place where the explosion had occurred. Both of his legs remained fixed in the ground, like nails had firmly nailed him in place, while he had a firm look on his angular face, as he bore the brunt of the shock wave.


    Fortunately, Aurora had asked everyone to retreat to the main trunk of the Sacred Ailanthus behind them from the start.


    When the shock waves spread out, it was as if there were giant invisible hands pressing everyone down to the ground and even tightly into the tree trunk, preventing them from moving at all. It almost felt as if the air was being crushed from out of their lungs by the intense pressure.


    If they had still been standing foolishly on the eighth tree branch, they would have been launched headfirst towards the main trunk of the Sacred Ailanthus by the impact of the shock wave.


    In that case, even if somehow, they didn''t die; they would at the least have been severely injured!

 Chapter 1569 Letitia Had Ascended

    Aurora''s face was scrunched up in pain after having her back smashed against the tree trunk from the force of the explosion.


    She shouldn''t have asked him to give it a try if she knew this was the way he was going to deal with these ants!


    After the dust settled, all of them decided to leave the safety of the tree trunk and check on the state of their surroundings.


    Having settled themselves, they jumped onto the broad branch. Except for Aurora, Amber, and Vivian, the rest of them were pale with shock. Although they were quite far from the center of the explosion, they were still slightly injured by the impact. A couple of them felt the beginnings of abnormal circulation and meridian stasis from the blast. It was a good thing that they stocked up on pills for a swift recovery. Soon after, they were surprised at what they saw.


    "This guy...


    How on earth did he manage to withstand such a powerful impact?!" Zen stood firmly on the branch with no signs of injury at all despite being smacked in the middle of the explosion. Aurora pursed her lips as she looked up at the unharmed young man. She couldn''t help but sulk at the fact that the world was so unfair. They were both Soul Sea Realm warriors but why was there such a huge difference in their strength?


    Amber, on the other hand, only sighed. She wasn''t as surprised as the others. In fact, this was exactly what she expected. ''He''s grown so much in just the span of seven years. Now I''m the one who has to look up to him, '' she couldn''t help but think to herself as she looked at Zen.


    With the elimination of these Explosive Ferocious Ants, their way forward had now been cleared.


    The eighth branch would''ve normally taken them several hours to pass but that time had now been reduced to five minutes because of Zen''s strong attack.


    The group stepped onto the plate at the end of the branch and continued their climb.


    Meanwhile, in the Humanity Alliance, a petite figure had climbed out of an ascending pool in the Three Purities World.


    The water had drenched her entire body but with a gust of cold air, it immediately turned into ice shards!


    The woman shook her body and let the shards fall into the pool.


    "Ding ding..."


    "The vitality between heaven and earth here is so violent!"


    She looked around and took in her surroundings with curiosity.


    Wanting to see more of this strange place she had just arrived in, she slowly walked down from the side of the ascending pool...


    "You, and you, and the rest of you stay there! Don''t move!" an armored warrior ordered.


    The woman slightly raised her brows as a brief display of defiance, however, she was quick to submit after finding out the cultivation level of this warrior. He was a powerful master at the late stage of the Soul Sea Realm!


    She did not resist and obediently followed the other warriors who had also ascended from the Lower World.


    These new arrivals had high hopes for the Upper World.


    None of them knew that the competition here was going to be even more grueling than that of the Lower World.


    These warriors had been top warriors and held absolute power back in the Lower World, but here Soul Sea Rea


    ars.


    Zen''s talent was no doubt enough to make him a core martial artist in a tenth-grade sacred place.


    But there were so many supreme worlds here in the Upper World and she had no idea which one he ended up in.


    Would she really have to mine here for decades?


    If she had known this earlier, then she wouldn''t have ascended. She would''ve just stayed in the Lower World with her Geoffrey.


    But it was too late for regrets now. The armored warriors quickly led them to a space tunnel and advanced.


    However, halfway through their journey, an armored warrior went into the group and stopped in front of Letitia. "You, stop. You don''t need to mine anymore."


    "Huh?" she could only remark in surprise.


    The armored warrior only shook his head. "Just follow me."


    Her eyes flickered in curiosity, not really knowing what was happening. Everything was just so strange here in the Upper World.


    But she took it as a good sign that she wouldn''t need to mine anymore.


    Letitia split from the group and followed the armored warrior into the space tunnel. They walked through it for a while before finally arriving at a large city.


    Her eyes were wide in wonder as she took in the grandeur of the sights in front of her. Soon enough, she was being led into an equally exquisite hall.


    Dozens of women were already gathered here, all of them at the Soul Sea Realm.


    Letitia took the chance to converse with some of them and found out that they too were all newly-ascended warriors from the Lower World.


    They were also brought here with no knowledge as to why and what exactly was waiting for them.


    Leaving wasn''t an option since there were armored warriors who stood guard outside the hall.


    This was when Letitia realized that there was something fishy going on.


    Why exactly had they been brought and gathered here? Nobody knew so they could only resort to focusing on their cultivation.


    Letitia and these other women had waited here for half a month until, one day, three young men arrived. Their bodies emitted strong auras and all of them were powerful masters at the Spirit Supreme Realm.

 Chapter 1570 Zens Ranking Dropped

    When the three men entered the hall, the man on left chuckled as he said, "These women are warriors that have just ascended to our Pure Jade Sacred Place."


    "The female warriors at the Soul Sea Realm from the Lower World are all beauties, aren''t they?" the man on the right remarked with a smirk.


    The most handsome one stood in the middle, attracting every woman''s gaze the moment he stepped into the hall. "Those that can ascend to the Upper World must be the most talented warriors in the Lower World. From a young age, they''ve used pills to change their facial features and body shape, perpetuating their youth. That''s why they''re all beauties," he explained plainly.


    Having waited there for quite a while, the women at the Soul Sea Realm found themselves eager to approach the three men that just arrived and ask about their status.


    The lady in the lead asked, "Sirs, I wonder what the Pure Jade Sacred Place intends to do by putting us all in here?"


    One of the men chuckled and said, "Don''t worry. We have no ill intentions. It''s just that it''s rather difficult for women to ascend to the Upper World, so we decide to save you the trouble of mining."


    Although all the warriors from the Lower World in the hall were women, they had all gone through so much before ascending to the Upper World. Naturally, they weren''t impressed by the man''s words.


    In truth, they all knew that he was making it sound much simpler than it was actually going to be.


    "If that''s the case, why do we need to be locked in here? Why not just let us go?" another woman asked with a smile.


    Standing in the corner was Letitia, who furrowed her brows when she heard the woman''s question. If they were freed, she''d be able to go and find Zen. But with the way things were looking, it seemed the men weren''t just going to let them go too easily.


    As expected, the man only laughed. "The Pure Jade Sacred Place is the greatest power of the Three Purities World. Since you''ve ascended here, could it be that you all want to give up the rare opportunity to join our sacred place?"


    Worry filled the hearts of the women in the hall.


    Because they knew they were no match for the three men, they could only wait and see what they were really after.


    "Master Hai of our Pure Jade Sacred Place is almost a world lord. He wants to take in some disciples. You are all fortunate enough to be chosen for the status. Follow me. It''s worth noting, however, that Master Hai has his own standards. Not just anyone can become his disciple. Good luck, girls."


    "Master Hai''s disciples?"


    "I''ve had no master since I started cultivating. No matter what cultivation level Master Hai is at, I refuse to be his disciple."


    "I knew being brought here was bad new


    for me and 70% for you. What do you think, Zen?" With a smile, Aurora fixed her blue eyes on him.


    "Sure," Zen nodded. "What about Amber? Why doesn''t she need it?"


    The moment he finished speaking, Amber shook her head, "I don''t need it."


    "Why not?" Zen prodded.


    In place of Amber, Aurora went ahead and answered the question. "If Amber accumulates a certain amount of Illusion Points, she''ll definitely make it to the front. With so many Demon Night warriors keeping an eye on the list, she''ll definitely be noticed by the others. The current Amber doesn''t need to be noticed¡ªit''s better for her to blend in and be forgotten."


    Amber''s body was still in the Demon Night prison, after all, and the top five million warriors in the entire Illusion Battlefield would attract unnecessary attention. With her strength, it wouldn''t be difficult for her to enter the top five million.


    If Elena noticed this by chance, Amber would face even more severe consequences.


    Although it wasn''t a probable outcome, it wasn''t worth the risk.


    Looking deeply into Amber''s eyes, Zen nodded. "I got it."


    Then, he took the fruits from Aurora and crushed them one by one.


    Every time he crushed a fruit, the Illusion Points burst out of it before rapidly fleeing into his body.


    After crushing 21 fruits, Zen obtained 2, 100, 000 Illusion Points¡ªsuch a number was beyond anyone''s expectation. It was only a little less than the points he gained from killing Lucille.


    But when he checked his ranking, it turned out that he barely moved.


    In this supreme world, his ranking had already moved up to the 267th.


    But in the entire Illusion Battlefield, his ranking didn''t only fail to improve, but also dropped to the 15, 000th. This meant that the warriors ahead of him were plundering Illusion Points much faster than him.

 Chapter 1571 Eyeballs

    Upon checking his ranking, Zen couldn''t help but sigh.


    In the Illusion Battlefield, there were just too many competitors to take on.


    Putting strength aside, each of these warriors at the Soul Sea Realm had their own individual chances and fortunate encounters.


    Such warriors with both strength and luck could easily monopolize places like the Deadwood Gate, plundering Illusion Points. Naturally, they could obtain the points much faster than the ordinary warriors.


    If it wasn''t for Amber''s sake, Zen could have easily chased away this group of Demon Night warriors to monopolize the Deadwood Gate by himself. When the gate opened, he could enter it himself and take away four million Illusion Points like it was nothing. Lucille, who had occupied an entire city and forced the warriors to pay her Illusion Points, couldn''t be compared to Zen in how he obtained the points.


    Because of the fear that something like this would happen, Aurora had been rather wary of Zen. Being a world lord descendant, she''d had her hopes up for getting a good rank¡ªit was probably a tad painful to volunteer the 21 fruits to him.


    "Hey, look at this! There''s a plate leading to the thirteenth branch. Why don''t we move forward?" Zen asked the group as he stared at the area.


    "We can''t go there." Amber shook her head.


    After a blink of her eyes, Aurora smiled, "Zen, you can challenge it if you really want to. But the thirteenth branch is the apex of the Sacred Ailanthus. It''ll be difficult beyond what we''re capable of. Though, I suppose the reward is quite promising."


    Hearing her words, Zen nodded. "I want to give it a try!"


    Although he was already in the top twenty thousand in the entire Illusion Battlefield, this rank was by no means the end of it.


    "We''ve climbed onto the thirteenth branch once. It should be the place of inheritance of the sorcerer race. We were attacked by some strange spells when we entered. The spells took some of us out before we retreated. Zen, you must consider this carefully," Amber said with a now worry-stricken face.


    With a nod, Zen smiled. "Even if it doesn''t work, I can still leave."


    Since he already made up his mind, Amber could no long


    gth of his body wasn''t limited to only his tendons, bones, or skin; even his internal organs had absorbed all sorts of flames, making themselves as tough as a divine weapon.


    If it were any other warrior with their heart gripped by this strange force, they probably would have already been severely injured and rendered unable to move. But Zen was completely at ease¡ªit was no big deal ignoring the heartbeat resounding in his ears.


    But after about five minutes, he stopped once again.


    "This path doesn''t seem right. I think I''m walking in circles."


    On the road atop the tree, there were sixty to seventy gigantic skulls. After circling a few times, he soon found himself walking in circles.


    He felt trapped in the space.


    With this thought, Zen closed his eyes and then a layer of green light flashed through his pupils.


    He activated his magic vision and swept his gaze in a circular motion.


    Zen''s eyes widened as he looked through the faint, lead-gray fog¡ªhe couldn''t help but suck in a sharp breath of cold air.


    In the depths of the fog, huge eyeballs were floating about.


    Unable to gauge the distance, Zen couldn''t tell the exact size of the eyeballs, but they were undoubtedly enormous compared to him. They floated silently in the air as their gaze remained fixed on him.


    No matter what kind of creature these eyeballs came from, anyone who was targeted by them would undoubtedly feel their blood run cold¡ªZen was no exception.

 Chapter 1572 Ancient Race And Shadow Creature

    "There are a total of thirteen giant eyeballs. These eyeballs should represent some kind of vital symbol of the sorcerer race. They might even represent the supreme existence of their tribe..."


    Previously, Zen had speculated that this enormous Illusion Battlefield could have been constructed according to the omnipotent will of the heavens, and that this will contained the vast expanse of memories from the heavens.


    During this grand era, it contained all of these: the civilizations that were created, the civilizations that were destroyed, and the civilizations that had survived. They all appeared one after another in the Illusion Battlefield.


    For example, the temple that Zen had entered was derived from the Blessed Buddha Land.


    And this Sacred Ailanthus in front of him contained the origins from the sorcerer race.


    In the vast universe, after billions of years had passed, there were countless new civilizations that had formed.


    Some civilizations were short-lived and disappeared into the river of history, becoming mere flotsam in the grand scheme of things. Others grew stronger and thrived, such as the human race, the Demon Night, and so on.


    In that temple, Zen had obtained a Teleportation Token that had allowed him to freely travel through this supreme world.


    What then awaited him at the top of the Sacred Ailanthus?


    If for being safe and sound, then Zen could have chosen to not enter this place. Moreover, he could use the Teleportation Token to escape from any predicament, now that he could use it again!


    Actually, there was nothing that would threaten his life, since everyone and everything in the Illusion Battlefield were only projections. But all of the warriors were working hard, and Zen obviously would not choose to retreat from a fight.


    Moreover, he had just checked his ranking. Although he had obtained over two million Illusion Points, in the end his ranking didn''t rise but fell!


    The warriors ranked ahead of Zen had either used some special methods to plunder more Illusion Points, or had discovered something that Zen had yet to find.


    If Zen didn''t want to fight now, his ranking would plummet!


    Outside the gray fog, those huge eyeballs were just quietly floating in the air, without any conscious movement, as if they were just part of a strange background.


    Zen naturally was unworried and didn''t care about them. He stood there hesitating for a moment, and then suddenly jumped up!


    Since he was unable to find a way through this maze, he didn''t want to waste too much time on it. Thus, with a leap, he flew up into the air.


    No matter how complex the maze was, it could not extend into the sky. Besides, there was no ban on flying above the Sacred Ailanthus.


    "Huff, huff ¡­"


    Although there was a thick, gray fog obscuring most of the sky in front of him, with the help of his magic vision ability, Zen was able


    gation.


    These dark figures weren''t very big, but their speed was indeed incredibly fast. Although Zen had activated his bodily movement skill, he was only able to grab a piece of the tattered cloth fluttering behind them.


    "Tss, tss ¡­"


    The strip of cloth in Zen''s hand had suddenly turned into columns of black gas, which ate corrosively at his fingers. This thing also had poison on it.


    If it had been someone else, even their bones would have been corroded. However, Zen''s expression did not change at all, and he continued to chase after the black figures.


    "Gila ¡ª"


    Zen chased after one of them, while the other black figure extended its jagged fingers. The curved nails on its fingers were like the claws of a wild beast, and it was chanting an incantation.


    Although he knew that this ancient sorcerer race''s spells were powerful, Zen had no time to care about that right now. He had to capture this thing first!


    Although the dark figure was nimble, its speed was still a lot slower than Zen''s. When Zen extended his hand, that black figure could no longer dodge. It was firmly pressed onto the ground by Zen who lifted off its cloak at once!


    The moment the cloak was lifted free, it turned into wisps of black fog that started to dissipate immediately. The figure in front of him did indeed look human, but its entire body was pitch black and there was no skin on its hands and feet. Instead, a shining hard shell covered all of its body.


    "Gila ¡ª"


    The thing that Zen was holding on to ground seemed to know that it could not escape, and was also chanting an incantation in a strange language.


    Two black vortexes appeared next to Zen, and two palm-sized skulls emerged from the two black vortexes.


    These skulls were exactly the same as the ones that Zen had seen earlier on the plates. The only difference was that these skulls had opened their mouths and were moving towards Zen to bite him!

 Chapter 1573 Hall Of Causality

    Zen punched the two palm-sized skulls twice!


    However, he didn''t put those small skulls in his eyes. His hands barely felt any pain when he punched the skulls since he used just a fraction of his strength!


    Zen thought that it was enough to shatter them.


    What he didn''t know was that the skulls wouldn''t shatter. He was shocked to see that they only flew away.


    They were catapulted a few hundred meters away and even passed through two giant skulls. What was more shocking was they circled back with open mouths, aiming to bite Zen!


    These small skulls¡­ They were quite unusual!


    "Gira...


    Gira..."


    In addition, Zen heard more curses that came from the surrounding giant skulls at the same time.


    Black vortexes then surrounded Zen like a blanket of smoke as small skulls arose from them.


    "They really can''t be broken?" Zen murmured.


    He crushed the figure on the ground, then grabbed a small skull with a wave of his right hand.


    "Break!"


    This time, Zen had used the power of ten thousand dragon scales!


    A surging force flowed through Zen''s right arm and into his five fingers. This turbulent force enabled him to even twist a divine weapon.


    However...


    This small skull was like a solid boulder as it withstood Zen''s strength. Zen was still unable to crush it even he had used such a strong power.


    20, 000 dragon scales!


    30, 000 dragon scales!


    It was such a small skull but Zen had already exhausted almost all his strength. He had even used the power of the dragon scales to make all the forceful energy in his body erupt.


    Yet, the small skull still didn''t crack at all!


    To make things worse, the other small skulls also rushed towards Zen at the same time to bite him.


    "Ke! Ke! Ke!"


    Zen quickly spun and kicked away all the skulls. Then, he suddenly moved in a flash in an attempt to kill the beings hidden inside the enormous skulls first.


    "Boom!"


    One by one, Zen broke through the giant skulls.


    Luckily, it wasn''t hard to deal with the ragged creatures in black cloaks.


    It was almost impossible to escape from Zen while he used his full strength.


    His body was like a snake that slithered along the treetop. He destroyed and killed the giant skulls and creatures one by one.


    After a while, Zen noticed that he increasingly got closer to the top of the tree.


    He finally realized that if he wanted to leave this maze, he''d have to destroy it.


    Although Zen had come up with a solution to the problem and it wasn''t difficult for him to get close to the purple light, a new problem arose. What should he do with these small skulls?


    He originally thought the small skulls which were summoned by the strange creatures would disappear after he had killed thos


    e proud invention of the ancient sorcerer race, and each of them had a different virulence. Some poisons could cause one''s entire body to fester and die, while others would hide in the body of a martial artist for several years before erupting--then once they exploded, there would be nothing left of their victims. The poisons could even devour their victim''s body.


    However, it would be a reckless waste for them to use these poisons to Zen.


    The steps were covered in all sorts of poisonous fog. It might be a natural moat for ordinary warriors, which they couldn''t pass through at all.


    On the other hand, Zen passed through them with ease and finally arrived in front of the ball of purple light!


    The ball of purple light floated in the air like a bluish wave. Zen observed it, and his face turned sour with disappointment.


    "If there are no fruits, and no Illusion Points, then what is this?"


    Then, he saw a rectangular iron ticket which floated in the middle of the purple ball of light.


    He reached out into the ball and grabbed at the rectangular iron ticket. Curiosity flashed in his eyes.


    Zen''s gaze froze when he grabbed the iron ticket and saw three words on it--"Hall of Causality".


    At that same moment, the iron ticket had conveyed a thought to him.


    "You can enter the Hall of Causality after paying five million Illusion Points. A total of ten warriors is required to open the hall, and three more are needed. Would you like to pay the Illusion Points?"


    Zen was stunned at the words from the voice that echoed in his head!


    "I''ve painstakingly roamed the top of this tree for so long, it''s even fine if you don''t give me Illusion Points--but now I''m actually supposed to pay five million Illusion Points?" Zen said. Torn with his feelings, he had no idea whether to laugh or cry.

 Chapter 1574 Annoying Little Skulls

    Zen had worked so hard at the very top of the Sacred Ailanthus but all he got were this iron ticket, these annoying skulls and their painful bites!


    He quickly swept his gaze and didn''t see anything else that was special about the treetop anymore.


    He even activated his magical eyes and focused his gaze on the thirteen giant eyeballs.


    Zen licked his lips. "I wonder what reward I might get if these eyeballs were shattered."


    Thinking quickly, Zen jumped up and broke through the fog, flying towards those huge eyeballs in the sky.


    However, just as he got close, a huge invisible force stopped him and slapped him away from the sky!


    "Bang!"


    The force was extremely shocking and also painful! Zen didn''t have a choice but to stop and fall from his ascent.


    His body recoiled and he quickly fell from the tree.


    His instinctual reaction was to immediately try to stop the momentum of his fall.


    However, he quickly realized that he was powerless against the formless energy that currently surrounded him so he simply resigned himself to his fate and let gravity do its thing.


    At the base of the Sacred Ailanthus, Amber, Aurora, and the rest of the team waited for Zen to come down.


    A few of them had started theorizing why he still hadn''t come down.


    "That guy... Could he have been sent back to the main city?" Aurora raised her head but couldn''t really make anything out of the thick fog that covered the tree.


    If Zen had been sent back to the main city, that meant he would have died up there.


    "It would be a pity if that was the case. He has so many Illusion Points. It''ll just be left up there on top of the tree," Vivian remarked.


    Amber, however, shook her head. "I don''t think he died."


    "But it has been so long...!"


    Just as Aurora finished her words, a shadow burst through the fog and fell to the ground.


    "Boom!"


    The force of the impact caused the entire ground to tremble for a few seconds.


    Noticing the hole that had formed on the ground, Amber quickly went towards the crash site.


    "Zen!" she shouted, seeing Zen climbing out of the hole. "Are you okay?" Zen smiled at Amber''s concern.


    "Don''t worry. I''m fine."


    Aurora floated over like a butterfly but, just as she was about to speak, quickly noticed a dark mass on top of her head. She looked up and her jaw almost fell to the ground after seeing a number of small skulls floating above her.


    It wasn''t just her, Amber and the rest of the Demon Night members were also taken aback by this surprise.


    "Be careful!" Amber yell


    hibited inside the main cities. This rule was inevitable since it was constructed by the heavens. He didn''t think these skulls would be able to violate such absolute laws.


    With no option left, maybe Zen should try entering a main city.


    He had previously set off from the Demon Night''s main city and travelled twenty thousand miles north before arriving at the Deadwood Gate. Near here, there were two main cities, one to the north and one to the west.


    He''d honestly do anything right now just to get rid of these pesky skulls.


    "Other than these little skulls, what else did you get? Could it be a hundred fruits?" Aurora asked.


    She knew she''d never make it up there but she was still curious about what Zen had acquired from the top.


    Zen''s eyes widened. A hundred fruits would be worth ten million points!


    He immediately took out his iron ticket but sighed in defeat, "No, not a single fruit. I didn''t even get one measly point. All I got are this and the annoying skulls. Apparently, I need to lose five million Illusion Points!"


    Aurora gasped in amazement, "Five million?!" She herself had only managed to accumulate no more than 2 million Illusion Points and her rate hadn''t been slow at all.


    What was so special with that iron ticket? Zen had directly been asked to pay so many Illusion Points!


    To enter the Hall of Causality, one would have to pay five million Illusion Points. Just what kind of priceless reward awaited there to warrant such a high price? Not many people would know since not many people really had that amount of points to begin with.


    However, Zen didn''t really have the time to think about this with so many annoying skulls still on his back.

 Chapter 1575 Power Of The Main City

    Zen did not return to the main city of the Demon Night with Aurora and Amber.


    The speed at which they traveled through the Deadwood Gate and received Illusion Points wasn''t at all slow, where ordinary martial artists were concerned, but it was still far from enough for Zen. His quest for success was insatiable, and he would only accept the very best and fastest.


    Another consideration was that after Zen came to the Deadwood Gate, the Illusion Points that had been distributed to Aurora would naturally decrease. She probably didn''t want him to stay either.


    Outside the Deadwood Gate, many of the Demon Night warriors witnessed Zen''s transformation into a streak of light that headed north.


    Amber watched Zen''s departure with a complicated look on her face.


    Aurora glanced over at Amber and knew instinctively what she was thinking.


    After all, he probably represented the last sliver of a chance for her to regain her freedom, and that had meaning, no matter how small that chance was.


    "I feel that Zen is already strong enough to fight the ace talents of the major powers. He might even be able to fight for a place in the top one hundred of the Illusion Battlefield," Aurora said by way of encouragement.


    The top one hundred of the Illusion Battlefield, no matter where those martial artists were placed in the top one hundred, would be considered exceptional and without par!


    They would be considered to be the blessed ones of the world!


    Some of them had rare and special bloodlines. Some had no peers to their innate talents. Others even had heaven-defying karmic luck.


    Out of a vast multitude of martial artists, only these kinds of warriors were qualified to be called the ace talents.


    Amber was silent for a long time, her eyes fixed on the disappearing streak of light. When Zen had completely disappeared from sight, she said, "Zen will win in the Illusion Battlefield."


    When Aurora heard her words and sensed the power of her conviction, a peculiar color appeared in her eyes.


    ''Win? Contest for first place?


    Amber is a bit too optimistic, '' Aurora thought realistically.


    Admittedly, Zen''s strength was amazing, far surpassing that of an ordinary warrior of the Soul Sea Realm. With the strength that Zen had displayed now, even an ordinary Spirit Supreme Realm warrior wouldn''t be able to last one round against him.


    But the competition he faced now was even more terrifying!


    There were the ace talents from various races.


    For instance, the strength of Eunice from the Demon Night was unfathomable. It would definitely not be easy for Zen to win, added to which, there were so many races in the universe. Every one of them had a strong competitor. Zen would have to face and best them all to win the Illusion Battlefield.


    Amber''s faith in Zen was a bit too blind.


    However, Aurora wasn''t going to point that out. If Zen was truly able to do it, she would be happy for Amber. Perhaps, he could really rescue Amber out of that purgatory in three years!


    It would take about twelve hours to open the Deadwood G


    onto his body, Zen once again entered the main city. The invisible force protecting the city once again isolated the small skulls from him, by keeping them outside!


    As for the ogre martial artists inside and outside of the main city, when they saw this bizarre scene, they stared at each other blankly.


    "What is this fellow doing?"


    "At first, I even thought that those skulls were his weapons. It seems that he wanted to bring those skulls into the main city."


    "I don''t understand..."


    Only moments before, Zen had used a thunderous method to kill an ogre expert. So while they were discussing him, they cautiously lowered their voices, awed by his power.


    Zen thought for a while with a frown etched on his brow. He was standing on top of the city wall, when he suddenly stretched out his hand and grabbed a small skull with lightning fast speed. He then pulled the snapping skull towards himself!


    He had originally been standing on the edge of the main city. If he took one step forward, then he would be outside of the city; and if he took one step back, then he would be inside of the city.


    However, when Zen pulled the skull inside over the edge of the city wall, he immediately felt an obvious resistance!


    This power obviously did not emanate from these small skulls because Zen could throw them tens of thousands of feet away if he caught them.


    There seemed to be a forbidden zone over the main city, resisting the entry of these small skulls!


    Aurora was right!


    If he could bring these small skulls into the main city, he could indeed rely on the powerful rules of the main city to kill them.


    The problem now was that he couldn''t get them in at all!


    Zen stood on top of the city wall, gripped the small skull tightly and dragged it towards the city wall. The resistance was powerful, and the veins bulged on Zen''s burly arms as he used his awesome physical strength, yet still the skull did not come any further into the city. During this process, Zen also slowly activated the power of the dragon scales!

 Chapter 1576 Weapons

    Zen began to exert more effort to drag the skull into the city, his feet clinging onto a piece of brick on the city wall.


    The power within his body, which was enough to topple the mountains and overturn the seas, surged out violently.


    If he had been standing on top of a wall made of ordinary bricks and stone, the wall would have collapsed like tofu.


    But this main city of the Illusion Battlefield was indestructible, and even with this level of power unleashed, the city wall beneath his feet didn''t budge at all.


    On the other hand, the target that had to withstand Zen''s power was the small skull outside the city. The rule that fighting was forbidden in the city was void in this situation.


    However, that invisible force turned out to be like an insurmountable wall! Even after Zen had activated all the dragon scales, he was still unable to drag the small skull into the main city.


    The skull kept grinding its teeth on his hand and even bit Zen''s fingers.


    Feeling a sharp sting on his hand, Zen had no choice but to let go of the skull.


    It would be impossible to destroy these small skulls by taking advantage of the power of the city''s rules.


    This main city was indestructible. Even if Zen unleashed his full strength, he wouldn''t be able to destroy its walls, because there was an invisible power of rules protecting the place.


    And for that same reason, it was impossible for Zen to pull this little skull into the main city!


    This group of small skulls was a curse that had been cast by the sorcerer race. Once these skulls had been summoned, they would continuously launch attacks at their target. This was also why the main city kept them outside.


    Only if Zen had the power to destroy the main city would he be able to bring the small skulls inside. However, if Zen''s power was that strong, he wouldn''t need to rely on the city''s power of rules to kill the small skulls in the first place. He could directly crush them!


    Looking at the skulls that were constantly moving around in the air, Zen shook his head and walked a few steps along the wall of the main city. The skulls also moved along the wall of the main city, following him like a shadow.


    "These damned things¡­"


    Zen was speechless as he stared at the small skulls with horrible white teeth.


    Many ogre martial artists stared at Zen as he paced back and forth, each one of them becoming more and more confused. They had no idea what he was trying to do.


    After Zen had walked a few steps on the top of the city wall, he frowned as he looked at the small skulls. Suddenly, he jumped out of the city and grabbed another small skull. Immense power surged out from his arm as he grabbed it and threw it at the main city.


    This small skull flew toward the main city like a meteor with extreme force.


    Boom!


    When the skull reached the main city, it collided against an i


    en before.


    ''The Night Group is a small race in the Upper World. However, the buildings of this group are exquisite and meticulous, '' Zen thought and looked around as he walked toward the walls of the main city.


    The Night Group was a group that was rich in assassins. Zen had encountered them before on the Sea God Continent.


    This group was skilled in the art of assassination, but hiding and assassinating would not take them far. They couldn''t become a mainstream force.


    When Zen arrived at the city walls, his eyebrows twitched. Those several hundred small skulls were already waiting for him outside the city.


    The Teleportation Token had brought him at least ten million miles away, but it seemed that these little skulls could actually ignore the boundaries of space and reach this place at almost the same time as he had. The sorcerer race''s spells were really amazing.


    "Alas¡­"


    Zen could only use these small skulls to continue to "clean up" the city of the Night Group.


    Even though the members of the Night Group of the Upper World were adept at assassinations, their skills were useless on Zen since he had magic vision.


    He found it much easier to clean up this place than cleaning up the ogre city.


    After a few rounds of killing, no one dared to leave the city.


    ''I have to move to another place now.'' Zen''s eyes were indifferent as he quietly left this main city.


    However, this time, he did not take out his Teleportation Token. Instead, he took out the iron ticket.


    Zen had wiped out most sheep of the two cities and had accumulated quite a lot of Illusion Points. However, his ranking was still falling.


    His ranking in this supreme world had fallen below 300th while his ranking in the entire Illusion Battlefield had fallen below 17, 000th!


    If he continued to rely on gathering Illusion Points by killing around these main cities, his rankings wouldn''t rise at all.

 Chapter 1577 In The Room

    Zen''s efficiency in gathering Illusion Points was not slow!


    There was no need to tire himself with travelling. All he needed to do was take out the Teleportation Token to get to his next destination. This made everything extremely convenient and saved him a lot of time as well.


    However, he still had a long way to go when it came to bridging the gap between him and other top warriors in terms of the number of Illusion Points they had gathered.


    Why was this the case? Had he missed something?


    Did the other top warriors know something he didn''t?


    Zen took out the iron ticket and a voice immediately spoke in his mind.


    "You can enter the Hall of Causality after paying five million Illusion Points. A total of ten warriors is required to open the hall, and six more are needed. Would you like to pay the Illusion Points?"


    What? Six more? That meant six more warriors were needed to open the hall.


    Back when Zen first got the ticket, only three more people were needed.


    Why did the number get higher?


    "Oh, wait, I just realized. Ten warriors have already opened the Hall of Causality. The four who are currently waiting must be another group,"


    he said to himself.


    Five million Illusion Points was a lot, even for Zen.


    But it seemed there were still a few who were willing to make such a risky bargain.


    It was terribly difficult to gather Illusion Points. Warriors didn''t just stand in a queue outside the main city for him to kill. He could kill dozens but still gathered only less than a million Illusion Points.


    There were tons of warriors around but not many of them were as strong and loaded with points as Lucille.


    It seemed he had no choice but to enter the Hall of Causality despite the terribly high price it asked of him.


    Zen made his decision and infused a thought into the iron ticket.


    "I''d like to pay the Illusion Points."


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    With his consent, the Illusion Points immediately shot out from his body.


    Five million Illusion Points was quickly extracted from Zen and transferred onto the iron ticket. Due to the sheer amount of points to be transferred, the process naturally took quite a long time.


    Zen couldn''t help but let his thoughts wander as he gazed at these yellow Illusion Points.


    What were they used for exactly? Were they simply for the sake of the rankings?


    It couldn''t be that simple. Could it? Did the Illusion Battlefield and its point s


    w.


    The woman in white also stared at the mountain but her eyes were wide and she was the only one who chose to break the silence.


    "Hey, is that a refined Magnetic Sacred Mountain?" she asked Zen with a cold, stiff voice.


    She was well aware of how difficult it was to refine the Magnetic Sacred Mountain. In fact, it was close to impossible. But this guy seemed to have done it! She just couldn''t help but be slightly amazed.


    Zen nodded. "Yes," he answered.


    After that, Zen undid the seal on the jade slip and started to absorb the secret techniques written there.


    The woman, on the other hand, was already sizing Zen up and beginning to figure out his background. She lamented at the fact that she couldn''t really ask too many questions despite being so curious as to how he refined the Magnetic Sacred Mountain.


    The magnetic power


    was a fusion of the five elements.


    The power of the five laws must be balanced and had to be circulated all at the same time.


    The more balanced the powers were, the easier it would be to extract them, but this was difficult since the five laws were not naturally in sync with each other.


    This was the first information Zen was able to absorb from the jade slip.


    He had to circulate the five different Original Laws


    and maintain equilibrium among them.


    As he thought of this, he then derived five streams of chaotic energy from his belly.


    The energy flowed into his fingers and through his meridians.


    Numerous rays of light appeared at the end of his fingers with the appearance of five different Law Powers. However, none of them was at a balanced state.

 Chapter 1578 The Balance Of The Five Elements

    The Law Power of the five elements was independent of the other Original Laws. In most ways, it was the most original Law Power of this world.


    Most substances were made up of the five elements.


    It was quite easy for any warrior to utilise the Law Power of one element


    since many cultivation methods were driven by the Law Power or used it to perform a specific skill.


    When displaying certain special martial skills, one was required to fuse two or three types of Law Power together or use them alternately in order to achieve the desired results. This skill asked for a massive amount of practice and comprehension.


    For most ordinary warriors, simply comprehending five different types of Law Power was already astonishing enough. But it was not so difficult for Zen.


    However, the secret method of the Ji family demanded an absolute balance between the Law Power of the five elements, namely the power of Metal Law, Wood Law, Water Law, Fire Law, and Earth Law. This could prove to be an enormous challenge, even for Zen.


    In fact, balancing the powers of the five elements was an incomparably powerful martial skill.


    The Five-element Palm Print that Lucille had used was a combination of this secret method and a palm martial skill. It was a dynamic and strong skill, but since Lucille''s two bodies had not merged into one, she failed to balance the powers of the five elements perfectly.


    At this moment, Zen''s thumb flashed with a dazzling golden light. If anyone made the mistake of looking at it directly, they would feel a pricking behind their eyes. This was the power of the Metal Law.


    On his index finger emanated a warm and flickering flame. This was the power of the Fire Law.


    A heavy aura exuded from his middle finger ¡ª the power of the Earth Law.


    His ring finger was enveloped in watery waves ¡ª the power of the Water Law.


    As for his small finger, it brimmed with the green energy of life ¡ª the power of the Wood Law.


    Although Zen could not balance these five Law Powers perfectly either, his fingers were still able to firmly clasp on to them because of the advantage of his chaotic energy.


    The woman in white looked at Zen''s hand and was shocked to see the powers on his fingers.


    Like Lucille, the woman was also a member of the Thoughtless Minds. Her family was as huge as the Ji family. Although she was inferior to Lucille in terms of status and talent, she still recognized that the fusion of the five elements was a secret technique unique to the Ji family. Moreover, it was the most noteworthy cultivation method of the family''s patriarch.


    This secret method, as far as she knew, was not allowed to be taught to outsiders.


    So how did this young man before her not only refine a Magnetic Sacred Mountain, but also learn the Ji family''s secret technique?


    She


    the mountain, he began to draw out the magnetic power of the secret method.


    Buzz!


    Another palm imprint appeared on the other side of the Magnetic Sacred Mountain. The shape and size of the imprint was much the same as the one left by Zen.


    Puff!


    But Zen failed to hold on any longer. The powers of the five elements dispersed from his hand once again.


    However, at the very moment that the powers departed, Zen''s eyes flashed with comprehension. He quickly encircled his hands around the Magnetic Sacred Mountain and caused it to rotate like a top.


    As his hands circled around it, a gray ray of light took shape on his palm.


    The light was like an imprint as it hovered on Zen''s palm. It stayed for a moment before it quickly started to dissipate. In mere three seconds, the light vanished into thin air.


    ''So this is the magnetic power?'' Zen wondered.


    It was a pity that fighting was prohibited in this room. Otherwise, he would have tried to test the might of the magnetic power. Still, even though Lucille had boasted about this powerful skill, Zen did not take it seriously.


    After all, he was the owner of the fairy palace, and the palace was equivalent to a treasure mountain. He did not care for the cultivation methods of other origins.


    What he did not know was that he had grossly underestimated the magnetic power.


    The magnetic power was a significant part of the cultivation of the Five Elements Godly Way. To some extent, this was somewhat inferior to Zen''s Emotion Closing Godly Way, but it was still a Godly Way in any case!


    As for the woman who had been observing Zen from the sidelines, her mouth opened in surprise when she saw Zen draw out the stream of magnetic power. Utter disbelief was written all over her face.


    ''Hasn''t he only just started to learn the secret technique of the Ji family? How is this possible?'' she wondered.

 Chapter 1579 Ten Warriors

    Undeniably, Zen had not been entirely successful.


    During his fight with Lucille, she had struck out with her palm, drawing out a magnetic power thousands of times stronger than Zen''s.


    Zen had just now suppressed the laws of five elements and forcefully extracted the magnetic power...


    He was able to draw out a strand of the magnetic power after only three trials. Lucille would probably have been stupefied if she had witnessed the scene.


    That had been too rapid by far...


    In her time, she had been sent to Magnetic Sacred Mountain by the patriarch of the Ji Clan to cultivate for three years!


    She had only managed to extract a sliver of the magnetic power at the end of the second year, but Zen had merely spent an hour on the entire process.


    The woman in white was a core disciple of another large clan in the Thoughtless Minds and was only second to the ace talents. She had known how intimidating the ace talents were from a young age.


    Among other warriors of age, Lucille was like a proud phoenix, always superior to the others. She was cared for and doted by her elders at all times. The strength that Lucille displayed far surpassed that of her friends and peers.


    The woman in white was naturally unwilling to be inferior to Lucille. The difference in their talent levels troubled her. In secret, she had worked hard in her cultivation, trying to close the chasm between her and Lucille. She had made up her mind to surpass Lucille, come hell or high water. However, despite her ambitions, she still had a grasp on reality. There were warriors in this world who were far different from her. Even if she worked harder, the gap between her and Lucille might only become larger...


    This was the strength of the ace talent.


    As an ace talent, Lucille had spent six years only mastering this secret skill. However, it only took Zen some minutes to start to comprehend it. Was he a monster?


    The woman was curious to see how much of the clan''s secret skill Zen could comprehend in the short time, but Zen had put away the Magnetic Sacred Mountain for the moment...


    It was not that Zen was unwilling to continue cultivating, but fighting was prohibited in this room. Drawing out even a stream of that magnetic power would come to waste.


    After putting away the Magnetic Sacred Mountain, Zen did not stop cultivating. He continuously used chaotic energy to transform the five types of Law Power in his palm, seeking that sense of balance.


    Only after the five types of Law Power were fully balanced could he employ the magnetic power with ease.


    Suddenly, a thin line became visible on one of the walls in the room. The line appeared on a corner and then spread. After spreading for about seven feet on the wall, it turned to a right angle, forming the outline of a door.


    Buzz, buzz...


    The entire door began to glow. Not l


    e room.


    The ogre warrior''s eyes were still provoking, but he did not shout anymore...


    After the entry of the warrior with the round hat, another thin line appeared on another wall. Another door opened.


    The seventh warrior entered the room.


    She was a woman from the Demon Night. Without causing any disturbance, she glanced at everyone in the room and kept her back against the wall, maintaining an upright posture. She took out a long arrow from her bag and ceaselessly traced the bright arrowhead with her fingers.


    Quite a few warriors in this supreme world had obtained iron tickets, and they were all attentive of the others who had them too.


    Most of them hesitated before using the iron tickets. After all, it cost them five million Illusion Points to enter the Hall of Causality, which meant that they chose to part reluctantly with what they treasured.


    However, as more and more warriors entered the Hall of Causality, some of the warriors who had been hesitating outside grew more resolute.


    The number of warriors in the room increased rapidly.


    Less than three minutes after the Demon Night woman entered the room, another door was pushed open.


    The eighth warrior...


    It was an ogre warrior.


    Within seconds, another door opened.


    The ninth warrior...


    The tenth warrior!


    Zen had waited in the room for about half a day, and now ten people were finally gathered here.


    "All of us are here now." The woman in white smiled, stood up, and then said to Zen, "All right, we can set out now."


    The woman did not give off an air of hostility. She was instead very polite to Zen. Zen smiled back. "But there''s no door in this room. Which direction should we go in now?"


    "There is no need to move at all. Just stand where you are," the woman in white replied.


    Right after this, the walls around the room collapsed with a loud bang, giving way to the outside...

 Chapter 1580 Trying To Break The Small Skulls

    After the four walls collapsed, they immediately disappeared. The ceiling above their heads also vanished in a flash.


    Before them appeared a majestic mountain.


    This massive mountain was submerged in thick white clouds and surrounded by mist. It looked like something straight out of a fairyland.


    The ten warriors, including Zen, stood on a platform at the foot of the mountain.


    "The iron ticket only mentioned the Hall of Causality. Why is there a giant mountain before us?" Zen asked curiously.


    The others had no reply to Zen''s query. After all, it was the first time that most of them had entered this place, so they could not answer his question.


    "Once we go up the mountain, we will understand what the Hall of Causality is," the woman in white said with a smile. "All the restrictions will be dismissed after we leave this platform," she added, "but I do not want you all to fight each other."


    "And why should we follow your orders?" A sinister voice floated over them. It belonged to one of the warriors.


    Some martial artists had well thought-out plans of making their moves.


    Since everyone present could afford to spend five million Illusion Points to enter the Hall of Causality, they most definitely had plenty of Illusion Points left.


    The white-clothed woman kept smiling. "The Illusion Points you can get at the Hall of Causality will be more than tens of millions. If you have good fortune, you may even be able to get your hands on some supreme divine weapons that are yet to appear. So if you people want to waste your time and strength engaging in fights over here, go ahead!"


    Hearing this, realization dawned on the warriors.


    Since the warriors could get into the Hall of Causality, they obviously possessed a good number of Illusion Points. Even after paying up five million Illusion Points, they must have several more left with them.


    Illusion Points were accumulated bit by bit, from the numerous battles they all had participated in.


    But now they had the opportunity to acquire over ten million Illusion Points in the Hall of Causality.


    Moreover, they might be able to acquire supreme divine weapons.


    Considering this, the warriors who had previously planned to fight the others now hesitated.


    The woman in white no longer needed to worry about this issue. She nodded at Zen. "Let''s go!"


    She was the first to step down the platform and onto the stairs of the mountain.


    Zen''s eyes twinkled. From what the woman in white said, it seemed that he could obtain a large number of Illusion Points here.


    That number could even be over ten million.


    No wonder his ranking had dropped instead of rising!


    Most of the warriors ranked before him had probably entered the Hall of Causality already.


    Compared to the way he had plundered his I


    he limits of the heavens, so the heavens could not stand them.


    Warriors today assumed that it was the reason why the ancient sorcerer race vanished from the universe in one night alone.


    However, more than a billion years had passed since the disappearance of the ancient sorcerer race. It had long ago become a story sealed away by time, and the speculations that went about were not one hundred percent true.


    "Let''s go. I forgot to mention that flying is prohibited in the Hall of Causality, so we can only climb the stairs step by step," the white-robed woman said and continued climbing up the winding stairs without pause.


    Zen followed behind her.


    At the same time, the eight warriors behind Zen continuously tried out their own methods to try and break the tiny skulls.


    "Ah! Ah! Ah! I can''t split it! My Dark Demon Saber has been damaged by the skull!"


    The ogre held a black saber in his hand, his face full of sorrow. His saber was also a first rank divine weapon, but the small skull remained undamaged with its cut. A half-moon crack appeared on his saber.


    Fortunately, the weapons used in the Illusion Battlefield were still safe and sound in the outside world. Otherwise, the ogre would have undeniably been pissed.


    Now his saber was damaged, and there were many battles ahead of him. Without his first rank divine weapon, it would be tough for him to continue fighting.


    Hearing the ogre''s words, the other seven warriors stared at him as if he was an idiot.


    They had only been curious about the little skulls so they picked up some from behind Zen. Was there really a need to work so hard with it?


    Of course, no one could break through a single small skull, so they had given up. The small skulls flew back to Zen, their small white teeth tightly biting his back. The other eight warriors followed Zen and ascended the stairs.

 Chapter 1581 First Hall

    The white jade staircase was about twenty feet wide. From the foot of this majestic mountain, there were hundreds of thousands of steps cut into the mountain to the summit.


    Although flying was prohibited, the speed maintained by this group of ten wasn''t slow either.


    With the white-clothed woman''s warning, the ten of them had lowered their vigilance quite a bit.


    After all, in this supreme world, these ten people were basically all ranked in the top thousand, while in the entire Illusion Battlefield, they were ranked in the top hundred thousand.


    No one had earned more confidence that they would be able to defeat the rest of the group in one go. Not to mention that the woman in white robes had even told them that they would be awarded ten million Illusion Points in the Hall of Causality. They would clearly face no obstacles or danger here.


    Along the way, the white-clothed woman took the lead with Zen following closely behind. The other martial artists maintained a measured distance and made the ascent at a steady pace. Behind them, the short martial artist from the human race brought up the rear.


    After tirelessly climbing for five minutes, the group stopped in front of a large hall set half way into the mountain. The staircase extended through the hall, and connected to the stairs at the back. If they wanted to continue climbing, they would have to pass through this hall.


    This hall was entirely white and had a magnificent appearance. It was unknown what material was used to construct it, but there were no signs or warnings on the outside wall.


    Among the ten, this was the second time that the woman in white had entered the Hall of Causality. None of the rest of the group had done so before. The eyes of the crowd were fixed on the woman in white, who boldly led them.


    The woman in white smiled and said, "This is the first Hall of Causality. It isn''t too difficult to pass through. Everyone can enter now."


    Zen nodded. Since he had already spent five million Illusion Points, he didn''t hesitate anymore.


    Therefore, everyone followed behind Zen and walked into the hall.


    There was nothing inside, the hall was empty.


    All of the martial artists present had already explored several mystic places within the Illusion Battlefield.


    A sense of caution rose in everyone''s heart in the face of this apparently empty building, including Zen.


    It was just like when he had entered the top of the Sacred Ailanthus, although its surroundings were quiet, it had actually been extremely dangerous. If he had been like any other martial artist who was careless, he would have perished immediately.


    But even someone as strong as Zen had no idea of how to deal with the pile of small skulls ravenously chasing behind him!


    Seeing how cautious everyone was, the woman in white smiled and said, "Don''t be too nervous. This is the first Hall of Causality. It won''t be too difficult."


    "What''s in the Hall of Causality?" someone asked.


    The woman in white smiled and said, "As the name implies, the rules of the heavens are used as a method of attack in the Hall of Causality. Every attack contains the Law of Causality!"


    Altho


    came out.


    Sometimes the light would suddenly cross the hall, stop in the middle of the space for a moment, and then unpredictably accelerate to the other side of the hall.


    Sometimes, the light would rush from one side of the hall to the other at a speed that the group could not even see clearly. It would wait for a few seconds before repeating itself.


    These beams of light could be seen moving around in regular patterns. To these martial artists, this was just a small trick. As they became more familiar with the patterns of the light, their minds became more relaxed and their speed picked up, becoming faster.


    "We still have another hundred feet before we pass through this hall," the woman in white said. She seemed to have become the undisputed leader of this group.


    "What''s the reward for passing through the first hall?" the ogre martial artist asked.


    "You''ll know once we get there," the woman in white said with a mysterious smile.


    At this moment, Zen suddenly stopped in his tracks. He looked at the white light that passed close by him, and once again had the idea of throwing off the skulls behind him.


    ''Would this white light be able to destroy those small skulls?''


    As he thought of this, Zen once again took out a small skull from behind him. Carefully holding the bottom of the skull with his hand, he placed it on the track of the white ray of light.


    Swish!


    The white beam of light suddenly shot out and instantly struck the small skull!


    At the same time, Zen instantly felt an enormous power in his hand, the strength of which far exceeded Zen''s imagination! It was probably many times more powerful than the power that Zen had lit up with all his dragon scales!


    Zen''s expression changed drastically, and he immediately let go of the skull!


    He witnessed the white ray of light being deflected away by the small skull, heading towards the ceiling of the Hall of Causality.


    Bam! Bam! Bam!


    Other than the white ray of light ricocheting in all directions, the black skull was also bouncing up and down at an extremely fast speed in this Hall of Causality!

 Chapter 1582 She Lost The Battle

    The walls of the Hall of Causality were riddled with the rules of heavens, just like the walls of the main city¡ªthey were virtually unbreakable.


    After being hit, the small skull unleashed some kind of overwhelming momentum. It bounced so fast that it was impossible for anyone to dodge.


    When the crowd witnessed the scene, they were left dumbfounded and stood blankly on the spot, not daring to make a single move.


    Bam!


    Suddenly, the small skull shot toward an ogre warrior, smashing right into a spike on his shoulder armor.


    The ogre''s armor served as a first-rank divine weapon¡ªit constantly absorbed the warrior''s life vitality and fused with the warrior''s body. Its strength was nothing to scoff at, either.


    But the small skull missed by only an inch and collided with the spike, turning it into powder. With that, the ogre''s tall and sturdy body got knocked down to the ground.


    Pah! Pah! Pah!


    Then, the skull shot all the way to the endmost wall in the hall and bounced all the way back outside.


    The white deflected ray of light bounced out as well.


    Throughout the entire scene, no one dared to move.


    Staying still was the best thing to do in such a situation.


    After the two objects bringing fatal attacks disappeared from the hall, everyone released a sigh of relief.


    But the ogre warrior stood from the ground and glared harshly at Zen. "Do you want to kill me? Once we leave this hall, we shall have a duel!"


    When the white light hit the small skull, it produced the powerful potential energy. Even though Zen had instantly released his hand, his fingers had still been paralyzed by the vibration. Hearing the ogre''s proclamation, Zen stretched out his fingers and faintly smiled, his eyes tinged with a piercing light as he stared at the ogre warrior. Then, he responded, "If you want to challenge me, I accept."


    Seeing Zen''s calm gaze, the ogre couldn''t help but feel a sense of nervousness. The fierceness of Zen''s eyes made the ogre stop himself just as he wanted to make some more rude remarks. Although the ogre appeared to be reckless, he was a cautious individual. In the room just then, he had observed the entire process of Zen''s cultivation.


    Although he couldn''t quite understand what Zen cultivated, he could tell from the woman''s reaction that Zen was extremely powerful. Earlier, he had challenged him recklessly out of anger, but he wasn''t confident about fighting him. Currently, he only held five million Illusion Points, having spent all of them just to enter the Hall of Causality. It would be such a waste if he was driven out of the hall if Zen defeated him.


    Many of the other warriors were also left displeased. But it wasn''t the time for them to quarrel about anything. Now that the rules of the first Hall of Causality were clear to everyone, it was actually very easy to pass through it so long as they took good control of the speed and frequency. For


    ur great clans which made it very powerful.


    Although these four great groups were called clans, they had an influence that went beyond that of the average tenth-grade sacred place. Anyone of these clans was more powerful than some entire races in the universe.


    But the main reason why they were so outstanding was that there were Supreme Lords supporting and guarding these four great clans.


    Janet Ji was particularly remarkable, second only to the ace talents in the four clans.


    "Janet... Well, it is a good name," Zen said with a smile.


    Returning the smile, Janet said, "The cultivation method you practiced just now was very familiar to me. I''ve seen one of my friends practice it before. I don''t know if..."


    For a long time, she had been very curious about the origins of Zen''s cultivation method. But they hadn''t been familiar with each other before then, so she knew that she couldn''t get an answer out of him just any time.


    "Your friend? "Who?" Zen asked.


    After a moment of thought, she replied, "Lucille Ji."


    Hearing this, Zen smiled again. "It so happens that the secret skill I cultivate was acquired from this woman."


    "Oh! You''ve seen Lucille, then?" The news was rather surprising. Never did she think that Zen would have learned such a secret skill from her. Why would Lucille teach him this cultivation method? Spreading the Ji Clan''s secret technique was quite a crime. Even if she was an ace talent, she wouldn''t be forgiven for having done such a thing.


    "I''ve seen her and I''ve fought with her."


    "Fought¡­ Were you defeated by her?" Still pondering over the secret technique, Janet suddenly uttered the question upon hearing what Zen said.


    While she could see that Zen was indeed a powerful warrior, he was still nothing compared to Lucille in her eyes.


    "She lost the battle."


    This made Janet stop in her steps. After climbing up a few more steps, Zen turned around and asked, "What''s wrong?"

 Chapter 1583 Giant Stones

    To be honest, Zen didn''t really know what Lucille meant to Janet''s heart.


    It was known that the Thoughtless Minds had four great clans.


    One was Lucille''s Ji Clan, and the next one was Janet''s Ji Clan, while the other two were the Xuanyuan Clan and the Lie Clan.


    It could be said that the four clans were the most famous of their kind among the humans in the universe.


    Even those Supreme Lords wouldn''t be able to develop their clans to reach the four great clans'' level.


    The four great clans were great powers that supported the human race. They cooperated well and strengthened their connection with marriages. In addition, they held a great competition amongst themselves. It was safe to say that these four clans affected the thousands of supreme worlds of the Thoughtless Minds.


    In one previous great competition among the four clans, Nathan Xuanyuan had not risen to prominence yet.


    The image of Lucille standing at the peak was deeply engraved in Janet''s mind till now.


    For her, almost no human martial artist from the younger generation could fight against Lucille.


    Nathan Xuanyuan rose to power primarily because he had merged with the Heavenly Fragment and subsequently became a Godly Genius. If Lucille could truly comprehend the Five Elements Godly Way, she would also be a Godly Genius. If so, Janet felt that Nathan couldn''t even match up to Lucille.


    No one among the Soul Sea Realm warriors could defeat Lucille. Or at least, that was what Janet thought.


    Thus, she was stunned when she suddenly heard Zen said that Lucille had lost.


    She stared blankly at Zen, disbelief written all over her pretty face.


    The fusion of the five elements that Zen practiced was indeed a Ji Clan''s secret technique, but this was not conclusive evidence for Janet that he could defeat Lucille. Perhaps Lucille taught this secret technique to Zen for some reason, but that did not mean that she would lose to him.


    Although Zen was confused by Janet''s reaction at first, he quickly understood a bit and smiled, "What? You don''t believe me?"


    Janet stared at Zen and cautiously asked, "When you saw Lucille, what color was the snow behind her?"


    "Is it important?" Zen asked curiously. "What color?" Janet repeated.


    "White." "Pure white?"


    Zen felt exasperated at Janet''s question, but she continued.


    "Yes! One hundred percent pure white!" he answered helplessly.


    Janet sighed in relief when she finally got an answer from him. "No wonder!"


    "No wonder what?"


    Janet''s lips curved into a wide grin.


    "I guess you did win against Lucille, but that was only because Lucille exerted half of her strength. Technically, she only used sixty percent of her strength at most," she said with a smile.


    Understanding then fell upon Zen''s face when


    nally completely transformed into that human martial artist''s appearance.


    "Sword spirit!" Zen''s eyes slightly flashed when he saw the warrior''s sword spirit.


    "What a solid sword spirit!"


    "It would be perfect to use a sword spirit to scout the way!"


    "Now that we don''t understand the rules of this Hall of Causality, we may die early if we''re not careful. It''s a pity that we don''t have any puppeteers in the team."


    They had gotten somewhat familiar with the Halls of Causality after they passed the first one.


    At first, they were all shocked when they heard the words "Law of Causality." The others would have a hard time passing through the Hall of Causality if someone in the hall had mastered some kind of Law of Causality--even if the one were only at the Soul Sea Realm. After all, some Laws of Causality were too powerful for anyone to risk going against them.


    After they had observed for a while, they concluded that the trials in the Hall of Causality had some certain rules. One still had a small chance of passing through after having figured out the rules.


    The sword spirit of that warrior was indeed incomparably solid, but it still had some minor flaws compared to Zen''s.


    When Zen''s sword spirit materialized, it was no different from a real person. On the other hand, the human martial artist''s sword spirit was still a bit imperfect that one could tell that it was illusory when looking at it closely. However, it was already good enough to be able to condense a sword spirit to this degree.


    After the sword spirit took form, it walked towards the center of the hall. Everyone''s gazes were fixated on it.


    It was still quiet from the hall''s entrance to the central section. But just as the sword spirit approached a giant stone, it suddenly shook and rolled before it aggressively crushed down the sword spirit.

 Chapter 1584 Rolling Stones

    Had this been an ordinary rock


    then the ten people on the scene wouldn''t have even batted an eyelash.


    Moreover, even if it was thirty feet tall, it wouldn''t even be enough to cause any sort of damage to the sword spirit - of course, that was if it had been an ordinary rock.


    But it wasn''t. It was a huge stone in the middle of the Hall of Causality. There was surely more to it than met the eye.


    The fact that they could not destroy this stone was surely going to give them a headache.


    The human warrior who controlled the sword spirit gently shook the long sword which signaled the spirit to retreat.


    Boom!


    There was a loud explosion as the giant stone rolled to the side and smashed into the air, causing the entire Hall of Causality to tremble.


    The stone continued to roll and followed the sword spirit''s path of retreat.


    Its speed had now exceeded the sword spirit''s dodging speed. The warrior saw this and smiled.


    His long sword shook once again and the blue sword spirit suddenly transformed and split into seven to eight blue swords!


    The swords scattered in all directions before eventually coming together again and turning into a human-shaped figure. "The second hall isn''t that difficult," the warrior said.


    He was confident that he''d be able to pass through this hall easily.


    However, just as the huge block of stone rolled down, one of its sides was revealed to them.


    It was a ghost face and it looked extremely ferocious! It had dark eyes, sharp teeth, and an evil smile. The smile gave chills to anyone who looked at it.


    The stone seemed to possess a certain level of intelligence since it was able to identify the controller of the sword spirit.


    This sentient block of stone was thirty feet long and thirty feet wide. Each time it rolled, it would do so at an extremely fast rate. Given the rather limited space, it had no problems crossing the entire hall and arriving in front of the human warrior. However, the warrior remained calm.


    Despite looking so formidable, this stone could only roll in a limited space. The entire floor of this hall was divided into several squares in a sort of grid pattern. Whenever it rolled, it did so accordin


    some sort of mechanism? Or do we have to fulfill a certain condition to pass?'' Zen pondered as he dodged the stones.


    "Ah! Help!" someone shouted not too far away.


    Zen looked and saw a warrior who had gotten himself backed into a corner surrounded by three stones.


    Zen quickly shot forward and sent out a palm strike towards the warrior.


    Bang!


    Zen''s attack sent him flying out of danger while he quickly found a gap between the stones and escaped.


    "Thad?!"


    Janet screamed in panic when she saw what he did.


    Why in the world would he put himself in danger like that?


    She still wanted a chance to challenge him. It would be a shame if he died so early in here.


    If he got crushed then he wouldn''t have only wasted his five million Illusion Points. He would also lose half of his remaining points and take a plunge in the rankings.


    It wasn''t just Janet, the others were also equally shocked by Zen''s actions. Although they were a team, that was only because they were forced to be. They were far from being a consolidated unit who understood each other completely. Some of them even had enmity with others so it was truly strange for Zen to risk his neck just to save that warrior.


    His willingness to sacrifice touched them a bit.


    However, they also thought it was really stupid. Nobody would be able to resist the pressure of these stones once they pressed down on you. They would immediately get crushed and die if ever that happend.

 Chapter 1585 Square Light Beam

    The moment a square stone pressed down, Zen''s face was full of calmness as a white mist rose from his body.


    "Eight Smoky Melodies!"


    At this moment, Zen''s body turned as light as a feather.


    Although the rock was rolling incredibly quickly, it was extremely large.


    Zen''s Eight Smoky Melodies was a quite unique one¡ªsuch was a movement technique that was like dancing on the tip of a blade.


    The faster and stronger the opponent was, the smoother Zen''s body could move.


    Up until now, only the Crescent Blade under Lucille''s feet had managed to break through the three-inch limit set by the Eight Smoky Melodies.


    But Zen confidently dodged the stone in front of him.


    Whoosh!


    Under everyone''s watchful eyes, the stone came crashing down on Zen.


    But at this moment, his body moved strangely¡ªhe took steps horizontally, like a leave that had been ''squeezed out'' after being disturbed by the palm wind.


    "What is this movement technique?"


    one of the others blurted out in confusion.


    When Zen was out of danger, his figure floated down. But of course, he didn''t have time to answer the question because two more square stones began pressing down on him.


    After the crowd rushed away from the exit of the hall, they once again began fighting with the rolling stones.


    "Thank you for saving my life," the warrior instantly thanked Zen.


    With a slight smile, Zen only shook his head. "We are going to venture through the Hall of Causality together. When necessary, we''ll need to cooperate with each other and work together. Helping you also means helping myself."


    With this, the wariness among the ten of them was fortunately dispelled.


    Initially, some warriors had their own selfish thoughts, after all. If anyone was to be crushed by a giant stone, letting their Illusion Points burst out, then the others could naturally take advantage of such an opportunity. Now that they truly wanted to go further, they understood that teamwork became extremely important.


    "But with that white grating blocking our way, I wonder how we''ll manage to pass¡­" someone said, already sounding depressed.


    "Everyone, be careful. There must be some sort of mechanism here." As everyone retreated, they discussed how to make an escape.


    At this time, the short human warrior from the Blessed Buddha Land suddenly offered, "Perhaps the mechanism is on these giant stones."


    With that, he turned around to avoid the giant square stone in front of him. Surprisingly, a short sword appeared in his hand¡ªa supreme divine weapon, the Buddha Curse Blade!


    Whoosh!


    His body flashed around the huge rock. While he wasn''t able to fly in the hall, his speed just increased dramatically.


    The Buddha Curse Blade in his hand slashed lightly across the huge rock.


    Whoosh!


    The moment the


    toward Zen as he called out to them.


    The moment the last warrior charged into the square where Zen was, the row of giant stones released square beams of light simultaneously.


    These square stones were connected to each other, stopping the release of beams from the left and right. But these beams of light from the front and back filled the entire Hall of Causality. There were no blind spots at all.


    In total, there were forty-three square stones. But there were forty-four rows of squares in the hall¡ªthe one square stone that was missing was the only chance of survival.


    The Hall of Causality could definitely be passed in a certain way, meaning that it wouldn''t block this single chance of survival. Otherwise, it would be a death trap.


    Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!


    Everyone crowded with Zen before looking at the two sides that were densely covered with enormous beams of light. Their faces were all deathly pale.


    Apart from this place, every other place in the hall was already deadly.


    Under the beams of light, everyone finally had a chance to catch their breath.


    "He shouldn''t have attacked the stone just now¡­" someone criticized the short warrior.


    But Zen interjected, "No¡­ I''m afraid if we want to pass through this hall, we''ll probably have to do so. It was because of his attack that the attack of the Hall of Causality has evolved to this extent."


    If this short martial artist hadn''t used the Buddha Curse Blade to attack the square stone, then everyone would have still been chased away by the stones without a way to break it.


    "Well then... How are we supposed to break these stones? Everyone might die if we don''t dodge in time! We can''t just keep this up, right?" someone asked in worry.


    Taking a deep breath, Zen looked toward the depths of the Hall of Causality. Then, he said, "The key is probably still those ghost faces!"

 Chapter 1586 A Stupid Method

    Over thirty seconds later, the square pillars of light disappeared once again.


    Simultaneously, all the giant stones began rolling one more time.


    Now that everyone clearly understood the rules of the stones'' movement, they all felt slightly more at ease.


    These stones only rolled along the squares of the ground. So long as the squares where they stayed were not in line with the stones, they could avoid the pillar of light.


    Boom!


    With that, the stones were no longer arranged in a row but instead were scattered and rolled out in every direction.


    The eight surviving warriors now followed the rolling of the stones, constantly adjusting their positions.


    "We can stand here!"


    "Don''t stand there! A huge rock is rolling over! That place will be blocked soon."


    "Come here!"


    After the warriors found their new ''safe spots'', they stopped moving and quietly waited for the giant stones to shoot out the square pillars of light.


    Although the stones were all in a row just then, one row of squares were the ''safe spots''.


    In this moment, all the square boulders were in chaos¡ªtheir safety spot was split apart.


    Whoosh!


    As the boulders rolled, Zen didn''t seem to be in a hurry to find his safe spot. Instead, he was shuttling back and forth between the boulders to examine them.


    Since a stone was attacked by the short martial artist from the Blessed Buddha Land, a grimace remained on each side of all the square-shaped boulders.


    "The key must be in the grimaces," Zen spoke as his eyes frantically swept across the area.


    "Boom!"


    The moment all the boulders stopped rolling, Zen''s eyes flashed.


    "Is there something different about the grimace on this boulder?"


    Albeit faint, he could see that the color of a grimace on the boulder was slightly different from the others¡ªon the other boulders, the grimaces were simply black lines, but the one on the bottom of the square boulder before him was dark red in color.


    But just as Zen tried to move in closer, the stone turned over so that the red grimace was facing the ground. It was then impossible for Zen to lift it up and get a closer look.


    At this moment, all the boulders kept still. Left without a better choice, Zen had to give up and find a safe spot nearby. He stood firmly where he was and continued to ponder.


    Buzz¡­buzz¡­buzz¡­


    Light pillars shot out from the four sides of all the giant rocks simultaneously. The forty-three giant, square rocks shot out a total of a hundred and seventy-two light pillars in four different directions.


    Zen glanced at the terrifying might from wit


    to this guy in such a rush?


    Under the crushing pressure of the boulders, the purple thunder bamboos would be easily crushed to pieces.


    What Zen needed was a trap similar to a divine texture¡ªhe had a suitable divine texture in his mind, but right now, it was impossible for him to inscribe one.


    At this moment, some of the warriors were still left confused, but Janet and the short martial artist got a good idea of what Zen was planning.


    As a square boulder continued to roll along, one side would eventually face the ground, covering the dark red grimace. Then, they could set up traps all over the floor of the hall. So long as the grimace could turn over, it would get caught up in the traps when they were activated at the same time.


    Although it seemed pretty stupid, it was an effective method.


    "I can do that," Janet said with a smile. "I can summon the Lofty Wood Texture!" With a flick of her fingers, a tiny bit of mysterious texture appeared on the two squares, one in front of her and the other behind.


    With only a single thought, she made thorns spread out from the texture. Such was one of Janet''s most outstanding skills.


    "I can do that too." The short martial artist offered a nod before clasping his hands together. A bolt of thunder from the palm of his hand struck the ground next to him, creating a texture of lighting onto the square.


    Not knowing where the square boulders would be moved, this foolish method was time-consuming and exhausting. Because it was necessary to fill in every square in the hall with traps.


    But no one could come up with a better idea.


    As they dodged, the two summoned their skills to set up traps on the squares of the ground, laying them out in rows.

 Chapter 1587 Shoot An Arrow

    The figures of Janet and the short martial artist were blur as they both moved at the speed of lightning.


    Both of their strength could be ranked in the team''s top three.


    Although the square pillars of light caused their speeds to slow down a bit, they had succeeded in setting up traps. There were now lines of traps on the floor from a side of the Hall of Causality.


    Janet had used something called the "Lofty Wood Texture." It was a profound mystery derived from the fifth level of the Wood Law. It was also one of her clan''s extremely powerful techniques.


    Meanwhile, the thunder technique the short martial artist had used appeared to be extraordinary, which he hadn''t explained.


    The two of them shuttled across the Hall of Causality just like that. Each of them would set up a trap each time reaching a square, and they had filled up one-third of the hall''s area with traps within five minutes.


    Using their theurgies to set up traps had consumed lots of their strength. Thus, the two of them would rest for a while to replenish their life vitality as the pillars of light were released by the square boulders.


    This idiotic method consumed a great deal of life vitality, but they had no choice but to do so if they wanted to pass through this Hall of Causality.


    In any case--according to Zen''s plan, the dark red grimace would definitely be crushed as long as that the traps covered the squares where all the giant rocks would go through, and that all the traps were activated at the same time.


    The others tried their best to help Janet and the short warrior while they dodged the rocks. For instance, the Demon Night woman had tied a light green feather into Janet''s hair, which was taken from the Blue Phoenix''s head. It allowed one to move effortlessly, and it did save Janet a lot of strength.


    However, an unexpected change happened.


    Something happened when this "grand project" was halfway set up.


    A ray of black light spread from the squares in the hall and released a strange burst of power!


    The black light spread out from the ground, but didn''t harm any of the martial artists in the hall. However, when it disappeared, so did the traps Janet and the short martial artist had set!


    "Wh-what?!"


    Zen frowned deeply when he saw the scene.


    Meanwhile, Janet and the short martial artists were naturally upset.


    The other warriors simply remained silent.


    What had just happened meant that they weren''t allowed to set traps in this Hall of Causality.


    Thus, the traps they had set up now were gone in a flash.


    "Buzz buzz buzz¡­"


    All the giant square boulders once again lined up in a row, and then released square beams of light.


    On the other hand, Janet was already familiar with the boulders'' movement patterns. She cal


    at the giant boulder, as if he was acting on a conditioned reflex.


    The moment the square shaped boulder turned over, Zen had succeeded in throwing the small skull into the bottom!


    "Boom...!"


    A muffled bang followed, then everyone saw that the square boulder could no longer turn over now.


    Even though the square boulder was unimaginably heavy, it didn''t manage to crush the small skull into pieces. The small skull had actually stopped the boulder from turning just like that!


    "Be careful of that light beam!" Janet shouted from not far away.


    At that point, Zen was still in the same direction where the light shot out from the square boulder.


    If the square-shaped light beam had hit him, he would undoubtedly die!


    There was a dull thud on the ground. Zen had apparently collapsed!


    "Buzz buzz buzz¡­"


    Since the small skull was under the giant boulder, the light pillar that shot out from the boulder was tilted upwards.


    Zen had managed to dodge the square pillar of light, but he fell face-flat onto the ground!


    While Zen was in that position, he took out another black arrow from his quiver.


    The square pillars of light would continue for a few more seconds, so Zen had plenty of time now. His lips curved into a smile as he stared at the dark red grimace. Bow, aim, shoot!


    "Swish!"


    This black arrow whizzed out and was aimed at the grimace along the bottom, which the small skull had held up.


    Even then, Zen was still a little worried. After all, he wasn''t sure if the dark red grimace was the crux of passing through this Hall of Causality. It was merely their own speculation.


    "Boom!"


    The arrow flew right off and directly nailed itself onto the dark red grimace!


    At that moment, all of the light pillars simultaneously came to a halt; and the entire Hall of Causality returned to its calmness.

 Chapter 1588 Reward

    The dark red ghost face was nailed in and started cracking.


    The cracks spread quickly until they completely engulfed the entirety of the stone''s surface.


    These huge blocks of stones were originally ordinary stones.


    But their surfaces were protected by extremely strong Law of Causality which prevented them from being broken.


    This was the reason why no matter how powerful a battle between warriors was, the walls of the main cities would never be broken.


    "I was scared to death..." the ogre murmured weakly.


    Zen had shot an arrow just now that missed him by mere millimeters.


    "Sorry about that," Zen apologized with a smile.


    Everything was so chaotic and he couldn''t really think straight when he launched his arrow.


    The ogre laughed. "It''s alright. At least we can finally get through this damn hall." There wasn''t really any harm done and even if the arrow did hit him, it still wouldn''t be deadly. Zen''s bow was obtained from the Lower World and could only be considered a lower-ranked divine weapon, meaning it was no match to the ogre warrior''s armor.


    The ogre turned to the idle stone beside him. He patted it gently and the stone immediately exploded into smithereens.


    They had previously been chased by these stones all over the place but the tables had turned and they were now able to smash them all into pieces.


    "Amazing!" Janet told Zen with a sweet smile.


    Zen shrugged and pulled a skull from his back. "I was just lucky. I didn''t expect this little skull to be useful." He never thought that this indestructible annoyance was going to come in handy at such a crucial moment.


    Back in the first hall, Zen had almost caused the death of several warriors, so a lot of them harbored a lot of anger towards him.


    However, his actions here in the second hall proved to be extremely effective in getting through the challenges. He went from dead weight to an accidental hero.


    This temporary team was sure to bond even more once they got through more challenges together.


    "Bang, bang, bang..."


    More than forty blocks of stone had been smashed and reduced to rubble.


    Once all stones were gone, the warriors now fixed their eyes upon a very interesting sight: two masses of Illusion Points that gathered in the middle of the hall, left behind by the two warriors who died under the strong square light pillars.


    Since they weren''t kil


    attacking the stone so impulsively.


    Now it was the others'' turn to give it a try.


    The Demon Night warrior stood in front of the stone. They all understood that they should use their most destructive methods to attack the stone.


    They would have to bring out the big guns and attack this stone with everything they had got in order to reap its huge rewards!


    The Demon Night warrior took a few seconds to think of her strategy in dealing with this stone. Once she made up her mind, she took two steps back and took out a fiery-red longbow.


    "This bow... Is it also a supreme divine weapon?"


    Zen hadn''t really been paying much attention to this woman. She was silent and preferred to keep to herself. The only interaction she ever did with any of them was when she gave the Blue Phoenix feather to Janet.


    If she was in possession of a supreme divine weapon, then that meant that she enjoyed a high status in their race, perhaps even higher than Aurora''s!


    The woman skillfully gripped the bow and pulled on the bowstring, aiming it at the stone.


    ''There''s no arrow though...'' Zen thought to himself.


    But soon enough, the fiery-red longbow started to glow as some kind of powerful energy surged through it. Not long after, a vortex of fire appeared in front of the bow and spat out a crimson arrow!


    "This is the Moon Bursting Flame Bow, ranked a bit below the 2, 100th on the Universe Spirit Tablet," Janet helpfully explained to Zen.


    At that moment, the Demon Night woman quickly released her hold on the bowstring and sent the arrow flying straight to the stone!

 Chapter 1589 Various Skills

    After she let go of the bowstring, a buzz was heard.


    Everyone saw the bowstring tremble on the bow.


    The vortex of flame floating in front of the longbow didn''t shoot out but instead floated in front of her, slowly spinning.


    The Demon Night woman then smiled shyly at the crowd. "We''d better back off a bit!"


    Upon seeing the power of the flame vortex, everyone knew that the power of the explosion would exceed their imagination and that they had to retreat.


    Putting away her Moon Bursting Flame Bow, the Demon Night woman retreated toward the hall with the others. The vortex of flame was then left where it was, slowly rotating in the air.


    Zen, Janet and the others moved back hundreds of feet before they decided to stop.


    "It''s not yet enough. We have to retreat further back. I''m afraid it''ll hurt you," the Demon Night woman said with a smile.


    Thus, the group retreated together with her to the middle section of the Hall of Causality.


    "Alright, it''s enough." As soon as the woman finished speaking, her eyes flashed. In that moment, everyone heard the sound of an explosion.


    Boom!


    The flame vortex shot toward the huge, square rock. After a fierce collision, the flame power contained within spread out to the back. Almost half of the Hall of Causality was easily swallowed by the intense flame.


    The woman seemed rather familiar with the bow. She told everyone to back off, but not too far away. They were at a good distance now.


    "In addition to the power of the five layers of the Fire Law, it also contains a strange Law of Causality. It can condense the flame power to a high degree. Is this what makes the Moon Bursting Flame Bow special?" Janet whispered.


    Right in the middle of the raging flames, the surface of the huge rock was once again suffused with countless Illusion Points. As they continuously danced in the air, they flew directly toward the Demon Night woman''s body.


    The number of these Illusion Points was several times more than that of the ogre martial artists from before.


    When the raging flames completely dissipated and the Illusion Points were completely absorbed, the ogre martial artist anxiously asked, "How many¡­ How many Illusion Points have you obtained?"


    "2.8 million," she said with a faint smile.


    "What?" The ogre martial artist roared. In this moment, he turned green with envy. But there was no medicine for regret in this world¡ªhe shouldn''t have struck the square rock.


    As the other martial artists heard the woman''s words, their hearts burned with passion.


    And it was as expected.


    Just as Janet said, it was rather easy to earn the Illus


    nd gentle.


    When Janet struck the surface of the rock, it made a loud sound, but his strike was silent. The moment his palm touched the rock, he pulled back like a dragonfly dipping quickly into the water.


    But after his light push, a massive amount of Illusion Points flooded into him.


    ''That''s a strange power. The methods of the Blessed Buddha Land are truly extensive and profound.'' Sighing inwardly, Zen shot the martial artist with a grave expression.


    The three human forces in the universe were all very powerful¡ªthe Thoughtless Minds was established by many clans, while the Humanity Alliance was made of countless sacred places. But the Blessed Buddha Land was the oldest in the whole human race. Their path of cultivation was completely differently from that of the Thoughtless Minds and Humanity Alliance because they inherited the very teachings of the Buddhas.


    "3.9 million Illusion Points," he announced casually.


    The crowd couldn''t help but suck in a breath of cold air upon hearing the number.


    It wasn''t the number they were shocked at¡ªover four million Illusion Points were stored in their bodies, after all.


    But the short martial artist managed to obtain nearly four million Illusion Points in one go¡ªdid that mean his palm strike was several times stronger than theirs?


    The Demon Night woman had used a supreme divine weapon and yet earned only 2.8 million Illusion Points. But this person, out of nowhere, earned 3.9 million using just his bare hands.


    Janet''s mouth twitched. The record she created was instantly broken by the guy. Unwilling to give up, she turned to Zen. "It''s your turn."


    In her frustration, she found herself hoping that Thad could get more Illusion Points than the short martial artist.

 Chapter 1590 Names

    When the short warrior stepped aside to make way for Zen, everyone''s eyes fell on the latter.


    He was the only one out of the remaining eight warriors who had yet to attack the massive rock.


    Giving Janet a soft smile, he walked toward the square rock.


    All eyes were focused on him as the other warriors wondered what method he would use to attack.


    But when Zen took his stance, everyone''s expression turned disappointed.


    Zen merely took on a horse stance, clenching his right fist as he stared straight ahead at the rock in front of him.


    It seemed as though he was preparing for a normal punch.


    ''Doesn''t he care about Illusion Points at all?'' they wondered.


    Although the short warrior''s palm strike just then seemed ordinary, they could tell that it was composed of profound skills ¡ª the control he had over his strength was already at such a high level that his attack looked so leisurely from a close distance.


    "Thad, are you really going to hit the rock with just your fist? Don''t you want to use a weapon?" Janet asked. Janet couldn''t help but suggest that he use a weapon, believing it would help him gain more points.


    But Zen only shook his head. "There is no need."


    Though he understood Janet''s doubt, he couldn''t be bothered to explain further.


    After activating all the 40, 000 dragon scales, the strength of his physical body was probably comparable to the might of the Gods-intimidating Strike. But his physical strength had its own limitations ¡ª warriors rarely engaged in close combat during a fight, urging him to use the Gods-intimidating Strike and other skills more often.


    After all the power of the dragon scales flowed into his right fist, he threw a rather ordinary punch.


    But no one knew exactly how terrifying the power in this punch was.


    When Zen''s fist landed on the surface of the square rock, everyone heard a dull thud.


    "Ha! Looks like he''s at the bottom of us all!" The ogre warrior grinned and remarked from behind.


    Like Zen, he attacked the rock with merely an ordinary punch, obtaining only around 400, 000 Illusion Points.


    As an ogre, his natural physical strength was already much stronger than an ordinary human warrior''s. Even though he had used less than sixty percent of his full strength, he felt rather confident that his strength still surpassed this human warrior''s.


    But after Zen retracted his fist, several spots of the Illusion Points started to fly out of the rock like before.


    One, two¡­


    These yellow luminous spots were like fireflies dancing in the air as they radiated from the surface of the rock.


    Everyone stared at these spots, their faces gradually growing in doubt.


    After a few moments, only several hundred Illusion Points wer


    n the present supreme world, his ranking had reached up to the top 100.


    With that one move, he managed to earn back the five million points he paid and more.


    Since he was the last attack, cracks suddenly appeared on the surface of the square rock until it became a mere pile of dust.


    Everyone sighed as they looked ahead to their upcoming journey.


    Just at the second Hall of Causality, they had obtained such a large number of Illusion Points. What could possibly happen next?


    Although there was hope there, they also had rather big worries.


    The difficulty of the second Hall of Causality wasn''t low by any means ¡ª two people had already been killed here. What could happen in the third Hall of Causality?


    After passing through the hall''s exit, they once again stepped onto the stairs and continued up the mountain.


    On their way, Janet suddenly broke the silence and offered, "Let''s introduce ourselves to each other. We need cooperation to pass through these halls, after all. We should at least know each other''s names, right?"


    Through their previous cooperation, they had accepted each other as mere temporary companions. But after everything they had to go through, the trust they had in each other leveled up.


    Hearing Janet''s words, the short warrior from the Blessed Buddha Land replied first, "My name is Jeffrey Jin."


    "Jeffrey? Are you that famous monk in the Blessed Buddha Land?"


    Hearing his name, a human warrior behind him inquired, sounding surprised.


    With a smile, Jeffrey offered a nod. "Yes, that''s me."


    "I''m Thad Luo," Zen added.


    "I''m Coleman!" The ogre replied loudly.


    The Demon Night woman blinked softly and said, "My name is Hailey."


    ¡­


    After everyone introduced themselves, Janet smiled and said, "You are all very honest. Only Thad used a fake name!"

 Chapter 1591 Hooks

    Janet had a special ability--she could distinguish if one was telling lies or not.


    When she declared that Thad was a fake name, everyone stared at Zen once again.


    However, Zen simply smiled and didn''t explain. He believed that they shouldn''t be too entangled with this issue.


    They continued climbing up the mountain.


    Zen scanned his surroundings, and an icy blue hall appeared in front of him.


    It seemed that the great hall in front of him was built from blue crystals, which made it glimmer with an icy blue luster under the light.


    Moreover, they felt refreshed as they drew closer to the hall.


    The soles of Jeffrey''s shoes scuffed against the ground when he slowed down his pace and turned to Janet.


    "How difficult is the third Hall of Causality?" he asked her. In turn, Janet looked at the hall for a while with a serious expression. "Every Hall of Causality is different, so I can''t say for sure--but there are five Halls of Causality from the foot of the mountain to its summit in total.


    We had two ace talents in the group last time I entered here. No one died in the first Hall of Causality. Three people perished in the second. Four more followed in the third. I perished in the fourth Hall of Causality..." "So many people had died even though you had two ace talents in the group?!"


    The ogre martial artist couldn''t help but gawk at her in disbelief. There was not a single ace talent among the ten people present.


    Although they had never fought each other before, Zen, Jeffrey, and Janet were undoubtedly the top three warriors among them.


    However, they thought that while Zen and the others weren''t weak--they were not on par with the ace talents. Those who were called ace talents must have the greatest fortune in the universe.


    Not only did they carry the destiny of the chaotic world, a race or clan''s hopes depended on them as well.


    If even a team with two ace talents did not make through the Hall of Causality, then it meant that this Hall of Causality was much more difficult than they had imagined.


    Naturally, some of the eight people wanted to retreat after they heard Janet''s words.


    However, Janet smiled at them and said, "Don''t worry, isn''t our result now better than last time?


    We''ll definitely pass through this Hall of Causality as long as all of us work together!" She made sure to emphasize the two words ''work together'' as she spoke.


    What Janet didn''t mention was that the two ace talents from the last time she had entered the Hall of Causality refused to cooperate. They always fought internally, and even continued their fight on the mountain.


    Furthermore, they didn''t even save the other martial


    He tried to smash the two stone tablets to pieces, but they didn''t even move an inch. They were completely unbreakable.


    From the looks of it, it seemed that each person could only get one hook.


    After everyone had obtained a hook, all of them turned to Janet once again.


    On the other hand, Janet innocently looked at Zen and muttered, "I also don''t know what to do next¡­"


    Zen''s lips curved up into a small smile. He walked towards the deep ravine''s edge as he looked on the other side.


    The opposite end of the deep ravine was shrouded in darkness, so they couldn''t see whatever was in there clearly. However, Zen''s pupils shone with a green luster, and the black shadows on the other side gradually dissipated. Then, he saw some shadows that were shaking in the darkness.


    "There seems to be something on the other side," said Zen.


    "What is it?" Janet immediately asked. Before the rules had been made clear, everyone had been unsure of their actions in the Hall of Causality. They might be killed instantly if they weren''t careful, so all of them were quite nervous.


    "I can''t see it clearly," Zen said as the green light in his eyes glowed brighter. When he activated his vision ability, his expression suddenly changed and he shouted, "Watch out!"


    Just as when he finished his words, a hook from the darkness in the other side of the deep ravine rapidly shot towards them.


    Everyone heeded Zen''s warning and quickly moved to the two sides, but the hook was fast. It instantly crossed the distance of three thousand feet, and directly hung itself on the body of a human martial artist named Cain Li!


    After Cain was caught, he seemed powerless and couldn''t resist at all. He only had enough time to scream for help, before he was pulled to the other side.

 Chapter 1592 The Warriors In The Darkness

    That human warrior called Cain had been hooked and was immediately dragged off into the enveloping darkness. No sign of him could be seen, not even a shadow in the murky darkness.


    "Ah!"


    Cain shouted desperately, but then his shouting abruptly stopped.


    Everyone saw a mass of yellow light dots suddenly burst out from the darkness on the other side of the deep ditch...


    It was obvious that Cain had died. Half of his Illusion Points had burst forth from his body!


    The moment those Illusion Points appeared, he disappeared, as if he was immediately consumed by the darkness!


    "Where are the Illusion Points?"


    "It seems that they have already been absorbed!"


    "This is impossible!" Janet''s face revealed an expression of surprise and horror. "In this Hall of Causality, is there a warrior of some kind that could have killed Cain and absorbed the Illusion Points?"


    In the Illusion Battlefield, only warriors could absorb Illusion Points from each other. The wild animals and dreaded beasts could kill the warriors, but couldn''t absorb their Illusion Points.


    If Zen killed Cain, then no matter how far away they were from each other, Cain''s Illusion Points would fly towards Zen.


    Lucille had once given her subordinates the golden suicide pellets that could take their lives. These golden pellets had contained Lucille''s consciousness within them though. As a result, when her subordinates committed suicide, it was as if Lucille had killed them in the Illusion Battlefield. So she had obtained their Illusion Points.


    Some warriors who were killed by vicious beasts in the secret lands or out in the wilderness would have their Illusion Points float on the spot and become Illusion Points belonging to no one. Any warrior who found these points could absorb them, but those vicious beasts could never absorb the Illusion Points.


    However, after Cain was dragged away and slain, his Illusion Points were almost instantly absorbed.


    There was only one possibility; there were warriors hiding on the other side of ravine.


    These warriors on the other side had hooked Cain and dragged him away, after which they killed him and absorbed his Illusion Points.


    Every time the Hall of Causality opened, only ten warriors could enter at the same time. How then were there warriors on the other side of the ditch?


    It didn''t make any sense at all...


    "Be careful." Zen also frowned. The hook in his hand was tightly held in his grip, while his eyes turned a motley green. Even though he had activated his magical eyes, he was still unable to see into the darkness. It seemed that someone had made use of the Dark Law to create the darkness, and it was as if the darkness was a curtain that protected and hid the warriors within it.


    "It''s the power of the Dark Law, and those opponents have made full preparation this time," Jeffrey said coldly. He held a hook in one hand and the Buddha Curse Blade in the other.


    Zen kept glancing around the darkness, and he finally tracked down one of the blurry


    everyone''s surprise, this Hall of Causality was actually letting two groups of warriors stay opposite each other!


    These ten warriors on the other side might also have passed through two Halls of Causality as well, but not a single one of them had died, as they still retained their original number of ten. The strength of these warriors could definitely not then be underestimated.


    What was even worse was that they had even set up the Dark Law in advance, hiding themselves within the darkness before their attack, which had made Zen and his group members less able to fend them off.


    "Who can perform the Dark Law?" Janet asked. The Dark Law was a rather unpopular law, and Janet hadn''t mastered it.


    Although Zen had once received the baptism by laws, he had never comprehended nor favored the Dark Law.


    Hearing Janet''s question, Jeffrey laughed coldly and responded, "We don''t need the Dark Law! Look at me!"


    Jeffrey clapped his hands together gently, and the Buddhist sound began to ring out, making the air quiver and filled with mist.


    A hallucinatory glow began emitting from his body, spreading in all directions...


    Zen and the others who were standing in the mist were unable to sense anything strange.


    However, to the warriors on the other side of the ditch, there appeared to be countless figures who were made out of thin air. Jeffrey had conjured a mass of additional illusion figures that mixed with the group of seven warriors. It was difficult to tell which figure was real or not. Now the enemy could not spot their targets so easily.


    "I want to see how they hook us this time!" Jeffrey sneered.


    Although the mist was unable to completely cover the seven of them, it could still cause quite a bit of interference to confound their opponents.


    It seemed that the two groups of warriors had to fight a battle in this third Hall of Causality, in addition to any other challenges that might still be waiting.


    In this mist, the warriors began to plan how to counterattack.

 Chapter 1593 Stratagem

    In the darkness on the other side, warriors were in a daze, looking confused but seemed to be alert.


    There were ten warriors stood in a row, staring deeply into the mist opposite them.


    In their eyes, the mist on the other side looked eerily thick as it gradually spread out, forming countless illusions¡ªhumans, snakes, insects, all the creatures in the universe. It only took several moments until the fog had starkly covered up the seven of them.


    "Swish¡­"


    Amidst the darkness, someone threw out a long hook! They all heard a hissing sound.


    The long hook resembled a spear. It crossed a distance of three thousand feet and flew straight into the fog!


    However, as the hook disappeared into the creepy fog, the figure the hook got in contact was only an illusion. Shortly after it dissipated, the hook returned without any gains.


    Some warrior behind the thick, creepy fog also threw out the hook, mimicking the warrior on the other side.


    Once a warrior was hooked from the other side, they could attack that one in groups to achieve an instant kill!


    For example, after Cain was hooked onto the other side, he didn''t even have the strength to fight back before exploding into a ball of Illusion Points and being sent back to the main city.


    Right now, one side had exerted a Dark Law, while the other had summoned the fog to cover them up. Both parties were well hidden.


    These long hooks flew back and forth above the three thousand feet wide abyss for several times, but they were ultimately unable to get a single warrior.


    "Interesting! It''s the Illusive Fog. One of those warriors is from the Blessed Buddha Land!"


    The leader of the ten warriors was also a human. He looked weak and thin as a bamboo stick, but there was a sharp glint in his eyes. It was as if there were two knives hidden in his calm eyes!


    "They should have passed the first two Halls of Causality as well, and they have already lost two teammates. Now we have killed one more of them, so the team should only have seven left. Ha-ha! They are not that strong!" Another warrior laughed coldly.


    "Lone alone can deal with the left seven warriors, right? The third Hall of Causality is so easy to pass through," someone exclaimed in the darkness.


    If one side wanted to pass through the third Hall of Causality, they would have to kill all the warriors on the other side.


    The entryway to Zen''s group was the exit to these ten warriors, and the entrance to the ten was the exit to Zen''s group of seven!


    And the only way to get through the third Hall of Causality was to kill all the warriors on the other''s path.


    "Of course! Lone is an ace talent! How could there be a match for him? If we were to send Lone over, those fellows on the other side would be killed in a blink of an eye!" another warrior butted in.


    "But the ones on the other side have the Illusive Fog to shield them. It''s difficult to get them here through the hooks," someone spoke hesitantly.


    "Big deal! They won''t be able to break t


    heard the one named Damon among the ace talents of the ogres."


    As far as Jeffrey was concerned, their opponents wouldn''t be too difficult to deal with as long as they weren''t the ace talents from those famous races or groups.


    "No! He is not an ace talent, because his fate is not strong enough to be one. But, his strength and talent are not inferior to any of ace talents!" Coleman continued.


    Whether being an ace talent or Godly Genius, a warrior had to have the fate to lead the world of chaos. But it would never mean that the ones who had such a destiny were qualified to be ace talents.


    What Coleman wanted to say was simple. The ogre couldn''t be an ace talent merely because he was not fated to be one. But with such strength, his power should not be underestimated!


    Thus, after hearing Coleman''s words, Jeffrey, Janet, and the others eventually wore a solemn expression, especially now that the ogre had the confidence to stand there, and wait for them to make a move!


    Zen gripped the hook hard in his hand, and keenly observed the ogre. He noted that there was a river filled with illusory energy, as he shifted his gaze from the ogre down to the deep ravine.


    Regardless of this warrior''s strength, there was no way for him to break free from the laws of the heavens contained within the hook. The moment the ogre was hooked over, he would be on the defensive and have no way to get rid of it.


    Yet, he was beaming with confidence. He must be relying on something else.


    As Zen was currently in deep thought contemplating about that, Damon across the three-thousand-foot-wide ravine roared provokingly, "Hey! The bunch of cowards over there! I am standing right here. Even now, none of you dare to make a move against me? You guys really suck!


    Why don''t you give up as soon as possible? Remove that mist! Come over to kneel and beg for mercy from me. I can let you die a little faster!


    Come on! Throw your hook! Hook me over! I will never fight back, and never curse back!"

 Chapter 1594 A Little Game

    Damon, standing across the deep ravine, was constantly provoking Zen and the others.


    However, from inside the fog there was nothing but silence.


    After a long while, a voice finally sounded with a ghostly echo from within the mist.


    "Idiot!"


    When Damon heard this voice, he was momentarily stunned before a furious look appeared on his face. "You dare to scold me?"


    "Idiot!"


    yet another voice said in an almost bored tone.


    "You''re the idiot!" Damon roared, his voice echoing throughout the spacious hall.


    "Liar! Didn''t you say that you won''t fight back or return curses? I only scolded you twice, and already you swore in return. How can I then believe your words?" Zen''s voice retorted from within the mist.


    "I...I..." Damon was startled, and his words stalled in his throat at hearing the rebuke. He had been trying to provoke his enemies, but now he was the one who became infuriated due to Zen''s words instead. He didn''t know how to respond now.


    "Damon, don''t concern yourself with them. They won''t be able to last long." Lone''s voice floated over from the darkness.


    Damon suddenly nodded, took heart and said, "You are right! Let''s see how long these guys can endure!"


    "Ha-ha!" Janet, who was in the fog, laughed as she looked at Zen, who was standing beside her. "I didn''t know that you are also just as good at verbal quarreling as at actual fighting."


    Zen shrugged his shoulders and smiled. Right at that moment, his left hand shot out like a lightning bolt and grabbed Janet, retreating a step to the right. In the blink of an eye, a hook shot out across the deep ravine and flew straight towards Janet.


    Thanks to Zen''s swift reflexes, Janet was able to escape being caught!


    "That was close!" Janet got so frightened that she stood out in a cold sweat.


    If she had been caught by the hook, she would definitely have been killed by the ten opponents. Even if Zen and the others were then still able to pass through this Hall of Causality, the next part of this saga would have no mention of her.


    "There''s someone on the other side who has the ability to see through my fog. I don''t know whether this is due to the sounds in the mist or something else," Jeffrey said with a grave expression on his face.


    Just like Zen''s magical eyes were able to see through some of the Dark Laws, some of the warriors on the other side seemed in turn able to see through the Illusive Fog as well!


    "I... I can kill them using this," said Hailey, who had been silent all this time, as she gently lifted the Moon Bursting Flame Bow in her hand.


    Zen smiled faintly at this moment. "Don''t bother. I''ll deal with this ogre. However, they will definitely have other tricks up their sleeves. We''d better stand further apart."


    After passing through the second Hall of Causality, Zen had become their unofficial leader.


    Since Zen had spoken, he must then have the confidence to do as he pledged. Therefore, no one had any objections.


    Soon after, Zen''s figure flashed, and he appeared in the middle of the fog. His eyes fixed on the ogre across the deep ravine. His left hand grasped the long chain affixed at the end of the hook, and his


    tists had no weight and couldn''t fight back. They also couldn''t use life vitality or forceful energy, nor could they be harmed while attached to the hook!


    Only once they were released from the hooks would the two sides be able to fight, and slay their enemies!


    Therefore, as soon as Damon condensed the Forceful Crystal Armor, Jeffrey, who had been hidden not too far away, immediately shot out his hook.


    The diamond-shaped crystal that Damon had consumed lots of his forceful energy to condense was naturally broken by the heavens'' rules contained in the hook!


    As for Jeffrey, he hooked Damon over to his side and quickly retreated out of reach. He did not dare to confront Damon directly.


    At this moment, Damon''s face revealed a trace of panic! The Forceful Crystal Armor that he had spent a large amount of his forceful energy to condense was instantly broken by a small hook, just like that! This was the strongest Transcendent Divine Might his father had ever mastered, but it was destroyed by a mere hook.


    "Forceful Crystal Armor!"


    Damon reacted extremely fast. He did not attack Jeffrey, but instead he focused and condensed his Forceful Crystal Armor once again. At the same time, he threw the hook in his hand! The most important thing for him was to hook Lone over so that he might have reinforcements!


    "Swish¡­"


    But this time, Janet, who was standing even further away, cast out her hook.


    Damon''s Forceful Crystal Armor was just formed, while it was also broken by Janet''s deftly thrown long hook. At the same time, it wrapped around Damon''s burly body and he was again knocked down and pulled towards Janet.


    It was like they were playing a little game of tug-of-war with him. One warrior after another dragged Damon along. There was not a single stop between them. The instant he was released by Janet''s long hook, another hook wrapped around him once again. As for Damon''s Forceful Crystal Armor, it was constantly being condensed, and also swiftly crushed by the heavens'' rules contained in the long hooks. Damon never received the chance to throw his own hook back at Lone!

 Chapter 1595 Disarm

    Damon was being pulled around like a toy, hooked to multiple leashes in the hands of several people, and was screaming in rage.


    "You guys entered the Hall of Causality before us and took the initiative, but it doesn''t look like you used your brain!


    Advancing in the Hall of Causality doesn''t need brute force. You might be a martial artist at the Soul Sea Realm, as powerful as an ace talent and with a supreme divine weapon in your hand. But the Law of Causality contained in the supreme divine weapon you hold would still not be as strong as the rules laid down by the heavens.


    Reasonable use of the rules is the key. I do not know the original name of the Law of Causality contained within the long hook, so I will call it ''disarm''. Once you are hooked, you do not have the ability to resist, even if you are an ace talent! And that''s because you are disarmed!"


    Zen said, fixing Damon with a steady gaze.


    His voice wasn''t loud, but everyone in the Hall of Causality could hear him clearly.


    When the nine people hiding in the darkness on the other side heard this, panic filled them.


    The ten of them had entered the Hall of Causality and had set up the Dark Law long before Zen had. They had seized the initiative.


    But they didn''t spend much time or effort observing the long hooks in their hands.


    It wasn''t that they didn''t think of it on purpose; just that they were too conceited for it to have occurred to them.


    Of the 10 people on their side, one was an ace talent, two were descendants of Supreme Lords, and two were descendants of grand world lords. In addition to the ace talent, the four descendants were also fated to lead the world of chaos.


    Why would such a strong group even look at a group like Zen''s?


    So Damon suggested that Zen''s group hook him to the other side and he then bring Lone over. What followed was torture: simple and crude.


    The only reason they dared execute such a plan was because of their full confidence in their own strength.


    They couldn''t see what was happening amidst all the fog but they could imagine what was happening to Damon.


    "The guy who is talking is really interesting," Lone said, grabbing the hook and studying it. He had never thought about how strong the Law of Causality was; he only knew that this hook had the protection of the rules of the heavens and couldn''t be broken. And once the hook caught someone, it would definitely bring him over.


    "What do we do now? Damon has not died yet. Should we save him?" another warrior asked.


    Lone stretched his arms and


    n over," Hailey said. "Going by that, this person should have the confidence to kill all of us!"


    "A person with such confidence should at least be an ace talent," Janet added.


    The other martial artists scowled darkly as this conclusion was reached.


    There were more than one hundred warriors in the entire universe who could be called ace talents and each of the 50 supreme worlds of the Illusion Battlefield only had three ace talents on an average. Some supreme worlds probably had more ace talents, and some did not even have a single one.


    When Janet had first entered the Hall of Causality, she had two ace talents accompanying her. And now, she was facing a third ace talent as her opponent.


    "How should we deal with that ace talent?" Jeffrey asked, his voice low. Even though he was powerful, he didn''t have the strength to fight against an ace talent.


    Sensing this subtle change in the atmosphere, Zen smiled faintly and said, "Even if there is an ace talent, we can still kill him. But that ace talent has now also understood the rules of this long hook. I''m afraid they won''t be hooked over by us now. What about letting them hook me over?"


    "What?" Jeffrey said, surprised.


    Everyone was clear about the power of this long hook - the "disarm" could destroy almost any power or martial skills. The only ones who could struggle free of the heavens'' rules were probably the Supreme Lords. Even a world lord would probably be unable to resist if he were caught by the hook and would be bound before he knew it.


    Zen understood this logic. So why was he making such a suggestion?


    Zen laughed at Jeffrey''s blank expression and said, "I am just kidding. I''m not that stupid."

 Chapter 1596 Hesitation

    Zen was unable to challenge the rules of the hook.


    The square boulders in the second hall had originally been ordinary stones. But because they contained a rule of the heavens, Zen was unable to move the boulders the slightest bit, even if he burst out with all his might.


    In this universe, only a Supreme Lord could break through a certain level of the rules of the heavens. At this point in time, Zen''s strength was far from that.


    As Zen finished speaking, his gaze landed on Hailey.


    This quiet Demon Night woman held a longbow in one hand and a long hook in the other. She looked at the other side, her eyes brimming with caution.


    Moon Bursting Flame Bow!


    When Zen looked at the bow, his eyes glinted. He had already made up his mind. "Perhaps," he said, "I can be a stupid person for once."


    When Jeffrey and Janet heard Zen, doubt appeared on their faces.


    As for the absent-minded Coleman, he was even more confused. "You want to get hooked over?"


    What happened to Damon had been a terrible lesson.


    If Zen were to be hooked by his opponents, his end result would be the same as Damon''s. They would use the long hooks in their hands to jostle him and then easily kill him.


    "Perhaps!" Zen said, shrugging lightly. It was a chaotic energy transmission that carried over his words. Although there was a distance of three thousand feet between the two sides, a martial artist''s hearing sense was good enough to hear Zen.


    Time quietly passed by in this confrontation.


    Most of the warriors in the Hall of Causality were starting to feel anxious.


    Almost all the martial artists who entered this place could make it into the top three hundred of the supreme world.


    But the competition in the Illusion Battlefield was becoming more and more intense, and the other warriors at the top of the ranks were gaining Illusion Points at a heightening speed. If they got nothing here, their ranks would plummet. Anyone who did not gain enough points would decline in the rankings.


    During the confrontation, the martial artists outside of the Halls of Causality were gaining Illusion Points at an insane speed. Thus, the rankings of the warriors in here were naturally falling.


    Every time they checked their rankings, they would realize that they had slipped by one or two spots.


    "Lone, are we going to wait like this forever?" someone cried out.


    Lone sat in the same spot. His gaze was fixed on the endlessly churning mist. He asked with a smile, "And why can''t we wait?"


    "But¡­"


    "The other side should be even more anxious than us," Lone said airily. "They will lose their patience sooner or later."


    Truthfully, Lone was not so confident at this moment.


    It was not that he did not believe in his abilities. If


    was similar to what Damon had done. Damon had provoked Zen through his words, but Zen was goading Lone through his action.


    Zen did not pause even for a moment when his hook missed its target. His vision was already firmly locked onto the blurry, skinny figure. The long hook in his hand once again shot out.


    Whoosh ¡­


    As the long hook flew toward Lone, his figure moved a few more feet to avoid the hook.


    Once...


    Twice...


    Thrice¡­


    Again and again, Zen struck out with his hook, but to no avail.


    He wore a faint smile on his face, seeming very patient.


    Lone, who still resided in the darkness, finally had a look of anger on his face.


    Swish¡­


    As he dodged Zen''s hook, the long hook in his own hand shot out and charged straight at Zen.


    "Finally!"


    Zen''s eyes flashed. This was the moment he had been waiting for.


    When Zen saw the long hook rush to drag him into it, he smiled. The long hook halted all of a sudden, not too far away from him.


    Lone grabbed the chain at the end of the long hook and forcibly pulled it back.


    As Zen looked in the direction of the retracting hook, a devious look surfaced in his eyes. "Why? Why are you withdrawing it?"


    No one said a word in the darkness on the other side, but soon after, a sharp aura emerged from the darkness. It was Lone.


    "Lone, why didn''t you make a move?" a warrior asked.


    "He would die if you hooked him over. Why did you hesitate?" Some of the warriors were utterly perplexed at Lone''s lack of action.


    Slowly, Lone stood up and looked at Zen from head to toe. A sense of foreboding had enveloped him the moment he raised the hook, so he withdrew it at the last moment.


    However, the warriors around him could not hold it in any longer. One of them suddenly lashed out a long hook at Zen. Lone did not have the chance to stop him.

 Chapter 1597 A Mysterious Sword (Part One)

    Zen''s provocation worked.


    From the darkness, a long hook shot toward Zen and instantly caught him.


    The moment it gripped Zen, his body was bound by a strange rule. This rule did not allow him to resist the attack. His entire body was as if imprisoned in chains and he was pulled into the darkness like a weightless feather.


    "Now!" Zen shouted.


    The moment Zen was pulled over, Hailey let go of the bowstring.


    Before her Moon Bursting Flame Bow were three swirling balls of flame that floated in the air.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    The target of the three round flames was no other than Zen!


    Truthfully, Hailey too hesitated at the moment.


    The Moon Bursting Flame Bow could be called a supreme divine weapon and naturally had its strong points. She was unable to fully unleash the power of the flame arrow. An ordinary martial artist would never be able to withstand its full power. Even an ace talent would be likely to back off.


    But Zen had insisted on it. He had promised her that nothing would happen to him.


    In the end, Hailey could only do as she was told.


    "Humph!"


    Lone snorted. Someone else from his side was pulling Zen over. His thin figure flashed as he marched toward Zen.


    Lone had been unable to come up with a method to break the stalemate, but that did not mean that he was afraid of Zen.


    "No matter what tricks you are playing, you must die now that you have come over to our side," Lone said in a cold voice. He waved one of his arms and a long sword materialized in his hand.


    Lone had another famed name.


    He was also known as Lone, the Otherworldly Swordsman.


    The Otherworldly Swordsman was the only ace talent among all independent warriors.


    An ace talent was the hope of a large clan.


    Usually only a few ace talents could be found in a clan.


    To raise an ace talent often required sparing no efforts


    warrior. From an unknown junior, he had slaughtered his way into the domain of the ace talents.


    From then on, Lone only rose to prominence.


    Now, in the midst of the Thoughtless Minds, he was walking shoulder to shoulder with Lawson, Nathan, and Lucille.


    Most people considered what Lone had done to be miraculous among independent warriors.


    "In absolute strength, all schemes are futile." Suddenly, the consciousness of Lone''s sword communicated with him.


    "I know. Before¡­ I shouldn''t have hesitated." Lone''s face was unreadable. At this moment, he suddenly wielded his sword as he charged toward Zen.


    The sword had accompanied Lone for many years. He had speculated on its origins.


    It did not belong to this round of the universe, rather, it came from a higher level of existence; an existence that surpassed the heavens.


    The sword had informed him that the region was known as the divine land.


    In the beginning when the sword had been with him, they had only used up each other''s strengths. However, after being in the company of each other for so many years, their relationship had only grown deeper. He knew some of the secrets of the sword, and the sword helped him to become a Godly Genius and surpass the heavens.

 Chapter 1598 A Mysterious Sword (Part Two)

    When the Illusion Battlefield opened, the sword told Lone that the competition was crucial.


    In the Illusion Battlefield, Lone had encountered no resistance so far. The number of people in the entire universe who were truly capable of challenging him as an opponent was not high.


    After considering this, the young man before Lone seemed to be far cleverer, but he was still not powerful enough to contend Lone.


    However...


    the moment Zen regained his freedom in the darkness, three powerful round flames shot out from behind him.


    The warrior who had hooked Zen was impulsive, but that did not mean that he had not made sure that he would succeed. The moment he hooked Zen, he had made his move. The short spear in his hand went straight for Zen''s head. As soon as the spinning tip of the spear got near Zen, it was sure to impale him and crush his head.


    However, the warrior did not expect three fiery arrows to appear right behind Zen just as the latter was about to be stabbed by the spear.


    ''Damn it!''


    the warrior cursed silently. At this moment, he did not care whether or not he could kill Zen. His figure flashed. He was about to escape out of sight.


    A faint smile appeared on Zen''s face as both of his hands shot out like lightning and took hold of the warrior. His hands were like iron hoops and firmly clamped on the warrior''s body. Zen would not allow him to break free.


    "Die!"


    At the same time, Lone''s black iron sword pierced through the darkness and headed straight for Zen.


    He did not need to think about how to attack Zen.


    The dark iron sword could handle almost everything by itself. It was his greatest source of reliance, and also like a part of him.


    Back then, when h


    hing in the universe was like child''s play to the sword. It never regarded any of the Supreme Lords as being unbeatable, as if there was nothing in the universe worthy of its shock.


    But at this moment, when the black iron sword noticed the difference in Zen''s body, it expressed its astonishment.


    "Nothing. Let''s kill him first." The sword sent another message to Lone.


    "All right." By now, Lone had come very close to Zen. In fact, most techniques that the dark iron sword had taught Lone were movement techniques. The sword was an invincible existence. As long as Lone approached his opponent, he was able to leave the problem of attack to the sword without further worries.


    Lone suspected that if he were to ever get physically close to a Supreme Lord, the sword would be able to kill the Supreme Lord with a single jab.


    Whoosh!


    The dark iron sword drew an arc in the air.


    It did not emit any kind of power. Only Lone himself knew just how terrible its action was.


    The young man before him was already a dead man.


    However, suddenly Zen smiled at Lone. He began to retreat and started to float over to the other side.

 Chapter 1599 Near-death Situation

    Before Zen was dragged into the darkness, he had already thought of this and anticipated a way out.


    He had used the powerful assault of Hailey as his cover. Although the energy released by the Moon Bursting Flame Bow was exceedingly strong, Zen''s body was left unharmed as it was immune to flames.


    With their full cooperation, as long as the other party dared to hook onto him, he was confident that he could kill the enemy!


    The one who killed their enemy wasn''t Zen, so the Illusion Points that bolted out from the body of the warrior who had been burnt to ashes just now directly flew into Hailey''s body.


    However, the most surprising thing was that the ace talent in the other party was also able to resist the attack from the Moon Bursting Flame Bow. He faced the flames head-on and outrageously rushed towards Zen, ready to kill him as well!


    Within a split second, this person charged in full momentum, aiming his long sword in his hand towards him. However, before it reached him, Zen had already sensed the peculiarity of that iron sword.


    It looked old and quite too ordinary, merely like a conventional weapon that even didn''t deserve to be ranked. But Zen had this nagging feeling stating otherwise, giving him an immense pressure at that particular moment!


    If he were to be struck by this sword, he would most likely die beyond a shadow of a doubt!


    At the time this thought occurred to him, a long hook caught Zen and quickly pulled him backward.


    "Bring him back!" The dark iron sword''s order was almost overbearing to the extent of it being unquestionable.


    Whoosh!


    Not even a full second of time, Lone hurled his long hook at Zen!


    He just as much wouldn''t allow Zen to kill someone in front of him and then openly slip away!


    And like a bolt of lightning, the long hook in his hand brutally launched towards Zen.


    At the instant, his long hook reached Zen, a clinking sound reverberated. Janet''s long hook was already on Zen when Lone''s long hook also got him.


    Under the collision of these two completely identical laws, Janet''s hook was directly knocked away, and similarly, Lone''s long hook was also knocked off. It was like there was a repelling force surrounding them.


    Having lost both of the shackles of the long hooks, Zen was unable to fly. He had nothing to rely on to gain momentum in the air. Consequently, his entire body fell directly into the deep ditch!


    Briefly, he happened to glance at the multicolored river of energy slowly flowing within this deep ditch.


    According to the rules of the Hall of Causality, these seemingly harmless energies were absolutely fatal. If anyone were to fall into the river, the warrio


    chance to return to their places, neither of them wanted to lose yet. After all, if one must fall into the river of energy, that warrior would most likely die.


    Their long hooks shot out once again!


    The two of them continued to descend and then were pulled up by the people behind them. At the same time, the two of them threw their hooks at each other and then continued to fall into the river of energy.


    This near-death situation lasted for a full seven rounds. They fell down seven times and were pulled up seven times. Both sides had knocked off each other''s hooks for many times!


    Neither of them dared to keep their guard off, but Lone was also secretly shocked. This fellow in front of him looked ordinary, but he seriously possessed such strength! He admitted that he had underestimated Zen before.


    Lone knew the strength of his sword, but even so, he was unable to gain anything from Zen. Now, he was very anxious.


    Exactly at this moment, another flame exploded right above Lone''s head!


    Boom!


    An intense Fierce Flame Explosion erupted and formed a wall of flames, separating the Dark Law from the outside. However, the warriors covered by the Dark Law had a hard time finding Lone through that layer of explosive flames.


    The two long hooks which were initially intended to rescue Lone failed to reach him. But instead, they flew past him and headed straight for Zen!


    Without any hooks dragging him, Lone fell straight into the river of energy in the deep ditch. Zen, on the other hand, was accidentally dragged by a long hook into the Dark Law on the other side.


    Just as Zen steadied himself, from the corner of his eyes, he saw Lone staring at him coldly, with eyes filled with killing intent and hatred as he sank into the colorful river of energy.

 Chapter 1600 Challenge

    The energy flowing like a river began eroding the Otherworldly Swordsman''s body.


    Even the rules of the heavens in the Hall of Causality were nothing in the swordsman''s eyes.


    The dark iron sword in his hand possessed enough strength to surpass the heavens, after all.


    Before entering the Illusion Space, the sword itself had told him that the Illusion Battlefield had a special repulsive force against it¡ªno soul nor living creature could enter along with him.


    This time, Zen also failed to bring Lavender and the cyan dragon into the Illusion Battlefield. The Illusion Battlefield''s projection could only accept Zen alone. Currently, he was still unable to even communicate with them.


    But the sword of the Otherworldly Swordsman forcibly broke through the rules of the Illusion Battlefield, managing to enter the area.


    The sword clearly knew that if it did not arrive, it would be difficult for the Otherworldly Swordsman to achieve any great outcome with solely his own strength.


    After bringing this sword into the battlefield, the Otherworldly Swordsman had full confidence that he would take the first place among all the warriors.


    In his mind, the ace talents and even the Godly Geniuses, who were considered extremely formidable, were no match for him.


    The Hall of Causality was undoubtedly dangerous¡ªthose who weren''t cautious enough were likely to end up dead. In only the second Hall of Causality he had just passed through, countless ropes were already trying to trap the warriors in and squeeze the lives out of them. According to the rules of the Hall of Causality, it was impossible to sever those ropes. But the Otherworldly Swordsman managed to wield his sword, forcefully shattering the very rules of the heavens.


    With him there, none of the ten warriors were left dead as they challenged through the hall. Of course, this earned him everyone''s admiration. The Otherworldly Swordsman called ''Lone'' seemed to be a remarkable, practically invincible warrior.


    Under his leadership, they just might pass through the Hall of Causality without any major problems.


    With the great outcome, the ten of them could make it to the top ten warriors of this supreme world.


    But just when they made it to the third Hall of Causality, they encountered another group of warriors. Because they survived the second hall, they thought that with the Otherworldly Swordsman''s power, they could easily deal with the seven warriors of the other group.


    But what was about to unfold was beyond their expectations.


    In the next moment, Lone fell into the river of energy.


    "I can''t accept this¡­ Tak


    all into it. But Lone seemed to be under the protection of some extremely powerful force.


    For one to withstand the power of the rules of the heavens, such a person must be a Supreme Lord or someone who surpassed the heavens.


    Did it have something to do with that sword in his hand?


    "Come on! Continue winning every battle so we can meet again. I do hope you won''t resort to using your little tricks when we duel. I will surely defeat you then... Glug, glug¡­"


    Zen could no longer hear his words clearly.


    The Otherworldly Swordsman''s sword couldn''t support him anymore.


    Rapidly, he descended into the river. Upon losing the sword''s protection, his body was instantly eroded and melted away, turning into a mere strand of energy within the river.


    Meanwhile, a huge mass of Illusion Points burst out.


    "So many!"


    Everyone''s eyes lit up with surprise.


    With what they had seen before, they believed that the swordsman had released tens of millions of points this time.


    The yellow dots of light floated along the river¡ªthey floated neither up nor down, attracting the warriors'' attention from both sides of the river.


    Indeed, they all had great interest in earning more Illusion Points, but so what? Who would dare step into the river to absorb them?


    When Zen saw the scene, his face fell disappointed. Such a massive amount of points were likely to be wasted there. It was a shame, he thought, that he didn''t personally kill the swordsman¡ªif he did, all the points would have flown into his body.


    With a shake of his head, Zen shot out a long hook. A smile appeared on his face as he turned to the darkness. Having dealt with the most troublesome warrior, there were only seven warriors left in the other group now.

 Chapter 1601 Taking Risks

    Throwing out his long hook, Zen successfully caught Jeffrey and dragged him to his side.


    Meanwhile, he had already charged into the darkness.


    After getting Jeffrey, he immediately got Janet as well, then Hailey, Coleman, and the other two warriors.


    Bam!


    Just as the warriors on Zen''s side were pulled to the other side one after another, a muffled sound rang out from the darkness before a light ball of Illusion Points exploded and flew toward Zen.


    The martial artists that managed to enter the Hall of Causality had naturally gathered a great number of Illusion Points. In this round of the attack, Zen had instantly gotten over a million.


    At this moment, how could Jeffrey, Janet, or the others be willing to fall far behind Zen?


    By then, Lone had already died and returned to the main city for revival. The fact that their leader had been killed was already a cause for discouragement.


    Although the remaining seven weren''t completely lacking in strength, their confidence level had naturally dropped to their feet, leaving them in no mood to fight¡ªthey posed no threat to Zen.


    Janet''s, Hailey''s, and Jeffrey''s strength couldn''t be underestimated either.


    As lights flashed on the Buddha Curse Blade, the martial artist that employed the Dark Law was also put to death. The darkness that shrouded the area had dissipated and the number of martial artists on the opposing side decreased rapidly. Crumpling like dead leaves, they turned into Illusion Points.


    After Janet absorbed the last person''s Illusion Points, everyone''s gaze once again fixated on Zen.


    Now, it seemed like the third Hall of Causality wasn''t too difficult to get through. From the start until then, Janet and the rest hadn''t done much. Only Hailey had assisted Zen a great deal.


    But they were all aware that the third Hall of Causality was extremely dangerous¡ªif it weren''t for the fact that Zen had brought Lone down into the river of energy, their group would probably have been annihilated right there. The only reason they could pass through the third Hall of Causality was that they had Zen with them.


    "Why are you all looking at me?" Zen asked before turning to the exit of the Hall of Causality where Lone and the other members of his group had entered.


    But Janet pursed her lips and smiled. "That guy seemed unwilling to accept defeat so easily."


    "Who?" Zen only smiled, pretending to be unaware of who the other was referring to.


    Then, Janet pointed to the river of energy in the deep ravine.


    "I''ve already offended Lucille," said Zen. "I don''t mind offending one more¡­"


    Someone like Lone who was considered an ace talent would be able to catch up quickly even after his death. As the game continued in the Illusion Battlefield, the lower-ranked martial artists would constantly get wip


    Though Lone wasn''t directly killed by Zen, the latter was still a great factor leading to his death. If it weren''t for Zen, all of them were likely to have been killed off by the swordsman.


    After collecting Lone''s Illusion Points, Zen''s ranking soared once again.


    As the martial artists fought around the Illusion Battlefield, they obtained iron tickets from various mystic places, allowing them to enter the Hall of Causality.


    At this stage, everyone''s ranking fluctuated dramatically.


    Entering the Hall of Causality cost five million Illusion Points, after all. Even the top-ranked martial artists would drop in ranking if they lost tens of thousands of Illusion Points, let alone five million.


    Back when Zen had paid five million points, his ranking instantly dropped back down to where no one could even pick out his name.


    But as he passed the second Hall of Causality, his ranking rose just as quickly. After absorbing another ten million Illusion Points, he was ranked 23rd in this supreme world.


    In the entire Illusion Battlefield, his rank jumped from the 9, 200th to the 130th.


    The top hundred places were mainly occupied by the ace talents.


    The peak of the pyramid was where the most outstanding beings in the universe stood.


    "Zen is definitely not weak¡­"


    "Who said he was relying on a fairy palace? His strength alone is probably comparable to that of an ace talent!"


    "If this guy works a bit harder, he could probably make it into the top 100!"


    It would seem that Zen had already garnered most of the Upper World''s attention. Back when he was below the ranking of several millionth, they already had their eye on him because of his performance.


    Not long ago, Zen had broken into the top 10, 000.


    And soon after that, Zen had already reached the 130th. With such speed, he could probably break into the first hundred soon.

 Chapter 1602 How Many Life Vitality Crystals

    Here in the Pure Jade Sacred Place of the Three Purities World, the Clear Spirit Force House was the core place for cultivation.


    It was a place where only the most talented disciples had access to.


    But the talented disciples at the Soul Sea Realm were currently in the Illusion Battlefield which meant that the Clear Spirit Force House had been left mostly empty.


    Not today though. Today, the main hall of the Clear Spirit Force House was bustling with energy as numerous Life and Death Realm and Spirit Supreme Realm warriors gathered together.


    Their excitement was tantamount as they waited for the results of the Illusion Battlefield competitions.


    The stakes were high and everyone waited in bated breath as the names changed in ranking on the pyramid located at the roof of the hall. The Clear Spirit Force House was the gathering place for the strongest warriors here in the Pure Jade Sacred Place so everyone had high expectations for their own homegrown talents.


    "Josiah''s ranking has improved. He''s at the 220, 000th now!"


    "It might be possible for him to get up to the top 100, 000..."


    "He''s really lived up to everyone''s expectations."


    There were 100, 000 supreme worlds and each of them owned three tenth-grade sacred places averagely...


    Josiah Shen was the most outstanding warrior in the entire Pure Jade Sacred Place and they all rooted for him to get to the top 100, 000.


    It wasn''t just the disciples who came to watch, even the Saint Lord of the Pure Jade Sacred Place came to observe the talents'' rankings.


    The grand hall, which the pyramid floated on top of, was the only Illusion Space within the entire sacred place.


    This Illusion Space required quite a large amount of life vitality to operate.


    Life Vitality would only be consumed if there were warriors in the Illusion Space but ever since the appearance of the pyramid, the space now needed a constant supply of life vitality.


    There were two methods to replenish life vitality here in the Upper World.


    One was through the use of life vitality crystals or jades, which wasn''t really economical since a huge amount was needed. The second, and more economical method was to have warriors directly supply the life vitality with their bodies.


    There were countless warriors in this boundless universe.


    As long as a considerable number of warriors gathered together, they would be able to continuously absorb the vitality between heaven and earth and transform it into life vitality. This life vitality could then be utilized to power the Illusion Space and keep it functioning.


    It wasn''t just Illusion Spaces, even some large-scale divine texture arrays operated this way.


    Thousands of people were gathered behind the grand hall, constantly pouring life vitality onto the divine textures below them. These divine textures served as a sor


    oking for a needle in a haystack, and that she might never see him again.


    The fat woman, noticing the despair on Letitia''s face, had the last laugh as she walked away.


    Letitia went back to her work transferring the vitality into the divine texture but her eyes were noticeably sadder.


    However, at that moment, a loud voice suddenly resounded in her ears.


    "More than 16 warriors of the Thoughtless Minds are ranked in the top 100. This is something worth celebrating!"


    The loud declaration startled her.


    The warriors all over the universe had been so focused on the Illusion Battlefield competition that no one had taken the time to use a Roaring Token. This was the first time she heard someone use it.


    "T-That voice... Just where did it come from?" she asked half in panic and half in curiosity.


    "It''s from a Roaring Token," a warrior beside her said. "It''s something that can be used to transmit sound throughout the entire universe..." This warrior was not someone who ascended from the Lower World and was delegated to such a banal task for some other reason, so he naturally knew about Roaring Tokens.


    "Roaring Token?" The words sounded familiar but she couldn''t quite place where she heard them before. Nevertheless, her eyes lit up upon a sudden realization. If she could get her hands on a Roaring Token, then she might be able to contact Zen and tell him where she was!


    If she called out for him then he would definitely set out to look for her!


    "The Roaring Token is so magical! How many life vitality crystals would it cost to buy one?" she asked.


    She wasn''t a fool. Before she ascended, she already made a lot of preparations and made sure to take around 200, 000 supreme life vitality crystals with her.


    However, the warrior suddenly started laughing. "How many life vitality crystals? Ha-ha..."


    Letitia frowned, not really knowing what was so funny.

 Chapter 1603 Disbelief

    Seeing Letitia''s puzzled expression, the martial artist explained in a deadpan voice, "The value of the Roaring Token cannot be measured in terms of life vitality crystals. It is impossible for ordinary martial artists to buy it. If one wants to buy it, I think it will cost millions of life vitality jades at least."


    "Millions of life vitality jades?" exclaimed Letitia, quite stunned at the implication of this cost.


    Although Letitia had only recently ascended to the Upper World, she had heard that the sacred place required warriors to mine hundreds of life vitality jades in exchange for their freedom.


    A single life vitality jade could be exchanged for over 10, 000 supreme life vitality crystals.


    So millions of life vitality jades were equivalent to hundreds of millions of supreme life vitality crystals!


    Ever since the Cloud Hall and the World Commercial Alliance had united the Central Region, and her master had returned to the Cloud Hall, the Cloud Hall had become more and more prosperous with each passing day. With the support of the World Commercial Alliance, the hall had amassed a large number of life vitality crystals.


    Before her ascension to the Upper World, her master, Imogen, had gifted her half of the supreme life vitality crystals that the Cloud Hall had accumulated, in case she needed them in the Upper World.


    Now she had around 200, 000 supreme life vitality crystals with her, safely locked away in her space ring.


    Just a moment ago, she was still considering whether she should buy two Roaring Tokens; however, when she heard the martial artist''s explanation, she was utterly shocked.


    So the great wealth of the 200, 000 supreme life vitality crystals that she had brought with her was nothing in the Upper World! Where she had previously thought herself wealthy, she now felt like a pauper!


    The truth was that when the martial artist had explained that the Roaring Token was worth hundreds of millions of supreme life vitality crystals, he had been simplifying the matter to make her understand the priceless cost of the Roaring Token. He had reduced its value by 10 times.


    It couldn''t be blamed on him. After all, the Roaring Token was considered a priceless treasure in the Upper World, and most martial artists would rarely see such a token in their entire lives. Only world lords and Supreme Lords were given the right to use it. That martial artist had only given Letitia an estimated value of the Roaring Token.


    "Of course, the Saint Lord of the Pure Jade Sacred Place and many world lords are sure to have one or two Roaring Tokens in their hands." The martial artist shook his head, his eyes revealing an expression of adoration. Compared to the Saint Lords of the sacred places, martial artists like him were nothing but dirt.


    Letitia pursed her lips and a bleak look of depression appeared on her face. She hadn''t expected to find the Roaring Token, but she felt that it sounded a little familiar. She had heard of it somewhere before, and being unable to purchase one, she felt let down.


    The martial artist then sighed. "However, strange things do happen in this universe. A few years ago, a guy named Zen Luo told stories via the Roaring Token. Yet,


    ill resting on Zen''s name. "With his ranking, he should be able to enter the Clear Spirit Force House to cultivate, right?"


    "Ha-ha..." The martial artist broke into laughter. After sizing up Letitia, he asked, "Did you ascend from the Lower World?"


    Letitia nodded. Although she knew that there were over a hundred thousand supreme worlds in the Upper World, she did not have a thorough understanding of them yet. The tenth-grade Clear Spirit Sacred Place was in her limited understanding a paradise.


    The martial artist then said, "No wonder. For a powerhouse like Zen, even the famous thirteen palaces cannot accommodate him, not to mention the Clear Spirit Sacred Place. It is said that after he ascended, he immediately left the tenth-grade sacred place and was accepted into the thirteen palaces. Now that he has obtained such a ranking, he can already be considered an ace talent in the Humanity Alliance."


    "Oh? Really?" Letitia''s face lit up with a proud smile.


    In the Central Region, Letitia had held absolute confidence in her husband.


    But it was different in the Upper World, where there were many ace talents. She hadn''t dared to hold too high an expectation of Zen.


    However, she never thought that in just six years, Zen had already achieved such a great achievement. The news that she had just heard was far beyond her wildest imagination, and also far beyond her expectations for Zen. At the same time, it gave her the confidence and inspiration to find Zen.


    "Letitia, why do you ask so many details? Do you know this warrior?" the woman in red asked from beside her.


    Letitia had a smile on her face as she looked up at the pyramid and said, "Have you forgotten what I told you? I flew here to find my husband."


    The woman in red was still puzzled. "I know. So what?"


    Letitia said excitedly, "My husband flew here six years ago. His name is Zen Luo, and if I guess correctly, he is the man at the top of the pyramid!"


    Although her voice wasn''t loud, the woman in red and the martial artist clearly heard what she said. The two of them stared at her with widened eyes, their expressions filled with disbelief.

 Chapter 1604 Margarets Ranking

    The woman in red frowned slightly and said, "It might be a coincidence¡­"


    She and Letitia had ascended at the same time. The two of them had become quite sympathetic to each other, especially since she had discovered that Letitia was actually looking for her own husband. She had also advised Letitia to give up as there had seemed to be no hope of ever finding her husband.


    Now that she suddenly heard Letitia''s answer, how could she possibly believe it?


    The universe was so vast, there could be many warriors with the same surname and name. The name Zen was not an uncommon name.


    However, what she didn''t know was that Letitia had already successfully confirmed Zen''s identity.


    Letitia stared at the warrior with them and said, "The story ''Killing the Snake Spirit'' is a story that has spread throughout our Central Region. It relates how a man met a snake spirit at a thorny mountain and fell in love with her. However, the snake spirit could not get rid of her brutish nature and killed a lot of people. At last, the poor man had to kill the snake spirit... The story should originally have been like this, right?"


    "Right!" The warrior suddenly nodded his head and looked into Letitia''s eyes. He believed her words.


    The story had been told by Zen through his Roaring Token. It had spread widely and was exactly the same as the story which the woman in front of him had just summarized.


    This story had been told three or four years ago in the Upper World.


    However, this woman had just ascended, but she already knew this story. At the very least, it showed that she and Zen came from the same Lower World.


    She probably...


    Actually, Letitia hadn''t wanted to prove anything to them.


    She was already deeply satisfied in knowing that her husband was still alive, where he was and that he was doing well.


    ''He is still as surprising as always!'' Letitia thought as she looked up at the pyramid where countless names were floating, occasionally changing places as the warriors fought and won, or lost battles.


    As for the warrior, when he heard these words, his heart began to burn with unbridled passion.


    This warrior had not ascended. He didn''t have any greatly significant background in the Pure Jade Sacred Place. In order to earn even basic rewards, he had been assigned to supply the Illusion Space with life vitality.


    If what the woman in front of him had said was a lie, it wouldn''t be a big deal. However, it seemed like there was a 50 % chance that her story was true. If it was true, then if he could somehow help the woman¡­ For a grassroots warrior like him, this might be a once in a lifetime opportunity!


    Letitia was unaware of what the warrior in front of her was thinking, and she thought for a moment, then asked, "But why did Zen use the Roaring Token to tell stories in the universe?"


    "He did it for a mysterious girl," the warrior laughed. Everyone in the universe had been able to hear the conversation between Zen and the mysterious girl, so this warrior was no exception.


    "A mysterious girl?" Letitia frowned slightly and on


    s could be seen writhing in it. Even standing at the entrance to the hall, one could feel the intense heat radiating from it.


    "So hot! It''s so scorching!" Coleman called out in a strangely panicked voice.


    "The reward of the fourth Hall of Causality is generous, but the difficulty cannot be underestimated. Everyone, you have to be on your guard and show great caution!" Janet warned them.


    "Regardless of the difficulty, we cannot give up now," Zen said.


    As Zen''s ranking rose rapidly, he bravely entered the Hall of Causality in the lead, without any hesitation. Janet, Jeffrey, and the others sized him up before following closely behind.


    The floor of this Hall of Causality was covered in cracks. These cracks were only as wide as a finger, but within these cracks, red hot magma was flowing. The cracks resembled the veins of a human being, but the human blood had been replaced with the magma.


    Walking gingerly over the floor, they felt like they were being roasted by the magma underneath their feet.


    Although Janet, Hailey, and the others would not be injured by the magma, they still couldn''t bear the heat. One by one, they unleashed their protective life vitality to protect themselves.


    Zen naturally didn''t need such protection, for ordinary flames wouldn''t be able to harm him at all.


    As they ventured deeper and deeper, the scenery of the Hall of Causality kept changing, as if they had entered a gigantic volcanic cave. The walls around them had been replaced with jagged, and irregular rocks. Through the haze caused by the intense heat, they suddenly saw a lake of magma ahead of them.


    Everyone stopped in their tracks as they looked at the apparently calm magma lake. The occasional bubble softly popped on the glowing surface, and a cautious look appeared on their faces.


    At the edge of this magma lake, there stood a Lava Giant as big as a mountain, entirely made of lava. Its enormous body slowly rotated within the magma. The behemoth looked down on Zen and the others with an intense and dangerous intent.

 Chapter 1605 Flame Kitten

    Janet had always been something of a leader figure along the way, so everyone would always turn to her whenever they entered a new hall.


    After all, she was the only one who was somewhat familiar with the Halls of Causality--but now, all who were present clearly understood that the man named Thad was their true leader.


    Meanwhile, Zen stared at the mountain-sized giant for a long while with a frown. The rest of them just gazed at him too, and wondered what his next plan of action was.


    He scratched his head and let out an exasperated sigh. "What is this thing?" he asked.


    Janet who stood next to him couldn''t help but look at him helplessly. She didn''t expect that Zen did not even know what a Lava Giant was.


    Even Jeffrey, Hailey, and the others all looked at Zen the same.


    Only Coleman was oblivious to what had transpired. He stared at the Lava Giant and muttered, "This thing seems to be stronger than I am!"


    "This Lava Giant is a Law Creature, created by Original Laws. It contains the Earth Law and the Fire Law. Such a massive Lava Giant would probably need the sixth layer of the Fire Law''s power to be born," Janet said lightly.


    It was known that Law Creatures were quite common.


    For instance, a thunder spirit was born from dense thunders, while immortal flames conceived a fiery evil spirit.


    However, those were all low level Law Creatures.


    Generally speaking, higher level Law Creatures required a higher level energy of Original Laws to be slowly nurtured.


    For example, the golden wind blades that emerged from the storm Zen previously encountered in the Chaotic Ocean of Stars. They were all higher level creatures of the Wind Law.


    There was silence in the air at that moment as everyone tried to look for ways to pass through the magma lake.


    Coleman''s burly figure passed through and walked two laps around the edge of the magma lake. He suddenly noticed that the surface of the lake started to fluctuate and emit fiery red ripples.


    "What''s that?" Coleman exclaimed. He stared at the red ripple, and then his face twisted into a strange expression.


    "Plump¡­"


    Small bubbles of lava appeared within the magma lake, and then spirals of fire danced in the air when they burst open. Once the


    riginal Laws should be around the sixth layer.


    "Who cares which layer it is! That doesn''t matter. What matters most now is how we are about to pass this lake," Coleman said. He stared at the large magma lake and remembered the kitten''s power, which made him shudder.


    There were no bridges or ropes above the magma lake, since it was a dead-end place.


    Furthermore, it wasn''t just ordinary magma. A Soul Sea Realm warrior was supposedly strong enough to swim directly in ordinary volcanic magma, which could never break the defense of the warriors'' life vitality?


    However, it could be said that the power of the Fire Law in the magma lake was something they couldn''t even resist.


    That was the rule of this Hall of Causality. In general, every hall had their own different rules, which couldn''t be broken no matter how hard they tried to. The only exception was when Zen had used the small skull to stop the giant square rock to turn over, but that was also because the skulls on Zen''s back contained power that was almost comparable to the laws of the heavens. It was why the small skull was able to resist the huge rock and not get crushed. Moreover, the power in the small skull could even go against the heavens'' rules in the rock.


    Zen felt the intense heat transmit over to him while he stood by the lava lake, which made him retreat a few steps. He sighed wistfully as his eyes constantly scanned the cave''s surroundings, trying to search the effective way out of the lava lake.

 Chapter 1606 Lava Giants Food

    Stone stalagmites protruded from the cave walls.


    However, these stalagmites were too far in between to be used as stepping stones towards the exit.


    This fact made Zen itch with frustration.


    It wasn''t that difficult to solve the third hall since there were some hints. The long hooks on the side helped them figure out a part of the puzzle to move forward.


    But this fourth hall wasn''t really giving them any. How in the world could they get through this lava lake in front of them?


    Zen looked down at the bubbling pool of molten rock, all the way to the Lava Giant.


    The Lava Giant had multiple cracks on its body where flames and molten lava spurted out.


    Noticing this, Zen suddenly had an idea.


    "Perhaps the path is through these Lava Giants," he murmured.


    Janet heard him and smiled, "I thought so too."


    A mountain-sized Lava Giant stood on one side of the lake, and a couple of thousand feet behind it was another one, and then another. They were all lined up perfectly, almost like a bridge to the other side.


    "But how can we ever convince them to help us cross?" Jeffrey asked.


    The idea seemed crazy at first but they didn''t really have any other suggestions.


    Zen nodded toward the nearest one. "I''ll get that big guy''s attention and bring it over." He quickly took out his dark gold longbow and notched a black arrow from his quiver.


    They weren''t really sure if it was going to work but nobody dared stop him. Zen was too much of an asset in getting through the Hall of Causality for them to interrupt him.


    "Zoom!"


    The black arrow was released and shot towards the first Lava Giant.


    "Whoosh!"


    There was quite a distance to travel and halfway towards its destination, the arrow let out an explosive sound and sped up for its second phase. It was faster and even more powerful than before.


    "Bang!"


    The arrow hit its target and a black ray immediately exploded out of the Lava Giant''s chest. It was too big of a target to miss.


    They all held their breaths as they stared at the Lava Giant. They


    ys been known to be brave warriors, who were often willing to put everything on the line for a victory. This was their greatest strength.


    It was rare to see an ogre run away because of fear.


    "Wait, look!" Hailey said. "The Lava Giant wasn''t alarmed by Coleman''s stone."


    Everyone shifted their gazes and saw a large number of flame kittens appear in the lava. It wasn''t the stone but these flame kittens that made the creature turn around!


    "Meow! Meow!"


    The Lava Giant was trying to grab them. These flame kittens were agile but only a few managed to escape the Lava Giant''s grasp as its large hand scooped them out of the molten lake.


    Once the creature had these kittens, it quickly shoved them into its mouth!


    "Boom, boom, boom!"


    The flame kittens let out terrible, shrill cries as they exploded into balls of wild, dancing flames within the Lava Giant''s mouth.


    Janet''s eyes suddenly lit up in understanding. "These flame kittens! They must be the Lava Giants'' food. They take these little things as food!"


    "So what you''re saying is: the only way to get these guys'' attention is by relying on these little flame kittens?" Zen murmured faintly.


    Janet nodded but there was a frown on her face, "The problem is, these little flame kittens aren''t that easy to deal with as well. Do we have to capture them in order to attract that big guy?"

 Chapter 1607 Frosty Cage

    These flame kittens were quite not big. But since they were born in the middle of this lava lake, they were considered as terrifying Law Creatures. The power those flame kittens had must be incredibly extraordinary.


    Otherwise, how could the Lava Giant take these flame kittens as its food?


    Some said that the little flame kitten was primarily a by-product of the Lava Giant. But the reason for having it shaped into a cat form was still unknown.


    Zen claimed that it was indeed a good idea to use these flame kittens to attract the Lava Giants'' attention.


    But it looked like that dealing with these flame kittens was not like a piece of cake!


    Not far away from the magma lake, there was an emission of small ripples creating magma bubbles. Once a magma bubble appeared on the surface, it automatically opened up, revealing a little flame kitten as it popped out. It looked so adorable when it let out a soft purring sound!


    Zen and the others could only stare openly at the flame kittens.


    They all realized that it was indeed troublesome to capture the little flame kitten before using it to attract the Lava Giant.


    But since this was the fourth Hall of Causality, such a challenge was too quite common.


    "I can try, but I can''t guarantee success," Janet broke the silence, as she indifferently stared at the little flame kitten. And with a graceful flip of her hand, a divine wood materialized in her palm.


    Although she majored in the Wood Law, she was also skillfully proficient in the Ice Law.


    The divine wood kept twisting and turning in a mesmerizing motion until a layer of frost gradually covered its branches, like magic!


    "The Lofty Wood is all-powerful. It can turn into a fire and ice."


    This time when Janet decided to step into the Illusion Battlefield, she dismissed the notion of bringing along any supreme divine weapon from her clan with her.


    It wasn''t that her clan didn''t own any supreme divine weapon, but that Janet didn''t need one.


    Her body was equipped with a piece of wood that served as her weapon. And its grade was comparable to a supreme divine weapon.


    That piece of wood was called the Lofty Wood.


    They said that there was a tree resembling an ox. Its skin looked like tassels or a yellow snake that could be drawn out with so much ease.


    The leaves of this tree were like nets. It also grew yellow flowers with four petals, flourishing in large terminal panicles. During autumn, its fruits that were similar to a three-part inflated bladder-like pod ripened.


    That tree was slightly heart-shaped at the base, with seven to fifteen teeth along each side, and a dark green upper surface. That was the well-known Lofty Tree.


    Legend said that the universe created a towering tree named the Lofty Tree, with a divine destiny that ascended to the heavens!


    That piece of the Lofty Wood was inside her body since she was born. Initially, her clan had wanted to take it out, thinking that it was an extraordinary item. It was something to be considered rare and sacred even to the Ji Clan. If that piece of wood were refined, it would be enou


    With a roll, the fiery fur on its body swelled up as it let out a mournful cry at the same time.


    "Meow!"


    Although Zen didn''t primarily cultivate the Ice Law, all of his Original Laws had been trained all at the same time. An ice awl powered by his chaotic energy, even if it didn''t contain any other profound mysteries, was still absolutely extraordinary!


    However, the little flame kitten didn''t dodge at all and directly crashed into the three icicles with its seemingly soft body.


    Before the icicles could pierce into the flame kitten''s body, they had turned into wisps of water vapor and disappeared into the dry cave in the blink of an eye!


    The temper of this flame kitten was quite irritable. After the icicles disappeared, its momentum didn''t diminish at all. The flames on its body burned brighter and brighter as it charged towards Zen, the culprit!


    "Retreat!"


    Since he had already made the arrangements, Zen''s expression was calm as he began his orderly retreat.


    The flame kitten, on the other hand, was visibly growing in size. The small-sized flame kitten had now turned into a flame leopard!


    Seeing that scene, Janet raised her eyebrows as she pulled herself to step back. She then gently waved her finger, making the Frosty Cage on the ground to shake non-stop. Soon after, it started to grow again. Just now, the Frosty Cage that she condensed using the Lofty Wood was too small. And with the sudden increase in the size of the flame kitten, she quickly adjusted the size of the Frosty Cage.


    "Meow!"


    The flame kitten viciously chased after Zen.


    From afar, a man and a cat were both incredibly fast!


    Within a fraction of a second later, a distance of a hundred feet was already covered by the two. Zen''s figure swiftly flew past the Frosty Cage that had been transformed from the Lofty Wood!


    "Now is the time!"


    Janet wore a solemn expression as she extended her ten fingers. Under the connection of her mind with Lofty Wood, the Frosty Cage suddenly opened and went straight for the little flame kitten behind Zen.

 Chapter 1608 Bait

    The Frosty Cage made from the Lofty Wood opened up like the cavernous mouth of a monster and swallowed the flame kitten.


    At the same time, Zen stopped and turned back to see if his plan had worked.


    Everyone nervously stared at the Frosty Cage.


    "Meow!"


    the little flame kitten let out a mournful cry. It crashed around in the cage and tried desperately to break free from it.


    At this moment, Janet wore a solemn expression on her face.


    The Lofty Wood had completely fused with her, so she had to continuously control it and maintain it to form and sustain the cage. At the same time, she also had to delve into her supply of life vitality and turn the cage into ice, in order to weaken the Fire Law''s power around the flame kitten''s body.


    According to the determining characteristics of the five elements, the power of Fire Law was supposed to overcome the power of Wood Law. However, the Lofty Wood was an extraordinary substance, and it wasn''t affected by the fire at all.


    However, the flame kitten was a Law Creature, which had been born from the lava, and it was exceptionally powerful. Even with Janet''s current strength, it was extremely difficult for her to imprison the creature, and it threatened to break free!


    Meow!


    Due to the flame kitten''s violent struggle, the Frosty Cage was constantly being deformed, but it didn''t break apart. After all, it had been formed from the Lofty Wood, which was a branch of the legendary Lofty Tree, and it was known for its great resilience. No matter how hard the flame kitten struggled, it failed to break the cage.


    However, the pressure that Janet had to endure grew greater and greater. Her face paled from exhaustion because of the arduous task, which added to her fragile beauty.


    However, the little flame kitten remained full of energy, as it continued to struggle more and more violently within the confines of the cage.


    With a flip of her hand, Janet swiftly took out a life vitality jade and crushed it to absorb the life vitality within it. In this short time span, most of the life vitality within her body had already been consumed! She was growing weaker, while the flame kitten remained fearsome.


    She hadn''t expected that the amount of life vitality which she consumed to bind this little flame kitten would be so massive. It was far greater than what was required for a battle!


    Seeing her titanic struggle, Zen quickly waved his hand and drew out a strand of chaotic energy from within his body. He transformed this into a burst of cold energy and ordered it to quickly bind with the flame kitten in the cage.


    Other warriors who had grasped the Ice Law also followed his example in a bid to help Janet tame the little flame kitten.


    Whoosh!


    Under their continuous attacks using the Ice Law, the flame kitten''s movements grew lethargic and became slower and slower, and its shrill cries gradually died down. The flames on its body were rapidly being snuffed out, and its beautiful fur, which was formed by fire, also became lackluster and matted.


    After a while, the flame kitten finally stopped struggling altogether, and it quietly lay down within the Frosty Cage.


    "We did it!"


    Janet sighed with relief as she raised


    ets of lava dripped from its fiery form.


    BOOM!


    A loud sound rumbled and reverberated around the cave, as the ground shook violently. Zen and the others momentarily struggled to find firm footing as the Lava Giant began its ponderous advance.


    The moment the Lava Giant had lifted its leg, lava had gathered at its feet to form a whirlpool, and once it took a step forward, its leg pierced through the blackened surface of the lava lake and caused waves of red hot lava to spread out quickly.


    This lava was different from normal lava. In normal volcanic craters, the lava was very thick and had a dark red color.


    However, the lava in this lake contained the rich power of both the Earth Law and Fire Law. It had a bright red color and it was not thick and sludgy, like normal lava; instead, it spread out at an extremely fast speed like water.


    "Retreat!"


    When Zen and the others saw this new danger heading towards them, they realized that the lava posed as great a threat as the Lava Giant, and they all quickly retreated towards the back of the cave.


    No one wanted to come into contact with the swiftly advancing waves of lava, and even Zen was fully alert at this moment.


    If this special lava could have refined his body and helped him improve, he would have been very willing to bathe in it. However, under these urgent circumstances, he wouldn''t be so reckless as to accept the baptism of fire!


    Whoosh!


    Janet also scrambled a retreat while she continued withdrawing the cage and the kitten at the same time.


    Although the Lava Giant was enormous and seemed to be moving at a snail''s pace, its speed was in reality not slow. Every step it took covered a distance of more than 5000 feet! It took a long time for the giant to complete one stride, but it was gaining on them with the sheer breadth of its strides.


    At the same time, its giant arm swung forward, covering several thousand feet, and the group had to dodge a shower of molten lava that rained down amidst them, as it dripped off the giant. The Lava Giant smashed down heavily towards the little flame kitten who was fearfully screaming in the Frosty Cage!

 Chapter 1609 Running Ants

    The Lava Giant''s fist was the size of a palace.


    Even as Coleman was up ten feet high, compared to the huge fist, he was an ant.


    The power in the Lava Giant''s punch was completely oppressive¡ªit was likely that even with a light strike, anyone would be shattered to pieces. Even Zen''s divine weapon body was no exception.


    Such kind of Law Creatures were strong enough to contend against the Spirit Transformation Realm warriors, and even world lords.


    The Lava Giants being assigned to the fourth Hall of Causality was proof of the terrifying difficulty of the fourth Hall of Causality.


    But because of this, everyone wanted to conquer this fourth hall even more. With such difficulty, the reward for passing it must be extraordinary.


    The only hope they had to pass through this hall was that the Lava Giant wasn''t particularly intelligent. If it had the smarts of a regular adult, it would be near impossible to pass through the Hall of Causality even if there were seven hundred warriors there.


    Still, their actions were undoubtedly crazy and risky.


    People didn''t truly die in the Illusion Battlefield, after all, so everyone could make as huge a gamble as they needed to.


    Boom!


    As the fist came crashing down, it was as if the ground had just been struck by an earthquake of high magnitudes. The solid ground surged forth like a wave.


    It wasn''t just that the ground was shaking¡ªthe entire cave, the entire Hall of Causality, and even the entire majestic mountain was vibrating.


    "What powerful strength¡­ Even the full force of my dragon scales is inferior to this Lava Giant."


    Zen''s confidence in his own strength came from the cyan dragon, but he hadn''t fully activated the power of the dragon scales. The Lava Giant in the Hall of Causality could fight against a world lord with its full power far exceeding that of the latter.


    Under such force, it was only the heavens'' restrictions that kept the cave from collapsing even as it fiercely shook.


    In the nick of time, Janet retracted the Lofty Wood and placed a hand atop the Frosty Cage¡ªshe could feel the flame kitten trembling.


    Without any hesitation, Janet quickly retreated with her feet crossed left and right, her soft waist twisting like a snake, her toes flashing with a green light. After the light flashed, grass quickly grew from the ground, leaving a bright green path in her wake.


    Such was her clan''s unique technique¡ªDeer Steps.


    . With a cry of pain, he pulled his head out of the crack with much force. By then, half of his brown whip-like hair was already burnt to a crisp


    Boom!


    Right then, the Lava Giant''s left hand had already made it to the top of its right arm. Under its powerful strike, countless stone fragments scattered from its arm. Under such immense pressure, some of the fragments shot out like concealed weapons, producing a sharp, whistling sound in the air.


    Drip! Drip! Drip!


    Most of the stone chips fell into the magma below!


    "Go! Keep moving forward," Zen called out.


    None of them stopped¡ªthey had to use this Lava Giant as a bridge to get them across the magma lake.


    Luckily, the Lava Giant didn''t manage to land a hit on Janet. With a twist of its huge head, it opened its mouth and bit at the crowd on its shoulder. It seemed like that it was going to swallow all the warriors in one go. However, it actually had only one target, the little flame kitten in Janet''s hand.


    "Aooo!"


    The Lava Giant''s mouth was a thousand feet wide¡ªit was a gigantic cave with an unfathomable bottom when it was opened. Looking into the mouth, one could see the light of fire reflected off the throat. The Lava Giant''s stomach was probably filled with lava as well.


    "Everyone jump up again, don''t get swallowed!"


    When Zen saw the large mouth make its move, he took the lead and leapt right onto the Lava Giant''s head.


    Janet then inserted the end of the Lofty Wood into the ground to let it start growing rapidly.


    Grabbing the other end of the Lofty Wood, Janet was pushed by it, with the Frosty Cage in her hand.

 Chapter 1610 Battle Between Two Giants

    "Meow..."


    the little flame kitten whimpered pitifully in the Frosty Cage.


    "Don''t be afraid, this big guy can''t even eat you!"


    Standing on top of the Lava Giant''s head, Janet sweetly comforted the flame kitten.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Soon after, Hailey and Jeffrey jumped onto the Lava Giant''s head as well.


    "Don''t eat me!"


    Coleman roared as he followed suit and jumped onto the head.


    Right at that moment, the Lava Giant suddenly cried out. A powerful force of suction suddenly erupted from its large mouth.


    Two warriors stood on its shoulders¡ªone was Ansel from the Night Group while the other was Ran Li, a human.


    Before they could even jump, they were suddenly pulled toward the Lava Giant''s mouth.


    "AH!"


    The human warrior leapt with all his might, unable to avoid the vacuum-like force. He couldn''t help but scream in terror as his body was pulled down the Lava Giant''s throat.


    Meanwhile, Ansel didn''t jump high, but instead rolled over the shoulder of the Lava Giant, rolling towards its neck, effectively avoiding the attack.


    "Another one has died!"


    Though they had only just managed to enter the fourth Hall of Causality, they lost another warrior, leaving them with only six.


    It was just as Janet said¡ªthe more people in the Hall of Causality, the better. Only by working together could people hope to pass the increasingly difficult trials. Still, the death of some was unavoidable.


    Ansel vigilantly rolled onto the Lava Giant''s neck, quickly climbing up the left side of its face, joining Zen and the others.


    "Woo!"


    The Lava Giant tried shaking its head but the top of its head was spacious¡ªeven if its head was tilted, it would still be very difficult to get a warrior off of it.


    "What do we do now?" Coleman asked in urgency.


    While the top of the Lava Giant''s head was wide open, it definitely wasn''t a place one could rest easily. Its two arms were ready to start swinging toward the top of its head.


    As Zen gazed into the distance, he tried to come up with something quick.


    There was more than one Lava Giant in the magma lake. From where he stood, he could see over ten Lava Giants standing side by side in the lake.


    Originally Zen wanted to use the flame kitten to lure the Lava Giants in one by one, using them as bridges so that they could all make it to the other side.


    But he soon realized that the Lava Giants would make that too difficult a plan to materialize.


    If one wasn''t c


    rest easy, the tables were turned.


    Earlier, the other Lava Giants hadn''t reacted at all as they passed through. But one Lava Giant seemed to finally notice the flame kitten in the air and decided to walk over.


    "What''s going on?" It was a shock, even for Zen. Attracting one Lava Giant worked well enough for them, but attracting the other Lava Giants would only bring them trouble.


    "I don''t know. Perhaps that Lava Giant spotted my little flame kitten," Janet said with a frown as she gripped harder around the Lofty Wood.


    "There are quite a few of these things in the magma lake. Go find something else!" Jeffrey called out to the other Lava Giant, looking sullen.


    But if the Lava Giant was intelligent enough to understand their words, they wouldn''t be in such trouble. After the Lava Giants found the kitten, they would immediately try to catch and swallow it. From a certain perspective, such was also a rule in the Hall of Causality.


    The other Lava Giant took a step forward and pounced at the kitten hung in the air.


    This enraged the Lava Giant beneath Zen''s feet. Instead of going for the kitten, it brandished its two giant fists and rammed them into the other Lava Giant.


    A fight between such huge monsters was like two mountains crashing into each other.


    "Everyone, get down!"


    Boom!


    The tremors brought Zen and the others down to the scalp of the Lava Giant''s head. Grabbing a few protruding stone pillars or cracks on top of its head was their only security from being thrown off because of the vibrations.


    They were right in the middle of the magma lake¡ªif anyone fell, they''d completely burn.

 Chapter 1611 A Disaster To All

    The air was scorching hot as the two Lava Giants clashed with each other in close combat, competing for the flame kitten.


    It was a contest of pure strength, and the two Lava Giants displayed their shockingly powerful attacks to the maximum.


    "Boom!"


    One Lava Giant forcefully punched the other one''s chest!


    The impact of the collision was immensely palpable that all of them felt dizzy. Everyone looked like small bugs that clung tightly on top of the Lava Giant''s head.


    Coleman tightly grasped onto a crack in a stone. Even if the power of the flames within the stone was burning hot and unbearable, he couldn''t help but want to squeeze his whole body inside it. For him, it was a better fate than to be thrown into the lava lake.


    Meanwhile, Jeffrey and Hailey each held on to a stone pillar for dear life, as if it was the last life-saving thing in the world.


    As for Janet, she held the slender Lofty Wood in one hand. Since she didn''t want the flame kitten to be involved in the brawl, she could only use one hand to hold on to something to prevent herself from falling.


    However, the unexpectedly strong impact from the collision made her lose her balance. She lost her grasp and fell backward!


    "Ahhh!"


    Janet''s eyes were full of fear, but her other hand still held tightly on the Lofty Wood.


    Jeffrey, Hailey, and the rest of them were all panicked at the scene!


    At that exact moment, Zen slid along the Lava Giant''s head as his body quickly maneuvered to grab Janet''s arm, and delivered a downward punch at the same time!


    He made sure to deliver a punch with the power of 20, 000 dragon scales!


    He then fixed his fist directly on top of the Lava Giant''s head, to lock himself in place while his other hand grasped Janet by her arm.


    Of course, his punch didn''t damage the Lava Giant since it was so huge, that Zen''s attack felt like a mere mosquito bite to it.


    "That was so close!" Janet sighed as her chest heaved up and down in heavy breathing, still in shock. She had her one hand grabbed by Zen, but she still lifted the Frosty Cage high up with the other hand. She didn''t want the little flame kitten to die because of her¡­


    "But the situation doesn''t seem to look good," Zen said as he lay flat on the top of the Lava Giant''s head while he watched the fierce battle between the two enormous beings.


    While he was indeed pleased earlier when he thought he had a brilliant idea to help all of them pass through the lava lake, he didn''t expect the flame kitten to attract another Lava Giant¡­


    In


    on the line when they stayed on the Lava Giant''s head. If they weren''t careful, they might really end up dead like crushed bugs.


    Now that the Lava Giant had defeated its opponent, Zen immediately brought Janet back to the top of the Lava Giant''s head. She once again threw out the impossibly long piece of Lofty Wood and started to swing it back and forth in front of the Lava Giant!


    "Meow¡­"


    On the other hand, the little flame kitten still looked innocent as ever. It had no idea what had happened.


    After the Lava Giant saw the little flame kitten, it returned to the planned path as expected. It continued to chase after the tiny creature and once again, carried the group across the lava lake.


    This time, Janet had learned the lesson. She tried to hide it as much as possible as she controlled the Lofty Wood. She had to do it secretly to prevent attracting the other Lava Giants on the side of the lava lake. Otherwise, they wouldn''t be able to escape if more Lava Giants came!


    Not long after¡­


    Everyone finally saw the other side of the lava lake.


    All of them looked overjoyed. Had they just really passed the unconquerable fourth Hall of Causality?


    Janet''s lips curved up slightly. It could be said that the Lofty Wood in her hand had contributed a lot to their success, even if she had only used it as a fishing rod.


    At that point, everyone had felt a slight tremor beneath their feet as heavy footsteps echoed behind them.


    "Boom! Boom! Boom!"


    After they heard the sounds, everyone turned their heads to look in the direction where they came from.


    The Lava Giant that had previously fallen into the lake was now charging towards them at a flashing speed!

 Chapter 1612 Leap

    They were so close to the other side but the previously knocked-down Lava Giant had now gotten up and was following them again!


    The creature might be gigantic but it wasn''t slow. If it caught up to them, then the Lava Giant currently carrying them would tumble into the lava.


    "Thump, thump, thump..."


    The pursuing giant''s thumping footsteps made everyone''s hearts lurch to their throats.


    Jeffrey raised the Buddha Curse Blade parallel to his eye as he tried to measure the distance between them and the shore.


    A wry smile was on his face as he put the sword down.


    "We''re only 6, 000 feet away from the shore! It''s close but not close enough for us to jump over."


    A high-levelled warrior had the ability to fly in the air.


    Unfortunately, flying was prohibited in the Hall of Causality. That ability would''ve made things a thousand times easier if it had been allowed. Nonetheless, jumping was still permitted and a Soul Sea Realm warrior''s leap was no small matter.


    A single jump would mean crossing over 2, 000 feet of distance. A higher vantage point on top of the Lava Giant''s head also gave them a bit more advantage.


    However, a total of 6, 000 feet was too much.


    Furthermore, they only had one chance to make it to shore. Falling into the lava would mean instant elimination.


    "Coleman, can you jump over?" Ansel asked.


    Ogres mainly cultivated the body refining technique, but the explosive power of their forceful energy was much greater. Combining the two, Coleman was surely someone who could jump longer than the average warrior.


    Coleman took a quick calculative glance towards the other side and bitterly shook his head. "I can''t!"


    His answer worried everyone greatly. They were so close to the other side. Was it all going to be for nothing? No! They refused to believe that!


    "Can you all jump a distance of 3, 000 feet?" Zen suddenly asked.


    Jeffrey''s eyes flashed. "That should be the limit."


    "I can," Hailey answered.


    Janet nodded. "If I go all out, I think I can make it... Why do you ask?"


    Zen turned and saw the Lava Giant inching its way closer to them. With no time to explain, he simply turned to his team members. "When I say the word, you guys jump to the left!"


    As soon as he finished speaking, Zen walked to the side of the Lava Giant''s head and squatted down.


    As he was squatting, Zen began to draw out the power of the dragon scales, and directed it all the way to his


    ve power and Jeffrey''s elegant gliding but their basic body skills still proved to be effective in crossing great distances.


    Seeing her team members make it to the mountain, Janet put away the Lofty Wood in her hand. The Frosty Cage on top of it melted and the branches of the wood started to shrink until they disappeared without a trace. It was now as long as half her arm and quickly drilled into her palm.


    Now out of the Frosty Cage, the previously imprisoned flame kitten had regained its freedom.


    "Meow!"


    It looked frightened but it didn''t run away. Instead, it stood in its spot, shivering.


    "Jump into the lava now. This place is no longer safe," Janet told the kitten.


    However, the kitten merely stood there and looked at Janet with wide, pitiful eyes.


    Janet frowned and reached out for it...


    The flame kitten was a Law Creature created by the flames. Anyone who touched it was sure to be burnt.


    However, this kitten had been imprisoned in the Frosty Cage for so long and had cold air blown at it by Zen and the others. Its body had completely lost its luster. Janet also used the life vitality to protect her skin, so it was only partly scalding when she touched the kitten.


    "Be free!"


    she cried out as she threw the kitten away from the Lava Giant.


    The lava was dangerous to them but it was home for this flame kitten.


    "Janet! Jump!"


    "Hurry up Janet!"


    Janet nodded and drew out a stream of life vitality. She quickly launched herself and jumped into the air like a nimble skylark.


    "Whoosh¡­"


    She crossed through the air and made her way towards the Magnetic Sacred Mountain.

 Chapter 1613 Flame Bees

    The moment Janet jumped off the Lava Giant''s head, the two Lava Giants collided violently with each other.


    As a loud bang resounded behind her, Janet jumped into the air and landed steadily on the Magnetic Sacred Mountain.


    Seeing this, Zen breathed a sigh of relief.


    Even though Janet had been in a critical situation, she had still chosen to take the risk of releasing the flame kitten first. So naturally, the other warriors had all been worried to death about her.


    If she had been just a little slower, she would have missed the chance to escape.


    "Move to the top of the mountain!"


    Just as Janet steadied herself on the mountain, she heard Zen instructing them in a nervous voice.


    At the same time, the two Lava Giants both lost their balance from the force of the impact and crashed into the lava lake.


    Their huge bodies disrupted the lava in the lake, forming towering waves that were several hundred feet high and spread out quickly in all directions.


    "Move! Move!"


    "Hurry up!"


    Coleman was the first to move. Jeffrey, Hailey, and Janet followed closely behind him.


    However, they were still in great danger. If the lava overflowed from the lake and reached the mountain, they would have nowhere to run.


    Coleman, who always performed best in times of danger, quickly climbed up the mountain with the agility of an ape while continuously releasing the forceful energy within his body and soon arrived at the top of the Magnetic Sacred Mountain. From there, he leaped over a distance of three thousand feet and fell onto the other side of the lake.


    Bang!


    As soon as he landed on the shore, he immediately took to his heels. The waves of lava spread in all directions, not only toward the Magnetic Sacred Mountain but also toward the shore.


    Zen, who had originally been standing on the shore, had no choice but to retreat in order to avoid the waves of lava.


    Unfortunately, Janet and the rest had lost the chance to jump to the shore. Now that the waves of lava had flooded the shore, they would most probably plunge headfirst into the lava if they tried to jump now.


    Their only option right now was to stay on the summit of the Magnetic Sacred Mountain and wait for the waves to withdraw back into the lake.


    Their pulses raced as the splash approached and the waves of lava surged along the mountainside.


    Their faces darkened as they helplessly watched the waves getting closer and closer.


    They were already at the very top of the mountain. If the waves of lava came up to them, they would have nowhere to escape to.


    150 feet...


    100 feet...


    50 feet...


    Huddling at the mountaintop, they watched in horror as the lava surged quickly toward them.


    Finally, when it was only 10 feet away from the top of the mountain, the lava stopped. Like the tide going out, the surface of the lava gradually fell lower and lower.


    "We made it through somehow." Janet sighed in relief.


    They all looked a lot more relaxed now that they were


    ment.


    Even Coleman, who had been hiding behind them, immediately rushed toward the bees when he heard the truth.


    Everyone followed Zen''s lead and used different methods to kill as many flame bees as possible.


    These flame bees were indeed the reward for passing this Hall of Causality. Although they swarmed over everyone like a cloud, they didn''t show any intention of attacking but rather simply floated around in the air and allowed themselves to be killed by the warriors. Although they were extremely simple to kill, they contained an immense number of Illusion Points ¡ª over ten thousand Illusion Points each! That meant that by killing one thousand bees, a warrior could acquire more than ten million Illusion Points!


    Although it was very difficult to pass through the Hall of Causality, the reward for the winners was extremely great.


    Finally, Zen killed about 800 flame bees and obtained over eight million Illusion Points, so his gain here was actually less than what he had obtained in the second Hall of Causality.


    Of course, this was an unfair comparison. In the second Hall of Causality, most warriors could only get one or two million Illusion Points, while those with more powerful strength could get three or four million. Zen, who had obtained ten million Illusion Points there, was undoubtedly an exception.


    Here, besides Zen, the other warriors also had good harvests. Janet killed more than 700 flame bees, while Jeffrey and the rest killed an average of 600 bees each.


    After receiving the rewards, they continued on their journey. They passed through the hall and continued to climb up the mountain.


    Janet had said that there were five tests in total in the Hall of Causality, but this was only her deduction. She didn''t know what would actually be waiting for them at the peak of the mountain. Still, everyone was looking forward to it and moved at their full speed. After all, this was probably the last test they would take in the Hall of Causality.

 Chapter 1614 Depressed Margaret

    With all warriors plundering Illusion Points from others, the entire Illusion Battlefield had now reached the white-hot stage!


    The expert martial artists knew that the best way to plunder Illusion Points was to enter the Hall of Causality.


    But entering the Hall of Causality was no cake walk.


    First of all, one had to get an iron ticket, which was quite a task!


    Secondly, one had to pay a whopping five million Illusion Points.


    Regardless of the former or the latter conditions, an ordinary martial artist could never achieve either.


    The iron tickets needed to be obtained from a secret land deep in the wilderness, and navigating these secret lands, where unknown dangers lurked, was no easy feat.


    And the same went for the five million Illusion Points. After all, how many people in the main cities could accumulate so many points?


    Meanwhile, in the Illusion Battlefield in a main city of a supreme world, a gate appeared in the center of the city from which a blinding silver light shone. Nine martial artists sauntered out from this gate of light.


    The moment the other martial artists laid eyes on these nine martial artists, they were awestruck! They all knew that these were the true masters!


    After the martial artists had passed through the Hall of Causality, they would be transported to a particular main city. This city was often located in the center of the supreme world!


    This rule was made deliberately in the Illusion Battlefield to sift out the best warriors.


    Martial artists who passed the trial of the Hall of Causality and came out alive ranked in the top 50 of this supreme world.


    After departing the Hall of Causality, the masters would gather in the central main city. There was a high chance that there would be an even more intense collision there!


    Of the ten people who entered the Hall of Causality at the same time, only one had perished. The strength of these mavens was truly astonishing.


    "How boring! I didn''t expect the reward for the fifth Hall of Causality to be this..." The leader, a long-haired man, shook his head and complained arrogantly.


    "Ha-ha. I am actually interested in obtaining a treasure from the Illusion Battlefield. There are some extremely precious treasures here!" said another bald warrior with a chuckle. He had obtained a Revival Token in a secret land within the Illusion Battlefield! This token gave the power to revive once to the one in possession of it.


    He hadn''t perished during his expedition in the Hall of Causality, so he naturally had not used the Revival Token.


    But the entire Illusion Battlefield was just a projection created by the heavens! If he didn''t use the Revival Token, it would be wasted because it could not be taken out of the Illusion Battlefield.


    Never in his wildest dreams would he have thought that the reward for the fifth Hall of Causality would be a treasure that he could take with him!


    Naturally, he chose the Revival


    voice.


    "Killing people is the most desirable thing for a warrior. This main city is the gateway to the Hall of Causality, so a lot of powerful people must have gathered here. How about I accompany you out of the city to slay someone?" asked the long-haired youth with a smile.


    A warrior who could pass through the Hall of Causality was either an ace talent, or an existence that was only second to an ace talent, like a direct descendant of a grand world lord or a Supreme Lord. But this long-haired youth didn''t care at all. When his arrogant words reached the city, it attracted the attention of many martial artists. After all, this main city was different from other main cities. It was the place where super talents convened.


    Margaret tilted her head and contemplated his offer. "Alright, but when we leave the city, I''ll kill you first," she said in a flat tone, looking at the long-haired youth blankly.


    He chuckled, "You must be joking! If you want to spar with me, then I can arrange that!"


    Margaret did not say a word and walked straight towards the city gate, thinking that the 50 supreme worlds of the Illusion Battlefield might have to join hands sooner or later. Otherwise, the talents scattered throughout the 50 supreme worlds would not be able to compete for the top positions, so it would be better for her to raise her ranking a bit more. If she was in the front row, she might eventually be able to meet Zen.


    She just didn''t know his current ranking.


    After five minutes, a lightning-like sword flashed outside the main city.


    This was accompanied by the agonized cries of the long-haired martial artist. He had been killed by Margaret and sent back to the main city to be revived.


    As the long-haired martial artist was enveloped by the light curtain, he pondered bitterly: The mild, weak and bookish woman was escorted through the Hall of Causality by him.


    He couldn''t fathom how she could possess such terrifying strength.

 Chapter 1615 The Door Closed

    There were many powerhouses hiding inside the main city.


    After seeing this scene, they went deeper into hiding.


    The method Margaret had used to kill the ace talent had alarmed the other ace talents in the city.


    They had secretly investigated her background and found out that she came from the Purple Power World and possessed an extremely rare first-rank Purple Power Body.


    That long-haired youth had been ranked 74th in the Illusion Battlefield. After being killed by Margaret, half of the massive amount of Illusion Points within his body had been taken by her. Therefore, her ranking had skyrocketed.


    From a bit below the 100th, she rose all the way up to the 64th rank.


    The top 100 martial artists always attracted wide attention throughout the universe.


    The news of Margaret''s new rank soon spread to the Purple Power World, causing a loud round of cheers and applause to erupt from the Apeiron Tower.


    "Margaret has entered the top 100!"


    "The top 100 martial artists are the ace talents from the various clans. Margaret has really lived up to everyone''s expectations!"


    "She boasts a first-rank Purple Power Body, and she can almost be called the leader of the Purple Power World. It is not surprising that she has gotten into the top 100."


    99% of the martial artists who were qualified to join the Purple Power World possessed Purple Power Bodies, but the disparity between the power of the Purple Power Bodies was extremely great.


    A few years ago, the martial artists in the Apeiron Tower had welcomed a junior.


    As a matter of fact, Margaret''s seniority was incomparably high in the tower. After all, she had directly taken Elder Apeiron as her master, so she was two or even three ranks higher than most of the disciples in the tower.


    However, she was young in age, so the others treated her as a junior.


    Before she had left for the Illusion Battlefield, however, quite a few people had been extremely worried about her.


    Although her strength and talent were extraordinary, she was innocent and artless, and didn''t know much about the world. In the Illusion Battlefield, she would likely suffer many setbacks. After all, when martial artists fought, many times it would not be a contest of strength, but of wisdom and tricks.


    "Margaret is always talking about that man."


    "I wonder if she will be able to see him in the Illusion Battlefield."


    "I''m afraid it''s going to be a bit difficult. Margaret is outstanding, but that man is from the Lower World. I''m afraid he will be eliminated soon. How could she possibly meet him?"


    Just as everyone was discussing this, a tall woman appeared. She was also a disciple of Elder Apeiron, and she was Margaret''s legitimate senior.


    "Eliminate? Margaret is an ace talent. How could her man be eliminated?" the woman asked, disagreeing with all of


    und of a heavy door closing.


    The warriors immediately turned around in surprise. There was no door between the two pillars, so where had this sound come from?


    Hailey''s brows slightly furrowed in thought. Taking light steps, she charged toward the space between the two pillars and reached out with her hands.


    "The door is closed," she said softly.


    Curiosity appeared on all their faces. They all walked back and reached out their hands like Hailey.


    Sure enough, they found an invisible door between these two pillars.


    "Since the door is closed, we will continue to move forward. I assume that none of you wants to leave, right?" Zen said with a faint smile.


    They had fought very hard to finally reach this place, so naturally, none of them would be willing to give up. From the second to the fourth halls, they had received an astonishing number of Illusion Points. What would the fifth hall bring them?


    "Meow," the flame kitten in Janet''s arms whimpered lightly. Janet laughed and said, "Look, Flame agrees. Let''s keep going."


    Women were creatures of emotion. In just a short period of time, Janet had already given the flame kitten a name: Flame.


    On the other hand, the Ancestral Dragon had followed Zen for a long time, yet he still hadn''t given it a name. In fact, he had never even thought about giving it a name.


    Janet didn''t have a contractual beast, so she didn''t have a spirit beast bag with her. Now, she could only hold the flame kitten in her arms.


    Just as she finished her words, a thin bolt of lightning suddenly descended from the sky above the mountain peak. The lightning extended all the way down and wrapped itself around a stone pillar.


    Just as the lightning struck the stone pillar, countless fragments began to appear at the top of the pillar. They constantly regrouped around the pillar and soon, a small portion of the roof appeared.

 Chapter 1616 Corridors

    The thin bolt of lightning struck down like spring thunders, causing the Hall of Causality to begin to reconstruct.


    Large amounts of fragments emerged from all the stone pillars. These fragments seemed to know exactly where to fit in and were continuously combining and reorganizing with each other.


    Roofs, girders, eaves, walls, doors and floors were gradually formed.


    A great hall was being built by an invisible force. Not long after, a magnificent hall appeared before everyone. They were now standing within a round-shaped hall where six corridors were built.


    "Six passages?"


    "In other words... Does this mean that the six of us have to go separately?"


    "Doesn''t the Hall of Causality require division of labor and cooperation?"


    No one knew why the Hall of Causality was arranged this way so they stared at each other with confused looks.


    They knew however that if they wanted to pass the Hall of Causality, they had to follow the rules. If the Hall of Causality really wanted to separate them, they would have no other choice but to comply.


    Buzz...


    At this moment, the doors of each corridor began to glow in a shiny blue light.


    The lightning bolts began to converge and words could be read. Each door had the name of one of the warriors inscribed in it.


    Janet Ji, Jeffrey Jin, Hailey, Coleman, Ansel and Zen Luo.


    "Zen Luo?!"


    Everyone was stunned when they saw this name inscribed in one of the doors.


    They then turned to look at Zen at the same time.


    From the six people only Thad had the surname Luo, but the name Thad Luo was not in any corridor. This was the only name that was missing.


    "I told you! Thad Luo is definitely a fake name!" Janet''s eyes flickered as she looked at Zen with a smile. "I just didn''t know that Thad is the famous Zen Luo!"


    Zen had already become a legend among the younger generation.


    Regardless of his strength, his stories had spread throughout the supreme worlds. People had heard the stories so many times that they could re-tell all of them with all the details.


    Even the most ignorant and ill-informed martial artists would have heard of Zen.


    After all, there was someone in the universe who would tell stories every once in a while using the Roar Token. Everyone had to listen to him whether they wanted to or not. These stories were interesting and made many people obsessed. These people would have to wait for several months until they could get the ending of a story because the storyteller always left them in suspense. His closing line at the of each session was always "To what happened thereafter, that will be disclosed next time.".


    After killing the four Supreme Lords, this was how Zen had passed his days in the past six years. The trillions of lives in the universe had also passed their time under the baptism of his "voice".


    Janet, Jeffrey, Hailey and the others were no exception.


    "You... are you really Ze


    ridor next to him. Janet''s name was on that corridor which meant that this corridor was for Janet to enter.


    The moment Zen tried to walk into the long corridor, an irresistible force stopped him from entering.


    Zen didn''t force it. This was the Hall of Causality. Since he was not allowed to enter, then he would not forcefully break in.


    Everyone knew that they would have to finish the rest of the journey by themselves. After making some preparations, they all entered their respective corridors.


    Among them, Coleman was the one who looked the most depressed.


    He hadn''t done anything along the way. He just followed everyone else here. He relied on all the others to get here.


    From now on he would have to rely on himself. He was not feeling sure about this and had no confidence in his eyes. He entered into his own corridor with a long and worried face.


    Zen also took a step forward after taking a glance at the long corridor in front of him to enter.


    This corridor was very wide, so wide that a carriage could enter and rush through it without problem.


    Walking on the soft carpet gave Zen the illusion that the fifth Hall of Causality wasn''t difficult to go through.


    After walking several dozen feet, Zen suddenly stopped.


    A torch was hanging up on the wall in front of him. The flame was burning brightly as it illuminated the corridor he was in.


    Zen felt that something weird was burning in the flames.


    "There seems to be a powerful soul within the flames!" Zen muttered as he stared at the torch.


    Zen had no idea how strong this soul was. If it was able to cause pressure on Zen''s soul, the strength of this soul would be unimaginable.


    ''Is this the test? Should I do something about it or just ignore it?'' Zen thought.


    Zen decided to ignore the flames and planned to go around it.


    However, just as he was passing the torch, a strange pressure suddenly burst out from the torch and enveloped Zen.

 Chapter 1617 Godly Way And Godly Tile (Part One)

    Boom! The silence in this corridor was broken by this sound.


    It came from the flame, which suddenly exploded in front of Zen in a magnificent flash of color.


    However, this flame didn''t burn his body. In fact, this flame had originally been part of the flames of the nihility. It was a flame that had burned a soul!


    However, the power hidden within the flame was unimaginably strong!


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    The long corridor suddenly disappeared ahead of Zen.


    What replaced it was a world of bitterly cold ice and snow!


    Within the swirling and frigid wind, the power of the Ice Law was nearly incalculable!


    ''My soul has forcefully been pulled into this world of ice and snow?'' Zen thought, looking down at his hands. There was a jade-green glow floating around his body. He was at the perfect soul state.


    Ding-dong!


    The crisp jingle of a metallic bell could be heard.


    Then Zen saw a small bell suspended in the air!


    "What is this bell?"


    After the small bell''s appearance, a figure gradually emerged from within the snowstorm.


    It was a woman wearing nothing but a green and blue colored ribbon, wrapped around her graceful figure!


    This woman flew towards Zen with her bare legs treading uncaringly through the endless cold. She quietly stared at him.


    Brrr!


    Before, it had not been so cold, and the toughened strength of Zen''s soul was powerful enough to withstand any normal cold.


    However, under this woman''s indifferent gaze, Zen felt like he had fallen into an ice cellar which had been frozen for ten thousand years. At this moment, it was as if his soul was about to be sealed away. The surface of his soul had frozen over, and a thin layer of frost appeared. Zen was now even too cold to think at this point.


    "What a strong use of the power of the Ice Law! But this is


    y!


    When the woman saw Zen slowly floating closer, a look of confusion flashed across her snowy white face.


    "You... You know how to use the Floating Feather Technique too?"


    From the moment this woman had appeared, she hadn''t spoken a single word. This was the first time she had addressed Zen.


    "Floating Feather Technique? No, I''m using another movement technique."


    As he drew closer and closer, Zen stretched out his hand towards the small bell!


    The woman''s waist gently twisted, and the bell rang again. After avoiding Zen''s grabbing hand, the snow between the heaven and earth suddenly increased in size, becoming incomparably huge. A single snowflake had suddenly become the size of a washbasin! The giant snowflakes condensed together and formed into a massive hailstone, which quickly plummeted down like a giant boulder. And for a time, the entire world was filled with the crisp sounds of cracking and splitting ice.


    Zen and the woman both circulated their movement technique and were able to safely avoid the hail. However, because of the hail''s disturbance, there was a reintroduction of energy and force between Zen and the woman. As a result, Zen was unable to get close to the woman.

 Chapter 1618 Godly Way And Godly Tile (Part Two)

    "It''s so strange. You are clearly using the Floating Feather Technique. Who did you learn this movement technique from?" the woman asked with a puzzled look on her delicate features.


    Zen smiled and said, "I''ll tell you, but first, tell me who are you?"


    When the woman heard this, she indifferently replied, "This here is the Corridor of Emperor¡­"


    "You are an Emperor?" Zen''s eyebrows twitched as he interrupted.


    "No," the woman shook her head. "I am the mark left behind by a True God."


    "A True God?"


    Zen''s expression changed when he heard the woman''s reply, and realized the implications thereof.


    Seeing the change in Zen''s expression, the woman sighed faintly. "This is your test. Although I am just a mark, I will still test your soul¡­"


    While the woman was speaking, she lightly waved her hands and a glacier appeared in the heavens and began thundering down from the sky towards Zen!


    This glacier was one hundred feet wide, and the temperature near it was extremely low. As the glacier descended at a murderous speed, it had already congealed into a thick icicle falling from the air, charging towards Zen!


    "Using a True God''s illusion to test my soul..." Zen murmured.


    A look of caution and apprehension appeared on Zen''s face as he faced the glacier falling towards him from above. Suddenly, he swung his fist!


    Swish!


    When Zen''s fist collided with this glacier, a crack appeared at the bottom of the glacier. The crack immediately ran out and spread like a spider''s web through the thickly packed ice. Then this glacier turned into countless pieces of broken ice that collapsed and shot out with a loud bang to the land in a circle with a diameter of several hundred meters.


    Whoosh!


    Wi


    e, was the ace talent of the Ji Clan, and was also the most likely person to become a Godly Genius of the Ji Clan! What the Ji Clan possessed was the Five Elements Godly Way!


    And the most important sign indicating the transformation of a Godly Genius was the full blooming of the Mahayana Lotus Flower!


    Some warriors had only stepped into the Soul Sea, and their Hinayana Lotus Flowers would bloom with seven petals, or even nine petals. However, they had never managed to open up a Mahayana Lotus Flower during their entire lives spent in cultivation!


    There were some martial artists that had opened up the Mahayana Lotus Flower when they were at the Spirit Supreme Realm or the Spirit Transformation Realm. And later, when they had become world lords, or when they managed to carry a Heavenly Destiny, they might be able to open up all the lotus petals of the Mahayana Lotus Flower.


    However, the warriors in this situation were called "talents being restrained by the heavens". The majority of the Supreme Lords in the universe belonged to this kind of warriors. They had no hope of stepping into the Godly Way in their lengthy lifetimes.

 Chapter 1619 The Overbearing Aura (Part One)

    It was practically impossible to change the heavens'' restrictions.


    In order to eliminate the restrictions, a small group of Supreme Lords were expected to first create the secret medicine for reincarnation at a great cost. Once it was created, the Supreme Lords were to drink it so that they might be reincarnated with their memories of their past lives.


    Everything would have started right back again at the beginning. It was only to their dismay, however, that once they reached the Life and Death Realm and successfully activated the Lotus Flower during the small Heavenly Tribulation, they were still unable to escape the restriction.


    All the various races attached great importance to the Illusion Battlefield and the ace talents.


    It was because they believed that maybe someone in this group of ace talents could ascend as a True God, which would allow them to go beyond the heavens!


    It was possible that one or two of the warriors in the Soul Sea Realm would become a new True God.


    It wasn''t that there weren''t any talented people at the Spirit Supreme Realm and Spirit Transformation Realm. It was just that, after this era began, all kinds of talents suddenly proliferated. And at present, these talents, whose age ranged from 20 to 40, had managed to reach the Soul Sea Realm, and continued to grow.


    The incredibly numerous amount of new talents made everyone know this generation as the "Golden Generation".


    The Snow Godly Way...


    Hannah...


    Zen''s eyes flashed vividly.


    This woman was most likely not of this grand era. Zen had never heard of her name before.


    But it was at this moment that Zen seized the opportunity to talk to her. He approached her casually and asked, "Where does one go after he becomes a T


    r to be compatible with the Snow Godly Way.


    The True God that Zen now knew as Hannah mentioned the Godly Tile just now, but he was oblivious to what it was like.


    If he could only return to the fairy palace, Zen would have been able to consult the Immortal Book about it.


    Of course, if he wanted to transcend the heavens to search for the divine land, this situation should be of great importance to him.


    After taking a few moments to think, Zen stepped out of the lamp''s light and continued forward.


    Two steps in and something caught his attention fairly quickly. He saw some murals carved into the walls of the Corridor of Emperor.


    The first mural depicted the birth of a little baby girl. It seemed to snow heavily that day. There was even a solar eclipse in the mural''s sky.


    Zen walked further and looked at the second mural. The baby girl grew a bit taller and was now starting to cultivate martial arts. It looked like she was trying to harness her ultimate strength.


    When he walked even further to look at the third mural, Zen sighed.


    ''I think I get it now. The life of this True God has been inscribed in the walls of this corridor.''

 Chapter 1620 The Overbearing Aura (Part Two)

    After the warrior transcended the heavens and became a True God, the heavens carved out the stories of her life.


    As he continued through the Corridor of Emperor, Zen looked at the murals one by one.


    Some of the murals included how the woman became a warrior, and how she was adored by the public. It also included a story on how she activated the Lotus Flower, and so on.


    ''Apparently, when she reached the Life and Death Realm, she only activated one petal of the Hinayana Lotus Flower!''


    Zen thought to himself, unable to keep a shocked expression.


    In the Upper World, the number of lotus petals activated was related to the ability to surpass the heavens. The more petals that the warrior would have activated, the higher chances for the warrior to transcend the heavens. To some extent, people consider it as something akin to a talent!


    The one who could only activate a single lotus petal was perceived as a very basic talent. Even an ordinary tenth-grade sacred place would not view such an ordinary warrior as a core disciple.


    The core disciples of an ordinary tenth-grade sacred place were capable of activating at least five to seven lotus petals.


    As he continued forward, Zen began to understand how this woman became a True God.


    Every time she experienced a Heavenly Tribulation, she would always activate a lotus petal. This only meant that she was able to activate nine petals of the Hinayana Lotus Flower, after she had experienced nine small Heavenly Tribulations!


    When she was at the Soul Sea Realm, the Spirit Supreme Realm, and the Spirit Transformation Realm, she still activated a lotus petal for each Heavenly Tribulation.


    In the end, all of the lotus petals belonging to the Mahayana Lotus Flower and the Hinay


    ch lamp in the Corridor of Emperor recorded a True God''s mark. These True Gods were all born of the same universe. It was through the Corridor of Emperor that the memories were never erased by the heavens.


    "Kill!"


    "Kill!"


    "Kill!"


    The soldiers screamed and roared. They were storming towards the True God and Zen!


    The first ogre warrior immediately charged at Zen. As his burly figure flashed before his eyes, Zen flicked his wrist and stole the giant sword from the enemy''s hand. He quickly swung the sword against the soldiers. In an instant, Zen was able to behead a dozen of ogres with one swoop!


    Almost just as quickly, Zen could sense a strong, dangerous presence behind him. He then bent his body and lay prone on the ground, in order to avoid it.


    Woosh!


    A stream of formidable blade energy spurt out.


    The blade energy spread around, maintaining a distance of three feet with the ground. After Zen lay down, the blade energy almost touched the tip of his nose.


    At the same time, the entire battlefield was consumed with the wails and screams of the tens of thousands of ogre warriors. The field had gotten violent and bloody very fast.

 Chapter 1621 Reggie

    In this environment where everyone could only exist in soul form, what was seen was not the actual strength of a True God...


    Instead, the True God put his internal momentum into the environment, letting the warrior comprehend his Godly Way by being within this environment; in effect the warrior was within the Godly Way!


    Only one single warrior guarded the isolated city, yet he was able to fight against an army of tens of thousands of soldiers with a single saber, and he successfully fended them off!


    There was a domineering aura contained in his ogre warrior''s body that made his foes tremble with fear.


    After the attack, not a single soldier from the ogre army was left standing.


    Of course, Zen was the only one who succeeded in dodging the saber strike, though he had to hurl himself to the ground to avoid the deadly swing.


    But the moment Zen got up from the ground, the ogre warrior''s gaze fell on him!


    Under the scrutiny of this ogre warrior, Zen felt a tremendous pressure build inside his very soul!


    "Why don''t you lie down!"


    Even Zen''s soul trembled uncontrollably when the ogre warrior roared at him in a voice like thunder.


    However, there was a resolute expression in Zen''s eyes as he swallowed heavily and replied coolly, "I didn''t lose either of my legs, so naturally I wouldn''t lie down."


    "If you don''t want to lie down, then you will kneel down!"


    "Swoosh!"


    The ogre warrior swung the long blade in his hand and pointed it at Zen. Then the large saber moved downward with a fearsome sound.


    The saber did not cut into Zen''s body.


    However, Zen instantly felt a strong pressure building behind his shoulders and trying to force him down!


    Under the oppression of this enormous power, Zen''s knees felt weak and limp. A fierce and domineering aura was contained within this pressure, and it was as if a mountain was pressing down on Zen''s body. How could he possibly withstand this?


    At this moment, Zen was in his soul form, and the power of this pressure was not a true physical power. Therefore, he could not use the power of the dragon scales to resist it.


    "Kneel down and submit to me!"


    the ogre warrior shouted.


    The saber kept on moving downward, and the pressure also increased tremendously. Naturally, the force that Zen used to bear up against it also increased accordingly!


    In the face of such strength, Zen still stood firmly on the spot with his legs planted. The pressure mounted, and his feet were being pressed deeper into the illusionary soil as the pressure threatened to overwhelm him. His eyes were fixed intently on the ogre warrior without a hint of compromise on his face. There was no give, no surrender, and no yielding in Zen!


    "I do not kneel to the heavens or to the earth. I have nothing that I should feel guilty about in my life, so how could I kneel in front of you?" Zen coldly said, gritting his teeth, while still standing upright.


    The ogre warrior sneered. "If you don''t kneel down, then you have to die!"


    "Whoosh!"


    The large saber swung out again!


    An incredibly intense blade energy carried the formidable momentum of the weapon as it hacked down towards Zen!


    "Humph!"


    Zen retaliated with tit for tat, giving as good as he was getting.


    The huge sword that he had taken from an ogre soldier was too large for him to physically swing, but in this soul level battle, it was firstly a fight bas


    sky!


    One slash! Two slashes! Three slashes...


    The thick dark clouds in the sky were all shredded by his saber energy!


    After these last few slashes, the ogre warrior coldly said, "The saber is the overlord, and what I have pursued throughout my life is the domineering momentum of an overlord. I have relied on my saber to reach the Domineering Godly Way! And I have also acquired the unrivalled Godly Tile! My name is Reggie!"


    After he had finished speaking, the thick clouds were sliced apart and separated. A ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds.


    At the same time, the invisible blade energy descended from the sky, and gathered all over Zen''s body!


    "Buzz, buzz, buzz..."


    Zen, on the other hand, pointed his sword at the sky, remaining calm.


    The blade energy was extremely remarkable and potent as it fused with the heaven and earth. However, under this suppression, Zen remained unmoved.


    Emotion Closing meant to sever all emotions and become nothing!


    Zen was actually in a moment of extreme humbleness, and he was insignificant in the face of the blade energy descending from the sky; however, he gave others the feeling that he looked down on all living creatures. Even the strongest pressure was ignored by Zen!


    "Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh..."


    Countless streaks of blade energy descended, surging chaotically around Zen.


    The blade energy gushed out like the turbulent current of a river, while Zen was like a boulder in the middle of the river, standing tall and unmoving. The gushing currents could not make Zen move even a bit, and they had to split upon him and separate in two directions...


    After a long time, the thick clouds in the sky started to gather together again.


    There was no more blade energy descending from the sky anymore...


    Zen stared at the True God called Reggie. He had finally withdrawn from the state of Emotion Closing, and his eyes looked a bit brighter!


    After Reggie noticed the change in Zen, he laughed loudly with a note of regret in his voice. "You''re not suitable for my Godly Way! Furthermore, you already have your own Godly Way; but, the Godly Way that you seek to cultivate is destined to be a waste of effort!"


    "Why?" Zen asked in confusion, after hearing Reggie''s damning words.

 Chapter 1622 Illusion Of Killing Sword Mountain

    There was always a limit to the level of power that one could reach in the universe.


    For example, when one trained in the Fire Law, the highest level one could reach was the tenth level.


    However, Soul Sea Realm warriors could only cultivate up to the fifth level, Spirit Supreme Realm warriors up to the sixth level, Spirit Transformation Realm warriors up to the seventh level, world lords up to the eighth level, and Supreme Lords up to the ninth level.


    This was the power of the limit. It was difficult to cross it.


    There were still some Supreme Lords who had taken on the Heavenly Destiny of the Fire Law. They could cultivate the Fire Law to the top level - the tenth level.


    Reaching this top stage meant that someone had reached perfection under this round of the heavens. But this wasn''t the true uppermost level.


    There were levels even higher than the tenth level. But the tenth level was one that most creatures in the universe couldn''t even understand, leave alone aim to touch.


    To reach higher levels, one had to transcend this round of the heavens and become a True God.


    And not everyone could become a True God.


    The Lotus Flower floating above the heads of many warriors directly hinted at the possibility of their crossing the heavens.


    Each warrior trained in a different Godly Way.


    There were the Five Elements Godly Way, the Snow Godly Way and so on.


    "If I''m not mistaken, you''ve trained in the Emotion Closing Godly Way," Reggie said, studying Zen closely.


    "Emotion Closing... That''s a kind of Godly Way?" Zen asked, mildly surprised.


    Zen had known a little about the essence of the Emotion Closing Godly Way, which was why he had been able to launch such an effective Gods-intimidating Strike. What he didn''t know was that Emotion Closing was also a Godly Way. He had thought this to be just another method that he had comprehended from the Gods-intimidating Strike.


    "Yes. The Emotion Closing Godly Way is an extremely powerful Godly Way. But at the same time, it is also forbidden," Reggie said. He paused for a second before continuing, "If you really succeed in cultivating this way, it will incite the gods into a fury that will burn you. It is not advisable."


    Reggie looked fierce and powerful - a character who wasn''t afraid of anyone in the universe. His craziness had given birth to the domineering aura he carried with him where he went and was why he had gained enlightenment and stepped into the Domineering Godly Way.


    But he was visibly cautious when he mentioned the Emotion Closing Godly Way.


    "Is that so?"


    Zen said, his eyes flickering.


    Zen''s personality was completely different from Reggie''s. He wasn''t as arrogant as Reggie, but Zen''s warrior spirit was way tougher and way more resilient than Reggie''s.


    Zen would think about it carefully, now that a True God had advised him, but he knew that words couldn''t change his original intention.


    Reggie could vaguely see what


    with which he had merged the pinnacle of his comprehension of the Gods-intimidating Strike.


    And it was said that this Supreme Lord was already missing.


    If he had died, his Heavenly Destiny would dissipate and turn into a new Crown of Destiny again.


    This obviously meant that the Supreme Lord Sword wasn''t dead yet.


    Now that Zen could see the Killing Sword Mountain here, did it mean that Supreme Lord Sword had become a True God? Had he become a True God through the Emotion Closing Godly Way?


    Of course, this was merely Zen''s speculation. There were probably other figures in the Killing Sword Mountain who had managed to become True Gods, and they might not be Supreme Lord Sword.


    Zen felt that this was the most likely possibility.


    Standing at the foot of the mountain, Zen looked up and spotted a faint figure standing at the peak of the Killing Sword Mountain.


    "Alright," Zen murmured, letting out a huff as if preparing himself. "I will climb to the top and figure it out!"


    Zen would try to pass this test regardless of whether or not this person was Supreme Lord Sword.


    Whoosh!


    As Zen advanced, a long sword rose from the ground and shot towards him.


    Only a mysterious weapon.


    Zen stretched out two fingers and held the tip of the sword in place. The mysterious weapon could not move. Then, with a light shake of Zen''s wrist, the mysterious weapon lost its spirituality.


    He held the now ordinary long sword in his hand and walked slowly up the mountain.


    When Zen had first climbed up the Killing Sword Mountain, every step he had taken had been a shock. Now, it was as if he had stepped into a danger-free zone. The long swords rose from the ground and shot towards him, one after another. Zen merely had to wave his hand, like brushing away stray twigs, to keep them off him.


    But even though it was just an illusion and not the real Killing Sword Mountain, Zen was deeply moved, now that he had been forced to revisit it.

 Chapter 1623 Sword Chen

    Before long, Zen had reached the mountainside


    but his gaze was transfixed on something just beyond.


    Zen had met Lavender''s long sword at this very spot


    and yet it was nowhere to be seen.


    Zen ventured forward another few hundred feet. Back then, Zen had thrown his sword away but no matter where he looked, he could not see any sign of it.


    "It makes sense. This is an illusion made by the soul mark of a True God, not the true Killing Sword Mountain. This illusion may be the Killing Sword Mountain from 100, 000 years, or a million, possibly even tens of millions years ago. It looks like it will be impossible to ever retrieve my sword again."


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Suddenly, those swords came raining down towards him.


    When Zen reached the middle of the mountain, the long swords that were attacking him were fairy weapons.


    Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!


    Zen masterfully swung the mysterious weapon, deflecting each of the swords as he advanced.


    He continued up the mountain, eager to see who that person was.


    Weapons continued to fall on him - fairy weapons, sacred weapons, divine weapons; rank above rank.


    The higher up the mountain he went, the higher the rank of the swords on the mountain was.


    Each sword was getting sharper and sharper, attacking him in different way.


    There were many different swordsmanship styles.


    ''The Emotion Closing Godly Way... Strictly speaking, it is also a type of swordsmanship. I wonder, if I train in other swordsmanship, will I be able to enter the Godly Way?''


    The question lingered in Zen''s mind.


    Just as the other True Gods he had encountered before, the Godly Ways they stepped into were also varied. But could that mean that there was not any specific cultivation method for cultivating the Godly Ways.


    As long as there was some way that one could cultivate a technique to the peak beyond the restraints of the heavens, would one be able to create a new Godly Way?


    Could there be many ways considered Godly?


    And yet why would the Emotion Closing Godly Way be known as a forbidden way?


    As the thoughts ticked away in his mind, Zen continued up to the top of the mountain.


    At the summit, a middle-aged man with a long, wispy beard sat upright, a short sword floating gently beside him.


    The short sword was two and a half feet long and white in color. The blade was simple and unadorned but undeniably sharp. It seemed unassuming.


    "The Gods-intimidating Sword!"


    Zen''s eyebrows rose slightly at the sight.


    He had long guessed that the person at the peak of the mountain would be Supreme Lord Sword. But now seeing the Gods-intimidating Sword which Yolande had mentioned before, Zen had been sure this person was Supreme Lord Sword.


    However, since Supreme Lord Sword had appeared in the Corridor of Emperor, perhaps the more fitting name for him


    s he looked indifferently at Zen, saying, "If I didn''t see it with my own eyes, I would never believe that someone would be able to see through the poem I left behind¡­"


    "I knew that was a coincidence," Zen replied.


    "No," Supreme Lord Sword smiled slightly. "Not exactly. The fortune before you is not set in stone. It seems there is someone pushing you in a different direction."


    Confusion befell Zen''s face. He did not understand what he was hearing. "Someone pushing me?"


    "Who he is, I do not know. And I do not know his intentions but I am sure that he is making the arrangements for you," Supreme Lord Sword continued.


    Zen''s brows creased. He did not understand what Supreme Lord Sword was talking about and the mystery made him feel uneasy.


    Zen was no fatalist. Even if he came to a situation that seemed inevitable, he always seemed to find a way to exert his will. His fate always remained in his own hands, even if for a little bit.


    But the words of Supreme Lord Sword undermined all of this. Was there really someone who was planning out his fate?


    Seeing the confusion on Zen''s face, Supreme Lord Sword smiled faintly. "This is not a problem you and I have to discuss. I am not particularly concerned about this." As though he was closing the chapter on what he just revealed, he switched topics. "How many lotus petals has your Lotus Flower bloomed?" Supreme Lord Sword asked.


    "Nine petals of the Hinayana Lotus Flower and twenty-six petals of the Mahayana Lotus Flower," Zen offered up easily.


    Supreme Lord Sword nodded his head, as though in approval of Zen''s answer. "Not bad. With the 35 petals at the Soul Sea Realm, it will not be long before you become a Godly Genius. Not bad, not bad at all."


    He knew that Zen had indeed succeeded in the Emotion Closing Godly Way and with only one lotus petal remaining closed, Zen''s Lotus Flower would soon be in full bloom.

 Chapter 1624 The Dipamkara Buddha

    Sword Chen didn''t have much interest in the martial artists that passed through the Corridor of Emperor.


    He had entered the Godly Way through Emotion Closing. He also knew that he had entered a path that was forbidden, and he had long since given up the idea of passing on the technique to anyone.


    Therefore, even though there were quite a few martial artists who passed by his torch, he had never taken any of them seriously.


    There had been a few swordsmen that were extremely talented. With their great determination, they hadn''t flinched the slightest at any of the challenges from the rain of swords that had fallen, and they had climbed all the way up to the mountain. But in the end, they had all been chased away by Sword Chen with his Gods-intimidating Sword.


    However, now, Sword Chen had met a guy who had comprehended the Gods-intimidating Strike!


    Moreover, his level of comprehension of this technique was quite impressive.


    He had comprehended 99% of it. With one more percent of comprehension, he would reach consummation of the Gods-intimidating Strike!


    Furthermore, this guy had not only comprehended the Gods-intimidating Strike but had also opened 35 petals in his Lotus Flower. He would achieve consummation with just one more lotus petal.


    In the eyes of Sword Chen, Zen was like a perfect jade with a missing corner.


    And that missing corner was in his hand. All he needed to was to reach out and gently put the missing corner back. Then, he would be flawless!


    As he received Sword Chen''s praise, Zen stood rooted to the spot without saying anything.


    After sizing Zen up from head to toe, Sword Chen asked, "Have you ever had a master?"


    "Yes," Zen answered honestly.


    A hint of disappointment flashed through Sword Chen''s eyes when he heard this answer. However, he smiled faintly. He could be considered half a master to Zen as he had taught him the Gods-intimidating Strike.


    "Do you know that the Emotion Closing Godly Way is a forbidden way?" Sword Chen continued to ask.


    Zen nodded. "Yes. I got to know it a while ago."


    "Then, do you know why the Emotion Closing Godly Way is a forbidden way?" Sword Chen asked again.


    "I don''t know."


    Zen was, after all, only at the Soul Sea Realm. His current knowledge about the cultivation levels was limited to the Spirit Supreme Realm and those below it. He knew that a warrior who reached the Spirit Supreme Realm could create beings within their consciousness. As for the differences among Spirit Transformation Realm, the world lord, and the Supreme Lord, he knew nothing.


    Then there were the various Godly Ways, of which he only knew the names. When it came to what they really meant, he was like a naive child facing the ways of the complicated world¡ªhe didn''t understand them at all.


    "It''s fine that you don''t know." Sword Chen did not intend to explain it to Zen. He only said, "Your Gods-intimidating Strike is close to perfection, but it still lacks one thing. Do you know what that is?"


    Upon hearing these words, Zen''s expression became extremely serious.


    Six years ago, Zen had already practiced the Gods-intimidating Strike and reached 99% of its technique. But when he had slashed with his sword using the Gods-intimidating


    it be that... in this universe, there have only been ten True Gods throughout the countless grand eras?''


    Thinking about this, Zen quickly shook his head. True Gods were indeed rare, but the number of them could not be so low.


    After traveling for a while, Zen saw the exit of the Corridor of Emperor. When he walked out the exit, he discovered that the six separate Corridors of Emperor converged at the end. Where he stood now was in a circular hall, and there were already other martial artists waiting here.


    "Janet, Hailey!"


    It turned out that the two female warriors of their group had already passed through the Corridor of Emperor and come out.


    "Zen, we''re so glad that you''ve come out!" Janet smiled sweetly at Zen.


    The three of them looked at one another, only to discover that there was a slight change in all three of them.


    This change was inevitable after they got some insight on the Godly Way.


    Even if a martial artist hadn''t found the Godly Way that suited them, as long as they had passed by the soul flames, they could feel the aura of those True Gods.


    Perhaps the aura didn''t mean to test one''s soul, but it was still beneficial for martial artists.


    "It was quite easy to pass the fifth Hall of Causality," Hailey said flatly.


    "Which True Gods did you meet? I met the legendary Master Shiloh." Janet smiled with a hint of excitement in her eyes.


    Zen nodded his head slightly and casually named a few of the True Gods he had met. This was not a secret that could not be revealed. However, Zen didn''t mention meeting Sword Chen.


    As they talked, a human figure flashed in the Corridor of Emperor. They all turned around and saw Jeffrey walking out of it.


    Jeffrey put his hands together, slightly closing his eyes while mumbling something, as if he was a monk who had made great achievements. When he completely walked out of the Corridor of Emperor, he smiled at Zen and the others and said, "I''ve received advice from the Past Buddha¡­"


    There was no such concept as Godly Way in the Blessed Buddha Land. What they called Buddhism was the same thing as Godly Way.


    And the Past Buddha was the Dipamkara Buddha.

 Chapter 1625 The Illusion Became Real

    Jeffrey was undoubtedly lucky to have obtained the Dipamkara Buddha''s guidance.


    He had once failed in becoming a fully-fledged ace talent before.


    But this time, he had the Dipamkara Buddha to help him comprehend the secrets of cultivating an indestructible body.


    The numerous arhats Zen fought in the ancient temple all ended up recovering after being destroyed because they were able to rely on the Past Solemn Kalpa''s power.


    That was exactly what Jeffrey comprehended.


    The things they found in the Corridor of Emperor were all extremely rare and valuable, which made them extremely happy.


    True Gods'' soul marks were in those torches. It was extremely rare for anybody in this universe to be able to find a True God.


    But the soul marks were already good enough and made it seem as if it was the True God himself that guided them on their way.


    Minutes after Jeffrey came out, someone laughed heartily in the corridor.


    "Ha-ha! Have you all passed?"


    Coleman asked, also walking out from the corridor with a big, happy smile on his face.


    He had to hunch a bit since his big, muscular body had to fit through the ten-feet high corridor.


    "I didn''t think it would be so easy to pass through the fifth hall. The torches'' illusions were frightening but were actually useless..." he said with a smug look on his face.


    His words surprised everyone present.


    The fifth Hall of Causality was not a test.


    Because they would all pass no matter what they did.


    In the process of exploring the corridor, all of them had to rely on their own means to try to understand the auras that emanated from the True Gods. This fifth hall was, in fact, a great training opportunity.


    "How did you pass through?" Janet asked Coleman.


    The ogre shrugged. "When I got sucked into the illusion, I just kept on running. When I ran, I managed to get rid of the flames. There were some times when I thought I was going to die but I always managed to leave the illusion just in time."


    Zen, Jeffrey, Hailey, and Janet were rendered speechless.


    The True Gods'' soul marks would''ve also been astonished if they heard what he just said.


    Jeffrey patiently explained the value of the corridor to Coleman. The ogre was stunned in silence for a bit, probably processing what he had just been told, before letting out a huge scream and running back to the corridor.


    Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried, there was no way he could re-enter. The Corridor of Emperor was only a one-way path and going back was no longer an option.


    Ansel got out not long after. He did not intentionally restrain his aura but it was no


    en, on the other hand, was still thinking about what item he wanted to copy.


    He already had quite a few treasures.


    And he wasn''t really in any hurry to duplicate any of them. It didn''t help that his greatest weapon was, in fact, himself and there was no way he could duplicate himself. The pink dot had made it clear to him that he could only take out an item and not a person.


    ''Item...''


    he pondered to himself for a moment.


    He probably spent a few seconds thinking before his eyes lit up.


    ''I''m so stupid. Why must I only consider the items I''ve brought in? There''s no need to duplicate any of them, '' he thought.


    There was no point duplicating the Thunder Wind Divine Sword or the Black Star. One was already enough for him.


    However, Zen had a treasure that belonged to the Illusion Battlefield but would be extremely useful outside: the Teleportation Token!


    If he had that then he could basically travel anywhere he wanted in the entire universe instantly!


    He had been trapped in the fairy palace for six years, which was a really huge problem...


    However, if he had the Teleportation Token, then not even a Supreme Lord would be able to restrain him.


    The only thing he was having reservations with was the fact that the token only seemed to record the main cities of a supreme world within the Illusion Battlefield.


    He wasn''t really sure if it could be used outside it.


    ''I have no idea if this will work. This Teleportation Token is a special tool here in the Illusion Battlefield after all, ''


    he thought to himself but he still took the token out. He then reached up and crushed the pink dot. It was the same process as the dot shattered into numerous specks of dust and then floated towards his chosen item.

 Chapter 1626 Choice

    It seemed to rain a cloud of dusty mist as the fine powder danced continuously in the air, and then gathered in the Teleportation Token.


    "Is it successful?" Zen asked excitedly.


    His heart pounded so ecstatically that he almost wanted to jump up and down.


    He thought before that everything would disappear and he wouldn''t be able to get any items after the Illusion Battlefield was closed. Now, he could even take the Teleportation Token with him! This was better than he expected. How could he not be excited?


    A mark the size of an ant appeared on the corner of the Teleportation Token not long after.


    It looked like it was indeed possible for him to take the Teleportation Token out of battlefield.


    However, he still did not know if he could travel to other places by using the Teleportation Token.


    If it turned out that he couldn''t use the Teleportation Token if he took it out, then it meant that Zen would''ve wasted a perfect opportunity just because of it.


    This was like a gamble, but Zen was willing to take the risk. After all, if the Teleportation Token proved to be useful, he would be able to freely travel around the whole universe by then.


    "Huh? What is this?" asked Coleman.


    He leaned towards Zen, his curious eyes fixated on the small Teleportation Token in Zen''s hand.


    "Whoosh..." Zen quickly stuffed the Teleportation Token into his space ring and said, "Nothing."


    Coleman just stared at him with wide eyes. "So mysterious¡­" he muttered in disappointment.


    Zen shrugged indifferently and simply ignored him.


    Among their group of warriors, Zen was surprisingly not the one who found it the hardest to make a choice.


    The one who felt the most conflicted at that moment, was none other than Janet.


    Her body concealed a piece of Lofty Wood.


    She could consider the Lofty Wood her life''s treasure. Moreover, it was actually a living creature which had integrated with her.


    Thus, Janet should naturally not hesitate to choose the Lofty Wood.


    However, her arms were cradling the flame kitten. A trace of doubt appeared on her face.


    She rocked the little flame kitten a bit, and thought that she actually wanted to bring it out of the Illusion Battlefield!


    The truth was that the flame kitten was also a high-level Law Creature. It was extremely rare to find even in the Divine Flame World. Plus, it wasn''t easy to catch a flame kitten.


    On the other hand, her Lofty Wood was a legendary divine wood that was considered to be a product beyond the heavens. She now had the chance to duplicate and take it out, but she suddenly hesitated.


    "Janet, why are you hesitating?" Zen asked.


    He looked at her in confusion after he had put away his Teleportation Token.


    Janet pursed her lips. "I''m thinking which thing I should take out..."


    "Ha-ha! Why do you still think about it? You should choose the Lofty Wo


    his city. Those who could enter the Hall of Causality were considered the best of all the main cities, which meant that those who passed the test in the Hall of Causality were extremely remarkable. They were either ace talents or second only to the ace talents!


    Thus, it was safe to say that the ordinary warriors in this main city were destined to be nobodies.


    When the first group of warriors that passed through the Hall of Causality emerged, they had carried out a slaughter in the main city. Those who were strong enough had fled away, and those who stayed were the weaker ones. They refused to leave the main city and simply remained there to watch the powerful warriors come out of the Hall of Causality.


    Some of the strong warriors didn''t care about the weaker ones. They all quickly headed for other main cities or set out to explore more hidden places.


    However, there were still quite a few experts who chose to stay behind. Since the exit to the Hall of Causality was located in that main city, they believed that it was where they would encounter other experts.


    It could be said that one''s ability to steal others'' Illusion Points depended on their own skills and strengths.


    After Zen stepped out of the door of light, he glanced around and asked, "Jeffrey, Janet, what are your plans?"


    Jeffrey''s eyes flashed slightly. "I still have some things to digest. I need to find a quiet place to meditate and comprehend."


    The Past Solemn Kalpa was a Buddhist scripture, but it was also a type of cultivation method. This Past Solemn Kalpa was different from many other divine techniques, as it was a common Buddhist scripture in the Blessed Buddha Land.


    It was known that only a few warriors could truly comprehend it.


    It was similar to the Gods-intimidating Strike. Countless warriors had spent even more than ten thousand years to comprehend it, but only Zen had truly mastered it.

 Chapter 1627 The Unexpected Meeting (Part One)

    After being enlightened by the Dipamkara Buddha, Jeffery had only one thing in his mind right now ¡ª to find a place where he could put his newly discovered wisdom and knowledge into practice.


    It had become his top priority ¡ª even more important than obtaining Illusion Points.


    "I guess it''s also time for me to leave. I''ll see you around!" Hailey bid the others goodbye. Judging by the tone of her voice, she had no plans of staying in the main city anymore and she was ready to leave any moment with no intention to look back.


    With all the words said, they all knew that it was the end of this so-called team. Short-lived as it might be, but they were all grateful for whatever friendship they had made. Indeed, all good things must come to an end.


    While everyone was saying their goodbyes, Janet just stood there, silently petting the little flame kitten in her arms. When she noticed the sudden silence around her, she looked up and saw everyone looking at her. She then turned to Zen and saw the look on the latter''s face as if asking her about her plans. She tilted her head, smiled, and said to him, "I''ll just follow you around!"


    "Why would you do that?" Zen asked. Zen was no master of concealing his feelings. It was obvious just by looking at his face that he was baffled by Janet''s plan.


    "Nothing fancy. I just want to watch how you will defeat other warriors, that''s all!" Janet replied with a sweeter smile.


    Although he was used to being alone, Zen also wouldn''t mind some company. He figured that the Illusion Battlefield would soon change significantly so before that happened, he would keep on challenging other warriors. So instead of arguing with Janet about her decision, he would just let her tag along.


    Besides, he intended to save all his energy for his end game. Despite having a very high ranking, it wasn''t good enough for Zen.


    His final goal was to complete the Illusion Battlefield. Looking back, Zen had already obtained interesting rewards in the Hall of Causality.


    fought side by side with her in the Hall of Causality, they had little knowledge of where she came from. They didn''t even bother asking because they respected her decision to keep that side of her to herself.


    But today, they had finally discovered something about her background.


    They figured that Malachi had something on her, otherwise, she wouldn''t have tolerated his outrageous behavior.


    But that part was still unknown to them. Would they ever find out? No one knew for sure¡­


    Zen wasn''t interested in knowing such things. He already considered Hailey as a friend because she was once there to cooperate and help him. Now, in her time of need, it was only fitting that he returned the favor.


    He was about to move when suddenly, to his surprise, Jeffrey and Janet moved to Hailey''s side. Even Coleman and Ansel, who were the timidest among the group, came to Hailey''s rescue.


    Malachi noticed the warriors that formed behind Hailey. He indifferently swept his gaze over each one. His disdainful eyes looked at them as if he could see through their souls. He looked at Hailey once again, locked his eyes with hers trying to intimidate, then his eyes moved to her chest once more. "So," he continued as he glanced sideways to Hailey. "They''re your companions who passed through the Hall of Causality with you, aren''t they?"

 Chapter 1628 The Unexpected Meeting (Part Two)

    Before Hailey could answer, she felt a hand touched her left shoulder. When she turned to look, she saw the expressionless Zen staring at Malachi. Then, Zen looked at her and motioned her to move back before he stepped forward to confront the disrespectful man. He answered Malachi''s question, "Yes. Do you have a problem with that?"


    "I see. So, this¡­ what does this mean? Are you all going to help her?" Malachi''s eyes widened, and he didn''t try to hide the contempt on his face as if taunting Zen.


    "Not all. Just me," Zen said coldly. "And it''s not because of her. I just personally don''t like you. You''re too talkative and annoying. I figured I need to shut you up."


    Zen''s expression didn''t change. He looked and sounded calm, but one could feel his arrogance through his words. He wasn''t naturally arrogant, but he would never let anyone speak to his comrade that way. He thought of giving this person a taste of his bitter pill.


    Malachi was left dumbfounded by Zen''s words. He had never met anyone who would speak up to him like that. Moreover, he didn''t expect that any of Hailey''s companions would have the courage to do that after what they had seen. Either Zen was stupid or showy for doing so.


    "Shut me up? Do you hear yourself? You''re a funny guy!" Malachi said and then burst into wild laughter.


    The warriors in Malachi''s group also found it funny. They laughed like maniacs who escaped the asylum. Malachi''s group was a mix of different races ¡ª the human race, Demon Night race, and the Night Group. Like Zen''s group, they had also formed a temporary team with Malachi in the Hall of Causality.


    It was a quite common practice, and the team with the best warriors would usually outdo others. The main city was the exit to the Hall of Causality where fiercest bat


    If you want to see Death, dare to go outside the city so I can kill you. Don''t worry, I will take my time on you."


    "I don''t think there''s an ace talent in this group," one of his companions snorted.


    "Ha-ha! That''s right! They will not stand a chance. These are a bunch of weak and coward warriors!"


    "Malachi! Don''t set your expectations too high. I bet they won''t even step outside the city. They will spend every waking day in hiding. I know cowards when I see one."


    Malachi''s group laughed once more as they gave their share of mockery towards Zen''s group.


    Janet and Jeffrey had enough of the other group''s boasting and shallow mockery. Cold killing intent started to show in their eyes. Jeffrey took a step forward and was about to say when Hailey stopped him.


    "Don''t bother yourselves, please. I can deal with him by myself, and you should leave me alone. Malachi is an ace talent from our race. His strength is unfathomable, and he''s the son of Supreme Lord Gunter," Hailey said in a low voice. She pursed her lips and forced a smile to console them. Although she wasn''t open to them, she considered them as her friends and didn''t want to involve them in her troubles.

 Chapter 1629 The Saint Spear Sect

    There were a total of six sects in the Demon Night.


    These six sects were the most ancient groups of the Demon Night.


    It was also these groups that controlled the ancient Demon Night bloodline. Thus, the three queens of the Demon Night always emerged from these six large sects.


    Back then, with Elena''s help, Gunter had become the fourth Supreme Lord of the Demon Night. Naturally, his sect had also become very powerful and influential.


    Even the Demon Night, which had three queens as its leaders, had internal struggles.


    These six sects were under the control of the Board of Elders, which answered to the three queens. Thus, they were able to maintain the balance within the Demon Night.


    However, ever since Lavender''s disappearance, the balance that had been maintained before had been broken.


    The two sects that answered to the Queen of Life maintained their silence, just like the Queen of Life was indifferent to Elena''s domineering behavior.


    As for the two sects that fell under the domain of the Queen of Killings, one sect sided with Elena while the other sect supported Lavender. Thus, the latter sect was immediately persecuted by Elena.


    This sect possessed the saint spear of the Demon Night. All the previous generations of the Queen of Killings had used the saint spear from this sect, so this sect was also known as the ''Saint Spear Sect''.


    But now, the Saint Spear Sect was in a terrible situation in the Demon Night. Many of the sect members chose to hide, but some were forcibly enslaved by other sects. The men of the sect were treated as slaves while the beautiful women were treated as playthings.


    Hailey was the daughter of the leader of the Saint Spear Sect.


    If it weren''t for the fight between the two queens, Hailey might have had a chance of becoming one of the Demon Night''s ace talents.


    But now, Hailey was just a plaything without freedom in Malachi''s harem.


    When Janet saw Zen''s real name in the Corridor of Emperor, she became very curious about him.


    And when Hailey saw Zen''s real name in the Corridor of Emperor, she became extremely excited.


    The news about Lavender''s matter had already spread far and wide throughout the Demon Night.


    Hailey had never expected that Zen would eventually help Lavender get back her throne. His support for Lavender had given the Saint Spear Sect a glimmer of hope. That was the only way that Hailey would be able to obtain freedom.


    When the news about Lavender had first spread through the universe through the Roaring Token, the Saint Spear Sect members hadn''t thought too much about it.


    From their point of view, it was impossible for Lavender to defeat Elena. Just as Elena had said, Lavender didn''t even have the qualifications to fight against her.


    However, as things had progressed, Zen had even managed to kill Gunter!


    Not only had he killed Gunter, but he had also killed three of the other Supreme Lords as well.


    Malachi was Gunter''s son.


    In the past few days, whenever Hailey saw Malachi loo


    tage of the rules of the hall to kill that ace talent. Would he really be able to defeat an ace talent with his strength alone?


    Janet, Hailey, Jeffrey, Coleman, and Ansel stood atop the city wall.


    Malachi was the first one to leave the city. He stepped out of the city wall, and after taking a dozen steps, he turned around to look at Zen. Seeing that Zen had not left the city yet, he said, "Are you regretting it already? If you want to be known as a cowardly warrior, that''s okay. If you continue to stay in the main city, I can''t do anything to you."


    Although Malachi pretended to be generous, he was nervous that Zen wouldn''t want to leave the city. If that was the case, then he''d have to say something to provoke Zen.


    The corner of Zen''s mouth curled up slightly. "I have no regrets. I''m just waiting for something. If they do not come, perhaps it would be for the best!"


    "What are they?" Malachi asked curiously.


    At this moment, there were many small black dots floating over from both sides of the city wall.


    "Kof, kof, kof..."


    These were the few hundred small skulls. They were unable to enter the city, so they circled around the walls of the main city.


    Now that Zen was on the west side of the main city, they naturally gathered together and moved toward him.


    Zen let out a sigh. It seemed that it would be difficult to shake off these small skulls. Even after leaving the Hall of Causality, they were still able to follow him out. He really didn''t know how they managed to do it.


    "What the hell are these things?" Malachi was astonished as he stared at the skulls that were constantly moving.


    As Zen stepped out of the city wall, all the small skulls swarmed toward him, but he didn''t flinch in the slightest. He grabbed a small skull in his hand and pointed it at Malachi, a sinister smile appearing on his face. "You don''t need to know what these little skulls are. You only need to know that since I managed to kill your father, I can also torture you a few times..."

 Chapter 1630 The Saint Killing Spear

    When Zen finished speaking, Malachi was slightly perplexed, and his sharp eyes, which were as slender as willow leaves, were clouded with confusion.


    After all, Zen''s words had come out of the blue.


    However, the moment he realized what Zen was saying, his entire body suddenly shook, his eyes filling with a strong killing intent.


    "You are Zen Luo!"


    Malachi was the only son of Supreme Lord Gunter!


    Although the Demon Night members were all born strong warriors, they were quite weak when it came to reproduction. That was the main factor that restricted the development of the Demon Night race. Even though Supreme Lord Gunter had many wives, he only had a single descendant, and that was Malachi.


    His father''s death had been a huge blow to him.


    Now that he''d learned that the young man standing in front of him was the one who had killed his father, he realized that he was facing off against his sworn enemy.


    Although he had never seen Zen before, he had already imagined countless times in his mind what his enemy was like and he had sworn that he would kill Zen with his own hands in this lifetime!


    However, he had never thought that he would encounter Zen in the Illusion Battlefield.


    "No way! That guy is Zen?!"


    "You mean the guy that killed the four Supreme Lords?"


    "By the way, the stories he told through the Roaring Token are really quite interesting¡­"


    "This is going to be exciting! Zen is a warrior of the Soul Sea Realm, so it''s not surprising that he has entered the Illusion Battlefield. We''re so lucky to see him here."


    "I want to know just how strong this fellow is since he has the ability to kill Supreme Lords."


    When Zen''s identity was revealed, it immediately caused heated discussions among the warriors watching from the city walls.


    A while ago, everyone had seen this as a fight between two powerful warriors. But most of them had bet on Malachi to win since they were confident that Malachi would make his opponents suffer with his superior strength.


    But after finding out that Malachi''s opponent was the famous Zen, their views had completely changed. They felt like the tables had turned.


    Zen was a legendary warrior. Although his strength was nothing extraordinary, he enjoyed a fame that was perhaps even greater than that of some of the Supreme Lords!


    Although there were only 128 Supreme Lords in the supreme worlds, many martial artists could not name all of them. However, when it came to Zen... It was impossible for them not to know him because this fellow had used the Roaring Token to bombard their ears for six whole years!


    "Yes, I am Zen Luo." Zen nodded.


    Killing aura immediately soared from Malachi''s body. The killing aura condensed into a demon-like form in the air.


    "I really didn''t expect to meet you in the Illusion Battlefield!" Malachi said as he stared firmly at Zen. His eyes were filled with killing intent as if he wanted to directly pierce through Zen with them. "Unfortunately, this is the Illusion Battlefield. I can''t kill you in the real sense¡­"


    Although the killin


    now..."


    Right now, they were only in the first stage of the Illusion Battlefield, and the battles would only get more and more intense from here on.


    As he spoke, he gently waved his long spear and aimed it at Zen. "You should feel proud to be facing off against such a precious weapon!"


    Hearing his words, Zen grinned. "It really is a great honor. But this spear doesn''t seem to belong to you, does it?"


    "Since it is in my hands, of course it belongs to me," Malachi said proudly with his head held high. As a member of the Demon Night, of course he understood the significance of the Saint Killing Spear.


    As Zen stared at the spear, he pondered in his heart, ''What a pity...


    If I could get the Saint Killing Spear and use the reward from the Hall of Causality to make a duplicate for Lavender, it would be perfect.''


    As he thought of this, Zen slowly took out his longsword from his space ring¨Cthe Thunder Wind Divine Sword.


    As he moved his longsword, the corners of his mouth slightly curled up. "Since you are so shameless to claim that the Demon Night''s Saint Killing Spear is yours, then I have nothing to say¡­"


    "If you have nothing to say, then go to hell!"


    At this moment, Malachi attacked without any warning. Although he was confident that he could defeat Zen, he was an aloof and stubborn person. Even if he had the absolute advantage, he would still go all out, especially now that he wasn''t sure of Zen''s real strength.


    He always favored launching surprise attacks.


    The Saint Killing Spear suddenly spun around in Malachi''s hand, and two cold glints flashed from the two tips of the spear. Then, he thrust the spear toward Zen.


    A huge spear shadow appeared from the Saint Killing Spear, crazily circling in the air before shooting toward Zen.


    The power hidden within the spear shadow was intimidating. It was as if it could pierce through everything.


    This was the most basic cultivation method of the Saint Killing Spear¡ªShadowy Spin.


    "Be careful!" Janet exclaimed from the top of the city wall.

 Chapter 1631 Not Indestructible

    When Janet saw the Saint Killing Spear, she was frightened.


    The Lofty Wood in her body was warning her and she could sense something special about that spear.


    One of the two materials used to make the Saint Killing Spear was black and the other white. They seemed to resonate with the Lofty Wood in her body.


    She had no idea that the black and white spear shafts of the Saint Killing Spear were also made of the other two kinds of divine wood.


    There was the Ray Wood in the east, the Sunrest Wood in the west, the Lofty Wood in the north, and the Hidden Wood in the south.


    These were the four kinds of legendary divine wood


    and they all existed above the heavens.


    From the four types of wood, Ray Wood had never appeared in the universe.


    Lofty Wood had only appeared when Janet was born.


    However, the Hidden Wood and the Sunrest Wood had been set up here since the birth of the universe.


    This was because the Sunrest Tree was the sun''s resting place. The sun that illuminated everything was extremely important for the birth of the numerous living beings of the universe and the final step in constructing the universe was to light up the sun, and the existence of the Sunrest Tree was the key to achieving this.


    The Hidden Tree grew extremely fast. Its roots were everywhere supporting the one hundred thousand supreme worlds and a million great worlds. And even though the Hidden Tree drew all the worlds together, it couldn''t be seen; that was why it was called the "Hidden Tree."


    The Hidden Wood was white, while the Sunrest Wood was black.


    The Saint Killing Spear was made of a piece of Hidden Wood and a piece of Sunrest Wood intertwined with each other.


    When Janet felt the power of the two kinds of divine wood, she had to warn Zen.


    But he already knew that this spear''s shadow was not to be withstood. He turned and dashed to the side in a swift movement.


    "Eight Smoky Melodies!"


    The spear shadow was heading straight to him fast. Without a thought, Zen instantly activated the Eight Smoky Melodies.


    Zen dodged. With the impact of the Eight Smoky Melodies, the spear swept past his body and stabbed the city wall.


    "Rumble, rumble, rumble" could be heard.


    Something weird was happening in the city wall.


    The city wall was indestructible, but a small hole had been drilled out by the wild and violent spinning of the spear shadow.


    The spear had two points, and it forcefully dug out a piece from the city wall.


    "What power is this?"


    Even Zen couldn''t believe what he was seeing.


    Although the spear only drilled out a fist-sized hole in the city wall, it was enough to shock everyone present.


    ors didn''t want to give up the opportunity to watch the battle, so they decided to find a corner to watch it.


    There were much fewer warriors on the city wall now.


    However, Janet, Hailey, Jeffrey, Coleman and Ansel did not choose to leave. Their strength might be a little weaker than Zen''s and Malachi''s, but they could still face the battle. When the spear shadow penetrated through the light film, it slowed down, giving them enough time to dodge it.


    The warriors who were following Malachi didn''t leave either. These people were some of the bolder warriors or warriors who liked to show off their strength. So they remained standing on top of the city wall.


    "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"


    The spear shadow was incredibly fast and Zen could only maintain an extremely high speed as he dodged around Malachi.


    In less than two minutes, Zen had already dodged over a hundred spear shadows, every one of them dangerous. He had to rely on his own strength and the Eight Smoky Melodies to do this and he was getting tired.


    ''If this continues, I won''t be able to keep up. I''ll be hit by a spear''s shadow.''


    Zen was very confident in the strength of his physical body, but he didn''t think that he would be able to take a strike without getting hurt.


    Suddenly another spear shadow flashed past him, and at the same time, a dark golden longbow appeared in his hands.


    "Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!"


    The minute the longbow appeared in his hand, three streaks of black light shot out from him.


    "Third-rank divine weapons. Childish!"


    Malachi''s face was filled with disdain as the long spear in his hand spun twice like a windmill.


    "Clank, clank, clank!"


    With three clear sounds, the three black arrows were easily sent flying away by the Saint Killing Spear.

 Chapter 1632 The Spear And The Sword

    The longbow had been obtained from the four divine kingdoms and could be considered to be a semi-divine weapon. Zen did not expect it to cause any problems for Malachi.


    As he shot the three arrows¡ªsword in one hand, his figure like a shuttle¡ªhe rapidly approached Malachi.


    As Malachi pushed away the three arrows, he saw Zen heading straight for him, his expression as calm as ever.


    Truth be told, even though Malachi was an ace talent, he felt a bit uneasy realizing that his opponent was Zen.


    As of now, most races were not wary about Zen killing the Supreme Lords. However, many large clans still sent out their world lords to surround the fairy palace. For the past five to six years, they had not let up for even a moment. Their target was not Zen, but the fairy palace itself.


    Zen was a strong adversary, for he had inherited the fairy palace.


    However, upon seeing the first-rank divine weapon in Zen''s hand, Malachi felt more at ease.


    ''Is the fairy palace short of weapons?


    How can he fight me with a first-rank divine weapon?


    It seems as though the rumors about the inheritance of the fairy palace have been exaggerated a bit, '' Malachi thought to himself.


    Of course, he was not aware that the fairy palace did not have any ready-made weapons, but it did have some extremely rare materials.


    He only knew that by relying on the Saint Killing Spear, he would be in an invincible position.


    "Immature brat!"


    Seeing Zen advance toward him, Malachi swung the long spear.


    A blood-red light emanated from it. Like a dragon, it circled the air once before spreading out like a fan.


    "Twin Kill Intent!"


    Twin Kill Intent was the second skill of the Saint Killing Spear.


    The spear possessed a pure destructive power.


    A few supreme divine weapons on the Universe Spirit Tablet had distinct uses. Some weapons contained strange Laws of Causality and their killing techniques were different.


    In terms of pure destructive power and sharpness of the weapon, the Saint Killing Spear was certainly ranked among the top three weapons.


    Shoot!


    As the blood-red light beam unfurled in the air, Zen frowned. He was forced back dozens of feet.


    Spear in hand, a sneer surfaced on Malachi''s face. "I did not expect the famous Zen Luo to turn out to be such a coward. You retreat and escape when you fight others. Interesting!"


    Ever since the time the two of them had started fighting, Zen had been stepping back continuously. It looked as if he could not harm a hair on Malachi''s head.


    "It''s obvious what will happen! The Saint Killing Spear is the number one killing weapon of Demon Night."


    "With that weapon, even an ordinary martial artist will have the strength to fight an ace talent!"


    "Look! Malachi merely relies on the power of the Saint Killing Spear."


    Marti


    stand on end.


    "Shadowy Spin!"


    Seeing this, Malachi felt panic rise in his heart.


    The spear shadows raced in the air, but they could not stop Zen in the slightest.


    Zen defended himself very well. Just how was he doing it?


    He did not give Malachi much time to think. The essence of the Gods-intimidating Strike was everywhere, oppressing his opponent, not giving him a break.


    Clang! Clang! Clang!


    Pushing away the gigantic spear shadows, Zen approached Malachi.


    "Malachi, hell awaits you!"


    The Saint Killing Spear still exuded a blood-red light.


    "Twin Kill Intent!"


    Clang!


    Zen raised the Thunder Wind Divine Sword once more. This time, he placed the sword on the upper half of the shaft of the Saint Killing Spear.


    The previously unrivalled Twin Killing Intent was broken off by Zen''s sword before it could even be unleashed.


    As an ace talent, Malachi''s response time was fast.


    The moment his spear was blocked by Zen, he faltered in his steps, retreating at once.


    At the same time, the long spear wedged beneath his armpit shrank. As he stepped back, the spear spun round in a circle. Just as it was pulled back, it charged at Zen from a different direction.


    "Cycle Stab!"


    Malachi became more anxious. He did not have time to activate the techniques of the Saint Killing Spear and instead employed his usual spear technique.


    However, Zen had anticipated this. He knew Malachi would make this move, so he moved his body half a foot to the left in advance.


    Malachi''s shot failed and slid past Zen''s shoulder.


    Fights between martial artists were as unpredictable as a game of chess.


    One wrong move could end in death.


    Zen was a person with foresight. After he tricked Malachi into showing his weakness, he followed his opponent like a shadow. He would not give his rival the slightest chance to get back in the game!

 Chapter 1633 Help

    If Zen''s full strength erupted right now, he could forcefully and violently take Malachi down.


    The Saint Killing Spear was truly formidable.


    On the other hand, if Zen kept dodging the sharp tips of the spear while using the explosive power of the Gods-intimidating Strike along with the immense supply of chaotic energy, Zen could exhaust Malachi and kill him.


    Besides, Zen had gained a lot after battling Sword Chen.


    And Malachi was a perfect warrior for Zen to practice the sword on.


    As they drew closer to each other, the two began to engage in close combat.


    Malachi retreated quickly in an attempt to get rid of Zen, but Zen would never give him the chance to shake him off.


    He managed to stay at a distance of three feet from him at all times.


    Malachi struck and stabbed, swinging the Saint Killing Spear around.


    But no matter which move he used, Zen anticipated the movement of the Saint Killing Spear each time it reached about halfway to him and used the Thunder Wind Divine Sword to block the spearhead from harming him. This way, he was able to break Malachi''s moves.


    Malachi felt like he was being shackled by an invisible chain.


    And here he had been confident because he was an ace talent who had the Saint Killing Spear!


    Even Godly Geniuses would find it difficult to defend themselves against the spear when it struck out. The ace talents were way below them!


    But the problem now was that he couldn''t thrust out the spear and reach his opponent!


    Zen stood there, expressionless as a zombie. But it was humiliating to Malachi, because it felt like Zen was mocking him.


    The warriors on the city wall were surprised as they saw them fighting.


    It didn''t look like a fight between two powerful warriors of the Soul Sea Realm.


    "Zen is really strong! He didn''t even use any martial skill and sealed all of Malachi''s moves with just a long sword!"


    "Malachi is stupid. It''s such a waste for him to have the Saint Killing Spear. He has almost no chance of fighting back! If I were him, I would definitely burn my bridges and give Zen a fatal counterattack!"


    "I think it''s you who are stupid. In this kind of situation, Malachi won''t stand a chance even if he wants to go all out because Zen would have killed him long before that!"


    Janet held the flame kitten in her arms and stared at Zen''s moves, her eyes flashing. "This guy seems to be practicing the sword!"


    "I''ve underestimated Zen''s strength and courage if he is using an ace talent to practice the sword," Jeffrey said with a faint smile.


    Although Zen''s previous performance had been stunning, everyone had only regarded him as someone who could be compared to an ace talent.


    The strength of ace talents differed greatly.


    For example, Lucille was the strongest among the ace talents, and her power was already close to that of a Godly Genius. As long as she gained some insights of the Godly Way and became a Godly Genius, she would be able to become a candidate for a True God.


    nothing wrong with this kind of division of labor.


    But they had missed something. They had miscalculated Zen''s strength.


    They thought that Zen couldn''t get distracted as he had to be fully focused on blocking Malachi''s moves.


    However, the moment they left the city wall, a sword intent that was rapidly shrinking began to form on Zen''s sword. He brandished his sword and thrust it at them.


    "Gods-intimidating Strike!"


    The rapidly shrinking sword intent drew an arc in the air.


    The sword intent went along the city wall, and headed towards the warriors that were coming to attack him.


    The strong sword intent swept over the top of the city wall.


    The two martial artists who had just leapt off the city wall were taken by surprise.


    They didn''t even have the time to react before Zen''s sword intent struck them down. A trail of blood erupted from their bodies and they fell off the wall.


    This shocked every martial artist present there. Even Malachi, who had been tortured by Zen''s relentless blocking, looked stunned. Was this the true strength of this fellow?


    Silence reigned both inside and outside of the main city.


    But Zen didn''t stop there. His first strike had killed two warriors and he didn''t hesitate as he thrust out the second strike.


    Zen''s actions seemed to fall into a certain pattern once he had completely entered the state of Emotion Closing. He began to mercilessly attack his opponents.


    "Gods-intimidating Strike!"


    The long sword slashed out.


    Another sword intent struck through the air, and the second strike killed three more warriors.


    In the span of a few seconds, Zen had killed five warriors with his Gods-intimidating Strike. All these five warriors were Malachi''s followers.


    When the remaining martial artists on Malachi''s side saw this, they didn''t hesitate before turning around and fleeing back to the main city. They were now depressed. Just where had this fellow learned this sword strike from? It was simply too powerful!

 Chapter 1634 The Final Offering

    The two sharp sword moves suddenly appeared and slashed through the air, which caused everyone to be stunned.


    Janet and the others had concluded that Zen must have only been testing Malachi''s strength. Despite Zen not using his full strength in that attack, it still caught his opponents off guard. They were all in shock after the attack, making it difficult to find their balance as they floated in the air.


    During the tests in the Hall of Causality, Zen had not showcased the Gods-intimidating Strike.


    He only used his strong body and monstrous strength in the Hall of Causality. Despite that, he was still considered the strongest among his group.


    "I guess he can handle this on his own," Janet sobbed and said. Although she didn''t like the idea of Zen fighting alone, she was sure that he would win this battle.


    Meanwhile, onlookers gathered to watch the battle between Zen and Malachi. Many of them came here to secretly observe regardless of their lives.


    At first, they had other intentions while watching Zen and Malachi. From what they could see, these young men already obtained a large number of Illusion Points and they would surely benefit from killing them. If they obtained half of their Illusion Points, their rankings would skyrocket and that would help them swiftly enter the forefront of this supreme world.


    As they watched, they waited for the right moment to attack.


    If they attacked, they could either succeed or not. If they did succeed, they could obtain many Illusion Points. If not, the worst that could happen was be killed in the Illusion Battlefield and sent back to the main city.


    However, after witnessing the terrifying strength that Zen had unleashed, they knew that their crazy plan wouldn''t work. They wouldn''t waste any effort in something that they knew would be a failure from the start.


    Malachi, who was wielding the Saint Killing Spear, turned pale and trembled. He seemed to be in a daze.


    Zen stared at him and asked in a frigid voice, "Shall we continue?"


    Zen didn''t intend to kill Malachi right way. He only wanted to hurt his confidence because in that way, Malachi would lose his focus.


    Unfortunately, since they were in the Illusion Battlefield, Zen wouldn''t be able to shatter Malachi''s dedication to martial arts. So, the best he could do was to ruthlessly strike at his confidence!


    Swoosh!


    Malachi thrust his Saint Killing Spear out once more.


    Clang!


    But like his first attempt, he didn''t succeed. Zen had deflected it with his long sword. After this, Malachi heard Zen''s arctic voice again.


    "I didn''t expect an ace talent of the Demon Night to be weak. I''m disappointed."


    Malachi couldn''t thrust out the Saint Killing Spear anymore. His back was pressed against the wall this time and he had no way to escape. He could only look at Zen with despair in his eyes. But even under the constant pressure, he still wanted to get rid of this devilish fellow!


    "You must have already realized the mistake that you made. A sharp weapon is good, but you''ve already lost your confidence. And since


    he Saint Killing Spear, Malachi became the spear''s slave. His body was now a lifeless container that the spear could control.


    The changes in Malachi''s appearance and aura were alarming and Zen felt his heart becoming heavy. So, without any hesitation, he retreated to the city walls. He made sure there was a great distance between him and Malachi just to be safe.


    At this moment, Malachi began to move. But it wasn''t Malachi anymore, but the spear who was controlling the body''s movement.


    Whoosh!


    Malachi''s movements might have been as stiff as those of a zombie, but his speed was astonishingly fast. It was so fast that even Zen was having difficulty following his move.


    With a spear in his hand, Malachi had quickly caught up with Zen despite the distance. The spear in his hand moved faster than lightning as it pierced towards Zen.


    It slashed through Zen''s body!


    It was just a simple attack, but it was fatal because of its speed that even Zen couldn''t fathom.


    In theory, every martial arts skill in the world had its blind spot. But if mixed with speed, even the basic martial arts skill could be unbeatable.


    When one had reached a high level of speed, every single move could be fatal to his opponent.


    Even if Zen maximized the Eight Smoky Melodies and tried his best to twist his body, it would still be difficult for him to dodge. The spear had finally pierced Zen''s right chest and through his back, leaving four bloody holes on his shoulder. Blood gushed out of his deep wounds.


    The first strike was a success! There was no doubt that the killing intent of the spear was greater.


    Before he offered himself to the spear, Malachi had already conveyed the thought of killing Zen onto the spear. So, at this moment, the spear was moving on its own, intending to kill Zen, and it wouldn''t stop until Zen was dead!


    Malachi''s right hand gently retracted as the second strike began in no time. But before the spear could hit Zen with another fatal attack, Zen had already turned around and charged into the main city.

 Chapter 1635 Grab The Spear

    Malachi, who had offered himself to the Saint Killing Spear, could be considered a puppet that only knew killings.


    As Zen retreated, Malachi chased to kill him.


    But the city was protected by the rules of the heavens. Malachi, who was wielding the spear, was blocked outside the city walls, just like the small skulls.


    The only difference was that the skulls had been unable to pierce through the invisible barrier, while Malachi, who was controlled by the spear, could.


    Boom!


    The blood-red light of the spear tore through the invisible barrier. He had actually drilled his way into the city.


    The strength of the body determined the power of the spear.


    For example, if Lavender had sacrificed herself, she would have been able to display all of the spear''s potential. The power she could unleash was breathtaking.


    Similarly, after Malachi had offered himself to the spear, his own strength had also soared.


    However, although he had broken through the invisible barrier, he was being held back by the rules of the heavens in the city.


    Zen retreated rapidly just moments after he entered the city. The spear spun crazily, disobeying the rules of the heavens as it chased after Zen.


    And right now, Zen had no way to fight back since fighting was prohibited in the city.


    However, he had no intention of fighting with Malachi. Flying and fighting were prohibited within the city, so he could only retreat.


    It was fortunate for Zen that under the suppression of the rules of the heavens, Malachi''s speed wasn''t great. Disobeying the rules required an extremely powerful force. Even though Malachi could resist the rules to a certain extent after being controlled by the spear, it became very difficult for him to move forward. And because of this, he wasn''t that faster than Zen.


    The other martial artists could only watch from the sidelines since they couldn''t make a move anyway.


    On top of the city walls, Zen was retreating all the way back, Malachi getting closer and closer to him. The spinning spear was less than a foot away from Zen''s nose.


    100 feet. 200 feet. 300 feet.


    When Zen had run for 1, 000 feet, the spear point was less than two inches away from his face.


    But Malachi suddenly froze.


    Everyone watched the scene unfold before them in complete silence. They had never seen a fight in the city before.


    A whirring sound could be heard


    as a gentle breeze blew.


    Something akin to ash fell off Malachi''s body.


    Soon, his entire body began to disintegrate and collapse into ash. The Saint Killing Spear fell to the ground with a clang.


    Malachi had previously relied on the spear


    . Now that he saw Zen standing there unscathed, his spear missing, he flew into a rage.


    "He has taken away your weapon!" the martial artist said to Malachi.


    Malachi''s eyes flashed with anger. "Give it back to me!" he shouted, stretching out a hand.


    "The Saint Killing Spear isn''t your weapon in the first place. Why should I give it back to you?" Zen said, smiling.


    Now that he had the Saint Killing Spear, Zen had already made plans. Should he spend five million Illusion Points making a trip through the Hall of Causality?


    If he had enough time, he really wanted to give Lavender a surprise.


    Malachi stared at Zen for a moment before saying, "I didn''t expect Zen Luo, whose name is renowned throughout the universe, to be such a coward. You didn''t dare to fight me head on and even fled to the main city with your tail between your legs. I almost killed you even though you were protected by the laws of the heavens."


    Since they were not allowed to fight in the city, Malachi could only try to provoke Zen with words.


    "We can fight after we leave the city," Zen said calmly.


    "Give me back the spear, and we''ll fight again," Malachi said.


    Zen smiled mockingly at Malachi. "I won''t return the spear," he said.


    "Then forget it. There''s nothing you can do about me in the main city!" Malachi said coldly.


    His battle with Zen might not have been that big of a deal. Although Zen had taken away his spear, he should still be able to safely move on to the next stage now that he was ranked fourth in this supreme world.


    The Saint Killing Spear was just a projection. It didn''t matter if he lost it, but he would have to use his own weapon in the next stage.


    His gaze swept around and landed on Hailey, "You bitch! Come here!"

 Chapter 1636 Change Of Rules

    After exploring a secret land, Malachi had obtained three Exemption Medallions.


    He would be invincible with the power of the Saint Killing Spear.


    After offering himself up to the Saint Killing Spear, he could even kill Godly Geniuses, not to mention the ace talents.


    But this was possible only when he was in the wilderness¡­


    He would definitely kill Zen if he were to fight Zen in the wilderness, far from the main city!


    The good thing was that Malachi wouldn''t lose Illusion Points even though he had offered himself to the spear.


    However, after Zen had toyed with him, Malachi was unable to restrain himself.


    The truth was that his best option was to lead Zen into the wilderness and slay him there. Right from the start, he felt that he could defeat and kill Zen using just his spear. But he lost that opportunity when he fell into a passive situation. That was the prime reason why he chose to sacrifice himself to the Saint Killing Spear.


    No doubt it was a foolish plan of action. He was right next to the main city. Even after he sacrificed himself, and his strength increased dramatically, it would still be a herculean task to kill Zen in the main city.


    As a result, his Saint Killing Spear was snatched away by Zen.


    One could imagine just how perturbed Malachi was at this moment. He naturally had to find some way to vent his frustration. He saw Hailey standing not too far away and called out to her.


    Hailey trembled when she heard Malachi''s command.


    "Don''t go over to him," Janet whispered.


    Hailey felt a mix of emotions as she stood there motionless.


    "Bitch! Don''t forget where you are right now!" Malachi yelled nastily as he stared at her. The corner of his mouth showed a hint of a sneer.


    Hailey was still in his palace. While she was in the Illusion Battlefield, perhaps he couldn''t do anything to her, but once she left that place, she was just a toy to him.


    Hailey pursed her lips as sadness filled her eyes.


    Although she did not share her thoughts, Jeffrey and Janet could see that she didn''t have a choice.


    She trudged towards Malachi.


    The evil smile on Malachi''s face grew wider and wider. His conflict with Zen had started because of her. He had suffered a loss because of Zen, but there was nothing else Zen could do to him.


    When Hailey was halfway there, Zen stood between the two of them once again, and stared calmly at Malachi.


    "What do you want?" Malachi demanded. His voice carried a hint of ridicule.


    "Let her go," Zen said softly.


    "No problem," Malachi laughed deviously. "Give me back my spear first!"


    Zen hesitated a little¡­ He actually had plans to duplicate a Saint Killing Spear.


    At this moment, Malachi could a


    lp but laugh.


    The warriors present there had strange expressions on their faces¡­


    Malachi was an ace talent, and a powerful warrior at the Soul Sea Realm. He couldn''t possibly be bad in bed, right?


    Jeffrey put his palms together. His expression was calm, but the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.


    Coleman, on the other hand, was not quite so discreet. He snickered out loud; the laughter from his thick throat was incomparably ear-piercing.


    Malachi''s face stiffened. He stared coldly at Hailey, wanting to rip her to pieces with his gaze. Despite his fury, he actually laughed. "Hahaha! I didn''t expect that you would become so bold after entering the Illusion Battlefield. Very good, very good ¡­ Do you know what the price for your impudence will be?"


    "Death," she said calmly and confidently. At this point, her wish had been fulfilled by Zen''s promise. And in any case, she was tired of living like a slave to Malachi.


    "No," Malachi shook his head. "How can I let you die so easily? You must be well aware of the most powerful punishment that the Demon Night has given!"


    Hailey flatly replied, "Punishment of Eternal Night."


    "That''s right. I am going to throw you and your entire clan into the Punishment of Eternal Night! I want you to experience torture in a way that you will never forget! Hahaha..." Malachi roared with excitement. This was the only outlet for his anger.


    Zen sighed softly in his heart. All this was happening only because he wasn''t strong enough. The sooner he gained more strength, the sooner he would be able to take Lavender back to the Demon Night.


    Just then a booming voice sounded. "The rules of the Illusion Battlefield have changed, and the restrictions on battle will be lifted from the main cities, along with the restriction on flying."

 Chapter 1637 Chaos In The Cities

    It was the voice of the mysterious girl.


    She had declared the rules of the Illusion Battlefield several times.


    Only now, the rules had suddenly changed.


    During the first stage of the Illusion Battlefield, with the protection of the law of the heavens, the major cities could become a place for the martial artists to protect themselves. As long as you didn''t leave the main city, you would be completely safe.


    Even from those ace talents and Godly Geniuses.


    However, the further the battle progressed, the more intense the competition became.


    Most of the Illusion Points were gained by only a small number of people.


    Malachi, for example, had amassed a massive amount of Illusion Points and was ranked fourth in this supreme world. Before, as long as he didn''t leave the main city, it would have been difficult for others to catch up.


    But now the rules had changed.


    The main city was no longer a haven for warriors. On the contrary, it was about to become a battleground.


    After all, almost all of the martial artists were gathered in one or another of the main cities. Only a small number had left the main city to explore the endless wilderness.


    But now, once the restrictions were removed, all warriors would be free to fight!


    Instantly, the small skulls that were lingering outside the city wall began to rush into the city and bit Zen''s back. The skulls floated from his shoulders downwards, like a cape made of skulls.


    Malachi had been laughing wildly when the mysterious girl''s voice rang out. He stopped, stunned.


    A smile surfaced to Zen''s face as he looked at Malachi. "Why aren''t you laughing?"


    Before, Malachi had not cared about his defeat. He had three Exemption Medallions in his hand. Even if Zen managed to kill him three times, he would not lose any Illusion Points.


    Moreover, he would never have rushed out of the city after his Saint Killing Spear had been taken away. After all, Zen couldn''t do anything to him.


    But who could have known that the restrictions on fighting in the main city would be lifted at this very moment?


    A cold feeling swept across the back of his neck. He knew that as long as he maintained his position as the fourth ranked member of the supreme world, he would surely be promoted to the next stage of the Illusion Battlefield!


    And yet...


    Beginning to realize that he might be in danger, Malachi reflexively began to retreat backwards.


    He had lost the c


    o claim the spoils of conquest, and no one else would have the chance to plunder them!


    Here and there, sharp rays of light appeared and vanished. Waves of intensive life vitality fluctuated all over the area. This kind of scene could only be seen during a race war. There had been a rumor over the years that many races in the universe would eventually fall into chaos and launch an unprecedented war, and it looked like this war would be the true battle of the world of chaos!


    At this very moment, in the Illusion Battlefield, it was being rehearsed in advance.


    On the other side, Zen did not allow Malachi to escape too far. At around ten thousand feet, Malachi found himself blocked. Zed held the Saint Killing Spear deliberately in his hand. With one hand holding the spear and the other holding the sword, he looked at Malachi with a faint smile. "Should I kill you three times? Or five? You can choose."


    If he was killed once, he would lose half of his Illusion Points. Twice, he would lose three quarters of his points. If he was killed three times, he would lose seven eighths of his Illusion Points ¡­


    Malachi''s expression turned gloomy. If Zen killed him three times, his ranking would fall out of the 100, 000 range.


    That was a loss that he could not accept. With a flip of his hand, he brought out a purple long spear. This was a first-rank divine weapon, and it was also Malachi''s life weapon.


    This spear was a sight to behold. After all, he was the son of a Supreme Lord. He owned things that an ordinary martial artist couldn''t have. But still, this spear couldn''t compare to the Saint Killing Spear.

 Chapter 1638 The Mutation Of The Spear

    Malachi glared at Zen, his face sullen and furious as he tried to think of a way to deal with him.


    Based on his clansmen''s predictions, the Illusion Battlefield''s first stage would soon be ending.


    The first stage served to eliminate the majority of the warriors. Only 50 people per supreme world would most likely go on to the second stage.


    Since there were 50 supreme worlds, that would mean a total of 2, 500 people would advance.


    Among the trillions of warriors in this boundless universe, these 2, 500 could be considered as the elite among all Soul Sea Realm warriors. They were most likely descendants of world lords, children of Supreme Lords, ace talents, or Godly Geniuses.


    These predictions were based on the fragmented data collated from the last grand era.


    They were not a hundred percent accurate but were still more or less correct.


    Malachi had already known the existence of the cities, along with the Hall of Causality way before he entered the Illusion Battlefield.


    He had spent this entire time fighting and killing warriors on the battlefield every single day. He did not meet any mighty warriors that were his match. As a result, his ranking had climbed up steadily.


    He was now at the fourth rank of this supreme world, which was already more than enough for him to enter the second stage.


    He might go down a couple of places, but there was no way he would fall out of the top fifty.


    All he needed to do was choose a nice place in the city to spend the night in and wait for the second stage.


    However, his plan was immediately derailed upon the sudden changing of the Illusion Battlefield''s rules. Nobody, not even his clansmen, could predict that the prohibition of killing within cities would be lifted. Maybe this fact was never recorded or perhaps their own records were incomplete.


    Nevertheless, he was truly regretting it now.


    If not for Hailey, then he never would''ve provoked Zen.


    And now his spear was in his enemy''s hands. How in the world was he supposed to fight him now?


    Swoosh!


    A bloody light shone from Malachi''s space ring. Driven to an inescapable corner, he now brought out his last resort¡ªhis life''s treasure, the Crane Crying Spear. This spear was a first-rank divine weapon considered as a rare treasure. However, it was still far inferior to the Saint Killing Spear.


    He knew he was no match for Zen, but his pride as an ace talent forced him to push forward.


    There was still that tiny sliver of hope for victory if he gave it his all.


    "Dance of the Blood Crane!" he shouted.


    He raised his spear as beams of bloody light shot out and headed straight towards Zen.


    Zen remained calm as he activated the Eight Smoky Melodies.


    The sparring with the Supreme Lord Sword paid off since his understanding of sw


    entirely.


    There was no way he could block it.


    ''Flee!''


    This was the only thought in Malachi''s mind.


    But there was no way out! Zen wasn''t going to let him go that easily.


    In the end, Malachi had no choice but to get swallowed up by the spear shadow and perish.


    A red light then quickly flew towards the city, containing Malachi''s soul. The rules might have changed but revivals were still centralized in the city.


    ''I still don''t get any Illusion Points. Malachi has three Exemption Medallions. I have to kill him four times if I want to get his points!''


    Zen thought to himself as he followed the red dot and charged straight into the city. He would kill Malachi as soon as he revived.


    Inside the city, the battle was getting even way more intense.


    Everyone seemed to be fighting. The strong warriors that had just recently returned from the Hall of Causality, some ace talents, and ordinary warriors in general were all fighting against one another.


    The city had once been protected by the rules of the heavens, but less than five minutes after the lifting of the fight prohibition, the entire city had been reduced to nothing but broken rubble.


    Boom!


    Bang!


    Crash!


    Law Powers shot out in all directions, and anyone who was not careful enough would no doubt get hit and die without even knowing what or who killed them.


    On the other side of the city were numerous round balls of light, symbolizing the warriors who were about to be resurrected.


    Beside these balls of light were a group of warriors who waited for the revival of their vanquished opponents, ready to repeat the cycle and kill them all over again.


    This was the fate that weaker warriors were doomed to have: an endless cycle of being killed and resurrection. All of their Illusion Points would be squeezed out of their bodies until there was nothing left.

 Chapter 1639 Who Ranked First

    Zen''s aura immediately attracted a lot of attention as he flew into the main city.


    Those who noticed him wore obvious looks of astonishment on their faces.


    His fight with Malachi was still fresh in their minds and Zen was now regarded as a sort of unbeatable monster in everyone''s eyes.


    Zen, on the other hand, merely glanced at them as he flew over their heads.


    These warriors collectively had around a few hundred thousand Illusion Points. There was no need to waste his time with these low-level people. His target was Malachi and it was going to stay that way.


    Malachi''s red dot flew and landed on the west side of the main city. Zen was in close pursuit and saw the dot expand and turn into a person-sized mass of light.


    The round of heavens was powerful, but it was impossible for it to instantly revive and reconstruct the countless warriors that were currently dying in this city-wide massacre. Malachi would have to wait for a bit before his body was fully reconstructed.


    Those who entered the Illusion Battlefield were currently enveloped by the light of the heavens and only needed to project their bodies inside it.


    However, Zen wasn''t quite sure why the equipment carried by the warriors couldn''t be carried over after their bodies were projected again...


    He held his sword in one hand and the acquired spear on the other as he waited near that mass of light.


    He didn''t have to wait long. Soon enough, the light began to fluctuate and a reconstructed person began to step out of it.


    Zen smiled and brandished the spear as soon as the figure appeared.


    Malachi didn''t even have a chance. The moment he stepped out, Zen was already waiting for him. The young man was quick to kill him without any problems. It was incredibly frustrating on Malachi''s end.


    "Whoosh..."


    Malachi''s points, however, still did not burst out.


    The red dot, containing his soul, immediately flew towards the other side of the city.


    "I have killed him three times, so his Exemption Medallions should have all been used up, '' Zen thought as he immediately chased after the red dot again.


    It was the same cycle: Malachi revived and Zen quickly ended him with a spear strike.


    The three Exemption Medallions had all been used up and his accumulated Illusion Points were immediately cut in half now that Zen was successful in killing him for the fourth time.


    "Buzz, buzz, buzz..."


    Zen drew back his spear and readily absorbed the massive surge of Illusion Points in his body.


    The sight of so many Illusion Points attracted everyone''s attention.


    The amount of Illusion Points in front of them could no doubt elevate a low-ranking warrior all the way to the top 100 of thi


    . "I''ve already taken all of Malachi''s Illusion Points."


    Hailey breathed a sigh of relief. "I saw it."


    "Are you mentally prepared?" he asked her.


    She hesitated for a moment. "Even if I have to receive the Punishment of Eternal Night, I will still bear it. I will work hard to live on... I still look forward to that day..."


    The Punishment of Eternal Night Hailey just mentioned was a completely terrible thing that only the Demon Night members would know.


    Zen shook his head. "I won''t let you wait for so long."


    His words left a deep impression on her and Hailey''s eyes simply shone as she looked Zen.


    People generally feard pain and frustration. However, such things were easily endurable by warriors. No, what people truly feared the most was the idea of hopelessness.


    Amber, for example, was someone who needed hope to survive. She was on the verge of collapse and her imprisonment did not make things any easier for her. It was only with hope that she drew the power to survive.


    Zen was someone who could promise them what they all sincerely hoped for the most.


    He was not a man who casually made promises. Each time he did, he felt an immense pressure to live up to his word and keep it.


    However, even if he hadn''t made a promise, things had already gone this far, and Zen didn''t think he would be able to sit idly by and watch this all happen without doing anything.


    It was at this moment that Zen finally found the time to check his ranking and the results slightly shocked him.


    He was now in the top 100 and was ranked 77th in the Illusion Battlefield.


    And he was ranked second in the supreme world! The Illusion Points he got from Malachi obviously were a huge deal in elevating his place in the rankings!


    But if he was second, then who was the first?

 Chapter 1640 Who Is That Woman (Part One)

    Now the competition for the rankings in the Illusion Battlefield reached the most intense stage.


    The name and ranking of each warrior showing on the pyramids in the outside world continued to change erratically. The outside world became quite fascinated by it, and everyone had their favorites among the participants.


    "Lawson''s in the first place! Unbelievable! Didn''t he previously rank the 200th?"


    "Nathan is now back in the top three! That was quick!"


    "Who is Zola? I''ve never heard of this name before. The person is now in the top ten! This is crazy!"


    Being in the top 100 in the Illusion Battlefield would be a great achievement. The warriors who made it to the top 100 were considered as the top talents of the universe. All the creatures in the universe paid attention to the names that would make it on the list as they were rooting for their respective races.


    The entire Illusion Battlefield was divided into fifty supreme worlds, and each supreme world had many mighty warriors in it. But until now, these warriors had yet to face each other. Thus, at this point in the competition, it was still undetermined how these warriors would rank in terms of strength and power.


    Meanwhile, as Letitia was supplying her life vitality, she kept looking at the names on the pyramid.


    When she spotted Zen''s name among the top one hundred warriors, she felt at ease.


    Based on her knowledge about the Illusion Battlefield, she could comprehend her husband''s current state and prospects.


    Each warrior competing in the Illusion Battlefield aimed to be on the top 100 list. There was a lot at stake in being one of the best in this competition. The top 100 warriors were favored by the universe. Those who made it to the list were highly valued by their respective races because it was


    civilization, which would result in the extinction of the grand era. Thus, only a few things would have been passed on to the next grand era.


    "Which force does Margaret belong to? How did she get to the 60th place?" someone exclaimed.


    Letitia started to feel frustrated about the result. How could Margaret best Zen in the Illusion Battlefield rankings?


    "I''m afraid I am not familiar with her. However, I heard that this woman has some strong background. If my memory serves me right, she seems to be from the Purple Power World," someone replied.


    "Purple Power World. Purple Power Body. So that''s how it is!" Letitia remembered that Margaret possessed the Purple Power Body and that she had once controlled several great swords with her astonishing power. But what Letitia didn''t know was that the Purple Power World had a say in the Upper World that Margaret could rank in the top 100 in the entire universe.


    Whoosh!


    Letitia was in her deep thoughts when the shadow of a whip suddenly flew towards her.


    Pak!


    The shadow of the whip exploded before Letitia''s face!


    Although the whip did not physically hit her, the force from the blast pierced towards her like a sharp knife.

 Chapter 1641 Who Is That Woman (Part Two)

    But in an instant, ice crystals formed on Letitia''s face. The ice crystals were arranged with certain distance from each other, forming a special protective layer of life vitality.


    Crack!


    The knife-like force hit the ice crystals instead. The explosion was so strong that the ice crystals cracked open revealing Letitia''s fuming face.


    Letitia could regenerate her body from any damage. But that kind of strong explosion would have given her quite a damage and it would take a while before she could recover. She was grateful for the protection of the ice crystals because if not for those, her face would have been cut open.


    "What do you want?"


    Letitia suddenly stood up; her face full of rage as she stared at the middle-aged woman not far away from her.


    Although she served here by pouring her life vitality into the Illusion Space of the Pure Jade Sacred Place for free, she was not a slave.


    The middle-aged woman who attacked her with a whip looked at Letitia with a cold smile. "I already said it before; no one is allowed to speak here. But here you are making the same mistake over and over again! For now, this whip served as a warning. If there''s a next time, it won''t be just this whip anymore."


    "We were only discussing in a low voice and it did not affect us pouring our life vitality into the Illusion Space. Just so you know, there are also other people talking here aside from me! Why are you always targeting me?" Letitia asked in a cold voice.


    The middle-aged woman pinched the whip in her hand, and a disdainful smile appeared on her face. "The people around you, eh? Let me remind you of who you are. You are just a warrior from the Lower World. What qual


    cended.


    "Yes, I am," she answered truthfully.


    "Would you mind coming with me?" Preston asked politely. He was still wearing that gentle smile on his face.


    Letitia felt strange and it could be seen on her face, but she still nodded slightly. "Of course. But I still need to infuse my life vitality into the Illusion Space."


    "You don''t have to. Please, if you could just follow me," Preston said with a smile.


    Therefore, Letitia immediately left this place and followed Preston''s lead.


    Everyone saw Preston personally lead Letitia away. Naturally, when Preston and Letitia had finally left, they all began to talk about her.


    "Who is that woman? Why is Master Preston so nice to her?"


    "Well, come to think of it, she''s a real beauty. I bet that some big shot from the Pure Jade Sacred Place has taken a fancy to her!"


    "I don''t think so! If mere beauty could take us anywhere, then why are there single beauties still working here?"


    As for the middle-aged woman, she stared as Letitia slowly disappeared from her sight. She was left grabbing onto her amputated arm, gritting her teeth in pain and rage.

 Chapter 1642 Letitia Joined The Sacred Place

    Letitia followed in Preston''s wake, feeling anxious.


    With her bright intelligence, how could she not understand the situation in which she found herself?


    She was someone who had ascended from the Lower World and lacked any foundation in the Upper World. So what good would come to her, when facing those enormous odds?


    There was only one possible hope for her, and that was Zen.


    However, with her understanding of the situation, she also knew that Zen could hardly look after himself.


    He was indeed very famous in the universe, but his fame had not come from aligning himself with a certain power. Furthermore, he seemed to have offended a lot of great powers.


    Although Preston was extremely polite to her, she was not sure if the situation would play out in her favor or not. It might be a good or a bad thing.


    What Letitia feared greatly was that if she fell into the hands of the Pure Jade Sacred Place, she could be used as a bargaining chip against Zen, which was what she didn''t want to face.


    However, she had no way to avoid it.


    After circling around the hall, she arrived at the square in front of it.


    At this moment, all of the core members of the Pure Jade Sacred Place had gathered on the square.


    Thirty-two palace leaders, various hall leaders, stewards, elders...


    The combined aura which these warriors exuded was abnormally strong. Even the least of them was at the Spirit Transformation Realm, and there were also several warriors whose strength was unfathomable.


    Letitia was at the Soul Sea Realm, and those warriors that she could not evaluate were at least a half-step away from becoming world lords.


    These warriors also shifted their gazes onto Letitia. There was curiosity in their eyes as they focused on her, reading her talent and potential.


    "Is this woman really Zen Luo''s wife?"


    "He is also from the Lower World. It''s not impossible for him to have a wife and children in the Lower World. However, the possibility of her pretending to be his wife is even greater!"


    "Pretending to be his wife? We''ll wait for the Saint Lord to use his soul theurgy to see if she is really Zen Luo''s wife. She''ll pay a heavy price should she be lying."


    Seeing Letitia being brought forward, the warriors on the square all began discussing her.


    Now that the battles in the Illusion Battlefield had reached a new level, everyone was especially concerned about the rankings.


    The strongest core talent of the Pure Jade Sacred Place, Josiah Shen, had also entered the top 70, 000 rankings, and his ranking was still rising rapidly.


    According to everyone''s expectations, Josiah''s achievement of reaching the top 100, 000 was already considered extraordinary. But now that he had reached the top 70, 000, the upper echelons of the Pure Jade Sacred Place were naturally all surprised.


    After all, they were only a tenth-grade sacred place, and in the entire universe, there were hundreds of thousands of tenth-grade sacred places like theirs.


    Of course, Josiah''s results were incomparable to Zen''s.


    With Zen''s current advancing ranking, the entire Human


    take good care of her."


    Preston''s eyes lit up at the Saint Lord''s decision.


    Everyone would be willing to do this kind of thing. It was not a difficult thing to accept Letitia as a disciple. Forgetting her talent, everyone knew that Zen had a promising future. It would not be a bad idea for Preston to help Zen''s wife. It could then earn him Zen''s gratitude and perhaps even his friendship.


    Besides, the Saint Lord had already used his soul theurgy to confirm that this woman was indeed Zen''s wife.


    A warrior could have many women on his travels, but he only had a single wife. She was likely of great importance to him as well.


    "But I don''t want to cultivate right now." Letitia''s gaze turned upon the pyramid. "I want to stay here and watch the rankings."


    "This is just a small matter. I will stay with you to watch," Preston said with a smile. He purposely found a good spot on the square for her.


    Only now did Letitia become an official disciple of the Pure Jade Sacred Place, and she was even allowed to step into the very core of the sacred place, the Pure Jade Force House.


    When Letitia had first heard about the Pure Jade Force House, she had also yearned for it. She had still been considering whether her husband was qualified to enter, but now, the Saint Lord had allowed her to enter the force house simply because he knew of her relationship with Zen.


    At this moment, Letitia felt light-hearted and it was as if she had stepped into a dream.


    What had her husband done to make the warriors in the Upper World think so highly of him?


    Obviously, she didn''t know about Zen''s performance in Passing the Torch, nor did she know that the few Supreme Lords in the Humanity Alliance were all silently watching his every move.


    "Amazing!" Looking into the distance, she saw Zen''s name. He was now ranked 77th. A proud look set her face to glowing. "Unknown to me, he''s already reached this point."


    Letitia recalled that when she had first met Zen, he had only been at the nature level. A myriad of emotions flooded her at this moment.

 Chapter 1643 The Golden Door Of Light (Part One)

    The new rules of the Illusion Battlefield changed the course of the competition and caught everyone off guard. It took three days for the situation to settle down and for the participants to get used to the new rules.


    Many warriors had already fled the cities the moment the rules changed.


    The cities that used to be the safest places in the Illusion Battlefield became the most dangerous ones after the new rules were announced.


    And with nowhere to hide in the cities, most of the warriors had retreated to the wilderness.


    The greedy warriors took advantage of the new rules and wreaked havoc on the cities. They hunted and killed the inferior warriors for their Illusion Points. When the cities were finally exhausted, the warriors had set their eyes on the new target¡ªthe endless wilderness outside the cities. The endless wilderness housed all kinds of fierce beasts, and right now, it was also a place of refuge for other warriors who fled the cities to avoid the slaughter. If the greedy warriors were lucky enough, not only would they get Illusion Points from the fierce beasts, but they could also chance upon other warriors.


    The wilderness hunt had begun. The warriors from the entire Illusion Battlefield scattered rapidly¡ªsome of them were the hunters, while the others were the prey.


    While most of the superior warriors began their hunt, Zen had no intention of participating in it.


    He didn''t see the need to rush into the wilderness for a few hundred thousand Illusion Points.


    At the moment, Zen had ranked second in this supreme world. It was quite an accomplishment already. But he didn''t want to settle with that. His goal was to hunt the other nine top-ten warriors.


    At f


    r, and no one was there to explain it.


    He really wanted to bring the Saint Killing Spear out of the Illusion Battlefield. To do so, he had to make a copy of the spear.


    Zen had thought of this earlier.


    The spear in Zen''s hands was just an illusion, and the real one in the outside world was in Malachi''s hands. After all, it was Malachi who had taken the spear into the Illusion Battlefield.


    The Saint Killing Spear was most likely located in the core area of the Demon Night race; hence, it would be quite difficult to obtain the spear.


    But if he could duplicate it in the Hall of Causality and take it out of the Illusion Battlefield, would it work like the genuine one?


    No matter what, Zen had already made up his mind in making a copy of the Saint Killing Spear. Suddenly, a ray of light flashed in his hand and an iron ticket appeared.


    With his current rank, the battle at this stage no longer held much meaning for him. He wouldn''t mind spending five million Illusion Points just to enter the Hall of Causality once more.


    Besides, the number of Illusion Points awarded in the Hall of Causality was also decent.

 Chapter 1644 The Golden Door Of Light (Part Two)

    However, entering the Hall of Causality could be risky for any warrior. For those vying to be on the top 50 like Hailey and Janet, they would rather choose to rob other warriors of their Illusion Points instead of risking their lives in the Hall of Causality. They could also lose the chance of being part of the top 50 if they died in the Hall of Causality.


    But as for Zen, even if he did die in the Hall of Causality and lost half of his Illusion Points, he wouldn''t fall off the top 50 in this current stage.


    On the other hand, if he did succeed, he could copy the Saint Killing Spear.


    It was a risk worth taking.


    ''But will anyone still be willing to enter the Hall of Causality?''


    Zen thought to himself. When he checked the iron ticket in his hand, he was filled with hope.


    The iron ticket showed Zen that there were already nine warriors gathered in the Hall of Causality, and there was only one slot left to open the Hall of Causality.


    These nine warriors were some of the low-ranking warriors who weren''t willing to give up just yet.


    However, with their current accumulated Illusion Points, they still would not be able to make it to the top 50. In that case, they had nothing to lose in risking their five million Illusion Points in the Hall of Causality in exchange for more.


    Zen didn''t want to lose the one slot to the Hall of Causality, so he immediately paid five million Illusion Points. This was a chance he didn''t want to miss. And so it began.


    With all the changes that had happened in the Illusion Battlefield, time seemed to pass by very quickly.


    Just like that, six days had already gone by.


    During these past six days, the intense battle in the Illusion Battlef


    e merely lucky.


    Among these qualified warriors, Margaret was probably the happiest, yet the most anxious one.


    She was happy because she was finally able to leave this supreme world and find Zen somewhere else. She was even closer to him. She was worried that he wouldn''t be able to enter the top 50 of a supreme world. That way, she wouldn''t even have the chance to see him.


    Amidst her mixed emotions, a golden door of light appeared before her. Her eyes widened in astonishment and with a gentle smile on her face, she stepped into the door.


    The same golden door of light appeared in front of Zen too. ''This is it! The second stage begins! I can''t wait to meet the people behind this door. They must be the strongest warriors in the 50 supreme worlds! They are probably the most outstanding talents in the entire universe, too!'' Zen thought.


    With this thought in mind, Zen felt extremely excited for the second stage and entered the door of light. He looked forward to the adventures that would await him in the second stage. Whatever was behind the golden door of light, surprises or dangers or both, he would face them all.

 Chapter 1645 Shock

    Dazzling bright light glittered around Zen as he wandered around the golden space. It was like walking in a glowing, holographic palace.


    After a long time of traveling in it, he finally saw the end of the space.


    Zen walked towards the golden door of light and as soon as he stepped out of it, three blood-red castles appeared in front of him.


    "Three blood-red castles... I got it."


    Back when Zen had obtained the Teleportation Token, he had found three main cities marked red in that special place. However, those three main cities had been inaccessible during that time, and even the Teleportation Token couldn''t bring him to those three cities.


    It turned out that those three main cities were the second stage of the Illusion Battlefield.


    Buzz!


    There was a loud but grand howling sound when golden doors behind Zen opened one after another. Then, the martial artists from all throughout the fifty supreme worlds passed through the doors.


    They all reacted like Zen had the moment they passed through the golden doors of light--which was to look at the three huge blood-red castles in front of them curiously.


    All of them sized each other up after, their eyes filled with a strong sense of vigilance.


    None of the top two thousand five hundred warriors present were easy to deal with.


    They represented their own clans, their own forces, and their own races in their quest to strive for the highest glory.


    A deep, rumbling sound echoed from within the blood-red castles.


    At that moment, the blood-red castles suddenly began to tremble.


    The gates of the blood-red castles were three gigantic beasts'' heads. Each of them was extremely ferocious like it came out straight from the depths of hell. It crawled on the city gate''s grounds as it emitted a dark aura from the savage land. Its two huge eyeballs quietly scanned the area in front of it, which made the people who looked at it shake with nervousness.


    When the beasts opened their mouths, the castle gates were opened as well.


    "The gates are open!"


    "Shall we go in?"


    "What the hell is this? It''s just a statue, yet it''s so terrifying!"


    The gates of light opened one by one. The warriors gathered on the plain in front of the blood-red castles and looked at the gates in apprehension.


    The two thousand five hundred warriors were divided into three groups, and each group entered three different blood-red castles. There were more than seven hundred warriors in each group in front of the castles.


    Some of the warriors were quite decisive and didn''t stop at all. After the city gates were opened, they started to walk forward.


    Many of them were hesitant. After all, they were only a step away from the ultimate b


    le. I still have some good wine in my space ring. If I meet him, I''ll have to drink a hundred pots with him first!" Zen muttered.


    The two thousand five hundred warriors were distributed into three groups in the three blood-red castles. The warriors who were put in this specific castle were all gathered in this spacious hall. Since Zen couldn''t see Rocher at first glance, he must be in another blood-red castle.


    Zen had been really surprised to see Rocher''s sculpture. However, he didn''t know that something even more jaw dropping would come up later on.


    As Zen climbed up the pyramid, he wanted to carve all the appearances of the people he met into his mind. They would all be his opponents, so he naturally wanted to remember their characteristics.


    ''Why are these sculptures here? What''s the purpose?'' he thought.


    Zen was truly curious about it, but he and everyone else could only guess since the girl in charge of this Illusion Battlefield didn''t give any hints.


    "This is my sculpture," Zen said as he finally found his own sculpture and looked at it. He reached out his hand and touched it, then used his consciousness to immerse himself in the sculpture. However, he still couldn''t find anything special about it.


    After a few more moments, Zen couldn''t come up with anything else. Thus, he continued his ascent upwards.


    Just as he had climbed up to the next floor, which was the top of the pyramid, a sculpture of a woman caught his eye.


    When he looked closer, he couldn''t help but be wide-eyed in shock.


    When he had seen Rocher''s sculpture, he was surprised but also relieved. He knew that it wasn''t impossible for Rocher to have reached this stage because of his talent and perseverance.


    Seeing this woman''s sculpture however, only brought Zen utter shock and disbelief.

 Chapter 1646 Seeking

    Zen''s body still felt stiff out of shock, and he reflexively wiped his eyes. He wondered if it was real or if he was just hallucinating.


    The girl wore an apricot silk robe on top of a brocade dress that was embroidered with flowers, which hugged her beautiful figure perfectly. She emitted a cold and aloof vibe, but she still looked breathtaking.


    "Margaret... She is even ranked 43rd. Is there something wrong?" Zen muttered with mixed emotions.


    He''d never thought that Margaret of all people, would participate in the Illusion Battlefield!


    Back then, she was even only at the Internal Elixir Realm.


    Although she possessed the Purple Power Body, she never took a liking to cultivation. She even thought of the process as boring and her greatest enemy.


    It could even be said that ever since the two of them had met, she had never focused on her cultivation even for a day.


    However, how could she have survived here?


    How did she rank in the 43rd place?


    Was it just because of her Purple Power Body?


    Zen couldn''t find any reason, and just gave up trying to guess.


    After Zen had been separated from Margaret for a few years, he had naturally missed her.


    But, the woman he saw at this moment was greatly different from who she used to be.


    Margaret had become even more elegant and mature in the last few years. She looked extremely charming and confident now. Zen didn''t even recognize her at first sight.


    "Is Margaret also in either of the other two blood-red castles?"


    The thought of being able to see Margaret soon sent jolts of delight down Zen''s body, and his eyes sparkled with anticipation.


    If they happened to meet again, it would surely be a wonderful encounter.


    All of this meant that three people from the great world Zen came from had managed to rank in the top 2, 500. Was it fate, or just a coincidence?


    Meanwhile in another blood-red castle, a beautiful lady glanced around alone.


    Margaret scanned the statues on each floor of the pyramid. The fabric of her clothes fluttered in the wind as she walked, her eyes full of nervousness.


    "There is no Zen''s statue on this floor..."


    "His statue also isn''t on this floor..."


    She kept muttering to herself as she hovered in the air, her palms becoming increasingly shaky because of anxiety.


    At that moment, someone had followed Margaret.


    It was a warrior dressed in an embroidered robe who also flew up to tail behind her.


    The warrior looked quite young and appeared to be less than 20 years old, but his eyes looked rather cold.


    While Margaret observed the statues, the warrior stared at her all the time.


    The first floor, the second floor, the third floor...


    Margaret looked around floor by floor, and her disappointment grew. She pouted in annoyance and thought, ''The higher I go, the less likely I would find Z


    re existence was a miracle in itself.


    Even when he had to transcend the heavens and become a True God, he absolutely would not fail!


    That was the strength of a Godly Genius.


    Margaret was strong-willed, and her attitude aroused some kind of primitive desire to conquer her in his heart.


    Nathan wasn''t particularly fond of women. However, he was also a young man and was bound to be infatuated with a woman someday like other men. Right now he was the one attracted to Margaret, even though he couldn''t explain why it was the case.


    After a few more minutes of hovering, Margaret had reached the upper part of the pyramid. Her eyes suddenly lit up with pleasant surprise!


    "He is ranked 77th! I knew it... I''ve always believed that you would come here! You definitely didn''t let me down!"


    She had finally found Zen''s statue at the floor she currently stood!


    Margaret didn''t think twice and quickly rushed towards Zen''s statue. She reached out and touched the statue''s face, her eyes filled with affection.


    This face had appeared in her dreams countless times in the past six years.


    She''d imagined the moment when she finally met Zen too many times.


    Now that she had found his statue here, it only meant that he was in another blood-red castle!


    ''There seems to be no way to go to another blood-red castle, '' Margaret thought as her eyes flashed. She had really wanted to fly to Zen''s side.


    However, the rules of the Illusion Battlefield prevented her from doing such things.


    Nathan finally caught up to Margaret, who he saw was happily holding and caressing a statue''s face. He pulled a long face when he saw that it was a statue of a man with delicate features.


    He also felt a strong sense of disappointment, and he couldn''t help but feel very frustrated.


    "Who is that?" he asked flatly. He kept an aloof fa?ade in an attempt to restrain his foul mood.

 Chapter 1647 Rochers Rise

    Margaret didn''t bother replying to Nathan¡ªnot even perfunctorily.


    Being so proud and arrogant by nature, Nathan felt rather embarrassed by her indifference, although he wouldn''t admit it.


    As he watched her stare lovingly at the statue, Nathan''s curiosity was piqued¡ªhe wanted to find out who this person was.


    Since seeing Zen''s statue put Margaret in a generous mood, she exercised some patience with Nathan.


    "He¡­ is someone I like."


    Her eyes turned gloomy as they remained fixed on the statue.


    In truth, she wanted to say that Zen was her husband.


    But because they hadn''t had any formal wedding ceremony, they weren''t officially married.


    Most martial artists didn''t care about such formalities.


    However, Margaret thought differently. Initially, she didn''t care much for the formalities either, having accepted Letitia''s status in Zen''s heart.


    But the circumstances had changed¡ªLetitia might not have ascended yet, but she was here with Zen and she could always stay at his side.


    Margaret had to rely on her own efforts to get Zen to make her his wife.


    Such thoughts ran through Margaret''s mind.


    If anyone else knew what was running through the mind of her, a warrior who ranked in the top 50 of the Illusion Battlefield, their jaws would drop to the ground.


    In the meantime, Nathan was growing more and more curious about the statue Margaret was fixated on.


    "Miss, what is this person''s name?"


    In spite of his intentions to befriend Margaret, he didn''t even know her name yet. Instead of finding that out first, he asked for the name of the man''s statue¡ªeven he found his actions strange.


    With a cold look, she offered an answer, "His name is Zen Luo."


    The name made Nathan''s eyes light up.


    It was actually Zen Luo, who ranked 77th.


    Never did Nathan think the statue would be of Zen Luo, someone with quite a reputation across the universe.


    Nathan didn''t know much about Zen and he didn''t want to. In Nathan''s world, among the young generation, only the few Godly Geniuses were qualified to be his opponents.


    Even some powerful ace talents were no match for him.


    As for Zen¡­


    This guy had been talking incessantly in his ear. Even if he didn''t want anything to do with him, he couldn''t avoid the Roaring Token''s sound.


    Never did he imagine that this guy would enter the top 100 as well.


    At 77th place, though, his rank wasn''t something particularly special.


    The few people like Lawson and some other Godly Geniuses were qualified to face Nathan, so to him, all the others were nothing.


    "So he is Zen Luo." Nathan''s expression came up indifferent. The haughtiness in his heart instantly surfaced once again.


    How could Margaret not recognize the hint of disdain in Nathan''s tone? Still, she ignored him and continued examining Zen''s statue.


    Meanwhile¡­


    in another blood-red castle, a handsome young man walked briskly around the pyra


    o enter the second stage. What would be truly shocking was if he didn''t reach it.


    After Seeing Zen''s statue, the light in Rocher''s eyes glistened even more brightly. The sword he carried on his back trembled slightly.


    He was excited.


    Aware that he was falling behind, he knew he had to strive harder to catch up.


    Since the beginning, Rocher had poured his best efforts into catching up with Zen.


    Even though he was still far behind Zen, Rocher wasn''t discouraged in the slightest.


    In his entire life, he had one goal. If he lost, he would persevere.


    Whether or not he could achieve the goal in the end didn''t really matter to him¡ªhe valued the process.


    But in the end, he still managed to achieve the goal that seemed so impossible in the beginning.


    After being left far behind by Zen, he finally caught up to him. He just couldn''t gauge the gap between his and Zen''s strength.


    ''Don''t worry, we''ll meet each other in the end, '' Rocher thought as he reached out a hand to press down the sword hanging on his back until it stopped trembling obediently.


    He and Zen were just as much friends as they were rivals.


    With that, Rocher gave a nod toward Zen''s statue and went on, continuing to climb up the pyramid.


    But just as he took a few steps forward, he came to another halt. Suddenly, his expression froze. Just like Zen, he stopped before Margaret''s statue in surprise, though his shock wasn''t as hefty as Zen''s.


    "I didn''t expect her to reach such a ranking," he said flatly as he gazed upon the statue. Thinking about her relationship with Zen, the corners of his lips curled up into a smile¡ªhe wondered what kind of expression Zen would wear if he met Margaret.


    Soon, a voice rang out across the three blood-red castles.


    "Everyone, please stand in front of your statues¡­"


    This mysterious young girl called the shots in this Illusion Battlefield¡ªwhen her voice resounded, no one dared disobey.

 Chapter 1648 Laughter

    Everyone climbed up the pyramid and stood in front of their own statues.


    The moment Zen arrived in front of his, the statue''s eyes shone with a bright light that streamed directly into his eyes.


    The moment the light hit his eyes, Zen felt as if he formed an instant connection with the statue as if it had become his clone.


    "This is so strange," he murmured to himself.


    It wasn''t just him. The other warriors also revealed puzzled looks as they looked into the eyes of their statues. They felt as if there was another copy of themselves somewhere in this universe and they were inherently connected to this supposed clone.


    As they all tried to get used to this feeling, the mysterious girl''s voice rang out.


    "These statues represent your lives.


    If one''s statue is destroyed, then one will be eliminated at once."


    The sound of the girl''s voice startled Zen a bit but her words shed some clarity for the next challenge. ''It looks like we''ll have to protect our own statues for the second stage.''


    "From now on, these statues will serve as your clones. They will all be under your control. You may also refine them on the second floor of the blood-red castle..."


    the mysterious girl continued to explain, laying out all the castle''s rules to everyone present.


    It took her a few minutes to list down all the pertinent information to the warriors. "I''ve told you all the rules. Now all you''ll have to do is to avoid elimination. The countdown will be starting shortly. Once the timer runs out, prepare for a fierce attack..."


    A bright, circle of light appeared at the top of the blood-red hall as soon as the girl finished speaking.


    Everyone immediately understood that this circle of light was their timer. The fierce attack would be launched the moment it disappeared.


    Zen shot a look at his statue and it immediately raised its hands and walked up to him. It acted accordingly to whatever Zen willed it to do.


    The statue was now life-like and looked exactly like Zen. The young man had no idea what material this clone of his was made of. It seemed to be made of stone but its body was flexible and its movements were fluid enough. The only thing that differentiated it from Zen was the small purple star painted in its chest.


    Whoosh! Boom!


    There was a loud explosion as a statue on top of the pyramid jumped down to the floor Zen was at.


    "Oops! This statue is so fragile. Will it break after jumping that height?"


    an ogre warrior muttered as he jumped down to retrieve his clone statue. H


    le enough price to intensify a statue''s defense.


    "Exchange all my Illusion Points for the defense bamboo slips!" a Night Group warrior said.


    Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!


    Numerous Illusion Points began to burst out from the warrior and poured into the cyan bamboo slips. As the exchange was made, multiple rays of cyan light also covered his statue.


    The rays of light coalesced and coated the statue as its defense increased significantly.


    Those in the top 2500 had no shortage of Illusion Points. The person with the least points had more than forty million.


    So the amount of points this Night Group warrior exchanged was enough to intensify his statue''s defense hundreds of times.


    The light shone for quite a long time before finally dimming to reveal a statue that glowed faintly of cyan light. From being extremely fragile, it now looked as hard as a diamond that even a Soul Sea Ream warrior would have trouble smashing it to pieces.


    The Night Group warrior smiled, satisfied with his decision.


    Of course, the other warriors weren''t willing to be left behind. They too exchanged all their Illusion Points for the cyan bamboo slips.


    Zen noticed this and turned his attention back at the bundles of bamboo slips in front of him.


    The power contained within these slips was that of pure, precious Original Laws. The life bamboo slips could increase a statue''s life power, the flame bamboo slips could grant it the power of flames, and so on. Each bundle of slips could be exchanged for a hundred thousand Illusion Points.


    Zen''s eyes landed on a bundle of golden bamboo slips. He poured his consciousness into these slips and heard the laughter of the mysterious girl.

 Chapter 1649 Exchange

    The sudden laughter made Zen a bit uncomfortable.


    When they were in the outside world, Zen had interacted with her quite frequently. Though they had never personally met, he remembered her as a rather lively girl.


    But after entering the Illusion Battlefield, she meticulously read the rules of the battlefield, growing more and more cold and detached.


    "Your performance was not bad, Zen. You''ve already ranked 77th!" The girl''s voice echoed from within Zen''s mind.


    After a stunned moment, he asked, "Is there any news of Yan?"


    "¡­"


    For a moment, the other was silent until a dissatisfied voice called out, "Why is this the first thing you say to me every time?"


    The comment made Zen roll his eyes. ''Isn''t this nonsense?''


    Though he could use his Roaring Token limitlessly, he had something else more important to do than telling her stories. Wasn''t it all for getting her to help him investigate Yan''s whereabouts, after all?


    "No news?" Zen still asked.


    As indifferent as ever, the girl replied, "The divine land is much larger than you can imagine. I sent back the news a few years ago, but I haven''t heard from them yet." Helpless, the mysterious girl could only explain this to Zen.


    A look of disappointment surfaced on Zen''s face. With a sigh, he asked, "What are you doing? Why did you suddenly appear?"


    Originally, he wanted to examine the bamboo slips, just when the mysterious girl''s consciousness suddenly popped up.


    "Nothing. I''m personally presiding over the Illusion Battlefield. Aren''t you going to ask for my help?" she asked him with a knowing smile.


    "No need," Zen immediately declined.


    While Zen wasn''t very clear on the true meaning behind the Illusion Battlefield, he knew that this was the place where the talents of the Soul Sea Realm competed. Since he had entered the battlefield prepared to rely on his own strength¡ªhe didn''t rely on the cyan dragon nor did he rely on Lavender. So why would he need anyone else''s help?


    Eventually, he knew he had to face those ace talents and the Godly Geniuses.


    Those like Lucille after the fusion, or Lone, perhaps. But when a martial artist was born, he could only rely on himself in the end. One might be able to show off his strength with others'' help, but that was still only others'' help.


    "Don''t be like this. I can truly help you," the mysterious girl continued.


    "I said there''s no need," Zen said with a frown. "I only need you to find Yan''s location. That alone is enough."


    "¡­" Suddenly,


    how Zen''s Roaring Token had come about. So long as the guy was willing to talk to her, she would be satisfied.


    Afterward, she listened to Zen tell stories one after another after she promised to help him find his sister. These few years, she no longer fell into deep sleep, or rather, she refused to let herself fall into one. With this, her sleeping time was cut down to less than a year or half a year instead of the millions or even hundreds of millions of years before.


    Now that she had made her decision, she slowly raised her right hand until a purple halo appeared around her thin arm. The instant it appeared, it silently spread out. Without being noticed, it silently enveloped the entire Illusion Battlefield.


    Zen had no clue what this mysterious girl was planning.


    When her voice faded away, he released a breath of relief. Once again, he examined the bundle of golden bamboo slips and realized that this was used to imprint the heavens'' law onto the sculpture.


    But this heavens'' law required 500 million Illusion Points in order to exchange for it. The news left Zen feeling dizzy.


    Even if it was the first-ranked warrior of the Illusion Battlefield, he couldn''t possibly have obtained 500 million Illusion Points, could he?


    So Zen turned around and selected the bamboo slips of power, defense, and speed.


    Someone had concentrated all his Illusion Points into one kind of slips, but Zen was still doing what he could to achieve balance. What Zen didn''t know, though, was that he had already been manipulated by the mysterious girl during the exchange.


    The amount of Illusion Points he exchanged was different from that of the others.

 Chapter 1650 The Purple Stars

    The Illusion Points that they had gathered on the second stage no longer determined their rankings in the Illusion Battlefield.


    Now, the elimination process had begun. If one''s statue was destroyed, he or she would be eliminated straightaway.


    Therefore, all the warriors would invest their Illusion Points into their statues in order to strengthen them before the end of the prescribed time.


    They would have to spend 100, 000 Illusion Points strengthen their statues once, and even that wouldn''t be enough.


    No matter how strong their statues could become, it was obviously impossible to expect the statues to fight. They all knew very well that they would have to rely on their own prowess and skills in the upcoming battle.


    So the warriors used their Illusion Points to enhance the defense of the statues. This was deemed to be the safest method. After all, the top 2, 500 warriors had absolute confidence in their own strength.


    The statues were made from some unknown stone. As long as they didn''t break, their owners would not face elimination.


    A Purple Star had been engraved on the chest of every statue.


    As the statues gained strength, the number of the stars would increase. When the warriors intensified their statues for 100 times, it meant they had consumed 50 million Illusion Points, and a second Purple Star would appear on the chests of their statues.


    Most warriors had got over 50 million Illusion Points, and only those who were not above the 2, 000th rank had a slightly lower number of Illusion Points. Thus, after they had used up all the Illusion Points that they had been accumulating, a second Purple Star would appear.


    While they were strengthening their statues, a warrior clad in heavy armor brought his statue to the second floor.


    He had a square face and was kitted in extravagant equipment. In his left hand was an enormous shield, which was as tall as a man, while in his right hand he wielded a heavy silver sword. There was a wild look in his eyes, and his face looked as if it was carved out of stone. The statue behind him also held a similar shield and a sword.


    Zen was engrossed in methodically strengthening his statue when he saw a white light flash from the corner of his eye. He turned to glance at the newcomer and his eyebrows went up imperceptibly.


    The newcomer was ranked seventh in the pyramid.


    Studying his heavy equipment, Zen was somewhat impressed by him. However, he didn''t know which force this man belonged to.


    When the man arrived, all the warriors began to whisper among themselves.


    "Look, it''s Karl Jiang from the Celestial Position."


    "It''s said that he''s a lunatic!"


    "Be that as it may, don''t underestimate him. He''s a Godly Genius of the Celestial Position."


    When Zen heard these words, his heart skipped a beat.


    So this mysterious man was a Godly Genius?


    Now, Zen had already known that the Godly


    ger. The other warriors held their breath as they stared at the scene in front of them.


    Not long after, a fourth Purple Star appeared.


    That meant Karl had at least 200 million Illusion Points in his kitty.


    The top 2, 500 warriors were a proud bunch. Since they had risen to the top 2, 500, they believed that the disparity between them and the powerhouses before them wasn''t too great.


    However, Karl, who had over 200 million Illusion Points was only ranked number seven.


    If that was the case, then how many Illusion Points did the warrior at the sixth place obtain?


    How about the one at the fifth place?


    And what about those in the top four?


    At this thought, they all looked shattered as they realized how much of a difference there was between themselves and the ace talents and Godly Geniuses before them.


    Their collective gasp attracted Zen''s gaze.


    "Does this guy really have 200 million Illusion Points?" Zen''s pupils contracted slightly.


    ''Well, I know why, '' he thought to himself.


    In the supreme world, he had obtained nearly 100 million Illusion Points, yet he was still unable to get to the first place. Obviously, the number one warrior possessed a lot of Illusion Points.


    The warriors on top of the list were incomparably strong, and the disparity between them was like a yawning chasm.


    A long time passed when Karl finally stopped strengthening his statue. The other warriors guessed that the number of his Illusion Points must be between 230 million and 240 million. It was less than 250 million, otherwise, he would have been able to get the fifth Purple Star.


    Zen had also sped up his strengthening process now.


    He was confused. The second Purple Star appeared very early, so he thought his even distribution had a bigger impact on the statue''s strength level.


    However, after he injected 20 million Illusion Points, a purple light flashed and the third Purple Star appeared.

 Chapter 1651 Carve Out A Path

    It wasn''t strange for Zen to activate two Purple Stars.


    Most people would be able to activate their second Purple Star after consuming all of their Illusion Points.


    But not everyone could make the third Purple Star appear.


    In fact, only the top twenty warriors of the Illusion Battlefield had enough Illusion Points to activate this third Purple Star.


    Taking that into consideration, there were only around seven or eight warriors that could activate it in this blood-red castle.


    "Look! That brat has activated the third Purple Star!"


    a warrior remarked after noticing the statue beside Zen.


    All eyes were immediately on him when they heard what the warrior said. There were quite a few gasps of surprise once they noticed that there was indeed a third Purple Star on Zen''s statue.


    "This guy... isn''t he only around 70th in the rankings?"


    "He''s 77th to be more exact."


    "That can''t be right. His ranking is even below mine. He definitely has less Illusion Points than me but why can''t I activate my third Purple Star?"


    These martial artists had keen observations and had remembered clearly each other''s rankings. The rankings were all based on the number of Illusion Points one had. All of them were aware and understood how the system worked.


    There were a lot of warriors that were ranked higher than Zen but they weren''t able to activate their third Purple Star. How was Zen able to do it then?


    Unfortunately, not even Zen would be able to answer their questions.


    Because even he, himself, had no idea how he did it.


    Regardless, he did not really care what others thought. Zen remained unbothered as he continued injecting Illusion Points into the bamboo slips to strengthen his statue.


    He had poured in a little over forty million Illusion Points before the purple light flared up once again!


    Buzz¡­


    A fourth Purple Star made its appearance on the statue''s chest!


    "There''s a fourth one!"


    "No way! How did he do it?!"


    "He hasn''t seemed to have injected that much Illusion Points..."


    Karl also cast his gaze over at Zen''s statue.


    In fact, almost everyone was currently looking at Zen.


    "Is he cheating?"


    "Cheating?" "Cheating in the Illusion Battlefield? Are you kidding?"


    "Well, if he didn''t cheat, then how was he able to make a fourth Purple Star appear..."


    Before they could even finish their words, another Purple Star appeared on Zen''s statue.


    Five Purple Stars!


    In conventional conditions, condensing a fifth Purple Star would require roughly 250 million Illusion Points.


    Not even the Godly Genius of the Celestial Position, who was ranked seventh, could achieve such a feat. How in the world was Zen able to do it?


    Everyone stared at the young man in combined awe and intrigue. None of them really knew what to say at this point.


    "There won''t be a sixth..."


    But before they could even finish their words, another purple light flashed and a sixth Purple Star appeared.


    Zen remained expressionless as he stared at the sixth Purple Star that appeared on his statue.


    He had a rou


    also shot out and flew towards Zen like secret projectiles.


    Zen had been a bit worried at first, not really sure if the reinforcements on his statue would really work. However, he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the spikes hit his statue yet not leave any trace on it.


    It seemed the ten Purple Stars on his statue were not just for show.


    With this fact in mind, Zen controlled his statue, ordering it to rush out of the wind blades'' protection and crush these Nether Pangolins.


    It was relatively easy for Zen as he watched his statue clear a path from the castle''s entrance all the way to the main hall without even lifting a finger.


    The amount of Nether Pangolins was no joke as they quickly occupied the entire castle like a sudden tidal wave!


    All the martial artists were busy protecting their statues, choosing to endure the impact of a pangolin''s explosion rather than let their precious statues suffer any damage.


    An unlucky warrior had accidentally driven himself to a corner and had his statue surrounded by dozens of Nether Pangolins. A chain explosion caused his statue to be blown into pieces, thus eliminating him from the battlefield.


    Karl, on the other hand, was flourishing.


    His statue was still fragile since he used all of his Illusion Points to reinforce its strength only.


    However, it was currently protected by a translucent shield of light.


    This light was Karl''s "Sacred Shield of the Heart." It was a skill he comprehended wherein as long as his mind and heart lived, then his shield would never be broken.


    With the Sacred Shield of the Heart protecting his statue, he could focus on brandishing the gigantic sword in his hand to slash at the Nether Pangolins that constantly came at him.


    With everyone busy protecting their own statues, the sight of Zen''s statue rendered them all speechless.


    Zen hadn''t taken any special measures to protect his statue, in fact, it was the opposite. He was using his statue to fight the Nether Pangolins and carve out a path for him to get through!

 Chapter 1652 Onlooker

    This statue seemed to have been highly reinforced and as a result had become impregnable.


    Zen also felt surprised upon discovering this about the effigy.


    Challenges in the blood-red castle might be a process of elimination, but the mysterious girl had helped him immediately strengthen the statue, making it utterly indestructible.


    Given the hardness of the statue, it would prove difficult even for Zen to destroy it.


    This left Zen feeling morose and bored.


    During this process of elimination, he seemed to have nothing to do.


    Wave after wave of beasts rushed into the blood-red castle like floodwaters, ready to overcome the warriors.


    In the beginning, there were a large number of Nether Pangolins, and now countless Wind Dragons had also turned to the attack.


    Zen''s statue stood like an impregnable boulder, in the middle of the castle hall, and the beasts dashed themselves to pieces on its unassailable surface.


    As for the other warriors, some were crushed by the vicious beasts or forced to run for their lives, and some could only try their best to hang on.


    In the end, even Karl could not hold out!


    After all, the vicious beasts became increasingly stronger. Although the sacred shield Karl had condensed was incomparably sturdy, it was also exhausting his will...


    Zen sliced open the head of a Wind Dragon with a single slash, but his face was filled with boredom.


    The first target of these Wind Dragons was the statues, and they wouldn''t even dodge Zen''s attack...


    Zen would probably even be able to pass the first round of the competition easily without even striking a blowing. He''d already resigned himself to becoming merely an onlooker.


    "This is unnecessary." Zen curled his lips down as a disappointed look appeared on his face. Although he knew that the mysterious girl had intended to help him with her kindness, it had also made him lose any chance of challenging these beasts.


    Lowering his head to look at his space ring, he stretched out his hand and gently pressed down, making a selection. Accompanied by a flash of light, the Teleportation Token appeared in his hand.


    Since Zen''s statue was extremely hard, he could pass the first round of the elimination match without even taking any action.


    With a flash of light, Zen was teleported into the strange space.


    At this moment, the main cities marked in this space had almost completely disappeared, leaving only the three main red cities in the center. These were the three blood-red castles.


    Without much consideration, Zen randomly chose one of the main cities and sank down to it.


    Right now, the three blood-red castles were undergoing massive attacks from various beasts, and the warriors were constantly being eliminated as they were trampled, disemboweled, and ravaged by the savage beasts.


    Of the 2, 500 warriors, more than 1, 000 of them were kicked out of this place and eliminated the moment that their statues were destroyed by the vicious beasts.


    Although they were unwilling to leave, this was the rule of the Illusion Battlefield and they had to be eliminated if they couldn''t withstand the beast attacks.


    "Bam!"


    Accompanied by a burst of white light, Zen appeared near the top of the hall of the blood-red castle and heavily crashed down in a shower of dust and debris.


    When the warriors,


    t women, and even many men, who strove to be like Nathan.


    As long as Nathan wanted to be with a woman, many talented and charming women were lining up to accompany him.


    As a Godly Genius, he was the main character of this era. Who could oppose him?


    However, Margaret had been the first woman that he was interested in. He had never expected that she would be so cold to him...


    Being a haughty and confident warrior, Nathan truly believed that there was nothing that he could not accomplish.


    "Young lady... It would be a pity if you are eliminated like that, after struggling so hard to reach this point..."


    However, Margaret continued to ignore him. She could only sneer coldly at him and continue resisting the attacks from the Wind Dragons.


    Not far away, another group of Wind Dragons began their assault run towards her.


    With a twist of her long, thin eyebrows, she summoned the seven swords. Then they all realigned into a new spiral sword array, while Margaret dashed forward!


    At the same time, she took up her statue, held it tightly against her body and began to retreat!


    However, just as she started to back away, she saw several more wind blades catapulting towards her from the other side.


    The Wind Dragons had long ago spread across the entire castle''s hall. Once a Wind Dragon was killed, it would release the storm of wind blades. Everyone in this hall was in danger, because the wind blades could appear at any time, and they killed indiscriminately.


    Many warriors had already suffered this awful fate and died because of this.


    As she kept on retreating, Margaret suddenly felt shocked as she noticed something. Her seven flying swords had already formed their protective barrier between her and the Wind Dragons, but they seemed to not be capable of stopping the wind blades!


    Noticing her impending doom, Margaret bit her lips, and her eyes contained both a resentful and disappointed look.


    "Damn it. I almost met Zen. But now it seems as if it was all just a fruitless effort!"


    If her statue was damaged, she would be eliminated. The realization of her dream to see Zen again would then be delayed!


    However, right at this crucial moment, a figure lazily drifted over.

 Chapter 1653 You Owe Me A Wedding

    Although she knew that she was about to be eliminated, Margaret didn''t feel heart-broken.


    To the other geniuses in the Illusion Battlefield, this was a courageous battle for influence and power.


    If they succeeded, they would get the responsibility of shouldering the fate of the entire universe. At the same time, they would also obtain endless resources and a promising future as the reward for it.


    Right now, they were only one step away from reaching the peak of the entire universe. Anyone who was eliminated here and now would feel like throwing themselves off into a deep abyss.


    However, this didn''t apply to Margaret.


    For her, all these trials and rewards were trivial matters.


    After all, her goal had never been to compete with the countless powerhouses in the universe.


    She had only left the Purple Power World to search for Zen. As for the expectations her master had for her... She didn''t really care about them.


    She had stood out from the trillions of warriors who were competing here, but her real goal was something that most of them would find hard to understand.


    Despite her little interest in the Illusion Battlefield, she was admittedly full of regret as she was about to be eliminated.


    She knew that the one she was looking for was in a nearby castle right now, but the rules restricted her from going there to see him. What a pity!


    At that moment, a figure suddenly dashed past her, snapping her out of her trance.


    The figure then stopped at her side, defending her statue behind him.


    Puff, puff, puff, puff...


    Several muffled sounds reverberated into the air as the wind blades collided against the man.


    ''Who is this guy?


    Why is he blocking the wind blades with his flesh body?'' she wondered.


    Even an ace talent would be seriously injured if they tried to block the wind blades merely with physical strength.


    She tilted her head and saw a familiar handsome face, with a soft smile hanging on his lips and captivating confidence flashing in his eyes.


    For a moment, Margaret wondered whether she was in a dream.


    Her mind was full of questions, and she was still in danger, but all these things no longer mattered to her now.


    She stopped controlling her seven flying swords and they all fell to the ground with a clanging sound.


    Without the protection of the sword formation, a group of Wind Dragons once again came at her.


    If she didn''t block their attacks, her statue would be torn to shreds at any moment, and she would be eliminated.


    But she didn''t care about that at all. The man standing at her side had her undivided attention now.


    Taking no heed of anything else, she just threw herself into Zen''s arms.


    In these past few years, she had always tried to suppress her desire to pine for him, but her longing for him had never stopped even for a second.


    What was worse, the more she suppressed her fee


    ually survived the first stage of the Illusion Battlefield and, what was more, her ranking was higher than his. He almost felt a sense of defeat at the fact. He just couldn''t understand what had happened to her.


    Margaret smiled happily at Zen''s question. She was pleased because she knew that it was finally time to tell him the whole truth.


    She had concealed the fact that she had taken Apeiron as her master in the Purple Power World ever since Zen and Letitia''s wedding.


    Back then, she had been extremely disappointed and full of jealousy toward Letitia.


    But at this moment, she was completely satisfied. Letitia might still be cultivating in the Lower World, but Margaret was here snuggling up to Zen. It was her victory! It was also the best reward for her hard work in the past six years.


    She slowly explained everything to him in detail, telling him about every effort she had made just to see him again.


    Zen was moved by everything that he heard from her.


    He had never expected that Margaret would have done so much secretly, all because she wanted to stay by his side. He felt ashamed that he had never given her anything in return.


    Margaret giggled as if she had read his mind. She looked into his eyes and said, "You don''t have to feel guilty at all. Just promise me one thing!"


    "What is it?" Zen asked curiously.


    Margaret''s expression turned utterly serious as she replied, "You owe me a formal wedding."


    Zen stared at her, rendered speechless for a moment. But in the end, he showed no hesitation and nodded his head firmly in reply.


    Margaret''s obsession with this matter was so profound that it had affected every aspect of her life. She had had no dedication to martial arts from the very beginning; all of her efforts had purely been for Zen.


    She smiled in relief when she finally got his promise.


    She buried her face into his chest like a kitten, her eyes full of happiness.

 Chapter 1654 Three Hundred Stars

    At the moment, the warriors in the blood-red hall were engaged in fighting with all their might.


    Only a very small number were able to battle with relative ease.


    Nathan was one of them.


    He had in his possession a number of Illusion Points, so the statue that he consolidated was much stronger than those of the others. If he was eliminated, the others would probably be eliminated as well.


    Nathan was like a living legend.


    He had experienced many hardships since he was a child. When he was born, the stars were triggered by him. To the Xuanyuan Clan, this was an auspicious sign.


    However, Nathan only belonged to a distant branch of the large Xuanyuan Clan.


    This phenomenon, which had originally been an omen of fortune, had instead brought him great trouble.


    One of the main branches of the clan had found his own in the shortest amount of time. They replaced Nathan with another baby and planned on drowning the real Nathan...


    However, since Nathan was favored by the heavens, he possessed great luck that ordinary people did not have, even if he was just a baby.


    Not only was he saved from getting murdered, he also grew up in a special environment. In the end, he became the Godly Genius of the Xuanyuan Clan and avenged himself on those who had harmed him in the past.


    Although Nathan was confident, he was also full of distrust because of his complex childhood.


    So far, he had been with no woman around him.


    According to the rules of the four large clans of the Thoughtless Minds, once the Godly Geniuses and ace talents reached a certain age, they needed to get married. However, every suitable match was rejected by Nathan. Rumors were rife that he was possibly homosexual and only interested in men.


    From not far away, he heard Margaret''s words and sighed with emotion. He had never met such a woman before...


    Wave after wave of beasts surged over.


    Two thousand and five hundred warriors had been present in the three blood-red castles at the beginning, but now the number had started to drop rapidly.


    Two days and two nights later, most of the warriors were exhausted. The beasts finally stopped their attacks.


    At the moment, only three hundred warriors occupied the blood-red lobbies. About ninety-percent of them had been eliminated in this round.


    The rules of the Illusion Battlefield were incomparably cruel, its final goal aimed at choosing the main character who could lead the world of chaos...


    In the first stage, only two thousand and five hundred warriors among the trillions of participants could win and subsequently en


    as Lucille, who had lost to Zen previously.


    When she saw Zen, she strolled over to him as soft snowflakes fell around them. Her eyes were fixed on Zen as she said, "We meet again."


    After entering the second stage of the Illusion Battlefield, Lucille, who practiced the One Soul in Two Bodies, had taken the opportunity to merge her two beings. The present Lucille was in her true and complete form, her temperament also slightly changed.


    "Who is she?"


    The moment Margaret saw Lucille''s beautiful face, she held onto Zen''s right arm tightly. Her eyebrows knitted together as she stared at Lucille with a wary expression on her face.


    Noticing the intimacy between Margaret and Zen, Lucille was a bit surprised and guessed that they were in a relationship. However, she had no idea where Margaret had come from.


    Before Zen could say anything, another warrior greeted him, "Zen!"


    The warrior carried a sword on his back. He looked confident and energetic, with a pair of sharp eyes. He was Rocher Hua, who had finally reached the Soul Sea Realm.


    "Rocher!"


    A smile rose on Zen''s face.


    Meeting Margaret and Rocher here had come as a true surprise to Zen.


    Of course, he was delighted at the pleasant happenstance.


    Only after they heard Rocher call out Zen''s name


    did the other warriors realize that the person in front of them was Zen.


    At this moment, both the Otherworldly Swordsman and Lucille, who had fought Zen before, were surprised.


    Ever since Lucille had entered the Illusion Battlefield, she had triumphed over the others. She had only been defeated by Zen so far.


    However, she did not expect the warrior to be none other than Zen, who often told stories through the Roaring Token.

 Chapter 1655 Evolutionary Fifty

    In fact, Lucille was a fan of Zen''s.


    She used to be addicted to narratives. Because Zen was a good storyteller out in the universe, she was attracted to his yarns. Listening to his stories in her rest time had become one of her hobbies. She would while away hours listening to his stories.


    She had listened to all the stories Zen had told during these past few years. Whenever Zen''s voice rang out, she would even stop cultivating to listen to him telling stories for several hours.


    These stories were all told to a mysterious girl, and, like the rest of the universe, she knew she was just a random listener.


    She would never have expected that the man in front of her was Zen.


    Besides her, the other warriors were also surprised, and they couldn''t help but curiously look Zen up and down. They wanted to see what the mighty Zen, who had killed several Supreme Lords looked like, and if there was anything special about him.


    Most of these warriors were curious about Zen, but some of them secretly harbored a killing intention behind their studying looks.


    The ace talents and Godly Geniuses present were all at the top of their game, and were thought highly of by their own clans.


    They were either the direct descendants of the Supreme Lords, or those guided by the Supreme Lords. After their talents were discovered, they had been valued by their clans. The four Supreme Lords Zen had killed before were all related to these warriors, so they naturally regarded Zen as their enemy now, since he had killed their clan members.


    Zen did not seem at all bothered by their hostility, and he talked happily with Rocher in a low voice.


    All of them had been waiting here for about an hour already.


    During this time, Zen was listening to Rocher relating what he had experienced in the past six years in the Lower World and the Upper World.


    Margaret''s experience during these few years could not be spoken of in the same terms as Rocher''s experience. She had only cultivated in the Purple Power World all this time. She had never left the Purple Power World.


    However, Rocher was different.


    From crossing the Chaotic Ocean of Stars to traveling in the four divine kingdoms, his experiences were thrilling and exciting.


    The most important experience was the time when he was on the savage land. With the aid of something great that Rocher had gained there and his own talent, he had made such a great achievement.


    As for what the great thing was, Rocher did not tell Zen the details. Zen naturally would not question him too closely, for that would have been rude.


    Everyone had their own secrets, and Zen understood that Rocher must have a reason why he did not want to explain.


    In fact, Zen had searched for that information in the memory of the great world''s will. The great world''s memory recorded everything that happened every second of every day, and he could search for information by using a thought.


    However, when Zen was trying to search for the information, he found that the great world''s memory of this part was blurry. It seemed that so


    ut.


    As they rose up to a certain height, the mysterious girl''s commanding voice was heard by everyone of the warriors.


    "Of the Evolutionary Fifty, only forty-nine are useful. Of the Evolutionary Fifty, separate one into two. One is variable, and the other one is definite!"


    Meanwhile¡­


    The three hundred warriors continued to slowly rise up vertically.


    But right now, everyone''s rising path began to change.


    Many warriors were flying to the left side of the light pillar. "The left side is definite, you can''t change your fate!"


    A few others flew to the right side of the light pillar. "The right side is variable, your futures are limitless."


    About two hundred warriors had been moved to the left side of the light pillar. They were surprised and disillusioned when the mysterious girl announced that their fates were unchangeable.


    However, there were ninety nine warriors at the right side, and their fates were changeable. Their destinies were, according to the mysterious girl, limitless.


    "Eh? What''s going on? Why is there one warrior missing?" the mysterious girl wondered aloud.


    Since the mysterious girl had hosted the Illusion Battlefield from the beginning, her voice had always been cold, without any emotion. After all, she was the arbiter of the Illusion Battlefield. Except for the time that she laughed and joked with Zen, the others all felt she was indifferent and almost apathetic.


    Noticing the strange scene, her originally solemn voice suddenly changed. These assembled ace talents all felt her tone was now strange, and they opened their eyes one by one, confused.


    They were even more confused after they had opened their eyes.


    Moments earlier, the mysterious girl had separated the warriors to two sides by defining their fates.


    There existed only two kinds of fates. One was variable, and the other one was definite. However, there was one warrior still floating in the center of the purple light pillar.


    The warrior floating alone in the center of the light pillar was none other than Zen!

 Chapter 1656 A Place With Many Talents

    The mysterious young girl looked at Zen through the layers of clouds and the purple light. Her eyebrows were knitted together, her expression of stunned disbelief.


    "Zen is without destiny!"


    There were few warriors in the universe who didn''t have a destiny, and they always went through a slew of terrible experiences.


    The common folk didn''t know how the man without destiny had appeared, but the mysterious young girl was very clear about it.


    A living being was always born with its fate predetermined and none in the universe could escape its destiny.


    To become a warrior without destiny, one had to be someone who didn''t come from the heavens or someone with a firm belief. They had to have experienced many cycles of life and death to erase their own destiny.


    But what was Zen''s purpose of becoming such a warrior?


    The mysterious girl was lost in deep thought, thinking about Zen''s request to find Yan.


    Zen was confused at the mysterious girl''s words.


    Evolutionary Fifty?


    Did it have anything to do with the fifty supreme worlds in the Illusion Battlefield.


    Separate one into two? One is variable, and another one is definite?


    Why did people have to be divided into two sections? What was the purpose?


    At the moment, there were two hundred warriors with definite destiny and ninety-nine warriors with variable destiny.


    Margaret and Rocher were warriors with variable destiny, while Nathan was one with a definite destiny. It was obvious that the division was not based on a warrior''s strength.


    "Since I''m one without destiny, does that mean I can''t be considered to be a warrior with variable fate?"


    Zen found this entire matter of destiny to be too mysterious. He couldn''t immediately figure this out, so he simply stopped thinking about it.


    Perhaps there was some invisible force in the universe that secretly set everything right for him.


    But Zen would only act according what his mind and beliefs told him.


    He could live compliantly if his destiny conformed to his wishes and plans.


    But if his life came into conflict with his expectations, then he would, without a doubt, revolt against it.


    And then, suddenly, the pyramids that the names had formed at the top of the Illusion Spaces began to dissipate.


    The light from the stars in the sky had also been withdrawn from atop of the various supreme worlds.


    All Soul Sea Realm warriors, apart from those three hundred warriors, returned from the Illusion Battlefield.


    Letitia stared at the collapsing pyramid, her eyes flashing.


    "Is the competition in the Illusion Battlefield over?" she asked.


    Preston smiled and shook his head. "The most important part of the Illusion Battlefield is to strive for being a top warrior. This is only the beginning. But you''ll see more than just names soon."


    "I can also see Zen, right?" Letitia asked, her eyes narrowed.


    Preston nodded. "According to the usual practice, yes. But I don''t know if Zen has been eliminated or not. The second stage of the competition in t


    ese two were a rare couple who had cultivated together and had simultaneously been ranked in the top three hundred?


    "Look! That must be Zen!"


    "Margaret indeed has an eye for having chosen such a remarkable man! That guy is pretty handsome!"


    "Margaret is regarded as the ace talent in our Purple Power World, so of course, the one she takes a fancy to must be the best!"


    Since the Purple Power World had a special interface, it was impossible to construct an Illusion Space there.


    This meant that many warriors of the Apeiron Tower had to leave the Purple Power World and go to another supreme world to watch Zen.


    Preston couldn''t help but ask out of curiosity, "Do you know the woman beside Zen?"


    "Margaret Xi," Letitia replied icily.


    Letitia had known that Margaret was among the top warriors, but seeing this with her own eyes filled her with disappointment and sadness.


    "Oh? You know this woman? Where is she from?" Preston asked one question after another, his curiosity growing by the minute.


    "She''s from the same great world as I am," Letitia answered resignedly.


    "What?!"


    Preston exclaimed, stunned.


    Of the three hundred warriors chosen in the Illusion Battlefield, two of them were from the same great world!


    This coincidence brought Preston to the point where he couldn''t make sense of the situation.


    In the three thousand supreme worlds of the Humanity Alliance, only four warriors had had the chance to enter this stage of the Illusion Battlefield. Zen was one of them.


    How was it possible for two warriors from the Lower World to get this chance? This was inconceivable!


    "Do you mean to say that Zen and Margaret come from the great world that you ascended from?" Preston asked, wanting confirmation.


    Letitia was not in a good mood. She pointed to one of them and said perfunctorily, "Why is it that amazing? The sixteenth warrior on the right is Rocher Hua, and he also comes from the same great world as me. He is one of the disciples of my Cloud Hall."

 Chapter 1657 A Double-Edged Reward

    Through his rigorous hard work and cultivation, Rocher was able to ascend to the Upper World.


    But before ascending to the Upper World, Rocher didn''t disaffiliate from the Cloud Hall. So, in a way, he could still be considered as a Cloud Hall disciple.


    In the Cloud Hall, Rocher was under Letitia''s wings. In other words, he was her disciple.


    Still, Preston of the Pure Jade Sacred Place could not believe every word Letitia had said.


    But looking at her face, he could see no sign of deception, not even a stutter when she spoke.


    Yet, he still had reservations about Letitia''s story. Out of these three hundred people, it was astonishing that three came from the same great world.


    Meanwhile, Letitia was in awe. Although she was not from the Upper World, she knew that these three hundred people were the most outstanding warriors at the Soul Sea Realm.


    Since she was from the Lower World, she had not clearly understood the significance of these three hundred ace talents for many races, the glorious future they would have, and the resources and effort required to nurture an ace talent.


    Preston, on the other hand, knew this quite well.


    Even a tenth-grade sacred place like the Pure Jade Sacred Place didn''t have enough resources to nurture an ace talent. Thus it was still not qualified to cultivate one.


    As Letitia turned to look at Preston, she noticed the skepticism on his face. She cleared her throat to get his attention and then bluntly said, "Zen is also from Cloud Hall. And just so you know, he is also my disciple."


    This caught Preston off guard. He felt as if Letitia saw through him and sensed his doubt.


    He froze and got lost in his thought. When he finally came back to his senses, he asked, "If you don''t mind, can you tell me how Cloud Hall is ranked?"


    If Preston remembered it right, Lower World didn''t have any sacred place above the eighth grade.


    "Well, it is considered as a sixth-grade sacred place," Letitia humbly replied.


    The Cloud Hall was acknowledged as a sixth-grade sacred place given its current status in the Central Region.


    "I see¡­" Preston said.


    In the Upper World, a sixth-grade sacred place was considered as an ant ¨C small and unspectacular. The Pure Jade Sacred Place had countless small sacred places in its jurisdiction that were at least in the eighth grade.


    So with that said, a sixth-grade sacred place like the Cloud Hall was not even qualified to be a subordinate of the Pure Jade Sacred Place.


    And if someone like Preston would personally visit a sixth-grade sacred place, its Saint Lord would probably kneel before him and welcome him with open arms.


    But how could two warriors from a sixth-grade sacred place like Cloud Hall be in the top three hundred of the Illusion Battlefield?


    That thought had left Preston puzzled. He still couldn''t figure out how such a bizarre thing could happen.


    Letitia just ignored Preston and continued to stare at the illusions outlined on the Illusion Space. At that moment, she suddenly remembered the time when Margaret had entered the Purple Power World with her mysterious expression. Back then, Letitia didn''t think much of Margaret, but it turned out that she was ready to surprise the univ


    Godly Geniuses in this grand era, so this round of the heavens is in your favor and will give you the greatest chances. If you don''t make it to the top ten, you will still be strengthened. The basis of that will be on how you strengthened your statues in the second stage,"


    the mysterious girl''s voice continued. After the warriors heard this, their faces were filled with surprise and joy.


    Back in the second stage, they put all their Illusion Points into their statues.


    Their Illusion Points strengthened their statues in terms of power, soul, or some law. The warriors that had put more Illusion Points were able to strengthen their statues to the maximum.


    They had initially spent tens or even hundreds of millions of Illusion Points that greatly strengthened them.


    Now, their own bodies would be strengthened based on the Illusion Points that they had initially invested.


    No one had expected to receive such a reward.


    When Zen heard this, he was equally delighted and surprised as the rest of the warriors.


    He knew that his statue was far stronger than that of others. It could be said that his statue was as strong as himself. So, could that mean that the enhancements would also be applied to himself?


    "Surely, those who make it to the top three will also receive other rewards. But I must warn you that the more rewards you receive, the heavier your burden will be."


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    As soon as the mysterious girl''s voice was done speaking, a huge square board measuring a million feet long and wide appeared in front of them.


    Before the warriors could react, something happened.


    A pink shadow appeared in the middle of the board!


    The warriors couldn''t make out the face of the shadow, but when it spoke, they knew it was the host of the Illusion Battlefield.


    Zen also stared at the figure, trying to figure out the identity of the mysterious young girl. The figure appeared to be using an unknown technique. Whenever Zen quickly glanced at the figure, he could tell that it was a graceful lady. However, when he looked carefully, the figure would become blurry and could hardly be distinguished.

 Chapter 1658 Have No Fighting Will

    The pink figure danced gently in the air and descended slowly like a fairy in an illusory world.


    Just like Zen, the entire universe knew of this mysterious girl''s existence.


    However, they had no idea about her origins, goals, or even where she existed outside the Illusion Battlefield.


    Like Zen, the other warriors also wanted to see how she looked, but her outline was blurry and her exact appearance wasn''t clear.


    When the pink figure floated to the edge of the board and came to stand before everyone, she waved her hand and a number of black and white stones appeared around her.


    These stones were about ten feet in diameter and floated in the air, drifting towards the three hundred warriors.


    "Ladies and gentlemen, please step onto the stones,"


    the woman in pink said, her voice rather stern.


    People discovered that the voice came from the sky above and not from her.


    It was likely that this pink figure was not a real person but just an illusion.


    But she was still the host of the Illusion Battlefield, and as the sound of her voice faded, each of the three hundred warriors stepped onto a stone.


    Margaret did not want to be separated from Zen, but she had no other choice.


    Those who were really paying attention, noticed something.


    The three hundred warriors had earlier been split into two groups within the purple pillar of light. One group of warriors had fixed fates, while the other group had unfixed fates.


    And right now, the stones beneath the warriors with fixed fates were all white, while those beneath the warriors with unfixed fates were all black.


    Although Zen was in neither of these groups, he was standing on a black stone as well.


    Whooshing sounds could be heard everywhere, leaving onlookers surprised and confused.


    The moment everyone stepped onto the stones, they were sent flying into the air by the woman.


    The warriors that stood on the black stones were on one side, while those on the white stones were on the other. The woman was floating in the middle.


    This was the final battle of the three hundred warriors in the Illusion Battlefield.


    But to the woman, it was within the variables and determinants that she had to deduce the destiny of this round of grand era.


    The great crisis that broke out during any round of grand era was usually a grand competition that used the universe as a board and countless creatures as stones.


    She had no way of knowing where the crisis would come fr


    cities in the Illusion Battlefield. Her aura hadn''t been strong in the first place, and she looked like a delicate human girl. So naturally, she had been ambushed a number of times.


    Her mind had been extremely stable and filled with fighting spirit. Whoever stopped her from finding Zen would become her mortal enemy, and thus, she would be like a goddess of death, killing a terrifying number of warriors.


    But right now, all she wanted was to stay by Zen''s side. How could she have any fighting spirit?


    Now that she was forcefully dragged into the fight, she had no choice but to make a move. It looked like she was being forced into a corner.


    When the Saya warrior saw that his first opponent was a delicate woman without any fighting spirit, he smiled, satisfied.


    The Saya race had been silent for too long. This ancient race was only a second-class race in the universe.


    If he took first place in the Illusion Battlefield this time, obtained a Godly Plate, and became a Godly Genius in the future, he would lead his race to glory once more.


    Thinking of this, the Saya warrior rolled his shoulders in preparation.


    Two thin totems emerged from behind his shoulders, an ancient aura emanating from them.


    The Saya race was also an ancient race, and they believed in their ancestors.


    Each generation of the Saya race was accumulating power for the next.


    As the son of the Saya race''s 36, 330th chief, he could obtain great power from his ancestors.


    ''I only need to display twenty to thirty percent of my power in the first match, '' he decided as he faced Margaret.


    He then pulled out a black pike from behind him.

 Chapter 1659 Ulysses

    In the Saya race''s grand sacred place, a giant totem was erected.


    An Illusion Space was present at the bottom of this massive totem. The picture appearing from the Illusion Space manifested in front of the totem.


    At this moment, hundreds of thousands of Saya members sat around the totem, gazing at the giant picture in front of them.


    The Saya race could only be considered a second-class race in the universe. Only one Supreme Lord had appeared in the race and there had never been a True God. The entire Saya race relied on the Supreme Lord, and struggled to support themselves in becoming one of the first-class races.


    However, compared to the first-class races such as the human race, the Demon Night race and the ogres, the Saya race appeared to be very weak.


    But today, the most outstanding talent of their race had ascended the peak of the Illusion Battlefield.


    It was a rare opportunity for the Saya race to rise in the universe. This talent was like a precious seed that would eventually grow into a giant tree. Sooner or later, he would become the new protector of the race. He might even become the first True God of the race.


    "Ulysses'' first opponent is a human woman!"


    "He''s pretty lucky that he hasn''t run into any of those Godly Geniuses."


    "This woman doesn''t seem to have any fighting spirit. Hah! Ulysses is bound to win the battle."


    Hundreds of thousands of Saya members began to discuss it among themselves, their words like a chant. It was akin to the buzz of bees. The atmosphere around the giant totem thrived.


    Under this massive totem, the chief of Saya race raised the pike in his hand and held it parallel, a gesture for the others to keep quiet.


    The Saya members fell silent as the chief howled, "Our ancestors will bless the Saya race!


    They will bless Ulysses!


    Their souls will never die!"


    Buzz...


    The Saya members echoed at the same time.


    The giant totem was the Ancestral Totem of the Saya race. Upon the death of the warriors of the Saya race, their flesh would be burnt away, but their souls would remain forever.


    The Saya members had poured the souls of their ancestors into the Ancestral Totem. The totem was unable to protect the souls from being destroyed, but with the infusion of countless ancestral souls, it contained the will of many ancestors.


    Buzz...


    At the same time, on the giant board, the two totems behind Ulysses'' back emitted faint lights.


    Holding the black pike in his hand, Ulysses had a faint smile on his face. "Father, you''re too nervous. You have summoned the ancestral power in the first battle for me, but I don''t actually need it."


    When the ancestral power was summoned, all totems of the Saya warriors were able to transmit the strong power.


    However, the ancestral power was not only owned by Ul


    the old woman behind them, Elder Apeiron.


    When Elder Apeiron saw this scene, she shook her head. However, no trace of worry marred her features. Instead, she said, "She''s acting impulsively. Perhaps she needs some time to get used to it."


    ''The woman''s sword array is nothing good, but her escape speed is first-rate!''


    Ulysses thought. His pike pushed and prodded, easily breaking the sword array, but Margaret had already retreated tens of thousands of feet.


    Seeing this, Ulysses sneered. From one of the totems behind his back, a brown halo of light spread out.


    "Aroo!"


    A loud and clear condor cry sounded.


    Activating the ancestral power, he now had the speed of the Magic Cyan Condor.


    His two hands spread out, transforming into a condor''s posture. He formed illusions in the air and drew closer to Margaret. The black pike once again closed in. At the same time, he had a serene expression on his face. "With this level of strength, I think it''s best for you to humbly admit defeat."


    Margaret, who had retreated tens of thousands of feet, looked up at the condor that was charging at her. A grave expression entered her clear eyes.


    Earlier, she had not been mentally prepared.


    Her only goal in the Illusion Battlefield had been to meet Zen. Now that she had achieved that, she no longer wanted to fight anyone.


    But now, not matter how much she wanted to back down, the person before her was still going to defeat her, or even kill her.


    It was useless to blindly give in. Moreover, at this moment, she remembered her master''s instructions. It was not important that she got a rank; she just wanted to do her best.


    She could not get eliminated in the first round itself.


    As she thought of this, Margaret''s pupils widened. The seven flying swords turned around at the same time and shot into the sky, forming a surging purple river.

 Chapter 1660 Admit Defeat

    A strong killing intent surfaced on Margaret''s elegant features.


    Purple River Sword Array¡­


    Her master had told her that the Purple Power World was an independent world and did not belong to the universe.


    It had once been the cultivation place of a True God and was a world that he had created himself. However, the rules of the heavens could not reach the place, so the Purple Power World could only be considered a broken plane. Things such as Roaring Tokens and the Illusion Space which contained the Law of Causality could not be passed on to the Purple Power World.


    The Purple Power World had inherited the general sword array, which was the Colorful Sword Array¡­


    The Colorful Sword Array was indeed powerful, and any girl with the Purple Power Body could cultivate it.


    However, other than the Colorful Sword Array, there were three more powerful sword arrays in the Purple Power World.


    One of them was the Purple River Sword Array, which could only be cultivated by women with a Purple Power Body at least at the third rank. Four thousand and two hundred warriors in the Purple Power World could cultivate this sword array.


    The second of the three powerful sword arrays was known as the Two Modes Sword Array, which women with a Purple Power Body at least at the second rank could cultivate. Over eighty women in the Purple Power World could perform the array.


    The last one was the Gods Killing Sword Array, which was the legacy of the True God who had created the Purple Power World. Until now, the only one qualified to inherit his sword array was none other than Margaret herself. That was to say, only Margaret was able to cultivate this sword array and she was the only one who had successfully mastered this sword array in the entirety of the Purple Power World.


    Ever since Margaret had entered the Illusion Battlefield, she had not used these three very powerful sword arrays.


    In the previous fights, she had only used the Colorful Sword Array as a defensive maneuver against the attacks of her opponents¡­


    Margaret was not a person who liked fighting. Ever since her childhood, she never liked swords or sabers or the like. Even though she came from a martial family, she was more interested in needlework and cooking.


    Just now, she had been completely flustered and put in a passive stance.


    However, while Ulysses had been forcing her back all the way, she became more aware that if defeated by him, she would probably be wiped out from the battlefield. Not only would her master be disappointed, but it was possible that she would not be able to accompany Zen here¡­


    In truth, even if she lost in this battle, she would not be eliminated. However, Margaret was ignorant of this.


    When the purple river in the sky spread out, the many ace talents on the stone


    t now, he should be invincible. However, the purple river turned into a whirlpool, trapping him within it.


    "I refuse to believe that I can''t break this sword array!"


    Ulysses roared out once again. The two totems floating in the air rotated faster and faster, and the radiance on his body grew brighter.


    However, after being trapped in the purple river, he discovered that the sword array could be as firm as a rock, or as soft as jelly. He had no way of breaking free at all. Annoyed, he cursed himself for being so easily trapped by Margaret.


    Upon seeing this, many of the other ace talents stared at Margaret and her sword array, their eyes full of dread.


    In their eyes, although Ulysses of the Saya race was an ace talent, he was not a very powerful one¡­


    Still, this girl, Margaret, had easily trapped him within her sword array. The power of the sword array itself was extraordinary.


    "Now... You can be the one to admit defeat," Margaret said to Ulysses in a low voice as she stepped out of the sword array.


    Defeating the person in front of her had not been too difficult a task, but there was no happiness on her face, as this victory was completely meaningless to her.


    "I haven''t lost yet!"


    Ulysses could not accept this result.


    Because the warriors of the Saya race worshipped and believed in their ancestors, they attached great importance to honor.


    After all, in their hearts, their ancestors were always by their side.


    Margaret blinked, her fingers enacting a profound sword tactic. Her face was marred with exasperation. "Then I will change the sword array again..."


    The third transformation of the Purple River Sword Array began and a cold killing intent burst out from the center of the purple river.


    The seven swords suddenly reappeared and transformed into a gigantic sword shadow, chopping down at Ulysses'' head¡­

 Chapter 1661 Praise

    Margaret no longer hesitated at this moment.


    She was already very proficient at the Purple River Sword Array.


    At the third stage of the array, which was called the ''Meteor Shower Array, '' she ordered her seven flying swords to make a joint attack on her enemy.


    Four years ago, her master had told her that the power of the Meteor Shower Array would allow her to fight most ace talents from large races.


    "Master, what is an ace talent?" she had asked her master back then.


    "They are the elite warriors with the greatest potential from the large races."


    "Are they even stronger than Zen?"


    To that, her master had only rolled her eyes and hadn''t said anything in reply.


    According to the Celestial Position''s estimation of Zen''s talent, Zen did have the potential to become an ace talent, but whether he could defeat the other geniuses still remained uncertain.


    As for Margaret, she had already been able to fight against an ace talent four years ago by virtue of the Purple River Sword Array. Now, she was even stronger after mastering the Gods Killing Sword Array.


    It was a pity that she didn''t care about martial arts at all.


    She had neither realized nor appreciated her great potential and strength.


    But there was one thing she understood at this moment.


    She either had to choose to avoid the battle or to end it quickly.


    Of course, she had no way of escaping from a battle on the Heaven Earth Board, so she decided to kill her opponent as quickly as possible.


    It was a pathetic result for Ulysses from the Saya race. He didn''t even have the chance to unleash his full strength before he was trapped and killed by Margaret''s Purple River Sword Array ¡ª not that it mattered, of course, considering the large gap between their true strengths.


    Even if Ulysses were to use his most powerful skill, it would only be a small obstacle for Margaret.


    The battle between Margaret and Ulysses was the opening match of the third stage and thus had attracted everyone''s attention.


    Unfortunately, this battle was far from exciting.


    Margaret''s negative attitude at the very beginning had taken many people by surprise. But all of a sudden, she turned the tables after revealing her surprising strength and defeated the ace talent from the Saya race quite easily.


    Even Zen hadn''t been able to understand what was going on in Margaret''s mind, let alone the rest of the audience who didn''t know her well.


    In fact, Elder Apeiron might be the only one who could have understood the girl''s strange actions and know her reasons for behaving the way she did.


    Of course, to the Saya race, this result was like a slap on the face. They had never expected that this delicate human girl, who had been dodging attacks all over the place in the beginning, would defeat Ulysses so easily.


    The Saya people stood silently under their huge totem. Even the light emitted by their totem had dimmed a bit. Theoretically, their ancestors'' souls had already turned into a kind of will and had been observing


    chance.


    The battles continued.


    As the black and white stones kept being added to the board in every round, the number of stones left on the board slowly increased.


    Zen, however, still hadn''t been chosen to fight.


    When the 22nd round came, the ogre warrior was selected again by the huge hand.


    Interestingly enough, his opponent was once again a human warrior.


    This time, it was Nathan!


    Nathan was the so-called number one Soul Sea Realm warrior in the universe, undoubtedly an important figure in the whole grand era and the famous Godly Genius from the Thoughtless Minds!


    When he stepped onto the stage, all of the human warriors that were watching through the Illusion Space began to jump for joy. They knew how this round would turn out and they could barely contain their excitement. After all, the ogre warrior had it coming.


    At the same time, the atmosphere around the ogre warriors who were watching the battle became tense.


    After all, Nathan''s reputation was not only known by the human race.


    Since he was a Godly Genius, he would be able to grasp a Godly Way and had the possibility of becoming a True God!


    There were only a few Godly Geniuses in the entire universe, and Nathan was known to be the strongest one among them. There was no need to mention how famous he was in the universe.


    After the black and white stones were set on the board, Nathan stepped off his stone.


    His face was completely void of emotion as he slowly walked toward the other side of the board at a steady pace.


    As for the ogre warrior who had previously provoked the human race, it was obvious that he knew that Nathan was not an opponent to be trifled with, because his face was filled with caution. He understood that he wouldn''t stand a chance against Nathan, but as an ace talent representing all ogres, he wanted to do his best at least.


    It had never crossed his mind that there would be no time at all for him to display his full strength.


    Nathan defeated him with just one hit.

 Chapter 1662 Terrifyingly Strong

    Nathan casually struck the ogre martial artist with the most ordinary palm print.


    Once he''d made the palm print, he turned around and left without taking another look.


    There were countless different kinds of palm prints in the universe such as the Blessed Buddha Land''s Anti-Demon Palm Print, the Immeasurable Palm Print, the Diamond Palm Print, and so on.


    So it was surprising that the palm print that Nathan had used was the most ordinary and unremarkable one. It was condensed from the life vitality within one''s body and could be released by any martial artist.


    However, Nathan was still Nathan.


    Although he had used the most ordinary palm print, his palm print still contained the aura of a great way!


    When the ogre martial artist saw the palm print hovering over his head, he naturally wanted to dodge. But before he could take a step forward, he realized that he had fallen into a trance, unable to move and unable to resist.


    This was the power of the way.


    The 3000 Godly Ways were 3000 great ways.


    Each way had a different set.


    The Godly Way that Nathan practiced was a well-kept secret.


    This was because the Xuanyuan Clan that Nathan belonged to was a very unique clan. Out of the four great clans of the Thoughtless Minds, the Xuanyuan Clan was the most powerful one. In the other three clans, which included Lucille''s Clan and Janet''s Clan, Godly Geniuses had been rare and even didn''t appear in some generations.


    In other words, the other three great clans only had ace talents and no Godly Geniuses.


    But in the Xuanyuan Clan, Godly Geniuses kept coming into being. What was more, each Godly Genius of the Xuanyuan Clan was born with a different Godly Way.


    Obtaining a Godly Way, such as the Ji Clan''s Five Elements Godly Way, was considered an amazing thing as it rarely happened in other clans.


    But every time a Godly Genius was born in the Xuanyuan Clan, they would train in a different Godly Way. The various beings in the universe could never understand why and never would, as the Xuanyuan Clan had always regarded their Godly Ways as the greatest secrets of the clan and would never reveal them to the outside world.


    Originally, many people had wanted to force Nathan to make a move and see what kind of Godly Way he cultivated.


    But as his palm print came down, although it obviously contained the power of the great way, they could only tell it was the simplest life vitality palm print; it was truly impossible to distinguish his Godly Way.


    Bam!


    The big palm print covered the sky above the ogre martial artist and slammed into him.


    picked another human warrior.


    This human warrior wielded a dark-colored sword. It was the ace talent who had died once before because of Zen¡ªLone, the Otherworldly Swordsman.


    "This time, my opponent is finally somewhat normal!" A dark and cold expression appeared on Norvin''s face. He was no match for Nathan, but he was not afraid of ordinary human ace talents.


    Lone had only earned fame recently, and that too only within the Thoughtless Minds. Other races and forces were not familiar with him, not to mention that he had lost five million Illusion Points because of Zen. And with his own twelve million Illusion Points, his ranking was not high at the first stage.


    As a result, he was inconspicuous.


    Only those who were from the Thoughtless Minds knew...


    Although Lone was an ace talent now, he definitely had the terrifying power to fight a Godly Genius himself!


    A cold smile appeared on Norvin''s face. He wanted to return the humiliation he had suffered to this ace talent in front of him.


    As the two stones were relatively close to each other this time around, Norvin was the first to make a move when Lone was just placed down on the board.


    He immediately struck with his strongest move.


    "Immeasurable dark power!"


    The supreme divine weapon in his hands was a giant drum, and within the drum was a heart, a powerful heart that had been beating for tens of thousands of years.


    However, just as he revealed his strength, Lone expressionlessly slashed out.


    This sword strike was similar to Nathan''s palm print, in that it was just as simple and just as unstoppable.


    When Norvin saw the incoming attack and felt the hidden might within it, he couldn''t help but curse in a low voice, "Damn it!"

 Chapter 1663 A Game Of Chance

    The power in that sword strike was beyond anything Norvin had ever imagined and it caught him off guard!


    Nathan was a Godly Genius and his Mahayana Lotus Flower was in perfect state. Thus it was expected that he could send out an extremely formidable palm print which contained the force of great way.


    The Otherworldly Swordsman, on the other hand, was an ace talent whose Mahayana Lotus Flower had not yet reached the perfect state. Hence he could not have stepped into the Godly Way just yet.


    Norvin underestimated the Otherworldly Swordsman and that was his biggest mistake. The moment he attacked, Norvin wasn''t prepared. He didn''t expect that this seemingly ordinary Otherworldly Swordsman could release such immense power!


    His body started trembling and he was having trouble catching his breath. For the first time, he felt scared for his life.


    The Otherworldly Swordsman was just an ace talent, but the power that he released was far greater than Nathan''s.


    Norvin could compare Nathan''s comprehension of the Godly Way to a newly sprouting seed, while the power of Godly Way that this Otherworldly Swordsman had put into his sword strike was like a full-grown tree.


    This analogy, however, was based solely on the comprehension level of the Godly Way and had nothing to do with physical power and strength.


    But no matter how much Norvin thought about it, he still couldn''t figure out how such an ace talent could harness this incredible power.


    Unfortunately, he wouldn''t get a chance to find out.


    As the ordinary sword strike drew closer, Norvin was pushed to the edge and had no room to dodge. It pierced through his body and his blood slowly poured out from where the sword struck.


    The Otherworldly Swordsman had cast a contemptuous glance at Norvin. And when he was certain that the latter was done for, he had withdrawn his sword and returned into his stone.


    "Norvin from the ogre race has been defeated!"


    Many ogre warriors from different sacred places including the Supreme Lords and world lords were the rowdiest in the crowd during the fight between Norvin and the Otherworldly Swordsman. They were not in a good mood when he had lost in his last battle, so this time, they cheered on him from the top of their lungs.


    But as the news of his second defeat was announced, they became silent trying to comprehend what just happened.


    No one could believe that Norvin was defeated for the second time.


    Meanwhile, the humans especially those in sacred places of the Thoughtless Minds were cheering with excitement and overflowing joy.


    "One move! It just took one move for the Otherworldly Swordsman to defeat Norvin! That''s incredible!"


    "I knew it! The Otherworldly Swordsman is a supernormal talent. Although he is an ace talent, he can be at par with the Godly Genius when he uses his mysterious iron sword!"


    "Ha-ha. I''m not sure how Norvin would move on from this! This time, he is a disgrace to the ogre race!"


    The warriors from the tens of thousands of sacred places in the Thoughtless Minds couldn''t help but feel proud.


    Aside from them, the Humanity Alliance and the Blessed Buddha Land also felt overjoyed. This was a glorious moment for the human race. Who would have thought that this ogre would be defeated by a human ace talent?


    These moments had bridged the gap between humans from different worlds and statuses. For a moment, their seemingly divided worlds were united. Chaos was set aside, and harmo


    e rules and mysteries that would await them in the battlefield.


    And Norvin wasn''t fond of surprises especially when it came to battles. He didn''t like the uncertainty there was in this stage.


    He was just defeated by the Otherworldly Swordsman in a battle when suddenly, the stone under his feet was once again gripped by the giant hand!


    Norvin was dumbfounded! He wanted to oppose the decision, but he knew it would only be pointless.


    Unable to resist, he could only hope that his next opponent would be somehow inferior to him. He would be at the disadvantage if he faced the Godly Genius. However, he also didn''t want to fight the weakest opponents as it wouldn''t be any much of a thrill.


    With a long face, Norvin could not help but just watch the giant beautiful hand in front of him pick his opponent.


    The giant hand landed on another black stone.


    ''Another human warrior?'' Norvin''s eyes widened as he glared at the human warrior. His body froze and his hands began to tremble. He was afraid of facing a human warrior again.


    Finally, the mysterious girl''s voice announced the players.


    "Norvin of the ogre race versus the human warrior¡ªZen Luo."


    ''Zen Luo?''


    Norvin was shocked. He felt like the stars were conspiring against him!


    The universe was so vast that not all remarkable ace talents were known to all the races. Most often than not, these remarkable ace talents were only known by their own races. That was why Norvin didn''t recognize the Otherworldly Swordsman at the beginning.


    But Zen was different from them.


    His name was known in almost the entire universe. There was no living creature that had not heard of his name¡ªthe humans, the ogres, the Demon Night members, the members of those insignificant small races, and countless ordinary mortals were all familiar with his name.


    Even the fierce beasts and animals with high intelligence knew his name. They could also hear and understand his words.


    After all, he had the Roaring Token. Whenever he would speak through this, his voice could spread throughout the whole universe and all intelligent living creatures in the universe would hear and understand him.


    But despite his fame, only a few warriors had seen his true strength. Those warriors were either the ones he had faced before or his dear friends.

 Chapter 1664 Defensive Stance (Part One)

    Norvin had now lost two battles.


    At this moment, he had become exceptionally cautious.


    He didn''t know the full depths of Zen''s strength; however, he had already lost both battles in just one move, which had extinguished much of his previously cocky fighting spirit.


    At this moment, Norvin was no longer hoping for success.


    Of course, if he could win against Zen, that would be wonderful. But knowing that he might lose again, he could only hope that he wouldn''t lose in a single move again, like he had in the previous two confrontations.


    So, the instant that he stepped onto the Heaven Earth Board again, he brought out his supreme divine weapon, that huge drum.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    The moment that he unleashed the mighty drum, it began to emit rhythmic sounds.


    The sounds of the reverberating drum were not created by Norvin hitting the drum, but they were the sounds of the beating heart inside the drum.


    As the sounds of the drum echoed forth, Norvin also let out a full-throated cry.


    The protective life vitality which wrapped Norvin''s body also fluctuated in accordance to a pre-determined rhythm, and it transformed into a layer of black scales that formed a shining armor, superimposed over his body.


    "Magic Glowing Protection!"


    This move would strengthen Norvin''s defenses to the maximum.


    An ogre''s body was already incomparably strong. After the Magic Glowing Protection was applied, the degree of his body''s brutality was now equal to that of those thick-skinned legendary beasts which were feared by most warriors. He would now be exceptionally difficult to beat.


    But even this was not enough!


    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!


    Immediately following this, there was an urgent staccato of drumming.


    "Magic Glowing Wind!"


    With this, Numerous, formless gales surrounded him, creating a living torn


    deducing the implications within this. Although he had not reached a conclusion yet, he had a faintly dire premonition that this did not bode well for the ogre race.


    He tried to make the calculations carefully and find countermeasures to deal with the unseen crisis lurking in the world of chaos.


    Zen stood where he was and judged the situation for a while before walking towards Norvin, who had taken enough time to prepare. Apparently, Zen was very confident in himself.


    "Zen is going to attack his opponent," Rocher murmured. Fondly touching the long sword strapped to his back, he had a faint smile on his handsome face.


    ''Has the gap between us narrowed or widened? Can I win against him? Can I beat him?'' he pondered and hoped that there would be a chance for him to engage Zen in combat later. He was eager to find out what a fight between Zen and him would be like after so many years.


    He wasn''t in a hurry, though. As long as he could win his battles in the meantime, sooner or later he would have a chance to duel with Zen.


    "Zen, all the best!" Margaret shouted. After she shouted this encouragement, her long eyelashes blinked twice, and she then changed her form of address. "Honey! You can do it!"

 Chapter 1665 Defensive Stance (Part Two)

    As she yelled that, the faces of the ace talents and Godly Geniuses present all revealed a superlatively strange look.


    These warriors did not give credence to the private matters of others. They had not paid much attention to the intimate relationship which Margaret and Zen shared. They felt it strange because they had thought that the two warriors had only met here in the Illusion Battlefield and it was too soon for them to be so intimate.


    "Ha-ha!"


    Looking at the confused expressions on the faces of the warriors, Rocher couldn''t help but laugh.


    Even the girl in pink turned to look at Margaret in bewilderment. However, her face was blurry and her expression remained indistinct.


    As for those in the outside world, the gathered warriors were also discussing this development among themselves.


    "Is that woman Zen''s wife?"


    "They both made it to the top three hundred. This is too strange to be a coincidence!"


    "Ah, Zen is so lucky. How can a country bumpkin that ascended from the Lower World have such a beauty by his side?"


    "Humph, they most likely hooked up recently in the Illusion Battlefield. A woman, who so easily hooks up with a man, is most likely not of fair virtues!"


    Countless warriors were discussing this development. There were those who sighed, those who admired, and even those who despised the couple for it.


    When Preston heard Margaret''s voice resonating from the Illusion Space, he immediately glanced over at Letitia.


    Letitia looked away and cursed in a darkly muttered voice, "Shameless!"


    Preston felt a faint smile spread on his face. He had lived for so many years. How could he not understand this situation?


    Since even the Saint Lord of thei


    gh this perfect but cowardly defense was very humiliating, he used it since he was truly afraid of being crushed. Even though he might lose again, he didn''t want to lose in just one move again!


    As he watched Zen''s punch come crashing down on him, he hurriedly beat a retreat while fiercely defending himself.


    "Tear him apart! Norvin, you are the ace talent of our ogre race. How can you be so cowardly?"


    "That brat did not even put his life vitality into that punch. What are you afraid of?"


    "I think Norvin shouldn''t have been chosen to participate in the Illusion Battlefield this time."


    As this scene spread to the outside world, it made countless ogre warriors turn sour and restless, and they all angrily scolded Norvin.


    In the midst of these curses, Zen had already moved closer. No matter how fast Norvin retreated, he could never be faster than Zen.


    When Zen''s similarly unremarkable punch broke through Norvn''s defenses and landed on his arm, Norvin''s expression changed. At this moment, Norvin didn''t know who to curse anymore, and contemplating surrender, he could only curse the heavens for his misfortune.

 Chapter 1666 Spear Strike

    Truth be told, Norvin was not so weak. He was, after all, an ace talent of the ogre race.


    It was just that he had been too careless in the earlier two battles. He knew he was no match for Nathan in the first battle. But he didn''t expect Nathan to kill him with just one palm strike.


    While in the second battle, his opponent was Lone, the not-so-famous Otherwordly Swordsman. Norvin had wanted to turn the tables around, but he was instantly killed by Lone with a single strike of his sword.


    Actually, if Norvin had adopted a defensive position and fled from his opponents as fast as he could in the previous two battles, he would not have been struck down by them with just one move.


    No doubt there was a gap between a Godly Genius and an ace talent, but not to such a huge extent.


    As Norvin had lost two battles, he was very cautious and he had laid down two defenses in a row.


    He cultivated both body and life vitality. The Magic Glowing Protection belonged to the life vitality system¡ªhe used his life vitality to activate the large drum to form the Magic Glowing Armor. He also used his forceful energy.


    It could be said that it was the perfect combination of forceful energy and life vitality.


    The outer layer of the Magic Glowing Armor was tough, and the inner layer was hard as well. An ordinary warrior would not be able to penetrate it.


    However, Norvin was unable to showcase its full potential.


    This time, all of the ace talents and Godly Geniuses had taken the best treasures of their races into the Illusion Battlefield.


    The giant drum that Norvin had taken with him was one such treasure. It was called the Magic Spirit Drum. It was a supreme divine weapon and ranked 405th on the Universe Spirit Tablet.


    The weapons in the hands of this group of warriors were indeed extremely powerful, but they were unable to use them in their full potential.


    Generally speaking, if one wanted to use a supreme divine weapon in its fullest power, one would need to be at least a Spirit Transformation Realm warrior or a world lord.


    Even if the Magic Glowing Armor only operated at 10% of the Magic Spirit Drum''s strength, it was not something that could be easily shattered with brute force.


    With the armor in his possession, Norvin believed that Zen would not be able to break his defense using just his bare fists.


    If he was to be killed three times in a row by human warriors, it was undoubtedly a great humiliation to this ogre ace talent. He would rather commit suicide! Only by killing himself


    in front of the Ogre Ancestor Statue could he atone and wash away the shame he had brought to the ogres.


    When he felt the aura from within the Magic Glowing Armor, Zen became serious. He was pondering over what would happen after his punch.


    The


    t Killing Spear!" remarked someone.


    "How did it end up in Zen''s hands?" asked another.


    "The Saint Killing Spear is the Demon Night''s most precious treasure, and the queen of the Demon Night is by his side. But she couldn''t have passed it down to Zen, right?"


    "Humph. I heard that the Queen of Killings is only a soul now. Where did she even get the Saint Killing Spear from? This spear must have obviously been preserved within the Demon Night."


    Meanwhile, inside the Demon Night, Elena stared coldly at the Saint Killing Spear in Zen''s hand. A ruthless expression was visible on her face as her gaze landed on Malachi, who was beside her.


    "My...my queen..." Malachi stammered and knelt down on the floor.


    Elena was in the same faction as Malachi, and there was also a bloodline connection between them. Back then, she had supported Malachi''s father, Gunter, to become a Supreme Lord.


    "The Saint Killing Spear was accidentally snatched by Zen in the Illusion Battlefield," Malachi explained quickly to quell his queen''s fury.


    Elena shook her head and sighed, "It''s only a projection of the spear. It''s not important, but let me tell you something: you let me down!"


    Losing the Saint Killing Spear in the Illusion Battlefield was no big deal as the real spear was still in her possession. However, all of Malachi''s Illusion Points were taken away and he failed to make it to the second stage. This was what disappointed Elena.


    The two groups of Demon Night warriors supporting her were almost completely annihilated in the Illusion Battlefield, while the Godly Genius groomed by the Queen of Life had a smooth journey and might rank high.


    However, that Godly Genius belonged to the faction that followed the Queen of Life. Elena always wanted to control the entire situation, and so she was not pleased when such a thing happened.

 Chapter 1667 The Rules Of Elimination

    When Zen pulled out the Saint Killing Spear, the faces of the other martial artists drained of color.


    The spear was one of the top three supreme divine weapons on the Universe Spirit Tablet. It was the symbol of the Demon Night.


    ''Isn''t Zen a sword cultivator?


    Why did he switch to use a spear so suddenly?'' they wondered.


    Zen hadn''t stayed in the Upper World for long. But the fact that he was in the Humanity Alliance had already been dug up by many people, as was his performance in Passing the Torch.


    The Humanity Alliance had probably released the news on purpose, with the intention of proving to the other races in the universe that Zen was a part of their Alliance.


    But Zen did not care what others thought of him.


    The Saint Killing Spear had been returned to his space ring after one thrust.


    Every other living being in the universe had heard of Zen''s name, but this was the first time they were seeing him in action.


    It was true that Zen had killed Norvin, an ogre ace talent. But the Saint Killing Spear was so famous that many would think he had won because of the spear and not because of his true strength.


    Zen went back into the air and stepped onto a black stone. Close by, a white stone began to float towards him.


    On this white stone stood a slender woman from the Demon Night. Quiet and elegant, she was a little less spirited compared to the other women, but also more dignified.


    As she floated up to Zen, she stared at him and said, "Friend, please return the Saint Killing Spear to us. It belongs to us and is the Demon Night''s most sacred item."


    Zen smiled.


    He knew that the Saint Killing Spear was extremely important to the Demon Night. But the problem was that they were in the Illusion Battlefield.


    The Saint Killing Spear he was using was not the original spear itself but just a projection. But he knew that there was a high chance that he could take the s


    h Board and the battle continued to unfold.


    Three hundred ace talents was a small number, but it still took a great deal of time to finish the matches one at a time.


    Ever since Zen had fought on the board, he had never gotten another chance to fight. On the other hand, Margaret had battled twice, and she had won both times using the Purple River Sword Array, which had been enough while she handled an ace talent.


    It was the thirty-fourth round when one of the three hundred martial artists was finally eliminated.


    All the black stones on the board had now surrounded the white one, causing the martial artist on the white stone to fight with all his might. If he won, he could still stay on the Heaven Earth Board, and if he lost, he would be eliminated.


    But he had still been defeated and became the first among the three hundred warriors to be eliminated.


    And even though Norvin had faced continuous defeats, he escaped elimination because the stone he had stepped on wasn''t being trapped.


    This meant that if his stone wasn''t cornered when placed on the board, he wouldn''t be eliminated irrespective of the outcome of the match.


    But if a warrior''s stone was blocked on the board, he HAD to fight for his life, because if he lost, he would be eliminated.

 Chapter 1668 Xenia Luo

    The fact that the first martial artist had been eliminated didn''t attract much attention from the eyes of ordinary martial artists.


    It was quite normal for a martial artist to be eliminated in a fight or a battle. After all, there had to be a loser, for there to be a winner.


    However, there were many martial artists who began to question the rules that governed this Heaven Earth Board. Using this method of eliminating martial artists seemed to be utterly baseless, and it was impossible to select the real best martial artist.


    For example, the fact that the ogre warrior named Norvin had been defeated three times in a row without being eliminated, was considered unfair by other warriors.


    However, the combatants and spectators didn''t realize that this battle was just a prelude of the universe''s future. This age-old play had very little to do with fairness in the end.


    On the contrary, the Supreme Lords in the universe paid special attention to this tricky matter.


    The first ace talent who had been eliminated¡­


    His name was Gael.


    He was the best warrior from the Spring race.


    The Spring race was a small and unknown race, and they couldn''t even be considered a second-rate race. However, an ace talent had been born in this insignificant race. After all, this race controlled only three supreme worlds. These three supreme worlds were extremely poor and mostly barren, so no major force was willing to occupy such a strategically unsound territory.


    "Could it be... Could it be that the crisis of this round of the universe is due to arise from such a small and unknown race?"


    Within the Humanity Alliance, Supreme Lord Healum muttered as he surveyed the black and white stones.


    "It''s such a small race, the Spring race. Our Humanity Alliance can easily destroy them with the combined strength of just a few tenth-grade sacred places. Do they even have the ability to trigger a crisis?" Yolande asked in confusion.


    Supreme Lord Healum smiled and said, "This kind of small race is nothing to fear, but¡­ They may not have the ability to initiate a crisis, but a crisis might break out from their side in any case."


    How would this crisis then happen? So far, no one had an inkling how it would happen.


    It could be a silent, apocalyptic plague that not even Supreme Lords could fight against; it could also be a destruction on an eradicative scale due to the fall of the stars; or, it could also be a war instigated by an ambitious schemer from some greater forces. A storm started with a small drop.


    Given the speculations of many Supreme Lords, their gazes all turned upon the Spring race.


    If they were to start speculation about this race, they would very likely deduce a probable result. According to this result, they would then be able to set up their defenses in advance in order to overcome the predicted crisis.


    The stones on the Heaven Earth Board were still falling down one by one, forming a strange linear pattern.


    The white stones which were ''definite'' seemed to have a stable basis, and they already occupied a large area on the board. As for the black stones, which were ''variable'', their line had become jagged and was cut into pieces by the white stones.


    As the warriors became more familiar with the rules, the way they fought changed as well. After all, the warriors'' motto was adapt or die.


    These martial


    the Godly Genius of the Celestial Position was cast onto the board, the hand hovered over Zen.


    Seeing the intention of the hand, Zen''s eyebrows twitched. "It''s me?"


    However, with an index finger extended, the hand ultimately went directly over Zen''s head and grabbed a warrior not too far away from him, Rocher!


    "So it''s Rocher who gets to fight her," Margaret said softly, a tinge of relief in her tone. No one wanted to duel against a Godly Genius and face the real possibility of being eliminated.


    "Rocher..." Zen''s brow creased slightly.


    This was not good news.


    He knew that the increase in Rocher''s strength had already caused a qualitative change, but he wasn''t sure if it was enough to win victory for Rocher.


    Those Godly Geniuses, although they were also Soul Sea Realm warriors, had completed the full bloom of their Mahayana Lotus Flowers. If they did not die, they would have a high chance of becoming True Gods. And most importantly, they had already begun to comprehend the Godly Way, so their understanding and use of the Godly Way were far superior to normal warriors.


    If Rocher were to face Xenia, the odds were heavily stacked against him.


    When Rocher saw the concerned expression on Zen''s face, he smiled at Zen before his black stone was held down to the board. He was still indifferent, confident, and full of the heroic spirit of a true warrior.


    And at this very moment¡­


    A flurry of conversation erupted from one of the tenth-grade sacred places of the Thoughtless Minds.


    Rocher had ascended to a tenth-grade sacred place of the Thoughtless Minds, and thus he had become the hope of this sacred place.


    Never in his dreams had their Saint Lord ever imagined that a martial artist, who came from this sacred place, would actually be able to stand within the top three hundred.


    The entire Thoughtless Minds was subject to the rule of the four great clans, while their tenth-grade sacred places were merely subordinate to the four great clans. The warriors who had qualified to enter the top three hundred were the ace talents and Godly Geniuses of the big clans; while, the rest of the ace talents of the tenth-grade sacred places had failed completely.


    However, Rocher was the only exception.

 Chapter 1669 Fighting Without The Sword

    The Saint Lord of the sacred place was overjoyed when Rocher made it into the top ten thousand.


    As a great power of the human race, the Thoughtless Minds was actually four large divine kingdoms, and the four great clans acted as its emperors.


    The sacred places under its command were considered to be subjects of the four clans. The Thoughtless Minds was completely different from the Humanity Alliance in terms of structure.


    And because of this, the four great clans would be given all the resources and they would then allocate these resources.


    The fact that this tenth-grade sacred place had cultivated a talent who was now in the top ten thousand was completely beyond the Saint Lord''s expectations. He would be able to take advantage of this fact to obtain more resources and rewards from the four great clans.


    But they had never expected Rocher to improve his ranking once he became one of the top ten thousand warriors.


    He had succeeded in entering the second stage.


    And then, at last, he entered the final stage, becoming one of the participants battling on the Heaven Earth Board.


    This brought joy to many warriors of the tenth-grade sacred place.


    It even attracted the attention of the Saint Lords of two other tenth-grade sacred places.


    It was a pity that the black stone under Rocher''s feet had not been moved onto the board yet. This made them increasingly anxious and they wanted now more than ever to watch him battle.


    What they hadn''t expected was that Rocher would get onto the board at this critical moment. If he was defeated at this time, he would be eliminated immediately.


    They had also not expected that Xenia would be Rocher''s opponent!


    Xenia was the star of the Celestial Position, born within thunder and lightning.


    All of the ace talents present were legendary figures.


    And Xenia''s background was especially exceptionally miraculous.


    The Mysterious Thunder World, one of the many worlds in the universe, was filled with a violent power of thunder.


    And no one had set foot there in all these years.


    It wasn''t because they were afraid of the thunder. In fact, the more strange and dangerous a place was, the more likely one would get a great opportunity. There were often countless warriors who went to such places to find opportunities and train to become stronger.


    The Divine Flame World was one of such places. This world was not suitable for living, but many warriors would risk their lives to enter it and obtain secret treasures.


    The risks were often proportional to returns.


    The Mysterious Thunder World, on the other hand, was special because of the fact that a Mysterious Thunder Beast was sealed within it.


    It was said that about eighty million years ago, six Supreme Lords had joined forces to seal this Mysterious Thunde


    ber of the Cloud Hall.


    Letitia had secretly observed Rocher back then. If there weren''t any big surprises, he would be promoted to the position of hall leader once his cultivation base was high enough.


    But Rocher''s ambitions were not limited to the Cloud Hall or even the Central Region. He had even greater ambitions.


    Rocher had disappeared since he had left the Central Region. It was only after Letitia had flown into the Upper World that she came to know that Rocher had actually ascended to the Upper World, and that he possessed such powerful strength.


    At Rocher''s reply, the warriors of the tenth-grade sacred place of the Thoughtless Minds erupted into a discontented chaos.


    But their dissatisfaction wasn''t of great importance. The help they had extended to Rocher hadn''t been great. They had just let him use their ascending passageway.


    Rocher ignored Xenia''s confused gaze.


    With one hand on the scabbard, he slowly drew the sword out, revealing the snow-white blade.


    "I''m not going to use this sword to fight you," he said. Rocher then stopped unsheathing his sword before smiling. "If you have the strength, you can force me to unsheathe my sword to resist you."


    Everyone was stunned.


    Judging from his words, Rocher didn''t plan on drawing his sword even while fighting Xenia.


    He proved it by sliding the sword back into the scabbard.


    But he was facing a Godly Genius, not an ordinary warrior! And Xenia was the Godly Genius of the Celestial Position!


    "Why is this guy so confident and how does he dare say those words to Xenia?"


    "What on earth is the Cloud Hall? What kind of a force is it? There seems to be no such force in the universe!"


    "This fellow will be in great trouble. I''m afraid that Xenia will torture him to death!"


    Every warrior in the universe who was witnessing this scene thought Rocher to be crazy.

 Chapter 1670 Ultimate Sword Intent

    After hearing what Rocher said, many martial artists thought that he was quite arrogant.


    However, Zen simply smiled and nodded. After all, he was no stranger to Rocher''s personality.


    Rocher was not an arrogant person. Since he said so, he must be self-confident.


    While a Godly Genius was definitely a powerful being, there was no set rule that said that Godly Geniuses were truly invincible beings.


    Being a Godly Genius just meant that one could follow a Godly Way and comprehend the great internal momentum within it. Although the internal momentum was highly powerful and had surpassed the heavens'' limits, it didn''t mean that it couldn''t be broken.


    Rocher was already this confident even when he was still at the nature level. Zen just didn''t expect that he would still be the same until now.


    From there, it could be said that some people just had certain traits since birth. Even though they were sharpened by the many hardships they had experienced, their nature wasn''t bound to change.


    Meanwhile, Xenia grinned upon hearing Rocher''s words.


    She wasn''t even angry.


    On the contrary, she just sized up Rocher with a strange look in her eyes.


    There were many talents in the Celestial Position race. Any warrior lucky enough to join them were considered as core disciples in any tenth-grade sacred place. However, they were actually just like a lion''s tail in the Celestial Position itself.


    Xenia had never sparred with martial artists of her same generation.


    Still, the warriors from the same generation as her in the Celestial Position were always wary of her. It could be said that their cautiousness had a hint of fear.


    She hated that look.


    Xenia understood her own background growing up. She already looked strong on the outside, and she had even gotten the golden title of ''Rakshasa'' of the Celestial Position to boot.


    Yet, she knew deep inside that everyone else around her thought of her as a monster.


    Their seriousness and politeness combined with estrangement made it difficult for her to be close to others.


    Therefore, her master was her only companion as she grew up, then there was an endless sea of loneliness. This girl had been surviving alone in a short span of twenty years, but deep inside she yearned for normal friendship from everyone else.


    She even wished that she was an ordinary person instead.


    If she was an ordinary girl, she''d grow up in a boudoir, have loving parents, maybe even marry a loyal and diligent person and live a simple, short life.


    However, her fate was destined to be different since the very beginning.


    No one spoke to her after she was sent to the Celestial Position race, so they put her in the thunderstorm space of the Celestial Position. There she received the endless support


    forefinger towards him, then pointed it towards the ground.


    "Crack!"


    "Ten directions'' lightning annihilation..."


    Her lips curved into a smile again after she spoke and said, "If you don''t pull out the sword now, I''m afraid you won''t have another chance."


    Her words were followed by numerous purple thunderbolts that appeared continuously on the Heaven Earth Board.


    The thunderbolts looked powerful enough to destroy the whole world, and they rapidly charged towards Rocher all at once!


    However, there was no fear in Rocher''s eyes as he faced the incoming thunderbolts head on. He simply stabbed the sword in the ground.


    "Your Thunder Law is very strong, and the power of your internal momentum is already beyond the power that exists in this universe," Rocher said. He smiled faintly at Xenia and continued, "I know that the essential difference between a Godly Genius and an ace talent is their internal momentum. If someone took away your internal momentum, you would only be just as strong as an ace talent...


    To others, the internal momentum is almost impossible to resist," Rocher said as he shook his head. "But to me, it''s almost useless."


    Rocher leaned on his long sword after he spoke. A tiny bit of sword intent from the sword scabbard floated.


    Rocher had not yet activated his sword intent, but his sword intent had started to leak out on its own.


    When Zen saw the sword intent, he finally understood where Rocher''s confidence lay.


    He also didn''t expect that Rocher had actually comprehended the ultimate sword intent in the past few years.


    The ultimate sword intent had become a sort of a limitation in the universe. If he were to advance a bit more, it would surpass the current round of heavens.


    Therefore, to a certain extent, Rocher could also be considered as a being on par to a Godly Genius.

 Chapter 1671 Turning Into Lightning

    A man who had been away three days must be looked at with new eyes.


    But Rocher''s progress still surprised Zen immensely.


    It hadn''t been long since Rocher''s ascension, so it was evident that he had already come upon an extremely valuable opportunity while he was on the savage land.


    Zen could only wonder what kind of wonders the savage land hid to help Rocher improve so much in such a short amount of time.


    Zen was not able to cultivate his sword intent to the perfection even after crossing the Hall of Causality and practicing his sword strikes with Supreme Lord Sword for a long time.


    According to Supreme Lord Sword, Zen''s sword intent was till defective.


    This defectiveness prevented him from reaching the peak of the Emotion Closing Godly Way and achieving the ultimate sword intent.


    But Rocher had displayed something extremely powerful yet equally mysterious just now. Not even Zen seemed to have understood this ultimate sword intent he had used.


    Numerous purple thunderbolts, all loaded with devastating energy, rushed towards Rocher.


    One thunderbolt would be enough to completely incinerate a Spirit Supreme Realm warrior instantly!


    But when these thunderbolts went against Rocher''s ultimate sword intent, they all exploded one by one.


    These explosions were deadly as the bolts scattered into numerous, web-like currents of electricity in the air.


    Crack!


    The Heaven Earth Board turned purple from the continuous thunderstorm. Gaping, ominous holes appeared in the sky one by one as the Heaven Earth Board was struck with a devastating storm of pure, electric power.


    However...


    These thunderbolts were still unable to cause Rocher any harm.


    The earth was struck again and again, but the area around the young man remained pristine and untouched.


    Two-hundred and ninety-eight warriors and the entire universe were witnesses to this event.


    The one-hundred and twenty-eight Supreme Lords were, of course, also watching. All of them were quiet and currently assessed the situation in front of them. They never thought that two warriors at the Soul Sea Realm could provide them with such an interesting and powerful show. None of them had ever imagined such young people already having that kind of destructive power.


    But there was always time for surprises. What was unimaginable in the past could very well be the norm for the future.


    "The more powerful these kids are, the more serious this round of crisis will be."


    The coming world of chaos served as a catalyst. It was an event where people gathered all their resources and poured them into their fostered talents who were extremely powerful. These talents were all products of the universe''s own, self-protective mechanism.


    It had sensed an incoming crisis, one more devastating than before, and it needed equally powerful talents to counter this said catastrophe.


    This fact had already been observed and confirmed by a number of Supreme Lords from the precious books that had been passed down from the last grand era.


    However...


    The more talented and powerful the warriors of this generation were, the more serious the universe''s crisis would be. None of them could even imagine just how terrible the crisis of the world of chaos would be this time.


    Back then, Soul Sea Realm warriors had a


    s why they sent in the second, stronger groups, far more superior than those dispatched earlier.


    The Xuan Yuan Clan leader currently watched Rocher and slapped his own head, "Damn it! He is a Godly Genius!" he muttered to himself. It was then that he decided to personally recruit this promising young warrior.


    It wasn''t just him. The leaders of the other clans also thought the same thing.


    Seeing her attack failed to elicit any reaction from Rocher, Xenia displayed an obviously unhappy expression on her face. What was she going to do now?


    Rocher, on the other hand, didn''t seem to be in any hurry.


    His scabbard was still on the ground as he watched Xenia think of her next move.


    This battle was an elimination round wherein the loser would have to go home while the winner would have a chance to have the Godly Plate. And warriors ranking among the top three would obtain better rewards. However, these things weren''t that much of a concern as of the moment. The two simply concentrated on the battle happening between them right now.


    They were both competing to see who was more powerful. Both of them refused to rely on any underhanded tricks or schemes to ensure that they both fought with fairness. That was the only way either of them could be convinced of the oncoming result.


    Xenia stood there thinking for a while before eventually straightening up and looking at Rocher with a determined expression, "Alright. Let me try this."


    She held out her palm towards Rocher. There was a brief flash of light as bolts of lightning erupted from each finger.


    The electric current was like a deadly extension to each of her fingernails.


    The lightning bolts also connected to each other, spreading over her hand like a webbed electric flipper. Soon enough, her fingers began to transform into electricity itself.


    Then her arm, her shoulders, until her entire body was a pulsing, crackling, lightning bolt.


    Xenia''s blood and flesh were nowhere to be found. Rocher''s opponent was now pure electricity.


    He could barely make out a face and body from the electric current.


    Right now, no one could tell whether Xenia was a high-level Law Creature of the Thunder Law or a warrior.

 Chapter 1672 Flashing Step

    As a Thunder Law beginner, one had to release life vitality into the weapon and shoot it at the enemy.


    After reaching a certain degree of control, one could use thunder and lightning to encircle and temper one''s body. For a martial artist, this was an easy task.


    But the power of thunder and lightning circulated within one''s organs¡ªit wasn''t a major problem, but it couldn''t be channeled into his brain.


    A warrior''s soul was fragile and one could easily be injured from being struck by thunder. All martial artists that cultivated the Thunder Law had the power of thunder isolated right under their necks.


    In the universe, there were many martial artists that could control thunder and lightning. But under normal circumstances, no one would bring these elements into one''s own mind. No matter how powerful one''s mind was, it was no easy feat withstanding the torment of thunder and lightning.


    But at this moment, Xenia had actually completely turned herself into lightning.


    Such was different from the lightning escape skill¡ªwith this, one could only hide within thunder and lightning.


    The lightning escape skill could greatly increase a martial artist''s flight speed. But this didn''t mean that one could use lightning to move forward¡ªlightning speed was nearly immeasurable as it traveled through space, after all.


    The Mysterious Thunder World was similar to the Divine Flame World in that there were quite a few Thunder Law Creatures within it.


    But up until now, no warrior had captured a Thunder Law Creature and lived to tell the tale.


    These creatures were all incarnations of thunder and lightning¡ªthey came and went with a kind of speed that was impossible to simply catch up to.


    In the history of the universe, there lived an eminent monk from the Blessed Buddha Land who possessed a Thunder Law Creature. It was said that this creature wasn''t captured¡ªthe eminent monk used a Buddhist doctrine to transform it into his mount.


    "Since this Xenia has completely turned herself into lightning, wouldn''t that mean she also possesses instantaneous speed?"


    "If it''s really as fast as lightning, it''s simply impossible to react to¡­"


    "I''ve underestimated this Xenia."


    The instantaneous speed¡­


    In an instant, 900 lives were lost.


    Such was the limit of speed in the universe.


    Whether it was light or thunder, all were bound by this limit.


    After Xenia completely transformed into lightning, she floated in the air. Even as her face was outlined by lightning, she was undeniably attractive.


    "Here I am."


    Just as she spoke her last word, everyone saw a flash of lightning.


    A streak of long and narrow purple lightning bolts turned into a dragon extending across the Heaven Earth Board. It penetrated Rocher''s body and arrived a


    m off in a single move. Why is she stalling?"


    "Why do I feel like she''s afraid to strike?"


    "How is this possible? The posture he''s taking is the most basic sword drawing skill. It''s fast but¡­how fast could it really be?"


    The crowd was filled with doubt.


    In truth, even Xenia, who had turned into lightning and was flying back and forth at high speed, was put in despair.


    A strange feeling overcame her.


    With her current speed, Rocher couldn''t even see her clearly.


    But from the very beginning, she had a strange feeling that Rocher was watching her closely. No matter how fast she was, this guy''s gaze would always catch up to her.


    Feeling a hint of danger, she didn''t rush up to end the battle immediately.


    But as she flew above the board, she could feel his gaze boring through her somehow, even from behind him.


    This gaze caused Xenia to feel somewhat uneasy and uncomfortable.


    Crack!


    Crack!


    Crack!


    As she continued to fly, Xenia also felt a trace of frustration.


    The Purple Lightning Body also consumed a great deal of life vitality¡ªshe still needed life vitality to support her every movement. The sea of life vitality in her body was like a receding tide, rapidly decreasing.


    A decision had to be made quickly.


    With this thought, she suddenly made three moves on the Heaven Earth Board. Three purple streaks of lightning then formed a triangle, trapping Rocher within.


    But she didn''t rush to him from the front. Instead, she flew behind him, traveling through the air before pouncing onto the back of his head.


    Crack!


    Rocher could have easily been killed in an instant.


    But at this moment, he drew the sword in his hand.


    A faint radiance was emitted from under his feet. As he stepped out of that radiance, a snow-white sword light flashed out from his hand.


    "Flashing...


    Step!"

 Chapter 1673 Expectation

    At this point, Rocher took a single step to the side.


    Obviously, Rocher could not turn himself into lightning, so he could not move as fast as Xenia on the Heaven Earth Board like lightning.


    While this might be true, he did not need to move like that.


    He merely needed to take one step.


    And that particular step was remarkably known as the Flashing Step!


    "I''m standing on the light and walking in the Flashing Step!"


    As he giddily chanted, the speed of his step had already surpassed the speed of the lightning.


    By utilizing this single step alone, he successfully dodged Xenia''s attack in a matter of just a split second!


    The two of them swiftly passed by each other, seemingly without a pause. If the time could freeze right now, people would not only see Xenia''s stunned expression, but they would also discern that her finger was only a step away from Rocher. But since the speed of the Purple Lightning Body had reached its limit, even it was Xenia, she couldn''t change her direction in time. Because her thought could not catch up with her lightning speed, she could only move straightly and was unable to turn quickly.


    Consequently, Rocher could deduce Xenia''s position ahead of time. He surmised she would definitely move in a straight line.


    And if he was not fast enough to strike, it would be all in vain.


    Because in a split second, Xenia would not limit herself to turn and dodge in another direction.


    Luckily, Rocher''s sword strike was also faster than lightning.


    "Flashing Strike!"


    In the entire universe, there were only a few people who were able to distinguish clearly Rocher''s counterattack.


    Most of them merely caught a flash, while some could not differentiate distinctly whether that flash was a sword light or something else.


    Unbeknown to all spectators, a Supreme Lord who hid hundreds of thousands of feet underground raised his eyebrows in awe as he observed the scene.


    This Supreme Lord was Supreme Lord Leroy. He was the Supreme Lord of the Demon Night, who owned a pair of sharp eyes like an eagle and ears that perched up a little too high, making them look quite animated.


    Supreme Lord Leroy''s power could not enter the top ten among all the Supreme Lords, but his visual perception could land him in the top three rankings.


    "What a quick strike!"


    Supreme Lord Leroy couldn''t stop himself hollering with an amused look at his face.


    This sword strike was like a flash of light.


    It happened in the wink of an eye. As the light sparked, he timely executed the strike. And long before the light faded away, he had put back the sword into its sheath.


    And within three seconds, everyone heard the crisp sound of a sword sliding into its iron sheath.


    They all fixed their gaze at Rocher, who did pull his sword out a few seconds ago.


    He made a quick strike a


    were ranked around the two hundred sixtieth place.


    He strategically did not show his power before, and his ranking was not high in the Illusion Battlefield, so consequently, people underestimated him.


    Before Rocher fought Xenia, ninety-nine percent of warriors thought he would surely lose within just a second. For them, he was just an unknown warrior.


    Some bankers even set up a gamble on how many moves Xenia would use to kill Rocher.


    No one had expected that the battle would end like this.


    This battle made so many gamblers lose a large sum of money. Rocher was such a dark horse. Those gamblers who lost everything all angrily cursed Rocher.


    On the Heaven Earth Board, the white stones had tried so hard to make a "big dragon", but now it was damaged and broke by the black stones.


    The ''variable ones'' on the board got the upper hand, and the white stones which had an advantage over the black ones were now at a disadvantage.


    Until this moment did Rocher slowly walk towards his own stone. He then smiled at Zen in the midair. There was expectation in his eyes.


    As everyone was sensitive about his movements, they looked along with Rocher''s eyes and saw Zen!


    They suddenly remembered that Rocher had said before that his sword was not prepared for Xenia.


    Seeing the provoking look on Rocher''s face, they realized what he meant.


    Was he looking at Zen?


    They did not know that since Rocher had entered the Central Region, his target was always Zen. He never changed his target.


    There was a period of time when the harder he chased Zen, the bigger the gap between them became.


    But Rocher never revealed negative emotions, and he never had the thought to give up. He just cultivated quietly and tried his best to catch up with Zen.


    Today, he was finally qualified to stand on the battlefield. He would naturally expect a battle between him and Zen.

 Chapter 1674 Cindy Ji

    Zen, who was standing beside the Heaven Earth Board, exchanged gazes with Rocher and nodded slightly. He too was looking forward to the battle with Rocher.


    He could tell that the Rocher in front of him was very different from the Rocher he had known before. Rocher had changed completely, as if he had been reborn. Since Zen wasn''t familiar with this side of Rocher, the outcome of their battle would be uncertain.


    But at this moment, Zen was thinking about another problem.


    If the evolution of the Heaven Earth Board symbolized the fate of the universe, what did Rocher defeating Xenia from the Celestial Position mean?


    Looking at the surface of the board now, Zen saw that all the stones were in complete chaos and each of the warriors had occupied a place of their own.


    This scene made Zen fall into deep thought.


    Many people in the universe were watching this game and deducing its outcome.


    In the beginning, the big dragon that had been formed by the line of white stones had seemed unbreakable, like an iron rod.


    But not long after, the white stones, which had been the definite, had continuously made wrong moves, which had given the black stones, the variable, an opportunity to take advantage and fight back.


    As a result, the board was a mess. Whether it was the definite or the variable, they all occupied a small foothold. However, because of this, the game was in a deadlock.


    "This game represents the current state of affairs in the universe!"


    "As I see it, that giant dragon is referring to the humans of the past!"


    "That is quite possible! Humans are the only ones who are thriving like a big dragon. They have almost unified the entire universe!"


    Many powerful masters began to analyze the situation on the board based on their own understanding.


    In the early era of the universe, there had been a great war that had lasted hundreds of millions of years.


    During the war, all the races in the universe had formed alliances.


    In the end, the human race had emerged victorious.


    Under the leadership of Supreme Lord Salman, a new chapter began for the universe¡ªthe "golden age" of the human race!


    If humankind had continued to flourish, the other races in the universe wouldn''t have had a chance to survive at all.


    However, 30 million years after the golden age had begun, there had been internal strife within the human race.


    It turned out that the human race wasn''t as harmonious as it seemed to be. The oldest powers, the four great clans, had maintained their status as the ruling power of the human race, and each of them was equivalent to a divine kingdom.


    But when conflict broke out, Supreme Lord Salman was killed, and the universe saw the rise of Supreme Lord of Original Sin and Supreme Lord of Oracle. The originally united human race split into three great powers: Humanity Alliance, Thoughtless Minds, and Blessed Buddha Land.


    This balance of power had been maintained until now.


    And because of the conflict among the three great powers, the speed of the human race''s growth had slowed down. On the other hand, the Demon Night race and the ogre race were constantly on the rise.


    So, with this knowledge, it made sense for everyone watching to compare the


    ould finish her sentence, the fair-skinned hand grabbed the stone under her feet and placed it on the board.


    Cindy lifted the hem of her dress and bashfully stepped onto the board.


    Meanwhile, at this very moment, in the Ji Clan of the Thoughtless Minds, all of the members of the Ji Clan had focused their attention on Cindy Ji.


    "Cindy''s opponent is actually Zen?"


    "She''s lucky. Although this Zen is quite powerful, he doesn''t have the strength to contend with a Godly Genius."


    "He probably hasn''t stepped into the Godly Way, but Cindy has already stepped halfway into the Dream Godly Way. Even if she were to just display the Emerald Dream, Zen would have no way to resist!"


    There was only one person in the Ji Clan who was still standing in the picture. Since the battle in front of them was a battle of elimination, they naturally had to pay close attention to it. Cindy Ji was their only hope.


    However, her opponent had turned out to be Zen, which they had never expected. Anyway, although they were surprised, they were confident that Cindy Ji would have no problem dealing with him.


    In the eyes of most people in the universe, Zen possessed the strength of an ace talent. Although he had instantly killed Norvin of the ogre race, he hadn''t relied on his own strength to achieve that. He had merely relied on the strength of his weapon to win.


    However, no matter how powerful that Saint Killing Spear was, it shouldn''t have much of an effect on Cindy Ji.


    As such, all the warriors in the Ji Clan were very optimistic about this fight.


    That was what everyone felt, except Janet, who was watching the scene with a frown on her face.


    Janet had not made it through the second stage, so she had left the Illusion Battlefield and returned to the Ji Clan. Now, she was watching the competition on the Heaven Earth Board with the rest of the members of the Ji Clan.


    "Oh, my God! Cindy''s opponent is actually Zen¡­"


    Among all the members of the Ji Clan, Janet was the only person who knew Zen''s true strength. Since she had once fought in the Illusion Battlefield together with Zen, she knew that his strength was unfathomable.

 Chapter 1675 The Emerald Dream

    Although Janet was worried, her face did not reveal it.


    As a member of the Ji Clan, she could not do or say anything to displease and disappoint her clan members.


    "Meow..."


    the flame kitten in her hand meowed softly.


    She had explored for treasures in the Hall of Causality, but in the end, she only duplicated and received a flame kitten. This had resulted in her being ruthlessly scolded by her father. How could she dare to speak up now?


    In short, the members of the Ji Clan were still optimistic about their chances.


    Warriors in the universe estimated that Zen''s strength was equal to that of an ace talent. However, Lucille and Cindy were both top ace talents. The power they possessed rivalled that of the Godly Genius, and they were also capable of showcasing their internal momentum. Thus, in their eyes, Zen was still far from able to contend with them.


    The only troublesome matter pertained to the Saint Killing Spear.


    The stone was lightly placed on the board.


    As it landed, Cindy saw Zen not far away from her. With her lips pursed, she gently grasped her long dress in one hand as if crossing a stream. She carefully jumped down from the stone, her face slightly flushed.


    Anyone who saw her could tell that she was a little nervous.


    "Hello..."


    Cindy nodded at Zen as a form of greeting.


    Those who did not know Cindy were visibly confused.


    This woman did not look like she was stepping onto the battle ring, but instead it was like she was going on a blind date. Was there really a need to be so courteous and nervous?


    However, Cindy had always been like this. Lucille, Nathan, and the other warriors who knew her well enough were used to it.


    She was shy and reserved, but her behavior was always rather confusing.


    However, her true strength was unmatched.


    "Hello." Upon seeing his opponent greet him in such a manner, Zen was a bit stunned.


    However, if others were polite to him, he paid his respects too. He bowed to Cindy with cupped hands.


    "Do you like peach blossoms..." Cindy was blabbering. She blushed, clearly nervous.


    Standing on top of the stone, Margaret''s mouth twitched when she saw the scene. "Is this woman insane? What does she mean by that? Why is she so shy?"


    Rocher wore a smile on his face and did not utter a word.


    This time, Zen was also a bit speechless. However, he still forced a smile and said, "Peach blossoms fall like red rain. They are very beautiful. I, of course, like them..."


    "Hmm." Cindy pursed her lips and nodded. "I like them too..."


    Zen smiled slightly. He stared at the attractive woman in front of him and asked, "And?"


    "And..." Cindy thought for a moment before continuing, "I like peach blossoms because of a dream I had not so long ago. I could share it with you!"


    "What will you share with me?"


    "My dre


    ant that she was close to the Dream Godly Way.


    In the Emerald Dream, Cindy was omnipotent and in control of everything.


    "Zen has been unlucky this time. He became Cindy''s opponent in his first round of elimination itself..."


    "Cindy is omnipotent in her dream. Her position in the dream is like the status of the heavens in the universe. If Zen can''t see through it, he will not be able to defeat her!"


    "Zen is in danger..."


    Supreme Lord Healum said flatly. Yolande, who stood beside him, looked worried. She wondered if Zen would be eliminated this time.


    Cindy, who stood opposite Zen, wielded the wooden sword in her hand to casually hack at the falling peach blossoms, as if playing with them.


    As for Zen, he looked even more wary.


    "So beautiful, right?"


    Cindy, who had been shy at the beginning, looked confident and outgoing in the Emerald Dream. Her pair of bright eyes were enticing, her face pretty and alluring. She glanced around leisurely, looking as beautiful as a fairy.


    "Do you mean the person or the peach blossoms?" Zen asked.


    Cindy giggled as she covered her mouth, and then said, "Of course I mean the peach blossoms! Aren''t they beautiful?"


    Zen lifted the Saint Killing Spear and stared at Cindy. "Be it the peach blossoms, or be it you... Both are beautiful."


    "If only we would stay in this dream forever," Cindy said, sighing happily.


    "It is beautiful here, but it is just a dream. Why should we linger in this illusion?" Zen asked seriously.


    "But you have no choice," Cindy said abruptly.


    "That might not be true!"


    In fact, their battle began when Cindy had started to arrange the dream.


    Suddenly, Zen thrust the spear forward.


    However, Cindy only reached out with her index finger and touched the tip of the spear.


    The Saint Killing Spear, which could destroy nearly everything, was halted by Cindy''s finger.

 Chapter 1676 Struggles

    In terms of pure destructive power, no weapon in the whole universe could surpass the Saint Killing Spear.


    However, in the Emerald Dream, it was instantly blocked by Cindy''s outstretched finger.


    The tip of her finger touched the glittering spear tip, and the deadly spear was unable to make even an inch headway.


    "Pure strength is useless in the Emerald Dream," Cindy said with a teasing smile.


    Zen''s gaze suddenly focused and the power of the dragon scales within his body instantly burst out through every cell in his body. In the wink of an eye, he seemed to have activated the incalculable power of ten thousand dragon scales!


    However, it was still useless.


    When the tip of the spear touched Cindy''s fingertip, it did not even scratch her skin.


    At this moment, Zen did not hesitate even for a heartbeat. He pushed off the ground and hurriedly retreated backwards.


    "Shadowy Spin!"


    At the same time, a gigantic spear shadow plunged forward.


    When the spear shadow shot out, it could kill ordinary ace talents with a single strike if they were not nimble enough to dodge in time.


    If Zen himself were to receive the spear head-on, he probably wouldn''t have withstood its onslaught either.


    However, a peach blossom slowly tumbled down and coincidentally passed in front of Cindy, blocking the spear shadow.


    Crack!


    The peach blossom violently split open.


    The spear shadow formed by the Shadowy Spin was also instantly annihilated by the soft and succulent petal, while Cindy remained unscathed.


    "In this dream, you are no match for me," she said as she continued to advance forward.


    This exceedingly beautiful woman could instantly control everything in the Emerald Dream. This was her moment, and Zen was left helpless, or so it seemed.


    She had created this dream. She had constructed the intricate rules for this fantasy. She was therefore the ruler of this enchantment.


    Just how powerful was the Saint Killing Spear? It had destroyed the rules of the Illusion Battlefield to a certain extent, but here in this dream, it could not injure even her fingertip.


    ''So pure strength is useless, '' Zen thought as he narrowed his eyes in speculation and took a step back.


    ''If I can''t break free from this Emerald Dream, I will lose without a doubt.''


    Being eliminated now?!


    Zen had never even contemplated this possibility.


    However, how could he destroy the dream? He had no clue at this moment.


    "I love the Emerald Dream the most as it is conceived from peach blossoms. Isn''t this dream beautiful?" Cindy continued to maneuver closer to Zen. "Actually, the very instant that you entered my dream, you already lost. Now surrender!"


    Zen retreated rapidly.


    However, Cindy only needed to take one step to close the distance between them.


    This wasn''t because she had used the Space Law. She was only strolling forward casually.


    Cindy was able to move across space without using the Space Law because she was the ruler of the Emerald Dream. Since this was her creation, she was omnipotent.


    "Admit defeat!" said Cindy with a sweet smile.


    How was Zen willing to admit defeat?


    At this moment, a plan occurred to him, and he stuffed the spear into his space ring and suddenly jumped up.


    However, before he could even raise his body, sh


    saw this, Rocher was slightly stunned.


    Crack!


    A crisp sound rang out from the trembling black stone beneath her feet. A crack had actually appeared on the black stone!


    At this moment, everyone''s attention was locked onto the Heaven Earth Board, and they were oblivious to what was happening off to the side, where Margaret was standing.


    As they heard the cracking sound, all of the viewers instantly turned their attention to Margaret. Even the ace talents and Godly Geniuses were also startled by this new development.


    ''This woman actually broke the black stone? This is unbelievable!''


    It had been an immutable rule that after each stone landed, no one was able to move them, except for the woman in pink.


    Even though the previous battles had been rather fierce, and sometimes destroyed the board, no one had been able to move the stones.


    But this woman was actually able to crack this stone!


    The purple light around Margaret was getting thicker and thicker, and the range it was spreading across was also increasing. If this continued, she would truly be able to break free from the black stone and charge into the Heaven Earth Board.


    "Alas!"


    A soft sigh quietly whispered through the air.


    Soon after, faint rings of light appeared around the black stone.


    The rings of light were layered, one over the other, binding Margaret.


    Yet, even these rings of light weren''t able to fully resist the purple light. They were slowly being corroded by the purple light.


    Shock appeared in the eyes of the crowd. Even Nathan and the other warriors would not have been able to do such a thing. The woman in pink had actually made a move herself, yet she was unable to completely restrain Margaret. Such was the power of the purple light.


    What on earth was her purple light made of? What was its origin?


    However, as the purple light corroded the rings of light, the layers of the rings of light simply increased and surrounded her. The speed at which Margaret was using the purple light to subdue the rings of light was far inferior to the speed at which the rings of light were created.


    In theory, it was still impossible for Margaret to escape from the black stone.

 Chapter 1677 Severed Limbs

    On the Heaven Earth Board, Zen was being treated like a punching bag.


    He was being swung back and forth by Cindy''s invisible force, but he was powerless to resist.


    The truth was, he still had a lot of tricks up his sleeve.


    However, in the Emerald Dream, the Thunderbolt Annihilation and the Stellar Body didn''t work at all.


    Just now, when Zen had seen Cindy block his spear attack with just her fingertip, he''d already realized that no matter how powerful he was, it would be impossible for him to defeat his opponent in the Emerald Dream.


    As a matter of fact, the two of them weren''t really fighting. Instead, they were in a dream.


    From the very beginning, Zen had been drawn into Cindy''s dream.


    He had never heard of the Dream Godly Way, which was one of the 3, 000 Godly Ways. However, he had heard that somewhere in the universe, there was some kind of dream killing technique. With that technique, a martial artist could quietly sneak into one''s dream and kill him.


    The world in the dream could be anything because it was completely built by the martial artist''s thoughts.


    Now, Cindy was the goddess of the Emerald Dream.


    No matter how strong Zen was, he could never be a match for her as long as they were here.


    The key was to leave the Emerald Dream.


    Trapping Zen in the Emerald Dream was undoubtedly an extremely powerful technique. However, if Zen managed to leave the dream, it would be extremely easy for him to fight back and even defeat Cindy.


    ''The dream killing technique... The Dream Godly Way...


    This is her dream, not mine.


    So how did she draw me into her dream?'' Zen thought to himself.


    Dreams were a series of images, events, and feelings that happened in one''s mind when he or she was asleep.


    Generally speaking, no one could determine what he or she would dream about.


    However, it was a common notion that whatever one thought about during the day, that was what they would dream of at night. Dreams often reflected real life.


    ''So I was stealthily drawn into the Emerald Dream?


    What did she say to me before she drew me here?'' Zen wondered inwardly.


    "Hello.


    Do you like peach blossoms?"


    Yes! Peach blossoms! He remembered it now.


    Zen''s heart skipped a beat.


    Cindy had used peach blossoms as a guide to pull him into her dream.


    Now, in the Emerald Dream, there were countless peach blossoms floating slowly around them. They were a beautiful sight to behold.


    These peach blossoms were the base of the dream, making Zen unable to wake up.


    Bang!


    Another heavy blow from Cindy directly slammed Zen onto the edge of the Heaven Earth Board before he heavily rebounded backward.


    With his new train of thought, Zen had given up resisting.


    he was only two steps away from Cindy. As long as Cindy didn''t realize that he had noticed the peach blossom, he would still have a chance.


    Cindy raised her head to look at Zen and smiled charmingly once again. "Actually, you can admit defeat. I''m very kind. I can''t bear to see others shed tears or bleed."


    Enduring the pain, Zen forced a smile. "As a martial artist, there''s no avoiding blood. But I won''t cry!"


    "Oh, really?" Cindy pouted like a child. "But I really want to see you cry."


    After saying that, she made another slanted gesture with her finger.


    Crack!


    It was as if the sharpest sword had cut into Zen''s leg.


    It forcefully separated his right leg from his body.


    "Zen!"


    Even though she knew that Zen wouldn''t die in the Illusion Battlefield, Margaret couldn''t bear to watch such a bloody scene and angrily shouted on the stone.


    The more Cindy wanted to torture him, the calmer his expression became.


    Cindy took great pleasure in torturing her opponents in her dream, and this was obvious to Zen.


    So, he decided to put on a show and let her know that although he was powerless to fight back, he would be unyielding to her.


    Meanwhile, his real goal was the peach blossom on her bun.


    "Once again!"


    Cindy''s finger lightly made a slanting gesture in the air again, separating Zen''s other leg from his body as well.


    The audience couldn''t help but shake their heads.


    In their eyes, although Zen was quite famous, he was not as powerful as Cindy. He was basically powerless to fight back in the face of ace talents of influential clans.


    Since the beginning of the battle, he had not fought back effectively.


    In fact, the vast majority of people in the universe didn''t know that this was the Emerald Dream and couldn''t understand how Cindy had become so powerful.

 Chapter 1678 The Broken Peach Blossom

    Two legs and one arm


    were floating in front of Zen.


    Cindy looked up at him with a faint smile on her face.


    Under such circumstances, her smile seemed extremely cruel.


    "Alas! How will Cindy be able to get married in the future?"


    A relaxed atmosphere surrounded the Ji Clan.


    The battle between Cindy and Zen was almost over. She had shown her true colors in front of the entire universe. Now, after revealing how cruel she was, she wouldn''t be able to find someone to marry her.


    "Ha-ha! Zen was very unlucky to have met our Cindy."


    "Well, I actually think he is lucky to have met her in the Illusion Battlefield. After all, he won''t really die."


    "After all, he is still a warrior from the Lower World. Even if he has ascended to the Upper World, he is still unable to match any of those mighty warriors. A sparrow will never become a phoenix. How could he even think he could defeat the most fierce warrior of our Ji Clan?"


    The Ji Clan''s warriors discussed the battle among themselves, each expressing their real feelings about Zen.


    Zen might not be as strong as Cindy, but his fame had spread across the universe. If she killed him, the Ji Clan would be known everywhere.


    At this moment, Janet''s hand was caressing the flame kitten''s vermilion fur as she stared at Zen in a daze.


    "This is bad!"


    she said while shaking her head.


    The warriors standing beside Janet were the young talents of the Ji Clan. They had been eliminated in the Illusion Battlefield. Most of them didn''t pass through the first stage. Four of them had advanced to the second stage, three of which were eliminated right there.


    Since Janet had been able to enter the second stage, she was considered a top warrior among them.


    "Janet, what do you mean by that?" a girl asked.


    Janet''s eyes glimmered as she said, "I''m afraid Cindy''s going to lose."


    "What did you say? You must be joking!" the girl laughed out loud.


    And suddenly, as Janet finished speaking, the picture changed.


    Zen suddenly twisted his body in the air and stretched out his hand to grab his severed arm. His space ring was on the finger of the severed arm.


    All of this happened in a split-second.


    Zen only had one chance.


    The opponent he was facing was one of the strongest among the young generation of warriors in the universe.


    Regardless of whether it was Nathan, Karl or Cindy, they were all well-trained. Their clans had invested incalculable resources to train the best warriors. They possessed the fate to lead the world of chaos and would play important roles in the upcoming crisis of the universe.


    If he wanted to defeat Cindy, he couldn''t afford to make a single mistake.


    Zen took out his sword, flipped it over, and thrust it out.


    All these were


    in big trouble.


    Plop!


    Cindy fell to the board and was immediately eliminated from the battle.


    Zen won the battle.


    Cindy slowly disappeared from the Heaven Earth Board with a raging face. No matter how unwilling she was, she was still sent out of the Illusion Battlefield.


    Zen shook his head.


    "This woman is so evil!"


    Margaret said angrily. Even though Zen had won this battle, she was still angry at Cindy for torturing him.


    Zen smiled and said, "You can''t really blame her."


    "What? So now you actually care for that woman?" Margaret raised her thin eyebrows at Zen.


    Rocher agreed with Zen by saying, "She cultivates the Dream Godly Way and is unable to fight with you face to face. She can only use scheming techniques to draw you into her dream. This is also a way of fighting, and it has nothing to do with being evil or good."


    "You are right." Zen nodded.


    All the warriors in the universe would display their strengths.


    A warrior would be faster than the other. Another warrior would be stronger. Every warrior had something that made them unique.


    The battles in the Illusion Battlefield continued. The next round was not a knock-out battle. The woman in pink chose Margaret and an ace talent from another race to fight.


    At this moment, high up in the sky, a streak of nine-colored light began to revolve slowly.


    Not long after, a skylark flew out from the light and flew towards the thick clouds. It flew towards the great hall in the middle of the clouds, and its pair of bird claws landed on the mysterious girl''s pinky finger.


    The mysterious girl tilted her head slightly, listening to what the skylark was saying.


    Her eyes lit up. "You''ve already found out about Yan? She..."


    The mysterious girl looked astonished.


    She hadn''t looked like this in hundreds of millions of years.

 Chapter 1679 The Final Eleven People

    The information that Zen had entrusted her to investigate hadn''t been sent back from the divine land until now.


    However, what she didn''t know was that this matter was far beyond her imagination.


    In the eyes of the mysterious girl, Zen was just a being born from the universe.


    She had been staying in this round of the heavens for many years, putting her heart and soul into the kalpas of three lives:


    the Past Solemn Kalpa, the Present Sage Kalpa, and the Future Constellation Kalpa.


    Although she really hated those Buddhists, she had to admit that they were powerful. She could only stay here and help take care of this round of heavens.


    Zen''s appearance had surprised her a lot.


    Moreover, she had never expected that his Roaring Token could trigger the Perception Sound, which was one of the rules of the heavens.


    After all, she was the one who had created the Roaring Tapir and placed it in the universe.


    Eons ago, she''d felt that the universe was too quiet, so when she created the Roaring Tapir, she gave it the Perception Sound, which was one of the rules of the heavens.


    The beings of the universe were all very intelligent. After discovering the Roaring Tapir''s theurgy, they had immediately used it without restraint, which was why the universe was so lively now.


    However, the mysterious girl had not dared to cross the line. If there were too many Roaring Tapirs, the universe would become noisy and there would be no peace.


    As there was a fixed number of Roaring Tapirs, the Roaring Token had become valuable in the universe.


    But Zen''s Roaring Token was different.


    He could forcefully communicate with the heavens and activate the Perception Sound.


    The mysterious girl had once made five Roaring Tokens with no restrictions, but later, because the world of chaos ended, she had taken them all back.


    In other words, other than her, no one else in the universe could release the Perception Sound at will, except for Zen.


    Zen''s Roaring Token was truly extraordinary.


    There were many rules of the heavens and the mysterious girl was the one who was in charge of them.


    Even the authority to trigger the Perception Sound was in her hands.


    Some of the times when Zen had used the Roaring Token, she had tried to stop him.


    But strangely enough, she hadn''t been able to stop him from activating the Perception Sound.


    The truth was, she bore no ill intention toward Zen. She was merely curious as to why Zen was able to do something that should have been impossible. Could it be that Zen had a higher authority in the heavens than she did?


    How could this happen?


    She had asked Zen this question, but he hadn''t answered truthfully.


    She''d analyzed the situation and carefully pondered over it, but she hadn''t been able to come up with anything.


    But from what she''d heard, she finally understood why it would take years to have news of Yan.


    ''Well, these fellows have a


    minated an ace talent of the Celestial Position.


    Then, with a single move from Nathan, an ace talent of some small clan was eliminated.


    Margaret fought again, eliminating an ace talent of the Night Group.


    With every elimination match, one person was eliminated, so in this short period of time, four people were eliminated.


    Along with the seesaw battles on the Heaven Earth Board, the probability of elimination had greatly increased.


    The 300 martial artists were eliminated one by one and the number of ace talents in the sky was rapidly shrinking.


    Not long after, more than half of the 300 candidates were eliminated.


    However, although quite a few people were eliminated, there were very few truly intense battles.


    After all, the Godly Geniuses hadn''t even had a chance to face off against each other yet.


    It was unknown if it was because of the mysterious girl''s deliberate arrangements or because of fate, but more and more people were eliminated quickly.


    147.


    120.


    77.


    30.


    Finally, the number dwindled down to 11.


    Everyone in the top ten would be able to acquire a Godly Plate.


    However, there were 11 of them right now.


    They were Zen, Margaret, Nathan, Lawson, Lucille, Rocher, Karl, Parker, Shania, the Otherworldly Swordsman, and Kurt.


    Among the 11 people, Zen, Margaret, and Lucille were the only ones who were not Godly Geniuses. And no one was sure whether Rocher was a Godly Genius or not.


    As for the other seven people, they were all Godly Geniuses with different powers. They had comprehended the Godly Way and possessed the internal momentum. They were the strongest in their generation, and they were favored by this era.


    Since only the top ten would get Godly Plates, everyone was eager to know who would be eliminated next.


    All the living creatures in the universe were watching the Illusion Space with bated breath.


    Of these 11 people, who would be the first to be eliminated?

 Chapter 1680 The Fate Of The Eleven (Part One)

    Just by looking at these eleven warriors, the Thoughtless Minds had proven to the entire universe that they were the force with the greatest potentials.


    Amongst the eleven warriors were Lawson, Nathan, Lucille, and Rocher. The first three were direct descendants of the big clans of the Thoughtless Minds. Rocher, on the other hand, had ascended to the region of the Thoughtless Minds, thus making him a legitimate member of the said force.


    In other words, the Thoughtless Minds had obtained four seats out of the eleven, outnumbering the other forces.


    The Demon Night, the ogres, and the Blessed Buddha Land each had obtained the only seat in the top eleven.


    Meanwhile, the Humanity Alliance had almost failed to make it to this round.


    The only Godly Genius from the Humanity Alliance who had made it into the top 300 was easily defeated by Lawson from the Thoughtless Minds. Therefore, he was eliminated and didn''t make it to the top eleven. The Humanity Alliance was nearly off this game!


    Luckily, there was Zen. Before the Illusion Battlefield had begun, Zen had ascended to one sacred place of the Humanity Alliance. Thus, he was considered a legitimate member of the alliance. He was now the last hope of the Humanity Alliance in the Illusion Battlefield.


    Right now, the situation on the board had become quite complicated.


    The tables had turned ¡ª the long line of white stones was cut off, giving the black stones the greatest advantage. Now, the black stones had successfully separated the territories the white stones had occupied


    The Supreme Lords had hearts in their mouths with the sudden turn of events. They were like cats on hot bricks.


    This game of Go symbolized the evolution of this grand era ¡ª the past, present, and future. In the beginning, the white stones'' triumphs demonstrated the early years of this grand era up to the prosperity of the human race. This was the past.


    Then


    he hand to choose one of them... and it was Margaret!


    Snap!


    The stone that Margaret was on was then placed on the board.


    At this point, the game had reached its most crucial part where every move mattered. One wrong move and it would be game over!


    But to everyone''s surprise, Margaret''s stone was placed at a corner that didn''t make sense to the territories of both sides.


    Everyone was left stunned by the last move.


    No matter how hard they tried, they couldn''t understand why the hand made a meaningless move with the black stone.


    Margaret herself was dumbfounded by the move. She was a Go master herself; thus, she immediately recognized that the move was inappropriate.


    The hand then made its move in the white stones.


    And this time, it was Nathan from the Thoughtless Minds!


    Anyone would normally feel unlucky and upset if they were to face Nathan in a battle.


    However, at that moment, they considered Margaret as lucky.


    This was because they noticed that the white stone was also placed at a rather strange spot.


    The spots they were placed in were not strategic. And since no stone was pulled out from the game with these two moves, neither Margaret nor Nathan would be eliminated. They could choose not to fight, and admit defeat directly.

 Chapter 1681 The Fate Of The Eleven (Part Two)

    But Margaret was already thinking ahead of others. When she noticed that the white stone''s placement wasn''t anything strategic, she gently stepped down from the stone and stood on the board.


    By just making it up to this point, she had already achieved the goal that her master had set for her.


    Her master didn''t require her to exert herself.


    Moreover, this was not a knockout round so she didn''t have to fight her opponent. Besides, she was slack in martial arts cultivation, so it was better for her not to face Nathan.


    As soon as she stepped onto the board, she smiled sweetly and was ready to admit defeat.


    For many, Margaret made a wise decision. They understood her intention considering the two recent moves. And who would want to face Nathan head-on?


    But before Margaret could announce her surrender, Nathan cut her off and spoke, "Margaret, it''s a great honor to spar with you!"


    "What?" Margaret blinked in confusion. She smiled at him and explained, "You see, I have no intention to fight you. I admit defeat-"


    "You can''t!" Nathan interrupted.


    "Why?" Margaret was confused. Why couldn''t she admit defeat? Was it against any rule?


    Nathan said with a faint smile, "Margaret, do you know that the situation on the Heaven Earth Board predicts our future?"


    "Yes, I know. You don''t have to tell me," she replied dully. As a Go master, Margaret had fully understood the meaning of this game. However, she did not care about it at all or anything about the conflicts in the universe. She thought that those had nothing to do with her. The only reason she was here was because of the man she loved and she just wished to stay by his side forever.


    Nathan was somehow disappointed by her indifferent reaction. But he then walked towards the other side of the board and said, "I''ve mastered


    called her back. "Wait a minute!"


    Margaret turned around with her eyebrows raised and face filled with impatience. This time, she couldn''t hide her anger towards Nathan, "Just tell it to me directly! Stop beating around the bush! I don''t understand what you''re trying to imply!"


    "I mean, this game of Go not only represents the future of the universe but also indicates the fates of the eleven people here. Don''t you know? We are now the protagonists of this world of chaos. And your fate is closely intertwined with mine, so you will be my woman in the future!" Nathan tried to explain it as straightforward as possible to Margaret. Despite the awkwardness of the situation, his face remained calm.


    For a moment, Margaret stood there dumbfounded and stared at him blankly.


    Nathan tried to remain composed. He was radiating with overflowing confidence. He knew he was a man of great charm. And now that he was part of the top eleven, there was no denying that he had become every woman''s dream. Now, he couldn''t imagine how Margaret would react to his confession. Would she jump for joy? Would she kiss and hug him?


    But contrary to what he anticipated, Margaret asked with disdain, "Are you nuts?"

 Chapter 1682 Gods Killing Sword Array

    Nathan had earned a very good reputation among the human forces.


    He had survived a lot of terrible and miraculous experiences since his youth, and he had also relied on his own talent to gain recognition by the Xuanyuan Clan. Thanks to his consistently excellent efforts and persistence, he had reached great achievements and finally enjoyed the fruits of his labor by becoming a Godly Genius.


    However, he had lived a solitary life all this time, without any woman to win his heart.


    There were many beautiful women who had been willing, even keen, to marry him, but his focus was only on the martial arts, and he did not even spare a moment to glance at any woman.


    However, when he suddenly expressed his love for Margaret in front of all the warriors in the universe, his words caused an uproar of note among the crowd.


    After the scene unfolded before everyone''s eyes, Margaret and Zen stayed beside each other, with a stone between them. They didn''t seem to have any intimate behavior.


    However, those warriors who were there at the scene saw that Margaret and Zen often snuggled up to each other. It was obvious that they were a couple.


    The warriors who had been eliminated, and even those who had not been eliminated yet, were all stunned upon hearing Nathan say that he wanted Margaret to be his woman. They all thought that Nathan was too daring to say those words in front of Zen.


    Although Nathan''s speculation had made sense, Margaret was still Zen''s woman. Anyway, it was not appropriate for him to offer those remarks. Besides, apart from Margaret, there were still many outstanding women who could be a perfect match for him. There was no need to be desperate. Given Nathan''s high status, it was easy for him to have thirty thousand or even three hundred thousand women to accompany him...


    "Ha-ha... Nathan really has a special taste in women," Lawson said to Lucille with a wry smile. His voice sounded rather unpleasant.


    He and Lucille knew Nathan very well. Nathan had never been in a relationship before, and it seemed as if it was hard for him to trust just any woman. However, today his reckless behavior confused Lawson.


    Lucille frowned slightly. Nathan seemed to say those words with an earnest intent to try and persuade Margaret to be with him, by taking advantage of their destiny. However, even if his speculations were true, Margaret was already Zen''s woman, and he would not have a chance to start a love relationship with her. So he should not have said those words.


    After hearing Nathan''s love confession, Margaret rudely stated that he was crazy and ignored him. Then she stepped onto the black stone.


    "Margaret, please, wait a moment," Nathan rapidly took a step and reached her in an instant, seemingly intent on stopping her.


    At this moment, Margaret suddenly wheeled about, and her long hair spiraled upwards as four sword shadows shot out all of a sudden.


    "Swish, swish, swish, swish..."


    The four sword shadows were illusory, so they w


    Godly Geniuses.


    Now, with Margaret''s unexpected display of the Gods Killing Sword Array, everyone was astonished by her.


    The killing intent from the Gods Killing Sword Array was indeed formidable, and it could even be regarded as having its own internal momentum. Could it be that Margaret had also managed to activate her Mahayana Lotus Flower? Was she secretly also a Godly Genius?


    With four virtual swords floating around her, Margaret glanced at Nathan who was not far away from her, and hissed, "Don''t get close to me!"


    Then she gently leaped from her own stone and chose to admit defeat.


    In this round of the battle, Margaret lost, by choice.


    Nathan stood still, favoring an embarrassed expression on his face.


    At the beginning, he had been so confident and brave to tell others about the destiny he had deduced. But now, he had been scared by the sword array and had backed away, which placed him in an awkward situation.


    He was, after all, the number one Godly Genius!


    Being the most outstanding warrior among his peers, he had never been afraid of anyone or anything before.


    But the killing intent releasing from the sword array moments ago was indeed too terrible to behold. Even when he thought of it now, he still believed that it was the correct choice for him to retreat at the time.


    Nathan might not have been able to break the sword array, and he still thought that if he had been trapped in it, he would surely have been killed.


    When thinking of Margaret, he believed that his earlier speculation was proven correct.


    Margaret was the only one who could be a perfect match for him, but she just didn''t believe that, yet...


    Right at this moment, he raised his head slightly and saw someone on a stone not far away staring at him. That warrior was none other than Zen.


    Zen just looked at him with an extremely calm and meaningful gaze.


    They didn''t say anything to each other, but then Nathan returned to his own stone after he gave a brief snort.

 Chapter 1683 Formidable Kurt

    Zen did not have any ill feelings towards Nathan.


    The two of them had hardly interacted.


    But now that Nathan had spoken to Margaret like that, it meant he had ignored Zen.


    Margaret had not married him, but she was still his girl.


    There were many ways in which Zen could be magnanimous. But how could he bear others lusting after his girl?


    "How ridiculous!"


    Margaret, who was slowly floating up onto the stone, pursed her lips and said.


    She didn''t believe Nathan''s explanation of fate for a minute, but she was still a little panicked. She was afraid that her fate would take the path that Nathan had predicted.


    Nathan had just predicted her fate according to the situation on the Heaven Earth Board but he hadn''t talked about Zen''s fate. If what he said was true, what would happen to Zen?


    "It''s just a madman babbling his mad talk. Don''t take his words to heart," Zen said with a smile.


    "I''m not taking it to heart," Margaret said, winking at him. She''d been afraid that Zen wouldn''t be happy. But watching his relaxed expression relieved her to no end.


    How could she have known what went on in a man''s mind? In many ways, a man had to bear a lot of pressure, but this was intolerable.


    Zen looked relaxed, but he had already made up his mind to kill Nathan.


    The first battle had ended with Margaret admitting defeat, but since it was not an elimination battle, there were still eleven people.


    Soon, the second battle began.


    Just as Nathan had guessed, the two stones for the second battle had been chosen in a baffling manner. What was more, they were in different directions and neither of the fighters had been eliminated.


    At this stage, many of the winners and losers were crucial. But the black and white sides did not tangle with each other. Instead, they began to arrange their territories once again.


    This battle was one between Lawson and the ogre warrior Parker. Parker was the only Godly Genius of the ogres.


    The clash between the Godly Geniuses was usually extremely fierce. They were just one step away from acquiring a Godly Plate, so they were careful.


    Although Lawson was extremely powerful, Parker was also a Godly Genius. Both sides were on guard.


    But once both sides fell to the board, each waited for the other side to admit defeat.


    The truth was, if either side were to admit defeat, it might have had an effect on the entire game, but not much of an impact on themselves.


    However, the warriors who had come to this stage did not want to lose their momentum.


    Lawson had initially been arrogant. He knew that Nathan was stronger than him, but he was still willing to scheme and kill him. So ho


    ting. The Hidden Spirit Mountain gave off a mysterious aura to outsiders.


    On the other hand, the ogres were now growling and cursing even more fiercely.


    Their only ogre Godly Genius had been just a step away from acquiring a Godly Plate. And yet, he had been eliminated just before that.


    It was no wonder they had become so depressed.


    Apart from Shania, all of the other warriors on the painting were human. And the ogre warriors were finding it difficult to accept this result.


    Some of the ogre world lords, in order to express their dissatisfaction, had even used extremely precious Roaring Tokens and roared at the entire universe.


    But no matter how dissatisfied they were, they could only stare and do nothing.


    Once the ogre warrior was eliminated, the remaining ten warriors would each receive a Godly Plate.


    Everyone rejoiced, but they knew that they had to work hard to advance to the top three.


    The next warrior who had been chosen to fight was Lone. And his opponent was Zen.


    Lone was the first to be pushed onto the board. When he saw the giant hand grab Zen, he smiled with satisfaction.


    "My luck isn''t bad. I have been waiting for this moment for a very long time," Lone said as he stared at Zen.


    Lone had suffered a huge loss in the Hall of Causality thanks to Zen.


    He was worried that someone else would eliminate Zen before he got the chance. But who would''ve thought that he would run into Zen in this battle?


    It was a pity that he wasn''t the one who had fought with Zen in the previous round. Even if he defeated and killed Zen now, Zen would still be able to obtain a Godly Plate.


    At Lone''s words, Zen merely smiled and pulled out the Saint Killing Spear. He knew that he had to be careful while he fought a Godly Genius.

 Chapter 1684 Supreme Chaotic Weapon

    There was a scornful smirk on Lone''s face as he stood still, his indifferent gaze fixed on Zen.


    He thought that Zen was only able to face him now because he got lucky, and he was wielding the Saint Killing Spear of the Demon Night race.


    "The one who made that spear is quite brilliant. He integrated the advantages of the two divine woods in it, so this spear''s power can be released to the maximum," the dark iron sword communicated to Lone. It continued, "But the four divine trees are ginormous. That spear only has two pieces of woods in it, so it doesn''t have much spirituality. The weapons which are born in the current round of heavens are congenitally deficient. The divine trees'' roots are outside the Sighing Wall and absorbing infinite chaotic energy there. Without the chaotic energy''s nourishment, the divine woods will rot. Ha-ha! Go and kill him. Teach him a lesson about the huge difference between a loser and a winner!"


    Lone nodded with a smile. Not only was this sword his weapon, it was also his friend and teacher. It could be said that if it wasn''t for his sword, he wouldn''t have made such an achievement.


    "This Zen seems to have an issue with Lone before, right?"


    "I think Zen will lose this time. He doesn''t seem proficient with the spear, even though he had used the Saint Killing Spear to fight his way here. Now, he''s faced with the Godly Geniuses who have real power, so he''ll have to show his true colors!"


    "Lone''s sword is very special. It must be a supreme divine weapon, but it is not on the Spirit Tablet."


    "Haven''t you heard? There are some extremely powerful weapons which have surpassed the limit of the Spirit Tablet in this round of our universe. They''re not listed in the Spirit Tablet."


    Some of the spectators discussed among themselves. It was known that the Universe Spirit Tablet detected weapons that appeared in the universe.


    Of course, weapons beyond the universe wouldn''t be detected.


    It was similar to Zen''s will of the great world, because Zen couldn''t find related memories of the things beyond the great world.


    When Lone showed his power for the first time in the competition of the four clans, many people, even some Supreme Lords included had marked his sword.


    It could be said that Lone was an overmatch of his generation.


    However, there were too many masters in the universe. Some of them were able to take his sword away.


    Yet, all those masters gave up after they made contact with Lone. The reason was quite interesting.


    Now, most of them just wanted to watch their battle for fun.


    They were particularly excited about this battle because Zen was so


    created everything, it was purer and more powerful than life vitality. It was a huge benefit for his cultivation.


    Still, it wasn''t a proper use of the chaotic energy--or was it?


    It was actually a careless omission by Zen''s master.


    Even Zen''s master didn''t expect that someone would really succeed in cultivating the Primal Chaos Technique.


    Were there cultivation methods on the use of the chaotic energy in the divine land?


    Clearly, there were!


    However, even a True God would die at a mere touch of the chaotic energy. It was what made it difficult to use.


    Although the True Gods couldn''t use the chaotic energy directly, there were two things they could use.


    The first were the four divine woods, and the second were the supreme chaotic weapons.


    Just like what the iron sword said, the four divine woods were located in four directions. They were nourished by chaos.


    Their hundred million mile-long roots grew outside the Sighing Wall and continuously absorbed the chaotic energy. Only the divine woods nourished with the chaotic energy could support the huge divine land.


    The chaotic energy was immensely powerful, so there were always True Gods who planned to use it.


    A few gifted masters were born after millions of years of study. They had succeeded in making supreme chaotic weapons using the chaotic energy as one of the materials.


    These weapons were formed in the chaos, so they could control the chaotic energy to some extent.


    One of those weapons was Lone''s dark iron sword, a supreme chaotic weapon from the divine land.


    Although the sword was broken and its power and spirituality were much less now, it was still a supreme weapon that was refined in chaos. Thus, it was normal for it to emit faint grey light.

 Chapter 1685 A Ray Of Grey Light

    The Chaotic Life Vitality Strike wasn''t a cultivation method from the divine land, or to be more specific, it wasn''t a cultivation method used by some True God.


    A system of cultivating chaotic energy wasn''t something that existed in the divine land. There weren''t any chaotic-energy cultivation methods suitable for True Gods¡ªin theory.


    However, the creation of the Chaotic Life Vitality Strike proved this theory somewhat wrong. As a supreme chaotic weapon, this dark, iron sword birthed the theurgy of utilizing chaotic energy.


    It also had a very bad temper.


    Zen had lured Lone into a trap last time in the Illusion Battlefield. This was already equivalent to messing with the sword itself.


    It had to use its theurgy to deal with Zen.


    "He is using chaotic energy!"


    There was a split-second pause on Zen''s part. He was momentarily stunned by this sudden turn of events.


    His chaotic sea was becoming more viscous by the minute, and the World Tree was gradually emerging from within.


    He had felt it for quite a while¡ªthat faint feeling of being on the cusp of a breakthrough. If he ascended to the Spirit Supreme Realm, then his chaotic sea would solidify.


    Chaos originally existed as an aura.


    Zen already knew about this when he first read his master''s book and saw him roaming about in the chaos.


    He had been gradually liquefying and solidifying chaos as he cultivated. He wondered how his inner world would be in the future.


    There was only one problem now, though.


    He really couldn''t figure out why Lone had control over the chaos as well.


    ''Didn''t Master tell me that nobody had managed to successfully cultivate the Primal Chaos Technique?


    Even Master himself failed to practice the technique. How could Lone use chaotic energy?'' Zen thought to himself.


    ''I must retreat!''


    It was a split-second decision, born out of the unsureness of the situation.


    The Chaotic Life Vitality Strike was amazing.


    Lone didn''t transform his chaotic energy into life vitality, but directly fused it with the Metal Law.


    Shoo! Shoo! Shoo! Shoo!


    Golden and grey rays of light started shooting towards Zen as he attempted to flee.


    The golden light wasn''t a big problem since Zen''s divine weapon body could resist and deflect it. The grey light, however, was an entirely different story.


    Whoosh!


    Puff!


    The grey light seemed to have the ability to pierce through anything. At that moment, both rays of light reached Zen.


    The golden light failed to break through his defenses.


    The grey light, on the other hand, easily pierced through him¡ªquite literally. There was a bloody hole of melted flesh from where Zen had gotten hit by the grey


    chicken with an extremely sharp knife.


    This sword was sentient and had intelligence. It normally would not deal with Lone''s opponents since the young man had to hone his own skills to be able to win against his rivals. However, this battle was a special case. The sword needed to wash away its shame of being played by Zen. It had a personal vendetta against the young warrior and it was determined to kill him in the most violent way possible.


    "Go to hell!"


    Lone screamed, ready to unleash the Chaotic Life Vitality Strike again.


    Zen''s body was already riddled with holes, and everyone was already counting on his death.


    However, at that moment, he raised his spear and pointed it at Lone. A smile then appeared on his face.


    The smile made Lone hesitate. Why would someone in such a compromised position smile?


    This young man most probably had some tricks up his sleeve.


    But what exactly were these tricks?


    The sword had already witnessed everything. There was no way it could be hoodwinked by someone like Zen.


    There was no way this battle was turning around. Lone himself didn''t think that there was any secret cultivation method that could go up against the Chaotic Life Vitality Strike.


    It was only a few moments later that Lone would understand what was going on.


    A golden ray of light burst forth from the tip of Zen''s spear.


    Lone immediately knew what it was. It was the fifth layer of Metal Law, condensed by life vitality. He wanted to laugh. There was no way this would be enough. If Zen wanted to resist the Chaotic Life Vitality Strike, then he would at least need to comprehend up to the Metal Law''s eighth layer.


    However, after that flash of golden light came a burst of grey.


    Lone''s eyes widened in shock as he witnessed the sight!

 Chapter 1686 Supreme Weapons

    The Chaotic Life Vitality Strike exerted by the broken sword was not the fully complete version.


    If this sword had been at its peak, it would have been able to form both negative and positive energies. With the negative and positive energies as its foundation, it would easily have formed a chaotic hole, and grey light formed from the condensed chaotic energy would have been born from the chaotic hole.


    However, since the sword was damaged, its power had already plateaued at its lowest point, not to mention that its owner was a warrior at the Soul Sea Realm.


    In the end, the sword took control as a sentient weapon, and it resolutely came up with an alternative plan.


    And that was to use the Metal Law as a base to replace the chaotic hole.


    However, the Metal Law was still a much weaker source of energy. Thus, the Chaotic Life Vitality Strike was a far cry from what it used to be.


    However, it was still strong enough to easily destroy Zen, like stepping on an ant.


    Even the True Gods feared chaotic energy. Despite the strike having been weakened countless times, how could a mere Soul Sea Realm warrior hope to withstand it?


    However, the broken sword had borne witness to such an incredible scene.


    When Zen''s spear was raised and poised for the attack, it similarly used the Metal Law as the base to condense a grey light.


    Chaotic Life Vitality Strike?


    The Metal Law at the tip of the spear was a mere presence and was hardly worth mentioning.


    But what was the grey light?


    Chaos?


    The broken sword had traveled down from the divine land, so it naturally knew how terrifying chaotic energy could be.


    All things were returned to the chaos, which also formed both the foundation and the tomb of all living beings. Even now, warriors had yet to thoroughly study and comprehend the mysteries of the chaos.


    In order to use the power of chaotic energy, the True Gods in the divine land had spent countless years researching it, but had all come up empty-handed.


    However, one of the divine-level weapon refiners found a completely different approach.


    He had departed from the path of using primordial energy to refine weapons, and instead began to use chaotic energy to refine weapons.


    Thus, a new path of weapon refining appeared in the universe. From then on, weapon refining was divided into two great paths, and there were also two different kinds of weapons being developed. One was the supreme primordial weapons, while the other was the supreme chaotic weapons.


    Only supreme chaotic weapons could directly channel chaotic energy.


    ''This guy is a mere human. He is only a junior at the Soul Sea Realm.


    How could he possibly harness chaotic energy?''


    thought the broken sword. The shock it felt was beyond description.


    It had been purely coincidental that Zen had been able to master the Primal Chaos Technique back then.


    Actually, the reason why Zen''s master had created the Primal Chaos Technique in the first place, was that he had become enlightened by the refining method of supreme chaotic weapons.


    Zen''s master wasn''t the only one who spent time contemplating this in the divine land.


    To put it bluntly, to use chaotic energy to further your cultivation, what you needed to do was convert chaotic energy


    o longer use the normal rules to investigate the existence of these treasures, while the Universe Spirit Tablet relied on a special Law of Causality to collect the rankings of all these treasures and even rank them.


    In the universe, besides the broken sword, there were still two supreme chaotic weapons and two supreme primordial weapons. Somehow, one of the supreme chaotic weapons had ended up in the hands of the old leader of the Celestial Position race.


    From the moment that Lone had stabbed out with the Chaotic Life Vitality Strike, some Supreme Lords had begun to pay special attention to that broken sword. Before this, they had never imagined that this broken sword could actually be a supreme chaotic weapon.


    What they had never anticipated was that


    the last thrust by Zen''s spear also contained the chaotic energy.


    Ordinary warriors wouldn''t be able to perceive the mystery behind the events of the fight. They just saw that Zen suddenly displayed his strength and chased after Lone. It turned out he would turn the tables and win the battle.


    However, they couldn''t understand at all why Zen had suddenly been able to turn the tables and reversed the situation.


    The Supreme Lords were able to understand what was going on. Yet, being able to understand what was going on did not mean that they could understand the reason behind this. Just like Lone''s broken sword, they had no idea where Zen had obtained the chaotic energy.


    ''Could it be that within his body, there''s a chaotic sea?''


    This thought flashed through the mind of Supreme Lord of Original Sin, who was the leader of the Thoughtless Minds.


    This speculation was quite accurate, but it seemed extremely unreasonable. How could Zen possess a chaotic sea?


    "Wait, wait..."


    Lone kept retreating, and suddenly spoke up. From the looks of it, he seemed to be giving up on resisting.


    Zen held his spear at the ready as he stared coldly at Lone. "What do you want to say?"


    "Where did you get the chaotic energy you''re using?" Lone could not help but ask. At this moment, his soul had already been completely sealed, so it was in fact the broken sword that was speaking through his lips.

 Chapter 1687 Take Advantage Of The Situation

    The Primal Chaos Technique was related to his master, and even his own secret physical body. How could Zen tell Lone, the Otherworldly Swordsman about it that easily?


    He had followed suit the moment he witnessed Chaotic Life Vitality Strike.


    Its effect was astonishing.


    Lone''s strike with his mighty sword even helped Zen gain new insights.


    He smiled slightly, and then answered confidently, "I got it by chance!"


    As soon as he finished speaking, the spear thrust forward like a dragon!


    The Saint Killing Spear was so powerful that it could destroy anything. Even though its power was much lesser than that of supreme chaotic weapon, the destruction it could cause was astonishing.


    Besides, the spear light contained a sort of gray glow which was formed with a combination of Metal Law and chaotic energy.


    Even though Zen had forced Lone into a predicament, he wasn''t ready to give up just yet.


    The sword he was carrying had originated in the divine land.


    It had accompanied its former master for tens of billions of years. However, after its former master died during the battle in the Spirit Mountain, severe efforts to destroy it were made. The sword was still powerful, but had dulled a lot as compared to its original state.


    The ultimate purpose of the sword was to let Lone grow and become more and more powerful. In that way, he would one day become a True God, who could bring the sword back to the divine land and restore it to its original glory! Until then, the sword would take its revenge on those who had harmed its former master and itself.


    That was the reason it had paid such a price to sneak into the Illusion Battlefield and help the Otherworldly Swordsman get a chance to participate in the challenge.


    The top ten warriors were going to be awarded with a Godly Plate.


    The sword was aware that the Godly Plate was a necessity for someone who wanted to become a True God. But that only wasn''t enough to make them a True God. To become a True God, a warrior had to satisfy a lot of requirements.


    Thus if he became more powerful, the Otherworldly Swordsman ultimately had the chances to become a True God.


    However, the catch was that he was losing to Zen. But the sword was unwilling to accept the defeat.


    A touch of indignation could be seen on Lone''s face.


    "Do you really think... you can defeat me?"


    Zen''s spear was already flying toward him. Lone raised his sword and gently put it down.


    Lone acted like he was placing the sword back in the rack, but suddenly started to sway it in the air.


    He then retreated a few steps back, and fell down on the ground. His eyes were shut, mouth half-open. He really did seem unconscious.


    Everyone''s attention, including Zen''s, was on him. Suddenly, the sword swung up in the air and sprinted straight toward Zen.


    The sword itself was battling against Zen!


    In the battle ring,


    Buddhist jade bead between his palms slowly. He only said one word softly, "Amitabha..."


    As for Margaret, she was highly tensed. Her lips were curled, and her eyebrows furrowed in anticipation. If Zen got eliminated, she would admit defeat immediately and head to universe to look for him.


    The sword didn''t give Zen much time once the aura started to burst forth. In the blink of an eye, it dashed at Zen!


    A faint smile appeared on Zen''s face...


    He raised the spear horizontally. With a quick movement of fingers, he shot out a thin wind blade and thrust it towards Lone instead of the sword!


    "Puff!"


    Lone was still unconscious, in no condition to resist the blade.


    And so, Zen managed to cut his head off effortlessly.


    The sword was advancing toward Zen at the same time, but halted right before it was about to pierce his chest.


    "Zen Luo wins this battle! Lone, the Otherworldly Swordsman loses..."


    The mysterious young girl''s voice announced the result.


    According to the rules of the Heaven Earth Board, the warrior was pronounced winner as soon as the opponent admitted defeat or was killed.


    Zen wasn''t sure about whether his trick would work or not, but he knew it was worth a shot. He realized he only needed to kill Lone who lay behind him to really achieve victory. He could win this time because he knew how to take advantage of a situation.


    "Buzz, buzz, buzz..."


    The sword vibrated violently in front of his chest, as if it was unwilling to give up. It seemed like it was still determined to stab and kill him!


    However, the mysterious girl was watching them closely. She had made the announcement based on the rules. She wouldn''t let Zen be killed unlawfully.


    "The stones on the Heaven Earth Board are not enough. The top ten warriors will now participate in the round-robin battle. No one is eliminated," the girl announced, after which the sword finally stopped vibrating.

 Chapter 1688 Shania

    One white stone and one black stone falling on the Heaven Earth Board signified the start of one round of battle.


    An ordinary board would have a 19¡Á19 grid of lines, containing 361 points. And there were 181 black stones and 180 white stones.


    So in theory, 361 battles should be enough to occupy the entire board.


    However, this Heaven Earth Board had a 36¡Á36 grid of lines, which meant that there were a total of 1296 points.


    Until now, 290 elimination battles had ended, but the number of normal battles far exceeded the number of elimination matches. In total, 803 battles had been fought so far.


    But even after these 803 battles, the situation on the Heaven Earth Board was still unclear!


    This had not happened in the last grand era.


    In the last grand era, the mysterious girl had also played Go with herself, and it had ended soon. After only 726 battles, the white stones had already had an irreversible advantage.


    The clearer the situation on the Heaven Earth Board was, the easier it would be to predict the outcome.


    Currently, the situation of the black and white stones was still in chaos.


    The Supreme Lords that had analyzed the situation of the board so far already had their doubts.


    There were only five battles left between the remaining ten people, and one of them didn''t need to fight. Then, out of the six people, there would be another three battles.


    Although there had been many victories and defeats, the remaining battles were insufficient to fill up the entire Heaven Earth Board.


    That was when the mysterious girl activated the round-robin system. When this rule was announced, Lone shot into the sky with his sword and landed on a stone.


    He slowly came to reason and looked at Zen. He was still in a daze, as if he didn''t know what had happened just now.


    "We Lost," the broken sword said to Lone.


    "Lost! I am eliminated..." Lone''s face darkened.


    "We still have a chance..."


    "All right!"


    The relationship between Lone and the sword was like the relationship between a person''s lips and teeth.


    Lone treated his sword as his teacher, and his sword treated him as a family.


    Even if he was occasionally controlled by his sword, he didn''t mind. He was clear that if it wasn''t for this sword, he wouldn''t be as powerful as he was today.


    "What a pity..." Rocher gently shook his head.


    He knew that Zen had other ways of resisting the sword, but he had still managed to pull off a trick.


    However, Zen hadn''t done anything wrong. It was a tactic to conserve his strength as much as possible before the final battle.


    It was not only Zen who was doing this; every other Godly Genius present was doing the same thing.


    Round-robin battles could more accurately determine the differences in strength, and at th


    used her claw to strike down from above.


    This time, Shania looked up and raised her hand above her forehead, as if she was blocking out the sun.


    Then, she extended a single finger to block Lucille''s attack once again.


    Not only did this scene sour Lucille''s mood, but it also agitated the entire Ji Clan.


    "The Five Elements Supreme Claw... Even Nathan cannot block it so easily!"


    "Who on earth is this Shania?!"


    "Due to the internal strife within the Demon Night race, they haven''t produced any amazing talents. How did this one appear out of nowhere?"


    In the past few years, although the competition between the two queens of the Demon Night race had not affected the foundation of the entire race, it had definitely affected their prosperity. What was most obvious was that the number of geniuses had drastically decreased. When the world of chaos had arrived, the geniuses of all the races had turned up, but the Demon Night race had been an exception. Their talents couldn''t compete with those from other races at all.


    But this time, much to everyone''s confusion, a talent from the Demon Night race had suddenly appeared.


    "I told you, I wasn''t done yet. Are you ready to listen now?" Shania stubbornly repeated, as if she wasn''t going to make a move before she finished her words.


    Lucille''s forehead was slightly creased. She stared at Shania and asked, "What do you want to say?"


    "That''s more like it." Shania smiled. A plant rapidly grew on her palm, and from it bloomed a blood-red rose. "Your aptitude and future are limitless, but now that you''ve met me, it''s better to surrender as soon as possible. In any case, this is a round-robin battle; if you surrender, you won''t be eliminated. Although warriors can''t die in this Illusion Battlefield, crushing the mind and body of such a seedling would be a sin on my part."

 Chapter 1689 Thorn Forest

    No matter who it was, anyone who heard such arrogant words would feel extremely displeased.


    Shania phrased her words like a warning, but it was actually a blatant provocation.


    The atmosphere in the Ji Clan immediately became heated.


    Their discussions, curses, and roars were almost enough to lift the roof of the grand hall beneath the picture.


    "This slut seems to specialize in the Life Law!" "She is the Godly Genius of the Demon Night. What sort of Godly Way does she cultivate?"


    "How dare this nobody talk to Lucille in such a tone? Does she really think so highly of herself?"


    "Lucille is not weak. Before joining the Illusion Battlefield, she brought Lucy into the altar to cultivate the Five-element Reincarnation. Even if she fights with Nathan, the battle would be a draw. So how dare this bitch be so arrogant?"


    The Ji Clan had pinned all their hopes on Lucille.


    Even though her Lotus Flower had not fully bloomed yet, the achievements she would make after becoming a Godly Genius would definitely not pale in comparison with the achievements of Nathan or Lawson.


    The Ji Clan might be just one of the four clans in the Thoughtless Minds, but even without the other clans, it was a force to be reckoned with.


    How could they tolerate this woman stamping on their pride?


    Even the patriarch of the Ji Clan, who was standing behind the crowd, had a stern expression on his face as he stared fixedly at the picture.


    Lucille''s temper began to flare up. There was a flash of killing intent in her intimidating eyes when she heard Shania''s words.


    However, the killing intent only flashed slightly and quickly faded away. Then, her eyes became as cold as ice.


    As the ace talent of the Ji Clan, her mental state had to be absolutely steady.


    She couldn''t be daunted just because of a few words from Shania.


    After thinking for a while, Lucille said blandly, "There are trillions of warriors participating in this competition to rule the world of chaos. Almost all of the warriors at the Soul Sea Realm have participated¡­ Some of them became cannon fodder and were slaughtered at will. Some were used as stepping stones for others to reach higher. Most of them could only prove their determination in martial arts in life and death situations.


    Everyone has their own goals, and I carry the hopes of the Ji Clan! Since I''ve already reached this stage, I don''t mind climbing up one more step.


    Why should I admit defeat?"


    Lucille''s voice was clear and cold.


    After she finished her words, the sound of clapping came from afar.


    It was coming from Zen.


    Hearing the applause, Lucille calmly turned aro


    the ground. From inside that small seed, about five twigs with thorns surged out madly.


    These thorny twigs were ugly and were like vipers that crawled. Each twig had thorns on both sides and they spread out recklessly in all directions.


    Crack! Crack!


    Every time the twigs grew to a certain extent, they split into two, then four, and so on, wildly spreading around the Heaven Earth Board.


    In a short while, the whole board was covered by the twigs.


    As for Lucille, she was trapped in the middle of all the twigs.


    Crack!


    As Lucille circled around, two beams of light from her swords whirled around the twigs like a tornado and cut a clean area around her.


    But why were these twigs spreading so fast?


    Just as soon as she cut off the thorny twigs in one area, the twigs in another area immediately grew and surrounded her again.


    On the other hand, Shania drifted through the mess of twigs with ease, like the queen of the thorn forest. Everywhere she went, the twigs automatically made way for her. And soon, Shania approached Lucille.


    At the moment, Zen and the others were floating on their stones and were unable to see the fight between these two women in the thorn forest.


    Of course, it wasn''t only them who couldn''t see what was going on.


    All the warriors in front of the picture were paying close attention to the battle between Lucille and Shania, but they were unable to make out what was happening as both women were covered by the endless thorns. The audience could do nothing but stare blankly at the picture.


    After about five minutes, a loud sound blasted in everyone''s ears.


    A sea of fire broke out in the thorn forest, and the scorching flames soon spread out across the whole board covered by the thorn trees.

 Chapter 1690 Latonia

    After a violent explosion, a huge fire was set ablaze that was more than a hundred feet high, engulfing everything around it.


    Suddenly, a slim figure rose from the flames. It was Lucille.


    Among the three thousand Godly Ways, the Five Elements Godly Way was the most extensive type. It was also the most comprehensive type of cultivation technique.


    The orders of creation and restriction of the five elements were known by everyone. "Metal creates water, water creates wood, wood creates fire, fire creates earth, and earth, in return, creates metal. On the other hand, wood restricts earth, earth restricts water, water restricts fire, fire restricts metal, and metal, in turn, restricts wood". The five elements were present in all things in the world and there were only a few other laws that needed to be applied.


    Therefore, using the power of the five elements to construct the inner world was much easier than using the power of other Godly Ways.


    The five elements within Lucille''s body were usually in a balanced state. When she was in the forest of thorns, she released fierce fire and burned all the thorns around her.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    As the thorns burned, small explosions could be heard everywhere.


    Soon, the thorny forest had burned to ashes.


    From these ashes grew a bright green vine that never faded away.


    A fire would burn everything in its wake, turning it into ashes.


    But there were some plants in this world that were not afraid of fire.


    The bright green vine that grew from the ashes was the Flame Fairy Vine.


    Not only this vine was not afraid of fire, but it would grow more and more if it came in contact with it. The Flame Fairy Vine could grow in ordinary places, but it was everywhere in the Divine Flame World.


    As the vine unfurled, a light purple flower bud rapidly bloomed on the top of the vine. Inside this bud was Shania.


    "This woman..."


    Lucille frowned. She knew this was going to be tricky.


    She had no idea this woman could have such control over the Life Law.


    She couldn''t kill her.


    Shania was sitting like a dignified queen, lying back against the flower as if it were her throne. She stared at Lucille saying indifferently, "I told you before. You don''t have the slightest chance to win this fight with me. You might as well skip this battle and focus on facing your next opponent. But since you want me to play with you, then let''s go. Let''s do this!"


    As she finished speaking, a tiny crack appeared in the vine. Black insects started to crawl out one after another. Once outside, the insects would spread their wings and fly towards Lucille like a black cloud in a storm.


    "There are too many Heart Eating I


    y background.


    ''That''s not her true body, ''


    Lucille thought as she sprinted towards Shania.


    She knew she would only have one opportunity.


    Lucille was right in front of Shania, but the latter showed no fear at all. She was still as lazy as a cat, with a smile on her face, without any intention of attacking Lucille. Shania said very casually, "Stop resisting."


    Whoosh!


    In one swift move, Lucille threw the two swords in her hands behind her back. The two swords expanded into circles of sword lights, temporarily blocking the Heart Eating Insects behind her.


    After that, she approached Shania, her fingertip glowing with a faint light. She was using the same light to sense something.


    In an instant, Lucille started to fly downwards.


    Sharp glints appeared on her toes¡ªthe Crescent Blade.


    Lucille stepped without fear on the Crescent Blade and broke through the vine, slashing it in half. Then she finally landed on the Heaven Earth Board.


    Her eyes suddenly focused as her embroidered shoes lightly stomped on the board.


    Countless Crescent Blades sunk into the Heaven Earth Board.


    Noises were heard coming out from the Heaven Earth Board. Lucille''s strike almost exhausted her life vitality. She knew that sooner or later she would be exhausted to death fighting the Heart Eating Insects. The only way to obtain victory was to find and kill Shania''s real body.


    She had used her five-element senses to confirm that Shania''s true body was concealed within the Heaven Earth Board.


    Lucille closed her eyes and was quietly observing the situation below the board.


    The Heart Eating Insects had been able to cross through the spinning swords and were charging straight at her. Lucille chose not to resist.


    If she couldn''t find Shania, then it would be her loss.

 Chapter 1691 Mr. Storyteller

    The Heaven Earth Board was a million feet long and a million feet wide, but only 10, 000 feet high. If one were to look at it from a distance, they would see a flat, square board.


    A number of Crescent Blades moved back and forth in Lucille''s mind.


    "I found her!"


    she exclaimed abruptly, her eyes flying open.


    The first Crescent Blade pierced Shania''s body.


    Before anyone could react, all the Crescent Blades rushed in one direction. These Crescent Blades were sharp and fast. Even Zen hadn''t been able to avoid them when he had used the Eight Smoky Melodies.


    What followed on the Heaven Earth Board was quiet massacre. Shania''s body had been sliced through countless times.


    But no one could see the bloody scene.


    They only thought that Lucille was standing there in a daze.


    "The Ji Clan''s ace talent is about to admit defeat. She''s giving up on resisting."


    "The Demon Night''s Godly Genius is so powerful! Lucille can''t do anything to her."


    "The world of chaos really is amazing. There hadn''t been a Godly Genius like her in the last tens of thousands of years. But now, ten of them have suddenly appeared out of nowhere!"


    At this moment, the black mass of Heart Eating Insects rushed towards Lucille.


    Buzz!


    Lucille wiggled the Five-element Finger Chain she had on her fingers. From the moment the laws of the five elements fused with each other, her skin had turned gray.


    This light was the Five-element Body-protecting Light and was similar to the light on the surface of the Magnetic Sacred Mountain.


    However, the Heart Eating Insects were ranked fourth on the Magical Insect List, and they could eat almost everything. Although the Five-element Body-protecting Light was formidable, it wouldn''t be able to hold out for long.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    The densely-packed swarm of Heart Eating Insects surrounded Lucille''s body and began biting at the Five-element Body-protecting Light.


    It was not long before the first Heart Eating Insect drilled into her body, causing her an intense, gouging pain. And then, she felt the second insect''s assault. Then the third...


    But Lucille endured the pain as she controlled the Crescent Blades to continue cutting through Shania''s flesh within the board.


    Both of them used their formidable methods to try and destroy each other.


    A few seconds later, Lucille sensed that Shania was slowly rising from within the board.


    It was not long before the real Shania appeared along with he


    Some people became rich overnight, and some people went bankrupt.


    The next battle was between Karl of the Celestial Position race and Kurt.


    Although Karl had an eccentric personality, his strength remained unquestionable since he was a Godly Genius of the Celestial Position race.


    And Kurt, who was a talent of the Hidden Spirit Temple, hid his strength well.


    The two of them had exchanged countless blows, but at the end of it, Karl was still no match for Kurt. So he decided to admit defeat.


    By the looks of it, Karl had a backup plan. But since this was not an elimination, he was unwilling to use that backup plan lightly.


    Kurt might not have used his full strength, but just the strength he displayed was enough for everyone to guess that he was much stronger than he looked.


    Once this battle was over, it was Zen''s turn.


    This was Zen''s second battle in the competition of the top ten warriors.


    Once he was put on the Heaven Earth Board, he raised his head to look at the giant hand in the sky.


    None of the other warriors were easy to deal with.


    His opponent was... Lawson.


    Lawson was a Godly Genius and was second only to Nathan.


    This person had even killed Nathan in the Illusion Battlefield!


    But Lawson had only participated in one battle in the previous round of battles. Zen didn''t know anything about his strength. All he knew was that he seemed to have a good relationship with Nathan and Lucille.


    Lawson stood on the board, his evil eyes sweeping over the place and his lips curving in a teasing smile. "Oh hi. Now I''ve finally met you. I''ve been looking forward to seeing you, Mr. Storyteller."

 Chapter 1692 Head To Head

    The surname Lie was quite rare.


    In fact, the Lie Clan only existed within the Thoughtless Minds.


    Since the Lie Clan that Lawson belonged to was one of the oldest clans in the Thoughtless Minds, they were more conservative and their bloodlines were valued more than that of the Ji Clan Lucille belonged to, another Ji Clan Janet belonged to and the Xuanyuan Clan Nathan belonged to.


    Therefore, they were more arrogant and holding more prejudices against those with a humble background.


    For instance, even when Supreme Lord Illusion had slaughtered his way through the Thoughtless Minds and led the entire Humanity Alliance into the third battle against them, the patriarch of the Lie Clan still considered him to be a rube.


    That sort of prejudice seemed to be permanently attached to the blood of the Lie Clan now.


    As Lawson was a Godly Genius of the Lie Clan and also one of the two Godly Geniuses from the Thoughtless Minds, his prejudice would only worsen.


    Meanwhile, Zen had become quite prominent in the past few years.


    Some took a liking to Zen''s stories, while many others hated the sound of Zen''s voice when it resonated in their ears. However, there was no way to block out the voice that spread through the Roaring Token. Zen''s haters could do nothing but curse him inwardly instead.


    There were also some who were extremely irritated when they heard Zen''s voice, that they became agitated and cursed the hell out of him.


    Lawson was one of them.


    Two years ago, there was a time that Lawson reached his limit and thus cursed Zen and the mysterious girl with his one and only Roaring Token.


    This sort of powerless counterattack had happened quite a few times in the past six years.


    In return, the mysterious girl ruthlessly cursed Lawson for two hours.


    And since Lawson only had one Roaring Token which he''d already used, he wasn''t able to talk back.


    In a fit of rage, he immediately rushed to the Lie Clan to find his father for a few more Roaring Tokens.


    Yet, his father rejected him.


    His father was the leader of the Lie Clan and naturally had many Roaring Tokens, but he definitely wouldn''t let Lawson waste them.


    But who else in the entire universe had more Roaring Tokens than Zen and the mysterious girl? Even if he used all of the Lie Clan''s Roaring Tokens, he still would end up losing the verbal battle against the other side.


    Lawson had been brooding over this matter for quite a while now.


    Before he entered the Illusion Battlefield, he thought that he would definitely teach Zen a lesson if they ever crossed paths.


    Unfortunately, the chances were too small.


    The chances of encountering Zen in fifty supreme worlds and countless main cities were very slim. Moreover, he didn''t know who Zen was even if they did encounter each


    Boom!


    The forceful energy within Lawson''s body suddenly exploded in mid-air as a blood-red halo enveloped his whole being. His speed increased yet again at the explosion!


    Although he was only six feet tall, he emitted such a powerful aura that it felt like he had thrown a mountain at Zen.


    "It''s coming," Zen whispered as his eyes narrowed into slits. His right foot stepped back, and his strength began to flow into his right fist.


    He knew that since Lawson dared to attack him with a pair of bare fists, he must be extraordinarily powerful.


    He then extracted the power of the dragon scales and at the same time, a little starlight appeared on his fist.


    At that moment, Zen didn''t think highly or lowly of any of his opponents.


    Although this Lawson was crazily arrogant, his strength was definitely worthy of Zen''s vigilance. Thus, he quickly activated the Stellar Body.


    "I''ll kill you in one punch!" Lawson declared.


    Lawson''s voice was painfully sharp now. The closer he got to Zen, the faster his speed became, and the blood-red halo around his body became denser and denser.


    When he had been three hundred feet away, the blood-red halo appeared dim. Now that he was only one hundred feet away, Lawson turned into a completely bloody being as he charged towards Zen.


    "Do you think that this punch will directly smash that arrogant kid into meat paste?"


    "Definitely..."


    Outside the painting, everyone in the Lie Clan had mocking grins plastered on their faces.


    Was Zen really going head to head with the warrior of their clan? Even the ogres that were famous for their body refinement would have to think twice before they did such a thing. Before this fight, Zen had relied on the Saint Killing Spear to display quite a good level of strength.


    But to go head to head with their clan''s Lawson? Wasn''t that too childish?

 Chapter 1693 One Punch

    Creak!


    Lawson looked like a demon incarnate as he swung his fist with maximum power.


    The speed of his strike was also no joke. Sharp wind blades surrounded his fist as it got closer to its target. Luckily, the surrounding space within the picture was stable. If Lawson''s punch had been done in the outside world, it would most probably tear a huge hole in the fabric of space.


    The Lie Clan had a special training method.


    This method involved the use of their supreme divine weapon: the Hidden Phoenix Dragon Basin.


    This amazing basin spanned ten feet in both height and diameter. It was usually filled to the brim with the blood of all kinds of precious beasts.


    Rare and precious beast blood wasn''t normally suitable for absorption since it was either extremely toxic or too unbearable to take in.


    However, this Hidden Phoenix Dragon Basin was able to convert the blood into something suitable for human consumption while still preserving the special properties of the blood essence.


    Every year, the Lie Clan would send out their people to gather beast blood. In fact, many of their sacred places would already have some in store, ready to offer as tribute to the clan.


    The blood was collected and then dumped into the basin. Not everyone could soak in this basin. Only those with high enough qualifications could avail of such a high honor. The Lie Clan was very particular in choosing who could bathe in the basin. They would sometimes extend the honor to lords of supreme worlds or anyone of equal or higher positions. Choosing who got to bathe in the basin was a big deal.


    Not even the leader of the Lie Clan could casually enter the Hidden Phoenix Dragon Basin to soak in beast blood.


    The only ones who could bathe in it without any restrictions were the clan patriarch and Lawson.


    However, the clan patriarch had already become a Supreme Lord. The Hidden Phoenix Dragon Basin wasn''t really of much use to him now, but it was still greatly beneficial to Lawson.


    Over the past ten years, Lawson had greatly taken advantage of his unrestricted access to the basin by soaking in it for four to six hours every single day. This habit led to the extreme enhancement of his tendons, blood, bones, and flesh.


    Lawson''s entire body had been greatly strengthened by his daily blood baths. There was probably no other ace talent or Godly Genius who possessed a physique as excellent as his.


    He wanted to kill Zen with a single punch because he knew he could do so.


    However, despite the threat of an extremely strong blow from his opponent, Zen stood in place. His eyes were calm and there was no trace of distress on his face.


    The Stellar Body was a Transcendent Divine Might that drew its power from the stars. As the number of stars that Zen could communicate with increased, so did his power.


    "I will not back down from this punch!"


    A blinding stream of pure starlight spiraled around his arm and condensed in his fist.


    If this f


    th to say something.


    He wanted to shout that he shouldn''t have ended up like this.


    This body refining technique wasn''t his strongest move. He still had a lot of tricks and moves to show.


    Killing Zen would''ve been easy if he used his strongest method.


    But it was too late now. What a pity!


    There was no medicine for regret.


    As the saying went, "If I know what will happen in the next second, then no one will be my enemy."


    If a warrior had the power to predict his opponent''s move, then he would be unmatched in the entire universe.


    Just a peek at the next second would be enough leverage for a warrior to win in a fight.


    Unfortunately, Lawson did not have such amazing capabilities.


    Even with the help of the Time Law, the most one could do was make time go slower. Nobody had the power to see into the future or retrace their steps back to the past.


    At least in this universe.


    Lawson''s body peeled off and dispersed in the wind until there was nothing left.


    In the end, Zen was the only man left standing.


    The warriors were all stunned at the result of this fight.


    "This is the person known to be only second to Nathan, the favorite of the competition?


    He was literally smashed into smithereens by Zen!


    Isn''t the gap between the two of them too big?" someone exclaimed.


    It wasn''t just him. The other warriors also thought this way.


    There were always so many variables when Godly Geniuses fought, but why was it that the fight was finished so quickly? Everyone expected this fight to last at least ten minutes.


    To their surprise, it only took an exchange of blows for Zen to be declared the winner.


    It was just truly absurd! Many warriors in the audience simply didn''t know how to react.


    However, there were some warriors who sighed but were not entirely surprised by the results. Lawson was known only second to Nathan, so his strength couldn''t be too weak. The problem was he had chosen the wrong way to deal with Zen.

 Chapter 1694 What Reward Will I Get

    "Lawson shouldn''t have attacked Zen with brute force. It seems that he has fulfilled Zen''s wish¡ªhe was killed in a single punch. If that''s not the case, it''s likely that the outcome will be difficult to determine," Preston commented from beside Letitia.


    Smiling, she didn''t refute his words. All she needed to do was believe in Zen¡ªthat was enough.


    No one from the Lie Clan had expected such an outcome.


    As the saying went, "The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment."


    Who would have thought that Lawson''s first battle among the top ten warriors would end up like this?


    Lawson was the Lie Clan''s hope.


    It had invested numerous and priceless resources into Lawson for dozens of years, all to create the perfect warrior.


    Every bone in his body and every inch of his flesh were in perfect condition. Apart from his arrogant and unstable personality, Lawson was undoubtedly the strongest talent nurtured by the Lie Clan.


    Even Nathan hadn''t received as many resources from his clan.


    But Lawson was smashed into dust by a single punch from Zen.


    His blow didn''t seem to land on Lawson''s body, but instead the faces of all the Lie Clan members.


    Such a failure was an unacceptable disgrace for them.


    "Lawson can''t be that weak!"


    "I refuse to accept this. I''m going to challenge Zen!"


    "Damn it. He''s so crafty. How could Zen use such a trick?"


    After a long period of silence, everyone in the clan began boiling up with frustration. Countless warriors were filled with indignation and couldn''t restrain their emotions. Their voices were like boiling oil as they began shouting out loud.


    "All of you shut up!"


    roared the Lie Clan''s head.


    In an instant, the whole place once again fell into a heavy silence.


    The patriarchs of the four great clans were all Supreme Lords, but the heads of the four clans still held the most power in their respective groups.


    "My son was reckless. He didn''t take Zen seriously enough. That''s why he suffered such a loss. Now stop blaming his opponent," the head said coldly. "I hope this battle will teach him a lesson. At the very least, he still has a chance."


    In the sky within the picture, a stone slowly appeared. On it, a small light condensed until Lawson appeared.


    Lawson''s eyes grew empty¡ªhe seemed to have fallen into a daze.


    Clearly, he hadn''t yet come back to his senses.


    Defeated in a single blow?


    If someone told him this before the battle, he would have thought that this was the biggest joke he had ever heard in his life.


    In truth, if it weren''t for Zen using Lawson''s and his own strength to counterattack, he wouldn''t have managed to kill him. At most, he probably could have only injured him severely.


    But the severely injured Lawson could fully recover in


    ing on their stones, pondering over how to deal with her.


    But within the Heaven Earth Board, there was no way to obtain the guidance of their seniors. The countermeasure to Shania''s Heart Eating Insects was still unknown.


    While the others might not have their seniors'' guidance, Lone was a special case. The broken sword in his hand told him how to deal with the insects, and he nodded slightly upon hearing that.


    The battle on the Heaven Earth Board continued.


    Next, it was Nathan against Lone.


    Lone had Lost to Zen once before. Before his second battle, he managed to regain his confidence, vowing to defeat his next opponent. But when he discovered that Nathan was his opponent, his face darkened.


    He had once lost to Nathan, after all.


    This left him no confidence to go against the man again.


    The broken sword in his hand was indeed the most important thing he could rely on, but it was already extremely damaged. Before entering the Illusion Battlefield, Lone had taken it to numerous people, finding a way to repair it, but to no avail.


    Facing Nathan, he barely managed to endure a few rounds before taking it upon himself to admit defeat. As for the former, he didn''t bother making things any more difficult on Lone.


    Then, it was Zen''s turn for the next battle.


    But just as he stood on the board, he realized that Margaret was his opponent.


    Although he knew that he would have to fight Margaret sooner or later, he couldn''t help but feel uncomfortable facing her in battle.


    But a faint smile lingered on Margaret''s face. Placing her hands behind her back, she walked slowly toward Zen as graceful of a ballerina, with a charming smile on her face. It didn''t seem like they were in a battle at all.


    Walking right up to him, she raised her head and asked in a sweet voice, "What reward will you give me if I win?"

 Chapter 1695 The Top Five Warriors

    The arrogant and unreasonable girl who behaved all too willfully for her own good was now standing opposite Zen on the great stage of the Illusion Battlefield.


    Upon hearing Margaret''s words, Zen smiled faintly. "Then tell me, what reward do you want?"


    Blinking her bright eyes, she continued walking toward Zen.


    Stepping on the Heaven Earth Board signified the beginning of the battle. It would be extremely dangerous for anyone else to approach the opponent at this moment.


    But she didn''t seem to be worried that Zen would take the chance to attack her.


    When she arrived in front of Zen, she stood on tiptoe and smiled innocently. "Even if I could win this, I wouldn''t take any actions against you."


    With that, she gave Zen a quick kiss on the cheek before turning around and returning to her own stone. "I admit defeat in this battle," she announced.


    The proclamation left the whole audience stunned.


    Not only did she take the initiative to admit defeat, but she also kissed her opponent.


    Many warriors were left puzzled by her behavior.


    The fight among these top ten warriors was linked to the future of the entire universe.


    If they weren''t in the Illusion Battlefield, they would have fought to the death.


    Not many warriors were aware of the relationship between Zen and Margaret.


    When this painting was unfurled, Zen and Margaret had already been separated by stones, after all. Only a small number of ace talents had ever seen them snuggle up to each other.


    Many warriors looked forward to this battle on the Heaven Earth Board.


    The sword array Margaret previously created had even forced Nathan to retreat. Many believed that she had great strength, more formidable than Shania, and they also believed she even had the strength to match up to Nathan.


    But other than the Purple River Sword Array, she hadn''t displayed much of her real strength.


    If Zen could force her to perform her extremely powerful sword array during a battle, it would be an intense fight worth watching.


    But to everyone''s surprise, she briskly walked up to Zen and gave him a kiss before admitting defeat. Why on earth did she do it?


    "Haha! Margaret is truly bold.."


    "Such guts! She kissed Zen in front of all the warriors in the entire universe..."


    "But is it really alright for her to admit defeat just like that?"


    The group of women of the Apeiron Tower continued chattering about Margaret.


    These women spent most of their time in the Purple Power World and rarely went out. Seeing Margaret being so bold, everyone was riled up in excitement.


    Elder Apeiron, their master, didn''t care to give such remarks on Margaret''s admission of defeat.


    The master was already satisfied that Margaret managed to make it into the top ten. The battles between the top ten


    dmitted defeat for little reason.


    Most of the universe''s warriors guessed that she had the strength to match up to Nathan. But never had she planned on expending her best efforts to fight the others.


    And as for Karl and Lucille, they lost the battles merely because they were weaker than the others.


    Now, the top five warriors were to fight each other.


    Out of these five warriors, apart from Nathan, the other four hadn''t been defeated at any instance.


    Even during the battles outside the main cities, the trials within the various secret realms, and the expedition in the Hall of Causality, they hadn''t lost once.


    With the greatest luck, strength, and perseverance, they were now known as the top warriors of the younger generation.


    Countless warriors across the universe had their eyes fixed on them.


    "I think Shania is stronger than the other four!"


    "Nathan is the best among the Godly Geniuses. I bet all my fortune on him!"


    "Don''t forget that Kurt has become a Buddha."


    Becoming a Buddha meant that one had officially stepped onto the Buddhist path.


    Such was similar to how Nathan turned into a ''God'' after becoming a Godly Genius.


    As the warriors discussed the top five warriors, the biggest gamble they had made was already taking place.


    If the chips placed on these five warriors were gathered, they would sum up to a great amount of life vitality jades.


    Stones were constantly appearing on the Heaven Earth Board.


    In each of the previous battles, only a stone was left on the board.


    But in the first battle this time, six black stones and six white stones appeared on the board. Simultaneously, the thirteen pieces that had already landed on the board were taken away.


    Immediately after, the huge hand no longer held the stones and the mysterious girl announced coldly, "First battle¡ªZen Luo versus Shania."

 Chapter 1696 The Circle Of Life And Death

    Zen hadn''t considered that he would meet Shania in the very first battle of the remaining five warriors.


    Previously, Shania had asked him to hand over the Saint Killing Spear to her.


    She had even said that he would, without a doubt, be returning the Saint Killing Spear to her. Made cautious by her request, Zen had gripped the spear tightly in his hand.


    What on earth was her reason for wanting the spear?


    After all, the spear was Lavender''s weapon, so Zen definitely wouldn''t be giving it to someone else. He would bring it out of the Illusion Battlefield and return it to Lavender. However, he still wanted to know why Shania had said that, for it smacked of prophesy.


    He jumped down from the stone and landed on the board, ready to engage in the battle.


    Soon after, Shania also took gentle steps forward, seeming to descend upon an invisible staircase.


    As she reached the board, she gave Zen a gentle smile.


    "Can you now give me the Saint Killing Spear?" Shania asked again, still smiling.


    "Why should I?" Zen replied indifferently.


    Once, he had formed a singular impression of the Demon Night race.


    Without a doubt, it was one of the most accomplished races in the universe, with perfect order reigning throughout its territories.


    But because of what happened to Amber and Hailey, Zen harbored hostility towards the Demon Night race.


    Right now, Amber was still being bitterly tortured, and once Hailey had returned from the Illusion Battlefield, her end would probably not be any better.


    The battle between the two Demon Night queens had caused too many losses for their race.


    "Should I need a reason for that? I merely want to exchange something with you," Shania confidently said, with an expectant tone of voice.


    "Oh?" Zen laughed coldly. "What do you want to exchange for the Saint Killing Spear?"


    The Saint Killing Spear was the most powerful spear in the universe!


    It might not have reached its full potential in Zen''s hands, but in Lavender''s capable hands, it could emit an endless amount of power.


    All the supreme divine weapons were priceless treasures, so what could Shania possibly hope to give Zen in exchange?


    Many people pricked their ears at the exchange. They were curious to know what Shania would offer in exchange for the unattainable spear.


    However, Shania slightly parted her lips and spoke to Zen only using her life vitality, "A perfect spirit embryo. It has been growing in the Pool of Faith of the Queen of Life for many years. If Lavender knew that I offered you the spirit embryo in exchange, I believe that she would definitely give up the spear!"


    Zen''s brow creased at her words.


    If she had offered anything else, he would immediately have rejected it without a second thought.


    But she offered a perfect spirit embryo!


    The faith collected in each of the Pools of Faith of the three queens was different in nature.


    Lavender''s Pool of Faith was formed by the killing intent of the members of the Demon Night race. As a result, it was blood-red in color.


    It was said that the dense killing intent could be felt at a distance of ten thousand miles from the Pool of Faith. Ordinary beings couldn


    in a constant cycle of life and death.


    Apart from life force, the Life Law contained many profound mysteries related to death.


    Thus, those warriors, who cultivated the Life Law, were the ones who understood life and death the best.


    Shania was somewhat vexed.


    She didn''t want to end this battle so easily, as she felt that Zen required a lesson in respect for his betters.


    If they had been in the outside world, she might have chosen to drain Zen of his lifespan and seal off his lifeline, thereby preventing him from extending his lifespan. This way, he would have entered the Five Aging Processes in advance, and he would have lived the rest of his life aging prematurely. This was the worst possible fate that a warrior could face.


    Unfortunately, they were in the Illusion Battlefield, so this method was completely useless.


    Thus, she chose an even crueler method.


    "The Circle of Life and Death!"


    In truth, a few Supreme Lords had already figured out Shania''s true identity, but they were still a bit unsure.


    After all, the cost of reincarnation was just too high. The risks of doing so were extremely high, and the Supreme Lords couldn''t figure out the reason why Latonia would want to participate in the Illusion Battlefield in the first place.


    Upon seeing Shania use this method, those who were familiar with the Queen of Life knew for certain who she was.


    Shania was Latonia, the Queen of Life!


    "She already uses such a powerful move at the very beginning of their battle."


    "With Zen''s unstable mind, he will suffer bitterly in the Circle of Life and Death."


    "There aren''t many people who can survive through that, but if he succeeds, he will benefit a lot."


    There was a clear line that existed between life and death.


    One side of the line was death, and the other side was life. This was an immutable truth that all living creatures accepted.


    However, once one mastered the eighth layer of the Life Law, he or she would be able to accurately manipulate that line.


    It allowed for the creation of illusion between life and death, and now that was going to be used on Zen.

 Chapter 1697 Latonias Purpose

    Although Shania was at the Soul Sea Realm, she was still the reincarnation of the Queen of Life.


    All these years, Latonia had remained silent about the chaos of the entire Demon Night race.


    Whether it was Elena or Lavender, Latonia had always pretended that she''d never seen any of their fights. Sometimes, she would even add fuel to the fire.


    None of the previous Queens of Life had stirred up troubles, but Latonia was an extremely special case.


    In Latonia''s eyes, Lavender was just a cold but passionate little sister. She only knew how to lead the Demon Night race to battle so that they could expand their influence and power; she represented the fighting strength of the Demon Night race. Many Supreme Lords would flee when facing them.


    And Elena was destined to be a schemer with great ambition but short sight. Controlling the Demon Night race seemed to be the greatest pleasure for her.


    But the interests that Latonia had were completely different from theirs.


    She had always had an extraordinary commitment to the Life Law as well as an extraordinary sensitivity.


    Giving people life and trying to make them grow and reproduce was the greatest pleasure for her.


    Of course, there was a lot more to the joy of the Life Law. The unique power of the curse that appeared when a life came to an end also piqued her interest.


    Why did the power of the curse gather into a malicious aura before a life came to an end? Why couldn''t a martial artist live forever? Why did the strong fall into the Five Aging Processes?


    Long ago, there had been many questions in young Latonia''s mind about mysteries that everyone else just took for granted.


    After all, these rules had always existed without any rhyme or reason.


    But this was Latonia''s character. Once she was curious about something, she wouldn''t be able to rest until she found some answers.


    In the eyes of others, becoming the Queen of Life was already the end of Latonia''s life. The queen of the Demon Night race was comparable to a Supreme Lord, and was considered the highest existence in the entire universe. In many ways, her position of power was even higher than a Supreme Lord.


    But Latonia had known that it was just the beginning for her.


    There were so many things in her mind that she still hadn''t unraveled.


    It was precisely because she was at the level of Queen of Life that her comprehension of the Life Law increased day by day, becoming more and more thorough.


    Sixth layer, seventh layer, eighth layer, ninth layer...


    The Law Power could not reach the tenth layer, which was the perfect level.


    Only a Supreme Lord would be able to achieve perfection after bearing a Heavenly Destiny.


    This was a clear demarcation.


    She couldn''t break through that boundary.


    It was said that only those who opened 3


    silent.


    Latonia, who now went by the name ''Shania, '' did not feel discouraged. She knew that she would understand more after walking further into the Illusion Battlefield. Since everything had a set of rules, she would follow those rules and then break them.


    As for why she needed the Saint Killing Spear, she wanted to gather all three of the Demon Night race''s supreme divine weapons. However, she had her own reasons for that. It was all about an inheritance of the Demon Night race. Originally, the inheritance would be activated when the Demon Night race met a crisis, but Shania intended to ignore this rule.


    This was her personality. Once she was certain of something, she had to accomplish it. Anyone who stood in her way would be crushed by her.


    Currently, Zen was extremely uncooperative.


    Hence, after she came up, she released an extremely cruel and profoundly mysterious skill¡ª


    the Circle of Life and Death.


    A black and white wheel appeared in her hand, but Zen, who was one step ahead of her, had already begun to retreat rapidly.


    The Life Law gave Zen an exceedingly strange feeling, and he almost instinctively wanted to avoid it.


    Zen retreated quickly, but the dual-colored wheel moved with Shania''s thought. In theory, it was impossible to avoid it.


    In the blink of an eye, Zen was enveloped by the dual-colored wheel.


    A faint smile appeared on Shania''s face. At this moment, her eyes turned into two different colors. One of them was black, exuding a strong aura of death, while the other was light green, full of vitality.


    "Enjoy it," she said. She didn''t care about these Godly Geniuses at all. Although she didn''t possess the strength she''d had before her reincarnation, her comprehension of Laws was still intact. How could these juniors possibly contend with a powerhouse that had once stood on par with the Supreme Lords?

 Chapter 1698 Life-or-Death Space

    There were too many secrets between life and death.


    There weren''t many martial artists in the universe that specialized in the Life Law. This Life Law could bring the dead back to life but it wasn''t so deadly.


    As a result, of the three queens of the Demon Night, Latonia was the weakest.


    The Heart Eating Insects were considered a powerful weapon when they were used to deal with Soul Sea Realm ace talents. However, when used to fight against Supreme Lords they were useless. The Supreme Lords knew many ways to restrain the Heart Eating Insects.


    Latonia had also used her life energy to nurture other plants to fight.


    Latonia was the only one in the entire universe who cultivated such powerful Circle of Life and Death. It was a cultivation method she achieved when she cultivated the Life Law.


    So when Shania displayed the Circle of Life and Death, the Supreme Lords knew immediately who she was.


    That was an ability that only someone with a really strong life energy could possess.


    Besides, the Circle of Life and Death was not a method of attack.


    Right at this moment, Shania''s one hand released a dense amount of life energy, while her other hand released a dense amount of death energy.


    When she unleashed both powers at the same time, Shania was dragged into a state of life and death.


    Zen was also dragged into this state.


    This was called the Life-or-Death Space.


    Anyone who would enter the Life-or-Death Space would fall into a very unique state.


    A state in which they were both dead and alive.


    In the Life-or-Death Space, to take a step forward meant to live and to take a step backward meant to die.


    Creatures would fall into an extremely difficult situation and their souls would be tormented.


    This kind of state would also affect Shania. Even as one of the queens of the Demon Night race, she would still suffer this torment. However, she was proficient in the Life Law and was constantly exploring the profound mysteries of life and death, so this wouldn''t affect her as much as it would anyone else. To her opponent, however, it was extremely disadvantageous.


    This was the same as when a martial artist who cultivated the Ice Law dragged their opponent into the Land of Extreme Chillness. Both of them would face great pressure, but the martial artist that cultivated the Ice Law would naturally find it much easier.


    The vigorous life energy fused with the thick death energy began to rotate within the Heaven Earth Board turning into a gray fog.


    Standing in the mist, Zen could feel a sense of serenity growing within him.


    His body suddenly started to feel heavy and sluggish.


    He was actually feeling tired.


    The need for battle and courage to fight were disappearing.


    Negative emotions slowly started to creep in, and a feeling of impending doom slowly spread through him.


    Shania stood quietly in front of him like a dusty Equinox Flow


    e a great test for them.


    They needed to think of a way to deal with it beforehand.


    Right now, that fear was like a demon taking over Zen''s will and growing more and more.


    Zen was growing more anxious by the second, which made the fear grow stronger. All that Zen could feel now was a burden in his heart.


    "Die!"


    The instant he dashed forward, Zen unleashed all the forceful energy in his body.


    Zen was like a gust of wind trying to get closer to Shania. He was moving at an extremely fast speed.


    Shania kept on smiling and moving swiftly. With a twist of her body, she was like a nimble butterfly dancing on a thin line.


    Wandering on the edge of life and death was familiar to her. She had no fear.


    As Zen missed his attack, he turned around and the Thunder Wind Divine Sword appeared in his hands.


    But before he could prepare his next wave of attacks, he felt a sharp pain in his chest.


    "Aargh!" Zen screamed painfully.


    His heart began to contract violently.


    Shania could hear the sound of his heart beating.


    "Ah, what a beautiful sound!" she said happily.


    Zen''s heart was beating crazily. He had encountered this once in the sorcerer race''s secret land.


    But that had been because of the stimulation from an external source, and Zen had been able to endure it and think of a way to break it.


    Right now, his heart was beating so violently because of his own emotions.


    Zen kept on screaming in pain. His face showed how much pain he was experiencing.


    Shania stood not far away and smiled while she said, "You have a strong heart. Unfortunately, you have an even stronger obsession with survival. That will be your end!"


    As soon as she finished speaking, a loud crack was heard from the inside of Zen''s chest.


    Plop!


    Zen''s heart thumped violently once again.


    In that instant, a sweet and fishy taste filled Zen''s throat. He spat out a mouthful of blood and knelt on the thin thread.

 Chapter 1699 The Emotion Closing Godly Way

    Shania looked down at Zen as she stood not far away from him. She sighed with emotion.


    Zen was only around thirty years old...


    She found Zen to be extremely young and exceptionally outstanding.


    The top ten in this world would all have great destinies.


    In return, they had to attain great achievements.


    The warrior chosen by Lavender was indeed remarkable.


    As long as Zen was alive, he would eventually be able to help Lavender return to the throne of the Queen of Killings...


    "Losing in the Life-or-Death Space isn''t considered a disgrace. On the contrary, it can prove that you are extremely persistent, and the warrior with the strongest determination is often the one who succeeds the most in the world... So, please admit defeat," Shania said calmly.


    Long, long ago, there was a legendary treasure in the Heavenly Lake Mountain. Only after warriors knelt for a thousand years would the legendary treasure appear before them.


    Many warriors went over to investigate out of curiosity, but they scoffed at the notion. They did not believe this rumor.


    However, several hundred other warriors stayed behind and knelt in front of the Heavenly Lake Mountain...


    After a year, almost everyone chose to leave, except one warrior, who stayed there steadfastly.


    The others mocked him because of his stupid stubbornness. Rumors were just rumors after all with no basis in facts. One thousand years was a precious amount of time for a warrior and he was silly to waste time like that.


    However, the warrior remained unmoved. He had knelt for more than one thousand years and wasn''t going to give up just like that.


    Another one hundred years passed and the Heavenly Lake Mountain finally parted, revealing the treasure. It was bestowed upon the devoted warrior.


    This story was passed down through generations all throughout the universe. It was a legend.


    This legend taught everyone that even if persistence and determination were difficult and seemed unrewarding, one should work hard to pursue the goal with indomitable will. And one day, one would succeed!


    But if one decided to pursue something doggedly, they had to survive and thrive.


    In the past, Latonia also made the Life-or-Death Space by taking advantage of this point, once she created the Circle of Life and Death.


    The Life-or-Death Space brought one closest to death. Faced with death, one''s survival instincts would be on high alert!


    If one wanted to break through this Life-or-Death Space, they would need to contemplate life and death.


    But how could Zen do this in such a short period of time? How could he make it in front of her? This was an impossible task to do.


    The rest of Shania''s opponents were all newly-born talents from the last several decades. They had seen through life and death completely. How would they be able to make it?


    With one formidable move, Shania could defeat anyone.


    "Plop!"


    Another muffled sound was heard.


    Zen was staring death in the face, so his fear became more and more intense. Besides, the influence on his mind


    s in the Humanity Alliance knew that Zen had cultivated the Gods-intimidating Strike successfully.


    However, the news only spread around the thirteen palaces...


    And at that time, they didn''t know that what Zen had practiced was the Emotion Closing Godly Way.


    The Gods-intimidating Strike was the Emotion Closing Godly Way?


    The warriors who had been affected by the sword cloud at that time were all stunned when they saw this scene.


    Some warriors had comprehended a small part of the Gods-intimidating Strike. They also knew that this sword strike was very powerful, but they never paid too much attention to it.


    For example, Layla had comprehended the strike a lot, but she attached more importance to what her master had taught her...


    She had never thought that Zen was someone who would be able to comprehend the Emotion Closing Godly Way through the Gods-intimidating Strike.


    After all, only a few warriors knew that Sword Chen had become a True God. Most of the other warriors were under the impression that he had died.


    "Zen has actually practiced the Emotion Closing Godly Way... Isn''t it the forbidden Godly Way?" Rocher asked in surprise. He had guessed that Zen had already stepped into the Godly Way but he never thought that Zen would choose the forbidden Godly Way.


    "This sword attack is quite powerful." Nathan declared with a confident smile.


    Although he was full of praise for Zen''s sword strike, he was secretly comparing himself to Zen.


    It was true that Zen''s Gods-intimidating Strike was powerful, but it probably consumed a lot of life vitality. Just now when he lay on the ground, it took him a long time to launch the attack. He might have already drained more than half of his sea of life vitality.


    No matter what, with this guy''s cultivation, he would only be able to strike two or three times!


    "It is not that formidable," Nathan said indifferently. He always had absolute confidence in himself.


    But right after, he was astonished, and even his state of mind was slightly muddled.

 Chapter 1700 The Staff Of Life

    Nathan had always exuded confidence.


    Such was his faith in himself.


    There was no cultivation methods or martial skills that were too difficult for him to grasp.


    There was no opponent that he failed to defeat.


    There were no hardships that he could not overcome.


    No one from his generation could compete with him because he was the strongest of them all!


    Nobody possessed his level of talent. He had become a Godly Genius at such a young age, and only a handful of people could take him on.


    Nobody else had a nobler background than him. His clan was the greatest clan in the entire universe!


    It was impossible for anyone to get to him as he was the best of the rest.


    He had inferred that even though Zen''s sword skill was powerful, he could only use it twice or thrice at most. So he would still lose to Shania in the end.


    However, the development that followed exceeded Nathan''s imagination.


    Once Zen launched his first strike, he had no intention of slowing down or stopping.


    His attacks were getting faster and more intense.


    Each strike contained an incomparably sharp sword intent.


    His sword intent was so powerful that it felt like it could pierce through the heaven and earth as it charged towards Shania.


    Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!


    He sent out dozens of slashes back to back.


    "This guy...! He is a real monster!" Nathan commented as he stared at Zen with mixed feelings. He was a little confused.


    ''But he didn''t consume any life vitality jade to replenish his life vitality. How strange!


    Does he have a great treasure that can store large amounts of life vitality?'' he wondered.


    Such treasures were extremely rare in the universe. For example, the Vitality Storing Vessel, which ranked 120th on the Universe Spirit Tablet, could store a large amount of vitality between heaven and earth and double the amount of life vitality used by a warrior during a fight.


    But even if Zen''s life vitality was doubled, it still wouldn''t be enough to launch so many consecutive attacks.


    Nathan just could not figure it out.


    He wasn''t the only one who was flummoxed.


    All the warriors who had witnessed this fight were just as puzzled as him.


    A single slash by Zen''s sword would consume a huge amount of life vitality, let alone dozens of it.


    Most people had the same question in their minds: where did Zen''s life vitality come from?


    Shania wa


    Life, which ranked thirty-second in all of the supreme divine weapons.


    "Taste my wrath, you brat!" she spat.


    She was absolutely furious about being forced to use this treasure by Zen.


    She had expected to defeat him quite easily, but found herself in an awkward predicament.


    Her helplessness finally forced her to use the Staff of Life.


    The moment Shania raised the Staff of Life in her hand, her face glowed with extraordinary grace.


    It was as if, in that moment, she had turned into another Latonia.


    Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!


    Streams of green life energy emanated from within the Staff of Life.


    The power vibrated violently in the air and separated into numerous specks, which slowly formed shapes on the board. Eventually, they turned into beasts of all shapes and sizes.


    The roars of these beasts reverberated across the arena.


    They were all twelfth-grade beasts, which were equivalent to Spirit Supreme Realm human warriors.


    The Squall Mastiffs.


    The Ancient Vultures.


    The Fiend Horses...


    As these vicious beasts materialized one by one, they all charged at Zen wanting to pounce on him.


    But how could they withstand Zen''s Gods-intimidating Strike? Even the Sunflower Turtle with its toughest defense couldn''t survive a single slash of the sword.


    But Shania was not using these beasts to defeat Zen.


    She only needed them to delay Zen for a while and prevent him from chasing after her while she worked on something else.


    She placed the Staff of Life horizontally in front of her and locked her gaze on him as she began to prepare for her strongest attack.

 Chapter 1701 Creating Creatures

    Zen didn''t stop, not even after he''d killed all the beasts.


    He did not have any misgivings after cutting off his emotions and desires. All he cared about now was the sword in his hand...


    He still hadn''t fully attained the Godly Way, though.


    Shania placed the Staff of Life in front of her that spread out an invisible force all around.


    At that moment, even though he had already broken free from the entanglement of fear, Zen had no choice but to retreat.


    He was not afraid to die, but that didn''t mean he was willing to throw his life away so easily.


    Shania smiled at him. She wasn''t in any real hurry to kill him. Right now, her focus was at the outside of the Heaven Earth Board.


    From the looks of it, she wasn''t looking at her opponent, but at the audience outside the painting.


    She opened her mouth and her soft voice rang out.


    This painting could be considered as a special kind of Roaring Token given that it was broadcasted all over the Illusion Spaces in the universe. Shania''s voice could only resound around the Illusion Spaces, so only those who were watching the fight could hear her. And, they could also see her.


    "Take a good long look, you old fellows. You keep talking about heavens'' limitation but watch how I break it..."


    Her words were directed to those Supreme Lords.


    A lot of these mighty Supreme Lords had long since figured out her identity. Shania herself knew that it would be impossible for her to hide from such powerful people, so she didn''t even try.


    The Supreme Lords were a bit confused at her words. She could only be talking about them when she said "old fellows." What exactly was she trying to do?


    "Heavens'' limitation..."


    In Mist Palace, Supreme Lord Healum revealed a look of surprise.


    Even Yolande herself gasped. "She wants to tell everyone that she can break heavens'' limitation?"


    Supreme Lord Healum nodded.


    "I guess it''s possible. Is it?" He wasn''t sure. Even he felt extremely conflicted at what was currently happening.


    The heavens'' limitation was the biggest restriction imposed in the entire universe.


    All living creatures were subject to this limitation. Everyone had a certain threshold for their power.


    It was only the Godly Geniuses who had the ability to overcome the current round of heavens. Only after the Mahayana Lotus Flower was fully activated would one be able to cross the current round and become a True God.


    There were so few Godly Geniuses in the universe.


    Even a Supreme Lord couldn''t know exactly how many creatures had been born in the universe for the past hundred million years. Yet among those creatures, not even one Godly Genius could be found.


    The birth


    t first.


    However, as soon as she pointed at him, numerous green balls appeared on top of the staff.


    The balls were about the size of a fist and rolled down onto the ground.


    These balls were actually powerful spheres that contained the strongest Life Law in the universe¡ªthe ninth level of the Life Law.


    "What is Shania trying to do?"


    "She seems to have used reincarnation on Zen?"


    "Latonia is the only one who can reach the ninth level of Life Law. However, there is still a limit to reincarnation. Shouldn''t she use Zen''s body as a medium to reincarnate?"


    None of the Supreme Lords trained up to the ninth level of the Life Law, but they still more or less knew what was happening.


    If she wanted to reincarnate Zen, then she would have to kill him first.


    What exactly was Shania doing?


    The surface of the first ball began to expand and take form.


    The green sphere of power grew until it reached the height of a person. It stretched and bulged constantly as the organs and features slowly came to light: spine, lungs, heart, muscles, hair, and skin...


    Once fully formed, a person who looked exactly like Zen stood beside Shania.


    Even with his impeccable eye, Zen couldn''t find any sort of difference between the real him and this clone Shania just created.


    The only difference was that this clone wasn''t wearing any clothes...


    "Ah, shame..." Margaret was really uncomfortable. She couldn''t bear seeing her husband naked like this.


    Zen''s eyes widened in astonishment.


    How could there be such an identical version of him?


    He had already encountered this situation in a magic array, but that was only an illusion. The clone that was in front of him was real flesh and blood. Shania actually recreated a new him.


    She was ¡­ creating creatures!

 Chapter 1702 Ten Zens

    Seeing Shania create a Zen in such a short period of time, the Supreme Lords found themselves holding their breath.


    Many world lords were stunned in disbelief. The scene in the painting before them had their eyes go wide.


    Before this moment, they had thought it possible for Shania to easily create a special plant or beast.


    Having cultivated the Life Law for many years, it wasn''t difficult for Shania to do so.


    Once one reached the sixth level of the Life Law, one should be able to create creatures.


    Though it would take quite a while, one could create any creature that he needed.


    After reaching the seventh level, the creation process sped up. At Latonia''s level, one could create a creature to fight against the enemy in mere seconds.


    But before creating a creature, one had to have a thorough understanding of these creatures and they weren''t exactly complete.


    But Shania managed to duplicate Zen so quickly.


    One Heavenly Destiny called the Heavenly Destiny of Creation in the heavens was the limit of the Life Law¡ªit was the tenth-level profound mystery.


    Warriors with this Heavenly Destiny could create such life.


    And Latonia, Queen of Life, was standing in as Shania.


    In strength, she might''ve matched a Supreme Lord, but she did not bear a Heavenly Destiny. It should have been impossible for her to know the profound mysteries of creating creatures.


    And yet, she created Zen.


    The other Supreme Lords just couldn''t believe what happened.


    She wasn''t a Supreme Lord¡­ How did she do it?


    What followed was even more unimaginable. The green balls fell from the Staff of Life and turned into a real ''Zen, '' one after another until they all stood in a row.


    These identical copies of Zen wore indifferent expressions.


    "Even the Supreme Lord who bears the Heavenly Destiny of Creation isn''t able to activate his skill at will."


    "Creation of creatures has a limit. This is an all too powerful ability. One should only be able to create one creature at a time."


    "You mean to say that Latonia didn''t only break the restriction of the ninth level of the law¡­she also broke the very universe''s restriction, right?"


    "This¡­ this is power that crosses the heavens!"


    Many Supreme Lords revealed a look of shock upon witnessing the scene.


    For thousands of lower-level warriors, they could clearly feel the restriction of the heavens.


    It didn''t need to be said that it was already extremely difficult for a warrior to even reach the Spirit Transformation Realm.


    Not to mention, becoming a world lord or Supreme Lord.


    Even if they dedicated thei


    ead out of his body.


    "Eight Smoky Melodies?" Zen exclaimed in surprise.


    The body of that particular ''Zen'' twisted in the air incredibly as he attempted to dodge the strike.


    But the Gods-intimidating Strike was also undeniably fast. Though the Eight Smoky Melodies was indeed powerful, the former could easily break the three-inch limitation and cut the ''Zen''.


    Puff!


    Blood started flowing. But still, the strike only cut the clone''s skin.


    The ''Zen'' made a strange turn in the air and rushed toward his opponent.


    Not daring to directly block the strong charge, Zen backed up quickly.


    But just as he did, three ''Zens'' came charging at him from different directions.


    "Nether God Shadow!"


    Ten shadows akin to Zen shot out from the Thunder Wind Divine Sword, flying toward the other copies of ''Zen.''


    This Nether God Shadow proved to be very useful¡ªthe moves they launched were of the same fist fighting technique which Zen had cultivated.


    But the Nether God Shadow was merely a sword technique¡ªit couldn''t withstand the "Zens".


    Puff! Puff! Puff!


    In three seconds, the Nether God Shadows released by Zen himself was killed by his duplicates.


    Finally, the first ''Zen'' stood before him and immediately went for a punch.


    "This Zen is famous for his strength. What will he do now in the face of his own?"


    "Haha! Ten Zens. They can probably punch him to death."


    "This ability to create creatures¡­it''s truly magical. It seems that she can wholly clone a creature."


    At this point, most of them didn''t care about how Shania had broken the rules.


    All they were interested in was seeing who would win the battle.


    Ten ''Zens'' against the lone Zen¡ªthe crowd was certain of the real Zen''s defeat.

 Chapter 1703 Chaotic Gods-intimidating Strike

    Zen had no way of dodging the incoming punch.


    But he remained calm.


    Although these ''Zens'' looked extremely real and retained all of his characteristics, in the end, they were still just physical bodies.


    Zen''s physical body was strong, his strength bordering on tyrannical, but it still relied on the power of the dragon scales.


    Would that woman be able to duplicate the Genuine Dragons and Divine Flame Cauldron?


    It wasn''t highly possible despite looking like it was.


    It was true that the Life Law was powerful, but people couldn''t duplicate everything in the world. They could only create things related to life.


    Zen suddenly launched a counterattack against the punch.


    The clone had obviously obeyed Shania''s command. And in that instant, all the forceful energy within his body erupted in a great rush. He hadn''t borrowed strength from the dragon scales, but the explosive power was still astonishing.


    But it showed quite clearly that the clone and the real Zen were not on the same level.


    Zen gasped.


    He had underestimated ''himself''.


    The ''Zen'' that Shania had created might not be as strong as Zen after all.


    But that didn''t mean they weren''t the living ''Zen''.


    When the punch was thrown, the clone use the Eight Smoky Melodies again and circled around his wrist. He dodged the punch within a distance of three inches.


    Soon, a faint halo of light enveloped Zen.


    "Thunderbolt Annihilation!" the clone shouted.


    Zen froze.


    Mysterious law began to appear in the sky. The brewing of the Heavenly Tribulation!


    Zen, who was familiar with the power of the Thunderbolt Annihilation, took a step forward and before anyone could react, passed through space and escaped.


    But the moment he charged out of the circle of light, another circle of light appeared beneath his feet.


    Ten clones of himself were standing opposite him.


    The Thunderbolt Annihilation the clone Zens had simultaneously unleashed had surrounded Zen on all sides.


    The thunderbolts of the Heavenly Tribulation had crashed down before Zen could get out of the range of the Thunderbolt Annihilation.


    The descent of the Thunderbolt Annihilation had been


    shocking enough.


    But when ten Thunderbolt Annihilations came crashing down at the same time, it felt like the Heaven Earth Board was filled with lightning and thunderbolts.


    The thunderbolts had covered Zen''s bo


    ll be exactly the same as you," Shania said.


    The clones didn''t even look back as they easily caught the swords thrown to them by reaching behind their backs with their right hands.


    All these swords were ordinary divine weapons. Most were at the third rank while the rest were at the second rank. Only two of them were first-rank divine weapons.


    However, the quality of the sword did not matter. The key was the person who used the sword.


    The clones that were wielding the sword also entered a state of emotion closing.


    They were also using the Gods-intimidating Strike.


    But there were ten of them.


    If these ten clones were to launch the Gods-intimidating Strike simultaneously, it would be fatal to the person at the receiving end because of how unimaginably great the power contained within it was.


    Zen didn''t hesitate.


    He slashed out with his sword.


    The gold and the gray lights spread along with the sword intent. The three of them fused together into a strange golden light. Like the setting sun, the light spread out from his sword and covered the entirety of the Heaven Earth Board with a faint golden afterglow.


    It also covered the Godly Geniuses and the clouds in the sky with a layer of golden powder.


    Even Shania looked around cautiously.


    But Zen''s opponent was ten of himself. What was more, he would be attacked by his strongest sword strike.


    The Chaotic Gods-intimidating Strike that Zen had created was not inferior to anyone or anything in the slightest. The radiance emitted by his sword seemed to be capable of shaking the entire world.

 Chapter 1704 Zen Won

    Shania was indeed the most powerful opponent Zen had faced yet.


    Her comprehension of the laws far surpassed that of ordinary warriors of the same level.


    It was true that her cultivation level was her biggest limitation, but her ability in creation alone made her an opponent that could not be ignored.


    Perhaps there was something wrong with the strength of Zen''s clones that she had created. Besides, she couldn''t control them as freely as she wanted, and could only give the clones simple commands, like "kill."


    But that was enough!


    The simultaneous usage of the Gods-intimidating Strike by ten of Zen''s clones presented a huge challenge for even Zen himself!


    Whoosh!


    Accompanied by the sharp ringing of metal, those ten sharply keen sword intents transformed into ten rays of sword radiance that dominated the air as they charged straight at Zen.


    ''The power of their strike¡­ is only sixty percent of mine!''


    It was only in that instant that Zen had made his judgment. Meanwhile, he was a little confused.


    There was no physical difference between him and his clones when it came to the technique or the comprehension of the Gods-intimidating Strike. So why was there such a huge difference in terms of the power of their strike?


    This thought lingered in his mind, but he could not figure it out.


    At that moment, the golden light that Zen had slashed out intersected with the ten rays of sword radiance.


    In theory, each of Zen''s clones displayed sixty percent of the power of Zen''s Gods-intimidating Strike. In other words, the power of the strikes of ten clones should then be six times stronger than that of Zen''s strike.


    However, Zen''s sword strike was deceiving in appearance, for he had not simply transformed the chaotic energy into sword intent.


    Previously, Zen had not developed the special characteristic of chaotic energy and had simply used it in the same way as warriors used their life vitality. Chaotic energy was much more condensed than life vitality. No matter how much he used it, the chaotic sea in his belly never decreased in size or depth.


    But it had to be said that using his chaotic energy like this had seemed an enormous waste.


    However, after he encountered Lone, Zen had developed a completely new understanding on the ways of using chaotic energy.


    His Chaotic Gods-intimidating Strike could no longer be described in the same breath as the previous version.


    Although Zen was only at the Soul Sea Realm, the strength he now displayed was something akin to that of the supreme chaotic weapons in the divine land. It was the strength that all True Gods could only dream of!


    Swish!


    The air above the Heaven Earth Board became electric with potential and began to vibrate violently.


    That golden radiance which Zen had launched was like a tide, beautiful, quiet, and potent.


    The Gods-intimidating Strikes that the ten clones had initiated were like ten ravenous sharks moving against the tide, intent on crossing the "water" line to kill Zen.


    Even Lawson and Lone were astounded by the magnitude of this confrontation.


    Zen''s sword strike aside, the Gods-intimidating Strikes that his clones had displayed were already terrifying in the extreme. Even


    g them and rending them to pieces.


    At that moment, Shania gave up all resistance.


    With her comprehension of the Life Law, she could still deal with this unstoppable sword strike. But what would be the point?


    Besides, she had already achieved her goal.


    She believed that those Supreme Lords had already reached a decision.


    The golden afterglow of the Thunder Wind Divine Sword dissipated, restoring the sword''s blue body again. Calmly, Zen placed it into his space ring.


    He had won this battle!


    "Ha-ha! The fact that Zen is using my sword can be considered a kind of honor." Within the Mist Palace, Kyron''s face revealed a trace of deep satisfaction.


    The gap between Layla and Zen had just become too huge. Even Kyron had personally trained her for six years, yet the gap between them had grown bigger and bigger. The fact that Layla had been eliminated early in the Illusion Battlefield had not pleased Kyron at all.


    However, when he witnessed Zen display such power with the Thunder Wind Divine Sword in his hand, Kyron also began to console himself.


    Earlier, everyone had thought Shania to be invincible.


    After Zen had so convincingly defeated her, the other warriors began their own analysis and debate.


    "In the end, what Shania has cultivated is the Life Law. The Life Law itself isn''t all that strong."


    "Nonsense! You don''t think she''s powerful? So how could she have defeated those ace talents and Godly Geniuses then?"


    "I didn''t mean it that way."


    In theory, the Life Law didn''t offer an advantage in battle.


    However, the power of Shania''s creation talent couldn''t be underestimated.


    If Zen had not so fully comprehended the Chaotic Gods-intimidating Strike, he would definitely have fallen to the combined efforts of the ten clones.


    According to the rules of this round-robin tournament, Zen''s opponents now only numbered two people.


    Nathan, Rocher, and Kurt were still waiting on the side.


    The strength of these three warriors was well-hidden. Of the three, two of them would fight first, and the winner would challenge Zen.


    Zen was naturally unaware as to which one he was going to face.

 Chapter 1705 Giving Full Consideration Before Making Any Decision

    Zen had showcased his true strength in his battle with Shania and wowed the crowds.


    He had changed the public opinion about him and suddenly, people''s perception of who would be first began to swerve.


    In the beginning, everyone thought that it would be Nathan.


    He was the number one Godly Genius and an expert at everything. The only trouble he had was probably from Shania.


    But now that Zen had defeated Shania, revealing his power, everyone realized that the person who had been annoying them with his Roaring Token back then was already qualified to compete for the first warrior in the universe.


    Nathan was waiting anxiously.


    Rocher was also in the same state.


    Only Kurt was unperturbed. He put his hands together and maintained a calm expression.


    "Rocher from the Thoughtless Minds versus Kurt from the Blessed Buddha Land!" came the announcement.


    When the cold voice rang out, Kurt opened his eyes. A brilliant light shone out from them as his aura abruptly changed.


    Just a moment ago, he was as steady as a rock, but in the next moment, he released the aura of a fierce tiger.


    The aura that emitted from his body was solemn, valiant and ferocious.


    Whoosh!


    Kurt took a giant leap, and like a sinking iron ball, he smashed onto the Heaven Earth Board. His stone crashed onto the board as well.


    Kurt was not famous among the many Godly Geniuses. He was a silent figure.


    Initially, many almighty warriors predicted that of the four warriors from the Thoughtless Minds, at least three would be able to make it into the top five. If this situation were to develop further, then the Thoughtless Minds would become the dominant race in the world of chaos.


    However, the final result was completely unexpected!


    The Thoughtless Minds occupied only one of the top five spots, while the remaining three were in the last five spots.


    Kurt of the Blessed Buddha Land, however, had been able to exploit his full potential and reach this level.


    As for Rocher, he totally stumped everyone!


    While it was true that he originated from the Thoughtless Minds, he himself said that he came from the Cloud Hall, a sect unknown to the onlookers.


    The strength that this person displayed was also shocking.


    He had seamlessly eliminated Xenia, the Godly Genius of the Celestial Position race.


    Her premature elimination automatically meant that she could not enter the top ten. This was a big shock for everyone.


    People wondered if Rocher would still surprise everyone by defeating Kurt.


    Kurt entered the board and Rocher also took one step forward. His body floated down and lightly landed on the Heaven Earth Board.


    His heroic face was already starting to show the fighting spirit.


    After he defeated the man before him, he would face Zen.


    "


    ut with a hundred swords.


    But by relying on the Future Constellation Kalpa, he was able to determine Rocher''s sword moves and attacks to a certain extent, and block them accordingly.


    Because of this, not only were Rocher''s attacks not fatal, they were also getting obstructed in advance by Kurt''s staff.


    Kurt only needed to place the staff somewhere and it would force Rocher to change his movement, causing him incomparable distress.


    The first round of exchanges lasted for a few seconds. Then, Rocher turned into a ray of light and whizzed off swiftly.


    Clang!


    He sheathed his sword!


    Rocher took a deep breath.


    The two of them had exchanged thousands of blows in the span of a few seconds.


    It was true that the two of them did not wield much power and influence, but the danger they posed was not insignificant.


    "Your speed is of no use to me. You''d better figure out another plan," Kurt said indifferently and stood his ground.


    Rocher shook his head and revealed a smile. "You are wrong. See?"


    Kurt''s gaze turned solemn. At the same time, an explosive sound came from his Nine-ring Staff.


    One of the nine rings was broken!


    "Your sword is so strong! It should be more precious than the weapons on the Spirit Tablet. Huh?" A strange expression appeared on Kurt''s face.


    How could a seventh-ranked supreme divine weapon be so easily damaged?


    The Nine-ring Staff had already lost one of its rings in the exchanges just now.


    Even the Saint Killing Spear couldn''t achieve this feat.


    "A sword that surpasses the weapons on the Spirit Tablet! Does this mean his sword is beyond the supreme divine weapon?"


    "Then what rank is Rocher''s sword?"


    "What? There are weapons that are not recorded on the Spirit Tablet?"


    This controversy about Rocher''s sword once again attracted the attention of countless warriors.

 Chapter 1706 A Fierce Battle

    While they had a heated discussion among themselves, they saw a bright silver light being dragged along in Rocher''s hand.


    The light was suspended and sometimes it lengthened, sometimes it sharpened, sometimes it was fanning out, and sometimes it was rippling like a wave.


    In fact, not many people could clearly see his sword, but only the light occasionally reflected from its glittering surface.


    There were still many extremely powerful weapons in the universe that had yet to leave their names on the Spirit Tablet.


    For example, the Heaven and Earth Mirror of the Celestial Position race, and the Evil Door of Supreme Lord of Original Sin.


    The light in Rocher''s eyes flickered with intensity. His attack had become like a tempest, yet it did not inflict any damage on Kurt despite its high speed.


    Kurt''s methods were too strange, filling Rocher with a foreboding of danger.


    It seemed that Kurt was an opponent who could see what would happen in the future.


    Therefore, although Rocher''s speed was already unimaginably fast, Kurt was still able to wield his Nine-ring Staff almost leisurely to block Rocher''s attack.


    Somehow, he had known when Rocher would seek to deliver the fatal blow.


    Even Kurt''s occasional counterattack offered a huge threat to Rocher.


    "If I am not wrong, you can see the future," Rocher observed easily.


    Kurt brought his palms together and slightly shook the Nine-ring Staff. "The only one who can see the future is not me, but Maitreya."


    By mentioning Maitreya, he was referring to the Buddha of the Future.


    Rocher wasn''t interested in the enlightenment of Buddhist words. He once again placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. "Well then, if I were to cut your staff to pieces, how would you defend against my sword then?"


    As soon as he finished speaking, he unsheathed his sword from the scabbard, and he transformed into a ray of light as he rushed forward.


    Zen nodded his head from where he was watching on the stone. Rocher''s analysis was correct.


    In the first round of this fierce duel, Rocher might not have been able to injure Kurt, but one of the rings on his staff had been broken during combat.


    The nine rings of the staff were deeply connected to each other, signifying the nine worlds of Buddhism.


    Powerhouses like Kurt were able to instantly open the nine overlapping worlds, and they could trap their opponents within them, rendering their opponents lost and unable to escape.


    Therefore, Rocher, having managed to break a ring of the staff, had actually gained the advantage.


    Even when Rocher was walking in the light, Kurt''s face remained impas


    ant to leave Rocher even the slightest chance. As he executed the Great Wise Staff Technique, the staff shadows covered the sky and blocked out the sun as they headed towards Rocher.


    "Humph!"


    The light beneath Rocher''s feet flickered as he travelled like a meteor, speeding through the layers of staff shadows. Although the shadows were densely arrayed, they didn''t even touch Rocher''s sleeves at all.


    Although Kurt brandished tens of thousands of staff shadows, a kind of different foresight appeared in his eyes.


    The scene from the future was extremely hazy, but every single image had crystal clear value to him.


    It was a scene that would happen nine seconds later.


    After nine seconds, Rocher would suddenly circle behind him.


    Three seconds. Six seconds. Nine seconds!


    Nine seconds later, Kurt had already taken a step forward and placed his staff protectively behind his back.


    Clang!


    The staff accurately blocked Rocher''s anticipated sword attack.


    Rocher''s attack failed, and he immediately withdrew with a slight frown wrinkling his brow.


    Kurt could see the future, so he could anticipate every single move in advance. This was indeed troublesome.


    This battle was proving even more difficult than Rocher had imagined. None of the warriors who could make it into the top five were weak. Not only were they nearly perfect in every aspect, but they also possessed extraordinary theurgy.


    A cold light flickered in Rocher''s eyes as he stared up at the numerous staff shadows descending upon him.


    He needed a different method, now!


    Clearly, he had not expected that before he could change his moves, Kurt had already been one step ahead of him. Kurt intended to suppress Rocher, and gave him no chance to fight back.

 Chapter 1707 Soaring Snake

    Kurt had always remained calm. His actions were unhurried but were carried out with care and confidence.


    He was never that harsh when facing a weaker opponent.


    However, the same couldn''t be said when he met stronger foes that were close to his level. Everyone witnessed how confident and calculated his moves were when he faced Lawson.


    Despite his precision in fighting, however, the audience still found his performance lackluster.


    An image flashed before Kurt''s eyes before he finally took action.


    He was someone who cultivated the Future Constellation Kalpa. This cultivation method gifted him with the Blessed Buddha Land''s skill that enabled him to see into the future: the Constellation Eyes.


    As he poured life vitality into his eyes, he would be able to see into a specific moment in the future that was reflected in his pupils.


    There were only two warriors who mastered this theurgy. One was Kurt himself, and the other was the Buddhist abbot of the Hidden Spirit Temple.


    Kurt had the ability to see nine seconds into the future.


    Half a minute more would be too blurry, while a full minute would simply yield him nothing.


    The scene he saw half a minute later painted a horrible picture!


    Rocher activated his extremely sharp theurgy and killed him!


    The blur prevented Kurt from making out the exact theurgy Rocher used so he wouldn''t be able to shield himself against it.


    He could only take the initiative and launch the attack.


    "Scorching Sun Theurgy!"


    Kurt yelled. He stretched out his palms from which he launched a giant Buddhist wheel.


    The Buddhist wheel shone brightly, like a blinding, dazzling sun.


    There was actually no such thing as a Godly Genius in the cultivation of Buddhism.


    Buddhist cultivation was divided into four levels of meditation.


    It was only after the final, fourth level would one be finally able to practice the theurgy.


    Only when a warrior was able to use a theurgy could he really live and breathe Buddhism. In a sense, he was a Godly Genius of the Godly Way.


    Since Kurt had already gone beyond the fourth level and mastered the theurgy, he could then be considered as a Godly Genius of the Blessed Buddha Land.


    The theurgy came in the form of thousands of golden palm prints that crashed down over Rocher.


    Buddhism was grand.


    It was not an exaggeration to say that this theurgy had the power to possibly ruin the world.


    Even Zen, Nathan, and the other Godly Geniuses were shocked at this display of sheer power.


    "This little monk... How could he be so powerful?"


    "Scorching Sun Theurgy! He cultivated the most powerful theurgy of the Hidden Spirit Temple!"


    "Warriors from the Blessed Buddha Land have always been uninterested in fighting but they have a profound heritage."


    "That Rocher will be defeated by the grand Buddhist heritage."


    The scene in front of them truly widened their horizons.


    It was a mere battle between two Soul Sea Realm warriors but this sudden climax was extremely overwhelming.


    uld happen nine seconds later was so clear, indicating its certainty. He could not do anything to change that.


    The scene flashed before his eyes: it was him, covered by the waves similar to the ones produced by Rocher.


    That was the moment Kurt knew that he was to die by Rocher''s sword.


    There was no need to resist.


    Three seconds passed.


    And then six.


    Pretty soon, the nine seconds were up.


    Everything was just like what his Constellation Eyes showed him.


    The invisible sword intent skimmed through his body.


    Rocher overpowered Kurt and eventually broke his Scorching Sun Theurgy.


    The waves of light shattered and disappeared, along with Kurt''s body.


    The results were evidently clear: Rocher won!


    The Heaven Earth Board quietly reconstructed itself, mending each line and point with white and black stones.


    Rocher sheathed his Soaring Snake back into its scabbard.


    There was a slight clink as his blade was put away while the entire universe was plunged into silence.


    The performances of these Godly Geniuses were truly amazing.


    There were ten of them and each had the potential to become the universe''s top warriors in the world of chaos.


    Kurt, Lawson, Karl, all of them.


    This was a generation of amazingly powerful talents.


    But what Rocher displayed just now was way beyond everyone''s expectations.


    "The new great world! This is truly the beginning of the new great world of chaos! Ha-ha!" someone shouted in glee and broke the silence.


    The warriors, who had initially been stunned by the battle''s outcome, finally came to their senses.


    "Is he... really from... your Cloud Hall?" Preston asked, not really believing what he witnessed just now.


    He was a Spirit Transformation Realm master, two realms higher than Rocher. But he knew that he would even lose to this young man if he fought with him.


    How in the world could he do that though?


    He was two realms below!


    "Right!"


    Letitia nodded with a smile. The pride was evident on her face.

 Chapter 1708 In A Stalemate

    The power that Rocher displayed had impressed many Supreme Lords in the universe.


    All of them wanted to draw him over to their respective sides, but Rocher was a member of the Thoughtless Minds¡ªthe fact had the four great clans thrilled.


    Out of nowhere, Rocher suddenly made his way into the top five, something nobody was expecting.


    The moment Rocher''s Soaring Snake moved, the Supreme Lords were left to ponder.


    Another sword beyond this universe had made an appearance.


    This meant that such a young warrior was likely to change the very fabric of the universe in the future.


    Nathan''s eyes were brimming with worry as he watched the battle unfold.


    Since the opening of the Illusion Battlefield, this was the first time he had made such an expression.


    "Rocher is indeed very strong." Lawson couldn''t help but laugh grimly. "You need to teach him a lesson!"


    With his calm demeanor, Nathan replied, "He has to defeat Zen before facing me."


    "Humph! I doubt Zen would defeat Rocher anyway." The mere mention of Zen''s name put Lawson in a bitter mood.


    With the strength Zen displayed against Shania, Lawson saw his strength in a whole new light.


    Of course, it wasn''t just Lawson. The other tens of thousands of warriors outside the picture had the same mind on the matter.


    But Zen smashed Lawson into ashes in a single punch. Lawson couldn''t help but feel sour every time he thought of this.


    After the battle ended, Kurt''s figure appeared on the stone once again, with crossed knees and a calm look in his eyes.


    Rocher''s terrifying display of strength indeed made his state of mind waver.


    At this moment, he was silently chanting a Buddhist scripture, holding back the power of the inner demon. He still needed to face his next opponent. Only by maintaining a calm state of mind would he be able to go any further.


    Not long after, the mysterious woman''s voice resounded once again.


    According to the rules of the round-robin battle set by this woman, there were three battles left.


    First, it was Zen against Rocher, and then Nathan against Kurt. The victors of these two battles would then have to face each other.


    "Zen versus Rocher!"


    After the cold voice resounded, a warm smile surfaced on Rocher''s face.


    Now, he knew what his mission was.


    The arrow of his destiny pierced through the universe, right into the divine land.


    In the universe, he had only one goal¡ªto fight against Zen.


    Whoosh!


    With a flash of light on the stone, Rocher vanished from where he stood and appeared on the Heaven Earth Board.


    Soon after, Zen also stepped onto the board.


    And as Zen came into view, Rocher was filled with emotion.


    Zen had grown so fast in the past that Rocher could only loo


    nt smile surfacing on his face.


    "The Emotion Closing is a very powerful move, but this sword strike is far from enough," he said with a shake of his head.


    By relying on the Gods-intimidating Strike alone, Zen perhaps wouldn''t have even been able to deal with Kurt, let alone Rocher.


    "Then I''ll just have to do it again!"


    Turning slightly, the Thunder Wind Divine Sword slashed down once more.


    But Rocher merely raised his hand and deflected the strike with ease.


    There were two swords against each other.


    Without attacking, Rocher had strong defense with his speed.


    No matter how exquisite or sharp Zen''s sword strike was, Rocher''s sword swiftly blocked it in the blink of an eye.


    Clank, clank, clank, clank!


    Both of their feet were nailed firmly to the board.


    The two swords intersected with clear, melodious sounds.


    At this moment, neither of them used much strength.


    It was purely a game of technology.


    But as it was, Zen was always the attacker as Rocher was always on defense.


    In the beginning, every strike of Zen''s sword had been completely countered by Rocher. Even after numerous strikes, Zen wasn''t posing any threat.


    This outcome wasn''t a surprise for many of the martial artists.


    While Zen''s sword skill was indeed formidable, even he had a limit. No matter how profound his moves were, Rocher managed to block them instantly.


    But after Zen had made a hundred attacks, the tables were somehow turned.


    Suddenly, Zen''s long sword trembled and started drifting erratically.


    He was well aware that he couldn''t deal with Rocher with his regular attacks.


    Rocher was too fast, after all. He could see through Zen''s sword strikes and block them with ease.


    So Zen had no choice but to change his strategy. It was time for him to abandon his usual sword strikes.

 Chapter 1709 The Beginning Swordsmanship

    Zen''s "No Move" was like a small snake that hovered in the air, poised to strike.


    After dodging Rocher''s Soaring Snake, it lunged straight for his opponent''s face.


    Facing this move, Rocher remained as indifferent as before. The Soaring Snake in his hand circled once, as three silver sword lights, like torrents of mercury, shot out from the wake he cut through the air.


    Ding, ding, ding!


    With three crisp ringing sounds, the three sword lights struck the body of the Thunder Wind Divine Sword.


    It was like crushing a snake''s head, one grinding step at a time.


    With every sword strike by the silver sword lights, the sword intent of the Thunder Wind Divine Sword would weaken a bit.


    After three strikes, the sword intent that had originally been condensed on the blade''s surface was forcibly dispersed by Rocher.


    "Your sword moves do not offer you any advantage," Rocher said with an indifferent shrug.


    Zen''s Gods-intimidating Strike was indeed powerful, but Rocher''s swordsmanship had proven to be even stronger!


    What he cultivated was the Beginning Swordsmanship created by the Lord of Weapons himself.


    In the universe, there were countless forms of swordsmanship.


    However, in the end, all these had evolved from the Beginning Swordsmanship, which was the source of all forms of swordsmanship.


    Whether it was speed or sword moves, Zen had been completely undone by Rocher.


    However, even though Rocher was clearly a superior swordsman, he did not let his guard down.


    He was convinced that it was impossible for Zen to be so weak.


    However, after suppressing Zen, Rocher gradually became emboldened, and his attacks increased in intensity, drawing power from his rising bravado.


    Splash!


    Accompanying the sound was a brilliant silver sword light.


    The Soaring Snake was once again released. The mercury-like sword light began to flicker again as Rocher stepped on the light once more.


    Clang!


    As the swords clashed together, the sounds of steel grinding together rang out.


    Chop, slash, stab, tap...


    The Beginning Swordsmanship was very similar to the basic swordsmanship that Zen had mastered early on.


    Indeed, it could be said that it was the complete version of the basic swordsmanship.


    Combined with Rocher''s innate speed, it appeared to be flawless.


    With Rocher now taking the initiative to attack, it was difficult for Zen to avoid his opponent''s sword moves. He could only passively defend and was forced to dodge and retreat.


    However, Rocher''s speed was so fast that he seemed to be dancing with a glittering bolt of lightning. When he had stepped on the light, Zen had alr


    ted to the board as the beam of light beneath his feet slowly expanded.


    He had felt the momentum within Zen''s sword strike¡ªit was the momentum within the Beginning Swordsmanship.


    Even though it was still very insignificant, it was already in its infancy.


    "Things are getting interesting..."


    At this moment, Rocher''s eyes seemed to radiate with vigor and he smiled briefly.


    Beginning Swordsmanship...


    In order to acquire this sword technique, he had spent nearly three years in extensive practice.


    It had been three years in the outside world.


    In truth, while in the treasure trove of the Lord of Weapons, Rocher had been trapped there for three hundred years. The Time Law there had been altered, and the flow of time there was now at a ratio of 100 to 1.


    As the three hundred years had passed, he had repeatedly practiced the Beginning Swordsmanship, which was so similar to the basic swordsmanship, yet so significantly different.


    He had gained ten percent of the momentum after he had practiced for almost twenty years.


    After another eighty years, he had gained twenty percent.


    After a hundred and fifty years, thirty percent.


    Another two hundred and twenty years, forty percent.


    After a full three hundred years, he had finally obtained fifty percent of the momentum of the Beginning Swordsmanship.


    Rocher had invested a total of three hundred years of his long life to master fifty percent of the Beginning Swordsmanship.


    But Zen had already gained ten percent of its momentum, and it had happened in less than five minutes!


    ''Through watching and testing my swordsmanship, has Zen managed to comprehend the essence of the Beginning Swordsmanship? What a monster he is!'' Rocher thought, with both awe and delight.

 Chapter 1710 Sharpen The Sword Skill

    Rocher looked incredulously at the scene playing out in front of him.


    He found it hard to accept his own speculations about it.


    He believed that Zen was very talented and would be slightly stronger than him, but he didn''t expect the gap between him and Zen to be so great!


    He had tried his best to comprehend and cultivate the Beginning Swordsmanship for twenty years before he finally began to grasp a little bit of it.


    However, Zen, too, had grasped it a little bit after only exchanging a few sword strikes with him.


    Rocher naturally didn''t know that as Zen kept on comprehending, he had taken the simplest sword skill as his foundation and gradually progressed from there.


    And the sword skill contained in the Gods-intimidating Strike had the same origins as that of the Beginning Swordsmanship...


    As Zen and Rocher fought each other, their strikes formed a complementary momentum, and Zen gradually comprehended the momentum contained within the Beginning Swordsmanship.


    "Since you intend to gain comprehension, I will share this opportunity with you!"


    In terms of moves, Rocher already had the upper hand with his superior swordsmanship.


    This formidable swordsmanship was created not long after the world formed and developed among the primordial chaos. It was the foundation of all the sword skills between heaven and earth.


    Following this, numerous kinds of sword skills developed based on the primary one and spread everywhere...


    Although Zen''s sword skill was extremely simple, it had lost its momentum!


    Rocher regarded Zen as his greatest opponent and rightly so.


    However, during the skirmish, he didn''t care about the fact that Zen comprehended the Beginning Swordsmanship...


    His attacks were as sharp and aggressive as ever.


    However, his speed had slowed down by 60 percent and his strength had decreased by a whopping 30 percent!


    At this point, the purpose of the battle was not competing on sword moves, but rather gaining comprehension together by sparring with each other!


    When Zen realized Rocher''s motivation, a peculiar look appeared in his eyes.


    This was not to say that Rocher would definitely win if he had the advantage in moves.


    But Rocher was a stickler for rules. He held an advantage in sword moves, but refused to use this advantage to break through. He was a true gentleman in that sense!


    This was Rocher''s principle and way of cultivation, and he stood up for his principles!


    He had a good sense of right and wrong and was in favor of playing fairly.


    "What in God''s name are these two doing..."


    "Their attacks have suddenly slowed down. It seems like neither of them has any intention of winning. Are they here just to practice the sword skills together?"


    "Their swordsmanship is so exquisite!"


    The onlookers were quite confused...


    Anyone would put up their best fight on the Heaven Earth Board...


    The more battles they won, the more power they would gain. All the warriors fought for high rankings in the world of chaos. The higher the rankings they obtained, the greater their chances would improve in the future!


    Everyone was scratching their heads wondering why Rocher and Zen were just practicing the sword skills togeth


    ehension.


    This opportunity for a miraculous enlightenment such as this was not something most people would encounter in their entire lives...


    30 percent...


    40 percent...


    50 percent...


    When Zen had comprehended 50 percent of the Beginning Swordsmanship aided by Rocher''s demonstration, it was considered small success!


    In the past, Rocher had cultivated the sword skill for three hundred years, though it was only three years to the outside world. Compared to Rocher''s cultivation speed, Zen''s was innumerably faster!


    Talent was just one of the factors, but the main reason why Zen could master the sword skill so fast was that the Beginning Swordsmanship was compatible with Zen''s sword technique!


    Rather it was almost exactly the same.


    He just simplified every complicated move.


    "Woo..."


    Ever since Zen had mastered 50 percent of the Beginning Swordsmanship, his sword began to resonate with this sharp sound!


    An invisible aura spread out in all directions, filling the entire Heaven Earth Board...


    The warriors outside of the painting could hear the sound, but they couldn''t see nor feel its aura.


    However, the other eight warriors on the stones of the Heaven Earth Board seemed to have fallen into an illusion created among the chaos. The oppressive aura was not strong, but it gave Nathan and the others a wondrous experience. Not only was the aura grand and imposing, but it also broadened their perceptions.


    "What has this guy comprehended? His aura is so overbearing!" Lawson spat indignantly. He was influenced by Zen even when he was standing on a stone. He was irked by this.


    "Surely, he must have made a breakthrough on the sword skill!" Nathan said with a frown.


    Before that aura spread, Rocher had already retreated several hundred feet back. He cupped his hands and yelled at Zen, "Congratulations!"


    "Thank you." Zen nodded, quietly feeling the wonderful momentum humming.


    "You''re welcome. I did it all for myself..." Rocher smiled faintly as he raised his sword.


    He knew very well that if there was no shield in this world that could block the sword, then the sword might be useless.

 Chapter 1711 The Scattered Stones (Part One)

    The sparring match between Zen and Rocher did not stop there.


    In this universe, there were myriad different ways of martial arts cultivation.


    And it all began first with what was called the self-enlightenment.


    The living creatures of this universe created and developed all of the cultivation methods.


    The methods of cultivation of the same range all had a common origin. And later on, this was further divided into different branches.


    The original cultivation method was derived from warriors'' self-enlightenment.


    After the self-enlightenment method, the second way of cultivation was to receive an education.


    Some warriors generously imparted all of their martial arts comprehension to their disciples. And like a chain effect, these disciples then unselfishly spread out such precious knowledge to more people from generation to generation. For this reason, the emergence and establishment of sects and sacred places flourished.


    With cultivation based on the achievements of ancestors, this was a top-down approach. It was more often than not a way of refinement for all living creatures, as it was more widespread.


    Then practice and training came third after the first two methods.


    Now, this marked the onset of warriors'' epiphany. Through engaging themselves in actual combat, warriors could further assess what they had learned. It was also the best way of resolving doubts or gaining new enlightenment.


    Those who had epiphanies or revelations during a fight would always benefit a lot. This kind of comprehension through practice and training was also a sort of self-enlightenment.


    Rocher could obtain no more comprehension by merely studying the Beginning Swordsmanship. He could only improve through practice and training.


    However, after he had ascended to the Upper World, he found out that most kinds of swordsmanship in the universe were crude and infe


    uring their fights.


    Like for example, the hit of Kurt''s Nine-ring Staff, and Lucille''s stamp with her tiptoes.


    At any rate, none of the warriors had been able to affect these stones. They had remained where the mysterious woman had arranged them. They had never moved from their spots, nor had they been harmed by any attacks.


    But now, Rocher''s momentum managed to move them.


    Because of this disturbance, the calculations about the future, which were confirmed earlier, would also change dramatically.


    Many people fixated their gaze on the Heaven Earth Board and observed the new situation unfolded. Immediately, their faces all darkened.


    The white stones, which had been tight in defense, now had a big loophole in their territory.


    On the other hand, a group of black stones invaded the white stones'' territory.


    "This is a very dangerous circumstance!"


    Nathan''s eyes narrowed in astonishment.


    "What will happen?" Lawson tilted his head and asked.


    Nathan had a solemn expression on his face as he continued to calculate. His calculation was even quite faster than some Supreme Lords.


    "The white side will lose. I wonder if that woman will reset the scattered stones." Nathan finished his words, and then he looked up at the sky.

 Chapter 1712 The Scattered Stones (Part Two)

    This game of Go had all been played by the mysterious woman alone.


    She could definitely move all the stones on the Heaven Earth Board if she wanted.


    Since Rocher''s power scattered some of the stones, and it was a move not made by her, she had all the reason now to reset them.


    But after a while, Nathan still didn''t see the woman reach out her hand. He dropped his gaze and shook his head.


    The mysterious woman hadn''t shown much skill and had made the moves quite casually. Nathan speculated that she had played the game intuitively. This natural way of calculating the future was the most accurate. Thus, it was unlikely that she would reset the stones scattered by Rocher and return them to their original positions.


    "What a pity," Nathan let out a sigh. Perhaps he was the most reluctant one to see this new drastic change.


    According to his calculation of the previous situation on the board, he would become the only dominator of the future, and nobody would be able to fight him.


    If things went that way, no matter how masterfully talented Zen and Rocher were, they would all become insignificant characters in the end.


    For that sole reason, Nathan felt not worried even if he had witnessed their outstanding talents. Though he might lose to either of them here, he knew that the odds would finally be in his favor.


    However, Rocher''s move had significantly changed everything. And even his fate had been profoundly affected.


    This enigma prompted Nathan to hope that the mysterious woman would reset the stones.


    Unfortunately, she didn''t show that intention at all, or perhaps she refused even to entertain such a notion.


    "I didn''t expect that he would even move the stones! That sword, built by C


    and boosted their comprehension of the Beginning Swordsmanship to more than fifty percent.


    Rocher tightly gripped the sword named Soaring Snake in his hand as his face revealed a look of relief. He had failed to make any improvement for quite a long time. To think of a way to break through his bottleneck, he had been on pins and needles day and night.


    Thanks to Zen, he finally inched a step forward.


    "Now is the time. Let''s go on, Zen!" Rocher said, beaming with a small smile.


    They had both managed to achieve a new upswing development, and their sword skill was currently at the same level. Now was the perfect time for them to decide the result of this fight.


    Zen nodded slightly in response. Under the influence of the momentum he had just comprehended, Zen felt as if his mind had left his body, and was tossed up in the air. It was a surreal feeling as if he was in a brand new world.


    "Alright, let''s continue," Zen looked calm on the surface, but a storm was rising inside his chaotic sea.


    A large flow of chaotic energy surged like a tornado as it was drawn out of his chaotic sea and circulated violently inside his body.

 Chapter 1713 It Was Delicious

    Only the tiniest droplet of sweat rolled down Rocher''s temple as he didn''t fully exert himself in this fight with Zen.


    Besides, he had deliberately imparted the Beginning Swordsmanship to Zen by this sparring session with him.


    Perhaps Zen wouldn''t be at a disadvantage if he were to spar with Rocher using the sword strikes...


    However, that was Rocher''s own way of cultivation, not his.


    If he wanted to win the fight, he needed to use his own strengths.


    He drew out the chaotic energy, which welled up together like clumps of ink and coiled around Zen''s meridians. Then, it flowed towards Zen''s right arm.


    Zen had now controlled the previously overwrought and fidgety sword intent and fixed it firmly on the sword blade.


    The sword blade emitted a golden light, which was quickly covered by the grey light. The two light beams mixed together looked like a ray of fireflies in the night sky.


    The weapons weren''t that important during the fight.


    The Soaring Snake was indeed powerful, but the Thunder Wind Divine Sword could also be considered a supreme chaotic weapon after it was mixed with the chaotic energy.


    The true competition was between their respective actual strengths.


    "They''ve finally begun to fight!"


    "I''ve already cultivated for one lap, but their fight''s only starting now? These two are really so slow in battling..."


    "Rocher, come on! Please try your best to win this time. I bet everything on you!"


    When Rocher previously saw Zen prepare for the battle, there was a gentle smile on his face. The Soaring Snake quickly rose up to the side of Rocher''s face.


    "Even though you have comprehended the Emotion Closing Godly Way, it is still not enough. It is far from enough..." Rocher shook his head.


    It was known that there were many different types of destinies in this era.


    Almost everyone knew that Yan was the one who Zen kept looking for.


    She was the North Star that hung in the Northern Sky Region.


    The North Star could give direction and guide people to prevent them from getting lost. It pointed towards the right direction with the brightest illumination.


    Yan was a star that flickered only for Zen, and guided him all the way to the divine land.


    At that moment, Rocher suddenly had a dawning realization.


    He believed that his fight with Zen would be very intense.


    The battle between them might not be limited to this time. They might fight again soon


    intimidating Strike which Zen had mastered wasn''t actually the real Gods-intimidating Strike.


    The waves spread out in all directions while surrounding Rocher. A small crack appeared on the Heaven Earth Board after the waves had covered it, which grew bigger until the board shattered.


    The waves continued to fan out and spread in the air before they finally landed on Rocher''s sword.


    The four sword strikes Zen had unleashed fused with half of his chaotic energy and were his most powerful trump cards.


    Even then, Rocher still looked indifferent as before. When Zen launched his sword attack, Rocher already had a plan on how to deal with him.


    But just as Rocher was preparing to defend against Zen''s sword strikes, the Soaring Snake suddenly vibrated!


    "You..."


    Rocher suddenly looked troubled.


    Perhaps the Soaring Snake had been starved for too long. It was already quite irritable and almost broke the sword sheath before. It even wanted to swallow the Otherworldly Swordsman''s sword back then.


    Rocher had managed to calm it down, but not without great difficulty.


    However, the sword was about to burst now. This time, its target was Zen''s sword.


    The Thunder Wind Divine Sword could be considered a good sword in the universe, but it was still inferior to a supreme divine weapon.


    But since Zen had drawn out a massive amount of chaotic energy and fused it with the sword, the sword released an aura that was quite similar to that of a supreme chaotic weapon!


    Rocher''s sword then felt that this supreme chaotic weapon was even more delicious than the Otherworldly Swordsman''s sword.

 Chapter 1714 Accident

    The Soaring Snake continued to tremble as the waves weaved themselves into snake scales that emitted light.


    More and more snake scales appeared, and they soon formed one giant snake with a single horn--the Soaring Snake.


    The Soaring Snake had a brilliantly red body with two wings, and a single horn on its forehead.


    Legend said that once it shed its horn, it would become a dragon.


    It was also said that there were no dragons in the world, and the first dragon that ever appeared had evolved from a Soaring Snake.


    "Hiss!"


    Rocher struggled, but he couldn''t control the Soaring Snake because it had shown up on its own.


    The Soaring Snake was currently twenty feet long. It spread out its wings and charged towards Zen.


    It wasn''t interested in eating Zen, but rather the powerful weapon he held in his hand.


    The Soaring Snake liked supreme primordial weapons the most, but found supreme chaotic weapons appetizing as well.


    Had the snake been a live Soaring Snake, to devour a supreme chaotic weapon would''ve been fatal. After all, chaotic energy was deadly for a Soaring Snake.


    However, this Soaring Snake had already fused with the Soaring Snake Sword. It was now a weapon spirit, so it didn''t have to worry about its health.


    Despite the Soaring Snake''s length, it moved extremely fast.


    Its thin tail swayed slightly in the air as it faced the four streaks of sword light Zen had launched.


    When the Soaring Snake attacked, Zen''s golden sword light streaks were instantly broken.


    The Soaring Snake''s shadow passed by in front of Zen and before he could react, he felt that something had touched his hand.


    He looked at his palm, and the Thunder Wind Divine Sword had disappeared.


    His eyes quickly averted to the Soaring Snake, which had his Thunder Wind Divine Sword in its clutches. The Soaring Snake suddenly raised its head and threw the sword into the air.


    The Thunder Wind Divine Sword circled in the air and fell downward. In the next moment, the Soaring Snake opened its mouth and ate the sword.


    "Hiss!"


    The Soaring Snake hissed above the edge of the Heaven Earth Board before it flew back to Rocher in a flash.


    It moved gracefully and unbelievably swift despite its weight. Now, that was the real ''approaching without casting a shadow and leaving without a trace''.


    The snake was truly dangerous. Even the Supreme Lords in the universe couldn''t help but look at it with trepidation.


    Naturally, many people began to desire the Soaring Snake Sword after Rocher''s display.


    There was no doubt that the four clans wanted to recruit Rocher in order to consolidate their clans'' power and fortune in the future.


    However, the others had different ideas.


    Some people had found that there was a great chance that Rocher''s fortune might be related to this sword.


    Such a weapon was definitely a powerful one which surpassed al


    he end of the Illusion Battlefield. The chaotic energy was highly necessary for the sword to be fixed.


    Thus, he wanted to seize this chance for his sword. "Wait!" he shouted.


    "Eh?" Zen looked up in confusion.


    "This is an important battle. It is unfair for you to use a second rank divine weapon," Lone said with a smile as he raised his sword and threw it towards Zen.


    Whoosh!


    The board usually had a constraining force around it which prevented warriors from leaving.


    However, the force had suddenly disappeared.


    The broken sword flew towards Zen and landed beside him with a metallic clang.


    Although the sword had been damaged, it still emitted a strong sense of tenacity.


    Zen knew that this sword was extraordinary and thought that it might be good for him if he used it.


    The moment the sword was thrust into the board, Rocher''s Soaring Snake Sword began to vibrate once again.


    The Soaring Snake seemed to smell the fragrance of a powerful weapon and wanted to get out from Rocher''s sword.


    Unfortunately for the Soaring Snake, Rocher wouldn''t allow it to happen again.


    He firmly pressed his thumb on the edge of the Soaring Snake Sword''s blade.


    The sword''s extremely sharp blade glinted under the light.


    Of course, it cut the skin of Rocher''s thumb.


    Rocher then used his thumb as a pen and wrote blood runes on the Soaring Snake Sword''s blade. His weapon stopped vibrating.


    "No wonder I had to learn the blood seal skill when I got this sword.


    This Soaring Snake is really active and annoying," Rocher murmured.


    He looked up at Zen once more, a smile on his face.


    Had someone else been faced against Zen, the one might''ve continued to attack Zen and win the battle after the Soaring Snake broke Zen''s sword.


    However, Rocher wouldn''t do such a thing even if he fought an ordinary warrior, not to mention that Zen was the one who stood in front of him right now.

 Chapter 1715 A Big Gap

    In this world, some people were purely opponents, while others were both friends and opponents.


    Zen was one of the latter, and Rocher was clear on this point.


    Zen looked at the broken sword beside him.


    The color of the sword was dim, and its body was somewhat broken. It now looked like an ordinary metal sword.


    The Otherworldly Swordsman had used it many times.


    In this fight, it would also be a useful weapon for Zen.


    Taking a step forward, he firmly grasped the sword in his hand.


    The moment he touched the broken sword, he felt a strange thought connect with him through the blade.


    The thought strikingly did not convey any particular message as it merely made Zen feel rather friendly.


    And this denoted that the sword had an undeniably strong sword spirit.


    Zen had only temporarily activated the sword, and the sword spirit hadn''t proactively communicated with him. They had come to a tacit understanding and were cooperating only for now.


    When he raised the sword, he realized that he seemed to be holding a feather. It was so light against his grip as if he was holding nothing.


    Explicitly, Zen was not used to such a light sword. No one would be willing to take a feather-like weapon to fight the enemy.


    Zen felt an unexpected emotion that suddenly took him by surprise. There was an exceedingly comfortable and heavy feeling transmitted from his hand as he waved his sword once, in a circular motion.


    "How clever!" It turned out that the sword would adjust its weight according to Zen''s movements.


    Whir! After waving his sword for a while, Zen held it horizontally and nodded towards Rocher.


    He had learned a lot from this battle with Rocher and gained new insights into his swordsmanship. However, this did not mean that he would lose to Rocher.


    Rocher faintly smiled as the Soaring Snake Sword rose once again.


    And the white light that became visible under his feet was like mercury, spreading out in all directions.


    The light quickly spread all the way down, covering the cross point in the middle of Heaven Earth Board, the many stones on it, the entire board, and finally, Zen''s feet.


    It was clear as water that the imposing aura emitted from Rocher''s body was undoubtedly incomparable!


    The Justice Godly Way was about a type of supreme faith.


    Although Karl had already stepped into the Godly Way, he had gone off course. Thus, his sense of justice was quite bigoted. Most people thought that he had been insane.


    The sword stood right in front of Rocher''s face, and his eyes flashed with searing light.


    Everyone could perceive that Rocher was going to end this battle.


    He had held the advantage right from the very beginning.


    Consequently, all the people in the universe, including many world lords and Supreme Lords, thought and somehow expected that he would win.


    Zen merely took a deep breath.


    Then the chaotic energy in his body surge


    cene, and Margaret was also silent.


    They had never seen Zen lose when he fought with the powerhouses at his realm.


    In this universe, Zen was not even at a disadvantage.


    And by chance, he would incidentally lose to Rocher in the end. The two women could not help but sigh in their hearts at the wonders of fate.


    Still, everyone was in awe observing Rocher''s speed, which was incredibly fast as he made his way towards Zen. The sword light of Zen''s Chaotic Gods-intimidating Strike split into two halves, subsequently slicing two ravines on the Heaven Earth Board.


    Clang!


    The two swords collided.


    This time, Zen had never been at a disadvantage when it came to his sword moves as his body was adept with the rhythm of the sword fight. However, in terms of his aura, he was far inferior.


    Bang! Bang!


    Zen quickly retreated a few steps sideways. With a twist of his sword, he began to charge up his second sword attack.


    Rocher''s mind adamantly refused to give him another chance.


    Under the light, soft wavelike ripples spread out.


    Zen instinctively retreated his feet to the other side, but in that instant, countless bloody scars appeared on one of his arms.


    Puff! Puff! Puff!


    Zen''s arm looked like it had been filed. His wounds appeared densely arranged. His blood outlined these wounds, and they strangely mimicked the wavelike ripples released by Rocher.


    If it weren''t for the fact that Zen''s body was a divine weapon, his arm would have already been shattered to pieces.


    Rocher did not pause in the slightest as another ripple spread out.


    The speed was so swift that Zen was left with no time to dodge at all.


    Puff!


    This time, it hit Zen''s face.


    Sadly, Zen looked extremely miserable now as numerous slashes were visible, from his face down to his neck.


    A drop of blood slowly dripped into Zen''s eyes. If anyone could see closely, he or she would note there was a deep unwillingness in them.

 Chapter 1716 The Perfect Opponent

    Despite this, Zen was not even the least bit discouraged.


    The chaotic energy appeared once again...


    His Chaotic Gods-intimidating Strike slashed out again!


    It was accompanied by the keen roar of the sword!


    "Sssii!"


    Rocher was at a distance of only ten feet from Zen.


    Thus Zen could instantly close on him!


    As Rocher''s hand raised, the sword beam, like a silver python, once again darted forward to cleave apart Zen''s Chaotic Gods-intimidating Strike!


    The sword light split in two, harmlessly falling either side of Rocher, and he still stood in front of Zen.


    "Again!"


    "Again!"


    The chaotic energy in Zen''s body was being rapidly consumed...


    It wasn''t that Zen was weak either.


    Once activated with chaotic energy, even an ordinary cultivation method would become much more powerful than others!


    Besides, Zen had acquired enlightenment from Lone''s sword. The sword skill he had mastered could utilize the chaotic energy.


    This sword technique was rather simple, with only a few sword strike moves. However, the power contained within each move had already far surpassed the power of other sword skills at the same level anywhere in the universe...


    However, Rocher was simply proving too strong...


    Zen was unaware of the matter that Chiyou had become a Holy Being, the seven inheritances from the Lord of Weapons, or the mission that Rocher carried upon his shoulders!


    He only knew that he needed to think of a way to defeat Rocher.


    "How tragic! Being constantly suppressed by Rocher, there''s no chance for Zen to win any advantage at all."


    "I can tell that he really wants to win..."


    "Rocher''s strength is much more powerful than Nathan''s!"


    "Buzz, buzz, buzz..."


    This time, Zen didn''t use his sword...


    The Chaotic Gods-intimidating Strike''s invincibly sharp aura was the most powerful weapon at his disposal.


    However, this aura wasn''t fully consummated, and his sword intent hadn''t manifested at its top level either.


    Using the Soaring Snake Sword in his hand, Rocher split the Chaotic Gods-intimidating Strike as if he were flaying the skin off it.


    However, if one were to observe carefully, they would have seen that Rocher slashing Zen''s strike had been very coincidental...


    He was slashing towards the right side of the sword light.


    Zen''s sword move had been executed by taking advantage of the Metal Law that supported the use of chaotic energy. Although the Metal Law and the energy had fused together, they were still slightly incongruent, revealing a flaw in them.


    If Rocher''s sword strike should cut into that flaw, he would be able to easily slice it apart!


    But if Zen could activate 36 lotus petals and step into the Emotion Closing Godly Way, then he would be able to fully eliminate this flaw.


    Unfortunately, Zen had not yet reached the Emotion Closing Godly Way nor become a Godly Genius.


    As Zen''s eyes flashed, a small amount of starlight appeared in his


    d fortitude, and he could withstand this kind of injury.


    Rocher was already close to him, and at the very least, he wouldn''t be at a great disadvantage when it came to sword moves!


    "Ding, ding, ding, ding..."


    However, from now on, a large number of bloody gashes appeared on Zen''s body every time he fended off Rocher''s attacks. It was a shocking sight to behold, and not a single part of Zen''s body was left unscathed.


    "It can be over now..."


    There was not a single trace of mercy in Rocher''s eyes. However, if Zen chose to admit defeat, he would, of course, stop attacking him.


    However, if Rocher held back his strength from his attacks, it would be the greatest insult to Zen.


    At this moment, Rocher had completely gained the upper hand. As long as he continued dominating with his full strength, Zen would definitely be defeated, should the situation continue.


    "Bang!"


    "Activate all the dragon scales!"


    A majestic force was suddenly released from Zen''s hand.


    After resisting Zen''s returning sword strike, Rocher scampered backward for ten thousand feet. The force behind that strike was simply too great, so he had no choice but to retreat to avoid getting obliterated by it.


    Unfortunately, the power of dragon scales did not prove that effective in facing Rocher.


    Rocher could travel through the distance of ten thousand feet in an instant, and he thought it was already pointless for Zen to resist.


    However, Zen, who had been in the state of Emotion Closing, was like a lifeless puppet. He used his simplest thoughts to search for the method of defeating Rocher!


    Even though he might not defeat Rocher, he definitely wouldn''t give up.


    However, just as Rocher was about to move forward for the killing stroke, Zen, who was floating in midair motionlessly, suddenly emitted a strangely reinforced will...


    At this moment, a tiny glowing crystal had appeared like a shining star above the center of Zen''s internal world!

 Chapter 1717 The Instant Godly Tile

    The piece of crystal was a cross with sharp edges.


    Its entire body was suffused with an illusory blue light, as if it were a ten thousand-year-old block of mysterious ice.


    If Zen looked into his inner world, he would see the crystal float in the air within it, partly hidden and partly visible.


    It twinkled like a star, disappearing and reappearing again in the blink of an eye.


    At the same time, the aura that Zen exuded acted the same way.


    In that instant, he was like a True God who had descended into this world.


    However, in the next moment itself, the aura disappeared without a single trace.


    The scene was very strange.


    So much so that Rocher did not dare step forward in haste. It would be a rash move on his part.


    The strength of that aura made Zen seem as if he were the eye of a storm. If Rocher were to step within a thousand feet of that aura, he would probably be crushed by it.


    Even from thousands of feet away, Rocher''s heart throbbed incessantly, as if he were in the Land of Extreme Chillness. At the same time, he felt as if he were at the bottom of the deep sea. The ginormous pressure made him unable to breathe.


    A wave of his Soaring Snake Sword had it thrust into the board as he stood behind the blade.


    Buzz...


    A sharp light spread out, accompanied by many ripples.


    Rocher felt a bit better using the Soaring Snake Sword to resist Zen''s aura. When he looked at Zen, a strange expression entered his eyes, along with a trace of helplessness.


    "I know you''re not weak, but you shouldn''t be so strong either," he murmured.


    To Rocher, Zen''s aura seemed ridiculously strong.


    In addition to Rocher, the few Godly Geniuses who hovered on top of the stones also looked distinctly uncomfortable.


    Even though the spaces above the stones were protected by laws, Zen''s aura still brought forth a strong sense of oppression to them.


    This oppression was not intentional.


    It was like a lion had appeared amidst a horde of beasts. Even if the lion remained silent, it proved to be a great deterrent to the surrounding wild beasts.


    "What is this?" Zen himself was clueless.


    Just now, he had been pushed to the limits by Rocher.


    Even his chaotic energy was depleted.


    His Emotion Closing Godly Way was not perfect. Losing to Rocher had been unavoidable.


    However, just as he had been about to lose, a special understanding had manifested itself in Zen''s mind, as if someone had placed a line of thought from outside.


    It existed even now, appearing in an instant and disappearing in another.


    It was as if someone was inside his inner world, breathing in and out at great speed.


    Glancing into his body, Zen could see a bright blue light at the center of his inner world. He saw the flickering crystal there.


    A portion of chaotic energy flowed to the bottom of the crystal, forming a circul


    ated the internal momentum of the Ice Mirror Godly Way simultaneously. What happened to you, Zen?"


    Rocher whispered. He could not figure this out for he did not know enough about the divine land. All his knowledge came from the records of the treasure trove of the Lord of Weapons.


    So how could he tell that Zen had activated the Instant Godly Tile?


    The Instant Godly Tile only lasted for a moment.


    It was true that some True Gods in the divine land could experience such unexpected events. They would originally possess a Godly Tile, but in a short period of time, another Godly Tile would appear. The newly manifested Godly Tile could even take over the Godly Plate.


    But there existed a prerequisite for the Instant Godly Tile to appear, and that was for the person to possess a Godly Plate.


    If the Instant Godly Tile were to appear in a warrior''s inner world without a Godly Plate, its only outcome would be for the inner world to explode straightaway. This meant that the elixir field would shatter. A warrior would then become an ordinary, useless individual.


    But when the Instant Godly Tile appeared in Zen''s case, a portion of the chaotic energy within him transformed into a Godly Plate to store the tile.


    Until now, not a single person in the divine land knew why the Instant Godly Tile had appeared in that instant.


    For True Gods, the Instant Godly Tile was not of much use. After all, each one of them already possessed a Godly Tile, and the Godly Ways that they pursued were completely different.


    But for Zen, it had been rather useful.


    He brandished the sword in his hand again. The internal momentum of the Ice Mirror Godly Way transferred over an icy blue light to the broken sword. The cold energy that lingered around Zen''s body changed to an ice lotus flower that gradually unfolded its petals.


    A wisp of sword intent had already condensed itself into a form.

 Chapter 1718 Heaven Opening Sword Book

    Since Zen had never stepped into the Godly Way, his Chaotic Gods-intimidating Strike had never been completed and it still had a flaw.


    He also knew that the sword in his hand was doing its utmost to make up for this flaw.


    But since this flaw was from his Emotion Closing Godly Way, something he had yet to completely comprehend, it was impossible for the sword to completely fix the flaw.


    What was more, Rocher''s sword was way too sharp, beyond anyone''s imagination.


    His keen observation of Zen''s flaw had helped him break Zen''s Chaotic Gods-intimidating Strike pretty easily.


    However, things were different at the moment.


    He could sense that the cold power had an incomparably powerful internal momentum.


    And it wasn''t from the Emotion Closing Godly Way.


    But the internal momentum had almost made up for the flaw once it had been infused into the Chaotic Gods-intimidating Strike.


    Perhaps it could no longer be described as making up.


    The internal momentum was far purer and much more powerful than Zen''s Emotion Closing Godly Way.


    So much that it had completely changed the attributes of Zen''s sword.


    Zen slashed his sword at Rocher, causing an immense coldness to emanate from the sword.


    The sword light was divided into three layers. While the outermost layer was the icy blue sword light, the innermost layer contained the Metal Law and chaotic energy, and thus was the metal and gray sword light.


    As he faced this strike, the fighting spirit in Rocher''s eyes exploded like two balls of flames and


    had begun to burn.


    It was close to impossible for him to resist this blow.


    But just because he could not resist it didn''t mean that he would give up.


    He stretched out his hand and grabbed the Soaring Snake Sword as his other hand swept towards the edge of the sword.


    Boiling hot blood burst into the air in a fountain, clotting almost instantly.


    The Heaven Earth Board was freezing, with the temperature as low as it could get.


    Rocher''s eyebrows furrowed as a flame appeared in his hand. He grabbed the blood clot and melted it, using the blood as the paints.


    Thirteen blood runes appeared before him in the air


    with a hiss.


    All these blood runes were Rocher''s blood essence.


    Activating these blood runes with his blood essence was also a method he had learnt from Chiyou''s treasure.


    Soon after they were formed, the blood runes began to rise rapidly into the air, forming streams of blood mist that began to swirl around the Soaring Snake Sword.


    The moment he gripped his sword, a blood-red light, filled with Rocher''s will, shot up into the sky.


    Rocher''s face, which was originally pale, turned blood-red as his aura changed abruptly.


    At this, Rocher''s mind filled with memories of what he had witnessed.


    The first year of the breaking of the chaos.


    Ever since the chaos had been broken, it had only been a divine era.


    Chiyou said it was too crowded here.


    The Creating Axe had shattered years ago and


    to open up more space was simply too difficult.


    Then, Chiyou climbed to the top of the grand tower, fused the Soarin


    , the scene before them began to tremble violently.


    The two streaks of sword light did not have the time to enter a stalemate. It took only an instant for the stronger strike to become obvious.


    Rocher was unable to break Zen''s strike.


    He could not break the Chaotic Gods-intimidating Strike, which had been sealed with the complete Godly Way.


    Zen''s sword attack had been executed with the help of the power of the Instant Godly Tile.


    Zen was still far from being able to compete with a True God, but he was definitely not someone Rocher could contend with.


    The icy-blue sword light slashed through Rocher''s Flawless South Strike like a pair of scissors.


    Every scene was shattered and cries of alarm rang throughout the universe at this.


    This beauty had been short-lived, just like fireworks had only bloomed for an instant.


    Many martial artists closed their eyes. They didn''t want to acknowledge that the scene was broken.


    The Chaotic Gods-intimidating Strike had struck through the wonderland.


    Rocher was still brandishing his sword, reeling from being unable to withstand the attack. But he still wanted to use the edge of his sword to tear at Zen''s sword light.


    But when he swung his sword downwards, it did not even break through the icy blue layer on the sword light.


    And before he knew it, the sword light had pierced through his chest.


    There was no sign of regret on Rocher''s face.


    He had already done his best and in the end, had lost to Zen. But even though he had lost to Zen, fighting Zen would still be a joyful thing to him.


    One couldn''t lose one''s target and Zen had been one of Rocher''s most important targets.


    He believed that such an opportunity would present itself to him again.


    Zen had won this battle!


    This had depressed a lot of people in the universe.


    They hadn''t believed in Zen''s strength and had seemed to believe more in Rocher.


    All big and small bankers in the universe would make a fortune in this round.


    On the other hand, the gamblers who had bet on Rocher were on the verge of tears.

 Chapter 1719 Killed Nine Seconds Later

    Some gamblers in the universe had bet on Zen. They were thrilled to win the riches out of the blue.


    However, be it the losers, the winners, or the dealers, none of them knew that this was going to be their very last carnival.


    It was the last peaceful period for the martial artists of the one hundred thousand supreme worlds. Soon, the entire universe would fall into panic and crisis.


    "Aye! This battle is indeed exciting!"


    "Can a world lord break Zen''s sword strike?"


    "Hah! You must be joking! In the end, Zen is only a warrior at the Soul Sea Realm. It is impossible for him to defeat a world lord who is three realms higher."


    "Indeed! However, to be honest, the idea that this sword strike could kill a Spirit Transformation Realm warrior is truly unthinkable! Zen is only at the Soul Sea Realm!"


    After Zen won the battle with Rocher, the two of them sat on their stones with their eyes closed in meditation.


    They did it to recover their life vitality or chaotic energy and also calm their minds.


    In this sort of battle, where one''s capability was used to the limits, this was the most convenient way to receive some epiphany.


    Before this, although Rocher''s sword attack had not been able to block Zen''s, which was almost like a True God''s, it had still been a welcome boost to his mental state.


    After he absorbed some life vitality jades, he sank into deep thought.


    Zen''s recovery was relatively troublesome.


    Chaotic energy was far more solid than life vitality. Although Zen had absorbed a great deal of life vitality jades and transformed the life vitality into chaotic energy, it was like a drop of water in a bucket.


    In fact, because of the characteristics of chaotic energy, it could completely devour all living things and transform them into chaotic energy.


    But now that Zen was bound to the stone, it was unsuitable for him to do so.


    He had used up nearly half of his life vitality jades and only restored about one fifth of his chaotic sea. If nothing went wrong, there would occur a final battle for him.


    That would depend on the outcome of Nathan and Kurt''s battle.


    If Nathan defeated Kurt, he would have to face Zen and compete for first place in the Illusion Battlefield.


    On the other hand, if Nathan lost to Kurt, he would have to fight Rocher for the second place. Regardless of Nathan''s victory or defeat in his battle against Rocher, Zen would immediately be promoted to first position.


    "However it ends, I still need to replenish my chaotic energy," Zen murmured. His face revealed some distress. "What exactly is that cross crystal?"


    After defeating Rocher, the crystal had disappeared from Zen''s inner world in a flash.


    The chaotic energy that had formed the round plate also scattered away.


    It was as i


    t he couldn''t use his weapon?"


    Nathan and Rocher were different. Rocher always carried a sword on his back and seldom used it, so people naturally questioned it. At the same time, they regarded it as him putting on an act.


    However, Nathan did not reveal his weapon. His palm strike was already so sharp that people had thought that he would go up against all his opponents with his bare hands.


    Some martial artists practiced special cultivation methods, such as the specialized palm and fist techniques. It was not strange for them not to use a weapon.


    Thus, Nathan taking out the spear was rather puzzling.


    The moment he took out his spear, Kurt, calm as ever, stepped on a stone and pushed it with a tremendous force. He had attacked first.


    "The little monk is no longer calm!"


    "He is doomed. In a battle like this, whoever gets anxious first will lose."


    "That might not be the case. Who knows, maybe Nathan is weaker."


    Amidst the discussion of the crowd, Kurt rushed toward Nathan, who was holding his spear high.


    During this rapid sprint, Kurt''s figure suddenly stopped. He stopped so suddenly that even the martial artists watching the painting failed to keep up.


    Kurt, who had come to a halt, suddenly retreated by over a hundred feet before changing his angle to sprint ahead. Then, he came to a stop once again.


    On the other hand, Nathan only held a spear in his hand as he faced Kurt. If Kurt changed his angle, Nathan only moved slightly and adjusted the direction of his spear. Hints of confidence and indifference hung on his face.


    Kurt was able to foresee with the Constellation Eyes.


    He adjusted his position more than ten times. No matter which way he rushed, he foresaw a scene that would happen nine seconds later with the help of Constellation Eyes.


    He saw the scene of him getting killed by Nathan.

 Chapter 1720 Fight For The First Place

    Kurt''s Buddhist heart was extremely stable.


    Back in the Hidden Spirit Temple, there was an ancient bell. Each time this bell was rung, the six realms of existence would appear as an illusion and create endless cycles of reincarnation.


    The temperance of one''s heart meant entering the six paths of reincarnation.


    The Hidden Spirit Temple''s core disciples were the only ones qualified to enter the ancient bell''s interior and ring it once a month.


    This process helped them cultivate and temper their Buddhist heart.


    The illusion of six realms was unforgiving. It was something that truly tested a disciple''s Buddhist heart in ways one could not even begin to describe. But if disciples went into it more than once in a month, it might shatter their hearts in the process.


    However, Kurt was different. Instead of once a month, he rang the bell every day for four hundred consecutive days!


    When he left, his heart was understandably stronger and much more stable than others.


    Kurt was the only one who had done and could sustain such an ordeal.


    It could be said that he had the most stable heart out of all the disciples in the Hidden Spirit Temple. Nothing could shake him, except perhaps the scene right in front of him.


    No amount of ringing the ancient bell could ever prepare his heart for something like this. What Kurt comprehended was great wisdom and tremendous courage that bordered on pure fearlessness.


    However, Nathan''s strike seemed to have the ability to destroy the Buddhist heart!


    His vision of the future had been extremely grim and it was soon about to come true!


    Nathan would indeed be able to kill him with a single spear strike!


    This event would happen in the next nine seconds and each second he spent thinking about it made his chest feel stuffy. It felt as if a heavy hammer was slamming itself down his Buddhist heart. The knowledge of his imminent destruction made Kurt turn a pale shade of white.


    Nathan, on the other hand, remained calm as he held onto his spear.


    "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."


    Kurt continued to revolve around Nathan.


    Meanwhile, Nathan simply stood in his spot, spear still aimed at Kurt.


    This went on for ten more rounds.


    "Puff!"


    The battle had been at an initial standstill. However, this quickly changed the moment Kurt spat out a mouthful of blood and stopped moving.


    This scene astonished the warriors outside.


    "The two of them haven''t even fought yet so how in the world did Kurt get injured?"


    "I have no idea. I''m just getting more and more confused..."


    "Could it be that Nathan knows some kind of evil martial art?"


    The last assumption was highly unlikely to be true. Ordinary evil martial arts wouldn''t have worked in these circumstances.


    Also, Nathan was not someone who would practice such a thing since it wasn''t in his character to make use of such despicable tricks.


    Kurt stood still to stabilize himself. He then put his hands together and closed his eyes.


    The future still hadn''t changed and no matter where Nathan attacked, the result would still be th


    that much experience and cultivation to pose as a threat against those geniuses.


    Lavender sat on one side of the octagonal pavilion and dipped a toe in the water. This caused a small ripple to appear on the surface that she found herself staring at as she got lost in her thoughts.


    She was not normally like this. Even she herself knew that this wasn''t really her normal personality. She had only gotten like this because of Zen and staying by his side for so many years.


    She was no longer the Queen of Killings. Instead, she was now a woman who seldom cared about anything and was extremely reliant on Zen for everything.


    Back in the Illusion Battlefield, Nathan once again stood on the Heaven Earth Board.


    He was extremely wary of Zen, having observed the battle between him and Rocher.


    Zen''s extremely cold internal momentum had the capacity to suppress his warrior spirit. At that moment, Nathan''s indestructible confidence wavered.


    Even a True God wouldn''t be able to do anything about it.


    That split second of influence caused Nathan to suddenly doubt his life''s struggle and effort.


    Fortunately, the aura around Zen disappeared after a few seconds.


    Nathan had no idea how Zen did that. It was as if this ability of him had been forced out by Rocher earlier. However, Zen didn''t seem to have the ability to control it.


    Nathan observed the situation very carefully and noticed the split-second doubt that appeared in Zen''s face.


    It was alright.


    Even if Zen''s sword was powerful, he still had a chance to defeat him.


    "Clap, clap!"


    Two stones were placed on the Heaven Earth Board as the two of them landed on its surface.


    The sight of where the stones landed filled Nathan with joy. He almost couldn''t believe his luck!


    Zen couldn''t help but frown when he noticed the joy on his opponent''s face. He had heard Nathan talk nonsense because of the stone placement previously and it made Zen very unhappy.


    "It seems like I have no shortage of lucky chances in my life," Nathan said as he laughed out loud.

 Chapter 1721 Bickering

    There was a dull thud when Zen landed on the board, which meant that the black stone landed on the board as well.


    Nathan had also landed on the board, so the white stone had landed too.


    Their movements caused a series of new, fascinating moves on the board. After the white stone had landed, it connected with the other white stones and the situation was quickly reversed.


    The "dragon" that black stones had destroyed a while ago now appeared again.


    In addition, Nathan''s stone was the icing on the cake.


    "What a move! It seems that you are destined to lose this battle," Nathan said with a smile. "And look over there."


    He stretched out a finger and pointed towards a few stones. "Margaret played all those stones. They were originally blocked off from each other, but now they''re interconnected and have formed the trend of love, whose target is me."


    Zen knew that this man wouldn''t be saying anything good. He couldn''t see any sign of the trend of love at all!


    "And then?" Zen asked indifferently. He almost rolled his eyes, but Nathan swelled with pride.


    Nathan then answered, "My fate is to be guided by the heavens. I don''t know if you understand the logic behind it, but these fate deductions will happen and I will definitely make history. As the saying goes, the trend of the heavens is irresistible; those who submit will prosper, and those who resist shall perish. You won''t be able to resist it."


    Whoosh!


    His hand went behind him and drew out the spear. The spear''s tip suddenly trembled and stirred non-stop. "If you know your situation and what to do, then you clearly shouldn''t make things difficult for Margaret."


    Zen''s face couldn''t help but twitch. ''This guy is so shameless!'' he thought. Suddenly, his train of thought was interrupted by a shouting voice.


    "Hey! I don''t know you, so stay away from Zen and me!" Opposite them was Margaret, whose face was red with anger.


    Nathan had been acting really weird since she first met him, but she could let that slide. However, he was now advising Zen to leave her.


    She could tolerate some of his issues, but the fact that Nathan had actually asked Zen to leave her made her burst her bubble. "You think that the heavens are on your side, and no one will stop you. But I''m Zen''s wife. Stop drooling over me! You think I''ll fall in love with you? Ha-ha! What nonsense are you talking about? The universe is so big, but I''m afraid it won''t be able to make up for your empty brain."


    As a wo


    didn''t choose to dodge.


    Nathan fought like a madman as he drowned Zen in a barrage of head-on attacks. However, Zen wasn''t afraid of anyone in close combat.


    Boom!


    There was a muffled sound as Zen''s fist, which was filled with the power of dragon scales, landed straight on the spear''s end.


    It was true that Nathan''s spear technique was strong. From the looks of it, he seemed like a spear expert. Since his spear bounced back, he used the window of opportunity to turn it around and aim it at Zen''s face.


    His spear was extremely long and narrow. If Zen had gotten hit, it would feel like a cut from a blade. Furthermore, Nathan''s spear was a supreme divine weapon after all. It would really hurt Zen badly if the spear were to hit him.


    Of course, Nathan was unhappy and naturally wanted to vent his anger out on Zen.


    He didn''t care if this method could deal with Zen or not. What was important was he would get to release his anger. Right now.


    Yet before the spear could pierce Zen, the broken sword in Zen''s hand suddenly swung by itself and pushed away the spear. The strong impact also pushed Nathan back a little.


    Zen immediately took advantage of Nathan''s minor setback, and threw a punch straight at his face.


    Nathan didn''t expect the punch at all. He was caught off-guard and hit the corner of the board. He floated in the air for a long while before he slowly slid back down on the board.


    Zen had undoubtedly used a great deal of strength which had sent Nathan flying, but the man wasn''t injured. Zen was amazed. ''He seems like he has steel tendons and bones of iron. I wonder what kind of physique he has, '' he thought.

 Chapter 1722 The Weird Spear

    None of the top ten warriors in the Illusion Battlefield showed any weakness.


    Their strength, cultivation methods, skills, and speed all reached the peak of the Soul Sea Realm.


    If they showed even a hint of a weak point, their opponent would seize the chance to bring them down.


    It was just like Cindy''s dream¡ªwhile she was almost invincible in her dream, her own strength wasn''t that remarkable.


    When the dream was broken, she would be left like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.


    Nathan''s physical body was not as tough as Zen''s, but it was extremely tenacious. After taking Zen''s punch head-on, he didn''t get hurt at all.


    For a moment, Nathan was stunned as he fell onto the board. But just then, as if an idea suddenly came to him, a satisfied smile surfaced on his face.


    "I really shouldn''t be speaking nonsense with you here," Nathan said as he shook his head. "Things like fate shouldn''t be announced, to begin with. Time can prove it well enough. Maybe the fate displayed on the board can only be verified after many years. But things like your defeat¡­I can verify that immediately."


    With that, Nathan''s aura gradually changed.


    He held his spear casually as he took slow steps toward Zen from the edge of the board.


    Every time he took a step forward, his aura seemed to increase. It was as if there was something invisible attached to his body.


    Although he walked slowly, his actual speed was by no means slow. If one took a closer look, they would see that after taking every step, he''d somehow glide along the board as if he were walking on ice.


    In Zen''s eyes, Nathan was a giant approaching.


    While he wasn''t as tall as a giant, his powerful aura made him seem like he towered over everyone.


    In Zen''s previous battle, he possessed the cross crystal, and his aura was akin to that of a True God. But his suppressive force was applied only to the Godly Geniuses on the Heaven Earth Board.


    But Nathan was different.


    When his aura suddenly increased, it could even affect the people outside the picture.


    Outside the bounds of the picture stroll, countless martial artists stared at Nathan, dumbfounded. Under the suppression of his aura, their hearts began racing.


    But even though the aura was strong, its influence was still limited.


    Before such a majestic aura, Spirit Transformation Realm martial artists only felt some pressure.


    When the many world lords faced this aura, their faces revealed only a trace of confusion. They were puzzled by how Nathan, a Soul Sea Realm warrior, managed to even slightly shake their state of mind.


    From the moment he entered the Heaven Earth Board, Nathan hadn''t yet displayed his full strength.


    The opponents he faced had either been sen


    s expression turned solemn. "What a tyrannical spear art! It actually shattered the sword light!"


    "Zen''s sword light was actually shattered?!"


    "But it''s a beam of light. How can that be shattered?"


    "There will always be mysteries in this universe that we cannot understand. We must learn to respect them."


    While 99% of people in the entire universe had already seen this strange phenomenon, no one was sure of what it meant.


    "Damn it!"


    After the spear light shattered Zen''s Gods-intimidating Strike, it continued to rush towards him.


    And at this moment, Zen didn''t hesitate at all.


    If he hesitated for even a moment, he would have been easily struck by the spear light and split into two.


    "Chaotic Gods-intimidating Strike!"


    It was an enhanced version of the Gods-intimidating Strike.


    While it was Zen''s strongest strike, it was only used to counter this unremarkable purple spear light.


    Puff!


    The boundless chaotic energy then fused with the Metal Law and surged up once again.


    Zen''s sword strike should be enough to offset a thousand purple spear lights.


    This sword strike that mixed with chaotic energy shot out before colliding with the spear light. In an instant, another explosion resounded in Zen''s ears.


    Pak!


    Another unimaginable crack appeared on the sword light.


    Then, it dissipated.


    Once again, the wisp of purple spear light shot out from Zen''s sword light and continued pressing toward him as if it were a ghost from hell, continuing to bite down on Zen without the slightest hint of dispersing.


    Whoosh!


    As it shot over, Zen tilted his head to the side at a crucial moment. The purple spear light grazed right past his ear, piercing his earlobe.


    But just then, Zen heard another crack.


    This time, the explosive sound came from his very own body.

 Chapter 1723 Cunning

    A crack had appeared on Zen''s forehead, which quickly ran down to his neck and body.


    It looked much like what you''d find on a porcelain vase that fell onto the ground. It was a narrow crack, but a trickle of blood slowly flowed out from it. It was frightening to behold, as if Zen had been cut in half down the middle.


    However, his clothes remained completely undamaged. It was such an absurd thing.


    Despite the horrible appearance, the injury wasn''t so serious though.


    The problem was how Nathan''s spear had managed to cause such damage in the first place. It was unbelievable!


    His spear had sent out a purple flash of light, which had defused both Zen''s Gods-intimidating Strike and the Chaotic Gods-intimidating Strike. Although the light hadn''t looked powerful at all, it had caused Zen''s impressively strong body to split when it flashed past his ear.


    This was beyond everyone''s wildest imagination.


    Zen''s eyes flickered with doubt as he stared fixedly at Nathan.


    The might of his spear was simply too frightening.


    If he had been directly hit by Nathan''s spear, would his body have been shattered into pieces?


    He couldn''t imagine how Nathan''s spear skill was actually that great.


    "I was right! His attack is just as powerful as I predicted earlier!"


    Kurt remarked and a brief look of admiration flashed on his face as he stared unblinkingly at Nathan.


    He could now understand why he had foreseen a despairing scene of himself before when he fought against Nathan.


    Kurt wouldn''t have been able to dodge Nathan''s spear thrusts, nor could he withstand them. If he hadn''t admitted defeat earlier, he too would have been shattered into pieces.


    "Why is Nathan''s spear so powerful?"


    "Indeed, it''s incredible. It seems to contain some special power."


    "I can hardly believe my own two eyes. His attack had only flashed past Zen''s face, but it almost split his body apart. What the hell is this spear skill of his capable of?"


    Many warriors commented and murmured with astonishment, as they watched the fight. Nathan was well-known as the number one Godly Genius, but that was the only thing that most people knew about him. Few warriors had seen this legendary warrior up close by themselves, so his skills remained a secret to the world.


    Everyone knew that he was a powerful warrior, but no one could tell why he was the best out of all of the warriors.


    However, this single attack from Nathan had revealed one thing to most of the watching crowd ¡ª his power was something far beyond their knowledge. They could not even begin to understand what his power was at all.


    Only a few of the Supreme Lords could understand it. Everyone else, including the world lords and the Saint Lords couldn''t comprehend the magnitude of his power.


    "Did he use the Space Law?"


    "It didn''t look like that. It''s true that the Space Law would have had a similar effect of defusing Zen''s sword intent. However, it would have caused a black crack, because the power would shatter the space and reveal the shadow on the back of space."


    "They are in the Illusion Battlefield! The back of space doesn''t exist there."


    Many knowledgeable warriors


    that he stood a chance against Nathan.


    After half a minute or so, Zen suddenly stopped in his tracks and stared hard at Nathan with a dumbfounded expression on his face.


    "Have you finally thought it through?" Nathan continued to ridicule him.


    Zen shook his head and slightly lifted his lips into a devious smile.


    "So, surrender or die?" Nathan asked, impatient now.


    Zen shook his head again and suddenly gave a broad grin. He pointed up into the sky and then down at the ground, with a crafty glint in his eyes.


    Nathan raised his head curiously and saw many profound law fragments spinning in the air, exuding the full might of the heavens. That was the sign of a Thunder Tribulation, which had just been formed after Zen''s establishing of a connection between heaven and earth!


    "Thunder Tribulations! And so many! Oh, damn!"


    Nathan cursed loudly and tried to scramble from his position, but it was already too late.


    Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!


    A dozen circles appeared under his feet and as they layered together they limited his movements.


    Boom!


    The divine lightning surged down like countless silver snakes and enveloped Nathan in a bright light.


    The power of the Thunderbolt Annihilation was magnificent. However, it was very difficult to secretly prepare it. This cultivation method was actually more suitable for creating traps.


    Admittedly, Nathan had lowered his guard because he thought that Zen was just moving around him like Kurt had done.


    However, what Nathan didn''t know, was that Kurt could predict his attacks through his Constellation Eyes, and thus he knew he had no chance of defeating him. As a result, he chose instead to give up the fight and he then immediately admitted defeat.


    Unlike Kurt, Zen had no Constellation Eyes to predict the future. It still remained unknown who would finally win this fight. As he circled around Nathan, Zen had secretly drawn his chaotic energy from inside his body and prepared a trap on the board.


    Eleven bolts of Thunderbolt Annihilation were equivalent to eleven heavenly tribulations. They were a heavy blow even to Nathan.

 Chapter 1724 Law Spear Strike

    The heavenly thunder of this Thunderbolt Annihilation was doled out as punishment after the heavens had been triggered.


    The power of the thunder that a normal Thunder Law could produce could not hold a candle to the might of it.


    The snake-like bolts of lightning writhed and intertwined with each other, and in the end, they turned into silver dragons that pounced down!


    Lawson and Lucille happened to be hovering in the sky above the thunder. Although they enjoyed the protection of the heavens law and wouldn''t be harmed, they still swiftly maneuvered the stones under their feet to a hasty departure at the sight of the terrible scene.


    "BOOM! BOOM!"


    Countless bolts of lightning instantly fell down, turning where Nathan stayed into a prison of thunder and electrifying static!


    These beams of lightning created a dazzling spectacle, and when the other warriors fixed their eyes on them, they could only discern a brilliantly white space and could not clearly observe the scene...


    "This..."


    The vast majority of spectators hadn''t expected this turn of events.


    Zen had looked completely helpless only moments before, but now the fact that he''d successfully attracted such a large amount of formidable Thunder Tribulations had far exceeded their expectations.


    "The power of the Thunder Tribulations is extremely strong. Underneath the punishment of these tribulations, Nathan would surely be seriously injured even though he might not die."


    "Mm. These Thunder Tribulations probably won''t be able to kill Nathan, given his strength. But he''ll most likely verge on the cusp of death..."


    All the warriors discussed among themselves...


    The eleven Thunderbolt Annihilations arranged by Zen were not intended to be used only once, and he only needed to activate three Thunderbolt Annihilations at a time. The eleven Thunderbolt Annihilations would all together last for more than two minutes. No matter whether they were able to defeat Nathan or not, it would be enough to keep Nathan occupied as he fought back for a while...


    This alone might not prove enough.


    After he moved to one side, Zen''s gaze suddenly turned cold, and the sword in his hand once again condensed a sword intent!


    "Chaotic Gods-intimidating Strike!"


    With a flash of golden light, a sharp sword beam shot straight towards the ring with a murderous intent!


    Although the flashes of lightning were powerful and it was almost impossible for anyone to look at it directly, Zen could still clearly see Nathan''s figure.


    Right now, not only did Nathan have to face the Thunder Tribulations from the sky, but he also had to deal with the incoming Chaotic Gods-intimidating Strike. He was in great danger at this moment...


    In the ring, Nathan was fighting for his life, and he had already reached a furious state.


    As long as Zen wasn''t able to break through his spear skill in this battle, then he would already have been in an invincible position...


    However, he had fallen into the trap of the Thunder Tribulations due to his own carelessness!


    "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."


    These Thunder Tribulations were dense, leaving Nathan no room to dodge.


    However, at this moment, Nathan had begun using a most unique movement technique!


    He seemed to be stepping on some sort of law, constantly moving within this ring


    an a hundred flaws.


    While there should be dozens of flaws appearing on the Spirit Supreme Realm warriors.


    Usually, Nathan could only see around ten flaws in a Spirit Transformation Realm warrior.


    He could only occasionally perceive one flaw in a world lord; although sometimes there were even none.


    The Supreme Lord had already surpassed the scope of Nathan''s Comprehension of Truth, so it was impossible for him to assess their likes.


    However, there were only four lines on Zen''s body, and Nathan could not figure out where his vital point lay!


    Zen was just a Soul Sea Realm warrior, so how could he only have a few flaws within his physical body? The number of his flaws was even smaller than that of a Spirit Transformation Realm warrior''s flaws.


    Nathan was bowled over in confusion by this.


    However, it really didn''t matter. Zen still had a few flaws, instead of having no flaws.


    As long as there were flaws, Nathan''s Law Spear Strike would be able to display its terrifying destructive power.


    The spear light that he had shot out had once struck Zen''s earlobe. A thin line had then appeared on his earlobe and extended all the way to the top of his head before spreading downwards.


    The purple spear light was not even that powerful, but it had still almost broken Zen into two from the middle!


    From this, it could be believed that it wasn''t too difficult for Nathan to kill Zen.


    At this moment, Nathan was striding forward with his long spear pointing up into the sky. He no longer chose to evade the thunder strikes, and instead aimed up at the sky with a fierce thrust!


    "Break them for me!"


    Swish, swish, swish!


    All of a sudden, multiple Law Spear Strikes were launched, one after another.


    The rays of purple spear light were like thin lines, precisely piercing through the violent thunderbolts descending at him.


    Even though these lightning bolts were of the heavenly thunder, they still had their flaws.


    When those flaws were struck by the purple spear light, the lightning bolts became like snakes that had been struck, breaking apart, collapsing, and dissipating!


    Unexpectedly, none of the thunderbolts that filled the sky landed on Nathan any further!

 Chapter 1725 Walking Either Straight Or Sideways

    Nathan instantly cleared all the thunderbolts above his head.


    This feat left the other martial artists dumbstruck.


    It was common knowledge that these kinds of thunderbolts could be obstructed either by a physical attack, or they could be channeled into the earth.


    However, Nathan had used his spear to smash them. This powerful visual was hard to describe and had surpassed the expectations of the many martial artists gathered round the Illusion Spaces.


    However, what they did not know was that Nathan''s Law Spear Strike was also capable of dousing even a ball of fire upon contact.


    He had just blocked Zen''s Thunderbolt Annihilations when a gold and grey sword ray zoomed towards him.


    "Humph!"


    There was a trace of disdain on his face.


    Other martial artists might find it difficult to resist Zen''s sword but it didn''t pose much of a threat to Nathan.


    This was because there was a flaw in Zen''s attack.


    Rocher had a deep understanding of sword skills, so he was able to catch the flaw in the Chaotic Gods-intimidating Strike and destroy Zen''s sword radiance.


    And Nathan could see the flaw even more clearly with his Comprehension of Truth.


    There was an obvious defect in the golden and grey sword ray. After Nathan took a step forward, he suddenly hurled the long spear in his hand, and a purple light hit the small flaw.


    Pop!


    The two-colored sword ray instantly disintegrated, transforming into sword intent cyclones, which burst out in all directions like a shower of magnificent fireworks.


    After the sword ray dispersed, Nathan''s expression turned cold and a wicked smile appeared on the corners of his mouth. He faced Zen once again. "You think you can defeat me just with this little trick?"


    Zen smiled and shook his head.


    Wasn''t it a bit too stupid to think that he would be able to defeat Nathan by relying on the Thunderbolt Annihilation and the Chaotic Gods-intimidating Strike?


    Zen was only using these methods to observe and gauge his opponent.


    Ever since Nathan had stepped into the board, a puzzling thought had been lingering in Zen''s mind and he was not able to solve it.


    But he had noticed something.


    Nathan''s actions looked very casual and unplanned, but it seemed like he was following some sort of rule.


    Upon closer inspection, Zen discovered that his rule was about maintaining a certain distance.


    Nathan always moved a distance of three feet. No matter where he moved, the final position at which he stopped was the integral multiple of three feet from his original spot.


    If he took a step forward, he would be at a distance of three feet. It would never be two feet and nine inches, or three feet and one inch.


    Although Zen was unable to achieve what Nathan had, he could see his game plan very well.


    Nathan was following this law strictly.


    However, although Zen had cracked this code, it did not mean that he could resist Nathan''s spear.


    Nathan w


    athan?


    He was determined to not to lose to Nathan.


    Now, he seemed somewhat panicked. However, a glint flashed across his eyes as he thought of something. With a pat, the mini Magnetic Sacred Mountain appeared in his hand. The mountain began to expand the moment it appeared, turning into a thousand-feet-tall edifice that blocked Zen.


    "I wonder if it will work!"


    Nathan sneered and the spear light started drilling into the top of the mountain.


    He hadn''t seen the Magnetic Sacred Mountain in Zen''s hand before, and now that he was pretty sure he would win, he did not pay too much attention to the mountain. It was ridiculous to use a mountain to try to stop his Law Spear Strike.


    He was confident that the mountain would collapse in the next moment.


    Bang!


    The purple spear light instantly got absorbed into the Magnetic Sacred Mountain.


    But the thing that Nathan had expected did not happen. The purple spear light had only left a small white mark on the Magnetic Sacred Mountain, and even that mark vanished soon.


    He was stunned momentarily before activating his Comprehension of Truth. When he looked at the mountain again, he was more befuddled. How come such a large mountain did not have any flaws?


    "I see! This is the Magnetic Sacred Mountain!" Nathan only recognized the mountain now.


    He had once seen such a mountain in the hand of a member of the Ji Clan.


    The five elements in the mountain were complex, as the five different Original Laws were uniformly mixed together. As the five elements were interwoven, they would be able to make up for each other''s flaws.


    Nathan''s current level of Comprehension of Truth did not enable him to see through the flaw.


    While he was pondering, Zen had already quietly moved to the top of the mountain peak, overlooking him. There seemed to be an extremely sharp cyan light in Zen''s hand.


    It was the magnetic power that Zen had extracted from the Magnetic Sacred Mountain.

 Chapter 1726 The Bane Of Nathans Life

    Nathan was not the one who was most surprised at the moment.


    It was Lucille and the entire Ji Clan who were staring in shock.


    Lucille had transmitted the Ji Clan''s secret technique of extracting magnetic power to Zen in exchange for Zen''s Blood Refinement Technique to refine the Magnetic Sacred Mountain.


    Lucille thought this was a great deal.


    She had given the jade slip that recorded the secret technique to Zen fairly recently. But Zen had already mastered it!


    His speed was astonishing.


    The members of the Ji Clan were shocked to see Zen had refined the Magnetic Sacred Mountain. It seemed like their surprises weren''t yet over.


    The Ji Clan also had a Magnetic Sacred Mountain. They had never heard of anyone throughout the universe who could refine the mountain.


    The patriarch of the Ji Clan stared at Zen''s Magnetic Sacred Mountain and then looked at the cyan light in his hand before he said flatly, "Lucille taught Zen the secret technique that I created."


    "What?" The expression on the clan leader''s face shifted.


    It would be a felony if the secret technique of the Ji Clan spread out. Why was Lucille so stupid? He wanted to plead for Lucille right away. Lucille might be the most outstanding ace talent of the Ji Clan. But if she had really taught Zen the secret technique, even the patriarch would not forgive her.


    The patriarch shook his head and continued, "Lucille is intelligent. If she was willing to give Zen the secret technique, she must have a reason for doing so."


    As he spoke, he continued to stare at the Magnetic Sacred Mountain beneath Zen''s feet, as if absorbed in thought.


    Thoughts swirled inside the Ji Clan leader''s head. At the patriarch''s words, he naturally understood what was going on.


    It was impossible for Lucille to spread the secret technique at will.


    Moreover, Magnetic Sacred Mountains were extremely rare. There were only ten of them or so in the entire universe. It was close to impossible for an ordinary person to practice this technique without a Magnetic Sacred Mountain.


    And here, Zen had refined a Magnetic Sacred Mountain, and Lucille had taught him the secret technique.


    The most obvious possibility was that Lucille and Zen had finished an exchange.


    The laws in the Magnetic Sacred Mountain were a mess, and it was impervious to everything. What kind of technique was needed to refine it? If Lucille had really gotten the technique in exchange, it would have profited the Ji Clan.


    "Zen is indeed a genius. He was able to extract the magnetic power in such a short pe


    Zen from three different directions.


    Any spear could hit Zen and destroy him.


    If Nathan had one chance, he would be able to grab a complete victory. This was the technique of the Truth Godly Way.


    Nathan and his three spear shadows quickly grew larger in Zen''s eyes. His body didn''t pause even for a moment.


    He knew how powerful these spear shadows were.


    He climbed upwards along the Magnetic Sacred Mountain, the three purple spears following close behind.


    The two of them followed each other as they continued to circle the mountain. It was beginning to become too much for the others to take it all in.


    "In the end, who has the advantage?"


    "I can''t say for sure. Zen seems to be afraid of Nathan''s spear skills, but his mountain seems invincible."


    "I can''t see their figures clearly anymore."


    While Nathan was chasing after Zen, the first purple spear shadow took the shortest way to block Zen.


    As the spear came to block Zen, the cyan magnetic power in Zen''s hand suddenly changed, transforming into a crystal shield the size of a palm, protecting Zen. With this shield before him, Zen charged ahead, regardless of the spear.


    Nathan smirked as he watched Zen court death and not dodge the spear.


    The thought had just sprouted in his mind when he saw Zen shatter the purple spear shadow. He was shocked. How was this possible?


    This caused Nathan to hesitate, his usually rock-like confidence wavering. Zen had used his own body to withstand his Law Spear Strike! He began to realize that he was playing a losing game.


    And when Zen turned around, he saw a small cyan crystal shield in Zen''s hand. He couldn''t help but curse, ''This guy is really the bane of my life!''

 Chapter 1727 Another Heavenly Fragment

    If Zen had only relied on the Magnetic Sacred Mountain, Nathan probably wouldn''t have been at a disadvantage. But Zen cultivated the Ji Clan''s secret technique.


    Nathan got a stifling feeling in his heart.


    First of all, he didn''t specialize in strength. And in terms of speed, he wasn''t that much faster than Zen. His strong point was the power in his spear arts¡ªnow, this strength was completely restricted by his opponent.


    After Zen broke through the first purple spear shadow, his figure turned and headed straight for the second purple spear shadow, then the third¡­


    After successfully shattering the three spear shadows, he lingered for a moment before dashing at Nathan again. In his hand, he grasped the sword that glowed with golden light, while his other hand held onto the crystal shield formed by the cyan light.


    Since the magnetic power easily broke through Nathan''s spear strike, Zen no longer needed to escape. It was Nathan who had to find a way out of it.


    "Die!"


    As Zen charged at him, Nathan ruthlessly thrust his spear. Purple spear light bloomed like flowers as the strong Law Power flowed unceasingly. Such was the power of truth, the foundation of all laws. But at this point, Nathan didn''t have the ability to construct the laws himself.


    Still, destroying the laws was much easier than constructing them¡ªNathan had a chance.


    But this spear strike that was supposed to be able to break through all laws now seemed hollow and powerless in front of Nathan''s opponent.


    Zen blocked it easily. "It''s my turn now."


    Behind the crystal shield, Zen wore a faint smile on his face. The broken sword was like a bolt of lightning as it shot toward Nathan.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    From the top to the bottom of the mountain, Zen unleashed four sword strikes in a row.


    Though Nathan managed to figure out the flaws of the two sword strikes, the third sword pierced Nathan''s chest, leaving a foot-long wound. It was deep enough to expose his bone.


    And the fourth slash pierced right through his chest.


    Scarlet blood splattered the Heaven Earth Board in a line. Covered in wounds, Nathan finally staggered away from Zen as he s


    und, conflicted.


    He wasn''t willing to lose to Zen like this.


    The world of chaos would indeed bring a great disaster, but it would also bring an unimaginable fortune.


    And only he could be the center of this good fortune, no one else.


    His confidence was built on this sort of mindset. He believed that he was the number one warrior in the entire universe.


    But when he faced Zen, a warrior he couldn''t defeat, his confidence wavered wildly.


    To protect his very state of mind, he had to use the Heavenly Fragment. It was his sole chance of winning.


    But Supreme Lord of Original Sin''s roar came as a shock, snapping him back into reality.


    Pulling out the Heavenly Fragment there was already considered taboo. Was he still willing to use it?


    Determination grew in his eyes. So long as he used the fragment, Zen didn''t stand a chance.


    Supreme Lord of Original Sin, the patriarch of the Xuanyuan Clan, had poured so much effort into merging the fragment with Nathan because the Heavenly Fragment involved the Xuanyuan Clan''s future plans.


    If the Heavenly Fragment was used there, the clan''s future plans would be exposed to the universe. It was simply too great of a risk for the clan.


    "Nathan! Don''t! Don''t use it!"


    The next moment, the patriarch''s voice resounded once again, somehow both dignified and pleading.


    Nathan looked pained and conflicted. The tangled emotions in his heart were almost clearly visible.

 Chapter 1728 A Godly Plate

    The patriarch of the Xuanyuan Clan placed this Heavenly Fragment in Nathan''s body for his own, personal purpose.


    If Nathan used it now, then he would ruin everything!


    The young man slowly came to. His anger gradually dissipated as he slowly calmed himself down.


    Losing this battle wasn''t the end of his life. As the saying went, "Lack of forbearance in small matters upsets great plans."


    His future remained bright.


    Nathan held the Heavenly Fragment in his hand. By the time he stretched it out, the fragment had already disappeared.


    "I admit defeat,"


    he said through clenched teeth.


    This was the very first time these words had ever been uttered by Nathan''s lips.


    He was someone who never admitted defeat. In fact, you could say that he was born as a winner.


    Nathan was born with the destiny of being this grand era''s main character. If everything went according to the fate, then he would''ve been the one who won first place in the Illusion Battlefield.


    However, Zen had become the biggest variable in changing his fate.


    Zen smiled, obviously pleased with his victory. In a flash, he flew in the air and threw the broken sword towards Lone. A white light flashed and his body disappeared from the stone.


    Nine people remained in the picture scroll.


    These nine would still have to fight to decide their rankings.


    Rocher and Nathan still had to fight for second place. Shania and Kurt were also set to battle, along with Lucille and Lawson.


    However, their battles had nothing to do with Zen, who was now the ultimate victor of the Illusion Battlefield.


    "Hey!" Margaret shouted in fury the moment Zen vanished. Why did he disappear so quickly?


    Zen had no time to face her anger. Right now, he traversed through a patch of white clouds so thick, it almost blocked his sight completely.


    Ever since entering the Illusion Battlefield, he had always wondered what kind of place it exactly was.


    It covered fifty supreme worlds created by the heavens. Could it be a battlefield within the heavens? Or was it just an illusion?


    A huge shadow streaked across the clouds, then the second, and then the third...


    "What''s that?" Zen murmured.


    The shadow streaks appeared here and there before finally appearing in Zen''s line of sight.


    The shadows turned out to be many massive mountains identical in size, shape, and appearance.


    On top of each mountain were many round, stone pillars very similar to the Hall of Causality Zen had seen before.


    "You can take one of the Godly Plates first," the mysterious girl said in Zen''s ear.


    This girl''s voice was usually very cold, as if she was a mere disembo


    quite lucky especially when he had devoured those Luck-devouring Snakes. However, the peak of his luck only lasted for a short period of time. He hadn''t seized the opportunity at that time. Practicing the Stellar Body when his luck reached its limit would be an easier task.


    His current luck wasn''t as good as when he consumed those Luck-devouring Snakes.


    Changing one''s luck was no easy task. It must be an ability that only the heavens possessed, right?


    This Irene Jiang seemed to be the one in charge of the heavens. Unfortunately, Zen didn''t really know who she was or what role she played exactly. She wasn''t someone who could casually interfere with how the heavens did things.


    With his questions done, Zen waited on top of the mountain for the arrival of the next warrior.


    It was quite a while before another person emerged from the white mist.


    The man was tall and had a heroic expression on his face. It was none other than Rocher!


    The first to win would be the first to enter the clouds and take a Godly Plate. Since Rocher was the second, then that could only mean that he managed to defeat Nathan.


    Sure enough, Nathan came walking after Rocher. His expression was extremely foul since he only got third place.


    Shania ranked fourth while Kurt ranked fifth.


    As for Margaret, she managed to get tenth place.


    If the ranking had been based purely on strength, she would''ve ranked higher.


    However, after entering the top ten, she decided to just concede all the way, hence her low ranking.


    She gazed up at the mountains and wanted to fly towards Zen. However, she couldn''t get close. All Margaret could do was give up and cry in bitter regret. ''I should''ve told him to meet in the Purple Power World, '' she thought to herself.

 Chapter 1729 Surprise

    The Illusion Battlefield competition was finally over...


    The pictures that had appeared in the universe began to close and disappear gradually.


    When Zen opened his eyes again, he was in a trance. He felt as if he didn''t belong to this world.


    The competition in the Illusion Battlefield had lasted less than three months, but during this period of time, many battles had occurred. Each battle was like a round of tempering, and it gave warriors new insights into strategies and skills.


    At this very moment, the entire universe was changing.


    The first of the many changes was the Universe Spirit Tablet.


    When some talents passed through the Hall of Causality, they chose to duplicate the supreme divine weapon in their hands. As a result, the rankings on the Spirit Tablet changed drastically.


    Originally, there were only three thousand supreme divine weapons, but now suddenly over a thousand more weapons were appearing. Clearly, all of these supreme divine weapons had been duplicated through the Hall of Causality...


    When the ray of light disappeared from Zen''s body, three-colored dots of light suddenly appeared around him. These dots of light were like countless elves as they flew into Zen''s body.


    After Zen had absorbed these specks of light, his original aura intensified to a great degree. This was the reward from the second stage of the Illusion Battlefield.


    "He''s back!"


    A slim figure ambled out from the inner courtyard. The person who was wearing a smile on her face was no other than Freya!


    After the end of the first stage, she had left the Illusion Battlefield and waited for a long time.


    Zen acknowledged her presence with a warm smile.


    He then turned his head in another direction and asked, "Why do you like to always hide?"


    At the sound of his voice, Lavender''s slender frame floated into view from the other side. She was Zen''s sword spirit, so naturally he could sense where she was.


    Lavender seemed to be different now from what she was a few months ago.


    Right now she looked morose and dejected, which was an alien expression on her face. She had been an extremely powerful woman, but now she was depressed. Even so, this miserable expression also made her seem enchanting. Some people might even be attracted to her at the first sight.


    "What''s your ranking?" Lavender asked bluntly.


    Freya was also concerned about this, so she looked towards Zen with curiosity.


    Since Zen had just returned, he must have entered the second stage. Freya could not see the picture of the Illusion Battlefield but she only knew that there were two stages there. Besides she had no idea that there was a bigger competition on the Heaven Earth Board.


    "Guess!" Zen asked mirthfully.


    Freya blinked her eyes. "You must have scored a rank in the top ten thousand!"


    Freya had entered the Illusion Battlefield and also witnessed all the powerful warriors in the universe. Just like those outstanding warrior


    short while, Zen brought up Lavender. He couldn''t figure out what had happened during his long absence from the fairy palace.


    Although the cyan dragon was concealed within Zen''s body, he could not communicate with Zen after he entered the Illusion Battlefield. During this period of time, he could only rest within Zen''s mind. However, the cyan dragon could naturally observe everything outside of Zen''s body.


    Hearing Zen''s question, the cyan dragon chuckled but didn''t answer. This further aggravated Zen''s puzzlement.


    During this trip to the Illusion Battlefield, countless warriors of the Soul Sea Realm had accumulated their cultivation base after going through so many life and death experiences and used it to break through their bottlenecks!


    Countless Soul Sea Realm warriors had chosen to cultivate in seclusion at this moment. Zen was no exception!


    In just a few days, a lot of big Heavenly Tribulations had appeared in countless supreme worlds.


    About thirty percent of the warriors of the Soul Sea Realm had reached the Spirit Supreme Realm. This kind of occurrence could not have happened in the past...


    Zen spent a total of thirteen days being engrossed in closed-door cultivation.


    Several world lords from the Demon Night and the ogre race maintained their distance, guarding the fairy palace.


    Thirteen days later, a giant tribulation cloud formed above them quietly!


    A world lord stared at the tribulation cloud, his eyes revealing a look of shock. "This is the Grand Meteorite Tribulation..." he gasped.


    "It seems that Zen has broken through!"


    "It might be..."


    "It''s time for us to leave as well..."


    Since Zen had already achieved first place in the Illusion Battlefield, he was destined to be the number one character in the world of chaos. His fate was linked to the rise and fall of the universe.


    Every race would hold out an olive branch to him. Thus it was meaningless for these world lords to guard fairy palace.

 Chapter 1730 The Birth Of A New World

    There was a knowing look in Zen''s eyes. The big Heavenly Tribulation this time was also a test for his skills.


    First came the Grand Meteorite Tribulation, then the Raging Fire Tribulation, then the Inner Demon Tribulation...


    After a series of tribulations, the Thunder Tribulation finally dawned on him.


    Zen was no stranger to the Thunder Tribulation, as the Thunderbolt Annihilation he practiced could trigger it directly.


    However, there was something special about this Thunder Tribulation. It had a green bolt of lightning.


    The Thunder Tribulation struck his abdomen and fell into his internal world. Therefore, Zen couldn''t avoid or touch it.


    The moment the Thunder Tribulation made contact with his elixir field, a searing pain wracked his whole body.


    Then, the World Tree absorbed most of the Thunder Tribulation.


    Therefore, the World Tree began to grow under the Thunder Tribulation''s baptism as the waters of the chaotic sea rolled violently at the same time, and formed a stormy sea in Zen''s body.


    At that moment, his soul also underwent a strange change.


    It felt like he had fallen into the deepest pits of chaos.


    Everything around him was grey and hazy. His body rolled listlessly as he fell even further into the chaos.


    After an unknown period of time, the rolling finally slowed down. Zen suddenly felt like he was pushed on a patch of land. He opened his eyes, and was greeted by the shocking sight of the huge World Tree.


    What was more, there appeared to be an island beneath it.


    Zen''s eyes lit up in a flash.


    At the same time, the entire chaotic sea began to solidify.


    What used to be a seemingly endless ocean of chaotic energy in his internal world was now changed by the sudden appearance of this island.


    The island wasn''t that big. Zen looked like he knew something, but couldn''t quite place it.


    He had seen this type of place before; that was for sure.


    Back when he had entered Brianna''s inner world, he had seen an island too.


    However, the island in her body was much larger than Zen''s. Hers had many forests and dwarf shrubs growing on it. There was even a relatively primitive tribe.


    "I have already reached the Spirit Supreme Realm!" Zen exclaimed.


    Although he was still in a dazed state, the scene before him made him realize that he had already broken through the Soul Sea Realm and reached the Spirit Supreme Realm, which was why he had encountered that green Thunder Tribulation.


    That same Thunder Tribulation which was filled with life energy gave life to the entire chaotic sea.


    so concerned about this situation and asked her about it two or three times, but Lavender always changed the subject. She was even cold towards him. Zen was really clueless.


    "These three places are very far away from each other. It would take at least ten years to travel back and forth between two places, even with the speed of the fairy palace," Lavender said. She thought for a moment before another vague sentence spilled from her lips. "From now on, you need to make decisions by yourself!"


    Whoosh!


    Lavender suddenly dissipated in front of him, transforming into the sword spirit that entered his body.


    "Huh?" That made Zen even more confused.


    Not far away stood Freya, who watched the whole scene with a smile on her face.


    Lavender was cold and seldom talked to Freya. But Freya had stayed in this fairy palace for many years. A bystander is always clear-minded. She knew exactly what Lavender was thinking.


    Still, Lavender had always been by Zen''s side. That made it hard for Freya to personally tell him about Lavender''s situation.


    After a while, Zen came to a decision. And this time, he didn''t forget that he had brought something else with him from the Illusion Battlefield.


    With a flip of his hand, a small token appeared on his palm.


    "What is this?" Freya asked curiously. Zen''s lips curved into a small smile in response.


    "This is a Teleportation Token."


    The Teleportation Token had allowed Zen to move back and forth within a supreme world in the Illusion Battlefield. That was why he had made a copy of the Teleportation Token and took it out of the battlefield.


    He wasn''t sure if it would work in the universe, though. But there was no harm in trying, right?

 Chapter 1731 The Bright Sun World

    The only way to move long distances in the universe was through spatial transference.


    One was required to have a deep understanding of the Space Law and reach the level of a world lord before carrying it out. The level of one''s cultivation seemed to determine the distance they could reach.


    Because of this, the Supreme Lords who had wanted to capture Zen gathered together in a mere day or two.


    The world lords, however, had to wait a long time before they could catch up to them.


    Freya raised her hands to her cheeks. She did not understand what was happening, but she did not give voice to her doubts, satisfied to watch Zen''s every move silently.


    Zen was unsure about using the Teleportation Token in the universe.


    Under the infusion of his chaotic energy, the token emitted a faint white light.


    Buzz...


    With a light chirp, the space around Zen began to vibrate.


    "Yes!"


    Zen''s eyes lit up.


    However, the space only continued to tremble, as if a monster was trying to tear it apart. At the same time, muffled sounds were heard, similar to firecrackers exploding underwater.


    Plop! Plop! Plop! Plop! Plop! Plop!


    Freya took a few steps to the side. She was getting more and more confused. ''Does he want to summon a beast?'' she wondered, cocking her head.


    Eventually, the muted sounds died down.


    "Did I fail? It can''t be..." Zen sighed, his brow creased slightly. If the Teleportation Token was rendered useless, it would not have caused such a commotion.


    However, he also did not sense any fluctuations from the Space Law.


    At this moment, a figure flew over to him. It was Saul.


    A strange expression appeared on Saul''s face, his eyes seeming to pierce through Zen. "Zen, did you plan on carrying out the spatial transference here?"


    "How did you know?" Zen asked.


    Saul laughed and said, "Here, spatial transference is impossible!"


    This time it was Zen''s turn to stare. "Why?"


    Saul pointed toward the sky. The enchanted barrier enveloped the entire fairy palace.


    In reality, the fairy palace was not known to exist in the universe. It was located in a world where all things seemed giant in size. Zen had only utilized the token of mountain to create a node and an illusion.


    Only then did Saul tell Zen that even a True God would be unable to carry out spatial transference in the fairy palace, whereas Zen was only a warrior at the Spirit Supreme Realm. He could just walk around.


    "Are you serious?" Zen was stunned.


    He had first felt the strangeness of the forest when encountering the white tiger, but he did not expect this place to be so different.


    "Where is this place?" Zen asked again.


    Saul only smiled mysteriously, saying that Zen would find out eventually, when the time came.


    Zen did not press him again. Saul had only told him a limited number of things. He would


    a long-distance teleportation. If a Supreme Lord did not pay enough attention, he might go to a wrong destination all together.


    In order to reach their destination, one had to teleport dozens of times, or even a hundred times. Devices such as the Teleportation Token, that made it rather easy to teleport, had never before appeared in the universe.


    Following a violent flash of light, Zen materialized at his destination out of thin air.


    The moment he came into view, he started dropping from the skies. Hastily, he circulated his chaotic energy to float in the air.


    At the moment, he found himself at the height of a hundred thousand feet. Before him were vast plains.


    "It is the Bright Sun World, an independent supreme world," he murmured to himself, his gaze sweeping the area.


    Not all supreme worlds in the universe belonged to the great powers.


    The Bright Sun World was a supreme world that belonged to independent warriors. It could be said that it was a place a number of independent warriors yearned to be at because of the renowned Sword Manor that was located here.


    Independent warriors were not restricted. All races were allowed to co-exist in this particular supreme world.


    Strictly speaking, the Sword Manor was also one of the great powers. However, it did not impose too great of a restriction on the independent warriors that chose to join it. For those who desired freedom, it was, in fact, an excellent choice of destination.


    Zen had some priorities and many other questions to settle, but most important to him right now was to become a Godly Genius. For this purpose, the trip to Sword Manor was imperative to him.


    Flying high in the sky for some time, he took note of the various black dots on the plains. These could be villages and cities, but they appeared to be as small as ants.


    Zen immediately leaned to one side and shuttled downward.

 Chapter 1732 The Sword Manor

    Although Zen had entered the Bright Sun World with his Teleportation Token, it would still take him a long time to pass through a supreme world.


    If he wanted to go to the Sword Manor, he had to go through the supreme world channel.


    Besides, he didn''t know where exactly the Sword Manor was located, except that it was in the Bright Sun World. However, he soon realized that it wasn''t that easy to enter the Sword Manor.


    He was halfway down when he suddenly smacked his forehead, then took out the token of mountain.


    Apparently, he had forgotten to release Freya.


    As for Saul the puppet, he could stay in the fairy palace and it wouldn''t matter--he had even remained in the fairy palace for thousands of years.


    Meanwhile, Livingston was too engrossed in weapon refining that no one could force him out now.


    However, Freya had stayed in the fairy palace for several years. When she asked to come out during the time Zen had just used the Teleportation Token, he rejected her. After all, there had been many uncertain dangers at that time; thus, Freya always listened to Zen and never forced him.


    Zen wasn''t afraid in any way, as even the Supreme Lords wouldn''t be able to calculate that he had arrived in this supreme world in just a short period of time.


    After he had activated the token of mountain, he began to communicate with the fairy palace.


    Freya eagerly waited at the door like she''d always have. If she felt that Zen was under pressure, she wouldn''t go out--even if she was dying to. Still, she couldn''t be blamed for getting bored after being trapped in the fairy palace for several years.


    The moment Zen transmitted his voice, Freya suddenly appeared beside him. Since she didn''t expect Zen to be floating in the air when she appeared, she began to fall with a disheartening cry.


    Zen quickly pulled her hand and she was finally able to stabilize her body.


    Her eyes drifted to the vast plains in the universe, and she stretched her back with a satisfied smile. She had felt very much oppressed these years, but she never complained.


    She trailed Zen behind. Huge maple leaves, which exerted a faint force of the flying ban, began to appear when they were about a thousand feet from the city.


    "Let''s go in through the city gate," Zen said after he and Freya had both circled around the city for a while.


    After some investigation, they found out that this city was located in the north of the Bright Sun World, and the Sword Manor was located in the southeast of the Bright Sun World.


    Therefore, Zen paid a few supreme life vitality crystals and brought Freya into the space channel, and then to the supreme world channel.


    The arduous journey took them nearly half a month to travel through the supreme world channel.


    Yet Freya was excited throughout the entire trip, like a prisoner who had been seemingly l


    word Chen.


    After a while, the sword school sent someone to fight Zen, but the man was only at the Life and Death Realm. How could he compare to Zen?


    When he saw that Zen was at the Spirit Supreme Realm, he too knew his fate.


    The winner was decided after just a single sword attack. Their fight was only a formality anyway, and Zen left with a two-star sword token.


    Next, Zen entered another relatively large sword school with the two-star sword token he had just gotten. After another sword attack, he got out with a three-star sword token.


    As Zen progressed, the schools he went to grew more imposing and larger in size. Naturally, his opponents also became increasingly formidable as well.


    However, he only needed one sword attack when he faced warriors of the Life and Death Realm and the Soul Sea Realm.


    A second move was unnecessary.


    In just half a day, Zen''s token had gone from a three-star one to a six-star one already!


    Still, Zen''s speed was nothing to be proud of because his cultivation level was high already. Besides, it was only the threshold to enter the Sword Manor. It would be a great insult to his dignity if he had encountered any difficulties there.


    Freya just followed Zen all throughout, bought a map of the Sword Manor and asked for some information in between. She quickly adapted to the new environment, so she was already able to serve as Zen''s guide by the time he had gotten the seven-star token.


    "Only six big sword schools can give out eight-star and nine-star sword tokens. And the closest one is in that direction," Freya said. She thought for a moment before she reminded him, "These six big sword schools are equivalent to the ninth grade forces in the traditional sense. However, it should be very simple for you."


    Zen nodded. He was quite thankful for her presence, as the detailed information she had acquired was of great help to him.

 Chapter 1733 An Auction

    This was the Breeze Sword School, one of the six sword schools under the Sword Manor. Warriors could obtain eight-star and nine-star tokens through here.


    And according to Zen''s estimate, the ideal scenario would be for him to acquire the nine-star token in a single day.


    After all, it didn''t take him long to travel through various sword schools in the process of obtaining one-star to seven-star tokens. But after midday, when Zen and Freya finally arrived at the entrance of the Breeze Sword School, it had already closed its doors.


    "Seems like I have to stay for one more day," Zen said as he smiled helplessly.


    Many martial artists spent years obtaining the one-star to nine-star sword tokens. Such was the path a swordsman had to take in order to grow.


    At these different sword schools, warriors improved themselves. When one''s understanding of swordsmanship reached a certain level, they would naturally earn the right to enter the Sword Manor.


    For this reason, the Sword Manor attracted many of the independent warriors.


    The Sword Manor imposed no restrictions to them. So long as one focused on the path of swordsmanship and reached that standard of understanding, the manor selflessly opened its doors to them.


    Tens of thousands of people would kneel before some of the tenth-grade sacred places, as they weren''t allowed to enter. Such a scene wouldn''t happen to the Sword Manor''s entrance.


    But Zen wasn''t one of those swordsmen. He managed to obtain the seven-star sword token in a mere day.


    "We need to find a place to stay tonight. We''ll return tomorrow," Zen said.


    "Can we take a walk around the city?" Freya said timidly, her voice soft.


    Upon hearing her small request, Zen smiled. "Why not?"


    With that, Freya''s face turned somewhat joyful. She was a naturally shy person, not used to expressing her feelings openly. But she was beyond happy at this moment.


    Soon after, Freya heard of a market in the city and suggested they visit.


    Ever since Zen had ascended, he never understood the human culture of the Upper World. This was probably the first time he even had the chance to wander around the market.


    Although he asked Lavender if she wanted to join them, he earned no response.


    At the market, the place was bustling with noise and excitement. Almost all the people there were independent warriors.


    The warriors of the large forces and sacred places had the support of pills and cultivation methods. With these benefits, they could concentrate on cultivation with the price of helping the large forces or sacred places complete missions. But the independent warriors were different.


    The independent warriors had no such benefits. They had to work hard on everything themselves. Some explored the secret places and collected items that they could use for trade on the market.


    As he walked through the market, Zen didn''t seem all too interested. But Freya''s head was turning left and right, buying many small, interesting items. They usually cost several supreme life vitality crystals.


    he warrior standing on the high platform originally wore a smile on his face, but after hearing what Zen said, his expression turned cold. "Kid, this is the Sword Manor. You''d better watch your mouth. If you don''t have money, then scram. Be an eyesore somewhere else!"


    The rude words were a sign that he didn''t take Zen''s cultivation at the Spirit Supreme Realm seriously at all.


    Another warrior on the high platform let out an eerie laugh. "The price of a nine-star sword token is hardly expensive. It usually costs only two or three hundred life vitality jades. If you''re so desperate for it and you don''t have money, just give me that Soul Sea Realm servant girl. I''ll give you enough life vitality jades for a nine-star token."


    The martial artist''s greedy eyes fell right on Freya.


    There weren''t many female warriors who had reached the Soul Sea Realm and there were even fewer women among the independent warriors. The warrior had clearly taken a fancy to Freya''s looks. When he saw how she followed behind Zen, a devious idea came to mind.


    Zen''s gaze turned cold instantly and faint killing intent flashed across his eyes when he heard the warrior''s venomous words.


    The martial artists that were initially participating in the auction had immediately stayed away from Zen as much as they could. These independent warriors were smart enough to know that Zen was in deep trouble.


    All the while, they wondered who this young man was.


    For someone who was just at the Spirit Supreme Realm, he behaved so arrogantly. Anyone could guess that he would end up in a miserable state.


    Most of the independent warriors thought the same as they looked at Zen.


    These guys were all swordsmen. Some of them had even gone bankrupt crossing over supreme worlds just to get here. It was all to enter the Sword Manor and climb up a level in the swordsman''s path.


    But much to their dismay, they realized that they had to spend money to earn the qualifications needed to enter the Sword Manor. It was quite a disappointment.

 Chapter 1734 The School Leader

    Everyone on the platform looked down on Zen.


    The auction of the nine-star sword tokens was already a matter approved by the Sword Manor. Even life vitality jades obtained from the auction would be handed over to the manor according to a certain percentage.


    These were the set rules of the Sword Manor.


    Any trouble Zen seemed to be stirring would be met with his quick extermination.


    Many of the warriors guessed that he was probably an independent warrior without a backer. This made it easier for them since nobody would question the death of an insignificant independent warrior.


    Freya was currently feeling extremely guilty. She had once again brought trouble to Zen, but she didn''t really have a choice. Even if she didn''t bring him to the market tonight, he wouldn''t be able to get a nine-star sword token from the Breeze Sword School tomorrow either.


    A shiver went down her spine when she noticed the strange gazes of the warriors. However, she didn''t say anything. She merely stood to the side and waited for Zen to make his move.


    "Will you give your servant girl to me?" the warrior on the platform asked. He knew Zen would not be willing to do as he asked, and he was really just making fun of him. He knew that the young man wouldn''t dare make a move in here.


    If Zen was someone capable and powerful, then why would he need a nine-star sword token to enter the Sword Manor? That place was very welcoming with geniuses who came from major powers. There would''ve been no need for tokens!


    Anyone who had to compete for the nine-star sword token was most likely an independent warrior.


    "Ha-ha!"


    Zen sneered as he gave that warrior a piercing glare.


    He didn''t really want to cause any trouble either. All he really wanted to do was follow the path set by Supreme Lord Sword in order to advance his swordsmanship.


    Unfortunately, that wasn''t possible.


    It seemed he would have to represent Supreme Lord Sword to teach these guys a lesson.


    However, just as he was about to make his move, a thick, malicious aura burst forth from his body.


    Fighting was strictly prohibited in the market, and not many people were willing to break the rules. This was why nobody really panicked when a slender figure shot out of Zen''s body and zoomed towards the platform.


    The warriors were initially relaxed. However, their moods took a turn when the arrival of this figure plunged their hearts down to their stomachs. The air around them felt stifling as if they had drawn the ire of someone they should never have messed with.


    The slender figure that zoomed towards them was none other than Lavender.


    Her reaction was somewhat strange.


    Ever since Zen had returned from the Illusion Battlefield, he had noticed her being more quiet than usual. She was very hap


    ight of one hundred feet since the air restriction barrier would be triggered.


    However, these three were evidently not affected by the restriction. The one on the lead looked really angry. "Who dares to cause trouble here?"


    "He is a Spirit Transformation Realm warrior," Zen murmured to himself.


    Had it been before, Zen would''ve already hightailed it out of there. However, he now more or less had the strength to fight against a Spirit Transformation Realm warrior.


    The thing was, there were three Spirit Transformation Realm warriors.


    This market was originally under the jurisdiction of the Breeze Sword School four or five miles away. This distance was nothing to a warrior.


    Nobody would dare cause trouble here under normal circumstances.


    One of the people who rushed over was the leader of the Breeze Sword School while the other two were higher-ups of the Sword Manor.


    Keane, the leader, was a short-tempered man and quickly turned black in anger when he saw three of his men unconscious. He quickly unsheathed his sword and slashed out a sharp cyan sword light towards Zen''s direction.


    There was no hesitation on his part. He aimed at Zen for the kill.


    The people in the market all cried out and fled in different directions. Getting caught in the middle of this fight would only lead to their early death.


    Keane''s temper was notorious. Watching this fight would be interesting but putting their lives on the line wasn''t really worth it.


    Those further away couldn''t help but sigh.


    "That man is still so young. It''s a pity he''s going to lose his life like this."


    "Meh! Does he really think he could stroll around here causing trouble left and right without paying a price? He is arrogant and he deserves to die!"


    To the independent warriors present, causing a ruckus in the Sword Manor was equivalent to suicide.

 Chapter 1735 Zens Identity Was Revealed

    The cyan beam of light was so powerful. It felt as if it could split open space!


    This wasn''t anything out of the ordinary though, considering that the Breeze Sword School leader was at the Spirit Transformation Realm. His inner world was already mature and his powers were understandably daunting.


    "Humph!"


    Zen huffed and raised his hand. The Thunder Wind Divine Sword released a slash of its own, countering the opposing cyan beam.


    Sizzle...


    The moment the two sword radiance beams collided, the surrounding space split into huge fragments. These fragments were visibly torn with their edges looking as if they had been bitten off by a large, celestial dog.


    For this attack, Zen only used around eighty percent of his strength but it was enough to annihilate that cyan beam. He hadn''t even employed the Chaotic Gods-intimidating Strike yet.


    The immediate vicinity was currently deserted since those who had been standing nearby immediately ran away to avoid getting in the middle of the crossfire. However, they maintained a close-enough distance to still watch what was happening.


    The Breeze Sword School leader was famous for his hot temper but they didn''t need to be afraid since he wasn''t mad at them. All of them wanted to see what would happen to this young man that had the unfortunate fate of angering the master.


    Zen''s counter of the master''s attack shocked many in the audience.


    This young man was only at the early stage of the Spirit Supreme Realm but he was already able to counter the Breeze Sword School leader''s powerful attack.


    "How is this possible..."


    "He''s only at the Spirit Supreme Realm but he blocked the master''s sword so easily.."


    "Is he an ace talent from some great power?"


    Zen had encountered quite a few ace talents back in the Illusion Battlefield.


    However, the chances of encountering an ace talent here outside the Illusion Battlefield were actually very low. There were 100, 000 supreme worlds and no more than 1000 ace talents in the universe which meant the probability of encountering one was actually less than meeting a Saint Lord of a sacred place!


    "He can''t be! Why would an ace talent need a nine-star sword token to enter the Sword Manor? If he really was an ace talent then the Sword Manor leader himself would''ve personally come out to greet him. Moreover, he''d be backed by Supreme Lords!"


    "Then who is this fellow..."


    The Breeze Sword School leader was equally surprised at what just transpired.


    A person at the Spirit Supreme Realm who could withstand and counter his strike must not be looked down upon. Zen must at least be an ace talent if he was able to do that.


    The leader began to feel a bit strange especially since he noticed Zen''s composure which meant he hadn''t used his full strength!


    However, this was still his territory and the effective counter of his strike just served to both humiliate and annoy him. He pushed aside all his earlier thoughts and prepared to give Zen another strike, this time using his full strength!


    Just as he was about to raise his hand though, a powerful arm grabbed him!


    "Keane, no." It was the senior steward of the Sword Manor! He was Caiden Han who was responsible for communications with other sword schools outside of the Sword Manor.


    During the Illusion Battlefiel


    thought to themselves.


    However, they noticed something strange about this arrangement. ''Since you''re Zen, what did you need this nine-star sword token for? You could go straight to the Sword Manor and nobody will stop you!''


    The two continued to fume in their minds but did not dare show it in their faces. They hoped to the high heavens that Zen would let them go otherwise the Breeze Sword School leader would blame them and that would be their end.


    One of the warriors was still unconscious and he was the one who dared to ask Zen to give Freya to him. If he knew the young man''s true identity, there was no doubt that he would faint again instantly.


    Zen''s cold expression softened, however, his mocking tone told them of his still apparent annoyance with what just happened. "I have long heard of the Sword Manor as a sacred place for independent warriors. I did not know it would be a place that was so hard to enter. The warriors don''t rely on their insight or passion in swordsmanship, instead, they rely on the life vitality crystals in their pockets. I wonder what Supreme Lord Sword would think if he knew about this. When he comes back and sees what the Sword Manor has become, I''m afraid he will be very disappointed."


    His words echoed in the minds of the independent warriors present.


    They had trekked all this way because of their obsession with swordsmanship and their hopes to further hone their sword techniques in order to obtain a more powerful sword intent. However, once they arrived, they quickly discovered that they must spend their life vitality jades in order to gain entry to the Sword Manor. They felt extremely disappointed.


    Caiden Han''s eyes lit up from Zen''s words. Instead of focusing on the fact that he just shaded the Sword Manor, he was more concerned with the implication of what the young man said: Supreme Lord Sword still hadn''t died.


    As he thought about this, his expression grew even more sincere. "The mechanism of obtaining the nine-star sword token is indeed improper! I will report this to the senior leaders in order to make the necessary adjustments. Since you have come all this way, it may be best to come to the Sword Manor and have a chat!"

 Chapter 1736 Meaning

    Zen had only wanted to teach the practitioners of the Breeze Sword School a lesson that they would not forget. He hadn''t planned on taking their lives.


    Caiden''s sincerity somehow managed to calm his anger, so he decided to let their rudeness pass.


    ''But what can I do with these two nine-star tokens?'' he wondered to himself.


    He knew that Caiden would lead him directly to the Sword Manor, so the sword tokens were no longer required for him to be allowed entrance.


    After careful consideration, he placed the two sword tokens on the platform and addressed the warriors who had been curious at the commotion, "I''ll leave the sword tokens to you. You may compete for them through fair sparring matches to see who deserve to take them."


    Elated, the warriors cheered excitedly upon hearing his words.


    There weren''t many of them present at that time, so they all had a good chance of obtaining a nine-star sword token. For these independent warriors, several hundred life vitality jades were a great fortune. They could instead save the money up to obtain more resources for cultivation!


    Zen was astonished at the warriors'' fervent reaction at his words. Freya, on the contrary, just smiled softly and followed behind Zen quietly as he approached Caiden.


    Caiden handed each of them a token that had a divine texture. It exempted the bearer from the no-flight ban surrounding the Sword Manor.


    Ordinary people were restricted from flying at high altitudes in the area. The only people who dared to fly highly around the Sword Manor all had great backgrounds.


    Predictably, the headquarters of the Sword Manor was the enormous sword that Zen and Freya had observed earlier.


    This gargantuan sword was actually a huge building. Even for martial artists, this building was indeed a colossal feat of architecture. It must have taken thousands of years to fully complete this building.


    After some time, Zen was finally shown to the top floor of the huge building.


    The colossal sword seemed to be stabbed into the ground, so the so-called top floor was at the very end of the hilt. From the perspective of an observer from afar, it looked like an emerald jade pearl was inlaid into the hilt of the sword.


    When he got closer, Zen realized that this jade pearl was much bigger than what it seemed to him. It was almost the size of a hill. Its smooth surface was polished to a shine, and its inside was hollowed out skillfully into a large room. It was, no doubt, a masterpiece.


    Noticing Zen''s look of total amazement, Caiden explained, "Actually, in the very beginning, the Sword Manor was located in the city. This sword-like building was erected after Supreme Lord Sword had already made himself known throughout the universe."


    Zen nodded in acknowledgment. In this universe, the Supreme Lords had the highest level of


    reme Lord Sword was an integral part of the Sword Manor.


    "It''s true that Supreme Lord Sword is still alive," Zen repeated. "As for his Crown of Destiny, it must have disappeared because he is no longer a Supreme Lord."


    "What happened to him?" Finch asked incredulously.


    "He has become a True God," Zen smiled as he proclaimed the words.


    "What?!"


    "This is even more impossible!"


    "A Supreme Lord can never become a True God!"


    To become a True God in the universe, one must fulfill the condition of being a Godly Genius first.


    After the Supreme Lords carried the Heavenly Destiny, it was impossible for them to cultivate to become a True God, as the Heavenly Destiny already bound them to this universe. They could only cultivate to reach the limit in this universe set by the Heavenly Destiny, but they could never exceed that limit.


    The world lords found this to be more unbelievable than the fact that Supreme Lord Sword was still alive.


    Seeing their puzzled expressions, Zen shrugged his shoulders and recounted to them all that he had observed in the Hall of Causality.


    "If you still can''t believe me, I can prove the truth of my words with this," Zen raised his arm to show them something.


    Soon, a sword-shaped mark materialized on his arm.


    When Finch and the two old men laid their eyes on the sword-shaped mark on Zen''s arm, their facial expressions changed at the same time.


    Zen was dumbfounded. Their astonishment was so exaggerated, it was almost comical. After all, they were three dignified world lords.


    Zen still hadn''t realized the importance of the sword-shaped mark at that time.


    He thought it was only a token of the Supreme Lord''s message so that his safety was ensured when he entered the Killing Sword Mountain to hone his swordsmanship.


    However, to the Sword Manor, this sword-shaped mark meant a great deal more than that!

 Chapter 1737 Whispering Sword

    As world lords, Finch and the two elders behind him knew the rules and restraints better than Zen.


    A Supreme Lord had become a True God?


    Such thing had never ever happened before.


    This was why it was hard for them to believe that it was possible.


    World lords could become True Gods. Though the chance was very small, there was a few possibilities.


    However, after a Supreme Lord bore the Heavenly Destiny, this possibility would be eliminated because they would never cross the current round of heavens.


    However, this time everyone in the universe had already seen how Shania crossed the restraints of the heavens easily.


    The rules and restraints might be rigid, but people were flexible.


    Sword Chen was a talent from the Sword Manor, and he might be able to break these rules.


    Zen himself could not figure it out.


    He knew that Sword Chen had become a True God only because he had seen Sword Chen have a position in the Corridor of Emperor.


    Maybe the key was in the Emotion Closing Godly Way cultivated by Sword Chen.


    "I wonder where you got the news from. Have you met Supreme Lord Sword before?" Finch asked.


    Zen nodded and said, "That''s right. The reason I came to the Sword Manor is because I have talked to him once. And I want to continue to cultivate my sword intent here."


    Seeing the world lords still had some doubts, he raised his arm to prove the truth of his words.


    A bright-blue light emitted from a sword-shaped mark on the upper part of his arm.


    This sword-shaped mark was inscribed into Zen''s arm by Supreme Lord Sword.


    Finch did not speak. The two elders behind him suddenly cried, "Whispering Sword!"


    "How on earth did you get that?"


    Though these two elders had lived for many years, as world lords, they didn''t have the demeanor that the world lords usually had.


    When Zen stood up, Freya followed him. She found the world lords'' shocked faces funny.


    The world lords were the ones who controlled one supreme world each. How could they be so uncool?


    It had not been too long since Freya ascended to the Upper World. Moreover, she spent most of her time in the fairy palace, so naturally she didn''t know that these three people who had taken charge of the Sword Manor were not ordinary people, especially Finch, the head of the Sword Manor. Not only was he considered to be very strong among the world lords, but he could also be compared to the grand world lords of the great forces.


    If he wasn''t here, it would be hard for the Sword Manor to manage such a situation without Supreme Lord Sword. Freya was also wondering what the Whispering Sword was.


    Zen was also puzzled. He looked at the three world lords, hoping that they would give him an answer.


    He originally thought that the sword-shaped mark was just a token of Supreme Lord Sword. Seeing the reaction of t


    obody knew what to say anymore.


    The Whispering Sword was the most notable heritage of the Sword Manor.


    According to the rule established by Supreme Lord Sword back then, if he died, the next master of the Sword Manor must acquire the Whispering Sword to open the gate of the Killing Sword Mountain. Only in this way could one officially inherit the Sword Manor and become the new master.


    Finch didn''t have the Whispering Sword. He was just the acting leader.


    The Whispering Sword hadn''t appeared for so many years. Nobody worried about it and had gradually forgot about it. No one questioned Finch as their leader.


    After all Finch had made so many significant contributions to the development of the Sword Manor all these years.


    Now someone had suddenly showed up with the Whispering Sword. Everyone felt a rush of emotions at this scene.


    This was not the root of the problem.


    The biggest factor to consider was that the one who possessed the Whispering Sword was Zen.


    If an unknown warrior had taken the Whispering Sword to the Sword Manor and expressed a desire to inherit the Sword Manor, the elders of the Sword House would have immediately chucked the warrior out, or even killed him.


    But this was no ordinary warrior; it was Zen. So this was a different and slightly complex situation.


    The crisis of the world of chaos was approaching and no one could escape the imminent disaster.


    Warriors who had participated in the final battles at the Illusion Battlefield would take up the responsibility to help everyone go safely through this crisis of the universe.


    The crisis might come in ten years, or in a hundred years and for the warriors in the universe, there wasn''t too much time to prepare for it.


    If the top warrior of the Illusion Battlefield became their new master, it would benefit them a lot. It was this conflict that had everyone tongue-tied.

 Chapter 1738 The Gate

    These people were not interested in Zen''s strength, but the potential that he had in this world of chaos.


    After the battle in the Illusion Battlefield, all the major powers would train the ace talents and Godly Geniuses as their families'' successors.


    In truth, many of the major powers had already made preparations for the world of chaos before its advent.


    The Sword Manor had selected three core talents for training. Among them, they had selected an ace talent. Unfortunately, the warrior had been eliminated at the second stage itself.


    Any power would definitely be willing to accept an unaffiliated Godly Genius like Zen.


    Now, he had suddenly made an appearance at the Sword Manor on his own with the old manor master''s seal of Whispering Sword. Strictly speaking, this was a good thing for the Sword Manor!


    But at this point, the master of the Sword Manor was Finch!


    Currently, he was in charge of the Sword Manor; and while he was a righteous and benevolent person, people were selfish.


    He had managed the Sword Manor for so many years, and had always been extremely cautious and very diligent, but now a Spirit Supreme Realm kid had run over and was about to take over the Sword Manor with the old manor master''s imprint. It was a difficult decision for anyone to take in a short period of time.


    The group of elders from the Sword House waited silently in anticipation for Finch''s judgment.


    An uncomfortable silence and a palpable tension hung in the air at the Sword Heart Pavilion.


    Finch understood the concerns of these subordinates ¡­


    Suddenly, his expression changed and a completely relaxed look appeared on his face. After mulling over it for a moment, he said, "I took over the position of the manor master only to fill in the vacancy and act as an agent for the old manor master to keep the manor functioning normally. According to the old manor master''s command, the person with the seal of Whispering Sword was to become the manor master. Now that that person has appeared, I should follow the old manor master''s orders and hand over the reins to him. However..."


    He paused for a moment before continuing solemnly, "Zen doesn''t seem to know the significance of the Whispering Sword seal. He only came here to hone his sword skills. Will he agree to our request? Or rather, the old manor master''s request?"


    Obtaining Supreme Lord Sword''s Whispering Sword seal meant getting responsibility of the enormous Sword Manor. This was an extremely prestigious matter. Any independent warrior would have been thrilled.


    But Zen was no ordinary warrior. He was the champion of the Illusion Battlefield as well as an independent warrior. Many sects would most likely do everything in their power to recruit him.


    The people from the Sword Manor didn''t know much about Zen''s experience. They assumed that he already belonged to some sect.


    "Humph, the lad has received Supreme Lord Sword''s seal, so he has to agree even if he doesn''t want to!" said an elder sternly.


    "Yo


    ndered for a moment, shaking his head. "I also entered the Killing Sword Mountain in the form of a soul, but I have never entered it in the form of a physical body before ¡­"


    Everyone present had entered the Killing Sword Mountain before, but they had not truly entered it. This was because there was only one way to open the door, and that was by using the Whispering Sword.


    As they continued onward, the gorge became narrower and narrower. In the end, it was only wide enough for one person to pass through at a time. Everyone else followed suit and flew in a line.


    After advancing a bit more, the canyon suddenly widened again. By now the thread of skylight had completely disappeared. Someone had taken out a Glint Pearl in order to provide some light. They had stepped into a huge cave!


    "Grrr..."


    Just then, a low growl was heard, followed by the sound of chains shaking in the darkness not too far away from the group.


    Following the ray of light, two colossal creatures appeared in front of everyone! The two monsters lay prostrate on the ground. Their huge heads were covered with red spikes. They looked sinister and terrifying. At this moment, two monsters had already raised their heads. Their crimson eyes revealed hostility, as they glared at everyone like they were going to attack if anyone from the group took one more step forward.


    Freya''s face instantly turned pale, and she couldn''t help but cower behind Zen.


    "Don''t be afraid," Zen said in a soft voice, assuming that since Finch had brought him here, these two vicious beasts shouldn''t pose too much of a threat to them.


    "These are the Baleful Celestial Hounds, the watchdogs of the Killing Sword Mountain," explained Finch. He then took out a red flute from his pocket and began playing it lightly.


    The Baleful Celestial Hounds retreated when they heard the lively sound of the flute, and not far away, a huge door appeared. From the door came a strong malicious aura, as if a hellhound was sleeping at the door.

 Chapter 1739 Dig Through

    Confusion was written all over Zen''s face as he continued to walk. Why were they currently in this poorly lit place?


    They should be headed for the Killing Sword Mountain, not in this cave. Alas, there they were.


    He thought for a while. Maybe the Killing Sword Mountain was inside a cave?


    They stopped in front of a huge door that was bluish-grey in color, its surface carved with various exquisite patterns. A thin layer of dust had accumulated on the patterns'' grooves and creases, as if it had been deserted for a very long time.


    Although Finch had never entered this giant door before, he was still very familiar with the surroundings outside.


    With a casual wave of his hand, a strong gust of wind blew past, and swept away all the dust!


    With the dirt out of the way, the patterns on the giant door were now fully visible. Zen saw what appeared to be a large spider carving, which seemed to have thousands of legs. Apparently, the patterns he saw before were the spider''s textured legs.


    He was honestly surprised to see the patterns.


    Back when they had stepped foot inside the cave, a strange aura permeated the surroundings. Even the huge door emitted such a menacing aura as well.


    However, warriors who practiced sword skills were usually honest and moral, since immoral doings would affect their own sword hearts.


    Now, Supreme Lord Sword was probably the strongest swordsman in the universe, but why did he set up such a door?


    Zen couldn''t help but feel something strange, but he gradually began to speculate.


    The supposedly mysterious Killing Sword Mountain was said to have many huge secrets. But if the present clues were any proof, Zen gained nothing from those secrets.


    Thus, Zen thought that the secret might have something to do with the fact that Supreme Lord Sword became a True God as well as the thing that Shania had mastered.


    "Zen, you can go in now." Finch pointed to the center of the gate, where the head of the spider sculpture was. "According to the manor leader''s instructions, those who carry the Whispering Sword need to put their arm into the mouth of this spider sculpture to open the door."


    Zen glanced at the vivid and almost realistic spider''s head. A pair of compound eyes, which shone with a strange glow under the light of the Glint Pearl, seemed to be carved from the many precious stones. He felt that he was face to face with a real, thousand-legged spider and not a relief sculpture...


    After Zen nodded, he floated over to the spider''s head and extended his arm inside it, while he simultaneously activated the sword-shaped mark on his arm.


    "Crack!"


    At that moment, it was like something had been triggered as the spider''s mouth closed, and bit down on Zen''s arm!


    Yet Zen didn''t dodge because he thought


    Sword Mountain?


    Since Supreme Lord Sword had asked him to come here and temper his own swordsmanship in order to correct his final flaw in the Emotion Closing Godly Way, there had to be something that he did not know about.


    As Zen floated on top of the mountain, he thought for a while, before he looked at the Killing Sword Mountain with raised eyebrows.


    "The malicious aura!"


    When Zen hadn''t found anything on the mountain, there was an intense, murderous aura within the cave. The malicious aura turned out to be from inside the Killing Sword Mountain!


    Did that mean he had to go inside the Killing Sword Mountain?


    As Zen thought more of it, he didn''t hesitate anymore.


    "Swish! Swish! Swish!"


    Three rays of sword light intersected with each other, and formed a triangle on the mountain peak. He didn''t use much power, and the sword light only reached about 10 feet below the mountain peak.


    Once that was done, Zen stabbed his sword to the side and with a slight budge, he pried out a piece of broken mountain rock from the mountain peak.


    The moment Zen pried it off, he felt a majestic, malicious aura burst forth from the gap he had made. He could almost see the red mist, which came along with a strange fragrance.


    The fragrance smelled very sweet even if it smelled like blood, but not too repulsive.


    Then, he discovered that the bottom half of the soft, clay-like soil was actually bright red in color. It looked like it was a mixture of blood and dirt.


    "Just what is this Killing Sword Mountain?" Zen asked, truly perplexed. His face twisted into a more serious expression. He launched three sword strikes, and then the three rays of sword light travelled downwards even further. Soon enough, the hole he had dug up started to cave in, and it seemed like he had successfully bored through the Killing Sword Mountain.

 Chapter 1740 A Spatial Maze Array

    The Killing Sword Mountain was hollow.


    Right at the opening, Zen stood as he looked down.


    A deep, red light shone from inside the structure, hindering his view.


    In Zen''s pupils, a jade-green light was shining. After his eyes had been cleansed by the sap from the divine tree, he could clearly see what was hidden over long distances away. But even after looking at it once more, he couldn''t see it quite clearly.


    Although Zen had sensed a strange aura from within the cave since he entered, he didn''t turn back.


    Without much thinking, he stepped into the opening and descended from the top of the Killing Sword Mountain.


    At this point, the man was bearing much pressure.


    The malicious aura coming from within the mountain was so thick that it seemed nearly solid. At a glance, it looked like some kind of red mist in strange shapes as if there were all sorts of demons and ghosts circling around Zen. Strange cries came from them as well.


    When Zen tried to listen more carefully, the sounds faded away as if they were mere illusions.


    Whoosh!


    Suddenly, he felt a black shadow pass over his head.


    "What is it?"


    Instantly, he turned alert. Although he was undoubtedly a bold, courageous man, he had just reached the Spirit Supreme Realm¡ªhe wasn''t invincible.


    When he lifted his head to see what the black shadow was, he sent his senses outward to scan the area.


    But the rich malicious aura from the cave was affecting his perception. Perhaps he truly was hallucinating, immersed in the malicious aura.


    The atmosphere felt too dense. If he stayed there for too long, he feared there would be unpredictable consequences.


    With this thought, he decided to speed up. And soon, he landed on the ground. The Killing Sword Mountain was located in the belly of a mountain range and Zen was right in its core. One could imagine the pressure he felt.


    Just as he reached the ground, he heard a panting sound.


    Puff! Puff!


    When Zen turned around, there was no one there. The area was still thick with a blood-red malicious aura.


    With the Thunder Wind Divine Sword in his grasp, he chose a direction and continued on forward. But after taking only two steps, he heard the panting once again.


    Puff!


    The moment he heard it, Zen turned right around and suddenly thrust his sword forward.


    Disturbed by the sword light, the malicious aura around him started churning like a demon.


    Whoosh!


    When the sword light shot out, it submerged into the endless malicious aura, hitting nothing.


    Skeptical, Zen narrowed his eyes and c


    ugh it, it could probably split the Killing Sword Mountain apart. It might even be able to penetrate the mountain from outside.


    But Zen had underestimated the spatial maze array, or rather, he had underestimated the Killing Sword Mountain itself.


    If it was so easy to destroy, who could the sacred place stop, relying on the bronze door? If that were the case, any warrior at the Spirit Supreme Realm could easily force their way in. But the secrets of the Killing Sword Mountain were far beyond Zen''s imagination.


    The sword light faded away as though it had sunken into an endless space, disappearing without a trace.


    The large, blood-red face was split into two by his sword, but it quickly merged back into one and slowly approached the ground.


    Just then, Zen discovered that apart from the top of his head, there were faces that made people''s hair stand on end appearing in every direction, approaching Zen.


    "Give me the spear," Lavender said.


    With a flick of Zen''s finger, the Saint Killing Spear shot out from his space ring, falling into Lavender''s hand.


    Whoosh!


    "Shadowy Spin!''


    Lavender''s spear strike was sharper than Zen''s sword strike, but it didn''t seem to be of much use. From the attack, only a large hole was bore through the blood-red face. It didn''t suffer any significant damage.


    "Use thunder," Lavender instructed firmly.


    Then, a sliver arc as thick as a wrist shot out of the Thunder Wind Divine Sword.


    Pah!


    Thunder and lightning were evil''s natural enemies. The lightning shot out suddenly and struck one of the huge faces. The massive face then began to sway. It looked pained under the constant swaying in the air as it emitted a terrifying roar.

 Chapter 1741 A Black Shadow

    The deafening roar reverberated through the air around the Killing Sword Mountain like an evil spirit.


    It seemed like the huge faces were no different from evil spirits.


    If Zen was facing this alone, he would have definitely been terrified.


    But as Lavender was with him, Zen felt more confident. After all, two people were always better than one, even though her presence was just spiritual.


    As he realized that lightning somehow had an effect on these giant faces, Zen decided he needed to deal lightning damage to them.


    The Thunder Wind Divine Sword contained three kinds of sword techniques. Aside from the Nether God Shadow, it could also produce wind blades and lightning.


    Zen poured his chaotic energy into the sword. Countless shadow whips were formed from it, and they lashed crazily at the gigantic faces in the air.


    Pak! Pak! Pak! Pak!


    The enormous face nearest to Zen suffered the most damage from the strikes of lightning, and was finally dissipated into a cloud of malicious aura.


    This scene bolstered Zen''s confidence even further.


    The only thing that worried him at the start was that he didn''t know if these faces could be affected by anything. Since he had already seen that they could be destroyed by lightning, then defeating them wouldn''t be hard.


    The faces were floating towards him at a very slow pace. Even though they were numerous, Zen had a lot of time on his hands.


    After just a couple of minutes, all the huge faces surrounding Zen had been eliminated.


    "That was great!" Zen breathed out a sigh of relief. A look of tranquility passed on his face. "Now, I can focus on finding a way out of here."


    As soon as he finished the sentence, he noticed that Lavender was looking at him in a strange way. Then he realized that her gaze was not directed at him, but at something directly behind him.


    "Ahem! Ahem!"


    Zen immediately turned around and saw a huge head with a gaping mouth, which had attempted to take a bite out of him.


    The head''s facial features were similar to those of the giant faces that had attacked him before; but when they were compared, the giant faces seemed like they were made as masks for the head, as if the head was the original.


    Whoosh!


    Before the bite landed on his skin, Zen shifted and evaded instinctively using the Eight Smoky Melodies. Simultaneous with his retreat, a long whip of lightning slithered out of the Thunder Wind Divine Sword and continued to thrash the head.


    The way that those strange eyes stared at him gave him a weird feeling.


    Zen had expected from the start that l


    e, he also noticed that the black shadow''s speed was decreased significantly.


    "It''s strange, huh?" Lavender asked.


    Zen nodded his agreement, his expression becoming serious again. This black shadow strangely seemed to be intentionally guiding him forward.


    ''I wonder where this thing is taking me?'' he thought to himself.


    The intricacy of the situation in the Killing Sword Mountain baffled Zen''s mind. The black shadow might be leading him intentionally to a more desperate situation, so he was wary of being in dire trouble.


    ''Is this black shadow really leading me forward to help me? Where does it want to lead me to?''


    Just as these thoughts crossed his mind, Zen pulled to a stop. Likewise, the black shadow also stopped in its tracks, about a hundred feet away from him. It seemed to turn its head back to look at him.


    With the thick malicious aura separating them, Zen wasn''t able to clearly see what the black shadow''s form was. But he definitely saw a pair of shiny green eyes staring back at him on the head of the black shadow, scaring him a little bit. He felt a sudden impulse to kill the black shadow immediately, but he wasn''t able to because of its speed.


    Zen stood in confrontation with the black shadow for a while. He really needed to have at least an inkling of what the black shadow''s intention was.


    Thus, Zen began to gather strength in his legs. If he wanted to catch this thing, he planned to take it by surprise.


    Angling himself slightly forward, he suddenly unleashed his potential as he sprinted towards the black shadow. But at the same time he dashed towards it, the black shadow pulled away from him with an incredible speed. This reaction speed was extraordinarily fast.

 Chapter 1742 The Faces And The Murals

    Zen was like an arrow that left the bow swiftly as he dashed forward at an astonishing speed!


    The speed of the shadow wasn''t slow, either as its malicious aura disappeared in no time. It appeared to turn around and concurrently speed forward.


    But it seemed that their distance never got close.


    It was as if this black shadow had trained in Eight Smoky Melodies too. It was able to maintain the distance between the two of them at around a hundred feet.


    Zen refused to believe this. The principle of the Eight Smoky Melodies made it nearly impossible for the distance to be that far. The space between them could have been three inches, five inches, or even more, but it could never be ten feet.


    One in front and the other flying behind, the surrounding terrain also underwent a change.


    Round holes that were about three feet wide continuously appeared in the ground as malicious aura continued to surge out from them, making them look like geysers. Only, what came from these holes was not spring water but malicious aura.


    This malicious aura became increasingly thick until one could only see what was in front of them!


    Sadly, Zen was unable to lock onto the black shadow in this environment and lost its track quickly.


    "I lost it," Zen said, stopping.


    As she floated behind Zen, Lavender keenly surveyed the surroundings and said with a face full of shock, "I never thought that the Killing Sword Mountain would have such a peculiar sight. How was it created?"


    Though seeing the scene made Lavender a bit puzzled, her profound knowledge was more in-depth than that of Zen.


    Pop! Pop! Pop!


    The balls of malicious aura looked as if they were being spat out by the behemoths.


    For quite a time, Zen had been submerged in the Killing Sword Mountain. And now, he was affected by the malicious aura as a restless feeling arose within his heart.


    "Still not right. This malicious aura is coming from deep underground?" Unable to find the shadow, Zen landed next to a hole, and taking advantage of the interval, looked down inside.


    Much to his surprise, Zen vividly saw a face.


    To be more accurate, it was not a human face, but one that looked like that of a fiend from the abyss with a pair of fangs covering its upper lip!


    The eyes in that face were tightly shut, as if they were lifeless.


    Not long after, it suddenly opened its mouth!


    Zen quickly retracted his head, and a thick pillar of malicious aura spurted out from the hole.


    "What did you see?" A perplexed expression plastered on Lavender''s face.


    Zen silently pointed at the hole with a strange expression. Soon after the pillar of air stopped, Lavender also looked inside the hole.


    With a single glance, her face also underwent a drastic change. Lavender possessed a sword spirit body, so naturally, she wouldn''t turn deathly pale like a real person. Howe


    e.


    In the mural, the gigantic beast was like a large ship. It opened its mouth and made a sucking motion, wanting to swallow the other countless creatures in the mural.


    Zen looked ahead and continued strolling forward when a second mural appeared.


    The creatures in the second mural seemed to be resisting with all their might. It was as if they wanted to kill this enormous beast. In the third mural, however, Zen noted that only the beast was present, while the other creatures had all disappeared.


    The murals were not difficult to read.


    It only implied that there were a lot of creatures resisting the gigantic beast. In the end, however, they failed and were recorded in the murals.


    These creatures must be real, judging from the lifelike carvings of the giant beast. However, after careful examination, Zen did not find a single human among them.


    There was not a single human-shaped creature.


    In the present universe, many intelligent beings had great ties with humans. They were ogres, Demon Night, Giants, and so on.


    They all possessed four limbs, a head, and a torso.


    However, the creatures in the murals were extremely bizarre in appearance, even more bizarre than some of the beasts.


    This hall, in particular, wasn''t constructed by humans. Why was it hiding here?


    Zen was deeply puzzled. He found himself having a hard time explaining and grasping even a single strange thing that he had seen right after he entered the Killing Sword Mountain.


    Lavender, on the other hand, clearly knew something, but she chose not to answer his question.


    Contemplating deeply this, Zen halted his steps in the darkness and opted to communicate with the cyan dragon in his mind.


    "Cyan dragon, do you know what place this is?" he asked.


    Cyan dragon had been quiet along the way. He did not utter a word when he encountered so many things. It was clear that he knew something.

 Chapter 1743 The Dark Room

    The cyan dragon did not reply.


    Zen took his silence to heart and felt very depressed.


    What was behind all these things?


    He knew that the answers weren''t going to just present themselves on a silver platter for him, so he thought it best to explore by himself.


    He decided to continue on with the Glint Pearl. Except for the murals, there didn''t seem to be anything else special about the hall.


    Zen soon arrived at a room at the back of the hall. There was a cracking noise as soon as he entered.


    It seemed he had stepped upon something.


    He looked down at his feet and saw a cloud of dust rise.


    Zen lowered the Glint Pearl and saw exactly what he stepped on. It was a skeleton, a human skeleton.


    This skeleton must have been here for so long that it turned to dust the moment someone stepped on it.


    He continued looking around, his gaze flickering under the light.


    There was more than one skeleton here.


    Numerous bones were scattered all over the place. Some were still complete, meaning that the corpses remained intact.


    Or it could also mean that all these people died here.


    A person''s body decomposed at a rate determined by the cultivation level.


    Those who entered the Killing Sword Mountain definitely had high cultivation levels since normal warriors would never be able to withstand the overwhelming killing aura along the way.


    After death, the skeletons of those who had been at the Soul Sea Realm and above would turn into bone jade and last for a very long time.


    However, bone jade did not last forever. Given enough time, the spiritual energy within the bone jade would drain completely, and the bone jade would start its degradation process. This took tens, even hundreds of thousands of years though.


    For these bones to immediately crumble under Zen''s weight meant that these corpses had been lying here for a very long time.


    Whoosh...


    Not wanting to crush any more bones, Zen opted to float two inches above the ground.


    This room wasn''t very big. In fact, it was only around 50 to 60 feet wide. He circled around and found no windows, only a pile of skeletons.


    There was nothing meaningful in here.


    His lack of discovery puzzled Zen.


    He had finally entered the Killing Sword Mountain but there seemed to be nothing here. That couldn''t be right. Besides, he wasn''t willing to leave this place empty-handed.


    Zen expected a trial, a challenge to test his skills. After the said challenge, he would then master the most important part of the Emotion Closing Godly Way and become a fully-fledged Godly Genius. It was all supposed to be simple and straightforward.


    This was the opposite of his expectations.


    He had gained nothing.


    "Check the center of the skeleton


    inted his eyes before closing them completely. He couldn''t see anything and opening his eyes might create an illusion.


    With his eyes closed, he released his perception and felt the movements around him.


    At least, that was what was supposed to happen. The moment Zen released his perception, an invisible wall seemed to constrain him and blocked it.


    "My perception is blocked!"


    Zen cursed. The sizzling sound now grew louder and ever closer.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    He thrust out his sword several times in a moment of desperation.


    The sword radiance should''ve been blinding but because of the Dark Law, all light was just immediately absorbed by the darkness.


    What made it worse was that each slash of his sword was the sound of something getting hit!


    Clang! Clang! Clang!


    The sounds seemed to be a couple of extremely sharp forces that flew in from all directions, but all of them were bounced back.


    What were the walls of this dark room made of?


    It would be pointless to ask that since Zen couldn''t see anything. All he knew was that if any of those sword strikes hit him instead, it would spell big trouble for him.


    He quietly activated the Eight Smoky Melodies as a precaution and stood still.


    Randomly dodging wasn''t going to be an option. That would be even more dangerous since he couldn''t see.


    All Zen could do was strain his senses to try and dodge the sword beams based on the surrounding energy fluctuations.


    However, this technique wasn''t going to be practical in the long run. If the sword radiance was directed at his face, then he wouldn''t be able to dodge it with the current level of his Eight Smoky Melodies. A direct hit would break through the three-inch boundary very easily.


    He could only resign himself to his fate. Fortunately, his fate was extremely lucky.

 Chapter 1744 Spiders

    The situation in the dark room turned chaotic all of a sudden.


    Some unknown creatures were approaching them. The creatures were unable to avoid Zen''s sword radiance. When they got penetrated by it, they let out ear-piercing hisses.


    Lavender too launched an attack and at the same time, the sound of light footsteps came from not too far away!


    Then Zen heard Lavender''s delicate voice¡ªit sounded as if she was fighting with someone in the dark.


    "Bang, bang!"


    In all this chaos, Zen slipped and started falling down rapidly!


    Zen was struggling to stabilize his body when he felt a powerful force catch him and pull him to one side. Soon after, several threads draped his body.


    He struggled against the extremely soft and flexible threads.


    "Clang!"


    The thunder and lightning began to accumulate on the Thunder Wind Divine Sword, but it was instantly repelled by something. With a clang, the sword fell to the ground!


    Only after the Dark Law lifted partially did Zen discover that he was lying on a huge spider web.


    The threads forming the web looked like they had been spun delicately from gold. He was bound by many threads, which firmly locked him in place.


    Not too far away, there was a hexagonal seal. Lavender was ensconced within the seal. She was still holding onto her spear!


    Suddenly something dawned on him at that moment. Had he fallen into a trap?


    He twisted his body with a sudden jerk, wanting to break free from the golden spider web. However, it did not have much effect on this kind of a flexible spider web, which molded and moved in sync with his body movements. Of course, it could also be that Zen was not strong enough. He was mightier compared to other warriors at the same cultivation level, but when facing really powerful masters, his strength was still inadequate.


    As he continued to squirm and wriggle, the number of golden spider threads multiplied, binding Zen tighter to the web.


    Lavender''s expression was uncharacteristically calm as she sat holding the Saint Killing Spear in her hand. Her composed manner gave Zen the heebie-jeebies.


    "Pa, pa, pa¡­"


    At this moment, footsteps could be heard once again.


    Zen looked towards the direction in which the sound came and saw a black figure. There was a small black shadow on the person''s shoulder. The person''s jade-green eyes emitted an uncomfortable light.


    When the figure approached, Zen furrowed his brows and said coldly, "Master Bi."


    Finch Bi seemed to have become a completely different person. He simply chuckled in response when he heard Zen''s voice.


    "Where''s Freya?" Zen asked with a frown.


    "She''s dead," Finch answered flatly.


    "Huff, huff¡­"


    An enraged flame rose in Zen''s heart as an enormous aura burst forth


    ¡­


    Lavender was a sword spirit form so she was not hurt too much, but her face didn''t look good.


    If Finch wanted to, he could completely obliterate Lavender''s soul. After the recovery of her soul, her strength had increased a great deal, but she was still unable to contend against a world lord. Not to mention that Finch''s strength was comparable to that of a grand world lord.


    Finch smiled wickedly, "Whether I have it or not is something that I will know only after trying. Moreover, I have been studying this damned place for countless years in anticipation of this very day! There is no omission in my arrangement, so I know that I won''t fail."


    Lavender did not utter a word. She only glared at Finch icily.


    Zen also realized what was going on. Finch was well aware that the inheritance of Supreme Lord Sword was located right below the Killing Sword Mountain. At the same time, it was not his first time in the Killing Sword Mountain. It was obvious that he had disobeyed Sword Chen''s orders long ago.


    Now he planned to obtain the inheritance of Sword Chen.


    But from the looks of it, the inheritance was not merely a trial, otherwise Finch would not have placed so much importance on it¡­


    So then what was it?


    Lavender seemed to know something, but she was not telling him.


    Zen was glum. All he could do was stay and watch as Finch busied himself in setting the place.


    Soon sizzling sounds filled the air.


    After Finch activated some mechanism, he heard something crawling once again. But this time, the sound was denser. It was as if there were countless small creatures crawling in all directions.


    Soon, Zen saw an astonishing scene.


    A large army of small spiders appeared from the cracks in the surrounding space. These spiders were dark red in color. A sea of spiders were surging towards Zen.

 Chapter 1745 The Corpse

    Zen was annoyed when he saw the mass of densely packed small spiders that spread like a bloody ocean towards him.


    He had faced a myriad of difficulties in the past, but he had never been so passive. Being caught off his guard while he fell into this particular world lord''s trap irritated Zen to no end.


    The only thing that comforted him was Lavender.


    Although Lavender did not tell Zen what was in her mind, he could tell from her attitude that Finch''s trick did not impress her.


    Finch also seemed to be wary of these small spiders. As he saw them spread out, he tapped his finger gently and dark red flames encircled him, enveloping his entire body.


    The wave of spiders ebbed like the tide as they climbed up the folds of Zen''s clothing.


    Zen looked at the fist-sized crimson spiders with distrust. There was a low probability that the spiders were harmful to him, and Zen himself was not afraid of being poisoned. Why did they gather beside him?


    While he was still lost in his thoughts, the small spiders climbed onto his body and sunk their sharp mouthparts into his skin.


    Zen did not expect that the spiders'' mouthparts were actually strong and powerful. His divine weapon body was not able to fight the attack, and the mouthparts embedded themselves deeply into his skin.


    The small spiders'' bloated bodies deflated instantly, and then detached themselves from Zen before tumbling down to the ground. Surprisingly, they were actually dead.


    All of the spiders did the same thing. They attached themselves onto Zen''s body, and seemed to inject a substance into him from their own abdomen, before they detached themselves and fell down dead.


    Zen observed his body for any changes, but he did not feel anything unusual. It baffled him. If these small spiders had injected him with poisonous venom, they wouldn''t have died immediately. Why did that happen?


    The process had lasted for about six hours.


    The number of small spiders crawling up Zen like a tide earlier had decreased. The spider corpses, on the other hand, had already piled up like mountains below him.


    As Finch saw that it was almost time, he sneered and flew upward. He grabbed Zen and dragged him off the golden spider web.


    At that moment, Zen couldn''t do anything but let Finch do what he wanted. He was also wrapped into a cocoon by so many golden spider silks; but even if he was free, he knew he still couldn''t match up to Finch.


    Finch crossed to the other side carrying Zen in his arms. After walking a short distance, he smiled faintly and gestured with his hand, making the hexagonal seal float down with Lavender and trail behind them.


    "You just need to endure it for little while, and your suffering will end soon," Finch sneered.


    He pulled Zen over to a corner of the space and a bron


    roach.


    Zen had already seen for himself that Sword Chen had become a True God, so when he saw his mortal husk, he was confused for a moment.


    Finch also seemed to be very confused by what they were witnessing.


    Zen''s Whispering Sword must have been entrusted to him by the old manor head.


    Therefore, when Zen told them that the old manor leader had transformed into a True God, Finch readily believed him. Now that he was suddenly faced with the old manor leader''s corpse sitting in this place, he panicked immediately.


    Finch tried everything he could think of in order to open the bronze door, but he never managed to break through it.


    Never had it occurred to him that Supreme Lord Sword would have met his demise behind this door!


    Only the warrior who possessed the Whispering Sword could have gained the thousand-leg spider''s consent and had been able to open the bronze door...


    Only Supreme Lord Sword could have entrusted the Whispering Sword to the warrior. However, it seemed that Supreme Lord Sword had died behind this very door.


    This formed a baffling paradox. If so, who had bestowed the Whispering Sword to Zen?


    Finch and Zen were both extremely perplexed, but at the same time, they could not help but also be extremely vigilant!


    Lavender sat a bit straighter within the hexagonal seal. She watched the scene unfold from a short distance away, and a faint smile slowly appeared on her face.


    The way she saw it, Finch''s behavior was very ridiculous.


    Winning the first place of the competition in the Illusion Battlefield wasn''t just for bragging rights. It also determined the future of the entire universe.


    Killing Zen wasn''t really an easy task.


    He would possibly die in an imminent catastrophe, but it was impossible to kill him there.


    Lavender wasn''t too surprised that they were facing this kind of accident.

 Chapter 1746 Corrosive Liquid

    Finch didn''t think of the corpse of a Supreme Lord as trouble.


    He was confused but also determined, given that he had planned this for so long.


    Finch was one of the earliest to have followed Supreme Lord Sword.


    No one knew where Supreme Lord Sword was from and how he had become a Supreme Lord.


    As an ordinary force, Sword Manor couldn''t foster a Supreme Lord.


    But the reason behind a Supreme Lord showing up in the Sword Manor was really simple.


    The Crowns of Destiny had been monopolized by the great forces in the universe


    like the ogres, the Thoughtless Minds, the Blessed Buddha Land and the Demon Night race.


    The difference in the strengths of a Supreme Lord and a world lord was huge. Even if weak forces were to obtain a Crown of Destiny, they would have no time to manage to carry the Heavenly Destiny.


    The Crown of Destiny would, at most times, be expropriated by the great forces, with the weak forces having no power to resist.


    This meant that a force was no longer weak once a Supreme Lord appeared within it.


    The Sword Manor had become one of the great forces because Sword Chen had become a Supreme Lord.


    When an ogre Supreme Lord had died and the Crown of Destiny had disappeared, the entire universe was a possible place for the crown to reappear. The ogres had to try their best to find the new Crown of Destiny and bring it back.


    Almost all forces had joined in the battle for the Crown of Destiny but Sword Chen had ended up inheriting it. Nobody yet knew what method Sword Chen had used to stop the great forces from fighting. Even the ogres had not attacked him, even though the ogre race had lost a Crown of Destiny for this one to appear.


    Finch could not figure out how Sword Chen could persuade the ogre and the other forces.


    Finch wasn''t the only one that was confused. Some Supreme Lords who weren''t participating in the fight were questioning this through the Roaring Tokens.


    But warriors from the great forces that had participated remained silent.


    Finch couldn''t figure out the reason, but he was getting there with his own deductions.


    The reason was probably amazing and its value was definitely higher than that of a Crown of Destiny. But what in the universe would be more valuable than the Crown of Destiny?


    The Crowns of Destiny were the ultimate possessions in the universe. On the other hand, to become a Supreme Lord was to become one of the strongest one hundred and twenty-eight warriors of the universe.


    Finch, who had been just a steward of the Sword Manor at the time, had planted a seed of curiosity, which had now grown into a massive tree. He had to find the answers.


    It seemed like Supreme Lord Sword had had a premonition of his death before he had left. So he had arranged his heritage ahead of time and put it under the Killing Sword Mountain.


    Finch had alread


    word and shook off the Corrosive Liquid on it. Finch seized the broken sword and brandished it.


    Was it the heritage of Supreme Lord Sword? Finch was ecstatic.


    "It doesn''t belong to you. Give it to Zen," a strange voice echoed.


    The voice sounded old and came from the direction of the corpse. Finch had been nervous since they had found the corpse of Supreme Lord Sword. Hearing the voice was the last straw and Finch, startled and frightened, lashed out with the sword.


    The sword light rushed toward the corpse and began to fold like a piece of paper. Once it had folded several times over, the sword light disappeared.


    Finch was aware that only a few people in the universe could withstand his strike. No one apart from the Supreme Lords and grand world lords could do that.


    Finch was still in shock but he decided to escape with the broken sword.


    He believed that this sword hid all of the secrets and that he would finally figure them out as long as he had the broken sword.


    He activated the Sword Step and rushed toward the gate. His Sword Step was much stronger than Zen''s.


    But he froze in the air while he was just a few feet away.


    An invisible force was controlling him, rendering him motionless.


    Lavender looked at Finch, not surprised at the scene because she knew that someone would do it. But she hadn''t expected the one to take action would be someone so powerful. It wasn''t an ordinary Supreme Lord who had done so.


    Finch struggled, panicking, but he couldn''t resist the force.


    "Who? Who''s that?!" he screamed.


    Sword Chen had passed away a long time ago. He might have set some traps, but it was impossible for those traps to control Finch like this.


    A figure slowly emerged behind Sword Chen.


    The figure was in fancy robes, embroidered with special golden patterns. Finch thought the patterns were familiar and wondered where he had seen them before.

 Chapter 1747 Malicious Aura

    Who was this old man¡­?


    Even though Zen''s strength had increased after returning from the Illusion Battlefield, he could only clearly feel that things around him seemed strange.


    It was as if he was being kept completely in the dark.


    But Lavender''s face explained everything. She seemed to have expected this, even though she didn''t say anything.


    The old man circled the corpse of Sword Chen, floating slowly in the air.


    Zen didn''t sense a very strong aura from him, but this old man''s aura was extraordinary, as if it had a very special affinity.


    As he slowly glided towards Finch, the old man gently reached out and the broken sword fell into his hand. "Catch it¡­"


    he said and tossed the broken sword towards Zen.


    "How can I catch it?" Zen asked holding up his hands in pain. They were just bones now, resembling the hands of a skeleton, but Zen had the astonishing ability to endure pain. If it was anyone else in his place, they would have surely passed out by now.


    He had even survived the torture of the chaotic energy, so such pain was manageable for him.


    Rumble¡­


    When Zen finished speaking, the broken sword hovered in the air.


    The old man looked at Zen''s hands and sighed, "You should have thought of a way to come to our Celestial Position right from the beginning. You ran around on your own and caused a lot of hassles. You are too much of a troublemaker."


    The old man let out a gasp. There wasn''t a single Soul Sea Realm warrior in the entire universe who appealed to dozens of Supreme Lords at the same time.


    It was not a big deal that Zen had landed on the territory of the Humanity Alliance in his ascension, but it was a bigger problem when he ran around over the place. He had proved to be an uncontrollable factor, making it difficult for the Celestial Position to lay out their plans.


    Zen should have made a trip to the Celestial Position before the Illusion Battlefield was thrown open, but he did not.


    This threw a spanner in the works for the Celestial Position. Xenia, a warrior from the Celestial Position was eliminated by Rocher, and Zen had something to do with it.


    "I''m still young," Zen replied with a smile. He had already guessed the identity of the old man. Back when he was trapped in the fairy palace, he got a message that the head of the Celestial Position, one of the most powerful warriors in the universe, had asked him to pay a visit to the Celestial Position.


    The old man stared at Zen for a moment and then nodded. "You''re right. And you young guys are the last younger generation¡­"


    "What does that mean?" Zen was dumbfounded.


    The old man smiled. "You will know in the future. Let me see your h


    ountain would temper my sword intent and help me enter the Emotion Closing Godly Way, but why have I not gained anything from the Killing Sword Mountain?"


    Zen''s primary goal after coming to the Sword Manor was tempering his sword intent. But now, he had obtained a broken sword that he didn''t know the use for. This was far from what Zen had expected.


    "Emotion Closing Godly Way? Ha-ha! Sword Chen is indeed a genius. He has already taught you the method," the old man said with a chuckle.


    "What method?" Zen was confused again.


    The old man pointed at Zen, "Malicious auras. Don''t you feel that your body has changed after being infused with them?"


    Zen thought for a moment. "Yes, but can these malicious auras help me enter the Emotion Closing Godly Way?"


    Moments ago, those countless small red spiders had turned into malicious auras and entered Zen''s body. What he did not know was that this was the last part of Supreme Lord Sword''s swordsmanship. Using the malicious auras to change one''s state of mind could make one more impulsive and determined, thus the person would charge forward bravely.


    The old man nodded. "When you can suppress and make use of these malicious auras with ease, you will be able to officially step into the Emotion Closing Godly Way. Keep practicing to control them; this is not difficult for you."


    "Suppress these malicious auras?"


    Zen frowned. Indeed he didn''t have a way to control these malicious auras. How would he suppress them completely?


    "Don''t make a fuss. Many cultivation methods that exist in this universe have malicious aura as the core. When you reach that step, you will naturally understand." The old man spoke in a matter-of-fact way.


    ''Sounds like I have to figure this out by myself, '' Zen thought to himself.

 Chapter 1748 Ultimate Truth

    The old man was going to leave with Zen, but the elders of the Sword House followed them.


    They were puzzled as to how Zen entered the cave alone but came out with an old man.


    What was more, they could sense that the old man was powerful. But who was he? Why and how did he show up in the forbidden area of the Sword Manor?


    "Zen, did you see Master Bi?" someone inquired.


    "Master Bi?" Zen shook his head and lied, "No, I didn''t see him."


    "That''s strange. We haven''t seen him since he left."


    "Could he have entered the Killing Sword Mountain?"


    "The Killing Sword Mountain is a forbidden area. How could Master Bi violate the rule?"


    Hearing their discussion, a faint sneer played on Zen''s face as he thought, ''Hah! Your Master Bi was sentenced to life imprisonment.''


    It appeared that the warriors of the Sword Manor didn''t know that Finch had entered the Killing Sword Mountain.


    While they were still discussing this, one of the two world lords of the Sword Manor stared at the old man and asked, "May I ask who you are and why you showed up in the forbidden area of our Sword Manor?"


    These two world lords were also in charge of the Sword Manor, second-in-command after Finch.


    According to Sword Chen''s order, no one was allowed to enter the Killing Sword Mountain except the one with the Whispering Sword. If the old man came out of the Killing Sword Mountain, it meant that he had disobeyed the rule.


    But these two world lords were knowledgeable.


    After all, they could tell this old man might be one of the Supreme Lords. No matter which Supreme Lord he was, they didn''t have the power to fight him, so even though they had asked politely, if he was unwilling to tell them, they could do nothing.


    If the old man was not powerful, they would have taken action.


    Facing the world lords'' question, the old man did not seem to mind. He smiled and said, "Something has been triggered in the universe, so I have to come here to take Zen away."


    "Take Zen away?" asked a bewildered world lord.


    "No, you can''t do that!"


    Both the world lords immediately shouted in panic. The faces of the elders present also grew serious.


    They had discussed all of last night and arrived at a decision.


    Finch had announced that whether or not Zen obtained Supreme Lord Sword''s heritage, he would be the new leader of the Sword Manor. And they would make him stay in the Sword Manor whether or not he accepted it, even if they had to force him.


    Everyone agreed with this decision.


    They naturally didn''t know that Finch had planned on not letting Zen leave the forbidden area alive. If Zen died there, Finch would have told everyone that he encountered some trouble and died in a trap. He would then shed crocodile tears and proceed to take Supreme Lord Sword''s heritage away and retain his position.


    Two world lords stepped forward.


    The elders of the Sword House also blocked Zen and the old man.


    Even if the old man was really a Supreme Lord, they would stop them in order to keep Zen from getting aw


    with all this information. After the Illusion Battlefield ended, he felt that everything had changed. It seemed that everyone was hiding something from him, and he was the only one who knew nothing about it.


    "It''ll depress you. One day you will know it." The old man continued, "Now that you have joined the Celestial Position race, I will heal your hands first. Then I will change your blood and restore Lavender''s soul. If she needs, we can give her a female body."


    "To be honest, I''d like to know the truth of the world first," Zen said, looking upset.


    However, the old man blatantly ignored his request.


    To join the Celestial Position race, the first thing one must do was to change one''s blood.


    Since Zen''s hands were severely damaged, they decided to postpone the change of blood and repair his hands first.


    Helping Zen regrow the flesh and blood was not difficult, but it was not easy to get a perfect recovery.


    Zen was put in the center area of the Celestial Position race. The icy blue palace was beside a peaceful lake with tall cedars dotting the lake shore. It was a quiet area.


    "The scenery is beautiful," Freya said with a smile as she stared into the distance.


    Zen was not interested in the wonderful scenery at all. He was thinking about what he was going to face later. The Celestial Position race seemed to have some plan, and according to what the old man said, Nathan was involved in it. But Zen''s appearance had upset their plan.


    Zen speculated that the Celestial Position race must have joined hands with the Thoughtless Minds, or maybe even other forces. It was not a tough guess to make. This crisis would engulf the entire universe, with no exception. So all conflicts were meaningless, and what they needed to do was to come together and survive the crisis.


    While he was still contemplating all this, the scene that unfolded in front of him in the next moment confirmed his speculation.


    He spotted Rocher and Xenia walking side by side toward him from the lake shore.

 Chapter 1749 Sixteen Grand Eras

    As soon as Zen''s eyes landed on Rocher, he smiled and floated in the air, before finally landing by the lake.


    Meanwhile, Freya followed suit and landed beside Zen.


    Zen was about to give Rocher a brotherly pat on the shoulder when Freya suddenly warned, "Watch out!"


    Zen was startled, but he also noticed that although the green item had temporarily replaced his flesh and blood, it was still very fragile. It might hurt if he accidentally crushed it.


    Thus, he raised his hands in surrender.


    Xenia stared at Zen''s hands and giggled when she saw his face. Her dimples dipped further into her cheeks, which was rather adorable. "Have you gotten used to the Illusion Battlefield and forgot to protect yourself? Look at you! You look really pitiful!"


    Since there were no actual deaths in the Illusion Battlefield, many martial artists unscrupulously used up their lives. They would eventually be resurrected anyway.


    They were still used to that after they returned to the real world. In those times, they wouldn''t panic during a crisis, but sometimes they would also get seriously injured. They might even get killed. And if they got killed in the real world, they would be dead. Only during then would they realize that they were no longer in the Illusion Battlefield.


    "I heard that you were injured, but I didn''t expect your hands to be like this," Rocher sighed.


    "That''s not important," Zen said, his lips curled. "I have a lot of questions to ask you."


    There was a trace of craftiness on Rocher''s face. "Zen, you can ask whatever you want, and I will answer all of them."


    However, Rocher rarely ever looked like that. He was a righteous man, but from his expression, Zen figured that he probably wouldn''t get what he wanted to know.


    Still, it was better to know something than nothing.


    Just then, Zen turned to Xenia and asked his first question.


    "First question, where did you get that page of the Sanskrit words?" Zen asked. At his first question, Xenia was stunned.


    She didn''t think that he would direct his first question at her. She blinked a few times, and then smiled. "Didn''t you want to ask Rocher questions? It''s not like I agreed to answer your questions."


    In the end, Xenia wasn''t one of those old foxes. Her eyes flickered with guilt, and Zen already knew what her answer implied.


    He stared at her before he shifted his gaze to Rocher. "It seems that you already know that I also have a page of Sanskrit words."


    Those Sanskrit words were quite special.


    All the Sanskrit words appeared on his body whenever he encountered the raging fire.


    Over ten years ago, Zen had once been exposed during the competition in the Cloud Sect.


    Moreover, with Rocher''s eyesight, he would never forget those Sanskrit words, just like how Zen had never forgotten Rocher''s sword


    situation completely different from Zen''s.


    "This crisis in the universe is different from what it was in the past. This crisis is related to both you and me, and the root cause is within the divine land. If the universe can''t overcome this crisis, then there won''t be a next grand era," Rocher stated.


    "There''s no next grand era?" Zen mulled over his words. He thought of what Master Feng had said. There wouldn''t be another young generation; they were the last.


    Rocher nodded and sat down at the mirror-like lake. Xenia sat beside him. Then Zen and Freya also followed suit.


    Apparently, Rocher did know a lot of things that Zen didn''t. However, Zen was also puzzled. Just where did he learn those from?


    His confusion didn''t go unnoticed by Rocher, who smiled at him. "I didn''t know in the beginning, either. I even knew less than you, but ever since I entered the savage land and saw the sixteen scratches on the mountain wall, I have learned a lot."


    "Sixteen scratches?" Zen asked, even more confused.


    "The names of the grand eras are all written under the scratches, respectively. Beneath the sixteenth scratch is the word ''Cosmos, '' the name of the current grand era."


    "This universe has undergone sixteen grand eras?" Zen asked. His eyes went wide at this piece of information.


    The Heavenly Fragment in Zen''s hand was a fragment of the previous grand era.


    Who drew those scratches? How did that person know this?


    If so, then that person had made a record of all the grand eras since the creation of the universe.


    If that person had experienced each of all the grand eras and drew a mark every time, did that mean that he had lived for 57.6 billion years?


    Needless to say, Zen was speechless. All of his experiences in his life combined were most likely just a hair''s width compared to what that person had experienced in a blink of an eye.

 Chapter 1750 The First Spy

    That unimaginable amount of time was enough to bring about massive changes to the universe.


    Time should have eroded the marks engraved on the wall of the mountain. It was impossible that they had been left unharmed for so long.


    Zen''s face dripped suspicion, and he quickly withdrew his conclusion.


    Rocher also shook his head. "No, the words on the wall of this mountain were not written very long ago. There are vines around the mountain wall, and although these words look very ancient, the vines have not hidden them. I suspect these words were carved there less than half a year ago!"


    Half a year...


    Someone had carved the words on the wall of the mountain half a year ago as a clue.


    Undoubtedly, the clue had been left behind for a certain someone. No civilization resided on the savage land, and only Rocher had been brought there by the Heavenly Sword Illustration.


    In other words, someone had carved the words on the wall of the mountain half a year in advance in anticipation that Rocher would discover them.


    When Rocher sensed Zen''s wariness, a helpless smile rose on his face. "They''ve always been by our side. Watching us."


    ''There are people watching me?''


    Zen felt a chill run down his spine.


    "From the moment you stepped out the door of the Luo Clan...no, from the moment you were born, they have been by your side," Rocher emphasized, his words a haunting lullaby.


    Coming from his mouth, the conspiracy sounded sinister.


    It was hard for Zen to believe that someone had always kept an eye on his every move. It was rather unbelievable.


    Seeing Zen''s look of disbelief, Rocher continued, "Didn''t you find it strange? You''ve had many coincidences in your life. You narrowly escaped death every single time. Some people would tell you it''s because of your good fortune."


    "Luck truly exists," Zen insisted, feeling even more confused now. Rocher was trying to overturn everything Zen had once believed in.


    Rocher smiled knowingly. A light wave of his sword had dozens of strikes pushing forward. Each sword strike then sank into the mirror-like lake.


    The lake had been tranquil, its surface like a mirror. Now disturbed by the dozens of sword slashes, many ripples appeared on it, instantly spreading in opposite directions.


    "I performed fifty sword strikes." Rocher was very fast in his moves. He seemed to be quivering in place, but he thrust out fifty strikes. Zen was able to count the number readily.


    "Which sword strike left the deepest mark under the lake, do you think? You have one-in-fifty odds of being right," Rocher said.


    The sword strikes had penetrated the surface of the lake and dived into the mud. How could Zen know which sword strike left the deepest mark under the lake? The


    but rather a poison aimed toward the soul. However, it could give a warrior a drunk experience. If one took the poison directly, their soul would immediately corrode. The Celestial Position members had used a special technique to tame it down and moderate the poison''s effect.


    Some martial artists were addicted to alcohol, but after their cultivation reached a certain level, they did not find any sort of wine effective. The Soul-burning Wine, however, was different and could make warriors drunk. But it was something that could only be encountered by chance and not sought.


    Zen felt as if the world was spinning around him. He could not help but sink into an uncontrollable, but freeing state. Nobody knew how many years he had gone without getting drunk. Soon, he fell into deep sleep by the lake.


    "Zen is drunk. I''ll take him so he gets some sleep," Freya said. She stood up, wanting to help him get to his feet.


    Rocher had also chugged a bottle of the Soul-burning Wine, but his eyes were still clear. His gaze shifted. What he had taken was only ordinary water.


    He stared straight at Freya, his gaze piercing her. "Which great world are you from?"


    Xenia also stood at Freya''s side. Tiny lightning bolts constantly danced on her fingertips, as if she was trying to prevent Freya from escaping.


    Freya''s face was blank and innocent. "I don''t know either... That great world doesn''t have its own name."


    Because there were a number of great worlds, some of them were often left unnamed. They only had their own numbers, so it was not astonishing that Freya''s world did not have a name.


    Rocher crushed the jade bottle in his hand with minimal effort. He did not trust her at all. "Tell me your purpose. I don''t want any strange people by Zen''s side. And if you don''t wish to tell me, you''ll just have to die."

 Chapter 1751 Heal

    On the surface it seemed as if Rocher had visited Zen to talk about the old days.


    However, his true purpose was to question Freya.


    Freya seemed to have appeared by Zen''s side by accident. She had left the Ascending Well with Zen, left behind a message rune to him, and then was found by Zen, all by coincidence.


    Rocher was unable to predict where those people might be, but he was able to find an abrupt clue to it.


    He truly did not have any evidence to prove that Freya belonged with them, but he could prove that Freya was not reliable.


    "You have no other choice, believe me," Rocher said in a frigid voice.


    Freya retreated a few steps, feeling betrayed and wronged. "I don''t have any intentions toward Zen. I just want to stay by his side. Why are you doing this to me?"


    Rocher stared fixedly at Freya as he searched for a reason that would betray her in her eyes. However, her performance was flawless, as though she had appeared by Zen''s side thanks to sheer luck.


    "I am grateful to Zen for saving me. As long as I can stay by his side, I am willing to serve him like a servant," Freya continued.


    The lightning in Xenia''s hands grew intense as she waited for Rocher to make the next move.


    Indeed, there was no way of questioning what Freya was saying. Rocher''s eyes were serene. He raised the Soaring Snake Sword in his hand and slowly swung it at Freya.


    The sharp point of the sword reached the center of Freya''s eyebrows and the extreme sword intent gave off a light silver glow. His sword intent was relatively mediocre and extreme, unlike Zen''s lively one. If Zen''s sword point was pointed at a person, that person would die under the threat of his sword intent alone.


    "I won''t give you another chance. Tell me. What is your goal?" Rocher asked, his face unreadable.


    No matter how powerful warriors were, they would compromise in the face of death, unless they truly did not care for their lives. Rocher wanted to drive Freya to the brink of death so that she would admit to her wrongdoings.


    In truth, he did not dare to kill Freya before he received irrefutable evidence.


    Previously, he had done a thorough evaluation of Zen''s character. Zen''s talent was greater than his own, but he was like a simple child. He had full trust in the people around him.


    Freya had been by Zen''s side for a long time. If he killed her, its impact on Zen would be immeasurable. He needed unquestionable evidence to incriminate her, so his words just now about killing her were mere threats.


    However, Freya''s performance was far better than what Rocher had imagined.


    Even in the face of death, she did not reveal any signs of panic. Her tone was very decisive


    n made Zen''s heart sink. Had Rocher tried to bully her? He pushed that thought out of his head. He knew very well that Rocher was a very upright person. He would not be so dull as to bully Freya in Xenia''s presence.


    "It''s nothing. Zen, can I not talk about it?" Freya asked pitifully.


    Zen was confused to see her in this state, but he did not pursue the matter further. He told himself to ask Rocher about it at a later stage.


    However, Master Feng had brought him here and told him to wait. He did not know where Rocher had gone, so he could only wait until he appeared next.


    The scenery here was pleasing to the eye. Although Zen was not in a good mood, he experienced rare moments of comfort. Sometimes, his mind went completely blank as he enjoyed the flowers with Freya by the lake outside.


    Three days later, more people began to arrive one after another.


    They were all black-robed Celestial Position warriors and made off after leaving behind a few things.


    These were all rare and priceless medicinal herbs. It was impossible to put a value to them.


    Even Zen, who had seen many rare treasures in his lifetime, could not help but suck in a sharp breath when he saw the herbs. The Celestial Position was indeed so rich in treasures that it was hard to imagine it.


    After this, three black-robed persons arrived, seeming like leaders. They were all world lords.


    They introduced themselves as important figures in the Celestial Position, each of the three proficient in healing warriors. Their means and methods were among the best in the universe.


    One of them checked Zen''s arm and frowned. "As a general rule, Corrosive Liquid corrodes all things. It is a miracle that your bones have not yet corroded, but I have to say that it will be harder to heal your hands."

 Chapter 1752 Repairing Hands

    It wasn''t very difficult to treat the injuries on Zen''s hands.


    He also had some pills to help regenerate his muscles, but the reborn flesh and blood would be quite different from his original flesh and blood.


    In the beginning, Zen thought that they would give him some sort of magic pills.


    However, the only reason they had come here was for one thing, and that was to get exceptionally accurate measurement.


    This measurement included the fracture of Zen''s muscles as well as the thickness and width of his bones.


    After busying themselves for four to six hours, the three warriors left.


    Freya and Zen were also confused, and wondered whether this group was really there to help him.


    One day later, the leader of the group returned and took Zen outside. He measured the distance and then walked a dozen steps out of the door. "Come over here."


    Zen walked over and stood in the spot indicated by him. He did not know what was going on.


    Although he had passed the Celestial Position race''s examination, he did not know much about the race and the methods they used.


    The warrior grabbed Zen''s arm and adjusted his position. Then, he nodded mysteriously, took two steps back and made a gesture towards the sky...


    The cloudless blue sky suddenly filled with dark clouds. Within the layers of dark clouds, two stripes of green lightning streaked across the sky, like two green dragons that flashed faintly across the clouds!


    "Crack..."


    Zen gazed up at them and barely had time to react before the two green bolts of lightning descended and landed on his hands!


    The powerful force of lightning caused Zen''s hair to stand on end. Even his thoughts came to a halt, rendering him incapable of thinking.


    Zen was aware that some kinds of thunder and lightning actually contained a powerful life energy. These streaks of thunder and lightning could give birth to life in the Soul Sea. However, he did not expect the Celestial Position to use this method to cure his hands...


    The meridians in his hands stretched out endlessly, crawling all the way from his arms to the back of his hands. They were like small worms that coiled around the back of his hands and followed the crevices of the bone on his fingers, extending all the way to his fingertips.


    They continued onward spreading to his muscles, tendons, skin, and so on.


    Zen felt a tingling sensation in his hands and was unable to exert any strength. Apart from this, he also felt an invisible force twisting his hands, and preventing him from falling to the ground.


    After the streaks of green lightning were exhausted, the power suddenly disappeared. Under the sudden whipping of the lightning energy, he, too, fell to the ground, temporar


    y calmed himself down. No matter what, the right to choose was in his hands. Perhaps his fate would be secretly influenced by some force, but in the end, he would still solve the mystery.


    His gaze rested on Lavender again.


    Even though she was curled up into a ball, her beautiful figure was not hidden. Her thick eyelashes fanned out like a pair of paintbrushes and trembled.


    Lavender was straightforward. In the past, her behavior had not been strange. She had stayed with him and helped him progress in cultivation, and in return he would help her ascend to the throne once again.


    Now it seemed that the matter wasn''t as simple as it appeared.


    Lavender''s previous words were a bit obscure, as if she was hiding something, particularly Elena''s motive for killing her.


    According to her, Elena was preparing to directly make a move on her, but what was her motive? If she really was to going to gain control of the entire Demon Night, then Elena also needed to kill Latonia. However, Latonia was safe and sound all the time.


    Latonia was certain that Elena wanted to monopolize the Demon Night, but she still dared to reincarnate and turned into Shania. She didn''t seem to be afraid of Elena''s methods.


    This was a very contradictory situation. It didn''t make any logical sense.


    After Lavender woke up, Zen would have a good, long talk with her. He thought that she wouldn''t hide such matters from him...


    "Zen, have some spirit tea," Freya uttered, serving Zen a cup.


    Zen took the teacup from Freya. However, instead of taking a sip, he just kept staring at Lavender. He didn''t notice that Freya, who stayed behind him, looked hesitant. She wanted to say something, but on second thought, she changed her mind. Her black eyes, like two stars in the night sky, were gleaming in a strange way.

 Chapter 1753 Exchange Blood

    The purple smoke from the incense burner seeped into Lavender''s body bit by bit. As it did, her aura grew stronger.


    The scene drew Zen in and he wanted to see what was burning within the incense burner. Looking down, he saw a purple crystal as it was being burned by a thin wisp of flame.


    "It''s the Candle Dragon Crystal, made from dragon oil. The condensed crystal is very precious and effective in repairing the soul." The cyan dragon''s voice resounded in his head. "The value of this small piece of Candle Dragon Crystal is nearly that of a supreme divine weapon."


    "You finally spoke," Zen remarked.


    Once, the cyan dragon served as Zen''s beacon of sorts, guiding him along his pursuit of the martial arts. But lately, the dragon had been silent.


    The creature knew that Zen was rather upset about it, but he merely smiled and said, "An ant wants to climb a mountain. If it does not look up and keeps going upward blindly, it will one day cross it. But if you let the little ant know the height of the mountain right away, I think that it will lose the courage to cross it."


    Zen knew that the cyan dragon was talking about him.


    Indeed, knowing what he''d be facing ahead of him could do him more harm than good.


    But still, that didn''t stop Zen''s curiosity.


    "Things progressed much quicker than I expected," the cyan dragon sighed. "But that''s also good. Soon, you''ll start exchanging your blood. When you become a member of the Celestial Position, many things will be revealed."


    "Why must I change my blood? To join the Celestial Position?" The thought made Zen frown. "Can I refuse?"


    Although the Celestial Position had done Zen some good, he didn''t particularly like this kind of mysterious feeling¡ªhe always felt like he was in the dark, as if everyone was hiding some sort of conspiracy.


    "You have to exchange your blood, but this has nothing to do with you joining the Celestial Position," said the dragon.


    "Can''t you explain it to me? Clearly?" All he wanted was the truth¡ªZen didn''t want to be stuck in the dark any longer.


    "The blood of the Celestial Position race is very special. It will increase your strength and more importantly, it can hide you from others."


    And the people he was referring to were probably those whose identity couldn''t yet be revealed. His response made Zen''s eyes roll¡ªhe simply couldn''t be bothered to find out who these people were. In any case, the dragon wasn''t going to tell him anything, even if he asked.


    Getting a sense of Zen''s emotions, the cyan dragon immediately said, "They''ve made a move against you before. They probably thought they have already destroyed you¡­ In truth, you really shouldn''t have gone to the Illusion Battlefield to fight for the champion. It was too conspicuous¡­it put the Celestial Position in an awkward situation too."


    "They''ve made a move


    These seven warriors were grand world lords or Supreme Lords. One could only imagine just how shocking their auras were when all of them gathered together.


    A single Supreme Lord''s soul pressure alone was enough to weaken or even destroy Zen''s soul, let alone seven of them.


    But these seven didn''t use such means to suppress Zen¡ªthey were only expressing their emotions with it.


    But even so, the overwhelming auras still came crushing down on Zen. His face instantly turned pale while Freya''s legs grew weak before she fainted.


    Seeing her pass out, Zen''s eyebrows furrowed.


    "You old guys must watch your manners! How could you do this? They''re only kids!"


    With a casual wave of his hand, a warm breeze blew over the area.


    Suddenly, Zen felt the pressure on him lighten, letting him bend down and help Freya up.


    Although he knew that these people were the top-notch characters in the Celestial Position, their actions left Zen with a negative impression.


    The others glared at him coldly.


    Right after he got there, Zen heard these people were opposed to the idea of him having some special blood.


    But they couldn''t change Master Feng''s mind and naturally, they had to keep a straight face in front of Zen.


    The Celestial Position warriors'' gold blood was divided into three types¡ªSky Origin Blood, Earth Origin Blood, and Human Origin Blood.


    Most of the Celestial Position warriors exchanged their blood for Human Origin Blood, and a small number of them could exchange theirs for Earth Origin Blood.


    But when it came to the Sky Origin Blood, the Celestial Position had only inherited enough for two warriors. Many years ago, they had used one and now, the leader wanted to give the last one to Zen. How could the Supreme Lords and grand world lords be happy to hear the news? Naturally, they were determined to stop the head of the race from handing anything to Zen.

 Chapter 1754 The Sky Origin Blood

    Zen originally had doubts regarding the blood exchange.


    But when he looked at the people around him, the expressions on their faces strengthened his resolve to go through with the blood exchange.


    "Master Feng, we agreed that we would perform the blood exchange today. Can we start as soon as possible?" Zen asked with a humble smile.


    Master Feng felt a headache earlier when he was interrogated by these people. His head further throbbed when he thought that he would probably still have to persuade Zen into exchanging his blood. He was surprised that Zen proved to be willing to perform the ceremony. It exceeded his expectations.


    "Brat, are you really sure you''ve thought this through? The Sky Origin Blood is an extraordinary thing. If your body can''t handle it, you may bleed to death. It''s very powerful," one of the Supreme Lords said in a cold voice.


    A warrior nearby immediately chimed in, "Ordinary martial artists don''t have the capacity to handle it at all; it might be better if you think about it again!"


    Zen strode into the center of the great hall and swept his gaze over these strong warriors.


    Under the scrutiny of these powerful warriors, any ordinary young warrior might be flustered and might even be unable to stand steadily on their own feet. But Zen was unaffected; he had already encountered Supreme Lords and even faced them in battle.


    Zen smiled at them. "My Lords, do you think I''m an ordinary warrior?"


    As the words left Zen''s lips, the expressions on the seven warriors'' faces all froze. They realized that no warrior that championed the Illusion Battlefield could be ordinary.


    Master Feng snorted in disdain. He told the warriors, "At such a critical moment, why do you only care about the Sky Origin Blood?! You only see the step in front of you. You never think on a larger scale. You are too narrow-minded..." He then turned and addressed Zen, "If you are already sure of your decision, follow me."


    With that, Master Feng walked away and entered the inner hall. Zen nodded his head in affirmation and followed Master Feng into the inner hall. He had asked Freya to accompany him. The Supreme Lords and grand world lords exchanged a few glances between them before following their leader into the inner hall.


    The inner hall had a strangely unique structure. The center of the floor was deeply caved in, with a circular structure that spiraled upward like a staircase.


    "Stand in the middle of the room," Master Feng instructed Zen.


    Zen acknowledged with a tilt of his head, before he descended into the spiral on the ground and stood in its center.


    The small number of Supreme Lords knew that they could not do anything to dissuade him, so they just stood on the side to spectate. On the other hand, Freya leaned onto a corner, staring downwards at Zen.


    "The Sky Origin Blood has tremendous power. It is up to your body if it can contain the blood


    ed them that Zen was able to absorb the Sky Origin Blood quite smoothly.


    The last person who had absorbed the Sky origin Blood was Master Feng himself. During that time, he was already a world lord and he was exchanging the Earth Origin Blood for the Sky Origin Blood. But even then, the leader had suffered such tremendous pain.


    During the blood exchange ceremony, he wasn''t able to stand the pressure and he had almost destroyed the entire hall.


    However, seeing Zen''s reaction, they wondered why he had absorbed the Sky Origin Blood so easily.


    The Supreme Lords looked at each other, surprised expressions in their eyes.


    "Don''t you find it strange?"


    "Yes. It is as if this kid''s original bloodline is the Sky Origin Blood. It''s amazing that he didn''t have any problem absorbing it¡­"


    "Ha-ha, that''s impossible."


    Zen wasn''t able to hear their discussion, as for that moment, he truly felt like he was about to explode.


    Every inch of his body exerted a tremendous amount of pressure, pressing outwards! His physical body was like a jar that was containing that enormous pressure within it.


    The enormous pressure tortured Zen extremely. If only he could chop himself open into two to relieve the pressure!


    But Zen''s physical body was uniquely one-of-a-kind.


    At that moment, his body''s special ability came into play. As the immense pressure built up within his body, it turned into a warm current once again. It was the primordial energy...


    When refiners forged weapons, a portion of primordial energy would be produced by each strike of the hammer. The primordial energy constantly flowed around the weapon, so that the weapon was continually strengthened. Be it a fairy weapon, a sacred weapon, or a divine weapon, their abilities might be different but the same principles were still applicable. Even the supreme primordial weapons followed the same rules. The only exception was the supreme chaotic weapons.

 Chapter 1755 The Information In The Blood

    "He''s surprisingly able to bear the pain," a Supreme Lord said. His cold yet slightly impressed voice echoed against the walls.


    Their eyes gravitated towards Zen''s thick meridians, and they were sure that the Sky Origin Blood still raged fiercely within his body. Zen on the other hand had no choice but to endure it.


    If it wasn''t for his inhumane physical strength, he would''ve exploded by now.


    "He''ll need at least a few days if he wants to keep the Sky Origin Blood for his own use. Let''s see how he endures it," chimed another voice.


    Right after the words died down, Zen''s eyes shot open. His face had been ghostly pale a few moments ago, but it had now returned to its normal state. He even gave everyone present a faint smile.


    The warm current in his body, also known as the primordial energy wrapped around his meridians and continued to resist the Sky Origin Blood''s erratic energy.


    Although the immense force didn''t disappear, Zen had managed to suppress it.


    It meant that even if Zen looked terrifying at that moment, he was actually no different from a normal person since the energy in his body had reached a balance.


    "Amazing!" everyone around him exclaimed.


    The Supreme Lords gawked at Zen as if he was a monster, completely at a loss for words.


    During this period of time, the Celestial Position had changed several people''s blood. Four of the top ten warriors in the Illusion Battlefield had changed their blood into the Earth Origin Blood, which was different from Zen''s. To them, it felt like a walk into the jaws of death.


    In reality, Zen was able to move. He didn''t really need to bear the pain at all, but he had to remain in his position and absorb the Sky Origin Blood first just to be safe.


    After what seemed like ages, the Sky Origin Blood finally subsided. It was as if a berserk beast had exhausted all its energy within Zen''s body. The snake-like meridians around his limbs calmed down and shrunk as well.


    At last, Zen had changed his blood into the Sky Origin Blood.


    At that moment, he felt his entire body was filled to the brim with a unique power.


    The power was completely different from the dragon scales''. He had borrowed the power of the dragon scales in many fights, but t


    y shrugged.


    "She''s still on the way. Aside from Shania, the other nine must all be here," he said.


    Zen just nodded. He would eventually find out along the way, regardless of the Celestial Position''s motives. However, he noticed that Rocher''s gaze was transfixed on Freya, but with a hint of hostility.


    He then remembered what happened after he got drunk. He was curious, so he brought it up.


    Freya who stood beside him balled her hands into fists. She tried to keep calm, but her nervousness betrayed her. She knew that Zen would mention it sooner or later, but she didn''t expect for it to be so fast.


    However, Rocher simply smiled and said, "Zen, you were drunk. You must''ve misheard."


    "Oh really?" Zen said as his eyebrows creased.


    But he wasn''t sure either, so he could only hope to keep it out of his mind.


    In reality, Zen didn''t actually know what Rocher was up to even until now. His friend who used to never lie to others, now hid so many things from him. Rocher had more secrets than half of what he said last time, which made Zen feel that he was becoming increasingly mysterious.


    The Sky Origin Blood had undergone some subtle changes in Zen''s body recently. Aside from the strong power, there was also something else lurking within the blood.


    Some races, such as the Genuine Dragon and the Genuine Phoenix hid important information within their blood. Then, the information within their blood would be passed onto the next generation when they had grown up.

 Chapter 1756 The Eruption Of The Malicious Aura

    The information in this blood was extremely vague and too difficult to understand.


    Zen was completely immersed in his thoughts when he began to hear a voice suddenly start to whisper in his ear.


    The voice was so soft that he had to try his best to make out the words as he also deciphered the information.


    Lone also came here a few days later. He was extremely pale and was already complaining as he arrived. "Why do I have to get my blood changed? I almost died!"


    He had not been born in a large clan. The only thing he trusted was his sword and he had no intention in going to the Celestial Position. Therefore, it was normal for him to be rude.


    All the other martial artists couldn''t help but agree with him. The process of blood exchange was indeed painful and required an incredible amount of suffering.


    With the arrival of Lone, that only left Shania and Margaret.


    Zen was quite looking forward to Margaret''s arrival. However, he was also quite worried. He had received news of Letitia''s ascension through searching the memories of the great world but he had no idea which supreme world she ascended to. Once he dealt with all his affairs, he would immediately set out to look for her.


    With Zen''s current prestige, he knew it would be easy for him to find out where she ascended to. So long as the supreme world she managed to stay in belonged to one of the great forces of the human race, then Zen was sure to find her.


    The only thing he could do now was to wait for Margaret''s arrival and see what Master Feng''s next move would be.


    However, all this waiting was making him bored.


    Nathan was the same. He spent his days finding a large enough rock to sleep on with his burly figure exposed.


    Lawson, on the other hand, was going a bit crazy. He would often seek Nathan out to tell him jokes. However, Nathan would already chase him away before he even got to the punchline.


    Rocher usually cultivated every day but he would find the time to chat with Zen every now and then. He was probably the one who knew the truth amongst all of them but he kept his mouth shut whenever he felt he was about to talk about something important. These were secrets, and Zen had no way of persuading him to reveal any of them.


    The most relaxed out of all of them was surely Lucille.


    She mostly spent her days reading in a comfortable corner, immersing herself in her fantasy books. If she got tired of reading, she''d look for Zen and ask him to tell her some other stories.


    Fortunately, Zen was never short of interesting tales courtesy of the great world''s memories. It was easy for him to find a good story to tell her.


    As he narrat


    n method of malicious aura?"


    This kind of cultivation method was merely comprised of dangerous evil skills. It could be completed within a short period of time but it was impossible for it to be completed successfully since the collapse of a warrior was inevitable. Nobody who used this method was destined for attaining a higher cultivation level. In fact, a practitioner of this method could never hope to achieve even a quarter of what Zen had already attained in this life. There was no way someone like Zen used this kind of cultivation method.


    "It is just the cultivating way," Rocher repeated.


    Zen remembered feeling restless but that was it. The situation confused him greatly. Could he perhaps take advantage of this feeling to cultivate the Emotion Closing Godly Way and activate the last lotus petal? It seemed impossible but both Rocher and Master Feng said so. There didn''t seem to be any other choice for him since he also didn''t seem to have the capability to expel the malicious aura.


    Only a day after that, Zen''s malicious aura burst out again and it was even more vicious this time. The warriors could only suppress him once more.


    It was quite a strange scene. One minute they''d be intently listening to Zen''s stories, but the next minute they''d be on guard against his sudden attacks.


    After six or seven days, the Celestial Position members finally arrived with Margaret.


    She looked extremely pale owing to having her blood changed. If she knew it was going to be that painful, then she would never have agreed to it. She only did it for the sake of reuniting with Zen.


    She had just arrived when she saw a small crowd surrounding Zen and attacking him. She immediately screamed and charged down in anger when she witnessed this scene.

 Chapter 1757 Summoning For A Gathering

    In the past few days, whenever the malicious aura containing the poison exerted itself, Zen''s actions became more violent than before.


    But gradually, he too came to understand the thoughts of Sword Chen.


    To cultivate the Emotion Closing Godly Way meant completely discarding one''s emotions. However, there had been times when even the Buddha got angry. It was simply unrealistic for a martial artist, who was nonetheless a living being, to completely discard all feelings.


    The only other way for Zen was to be like a hard stone. Then, he would truly be ruthless and heartless.


    There was almost no such thing as the absolute Emotion Closing Godly Way. Zen''s talent was supreme, and he had gradually approached the Emotion Closing Godly Way merely by relying on instinct, but there was still some way for him to go.


    Sword Chen had helped Zen with a special technique to fill in the gap.


    The special malicious aura had been created by Sword Chen himself. By using the malicious aura to fill one''s body, one could turn themselves into a ruthless killer.


    In this state, Zen completely withdrew all his emotions, his perception of external things dropping infinitely.


    At this moment, he did not even know if he was human, ghost, or a different entity altogether.


    This was why he had launched an attack on anyone he saw when the malicious aura exploded. Whether it was Rocher, Lucille, or even Lawson, whom he despised, he targeted all of them and attacked them undiscriminatingly.


    When he was no longer influenced by the fluctuation of his emotions, he would close off his emotions. To put it bluntly, Zen would become heartless like a stone. He would only know how to kill, uncaring of his reasons for killing, or the consequences of killing his opponents.


    Master Feng should have expected this long back. He had thrown him into this scenario and let him do whatever he wanted. The other warriors were not so easy to mess with anyway, so nothing bad could happen to them.


    However, at this stage, Zen was not familiar with the malicious aura enough to sever his emotions correctly. He could abandon his emotions when he was in a frenzied state, but he was unable to control himself.


    As he went berserk time and time again, Zen''s consciousness gradually grew independent.


    At the beginning, he had been like a primal beast. After losing his consciousness, he charged toward Rocher and the others purely on instinct.


    Now when Zen''s eyes had become bloodshot red, he could control his own actions to a certain extent.


    As soon as Zen gained control on his emotions, he would step into the Emotion Closing Godly Way.


    Zen was able to draw and wield his sword multiple times in quick succession, but he was still unable to employ the Gods-intimidating Strike. Rocher and the rest had gotten used to Zen''s madness in the past few days. They seemed to be treating it as a form of practice. Whenever they sensed that Zen growing abnormal, they would step away an


    u know that it was dangerous for you to act like that?"


    Just now, he had almost killed Margaret with his sword. Zen himself was shocked.


    A look of grievance appeared on Margaret''s face, like she was a child being scolded for having done something wrong. She knew her fault, and she did not dare refute him. "I didn''t see what you were doing¡­"


    Seeing Margaret''s pale face, Zen knew that she had gone through a blood exchange. His eyes softened. She had good intentions. There were too many people in this world who wished only to do good, but often could not help but do harm instead. Some of them even lost what they had in the process.


    Zen was about to reprimand her, but he bit back the words on his lips and reached out to touch her hair. "Next time, don''t act like this."


    "Okay¡­" Margaret pursed her lips and nodded. A bright smile made its way to her face. She stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around Zen''s waist, inhaling his scent.


    Zen knew that Margaret''s promise was only perfunctory. She never learned her lessons by heart. He heaved a sigh helplessly¡­


    As Nathan and Lawson saw this scene before them, they both sneered at the same time.


    Currently, except for Shania, all the top ten warriors of the Illusion Battlefield had arrived.


    But there was no news yet from the Celestial Position.


    Margaret wished that no one would come to disturb her. She felt strange about Zen''s way of cultivating Emotion Closing Godly Way. She joined the others on the second day when Zen went out of control. However, she was more of a troublemaker and soon was asked to stay by the sidelines to watch.


    Zen''s control over his state was getting better and easier. It was only a matter of time until he became a Godly Genius.


    Finally, the Celestial Position sent someone over. Master Feng summoned the nine warriors for a gathering.


    In the past few days, the Celestial Position had been making plans, and now it was finally time to see what they were up to.

 Chapter 1758 The Meeting

    Everyone had been stuck here for quite some time now.


    At Master Feng''s summons, Zen realized that he could finally leave this damned place.


    The Celestial Position warrior led the way. Then they met Xenia and continued their journey with her.


    The journey this time felt strange to Zen and his companions. It was as if someone was following them. Xenia brought everyone into the spatial passageway, then left it, and then repeated this over and over again dozens of times.


    They then entered a large city and once they arrived at a certain residence, began to dive deeper into the cellar. Only after going through a thousand turns of the underground passage did they finally reach their destination.


    The massive underground cave had a number of artificially carved marks on its walls. Many Celestial Position warriors were shuttling back and forth, looking very busy, as if they were on the brink of completing something.


    Bronze pillars over ten feet wide stood at the end of the cave. They weren''t supporting the cave, neither did they seem to be able to bear the weight.


    Nathan and Lawson were already impatient.


    "Xenia, what do you plan to do by bringing us so far underground?" Nathan asked.


    Xenia turned to glance indifferently at him. "We''re almost there. You''ll know soon enough."


    Once they had passed the bronze pillars, Nathan''s eyes lit up and he rushed forward.


    Just beyond the pillars were a series of oval-shaped steps, and on these steps stood over twenty people.


    These people were the strongest existences in the entire universe, all Supreme Lords who could change the entire universe.


    Nathan had become excited because he had seen the patriarch of his clan. "Patriarch!" he exclaimed.


    Supreme Lords were divided into different levels based on their strengths.


    Nathan''s father, the Supreme Lord of Original Sin, the Xuanyuan Clan chief and the leader of the Thoughtless Minds was at the highest point.


    The patriarchs of Lucille''s and Lawson''s clans stood alongside him.


    Supreme Lord of Original Sin only nodded towards Nathan and said rather flatly, "You''ve arrived."


    Nathan was a little intimidated on seeing so many Supreme Lords standing together and did not approach them. He simply stood together with Rocher and the others.


    Lawson and Lucille also greeted the patriarchs of their clans. This seemed to be an important meeting, what with so many Supreme Lords gathered here. And this meant that as juniors, they were requir


    r figure well.


    "The sorcerer race was cursed and no longer a powerful force. We''ve always ignored them, but there is one point that we cannot even compare," the woman continued.


    "Supreme Lord of Oracle, what does that mean?" the patriarch of the Ji Clan asked.


    ''So this is the Supreme Lord of Oracle, '' Zen thought, his eyes glinting.


    The Supreme Lord of Oracle was the leader of the Humanity Alliance. Who would''ve thought that it would be a woman?


    Supreme Lord of Oracle''s eyes flashed. "They aren''t humans or ghosts, but they are, without a doubt, the race that understands the universe the best. No one in the universe can compare to them, not even the Celestial Position race!"


    Master Feng nodded. "Supreme Lord of Oracle is right. Although this sorcerer race is cursed, they have survived so many eras that they definitely know more about the universe than us. If they want to cause trouble, it will be a headache for us too!"


    "Even if that''s true, it will be, at most, a mere headache. But all of you act as if the universe itself were about to perish!" Supreme Lord Mathias said coldly.


    Supreme Lord of Original Sin, on the other hand, said, "Our opponent is not only the sorcerer race."


    "Then who else is?" Supreme Lord Mathias was angry. His race seemed the slowest, as if they didn''t know anything.


    "Gods. True Gods," Master Feng answered.


    Supreme Lord Mathias fell silent at Master Feng''s words.


    If the True Gods really wanted to destroy this universe, everyone would be in big trouble.


    But soon, Supreme Lord Mathias realized what was happening. "Impossible! Why would the True Gods come to this universe?"

 Chapter 1759 The Dying Holy Being

    The great worlds, then the entire universe, until finally, the divine land. This was the order.


    Very few True Gods would descend to the areas below the divine land since this was normally not allowed.


    Legends had been told of True Gods who returned. However, these remained as legends. Nobody had yet seen a True God in the universe.


    The traces of the True Gods Zen witnessed in the Hall of Causality were left behind before they advanced. Zen didn''t know why they had never returned. He did not have a thorough understanding of the world, and what he knew he had obtained it from what the Supreme Lords debated about.


    "Because those True Gods didn''t come back from the divine land," Master Feng continued. "They came from another world, another universe."


    Supreme Lord Mathias'' eyes widened.


    "What?!"


    It was possible that some of the other Supreme Lords already knew about this, but the rest had similar reactions as Supreme Lord Mathias.


    They did not have a clear understanding of this world''s nature. Thus, they did not have the capability to predict who their future enemies would be.


    Master Feng tapped his hand and a small dot appeared in the middle of the cave.


    The dot then began to expand until it turned into a ball that was around ten feet wide.


    "I do not know what the divine land truly looks like," Master Feng said. "Some of the information was passed down from my blood, but it is incomplete. I can only tell you what I know. Suppose this round ball in front of us is the shape of the divine land..."


    "The divine land is spherical?" someone asked.


    Master Feng, however, shook his head. "It is most likely irregular in shape."


    Everyone now listened attentively. None of the Supreme Lords present could ever hope to become True Gods but they still greatly desired the divine land.


    "There are many True Gods in the divine land, but there are even stronger existences¡­" Master Feng continued. "Just like us, they have a perfect inner world that can function as a real world. Moreover, they also possess a Godly Tile!"


    As he spoke, his eyes inevitably landed on Zen and the other warriors.


    Other than Xenia, who missed her chance to get her Godly Plate, all the other nine had their own Godly Tiles. It was only through the use of a Godly Plate could a warrior transform into a True God.


    "The Godly Tile is the biggest difference between us and the True Gods. With that, they have the abilit


    unwillingness in their faces.


    They were indeed the top existences in this universe, but they were inevitably trapped within a circle. According to principle, even if there was a channel that led out of the universe and this giant inner world they were living in, they would only dissipate into life vitality bit by bit and cease to exist. This fact was extremely hard to accept but also a bitter truth that must be swallowed.


    It was exactly the same as the powerhouses they also had in their own inner worlds. No matter what cultivation level, a powerhouse was doomed to remain within them since any escape meant the dissipation into life vitality. Those who went against the rules were destined to die.


    Here, only Godly Geniuses had the qualifications to cross the heavens and become True Gods. The moment they comprehended the Godly Way, they would possess these abilities.


    Therefore, being a Godly Genius wasn''t really a power but a type of qualification.


    And those who had such qualifications now stood in front of these Supreme Lords.


    "This is very contradictory," one of the Supreme Lords said. "Since we belong to a Holy Being''s inner world, how can he or she allow the people of other heavens to come?"


    Master Feng nodded his head in understanding. "You''re absolutely right. This normally wasn''t supposed to happen. I also didn''t understand, but Rocher, fortunately, found the answer."


    Everyone''s gaze then drifted towards Rocher.


    There was a hint of overwhelming pressure on Rocher as all the Supreme Lords looked at him. He nodded his head and began to speak. "What if that Holy Being is dying?"

 Chapter 1760 A Surprise Attack

    After hearing what Rocher had to say, the Supreme Lords fell silent.


    They regarded the divine land as a world of fantasy. They knew that only by becoming True Gods would they be able to enter the divine land.


    However, what they did not know was that the universe they were in was actually the inner world of some Holy Being. And this Holy Being was already in a dying state.


    Even the True Gods could escape the Five Aging Processes and live forever. Then how could anyone be able to kill a Holy Being? There had to be a better explanation!


    Even though they were Supreme Lords, they took their time to digest this news.


    "Because of the current state of the Holy Being, there developed some flaws in the universe." Rocher paused for a moment before continuing, "I believe that everyone here has seen the techniques of Shania. She has broken through the highest level of the universe''s rules and grasped the Law Power of the tenth layer, even though she is not a Supreme Lord."


    Many Supreme Lords silently acknowledged this fact.


    When Shania had fought with Zen, she had definitely displayed the Law Power of the tenth layer.


    The Supreme Lords were finding it difficult to understand how Shania was able to achieve this. How was it that she was able to grasp the Law Power of the tenth layer without even being a Supreme Lord?


    "The reason for this is that Shania found a flaw in this universe, which was also found by the people in another universe. They are trying to think of a way to pass through the Sighing Wall and enter our universe," Rocher said.


    Now everyone was able to grasp the situation.


    But the Supreme Lords still had many questions. Who were the intruders? Were they also humans? Or perhaps they were from some other race. If there was a True God among the intruders, how would they be able to withstand it?


    "Since they have the help of a True God, how can we fight back?" Supreme Lord Mathias sneered.


    "Humph, didn''t the ogres always regard death as an honor? What happened now? Are you afraid of them?" another Supreme Lord mocked.


    "Easy for you to say that. How can we fight against a True God? Do you have any idea or technique?" Supreme Lord Mathias glared at the Supreme Lord and asked.


    While this war of words was taking place, others remained silent. They were at the brink of a war, and now there was an internal conflict.


    Although the universe was vast with countless geniuses and Supreme Lords, True Gods were still above every law of the universe. It was highly impossible for the Supreme Lords to fight against a True God.


    "Do not give up hope. We still have a chance!" Rocher looked around, trying to put on a brave face. He was puzzled with their reactions. All these Supreme Lords were the top warriors in the universe. Then how could they panic and not stay calm as him?


    Supreme Lord of Original Sin, Supreme Lord of Oracle, and Master Feng all looked at Rocher with admiration, appreciating his brave front. Supreme Lord of Origina


    heavy blow that they were finding hard to breathe.


    Didn''t Master Feng say that there was still time? They wondered with fear. How did the enemy suddenly reach the base of the Celestial Position race in an instant?


    Boom!


    Soon after the claw squeezed Karl to death, it wasted no time and reached for Zen.


    Zen''s eyes darkened as all the energy in his body surged out, struggling to escape through space. However, the speed of the claw was incomparably fast. In the blink of an eye, the claw arrived in front of Zen and was about to grab him.


    There were more than twenty Supreme Lords present.


    This entire turn of events left the Supreme Lords so speechless that they wasted precious time, just rooted to their place.


    "You evil-looking creature! Leave Zen alone!"


    Saying this, Supreme Lord of Oracle took a step forward, raising her hand.


    She unleashed her long sword from its sheath, and a sharp light shot out.


    Swoosh!


    The power of this sword light was very intense. A thin line appeared on the wrist of the claw, cutting off the entire claw in a neat line. It was a spectacular sight to watch.


    "The sorcerer race! The nerve to enter our world! You thought you could penetrate and get away so easily!" A hint of anger appeared on the face of Supreme Lord of Original Sin. He turned and fled to the back of the space.


    Master Feng let out a cold laugh. Fury was written all over his face. Although the importance of Karl wasn''t as great as that of Xenia, he was still one of the Godly Geniuses in the end. He never expected that Karl would die such a horrible death. Master Feng turned his hands into two claws, grabbed at the crack, and pulled back the wrist that was struggling to retreat.


    The wrist whose claw had been cut off by Supreme Lord of Oracle was trying to pull out from the crevice.


    An invisible force roughly pulled back the broken wrist from the crack.


    Boom!


    A huge, horrible-looking black creature smashed into the wide cave through the crack.

 Chapter 1761 Leader Of Nine Dragons

    The Supreme Lords grew serious.


    They hadn''t expected the center area of the Celestial Position race to be attacked by the sorcerer race.


    Master Feng looked stern. This was an unforgivable omission.


    The beast was black, with cracks all over its body and was more than a hundred feet long.


    It was fierce and though Master Feng had pulled it out of the space crack, it was still frantically struggling on the ground. It was obviously targeting the remaining nine Godly Geniuses.


    But even though it was powerful, it couldn''t break free from Master Feng.


    After it had struggled a while, the huge body unexpectedly started to tremble, and before anybody could react, countless tiny black dots shot out of the cracks on its body.


    These black dots were actually poisonous insects.


    "Watch out!"


    "It''s the Venomous Stinkbug!"


    "Let me take care of them."


    The Supreme Lords had watched from the top of the stairs but hadn''t acted before since Supreme Lord of Oracle, Master Feng, and Supreme Lord of Original Sin had taken care of everything.


    The flying Venomous Stinkbugs couldn''t harm the Supreme Lords, but could easily poison the juniors.


    These creatures that lived on the other side of the world were most proficient in spells, curses, and poison.


    The sorcerer race''s attacks were very closely linked to each other this time.


    There were many of these Venomous Stinkbugs and several Supreme Lords working together. How could one possibly escape?


    With a light flick of Supreme Lord Amritpal''s finger, small balls of fire exploded inside the bodies of the Venomous Stinkbugs, turning them into ashes that scattered onto the ground.


    The poisonous insects had barely been cleaned up before the space beside them cracked up once again. The Supreme Lord of Original Sin had leaped out, a black object in his hands.


    They could barely make out what it was, but from this distance, it appeared to be a human figure.


    This ''person'' had a dark body and limbs as thin as hemp. His hands were surprisingly large and held a skeleton staff. His eyes were so black, the whites were barely visible. His face was like that of a devil.


    Supreme Lord of Original Sin tossed this ''person'' casually on the ground, unworried of him running away. It was a fact that no one could escape from Supreme Lord of Original Sin.


    "There''s only one member of the sorcerer race?" Supreme Lord of Oracle asked.


    Supreme Lord of Original Sin nodded and said, "This fellow attacked this place while riding an Angel of Death." His gaze landed on Karl''s dead body that looked like a crushed sack. He frowned. He had been hoping for the universe to count on these Godly Geniuses, but one of them had just died! This was not a good sign, even though Karl was not a member of the four great clans. "Can he be revived?"


    But Master Feng''s soul form was very special. Any other Supreme Lord would probably have been miserable.


    Supreme Lord Mathias turned purple with rage as he saw this.


    He had previously just been afraid of the so-called True Gods and hadn''t even considered the sorcerer race strong. But he was realizing that the sorcerer race would not be easy to deal with.


    Master Feng sighed and ordered the scene to be cleaned up. Once the Angel of Death had been taken away, his eyes fell on Zen as he said, "Zen should be the target of this grand sorcerer."


    This grand sorcerer should have been hiding behind space for a long time. When he had urged the Angel of Death to attack, his first target had been Zen.


    He hadn''t expected Zen to react so quickly. Zen had taken Margaret with him and dodged the attack. Unfortunately, Karl was the one who had been killed.


    "You have something they fear." Master Feng continued to stare at Zen and said, "No matter what it is, we need to talk about the dragon right now!"


    "You mean the Ancestral Dragon?" Zen, however, remembered that he had left the Ancestral Dragon in the fairy palace.


    Master Feng shook his head, saying, "No, there are other uses for the Ancestral Dragon. It will be best if you can nurture it yourself."


    With that, Master Feng turned towards the depths of the cave. His lips moved as if he was sending a message to someone using his life vitality. Soon enough, someone had carried purple crystal coffins towards them.


    Zen looked within them and discovered that there were a number of things moving about within the crystal coffins.


    "These are the soul essences of various legendary beasts." Master Feng continued, "It''s time to awaken the Five-clawed Golden Dragon in your body."


    The Five-clawed Golden Dragon was the leader of the nine dragons, and also the big brother that Josh had mentioned.

 Chapter 1762 The Nine Dragons Woke Up

    Zen''s heart skipped a beat.


    He did not reveal anything about the nine dragons or the Divine Flame Cauldron to anyone else.


    Master Feng had once mentioned some dragon before, but Zen had thought that it was more likely to be the Ancestral Dragon. Now, Zen finally realized that these people seemed to understand him more than he did.


    He was a little depressed, but it wasn''t a bad thing for him.


    Moreover, if these Supreme Lords truly wanted to harm him, they wouldn''t have taken so many detours.


    Zen smiled faintly and asserted, "I want to ask for their permission first."


    Master Feng nodded, appearing to be notably patient.


    However, before Zen could utter his question to the cyan dragon, the latter''s voice had already rung out.


    "It''s time. Our eldest brother has been in a deep sleep for too many years. I thought that we''d have to return to the Genuine Dragon World before he''d have the chance to wake up," the cyan dragon remarked unhurriedly.


    "How did the Celestial Position race know about your existence?" Zen probed curiously.


    The cyan dragon kept silent for a moment and then explained, "They are the pawns set up by the Holy Being''s disciples, and we Genuine Dragons are the contractual beasts of the Holy Being. They know of our existence, and this is not strange."


    The Genuine Dragons were all contractual beasts of the Holy Being?


    Then wouldn''t the entire Genuine Dragon World be a gigantic spirit beast bag?


    Zen was silent as his thoughts ran wild about his calculated guess.


    Though this conjecture was somewhat uncertain, the most unreliable matter had already happened. With such a massive universe being the inner world of the Holy Being, it was understandable for the Genuine Dragon World, an independent supreme world, to be a spirit beast bag of the Holy Being.


    Just what kind of creature was this Holy Being? Zen helplessly sighed in his heart, feeling more bewildered than ever.


    The more he knew, the stranger the universe became. Nothing was like what he saw on the surface. Realizing that this distracted him as he delved deeper, he stayed calm.


    Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Zen made his way to the crystal coffins.


    Solemnity was written all over Master Feng''s face. The soul essences in these crystal coffins were still active; they were from vicious beasts and legendary beasts. Over the years, the Celestial Position race hunted them. And releasing them now would only mean that the risk of getting Zen''s soul completely devoured was of high probability.


    The value of these soul essences was even hard to estimate. Even the leaders of the great powers, such as Supreme Lord of Oracle and Supreme Lord of Original Sin, revealed an expression of interest when they learned such a large number of soul essences. The Celestial Position race had hunted down such a large number of soul essences in the universe all these years. They had this strong belief that humans'' three significant forces were nothing compared to the race.


    "Relax a little. I will wipe out the souls within these soul essences."


    As soon as Mast


    Five-clawed Golden Dragon exclaimed.


    However, Master Feng shook his head. "Not enough. Our opponents are much stronger than we imagined. This battle is only the prelude. We can only take one step if we win. However, if we make a small mistake, then we will seriously lose."


    "We don''t have a choice," the Five-clawed Golden Dragon said flatly.


    "That''s right, we have no choice..." Master Feng looked indifferent. No matter how tough and arduous it was for them, they could only bite the bullet and continue onward. As the saying went, "Man proposes, God disposes."


    "Hold on..."


    At this moment, the silent Supreme Lord Mathias suddenly spoke up. "It sounds as if we were innocently dragged into this crisis? This crisis was brought about by your Celestial Position race. Why do we, ogres, have to participate in it?"


    As Supreme Lord Mathias spoke, the other Supreme Lords of the other races also wore the same expressions of deep agreement.


    Summoning the leaders of the big races was the right decision made by Celestial Position to face the biggest crisis in the universe.


    But from the looks of it, this crisis was caused by Celestial Position race.


    What did the trouble that the Celestial Position race had caused have to do with them?


    Roar! The Five-clawed Golden Dragon roared. His golden eyes stared at Supreme Lord Mathias and he insisted, "You also have no choice! Those who cannot jump out of the heavens cannot choose. If the universe is destroyed, then all of you will turn into life vitality in the end. Think about what will happen to those living beings in your inner world. Ha-ha!"


    If a Supreme Lord perished, the inner world within his or her body would also collapse, and everything within the inner world would once again become the vitality of heaven and earth.


    The Supreme Lords were the creatures of the inner world of the Holy Being. If the universe collapsed, they would be unable to cross the heavens and escape its shackles. Then, they would be reduced to the vitality of heaven and earth and later on disappear.

 Chapter 1763 The Disciples Plan

    The destruction of the heavens meant the destruction of all living things.


    The inner world of a martial artist usually collapsed soon after he or she died, and all living things within would disappear, turning into dust and ashes.


    The Five-clawed Golden Dragon''s words rendered the Supreme Lords speechless.


    Supreme Lord Mathias pulled a long face. "So that means that we have to get involved in it?"


    Master Feng shook his head. "We do not force anyone to join it. But you have been involved in this since the moment you were born."


    The Holy Being was dying, which meant that sooner or later, the universe would collapse.


    Then, the trillions of creatures in this universe would disintegrate with the collapse of the heavens.


    But what they released once they disintegrated was not life vitality. This was because the whole universe would collapse with the collapse of the heavens. Everything after that would return to chaotic energy.


    But compared to the Holy Beings of the divine land, the martial artists of the universe were first-level living creatures. So when the inner world of an ordinary martial artist in the universe collapsed, creatures in there would turn into life vitality.


    There was pin-drop silence in the moment.


    Rocher, Nathan, and the other juniors were not so flustered. They were not that old, and they did not have so many missions, scruples or worries.


    But all the Supreme Lords present were either responsible for the fate of their own races or clans.


    If the universe were to shatter, they would lose way more.


    After a long period of silence, Supreme Lord of Original Sin said, "Our Xuanyuan Clan will try our best to help the Celestial Position race."


    "The Ji Clan will also spare no effort!" The patriarch of the Ji Clan also spoke up.


    "The Lie Clan will go all out!"


    "Our Clan too..."


    Master Feng nodded towards the four Supreme Lords of the Thoughtless Minds.


    On the surface, it seemed that the connection between the Celestial Position race and the Thoughtless Minds wasn''t too deep. But in reality, these two forces had had the closest relationship in the past.


    The Holy Being had more than one disciple.


    The Celestial Position race was created by Harold Yu, the chief disciple of the Holy Being. The four major clans of the Thoughtless Minds represented the other four disciples of the Holy Being.


    The inheritances of the four great clans came from these disciples.


    It was no accident that the Thoughtless Minds had been superior to many other great forces and had risen to such levels. Besides, three Godly Geniuses of the four great clans had even managed to break into the top ten warriors in the universe. This was no accident, and they had been encouraged by the Holy Being''s disciples.


    The other Supreme Lords were s


    his time. "If not, I would''ve been the first to choose not to cooperate."


    The Five-clawed Golden Dragon glanced at Zen and on seeing that Zen was serious about this, let out a sigh that echoed in Zen''s mind. "You are the lucky child born in the Time Sea, and also the attempt of two Holy Beings. This is the unprecedented attempt to overturn the divine land. Success or failure does not depend on your will. It doesn''t matter if you cooperate or not at this stage."


    "It''s not important?" Zen pondered over the Five-clawed Golden Dragon''s words, wearing a smile that screamed irony and anger.


    The Five-clawed Golden Dragon''s words were very clear. He was definitely a very important part of their plan.


    But Zen wasn''t in a particularly important position at the moment, which meant that his decision wouldn''t change the general situation.


    Zen had fallen into confusion once he had returned from the Illusion Battlefield. Everything he saw had undergone earth-shattering changes, including Lavender and Rocher.


    After having thought and endured everything for so long, Zen finally let loose his fury.


    "If I''m not important, does it mean that I can do whatever I want?" Zen asked, his nostrils flaring.


    The Five-clawed Golden Dragon did not respond.


    "So I can choose to give up everything? Even my own life?"


    Zen''s eyes lit up. He was not someone who would give up on himself recklessly. But now, he had lost the right to know things about himself. What was more, his own values had been overturned.


    He was unwilling to cooperate with their plans in this situation.


    Perhaps Zen''s words took an effect, so the Five-clawed Golden Dragon''s voice floated over from the depths of his mind. "Have you stopped looking for your sister?"


    Zen''s expression clouded at the question.


    He wondered whether his own sister had been kidnapped by these guys.

 Chapter 1764 Cyan Lotus World

    "You''re threatening me!"


    Zen looked incensed.


    However, the Divine Flame Cauldron was dead silent. No matter what Zen asked, there was no reply...


    Zen tried to call out to the cyan dragon, but he didn''t answer.


    "Zen, Zen, what has happened to you?"


    Hearing Margaret call his name, he opened his eyes, his face lined with worry.


    Of course, she did not know that Zen was arguing with the Genuine Dragons in his mind. All she could see was that Zen was sitting with his eyes closed and his face was twisted in anger.


    "Nothing. I''m fine." Zen took a deep breath and exhaled deeply.


    Right now, the nine Genuine Dragons in his mind were constantly bickering with each other.


    "Aren''t you being a little too cruel to Zen, brother?" the cyan dragon complained.


    As the first Genuine Dragon to wake up, the cyan dragon had been with Zen for the longest period of time. However, his eldest brother forbade him to respond to Zen, so he had no choice but to grudgingly follow his orders.


    The Five-clawed Golden Dragon was the only one of his kind in the Genuine Dragon World and his bloodline was the rarest. He had absolute authority and wisdom, so the cyan dragon would not dare to disobey him because of Zen.


    "This still isn''t cruel enough!" remarked the Five-clawed Golden Dragon. He paused for a moment before continuing, "The things that he will face in the future are far more cruel than what he''s up against right now..."


    "But we are still complementary to each other. We still need to rely on him to return to the Genuine Dragon World," said the sixth oldest dragon.


    The Five-clawed Golden Dragon smiled faintly and said, "Zen''s matter is much more important than us returning to the Genuine Dragon World. What matters is that he should be able to go further, even if we nine brothers cannot return and perish here!"


    The rest of the eight Genuine Dragons fell silent when they heard this.


    Their eldest brother was right. They had to think about the big picture. Zen was much more important than them.


    The Celestial Position had done a lot of things in the face of danger this time.


    Not only did they have to rely on the power of the nine dragons, they also had awakened the kylin boodline of the Xuanyuan Clan and at the same time, they had reached an agreement with Lone''s sword.


    These ten Godly Geniuses carried important responsibilities on their shoulders. When they stood out of the universe, they were already carrying the destiny of the universe with them.


    Many Supreme Lords had formed an alliance and begun to carry out the first stage of the Celestial Position''s plan, which was to exterminate the sorcerer race.


    However, these Supreme Lords hadn''t returned yet


    y, and soon he lost track of his father. However, he continued flying in the direction where his father had disappeared.


    After flying for a long time, he saw that there seemed to be some black objects in the distant sky. They were like streaks of lightning, which had descended from the sky.


    When he approached it, he discovered that his father along with powerful warriors from the Cyan Lotus Sacred Place were all gathered. And the black streaks of lightning were actually space cracks that extended all the way from the sky to the ground!


    ''Such huge space cracks!'' Dominic was astonished. It seemed as if the heavens and earth were going to be ripped apart by these space cracks!


    His expression quickly changed from bewilderment to fear.


    He stared open-mouthed as many monsters appeared from within the space cracks. Their shapes were as horrible as jagged mountains, and they looked even more terrifying than the most vicious beasts.


    Even the Saint Lord''s expression was extremely grim.


    As the world lord of the Cyan Lotus World, he often traveled through spaces and sometimes when he built space tunnels he would reach the backside of space. This cursed Shadow Race wasn''t unfamiliar to him. He had encountered them before a few times.


    However, the Shadow Race, also known as the sorcerer race, was extremely enigmatic and powerful. Killing them would unleash horrid curses.


    Under normal circumstances, they wouldn''t casually provoke the sorcerer race. Moreover, the sorcerer race always lived in the shadows, and if they left the backside of space, they would suffer a huge attack from the curse of the gods. And now, the sorcerer race had emerged from the other side of the world. Seeing this, the Saint Lord of the Cyan Lotus Sacred Place realized that they were in big trouble...

 Chapter 1765 The Cursing Power

    "Sorcerers, this is the territory of the Humanity Alliance! Get out of here quickly!" The Saint Lord of the Cyan Lotus Sacred Place''s voice boomed loudly. However, huge skulls suddenly appeared in the crevices.


    Upon closer look, some creatures with oddly-shaped bodies were scattered across the skulls'' eye sockets and mouths.


    Aside from the skulls, there were three one-eyed Angels of Death that carried three grand sorcerers on their backs.


    "Cluck, cluck, cluck¡­" One of the grand sorcerers glanced at the Saint Lord, waved a bone cane in his hand and said in a painfully chilling voice, "Don''t let even a single one of them go¡­"


    "Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh¡­"


    The rugged black shadows swarmed the sky like an army of locusts as they rushed towards the Saint Lord of the Cyan Lotus Sacred Place.


    "How dare you!"


    In turn, the Saint Lord extended his hand, and unsheathed the treasured sword that he held. Meanwhile, the experts of the Cyan Lotus Sacred Place also made their move.


    At that point, the sword energy surged in the sky over them and the light of laws shone like the sun.


    "There''s a little boy here! Ha-ha¡­"


    Apparently, a rugged black figure had discovered Dominic, whose cultivation base was at the Internal Elixir Realm.


    However, Dominic was quite quick-witted. He stepped on a cyan lotus and turned into a streak of cyan light the moment he was discovered, in a strange attempt to escape. He knew that if he stayed there, he would only be a burden to his father.


    Yet, Dominic was too young. He was only thirteen years old and his cultivation base was only at the Internal Elixir Realm. Although he had his ingenious ways, a black bone spear had pierced his body before he could even take a few steps out.


    The Saint Lord of the Cyan Lotus Sacred Place had originally not noticed his son, but because of the connection between him and Dominic through a treasure¡ªa Life Lock, the Life Lock reacted when the spear stabbed Dominic. He quickly turned around and looked at his son.


    "Dominic!"


    "Ha-ha¡­ There''s no need to be sad. The entire Cyan Lotus World will be taken over, and you will die as well!"


    After that, the three grand sorcerers began to attack the Saint Lord together!


    The Saint Lo


    . He''s not going to die that easily," Preston said as a black bolt of lightning fell across the sky. "Boom!" a huge pit suddenly appeared in front of them with a loud bang, which contained the bulk of a skull. Then, some craggy-looking figures crawled out of it.


    "Go to hell!"


    Preston reached out his hand and made a beat, from which a strange vibration had spread out.


    His move was a high layer skill of the Space Law. Two forces which constantly shook each other in the same space could cause terrible damage!


    "Crack! Crack..."


    Cracks quickly appeared on the black figures'' bodies, and then they turned into black powder on the ground.


    However, the black powders suddenly moved again and turned into fist-sized skulls. Then they hurled themselves at Preston!


    Preston launched another attack. However great the shock was, it could not damage those small skulls at all!


    The skulls swarmed over Preston to bite his back. Their white teeth gnawed at Preston''s body-protecting life vitality. It was the sorcerer race''s curse!


    "Go!"


    Preston had no time to care about anything else. The Saint Lord had ordered him to protect Letitia, so he had to take her to safety.


    The two ran and ran through the sacred place until they reached an underground palace. Core disciples of the Pure Jade Sacred Palace entered with them as well.


    They were fortunate enough to have escaped to the underground palace, which was a sanctuary built by the Pure Jade Sacred Place¡ªfor now.

 Chapter 1766 The Sorcerer Races Purpose

    Thousands of core disciples swarmed into the palace.


    As they arrived, more and more magnificent divine textures appeared over the palace, forming a cross-shaped shield. This was the biggest divine texture array of the Pure Jade Sacred Place.


    "Boom, boom..."


    Several bolts of black lightning appeared from the sky and dozens of skulls rained down, as countless black shadows dashed towards the underground palace.


    At that moment, two slender and long energy tentacles stretched out from the divine texture array.


    These two energy tentacles held extremely terrible power. Hundreds of members of the sorcerer race were quickly eliminated with just one sweep! As they died, multiple skulls appeared and began to bite at the divine texture array.


    These small skulls were the sorcerer race''s curse and were very special. Zen already encountered them back in the Illusion Battlefield. These skulls were very persistent and did not let go of him until they were forced to disappear once he entered the second stage of the competition.


    The two slender tentacles also swept these skulls away but they only came back a few minutes later to continue biting away at the divine texture array.


    Back in the underground palace, all the core disciples looked pale.


    Most of them had taken part in the Illusion Battlefield. They were now in the real world and if they died during this siege, they died for real.


    Preston leaned on the side of a huge column as several small skulls continued biting away at his protective life vitality.


    "Are you all right?" Letitia asked.


    Preston shook his head. "Crack!" He had taken out a life vitality jade and broke it, quickly absorbing the life vitality within.


    The small skulls continually consumed Preston''s protective life vitality and it was only a matter of time before they got through to his flesh and blood.


    Preston''s life vitality jades weren''t enough to offset the amount he consumed, or rather, the amount these small skulls consumed.


    A gush of blood streamed down his back as the small skulls chewed on his fle


    rusted the protection the underground palace provided.


    However, if these small skulls turned on them, then this sanctuary would quickly turn into a slaughterhouse!


    Letitia also paled. She did not come here to end up getting devoured by these small skulls!


    "Master Preston, do you have a Roaring Token?" Letitia asked.


    Preston was stunned at her question but immediately understood what she was trying to do. She was no doubt going to call Zen out for help.


    This was indeed a good course of action. With Zen''s current identity, he would definitely have powerful warriors surrounding him. If he came here, then the Pure Jade Sacred Place would be prioritized in getting rescued.


    Unfortunately, Preston shook his head. "The Roaring Token is so rare so I don''t possess such a treasure. Only the Saint Lord has one..."


    A trace of sadness appeared on Letitia''s face when she heard this.


    As they spoke, two other warriors had fallen and were completely devoured by these small skulls. The only thing they left behind was a puddle of blood and nothing else. As s small skull''s jawbone hit the floor, it emitted a loud screech and immediately flew towards another warrior!


    "Ah!" the warrior screamed.


    It seemed their assumptions had been correct.


    This place was no longer safe. They had to leave or they''d end up being food for these hungry, flesh-eating skulls!

 Chapter 1767 Where Are You

    "We must get out of here!"


    "Let''s go!"


    "Let''s dig a tunnel to the ground!"


    These warriors at the Soul Sea Realm, the Spirit Supreme Realm, and the Spirit Transformation Realm all scrambled to run. While they might not be able to fight against the grand sorcerers, they could still escape. Nonetheless, such a path might even be more dangerous.


    "Let me lead the way!" Preston said.


    His primary mission was to protect Letitia, but as an elder of the sacred place, he believed it was his obligation to take the lead at the moment.


    He summoned some life vitality and turned it into a spiral which spun quickly, and then dashed toward a corner of the underground palace. His Space Law power shattered the palace walls with a loud crash, and a hole about the size of a man appeared in front of them.


    "Follow me," ordered Preston as he led the group and dashed into the hole.


    Meanwhile, Letitia glanced at Preston''s bleeding shoulders with gritted teeth, and then followed suit.


    She had been rained with bad luck ever since she had ascended into the Upper World. Thus, she had no choice but to follow Preston at the moment and see what would be out there for her.


    Preston himself tried hard to endure the biting of the skulls on his back as he dug his way forward, with Letitia and the other core disciples of the Pure Jade Sacred Place close behind him.


    After a long time of digging forward, Preston dug upward and finally reached the ground. His eyes first scanned the surroundings, and then he dashed toward a specific direction.


    "Let''s head for the supreme world channel!" he exclaimed.


    "But where should we go through the supreme world channel?" someone asked. When Preston heard the question, he abruptly stopped in his tracks.


    To be honest, he hadn''t thought about that. It seemed that there was no safe escape. The sorcerer race might have invaded the nearby Cyan Lotus Sacred Place as well. Where else could they run to?


    Meanwhile, black lightning bolts continued to flash in the sky. ''Is the sorcerer race going to occupy the entire Pure Jade Sacred Place?'' he wondered. However, that was almost impossible. The ancient sorcerer race wasn''t strong enough to occupy the place forever. They weren''t powerful enough to fight the Supreme Lords, and the Humanity Alliance had more than ten thousand world lords. If they joined forces, the sorcerer race wouldn''t stand a chance.


    Once the Supreme Lords came, the sorcerer race would have no choice but to escape. They wouldn''t have a chance against the


    Token, and his voice reverberated throughout the entire universe.


    "Letitia! Where are you?"


    He felt his heart sink with regret. He should have looked for her earlier.


    Ever since he had ascended to the Upper World, the entire universe had been quite peaceful. No one could''ve imagined that the world would be suddenly plunged into chaos when the Illusion Battlefield had closed.


    Now, Zen knew that it was almost impossible to receive a response from Letitia, but he didn''t know how else to contact her.


    Meanwhile, Letitia had actually heard Zen''s call.


    At that moment, Preston led Letitia through the supreme world channel. He and the other warriors from the Pure Jade Sacred Place also heard Zen''s voice.


    "It''s Zen!" Letitia exclaimed in shock.


    Even amidst the danger, she was naturally excited to hear her husband''s voice.


    "But we can''t respond to him. Let''s continue on our way," Preston said. He couldn''t help but sigh deeply. They had no way to communicate with Zen.


    If they had known earlier that such a thing would happen, the Saint Lord would have given Letitia a Roaring Token. While Roaring Tokens were rare and precious, they could help them bring reinforcements faster.


    The Humanity Alliance had only sent Supreme Lord of Oracle to the Celestial Position race, while the other Supreme Lords such as Supreme Lord Healum and Supreme Lord Illusion had remained in the Alliance.


    However, the sorcerer race had an advantage when they simultaneously attacked many places. Thus, the reinforcements for the Pure Jade Sacred Place might be delayed.


    The situation left them no other choice but to follow their plan and try to descend to the Lower World.

 Chapter 1768 Finally Found Letitia

    Zen frowned. He had already waited for a really long time but there was still no response from Letitia.


    "Zen, has Master Ning ascended as well?" Rocher asked. He had ascended before her so he naturally did not know what happened in the Central Region after his departure.


    "Yes, I''m sure she has ascended¡­"


    "Heaven rewards the good. Master Ning is a good person. Moreover, the sorcerer race does not have the strength to challenge the Humanity Alliance. She''ll be fine¡­" Rocher said in an attempt to console him, though he had no idea why Zen was so sure that Letitia had also ascended.


    "Yes! Letitia will be okay!" Margaret followed, also trying to ease his worries. At this moment, she didn''t dare to say anything that would annoy him.


    The others were quick to understand that this Letitia was an extremely important person to him.


    Zen thought for a moment before turning to Master Feng. "I need to go and find someone."


    Master Feng was just about to make some arrangements for them but it seemed Zen was in no way willing to participate.


    The old man also noticed the worry in his eyes. "You are going to look for the girl named Letitia?"


    Zen nodded. "Yes. I''m sorry but she''s my wife."


    Margaret couldn''t help but feel a pang of hurt when she heard Zen refer to Letitia as his "wife." Although she referred to Zen as her husband, she was not officially married to him¡­


    "Does she have any unique features?" Master Feng inquired.


    The Supreme Lords in this universe possessed extremely powerful calculation abilities.


    However, they were not necessarily omnipotent.


    There were only 128 Crowns of Destiny. When a Crown of Destiny appeared in the universe, there was a high probability for Supreme Lords to perceive its location because of its uniqueness. That was the reason why so many of them swarmed towards Zen when he activated a Crown of Destiny back then.


    A Supreme Lord could locate the whereabouts of any warrior using their calculations but this would be extremely hard without any knowledge of the characteristics and important identifiers of the person being sought.


    There were too many living creatures in this universe after all.


    Master Feng''s willingness to help ignited the hope in Zen''s heart.


    "She is an ascended warrior from the Lower World and she may have arrived not long ago¡­" Before entering the Illusion Battlefield, Zen took the liberty of going through


    nce. But¡­" Master Feng paused. Zen planned to use the Teleportation Token to instantly travel to where she was but he waited until Master Feng finished what he had to say.


    "It seems she is planning to go back to the Lower World soon to take refuge there."


    Zen''s eyes flashed. "Go back to the great world?"


    Rocher''s eyes brightened. "This is indeed a good idea!"


    Now knowing where Letitia was, Zen finally felt slightly at ease.


    It was fortunate for him that both Xenia and Master Feng were willing to help him.


    Zen was already quite dissatisfied with the Celestial Position though he knew that the race had no intention of harming him. They just tried their best to hide vital information away from him.


    "Something''s not right. There seems to be something following them into the ascending passageway," Master Feng continued. "Why is the sorcerer race chasing after these people..."


    His words caused Zen''s heart to beat nervously. "Can you calculate which great world they''re heading to?"


    He had already seen the entirety of the universe through the use of his Teleportation Token. He knew for a fact that the ascending passageways of each supreme world were connected to many great worlds below and he needed to know their position before he could set off.


    Master Feng nodded and immediately resumed his calculations. After a few moments, he was able to come up with the conclusion that Letitia was going to be returning to the great world she originally came from.


    However, it would take over ten days to travel in the ascending passageway before they could reach the Lower World.

 Chapter 1769 Return To The Lower World

    Zen couldn''t wait to set off. He had the memories of the great world, so he would immediately know the exact moment Letitia returned. The only thing he wanted to do at that moment was to rush to the great world and wait for Letitia to descend.


    Warriors in the Upper World could only pass through the ascending passageways to go to the great worlds.


    Since Letitia''s life was still in danger, Zen did not accept any of Master Feng''s transportation options. He wanted to teleport directly to the great world by activating the Teleportation Token.


    "Zen, I''ll go with you." Rocher followed behind him.


    Naturally, Margaret wanted to go with Zen. Finally, after much deliberation, Xenia, Lone and Lucille also decided to descend to the Lower World with them.


    Nathan and Lawson both seemed indifferent, but in the end, they also agreed to go together with the others.


    "All of you..."


    Master Feng was about to announce an extremely important matter for the future of the ten Godly Geniuses. He had sacrificed a great deal in order to give them the opportunity.


    However, even before he could utter a single word, Zen used the Roaring Token to speak, interrupting him. Furthermore, the group of warriors all wanted to leave together with Zen.


    As the leader of the Celestial Position as well as being one of the most powerful Supreme Lords in the universe, Master Feng couldn''t help but feel dejected. He suddenly realized how fast the world had changed.


    These warriors were still too young. They knew the fate they faced, but they didn''t seem to realize the gravity of it.


    Sometimes, Master Feng wondered if he was too lenient in their training.


    Their elders had already entrusted their care and their training to the Celestial Position, so he needed to speak a piece of his mind and criticize them. He needed them to understand the current situation.


    But before he could say anything, an ethereal voice spoke into his mind.


    "Let them go. This is also part of their training."


    When Master Feng heard this voice, he surprisingly recognized it. "Have you woken up a bit early?"


    "We can delay the plan to send them to the training land. The enemies wouldn''t be able to break through the Signing Wall that quickly. At the moment, the sorcerer race members would only be able to activate the troublesome thin


    e sea.


    The moment Zen had entered the great world, he already felt the connection with this world. It was the embodiment of the will of the plane, which gave Zen a strange sense of security. In this plane, Zen could transfer all the damage he had incurred into the great world. Unless this great world was destroyed, he would be immortal and indestructible.


    Letitia hadn''t emerged from the ascending passageway, and descending into the great world through the ascending passageway was a relatively slow process.


    In the past, Zen had taken half a month to ascend to the Upper World. But now he returned to the great world in advance to wait for Letitia to come back... The universe was going to suffer a cataclysm soon. Zen had already laid out a plan of his own. Before the crisis happened, he would take all his loved ones to live in the fairy palace. That was the only place where he could guarantee their safety.


    After he got his bearings, Zen figured out his own location. He was located at the west part of the great world. If he continued to head west, he would reach the wall of the great world. To the east lay the Central Region.


    Zen wasn''t sure where Letitia would land, so he could only settle down first. He used his will to monitor the entire plane and waited for Letitia to show up...


    "This way," Zen flew towards the east as he led the group.


    The Godly Geniuses followed closely behind him...


    "The life vitality in this place seems to be too placid," Lucille said as she observed her surroundings during her flight.

 Chapter 1770 The Cloudy City

    "It''s not that the life vitality is mild here. We barely detect it as there is so little," Lawson observed indifferently.


    Although the life vitality in the Upper World was definitely more violent, it was also more concentrated than in the Lower World. This was the Godly Geniuses'' first time to descend to the Lower World, and it made them feel a bit out of their element.


    Fortunately, they all brought enough life vitality jades with them. It wouldn''t affect them much even if the life vitality here was insufficient.


    On the other hand, Nathan''s expression was a little gloomy. He and Lawson only came to the Lower World because Lucille went along with Zen. He didn''t think that their presence here was necessary.


    They had flown over the sea for an entire day and night, and had encountered a few vicious beasts along the way.


    But when these vicious beasts felt the powerful auras of these people, they sank back into the sea and stayed hidden.


    Lawson and Nathan had nothing interesting to do during their travel. They had casually caught and killed some of the ferocious beasts they encountered, and caused a huge commotion.


    As the sun rose on the second day, a white line appeared on the horizon in front of Zen. The white line steadily increased in size as they flew closer. It was a snowy mountain standing on the surface of the sea.


    Seeing the snow-capped mountain, Zen couldn''t help but smile. He recognized the mountain, and knew that it was located in the west of the Central Region. They had already reached their destination.


    After crossing the boundary of the snowy mountain, they didn''t even pause for rest. They continued to travel east until they reached the first city, the Mysterious City.


    This city was built by the Mysterious Luna Hall. Although the power of the Mysterious Luna Hall was not as great as it had been before, there was still a spatial passageway in the city.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Zen''s group quickly descended from the sky and landed in front of the spatial passageway.


    The guards at the entrance to the spatial passageway did not know what to do upon seeing the warriors.


    They didn''t know where these people came from. To their intense surprise, each of these warriors radiated a strong aura, and their cultivation levels were immeasurable.


    Fortunately for them, these people did not seem to have any intention of enmity. They even made an effort to conceal their auras. Otherwise, these guards would have fainted on the spot from sheer terror.


    "You...


    t.


    Having learned from the mistakes of the past few years, the leader did his best to hold back his emotions. "Is it Master Luo who has returned?" he asked in a trembling voice.


    He was uncertain of how to address Zen. It was a conditioned reflex of his to add the word "Master" to his surname, and he knew he could never go wrong.


    "Master Luo?"


    "What Master Luo?"


    "Who is this person?"


    The other guards were puzzled, not realizing who their leader was referring to.


    Zen had been gone for around seven years. In the eyes of the people in the Central Region, he was already a legendary figure. It was hard for them to believe that he had returned.


    Right then, several other figures emerged from another spatial passageway.


    They were members of the Zhuo Clan in Cloudy City, and the one leading the group was none other than Frank.


    After many years of hard work, he had finally overcome the bottleneck and stepped into the Virtual Tribulation Realm.


    Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors had the capability to hold the position of elders in the past Cloud Hall.


    However, the current Cloud Hall was already considered as a sacred place, so naturally, the requirements for each position would increase at the same time. After the number of Virtual Tribulation Realm martial artists increased in number, Frank did not qualify for the elder position anymore.


    This time, he had just returned from completing a mission at the Ethereal Spirit Sect. The moment he stepped out of the spatial passageway, he felt a terrifying aura.


    After he saw the appearance of the person in the lead, Frank''s expression drastically changed. It was his father''s killer¡ªZen.

 Chapter 1771 Zens Son

    After all these years of training, Frank was able to control his mind and stabilize it. It was as calm as the sea. He also knew that the rebellion led by his father had almost ruined the entire Zhuo Clan.


    He didn''t know whether he still hated Zen or not; all he knew was that he was like a tiny worm in front of Zen. Therefore, he wasn''t angry at all when he saw Zen again. Instead, he was quite shocked.


    "Zen?" Frank stood there in a daze.


    When the Zhuo Clan warriors behind him heard this, they were also equally stunned.


    Only then did others recognize Zen.


    "It''s really him!"


    "He''s actually back."


    "Zen is back!"


    Zen was not from Cloudy City, but this did not prevent him from becoming the hero of the city. Warriors of the city not only worshiped him, but also showed him off to outsiders.


    At first, everyone was a little nervous. This group of mighty warriors could easily destroy the Cloudy City. So how could they dare to speak carelessly?


    However, they weren''t as nervous after hearing Zen''s name. After all, he used to be a member of Cloud Hall.


    Zen looked at Frank with indifference. Since the entire Zhuo Clan had received their due punishment for their rebellion, he wouldn''t care about this matter anymore. He nodded to Frank casually and said, "Let''s go to the Cloud Hall."


    "I''ll lead the way," said Frank immediately. He had also seen Margaret in the crowd. After he saw Rocher, his heart was filled with shock once again.


    He was not acquainted with Margaret. After all, when she entered the Cloud Hall, she stayed by Zen''s side throughout and rarely went out. But he was quite familiar with Rocher and was aware that he had received a great deal of attention from the Cloud Hall. But how did his cultivation reach such a level?


    He couldn''t even figure out what level Rocher''s cultivation was at because Rocher was now much stronger than him.


    He was confused, but he did not shoot his mouth off. In the end, he came to a conclusion that this was not an ordinary group of people.


    "Ha-ha! Is this where you used to live, Zen?" After controlling for a long time, Lawson finally couldn''t hold it in anymore.


    He and Nathan had come to this great world to accompany Lucille and join in on the fun.


    The a


    all. With a flick of his finger, the flames within the divine texture swirled towards the house like dragons made of fire. He was extremely skilled at manipulating the fire.


    With a frown, Zen floated over and hissed in a low voice, "Stop!"


    When the boy heard Zen''s voice, he turned around. A trace of wickedness flashed across his clear eyes. The divine texture in his hand rolled towards Zen.


    Swoosh!


    A long flaming dragon charged towards Zen, engulfing him within itself. The boy laughed fiendishly. "I''ll turn you into a roast chicken!"


    However, when the flames dissipated, the boy was stunned. The scene he had envisioned did not happen. The person in front of him was completely unharmed.


    The power of this divine texture was unbelievable. Once it was activated with life vitality crystals, even a Virtual Tribulation Realm martial artist would be unable to withstand it. This was the first time the boy had experienced such a pushback.


    "What''s your name?" Zen asked as he glared at the boy.


    The boy blinked and smirked. His slender fingers had already locked onto another divine texture. "What''s it to you!?" he spat.


    "Is your... surname Luo?" Zen asked again.


    The boy smiled triumphantly. "Yes!"


    As his voice faded, he took advantage of the opportunity to flip another divine texture token. A bolt of lightning shot out from it.


    On the other hand, Zen raised his head and waved his hand. The powerful bolt of lightning split apart, and his expression turned sour.

 Chapter 1772 Geoffrey

    Zen was pretty sure the boy was his son. He could very clearly see that the boy''s features matched his own more than those of Letitia.


    The boy was very proficient in dealing with divine features. Nevertheless, Zen still felt that the divine features should have been created by someone else rather than by the boy himself.


    "You''re still young, yet so unruly!" exclaimed Zen angrily.


    Snap!


    Zen flicked the air with his fingers and shattered the two divine texture tokens that the boy was holding in this hands.


    The boy looked in disbelief at the shattered divine texture tokens in his hands. He pursed his lips to control his emotions, but could not hold it any longer and burst into tears.


    He was born and brought up in Cloud Hall by Letitia, who dearly loved and cared for the boy. Imogen also accompanied him every day, which was how he developed such a strong personality.


    His not-so-decent reputation was known throughout Cloud Hall. People wondered if there was anyone who would dare to discipline him. Because of this, people were wary of approaching him.


    "How dare anybody bully my Geoffrey!"


    hollered Imogen as she appeared on the other side holding a walking stick.


    Earlier when Zen announced his arrival at the Cloud Hall, Imogen had already been informed. Hearing Geoffrey crying miserably, she rushed to him, furious that anyone could put her boy in such a state.


    Imogen''s heart was torn.


    Zen''s return to Cloud Hall was a joyous occasion to celebrate, but Geoffrey''s pitiful state was above everything else now.


    Imogen''s lifespan could be considered extremely long among the warriors in the Central Region. After so many years, all her relatives had finally reached their graves, and the only one she was closest to was Letitia.


    Later on, when Letitia became pregnant and gave birth to Geoffrey, Imogen took care of him like her own grandchild.


    Imogen took great care of Letitia when she became pregnant, feeding her with rare and precious herbs and fruits. Soon after Geoffrey was born, Imogen poured the natural energy into his body. She had bathed him with water from the Dragon Saliva Spring till he turned a year old. It was considered to be lucky if a martial artist could drink water from the Dragon Saliva Spring. But Imogen used the water only to bathe Geoffrey.


    Imogen did not consider Geoff


    asked me where your father was. I told you he was the superhero of the Central Region and he would come to you. Now, it seems that he doesn''t care for you and your poor mother after all. It is best now you forget him."


    Saying this, she carried Geoffrey and walked away.


    Geoffrey was already afraid of Margaret''s aura. Now after hearing Imogen, he understood that the man he hated was his father.


    He managed to stick his small head out from Imogen''s shoulder and stole a glance at Zen.


    Nathan and Lawson laughed out loud. Although the ten of them were destined to deal with the crisis of the universe and watch each other''s back, secretly they were happy to see Zen getting humiliated in front of everybody.


    After an awkward silence, Rocher said, "Zen, don''t worry. Master Yu is just worried about Letitia. It will take her around ten days to fly down the ascending passageway. When the time comes, we''ll go find her together."


    "There is no need to go looking for her," Zen said. "I will immediately know it if she returns to this great world."


    Zen had every faith on the will of the great world and could detect everything that happened in this world. What really troubled him was his son''s poor personality.


    In the meantime, arrangements were done for everyone to stay in Cloud Hall for the time being.


    Soon the news spread about Zen''s return to the Cloud Hall.


    Many warriors within the Central Region thronged to meet him. But Zen had no mood to see any of them. He realized that his stay in the Lower World was not going to be so easy.

 Chapter 1773 The Father-son Talk

    For the past few days, Zen had been sitting cross-legged in the Ice Palace with his eyes closed in rapt attention as he monitored the movements of the entire great world minutely.


    Even after Zen had ascended to the Upper World, he still had a mysterious connection to this great world. It was just that he was unable to transfer power to the great world.


    On his return, he once again linked to the will of the great world, only to discover that there was a change in this will.


    The entire great world was rhombus-shaped. If one were to look down at it from a high vantage point, they would see that it looked like a scale of a vicious beast. However, this time, he noticed something strange in it. It seemed that there was an opening on the edge of the great world.


    As for the will of the great world, even Zen himself wasn''t sure what it was exactly.


    The will of a martial artist was determined by their mental state when they reached a certain goal. Under normal circumstances, that state would be manifested through words and actions.


    But for the great world, words did not exist. Otherwise, when Zen connected to the will of the great world, it would be able to communicate with him.


    And as for actions, the only action of the great world was that when Zen was on the Divine Kingdom Continent, the great world formed an incarnation, hoping to use it to make up for the ascending passageway.


    The result, however, was the complete opposite. The will of the great world had been swallowed up by Zen, and the Upper World''s martial artists had been the ones to repair the ascending passageway.


    From then on, the will of the great world did not have any actions; it could only help Zen transfer power that hit him.


    But this time when he returned to the Lower World, Zen detected a hint of movement.


    He didn''t know if the barrier of the great world broke by itself, or if there had been a sudden and unexpected issue.


    The will of the great world had actually entered into the neighboring great world. However, the will that entered the neighboring great world was not widespread. Zen could only sense a small area of the vast sea, and there were some common beasts in the sea.


    He had never been to any other great world, but he imagined that it would be about the sa


    m, so he quickly turned around to leave. However, when he looked back, he found that his father was already standing behind him with a kind smile on his face.


    Although Zen had a smile on his face, the boy still appeared timid.


    "Geoffrey," Zen called out to him softly.


    "Hmm?" Geoffrey subconsciously replied. His eyes darted around with uncertainty as he said, "Dad?"


    Zen reached out and held Geoffrey in his arms.


    His mind was flooded with memories of Geoffrey''s childhood. If he wanted to, he could find out what had happened in this great world with the help of the world''s will.


    However, this memory belonged to the great world and not to Zen. This strange feeling between him and his son could not be ignored.


    When he heard Geoffrey call him "Dad," a peculiar feeling filled his heart. He grabbed the little boy and said, "I''ll take you out!"


    He lovingly placed Geoffrey on his neck, and with a sudden flash, he flew into the sky.


    Although all the warriors in the Cloud Hall took great care of Geoffrey, none of them were his father. At this moment, Geoffrey sensed a completely different feeling, one that he had never had before.


    "Ha-ha!" He laughed gleefully.


    Zen soared across the air and they quickly closed in on the enchanted barrier above the Cloud Hall.


    "We''re about to collide!"


    Geoffrey shrieked. He was very familiar with this enchanted barrier. This one looked like a layer of water, but it would be bad to collide with the barrier.


    "Close your eyes," Zen instructed.

 Chapter 1774 Injury

    The blazing white light appeared, and the power of the Space Law enveloped them both. Geoffrey shut his eyes tight and when he opened them again, he could only see a trace of a blazing white light around him. The power of the Space Law had already started to dissipate.


    Zen and Geoffrey had already penetrated the enchanted barrier by now.


    "My master has told me that the Light of Water is so powerful that even someone who is proficient in the Space Law can''t penetrate it!" Geoffrey recited.


    "Master? Which master?" Zen asked, curious.


    "My master''s surname is Zong," Geoffrey replied.


    Zen immediately knew the ''master'' Geoffrey was referring to. It was Felix, the chief rune expert of the Cloud Hall.


    Zen hadn''t expected Felix to be the one to have imparted the divine texture skill to Geoffrey.


    "Wow! So high! So high!"


    Zen flew higher and higher, leaving the clouds far below. They looked like white sea water, rolling slowly beneath him. Geoffrey cried out excitedly, completely forgetting about how terrifying Zen was.


    "Father, if we keep flying like this, can we reach the Upper World?" Geoffrey asked suddenly.


    Zen thought for a moment, and then replied with a slow smile taking its place on his face, "Sure."


    If one could withstand the ravages of the strong gales, they actually could go all the way up into the universe.


    "Grandma said that mother has gone to the Upper World. If we keep flying like this, will we be able to find my mother?" Geoffrey asked again.


    This child''s thoughts!


    Zen smiled faintly. If they didn''t go through the ascending passageway and ascended through the space of the universe, it would take a lot of time for an ordinary Soul Sea Realm warrior to reach the nearest supreme world.


    But whatever it was, the little guy was still too young and Zen would obviously not explain all of this to him. He only smiled and said, "Your mother will come back."


    "When will mother be back?" Geoffrey asked, his eyes lighting up.


    Zen stared into the distance, to the end of the sea of clouds, and then answered firmly, "It shouldn''t be too long. You will definitely meet her in half a month."


    Zen hoped that Letitia would not encounter something bad or stray into dangerous areas


    t basic answer. Why would the divine land appear from the chaos? When did the various Holy Beings in the divine land develop a sense of competition?


    What kind of an achievement would it be once one had reached the peak of martial arts?


    Zen would eventually find the answer, but he couldn''t answer Geoffrey''s question right now.


    So he answered Geoffrey honestly, "I don''t know either."


    Geoffrey was curious. He thought Zen to be an omnipotent warrior. He hadn''t thought that there was something his father didn''t know.


    "I''ll tell you when I find out," Geoffrey said seriously, blinking.


    At Geoffrey''s words, Zen suddenly laughed. "Finding the answer to this question is not an easy task," he said, chuckling.


    "I''m not afraid of difficulties," Geoffrey said, still very serious.


    Geoffrey had such ambitions at such a young age, which pleased Zen. Geoffrey probably hadn''t even understood what he was really looking for. But with this determination, many difficult things would become very easy for him.


    Days passed in the blink of an eye.


    On the twelfth day, Zen still hadn''t detected any fluctuations in the great world.


    But he hadn''t expected Lawson and Nathan to cause trouble.


    The two of them had gone to the Central Region, and had been injured when they returned.


    Lawson had sustained serious injuries, his body covered in thin cuts. It looked like he had been wounded by a sharp weapon.


    Nathan was also injured and looked to be in a very sorry state.

 Chapter 1775 An Abnormal Phenomenon

    "You. Where have you been?" Zen was dumbstruck.


    The two of them were at the Spirit Supreme Realm, and they were both Godly Geniuses. Even Spirit Transformation Realm warriors were no match for them. No one in the Central Region could have been able to do anything to them.


    Lawson let out a cold snort, resignedly sitting down, legs crossed to recuperate. If it was any other martial artist who had suffered such an injury, that would be the end of things. But these Godly Geniuses often carried around holy pills with them.


    Nathan told Zen the story. "What kind of damned place is this great world? The further north we went, the stronger the storm was. We could''ve died inside."


    "I guess they don''t call it the Chaotic Ocean of Stars for nothing." The root cause of their injuries started to come to Zen.


    Since ancient times, there had been an extremely strong storm in the Chaotic Ocean of Stars but Zen had never known the cause of it. All he knew was that the storm was dangerous so he had never dared to approach the core of the storm. Even now, he was afraid that he would not be able to weather it.


    The two of them had been so faithful in their own powers and strength and upon seeing such a wondrous scene in the Lower World, they could not help but venture in to explore.


    They couldn''t have imagined that the further in they went, the more terrifying the wind blades would become. Some wind blades even contained the eighth or ninth layer of the Wind Law. It was equivalent to a full force attack from a world lord. How could these two withstand it?


    Lawson had even used a defensive treasure passed down to him by the Lie Clan so he could escape. He lamented that he had used such a great treasure, only to leave with such wounds all over his body.


    Over the past few days, many people in the Central Region had asked to visit Zen.


    There had been people from the World Commercial Alliance, the Ethereal Spirit Sect and even many from the Cloud Hall, but Zen refused them all.


    He hadn''t wanted to meet with anyone till he knew Letitia was back safely.


    On the fourteenth day, there was still no signs of Letitia ever coming back to the great world.


    The fifteenth day seemed like any other.


    In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed since Zen returned to the Cloud Hall to wait for Letitia to return.


    He was getting more and more


    ng before he saw through to the crux of the matter.


    The man at the helm of the army was unfathomably powerful and he had brought a sea of warriors of the Soul Sea Realm with him.


    So the only question remained: who was chasing them?


    If he and his people got involved, not only the York Divine Kingdom but the entire Divine Kingdom Continent and even the entire great world would be in for a ride of misfortune.


    "Who thought this could be a good omen?"


    As Brennan Liu reprimanded angrily, the civil and military officials who had gathered for the enthronement ceremony completely silenced.


    Brennan Liu tossed aside the golden crown on his head and flew towards the sky. He knew that if he did not succeed in handling this situation, he wouldn''t be able to keep his life, no less, his throne. Besides, he had never taken the throne seriously. He had already reached the sixth level of the Life and Death Realm and he would soon break through to the Soul Sea Realm. Then, he would ascend to the Upper World like his father and grandfather had done before him. This was just how it was, the rulers of the four divine kingdoms succeeding each other as each generation was ready. After the ascending passageway was repaired, the rulers of the four divine kingdoms had changed very frequently.


    True, the ruler of a divine kingdom probably had not changed for a few thousand years in the past. But now they could ascend to the Upper World and many emperors had chosen to abandon their kingdoms and soar into the Upper World less than two years after they took their thrones.

 Chapter 1776 The Divine Kingdom Continent

    In the air, Preston covered his mouth with a hand and coughed twice while he was descending from the sky.


    A pensive look took over his face as several thoughts raced in his mind. The past weeks had been the most challenging period he had to endure so far.


    The small skulls had been extremely terrifying. When the amount of his life vitality was still sufficient and adequate, Preston could still prevent them from biting him. But eventually, the small skulls managed to devour all his protective life vitality, and chewed his skin, flesh, bones, and internal organs. A small skull even drilled into his internal organs and he had to forcibly dig it out to avoid further damage. He sustained several deep injuries, but Preston, with his strong will, persevered and endured the pain and torment.


    Casting his gaze down, he caught the trace of what seemed to be a town. "Look, there''s a town below, but I don''t know which force it belongs to," Preston uttered, pointing a finger at the cluster of houses beneath them.


    Letitia looked down, her eyes raking over the entire continent.


    Recognizing the shape of the continent, Letitia knew that the place was not part of the Central Region. Nodding, she responded, "This is the Divine Kingdom Continent. It belongs to the human race."


    Letitia had never been to the Divine Kingdom Continent before, but she remembered that Zen once mentioned that the continent''s shape was very unique. In the middle of it was a continental sea, surrounded by the mainland. From above, it looked like the shape of a bracelet. This unique form made it easy for Letitia to ascertain it was indeed the Divine Kingdom Continent.


    "The divine kingdom?" Preston asked in surprise, a flash of disdain crossing his face.


    A divine kingdom could only exist in the Lower World, and because of that, there were no divine kingdoms existing in the Upper World. The forces, such as the Humanity Alliance and the Thoughtless Minds, would develop into countless tenth-grade sacred places in the end, forming an extremely large and formidable force.


    Actually, Janet''s clan, Lucille''s clan, Nathan''s Clan, and Lawson''s Clan were like four divine kingdoms; however, with the alliance of these four great clans, there was no more need to select an emperor to take charge of the Thoughtless Minds, which had successfully developed into an extremely powerful force.


    Those who possessed true strength didn''t need to add the title of war king or war emperor to their names.


    They were already considered as the most powerful beings in the universe, an


    f his next course of actions. What should he do now? He knew it was dangerous and wanted them to leave quickly, but he was left with no choice.


    It seemed Letitia was a bit selfish...


    The sorcerer race members were indeed mysterious and frightening. If they were lured into the Central Region, they would no doubt bring trouble and incite chaos in the Cloud Hall. Thus Letitia decided to sacrifice the Divine Kingdom Continent instead. Brennan realized her selfish motives and felt anger rising in his chest, but he was helpless and he knew that he could do nothing against these powerful warriors.


    "Masters, this way, please," Brennan said, keeping his tone polite despite the maelstrom of emotions filling his chest.


    He even addressed them as powerful "masters", because that was how they usually called the strongest Soul Sea Realm warriors in their continent.


    The thousand warriors, including Letitia and Preston, followed him into the heart of the York Divine Kingdom.


    Meanwhile, Zen, who was staying at the top of the Cloud Hall, suddenly opened his eyes.


    When Zen felt a strange phenomenon coming in from the great world, he immediately grasped the memories about Letitia.


    Letitia''s memories on the will of the great world were cut off less than a year ago. As she had ascended at the time, she did not leave any memory mark on the will. But now that she was back, Zen finally managed to capture the memories about her.


    There was only a small amount of memories about her as it had only recorded the part where Letitia entered the great world and conversed with Brennan, the ruler of the York Divine Kingdom.


    Fortunately, it was more than enough for Zen to determine her location.

 Chapter 1777 Kurts Gaze

    Zen had been worried and afraid that the ascending passageway might lead to the distant seas or to the Sea God Continent.


    Even though Zen had arrived at the Spirit Supreme Realm, crossing the vast ocean would take him many days. If the pursuers caught up before him, then he might not be able to rescue Letitia in time.


    However, her being at the Divine Kingdom Continent made the situation much better.


    "Let''s go! And remember we have to be one united force to fight against them!"


    Zen briefed Rocher and the others.


    Margaret cut short her trip to the Ethereal Spirit Sect and came back early. Although she held some grudges against Letitia, she was more concerned about Zen and knew her help would be required at this hour.


    At present, Xenia had already gone back to the Upper World under Master Feng''s command, but Rocher, Margaret, Kurt and Lone were on standby, ready to make the move at Zen''s command.


    And so they responded immediately when Zen called out to them.


    On the other hand, Lawson and Nathan were filled with apprehension. After several days of recuperation, some of their bodily injuries had completely healed, some even disappeared. The effects of the divine medicine of Thoughtless Minds were incredibly powerful.


    Initially, they hesitated to follow the others. But after seeing Lucille and the other Godly Genius decide to follow, they changed their minds.


    But how could they be willing to work for Zen, as they were not on good terms with him?


    Zen knew about their feelings but did not give it much thought. He ordered his men to create a gap in the Light of Water to fly out.


    "Father! Please wait! I will also accompany you!"


    Geoffrey shouted as he came running out. Since he was unable to fly, he jumped around, waving his hand frantically.


    "Geoffrey, listen to me! You should stay back and take care of the people at Cloud Hall! Master Yu, please take him inside!" Zen said gravely.


    Zen knew that the fairy palace was the safest place for Geoffrey. But looking at his spirit, Zen realized he wouldn''t be able to keep Geoffrey at the palace for too long. And right now, he only trusted Imogen to take care of Geoffrey.


    Even though Imogen held her grudge against Zen, she tried her best to pacify Geoffrey at the moment.


    Zen swiftly turned into a streak of light and flew out, followed by Rocher, Margaret and Lone.


    Lucille was floating in front of Nathan and Lawson. She swept her gaze across them and asked, "Have you guys forgotten your pa


    of Stars if they had to be safe.


    "Do we have to directly cross over it? There must be some other way!" Lawson asked fearfully as he thought about their earlier experience.


    Earlier, to avoid the storm in the Chaotic Ocean of Stars, the team of the Celestial Position had chosen a path on the back of the space.


    However, on their way through the back, they had a nasty encounter with the Shadow Race, also known as the sorcerer race.


    Zen closed his eyes to have a clear vision of the Divine Kingdom Continent.


    He could see that Letitia had settled down in the Divine Kingdom Continent and was currently resting. She did not seem like she would leave immediately.


    He contemplated that there was still plenty of time.


    "This way!"


    Zen transformed himself into a beam of light and quickly advanced towards the northwest direction.


    Although the Chaotic Ocean of Stars looked terrifying, it was still possible to cross as long as one did not go near the core. They had to make a detour to avoid getting sucked into the powerful storm right at the center.


    Even though the detour would cost extra time, it was a much safer option.


    Back at the Divine Kingdom Continent, over a thousand core disciples of the Pure Jade Sacred Place were living in the imperial palace.


    Most of the people focused on healing their wounds.


    The ancient sorcerer race were not very strong with their fighting skills.


    The worrisome part was that after killing these creatures, their curse would still remain. Those damned little skulls would be like a nightmare that would wrap around a warrior until one died. There simply seemed to be no solution to get out of it.

 Chapter 1778 Daredevils

    "Bam!"


    Preston''s punch hit them with a powerful force and sent the small skulls flying at a fast hurling speed!


    The terrifying strength of a powerful and esteemed warrior at the Spirit Transformation Realm was more than enough to send the small skulls millions of feet away.


    Once they were gone, Preston''s shoulders sagged in relief. With a swift movement of his hand, Preston took out two life vitality jades and crushed them before absorbing them quickly. He then took out three emerald green pills and swallowed them all in one gulp. Their effects were immediate, and he could feel the warm rush of his energy quickly returning to him.


    "Where are we going after this?" Preston asked, raising his brows inquisitively.


    As a powerful master at the Spirit Transformation Realm, Preston should have made the decision by himself;


    however, as he faced the sorcerer race, whose existence was a mystery in itself, he began to feel lost and confused and decided to ask Letitia about her plans.


    When Letitia suggested they should return to the Lower World, Preston immediately thought that it was a wise decision. The supreme worlds were in chaos and only the Lower World remained unaffected by the disarray. They could find solace there.


    What they didn''t expect, however, was the fact that the sorcerer race would still pursue them relentlessly.


    Preston was puzzled. Their purpose didn''t make any sense to him. There was no one in the group important enough to attract them, so why would the sorcerer race want to hunt them down?


    Moreover, the time and place that this horde of sorcerer warriors chose to appear were very strange and suspicious. The sorcerer warriors were already there at the Ascending Well when they arrived, as though they had been guarding there and waiting for them all this time.


    Letitia shook her head in confusion. "I didn''t expect that these sorcerer warriors would suddenly appear at the Ascending Well. It''s impossible that their intention was to try and stop us there."


    "Yes, I also think so," Preston agreed with Letitia''s conjecture. "Looking at this from another perspective, if this group of warriors from the sorcerer race have been guarding the Ascending Well, then there must be something important underneath the Ascending Well."


    Beneath the Ascending Well was the ascending passageway, which connected the great world below.


    In other words, the


    s herbs... All of them were priceless!


    However, very quickly, Brennan''s face cleared as the things that he sent in were not of any interest to them.


    Only a few of them randomly chose some materials. Most of them only picked up some items, took a look and then threw them to the side.


    Knowing this, Brennan felt a little disappointed... After all, these people were important figures from the Upper World. He thought that if he could establish good relationship with them now, then there was a high chance that he could benefit from them in the future once he ascended to the Upper World.


    However, what Brennan did not know was that there were a lot of supreme worlds connected to the ascending passageway of the great world. Even if he did manage to ascend to the Upper World in the future, the chances of him landing in the Pure Jade Sacred Place were slim and very small.


    Sitting on a high platform, Preston turned his attention to the core disciples who were quietly resting below. Seeing their looks of defeat frustrated him and awakened his desire to find a way out of their current predicament. Out of the blue, a look of determination flashed across his face as he clenched his fists.


    Conviction flared deep in his chest. He was still one of the top warriors within the entire Pure Jade Sacred Place. There was no way he would sit back and wait for their impending death.


    Preston abruptly rose to his feet and, with a deep breath, shouted, "Everyone!"


    All the core disciples were startled and directed their eyes toward Preston, who looked at them with fire burning in his eyes.

 Chapter 1779 Counterattack

    The core disciples of the Pure Jade Sacred Place boasted of extraordinary talents and backgrounds. There were some disciples whose backgrounds were even stronger than Preston''s, but now that they had fallen into such a predicament, they had no option but to view Preston as their leader.


    "The sorcerer race isn''t as strong as we think," Preston said loudly.


    Everyone nodded in agreement. They were fully aware of what Preston had said. In terms of strength, the sorcerer race was not very powerful. Warriors at the Soul Sea Realm could easily kill them.


    But no one knew the methods that the sorcerer race adopted. When ordinary creatures were killed, they would release malicious auras as their curses.


    However, the curses of the sorcerer race were small skulls that could not be gotten rid of. Those skulls were like incurable diseases. Whoever was infected with the skulls would die without exception.


    "We will require a group of expendable soldiers to kill the sorcerer race! Only then can the others survive!" After a pause, Preston continued, "Those who are willing to take up this mission please step forward."


    There was pin drop silence in the luxuriantly green square in the palace.


    There had been discussions on this proposal from Preston before.


    The core disciples were relatively young. The scene of many people in the underground palace being bitten into pieces and devoured by the small skulls still stayed fresh in their minds.


    They could not get the picture out of their minds and trembled at the thought of it.


    In their hearts, they knew that killing the sorcerer race was tantamount to committing suicide.


    Therefore, no one was ready to attack the sorcerer


    s looked up at the sky with great curiosity. They quickly discovered that these descending objects were actually massive skulls.


    Boom!


    A giant skull released a black bolt of lightning as it smashed into the ground hard, creating a deep crater.


    Then black shadows began to crawl out from the skull one after another.


    Around the skull were many divine kingdom martial artists. As they saw this, they didn''t even dare to breathe. The terrifying looks of the black shadows left them overwhelmed by terror.


    Oddly enough, the members of the sorcerer race didn''t even look at those martial artists and directly headed towards the royal palace of York Divine Kingdom.


    They aimed at the people from the Pure Jade Sacred Place only, and they had no interest in the people of the Divine Kingdom Continent.


    "Here they are." At this moment, Preston was standing at the very top of the palace of York Divine Kingdom. He brought his hands together and a scorching white stream of space power drew out horizontal and vertical lines, spreading out from his body.


    Soon, the lines enveloped the three hundred expendable soldiers.

 Chapter 1780 The Terrifying Skulls

    Letitia and the remaining seven hundred core disciples retreated into the depths of the palace.


    Preston had already confided to Letitia that it was his mission to protect her life. If he couldn''t fight off the sorcerer race''s attack on his own, he had hoped that Letitia could get herself to safety.


    Letitia was moved by these words. She and Preston were not particularly close.


    As for Preston, he only risked his life to protect her because it was ordered by the Saint Lord of the Pure Jade Sacred Place.


    He was very dedicated to his mission. When the sorcerer race arrived, the entire Pure Jade Sacred Place was probably completely destroyed. Preston might have realized this much sooner than she did.


    Within the vicinity of the imperial palace of the York Divine Kingdom, giant skulls continued to smash down.


    The sorcerer race wasn''t interested much in the warriors of the great world, so there wasn''t a mass massacre. Only a few unlucky ones were smashed to death by the giant skulls.


    The jagged black figures left the skulls and headed towards the palace.


    Brennan had preemptively ordered the royal family''s members to escape from the imperial palace. Currently, he floated high above the city and observed the entire place...


    "What kind of monsters are they?"


    The terrifying creatures advanced towards the palace in all sorts of strange postures, forming a dark wave that quickly surged from all directions.


    The horrific sight made Brennan worry.


    The only consolation that he got was that these monsters headed straight towards the palace. It seemed obvious that t


    d that the sorcerer creatures would definitely be destroyed.


    However, the three hundred warriors and Preston did not seem excited at all. Killing the sorcerer creatures was an easy task, but it was their curses that gave everyone a cause to be worried.


    "Kof, kof, kof..."


    Indeed, as they looked on, small skulls emerged from their squashed bodies, jawbones clattering as they swooped straight towards Preston.


    All of the martial artists present weren''t cowards, as they were not afraid of the ordinary skulls. But now in their eyes, these small skulls were like evil spirits which would kill everyone.


    "Fuck off!"


    Preston unleashed his full power, and he brimmed with an imposing aura!


    He used the power of the Sky Demon Eliminating Array to strike back at the skulls. After all, his strength was comparable to a world lord''s as he used the Sky Demon Eliminating Array!


    He wanted to see for himself if he could use the array to annihilate these annoying small skulls.


    The wave of compressing force once again headed towards the small skulls.

 Chapter 1781 Desperate Resistance

    Boom, boom, boom...


    With the space being folded and compressed, the sound of the explosions was very clear.


    Everyone could see that many fine cracks had appeared around the small skulls. These were the cracks of space.


    This space did not crush the small skulls. Instead, cracks appeared on its own ¡­


    "No..."


    Perhaps having foreseen this scene before, Preston didn''t change his expression at all. With a flip of his hand, he sent a dozen of small skulls flying. His gaze once again focused straight ahead, and more sorcerer race members came forth!


    "Come on!"


    With a wave of his hand, Preston sent another two space fluctuations toward the skulls!


    The Sky Demon Eliminating Array was a kind of collective. The warriors of the Soul Sea Realm only needed to distribute their life vitality according to the directions given by Preston.


    The biggest flaw of the Sky Demon Eliminating Array, was in fact, Preston himself. As long as he didn''t fall, the entire array would be locked down by space and the three hundred warriors of the Soul Sea Realm would be safe!


    Crash, boom, bang...


    A shattering sound was let out once again!


    Creatures from the sorcerer race who had dared to attack were all compressed into a thin piece of black paper and piled up on the ground in all sorts of strange shapes!


    However, all the dead life forms turned into small skulls that raced towards them!


    The small skulls got dispersed by Preston''s slap, but no matter how far away they were thrown, they would still turn back unhesitatingly and attack them.


    The more creatures died, the more sk


    up.


    "My life vitality jade is used up!" Another warrior fell down.


    With every warrior that fell, the burden on the remaining warriors increased. The speed at which life vitality was extracted would also become faster, and the complexion of Preston grew more and more unsightly.


    When the Sky Demon Eliminating Array collapsed, people would be nibbled away into a pile of meat by these small skulls in a short period of time.


    "Is this resistance futile in the end?"


    As Preston saw the waves of skulls, his heart sank. It wouldn''t even take five minutes before all of their life vitality was sucked dry by these wretched things!


    Just then, a group of core disciples, which had been hiding in the depths of the palace, appeared behind the Sky Demon Eliminating Array.


    "Preston, we have come to help you," Letitia''s voice sounded suddenly. The helplessness and sadness on her incomparably beautiful face had faded away, and it was replaced by a resolute expression.


    The core disciples following Letitia all wore the same expression on their faces.

 Chapter 1782 Desperate Situation

    The air was filled with tense chaos. At that moment, the entire Sky Demon Eliminating Array was under tremendous pressure.


    More and more martial artists continued to lose their life vitality, but Preston knew that there was no way back.


    They had little time left--as soon as the Sky Demon Eliminating Array collapsed, all the small skulls would attack and tear them into pieces!


    Just then, Preston saw Letitia and the warriors following behind her.


    "You can just leave!" he coldly said to Letitia.


    All resistance was futile at that point.


    Although Letitia had brought seven hundred warriors with her to help, their life vitality would eventually be depleted. It still wouldn''t flip the tide to their favor and in the end, the Sky Demon Eliminating Array would still collapse and they would all die.


    However, where would Letitia go? Preston didn''t know as well.


    Perhaps the purpose of the sorcerer warriors was to capture all the warriors who came here from the Upper World in one fell swoop. If so, then Letitia still wouldn''t be able to escape in this great world.


    "Where could I go?" Letitia asked. She, like Preston, also didn''t know.


    There was nowhere she could escape. Even if she left right now, doing so would only buy her a little more time. Moreover, she also had other concerns. She was afraid she''d cause a disaster to the Central Region, and fail to resist the temptation of returning to the Cloud Hall.


    Preston was silent. Soon enough, he smiled bitterly and said, "Fine!"


    He then waved his hand and ablaze white lines appeared behind him, which formed multiple squares. The squares wrapped around Letitia and spread outwards. After a while, all the seven hundred warriors were individually wrapped in the array.


    "I need your life vitality!" Preston shouted.


    In compliance, the life vitality sea in the bodies of Letitia and all the martial artists stirred up.


    The surging l


    our, many of the warriors had consumed more than half of their life vitality in their life vitality sea.


    Some martial artists tried to meditate on the spot and absorb the vitality between heaven and earth for their own use, but the vitality in the Lower World was far inferior to that of the Upper World. Moreover, even to absorb the vitality between heaven and earth in the Upper World would be far from enough. Unless they had an infinite supply of life vitality jades, they might not be able to sustain balance.


    Another hour had passed!


    About forty thousand skulls had now swarmed the place.


    The massive influx of small skulls were like sharp blades that floated above everyone''s heads. Once they exhausted their life vitality, the small skulls would suddenly chop down like guillotines. The people would surely die!


    Meanwhile, Letitia quietly crushed a supreme life vitality crystal. If even the life vitality jades weren''t enough to replenish her life vitality, what more could the life vitality crystals do? It was like a single drop of water in the life vitality sea that had dried up completely.


    She wasn''t the only one. The Soul Seas of all the warriors at the Soul Sea Realm were also drained.


    Amidst the desperate situation, all eyes turned to Preston.

 Chapter 1783 The Powerful Sword Strike

    Preston smiled bitterly.


    As a Spirit Transformation Realm martial artist, he had produced a massive number of living creatures in his inner world. The proof of it was a small divine kingdom with several third-grade sacred places where countless creatures still lived.


    Just now, a massive calamity had erupted in his inner world.


    He had cruelly disintegrated all living beings and returned them to the life vitality.


    Houses, buildings, roads, lakes, wolves, snakes, tigers, leopards, and any other vicious beasts in his inner world¡ªnone of them were spared.


    Some of the Virtual Tribulation Realm and Life and Death Realm warriors had also been restored to the life vitality by him.


    These creatures were deeply unwilling at the moment. They did not know what was happening outside of this world, nor did they know that the master of this inner world was undergoing a life and death crisis. Therefore, he had no choice but to sacrifice them one by one.


    When some warriors built their inner worlds, they sometimes developed bonds with the creatures within.


    For instance, once when Preston had been roaming his inner world, he had accepted a disciple. With his support, the disciple had established a powerful force in the inner world.


    But now, everything in this inner world would be destroyed soon and restored to the purest life vitality.


    The creatures were forced to comply to it as Preston was their God.


    Preston was also reluctant to take this step, but he felt he had no other choice left. His life vitality was used up and he knew that there was no longer any reason for him to persevere.


    Crack!


    As the loud sound rang out, an enormous crack appeared in the Sky Demon Eliminating Array.


    When the small skulls saw this, they rushed in through the crack.


    "Get away!"


    Preston had almost completely exhausted his last bit of life vitality. He struck out with his palm, sending the small skulls flying. However, even more small skul


    tia had later dismissed her daydream and secretly laughed at herself, deeming it as only wishful thinking.


    Zen was not an omnipresent True God anyway. He could not control everything.


    However, in the end, he appeared when she was right on the verge of despair.


    Letitia did not know if Zen could handle the small skulls, but she believed that since Zen had shown up, he would be able to come up with a solution. She trusted him fully and had great confidence in him. To her, being able to meet Zen at this moment was worth all the turmoil she had to face, even if she had to die the next moment. She had missed him dearly for several years. Now, she was finally meeting him again. It fulfilled her ardent wish, which might in fact be her last.


    In an instant, eight beams of light arrived above the imperial palace of the York Divine Kingdom and descended swiftly.


    The rulers of the four divine kingdoms were aware of this giant commotion. However, they could not understand just how these people had appeared. Could it be that they did not go through the ascending passageway?


    Preston looked bewildered and suspicious as he stared at the eight young warriors in front of him.


    The core disciples present there had similar looks of confusion and astonishment on their faces as they gazed at them.

 Chapter 1784 Despair

    These core disciples had all undergone the challenges of the Illusion Battlefield. After their elimination, they were still able to witness the battles that went on through the painting scroll.


    The last three hundred people were born in the same era and were in the same realm as them; however, there was a big gap when it came to their strength.


    These were Godly Geniuses whose names echoed throughout the entire universe. They were the elite of this worst era and everyone looked up to them for salvation. They were the ones that the Supreme Lords all cherished and cared for as much as they could.


    So it was understood that their presence here shook everyone''s heart to the core.


    Boom!


    There was a loud explosion as Zen crashed onto the ground. He still had the Thunder Wind Divine Sword in his hand and sent out sword energy all over the place.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Zen forcefully activated the Chaotic Gods-intimidating Strike''s sword radiance and looked like a golden hedgehog in the process.


    The radiance pushed back a portion of the small skulls millions of feet away. It would take them a long time if they were to fly back.


    However, Zen was only able to push a few of them and the majority still rushed towards Preston.


    "Multiple Stars Brilliance!"


    Starlight flickered around Zen''s body as he released an explosive force.


    The powerful shock waves caused many of the Pure Jade Sacred Place''s disciples to lose their balance. Some were even lifted off the ground by 20 to 30 feet and fell heavily onto the ground again. However, this kind of impact was nothing for the warriors of the Soul Sea Realm. The more powerful Zen was, the better their chances of survival.


    Tens


    n dangers," she said. A Supreme Lord once had skulls hanging on his body for three whole years before they disappeared.


    Rocher smiled confidently. "You''ll see in a bit."


    The Godly Geniuses trusted him. Rocher''s confidence was enough to let them know that he knew what he was doing.


    Preston stood up and slowly walked towards Rocher. He was about to express his gratitude when a graceful figure suddenly flew in the air and shot over.


    Letitia had used up most of her life vitality, so even flying was difficult. In the end, she ended up falling right into Zen''s arms.


    Zen was already waiting to catch her. As he held his wife, he could hear her painful sobs.


    Letitia had never been afraid of death. As a warrior, she possessed the type of courage that defied the heavens and readily faced death head-on.


    When she was in charge of Cloud Hall, she completely ignored everything else and buried herself headfirst into her role.


    She didn''t have much to worry about back then, but it was different now. There were far too many things she treasured in this life and she couldn''t leave this world behind so easily anymore.

 Chapter 1785 Chains Of Curses

    The core disciples were rendered speechless as they watched the skulls spin in the air.


    Not even Preston could resist the curses of the sorcerer race, but the Godly Geniuses dealt with them rather easily.


    And on another note, they accepted the astonishing fact without resistance.


    They understood that the Godly Geniuses'' strengths couldn''t be measured merely by their cultivation levels. Since these geniuses shouldered more responsibilities and missions in this grand era, it was necessary for them to have a broad knowledge of everything in the world.


    Meanwhile, Margaret was watching as Zen and Letitia held each other tightly ¡ª she was utterly disgruntled.


    Although she was willing to go and help Zen out, the scene in front of her was admittedly upsetting.


    After a long embrace, Zen finally loosened his arms and let Letitia stand on her own.


    It was their first reunion after seven full years. With too many words to exchange, they wondered where they should begin.


    Finally, Letitia broke the silence. "You¡­ You''ve seen Geoffrey, right?"


    Zen offered a gentle nod.


    "Is he alright?" she asked, the nervousness evident in her voice. Having ascended to the Upper World for so long, she was always worrying about her young son.


    "Of course he is. Let''s return to the Cloud Hall," Zen suggested with a smile ¡ª he had decided to bring Letitia and the other important ones into the fairy palace. While the entire universe was in chaos, the fairy palace remained absolutely safe.


    "But the skulls..." Letitia pointed at the sky.


    Numerous skulls still spun slowly in the sky above them like a huge, black cloud.


    "Just leave those to Rocher," Zen said with a laugh.


    To that, Rocher turned to him and nodded.


    With


    In an instant, tens of thousands of skulls broke apart and vanished.


    Finally breathing a sigh of relief, Preston walked up to Zen and Rocher and cupped his hands as he said, "Thank you for saving my life!"


    "Never mind, I should be the one thanking you. If you didn''t offer your help, my wife wouldn''t have survived this," Zen returned as he bowed to Preston with respect ¡ª he had heartfelt gratitude towards the man who saved his wife, after all.


    Although he had rushed and led his team to the Divine Kingdom Continent as soon as he knew that Letitia was here, she would''ve died before he arrived without Preston''s help.


    "Has the Shadow Race been wiped out?" Lucille was looking around to check if they were completely gone.


    It seemed they managed to escape danger for now.


    Whoosh!


    Just then, they saw several warriors flying right at them from afar.


    Brennan, the present emperor of the York Divine Kingdom, led the group. Behind him were the emperors of the other three divine kingdoms.


    When Brennan arrived first, he landed on the ground and greeted Zen politely ¡ª he had seen Zen before when he was still a prince of his divine kingdom.

 Chapter 1786 The Supreme Sorcerer

    ...


    At the moment, what worried Brennan was that these people would feel reluctant to leave this place. He was after all the lord of the divine kingdom and couldn''t let them really take over his continent. But after another careful thought, he realized that they didn''t seem interested in his continent at all. No matter what, he had to talk to them.


    Zen folded his hands at the man, while the rest others didn''t take these rulers of divine kingdoms seriously. They were definitely figures in the Divine Kingdom Continent, but were not qualified to be the core disciples of some sacred place in Upper World.


    After the crisis was resolved, they discussed the way forward.


    The core disciples naturally hoped to return to the sacred place, but none of them were clear about the situation in Pure Jade Sacred Place right now.


    This problem was not difficult to solve. Zen and others could use Teleportation Token to return to the Upper World, understand the situation and come over to inform them.


    But while their discussions were going on, there was a strange tower built in the shadow of the world.


    In the dark the tower gave off a strange green light, and the tower was located at the center of Chaotic Ocean of Stars!


    Beneath the tower, thousands of giant skulls were floating, seeming to discuss something.


    These giant skulls seemed to belong to two groups.


    Although both of them belonged to the Shadow Race, one of the groups hid in this great world all the time, while the other entered the great world by chasing to kill Preston and his people in ascending passageway.


    And the heads of these two groups were two grand sorcerers!


    "Daly, how did you manage to let so many mice escape to the most important place?


    The stronger ones were war sorcerers and this type of sorcerers showcased stronger fighting ability. Most of the ones killed by Preston were war sorcerers. The capability of grand sorcerers was already at the level of a world lord, who were able to rule an entire clan among the ancient sorcerer race.


    The supreme sorcerers were similar to the Supreme Lords in the entire universe. These supreme sorcerers didn''t have any Heavenly Destiny, but the spells they used were able to fight against the Supreme Lords!


    There were even more powerful existences above the supreme sorcerers, such as the ancestral sorcerers and the sorcerer sages, who only existed in the divine land.


    The green figure''s form rippled with a shimmer and an authoritative voice boomed out, "Daly, Dean!"


    "Yes, my supreme sorcerer!"


    "Yes!"


    The two grand sorcerers quivered slightly. Judging from supreme sorcerer''s voice, they could sense that he was in a terrible mood.


    "The Godly Geniuses have all descended into the great world. The old fox of the Celestial Position has already set his eyes on us. Why haven''t you made your move yet?" The supreme sorcerer enquired.

 Chapter 1787 The Godly Geniuses

    The grand sorcerers paled.


    They had hesitated for a long time before choosing to be patient and let the people on the Divine Kingdom Continent off.


    Their conspiracy was more important compared to killing the people off.


    So they decided, after a discussion, that they wouldn''t fight as long as the people didn''t trespass the center of the storm.


    They just pretended that this had never happened.


    The warriors that suddenly appeared had extraordinary strength. But they hadn''t thought, even in their wildest dreams, that these warriors were, in reality, the Godly Geniuses!


    The ancient sorcerer race had lived on the other side of the world for all of eternity, which was why they hadn''t seen the Illusion Battlefield before and hadn''t recognized them.


    "If they''re Godly Geniuses, then¡­"


    "Not just the Celestial Position race, I''m afraid even the Thoughtless Minds, and the Humanity Alliance will pay attention to their every move!"


    The universe was so chaotic that it was almost unimaginable how the Supreme Lords could tolerate the Godly Geniuses going anywhere far from them.


    But now that they had dared allow them to come here, they must have had a motive, some cards up their sleeves that they had hidden.


    This would be big trouble.


    "I knew the people from the Pure Jade Sacred Place would cause trouble if they barged into the Lower World. But they did barge into this great world and it''s my fault!" Daly''s body was shaking more and more violently. If he had known about it earlier, he would have killed them in the ascending passageway. He shouldn''t have worried too much and now, it had led them to one of the most troublesome situations ever.


    The ancient sorcerer race''s methods were scary, and


    cultivation levels being relatively low, they were both placed in the front.


    The atmosphere at the banquet was quite warm. Everyone in the Central Region was curious about the people around Zen.


    "Zen, may we have the honor of knowing who the almighty beings around you are?" Dillon said, smiling a loopy smile, now that he was a little drunk.


    Zen nodded. He hadn''t introduced all of them yet and no one from the Central Region had heard of them. So he introduced them by name, one by one.


    They were already familiar with Rocher and Margaret.


    As he introduced each of others, Lone, Lucille and Kurt stood up and greeted everyone, acknowledging Zen''s introduction. The strength and status of those people around them might not be worth mentioning, but they were still Zen''s friends.


    But Nathan and Lawson behaved as if they hadn''t heard Zen. Nathan even looked away from him, making it even more awkward.


    Zen didn''t care. He hadn''t expected Nathan and Lawson to come with him. He was disappointed that they were acting so smugly, but because the universe was in such a crisis, he knew that he couldn''t treat these two men as his enemies.

 Chapter 1788 An Unnoticed Talent

    "These two friends don''t seem to be in a good mood." Dillon, a clever and considerate man, said in an attempt to help Zen make the situation less uncomfortable.


    However, Nathan replied coldly, "I''m drinking with a bunch of ants from the Lower World. How do you expect me to be in a good mood?"


    Many of those who heard the response found it insulting.


    Various strong masters from all over the Central Region had come to visit the Cloud Hall. Said during this glorious and joyous occasion, Nathan''s words offended some people.


    Letitia made a face at Zen, who frowned and snapped, "If my hospitality has failed to please the two of you, then you can leave!"


    They had all relied on Zen''s Teleportation Token to get here. They could go back to the Upper World through the ascending passageway, but through there, there was no guarantee that they would return safely.


    Lawson curled his lips. He ignored Zen, and when he spoke, it was to support Nathan. "What was wrong with what Nathan said? Martial artists from the Lower World don''t even compare to ants, and that''s a fact."


    From the perspective of these top warriors, this was an accepted truth. If it weren''t for Zen, they wouldn''t have had any connection with the Lower World.


    "Really? Why is it, then, that as the number one Godly Genius in the universe, you still lost to Zen?" Margaret snapped. She could no longer sit there and watch this senseless argument go on. Among the people who the two had referred to as ants were members of her family. Today, Xander had even brought the core members of the Ethereal Spirit Sect to the banquet.


    Margaret saw herself as someone who often caused trouble without reason. Today, she discovered that these two fellows from the Thoughtless Minds were even more unreasonable than she was.


    "Hmph. He''s simply an exception, a special ant," Nathan snorted. Deep inside, he also did not understand how someone like Zen had found his way in


    mused, but when he, too, could tell that Patrick was already feeling a little nervous, he decided to keep quiet.


    "Kurt, what do you mean by that?" A hint of curiosity flashed on Zen''s face.


    After ascending to the Upper World, Zen had never entered the Blessed Buddha Land. The Buddhism they practiced there was unusual, and some parts of it were quite mysterious. He had a feeling that there was something behind Kurt''s words.


    Kurt smiled and nodded at Patrick. "May I know your name, Mister?"


    "Patrick Pei." Patrick stood up and put his palms together as a form of salute.


    Some might have found this strange, as Kurt looked like a little acolyte. He was even younger than Patrick was. However, he was still a Spirit Supreme Realm warrior. Thus, Patrick politely paid him due respect.


    After Patrick had greeted him with a salute, Kurt did the same and put his palms together. He said, "Amitabha, you are the reincarnation of the Acalanatha, but right now, you have a very slim chance of ascending to the Upper World. If you come to our Blessed Buddha Land, we will train you and mold you into a Godly Genius..." Without waiting for a response, Kurt turned to Zen and Letitia. "I wonder... If I want to take someone away from the Cloud Hall, will you permit me to do so?" he asked.

 Chapter 1789 Secret

    The other Godly Geniuses despised the Cloud Hall.


    A sixth-grade sect, or even a tenth-grade sacred place was nothing in their eyes. The forces they were under had jurisdiction over thousands of tenth-grade sacred places.


    So it was a surprise that Kurt was exceedingly polite and asked the Cloud Hall for a warrior.


    Zen''s eyebrows were raised. "Godly Genius..."


    Letitia''s eyes also flashed.


    She wasn''t a stranger to how things worked around the Upper World. Ever since she ascended, Preston had already filled her in on the different levels of strength in the universe along with the different types of geniuses among warriors.


    Godly Geniuses were definitely the cream of the crop. They were the ones considered as the most talented and remarkable warriors in the entire universe due to their power and rarity.


    Letitia was rendered speechless for a moment. Her Cloud Hall was simply too powerful now that it had three Godly Geniuses. It might even be much stronger than she had ever expected. So how would it be graded? Was it an eleventh-grade sacred place? Or a twenty-first grade sacred place?


    None of the people from the Central Region really knew what ''Godly Genius'' meant. All they knew was that Patrick had been chosen by this monk of the Spirit Supreme Realm, so that must meant that he was very talented. At that moment, they viewed Patrick as at least a divine-level talent.


    However, Nathan and the others were visibly surprised.


    "Cultivating him into a Godly Genius? Kurt, can you really make such a major decision on behalf of the Hidden Spirit Temple? Are you joking?" Nathan laughed.


    All of the Godly Geniuses were aware of their high status. They were symbolic of the future of their respective forces. Yet here was Kurt, randomly hand-picking a warrior from the Lower World with the goal of turning him into a Godly Genius.


    Kurt, however, merely smiled. "Have you ever seen a monk lie or say something reckless?"


    "


    of them came from this great world.


    It didn''t make sense, statistically speaking.


    Most of the warriors present felt incredible envy grip their hearts at this wonderful opportunity that presented itself in front of Patrick. Their cultivation levels were not high but they were wise enough to know that these experts had extremely special backgrounds. Patrick was only a Virtual Tribulation Realm warrior, but he now had the chance to enter the universe.


    With this out of the way, they all continued with the banquet. As everyone enjoyed themselves, a hairline space crack suddenly appeared on the other side of Cloudy City where rays of green light burst forth.


    A green shadow drilled out from the space crack and from it emerged the supreme sorcerer of the sorcerer race!


    He raised the jade bone cane in his hand and waved it in the air wherein a green incantation circle appeared.


    The Godly Geniuses were currently gathered here. If he could kill all of them at this place, all at once, then that would be a good thing for the sorcerer race!


    He had to be wary though. These Godly Geniuses were most likely being protected by the members of the Celestial Position in secret.


    So this time, he had to go all out and use a devastating method that he was sure would eliminate all of them.

 Chapter 1790 Ghost Faces

    The instant the green incantations appeared, dozens of sinister looking ghost faces appeared. They projected a greenish hue and looked terrifying as they drifted towards the Cloud Hall.


    The enchanted barrier that was named Light of Water was enough to block the Space Law to a certain extent. But the ghost faces could easily cross over it.


    The ancient sorcerer race was not so good at open battle. Even though this supreme sorcerer''s cultivation was weak as compared to a Supreme Lord, he could still use powerful spells.


    The supreme sorcerer floated in midair, looking around with his two peculiar eyes revealing only the whites.


    For the time being, he was focusing on controlling the ghost faces as they silently drifted back and forth in the Could Hall.


    At the same time the supreme sorcerer was also aware about his surroundings. He was keeping an alert eye on the activities happening below him.


    He was surprised to see that the Celestial Position race allowed these kids to come here without any defenses around them. With this careless action, he easily had an advantage over them!


    Whoosh!


    "Little kids, I found you!" The supreme sorcerer mocked at the Godly Geniuses by pointing at their direction. Immediately the ghost faces turned towards that direction at the same time.


    The ghost faces were constantly shuttling and they illuminated like giant fireflies in the dark night


    What a sight!


    These ghastly faces did not have a fixed shape. The moment they entered, they rushed towards Zen and the others.


    Zen was the first to react. As soon as he saw the ghost faces, he went on instant alert. Quickly he grabbed Letitia by her waist and pulled her away.


    He could not figure out the strength of these ghost faces. Sensing their evil aura emanating from them, he instantly went on g


    e Lord''s control over the Time Law. The scene played before their eyes in a slow motion, including their thoughts.


    Because of this, the crowd couldn''t see the Supreme Lord''s attack. All they could see was a blurred vision of all the whole action.


    The Supreme Lord turned his head and smiled at Zen and the others, "Come out you little brats! It is time to go back."


    "We are eternally grateful, Supreme Lord Mirage, for saving our lives," Rocher said folding his hands with respect.


    Zen also followed suit and folded his hands in gratitude. He still could not shake off the feeling that they were so close to death! There were so many people in Cloud Hall who were relying on him and he nearly failed them! He realized that the Celestial Position was still not very confident about their group and had arranged for a Supreme Lord to protect them.


    "I wonder who dared to attack us?" Nathan''s expression had turned sour. He knew that he had been implicated by Zen and he was very furious with that. He should have listened to his instincts and not followed him then.


    Supreme Lord Mirage just waved his hand and said indifferently, "That''s just a certain supreme sorcerer who will be in trouble now."

 Chapter 1791 A Big Trouble

    The supreme sorcerer, who was standing outside the Cloud Hall, sensed the danger. The Soul Devouring Shadow he had released was killed and just as his face clouded with anger, a soft voice rang out.


    "I''ve discovered you too." A white figure appeared by the supreme sorcerer''s side.


    The supreme sorcerer felt the cold blade of a sword against his neck.


    "Go to hell!" the wielder of the sword said angrily, without hesitation.


    The short sword suddenly blossomed into a strong ray of light and made its way towards the supreme sorcerer.


    The supreme sorcerer''s sparkling body spread out suddenly, transforming into a glow of green light that scattered crazily everywhere.


    But before anyone could react, the green light went up to gather above the clouds.


    When the green light had condensed back into the body of the supreme sorcerer, there was a wound on his neck that looked like it could not be healed. In the darkness of the night, green blood gushed out from the wound. It was evident that the sword had struck him hard.


    Just as his body began to congeal, the white figure appeared behind the supreme sorcerer like a shadow.


    He slashed out again wit


    ugh the ancient sorcerers were a little troublesome for them. Celestial Position could crush them easily.


    For Celestial Position, the real danger came from their enemies behind the Sighing Wall.


    "Is that so?" The supreme sorcerer laughed coldly. "Since Supreme Lord Sky has arrived, the one who extinguished my Soul Devouring Shadow in the hall should be Supreme Lord Mirage. I wonder if Supreme Lord Mirage can beat Torch Dragon. Ha-ha!"


    This supreme sorcerer knew that the Celestial Position had prepared a backup plan. Under these circumstances, he still dared kill the Godly Geniuses, which meant that he naturally had a backup plan too.


    At this, Supreme Lord Sky narrowed his eyes and said coldly, "You''ve already awakened the Torch Dragon. You are so ambitious!"

 Chapter 1792 A Formidable Grand Sorcerer

    At the same time, in the hall, Supreme Lord Mirage said to Zen, "That supreme sorcerer is going to be in deep trouble¡­"


    As he finished speaking, a space crack exploded. An inky black tail glided out from it, instantly coiled around Supreme Lord Mirage and pulled him into the back of the space¡­


    The chaotic situation had finally stabilized thanks to the arrival of Supreme Lord Mirage.


    Normally, with the two Supreme Lords present, the sorcerer race would not dare to make another move. So no one expected the situation to change so soon.


    Zen and the others were also stunned by this sudden phenomenon.


    In reality, the Celestial Position had foreseen this when they allowed Zen and the others to leave. That was exactly why they had sent the two Supreme Lords to protect them from the sorcerer race.


    The sorcerer race itself was not particularly powerful in the universe but they were suddenly invading many supreme worlds in order to wake up fierce beasts from remote ages.


    It was not like the sorcerer race wanted to conquer the supreme worlds, but the beasts from remote ages were all hidden in the depths of certain supreme worlds. This was the main reason why they wanted to seize these supreme worlds.


    Supreme Lord Mirage and Supreme Lord Sky were quietly guarding Zen and the rest, and before the supreme sorcerer could make his move, they had already launched their counterattack. However, the two Supreme Lords did not expect the sorcerer race to also come prepared for a war.


    The Torch Dragon, also known as Candle Dragon, was originally a variant of the Genuine Dragon. It was a sacred beast in the


    is expression did not change at all. He looked around at the warriors of the Central Region''s various sects, and found that all of them had a bitter expression on their faces. They knew that this disaster was brought about by Zen and they would loathe him for it if he chose to just leave.


    However, in this place, these people were as insignificant as ants. At the moment, their pleas to Zen to stay did not hold any weight. This group of masters at the Spirit Supreme Realm were so desperate to avoid the disaster that even Zen couldn''t stop them.


    Zen realized there was no use wasting time in any more debates with them. He flicked his finger and the Teleportation Token popped out from his space ring.


    "Whoever wants to leave can do so on their own! I am going to stay here anyway," he declared.


    He had devised a brilliant plan in his mind. The others could enter the Teleportation Token while he placed Letitia, Geoffrey and the rest in the fairy palace.


    But before Zen could activate the Teleportation Token, a cold voice rang out:


    "Haha¡­! None of you can leave!"

 Chapter 1793 Smoky Heart-locking Curse

    Everyone in the crowd gasped as they saw the sky crack. Time seemed to stop as a black figure emerged from within the fissure and as the figure slowly stepped into the light, they saw his body covered with jagged barbs.


    "It''s a grand sorcerer!"


    "His cultivation level is that of a war lord''s!"


    "Zen, hurry and activate that damn thing of yours! Take us out of here!" Lawson roared.


    "I already said none of you can leave and yet you still try!" The grand sorcerer''s voice boomed as he brandished his bone cane. Black mist rose from the tip of the cane, which then shot straight to Zen''s group, striking eight people in the chest. "Ahhh, you can try to escape..." The grand sorcerer began. "But I must tell you, it will be futile. Your hearts will explode before you can leave this place."


    This was the Smoky Heart-locking Curse from the ancient sorcerer race. Unless the person who cast the curse was killed, the black fog would never be lifted. At this point, it was as powerful as the Desperate Melee.


    The only catch was that its power depended on the person who cast the spell. Unfortunately for them, this grand sorcerer clearly believed he had the power to crush all eight Godly Geniuses.


    "Let''s get rid of him first!" someone shouted. "Leave the Cloud Hall!" another screamed. With a flash of light, Rocher summoned the Soaring Snake Sword as he dashed toward the grand sorcerer.


    The warriors who had come to visit the Cloud Hall were in chaos. None of them thought they''d be involved in a battle with this le


    to be blown back a good five feet from where he was.


    Lucille, Lone, and Nathan followed Zen''s lead and launched their first round of attacks.


    While they were itching to leave this place already, they were still chained by the Smoky Heart-locking Curse and needed to kill the grand sorcerer first.


    BOOM!


    The Cloud Hall, which was floating high up in the sky, suddenly began to shake violently!


    Although they had focused all their power on the grand sorcerer, his power was still too great. In the end, the Cloud Hall was not able to resist such terrifying power and threatened to fall apart.


    Nathan''s spear missed and flipped over the roof and flew over to the enchanted barrier of the Light of Water.


    In the past, Eddie was naturally helpless against the enchanted barrier of the Light of Water but when Nathan marched his spear forward, the enchanted barrier began to ripple and crack. And before the power of the spear light could spread throughout the barrier, the whole Light of Water shattered.

 Chapter 1794 Destruction

    Shaky and anxious murmurs filled the night air as the Cloudy City was in deep danger.


    Heavy footsteps clanked continuously on the pavement. Under Letitia''s order, all the warriors were quickly evacuated.


    High up in the sky, numerous martial artists from the Cloud Hall poured out of the exits. The Cloud Hall looked like a broken bag of rice when viewed from the Cloudy City as countless martial artists scattered like rice grains in various directions.


    Just then, the shaking in the Cloud Hall intensified.


    The mortals in the Central Region viewed the Cloud Hall as something of a colossus, an aerial edifice that would never sink.


    However, Letitia and the others in the Cloud Hall knew very well that the grand sorcerer or the Spirit Supreme Realm warriors could completely destroy the Cloud Hall with only one move...


    "Where''s dad? Why don''t I see him..." Geoffrey said. He leaned on Imogen''s back in thought while the latter hoisted him up further on her back.


    Even at his young age, he knew what the panic on the faces of the many warriors in the Cloud Hall meant. He understood that the supposedly fortified place was now in deep trouble.


    "Don''t worry. Your father will be fine!" Imogen reassured him. However, she too was quite worried deep inside.


    The Cloud Hall was important to her and she had put a lot of energy and effort towards its development, only for Zen to bring it so much problems.


    Although Imogen felt upset, she was also worried about Zen. After all, he was the only one who had contributed the most to the Cloud Hall and helped it become the top sect in the Central Region.


    But after Zen had ascended to the Upper World, he would''ve surely gotten himself into trouble. Now, the trouble he had faced was far more than what the Cloud Hall could handle. At this moment, the Cloud Hall was like a mere mosquito that the almighty warriors of the Upper World could easily crush.


    Aside from the Cloud Hall, all the city gates of the Cloudy City were open and all the transmission arrays had been lit up overnight.


    Everyone in the third-grade clans, all the forces of the World Commercial Alliance, and even the common mortals hurriedly moved out of the city.


    This time, the battle was as fierce as Zen had never felt before. His opponents were like jungle beasts against them, who were like mere ants. It was no secret that many innocent lives might be lost during the fight.


    "Boom!"


    A blinding bolt of light loudly shot towards the sky, and the Cloud Hall suddenly shook and tilted to the side!


    Fortunately, the Cloud Hall was on a huge floating rock. It would still stay afloat even if it were to be toppled or rolled around.


    Meanwhile, Letitia got distracted from evacuating the warriors when she saw the scene. Her worried gaze drifted to the peak of Cloud Hall, and she sighed.


    If the Cloud Hall was destroyed, it could be rebuilt.


    As long as the foundation was still there, she wouldn''t care even if she had to abandon this piece o


    s spear strike was nothing to a world lord, but the grand sorcerer felt like he was on the verge of death in the face of the spear''s actual attack.


    "This is too dangerous. I have to kill this brat first!"


    With that thought in mind, he waved the bone cane in his hand and a bit of black fog was diffused. His body immediately disappeared into the black fog, and simultaneously dodged Nathan''s spear strike.


    "He has made use of this move again!"


    "Everyone, be careful!"


    Even amidst a crisis, Zen and the others reminded one another.


    If only they were faced with an ordinary world lord, they would''ve had a chance to claim victory in this battle.


    The key point was that this sorcerer race used really odd methods. Their cultivation methods weren''t derived from a variety of laws. That combined with their strange cultivation methods made them difficult to defeat.


    "Swoosh!"


    Suddenly, the black fog froze and appeared behind Nathan.


    The grand sorcerer stretched out the bone cane in his hand, and punctured Nathan''s back!


    "You should be the one to die, brat! Deadly Cane Strike!"


    An insect shadow gushed out of the bone cane''s tip. This kind of strange insect was known as the "Nether Spring Cicada", which was said to have been caught from the nether world and could only be used by the sorcerer race''s grand sorcerer. Each grand sorcerer''s cane was specially designed by the sorcerer race, and was equipped with seven Nether Spring Cicadas!


    If the cane struck a warrior, the Nether Spring Cicada could enter the body. Once it had done so, not even a True God would be able to save them. Thus, the cane strike was called the "Deadly Cane Strike", and it resulted in one''s immediate death.


    Since the grand sorcerer''s attack happened so suddenly just as when Nathan was about to attack, he was caught off guard. The flaw was seemingly endless and he didn''t have enough time to dodge.


    "Fuck!


    Damn it. Zen brought me so much trouble..." Nathan mentally cursed Zen.

 Chapter 1795 Chasing After The Grand Sorcerer

    Nathan was harboring a deep resentment towards Zen.


    Even though he was facing a life and death moment, he couldn''t push back his feelings of anger for the other man. In fact, it seemed like he couldn''t care less about his own life and death.


    "How dare you! Do you know who he is?" Lawson reprimanded.


    The magical light of five elements flashed as Lucille''s killing intent surged within her beautiful eyes.


    These three warriors came from the same great force, after all¡ªthey had special status. No one had ever thought they would perish here. Seeing the grand sorcerer thrusting out his cane, Lawson couldn''t help but blurt out the question.


    Lawson''s threat might have worked if they were facing other forces. Being the descendant of Supreme Lord of Original Sin, if Nathan was killed, the person who killed him would undoubtedly meet their own death.


    But to the grand sorcerer, such a threat only sounded ridiculous.


    The sorcerer race was fighting against the entire universe¡ªsomething they had plotted for hundreds of millions of years. How could he possibly fear Supreme Lord of Original Sin?


    And this time, the purpose of his attack was to exterminate these eight Godly Geniuses!


    The moment the shadow of the insect on the tip of the cane rushed towards Nathan, a figure suddenly appeared behind him.


    It was Zen.


    "Huh?" The scene left Margaret stunned, but she was unable to stop it¡ª all happened so fast and it was too late for her to stop it.


    Kurt, Rocher, and all the others were then wearing different expressions.


    None of them were expecting Zen to block the attack on Nathan.


    Even Nathan was looking at him strangely.


    "Boom!"


    The white jade cane struck Zen''s fist.


    The Nether Spring Cicada attached to the tip of the cane flashed a black light that got into Zen''s fist.


    It was an extremely powerful creature. If it were to get into someone''s body, it could extinguish the person''s life energy in an instant. Even a world lord would fall to death under the cicada''s power.


    Seeing that he had succeeded, the grand sorcerer sneered. Then, he turned into black smoke and dodged Lawson''s and Lucille''s attacks before reappearing a dozen feet away. Although he had been fighting with the kids for quite a long time, these Godly Geniuses would eventually die in his hands, one after another. With this in mind, the process of killing them was something he could enjoy.


    Before long, Zen''s life energy would be devoured completely¡ªhe''d end up a living corpse before perishing into nothing.


    "Zen!" Margaret rushed over to Zen''s side, her heart aching in concern.


    The battle between the two sides froze for a minute. But then everyone''s eyes focused on Zen as they waited for death to come.


    Only Zen remained expressionless as he stared at the grand sorcerer. Then, he smiled.


    After a moment, the sneer on the grand sorcerer''s face turned into a look of disbelief.


    As for Lucille, Margaret, and the rest, their expressions of sorrow turned to joy.


    "This... This is impossible!" the grand sorcerer roared.


    Being


    en more troublesome was the Smoky Heart-locking Curse.


    While the sorcerer race''s spells were extremely powerful, they also had negative effects.


    For example, after the death of the sorcerer slaves and the war sorcerers, they would produce strong curses. And the small skulls from the curses were almost impossible to damage. An ordinary martial artist had no solution to get rid of them. But the fact that these skulls came at the cost of numerous lives couldn''t be ignored.


    The law of conservation never failed. To reach the highest level of the Emotion Closing Godly Way, one had to completely abandon their emotions and sacrifice their six desires. This was why the Emotion Closing Godly Way was so powerful. The same logic applied to a sorcerer''s spells.


    After the Smoky Heart-locking Curse was cast, the grand sorcerer''s own heart was then locked with the hearts of the eight Godly Geniuses. He couldn''t remove the curse himself.


    In such a miserable state, the grand sorcerer finally made a decision. He tore open a space crack and snuck into the back side of the great world.


    But Zen and the others were intent on killing¡ªhow could they just let the guy go?


    They chased after him through the space crack. When they entered the back side of the great world, they were left shocked at the scene before them.


    It was as if someone had cast a strong spell on the grand sorcerer. He stood there, unmoving.


    On the other side of the great world, Zen finally saw the complete body of the tail.


    The length of this Torch Dragon exceeded Zen''s imagination. Its slender body looked like that of a snake, and on it rested the head of a dragon. Atop the dragon head, a raging fire was burning.


    The Torch Dragon was also called the Candle Dragon. Legend had it that the flame atop the Candle Dragon''s head was as chaotic as a candle flame.


    At this moment, the Torch Dragon fiercely battled Supreme Lord Mirage.


    When Zen and the others stepped into the space crack, they had unwittingly barged into the center of another battle!

 Chapter 1796 Fighting The Torch Dragon (Part One)

    The Torch Dragon, like a great river stretching for thousands of miles, twisted its body in circles in the vastness. Hot smoke spilled from its enormous nostrils, clearly angered. The atmosphere was tense, on edge. Everyone knew this was a fierce battle.


    The creature''s body could be compared to that of a genuine dragon, for in many ways, they were very similar. The two kinds of dragons could be distinguished by their heads though, which were completely different. That of the Torch Dragon was like a bird''s beak: long and pointy with a curved shape. Sharp, too. Two gill-like flaps of very thin skin grew on both sides of its neck, giving it the menacing look you''d expect from a cobra.


    Staring at a flame ablaze on its head, the Torch Dragon continued its process of capturing Supreme Lord Mirage by circling him dizzyingly. Moving at a quick pace, the Supreme Lord and the Torch Dragon headed toward depths of the back side of the world. No one could really see what was happening when the two were moving so fast.


    The back side of its unimaginably huge body continuously appeared before the bystanders'' eyes as they watched at a far distance. The patterns on its scales were extremely exquisite and special, tinkling when they crossed paths with the flame from above, but no one was in the mood to appreciate such beauty.


    If one was to consider the Torch Dragon to be a powerhouse just like a Supreme Lord, then this could be regarded as a confrontation between two Supreme Lords. Not a single word was spoken aloud, and yet the entire crowd clearly understood that if the dragon were to change directions and wrap them tightly with its body, they would all die a painful death of suffocation.


    Closer to the action between Supreme Lord Mirage and the dragon, both Zen and Rocher had the urgent desire to leave the back side of the world. The battle here wasn''t something they could allow themselves to get involved in. They were strong, that was undeniable, but not strong enough to face something so great!


    The Supreme Lords'' strength was more apparent to Nathan, Lucille and the others as ever. With their current cultivation, if they were involved in the battle, they would be turned into ashes in a matter of seconds.


    Too


    ce, he would rather give up his own life.


    Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!


    The poisonous, dark green smoke began rising into the air. The grand sorcerer didn''t budge in the least. No one even noticed a flinch. Instead, he rushed toward his opponents, letting the young warriors launch their deadly attacks on him in consecutive lances.


    He kept his focus. He knew the only thing he truly had to avoid at all costs was Nathan''s spear.


    Nathan''s spear skills were too terrific and too terrifying. Every thrust was a fatal threat. Even though the grand sorcerer''s strength had been greatly improved by the Holy Poison Body, he still couldn''t forcefully take Nathan''s spear strikes. He dodged his opponent''s all attacks while keeping as far as possible from Nathan''s deadly spear.


    Suddenly, the mist began to spin and pick up speed, somewhat like a tornado except the fact that the grand sorcerer was standing right in the middle of it. In less than a few seconds, he was completely wrapped from head to toe by the deadly, whirling mist. The eight Godly Geniuses began to retreat in turn, their faces brimming with worry, sweat streaking down their dirty faces.


    The Torch Dragon''s huge body with single scale the size of a human head would occasionally pass by them. As long as they were caught inside its body, there would be no reason for them to live anyway. They had been dragged to the brink of death and if they wasted just a few more seconds, they would probably go straight over the edge.

 Chapter 1797 Fighting The Torch Dragon (Part Two)

    Despite the attempt with all their might and will, the grand sorcerer wasn''t harmed at all. It was as though he was invincible, even though everyone knew the contrary to be true. Their attacks weren''t strong enough, weren''t hitting far enough.


    While everyone else was retreating, someone suddenly charged forward, leaving a puff of dirt and dust behind him as his feet quickly collided with the ground.


    "Zen, are you crazy?" Lucille shouted.


    Before anyone could react, Zen had already rushed over to the grand sorcerer and had even broken quite a number of his barbs. He too was now submerged in the poisonous mist. The crowd watched, both stunned and amazed, as Zen was fearlessly engulfed by the green poison.


    When he was only a few feet away from the grand sorcerer, Zen dropped to the ground, somersaulted and grabbed the grand sorcerer''s arm. Using the arm for propulsion, Zen flipped himself into the air and landed behind the grand sorcerer. He flung both his arms beneath the grand sorcerer''s armpits and bound his chest tightly.


    "Launch a joint attack on him! Quick!" Zen roared.


    Zen''s mind went blank. Completely empty. He couldn''t utter another sentence or think another clear thought. All he knew was that they had to kill the grand sorcerer, or none of them would survive.


    Nathan clenched his jaw and twisted his body, both hands grasping his spear.


    The grand sorcerer who had activated the Holy Poison Body was growing in power and he was now stronger than ever before. Given his current state, he would probably be capable of fighting against the grand world lords. What was more, there were even fewer flaws in his body.


    And with Nathan''s cultivation, it was already extremely difficult for him to spot a grand world lord''s flaw.


    Zen, on the other hand, had managed to control the grand sorcerer despite the poisonous mist surrounding them both. How could he possibly have any reason to hesitate?


    The bloody light in his eyes flickered fiercely. He had already heavily overused his eyes'' power. Now, as he reactivated them once again, his pupils burst. He suddenly became completely blind, and two streams of golden blood gushed out from his sockets.


    But just before his vision was ta


    ly avoid the dragon''s tail whatsoever.


    The Torch Dragon was fighting with Supreme Lord Mirage. With a far leap, he faced the dragon head on, weapon raised far above his head.


    Although Supreme Lord Mirage''s methods were powerful, the Torch Dragon was equally remarkable. The most troublesome part was that Supreme Lord Mirage excelled in the Time Law, and the Heavenly Destiny he inherited was a Law of Causality of the Time Law. With that, he could bring time to a relatively still state.


    Nothing could completely stop time, not even the most powerful laws of the heavens. However, under the control of Supreme Lord Mirage, it could become infinitely slow, which would usually give him a great advantage of course.


    Nevertheless, this method had a huge drawback. It was only effective on the life forms in the heavens.


    Because the Torch Dragon was not a being under the heavens to begin with, Supreme Lord Mirage''s most powerful technique had lost all its effect on it. His master technique was rendered completely useless by this outrageous beast.


    He could only rely on his own abilities in order to continue fighting with the Torch Dragon. He knew that once Supreme Lord Sky killed the supreme sorcerer, they two might be able to kill the Torch Dragon together. It was only a question of time.


    But as he saw the eight Godly Geniuses appear at the back side of the world and the Torch Dragon''s tail sweep towards them, the Supreme Lord''s expression abruptly changed.

 Chapter 1798 Transfer

    Supreme Lord Mirage and Supreme Lord Sky both travelled to the Lower World in order to protect the eight Godly Geniuses.


    However, they did not expect to encounter the Torch Dragon and the supreme sorcerer.


    Something felt amiss and the two Supreme Lords suspected that there was something extraordinary that was hidden within the great world for these two to suddenly appear. This was no doubt conspired by the sorcerer race!


    They immediately sent a request for reinforcements to the head of the Celestial Position race.


    Fortunately, their request was promptly received and the Celestial Position race mobilized right away. However, even if they reached their top speed, they still wouldn''t be able to arrive on time. It didn''t help that the entire universe was plunged in a state of chaos with the Supreme Lords of the Thoughtless Minds and Humanity Alliance too busy protecting their own territories.


    Supreme Lord Mirage was still engaged in battle with the Torch Dragon. He could''ve killed the beast more quickly but the safety of the Godly Geniuses was his utmost priority.


    He did not expect that the Godly Geniuses would go to the back side of the world.


    The Torch Dragon waved its tail towards the Godly Geniuses. Supreme Lord Mirage''s heart jumped to his throat. The beast''s tail was powerful enough to crush the Godly Geniuses. If that happened, not even Lester would be able to revive them.


    Unfortunately, he was suppressed by the Torch Dragon''s strange fire, which made it difficult for him to rush in and rescue them.


    The sight of the Torch Dragon''s enormous tail made everyone''s faces turn pale.


    An opponent of this level was much more powerful than the grand sorcerer!


    Eight Godly Geniuses working together could probably defeat a world lord, but it might not be enough for them to resist a Supreme Lord.


    Everyone''s heart sank at their helplessness.


    However, just in the nick of time...


    Zen stood at the front.


    He had advanced through the void and threw a punch just as the Torch Dragon''s tail reached him.


    The punch had not been fortified with the power of the dragon scales.


    Zen figured it might have been pointless anyway. The Torch Dragon''s body was enormous and the boost from the dragon scales might not even be enough for his punch to have any effect at all.


    All he really intended was to block the attack.


    Zen could only rely on this great world at that very moment.


    He had actually been hesitant at first. Blocking the Torch Dragon''s attack had the possibility of also causing irreversible damage to the great world.


    He knew this based on experience. Back when he blocked the black light, he sacrificed more than five million mountains. All tall landforms were levelled a


    bing for a long time, the scene remained the same.


    "What happened?" Blood flowed from Nathan''s face. He was unable to perceive the massive outline of the Torch Dragon with just his perception alone. All he could feel was the faint sense of power that swept over them.


    "Zen... has blocked the tail of that monster," Lucille whispered.


    "Are you.... kidding?" Nathan murmured back in disbelief. However, it was unlikely for Lucille to lie in this situation.


    If they hadn''t seen this personally, perhaps nobody would ever believe that this event actually happened.


    "Aooo..."


    The Torch Dragon suddenly let out a long and piercing cry.


    It wasn''t a big deal if one scale fell or shattered on its body. What was a big deal was the fact that an ant managed to shatter it in the first place.


    It twisted its enormous body and prepared to strike down with its tail once again.


    Supreme Lord Mirage was ready this time. He wouldn''t make the same mistake twice.


    He would voluntarily give his life away if that meant ensuring the safety of these Godly Geniuses. The death of a Supreme Lord meant a new Crown of Destiny and a new Supreme Lord.


    But nobody could ever replace a Godly Genius. There was nothing for creating a True God after all.


    Supreme Lord Mirage battled with the Torch Dragon head-on. As he did so, the great world underwent a violent change.


    Zen had almost completely shifted away the Torch Dragon''s power and allowed the great world to absorb it.


    A battle between Supreme Lords usually entailed the destruction of a supreme world, let alone a great world.


    This time, however, Zen did his best to transfer the power evenly. Most of it was routed to the northern savage land. During this process, Zen discovered something unexpected located in that place through the great world''s will.

 Chapter 1799 Space Imprisonment

    There were very few signs of life on the savage land. For countless years, nothing had changed.


    Lush vegetation covered the vast land. And countless vicious beasts and unknown creatures were hidden in the nooks and crannies of this wild land.


    Even the smallest ants present here were capable of inflicting danger. The areas through which the army ants marched were completely barren, and even the most ferocious beasts would steer clear of them. These fist-sized ants were capable of reducing an elephant into a skeleton in a blink of an eye.


    In the past, there had been powerhouses from the Divine Kingdom Continent entering the savage land, and almost all of them had perished. Finally, the Divine Kingdom Continent had given up on exploring this desolate land.


    All these years, only Rocher had stepped foot deep into the savage land. He had done this in the pursuit of taking away Chiyou''s treasure.


    At this moment, the entire savage land began to tremble.


    A huge fissure extended from one end of the savage land to the other, forming a deep, bottomless gorge. Countless vicious beasts let out wails of grief.


    Rumble!


    The tremendous force which was like an invisible pair of scissors began to cut across the savage land. This savage land that was twice as large as the Divine Kingdom Continent was constantly collapsing.


    The monstrous seawater formed a ten-thousand-foot-high water wall, pouring into the huge fissure. It crazily washed over the exposed surface of the ground, and myriad of creatures started to create a helter-skelter, running all over the land.


    As the seawater poured towards the deep fissure in the land, a massive siphonic effect was formed. In the end, it flowed towards the opposite direction of the fissure, rushing towards the Divine Kingdom Continent.


    Fortunately, the cities of the four divine kingdoms were all gathered around the Feather Holy Sea. There was no one around the continental margin, so the tsunami didn''t cause too much of a disaster to the Divine Kingdom Continent. However, the fluctuations of the sea and that commotion that accompanied it aroused the vigilance of the four divine kingdoms.


    The blow from the Torch Dragon had been dodged by Zen and had caused the savage land to crumble.


    "Let''s go!"


    Zen said, unable to explain anything to the others here.


    If that Torch Dragon''s tail swept over him again, he had no idea how he would defend himself against it. ''Would I have to sacrifice the Central Region and the Divine Kingdom Continent?'' This was a thought that ate him alive.


    In a heartbeat, Zen tore open a space crack and drilled out.


    The other Godly Geniuses also opened the space cracks and returned to the front of this world.


    Under the dim moonlight, the faces of those Godly Geniuses could be seen; full of dread. After all, just a moment ago, they had all thought that they were going to die.


    These Godly Geniuses looked at Zen again, but this time their expressions had softened.


    After all, he had valiantly blocked the attack from the Torch Dragon. Even


    even if we use them, we won''t be able to transmit our voices out here¡­" he said, reeking with disappointment.


    Zen drifted down a distance before he turned around and said, "You''re right. We can''t leave here. Let''s head back to the Cloud Hall now."


    On the way, Zen''s eyebrows twisted tightly.


    In order to save Letitia, he had returned to the Lower World. This matter could not have been planned by the sorcerer race.


    However, the sorcerer race cared a great deal about Letitia and Preston returning to the Lower World which was why they chased after them.


    Zen was still confused about the turn of events.


    But just as Rocher speculated, he too believed this great world was indeed a trap. However, the sorcerer race did not plan to activate this trap right now. It wasn''t meant for them hence it had to be a coincidence they had entered it.


    Something told Zed this trap had something to do with the Chaotic Ocean of Stars and the Star Storm.


    However, even Zen was unable to completely connect the dots. He couldn''t find an appropriate answer to what the trap was.


    With his current strength, there was no way for him to interfere in a fight between powerhouses at the level of the Supreme Lords. Under the circumstance, the only thing Zed could do was return to the Cloud Hall.


    On the way back to the Cloud Hall, Zen took out his token of mountain and tried to contact the fairy palace.


    This fairy palace was Zen''s last shelter. If he couldn''t enter the fairy palace, then he was destined to be doomed.


    Soon, Zen''s expression turned even severer.


    The fact that Zen could return to the fairy palace quickly by token of the mountain didn''t mean that he had the fairy palace with him. From beginning to end, the fairy palace had always been located in that huge forest, and this token had only created a special pathway.


    In the end, he realized even the token of mountain used the Space Law which meant Zen couldn''t return to the fairy palace either. ''I am actually doomed, '' he thought with a frustrated sigh.

 Chapter 1800 Waiting

    Zen had a plan. As the universe was in turmoil, he would gather all of the important people around him into the fairy palace when he returned to the Lower World.


    While they remained under the protection of the fairy palace, they would be absolutely safe.


    However, because of the space imprisonment, this plan could not work.


    The seven people filed silently behind Zen. Despite their silence, he could sense their nervousness.


    Although they were powerful, they were still too young and inexperienced for what laid ahead of them.


    The growing tension among the group caused their hearts to pound until they were clanging like fifteen buckets in a single well as they trudged along.


    The depressing atmosphere weighed heavily on Zen''s mind.


    Rocher had told him that the idea of destiny was only a beautiful lie, but he wouldn''t let that stop him. Since they had made it this far, he had to ensure that they made it through to the end.


    By this time the outline of the Cloud Hall was faintly discernible in the clouds. When Zen approached, he found that the hall was now empty and almost all the warriors had left.


    Considering the ferocity of Supreme Lords'' fights, this sort of retreat was meaningless.


    If the Torch Dragon and Supreme Lord Mirage had wanted to fight in the Central Region, in only a few moves, the entire Central Region would have collapsed.


    In the face of such absolute strength, weak warriors were unable to resist. They were like fish on a chopping block.


    Given Zen''s current cultivation level, the warriors of the Central Region were unable to catch up with him. However, it did not change anything.


    It did not take long for Zen to find Letitia in the Ice Palace at the top of the Cloud Hall.


    She sat cross-legged in the middle of the palace, focusing on her cultivation.


    The life vitality in the Lower World was far too thin. The cultivation speed of warriors at the Soul Sea Realm was far below those in the Upper World.


    Zen descended along the Ice Palace''s patio with the other seven Godly Geniuses following closely behind him.


    Startled by the commotion, Letitia opened her eyes and glanced around her.


    Her face was etched with the signs of a sleepless night. She had been busy all night but her exhaustion was mental rather than physical.


    She found herself continually tense. There were so many things that scared her.


    She was worried that Zen would not return, that the powerful warriors would destroy the Central Region, and that something bad would happen to her son Geoffrey.


    When her eyes saw Zen, a


    e clouds at the top of the Cloud Hall continued to surge and rapidly dissipated to their surroundings like a huge, reverse vortex.


    In the blink of an eye, seven figures descended to the ground. The Godly Geniuses raised their heads to take in the seven figures as they approached.


    "Patriarch!"


    Nathan was blind but that did not stop him sensing the aura of Supreme Lord of Original Sin.


    Since yesterday, he had been in a state of panic, but now as he felt the aura of the patriarch of his clan, he found himself able to relax.


    As far as he was concerned, Supreme Lord of Original Sin was the strongest warrior in the universe. Since he was here, his safety was no longer in doubt.


    Nathan was not the only one reassured. Lucille, Kurt, and the others also let out a long sigh. It no longer mattered whether or not this great world was a trap. It would be much safer now as their elders had joined them.


    Supreme Lord of Original Sin was not alone. He had arrived with Master Feng, Supreme Lord of Oracle, Supreme Lord of Thunder Punishment and others.


    To judge by outward appearance, all the troubles caused to the universe by the sorcerer race had been solved. However, the Supreme Lords all appeared grim, including Master Feng who was always amiable. Obviously, the situation was more troublesome than they had thought.


    Supreme Lord of Original Sin swept his gaze over the Godly Geniuses. After confirming that they were all present, he said lightly, "Take them away."


    At once, Supreme Lord of Thunder Punishment raised his sleeve, a bag immediately appeared and sucked in Nathan and the others one by one.


    When it was Zen''s turn, he jumped to one side and said sullenly, "I won''t leave."

 Chapter 1801 Overpower This Great Worlds Will

    The Supreme Lords were summoned here by Supreme Lord Mirage and Supreme Lord Sky.


    Upon arrival, the first thing they did was to protect the eight Godly Geniuses. Now that things had calmed down a bit, they were very eager to leave. Zen, however, was determined to stay.


    Since the young man insisted, then they would not force him. They willingly left him there with Margaret before flying into the void.


    The space imprisonment must have been lifted since these Supreme Lords managed to come here.


    Zen was now left behind due to his decision to stay.


    He had a lot of things to address. No matter how the situation in the great world developed, it was his utmost priority to relocate Letitia and the others to a safer place.


    With this in mind, he took both Letitia and Margaret with him and left Cloud Hall. They eventually met up with Imogen and Geoffrey three hundred miles north of Cloudy City, and then also managed to run into Lewis, Patrick, and a few others.


    Then Zen activated the token of mountain in front of everyone.


    He hadn''t told them anything about the fairy palace since it was something whose secrets he could not easily reveal to others. Given their current situation, however, Zen figured that this place could serve as a temporary refuge for all of them. He didn''t worry too much about them being there since the fairy palace itself imposed restrictions everywhere and without his tokens they couldn''t freely move around in the fairy palace.


    Zen, however, did not enter the fairy palace.


    Ever since his return to this great world, he felt something off. It was as if it had undergone some changes with its will which was really strange.


    One end of the great world was broken. That meant that two great worlds were connected to each other without any hindrances between them!


    He also discovered that the barrier at the other end of this great world was gone as well!


    Zen tried to search through the memories of the great world''s will for an explanation but he found nothing. Right now, however, he was sure of two things: the barriers were definitely destroyed by someone, and the person who destroyed them was most definitely not from around here. This was highly possible to be the work of the sorcerer race, as for their intentions of doing so, Zen had no idea.


    This was his primary reason for staying.


    The turmoil in Cloud Hall plunged the entire Central Region into


    due to the stormland in this great world. Legend said that a wind god resided in the center of this storm. Even a Soul Sea Realm warrior had no chances of surviving this place''s endless gust.


    As it exploded, an invisible will was also released.


    These weren''t the only two towers to have done so. Other towers, all constructed by the sorcerer race, were exploding in succession all over the great worlds. These structures were erected with precise calculation and meticulous planning by the entire race.


    As these towers exploded, their wills began to spread through numerous great worlds. The barriers between different great worlds had been removed, which enabled the wills to spread even more effectively.


    Master Feng and the other Supreme Lords were still locked in a face-to-face battle with the huge Torch Dragon.


    Supreme Lord of Original Sin was the first to initiate an attack. He was not afraid despite the beast''s powerful, physical body.


    "Hiss!"


    The massive Torch Dragon twisted in midair with a sharp cry. To everyone''s great surprise, it chose to retreat!


    How could they let this precious beast leave so easily? All the Supreme Lords turned into beams of light that surrounded the Torch Dragon.


    However, the will from the tower at the core of the storm had already spread out by this time. The Supreme Lords all felt it in the air and they stopped in their tracks as if someone had cast a spell on them.


    Zen also felt it. A look of confusion fell on his face. "What is that..." This will was extremely domineering as if it wanted to directly overpower this great world''s will!

 Chapter 1802 The Invader

    After Zen had fused with the great world''s will, he had become the son of the great world.


    He actually became the master of the great world.


    This was the reason why he could transfer the power he had received into the great world. He could even look through the memories of any time and place if he wished.


    However, as the strange will spread out, it gradually integrated itself into the will of the great world.


    Zen wasn''t able to do anything to prevent this from happening. Because his will was fused with the great world''s, the three wills were now fused together.


    It also surprised Zen that this strange will had spread out at an extremely rapid pace.


    In just half a minute, the will had already extended beyond the great world. It engulfed the wills of some other great worlds and continued to expand rapidly.


    "Huh?" Zen was astonished.


    In the past, the great world was damaged and had an opening. Zen sensed that he could explore great worlds beyond it, such as the ocean of the nearest neighboring great world.


    At that moment, however, he knew and he felt that the range of his perception was rapidly increasing at an incredible rate.


    He perceived everything happening within the four surrounding great worlds.


    For instance, the southern great world only had one giant continent. This continent had a land area that was almost 20 times larger than the Divine Kingdom Continent. The sea realm there was not too large; it was only about a third of the great world.


    The northern great world was the complete opposite. The entire great world was surrounded by water, with islands interspersed throughout the ocean. On these islands existed diverse kinds of creatures, but the majority were humans.


    After two minutes, Zen realized he could perceive sixteen great worlds.


    After around five minutes, he already sensed more than 400 great worlds.


    It was at that point that the speed at which the will was frantically spreading out gradually slowed down.


    ''The will''s limit of expansion is less than five hundred great worlds?'' Zen continuously reached inside his consciousness as he came up with a rough estimate.


    He wasn''t sure if he could transfer the power he received into these great worlds. If he was able to do so, it would be an enormous enhancement for his


    Supreme Lord, he would be at a disadvantage. After all, if the Torch Dragon was to use its tail to strike through a land area, it would be possible to destroy a land mass. If Zen transferred the attacks of a Supreme Lord to the great worlds, he knew that all the great worlds would most probably be destroyed.


    He continued to sense changes in the wills of the great worlds.


    At the same moment, when Master Feng and the others felt this change, their faces became gloomy.


    "Is this the true plan of the sorcerer race?" Supreme Lord of Original Sin''s face was dark.


    "They actually want to control the heavens! This is impossible!" Supreme Lord of Oracle frowned.


    As they watched, the Torch Dragon in front of them underwent a drastic transformation. Its huge body constantly twisted and shrunk. It had chosen to take a human form at this moment.


    Its previously colossal body finally transformed into the appearance of a petite woman. However, this woman did not have hair anywhere on her body. Instead, a slow-burning flame was on top of her head.


    After taking form, the Torch Dragon was still covered in wounds. But she stared at the various Supreme Lords and smiled coldly. "Sorry, guys. You''ve already lost."


    As soon as she finished speaking, a map-like rune slowly appeared on her forehead. The rune flickered like a firefly, which caused the Torch Dragon to enter a certain state.


    Zen, who was still enjoying his exploration of the great worlds, suddenly felt a strong will invade the will of the great world.

 Chapter 1803 Shut The Strange Consciousness Out

    Zen''s soul had merged with the wills of all the great worlds.


    The wills of the great worlds did not possess their own intellect. They would only respond to the damage done to their respective great worlds by reacting instinctively.


    Zen''s soul could already control all of the great worlds to some extent.


    The strange consciousness was exceedingly strong, and not something that Zen could contend with his current soul.


    However, he had the upper hand. He did not need to rely on his own soul to resist the consciousness.


    He could summon the wills of all the great worlds to resist it.


    No matter how powerful one''s soul was, it was impossible for it to resist the will of a great world. Moreover, now there were wills of one million and thirty-three great worlds. No creature in the universe would be able to deal with the shocking number of wills.


    Even a Supreme Lord who was skilled in cultivating the soul would fail to obstruct these wills.


    ''This strange consciousness seems to be using some sort of secret technique and wants to fuse with the wills of the great worlds.'' A curious expression appeared on Zen''s face as he pondered over the situation.


    His soul had been unintentionally merged into the wills of the great worlds, but it seemed as if his enemy had done it on purpose.


    Zen smiled faintly. The wills of the great worlds followed his thought, and a trace of killing intent flickered.


    Swoosh!


    A formless killing intent began to spread out.


    All the living beings in the one million and thirty-three great worlds looked up at the same time.


    The trace of killing intent was felt by all of them, including countless nature creatures, Illuminating Soul Realm warriors and Internal Elixir Realm warriors, lords of sacred places, emperors of divine kingdoms, vicious beasts hidden underground, mighty warriors perched atop mountains...


    "This is the killing intent of the heavens!"


    "The heavens are furious. Just who is it that has caused the heavens to be enraged?"


    "Please don''t be angry!"


    "This is a great opportunity! I might learn something from the heavens."


    Countless creatures were trying to uncover the meaning behind this killing intent. They didn''t know that a germ of an idea in Zen''s mind had sparked this vicious killing intent.


    Just how powerful was this killing intent?


    In just a split-second, the powerful invading consciousness was extinguished by the wills of the great worlds.


    The powerful consciousness was like a candle flame in a torrential downpour, completely fragile and weak. As a result, it was put out instantly!


    The Supreme Lords also sensed the murderous intent at the same time.


    Master Feng, Supreme Lord of Original Sin, Supreme Lord of Oracle and the others were also baffled. What was the source of this killing intent?


    They refused to believe that the great worlds would be so angry.


    The great worlds indeed had their wills, but the wills couldn''t transform into various emotions and act upon them. The heavens were like a puppet that could only operate according to certain laws.


    What they did not expect was that the moment the killing intent


    est of the Supreme Lords'' faces slowly turned into relieved smiles.


    They had already known about the sorcerer race''s plans. Just a moment ago, they were extremely worried. After all, once all the great worlds were under the sorcerer race''s control, they would be on the defensive. But now, they were witnessing the defeat of the Torch Dragon with triumphant smiles.


    The Supreme Lords were also rather confused. Judging by the Torch Dragon''s pitiful cry, it seemed that her soul had been damaged badly, so apart from them, who in the universe could possibly harm her?


    In their confusion, these Supreme Lords began to attack the Torch Dragon.


    The Torch Dragon had already taken the human form, and her power was much weaker now. If she fused with the wills of the great worlds, these Supreme Lords would have no chance of defeating her. But now, all her hopes had turned to ashes, and in the end, she was beheaded by Supreme Lord of Oracle.


    The flame on her head continued to blaze. The Candle Dragon''s fire was considered to be a rare one, so they obviously wouldn''t extinguish it. Even after the Torch Dragon had been dead for many years, the flame would still continue to burn brightly.


    "The sorcerer race has actually devised a method to seize the heavens. That''s really amazing!" Supreme Lord of Thunder Punishment sighed. The Blessed Buddha Land led by him was powerful, but they were unable to come up with a plan like this. "But what happened? Why did the Torch Dragon fail?"


    Master Feng shook his head. He was also puzzled by the killing intent that arose in the great worlds. After pondering for a long while, he came to a conclusion. "It''s possible that a traitor has appeared within the sorcerer race. One of them has fused with the wills of the great worlds and rejected the other wills."


    This was the only hypothesis Master Feng could make based on the clues at hand.


    How could he have known that someone else had fused with the wills of the great worlds and was now controlling them? And that person was not a member of the sorcerer race. It was none other than Zen!

 Chapter 1804 Divine Refinement Forbidden Land

    Zen stayed in the void for a long time.


    Several streams of different powerful consciousness successively launched attacks against the will of the great worlds, but Zen blocked and annihilated all of them in one go.


    There were a staggering total of forty-five attacks that were aimed at the will of the great worlds.


    Some of the streams of consciousness evidently came from the same person. Afraid to be killed by Zen, they focused all their effort and attacked at rapid successions to gain a solid foothold within the will of the great worlds.


    However, their efforts were in vain.


    There were one million and thirty three great worlds'' wills that fused together, which worked to Zen''s advantage and had been taken for his own uses. Who knew just how powerful this new fused will was?


    Even if those streams of consciousness were as strong and mighty as Supreme Lords, just a mere thought from Zen was enough to crush all of them like pesky ants under his boots. They stood no chance against his prowess.


    The destruction of the consciousness had caused great damages to the souls that had sent out the consciousness. After Zen killed the streams of consciousness over and over, the souls that were initially unwilling to give up finally saw how futile their attempts had been and stopped. It didn''t take long before the great world fell into silence.


    "Those guys must have come from the sorcerer race," Zen analyzed with deep calmness.


    With undivided attention, he tried to search through the memories of the great world''s will to pin down the location of the creatures that launched the attacks, but the memories that came out were completely blank and gave him no substantial information. These people were definitely not aboriginals of the great worlds, and they could not be Master Feng or the other Supreme Lords with him either. The only one whom he suspected that was most likely to have done it was the sorcerer race.


    After the attacks ceased, Zen continued to move forward in the void. He traveled all the way without rest until he reached the location of the Chaotic Ocean of Stars. The area behind it, he noted, was completely bare and empty.


    Zen originally thought this was the lair of the sorcerer race, but now, he found that there were no living creatures existing here. Could it be that they had already been cleared by Master Feng and the others?


    Of course, he did not know that in order to spread the fake will, all the sorcerer race members had already sacrificed themselves. Even the tower that originally existed there had been burnt to ashes.


    Oblivious to that information, Zen opened a crack and entered the space on the front side of this world.


    He didn''t expect that what awaited outside the crack was a calm and peaceful scenery.


    "This... Is this still the Chaotic Ocean of Stars?" Zen asked, stunned and completely at a loss for words.


    The storm that had been ravaging in the skies above the Chaotic Ocean of Stars for countless years had vanished into thin air, as if it had never been there.


    A gentle wave slowly lapped at Zen''s feet. The sea, which was once angry and


    he sorcerer race was not the biggest threat from the start. The most powerful threat came from the other side of the Sighing Wall, and the Sighing Wall could be broken down any moment. So the Godly Geniuses must improve their cultivation as soon as possible to prepare for the worst.


    A few days later, all the disciples had come back to the Cloud Hall upon Letitia''s summons. Once they were all gathered, she announced her intent and passed the position of leadership to Morphens.


    Subsequently, Zen took Geoffrey and his wives to the fairy palace, and then he activated the Teleportation Token again. He was more than ready to return to the supreme world where the Celestial Position was.


    Although the Teleportation Token was extremely convenient and could allow Zen to travel freely, there was a problem at hand. It was difficult for him to pinpoint the exact location, whether it was in the supreme world he wanted to go or in the great world.


    Fortunately, it wasn''t that difficult to move in the great world through flying because the great world wasn''t very large to begin with. And with Zen''s current speed, it wouldn''t take him too much time to cross it. But it was a different case with the supreme world. No matter where he landed in the supreme world, it would still be very far from his destination.


    This time, he encountered the same problem. Zen had been sent to the edge of the supreme world, which frustrated him to no end.


    If he couldn''t find the ascending passageway right away, even if he traveled at the maximum speed, it would still take him at least half a year to reach his destination.


    Helpless and left with no other choice, Zen could only resort to the Roaring Token to call for help.


    When Zen finally returned to the Celestial Position, the ten Godly Geniuses were finally reunited. Zen noticed that Nathan''s originally blind eyes had now recovered.


    One other thing that changed was Nathan''s behavior toward him. His strong hostility toward Zen was gone, probably because he had saved Nathan before. Zen smiled, pleased at the turn of events.

 Chapter 1805 The Titles Of The Godly Geniuses

    The existence of these ten Godly Geniuses was imperative to the entire universe.


    With their talents, they would eventually grow to become world lords and then break through the limitation of the heavens. However, not much time was left to do so.


    Some Supreme Lords had determined that it would take some more time for their enemies to break through the Sighing Wall.


    This could take a hundred years or even a thousand years, but it could also be achieved within ten years.


    The ancient sorcerer race had already taken action, which meant that the other side was prepared¡­


    In sending the Godly Geniuses to the Celestial Position, the purpose was that they finally landed in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land.


    It was said that the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land did not belong to this universe, but it was not located in the divine land either. Rather, it originated from some special part of the divine land.


    Even True Gods were only capable of constructing their own inner worlds.


    Only a Holy Being could construct a true land outside of the divine land.


    It was said that the Holy Being who had built the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land had a mysterious existence within the divine land. It was not known why he had built it.


    He did not construct a giant world like the universe to stabilize himself. The Divine Refinement Forbidden Land he had built was a cultivation ground.


    Not only did the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land accept creatures from the inner worlds of the great Holy Beings, which were also the creatures in the universes, newborn creatures from the divine land were also welcome there.


    True Gods had their own descendants, known as newborn creatures.


    In a sense, the divine land was the true main world. Living beings like Zen, who were born into the inner world of a Holy Being, belonged to the first level of life...


    When the vast majority of newborn creatures were born, they spent their time cultivating in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. It was the land where they could be trained into a True God, after all.


    And although most of the newborn creatures were descendants of the True Gods, it was not easy for them to become True Gods themselves. In reality, a vast majority of the newborn creatures were cruelly eliminated. This brutal law applied to the universe, as well as to the divine land.


    "Entering the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land is a special occasion for us¡ªthe warriors of the universe. I hope you all can seize this chance well..." Master Feng reminded Zen and the others as he finished explaining the details of the land.


    "If we are to enter the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, won''t we have to pass through the Sighing Wall and leave the universe?" Lucille asked.


    To the warriors, the Sighing Wall seemed as if it was the last layer of protection in the universe. If it were so easy to penetrate, would it not be too easy for invaders from the other universes to enter and create havoc?


    Master Feng understood Lucille in


    ng to the Talent Tablet in the Tower of Illusory.


    Rocher and the others were also following along. Zen and the rest heard Xenia whisper to Rocher. "Your Rakshasa title could be considered the third highest title, and it''s even in gold. It''s shocking. Only several hundred talents possess the golden titles in the Celestial Position; only five golden Celestial Position titles, seven golden Asura titles and nine golden Rakshasa titles. Nathan is too powerful because he has come to obtain the golden title of the Asura!"


    "I''m also powerful, for I''m the golden Rakshasa!" Margaret said with a smile, excitement evident on her face.


    Out of the ten Godly Geniuses, only Nathan had obtained the title of the golden Asura. Other than him, Margaret and the others were all golden Rakshasa. Xenia and Karl had obtained their titles in the Tower of Illusory several years ago.


    For the past few days, Margaret had been tagging along as they tried to cultivate in various secret lands. She didn''t stick around Zen this time.


    Margaret''s attention had latched on to Zen again. She was also a bit curious about Zen''s talent. Her figure floated lightly and she grabbed Zen''s arm, smiling sweetly as she said, "My darling, please go and take the test on the Talent Tablet, won''t you?"


    Upon hearing her words, Nathan, Rocher, Kurt, and the rest all turned to look at Zen.


    Not many knew that Zen had the title of the golden Celestial Position. The three towers were not linked. However, the head of the Celestial Position race should have known about it. After all, Dorothea and the rest must have reported it back then.


    "You can have a try. It won''t take much time," Rocher said, smiling.


    Zen had wanted to refuse, but since the others had already been there, it did not seem like a good idea for him to deny the challenge. Under such circumstances, Zen had no choice but to agree.


    He was all too familiar with the testing process of the Talent Tablet. To simply enter it would not take him much time.

 Chapter 1806 Real Inner World

    Standing tall and proud, the structure of the Tower of Illusory was almost identical to the Tower of Sin which Zen had entered.


    Many core disciples of the Celestial Position race were fighting in combat in the Tower of Illusory. The rules, however, weren''t as cruel as the rules in the Tower of Sin.


    It was believed that a treasure like the Tower of Sin could drive almost all of the races to insanity if it would be placed in a great world, because the competition was too intense, and weak races would surely crumble under the brunt of its cruel rules.


    When Zen and the others entered, all heads turned to them in curiosity and intrigue.


    The new disciples of the Celestial Position race shared the same thoughts and knew that this group of monsters was here to humiliate them.


    Another difference between the two towers was that the list on the Tower of Illusory''s Talent Tablet was comparably longer than the list on the Tower of Sin''s Talent Tablet. It was because this tower had always been in the Upper World and had never been lost.


    The list of names at the top of the Talent Tablet didn''t change very often. It would usually take over hundreds of years for someone to obtain a title.


    However, in the short span of a few days, different titles appeared at the top of the list one after another.


    A string of golden titles lined up on the list in a blinding light, illuminating the tower.


    The core disciples weren''t surprised. In fact, they expected it. They thought if the top ten martial artists of the younger generation of the universe couldn''t obtain a title, then who else could?


    This time, it was Zen who led a group of people into the Tower of Illusory.


    Almost all of these core disciples had participated in the Illusion Battlefield, and many of them had even managed to enter the second stage. Of course, they knew who the person walking in front of them was. After all, Zen was number one in the Illusion Battlefield.


    "Zen also changed his blood. I wonder what sort of title he''ll get."


    "I''ve heard that Zen was accepted by the Celestial Position race long ago."


    "But he did not enter the Tower of Illusory before..."


    Only a few higher ranks in the Celestial Position race knew what kind of title Zen had.


    Not long after, the number of martial artists that followed him increased tenfold as he ascended the floors of the Tower of Illusory. When he reached the tenth floor, the sea of martial artists walking behind him nearly took up all of the space of the entire floor.


    Under everyone''s watchful gaze, Zen opened the door and entered the Talent Tablet.


    Initially, Zen was unwilling to enter the Talent Tablet, but since he had come, he decided to take it seriously.


    When he entered the Talent Tablet, everyone held their breath and wondered what kind of title he''d receive.


    "Zen, you are the best," Margaret told Zen, eager to encourage him. She was full of confidence that Zen could do this.


    Nathan kept his mouth shut. He had the golden Asura title, and in his opinion, even though Zen had defeated him, his talent couldn''t be stronger than his.


    Rocher and Xenia just watched quietly. Unlike the others, the both of them knew more.


    For example, they knew that Zen''s blood was currently the most special out of all the blood present in the tower. There were only two copie


    sorcerer race suddenly orchestrated an attack, there were already countless rumors spreading throughout the supreme worlds. Many martial artists began to spread the theory of the apocalypse.


    Those martial artists who were struggling suddenly realized that they no longer had the motivation to advance. Disciples of many sacred places also stopped being active, refusing to advance even in their dreams. All of them had lost their hopes and passion.


    The apocalypse was about to arrive soon anyway, so what was the point? These martial artists didn''t even have the qualifications to struggle in the apocalypse. Why not enjoy the last bits of this short period of time?


    In the same span of time, Zen''s inner world had undergone another change as he cultivated.


    The time flow rate of the inner world was much different from the time flow rate of the outside.


    Actually, in this current stage, Zen''s inner world still lacked a complete concept of time. In theory, the time flow rate of his inner world should be countless times faster compared to the time flow rate of the universe.


    As he trained and developed himself further, Zen occasionally used his inner sight to look around. He discovered that some of the more complex life forms had already been born within his inner world.


    As he looked inside, he noticed that the chaotic sea was teeming with creatures. There were even many giant fishes that slowly swam under the lapping waves.


    According to the rules of cultivation, after the owner of the inner world died, the creatures within would immediately dissipate into a mass of life vitality. Even a True God was no exception.


    The only one who could surpass this rule was most likely a Holy Being.


    But even a Holy Being wouldn''t be able to bring out any living being from their inner world. It was simply impossible. Leaving the inner world of a Holy Being was crossing the heavens and leaving the universe. Only these Godly Geniuses could do such an impossible feat. If a Supreme Lord were to forcefully leave this universe, they would die and turn into the life vitality in an instant.


    At this very moment, while he was swimming in his own thoughts, a little fish suddenly materialized in Zen''s hand.

 Chapter 1807 The Invaders (Part One)

    Observing the small fish in his hand, Zed was momentarily stunned.


    Creatures formed from life vitality would be restored to life vitality once they moved to the external world. As per this law, since this little fish had been removed from the external world by Zen, it was bound to be converted into chaotic energy.


    However, the scales of this little fish continued to remain bright silver. Also, the strong stench of the fish persevered.


    The little fish struggled in Zen''s hand for a while. But soon, Zen tossed it gently into the air. It drew an arc in the air and landed in the pond beneath the pavilion, splashing water. Once again it began to swim freely.


    According to Zen''s current understanding, the universe was one level higher than the ordinary inner world.


    Whether people used the visualization technique to visualize treasures or used life vitality to nurture creatures within the inner world, in the end, they would all return to their original state. This was because cultivation was originally meant to seize heaven and earth, and now was the time to return heaven and earth back to heaven and earth where they ultimately belonged.


    As for chaotic energy, there was no point in returning it.


    That was not a product of the heavens and didn''t need to be returned.


    Thinking of this, Zen began to sigh in his heart. He had never anticipated that crossing the heavens would be such a complex matter!


    For the creatures of the universe, they had to become Godly Geniuses in order to cross the heavens and enter the divine land.


    This was because this was the inner world of a Holy Being. After leaving the inner world, they would return to life vitality. The life vitality of a Holy Being was seized from the divine land, so naturally it had to b


    he Supreme Lords uttered a word about it. On the contrary, the Supreme Lords of the ogre were especially hardworking, and it was said that whenever the ancient sorcerer race attacked, the ogre race would always be the first to rush in.


    The more Zen came to see the turn of events, the more worried he became. He realized that he didn''t know much about the crisis, and he couldn''t control anything. ''What can I do to get things under control?'' he thought anxiously


    It wasn''t the first time Zen was dealing with troubles. In fact, he had faced a lot of obstacles in the past. However, back then he was very clear about where the trouble came from. On top of that, he had good knowledge about how to deal with it. Now, Zen was clutched by a sense of powerlessness, not because he was afraid of these dangers, but because he could not completely grasp all the information. Nine dragons remained to stay shut, so did Lavender. Zen was unable to discriminate the right from the wrong now.


    The only thing Zen knew with certainty was that the universe was going to face the invaders. As the leader of the top ten Godly Geniuses, Zen was obliged to do something to solve this problem.

 Chapter 1808 The Invaders (Part Two)

    The events of the first two months were more than enough to make him realize he had to do something promptly. Originally, he had anticipated the final month to be peaceful, but now, in the midst of all these events, it was destined to be fully chaotic. The universe had no chance of being peaceful.


    A very startling thing happened in the third month. The unbreakable Sighing Wall was broken!


    When three hundred ace talents competed on the Heaven Earth Board, the first ace talent to be eliminated was a warrior from the Spring race.


    For a weak race like the Spring race to produce an ace talent was already an inconceivable thing. After all, there were very few members of the Spring race, and they only occupied three poor supreme worlds. Therefore, a Supreme Lord predicted that this great danger would erupt within the Spring race.


    In the end, it proved that the Supreme Lord''s deduction was correct.


    When the Sighing Wall was broken through, the invaders like locusts quickly occupied the territory of the Spring race. In no time, the entire clan was completely annihilated.


    This news exploded in everyone''s ears like thunder, shocking the entire universe.


    Everyone knew that the apocalypse would come soon, but not even in their wildest dreams would they think it would happen this soon. The violent manner in which it happened shook everyone to the core.


    However, a strange thing happened which further startled everyone. The invaders occupied only the territories of three supreme worlds and didn''t continue to advance.


    Zen and the others were also paying close attention to this matter. Since the invaders behind the Sighing Wall had arrived in a blink of an eye, they wondered if there was still a need for them to enter the Divine Refinement


    eme Lords of another universe.


    "They are from¡­. the Sacred race?" Zen''s eyebrows twitched as he whispered.


    Lucille asked curiously, "What Sacred race?"


    "A powerful race," replied Zen.


    When Zen had stepped into the True Path in his fairy palace, the opponents whom he had encountered during the assessment were all warriors from the Sacred race.


    According to Saul, the Sacred race was the most perfect race, while the Demon Night race, the human race, the ogre race paled in comparison. This was because all the humanoid races seemed to be descended from the Sacred race. Hence the Sacred race had the advantage over many different races!


    As Maha spoke, he shot downwards at an extremely high speed. The instant his feet hit the ground, a massive crack suddenly burst out from the center of this crystal clear Breaking Cloud Mountain.


    Master Feng''s face darkened. With a slight push from his feet, the crack once again closed. It seemed like the crack didn''t appear all this time.


    The negotiation was yet to begin but the two sides seemed to be at loggerheads already. Each one of those present had their own ideas and was wondering what the result would be.

 Chapter 1809 The Godly Genius Named Maha

    Master Feng''s expression was cold as he stared at Maha the warrior.


    If the huge mountain had been split open, even if it later closed, it should have left a crack behind. However, with just a light step by Master Feng, the crack running down Breaking Cloud Mountain began to heal itself just like a human''s wound would do.


    Even though his opponent was only a world lord, he represented the invader side. This person must be an individual of great significance, so Master Feng did not choose to immediately attack.


    The collapse of the Sighing Wall was completely beyond everyone''s expectations. Furthermore, the Spring race was destroyed too quickly for the Celestial Position to take any action to prevent it.


    It was only to be expected that after the Sacred race had occupied the three supreme worlds, they would rapidly advance, taking over one supreme world after another!


    Given their current strength, the Sacred race could easily achieve their goal without difficulty.


    However, it was at this moment, that instead of advancing they had suddenly begun negotiations. Even the Supreme Lords were puzzled. They wondered what the Sacred race was trying to achieve?


    "Haha, the rumors said that, although he is a Supreme Lord, the Heavenly Destiny this old man carries is very special. He has the strength to fight a True God, it seems like the rumors are true," Maha slowly rubbed his nose and said thoughtfully.


    Although the ten Godly Geniuses sometimes secretly called the head of the Celestial Position race "old man", in the entire universe only Xenia dared to call him that publicly.


    This Maha was merely world lord, yet he spoke so casually. He respected the head of the Celestial Position in his words, however, in fact, everyone could tell just how arrogant he was.


    "A mere world lord dares to act so presumptuously? The dignified Sacred race isn''t that big of a deal," the Supreme Lord of Oracle could also bear it no longer. Her beautiful face clouded with gloom.


    After being scolded by Supreme Lord of Oracle, Maha remained calm. He turned his head to take in the appearance of Supreme Lord of Oracle, and then clicked his tongue twice, "It''s said that among the four greatest Supreme Lords in the universe, Supreme Lord of Oracle is known for her unrivalled beauty. Seeing is believing."


    Even as he spoke, Maha didn''t bother to conceal the lewd and evil intent lurking in his eyes.


    "How dare you!"


    Supreme Lord Healum was unable to watch any longer. With a flip of his hand, he sent a slap flying!


    When a Supreme Lord took action, the world would be destroyed.


    This slap contained sufficient power to kill a world lord.


    In his anger, Supreme Lord Healum did not hold himself at all!


    Boom!


    The slap from Supreme Lord Healum had transformed into a gigantic golden palm image.


    However, Maha didn''t show the slightest sign of panic. As he stood there on the spot, a faint treasure light emerged from his body!


    The palm shadow suddenly struck Maha''s light and it instantly shattered, disappearing without a tra


    reme Lord from Sacred race was able to do just that.


    In the blink of an eye, all of the roses had been crushed!


    Maha faintly smiled and was about to speak when an intense pain enveloped his mind. His entire body instantly fell to the ground and he began to wail.


    Supreme Lord of Oracle stared at Maha coldly. She had held back just now. Otherwise, she would have completely destroyed Maha''s soul!


    "Damn it, this is great!"


    "This fellow should be taught a lesson!"


    "He has probably been tortured quite miserably!"


    Seeing Maha''s miserable condition, Lawson and the others felt their hearts start to swell with joy.


    After Maha had rolled on the ground for a good while, the pain gradually dissipated. As he slowly got to his feet, a trace of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth!


    Maha wiped away the blood, but still retained a smile on his face. "Ha-ha, a beauty gifted me flowers that left behind a lingering fragrance¡­"


    It was probably Maha''s plan to continue insulting them. But, that Supreme Lord from Sacred race that stood in front of Maha finally couldn''t help but remind him. "Godly Genius, don''t play with them. Let''s get down to business!"


    "Godly Genius?"


    "Is this guy also a Godly Genius?"


    "His cultivation is much higher than ours. This is unfair."


    Upon hearing this form of address, Lucille and the rest were also stunned.


    Now that the ten Godly Geniuses from the universe had been selected, the one with the highest cultivation was Nathan, who was only at the middle stage of the Spirit Supreme Realm.


    As for the others, they were still at the early stage of the Spirit Supreme Realm. As Margaret had entered the Illusion Battlefield, she had not gone through any serious battles or experiences, and her cultivation was still only at the late stage of the Soul Sea Realm!


    But this Maha, who was also a Godly Genius, was actually a world lord? The guy who could break through to the True God realm at any time?


    Now, Zen and the others finally understood why Maha was so confident.

 Chapter 1810 Failure Of Negotiation

    Maha must be of a remarkably high status as the Supreme Lords were so respectful towards him.


    He had already been as strong as a world lord, which was probably why it was not too difficult for him to get a Heavenly Destiny in another universe.


    He was not a Supreme Lord, but a Godly Genius.


    Maha had the true qualifications to become a True God.


    Maha wiped the blood off his mouth, shook his head, and said, "I''ve come here on behalf of the Sacred race and I have only one goal this time."


    "Just tell us," Supreme Lord of Oracle said coldly. She was clutching the small, exquisite sword in her hand so tight, and the knuckles of her hand were almost white.


    If both sides fell out, she would kill him immediately. But Maha was a Godly Genius with the potential to become a True God. Since the Sacred race had dared send him to negotiate, they must definitely have a way to protect him.


    Maha smiled faintly as he said, "The truth is that we do not like to fight and kill. We shouldn''t use force to resolve this matter if we can help it. This is too barbaric."


    "Oh? You mean that the Sacred race will withdraw from our universe?" Supreme Lord of Oracle asked.


    The other Supreme Lords listened attentively, not knowing just what Maha was up to.


    Every race in the universe would be quite relieved if the members of the Sacred race were to leave the universe.


    Maha shook his head. "There are over a hundred thousand supreme worlds in this universe, with vast lands and sparse population. Our Sacred race has a countless number of descendants. We can establish our own sect here and coexist harmoniously with you. What do you think?"


    Everyone was shocked at Maha''s words.


    Zen sneered.


    What Maha said was surprising and his intention was unfathomable. The Sacred race was much stronger than many races in the universe. If this race passed through the Sighing Wall and established their own sect here, they could easily take control of this universe with their firm backing and support.


    "Personally, I think this plan is really good," Maha said with a broad smile.


    Supreme Lord of Oracle looked solemn as she turned to look at the head of the Celestial Position race who was standing beside her.


    Master Feng mirrored Supreme Lord of Oracle''s expression. These Supreme Lords were communicating with each other through the life vitality.


    They had understood what the Sacred race was planning on doing the moment Maha had proposed this plan.


    The Sacred race never lost an opportunity to invade the universe, but right now, they didn''t want an all-out war.


    If the Supreme Lords agreed to Maha''s request, they could give Zen and the other Godly Geniuses more time.


    As long as two or three of the ten Godly Geniuses became True Gods, they would have a chance to change the fate of the entire universe.


    The Sacred race wa


    he Supreme Lords quickly came to an agreement.


    The head of the Celestial Position race glanced at Maha once again. Maha knew that this group of Supreme Lords had reached an agreement, but he still smiled and asked, "So? What about my suggestion?" To him, the humans and the ogres were inferior races.


    These races didn''t have a noble purpose of survival. In fact, they would compromise anything and everything in order to survive.


    But Master Feng responded, "There are many races in the universe, and no supreme world is superfluous. I represent all the forces in the universe as I reject your plan."


    Maha''s cynical smile disappeared at Master Feng''s words. He was cursing him from within, but his voice was calm as he threatened Master Feng. "You have only one chance."


    Everything would have been okay if Maha hadn''t made such threatening remarks.


    But at his words, Master Feng and the other Supreme Lords laughed.


    When one became a Supreme Lord, their mental states became stable as steel. Their decision couldn''t change that easily.


    Maha''s threat had exposed the fact that the Sacred race had not enough confidence and strength.


    Even Zen and the others saw that the Sacred race was bluffing.


    "We don''t need the Sacred race giving us opportunities. You can start a war if you have the guts!" Lawson laughed coldly.


    Of these ten Godly Geniuses, Lawson was the most eccentric. In fact, his character was somewhat similar to Maha''s. He couldn''t help but mock Maha''s long rambling.


    The failure of this negotiation infuriated Maha. His anger only multiplied at Lawson''s words. His purple eyes shone with lightning.


    "You are just a Spirit Supreme Realm warrior. How dare you interrupt us like that? I must teach you a lesson on behalf of your elders!" As his voice fell, the lightning in Maha''s eyes formed an arc in the air. Before anyone could react, it shot towards Lawson.

 Chapter 1811 Deterrence

    This bolt of lightning was strange. It did not connect with the vitality between heaven and earth, nor did it use life vitality.


    It looked like it was being transferred from Maha''s mind. The shape of the lightning was quite different from the ones in the universe.


    Maha had said he would teach Lawson a lesson, but the power of this bolt of lightning was beyond just that. It was extraordinary!


    All the Supreme Lords in the universe restrained themselves this time.


    Maha belonged to the Sacred race. His status was such that even a Supreme Lord in his race might just listen to his commands.


    But Maha had gone too far with his actions against a Godly Geniuse.


    "You''re courting death! How dare you!"


    The patriarch of the Lie Clan was the first to step out. A vigorous aura shot into the sky as the atmosphere of the Breaking Cloud Sacred Place surged.


    But Maha''s lightning arc had already struck. It was too late to stop it.


    Boom!


    The arcing bolt of lightning pierced Lawson''s body with a keening sounding, not unlike a pig being butchered.


    The lightning bolt didn''t look overly powerful and seemed to be one that was meant to merely teach a lesson. But Lawson frantically rolled around on the ground like a twisting water snake.


    It was rare to see Lawson in such pain, which could only mean that the bolt of lightning was extremely torturous.


    The patriarch of the Lie Clan was torn between attending to Lawson''s injuries and attacking Maha.


    A cold light flashed in the patriarch''s hand, indicating the appearance of a dragon-headed saber. He raised the saber and brought it slashing down without any hesitation.


    The nine Supreme Lords beside Maha moved into different positions. Each of them flashed a pale green ring, the lights of which quickly connected to each other.


    They had set up an array formation!


    Since Supreme Lords had different types of Heavenly Destinies, it was very rare for them to cultivate an array together.


    This was happening only in the universe where Zen was.


    In the universe where the Sacred race came from, almost every supreme world was occupied by the Sacred race. Small races like the humans, the Demon Night, and the ogres were all concentrated in two or three supreme worlds, like pets of the Sacred race.


    This made the Sacred Race a highly unified one.


    In this universe, however, many Supreme Lords couldn''t choose which Crown of Destiny to bear.


    Since the Crown of Destiny usually appeared randomly after the fall of a Supreme Lord, whoever seized it would bear it. It didn''t matter which rank the Hea


    and, his eyes narrowed.


    As he was sizing the hand up, Zen felt an unfriendly gaze lock onto him. It was from Maha.


    Their gazes met and their hearts skipped a collective beat.


    Maha usually looked down on these Godly Geniuses. But the moment he had looked at Zen, he had understood almost instantly that this was the boy that had won the Illusion Battlefield. Although Zen''s cultivation was only at the Spirit Supreme Realm, his potential was surprisingly strong.


    Zen''s eyes were calm. As he looked at Maha, there wasn''t a trace of anger in them. It was as if this was a matter of course.


    The two of them looked at each other for less than three seconds. But Zen''s face contorted into a contemptuous smile.


    "What are you laughing at?" Maha was annoyed at this show of contempt. In any case, he had already broken off all decorum. Maha predicted that these Supreme Lords didn''t dare fight here. So he addressed Zen.


    This Maha had come prepared today. Even if they couldn''t negotiate, they would still rely on the deterrence of a True God to display their might.


    "I''m laughing at you, a mere world lord. You can''t wait to use the power of the True God behind you, and yet you feel proud of yourself?" Zen asked calmly.


    Maha''s face fell. He had long since had the opportunity to bear the Heavenly Destiny. At the time, there had even been a supreme Heavenly Destiny that would help him become a top-rank Supreme Lord. But he had chosen to give it up. He would become bound by the heavens after bearing the Heavenly Destiny, unable to cross the heavens to become a True God.


    To him, the sacrifice was too great. He had the ambition to become a True God, and this ambition was now not too far away from him.

 Chapter 1812 Threat (Part One)

    As a member of the Sacred race, Maha knew the divine land better than anyone else in the universe. If he could say so himself, he knew the ins and outs of the land like the back of his hand.


    Similar to the the Upper World and Lower World, the universe was a lower plane compared to the divine land.


    The rules of cultivation in the universe were set by the Holy Being and no one else.


    Because of this, it was natural for the people of the divine land to think of themselves highly and regard the creatures of the universe as weaker and inferior to them.


    Even the Godly Geniuses had to painstakingly go through tens of millions of years of hard work just to have the qualifications to be on equal footing with the geniuses of the divine land. It took them endless blood and sweat, and a staggering massive amount of resources, just to get that far.


    But this was simply the natural order of things and the glaring difference that they were born with.


    Maha was the son of a True God. With his status and high birth, he was able to stand tall and be proud among the Sacred race.


    However, he could never be satisfied with his current situation as long as he was still alive. He yearned for more.


    He wanted to set out and go to the divine land to become a True God. In the past, he had already gone to the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land where he reaped quite a lot of benefits.


    But it was not enough as he was still unable to become a True God, like he had wished. Actually, condensing a Godly Tile was a really hard feat to achieve.


    Zen''s words were hitting the wrong cord in Maha, and it made him frown. A dangerou


    lways been thrown at others by him. What qualifications did the others have to treat him like he was a mere pest in their eyes?


    He''d never thought that this Zen, the man who had made him feel uneasy and a tad bit afraid, would prove to be an even more arrogant prick than he was at this moment.


    Unknowingly, the confrontation between the two universes gradually focused on the heated tension between Zen and Maha.


    The Supreme Lords that had gathered within the Celestial Position race had yet to make a move. The same was true of the Supreme Lords and the True God''s hand standing behind Maha. Everyone was standing still with bated breaths.


    In the end, both of them stared the other off and hesitated to move. They didn''t want to make a mistake and fall out with each other.


    However, with Maha''s arrogant and brash personality, he was not one to care about this sort of balance. He had never been at a disadvantageous position before. When he heard Zen''s words, Maha let out an icy smile. Then he controlled the giant hand behind him and launched a direct attack toward Zen.

 Chapter 1813 Threat (Part Two)

    Master Feng, Supreme Lord of Oracle, Supreme Lord of Original Sin, and Supreme Lord of Thunder Punishment started moving almost simultaneously.


    The giant hand slammed down on Zen at a very rapid speed. Even the formless power unleashed by Master Feng was instantly torn apart, unable to block it in the slightest.


    "Do you really think we are afraid of a True God?"


    Supreme Lord of Oracle''s expression was as cold as an arctic ice. The short sword in her hand immediately transformed into a sharp stream of light in the air, lighting up the entire place.


    The stream of light split into many jagged long hooks, and, with quick succession, hooked into the giant hand.


    Earlier in the fight, Supreme Lord of Oracle had already witnessed the might of this giant hand, so she did not dare to underestimate its strength. She merely wanted to block its attacks.


    As for Supreme Lord of Thunder Punishment, he jumped into the air and morphed into a Buddha. With one quick step, he was already in front of Zen, determined to stop this giant hand.


    Supreme Lord of Original Sin''s expression turned solemn and focused as he disappeared from where he stood, nowhere to be found.


    As for the other Supreme Lords, they stood in shock and were caught mentally unprepared. They could not fathom what was happening. Could it be that they were about to start a war with the Sacred race right now?


    If the owner of this giant hand came out, how would the Supreme Lords manage to resist its powers?


    Soon, all of the Supreme Lords'' worries banished into thin air when a new figure joined them.


    A peal of laughter rang in the air as a lean shadow slowly materialized in the space beside Zen. When the old man


    se where the Sacred race resided, there was a True God who was tied down and couldn''t leave. He had the responsibility to guard the universe first and foremost, so he was not able to come here in person.


    When they heard his words, the other Supreme Lords nodded their heads, suddenly hit with enlightenment.


    This old man had no real intent to kill Maha. At this moment, fighting them to death was neither wise nor prudent. The threat he had made to kill Maha was just a mere test.


    "You have no right to know," the voice said in a cutting tone. The giant hand slowly withdrew, volunteering no further information. It had left Maha and the nine Supreme Lords alone.


    Just now, the owner of this giant hand warned that should anyone dare to kill Maha, he would definitely retaliate by flattening the entire universe first. He said this not only because he was confident in his own strength, but also because he didn''t consider the old man as his equal.


    Maha tilted his head and sneered at Supreme Lord of Original Sin, cold arrogance taking over his face. "Heard that? So why aren''t you moving your garbage spear away from me?"

 Chapter 1814 Stone Forest

    The sudden appearance of this elder from the Celestial Position made many Supreme Lords feel delighted and extremely happy.


    They never imagined nor expected that there would be a True God in the Celestial Position. Relief washed over them, for it was a great help for them.


    However, the Sacred race''s True God left unhurriedly, leaving his son here, which meant that the other side did not take this True God of the Celestial Position seriously.


    As for Supreme Lord of Original Sin, a smile appeared on his face as he heard Maha''s words. "Your father just won''t let you die. Get out!"


    After his words, Supreme Lord of Original Sin flicked his long spear. As quick as it was, Maha only felt his vision blur as if a star had smashed into his chest. The explosive impact sent him flying back!


    Watching this scene, the nine Supreme Lords didn''t say a single word. Then they all soared into the sky, following their Godly Genius.


    "Are we going to let them go just like that?" Supreme Lord of Original Sin indifferently asked as he casually rolled up his spear and held it in his hands.


    The elder merely looked towards the direction they had left and insisted, "Let them go. All our chances will be lost once we slay a Godly Genius. It is not worth it."


    After the Sacred race were all out of sight, Master Feng introduced this person to the Supreme Lords present.


    Everyone was surprised as it turned out that this elder was the third disciple of the Holy Being. And his name was Wynn.


    Because of the dispute among the Holy Beings, their disciples were either dead or injured. Wynn had escaped into the inner world of the Holy Being, which meant that he had not only managed to escape death, but he had also fallen into a long and deep slumber.


    Many years ago, Wynn only woke up once to activate the bloodline of the Celestial Position.


    Since the Celestial Position was set up by the disciples, it began to operate according to their designated path right after its activation at a designated time.


    Among them, the head was one part of their arrangement, both the Genuine Dragon and Thoughtless Minds were one part of it, while Zen was the most important.


    It was just that in the beginning, the disciples of the Holy Being had intended to treat Zen as a secret chess piece, hoping that he would grow in the dark, while Nathan was a distinct chess piece, having all the support of other Godly Geniuses.


    However, there were still a lot of flaws in the way they operated. No matter how skilled the disciples were, they could not be counted as perfect.


    Thus Zen won the first place, and in the end, Xenia had become the hidden chess piece.


    But the rate at which the plan was being


    was that there were numerous teleportation areas in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. They could appear at any location, but wherever it was, the first thing they must do was to hide.


    The Divine Refinement Forbidden Land was a cruel world. At the same time, dead people could not be reborn, so if one wanted to train there, the first step was to live and keep alive.


    It was an advantage on Zen''s part that this desert was completely barren as it took him an hour to pass through the desert with ease. Not long after, he discerned a grey forest coming into his view. And as he got nearer, he realized that it was composed of stones!


    Zen rapidly approached one of the trees and leaped lightly, and unknowingly, broke a branch as soon as he landed on the solid ground.


    No matter how carefully he examined them, from the bark to the tree trunk, and then to the leaves, he found they were all stones!


    It was not rather rare for trees to be turned into stones. For example, fossils were often formed when various creatures wallowed in the river of time. This area of the forest might have encountered some unforeseen situations, turning it into stones.


    However, when Zen felt the life force flowing through the tree trunk, he was sure that the stone forest was still growing. They were born stones.


    "In the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, anything that goes against common sense can happen. Don''t be too surprised. The inner world of every Holy Being is different¡­"


    One of Master Feng''s warnings echoed in Zen''s mind.


    After Zen cautiously had observed the forest for a while, he laid the broken branch back on the ground and stealthily snuck into the stony forest.


    What Zen did not know was that a gigantic creature had set its sights on him the moment he had entered the forest.

 Chapter 1815 Move Forward

    Complete silence enveloped the whole stone forest.


    Zen could only hear his own quiet breathing as he entered the forest, his senses on high alert.


    The place did not belong to the universe, so Zen couldn''t use the power transfer skill. In addition, the aboriginals of the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land and the martial artists from the divine land were also there.


    In this forest, all the plants including trees and weeds were all stones.


    When Zen stepped on the forest ground, the weeds under his feet broke occasionally.


    Nevertheless, he kept moving. After four hours, Zen estimated that he had traveled about five hundred miles. If he had traveled by air, he would''ve covered the same distance in just seconds. However, it would be dangerous to expose himself in the air when he was unfamiliar with the place.


    The sky got darker, and Zen saw that the starlight which hung from the cave''s dome-like ceiling began to dim. Clearly, night and day also existed in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land.


    However, the night had come too quickly. Within the time of a few seconds, the bright day had completely been replaced by darkness. There was no transitional process at all.


    This darkness was unable to affect Zen''s perception. A green light flashed in his eyes, and the blurry world of darkness gradually became clear again¡­


    "Keep moving."


    At that moment, Zen wanted nothing more than to meet a martial arts practitioner to gain more knowledge and information about the world he was in.


    Just at the moment the darkness fell, Zen felt the earth suddenly tremble.


    "Boom, boom, boom..."


    Huge feet stomped heavily on the ground and formed many craters.


    Not far from Zen was a ''mountain, '' which moved rather slowly. It turned out to be a huge monster''s body that was about over ten thousand feet tall, but its head was surprisingly small.


    After the gigantic being had walked for a while, it stopped and stretched out its tiny head towards the stone forest. It opened its mouth and began to chew on the branches and leaves.


    ''But those are stones--it even eats stones!'' Zen thought. He was only about fifty feet away from the creature, and he was shocked to see it eat stones.


    What he didn''t know was that the stones contained life energy. Zen saw the stones as nothing different from the hard and brittle common stones, but they were natural food for the creatures in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land.


    Perhaps such a creature''s intelligence did not evolve in its evolutionary process. It had an enormous body, but not a predatory behavior. In fact, it had a rather mild nature.


    Then again, in the world of nature, mild creatures were destined to become food


    o him nor retreated. Instead, the bats kept a safe distance from him.


    ''I wonder why they keep following me, '' Zen thought. Suddenly, he felt very strange.


    After Zen had advanced about four hundred miles, he finally reached the end of the stone forest. The bats stopped as well. They still wanted to follow Zen, but they seemed afraid of something ahead and kept hovering above Zen''s head.


    ''What kind of powerful existence is there ahead of us?'' Zen wondered.


    The concept of fierce beasts came from the universe. Therefore, Zen knew that the creatures in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land couldn''t just be classified under fierce beasts.


    These creatures were also extremely territorial and refused to move forward. The land ahead of them must belong to other creatures.


    Zen didn''t hesitate too much before he continued to advance alone. Overall, the creatures he had encountered in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land weren''t that powerful; or at least, there was nothing that could threaten Zen''s life at the moment.


    But as soon as Zen thought of it, he quickly dismissed the idea.


    After he had passed through the stone forest, the next forest ahead seemed to be a normal one. It still looked lush and verdant despite its strange trees and flowers. It looked a lot better than the stone forest.


    The moment Zen stepped into the forest, he heard the clatter of a horse''s hooves.


    Along the forest path galloped a small, handsome white horse with a sharp horn on its head.


    ''A unicorn?'' Zen froze.


    He no longer looked as calm as before, because the horse carried a woman on its back, and her cultivation level was at the peak of the Spirit Transformation Realm.


    Aside from the woman, warriors with high cultivation levels and even some world lords followed behind her.

 Chapter 1816 The Teleporting Area

    The unicorn''s glorious white mane was so soft and so light that the slightest move by the unicorn made it roll like ocean waves on the beach. If one were to carefully examine the creature up close, one would see perfect divine textures embedded in its hooves.


    Every time the unicorn took a step forward, these divine textures created an extremely tiny force field. Inside this force field, the unicorn would propel itself forward. It would cut through the air in front of it, all the while protected by the barrier.


    "Princess Royal, we''ve already made it to the edge of the gray forest. Here, the darkness lasts for 132 hours. I''m afraid that if we walk any farther, we''ll be in grave danger," one of the black-robed men warned.


    In the eyes of an ordinary person, the complete darkness had already descended. They would not be able to see anything at all.


    However, for Zen and the warriors in front of him, this degree of darkness was nothing.


    Unless the Dark Law shrouded the area, Zen and the warriors would have no problem seeing here.


    Because there were world lords in the group, Zen went to great lengths to remain hidden. He very carefully curled up to one side. From there, he clearly heard the on-going conversation. It was one from which he learned a lot.


    Princess Royal.


    Did these people come from the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land or the divine land? This woman was clearly of very high status.


    ''Will it last 132 hours?'' Zen thought for a moment. If this were the case, then the items on top of the cave would need 132 hours before they could light up again. What dangers would await them here during these 132 hours?


    "Don''t be so anxious. Those yellow birds had been dispersed once before. This time, there won''t be that many left," the woman coldly replied as she spurred the unicorn toward the gray forest.


    "Even so, the teleporting area on the Glitter Gold Gobi has been abandoned for thousands of years. The legend that has reached you was a joke. We cannot expect the same fate."


    ''We cannot expect the same fate.''


    When Zen heard this, he was momentarily stunned.


    Ever since he embarked on the path to becoming a renowned martial artist, he had witnessed various debates about fate.


    Zen had once wondered that if everything that had happened and would happen to him had been decided by the heavens.


    However, not long ago, Rocher had told him that all of these theories about fate were simply lies.


    Zen couldn''t help but think back to what Rocher had said. What he heard from this conversation supported Rocher''s idea.


    "Kennan! How dare you eavesdrop on me!" the woman said, with a hint of contempt.


    "We must do this to protect you, Your Highness. If you are dissatisfied, we can dutifully let His Highness know," The black-robed warrior replied, his voice devoid of emo


    hadow was, but its width easily spanned thousands of feet. From the looks of it, it was probably the same size as the Genuine Dragon and the Genuine Phoenix.


    The top of its massive body was covered with huge barbs and hooks, all of which grew in reverse toward the huge black hole at the top.


    At the edges of the black hole, there were many distinct black and white spheres.


    Although Zen didn''t understand what this monster was, he could instantly tell that those numerous spheres were the monster''s eyeballs. All living creatures were extremely sensitive to that part of the body, and Zen was no exception.


    Seeing such a thing, Zen had no time to be afraid to expose himself.


    Princess Royal, who was on the back of a unicorn, rode fast. She was the first to reach the very front. The others, lined up in a row, followed behind her. None of them chose to fly.


    These people knew this Divine Refinement Forbidden Land very well. Otherwise, Zen would not have chosen to follow them. Using his agile move technique, he tailed this group of martial artists.


    Because of his speed, Zen naturally had no way of hiding his presence. So even though the Princess Royal was still in a panic over seeing the huge shadow in the forest, she discovered Zen.


    "Kennan! I found him! I told you! I said he''ll definitely show up!" Princess Royal cried out.


    As the group sprinted away from the forest, they saw Zen jump up and join their fleeing team. They were all baffled, especially Kennan. His shocked gaze was fixed on Zen. "This is impossible. The teleporting area in the Glitter Gold Gobi has been destroyed. How could someone appear here?"


    However, due to the problem they were currently facing, Kennan had no time to deal with this. The gigantic shadow had begun following them, extending its body through the forest floors. It was chasing after them at an extremely fast speed.

 Chapter 1817 Confidence

    From a distance, it eerily looked like an earthworm crawling around.


    Despite its considerable size, the monster was quite agile in its speed.


    Zen had overheard the conversation of the two.


    From their conversation he realized that the Princess Royal at the instigation of somebody else had taken the unicorn to search for him.


    Although Kennan was certain that this was an impossible task, the Princess Royal managed to get into the gray forest.


    However, even the Princess Royal hadn''t expected that the consequences would be so serious.


    She attracted the terrible monster merely by just stepping into the gray forest. What was it about her that intrigued the monster? Was the attraction of her flesh and blood really so strong?


    Despite this, she did not appear scared. On the contrary, she felt the rush of adrenaline pumping through her blood!


    Suddenly, she turned herself around on the back of the unicorn which continued to charge forward rapidly, and fixed her pair of round bright eyes on Zen.


    ''He is at the Spirit Supreme Realm. He must have just arrived in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land and left the gray forest not long ago.'' The Princess Royal concluded quietly.


    "Forgive me Your Highness, but this is not the time to discuss this," Kennan said with an urgency in his voice. Although he sensed Zen''s presence in the forest, Kennan did not consider him a threat.


    Right now he was focusing on ways to block the monster, charging at them from behind. And he had to think fast, or else they all would be crushed soon!


    "No!" the princess said as she continued to stare at Zen, her small mouth curving upwards. "Capture him for me right now! And I want him alive!"


    Zen was stunned when he heard this.


    Among this group, Kennan and another person were world lords, while the rest of them were at the Spirit Transformation Realm.


    Zen could easily manage the martial artists at the Spirit Transformation Realm, as long as he avoided these two world lords.


    These two world lords would not only have to capture Zen, but also deal with the huge shadow that was chasing them from behind. Zen doubted that the world lords would really carry out the princess''s command and if they did, they would land up in a big mess.


    As expected, Kennan said impatiently, "Your Highness, right now we need to get away from here! We don''t have the time to capture him. Our top priority is to run!"


    "You should be ashamed to call yourself a world lord, if you can''t even catch a Spirit Supreme Realm warrior!" the Princess Royal said defiantly.


    Kennan silently cursed that the princess had chosen this time for an unnecessary argument.


    If he was given enough time and space, he would be able to easily capture Zen who was at the Spirit Supreme Realm, no matter how fast he ran. However, there were other priorities right now. And at t


    w! They certainly felt she was losing her head.


    Zen did not bother to even think while he surged forward. He could not even make out the path while running. He just kept ramming into bushes and trees, slashing them apart. Nothing would stop him from escaping from that crazy woman!


    Hearing the princess shout so loudly, Zen really wanted to murder her!


    However, the thought of the two world lords following behind this woman, made Zen run even harder! It would be better for him to think of other ways to get rid of them!


    "Kennan! Stop that fellow or else be prepared to face your consequences!" When she realized that the distance between Zen and her was increasing, she decided to use her trump card. She knew Kennan wouldn''t back out, but would obey her order!


    When Zen heard those words, he immediately pulled out his Thunder Wind Divine Sword.


    Already the Formless Sky Python was very close behind the princess. Despite this, if the world lord dared to capture him, Zen would kill the princess first!


    "Huff, huff!"


    While continuing to run, Zen decided to spread out his killing intent.


    Although this killing intent was subtle, Kennan clearly felt it. The killing intent, which was purposefully spread out, carried a clear hint of warning.


    Kennan didn''t plan on carrying out the princess''s order. After all, it wasn''t the first time he disobeyed her. However, the killing intent that Zen suddenly released, surprised Kennan!


    The killing intent clearly sent a message to Kennan that if he were to make a move, Zen would definitely kill the princess.


    Zen clearly knew that there were two world lords among those warriors and that the princess herself was a top-level Spirit Transformation Realm martial artist. However, he still dared to release such a killing intent with a hint of warning.


    He was so confident about his own strength. Kennan instantly came to a conclusion.

 Chapter 1818 Keep The Princess Hostage

    Kennan''s attitude was firm.


    His only goal was the protection of the princess.


    However, Zen had made it known that he would kill the princess just to rattle him. If this was just any normal situation, Kennan would have already killed him.


    It was obvious he wasn''t from here. From the looks of it, he might have come from someplace inferior to the divine land. Nonetheless, Kennan considered him as nothing important. He wanted to end this.


    But Kennan was smart, too. He didn''t dare to act recklessly while the Formless Sky Python was on his tail.


    Zen, too, remained calm.


    The higher the profit one desired, the higher the risk one had to face. This was the basic principle.


    Although the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land was a completely independent world, it had potential to bring great benefits to martial artists. For some, they could condense their Godly Tiles here and become True Gods. However, the risk involved would be unimaginable.


    Zen knew he could die if he wasn''t careful.


    He would be either swallowed up by the beast, or get killed by the two world lords. These two were powerful, and they never held back. That day in the great world, it had been hard for even a handful of Godly Geniuses to fight against the grand sorcerer. Now that Zen had to face the two world lords, he didn''t stand a chance.


    "Kennan, how dare you disobey me!" The princess was furious as ever. In her eyes, as long as Kennan made the right move, the guy before her could never escape.


    Rolling his eyes, Kennan held a divine texture in his hand. The Formless Sky Python behind them was getting closer and closer. He was planning to use the Sky Defensive Divine Texture to block it.


    But before he could do anything, the princess had already lost all patience. "I''ll get him myself."


    She possessed a cultivation at the peak of the Spirit Transformation Realm, and she could be considered almost a world lord. Facing Zen who was at the Spirit Supreme Realm, she knew what she had to do to take him down.


    Whoosh!


    With an oiled paper umbrella suddenly in her hands, she leapt into the air.


    This was her secret weapon.


    Historically, umbrella weapons were relatively rare, and the one in the princess''s hand had in particular possessed ultimate powers.


    The princess leaped up agilely and landed gracefully and firmly on the back of the unicorn, then she shook the umbrella with all her might.


    Bam!


    The umbrella spread open.


    "Sky Soul Cover!"


    The moment the umbrella opened, an umbrella-shaped ray of light emerged above Zen''s head, coming down at him.


    A sharp beam flashed in Zen''s eyes as his desire to kill was raging.


    The woman was coming after him but he knew he couldn''t make a scene. If she came here looking for death, then she couldn''t blame him for killing her.


    Before the


    ul masters, Zen was no match for them.


    He knew he just had to take advantage of others to save himself. Although the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land was extremely dangerous, he was completely baffled why he would get into such trouble.


    The princess didn''t expect Zen to turn and come at her. She was still standing on the back of the unicorn and galloped forward at an incredible speed.


    As both of them sped, she could only see a figure flash before her eyes. Her next thought was to open the Solitary Star Umbrella, which could protect her. Unfortunately, she didn''t think fast enough.


    Bam!


    With a wave of his hand, Zen grabbed the Princess Royal.


    Because of the great force binding her, even with her cultivation at the peak of the Spirit Transformation Realm, she could not break free from his grasp.


    The princess was at a complete loss of what to do.


    "Crap!"


    Kennan''s and Woodrow''s expressions suddenly shifted.


    This young man was actually grasping the Princess Royal as he rushed towards the Formless Sky Python.


    So the moment Zen made his move, he had thought out every possible outcome.


    First of all, he could not kill the princess on the unicorn. Regardless how difficult it was to kill a warrior at the peak of the Spirit Transformation Realm, even if he could kill her, the two world lords would never let him go if the princess died at his hands.


    There was no way he could escape the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, so killing the princess would be a death sentence.


    Little did everyone know, his two strikes were done only to test their reactions.


    The results were just as Zen had assumed. When he struck out his second sword strike to threaten the princess, they already decided to take him out. One of the world lords was prepared to make a move against him.


    At that point, the smart move was to keep the princess hostage.

 Chapter 1819 The Wishing Spell

    Zen knew he couldn''t kill this woman, but it was impossible for her to understand what was going on in his mind.


    The riskiest part of his plan was this woman''s strength.


    But Zen had understood the situation and gotten an estimate of this woman''s actual strength from his last two strikes.


    Just as he had speculated, this woman was just like Margaret. Despite their great talent and powerful strength, they had little experience in actual combat. This type of warrior never could fully exert their strength in line with their cultivation bases. However, Zen didn''t know that his guess was only half right.


    His thinking was still limited by his experience from the original universe. He didn''t realize that everything in the divine land was far beyond his imagination.


    This woman was not as simple as he thought she was.


    As Zen brought the woman to fly in reverse, Kennan and Woodrow, the two world lords, were scared out of their wits. The Spirit Transformation Realm warriors were also dumbfounded.


    "What should we do?" Woodrow activated his life vitality and was about to chase after Zen before he realized he had to ask Kennan. He didn''t know what he could do to help the princess.


    Zen was not only holding the princess hostage but was also taking her towards the Formless Sky Python. This was a desperate situation.


    "We have no other choice now. We can only fight it head on!" Kennan said as he crossed his hands and pressed his index fingers to his temples.


    "What?" Woodrow said, shocked at Kennan''s actions.


    Kennan was decisive in his actions. He had never hesitated throughout the entire journey. No matter how much trouble the princess had caused, he always made the right decisions.


    Just like the way he had given up the idea of blocking the monster to stop Zen''s attack when he noticed Zen''s killing intent.


    And now, he had decided to save the princess at all costs. Although the princess didn''t treasure her own life, her safety was always their top priority.


    "Dear Gods, please listen to my dearest wish! May the Immortal Gods show your grace and create a barrier to seal this evil beast!"


    A strong aura enveloped Kennan''s body the moment he made this wish.


    Zen was finding it difficult to steady himself in the air under the impact of this aura. At the same time, he was shocked to find out that this world lord''s aura had suddenly become as strong as that of a Supreme Lord.


    What the hell had happened when Kennan had recited those words? Why was he able to improve so much in the blink of an eye?


    Once Kennan had made his wi


    ord, he knew that he had made the right choice. The question was: How long would the world lord be able to control the beast? It had astonished Zen that Kennan was able to seal the beast all by himself. Even some low-rank Supreme Lords did not have this ability.


    But Zen dared not lower his guard because there was another world lord chasing after him.


    Zen''s mind continued to analyze the situation as he continued on his path to escape, the princess in his arms.


    "You brat! Let the princess go, and I will spare your life. Or you will regret for what you have done!" Woodrow''s voice boomed threateningly as he chased after them.


    "Let the princess go!"


    "Do you know who we are?"


    "We won''t kill you if you don''t hurt the princess,"


    the Spirit Transformation Realm guards began to shout, threatening Zen and trying to placate him at the same time.


    What they didn''t know was that their threats were only making Zen even more determined to keep running. Zen knew that the animosity between him and this group of warriors had already reached peak level. He had no choice but to take the princess hostage. Luckily, her body was slim enough that it didn''t burden him.


    "You want to be stubborn? Don''t blame me for not warning you!" Woodrow shouted and with a flip of his hand, a number of silver spikes appeared behind him. "Soul-chasing Spike!"


    The spikes flashed a cyan light as they spiraled and whizzed through the air and shot towards Zen''s back.


    Zen threw the princess behind him and used her body as a shield against the spikes.


    Woodrow''s face darkened. He didn''t dare hurt the princess with the Soul-chasing Spikes. So with an angry wave of his hand, he caused all the spikes to explode.

 Chapter 1820 God-burning Flame

    In the past, Zen would have never taken advantage of a woman to use her as a shield.


    However, this place was not the universe that he came from! The rules of the game were very different here.


    Right from the beginning when Zen started training to become a warrior, he had never lacked strong supporters.


    He also knew that these mighty warriors backed him only due to the so-called ''destiny''. These powerful masters would regularly motivate him to progress further and move forward all the time.


    But here in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, Zen had to rely solely on himself.


    Moreover, the Princess Royal who he had captured was provoking him. If it had not been for this pestering woman, he would not have encountered a bizarre event right after he arrived in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land!


    "You won''t be able to escape..."


    A world lord called Woodrow hung behind Zen, the cyan light constantly flashing in his hand, which indicated that he intended to use another theurgy.


    "If you get any closer to me, I promise you that I will cut off her head," warned Zen finally. Since these people were so concerned about this woman, they would certainly care about her life.


    However, his words failed to have the desired effect!


    Using a hostage to threaten the powerful warriors was not a very good negotiating tactic. Many formidable warriors felt that a hostage could only be exchanged for a small amount of conditions, but it was impossible to threaten them with no limits. And even if Woodrow agreed to Zen''s request, the Princess Royal could still be killed in the end! It was a gamble he was unwilling to play.


    Therefore, Woodrow acted as if he hadn''t heard anything. The cyan light in his hands became brighter and brighter. He was preparing for an extremely vicious soul attack¡ªthe Soul Shock!


    Once this move was executed, all living beings within a radius of several dozen miles would temporarily turn into zombies, as their souls became stagnant...


    Zen''s eyebrows furrowed when he saw that his threat was useless.


    The opponent could read his mind. He was only trying to escape, and did not have the heart to harm the woman he was holding captive!


    If it continued this way, Zen would be in dire straits!


    Suddenly a strange call came from behind him!


    The cry seemed to have come from underground!


    Rumble!


    The shocked Woodrow saw that the Formless Sky Python was twisting and turning. At the same time, a huge crack appeared on the ground behind the Formless Sky Python, after which the ground tore open, as if something huge was breaking out from beneath!


    Bam!


    The ground exploded, and another Formless Sky Python drilled its way out from it!


    "Two Formless Sky Pythons?"


    "NO! It is the same one... Bloody hell! That is the tail of the Formless Sky Python!"


    "Thi


    toes, the soil beneath her feet instantly melted, creating a ripple like water!


    Zen had no idea what was going on, so he had tried his best to protect himself before chucking the princess away.


    But when he observed the flame, a strange smile appeared on his face.


    The Princess Royal was perplexed when she saw his expression. Shouldn''t this fellow be helpless and surrender at this point?


    However, after three seconds, his figure suddenly flashed and pounced on her!


    "Aah! No!"


    she screamed!


    At this moment, she wasn''t worried about herself, but Zen! He would be burnt crisp!


    Surely, Zen must have known that he should not touch the flame, but he still charged at her. In her opinion, this was no different than suicide!


    And so, a weird scene played out.


    The Princess Royal was like a dragonfly as she whizzed about in the air and kept stomping down on the ground. The soil beneath her feet melted in an instant, forming a large scorched mud puddle. The trees around her carbonized as well and turned into charred dead wood.


    However, she had retreated to save Zen''s life!


    Like a poisonous hedgehog, she desperately backed away, afraid that she would hurt him.


    The small army behind them didn''t dare to make any wrong moves in a hurry. The Spirit Transformation Realm martial artists were well aware of the power of the flame on the princess''s body. If they got too close to her, they would surely lose their lives...


    "Don''t come here. I''ll set you ablaze!" she warned in a panic.


    Her theurgy was extremely special. When she was young, she had never been able to gain complete control over it, and even those in the divine land were unable to explain the origins of the flame. As a result, as she grew up, she would often accidentally ignite the flame and burn down large portions of her house...


    There was a look of pure horror in her eyes now.

 Chapter 1821 Determined (Part One)

    As she grew up with her special theurgy, there were many people who had died under her flame.


    The people in her clan viewed her theurgy as an extremely powerful talent. However, to her, it was the fiend that she looked down upon as a curse. It saddened her when she found ordinary people trembling when they stood before her. Nobody dared to approach her, fearing that they would be burned to death if they weren''t careful.


    A shudder went through the servants every time they had to serve her.


    The funny part was these servants had received special training. Yet somehow their fear of perishing became full-fledged when they faced her. Nobody could teach them to restrain their fear when facing the Princess Royal. After all, the fear of death was the most intense fear. Every unexpected movement from the Princess Royal prompted them to overreact. Some people might think of this as power, but that wasn''t how the Princess Royal looked at it. Every time she sensed them jittering in front of her, she realized they treated her as a monster. She loathed nothing more than their stiff bodies. ''How I wish they would act with ease. I am facing a bunch of robots!'' she would think with frustration.


    At the age of thirteen, she had burnt a playmate to death.


    Her own actions caused her endless grief. She felt akin to a hedgehog that could not hide its poisonous spikes. Her mere presence meant danger to others.


    This incident had cast a shadow on her heart, and it still weighed in her mind now.


    But the more powerful her blue flame was, the happier her brother would be. Even her own father looked at her power as a bliss.


    They had done quite a bit of research about this flame, but they had never uttered a word about it before her. They were well aware of her aversion towards her own power.


    However, after coming to the Divine R


    l Flowers in the town.


    The origin of the Celestial Soul was a mystery. They were ubiquitous in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, but they were not the aboriginals of the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. Moreover, they did not seem to come from the various universes, and there was no such race in the divine land.


    Some people took them for the Soul Race, but they were fundamentally different from each other!


    Now it turned out that the information provided to her by the Celestial Soul person was right. A creature had indeed appeared on the Glitter Gold Gobi, and this creature was capable of taking her to the Soul Suppressing Cliff!


    However, except for the princess, no one else believed this.


    At this moment, she felt elated for having had faith in this information. She had chosen to take a risk and now it had come to fruition. ''I have finally found him! He is right in front of me!'' she thought delightfully.


    In spite of her happiness, there was a part that was still unsure if this person could truly take her to the Soul Suppressing Cliff. However, upon discovering that this young man could actually resist her blue flame, she was eighty percent sure that this man was the person she was looking for!

 Chapter 1822 Determined (Part Two)

    Although no one could figure out the origin of her flame, it was still an abnormal flame that petrified even her own father.


    ''How did this man manage to do it?'' she wondered in awe.


    However, Zen didn''t have the slightest idea about the thoughts that were running through this woman''s mind. He firmly grasped her and madly rushed forward.


    Suddenly, a loud thud came from behind them, similar to that of thunder!


    In such a short period of running, Zen had already brought this woman over a hundred miles with him. However, the violent sound coming from behind was deafening. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn''t ignore it. It was like something was exploding right near their ears.


    The Formless Sky Python began to move again!


    The two world lords had failed to stop it.


    In the end, the Formless Sky Python wasn''t something that the world lords could defeat easily. Even though they had used the Wishing Spell to seal the Formless Sky Python off, the Formless Sky Python still managed to break free. However, it could still be considered a feat for these world lords to have controlled the Formless Sky Python for so long!


    However, Zen''s expression changed when he realized what was happening. His eyes caught the sight of the huge shadow in the distance when it suddenly began to prostrate on the ground. The second it touched the ground, the whole place began to tremble under its power. The Formless Sky Python seemed to be coming at them.


    The target of this Formless Sky Python was neither Zen nor the two world lords. It was after the woman that Zen was holding.


    At first, the princess hadn''t realized this. But as soon as the revelation began to sink in, her face paled.


    e had enough time to dodge.


    However, she didn''t seem to have any intention of dodging. She still maintained her height in the sky as she followed behind Zen.


    Just as the sword radiance reached the princess'' ear and was about to chop her head off, screams rang out from several thousand feet behind her.


    The warriors that followed the princess were greatly shocked. When these Spirit Transformation Realm martial artists saw that the Formless Sky Python had broken free from the control of the two world lords, all they could think of was to run for their lives. However, they might not end well if they left the princess behind. And it would be even worse by being eaten by the Formless Sky Python. In such a dire situation, they had no choice but to follow Zen and the princess.


    On the other hand, Zen''s sword radiance finally stopped right beside the princess'' ear.


    A part of the hair above her left ear was chopped off. And a small cut was left by the sword radiance on her tiny ear where blood droplets began to ooze out.


    But the princess'' face looked as determined as ever, and she showed no signs of giving up.

 Chapter 1823 Swallowed (Part One)

    Zen''s spirit was a tumult of conflicting emotion, but his face merely betrayed confusion. He hesitated.


    After everything, he did not have the heart to kill this woman...


    The ground shook beneath him. His breath caught as he saw the massive body of the Formless Sky Python rushing towards him. As he turned to run, bursts of wind began to form underneath his feet, propelling him forward.


    Behind him trailed the Princess Royal. She had a sly smile on her face as she flew through the air.


    Her strength was that powerful, but she had cultivated her own cultivation method diligently. She easily matched his speed, and even began to overtake him. He raced forward, and she followed steadily in his wake.


    The martial artists of the Spirit Transformation Realm had formed a procession behind her and kept pace.


    The beast seemed less than a hundred miles away from them. Suddenly, in one swift motion, it wound up like a coil and sprang into the air with an agility that belied its size. Zen thought that it must have crossed at least ten miles with that leap alone. Such was the beast''s immensity and power. Though the party continued to flee, they all looked back when they heard a low and terrible rumbling. As the earth groaned, they saw the great animal rear one of its heads up and then smashed it down from the height of tens of thousands of feet. Their breath caught in their throats. Then, without warning, the winds parted and the monstrous head raced down towards them, its numerous eyes gleaming.


    The air trembled with a sound like thunder, as the first head of the Formless Sky Python, vast as a mountain, fell from the sky.


    Zen''s face froze in shock and the Princess Royal began to panic. The warriors of the Spirit Transform


    llowed here.


    If everyone from the divine land were to bring a space treasure to enter the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land and use it whenever they encountered any danger, the significance of the existence of the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land would disappear...


    The crack of thunder brought him out of his reverie.


    Zen''s strength was at its limit, and he was running faster than he ever had before, but the Formless Sky Python''s head was falling ever closer.


    He kept his eyes focused on the edge of the shadow, calculating the distance left...


    "Only six or seven more miles," he said.


    ''I probably would''ve escaped by now if I haven''t turned to slash at the Princess Royal earlier, '' he thought to himself.


    The Formless Sky Python''s mouth stretched open, and the sight within chilled Zen to his core. It reminded him of a hollow tube of bamboo, with sickly spikes spiraling from its lips all the way to the depths of its stomach. It was a staircase to hell. Nothing less.


    At such a close distance, Zen could smell the deathly aura that emanated from the beast''s belly. It smelled of rage, blood, and death. He wanted to vomit even as he ran.

 Chapter 1824 Swallowed (Part Two)

    The numerous eyes around the beast''s head had all trained to look at the Princess Royal.


    Zen was close enough that he could see the woman''s reflection in all of those eyes, like a kaleidoscope of numerous mirrors on a wall.


    Suddenly, a fair and slim arm grabbed him. It was the Princess Royal, holding her umbrella in one hand and Zen in the other. She summoned her full strength and they raced even faster; far faster than Zen would have been able to go on his own.


    They were both out of breath by this point, but they had no choice. They had to keep going.


    The rotating umbrella seemed to exude a strange force that removed all resistance in their way. Air parted in front of them, and the ground turned to a blur beneath their feet. The wind built into a roar in Zen''s ears.


    There was a sound like the splitting of the earth and the crash of ten thousand thunderbolts.


    The Formless Sky Python drove through the earth like a spear through flesh. The tumult of sound had come from behind them. They managed to escape!


    As the massive body of the Formless Sky Python drilled into the ground, the earth gave way and a tsunami of rock was sent rippling outward, its crests like mountains and troughs like valleys.


    The wave hit Zen and the princess, pushing them forward in the hurricane of dust. After ten miles, the cloud had lost its strength and the waves had returned to the ground. The two caught up in the wind, and continued to fly forward.


    Shock. Terror. They saw carnage as they spun around.


    The procession of Spirit Transformation Realm warriors following the princess had long disappeared without a trace, swallowed in the


    them in a flash, but the Formless Sky Python''s jaws grew taller and taller around them. The jaws began to close...


    Suddenly, the Formless Sky Python froze, turning rigid mid-flight.


    Zen and the Princess Royal were stunned. They looked up to discover that, only a few hundred miles away, Kennan and Woodrow had appeared and had once again cast their Wishing Spells! They had sealed the other head of the Formless Sky Python!


    The Formless Sky Python had two heads at both ends, and when its tail was sealed, it meant that one of its heads became sealed as well. As its tail head was taken care of, the head under Zen and the princess''s feet could no longer rise any further!


    "It''s done," whispered Zen in disbelief.


    He had never felt so overjoyed to be alive before. He dragged the princess with him, leaping over the huge mouth of the Formless Sky Python, escaping from the mouth that led to the abyss.


    Before he could say anything else, however, violent tremors thundered out into the heavens. The tail of the Formless Sky Python was thrashing madly, struggling to escape its bounds.

 Chapter 1825 Chaotic Force Field

    It didn''t matter how loud the noise behind them became; they weren''t stopping anytime soon.


    The Formless Sky Python wasn''t very intelligent. But Zen had no idea why it had locked its target on the princess.


    They rushed at a speed that led them thousands of miles away in under five minutes.


    If any strange beasts lurked ahead of them, they didn''t have time to think about it. All they could think of was to try their best to distance themselves from the Formless Sky Python.


    This time, a rumbling sound rang out from behind. The enormous creature continued to follow them.


    It looked like the Formless Sky Python wouldn''t stop until it devoured the woman beside Zen.


    They didn''t know how Kennan and Woodrow were doing. All they could do was try their best and get away as soon as possible.


    This thick forest land stretched for a thousand miles. They''d gotten some distance ahead when a massive lake appeared before them. They had gradually moved onto the highlands, from plains to hills.


    Despite them running at full speed, the distance between them and the Formless Sky Python was quickly closing.


    "Ah! Look out!"


    the princess suddenly cried out. The oil-paper umbrella she was holding came to an abrupt halt in midair.


    "What''s wrong?" Zen frowned.


    He didn''t know how to deal with this woman, especially since he could neither kill her nor shake her off because she was so stubborn in following him.


    All they could do right now was escape together. But it was still somewhat baffling to Zen as to why they had gone in the same boat.


    "In front of us is the territory of the Collapsing Mountain race. It is one of the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land''s aboriginal races," the princess replied.


    "Aboriginals? Are they dangerous?" This woman was referring to the Collapsing Mountain race as aboriginals and Zen knew from this that the princess was from the divine land.


    The princess pursed her lips and replied, "It''s hard to say. The aboriginals of the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land have a strong enmity towards outsiders, but it''s not all impossible for us..."


    Before she could finish talking, Zen had rushed out, muttering under his breath about how this woman lacked judgment.


    They would die if they remained where they were. But if they continued onward, they might still have a chance of survival. The choice was easy.


    Zen had, however, forgot the fact that the princess had taken a huge risk to go search for a warrior that had landed on the teleporting areas like Zen after night had fallen. If the Collapsing Mountain race could make someone like the princess hesitate, it wasn''t going to be simple.


    The princess hesitated for a moment before catching up with Zen. She knew she had no other choice.


    If the


    he previous ones. But they were no different to Zen, who shattered them to pieces with a single hit.


    As they advanced, the red stones gradually disappeared and cyan stones began to appear. These stones were columnar in shape and were twice as hard as the iron ores.


    The stones they saw along the way changed colors from cyan to brown, then to blue, and then became crystal clear.


    They finally encountered black stones that Zen couldn''t break. He had to take a detour, having failed to shatter the huge rocks. This way, he finally had to slow down.


    "I''ll lead," the princess said, raising the oil-paper umbrella in her hands. The umbrella''s ribs folded backwards, making it look like a spear.


    Zen''s interest was piqued as he saw the changes in the umbrella. He had always known, somehow, that this woman''s umbrella was incredibly magical.


    The princess pointed the umbrella ribs towards the front and made it spin.


    A thin blue spiral slowly came into existence. It was thin as an arm and had a sharp tip, like a long, constantly twisting snake. The black stones shattered the moment the tip of the spiral touched them. Its power was beyond amazing.


    The princess was truly leading the way!


    Once they broke through the black boulders, silver floating boulders appeared once again before them.


    The princess rushed forward to break the silver boulders apart. But they had only flown about seventy or eighty feet when they felt a strong attraction force pulling them over.


    This force was too great for them to resist it.


    The two of them felt dizzy for a moment. And then, they began to fall heavily towards the silver rocks.


    When they came back to their senses, they discovered that they were lying on top of a silver boulder. But they couldn''t move their limbs. It was as if they were stuck to this silver boulder.

 Chapter 1826 The Strength Source

    There was hardly a hair''s breadth between Zen and the Princess Royal as they lay on the huge silver stone, which made it quite hard to turn over.


    The huge silver stone on the other hand emitted an irresistible force of attraction under the chaotic force field.


    "You can''t move too, right?"


    Princess Royal asked. The two of them had been pressed too close against each other when they had fallen on the stone.


    After that, they kept glancing at each other like a first-time couple.


    "It''s a little hard..." Zen tried to shake his head, but it was extremely difficult to move his neck. The attraction force was far too powerful.


    "The members of the Collapsing Mountain race are extraordinarily strong. It is said that if ordinary warriors enter their territory, they would instantly freeze, and only slaughter awaits them," the Princess Royal said with a smile.


    Zen stared at her, utterly speechless.


    "You''ve known about this since a long time ago, right?"


    "This place is where the strength source is. Of course I''ve heard of it before." "Then why did you still lead me here?" Zen asked shrilly.


    Truth be told, he was rather annoyed. "But we have no other way to go," Princess Royal stated calmly.


    Extreme sadness washed over Zen once again. This woman was not wrong. They wouldn''t be able to get rid of the Formless Sky Python no matter where they fled.


    It seemed that this place was the only area left where they could try their luck.


    "I bet the Formless Sky Python doesn''t dare enter the Collapsing Mountain race''s territory," the Princess Royal inferred. She had her own judgment of things, but she wasn''t stupid.


    The Divine Refinement Forbidden Land was originally a trial ground. It was where warriors could grow and be promoted the fastest, and not even the divine land could compare to it. Yet since it was an extremely dangerous place, it came with much bigger risks.


    This Divine Refinement Forbidden Land was only the size of at least three supreme worlds. It had many trial grounds, and the Collapsing Mountain race guarded its strength source. The place was for body refiners to cultivate.


    "What a pity... You must have guessed wrong," Zen said, a wry smile on his face.


    They heard the familiar sound of explosions again. Although Zen and the Princess Royal were within the huge silver stone, they could still see the ground and the mountains tremble.


    "Rumble..."


    It was as if an immense earthquake had occurred, and even the ground began to ripple like water. Clearly, a huge monster moved underneath...


    Zen inhaled deeply. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to stand up and break free from the stone''s constraints!


    However, it was impossible to do it with his own strength alone. Thus, he had no choice but to use the power of the dragon scales.


    The nine Genuine Dragons and Zen had quite the conflict after th


    ior who refined her body. Thus, she could not turn her head under the effects of the attraction force, and could only look straight ahead.


    Zen followed her gaze and saw a few figures from a near distance who rapidly approached the scene.


    "Martial artists?" Zen froze instantly.


    "The members of the Collapsing Mountain race!" The Princess Royal''s face lit up as if she had personally seen the reinforcements.


    The warriors with bared arms had bronzed, toned muscles and looked very strong. Were they the members of the Collapsing Mountain race that the Princess Royal had spoken of?


    Based from their appearance alone, they seemed nothing special and were almost similar to ordinary humans. However, what surprised Zen was that these warriors actually jumped crazily on the silver stones at a shockingly high speed!


    They weren''t affected by the attractive force at all. Perhaps there was some secret technique that allowed them to escape the attraction force.


    The Formless Sky Python''s huge mouth below only rose half the distance, and the members of the Collapsing Mountain race had arrived quickly.


    What happened next immediately corrected Zen''s guess. The group of Collapsing Mountain members didn''t escape from the attraction force at all.


    In reality, they were already used to the giant silver stone''s attraction force due to their immense strength.


    "Bang, bang, bang!"


    Three strongest men of the Collapsing Mountain race rushed in front and punched the Formless Sky Python at the same time.


    The Formless Sky Python, whose body was like a rapidly growing bamboo, rose slowly¡ªonly to be destroyed by the three fists when it was halfway up.


    "This..." Naturally, Zen was also a bit stunned. They had such a strong, formidable power to the point where Zen couldn''t comprehend it. He thought that maybe after all the cyan dragon''s dragon scales had been lit up, it could reach the same effect.

 Chapter 1827 The Collapsing Mountain Warriors

    Zen''s eyes practically popped out of their sockets as the colossal body of the Formless Sky Python smashed to the other side, creating a deep hole in the ground.


    He hadn''t expected this at all.


    Were the aboriginals of the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land really this powerful?


    The Formless Sky Python was easily on the same level as a Genuine Dragon.


    Nevertheless, the power the three people released had directly knocked down the Formless Sky Python.


    "Boo...hoo..."


    The Formless Sky Python wailed. It wriggled twice in an attempt to right its position. The woman was prey and it wasn''t about to let its meal go just like that.


    Just as it was to get up, the three Collapsing Mountain members went for the python and threw themselves into its vital point.


    They were relatively large and sturdy, standing at nearly ten feet and as bulky as ogres, but next to the Formless Sky Python, the three were comparable to grains of sand.


    Howl!


    Boom!


    At the impact of the three''s attack, the Formless Sky Python once again crashed into the ground.


    With another howl, it twisted its body in frustration. It didn''t dare disobey the Collapsing Mountain warriors any longer and with a loud rumbling sound, it drilled head-first into the ground.


    Just before it completely disappeared, however, the head on the tip of its tail narrowed it eyes and roared at the princess.


    Seeing the group of three closing in on it again, it quickly followed the rest of its body and disappeared.


    Zen watched the Formless Sky Python leave and asked the princess, "That thing seems to hold a very deep grudge against you. Why does it want to eat you so bad? What did you do to offend it?"


    From the very beginning, the thing had chased after the woman beside him. Was the princess''s flesh really more delicious than the others''? Was she really that appetizing to the Formless Sky Python?


    "I did not do anything!" the princess scowled.


    "If you didn''t offend it, then why was it hell-bent on eating you?" Zen wondered out loud.


    The princess pursed her lips. It was obvious she didn''t want to tell Zen the truth, so he didn''t pursue the topic any further. The warriors of the Collapsing Mountain race then approached.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    About thirteen warriors stood in front of Zen.


    One by one, they went airborne and landed on silver boulders. Some of them stood on top of the boulders while others hung upside down, all of them attracted to the boulders like iron to a magnet.


    One of the three warriors who fought off the Formless Sky Python landed on the same boulder Zen and the princess were on.


    ing Mountain warriors sped through the air.


    However, as the warriors continued to go deeper, more and more silver boulders appeared. Zen watched as the boulders transformed into the earth''s foundation.


    And with this transformation, the attraction force became greater the deeper they went.


    The two of them could only stare at each other and hold on tighter as the Collapsing Mountain warrior picked up speed.


    "Oh, I just remembered," the princess smiled after a while. "I haven''t gotten your name yet."


    Deep inside, she felt increasingly uncomfortable as the pull of gravity became heavier. Her position on the Collapsing Mountain warrior''s back didn''t help too.


    "Zen Luo," Zen answered truthfully.


    This was the first time Zen visited the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. There was no need to lie about his name.


    "I''m Laquisha Han," she offered with a little smile.


    Zen, however, was not in the mood to talk. He was too concerned about what they were going to face next.


    On the other hand, Laquisha Han couldn''t seem to stop talking. She kept asking him questions such as why he was able to absorb her flames and not get burnt and what universe he came from.


    At her last question, Zen shook his head. "I don''t know which universe it is."


    It was true. Living beings in a certain universe supposedly couldn''t leave the universe they were in to go to another universe. That was how it had always been. But this was not applied to mighty warriors.


    "How can that be?" Laquisha Han frowned. As someone of her status, she was able to see problems within the divine land and it was only natural that she would know much more than Zen. This time, however, she was the one who was unable to understand what was going on.

 Chapter 1828 Lying On The Ground

    The members of the Collapsing Mountain race carried Zen and Laquisha as they moved forward, and they eventually reached a large encampment. As these two individuals chatted along the way, Zen and Laquisha gained a basic understanding of each other.


    The buildings of the encampment looked very primitive and seemed that they were made of the same kind of silver stones. The buildings'' surfaces were embellished with different patterns, and although they looked rough, they seemed to be heavy and sturdy.


    After the Collapsing Mountain members entered the encampment, they threw Zen and Laquisha down into a corner and left.


    The height of the Collapsing Mountain member''s shoulders was less than ten feet, but when he slammed Zen and Laquisha down on the ground, the two of them let out muffled groans.


    Due to the effect of the strong gravitational force, the power behind the impact shouldn''t be underestimated.


    Zen still felt alright. It was as if his internal organs were in turmoil, but he quickly returned to normal.


    Laquisha, on the other hand, did not do too well. Her cultivation level was higher than Zen''s, but she was still a woman and didn''t pay particular attention to body refinement. The Collapsing Mountain member did not show her the slightest bit of mercy. After being thrown violently on the ground, she suffered an internal injury and a bit of blood dripped out of the corner of her mouth.


    "Are you alright?" Zen asked.


    "Hmm..." Laquisha was devastated. This kind of injury was nothing to her, but this kind of treatment was a bit of a blow to her.


    After being thrown onto the ground, the two of them were immobilized and could not get up from the ground. The strong gravitational force was almost everywhere. It felt like there were dozens of mountains on top of them. How difficult was it for them to get up?


    Zen could only activate the power of the dragon scales. The force of gravity here was much stronger than that on the huge silver boulder. Even though he already borrowed the power of the dragon scales, he still wasn''t able to stand up. Finally, he rolled and sat up.


    He couldn''t see anything while he had been lying on the ground.


    After he managed to sit up, he leaned on the wall beside him. Only then did he notice that there were a lot of other martial artists in that place, aside from him and Laquisha.


    "Huh?"


    The martial artists had strange appearances¡ªsome had green skin, some looked like dwarves, and some were also very handsome. However, all of the martial artists here were humanoid in form.


    Why were most intelligent beings shaped similar to humans?


    Zen had thought about this long ago. Whether it was the Sacred race, human race, Demon Night race, or even ogres, the various races all developed their own culture and influence. Their common characteristic was that they were all bipedal. Their body shapes and appearances were different from each other, but the internal structures of their bodies were similar. The Demon Night members only had long and sharp ears, while the ogres looked fiercer.


    Zen were still lying motionless on the ground like corpses.


    Zen couldn''t help but feel sorry for them as he thought about how hard it would be to remain in this position for ten years without being able to move a single muscle.


    Suddenly, a roar came from the Collapsing Mountain race.


    Roar!


    One of the Collapsing Mountain members stood at the peak and began roaring towards the sky with all his might.


    At the same time, all of the other Collapsing Mountain members answered that person''s roar, and they began to shout and sing.


    Zen didn''t understand the song at all. They sang in the language of the Collapsing Mountain race and didn''t really follow the rules of music. But beneath their rough and orderly voices, he sensed an extraordinary strength and a unique rhythm.


    "What did they sing?" Zen asked.


    Laquisha curled her lips. "Listen carefully. It''s good for you. If you can stand up, you can carry me on your back and leave this place."


    She had no plan to refine her body and definitely didn''t want to lie here for ten years. After only a few hours of lying on the ground, she was already quite crestfallen. If she really lay here without moving, ten years of her life would definitely have been wasted.


    Laquisha thought it over for a few hours and realized that Zen was her only hope.


    This guy had just entered this territory and was already able to use his own strength to sit up. She naturally hoped that he could quickly adapt to the gravity here.


    "The song is good for me? How?" Zen had a look of confusion on his face for a short while, but soon felt something strange happen within his body.


    These sounds contained an unusual vibration, and the continuous roaring had resonated with Zen''s body.


    With this resonance, the blood flow throughout Zen''s body suddenly surged, and his heart rate also began to increase. As he looked at the other martial artists, all of them were flushed red.


    This Collapsing Mountain race was extremely unique. They were able to refine their bodies just by singing a song?

 Chapter 1829 Means

    The Collapsing Mountain race seemed to be very primitive. Their social structure was still dependent on the authority of ancient clans.


    However, there were still many mysteries hidden within just awaiting discovery!


    It could even be said that they were cultivating with every move!


    For instance, the women of the Collapsing Mountain race would be pregnant for 30 years. During these 30 years, their babies would be baptized by the tribe''s singing every day. They would passively undergo body refining before they were born!


    During the process of body tempering, the fetus would gradually adapt to the gravitational force, and after it was born, it would have immense strength.


    Thus, when a baby from the Collapsing Mountain race was born, it would already be able to crawl across the ground ¡­


    As for the Spirit Transformation Realm martial artists present, they couldn''t lift a finger. They weren''t even comparable to an infant from the Collapsing Mountain race.


    This was why the Collapsing Mountain race took the trial tallies and dumped these martial artists here like trash. The Collapsing Mountain race worshiped powerhouses, but these fellows couldn''t even compare to the little babies of their race, so they didn''t give a damn about them. They deserved to take the Collapsing Mountain race''s trials, but only if they were able to stand up one day.


    The song of the Collapsing Mountain race lasted for a full two hours!


    Every day after dawn, they would howl like this for two hours. The Collapsing Mountain members actually had the strength to do so.


    This Divine Refinement Forbidden Land was filled with all sorts of strange things. Singing was originally a method of body tempering for this race, so it was considered normal.


    This strange ballad gave rise to a subtle vibration. It felt like countless small hammers, constantly hammering around Zen''s body. He could feel the omnidirectional hammering beginning on the outside and working its way to the inside, slowly immersing itself in his body.


    Zen finally understood that this flesh refining method was similar to the principle of the Grand Weapon Refining Method that he practiced himself!


    However, the Grand Weapon Refining Method was intended to transform a person into a weapon and then make them undergo training. The purpose of the Collapsing Mountain race''s method was to directly beat up their body ¡­


    If Zen hadn''t undergone the training to turn his body into a weapon, he definitely wouldn''t have been able to withstand that kind of beating. His injuries would have become increasingly severe, and ordinary people naturally would not have access to his training.


    However, the power of vibration within this song was relatively mild. Under the resonance of this song and the powerful gravitational force here, the benefits for a body refiner were obvious.


    Listening to the song for a single day would cause the listeners'' vital energy and blood to flow more rapidly and their flesh to tighten. If they continued to listen to it for a year, five years, or ten years, the ef


    lying here weren''t qualified. The benefits of the meat pieces were obvious; naturally, some people would try to use their brains to get them.


    In truth, this Uncle Toad had only been with the tribe for a short period of time. It was only because he had eaten these pieces of meat that he was able to get up. So, clearly, this meat possessed a magical power.


    Maybe this scheme had been in his mind even before he had entered the Collapsing Mountain race!


    ''He is clever, '' Zen couldn''t help but sigh.


    The children took out pieces of their own meat and fed them to Uncle Toad. After that, they left satisfied after Uncle Toad told them how to repair the wooden oxen.


    Before the children left, there were also other practitioners lying on the ground trying to "steal business for themselves."


    "I know how to fix that wooden ox too ¡­"


    "I can tell you a story. Do you want to hear it?"


    "I can teach you guys how to make wooden birds. It''s fun."


    However, almost all of the children''s interest was focused on the wooden ox. The other martial artists'' attempted ''seduction'' rarely proved effective, and the children soon disappeared without a trace. The group of warriors could not get up, and could only look helplessly at the backs of the group of swiftly vanishing children.


    Zen wasn''t one of them.


    Since he had unintentionally entered the Collapsing Mountain race, it could be said that it was fate. According to what he had heard, this trial tally was extremely rare. Since he had come in here with her for free, naturally, he would seize this opportunity to fully refine his body!


    The day passed quickly, and by nightfall, the Collapsing Mountain race members had all returned to their tribe.


    Each of them was carrying a colossus on their shoulders. That was their reward for a day of hard work.


    There were single-horned bulls the size of a small mountain, red blood eagles with a wingspan of over a thousand feet, and heterogenetic porcupines covered with golden spikes.


    The abundance of prey left Zen dumbstruck.

 Chapter 1830 The Temptation (Part One)

    When these vicious beasts roamed this world, they were rightfully considered the overlords of the region. They ruled everything and were at the very top of the food chain. A few of them, even if only a handful, could actually take on human form. Their power was truly undeniable.


    The warriors in this place though, despite the overruling strength of the vicious beasts, were even more powerful than they were. Here, they were reduced into food for the Collapsing Mountain members.


    A bloody horror show had begun in the center of the space¡ªan area no more than ten thousand feet wide. Together, the members of the Collapsing Mountain race formed an irregular shaped circle around the mass of dead bodies. A beastly demolition, one might say.


    Only certain members of the Collapsing Mountain race were deemed with the responsibility for dismantling the beasts and they effected their work with great skill and precision. The beasts were picked apart one by one, the race members working like a team. It wasn''t long before entire flaps of skin were being peeled back, a ripping sound resonating against the walls of the confined area. Blood soaked the ground, creating dark red almost black puddles at their feet. The beasts were dismembered, their flesh cut clean, their bones removed and their tendons torn.


    For an onlooker, the scene was extremely traumatic and sickening. Disgusting, even. However, these beasts were comparable to a world lord and every part of their bodies was extremely valuable, to say the least! With careful and quick work of their weapons, the Collapsing Mountain members dismembered the beasts in no time.


    Once all the beasts were taken apart, the working members took a step back. A strong stench of blood suddenly hit them. There was so much blood and the smell was so strong.


    With a quick glance around the space, it was clear that the martial artists and the children were used to the scene and the stench. The martial artist staying next to Zen appeared to be feeling particularly uncomfortable. His breathing seemed labored and he clenched his chest with his hand, his facial expression distorted.


    The other martial artists were in a similar state: they gasped for air while lying on the ground with their eyes closed. Of course, from their angle, they couldn''t see all of what was really going on. Z


    , his eyes darting from one martial artist to another.


    Laquisha was lying on the ground, but upon hearing Zen''s words, she said, "That is the Calamity Dispelling Wood, and the fragrance it emits is the Calamity Dispelling Fragrance which can activate the most primitive and original appetite of all living beings. This kind of wood is a special product of the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land."


    To the north of the Collapsing Mountain race, there was an immense, lush forest known as the Calamity Dispelling Forest. Most of the trees in the forest were tens of thousands of feet high. The forest covered several acres and the trees were so thick with foliage that one couldn''t see the sky above them when walking through it.


    Here, the Calamity Dispelling Trees emitted the faint fragrance all the time. No need to burn their wood.


    In the Calamity Dispelling Forest, all living beings'' desires were magnified countless times over. These creatures'' instincts were also stimulated to their absolute limit.


    From small reptiles and ants to big birds, from low-level creatures to top of the food chain beasts, their sensations were amplified and their strongest desires were aroused. They crazily devoured one another and killed each other. At the same time, they copulated frantically and continued the cycle with their offspring.


    It was a hell on earth for those who lived here and coupled here and for the young that were raised here. On the other hand though, this frantic breeding ground was a living paradise for the growth of any vicious beast.

 Chapter 1831 The Temptation (Part Two)

    A martial artist entering the Calamity Dispelling Forest would just as much end up giving into their most basic desires. Anyone breathing the oxygen provided by these trees would fold beneath the pressure of temptation in no time. All desires were pushed to their extremes, even the most insignificant. After the desires to eat, to love and to possess had been magnified countless times, people would act like the beasts.


    "They light these bonfires and eat heartily here every day. These people, who have stayed here for a long time, also know that it is time for the members of the Collapsing Mountain race to eat, so they stimulate their appetite," Laquisha explained calmly.


    Zen nodded. "There''s no wonder their eyes lit up the way they did when they saw that piece of meat earlier. How long have they endured this? Years and years at the very least..."


    Anyone who was tied up, cuffed and forced to look at delicious food that they could not consume every day would go insane. Sure, the warriors were strong willed but this torture was on another level. The Calamity Dispelling Fragrance in the air disturbed their levels and notions of desire, making self-control impossible.


    As Zen spoke, his gaze fell on Laquisha.


    Although he''d spoken to her in the past, he hadn''t paid much attention to this woman before. Now, he could do nothing but take notice. His eyes looked her up and down, drinking in the beauty he had never noticed before.


    Laquisha was also a rare fairy-like figure with the typical neat and tidy hair. She also had a delicate, beautiful face. She wore a simple dress with a dark pattern on it, and was wrapped in a long elegant robe. Although she was lying on the ground, her exquisite and curvaceous figure suddenly appeared utterly attractive.


    "Stop looking at me!"


    Laquisha squealed, as she glared at Zen with a warning in her big, pretty eyes.


    Caught off guard and snapped out of his thoughts, Zen held his breath and turned his head slowly in order to face the other direction. Although he couldn''t see her straight on, his peripheral vision still caught glimpses of her.


    The Calamity Dispelling Fragrance had the power to arouse a person''s appetite of course, but it had this same effect on most any desire. Under regular circumstances, only male martial artists would refine their bodies. Because none of these male martial artists had sexual desires for each other before, their desires were thus


    n and the warriors, but it also had effect on the members of the Collapsing Mountain race. Their desires and needs were multiplied, too.


    It was obvious that an adult member of the Collapsing Mountain race could swallow enough meat to fill an entire house! Without the Calamity Dispelling Fragrance, anyone would burst before consuming that much food.


    "I... I just want to eat..."


    Zen was beginning to lose himself in his thoughts when suddenly, he noticed a martial artist squirming and struggling on the ground. What was going on? The warrior suddenly stood up.


    As he did so, two terribly crisp sounds rang through the air, one after the other. Those weren''t expecting it covered their ears in surprise.


    Crack, crack!


    Zen watched as the warrior''s legs began to twist at absurd angles. No bones could fold this way. The warrior''s legs were broken in several places, shards of bone pressing against his skin, threatening to pierce it at any given moment.


    When the martial artist erupted with his full strength, he might have held a chance at temporarily escaping the powerful attraction force. Although his mind might have had the will, his body was not capable of withstanding such vicious strength. The martial artist collapsed to the ground, breaking beneath the interaction between his own powers and that of the attraction force.


    And at that, Zen finally sighed with emotion. Here, in this world, there was no such thing as a free lunch. Sure, it might be wise to raise one''s strength in this Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, but one would also have to experience the most brutal oppression and torture.

 Chapter 1832 Cultivation With Concentration

    As expected, no one could escape the effects of the Calamity Dispelling Fragrance and food. The bodies of many martial artists trembled as they struggled with much resistance.


    They were all trying to get up desperately.


    Keeping their goals in mind, they followed their instincts and outdid their selves.


    Though time didn''t seem noticeable due to unchanging seasons, they knew that a lot of days had already been wasted. They had been lying here for years. Every day, they were baptized by the songs of the Collapsing Mountain race, allowing them to gain a bit of their strength each time. However, the same worked as a daily torture, forcing them to train instinctively, urging them to try getting up and enjoy that delicious food.


    It might appear as barbaric, but this unique training method seemed to work as an effective stimulus.


    "I want it too..."


    Struggling to get up, another martial artist tried propping himself up from the ground. Being a top-level Spirit Transformation Realm martial artist, he was known to follow the path of body refinement, making him a lot stronger than Zen. This person was relying solely on his own strength to rise.


    Although he was able to crawl up, he could barely move another muscle afterwards. His feet seemed to stick to the ground, making it extremely difficult for him to even move a single step. The man continued to shuffle, staggering like he was drunk, but he did manage to walk.


    It was rare to see anyone getting up and standing amidst this pool of warriors lying on the ground. Their expressions revealed extreme resentment as their eyes failed to hide their envy.


    Under such circumstances, it was very difficult for anyone to maintain their true nature.


    Holding his stomach, Zen swallowed as he felt the rumbling sound from within. The truth was, he was unable to bear the hunger.


    The wine jars were impossible to miss, standing as tall as a person. As soon as they were opened, a strong aroma wafted out from them.


    Ordinary wines never enticed the warriors at all. However, the strong wines of the Collapsing Mountain race were not some typical wines. They were made from the bones of all kinds of ferocious beasts, making a wild and primal scent combination, which was quite tempting.


    With the aromas of roast meat and wines, as well as the Calamity Dispelling Fragrance, everyone''s mouth ended up all watery.


    "I... I will give it a try as well!"


    Zen declared, releasing the power of the dragon scales again.


    He felt rather regretful now. The second time he joined the Celestial Position race, the clansmen had collected quite a number of weapons, enough for him to light up a lot of dragon scales. But in the end, he decided to accumulate enough heavenly essence, helping the nine dragons refine their Heavenly Bodies.


    If it wasn''t for that, Zen would''ve had more power of the dragon scales to borrow and use.


    He tried to concentrate, focusing his mind on his goal. Taking a deep breath and using all his strength, Zen crawled up with great difficulty. Pressing both his hands on the ground, he lifted his body up.


    Although he could temporarily resist the gravitational force, the rate at wh


    eave the Collapsing Mountain alone. With Zen being the most important figure, she would need to go out with him at all costs.


    Zen shook his head. "You pick the wrong person. I have no idea where the Soul Suppressing Cliff is. How am I supposed to bring you there?"


    Hearing what he said, Laquisha glared resentfully at Zen, but decided to keep quiet.


    Thinking about it, Laquisha wasn''t so worried at all. Zen did not know why she needed to go to the Soul Suppressing Cliff. If Kennan and the others were still alive, they would find her sooner or later. Until that time, she would think of other ways to persuade Zen. If worse came to worst, she would take Zen away by force.


    The next day went by in a flash, and the same routine repeated at night, which was another ordeal for the martial artists.


    Despite the torture, the gravitational force there was of great benefit to Zen.


    As the gravity continued to exert force onto his body, it continuously formed the primordial energy. And on the second day, under the baptism of the Collapsing Mountain race''s songs, the primordial energy flowed evenly through his body.


    The only problem was that, even with this flow of energy, his divine weapon body had not been further strengthened to the next level.


    Last time he swallowed Laquisha''s flames. Maybe the flames he swallowed weren''t enough, or the primordial energy within his body wasn''t enough, or maybe it was the combination of both.


    "Can you condense your flames again?" He requested Laquisha.


    They had been there for a week now, and Zen felt that he had accumulated enough primordial energy to handle her flames.


    If his physical body improved once again, it would benefit him more.


    On the other hand, Laquisha already noticed the special features of Zen''s body. He was not afraid of the preternatural flames in her body, and the countless tiny runes on his body could constantly absorb her flames. Somehow, he must have cultivated a technique that required him to swallow these preternatural flames.


    He needed her help now.


    Narrowing her eyes, she answered with a smile, "My pleasure!"

 Chapter 1833 Absorbing The Preternatural Flame

    "There is a condition. You have to take me to the Soul Suppressing Cliff!"


    Laquisha never thought that she would ever need to exchange conditions with people.


    It didn''t help that the one she was negotiating with was a secondary creature - what they usually called creatures like Zen in the divine land.


    The world that the Holy Being built was gigantic and had the capacity to produce True Gods, however, those who lived in the inner world had to rely on the rules set by the Holy Being to survive.


    Anyone who dared to leave the inner world inside the Holy Being''s body would turn into life vitality and dissipate.


    Lower-ranked living beings were addressed as secondary creatures. It wasn''t a term of degradation but a fact-based description.


    There were still weaker living beings that existed in the divine land who were no match for secondary creatures, but these living beings would not turn into life vitality and dissipate.


    "What kind of place is the Soul Suppressing Cliff? It sounds pretty important." Zen asked.


    The Divine Refinement Forbidden Land was understandably something Zen didn''t know much of so Laquisha could only explain it to him patiently.


    The Divine Refinement Forbidden Land was a place where warriors could practice their skills and hone their strength.


    Those who came from the divine land, as well as the elite warriors of the universes, were all qualified to practice here.


    All sorts of practice places abounded in the land as well as many teleporting areas.


    After being sent to the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, Margaret, Rocher, and the others remained in the teleporting areas since there were more than enough training places for them to cultivate in.


    As their strength gradually increased, they were given even more freedom to go to other cultivation spots where they could improve themselves. If they got strong enough, they would then be able to enter the six great trial places!


    The Collapsing Mountain race was a sacred place for body refinement.


    Aside from that place, there was also the Kaleidoscope race''s Wind Exterminating Valley, the Harmony race''s Mind Refining Tower, and the Skyland race''s Pristine Life Vitality and so on.


    To enter these places, one would need the highest grade of trial tally. Thousands upon thousands of warriors in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land worked hard to earn their trial tallies.


    "Since you have the trial tally, why don''t you go to the Soul Suppressing Cliff yourself?" Zen asked.


    "The Soul Suppressing Cliff... It''s not a sacred place for trial. It is the core of the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land which makes it far superior to the other six great sacred places," Laquisha answered.


    The six great sacred places for training were the sites warriors mostly yearned for. It was usually their ultimate goal to be able to


    ss preternatural flame on her body would always signal the beginning of a nightmare. She never expected that there would be someone who would come along and see this preternatural flame as a source of energy.


    "Sizzle!"


    The blue flame surged forth and spread towards Zen.


    It quickly engulfed his body in a pinch.


    "What''s going on?"


    "What has happened to that kid?"


    Some of the warriors were attracted by the commotion and had different expressions on their faces.


    Golden runes started to appear all over Zen''s body and greedily absorbed the flame.


    Laquisha''s and Zen''s entwined hands served as the bridge that transmitted the flame between them. The blue flame followed the bridge and burned endlessly, then it was continuously absorbed by the golden runes that were spinning.


    This nameless flame couldn''t even be fully controlled by Laquisha after she came of age, so there was no way she would be able to stop it.


    Her beautiful eyes shone with a faint blue light as the blue flame continued to burn.


    "Zen... Are you okay?" Zen remained motionless during the entire ordeal so she couldn''t help but feel a little worried.


    "I''m fine," Zen answered.


    "Can you absorb more?"


    "Yes!"


    "Sizzle¡­"


    An intense pillar of flame shot out dozens of feet into the sky!


    This pillar immediately attracted many children of the Collapsing Mountain race. The members of the Collapsing Mountain race were extremely powerful, brave, and fearless. They were born fighters, but that did not mean that they were reckless. Otherwise, the Collapsing Mountain race would not have become one of the six sacred places for cultivation with such an extreme environment.


    The sight made them extremely curious but none of them were stupid enough to rush in and approach this strange sight.


    One of the children turned around and ran away, screaming loudly for the leaders of the race.

 Chapter 1834 Barbecue Zen

    The members of the Collapsing Mountain began working at daybreak and retired at sunset.


    By now, most of the adult males had gone out hunting while the rest and some of the elders stayed within the village.


    The Collapsing Mountain child called over an elder.


    This elder was tall and bony, a white beard hanging down from his mouth that fell to ten feet long¡ªhe looked like a bamboo pole.


    Despite his looks, he could walk fast and vigorously amidst the powerful gravitational force. It was virtually impossible to see any signs of aging from him.


    Although Zen was absorbing the preternatural flames, he was still clear-headed. When he saw the elder walk over, he silently put up his guard.


    There didn''t seem to be any logic in the Collapsing Mountain race. It didn''t seem like a good idea to offend them.


    When the elder saw the flames, he was left stunned. A trace of fear flashed in his eyes, as though the flames awakened genuine fear in him. When he saw Zen frantically absorbing the flames, a strange expression surfaced in his old eyes.


    "Oh, my God!"


    With that, the elder rushed away.


    In no time, a large group of Collapsing Mountain elders appeared.


    Previously, Zen hadn''t noticed there were so many of them, but now, over fifty had already gathered before him.


    All of them were as tall as bamboo poles and were chattering away about something.


    Some naughty kids kept their eyes on Zen and figured that the flames on his body weren''t as dangerous as they first thought. So they took their sticks and moved in to play with the flames, but they were quickly stopped by the elders.


    They were talking


    in their own language.


    So Zen didn''t understand what they wanted to do.


    As the chatter went on, their voices grew louder and louder. When the Collapsing Mountain members roared, it was as though the mountains were truly collapsing and the earth was cracking.


    The Spirit Transformation Realm martial artists that were lying on the ground heard a buzzing sound in their ears. If the elders were to roar at the mountain like this, they would probably cause a landslide.


    Within the flames, Laquisha and Zen looked at each other puzzlingly as they lay on the ground with their hands holding each other. Neither of them could understand the language of the Collapsing Mountain race, so they had no clue why the people were bickering.


    "¡­"


    Just then, the old man taking the lead suddenly brandished a walking stick in his hand.


    By the dignified expression he wore


    f the dragon scales, the time to get up was just around the corner.


    When night fell, everything just got more difficult.


    As the Calamity Dispelling Fragrance permeated the air, the grilled meat of the Collapsing Mountain members also began emanating a fragrant aroma.


    Just when Zen was prepared to strain his nerves and face this cruel test, two of the clansmen walked up to him.


    After muttering to themselves, they pulled Zen up from the ground.


    "What are you guys doing?" Zen asked in concern.


    The two didn''t answer but continued to lift him up and walk him to the huge square.


    As he was pulled along, Zen swayed left and right. When his eyes swept across the area, he realized that many of the clansmen were looking at him with a peculiar expression.


    Zen couldn''t help but swallow¡ªas he got closer and closer to the huge bonfires, he could feel his heart resist it. Would the Collapsing Mountain members dismember and eat his flesh?


    They ate a variety of creatures, after all¡ªall sorts of fierce beasts as strong as world lords and all kinds of rare and poisonous bugs. It wouldn''t be strange for them to eat him.


    Just as the thought plagued his mind, the two young men carried him to the front of a bonfire.


    The flames ignited from the Calamity Dispelling Wood were fierce¡ªordinary flames couldn''t cook vicious beasts as strong as world lords. There was still about a hundred feet between Zen and the bonfire, but he could already feel the scorching heat.


    The two young men stopped right in front of the bonfire and threw Zen into it.


    ''Are they really going to barbecue me?!'' And that was Zen''s last thought as he fell into the flames.

 Chapter 1835 The Heart Of The Sinful Dragon

    The Calamity Dispelling Wood burned with extraordinary flames, but none of it harmed Zen in any way.


    However, the Calamity Dispelling Fragrance caused him to feel rather stifled when his entire body fell into the fire.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    The dry tree trunks continued to collapse as they burned, burying Zen underneath the glowing charcoals.


    Many of the Collapsing Mountain warriors gathered around the bonfire and observed Zen carefully.


    It was obvious that they were already aware of Zen''s resistance to fire and were currently using him for this experiment.


    Three minutes later, someone bent down and removed the charcoals that had previously buried Zen. Seeing that the young man was unharmed, they pulled him out and threw him carelessly to the side.


    "Hdfkioue!"


    "Dahfdh!"


    There was a discussion amongst all of them in their own language.


    After a few collective nods and final-sounding words, the Collapsing Mountain race seemed to have come to a conclusion and dispersed.


    Zen noticed a few warriors from other races mixed in with the Collapsing Mountain race. He even saw an ogre.


    At the same time, the warriors on the square seemed to be divided into different grades.


    The bonfires were set up based on the distribution of the blood grooves. Warriors of the Collapsing Mountain race gathered around the bonfire in the center while those from the other races gathered around the ones in the periphery.


    A few warriors of other races could enter the inner circle, but they were generally stronger and were all world lords.


    Meanwhile, Zen had been thrown into the bonfire right in the middle of the square.


    "Sit-up!"


    ordered a well-built Collapsing Mountain warrior.


    Sitting up on his own was a tad bit difficult for Zen due to the overwhelming gravitational pull.


    His body had been refined successfully, and his strength and endurance had been greatly enhanced, but it still took him a great deal of effort to do as he was told. After borrowing the power of the dragon scales, Zen managed to pull himself up. He did not dare move the slightest once he was upright since any sort of movement would bring him back down again.


    The Collapsing Mountain warrior who ordered him to sit up had thick fur on his chest and wore a golden shoulder guard. On that shoulder guard was an exquisitely carved wolf head. The wolf head had three, sharp thorns on its head. Zen couldn''t figure out what kind of wolf it was.


    The warrior sat down and faced Zen.


    Clap! Clap!


    Upon clapping his hands, two other warriors brought him a huge plat


    Mountain warriors quietly stared at Zen as he emptied out the wineskin.


    The person across him was actually their new leader, Chapman Lei.


    These warriors were all addicted to alcohol and they drank wine like water. Foreign warriors who stayed in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land long enough would often exchange good wine for trial tallies with the Collapsing Mountain warriors.


    Over the years, the Collapsing Mountain warriors themselves mastered all sorts of strange methods for winemaking. They used water from the Nether Cold Fountain to make Frosty Wine, which was like white frost that froze the immediate vicinity. They also used the Flame Serpent Fruit to make Flame Wine that, once ignited, could burn for ten years.


    However, the most precious was the Soul-enchanting Wine in Chapman Lei''s wineskin. According to rumors, the winemaking method for it had been given to him by a person from the divine land as a gift. The brewing process combined the blood of various, powerful beasts.


    The intensity of this wine was beyond imagination.


    This was not wine at all, but the most violent poison.


    If a Spirit Transformation Realm warrior took one sip of this wine, they would have to go all out in refining it. Otherwise, they would end up burning from the inside out.


    That was just one sip!


    Even Chapman Lei himself only dared to drink one gulp a day.


    The wine was extremely strong and it was also made from the blood of various beasts. It was held as an extremely precious item for the Collapsing Mountain race that even the members rarely got the chance to drink it.


    So Zen drinking it with such tenacity made Chapman Lei feel a great deal of heartbreak and also a tinge of amazement.

 Chapter 1836 Growth

    The Collapsing Mountain warriors were famous for being bold and generous. Chapman''s heart ached, but he couldn''t utter a word.


    All he could do was watch as Zen emptied his wineskin. After holding it in for a long while, he finally said with a smile, "Good¡­ good alcohol capacity¡­"


    Meanwhile, the other Collapsing Mountain warriors had expressions that made it clear how they wanted to swallow Zen whole.


    Now, Zen''s pupils were completely red. He could feel countless spikes crazily circulating within his body, stimulating every nerve.


    Under such stimulation, his body underwent a miraculous transformation.


    In truth, after one entered the Collapsing Mountain race, the pressure from the gravitational force was already a form of cultivation.


    So when a martial artist first refined their body, they would choose to cultivate under the waterfall. When the water washed over them, they''d feel pressure on their body and resist it, strengthening themselves.


    In other words, after one entered the Collapsing Mountain race, the cultivation had already begun.


    The Collapsing Mountain warriors ate precious birds and strange beasts. Although they weren''t converted into pills, they weren''t to be underestimated.


    The Sinful Dragon''s heart was originally very rare. Even ordinary Collapsing Mountain warriors weren''t fortunate enough to get a taste. Now that Zen had eaten it, he gained a great benefit.


    After the meat and wine were finished, Zen''s gaze turned calm.


    "What do you want me to do?"


    Zen was no fool. How couldn''t he see that ordinary people would never get such treatment?


    The Collapsing Mountain warrior must have needed him for something.


    Otherwise, why would he be treated to meat and wine?


    According to Zen''s judgment, the problem lay in his physical body¡ªit might have even been related to his somehow fire-resistant figure. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have thrown him into the bonfire.


    It was true that Chapman felt sorry for his strong wine, but since Zen had already drunk it, there wasn''t anything to do. In fact, seeing how the kid wanted to get straight to the point, he rather admired him.


    "I want you to get something for me," Chapman said rather bluntly.


    "Let me guess," Zen smiled faintly. "That something is hidden within some kind of strange fire¡ªa fire so powerful that none of you can reach within it, right?"


    "Yes, that is so." Chapman didn''t bother denying.


    "But I am not strong enough."


    And Zen was telling the truth. The person before him was able to face a Supreme Lord. Although Zen didn''t fear any fire, he didn''t think what the warrior was entrusting to him was as simple as grabbing something from within the flames. Zen was only at the Spirit Supreme Realm, after all.


    Zen''s response made Chapman chuckle. "Our Collapsing Mountain race is where the strength source is located. With your talent, there shouldn''t be a problem."


    The Collapsing Mountain warriors didn''t resist outsiders, but it wasn''t exac


    r strength increased, but their bodies couldn''t bear the power.


    But the toughness of Zen''s body was no longer what it used to be.


    After half a month had passed, Zen could feel his strength rise continuously. Now, he could move slowly along the ground.


    Still, this wasn''t exactly something to be proud of. The children of the Collapsing Mountain race could run all over the place. Even though he was a Godly Genius, he could only take feeble steps like a dying old man. If he didn''t take the utmost care when he walked, he would lose his balance and fall to the ground.


    But at this growth rate, it wouldn''t be long before Zen could move freely.


    Just that day, there were a few more people arriving at the Collapsing Mountain race. All of them were world lords. Zen had even met their leader before. He was none other than Kennan He, Laquisha''s follower.


    They were chased by the Formless Sky Python that day. Thanks to Kenna He, who held the python''s one head to stop it, they managed to run away. But they had no clue whether or not the two world lords were still alive.


    When these world lords entered the Collapsing Mountain race, they didn''t seem like normal fighters who couldn''t get up from the ground. After all, their cultivation and strength were by no means ordinary and they were strong enough to resist the gravitational force. Still, they couldn''t walk freely as they wanted.


    "Princess Royal!"


    Seeing that Laquisha was safe and sound, Kennan He finally felt at ease.


    During this time, he had searched almost every inch of the surrounding area, afraid that Laquisha would be swallowed up by the Formless Sky Python. He was excited the moment he saw her. Never did he expect her to actually enter the Collapsing Mountain race''s territory to seek refuge.


    While Kennan He looked agitated, Laquisha wore an indifferent expression. She had been hoping that he would find the place quickly and take her away as soon as possible. But now, she had no desire to go.

 Chapter 1837 Refusing Kennans Food (Part One)

    Since Kennan had found Laquisha, he would simply take her away.


    However, Laquisha refused to leave with him. Kennan soon found out that the crux of the problem came from Zen. It was obvious that the Princess Royal still believed that flower vendor and thought that Zen could take her to the Soul Suppressing Cliff.


    "Friend, I''m afraid that I''ll have to ask you to go with us this time," Kennan said as he stared indifferently at Zen.


    Last time, Kennan had gotten too close to death because of the Formless Sky Python. His Wishing Spell hadn''t been unlocked yet, until now.


    While it was true that the Wishing Spell could greatly increase his strength in a short period of time, he would have to realize the wish he had made if he used the technique. It also meant that if he couldn''t kill the Formless Sky Python, then he''d be unable to use the Wishing Spell again. Moreover, he would have a flaw if he didn''t realize his wish, which could be detrimental to him in the future.


    Zen had only wanted to protect himself on that day, so he had kidnapped the Princess Royal and fled all the way to the Collapsing Mountain race. Kennan and the warriors with him naturally didn''t know what to think of Zen--but now that they had found the Princess Royal, they would bring him back, too.


    An authoritative air enveloped Kennan as he spoke to Zen.


    "Why should I go back with you?" Zen asked with a faint smile. He had just got a firm foothold in the Collapsing Mountain race. There was no way he''d leave so easily.


    Besides, Kennan wasn''t Laquisha who actually had something to ask of him. Thus, he coldly shot back, "I''m afraid it isn''t up for you to decide. Danyaal, Douglas, take him away!"


    In his opinion, a secondary creature at the Spirit Supreme Realm was


    nter a sacred place for trial such as the Collapsing Mountain race. Not to mention, Zen was only at the Spirit Supreme Realm. It was all thanks to the Princess Royal that he was able to enter this place.


    Was this man really that important to the Collapsing Mountain race?


    Kennan found it truly hard to believe what the old man had said.


    Although the members of the Collapsing Mountain race had always been unreasonable, they had one great merit¡ªthey never lied.


    If they said that Zen was important to them, then it must be true.


    Therefore, Kennan found himself in a difficult situation. The Princess Royal must be brought back, or else Kennan wouldn''t be able to bear the wrath of the Holy Emperor.


    Then again, it would be hard for them to convince the Princess Royal to go with them if they chose not to take Zen away. She was too stubborn.


    Since she refused to go obediently with them, Kennan had no choice but to use force. Kennan turned his head and met Laquisha''s eyes. The Holy Emperor had instructed them that if the Princess Royal became too rebellious, they could forcefully bring her back for her safety. After all, her safety was the first priority.

 Chapter 1838 Refusing Kennans Food (Part Two)

    Laquisha was extremely intelligent. She quickly guessed what Kennan was thinking and coldly said, "Kennan, I''ll make sure you will result to nothing if you take me away by force! And I mean it!"


    "This... Your Highness, please do not make things difficult for me," Kennan said as he cupped his hands.


    "It''s you who are making things difficult for me! Remember, in the end, I am still the master and you are still a servant!" Laquisha shot back. She was truly afraid that Kennan would suddenly do something to seal her six senses and take her away by force. In that way, she wouldn''t be able to resist at all.


    Hesitation dawned on Kennan and the other world lords behind him at Laquisha''s words. As servants, they had relied on the Han Clan''s power to become what they were today. However, they would encounter this kind of dilemma too many times.


    When Laquisha saw Kennan''s conflicted expression, she smiled slightly and said, "Don''t be so conflicted, Kennan. Believe me this time. I''m sure my hunch is right now!"


    In turn, Kennan hesitated for a moment before he took out a few more purple trial tallies. "Since Your Highness wants to mess around like this, we have no other choice¡­" he said with a deep sigh.


    There would be dire consequences if they went back without the Princess Royal. However, since she was determined to stay and follow Zen, they had to stay and accompany her, too. Thus, they had to waste of a few purple trial tallies.


    Meanwhile, Zen didn''t involve himself in the dispute since it didn''t have to do much with him.


    Laquisha had used the strange powerful flame to help Zen to refine his body, and Zen had agreed to help her in return. He would take her to t


    He didn''t believe that Laquisha could resist the hunger under the influence of the Calamity Dispelling Fragrance. Even he himself couldn''t resist it, so let alone the Princess Royal.


    "I will not eat it! You just have to take care of yourselves and leave me alone!" Laquisha ordered coldly. Not too far away, the martial artists who lay on the ground began to cry as they heard her words.


    They had dreamed of having a bite of some food for far too long. How could the woman waste such delicious food!


    Kennan was confused, but the Princess Royal insisted on not eating. They had no choice but to retreat. They were even more confused at the moment. Could it be that the Princess Royal was really able to withstand the Calamity Dispelling Fragrance?


    Not long after, Kennan saw Zen slowly moved over from the bonfire and took out chunks of meat, tore them into pieces, and fed them to the Princess Royal. Only then did Kennan realize why the Princess Royal had refused to take the food brought to her by him and other warriors.


    When Kennan''s eyes landed on the Princess Royal''s smiling face, he felt even more conflicted.

 Chapter 1839 Fortuitous Encounters And Dangers

    Taking a great deal of responsibility, Kennan had brought the Princess Royal into the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land.


    Due to the special nature of the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, even those from the divine land would cultivate there.


    All of the famous sects in the divine land had branches built within it. Even some large cities were built by people from the divine land.


    The Han Clan was no exception.


    A city, which was located three hundred million miles away from the Collapsing Mountain race, occupied a teleporting area. It could be considered as one of the biggest cities in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land.


    However, the Holy Emperor was still worried. That was why he had sent Kennan and the others to ensure the safety of the Princess Royal.


    The previous encounter with the Formless Sky Python scared the hell out of Kennan.


    In order to save Laquisha, they had risked everything.


    Thinking about the price to pay for using the Wishing Spell, he felt quite terrified.


    Making a promise meant carrying it out in this life. Failure to do so would not only result in a big loophole in their warrior spirit, but a destruction on their cultivation at a critical moment.


    Given this high stake, they usually wouldn''t use the Wishing Spell unless they felt irreconcilable hatred for their enemies.


    But due to unavoidable circumstances, Kennan had to make a promise to the Formless Sky Python. Now he had to keep that promise, or suffer the consequences if he failed. He really didn''t have much choice. He was well aware of the risks in the task they were given. If the Princess Royal really died, they would also have their heads chopped off when they returned. Getting reminded of the fear he felt with the Formless Sky Python, Kennan shook his head again. Some day in the future, he would have a chance to fulfill his promise. Until that day, he should try not to worry about it too much.


    Fortunately, the Princess Royal was unharmed.


    But now, as they continued, Kennan had again seen some signs of trouble, and even some signs of danger.


    The Princess Royal seemed to have a favorable impression of the secondary creature!


    "Danyaal, what do you think?" Kennan asked, waiting for a piece of advice.


    "What do you mean?" Danyaal replied back in a puzzled tone, unable to interpret what Kennan was referring to.


    "You¡­ Forget it."


    Kennan exclaimed with a sigh. He knew that his companions were planning on doing nothing about it.


    They knew very well that the Princess Royal was extremely important to the Holy Emperor, but the problem was the Princess Royal had been engaged.


    Thinking about it, Kennan decided to persuade the Princess Royal, but before he could, Danyaal stopped him. "Kennan, don''t worry. What you think won''t happen."


    "But¡­" Kennan hesitated.


    "There are some matters that the Princess Royal is unable to decide. That man is just a secondary creature, so I''m sure there is nothing to worry about. There will be people who will deal with him when we get back. You and I, as servants, can just pretend that we know nothing," Danyaal said flatly.


    In the divine land,


    him dressed a little strange, but from his appearance, he appeared like a human. Margaret blinked. She had seen a lot of strange-looking creatures recently.


    "What''s up?" she asked.


    "I come here because I feel a unique aura from your body," the masked martial artist answered, letting out a dry laugh.


    Margaret glared at him, her face revealing a hint of vigilance. Other than the Illusion Battlefield, she had never cultivated alone, so she was clueless on dealing with such a situation. However, she was not stupid. She decided not to provoke anyone with unknown origins. Turning to look at another direction, she decided to just let it be.


    Just as she was about to leave, the masked martial artist had flashed to her front, blocking her path.


    "What do you want?" Margaret reproached coldly. She bet this man would not dare to make a move in this city. Partly, that made her feel hopeful.


    "You''re quite vigilant. Do you know what this is?" Four sword images slowly appeared on the masked warrior''s back. Then, the four swords suddenly moved and formed an unique array.


    Seeing the way the four swords were arranged, Margaret was taken aback. Although this was merely the first movement of the sword array, her familiarity was aroused.


    "It''s God Slaughtering Array. Who are you?"


    All the Godly Geniuses, including Xenia, Kurt and Lucille, were cultivating in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, striving to make a breakthrough the soonest time possible.


    All of them had their own fortuitous encounters and dangers.


    In the blink of an eye, half a year had passed.


    Now, Zen had completely adapted to the gravitational force of the Collapsing Mountain race, as if it didn''t exist at all.


    "When my brother entered the Collapsing Mountain race, he took a year and a half to be able to move freely."


    Impressed, Laquisha thought it was incredible. Kennan and the rest were equally surprised. They found it hard to believe that a secondary creature like Zen could completely adapt to the gravitational force in just half a year without relying on any external force.

 Chapter 1840 Strength Increase

    For Zen to have improved so quickly, the Collapsing Mountain race must have devoted all their effort to his training.


    However, it was the innate strength of Zen''s body that made the most difference.


    He had never tested the strength of his human body during this period of time. However, based on his repeated ascension, it was safe to assume that his physical body had now reached the level of a supreme divine weapon.


    Usually, when a martial artist joined the Collapsing Mountain race to train their body, their training consisted of two parts.


    One part was body refining. The other part was strength refining.


    After all, entering the Collapsing Mountain race was every warrior''s way of gaining strength. Whenever warriors stayed with the race, they experienced a notable strength increase.


    However, as was true for most things, there was a limit. When a martial artist''s strength reached a certain degree, it became stagnant.


    Due to their bodies'' inability to withstand immense power, this was bound to happen.


    In the past, when Zen used the cyan dragon''s strength, he had encountered the same issue and was unable to make full use of his power.


    Now that Zen was no longer facing the same problem, his improvement was naturally swift.


    After half a year of living and training with the Collapsing Mountain race, Zen gained a rough understanding of them. More importantly, he also gained insight into the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land''s various life forms.


    In an ordinary universe, a martial artist''s greatest dream was to transcend it. By succeeding, they would escape the cycles of the heavens and enter the divine land. However, if they could take on a Heavenly Destiny and become a Supreme Lord, they would also feel like their life had meaning. The warriors in all universes would agree that these two were the ultimate dreams.


    It was these two dream that urged them to continue their journey toward the peak of martial arts, no matter how difficult it proved to be.


    The structure of the universe was very stable. From the Lower World to the Upper World, from the nature creature to the Supreme Lord, no martial artist was exempt from following the same progression.


    However, the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land was different.


    There were some notable differences between the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land and a typical universe built by a Holy Being.


    First of all, the heavens had no equivalent in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. All sorts of powers were in disarray here. Many would consider it simple and primitive.


    For instance, for a body refiner, it would be exacting to cultivate a substantial strength in the universe. However, there were at least 13 people stronger than a Supreme Lord in the Collapsing Mountain race. As for Chapman, his strength was unfathomable.


    In addition, each person from the Collapsing Mountain race, including each newborn, was comparable to a world lord. These babies were lucky, as they weren''t as affected by gravity as the average world lords from outside were. World lords who entered this place were unable to move freely at first bec


    e face to face with what they had been preparing for.


    Zen, the Collapsing Mountain clansmen, and many other martial artists from the other races stood in front of the mountain up north.


    This mountain was a shiny white color, making it look like it was cast in silver.


    Chapman led the group to the foot of the mountain and stopped. "This is Sacred Spring Mountain, where our strength source lies. How much strength you can obtain will depend on your fortune and on what you''ve learned so far!"


    The strength source flowed all year round, but even the Collapsing Mountain race had only one chance in a year to come and see it. When a martial artist from another race entered the Collapsing Mountain race to train, it would be safe to assume that their goal was to come along during this journey.


    The martial artists present were rubbing their hands together, and their eyes shone with greed. Everyone there was well aware just how precious the strength source was. Concentrated here was the strength source of the entire Divine Refinement Forbidden Land.


    This type of thing existed in other universes as well, but they did so quite rarely. A single drop of the strength source could cause a huge controversy, and the conditions for its birth in an area were extremely harsh.


    In a more ideal inner world, the different sources of strength would be more evenly distributed throughout the universe, making them almost impossible to collect with usual resources.


    Here in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, however, these kinds of strength sources were concentrated. Another way to look at it was that the owner of this land had probably never planned to build a complete universe. This explained the existence of a concentrated strength source. Although the owner was a Holy Being, the strength source was placed at random instead of evenly being distributed. The Divine Refinement Forbidden Land had been created this way.


    In other words, the power contained within this strength source was equal to that of a whole universe. One could only imagine how valuable it was.

 Chapter 1841 Strange Wind

    Generally speaking, the six sacred places for trial contained different original powers.


    For instance, the Kaleidoscope race controlled the Original Laws, the Harmony race controlled the soul source, and the Skyland race controlled the vitality source.


    A crack extended all the way down from the bottom of the Sacred Spring Mountain. It turned out that it was the entrance that led to the strength source.


    The sounds of footsteps receded as Chapman and some of the elders of the Collapsing Mountain race stopped in front of the entrance.


    The amount of strength source one could obtain depended on many things such as luck, strength, knowledge, and anything else, really. But with all those factors, one still had to rely on oneself.


    According to the usual practice, the first to enter were the Collapsing Mountain warriors, followed by the warriors from the other races.


    However, this time was an exception.


    This time, Zen was the first to enter, followed by the Collapsing Mountain warriors, and finally the martial artists from other races.


    There was no trace of hesitation on Zen at all. He had unintentionally trespassed the Collapsing Mountain race''s territory and got to be assisted by the race, but this was an incomparably precious opportunity.


    He knew that if it wasn''t for this, he would have been still working hard in the teleporting area. He would also have to pay a hefty price if he wanted to enter any of the six great trial places, and time was the one thing he couldn''t afford.


    At that moment, the Sacred race had already crossed the Sighing Wall.


    The entire universe was in a precarious state, even though it was unclear why their True God had not appeared. In any case, Zen had to seize every chance to improve himself.


    The fabric of Zen''s clothes fluttered. He already felt the wind that blew from the inside of the huge cave before he even got close to it.


    However, this gale''s speed wasn''t considered fast, or at least it was far from the point where it could produce wind blades. Such a gale was only a gentle breeze to martial artists, and posed no threats at all.


    Yet just as Zen came into contact with the gust of the cold wind, his whole body quickly retreated backwards!


    The seemingly insignificant gust of cold wind had pushed him hundreds of feet away from the cave''s entrance.


    "There is a great power hidden within this wind¡­"


    When Chapman saw what happened, he couldn''t help but say, "Zen, the wind and strength source are in a convective flow, which is combined with the weak wind formed by the strength source. You can''t fight against it with your strength, but the wind is intermittent."


    "Thank you for reminding me," Zen said and nodded.


    Zen was polite enough to thank him because even if Chapman hadn''t said anything, he would still be able to figure out the crux of the matter.


    Now, Zen was much more carefu


    of the wind, the more concentrated the wind was. The strength source contained in the weak wind wasn''t really strong in the first place.


    Yet when the weak wind blew, Zen felt as if a hammer had been smashed into his chest. The strong force immediately pushed him backwards.


    "I failed¡­"


    His face dimmed, and there was a trace of doubt in his eyes.


    He knew that his speed wasn''t slow. If he couldn''t break through the eye of the wind, then what more for the others?


    He suddenly raised his head at the exact moment the weak wind hit and blew him away.


    He had done his best, but he still couldn''t break into the eye of the wind. The problem was not on him, so he must have overlooked something!


    "Up there!"


    When he raised his head, he saw that there was another cave above him.


    Apparently, the wind was split into two. One wind blew horizontally in the cave where Zen travelled, and the other wind blew towards the cave that was above him!


    In other words, Zen''s destination wasn''t actually the eye of the wind--but the cave above!


    Once Zen had realized the situation, he stomped his feet on the ground. He took advantage of the wind''s force that was smashing on his body, then forcefully knocked himself into the cave above him.


    "Bang! Bong!"


    The force of the wind blew so hard that Zen was like a kite that bumped around the cave. He finally rushed upwards, but the wind''s power didn''t decrease at all.


    He didn''t know how many times he got hit, but he landed on the ground of the cave he aimed for when the wind stopped.


    Although his body was a divine weapon, such a violent collision still made him dizzy.


    Just as Zen stopped and before he could get up from the ground, he was greeted by a stream of rainbow-colored water that gushed out right in front of him. The spring water''s beauty was simply indescribable. Moreover, just a glimpse of it made Zen feel that he was full of strength.

 Chapter 1842 A Pool

    As the strength source gushed out, it landed upon a hollow path in the cave where it flowed and seeped into a crack on the wall.


    "So this is the strength source. The strength of the Holy Being?"


    Strength was originally formless. For example, the strength Zen exerted in lifting a rock would be unseen and intangible¡ªit took no visible shape or form.


    However, the strength source was in liquid form and it was the source of the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land.


    After a Holy Being constructed a new world, their soul, perception, strength, and life vitality would fuse into its every corner in the form of a source.


    The Holy Being who built this Divine Refinement Forbidden Land had thrown his own strength source into this place.


    This strength source came in the form of this seven-colored spring water that attracted Zen greatly. It wasn''t just him. Any living creature that came upon such a wonder would never be able to keep calm.


    However, Zen had a strong resolve and managed to keep a level head.


    According to Chapman, it was already considered fortunate for the Collapsing Mountain warriors to swallow a mouthful of strength source upon entering this place. It wasn''t unusual for people to often come back empty-handed after their search.


    Zen looked at the flowing stream in front of him. He was sure that there was more than a single mouthful there. In fact, there was so much to fill an entire barrel with.


    What would happen if he devoured so much strength source? Zen wasn''t really sure but Chapman told him that it wasn''t really a possibility. He, himself, only managed to drink a little more than ten mouthfuls of spring water back then. Fortunately, it was enough for him to become the Collapsing Mountain race''s leader.


    After a split second of hesitation, Zen quickly shook it off and carefully made his way to the rocks.


    He was about a thousand feet away from the strength source and he could hear the howling of the wind as he pushed on forwards.


    As he approached, Zen thought it better to crawl. The wind was strong and he didn''t want to be drawn into it now that the strength source was so close. If the wind swept him away, he wouldn''t know where he''d land.


    The seven-colored spring got closer and closer as he crawled.


    A faint fragrance emanated from the spring.


    "This spring water has a scent?"


    Its fragrance was extremely tempting. Every inch tow


    is strength source was here, except it was too far for him to reach. There was no way he could drink from it like this.


    Zen tried whatever method to break through the gravitational forces'' restraints but to no avail.


    He was completely stuck there, floating in a void with his goal just past his reach.


    Zen gritted his teeth and, just as he was about to try another method, he saw the water''s flow suddenly change. It now flowed downwards!


    ''Is it because the gravitational forces changed?''


    As he thought of this, he suddenly felt the equilibrium of gravitational forces supporting him disappear.


    He didn''t have time to react as his body was once again subject to the gravitational force from above as he was pushed up with incredible speed.


    Whoosh!


    As he flew, Zen once again returned to the place he had landed on earlier. From there, he saw the strength source gathered into a small stream not too far away.


    Unfortunately, he still wasn''t in possession of his limbs. Zen was continuously pulled upwards, way past where he landed.


    Bam!


    In the end, Zen slammed his back onto the ceiling and tumbled down, falling into a strange cave.


    A rock protruded in front of him and right below it was a drop of strength source.


    This drop wasn''t hanging underneath the stone; rather, it seemed to be affected by the gravitational force and "fell" towards the top. It was only blocked by the stone which was why it sat underneath it.


    A look of joy appeared on Zen''s face when he raised his head to look at the ceiling.


    A pool of strength source gathered at the top of the cave!

 Chapter 1843 Bee Nest

    At the top of the cave, just about a hundred feet away from Zen''s head, was the calm pool of the seven-colored spring water.


    Zen took in his surroundings and decided to make a detour. The fastest way up was to climb up. Unfortunately, the impossibly smooth walls of the cave made this an impossibility.


    Bam!


    There was only a muffled sound as Zen''s fist made contact with the cave wall. He wanted to smash a foothold, but his current strength was not enough to break through the silver rock.


    "Alas!"


    Zen could only sigh. The pool of strength source was only above him, but it seemed to ignore gravity itself. It didn''t flow downwards but went wherever it wanted.


    The young man frowned in frustration. Was there really no way to get up there? He stood in deep thought for a while before a glimmer of hope flashed in his eyes.


    He had fallen into the mountain stream just now. The strength source in the mountain stream crevice was also reversed and seemed to change direction as it flowed downwards. The direction of the flow was extremely strange.


    Could it be that the strength source in this Sacred Spring Mountain was bound to reverse its flow after a set period of time?


    His faze fell on the protruded rock next to him. There was still a drop of strength source left at the bottom of the rock meaning that the strength source here had indeed been reversed.


    The strength source should''ve already been at his feet, but after the reversal, it all rushed to the top of the cave and gathered in a small pool.


    ''If there is another reversal, then the strength source in the small pond is set to fall down again!'' he thought.


    Based on his observations, his conclusion should be correct.


    Zen carefully examined the ground beneath his feet. The silver rock was riddled with potholes as if it had been eroded by the water for a long time. Most importantly, there was a drop of source strength left behind which was his most solid proof.


    It was only one drop, but it quickly captured Zen''s attention.


    He stretched his hand and touched the drop with his finger.


    The droplet immediately began to change into magnificent colors, as if the entire rainbow had been compressed into it. It looked more like a beautiful gemstone than a drop of liquid.


    Zen took this droplet in his hand and turned his palm downward. If he turned his hand


    t he felt as if the reversal of gravity in this cave was not natural and was actually caused by someone controlling it.


    After some thought, Zen left and decided to continue exploring the depths of the cave.


    The strength source of the Sacred Spring Mountain was widely distributed and could be seen everywhere. He was just unlucky since he had been unable to obtain some despite being so close.


    As he walked, the cave sloped downwards.


    Zen no longer felt the wind or any chaotic gravitational force. There also didn''t seem to be any trace of strength source.


    After the downward slope, the terrain then became flat and he continued walking for a few thousand feet more.


    The light grew dimmer and Zen was forced to activate his magic vision. In front of him was a huge round ball!


    As he got closer, he saw that there were fist-sized objects that were going in and out of the ball. These objects were not too big but there was a powerful hum caused by the vibrations of their wings.


    "A nest. This is the nest of barbarian bees," he mumbled to himself.


    Chapman had told him that not only was there strength source in the Sacred Spring Mountain, there was also a considerable amount of beasts.


    These creatures were nurtured by the strength source so it was only understandable that their power was terrifying.


    Barbarian bees were one of the more common strange beasts in the cave. They were only the size of his fist but they could not be taken lightly.


    Zen had eaten barbarian bees'' pupae before but he had no plans of provoking them right now.

 Chapter 1844 The Queen Bee

    The path extended all the way to the end, but a bee nest seemed to be blocking it.


    If Zen wanted to proceed, he''d have to pass by it¡ªundoubtedly, it was a great risk.


    If the barbarian bees sensed danger, they''d pose great trouble.


    While Zen wasn''t completely certain about the barbarian bees'' power, he at least knew that they weren''t to be trifled with.


    But since he had made it that far, he couldn''t just turn back.


    After making up his mind, Zen took a deep breath and began restraining his aura, slowly moving forward along the corner. His movements and footsteps turned extremely light.


    As far as Zen was concerned, the bees weren''t particularly aggressive creatures, so long as they weren''t disturbed.


    The difference between barbarian bees and honeybees was significant but their habits seemed to be the same. At the very least, the barbarian bees had built their own hive as their own territory. So long as Zen didn''t attack it, he could avoid getting himself into any trouble.


    As he slowly approached the beehive, he could observe everything more clearly.


    The fist-sized barbarian bees flew in and out of the countless hexagonal openings on top of the hive. Upon taking a closer look, he noticed that under their stomachs, a ball of fur was growing, stained with a drop of seven-colored spring water.


    The bees directly collected the seven-colored spring water and consumed it like nectar.


    It was no wonder that the barbarian bees could fly. Even Zen wasn''t currently able to fly. After all, he couldn''t break free from the powerful attraction force. The barbarian bees fed on the strength source all year long. While flapping their wings, they could escape the place''s attraction force.


    The closer he got to the hive, the more cautious he became.


    When he was about 80 feet away from the hive, a bad feeling overcame him, like someone was spying on him.


    Zen grew alert.


    Though Zen received the best treatment in the Collapsing Mountain race, that didn''t mean that he was immune to danger. In the place without rules, he wouldn''t let down his guard.


    Stopping in his steps, he looked around. There was nothing around him other than a cave in front leading to the top, but it was empty.


    After some observation, Zen finally made a discovery. There were two cracks in the middle of the giant beehive, a pair of eyes hidden within them.


    These eyes were made of countless compound eyes, with countless small grids. Zen could see his own reflection in each of the grids.


    He was being carefully watched by this very pair of eyes.


    The feeling made Zen''s hair stand on end. What the hell was this hive?


    The two eyes were at least ten times larger than those of an ordinary barbari


    ted to each other and eventually converged into a single path.


    But the hive was blocking it.


    The Collapsing Mountain warrior wouldn''t climb up the cave he fell from and Zen just told him about the dead end on the road behind them. There was only one way left for him to go.


    But the beehive was a problem.


    "What should we do?" The Collapsing Mountain warrior asked out of the blue.


    Zen curled his lips in thought. Though the warrior had initially seemed hostile, now, he just looked helpless and upset with the outcome. In Zen''s eyes, the warrior''s character wasn''t exactly pleasant.


    After staying there for half a year, Zen knew that the Collapsing Mountain members didn''t lie. So long as they had any reason to hate someone, they wouldn''t bother hiding their hatred.


    If they needed help, they would turn to others for help without hesitation. But Zen was used to this way of doing things. He didn''t bother with the warrior and only said, "We can only pass through carefully. As long as we don''t disturb the bees, we''ll be fine."


    Even after the huge commotion, the bees gave them a warning without attacking, so they didn''t seem excessively aggressive.


    "There could be one problem though¡ªthe queen bee is in the hive," Zen said.


    "What?! There''s a queen bee here?" The warrior almost roared, but then covered his mouth as his eyes filled with fear.


    His reaction made Zen curious. "Isn''t it normal to have a queen bee in the hive?"


    The bees normally relied on the queen to breed and produce descendants. It seemed unlikely that the barbarian bees were an exception to the rule.


    "No! It''s not like that. It''s definitely abnormal to have a queen bee!" The warrior looked terrified as he said it.


    Seeing the expression on his face, Zen realized that he''d taken the matter too lightly.

 Chapter 1845 The Bee Stings

    "Why is it not normal that there''s a queen bee?" Zen asked, bewildered by what he just heard.


    The Collapsing Mountain warrior curled his lips before answering, "Our prophet said that there''s only one queen bee and it is located in the farthest depths of the Sacred Spring Mountain."


    "If there is only one queen bee, then why is there one here?"


    The Collapsing Mountain warrior looked at the hive and noticed the two large eyes looking out towards them. His lips visibly trembled at the sight. "If there is a queen bee here, then the queen bee at the bottom of the mountain must have died! Something grave might have happened! We should leave right now!"


    Zen was not familiar with the Sacred Spring Mountain and there were many secrets that the Collapsing Mountain race hid from the public. Zen never heard of this supposed prophet before, and the only person he knew that led the race was Chapman.


    He wasn''t really willing to leave. If he left now, then he would most probably have to spend another year in the Collapsing Mountain race.


    "How do we leave?" he asked.


    The Collapsing Mountain warrior scratched his head. He had totally forgotten that the only path they could take was the one in front of them.


    If only they had more strength to resist the gravitational force of this place and fly, then they''d be able to return by the route they came in. Unfortunately, it wasn''t going to be that easy given their current strength level.


    The two of them stood in discussion, trying to think of a strategy in getting out. In the end though, they realized that there really was no other way. The two of them simply gritted teeth and continued forward.


    Given their current situation, the Collapsing Mountain warrior no longer held any hostility towards Zen. He even told the young foreigner his name: Teigan and he had just turned 30 this year.


    The thing was, the way the Collapsing Mountain race calculated age was not accurate. Daytime was not something that was fixed in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. Sometimes, the day lasted as long as dozens of hours, sometimes only three or four hours. The Divine Refinement Forbidden Land''s calendar was way different from in the universe Zen came from.


    Teigan walked in front. Despite his huge bulk, he had an extraordinary talent of controlling his strength. He was able to shrink every muscle in his body to help him move as light as a cat.


    Zen had once again hid his aura. He stared at the scattered barbarian bees before following Teigan quietly.


    "Buzz buzz buzz..."


    A number of barbarian bees flew around the beehive. The large eyes inside the hive still stared at them following their every move. The queen bee was the greatest threat out of all the bees and they had to be careful. If they irritated it, then the entire hoard of barbarian bees would attack them with no hesitation.


    The two reached the beehive soon enough. The eyes still stared at them and continued exerting invisible pressure.


    Just as they were about to walk past, Teigan suddenly stopped. Zen frowned. Was he perhaps too nervous?


    "Move!"


    he told Teigan, giving him a push.


    However, there w


    ant alert of the creatures in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land ever since he was chased by the Formless Sky Python. This led him to greatly overestimate the power of these barbarian bees.


    Their stinging power was terrifying but, at the end of the day, they were still bees. This type of creature was characterized by their large quantity, fast speed, great agility, and extreme poison. However, their defensive power was still ordinary.


    Zen felt overjoyed as he used his sword radiance to instantly kill dozens of the barbarian bees!


    "Come over and help!" he shouted over to Teigan.


    However, he didn''t expect the warrior to simply keep pushing forward. "I haven''t practiced any martial art! How the hell am I going to help you?!"


    The only thing the Collapsing Mountain race could rely on was their terrifying strength but the use of their power remained extremely primitive. Teigan couldn''t really do anything to help Zen in any way.


    He could only rely on himself!


    The sword radiance Zen summoned served as a net that caught the oncoming barbarian bees and sliced them in half.


    "Buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz!"


    A large number of bees fell with each strike. The halved bodies of the barbarian bees were all that was left in their wake and many of the ones that still chased after them had grown quite wary of Zen''s sword.


    "Whoosh!"


    A sharp whistle rang out as a ray of black radiance shot straight towards Zen.


    Just as it was about to hit him, Zen suddenly placed his sword horizontally in front of his chest.


    The black radiance nailed itself onto Zen''s sword! In a blink of an eye, the first-rank divine weapon that had accompanied him for so many years turned into a useless pile of molten metal that he had no choice but to throw away.


    His face immediately darkened, not because he felt sad about the sword, but because he saw that the beehive had completely ruptured. An enormous black thing floated by the cave wall where a pair of huge, compound eyes glistened. It was the queen bee!


    The black radiance, aimed at Zen just now, had been shot out by the queen bee.

 Chapter 1846 Melting Rock Wall

    The barbarian bee queen didn''t have any wings, and looked more like a large worm than a bee. Its tail was stuck up like a scorpion''s, with a cluster of black thorns on its tip!


    The barbarian bee queen looked bloated and heavy, but its movements were quick. When Zen blocked its black light, its twelve posterior legs moved rapidly and charged towards Zen at a tremendously fast speed.


    When Zen saw the queen charging forwards, he turned back and ran!


    Zen looked back at Teigan of Collapsing Mountain race and saw that he was already thousand feet ahead. Zen''s lips couldn''t help but twitch in a small smile. It seemed that the Collapsing Mountain race wasn''t as fearless as they seemed.


    However, Teigan couldn''t be blamed. His courage was based on his ability of being able to take a gamble.


    Escaping from the barbarian bee queen was something that anyone with an ounce of sense would have done.


    Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!


    At that moment, Zen was also intensely focused. Every step his feet made was executed with extreme precision. His movement speed was even faster than Teigan!


    Teigan was raised in the Collapsing Mountain race since he was born. He was also one of the most outstanding younger generation members. Zen might even lose to him in a contest of pure strength.


    However, the Collapsing Mountain race was accustomed to only using their strength to its maximum. They did not know much about moves, techniques, etc. In this type of ecological environment, they did not need to master all. Different races lived in various environments, so the path of different races varied.


    As Teigan ran ahead, he occasionally turned his head back to check Zen. When he saw the barbarian bee queen behind Zen, it grimaced as if it ate something bad. Teigan sprinted forward with all his might.


    In general, the test at Sacred Spring Mountain wasn''t too risky, but there was still a certain death rate. Every year, during the coming-of-age ceremony, the Collapsing Mountain race would lose three or four people. Some of the other races'' warriors would also die in Sacred Spring Mountain.


    However, being killed by the barbarian bee queen was even more unlucky. After all, this thing shouldn''t have been here in the first place.


    As Teigan ran, his thoughts went wild, and his distracted mind failed to focus on his next step. He missed!


    He was stunned for a moment before he rolled downwards again. He was incredibly curious as to why there was such a huge pit here!


    When Zen saw Teigan''s figure disappear suddenly in front of him, he immediately understood that Teigan had fallen down.


    A spark of hope lit up on Zen''s face.


    If he continued on this straight path, he would be caught by the barbarian bee queen sooner or later and be killed for sure! A passageway that led downwards wo


    ian bee stings grew out from its tail again, and it looked like there were more stings than before.


    "Well, forget it. I didn''t say anything¡­" The flicker of hope that had just ignited in Teigan''s eyes was immediately quenched once again.


    Zen also furrowed his brows. He thought of the same thing, but at that moment he suddenly felt a chill behind his back. When he turned around, a strange look appeared on his face!


    "Look behind us, quick!" he reminded Teigan.


    Teigan looked backward and immediately revealed an ecstatic expression.


    The stone wall behind them was the end of the path. As the barbarian bee queen had shot three stings at the wall, a fist-sized hole had been punched into it!


    This hole was so deep that one couldn''t see the bottom. A cool breeze blew through it.


    "So this rock wall is actually very thin!"


    Teigan''s face was filled with surprise as he smashed his fist against another part of the wall, hoping that he could use his brute force to break it.


    However, this silver rock was too hard for their fists. Even if it was just a thin layer of rock, it wasn''t something they could break. Maybe Chapman could break through it.


    Zen shook his head and could do nothing but sigh at the fellow''s stupidity. He quietly nocked an arrow onto the longbow again.


    "Prepare to dodge," Zen said as he released the bowstring.


    He hadn''t expected the arrow to kill the barbarian bee queen. He was now luring it to continue shooting its stings so the rock wall would be opened behind them. That would give them a chance to escape!


    Although Teigan''s brain was not working at the moment, the barbarian bee queen was even worse. It was its instinct to immediately retaliate after it received an attack


    The barbarian bee queen was unwittingly extremely cooperative. As Zen''s arrow shot out, it also shot out three beams of black light.

 Chapter 1847 A Seven-colored River

    There was still a certain distance between the barbarian bee queen and Zen.


    But if the barbarian bee queen took a step forward, it would be extremely difficult for Zen and his companion to avoid it.


    Pop, pop, pop!


    With this bubbling sound, three barbarian bee stings once again shot towards the rock wall behind the two of them.


    At first, it sounded like the silvery rock was being boiled, like hot water. However, it slowly changed and began to flow smoothly. One could only imagine the strong and corrosive power that was enclosed within these barbarian bee stings.


    The hole was already the size of a fist. As it continued to corrode, the hole became bigger and bigger!


    Within a matter of seconds, a hole that was huge enough to fit a human head appeared. And that was exactly what they wanted.


    "You can go now," Zen murmured.


    Usually, if the hole was big enough to fit one''s head, then the body could get in just fine. However, the stout guy who stood next to Zen seemed to have a problem. Just by glancing at it, he was skeptical if he could enter. And Zen, looking at him, realized the doubt that was going on in his mind.


    Teigan''s face turned red when he became aware of this fact. Moreover, he began to tremble as well, wondering what would happen to him. There was a part of him that worried Zen would leave him alone to face the barbarian bee queen.


    But that didn''t happen. In the end, Zen decided he wouldn''t enter alone. Instead, he continued to lure the barbarian bee queen to shoot out the stings.


    The barbarian bee queen shook its tail to send out the barbarian bee stings and crawled towards the two of them. Tactfully, the two of them moved around the small hole, hoping to lure the barbarian bee queen to shoot stings onto the part around the small hole.


    Under the dire situation, this was their only hope. They secretly prayed that the luck would be on their side. After all, they couldn''t control the barbarian bee queen''s aim. Sometimes, when the barbarian bee stings were too accurate, they would directly drill into the small hole.


    However, as the stings kept shooting over, more and more rocks behind them started to melt. In the end, a large hole was created, just like they wanted.


    However, before they could relish their success, the barbarian bee queen began to increase its speed. The barbarian bee stings on its tail were now shooting extremely fast. This made it hard for the two of them to dodge them. With his huge body, Teigan, especially, had a tough time defending himself. The barbarian bee stings came very close to getting him.


    Realizing it wasn''t safe to stay out any longer, the two of them quickly entered the big hole.


    Since the stings drifting into the cave didn''t make any sound, the two of them knew with certainty that the back of the cave was empty. The moment they entered the cave, the two of them began to descend rapidly. Once they were in, Zen could even see the two stings flying above their heads.


    "That barbarian bee queen wouldn''t chase us, right?"


    Zen turned his head to take a look, only to see that the barbarian bee queen had stuck out a pair of huge eyes from the hole and retracted them in the end!


    Under such high-intensity gravity, if they were to fall too far, even Zen was likely to


    igan didn''t know; he wasn''t afraid of poisons.


    "You will¡­You will die¡­" Seeing Zen drink so much in one gulp, Teigan''s mouth was wide open. "Actually, these larvae won''t kill you. You could just pick them out with a knife¡­"


    Zen wiped the corner of his mouth and passed the small bottle to Teigan, smiling faintly. "This is very little poison. I will be fine!"


    As he stopped speaking, the poison started to spread continuously through Zen''s meridians. The larva eggs that had infiltrated Zen''s skin seemed to feel an indescribable fear towards him as they continued to leave his skin.


    In a matter of seconds, most of the larva eggs fell to the ground like rice grains after they crawled out. That rattan poison was the nemesis of these larva eggs. Taking just a bit of poison, they would die.


    All this while, Teigan had been staring at Zen in utter shock. He found it hard to believe in Zen''s words. However, seeing he had faced no difficulty after consuming the poison, Teigan realized it was indeed true. It seemed that nothing bad would happen to him.


    Therefore, he understood that besides not being afraid of flames, Zen was also immune to all poisons. ''Isn''t that amazing?'' he thought with awe.


    Soon, they cleaned up and got rid of the larva eggs. After this, they both began to survey the environment.


    After he lifted his head, Zen''s eyes suddenly lit up. He could already see a bit of seven-colored spring water hidden within the strange rocks on the mountain wall. There was actually quite a lot of strength source there!


    With its constant reversal and flowing characteristics, the strength source hadn''t fallen into the upper regions of the ceiling must have been because it was wrapped by these rugged and strange stones.


    Suddenly, a thought occurred in his mind.


    Zen subconsciously looked up and his entire body froze!


    Teigan had sensed that something was off with Zen. Similarly, he followed Zen''s gaze and lifted his head to look above. His burly figure immediately trembled.


    Above their heads, there was actually a seven-colored river that was undoubtedly formed from strength source. They watched it flow, as if it was a dream watercolor painting.

 Chapter 1848 The Lake

    "I... I have never heard of a river within the Sacred Spring Mountain!"


    Teigan muttered.


    According to what the outside world knew, the land of the Collapsing Mountain race was considered the sacred place for cultivation because it was the source of strength.


    The reason people had described the rare strength source as spring water was because there weren''t much of them. It was commonly believed that here was a spring where the rare strength source was gushed out.


    This was why this mountain was called the Sacred Spring Mountain.


    Within the Sacred Spring Mountain, one could see a number of caves spreading out from the bottom part, like capillaries. You had to explore carefully to reach the bottom.


    Over the years, the Collapsing Mountain race had almost finished studying the inner structure of the Sacred Spring Mountain. Although the road here was complicated, there was still a map. But the map would not be given to anyone apart from the elders of the Collapsing Mountain race, even if they were members of the race who had participated in the coming-of-age ceremony.


    Chapman had wanted to hand over a portion of the map to Zen. The map had several locations marked where Zen could find more strength source.


    But the elders of the race rejected this plan. If this map were to be leaked, it would be dangerous for the Collapsing Mountain race. The power that Zen could obtain would still depend on his own ability.


    The Collapsing Mountain race obviously knew a lot about the Sacred Spring Mountain. But they didn''t know everything about it. They only knew that there was a spring under the ground and that all the mountain''s strength source must have come from it.


    The strength source had interesting characteristics. It looked like flowing water, which would flow down to the bottom of the mountain. But there were many times when the strength source would flip back, completely ignoring gravity, and climb to the top. The strength source, that should have been deep underground, would even appear at the top of the Sacred Spring Mountain and occasionally, even spill over the top of the mountain.


    In truth, the chaotic power around the Collapsing Mountain race was closely related to the strength source.


    Before today, no one had known that there was a river inside the Sacred Spring Mountain. If this news were to spread, the Sacred Spring Mountain might start to be called the ''Sacred River Mountain''.


    Even Zen was excited at this. The barbarian bee queen had chased him, and with the bee queen''s help, he had carved a new path for himself.


    The two of them stared blankly at the seven-colored river in front of them. It took them a few minutes to finally calm down.


    There was, however, a big problem. Zen had discovered quite a fe


    he river above them came to form a straight line, like a man-made canal. Nature had gone all out on this, but it was impossible for such a river to have been formed by nature. It was rather obvious that it was created by intelligent beings.


    Along with the river above them that seemed to be laid out regularly, the path under Zen''s feet also became more regular, almost identical in shape to the river above them. The silver walls on both sides of the mountain became smoother and smoother.


    "The intelligent beings that dug this river knew that the strength source would be reversed. So they dug out two canals at the same time, one at the top of the cave and one at the bottom. I wonder what the purpose of this is,"


    Zen said as he walked.


    Not long after, the space before them opened up. A huge circular pit appeared beneath their feet, and the seven-colored river above their heads fell into a waterfall.


    Ordinary waterfalls flowed straight down from top. But the waterfall above them flew straight up. It was the complete opposite.


    This was exactly what Zen had expected. He had seen complete reversal several times. But the waterfall flowed straight up and gathered in a circular lake at the top of the cave!


    An identical circular lake appeared naturally in front of Zen and Teigan. But the lake below them was empty. After all, only after the strength source had reversed itself would the lake''s strength source fall into the lake below.


    Zen and Teigan stood beside the lake and looked around. Before long, they noticed something grey and blurry, jumping about in the middle of the lake. They could not see what exactly it was. But everything that appeared in this damn place was too bizarre, and neither Zen nor Teigan had any intention of entering the lake. They were curious about it, but their lives were more important.

 Chapter 1849 Reversal

    Soon, the surrounding scenery transformed rapidly.


    Earlier, the journey route comprised of natural primitive caves. But later on, the landscape changed, revealing a lake and a flat mountain wall. The structures seemed to be man-made.


    There was also a grey dusky, unidentifiable object circling endlessly in the empty lake below.


    Zen and Teigan, staying close to the boundary, swiftly moved ahead. Since there was no other way, they decided to see what existed at the end of the path.


    The man-made lake was only about three miles long. At the end of the lake, there was a long and narrow passage.


    When they reached the end of the lake, they discovered that the bottom of the passage was an endless pit!


    Zen and Teigan looked at each other, clueless about the next step. Then Teigan took out a wooden stick from his coat and waved it in the air. And the end of the stick suddenly burst into flames.


    Teigan threw the flaming stick down into the pit.


    The two of them saw the flames increasingly become smaller for a long time before disappearing deep inside the pit.


    Teigan despairingly said, "What do we do now? We cannot even make out its end!"


    When they fell from above and reached the artificial lake, they were already deep in the depths of the Sacred Spring Mountain. They had absolutely no clue as to where they would reach, if they went inside this pit. They were not even sure if they would make out alive with the strong attraction force.


    "It seems like this place is also a dead end. There is no other way out now," Teigan said anxiously. He was afraid of being trapped to death and now that was definitely happening.


    "There''s a way," Zen said suddenly.


    "What! Where is it?" Teigan hurriedly asked.


    Zen raised his hand and pointed upwards.


    The passageway in front of them had formed into a vault, above which there was another passageway, embedded on the ceiling.


    "This way!" Teigan soon discovered that the passage beneath their feet was connected to the passage above their head. The problem was that they were unable to pass through it.


    If only they could fly, they wouldn''t have to go through all these problems.


    Zen''s eyes narrowed as he turned around and looked at the lake behind him.


    After Zen entered the Sacred Spring Mountain, he discovered that the strength source reversed and flowed in the opposite direction.


    The reverse system seemed to be carried across the strength source. If that was the case, then there had to be some sort of mechanism within the Sacred Spring Mountain that controlled the reverse system.


    For the time being, seeing the passageway hang from the ceiling lifted Zen''s spirit.


    The secret path in front of them was definitely designed to allow people to pass t


    moment, Teigan also reached the dusky mist and was about to warn Zen not to touch the object. If Zen wasn''t careful enough and triggered some mechanism, they would die there.


    But before he could say anything, Zen had already opened it.


    Splash!


    If a bowl of water was poured, it would cause ripple and commotion. Imagine what the entire strength source of the lake could create!


    After the attraction force was reversed, the strength source descended from the artificial lake above their heads to the artificial lake below, immediately dousing Zen and Teigan.


    Teigan was speechless at this sight. So this was it! This was the whole strength source of the lake! Was it really that easy to get it?


    The strength source kept pouring continuously in the artificial lake below. After a long time, Zen and Teigan finally floated up from the bottom of the lake.


    "I... I will absorb all the strength source now! Ha-ha!" Teigan was ecstatic after seeing this! By absorbing a small amount of the strength source, he might become the future leader of the Collapsing Mountain race. Imagine his powers if he could absorb the entire strength source!


    Earlier, Teigan had doubts about becoming powerful, but now he could brush those thoughts aside.


    But at the same time, he knew that he could absorb only a limited portion of the strength source.


    Although Teigan was physically stronger than the warriors of other races, there was still a limit. If he absorbed the entire strength source, his physical body would soon reach its saturation point.


    In the meantime, Zen was quietly floating on the lake, advancing ahead. His thirst for strength was many times greater than that of Teigan. His capacity to absorb the maximum amount of strength was also higher. Soon, he was completely focused on devouring the entire strength source!

 Chapter 1850 A Miniature Divine Land (Part One)

    When compared to a warrior of the same level as he, Zen''s physical body was obviously much stronger than most. In terms of his body''s capacity though, he sometimes found himself facing certain limitations. Now was one of those times.


    The numerous strength source surrounding Zen was constantly and continuously absorbed by his body. The strength filled him in the deepest places of his inner self, including his bones, muscles, organs, and spine.


    This form of strength absorption created an ultimate increase of power within Zen. It was as though his body and mind were always alert and crystal clear. He felt inexhaustible, invincible and most of all, Zen felt abundant.


    At the moment though, the strength source to be absorbed was far greater in amount than Zen had ever faced before. His body worked hard, the numerous strength filling him more and more. It didn''t take too long before the feeling of wonderful abundance began to transform into the harsh sensation of being full.


    And he recognized the feeling of fullness. He knew what it meant, too. It meant his capacity of absorption had nearly reached its limit - and yet, so much strength source remained.


    This sensation had overcome him once before, when he had borrowed the dragon scales'' power. With so much strength to be contained within one single person, Zen''s body couldn''t bear the load. He had stopped just in time back then.


    Zen equally knew that if he forcibly absorbed the strength source, his body wouldn''t hold and would easily disintegrate. Of course, this was something he had to avoid at all costs. But what to do now?


    Staring out at the strength source before him, Zen realized he had absorbed less than a ten thousandth of it all. He was drenched with a stressed sweat and felt overwhelmingly discouraged. His feeling was comparable to a person leaving a treasure mountain empty handed; the problem was, there were simply too many treasures to choose from.


    "The strength source here can help you break through the Eight Path Platforms. This is a one of a kind opportunity, so make the most of it..."


    A faint voice spoke from the depths of Zen''s mind.


    ing absorbed a hundred thousand drops of strength source himself now had virtually no consequence. And yet before, he had felt so full!


    Zen brought his focus and strength back to absorbing the strength source. Path Platforms, sparkling and enticing with a dazzling shine, appeared at the opening of the eight vortexes.


    The Eight Path Platforms of body refiner often twisted off and formed different shapes, but most of them were milky white Path Platforms. This was because most body refiners would form their own Path Platforms based on the rare white bones. However, Zen''s Path Platforms were seven-colored.


    This strength source was so enormous, so great, it was indescribable. Assuredly, no such strength source could exist within the universe. If something of the kind did exist, then it was no doubt much, much smaller in size. And of course, there wouldn''t be half as many drops of strength source to be absorbed!


    It would be completely impossible for an ordinary warrior to find such a large amount of strength source. Even if Laquisha''s brother got really lucky or had great karma going for him, there was no way he would ever find such an amazing amount of strength source. In other words, her brother couldn''t even compare himself with Zen''s gaining.


    Straightly put, Zen had to spend every drop of strength source he could muster in order to build his Eight Path Platforms and form his most solid foundation.

 Chapter 1851 A Miniature Divine Land (Part Two)

    Zen was very aware that this kind of treatment was special. Unique, in a way. And it was also notably quite rare in the divine land.


    In any case, it was only the Holy Beings'' disciples that were actually capable of extracting strength source like this. Holy Beings used this absorbed strength source to build the universes.


    Undoubtedly, this strength source was more than just precious in the eyes of the Holy Beings. They needed this strength in order to continue building, and taking the decision to have it absorbed was difficult for them due to the constant extraction of their power.


    As for the master of Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, why he was so willing to have all his personal strength source extracted. That was and would remain a mystery. The master shared his strength source with the living creatures around him.


    By the time all the Path Platforms were completed, each of them flashing dazzling ray of light, a solid five minutes had passed. For Zen though, it was like having traveled entire lifetimes of numerous body refiners. Not only that, but his Path Platforms were the purest ones around and they were already in their most perfect stage - without any cracks or flaws!


    Finally!


    His Eight Path Platforms were completed.


    Slowly, the vortexes that had earlier been created within all parts of Zen''s body began to gradually dissipate into thin air. The absorption of the strength source equally slowed before coming to a complete stop.


    "The Eight Path Platforms have been formed. Now, you can prepare for the Nine Divine Stars!" Making him jump slightly in surprise, the red dragon''s voice sounded once again in his mind.


    Zen kept his eyes firmly closed.


    Following the patterns the red dragon had sent him, Zen continued to absorb the strength source. There wasn''t much left, thanks to the vortexes, and now with the red dragon''s encouragement, Zen felt capable of finishing the job.


    Quickly after the strength source was absorbed, it began circulating within Zen''s cinnabar field.


    For a body refiner, having the Nine Div


    In a way, Zen was a small "Holy Being". In fact, he could even be stronger than one.


    The inner world created by the Holy Being was formed from life vitality, and was limited by the heavens. If any living creature within it wanted to transcend this boundary, they would have to comprehend the Godly Way in order to obtain the qualifications for crossing the heavens and entering the divine land.


    As for Zen''s inner world, it was on a whole new level. It was instead formed from chaotic energy and without restriction from the heavens, all living creatures could leave his inner world directly!


    Looking at it from this angle, Zen''s inner world was most definitely not just any ordinary world. It was far from an ordinary universe, even. This was a divine land... A miniature divine land!


    Yes, the nine Genuine Dragons had chosen Zen for their own purpose. They wished to return to their own land, to guide Zen in his search for the truth, and they wished that he would ultimately help them seek revenge.


    Which gave reason as to why the Grand Weapon Refining Method had been used on Zen, resulting in his unique body and capacity.


    As soon as Zen entered the fairy palace and started practicing the Primal Chaos Technique, the situation had already begun to take a turn for the better. Zen''s cultivation had begun progressing beyond any dragon''s wildest expectations.

 Chapter 1852 Nine Divine Stars

    Zen had mastered the Primal Chaos Technique with his weapon-like body, and at the time, the inner world had undergone a fundamental change.


    If the Grand Weapon Refining Method allowed Zen to embark on a completely different path of body refinement, then the Primal Chaos Technique would allow him to embark on a completely different path of life vitality cultivation.


    The Genuine Dragons weren''t sure if the inner world built on the foundation of chaos could really evolve into another divine land. They weren''t even sure just how far Zen could go on this path.


    But they knew that if he continued on this path, Zen would reach heights that they couldn''t even imagine.


    The strength source went down from Zen''s chest all the way to his cinnabar field and then into his inner world.


    Zen''s inner world had grown larger and larger, and the species that were born within it had become more and more abundant.


    An ape made its way through the bushes, feeding on sweet berries.


    This ape had already evolved into a bit of intelligence, and knew how to avoid some of the land''s ferocious beasts and poisonous bugs. It was interested in getting to the end of the land, where the massive tree was.


    There seemed to be something special about that tree, something that exuded a great attractive force.


    But despite its strength, it still was unable to climb such a tall World Tree.


    The ape had harvested an impressive amount today. Once it had plucked quite a few berries, it decided to return to its cave. There were still some little apes there, crying out in joy.


    An explosion shook the ground, causing the ape to tremble in fear.


    It finally raised its head and looked up at the sky for the first time.


    The deep sky attracted the ape''s attention. This was the first time that any living being within Zen''s inner world had consciously looked up at the sky.


    Just what kind of place was in the depths of the sky?


    What was that place outside the sky?


    The ape already knew how to think. But the concept of ''sky'' did not exist in its mind.


    It was just instinctively curious and thinking.


    The explosion had barely died down when a colorful line appeared in the sky.


    This line looked like a rainbow snake on the ground and frightened the ape.


    The snake circled in the air, as if it wanted to split the sky open.


    It wasn''t long before the snake began to curl up into a ball, looking like some kind of unknown round fruit.


    The strength source was a fatal attraction for all living beings, even for those within Zen''s inner


    med, with Zen at the center of it.


    One could only imagine the ferocity of Zen''s absorption of the strength source, given this turbulence.


    At this rate of absorption, ''drop'' could no longer be used to measure it.


    "How is this possible?"


    Even if the entire Collapsing Mountain race jumped into the lake and began to frantically absorb the strength source, they still wouldn''t be able to achieve such a result. How much strength source could this guy hold? Would he completely absorb all of it? It couldn''t be!


    This terrifying thought suddenly occurred to Teigan.


    The Collapsing Mountain race relied on their strength source.


    If Zen were to completely absorb the strength source, things would not look good.


    Zen was at the center of this whirlpool as it churned. He continuously infused the strength source into his inner world and condensed it into the nine stars.


    The light of the nine stars became brighter and brighter, illuminating Zen''s inner world, to the point where it became hard to distinguish between these seven colors. They began to turn into a blinding light, the color of the sun. Zen''s body had produced seven suns.


    When the process of creating the Nine Divine Stars had reached a certain degree, Zen''s inner world began to tremble, and the chaotic sea began to surge.


    The seven suns emitted a massive gravitational force that triggered the tide in the chaotic sea.


    Zen had stopped absorbing because even if his inner world was special, there was still a limit to the strength source he could bear. If he were to continue absorbing it, the gravitational force from the strength source could cause a mess within his inner world, and could even tear it apart.

 Chapter 1853 Changing Gravity

    "You finally stopped..."


    Teigan from the Collapsing Mountain race stared at Zen in awe. He couldn''t understand how Zen was able to absorb so many drops of strength source.


    A quarter of the strength source in the huge lake had been absorbed by Zen.


    After he stopped his absorption, Zen finally opened his eyes. A shadow of a smile played on his lips as he swam towards the shore from the middle of the lake.


    "You... How did you absorb so much strength source?" Teigan asked, awestruck.


    Zen winked as he said, "I drank it."


    "Nonsense..." Teigan whispered. He thought about how Zen could have drank it.


    When Zen reversed the strength source in the lake, the strength source in the countless caves within the Sacred Spring Mountain also reversed, as well as the strength source that was originally unreachable.


    The strength source''s features were already known to the Collapsing Mountain race, as they had protected the strength source for countless years and thus had already performed extensive research on it.


    The Collapsing Mountain race considered the strength source as animate, which meant that after a period of time, it would be reversed. The strength source that was originally pooled on the floor would flow up to the ceiling as soon as people entered the Sacred Spring Mountain. The strength source would continue to meander along the ceiling.


    Due to the nature of the strength source, most martial artists who entered the Sacred Spring Mountain were only able to obtain a very small amount of strength source.


    This reversal often occurred after a martial artist had entered the mountain. There were only a handful of martial artists that managed to capture a portion of the strength source before the backflow.


    However, due to a lucky accident, Zen had explored an undiscovered path and found the key item to control the flow of the strength source. It was the Eight-diagram Ball which he held in his hand.


    At that moment, in every corner of the Sacred Spring Mountain, the vast majority of martial artists were ecstatic.


    In a long and narrow cave, the strength source formed a stream that lazily flowed above. Three martial artists traveled together, but all they were able to do was staring at the strength source flowing above their heads, unreachable.


    They focused their attention more on the stone walls around the cave, as they hoped to find a few drops of strength source embedded within.


    Right then, the gravity of the strength source suddenly reversed. The strength source at the ceiling of the cave began to fall down like a rain shower, and caused the three martial artists to rejoice.


    Scenes like this were common all across the entire Sacred Spring Mountain. Other than Zen and T


    ight-diagram Ball in his hand again.


    Crack!


    Gravity reversed.


    Zen and Teigan took a step forward simultaneously. They didn''t fall down to nowhere, but landed on the narrow passageway above.


    This time, both of them landed safely. They walked forward upside down on the passageway.


    They walked along this path for two miles. The end of this passageway once again formed a fault. However, another passageway appeared below the two of them.


    "Come on!"


    Zen switched the gravitational force again, and the two of them fell down from the passageway above into the one below.


    This was a very strange path. They needed to rely on this Eight-diagram Ball to constantly change the direction of gravity; sometimes downwards, sometimes upwards.


    When they got used to the changing gravity, they eventually relaxed.


    The tragic predicament of the other warriors inside the Sacred Spring Mountain was another matter.


    They had just started getting used to the reversed gravity when it suddenly changed. They struck against the ceiling of the cave, and when the gravity shifted once again, they smashed down ferociously. They were completely confused by the constantly changing gravity. Had the Sacred Spring Mountain gone crazy?


    All sorts of curses were heard throughout. However, none of them were able to change the direction of the gravitational force. They could only try their best to endure it.


    There were some martial artists that figured out a way to avoid being tossed about so willy-nilly. After falling down twice and realizing that the situation would repeat itself, they held tightly on stone pillars or stuck themselves in cracks.


    Eventually, after Zen and Teigan had walked on the passageways above and below, they finally reached the end. A stone door appeared in front of the two warriors.

 Chapter 1854 Gigantic Badger (Part One)

    According to Teigan, although the paths of the Sacred Spring Mountain were quite complicated, they would still lead to the main road at the bottom of the mountain. One could follow the main road from the bottom of the mountain to the top and find their way back to the Collapsing Mountain race.


    If this was true, then the path that Zen had taken should lead them to the main road. From his calculations, they should be at the bottom of the Sacred Spring Mountain by now.


    However, it seemed that they were led to a dead end. Instead of the main road, the two discovered a cave in a sealed-off area - a place that no one had entered before.


    Looking around, Zen realized that the door in front of him was the only way out. Would he be able to leave this place?


    The situation was starting to get frustrating. But Zen had already made up his mind. If this place turned out to be a dead-end, he would turn back to where he came from and start again!


    The most challenging and difficult part of the Sacred Spring Mountain was the solid silver rock. Its surface was extremely smooth, not even a curb or a lump that one could hold onto, thus making it hard to climb.


    In this situation, all the strength source that Zen had absorbed could be put to good use. Now that his power had increased drastically, it had changed the course of the situation.


    Standing at the front of the stone door, Teigan was the first to try his luck. He placed his hands against the stone door, took a deep breath, and pushed it.


    Ha-ha!


    Teigan put all his energy into his arms and hands; and as a great force flowed into his body, his veins and muscles suddenly bulged.


    The strength source had increased Teigan''s strength exponentially, and he felt reborn. He pushed against the door with all his m


    ack, looked at the door, and smirked. Alas, the door was finally open. It wasn''t fully opened, but the crack was enough for the two of them to pass through.


    "I knew you could do it! Awesome!" A ray of hope shone from Teigan''s eyes.


    It was a custom in the Collapsing Mountain race to revere Hercules. The ideology of this race was quite simple: they honored the strongest. Aside from the prophet, the Collapsing Mountain race also worshiped the most powerful and strongest being. Even outsiders would get a chance to lead this race if they proved themselves worthy.


    The world on the other side of the door was dark. But Zen didn''t hesitate and went into that dark side through the door. Teigan followed suit.


    But the moment Zen stepped into the other side of the door, something unexpected suddenly happened ¨C a bright light emitted from within the Eight-diagram Ball in his hand. Zen could sense bizarre aura coming from the ball. In an instant, the ball escaped from Zen''s hand and rapidly flew outside the door towards the direction where the two came from. After flying a great distance, the ball fell into the lake of strength source and a loud splashing sound could be heard.

 Chapter 1855 Gigantic Badger (Part Two)

    As the Eight-diagram Ball continued to submerge, it began to rotate underwater. The force of its rotation created a whirlpool and the strength source in the lake shot up, then eventually landed into the lake on the ceiling.


    Zen was dumfounded as it happened so fast that he didn''t have time to react.


    He realized that someone was preventing him from taking the Eight-diagram Ball beyond the door. Fortunately, he hadn''t stored the strength source in his space ring, otherwise, he couldn''t imagine what could have happened.


    There must be an almighty elder watching over this place and whoever would step in this place.


    Beyond Zen''s knowledge, the Eight-diagram Ball didn''t just return to its original location, but the mountain was also completely repaired. Even the hole that the barbarian bee queen inflicted on it had vanished like it didn''t happen at all.


    As soon as the ball exited, the stone door slowly began to close. Once again, Teigan and Zen were covered in complete darkness. Their eyes adjusted to the dark, but they still couldn''t see anything.


    There was only one path on this other side of the door and each side was covered with silver rocks. They figured that it was the only path they could take. Without saying a word, Teigan and Zen had thought of the same thing ¨C all the bizarre things in this place were orchestrated by a person and that person could be by their side right now.


    The two decided to move forward along the path in silence. But before they could even take a step, a blinding light suddenly flashed in front of them. They felt as if they had passed through a dark and narrow tunnel before finally entering an extremely wide cave.


    As their eyes adjusted to the light, they looked around and was surprised to see piles of silver rocks behind them.


    Zen and


    e two. Teigan was not yet prepared to face this kind of creature. In the Collapsing Mountain race, only grown-up men could kill monstrous badgers.


    Zen nodded. Unlike Teigan, Zen was equipped with skills to defeat these monstrous badgers. He was just worried that there was not enough space to use all his strength. With a push at his feet, he rushed towards them.


    Zen and Teigan were easy prey for these monstrous badgers. They split up, intending to surround their prey so they wouldn''t escape.


    But they didn''t expect that Zen had no intention of escaping. Instead, he was the first to launch an attack at them.


    Roar!


    One of the badgers roared as a warning to the rest. Three of the badgers quickly responded and, they attacked towards Zen.


    These badgers had an unbelievable intelligence unlike any other creatures in the mountain. They could quickly react against an attack and knew how to work as a team to defeat their enemies.


    Their extraordinary strength and agility were their advantage over any creature. With these, they could easily triumph over any ordinary warriors.


    But their luck had seemingly run out as this time, it was no ordinary warrior. They had finally met Zen!

 Chapter 1856 The Golden Rock

    Now, Zen''s steps were as light as they had never been before.


    When he first entered the territory of the Collapsing Mountain race with Laquisha, he was incomparably shocked, seeing the Collapsing Mountain people moving freely on the giant silver boulders.


    With his half a year of experience in this place and after absorbing the strength source, the gravitational force had become nothing to him.


    Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!


    Having lived on the Sacred Spring Mountain for many years, the monstrous badgers had absorbed quite a bit of strength source.


    Three monstrous badgers as large as barbarian cows pounced on Zen. The power within them was by no means small¡ªeven Teigan couldn''t help but take a few steps back upon witnessing the scene.


    He had placed all his hopes on Zen. While he wasn''t certain about Zen''s strength since the latter had only been in the Collapsing Mountain race for a short time, he had still absorbed so much strength source.


    After shifting his posture, Zen took a step forward.


    Before entering the Sacred Spring Mountain, his every move was incomparably clumsy. It was difficult for him to cross over a distance of twenty to thirty feet ¡ªit was like he had fallen into some invisible quagmire.


    Now, the gravitational force had no effect on Zen.


    His punches were unbelievably fast.


    Pop, pop, pop!


    Each the size of a raging bull, the three badgers froze midair before bursting apart. Their skin, flesh, and bones were busted until finally, they dissolved into blood and fell to the ground before Zen.


    These badgers were considered to be at the top of the food chain at the bottom of the mountain. Once, they had surrounded and captured the Collapsing Mountain people, including even some warriors from other clans. But never had they thought a human''s strength could be so terrifying.


    As they wailed in agony, the rest of the monstrous badgers dispersed. How could they stay and face Zen after that?


    "Impressive¡­"


    Teigan took a deep breath.


    Thinking of how Zen was treated in the Collapsing Mountain race, Teigan wasn''t initially convinced of Zen''s strength. And it wasn''t just him, even the other warriors and clansmen weren''t accepting it.


    As far as they were concerned, Zen was merely relying on his natural talent, being unafraid of fire, to swindle resources from the Collapsing Mountain race. Whether or not he could really help the Collapsing Mountain race was a big question mark.


    But now, Teigan saw it with his own eyes¡ªhe was truly convinced that Zen wasn''t the same as the other foreign warriors.


    Rubbing his fists and curling the corner of his mouth, Zen called him over. "Let''s go!"


    With a nod, Teigan followed him.


    The huge cave sloped upward. Along the way, Zen encountered a few strange beasts.


    But according to Teigan, these strange beasts weren''t particularly powerful. They could actually be considered luc


    pman had no clue that Zen was regretful about the entire lake full of strength source. Even if a True God submerged in it, they probably wouldn''t be able to absorb it completely.


    "Very good! Everyone, you''ve received the favor of the Sacred Spring Mountain. Follow me!" With an understanding nod, Chapman called everyone over.


    After passing the Sacred Spring Mountain, many warriors had to undergo the Collapsing Mountain race test. After that, if the warriors from other races wanted to continue their cultivation here, they could choose to join the Collapsing Mountain race to go hunting. Of course, they could also choose to leave the race on their own.


    According to the results of the test, the Collapsing Mountain race would put the warriors into different teams. As they were out to face powerful strange beasts, during the division of labor, everyone''s strength was fully taken into account.


    Under Chapman''s lead, all the warriors began moving, returning to the Collapsing Mountain race.


    On the giant square stood a massive golden rock about ten feet high. Under the light, it emitted a dazzling golden splendor as if it was pure gold.


    It was even more solid and heavier than the silver rocks on the grounds within Collapsing Mountain race.


    "They''re back, Princess Royal," Kennan said as he watched the troops from a distance.


    In this Sacred Spring Mountain test, Laquisha wasn''t qualified to participate. Though she could stand up, it took everything for her to merely stagger forward¡ªone could imagine how upset she was.


    "Has Zen returned?" Laquisha asked. She was well aware of the death rate in the Sacred Spring Mountain. Usually, some unlucky individuals failed to return. Of course, she didn''t want Zen to be such an unlucky warrior.


    "Zen''s there," Kennan replied. "The kid has safely passed the Sacred Spring Mountain''s test¡­I wonder how far he''ll manage to push the stone in the next test."

 Chapter 1857 Four Titles

    Compared to the rich and splendid civilizations of other universes, the Collapsing Mountain race''s culture could be considered simple and primitive.


    This reflected even in the way they tested out their members'' strength.


    The test required only one thing: a golden, square stone. This stone was placed in the middle of a square where warriors were then asked to push it using their full strength. The distance they managed to cover would determine their level.


    The test for body refiners should be more complicated than that, and the standards to measure the body refiners'' levels should not be only limited to pure strength.


    Aside from pure strength, certain factors such as endurance, tenacity, flexibility, and other aspects of the physical body had to be put into consideration.


    Such things did not matter to the Collapsing Mountain race. Their simple test was enough for them to gauge their warriors'' strength. Of course, this type of test was quite biased and did not objectively represent the true, overall strength of a warrior.


    It all came down to culture. The Collapsing Mountain race had always been proud of their brute strength and held it in the highest regard. It was understandable that it was the only thing they ever cared about.


    According to the standard set by their test, the strength to be displayed could be divided into four levels.


    Anyone who could push the golden stone two inches would be graded as an outstanding warrior.


    Anyone who could push the stone for at least one foot would be graded as a mighty warrior.


    Anyone who got to five feet would be graded as super powerful warriors.


    And anyone who pushed it more than ten feet would be heralded as the wild king.


    With their strength, the Collapsing Mountain warriors could most probably move tens of thousands of mountains in one push!


    The golden square stone, however, was a different matter altogether.


    The Collapsing Mountain race''s younger generation saw it as a great honor to follow their elders out to hunt. This was because the requirement for joining the hunt was to push the stone at least two inches and receive the title of outstanding warrior.


    Not everyone managed to pass the test which meant that the number of younger warriors that joined the hunt was less than a third of their total population.


    The reason why this test was so difficult was that the gravitational force of the Collapsing Mountain race was extremely strong. The golden, square stone was equivalent to a hundred thousand mountains compressed together in weight. It would be extremely difficult to move it even a single inch, let alone to move it two inches.


    It was because of the difficulty of the test that there were only four levels to appraise the warriors'' strength.


    Reaching the level of an outstanding warrior was already a great honor.


    The atmosphere this year was slightly different.


    Everyone, whether they were from the Collapsing Mountain race or from other races, carried themselves with an air of great confidence.


    There was only a small number of warriors that felt dejected and they were the ones who failed to find any strength source during the trek inside the Sacred Spring Mountain. The others, on the other hand, eagerly rubbed their hands together in excitement


    ive inches...


    One foot¡­


    Two feet...


    Three feet ¡­


    Three and a half feet!


    And then it stopped.


    Two inches would grant him the title of outstanding warrior, one foot the mighty warrior, and five feet the super powerful warrior.


    "Three and a half feet. Ha-ha! This Kieron is still amazing!"


    "What a pity¡­ Just two more feet he would''ve gotten the title of super powerful warrior."


    "What a joke! By the time the stone glided for two feet, he was already out of power. Do you really think you can expect the stone to slip by itself as if it is oiled underneath?"


    The results filled many warriors with regret.


    The difference between a mighty warrior and a super powerful warrior was simply too great.


    "Three and a half feet! You are a mighty warrior! You can join the hunt!" Chapman declared while someone recorded Kieron''s result on the side.


    The result could be considered stellar but Kieron had a look of bitterness on his face as he walked away. The titles of mighty warrior and super powerful warrior were only one level apart but the gap between was just too large. He still lacked the strength to obtain a higher level of glory.


    Chapman turned and gently kicked the stone, returning it to its original position.


    There was nothing in the air for him to gain momentum. He had to rely on his own movement to push the golden stone three and half feet back to its original place. Such a feat was truly amazing!


    A few of the warriors from other races watching were awed but the Collapsing Mountain warriors simply shrugged it off. This kind of strength was already a given since he was their leader.


    Chapman once again sat on the stone and shouted another name. "The third warrior, Saqib!"


    This third warrior managed to push the stone for four inches and gained the title of outstanding warrior.


    Back in the day, an outstanding warrior would warrant cheers and lots of merriment, however, the crowd was unusually quiet in the face of Saqib''s accomplishment. They were all already aware that the results for this year would not be bad and those who received the title of outstanding warrior were not as exemplary as the ones who would come out on top.

 Chapter 1859 Expectation

    Pascal also had a great opportunity to obtain a lot of strength source.


    More importantly, the cultivation he developed was quite special as it allowed him to unleash all his strength in just one punch.


    The moment his fist hit its target, Pascal''s body lost its strength and he fell on the ground. The golden square stone was a good 140 feet from its initial place and it had taken all of Pascal''s strength to move it.


    Back then, such distance was enough to place the warrior within the top ten.


    After obtaining the title of wild king, Pascal chose to remain in the Collapsing Mountain race to train.


    Once, the hunting team ran into trouble and after their leader died, Pascal had single-handedly led the team to safety. Later he became the leader of the Collapsing Mountain race.


    It wasn''t easy becoming the leader, especially since he was an outsider.


    Many of the Collapsing Mountain members weren''t willing to be ruled by a foreigner. And even though Pascal had made big contributions to the Collapsing Mountain race, a lot of them still disliked him.


    Outsiders, after all, were inferior in the eyes of the Collapsing Mountain warriors even if many of the martial artists came from the divine land.


    It was only natural that they didn''t wish for a wild king to appear as it would most likely just result in another outsider becoming their leader.


    It was a good thing there were a lot of warriors who got the title of "super powerful warrior", but ultimately, not a single wild king had appeared.


    Chapman turned a page in the list of names with his big hand and with wide eyes, he shouted, "Zen Luo!"


    Once his name was called, everyone''s eyes immediately fell on Zen.


    He had been waiting in the crowd for a long time.


    Earlier on, when Laquisha first brought Zen to the Collapsing Mountain race, he had also attracted a lot of attention.


    And while Zen was a secondary creature not worth paying attention to, Laquisha had quite the reputation.


    Many martial artists from the other races had heard of Laquisha of the Han Clan and all of them wondered why she had come to the Collapsing Mountain race.


    Later on, it became clear that the princess came with Zen, but none of them still knew the true purpose of her visit.


    That said, a small portion of people did know about the abnormal flame Laquisha emitted.


    This abnormal flame could burn almost anything which was why the Holy Emperor of the Han Clan paid so much attention to his daughter.


    The problem was that the flame did not scare Zen.


    Compared to those from the Collapsing Mountain race, more martial artists from other races in the divine land got much more shocked to see Zen unaffected by the strange flame that covered his body.


    Later on, they laughed on the inside as they watched


    n in on the discussion.


    Compared to the other martial artists, the Collapsing Mountain warriors had less knowledge of Zen and naturally, didn''t think too highly of him.


    "This guy''s body is so small, and my arm''s thicker than him! Bet he won''t be able to move the square stone for more than an inch!"


    "I know!"


    "Still, this guy is useful to us. I hope he performs well."


    Teigan''s lips trembled upon hearing these words.


    It looked like Zen might even obtain the title of "wild king".


    However, given the difference between his and his friends'' perspectives, it would be best not to say anything at all.


    "Kennan," Laquisha called. "What do you think?"


    "It''s hard to say." Kennan shook his head.


    Laquisha blinked. "What do you mean?"


    Laquisha paid so much attention to Zen, so Kennan and the others also did the same.


    But even as they watched Zen progress at an incredible speed, they still could not figure out why this was happening and why Zen had been able to withstand Laquisha''s flames.


    Those flames were unstoppable, and only true experts would be able to extinguish them. And even then, it didn''t mean that the experts did not fear the special flame.


    However, being fireproof did not determine Zen''s actual strength, which was why Kennan decided to tell Laquisha a safe answer.


    The princess however, wasn''t really expecting an answer, but she was still full of anticipation. She didn''t expect Zen to surpass her brother, but she hoped he would at least get the title of "super powerful warrior".


    But there was no point in discussing it now. Zen was ready to go.


    He was like an iron tower, standing in front of the golden square stone.


    With his fists clenched tightly, Zen stretched out his arms. His eyes gleamed and he looked absolutely intimidating as his whole being radiated with strength and confidence.

 Chapter 1860 A Visible Indentation On The Stone

    Previously whenever Zen threw a punch, he summoned his strength in two stages.


    The first stage involved activating his own strength, the second pertained to activating the power of the dragon scales.


    Right now, the situation was a bit more complicated. Zen''s physical body could carry more strength source than ordinary martial artists, or even than the Collapsing Mountain warriors.


    Moreover, he had Eight Path Platforms.


    Why was it that some of the martial artists from the other races had better performances than the Collapsing Mountain warriors in the test? It was because they had either opened the Eight Path Platforms with their body refining techniques, or had used some special ways to expand their acupuncture points. In short, they had unique ways of containing more strength source.


    Therefore, Zen not only possessed the strength that came from his physical body, but also gained strength from the Path Platforms


    With these strengths combined, Zen''s overall strength was far more than that of ordinary martial artists. But the best source of his power came from the Nine Divine Stars.


    The nine stars which were as brilliant as the sun hung in the sky silently, radiating dazzling light that illuminated Zen''s inner world.


    Compared to the strength source absorbed by the Nine Divine Stars, the strength source of his physical body and the Path Platforms was minute. They were not at all in the same league. The strength source contained within the nine giant stars was probably hundreds of times greater than that absorbed by his physical body and the Path Platforms combined.


    After a while, Zen activated the power within his body.


    In the past, Zen had often borrowed the power of the dragon scales. He was all too familiar with the way of extracting power from the Path Platforms and his inner world. The only difference was that this time, the power he extracted did not come from anything external, rather it originated from his own body.


    Huff¡­


    As Zen''s muscles tensed up, the power in his body and his Eight Path Platforms was thoroughly activated.


    He was akin to a giant rock that had been thrown into water. Because the weight of the rock was too great, it created pressure on the water around it, forming a strong flow that spread out.


    Right now, Zen was that rock, and the air around him was equivalent to the water. Because of the sudden increase in his strength, the air around him was pushed away, forming spirals of wind that rushed forward.


    Swoosh!


    On the square, the people stared. Their hair began to flutter.


    "This power¡­"


    Chapman stood up and looked down at Zen below.


    He had been sitting on the golden square stone and was the closest to Zen, so he was also the most sensitive to the formidable power that Zen exuded.


    Moreover, as the leader of the Collapsing Mountain race, he had an extraordinary level of perception of power. He could feel the surging power within Zen''s body intensely.


    ''That power is strong. It is as if ten


    rld was different from that of the Holy Beings. It had been formed somewhere in the chaos, still quite a distance away from the divine land.


    If he extracted the power from his inner world now, the power within his inner world would follow Zen''s wishes and appear wherever he wanted.


    It was something that Zen had figured out himself, which was why he was somewhat astonished.


    One-twentieth of the power of the Nine Divine Stars was gathered in the spot half an inch before Zen''s fist, turning into an invisible ''glove'' that wrapped itself around his right arm.


    At this moment, the onlookers felt as if all of that power had originated from the fist. They wondered if Zen had practiced a special fist technique and gathered all of his power into the region in front of his fist.


    Even the martial artists of various races from the divine land similarly could not readily ascertain what was happening. The thought that Zen was able to display the Cross-world Theurgy of Holy Beings did not enter their heads.


    In an instant, Zen''s punch landed right in front of the Magic Golden Stone.


    When this unimaginably enormous power came into contact with the Magic Golden Stone, it created an intense vibration.


    Before this, the Magic Golden Stone had received numerous punches from other warriors, but no matter if they were warriors that had obtained the title of outstanding warrior, mighty warrior, or super powerful warrior, regardless of which body refining techniques they used, the explosive power they unleashed did not leave a single mark behind. The surface of the stone was still as smooth as ever.


    However, before Zen''s fist could land on the Magic Golden Stone, being only half an inch away from it, the invisible ''glove'' compressed it, forming a visible indentation on the stone.


    And as Zen''s fist continued to move forward, the indentation continued to deepen.


    At this moment, the priceless, previously indestructible Magic Golden Stone looked as if it was made out of mud.

 Chapter 1861 The Prophet

    With constant pressure building on the surface of the Magic Golden Stone, kinetic energy began to spread across the entire stone.


    Thud!


    Zen''s glove, which was formed by the power of Nine Divine Stars, finally burst open.


    He also pulled his right hand back on reflex.


    He was not able to control such an incredible amount of power. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. When he brought his fist down on the Magic Golden Stone, there would be quite a strong reaction.


    However, this reaction force was not aimed at Zen''s body. After all, there was still half an inch between his glove and his fist.


    If this reaction force landed directly on Zen''s fist, his right arm would have shattered from the impact.


    As he quickly retracted his fist, his body swayed slightly. He let out a breath of air. This kind of power was terrifying, and it wasn''t easy for him to control it. He had to be very careful, as he was playing with fire.


    Chapman was shocked to see the extent of Zen''s power on the rock. Suddenly, his legs felt like jelly. He was trembling from the shock.


    He was quick as lightning. He suddenly leaped off the Magic Golden Stone and flipped up in the air using strength. Then he landed firmly on the ground.


    The moment his feet touched the ground, he saw the Magic Golden Stone shoot forward at high speed.


    Whoosh!


    When such a large mass moved at such alarming speeds, there were bound to be changes in the atmosphere. The Magic Golden Stone was extremely heavy, and as it hurtled through the air, fist-sized cyclones were formed, which went spiraling off in different directions.


    Even the surface of the square, which had been paved with Silver Astral Stones, produced deep dents because of the Magic Golden Stone''s movement.


    Based on this, one could fathom the amount of power that Zen was employing.


    One foot...


    Ten feet...


    Twenty feet...


    Thirty feet...


    Forty feet...


    Fifty feet!


    Boom!


    A loud bang was heard.


    A building of the Collapsing Mountain race was fifty feet away from where the Magic Golden Stone was originally standing. This building was also built from Silver Astral Stones. Since its construction, it had been used to store all sorts of beast bones and blood. Almost all the blood grooves in the square were gathered there.


    A strong inertia boosted the Magic Golden Stone forward, directly smashing into the building.


    Boom!


    The entire building, which was made of Silver Astral Stones, crumbled to a heap with a loud crash, completely engulfing the Magic Golden Stone.


    Zen was in a state of shock when he saw the damage caused by his punch. He remained rooted to the spot.


    He thought to himself, ''This is bad. I used way too much power.''


    This was the first time that Zen had used the power of the Nine Divine Stars. He was unable to manipulate the power properly, or rather, he didn''t know how much power was contained within the Nine Divine


    ly come up with some lame excuse to explain his strength.


    He did not expect this to be Chapman''s concern. Chapman shook his head and said, "No. I want to know how you were able to hold your position and not retreat."


    "I... I didn''t retreat?" Zen was taken aback for a moment, but then he immediately cursed in his mind.


    He had withdrawn his fist just in time to avoid the counter-force from the glove. Therefore, the reactionary force was greatly reduced due to the fact that he did not come into direct contact with the rock.


    In this case, his performance was way too calm and casual.


    If he had known that this would happen, Zen would have retreated several thousand feet before stopping. That way, the others wouldn''t suspect him.


    "I''ve practiced some theurgy that allows me to transfer the power out of my body. That is why I didn''t retreat," Zen answered.


    It was not lie. Indeed, he had used the power of the Nine Divine Stars and turned it into an invisible glove.


    Chapman was not one to fall for it at all. He only said, "Each age brings forth new geniuses. You are indeed a genius!" The serious expression on his face suddenly changed. He became amicable as he smiled and added, "Congratulations! You''ve broken this record and obtained the title of wild king. You can join the Divinity Hunt Squad now."


    If one wanted to be a wild king, one had to push the stone ten feet away. Zen had already pushed it to a distance of fifty feet. Unfortunately, the Collapsing Mountain race only had four titles and there was no higher rank.


    At this point, two children from the Collapsing Mountain race quickly walked over. After bowing at Chapman, one of the children said, "Come with me, Zen. The prophet wants to meet you."


    "The prophet? Where is he?"


    Zen only found out that there was a prophet in the Collapsing Mountain race after he entered the Sacred Spring Mountain. He had been here for half a year and had never once seen him before.

 Chapter 1862 The Divine Refinement Forbidden Lands Secrets

    After Zen left, the entire square started to discuss the matter.


    The most enthusiastic warriors were probably the ones of the Collapsing Mountain race.


    On the contrary, the foreign warriors did not say a word.


    The foreign warriors came from all sorts of races, from different universes or the divine land. They had been paying attention to Zen, as the special way he was treated by the Collapsing Mountain race made them jealous.


    This special treatment certainly did not make any different for the martial artists from the divine land.


    The fine warriors of the divine land had only one goal: to obtain the strength source. They were not interested in the fact that the warriors of the Collapsing Mountain race were able to refine their bodies by singing songs and devouring the flesh and drinking the blood of beasts of all sorts. The Divine Refinement Forbidden Land was really marvelous, but after all, it was created by a Holy Being, and that was why it couldn''t be compared with the divine land.


    The divine land was the unexcelled world of real values in their eyes. This was the reason why every creature that was born in the divine land felt the right to call all the other creatures being born in other universes "secondary creatures."


    But this time something changed in the warriors of the divine land and it could be noticed on their faces.


    They could not understand how Zen had obtained so much strength suddenly.


    They wondered if his strength had increased due to the special treatment from the Collapsing Mountain race.


    They also suspected of the wine given by Chapman to Zen. The other option they were thinking about was the internal organs of the beasts devoured by him. However eagerly they tried to find it out, the answer was "impossible."


    "Tsk! Tsk! The only possible answer is the strength source Zen has absorbed," murmured Theodore, the little old man.


    Standing next to Theodore was a completely black-skinned warrior, who also obtained the title of "super powerful warrior." As he overheard the words murmured by Theodore, he coldly remarked, "How much strength source could he manage to gain when he is a mere Spirit Supreme Realm warrior?"


    Theodore frowned deep in his thoughts and raised a question, "What if he activated the Nine Divine Stars?"


    "Humph, is it possible for him to activate them at all?" "Even if he activated the Nine Divine Stars, the amount of the strength source he could imbibe would still be limited and would not be more than the double of the original amount. Even with the help of Eight Path Platforms, he has his limits due to his own body. Even he cannot overstep his limits," reflected the dark-skinned warrior.


    "I am really confused about this." Theodore shook his head in confusion and his eyes were full of malice. He was ready to take the chance anytime to capture Zen and interrogate him one-to-one.


    However, he knew that he must wait, because this was still the territory of the Collapsing Mountain race and the race had need of Zen, so they would never let foreign warriors hurt him.


    After Zen finished his mission wit


    one was in a universe or the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. These places were the inner worlds of Holy Beings. The inner worlds of these Holy Beings revolved around the divine land that was also rotating at an extremely high speed.


    However, the warriors in the inner worlds did not feel the movements at all.


    For example, a star rotated, but the creatures on the star would not be able to feel this constant rotation of the star.


    But what did the prophet mean by "falling into the depths of the chaos?"


    The old man continued, "All of the Holy Beings state that the chaos is endless. It doesn''t matter how deep the inner worlds fall, they cannot fall to the bottom. However, being one of the three new Holy Beings, our master knows there is a boundary to the chaos. The divine land cannot descend endlessly, and when it reaches that boundary, it causes a final crash and then the True Gods are annihilated."


    Zen was astonished and he asked eventually, "And what is my connection with all this?"


    A smile appeared on the prophet''s face and he said, "There aren''t many people in the divine land who agree with this view, but my master is one of them, so he gave up on building an entire universe and instead created the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land with all his might."


    At this point, Zen finally realized that the "master" this prophet mentioned must be the Holy Being who had built the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land.


    The strength source that Zen had been able to imbibe was also the strength source of that Holy Being.


    "Other than you and me, no one from the Collapsing Mountain race knows about this matter," the prophet murmured. "Our master hopes that his power will be shared among all the living beings and one day a mighty warrior could be born. He is hoping that this mighty warrior will be able to support the divine land and stop it from falling to the depths of chaos."


    "Why are you telling it to me?" asked Zen, blinking his eyes.


    The prophet just smiled and gave a short answer. "Because you have taken too much strength source."

 Chapter 1863 The Third Category (Part One)

    Upon hearing the prophet''s words, Zen felt rather skeptical.


    In his mind and in his current state, the divine land was something very distant and abstract to Zen.


    As for what the divine land was going to face shortly, that was even less likely to have anything to do with Zen at all.


    Zen therefore felt very flat and uninterested while the prophet spoke. The words had little meaning to him. If something like that did happen, the True Gods were still there. And then again, let''s not forget the Holy Beings, who were even more powerful than any True Gods anyway.


    Despite the little attention Zen spent on his conversation, the prophet''s last sentence still made his heart skip a beat. Did he just hear what he thought he heard?


    Did this prophet fellow even know how much strength source he had recently absorbed?


    After all, the strength source came from the Holy Being''s power. It was already amazing that a simple warrior, an ordinary martial artist had absorbed tens of thousands of strength source drops. It was more than just a considerable amount!


    This year, it was safe to say that the amount of strength source absorbed by any random martial artist was probably equivalent to what had been absorbed in an entire year in the past.


    When it came to Zen alone, he himself had absorbed as much as an entire third of the strength source. He had depleted the lake of strength source to near nothingness.


    And what if the Holy Being were to discover how much strength source Zen had truly absorbed? Was it too much and would he be asked to give it back?


    Feeling a little flustered now, Zen refocused his thoughts and convinced himself that such a thing would never happen.


    Within the Sacred Spring Mountain sat a large lake brimming with strength source. Along with it one could find an Eight-diagram Ball that could reverse gravity, forcing the warriors who had entered this place to turn around and leave, back to where they came from. As mentioned by the prophet earlier, this


    nally, they equally displayed their strength and talent. This method of selecting warriors based on the standards they demonstrated proved to be effective.


    In the past, it had crossed Zen''s mind how the trial tallies didn''t seem to be useful to the Collapsing Mountain race, though the foreign warriors needed to hand over them as a pass to enter the sacred place.


    Why did they ask for those trial tallies then? It didn''t make sense to him.


    It was not as if the trial tallies could be served for much: they weren''t a source of edible food and could only be used as a currency and exchange system for resources with the other races. That said, the Collapsing Mountain race was completely self-sufficient and lacked no resources whatsoever.


    The truth was that the trial tallies were qualifications. They blocked, or prevented, the incapable warriors from entering the six great sacred places just because they wanted to. The trial tallies thus saved them the trouble that might occur in the selection of talents they desired.


    "You are the only warrior in our Collapsing Mountain race that meets the requirements of the third category. Therefore, I can give you this," the prophet said, as a black trial tally appeared in his hand. "I believe you''re aware of this trial tally''s value," he said with a smug smile on his face.

 Chapter 1864 The Third Category (Part Two)

    The prophet wasn''t exactly sure how Zen had entered the Collapsing Mountain race.


    Under regular circumstances, once a martial artist had appeared in a teleporting area, he would begin completing various missions, striving and working hard to earn various trial tallies.


    These trial tallies were divided into five kinds and were ultimately characterized with different colors: black, purple, red, green, and white, In the eyes of any outsider, and to any warrior who had any knowledge on the subject, the purple trial tallies were considered top-level.


    In the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, the black trial tally was nothing more than a grand legend. They had only heard of it a few times, but no one had ever seen one before!


    With time, everyone simply believed that there was no black trial tally in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, and it was a myth that they had carried for years on end. As a result, the purple trial tally became the top-ranked.


    What they didn''t know though, was that the black trial tally actually did exist! Only that, obtaining such was extremely rare and very few ever held one in hand.


    In fact, it was only the martial artists of the third category earlier spoken about by the prophet that even had the right to obtain a black trial tally.


    In other words, only seven martial artists had actually obtained a black trial tally before Zen.


    It was all thanks to Laquisha that Zen had entered the sacred place for body refinement. He held the black tally in his hand, flipping it over in his palm. He didn''t have a complete grasp of the colors classification when it came to the trial tallies.


    The prophet had stayed here for so many years and had imagined countless times how he would hand this black trial tally over. In the imagined scenarios, he expected Zen to be extremely shocked


    d him to take from the flame, didn''t even exist. It was merely an impossible mission set by the Holy Being. It had a mysterious attraction to the races that guarded the six great sacred places, giving them something to strive for, a reason to push forward - but like a banana hanging off a rod in front of a donkey, they would never be able to actually reach it.


    Of course, this had nothing to do with Zen personally.


    Zen had promised Chapman that he would help him retrieve the item in the flame.


    And with the black trial tally in hand, Zen left the prophet''s tent.


    The test was already over, and Chapman had already set a date with Zen to set off. He never dared ask Zen what the prophet had said¡­


    Even if he had asked, Zen wouldn''t have told him a thing. In any case, the prophet had warned him not to speak of their conversation to the Collapsing Mountain race, especially to Chapman.


    That night, a strange feeling struck Zen, one that stemmed all the way from his inner world. His eyes popped wide open, slightly startled by what he had seen in the inner world.


    He had never expected that in such a short period of time, the inner world within his body would evolve so quickly that a war would erupt!

 Chapter 1865 War Within The Inner World.

    Earlier, there was no need for Zen to pay enough attention to his inner world. He never interfered in the operations of his inner world.


    Depending on the level of one''s cultivation, there was difference in the time flow rate in each one''s inner world.


    When a warrior had just stepped into the Soul Sea Realm and formed their Soul Sea, the time within was more or less inactive.


    That was the reason why the Soul Sea Realm warrior could not nurture life. The process took very long.


    But after reaching the Spirit Supreme Realm, the time flow rate in one''s inner world started to increase at a considerable rate. Life vitality started to turn into a continent, and the lowest level of creatures were soon born and developed.


    The higher the cultivation level, the faster the time flow rate in one''s inner world would be.


    Hence a world lord''s inner world was much more prosperous than the inner world of a warrior of Spirit Transformation Realm.


    But Zen was not aware that the speed of his inner world was even faster and everything in his inner world kept evolving at every moment.


    Soon he discovered that there was something wrong within his inner world and he was shocked at what he saw.


    Above the central continent of the chaotic sea, a relatively primitive civilization had begun to develop, and there was already a large-scale war!


    Zen''s consciousness had already slipped into his inner world, and with a thought, took on the shape of an avatar.


    In this world, Zen was the most high god, the absolute controller!


    Although this inner world was still at the most basic stage, it was quite vast for Zen once he entered into it.


    With a thought, his avatar flashed and appeared on this continent.


    He did not have to use the Grand Teleportation or the Space Law. He could appear anywhere he wanted with just a thought.


    "Charge!"


    "Kill the imbeciles of Totem Clan!"


    "All for the glory of Howe Clan!"


    ...


    In his own inner world, Zen could not only be anywhere at any time, but also knew everything.


    Zen was in true sense an omniscient figure.


    It seemed that all the large and small races born in this continent merged and eventually formed two large clans.


    The clan formed in the east was the Howe Clan and the one formed in the west was the Totem Clan.


    In the beginning, both the clans showed considerable strength. Apart from minor conflicts, there never had been a large-scale war between them.


    However, recently, Totem Clan started making great progress. Warriors of their clan had obtained a very powerful weapon; a long spear made from a dark green plant.


    What was extraordinary about this spear was that, when in use, countless vines would extend fr


    his patience. He threw the long spear, aiming at Zen''s head.


    Zen did not even flinch. Instead, he allowed the spear to pierce him!


    "Humph!"


    A smug look appeared on the general''s face. This green spear contained unimaginable power. It would definitely pierce through the enemy''s head, killing him on the spot!


    But soon, the general''s face froze as he saw an unbelievable sight.


    The moment the tip of the spear touched the man''s forehead, it splintered and broke into pieces.


    As soon as the spear broke, the broken pieces remained suspended in air and fused back together to its original form. But the end of the spear was still in the possession of the man.


    While Zen was fiddling with the spear, countless vines shot out and tried to pierce through his arms. But in vain, as they could not penetrate through his skin.


    "Interesting that such a fascinating weapon could be produced from the World Tree."


    With a flick of his hand, the spear turned into a brown colored gas and vanished completely, without leaving any trace.


    "Who the hell are you? What have you come here for?"


    The general had never seen such a miraculous sight before. He panicked as he threw the queen to one side and fled!


    The queen landed on the ground and turned around, staring at Zen.


    Zen''s gaze swept over the queen. When he finally saw her appearance, he was completely stunned.


    No wonder he heard that there were people who fell in love with the creatures in their inner world.


    Everything in this inner world was in a chaotic state. Among the countless living beings, such a beautiful woman had been born.


    "You... Who are you?"


    The queen asked the general''s question again. After all, Zen''s actions and behavior were far beyond their imagination. Only the gods possessed such an ability.

 Chapter 1866 Being Omnipotent

    Zen smiled. "I just want to end this meaningless war."


    With these words, the queen''s face revealed a sudden expression of surprise. "Can you do it?"


    Zen nodded, his gaze circling the area. Quite a few of the other warriors who were engaged in the fierce battle had also taken notice of Zen.


    He raised his arm above his head slightly, which sent a shudder of confusion rippling through the crowd.


    Without hesitation, the general standing behind Zen suddenly pulled out a dagger and rushed toward him.


    He started the war on behalf of Totem Clan''s king and was about to obtain his ultimate and final victory. How could he let this mysterious fellow in front of him prevent him from righteousness?


    The queen spoke her warning:


    "Be careful!"


    Despite such, Zen didn''t budge, or he didn''t even move an inch. Instead, he stood motionless as the general twisted his body in order to stab his dagger into Zen''s heart.


    In his inner world, Zen was the absolute controller. Here, not only was he in an ''omniscient'' state, but he was also in an ''omnipotent'' state. How could he simply let that dagger pierce his heart?


    As soon as the sharp tip of the dagger poked at Zen''s skin, fine cracks began to appear on its surface, forming upward inch by inch. The dagger shattered into hundreds of small pieces, scattering themselves all over the ground.


    "What an idiot!" Zen spat these few words.


    He then shook his body slightly while glaring at the general and suddenly, the general was sent flying up into the air. He continued to rise higher and higher as Zen held his gaze.


    A hundred feet, at first.


    Then, a thousand feet.


    Ten thousand feet and the general was completely out of sight.


    In this era, there wasn''t yet a person at Illuminating Soul Realm, and even the strongest one was only a nature creature.


    And as flying was their wildest dream, this general was the first person to actually achieve it.


    Zen didn''t kill him, though. He only threw the general thousands and thousands of feet in the air. As the creator of this world, his world, Zen wouldn''t just casually kill the creatures he himself had created. ''How meaningless!'' he thought to himself.


    That was when Zen raised his arm once again.


    At that, all the weapons in everyone''s hands began to vibrate. The warriors tried to hold on strong, but couldn''t resist and the weapons went flying away.


    Tinkling! Tinkling! Tinkling!


    Machetes, long swords, sharp spears, shiny daggers, bows and arrows¡­


    All sorts of weapons were now gathered above Zen''s head, forming a misshapen ball of iron and metal.


    All Zen had to do now was point. And he did so with utmost gentleness.


    The weapons once above his head now began to disappear one at a time, reversing back into brown streams of chaotic energy and dissipating into the world.


    Once the chaotic energy had solidified into soil, various kinds of iron, copper, and gold ores formed in the soil.


    And after the humans had mastered the art of metallurgy, they refined the metal within it and then forged various weapons. However, whether those were steel mach


    !" said the general, with utmost respect.


    The creatures of this era were still in an uncultured state. No matter how brave the great general was, once he confirmed Zen''s ability, there was no way he was going against him!


    "You, you are a god¡­" When the king heard the general''s words, his fat face filled with a dazed expression.


    "Stop the war with Howe Clan," Zen said, paying no attention to the king''s utterings. With those words, Zen''s figure dissipated into a faint shadow and then disappeared completely.


    After mediating that war, Zen once again entered the World Tree.


    Right now, Zen''s inner world was too small and wasn''t yet prosperous enough. For this reason, he couldn''t and wouldn''t allow the creatures on the World Tree to start a war within the humans.


    Zen also encountered a little resistance here, with the World Tree. This green skinned race was called the Heavenly Spirit race.


    They themselves were extremely weak, but with the help of the World Tree''s power, they possessed theurgy that was unmatched by humans. That was why they had the urge to conquer that continent.


    Zen immediately appeared at the top of the World Tree and found the king of the Heavenly Spirit race, issuing a warning of his own.


    He separated the World Tree and the continent. These two worlds couldn''t start a war with each other for at least ten thousand years!


    Once this inner world had had the time to truly flourish, Zen wouldn''t interfere too much, even if there would be more wars in future. After all, the development of his inner world and the derivation of civilization all had their own rules. Interfering too much might not be a good thing.


    Zen''s warning was very effective. Perhaps the Heavenly Spirit race had their own belief, but they also believed in the existence of gods. Zen''s theurgy was clearly the same as the gods in all the legends and there was no way they could resist.


    The only thing that disappointed the Heavenly Spirit race was that Zen''s appearance looked like the human being, nothing like their Heavenly Spirit race¡­

 Chapter 1867 Unrestrained Warriors

    A deep sigh escaped from Zen''s lips. After his avatar had dealt with the matters of his inner world, it dissipated along with the wind.


    Generally speaking, a warrior wouldn''t usually interfere too much with their inner world''s development, and allowed it to evolve on its own.


    However, the war in Zen''s inner world involved the World Tree that he had planted. It would inevitably have serious consequences, and the humans wouldn''t have been able to survive if it wasn''t for Zen''s interference.


    Meanwhile, Chapman kept his lips sealed and didn''t ask what Zen and the prophet discussed.


    The prophets were transcendent beings within the sacred places. In other words, they were the watchers left behind by the Holy Being in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land.


    Their only purpose in the sacred places was to help the Holy Being. However, there had also been many conflicts in these races.


    For instance, the Collapsing Mountain race wanted to know why they existed and why their master built this land. They even wanted to be like the warriors from the outside, who were able to transcend the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land and live in the divine land.


    The prophet clearly knew that this was impossible, but he did not inform his people, and even misled them on many occasions.


    After all, the world they moved in was created by the Holy Being, and Zen wouldn''t casually talk about it.


    Chapman and other Collapsing Mountain people did not go out to hunt for a few days after the test. Instead, they stayed within the race to prepare themselves.


    After about four days, the Collapsing Mountain race was finally ready. All the adults were divided into several groups and got ready to take off.


    The Collapsing Mountain race were divided into four groups: snake, tiger, dragon, and divinity.


    The weakest among them was the Snake Hunt Squad. Warriors who just received the title of "outstanding warrior" were put into this group. It could be said that this team was the safest and was considered a team where the older ones trained the newbies.


    On the other hand, the Tiger Hunt Squad and Dragon Hunt Squad were the Collapsing Mountain race''s core forces. They were those who hunted the mountainous piles of prey in the square.


    As for the Divinity Hunt Squad, they were rarely in the picture, because this team only contained a little more than ten people of the entire Collapsing Mountain race. The three people who held off the Formless Sky Python that day belonged in this squad.


    Now, Zen had obtained the title of wild king and subsequently joined the Divinity Hunt Squad.


    Some of the warriors from the other races chose to leave the Collapsing Mountain race after they passed the test, but the Collapsing Mountain race didn''t ask them to stay. If the warriors stayed, then they had to hunt along with them.


    Once the preparations were done, these particular teams took off in a grandiose fashion.


    Laquisha, Kennan, and the others didn''t join the group, but still followed along after the Collapsing Mountain race set out.


    Kennan''s stubbornness decreased after he saw Zen''s potential. He didn''t bring Laquisha back by force, but he couldn''t help t


    en astral apes that were hit immediately exploded into clouds of bloody mists. These suppressed foreign warriors weren''t there to hunt, but they were there to kill.


    Zen''s lips curved into a frown at the scene. It was true that it was easy for people to lose themselves after being suppressed for a long time. Such was the case with these warriors who were like wild beasts that only knew how to unleash their strengths.


    In next to no time, all the golden astral apes that hid within the forest were killed.


    The murderous warriors returned to their respective teams, but they all looked like they still wanted to continue.


    Chapman did not stop them from doing so. As they progressed, the beasts they encountered were increasingly stronger. Sooner or later, they would learn a lesson¡­


    The Collapsing Mountain people continued to lead the group forward.


    They traversed through the forest and the further they traveled, the trees in front of them grew even taller.


    At the beginning, the trees in the forest were only about thirty feet tall. Now, they covered the sky and everyone could barely see the clouds above.


    These trees were hundreds of feet thick and thousands of feet high. Suddenly, the warriors from other races felt their palms itch uncontrollably. They sometimes punched the tree trunks they passed by to relieve the itch, which caused the trunks to crack.


    "This is the forest of giant trees. If we continue onward, we will reach the Calamity Dispelling Forest. Don''t blame us for not reminding you if you alert those giant beasts and they come out to attack you, we are not expected to help you!" Chapman coldly said. Every time a giant tree fell, it caused a huge commotion. As hunters, the Collapsing Mountain people were finally unable to endure any longer.


    Just as Chapman was done speaking, they heard a rustling sound in front of him. The Collapsing Mountain people looked at each other with horrified expressions.


    However, the foreign warriors did not feel alarmed at all. Their power made them feel immensely strong, and gave them the impression that they were truly invincible.

 Chapter 1868 The Martial Sacred Beast

    Along the way, they came across few unaccompanied beasts, and all the warriors of the other races clustered together to attack them.


    None of the strange beasts that interacted with them were able to stay whole. They were either torn to pieces or turned into blood mist.


    Although the warriors were strong and powerful, they did not meet many beasts to let out their energy on. They hated it that the beasts were not enough to for them to kill.


    Suddenly, they heard a rustling sound. One of the old foreign warriors, Theodore, instantly noticed the expressions of the Collapsing Mountain people change¨C¨Cespecially the few people from the Divinity Hunt Squad.


    Theodore and the others did not rush forward. They quietly retreated backwards.


    However, some of the warriors felt that there was a strong beast ahead of them. These warriors rushed forward without any hesitation.


    To be honest, the warriors that had rushed forward were also extremely careful. Those that were too reckless wouldn''t be able to obtain a purple trial tally and in return, would enter the Collapsing Mountain race to improve.


    They were thrilled. One, because their strength had advanced. Two, because the forest was closely connected to the Calamity Dispelling Forest. They could smell the faint scent coming from it, which strengthened the force of their bodies.


    "All of you retreat! That''s a Martial Sacred Beast! If you touch it, your death is certain!"


    Although Chapman did not care about the lives of the warriors, he wouldn''t send them straight to their deaths¡­


    All the Collapsing Mountain people quickly gathered together. Upon hearing Chapman''s words, some of the warriors from the other races who were with quick reflexes stopped. They began to retreat.


    But Chapman''s warning was a little too late. Not to mention these warriors had already rushed out at a great distance!


    Whoosh whoosh whoosh¡­


    Suddenly, gray tentacles appeared from behind the huge trees around them.


    As Zen stood in the middle of the crowd and noticed the tentacles, his eyes flashed. "This Martial Sacred Beast is a puppet?"


    The steel tentacles were forged individually. They looked like parts of a puppet made of metal!


    Whoosh!


    When the tentacles¨C¨Cor steel ropes¨C¨Clashed out, they left deep grooves in the ground. After the near warriors were hit, they were caught by steel ropes and dragged into the depths of the bushes along with a miserable scream¡­


    Two of the trapped warriors had obtained the title of, "super powerful warrior", and their strength was not weak. However, after a short struggle, they were also dragged away!


    Everyone who remained was pale-faced. Who would dare t


    ze. She pressed her lips together.


    ''Is it her?''


    Zen guessed. He noticed that the ropes nearest Laquisha were the most concentrated. However, these ropes seemed to be afraid of the array and weren''t willing to break it.


    When he first entered the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, The Formless Sky Python had been chasing after this woman.


    Laquisha was an extremely beautiful woman, but how could these strange beasts be lustful of women? Why did all the beasts willingly cause trouble¡­ for her?


    As Zen thought about it, the ropes finally could not hold themselves back and started aggressively lashing out at the Demon Sealing Array.


    Whoosh!


    The array was unable to withstand the strong attacks of the Martial Sacred Beast. The only defense was its contained information that caused the beast to be fearful.


    But now, the array had lost its effectiveness. The Martial Sacred Beast began to wildly whip around!


    As the Collapsing Mountain race saw what was wrong, they turned around and ran. A gap suddenly appeared in the original array!


    Whoosh!


    One of the steel ropes took advantage of their absence.


    And just as Zen had guessed, the beast''s goal was Laquisha.


    "Princess Royal, let''s go!"


    The expressions of Kenna and his companions fell.


    They had originally thought that following the Collapsing Mountain race wouldn''t be dangerous, but they had forgotten about Laquisha. Her physique was a fatal attraction to all beasts¡­


    Laquisha didn''t listen. She leapt up and ran towards Zen.


    She knew that Kennan''s grand Wishing Spell had been put to use on the Formless Sky Python, and he couldn''t use it again. It would be impossible for him to fight against this Martial Sacred Beast.


    And at this moment, she could only settle her hopes on Zen.

 Chapter 1869 One Third Of The Power

    As the Demon Sealing Array was broken, everyone began to panic.


    This was especially true for the Collapsing Mountain race.


    The forest wasn''t too far away from where the race lived. Since childhood, every member of the race knew about the existence of a gigantic monster in these woods, one they couldn''t afford to offend. Adults had used this monster to scare children when they made mistakes.


    Everyone in the Collapsing Mountain race was well aware of just how powerful a Martial Sacred Beast was.


    Panicking, Chapman immediately shouted, "Everyone, calm down! Dragon Hunt Squad, remain in formation!"


    The Dragon Hunt Squad was only second in strength to the Divinity Hunt Squad. They were the backbone of the Collapsing Mountain race. On Chapman''s orders, most of them were able to keep the Demon Sealing Array intact, but the gap on the left remained.


    Someone from the Divinity Hunt Squad wanted to make a move, but Chapman stopped him.


    When the steel rope entered the Demon Sealing Array in pursuit of Laquisha, Chapman had already realized that the Martial Sacred Beast was after this girl.


    This monster was too powerful, even for the Collapsing Mountain race. Moreover, only the steel rope was entering the Demon Sealing Array. If the Divinity Hunt Squad took action, it might infuriate the Martial Sacred Beast even further. If that happened, the entire Collapsing Mountain race would be in danger of being destroyed. Rash decisions would cost lives.


    Technically, it wasn''t the Collapsing Mountain race''s duty to protect warriors outside their race. Moreover, Laquisha didn''t even possess the qualifications to enter the hunt squads! She wasn''t their responsibility.


    Everybody watched the ingenious way through which Laquisha moved. Her graceful body continuously twisted and turned, making her look like a spinning flower and dazzling everyone. In the blink of an eye, she had elegantly landed in front of Zen.


    "Save me," she softly said with an innocent blink.


    As soon as she had voiced out her request, she promptly hid behind Zen.


    This whole time, her face had looked calm. But when he felt her shiver behind him, Zen realized that she had been afraid after all. Now that she had found some protection, she was free to acknowledge how terrified she actually was.


    Zen smiled wryly. Was Laquisha this certain that he would be able to save her?


    "You! Get out of the way!" Chapman barked.


    Zen was the most valuable person in this mission. If Laquisha had to die, then let her. The Collapsing Mountain race wouldn''t allow her to take Zen down with her. Even though Chapman knew that Laquisha and Zen had known each other long before they entered the Collapsing Mountain race, he would never allow such a thing to happen.


    At this moment, Chapman lunged, as if he was ready to pick up Laquisha and toss her out of the Demon Sealing Array.


    Kennan and his companions wouldn''t allow Chapman to proceed. Kennan stood in front of him and said, "The Princess Royal is the d


    Zen had even injured it, cut off one of its limbs.


    Zen took a deep breath as he watched the steel ropes roll in from everywhere. They were getting closer and closer! He pulled Laquisha toward him. "Come closer!"


    Laquisha nodded and moved closer, pressing her hands on Zen''s back.


    Right then and there, the Nine Divine Stars inside Zen''s inner world began to shine with unprecedented brightness. When the people within Zen''s inner world witnessed this phenomenon, they all knelt and touched the ground with their foreheads. They saw this as a direct command from the Venerable Creator. A baby born on this day would have the Venerable Creator''s full protection for the rest of its life.


    Only a third of the power.


    Zen didn''t know what would happen to him if he used that amount of power in one go.


    Once his strength reached a certain point, it would be difficult for him to estimate how much he should use, but he figured that the more he used, the better.


    At the moment, and with the short time that he had, using a third of the Nine Divine Stars'' strength was his limit.


    Shortly, the invisible force spread out and formed a small sphere about ten feet in diameter around Zen and Laquisha. No one saw it, but everyone felt it. Once the sphere had stabilized, everything within it, aside from Zen and Laquisha, was obliterated. Dead leaves, branches, dirt, and scavengers on the ground did not turn into dust but merely disappeared.


    Rumble, rumble.


    Unleashing this amount of power made the ground shake. It rumbled for a brief moment, temporarily deafening everyone. No one was aware that they had heard a loud sound. They only felt as though the entire world had fallen absolutely silent.


    Confused, everyone looked at Zen and Laquisha, and the invisible sphere made known only by the crater it had made on the ground.


    As for the steel ropes, the moment they touched the invisible sphere of power that Zen had made, not a single one broke. Instead, they all simply disappeared.

 Chapter 1870 A True Spirit

    No matter how fierce the steel ropes were, they immediately shattered and dissipated upon touching the ball.


    This sight filled Zen with ease.


    He was currently unable to directly control this kind of power. If he tried to inject it into himself, his body might not be able to bear such violent power and disintegrate. Therefore, he could only project it by means of the Cross-world Theurgy.


    Using it like this might seem inefficient but it should not be underestimated.


    Laquisha, who had attached herself to Zen''s body, looked up at him with surprise.


    Her premonition was proven right but it was still quite shocking. She had initially thought that Zen would be able to catch up to her brother. She was wrong. Zen would actually go far beyond whatever her brother was capable of.


    ''He will bring me to the Soul Suppressing Cliff, '' Laquisha thought to herself.


    She smiled and rested her head on his shoulder. If Zen did not manage to bring her to that place, then she didn''t think anybody else in this entire world would be able to do so.


    The steel ropes were rendered useless by the ball since each lash caused them to immediately disintegrate and disappear. This was a loss to the Martial Sacred Beast since each steel rope it lost was equal to losing one of its arms.


    Realizing the futility of its attacks, the beast retreated its ropes.


    The crowd wiped off their sweat and looked up at Zen with fear in their eyes.


    Back in the Collapsing Mountain race, Zen gathered the power of the nine stars in the place three inches from his fist and wielded it as a way for him to display his strength. Everyone thought it was Zen''s own power, not noticing the finer details.


    However, this time, Zen had directly spread his power outside of his body.


    This couldn''t be pure power, at least none of them thought so.


    When ordinary warriors displayed their power, they would usually need their bodies to activate it. This made it impossible to force their power out of their bodies and make it into an independent existence.


    Zen, however, had transformed his power into this egg-shaped shield that he wrapped around himself for protection. It looked more like some kind of theurgy.


    But what sort of theurgy had such power? Zen was merely at the Spirit Supreme Realm. How in the world was he able to resist the Martial Sacred Beast''s attacks?


    World lords such as Kennan would be the ones with the strongest theurgy amongst everyone present. However, even Kennan''s Wishing Spell wouldn''t be enough to block all the beast''s ropes. Zen did not just block them. His shield was actually strong enough to destroy them!


    None of them could''ve ever thought that Zen was using the Cross-world Theurgy to directly project his power from his inner world to the outside world.


    It was only after Zen allowed the ba


    to come face-to-face with a true spirit!


    "Zen Luo, give that girl to the Martial Sacred Beast," a warrior said.


    Zen, however, turned a deaf ear to his advice. His eyes were filled with persistence as he continued to look straight at the Black Weasel.


    The two were at a standstill. Despite the fact that Zen had cut off its tentacle, the Black Weasel did not attack Zen and the young man was the same. In fact, the beast seemed to be afraid of something, or perhaps, it did not wish to fight with him.


    The Black Weasel extended another tentacle in an attempt to reach Laquisha.


    Zen felt his back tighten as the tentacle reached towards them while Laquisha tightened her grip around his throat in fear.


    Kennan and his companions were far more knowledgeable and experienced than the ordinary martial artists in the divine land as followers of the Holy Emperor. They knew the Black Weasel''s origins very well. If the Princess Royal were to be swallowed by the beast, then the Holy Emperor wouldn''t be able to do anything about it.


    Zen threw another punch and another half-moon strike once again cut the tentacle off.


    Having been stopped twice now, the Black Weasel suddenly raised its head.


    "Aooo!"


    His sharp roar was followed by the swaying of the trees. Those present couldn''t keep their balance anymore. A large number of the martial artists from the Snake and Tiger Hunt Squads fell to the ground, and some even fainted.


    Zen also felt the painful, swelling sensation but did not move an inch.


    The Black Weasel continued to roar as it approached Zen. Only when the young man was within arm''s reach did it finally stop.


    Zen clenched his fists tightly as his heart beat nervously fast. The beast was so close now that he could smell the stench from its breath.


    If the Black Weasel chose to swallow him all in one gulp, would he even be able to resist?

 Chapter 1871 The Skyland Race

    As they peered straight into each other''s eyes, Zen could feel enormous pressure weighing down on him.


    But there was something else he noticed.


    As he looked into the Black Weasel''s eyes, apart from the oppressive sensation, Zen didn''t pick up any killing intent.


    If the Black Weasel was truly a spiritual pet nurtured by the Holy Being, then it had endless ways to kill him in a blink¡ªit could probably take down everyone present in a single move.


    But Zen had no idea what it was up to so he couldn''t ignore his nervousness. By now, Chapman had already decided to give up on Zen.


    The young man was too impulsive, but if he died in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, the strength source he had obtained would return to this world.


    After a long moment of staring at each other, the Black Weasel suddenly raised its head and roared into the sky. For a moment, it threw a glare at Zen with its red eyes before walking away, disappearing into the forest.


    No one dared move even when the weasel''s body had completely disappeared from view. Only when they heard the sound of heavy footsteps fading away did they feel relieved. "Huff¡­"


    Though Chapman released a breath, his expression didn''t look at ease. But as the leader, he couldn''t just point a finger at Zen for risking their lives¡ªhe had to consider the situation as a whole.


    But one of the members of the Collapsing Mountain race suddenly jumped up.


    Nimble as an ape, he reached out his hand and aimed at Laquisha''s head¡ªhe wanted to kill her on the spot.


    The Collapsing Mountain race believed that Laquisha was Pascal''s sister and they were aware of the Han Clan''s status in the divine land.


    The large Han Clan was on par with the master of the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, but so what? If they couldn''t leave the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, then everything else would have been for nothing.


    So Zen was the Collapsing Mountain race''s last hope. With this woman by his side, they''d all be in danger. "Aran! Don''t be rash!" Chapman''s expression turned alert.


    Obviously, this warrior called Aran wasn''t good-tempered as Chapman was.


    Just now, they were almost killed by the Martial Sacred Beast because of this woman.


    Now, all he wanted was to take Laquisha down. But he hadn''t considered Zen''s thoughts.


    Luckily, before he got Laquisha within his reach, Kennan and his companions stood their ground in front of Laquisha and blocked Aran off. "Get out of my way!" Aran roared coldly.


    "You''re courting death!" Kennan hadn''t expected the warrior to suddenly take action¡ªthey would not show mercy to him.


    Among the warriors of the Collapsing Mountain race, Aran was on equal footing with Chapman in terms of strength. Although he couldn''t carry a Heavenly Destiny in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, in terms of pure strength, Aran''s was almost the same as that of a Supreme Lord who specialized in body refining.


    Under the impact of his strong body, how could the world lords hope to block him?


    With a mere touch from Aran, two of the wo


    this mission.


    Many years ago, the aboriginals of the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land had already planned to take action numerous times, but now, the three races had joined their forces.


    The Collapsing Mountain race had long since spread the news about Zen to the Harmony race and the Skyland race. They referred to Zen as the ''flame-proof warrior, '' attributing how he was unafraid of fire. He was the key to achieving their goals.


    While the Collapsing Mountain race still refused to reveal what they wanted Zen to take for them, Chapman had guaranteed time and time again that the three races would do their best to protect Zen from harm.


    The moment everyone made it across the river in the sky, they felt a strong wave of life vitality pass through them¡ªthey had reached the Skyland race''s territory.


    Here, warriors could cultivate Pristine Life Vitality and the Skyland race was a sacred place for warriors cultivating life vitality.


    But the martial artists of the Collapsing Mountain race mainly focused on body refining. Some of them cultivated both body and life vitality, but still, they didn''t have much interest in the Pristine Life Vitality of the Skyland race.


    Zen''s situation was a bit special¡ªalthough he also had built his inner world, the life vitality within his body had been replaced by chaotic energy, rendering the place''s life vitality useless to him.


    But the attributes of chaotic energy and life vitality were rather similar. If the Skyland race had some special methods to use life vitality, Zen could still absorb and learn some of the methods.


    Soon after they entered the territory of the Skyland race, several troops arrived to welcome them.


    Their warriors had a build similar to that of human warriors. But their eyes were sunken, their hair golden, and on their backs, every one of them had a pair of pure white wings. Like the Collapsing Mountain race, they dressed simply and crudely, with only a few pieces of cloth covering their private parts, exposing their strong figures.

 Chapter 1872 Asking In Reply

    The Skyland warriors were much more taciturn compared to the Collapsing Mountain warriors.


    They finally entered the Skyland race''s territory with the Skyland warriors'' guidance.


    There was no terrifying attraction force in the Skyland race''s land but its buildings were rather strange.


    Numerous towers littered the area and underneath was pitch-black marsh.


    Quite a few people crouched on top of each tower with their white wings unfurled, forming a sea of feathers up high.


    A few Skyland warriors would also graze the ground as they flew past.


    While the Collapsing Mountain race focused on the relentless pursuit of strength, the Skyland race yearned for the skies and freedom.


    Unfortunately, the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land was a giant cave, so they could never really reach the skies. This was why the Skyland race loved hearing stories of the worlds beyond their land and welcomed warriors of other races.


    All the stories and experiences of outsiders served to make the Skyland warriors excited for the sights outside of their knowledge but also envious since it was highly unlikely for them to ever experience the same thing.


    The Skyland warriors were very much interested in exploring the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land and hoped to one day attain the opportunity to leave this cave.


    It was no surprise that the Collapsing Mountain race was very warmly welcomed by the Skyland race.


    The towers all around them were arranged in an orderly fashion but in differing heights. The height of each tower signified the status of the Skyland warriors that perched on each one.


    The higher one''s status was, the higher the tower was.


    The highest was around ten thousand feet higher than the lowest.


    It was in the tallest tower that the Skyland race hosted its visitors.


    At nightfall, the Skyland warriors returned to their lair, led by a man who wore a golden crown. He was none other than the leader, Kaydan.


    Kaydan immediately fixed his eyes on Zen the moment they were introduced.


    Zen was a key figure and Kaydan felt it necessary for him to personally observe this person who had been much talked about by the Collapsing Mountain race.


    He waved his hand lightly and a bright, yellow flame appeared in his hand.


    Despite being a key figure, Zen was still a lowly Spirit Supreme Realm warrior in his eyes, so he was preparing to throw the flame on the young man directly.


    This obviously displeased Zen. Nobody liked getting burned.


    Kaydan''s flame was transformed by the life vitality activated by the Law Power and looked very ingenious. Still, Zen remained unyielding. He was not afraid of it but he wasn''t also going to let it burn him withou


    ays under the influence of the divine land, so the difference between worlds and creatures wasn''t too great. Kaydan believed that Zen was just an ordinary warrior like most of them and would also be burnt by the fire.


    The Skyland members all waited for the result. They all thought that Zen was too arrogant and reckless for his own good. If he survived their leader''s flame, then that meant he was truly fireproof. If not, then he deserved to burn to death.


    Laquisha sat silently beside Zen. The flame which headed towards him looked stronger than the one from the Calamity Dispelling Wood. However, it was nothing compared to her special flame. There was no way it was going to harm him.


    However, she also figured that Zen wasn''t going to let the flame touch him at all anyway.


    Zen stood on the spot, unmoving. However, in a split second, he activated the nine stars and let them flash.


    He had already used one-third of the nine stars'' strength that day and he discovered that that power wasn''t something that could be obtained without limits. The more he used it, the dimmer the light became.


    However, there was no need to use so much power anyway. Just thirty percent was enough to deal with the troublesome fiery snake.


    This strength of the nine stars turned into a solid shield in front of him that devoured the fiery snake fully.


    Kaydan pulled a long face. With a heavy swipe of his finger, he let out multiple fiery snakes all at the same time. Their color also changed from bright yellow to deep red. He wasn''t pulling his punches this time around.


    However, the result remained the same. Zen seemed to have an invisible wall in front of him that absorbed Kaydan''s snake projectiles every time.


    "Do I have the strength and qualifications?" Zen asked indifferently.

 Chapter 1873 Imagine All Kinds Of Delicacies

    Zen''s question met a ringing silence from all the warriors of the Skyland race.


    The Collapsing Mountain race guarded the strength source, while the Skyland race possessed the Pristine Life Vitality.


    Everything in this Divine Refinement Forbidden Land was formed by life vitality. The Skyland race was where the vitality between heaven and earth had originated from.


    With such a unique advantage, the Skyland race''s talent in using the life vitality was far greater than that of the other races.


    Their techniques of using life vitality to activate various laws were, obviously, ingenious.


    As the leader of the Skyland race, Kaydan was undoubtedly very powerful. He had already activated the Fire Law and pushed it to its limit, but with no effect on Zen.


    What was even more surprising was that Zen wasn''t moving at all! It looked like he was withstanding Kaydan''s flame effortlessly, cutting an impressive figure as he stood there.


    It was obvious that Zen had never taken the Skyland race seriously.


    It was at this moment that Kaydan started to believe Chapman''s words. This guy really had obtained the title of wild king, and his real strength was perhaps even more than that.


    But he had spoken so arrogantly to him before. And as the leader of the Skyland race, he was now caught in an embarrassing situation.


    It was impossible for him to arrange an assassin to kill Zen. Chapman would be the first one to oppose it.


    Seeing that the flame could do no harm to Zen, Kaydan had no choice but to make it dissipate. He then snorted and said, "I hope you really are as strong as Chapman has claimed! Or the Emerald Flame would have burned you to ashes!"


    "You don''t have to worry about that," Zen said with a soft chuckle. "Remember, I am only cooperating with the Collapsing Mountain race."


    Kaydan''s face darkened at his words, but Chapman continued to ease the situation. At the same time, he agreed with Zen, "That''s right. Our Collapsing Mountain race and Zen are cooperating with each other. Kaydan, you shouldn''t be so rude."


    "Chapman, you!"


    The Collapsing Mountain race had cooperated with an martial artist from another race? Kaydan doubted if Zen was powerful enough to work with them.


    Even when Pascal had become the leader of the Collapsing Mountain race, many warriors in the race had opposed it. The six races in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land were essentially very xenophobic. For example, there were often warriors in the Collapsing Mountain race who demanded to seal off the Sacred Spring Mountain and forbid the martial artists of other races from entering it.


    This had often happened in the Skyland race, Kaleidoscope race, and other races in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land.


    But the rules of the six great sacred places for cultivation were set up by the prophets, and the prophets followed the orders of the master of the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. It was impossible for them to attempt to change the rules.


    So even though the six great races were xenophobic, they still had to unwillingly accept martial artists from other races to cultivate, and provide a


    e spiritual projection technique to serve the purpose.


    These beautiful women were the cooks of the Skyland race.


    The spiritual projection technique they had cultivated since they were young was to imagine all kinds of delicacies.


    The best food in the world was still in one''s imagination. After all, people''s imagination was a wonderful thing.


    Under the constant training, the food they came up with through spiritual projection became exceptionally rare delicacies.


    Of course, the food was only a mass of life vitality. It was similar to absorbing the vitality between heaven and earth when it was gulped down. The only difference was that it could satisfy one''s appetite.


    "Ha-ha! I miss the delicacies of the Skyland race every day. Although this food couldn''t fill my stomach, its taste is first class! We''ll eat this first, and then we''ll divide the prey!" Chapman smiled, impatient to get his hands on the plate.


    The Collapsing Mountain race didn''t absorb life vitality. To them, eating all this food was the same as not eating it at all. But the delicacies of the Skyland race had always been tempting to them. They had had a good harvest in the journey through the Calamity Dispelling Forest. That prey could wait. What they wanted to do right now was satisfy their taste buds.


    Once the woman of the Skyland race had finished her meditation, she turned to Zen and bowed. "Please enjoy your meal," she said and walked towards the next martial artist.


    It wasn''t long before every plate was filled with all sorts of delicacies.


    Zen was curious since Chapman had praised the food so much. He took a few grapes and popped them into his mouth. Sweetness exploded on his tongue. The rich sweetness wasn''t cloying but was completely different from what he had experienced before.


    He swallowed the food and once it entered his stomach, Zen could feel it turn into life vitality that began to enter his inner world. But the moment it entered, it was instantly annihilated by the chaotic energy. His inner world had long since been unable to contain life vitality.

 Chapter 1874 Innocence (Part One)

    There was a lavish spread for them, including all types of luscious fruits, juicy meat and different varieties of fragrant wines. As he savored them, Zen realized that this Skyland race really knew how to enjoy themselves.


    These varied spread of delicacies could be credited to the women from the Skyland race who were extremely good at visualizing food. Their creativity with visualization had even surpassed Zen''s imagination. He was amazed at their ability to combine taste and life vitality so perfectly.


    All the warriors from the Collapsing Mountain race as well as from other races were also enjoying themselves; savoring each delicacy with delight.


    If they finished the food on the plate, those girls would come back and close their eyes to meditate. They would transform life vitality into food, and it would be different delicacies every single time.


    After their special meal, the Skyland race made arrangements for everyone to stay.


    They decided that they would stay in the territory of the Skyland race for a few more days, until the Harmony race arrived. After that they would proceed with action.


    Zen stayed in one of the pagodas and during the whole night of meditation, observed the development of his inner world.


    Over the past two days, Zen had frequently used the power of the Nine Divine Stars. But of late those stars seemed to have dimmed a little.


    However, as the chaotic sea surged, some traces of the chaotic energy were absorbed by the nine stars.


    Chaos could transform into all things. Everything within the divine land evolved from chaos, including life vitality.


    Holy Beings cultivated life vitality and turned it into the universe, hence everything in the universe evolved from life vitality. Therefore, it was expected for the nine stars to absorb chaotic energy.


    So


    y of them cultivated life vitality!


    Most of the warriors that entered the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land would first look to enter the Skyland race''s cultivation sacred place. Once they obtained the purple trial tally, they would enter this place at the first possible moment.


    If Zen had been teleported to a normal place and obtained the purple trial tally, he probably wouldn''t have chosen the Skyland race. After all, there was no need for him to cultivate life vitality.


    As Zen and Laquisha entered, the warriors from the other races on the platforms glanced at them. When they looked at Zen, they were expressionless, but when they saw Laquisha, some of them frowned and revealed a trace of fear.


    They were relieved when Laquisha did not go up the platforms.


    "What are we doing here?" Zen looked confused.


    "Just come with me," Laquisha said with a laugh. "But there''s one thing I need your help with."


    "What is it?" Zen asked.


    "Help me beat up someone!" Laquisha said.


    "No," Zen firmly refused. The woman had indeed helped him before, but Zen had only agreed to help her enter the Soul Suppressing Cliff. That was called for. And Zen had also saved her in the forest of giant trees.

 Chapter 1875 Innocence (Part Two)

    He was definitely not one of Laquisha''s henchmen to bid at her orders.


    Laquisha curled her lips, revealing a bitter expression. But immediately her expression changed as if she had thought of a plan.


    As he continued forward, Zen discovered that these mushroom-like platforms varied in size. The further he went, the bigger the mushrooms became.


    At the same time, the fighters on the platforms looked stronger.


    Finally, Laquisha brought Zen up with her and stepped onto a platform with a diameter of over a thousand feet. There were only over a hundred cultivators on this spacious platform, so they could move around freely on it.


    The moment Zen jumped onto the platform, the warriors from other races glared at him with furious expressions!


    Zen was slightly stunned after seeing their expressions.


    However, at this moment, the black water below began to surge violently. A whirlpool appeared under every platform, and Zen''s platform had the largest whirlpool.


    Swishy swash!


    The warriors who had been glaring at Zen and Laquisha, shifted their focus to the water as the intense sounds of waves crashing against each other echoed through the air.


    The platform began to fill with round divine textures. At the feet of Zen and Laquisha, a divine texture had also appeared.


    "Quickly, infuse your life vitality into the divine texture," Laquisha suggested.


    "What for?" Zen asked cautiously.


    "Just try it!" Laquisha urged at him.


    By now Zen had already guessed something serious was going on. He was no fool. From the moment he had entered this place, the warriors on the platform had been on high alert.


    It was evident that there was limited source in the platform. According to Zen''s estimation, this kind of resource should b


    ystals would appear next to each martial artist. Most people would choose to swallow them at the first possible moment.


    The bigger the platform, the more black crystals it could extract!


    Zen and Laquisha''s platform was the largest. It was seven or eight times larger than the surrounding platforms. Because the number of warriors on this platform was less, each of the divine textures should have churned out around thirty to forty crystals


    But on this platform, the hundred warriors including Laquisha, had yet to refine a single black crystal.


    They were all glaring at Zen, as if they wanted nothing more than to kill him. But apart from anger, the warriors were also filled with wonder and disbelief.


    The black crystals were being produced from the divine texture at Zen''s feet. In the blink of an eye, the black crystals surrounding Zen piled up like a small mountain. There were probably four to five thousand of them!


    Sensing the strong hatred from those people, Zen revealed an innocent smile on his face. He shrugged his shoulders apologetically, indicating that he didn''t know how it happened. He didn''t know what these black crystals were, either.

 Chapter 1876 The Rule

    What Zen didn''t know was that by setting foot on the largest platform, he was violating an unwritten rule, something very taboo.


    Although the six great sacred places were all equals, the one in the Skyland race was undoubtedly the most popular!


    It wasn''t just because of the great number of warriors that cultivated their life vitality here, but most importantly, the Pristine Life Vitality cultivated by the master of the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land that was extremely famous in this divine land.


    Absorbing Pristine Life Vitality here was the equivalent of being a Holy Being''s personal disciple. Truly of utmost importance.


    In the vast divine land, not many Holy Beings had taken outsiders as their personal disciples.


    And for this reason, the Skyland race had slowly become an important place in the eyes of the most powerful. Such individuals had been thinking of ways to occupy a seat in the Skyland race.


    The status of those people on Zen''s platform were also considered high within the divine land!


    They had occupied the largest platform, and who would dare fight against them?


    Everyone knew that this platform had tons of Pristine Life Vitality, but they could do nothing but be envious. For most of them, joining this platform was impossible, they simply didn''t have the qualifications.


    Leading by Laquisha, Zen had stepped onto this popular and important platform.


    Had Zen set foot here at any other time of day, he would have been attacked at once. In groups, the warriors would have come at him ruthlessly. Any warrior whose desire to join this platform was great enough would have to pay an even greater price.


    However, Zen and Laquisha''s arrival on this platform just happened to coincide with the start of the Tidal Surge.


    It meant that at the time, everyone was busy refining their Pristine Life Vitality, which was a kind of precious black crystal.


    Of course, this didn''t mean that Zen was totally off the hook. They could only wait to deal with him until they had completely extracted all the Pristine Life Vitality. Every bit of Pristine Life Vitality was considered incomparably important, and no one here was willing to waste it. Not even to punish Zen.


    In their opinion, it wasn''t an urgent or pressing matter because Zen and Laquisha could only refine ten or twenty crystals of Pristine Life Vitality. That wasn''t much and they didn''t really care because they''d just make them obediently hand them over later.


    But they were very, very wrong. And the result was far beyond any of their expectations¡­


    The Skyland race actually had their own personal reasons for setting up such divine textures on these platforms. It came down to the fact that this place was still considered sacred for cultivation. Only with competition and confrontation, everyone would speed up their refining speed.


    The person who poured the most life vitality normally refined the most Pristine Life Vitality. One went hand in hand with the other.


    At the approaching tide, all the black water would gather towards the pillar beneath the platform. The pillar was made of a special type of mater


    tmosphere wasn''t right. Looking outward, they noticed a large pile of black crystals sitting next to a single warrior, while the others had very few. Who was this guy? Why was he so amazing?


    Upon taking a closer look, the warrior''s figure began to look familiar. Was that really Zen? Uh oh! He had gotten himself into big trouble!


    That was why Lone had hurried over. He first apologized to Young Master Qin.


    Although the young master hadn''t paid much attention to Zen up until now, and in fact, he had even told him to scram earlier, he was now changing his mind. The enormous pile of black crystals had really grabbed his attention. He sneered coldly at Lone and said, "You know the rules around here?"


    "Not exactly. Please explain, Master Qin," said Lone. Lone caught Zen''s eyes gloomy and mouth agape as if he wanted to speak. He quickly tugged at Zen, still smiling at the young master.


    Watching the scene, Kurt and Lucille muttered to themselves, hearts heavy. ''Troublesome... this young man isn''t going to be any good.''


    These platforms belonged to the Skyland race. And although they were occupied by the divine land warriors, they didn''t have any written ''rules''. Those that were completely unaware and jumped onto these platforms would usually be driven away by these divine land warriors. If any trouble-maker dared to defy them, they would be beaten up and thrown into the black waters below.


    And now, since a rule had suddenly appeared, they knew that this fellow couldn''t have any kind actions to share.


    "Whoever steps onto this platform will first lose both their legs. That is the rule." Young Master Qin''s face suddenly revealed a trace of malice. "If the four of you want to leave, then break your own legs!"


    And naturally of course, the four people he was referring to were Zen, Lucille, Kurt and Lone.


    He absolutely dared not to break Laquisha''s feet!


    Laquisha was listening in and when she heard this, she was immediately overjoyed. She was afraid that Zen would stop the incident and be dragged away, which wasn''t a show she wanted to see.

 Chapter 1877 Threat And Enticement (Part One)

    When Quentin Qin suddenly announced a new rule, the other warriors on the platform shared knowing smiles.


    Anyone who was qualified to enter this platform for Pristine Life Vitality refinement most probably had an extraordinary background.


    The warriors were angry that Zen had nabbed away the Pristine Life Vitality produced by this round of Tidal Surge. But if this man was wise enough and left the Pristine Life Vitality behind, then he wouldn''t cause too much trouble. They hadn''t actually lost anything.


    They were still in the territory of the Skyland race after all. It was true that many forces from the divine land tried their best to make friends with the Skyland race. Even though they had gained in convenience from the Skyland race, it was impossible for them to be too arrogant and despotic here.


    Quentin Qin suddenly invented such a rule. Smart as they, these warriors immediately understood what his real purpose was.


    It was not his goal to chop off the feet of these fellows.


    They were just a few secondary creatures. Who the hell knew where these creatures originated? What was the point in chopping off their feet? He thought it troublesome to do so even once.


    As for what these secondary creatures had in their hands, they didn''t even care about at all.


    The only thing that caught their eyes was the method that Zen had displayed just now!


    When one stood on the platform, a divine texture would appear at one''s feet upon appearance of the Tidal Surge.


    No one knew who set up these platforms in the first place. However, this was the only known way to extract Pristine Life Vitality from these divine textures.


    The size of the platform and one''s strength would determine how many black crystals would be refined.


    The warriors on this platform were mostly from the divine lan


    g. We won''t take away all of this Pristine Life Vitality, so why is it such a serious matter?"


    However, Quentin Qin''s expression was nothing but serious. A bit of malice made the corner of his mouth lift. "I, Quentin Qin, have never joked about such an important matter. How can you, a secondary creature, have the ability to ascend this platform?"


    As he finished his words, he waved his hand gently. A bit of life vitality condensed slowly and formed a sword that was as thin as a cicada''s wing. "Are you going to chop off your feet by yourself, or should my blade make you confess?"


    The sword light was discreet and contained a hidden sharpness. However, Quentin Qin did not have the slightest intent to kill. In his eyes, these secondary creatures were insignificant beings that would surrender if intimidated!


    However, he still had to assume a fighting posture as if he meant it. Otherwise, how could he use this as a threat to interrogate Zen?


    If these people really didn''t know what was good for them, then Quentin Qin had another plan in mind. If he ended up killing these people, the Skyland race shouldn''t cause any trouble for him. After all, the Skyland race still needed the Qin Clan...

 Chapter 1878 Threat And Enticement (Part Two)

    The Skyland race differed fundamentally from the Collapsing Mountain race in terms of cultivation methods, because Skyland race cultivated through the Pristine Life Vitality and Collapsing Mountain race cultivated by the strength force.


    Since the Collapsing Mountain race only refined their bodies, just infusing the strength source was fine. Besides, they had sufficient food supplies and they didn''t need the help from other races. Therefore, this race treated all other races equally and rarely favored one, except Zen.


    The Skyland race, on the other hand, had a great demand for cultivation methods and even weapons from the divine land. Other races from the divine land naturally catered to the Skyland race''s likes, and there was no exception for Qin Clan. Thus, the Skyland race took special care of warriors like Quentin Qin.


    Quentin Qin thought that he could overwhelm Zen with his strength, and with the help of the Skyland race, where could these people run? If they dared escape from Skyland race, that would be even better. The Qin Clan had been placed in position of power in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, so they could do whatever they wanted!


    As she saw that Quentin Qin was about to make his move, Lucille''s pupils suddenly constricted. The killing intent that was hidden in the depths of her heart ignited.


    Kurt stood with one palm erect, and the strength of his other hand that was holding the monk staff increased slightly!


    Compared to the other two, Lone understood the warriors from the divine land a bit more. After all, the broken sword in his hand originated from the divine land. He knew that it would be a futile attempt if they were to make a move against Quentin Qin at th


    Eight Path Platforms, and focused it entirely in his forefinger. This finger was only three inches away from Laquisha''s forehead, and she instantly felt an enormous pressure!


    If Zen had flicked out his finger, her entire head would have been pulverized and there was no doubt that she would have died in an instant!


    Feeling this pressure, Laquisha''s face was drained of color. She saw that Zen''s expression was deathly serious, and it didn''t seem like he was joking.


    Pah!


    Zen flicked his finger, and it landed on Laquisha''s forehead.


    At that moment, Laquisha had been scared half to death.


    However, Zen''s ability to control his strength had already reached its peak. Other than the nine stars power that he could not fully control yet, it could be said that he had proficient control of his strength.


    The moment he flicked his finger, all of the power dissipated. It only left a faint red mark on her forehead!


    Zen turned around and took a deep breath. He smiled to Quentin Qin and said, "On this platform, I have to break both my legs before I can leave. This rule is indeed interesting, but what if I don''t want to leave?"

 Chapter 1879 Killing Intent

    Quentin referred to Zen''s "Primal Chaos Technique", when he spoke about the method Zen had used. But the truth was, Quentin couldn''t cultivate this technique and there was no way Zen would hand it over just like that.


    So, instead of wasting his time dealing with Quentin, Zen just chose not to respond to his words.


    Now, he had no intention of leaving the platform at all.


    Quentin had made a temporary rule so that Zen could speak up.


    However, he didn''t expect the cocky attitude from Zen and he was taken aback by the latter''s insolent response to his request.


    Even the lady and the warriors in Quentin''s entourage were dumbfounded at Zen''s lack of respect towards Quentin. They couldn''t comprehend what he meant and to top it all, they were stunned at his guts to stay on the platform.


    "What do you mean?" Quentin asked again, giving Zen a chance to take back what he said.


    But Zen had enough of this man''s self-entitlement. His aura had noticeably increased, and his facial expression changed drastically as well. He chuckled, "I''m surprised that you can''t understand. All I am saying is¡­ I will be staying on this platform and you need to get your asses out of here right now. If you insist on staying, I have no choice but to cut your feet off!"


    Even an idiot could easily understand the situation.


    There was a moment of silence on the platform...


    Meanwhile, those words that Zen had spoken gave his three companions quite a scare. Lone''s and Kurt''s eyes widened in shock;


    while Lucille was hyperventilating. Her cheeks began to blush and her whole body was shaking.


    Out of these three warriors, Lucille was the most aggressive and ready to act when needed. However, she knew they had no chance of winning against these people from the divine land. There was nothing she could do earlier but suppress her anger.


    But after she heard Zen''s words, she felt alive again. The valiant look on Zen''s face melted her heart. Zen had not changed even after coming out of the universe.


    His spirit and confidence were also contagious. She could feel it radiating from his aura. Could it be that Zen had obtained another trump card?


    Back in the Illusion Battlefield, Lucille and the others had seen all of Zen''s trump cards.


    However, this was not the universe, but the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. The only warriors who could take the test were the elites of the various universes and powerhouses from the divine land. Was Zen confident to confront Quentin?


    But wait¡­


    Zen just said that he wanted to occupy this platform.


    Aside from Quentin, there were other experts on this platform from other universes and the divine land.


    If Zen wanted this platform all to himself, it could only mean that he was confident in dealing with everyone on this platform!


    But Lucille wasn''t certain if her deductions were right.


    It would all depend on how formidable Zen''s trump card was. But deep down, she was hoping that her deductions were correct...


    Quentin was stunned and could not react for a while. But when he came back to his senses, his handsome face gradually twisted.


    His eyes widened and he smirked. "Ha-ha-ha!''


    And suddenly, he burst into laughter like a maniac in front of Zen.


    His laugh echoed throughout the platform and the dozens of warriors


    ay, he couldn''t care less if these foreign warriors died.


    Including Collapsing Mountain race, the six races had hidden grudges for these warriors from other races. To them, the foreign warriors were parasites in their cultivation sacred places. The warriors from the six races considered these places as rightfully theirs, and the foreign warriors were slowly taking something away from them.


    Looking at Zen, Quentin looked devilish and ferocious. "I will let you live if you hand over that method to refine Pristine Life Vitality and destroy your cinnabar field and Path Platforms by your own!"


    Quentin already knew that Zen was a cultivator who cultivated both body and life vitality. The most essential thing for a body refiner of his current stage was the Path Platforms, while the most essential thing for a cultivator who cultivated life vitality was the cinnabar field. It would be a disaster for a cultivator who cultivated both body and life vitality, if both were destroyed.


    "Just hand it over and you''ll live to see another day. Otherwise, you''ll die!"


    "Once Master Qin acts, there''s no way he''ll stop!"


    "Your method isn''t that great. Just hand it over! It''s better in the hands of Master Qin!"


    The warriors behind Quentin clamored.


    But none of them truly understood how bizarre Zen''s method of refining the Pristine Life Vitality was. Since Zen was considered as a secondary creature, his methods were also seen the same way. They thought Zen only had advantages on Pristine Life Vitality refining, although his methods might be clever.


    They didn''t know that Zen had never used any method to refine the Pristine Life Vitality. He had refined so much Pristine Life Vitality just by using the chaotic energy.


    At this moment, everyone hoped that Quentin could obtain this method from Zen. If Quentin would like to share that method with them, each of them could occupy a platform. Eventually, they could monopolize and obtain all the resources from all platforms above the Tidal Surge.


    Click!


    Laquisha took another black crystal and stuffed it in her mouth as she watched the scene unveiled. She glanced at the group of idiots and shook her head in disappointment.

 Chapter 1880 Throwing Them All Into The Water

    "What kind of expression is that?"


    A crowd of foreign warriors from the divine land hadn''t yet noticed Laquisha, but her younger sister had.


    For reasons still unknown, her sister''s expression felt quite strange to her.


    Laquisha stared at her little sister and laughed dryly, "You''ll understand soon enough, my little sister."


    "Understand what?" asked the purple-robed woman, curiously.


    Laquisha didn''t take the time to explain.


    Instead she thought to herself, ''If only Zen could just kill Quentin Qin - there will be no better solution. It will save us the future trouble and also cut off my innocent little sister''s naive thoughts!''


    Ever since they entered the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, these two sisters had been going at it like cats and dogs!


    The Qin Clan was of the same level power with the Han Clan, and it had been such a long time since they''d heard of Quentin''s notoriety, Laquisha included.


    Both the Qin and the Han Clans had been married for generations. However, Laquisha had no desire of entrusting her sister to Quentin. With so many geniuses in the Qin Clan, any one of them could be considered much more reliable than this fellow.


    Quentin had observed Zen long enough, and noticing that he hadn''t moved in a while, he decided that he had had enough. He could no longer hold himself back!


    As the life vitality within his entire body surged at once, the thin, long sword in his hand suddenly rose up. His killing intent had been stirred, and right now, he lacked any trace of pity. There was no stopping him!


    His sword was extremely fast, and as he thrust it out, it flowed forward smoothly.


    At the same time as his sword flung forward, the surrounding vitality between heaven and earth crazily surged together. Even the black water below the crowd was constantly rippling with energy.


    Whoosh!


    The sword flipped into an upright position and in the blink of an eye, it was already before Zen.


    Unfortunately, Quentin had underestimated Zen.


    If Quentin had been even slightly aware of Zen''s strength and power, he would have never acted in such a way.


    Instead, he would use the supreme primordial weapon in his hand. He''d probably unleash the great Wishing Spell while he was at it, too. He was going to use his strongest powers to fight against Zen.


    Of course, if he had known about Zen''s performance in the Collapsing Mountain race, he would have simply turned around and run in the opposite direction. How would he have chosen to fight against Zen, then?


    The key point was that Zen''s cultivation at the Spirit Supreme Realm was too bewitching. In Quentin''s current opinion, such an opponent was only a matter of a single sword attack. Even if he had only used a bit of his strength, he felt that killing Zen should be more than enough.


    This sort of contempt came with a hefty price tag!


    When this new sword appeared only a few feet before him, Zen only gently waved his hand. Two of his fingers formed what looked like a pair of scissors and his eyes revealed a trace of ridicule.


    In a matter of seconds, Zen''s fingers had already clamped onto the blade.


    Without a single stop or a moment of hesita


    k water, his golden axe still attached to his back disappearing into the black water along with him¡­


    That was when Zen suddenly spun himself around and swept his gaze across the remaining warriors. "I''m not that cruel. And I don''t really want to cut off your feet. You want to get out of here by yourself?" Zen asked faintly. "Or should I send you off?"


    Everyone, and everything, fell absolutely silent once again.


    "You''ve proved yourself. You deserve your name. I should have thought of that long ago¡­" Lone let out a long, hearty sigh.


    Lone had admitted long ago that Zen was a demon. In fact, the broken sword in his hand was actual proof of such. And yet, he could never have expected that still, even now, he was underestimating this fellow¡­


    Lucille and Kurt were ready to make their moves.


    However, before they could do anything at all, Zen had quickly taken care of everything going on in front of him.


    It was hard for the two to describe exactly how they were feeling right now!


    The speed at which Lucille and Kurt entered the sacred place was extremely fast. Through absorbing the Pristine Life Vitality, they also felt that their improvement occurred at great speeds. Now that they saw the method Zen displayed, their originally somewhat swollen self-confidence was severely damaged.


    If Lucille''s and Kurt''s improvements were quick, then Zen''s improvements moved at incredible rates. The two were incomparable.


    However, their hearts were still filled with worry.


    Zen currently beat this group of foreign warriors and threw them all into the water, but the Skyland race would not sit idly by. He had no power or influence in this Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, how could the Skyland race members allow Zen to behave so atrociously here?


    If the people of the Skyland race were to blame him, what would come of Zen? No matter how powerful he truly was, it was impossible for him to fight against the Skyland race alone, right?


    Together, the three of them grew more worried. And yet, they couldn''t help but feel a sense of warmth. Zen''s actions had finally helped them all out!

 Chapter 1881 Discrimination

    Zen almost rolled his eyes--he wasn''t interested in seizing the platform at all. While the Pristine Life Vitality was quite mysterious as it was similar to the strength source, it was completely meaningless to him.


    Moreover, he didn''t have any reason to help Laquisha, who had even stirred up trouble on purpose.


    However, Quentin had been too overbearing and had compromised Lucille and the others. Thus, Zen had no choice but to take action.


    Silence hung like a thick blanket on the platform, as the warriors looked on in disagreement.


    The tension was palpable. After all, this group of people had been quite dominant even in the divine land.


    It was simply because they thought that the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land wasn''t anything special. They didn''t expect that an arrogant secondary creature like Zen would be there as well.


    They could temporarily stop the absorption of the Pristine Life Vitality, but they''d be humiliated if they left just like that. It was truly embarrassing to be driven away by a secondary creature, and they would become laughing stocks if this matter spread to the divine land in the future.


    Then again, they had no other choice.


    Now, Zen could easily defeat warriors like Quentin. Warriors of his caliber were no match for Zen at all.


    It wasn''t long before a warrior from another race took the initiative to leave the platform with a dejected look on his face.


    After that, the rest of the warriors followed suit.


    After a blink of an eye, all the warriors on the platform were gone. The only ones left were Zen, Lucille, Kurt, Lone, and the two girls from the Han Clan.


    "You have to leave as well," Zen muttered to Laquisha and her sister.


    Laquisha was stunned. "Why are you driving me away?" she said in a shaky voice.


    Meanwhile, Laquisha''s sister cast her a helpless look. She didn''t expect that the person her sister found to help her would drive her away as well.


    "All of this started because of you--but since I''ve taken this platform, I get to decide who stays behind," Zen coldly responded.


    "I''m not leaving," Laquisha said and pursed her lips. She didn''t care about the black crystals. She only asked him to teach Quentin a lesson and now that he was about to drive her away, she felt quite embarrassed.


    Lone tried to persuade Zen and said, "Zen, it doesn''t matter if these two stay. The platform has enough Pristine Life Vitality."


    Everyone left behind had witnessed the whole process. Although they didn''t know what Laquisha and Quentin''s relationship was, they had a rough guess based on the talk they had heard. The most important thing was that Lone had learned about the Han Clan''s position in the divine land through his broken sword.


    It was one thing for Zen to have already offended Quentin, but Laquisha seemed to have fallen in love with Zen. No matter what their relationship was, Zen couldn''t offend another big clan


    is fiery eyes grew stronger. Isaiah was a bit flustered at this unexpected outcome. Would Zen really dare to fight him?


    Isaiah wasn''t exceptionally strong in the Skyland race and was merely on par with the Spirit Transformation Realm martial artists. He had been hiding and when he witnessed Zen''s divine might just now, he knew that he was no match for Zen. Thus, he quickly decided to rely on the Skyland race.


    But he never thought that Zen wasn''t afraid of the Skyland race at all!


    Everyone in the Skyland race already knew about the Collapsing Mountain race''s visit, but due to the strict hierarchy within the race, they didn''t know that Zen also came along with the Collapsing Mountain race, nor did they know that Zen was the flame-proof warrior.


    Isaiah was even more unaware that Zen had humiliated Kaydan, the head of the Skyland race, yesterday.


    It was because Isaiah wasn''t a significant figure in the Skyland race. Why would Zen be afraid of him then?


    Zen got closer to Isaiah, and his aura became more powerful. Panic started to show on Isaiah''s face while two of the Skyland race''s clansmen began to retreat.


    "You... This is the Skyland race. Whoever doesn''t follow the rules will..." Isaiah stuttered. The truth was, he wasn''t confident enough and he was full of regret. If he had known that this would happen, he would''ve asked the elders to come.


    "I will be expelled, right? You have repeated that several times," Zen said with a smile. "Then let''s see if you have the ability to do so!"


    As soon as Zen had finished speaking, he immediately sped up and made the first move.


    These warriors of the Skyland race previously came to the platform in all their arrogant glory, but now they fled away in panic like a flock of disturbed birds.


    However, Isaiah couldn''t escape since he was the group''s leader. His eyes widened in horror as Zen forcefully gripped his collar and smashed him onto the platform.

 Chapter 1882 Roy

    Black life vitality gushed out of the Skyland warriors as they rushed into the sky, condensing into black javelins and shooting towards Zen.


    The life vitality that the Skyland warriors were using seemed to remain at a ''visualization'' level. But they were putting this skill to its maximum use.


    These javelins were sharp but they weren''t enough to injure Zen.


    The black javelins rained down upon Zen.


    At the sudden attacks, Zen clenched his fists that began to emit a blinding light, at which the javelins exploded into smithereens with the thundering sounds.


    Seeing that Isaiah was about to resist his powers, Zen flew towards him, grabbed his wings, and pulled Isaiah to stand before him like a shield for protection.


    The group of Skyland warriors didn''t dare throw their javelins now that Isaiah was directly in the line of fire. They glared at Zen before they started cursing him to no end.


    "No one dares make a move in our race!"


    "Put Isaiah down. This is a capital offense in our race!"


    "It''s not too late for you to just kneel and beg for mercy. We do not like to kill. Of course, you might still survive if we gouge out your eyes and put you in the dungeon for a hundred years. Either way, you have to suffer the torment. So don''t make any mistakes!"


    Zen rolled his eyes at this.


    The Skyland race was not cultured and developed so well, and Zen wondered where they had learned these words. These reckless and rude remarks had rendered Zen speechless and annoyed.


    These threats might have been effective on anyone else, but to Zen, they were mere jokes.


    "They''re right. Let go of me and you will still have a chance to live. But if you don''t, no one can save you. The Skyland race controls this place, so you should behave yourself," Isaiah said coldly. The Skyland warriors were arrogant, so he had felt utterly humiliated when Zen had grabbed his wings, which was a huge taboo in the Skyland race. Isaiah really wanted to beat Zen to death. But he didn''t dare behave recklessly since Zen was controlling him at the moment.


    "Really? I just want to see who has the right and the guts to take my life," Zen said with a smile.


    Noticing that their threats had no effect, the Skyland warriors in the sky exchanged glances before finally deciding to call for reinforcements.


    Lucille and the others were upset and worried.


    How would Zen be able to deal with the mighty masters of the Skyland race when they arrived on the scene?


    But when they saw that Zen was still looking calmly, hope bubbled up in their hearts. Was it possible that he had other cards up his sleeve?


    It was not long before a new group of Skyland warriors arrived. When they found Isaiah trapped in Zen''s hands, they merely stood guard in the air. Calm and comp


    d and shouted, "Run!"


    All the martial artists from other races felt that something bad was about to happen. Roy''s full strength was on par with that of a Supreme Lord. Moreover, the power of the life vitality covered a vast area. If they stayed here, they would inevitably be injured.


    So all the warriors rose into the air, wanting to avoid injury.


    But at this precise moment, a large group of Skyland warriors rushed over.


    One of them said, "Roy, stop!"


    The voice came from far away, but it was transmitted through the life vitality and resounded in everyone''s ears.


    Roy was furious and no one could persuade him to stop. But there was one person who could make Roy listen to him: Kaydan, the head of the Skyland race.


    "Sir!"


    Roy glared indignantly at Zen. He could let him live a while longer, but he would definitely kill him sometime.


    Lone, Kurt, and Lucille were even more worried as they saw that all the senior leaders of the Skyland race were gathered here. They were afraid that Zen might not be able to escape his doom this time.


    They might also be punished and that wasn''t a thought they were fond of.


    With Kaydan in the lead, this group of warriors, including Chapman and other Collapsing Mountain warriors, landed on the platform.


    Almost everyone, except Laquisha, now thought that Zen was about to receive a severe punishment.


    Even Roy had the exact same thought.


    However, Kaydan''s next words confused Roy to no end.


    "Zen, why didn''t you inform me before going to cultivate in the Tidal Surge? Why did you cause such a commotion?" Kaydan asked calmly.


    Roy was puzzled and surprised. He could not figure out who Zen was and why their head was so respectful to him.


    He wasn''t the only one who was shocked. Even Isaiah, who Zen had captured, was stunned as he exchanged glances with his father.

 Chapter 1883 Admit

    At Kaydan''s question, Zen snorted and threw Isaiah several dozens of feet away. "What absurd rules you have in the Skyland race! You should ask him what has happened!" Zen growled.


    He had used the hidden strength he possessed when he threw the boy on the ground. Isaiah tried to soar into the sky but as he made a move to stand, his legs buckled under him and he fell on his back once more.


    "How dare you!" Isaiah''s father, Roy, growled when he saw his son be thrown like a dead dog. He started to march towards Zen when he heard Kaydan''s cold commanding voice.


    "Roy," the leader said.


    Roy was no fool. He knew Kaydan very well and he knew the man would only act like this in front of a person with remarkable background.


    Just who was this Zen guy, really? Surely, being a flame-proof warrior wasn''t enough to earn the respect of Kaydan, was it?


    As far as he knew, warriors of the six great races in the entire Divine Refinement Forbidden Land did not act polite towards martial artists from other races. This was, after all, the territory of the six great races. Even someone like Quentin would have to pay a price in order to gain the Skyland race''s favor.


    He was curious as to where Zen came from.


    "Isaiah," Kaydan turned to the boy after he had gotten up. "Tell us what happened. How did you offend our esteemed guest?"


    When they heard Kaydan refer to Zen as an "esteemed guest", Roy, Isaiah, and everyone else''s hearts began to sink. Even the warriors from the divine land were stunned.


    This group of warriors from the divine land had been trying to gain the Skyland race''s favor for years now and not a single one of them had come close to being an esteemed guest.


    How could Zen, a mere secondary creature, be called an esteemed guest?! They were all astonished.


    Lucille, Kurt, and Lone who were standing behind Zen looked at each other in shock.


    Before, they had been worried the Skyland race would take revenge on Zen. But now, that worry had vanished into thin air. This was Kaydan, the leader of the Skyland race, speaking!


    What in the world did Zen do to make the Skyland race''s leader treat him so nicely?


    Lucille couldn''t help but sigh. She had worked hard to enter the Skyland race within a certain time period in order to absorb as much Pristine Life Vitality as she could. She had always felt fortunate that she was fast and lucky enough but seeing Zen now, the achievements she worked so hard to attain felt nothing but a joke.


    Back in the Illusion Battlefield, Lucille had been defeated by Zen. And perhaps she had been unwilling to accept the result at the time because they were all Godly Geniuses and there was always a chance to improve their strength. In the future, who could say for sure who would beat who? But now, after seeing what just happened, Lucille was absolutely positive that Zen was indeed stronger than her.


    The same thoughts ran through Kurt''s and Lone''s heads.


    leave so it''s best to do what he says. If you have anything to say, you can say it later," someone spoke up.


    Seeing several elders wink at him, it dawned on Roy that the matter wasn''t simple. Gritting his teeth, he turned around and glared at Zen. And if looks could kill, Zen would be dead already. With a last sneer, he grabbed his son and flew away.


    But even Roy and Isaiah had left, Kaydan was still in a dilemma. He even wanted to grit his teeth and turn away to leave all the awkwardness behind. Fortunately, there just wasn''t a lack of calculating eyes in this world.


    "Sir!" a warrior from another race suddenly jumped up and called. "I witnessed the entirety of what just happened here and it was definitely because Quentin provoked first that Zen fought back in anger! Isaiah was partial towards Quentin which led to the conflict with Zen..."


    As he listened to the man explain, Kaydan couldn''t help but nod and relax his expression. "So that''s how it is. Isaiah was at fault and our respected friend Zen has been wronged! I''ll be sure to deal with Isaiah later!"


    Zen decided to let the matter drop. From the beginning, Kaydan had been on his side and was trying hard to accommodate his every need. Besides, Kaydan had nothing to do with this. If Zen continued to cause trouble for the man, it would be too much already.


    As the commotion ended, Kaydan was ready to leave. However, Kaydan thought of something and turned to the man from the crowd and asked for his name.


    "Haroon Han, sir!" the warrior cupped his fists and replied happily.


    The warriors of other races cultivating in the Tidal Surge however, looked disappointed. They had all witnessed the scuffle but only Haroon Han had spoken up to help Kaydan. This person would definitely be given special treatment in the future when he cultivated in the Skyland race.


    Kaydan was about to lead the people in the area to leave when suddenly, the black water started to surge!

 Chapter 1884 The Sky Pearl (Part One)

    Zen had defeated many warriors as he kicked them into the black water earlier. After they fell into the water, most of them moved to other platforms.


    However, there was someone who never appeared again. It was Quentin, the first warrior to fall into the water.


    Quentin was known for his vicious personality. A warrior like him who came from a powerful clan would prioritize his reputation above anything else.


    He suffered tremendously with his battle against Zen. Humiliation enveloped him after Zen pressed his face to the ground. A great grudge formed in Quentin as he vowed to murder Zen for revenge.


    The black water surged violently. Some of the warriors were surprised and shouted, "The tide is coming again. Everyone, get ready to refine it!" Their shouts echoed as everyone braced themselves for another chance to loot.


    There were only seven Tidal Surges a day, and each one was an incomparably precious chance for the warriors to collect valuable resources. Since they had finally entered this place, they naturally wouldn''t miss a single opportunity to obtain the rare resources here. They would risk their lives in order to harvest everything they could.


    However, some of the warriors felt puzzled as they gazed upon the water''s surface. When the tide came, the water''s surface should have risen evenly. But then, only the water at one side of the central platform surged.


    "It doesn''t seem to be a Tidal Surge. Watch out! There''s something in the black water!"


    The black water swirled as its center began to sink. A massive whirlpool suddenly appeared as if a monster opened its mouth to suck the water and everything around it. The whirlpool was so deep that its center was over 10 feet below its edge.


    Splash!


    The air in the middle of the whirlpool grew faster and more vicious. Suddenly, a tor


    restrictions were. This was the principle of equivalent exchange. If one could not defeat the enemies after chanting the Wishing Spell, then he or she would have to carry out the unfulfilled wish in his or her remaining lifetime.


    If the wish remained unfulfilled, it would be impossible for them to improve their cultivation.


    Even though Kennan and Woodrow had managed to save Laquisha that day, they did not have the strength to kill the Formless Sky Python. Their failure would have detrimental effects on their cultivation, but for the sake of the princess, they were willing to pay such a price.


    As for Quentin, he gave no attention to the negative consequences as he was already swallowed by his rage.


    After the Wishing Spell was cast, a supreme primordial weapon that dangled on his chest was activated successfully.


    It was a greyish pearl, which looked almost like a drop of water. Power radiated through its translucent and round appearance.


    Aroo!


    The moment the pearl was activated, a loud and clear voice echoed through the sky.


    All the members of the Skyland race on the top towers heard that voice. Anxiety appeared on their faces, including Kaydan and the elders of the Skyland race.

 Chapter 1885 The Sky Pearl (Part Two)

    Their fears originated from their innate instincts. No matter how powerful they were, terror still enveloped their bodies. Cold sweat trickled down their spine as they watched carefully at the sky.


    The blood of several legendary birds flowed within the blood of the members of the Skyland race. Quentin''s pearl, however, contained the blood essence of the Heaven Duck, which was a true spirit in the divine land and could be called the lord of all birds. They were no match for the most powerful legendary bird.


    Countless formidable birds roamed the endless deep space of the divine land. There were legendary beasts like the Roc and the Phoenix, but without a doubt, the lord of all the birds was the Heaven Duck. It was at the top of the pyramid among all birds.


    As the cry of the Heaven Duck reverberated from the sky, the members of the Skyland race felt an intense suppression. All of them had unpleasant expressions on their faces. A mix of shock and fear reflected in their eyes. However, none of the warriors of the Collapsing Mountain race, as well as those of other races, had such a feeling.


    The pearl on Quentin''s chest was called the Sky Pearl. As a supreme primordial weapon, it could be only used once. Needless to say, it was a rare and precious treasure.


    Quentin felt powerless during his last fight against Zen. Zen''s physical strength alone was not something that he could withstand.


    However, thanks to his prestigious clan, Quentin still had many tricks up his sleeve.


    When he had been given the Sky Pearl, he was reminded repeatedly by his family members that only in desperate times could he use the Sky Pearl. Even to the Qin Clan, the Sky Pearl was a rare and precious treasure, at least not something they c


    nd were truly unfamiliar to Zen. He never thought that the warriors in this plain was capable of such a feat!


    Of course, this was also because of Quentin''s special position. Ordinary warriors in the divine land would not possess such powerful treasures like the Sky Pearl.


    The other warriors who were beaten by Zen earlier once again revealed smiles on their faces.


    They knew that Zen had utterly infuriated Quentin. The consequences of being that target of this madman''s rage would be disastrous. They were relieved when they saw that the Skyland race did not take any action to protect Zen. Although Zen had displayed outstanding strength before, they believed that he would not stand a chance against Quentin who had used his secret weapon.


    But once again, Zen did something out of their expectations ¡ª he did not choose to retreat. His face reflected no fear as he continued to stand dignified and brave.


    Then, he activated all the power of his Nine Divine Stars as he jumped from the ground and charged toward Quentin.


    When Kaydan saw Zen''s actions, he chuckled and said, "This guy... I bet that he just doesn''t want to destroy the platform."

 Chapter 1886 The Shield Of Power (Part One)

    Zen wasn''t actually afraid of the platform smashing beneath his feet.


    What Zen did know though, was that his current strength was completely reliant on the strength of the Nine Divine Stars. In other words, it wasn''t suitable for long-distance battles.


    If Quentin had relied on his nimble movements to attack him from a long distance, Zen would most likely be taken advantage of and it would be difficult for him to fight back.


    Instead though, Quentin had chosen to use the Sky Pearl, which appeared to be some kind of treasure for strengthening himself. That was a good thing, to say the least. Quentin recklessly pounced toward Zen, and Zen thought that the item was exactly what he hoped it would be.


    Zen was unaware though that Quentin was simultaneously having these same thoughts.


    Quentin knew that this Sky Pearl could easily give himself a massive boost in a short period of time, whether it be in strength or speed. With this extra boost, he at the Spirit Transformation Realm, would have the strength to fight against a top-level world lord. There were no masters like a Supreme Lord in the divine land, and any world lords could find ways to condense their own Godly Tile. Speaking of such, there were actually plenty of ways to obtain a Godly Tile.


    It was for that reason, and rightfully so, that Quentin was equally afraid that Zen would slip away, or seek the protection of the Skyland race!


    That Sky Pearl only lasted for about two minutes, which was relatively short. Once Zen succeeded in dodging the aura emitting from the pearl, his strength would begin plummeting and his chances for making a comeback would be completely over.


    Upon noticing that Zen had no intentions in avoiding him or his attack, Quentin was overjoyed.


    "Seeing as you''re in such a hurry to die, don''t blame me for this!"


    Quentin said. Other than this trace of happiness, Quentin fel


    ight claws were condensed by the blood essence of the Heaven Duck. Such a creature''s claws could literally slice through near anything. Even the Collapsing Mountain race''s most sturdy Magic Golden Stone could be cut in half by a set of claws like these.


    In the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, Quentin thought, there probably wasn''t any material his terrifyingly sharp claws couldn''t slice through.


    Unfortunately for Quentin, he couldn''t have been more wrong. When Zen used the shield formed by Nine Divine Stars, it wasn''t a material object at all. It was only an invisible power.


    Generally speaking, the power could only be exerted to the extreme by means of media transmission.


    And, the most common medium still remained to be a fighter''s own body and fists. A few of the body refiners equally used large hammers and battle-axes. These weapons could also be considered a form of medium.


    The power of Holy Being mastered by Zen was much too strong for him. With Zen''s current strength, no matter what medium he used, there was no way he would ever be capable of withstanding such great force. Choosing to use his body to bear it was not a good idea, his physical self would disintegrate. Even a supreme primordial weapon would break inch by inch.

 Chapter 1887 The Shield Of Power (Part Two)

    Therefore, all he could do now was to unleash his power by the means of the Cross-world Theurgy. Using a technique such as this one was a complete waste, but Zen was acting desperate, out of helplessness. Otherwise, it would be the same situation as he experienced before in which he lit up too many dragon scales and couldn''t be capable of using them.


    Even Zen just released the power without the help of any medium, it was actually more than enough to fight against Quentin!


    Gar...!


    At the same time that the green light claws reached the invisible shield, the intertwining power of the two incomparable attacks collided and emitted a sharp slicing noise.


    Formless power could be compared to flowing water. If any piece of it was sliced or cut open, the power wouldn''t be wasted but instead replenished.


    Due to such, the cutting force coming from the sharp claws was unable to destroy the invisible shield. On the contrary, as Zen continued to drive the shield forward, the sharp claws began to disappear, now being swallowed up whole.


    Although it felt much, much longer, this entire process took no more than two seconds.


    Quentin''s expression quickly darkened. He watched as the tips of his sharp claws began to bend in all directions and cracks began to appear on their surface!


    "This... Is... Impossible!"


    Quentin shouted. By using the Sky Pearl, his confidence soared upward and he suddenly felt like he was invincible.


    Throughout several different occasions, if a warrior''s strength was greatly enhanced in a short period of time, this kind of illusion would appear in their minds. For example, the warriors in the Collapsing Mountain race who passed their trials would experience a sudden increase in their overall confidenc


    gans, they would all be utterly destroyed!


    What happened in the next instant though was far from what Zen had expected at all.


    All of the sudden, the brown wooden ring wrapped around Quentin''s finger broke off. Simultaneously, a burst of smoke rose from the surface of Quentin''s skin - a smoke that slowly enveloped his entire body. From the midst of the smoke, an intense Space Law Power was transmitted over and Quentin''s entire figure disappeared in the blink of an eye, magically replaced by that of a wooden puppet!


    This puppet-like creation was vivid and lifelike. It look exactly like Quentin in figure and form, but Zen knew better. It definitely wasn''t him.


    Zen equally crushed the puppet into pieces by using his shield and the pieces too, fell to the ground. Zen looked around and sneered, nose high in the air. He was done here. He returned to the platform.


    At the time of battle, there were many different treasures that Quentin could have used to protect his body. Just before his death, he had used such a substitute treasure! Not only could a puppet be used to replace his physical body, but it could also be used to teleport through space!

 Chapter 1888 Shocking Qin City (Part One)

    There was a teleporting area at the southern hills of the central Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. About fifteen percent of the warriors were transported there whenever they entered the area.


    When the teleporting area was occupied by the Qin Clan, the name of the area was immediately changed to Qin City. Afterward, the Qin Clan sent their world lords into the city and gradually conquered the location.


    A bright white light suddenly appeared and shone across the center of the sky of Qin City. The light was actually a result of the scattered Space Law.


    As the space theurgy passed down through the divine land, it created a very stable and nearly perfect space channel. As the incandescent white Space Law inter-weaved ceaselessly, a large snowflake was formed. The snowflake rotated mid-air a few times until suddenly, somebody fell straight out of the snowflake.


    A world lord within the fortress saw the person and rushed quickly into the sky. When the world lord finally reached the person who was still in the middle of the fall, the world lord delivered a surprise and gasped. "Young master, who had the guts to do this to you? Were you suddenly attacked by powerful beasts in the wilderness?" the world lord asked.


    There was no doubt that the person who fell was Quentin.


    However, the front of his body had his flesh ripped apart and mangled. A huge gash was seen on his chest that one could see the eerie bones within it.


    The corrosion from Zen''s shield also morbidly damaged Quentin''s left hand.


    A ring made from cyan wood was seen on the little finger of his left hand. It was an escape ring. The escape ring could replace his body with a wooden puppet the moment he encountered danger. Simultaneously, it would also teleport him elsewhere. If he was in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, the escape ring would be able to teleport Quentin back to Qin City.


    The world lord carried Quentin all the way into the fort. The arrival of Quentin in such a


    low-level trial tallies.


    The fact that their young master had actually been injured by a secondary creature was totally unbelievable.


    "I... I even used the great Wishing Spell." Quentin stuttered. Humiliation started to sink to his soul.


    The world lords were even more shocked. If Quentin was injured like this even after he used the great Wishing Spell, then the secondary creature''s origin was definitely something to worry about.


    "What about Hayes? And Mac? Did they not protect you, young master?" a world lord asked in anger as if he wanted to blame those he just named.


    Two guards were appointed to Quentin when he entered the Skyland race. Their responsibilities were to protect their young master at all cost but they failed to carry out their duties as their young master had been severely injured.


    However, the two guards did not enter the Tidal Surge. They figured that with Quentin''s strength, there was no need to accompany him in that place.


    "I even used the Sky Pearl," Quentin added with a regretful voice. He tried to be as honest as could be, perhaps in an attempt to cover up the embarrassment of his defeat to a secondary creature.


    "What?"


    "Is this true, young master?"


    The world lords present were startled. Most of them couldn''t comprehend the reality of the situation.

 Chapter 1889 Shocking Qin City (Part Two)

    Quentin''s cultivation might not be as high as theirs, but after he displayed his great Wishing Spell, his strength should be several times higher than theirs. No world lord would be a match with Quentin if he was powered up with the help of his Wishing Spell.


    But he even used the Sky Pearl! With such a secret and powerful treasure supporting him, the young master''s strength should be far above any world lord present!


    The problem for the world lords was that Quentin had used the Sky Pearl and was still defeated. He had also activated the escape ring to save his life. The strength of the secondary creature that defeated Quentin was truly at a level that they could not comprehend.


    They could not believe that such an incident really happened.


    As he noticed their expressions, Quentin''s rage grew even worse. "Don''t you believe me?" he asked with an angry voice.


    "We have no right to question you, young master. However, please understand that this situation is very hard for us to believe." A world lord lowered his head and responded with an apologetic tone.


    "No matter who the strange creature is, we have to go to the Skyland race to capture this person. We must make sure that the young master fulfills his vow." another world lord said like a politician who offered a solution to a problem.


    Quentin lost to Zen even though he activated his great Wishing Spell for the demise of Zen. If Quentin did not kill him, then in the future, Quentin''s cultivation would not be able to progress. Therefore, regardless of who the other party was, Quentin should kill the secondary creature that he vowed to murder.


    "There''s no need to hurry. This person''s origin is quite problematic. Even the Skyland race is protecting him. I''m afraid that we will not be able to capture him so easily," Quentin said with a frown. His rash use of the great Wishing Spell had created a hidden danger for him. A gamble was made


    e sum of the black crystals refined in the last three months.


    The three of them were extremely excited. The precious Pristine Life Vitality was constantly being swallowed up by them and continued to add fuel to the fire for their inner worlds! The concentration of life vitality in their bodies increased so fast that the results were visible to the eyes.


    While a warrior was moving through the Soul Sea Realm, the Spirit Supreme Realm, and the Spirit Transformation Realm, their inner worlds were continuously experiencing changes.


    As one''s inner world developed and expanded, one''s cultivation would also steadily improve. At this rate, he or she would be able to break through to the Spirit Transformation Realm in just a few days!


    After they absorbed the Pristine Life Vitality, the three of them gathered around Zen, curious to hear more about his experiences along the way. Their faces were decorated with delightful smiles and eager eyes.


    Zen briefly recounted the details of what happened in the Collapsing Mountain race. Even though Zen had missed out on many details and hid some information from the three of them, they were still dazzled by what they heard. They continued to listen to Zen''s discussion with curious minds, eager for knowledge and improvement.

 Chapter 1890 The Trustee

    Zen and the others were on the platform, casually chatting about the knowledge of the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. And at the same time, they were refining the Pristine Life Vitality.


    After Lucille and the others were teleported to this land, things were not easy for them. And they would go all out for a purple trial tally. Lone, on the other hand, nearly died in the whole process.


    When the surrounding warriors on the platforms observed their crystals of Pristine Life Vitality quickly piled up like a small mountain, their faces were full of envy. But, they could only go as far as envy Zen''s god-like strength. Who would dare to provoke him?


    Moreover, from the attitude of the Skyland race, this fellow seemed to be respected even by Kaydan. Everyone couldn''t guess the reason, but that wasn''t important. What mattered most was that no one dared to fight with him.


    Soon, Zen prepared to leave and did not stay there for long.


    Zen had also keenly observed the crystals of Pristine Life Vitality. They seemed to be relatively special but quite similar to the life vitality crystals. But, the structure was completely different.


    Unfortunately, after Zen absorbed these black crystals into his body, they simply could not fuse with the chaotic energy and were quickly devoured by the chaos. With this, there was no need for him to stay here for a long time.


    So when Zen left the Tidal Surge, he went to see Kaydan. He told him to keep the platform for his friends.


    Since this was a simple request for Kaydan, he eagerly agreed.


    Some of the warriors from the divine land created a dramatic scene as soon as Zen had left. They deemed themselves as powerhouses and were ready to take over the central platform again.


    But a group of people from the Skyland race soon arrived, announcing that the central platform was reserved for Zen. The central platform was at Lucille and the other two''s disposal.


    This was a request personally made by Zen in consideration of the ten people from the universe who came to the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. The Skyland race was the most important sacred place for cultivation. And the others would fight to enter this place as well, so they would be able to share it with the three of them.


    And that kind of request was very predictable.


    Three days later, Karl and Xenia entered the Skyland race exactly when Zen was still cultivating on top of a pagoda.


    As secondary creatures, they successfully entered the Tidal Surge after they had paid the trial tally. However, they did not encounter Zen.


    Compared to the others, their luck was a little lacking. It had taken them a lot of time to obtain the purple trial tally.


    In fact, it wasn''t easy to obtain a purple trial tally in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. Some warriors could spend several years, or even several decades, and this only proved that these ten people were top ten warriors in the entire universe, the cream of the crop!


    The two of them gained entry at the Tidal


    life vitality, Zen could have stayed in the Skyland race to absorb the black crystals, and try to expand his inner world.


    The size of the inner world was also a measure of one''s cultivation level. If Zen were unable to expand his inner world even further, then he would lose any means of raising his cultivation level.


    Since Zen was unfortunately unable to find the answer within the Primal Chaos Technique, he had to explore. A path that others had never taken was destined to have too many risks and uncertainties, but it would also yield astonishing harvests and unexpected results.


    In addition to exploring the inner world, Zen also needed to deal with the two sisters from Han Clan.


    Although this woman had taken advantage of him once, Laquisha still knew when to advance and when to retreat. However, her little sister was quite different. Her sister was an ignorant little girl who kept pestering him with lots of questions. She even asked Zen which universe did he come from.


    "I also don''t know which universe I come from." Zen didn''t know much about the powers in the divine land, nor was he aware what the universe was named. Perhaps, Rocher and Master Feng knew a bit, and yet they were hiding something from him.


    "Who is the trustee?" Aleyna suddenly asked.


    "What is a trustee?" Zen naturally didn''t know what she meant.


    Aleyna showed off arrogantly. "So you don''t even know what a trustee is¡­ The universe is indeed a backward place!"


    "Aleyna!" Laquisha felt her sister''s words were a bit rude.


    However, Zen waved his hand dismissively and said, "It doesn''t matter. I wonder if the person you''re referring to is the one who controls the heavens."


    At this time, Zen''s interest was piqued. He understood that there was some vital information he needed to grasp himself. The two girls weren''t scheming people, so he naturally needed to seize this opportunity to learn a thing or two.


    And because of this probing, Zen had a new understanding of the entire divine land.

 Chapter 1891 Evolutionary Universe

    Even though her sister rebuked her, Aleyna was not the slightest bit afraid of her. She continued, "The entire universe is under the control of the Holy Being. What right do the others have to be called a controller?"


    After hearing Aleyna''s explanation, Zen finally understood.


    Since the universe was the inner world of a Holy Being, then it stood to reason that the Holy Being was the master of the universe. This logic was quite very obvious and easy to follow.


    But he was not certain as to what kind of role Irene played. Just like what Aleyna said, was Irene really a so-called "trustee"?


    "Trustee, what is that?" Zen asked again, his brows furrowing in confusion.


    At his question, Aleyna blinked a few times. Her eyes were a little round and watery, and they notably lacked the charming yet lonely quality of Laquisha''s beautiful orbs.


    It was natural for a young girl at her age to have fervent adoration for the strong. Others might be curious and have questions and doubts about Zen''s origins, but his past and his strength didn''t matter to her, as long as he would not do anything to provoke her.


    On the other hand, Laquisha was a bit more mature than Aleyna. She was more inclined to use Zen for her own advantage and use him to complete her agendas, such as entering the Soul Suppressing Cliff or even attacking Quentin.


    But Aleyna''s indifference toward Zen might change once she became interested in him. The moment that happened, she would definitely dig up everything she could about him.


    "Then, tell me, who is the controller of heavens you were speaking of?" Aleyna asked, waiting for his answer.


    Zen hesitated, unable to answer right away. In truth, he knew nothing about that person, except her name. Drawing a deep breath, he answered, "It is Irene Jiang."


    "Ha! It is her! The trustee that the Jiang Clan had sent!" Aleyna said, her lips curving into a wide smile.


    A flash of satisfaction passed over Laquisha''s eyes at the revelation. She was evidently pleased to know more about Zen.


    Zen watched their reactions and realized that they probably knew a secret he didn''t know of. "What?"


    "That is the Evolutionary Universe," Aleyna informed.


    "Evolutionary Universe..." Zen said slowly, testing the way it rolled off with his tongue. Was this the name of the universe he was in?


    Aleyna looked at Zen with doubts clouding her face, and said, "But the Holy Being who built the Evolutionary Universe seemed to be caught in a bad situation. We think he''s already dead."


    "Aleyna, what are you talking about?" Laquisha said quickly, interrupting her sister. She clarified, "The Holy Being and the universe are interdependent. If the universe is still there, the Holy Being can''t be dead."


    "Yes, the Holy Being is about to die. Didn''t they say that they were ready to take action? If the Evolutionary Universe is destroyed and broken up, then won''t that mean that the Holy Being will die as well?" Aleyna continued.


    Hearing the sincerity in Aleyna''s words, Zen became certain that they weren''t lying.


    It was indeed true that the universe was in danger and facing the invasion of the Sacred race. Furthermore, Rocher had once informed him that the master of the universe was on the verge of death. . .


    Strictly


    ved the bloodbath. They were no doubt the most powerful and resilient races.


    Endless wars only brought ravaging destruction and total annihilation. With the development of civilization, people eventually came together to put an end to the long period of war and death.


    As a result, many Holy Beings joined hands and formed the Hall of Holy Beings. They were given the highest authority in the entire divine land as they were entrusted to keep the peace all throughout the lands.


    The appearance of the Hall of Holy Beings eventually stabilized the entire divine land, heralding a new era of peace among the people, and it had persisted until now.


    But despite its existence, the battles between races, warriors, even the Holy Beings had not completely stopped...


    To avoid repeating the same mistakes, their skirmishes were confined to the rules.


    Anyone who would break the rules would surely face the wrath and punishment of the hall.


    The whole process was filled with plots and traps.


    ""The master of the Evolutionary Universe and his disciples must have fallen into a trap and received their punishment in the end, but the things involved are very complicated and cannot be explained in just a short time. Moreover, there are many rumors circulating around that may not be true," Laquisha cut in. Aleyna glared at her sister, pissed that her sister interrupted her at the most crucial moment.


    "What is the name of the master of the Evolutionary Universe?" Zen asked, completely immersed in the information they were providing him with.


    Curiosity was eating him up. He knew that the Holy Being had built this universe and had also seen Wynn, one of the Holy Being''s disciples, who was hiding in the Celestial Position.


    Unfortunately, he knew nothing about this Holy Being.


    "The master of the Evolutionary Universe is called Mike Luo. He has the same last name as you," Laquisha replied with indifference.


    "What?!" Zen exclaimed in surprise.


    Laquisha''s answer made his blood boil. Excited, he took deep erratic breaths, his heart hammering so loud in his rib cage that it felt like the girls from the Han Clan could hear his heartbeat clearly.

 Chapter 1892 Zens Reflection

    No other names that Laquisha said would have shocked Zen more.


    The master of Evolutionary Universe where Zen lived was called Mike Luo who was also a Holy Being living in the divine land.


    For a moment, Zen''s mind went blank. He just could not think.


    ''Maybe it is just a coincidence, '' he mused. Although the name Mike Luo was not common, it wasn''t a rare name either.


    However it was not very rational to see it as a coincidence.


    Earlier also Rocher and the others had kept many information from him. Did they also conceal these secrets from him too?


    There was also the issue of his own fate. At that time, Zen displayed great talent, compared with the warriors in great world. But if one were to look at the entire universe, then Zen, with his low cultivation level at that time, was nothing compared to the warriors of the universe.


    So, why did that young man appear abruptly and abduct Yan? Was it because she was his the fate pointer?


    All these thoughts were running across Zen''s mind.


    Maybe all this was just a fabricated excuse.


    To be more specific, his fate was to make him advance towards the divine land.


    As he went through all these thoughts, Zen could understand the situation more clearly.


    If one were to assume that the young man was a True God who could descend upon the universe at his will, then he had to be a disciple of the Holy Being.


    But no ordinary True God could return to the universe. In Zen''s eye, the only True God was Wynn of Celestial Position, one of the Holy Being''s disciples.


    When his own strength was merely in the Virtual Tribulation Realm, he was under the care of this disciple whose strength was equal to a True God''s.


    Coincidentally, his father who died was called Mike Luo and the name of the Holy Being also was Mike Luo.


    With this deduction, nothing that happened so far was a coincidence after all!


    If his father really was the creator of the universe, then Mike would be an omnipotent existence in the inner world. He turned into a nature creature and gave birth to a Luo Clan in a certain corner of the universe. Then Mike had cultivated Zen until he grew up. In the end, Mike promptly arranged for some tragedy to ensure his death.


    His hatred would be a motivation for Zen to grow up faster


    With these never ending thoughts, Zen''s breath became heavier.


    There were also other evidences supporting these facts that Zen knew about. After Zen had used his soul to attack the ''little monster'' of the York Divine Kingdom, he had directly taken over the will of the great world by devouring his soul!


    The outcome came so naturally, as if the will of this great world had always belonged to him.


    There were only few people who studied the will of the world, so Zen couldn''t find any reference. That was why he didn''t consider it to be weird. On the contrary, he had thought that it made sense. Now after careful deliberation, he realized t


    couldn''t be counted as his father in the strict sense.


    Zen also had an incarnation when he stepped into his inner world. That was not his original body, but it still executed at his will. He had poured all of his feelings into the body.


    He was still his father!


    Even if he was created deliberately, he would have to repay this debt of gratitude.


    If he had to save Mike, would he also have to face the vast power of the Hall of Holy Beings?


    Compared to a Holy Being, he looked so insignificant, that he could be easily ignored.


    Evolutionary Universe was about to be wiped out by Sacred race. Since Mike had already sent him to this stage, Zen had to continue with the rest of the journey and accomplish the task at hand. This road was destined to be arduous, but Zen was not afraid. His eyes shone with excitement.


    He stayed in the Skyland race for two more days, then proceeded ahead. Along the way, he visited the Tidal Surge for a while and met Xenia and Karl.


    Out of the ten Godly Geniuses, Zen knew that six of them had appeared within the Skyland race. He didn''t know which cultivation sacred place the remaining four were currently in, especially Margaret. Zen was still a bit concerned. This woman was impulsive and willful, and he hoped she would complete the training in Divine Refinement Forbidden Land.


    Two days later, the Harmony race, the one who controlled the Mind Refining Tower, finally arrived at Skyland race.


    Compared to the Skyland race, this Harmony race had a very ugly appearance. Their bodies were covered with snake-like scales, and their nose bridge was abnormally high. Their eyes were shaped like triangles, hanging upside down on their faces. If their behavior had not been exceptionally good, Zen would have treated them like beasts.


    Although this race had a very ugly appearance, Zen realized that they were a kind and optimistic race, who were much easier to deal with than the Skyland race.

 Chapter 1893 Cold Flame Poison (Part One)

    The Harmony race controlled the Mind Refining Tower which was a sacred place for cultivating one''s state of mind.


    Perhaps it was because the mental states of the warriors in the Harmony race were stable and any traits of cruelty could not be found in them, that they were able to maintain a calm and indifferent attitude at all times. In other words, it was easy to get along with them.


    Now that the three great races had gathered together, it was time to set out.


    The Collapsing Mountain race and the Harmony race had arranged for the strongest elites from their races to arrive at the place. The Skyland race was also prepared. Besides the elites of the three races, a few warriors from other races were also willing to practice with them.


    As the second day dawned, clouds dispersed in the skies, and they began to head in the northern direction of the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land.


    The Han Clan too had sent out warriors from their clan. Along with Kennan and some others, more than twenty world lords from the Han Clan had arrived. Laquisha and Aleyna too were present as they set out with the three great races.


    For the three great races, this was undoubtedly an important exploration. No one knew of the means through which the Han Clan had convinced the three races to let the warriors of their own clan join them..


    The attitude of the three great races toward the other warriors varied greatly. The Collapsing Mountain warriors were the most domineering. They acknowledged the status of the strong warriors alone, which was why it was possible for Pascal, a warrior from another race, to qualify to be their leader. However, even though Pascal had once been the leader of the Collapsing Mountain race, it did not mean that they would give any special treatment to the Han Clan. After all, It was


    Land of Extreme Chillness.


    "Aleyna, you should wear this first," Laquisha said, fishing out a gown embroidered with fiery clouds and handing it over to Aleyna. The Han Clan had operated in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land for many years, so they were very knowledgeable on the layout of the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. They knew how horrible the cold flame field was.


    It could be said that the master of the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land had recorded all of his comprehension of the Ice Law on this cold flame field.


    Holy Beings were proficient in all laws and it was impossible for them to overlook anything when creating a universe. However, the master of the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land specialized in Ice Law and had his own comprehension of it, so the cold flame field could not be underestimated.


    Laquisha put the gown on Aleyna and then walked over to Zen, reminding him in a low voice, "Since they want to cross the cold flame field, their destination would be the interior world of the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. I don''t know what they want you to get for them, but I must remind you to be careful and not push yourself too hard. Your safety must always come first."

 Chapter 1894 Cold Flame Poison (Part Two)

    Zen nodded in understanding. The Collapsing Mountain race had shown him respect and he too had agreed to their request. Naturally, he would do as he had promised.


    However, the precondition for him helping them out was that his safety was guaranteed. If Zen were to be in a desperate situation, it would be impossible for him to risk his life in order to help them. Since both sides were taking advantage of each other, they profited from equivalent exchange.


    Zen was not merely being realistic. The pressure he was shouldering currently was unprecedentedly heavy. The fate of the Evolutionary Universe alone was enough to give him a headache, not to mention the fact that he needed to enter the divine land in future.


    In other words, Zen''s life was more precious than the others in front of him. He could not die here. Otherwise, it would just be irresponsible of him.


    "The interior world? What is that?" Zen asked as he heard the unfamiliar term.


    Laquisha continued to speak through her life vitality. "The Divine Refinement Forbidden Land is divided into exterior and interior worlds. Everything you see, including this enormous cave, is only the exterior world. The interior world is the core of the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land¡­"


    The Han Clan had sent out many of their warriors into the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land previously. Staying at this place for so many years, they had a much better understanding of the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land than other common warriors. As the princess of the Han Clan, Laquisha had the natural advantage of being more aware of their current circumstances.


    Except for warriors who wanted to comprehend t


    expressed their support for her did not believe she had the ability to do so.


    After some preparations, the Skyland race warriors were the first to cross the visible snow boundary. Soon after, everyone else followed.


    The moment they entered the cold flame field, blue flames took shape on everyone''s hair, clothes, even their eyebrows and eyelashes.


    Although these cold flames were condensed by ice or snow, they were not solid. They swayed like ice-blue flames.


    The flames were cold and did not make them feel the slightest of warmth. Instead, the chill was piercing cold and carried with it a burning sensation.


    Zen did not devour the Gold Sun Fruit. Crossing the boundary, he felt as if his entire body had frozen up. When he saw the cold flames all over his body, he was slightly surprised. They were indeed powerful.


    As he shook his body, the cold flames were doused out.


    But not long after, they came back again. The poison contained in the cold flames could penetrate anything and anyone. As it penetrated into Zen''s body, it flew through his meridians and spread into his inner world.

 Chapter 1895 Advancing

    After entering Zen''s inner world, the cold flame poison started to fall gently like snowflakes.


    As these snowflakes fell onto the brown chaotic sea, they released chilly air, and it looked like the chaotic sea was going to freeze over...


    But nothing of the sort happened. Instead, the chilly air was instantly devoured by the chaotic energy.


    Ever since Zen had endowed chaotic energy with the ability to devour other things, it could transform almost anything. He clearly knew that the chaotic energy was a formidable force.


    Currently, Zen was primarily focused on refining his body. He could make use of the chaotic energy to display the Gods-intimidating Strike, but he usually unleashed the power of this strike by comprehending the Godly Way. He did not exert the chaotic energy to its extreme. That was to say that Zen was lacking a cultivation method, which could help him fully utilize the power of the chaotic energy!


    The cold flame poison was still falling down in soft waves in his inner world. The majority of the poison had disappeared into the chaotic sea, while a small portion had already fallen onto the main continent of his inner world. A few unlucky creatures might have come in contact with the poison and got instantly frozen into ice cubes. But the overall impact on his inner world was negligible.


    Zen could deal with the cold flame poison effortlessly, but it wasn''t so easy for the other warriors.


    Although the Skyland race had distributed the Gold Sun Fruits, most of the martial artists present chose not to devour the fruit...


    According to the leader of the Skyland race, they were capable of comprehending the profound mystery of the Ice Law in the cold flame field.


    The truth was that the martial artists from the divine land were even more clear than Kaydan that the so-called profound mystery of the Ice Law was the famed skill of the master of the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. The Ice Soul Flame was renowned in the divine land 30, 000 years ago!


    This flame was a unique profound mystery created by the master of the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. And he was the first to unravel this mystery!


    When the master of the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land became a Holy Being, he constructed a Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. He then made an announcement that everyone could cultivate in that land. Warriors could also absorb his strength source. This was a very exciting development for everyone in the divine land.


    In addition to this, his knowledge of the Ice Soul Flame was sealed within the cold flame field of the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, thereby effectively shielding it from the outside world.


    In so many years, several warriors had entered this cold flame field, but none of them were able to comprehend the mystery of the Ice Soul Flame...


    For many martial artists from other races as well as those from the divine land, this was indeed a golden opportunity to finally comprehend the profound mystery.


    The Gold Sun Fruit could resist the cold flame poison, but they would only use it when they could not hold on any longer.


    Most warriors, including Zen, were facing the same predicament. The cold flame poison lingered around their bodies and followed the meridians in their bodies to invade their inner worlds. Soon it began to snow within their inner worlds.


    However, their inner worlds co


    es, only a few of the weaker martial artists had consumed the Gold Sun Fruit. When they reached thirty thousand miles, twenty percent of the group had swallowed the Gold Sun Fruit. When they reached seventy thousand miles, more than ninety percent of the martial artists had consumed the Gold Sun Fruit!


    Of all the martial artists present, only the Collapsing Mountain race''s Divinity Hunt Squad members, the seven elders of the Skyland race, and a few elites of the Harmony race were able to reach one hundred thousand miles.


    Of course, Zen and Aleyna were among this group of achievers who made it as well.


    As for Laquisha, if she were to use her abnormal flame, she would be able to resist the cold flame poison. However, those who specialized in using fire were even more afraid of the cold. So she had gobbled up the Gold Sun Fruit when she reached thirty thousand miles.


    "Chapman is right. Not only is Zen capable of resisting the abnormal flame, he also seems to be able to withstand the extreme cold," Tilton, the leader of the Harmony race, remarked as he gazed at Zen with a mix of admiration and surprise.


    He had come here with the members of the Harmony race, so he had naturally learned from Kaydan and Chapman that Zen was a flame-proof warrior with special theurgy. He also had never thought that the flame-proof warrior that the Collapsing Mountain warriors had mentioned a few months ago would increase his strength to this extent in such a short period of time...


    Initially, he had his doubts when he heard Kaydan and Chapman talk about Zen''s impressive ability before, but now he was convinced that Zen was indeed extremely powerful. At this moment, he saw that Zen could also move freely in this world of ice and snow without needing to devour the Gold Sun Fruit. He indeed had remarkable abilities.


    "Ha-ha. You and I are able to withstand the cold flame poison when we reach a hundred thousand miles. Do you think that brat can withstand the cold flame poison after he travels one hundred and fifty thousand miles?" Kaydan asked suddenly.


    One hundred and fifty thousand miles...


    That was easily the deepest region of the cold flame field. Even the three leaders needed to devour the Gold Sun Fruit at that point.

 Chapter 1896 Advance Towards The End

    They had traveled about 100, 000 miles when the cold flames below their feet began to blaze and the azure light reflected off them continuously, making it hard to look straight at them.


    It was as if everyone was standing on a sea of fire, but the azure flames weren''t making them feel warm.


    Suddenly, a member of the Divinity Hunt Squad of the Collapsing Mountain race fell towards the cold flames below.


    Kaydan was quick to react. He spread his wings, turned into a streak of light, and took off into the air, circling below the Collapsing Mountain member and saving him from falling.


    "No one can save you if you fall into the cold flames. So if you can''t hold on any longer, don''t be a hero," reminded Kaydan.


    The upper echelons of the three races were also prepared to compete with each other. None of the members of the Collapsing Mountain race''s Divinity Hunt Squad had eaten any Gold Sun Fruit. As pure body refiners, it was impossible for them to understand the meaning of the Ice Law.


    Extreme cold was a means of body refining, but there was no need to take such a huge risk.


    "Avery! Eat it!" ordered Chapman.


    The warrior called Avery nodded and swallowed the Gold Sun Fruit in one gulp.


    In addition to him, another member of the Skyland race had also given up forcing himself. He too swallowed the Gold Sun Fruit, and Kaydan continued to lead the way while the rest followed behind.


    As the cold flame poison that had wafted into Zen''s inner world increased and condensed, the snow in that world grew heavier and heavier.


    The creatures in the inner world were currently experiencing an unprecedented winter.


    Although the chaotic sea was not frozen, its temperature had dropped considerably.


    If the temperature continued to drop, the creatures in his inner world would most likely face death on a massive scale.


    Losing some of those creatures wouldn''t have much of an impact on Zen. After all, he wasn''t reliant on the Faith Energy of those people right now. But he still didn''t want the people he had created to die.


    As Zen pondered this, his thoughts rippled and moved.


    Countless schools of fish suddenly appeared from within the chaotic sea. They leapt out of the water, spread their wings, and flew into the sky.


    The fishermen in the inner world witnessed this scene and there were people who recorded it. They would pass it down for years to come. Legend would have it that the fish had turned into big birds to save people from the heavy snow.


    They didn''t know that this was just an idea of Zen''s.


    Once the fish took off into the air, they charged towards the pieces of cold flame poison, turned into chaotic energy the minute they got into contact, and devoured the pieces of the poison.


    Zen tried his best to keep the cold flame poison in midair. At the same time, the nine stars in the sky began to move unceasingly.


    "Nine shining stars!"


    Zen did not draw out the energy within the stars. Instead, he allowed the nine stars to move about with their own strength.


    Drilling wood wa


    o comprehend the Ice Soul Flame?


    Zen had no idea how powerful this martial art was. But he did know that since it was a skill inherited from a Holy Being, it wasn''t a weak one.


    Zen''s interest was piqued at this thought. He had been considering whether it was necessary to continue on like this. If it was just a pure test without any rewards, then there was no need to force it. He was not a masochist.


    Now it seemed that it was necessary to give it a try.


    It was not long before everyone finally broke through the 130, 000 miles.


    The second they had reached that mark, something unexpected happened.


    Tilton of the Harmony race gave up and swallowed a Gold Sun Fruit. Chapman was the only one of the Collapsing Mountain race that persisted. There were only two people left from the Skyland race: Kaydan and an elder named Fraine.


    And at this moment, Fraine fell downward without a word.


    Zen had been focused on resisting the cold flame poison. He didn''t have the time to be distracted. And by the time he discovered the problem, the elder had already fallen.


    "Fraine!"


    "Elder Fraine!"


    Some warriors screamed and rushed towards the elder, but they couldn''t get there in time.


    The crowd watched as Elder Fraine was struck by the cold flames below and turned into a lump of ice, falling hard towards the ground.


    Fraine tried to save himself.


    As he fell, his entire body was still emitting raging flames. He wanted to resist the ice flames, but the bright yellow flames were only formed from life vitality. So how could they fight the power of the ice flames?


    The raging flames then disappeared from everyone''s sight and then, cracking sounds could be heard, like glass hitting the ground. It was the sound of Fraine''s body shattering.


    A deep fear took root within everyone, reflecting in their eyes. Many of them subconsciously raised themselves up. Although they all knew how terrifying this cold flame was, witnessing the death of that elder with their own eyes truly brought the horror home.

 Chapter 1897 A Mirror

    Deaths were quite common in the cold flame field. However, the death of an elder of the Skyland race was an extremely rare occurrence.


    After all, the Skyland race mainly cultivated life vitality and they were also on their way to find out whether the divine land martial artist''s speculations were true or not.


    The Skyland race attempted to travel across the cold flame field every once in a while, in hopes of witnessing a miracle that would let them understand its hidden mysteries.


    However, the Skyland race were unaware that the master of the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, commonly referred to as Holy Jay by the martial artists of the divine land, had already established a boundary that was impossible to cross when he created the six great races.


    No matter it was Chapman, Kaydan, or Tilton from the Harmony race, while they were truly outstanding and their strengths improved really quickly, they couldn''t advance any further after they had reached a certain limit.


    It wasn''t because they lacked talent or perseverance, but rather, the boundary had already been set ever since the six great races had been created.


    Therefore, the Skyland elites and elders had never gotten to cross the cold flame field with just their own strengths, no matter how hard they had tried. It seemed that they were destined to be always close, but never reaching success.


    After the elder of the Skyland race had died, Kaydan and Chapman also gave up. Both of them swallowed a Gold Sun Fruit and they immediately felt better.


    Everyone focused on Zen once again. Basically, among the hundreds of people present, he was the only one who had not eaten a Gold Sun Fruit!


    At this moment, even Zen had become extremely careful¡­


    The cold flame poison filled all the fibers in Zen''s being and at the same time, the power of the nine stars that flowed in his body became stronger and faster.


    However, simply relying on the radiance that the nine stars emitted didn''t completely melt those snowflakes. Although his inner world''s temperature had been stabilized at a certain point, it still continued to drop slowly!


    The cold flame poison''s power increased every time Zen flew a thousand miles away. By the time he had covered a hundred and thirty thousand miles, its power had increased by several degrees already. In such case, the threat it posed to Zen became deadlier.


    Then again, the nine stars'' power did not last forever. It would take a long time to completely replenish the strength source within them. Furthermore, crossing the cold flame field was only the first step.


    Meanwhile, the other warriors did not increase their speed as they traversed the ice field because of the fatal threat from the cold flame poison.


    Even though the Gold Sun Fruit possessed the power of the Sun Flame, there was still the possibility of it being extinguished if it was faced with copious amounts of cold flame poison. Thus, everyone still


    d into regular icicles that were stuck on the ground like sharp needles.


    It was no doubt that the whole place was a world of extremely low temperatures.


    There were no signs of life at all. Even the flow of energy and the transformation of laws had stopped.


    There were no gales, not even a sound of the wind.


    The surroundings were completely silent, and only Zen quietly advanced in the air.


    At that moment, the flame poison did not only freeze Zen''s inner world, but also the flow of his blood, the beating of his heart, and his mind!


    "Charge!"


    The immensely freezing environment almost stopped Zen''s thinking--and he only had just one thought in mind: to fly forward at top speed!


    Just then, the vast and cold flame field suddenly underwent a peculiar change.


    The densely packed icicles were originally an icy-blue color, but some of them suddenly turned orange and formed orange runes. The juxtaposition of the two colors formed a sharp contrast.


    However, as Zen flew above the runes, the orange hue of the icicles started to fade away and turn back to icy blue.


    Zen traveled further and the runes on the ground began to fade as well. It was as if the orange icicles had formed a welcome carpet for Zen. Once he had passed through, the path began to dissipate on its own.


    Even if Zen''s mind was already frozen to its limit, he still noticed the strange phenomenon below him. He saw an orange strip of runes that extended into the distance in front of him.


    "150000 miles!"


    Soon enough, Zen finally arrived at the end of the cold flame field. The runes that had suddenly appeared along the way had completely disappeared as well.


    In front of him was now a mirror that was over ten million feet tall, and extended all the way to the top of the cave in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. It divided the huge cave into two parts, and the scenes that were reflected in the mirror made him feel that this world was boundless.

 Chapter 1898 The Ice Field

    This mirror was like a huge lake made of mercury, and it lay horizontally in front of Zen, blocking his path.


    He approached the huge mirror slowly and cautiously, not knowing what to expect.


    He saw an identical image of himself in the mirror, slowly approaching him too.


    Zen extended his hand with some uncertainty and gently pressed the mirror. A ripple immediately appeared where his fingertip touched it and spread out in all directions.


    "This is really a mercury lake!"


    He remained standing where he was, not wanting to act rashly.


    If his guess was correct, this would be the entrance to the interior world that Kaydan had mentioned.


    He had no knowledge about the so-called exterior or interior world, so he decided to wait for the aboriginals to arrive before doing anything further.


    When Zen approached the mirror, the cold flame poison disappeared completely and the temperature within his inner world began to rise rapidly. Under his control, the storm within his body calmed down, and the nine stars in his body gradually stopped circulating.


    If Zen continued to drive the nine stars to circulate, they would release a strong amount of heat, which might burn all the living beings in his inner world.


    Just when Zen was trying to restore his inner world to normalcy, he suddenly discovered that there seemed to be something on the chaotic sea!


    "Runes?"


    He froze.


    When he rushed along the way, he had seen a path formed by runes before him. As he continued onward, the path disappeared behind him¡­


    Looking back, the runes had already completely disappeared.


    At that time, Zen''s mind was frozen by the cold temperature and he was in no mood to examine them carefully.


    Who would have thought that these runes, which stretched thousands of miles, were already imprinted on the chaotic sea!


    "Are these runes the profound mysteries of Holy Jay?"


    Zen focused his gaze on the densely-packed runes. This layer of runes stretched out thousands of miles and the strip circled on the chaotic sea, undulating on the surface of the water!


    The characters of the runes were somewhat similar to the Sanskrit words that Zen had seen before!


    There were many types of Sanskrit. Some Buddhist classics were also recorded in Sanskrit. But Zen had only seen three types of Sanskrit that were similar to the runes on the chaotic sea.


    The first type was the Sanskrit that appeared on Zen''s body, which was also the language in which the Grand Weapon Refining Method was recorded. He was familiar with this type of Sanskrit, having seen it many times before. Each time his body was tempered by the preternatural flame, the golden Sanskrit characters would appear on his body.


    As for the second type of Sanskrit, he had seen it when Xenia had employed her full strength¡­


    However, both these types of Sanskrit were very similar, almost identical, but the arrangement and content of each word were different.


    nto the clouds, and on the other side was a crystal clear ice tree. They stood opposite each other, yet formed a harmonious scene...


    The meaning of this development was unclear to Zen.


    Back then, the Creating Axe slashed and created space for the divine land to come into existence, and later the Lord of Weapons opened the heavens...


    Sunrest Tree, Lofty Tree, Ray Tree, Hidden Tree¡ªthese were the four divine trees.


    Perhaps these four great trees were not extraordinary themselves.


    It was just that these four divine trees had all been planted during the first divine era. Their roots directly penetrated through the divine land and extended into the chaos, thus giving them the ability to absorb the chaos for their own uses. Having absorbed the chaos for countless years, they finally had the qualifications to become divine trees!


    The four divine trees had stabilized the divine land, however they shared a symbiotic relationship with the land as they also relied on it to stabilize their own positions in order to become the unshakable four pillars of the divine land.


    Zen had used a World Tree seed to create his first giant tree. Now, another ice tree had appeared on the ice field. These two trees would also absorb the chaotic energy to grow, and they would also grow into divine trees in the future!


    As for the cold flame flower that had blossomed on top of the ice tree¡­


    Zen retracted his consciousness from his inner world, and then slightly spread out the five fingers in one of his hands.


    "Sizzle¡ª"


    A cold flame was set ablaze in Zen''s hand.


    ''It is just as I thought!''


    A hint of a smile appeared on Zen''s face as he expertly poured chaotic energy into the cold flame!


    Sizzle!


    In the blink of an eye, the size of this cold flame expanded by more than ten times and instantly enveloped Zen. The frosty air emitted from this cold flame was so strong that even the mercury that formed the mirror beside him froze!

 Chapter 1899 Interior World

    The power of the Ice Soul Flame was intense and terrifying. It originated from the Ice Law in the divine land and thus was considered a complete Law Power.


    The laws in the universes, however, heavily relied on the comprehension of the Holy Beings, which were often partial and incomplete.


    Zen balled his hand into a fist and lightly squeezed, causing the ice flame to dissipate in seconds. A small smile crept onto his face. It would seem that the Holy Being''s profound mysteries were reliable even during crucial moments.


    But a lingering question stayed in his mind. Just how strong was the ice flame? There was no way to test it, so he had no choice but to wait in front of the mirror.


    Minutes passed as he waited. Zen was in deep thought before he took out the Gold Sun Fruit and swallowed it in one gulp.


    He was not certain about what the Ice Soul Flame meant or if it was just one of the many deep mysteries of the Ice Law. But after careful considerations, Zen opted to keep the information to himself.


    If he did not swallow the Gold Sun Fruit, those people would definitely ask about it. He was not in the mood to make up another lie to satisfy their curiosity, so he might as well just swallow the fruit and get it over with.


    Not long after, Kaydan, Chapman, and Tilton finally passed through the cold flame field. After seeing Zen standing in front of the mirror and sizing him up a bit, Kaydan frowned and asked, "Zen, did you swallow the Gold Sun Fruit?"


    Zen turned to him and nodded his head slightly.


    At his confirmation, disappointment flickered on their faces.


    There was no doubt that Zen was the last person to pass through the cold flame field without the help of the Gold Sun Fruit. Before, when Zen was running madly like a lunatic, the three of them failed to find any traces of him and thought he had died in the cold flame field.


    They did not expect Zen to reach the end. Much to their disappointment, he had used the Gold Sun Fruit in the end.


    "When did you eat it?" Kaydan asked with a growing frown.


    Zen let out a faint smile, saying, "When there were still five thousand miles to go. I couldn''t bear it any longer. I think this was a failure."


    Kaydan drew a deep sigh. He was immensely disappointed but he was not sure if it was because he didn''t get to see the secret unraveled or if it was because Zen didn''t persevere on his own to the end.


    Unlike Kaydan, Tilton was much calmer and accepting. He said, "That''s understandable. It''s not easy to endure for 145, 000 miles after all. At the very least, no one''s ever traveled this far before. We''ve already managed a great feat."


    Aside from the martial artists at the Spirit Supreme Realm and Spirit Transformation Realm, there were also many world lords in the divine land who attempted to travel through the cold flame field; however, because of their limited cultivation, some people jumped to the conclusion that no one could pass through the cold flame field with just their own strength unless they were a True God.


    Usually and in normal circumstances, True Gods were not allowed to enter the universes.


    flashing and distorting, as if they were mere illusions, and it gave Zen an extremely surreal feeling as if he were trapped in a dream.


    After everyone had entered, Kaydan hushed everyone into silence and then pointed a finger toward a row of black hills not far away.


    Because the environment kept on flashing in and out of existence, everyone''s visions began to distort as well. They thought something was wrong with their eyes, so instead of focusing on the black hills, they rubbed their eyes and ran their gazes somewhere else.


    However, Kaydan and his group had come to the interior world many times before. They were used to this. When he pointed a finger at the row of black hills, all of the other martial artists paled at what they saw.


    To their shock, those black hills were actually Formless Sky Pythons that were currently in deep slumber.


    The world lords, the martial artists from the other races who were currently at Spirit Supreme Realm, or Spirit Transformation Realm, and even the people from the three major races couldn''t help but gulp in nervousness. The pressure was so intense that no one dared to bat an eye or make a sound, fearful that they might alert the pythons of their presence.


    "Laquisha. . ." Aleyna said in a quiet voice, her face turning as pale as a ghost.


    Although her voice was soft, the others threw sharp looks at her in frustration. Even Kaydan turned around and glared at her, his eyes blazing with fire and annoyance.


    Laquisha quickly covered her sister''s mouth with her palm, silencing her.


    There were rumors that there were only three Formless Sky Pythons in the entire Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, but it seemed there were more than a hundred of them in this interior world.


    In the past, when Laquisha was aggressively chased by a Formless Sky Python, the Collapsing Mountain race had to dispatch three people from their Divinity Hunt Squad to chase it away. If they made a mistake and woke these giant Formless Sky Pythons up now, then it would definitely mean a sure disaster for all the warriors present.

 Chapter 1900 Disturb Minds

    It was truly a good thing that the Formless Sky Pythons lay motionless in deep slumber, like they were dead meat.


    Silence hung thick in the air as Kaydan''s mouth moved and a strand of light blue life vitality spread out. "Everyone, try your best to not make any sound and follow me," he said.


    The Divine Refinement Forbidden Land was known to be a chaotic place since it did not have a strict structure. It was the definition of anarchy.


    Even then, the interior world was even more chaotic.


    This particular batch of Formless Sky Pythons had never left the interior world. When these warriors entered it last time, however, they stayed in the depths of one of the interior world''s mountain ranges instead of sleeping here.


    Kaydan and the others were shocked the first time they saw those Formless Sky Pythons. Fortunately, the huge Pythons were fast asleep¡ªso as long as everyone was careful, the Formless Sky Pythons would remain in slumber.


    Although such was the case, the fact that there were also so many other monsters pressured all of them.


    Thus, everyone tried their hardest to move slowly and quietly.


    Luckily, the warriors at present had long since mastered the control of their own bodies. The area was dipped in absolute silence, and not even the slightest sounds of footsteps were heard.


    But of course, they couldn''t move fast enough while they maintained such a stealthy posture. It took them a while before they reached ten miles.


    At that moment, no one still dared to speed up. After all, ten miles was equivalent to just a single step for the Formless Sky Pythons, and any noise they would''ve made could cost them their lives.


    At the same time, all of them felt slightly relieved. The further away they were from the beasts, the safer they would be.


    "Boom..."


    Suddenly, all of them felt the ground shake.


    The tremors in the ground were accompanied by a rumbling sound. All the colors in their faces were drained as they turned their heads to look back...


    Among the hundreds of slumbering Pythons were two already awake Formless Sky Pythons, which slowly rose up from their sleep. Their cylindrical heads were currently looking at the warriors.


    Meanwhile, Zen also turned around to look and suddenly frowned. Then, his gaze immediately landed on Laquisha...


    The two of them seemed to have realized something the moment they looked at each other. At the same time, Kennan, Chapman and the rest also understood.


    It looked like Laquisha seemed to attract the strange beasts!


    However, no one knew why it was the case.


    The reason Zen had been chased by a Formless Sky Python when he had first arrived at the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land was because Laquisha had attracted it.


    Later on, she had even attracted the Martial Sacred Beast, which chased after her as well.


    Chapman had known about it, but failed to realize it sooner. After all, the fact that Laquisha could attract the Martial Sacred Beast did n


    aura.


    Such a feeling was somewhat similar to when the malicious aura entered their bodies, but the two sensations were actually fundamentally different.


    While the malicious aura was only used to activate the warriors'' ruthlessness and violence, this energy directly affected their minds and changed their original intentions.


    Now, this current energy that affected the soul and mind wasn''t actually aimed at the warriors, but at the two Formless Sky Pythons. Yet, just a small trace of it was enough to make everyone panic.


    The moment the formless energy was poured into one of the Formless Sky Pythons, the huge beast suddenly let out a strange howl. Then, it quickly changed its direction at the last moment and headed towards the other Formless Sky Python instead! The other Formless Sky Python didn''t want to be defeated, as it also raised its head and started to fight back. The ground shook even more than what was possible as the two beasts engaged in a fierce battle.


    "The warriors of the Harmony race don''t seem strong, but they can directly control the Formless Sky Pythons'' minds. They are indeed extremely powerful!" Zen exclaimed. Even he himself was surprised at the shocking turn of events.


    Such an advantageous attack enabled the warriors of the Harmony race to finally control the two Formless Sky Pythons that charged at the front.


    But their small victory did not last. Hundreds of Formless Sky Pythons behind them already rolled over. The onslaught of the multiple colossal monsters shook the ground even more violently, and the warriors felt like they were on the tidal waves which were constantly churning and rolling. The whole scene looked terrifying and impressive at the same time!


    All of them could only focus on one thing, and that was to rush forward. Kaydan of the Skyland race was the most familiar with the interior world, so everyone could only put their hopes on him and pray that he could lead them out of their current hellhole.

 Chapter 1901 The Disused Nine Stars

    The team was guided into a straight line as the warriors raced to escape.


    Though the Skyland warriors were being led by Kaydan and they were at the front of the column, it didn''t mean that they were any safer than the others.


    There was an array of strict rules and regulations in the interior world, a single false step could spell unimaginable trouble.


    The Collapsing Mountain race was in the middle of the group, while the Harmony race brought up the rear.


    Tilton, the leader of the Harmony race, stood in the back, controlling two Formless Sky Pythons as the beasts were being attacked by their own kind.


    The collision of the mountainous pythons against each other created a crashing sound that rippled through the sky and sent shock waves that made people a little unsteady on their feet. Their attack was so violent and powerful that any weaker creature caught in their path would have instantly been torn to pieces.


    Tilton''s strategy was quite effective. The Formless Sky Pythons fighting among themselves in the back drastically slowed down their advancement towards the people.


    Naturally, this did not last forever as the ground at the back of the line suddenly caved in.


    "Rumble..."


    The earth cracked open with a thunderous rumble as an enormous Formless Sky Python clawed its way out from deep within the ground. It was not only able to creep close to the ground, but also able to move fluidly beneath it.


    Unable to dodge it fast enough, the Harmony warriors disappeared into the mouth of the animal. One would have assumed that the inner world of such a huge beast would rightly reflect the grandeur of the creature, but this one would be quite cruel. There was no chance of surviving once inside.


    The Formless Sky Python, after devouring a few Harmony warriors, was still unsatisfied. In a flash, its body folded over itself in midair and dove towards the group.


    All Tilton could do was change his target yet again. He placed both his hands on his head and focused his energy on the Formless Sky Python charging towards them.


    But even when paired with the other six elite warriors of the Harmony race, he could only control two Formless Sky Pythons at a time. Once he managed to gain control over the one in front of him, one of the other two in the fight regained its faculties and began to pursue the group.


    The enormous beasts had the strength and size of moving mountains. Their overwhelming power made everyone tremble with crippling fear, and everyone''s heart sank collectively.


    The interior world was a mirror world. Everything was a reflection


    rity of which were just a backdrop. The Nine Divine Stars were embedded in the constellations that illuminated the sky.


    They had existed for an eternity, and were the brightest in the Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western and Middle Sky Regions. During his travels in the Upper World, Zen did a superficial study of the stars, and did not delve too deeply into the nine stars.


    When a grand era ended, many stars began to fall out of the sky, and new ones slowly rose. These nine stars had never fallen before. They were the source of the Holy Being''s strength.


    The situation in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land was quite special.


    Holy Jay had stuffed his strength source into the Collapsing Mountain race''s Sacred Spring Mountain, leaving the nine stars completely unused.


    At the very least, this was what Zen assumed, However, what he couldn''t figure out was why Holy Jay would destroy his own nine stars and move the strength source to the bottom of the Sacred Spring Mountain.


    "There''s no time!"


    "The beasts are coming!"


    "Ah!"


    Amidst a cacophony of screams, three Formless Sky Pythons stretched and hurled themselves down from the sky. They instantly burrowed and disappeared into the ground, leaving behind three massive pits. Along with them, about thirty to forty warriors also disappeared under the caved-in ground.


    It happened so suddenly that most did not even have the opportunity to scream or react before being swallowed completely.


    It would take some time to activate the black ball. When Kaydan''s jade seal was imprinted on the ball, jade-green pattern continuously spread out along the black ball, but at the moment, even more Formless Sky Pythons were rushing over. It was too late ¡­

 Chapter 1902 Resistance

    Over a hundred Formless Sky Pythons were moving towards them, like huge mountain ranges closing in¡ªit was a horrible scene.


    The massive creatures surged forward. It was as if a chaotic world was pouring down at the warriors.


    "What are you waiting for? Quickly now, run!"


    "There''s no time left!"


    "We''re waiting for death by staying here!"


    Some of the martial artists from the other races couldn''t endure the ordeal. How could they possibly be willing to wait and die? After bypassing the black sphere, they fled in all directions.


    Though they were well aware there were all kinds of dangers in this interior world, it was better to flee than wait for their impending doom.


    But most of the martial artists of the other races hadn''t left, including Zen and the Han Clan warriors. The three great races hadn''t left either, placing their hopes on Kaydan.


    "Let''s go fight them!"


    Chapman roared.


    Several Collapsing Mountain warriors of the Divinity Hunt Squad shot out towards the Formless Sky Pythons as they moved in closer.


    The Collapsing Mountain warriors that had managed to enter the Divinity Hunt Squad were the race''s strongest elites. Their power was beyond imagination.


    Dong, dong!


    Under their combined efforts, they managed to strike the first python down to the ground.


    "Follow me!"


    As Chapman gave his order, he rushed to the bottom of the Formless Sky Python that they struck down, placing both his shoulders under the scales of its midsection. It was an unbelievable sight¡ªhe actually wanted to lift the python on his own two shoulders.


    Chapman''s body was much larger than that of ordinary humanoid creatures. But compared to the Formless Sky Python, he was like an ant in front of an elephant. His move was rather astonishing.


    Apart from Chapman, the members of the Divinity Hunt Squad joined in.


    With brutal force, the enormous Formless Sky Python was lifted.


    It kept wriggling, struggling its way off the warriors'' shoulders. In spite of its size, it couldn''t get out of the tiny warriors'' control.


    "Throw it far out!" Chapman ordered.


    All the Divinity Hunt Squad warriors'' veins popped out, and their muscles tensed, looking tougher than steel.


    In the past few years, they rarely met such dangerous situations in the Collapsing Mountain race, and rarely had they used their full strength to fight. But at this moment, they didn''t have the luxury of holding back their strength in the slightest.


    As they exerted simultaneous effort, they forcibly threw the python out.


    The colossal creature then seemed like a log, rolling back towards its fellow pythons.


    Both sides carried an overwhelming amount of momentum. By throwing a Formless Sky Python at an army of pythons, the several warriors indeed delayed them a bit. But in the face of the pythons'' charge, the lone one they managed to throw out was completely smashed.


    Boom, boom¡­


    Splash...


    After the python was broken into pieces, the blood from its body gushed like


    ared again, "If you don''t open it soon, we''re all finished!"


    It was Kaydan''s most critical moment¡ªhe focused all his energy into pouring life vitality into the black sphere, trying to speed it up.


    Soon, the Harmony race ended up retreating. The pressure weighing down on them was a huge psychological burden, slowly draining their energy.


    Having lost the support of the two great races, the Han Clan had no choice but to retreat.


    And with that, the defensive line they had built so carefully had fallen apart.


    Rumble¡­


    Over a hundred Formless Sky Pythons raised their thick heads, ready to launch their strongest wave of attacks.


    At this moment, everyone was filled with despair. Even if they wanted to escape, they couldn''t avoid the pythons'' attack. Seeing the terrifying mouths come down on them, the warriors were struck with fear.


    It was said that within the body of a Formless Sky Python lay a great space and no one could come out from it alive once they were devoured by the beasts.


    No one alive knew what the internal space of the Formless Sky Python was like.


    And no one was really willing to go in and explore. But now, it seemed like they had no choice.


    Seeing the Formless Sky Pythons lined up side by side, crushing down simultaneously, the warriors turned pale. It was like they could foresee their fate in the very next moment.


    Laquisha''s face fell. Subconsciously, she glanced at Zen, catching him as he spread out his arms.


    A strange scene followed.


    When all the pythons had made it halfway towards them, they suddenly stopped¡ªsome kind of invisible force had blocked their path somehow.


    At least forty Formless Sky Pythons were piled up in front of the group. Such a large number of pythons pressing down had to be of tremendous weight¡ªtheir individual bodies were already unimaginably heavy, in addition to the powerful inertia and impact they brought along as they descended from the sky.


    Just how much strength was enough to block them?

 Chapter 1903 The Consequence

    There was a twinkle in Zen''s eyes as he stood.


    It turned out that he had extracted 99% of the strength source from the nine stars in his inner world!


    In addition, Zen had turned the invisible strength into a huge net that swept towards the sky.


    In fact, Zen could even leave everything behind and flee for his life if he chose to, thanks to his strength.


    However, he wasn''t a selfish man. He couldn''t help but go all out every time.


    Then again, doing so allowed him to check how strong his power was when the nine stars were at their peak. For instance, the power he had currently released was equivalent to a third of a Holy Being''s physical strength.


    Such power was so strong that it was difficult to measure it because it had already surpassed the existent standard.


    This level of strength was no doubt beyond words. Yet, it did not mean that Zen truly had one-third of a Holy Being''s strength.


    Physical strength was only one of the abilities of a warrior. A Holy Being or even a True God could increase such power by a tenfold or a hundredfold if they had used it. Such beings could use it to exterminate the over a hundred Formless Sky Pythons that were about to come.


    But Zen could only use the power in a basic way. It was like when a child was given the sharpest knife in the world.


    The knife might be the best tool, but it wouldn''t be used to its maximum in the hands of a child, whose knowledge and power were limited.


    "Roarrrr¡ª" The net formed by Zen''s strength spread out and wrapped the Formless Sky Pythons inside it.


    Everyone was utterly shocked at the scene in front of them!


    It was because the Formless Sky Pythons looked like they were inside an invisible bag and held by a giant hand. The hand threw the invisible bag backwards with a loud boom, and the 40 Formless Sky Pythons in the front clashed with the over 50 Formless Sky Pythons at the back.


    The collision of the massive creatures caused an extremely powerful impact. The Formless Sky Pythons'' bodies weren''t able to endure the violent clash, so a few of them had gotten smashed into pieces.


    The Formless Sky Pythons were clearly aggravated. Pained wails were heard from the grotesque, circular mouths.


    The whole scene looked like a bunch of tangled yarns as the beasts struggled madly to get out. But the more they struggled, the more they got entangled, and the harder it was for them to break free.


    Despite the fact that Kaydan knew that he shouldn''t be distracted at the moment, he couldn''t help but turn around when he heard the noise. As soon as he found what he was looking for, his breathing quickened and when he looked at Zen, reverence filled his eyes.


    Before, he viewed Zen as a secondary creature who wasn''t even worth mentioning. He thought that Zen couldn''t poss


    tivation.


    The most important thing was that if a body refiner had consumed all the power in the Eight Path Platforms, the Eight Path Platforms in their body would continue to absorb the power of the martial artist''s physical body. It was an automatic process, and part of the body refiner''s instincts.


    However, Zen''s situation was a bit more special.


    What he consumed was the power of the Nine Divine Stars. Only a moment ago did he decide that he''d draw out 99% of the power of the Nine Divine Stars. He did not use the power of the Eight Path Platforms, nor did he use his main body''s power.


    What Zen didn''t know was that there would be a price to pay for draining all of his strength.


    It was taboo to drain all the powers of such sources, whether it was the Nine Divine Stars or the Eight Path Platforms. Without the nourishment of the strength source, the Nine Divine Stars and the Eight Path Platforms wouldn''t be able to sustain themselves, and might even collapse after.


    The Nine Divine Stars'' power was almost completely depleted, and since they didn''t have enough time to replenish their power through chaotic energy, they could only draw power from the Eight Path Platforms. However, the Eight Path Platforms'' power was almost nothing compared to the power within the Nine Divine Stars. The two weren''t actually in the same league.


    Therefore, the power in Zen''s Eight Path Platforms dried up immediately and in turn, the Eight Path Platforms began to absorb the power from Zen''s physical body.


    Zen''s physical body was the last resort of the supply of power. The problem was, his body only didn''t have so much power in it.


    After Zen''s physical body had been drained of its power, he suddenly found everything turn into a blur before he fell to the ground.


    "Isn''t the consequence¡­ too grave?" Even Zen didn''t expect such a result.

 Chapter 1904 Being Exhausted (Part One)

    At last, Zen had done everything he possibly could. But all that he could do now was to place his every hope in Kaydan.


    Zen''s most recent interception had caused the Formless Sky Pythons to sink into absolute chaos. Once the Formless Sky Pythons had been thrown into the mess, their only desire was to crawl out from beneath their fellow pythons. The harder they tried though, the greater the disarray became. A few of the Formless Sky Pythons'' bodies were scattered across the ground, intertwined and entangled together.


    Despite the turmoil and disorder, many of the Formless Sky Pythons continued to charge out in an attempt to attack the warriors.


    Kaydan looked out across the black sphere and noticed that, thanks to his Heavenly Jade Seal, a green, luminous pattern had begun to spread throughout.


    As the green light continued to disperse itself and flow along the pattern, Kaydan suddenly announced, "It has been done!"


    Many warriors stared vigilantly at the Formless Sky Pythons. Upon noticing that Zen was lying on the ground, they instantly knew that their only choice was to risk their lives in the next coming round.


    And that was when Kaydan''s voice rang out. The warriors were immersed and hearing it, they felt that it was the most beautiful heavenly music in the world!


    "Let''s go!"


    "Hurry up and enter!"


    Warriors could be heard shouting at one another. Nearly all of them rushed hastily in hopes to be the first to reach and enter the black sphere.


    Under Kennan''s careful protection, Laquisha and the others carried Zen''s body and equally escaped into the black ball.


    At the same time as the warriors moved forward, the Formless Sky Pythons also decided to dash toward the black sphere. Luckily though, these pythons had no chance in entering for as soon as all the warriors


    nking to the bottom of the ocean. It wasn''t improving Zen''s situation whatsoever.


    Fortunately for Zen, his Nine Divine Stars were recovering at an astonishing speed.


    After all, these Nine Divine Stars existed within Zen''s chaotic sea. In addition to absorbing the energy from Zen''s Eight Path Platforms, they were also capable of continuously absorbing the surrounding chaotic energy. Naturally, they would replenish their own energy much faster than they would absorb Zen''s.


    On one side he had the power of dragon scales and on the other, Zen had a replenishment of chaotic energy. With these two sources of power, the Nine Divine Stars, which were originally extremely faint, began to emit a glowing rainbow colored light.


    It was then that the Nine Divine Stars stopped acting so crazily. They suddenly stopped absorbing the energy from Zen''s Eight Path Platforms, and the Eight Path Platforms stopped absorbing the energy from Zen''s fleshly body.


    Simultaneously, Zen began to take closer notice of the cyan dragon in his mind. The scales on his body were much dimmer than usual and without their shimmering light. In all honesty, they looked much like the ones that still needed to be lit up.

 Chapter 1905 Being Exhausted (Part Two)

    Among all nine dragons, Zen had the best relationship with the cyan dragon. After all, Zen had spent most of his years with the cyan dragon''s company. Once the other eight dragons had awoken, the cyan dragon chose to stay silent. But now, he infused Zen with his energy, in a tactical manner.


    In the past, it was highly possible that Zen might have held a grudge against the nine dragons, due to their deceptive ways. His anger was amplified, of course, because they had also threatened him with Yan. After learning about the Evolutionary Universe''s origins as well as Mike''s identity, it was as if all that resentment had dissipated.


    It was true that, ultimately, they had no intentions of harming him, right?


    Although he had only recovered a very small portion of his strength and still remained very weak, Zen was now at least free to move on his own.


    While he was concentrating on absorbing the power of the dragon scales, everyone had had the chance to enter the black sphere. When Zen finally opened his eyes, everything was still pitch black.


    "Put me down..."


    Now that his strength was gradually being restored, Zen suddenly smelled a faint, pleasant fragrance. He took a deeper breath and feeling the soft hair fluttered around his face from time to time, Zen realized that he was lying on Laquisha''s back.


    "Oh, how did you recover your strength so quickly?" Although she wasn''t a body refiner, Laquisha knew that Zen was in a weakened state just moments before.


    "I am fine," Zen said. He was standing up now, trying to readjust his eyes. His circular pupils grew larger in the darkness but still, he couldn''t see a damn thing!


    This kind of situation wasn''t unknown to Zen. He had already experienc


    ay.


    That golden light only appeared for a very brief period of time. However, in such a dark place, when a golden light appeared, you noticed it! It was as dazzling as fireflies in the dark. Zen knew he saw it clearly.


    "What''s wrong?" Laquisha asked.


    Zen''s curiosity began to grow. "You didn''t see it?" he asked.


    "See what?" Although he couldn''t see her face, Zen could tell that Laquisha looked puzzled.


    "It''s nothing... Never mind."


    Zen knew what he had seen and he was sure it wasn''t an illusion. It was a flash of golden light.


    In the darkness, the light had been extremely dazzling. Zen realized that he was the only one to take notice and the others didn''t have any reaction at all. This could only mean one thing: Zen could see the golden light, but the others couldn''t.


    With this thought running through his mind, Zen carefully left the group. He wanted to get a closer look at what that golden light really was.


    Shortly after sighting the first one, another burst of dazzling golden light flew into Zen''s view. This time, the golden light had been much clearer than the first; it was actually a golden Sanskrit word!

 Chapter 1906 Encounter With Holy Jay

    Zen was quite familiar with the Sanskrit language.


    So he immediately recognized the word, as soon as it was revealed.


    The entire structure of the Sanskrit was smooth, but complicated. Each stroke looked like they were made up of small tadpoles.


    A single word in the Sanskrit usually contained around 30-40 strokes.


    Each language carried the culture of a race. In general, the simpler the text, the more excellent it was. After all, learning a language cost time. Moreover, it was easier to learn and understand a simple language.


    In his entire journey, Zen came across many races and was familiar with their languages. But he had never seen a race with such complex language.


    If his guess was right, this race that practiced the Sanskrit language was definitely a very intelligent race. Perhaps this race existed within the divine land.


    The golden Sanskrit word flashed for a moment, and then completely disappeared. Zen suddenly realized that his group was getting further and further away from him.


    He frowned as he felt a bit peculiar about the situation.


    The group was moving unusually fast in the dark.


    Realizing that there was something strange going on, Zen increased his pace and chased after them.


    While chasing them, Zen could hear Kennan, Laquisha, Chapman and Kaydan whispering to each other. But their voices were sounding softer, implying that they were getting farther away.


    "Kaydan!" "Chapman!" "Laquisha!" Zen shouted after them.


    However, they reacted as if they did not hear him at all. They were still whispering to each other and continued to move away.


    "What is happening?"


    Zen realized that there was little he could do about the situation. Moreover, he had yet to recover his strength. Till now, his body had only recovered ten percent of the strength after absorbing the dragon scales'' power.


    "Once they realize that I am not around, they will probably stop and search for me. But, from the looks of it, these people don''t find anything amiss." Zen frowned.


    What Zen was not aware was that there was one more person in the group.


    That person''s aura, appearance, and even the voice were exactly the same as Zen''s. Generally, these warriors could use their senses to check their surroundings, but even Laquisha didn''t notice anything out of the ordinary. They thought that Zen had suddenly become very silent, due to the exhaustion of his strength.


    After chasing them for a while, Zen stopped. He knew that it was all in vain.


    Zen stood rooted in the same spot, completely swallowed by the darkness, as if everything around him had turned into nothingness. Suddenly, a golden light flashed, and a Sanskrit word appeared in front of him.


    It was another different word i


    ment Forbidden Land, I have been paying close attention to you, Zen from the Evolutionary Universe. That is why I changed your teleporting area."


    Zen''s heart skipped a beat. As he wandered around the Collapsing Mountain race and the Skyland race, Zen knew that his teleporting area was off the mark. Nine out of ten Godly Geniuses had been teleported to normal places. Only he had been teleported to an abandoned place.


    "I also arranged for the young daughter of Holy Samuel to meet you, so that she would believe that you are her chosen one," said Holy Jay with a faint smile. "My arrangement seemed terrific. Both of these two sisters seem interested in you."


    ...


    Zen was rather speechless at this new revelation. Holy Jay''s first few words were initially very formal, but he instantly changed the topic and tone. No matter how he looked at it, the words of this Holy Being sounded difficult to digest.


    "Don''t be under the assumption that I am not serious. To Holy Samuel, Laquisha is very important. It''s not just the fire that she has. It will be beneficial if there is a Holy Being as your father-in-law," continued Holy Jay.


    "Holy Jay, I am married already. I will never play up to anyone. It is against my belief and principles." Zen couldn''t control his annoyed tone, although he was facing a Holy Being.


    "Hey! I don''t need to listen to your thoughts. Do not forget, there is nothing that I can''t do in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land," said Holy Jay with a smile. The Divine Refinement Forbidden Land was built by Holy Jay himself, and in this place, he was an omniscient existence. No one could stop him if he wanted to do something.


    "But you can''t change my mind, can you?" Zen said in a firm deep voice.


    Holy Jay smiled and asked, "What if this concerns your father''s life and death?"

 Chapter 1907 Holy Bromley

    Zen''s expression changed as soon as Holy Jay finished speaking.


    "What do you know?" Zen asked coldly.


    Talking to a Holy Being in this tone was very rude, but Holy Jay had expected this reaction from Zen and was unbothered by it.


    "As you now know, Mike is your father," Holy Jay said.


    Zen had come up with this conclusion after his conversation with the Han sisters in the Skyland race tower.


    It seemed Holy Jay had been paying attention to him ever since he entered the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, or else he wouldn''t have known about the forming suspicion on Zen''s mind about Mike being his father.


    Zen had only speculated before as he had no way of confirming Mike''s identity. After all, it could very well just be a coincidence. Anyone could have the same name as his father...


    But now that he heard it from Holy Jay himself, the situation looked completely different.


    He didn''t think Holy Jay was bored enough that he would kid him.


    Moreover, if what Holy Jay said was anything to go by, Holy Jay seemed to have a close relationship with Zen''s father and was helping him!


    And as he thought further, his rather lucky encounters in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land were all starting to make sense. Holy Jay had set up the land to release all of his energy, which Zen thought, had been a very generous gesture.


    However, no Holy Being would willingly give a third of their strength source. Doing so was just being an idiot.


    And what was odder was that Zen never encountered any obstacles even when he had absorbed so much strength source.


    Holy Jay stepped closer to Zen, the darkness doing nothing to stop him from eyeing the boy. His gaze was so intense it was as if he could see through Zen''s soul. And it did. Holy Jay could see everything, from the nine Genuine Dragons, the huge furnace, down into Zen''s elixir field.


    However, he reached a block as he came just outside of Zen''s inner world, preventing him from peering in.


    In an ordinary martial artist, the elixir field was connected to the inner world. As the saying went, one flower was a world. An elixir field could contain a world. The inner world truly did exist within the elixir field.


    But with Zen, it was completely different. His inner world existed in the chaos, a place outside of the divine land.


    Zen was the only one that could communicate with his inner world


    hem he couldn''t see.


    "Of course, the race that created these Sanskrit characters is able to decipher them," Holy Jay continued excitedly, "since the way the world appears in their eyes is completely different from ours! I have an analogy for this. When we see a flower, we only see a flower. When we see a grain of sand, we only see a grain of sand, but! These extraordinary creatures can see every detail in that flower¡ªthe meridians in the center, every pollen, every nook and cranny..."


    "And this is amazing?" Zen asked. Holy Jay''s theory still confused him. Plus, it wasn''t really difficult for some warriors to see through the structure of some things, was it?


    "Very much so." Holy Jay answered enthusiastically. "They are higher beings whose existences are far beyond our understanding. Back then, your father, Holy Bromley who taught you the Primal Chaos Technique, and I found traces of these creatures and started a new quest..."


    Holy Jay had completely lost his strong warrior demeanor as he talked about these things.


    "Holy Bromley?" Zen suddenly froze.


    His master''s name was Bromley. He was called Holy Bromley in the universe and his father was Holy Mike...


    Holy Jay was a new Holy Being, which meant Holy Mike and Holy Bromley were both his seniors. The three of them had a very good relationship with each other.


    When they had discovered the traces of extraordinary creatures, they continued to explore, and Zen''s Grand Weapon Refining Method, Xenia''s page of Sanskrit words, and Holy Jay''s Ice Soul Flame had all been developed during the exploration.

 Chapter 1908 A Heart

    Hearing Holy Jay''s explanation, Zen finally connected all the clues he had gathered.


    Having obtained the Grand Weapon Refining Method and the Primal Chaos Technique, he thought he was lucky. But all of these had actually been arranged by them in advance.


    The creator of the Primal Chaos Technique, a man called Bromley Gu, was also the master of the fairy palace. It wasn''t by chance that he created the Primal Chaos Technique. He and his friends guessed that there was a higher level of life and civilization, but that kind of life was hard to understand. They couldn''t even recognize its shape.


    After Mike was attacked by the people of the Hall of Holy Beings, he was left in a half-dead state.


    There was a saying among Holy Beings¡ªas long as the universe existed, the Holy Being who created the universe was immortal. And to a certain extent, the saying was true.


    But a universe wasn''t an isolated area. No matter how well one constructed the universe, the life vitality within inevitably leaked out. Without a Holy Being to replenish the life vitality, the universe would eventually weaken and perish.


    But Holy Bromley, the most intelligent among the three of them, had helped Mike come up with a way to make the Evolutionary Universe truly last forever.


    Such was the Grand Era Tribulation.


    In the other universes, there was no such thing as a grand era that lasted 3.6 billion years. Such universes wouldn''t perish after that period.


    After a Holy Being built a universe, it remained stable¡ªso long as they maintained it regularly by providing life vitality, they could maintain the universe''s entire operation.


    But it was impossible for Mike to do this in his half-dead state, so he decided to listen to Bromley and set up the Grand Era Tribulation. Every 3.6 billion years, the universe went extinct.


    With the exception of the nine stars, all stars fell and all living creatures withered. Mountains collapsed and rivers flowed backward. From the great to the supreme worlds, not a single thing was spared.


    When that time came, the entire universe would begin to shrink.


    Its space would be reduced to about two-thirds of its original size.


    During this period of contraction, the universe began to go extinct. And after that, the entire universe expanded once again.


    The universe was attached to the edge of the divine land. After shrinking, it would expand. Under the effects of the shrinking and expanding, it produced a powerful suction effect that absorbed life vitality from the divine land and put it into the universe.


    The Evolutionary Universe was like a heart¡ªconstantly contracting and expanding. It would beat once every 3.6 billion years of age to absorb life vitality.


    Every time it absorbed li


    ult a task he had to deal with, Zen wasn''t one to ever put his hopes in anyone else. Though his life was short, he never hesitated in the face of any battle. All he wanted was to cultivate and grow stronger.


    But this time, Zen fell into a dilemma.


    ''Am I really going to butter up a woman for my own sake?'' he thought.


    Patting his shoulder again, Holy Jay said, "You may leave now. I will arrange everything for the rest of your journey. Now, I have to go see someone else."


    "Who?" Zen asked curiously.


    "You should know him. You both came from the same place. Rocher Hua."


    "Rocher?" Zen was stunned.


    Giving Zen a smile, Holy Jay continued, "He''s taking another path, one that might be even crueler than yours¡ªa path he may die on."


    "Why?" Zen''s gaze darkened.


    "Don''t ask too many questions. What I''ve told you might not sound so complicated, but it isn''t that simple, either. There are some things crueler than you can imagine."


    "But..."


    Holy Jay''s voice grew softer and softer as the distance between him and Zen grew further and further until he finally disappeared.


    "Holy Jay?"


    "Holy Jay!"


    "Holy Jay!"


    In the darkness, Zen kept calling out his name.


    But Holy Jay gave no response; he had completely disappeared.


    Just then, there was another whisper. When Zen listened in close, he realized that it was Kaydan and the rest talking amongst themselves.


    "This is strange. It''s taking so much longer than before. We haven''t even found the exit," Kaydan muttered.


    "It should be around here, right?"


    "I don''t think we''ll be trapped here¡­"


    In the absolute darkness, everyone''s mood fell. Perhaps there really was no way out of the black sphere.


    But right at this moment, they sensed another presence in front of them. Kaydan was the first to shout, "Who are you? Who''s there?"

 Chapter 1909 Magma Area

    The group of people could only continue pushing forward in the darkness, fumbling their way around with their senses instead of their eyes.


    Although the interior of this black ball was completely empty and void, it still served a true purpose. Holy Jay had created it with the intentions of observing certain specific creatures.


    Because they could only utilize their sensory perception, they naturally wouldn''t be able to sense anything other than their own group of people.


    As soon as a person''s figure appeared before the group though, everyone suddenly became vigilant and aware at the same time. Out of shock and surprise, hundreds of senses continued to scan Zen''s body in all its length.


    "It''s me," Zen stated loud enough for the group to hear.


    "Zen?" Kaydan''s voice questioned, his tone full of astonishment. "Wasn''t he always a part of the group? How did he suddenly get up to the front?"


    "Huh?" A confused expression appeared on Laquisha''s face. Hadn''t Zen stayed by her side the entire time? How could this have happened? Why were this fellow''s actions so strange? She half-expectantly reached a hand out by her side, only to realize she had no target. She didn''t touch anyone, and no one grabbed her hand in return. Obviously, Zen had disappeared without her knowing.


    "Why did you walk to the front?" Kaydan asked.


    "I just needed a break, I''m confused and don''t know what''s going on," Zen made up a clumsy excuse. He wasn''t afraid of being exposed here, though. Anything could happen in the dark and even if he couldn''t truly explain himself, the rest of them wouldn''t be capable of doing so either.


    "Oh," replied Kaydan. Although Kaydan was somewhat puzzled, he didn''t linger over this small detail. Right now, his mission was to lead everyone out of this black sphere.


    Many warriors continued to feel concern and began to whisper their worry within their hearts.


    It didn''t make any sense. If Zen really did take a break from walking, wouldn''t he be at the back of the group? To the contrary though, he had appeared at the front. This could only mean one thing: They were walking in circles.


    Quite a number of warriors had already speculated that they had been going around in circles prior to this exact moment. Now though, they had finally found some sort of corroboration.


    Plop!


    In an instant, a few of the warriors immediately sat down. "It''s no use," someone stated. "We''re just going in circles. I doubt if we''ll ever be able to leave this place!"


    "You''re right!" someone else agreed. "How can the inner space of this sphere be so big? From what I see, there''s no exit at all¡­"


    ...


    Most of the complaining individuals were in fact the warriors from other races, or again, warriors from the divine land. On the other hand, the warriors from the three great races kept their silence.


    When Zen returned to the group, he didn''t appear panicked at all.


    While he had been talking with Holy Jay, it was only natural for these warriors to have no way out of the black sphere. For the master of the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, this was a small trick that could be completed simply with just his mind.


    "Continue walking," Kaydan said, without trace of emotion. He didn''t show a


    ere almost too difficult to dodge. Although this magma rain wasn''t fatal, having it fall onto one''s body was far from pleasant.


    Even the two ladies from Han Clan who were protected by the twenty world lords on their journey still couldn''t avoid the magma rain. This was especially true for Aleyna, whose purple robe now had several burn holes in it.


    Four hours later, the group had finally crossed through the magma area. Together, the group let out an enormous sigh of relief. Once they looked at one another though, they quickly noticed how miserable they all looked.


    That was when the warriors'' eyes began to fall on Zen. Their miserable expressions began to change into confused ones.


    Zen was still wearing the same ordinary cyan robe. It seemed as though not a single part of his body had been damaged. He hadn''t even been affected by the pillars of magma at all!


    Although Kaydan, Tilton, and Chapman had been wandering around Zen, the three leaders had also been more or less affected. Because Zen appeared perfectly safe and sound, everyone suddenly felt that this occurrence was rather strange. Even luck wasn''t good enough to explain this one.


    A wry trace of a smile revealed itself on Zen''s face. This could only naturally be Holy Jay''s arrangement. Sure, he had agreed to help him, but there was no need to be obvious about it, right?


    Fortunately, the warriors present didn''t suspect anything. They only thought that Zen''s luck was too good to be true. After taking a small break, the warriors continued on their way.


    After passing through the magma area, a black cliff appeared in front of them. The side of the cliff was square and smooth like a mirror. Right in the middle of the square cliff was a round hole.


    "We are here! Come with me!"


    Kaydan shouted, taking the lead and heading straight for the circular hole.


    Seeing how positive Kaydan was, Zen''s curiosity was suddenly piqued. Just what exactly did they want him to take for them? Or rather, what would make them believe that it was possible for them to leave the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land? Had he remembered this earlier, he would have asked Holy Jay...

 Chapter 1910 Wind Exterminating Valley

    In the exterior world of the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, the Kaleidoscope race owned the Wind Exterminating Valley.


    Reaching high up into the sky, the tablets were standing in the Wind Exterminating Valley. Beneath the light, these said tablets had a beautiful, dazzling hue.


    On the tablets was a recording of Holy Jay''s understanding on all kinds of laws. Here, he exhibited his comprehension concerning the laws in order to help the warriors who came here to better understand them.


    Among the six great cultivation sacred places, the Wind Exterminating Valley wasn''t a popular one for cultivation.


    In other words, any warrior from the divine land showed no interest in particular for this place.


    Because these said warriors were actually qualified to practice the most orthodox of laws all throughout the divine land.


    Any law in a universe was actually the Holy Being''s comprehension over such in the divine land. They were created directly through the Holy Being''s understanding. If anyone from the divine land wanted to practice the laws, there was no need for them to enter the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. They could just stay within the divine land instead.


    On the contrary though, warriors from the universes as well as the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land were very interested in the Wind Exterminating Valley.


    Rocher had been sitting in front of a tablet for three days now.


    The tablet in front of him recorded the Thunder Law. The tablet had ten levels. If one took the time to observe the tablet, it was possible to observe very conspicuous level of law.


    The lowest one recorded the first layer of Thunder Law, where the Law Power was intense, however easy to understand.


    The higher the layer was, the more intense the Thunder Law was. Starting from the fourth level, a blue lightning appeared and intertwined continuously around the tablet. Every time a lightning bolt would strike, its streak of light would speedily climb upward, like a snake. The lightning grew stronger and stronger and the rapid and frequent color changes began to spread out.


    The azure blue color of the lightening changed into white, then black, over to purple and into cyan...


    These numerous, different colors were a representation of the Thunder Law.


    As the lightening reached the top of the tablet, it transformed into thunder, sounding out a violent rumble before disappearing completely.


    Rocher only had a limited amount of time.


    He searched for the Law Power he required in the Wind Exterminating Valley and made a record of such, all while reconstructing this same law within his own inner world. By doing so, he could master the Thunder Law completely.


    What was more, he had to go to visit Skyland race. Pristine Life Vitality was critical for him, too. Due to the limited time, he had to comprehend the law in tablet as soon as possible.


    Crack!


    A bolt of lightning spread out across the whole tablet, from the bottom all the way to the top.


    However, once the bolt had spread out and tur


    d the Kaleidoscope race leader reach Rocher personally, Nathan could do nothing but sigh silently.


    "Your name is Rocher Hua?" Carney asked.


    Rocher didn''t reply. He did raise his head though, his gaze fixated on the massive tablet.


    "Our leader is asking you a question." A Kaleidoscope race member couldn''t help but berate.


    "Don''t interrupt him," Carney said, as he demonstrated extreme patience, stopping his clansman from egging forward. Then, Carney stood to the side and waited, all while hinting at his clansmen not to make a ruckus.


    Although Rocher''s eyes were wide open, it seemed more as though he had entered a meditative state. His two eyes stared blankly at the tablet without any motion.


    Crack!


    Another bolt of lightning rose from the bottom, shooting up into the sky and spreading into a glowing net.


    Buzz¡­


    A thin streak of lightning once again appeared from within the thunderstorm. It was released from the top of the tablet and drilled into Rocher''s cinnabar field. Once again, it transformed into a small tablet within his inner world.


    Only then did Rocher slowly turn his head. With a smile on his face, he looked at Carney and said, "Sorry, just now, I ¡­"


    "You were completely immersed in studying the law and I should be happy about that. How can you say you''re sorry?" Carney smiled slightly and said, "However, the prophet from our race has personally invited you, which might delay your learning for a short while."


    "Prophet?" Rocher frowned, but soon after, he relaxed. He didn''t have many concerns and said, "OK."


    What he knew was already more than what Zen did. There were many things that didn''t require explanation, and he could guess at a rough idea.


    "Come with me, Rocher," said Carney, as he headed towards the depths of Wind Exterminating Valley. Together, they followed a long, winding tunnel deep into the valley.


    Not long after, a tent appeared at the end of the tunnel. Naturally, the old man sitting in the tent was the Kaleidoscope race''s prophet.

 Chapter 1911 Rochers Choice

    Once Carney had led Rocher into the tent, the prophet of the Kaleidoscope race waved his hand. "You may leave now."


    With attitude, Carney smiled and said, "I''m curious to know what you want to talk about. Mind if I stay and listen?"


    The prophet frowned and waved his hand a second time. A formless energy immediately sent Carney and the others with him out of the tent. The energy was irresistible.


    That matter taken care of, the tent''s curtain was drawn down and all auras were isolated.


    Indignation was the only expression plastered on the faces of Carney and the core members of the Kaleidoscope race.


    "Humph! This old man has no good intentions toward our Kaleidoscope race," said one of the warriors who had been pushed out of the tent.


    A helpless look appeared on Carney''s face. "There''s nothing I can do. It''s exactly what the warriors from the divine land told us. We, the native warriors of the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, are unable to pursue the Godly Way or leave the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. The Skyland race, the Collapsing Mountain race and the Harmony race still haven''t given up, though. They don''t know that their efforts would go in vain!"


    The six races often received warriors from the divine land. They weren''t fools. They always had their means of obtaining information from such warriors.


    In fact, the leaders of the six races were well aware of their conditions. The prophets of the six races not only had a mysterious background, and they had never considered their respective races.


    However, the prophets of the other five races and their respective races had not yet fallen out. Carney of the Kaleidoscope race, on the other hand, had already fought with the prophet of their race on several occasions.


    Carney and the race members'' conversation was heard by Rocher and the prophet, who were still inside the tent.


    Rocher''s curiosity kept increasing with reason. Although he didn''t know what kind of conflict was going on between Carney and the prophet, but he sure as hell wanted to find out.


    Upon noticing Rocher''s expression, the prophet decided he''d be the first to speak. "Alas! These little fellows are getting harder and harder to manage. They always want the truth, but they don''t know that only those who are kept from such raw bitterness can lead a happy life."


    Rocher shook his head, disagreeing with the prophet''s words. "Ultimately, one must have at least a few goals in their life."


    The people of the six races didn''t have any natural enemies in this Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, and there were no conflicts or wars among them. They didn''t have the pressure of needing to fight for their survival. But still, they had their own goals.


    "But for the sake of building the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, I didn''t create an exit for them to possible leave this place," a faint voice suddenly chipped in.


    Unexpectedly, a third person appeared inside the tent.


    The individual was dressed in black embroidered clothes, and his figure was neither fat nor thin. One thing for certain, his aura was extremely strange.


    With Rocher''s keen senses, he could usually sense the flow of any presence in the surroundings. If this person had entered the tent through spatial transference, then typically speakin


    change.


    He had obtained a little information that was rather difficult to imagine. Through this information though, he had seen the entire divine land.


    The divine land was a highly civilized world, filled with many rules that had to be respected. Immortality was an illusory pursuit of the creatures of all universes, but it was not difficult to achieve in the divine land¡ªat least not for Rocher.


    He had wanted to reach the peak of the world of martial arts, but after seeing things from a different eye, he could only sigh to himself. The peak of the world of martial arts was no longer attractive to him. Now that the veil of mystery had been lifted in front of him, the scenery it was hiding simply didn''t attract him.


    On the other hand though, he had developed a strong interest for the plans left behind by Holy Bromley.


    It was as if the plan had been tailor-made for him!


    He knew that when the plan was enacted, it would be the moment of his death. However, he had agreed to it in a near instant, without a trace of hesitation.


    Not only for Zen, but equally for himself.


    "I like your answer," said Holy Jay. "Having the ability to live for so long is indeed quite boring! Throughout your trip in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, I will do everything I can to increase your strength."


    The current situation in the Divine Land was rather complicated, and Holy Jay didn''t want to talk about such things here.


    "What about Zen?" Rocher asked.


    "Zen?" Holy Jay gave him a faint smile. "The blacksmith and crafting furnace have been prepared. He has just entered, and his body will be thoroughly refined soon."


    Chapman, Kaydan and Tilton were all in a good mood. This trip to the interior world was rather unlucky at the beginning, as they''d encountered so many Formless Sky Pythons that started chasing them. However, they never expected that their misfortune would suddenly take a turn for the better. They quickly arrived at their destination.


    Unfortunately though, they didn''t know that this place was merely a crafting furnace meticulously prepared for Zen by Holy Jay. Here, he planned to carry out one of the most complete body refining exercises ever.

 Chapter 1912 The Cave

    It was the second time around that Kaydan, Chapman, and some of others had entered this cave.


    But sadly, up to this moment, these six great races hadn''t made much progress in their quest and exploration of the interior world.


    For example, in a place like the Soul Suppressing Cliff, they all knew that one would need a black trial tally for them to gain entry. But obtaining a black trial tally would never be easy.


    The accumulated purple trial tallies of the six races were as huge as a big mountain. Chapman and Kaydan had once conveyed with their prophets, as to whether or not they would be permitted to use purple trial tallies in exchange for the black trial tally. However, they failed to receive an affirmative response, as the answer they got was a big no.


    These places were not even prepared for the natives. Those prophets were the incarnations of Holy Jay. How could Holy Jay allow them to enter these places?


    Though they felt helpless, the six races could only continue to explore the interior world, until they finally spotted this strange cave.


    In the depths of the natural chamber of this cave, they eventually found some clue. What was striking was the dark green flame filling up the entire cave. It held a strength that was so powerful, a mysterious force akin to something they could not easily defeat.


    By this time, Kaydan and Chapman both were seriously mulling over. They thought of figuring out ways on how to deal with this green flame. But in the end, they were all disappointed and left with no choice but to give up.


    They noted that anything thrown in would be melted by the green flame, leaving no trace at all. Even a small piece of the Magic Golden Stone would be quickly melted into a golden liquid the moment it came into contact with the green flame.


    With the existence of this kind of flame, it only denoted that no one was welcome to enter.


    Kaydan was silently not willing to accept this loss. Before he left, he had used the Eye of Void, which was taught to the Skyland race by martial artists from the divine land, and that was to use life vitality to visualize the Eye of Void. Through this Eye of Void, they would be able to see the scene inside the cave.


    The shape of the Eye of Void was very special. Other than it was formed from life vitality, it also needed to be fused with the Space Law.


    This eye was traveling at the front and back of the space, shuttling back and forth, so it could avoid the green flame in the cave to a certain extent.


    Even the Eye of Void was only able to last half a minute in this green flame. Beyond that, it could no longer resist the scorching heat of the green flame. And for another three seconds longer, it would turn into pieces.


    The natives would simply tend to give up if they didn''t see anything helpful in the cave.


    They would not try to deal with the dangerous green flame for nothing. Even though they were natives of the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, it did not mean that they were invincible in this place. There were some things that they could not afford to provoke, such as the Martial Sacred Beast and the green flame in the cav


    ure. I wonder how it will end up in the hands of the Skyland race." Kennan nodded.


    The Ice Butterfly Picture could be considered an all-powerful ice-attribute treasure in the Han Clan. The Ice Butterfly Picture might have been passed down from the Han Clan to the other people in the divine land, and then the Skyland race got it. Or it could also be the Han Clan who gave it to the Skyland race.


    The three races paid much attention to the trip and made preparations for it in advance. They had many other methods hidden away to deal with the unexpected. However, after passing through the black ball, they were directly teleported to their destination by Holy Jay, which saved them a lot of trouble, and naturally, they did not use any of those methods. Therefore, when they saw this cave, Kaydan and the rest were overjoyed.


    The moment Kaydan took out the Ice Butterfly Picture, the heat was already cooled down to some extent. In this cave filled with green lava, it was as if everyone was falling into a land of frost. An illusory chill spread out, and ice and snow flew about, instantly enveloping everyone within.


    And when the horses made of green lava rushed over and did not even get close to the group of people, a group of ice butterflies that were as clean as snow danced and flew towards them.


    As soon as the ice butterflies came into contact with the horses, they were instantly melted into ashes. However, every single ice butterfly was able to emit a large amount of chilliness. And as the countless ice butterflies flew over, they continuously melted helplessly. The horses formed from the green lava also quickly disintegrated, turning into a pile of dark green stones that fell back into the lava.


    At this moment, deep within the cave, an old man dressed in black armor held a golden hammer in his hand. His one remaining eye was wide open as he silently watched Zen, who was among them. He clicked his tongue twice and extended his snake-like tongue to lick the tip of his nose. "Jay didn''t lie to me. There is such a unique raw material in this world. How interesting!"

 Chapter 1913 The Blacksmith

    After he finished speaking, the one-eyed man brandished the golden hammer and swung it mightily.


    With a sound of "doh", the golden hammer fell into the ground.


    Even though the ground was hit by a heavy hammer, the bottom of the cave was unscratched. Only a faint halo spread out from the point of impact.


    Ten feet...


    A thousand feet...


    Ten thousand feet...


    A hundred thousand feet...


    Ten million feet...


    From the deepest underground to the highest place in the air...


    In the interior world, the exterior world, and the whole Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, everything was shaking.


    "Jay! Come out!" the one-eyed man shouted.


    Not seeing any response, the man started to hit the ground with his hammer again.


    With another slam, the whole Divine Refinement Forbidden Land trembled more intensely.


    As he was talking with Rocher, Holy Jay revealed a small smile on his face...


    "The blacksmith doesn''t have the patience for waiting," Holy Jay said, as he halted the conversation.


    Rocher smiled inwardly as he felt the quaking of the ground. He wondered what kind of power the blacksmith possessed that made the whole Divine Refinement Forbidden Land tremble.


    Divine Refinement Forbidden Land might not be as big as a universe, but an ordinary man didn''t have the capability for such a movement.


    Rocher nodded and said, "I will wait here for you, Holy Jay."


    "No. Please join me." Holy Jay stretched out his hand and grasped Rocher''s.


    Without any preamble, Rocher felt the world spin around and the view changed.


    They were transported into a cave.


    "Knock and you will know!" Holy Jay said in an unhappy tone.


    The one-eyed man in the cave just chuckled. Holding the golden hammer, he rubbed his nose and smiled as he said, "My hammer is too thirsty. That boy has come!"


    "Do I need your reminder?" Holy Jay couldn''t help but roll his eyes. He could clearly feel any movement in his inner world. He could even perceive a group of ants moving towards home, or a dead leaf falling down.


    "Well, may I take an action now? May I kill all the trouble-makers around him?" the one-eyed man asked.


    In his eye, all the people around Zen were worthless and could be rooted out by him easily. Zen was the only exception and was the most precious thing for him.


    "The two daughters from Han Clan are among them. Do you want to kill them too?" Holy Jay smiled coldly.


    The one-eyed man snorted disdainfully and said, "If they are just from a branch of the Han Clan, I wouldn''t worry about it."


    To some extent, the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land took care of t


    is way, instead of doing anything rash.


    This activity was far too important for Chapman and the others. He couldn''t allow anyone to interfere with their plan.


    Ignoring Chapman''s warning, the one-eyed man still continued his way to Zen.


    Neither of them changed their course, so a bump was inevitable.


    The one-eyed man didn''t slow down even slightly. He bumped Chapman as if he was just a curtain. His pace wasn''t hindered by Chapman at all; he just continued walking.


    Chapman paled. With a sound of stuffy buzz, his huge body crashed on the ground and nearly fell into the lava. Lying on the ground, he was unable to get back up! It sparked some conflicted emotions in his heart.


    Before the collision, Chapman accumulated ninety percent of his power secretly. However, Chapman himself felt like a piece of thin paper and didn''t even offer the slightest resistance to the one-eyed man!


    This just showed that these two were not in the same level. Chapman was just like a small ant standing in front of an elephant; he was unqualified to hinder the one-eyed man''s way.


    Kaydan''s and Tilton''s faces fell. Kaydan had intended to take action, but he didn''t. Seeing that Chapman fell down, Kaydan realized that this one-eyed man''s power was beyond his imagination.


    Even with all of their combined power, they wouldn''t come close to the strength of this man''s finger.


    Kaydan suppressed his impulse to take an action and said in a low voice, "Respected master, could you let us know what you want to do?"


    The one-eyed man didn''t reply to Kaydan''s question. He just approached Zen and said, "I have been waiting you for a long time. Please follow me." He stretched out his hand and grasped Zen''s as he completed his words.

 Chapter 1914 Holy Drew (Part One)

    As the man slowly reached out his hand to grab Zen, it seemed all paths of retreat for Zen were sealed off. The man''s expression was apathetic yet it gave Zen an immense amount of pressure. There was no room for Zen to evade the man''s approach.


    The nine stars in Zen''s inner world continuously transformed chaotic energy. However, the amount of chaotic energy in his inner world was limited as well. If he absorbed too much chaotic energy at once, his inner world might dry up and crumble.


    Zen had already guessed that the person in front of him was sent here by Holy Jay. However, he didn''t know anything about this arrangement.


    When the person finally grabbed him, Zen suddenly twisted his body violently to break free.


    The person seized Zen''s shoulder and was able to suppress Zen by sheer force. Frustration painted Zen''s face as he remained a captive of the man. With the man''s unparalleled strength, Zen was lifted above the man''s shoulder.


    Whether it was brute strength or the mastery of techniques that used sheer force, Zen was far inferior to the person who captured him.


    With a fierce aura, the person strode forward and carried Zen on one shoulder and the golden hammer on the other shoulder. He walked with a dignified and powerful atmosphere as if he couldn''t be bothered by anything or anyone in his path. The others who saw how Zen was captured followed Zen and his captor. However, their existence was completely ignored by the one-eyed man.


    "Let me go!" Zen shouted with a harsh tone.


    Although he was already seized by the man, it didn''t mean that Zen couldn''t resist. Zen immediately thought about how he could escape his captor.


    "I advise you to be obedient. It''s useless to resist. Do you really think you can escape from me?" the one-eyed man asked coldly. His tone was calm, yet carried a somewhat heavy pressure.


    Co


    bdomen and wrapped around Zen''s cinnabar field. Zen instantly felt as if his connection with his inner world was severed!


    "Relax, it''s only a sealing technique. Your inner world should be similar to the universe built by a Holy Being, and it has the Cross-world Theurgy. I temporarily modified this technique. However, I advise you not to make any move. If it actually cuts your connection with your inner world, I will feel very guilty," the one-eyed man said blandly.


    Without the ability to use his inner world, Zen had no choice but to obey the one-eyed man.


    Aside from his superior strength and technique, the one-eyed man also understood Zen very well. He was even aware that Zen''s inner world was different from that of an ordinary warrior. The one-eyed man''s unimaginable power and intellect made Zen hard to resist or escape.


    However, Zen felt relieved even though he was captured. Although the one-eyed man didn''t look like a good person, he did not murder anyone when he captured Zen. Additionally, he knew Zen very well and even Zen''s inner world construction. Zen guessed that the one-eyed man might be someone under the employ of Holy Jay. However, he still couldn''t figure out what his purpose of abducting him was.

 Chapter 1915 Holy Drew (Part Two)

    "Follow him! Don''t let him escape from our field of vision."


    Kaydan and the rest were still in pursuit. Frustration colored their expression as they knew that they were no match for Zen''s captor. All they could do was follow Zen and his captor from afar. No one decided to get close and charge at the one-eyed man because they concluded that it would just mean instant death.


    The two ladies of the Han Clan led the warriors of the Han Clan as they also followed at the back of the group. With a confused tone, Laquisha narrowed her eyes and said, "Aleyna, why do I feel like this person looks somewhat familiar?"


    Aleyna looked at Lauisha but she shook her head and replied, "I don''t know this person¡­"


    "Kennan, what do you think? Do you recognize him?" Laquisha asked again as she shifted her gaze towards Kennan.


    Kennan and other world lords shook their heads simultaneously. These world lords didn''t have a high status in the Han Clan. In fact, if Laquisha cultivated in the divine land, her guards would definitely be True Gods, and the world lords were not qualified to fulfill such a job. However, since there was no way for a True God to enter the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, the Han Clan could only send world lords to act as her guards. With their low status in the house, these world lords even rarely had the chance to see the Holy Emperor, and it was less likely for them to see any of the top figures.


    "Your Highness, I''m sorry but I don''t know him." Kennan shook his head.


    Laquisha frowned and thought for a moment before she spoke calmly, "Six years ago, after the great council meeting of the Hall of Holy Beings, they picked the sprouts of the Ray Trees. Father once invited all the Holy Beings to a banquet. I seem to have seen this person at the


    e had tried yet to put the idea into action.


    After Holy Drew came up with his hypothesis, he embarked on a journey to test it out without any delay.


    As a low-rank True God, it was difficult to obtain chaotic energy. Only Holy Beings would be powerful enough to roam in the chaos. However, this did not mean that there was no chaotic energy available in the divine land.


    There was the Ray Wood in the east, the Sunrest Wood in the west, the Lofty Wood in the north, and the Hidden Wood in the south. The roots of these four divine trees were all buried at the edge of the divine land. The roots of these divine trees stretched for hundreds of millions of miles, reached the periphery of the divine land, deep into the chaos, and continuously absorbed the chaotic energy in the chaos.


    Holy Drew had visited all the four divine trees before, and in the end, he had paid a considerable price. Despite the near depletion of all of his wealth, he finally obtained chaotic energy from the Hidden Wood in the south.


    The gathered chaotic energy was then being refined into the weapons according to Holy Drew''s hypothesis.


    However, his first attempt ended up as a miserable failure.

 Chapter 1916 Refine

    News of Holy Drew''s failure spread throughout the divine land back then. Many weapon refiners mocked him and thought that he had truly been too naive.


    The primordial energy-based weapon refining method had been passed down for generations and was the orthodox method for all weapon refiners in the entire divine land.


    However, this person here was proposing for a new path in refining weapons through the use of chaotic energy. He was clearly delusional and probably had no idea what he was doing.


    Holy Drew''s first failure cost him his entire wealth.


    Holy Drew had been depressed for a long time after his first failure. There was an established social structure for the divine land. All weapon refiners were required to register in the Weapon Refining Association to get their exclusive tokens and be allowed to sell and auction their wares.


    However, Holy Drew had already been expelled from the weapon refining sect he was in which meant he couldn''t sell the weapons he had secretly refined. The only choice he had was to trade them in black-market auctions at a low price.


    Since his situation was like this then Holy Drew would have to spend an extremely long time accumulating his wealth in order to get enough chaotic energy.


    Still, he did not give up.


    Given his endless lifespan then time wasn''t that much of an issue. As he accumulated his wealth, his long life ensured him of multiple chances of getting things right.


    However, he did not expect such a chance to come so quickly in the form of Holy Bromley of the divine land.


    That time, Bromley and Mike had already started exploring the chaos.


    The story of this young weapon refiner unintentionally made its way to them and caught their interest.


    In the end, the two of them sought Holy Drew out and offered to provide him with chaotic energy.


    Their words extremely moved Holy Drew.


    He was determined to forge a supreme chaotic weapon even if it took him a hundred years to do so. He had no idea just how long he would have to save up in order to achieve his goals and there was no guarantee that he would succeed.


    Of course, he could still try again and again.


    However, that would take him an extremely long time.


    Success wasn''t that easy.


    He failed a total of 76 times before he successfully refined his first supreme chaotic weapon.


    Bromley studied chaos deeply and he was sure that the chaotic energy could be utilized in forging a weapon. Primordial energy could be considered similar to life vitality but chaotic energy was somewhat a bit different. It exceeded this level of life vitality and was the source of all things, nonetheless, it could still very much be used to refine a supreme chaotic weapon.


    On his seventy-seventh attempt, Holy Drew finally refined his first supreme chaotic weapon!


    The appearance of this supreme ch


    ted. Since Zen was being taken away, she had no choice but to continue giving chase.


    The cave wasn''t very deep. Holy Drew quickly arrived at the bottom where there was a curved entrance of another cave lit with green flames.


    Carrying Zen, Holy Drew rushed into the cave with no hesitation.


    This cave was the very same one Chapman and Kaydan discovered back then.


    Both of them had mixed feelings when they saw this. They were counting on Zen to enter the cave and bring out the door.


    Right now, Zen did indeed enter the cave but he didn''t do it by himself. He was now held captive by Holy Drew which complicated the entire situation.


    "Boom!"


    There was a loud, booming noise as Chapman smashed his fist on the wall. He had travelled a long way to bring Zen to the destination but something as ridiculous as this happened. Now all they could do was stand there helplessly.


    The cave was illuminated and filled with green flames. The one-eyed man brought Zen in and tossed him to the ground.


    Zen quickly rolled over and stood up. He couldn''t help but glare at the one-eyed man.


    The green flames burned him and his body was already glowing golden as he began to frantically absorb the green flames.


    "What are you trying to do?" Zen asked coldly.


    However, the one-eyed man did not answer. He simply moved his body and swung the golden hammer towards Zen''s chest!


    It happened so fast that Zen was unable to react on time. Before he even knew what was happening, the golden hammer already hit him on the chest.


    There was a muffled sound as an extremely great power spread out from the golden hammer and entered Zen''s body.


    Fortunately, despite being hit with such strong force, it was distributed quite evenly and penetrated into every part of Zen''s body.


    Even so, Zen still felt as if he''d been struck by lightning and all his internal organs had been displaced.

 Chapter 1917 Withstand

    If the power of the hammer hadn''t been evenly spread throughout Zen''s body, it would''ve probably split him into two.


    But this power wasn''t meant to take Zen''s life.


    At this moment, Holy Drew''s sole eye narrowed in intense concentration. There was a trace of crazy absorption in his orb.


    From his perspective, Zen was no longer a living person ¡ª he was a weapon waiting to be forged.


    After turning into a Holy Being, Holy Drew''s refining skill had already reached its peak.


    The skills of weapon refiners naturally varied greatly from each other, depending on the degree of control over their strength.


    No ores nor any other substance could withstand the refinement of preternatural flames regardless of their solidity. For instance, the Magic Golden Stone was a good kind of material for divine weapons because of its tenacity. But after being heated by some special types of flames, the ores'' properties could change, turning delicate and fragile. Possibly, a whole piece of the Magic Golden Stone could be rendered useless if the refinement was even slightly more powerful.


    Therefore, weapon refiners'' skills were extremely important here.


    The grading standards for a weapon refiner''s skill in the divine land were mainly based on half-consummation and full-consummation. Half consummation was when the refiner''s power could spread evenly throughout the material ¡ª it was relatively easy to grasp. Most practiced weapon refiners in the divine land had already reached this level of skill.


    But those who could do full-consummation were rare in the divine land.


    The skills of full-consummation required not only a precise control over their strength but also the ability to keep a certain level of strength.


    The three strikes Holy Drew had launched with his hammer had almost shaken the entire Divine Refinement Forbidden Land.


    If someone else had used the same level of strength, they''d have probably smashed a huge hole, thousands of miles deep. But Holy Drew had the skill.


    Because the power of his strike was evenly distributed throughout the entire ground of the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, Holy Drew''s strikes were precise.


    The skill he used was excellent enough to be evaluated as full-consummation. Although the strike was truly powerful, Zen''s body could easily withstand it when it was evenly spread.


    But to Zen, it was like a pot of boiling lava was being poured into his body.


    The burning feeling didn''t come from the burning of the green flame but from the primordial energy inside his body.


    Arms, legs, belly, heart, brain¡­


    Form every pore, every vein, and every crack in his bones, a massive amount of primordial energy surged ceaselessly.


    His body was like a dam that had its gates opened. The great amount of primordial energy began rushing within his body at an unprecedented speed.


    Sm


    r five times ¡ª it was just getting started.


    After Zen had absorbed the liquid completely, Holy Drew brandished the golden hammer in his hand and struck the ground next to Zen with it. Once again, Zen bounced up from the ground because of the impact.


    Thump!


    He couldn''t help but let out a muffled grunt.


    Before he could even react, the primordial energy began flooding within his body like a torrent, flowing wildly through his limbs and bones.


    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Holy Drew''s strikes were consecutive.


    And Zen, who had managed to slim down for a short while, grew swollen and fat once again.


    The pain he was experiencing was far beyond most people''s imagination. But no matter how much he suffered, it still couldn''t compare to the pain Zen felt when he had been practicing the Primal Chaos Technique ¡ª that was both physical and mental strain. At least his current pains only affected his body.


    Splash!


    Once again, Holy Drew pulled out the wine jug and poured the mysterious liquid onto Zen''s body, triggering the rise of heavy white mist.


    As the refining process continued, Holy Drew gradually increased his number of strikes for every set.


    At first, it was five consecutive strikes a set. After three of those, he added another, and then another after three more sets.


    Time passed slowly for Zen as the refinement continued.


    The crowd outside the cave had been waiting for a long while. On the other side, Rocher and Holy Jay stood together in silence as they watched Zen undergo his painful training.


    "I think Zen is suffering too much¡­ how long must the torture last?" Rocher asked.


    Rather flatly, Holy Jay replied, "Anyone who wants to achieve great things must withstand the pains that ordinary people cannot."


    All the Holy Beings in the divine land had experienced such pain and suffering ¡ª Holy Jay believed that Zen had to go through the same.

 Chapter 1918 A Transparent Godly Tile

    Holy Drew was becoming more and more excited. His single eye shone brightly as he tried to understand what had happened to Zen.


    He ripped open his clothes, revealing his lean and taut body. He then grabbed the wine jug and swallowed a big gulp, before spraying it on Zen''s body.


    In fact, even after arduously working for such a long time, he had only completed the first step of refining, which was tempering.


    Since Zen''s physical body was a human-shaped weapon, there was no need to rework on his appearance.


    Of course, if Zen wanted to change his physical body into another shape, it would be as easy as lifting a finger for Holy Drew.


    The liquid in the wine jug was the most famous Sunrest Wood Spring in the divine land.


    The four divine trees in the divine land all had their own unique characteristics. The Ray Tree, which was located in the east, was full of vitality, towering at a height of 300 million feet. There were thirteen races residing on the tree, and the most famous one was the Butterfly race. When one entered the Ray Tree, they could smell the fragrance of various types of flowers. It was refreshing and at the same time intoxicating.


    The Lofty Tree, which was in the north, looked like a bare wooden pole. It was taller than the Ray Tree, with only one pillar soaring into the sky.


    The Hidden Tree, which was in the south, was comparatively shorter. It looked similar to a banyan tree, constantly expanding its roots. The branches of the tree extended in all directions like vines, and the area they covered was very extensive.


    The Sunrest Tree, which was in the west, was born at the edge of an endless sea. This tree was as high as the Ray Tree, and the only difference was that the huge trunk of the tree floated on the sea, looking like an island.


    The Sunrest Wood Spring was located in the middle of the trunk. A pot of spring would be collected in every hundred years.


    The Sunrest Wood Spring was considered like an elixir within the divine land. It could be used for medicinal purposes, and it was mostly loved and craved for by the numerous weapon refiners of the divine land.


    The Sunrest Wood Spring contained rich life energy. At times, the inner world of some martial artists would be too weak. During such times, even if one constantly struck it with the Thunder of Life, it would be difficult for it to give birth to new life. But if one placed the Sunrest Wood Spring within the inner world, it could easily do the job.


    For the people in the divine land, a hundred years passed in just a blink of an eye. For True Gods who had eternal lifespan, time was not an issue.


    However, there was always an insatiable demand for the Sunrest Wood Spring. Hence it was not an easy task to obtain it.


    In order to ensure success at the current task, Holy


    iors could take away others'' Godly Tiles. The divine land was a world full of True Gods. Just a single Godly Tile was unable to make Holy Jay feel weird.


    Holy Jay could feel Rocher''s doubt, so he explained, "Godly Tiles have one characteristic, and that is they are unbreakable. Although the lifespan of a True God is endless, many True Gods have perished since ancient times. However, almost all of the Godly Tiles have been preserved. Even a Holy Being cannot casually destroy a single Godly Tile."


    "Even Holy Beings are unable to destroy Godly Tiles?" Rocher was astonished at this revelation.


    Holy Jay nodded. "After a long period of time, some of the Godly Tiles had already lost their divinity and turned into useless Godly Tiles. These useless Godly Tiles keep piling up like a mountain. However, what is astonishing is that even after an unimaginably long period of time, not a single Godly Tile has been damaged, whether those Godly Tiles came from a low-rank True God, a top-rank True God, or even a Holy Being."


    Rocher nodded. He was not aware about the ability of these Godly Tiles. If Godly Tiles were refined into weapons, wouldn''t that mean the weapons were unbreakable too?


    Holy Jay nodded in agreement saying, "There are people who use Godly Tiles as weapons. However, they only use Godly Tiles as the toughest stones to smash people. They are completely unable to process or forge!"


    "Then what is Holy Drew up to?" Rocher asked.


    Since the Godly Tile couldn''t be damaged, what was going on with this transparent Godly Tile that Holy Drew had taken out?


    "This Godly Tile is very special. Back then, when this object appeared, the Holy Beings were also fighting over it. In the end, it ended up in his hands. Who would''ve thought that he would be willing to take it out today!" Holy Jay could not help but sigh at this confusing situation.

 Chapter 1919 Source Of Godly Tile

    According to Holy Jay, this Godly Tile had an extremely special history.


    It wasn''t a complete one, strictly speaking, but was actually a fragment of an enormous Godly Tile.


    One day, a creature used the Creating Axe to split open the chaos. From then on, the divine land was formed and numerous creatures appeared and began to multiply in the divine land. Some became True Gods, while some entered the Holy Realm and formed the universes.


    After countless divine eras, the divine land managed to develop on such a massive scale.


    The moment the Creating Axe split the divine land, three thousand great ways were formed for countless creatures to comprehend.


    As culture evolved, these three thousand great ways became the three thousand Godly Ways.


    One part of them were widespread across the world such as the Truth Godly Way which served to continuously improve laws in the divine land. This was essential since one of the fundamental elements of being a True God was proficiency in all of the laws.


    Some Godly Ways, the Emotion Closing Godly Way, for example, were considered forbidden.


    Meanwhile, there were also some Godly Ways that each warrior could cultivate in divine land such as the Wishing Spell that could be used to save one''s life.


    There was also a multitude of lost ways that failed to be passed down to the next generation and became dust in the course of history.


    If three thousand Godly Ways were practiced up to a perfect level, they could condense and form into various Godly Tiles. These Godly Tiles came in different shapes and had different abilities.


    Once condensed, a Godly Tile could never be shattered or broken. Even the Godly Tile of a low-rank True God could never be destroyed, not even under a Holy Being''s most powerful attack.


    What these Godly Tiles truly were was still a disputed matter.


    There was no sure answer but most of the debates centered on a key man.


    The key man was the one who brandished his Creating Axe and developed the divine land.


    The truth could be hidden as time flew but traces would definitely still remain.


    The moment the divine land was opened, the Creating Axe was destroyed.


    Back then, the divine land was in a primitive state and there was no life anywhere. Who then wrote the legend of the Creating Axe?


    Who was the man that brandished the Creating Axe?


    In the center of the divine land was the boundless Time Sea. At the end of the Time Sea was a flat and massive plain.


    If one flew high


    s born out of his blood, sweat, and tears. He worked hard for his current success and there was no way he was going to hand it all over to them just like that.


    A few Holy Beings had vaguely mentioned this matter to him over the past hundred years. They all hoped that he would unveil the refining method in order to benefit the entirety of the whole divine land.


    It was quite a complicated position Holy Drew was in. Despite cultivating his eye into a small universe and being heralded as a member of the Hall of Holy Beings, Holy Drew still couldn''t compete with the warriors who reached the Holy Realm. He didn''t enter the Holy Realm, after all. There were still some considerable differences between his abilities and the powers of a Holy Being.


    The Hall of Holy Beings was always a united front. Its members had begged him for the publication of his method since all of them felt extremely envious of the supreme chaotic weapons he refined.


    There might come a time when the Weapon Refining Association and the Hall of Holy Beings would band together to force him to reveal his secrets. Although these institutions preached about rules, virtue, and morality, Holy Drew knew they were also people who did anything for their own benefit.


    It was only Holy Mike who had the gall to resist the Hall of Holy Beings outright.


    Holy Drew, who was outwardly respectable, did not have any kind of solid foundation or strong relationship with other Holy Beings in divine land.


    Mike and Bromley also helped him out before...


    Mike was probably dying now. It was only after Holy Jay found him and informed him of Mike''s plan that Holy Drew''s mind changed.

 Chapter 1920 World Devouring Beast

    With his single eye closed shut, Holy Drew held the source of Godly Tile and entered a state of meditation.


    There were too many assumptions and conjectures regarding the source of Godly Tile.


    Up until then, no one had been able to discover the true secrets within. The only thing people knew it could do was transform itself into all sorts of shapes and sizes.


    Back then, a Holy Being had obtained a huge source of Godly Tile about the height of a person. That Holy Being turned the source of Godly Tile into a hard spear¡ªit had the solidity of a Godly Tile as its only advantage.


    And there were more treasures in the divine land apart from this. So even though the source of Godly Tile was a precious treasure in the eyes of the Holy Beings, it was still useless. No one had managed to grasp the correct usage of the item.


    Under Holy Drew''s meditation, the surface of the Godly Tile began rippling.


    The crystal twisted continuously in Holy Drew''s hand as if he was holding a constantly shifting drop of water.


    The man also had his own thoughts about the source of Godly Tile¡ªhe wanted to use it for the creation of a defensive magic treasure that could take form at will.


    "If this thing merges with your body, it will be able to transform into clothes or armor as you wish," Holy Drew said as he threw the Godly Tile towards Zen.


    The source of Godly Tile was like water as it splashed against Zen''s body.


    The ''water'' then flowed along his figure, being evenly distributed onto the surface of his skin, seeping into his flesh. Then, it turned into a transparent film that wrapped around Zen.


    "This time, it should be enough," Holy Drew said as he smiled and turned to look at the corner of the cave. "We can now officially begin."


    From a distance, Holy Jay nodded in agreement. It was the most critical and painful step¡ªthey were going to put Zen through a thorough refinement.


    The door in the cave opened with a bang as Holy Drew dragged Zen through it and disappeared.


    In the Evolutionary Universe


    After the conversation with the Celestial Position race ended, the entire Sacred race retreated, returning to the three supreme worlds on the edge of the Evolutionary Universe. These worlds were where the now perished Spring race once lived.


    Still, people were terrified.


    Perhaps many creatures of the lower levels had no knowledge of the Sacred race''s purpose. But these people had come from another universe. In the end, they were still a great threat.


    In the past year or so, the Sacred race hadn''t tried to expand, choosing to stay in three supreme worlds.


    But powerful energy fluctuations had come frequently from these worlds. Sometimes, it even caused violent spatial tremors. The warriors of the Wind Avoid


    universe in danger!"


    "You think being careless would provoke the Sacred race? You really know nothing about them. If the Sacred race wanted to start a war, they''d do it. Besides... Do they even need a reason to start a war?" another warrior said coldly.


    "That''s right, the Sacred race needs no reason. They''ll start a war as they please." And then another warrior agreed.


    On the deck, the people continued discussing the matter as they looked on to the depths of the trans-border channel. But the length of the channel was difficult to estimate. No one knew where the lightning from that space had come from.


    Then, they suddenly realized that the space around them began its violent fluctuations once again.


    "Look! What''s that?!" a warrior shouted as he pointed to the front.


    Under the crowd''s eyes, the trans-border channel in the distance was constantly collapsing at extreme speed. It rapidly spread towards the cyan ships stationed here.


    These trans-border channels were fairly stable spaces, usually maintained in turns by a few world lords of a supreme world.


    After maintenance, they could last for another several hundred or thousand years. Because of this, it was almost impossible for them to self-destruct.


    "Alert! Now!" Someone was shouting.


    Boom¡­ Boom¡­


    The drums resounded rapidly on the cyan ships. As soon as everyone climbed up the deck, a giant mouth filled with fangs appeared before them. It seemed to cover the entirety of the supreme world channel as it began gnawing and devouring everything along it.


    "It''s a World Devouring Beast!" A world lord standing on a ship stared ahead as he shouted.


    These beasts that lived in the void of space fed on space and supreme worlds. If the Sacred race used a World Devouring Beast, it was probably with the intention of starting an all-out war.

 Chapter 1921 The War Had Finally Begun

    "What should we do, Sir?"


    All the warriors on the ships scrambled in panic as they turned to the world lord for help.


    This world lord was known as Piper Feng. Since the Wind Avoiding World was the closest to the Humanity Alliance, the alliance had sent more warriors to the area than the other forces. Piper Feng was the leader of this team.


    Piper Feng''s face turned dim as he looked at the supreme world channel that continued to collapse in front of him.


    He had already known that this day would come sooner or later, ever since the first day they had been stationed in the place. It was just that he didn''t expect that it would be so soon.


    "Inform everyone not to resist!" Piper Feng ordered. Now, there were no Supreme Lords in their squad.


    In fact, there were only three world lords, and that already included Piper Feng.


    Fighting back would seem futile on their side as they were like mere ants that stood in the way of the Sacred race. There was no point in resisting.


    "Why?!"


    "We''ll fight them to the death!"


    "We''re martial artists! Even if we die, we should die a worthy death!"


    However, the warriors on the ships were no doubt truly brave.


    Many of them weren''t afraid of death itself, but rather, of meaningless death.


    Instead of just sitting and waiting for their end, they thought it was better to die fighting!


    "Crack, crack, crack..."


    There were rupturing sounds as the space fell apart, and formed numerous vortexes. The turbulent flows within the vortexes whirled like hurricanes and spread out. The scene was like a myriad of fireworks on a summer night, but none of the martial artists present had the mood to enjoy it.


    At that moment, the warriors climbed up to the bows of the ships, their weapons drawn out as they stared straight ahead. All of them were on high alert and in constant vigilance.


    Just when the space collapsed in front of the ships and was about to suck the vessels into it, the World Devouring Beast finally stopped.


    Only when it had closed its huge mouth with protruding fangs was everyone finally able to see the World Devouring Beast''s true appearance. Its bewitching red eyes stared at everyone, instilling fear in the minds of all the martial artists present.


    It wasn''t long before a few figures appeared on the top of the World Devouring Beast''s head.


    "Warriors from Sacred race!"


    The Sacred race was extremely similar to human race. It was because humans and the other humanoid creatures were originally created based on the Sacred race.


    However, the warriors in front of them could be considered as pseudo-Sacred warriors.


    Of course, there were still many things that separated the real Sacred warriors from their pseudo counterparts--such as their pupil color, the differences in features, and the body structure.


    The Sacred warriors present were all world lords. They emitted an aura of superiority as they stood tall on top of the World Devouring Beast''s head.


    "You insects, it''s time for you to submit. Kneel obediently on the ground and beg for mercy, and we can let your bodies remain whole!" one of the Sacred world lords said.


    On the other hand, Piper Feng looked calm. There was no trace of fear


    rson was most likely a traitor. It''s too easy to find an excuse¡­"


    "I wonder how ready the Celestial Position and other forces are."


    In reality, many wars in history had employed such a strategy. The direct cause of some wars was only a small event. Some wars were actually inevitable. The small event was merely an excuse that was arranged deliberately.


    The truth was, the martial artist that jumped out of the cyan ship was not a spy arranged by the Sacred race. Just half a month ago, there was a life vitality crystal with a puppet bug in it in the batch of life vitality crystals that had been delivered to the Wind Avoiding World--and the act was done by the Sacred race.


    Soon enough, that martial artist devoured the life vitality crystal as he cultivated. At the same time, the puppet bug quietly entered his body.


    After that, the Sacred race had been using the puppet bug to control that human martial artist, which then triggered the war.


    "Swoosh..."


    The World Devouring Beast that had stopped started to move again, and it charged towards the ships!


    A sigh escaped from Piper Feng''s lips. He already knew that the situation was hopeless, and he could only do his best to resist.


    "I will fight to my last breath to resist the evil spirit!"


    Life vitality violently surged through his body, then he fearlessly charged towards the World Devouring Beast.


    "Fight to resist the evil spirit!"


    "Fight to resist the evil spirit!"


    Meanwhile, the other martial artists fought fiercely as well. While they knew that they were just cannon fodder of the war, they did not hesitate to charge forward.


    The various races of the Evolutionary Universe all used different Calendars, among which the Celestial Position''s calendar was the most accurate because the Grand Era Calendar, which they had used was to record the time from the beginning of a grand era.


    According to their calendar, it had been three billion three hundred and seventy million nine hundred and ninety years since the birth of the current grand era.


    Now, the war of the Sacred race''s invasion of the Evolutionary Universe had finally begun.

 Chapter 1922 The Falling Archaeopteryx

    Peculiar, mysterious birds hovered tirelessly in the air above.


    When these birds unfolded their wings, the wingspan was at least millions of miles. Every time one of the birds fluttered its wings hard enough, a destructive wind storm was generated. Occasionally, the strange birds wailed like ghosts or howled like wolves.


    These strange birds were called Archaeopteryx.


    The fledgling birds flew in the sky without ever stopping, not even to rest. Landing on the ground after hovering the skies for millions of years only meant one thing: Death. Thus, they only landed once in their lifetime.


    The Archaeopteryx was so enormous that plenty of different creatures were in fact born on its very back. So much so in fact, that a great world formed itself here. The great world would vanish as the bird landed.


    Below these unimaginably colossal birds, an even vaster mountain existed.


    Despite how grandiose this bird was, in comparison to the mountain, the Archaeopteryx actually appeared extremely insignificant in size.


    At the mountain''s peak, a young woman sat on a rock, pensively looking up at the sky. It looked like she was observing something above. She stood up suddenly.


    "It''s landing!"


    she said, as she watched a bird falling down to the ground below it.


    "Uncle Lean once told me that the Archaeopteryx never landed. If ever they were to fall to the ground, it would mean they were about to die." The bird''s figure grew bigger and bigger as it got closer and closer. The woman kept her eyes fixed on the weird bird who appeared to slip in the air.


    A single Archaeopteryx could fly for millions of years in the air. Falling down did not only signify the bird''s death, but the death of an entire hovering world.


    From the moment she''d reached the mountain top, she had had a clear view of these birds, tirelessly hovering in the air above. Lean Qi had told her that these birds were of an enormous size, something completely beyond her imagination. Seeing them from afar though, they were rather hard to distinguish from a large eagle.


    However, as the bird before her continued to approach the ground, she realized how right Lean had truly been. This bird was absolutely monstrous. It was literally as big as an entire world. The woman couldn''t completely see the bird''s true size.


    As the bird continued its descent, its grey figure became bigger and bigger. It slowly blocked the woman''s sight completely, like an eclipse, or as if a mountain had fallen right before her eyes. What she watched now was simply a giant grey mass. Instead of a bird, an entire world had crept down upon the woman.


    From where she was standing, the woman could already spot several creatures upon the Archaeopteryx''s back.


    Due to its expansive body, the process of reaching the ground was extremely long. That said though, this woman displayed no panic. If she was frightened, she was hiding it well.


    On her face though, she wore an expression of concentration as she glared out at the creatures liv


    mountain, to the divine land. In a split second though, her father''s situation came to her mind.


    If Murphy Universe completely corroded Evolutionary Universe, her father would die.


    Only her brother could save her father, and that meant her brother couldn''t leave the universe.


    From start to finish, Yan felt like a spectator on the sidelines, completely incapable of helping her brother. She knew her brother was constantly struggling and striving though. After bringing her to the mountain, Lean had explained the entire story.


    What Lean didn''t know though, was that she actually preferred knowing nothing about this at all.


    Whirr!


    The enormous Archaeopteryx had just skimmed over the mountain summit. A mighty current of air was generated as it fell down. The air flew toward them!


    Under the blow of this air current, a strong wind storm was generated, together with countless wind blades.


    "It''s a bit cold," Yan said rather indifferently, as a gust of wind came straight at her.


    The wind blades looked like pale gold. The Wind Law in the wind blades was the seventh layer. And this was the divine land, not the universe. In other words, the law here was perfect and there was enough of it to attack a warrior who was at the Soul Sea Realm, Spirit Supreme Realm, and Spirit Transformation Realm.


    She stretched out her hand and fiddled with the wind. Purple lights twinkled and the wind blades stopped at her fingertips. From there, she transformed them into a slight breeze. The Wind Law contained within it continued to collapse slowly, becoming life vitality and dissipating from there.


    Lean pulled out an emerald cloak and draped it over her shoulders.


    Yan walked briskly toward the other side of the summit. Although her demeanor came off frigid and the melancholy in her eyes had dissipated, a vigorous and resolute look appeared on her face.


    She had made great progress in terms of her capabilities in such a strange environment over the years. So had her disposition.

 Chapter 1923 A Debate

    Preternatural flames raged from the cave entrance as if an evil dragon lurked in its depths and constantly fired its burning breath.


    The Collapsing Mountain race, the Skyland race, and the Harmony race gathered at the entrance and waited.


    It was extremely hot, so much so that if a basin of water was placed here, it would completely evaporate in mere seconds.


    Fortunately, this extreme temperature wasn''t much of a threat to the warriors present though it still made them feel quite restless.


    All of them still thought of the door.


    "I finally managed to bring Zen to this place but how could I have known that it would end up like this?" Chapman lamented.


    Kaydan''s face was also filled with gloom as he stared at the cave entrance. This entire debacle was unacceptable and the strangeness of it all made him feel as if he had been hoodwinked by someone. It was understandable that he was feeling extremely furious by this sudden turn of events.


    Tilton of the Harmony race, on the other hand remained calm. In fact, all the warriors of the Harmony race spent this time sitting cross-legged on the scorching rocks and silently cultivating their minds. There was no use waiting around and wasting idle time for them.


    As for Laquisha, she couldn''t really think of any solutions right now. She hadn''t the slightest idea of what happened to Zen.


    ''You can''t really be refined by Holy Drew. I''m counting on you to take me to the Soul Suppressing Cliff like you promised, '' she thought to herself.


    "Laquisha, it''s so hot in here..." Aleyna complained.


    She had the lowest cultivation level amongst all warriors present so her ability to resist the extremely high temperature wasn''t as strong.


    Laquisha shot Kennan a look and he hurriedly took out a blue, thin, jade hairpin. It looked deceptively ordinary but was actually a treasure even in the divine land.


    She took the hairpin and put it on Aleyna who then felt a chill that eased the heat somewhat.


    Some of the warriors present easily recognized this hairpin. They couldn''t help but feel jealous of the Han Clan at that moment since it was a large family with plentiful wealth and a collection of all kinds of treasures.


    "No!"


    Kaydan roared as he stood. Life vitality surged in his body and disturbed the airflow around them. The heat wave swirled around him and made him look extremely formidable. "We cannot keep waiting here. Let me have a look in the cave!"


    None of the three races had the ability to enter this cave but Kaydan had mastered a secret technique that would allow him to catch a glimpse of whatever was happeni


    reternatural flames?


    Within the cave, Holy Jay held a small eyeball in his hand.


    "They think that this door will allow them to leave the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. What they don''t know is that this door is merely a furnace prepared for Zen. They could all lead carefree lives here. Why do they want to leave?"


    Rocher also looked at the eye. "These people... Did you create them?"


    Holy Jay nodded. "Most of them. They''ve been quite troublesome, causing chaos right ever since I created them."


    Rocher smiled. "You are wrong to set such limitations."


    "How so?" Holy Jay asked.


    "Although I have never been to the divine land, I do know of a creature''s heart. Wherever a creature resides, they would always evolve and pursue higher levels of cultivation. Even you aren''t an exception to that, right?" Rocher said.


    A strange look appeared in Holy Jay''s eyes, not really knowing how to refute his words.


    "This is the meaning of life," Rocher told him as he stared at the eyeball.


    "This doesn''t have much meaning," Holy Jay said, shooting an indifferent glance at Rocher. He himself was wise and didn''t need to be taught this simple lesson.


    Rocher did not really mind. "When a beggar is on the verge of starving to death, a single bun might be even more meaningful compared to a True God earning the title of Holy Being." Rocher didn''t care about Holy Jay''s stare at all as a confident and calm smile appeared on his face.


    His words caused Holy Jay to stiffen and become somewhat speechless.


    Once he entered the Holy Realm and built the land, he knew everything about this vast world. However, he found himself unable to refute Rocher''s words.


    He had not thought of such things for quite some time now.

 Chapter 1924 Hope

    As a newly conferred Holy Being, Holy Jay was considered a maverick in the divine land.


    As a Holy Being in the divine land, he still showed some level of prejudice against the secondary creatures.


    A vast majority of martial artists did not bother much about the living beings in their inner worlds.


    This was because the meaning of the existence of the countless beings in an inner world was merely to keep the inner world running smoothly, and make the life vitality to flow even more widely in the cinnabar field.


    Some True Gods would rely on the Faith Energy from their followers within their inner worlds. Others did not require the Faith Energy, especially those who had already reached the Holy Realm. They wouldn''t care whether people believed in them or not. Nor would they voluntarily announce their existence to the people within their inner worlds.


    There were too many secondary creatures to bother about.


    Every universe had countless great worlds, and every great world had countless creatures.


    In addition, the inner world of a True God was quite extensive.


    The divine land was so big, that there were all sorts of true spirits and creatures. Apart from them, there were also numerous mountains and the four great divine trees.


    The numbers of secondary creatures inside the bodies of martial artists were countless.


    These lives were inconsequential, especially to martial artists who were True Gods. The existences of these lives were meaningless to them.


    Who would care when the weeds in a forest grew or died?


    But among these ''weeds'', there would occasionally be someone that would shine with an extraordinary brilliance. And they would be given ample attention by the martial artists. As for the other weeds, they were still just weeds¡­


    The existence of the divine land was permanent and stable. It was precisely because of this that the deities within it were tainted with divinity and lost their humanity.


    "That''s true," said Holy Jay with a faint smile. "I have definitely forgotten how to revere the living beings, but you have forgotten how to revere me as well."


    For all said and done, he was still a Holy Being with a high status. Even a True God was not allowed to speak to him in such a manner. Although he did not mind Rocher''s attitude, he did not appreciate the fact that Rocher had crossed the line.


    As the saying went, ''To be in the king''s company is tantamount to living with a tiger.'' Even a mortal king could decide the fate of his subjects. The status of a Holy Being was comparatively higher. What he could rule over was a part of the divine land!


    If the people of the divine land were to find out that a secondary creature at the Spirit Supreme Realm taught a Holy Being a lesson like that, they would be completely appalled.


    However, Rocher''s expression remained unchang


    trength was so precise that everyone appeared to be lifted off the ground at the same time.


    "Enough!" Holy Jay said calmly. "I know that you have tried many times to find a way to cross the heavens. I want to tell you that there is no such way in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, so you cannot leave the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. If you still dare to do so, you can imagine the consequences!"


    Even if Holy Jay had not taken the initiative to speak about this, Kaydan and the others would have definitely raised this question. Now that Holy Jay had cleared this point, the faces of Kaydan and the rest froze in anticipation.


    They had already collected this information from the martial artists of other races and divine land. Hence it was no longer a secret. But they still didn''t give up and followed the last glimmer of hope.


    But if they were to hear it from the mouth of their master, it would be equivalent to sentencing them to death.


    Their pursuit in life was meaningless.


    Forcefully leaving the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land would mean that they would turn into life vitality and disappear. It was because they were secondary creatures and the fate that awaited them was cruelly simple.


    "Is there no other way?" Kaydan asked hopefully.


    Holy Jay patted Rocher''s shoulder and said, "You should thank this young man for persuading me. Therefore, I will give you all a chance to comprehend the Godly Way."


    Until now, everyone had fallen into despair. After all, Holy Jay had personally confirmed that there was no way from them to leave the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land.


    Who would have thought that what Holy Jay said next would pull them out from the abyss of despair into the heaven of hope!


    All the aboriginals looked at Rocher gratefully. Rocher seemed to have become a savior in their eyes. They could form no words to express their gratitude.

 Chapter 1925 Sacrifice For Zen

    "All the three thousand great ways could help you condense Godly Tiles. In the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, there aren''t rules of heavens that have been established. Therefore, it''s hard for you to become a True God. With your power though, it is much easier for you to condense a Godly Tile, in comparison to the others..."


    The strength of Chapman, Kaydan and the other elites of their races far exceeded that of a world lord and resembled much more that of a Supreme Lord. However, their power was still at world lord level, because they didn''t carry the Heavenly Destiny and didn''t condense a Godly Tile.


    That said though, they were world lords who could still exert their power to the extreme.


    They were more powerful than top-level world lords and could even compete with the Supreme Lords.


    If they cultivated the Godly Way which was suitable for them, breaking through would be completed with ease.


    "Each individual only has a single chance. Thus, success depends on one''s own comprehension ability," Holy Jay explained faintly.


    Natives from the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land stared at Holy Jay, their eyes sparkling, as if they were afraid to miss or misunderstand any detailed or critical information. This might be their one and only chance.


    "The Collapsing Mountain race''s focused on practicing physical strength. The amount of warriors in the divine land who concentrate on cultivating Might Godly Way is actually quite small. But we shall never underestimate the True Gods who practice Might Godly Way. If their mastery of power is great, they can break absolutely anything with a single fist."


    Holy Jay took a sudden step forward. The invisible force surged out from beneath his feet!


    His body contour wasn''t as big as that of the Collapsing Mountain race, but everyone knew that body size wasn''t the standard of measuring a person''s power.


    At that very moment, and in the eyes of all the witnesses, Holy Jay had become the embodiment of power, and he could crush anything!


    In fact, he didn''t even exert all of his power: probably less than ten percent of Chapman''s strength. However, no one could deny that the destruction caused was hundreds of times more than what Chapman could ever manage.


    Holy Jay slowly walked toward Chapman, as the invisible power hovered beside him before turning into a teeny-weeny crystal.


    The colored crystal looked very much like strength source.


    "Lo-Lord... This is just strength source." Chapman had no idea how to address Holy Jay.


    Holy Jay''s face revealed a cold smile. "The Might Godly Way is the most arbitrary one. You never formed Path Platforms nor condensed nine stars, but you absorbed quite a lot of my strength source. Thus, you are able to directly practice the Might Godly Way!"


    Upon finishing his speech, he pointed his finger at the tiny crystal of strength source which began to glow brilliantly. Holy Jay then poured this strength source into the brains of all members of the Collapsing Mountain race present


    them and there are forty-nine Genuine Dragons in total. Do you want to restore your own body or devote your spirit to Zen?"


    Mike loved feeding contractual beasts, especially dragons. Genuine Dragon World was constructed at one side of Evolutionary Universe while he was creating the whole place. This Genuine Dragon World was Mike''s beast farm.


    In Holy Drew''s opinion, the spirits of nine Genuine Dragons were good refinement materials for Zen. He knew that overall, it would be great help for Zen.


    "We... Object," Five-clawed Golden Dragon uttered.


    The dragon''s remarks attracted Holy Drew''s curiosity. "Mike is your master. Why wouldn''t you want to devote your spirits to his son?"


    "Something happened in Genuine Dragon World. They got our clansmen to abandon us. It''s just not the right time for us to devote our spirits..." Five-clawed Golden Dragon replied.


    To divide the universe constructed by a Holy Being wasn''t easy work.


    When the universe itself sensed crisis, it would devise to counterattack. Even if the Sacred race gained advantages in everything, breaking through to Evolutionary Universe wasn''t that easy, because the Evolutionary Universe had its own consciousness and would establish an adverse environment.


    It was like when a troop invaded a country, everything, including the land, trees, grass and rivers, would fight back in silence.


    The Sacred race had conspired for a long time and was well prepared for this invasion.


    Besides the ancient sorcerer race, the Demon Night and the ogre race were also acting suspiciously. Therefore, the Celestial Position didn''t trust these two races. Genuine Dragon World had taken movement earlier. They had incited forty Genuine Dragons to rebel, while other nine Genuine Dragons had lost their own fleshly bodies.


    These nine Genuine Dragons were willing to help Zen, but they still had to avenge themselves in the Genuine Dragon World.


    Prior to such, it was only natural that they didn''t want to sacrifice themselves.

 Chapter 1926 Eighty Thousand Years

    Holy Drew didn''t dwell on this matter.


    He could only be considered half an insider and he would only secretly help Mike with his plan. Never would he get completely involved.


    After all, he was only a weapon refiner. The only thing he could do was display his specialties to the maximum, which meant refining Zen''s body to a stronger level.


    "Dark and Light Fire Array!" Holy Drew roared.


    With those words, he began to activate his divine textures one after another, equally making use of the black flame.


    The Divine Flame Cauldron was also an ancient treasure within the divine land. The black flame inside such, along with the Sun Spring essence flame and mixed element flame, was ranked first on the Mysterious Flame List in the divine land.


    Holy Drew wasn''t proficient in dealing with the black flame, though.


    To him, obtaining just one of the three kinds of flames would be more than enough. Moreover, all the weapon refiners preferred the mixed element flame, because it was the best choice for weapon refining. The mixed element flame was relatively mild, but the black flame was too fierce; even the slightest mistake would cause the weapon embryo to be burnt to ashes.


    It was both Holy Jay''s and Mike''s choices to refine Zen''s body with the black flame. Thus, it was important for Holy Drew to be careful when handling the black flame.


    A white disc slowly appeared beneath Holy Drew''s feet and white life vitality began to circulate around him. Simultaneously, the black flame in the void also began flowing like water toward the disc.


    As a result, a black and white eight-diagram disc was formed.


    The Dark and Light Godly Way was the Godly Way that Holy Drew cultivated himself.


    The Godly Way had once wielded great glory in the Sacred race of the divine land. Due to the Sacred race''s decline though, from ancient history to today, those who had cultivated it to its pinnacle were few and far between. Not many warriors with this Godly Way could successfully become Holy Beings.


    Holy Drew didn''t become a Holy Being because of the Dark and Light Godly Way. On the other hand though, his attainment in this Godly Way was absolutely extraordinary.


    His overall purpose in cultivating the Dark and Light Godly Way was still to refine weapons.


    Before this, no one had ever used the Dark and Light Godly Way in weapon refining. Following the rise of Holy Drew like a dazzling star, many people turned their gazes toward him. The Dark and Light Godly Way became popular among weapon refiners as well.


    They only had one goal, which was to learn from Holy Drew and use the Dark and Light Godly Way to refine supreme chaotic weapons.


    There were quite a few weapon refiners exploring this Godly Way in the divine land, but unfortunately, not a single one of them managed to create a supreme chaotic weapon. Furthermore, they all failed to comprehend the main points within. What they didn''t know was that the key of refining supreme ch


    rom within Zen''s body, watching him in silence.


    Lavender was left inside the door.


    Ever since Zen had returned from the Illusion Battlefield, Lavender''s attitude had been rather strange toward him.


    She seemed to be worried about something, and she often appeared to be at odds with Zen. She had even stopped talking to him.


    Right now though, she raised her head and surveyed her surroundings. Looking at the dream-like space, she flashed a lonely smile. "This is a good place for me," she said.


    Of course, she understood that inside the door, the time flow rate was different.


    If Holy Drew needed a full day in order to refine Zen''s body, then Zen would have to lie here for 80, 000 years.


    She had hoped countless times that time would stop, as long as she stayed by Zen''s side.


    No matter how much she wished it, time continued to push her forward step by step, forcing her into an abyss she had no desire to face.


    But now, time had finally come to a full stop, or rather, it was infinitely close to stopping.


    If one day passed in the outside world, she could accompany Zen for eighty thousand years. If it was two days, it would be one hundred and sixty thousand years. And that was a long time for Lavender.


    Looking at the sleeping Zen, Lavender stretched out a thin finger and gently caressed his face. Although the golden Sanskrit words continued to spin, causing his face to look slightly sinister, his closed eyes still showed a sense of serenity, making her feel strangely calm and comfortable.


    Unknowingly, this man had become so powerful!


    Although time in this space moved at an extremely slow speed, slower than anyone could ever imagine, Lavender wasn''t bored. To the contrary, she treasured the slow passing of every day even more.


    A day''s time passed by quickly for Rocher, Holy Jay, Holy Drew, and the nine Genuine Dragons. Lavender though, who had managed to stay inside the door, had accompanied Zen for eighty thousand years.

 Chapter 1927 Soul-sealing Needle

    The black flame, flicking its way along the eight-diagram disc, had penetrated Zen''s body like small snakes. Then, the black wisps gushed out of Zen little by little.


    It was known that, first and foremost, chaos turned into Dark and Light energies. Then, Dark and Light energies turned into everything.


    The Dark and Light Fire Array was deduced by the great technique of Dark and Light energies - and it was incredibly powerful. Refining weapon with this technique could yield twice the results, with half the effort.


    Quite a few True Gods in the divine land exerted the great technique of Dark and Light energies by means of clockwise rotation.


    Life vitality was actually quite similar to chaos. If chaos was an ordinary energy, then life vitality, in fact, could be seen as secondary energy.


    Under the clockwise rotation, the great technique of Dark and Light energies replaced chaos with life vitality and turned life vitality into Eight Diagrams. Eight Diagrams crushed down and would ultimately destroy the heaven and earth, which was extremely overbearing.


    However, Holy Drew''s Dark and Light Fire Array was anticlockwise.


    In order to refine a supreme chaotic weapon, such was one of the key factors.


    Under an anticlockwise turn, chaos, but not life vitality, was turned into Dark and Light energies.


    If Holy Drew refined a supreme chaotic weapon, then it was only natural that he himself would have to prepare the chaos. This time was different though, as he was refining Zen whose cinnabar field was filled with chaos.


    As the Dark and Light Fire Array rotated, Zen''s inner world developed at a constant rate!


    To Zen, the concept of time became extremely delicate.


    After sinking into a deep slumber, his body began to grow old.


    Warriors at the Soul Sea Realm had an average lifespan of tens of thousands of years. On the other hand, warriors at the Spirit Supreme Realm could actually live anywhere from hundreds of thousands of years to millions of years! Eighty thousand years wasn''t too much for Zen to handle. It wouldn''t make him grow too old, nor would it cause him to enter the Five Aging Processes.


    Because she had been accompanying Zen for such a long time, Lavender had also fallen into a highly focused state.


    A long thin needle was afloat in the depths of her soul. The needle was mysteriously patterned with an abstruse refining technique that had never been seen in the universes.


    Every Demon Night queen would hold a rather mysterious ceremony when she ascended the throne.


    This ceremony concerned top confidential information in Demon Night. None, except perhaps a few clansmen, in Demon Night knew about it.


    This ceremony had been inherited from ancient Demon Night. Even Lavender didn''t fully understand the function or the purpose of such a ceremony.


    Lavender wasn''t the only one, though. Elena and Shania were equally just as unaware.


    Once the Illusion Battlefield was over, this long needle within her soul began to take action. The needle ha


    eated an entire race in order to overturn a universe. Was killing a Holy Being really that impossible?


    "I... I want to root this needle out of me!"


    This idea of pulling this needle out of herself had been long on Lavender''s mind.


    Unfortunately though, the Soul-sealing Needle was so deep in Lavender''s soul that it had already merged with her as one. It now seemed impossible to pull it out. If the Soul-sealing Needle controlled Lavender''s thought completely, there was no way for her to resist.


    If she couldn''t pull it out, she then had to grind and obliterate it!


    A resolute expression quickly appeared on her pretty face.


    She had plenty of time to destroy the needle, now. Eighty thousand years was sufficient to grind the Soul-sealing Needle. What she needed now was a little perseverance.


    There had only been a strand of Lavender''s soul remaining when it was broken by Elena. She was sure she could recover this time, just as she had recovered the last time, too.


    Her soul lurked within Zen''s sword spirit and separating the two was easy.


    Lavender worked hard, but the difficulty of obliterating the Soul-sealing Needle was beyond her imagination.


    The last time Lavender''s soul was broken, her memories were still intact. The Soul-sealing Needle deep within her connected closely with her soul.


    As she tried to grind and obliterate the Soul-sealing Needle, she suffered great pain and her memories slowly faded away.


    Her memory declined quickly and dramatically. At the end of it all, Lavender couldn''t even remember why she had tortured herself like this. She''d had one and only one obsession: to erase the Soul-sealing Needle from her soul.


    Because her soul was so damaged, Lavender''s statue changed and its light faded again in the Demon Night race.


    But the Demon Night didn''t notice the statue''s change. The race''s many powerhouses were in a state of panic, because they had received a new instruction that they couldn''t resist on the day when Sacred race invaded.

 Chapter 1928 The Situation

    Metal clashed against metal, screams drowned more screams. The violent fighting intensified even more as the Evolutionary Universe sunk deeper into chaos.


    Fate seemed to favor the army of the Sacred race, who continued to advance with unstoppable momentum. They made more noise with Roaring Tokens every passing day in the universe, which flooded everyone''s ears.


    Then again, the war was related to the entire universe, every race, and every living being. It didn''t matter whether one was a mortal, a martial artist, a human, or anything else; none of them could stay out of it!


    Before the actual war had broken out, the Demon Night race had been actively preparing for battle.


    All of the warriors from their sacred places had started to gather towards their race''s core supreme worlds.


    Janice, the lord of the Frigid Autumn World, and her subordinates had been shuttling back and forth through passageways of various supreme worlds. Their supposed destination was the Punishment World, a supreme world where Elena''s Heavenly Punishment Palace was located.


    She was the leader of the sacred place''s elite warriors. Generally speaking, the warriors with the lowest cultivation level were at the Soul Sea Realm, and the warriors with the highest cultivation level were at the Spirit Transformation Realm.


    The enemies they faced this time were too strong, so warriors below the Soul Sea Realm served very little purpose.


    Janice had only been to the Punishment World once, after she became the lord of the Frigid Autumn World. Since the universe was naturally too vast, it hadn''t been easy for her to travel an arduous journey of a hundred supreme worlds¡ªeven as a world lord herself.


    They had occasionally encountered warriors from other sacred places of the Demon Night race, and most of them seemed worried.


    Provoking words filled everyone''s ears from time to time. They didn''t know where Maha, the warrior from the Sacred race, had gotten so many Roaring Tokens from, but he clearly annoyed native warriors constantly every day.


    "Ha-ha! Today I killed seven world lords. All of them were from the Humanity Alliance. Their names were... Tsk, tsk! Those guys were so weak. I hope I can meet stronger warriors tomorrow, and I''ll kill them one by one." Once again, Maha''s voice filled everyone''s ears.


    "Maha is so mighty!"


    "Yes, he is!"


    The warriors from the Sacred race began to butter Maha up.


    Janice''s face scrunched up in hopeless despair after the many times she had heard those irritating words. "He''s too arrogant!" she complained.


    It was true that everyone Maha had killed belonged to the Humanity Alliance. Furthermore, they were human martial artists. Now, Janice and her companions were from a different force, and a different race as well. Thus, should she be so angry?


    In reality, however, she wasn''t the only one infuriated¡ªthe elite warriors from the Demon Night race that she led shared the same sentiments. In fact, all the living creatures in the universe hated Maha with a passion.


    The Humanity Alliance wasn''t the Sacred race''s only target.


    The Sacred race had unashamedly declared from the very beginning that they would treat the entire universe as their own. It had undoubtedly made them the whole universe''s public enemies.


    Therefore, when the Humanity Alliance was attacked, the Demon Night warriors naturally got enraged as well.


    Maha''s name had spread far and wide ever since the Sacred race had invaded the u


    opportunity as the Demon Night race was going to join forces with the Sacred race.


    A green light suddenly lit up on the smooth and hard floor in front of her; then an emerald green vine sprouted and quickly grew out of it. In just a few seconds, a giant flower bud appeared.


    Plop!


    The petals of the flower bud suddenly fanned out in bloom, and then Shania, who was dressed in green, stepped out.


    Compared to the other Godly Geniuses, Shania''s cultivation had grown the fastest. She had reached the peak of the Spirit Transformation Realm in such a short period of time. It looked like she was about to become a world lord.


    Elena looked at Shania as the corners of her mouth lifted up into a smile. "Latonia, you''re late."


    Shania''s cold stare sent daggers towards Elena.


    Shania wasn''t that fond of Elena. She had always been immersed in her own research, and had seldom got herself involved in the things of the Demon Night race.


    It had only been a while since she had recently discovered the mysteriousness of the tenth layer of the Life Law, but the Sacred race suddenly appeared out of nowhere and caused a huge disturbance. It completely disrupted her progress! What was even worse was that the Soul-sealing Needle in her mind released a bunch of information that had nothing to do with her.


    It was only then that she understood the Demon Night race''s mission. It was not something she was happy about, yet she had no choice but to follow the Soul-sealing Needle''s intention.


    She was even more depressed when she came to know the reason why she was able to control the tenth layer of the Life Law according to the information in the Soul-sealing Needle.


    There were some loopholes in the Evolutionary Universe because the one who had laid down its rules was almost about to die. She had only happened to find those loopholes, which was why she had accidentally comprehended the tenth layer of the Life Law.


    "They have sent ten Godly Geniuses to the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land this time, but not me. In fact, the Celestial Position race has long suspected our Demon Night race, and they don''t even trust the ogre race," Shania said. "So don''t think that you can catch them off-guard."


    "Of course I know that," Elena proudly laughed. "The first step is to convince our people!"

 Chapter 1929 Explanation

    The members of the Demon Night race were without fail obedient to their queens.


    This race maintained this structure since its creation.


    The sacred places of the human race were evolved from sects, while the divine kingdoms were evolved from mortal nations. However, the loyalty of human martial artists couldn''t be compared to that of the Demon Night warriors.


    When the sacred places and divine kingdoms experienced chaos, the core martial artists would choose to continue to serve their sacred places or divine kingdoms. At times though, a large group of them would try to escape.


    When the territory of the Humanity Alliance was slowly occupied by the Sacred race, many martial artists chose to leave the sacred places that they belonged to and run for their lives. Some criminals even burned, killed and looted random areas. Hence, the mortals were the ones left to suffer.


    This would never happen to the Demon Night race.


    The beliefs of their race were embedded in their very bones and ingrained in their brains.


    Once, when Lavender and Elena were fighting back then, only the upper-level martial artists were in chaos. The lower-level martial artists didn''t experience any disturbance because they only followed their own queens.


    Followings the orders of the queens, the members of the Demon Night race would go through fire and water without any complaints. This was why the Demon Night race remained so united.


    After finishing her sentence, Elena looked at Shania with an indifferent gaze. With an arrogant smile plastered on her face, she lifted her hemlines as she walked towards the transparent crystal doors of the Heavenly Punishment Palace.


    The warriors in front of the palace came from various sacred places. They were all elite warriors of the Demon Night race, ranging from world lords to Spirit Transformation Realm warriors, Spirit Supreme Realm warriors, Soul Sea Realm warriors... These were the strongest members of the Demon Night race.


    Seeing the graceful figure move behind the doors, the warriors of the Demon Night race immediately quieted down. They were ready for whatever the queen would ask of them.


    Although the vast majority of the Demon Night warriors were women, that didn''t mean they weren''t valiant. When faced with invasions, many world lords voluntarily joined the fight.


    Pah!


    The large, multi-colored doors slowly opened. Elena slowly but surely, stepped onto the terrace and took a look down at all the Demon Night members. Her facial expression was soft, but stern and poised.


    Shania followed closely behind, standing beside Elena with a calm gaze.


    "My dear people, it is an honor to meet you," Elena said. "We have gathered here today, with all the elite warriors, because som


    end, she still nodded her head. If she had a choice, she wouldn''t have agreed with Elena''s decision. She had always been immersed in her own research, and this brought her endless joy. The Sacred race''s sudden appearance disturbed all her plans.


    She was restricted by the Soul-sealing Needle and could only do as the needle instructed.


    Seeing that Shania agreed so easily, the elders couldn''t believe their ears, their faces revealing shock and confusion.


    The character of the Queen of Punishment had always been crazy and difficult to comprehend. However, the Queen of Life was relatively gentle, so why did even she approve of this matter this time around? No one could figure out what was happening.


    Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!


    The discussion grew louder and louder.


    Pah!


    Elena reached out her hand, and the Saint Thunder Meteor Hammer appeared before her. A blue-colored flash of lightning shot out from the hammer, violently exploding high in the sky.


    There was a clap of thunder in the air.


    A deafening sound erupted, masking all the discussion and arguments happening below.


    "I know that everyone is angry," Elena said slowly. "As creatures born in the Evolutionary Universe, we, the Demon Night warriors, have the duty to protect our homeland. However, I want to set it clear to everyone that the Demon Night race does not belong to this universe!"


    "What?


    How is this possible?"


    "We were born in this universe. Why don''t we belong to this universe?"


    All of the Demon Night members gasped as they stared wide-eyed at Elena. Their minds were completely muddled.


    Elena did not have a better way to appease them. She could only divulge some information to calm them down. "The purpose that our Demon Night race was created was to destroy the Evolutionary Universe, and now the opportunity has come."

 Chapter 1930 Going Too Far

    Elena''s explanation was not convincing.


    None of the Demon Night people present had a Soul-sealing Needle in their soul, so they had no idea of the origins of their race.


    As the leader of the Demon Night race, Elena was the unwavering beacon of faith. It was enough for her to just give an explanation. No one would care if the explanation was truthful or outrageous, because it was unthinkable for them to question the queen''s words.


    "It doesn''t matter if you are confused, dubious, or even furious; it won''t change the decision made by Latonia and me. All world lords, regroup your troops and remain in Punishment World until further instruction. I will herald the golden age of the Demon Night!"


    After issuing the command, Elena turned around and left. The crystal doors were shut behind her. She still needed to convene with the Supreme Lords of Demon Night.


    Those Supreme Lords weren''t as easy to convince as the ordinary Demon Night civilians. Elena could let them probe the Soul-sealing Needle, so it wasn''t a tough job for her. The next step for the Demon Night army was to wait for the perfect moment to launch a deadly attack on the human beings.


    In such a short span of time, Humanity Alliance had lost two hundred supreme worlds.


    The Sacred race''s formidable army didn''t encounter any strong resistance. At this pace, the Sacred race could devour the whole Humanity Alliance within two years.


    In core supreme world of Celestial Position, the fight had started.


    A swift and fierce aura radiated from the expansive hall.


    This aura swept over everything in the hall like countless thin blades.


    Swoosh!


    Thousands of tiny slashes appeared in the magnificent hall due to the attack of this blade-like aura.


    A myriad of scratches suddenly appeared on the wall, the floor, the ceiling, and even on the statues that were made from rare materials.


    If someone was in the hall now, one would be badly mutilated just by contacting the aura.


    "We... When will we take action?" a sweet and melodic voice asked.


    It was Supreme Lord of Oracle of the Humanity Alliance. Her eyes glowed like an ignited black gem. The fierce aura earlier was casually set off by her as she couldn''t suppress her anger anymore.


    Aside from Supreme Lord of Oracle, there were more than twenty human Supreme Lords present in the hall. They all kept their silence.


    The Sacred race''s first foothold was in Spring race, just beyond the Sighing Wall. At that time, Humanity Alliance already perceived that they would be the first target to be attacked when the Sacred race initiated the war.


    Humanity Alliance wasn''t lacking in power. Supreme Lord of Oracle was one of the four great top-rank Supreme Lords in the univer


    ''t stand it any more. That''s going too far!" Supreme Lord of Oracle had a weird smile on her face, which was obviously out of rage. She gave the present Supreme Lords a stern look and turned around to step into the void.


    Following her, Supreme Lord Healum from Humanity Alliance also left.


    As he saw the three important Supreme Lords from Humanity Alliance who left, Supreme Lord of Original Sin couldn''t help but sigh, "Maybe we made a wrong decision."


    Supreme Lord of Thunder Punishment, who had been silent earlier, shook his head, too. "The time is too short. Maybe we shouldn''t have put our all hopes in these young Godly Geniuses."


    The head of the Celestial Position wore a complicated expression, too.


    If no one prevented Supreme Lord of Oracle from leading Humanity Alliance against the Sacred race, the consequences could be easily imagined. If the elites from Humanity Alliance completely fell, it would be a great loss to the human race.


    Master Feng sighed again.


    He hadn''t felt this kind of emotion for a long time.


    Everything went smoothly since he became the head of Celestial Position.


    The Celestial Position rose sharply. Ten Godly Geniuses had been selected successfully and Zen grew rapidly. Everything all went according to plan and seemed to be on schedule.


    The head of Celestial Position even took all the successes for granted, because the Celestial Position was created by the disciple of the universe''s master. Things shouldn''t be going wrong.


    However, a fatal mistake occurred. Sacred race had broken through the Sighing Wall, which was beyond everyone''s expectation. Consequently, the selected Godly Geniuses didn''t have enough time to cultivate.


    "Maybe it''s time to counterattack. I will go to visit Wynn," Master Feng said as he then disappeared into the hall.

 Chapter 1931 He Was Asleep For A Long Time

    The Celestial Position was in a dilemma.


    The Sacred race was on a roll. There was no stopping them from conquering many supreme worlds. But Wynn and Master Feng had planned to sacrifice some worlds to buy time.


    Although the Sacred race had a huge appetite, the Evolutionary Universe was vast that they wouldn''t be able to swallow it all at once.


    So, to afford themselves some time, there was no other option but to sacrifice the Humanity Alliance.


    When the Sacred race began invading the Evolutionary Universe, the three great forces of human race united. Even Supreme Lord of Oracle and Supreme Lord of Original Sin had put aside their grudges in the hope of defeating their biggest adversary. But the Sacred race continued to devour their territories. It seemed that their joint force could not do anything to stop the conqueror.


    Once the Sacred race destroyed the Humanity Alliance, the Evolutionary Universe would be in trouble. In this situation, differences and feuds must be set aside. Their chance of survival would rely on their willingness to work together.


    But despite being the only viable option, it was a difficult decision to make.


    "Sir," Master Feng said when he entered the secret place while cupping his hands as a sign of respect to the old man, Wynn.


    Wynn was floating in the air with his legs crossed when Master Feng came in. The old man was surrounded by a continuous stream of bright starlight like an endless meteor shower.


    He sensed Master Feng''s presence but did not respond to the latter''s call. His eyes were kept closed as if he was in the middle of meditation on the starlight.


    Master Feng realized that Wynn didn''t want to be disturbed, so he quietly stepped back to not interrupt the old man''s thought.


    Not long after, more starlight appeared and surrounded Wynn. They began to form complicated patterns like the constellations in the sky.


    The number of patterns rapidly increased and started to ascend into the sky. When they reached the top of the secret place, they converged and formed a white band of light. It circled in the sky then began to slowly descend towards Wynn''s head.


    The band of light began to spread out and all the stars in the universe emitted light simultaneously.


    It was nighttime in the universe when all the stars shone brightly, lighting up the universe like it was daytime.


    Master Feng could notice the changes in the universe even when he was standing in the secret place. It appeared that Wynn was using a secret technique.


    Wynn was the only True God in the Celestial Position and he was also the person that had activated the bloodline of the Celestial Position. Being the disciple of a Holy Being, Wynn had extensive sacred wisdom about the universe and its events.


    As the band of light came closer to Wynn''s head, it expanded more slowly. It looked like it had almost reached its stretch limit.


    Wynn had not moved since Master Feng found him meditating here. But as the band of light came closer to him, his brows slightly furrowed. When he extended both his hands, a ray of light emitted from his cinnabar field and a light blue crystal shot out from it. It began to circle in front of Wynn.


    It was an octagon-shaped crystal. At first glance, Master Feng thought it was an eight-d


    to fight, we might as well join them. This time, I will use the power of the stars to help them win."


    "We''ll not wait for the Godly Geniuses to return?" Master Feng asked.


    According to Wynn, the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land was an extraordinary sacred place for cultivation. The idea of sending the Godly Geniuses to this cultivation place was from the old man as well. And since it was an instruction from a True God, Master Feng didn''t bother to ask and just sent them into the cultivation place. But he had no idea when they would come back.


    "We can''t wait here doing nothing. We must help the Humanity Alliance. We can slow down the Sacred race''s invasion until the Godly Geniuses are back," Wynn said with a worried face.


    Wynn was Mike''s disciple. He had taught him everything he knew about martial arts.


    Mike''s wisdom was embodied by his disciples and they believed that their master''s plans could turn even the most difficult situation into a success.


    That was why, no matter how bad the situation was, Wynn had never lost his confidence.


    But this time was different. Wynn had not that much confidence that they could win in this situation.


    As a True God, he knew about the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. It was indeed an extraordinary sacred place for cultivation built by Holy Jay from the divine land.


    However, no matter how magical this Divine Refinement Forbidden Land was, it was impossible to improve the strength of these Godly Geniuses to a level enough to save the Evolutionary Universe in just a short period of time. There was just no way¡­


    The Evolutionary Universe and the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land observed the same time flow rate.


    Wynn, who was in the Evolutionary Universe, decided to finally lend a hand to the Humanity Alliance. Meanwhile in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, Zen was resting when his eyelids slightly trembled and suddenly opened. Then, a golden afterglow entered his pupils and rapidly rotated until it gradually dissipated.


    Zen looked confused. He sat up and looked around, but his head ached a little from the sudden awakening. What time was it now?


    It felt as if he was asleep for a long time.

 Chapter 1932 Lavenders Amazing Willpower

    Zen''s soul was in a state of near unconsciousness as he slept.


    To him, it was only a matter of closing his eyes and opening them back up. Even so, he felt like he had slept for far too long.


    Having just awoken, Zen was still dazed. Once he adapted to the surrounding light, he took notice of Lavender.


    "Hmmm?"


    She was curled up like a baby, her eyes closed as she lay motionless beside him.


    At this moment, Zen could feel how extremely weak her soul was as if it had suffered some great injury.


    Although her soul had already been completely restored, she lacked a complete body¡ªshe had stayed as his sword spirit.


    "Lavender?" Zen called out.


    When he received no response, he had his sword spirit stand up to stretch her body.


    Since it was originally Zen''s sword spirit, naturally, he could control it. But because Lavender''s soul was living within it, he hadn''t interfered with it until then.


    It was quite a surprise when Lavender opened her eyes just as he was about to make her stand up.


    Her pair of crimson eyes had lost the sharp killing intent that once clouded them. Instead, they had fallen into a perplexed state.


    "What''s the matter?" Zen asked.


    But Lavender didn''t give the slightest reaction and only looked at Zen, dumbfounded.


    During the time inside the door, Lavender had relied solely on her willpower to extinguish the Soul-sealing Needle.


    One could only imagine the pain of the Soul-sealing Needle piercing into her soul.


    While she erased this needle, she had also severely injured her own soul.


    The trauma of Lavender''s soul wasn''t as severe as before¡ªlast time, because of Elena''s conspiracy, Lavender had almost lost most of her soul, leaving it fragmented. But, her memories hadn''t been damaged in the slightest that time.


    But this Soul-sealing Needle was deeply embedded within her soul. By releasing the information within the needle, one could directly control the recipient''s memories.


    To erase the Soul-sealing Needle meant that she had to erase her memories along with it.


    And Lavender realized this as she was grinding out the needle¡ªjust as she removed a part of it, she also lost a portion of her own childhood memories.


    Suddenly, she couldn''t remember where she was born or where she grew up.


    Once she figured it out, Lavender stopped for a moment. After much consideration, she continued wiping the needle out without any more hesitation.


    Then, she forgot her name, her race, her cultivation technique, her status as one of the three queens of the Demon Night race, and even why she even had to endure such intense pain in the first place.


    The deeper the memories,


    d said only a single sentence, but time passed by quickly inside the door¡ªthe moment he finished speaking, he could already see Lavender attempting to erase the Soul-sealing Needle. Since Lavender had expended so much willpower to erase the Soul-sealing Needle, she was unlikely to bring Zen any harm.


    "With this woman''s soul power, wanting to erase a Soul-sealing Needle isn''t easy," Holy Drew said with a shake of his head.


    In their eyes, Lavender''s power was rather weak. Although the treasures that entered people''s souls weren''t particularly sturdy, their materials were usually rather special¡ªthis needle was still considered a treasure from the divine land.


    But the willpower Lavender displayed afterward still moved the two Holy Beings.


    For a full eighteen hours outside the door, Lavender worked hard, forcefully extinguishing the needle.


    Although eighteen hours outside the door went by fast, around 50, 000 years had already passed within the door. This woman''s willpower truly went beyond their imagination¡ªshe had been doing the same thing for years and years.


    "That''s all we know." Holy Jay recounted what they had seen to Zen. "According to my speculations, she truly belongs to Murphy Mu. But since she destroyed the needle, we can say that she has escaped Murphy''s clutches."


    Hearing his words, Zen was stunned. He couldn''t help but clench his fists in frustration. He had no idea that he was asleep for so long. Never did he think that Lavender would keep such a secret from him. It was no wonder then that she had acted so strangely in the past.


    "Murphy Mu! The Sacred race!"


    Zen exclaimed through gritted teeth. Murphy built the Murphy Universe, where the Sacred race, the invaders of the Evolutionary Universe, had originated.

 Chapter 1933 Time Is Pressing

    "It''s just a sword spirit. At its level, it is barely of any of use to you now," Holy Drew said with indifference.


    Zen couldn''t help but shoot him a cold glare.


    Given the two Holy Beings'' strength, they could''ve definitely prevented this from happening, but they chose to do nothing.


    It was understandable for Zen to feel frustrated. However, he was soon able to calm down.


    Holy Drew and Holy Jay were both outsiders after all.


    Holy Jay simply asked Holy Drew to refine Zen''s body as per Mike''s request.


    A Holy Being was a legendary figure, a supreme existence even in the divine land.


    There was no doubt that these two Holy Beings helped Zen a lot.


    He couldn''t really blame them for not helping Lavender.


    ''I can only rely on myself, '' Zen thought angrily, but he did not let it show on his face.


    He had initially planned on asking Holy Jay for help in recovering Lavender''s memories. But given what just happened, Zen figured that it was no use asking him anything.


    "Hurry! Show me your strength!" Holy Drew urged. He did not want to talk about the insignificant sword spirit. All he cared about was his handiwork of Zen''s body.


    A weapon refiner always had to make sure their weapon was up to standards in order to qualify as a masterpiece.


    Despite Zen''s concern for Lavender, Holy Drew''s words pulled him out of his worries and made him check out his own body.


    Ever since he woke up, he could already feel a great change within him, as if this body was totally different from what it used to be.


    It was as if there was a transparent film around him and this film also had some sort of mysterious connection with his soul.


    As he thought about it, a transparent film appeared and indeed covered his entire body.


    "What is this?"


    Curiosity was written all over Zen''s face.


    However, Holy Drew did not give him an answer. The weapon refiner wanted Zen to discover the mysteries of his own body by himself.


    The transparent film looked similar to water that constantly surged on top of Zen''s body like second skin. He quickly realized that his mind had the ability to control this film.


    "What''s this?" he repeated his question.


    Holy Drew simply gave him a wicked grin.


    "This is a protective treasure. I used a piece of the source of Godly Tile for this," he told Zen. "I named it the Redemption Armor. Do you like it?"


    "The Redemption Armor?"


    Zen''s eyes couldn''t help but light up in surprise. Deciding to put the treasure to the test, he thought of turning it into a robe to cover his naked bo


    lf eventually.


    Although Zen''s body was only as powerful as a supreme chaotic weapon, he still felt significantly stronger than before. He tried activating one percent of strength source from the nine stars and his body was as sturdy as ever.


    After refining Zen''s body, Holy Drew did not intend to stay any longer. As soon as he deemed Zen''s body fit and up to his standards, he quickly turned to smoke and left the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land.


    With Holy Drew gone, Holy Jay then turned to face Zen, Rocher, and the nine Genuine Dragons. "I''ve received news of the Sacred race commencing with their attack on the universe."


    "They started so soon?"


    Rocher''s heart couldn''t help but skip a beat at this information. Even the nine Genuine Dragons seemed surprised at this news.


    Holy Jay simply nodded in confirmation.


    The person who stood in front of Zen and the others was only his incarnation. The real Holy Jay was still in the divine land. He had recently gotten news of Murphy asking the Sacred race to attack the Evolutionary Universe.


    "You haven''t got much time," Holy Jay told them.


    If the Sacred race managed to take up the whole universe and destroy it, then Mike would perish. He would no longer be a Holy Being.


    Given enough time, the ten Godly Geniuses could stay in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land to cultivate for dozens, even hundreds of years.


    A hundred years wasn''t long for a warrior.


    However, time was a luxury they couldn''t afford. Zen already knew that they would have to move fast against the Sacred race the moment he left the Evolutionary Universe. He just didn''t expect that it would only take their foes a year before making their move.

 Chapter 1934 Soul Suppressing Cliff

    Despite being omniscient in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, Holy Jay could not do anything to help the Evolutionary Universe.


    While he was a good friend of Mike, he was incapable of fighting those from the Hall of Holy Beings. Besides, he couldn''t help Mike directly because he couldn''t disobey the rules of the Hall of Holy Beings.


    Thus, he could only partake in the nurturing of the ten Godly Geniuses.


    Zen was one of the most important ones among them, so Holy Jay generously shared his strength source with him.


    However, such a thing was unimaginable for other Holy Beings. They wouldn''t go so far as to share their own strength source with others.


    When one had reached the Holy Realm, strength wasn''t the only factor that determined the champion. Still, there were still many specific situations where strength played an important role.


    Under such circumstances, it was pertinent that Holy Jay wisely made use of their limited time.


    He was responsible for the training of all those ten Godly Geniuses, not just Zen.


    All the other Godly Geniuses including Margaret, Lucille, and Karl had their own missions. However, the resources allotted for them were naturally not as many as Zen''s and Rocher''s.


    Holy Jay had never been to the Evolutionary Universe before, so he didn''t really understand what exactly was going on there. Right now, all he knew was that Murphy had made his move, and made the creatures within his inner world begin to take over the Evolutionary Universe.


    Being the ever perceptive person that Zen was, he asked Holy Jay why he didn''t try to deduce the fate of the Evolutionary Universe.


    Holy Jay said that he was unable to calculate it himself.


    Actually, the methods of divining destiny only existed in the universes. Thus, even a Holy Being wouldn''t be able to predict the fate of others in the divine land.


    A thoughtful look filled Zen''s eyes. He remembered that more than a year ago, Rocher had told him that the so-called destiny was fake. His exact words had implied something similar.


    The so-called destiny was merely a path that had been laid out in the heavens for quite a long time. In fact, the divination techniques that were used in the universe were produced by those who thought they had seen through the heavens.


    It was because the master of a universe had the ability to arrange everything. They could make any living being in the universe and even any piece of matter move according to their will.


    For example, every step that Zen took was arranged by Mike.


    However, the divine land was different. Things like a controller or even the heavens did not exist there. It was a world that was freely constructed, and everything within the said world was in a random state.


    Legends said that a great divination technique existed in some lost Godly Ways. Not only could it tamper with one''s fate, it could also predict the fates of all the living beings in the divine land. Yet up until now, no one had ever comprehended this kind of Godly Way.


    Although Holy Jay couldn''t deduce the fate of the universe, he estimated they had


    ted outside the Soul Suppressing Cliff. He and the rest first thought that they knew a lot about the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. While their own princess did say that Zen would be able to bring her to the Soul Suppressing Cliff, they didn''t believe so. It was beyond their imagination that Zen did bring both sisters there so easily. Unfortunately for them, they could only wait outside in envy as Holy Jay wasn''t so generous to allow them into the Soul Suppressing Cliff too.


    Half a year later when they had left the Soul Suppressing Cliff, the Han sisters did their best to invite Zen to the divine land.


    However, Zen quickly refused the two sisters'' invitation almost without hesitation. After all, he was a secondary creature created by Mike. He couldn''t enter the divine land at all with his current status. Besides, he would restore into a mass of life vitality if he forced his way in.


    What he didn''t expect was for Aleyna to say that she could think of a solution, and for Laquisha to show the same intention.


    A secondary creature was restored to life vitality upon entry in the divine land. It was the law and breaking the law had dire consequences, but there were still some who had broken it after countless divine eras had passed.


    Aleyna expressed that for such an outstanding person like Zen, her royal father should be willing to help.


    Zen still firmly refused their invitation. He indeed would go to the divine land, but now was definitely not the time. After all, he couldn''t waste any more time because the Evolutionary Universe was still in danger.


    Time simply flew by amidst the meticulous but boring cultivation sessions.


    Each Godly Genius had made great progress during that time. Finally, almost everyone had gathered in the Dragon Flyer race''s "Valley of Time" in the last year and chose to go into seclusion. The place contained Holy Jay''s perception of time, and the time there was compressed to a certain degree. Therefore, it was the most suitable place among the six great cultivation sacred places to go into seclusion.

 Chapter 1935 A New Path

    The Valley of Time was usually the last stop for foreign martial artists in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land.


    Time here had been compressed evenly. There were almost no fluctuations at all. More importantly, the vitality between heaven and earth was in a calm state.


    That was the reason why most people would try to break through their bottleneck here.


    In fact, those who entered the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land were either top talents from the universes or elite martial artists from the divine land. All of them were gifted in martial arts, and they could easily break through their current cultivation level, a feat that was insurmountable for most ordinary warriors.


    After those Godly Geniuses left other cultivation sacred places, they entered the Valley of Time one by one and began a year-long cultivation in seclusion.


    The valley was beautiful and quiet. The Dragon Flyer race had created a special incense using their secret skill. This incense had the ability to calm the soul and as it continued to burn, its fragrance would spread throughout the valley.


    In this valley, caves of varying shapes and sizes existed. The highest, most powerful caves had a time compression of around 80 times; the middle ones had a time compression of 50 times; and the lowest ones had a time compression of 20 times.


    Since this place maintained a stable time flow rate all year round, naturally, it would be impossible to recreate the scenario Zen experienced: time compression that had reached a terrifying rate of thirty million times. After all, maintaining such a high rate was strenuous, even for Holy Jay.


    After the Godly Geniuses left other cultivation places, the Dragon Flyer race''s prophet invited them to the Valley of Time. The Godly Geniuses then began their year of secluded cultivation. Of course, they did that in the valley''s best caves.


    This move caused many groups of martial artists from the divine land to get angry and become indignant. They didn''t understand why the Dragon Flyer race had given such preferential treatment to a group of outsiders. "Secondary creatures," some described them.


    It was a very quiet year.


    Since time in those caves was compressed by eighty times, a month''s time outside of it would mean that seven years had already passed inside.


    Before that, the Godly Geniuses had already accumulated a lot of experience through many trials in the sacred places. Coupled with several skills they had inherited from the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, they were able to cultivate their own unique characteristics to their highest level.


    But the ones who had the fastest breakthroughs were Rocher and Nathan!


    They were able to go from the Spirit Supreme Realm to the Spirit Transformation Realm within the first month. Nathan even took less time than it took Rocher to complete the process.


    After breaking through, Nathan left the cave to ask about the other Godly Geniuses'' situation. When he heard that he was the first one to step into the Spirit Transformation Realm, he felt pl


    actually in chaos. It only established an unfathomable link with Zen through the Cross-world Theurgy.


    After the roots of the World Tree reached the bottom of Zen''s inner world, it continued growing and even extended into the chaos!


    When Zen discovered this, instead of being alarmed, he became very interested.


    The Primal Chaos Technique was not a complete cultivation method and had never been reviewed by anyone. When Zen''s master, who was called Bromley by Holy Jay, wrote it, he admitted that it was his idea but said that he could not guarantee how far this cultivation method could help the martial artist that would use it.


    The biggest flaw of the Primal Chaos Technique was that it was hard to replenish the chaotic energy.


    Both the universes and the divine land were filled with vitality between heaven and earth. A martial artist could freely absorb it or replenish it with life vitality crystals. It was the way martial artists practiced and survived.


    And where could Zen go to find the chaotic energy?


    Previously, Zen had come up with an alternative plan¡ªuse the characteristics of the Heavenly Ogre Fist he had practiced in the past to endow the chaotic energy with the ability to devour things. However, it was not efficient nor enough to transform the life vitality he was devouring to chaotic energy.


    This was also the reason why Zen''s speed at breaking through to the Spirit Transformation Realm was slower than the other Godly Geniuses.


    But when the World Tree penetrated his inner world and extended its roots into endless chaos, Zen knew that it opened up a brand new path!


    "It is said that the four divine trees in the divine land could absorb chaotic energy. If that is the case, then this World Tree will also become the divine tree of my inner world!" Zen murmured in excitement.


    Before, he thought that he had a small chance of becoming a world lord. But now, he was filled with confidence. Being able to absorb a huge amount of chaotic energy was the foundation of his confidence.

 Chapter 1936 The Boundary Cloud (Part One)

    It was quiet.


    After entering the Valley of Time, the foreign martial artists had chosen to go into seclusion as soon as they could. They wanted to consolidate the things they had obtained in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land.


    As for the Dragon Flyer race of the Valley of Time, they were a race that, simply put, loved peace and quiet.


    The Dragon Flyer warriors had half-dragon and half-human bodies. Most of the time, they were much like statues. They stood in the same posture for several days without saying a single word. Only when movements in the Valley of Time were observed would they pay attention to them.


    Plop!


    Today though, the vitality between heaven and earth in the sky above the Valley of Time began to tremble violently. The energy mixed together and burst out with an explosive sound.


    The originally colorless and formless vitality between heaven and earth quickly formed into a pale yellow ring, continuously expanding outward to its surroundings. On the surface of the glowing ring, several rhombus-shaped patterns appeared.


    "This is the Boundary Cloud. Someone has entered the realm of a world lord," a member of the Dragon Flyer race said calmly, raising his eyes in order to look at the Boundary Cloud.


    Inside the inner world of a warrior at the Soul Sea Realm, the Spirit Supreme Realm, or the Spirit Transformation Realm, the boundaries were extremely vague and blurred. In other words, no clear limitations were put in place. Once the warrior became a world lord though, a boundary-forming power would appear within their inner world. Only at that point in time would clear boundaries appear in their inner world, allowing the latter to become a great world.


    In the process of forming such boundaries, the Boundary Cloud would be produced when a martial artist resonated with the vitality between heaven and earth.


    In the Valley of Time, there were many occurrences where th


    in the sky didn''t dissipate before a long time, continuing to circle in the air above instead. At the top of Valley of Time, a handsome youth had just stepped out of a deep cave. This person was none other than Nathan himself.


    He looked at the slowly expanding Boundary Cloud in the sky and a satisfied smile appeared on his face. "Father was right. When one breaks through to become a world lord, the Boundary Cloud created from the boundary-forming power can truly reach a distance of twenty miles. No one can do better in the entire universe!"


    Any martial artist that successfully entered the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land was considered extremely outstanding. Even here in the Valley of Time, a twenty-mile-long Boundary Cloud only very rarely appeared. In this grand era of the Evolutionary Universe, the greatest Boundary Cloud had only been a total of 14 miles long. Needless to say, Nathan had far exceeded this past result.


    "Looks like I''m the first to make a breakthrough and become a world lord! I wonder how long it took Zen to enter the Spirit Transformation Realm," he murmured. He had only left the cave once, when he''d stepped into the Spirit Transformation Realm. Therefore, he naturally wasn''t clear on how everyone was undergoing closed-door seclusion.

 Chapter 1937 The Boundary Cloud (Part Two)

    This kind of information was definitely not hard to come upon, though. After he learned that Zen had taken five months to step into the Spirit Transformation Realm, a look of malicious pleasure appeared on his face. Zen''s speed had actually been much slower than his!


    Looking at things from this point of view, whether or not Zen would have enough time to make a breakthrough and become a world lord was now uncertain.


    Nathan, on his behalf, chose not to head back into seclusion again after becoming a world lord. Instead, he waited for the other Godly Geniuses in the Valley of Time. Half a month later, the sky above the Valley of Time began to tremble again.


    The Boundary Cloud formed by the resonance of the boundary-forming power and the vitality between heaven and earth spread outward in a consistent fashion.


    "The speed at which this Boundary Cloud is spreading is extremely fast!"


    Nathan said as his eyebrows shot up. He had just achieved an incredible result himself, and he had no desire to be surpassed in just half a month''s time.


    As the Boundary Cloud continued to expand, the cloud also continued to lengthen.


    Three miles...


    Five miles...


    Ten miles...


    Fifteen miles!


    Nathan stared at the growing, expanding Boundary Cloud and he wrinkled his forehead. Stressed sweat began to dabble at his hairline.


    The continuously expanding Boundary Cloud maintained a fairly quick pace. In other words, Nathan knew the Boundary Cloud''s length would continue to increase.


    Eighteen miles...


    Nineteen miles...


    Twenty miles!


    "Stop!" Nathan said in a low voice while staring at the Boundary Cloud.


    Unfortunately but expectedly, the Boundary Cloud didn''t follow Nathan''s request. In fact, at the same time as Nathan had spoken, this Boundary Cloud had already


    es of Boundary Cloud was considered extraordinary. They never thought that this group of people would have all exceeded this result.


    "I originally thought that there would be another world lord with a Boundary Cloud greater than twenty miles, but I didn''t expect the others to be so worse off," the leader said indifferently.


    "Their cultivation levels are about the same though, and the martial artist that made a breakthrough first has a much higher perception. The ones that came out of their caves later aren''t as good as the two from before," an elder responded.


    The leader nodded his head. This sort of analysis was reasonable and it could be said that one who was faster than others in breaking through was much more talented. It was only natural that the spread of their Boundary Cloud would be wider as well.


    "From the looks of it, the Boundary Cloud of the last warrior in this group shouldn''t be longer than twenty miles either," the leader said, as he stared at the cave.


    The last person he spoke of was Zen, of course, who was still secluded inside the cave. As the leader of the Dragon Flyer race spoke, Zen was actually still training in the cave, with his eyes closed.

 Chapter 1938 Zens Breakthrough

    A cave of Valley of Time was completely sealed. Zen was inside the cave, completely unaware of the situation outside.


    All these years, he often took the shape of an avatar to explore his inner world and develop it.


    Most of the time, a martial artist did not interfere with their own inner world. The creatures within the inner world formed an ecological chain and thrived.


    A powerful creature could be born only under certain circumstances. If Zen interfered and provided them with too many resources, then the creatures in the inner world would be incomparably weak. Even their rate of reproduction would start declining.


    Ever since the World Tree had extended its roots into the chaos, it had been able to draw out endless amount of chaotic energy, which was a huge benefit for Zen.


    The chaotic sea continued to expand, and the central continent continued to evolve. The time within his inner world quickly moved forward.


    The situation on the continent became complicated.


    The Howe Clan and the Totem Clan had already turned into an imprint in history.


    The queen of the Howe Clan that Zen had once rescued, left behind a glorious divine kingdom. Later, it divided itself into three divine kingdoms on the continent.


    As for the Howe Clan, when it was split up, it formed many sacred places of varying proportions. In one of the sacred places, the first warrior at the Soul Sea Realm was created.


    Splash!


    The edge of Zen''s inner world was still in a state of chaos.


    Some intelligent sea creatures were curious about the edge of this world. They swam forward, following the chaotic sea.


    At this moment, a strange phenomenon happened. No matter how long one swam in this sea, they could never reach the end. It was as if the chaotic sea was endless.


    Moreover, the moment one turned around, they would instantly return to the starting point, as if the world was an endless cycle of reincarnation.


    Zen was not the only cultivator to be in such situation. The other cultivators also faced similar situations within their inner worlds.


    However, this time the situation was different. The group of sea creatures swimming at the edge of the chaotic sea felt a vigorous force descending upon them.


    The chaotic sea began to stir up violent storms, forming into massive walls.


    Initially, the sea creatures panicked, but soon they calmed down. Although the storm was fierce, it came to a halt at the edge of the chaotic sea.


    Several months later, the storm vanished. And at the edge of the chaotic sea, a grayish-brown curtain of light began to form. This curtain of light began to absorb the chaotic energy frantically.


    "Form the boundaries!"


    At this moment, Zen was at a crucial juncture. Sitting upright in the cave, he placed both his hands on top of his


    here, but used his inner vision to spy on Zen.


    Plop!


    Suddenly the crowd heard a rumbling sound coming from above the Valley of Time.


    There was a sound of explosion that resonated within the surrounding vitality between heaven and earth. A ring-shaped Boundary Cloud appeared in the sky and began to spread outwards.


    However, the speed at which the Boundary Cloud spread, was not that fast as compared to Rocher''s, Nathan''s, Lawson''s, Lone''s and the others''.


    But the Godly Geniuses and the Dragon Flyer warriors were shocked to see this Boundary Cloud.


    The Boundary Cloud that formed from the vitality between heaven and earth, had a hue of light yellow color. From Nathan to Lone, all their Boundary Clouds shone in light yellow color. However, Zen''s Boundary Cloud was different¡ªit was grayish brown!


    "What''s with Zen''s Boundary Cloud? That is a very peculiar color," Karl asked in bewilderment.


    "Why is this Boundary Cloud colored differently?" Lawson also asked in confusion.


    Nathan also looked perplexed as the ring spread slowly. "It is said that when a martial artist with Purple Power Body breaks through to become a world lord, the color of the Boundary Cloud will be a light purple color. But I haven''t heard about a grayish-brown Boundary Cloud!"


    The Dragon Flyer warriors were even more shocked looking at the sight in front of them.


    There were many world lords in the Valley of Time. The Dragon Flyer warriors'' research on the Boundary Cloud was much more profound than any other race.


    "Why does this person have this sort of strange Boundary Cloud?"


    "What kind of cultivation technique is this? Even the sound is so loud!"


    "However, judging by the situation, the Boundary Cloud will not cover much distance. At most, it won''t exceed five miles. You''re right. His talent is a bit weaker than the other warriors''!"

 Chapter 1939 The Godly Way Guide

    When martial artists became world lords, boundaries were placed in their inner worlds. It was comparable to a country selecting a piece of land for itself.


    And when they reached the world lord realm, the boundary-forming power resonated with the vitality between heaven and earth to create the Boundary Cloud which contained a trace of the mysteries of world evolution and recorded a bit of the martial artists'' comprehension of the Godly Way.


    Martial artists also recognized the Boundary Cloud as a standard to measure a world lord''s potential and strength.


    The ball of Boundary Cloud that Zen had drawn was shocking not just because of the color. It gave off a mysterious aura as it kept rolling and rolling. The patterns within it also seemed to contain some kind of mystery.


    All the martial artists had their eyes glued to the Boundary Cloud, none of them able to understand just what was happening.


    When Nathan became a world lord, the Boundary Cloud he released had a bit of rhombic patterns¡ªthe symbol of the Truth Godly Way.


    The Godly Geniuses who cultivated the Truth Godly Way could have some understanding of it if they observed this Boundary Cloud.


    And when Lucille was promoted to world lord, the Five Elements Annual Rings¡ªpatterns belonging to the Five Elements Godly Way¡ªappeared within her Boundary Cloud.


    However, the patterns in Zen''s Boundary Cloud were not regular. They were constantly changing, as if all three thousand Godly Ways were being shuffled.


    High above in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, Holy Jay was also watching Zen''s Boundary Cloud with disbelief.


    The reason the living beings within the Valley of Time were attracted by the Boundary Cloud was because there was a mystery hidden within it that they couldn''t decipher. And although they couldn''t understand much, they still found it astounding...


    But Holy Jay was still a Holy Being. It was just that the universe he created was rather special.


    Before he became a Holy Being, he had seen something similar to this.


    "It''s scarily similar to the Godly Way Guide..."


    This so-called Godly Way Guide wasn''t actually a book but a ball of rolling brown mist that was very similar to the Boundary Cloud Zen had activated.


    Zen''s Boundary Cloud however, was still incomparable to the true Godly Way Guide as the Godly Way Guide''s complexity was far beyond what ordinary people could imagine.


    After all, all three thousand Godly


    otic energy all the while, producing a tiny amount of boundary-forming power. It was this power that prevented the Boundary Cloud from dissipating, keeping it afloat above the Valley of Time.


    The light curtain needed a lot of chaotic energy, so the chaotic energy surged toward it from all directions. As the curtain continued to absorb energy, the coastline of the central continent also began to descend, even attracting the attention of the humans on it. Within Zen''s inner world, some of the human martial artists who were near the sea wondered why the water level of the chaotic sea dropped so fast.


    The Boundary Cloud floated in the air for six hours, while Zen had spent a hundred and twenty days in the cave.


    Zen''s face twitched slightly. The light curtain within his inner world suddenly began to emit rays of light, which was followed by an extremely strong boundary-forming power gushing out.


    "Has it completely formed?"


    After the rays of light disappeared, Zen began to observe the light curtain. His eyes gleamed with wonder and his mouth fell agape.


    Meanwhile, the boundary-forming power erupted outwards like a violent beast that was just released from its cage. It began to violently resonate with the vitality between heaven and earth at the peak of the Valley of Time!


    "Sizzle..."


    The resonance caused a sharp cry to burst out.


    It was as if someone had suddenly thrown a large rock into the water, causing a huge ripple.


    Suddenly, Zen''s Boundary Cloud, which was stagnant earlier, began to rapidly spread in all directions, its speed already beyond the Dragon Flyer race''s understanding.

 Chapter 1940 The Boundary Wall (Part One)

    "This guy is something else... He has finally begun to show his real strength!"


    Lone exclaimed as he stared at the Boundary Cloud that flew across the sky.


    He felt that Zen had finally gotten serious. No one could comprehend Zen''s actual skills.


    Nathan clenched his teeth as he looked at the Boundary Cloud that expanded rapidly in the sky. Worry and terror painted his face.


    Previously, he pitied and looked down at Zen as he was the only one among the group who hadn''t become a world lord.


    As the Godly Geniuses of the Evolutionary Universe, they should at least reach the level of world lords after the practice in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. Their titles were synonymous with their privileges. Only world lords had the right to condense their Godly Tiles and go further to become True Gods!


    Otherwise, they would always remain as Godly Geniuses. The only way to improve was to surpass the level of a world lord.


    They were all still young. Blessed with extraordinary talent and incredible perception, these Godly Geniuses were more powerful than others of the same level. When they were at the Spirit Transformation Realm, they were able to contend against someone like a world lord. However, it still wasn''t enough!


    The ones who could decide the fate of the Evolutionary Universe weren''t the hundreds of thousands of world lords, or the hundred-plus Supreme Lords, but the True Gods!


    If these Godly Geniuses wanted to participate in a battle to save the Evolutionary Universe, they had to quickly become world lords and then master the Godly Ways that they cultivated.


    Right then, as Nathan saw the way the Boundary Cloud spread, he immediately felt that it was foolish of him to pity Zen before. The momentum of the spread of the Boundary Cloud was extremely fast. However, previously, Zen''s B


    " Lone curled his lips. It was such a letdown to see the fast spread of Zen''s Boundary Cloud to have immediately stopped.


    "The Boundary Cloud has not disappeared yet. Don''t jump to conclusions," Lucille calmly said with a trace of expectation on her face.


    "Zen''s breakthrough should be different from ours," Rocher calmly analyzed. He knew part of Zen''s secrets, but he wasn''t sure of it entirely as he wasn''t Zen.


    Even Bromley, who created the Primal Chaos Technique, wouldn''t be able to analyze the scene before everyone''s eyes if he were there, let alone Rocher.


    The two elders of the Dragon Flyer race began to argue again...


    "I already said it before. His boundary-forming power must have leaked out on its own. It might have caused the vitality between heaven and earth to become so unstable," the elder who had spoken up before firmly believed in his own judgment. His face even reflected a smug smile.


    The other elder only coldly glanced at the sky. "His Boundary Cloud hasn''t disappeared yet!" His eyes reflected his expectations.


    In the end, the Boundary Cloud covered a range of fourteen miles. To the ordinary world lords, this could be considered an extremely outstanding achievement.

 Chapter 1941 The Boundary Wall (Part Two)

    However, compared to the other Godly Geniuses, it was still the worst. The speed at which Zen''s Boundary Cloud spreading was astonishing, but the distance it finally reached was not phenomenal. It could even be described as mediocre for a Godly Genius.


    At that moment, Zen still kept a close watch of his inner world. He stared with eyes full of concentration at the light curtain at the edge of his inner world¡­


    The light curtain formed a common boundary wall. If the world were a universe that was created by a Holy Being, then the wall would be what people referred to as a Sighing Wall. It meant that even a True God could do nothing to it but sigh.


    Suddenly, the light curtain began to undergo an extravagant change!


    Golden dots of light continued to condense on the light curtain and formed golden vortexes! Power and intensity radiated in their glow.


    Zen was no stranger to these golden vortexes. He had seen them before.


    When he used the Grand Weapon Refining Method to refine his body, these golden vortexes had always appeared when his body touched preternatural flames.


    As Zen looked closely at the golden vortexes, he noticed that they were inscribed by obscure golden Sanskrit words, which rotated at an extremely fast speed!


    The Grand Weapon Refining Method was obtained by Zen from the Divine Flame Cauldron. It was a cultivation method passed on to him by Mike. The changes and reactions with the golden vortexes were not strange to him.


    But why had Sanskrit words suddenly appeared on the light curtain when he tried to break through to become a world lord?


    According to Holy Jay''s speculations, the Sanskrit words should''ve belonged to extraordinary creatures that had never appeared and whose state of lives had been incomprehensible. Why had these golden words appeared on the boundary wall?


    W


    rprises to show." Even Holy Jay''s heart was entranced with curiosity. His eyes observed him like a new experiment.


    Not long after the first golden Sanskrit word was embedded in the boundary wall, the second golden dot of light also stopped its rotation. It turned into a huge golden Sanskrit word before it embedded itself in the wall. Afterward, the third Sanskrit word followed, and then the fourth Sanskrit word¡­


    Huge golden Sanskrit words surrounded the chaotic sea as they sank themselves in the boundary wall one by one. The boundary-forming power spread out in waves. Each wave radiated more energy than the one before.


    Fifteen miles¡­


    Twenty miles¡­


    Twenty-five miles¡­


    Eventually, Zen''s Boundary Cloud broke Nathan''s and Rocher''s records.


    What was even more peculiar was that the Boundary Cloud that spread was actually stacked with multiple layers. Viewed from the ground, it looked like countless rings that were formed in the sky by Boundary Clouds. The rings were linked with one another, from smaller ones to bigger ones.


    As the martial artists witnessed the extraordinary spectacle, confusion enveloped them. How could there be so many rings of Boundary Cloud that appeared all of a sudden?

 Chapter 1942 Zens Boundary Clouds

    The boundary wall surrounded the entire chaotic sea, forming a wall that enclosed Zen''s inner world.


    At every certain distance, the boundary wall was inlaid with a golden Sanskrit word.


    If one were to swim to the edge of the chaotic sea, they''d see a golden light band at the end of the world.


    When all the Sanskrit words were in place, Zen''s inner world turned truly stable as he stepped into the realm of a world lord.


    Meanwhile, in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, many warriors marveled at the spectacle.


    The Divine Refinement Forbidden Land was actually an enormous cave created by Holy Jay¡ªit was isolated. There were no clouds, rain or snow.


    But for the first time, the aborigines in the cave finally saw clouds for themselves.


    The birth of every golden Sanskrit word could inspire a circle of Boundary Cloud to spread. These circles looked like wreaths built in the sky¡ªindeed, a spectacular scene.


    The creatures outside the Valley of Time didn''t realize that these were the Boundary Clouds.


    When these came into view, they wondered if they were truly Boundary Clouds. It was known that a warrior could only have one Boundary Cloud. It shouldn''t have been able to cover such a large area. But the largest Boundary Cloud covered the entire inner circle of the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land.


    The warriors of the Valley of Time were rendered speechless.


    And the two Dragon Flyer warriors who had been bickering all the while now stared at each other in silence. They didn''t know how to evaluate the Boundary Clouds in the sky and wondered whether or not a Boundary Cloud could determine the strength of a world lord.


    If it could, what was happening? Why were there so many Boundary Clouds in the sky?


    Soon after, the door to the cave where Zen stood finally opened up. A man shot out of it and hovered over the Valley of Time. When he looked down in the direction of Rocher and the others, he suddenly fell before them.


    "Zen, congratulations!" Lucille greeted with a wide grin.


    "Zen, you''re the last to become a world lord," Lone remarked, laughing.


    Three days before the deadline, the last Godly Genius became a world lord as well. Basically, their expected goal in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land was achieved. So the other Godly Geniuses felt free to congratulate Zen one after another.


    For a long while, Nathan remained shocked before finally coming to his senses and congratulating Zen. Numerous times, he had been stimulated by Zen, but he hadn''t quite adapted to the feeling. When he became a world lord, he began worrying about whether or not Zen''s Boundary Cloud could exceed twenty miles. If Zen went beyond him with his Bound


    If Holy Jay could enter and leave the Evolutionary Universe as he pleased, then Mike wouldn''t have been bothered to train these Godly Geniuses.


    Mike would have only needed to train Zen and make him his successor.


    Holy Jay had learned about the state of the Evolutionary Universe from the divine land. The war between the Evolutionary Universe and the Murphy Universe was quite the topic in the divine land, and many Holy Beings in the Hall of Holy Beings discussed it among themselves. It wasn''t difficult to get a hold of the news.


    Since the Sacred race had declared war against the Evolutionary Universe, two years had already passed.


    The Sacred race was expanding far faster than anyone had expected¡ªthe most critical point was that the Demon Night race sent troops to assist the Sacred race.


    Because of the Demon Night race''s participation, many forces of the human race were attacked both from behind and in front.


    "I don''t have any specific information. After all, it''s a matter between Murphy and Mike; other Holy Beings have no reason to interfere. I can''t touch Murphy now." Holy Jay himself was a member of the Hall of Holy Beings. Although Mike used to be a member as well, he was on the verge of dying and Holy Jay couldn''t get involved.


    "What should we do now?" Lawson asked urgently. There were only about twenty human Supreme Lords; he was afraid that the patriarch of his clan would be killed.


    After giving Lawson a look, Holy Jay turned to Zen. "There is no better way to win this war. Besides the competition between the Supreme Lords, this is also the game between the True Gods of the two universes. If two or three of you can become True Gods, the Evolutionary Universe should also be able to stabilize and end this war. I came here to send you back."

 Chapter 1943 Blood Rain

    The chances these Godly Geniuses had in condensing their Godly Tiles in such a short period of time were slim in Holy Jay''s opinion.


    The heaviest burden of saving the Evolutionary Universe still had to be carried by Zen, Rocher, and Xenia.


    The most important part of Mike''s plan was Zen. He had already laid out everything for him. He picked a great world and made the necessary arrangements including creating the entire Luo Clan where Zen could grow and experience paternal love.


    This went the same for Rocher and Xenia. Mike had a certain degree of control over things and used it to give the two some advantage. Rocher, for example, had the heritage of the Lord of Weapons while Xenia had the heritage of the extraordinary creature.


    With the three of them occupying the top three positions, Nathan came at a close fourth since the Xuanyuan Clan remained the strongest faction amongst Mike''s disciples.


    "Holy Jay, have you seen Margaret?" Zen suddenly asked.


    He''d been thinking of her ever since he entered the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. She wasn''t weak but her temper often led her to trouble which made Zen a little worried.


    A trace of helplessness appeared on Holy Jay''s face. "Margaret is still somewhere in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land."


    "What happened to her?" Zen asked in concern when he saw the look on Holy Jay''s face.


    Holy Jay was a genuine Holy Being. It required quite a serious matter for him to show such an expression.


    It seemed Margaret might have caused quite a stir wherever she was.


    Each of the ten Godly Geniuses had a role to play. Zen was the main character and an indispensable existence in this universe. Rocher was the assassin who could deliver the most fatal blow. Xenia had other uses.


    Nathan, meanwhile, was Zen''s alternate.


    Despite the meticulous planning Mike had done, there was bound to be a couple of accidents along the way. If, in the worst-case scenario, Zen died then Nathan would replace him.


    Of course, the ten Godly Geniuses did not know about this. Not even Wynn, Mike''s disciple knew. It was only Holy Jay and Bromley who were privy on this matter.


    If this news was ever made public then the Supreme Lord of Original Sin would no doubt do everything in his power to kill Zen and have Nathan take his place.


    Margaret had the most special role in all of this. As per Mike''s request, Holy Jay had to help her


    ring the Evolutionary Universe, they had gone through the human forces that tried to resist them effortlessly like a hot knife to butter. They were unstoppable.


    Their race managed to sweep this entire universe with ease without any losses.


    "Human!"


    "Tsk! Is this human an idiot? He doesn''t even know how to run. When did humans become so obedient?"


    Several of the Sacred race members roared in laughter.


    One of them sized Zen up. He was a bit more cautious than the others. "Everyone be careful, that guy... seems to be a world lord."


    These warriors of Sacred race were all at the Spirit Transformation Realm which meant fighting with a world lord was still going to be difficult for them.


    "How is this possible?! How could a world lord dare to enter this place?" one of the warriors asked in confusion.


    The supreme world they were in had long since been occupied by the Sacred race. Any human world lord that entered this area subjected themselves to a death sentence.


    Nonetheless, the Sacred race warriors were not afraid. Zen was a mere human and the Sacred race felt nothing but disgust for him.


    "He came here to surrender, perhaps?"


    The past three years hadn''t been kind. Whether it was a Supreme Lord or an ordinary warrior, all of them had been pushed back by the Sacred race. Hundreds of world lords had already chosen to surrender, with some even betraying their own races to join the victors.


    A human world lord who suddenly appeared in front of them might mean that he was here to surrender, hence the black warship changed course and headed straight for Zen.

 Chapter 1944 Attack

    Thick smoke billowed in the air as the black warship stopped in front of Zen. A Sacred warrior stood at the ship''s bow.


    The warrior was only at the Spirit Transformation Realm, but he appeared intimidating as he looked arrogantly at Zen.


    The ship''s hull shook a little bit before it came to a complete halt. "Hey, did you come to our Sacred race''s territory to surrender?" the Sacred warrior stared at Zen and asked.


    The only reason the Sacred warrior even bothered to ask was because Zen had a cultivation level of a world lord. Had he been a martial artist at the Soul Sea Realm, Spirit Supreme Realm, Spirit Transformation or even Life and Death Realm, the Sacred warrior would''ve killed him immediately. A creature from the Evolutionary Universe was no different from a pig or a dog in the eyes of the Sacred warriors.


    ''They are really the Sacred warriors¡­.'' Zen thought. His eyes narrowed into slits as he scanned the Sacred warrior from head to toe. There also seemed to be some information to be gleaned from the Sacred warrior''s words.


    He said "Sacred race''s territory," which meant that this supreme world had already been occupied by the Sacred race.


    Surrender...


    It meant that there were world lords in the human race who became traitors.


    The human race had always had its fair share of traitors ever since the ancient times. Thus, it didn''t come as a surprise when some martial artists surrendered to the Sacred race in order to survive.


    "Do you come for the sake of surrender!" the Sacred warrior asked again. At the same time, the other Sacred martial artists became more vigilant.


    If this guy did not come to surrender, they might have to be ready to fight.


    Even then, the Sacred warriors already were quite confident in their strengths. Moreover, the seven Sacred warriors present were all top-level Spirit Transformation Realm martial artists. They already had an established set of tactics, which they had long perfected. It wouldn''t be a problem for them to defeat a world lord with joint efforts.


    Lastly, this place wasn''t far from their supreme headquarters. If they couldn''t defeat the man in front of them, it wouldn''t be hard for them to escape from Zen''s clutches.


    A faint smile lit up Zen''s face as he floated into the air. Then, he slowly moved towards the black warship in the sky and said, "If I intend to surrender, would the Sacred race accept me?"


    The Sacred warrior''s eyes lit up immediately upon hearing Zen''s words.


    It was known that the Supreme Lords and the True Gods at the top were those who decided the result of the war.


    However, it did not mean that the lower level martial artists were automatically useless.


    The Sacred race would need a large number of world lords to gradually stabilize the supreme worlds they had occupied if they wanted to control the entire Evolutionary Universe.


    The Evolutionary Universe was far too vast. It was about the same size as the entire Sacred race, and that was with its power not included. Thus, it would be quite difficult for the Sacred race to take over the whole Evolutionary Universe on their own.


    It all boiled down to not having enough manpower.


    The Sacred race had occupied twelve supreme worlds this month, but they had failed to sen


    odies emitted a demonic aura that directly struck Zen''s soul and began to disturb his mind.


    The Sacred race was the most powerful force in the Murphy Universe, which was known for its orderliness. This trait was demonstrated in their methods of training their warriors to coordinate with each other and form strong teams instead of fighting as an individual.


    While there were many powers and races in the Evolutionary Universe, most martial artists fought on their own. Even if some forces managed to develop some joint attack techniques, such things became useless when they reached the Spirit Transformation Realm, or the level of a world lord.


    It was safe to say that the martial artists of the Evolutionary Universe were like a heap of loose sand, lacking spirit of cooperation.


    The heavy gazes of the three Sacred warriors began to make Zen feel upset, and the negative emotions in his heart began to stir.


    However, this disturbance of mind only lasted for a blink of an eye before a faint smile appeared again on Zen''s face.


    Zen had entered the Mind Refining Tower after he left the Soul Suppressing Cliff. He had suffered all sorts of torment from inner demons in all the seventy-seven floors of the tower. The mind-disturbing technique the three Spirit Transformation Realm martial artists in front of him had exerted on him was only equivalent to the inner demon on the thirtieth floor of the Mind Refining Tower, which failed to shake his state of mind.


    "It''s a shame that you... only have this little bit of ability."


    He then took a step forward, and left no room for his opponents to escape. He gently brushed a slender but powerful index finger against the forehead of one Sacred martial artist.


    The Sacred martial artist''s eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at Zen. His entire body became slack before he fell down the sky. His resentful eyes never left Zen until he finally crashed on the ground.


    The Sacred martial artist''s skull was completely shattered with just a light brush of Zen''s finger. The power of Zen''s attack had stirred his mind into a completely mess. His soul was broken into pieces and quickly vanished into thin air.

 Chapter 1945 What Is Your Name

    Zen''s hand was still raised in the air and he maintained his stance.


    The remaining six warriors of the Sacred race stared at him in astonishment.


    In the Evolutionary Universe, the Sacred race had no trouble dealing with their enemies. The humans did not dare to fight them head-on. Of all the fights between the two races, humans hadn''t won even once. Moreover, this team had a precedent of killing a human world lord.


    Three of the seven team members were masters of soul attack, such as the previously released "Primordial Inner Demon." The next three locked the opponent with the "Saint Devil Shackle." The last one, the leader of the team, killed the opponent with the "Saint Energy Strike," which he had been powering up for a long time.


    A team of the Sacred race usually consisted of seven warriors. The combined combat strength of the seven warriors was far higher than that of warriors of the same realms.


    This type of strategy was aimed at the stronger warriors. If they faced the warriors of the same realms or several enemies of lower realms, the seven warriors would use another set of tactics.


    It was not easy to resist the "Primordial Inner Demon" released by the three warriors. It was not purely a soul attack, but it was combined with some emotions. This not only tortured the soul of the opponent, but also befuddled their mind.


    Even if a world lord had a strong soul and a stable mind, their mind would be wiped out in a short period of time with almost no resistance.


    If Zen hadn''t trained in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, the Primordial Inner Demon would have affected him.


    During the time that Zen had been practicing the Gods-intimidating Strike and comprehending the Emotion Closing Godly Way, the malicious aura had been too much for him to bear. He had become violent and bloodthirsty.


    But after he had trained in the Mind Refining Tower of the Harmony race, Zen''s warrior spirit had been greatly strengthened. Now, the Primordial Inner Demon had no effect on his state of mind.


    As Zen came to his senses, he fought back and instantly killed a warrior of the Sacred race.


    The other warriors of the Sacred race were still stunned, apparently not realizing that one of their companions was already dead.


    Zen still had a smile on his face. This smile usually made people feel warm, like they were in the presence of a modest and polite gentleman. But in these warriors'' eyes, Zen''s image was as terrible as a devil''s. That smile looked malicious to them.


    The warriors hadn''t felt fear like this in a long time. They hadn''t faced a race yet that was powerful enough to surpass them.


    As they saw Zen approach one of them, the six warriors on the scene were shocked. It wa


    When a Supreme Lord used the Grand Teleportation, they could travel several supreme worlds. Zen was still currently unable to do so, but he could still use it to travel ten thousand miles in an instant. The Spirit Transformation Realm warrior had just fled a few hundred miles in a short span of time.


    "You...you... Who are you? You are a mere human world lord. Why are you so powerful?" the warrior asked after he realized that there was no point in running anymore.


    "You don''t need to know," Zen said with a smile. His ghost-like figure once again flew past the warrior. The moment his finger flicked out, there was a blazing white light under his feet. Zen had disappeared in front of the warrior. He began to chase after the fifth warrior.


    Then the sixth...the seventh...


    There was only one warrior of the Sacred race left, and Zen didn''t kill him immediately.


    This warrior was the one who had stood on the black warship and looked down on Zen. As the leader of his team, he had the greatest strength. After the other six members trapped a strong opponent, the killing blow was dealt by this man!


    Because it took Zen some time to kill the other six warriors, their leader had already escaped two hundred miles in such a short time.


    While he ran for his life, he had almost pushed his strength to the limit.


    In comparison with the other warriors of the team, he was the most intelligent. He had already realized that Zen would be too much for him to deal with. He never looked back and didn''t think about anything else but to escape with his life!


    He didn''t know or care whether his companions were dead or not.


    At least, he was safe now.


    ''I''m finally safe.''


    Just as the thought crossed his mind, a voice whispered in his ears. It scared him to his wits'' end.


    "Hi, what''s your name?"

 Chapter 1946 Including Mortals

    As Zen finished speaking, his figure appeared out of the void. He floated above the Sacred warrior''s head, looking down.


    He resembled a sovereign with the strong and overbearing aura.


    The Sacred warriors were typically proud of their noble bloodlines. In their eyes, all other races were equal, but beneath them.


    Humans and other intelligent creatures were no different from pigs, dogs, ants, or any other living things.


    Only the Sacred race was regarded different, with characteristics to surpass and even dominate other races.


    In the Murphy Universe, any living being or race could only present themselves before the Sacred warriors, living off of their charity and support.


    The Sacred martial artist had never felt such a kind of strong aura before.


    Zen''s inescapable aura made the martial artist feel comparably small. He had a strong feeling that he was about to be forced into submission.


    But now, he was just facing a human being. Because of the glory in his bloodline, this Sacred martial artist instinctively resisted. How could he submit to a human being so easily?


    "What''s your name? Tell me, and I will not harm you." Zen''s cold voice floated out again, as a golden light flickered faintly in his eyes. The warrior''s chest pounded heavily, as he felt pressured and afraid.


    There were six great cultivation places in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land.


    They included the Dragon Flyer race''s Valley of Time for breaking through cultivation levels, the Harmony race''s Mind Refining Tower for state of mind cultivation, the Collapsing Mountain race''s strength source for body cultivation, the Kaleidoscope race''s Wind Exterminating Valley for laws cultivation, the Skyland race for the cultivation of Pristine Life Vitality, and the Soul Seal race''s Divine Soul Ancestral Land where warriors could cultivate souls.


    Among the three major kinds of cultivation, the soul cultivation was second to body and life vitality cultivations, and was the third pillar supporting any martial artist. Naturally, it was an important link for any warrior.


    Seven out of ten Godly Geniuses entered the Divine Soul Ancestral Land, but due to the limited time, Lawson, Karl and Lone had missed the opportunity to enter and were brought into the Valley of Time directly.


    Except for the Skyland race, Zen made extraordinary achievements in the five cultivation places.


    Presently, Zen''s soul was flashing with a dazzling golden light. On the surface of his translucent soul, there were visibly cambered golden imprints. Such an imprint was regarded as the Emperor Soul Imprint of the Divine Soul Ancestral Land. Those who possessed the Emperor Soul Imprint could give off the formidable soul pressure through their aura, causing people to lose feeling. This allowed Zen to make people submit


    e was unwilling to answer was not out of confidentiality, but because the Sacred race''s methods were always too cruel. He was afraid that Zen would kill him out of anger.


    "This is a hell lot of blood. How many people have been killed?" Zen asked, poking his finger into a red puddle and looking toward the sky.


    "The human beings of one supreme world," Aiden Long replied, carefully observing Zen.


    "Including mortals, right?" Zen asked again.


    Aiden Long nodded in response.


    Right then, Zen''s pupils slowly rotated and revealed the sharp beams, as if two inch-long daggers were embedded in the center of his pupils. Incredible anger rushed through him and took over his being.


    There were countless races fighting in the universe, and the lives of warriors were usually at risk in times like this.


    But the warriors knew a line had to be drawn. Innocent mortals did not deserve such treatment.


    In the eyes of mortals, the world of martial artists was only an illusion. Martial artists were immortal in their eyes.


    Battles among martial artists were always only between immortals and gods, without any interference or participation from mortals.


    Even when the battle between the Thoughtless Minds and the Humanity Alliance was extremely intense, the mortals of the supreme worlds still led peaceful lives in their kingdoms. Only the wars among Supreme Lords accounted for the destruction of their worlds. Normally, it would never have to affect mortal kingdoms.


    The line had been crossed. The most brutal creatures would never have acted out this way, but the Sacred race made themselves an exception.


    As everyone knew, the Sacred race regarded mortal beings no different from animals. Killing hundreds of billions of mortals was nothing to them.


    They believed that all living beings were equal, but beneath them. Only their race was superior.

 Chapter 1947 The Blood Curse Technique

    "Where is the place where the humans are slaughtered?" Zen asked as he stared at him.


    Aiden was uncomfortable at Zen''s gaze. ''Is this guy planning to charge in alone?'' he thought.


    The Sacred race had a lot of troops stationed in the Seven Ultimate World even though it wasn''t an important world. There weren''t any Supreme Lords present, but there were several world lords and two grand world lords.


    The human world lord standing before him was strong enough, but wanting to rely on himself to contend against the Sacred race in the Seven Ultimate World? This was too naive.


    But Aiden would still be happy to see this fellow throw his life away.


    "All human beings are being escorted to the Ultimate Immortal City. But there are nine world lords and two grand world lords guarding the city. I''d advise you..."


    Zen interrupted him. "Nice try."


    Aiden''s heart trembled. He couldn''t wait for Zen to go to the Ultimate Immortal City to seek death, which was why he was urging Zen.


    "I never intended to spare your life," Zen continued, a faint smile on his face. "But I''ll spare your life now, and let you watch as I head towards the Ultimate Immortal City."


    Zen reached out and patted Aiden on the forehead, sending a strange power shooting through Aiden''s mind like a wriggly snake.


    This power shook Aiden''s mind and he felt his vision turn black before he fainted.


    Zen looked around before locking onto a direction. In a flash, he stepped into the air and disappeared into the rain of blood, his body shifting over a hundred miles away.


    Once reaching the first level of the Grand Teleportation of the Space Law, one was able to cover a hundred miles with each step.


    Zen would not get lost in the Evolutionary Universe.


    He had the Teleportation Token and the Roaring Token. To him, the entire Evolutionary Universe was an open, unobstructed place. But right now, Zen was not in a hurry to return to the Celestial Position race. He felt that he needed to do something.


    Travelling through the supreme world wasn''t difficult after becoming a world lord.


    It would take several decades for a warrior of the Soul Sea Realm to cross a supreme world on foot without the help of a spatial channel. But it would only take a few days for Zen to cross the supreme world.


    Blood-red clouds churned in the sky as if there were millions of vengeful spirits howling within. Zen continued to travel through the blood rain.


    When droplets of blood landed on Zen''s body, his lips pursed into a thin line to the point where one couldn''t see them anymore. Just how many human beings had been slaughtered to cause this blood rain?


    Five minutes later, Zen''s gaze landed on a valley below.


    A countless num


    the Illuminating Soul Realm, and it was very rare for them to reach the Virtual Tribulation Realm. So the Sacred race merely ignored the mortals.


    The mortal kingdoms, on the other hand, had always been silent about what the Sacred race had done.


    The mortals knew, through the voices from the Roaring Tokens, that a "Sacred race" had been invading the universe these past few years. But they didn''t pay much attention to what the Sacred race actually was. After all, these battles didn''t have anything to do with the mortals.


    They believed that even though the Sacred race occupied the Seven Ultimate World, they would not act against the mortal kingdoms because they were not a threat.


    But this time was different.


    The elites of the Humanity Alliance often resorted to roundabout tactics. Usually, after the Sacred race took over a supreme world, the Humanity Alliance would then quietly seize it back.


    There were too many supreme worlds, so it was impossible for the Sacred race to send out people to guard each of the supreme worlds.


    The Sacred race was annoyed by the tactics of the Humanity Alliance. They discovered that no matter how hard they tried, they just couldn''t take another step forward. In these three years, after eating up more than 3000 supreme worlds, they didn''t have the energy to attack the Thoughtless Minds.


    This was not an ideal result for the Sacred race.


    But the leaders of the Sacred race managed to come up with a solution. They could use the Blood Curse Technique to seal the supreme worlds they occupied.


    The Blood Curse Technique was a very sinister and dangerous curse. It could harm the humans once it was successfully set up. Their entire bodies would rot, and their life vitality would flow in reverse. They would finally die from the pain and torture.

 Chapter 1948 The Tragedy Of The Weak

    The Blood Curse Technique was also a way of employing the malicious aura.


    The reason for this was that the malicious aura was actually a sort of curse. In the Evolutionary Universe, there was no systematic approach for using the malicious aura.


    Supreme Lord Sword, who had taught Zen the Gods-intimidating Strike, had devised a way of taking advantage of the malicious aura to suppress one''s emotions thereby helping to ace the Emotion Closing Godly Way.


    In comparison, the Sacred race''s method of deploying the malicious aura was much more advanced.


    This was because they could transfer the curses in the malicious aura however they pleased.


    Every creature could spread curses before dying. The cursing power of an individual was insignificant, but combined with the power of millions of living beings, it was incredible and not something to be trifled with.


    The Blood Curse Technique only affected other members belonging to the same race.


    For example, if the Blood Curse Technique was enchanted using human blood, it could only be targeted at living humans, and creatures of any other races would not be affected.


    So once the Sacred race carried out their plan successfully, the enchanted Blood Curse Technique used by them would only harm the human race and have no effect on their own race, the ogres, the Demon Night or even the wild beasts.


    Only human Supreme Lords did not fear the Blood Curse Technique. But if the world lords were under the influence of the curses for too long, they would also be harmed.


    Every time the Sacred race occupied a supreme world, they would enchant the Blood Curse Technique, so that they would not have to fend off a counterattack by the human race. Only the Supreme Lords were able to break the Blood Curse Technique.


    But in the current scenario, all Supreme Lords of the Evolutionary Universe were hiding in the territory of the Celestial Position race. Anyone who dared to come alone would undoubtedly fail and die. Since the human race had lost three of their Supreme Lords, any new casualties would only tip the scales in the Sacred race''s favor.


    This was the Sacred race''s tactic to consolidate their attacks in a step-by-step method.


    Swish!


    The whip of the Sacred warrior slashed down sharply like a vicious serpent.


    If the old woman and the little girl were to get hit by the whip, they would certainly get smashed into a bloody pulp.


    The other mortals around them watched on with indifferent and weary expressions. Nobody had the guts to step up and help them.


    The Sacred race was like a group of demons from hell for these powerless mortals. Anyone who dared to fight them would be squashed brutally like a puny ant.


    Four hours earlier, over one hundred humans had protested that they needed to have a rest. But the only response they had received from the Sacred race was a lash of the whip.


    The wretched whip swept across the crowd like a sharp sword. As a result, over one hundred humans had been hacked in half and died miserably in a pool of blood.


    They had now realized that begging the Sacred race for mercy was mea


    veral people were hit by the torturous whip and were instantly ripped to pieces. Bleeding fragments of their bodies scattered around, and the air was filled with screams from the crowd.


    The nature level warriors'' eyes turned red with fury. They couldn''t hold themselves back any longer.


    "I''ll fight him to the death!"


    "Let''s kill him!"


    "Yes! Let''s die a worthy death!"


    Nature creatures didn''t have the ability to fly. They clambered up the towering walls on both sides of the valley and leaped into the sky to attack the Sacred warriors.


    There was a hint of sarcasm on the Sacred warrior''s face as he snorted, "Do you think you are strong enough to take me on? You don''t even have the ability to challenge me!"


    It was a ridiculous notion that a piddling lamb wanted to take on great warriors. This was the only thought in the Sacred warrior''s mind.


    He waved his whip and it immediately turned to a vicious serpent, which slithered towards the nature level warriors with the intention of swallowing them all.


    The king of the Creek Kingdom closed his eyes. He didn''t have the heart to see his people getting killed in front of him. His face was contorted in distress.


    Three months before, he had enjoyed the company of his many wives in the imperial palace. The whole kingdom had been living peacefully. But now, he had to witness his kingdom slip into the abyss of despair.


    He didn''t have the strength to change their fates. This was the tragedy that befell on the weak.


    If he was powerful enough to kill the Internal Elixir Realm warrior, he might still have hope for saving his people.


    ''Dear God! Is weakness an unforgivable sin?'' he thought wistfully.


    However, he didn''t hear any painful screams from his people. Instead, he heard the Sacred warrior yelling in shock, "Who the hell are you!"


    Surprised by this turn of events, the king opened his eyes and saw a human warrior appearing out of the blue and floating in the air. He pinched the whip between his fingers quite coolly and stopped it from wrecking any more havoc on the humans.

 Chapter 1949 A Very Very Great Hero

    The Sacred warrior of the Internal Elixir Realm, continued to stare at Zen.


    The aura that emanated from Zen''s body made the warrior realize that he was not to be taken lightly.


    The gap between their cultivation levels was enormous. Although he could not detect Zen''s true strength, he was sure that Zen''s cultivation level would be at least at the Spirit Supreme Realm. It was possible that he might be a world lord!


    ''We have occupied the entire Seven Ultimate World! Despite this, he came here alone! Is he courting death?'' the Sacred warrior wondered.


    "Who, the hell are you? What do you want? Oh, I see! You are here to surrender yourself to us!" Maybe the Sacred warrior''s cultivation level wasn''t very high, but he definitely had a vivid imagination. He quickly came up with the most probable reason suggesting Zen''s presence.


    If Zen really came to surrender, then he might still have a chance at survival. The warrior wanted to think the situation was in his hand.


    "There is no reason for you to know about my intentions," Zen replied coldly as he loosened his grip on the whip.


    The Sacred warrior was surprised with Zen''s reaction. He had thought he understood Zen''s intentions. ''Maybe he is too embarrassed to admit it'', thought the warrior.


    However, his optimism was crushed with Zen''s next response.


    "You are too weak to even spar with me," Zen said, closing his eyes.


    All of a sudden, he released the pressure from his soul, spreading it across all directions.


    The Internal Elixir Realm warriors, noticed the commotion down below. They examined Zen''s movements from a safe distance.


    They started to panic once they understood what Zen said. They realized that situation was not in their favor and immediately turned around to escape.


    But just as they escaped, they felt a sudden sag as if their heads had been struck with a heavy hammer. Their heads and souls instantly burst like bubbles.


    The souls of Internal Elixir Realm warriors had never been trained before. They were as fragile as newborn babies and had no way to resist Zen''s attack from his soul.


    In a blink of an eye, the Sacred warriors escorting the human captives, suddenly turned into headless corpses and plummeted downwards.


    Silence filled the entire valley.


    All of the mortals raised their heads to look at Zen with disbelief. They couldn''t imagine his power.


    For them, Zen was like a savior sent by the heavens to save the people of the Creek Kingdom.


    Zen glanced at these mortals briefly and was about to leave when he heard a voice from below, "Sir, please wait a moment!"


    A figure flew into the sky towards him. Th


    e mortals below also followed suit. Hundreds of thousands of humans in a long line prostrated themselves on the ground and bowed to Zen.


    Zen merely shook his head and said, "Just take your time and get into the cave. I will then shield the entrance."


    The king nodded and quickly gave the orders to his subjects.


    After everyone had entered the cave, Zen used the divine textures to set up a magic array around the cave entrance. After he activated the magic array, the entrance disappeared out of sight.


    This magic array couldn''t deceive the world lords. Even a Spirit Transformation Realm warrior could easily find the flaws in this magic array and discover the hundreds of thousands of humans inside there.


    However, the task of escorting these mortals was given to the Internal Elixir Realm warriors. With Zen''s current strength, even a Virtual Tribulation Realm or Life and Death Realm warrior wouldn''t be able to see through his magic array, let alone an Internal Elixir Realm warrior.


    Thus, he believed that this cave was enough to keep these people safe.


    After he was done with his arrangements, Zen left and continued on his way to the Ultimate Immortal City.


    The king stood at the entrance of the cave as he held the little girl in his arms and stared after Zen''s disappearing figure.


    "Who is this man, Your Majesty?" The little girl asked in her sweet voice.


    The king smiled and said, "He... He is our great hero."


    "A great hero? Is he a very, very great one?" The girl asked, tilting her head.


    "Yes, a very, very great one!" The king repeated and laughed.


    The girl nodded her head and stared in the direction that Zen had disappeared for a long while without blinking. Zen''s image was already engraved in her little mind.

 Chapter 1950 Blood Pool

    This valley was only a hundred miles away from the Ultimate Immortal City. It would only take Zen a single step to teleport there.


    But out of caution, he decided to not directly teleport to his destination.


    After he returned from the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, Zen''s strength had improved dramatically. However, this did not mean that he was skilled enough to deal with the reckless behavior of the Sacred race.


    In fact, the closer he got to the Sacred race, the more cautious he became. He even slowed down and flew at a lower altitude.


    Along the way, Zen discovered several groups of mortals. Their numbers ranging from over a hundred thousand to five hundred thousand per group, all escorted by Sacred martial artists. Clearly, they were being sent to the Ultimate Immortal City.


    Zen didn''t bother to intervene. They were already too close to the Ultimate Immortal City and any conflict would be easily detected by the warriors inside the city.


    Moreover, the root of the problem was in the Ultimate Immortal City. As long as he could break in the Ultimate Immortal City and stop them from using the Blood Curse Technique, Zen believed the Sacred race would stop the reckless slaughter. After all, these mortals were weak. Just as humans didn''t care to kill ants, surely the Sacred race wouldn''t be so bored as to kill these insignificant mortals.


    Soon, a golden city gleamed in Zen''s field of vision: the Ultimate Immortal City, the largest city in the Seven Ultimate World.


    Looking down, he saw a huge round plate the color of blood, looming over the city. Countless runes were rolling in it and four red pillars extended upwards from the city and connected to the bottom of the plate.


    The plate was continuously absorbing dark red blood through the pillars and sprinkled it into the sky, forming blood-red clouds that spread throughout the whole Seven Ultimate World.


    The closer Zen got to the city, the stronger the stench of blood became. It was as if what was ahead of him was a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. The once hustling and bustling city had become purgatory.


    Zen quietly floated to the side as he observed the place. After he formed a plan in his head, the killing intent in his eyes died and his cinnabar field sealed up. He changed his appearance to that of a weak mortal and quietly landed in the center of the road leading to the Ultimate Immortal City.


    Shortly after, a group of mortals walking along the road approached, several Sacred warriors escorting them. The closer they got to the Ultimate Immortal City, the more impatient the Internal Elixir Realm warriors became.


    "Hurry up!


    It''s taken nine days to travel t


    hold hundreds of thousands of people. On the main road leading to the blood pool in the south of the city, six Spirit Transformation Realm warriors were stationed.


    These warriors had cold expressions and powerful auras. Compared to the Sacred martial artists at the city gate, they were much more vigilant.


    Streams of strong perception continued to sweep over everyone''s heads and one particular stream stopped on top of Zen.


    Zen upped his acting and walked forward with wobbly legs, trying to look like he was about to fall down any moment.


    The Spirit Transformation Realm martial artist glanced at Zen. However, seeing him covered in mud, the martial artist looked away boredly.


    Martial artists at higher levels of cultivation had an advantage in concealing themselves from marital artists at lower cultivation levels. The Sacred warrior, while unable to find any flaw, could subconsciously feel that Zen was slightly different. However, since he couldn''t tell exactly what was wrong, he decided to let it go.


    Zen felt himself getting closer and closer as he passed through each screening process.


    When they finally reached the blood pool, a commotion suddenly broke out.


    Although the mortals were bone-tired from the long journey, their heads immediately cleared when they saw the hellish scene in front of them.


    Broken limbs and other body parts floated in the pool and the metallic stench of blood was making the horrific scene a hundred times worse.


    At the side of the blood pool, mortals were being lined up and were forced to jump into the blood pool.


    The moment a mortal jumped into the pool, an invisible force appeared in the air, twisting the person into pretzels. Blood splashed out from their twisted bodies; it was a scene too horrible to behold.

 Chapter 1951 Noticed Zen

    Beside the blood pool was a passageway several dozen miles wide. The entire passageway was densely packed with several million mortals.


    Because the line was too long, the people at the back couldn''t see what was happening and could only follow behind others. When the mortals in the front saw the pool of blood, there was already no way back.


    The mortals were screaming, struggling, but there was some sort of force heaving them forward. Even if they fell to the ground, their bodies would automatically make their way towards the blood pool.


    Disguised in the crowd, Zen carefully observed what had happened.


    Above the blood pool, there was a massive array of divine textures. The number of divine textures could add up to over a hundred thousand at his approximation.


    "This is so intriguing, so complex," Zen said in astonishment.


    The Sacred race''s Blood Curse Technique could be specially tailored to a certain race, and it was also extremely powerful. It notably had its own unique yet identifiable characteristics.


    However, the more complex the array, the more intricate the details were. Once it was destroyed, it would be almost impossible to repair. The Sacred race had spent a great deal of effort in putting this up.


    Using the Blood Curse Technique to occupy a supreme world meant that the Sacred race appealed to their last, most desperate option.


    Presently, the Demon Night race and the ogre race were in conflict, while the Sacred race and the three major powers of the human race were in on and off battles. If the Sacred race didn''t consolidate these supreme worlds they had occupied, it would be a challenge for them to progress.


    Therefore, the Sacred race''s strategy was to consolidate the supreme worlds one by one, and then continue to advance towards the Thoughtless Minds.


    Zen followed the group. As he stood 300 feet away from the blood pool, he felt a force tugging on his body. It was urging him towards the blood pool, just like everyone else.


    The surrounding mortals had already realized the danger they were in. Although they knew it was impossible for them to escape the force, they still struggled as much as they could, attempting to pull themselves as far away from the pool as possible.


    However, no matter how much they fought it, the force was relentless. Mortals were too weak, too helpless to break free from the force. All they could do was accept their fate as they inevitably slid into the blood pool, watching as their companions were twisted into pretzels with blood showering all over the place.


    In order to avoid suspicion among the Sacred martial artists, Zen was constantly wriggling his body to resist the invisible force. As he struggled, Zen slowly glided down the path towards the blood pool.


    Shortly after, Zen found himself at the edge of the blood pool. His gaze was fixated on the Blood Curse Array.


    Apparently, this Blood Curse Array did n


    e''s attention.


    She remained confused, and very, very intrigued.


    "Who is it?" asked Maha.


    "It seems to be one of the ten Godly Geniuses you mentioned last time." Connie''s expression then grew excited. The wolf teeth marks on her face turned bright red, and a faint black light constantly flashed within her pupils.


    Zen hadn''t changed his appearance at all. Although his face was covered in mud, she could see what he looked like with a single glance.


    There were so many mortals in this supreme world, and there were always a few familiar faces. Zen blended in, using a simple concealing technique. Connie''s "Colorless Eye" could see through almost all concealment techniques.


    This was why she easily noticed Zen.


    "How could this be? The Godly Geniuses have returned?" Maha exclaimed.


    Ever since the confrontation at the Breaking Cloud Mountain, the ten Godly Geniuses disappeared from the Evolutionary Universe. No matter how hard the Sacred race searched, they couldn''t trace any of them.


    Murphy, their master and the creator of the Murphy Universe, had given them a mission to eliminate all Godly Geniuses. But they disappeared, and did a good job at keeping hidden.


    The Sacred race had secretly investigated for months, but there were no news regarding the Godly Geniuses. In the end, they came to the conclusion that the Celestial Position had already sent all Godly Geniuses into the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land.


    The Sacred race thought of other methods to find them. They tried to send some of the world lords of the Murphy Universe into the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land to hunt down these Godly Geniuses.


    But when they had put in all their efforts to build the transmission array to the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, the Sacred race found out that they had actually been rejected.


    This meant that they had no way to enter the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, and no way to find the Godly Geniuses.

 Chapter 1952 Breaking The Blood Curse Array

    It was common practice to send the best talents in the universes into the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land for cultivation. Maha of the Sacred race had been to the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land before since it was an open place.


    But at the end of it all, the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land was Holy Jay''s place. He would, by no means, let the warriors of the Murphy Universe enter the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land to hunt the Godly Geniuses of the Evolutionary Universe.


    Holy Jay and Murphy were both members of the Hall of Holy Beings who looked to be in harmony to the public. But they had quite a few conflicts in private.


    The Sacred race couldn''t hunt the Godly Geniuses in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. So Murphy resorted to different means. He asked the True Gods of the Sacred race to place the Grand Space Spell around the Evolutionary Universe.


    When the Godly Geniuses returned to the Evolutionary Universe from the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, the Grand Space Spell would be activated and the Godly Geniuses would be transferred to random places.


    That was why Zen was transferred to the Seven Ultimate World instead of the transmission array of the Celestial Position race.


    "Are you sure the Godly Geniuses are back?" Maha asked, his tone dripping seriousness.


    The Godly Geniuses would randomly be sent to the supreme worlds in the Evolutionary Universe by the Grand Space Spell. This was a good chance for the Sacred race to eliminate them.


    "I''m not sure. But I will try to kill him,"


    Connie said. The wolf teeth birthmarks on her face became redder and redder in an indication of her increasing excitement. She quietly brewed the life vitality in her body as she stared at Zen from the other side of the blood pool.


    "Don''t act rashly! I''ll come over to you as soon as possible," Maha said anxiously.


    Maha, the young master of the Sacred race, was very arrogant, but he was also a smart man.


    The Godly Geniuses were Holy Mike''s last hope. He had spent a lot of resources on them. As a result, every one of the Godly Geniuses was a mighty warrior.


    They had been cultivated in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land for three years. Now that they had returned, their strength must have been multiplied greatly.


    Maha, who had cultivated in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land before, knew all about this. He was afraid that Connie would be no match for the Godly Genius that she encountered.


    Connie, however, didn''t take Maha''s words seriously.


    Zen was sliding towards the blood pool, the strength in his body constantly brewing.


    His goal was not only this blood pool. If everything went well, he would completely destroy all four b


    , the enchanted barrier shook twice, but didn''t break.


    Connie slowly floated up from the blood pool. She sneered as she saw Zen''s move.


    Even if Zen had infinite power, it was impossible to break the enchanted barrier with brute force. The enchanted barrier was created to deal with warriors with brute force.


    Four identical enchanted barriers were arranged above the four blood pools in the Ultimate Immortal City. The four enchanted barriers were interconnected with each other and they would collectively bear the attacks that any one of them received. If one wanted to destroy one of them, they would destroy all four of them simultaneously.


    A world lord just couldn''t do so.


    Connie was optimistic in nature and didn''t fear Zen killing her. She took out the communication token and said with a smile, "Maha, when can you come here? This guy has already started attacking the Blood Curse Array, but he plans to break the enchanted barrier with brute force. It''s just¡ª"


    Connie broke off, her eyes widening in shock.


    Zen had raised his hand and begun to twist space with his fist as the center.


    It was a piece of cake for a world lord to distort space with the Space Law.


    But she did not feel any Space Law in Zen, which meant that he hadn''t used the Space Law to distort space.


    He had just used his pure strength. This force was so powerful that it created the gravitational force that distorted space.


    The blood in the blood pool, under the gravitational force, also moved and twisted.


    To everyone watching, the center of the blood pool sank down, as if there was an invisible ball pressing into the blood pool. Zen''s fist was at the center of this ball!


    "This guy''s strength is unbelievable!" Connie''s eyes widened even further and a bad premonition overcame her.

 Chapter 1953 Breaking Enchanted Barrier

    Just as Connie''s siren reverberated throughout the air, numerous beams of light from all over the Ultimate Immortal City shot up into the sky.


    The black light''s and white light''s auras were the most powerful among the light beams. The thick waves of smoke billowed like the wind as they surged and soared into the sky with a grand aura.


    Suddenly, a loud voice shouted, "Who dares to break into the Ultimate Immortal City?!" A burly figure dressed in black armors appeared within the blurry black light. He had a fiendish look to his face, like a tiger ready to pounce at any given rate.


    "Perhaps it''s a little mouse that''s lost," answered back a voice within the white light, where a skinny young man in flirtatious clothes stood. He had three wolf teeth birthmarks on his face, and he was even more beautiful than a woman.


    It was known that only women in all of the Sacred race were born with wolf teeth birthmarks, so this young man had imprinted them onto himself.


    The black figure and the white figure were the Sacred race''s two grand world lords who guarded the Ultimate Immortal City. In addition, they were quite well-known in the Murphy Universe. The black one was called Raleign, and the white was Leacock.


    "Ha, I''d like to see how skilled this little mouse is," Raleign sneered then shot towards the south side of the city. A long, black smoke like a brush stroke left an inky black trail in the sky in his wake.


    Leacock faintly smiled and went on to disappear as well. Although the Ultimate Immortal City was a vast piece of territory, it only seemed like a courtyard to the world lords--such that they could travel the entire city in just a few steps.


    Meanwhile, the other world lords exchanged looks and shot towards the south side of the city as well.


    Even though Connie''s warning screamed the deadliest news and hinted that a strong enemy was here, these world lords didn''t look so bothered.


    It was because looking at the battle from all perspectives, it could be said that a human Supreme Lord would have to risk dying if they wanted to break the Blood Curse Array. Such a hazardous action was definitely not worth risking for a place that wasn''t as important, like the Seven Ultimate World.


    On the other hand, there was nothing to be afraid of a world lord who sneaked into the Ultimate Immortal City since the city had two grand world lords. One human world lord alone wanted to destroy the Blood Curse Array? That was childish.


    In a blink of an eye, the world lords appeared above the blood pool at the south of the city.


    Before all of those had happened, Zen had already accumulated a portion of his power in front of his fist. The power extracted from the nine stars was already condensed to the limit, and had lesser impact on the surrounding environment.


    Of course, they didn''t see the shocking scene th


    n a state of panic. It wasn''t easy to set up the Blood Curse Array. If it was broken, the leaders of the Sacred race would clearly punish them.


    Aside from Connie, the other world lords had to take responsibility for the destruction. Not even one of them could escape.


    However, they were still quite a distance away from the blood pool. How could they easily stop Zen?


    The two grand world lords reacted quickly and moved in a flash, but after Zen had broken the Four Images Time Barrier, he had already rushed upwards and had turned into a cone which drilled into the insides of the Blood Curse Array.


    At the same time, an invisible ring of light spread out under Zen''s feet.


    Zen who was now in the array and had left behind the ring of light, broke into a strange smile and took a step forward. The light of the Space Law scattered under his feet as he used the Grand Teleportation and disappeared from where he stood.


    The world lords who charged forward were stunned again.


    What did the human world lord want? Even after Zen had expended so much effort and finally broke the Four Images Time Barrier, he had actually managed to escape without destroying the Blood Curse Array.


    The crowd was confused.


    The reason they guarded this place in the first place was to protect the array, so that the Blood Curse Technique could be cast smoothly. They couldn''t afford to lose those divine textures in the Ultimate Immortal City. They would all be killed if the divine textures were destroyed.


    While the world lords were indeed puzzled, they also felt slightly relieved. It was as if they were faced with a madman.


    But after a few seconds, they finally understood. This fellow was no lunatic at all.


    Rhombic fragments began to form in the sky, which constantly gathered together. The sky was then filled with numerous bolts of thunder. The Heavenly Tribulation was about to arrive.

 Chapter 1954 Killing World Lords

    There weren''t cultivation methods like the Thunderbolt Annihilation in the Murphy Universe. Murphy, the creator of the Murphy Universe, was extremely strict in controlling the Heavenly Tribulations in the universe, which was why the warriors of the Sacred race all looked at each other in confusion when they saw the Heavenly Tribulation.


    They had no idea it was triggered by Zen''s cultivation method. They even wondered whether Zen had made a breakthrough.


    "Holy crap!" a warrior cursed. "We must stop the Heavenly Tribulation!"


    "Without the protection of the enchanted barrier, the Blood Curse Array is too weak!" another shouted.


    The Thunderbolt Annihilation was a special cultivation method which when used, allowed the user to communicate with the heavens to induce the Heavenly Tribulation.


    And once the Heavenly Tribulation was started, the whole process could not be stopped or reversed. Zen himself was unable to stop it, so what chance did the other world lords have?


    And more than that, their time was running out.


    CRACK!


    Lightning flashed across the whole Blood Curse Array followed by consecutive crashes of thunder.


    The one hundred thousand divine textures in the Blood Curse Array were very precise and fragile. They were closely related to each other and the tiniest damage could lead to the collapse of the whole array.


    Without the protection of the enchanted barrier, how could the divine textures withstand the raging storm?


    In an instant, half of the divine textures caught fire and the Blood Curse Array above the blood pool was destroyed.


    The Blood Curse Array had originally been extracting blood from the blood pool, transforming it into a blood column and sending it to the bloody disc in the sky. However, as soon as the column that stretched to sky lost its support, it collapsed to the side and fell into the city, bathing the place with blood.


    Looking at the destroyed Blood Curse Array sent shivers down the spines of the present world lords of the Sacred race. It was unbelievable! The Blood Curse Array was destroyed just like that!


    "Damn it!" Raleign''s face drastically changed.


    Since the Four Images Time Barrier was destroyed, the other three blood pools were also exposed to the air. Add to that, Zen had also disappeared. They initially thought that he escaped, but from the looks of it, he must have gone to destroy the other blood pools.


    Leacock''s expression was a mirror of Raleign''s. Without a word, he used the Grand Teleportation and rushed toward the blood pool in the northern part of the city.


    As Zen also used the Grand Teleportation, the world lords didn''t know where he went and the two grand world lords could only take their chances. The two of them chose a blood pool each to investigate while the rest of the world lords scrammed to the blood pool in the west.


    Connie emerged from the blood pool and


    vels were looking intently at the sky. Some of them were nature creatures, and some were Illuminating Soul Realm warriors.


    In their eyes, the warriors of the Sacred race were invincible.


    But why couldn''t they fight off the young human?


    As Zen killed world lord after world lord, he saw a ray of black light and a ray of white light flashing in the sky, signaling the arrival of the two grand world lords.


    Zen grinned as he slowly escaped into the Blood Curse Array. With a circle of light spreading out under his feet, Zen activated the Thunderbolt Annihilation and teleported to the next blood pool.


    "Quick! Use the lightning-introducing stone!" Veins stood out on Leacock''s face as he roared at Releign.


    This seemed to turn on a switch in Raleign''s head as he suddenly remembered that he had a stone that could absorb thunder. In his panic, he had forgotten all about it.


    "I''ll go after the human brat! You activate the stone!" With that, Leacock teleported to another blood pool in the city.


    Raleign was on the verge of exploding. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to kill Zen. He wasn''t interested in activating the stupid stone. "Why are you alone?" he snapped at the lone world lord beside him. "Where are the others?"


    The world lord pointed to the blood pool where several bodies were falling in.


    Raleign''s eyes widened. He didn''t expect that in such little time, Zen had managed to kill several world lords of the Sacred race.


    His eyes were red because of anger. He was burning with a frenzy of rage. He threw the lightning-introducing stone at the world lord and spat, "You activate the stone. I''ll go help Leacock."


    He teleported away, leaving the world lord alone with the lightning-introducing stone. The world lord glanced at the stone in his hand and looked at the brewing Heavenly Tribulation in the sky. "I don''t know how to use the lightning-introducing stone," he murmured.

 Chapter 1955 The Flawless Divine Body

    Both Raleign and Leacock flew into an unprecedented rage.


    The two of them were well-known in the Murphy Universe given their status as grand world lords. They were only second to Supreme Lords.


    The difference between a Supreme Lord and a grand word lord was a single Heavenly Destiny.


    Both of them had been promoted to generals by the Sacred race and in turn, led their armies into the Evolutionary Universe. They left nothing but destruction in their path and feared no one in the entire Evolutionary Universe, save for human Supreme Lords of course.


    Just a year ago, the grand world lord of the Sunset World used a Roaring Token to challenge Raleign to a battle to the death. The two exchanged thousands of blows and the fight ended in Raleign''s favor.


    That grand world lord who unfortunately perished was the one who gave Zen the reward when the latter participated in Passing the Torch.


    The difference between a world lord''s strength and a grand world lord''s power was great.


    Zen had just reached the cultivation level of a world lord. However, he was able to rely on his cultivation to break apart a Blood Curse Array and kill four warriors of the Sacred race. He didn''t even try to escape and even managed to destroy another Blood Curse Array. How could Raleign and Leacock bear this?


    They did not care about the Blood Curse Array at that point; all they wanted was to capture Zen and make him pay the price for playing around with them like this.


    The world lord who held the lightning-introducing stone had no way of knowing what the two grand world lords were thinking about. All he did was watch the lightning bolts descend upon and shatter the Blood Curse Array before him.


    The two grand world lords had already used the Grand Teleportation to chase after Zen.


    Unfortunately, when they arrived the blood pool north of the city, they didn''t see Zen.


    The two of them exchanged glares and quickly pinned the blame on each other for the failure of their chase.


    Zen, on the other hand, had moved to the blood pool east of the city.


    Raleign quickly noticed and gritted his teeth in anger. He immediately rushed towards the east side.


    "Don''t!" Leacock stopped him. "His goal is to destroy the Blood Curse Arrays above these four blood pools. He''ll come to us sooner or later. We just need to wait and catch him off guard to kill him easily."


    Leacock was the more level-headed of the two. Zen had effectively launched sneak attacks and caught the four world lor


    or became a Godly Genius if he activated the 36-petal Lotus Flower.


    In the Murphy Universe, a warrior should be able to grow leaves on the spinulose wood fern¡ªa black, withered tree. If one had an understanding of the Godly Way, a leaf would grow from the tree.


    It was only after 3, 000 leaves growing on the tree would one be considered a Godly Genius.


    Leacock''s spinulose wood fern only had 2, 300 leaves and it had not grown another one for the past thousand years. It was hopeless for him to ever become a Godly Genius.


    Before the invasion, he had been summoned by the Supreme Lords. That event really motivated him in proving himself.


    He was someone who wanted to accomplish great things. Right now, he hoped the Sacred race would bestow a Heavenly Destiny upon him so he could become a Supreme Lord.


    Some Supreme Lords of the Sacred race might possibly perish in the war which meant the potential appearance of new Crowns of Destiny. Leacock knew he was qualified to inherit one Heavenly Destiny if that ever happened.


    As the green circles spread out, countless thin lines and dots appeared in the space.


    He was immediately able to find three flaws on Raleign''s body¡ªtwo lines and a dot to be exact. When he shifted his gaze to Zen though, his face immediately froze.


    The thin lines represented one''s flaws while the dots represented one''s dead points.


    Leacock''s understanding of the Truth Godly Way might not be as good as Nathan''s but he knew how to use it better.


    So it was with great shock and horror when he realized that he couldn''t find any flaws on Zen.


    "Does he have the Flawless Divine Body?" he murmured in disbelief.

 Chapter 1956 Meeting Maha Again

    It was a well-known fact that a True God was immortal because of their Flawless Divine Body.


    One who carried a Godly Tile could have it purify their body and hone it to perfection. As a result, their life energy would never leak, even in the slightest.


    Such a body was called the Flawless Divine Body. It was something that only a True God could possess.


    That was why never in Leacock''s wildest dreams did he expect to see a world lord with the Flawless Divine Body. It was simply unbelievable and even more shocking than the fact that Zen had broken the Four Images Time Barrier.


    Of course, he didn''t know that Zen''s body was now a perfect weapon.


    But in reality, Zen didn''t actually have the Flawless Divine Body. It was just Leacock was unable to find any flaws in Zen''s body with his current comprehension of the Truth Godly Way. After all, Zen was Holy Drew''s masterpiece.


    While Leacock was stunned in disbelief, Raleign didn''t think too much about it. He continued to hold Zen as his hands released all of his strength.


    "I''m gonna tear you apart!" he roared.


    He wanted to tear Zen''s body apart so much that an immense ghost-like power erupted from his red hands.


    Yet despite Raleign''s recklessness, he was also wary of Zen''s incomparable power. It was why once he had captured Zen, he acted quick and didn''t give Zen time to respond.


    He knew that Zen was undoubtedly powerful, but that didn''t mean that Zen had an unbreakable body.


    But then, Raleign realized he was wrong.


    When Raleign used his Ghost Claw Strike, he could break even a divine weapon with his bare hands. Half a year ago, he had been faced with three human world lords from the Humanity Alliance and one of them had a first-rank divine weapon¡ªthe Crane-singing Cauldron.


    So with the help of his strength that was beyond imagination, he had used brute force to tear the Crane-singing Cauldron apart.


    When he tried to do the same to Zen, he found he was unable to do so¡ªZen''s body was so solid!


    "Your strength is remarkable. But it''s far from enough to tear me apart," Zen commented as his face dripped with sarcasm.


    Meanwhile, the power of the Eight Path Platforms kept circulating and the Nine Divine Stars in his inner world began to turn slowly.


    Then, he slightly raised his arms and effortlessly broke free from Raleign''s ghost claws. Apparently, he didn''t give much thought about dealing with Raleign.


    "Kill him, Leacock!" Raleign shouted.


    He also released his own strength which had been maxed out to the extreme, so much that his veins popped out. He knew that he wasn''t as powerful as Zen, so he could only pin his hopes on Leacock now. He knew that Leacock practiced the Truth Godly Way, and his Finger Burst''s power was incredible.


    As long as Leacock focused on Zen''s flaws and used his Finger Burst, Zen would be dead no matter how talented he was.


    Both Raleign and Leacock were two grand world lords, but they had to work together to dea


    Zen didn''t have a flaw. Thus, what could Leacock do with Zen?


    On the other hand, Zen slowly entered the Blood Curse Array in the middle of the blood pool, kicked and punched it around, and quickly destroyed the divine textures within it.


    So far, he had completely destroyed all of the four Blood Curse Arrays.


    After the bloody disc in the sky had lost the four arrays'' support, it slowly began to incline on one side. A crack formed in the center of the huge disc; then runes began to dissipate one after another.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    The whole disc disintegrated rapidly when it fell. It broke down into a shower of blood and painted the whole Ultimate Immortal City red.


    The disc contained the blood of countless people, which did not get absorbed into the clouds. Now, all the red liquid had been spilled. The blood washed down like a flood, and flowed into the streets of the Ultimate Immortal City like mad.


    The mortals in the Ultimate Immortal City all stayed in the streets around the four blood pools. The grounds where they stood were relatively high, so they did not get submerged in the "flood."


    The bloody clouds in the sky still drifted about slowly, but they would gradually dissipate in a short time.


    When Zen saw the scene, he was not happy.


    The Sacred race had killed countless mortals in the Seven Ultimate World.


    One ordinary mortal might not affect the situation in the Evolutionary Universe. However, there could be few geniuses in such a huge pool of them. These geniuses were the foundation of the universe.


    With so many people dead, it was impossible to restore the prosperity of the city.


    Just then, a huge crack suddenly appeared in the sky of Ultimate Immortal City. Then, the head of a strange beast appeared from the fissure.


    It turned out to be the head of a World Devouring Beast. On top of its head stood a young man with purple hair. He was none other than Maha, the number one Godly Genius of the Sacred race.

 Chapter 1957 The Great Dominance Technique

    A slight breeze blew gently through Maha''s hair as he looked down from above, and took in the view of the whole Ultimate Immortal City.


    His vision quickly narrowed as he focused on the blood pool at the east of the city. He continued to scan the area, and then his gaze finally landed on Zen.


    At that same moment, Zen looked up and met Maha''s gaze with an equally firm stare.


    It was known that Maha had a transcendent status in the Murphy Universe. He was extremely arrogant as the top Godly Genius of the Murphy Universe. He even looked down on the Supreme Lords in the Murphy Universe.


    He watched Zen with mocking eyes, as if the human martial artist was a mere ant.


    Aside from his arrogance, he was also ruthless and tyrannical, determined to remove every obstacle in his way.


    It could be said that he was born to be a formidable man.


    He emitted a threatening aura, much like a hungry beast which had lurked too long in the dark--more than ready to swallow Zen in one gulp.


    And so, this aura was released on Zen!


    However, the aura tended to radiate in nature. It meant that unless it was a soul attack, it was impossible to aim it accurately at a certain person.


    There were about eight hundred thousand mortals who were gathered at the edge of the long and wide passageway beside the blood pool.


    The irresistible gravitational force was gone since Zen had already broken the Blood Curse Array. However, it was still difficult to quickly evacuate hundreds of thousands of people, even if they all wanted to escape like mad. With so many people huddled together, deaths were inevitable in the event of a heavy stampede.


    Despite this, they all threw their doubts to the wind and fled for lives. It didn''t matter anymore if they crushed the corpses of their companions--escape was their first priority. In turn, the martial artists of the Sacred race didn''t stop them.


    Meanwhile, a small amount of the aura Maha had emitted affected the crowd that was moving backwards from the commotion.


    Soon enough, their weak souls felt like they had been thrown in the middle of winter when they felt his overpowering aura. Their bodies trembled as their teeth chattered uncontrollably, before they finally fainted to the ground.


    Compared to Maha''s oppressive aura, Zen was much more low-key.


    His stability was like an unmovable mountain. He was like a steady rock, even under Maha''s strong provocation. His deep pupils were as tranquil as two ancient wells without the slightest ripple.


    Yet in those two ancient wells resided a faint, invincible spirit.


    What was more, there was also an even stronger and more domineering aura. The invincible spirit was naturally formed from Zen''s soul and temperament, while the domineering aura was because of the Emperor Soul Imprint within his s


    an find a way to leave?" Maha jeered. He laughed even louder and at that moment, his voice suddenly changed. His much deeper bass had a trace of demonic nature in it as he declared, "The only thing you can do now is submit to me!"


    "Submit to me!"


    "Submit to me!"


    "Submit to me!"


    His voice continued to echo ceaselessly, as if trying to drill into Zen''s soul.


    Plop!


    Plop!


    Plop!


    One by one, all of the martial artists of the Sacred race below immediately fell to their knees.


    There were some mortals that still remained conscious, but they too knelt on the ground. They didn''t fear Maha''s pressure, but they couldn''t resist the controlling force of Maha''s voice.


    "Great Dominance Technique!"


    Numerous phantoms surrounded Maha when he shouted the command.


    The phantoms exuded an irrepressible aura as well. They ruthlessly pressed down on the living beings and instilled fear among them.


    Maha held absolute authority in the Murphy Universe. Even Supreme Lords had to listen to his orders, protect him, and were willing to stay with him.


    The Great Dominance Technique belonged in the top thirty skills in the 3, 000 Godly Ways. When cultivated to its maximum, it could enable one to do anything as they pleased, control other living beings'' thoughts, and make them submit to their will without even doing anything.


    While Maha had yet to become a True God, he came as close to condensing a Godly Tile. Thus, the Great Dominance Technique had a powerful effect when he used it.


    Even Raleign and Leacock felt their hearts tremble incessantly with fear. Although they didn''t kneel to the ground, they still nodded their heads. They couldn''t help both the fear and admiration for their superior.


    On the other hand, Zen still had a faint smile on his face. He was like a stone, completely unresponsive to Maha''s Great Dominance Technique.

 Chapter 1958 A Heavy Blow (Part One)

    In the divine land, the Great Dominance Technique was a Godly Way that focused on the cultivation of one''s soul.


    It strengthened one''s soul and improved the intimidation from their aura.


    However, there was a prerequisite for the cultivation of the Great Dominance Technique¡ªone''s soul should reach the realm of Gold Fighting Soul. At the same time, one should also master the Emperor Soul Imprint.


    Holy Jay didn''t guide Zen in the mastery of Godly Way.


    Zen needed to comprehend the Godly Way and condense the Godly Tile by himself. Only by doing so could the Godly Way be the most suitable for him.


    Both Holy Jay and Holy Drew thought that Zen''s Emotion Closing Godly Way was not the best choice. However, what was most crucial was that Zen should make the decision himself, and they should not interfere!


    Additionally, Zen had obtained the Emperor Soul Imprint. He already had the precondition to cultivate the Great Dominance Technique. All that was left was for him to take a step forward.


    Maha had also obtained his Emperor Soul Imprint in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land.


    Maha seemed to have a good comprehension of the Great Dominance Technique. The aura he released was mighty and hard to resist. Even the grand world lords found it hard to confront Maha. The aura from him was powerful enough that it could also affect the state of minds of Supreme Lords.


    Although every Supreme Lord had the Gold Fighting Soul, they didn''t possess the Emperor Soul Imprint. As a result, they found it hard to resist Maha''s dominant aura.


    Zen, on the other hand, had the Emperor Soul Imprint. Thus, the Great Dominance Technique barely affected him. Even after he heard Maha roar, he was rather calm. He also delivered a sly smile on his face.


    The intimidation from Maha''s aura continued to grow even worse. Golden light shone in his eyes as his soul power spread to the extreme.


    However, doubt could be seen in his golden eyes. How could Ze


    inds. Other than the elite warriors of the Humanity Alliance, their forces had been already depleted by the Sacred race.


    No one dared to be optimistic in such a dire situation. Despair had started to affect everyone.


    They could only expect miracles.


    Maha''s voice, which contained the Law of Causality, irresistibly penetrated Zen''s mind.


    If Zen fought against Maha''s Great Dominance Technique by shielding his voice, this move of Maha would have some effect. However, Zen only relied on his own soul strength to resist the suppression of Maha.


    Since Maha used the Roaring Token, Zen decided to use his own Roaring Token as well.


    With a flick of his fingers, two tokens jumped into Zen''s hands. He gathered his focus towards the tokens.


    One was the Roaring Token. The other was the token of mountain which could allow him to get into the fairy palace.


    His pupils also twinkled, even brighter than Maha''s under the golden glow. Confidence and pride could be seen in Zen''s smile.


    Maha''s aura was that of a tyrant. Violence and harsh temperament flowed through it.


    However, Zen''s aura was completely different. His soul was upright, together with the admirable authority of an emperor. It made him comparable to the hope of a dynasty. If Maha was a tyrant, then Zen was a wise emperor.

 Chapter 1959 A Heavy Blow (Part Two)

    Zen''s aura rose to the sky. He didn''t cultivate the Great Dominance Technique, but the power of his soul that erupted then was no less than Maha''s. The two auras clashed, even though the two were still far apart.


    "Maha, you are from the fake Sacred race. You don''t have a noble bloodline. How dare you make me surrender to you? Ha-ha! That''s ridiculous. Maha, who do you think you are?"


    As he spoke, Zen also activated his Roaring Token. As a result, the whole universe heard his insults towards Maha.


    After she was exposed to Zen''s aura, Connie in Maha''s arms suddenly felt tightness in her chest and shortness of breath. Her mind grew disoriented while her face turned pale. The expression on her face showed how badly she was affected by Zen''s aura.


    ''I can''t believe this! His soul is no weaker than Maha''s. How''s that possible? What is he?!'' she thought.


    At this moment, even Maha and the two Supreme Lords of the Sacred race behind him found it hard to believe. Their eyes gawked with surprise and wariness against Zen.


    "Gold Fighting Soul! Emperor Soul Imprint! You..." Maha was at a loss for words. The expression on his face had grown even bitter.


    "Hahaha!"


    Zen laughed out loud. Under the influence of the Emperor Soul Imprint, his heart was also filled with great heroism, which was completely different from his usual introverted temperament. In a big and brave voice, he said, "There are 130 people who have obtained the complete Emperor Soul Imprint in the Divine Soul Ancestral Land of the Soul Seal race! You, Maha, the number one Godly Genius in the Sacred race, is only ranked 80th among the 130 people. You didn''t even achieve the average rank! But I, Zen, is ranked the first. Do you know your Sacred race is a fake one? You are nothing but a fraud. Even if you were from the real Sacred race, you woul


    , while Maha had two Supreme Lords behind him. Maha himself was also a mighty warrior and more than a match for Zen. A strategic retreat for Zen at that situation would not be shameful for him.


    Before he left, Zen wanted to shake the morale of Maha and the Sacred race.


    "You want proof? Okay? You are ranked the 80th. The guy who is ranked 79th is named Faust Lu. The guy who is ranked 81st is called Lacy Zuo. Do you still remember them? Your power is only around the level of those two. I''m ranked first and most powerful. Rocher is ranked 3rd while Nathan is 15th. When the three of us entered the list, your ranking immediately dropped to 83rd. What a pity! A weakling like you might fall out of the list soon," Zen said with a laugh. Mockery was explicit in his tone.


    Actually, there were only a few creatures who could obtain the Emperor Soul Imprint in the Divine Soul Ancestral Land. After all these years, only a hundred or so creatures had successfully done so. It was hard to make Maha fall out of the list. His cultivation was still powerful enough to call him a worthy warrior.


    However, Zen''s goal was to shake the morale of Maha and the Sacred race. He exaggerated his claims to make them depressed.

 Chapter 1960 A War Declaration

    Ever since the Sacred race invaded the universe, they had been much like a hot knife slicing through butter.


    Not only did the race continue displaying their own invincible strength, it also promoted the Sacred race''s noble bloodline.


    Every time Maha killed a world lord, he used a Roaring Token to give the announcement of his victim to the entire universe. Constantly, he would spread the news that the Sacred race had inherited the most perfect race within the divine land¡ªall races were inferior to them.


    They were indeed strong enough to do so. With this sort of propaganda, many martial artists were under the illusion that the high and mighty Sacred race was invincible. Compared to their perfect race, the human race was lowly.


    In this situation, many human martial artists were struck with fear before the Sacred race. This feeling spread in the hearts of the human warriors, crushing their morale.


    Zen''s current methods were rather simple. The Sacred race of the Murphy Universe wasn''t from the real Sacred race, but even if these people were truly inherited from the perfect race of the divine land, he would still make up stories to belittle them.


    Because first of all, he had to lower the enemy''s morale¡ªonly then would he be able to save the humans'' morale.


    Now that the Roaring Token had been activated, his voice spread throughout the entire universe. Countless creatures began listening attentively.


    Originally, there weren''t many rules in a battle between two races.


    Zen, who was the strongest Godly Genius of the human race, was quarreling with his counterpart in the Sacred race, Maha. There was no need for any sort of rules. So he slandered the Sacred race, turning white into black and then white¡­The lies went on. And Zen showed no hesitation in using such tricks.


    His opponent, Maha, was undoubtedly arrogant and ruthless, his style vicious and his actions decisive. But as a Godly Genius, he was used to fighting and killing his enemies. How could he argue like this? Maha had little experience in quibbling. When faced with such a situation, he was momentarily at a loss and had no clue how to respond properly.


    "You¡­you¡­you¡­ Nonsense!" Such was Maha''s only retort.


    Unfortunately, his counterattack was weak as he stammered, lacking his usual confidence in battle.


    Hearing Maha''s voice, many of the warriors of the Sacred race in the Evolutionary Universe couldn''t help but shake their heads. Maha had extraordinary talent and formidable strength, but his quarreling skills were all too lacking.


    His retort was merely a flick. Not only did it lack any strength, it made clear his flaws.


    And how could Zen let go of such flaws?


    "I know you''re feeling guilty. The trouble with the Murphy Universe has yet to be solved. Your false Sacred race is in danger of being eliminated as well. The Celestial Ghost race ha


    two world lords of the Sacred race.


    These men were also heavily injured. They floated in the air, gasping for breath as they kept vigilant in the face of the human girl before them.


    Zen and Maha''s argument spreading by the Roaring Tokens suspended the battle between the two sides.


    The young girl''s gaze never landed on the world lords¡ªat this moment, her eyes were on the sky.


    Her only remaining eye flickered.


    The moment she heard Zen''s voice, the trace of sadness in her eye disappeared and was replaced with joy and gratification.


    "Did you hear that?" The large eye on the girl''s face suddenly curved into a crescent moon as she smiled at the world lords.


    They were stunned. Being fooled by Zen in such a manner was a huge blow to their ego.


    "What nonsense!"


    "Kill this woman!"


    The two world lords were growing more irritated and frustrated.


    The woman''s methods were all too terrifying¡ªshe had completely annihilated an army of the Sacred race right before their eyes.


    More hateful was that she had come and gone without a trace. She even managed to escape unscathed as she was chased down by a Supreme Lord of the Sacred race.


    "You should have listened." The woman''s voice was clear, but it was laced with ice-cold killing intent, void of any emotion.


    Watching the world lords rush over, she stepped on her wooden clogs and leaped backward, maintaining a posture of free landing.


    Her severely injured right cheek began recovering rapidly¡ªthe wounds in her face shifted and her eyeball was restored to its natural position. In an instant, her beauty was restored.


    Nine varying streaks of light burst from behind her, forming ribbons that resembled phoenix feathers as they flew towards the two world lords.


    "Listen carefully¡ªZen is humankind''s greatest pride!"


    And these were the last words the world lords heard from the girl before they fell to their deaths.

 Chapter 1961 The Scattered Godly Geniuses

    Within the Fiery Rock World, huge chunks of rocks glowed red from the intense heat.


    Two figures rapidly moved through the embers. The moment their tiptoes touched the rocks, they shot forward with exceptional agility. In a blink of an eye, they traveled over ten miles.


    Behind these two figures was a grand world lord of the Sacred race that chased after them!


    Those two people were Lucille and Nathan!


    Holy Jay had indeed sent the Godly Geniuses back to the Evolutionary Universe, however, the Grand Space Spell made it so that the nine of them were scattered all over the universe.


    Lucille and Nathan fell into the Fiery Rock World together.


    Unfortunately, this world belonged to the Humanity Alliance and was located in the depths of many supreme worlds controlled by the Sacred race.


    Their arrival quickly alarmed the Sacred race which in turn led to them getting chased all over the place by a grand world lord.


    This hot pursuit, both literally and figuratively, lasted three days and three nights.


    "You won''t be able to escape," the grand world lord said, his voice echoing in the sky.


    Both Lucille and Nathan had used Grand Teleportation multiple times but were still unable to shake off the grand world lord that chased after them.


    The two of them had just recently become world lords and their level wasn''t stable yet. It would be extremely difficult for them to defeat their pursuer even if they joined forces.


    The grand world lord suddenly flew higher. There was a cold smile on his face as he looked down at the two young warriors.


    These two were nothing more than tiny mice scurrying about in his territory.


    "Sky Crush!"


    He waved his hand and formed a mysterious seal.


    Black rays of light appeared in the sky and continuously spread to form a shape. It seem as if a corner of the horizon had been cut off to be shaped into a dark, formidable hand, which came crushing down.


    Nathan''s eyes flashed as he looked up at what was happening. "Grand Teleportation!"


    Lucille nodded before a bright flash appeared underneath their feet and made them disappear.


    Their pursuer sneered. He too employed Grand Teleportation and quickly followed after them.


    This grand world lord''s cultivation was much more stable than that of the young warriors so he could travel a distance ten times longer than they could. Before teleporting, he also managed to spread his perception within a thousand-mile range and pinpointed their location.


    Whoosh¡­ Whoosh¡­


    They were on top of a blazing mountain about a hundred miles away!


    As soon as they landed, the grand world lord also appeared just a couple of feet away. Obviously, they failed to distance themselves from their pursuer, and worse, the Sacred grand world lord was now closer to them.


    Sizzle¡­


    This flaming mountain range was a field of fire all-year-round. The rocks were cracked and spewed out streaks of scorching flames.


    Nathan held his spear while Lucille''s hands glowed from the five elements. It seemed that escape was no longer an option.


    "You can''t escape so you want to fight it out?" The Sacred grand world lord laughed. Finally, their game of cat-and-mouse had come to an end and he could finally kill these two, pathetic rats. He had already killed 12 human world lords after he entered the Evolut


    se beast spirits were incredibly ferocious, however, all Nathan could see were lines and dots.


    "They could not withstand even a single blow. So lame!"


    In Nathan''s eyes, he could see all those beast spirits had weak points all over their bodies.


    "Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"


    The Truth Godly Way was extremely powerful, to begin with. Even a Supreme Lord would have no chance of surviving Nathan''s spear, much less these beast spirits.


    Nathan thrust his spear into the air, shattering all the beast spirits.


    In the blink of an eye, it reached the grand world lord''s neck.


    "Even if you kill me, you won''t be able to leave this place! This is the core supreme world of our Sacred race!" he spat bitterly.


    Nathan smiled. "You don''t have to worry about that!"


    The spear was gentle and left only a small bloody hole in the grand world lord''s neck. A long, slender crack formed from that hole until his entire body was split apart like porcelain.


    Nathan lightly shook his spear to get rid of the blood. "We need to find a place to hide."


    "I wonder when they will come and save us," Lucille murmured with worry. The grand world lord was right, it would be incredibly difficult for them to leave this place.


    "Don''t worry. Zen has already revealed himself. My father will definitely figure out where we are through calculation and bring us back," Nathan said with confidence.


    The Sacred race was unable to calculate anything within the Evolutionary Universe because they were unable to communicate with the heavens.


    There was no way the heavens of the Evolutionary Universe would help these invaders.


    Now that Zen had caused such a commotion, everyone now knew that the Godly Geniuses had returned. Both the human race and Sacred race would try their best to find them, however, this was going to be a challenging task for the Sacred race. The Evolutionary Universe was too big and locating one Godly Genius would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.


    However, it would be really easy for the Supreme Lords of the Evolutionary Universe to find them through calculation.


    The only trouble was, would any Supreme Lord dare enter the Fiery Rock World to come to their rescue?

 Chapter 1962 Return To The Fairy Palace

    Originally, Maha had planned on using the Great Dominance Technique in order to force Zen into submitting to him.


    What he hadn''t taken into consideration was the possibility that he would be reproved and taught a lesson by Zen. Furthermore, Zen''s words had even aroused the populations'' common hatred in the Evolutionary Universe!


    Maha''s face grew long as he listened the roars coming from the universe.


    Maha led the Sacred martial artists to slaughter humans through the entire process, completely suppressing the human morale. Following such, the Demon Night''s rebellion had been a fatal blow to the human race. Although the ogre race had interfered at that point in time, the three human forces still suffered from low morale.


    Now though, thanks to Zen''s horrendous words, Maha''s previous efforts seemed to have been in vain.


    "Don''t let him utter another word," Maha coldly ordered. This time, he didn''t want the responsibility of having to stop Zen on his own.


    Although he had failed to subdue Zen with the Great Dominance Technique, there was no reason to say he couldn''t eventually control him. In fact, there were several different methods for enslaving a martial artist.


    For all Maha cared, it didn''t matter how eloquent Zen was, and there was no way he would escape his grasp. The two Sacred Supreme Lords behind Maha had long since had this same intention, and secretly criticized Maha in their minds. Both of them believed that Maha shouldn''t engage in so much conversation with Zen.


    In a certain way, they were right, too. Now, Maha couldn''t seem to get the upper hand on this argument. Even worse, Zen had managed to retort with ease and just like that, Maha found himself at a disadvantage. In the eyes of the two Sacred Supreme Lords, it was better for Maha to catch Zen directly and enslave him at once. By then, Zen would no longer be anywhere capable of resisting.


    And because Zen was trapped in the Seven Ultimate World, he could be compared to a piece of meat on the chopping block. It would be easy for them to catch and kill him.


    As Maha gave the order, Supreme Lord Noel of the Sacred race reached out his hand in a first attempt to grab Zen.


    His arm was like a long fish as it instantly pierced through space, appearing beside Zen and clawing at his head!


    Zen was actually extremely vigilant, though. Before Maha had even given the order, he had already activated the Grand Teleportation technique.


    With the release of a blazing white stream from the power of space, Zen was capable of escaping hundreds of miles away in the blink of an eye, avoiding Supreme Lord Noel''s grasp.


    "Do you really think you can escape?" Supreme Lord Noel uttered calmly.


    It was too late. He had already left an imprint on Zen''s body. No matter where Zen moved from now on, Supreme Lord Noel would be able to detect him in an instant.


    Through his eyes, Zen looked like a little sheep running on the plains. No matter how fast he tried to move, he couldn''t escape the falcons'' pursuit. Supreme Lord Noel thought he could let Zen run away as fast as possible, let him waste his energy first, and then catch him after he fell into despair.


    Maha, Connie, and Supreme Lord Barrie also thought the same. Thus, while the three of them watched Zen escape, they equally looked calm, their faces expressionless.


    Just as Supreme Lord Noel was about to use his spatial transfe


    Lords in the Evolutionary Universe...


    "Is it fun?" Zen''s voice roared throughout the universe and transmitted, reaching and booming into Maha''s and the others'' ears. "If you want to capture me, you''ll first have to see if you have the qualifications to break through this space treasure!"


    Upon hearing Zen''s words, many of the Supreme Lords in the Evolutionary Universe couldn''t help but break out in laughter!


    It was clear to them that Zen had entered that fairy palace again.


    From the start, they hadn''t worried about Zen''s safety whatsoever.


    Together, they had personally witnessed the toughness of this fairy palace. In the past, many Supreme Lords had given everything they could against it, but they simply couldn''t destroy it. In the end, a few of them had been killed by the Desperate Melee...


    "You brat, you..."


    Maha felt like he was going crazy.


    Where did Zen find such a magical space treasure?


    "Supreme Lord Barrie, go forth and destroy this space treasure!" Maha ordered.


    "At once!"


    Supreme Lord Barrie specialized in studying all kinds of poisons, and the Heavenly Destiny he carried was the Life Law!


    In terms of killing technique, Supreme Lord Barrie was extremely proficient in it. However, the destructive power he created was inferior to Supreme Lord Noel''s. Now though, since Maha had already asked him to make a move, he would still give it a try.


    He quickly stretched out his hands, causing his arms to turn black with traces of phosphorescence.


    This phosphorescence was a poison that boosted his strength, capable of turning his hands into a pair of all-conquering toxic weapon in a short amount of time!


    The venomous hands grabbed the fairy palace, and suddenly began emitting a wild, savage power as they kneaded and pulsed at the fairy palace.


    Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!


    A crushing sound could be heard. His greatest desire at that moment was to forcibly break open the fairy palace with his two hands!


    However, the fairy palace didn''t give. Not even an inch. It continued spinning, at its own casual speed, in front of them.


    "This..." A look of bleak awkwardness appeared on Supreme Lord Barrie''s face. He was also beginning to understand and sympathize with Supreme Lord Noel''s predicament.

 Chapter 1963 Geoffreys Talent

    Maha''s eyes narrowed as he stared at the fairy palace in front of him. He stood motionless for a long time and then, in a very cold tone he said, "I''ll let my father take action."


    The Sacred race was a centralized society, and this was the only force in the Murphy Universe.


    The status of Supreme Lords wasn''t equal. Rather, they were arranged like a pyramid. Maha''s father was the strongest Supreme Lord in the Sacred race.


    In his mind, he was certain that there was something he could do about a mere space treasure.


    Just as he finished speaking though, a ripple of Space Law descended upon the fairy palace, causing it to fall downward.


    In the blink of an eye, the fairy palace had completely disappeared.


    Once again, Maha and his group found them stunned out of amazement. They looked at each other in dismay.


    One after the other, they began attempting all sorts of different techniques in order to search for the fairy palace.


    Despite their greatest efforts, there was simply no sign of the fairy palace. It was clear that it didn''t matter how hard they tried.


    Maha had to come to terms with what was happening. His enraged roar rang out from the hillside, booming the Ultimate Immortal City.


    In the fairy palace, Zen held a Teleportation Token in his hand, and presented a faint smile on his face.


    The token of mountain and the Teleportation Token, combined together, allowed him to bring the fairy palace anywhere in the universe.


    That was when Zen brought the fairy palace into the space created by the Teleportation Token. In this space, he had the will to choose any supreme world to descend upon.


    Behind him, on the square in the fairy palace, stood a group of people. Their eager gazes were all turned in his direction.


    The last time Zen had returned to the great world, he had installed all his relatives from the Cloud Hall in the fairy palace.


    The universe was filled with a multitude of dangers. The fairy palace was most likely the safest place in the universe.


    More so, the fairy palace was completely under Zen''s control. It could be said that even if the universe collapsed, the fairy palace would still remain intact. As long as he didn''t connect the fairy palace''s projection to this place, no one else would even be able to find it.


    Amongst the crowd, Letitia''s beautiful eyes were fixed on Zen.


    Over the past decade, she seldom had the chance to meet Zen. Every time they crossed paths, they''d have to part again soon. However, she never complained because she knew her husband carried the a great destiny. Since she couldn''t help her husband, she could only quietly wait in the fairy palace, but there was no one who could listen to the pain in her heart.


    "Zen..."


    Letitia tiptoed lightly and rushed to Zen''s side in a flash. Her ice-cold hand touched Zen''s face, and her eyes were filled with love and boundless tenderness.


    Watching the scene, Imogen and the others felt gratified. At least Zen had returned safely.


    After returning to the fairy palace, Zen wasn''t in a rush to join the Celestial Position race. Instead, he decided to stay there temporarily.


    After embraci


    became deeply engrossed.


    Every day, after a short period of cultivation, he spent the rest of his time in the library, constantly reading Holy Bromley''s books and also trying to study the golden Sanskrit words, as if they had a unique magical attraction on him.


    Despite the benefits of the library for Geoffrey, Letitia had her doubts and remained worried. Imogen had even stopped Geoffrey from going there for a while.


    Immortal Book, on the other hand, was convinced of Geoffrey''s extraordinary talent in this area, and he persuaded Letitia and Imogen by telling them the golden Sanskrit words'' importance. If Geoffrey was successful in this area, his achievements would be far greater than Zen''s.


    In Letitia''s eyes, her husband was an existence that could never be surpassed, but Immortal Book had said that Geoffrey just might.


    If she could really nurture Geoffrey into a talent like her husband, then of course, she''d be willing to do so.


    And over the years, aside from trying to understand Bromley''s speculations, Geoffrey also attempted to decipher the golden Sanskrit words - at which, he was truly successful.


    This was something that Immortal Book had never thought completely possible.


    "You mean... Geoffrey can decipher the golden Sanskrit words?" Zen''s eyes widened as he looked at Geoffrey, standing not very far off, with an expression of disbelief.


    Geoffrey couldn''t help but smile shyly upon seeing his father''s shocked expression.


    Letitia and Immortal Book were also pleased to see Zen''s surprise.


    Zen was exceptionally outstanding in all aspects, but Geoffrey''s ability to decipher the golden Sanskrit words far surpassed Zen''s. Therefore, Letitia felt proud. Proud and accomplished.


    "Quick, show me the Sanskrit words you''ve deciphered!" Zen said excitedly. He began to feel a little anxious, as he was well aware of what this meant.


    Geoffrey''s expression was very calm. After taking out a writing brush and paper, he began to write down the contents that he had deciphered. It hadn''t taken him very long at all to get through over a thousand words.

 Chapter 1964 A Heavy Sword

    Although Geoffrey was only eleven years old, he had wonderful handwriting¡ªmuch like the style of a famous calligrapher.


    Zen just stood silently beside Geoffrey and watched him write. The longer he watched, the more amazed he felt.


    It was only one word of golden Sanskrit, but he had written over a thousand words to explain it.


    Just like Holy Jay had said, these top extraordinary creatures were advanced beings. Their ways of existence and communication were difficult to understand!


    At this stage, the entire divine land was still trying to comprehend these extraordinary creatures. Furthermore, they had only obtained a portion of this race''s language. There was no other way to explain it: Understanding them was hardship.


    When Geoffrey had written out the last word, he looked up and smiled at Zen.


    Immortal Book eagerly reached out his hand to snatch the piece of manuscript, but Geoffrey slightly moved his hand and passed it to Zen.


    Immortal Book could do nothing but glare at Geoffrey. He couldn''t do anything about Geoffrey, let alone to Zen, who was his owner.


    Zen grabbed his son''s manuscript and began to read it word by word, the curiosity no longer just an expression, but an action.


    "The golden Sanskrit word seems to be used to describe a certain place''s scenery. It seems to be a lake, doesn''t it?" Zen asked.


    Geoffrey nodded and answered, "Probably. Besides, this lake would be outside of the divine land."


    "You know about the divine land?" Zen could barely believe what he was hearing, especially from his son''s mouth.


    Geoffrey rolled his eyes, giving him the look of a real old soul, as if it was only normal for him to know about the divine land.


    Immortal Book next to him chuckled anew and said, "This little guy has been very diligent these past years. He has read through many ancient books in the library. He may know even more than you, Zen."


    Zen couldn''t help but feel quite ashamed.


    Even though he had opened the library, he hadn''t spent much time reading. Generally speaking, he acted like a utilitarian. He only took the cultivation methods that he needed from the library.


    Needless to say, Zen wasn''t to blame because he had always been troubled by many crises, leaving him little time to spend on reading. Even right now, Zen still had a heavy burden on him.


    Geoffrey was intelligent, and he should have also inherited Zen''s talent. Although he had no intention for training in martial arts, he would naturally be capable of achieving good results if he put his talent forth on something else.


    Zen quickly skimmed through the thousand words and grasped a general idea of what it said.


    The owner of this fairy palace, Zen''s master, Bromley, was still traveling in the endless chaos.


    In the Chaotic Storm Chronicle, there


    strange! Zen, where in the world did you receive such tempering?!"


    It had only been a few years since Zen had left the fairy palace. Livingston could clearly see the traces of time engraved on Zen''s body.


    Hearing this, Zen smiled slightly but omitted to reply right away.


    Strictly speaking, Zen was over eighty thousand years old now, but his bones couldn''t accurately reflect his true age.


    Because Zen held his silence, Livingston too stopped asking. He chuckled and said, "Since you''ve returned, I''ll show you the results. Follow me, quickly!"


    Once Livingston had finished speaking, he grabbed Zen and began dragging him at running speed toward the weapon refining workshop.


    At the sight of his father being dragged away by Livingston, Geoffrey couldn''t help but immediately follow them.


    Geoffrey was at the age where curiosity usually got the best of him. He was curious about everything. He was interested in every part of the fairy palace, and the weapon refining workshop was no exception. This iron monster though, was too bizarre; his mother never allowed him to go near the weapon refining workshop anyway.


    Now that he had his father leading the way, Geoffrey naturally felt like he had nothing to fear.


    When he arrived at the weapon refining workshop, Livingston suddenly struck the enormous weapon refining furnace.


    Clank!


    With a crisp sound, the furnace''s mouth clanged open. Within the furnace, there was a long, thin and sharp treasure sword, shining with a dazzling shimmer.


    "Is this the sword embryo?" Zen asked.


    Livingston''s face revealed a proud look and he replied, laughingly, "This heavy sword, made from Star Essence Iron, is basically formed. It''s just that there''s a little problem with the sword hilt."


    The little problem Livingston spoke of was actually an extremely fatal one. This sword was too heavy.

 Chapter 1965 The Great Weighty Sword

    Ever since Zen sent Livingston to the weapon refining workshop, the latter had been immersed in perfecting the sword embryo. He''d spent day and night working on it, making sure it was in excellent condition and ready for battle.


    Though the sword embryo was unfinished, its weight was unbelievably heavy. This made it unfeasible for anyone to use it.


    To put it into perspective, the four-inch sword weighed as much as an entire great world.


    Even a Supreme Lord would struggle to lift a sword that was forged from the Star Essence Iron. It was simply impossible to use it freely.


    However, Saul gave him a solution. He suggested Livingston should use the mystical Infinity Stone to forge a sword hilt and inlay the blade of the long sword into the sword hilt.


    The Infinity Stone was very special because it had the power to change the weight of other things. When Livingston first entered the workshop, Saul gave him a pair of pincers made from the Infinity Stone, so it made it possible to lift the sword embryo.


    "In the refining workshop, other than this pair of pincers, there is only a small piece of Infinity Stone. I don''t have enough material to forge a complete sword hilt," Livingston said, with a hint of sadness.


    Though professionals were usually perfectionists in their fields, what was admirable about Livingston was that he could admit to his flaws. The lack of Infinity Stone discouraged him, and he knew it wasn''t enough to finish the sword hilt.


    In the end, the only thing he could do was to give up.


    "After I mixed the Infinity Stone with other materials, I successfully forged this sword hilt," Livingston said in a regretful tone. "It''s a pity. It can only reduce the weight of the sword by half."


    "Reduce its weight by half?" Zen smiled as he spoke, already with a plan in mind. His strength had greatly increased, but for some reason, he couldn''t obtain a suitable weapon. He took a look at the sword and knew he''d need it.


    Livingston nodded, and then used the pincers to take out the sword from the furnace, presenting it to Zen.


    Just as Livingston described, there was an exquisite cyan sword hilt at the end of the blade. Livingston had spent several years to forge that sword hilt, but he wasn''t very proud of it.


    Who in the world could carry the weight of this sword in battle? It became useless.


    "Alas, the amount of Infinity Stone is too small! I''m afraid you won''t be able to even use it," Livingston sighed. "I wanted to melt the pincers and us


    heavy as half of a great world.


    "The weight of that is comparable to half of a great world... Half a great world!" How can you..." The words finally came out of Livingston''s mouth.


    Everyone was in shock the moment they heard Livingston.


    Everyone knew that the weight of the sword was not to be joked about. Otherwise, no one would have been so interested in the first place. The fact that it was impossible to use made it so intriguing. They didn''t think Zen would have been able to pull it out.


    "Is this sword really as heavy as half of a great world?" Letitia''s beautiful eyes grew wider as she was surprised.


    "Mother, Livingston said that the hilt of the sword could reduce the weight by half, but the sword itself is as heavy as an entire great world," Geoffrey said in a serious tone. "Surely it can crush people to their deaths!"


    However, no one worried about that at the moment. People were still mesmerized by Zen''s ability to lift the sword, easily and swiftly.


    Zen wielded the Great Weighty Sword and lifted it as if it were light. Would this mean he could easily lift a great world, too?


    Gripping the sword, Zen suddenly took a step forward and thrust the sword out into the air. This sword did not have any additional effect, but the Star Essence Iron itself had an extreme weight, enough to slightly distort the surrounding space.


    Puff! Puff! Puff!


    The sword moved gracefully in the air with Zen''s swift movements. Although he wielded the sword without difficulty, the onlookers'' eyes were filled with fear. What Zen held in his hand was the weight of a great world.


    Zen possessed strength no one could wrap their heads around.

 Chapter 1966 Test Zens Strength

    After Zen practiced this set of swordsmanship, he sheathed the Great Weighty Sword in his hand.


    Although Livingston''s mind was indeed a bit muddled, one couldn''t challenge his talent in the field of weapon refining. When the Infinity Stone was not enough to make a sword hilt, it was he who came up with an ingenious way for storing Zen''s sword.


    Zen didn''t want to take Livingston''s advice to smash the sword on his opponent, but he liked the Great Weighty Sword very much.


    This sword didn''t seem to be flexible at all.


    But it was very compatible with Zen''s swordsmanship.


    In any case, the Emotion Closing Godly Way stressed on killing with a single blow; it did not call for any sophisticated swordsmanship. So it was not a flexible sword technique to begin with!


    Thanks to the Great Weighty Sword, he could multiply the power of his strike.


    "This Great Weighty Sword is not bad. It''s great for me to use!" Zen smiled faintly.


    The scene that Zen swiped the heavy sword with ease left Livingston dumbstruck. Now that he heard Zen''s praise, he was very excited. "I haven''t had a rest in years; I have been making some other treasures too!"


    Livingston was like a child who wanted to show off all the nice things he had to his parent. He took out all the things he had meticulously crafted over the years in one go.


    If he said he didn''t have a moment to rest, then it must be true!


    Although Livingston''s body was ugly, it had one advantage. As long as there were enough life vitality crystals, it could operate nonstop. He did not need any time to rest. He was constantly researching and trying to understand the characteristics of the materials in the weapon refining workshop, and he kept inventing and innovating treasures based on these materials. If he didn''t understand some material, he would go to the library to learn everything about it.


    The only problem was that Livingston was completely self-centered and a workaholic. In the past few years, he didn''t even pay attention to the new group of people. He was totally immersed in his own world.


    "This is the Alms Bowl of Acalanatha. A first-rank divine weapon.


    This is the Will of Harmony. Even though it is just an ornament, it can nourish a pill with its energy.


    This is the Cloud Flute..." He showed off all his inventions with great pride and aplomb.


    Almost all of the magical trinkets refined by Livingston were defensive treasures.


    Zen''s current body was tough enough, and he even had the Redemption Armor made by Holy Drew. Holy Drew had used the source of Godly Tile to make the Redemption Armor. The items made by Livingston, although impressive, were not of much use to Zen now.


    Zen couldn''t deny their value even if he did not have a need for them.


    Livingston''s skill combined with these rare materials from the divine land in the refining workshop, created treasures that could easily fuel a war in the universe.


    "Take all of them!" Livingston chuckled.


    He didn''t need these treasures for himself. His interest lay in the refining process and not the end products. Moreover,


    brought into a hall at the back of the mountain. Master Feng and the Supreme Lords of the Celestial Position race were gathered in this hall.


    After Zen entered the hall, he saluted them. "Master Feng, you must have been waiting for a long time."


    Master Feng sized up Zen as a look of gratification appeared on his elderly face. "You''re the first Godly Genius to return," he said with a smile.


    Three years ago, what they let fly was a promise and a hope for future, and now was the time to make good on their hopes. This matter concerned the Celestial Position race, the Evolutionary Universe, and the fate of Holy Mike.


    "What about the others?" Zen asked. It was only then that he realized that except him, no one else had been able to make it.


    "I have already calculated where they are. They are all safe," replied Master Feng.


    Every single Godly Genius was an immeasurably valuable asset to the Evolutionary Universe, and the Celestial Position race placed all of its hopes on the Godly Geniuses. Naturally, they wouldn''t allow any Godly Genius to be killed.


    The moment Master Feng learned that the Godly Geniuses had returned, he began to calculate where and when the Godly Geniuses would descend into the universe.


    Rocher had fallen into the territory of the ogres, and Kurt was the luckiest one, directly returning to the Blessed Buddha Land.


    On the other hand, Lawson, Lone, Xenia, and Karl had fallen into the supreme worlds of small races. Their situation was relatively safe, and Master Feng only needed to send some people to bring them back.


    The only trouble was with Lucille and Nathan. The two of them had fallen into the Fiery Rock World occupied by the Sacred race.


    Master Feng explained the situation of the other Godly Geniuses to Zen, and then he smiled, "Zen, you''ve been training in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land for three years, and you''re already a world lord now. I wonder how strong you are."


    As he was speaking, he suddenly extended a finger and pointed it at Zen without elaborating any further.

 Chapter 1967 Resist With Ease

    When he saw Master Feng''s finger, Zen realized that it was a test. So he turned over his palm and blocked lightly, instantly pushing out a vigorous force.


    With a faint smile, Master Feng changed his hand''s move¡ªhe put his index finger and thumb together and with a flick, an intangible force shot out towards Zen''s palm.


    But Zen didn''t evade at all and continued blocking with his palm. But the power within his palm grew stronger and stronger to the point where he made no sign of retreat.


    The two sparred with each other with one hand each. In about ten seconds, they had already exchanged at least a hundred moves.


    When the several Supreme Lords of the Celestial Position race saw Zen''s performance, they all smiled with satisfaction.


    It was nothing short of a miracle that a Godly Genius at the Spirit Supreme Realm could advance to such a level after cultivating in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land for only three years.


    "Unfortunately, time is still too short. If we give them another hundred years, the Sacred race would flee without a fight," Supreme Lord Mirage of the Celestial Position said with a sigh.


    It wasn''t that Supreme Mirage was pessimistic. Although Zen''s return brought vigor and confidence back into the hearts of all in the universe, to the real insiders, the situation wasn''t exactly for the good of all.


    The Godly Geniuses had returned, but they were only considered world lords.


    Perhaps the Godly Geniuses were far stronger than those of the same level, but at most, they could only contend against a grand world lord and weren''t strong enough to face a Supreme Lord.


    The Supreme Lords and True Gods of the two universes were those who truly decided the fight''s victory or defeat.


    As the Godly Geniuses had just broken through and become world lords, it would still take them much effort to condense Godly Tiles and become True Gods.


    In the end, the Godly Geniuses'' return didn''t change the situation.


    And Zen''s ''war declaration'' was likely to enrage the Sacred race. By the looks of things, an all-out war was nearing reality.


    By merely launching strikes with his hand, Master Feng had tested Zen''s strength and skills. Since he only used about ten percent of his strength against Zen, the latter''s cultivation base was enough for him to successfully resist Master Feng''s attacks. He could be considered truly excellent.


    But the several Supreme Lords present had no clue that Zen made use of a mere fraction of h


    wards two women standing not far behind Zen, but with a wave of his hand, Supreme Lord Mirage obliterated the forceful strength.


    After Zen retreated a few steps, his eyes grew serious.


    At this moment, the Eight Path Platforms in his body began slowly vibrating. They began to emanate rays of seven-colored light, which just so happened to be the color of the strength source.


    "Pah, pah, pah..."


    Now, Zen''s right hand was like a bolt of lightning as it suddenly grasped Master Feng''s forceful strength. Every time he made a move, he could accurately chatter the forceful strength, producing a crackling sound, loud and clear.


    The sound was so loud that it echoed constantly throughout the Breaking Cloud Mountain.


    Even Freya and Letitia couldn''t bear the sound, and all they could do was to cover their ears with their hands.


    "He broke the forceful strength with just a single hand..." Not far away, Supreme Lord Sky was muttering to himself.


    "This guy... resists the force with ease!" Supreme Lord Mirage''s eyes were wide with disbelief¡ªhe couldn''t find any words to aptly describe the scene.


    Now, Master Feng had used fifty percent of his strength, adding even forceful strength. If Zen could withstand it, he would exceed any Supreme Lord''s expectations. He was, indeed, quite outstanding.


    But it was clear that Zen hadn''t yet used his full strength¡ªthe fact had all the Supreme Lords and Master Feng embarrassed, to say the least.


    It was impossible for Master Feng to use his full strength against a junior, after all. If he did so, the sparring could no longer be considered a test, but instead, an all-out competition.

 Chapter 1968 Unfathomable

    Master Feng''s wrinkled face snarled as he attacked with an uppercut move, which Zen barely dodged.


    "Ha-ha Zen, come again!" he exclaimed with a toothy smile. He dashed forward again as his hand moved faster and faster, while the streams of mighty strength became increasingly denser.


    The powerful strength he displayed had a unique origin. It was known as the Divine Mighty Strength, and it was one of the Transcendent Divine Might of the Celestial Position. It exhibited a fearsome capacity even though he was just casually using it.


    Master Feng''s beady eyes were serious. The streams of mighty strength were incomparably sharp under the claw of his hand. At that moment, a violent, wind-like ear-splitting sound erupted in the air.


    "Hiss, hiss, hiss..."


    The long, tendril-like streams of mighty strength slithered like numerous black snakes towards Zen!


    "80% of his strength?" Meanwhile, Supreme Lord Sky froze at the sight of the snake-like formation of the mighty strength.


    "It''s one hundred percent! Master Feng has already gone all out. If Zen really can take it, then that would be too outrageous¡­" On the other hand, Supreme Lord Mirage shook his head in disbelief. He thought that Master Feng had gone too far!


    Everyone clearly knew how strong Master Feng was: he was an existence who was on the same level as Supreme Lord of Original Sin, Supreme Lord of Oracle, and Supreme Lord of Thunder Punishment. Hell, he might be even more powerful than them!


    However, what set the Supreme Lords apart were the Heavenly Destinies they carried.


    Master Feng currently skipped using his own Heavenly Destiny. Then again, he still possessed an immense strength even with only his own martial art skills. Even if it was an ordinary Supreme Lord who had fought him, they would''ve had to go all out.


    And Zen, who stood opposite of Master Feng, had just become a world lord not too long ago. Would he really be able to take it?


    The air tensed as the mighty strength pounced ferociously towards Zen like heavy but stealthy black snakes.


    In turn, Zen''s gaze flickered as the nine stars in his cinnabar field began to rotate slowly.


    In reality, Master Feng''s strength was nothing to Zen. In terms of pure strength, he should be on par with Chapman in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land--even if he was a Supreme Lord.


    However, Zen still activated the power of the nine stars just to be safe.


    When the cluster of small snakes formed from the mighty strength neared Zen, he still stretched out his right hand, his right index finger protruded forward and his thumb raised slightly.


    Just when the small snake at the helm charged towards Zen, he shook his hand slightly and precisely caught the small snake''s head in his hand. Then, he gave it a light pinch.


    Crack!


    The small, formerly swift snake was now broken into pieces!


    Right after the snake was gone, Zen''s hand transformed into a series of shadows which constantly moved in front of him. Although there were numerous densely-packed snakes, only Zen''s touch was needed for them to die in an instant


    an ordinary low-rank Supreme Lord. Some of the best grand world lords could even hold him to a draw!


    In terms of combat strength, he was on par with a weak Supreme Lord.


    However, Supreme Lord Lester was ranked highly among the Supreme Lords. He was ranked just behind four other Supreme Lords: Master Feng, Supreme Lord of Original Sin, Supreme Lord of Oracle, and Supreme Lord of Thunder Punishment.


    Such was the case because he carried an extremely powerful Heavenly Destiny!


    Supreme Lord Lester could revive any martial artist who was seriously injured, even those who were already dead.


    This one Heavenly Destiny of Revival controlled the lives of all living beings. It was also because of Supreme Lord Lester that the Celestial Position had been able to obtain several satisfying Crowns of Destiny.


    For example, Master Feng became a top-rank Supreme Lord because Supreme Lord Lester had killed and revived him 13 times. After he had selected a Heavenly Destiny from all of the Heavenly Destinies, he had finally obtained the strongest one among all of them in the entire universe--the supreme Law of Causality!


    "Supreme Lord Sky, take the two girls away," Master Feng said. Then, the auras around him began to surge and the entire space was plunged into chaos. It was as if an extremely powerful technique was being brewed--thus, he had Supreme Lord Sky take the two girls behind Zen away, in fear that the auras might affect them.


    "Master Feng, are you planning to¡­" Supreme Lord Mirage''s jaw dropped in shock.


    The fact that they couldn''t test the limits of Zen''s power made them rather upset.


    However, it was still a good thing because the stronger Zen was, the more he would be able to help in their future plans.


    It was just that what Zen had performed could not merely be described strong, but unfathomable. He possessed a power that even Supreme Lords could not describe; it was indeed a bit outrageous.


    Nevertheless, Master Feng didn''t seem too convinced and was determined to find out the limits of Zen''s strength.

 Chapter 1969 Evolution Lotus Flower

    Master Feng did not reply. The golden glow between his eyebrows shone brighter and brighter, like a shining star.


    Master Feng was about to use his Heavenly Destiny. When the Supreme Lords saw this, they thought it was ridiculous. However, they knew it was useless to try to persuade him otherwise. They had no choice but to stand by and do as he pleased...


    "Whoosh!"


    Supreme Lord Sky appeared behind Zen in a flash. He smiled at Letitia and Freya, and commanded, "Please leave us for the time being..."


    As he uttered those words, a triangular enchanted barrier appeared in his hands, imprisoning Letitia and Freya within it in an instant.


    Letitia looked at the aura emitting from Master Feng''s body and asked worriedly, "Will my husband be fine?"


    "Don''t worry. Master Feng definitely knows how to deal with him," Supreme Lord Sky said with a smile.


    In fact, even Supreme Lord Sky wasn''t so sure. It was originally just a simple test, but he didn''t expect it to turn out quite like this. Master Feng had to resort to using his trump card!


    After Supreme Lord Sky replied, he stretched out his hand and gently tapped on the enchanted barrier. The barrier spun and began to slowly rise towards the sky.


    The two women were trapped inside the enchanted barrier and watched as they floated further and further away from Zen. In the end, they glided to the top of the Breaking Cloud Mountain. At this distance, they could only see a small grey dot...


    "Does he really need to send us this far?" Letitia asked with a frown.


    The reason the Supreme Lord sent them so far away was because he was afraid that they would be affected by the shock waves.


    What was Master Feng planning to do after he required them to be so far away in order to be safe? Was he going to kill Zen?


    It would be impossible to do that. Besides, so many Supreme Lords were present. If he wanted to kill Zen, there was no need to worry about Letitia''s and Freya''s safety. There would be no problem if he killed them all together...


    Besides Letitia and Freya, the other Supreme Lords also moved away from Zen and Master Feng for the time being, leaving the two of them alone in the hall.


    "If you are unable to fight me, I will naturally stop!" After issuing this warning, Master Feng''s body suddenly shook as an even more violent aura was abruptly unleashed from within!


    And then, a Lotus Flower suddenly appeared in the sky.


    All thirty-six petals of the Lotus Flower were open as they slowly rotated while descending.


    "This Lotus Flower has thirty-six petals. It''s..." Zen''s face had a look of amazement.


    Normally, a Lotus Flower appeared when a martial artist was undergoing the Heavenly Tribulation.


    At this moment, no one had broken through and reached the new cultivation base. There was no warrior passing through the Heavenly Tribulation either.


    So how come a Lotus Flower appeared suddenly?


    "The Godly Way my master cultivates is the Evolution Godly Way, and he has already comprehended the supreme secr


    ngth that they possessed made the other forces deeply fearful of them.


    Master Feng naturally did not want to fight with Zen right now. He was being so persistent only because he wanted to see the limits of Zen''s strength!


    After the Godly Geniuses returned, the Celestial Position race would certainly make new arrangements regarding their positions. Each Godly Genius bore great responsibility and would even take part in the "God Slaughtering Plan". Thus assessment of strength was very important for all of them.


    "Hooo, hooo, hooo..."


    That Lotus Flower slowly descended towards Zen.


    "Zen, the strength that you have displayed is extraordinary. I wonder if you are strong enough to lift this Lotus Flower!" Master Feng smiled.


    The Evolution Lotus Flower was a kind of Holy Mike''s comprehension of the Godly Way. Just like Holy Jay''s Ice Soul Flame, it was the special skill of a Holy Being.


    Master Feng''s Lotus Flower''s power was far inferior to the power displayed by Mike; in fact it was hardly comparable to the latter.


    However, in this universe, such formidable strength was the most sought-after thing for a martial artist. If he kept improving, he would break the rules and cross the heavens.


    In other words, only a True God would be able to combat Master Feng''s Evolution Lotus Flower.


    The Lotus Flower continued to hurtle downwards and smashed heavily on Zen''s head.


    A wary expression appeared on Zen''s face. He crossed his arms and shielded himself from the Lotus Flower above him, blocking the bottom part of the flower!


    "Strength..."


    Zen immediately felt the enormous weight of the Lotus Flower.


    The load of the Great Weighty Sword was nothing compared to this mass. If the Great Weighty Sword was as heavy as a great world, then this Lotus Flower was as heavy as a hundred great worlds!


    There was an irresistible force under this back-breaking pressure...


    "Crack..."


    The stone beneath Zen''s feet instantly shattered, and his feet sank deep into the ground.

 Chapter 1970 A Proposal

    The people in the universe didn''t know much about the Heavenly Destiny that Master Feng carried as he had never released all of the Lotus Flower''s power in one go before.


    Judging from the scene in front of them though, it was quite obvious that it contained an incredible power.


    Under the pressure of the Lotus Flower, Zen''s body was sinking rapidly.


    However, Zen didn''t seem to notice as he remained standing calmly. All the strength he had was activated and, like a raging sea, it coursed through every meridian in his body.


    All nine stars in his inner world began to spin faster and faster, its strength source turning into threads and flowing into Zen''s meridians.


    With the help of Holy Drew, Zen had refined his body, causing his strength to increase tremendously. However, even with his current strength, the nine stars'' strength source was still too much for him.


    At this stage, thirty percent was all he could take. Any more than that and his body would collapse.


    In order to resist the pressure that was steadily descending on him, Zen extracted more of the strength source, making the stars spin even faster.


    Ten percent¡­


    Twenty percent¡­


    Because the strength had rushed quickly into his body, Zen''s bones pressed into each other and began to make squeaky sounds. And as the pressure gradually increased, the sounds also turned more violent and were now comparable to that of two mountains sliding against each other. His body, although battered, was strong as steel and iron, its toughness surpassing that of a supreme divine weapon.


    After what seemed like a lifetime, the Lotus Flower finally halted its descent.


    "He really managed to hold it..." Supreme Lord Mirage whispered in disbelief and astonishment.


    "What kind of power does this kid possess? This is the technique of a Holy Being! No one below the level of a True God should be able to take it!" Supreme Lord Sky was also amazed.


    Master Feng''s eyes gleamed. He pointed two fingers and gently pushed them down.


    Squeak! Squeak!


    The Lotus Flower that Zen struggled to hold above his head began to press down once again.


    "It''s so heavy!"


    Zen exclaimed with gritted teeth.


    Master Feng''s Heavenly Destiny was truly something else. A lotus flower was actually able to release a weight infinitely heavier than the Collapsing Mountain race''s Magic Golden Stone!


    Feeling the massive weight press down on him, Zen could only draw out more strength source from his inner world.


    "Thirty percent!"


    Thirty percent of strength source of the nine stars was his li


    he spoke, everyone listened attentively.


    "What proposal?" Master Feng asked.


    "Help Zen carry a Heavenly Destiny!" Supreme Lord Lester glanced at Zen and said.


    "Heavenly Destiny?" Master Feng was slightly surprised.


    Supreme Lord Lester nodded as a smile appeared on his face. "Zen doesn''t have a Heavenly Destiny, but his own strength is enough to match a Supreme Lord''s. If he were to have a Heavenly Destiny, imagine how strong he''d be."


    This caught several of the Supreme Lords'' attention.


    Since the last time the Humanity Alliance confronted the Sacred race and lost three Supreme Lords, the human race had been at a disadvantage.


    World lords weren''t of much help to humans in resisting the Sacred race. The number of Supreme Lords the human race had was far less than that of the Sacred race. There were 128 Supreme Lords altogether in the Evolutionary Universe, and human race had around 50 but the only promising ones they had were Master Feng, Supreme Lord of Thunder Punishment, Supreme Lord of Oracle, and Supreme Lord of Original Sin, which were all top-rank human Supreme Lords.


    But, the number of Heavenly Destinies in the Murphy Universe was far greater than the number in the Evolutionary Universe. Furthermore, all of the Supreme Lords in the Murphy Universe belonged to the Sacred race which meant that they still had an overwhelming advantage over the human race.


    The only human beings that could possibly match up to the Sacred race were the four Supreme Lords.


    If Zen carried a Heavenly Destiny and became a Supreme Lord, he would be a great help to the human race.


    "No way!"


    Master Feng immediately rejected.


    Supreme Lord Lester''s face turned serious. "Why?"

 Chapter 1971 Leaving Fairy Palace

    At that moment, Supreme Lord Lester was not able to think of anything else. All of his awareness was focused on the crisis before him and how they could avert it.


    Master Feng was sure that Zen played an extremely special and important role in Mike''s plan. Zen would never have been restricted to just one part of the universe.


    Once a martial artist carried a Heavenly Destiny and became a Supreme Lord, their ability to leave the universe was lost. They were no longer allowed to travel where they pleased.


    Zen would have lost the capability to go to the divine land.


    But they had no choice. If they wanted to be able to solve the crisis posed by the Sacred race, it was better for Zen to carry a Heavenly Destiny and become a Supreme Lord.


    It was not certain whether Zen could really save the universe. Even if Zen drove back the Sacred race to the Murphy Universe, it would have only solved their current crisis. It didn''t mean that Zen would be an all-powerful being that could save them from any predicament.


    The people in the Hall of Holy Beings of the divine land would never let Mike go.


    Now that Murphy had initiated an attack on the Evolutionary Universe, other Holy Beings might see their chance to break through the Sighing Wall and invade the Evolutionary Universe. It would have been an infinite war; Zen wouldn''t have been able to fight off so many Holy Beings'' attacks even if he had three heads and six arms.


    Upon hearing Master Feng''s words, Supreme Lord Lester fell silent.


    Burdening Zen with a Heavenly Destiny wouldn''t indeed be the best solution.


    Once he was given a Heavenly Destiny, it would leave a mark behind. This mark was deeply engraved in one''s soul, and it would never be removed. It also disqualified one from becoming a True God.


    "We''ll discuss this matter in the future," Master Feng smiled as he addressed the Supreme Lords.


    Just as he finished talking, a voice suddenly quipped nearby, "I have a suggestion!"


    "Master Wynn!"


    "Master Wynn!".


    When they heard that voice, all the Supreme Lords adopted a respectful stance.


    Not far away, a figure approached. The old man was dressed in a long, immaculate white robe; his entire body was radiant and spotless, as if dust would be automatically repelled if it as much as brushed his garments. This was the only True God of the Celestial Position race, Wynn.


    When Zen saw Wynn, he also nodded his head in acknowledgment and bowed in greeting, "Master Wynn."


    As Zen entered the Celestial Position race for the first time in the past, he did not know their true intentions. A malicious suspicion even arose in his heart and he had a strong dislike for the Celestial Position race.


    However, when he saw Wynn, another realization made itself known in his mind.


    This True God Wynn was Mike''s disciple, his father''s disciple!


    If only these other Supreme Lords weren''t here in the same room with them, Zen would have really wanted to ask him what kind of person his father was. Zen would have wanted to hear more stories about


    d after eating this Dust Cleaning Pill, they will be able to walk in the Upper World for a period of time."


    "How long will this Dust Cleaning Pill last?" Zen asked.


    Supreme Lord Sky smiled and said, "The Dust Cleaning Pills are high-grade pills. One Dust Cleaning Pill should last for about thirty years."


    Zen had thought that it would be enough if this pill could last for a few dozen hours. He was speechless when he heard that it could last for thirty years.


    The Celestial Position race was really powerful. He extended his hand to take the bottle of the Dust Cleaning Pills and stepped into the fairy palace.


    Geoffrey, Imogen and many people from the Cloud Hall had been waiting for a long time.


    They had been cooped up in the fairy palace for many years. The environment of the fairy palace was good enough, but to them, it was like a prison.


    Zen brought out the Dust Cleaning Pills and distributed them into everyone''s hands. After everyone had eaten it, Zen headed out to acquire the Crown of Destiny.


    The moment that Zen''s hand touched the Crown of Destiny, the entire heavens suddenly trembled!


    The Supreme Lords of the Celestial Position race were not surprised. They knew that Zen had touched the Crown of Destiny, but the other Supreme Lords in the universe all looked up at the sky in surprise, wondering why the heavens were shaking again.


    Zen had no choice but to endure this kind of shock. There was a connection between the Crown of Destiny and the heavens. It immediately started to shake once he wasn''t paying attention.


    After he took out the Crown of Destiny, Zen left the fairy palace with Geoffrey and the others.


    Geoffrey was bored in the fairy palace; he could only use his talent to decipher the golden Sanskrit. However, he was still an eleven-year-old child and was filled with curiosity towards this world.


    After Zen released them, he was naturally elated. He almost jumped up in excitement as he looked up at the Breaking Cloud Mountain, which was like a giant crystal.

 Chapter 1972 Travel Around

    When he noticed Geoffrey looking so excited, Zen felt rather guilty.


    It was true. He couldn''t be considered a dutiful father, and had never even seriously spent any time with his son. However, in his heart, he had made the decision to take time to travel around with him more.


    After Zen had handed the Crown of Destiny over to Wynn, Wynn had told him that something had to be done to the Crown of Destiny and it would take some time.


    Thus, Master Feng had arranged accommodation for Zen and the others from the Cloud Hall.


    After dealing with these trivial matters and having everyone settle down, Zen wasn''t in a hurry to discuss the next step. Instead, he took Geoffrey and Letitia out for a trip.


    "If a great world is a unit...


    Then a supreme world is a thousand such units!


    This supreme world is truly vast and endless!"


    Sitting on Zen''s shoulder, Geoffrey let out a cry of surprise in his childish voice.


    The distant mountains that stretched endlessly were like motionless elephants in a deep sleep, emitting a majestic aura in the heavens and on earth. A single glance at them could make people feel full of power.


    "A supreme world is a thousand great worlds? Who told you that?" Zen asked, puzzled.


    "It''s from the book!" Geoffrey replied with a smile.


    "The book from the library, you mean?" Zen asked.


    "Yes!"


    Geoffrey replied, happily. He then went on to say, "The one million great worlds are the feet. The one hundred thousand supreme worlds are the hands. The stars in the skies above are the internal organs. And as the stars revolve, it''s like a living being who begins to breathe, forming a style of its own¡­"


    "What''s the name of this book, Geoffrey?" Although Geoffrey''s voice was still young and hadn''t begun to change yet, the content of his words was extraordinary. To Zen, it felt as though he was being enlightened.


    "Summary of Constructing the Universe," answered Geoffrey in an honest, straightforward tone.


    The title wasn''t hard to understand. Clearly, this book spoke of what the author had experienced when constructing the universe.


    Constructing an universe was an extremely complex process, and more had to be done to stabilize it on the boundaries of the divine land.


    Zen immediately thought that this book had probably been written by his master Bromley, while he was building his own universe.


    That library was truly a treasure trove. It was a pity that Zen hadn''t taken the time to read through all the ancient books within, and it was thus somewhat of a waste for him to have the library at all.


    Little Geoffrey, on the other hand, who actually enjoyed reading, benefited greatly from the library.


    "As a father, you''re too ignorant in front of your son," Letitia said, all while giving a gentle smile. Geoffrey''s serious tone when repeating the book''s passage made her feel proud. This little guy, who had once given her many headaches, was now beginning to show his true talent and power.


    Zen chuckled. Losing to his son wasn''t a big deal. He, too, was proud of Geoffrey.


    Half a day later, after passing through the mountain range, the bustling Strongdell City came creeping into view.


    Zen originally wanted to take Geoffrey to another place to see the magnificent scenery. Geoffrey grabbed Zen''s ha


    He felt terrible.


    As Letitia saw her husband in such a predicament, her heart softened. She rolled her eyes before reaching for her space ring.


    In fact, Letitia didn''t usually carry any gold or silver with her either, but she was the kind of woman who always carried plenty of little trinkets along with her. A few of them were made of gold, such as the hairpin she took out from her space ring. She transformed the pin into a number of small golden beads and handed them over to Zen.


    When Zen saw these gold beads, he let out a sigh of relief. He finally had a way out of this embarrassing situation. However, he didn''t expect that when he handed the gold beads to the peddlers, they were all completely overwhelmed.


    "Sir, this is just way too much..."


    "These are pure gold beads, and they are enough to buy my entire shop. Besides, I simply don''t have enough change to give you¡­"


    "Eight silver coins is enough, sir. Do you have that amount?"


    Zen immediately felt a headache approach as he heard these words. With a flick of his hand and perfect control of his strength, the gold beads fell into the hawkers'' pockets. Zen immediately grabbed Geoffrey by the arm and said, "There''s no need for change." He left briskly, leaving no trace behind him.


    Geoffrey tightly grabbed onto the snacks in his hand, completely ignoring the surrounding noises. It was true that this child''s greatest ability was to focus.


    Letitia leisurely followed behind the two of them. Seeing her husband''s actions, squirming beneath the embarrassment, she couldn''t help but feel amused. As for the peddlers, they all stood, minds blown, completely dumbfounded.


    Each of them had four to five gold beads in their pockets, which was equivalent to several years of revenue in their business. It wasn''t until the immortal-like couple had left far, far away that they finally got back to their senses and realized that they had just made a fortune. They were extremely excited. Although they had guessed at the idea that the couple were not mortals, they were now sure of their guesses. This city was after all a city in the Upper World, and it wasn''t at all impossible to encounter rich warriors here!

 Chapter 1973 In A Dilemma (Part One)

    It didn''t take long for Zen to gain quite a distance between him and the peddlers. After Letitia caught up to him, she covered her mouth and giggled at his side.


    The passers-by on both sides of the street all cast strange gazes in their direction, not knowing what exactly the couple was doing.


    Only Geoffrey was extremely calm, still utterly focused on eating the snacks in his hands.


    From this experience though, Zen had definitely learned his lesson. The next time he''d take his son out to have a little fun, he''d at least come prepared with a few silver coins beforehand.


    Over the next few days, the three of them toured through several cities. Along the way, they''d even met a few warriors with low cultivation levels who cast greedy eyes on the beautiful Letitia, seemingly having evil thoughts about her. Geoffrey stood in front of his mother just in time, and the warriors were all scared away by Zen''s aura.


    Throughout the trip though, Zen had truly enjoyed a rare moment of joy.


    It was a pity that the universe''s current situation was still very dangerous. Otherwise, he''d have been more than willing to take a decade or two of time to accompany Geoffrey.


    During the past few days, roars from the Roaring Tokens could often be heard booming throughout the universe.


    Since the Sacred race had invaded the Evolutionary Universe, they used the Roaring Tokens to announce their feats every time they occupied a supreme world or killed a world lord. In this way, they suppressed the morale of the people living in this universe.


    The said voices often rang in the people''s ears, which was truly annoying, to say the least.


    However, the content spoken through the Roaring Token today was actually aimed directly at Zen!


    Upon hearing these words, Zen could do nothing but frown immediately.


    At that time, the clouds condensed with the rolling blood mist


    the upper hand. With their absolute advantage, occupying the entire Evolutionary Universe would be a breeze to achieve.


    In just three years, they had already taken up more than three thousand supreme worlds. Their current speed was already quite fast.


    According to the Sacred race''s plan, even if they''d spent three hundred years occupying these three thousand supreme worlds, this still wouldn''t be considered slow.


    Maha was the top Godly Genius, the leader of the Sacred race''s expedition force. His strength might not be comparable to that of certain Supreme Lords, but he had the authority to command Supreme Lords. That was why Supreme Lord Noel and Supreme Lord Barrie were like his subordinates before Maha.


    However, not all Supreme Lords were bossed around by him. "Maha!" someone shouted his name powerfully. "You actually let that human Godly Genius escape right in front of you! That''s a grave dereliction of duty! And you know it!" The one speaking was Supreme Lord Denzel. He had the most seniority of all the Supreme Lords throughout the entire Sacred race, and he was a top-rank Supreme Lord.


    When he heard that Maha had let the human Godly Genius escape, he simply questioned him right in the face, without showing any mercy.

 Chapter 1974 In A Dilemma (Part Two)

    Maha indifferently looked at Supreme Lord Denzel. He didn''t refute his words, though.


    "The master of the Murphy Universe has urged his disciples to repeatedly emphasize that no one else in the Evolutionary Universe is important, except for the Godly Geniuses, and everyone should spare no effort to go all out and kill them! This is your negligence to let that Godly Genius go, and you should trust that I will send a message back to the Murphy Universe!" Supreme Lord Denzel said.


    The master he spoke of was the creator of the Murphy Universe, Holy Murphy.


    In fact, from a racial-interest perspective, the Sacred race didn''t have a strong motive for invading the Evolutionary Universe at all.


    The Murphy Universe was already so large, it was enough to hold the entire Sacred race. More so, there were still many supreme worlds within the Murphy Universe that the Sacred race had never occupied or even explored before.


    Taking over the Evolutionary Universe wouldn''t do the Sacred race any good.


    The Sacred race was ultimately created by Murphy though, and Murphy was the father of their race. He wanted the Sacred race to break the Sighing Wall and take over the Evolutionary Universe. There was simply no reason for the Sacred race to refuse!


    Before the Sighing Wall was opened, Murphy had sent a message through his disciples, saying that his primary goal was to occupy the entire Evolutionary Universe while his another goal was to kill all the Godly Geniuses.


    If he could occupy the Evolutionary Universe, he knew he could kill Mike.


    By killing the Godly Geniuses, he''d be capable of severing any remaining hope that Mike might be able to make his own comeback.


    This was a common game between Holy Beings. As for the Sacred race, they didn''t really comprehend what was going on. They didn''t


    didn''t take him seriously at all. He turned around and his figure flashed as he sat down, looking around at all the Supreme Lords present. He rested his chin on his hand and said, "Everyone, we''ve gathered here today in order to find a solution, not to argue. In such a situation, what sort of brilliant plan might you have for dealing with this?"


    It was true that the Sacred race had occupied over three thousand supreme worlds of the Humanity Alliance, but in reality, they had also been dragged into a quagmire.


    If the Sacred race wanted to continue expanding toward the supreme worlds of the Thoughtless Minds, they would have to stabilize the supreme worlds that had already been seized, which was why they used the Blood Curse Array. This Blood Curse Array though, was very troublesome to employ and was also very expensive. It greatly slowed the speed of the Sacred race''s expansion.


    Currently, the three great human forces, the Celestial Position, the ogre race, as well as the small races had all declared war on the Sacred race. If the Sacred race didn''t take any more steps forward, it would greatly affect their morale!


    Thus, the Sacred race found themselves in a dilemma, to say the least.

 Chapter 1975 Malice Of The Universe

    A number of Supreme Lords stood on either side of Maha, and all of them remained silent.


    To be honest, none of the Supreme Lords present was happy with Maha.


    A Supreme Lord was a superior existence in every which way. They were the people who stood at the peak of this world, the ones who carried the Heavenly Destiny, and the ones who represented the heavens.


    Even though Maha was a Godly Genius and the son of the top Supreme Lord, he was still just a world lord. And the Supreme Lords would not willingly submit to anyone without any absolute strength to suppress them.


    But because of Maha''s status, the Supreme Lords maintained a respectful attitude, even though it was a facade.


    Now that Maha had encountered a problem and wanted the Supreme Lords to come up with some ideas, they might not necessarily be very cooperative.


    Maha had originally gathered the Supreme Lords today for a brainstorming session. As he looked at the reluctant Supreme Lords, the smile on his face hardened.


    "It looks like none of you has anything to worry about at all!" Maha sneered. "Didn''t you discover anything strange after arriving here?"


    Most of the Supreme Lords remained silent.


    Only Supreme Lord Noel spoke up. "Of course we have. This world is filled with malice towards us."


    Maha nodded. "Yes, malice!"


    The universe was originally an organic whole, like a complete human being.


    If a person got sick, all bodily functions would be mobilized to fight against the disease. If the human body could beat the disease, then it would naturally heal. If not, the disease would worsen.


    The Evolutionary Universe was like a person, and the Sacred race had broken through the Sighing Wall, which was like breaking through its skin.


    As an alien race, the Sacred race had begun to erode the body like a countless number of diseases attacking it.


    The Evolutionary Universe didn''t even need the command of the Holy Being to initiate an attack. It was simply a conditioned reflex.


    The grass, the trees, the rivers, the lakes, the sea, the space, the stars, and countless other living beings and races of the universe maintained a strong enmity towards the Sacred race.


    Even when they simply walked on the grass, they would occasionally stumble over knotted grass.


    Since the invasion, the Sacred race had already encountered 70, 000 earthquakes in various supreme worlds.


    As they proceeded through the supreme worlds of the Humanity Alliance, they encountered over six hundred massive beast attacks, over a thousand insect aggressions, and over ten thousand tsunamis.


    These were mere statistics, but the true number of disasters might well exceed that.


    These inexplicable disasters were all aimed at the martial artists of the Sacred race. This was the


    Godly Genius?" a Supreme Lord of the Sacred race asked.


    "That is not important. What is important is your attitudes. If we were to fight those Supreme Lords, you guys would be the ones to rush to their deaths. Not me," Maha sneered.


    "But when it does happen, how can you bear to stay out of it?" Supreme Lord Denzel countered coldly.


    "Oh?" The smile on Maha''s face widened. "It would be a pity if my body were to perish, of course. But my father has prepared another body for me, made of a holy fruit of the spinulose wood fern. So I don''t care if I die or not in the Evolutionary Universe. On the other hand, if you guys were to die... Heh heh!"


    Maha had already made preparations. He had a way out even if he died.


    His father was controlling the spinulose wood fern. He had also taken a holy fruit from the tree and turned it into another body for Maha, which was even better than the previous one.


    As Maha spoke, a silence descended on the Supreme Lords once again.


    But this silence was different.


    Previously, they hadn''t wanted to cooperate with Maha, but now, they were pondering the situation they were about to face.


    After five minutes of silence, Maha leaned back against his chair. In his hand was a small golden scimitar. Maha''s fingers gently caressed the edge of the exquisite-looking scimitar.


    He narrowed his eyes and swept his gaze across the crowd of Supreme Lords, an arrogant smile appearing on his face.


    He hadn''t had any regard for these Supreme Lords from the very beginning.


    After a long while, Supreme Lord Palmere, who had been neutral so far, finally spoke up. "If we want to destroy their momentum, we must first give the humans a painful beating."


    "I actually hope to start an all-out war with the human race, but I''m afraid those old foxes aren''t so stupid," Maha said, shaking his head.

 Chapter 1976 A Childs Voice (Part One)

    In regards to the overall situation, the Sacred race were the ones who had the advantage.


    However, the human race still had a praiseworthy strategy. Even against the odds, they were able to devise such an intelligent scheme.


    After they sacrificed the territory of the Humanity Alliance, the Sacred race was stuck in a quagmire. The warriors of the Sacred race were unable to move any further into the universe. They continued to linger at the supreme worlds, which were on the border between the Humanity Alliance and the Thoughtless Minds.


    Whenever the Sacred race wanted to continue their expansion, the Thoughtless Minds and the Blessed Buddha Land disrupted their advance. The two groups dispatched hundreds of world lords to attack the supreme worlds occupied by the Sacred race.


    The most important thing in their strategy was that there seemed to be a Supreme Lord among the human race, who carried the Heavenly Destiny of a space theurgy! The Heavenly Destiny could send any martial artist into any supreme world. Additionally, the martial artist would usually appear and disappear mysteriously to make sure the enemies wouldn''t be able to detect them...


    As such, the Sacred race would often be bewildered with mysterious events. For example, as soon as the Sacred race occupied two supreme worlds, several world lords were sent to guard them. However, those world lords were always slaughtered suddenly just after the Supreme Lords of the Sacred race left!


    In truth, the Supreme Lord who held the Heavenly Destiny was Supreme Lord Healum of the Humanity Alliance.


    The Heavenly Destiny that he carried belonged to the Space Law. Additionally, the Heavenly Destiny he held contained the theurgy known as the Space Lock. The martial artist connected to the Space Lock could be thrown to any corner in t


    e labelled as cowards. This would suppress their morale and thus weaken the momentum of the universe!"


    Supreme Lord Palmere''s idea might have sounded simple to the others, but he had reasons to believe that it would work against the human race.


    The human race were the ones who had declared war. Additionally, Zen had issued the war declaration throughout the entire universe. If they would not dare to accept the challenge, it would only show that the human race didn''t dare fight with the Sacred race at all. It would brand them as cowards.


    If such a thing happened, it would be detrimental to the morale of the human race.


    Moreover, they possessed the Roaring Token of the Evolutionary Universe. With that treasure, all the creatures in the universe would hear the declaration of challenge from the Sacred race. If the human race would reject the challenge, everyone would know their cowardice. As such, the morale of the human race would be instantly destroyed!


    "After we declare our challenge, they will have to take it. But no matter what method the human race choose, the final result will be a crushing defeat for them. Maha, what do you think?" Supreme Lord Palmere said with a shrewd smile.

 Chapter 1977 A Childs Voice (Part Two)

    "Pah, pah, pah!"


    Maha slapped the golden scimitar''s side with his strong palm. Then, with a smile on his face, he said, "Supreme Lord Palmere''s suggestion is truly great!"


    Even though Supreme Lord Palmere heard Maha''s praise, he didn''t seem happy at all. He remained neutral and didn''t care about Maha''s complimentary words.


    Decisiveness was one of Maha''s characteristics. He casually patted his waist, and then a Roaring Token appeared and floated in front of him. After it was activated, Maha''s voice loudly echoed throughout the entire universe...


    At the same time, Zen travelled in the Breaking Cloud World along with Geoffrey and Letitia.


    The three of them were focused on their plans when they became alerted by an unexpected sound.


    Maha''s voice suddenly vibrated through the air, accompanied by his wild laughter. Zen and the others could clearly hear his maniacal voice.


    "Zen, you talked nonsense a few days ago. Aren''t you going to represent the human race to attack our Sacred race? Don''t think that I have forgotten your idle threat! Now, on behalf of the Sacred race, I''ll give you a fair chance. I will be waiting for you in the Sunflower Water World. I''ll look forward to crushing you!"


    After he was reprimanded by Zen, Maha did not make any move for several days. But with Supreme Lord Palmere''s strategy, Maha''s voice once again reverberated throughout the entire universe!


    "What? Maha dares to challenge Zen?"


    "Maha has the cultivation base of a world lord. Additionally, he also had once killed several grand world lords. That guy''s strength is far greater than that of an ordinary world lord! When Zen was in the Illusion Battlefield four years ago, he was only at the Spirit Supreme Realm... This challenge is unfair!"


    child''s voice continued to demand a reply from Maha.


    When Supreme Lord Denzel, Supreme Lord Irvin and the others saw Maha''s hesitant expression, all of them secretly laughed in their hearts. They thought of how hilarious it was that Maha couldn''t even respond to a mere child.


    As for Supreme Lord Palmere, who came up with the suggestion, he had a strange expression on his face. Confusion enveloped his face as he wandered again in his thoughts. He had considered all sorts of scenarios, but he just hadn''t expected that sort of thing...


    In the end, Maha slapped the golden scimitar onto the ground and activated a Roaring Token. His face reflected his agitation. "I am 92 years old!"


    There was a moment of silence...


    Then, that child''s voice said with a tone full of mockery, "You''re so old! You are already a 92-year-old man! I am 11 years old, and my father is 33 years old. My father''s age plus my age is only 44 years old. Even if you combined our ages, it would still be younger than you. It''s simply unfair that you challenged my father to a battle. After all, if my father were to cultivate for fifty more years, he would easily beat you to the ground!"

 Chapter 1978 An Unavoidable Fight

    Hearing the words of the child, the people listening in the universe suddenly realized what had happened.


    The boy was Zen''s son.


    "You bastard!" Maha wore an angry look on his face.


    To mortals, a person who was ninety-two years old already had one foot in the grave.


    However, for martial artists, he was still too young.


    Normally, martial artists would live for thousands, or even tens of thousands of years. Mortals adjudged them to be immortals.


    Besides, those at the Soul Sea Realm, the Spirit Supreme Realm, and the Spirit Transformation Realm usually lived for millions of years.


    World lords could live for tens of millions of years, and Supreme Lords could live for hundreds of millions of years.


    With such long lifespans, they were witnesses to the passage of time and the births and deaths of races. To the mortals, these were eternal existences.


    Ninety-two years old.


    For world lords who had lifespans of tens of millions of years, one at the age of ninety-two was like a chick pecking through an eggshell. It had just opened its eyes and stuck out its furry head from the broken eggshell to perceive the world around it.


    In this time, Maha had already trained to the world lord level and had become a genuine Godly Genius.


    Undoubtedly, his talent could not be underestimated.


    Unfortunately, there were people still more powerful than him.


    In truth, the ten Godly Geniuses in the Evolutionary Universe were much younger than Maha, for the conditions for the birth of Godly Geniuses were different between the two universes.


    Right now, Mike was at a critical moment, so he no longer had any qualms. Godly Geniuses, including Zen, Rocher and Nathan, were the trump cards for his last counterattack.


    If they failed, they would witness the death of a Holy Being.


    Murphy had not gotten so far. Still, he held the upper hand. There was no need for him to invest his resources into Godly Geniuses. After all, when a Godly Genius like Maha grew up and went to the divine land, he would only become one of his disciples.


    Perhaps Maha was not as highly talented as the ten Godly Geniuses in the universe, but he was still the son of the number one Supreme Lord of the Sacred race. In addition, he was several dozen years older than the ten Godly Geniuses. With the cultivation of the Sacred race, his current strength was truly unmatched. He was only inferior to a Supreme Lord.


    Geoffrey''s answer was childish, but his logic was easy to follow.


    Since Maha had offered to fight Zen and emphasized the word ''fair'', then he must do so in an absolutely fair manner.


    But Maha was older than Zen by over fifty years, and based on age alone, the


    ns. With these words of ridicule, the momentum in the universe began to diminish.


    The mortals and martial artists stared at each other in deathly silence.


    "Sad. This Godly Genius of the Sacred race is too arrogant. Not a single human among us dares to accept his challenge!"


    "Godly Geniuses are still young, so they won''t be willing to get themselves killed. Other than them, are there other talents in the universe?"


    "It''s because of the difference in strength. Otherwise, even the Sacred race would not dare to attack us!"


    Dejection was quick to spread through the universe.


    However, Maha''s provocation only lasted for a short period of time.


    Among the trillions of creatures of the Evolutionary Universe, some brave men had faced death unflinchingly.


    Perhaps they knew that their strength was inferior to Maha''s, but they did not cower in the face of his challenge.


    "I, Alexander Zhao of the Spirit Turtle race, accept your challenge! Let''s meet in the Sunflower Water World half a month later!"


    a hoarse voice said. The first person to come forward was from the Spirit Turtle, a small race. It was little known in the universe and had never had any Supreme Lords. Alexander was the only grand world lord of the race.


    "I, Blair of the ogre race, accept your challenge!"


    The second was Blair, an ogre grand world lord. The ogres were born with wild natures and could not tolerate Maha''s provocation. Although they were still at loggerheads with the Demon Night race and were badly in need of powerful talents, Blair resolutely chose to accept the challenge.


    "Yolande from the Humanity Alliance will take your life," Yolande''s cold voice sounded out.


    And so, as more and more martial artists responded, the momentum in the universe ascended once again.

 Chapter 1979 Take A Risk

    Maha was previously lying on his chair. However, he immediately jumped upon hearing that so many warriors accepted the challenge.


    Two beautiful female servants walked out from behind his chair and draped a large, silver cloak over him. Maha gave the Supreme Lords a cold smile. "I''ll be going to the Sunflower Water World soon. Everyone, please prepare well."


    This was an extremely advantageous outcome for the Sacred race.


    Since the world lords of the Evolutionary Universe dared to accept the challenge then Maha would do his best to eliminate all of them.


    He also did not fear any of the Supreme Lords. The Sacred race was not afraid of all-out war!


    There was also an underlying scheme Maha was brewing by going to the Sunflower Water World.


    Killing all the powerful warriors also meant destroying the morale of the entire universe, thus, suppressing its momentum.


    The Supreme Lords of the Evolutionary Universe making their move was exactly what the Sacred race wanted to see.


    Many of the world lords quickly mobilized towards the Sunflower Water World.


    Meanwhile, Xenia and Karl, both Godly Geniuses, also made their return.


    Nathan and Lucille were rescued by the Humanity Alliance after falling into the Fiery Rock World and returned to the Thoughtless Minds.


    Supreme Lord Healum was able to calculate their position. He displayed the Space Lock to connect to Yolande whom he then projected into the Fiery Rock World. She created quite a ruckus that enabled Supreme Lord Healum to take the two Godly Geniuses away before the Supreme Lords of the Sacred race arrived.


    The ability to deduce directions by means of the heavens was an extremely useful advantage to the Supreme Lords of the Evolutionary Universe. This was a consequence the Sacred race had to come to terms with by battling in the enemy territory.


    Several days later, the Supreme Lords of the three great human forces gathered on top of Breaking Cloud Mountain.


    The Supreme Lords were all wise and naturally understood Maha''s motives. They gathered here first to try to figure out how to deal with this situation.


    Understandably, the atmosphere around them was extremely heavy.


    "It''s not the right time... Maha has given us quite a difficult problem." Master Feng, the head of the Celestial Position race, sat on the seat of honor but there was an evident trace of fatigue on his face.


    Supreme Lord of Oracle stood in front of Master Feng. She wore a cyan long dress today that perfectly emphasized her perfect figure. She too wore a look of helplessness on her face. "If the decisive battle starts earlier, what would be our chances of winning?"


    The eyes of Supreme Lord of O


    verse, it will still be useless because as long as there is hope, then our morale will rise again!"


    Zen paused before continuing. "Let me bring our warriors hope. I will kill Maha!"


    "This strategy..." Supreme Lord of Original Sin hesitated for a moment. Zen''s idea was a bit risky after all.


    "This is practically a desperate choice." Supreme Lord of Oracle sighed lightly.


    They would first let the Sacred race suppress all living creatures in this universe. In this oppressive environment, the warriors would turn into rebels armed with indignation and desperate courage. It was resistance against the set order of violence and oppression that fueled a warrior''s determination!


    When that happened, all of the trillion creatures would fight for their lives. Once the momentum rebounded, then it would yield a terrifying result.


    However, if they did commence with this plan, they might have to sacrifice a few world lords who would go against Maha in the Sunflower Water World.


    "Can anyone propose a better choice?" Zen asked.


    The Supreme Lords all stayed silent.


    It seemed there was no other choice.


    Procrastination was only equal to suicide in their case.


    "According to Zen''s idea, if we take the risk, we can increase the chances of winning by ten percent," Master Feng declared.


    The worry was still evident in the Supreme Lords'' faces, but this plan was their only choice. They could only hope that this was also the right one.


    One could either rely on their strength when faced against a powerful opponent or choose to be cunning and take advantage of the situation to win.


    "If all of you accept my suggestion, then we will have to move fast. Before the Sacred race can make their move, we must defeat the Demon Night!" Zen declared with conviction.

 Chapter 1980 Burning The Mountain

    The Supreme Lords had already conducted twelve negotiations prior to Zen''s arrival.


    They had all come into conflicts with each other at some point in the past but all past grudges took a backseat in this time of crisis.


    At this time, even the Humanity Alliance''s territories had become a casualty to the war. They had all come to a point where nothing was too big of a sacrifice for the sake of the universe''s survival.


    Unfortunately, all twelve negotiations proved unsuccessful in formulating a feasible plan for their victory.


    Zen''s plan was far from perfect.


    However, they all supported him because he was a rallying point and had a special status.


    To pacify Supreme Lord of Oracle and the other members of the Humanity Alliance, Master Feng had no choice but to reveal Zen''s real identity along with Mike''s intention for the three greatest forces of the human race.


    Zen''s return convinced them even more in the truth of Master Feng''s words.


    He had only left for three years yet his cultivation had improved so much.


    If Zen could carry the Heavenly Destiny successfully then his strength might surpass all of the Supreme Lords''.


    They now fully believed in the Godly Geniuses'' power to turn the tables for them.


    Most importantly, even if they did not believe in Zen and the Celestial Position race, the Sacred race remained as an unbeatable opponent against the three greatest forces of the human race.


    There was no other choice other than to put their hopes upon Zen and believe in him.


    Zen, of course, noticed the Supreme Lords'' attitudes which was why he came up with a plan to gain their support.


    In a quiet corner of the Breaking Cloud Sacred Place


    Several dozen world lords were busy coming and going.


    After arriving, each one would take the time to open their space rings.


    From there, they brought out weapons and treasures and plopped them all down onto the ground.


    Most of the weapons were spiritual, fairy, and sacred weapons.


    Such practice had lasted for several years.


    In fact, it had been implemented ever since Zen''s first visit to the Celestial Position race territory.


    Most of the weapons were still intact and undamaged and an ordinary warrior would no doubt find just one already extremely valuable and precious.


    These weapons had been collected from all corners of the universe.


    After years upon years of accumulation, this pile of weapons and treasures had reached several hundred thousand feet high.


    In the bright sunlight, the mountain of treasure glittered and shone in a multitude of colors.


    "What do you think they''re planning to do with all these weapons?"


    "Who knows? At least they''re not for eating, right?"


    "It has been several years since the fi


    lance, beginning to collapse one by one.


    Swish!


    With the mountain''s collapse, the black flame finally made its appearance.


    It was now a huge fire as compared to the initial small spark it once was. The flame didn''t show any sign of stopping anytime soon as it continued blazing higher and higher.


    As it grew, it also got even fiercer and faster at consuming the treasures.


    The clanging sound of falling weapons reverberated in the entire place. Everyone watched in awe as the black flames danced upon the once glorious mountain of treasure like vicious, ebony serpents.


    Even the Supreme Lords couldn''t help but gasp as they watched these divine flames burn.


    One careless brush against these flames would burn their bodies to ashes.


    However, Zen remained motionless on top of the mountain. His body remained whole and unyielding despite the ferocity of the flames.


    The fire went from the bottom to the very top and turned all weapons into heavenly essence that flowed into the ditches built underneath the treasure mountain.


    In wasn''t until another half-hour that the mountain finally disappeared.


    With no more fuel, the fire then began to fizzle out, slowly reducing in size before spiraling happily in the air and returning into the center of Zen''s brows.


    With the consumption of the weapons came the appearance of the nine huge ditches underneath.


    These ditches were dug way before the first weapon had been dropped in this place. The most skillful craftsmen of the Celestial Position race worked very hard for several months to create them.


    All that hard work translated to all nine ditches filled to the brim with heavenly essence. With an unhindered view of the ditches, Zen saw how each one was intricately shaped like a dragon. The nine formed a sort of painting of the Genuine Dragons.

 Chapter 1981 The Expansion Of The Great Worlds Wills

    Heavenly essence filled the nine ditches, shining a beautiful silver in the sunlight.


    The heavenly body was originally a means of creating a puppet.


    A puppet made from heavenly essence was nearly immortal ¡ª even if its body was ripped apart, it could repair itself in an instant.


    But refining the heavenly essence was no easy feat.


    Obtaining a small amount of heavenly essence with poor purity already required much energy.


    Although some puppeteers managed to make a puppet with the heavenly body, it was normally of a very small size. For this to work, a soul was needed to be sealed within the puppet ¡ª because of this need, it was usually regarded as an evil kind of martial arts.


    It was by using the black flame that Zen had managed to refine the heavenly essence from abundant weapons in such a short time without any waste or impurity.


    Suddenly, Master Feng clapped his hands.


    In an instant, many snake-shaped textures flashed at the edges of the ditches. These divine textures had been drawn after the ditches were dug out.


    Strands of red lines appeared from each divine texture and crept into the ditches like a hoard of worms.


    Buzz¡­


    Making a series of dull sounds, the strands of lines twisted around the coagulated heavenly essence. From Zen''s view in the air, it looked as though nine red Genuine Dragons were crouching low on the ground.


    "All rise!"


    Waving his hands and clenching his fists toward the ditches, Master Feng shouted. Immediately, the red lines tied the heavenly bodies tightly together and lifted them up from the ditches, making them float in the air.


    Each dragon looked as vivid as a living creature.


    Their tails resembled clouds of fire, layers of scales covered their bodies, and their robust heads raised graphically toward the sky.


    It was clear that the Celestial Position race had put a lot of effort into the nine heavenly bodies, having carved out each of the dragons'' details.


    For instance, the largest one had five claws, so naturally, it belonged to the Five-clawed Golden Dragon. Besides that one, all the other dragon bodies had four claws. Such was one of the many differences between the nine Genuine Dragons, all of which the Celestial Position race had detailed in carving the heavenly bodies, down to every characteristic.


    Some of them had two tendrils while others had eight, some dragons had only two horns while others had four.


    Extending his hands into the air, Master Feng yelled at all of the dragons'' souls, "Now is the time!"


    It had been an age that the dragons spent dreaming of regaining their physical bodies.


    The new bodies built by heavenly essence weren''t weaker than their original bodies. In some aspects, they were even more powerful. But one fatal weakness remained ¡ª th


    ad originated from the divine land ¡ª in order to change the fate of the universe, he would have to someday enter the divine land.


    After gaining their new bodies, the dragons had to hide themselves in the Breaking Cloud Sacred Place ¡ª one other disadvantage of the heavenly bodies was their inability to transform themselves into humans. It was all they could do to hide their huge bodies in the mountains.


    After helping the dragons obtain their new bodies, Zen began planning the war against the Demon Night race. Still, there was something he had to figure out.


    In his mansion at the Breaking Cloud Sacred Place, Zen found a rock to sit quietly on.


    Shutting his eyes, he scanned certain memories in his mind.


    In the past, these memories recorded only the information of a great world.


    Four years ago, these memories had expanded a million times for the sake of the sorcerer race. This was because Zen had fused with the wills of a million great worlds.


    Three years ago, these wills had extended through the ascending passageways and spread across the supreme worlds. Steadily and quickly, they had covered many parts of the universe, but Zen still had yet to scan through their memories after returning from the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land.


    Now, he was taken aback by what he found out through these memories.


    The wills of the one million great worlds had covered over six thousand supreme worlds in the Upper World.


    This included all the supreme worlds belonging to the ogres and the Demon Night race.


    Theoretically, Zen could obtain all information about the Demon Night race in the past years, including pieces from Lavender''s birth up until her coronation as the queen.


    The entire Demon Night race no longer held any secrets from Zen ¡ª he needed to pick out important details that were favorable for his next plans.

 Chapter 1982 Taking Action

    A portion of the news regarding the Demon Night race and the ogres had already reached Zen through the Celestial Position race.


    Although the three great human forces weren''t participating, they still paid considerable attention to the war between the races.


    Never had the two races been in harmony since the remote ages. Their supreme worlds intersected and for many years, there had never been a lack of warfare, including the full-fledged battles.


    Three great battles were recorded in history, namely ''Battle of the Setting Sun, '' ''Battle of Slaughtering the Ogres, '' and the ''Bloody Battle of the Illusory Spirit World.'' In these great battles, the ogre and Demon Night races had sent out hundreds of millions of people to battle, where several Supreme Lords had fallen to death.


    The ''Battle of Slaughtering the Ogres'' involved the joint attack of the Demon Night race and the Humanity Alliance on the ogres¡ªthe latter sustained great losses.


    According to history, the ogres normally played less than brilliant roles.


    The reckless, brutal, aggressive race wasn''t welcomed in the universe¡ªwhether large or small the force, all were wary of the ogres.


    But this time, facing the Sacred race''s invasion, the ogres had a sudden burst of courage and uprightness, wanting to resist the Sacred race even to death¡ªit was a rather rare occasion for them to play a positive role


    As it turned out, the Demon Night race suddenly declared war on the humans before joining the Sacred race.


    ''According to Holy Drew''s conjecture, the Demon Night race was created by Murphy to be his hidden palms in the Evolutionary Universe. Does this mean that the ogre race was created by my father as a precaution?"


    As he continued searching for information, Zen thought long and hard about the situation.


    Looking at the big picture, the possibility was quite high. Creating a race was an easy feat for Holy Beings. Zen just couldn''t wrap his head around why Mike would create the cruel and infuriating race of the ogres.


    In the current state of things, the Demon Night race had completely given up on their territory¡ªtheir two queens had led the elite and rushed towards the center of the universe.


    But if the Demon Night race wanted to enter the Thoughtless Minds'' territory, they first had to pass through the ogres'' territory. Otherwise, they could join the Sacred race and enter the Thoughtless Minds through the Dark World.


    Unfortunately for them, the ogres easily discovered this route as well. They then set up layers of defenses in the two worlds adjacent to the Dark World.


    After a few routes were blocked, the Demon Night race''s advance was forcibly dragged down.


    But during this process, the ogres had paid a considerable price.


    Now, the entire race was also out while all the elites were placed in the Bloody Evi


    The spiral left a ten-thousand-foot-long trail in the air as it shot towards the figure in a fierce and precise speed.


    Though her opponent was a world lord, he couldn''t dodge her arrow.


    Fannie was rather confident in her archery skills¡ªthe longbow in her hand was a first-rank divine weapon, gifted to her by the island''s master before leaving.


    The spiral grew closer and closer until it finally hit the target accurately before exploding. The turbulence created a violent storm, completely annihilating the target.


    "Is he dead?" Fannie murmured to herself as she stared at the sky.


    When the storm dissipated, she saw a figure descend¡ªor perhaps, the figure was falling.


    ''He should be dead already. The human world lord can''t even withstand a single blow. How weak, '' Fannie thought. Hefting her longbow, she jumped into the air like an agile rabbit. Then, she flew nimbly through the air, heading straight for her target.


    Just as her target fell to the ground, Fannie arrived at his side. But at the sight of the target, her expression turned incredulous.


    The human world lord was lying in a large hole he had caused, slowly climbing to his feet. Then, he raised his head to give Fannie a smile.


    The man was completely unharmed.


    A chill ran down her spine as Fannie saw the scene. Immediately, she raised her hand and shot out an arrow.


    Condensing an arrow, drawing the bow, aiming at the target, shooting the arrow¡­such movements had already become instinctual to Fannie. With all this happening in a single breath, there was simply no time for the opponent to even react.


    Crash!


    The huge pit before them had burst out another storm and expanded to over twice its original size. When the storm dissipated, the figure of the human who had just fallen into the pit appeared once again. All the while, he wore a faint smile on his face, completely unharmed.

 Chapter 1983 Looking For Someone

    The scene in front of the Demon Night world lord was certainly something that she did not expect.


    This strange human youth survived, but he didn''t use any theurgy at all!


    He did not use the protective life vitality nor other skills to protect him.


    She had successfully hit him with her arrow within a distance of less than 100 feet. Yet there he was, perfectly undamaged.


    The man who was supposed to have died in the huge pit was alive. Was he a human or a monster?


    He slowly rose from the huge pit and walked forward. Fannie didn''t feel any killing intent from him.


    What she didn''t know was Zen didn''t actually want to engage in a senseless massacre. Even if Murphy had created the Demon Night race, they all grew up together in the same universe and became one with it. They were a part of the universe literally and figuratively.


    Now, the key to the Demon Night race lay in the Soul-sealing Needles buried deep in the three queens'' souls.


    Zen wouldn''t think twice about killing his opponent if they happened to be a Sacred world lord. However, he wouldn''t take action if they were a member of the Demon Night race.


    "Don''t attack again, I mean no harm," Zen said as he walked towards the woman. Fannie kept a tight grip on her longbow. Her body was as tense as a tightly drawn bowstring as her feet shuffled on the ground.


    Her movements were a unique footwork of the archers. She constantly moved backwards as Zen moved forward, careful to maintain a distance of about 100 feet from him.


    However, she did not fire a third arrow. If the first two arrows couldn''t damage this young man, could the third arrow kill him?


    At that point, she was quite at a loss.


    She had already identified Zen as an enemy, which meant she had to attack him with all her strength.


    Yet, she didn''t feel any hostility from him, which she also found strange. "Those who trespass on Prison Island will die! What''s your purpose?!" Fannie demanded and remained vigilant.


    "I''m looking for someone," Zen replied as he walked.


    "All the prisoners on Prison Island are here by the queens'' orders. There''s no one you''re looking for. Stop!" Fannie shouted.


    Even if she threatened him with warnings and her weapon, Zen didn''t seem bothered.


    He simply continued to walk at an even pace.


    Just then, Fannie suddenly heard a life vitality message. "Let''s attack together and kill him!" said the voice.


    Apparently, the one who had spoken was the other world lord of the Demon Night race on the Prison Island, Sammy.


    Sammy was slightly stronger compared to Fannie.


    Perhaps they might have a chance against Zen if they worked together.


    Fannie was also a decisive person. She immediately acted once she had made a final decision.


    Dust was swept off the ground as her speed was suddenly increased by several times. She moved backwards as the two ends of her lon


    is human youth''s voice was quite familiar.


    He had a world lord''s cultivation level, and possessed such terrifying strength at only a young age. There weren''t many warriors like him in the entire universe.


    "Who are you?" Fannie asked. Zen smiled. He had no intention of hiding anything at all.


    "I am Zen Luo."


    ''Hmmm, it makes sense now, '' Fannie thought.


    Her guess was verified; he really was the famed young warrior, Zen.


    Sammy stared at Zen in a daze. She knew that his voice had often echoed throughout the universe. Moreover, his grudge towards Elena was also well-known.


    However, the most important thing was that Zen had another queen of the Demon Night race with him.


    "Don''t resist. It''s meaningless. I don''t want to implicate the innocent," Zen said. His calm gaze swept over the two women before he turned around and chose a direction to walk in.


    It wasn''t difficult to find Amber through the will of worlds, so he was very clear about her location.


    The two world lords behind him briefly looked at each other, and finally decided to give up. They no longer attacked Zen but at the same time, the human youth piqued their curiosity.


    This should be Zen''s first time on the Prison Island, so why was he able to pinpoint where Amber was?


    After Zen had travelled through miles of the soldering iron pillars, he finally stopped in front of one huge soldering iron pillar.


    Tied onto the iron pillar''s surface was Amber, whose entire body was covered with corrosion marks. Her long hair reached the ground and her eyes were tightly shut. Upon closer inspection, Zen saw that her soul had also weakened.


    When he saw her appearance, guilt bubbled up in his chest.


    Zen had given Amber hope and had promised that he would take her out of the hellish prison in three years, but his past situation and strength did not allow him to do so. And so, Amber had suffered for much longer.

 Chapter 1984 The Rain Of Pain

    "Drip, drip, drip..."


    The repetitive pit-a-pat of the black raindrops on the ground filled the area.


    The Prison Island was located in a black sea, whose seawater was extremely corrosive. No living beings could survive in it.


    The seawater rose and evaporated until the water coagulated in the air and gathered above the Prison Island. Those water drops turned into the very raindrops that splattered on the ground.


    The Demon Night called such type of corrosive rain as the Rain of Pain. The seventh-generation Queen of Punishment had invented a new kind of artistic punishment upon her discovery of the place and the rain, which was second only to the Punishment of Eternal Night.


    "Buzz, Buzz."


    Two light chirping sounds were heard in the air before Fannie and Sammy, who both stood behind Zen, condensed a protective life vitality. The raindrops that fell on their protective life vitality hissed with sizzling sounds. It turned out that the Rain of Pain was corroding their protective life vitality.


    Even though they were world lords, they didn''t dare make contact with the Rain of Pain. If such a level of corrosive rain could melt gold and pierce iron, it was also able to fully touch a martial artist''s pain. Needless to say, the pain was immensely incomparable.


    Meanwhile, Zen was showered with the raindrops but didn''t react at all.


    The water drops slid along his skin and did not corrode his body. The raindrops even seemed to be like ordinary water on him.


    When the two world lords of the Demon Night race saw the scene, confusion dawned on their faces.


    Just what was Zen''s physical body made of?


    The two world lords guarded the island. They even needed to protect their first-rank divine weapons from the Rain of Pain as well.


    Yet, Zen didn''t seem to be affected as he completely ignored the Rain of Pain!


    "Swish!"


    A raindrop fell on Amber''s body.


    Amber, who was originally suspended above the ground, suddenly trembled and groaned in pain.


    At the same time, numerous pained howls reverberated off the confines of the Prison Island.


    Prolonged exposure to agony could numb a person''s sense of pain. Such was a martial artist''s form of self-protection.


    On one hand, the huge pillars on the Prison Island actually contained the strong Life Law. Those pillars were made by the seventh generation Queen of Life and were actually trees of divine weapon level. Those trees were also prone to damage from the Rain of Pain, but they could use the Life Law to restore their own bodies and also the warriors who were tied to the pillars.


    The only difference was that the trees which were used to make the pillars were resistant to pain, while the martial artists who were tied to them suffered from it.


    "Ahh..."


    Black water droplets splashed against Amber''s body. A few black holes scarr


    severe punishments.


    All the elites of the Demon Night race were currently out for the battle. In any case, Elena didn''t have the time and energy to manage the Prison Island for the time being.


    After Zen had saved Amber, he turned around to face the two world lords of the Demon Night and asked, "Do you know why I didn''t kill you?"


    In turn, the two world lords cautiously glanced at each other.


    They had seen the extent of Zen''s power. They clearly knew that it was indeed impossible for them to even compare to him!


    "Because I consider the Demon Night members as my friends," Zen surprisingly said with a smile.


    If the two Demon Night world lords had been surprised by Zen''s expression just moments ago, they were now completely flabbergasted.


    "Although the Demon Night betrayed the entire universe, the ones who betrayed the universe aren''t you, but your queens." Zen''s voice gradually turned cold as he spoke, "The Demon Night doesn''t only have two queens, and there is a third one..."


    Just then, traces of blood-red light glowed in Zen''s eyes together with a malicious aura. He suddenly seemed to inherit Lavender''s aura as he continued, "I will represent the Queen of Killings and eliminate the two other queens!"


    Amber, who was still wrapped in the blanket, looked at Zen''s broad back. Her face immediately lit up when she heard Zen''s words, followed by a gratified smile.


    As for the two world lords, they took a deep breath.


    In the past, any member of the Demon Night would undoubtedly punish any reckless person who dared to make such rude remarks to protect their queens'' honor. They were even willing to sacrifice their own lives. Besides, those two world lords behind Zen belonged to the Saint Chain Sect, which supported the Queen of Punishment.


    However, what Elena had done made the Demon Night a notorious race for betraying the entire universe.

 Chapter 1985 Tearing The Cloud

    When a force of the human race reached its peak, it would form either a divine kingdom or a sacred place.


    The other races in the universe were about the same and approximately on the same level, but the Demon Night was rather special. Strictly speaking, the Demon Night was similar to the secret sect in the Thoughtless Minds.


    However, the secret sects in the Thoughtless Minds were only present for absorbing Faith Energy, and never developed to the point of being capable of ruling over a force. The larger and smaller secret sects were still there, serving the four great clans.


    As for the Demon Night though, they were under complete control of the three queens.


    Of course, the cause of this kind of social structure was in Murphy. His goal was to use his Soul-sealing Needle to have the three queens lead the Demon Night to rebellion.


    Yes, the Demon Night was absolutely loyal to their queens. However, they, as intelligent creatures, disagreed from the depths of their bones with their queens'' actions.


    Lavender, however, still hadn''t returned to her throne. The Demon Night members couldn''t disobey the orders given by the other two queens, and therefore had to brace themselves and follow them instead.


    Even though Fannie and Sammy belonged to the Saint Chain Sect, their hearts became agitated when they heard Zen speak.


    If they had a different queen, the Demon Night would probably thrive.


    At that very moment, both of them were sharing this same thought.


    Whether it was rational or emotional, they were willing to side with both the human race and Zen.


    And yet, they equally couldn''t betray their queens!


    The Demon Night''s traitors were also known as "the queens'' abandoned children", and would be regarded as the greatest disgrace to their clan. It was safe to say that a good majority of the Demon Night members would rather bear the most painful punishment than betray their queens! From the moment they were born, the pride of being a follower to their queens had already been engraved in their hearts.


    Thus, when this idea came to Fannie and Sammy, they felt frightened by their own thoughts. Coming from them, this kind of thinking was simply outrageous!


    Once the idea had been born though, it became impossible to restrain. The idea grew uncontrollable and went berserk.


    "We... We won''t, we can''t betray our queens," Fannie stated and shook her head stubbornly.


    "Not now, but who knows what will happen in the future," said Zen in a flat tone, looking up at the sky.


    In the air above the sea, his eyes had settled on a massive black cloud. This cloud had gathered on the Prison Island, forming a storm of its own. A Rain of Pain was falling¡­


    All of a sudden, Zen rose up from the ground in a brisk motion, his hands violently spiraling.


    The nine stars in his body slowly rotated and an invisible force began circling between his two hands.


    The power of the attack suddenly struck out, distorting the surrounding space!


    Whoosh!


    Zen clenched his fist and quickly punched it toward the sky.


    BOOM!


    A muffled sound came from above.


    heir sliver of hope. If Zen were to return with Lavender and even helped her return to her throne, then they would someday be free from oppression.


    "If our queen''s soul still exists, why can''t she show herself?" asked one of the world lords.


    It was true that in the past, Lavender could show herself in the form of the sword spirit.


    This time though, she was nothing more than a soul fragment attached to Zen''s body. She had even lost her memories. But then, how was it possible for Zen to make her show up?


    "There''s something wrong with her soul..." Zen couldn''t explain it thoroughly. If Lavender hadn''t erased the Soul-sealing Needle, she''d have ended up being just like Elena, who chose to be the entire universe''s enemy at all costs. However, erasing the Soul-sealing Needle caused her to lose all her memories.


    Zen continued, "If you''re willing to follow me, I will take you to meet someone, an important man!"


    "Who is he?"


    "Is he a member of our Demon Night?"


    The people of the Demon Night pressed on with their questions, anxiously.


    Zen nodded his head and replied, "A Supreme Lord of your Demon Night, Leroy."


    The three queens were the true leaders of the Demon Night, but Supreme Lord in the Demon Night wasn''t anything to be scoffed at either. As a member of the Demon Night, Supreme Lord Leroy had both a high status and great charisma.


    In order to avoid Elena''s encirclement, Supreme Lord Leroy went into hiding. He thus remained in hiding for many, many years, never revealing himself until now.


    The crux of the issue was that Supreme Lord Leroy also belonged to the Saint Spear Sect. Most of the people present were members of the Saint Spear Sect, so they were naturally eager to see Leroy in person.


    "Where is he?" someone asked again.


    "I want to see him!" another warrior cried.


    Everyone expressed their utmost desire to see Supreme Lord Leroy.


    Finding this Supreme Lord was already a part of Zen''s plan. He nodded to the crowd and said, "Everyone, follow me and I will lead you directly to Supreme Lord Leroy!"

 Chapter 1986 The Collapse Of Belief

    No secrets could be kept from Zen in the areas covered by the will of the worlds.


    It was therefore quite simple for Zen to find Supreme Lord Leroy''s location of hiding.


    This time, Zen''s objective was very clear: to kill the two other queens of the Demon Night at the lowest of costs. After making the Demon Night abandon their attack, he would focus all his attention on fighting against the Sacred race.


    Zen though, was an outsider after all, and there still hadn''t been any reaction from Lavender''s soul. All he could do now was place his hopes in the Demon Night''s Supreme Lord Leroy.


    The Demon Night members that were present had faces that were still brimming with confusion.


    Supreme Lord Leroy had disappeared for many years. Ten years ago, it was unknown whether or not he was still alive at that time. Years had already passed since Supreme Lord Leroy had spoken through the Roaring Token, which proved that he hadn''t died at the time. Zen had now suddenly told them that he could bring them to see Supreme Lord Leroy. For the Demon Night members, the latter was still very hard to believe.


    On another note, it was undeniable that this human youth before them had Lavender''s soul attached to him. This Zen guy probably knew more than what they had ever known. Hence, they couldn''t help but feel a strong sense of anticipation.


    Zen didn''t say another word. He lightly flicked the Teleportation Token in his hand and a streak of blazing light appeared in front of him.


    "Everyone, please follow me," said Zen, as he stepped into the vortex of light and disappeared right before their eyes.


    The beam of blazing light continued to spin in front of everyone, like a gate leading to another strange world. Despite the magical sight, a trace of hesitation still pulsed through the group. Should they really follow a warrior from another race? After all, to a certain extent, following Zen was tantamount to betraying the Demon Night. To the loyal Demon Night members, this was even more painful than being tortured by the Punishment of Eternal Night.


    Amber suddenly acted instinctively, without any hesitation at all. She walked toward the beam of light, her bare feet leading the way. Beneath the blazing white light, her snow-white face looked extremely beautiful. It was as if she was suddenly bathing in a pool of holy light. She spoke loudly, "I''m a Demon Night warrior that ascended from the Lower World!"


    When the Demon Night members heard her speak, a confused expression appeared on their faces.


    There were over three thousand Demon Night members that had been saved by Zen, and among them were over a thousand world lords as well as two grand world lords. These Demon Night warriors were practically all from noble families and great clans of the Demon Night race, and because they had offended Elena, they were imprisoned on the Prison Island.


    In comparison, Amber came off as a misfit to them. She was only a Soul Sea Realm warrior and it seemed as though she had literally just stepped into the Soul Sea Realm not too long ago.


    Now that they heard Amber confirm that she had ascended from the Lower World, a revelat


    as acting on Lavender''s behalf in order to become the bellwether of the Demon Night.


    When Murphy had originally created this race, he would have never expected something of the sort. He couldn''t grasp the idea that a queen would be capable of escaping his control. Moreover, he hadn''t thought that this queen would sacrifice tens of thousands of years, her great willpower and all of her memories in order to erase the Soul-sealing Needle!


    Everyone followed behind Zen, as they all traveled through the space.


    This space had almost marked the entire Upper World of the universe. It was like a huge map and it was impossible not to feel like a tiny speck of nothingness.


    They were all very curious though. This emotion far outweighed the rest. They weren''t aware of what this space was.


    Soon, Zen selected a supreme world and opened a beam of blazing spinning light, right at the top of it. He was the first to enter!


    One by one, the Demon Night members followed Zen into the blazing light. Upon seeing the world in front of them, their eyes were filled with disbelief. They finally understood that the space they had passed through had connected all the supreme worlds in the universe! Zen could travel through the universe at will!


    "This... Is this the Purple Snow World?"


    "Is it really possible that we just passed through over nine hundred supreme worlds?!"


    "How did he even do it!?"


    In this universe, only a few people knew of the magic of Teleportation Token. Nathan, Lucille, and a few of the others were all very surprised when they had traveled through the Teleportation Token, for example. They were Godly Geniuses after all, and they were used to seeing all kinds of magical weapons.


    But the group of Demon Night members that had followed Zen here were different. Their eyes were filled with disbelief instead, especially the grand world lords.


    Instantly crossing thousands of supreme worlds was only something that a Supreme Lord could achieve. Not just that, but even a Supreme Lord wouldn''t be able to lead thousands of people in crossing such a long distance!

 Chapter 1987 Scorching Sun Arrow

    The Purple Snow World was located on the westernmost side of the Demon Night''s territory. Here, there weren''t any important mineral resources, and the vitality between heaven and earth wasn''t very rich either. Overall, it couldn''t be considered a strategic location.


    Thus, within this supreme world, there wasn''t even a tenth grade sacred place. There were only a few small sacred places of the Demon Night that had gathered in the Purple Snow World.


    The only special characteristic of this world was its beautiful scenery. All year round, a light, fluffy, purple kind of snowflake floated here, covering the mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas. The entire place was coated with an illusory hue.


    The Demon Night members remained stunned for a long while before they came back to their senses. One of the leading grand world lords asked Zen, "Is our Demon Night''s Supreme Lord Leroy in the Purple Snow World?"


    Back then, when the battle between the two queens ended, Supreme Lord Leroy had also been heavily injured, but he had escaped.


    The Demon Night had also tried to find Supreme Lord Leroy, but this universe was simply too vast. If a Supreme Lord wanted to hide, there were plenty of ways to do so.


    No one would have expected that Supreme Lord Leroy hadn''t gotten out of the Demon Night''s territory. Instead, he had been hiding in a large border supreme world.


    As long as it was a supreme world occupied by the will of worlds, no secrets could get by Zen. He had discovered Supreme Lord Leroy''s location after searching idly through the memories of worlds'' will.


    Zen simply nodded and said, "Everyone, follow me."


    He couldn''t guarantee that every Demon Night member that followed him was absolutely honest, but even if he revealed Supreme Lord Leroy''s location now, it didn''t matter much.


    The universe''s situation had already progressed to its final step. Whether it was the battle between the human race and the Demon Night, the human race and the Sacred race, the different races and the Sacred race, all of them were waiting for a showdown.


    The Godly Genius of the Sacred race, Maha, had issued a challenge to fight within the Sunflower Water World in order to push everything toward a showdown as soon as possible.


    Zen equally felt that it couldn''t wait any longer. Before the showdown though, he had to get the Demon Night back on his side!


    In the midst of the purple snow, Zen''s body resembled a leaf, swiftly floating downward.


    Meanwhile, Amber and the other members of the Demon Night followed closely behind.


    Below the crowd was a huge mountain range. These snowy mountains were covered in purple, making them look like a sleeping dragon that stretched endlessly.


    Once Zen had slowly sunk into the depths of the mountains, he immediately dipped into a valley created by two steep triangles.


    Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar!


    On both sides of the valley, a few gigantic, purple fierce bears could be heard roaring at the crowd in the sky. Their roars reverberated throughout the valley, giving off an extremely terrifying sound.


    Ze


    suddenly shot toward him!


    Hiss¡ª


    The golden stream of light was only as thick as his little finger and it slid past Zen''s nose, just missing him by a hair. With such an outrageous speed, the stream of light seemed to have completely disregarded the laws of space!


    Zen hadn''t realized what it was just yet.


    "It''s the Scorching Sun Arrow!"


    Demon Night martial artists'' excited voice sounded from behind him.


    "Supreme Lord Leroy is really and truly here!"


    Supreme Lord Leroy''s full name was Leroy Meng. The Demon Night race was the most proficient in archery of all in the universe. Before Leroy carried the Heavenly Destiny, he was also the most powerful archer in the Demon Night race!


    Scorching Sun Arrow was one of Leroy''s unique techniques!


    "Supreme Lord Leroy! My name is Abby!"


    a grand world lord of Demon Night impatiently shouted. Her voice echoed in the depths of the cave, loud and clear.


    Most of the Demon Night members present were from the Saint Spear Sect, and Leroy was originally the world lord of this same sect. Later on, with the help of Lavender, Leroy carried a Heavenly Destiny and became a Supreme Lord. Among these Demon Night members, it was only expected that there were people who were very familiar with Leroy.


    This grand world lord, the one who went by the name of Abby, was related to Supreme Lord Leroy by blood.


    As her voice echoed through the cave, she waited, but there was no response that came back from the depths.


    Abby''s anxiety seemed to be climbing somewhat and an overwhelming feeling to rush into the cave washed over her. As she passed by Zen though, he extended his hand and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her back abruptly.


    Szzz!


    Another golden ray of light flashed past the two of them this time. The arrow had come so close to Abby''s bangs that it left a burning gash on her forehead.


    Although it was only a minor wound, it was still extremely dangerous. Had it gone just an inch deeper, her entire upper skull would have been lifted right off by this arrow!

 Chapter 1988 Shattering The Scorching Sun Arrows

    As Zen pulled Abby back, there was a fresh bloody wound on her forehead and her face was deathly pale.


    If it wasn''t for Zen pulling her, her head would''ve already been separated from her body.


    The Demon Night members present looked at each other in absolute dismay. The person hiding inside had to be Supreme Lord Leroy. Supreme Lord Leroy, on the other hand, was very vigilant, and therefore, they couldn''t even get close to him.


    "What should we do?" Abby wiped the wound on her forehead before tying a ribbon to it, in order to stop the bleeding.


    Minutes before, she had made the effort to identify herself, but Supreme Lord Leroy had still attacked her. Would he allow anyone to get close?


    "Let me deal with him," Zen said flatly.


    "But it''s too dangerous."


    Abby thought that her cultivation level was higher than Zen''s, and so was her strength. If even she was almost killed by the Scorching Sun Arrow, then there was no way Zen would survive. He would certainly place himself in great danger if he chose to fight.


    Zen smiled noncommittally and headed toward the corner.


    The Demon Night members in the rear all opened their eyes wide as they watched Zen, greatly worried about him. They had chosen to follow Zen and had ultimately found Supreme Lord Leroy, but Zen didn''t deserve to be killed by him. Not right now, at least.


    Only Amber''s gaze remained as calm as usual. She was confident in Zen, because she knew what kind of person he was. He would never act rashly. If he had decided to make a move, then he must know what he was doing.


    Zen slowly approached the corner. The moment he neared it, his footsteps suddenly quickened and his speed increased explosively.


    His physical strength now reached a point where it was much more powerful than before. Moreover, he was also wearing the Redemption Armor made from the source of the Godly Tile. It wouldn''t be too difficult for him to block the Scorching Sun Arrow.


    Whoosh!


    Accompanied by a giant gust of wind, a golden light flashed across Zen''s eyes.


    The speed of the arrow was simply too fast. Even Zen couldn''t react in time. Through instinct, he protected his head, which was the only thing he managed to do.


    After all, his entire body was wrapped in the Redemption Armor, and only his head was exposed. He didn''t want his head to be hit by the Scorching Sun Arrow!


    Clap!


    While Zen held both arms up in order to protect his head, a heavy blow suddenly came for his body. It was as if a sludge hammer had struck him, and his entire body heavily crashed into the side of the cave.


    The arrow was aimed straight at his chest!


    Luckily though, just as Holy Drew had said, the Redemption Armor couldn''t be destroyed as it was forged with the source of the Godly Tile.


    The terrifying power contained within the arrow only sent Zen flying a few hundred feet away.


    With a roll, Zen stoo


    eared very old, his eyes were very clear, and he had a set of determined eagle eyes.


    "Since you know who I am, why did you..." Zen trailed off.


    Supreme Lord Leroy smiled and placed his longbow to the side. Zen also placed his Great Weighty Sword back into its scabbard. After all, the heavy weight of the weapon in his hand was a burden to him.


    "I''m very curious. How did you shatter my arrows?" Supreme Lord Leroy asked, as he looked at Zen questioningly.


    Ever since he bore the Heavenly Destiny, no one had been able to avoid his arrows, at least not as far as his eyes could reach. Because of the Law of Causality, when he looked directly at his opponents, it became impossible for them to dodge his attack. Of course, this reality was one of the reasons why the Law of Causality was so frightening. Nothing could happen without a cause.


    Although the Scorching Sun Arrow wasn''t Supreme Lord Leroy''s strongest archery skill, the Law of Causality couldn''t be violated. Therefore, he was surprised to see Zen smash his arrows to pieces.


    Hearing the conversation between Zen and Supreme Lord Leroy, the Demon Night members hiding in the far corner began creeping out of the shadows.


    Supreme Lord Leroy''s gaze was focused on Zen. "Can you tell me how you managed that, please?"


    Zen cupped his hands. "I''m afraid I can''t because there are a few secrets involved."


    In fact, Zen hadn''t broken the Law of Causality contained within the Fixed Vision Theurgy. He used another method to shatter Supreme Lord Leroy''s Scorching Sun Arrows, and that was nothing other than the worlds'' will and memories.


    Zen knew everything. Before Supreme Lord Leroy had even raised his hand, Zen had already known when he would shoot his arrow and what the target would be.


    With this kind of magical foresight, he could swing his sword ahead of time and shatter Supreme Lord Leroy''s Scorching Sun Arrows as they came for him.

 Chapter 1989 The Blood-devouring Bone Arrows

    Supreme Lord Leroy gave Zen a meaningful look.


    Earlier in the year when the young man appeared in the universe with Lavender, the Supreme Lord closely kept tabs on them.


    He had been hiding in the depths of this place for many years and had never seen the geniuses born in the world of chaos.


    This was his first time meeting Zen and the young man made quite a shocking first impression. Zen used his sword to cut off Supreme Lord Leroy''s Scorching Sun Arrows, breaking through his Fixed Vision Theurgy which was a technique he had obtained from his Heavenly Destiny.


    The Law of Causality contained within that theurgy came from the heavens. How did Zen manage to break it?


    He did it with such effortless finesse that it was terrifying.


    Supreme Lord Leroy burned with curiosity. Unfortunately for him, Zen refused to give him any answers as to how he managed to do it. Behind Zen were multiple Demon Night members. "I didn''t expect the Demon Night race to reach this stage. It seems like our race is going to perish," Supreme Lord Leroy remarked indifferently.


    Ever since the battle between Elena and Lavender, the entire Demon Night race fell into crippling, internal strife. It didn''t help that the two remaining queens of the race went ahead and allied themselves with the Sacred race which was definitely far from what Supreme Lord Leroy wanted.


    Abby, one of the Demon Night race''s grand world lords, stepped forward and bowed in front of the Supreme Lord. "Supreme Lord Leroy, now that the Demon Night race is under that woman''s control, we are now in great trouble. I hope to the heavens that you can help the Saint Spear Sect."


    Sammy and Fannie had unnatural expressions on their faces when they heard what Abby said.


    Not all of the people present were from the Saint Spear Sect. Only about half belonged there.


    Sammy and Fannie weren''t part of the Saint Spear Sect, but still chose to follow Zen here. On the one hand, they did not approve of Elena''s actions. On the other hand, all the prisoners they were supposed to be guarding on the Prison Island had escaped which they no doubt would answer for in the future.


    They were still from the Saint Chain Sect. Ever since their youth, they had always believed in the Queen of Punishment. Hearing Abby talk badly about her made them quite uncomfortable. Regardless of their discomfort though, they believed that she was right.


    "I know," Supreme Lord Leroy affirmed. He might have been hidden deep underground all these years, but pieces of news that we


    .


    "Of course I''m willing to do it. This is what I''ve been waiting for!" he answered with gusto. "Come with me!"


    It seemed that the old Supreme Lord was now bursting with energy.


    He suddenly stood up and lifted the stone bed beneath him!


    Clang!


    The heavy stone bed smashed into the ground revealing a set of stairs that descended down. There seemed to be a hidden cave underneath!


    The moment the cave was opened, the heavy stench of blood permeated the air.


    Supreme Lord Leroy was the first to walk down, followed closely by Zen.


    Despite their curiosity, the Demon Night members dared not follow.


    As the two descended, Zen discovered a small cave. In the middle was a crevice where three bloody arrows stuck out of.


    The moment he saw those arrows, Zen suddenly felt his soul stir. It was as if those arrows were coming for him and just one strike would be enough to kill him.


    Supreme Lord Leroy noticed his gaze and beamed proudly, "These three arrows were made from my own ribs. They''re called the Blood-devouring Bone Arrows!"


    His words puzzled Zen greatly. "It feels as if these arrows are living things."


    Zen didn''t know how, but he felt the breath of life from these three arrows.


    Supreme Lord Leroy smiled even wider. "These three Blood-devouring Bone Arrows are connected to my life force. Every time I shoot one, my life will decline by a third. Once all three arrows are shot, my life is over."


    Zen''s expression quickly changed when he heard this.


    Three arrows forged with the life of a Supreme Lord?


    Just how powerful could they be?


    "I''ve been forging these three arrows ever since I went into hiding. Finally, this day has come."

 Chapter 1990 Our Queen Is Our Glory

    Seeing the determination in Supreme Lord Leroy''s eyes, Zen finally understood¡ªthis Supreme Lord was in hiding, but not because he was afraid of Elena or the Supreme Lords behind her.


    His Heavenly Destiny was bestowed upon him by Lavender, and the only reason he resided in the depths of the earth was to wait until he could help her take revenge.


    "I, Supreme Lord Leroy, was born of the Demon Night race. Never have I thought of betraying my own." Supreme Lord Leroy stared at Zen as he spoke with determination. "But if anyone tries to lead my people astray, I will be the first to object!"


    He then tapped the bow in his hand and the three Blood-devouring Bone Arrows started trembling. After a series of trembles, they rose from the ground and flew towards Supreme Lord Leroy.


    Puff! Puff! Puff!


    The arrows pierced and entered his body, but they didn''t seem to leave any wound.


    Then, Supreme Lord Leroy stepped onto the stairs as a fierce aura emanated from his body.


    The Supreme Lord had been silent for countless years, but in less than two hours since Zen''s arrival, he had undergone a fundamental change. Leroy was like an aged arrow, silent and unmoving, but this was not a sign of his loss of power. So long as there was a sliver of a chance, he would forsake his own life for his ideals.


    Once more, Supreme Lord Leroy appeared before the Demon Night warriors. The corners of his eyes were wrinkled and his pupils seemed to be burning. Although he appeared old, one could tell that he was handsome in his youth.


    "Zen saved you from the Prison Island," he said. "As a Supreme Lord of the Demon Night race, I am not responsible for the punishment. But now that the Queen of Punishment has led our own race down the wrong path, it''s unfair. No matter what crimes you have committed in the past, from now on, I will let bygones be bygones! I forgive you all for your crimes!"


    The people of the Demon Night race respected orders. Even after they escaped from the Prison Island, they were still guilty since Elena had condemned them.


    So Leroy had to follow through with the procedure. As a Supreme Lord, he had the qualifications to pardon them.


    "Now that the two queens left our race in a mess, I need to put our people on the right track. Before you follow me, you should know that I cannot guarantee your safety or your survival," Supreme Lord Leroy warned them sternly.


    To that, Abby immediately responded, "I will die for our queen!"


    "I will go for our queen!" The cheers continued.


    "I will go!"


    "I will go!"


    "I will go!"


    The people on the Prison Island had suffered for a long time, only dreaming of freedom. For the chance to follow a Supreme Lord to accomplish such a goal, they wouldn''t hesitate to sacrifice their lives.


    With


    e to appear in an eighth-grade sacred place, they would be selected before coming of age and leave the sacred place.


    Because of this, not many people within the Purple Cloud Sacred Place had ever seen a world lord in their lives.


    "There seems to be more than one world lord," Loraine grew more alert and vigilant at the thought.


    Although they were all from the Demon Night race, who knew what kind of people they were? It was entirely possible for them to turn out to be enemies.


    "How many?" the elder asked again.


    "Eight, no, nine... Hold on!" The red light in Loraine''s eyes flickered crazily as her voice grew louder, her expression growing more and more shocked. "So many world lords? I think there are even two grand world lords among them!"


    Beneath Loraine, the elders were left dumbfounded.


    The Demon Night warriors stared blankly at the black dots in the sky that seemed to be growing larger and larger. At the rate they were going, it didn''t take long before they would enter the Purple Cloud Sacred Place.


    "What should we do?" asked an elder anxiously.


    Withdrawing her gaze, Loraine closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, the red light in them had already dissipated. Her expression seemed to calm down when she jumped down from the treetops.


    "What else can we do? No matter who they are, if they want to enter our Purple Cloud Sacred Place, we will welcome them respectfully!" Loraine said calmly.


    Faced with a team led by two grand world lords, the Purple Cloud Sacred Place had no other choice but to wait.


    "You''re right." The elders all gathered behind Loraine and arranged themselves orderly. Regardless of which power they were from or what their goal was, the Purple Cloud Sacred Palace did not have the qualifications to join their mission. There was no need for them to be too nervous.

 Chapter 1991 A Queens Order

    This team consisted of over three thousand warriors and had close to a thousand world lords.


    Most were at the Spirit Transformation Realm. Amber was actually the one with the lowest cultivation amongst everyone present. There were also two grand world lords.


    Of course, the one with the highest cultivation was Supreme Lord Leroy who served as their leader.


    The Purple Cloud Sacred Place couldn''t hide their shock when they saw them approach.


    Even in the entire Demon Night race, a group of over a thousand world lords was definitely not a small power.


    Every world lord had the qualifications to become a Saint Lord of a tenth-grade sacred place. The Purple Cloud Sacred Place was nothing in the eyes of these people, so their unease was understandable.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Not long after, the three thousand warriors slowly descended upon the Purple Cloud Sacred Place.


    Seeing such a strong force arrive in front of their doorstep, Loraine, the sacred place''s Saint Lord bowed. "I am Loraine, the Saint Lord of the Purple Cloud Sacred Place. We humbly welcome you!"


    The elders behind her also came forward to pay their respects.


    "These people''s auras are so strong!"


    "They''re all world lords after all."


    "What is that old man''s cultivation level? The one in the lead? He seems to be their leader. Could he also be a grand world lord?"


    The Demon Night warriors gossiped amongst themselves in lowered voices, but did that really help given how sensitive the eyes and ears of these warriors were? These people could hear an insect''s chirp from tens of miles away. Loraine blushed in embarrassment when she heard her warriors'' conversation. She quickly turned her head and shushed them. "Silence!"


    Everyone quickly shut up under the Saint Lord''s order. Now, the only sound that could be heard was the fluttering descent of snowflakes upon the ground.


    Loraine looked back at Supreme Lord Leroy with a look of utter bewilderment.


    All the Demon Night members were very familiar with their three queens. Whether it be by appearance or aura, all were very familiar with those three supreme rulers whom they had worshipped since their childhood.


    However, it was different for Supreme Lords. Most Demon Night members only heard about their names, but had no idea what their faces looked like.


    Moreover, the disparity between a Supreme Lord and a grand world lord wasn''t in terms of cultivation but of Heavenly Destiny.


    Furthermore, Supreme Lord Leroy had hidden himself for so many years. It was only normal for Loraine to not recognize him.


    Meanwhile, most of t


    ver they needed to do, be it a small action against the Demon Night race or a decisive battle against the Sacred race, all would be a step closer towards the end.


    What he needed to do was face them head-on without any sort of hesitation.


    ''Cause a huge commotion? What is Supreme Lord Leroy going to do?'' Loraine wondered nervously.


    Supreme Lord Leroy reached out and placed his hand on the forehead of Lavender''s statue.


    Buzz...


    The statue began to emit a faint, demonic red light as if it had suddenly come to life.


    At the same time, all the statues of the Queen of Killings in all of the Demon Night race''s sacred places, whether it be in the Upper or Lower world, began to tremble.


    These statues were made of various materials: rock, gold, crystal, wood, bronze... Yet at that moment, all of them released a demonic red light.


    In addition to the statues in the sacred places, there were also two squads, led by Latonia and Elena, that carried statues with them since it was a must to pray in front of them every day. These two also emitted the red light.


    "It''s all on you now," Supreme Lord Leroy said.


    Zen nodded and took two steps towards the statue.


    He once again brought out Lavender''s soul and quickly fused it with the statue. This caused Lavender''s statue to emit even more light!


    Zen took two steps back. Now, it was Supreme Lord Leroy''s turn.


    At that moment, the Supreme Lord was Lavender''s representative and could issue orders in her stead.


    Lavender''s soul activated the statue but she was unable to announce any sort of order. Zen, being human, did not necessarily qualify to be her representative. Only Supreme Lord Leroy held enough qualifications and authority to issue an order.

 Chapter 1992 A Cold-blooded Woman (Part One)

    In the Bloody Evil World


    The Bloody Plain of the Bloody Evil World was known as a land cursed by gods. If one were to dig up some of the soil, they would find that red blood flowed within. The entire plain was barren all year round. Not a single crop could be seen.


    However, the Demon Night race had arrived at the place. Ever since then, thick purple trees had sprung up from the Bloody Plain.


    The leaves of the purple trees were as sharp as knives. The trees looked similar to natural fortresses as they were wrapped entirely by the razor-sharp leaves.


    The trees were called Purple Feather Trees, and only the Demon Night race had such trees. It would only take a few days to grow a palm-sized seed to a tree that towered to four hundred to five hundred feet tall.


    The sharpness of the leaves on the treetops could be compared to a sacred weapon. They could easily hurt anyone that would be stupid enough to touch one.


    The trees were impervious to water and fire. Regardless of whether one buried the seed in solid rocks or in bitter seawater, it always developed, spread its roots and thrived.


    Therefore, the Purple Feather Trees were the mobile palaces the Demon Night race used whenever they were in a war. The trees that could be grown in such a short time would instantly be used to construct their headquarters.


    The Demon Night race had settled down on the Bloody Plain during their fight with the ogres. In less than half a month, the Bloody Plain was already filled with Purple Feather Trees. These impenetrable fortresses were established in such a short time because of the trees.


    Whoosh!


    Dozens of bright silver dots of light suddenly appeared in the sky above the Bloody Evil World. Their radiance almost blinded anyone that saw them.


    These dots of light were like the individual suns, that illuminated the dark Bloody Evil World as if i


    y. Their actions began to be very smart. This was something that the Demon Night race had never expected.


    The ogres had set up a powerful barrier in the Bloody Evil World. The warriors of the Demon Night race were forced to build their headquarters in the Bloody Plain. Nonetheless, the Demon Night race became living targets for the ogres.


    The bombardments from the ogres were ineffective against Supreme Lords. However, the other warriors of the Demon Night race had suffered terrible losses against the ogres'' attacks.


    Elena stood at the end of the branch. Her long skirt fell down from the tree trunk several dozen feet away. A finger-thick branch supported her whole body as if she was weightless.


    When she heard the persuasion of the three generals, her face remained expressionless. "I understand. You can leave now!" she said in an indifferent tone.


    "My queen!"


    "My queen!"


    Despair flashed across the faces of the three generals. Their voices reflected their negative sentiment.


    As members of the Demon Night race, they were absolutely loyal to their queen.


    Even if Elena had suddenly led them to become the enemies of the whole universe and sided with the Sacred race, they didn''t hesitate and did as they were told.

 Chapter 1993 A Cold-blooded Woman (Part Two)

    However, Elena didn''t have the slightest bit of mercy or care for her own people. She had slaughtered her way through the ogres'' supreme world, but at the cost of countless lives of Demon Night warriors. The lives of her own people were sacrificed to pave the way for her desires.


    Elena''s actions made the Demon Night warriors feel a chill in their spines. They were confused as to what the purpose of her actions was.


    "Get out of my sight already!" When she saw that the three generals were still on their knees, Elena''s face flashed with a trace of viciousness. Her eyes were filled with disgust as she looked at the three warriors still in front of her.


    However, the three generals remained unmoved. Their faces were filled with despair as they stared at Elena. Sorrowful eyes revealed their hopelessness.


    "How dare you disobey me! What the hell do you want?" A cold smile suddenly appeared on Elena''s face. An invisible pressure spread out, which caused the surrounding space to faintly crackle with lightning bolts.


    The harsh methods of the Queen of Punishment were well-known, but the three generals were already committed. They planned to stake their lives for the good of their people.


    After they witnessed their companions get killed one by one and suffered from such an unexpected disaster, the generals were heartbroken. That was worse than their own deaths. To persuade their queen, they would rather accept Elena''s punishment.


    "My queen! Please consider our pleas! I hope that we can temporarily retreat! It is for the good of our people," a general continued to beg.


    Pah!


    One after another, electric snakes appeared on the general''s body. The snakes wrung around almost uncontrollably. Being devoured by the lighting, the general suddenly rolled away in pain. After just a few seconds, th


    Demon Night race had betrayed them, they would still not be dissatisfied with their queens. The queens of the Demon Night race were supposed to be absolute.


    However, at that moment, the general reprimanded the Queen of Punishment right in front of her face. That was something that had never happened before in the Demon Night race.


    "How dare you! Imbecile!"


    Pah!


    Lightning flashed in Elena''s eyes. The general was struck by lightning and immediately tumbled down the tree. Smoke appeared from the general''s body as a burnt smell filled the air.


    Only one general was left in front of Elena.


    "Are you going to reprimand me too? Who do you think you are?" Elena stared at her and asked in a scary tone.


    The general was about to speak when something happened.


    At that moment, a vicious, murderous intent was suddenly emitted from the Purple Feather Trees.


    Like the palaces of the Demon Night race, there were queens'' statues in every Purple Feather Tree. At this moment, the statue of the Queen of Killings emitted an intense red light. It was followed by an old and familiar voice.


    "I am Supreme Lord Leroy, a representative of the Queen of Killings. I am here to issue a queen''s order!"

 Chapter 1994 Unable To Refute

    If one wanted their voice heard by the entire Demon Night race, a Roaring Token might be used. This was especially useful for announcements like the queen''s decree.


    However, the queen''s decree was usually issued during a special ceremony. The Demon Night had to do that via the queen''s statue as a sign of respect for the queen.


    At that moment, all the members of the Demon Night in the Upper World, the Lower World, and sacred places were all taken by surprise. They did not expect what they heard next...


    "It''s Leroy! Has Leroy really returned?"


    "Why is he the one issuing the queen''s decree on behalf of the Queen of Killings?"


    "What is he trying to do?"


    Everyone couldn''t help but discuss this development among themselves...


    The Board of Elders paid especially close attention to this matter. They had to know the current situation, so they could avert any crisis if needed. When they heard the words "queen''s order", they quickly realized that another big change was about to happen among the Demon Night!


    "On behalf of the Queen of Killings, I declare that the Queen of Life, Latonia, and the Queen of Punishment, Elena, are traitors! They have been brainwashed by the alien race to betray the entire Evolutionary Universe and lead the Demon Night towards annihilation!"


    Supreme Lord Leroy''s voice reverberated throughout all the sacred places of the Demon Night. There was no one that could not have heard his pronouncement.


    Understandably, all the Demon Night members were shocked. This had never happened before.


    As they heard Supreme Lord Leroy''s declaration, they couldn''t believe their ears. They never thought that the queen''s decree would be so harsh.


    "The Demon Night should know where we stand in the current situation of the universe. The best thing we could do now is to follow the Queen of Killings and retreat from the war. We need to regroup our forces, regain our strength, and try our best to make our race stronger..." Supreme Lord Leroy delivered the message to the multitudes of Demon Night race that were listening.


    The three queens were equals in the hierarchy of power, so the Queen of Killings was not qualified to pronounce the crimes of the other two queens. This kind of queen''s decree was null and void.


    However, Supreme Lord Leroy was sure that the Demon Night members had reached the limit of their patience for Latonia''s and Elena''s impulsive antics.


    The members of the Demon Night were very loyal and faithful to the queens, but even their loyalty and tolerance were not limitless.


    Before this, Lavender had never taken any action against the other two even though she disapproved of their actions. By forcefully starting a war, Latonia and Elena had already betrayed the trust of the members of their race... The Demon Night members naturally supported and followed their queens unquestioningly. They had no other choice but to obey their queens when Elena and Latonia took action together.


    Now that the Queen of Killings had stood up against the other two, it gave them another cause to support. They no longer had to force themselves to go along with the decisions of Latonia and Elena.


    If they didn''t want to betray their race, the members of the Demon Night race had an easy choice: all they had to do was to follow the Queen of Killings...


    Loraine, the Saint L


    had been trapped in Zen''s Desperate Melee and had eventually perished.


    "Elena, just give up," Supreme Lord Leia said flatly.


    Elena suddenly turned around and stared at Supreme Lord Leia. Her heart was filled with rage. "You also want to betray the Demon Night race?"


    Supreme Lord Leia gazed at her and replied, "I will not betray the Demon Night race."


    "Then why do you advise me to give up?" Elena asked angrily.


    "Because I won''t be supporting you anymore," Supreme Lord Leia replied.


    In fact, when the Demon Night attacked the ogres, the Supreme Lords of the Demon Night had also strongly opposed. Unfortunately, the two queens had already made up their minds. Even the Supreme Lords had no choice, but this didn''t mean that they agreed to it.


    "You want to help that bitch?" Elena asked again.


    Supreme Lord Leia answered, "Just as Leroy has said, I have the right to decide for myself."


    She did not betray the Demon Night; she just chose to support the other queen...


    Elena glared at Supreme Lord Leia, the thunderbolts in her eyes crazily sparking. The Saint Thunder Meteor Hammer in her hand suddenly shook, and a thick bolt of lightning shot towards Supreme Lord Leia like a giant python!


    "Boom!"


    Supreme Lord Leia nodded slightly and a silver mirror appeared in front of her.


    When the thick bolt of lightning struck the mirror, it rebounded to the sky and disappeared without a trace...


    This mirror was the Heavenly Destiny that Supreme Lord Leia carried, known as "Absolute Reflection". Under the protection of the Law of Causality, Supreme Lord Leia could let almost anything be reflected back!


    "I won''t attack you for now." Supreme Lord Leia looked at Elena, her calm eyes already faintly emitting an intent to kill. "However, I will destroy you next time we face each other."


    After Supreme Lord Leia finished speaking, her figure slowly disappeared from where she stood, leaving behind a stunned Elena.


    On the Bloody Plain, the soldiers of the Demon Night started to lose focus. They all poured out of the Purple Feather Trees, and the army that was never afraid of death began to disintegrate.


    They weren''t running for their lives; they had just chosen their new leader.

 Chapter 1995 Flee (Part One)

    Neither Supreme Lord Leroy nor Zen had expected the queen''s order to have such an effect over every member of the Demon Night race.


    Over the years, Lavender had long disappeared, and Latonia had been reincarnated into Shania, who was obsessed with the study of laws.


    After Elena had controlled the Demon Night race, she went against her clansmen''s will and discriminated against those who held different views. The Board of Elders couldn''t endure her behavior any longer, but as the Queen of Punishment, she had her own methods of ruling with a heavy hand by suppressing her people''s anger and dissatisfaction.


    Despite that though, those strong negative emotions never disappeared. Rather, they were accumulated bit by bit, somewhat like a silent volcano, preparing itself for eruption. The pressure building within the race became greater and greater.


    After the Sacred race started to invade the Evolutionary Universe, Elena had brazenly announced that they would join hands with the Sacred race. At that point, the entire Demon Night race had already reached the limit of their endurance.


    They considered themselves part of the universe. If this had happened in the past, they would have probably chosen to fight against other races in order to strive for the territory and resources. After all, it was for the sake of their own race. As the Sacred race invaded, all the races rose together in an attempt to expel them, but Elena wanted her race to take their side.


    The Demon Night members had reached the end of their forbearance. Most of them thought their queen had gone mad.


    Even so, they still chose to follow their queens'' orders. No one took the lead in raising any objections. The Supreme Lords chose to remain silent too, and the Board of Elders didn''t utter a single sound. No


    ade-in-arms lying dead on the plain, an intense emotion immediately displayed itself on their faces. Dozens of aggrieved gazes were focused on the commander, too.


    "She is loyal to Elena," someone said.


    "She''s the culprit! Let''s kill her to avenge our comrade-in-arms!" another soldier agreed.


    "Rip her apart!"


    The soldiers might not have the courage to face Elena, but they didn''t fear their commander. At least, far less.


    The long whip wielder''s facial expression had also changed drastically within a split second. The soldiers who wanted to run away just moments before had turned into raging devils in the blink of an eye. She could sense their anger pulsating toward her.


    After nervously retreating a few steps backward, the commander turned around with the full intention of escaping the furious mob.


    Unfortunately for her, it was too late. The angry soldiers instantly rushed forward, tearing her to shreds in seconds.


    The other commanders could do nothing but stand to the side and watch the scene. Their faces had all turned dreadfully pale with fright. They didn''t dare to stop the fleeing soldiers anymore.


    And as a result, more and more soldiers fled, of course.

 Chapter 1996 Flee (Part Two)

    This crazy chaos continued for a long time.


    At the end of the Bloody Plain were stationed the ogre martial artists.


    Facing the invasion of the Demon Night race, the ogres were under great pressure. Although they had tried their best to kill the Demon Night soldiers, the two queens and the Supreme Lords were much stronger than they were.


    If the Demon Night race captured the Bloody Evil World, the ogres would have no way of retreating. They would probably have to abandon their territory and seek refuge with the Celestial Position race.


    For this reason, the ogres had placed a large number of troops in the Bloody Evil World, in their best attempt at stopping the Demon Night race from marching forward in the Bloody Plain.


    The army led by Elena was already quite powerful, though. With the reinforcements from another army of her race, the Bloody Evil World probably wouldn''t be able to hold them off for very long.


    Now, the ogre leaders were gathered together, discussing their battle strategy.


    "We need to inflict heavy casualties on the Demon Night army before the reinforcements from the Queen of Life arrive. Only then will we have the chance to thoroughly defend ourselves against them," a golden-haired ogre grand world lord mentioned.


    Supreme Lord Mathias didn''t say a word. To the ogres, this was very risky. And as Supreme Lords, they couldn''t afford to die here because they were the decisive force of their race.


    If they didn''t take any risks though, their chances of survival would be extremely small. If this whole situation continued to drag on, they would most likely lose the battle.


    Supreme Lord Mathias had no other choice but to ultimately make a difficult decision. Just as he gave his first order to att


    y worshiped her, but now, even they didn''t dare approach her palace.


    Elena, on her behalf, was still standing alone on top of the Purple Feather Tree. Her azure eyes stared into the distance, her face filled with desolation. Her long skirt fluttered in the gentle breeze, causing her to feel an unprecedented chill.


    After a while, she jumped down from the tree and landed on the ground like a bolt of lightning. She glanced at her trusted follower and the killing intent on her face became even stronger. "Tell Shania that we''re going back home."


    "My queen, if we go back now..." one of her subordinates was trying to speak up.


    Crack!


    A Thunder Law, thicker than anyone had ever seen, lashed downward like a dragon''s tooth, hitting the speaker. She instantly turned to charcoal, still standing motionlessly like a burnt log.


    As the other subordinates watched the scene unfold before them, their eyes began to twitch and bulge fiercely, but no one dared to move an inch, for fear that their queen would get even angrier.


    Elena''s expression didn''t change in the slightest, though. All she wanted to do now was vent her anger on Leroy like he deserved!

 Chapter 1997 The Inauguration Altar

    Supreme Lord Leroy stood in the hall of the Purple Cloud Sacred Place, his posture rigid and upright. His stormy gaze scanned the warriors before him, demanding their attention.


    "Our first step would be to isolate the two queens of the Demon Night race," he murmured with conviction.


    "And what should we do following that?" Zen asked in response.


    "Think about it. What do the queens of Demon Night rely on?" Supreme Lord Leroy shot him the question.


    Zen thought for a moment. "The Pools of Faith."


    Lavender, Elena, and Latonia, each had the cultivation base of a world lord. Without the Faith Energy, their strength could contest a grand world lord''s. However, by dint of the Faith Energy, they possessed the great power to take the life of the Supreme Lord.


    Back then, Elena could defeat Lavender because the latter''s Pool of Faith had been sealed off, rendering it unusable. For that reason alone, there had existed a huge chasm between Lavender''s strength and Elena''s. In the end, Elena had made quick work of the other competent queen.


    Supreme Lord Leroy nodded, a satisfied smile hanging on his lips. "Yes, if you wish to kill Elena and Latonia, you have to demolish their Pools of Faith. That would be the subsequent step."


    These decisive words fell on the ears of the listeners and they were struck dumb. Everyone stared wide-eyed at the Supreme Lord, shocked beyond measure.


    The three thousand Demon Night martial artists in the hall, who had followed along with the group, held similar expressions of disbelief on their faces.


    Demolish the Pools of Faith... It sounded like an outrageous game changer.


    The Pools of Faith were the very foundation of the Demon Night race.


    The queens of the race got replaced as generations came by and went; but as the years rolled on, the three Pools of Faith remained intact¡ªstill unchanged and imposing as ever.


    As long as the pools existed within the race, it was akin to having three additional Supreme Lords. It was what made Demon Night sui generis. In the entire wide world, no other race had access to such unique resources at hand.


    "Supreme Lord Leroy, we cannot do so!"


    "We can let two queens perish, but we absolutely refuse to see the Pools of Faith destroyed.


    They are the very basis of Demon Night! We cannot exist without them!"


    Following the lead of the grand world lord, Abby, the members of the Demon Night race raised their voices in unison in an attempt to persuade Supreme Lord Leroy to turn his verdict.


    Loraine, Saint Lord of the Purple Cloud Sacred Place, was left aghast as well. A frown marred her features as she contemplated the future of the race. She judged Supreme Lord Leroy''s decision to be absolutely preposterous.


    All that she had witnessed today had been rather too strange for her liking. A number of formidable Demon Night warriors had mysteriously shown up, with even a Supreme Lord among them! Now, this Supreme Lord was aiming to destroy the Pools of Faith within the race. She was not sure if she was hallucinating or if the world itself had turned upside down.


    However, Supreme Lord Leroy was resolute, notwithstanding the loud murmurs of protest. His remote gaze swept over everyone as he added, "From now on, we don''t require three


    ed.


    The Rosy Cloud World and the Purple Snow World were on completely different levels.


    The Rosy Cloud World was the core supreme world of the Demon Night. The coronation ceremony for the queen of the race was held here from time immemorial. Furthermore, this was where the Demon Night race had originated.


    The Rosy Cloud World alone consisted of nine tenth-grade sacred places, as well as a large number of those below the tenth grade. The number of Demon Night members that resided here was several times greater than that in the other supreme worlds.


    It was also rife with lush greenery. Flora flourished in abundance within the sacred places, enfolding the supreme world in its splendor.


    After the queen''s decree was issued, it had caused a great commotion in the sacred places.


    The core area of the Rosy Cloud World was naturally no exception to it.


    At present, these sacred places were in chaos and struggling to maintain any semblance of balance.


    A large majority of the Demon Night members chose to support Supreme Lord Leroy and Lavender, but there were some in the Rosy Cloud World who were still faithfully on Elena''s side. Although Elena had been reckless and foolhardy, the Demon Night followed rigid rules and believed that it was imperative that each of the three queens perform their roles and duties strictly, no matter the cost.


    Now, Supreme Lord Leroy had declared Elena and Latonia to be traitors, which they felt was wholly unreasonable.


    The Rosy Cloud World had been in conflict over the matter. The Inauguration Altar saw more and more members of the Demon Night falling to their knees in ardent prayer, beseeching the Gods to help their race overcome this disaster.


    Supreme Lord Leroy led Zen and the others as they flew past the sacred places. In normal circumstances, guards from sacred places could be found patrolling the area. However, no one paid attention to the company today. Perhaps the guards noticed but ignored them.


    In the last few days, the faith in the race had collapsed to a staggering degree.


    As soon as Supreme Lord Leroy flew down to the Inauguration Altar, a few members of the race recognized him.

 Chapter 1998 Faith Trial

    Within the Demon Night, this Inauguration Altar was known as the holy place of pilgrimage.


    Although many of the Demon Night warriors'' strength wasn''t considered powerful, because they worshiped their queens so highly, many of them would come here from various supreme worlds in order to cultivate. These Demon Night members would worship their queens every day though, and some even gave up on their cultivation.


    These members were called pilgrims.


    For even the strongest of powerful pilgrims, it usually took them years to travel a long distance to reach here from other supreme worlds. With time though, most of them could manage to make it. However, for the weak pilgrims, they''d probably spend their entire life on the road. Even before their lifespan ran out, it would still be difficult for them to reach the Rosy Cloud World, let alone personally see the Inauguration Altar!


    The Inauguration Altar was incomparably huge. And around the Inauguration Altar was an even greater platform - millions of feet in diameter. On this platform were many warriors of the Demon Night. Much like the followers of the secret sect in the Thoughtless Minds, the warriors were prostrating on the ground and in their hearts, they knew that the queens were the supreme existences as well as the True Gods that had protected them.


    Although most of the sacred places of the Rosy Cloud World were in complete chaos, the great platform surrounding the Inauguration Altar remained solemn and quiet. No one dared to make a ruckus here.


    "It''s Leroy! Supreme Lord Leroy has come to the Inauguration Altar!"


    Someone from the crowd was shouting.


    Supreme Lord Leroy had led the group of Demon Night warriors to this location. With thousands of warriors following him, he had of course attracted the attention of quite a few people.


    Although Leroy hadn''t made an appearance for many years now, most of the people present still recognized him.


    The loud shouting immediately broke the silence. Countless members of the Demon Night widened their eyes and looked toward the sky.


    Supreme Lord Leroy had been the one to issue the queen''s order, and his name had spread far and wide among the Demon Night in a short period of time.


    A few warriors completely viewed him as the only savior of the Demon Night race, the only one capable of saving them from this dire situation. However, at the same time, there were also certain members who viewed him as a traitor, as someone who had broken the rules that the Demon Night race had set and followed for countless years!


    In the dense crowd, a minimum of ten people watched Leroy closely, like a group of hawks. The group nodded at each other, their faces turned vicious!


    One of them infused his life vitality into his voice, and suddenly shouted towards the sky, "Traitor! The Queen of Killings of our Demon Night has long perished. Since you have falsely passed on the queen''s order, you will be punished with death!"


    These pilgrims were totally blinded by their beliefs. They had even given up on cultivation. Now, they only wanted to contribute their faith. Without the ability to distinguish between right and wrong, these blind martial artists could easily be manipulated!


    The debate in the past few days had been limited to the various sacred places and hadn''t yet affected the Inauguration Alta. Perhaps these pilgrims had heard rumors about the queen''s or


    al, was put into effect.


    The massive Inauguration Altar was a tower in a triple diamond shape. Where these three diamonds connected were the stairs to walk up to the Inauguration Altar. As the Faith Trial was activated, three bands of pure colorful light began to emit from the tower!


    The three bands of light were distinctively red, blue, and green. These were the colors of the three Demon Night queens'' Faith Energy.


    The three bands of light floated in the air and began to condense. In no time, the beams began to transform into human figures, one after the next.


    Seeing the human figures that were slowly condensing in the sky, Leroy retreated a few steps. "These Faith Energies have condensed into the Faith Bodies of the Demon Night queens throughout the ages. You have to be careful!"


    "How strong are they?" Zen asked, as he stared at the bright beams of light that continuously swerved and swiveled, changing shapes completely.


    "They are on par with the grand world lords," Leroy replied flatly.


    "They may be at the level of grand world lords, but you''re a Supreme Lord," Zen snickered. "What''s there to worry about?"


    Leroy stared at Zen. "I''m reminding you to be careful! That''s all."


    Just as he finished speaking, a red figure had now been formed entirely. This red figure was the Demon Night race''s thirteenth Queen of Killings. Although the Faith Body was still blurry, it was possible for one to see her beautiful features despite the blood-red mist!


    Swoosh!


    The Queen of Killings raised her spear and rushed immediately toward Leroy.


    Before Leroy could even think of counterattacking, Zen was already a step ahead. At the same time as his figure flashed like a gust of wind, he waved his hand toward the thirteenth Queen of Killings, and a terrifying power instantly exploded from his fingertips. Even the ball of Faith Energy that formed the figure couldn''t take this much power: it instantly dispersed. As soon as Zen had killed the Faith Body, he turned his head and smiled at Supreme Lord Leroy. As it turned out, it had been completely unnecessary for Leroy to have reminded Zen to be careful, to say the least.


    Just for a split-second, Leroy was stunned, but he eventually mumbled, "This kid isn''t so bad after all..."

 Chapter 1999 Plot To Kill Zen

    Zen''s strength always surpassed Leroy''s expectations and imagination. It was always a wonder to watch Zen display his skills.


    Once the Faith Trial was activated, the Faith Bodies formed by the Faith Energy were extremely difficult to deal with.


    The reason was that they had a portion of the Demon Night queens'' memories. To be specific, a portion of the strength of the martial arts they had cultivated before. Hence, it was not an exaggeration to say that their strength could be compared to that of grand world lords. After all, the overall strength of grand world lords was unimaginable.


    The Faith Body was only another way to utilize the Faith Energy. In a certain aspect, these Faith Bodies were indeed comparable to grand world lords.


    "Swoosh!"


    After Zen slayed down the thirteenth Queen of Killings, another Queen of Killings rushed forward in a lightning speed. The spear was burning with fire, harboring a vicious killing intent. The tip of the spear was pointed between Zen''s eyebrows.


    Zen quickly jumped up and snatched the spear in a blink of an eye. He twisted his body couple of times which confused the queen. He took advantage of the queen''s brief moment of hesitation and grabbed her neck. A sickening sound was heard as he ruthlessly twisted her neck.


    "Thud!"


    The Queen of Killings instantly went limp and her form turned into streams of Faith Energy that flowed towards the Inauguration Altar.


    As Zen kept destroying the Faith Bodies of Demon Night''s queens like crushing dry weeds, Supreme Lord Leroy also acted fast alongside him.


    Although Leroy gave an impression of a skinny old man, he was exceptionally agile at this moment. He swiftly moved back and forth, with one hand holding onto the bow and the other plucking the string at such a rapid speed, that it looked like he was playing a musical instrument.


    A Scorching Sun Arrow would shoot out at each pull of the string. The moment the arrow pierced through a Faith Body, it would explode and the body would collapse instantly.


    The two of them hovered in the sky and one by one the Faith Bodies were slayed down. Leroy focused on killing Queens of Punishment and Queens of Life, while Zen concentrated on the Queens of Killings.


    Whoosh!


    A new Faith Body of a Queen of Killings came into existence. The crimson body turned and pointed a spear towards Zen. The spear''s tip produced an invisible force that pierced through the air.


    But Zen did not dodge this time, allowing this force to collide with his body. An explosive sound could be heard, but his body was completely unharmed. Zen rushed towards the Queen of Killings to crush the Faith Body.


    However, as he got closer, he could not believe his eyes!


    Through the maze of red light, Zen realized that the queen facing him was none other than Lavender!


    This Inauguration Altar had memories, and when every queen came to the throne, they would be accurately recorded


    might be able to grab a place in this universe and even enter the Murphy Universe!


    As he heard this, Supreme Lord Shadow pointed a finger at Zen below. With a malicious glint in his eyes, he said, "In that case, then let''s join forces and kill that kid down there!"


    "Kill Zen?" Supreme Lord Korbin raised his eyebrow.


    By now, the entire universe knew the value of Godly Geniuses and Zen was ranked first among them. If he continued to develop like this, he might be the key to turn the situation around.


    Although it was only a casual conversation between the two Demon Night Supreme Lords, their attitudes seemed critical.


    On the other hand, Leroy realized that it would not be so easy to break down the Pools of Faith after he got Zen here. There were not just the two queens in the Demon Night, but also Supreme Lords. He had taken the advantage of issuing Lavender''s order to reach the purpose of splitting the Demon Night race.


    His plan seemed to be working, as Supreme Lord Leia could no longer endure it and chose to leave Elena.


    But, Leroy''s plan was also an extremely risky move. Rushing into the Inauguration Altar, Leroy had been confident that the other Supreme Lords would not interfere.


    However, the Supreme Lords who had chosen to take a neutral stance had their own judgment. Although they didn''t support any queen, they would still take the interest of the Demon Night into consideration.


    When Supreme Lord Shadow brought up the idea of killing Zen, Supreme Lord Korbin began to carefully weigh the pros and cons.


    "Will the Sacred race win if we kill this kid?" Supreme Lord Korbin asked.


    Supreme Lord Shadow shook his head slightly. "Maybe or maybe not, but judging from the reactions of the Celestial Position and the Sacred race, this kid is very important to them."


    Supreme Lord Korbin looked down. "So then.. Kill him?"


    Saying this, he looked Zen in a way as if he had already sentenced him to death.

 Chapter 2000 Surprise Attack

    The Supreme Lords had held high positions for too long a time for them to relinquish control of a situation. They always liked to take control.


    As the most powerful figures in the universe, they didn''t like being manipulated by their own destinies.


    Before Zen had declared war, only the ogre race and the human race had taken any action against their enemies. The Supreme Lords who were living in seclusion and the Supreme Lords of other small races merely stood by and watched, unwilling to meddle in the battle.


    But after Zen''s appeal, some of the smaller races showed signs of taking action.


    On the other hand, Supreme Lord Shadow and Supreme Lord Korbin of the Demon Night did not support the collective decision of the Demon Night, nor were they willing to join in the rebellion against the Demon Night.


    They were in two minds, trying to measure the impact the current situation would have on themselves.


    When they found out that getting rid of Zen would benefit them, their decisions were easy to make.


    "You deal with Zen. I''ll kill Leroy," Supreme Lord Korbin said flatly.


    Supreme Lord Shadow raised an eyebrow at Supreme Lord Korbin. "You seem quite confident. Leroy is severely injured but his power must not be underestimated."


    These two Supreme Lords didn''t think Zen was as strong and remarkable as the world thought him to be. They also thought that Supreme Lord Leroy was very old and had been seriously injured before, so he could not be as powerful as he used to be.


    "Don''t talk nonsense. Let''s get to work!"


    Saying thus, Supreme Lord Korbin turned into a cyan flame and began to burn.


    Supreme Lord Shadow turned into a black shadow and disappeared.


    At the Inauguration Altar, the three bands of light continued to roll and condense before Zen and Supreme Lord Leroy.


    Their attack made it harder and harder to condense the Faith Energy.


    The speed at which the Faith Energy was condensed also slowed down considerably.


    Three cracks sounded out and the bands of light formed from the Faith Energy finally broke apart and all of the Faith Energy returned to the Inauguration Altar. They had successfully passed through the Faith Trial.


    The millions of pilgrims beneath the Inauguration Altar wore looks of despair.


    The pilgrims would not allow anyone to enter the Inauguration Altar. It would be a disgrace to their queens. But they weren''t strong enough and other than using the Faith Trial, there was no other way for them to stop Zen and Supreme Lord Leroy.


    But Supreme Lord Leroy didn''t slaughter any of the pilgrims. In a battle at this level, he had no intention of involving any ordinary martial artists.


    "We passed just like that? It''s very easy then," Zen said with a smile.


    Supreme Lord Leroy shook his head. "We just got lucky today. Come with me. Let''s go to the Inauguration Altar."


    The


    nderstand Zen''s true strength.


    Supreme Lord Leroy was a Supreme Lord after all, and he knew that one''s knowledge was proportional to their strength. But a world lord caused a Supreme Lord to spit out blood with a casual strike? He had never heard of this sort of thing!


    Even Supreme Lord Korbin was dumbfounded.


    Supreme Lord Korbin believed that he was slightly stronger than Supreme Lord Shadow, which was why he had let Supreme Lord Shadow deal with Zen while he fought Supreme Lord Leroy.


    Since Supreme Lord Shadow was very powerful, it would be easy for him to defeat Zen.


    But the scene before him confused Supreme Lord Korbin. A hint of doubt arose within him. Was Supreme Lord Shadow just pretending to do that? Even if he was just putting on a show, he needed Zen''s cooperation. But Zen looked so pleased and arrogant that it was obvious he was suppressing Supreme Lord Shadow.


    The number of the Demon Night members gathering around the Inauguration Altar increased. Aside from the weaker pilgrims, the world lords of the Board of Elders in the sacred places had also gathered. These elders were all anxious as they saw the two Supreme Lords take action against Supreme Lord Leroy.


    The members of the Board of Elders were mostly on Supreme Lord Leroy''s side. They had been suppressed by Elena for so many years and had hated her from the bottom of their hearts. But the members of the Demon Night did not want the warriors of their race to kill each other, which was why the elders had come there to mediate in the dispute.


    But before they had the chance to speak, they saw something that shocked them to no end.


    "That young man is definitely Zen! He has even made Supreme Lord Shadow spit out blood with just one punch! How did he do that?" An elder asked, his eyes wide with surprise and confusion.


    "You''re asking me? I have no idea either!" The other elder was stunned as well.

 Chapter 2001 Fierce Battles

    Amber and the world lords from Prison Island were also watching this scene unfold from the other side of the Inauguration Altar.


    Only Prison Island''s guards, Fannie and Sammy had fought with Zen before.


    Fannie and Sammy finally understood now why they weren''t able to shake Zen in the slightest, forget defeating him, even when they used their full strength. They had definitely underestimated his strength¡­


    As for Amber, she was abnormally calm in this situation.


    This youth who had killed his way around the Sea God Continent was already on par with a Supreme Lord in the blink of an eye.


    Supreme Lord Shadow was extremely excited right now.


    He had suffered a great loss just now due to his carelessness.


    Ambushing and assassinating people from the back was his forte. He had never in his wildest dreams expected Zen to predict his move and counterattack first!


    As a result, Supreme Lord Shadow was pretty much defenseless against Zen''s counterattack.


    It would have been fine if it was an ordinary counterattack, but Supreme Lord Shadow was overwhelmed with the power that Zen had unleashed at this moment. The seemingly casual strike contained enough power to cause his internal organs to be damaged as it surged through him. He spat out a mouthful of blood.


    It was a humiliating defeat for someone of this stature!


    Supreme Lord Shadow was baffled with this turn of events. What method had Zen used? How did he know beforehand that he would attack him from behind?


    Supreme Lord Shadow''s Heavenly Destiny was Shadow Dance. If he hid himself, in theory, no one would be able to find him in the universe. In some sense, this Heavenly Destiny wasn''t so impressive, but it could prove to be very lethal. He could sneakily approach anyone. Even a Supreme Lord would worry about being assassinated!


    He naturally did not know that everything within the range of the will of worlds was transparent to Zen.


    In fact, when Zen and Leroy were facing Faith Trial, he was already aware of the existence of Supreme Lord Korbin and Supreme Lord Shadow. Zen would have not taken any action if those Supreme Lords had chosen to leave him be. However, now that they had started the battle, he would not be lenient! Every strike he made was resolute and forceful.


    Supreme Lord Shadow reached out to feel the trace of blood on the corner of his mouth. His eyes were like poisonous scorpions as they bore into Zen. "How did you know?"


    Zen turned around and asked, "Why should I tell you?"


    "If you don''t, you''re dead for sure!" Supreme Lord Shadow threatened.


    Zen''s smile grew wider. "Are you trying to tell me that you will spare my life if I tell you?"


    "Hah! In your dreams!"


    Supreme Lord Shadow lost his patience at this point.


    Fighting with a world-lord-level kid would be a waste of time. Now that he had been humiliated, he just wanted to kill Zen as soon as possible!


    Swoosh!


    Supreme Lord Shadow suddenly split into two black shadows, vanishing on the spot!


    He was about to execute a second assassination¡­


    Leroy''


    the body of Supreme Lord Korbin reformed. The "Substitute Fire Emissary" was Supreme Lord Korbin''s self-enlightened flame theurgy. It had helped him to ward off disasters countless times!


    Supreme Lord Korbin''s plan was that once Supreme Lord Shadow took down Zen, he could work together with him, and then dealing with Leroy would be a breeze. Thus, Korbin thought that Leroy should be the one to be most anxious right now, and not him!


    Clearly, the five arrows didn''t work, so Leroy turned to Zen, who was standing on the other side.


    He was worried. ''Supreme Lord Shadow appears and disappears like a ghost. Will Zen be able to avoid getting assassinated?''


    The only thing that gave Leroy some comfort was that Zen''s reflexes were astonishing. This kid had even broken through Leroy''s Fixed Vision Theurgy.


    Leroy was puzzled by this, because breaking the Law of Causality was a violation of common sense.


    Zen had refused to tell him how he did it, but he had been trying to figure it out. In the end, he had only come up with one possibility: that Zen might have a kind of theurgy, which allowed him to see through people''s soul. That was how he knew where he was going to shoot his arrow, and had snapped it into two so easily.


    If his guess was correct, then it would be very difficult for Supreme Lord Shadow to defeat Zen ¡­


    Supreme Lord Leroy had stopped fighting and Supreme Lord Korbin regarded Zen.


    Zen was still floating in the air, but he was turning in a certain direction. A mocking smile was plastered on his face as he stared into the void, giving no clue as to what he was going to do.


    After activating the Shadow Dance, it was theoretically impossible to detect Supreme Lord Shadow''s location. With this Law of Causality, he could get close to anyone without being detected!


    But that kid Zen was staring right at him!


    Looking at Zen''s smiling face, Supreme Lord Shadow felt that he had been very foolish in his tactics. He had never felt so aggrieved before. It was as if he had swallowed a rat!

 Chapter 2002 Rival A Supreme Lord

    Against the will of worlds, all concealment was useless.


    This world was made up of complex materials: rocks, air, water, mountains, and an assortment of living creatures.


    As for the will of worlds, it recorded everything that passed and stayed in the universe. Zen could instantly tell how many mountains and stones were in a supreme world, and where people were at all times.


    However, the worlds'' will also had its limitations.


    When the will had just covered the entire great world, he wasn''t able to detect any movement from the martial artists in the Upper World.


    But now that it already covered all the supreme worlds of the Demon Night race, human warriors were the only remaining ones Zen could not detect.


    Nonetheless, the will was still expanding. In the future, when it already spread throughout the whole universe, Zen would be god of omniscience. Nothing in the entire universe would be kept secret from him. He would have all the memories of the worlds'' will, and the Sacred race would be the only ones he''d be unable to detect. They had, after all, come from the Murphy Universe, and the worlds'' will was unable to enter their universe.


    Supreme Lord Shadow was born into the Demon Night race, so he wasn''t exempt from the worlds'' will.


    In fact, not only did Zen see Supreme Lord Shadow''s current movements, Zen was also able to peek into the memories of his past. Most of these memories were so old, Supreme Lord Shadow probably didn''t remember them anymore.


    This was the first time Zen faced a Supreme Lord head on. And although he had a relaxed expression on his face, he was completely alert and aware of his surroundings.


    Supreme Lord Shadow was constantly moving in the shadows.


    The boy in front of him was much more troublesome than he had expected. Feeling unsatisfied with Supreme Lord Korbin''s decision, Supreme Lord Shadow grudgingly thought how it would be more satisfying facing Leroy instead.


    But even though it was tricky, it wasn''t like he couldn''t do anything about Zen.


    In his eyes, Zen was just a shriveled up hedgehog. He hadn''t found a flaw yet but the moment he did, it would mean the end for this kid.


    Supreme Lord Shadow moved faster and faster in the shadows.


    d cracks began to form on their bodies. Blood flowed from the cracks before they collapsed into pieces.


    "Humph!"


    With a grunt, Supreme Lord Shadow flew towards the Inauguration Altar.


    He felt sad and wronged. Zen was being unreasonable. What right did he have to make a Supreme Lord vomit blood twice?


    He was beginning to doubt both his strength and Supreme Lord Korbin''s judgement. ''Should we really be involved in this?''


    If he allowed Zen to grow, the guy would probably go against the heavens in only a few years. And by then, it wouldn''t be impossible for him to help the human race get rid of the Sacred race.


    However, people at their level rarely regretted anything. Once they made up their minds, it was impossible to stop them. Besides, he and Supreme Lord Korbin had already formed enmity with Zen. They couldn''t turn back now.


    "Good..."


    Supreme Lord Shadow activated the Grand Teleportation and once again appeared before Zen. "It seems like I shouldn''t have treated you as a junior," he said. "I shouldn''t have regarded you as a world lord as well. In fact, you have the strength to rival a Supreme Lord!"


    His evaluation was extremely high.


    Some outstanding world lords and grand world lords had the strength to fight each other, but the disparity between a grand world lord and a Supreme Lord was simply too great. After all, the Heavenly Destiny carried by a Supreme Lord was something that a grand world lord would never be able to contend with.

 Chapter 2003 Shadows Kill

    Supreme Lord Shadow had been defeated by a world lord twice now¡ªthis was something that had never happened before ever since ancient times!


    It was understandable when he was defeated the first time as he didn''t have an idea of Zen''s strength at all. After all, there were always some world lords in the universes that possessed abilities that even a Supreme Lord couldn''t match. Moreover, Zen was a Godly Genius and that was a big deal.


    The second time he got defeated was because Supreme Lord Shadow had underestimated Zen''s strength again.


    Even though he had made the wrong judgment twice, Supreme Lord Shadow couldn''t forgive himself. Now that he faced Zen, he viewed him as an opponent of the same level as himself¡­


    Right after Supreme Lord Shadow finished his evaluation, Zen had suddenly disappeared to his surprise!


    Whoosh!


    Soon after, he heard a whistling sound. Zen had actually used Grand Teleportation and appeared above him. Using the Great Weighty Sword in his hand he began slaying!


    "Gods-intimidating Strike! Wind Kill!"


    Zen had been preparing for this attack for a long time.


    This Supreme Lord Shadow was an established Supreme Lord within the Demon Night. After being unsuccessful twice in a row, he had to do something in order to save some face.


    It was indeed an honor for a normal world lord to get such a comment, but Zen had no interest in hearing it.


    On the eastern side of the Evolutionary Universe, the Godly Genius Maha had made his move within the Sunflower Water World. The Supreme Lords from both the Sacred race and human race had already begun their arrangements. A decisive battle could erupt at any time, and Zen wouldn''t stay here for too long!


    He only wanted results; he wasn''t interested in getting anyone''s appreciation or praise.


    Therefore, when he attacked suddenly, he used the most effective method!


    Now, Zen''s cultivation had reached a whole new level. Combined with the burst of chaotic energy, the Gods-intimidating Strike released a power that was at a whole new level!


    A sword shadow spread out. It was like wind blades that contained the tenth layer of Wind Law were crushing down from all directions. These beams of sword radiance cut through the air, blocking all paths of Supreme Lord Shadow to retreat!


    Zen couldn''t have timed the attack any better!


    The Supreme Lord Shadow was stunned!


    In a battle of this level, success or failure was usually decided in the blink of an eye.


    Supreme Lord Shadow was extremely quick to react and he was adept at escaping.


    Faced with Zen''s powerful sword attack, he abruptly lowered his body and transformed into two black shadows. The two black shadows instantly multiplied into four, and then into eight, sixteen, thirty-two, sixty-four¡­


    Puff puff puff ¡­


    Although Zen''s strike had destroyed some of the shadows, the number of the shadows below was increasing at a terrifying speed!


    A thousand black shadows¡­


    Two thousand black shadows¡­


    Four thousand black sha


    tuttered in disbelief.


    The one hundred thousand black shadows had already dissipated, leaving behind only a hazy black shadow. It began to slowly transform into the true form of Supreme Lord Shadow. He stood one hundred feet away from Zen, gaping at him. The shock was painted all over his face.


    This kid was still alive!


    He never expected him to be able to survive his deadly Shadows Kill.


    "You, you''re not hurt¡­"


    Supreme Lord Shadow''s mind had become fuddled now. He found it hard to believe the phenomenon in front of him. Zen was completely unharmed from head to toe. He couldn''t see any wounds on Zen''s body¡­


    The smile on Leroy''s face grew wider. Even his shoulders began to shake as he chortled. "Hahahaha! This brat is a monster! He really is a monster!"


    Supreme Lord Leroy was naturally happy to see that Zen was safe and sound, but Supreme Lord Korbin and Supreme Lord Shadow were feeling rather helpless.


    Humans had a natural fear towards things that were beyond common sense, and even the Supreme Lords were no exception. Indeed, the Shadows Kill was not the strongest among all the methods utilized by Supreme Lords. After all, the power of these one hundred thousand black shadows could not concentrate only on one point.


    Even if a Supreme Lord were to take it forcefully, they would likely to be on the point of dying. It was truly illogical for Zen to not only be able to survive this attack but also do it without suffering any injuries!


    Even Supreme Lord Shadow wanted to retreat at this point!


    However, he was still unwilling to accept defeat. If he lost to a kid like Zen, this would probably become an inner demon, which he would never be able to get rid of for the rest of his life. He would not accept this failure.


    Keeping this in mind, he gritted his teeth and went all out! Folding his hands together, he spat out a mouthful of blood essence. As the ball of blood essence danced on his hands, it condensed into a thumb-sized sword of blood essence.

 Chapter 2004 A Sneak Attack

    It was known that while Supreme Lord Shadow was only a low-rank Supreme Lord, he wasn''t as ordinary as one thought.


    Someone had once said that each Heavenly Destiny served a purpose, and there was no difference between top-rank and low-rank Heavenly Destinies. As long as one used their Heavenly Destiny wisely and to its maximum capability, then even a low-rank Supreme Lord could have a chance against a top-rank Supreme Lord.


    Of course, the Heavenly Destiny wouldn''t have much effect if not used appropriately.


    Supreme Lord Shadow''s Heavenly Destiny was called the Shadow Dance. His Heavenly Destiny enabled him to be invisible. However, Zen was able to see him because he had fused himself with the worlds'' will. Therefore, Supreme Lord Shadow was left with no other option but to burn his blood essence to fight Zen.


    What he didn''t know was that it was exactly the move that Zen hoped he would do the most!


    While Zen''s current strength might not be the strongest in this entire universe, it was difficult to find someone who could match him in close combat.


    If Supreme Lord Shadow fled, then Zen wouldn''t be able to catch up to him. However, Supreme Lord Shadow had already decided to kill Zen, and now was Zen''s chance.


    A shadow suddenly flashed in front of Supreme Lord Shadow when he had just formed a small sword with his blood essence. He thought that Zen was like a man who wanted more food than he could finish. ''Does he really want to take me down? How ridiculous!'' he thought. It was something he found intolerable. He laughed loudly and shouted, "Come at me!"


    The little sword in his hand shook violently and looked like it was about to fly at any moment. At the same time, a white light glowed under his feet as he was about to teleport away.


    A gust of wind blew as Zen, who was rapidly approaching, flicked his finger and a colorful ribbon of light shot out of it. A chain dangled at the end of the light beam.


    "Death Chain!"


    Zen had seldom used it since he had gotten it.


    According to Saul''s explanation, the Death Chain was like the light band of the fairy palace. Once two warriors were locked by the chain, it would be impossible for even a Supreme Lord to escape unless they killed the other party.


    Despite its powerful capabilities, Zen never had the chance to use it ever since he had ascended to the Upper World.


    Now, Zen wasn''t slow either. It was rare that an opponent of the same level could escape from him. However, the situation was different when Zen''s opponent was a Supreme Lord. Because as long as a Supreme Lord chose to run away, Zen''s current speed wouldn''t allow him to catch up to them.


    Thus, the Death Chain could really be of great use right now.


    Swoosh!


    The beam of light shot out from Zen''s hand like a bullet, headed straight towards Supreme Lord Shadow.


    The speed of the light beam was far too fast for anyone or anything to comprehend. Back when Zen was hidden away in the fairy palace, the Supreme Lords were still quite far from him, but that didn''t stop the light band of the fairy pa


    nted. His body spun like a top in the air as Zen effortlessly threw him around.


    Then again, to be punched by Zen''s fist was still better than being beheaded by his sword.


    Therefore, when Zen pulled the light belt again and pulled back Supreme Lord Shadow, he repeated the same process.


    The scene was like a mirror when the little sword faced Zen''s Great Weighty Sword, while Zen''s fist faced Supreme Lord Shadow''s body.


    Bam!


    Bam!


    Bam!


    Bam!


    After all the punches, Supreme Lord Shadow''s elegant appearance had become more and more deformed.


    It wasn''t that Supreme Lord Shadow hadn''t thought of counterattacking. Although he was skilled in assassination and close combat, how could he be a match for Zen? Zen''s backhanded attack had crushed his counterattack, leaving the bones in one of his arms into dust.


    Supreme Lord Shadow had resisted for a few more rounds, until he finally became nothing more than Zen''s punching bag, when the latter beat him up repeatedly with his terrifying and fatal strength.


    Zen had punched him about sixteen times, and the Death Chain still kept them bound. Although Supreme Lord Shadow was on his last breath, his life force was incredibly tenacious. Zen couldn''t help but sigh inwardly. Killing a Supreme Lord wasn''t an easy thing


    On the other hand, Supreme Lord Shadow''s little sword continued to clash against Zen''s Great Weighty Sword. In the end, it broke apart and the blood essence splattered everywhere.


    Now that the little sword had been eliminated, Zen''s eyes flashed as he flipped the Great Weighty Sword. He dragged Supreme Lord Shadow back to his side, and decided to finish him off with a single slash.


    At that point, Zen suddenly heard a loud crackling sound, similar to the roar of a thunder.


    ''A sneak attack!'' he thought.


    Before he could even use the words'' will to check what it was, he felt an oppressive and tyrannical power beat him from behind. His hand immediately pulled the deformed Supreme Lord Shadow and they smashed down onto the Inauguration Altar.

 Chapter 2005 Face An Impasse

    Boom!


    Since it was the most important building of the Demon Night race, the Inauguration Altar naturally had many defenses.


    It was very difficult to infiltrate it from the outside.


    However, due to the pressure of that massive force, Zen and Supreme Lord Shadow found themselves falling directly onto the thick, stone floor of the altar.


    The altar was built from solid, cyan stone cut three-hundred feet high and three-hundred feet wide. Its surface was intricately carved and gave it a tougher constitution.


    It was impossible to pierce through the thick, cyan stone so Zen and Supreme Lord Shadow merely created two large holes and embedded themselves within.


    While inside the hole, Zen turned and saw two women standing at the far end of the Inauguration Altar. One was in blue, the other in green.


    These two were slender and had well-proportioned bodies. They looked extremely beautiful, but their temperaments were totally different. The one in blue had high cheekbones that gave her a fierce, domineering look.


    The green one had a gentler face compared to her.


    "Elena... Latonia..."


    Zen murmured in distaste. He didn''t think these two would get here so fast.


    They had fought against him before. Elena almost got involved in the Desperate Melee activated by Zen back then. Fortunately for her, Supreme Lord Gunter was the one who bit the dust during that event.


    As for Latonia... She had initially participated in the Illusion Battlefield as "Shania" and displayed the power of the tenth layer of Life Law, shocking the entire universe''s Supreme Lords.


    Zen hadn''t treated her as an enemy back then, but the Celestial Position race thought differently. They were on guard against her from the start and quickly eliminated her from the ten Godly Geniuses. It was these two women, under the orders of the Soul-sealing Needles, that led the Demon Night race on this path.


    If Zen managed to kill Supreme Lord Shadow, then he could join forces with Supreme Lord Leroy and completely reverse the situation. He''d be able to enter the Inauguration Altar to destroy the Pools of Faith.


    Who would''ve guessed that these two women would appear at the worst possible moment? This was going to be extremely troublesome.


    Supreme Lord Shadow and Supreme Lord Korbin were already hard enough to deal with; what was even worse was that these two queens of the Demon Night race also joined the battle.


    If Zen was in a bad mood, Supreme Lord Leroy was practically fuming.


    Luck didn''t seem to be on their side. The intervention of the two Demon Ni


    rse in the future, I will help you obtain some benefits!" Elena promised to both Supreme Lord Shadow and Supreme Lord Korbin. She felt very much in control of the current situation and couldn''t help but feel somewhat proud of herself.


    When they heard Supreme Lord Leroy issue the queen''s order on behalf of Lavender, both Latonia and Elena immediately panicked.


    Supreme Lord Leroy had been in hiding for so many years. With his return, the two queens had no doubt that he had a way to deal with them. If he destroyed their Pools of Faith, then their strengths would greatly weaken and fall into the level of an ordinary world lord.


    So, they hurriedly rushed back as fast as possible.


    They didn''t expect two neutral Supreme Lords to actually come out and fight with both Zen and Supreme Lord Leroy as soon as they returned to the Rosy Cloud World.


    This made the two queens very happy. However, they didn''t expect that Supreme Lord Shadow would be as helpless as a sandbag in front of Zen.


    Thus, they had to intervene.


    "No need to thank me. I did it for myself," Supreme Lord Korbin replied.


    Supreme Lord Leroy''s eyes narrowed at the sight of Elena. His one hand was clutched tight around his bow and his fist was clenched around his three Blood-devouring Bone Arrows he had especially prepared or her.


    At that moment, countless thoughts ran through Zen''s mind. This situation seemed like a dead end with no solution in sight.


    "I''ve let you live peacefully for many years, Leroy. I thought you''d be happy hiding in a corner to enjoy your old age. Why did you appear now?" Elena asked, walking towards him. Although her words were directed at Leroy, her brilliant eyes were fixated on Zen.

 Chapter 2006 Zen Had Lost All His Strength

    Back when Zen was just an Internal Elixir Realm cultivator she remembered him speaking so arrogantly to her.


    Even at that time, Elena had known that this youth enjoyed more than ordinary luck, but she had not dreamed that Zen would be able to reach such heights!


    If the two Supreme Lords had not been able to block him, this brat would have broken into the Pools of Faith. That would have been an unimaginable disaster for Elena.


    "And you¡­ Zen¡­"


    Elena slowly approached the Inauguration Altar, her eyes fixed on Zen. Her smile grew wider, and her intent to kill him also became increasingly apparent. "I deeply regret letting you live for so long, but now this will bring it to an end!"


    As Zen was lying inside the hole, his eyes sparkled. Supreme Lord Shadow was lying beside him. Supreme Lord Shadow had the help from the Queen of Life, so it was almost impossible for Zen to kill him. Now Elena was here, and the Queen of Life was also watching him covetously¡­


    At that moment, the spirit beast bag on Zen''s back trembled slightly. He recalled that when he had returned from the fairy palace he had brought that Ancestral Dragon with him.


    Right then, his eyes narrowed slightly as a bold idea began to take shape in his mind!


    The situation was desperate, and he was unable to think of any other option.


    As he considered this, Zen suddenly grabbed the band of light of the Death Chain and with all his might, pulled it fiercely towards him once again.


    With the assistance from the Queen of Life, Supreme Lord Shadow''s physical body had fully recovered.


    However, he was still feeling dazed following the beating Zen had given him so he waited for Elena to make the first move before helping her to kill Zen.


    What he didn''t expect was for Zen to pull him over again¡­


    Unable to resist the terrifying power that came from the other side of the chain, he could only silently curse as he was forced to fly towards Zen!


    "Boom!"


    As Supreme Lord Shadow flew out, he crashed hard into the side of the Inauguration Altar!


    At this point, Zen was using Supreme Lord Shadow as a meteor hammer. As he continued to wave his hand, everywhere that Supreme Lord Shadow''s body swept through immediately turned into a total mess. Countless cracks began to appear in the cyan stone on the Inauguration Altar. The broken pieces of the stone started to drop like rain and to cover Zen who was below.


    Hidden under the stone pieces, Zen''s spirit beast bag moved slightly and suddenly something jumped out. At the same time, a strand of soul shot out from the spot between Zen''s eyebrows and entered the crack behind the cyan stones!


    As Elena saw the dust which billowed at the side of the Inauguration Altar, her lips twisted into a cruel smirk. "There is no way you can survive. Give up the useless struggle!"


    As she finished speaking, she raised the Saint Thunder Meteor Hammer in her hand¡­


    Boom!


    A thick bolt of lightning shot out from the Saint Thunder Meteor Hammer and struck the hole!


    In an instant all the brok


    h was because of the Pool of Faith.


    Usually, when she extracted energy from the Pool of Faith, it would, at most, only cause a ripple to run across the surface of the pool. Sometimes, there wasn''t even a ripple. However, now the water in the Pool of Faith was churning non-stop¡­


    Zen''s strength was strong enough to actually shake the Pool of Faith that had accumulated Faith Energy from numerous Demon Night members for countless years.


    After Zen retreated a few steps, he too felt that the situation was quite tricky. The lightning that had been transmitted from the Saint Thunder Meteor Hammer just now hadn''t hurt Zen, but it had still numbed his entire body!


    His strength was the only advantage he had when facing Elena. Therefore, after blocking her attack with his sword, he didn''t pause. Forcing himself to suppress the numbness in his body, he slashed at Elena once again!


    However, before he could strike out with his sword, a green willow leaf silently floated towards Zen.


    The willow leaf had brushed against Zen''s Great Weighty Sword, but it was as if that light leaf did not exist in this world as it directly pierced through the heavy sword and got onto Zen''s wrist. There was no way at all to dodge it!


    The moment the willow leaf stuck to him, Zen felt his right hand go numb. He had lost all his strength all of a sudden!


    The Great Weighty Sword he held in his hand was extremely heavy. Even though the hilt was made of the Infinity Stone, it''s weight was equivalent to that of half a great world. How could Zen continue to hold it?


    Whoosh¡­


    The Great Weighty Sword slipped out of Zen''s hand and smashed downwards!


    Seeing this scene unfolding below her, Elena sneered. She stretched out her hand and sent the Saint Thunder Meteor Hammer downwards once again!


    Bam!


    The hammer struck Zen in the chest, causing him to plummet downwards along with the Great Weighty Sword. The unlucky Supreme Lord Shadow was also dragged down along with Zen as he was still connected to the Death Chain.

 Chapter 2007 Profound Holy Thunder

    As Zen was smashed down, an enormous one-thousand-foot crater was formed in the ground. Supreme Lord Shadow, too, was pretty badly battered by the impact.


    The Great Weighty Sword had been stabbed into the ground.


    The huge square surrounding the Inauguration Altar was paved with a unique kind of solid green stone. In front of the Great Weighty Sword though, the green stone was softer than tofu. So much so that the Great Weighty Sword made no sound as it penetrated directly through the stone, sinking into the soil below.


    The soil of the Rosy Cloud World was even less capable of withstanding the weight and power of the Great Weighty Sword, which kept sinking downward into the soil.


    It wasn''t long before the Great Weighty Sword pierced through the soft soil and drilled into the rock stratum.


    If it were an ordinary weapon, it would have most likely gotten stuck in the rock stratum, but the Great Weighty Sword was just too heavy. These rocks couldn''t support the sword and thus, it continued on its downward momentum.


    Zen was lying in the pit, an expression of gloom sitting on his face.


    In a battle against a Supreme Lord, strength truly couldn''t play a decisive role. It was too easy to be restrained by all sorts of different methods.


    As Zen lay motionless, the willow leaf stuck to his right hand began acting more and more strange. As it appeared, currently, it could actually completely absorb the power in his arm. No matter how Zen circulated the power within his body, it disappeared without a trace like an ox slipping into the mud sea.


    For the time being, his greatest advantage was his power. Once his power had been sealed off though, how would he go about dealing with such a situation?


    "Hey, kid, you''ve suffered a lot now ¡­" Not far away, Supreme Lord Shadow slowly stood up. He stared at Zen and let out a cold chuckle. Only after seeing Zen get frustrated did he begin to feel a sense of satisfaction in his heart.


    "The outcome is still uncertain!" Zen calmly replied.


    And that was when Latonia sweetly smiled in midair. She opened her arms and waved once more. Under the concentration of pure green life energy, a few more willow leaves appeared. These willow leaves slipped out of her way and floated toward Zen!


    ''Again?'' he thought to himself.


    Zen''s heart skipped a beat. He still had a chance to resist, even with one of his hands sealed off. If the willow leaves were to cover his entire body, then he would really be finished!


    He suddenly flipped over from the ground and the Space Law began to flicker beneath his feet. However, just as Zen was about to use Grand Teleportation to leave this place, Supreme Lord Shadow, who was at his side, noticed what Zen was doing and he suddenly leaped in the opposite direction.


    They were linked together by the Death Chain. As they pulled on each other, the ribbon of light surrounding the Death Chain suddenly stretched out straight!


    Supreme Lord Shadow''s strength was far inferior to Zen''s. However, due to this unexpected pull, Zen was unable to use Grand Teleportation. Although a large half of his body had already disappeared into the blazing white light, he was now forcibly pulled back out!


    Thump! Thump!


    Thus, they both fell back down once again into the huge pit with loud thumps.


    In the past, this Death Chain had caused Supreme Lord Shadow his fair shar


    rtial artist burnt their blood essence, they could greatly increase their strength in a short period of time. Leroy had instead used his own blood essence to create these bone arrows over a long period of time. For this reason, their power was guaranteed to be even more terrifying!


    Once the bone arrow hit its target, the blood flame on the arrowhead would enter the target''s body and burn their blood like fuel!


    But the Blood-devouring Bone Arrow was a part of Leroy''s life. In other words, every time he shot an arrow, a third of his life was burned to ashes. If he shot three arrows¡­ Without doubt, he would then perish!


    On the one hand, the price was too high.


    On the other hand, if Zen were to die right now, it would be impossible for him to escape. And in that sense, the price was worthwhile.


    "Ha¡­"


    Elena''s face revealed a sneer. Despite her expression, her face was so beautiful that anyone could fall absent-minded upon staring at her.


    "Just having strong determination isn''t enough. Are you sure this arrow can kill me?"


    Surprisingly, her tone of voice displayed not the slightest intention of backing down.


    "Let''s find out!"


    Leroy shouted back. The golden light in his eyes grew brighter and brighter. As soon as Elena made any unusual movement, he wouldn''t hesitate to shoot her with his arrow.


    But Elena didn''t seem to care about the Blood-devouring Bone Arrow at all...


    Instead, the expression on her face became more and more relaxed, and she gave a cold, scary smile. "I do want to give it a try!"


    And as she finished speaking, Elena didn''t even spare a glance at Leroy before she continued swinging the Saint Thunder Meteor Hammer in her hand. The thunder vortex spun faster and faster, and the Profound Holy Thunder began brewing unceasingly, too.


    When he noticed what was going on, Leroy let out a deep sigh. A resolute expression appeared on his face. He released the bowstring in his hand! Ultimately, he was left without any other choice.


    The moment the arrow shot out, his originally gray hair turned silvery-white; his eye sockets sunk inward by at least an inch; the skin on his face became unusually sallow and wrinkled, and he slowly began to resemble more of a skeleton as he aged anew.

 Chapter 2008 Aging

    Swoosh!


    The Blood-devouring Bone Arrow suddenly turned into a trail of blood and shot towards Elena below! The red streak made by the arrow flew with great precision.


    There was no way to dodge the arrow that Supreme Lord Leroy shot. The arrow could have followed Elena to the ends of the earth...


    Elena was well aware of the arrow''s characteristics. However, she didn''t dodge at all and continued to concentrate on the Profound Holy Thunder that she brewed.


    The Profound Holy Thunder that floated above Zen''s head became more condensed than before. The aura it emitted also became even more immense as if a god of thunder was about to appear. Power, similar to a catastrophic thunderstorm, radiated from it.


    Pfft!


    The Blood-devouring Bone Arrow dragged a bloody light with it as it drilled through Elena''s protective life vitality. With a powerful force, the arrow punctured her back.


    Swish¡­


    A blood-red flame followed the arrow towards Elena''s wound and penetrated her body!


    It would burn away all the blood in Elena''s body. Ultimately, it would even devour her soul.


    Elena maintained her upright posture as she stood bravely. Her entire body was stiff and unmoved. From her appearance, there didn''t seem to be any change. However, the blood-colored flame was furiously burning inside her body...


    Whoosh!


    On her chest suddenly surged a ray of red light. The heart was the place where the blood was the most concentrated in the body of a martial artist. When the blood flame reached that particular part of the body, the fire grew even more intense. It directly burned through her chest. The blood flame started to bloom like a rose. It swayed around her chest and radiated a bright red light.


    Additionally, red flames that burned furiously had also escaped out of Elena''s arms, thighs, and even her back.


    However, she still held onto the hammer in her hand and maintained the same strong posture as before. She urged the descent of the Profound Holy Thunder as if her body wasn''t being burned. Concentration and determination were reflected in her eyes.


    Leroy''s eyes focused on Elena. A perplexed expression had appeared on his face.


    The intense heat from the blood flame was supposed to evaporate all the blood in Elena''s body. However, she didn''t show any signs of pain or struggle. Leroy felt confused as he witnessed a scene that was beyond common sense!


    Whoosh!


    The crimson flame continued to burn even brighter...


    Not long after, all of Elena''s clothes, skin, and hair were burnt entirely away. All that was left was a charred black skeleton that stood firmly on the spot. However, the skeleton still tightly grasped the Saint Thunder Meteor Hammer in her hand!


    The thunder vortex above Zen''s head had yet to dissipate. Power still radiated from it.


    "This..."


    Leroy''s eyes widened while his face was filled with disbelief. "How could this be?! What the hell happened?"


    After it heard Leroy''s words, the charred skeleton even raised its skull and opened its jaws towards him. "Heh heh heh¡­" It gave out a spooky atmosphere. A strange sound echoed when the skeleton''s jaws collided as if to mock Leroy...


    It made Leroy''s hair stand on end. He had no idea what was wrong. Cold sweat trickled down his spine.


    It wasn''t just him. Even Zen, Suprem


    d as fuel, which made it attracted to anything that had Latonia''s blood.


    When her blood flowed out along the bloody vine, the blood flame was immediately drawn to it and began to burn furiously along the vine. Latonia intelligently guided the blood flame outside her body with the use of the blood-red vine.


    Whoosh!


    When the blood flame reached the top half of the vine, Latonia gently tapped on it. The vine instantly broke and fell to the ground. A crispy sound could be heard as it disintegrated.


    After the blood-red vine was burnt entirely away, the bloody flame was extinguished in an instant. Latonia remained unharmed despite Leroy''s sacrifice¡­


    There was a faint smile on her haughty expression. She nodded towards Leroy and let out a sly smile. The extremely lethal Blood-devouring Bone Arrow was ineffective against her.


    A deep sense of powerlessness ran through Leroy''s heart. Even after he sacrificed his own life, he wasn''t able to do any damage to both of the queens.


    The two arrows that he released made his body look old. The worst part was that his mind had also begun to degenerate...


    If Supreme Lord Korbin wanted to kill him right then, Leroy wouldn''t be able to resist at all. Fragile bones and weak muscles had rendered him helpless.


    His years of resistance had seemed like a joke. The failures of his sacrifices had left him without any nobility.


    However, Supreme Lord Korbin did not attack. Elena''s attention was also no longer focused on Leroy. In their eyes, after Leroy shot out these two arrows, he was like a toothless tiger that had lost its ability to harm them. He was just an old man, soon to be dead.


    Elena felt that the condensation of the Profound Holy Thunder was almost done, so she smiled towards Zen, "Now it''s time to send you on your way." Hatred was apparent in her tone.


    Godly Geniuses all possessed heaven-defying fortune. It had been given explicitly to them by the universe itself. Therefore, Elena didn''t relax her guard in the slightest. Vigilance was reflected in her eyes.


    Since she had already seized the opportunity, she had to get rid of Zen. If he was out of her way, there wouldn''t be any unnecessary troubles for her¡­

 Chapter 2009 Can You Really Kill Me

    Zen was shackled by the Death Chain and his power was sealed. Now he had no way to flee.


    Looking at the lightning that was condensing above his head, he slowly calmed down. His eyes revealed a faint smile.


    Noticing Zen''s expression, Elena asked, "Why are you smiling?"


    Zen blinked, his smile becoming wider. "You''re sending me to my death, why can''t I smile before I die?"


    Elena sneered at this. She then extended her hand and made a few mysterious moves in the sky. A deep blue rune shattered in her hand and turned into a stream of light that shot into the vortex. She then looked down at Zen in the crater and spoke, "I hope that you can still continue smiling in the netherworld."


    "Sizzle..."


    The lightning vortex that had been condensing for a long time formed huge lightning snakes.


    There were exaggerated patterns on the surface of these lightning snakes. The lightning snakes had a life of their own as they constantly intertwined with each other and wriggled!


    As the lightning snakes wriggled, they eyed Zen hungrily. They were viewing him as a tasty morsel but the lightning snakes were trapped in the vortex, unable to get out¡­


    But when Elena released the blue stream of light, the lightning vortex began to slowly disintegrate. The lightning snakes finally attained their freedom!


    "Hissss..."


    Having gained their freedom, they swooped down simultaneously. Countless bolts of lightning struck at the air, causing an ear-piercing sound!


    Elena watched this scene coldly, and calmly observed Zen. This fellow should feel honored to die by the Profound Holy Thunder.


    However Zen looked at Elena and flashed a dazzling smile. At the same time, his lips moved slightly¡­


    His voice was very low, and even without the noises from the lighting arcs, she still might not have been able to hear him clearly. However, Elena knew lip-reading, and the moment he opened his mouth, she could easily read what he was saying.


    "Do you really think you can kill me?"


    When Elena understood what he was saying, her eyebrows creased and a puzzled expression appeared on her face¡­


    ''Was this fellow a fool?''


    Elena was well aware of the power of this Profound Holy Thunder. There was simply no one in the entire universe who could resist it head-on.


    Even the four top-rank Supreme Lords of the Evolutionary Universe would not dare to forcefully take this Profound Holy Thunder, let alone Zen. Anyone who dared to use their physical body to block the Profound Holy Thunder would have their flesh completely ripped to shreds.


    Strong as the power of this Profound Holy Thunder was, there was a fatal problem with it; it was too time-consuming to be employed in a jiffy.


    In a fight between Supreme Lords, deadly moves were executed in the blink of an eye!


    A few seconds was a very extremely short time frame for an ordinar


    World, an unprecedented disaster was unfolding.


    When the Sacred martial artists invaded this universe, they had to face all sorts of natural disasters every now and then. They had to be extremely cautious at all times in order to combat the malicious phenomenon of the Evolutionary Universe.


    After occupying a supreme world, they would try their best to reduce the number in their group and then use the materials in that supreme world to create various arrays and enchanted barriers.


    This way, it wouldn''t be too much of a problem to deal with ordinary events like heavenly thunder or ground fire.


    But today, streaks of lightning, which were as thick as buckets, were suddenly attacking in the Celestial Wolf World.


    "What is that lightning!?"


    a Sacred warrior cried out as he looked at the sky. The light that erupted in the sky alarmed the warriors who were guarding this area.


    Three grand world lords simultaneously looked up into the sky. When they saw the lightning snakes, their mouth fell open in shock.


    "This is not heavenly thunder! This is an attack by some Supreme Lord!"


    "Quickly, go and inform the Supreme Lords of our Sacred race!"


    "That''s impossible! The Supreme Lords of our Sacred race have already gone to the Sunflower Water World. It''s impossible that the humans would dare to send their forces to attack this place right now!"


    There was utter chaos among the martial artists of the Celestial Wolf World!


    At the same time, the lightning snakes were swarming overhead.


    The lightning bolts wreaked havoc on the land. The rolling thunder plowed through the entire sacred place. This ten grade sacred place occupied by the Sacred race was a vast land, but it only took seconds for these lightning snakes to destroy it. In the end, all that was left behind were signs of destruction and charred ruins and the corpses of countless Sacred martial artists.

 Chapter 2010 Willow Of Destruction

    Zen had just transferred the Profound Holy Thunder, and it nearly destroyed one-third of the Celestial Wolf World''s area, and the entire Sacred race within it.


    The Profound Holy Thunder shone like mercury as it trickled down Zen''s body while he gradually transferred it to the Celestial Wolf World.


    Above his head, the thunder vortex disappeared as if it was never there. However, the lightning snakes came together into a giant ball of lightning and wrapped themselves around Zen. The ball lost energy eventually, with the light dimming as it shrank.


    Everything took place in at least a minute and a half.


    Once the light rays disappeared, a massive crater developed beneath Elena''s feet. It was wide and deep, impossible to fill up. Perhaps it was bottomless.


    "It''s over..."


    Elena slowly walked over and stood at the edge of the crater, looking down. Her eyes turned a dark brown in dismay.


    "This fellow..."


    Zen, on the other hand, sat still, cross-legged with his eyes closed. Not a single speck of dust on his body, including the long robe that fell behind him.


    Before this, Elena had already felt a trace of worry.


    It was of common knowledge that the Godly Geniuses had a mission¡ªeveryone knew this. They had been born in the universe with the responsibility of saving it someday. Because of their power, they could not be easily killed.


    The first thing Elena did after Latonia sealed Zen with the Willow of Destruction, was to summon the Profound Holy Thunder.


    This specific thunder was one of Elena''s top theurgies.


    Despite this, Zen remained unharmed. She suddenly realized that this made things a lot more complicated.


    Seeing Elena, Latonia shook her head in confusion. Just then, her body flashed, and she ended up above the giant hole. Her eyes scoped the situation, and she furrowed her eyebrows in surprise. "He''s not dead? Even his clothes weren''t damaged? What kind of robe is this?"


    Korbin and Leroy were both shocked to hear this.


    Most especially Leroy, whose dull eyes gave off hopeful expressions.


    He had thought he was doomed. The two Blood-devouring Bone Arrows did not achieve anything, burning two-thirds of his life for nothing. Meanwhile, Zen was bound and baptized by the Profound Holy Thunder.


    The odd thing was that Zen still hadn''t died. ''Is he immune to everything? Does this make him indestructible?'' he mused.


    Elena and the Supreme Lords moved towards the giant hole and looked down at Zen. They had to keep their eyes glued to believe what was happening.


    After a while, Zen''s eyes twitched and eventually opened. As his gaze met Elena''s, he smiled faintly before leaping up from the large


    rose and fell continuously as she gasped for air. The skin under her eyes puffed up as her pupils became visibly glassy.


    She was helpless. After catching Zen, all she had to do was destroy him. But she couldn''t, and it made her feel foolish. How was this even possible?


    "Let me give it a try..."


    Seeing Elena''s desperation, Latonia floated down and hovered in front of Zen. Staring at him with gentle, moving eyes, she smiled and said, "If I''m not wrong, you seem to have the same theurgy as my leaves of Willow of Destruction."


    The willow leaves that sealed his power were from a plant created by Latonia.


    This material could absorb any energy and have it transmitted to the trunk of the willow tree. In a certain corner of the world, Latonia managed to plant millions of Willows of Destruction.


    Therefore, when Zen used his power, it would be completely absorbed by the willow trees.


    Hearing this, Zen smiled. "Maybe."


    Zen had a feeling this was the case. Yes, the willow Leaves absorbed energy and transferred it to the tree trunks. Nonetheless, all the willow trees had a limit to their stock. Once the trunks reached their limit, the trees would die.


    As for Zen''s power transfer, wherever it was covered by the will of worlds, he could divert power. This made his power transfer a hundred times greater than Latonia''s.


    Latonia didn''t continue questioning him. There and then, a green light flashed in her eyes as she stretched out her hand and tapped Zen''s shoulder lightly. A green ripple began to spread across Zen''s body.


    In the blink of an eye, seedlings sprouted around Zen. After they broke through the soil, golden vines extended from the seeds and wrapped around him within seconds. Soon after, Zen was completely bound in golden vines.

 Chapter 2011 Helpless

    The vines completely wrapped around Zen.


    These were Bone-dissolving Vines. Once a person was trapped, the vines would suck their life energy until their prey was dry like a prune.


    Just now, Zen had been able to withstand the Profound Holy Thunder. Latonia wasn''t adept at combat, but she knew better than to rely on her own strength to break through Zen''s theurgy.


    If the Bone-dissolving Vines were truly effective and would completely absorb all of Zen''s life energy, then she''d be more than satisfied.


    "I''m sorry," she said, her voice saccharine sweet.


    She really wasn''t someone who enjoyed killing and she couldn''t be less interested in Elena''s schemes. It was just a pity she had to kill Zen.


    Zen''s expression remained the same. However, in the next moment, he felt a strange movement from the vines. Tiny vortices erupted on their skin and began to absorb his energy.


    Soon, green dots started to appear along the vines.


    The Bone-dissolving Vines were taking his energy.


    "It''s working," Latonia said with faint amusement.


    "Good," Elena nodded in praise. She hadn''t thought that even after she''d exhausted her strength, she''d still have to rely on Latonia to solve the problem.


    Latonia, however, only glanced at her with indifference.


    Although the Soul-sealing Needle forced her to stand on the same side as Elena, she didn''t like the girl, and she wasn''t afraid to show it.


    The vines continued to absorb life energy, and were getting fatter every passing moment. Latonia lightly tapped on a vine and it slithered onto her hand like a snake.


    The green energy flowed from Zen''s body to hers, and she liked it very much.


    The moment life energy was extracted, it would begin to form a ball of energy. It would condense and grow bigger until it had absorbed all the nutrients and energy from its source.


    Not long after, more and more energy gathered in her hand, and soon enough, another ball of green light appeared.


    "Huh?"


    Latonia frowned in confusion.


    This ball of green light held all of one''s life energy.


    But if Latonia had indeed extracted Zen''s life energy, why was he still alive?


    Unless... This was not Zen''s life energy!


    ''Could it be that this brat has other life forms attached to him?''


    Scowling at


    he Demon Night!"


    Zen remained calm. While they were beating him up, he used the will of worlds to check out the situation within the Inauguration Altar. The corners of his mouth curved to a smile. "You didn''t sense anything?"


    Elena ignored him. Right now, she only wanted him locked up in eternal night.


    Punishment was Elena''s specialty. Killing people was Lavender''s...


    But as Elena began to condense Faith Energy, a frown formed on her face. She couldn''t collect any.


    Latonia''s expression mirrored Elena''s. She could sense something wrong. The two women glanced at each other and saw the panic reflected in their eyes. They turned their attention to the Inauguration Altar.


    Rumble, rumble...


    The earth began to shake violently.


    Soon, massive cracks began to form in the Inauguration Altar''s surface.


    "What''s happening?" Leroy asked, his gaze fixed on the altar.


    The Inauguration Altar was probably one of the sturdiest buildings in the Evolutionary Universe. A Supreme Lord wouldn''t be able to force their way in it. And before, when Zen had fallen from the sky, he had only created a hole in the surface.


    The tremors that came from the Inauguration Altar at this moment were actually capable of shattering the entire Inauguration Altar. What exactly had happened here?


    BOOM!


    And right at that moment, the Inauguration Altar exploded.


    And from the rubble, a massive figure shot straight to the sky. A silhouette of a woman could be seen standing on top of a dragon''s head!

 Chapter 2012 The Unfamiliar Lavender

    The massive form turned out to be the body of an adult Genuine Dragon!


    Its dark cyan scales were closely packed, forming a strong layer of armor on its body. It emitted a dreamy luster underneath the sun''s rays.


    Two, sharp, yellow horns protruded from its head and its bewitching red eyes exuded such a powerful aura that hit like a tidal wave upon those who watched it with awe.


    If a Genuine Phoenix''s rank and potential depended on the number of feathers on its tail, to a Genuine Dragon, these things were measured by the number of claws it had.


    Ordinary Genuine Dragons normally had three while stronger ones had four. The strongest Genuine Dragon had five!


    Only two, five-clawed Genuine Dragons existed in the entire Genuine Dragon World: the eldest of the nine dragon brothers and also the strongest existence in the Genuine Dragon World - the Five-clawed Golden Dragon. The other was the similarly Five-clawed Black Dragon.


    The Evil Dragon that the Celestial Position race had once captured also had five claws.


    However, the dark cyan dragon had six!


    The dragon shot straight to the sky and let out a mighty roar!


    "Roar!"


    This was no simple roar. By just hearing that loud, powerful noise, all weak creatures and lower level vicious beasts of the Rosy Cloud World began to submit and tremble in their caves.


    The dark cyan dragon''s roar triggered something in these creatures - a sense of instinctive fear for survival in the face of such a powerful being. This kind of instinct was something in their bones that was formed through the countless years'' of evolution, passed down from generation to generation!


    Even the Supreme Lords and the two queens felt their heartbeat quicken.


    "Whoosh..."


    The enormous Genuine Dragon circled the air once before heading straight towards the Inauguration Altar and lowering its massive head.


    From the dragon''s head fell down a girl. She somersaulted in the air and landed light as a feather on the big crater.


    Elena, Latonia, and Supreme Lord Korbin stood near while Supreme Lord Shadow was currently bound to Zen by the Death Chain. That woman ignored all of them and walked towards Zen.


    "Lavender," he called out in such a gentle voice as she approached.


    The woman in front of him looked so familiar yet exuded an unreal aura of strange unfamiliarity. She was as pure as a newborn baby, her entire body emitting a perfect aura.


    Yet, all in all, she was Lavender.


    She had always appeared before Zen in soul form so it was only understandable why he felt so strange facing her now. Even when she was in the form of the sword spirit, it was still as insub


    lightning bolts disappear.


    Elena''s strike didn''t work so she decided to change her angle. The Saint Thunder Meteor Hammer once again smashed down towards Lavender.


    The Queen of Killings was calm in the face of such aggression. She pulled back the spear and pointed it at the Saint Thunder Meteor Hammer once again.


    "Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"


    There was a series of explosions as the two clashed. Elena struck out a dozen times and Lavender countered even more.


    The difference though was that Elena had gone all out while Lavender was very much relaxed in blocking the attacks directed at her.


    Whoosh!


    It seemed Lavender had gotten bored of Elena''s pestering. She suddenly raised her spear and made the Saint Thunder Meteor Hammer fly out of Elena''s hand. It spun in the air and created a small hole at the bottom of the huge crater.


    Now that she was without a weapon, the crazed look on Elena''s face quickly melted.


    She had lost the Pool of Faith and then the Saint Thunder Meteor Hammer. There was nothing else she could do to fight against Lavender.


    Swish!


    At this time, Leroy suddenly shot down from the sky!


    He was initially quietly floating in the air but had fallen into despair. However, the quick progression of events completely flabbergasted him.


    It was as if he was in a dream. Was the image in front of him truly real?


    "My queen!" he exclaimed as he rushed towards Lavender''s side.


    Lavender''s vicious face softened when she saw him. "Leroy, you... You have grown so much."


    A warrior at Leroy''s level aging meant only one thing: he had finally entered the Five Aging Processes. Such process was irreversible and Leroy would inevitably slide into death''s abyss. There was no way that could change his fate.

 Chapter 2013 Be Swallowed

    The Heavenly Destiny of Supreme Lord Leroy had been personally gifted by Lavender. Naturally, his feelings for her differed from the other Supreme Lords of the Demon Night race.


    In the universe, Supreme Lords were the utmost existences¡ªnever did they submit to anyone.


    But the Supreme Lords of the Demon Night race still maintained respect towards their queens. Most of the time, they were on equal footing.


    But Supreme Lord Leroy submitted to Lavender willingly, treating her as his master.


    For the sake of her return, he was willing to pay any price. No regret would come to him even if he had to sacrifice his own life.


    To him, hearing Lavender''s simple greeting was already worth everything.


    The conflict before him hadn''t been resolved, so it wasn''t the time to reminisce about the past.


    Elena stood in front of Lavender, looking stubborn and unmoving. Such was her personality¡ªparanoid and violence-driven.


    Although she knew that she had suffered a crushing defeat, she couldn''t accept it in the least.


    No change could be hinted from Latonia''s expression¡ªshe couldn''t be read at all in that moment.


    Standing not too far away, Supreme Lord Korbin felt bitterness fill his heart.


    He and Supreme Lord Shadow had originally been neutral Supreme Lords. Never did they participate in the internal struggles of the Demon Night race unless they were to face an invasion.


    This time, they had acted completely based on consideration of the situation. They believed that Zen could be brought down easily, and that Leroy and the other Demon Night members weren''t a match for them at all.


    After all, who would''ve thought that Zen''s strength could still exceed anyone''s imagination? Even after the two queens returned, they couldn''t defeat him.


    Yet, such a change came about in the Inauguration Altar, something unexpected to all.


    Supreme Lord Korbin watched Lavender warily, preparing to use the Grand Teleportation to leave. If she were to control the Demon Night race, he wouldn''t be able to stay any longer. But as a Supreme Lord, it wasn''t really difficult to find a hiding spot in the universe.


    The one who was most let down was probably Supreme Lord Shadow.


    Although he was completely healed, thanks to Latonia, he still had one side of the chain on his body¡ªhe had no way to escape.


    Lavender''s eyes swept slowly over them until they finally stopped on Latonia. "Latonia, do you wish to be my enemy too? Why?"


    After Lavender had brewed for such a long time, her question left everyone in shock. It seemed that Lavender knew nothing.


    Latonia looked at her strangely. She wasn''t as depressed and unwilling as Elena, so she gave a free, easy smile. "Since we''re taking different sides, it''s natural that I become your enemy." Altho


    llings, Lavender was by no means a soft-hearted woman. Even if her own race''s Supreme Lords had committed an unforgivable sin, she would be decisive and make her move without hesitation.


    Supreme Lord Korbin, who had been preparing to run away, suddenly activated the Grand Teleportation, ready to flee.


    Swoosh!


    A blazing white power of the Space Law began blooming underneath his feet as he dissipated.


    "You want to escape?"


    This put a frown on Zen''s and Supreme Lord Leroy''s faces. Supreme Lords could teleport swiftly and travel far off in a blink of an eye. If a Supreme Lord had the intention of escaping, it made killing him all too difficult. Although Zen''s Death Chain could lock down the Supreme Lord, the other end of it was still locked onto Supreme Lord Shadow.


    But just as Supreme Lord Korbin was about to use Grand Teleportation to escape, the Ancestral Dragon began to move. Suddenly, it raised its neck and its head shot out, opening its mouth wide, fiercely biting down on the void.


    Although the Ancestral Dragon''s body was now enormous, its movements were unimaginably fast¡ªthey simply didn''t match the creature''s massive size.


    As it opened his mouth, everyone could see something inside it and hear Supreme Lord Korbin''s rage. A mass of cyan flames exploded within the dragon''s mouth¡ªit was Supreme Lord Korbin''s counterattack!


    But the Ancestral Dragon closed its mouth, sucking back in the cyan flames. After it chewed for a moment, the angry roars from within its mouth turned lighter and lighter.


    Supreme Lord Korbin had actually been chewed up and swallowed by the dragon.


    When Supreme Lord Shadow and the rest of them saw the scene, they sucked in a cold breath of air¡ªnone of them could understand why the dragon would bite down on Supreme Lord Korbin when he had already used Grand Teleportation.

 Chapter 2014 Time Of Purge

    The Grand Teleportation technique allowed warriors to instantly appear from one place to another in great distances.


    It was known that only warriors at the world lord level and above were fully able to grasp this technique. The use of this technique in battles between world lords or Supreme Lords often made it difficult for the warriors to kill their opponents, as it provided an escape.


    The warriors who were proficient in the Grand Teleportation technique were well aware that the so-called "Teleportation" wasn''t as easy as it sounded.


    First, a normal space channel was needed. Then, it would use the Space Law to construct a path and fold the two ends of space together.


    The stronger the Space Law was, the higher the ratio of folding.


    The space channels of the great worlds could reduce a distance of a thousand miles to just ten miles, while the Upper World''s space channels could reduce a ten-thousand-mile distance to just ten miles as well. Even more astonishing were the trans-border channels, for they could reduce a distance of a million miles to just ten miles.


    The Grand Teleportation technique the Supreme Lords used was no different as it needed to create the same space channel as well. However, only a few people could use this space channel and it could not exist for long. It could only exist for several seconds or so, but it could reduce the distance of millions of miles to only a foot!


    To put it simply, a Supreme Lord who had executed the Grand Teleportation technique only needed to move one foot to cross millions of miles in reality.


    This teleportation didn''t mean that they actually disappeared, but rather, they traversed millions of miles away at an extremely fast speed.


    It was naturally impossible to even catch up to such an extreme speed. Therefore, if a Supreme Lord used it to escape in battle, the opponent would have to use the same technique to keep up as well.


    On the other hand, the Ancestral Dragon''s situation was a bit special. Its understanding of the Space Law had surpassed everyone''s expectations.


    It was true that Supreme Lord Korbin had successfully used the Grand Teleportation technique to escape. He should be able to get away from the Rosy Cloud World in a blink of an eye.


    Never did he expect that, just when he had escaped into the space channel and started to move inside it, the Ancestral Dragon had suddenly dragged him out and bit him!


    Shock was written all over Zen''s and everyone else''s faces. Supreme Lord Korbin looked equal parts surprised and enraged. He quickly set his thoughts aside and launched a counterattack.


    Yet, it was no use because the Ancestral Dragon had absorbed all of the Faith Energy in the two Pools of Faith. This present Ancestral Dragon was already a full grown adult and was terrifyingly strong. Supreme Lord Korbin fought fiercely and struggled, but the Ancestral Dragon had eventually swallowed him up.


    After


    ound by the Death Chain that exposed his every move.


    "Hmph," Lavender simply snorted.


    She suddenly accelerated her pace and surprisingly did not dodge the cloud of black shadows when she charged straight ahead.


    Puff! Puff! Puff!


    Just then, the others who were present heard several piercing sounds. Fresh blood splattered everywhere and painted everything it touched red.


    When the black shadows were gone, Lavender slowly returned with the Saint Killing Spear in her hand. Supreme Lord Shadow froze on the spot with his eyes wide open as three fist-sized holes appeared on his heart, stomach, stomach, and the center of his chest.


    Right after, the heavens shook violently once more.


    Another Supreme Lord had died.


    The Death Chain that bound Supreme Lord Shadow and Zen together dissipated when the Supreme Lord was no more.


    It was only then when Zen had finally regained his freedom.


    A relieved sigh escaped his lips and he returned the Death Chain to his space ring. Although the Death Chain was a valuable treasure, it had its disadvantages. He could''ve just escaped right now if it wasn''t for the light band that bound him to his opponent. Therefore, he realized that he had to think twice the next time he thought about using it.


    On the other hand, Lavender turned to face Elena and Latonia this time.


    "You are controlled by the Soul-sealing Needles. The crimes that you have committed against the Demon Night race can''t be blamed on you," Lavender said.


    However, Elena couldn''t help but snort coldly at her words. "So what? Even if I wasn''t controlled by the Soul-sealing Needle, I wouldn''t spare your life as well," she said.


    "I know. It''s why I''m not letting you go," Lavender shot back as her eyes glowed red.


    The grudges she and Elena held against each other didn''t really involve the Soul-sealing Needle. It was just that Lavender was self-righteous to a point that she chose to tell right from wrong.

 Chapter 2015 A Shadow

    "Since you know everything, please go ahead. I''ve brought this upon myself," said Elena smiling calmly.


    She no longer had any strategies left for a counterattack. In her dispute with Lavender, the final result was a crushing defeat. However, her smile wasn''t entirely innocent; there seemed to be hidden shrewdness behind her calm demeanor.


    Elena''s expression was as tranquil as a lake, but her soul was trembling faintly. The Soul-sealing Needle in the depths of her soul was emitting a faint light.


    Lavender slowly walked toward Elena grasping her Saint Killing Spear tight in her hand, her steps slow and heavy. The hatred between her and Elena was complicated. In the beginning, she had been killed by Elena and become a remnant soul. Then, Elena had sent out her people, Viveca, Elspeth, Salvador and Aneisha to hunt her. The four of them had killed themselves in front of Lavender. It was all too much!


    Now that the opportunity for revenge was right in front of her, she didn''t feel much joy even though she could easily kill her.


    Buzz...


    The two tips of the Saint Killing Spear began to rotate. The two dots on the tips of the spear formed a circle of light due to the high-speed rotation.


    Ten feet...


    Five feet...


    Three feet...


    Supreme Lord Leroy and Zen stood behind Lavender, quietly watching the scene.


    This was a grudge match between Lavender and Elena, and they would not interfere. Lavender''s tactics on dealing with the Queen of Life depended entirely on her mood.


    This spear strike was only a foot away from Elena. If Lavender lightly swung it with her arm, it would be able to crush Elena''s exquisitely beautiful face and reduce it to a pile of mud.


    But in this instant, the Soul-sealing Needle within Elena''s soul suddenly broke into two.


    Pah!


    A light but sharp sound came from deep within Elena''s soul.


    The instant the Soul-sealing Needle broke, Elena''s entire aura underwent a dramatic change.


    Puff! Puff! Puff!


    An aura, which originated since ancient times but had been passed down eternally, was emitting from Elena''s body!


    Under the spell of this incredible aura, everything in the universe was so tiny.


    Soon, an enormous transparent figure appeared behind Elena.


    The translucent figure did not have a completely-formed body. It was just a spectral aura that constantly whirled in the air, forming the shape of a person.


    Elena''s face revealed a proud smile and her voice also became louder. "Lavender, how naive you are! Do you really think you have what it takes to kill me? Hahaha!"


    Elena suddenly spread out both her hands and tilted her head backwards. She had a crazed smile on her face as she loudly proclaimed, "Master, you''re here..."


    That translucent figure continued to grow. Almost instantly it went from a height of a hundred feet to more than a thousand feet, then ten thousand


    ountless cracks appeared thereafter, and then began to disintegrate.


    Boom!


    For all the living beings in that supreme world, this strike was the beginning of the apocalypse. After the collapse of the supreme world, it constantly spiraled downwards, and the ascending passageways connecting from the Lower World also began to break one by one. Countless living creatures were desperately flying towards the sky in a bid to escape nature''s wrath.


    The power of this palm strike could completely destroy a supreme world.


    Zen''s heart was thumping like crazy as well.


    Supreme Lords were unable to demolish a supreme world completely. For example, Elena''s Profound Holy Thunder had obliterated a third of the surface area of the Celestial Wolf World. The Profound Holy Thunder had only caused destruction on the surface area of the Celestial Wolf World.


    However, no Supreme Lords could wipe out a supreme world. Even when several Supreme Lords fought against each other in the Orange Sea World, they weren''t able to make the entire Orange Sea World disappear. At least half of the Orange Sea World still remained.


    But now, the translucent palm had shattered a supreme world.


    The palm attack was blocked by a small, ant-sized warrior. The transparent shadow seemed to be caught off guard. However, it only hesitated for a moment and then used its other hand to hit Zen.


    Bam!


    Another vicious muffled sound.


    Left with no other choice, Zen once again transferred the power he received to another world.


    Another supreme world became Zen''s scapegoat. After he transferred the power to that supreme world, it would also be desecrated without exception.


    ''This won''t do, '' Zen thought anxiously.


    If he allowed this translucent figure to keep attacking him, and he, in turn, kept sacrificing all the supreme worlds of the Upper World, it would still not be enough! He had to think of another way.

 Chapter 2016 Another Giant Phantom

    Each time when a supreme world collapsed, only a few creatures would be able to survive.


    Hundreds and thousands of mortals in the cities and surrounding towns had no chance of escaping such a disaster. It was an unforeseen occurrence for them to be prepared.


    Zen''s face darkened. He hadn''t expected that such a powerful phantom would suddenly appear at the last moment.


    Whoosh!


    Without any remorse, the phantom once again lifted its hand in an attempt to blow another hit towards Zen. With a gust of wind, a strong pressure resonated.


    With a sudden realization, Zen''s face showed signs of struggle and hesitation. He couldn''t think of a better way to deal with this attack. If he didn''t block it, then the entire Rosy Cloud World would definitely be destroyed by the phantom''s other powerful attack.


    With no time to lose, he was having cold feet caught between choices on how to deal with the attack, but at that moment, he suddenly felt a cold killing intent advancing from behind him!


    "Get out of the way, Zen!"


    A resolute strong voice shouted from behind him.


    Zen turned around and saw Lavender advancing on a fast speed. The bone wings behind Lavender''s back had fully extended. Each of the bone wings emitted a scarlet light.


    Lavender had already completely recovered her strength after unsealing her Pool of Faith. Using Latonia''s spirit embryo, she became even stronger than she had been in the past! She was originally the strongest person of the Demon Night race. After the three queens took each of their own positions, the powers of their Faith Energy were different as well.


    Latonia''s Faith Energy represented new life and fraternity. Her green Faith Energy transformed was the power of Life Law. Elena''s Faith Energy represented rules and order. It would then be transformed into the power of Thunder Law. Those who violated the rules and order of the race would be punished by thunder.


    As for Lavender''s Faith Energy, it represented destruction and annihilation. Her Faith Energy was actually a fusion of the Demon Night race members'' malicious aura. It gave her an excellent and advanced skill in killing.


    With Lavender''s fighting strength and acquired power, she had far surpassed Elena.


    The blood-red Faith Energy she absorbed contained an intense aura of killing. The scarlet lights on her bone wings constantly fluctuated as they converged onto the Saint Killing Spear in Lavender''s hands, forming spear shadows that surrounded her weapon.


    As Lavender brandished the Saint Killing Spear, the spear shadows that seemed to be solid began to sway along with the spear.


    "Converge!"


    Swish!


    As she ordered, the spear shadows began to converge on the Saint Killing Spear.


    On the surface of the Saint Killing Spear, the demonic red color had reached its saturation point. Traces of malicious aura were like flames slowly spreading out to its surroundings.


    At the time when Zen blocked the first attack of the phantom''s transparent giant hand, Lavender on the side


    th determination and boldness. She might have already realized that she would not be able to escape, but after entering her fighting mode, she was affected by the malicious aura and couldn''t feel any fears.


    In the midst of struggle, her eyes met Zen''s. She realized something but only looked at him with a hint of regret.


    Her regretful gaze contained too many unspoken implications, creeping through Zen''s heart.


    That moment seemed to have turned into eternity, and everything became increasingly slower in Zen''s eyes.


    Zoom!


    Unexpectedly at the same time, everything came to a halt as Zen felt a gust of cold wind blew past his back. A figure of a person, in a flash, appeared behind him. The figure quickly grew in size and soon turned into another giant phantom. Without wasting any second, it waved its giant fist and blew a strike towards Murphy''s phantom.


    Boom!


    A muffled sound could be heard as Murphy''s phantom was thrown to the ground. It was not able to hurt Lavender with just a mere gap of seconds. Being attacked by another oppression, it lost balance throwing Lavender up into the sky.


    Bang!


    Murphy''s phantom fell heavily to the ground and crushed the Inauguration Altar behind it creating numerous cracks and canyons on the ground. These cracks were enough to disrupt the stability of the entire Rosy Cloud World. The entire supreme world continued to shake. It seemed like it might collapse at any moment!


    The giant phantom behind Zen only threw one punch but the effect was beyond expectation. It was not just on par with Murphy''s phantom but could be even more powerful!


    "This, this..."


    Zen was dumbstruck as he stared at the giant phantom behind him.


    This phantom had appeared once in the past, and it was this figure who had helped him destroy all of the Luck-devouring Snakes the time he encountered the Luck-devouring Snake Tribulation. He had never imagined that this figure would suddenly appear once more and even gave a powerful blow to Murphy''s phantom.

 Chapter 2017 The Holy Beings Words

    Neither of these two giants had a tangible body. In other words, they weren''t perceptible by touch.


    The transparent giant summoned by Elena was nothing more than a ball of rolling energy waves. In the same sense, the figure standing behind Zen was equally a sphere of floating energy.


    For now, the two giants seemed to have stopped attacking each other for the time being. Instead, they stood rather motionlessly, facing each other in midair.


    The energy in the transparent giant''s head suddenly began to fluctuate violently, forming a huge gap in space. The gap warped and turned into a huge terrifying mouth, from which a fierce wind blew abruptly.


    At first, the sound of the whistling wind was very sharp, but as the enormous mouth continued to change shapes, the intonation began to decrease.


    It took quite some time to adjust the sound volume but afterward, the constantly changing wind sound changed into a melody, and in the end, it actually transformed into a person''s voice!


    "Mike! We meet again..."


    As Zen watched the huge distorted mouth, a look of surprise appeared on his face.


    He knew that the transparent giant had no way of making any sound on its own and therefore, it had to influence the speed and angle of the airflow in order to produce any noise at all.


    Even though the wind sound was rather strange, other people could still hear the clear words, too.


    ''Mike?'' Zen wondered silently to himself.


    He was of course astonished to have heard these words.


    The figure''s silhouette behind him was none other than Mike, of course!


    Zen couldn''t help but glance at the figure behind him. He was just too curious.


    The figure was just a simple outline, which made it rather hard to see its appearance whatsoever. However, the aura exuding from this silhouette was extraordinary and powerful. Zen felt mesmerized.


    The silhouette was silent for a moment before speaking, "Murphy, you personally took action, thus violating the rules of the Hall of Holy Beings!"


    Zen wasn''t sure exactly where Mike''s voice was coming from, but each and every word he spoke could be heard clearly. Obviously, he didn''t need to speak by means of the airflow sound as the transparent giant did.


    As this familiar voice reached Zen''s ears, a rush of alarm washed over him and his heart started pounding violently!


    When this had all begun, he wasn''t sure exactly whom the figure''s outline belonged to.


    Now though, and more so after hearing Mike''s all familiar voice, he no longer had any doubt.


    A trace of warmth flowed through his heart as he thought back to the figure''s silhouette that had helped him cross through the Luck-devouring Snake Tribulation. As it turned out, his father had always been standing right behind him, but he had just never realized it before.


    "Ha! Ha!"


    As a gust of wind surged out from the transparent giant''s mouth, it let out a strange, chilling laugh at the same time.


    "So what? The current Hall of Holy Beings is not what it used to be anymore. Anyway, I have only sent a single strand of my soul into the Evolutionary Universe. I believe that the Hall of Holy Beings won''t eve


    se, was no other tan Mike, the owner of the Evolutionary Universe!


    When Zen had first discovered the truth, he was rather disappointed, and felt a little sad.


    Throughout his entire life, he was led to believe that everything he had obtained was through hard work, only to find out that the whole was arranged by his father!


    Once Zen was informed about what had happened to his father and his enemies in the divine land through Holy Jay, he managed to keep his calm. He didn''t have the time or the right to argue with such things. Moreover, all the arrangements in the Evolutionary Universe contained his father''s painstaking efforts!


    "Zen, trust me. Murphy is only trying to strike a blow to your warrior spirit. In this world..." Mike suddenly said to Zen. He was worried that there was something wrong with Zen''s state of mind, even though Murphy was really telling the truth!


    "I know," Zen replied calmly, with an even more determined expression in his eyes now. They shone like stars in the midnight sky. "Murphy, even if that''s true, I still want to behead you in front of the Hall of Holy Beings. No matter what you say today, to me, you''re still nothing but a mere Holy Being!"


    Mike''s silhouette nodded once Zen finished speaking. Mike was satisfied with Zen''s reaction. Murphy had said those words just to get under Zen''s skin, to deter his state of mind, but what he said was the truth. Mike could control everything in the Evolutionary Universe. When Zen had encountered any desperate situation in the past, Mike had helped him every single time.


    If Zen left this place, he would also leave Mike''s protection. And by then, he''d be facing situations that were thousands of times more dangerous than what he was facing right now. Sooner or later, he would have to face such situation on his own.


    "Little brat!" Murphy only wanted Zen to fully comprehend the genuine situation. He didn''t expect Zen to be more stubborn than Mike, despite having said so much in an attempt to persuade him. Murphy on the other hand, even with his stable state of mind, also became furious.

 Chapter 2018 Path Of Heavens

    Murphy''s anger only lasted a moment. As a Holy Being who was at the top of the hierarchy among all living beings, he didn''t need to be concerned with such an insignificant fellow. So he changed the topic and sneered, "Mike, it''s too early to talk about the divine land. Your Evolutionary Universe will perish soon!"


    At the moment, the Evolutionary Universe wasn''t looking very optimistic.


    Even if there was no Demon Night, the Sacred race still held the upper hand. This was what Mike and Zen needed to face right now.


    "There''s no need for you to worry about that. If my Evolutionary Universe were to be destroyed, it would be because of fate!" Mike replied drily.


    "Very good. I hope that you can endure it and live long enough till the day I see your son in the divine land!"


    The energy fluctuations of the transparent giant were becoming weaker by the minute. His voice conveyed by the wind was also becoming stranger and more distorted. The giant formed from Murphy''s energy soul gradually dissipated into the world.


    The moment the energy soul disappeared, the Soul-sealing Needle also made a quiet exit from the depths of Latonia''s soul.


    At this, Elena''s legs went soft like noodles, and she collapsed to the ground. Using the Soul-sealing Needle to ask Murphy''s energy soul to descend was Elena''s last, desperate move. It was originally only used during the final battle between the Demon Night and the humans. But Elena had summoned it in advance to preserve her life and kill Lavender.


    To her surprise, the moment Murphy appeared on the scene, another Holy Being also appeared, and he turned out to be Zen''s father.


    Elena could tell at first glance that Zen was extraordinary, but she had never thought that he was actually a direct descendant of a Holy Being. All she could do was accept this defeat and as she did so, her vigor drained from her face. Her previously bright eyes were now dim and dull.


    Zen watched the energy wave dissipate. He suddenly remembered that Mike was still behind him. Shocked and afraid that Mike would disappear too, he turned around and called, "Father!"


    Mike''s silhouette did not disappear, but he did not respond either.


    Zen was nervous as he asked, "Father, are you still here?"


    "Yes, Son, I''m here," Mike replied.


    Zen heaved a sigh of relief.


    As a youth, Zen had never been sensible. He thought that his father had died in the past few years, but he had accumulated too many doubts in his heart.


    Although he had more or less understood a few things, he still had questions.


    Mike''s energy soul started to shrink with the violent energy fluctuati


    uld not be able to rebel.


    Mike must have realized this, and as a result, recognized the position of the Demon Night in the universe. Since they were part of the Evolutionary Universe, they would naturally attack the Sacred race when necessary.


    When Zen stepped through the door, he saw a golden scroll spread out on the ground, extending far into the distance and forming a path of golden light.


    "What is this place?" Zen glanced around.


    "This is the path of heavens," replied Mike. His faint shadow continued to move forward.


    ''Path of heavens?''


    Zen thought, his eyes lighting up. He hurried to follow Mike.


    When he was young, he had followed his father like this. But at the time, he had been too small and hadn''t been able to keep up with Mike''s footsteps. Zen had stumbled and run, occasionally complaining in a low voice that Mike was walking too fast. But his father had never stopped to wait for him.


    He still remembered it clearly. Now that he was the same size as his father, he had a better understanding. In fact, ever since he had been a child, his father had already had some expectations for him. He, on the other hand, had never understood his father''s strict character. Only now did he understand Mike''s painstaking efforts.


    "Those are the rules that I have comprehended in my entire life," Mike said calmly.


    Looking at where Mike was pointing, Zen saw two screens on both sides of the path of heavens. Countless gold lights were circulating unceasingly on the screens. These lights had completely different shapes, and the aura they emitted was also completely different. ''These are the supreme rules my father has mastered?''


    "In the Evolutionary Universe, you all call it Heavenly Destiny," Mike added.

 Chapter 2019 Questions

    Mike had constructed this universe.


    So the creatures in the Evolutionary Universe couldn''t cultivate the most extreme power. This was a limit that all secondary creatures were unable to cross, and also a restriction.


    Only a certain type of warriors could cross this limit¡ªthe Godly Geniuses. Once a Godly Genius crossed this limit, they would be able to condense a Godly Tile and separate themselves from the Evolutionary Universe.


    "These... These are Heavenly Destinies!"


    Zen exclaimed, his eyes shining brightly in the golden light.


    Above the screens, golden beams of light swirled about constantly. Each beam of golden light contained a Law of Causality within the heavens. Some of them contained particularly powerful auras, while others didn''t contain any auras at all.


    There were strong and weak Heavenly Destinies. Some couldn''t even be used in combat. For instance, the Heavenly Destiny of Revival of Supreme Lord Lester could only resurrect martial artists that had perished, but wasn''t helpful in combat.


    But there were some Heavenly Destinies that were used for combat, and the auras emitted from these were naturally much stronger.


    Zen''s gaze swept over them, and he could vaguely distinguish the uses of some Heavenly Destinies.


    A Heavenly Destiny on the left screen emitted a slight chill, even forming a little ice on top of the screen. This Heavenly Destiny was most likely a complete manifestation of the power of the Ice Law.


    With the comprehension of the Holy Beings, they also had their own comprehensions of the perfect laws.


    This meant that there wasn''t just one type of complete Ice Law. With the complete Ice Law, it could extend several extremely powerful profound mysteries.


    For example, the Ice Cold Flame that Zen had comprehended from Holy Jay was a special kind of profound mystery of the Ice Law.


    Not too far away from the Ice Law, streams of colorful flames were being spewed out. They formed little cats that frolicked and played with each other as they walked down from the screen. These colored flames were definitely one of the profound mysteries of the ten-layer Fire Law.


    Even a Supreme Lord would never be able to pry into the mysteries of the heavens. Zen was extremely lucky to be able to follow his father into the heavens.


    As father and son continued moving forward, Zen noticed that some beams of golden light on the screens on both sides of the path were dim.


    "Father, I guess these Heavenly Destinies have already been bestowed upon the Supreme Lords, right?" Zen asked.


    There were many Heavenly Destinies on the screens. But he had only seen a dozen or so dim Heavenly Destinies, which was why he had become curious.


    Mike nodded. "Yes. These are the Heavenly Destinies that have already been bestowed upon the Supreme Lords."


    Zen looked confused at this. "Since your path of heavens contains


    ay.


    Zen then asked, "Father, is Yan well?"


    Mike loosened up, now that Zen had stopped fixating on the earlier question. "She entered the divine land a long time ago and is being personally trained by my disciples. She won''t have any problems."


    Zen''s and Yan''s arrangements mattered the most to Mike, followed by the arrangements of Rocher and Xenia, and then, those of Margaret and Nathan... Mike had planned every single step of this. And regardless of how others had performed, the most important thing to him was Zen''s performance.


    Mike only told Zen in detail about Yan''s arrangements and the information of his disciples. He also told him what he might encounter after he went to the divine land.


    Once he was done, Mike stared at Zen and said, "I remember that you picked out a few cultivation methods in Bromley''s fairy palace, and have successfully cultivated the Thunderbolt Annihilation and the Eight Smoky Melodies. But you haven''t mastered the most important cultivation method, the Enemy Repelling Arts, right?"


    Zen nodded when he heard his father ask about his own cultivation methods.


    The Enemy Repelling Arts was a shocking cultivation method. It was just like Gus had recommended¡ªif one managed to cultivate it, they would be able to sever causalities, and remove the others'' Heavenly Destinies.


    Unfortunately, over the past few years, Zen had spent a lot of time trying to cultivate it, but it was really difficult to comprehend.


    "You can''t be blamed for this. The Enemy Repelling Arts is one of the most powerful cultivation methods in the entire universe. If you don''t have too many Laws of Causality to practice it, it''s very difficult to cultivate. Yet in here, you are able to accomplish twice the results with half the effort!" Mike said.


    Mike was only an energy soul at the moment. There was not much time left. And right now, he personally wanted to teach Zen everything.

 Chapter 2020 Causality Breaking Light (Part One)

    After Zen had resolved the conflict in the Demon Night race, he would have to take action against the Sacred race.


    During that time, Maha had constantly suppressed the momentum of the universe in the Sunflower Water World. Many world lords went to the Sunflower Water World, but Maha had murdered them all! His strength was simply above any of the world lords who fought him.


    Many warriors in the universe had also raised questions through the Roaring Tokens. They asked where Zen and the Godly Geniuses were. The fact that Zen and Godly Geniuses were unaccounted could have detrimental effects on the morale of the other warriors.


    The Supreme Lords of the Celestial Position and the Sacred race all started to lay out their plans in the Sunflower Water World. The fight with the Sacred race would probably begin any time soon.


    If the battle were to begin, the world lords and grand world lords would die quickly. A Supreme Lord could easily overpower any world lord or grand world lord. The true main force would be the Supreme Lords of both sides!


    Since the internal dispute of the Demon Night had been settled, the Demon Night and the ogre would also help the humankind. Also, the Supreme Lords of various races in the universe would join the war to help the humankind. Their army grew quite large and powerful.


    However, the number of Supreme Lords in the Evolutionary Universe was still less than the number of Supreme Lords from Sacred race.


    Wynn, the only True God of the Celestial Position, and the head of the Celestial Position didn''t have confidence in the battle. Even if Zen returned, the atmosphere in the universe was still very pessimistic. Everyone was aware of how powerful the Sacred race was. Despair had crept into their hearts.


    That time, Mike wanted to assist Zen.


    Back then, Gus also knew that sooner or later, Zen would face the Supreme Lords. That was why he recommended the Enemy Repelling Arts to Zen. That cultivation method was said to be a powerful tool to restrain a Supreme Lord. It would greatly benefit Zen if he could master such a cultivation method.


    However, although th


    te blade now shone with a glimmer of cyan light! Power seemed to flow through the light and imbued on the sword.


    The cyan light was the "Causality Breaking Light" recorded in the Profound Cause-eliminating Technique... It was rather easy for Zen to condense the Causality Breaking Light...


    With his talent, he didn''t have many shackles in his cultivation. A genius of his caliber could easily achieve such a task.


    Not far away, Mike saw the Causality Breaking Light and slightly nodded towards Zen. Mike''s eyes flashed as a ray of golden light shone on the screen. Immediately, a green lightning bolt extended from the golden light...


    That was one of the profound mysteries of the tenth-layer Thunder Law. It was named the Annihilation Thunder. Mike created that beautiful and deadly technique.


    The power of this Annihilation Thunder wasn''t great. It was specifically used to restrain evil spirits. However, compared to the ordinary thunder, the Annihilation Thunder could attack the soul body more effectively. It might not have severe physical damage, but it could obliterate a warrior''s soul body.


    "Pah!"


    When he saw the Annihilation Thunder flash towards him, Zen, who initially sat upright on the ground, suddenly moved to avoid the green lightning. At the same time, he waved the sword in his hand, and like a cyan waterfall, the sword flew towards the green lightning bolt with high precision!

 Chapter 2021 Causality Breaking Light (Part Two)

    "Swoosh!"


    As the sword slashed down, Zen felt his hand go numb. The Annihilation Thunder was like a slippery fish. It quietly slipped away from Zen''s blade and returned to the screen once again!


    After he saw what happened, Mike shook his head. "The Enemy Repelling Arts is not a cultivation method to enhance one''s strength. You can view the Causality Breaking Light as a kind of Law of Causality. The causality seems strong, but if there is no cause, then there will definitely be no effect. You can meditate on it and try to break the cause through the meditation. Then you can make a breakthrough. Got it?"


    Zen calmed himself and tried to comprehend his father''s words. Intense concentration was reflected in his expression.


    The Law of Causality was strong because it formed an integral whole. The cause was the origin of the Heavenly Destiny. It was like a newborn baby, and it was also the beginning of the Heavenly Destiny. The really scary thing was the effect, not the cause! However, if he severed the ''cause, '' the scary effect wouldn''t be formed.


    What he needed to do was first to kill off the ''cause'', and then there would be no more ''effect.'' It was a simple yet effective tactic!


    As he thought of this, Zen gained a hint of understanding. A sly smile decorated his face as he comprehended the technique.


    "Let''s do it again." Mike was always a strict person, so his demands of Zen would only be higher. The repeated practice was needed for Zen to grow faster.


    At that moment, Zen felt as if he had returned to his childhood. His father had taught him to read and practice his martial arts time and time again. Mixed emotions appeared in Zen''s heart as he reminisced his childhood.


    The bolt of Annihilation Thunder once again shot out from the screen. The moment it got close to Zen, the Causality Breaking Light in his hand flashed again, and he charged towards the Annihilation Thunder. His determination was apparent in Zen''s face.


    The Annihil


    he Fire Law, the Heavenly Destiny known as the Devouring Kindling. It was ferocious and lethal to its target.


    Over a billion years ago, there was a Supreme Lord in the Evolutionary Universe who had created such a Heavenly Destiny named Devouring Kindling. Although that Heavenly Destiny was a medium-level Law of Causality, it still allowed that Supreme Lord to be comparable to a top-rank Supreme Lord. That was a mighty Heavenly Destiny!


    The fire lion roared and pounced straight at Zen. Its ferocity remained unmatched. Claws as sharp as knives were seen in its paws.


    Zen wasn''t afraid of the Fire Law. However, the problem was that he had to resist the Heavenly Destiny within it.


    When Zen faced the ferocious fire lion, the Causality Breaking Light on his long sword got brighter and more brilliant. His face also revealed a resolute expression. At that moment, Zen clenched his teeth and roared, "Break!"


    "Aoo..."


    A strange scene appeared¡­


    A misty ray of cyan light flashed as the sword chopped down the fire lion''s head. The purple flames that had appeared on the surface of the purple fire lion instantly vanished without a trace. Zen''s powerful strike seemed to change the color of the fire lion. Additionally, the purple flames that spread from the fire lion turned to the ordinary flames...

 Chapter 2022 Zens Determination

    "It worked!"


    Zen squealed as he stared down at the fire lion.


    This lion emitted purple flames as it contained the Heavenly Destiny of Devouring Kindling. But when Zen cut off the Heavenly Destiny within it, the purple flames died down and eventually, disappeared.


    As the fire lion jumped back onto the screen, a pleased grin spread across Mike''s face.


    Although the Enemy Repelling Arts might seem easy, it was extremely difficult for anyone to truly grasp the essence of it. It amazed Mike that Zen was able to comprehend the Profound Cause-eliminating Technique of the book so quickly.


    In this moment, Mike gently waved his hand across the screen and it flickered with a golden light. Just then, the Annihilation Thunder and the wind eagle once again shot towards Zen.


    Zen''s eyes focused at the sight of the two Heavenly Destinies.


    He stretched out his arm grasping the sword and a light immediately surged out. "Cut them for me!"


    Swoosh!


    The Causality Breaking Light had become ultimate foe of all the Heavenly Destinies. The flashing light soon disappeared, and the wind eagle that was charging towards Zen let out a mournful cry. The Spirit of Wind was cut off by him. It turned into a chaotic gust of wind and returned to the screen without hesitation.


    Zen''s sword had also been struck by the fierce Annihilation Thunder. When the light collided with the lighting, the latter lost its color and fled back to the screen.


    Mike nodded in satisfaction and said, "Although the Enemy Repelling Arts retains itself well against the Laws of Causality, things will be totally different while you are fighting against the Supreme Lords. This will get much more complicated, so take extra care."


    The Heavenly Destinies that Mike activated were in their most basic forms. After the Supreme Lords received their own Heavenly Destinies, they might have overused their Heavenly Destinies and brought them to their limits. When the Supreme Lords used the Laws of Causality, the power proved to be unimaginable. No doubt Zen would have difficulty destroying the causalities.


    After Mike expressed his thoughts, he waved his hand once again.


    The two screens on both sides of the path began to shine with beams of golden light. One by one, each of the Heavenly Destinies was activated just by a wave of his hand.


    Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!


    The energy that emanated caused the whole path to tremble vigorously.


    The Supreme Lords simultaneously raised their heads to look at the sky, their faces filled with bewilderment.


    The heav


    s. It wouldn''t be so simple in the divine land.


    "No." Mike shook his head. "Murphy spoke only of the truth. The divine land will be even more difficult for you. If you enter and find yourself unable to help me, please don''t push yourself too much."


    Knowingly, the purpose of Mike''s training for Zen was to save himself.


    And since then, Zen had never failed to live up to his expectations. At times, maybe even exceeded them.


    At this point, Mike had a thought of calling everything off. He didn''t want Zen to take the risk of going against the Hall of Holy Beings for him. Thinking about it, he''d prefer Zen to stay somewhere safe in the divine land and live a normal life.


    Zen''s expression darkened at his father''s words. He shot his eyes up at Mike and said, "According to you, why don''t I give up now?"


    "Give up now?" Mike''s expression froze.


    "Father, this is what you trained me for. I must try my best to save you. If you didn''t care about living or dying, why did we go through all of this in the first place? What''s the point of the path of martial arts that I''ve always followed?" Zen said and stared at Mike.


    Seeing the look in Zen''s eyes, Mike was stunned to hear these words come out of his son''s mouth.


    Zen was right.


    Mike asked Zen to give up because he loved his son and didn''t want him to suffer, but this was much more than that.


    Pursuing martial arts was always motivated by something. Not by comfort, not by riches, but for something far greater than that. Zen knew what he had to do, and this was not something he could be talked out of.


    Though Zen understood his father''s concerns, he was sure he had to do this.


    There was no turning back now.

 Chapter 2023 Small Divine Land

    It wasn''t long before Mike let out a sigh. Zen''s face lit up with a smile as he bowed to Mike and said, "Believe in me, Father!"


    His eyes shone with unprecedented confidence, as if he was ready to overcome literally any problem.


    Ever since Mike had been a Holy Being himself, he naturally understood all the hardships that came along with it. However, he thought that Zen''s enthusiasm was childish--he was like a newborn calf who wanted to fight a grown tiger.


    At the same time, Zen''s resplendent aura encouraged and comforted him. And so, he decided to concede. "Alright. Now, I''ll teach you how to construct your inner world," he said with a nod.


    He knew that to let Zen cultivate the ''Primal Chaos Technique'' was immensely risky and not to mention, insane.


    After all, no one had ever tried to transform their body in such a way before. No one had even attempted to contain the chaos inside their bodies.


    Mike and Bromley had previously fought over the matter, and Mike thought that it was unnecessary to take the risk.


    Instead, he wanted Zen to focus on the life vitality cultivation. Besides, the life vitality cultivation that was passed down in the divine land was already a very mature system.


    Moreover, they were Holy Beings, which meant they had already reached the peak of the life vitality cultivation.


    Mike, Bromley, and Jay had given their all to nurture Zen. In turn, Zen felt privileged to receive such a treatment that he thought was hard to come by.


    But at that time, Bromley and Mike had completely different opinions.


    "Have you ever seen a Holy Being''s son become a Holy Being?" Bromley once said.


    His words had made Mike speechless.


    Countless divine eras had passed, Holy Beings had died, and their universes had been destroyed.


    It didn''t matter whether it were the existing or dead Holy Beings; a second Holy Being never appeared among their direct descendants.


    If Zen wanted to fight against Murphy, he had to aim for becoming a Holy Being. However, Bromley felt that the probability was too low despite Zen''s and Yan''s extraordinary origins. The road to becoming a Holy Being was not easy.


    On the other hand, Mike had low chances of saving himself and enacting his revenge if Zen were to concentrate on the life vitality cultivation.


    During that time, Holy Jay was on Bromley''s side. Holy Jay was good at deduction, so he already came up with an answer after he had deduced Mike''s plan. If Zen cultivated the life vitality step by step, the chances of him creating a miracle were less than one in three hundred thousand.


    The chances weren''t actually too low. Only one in a hundred trillion or even a quadrillion martial artists had the possibility of becoming a Holy Being. Every Holy Being was the absolute favorite of the divine land. They had endured many hardships and suffering just to get the opportunity to make a place in the Hall of Holy Beings.


    Therefore, a one in a three hundred thousand chance was indeed, not low. It was because of Zen''s special origins and not to mention, that he had been carefully taught


    could their inner worlds and Nine Divine Stars be merged together.


    Mike had experienced this and knew how difficult it was to merge the nine stars into one''s inner world.


    Yet there was Zen, who was just at the world lord level but had already merged the two together. If this had happened in the divine land, many True Gods would probably go crazy; it was simply too unbelievable.


    It was true that it was risky to cultivate the Primal Chaos Technique, but now Mike thought that it was a wise idea. He mentally sighed. He couldn''t even imagine how much potential his son had.


    A moment later, he and Zen glided towards the bottom of the inner world. The aura in the place was completely different from that of the Evolutionary Universe.


    While Zen himself wasn''t aware of the uniqueness of this aura, Mike clearly knew about it. It was the scent of the divine land.


    In reality, the entire divine land was actually formed from chaotic energy. It was just that the living beings in the divine land had to explore other ways of cultivation because they couldn''t control chaotic energy. Therefore, they developed the complete system of the life vitality cultivation.


    "This place can really be called a small divine land," Mike said as he looked at the world they were in. As he looked further into the inner world Zen had created, he felt that Bromley and Jay had made the right choice. These two crazy old friends of his had suggested a crazy plan, which allowed his son to find a path that no one had ever walked before.


    Zen had a certain level of understanding towards the divine land, so he naturally understood Mike''s meaning. Suddenly, a thought popped in his head. He bowed towards Mike and said, "Father, something strange happened within my inner world after I stepped into the level of world lord."


    "Oh? What''s the strange thing?" Mike asked. "Follow me and you will know."


    His feet glided smoothly as he led the way, while Mike followed closely behind.


    After a few moments, they arrived at the edge of the world they were in.

 Chapter 2024 Mikes Disappearance

    Soon after Zen became a world lord, his inner world formed its true boundaries.


    The boundaries of an ordinary world lord were covered by transparent barriers that were similar to the boundaries of a great world. However, Zen''s inner world stood apart from others.


    On the boundaries inside Zen''s inner world, enormous golden Sanskrit words hovered in the air.


    With Zen''s current knowledge and experience, he was unable to decipher the meaning of the golden Sanskrit words. He was very curious about the origin of the golden Sanskrit words.


    Mike wanted to guide him in the creation of his divine land. Hence, Zen brought his father to this place.


    Mike and Zen were floating above the endless chaotic sea.


    Although Mike was just an energy soul, its power was far beyond that of an ordinary Supreme Lord. More so, it was enough to even rival a True God''s. Although he was still far away, he could clearly see the golden Sanskrit words.


    When he saw what was happening in front of him, his eyes were filled with disbelief.


    "This is unbelievable! Never thought I would be seeing these words in your inner world! These are definitely their words!"


    Mike was referring to the extraordinary creatures.


    Long ago, a group of exemplary individuals of the divine land had discovered the existence of these creatures.


    These people never stopped studying these extraordinary creatures. But after all these divine eras of research, nobody could understand their origin. Everything of them still remained a mystery, such as their appearance, gender, composition etc.


    They seemed to be above the knowledge of the True Gods and Holy Beings.


    There were still quite a few living creatures in the divine land who continued to be interested in them. They seized every opportunity to conduct a thorough research on them.


    Among these researchers were Holy Jay and Holy Bromley.


    For example, Xenia''s page of golden Sanskrit words and the golden Sanskrit words on Zen''s body were the outcome of their researches.


    And the effect was quite surprising!


    Zen had reformed his body by using the golden Sanskrit words. His body was by now far stronger than any living being. It was only because of this strength that he could withstand the chaotic energy of his inner world and practice the Primal Chaos Technique.


    "Father, why would these golden Sanskrit words appear at the edges of my inner world?" Zen enquired.


    Mike stared at the golden Sanskrit words, while remaining afloat. He ignored Zen''s question and flew along the edges of his inner world, while constantly looking over the golden Sanskrit words.


    His speed was exceptionally fast, but as the creator of this inner world, Zen didn''t need to circulate the Space Law. With just a thought, he could appear anywhere.


    As Mike flew around the edges, Zen''s figure continuously flashed behind him.


    Currently, Zen''s inner world could not be considered wide. It was about the size of four great worlds.


    Mi


    was, after all, a Holy Being who had built the universe. His experience in this aspect could be said to be shocking. He was pleasantly surprised to see the huge ice tree in Zen''s body. "This is the profound mystery of the Ice Cold Flame. You got it from Holy Jay!"


    Mike then taught Zen the keys to build one''s inner world.


    One of them was that Zen should create Law Tablets and record the laws that he had comprehended onto the tablets. Then he should give them to the creatures in his inner world and guide them on how to become stronger. Ideally, Zen should have created a few continents, instead of allowing this one continent to expand indefinitely.


    The construction of the universe was very complicated, and as Mike was telling Zen the key points, the latter listened attentively.


    While Mike was imparting his knowledge, Zen noticed that the aura emitting from his father was getting weaker by the minute.


    This figure was formed from his energy soul. His entire body was becoming more and more transparent in front of Zen, while his voice was becoming weaker.


    Only Holy Beings could create their energy souls and descended to the universes through them. Mike had left behind a total of fourteen energy souls, and after the beginning of a new grand era in the Evolutionary Universe, his energy souls would begin to move, seeking opportunities. This energy soul was consumed very quickly, and about ten years ago, it had helped Zen resist the Luck-devouring Snake Tribulation. And not long ago, in order to protect Zen, this energy soul had fought against Murphy''s energy soul violently. His energy soul was now like a spent arrow.


    "Father?" Zen called out.


    Mike looked at Zen with a faint smile and shook his head. "It''s about time. This energy soul can only last for so long. This is the only remaining energy soul that I have in this universe. If I can''t wake up in the future, I''m afraid I will surely die."


    Zen was shocked and shouted, "Father! Father!"

 Chapter 2025 Tree Palace

    Mike looked at his son, his love clearly evident in his eyes.


    In the end, Zen only saw Mike''s lips move slightly. He wasn''t able to decipher what his father had said before Mike''s soul slowly dissipated.


    The brown chaotic sea was churning slowly. From time to time, a few large ferocious beasts would poke their heads out of the water''s surface to sneak a glance at Zen. After they felt his aura, they immediately dove back into the depths of the sea, frightened...


    Zen stood still for a long time, his gaze fixed on the direction in which his father had disappeared.


    Twenty years had passed since he last saw his father. For Mike, twenty years was only a split-second; for Zen, it was already two-thirds of his life.


    In that period of time, he had grown from a teenager boy to a youth. His vision and strength had also increased exponentially. He hoped his father was proud of how strong he had become.


    "We will meet again someday soon¡­" Zen smiled at the place where Mike had stood earlier. He seemed to be saying this to Mike, but at the same time, it also served as an encouragement for himself.


    He turned and then flew towards the central continent of his inner world...


    "Splash..."


    As Zen traveled at supersonic speed, the water in the chaotic sea below him began to swirl. A whirlpool formed first before it turned into a tornado and condensed in his hand!


    The chaotic energy within the entire inner world was controlled by Zen. He had the ability to change the form and shape of the chaotic energy with just a single thought...


    The sea water continuously morphed in Zen''s hands; it quickly formed into enormous stone tablets that he held aloft in front of him.


    Zen extended his finger and pointed it at the tablets. He drew symbols in the air with his fingertip, and it formed inscriptions of laws. At the same time, the tablets also shimmered with a faint golden light!


    "Crackle..."


    After he finished working on the first stone tablet, countless tendrils of lightning began to revolve within it. This stone tablet recorded the power of Thunder Law that Zen had already comprehended!


    As for the second stone tablet, its surface radiated golden rays of light. Those rays of light began to emit streams of energy. This tablet was imbued with the power of the Metal Law...


    A third stone tablet soon followed...


    One by one, Law Tablets appeared and surrounded Zen


    When Zen had entered the central continent, he tossed a Law Tablet gently from beside him. It fell down onto the ground...


    Boom!


    The Law Tablet landed hard and was partly embedded into the ground!


    Zen didn''t pause on his way. He flew continuously over the continent, tossing stone tablets one after another down into the continent.


    On that day, the citizens of the central continent thought they saw the Venerable Creator descend from the sky. He bestowed them sixteen "divine tablets" to help awaken the hidden powers of th


    idair and then completely wrapped them up¡­


    At the other end of the colossal tree palace, Latonia sat on a tree trunk at the summit. Her elegant legs gently swung back and forth under her jade-green dress, a stream of Life Law continuously fluctuated in her hands. She curled her lips helplessly. "How could they do that in such broad daylight?"


    Latonia built this palace using the Life Law. Naturally, she could feel every small movement within this palace. She also personally controlled the moving vines and branches.


    "Roar¡­"


    A gargantuan creature suddenly reared its head and sped straight in her direction. However, just as the tip of the creature''s nose was only a foot away from Latonia, it steadily came to a halt!


    "Roar... Roar... Roar..."


    This colossal creature was actually the Ancestral Dragon. At this moment, it was roaring at Latonia, seemingly complaining.


    "Alright, alright, I understand¡­"


    Latonia waved her hand at the direction of the Ancestral Dragon. She touched her slender fingers on the tree trunk and countless strange flowers and fruits materialized from the side of the huge tree. They emitted a sweet, rich smell.


    After she mastered the perfect Life Law, Latonia had the ability to create things. This ability did not only enable her to create things that she had seen before, she was also able to create things that existed in her imagination.


    As she imagined them, these strange flowers and fruits were the perfect food. The food was used to feed this gluttonous Ancestral Dragon.


    "Aren''t the Genuine Dragon race exceptionally intelligent? It''s been so long, but it hasn''t even learned human language yet. What a stupid and gluttonous dragon!" Latonia said in a low voice.


    The Ancestral Dragon was opening its mouth wide to swallow the sweet fruits. Hearing these words, it seemed to be strongly dissatisfied. Its mouth began to produce strange sounds, as if it was protesting against Latonia''s comment¡­

 Chapter 2026 Eliminate The Five Aging Processes

    Due to the battle between Mike''s and Murphy''s energy souls, the Rosy Cloud World was on the verge of collapse.


    Although the Upper World and the Lower World possessed the ability to repair themselves, the process was extremely long. Due to the severe damage caused by the battle, it was likely that the Rosy Cloud World would disintegrate.


    Right now, the priority of the tenth grade sacred places in the Rosy Cloud World was to transfer their members to somewhere safe and then think of measures to stabilize the world.


    The entire responsibility of restoring the Rosy Cloud World fell on Latonia''s shoulders.


    During this period of time, she had dispersed countless seeds of holy trees in the world. These gigantic plants could expand indefinitely. Once they were firmly rooted into the ground, they would intertwine and pull each other to close the huge crevices. Thus the world would be restored and stabilized.


    However, this was not the result of a single day''s effort. It needed a long time to heal the wounds of the world.


    Finally, the peace of the Demon Night race was restored. Out of the statues of queens in the race''s sacred places, two had been smothered once and for all. The members of the race knew very well that from now on, they would only have one queen.


    In addition, Lavender had also pardoned the members of the Saint Chain Sect.


    Elena was the reason behind all sins. After all, the six sects of the Demon Night race instinctively supported their queens.


    Lavender''s pardon had relieved those Demon Night clansmen who followed Elena, though they clearly knew that with Elena''s death, it would be very difficult for them to obtain Lavender''s trust, and it was unlikely that they would be placed in important positions any more. However, since they weren''t killed in the chaos and also received their freedom, they were deeply grateful to Lavender.


    Although Lavender wasn''t a kind-hearted person, she understood that the Demon Night race had already suffered enough after such a serious internal conflict. They really couldn''t afford any more disorder.


    Lavender and Zen were lying in a hammock made from the branches that swayed gently in the breeze. She bent her knees and curled up into a ball as much as possible to fit in Zen''s arms.


    Over the last few years, she had spent most of her time inside Zen''s body, treating his body as her home. Now that she had used Latonia''s spirit embryo to regain her original looks, she couldn''t possibly stay any longer inside Zen''s body.


    Zen gently caressed her silky skin and asked, "Have the people from the Saint Spear Sect been rescued?"


    He hadn''t forgotten the agreement he made on the Illusion Battlefield. He wanted to save not only Amber, but also Hailey from the Demon Nigh


    ir Heavenly Destiny and use it to its fullest. Once they carried the Heavenly Destiny, they wouldn''t be able to become Godly Geniuses, nor would they be able to obtain the Godly Tile.


    He didn''t cultivate in seclusion there. It would be more accurate to say that he was hiding here.


    When Zen and Lavender entered, they could sense a foul stench.


    Leroy was a handsome man when he was young. Now, he didn''t want anyone to see his ugly looks.


    "Who is trespassing? Back off!" Leroy shouted angrily.


    "It''s me," Lavender answered back.


    Leroy frowned, but he still paid his due respect. "My queen, what brings you here? It''s intolerably dirty here. You shouldn''t have come."


    Lavender''s eyes narrowed. "Stop that. I came precisely for this reason."


    "What reason? I don''t follow you." Leroy was confused.


    "We''ll try to help you eliminate the Five Aging Processes." Lavender smiled.


    "What?" Upon hearing these words, Leroy rolled his yellow eyes. "My queen, are you trying to make fun of me?"


    It wasn''t that Leroy was too arbitrary, but he had never heard that the Five Aging Processes could be eliminated. If there really was a way to get rid of it, no one would tremble with fear on hearing of it.


    Moreover, if one could really eliminate the Five Aging Processes, he or she would never die. Before becoming a True God, this was obviously impossible.


    "That''s why I will only give it a try, but I have confidence in it," Zen said.


    Upon hearing Zen''s words, Leroy felt his heart skip a beat. He had personally seen what Zen''s father did. As the master who constructed the universe, his father had set all the rules in the Evolutionary Universe. Thinking of this, Leroy thought there was really a possibility.


    Leroy seemed to have grasped onto a lifesaving straw. His dull eyes were instantly ignited with passion.

 Chapter 2027 Achieving Immortality

    Leroy had witnessed the most unimaginable things that had ever happened to Zen. For example, Zen experienced that attack from Elena earlier, and then there was the attack from that transparent giant, both of which were extremely powerful. Any Supreme Lord would have been severely injured or worse, dead, if they underwent any of these. However, Zen had miraculously survived all these attacks unscathed.


    After a person had worked so many wonders, if that same person claimed that he had some incredible abilities, it would be easy for people to accept him or her.


    With expectations deep down, Leroy was as excited as he could be.


    "Do it right now, Zen!" Lavender urged from the side.


    Hearing this, Zen nodded his head and raised up his hand. Just then, a faint light flashed from his space ring and a long sword fell vertically from it. But before the sword could plummet into the ground, Zen had gripped it in his hand and aimed it directly at Leroy.


    "What are you doing?" Lavender asked, surprised.


    Leroy fumbled backwards, staring at Zen in bewilderment. He had no clue what Zen had in mind.


    "Don''t move," said Zen. He held the sword in his right hand, reached out two fingers in his left hand and pressed down along the hilt of the sword. Gradually, he dragged his fingers across the sword.


    "Buzz..."


    A misty ray of light began to rise from the surface of the sword. As the ray burst out, it did not emanate a powerful energy as they would have guessed. However, when Leroy and Lavender saw it, they were mesmerized and hooked.


    It was as if the light could overpower all the laws of the world.


    "Zen, is this what I think it is? The Enemy Repelling Arts you have practiced before?" Lavender asked. In the fairy palace, Lavender had seen Zen practice the Enemy Repelling Arts. However, Zen did not master it at that time. Lavender recalled this misty light and put two and two together.


    Zen smiled slightly. He knew he didn''t need to hide anything from Lavender, so he explained in all confidence, "It''s the Causality Breaking Light that can break all causality! If the Five Aging Processes happens to be a kind of Law of Causality, then this should be enough to break it."


    Break all the causality?


    Was that even possible?


    As Leroy heard Zen''s words, he widened his eyes in shock.


    Supreme Lords were powerful because each of them controlled a Heavenly Destiny and a Law of Causality. If Zen could really cut off a Heavenly Destiny, then he would be the biggest enemy to the Supreme Lords. No Supreme Lord would be able to win over him.


    Once Zen finished speaking, he shook his sword once again. The Causality Breaking Light of the sword burst


    ace sooner or later, which made it a fair rule.


    However, after Leroy''s Five Aging Processes were removed by Zen, did that mean that they wouldn''t happen to him anymore? Did that mean Leroy just garnered eternal life?


    Zen furrowed his eyebrows in thought. Then, he pondered for a moment and said with a smile, "That seems right. If the Five Aging Processes do not come to you, Supreme Lord, you possess the same ability as a True God... to be immortal!"


    The pursuit of immortality was a topic that would never lose its novelty. Only after one entered divine land and became a True God could they get the chance of living forever. There was no creature in the Evolutionary Universe that had ever achieved immortality.


    Just like Livingston for instance, who had to use the puppet to pursue immortality. However, the puppet body could not be defined as a living being.


    "Right now the entire universe is in danger," said Lavender with a smile. "First we have to defeat the Sacred race. Forget about immortality, whether or not we can survive this thousand years will be the main problem."


    Overall, the war with the Sacred race was the major problem faced by all the races in the Evolutionary Universe.


    "Yes." Zen nodded. "Maha has been rampant in the Sunflower Water World for a while now. Let''s get prepared. The war is coming."


    For days, Maha had been fighting alone in the Sunflower Water World against the other geniuses of the Evolutionary Universe. With the battles, he was suppressing the momentum of the Evolutionary Universe, so the morale of the universe had been declining. All of these put the Celestial Position at a disadvantage.


    After settling the internal strife of the Demon Night, Zen knew that the time for the showdown with the Sacred race was coming.

 Chapter 2028 Challenges In The Sunflower Water World

    The Sunflower Water World was geographically located in a special place¡ªright on the border between the Humanity Alliance and the Thoughtless Minds.


    Moreover, the entire supreme world was covered in pale green water known as "Sunflower Water", which was where it got its name from.


    The moment Maha had entered the Sunflower Water World, this supreme world had become the prime focus of attention in the Evolutionary Universe.


    Day in and day out, the eyes of all the living creatures in the universe were fixed on this place. Many warriors who were unafraid of death had also sneaked into the Sunflower Water World just to witness the remarkable performances of the talents in the universe with their own eyes.


    Of course, there were also a great number of Sacred martial artists among them.


    The senior leaders of the Sacred race and the human race seemed to have reached a mutual understanding. The Supreme Lords had begun to lay out their plans around the Sunflower Water World, but they didn''t have any intention of entering it. Instead, they would let the warriors battle it out here.


    As such, the Sunflower Water World had transformed into a huge battle ring with unwritten rules.


    In every battle, once the warriors agreed to challenge each other, no one else was allowed to help them.


    And, most importantly, it was a battle to the death.


    When the battle was over, the winner could shout loudly with joy and even use the Roaring Token to announce their victory to the whole universe.


    As for the martial artists on both sides, they were fighting solely for their honor, because even if they won, they wouldn''t receive any reward.


    The universe was filled with crazy beings. Some martial artists were born for fighting, and they didn''t care that their efforts would go unrewarded. They all wanted to enjoy the thrill of defeating the warriors from an alien race.


    There were countless excruciating battles happening every day in the Sunflower Water World.


    However, the most entertaining and eye-catching ones were still Maha''s.


    Ever since Maha had decided to singlehandedly challenge all the talents in the universe, warriors had been losing to him one after the other. The number of grand world lords who had lost to him had crossed 300.


    Among them, there were 208 humans and 47 ogres. And even though the Demon Night was trapped in internal strife, there were still many Demon Night warriors who had come to the Sunflower Water World. Maha had defeated 13 of them, as well as over 30 world lords from other races.


    Every time Maha killed a world lord, he would announce the name and race of his opponent to the universe through the Roaring Token. Sometimes, he would even comment on his opponent''s strength, but the majority of his comments were negative.


    In doing so, he effectively sapped the morale of the warriors and reduced the momentum of the universe.


    But although Maha had shown great strength and a merciless attitude, there was still a long line of martial artists waiting to challenge him. The universe was facing a crisis, and many martial artists understood that


    and walked down the hill. With his back to Alvin, he said, "If you want to fight someone, you can look for other warriors. After all, I''m not the only Godly Genius in the Sacred race. Connie..."


    As soon as Maha said her name, a plump and enchanting woman appeared in front of Alvin, blocking his way. With a charming smile on her face, she said, "Before you can challenge Maha, you have to fight me first!"


    "Bitch, just get lost!" Alvin retorted, grimacing.


    He had no interest in challenging a woman.


    His hill-like body suddenly leaped into the air. A pair of dark golden axes began spinning around crazily, shooting out ax shadows that wrapped around his entire body as he violently dashed toward Maha.


    At the same time, Maha floated down the hill at a gentle speed as if he hadn''t noticed Alvin''s attack at all.


    "Go to hell! Sky Beam Annihilation Wheel!"


    Huff, huff, huff...


    Alvin''s two great axes rapidly danced in the air and sliced through the wind, creating a vortex. Just as Maha was about to be sucked into that vortex, a black object suddenly shot toward Alvin.


    BOOM!


    The black object turned out to be a bead that exploded like a bomb, releasing an astonishing burst of power.


    Alvin, who was wielding the axes, felt a strong force hitting his right palm, causing his hand to go numb. The vortex he had created immediately disappeared. He turned his head and, to his shock, saw dense black beads floating next to Connie.


    The strength of the Sacred woman in front of him was actually far beyond what he had imagined.


    "I''ve already told you that I''m your opponent, not him. Why didn''t you listen to me?" Connie said with a smile. As her hands moved, those black beads seemed to come to life, floating up and down around her.


    At this moment, the reckless and arrogant expression on Alvin''s face completely vanished. This Sacred woman was a worthy opponent after all. Of course, her strength seemed far inferior to Maha''s, but Alvin thought that if he couldn''t defeat her, then he didn''t have the qualifications to challenge Maha at all.

 Chapter 2029 The Man In Black

    Connie laughed lightly as the black beads danced in the air. With her graceful movements and the ribbons on her clothes fluttering behind her, she looked ethereal.


    But then, without warning, she charged toward Alvin with her bare hands.


    Swoosh!


    Alvin''s eyes widened at Connie''s sudden attack. He didn''t know what the black beads were but this woman definitely had something up her sleeve, otherwise she wouldn''t have charged empty handed. No, he didn''t think she was that reckless. He wielded a pair of golden dark axes named Moon Howling Wolf, which was a famous first-rank divine weapon.


    Alvin''s muscular figure leaped up, and he placed the pair of dark golden axes horizontally in front of him. After he steeled his stance then, like a raging bull, he charged towards Connie.


    "I''ll smash you to pieces!"


    Alvin roared as he threw all of his weight onto his attack. With his hill-like body and explosive strength, the power of this attack was terrifying.


    In comparison, Connie was a lady with a delicate body. If she were to collide with Alvin, it was likely that her entire body would be smashed to smithereens! However, Connie only smiled and made no move to dodge.


    Meanwhile, the beads that were floating aimlessly in the air began to change their positions and form into a regular pattern.


    "That woman is so arrogant! How dare she take Alvin''s attack head on?"


    "She must have a trick up her sleeve. She wouldn''t be so stupid as not to dodge, you know?"


    "Hmph! I bet she''s just pretending to have some elaborate plan. If Alvin doesn''t fall for it, he''d be able to crush that woman into pieces!"


    A number of pavilions had appeared on the side of the hill facing the Iron Moon City recently. Warriors from both the human race and the Sacred race gathered inside these pavilions to exchange information and challenge each other.


    Hanging around wasn''t free though. The warriors who wished to go inside needed to pay quite a lot of life vitality crystals.


    They didn''t mind though. The warriors that dared to venture into the Sunflower Water World had long since showed little care for money. After all, challenging the Sacred race meant that they could die at any time, and what use would life vitality crystals be if they were dead?


    Meanwhile, Alvin''s axes flew towards Connie.


    However, as they collided with her, the strangest thing happened. Connie''s entire body was as light as paper to sustain no forces. Connie had floated past the dual axes as if she was a willow leaf blown away by the wind. She smiled like nothing


    physique ripped and flew from his body. Finally, his true appearance was revealed!


    It was a young man. Under his perfectly arched brows, his eyes shone like stars. His gait exuded confidence and as he reached out his arm, a long fiery red spear appeared in his hand.


    "That''s... Nathan!"


    "I knew the Godly Geniuses of our human race would show up!"


    "That Nathan is only second to Zen and Rocher! Before Zen appeared, he was the first-ranked Godly Genius!"


    "When a genius like him grows, it would be beyond our imaginations how strong he would become. His strength had improved tremendously after he became a world lord, and now, he''s only going to be more powerful!"


    When the Godly Geniuses hadn''t showed up, countless warriors in the Evolutionary Universe felt very disappointed.


    As the saying went, "a brave martial artist always wins the fiercest competition." Many warriors understood that losing was not a scary thing. What was scary was being afraid before the fight. The successive defeats of the human warriors had greatly affected the morale of the warriors in the Evolutionary Universe.


    They didn''t expect that the Zen that they had always hoped to come would be no-show. Instead, Nathan was here!


    Cheers broke out in the pavilions of the Iron Moon City. Victory was finally on its way! Even some of the heavily drunk martial artists were jolted awake.


    "Nathan?"


    The corners of Connie''s mouth curled up, her eyes gleaming with interest.


    She knew the ten Godly Geniuses very well. In fact, back when Zen had returned from the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, she had immediately recognized him.


    And from what she knew, this Nathan''s origins were not that simple.

 Chapter 2030 Stop

    "Yes. That''s me."


    A satisfied smirk made its way to Nathan''s face as he looked at Connie, the spear in his hand trembling slightly.


    The war had already escalated to the point where the momentum of the Evolutionary Universe had become stagnant under Maha''s oppressive reign.


    Not even the many Supreme Lords or Master Feng had any ideas to change the situation. The Sacred race now held an absolute advantage over them. There was no way they could ruin Maha''s schemes!


    However, the final battle with the Sacred race would commence if the Supreme Lords took action. It was just that the Celestial Position wasn''t confident enough to face the indomitable Sacred race.


    After a long time of discussion, they finally decided to just send Nathan and hope for the best.


    Nathan cultivated the Truth Godly Way and had deeply comprehended it already. If he could kill Maha, it would be enough to help buy some precious time for the Evolutionary Universe.


    The soles of Maha''s boots scuffed against the rough ground as he left his hill. Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks and turned around. "Huh, a group of cunning old fellows want to test my strength¡­" he said with a cold smile.


    Nathan felt Maha''s gaze and the tip of the spear, which was originally pointed downwards shook slightly. It gently cut through the air with a soft swoosh followed by a flash of light. After that, the spear was already aimed straight at Maha.


    It was just a casual way of provoking. However, Maha felt his chest hurt slightly when the spear was pointed at him!


    The right side of Maha''s chest was his equivalent of Achilles'' heel. His father had been careless back then when he had refined the physical body for him, so his body had such a flaw. He didn''t expect that Nathan would be able to see through it at first glance!


    "Interesting¡­" Maha said lowly with narrowed eyes. He immediately became cautious. It seemed that aside from Zen, the other Godly Geniuses weren''t bad either. He had underestimated the Godly Geniuses in the Evolutionary Universe before.


    However, Maha did not choose to interfere. Since Nathan wanted to challenge Connie, he could observe for a while.


    The cheers from the Iron Moon City suddenly became louder. It was during such time when the Sacred martial artists had the upper hand. It didn''t matter if they were faced with the humans or the ogres; the other races'' attempts to fight the Sacred race had mostly ended in failure.


    Those who challenged Maha were all defeated miserably. In any case, trying to do so was like committing suicide.


    Therefore, it was understandable that everyone else had now placed their hopes on Nathan.


    "Finally, a Godly Genius appeared. What a pleasant surprise." Connie smiled as she slowly floated in the air, her back as straight as a rod.


    "Cut the crap and make your move. I don''t have much time to waste on you!" Nathan said flatly.


    If Nathan did not care, so did Connie. Her lips stretched into a toothy smile and she said, "Haven''t I already started?"


    "Whoosh!"


    As soon as the words died on her mouth, a black bead was quickly shot towards Nathan''s face!


    Nathan frowned a little, but


    ad several vital points when he had used the Truth Godly Way to see through her. Thus, Connie had lost a life when he attacked with his spear.


    "So that''s how it is," he muttered. Although he didn''t know where those Life Sacrificing Beads came from, he still understood that if he wanted to kill this woman, he had to destroy the remaining Life Sacrificing Beads!


    "Whoosh!"


    He didn''t think twice any longer and wielded his spear which he aimed at Connie''s calf!


    "Pfft!"


    A fine stream of blood gushed out, and he had shattered another Life Sacrificing Bead.


    It was known that Connie relied on the Life Sacrificing Beads to keep her alive and protect her from death. Now that Nathan had destroyed two of them in row, she was extremely terrified and immediately decided to go all out to fight for her life.


    With gritted teeth, she did a somersault in the air and quickly stretched out her two hands. Then, two sword patterns appeared on her arms.


    Connie was just second to Maha in the Murphy Universe. However, she did not cultivate and instead relied entirely on her treasures during battles. She enjoyed a high status in the Sacred race, and thus possessed numerous powerful treasures. Those two sword patterns were her most powerful trump cards!


    Nathan could feel the powerful aura from the sword patterns, but he still had no plans to retreat!


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    A multitude of small unicolor swords spread out from Connie''s body. They formed a storm and surrounded Nathan.


    At that point, Nathan''s eyes glowed intensely like a pair of twinkling stars. Whenever he exerted his full strength, the Law Spear Strike also worked to its limit.


    "Break!"


    There was nothing else on Nathan''s mind now. He only had one goal, and that was to kill Connie first!


    Just then, they heard a voice filled with sinister magic.


    "Stop! That''s enough!"


    The loud voice made both Connie and Nathan feel some sort of controlled.


    Meanwhile, the lower level warriors from the Iron Moon City almost instinctively felt their legs weaken, and they simultaneously knelt on the ground.

 Chapter 2031 Is He Not Afraid Of Death

    A gale swept across the Iron Moon City as Maha slowly descended from the other side, a lazy expression on his face.


    However, the aura of his Great Dominance Technique made him seem like an emperor who descended upon this supreme world, and all living beings had to kneel in front of him.


    The last time Maha used the Great Dominance Technique, it had been completely ineffective on Zen. It was because Zen''s soul was stronger than Maha''s and he also had the Emperor Soul Imprint in his soul, whose aura was more powerful than Maha''s Great Dominance Technique.


    However, Nathan''s soul was a bit weaker than Zen''s, which made it harder for him to resist Maha''s Great Dominance Technique. It was why his willpower instantly collapsed when Maha shouted "Enough." Even his spear stopped moving.


    Maha was waiting here for Zen. He did not expect Nathan to arrive.


    Since the human Supreme Lords were willing to use a Godly Genius to test him, he would make this Godly Genius pay with the price of his life.


    Whoosh!


    Meanwhile, Connie took advantage of the moment Nathan was distracted and quickly retreated behind Maha.


    Her face was drained of color and her heart hammered erratically in her chest. If Maha hadn''t arrived on time, then she would''ve probably lost her life by now. She realized that in the face of a true powerhouse from the Evolutionary Universe, all the treasures she had that she used to protect her life seemed to be completely useless.


    "Alas, what a pity! Maha actually stopped him!"


    "Nathan almost killed that woman!"


    "It doesn''t matter. That woman isn''t important in the first place."


    At that point, the weaker martial artists in the Iron Moon City trembled with fear as they crawled up from the ground. They couldn''t help but shudder at the fact that Maha was able to pressure them to kneel on the ground by force. Some of the stronger martial artists were able to resist the Great Dominance Technique''s power, but it was because Maha originally directed it at Nathan. The others had only been affected as well.


    On the other hand, Nathan didn''t regret that he wasn''t able to kill Connie. After all, his target now was Maha. Moreover, he and his seniors had planned meticulously and prepared a path of retreat. Thus, he wasn''t afraid of Maha in the slightest.


    "The Great Dominance Technique..."


    Nathan flashed a small smile and with a wave of his hand, a thin rope appeared around his chest. Dangling from the rope was a pale green stone. The stone emitted a faint glow that enveloped his head.


    "Heavenly Sarira?" Maha briefly glanced at the small stone on Nathan''s chest and furrowed his brows.


    "The Great Dominance Technique should be one of the most useless Godly Ways. Only people without brains would choose it," Nathan said mockingly


    de and although it was called a blade, it was actually thinner than most swords. The blade and the hilt were both 6 feet long, and each took up half of its length which was a total of 12 feet long. It was 2.1 feet longer than Nathan''s spear, which was 9.9 feet long.


    Maha immediately swung his blade down. A dark red blade shadow trailed behind it as he aimed it straight towards Nathan.


    He didn''t use any techniques, nor was there anything special about it. It was simply an extremely fast blade movement executed in an equally fierce and imposing manner.


    The blade Maha wielded was none other than the fourth ranked Fiend Dragon Blade in the Murphy Universe, while the spear in Nathan''s hand was the eighth ranked Heaven-piercing Spear on the Universe Spirit Tablet of the Evolutionary Universe. There wasn''t much difference between the two weapons in terms of ranking.


    As Maha continued to strike, he thought that Nathan would first dodge his attack and then counterattack.


    What he did not expect was that Nathan didn''t even bother to dodge. Instead, his eyes flashed mischievously and he stabbed with his spear, releasing the Law Spear Strike. He didn''t care if Maha would hurt him.


    While it was true that Maha could split Nathan into two, he probably wouldn''t be able to survive if Nathan pierced him with his spear, either.


    ''Is he unafraid of death?'' Maha thought.


    In addition, he also didn''t think that Nathan would work so hard.


    Nathan felt that he understood Maha, and Maha also understood people like Nathan. People like them had always held themselves to a high regard and viewed their lives as something more important than the heavens. It was to the point where they might not even be willing to sacrifice themselves if the entire universe was destroyed. However, Nathan''s move was undoubtedly way out of Maha''s imagination.

 Chapter 2032 The Upper Hand

    Nathan didn''t even bother dodging Maha''s strike, unsettling the latter.


    His slash was already half out¡ªif he wasn''t willing to die with his opponent, he needed to pull it back forcefully.


    Against a fellow unafraid of death, Maha didn''t seem to have any choice.


    Suddenly, Maha twisted his body in midair, swinging out the blade in his hand and forcefully slashing the tip of Nathan''s spear. After blocking Nathan''s strike, he moved to the other side.


    In the eyes of the onlookers, the first exchange of moves between the two was to Maha''s disadvantage. At the very least, he didn''t dare face Nathan head on.


    During the past years, all those who dared challenge Maha had died in all sorts of miserable postures.


    There had never been a world lord who could gain the upper hand over Maha.


    "Haha! Maha seems to be afraid of Nathan."


    "Nahan''s the true top Godly Genius¡ªhe seems even more reliable than Zen!"


    "Nathan has never been weak. Losing to Zen was a blip!"


    Within the Iron Moon City, the martial artists began boiling with excitement. They had already placed the heavy responsibility of defeating Maha on Nathan.


    It was known to the entire universe that the battle within the Sunflower Water World was not merely a duel. Every step here was tied to the fate of the entire Evolutionary Universe and all living beings within it.


    All the races of the Evolutionary Universe had already placed their bets on Nathan.


    Seeing Maha flee backward, Nathan followed suit without batting so much as an eyelid. The Heaven-piercing Spear in his hand was like a poisonous snake that had left its lair, shooting out an arc into the air, continuing to bite onto Maha''s body relentlessly.


    The spear was pointed right at Maha''s most fatal point. As long as the spear made its mark, Maha would fall to death.


    "Go to hell!"


    Even Maha felt anger rising within. He was facing a Godly Genius whose strength wasn''t too far off. Nathan trained in the most dangerous Truth Godly Way, and he was unafraid of death. Maha couldn''t deny that the fact was embarrassing on his part.


    With a swipe of the blade, it flew towards Nathan''s head.


    If Nathan was caught in this blade attack, his entire head and soul would have been caught by Maha''s blade.


    But just as it went with their first exchange of blows, Nathan had simply turned a blind eye to Maha''s spear strike¡ªhe simply had no care for his own life. No matter what the outcome, he was going to fight to the death.


    "This damn guy! He''s not afraid of death in the least."


    Gritting his teeth, Maha could only roll the blade in his hand again, deflecting Nathan''s long spear once again.


    Surrounding the hill, as the two chased each other, a strange scene played out.


    Nathan was completely desperate, determined to take Maha''s life. But Maha had managed to display a complete counterattack, never submitting to Nathan''s spear.


    And it was extremely satisfying for the


    the Heavenly Sarira to resist Maha''s Great Dominance Technique while simultaneously using a desperate method to take Maha by surprise.


    If Maha recovered his wits, naturally, he''d have a way to deal with it.


    But among the many Supreme Lords, none truly expected Nathan to win.


    This time, they had sent Nathan out to slow down the fall of the universe''s momentum. Before they sent Nathan to Sunflower Water World, they were completely prepared for it.


    Using the Space Lock to lock himself in with Nathan, Supreme Lord Healum threw him into the Sunflower Water World while Supreme Lord Lester waited by his side, preparing to bring Nathan to life if need be.


    If Maha truly defeated and killed Nathan, Supreme Lord Healum would instantly pull Nathan''s corpse back. By then, even if his soul was destroyed, Supreme Lord Lester''s method would still be enough to completely resurrect Nathan using his Law of Causality.


    At this moment, the other Supreme Lords naturally paid close attention to Maha''s and Nathan''s movements in the Sunflower Water World.


    Just as the martial artists thought that Maha had used Grand Teleportation to escape, his figure suddenly appeared above Nathan like a ghost in the sky. There was an arrogant smile on his face as he said, "Haha, relying on only the Law Spear Strike to defeat me? How childish to underestimate me!"


    Swoosh!


    With a light wave of his hand, Maha made a deep purple light surge out like a tide, directly overturning the area within ten thousand miles of Iron Moon City.


    After the light covered them, the onlookers could only see how everything around them was dyed a deep purple. There wasn''t much else of a change and they couldn''t tell what Maha''s intent was.


    But Nathan''s eyes were filled with fear and bewilderment. In his eyes, there were all sorts of rules for everything in the world. But after Maha released the deep purple light, it seemed to change the shape of space straight away.

 Chapter 2033 Debate Over The Godly Ways

    Once he had finished cultivating the Truth Godly Way, Nathan was capable of seeing through the rules concerning the basic laws of this world.


    His cultivation didn''t allow him to see through it completely. However, as long as he could capture a certain degree of the mysteries within, he''d still have the capacity of noticing any cracks or flaws.


    To be more explicit, Nathan would be able to simply glance at an unharmed mountain and see directly through to its weaknesses. By using the Law Spear Strike to hit the mountain''s utmost weak spot, the entire mountain would collapse in accordance to his prediction.


    From ordinary mortals to Supreme Lords in the universe, they all followed the most basic set of rules. The Truth Godly Way was originally a rule that set other rules in the divine land, and it was also the most popular type of Godly Way. It was, and with reason, the choice of many True Gods!


    Up until now, there had only been one thing that Nathan hadn''t been able to see through, and that was the product of the fusion of the laws of the five elements. Therefore, Lucille, who cultivated in the Five Elements Godly Way, was his nemesis. More so, because the Five Elements Godly Way was fused together, the rules within were extremely complicated and it was very difficult for Nathan to separate them.


    At this moment, however, Maha released a burst of deep purple light, enveloping the area. Nathan hadn''t felt the existence of the laws of the five elements, but his Truth Godly Way had lost its effectiveness.


    That was when all the lines and dots began to disappear simultaneously, as if they had been covered by some kind of magical power. This was the first time Nathan had encountered such a situation; it was thus only natural for his eyes to reveal a hint of panic.


    Maha''s embarrassed expression from before had been completely swept away. In this deep purple space, he seemed indifferent and calm. Although the smile on his face was shallow, it equally gave off a very rich sense of ridicule.


    "Do you find it interesting, Nathan?" Maha asked. "The truth is that I''ve always thought the Truth Godly Way is some sort of bullshit. Let alone you and me, even a True God or a Holy Being of the divine land couldn''t genuinely control the truth. Yet people in a small world like you think they''ve found the truth."


    Nathan''s face slightly darkened at Maha''s words.


    Maha''s voice had not only spread throughout Iron Moon City, but he had also activated a Roaring Token, sending his message into the entire universe.


    All of the Supreme Lords in the Evolutionary Universe now had a visible trace of astonishment on their faces. Even the Supreme Lords of the Sacred race had expressions of discomfort that lined their features.


    What Maha''s words really meant was that even the boundless divine land was only a small world. Moreover, he also looked down upon the Truth Godly Way.


    "Damn it. He''s going to bluff again!" Supreme Lord Den


    at kind of method Maha had used, and was unable to confirm whether or not the Space Lock would truly be capable of pulling him back to Supreme Lord Healum''s side. After all, the Space Lock was a typical spatial theurgy, which meant that in his battle with Maha, Nathan might really die.


    ''I have to go all out, '' Nathan thought.


    He was a person who was rather afraid of death, or perhaps it could be said that he was proud and wasn''t willing to casually plummet to his death.


    Once he sensed that he might really die, he actually calmed down.


    Whoosh!


    As he rushed towards Maha, the light in his eyes became increasingly bright. He had already used the Truth Godly Way to the limit, and under the operation of the Law Spear Strike, the countless blood vessels around his pupils began to rapidly flow with golden blood. The tiny blood vessels couldn''t withstand such a surge of fluid, and as they began to rupture one after the other. The golden blood spewed outward, causing his eyes to shine with a golden radiance.


    And that was when, within this purple space, he began to see traces of blurry lines and dots. He could also once again see Maha''s faintly discernible flaws.


    ''I wish the lines and dots can be clearer!'' he thought.


    As he rushed forward, the incomparably powerful long spear once again pierced towards Maha''s weak point, as if it were aiming at a prey.


    At the last second though, Maha faintly smiled and said, "I''ve already said that the Truth Godly Way is useless."


    As Maha''s voice fell, the color of this purple space suddenly changed. The attribute and rules of the space once again changed, and the lines and flaws that Nathan had painstakingly captured instantly vanished leaving no trace behind.


    Puff!


    Nathan''s spear still pierced Maha''s chest!


    Maha didn''t even try dodging it; in fact, he had even disdained doing so. He forcefully withstood Nathan''s spear, his face still smiling as he raised the blade he held in his hand.

 Chapter 2034 Grand World Technique

    Nathan could kill his opponent with a single Law Spear Strike only when, he saw directly through his opponent''s flaw.


    This was because he had to employ the Law Spear Strike at the very moment he discovered the flaw. If he were to see his opponent''s flaw, but not use the Law Spear Strike to attack, the spear strike would then become of ordinary strength, displaying only very little power.


    Maha had speculated that Nathan''s Truth Godly Way was useless, so he simply allowed Nathan''s spear to pierce through his chest!


    As the spear pierced through Maha''s body, a burst of fervent cheers sounded throughout the Iron Moon City.


    Before Zen had appeared, Nathan had been the most famous Godly Genius of the younger generation. Everyone thought that his Truth Godly Way and Law Spear Strike were magical and formidable.


    A few people said that once one cultivated the Law Spear Strike to a certain level, they could even see through the flaws of the entire universe. If they thrust the spear into the universe, the entire universe would collapse.


    And, in many ways, that wasn''t wrong. The universe created by the Holy Being was not perfect, and it also had its flaws. However, in order to cultivate the Truth Godly Way to such a very high level and destroy the universe with a single spear strike, one had to reach the cultivation level of Holy Being.


    It was due to the various legends that caused Nathan to be the number one Godly Genius. It was only after Zen used the Magnetic Sacred Mountain to break the Law Spear Strike and heavily beat Nathan that Zen took his place and became the number one Godly Genius instead.


    Elsewhere, within the Dead Water World, something was also going simultaneously.


    Supreme Lord of Original Sin began to speak anxiously, "He has failed! Supreme Lord Healum, pull him back!"


    Sending Nathan over was originally a risky move and the Supreme Lords had already planned this possibility out.


    Supreme Lord Healum reached out and gently turned his hand, causing streams of Space Law power to spread from his body. The brilliant white light that formed by the Space Law extended to an immeasurable distance. Aside from Nathan, several grand world lords of the human race had also been sent to other supreme worlds to slaughter the Sacred martial artists.


    That was when Supreme Lord Healum attempted to pull Nathan back from the Sunflower Water World!


    This Heavenly Destiny could not be considered powerful, but when cooperating with other people, it was extremely effective. It was capable of projecting anyone into any place, and then pulling them back at any time.


    However, Supreme Lord Healum was given quite the surprise as he tried to pull Nathan out. "Oh no, I can''t draw him back!" he gasped.


    When Supreme Lord of Original Sin heard Supreme Lord Healum speak, he silently closed his eyes, as if he had somehow anticipated this occurrence.


    The other Supreme Lords also frowned.


    "What exactly i


    ionary Universe''s momentum. The effect of killing ordinary martial artists is very good. However, it''s better to not announce Nathan''s death to the universe."


    "Why?" Connie asked, as she blinked hard a few times.


    "Because something will develop in the opposite direction as it reaches the extreme." Maha smiled. "Anyway, there''s probably someone even more anxious than I to announce the result to everyone in the universe."


    Maha might also be able to figure out what the human Supreme Lords were thinking of.


    If someone like Nathan were to be sacrificed, it would definitely arouse the anger of the entire universe. It would even be able to greatly reverse the universe''s momentum. Maha had obviously predicted this situation.


    However, he wouldn''t let Nathan off the hook just because of that, as it would only be counterproductive. Even if the universe''s ''momentum'' was greatly strengthened by Nathan''s death, Maha would still have killed a Godly Genius, which was still a good thing for him.


    And on top of everything else, this Godly Genius was once the number one Godly Genius of the universe!


    Not a sound could be heard coming from the Dead Water World.


    The Supreme Lords remained completely silent.


    "How did that guy manage?" Supreme Lord Healum questioned. "How did he cut off my Space Lock?" he continued. His face was filled with disbelief.


    His Space Lock was the Law of Causality from the Heavenly Destiny, so how could this Law of Causality be so easily cut off by someone?


    "There could only be one reason." Wynn''s voice was suddenly heard by all of them.


    "And what would that be?" Supreme Lord Healum asked.


    "Maha cultivates another Godly Way, the Grand World Technique. He cultivates two Godly Ways at the same time, actually. One is the Great Dominance Technique and the other is the Grand World Technique. The area that the light covers is his world, so naturally, he has the ability to sever your Space Lock," Wynn replied.

 Chapter 2035 At The End Of His Forbearance

    Being caught inside the space of Maha''s Grand World Technique, you were already considered powerless. All of the rules were decided by him.


    Whether it would be the laws of the five elements, the Time Law or the Space Law, it had basically no effect once you were inside it.


    What was more amazing was that Maha could even change the pattern of laws on his own!


    "Does this mean that, within this guy''s Grand World Technique, even the Heavenly Destiny is useless?" Supreme Lord of Oracle asked with furrowed brows.


    In this way, if a Supreme Lord would be caught in the space of Maha''s Grand World Technique, using their Heavenly Destiny would be an empty attack and they would even be killed by him.


    "Yes. But Maha hasn''t condensed his Godly Tile yet, so his Grand World Technique isn''t complete. He isn''t able to change all of the rules. Supreme Lord Healum''s Space Lock belongs to the Space Law, and is most likely to be changed by the Grand World Technique. That''s why Maha cut it apart so easily," Wynn explained.


    "I see," Supreme Lord of Oracle said with a nod. The first time she met Maha, the latter was rude to her. Right at that moment, she already had the urge to kill him. If it was not for the good of the whole, she might not be able to control her desire to kill him.


    "What about Nathan''s life? How to avenge him¡­" Supreme Lord of Original Sin who had his eyes closed for a long time suddenly opened them.


    It was him who offered to put Nathan at risk. He had prepared everything thoroughly, but he did not expect this mistake to occur at the last moment. Supreme Lord of Original Sin invested too much effort on him that he wouldn''t just watch his own son die without due justice.


    Hearing his grievance, Master Feng uttered, "Wait a little longer. As long as our enemy wouldn''t act to damage Nathan''s body, there is still a chance for Supreme Lord Lester to resurrect him."


    Supreme Lord Lester''s Heavenly Destiny used for resurrecting the dead was extremely powerful. As long as the corpse was intact and without heavy damages, it had a high possibility to be completely brought back to life. But looking at the current situation, Maha might not even give him this opportunity¡­


    At this point, Supreme Lord of Original Sin was already in a violent rage.


    Being the leader of the four great clans and known to be one of the top-rank Supreme Lords in the Evolutionary Universe, he deeply felt a sense of desolation and resentment in his heart given that he wasn''t able to protect his own son. He couldn''t even act on his own regardless of his incomparably powerful strength in consideration of the general interest of everyone.


    Meanwhile, within the Sunflower Water World, Maha casually waved his hand and the purple light retreated like a tide, continuously gathering in his hand.


    After he stopped performing the Grand World Technique, there were several human martial artists who flew towards the top of the hill. These human martial artists didn''t come for Maha or Connie, bu


    he uttered such words, endless regret flashed on his face as he continued walking down the hill leaving a horrendous sight.


    Connie, who was patiently waiting beside him, stepped forward, draped a silver robe over Maha''s shoulders, and then urged him to rest.


    Back on the hill, having killed the world lords, the Silver Moon Wolves turned back to look at Nathan''s corpse. These Silver Moon Wolves were the most outstanding spiritual pets of the Sacred race known as the powerful super legendary beasts. They were no ordinary beast belonging to the extremely pure super legendary beast''s bloodline. They wouldn''t just randomly eat any common world lords'' bodies.


    Those common world lords'' bodies were way inferior to Nathan''s corpse. It contained a thick aura of the Godly Way, and was eminently attractive to the Silver Moon Wolves. They continued to move forward towards Nathan''s body and were about to pounce on it but forced to a halt.


    An exceedingly formidable aura was suddenly emitted. A scorching white space crack appeared in the sky just above the hill.


    "Stop!"


    An explosive shout resounded from the space crack as an exceptionally strong aura emitted. Sensing this power, the Silver Moon Wolves whimpered in surrender as they retreated backwards out of their animal instincts.


    They felt that if they didn''t back away in an instant, they would die for sure!


    In the Dead Water World, Supreme Lord of Original Sin was seething.


    In a rush, he constructed an incandescent space channel in front of him. With his strength, he would easily smash those damned Silver Moon Wolves into pieces once he entered it.


    "No!"


    "Buddy!" "That''s not a good idea!"


    "Whoosh!"


    The patriarch of the Ji Clan and the patriarch of the Lie Clan, together with Supreme Lord of Thunder Punishment stood in front of Supreme Lord of Original Sin in unison.


    "If you act recklessly, you will drag the entire universe into an irreparable calamity. Supreme Lord of Original Sin, please think twice!"

 Chapter 2036 Rules (Part One)

    Supreme Lord of Original Sin was known to be a highly intelligent individual.


    From the start, he knew the risks of stepping into the Sunflower Water World: he would trigger a powerful counterattack from the Sacred race.


    Even though he was a top-rank Supreme Lord, the chances of him dying in the Sunflower Water World were quite strong, unlimited even.


    However, he couldn''t simply stand by and watch his own son''s corpse being devoured by the blood-hungry wolves!


    With other Supreme Lords'' persuasion, Supreme Lord of Original Sin hesitated.


    Simultaneously though, other things were happening in the Sunflower Water World, too.


    In the air above, several blood-red space cracks had begun to appear. The thin cracks streaked across the sky, intertwining with each other and spreading at rapid speed.


    Faint shadows swayed among the rays of dark red light emanating from the cracks. A great power gushed from the cracks. The Sacred Supreme Lords were hiding within them!


    Inevitably, this scene caused Supreme Lord of Original Sin to waken from his sullen stupor.


    He knew that, many times, anger wasn''t the solution to the problem. If he rushed into the Sunflower Water World now, the best outcome would probably be his death at the hands of the Sacred Supreme Lords. If he died in that world, then the four great clans wouldn''t be capable of operating Star Destroying Array together. This would cause a great reduction in the strength of the human race!


    Even worse, it could cause the whole Sacred race to launch an attack. This was definitely something he wanted to avoid.


    In such a situation, the possibility of humankind actually winning was so low that it could lead to the destruction of the entire universe.


    Supreme Lord of Original Sin weighed the


    races, all remained silent. On their gloomy faces was etched a form of resilience, as if they were volcanoes just waiting to erupt at any given moment.


    Not too long afterward, Supreme Lord of Oracle''s voice resounded throughout the Evolutionary Universe.


    Nathan''s death also had another use: to arouse the common hatred of all the living beings in the universe. Just like Maha had guessed, he didn''t need to announce Nathan''s death publicly. He could rest assured, for he knew that the human Supreme Lords would definitely take care of the matter for him.


    Prior to this, many living creatures in the universe already knew that Nathan was entering the Sunflower Water World in order to challenge Maha, and Maha seemed to be at a disadvantage. Ever since then though, the universe had maintained its silence. No one had informed them of the event''s updates. The living creatures were thus all ears, just waiting to be given even the slightest news.


    Countless warriors had been paying attention to the matter for a long time, and yet, no one had heard anything from anyone.


    Until...


    Supreme Lord of Oracle''s voice was suddenly heard booming throughout the entire universe.

 Chapter 2037 Rules (Part Two)

    "I am Supreme Lord of Oracle. I am representing the human race in order to announce news. Nathan has been killed by Maha. On behalf of the human race and the Evolutionary Universe, I hope that stronger talents will come forth and stand for our revenge!"


    Truth be told, there was only one or two warriors in the younger generation that were stronger than Nathan. One of them was Zen, and the other was Rocher. Currently, Rocher was in closed-door seclusion, and Zen had just taken care of things with the Demon Night. There was literally nobody else they could count on.


    The reason she said this was in an attempt to provide comfort to the countless living beings within the Evolutionary Universe. More importantly, she tried inspiring everyone and anyone who was listening.


    As Supreme Lord of Oracle''s cold and moving voice echoed throughout the universe, all the races and intelligent life forms across the land threw themselves into an uproar.


    "There''s no way Nathan actually lost to that Maha!" someone exclaimed.


    "This Maha is truly an undefeatable existence!" someone else shouted in agreement. "Does this mean that we have to send a Supreme Lord to fight him?"


    "Zen! We want Zen to fight!"


    For a moment, the entire Evolutionary Universe was filled with righteous indignation as people yelled and shouted out over one another.


    Supreme Lord of Oracle''s voice was heard by everyone in the universe, including Zen, of course.


    After making amends with the Demon Night''s internal strife, Zen had come into the Lower World in order to retrieve the Great Weighty Sword.


    This sword could withstand Zen''s power, making it a very suitable weapon for him. However, once it flew out of his hand, nothing in nature had the


    rrently unable to move. All that was left was to close his eyes and await his death.


    However, the lightning bolt was miraculously stopped in midair.


    Suddenly, a figure appeared in the air. The odd figure stretched out its hand and cut the golden lightning in half with a single motion!


    The thick golden lightning bolt turned into thin lightning snakes, spreading out in all directions along Zen''s arms. Zen, on the other hand, smiled faintly at his opponent and said, "Since victory and defeat have already been decided, there''s no need to slaughter anyone, isn''t it?"


    "Who are you? How dare you interfere with my challenge? Doing so is completely against the rules." The Sacred warrior''s face became cold.


    There weren''t any large scale battles occurring in the Sunflower Water World at the moment. The human and Sacred warriors simply hated each other. Generally speaking, the winner of the battle would kill their opponent directly on the spot.


    It was a two-way street. No one else could interfere, and everyone knew this very well. It was an unwritten rule. Zen interfering in the fight right after his arrival truly was against the rules.

 Chapter 2038 The Rule Set By Maha

    As Zen hightailed over to the place, he witnessed two martial artists battling it out. On the sidelines, human and Sacred warriors alike had their eyes glued to the fight, their gazes alight with interest. Zen deduced that the two martial artists were engaged in a one-on-one battle.


    But his aim in rushing over to the Sunflower Water World was not to become another spectator to the battle, but rather he had to put an end to the challenge posed by Maha. As for the unwritten rule, he had no intention of abiding by it.


    Only the weak ones obeyed rules. The strong ones called the shots and created the law. They were brave enough to break them when need be.


    "Boy! Are you courting death?"


    "In the Sunflower Water World, you can only indulge in a one-on-one fight. Otherwise, our Sacred race would have long since exterminated your human race!"


    "If you are wise enough, you will run from here with your tail tucked between your legs!"


    As the Sacred martial artists noticed Zen step closer, their voices rose to a clamor.


    "Who made this rule?" Zen glanced around slowly as he rubbed his fingertips together.


    "It has been set by our Godly Genius, Maha, and rightly so!" one of the martial artists spat out arrogantly.


    Most of the human martial artists who entered the Sunflower Water World intended to confront and challenge Maha. However, there were simply too many of these human adversaries. It was impossible for Maha to fight them individually by himself. Thus, the Sacred martial artists lent a hand in fighting them.


    The corner of Zen''s mouth curled up slightly. "So that''s how it is. I see."


    "Yes, that''s how it is. Now make yourself scarce!" a Sacred martial artist shouted.


    Zen shook his head. "But that is Maha''s rule, not mine."


    The martial artist spluttered at this unexpected reply. "And pray tell, what is your rule?" he asked incredulously.


    The Sacred martial artists present were clueless as to how they should react to this dissenter. Their race had the absolute advantage in the Sunflower Water World, and the human martial artists who challenged the Sacred warriors were mindful of it, which was why they were usually compliant with the rules.


    "My rule is not to follow any rule while fighting the Sacred race!" As he finished speaking, Zen''s eyes narrowed in timely warning. Swiftly, his figure flew in the air like a nimble swallow and shot toward that Sacred warrior.


    The Sacred warrior had not imagined that Zen would dare make a move such as this. His vision blurred and turned hazy as Zen flashed past him.


    Zen had stunned the Sacred warrior. Before the latter could even react, an Ice Soul Flame bloomed on his chest and rapidly trickled into his body. A cold chill pervaded his insides inch by slow inch, spreading through his meridians until it finally invaded his deep inner world.


    The inner world of the Sacred martial artist was engulfed in ice and snow. As the temperature plummeted even more, a number of creatures within froze into chunks of ice. Along with the living beings formed out of life vitality, the


    lenging each other.


    After Maha had killed Nathan, the Sacred martial artists become rather vainglorious. They took pleasure in goading the martial artists of other races in Iron Moon City. As for the martial artists of the human race, the Demon Night race, and the ogre race, they were only indignant and eager to take action at any moment.


    As soon as Zen stepped into the place, he attracted the attention of several Sacred martial artists.


    "It is a new human world lord. Ha-ha!" someone roared, booming in raucous laughter.


    "Humphrey, go challenge him!"


    "Let me try..."


    The Sacred martial artists had similar condescending smiles on their faces as they stared at Zen. One of them strode toward him. "Hello, human brat! Have you come to Iron Moon City for..."


    Before the Sacred martial artist could even finish his question, Zen passed by him indifferently. The moment he did so, a blue ice flower fell on the warrior''s shoulder.


    Zen looked rather placid...


    The Ice Soul Flame burned with intensity.


    Before any of the Sacred martial artists could realize what was happening, Zen had already increased his speed. The Ice Soul Flame was like the sickle of death and Zen the grim reaper. He wasted no time in taking the lives of these Sacred martial artists.


    Puff, puff, puff...


    One after another, the Ice Soul Flames began to bloom. They stirred in the air, releasing distinct sounds. In the bat of an eye, the group of seven Sacred warriors turned into motionless ice sculptures.


    Zen did not slow down in the slightest as the warriors fell to the ground. He continued to go deeper into Iron Moon City.


    Because of his action, Zen attracted the attention of the martial artists in Iron Moon City. Another group of Sacred world lords stormed out, and as they took in what had happened, they were utterly furious. Countless challenges had occurred outside of Iron Moon City, but this human martial artist before them had broken the cardinal rule!


    They could not possibly tolerate such impudence from a human world lord!

 Chapter 2039 Ice Sculptures

    With the icy-blue flame gripped in his hand, Zen killed all approaching enemies as he traveled in the Iron Moon City.


    Any martial artists who stood in his way were left to fend for themselves against the ice flame.


    Only a few martial artists had the ability of using the Fire Law to resist the Ice Soul Flame for a while. However, the Ice Soul Flame was a mystery comprehended by a Holy Being. It was actually what made Holy Jay famous. How in the world could these Sacred world lords resist it in the end?


    A warrior who cultivated the Fire Law produced golden flames and managed to resist the Ice Soul Flame. It didn''t last long though, and the fire was soon consumed by the Ice Soul Flame, and the inner world in his cinnabar field was completely frozen. He could only stare at Zen with pleading eyes.


    Zen''s movement gradually slowed as he took a look at the Sacred martial artist. In his eyes, the Sacred martial artist was quickly wrapped up by the Ice Soul Flame and turned into an ice sculpture. There seemed to be no breaths or signs of life in him anymore.


    Once he got closer, Zen lightly tapped the ice sculpture with his index finger. In an instant, countless cracks began to form across the frozen body, which eventually shattered into a pile of ice on the ground.


    "What a bold move from this kid!"


    "This guy actually dared to attack us at the Iron Moon City!"


    "Kill him!"


    Zen''s actions brought attention to half of the Sacred warriors in the Iron Moon City. One after another, they rushed towards the street and quickly surrounded Zen.


    "It''s Zen!" someone shouted.


    "He has arrived at the Iron Moon City!" another screamed.


    "The current Zen is so strong now. A few years ago, he was only at the Soul Sea Realm. Now, he can kill a world lord with just a wave of his hand!"


    The humans and warriors from various races finally recognized Zen, and some world lords who recognized him had all sorts of feelings that welled up inside their hearts. Back in the Illusion Battlefield, Zen was still a mere Soul Sea Realm martial artist, while they had already been world lords for hundreds or even thousands of years. In a span of a few years, he attained so much power which was hard to comprehend.


    There were around seventy Sacred warriors gathered in front of Zen, all of whom were world lords. However, when they saw the ice sculptures of the Sacred warriors behind Zen, no one dared to charge forward.


    Hearing his name made them even more flustered.


    Zen was the strongest Godly Genius in the Evolutionary Universe, a title that was well-deserved. He might not be as strong as Maha, but he was definitely stron


    t of Iron Moon City and landed on the hill. As he narrowed his eyes, he caught sight of four silver wolves.


    Just as the warrior said, Nathan''s body had already been devoured by these silver wolves. Not much was left behind except blood and bones.


    Zen''s blood began to boil at the sight of this.


    At the start of it all, Nathan and Zen were enemies. However, they soon found a common ground and formed a camaraderie like no other.


    Seeing Nathan getting feasted on was a sight he couldn''t bear to see. He was sad and angry, and Zen rarely felt this.


    He rose into the sky and fell down like a shooting star, smashing straight towards the Silver Moon Wolves.


    It turned out, the Silver Moon Wolves were super legendary beasts. Although they were not fully grown, they were still incredibly strong. The moment Zen appeared in the air, they caught sight of him and lowered their bodies. The wolves placed their heads close to the ground, staring at him with their eyes...


    "Aooo!"


    Before Zen could even get close, the Silver Moon Wolves already had a plan. They leapt up into the air all together, and began biting towards Zen''s neck, arms, and legs.


    These Silver Moon Wolves'' teeth flashed with a metallic luster, and the tips of their teeth were extremely sharp. They could definitely break any divine weapon once it got in between their teeth. Ordinary world lords stood no chance against them.


    The wolves were smart, thinking they could tear Zen into shreds.


    But they underestimated him, mistaking him for a mere human.


    "Crack crack crack crack¡­"


    With a few crisp sounds, Zen let the Silver Moon Wolves bite him. However, the wolves soon noticed that they couldn''t hurt him. One of the Silver Moon Wolves even had two of its teeth broken.

 Chapter 2040 Worry

    "They''re just as stupid as other ordinary beasts..."


    Zen''s hand shot out and grabbed at a Silver Moon Wolf''s head.


    The Silver Moon Wolf''s reaction, however, was extremely quick, and with a haphazard roll, it managed to evade Zen''s attack. As soon as it righted itself, it roared and clawed at Zen''s face. It had discovered that Zen''s body was indestructible, so it shifted his attention to Zen''s face instead. The other three Silver Moon Wolves bit Zen, intent on drawing him away.


    "Oh?"


    A trace of surprise appeared on Zen''s face before he let out a sinister laugh.


    The power of the nine stars gushed out crazily, and with a slight twist of his body, a wave of power formed into a vortex that revolved wildly around him. A cracking sound was heard as the four Silver Moon Wolves got caught in the vortex.


    In a blink of an eye, the heads, fur, and bones of the Silver Moon Wolves were cut to pieces.


    Zen stood at the center of the remains and calmly waved his hand. A faint light flashed from his space ring and absorbed the fragments of the Silver Moon Wolves.


    Earlier, Karl had also been blown into bits by the Angel of Death from the sorcerer race, but was resurrected by Supreme Lord Lester. Zen assumed that while Nathan had been devoured by the Silver Moon Wolves, the beasts did not have time to absorb his flesh fragments.


    If the Celestial Position members could separate Nathan''s fragments from those of the Silver Moon Wolves, then they''d have a chance to revive him.


    And while it didn''t seem very much, this was the only thing Zen could do. Whether or not Nathan could be saved depended on his own luck.


    As Zen slowly descended onto a protruding rock, his gaze landed on the Iron Moon City.


    When he was dealing with the Silver Moon Wolves, he had also been on guard for a sneak attack by Maha. However, Maha didn''t show up at all causing Zen to be even more vigilant.


    On the other side of the Iron Moon City, a magnificent palace stood. It had been originally the city lord''s mansion, but when Maha came to the Sunflower Water World and killed the city lord, the mansion became Maha''s palace.


    Inside the mansion, steam rose from a boiling pool of brown water and filled the air with a strong herbal fragrance. The water''s temperature, above boiling point, was enough to melt any ordinary being in an instant.


    However, the two naked figures that were curr


    , there was an extreme feeling of worry that she just couldn''t shake off.


    Because of Zen''s gruesome attack, the Sacred martial artists present kept quiet out of fear. They deduced that only Maha had the chance to defeat such a formidable talent like Zen. At this time, they looked forward to seeing Maha more than Zen.


    "Do your best, Maha! Kill that Godly Genius!"


    "Avenge us!"


    "Zen has a powerful ice flame in his hand. Be careful, Maha!"


    The Sacred martial artists marched beside Maha as he walked along the road, giving him words of encouragement and caution.


    Maha nodded his head once in response before he took a step forward and instantly appeared at the top of the hill.


    He eyed Zen warily from his place. "This is the third time we''ve met."


    For the first time they met, there wasn''t anything remarkable about Zen, and Maha was able to defeat the boy with just a finger. For the second time they met, Zen had improved greatly. Maha had wanted a Supreme Lord to kill him then, but by sheer dumb luck, Zen had managed to escape.


    Now that he had crossed paths with Zen for the third time, he couldn''t help but notice the sense of danger growing in his heart. He tried to suppress the feeling as it only reminded him that this person had the strength to kill him.


    Maha also understood that he couldn''t wait any longer. Zen had progressed quickly. Even when Maha went to the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land to cultivate before, he hadn''t improved as much as Zen had.


    If he missed this opportunity to kill Zen now, he''d be facing an undefeatable monster in the future!

 Chapter 2041 Test The Waters

    Because he practiced the Great Dominance Technique, Maha''s movements gave off a strong sense of oppression.


    An ordinary warrior would feel great pressure facing Maha and their first instinct would be to submit to him without question.


    However, because of his cultivation level, Maha''s Great Dominance Technique had no effect on the Gold Fighting Soul. The Emperor Soul Imprint in Zen''s soul also contained an aura that was by no means weaker than the Great Dominance Technique.


    Zen was calm as he faced Maha. "I believe this will be the last time we meet."


    Maha smiled and nodded. "Yes, I think so too."


    The two of them were the representatives of their respective universes: the two strongest martial artists second only to Supreme Lords. As a war broke out between these two universes, a fight between the two of them was unavoidable.


    Maha clenched his right hand into a fist and rubbed his left palm. He then gently stepped in the air and took the initiative to launch an attack!


    Words were of no use to Maha. He merely focused on dealing the deadly blow on Zen. He was determined to crush him along with the hopes and dreams that this entire universe pinned onto the young man.


    He did not even bother using a weapon. Maha simply went for Zen with his bare hands!


    "Whoosh! Whoosh¡­."


    In terms of speed or the burst of strength, Maha''s attack was nothing special.


    However, Zen saw the space behind Maha slightly shift and distort.


    When formidable strength was exerted on a warrior''s body, their mass would in turn rise exponentially. Upon reaching a certain point, it would then start to suppress their surroundings and distort the space around them.


    Zen was no stranger to this phenomenon, having experienced the same thing many times.


    It was just a bit surprising to see it done by Maha too.


    ''What powerful strength!''


    Zen remarked in his head. He never knew Maha could be this strong and it didn''t help that he had no idea where this sort of strength came from. However, despite facing against such a powerful opponent, Zen felt extremely excited.


    Since Maha wanted to fight with brute force alone, then Zen would not hesitate to do the same.


    His punch wasn''t very fast and it was absolutely possible for Zen to dodge it if he wanted to. However, instead of retreating, Zen decided to lower the center of his body and took a horse stance on the rock!


    "This Zen... he wants to take a punch from Maha head-on?" Supreme Lord Barrie murmured, having hidden himself in the dark.


    "That would be too disappointing..." Supreme Lord Noel said, shaking his head slightly.


    "He overestimates himself," another Supreme Lord remarked.


    Since Maha was the number one Godly Genius of the Sacred race with unparalleled strength and power, it was only natural for the Sacred Supreme Lords to watch over him during his b


    ys to beat a stronger opponent than just brute strength.


    The ordinary Sacred warriors, on the other hand, felt less than calm. The only thing they saw was Zen defeating Maha with a single punch.


    "Is the battle going to end with the first punch?"


    "He only used one punch to make the Godly Genius bleed... unbelievable!"


    "We''re finished. This Zen guy is too strong!"


    The Sacred warriors of Iron Moon City lamented while the human warriors rejoiced.


    "Haha, no one under the level of Supreme Lord is stronger than Zen!"


    "What the hell? Is this Maha really a Godly Genius? All it took was one punch to make him bleed."


    "Come on, Zen!"


    These world lords weren''t content cheering on the sidelines, they also took out their precious Roaring Tokens and announced Zen''s amazing feat to the entire Evolutionary Universe. This news was extremely inspiring and greatly boosted the morale of everyone in the Evolutionary Universe!


    Maha distanced himself until he was around ten thousand feet away from Zen, only then did he manage to stabilize himself and wipe the blood from his mouth.


    ''He''s gonna be harder to deal with than I thought, '' Maha couldn''t help but think to himself. This small injury was nothing but he had to reassess Zen''s strength immediately.


    Physical strength wasn''t a necessarily critical factor in winning fights but it still could give a warrior an edge. Since he didn''t have any advantage over Zen on physical strength, Maha would be forced into a passive stance. He needed to reconsider his entire strategy.


    However, Zen didn''t accord him that luxury. The young man suddenly raised his right hand, summoning an icy blue flame that completely wrapped around his palm. With the blazing power of the Space Law, a single step caused Zen to move ten thousand feet forward, just to reach behind Maha. He then raised his arm and slapped his opponent across the back.

 Chapter 2042 The Rampant Sword Intent

    Many scenarios could happen during a battle. When a martial artist was at a disadvantage, however, it would be difficult to reverse the situation¡ªespecially if both parties'' strengths were at a similar level.


    It was known that Maha was the number one Godly Genius of the Sacred race. He knew how to execute numerous methods and could think of ways to evade his opponent in the most dangerous situations.


    Moreover, he had extremely sharp senses and had quickly discerned that the icy blue flame was quite strange. As soon as he determined that he couldn''t fight head on against it, his body immediately sank.


    Thus, Zen had failed to hit him when they passed by each other in midair.


    The red light around Maha flashed as he descended down, and then a blade appeared in his hand. His lips curved up into a sinister smile.


    "Light Wheel Slash!"


    Circular rays of the blade light spread out around Maha at a high speed and sliced through him like mad. The surrounding air became extremely chaotic. The saber emitted ear-piercing splitting sounds, which were similar to a disastrous flute playing.


    The circular rays of the blade light enveloped Maha in a radius of one thousand feet. The area where he stood was a dead zone; not even the smallest of mosquitoes would be able to find a gap to escape!


    Meanwhile, Zen stood directly above Maha where the blade light was the most concentrated.


    However, Maha''s attacks didn''t faze him at all. When Maha brought out his saber, he already had the Great Weighty Sword in his hand.


    Maha''s saber was extremely nimble and agile like a small viper. It could attack its opponent numerous times from any angle, and its every move was fatal.


    On the other hand, Zen''s Great Weighty Sword was like a giant dragon hidden in an abyss. It was immensely heavy, but once it had launched an attack, it only needed a single strike to kill its opponent!


    "Boom, boom, boom, boom¡­"


    Zen held the Great Weighty Sword horizontally in front of his chest as the countless light wheels shot towards him.


    The clashing of the sword and saber should''ve created a melodious sound, but because of the Great Weighty Sword''s power, the weapons produced an extremely dull, metallic clang like a large bell.


    "How can you block it that easily?" Maha sneered. He turned the saber in his hand with a contemptuous look. Once again, the second wave of the Light Wheel Slash struck at Zen.


    While Maha had suffered a loss while fighting Zen with brute force, he was highly confident in his speed.


    In addition, Maha and even the vast majority of martial artists thought that offense was the best defense. It wouldn''t do any good to resist just like what Zen did and besides, it wasn''t hard for him to break through Zen''s line of defenses.


    Maha continued to alt


    m. Maha was very shocked, and felt that he was truly unlucky today.


    After Zen slashed out his first sword strike, Maha had already decided to avoid his opponent''s attack first and then quickly find a chance to counterattack. According to his experience, Zen would always have a moment of weakness after he displayed this terrifying sword move. Thus, it would be the best time for him to strike back.


    Then again, ideas were always wonderful; but reality was always cruel.


    He never expected for Zen to repeatedly launch his attacks.


    Furthermore, each of his sword strikes was comparable to the all-out attack of a Supreme Lord!


    What was worse was that he had launched three sword attacks in a row without any rest or hesitation. He also did not gather any momentum. How did he make it?


    Most importantly, how big was his inner world?


    Generally speaking, a world lord''s inner world was limited in size. No matter how much life vitality it had, it still wouldn''t be enough for a large consumption. Even Maha''s inner world wouldn''t be able to last long if he had used such a skill.


    However, Zen had already slashed out ten sword strikes in just a short period of time. If Maha tried to do that, he might''ve used up all the life vitality in his inner world.


    Yet there was Zen, who still looked so vigorous. He didn''t look the least bit exhausted!


    "Rumble..."


    Huge amounts of sword intent continued to descend upon the ground. Several streams of the sword intent had even cut through the Sunflower Water World. They left numerous cracks all over the place, which made the supreme world they were in look like a face that was full of scratches.


    Soon enough, the entire supreme world had lost its stability and began to tremble continuously.


    The Sacred Supreme Lords who hid in secret places saw the scene, and were speechless with shock.

 Chapter 2043 An Earthworm

    Some of the Sacred Supreme Lords were absolutely loyal to Maha. Some of them remained neutral, and some held great hostility toward Maha.


    After all, the internal forces of the Sacred race were extremely complicated¡ªthey weren''t as united as it seemed.


    But everyone still had absolute confidence in Maha.


    In the Murphy Universe, Maha''s reputation was simply too great. From the moment this fellow was born, he constantly created miracles.


    But as the Sacred Supreme Lords saw his fight against Zen, their confidence in Maha suddenly began to waver.


    None of Zen''s strikes contained any special laws or Law of Causality. The Gods-intimidating Strike contained only Zen''s comprehension of the Godly Way¡ªit had displayed the peak-level of sword intent. In terms of pure power of the Gods-intimidating Strike, it was already comparable to that of Elena''s Profound Holy Thunder, equal to a Supreme Lord''s full attack.


    But even a Supreme Lord couldn''t recklessly unleash such a terrifying attack such as Zen''s. He employed the Gods-intimidating strike with ease and it wasn''t a problem for him to strike relentlessly. If he intended to do so, the several hundred strikes would be enough to shatter the very supreme world to pieces.


    "This Godly Genius¡­ he''s exceeded our expectations," a Supreme Lord said, lowering his voice.


    The Sacred race had long been prepared to invade the Evolutionary Universe. In their first year there, they made no move. Instead, they were busy collecting information from the Evolutionary Universe, analyzing the function of every single Supreme Lord''s Heavenly Destiny, their true strength, the conflicts between the races, and so on¡ªanything they could get their hands on.


    Even Murphy had warned the Sacred race to pay special attention to these Godly Geniuses in the Evolutionary Universe¡ªthey managed to collect tons of detailed information regarding the ten Godly Geniuses.


    This included their races, ages, strengths, personalities, experiences, Godly Ways, cultivation methods, and so on.


    But back then, none of the ten had entered the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. The Sacred race had not compared the strength of the Godly Geniuses to that of Maha, and Godly Geniuses such as Zen and Nathan were only at the Soul Sea Realm at that time.


    But after Zen and the other Godly Geniuses returned from the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, their strengths had advanced by leaps and bounds. The Sacred race had to have a new evaluation of these Godly Geniuses.


    Forcefully raising one''s cultivation could cause one''s level to destabilize. And these Godly Geniuses had just become world lords¡ªcompared to Maha, they were still as young and tender as baby birds. In the hearts of these Sacred Supreme Lords, they still weren''t quite powerful enough to pose any real threat.


    But now, the strength Zen had displayed completely overturned their logic.


    "His strength¡­ It goes far beyond our imagination!" Supreme Lord Barrie''s eyes were filled with shock. A feeling overcame him, telling


    the time, Zen still had difficulty completely taking the life of a Supreme Lord. But later on, when Mike appeared and took Zen away, the latter managed to master the Enemy Repelling Arts. Now, he possessed the ability to break causality, and his abilities had become even more terrifying.


    For instance, since a Law of Causality such as the Five Aging Processes could be broken by Zen in a single slash, the Crowns of Destiny that these Supreme Lords had carried were nothing impressive next to such a feat.


    But of course, Zen hadn''t yet fought a Supreme Lord since then and Lavender couldn''t jump to any conclusions. The Supreme Lords were debating this matter on their own and she meant not to join them. So long as the Supreme Lords didn''t perish, they''d eventually see Zen taking on a Supreme Lord...


    Meanwhile, in the battle, he slashed over twenty times.


    While the Gods-intimidating Strike was famous for its great power, it wasn''t particularly fast. Because Maha could travel fast underground, he managed to escape the attacks.


    But the World Tree in Zen''s inner world had already taken root in other areas outside the inner world, relentlessly absorbing chaotic energy. It was inexhaustible and never could it be drained.


    So Zen launched such consecutive attacks to deter his opponent.


    Meanwhile, Maha could only groan and run around underground.


    After dashing several dozens of miles underground, Maha could no longer hold on. Suddenly, he stopped and the layer of earth in front of him began to crack open. Sword intent shot down before his eyes, piercing through the ground and creating a bottomless crack in front of him.


    Light shone through and when Maha raised his head, he saw Zen, high up in the sky.


    For a moment, the two looked at each other. Zen, wielding the Great Weighty Sword in his hand, smiled faintly. "Are you an earthworm?"


    Faced with such provocation, Maha''s expression turned determined. The blade in his hand suddenly twisted until a deep purple light spread from it.

 Chapter 2044 Fight With Bare Hands

    Iron Moon City was aglow with bright purple from the orb of light that had spread quickly across the land, covering the whole city up to the hills.


    Maha''s skill was apparent, especially when the opponent was Nathan. He would often try to intimidate him using the Grand World Technique; but even without it, Maha would have still been able to defeat Nathan.


    However, compared to Nathan, facing Zen gave Maha a terrible headache.


    Whether in terms of strength or weaponry, Zen could easily defeat him!


    Maha''s speed had proved to be superior to many, but when he was faced with Zen, escaping was its only function!


    The Grand World Technique was one of Maha''s greatest assets. Once he activated it, he could dominate and make all the rules to his advantage.


    Nonetheless, after being defeated by Zen and fleeing in every direction, Maha had already lost face.


    Although Maha had already mentally prepared himself to fight Zen and wholly removed all arrogance in his heart to be in his best condition, this did not mean that Maha lacked pride!


    As the top Godly Genius of Murphy Universe, being chased all the way down here and running around underground with his face covered in dirt was not Maha''s style!


    Besides, Zen continually swung his terrifying sword, and some human world lord had been continuously using the Roaring Token to exaggerate the situation. All creatures in the Evolutionary Universe and all of the Sacred warriors were immediately informed of his escape.


    "I do look like an earthworm..." Maha muttered, "but you will have to pay for saying that!"


    Whoosh!


    At this moment, Maha gently stepped on the ground and shot out like an arrow leaving the bow. The saber in his right hand emitted a black light as he rushed towards Zen at breakneck speed.


    Zen did not feel anything out of the ordinary, even when totally enveloped by the light. There were three thousand Godly Ways; it was impossible to understand the uniqueness of all of them.


    As he saw Maha rushing towards him, he didn''t hesitate at all. His pair of heartless eyes flashed, and his fierce sword glowed with a majestic aura that once again cut down towards Maha!


    Huff!


    However, before Zen''s sword could strike out, Maha raised his head and slashed with his saber.


    The strange thing was that Maha''s blade wasn''t aimed at Zen. Rather, it was pointed in the direction of Iron Moon City¡­


    It was confusing, for where he had swung his blade was, after all, far from where Zen was.


    The Iron Moon City was also in a state of disintegration. The human and Sacred world lords were all circling in the air, observing the two battle from a distance where if they were even slightly caught up in it, their live


    all downwards.


    At this moment, Maha had changed the Wind Law.


    Under normal circumstances, a warrior could fly after they had reached the Illuminating Soul Realm, and that ability relied on the Wind Law. Therefore, when an Illuminating Soul Realm warrior practiced flying, the most important thing was to move with the wind.


    But at this moment, the Wind Law had been directly prohibited by Maha.


    Those within the range of the Grand World Technique, would not be able to fly, even Maha himself!


    Knowing this would happen, Maha prepared himself beforehand. After pointing his sword, he adjusted his body, and used the power of his descent to increase the strength of his strike!


    As for Zen, who had suddenly lost his balance, facing Maha''s saber was unavoidable.


    "This ability is impressive!" Zen was smiling as he fell. As Maha''s saber slammed down at him, he suddenly waved the Great Weighty Sword in his hand. Relying on the weight of the sword, he spun in the air without dodging and reached out to grab Maha''s saber!


    Crack!


    Pfft!


    For the first time, the black light contained within Maha''s weapon made Zen bleed. It cut open Zen''s palm, and golden blood flowed from the cut.


    Maha''s blade remained impaled on Zen''s palm, but it couldn''t go any further.


    Maha thought, ''This fellow''s physical body is...''


    What was happening made him gape.


    He knew that the long robe on Zen''s body had an extraordinary origin. It was thin as paper, yet it was impervious to any weapon!


    Nevertheless, he didn''t expect that Zen''s physical body would also be extraordinarily strong. He had used almost all of his strength to slash, but he couldn''t even cut off one of Zen''s hands. How could there be such a creature like Zen in the Evolutionary Universe? How was he supposed to defeat Zen?

 Chapter 2045 A Farce

    In the eyes of Zen, the ability possessed by Maha to freely change the Laws in this area was too powerful.


    If he used it properly, Zen would be unable to predict what the outcome might be.


    Since Maha had slashed his saber towards him, even though he might be injured, Zen was naturally unwilling to let the opportunity pass. He managed to grab the saber in his hand!


    Zen''s body was already strong enough to astonish everyone who saw it. Even without using the power transfer skill, it was impossible to harm him by ordinary means.


    As he caught the saber in his hand, Zen pulled it quickly towards him. The vast strength within his body gushed out, and Maha who was caught off-guard didn''t have time to react. He even forgot to release the saber from his hand, and was therefore pulled like a lamb in Zen''s direction!


    When he witnessed the terrifying strength within Zen''s body, Maha knew immediately that it would not be possible for him to defeat Zen in close combat.


    As he was pulled towards Zen, his body began to slide like a mudfish, desperate to break free of Zen''s grip.


    Maha used a very special movement technique. As his life vitality had gushed from his body, it had created a thin film that totally enveloped his body, making it impossible for others to capture him.


    He had already evaded Zen''s attacks several times before, and expected to do the same on this occasion.


    However, the instant he made a move to escape, a ribbon of colorful light shot from Zen''s hand and bound Maha''s body to him.


    The Death Chain.


    Having seized his opportunity, Zen hesitated no longer as he linked himself with Maha.


    There was a reason Zen had hesitated to use the Death Chain. He was aware that although he could only see Maha, the Supreme Lords of the Sacred race would certainly be hiding in the shadows. If the Supreme Lords chose to attack while he was bound to Maha, then there was no chance he would be able to escape.


    However, he finally decided that he must take risks to kill Maha.


    When Maha was bound by the Death Chain, he soon realized the nature of Zen''s plan. If other warriors constantly encountered setbacks like Maha had, by now they would have panicked and lost their wits. They would no longer have possessed the will to fight.


    However, Maha still retained his absolutely calm demeanor and did not demonstrate the slightest panic.


    It only took a thought and Maha restored the Wind Law which he had banned earlier. His body spun and jumped into the air as he attempted to free himself from the Death Chain, but even if he erupted with all his strength, the Death Chain only wrapped him tighter and showed no signs of breaking.


    At the same time, he felt an irresistible force pulling him back.


    It was Zen who was pulling the Death Chain back to him.


    When Zen pulled Maha back, he punched out at the same moment. But, when Maha was just a few feet away from him, his figure strangely vanished.


    Maha was once again modifying t


    once more.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Maha started to rapidly appear and then disappear in many different positions as if he was in a Whack-A-Mole game. His chanting had been once more interrupted by Zen.


    He glared angrily at Zen, but Zen maintained a poker face.


    As the Supreme Lords of both sides beheld this scene, they were all dumbfounded. While some of them even burst out laughing.


    This fight between the two Godly Geniuses had gradually turned into a farce because they were unable to do anything to each other.


    "Maha plans to use the Heavens-suppressing Object to defeat Zen," a Supreme Lord from Sacred race said. He had already identified Maha''s intentions.


    Another Supreme Lord frowned and said, "The Grand Supreme Lord did indeed bestow this ability upon Maha before we came to this universe, but Maha could only use it once. It is very precious. Wouldn''t it be too much of a waste to use it to kill Zen?"


    Maha had prepared well before he led the Sacred race in their invasion of the Evolutionary Universe.


    However, the Heavens-suppressing Object had originally been intended to deal with the True God in the Evolutionary Universe.


    But now Maha had no alternative. He simply couldn''t defeat Zen in any other way.


    "It wouldn''t be a waste to kill Zen," Supreme Lord Denzel said simply.


    His words were immediately received with approval by other Supreme Lords.


    "Yes, you are right!"


    "It is almost impossible for such a great talent to appear in the Evolutionary Universe. He must be the last hope of Mike. No wonder Holy Murphy had specifically ordered us to first kill the Godly Geniuses in this universe!"


    The Sacred race had taken a great deal of effort to train Maha to this level. Even so, Maha couldn''t have been as good as he was without the help of Murphy.


    However, Zen was far stronger than Maha in every respect. They speculated that training Zen must have taken much more effort. There was no reason for them to let Zen live!

 Chapter 2046 The Spinulose Wood Fern

    Maha possessed a lot of backup plans.


    He retained the ability to protect himself even if he happened to come across a Supreme Lord within the Evolutionary Universe.


    However, killing Zen with these backup plans would not be easy. He knew that if he wasn''t careful, he would die in Zen''s hands.


    In challenging Zen, his intention was not to engage in a fair fight, but to take over the Evolutionary Universe. This was a war conducted between two Holy Beings under the established rules.


    Maha knew that he was just Murphy''s pawn just as all living beings were merely the pawns of Holy Beings.


    For the moment, Maha no longer paid any attention to Zen. Instead, he closed his eyes and concentrated on his chanting.


    The Heavens-suppressing Object possessed by every Holy Being was extraordinary.


    After one became a True God in the divine land, and created their own perfect inner world, their dependence on the life vitality would slowly decrease until it reached the point where they no longer consumed the life vitality at all.


    After all, consuming the life vitality was in a sense destroying the inner world.


    Warriors at the world lord level would painstakingly build up their inner worlds and produce several divine kingdoms and sacred places. If they then fought with others and had to drain the life vitality from their cinnabar fields, all the divine kingdoms and sacred places would be destroyed, and all creatures would die. This could be an incredibly painful loss.


    After one became a True God, it was possible to condense a Godly Tile within the inner world before using the momentum within the inner world.


    What was called ''momentum'' was in reality a method of applying the Faith Energy at a higher level. For example, the creatures which inhabited the Evolutionary Universe were unaware that Mike existed, but that didn''t stop Mike taking advantage of the momentum at will.


    A True God used a Godly Tile to control the ''momentum'', while a Holy Being employed a Heavens-suppressing Object for the same purpose. In both the Evolutionary Universe and the Murphy Universe, the Heavens-suppressing Object would become a Heavenly Destiny and seek out a representative of the Holy Being to become its owner. It was through this Heavenly Destiny, that someone could borrow the momentum held within the universe.


    Master Feng possessed the Evolution Lotus Flower and was able to borrow the momentum from within the Evolutionary Universe. In the Murphy Universe it was Maha''s father that the Sacred race called the Grand Supreme Lord who could borrow the momentum. He held the spinulose wood fern, the Heavens-suppressing Object within the Murphy Universe.


    This spinulose wood fern had a great origin. It had been born from a great ceremony before being controlled by Murphy.


    To keep Maha safe, the Grand Supreme Lord of the Sacred race tore off a branch from the spinulose wood fern before turning it into a spell and sending it into Maha''s body. By activating it, Maha was able to use the ''momentum'' from the Murphy Universe to kill his opponent.


    Of course,


    Use glass as the ground. The sacred tree is solemn. Use gold as a rope. To make eight boundaries..." Maha chanted.


    This spinulose wood fern was the chief of all the trees in the land of bliss. And at this moment, this tree was rushing straight towards Zen with a loud bang.


    Faced with such power that was entirely beyond his comprehension, Zen was unable to determine a good way to fight it. All he could do was to rely on the power of the Nine Divine Stars.


    The nine stars within his body began to spin intensely. The chaotic sea surged, and the central continent quaked uncontrollably.


    Zen''s world wasn''t large enough. Activating the Nine Divine Stars too much would cause the inner world to undergo a drastic change. At this point, Zen was out of ideas, and he didn''t have a good solution to the problem, so he didn''t have the time to pay attention to the myriad of living creatures in the inner world any longer.


    All of this time, the Sacred race''s Supreme Lords remained standing there, unmoving.


    However, within the Dead Water World, the other Supreme Lords in the Evolutionary Universe had started to panic.


    "Master Feng! Shouldn''t we take action at this point?" Supreme Lord of Thunder Punishment asked, his voice full of concern.


    "With Nathan dead, no matter how, we must not allow Zen to be killed!" Supreme Lord of Oracle also said.


    "Supreme Lord Leroy, take me over there." Lavender had her brows knit together. Her actual cultivation was only at the level of a grand world lord, so she was not able to teleport continuously through multiple supreme worlds in the way which a Supreme Lord could. Right now, she felt the power of the strange tree and understood that Zen might be unable to withstand the coming blow.


    Maha was able to use the Heavens-suppressing Object, and Master Feng was also able to use the Heavens-suppressing Object. But at this time, Master Feng still quelled all of the Supreme Lords'' restlessness.


    He simply stared at Zen from a distance, before saying resolutely, "Now¡­ is not the right time."

 Chapter 2047 Expansion

    Now that the Celestial Position''s plans had been set, every Supreme Lord present would have a chance to exhibit their actual strengths.


    Nathan was already dead. If Zen also died, the momentum of the Evolutionary Universe would only get weaker. It was something that the head of the Celestial Position race, Master Feng, had clearly felt.


    It was known that Maha had only used a small portion of the Murphy Universe''s momentum to activate the spinulose wood fern. While it was no doubt impressive, Master Feng had actually thought of using the Evolution Lotus Flower to swallow it by force.


    However, he refrained from doing so.


    It wasn''t that he didn''t care about Zen''s life. In fact, Master Feng knew very well that besides Wynn, Zen was the most important.


    It was because Zen''s mission wasn''t just in the universe alone. His future was in the divine land. Furthermore, the Evolutionary Universe could only survive after Zen had resolved Mike''s contradiction.


    The only thing was that the Evolutionary Universe had to successfully resist the Sacred race''s attacks.


    If Master Feng had made a move now, the Sacred race would definitely counterattack. It was certainly not a wise decision to start a battle too quickly.


    The Supreme Lords of the Sacred race weren''t the only ones keeping watch on the war. Their race''s True God lurked around as well. However, it was Wynn who needed to deal with them. But if he hadn''t even taken action up until now, then Master Feng definitely wouldn''t be reckless either.


    The inky black sky glittered with twinkling stars. One dim star among them rotated slowly.


    At the bottom of the dim star sat Wynn. His eyes drifted towards Zen, who was hundreds of millions of miles away from him.


    "I didn''t expect that the Sacred race would use the Heavens-suppressing Object on their first attack," Wynn said with a shake of his head, a trace of helplessness reflected in his eyes. He couldn''t help Zen at this point. Therefore, Zen had to face Maha and the Heavens-suppressing Object on his own.


    "I hope Zen could win and survive with his own strength..." Wynn mumbled. Meanwhile, Zen stood with a troubled look on his face.


    He felt a great pressure weigh him down as the spinulose wood fern suddenly pressed itself hard against him.


    This pressure was far beyond his imagination!


    In the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, Zen had seen and felt the auras of both Holy Jay and Holy Drew.


    Their auras weren''t unique to Holy Beings alone. A warrior who had become a True God could have it as well. It was the indistinct momentum that came from one''s inner world.


    However, the momentum of the inner world was also divided into different levels. Wynn''s own momentum was far inferior to that of a Holy Being. It would be difficult for Zen to sense it unless he released it


    e wall.


    Yet as the killing power continued to condense, it expanded even further.


    It wouldn''t take long before the boundary wall would become unstable. At the same time, the 1, 080 Sanskrit words began to vibrate non-stop.


    "This is bad..."


    Zen''s heart beat erratically in his chest when he felt the changes in his inner world.


    With the help of the Redemption Armor, his physical body could still withstand the killing force. However, it seemed like his inner world couldn''t hold on any longer.


    Suddenly, the golden Sanskrit words in his inner world glowed brightly.


    "Buzz..."


    The Sanskrit words began to rotate rapidly.


    Each golden Sanskrit word began to split into two golden Sanskrit words, then the two became four, and the four became eight. Finally, each of them was divided into many, and then the words started to fly away from the boundary wall.


    Having lost the support of the golden Sanskrit words, the inner world was now extremely fragile.


    "Crack, crack, crack..."


    Soon enough, the boundary wall crashed like an eggshell that was under a heavy rock!


    All the color from Zen''s face was drained due to the intense pain he felt.


    Yet, the pain was nothing and he could bear it.


    However, the most important body part to a martial artist was the belly. To destroy the inner world meant to break the belly, and in turn Zen would be crippled.


    Just then, a strangely astonishing scene unraveled within Zen''s inner world that had left him dumbfounded.


    The golden Sanskrit words that flew everywhere had been connected once again. Moreover, the number of golden Sanskrit words was now multiplied by ten. There were about 10, 800 golden Sanskrit words in total.


    The moment all of them were connected, a faint layer of light appeared and behind it was a new boundary wall.


    Apparently, Zen''s inner world had suddenly expanded tenfold!

 Chapter 2048 The Branch Was Broken

    Back then on the path of heavens, Zen''s father had given him several methods to expand his inner world.


    There were several ways to do so. One of them was to incorporate more life vitality into the body, and then gradually expand the entirety of the inner world.


    Most people adopted this specific method as it was the most reliable. However, this method also resulted in the slowest speed of expansion.


    While others needed to include the life vitality to execute this method, Zen needed to incorporate chaotic energy.


    During this period of time, he had tried to increase the speed at which the World Tree absorbed the chaotic energy to expand his inner world. To his disappointment however, the effects weren''t as apparent as he had expected.


    Another method to expand one''s inner world was to use brute force.


    Although the inner world might end up weak if one used this method to break it and rebuild it, the foreign force that would be channeled to the inner world could break through the inner world''s boundaries in a short period of time. Thus, the desired effect of expansion would be achieved.


    However, there were devastating consequences for the lives that resided in the inner world. Therefore, a person who chose this method should make the necessary preparations before taking their plan into action.


    Now, Zen had currently used the second method.


    The difference was that Zen did not draw the spinulose wood fern''s power to his inner world himself, and the power was too overwhelming.


    At that moment, Zen felt as if his inner world was about to collapse from the power.


    Yet, his inner world had expanded tenfold and had managed to stabilize itself, preventing its collapse.


    After the ten thousand eight hundred Sanskrit words had stabilized, they quickly released beams of golden light which then crossed Zen''s inner world. They converged continuously to the center until they had gradually formed a golden pillar of light.


    Whoosh!


    At that point, the golden pillar of light soared into the sky and merged with the killing power.


    The pillar of light crashed against the killing power and in the end, had extinguished the killing power. It continued to expand in the air until it had quickly reached the height of the nine stars, passed the height of the Godly Plate, and shot itself directly towards the inner world''s peak.


    A slight heat warmed Zen''s elixir field; then he felt a scorching hot sensation. A beam of light the size of a thumb immediately hit the spinulose wood fern.


    Pah!


    The golden light beam was instantly submerged into the spinulose wood fern, which subsequently stopped spinning. Then, it quietly floated in the air without making any movements.


    Not too far away stood an astonished Maha, who couldn''t understand what had just happened. Just what was that golden light that came out from Zen''s elixir field? Why had he lost his connection with the spinulose wood fern?


    And most importantly, why was Zen still safe and sound


    pportunity to kill him. Moreover, he would never pity a woman from another race.


    Bam!


    Zen''s fist landed on Connie. How would her body withstand his heavy punch? There was a loud, mournful cry, and a figure limply fell down like a piece of cotton. The power of Zen''s punch was enough to kill Connie.


    "Stop!"


    At the same time, a blood-red space crack exploded around Maha, from which a majestic aura poured out. It was Supreme Lord Barrie, who had used the Grand Teleportation as well to appear beside Maha and protect him.


    Supreme Lord Barrie worked for Maha and would do anything the latter told him to do. Therefore, he couldn''t just sit and watch Maha get killed in front of him.


    When Supreme Lord Barrie appeared, he immediately activated his Heavenly Destiny.


    Just then, a sizzling sound was heard.


    The moment Supreme Lord Barrie had appeared, his whole body was pitch black; but it glimmered under the light. This was the Heavenly Destiny he carried¡ªthe Highly Toxic Body.


    The Highly Toxic Body was able to unleash a strong power in a short period of time, which allowed him to be immortal. Furthermore, his strength and the toughness of his body were both increased by several dozen times. In this way, an ordinary Supreme Lord would not be able to do anything to him. He didn''t think Zen could deal with him. After all, Zen was a mere world lord.


    "I said fuck off!"


    Zen was already anxious to kill Maha, and punched the Supreme Lord who had appeared square in the gut.


    Puff!


    His supposedly tremendously powerful punch seemed to have turned into a pillow of feathers; it actually failed to harm or damage Supreme Lord Barrie.


    "Hahaha!" Supreme Lord Barrie''s lips stretched into a complacent smile. He knew that Zen wouldn''t be able to hurt him.


    But just as he was laughing out loud, he saw Zen lift up the Great Weighty Sword in his hand. A layer of misty light flickered endlessly on the Great Weighty Sword as he swung it towards Supreme Lord Barrie.

 Chapter 2049 Kill Supreme Lords In A Row

    Zen''s sword only slashed at air before Supreme Lord Barrie.


    The Great Weighty Sword did not make direct contact, but the Causality Breaking Light entered Supreme Lord Barrie''s body.


    The latter paid no mind to Zen''s attack at all.


    When he activated the immortal Highly Toxic Body, even a mid-rank or a top-rank Supreme Lord would find it difficult to kill him. All they could do was continuously expel him¡ªsuch was to say that the current Supreme Lord Barrie was practically invincible.


    But as the cyan light on Zen''s Great Weighty Sword flashed by, something unexpected happened.


    Supreme Lord Barrie''s Highly Toxic Body instantly faded from the surface of his body and the black layer disappeared without a trace. His body then returned to its original form.


    Supreme Lord Barrie was also stunned¡ªin actuality, he didn''t do anything and only blankly looked at Zen, at a loss as to what to do.


    "Go to hell!"


    Zen''s first sword strike had severed Barrie''s Heavenly Destiny while his second strike directly landed on Barrie''s head.


    Under the Great Weighty Sword''s heavy pressure, Barrie''s head was sliced into pieces before his headless corpse fell towards the ground.


    And so, Zen killed the first Supreme Lord of the Sacred race.


    "I can''t believe my eyes!"


    "Zen killed a Supreme Lord of the Sacred race in a single strike!"


    "What''s with that cyan light?"


    Within the Dead Water World, the many Supreme Lords from the Evolutionary Universe were no longer able to hold themselves back.


    According to Master Feng, if the Supreme Lords of the Sacred race chose to act at this time, they would provide assistance immediately. But Master Feng gave no reaction¡ªhe merely stared at Zen in the Sunflower Water World, his eyes revealing an indescribable expression.


    In the blink of an eye, Zen had killed a Supreme Lord of the Sacred race, stunning all the rest. No one could understand what technique he had just used.


    Zen''s eyes were as calm as ever. As he looked at Maha, an idea suddenly came to him. He wasn''t in a hurry to kill this Godly Genius but rather to use the Great Weighty Sword to strike Maha''s forehead. A massive power poured into his head, severely injuring Maha''s soul, putting him into a coma.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Immediately afterward, another blood-red space crack appeared not too far away.


    As soon as the figure in the crack was revealed, Zen pulled Maha forward, the Great Weighty Sword in his hand swinging out once more.


    Two slashes!


    With the first sword attack, Zen cut off the Heavenly Destiny of the Supreme Lord using the Causality Breaking Light.


    The second sword strike was filled with boundless power. With the power of the Great Weighty Sword, it crushed the Supreme Lord heavily.


    It was quite a pity that before Supreme Lord Noel could even say anything,


    dn''t carefully distinguish the difference in their strength.


    But all they needed to know was that Zen had killed three Supreme Lords.


    When the ogre world lord''s voice was transmitted throughout the entire universe, Master Feng felt the Evolution Lotus Flower in his hand suddenly sink. The momentum in the Evolutionary Universe had increased twofold.


    The momentum of the universe was constantly changing. After the invasion of the Sacred race three years ago, the momentum of the Evolutionary Universe continued to weaken. Before Nathan was killed, it had weakened to a fifth of its original state.


    Because of Nathan''s death, it suddenly rose to the same level as it had been before the invasion of the Sacred race. Now it even rose to the peak.


    Such meant that all the living creatures within the Evolutionary Universe were quite optimistic about Zen.


    Now, the Supreme Lords of the Sacred race no longer dared to act so rashly.


    Before Zen, their lives could be harvested in an instant, it seemed.


    It wasn''t that they lacked any way to deal with him. Zen had ambushed the three Supreme Lords when he killed them, after all. If the Supreme Lords managed to keep a certain distance from Zen, they could stay safe.


    But the strange method Zen had used was intimidating, to say the least.


    "Isn''t this Maha your Godly Genius? Not a single Supreme Lord of the Sacred race dares to take him away?" As Zen said it, a relaxed smile remained on his face. He used the Roaring Token to utter the words.


    But he gained no reply from the Supreme Lords.


    "If that''s the case, I won''t show him any mercy." Then, a fierce light flashed in Zen''s eyes as he tossed the unconscious Maha away like he weighed nothing. The Great Weighty Sword slashed at him while his body had lost any form of protection. Under the impact of such fierce power, Zen''s sword sliced him into pieces.

 Chapter 2050 Counterattack

    Hiding in the shadows were the Supreme Lords of the Sacred race, also feeling extremely conflicted in their hearts.


    Because Maha had always been considered the leader of their Sacred race''s expedition team, all their decisions and strategies were left to him.


    He had challenged the geniuses in the Sunflower Water World to suppress the momentum of the Evolutionary Universe. Now, not only was he unable to suppress the momentum, he had even lost his life in the battle.


    The Sacred race had made sufficient preparations before Maha set off. Even if he died there, he would still be brought back to life. His father, the Grand Supreme Lord, had prepared another precious body for him.


    But to the entire Sacred race, it was an unprecedented setback.


    Because of this, the Sacred race''s previous plan had been disrupted completely. Even the wise Supreme Lords didn''t know what to do next.


    "Zen must die," Supreme Lord Denzel said seriously.


    Amongst all the Supreme Lords of the Sacred race present, only Supreme Lord Denzel was a top-rank Supreme Lord.


    Now that Maha had been killed, he was the only one left with the right to speak up.


    Supreme Lord Denzel and Maha never had a very good relationship. But the matter of their Godly Genius being killed was no small matter. It was impossible for them to allow Zen to leave just like that.


    "But should we make a move now?" Another Supreme Lord seemed hesitant.


    The fact that Zen had killed three Supreme Lords in the blink of an eye gave them quite a shock. It was natural that these Supreme Lords felt a sense of fear and cowardice¡ªnone of them wanted to be Zen''s fourth kill.


    "Humph! Don''t forget our goal. We originally wanted to force the Supreme Lords of the Evolutionary Universe to fight with us. Now that Maha is dead and Zen is still in the Sunflower Water World, we''ll deal with Zen there. Do those cowards dare to make a move now?" Supreme Lord Denzel said with a sneer. "Zen''s methods may be strange but in the end, he''s still just a world lord. I saw that he killed Barrie and the rest by relying solely on that strange cyan light on his sword. All we need to do is avoid it. But none of you even have a little courage. I feel quite bad for Holy Murphy for having bestowed the Heavenly Destinies upon you cowards."


    Supreme Lord Denzel made his thoughts quite clear.


    Although Maha''s death was a major setback, it hadn''t actually been a major blow to the Sacred race. At most, it increased the momentum within the Evolutionary Universe. At this moment, if a decisive battle broke out, the Sacred race''s reinforcements would arrive soon.


    Such wasn''t what the Supreme Lords of the Evolutionary Universe hoped to see. The Sacred race had so many Supreme Lords. Were they really afraid of Zen?


    All


    eyes. The star could absorb the surrounding light, concealing itself completely in the dark void.


    But at the moment, Wynn controlled the Dark Star. It fell extremely quickly, forming a circle of dark red flames as it rubbed against space at a high speed.


    The other martial artists of the Sacred race also noticed the strange phenomenon in the sky. Some began reporting to Supreme Lord Wilbur.


    Soon, a middle-aged man clad in a blue robe flew into the air. He was Supreme Lord Wilbur, the one responsible for protecting this place.


    When he looked up, his eyes seemed cautious. He noticed that the falling star was no ordinary thing, so he stretched out his hand and a thin, square-shaped plate appeared above his head. The moment the thin plate appeared, it began to spin rapidly.


    In an instant, enchanted barriers appeared around the Supreme Lord one after another.


    Supreme Lord Wilbur''s enchanted barriers were extremely powerful. The faint curtains of light were enough to resist Supreme Lords'' attacks.


    These enchanted barriers formed quickly, covering everything within a hundred miles.


    Besides the enchanted barriers Supreme Lord Wilbur personally set up, the other warriors of the Sacred race also activated all sorts of divine textures, shining with all sorts of colors until there were abundant defensive enchanted barriers around them.


    The entire process took around ten seconds¡ªclearly, the Sacred race was well-prepared.


    But how could blocking Wynn''s carefully-planned attack be so easy?


    The mass of the Dark Star was already frightening enough. After Wynn activated it, it came crashing down so quickly¡ªits hidden powerful was unimaginably terrifying.


    Whoosh!


    When the Dark Star was still several dozen miles from the ground, the pressure it emitted caused a bend in Supreme Lord Wilbur''s enchanted barriers.

 Chapter 2051 Stall For Time (Part One)

    Supreme Lord Wilbur had already foreseen the might of the Dark Star ahead of time. The enchanted barriers laid out by him had been broken even before he could have made any reactions.


    Supreme Lord Wilbur''s enchanted barriers were combined with the enchanted barriers that the other Sacred world lords had arranged. All of those barriers were obtained after the activation of the divine textures. Even the most powerful Supreme Lord wouldn''t be able to break it in such a short time...


    However, those enchanted barriers were immediately torn apart when the Dark Star descended. The Dark Star''s powerful momentum made the sturdy barriers to become suddenly fragile.


    "This¡­"


    Supreme Lord Wilbur''s eyelids twitched with disbelief. He felt an immense sense of danger and wanted to use the Grand Teleportation technique to flee.


    However, the moment he used the Grand Teleportation technique, he felt that the space around him suddenly froze. No matter how many times he tried to activate the Space Law, he couldn''t tear the space around him apart at all!


    A Supreme Lord''s comprehension of the Space Law should have already reached an extremely high level. However, the space around Supreme Lord Wilbur was actually locked down by someone!


    Maha could have used the Grand World Technique to change the Space Law. Aside from him, only a True God would be able to lock down the space around a Supreme Lord!


    The True God of humankind had made his move!


    As that miserable thought flashed through Supreme Lord Wilbur''s mind, he saw an old man on top of the Dark Star. The old man stood formidably and coldly stared down at Supreme Lord Wilbur, as if Supreme Lord Wilbur was already a dead man.


    Aside from Supreme Lord Wilbur, who was unable to escape from that pla


    ly Genius, Maha, were sent to the Evolutionary Universe. Countless other world lords also went there, but they could be ignored as they were not that powerful. But, of these 59 Supreme Lords, three had already been killed by Zen. Additionally, Wynn had killed one more Supreme Lord earlier. Thus now, there were only 55 Supreme Lords left. The forces of the Sacred race had continued to decrease.


    The reason why Wynn had blocked the passageway at the current stage was that he wanted to buy time. He wanted to ensure that the head of the Celestial Position race would use the destructive methods to kill 55 Supreme Lords in the shortest time possible...


    After Wynn sealed up the passageway, some of the world lords of the Sacred race, who were lucky enough to survive, were covered in dust and grime. They were stunned as they glanced around, ignorant of what had just happened. Their confusion was apparent in their faces.


    "Who is that old man? What is he doing here?" a world lord from the Sacred race asked with bewildered eyes. His tone was filled with curiosity and confusion.


    No one could answer his question. The other world lords were also ignorant of the events.

 Chapter 2052 Stall For Time (Part Two)

    The expression on Wynn''s face remained calm. With a light stomp on the Dark Star, he moved like the wind. After his withered fingers lightly tapped on the air, an invisible force spread out...


    The world lords from Sacred race noticed that the situation was unfavorable. Just as they were about to employ the Grand Teleportation technique to flee from the scene, they discovered that the entire space had been locked down. There was no way to use the Grand Teleportation technique in this supreme world! Escape would be tough for their low levels of cultivation.


    "Puff, puff, puff, puff..."


    The invisible force instantly crushed the dozens of world lords of the Sacred race present. They didn''t even have the time to scream before all of them had perished! Corpses were all that was left after Wynn''s attack.


    After he murdered the weak world lords, Wynn didn''t linger in the area. He stepped out, instantly left the supreme world, and flew towards the center of the universe. The Sunflower Water World was his planned destination, so he rushed towards there.


    The rest of the Supreme Lords of the Sacred race were hidden in the Sunflower Water World. At that moment, Wynn wanted to use the Star Sealing Technique to seal the Sunflower Water World. If he didn''t do that, then it would be impossible for Wynn to kill all of the Supreme Lords within a short period. After all, it was easy for a Supreme Lord to cross over several supreme worlds through the Grand Teleportation technique and escape.


    When Wynn sealed the passageway, the Sacred race had also begun to take action.


    After Maha died, a shadow of a massive altar descended into the Sunflower Water World...


    "Boom!"


    The enormous altar, which had initially been just a shadow, had begun t


    y managed to cultivate the Profound Cause-eliminating Technique at the current stage. His current level would make his attacks ineffective towards the monsters.


    Those beasts of remote ages were born from a cause, and they were actually regarded as the "effect". Zen needed to master the Profound Effect-eliminating Technique first so that he could possess the power to exterminate the monstrous beasts.


    Just as the monster with the tiger''s head and bull''s body was about to pounce towards Zen, its attack was stopped!


    A thin and small figure suddenly appeared in the sky and directly in front of Zen. He quickly stepped on the monster. Within a blink of an eye, the monster was trampled into pieces!


    "So powerful!"


    Zen''s heart skipped a beat. When he saw clearly who the figure was, Zen recognized that he was actually the head of the Celestial Position race, who carried an Evolution Lotus Flower!


    The head of the Celestial Position race, Master Feng, chuckled with arrogant eyes. "The monster with a tiger''s head and the one with a chicken''s head are two of the four legendary vicious beasts of the Sacred race. However, they are not that powerful at all!"

 Chapter 2053 Trapped (Part One)

    The Supreme Lords were divided into three ranks, top-rank, mid-rank, and low-rank. However, the division of ranks was not based on one''s cultivation level.


    Strictly speaking, the cultivation level of Supreme Lords was equal to that of grand world lords. After their respective inner worlds had expanded several times, they would gradually come to a standstill. What truly made Supreme Lords surpass the world lords were their Heavenly Destinies.


    Therefore, the difference among the top-rank Supreme Lord, the mid-rank Supreme Lord, and the low-rank Supreme Lord lay in the distinction of the power of their Heavenly Destinies. Instead of cultivation level, the strength of their Heavenly Destinies would be the basis of a Supreme Lord''s rank.


    Supreme Lord Denzel''s Heavenly Destiny actually possessed the ''summoning'' ability. That sort of Heavenly Destiny was one of the weaker types. Amongst Supreme Lords, Supreme Lord Denzel was ranked near the bottom. With his ranking in consideration, he wouldn''t even be qualified to become a mid-rank Supreme Lord!


    However, Supreme Lord Denzel was still able to become a top-rank Supreme Lord because of the unique nature of the altar. Its immense power and mysterious ability had guided Supreme Lord Denzel to climb the ranks.


    The wild beasts of Sacred race that were summoned from this altar were all destructively mighty. The strength of every single wild beast was comparable to that of a low-rank Supreme Lord. The special abilities some Sacred wild beasts possessed could even be similar to the Heavenly Destinies of mid-rank Supreme Lords. It only meant that Supreme Lord Denzel had access to such a mighty army of beasts!


    For example, the beast that was directly trampled into pieces by Master Feng, was also a formidable and fierce beast.


    If Zen fought it one on one, he might not necessarily gain the upper hand. The beast was strong enough to survive a fight with Zen.


    However, at that moment,


    Since then, he had hidden deep underground for many years. The Grand Teleportation had ensured his escape and preserved his life.


    However, Wynn was a True God, after all! His power was definitely stronger than the Supreme Lords.


    After he used the Star Sealing Technique, even a True God would find it difficult to break free from it. It would be even much tough for the Supreme Lords that were present there. With Wynn''s technique, all of them were trapped there. There was no way for them to retreat!


    "Crack¡­"


    Dozens of Sacred Supreme Lords hurriedly activated Greater Teleportation with great panic. However, before the space channels created by the Grand Teleportation could take into shape, they were immediately disintegrated under their feet¡­


    "Oh, no, crap! Those bastards! The space around us has been sealed!" a Supreme Lord said in a daze. Terror was apparent from his expression.


    "How is this possible? Who has the ability to seal off our space?!" another Supreme Lord said in disbelief as his eyes widened


    "It must be a True God!"


    The Supreme Lords of the Sacred race were usually arrogant, haughty, and calm. However, in a life and death moment, a small portion of them revealed their true nature. They were flustered as they didn''t know how to deal with their predicament.

 Chapter 2054 Trapped (Part Two)

    Of course, most of the Sacred Supreme Lords stayed calm and composed¡­


    "Don''t panic," Supreme Lord Denzel calmly said. His tone was gentle yet full of authority.


    "Humph, although I don''t know what sort of method they used, it won''t be easy to take us down either." Supreme Lord Irvin, who was on the other side, looked sullen. He was one of the most bloodthirsty Supreme Lords of the Sacred race, and he was already ready to fight. Murderous aura radiated from him.


    Supreme Lord Palmere was the calmest of the Supreme Lords. "We might not have to fight to death with them. Our Grand Supreme Lord must have known about this. We just need to resist for a while before he comes. Just buy some time until our reinforcements arrive..."


    Amongst all the Supreme Lords, Supreme Lord Palmere''s analysis was the most accurate. His tone was calm and tranquil.


    Wynn had used the Star Sealing Technique and the Dark Star to completely block the passage to the Sighing Wall. However, it wouldn''t last long. The Supreme Lords he trapped only needed to survive for a short time and wait for the Sacred race to break through the passage again. The reinforcements of the Sacred race would eventually come and rescue them.


    Supreme Lord Palmere''s words received the vast majority of the Supreme Lords'' approval! Their panic faded as they had a clear solution to their problem.


    "Let me see if you can survive until then!"


    A mysterious and powerful voice rang out! Then, not too far away from the Sacred Supreme Lords, an orderly Space Law burst out. The Space Law drew out a blazing white line and two vertical lines in the air. Afterward, a square door was formed!


    The door opened, and an old man suddenly appeared in front of the Sacred Supreme Lords. The old man''s aura radiated immense strength.


    When Supreme Lords used the Grand Teleportation, they needed to tear open spa


    t the Seven Killings Way wasn''t a Godly Way. It was not as powerful as the Emotion Closing Godly Way, nor was it viewed as a forbidden way within the divine land.


    "Huff¡­"


    Supreme Lord Irvin charged at Wynn with incredible momentum. Rage and ferocity were in his eyes. However, Wynn''s expression remained incomparably calm.


    At that moment, Wynn casually waved his hand. Suddenly, a handful of faint starlight appeared in his hand. The dots of starlight were like tiny fireflies that flew towards Supreme Lord Irvin immediately after they appeared¡­


    The faint starlight was ignored by Supreme Lord Irvin. Barbarity had clouded his judgment. He didn''t even have any intention to dodge it.


    However, the moment the dots of dim starlight touched Supreme Lord Irvin, they turned into balls of light the size of a fist. Power immediately radiated from each of the dots¡­


    The balls of light exploded at the chest of Supreme Lord Irvin with destructive intensity. The moment they exploded, the balls of light had thoroughly destroyed Supreme Lord Irvin''s body. When he arrived in front of Wynn, Supreme Lord Irvin''s entire body had been already broken into two pieces by the starlight. The cinnabar field in his belly had been utterly obliterated.

 Chapter 2055 Showing Off Abilities

    Supreme Lord Irvin was able to approach Wynn because of his previous explosive force.


    By the time he arrived in front of Wynn, his burst of power had been consumed completely. Supreme Lord Irvin''s fist struck Wynn''s chest without power and fell away limply. And then, the broken half of Supreme Lord Irvin''s body fell away and towards the ground.


    Supreme Lord Irvin was dead!


    The Sacred Supreme Lords were stunned as they saw this.


    They knew that a True God was strong, but Wynn''s strength had exceeded even their imaginations. It was only a handful of starlight, but it was powerful enough to easily kill Supreme Lord Irvin. So how would they be able to withstand it?


    "I''ll fight him to the death!"


    "I will freeze the supreme world with frost!"


    "I''ll risk my life to kill him!"


    "With so many of us attacking together, what a True God can do to us?"


    At Supreme Lord Irvin''s miserable death, the Supreme Lords realized just how childish their previous thoughts had been.


    Only a True God from the Sacred race could fight such a powerful True God before them.


    Merely defending themselves couldn''t possibly mean that they were a match for this True God. If they wanted to live, they had to fight by putting their lives on the line!


    Different Heavenly Destinies simultaneously released lights of different colors.


    Over 50 Supreme Lords released the life vitality within their bodies at the same time. They activated their Heavenly Destinies to launch one of the strongest strikes that was ever to be launched. But just how terrifying was the power that this strike contained?


    Even a True God wouldn''t be able to take it head-on.


    A faint smile appeared on Wynn''s face as he took a step back. He stepped into the door formed by the power of space and as he did so, the door dissipated. He had left using the Grand Teleportation.


    The Star Sealing Technique could target a specific group of people. The only ones that were restrained by space were the Sacred Supreme Lords.


    It wasn''t that difficult for Wynn to kill a Supreme Lord. But dozens of Supreme Lords were charging at him. He knew that he couldn''t defeat them all. Not to forget the fact that there were some extremely powerful Supreme Lords who were capable of fighting a True God.


    Moreover, his mission was only to lock these Supreme Lords within the Sunflower Water World.


    There obviously were others who couldn''t wait to kill them and who would display their abilities to finish the Sacred Supreme Lords.


    A massive space windstorm exploded in the skies above the Sunflower Water World.


    A warship, one hundred thousand feet high and one million feet long, emerged from the space storm. The two sides of the warship were inlaid with densely-packed supreme life vitality jades.


    These life vitality jades were not used to provide energy to the warship, but to maintain the four massive divine texture arrays.


    They were the Long Vine Array, Buddha Emperor Array, Giant Sun Array, and the Heavenly Tooth Array.


    Once the four arrays were activated, the shadows of four huge swords appeared around the warship.


    Margaret


    s had already gathered. They stood there, gazing at the supreme world channel in a daze.


    Unlike the Evolutionary Universe that had many different races, there was only the Sacred race within the Murphy Universe. It was easy to gather all of the Sacred Supreme Lords.


    "Wynn has probably embedded a Dark Star in the passageway. It swooped down into the channel and stuck itself forcibly into it. It''s impossible to use brute force to break it!" a Sacred Supreme Lord reported.


    The face of the Grand Supreme Lord who was at the helm darkened. "Can''t we even travel through space?"


    "No, we can''t. The other side of the Dark Star has been completely sealed off. It''s impossible to use the Grand Teleportation to reach the other side," the Sacred Supreme Lord said, shaking his head again.


    "I''ll give it a try."


    The Grand Supreme Lord was impatient, as if on fire. He realized that he had underestimated the Evolutionary Universe and that they had been too careless in their actions.


    They had originally thought that as long as the passage of the Sighing Wall was opened, they would be able to enter the Evolutionary Universe whenever they wanted. Who would have thought that someone would block the passage at such a critical moment!


    If they couldn''t make a move to reinforce in time, the 50-odd Supreme Lords that had been sent into the Evolutionary Universe would be doomed.


    Not long after the Grand Supreme Lord entered the passageway, a gentle aura erupted from inside. When the Supreme Lords outside the passageway felt this aura, they understood that the Grand Supreme Lord had used the Heavens-suppressing Object. He wanted to take advantage of the Murphy Universe''s momentum to open up the passage.


    It was not long before the Grand Supreme Lord emerged from the passageway, looking dejected. It was pretty obvious that he had failed.


    "We can only ask Pranav for help."


    Pranav was the True God of the Murphy Universe, who was also Murphy''s disciple. Holy Beings only allowed their most trusted people to enter the universes they had built on their own.

 Chapter 2056 A Massacre

    "Rumbling¡­"


    Just as the Grand Supreme Lord was about to invite Pranav, the heavens of the Murphy Universe began to tremble violently.


    The waves of vibrations naturally reached the Supreme Lords of the Sacred race, who stiffened in shock.


    It was the first time that the vibrations of the heavens of the Murphy Universe had been that intense. Therefore, it was safe to say that it was a sign that many Supreme Lords died.


    From there, it was easy for the Supreme Lords from the Sacred race to guess what had happened to the Evolutionary Universe, which was right next to the Murphy Universe.


    At that moment, the Sunflower Water World had been destroyed.


    Golden rings of light spread from a huge altar and surrounded the Supreme Lords from the Sacred race.


    At the very top of the altar sat Supreme Lord Denzel, who was doing his best to activate his Heavenly Destiny.


    He looked nothing like the refine Supreme Lord that he was before. Not only was his golden red armor tattered and full of holes, he had also lost an arm.


    He wasn''t the only one in bad shape though; the other Supreme Lords from the Sacred race were in far worse conditions.


    Five minutes were all it took for more than half of the Supreme Lords from the Sacred race to be wiped out. There were just twenty-odd of them left, and most of them were very weak as they stubbornly struggled around the altar.


    "Whoosh!"


    There was a slight noise as four beams of light shot from the sky.


    Those four light beams turned out to be Margaret''s Long Vine Sword, Buddha Emperor Sword, Grant Sun Sword, and Heavenly Tooth Sword!


    Long before Margaret was born, the Celestial Position had already been preparing the Gods Killing Sword Array. Now, it was finally put to use.


    True to its name, the Gods Killing Sword Array could kill even the True Gods. There was no way that the Supreme Lords would survive from it.


    If it had been another day, the Supreme Lords of the Sacred race would have gotten to escape when they had lost in battle because while the sword array formed by the four swords was complex, it would have been impossible to catch the Supreme Lords with Margaret''s current skills.


    But because Wynn had performed his Star Sealing Technique, the Supreme Lords of the Sacred race ended up being trapped in the Sunflower Water World. Margaret considered them as living targets. The terrifyingly powerful all-conquering divine swords were ready for use, even if she herself was intimidated by their immense strength.


    It wasn''t long before she had killed nine Supreme Lords.


    "Those four swords are coming again!"


    "Supreme Lord Denzel! Help!"


    "I''ll go block those four swords!"


    The remaining Supreme Lords of the Sacred race scrambled in fear. The four swords were like death itself and every time they appeared, they took the lives of one or two Supreme Lords with them.


    Soon enough, the four swords rushed to the top of the altar but the golden rings of light stopped t


    r as he stood on the altar. The life vitality in his inner world gushed into the altar like the sea, and the other Supreme Lords near him did the same. The inner worlds they had worked so hard to build had collapsed, and the creatures in them had dissolved.


    Their group of Supreme Lords came to the Evolutionary Universe together, but they had failed to form a powerful array. It was because the elites of their kind had stayed in the Murphy Universe and they were the only ones who were here. It was also why they were at a disadvantage when they fought against the Supreme Lords of the Evolutionary Universe.


    Fortunately, Supreme Lord Denzel''s Heavenly Destiny was extremely powerful, and he could hold on with his back against the altar. If it wasn''t for this altar, all of the Supreme Lords would have perished by now.


    Several of them combined their efforts and poured massive amounts of life vitality into the altar. Another creature crawled out of the altar, which turned out to be a small golden monkey. The golden monkey flew towards the sky, and then a golden light shone in all directions.


    The golden light was as sharp as knives as it scattered in all directions at an extremely fast speed.


    The golden light had killed two Supreme Lords from the Celestial Position and the Humanity Alliance before, but it was useless to do the same as of the moment since the Supreme Lords from the Evolutionary Universe had escaped already. Thus, the golden light hit nothing but air.


    After the golden light scattered, it condensed into a golden ring of light once again and wrapped around the entire altar, which gave the Supreme Lords from the Sacred race some breathing room.


    However, Margaret directed her four divine swords, the Long Vine Sword, the Buddha Emperor Sword, the Grant Sun Sword, and the Heavenly Tooth Sword to appear outside the ring of light.


    When Supreme Lord Denzel saw those four swords again, he couldn''t help the despair that flooded his heart.

 Chapter 2057 Pranav

    The ground shook as the Supreme Lords of the Evolutionary Universe charged forth like a pack of wolves.


    On the other hand, Zen and the others joined in the fight every time the four swords broke through the golden circle of light.


    It only took them less than a few seconds to kill several Supreme Lords. However, the most of the people present quietly retreated when the little golden monkey appeared.


    They continued to repeat their attacks until Supreme Lord Denzel was exhausted, to the point that his resistance became useless.


    He was frozen like a statue amidst the battlefield as he watched his comrades die and everything fall around him.


    Soon enough, the number of Supreme Lords who surrounded the altar began to dwindle¡ªout of twenty-odd, only three had remained.


    "I don''t expect to die here! This war was already unfair to begin with anyway! You only rely on that True God!" Supreme Lord Denzel roared in despair.


    His desperate cries echoed across the Sunflower Water World. Then again, what else could he do?


    If Wynn hadn''t used the Star Sealing Technique to seal their space, the over fifty Supreme Lords wouldn''t have been defeated so miserably. Alas, the Sacred Supreme Lords who were imprisoned in the Sunflower Water World ran around in panic, but they were nothing more than moving targets.


    When Zen heard Supreme Lord Denzel''s words, he appeared silently in front of the altar once again. At the same time, Supreme Lord of Oracle and Lavender who held on to the Saint Killing Spear had also emerged from the space cracks. Soon enough, the area was filled with numerous Supreme Lords from the Evolutionary Universe.


    "You are so shameless to make such remarks. Your Sacred race has invaded our Evolutionary Universe, and it is unfair to us to begin with," said Supreme Lord of Original Sin. Maha had already killed Nathan, and he would never forget that. He clearly hated the Sacred race with every fiber of his being.


    "That''s right. If you''re not one of us, then you''re evil. Do you even want to fight us on the battle ring?" Supreme Lord of Thunder Punishment sneered. It was known that the wars that broke out between the different races were more than violent and vicious.


    Before the Sacred race had even invaded, the human race, the Demon Night race, and the ogre race were already in a never-ending feud. Moreover, they could never reconcile due to their numerous conflicts.


    It was ironic because all those three races came from the Evolutionary Universe. But now, they were suddenly united against the alien-like Sacred race. After all, the Sacred race came from another universe that was completely foreign to them.


    In any case, all the Supreme Lords of the Evolutionary Universe thought that as long as they could preserve their universe, nothing was too taboo in their methods.


    Supreme Lord Denzel''s gaze drifted to everyone as a deep smile appeared on his despairing face. "There is indeed no fairness. If we die here, you all have to die with us. How could a mere Evolutionary Universe escape from the clutches of our Sacred race?"


    Supreme Lord Denzel believed that the Grand Supreme Lord would avenge him. In re


    "Ha-ha. It''s just a seal formed with the help of the power of the stars. It''s just a mediocre skill!" Pranav declared. A small smile appeared on his face as he looked at the blocked passageway.


    "Master Pranav, can you make a move right now? Our Sacred race..." Supreme Lord Russell said anxiously. His son and daughter had both joined the expedition team, so it was unknown if they had survived at the moment.


    However, Pranav simply glared at him. "There''s no need to rush!" he hissed.


    "Russell, do not disrespect Master Pranav like that!" the Grand Supreme Lord scolded. "But..."


    In the end, Supreme Lord Russell could only keep quiet with a despaired look on his face. The Sacred warriors worked themselves to death for Murphy. As Murphy was the ruler of their entire universe, the Sacred race didn''t have the qualifications to reject any of Murphy''s requests.


    However, that didn''t mean that the Sacred race didn''t have any opinions or complaints.


    While they had to help Murphy disintegrate the entire Evolutionary Universe, what good would that actually do to the Sacred race?


    These Supreme Lords overworked themselves to the bone for Murphy, but Pranav, as Murphy''s disciple, didn''t seem to care about it at all. It was no surprise that the Supreme Lords who were with him secretly had a mountain of complaints to say.


    It was useless because Pranav just didn''t care. The divine land''s creatures thought that the secondary creatures in the universes couldn''t be considered real living beings. To them, secondary creatures were nothing more than objects that were formed from life vitality. Thus, they didn''t care how many secondary creatures died.


    Pranav leapt lightly and entered the passageway of the Sighing Wall.


    Then, a light yellow beam of light shot out from the passageway. The light beam was reflected from the passageway and went straight towards the sky.


    Right after that, the Supreme Lords heard Pranav shout, "Break!"


    "Boom!"


    There was a muffled sound, and then a stream of air was sucked in. The passageway that connected the two universes was opened once again.

 Chapter 2058 A Stomp To Break A Supreme World

    The Dark Star was astonishingly heavy.


    At a rather terrifying speed, Wynn had stomped down on the star from the deep sky and proceeded to charge into the channel with terrifying momentum.


    Previously, the Sacred Grand Supreme Lord had taken advantage of the Murphy Universe''s momentum in an attempt to move the Dark Star away, but he still failed.


    No one expected the Dark Star to be forcefully blown away by Pranav right then and there.


    Bam!


    In the Evolutionary Universe, the Dark Star was blasted straight out of the channel¡ªit drew a parabola in the sky before crashing directly into the supreme world.


    How could this supreme world bear the weight of the Dark Star?


    The moment it fell to the ground, it seemed to sink until it disappeared without a trace as if it had fallen into water instead of land.


    Then, Pranav walked out from the other end of the channel and sniffed around. When he felt the sealing power of the supreme world, he frowned.


    The Supreme Lords that followed Pranav into the channel could also feel the strong restraints.


    Although some Supreme Lords tried condensing the Space Law, the moment it was formed, the Law Power collapsed and disappeared without a trace.


    "I don''t feel happy about this¡­" Pranav said flatly.


    Breaking the seal of a supreme world was a rather troublesome task, but Pranav had no intention of doing so.


    Extending one of his legs, he lightly stomped on the ground until a mild aura spread out from the tip of his foot.


    Rumble, rumble, rumble¡­


    A faint wavy line spread from Pranav''s toes until it grew throughout the entire supreme world. Then, the supreme world began vibrating with the same frequency as the wavy line.


    In this supreme world, there were also many Sacred martial artists that survived, as well as a great number of mortals.


    Just then, they saw countless tiny cracks opening up beneath their feet. Such was not an ordinary earthquake as normal ones caused the earth to shake and the mountains to tremble. If it was a normal earthquake, it would have been violent. But this kind of vibration was rather mild with an extremely high frequency.


    It lasted for half a minute before an ear-piercing sound echoed throughout the entire supreme world.


    Crack, crack, crack, crack¡­


    In an instant, the huge supreme world disintegrated into hundreds of millions of clumps of earth the size of watermelons as they began dispersing downward.


    All the mortals began falling along with the clumps and only a fraction of martial artists who could fly managed to escape the calamity. But, it was impossible for these martial artists with lower cultivation levels to cross a supreme world. Once they exhausted all their life vitality in the air, they fell and got smashed to pieces.


    The Star Sealing Technique was used on the supreme world¡ªonce the supreme world was destroyed, the technique would follow suit and collapse.


    When the Sacred Grand Supreme Lord and all the warriors that fol


    e longed for him. But then her gaze went past Zen''s shoulder and landed on Lavender.


    Perhaps she had sensed the malicious aura from Lavender''s eyes. Margaret''s own eyes narrowed as she spoke to Lavender, sounding surprised, "Lavender, you''ve finally found your body?"


    It was no secret that women were more sensitive when it came to emotions. From the moment Zen met Margaret, Lavender had always existed as a soul, so she never considered her as a rival. But now that Lavender had a complete physical body, the situation had changed.


    Hearing Margaret''s seemingly surprised tone laced with ridicule, Zen felt a headache coming on. At such a critical time, what on earth was Margaret thinking?


    Just as he was about to chime in, Lavender snorted coldly and turned around, ignoring Margaret completely.


    With a personality far from Letitia''s, Lavender was a woman of few words. While it was natural that she wasn''t fond of Margaret, she wasn''t going to argue with Margaret because of Zen.


    "Alright, hurry and head back. True God might arrive here at any moment and we need you to take charge of the sword array. Once this battle ends, we''ll have time to catch up," Zen gently patted Margaret''s back with comforting yet persuasive words. Reluctantly, she finally let go of Zen. The thought of Zen''s promise to marry her invaded her thoughts and she gave him a sweet smile before turning around and floating towards the warship.


    But just as she floated away, a blazing human silhouette suddenly appeared in the air.


    After the Space Law on the silhouette dissipated, a young man in black came into view. It was Pranav who rushed there first. Indifferently, he gave Margaret an indifferent glance. She assumed that the young man was some Supreme Lord of the human race.


    "Huh..."


    Immediately, Pranav''s hand shot out like a bolt of lightning. With little to no effort, he grabbed Margaret''s neck. Then, there was a crisp sound before he jerked Margaret''s head to the side.

 Chapter 2059 The Hall Of Holy Beings Rules

    Pranav''s sudden appearance stunned Zen, Lavender, and many of the Supreme Lords.


    After he broke Margaret''s neck like it was nothing, he looked down at the martial artists below him, making the corners of his mouth curve up into a cold and indifferent smile. After carefully examining Margaret''s neck, a malicious voice escaped his lips. "She looks pretty good. It''s a pity to kill her like this..."


    With that, he casually tossed her body to the ground.


    Zen''s heart raced wildly as he saw her soft body fall like a doll¡ªhe could feel the grief pierce his body like a spear.


    When he was in the Central Region, she never hesitated to follow him all the way into the Cloud Hall.


    After flying to the Upper World, she mastered the powerful sword arrays and searched for him in the large Illusion Battlefield.


    Even after going to the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, she did all she could to find him.


    After her return, Margaret was quickly brought back to the Celestial Position race. Although she really wanted to look for Zen, she had to practice the Gods Killing Sword Array before getting another chance to find him.


    In her heart, it was as though nothing existed in the world save for Zen¡ªshe barely even had a sense of her own self and cared for Zen wildly.


    This woman had chased him with all her might. But compared to how Zen treated Lavender or Letitia, he treated her with more indifference. He often neglected her and perhaps only felt responsible for what he had done to her on impulse in the past.


    But at this moment, seeing Margaret''s neck suddenly broken like that, he could feel a sharp pain in his chest, nearly making his heart burst.


    "Whoosh!"


    Without enough time to vent his anger, Zen flew straight toward Margaret and held her in his arms.


    Her neck was completely crushed and Zen felt no trace of her life energy. He hugged her soft, limp body and felt loneliness and helplessness wash over him.


    Her death was so sudden, shocking everyone there. The Gods Killing Sword Array was of great importance to the Celestial Position race. With her gone, who could master it?


    But everyone''s attention was elsewhere as they fixated on the young man in black.


    He exuded a gentle aura¡ªit was deceiving, as though he had no sense of violence in him. But no one dared brush him off.


    The gentle aura was the momentum of a True God. He was a True God from the Murphy Universe.


    Such a thought filled everyone''s eyes with fear.


    "I never thought that a group of creatures formed from life vitality would cause master so much trouble. It turns out that those warriors of the Murphy Universe are all good for nothing," Pranav remarked with a faint smile, hi


    d. If the passageway to the Sighing Wall was unblocked, the True Gods could easily travel from one universe to another.


    But before Pranav could finish speaking, an extremely violent aura erupted from below him. As it did, a ray of golden light shot towards him while an explosion resounded in the air.


    "Go to hell!"


    Zen''s entire body was covered in dazzling golden light as the Emperor Soul Imprint appeared. Under the frenzied combustion of his soul, his soul power was released without reservation.


    Master Feng, Supreme Lord of Original Sin, Supreme Lord of Oracle, and the others were terrified. As Supreme Lords, they also had the Gold Fighting Souls. But the soul pressure Zen emitted was rather formidable. They had only been affected by the aura and it was that True God who was truly facing the soul pressure.


    "Zen, stop!"


    Wynn was in shock¡ªhe didn''t expect Zen to act so recklessly. It was too late for Wynn to stop him.


    Feeling Zen''s aura, Pranav was rather surprised. Clearly, Zen was only a world lord. How could the power from his soul combustion put any pressure on Pranav?


    A True God''s soul had stepped onto another higher realm. There, the soul and the Godly Tile had fused together. With the soul''s primary divinity, such a soul far surpassed the Gold Fighting Soul.


    But Pranav only admired Zen''s imposing aura. A look of disdain filled his eyes when Zen rashly charged at him. He then extended a hand towards Zen and spread his fingers. "The secondary creatures are always so reckless, but your courage is commendable..."


    Looking down at Zen as he rushed over, Pranav wanted to crush his sword with a single hand and proceed to crush his entire body.


    But when Zen slashed at Pranav''s palm with the Great Weighty Sword, Pranav widened his eyes in shock.

 Chapter 2060 Broken Arm

    Zen went all out, vehemently venting his boiling hatred by launching a deadly strike.


    Nearly a third of Zen''s strength source within his inner world had now flowed into his arm.


    His current physical body was extremely tough, nearly unbreakable, but despite that, he was still incapable of carrying such hefty power. Both his veins and bones felt like they were on the verge of collapsing. It was safe to say that the rage had got the best of him; he couldn''t think of anything else.


    And in terms of the other seventy percent of his strength source, Zen had gathered it tightly around his sword by using the Cross-world Theurgy. As he displayed his strength in this way though, he''d lose a certain amount of power which could easily be interpreted as a weakness of the Cross-world Theurgy. Hence, it was clear to Zen that if he wanted to bring the strength source within his inner world into full play, his only option was to make his physical body much, much stronger.


    As a secondary creature, Zen had already reached a certain limit in all aspects of his development as a warrior. In many, if not most ways, he had already hit the ceiling and could no longer improve any further. That was, unless he could condense a Godly Tile and control his inner world''s momentum. If he could manage that, then he could make a hell of a leap in his development.


    "Gods-intimidating Strike!"


    The Great Weighty Sword began rumbling loudly. The Star Essence Iron was extraordinarily robust, even more so because Zen had fused one-third of the nine stars'' power into it. Despite having done so, there was still too much power for the sword to bear alone.


    True God Pranav had never taken Zen very seriously. Although the soul pressure Zen emitted was certainly surprising, in True God Pranav''s eyes, he looked like an angry little leopard, running around aimlessly. It was true that he had never expected a secondary creature to fight so extensively, though.


    But no matter how powerful a secondary creature became, the fact remained that it was still a secondary creature. A secondary creature was only condensed by the life vitality of a Holy Being. Before obtaining a Godly Tile, a secondary creature would simply never have the qualifications to fight him. At least, not without the help of Heavenly Destiny.


    Pranav casually reached out his hand in order to simply grab the sword. Regardless of speed, strength, or angle of movement, they were all perfect in his eyes. Once this Great Weighty Sword was within his grasp, he knew there was no way he could let it out of his hand. After all, Zen was just a little lamb, waiting to be slaughtered.


    It only took a split second, once he gripped the Great Weighty Sword, to discover that Zen''s weapon was extraordinarily sturdy!


    A supreme world was as heavy as a thousand great worlds. In other words, this meant that the weight of the Great Weighty Sword was only a thousandth of a supreme world. If Pranav could crush an entire supreme world with nothing but a single stomp, then no matter how heavy this Great Weighty Sword was, never should it have surprised Pranav to such an extent.


    What truly made his face contort was the power that exuded from this Great Weighty Sword.


    "The power¡­" was all Pranav could utter.


    What radiated from the Great Weighty Sword was a power that he was simpl


    and coldly said, "You are, after all, a disciple of a Holy Being, a True God! Bullying a world lord is not what a True God should do!"


    Pranav''s face was suddenly grim. In his opinion, he could kill Supreme Lords just as he wished, let alone world lords. In this fight though, he had continuously launched several attacks, and yet still failed to kill the boy. In his heart, he was extremely upset.


    Whoosh... Whoosh... Whoosh... Whoosh... Whoosh...


    That was when countless bloody space cracks began appearing directly behind Pranav.


    Within the cracks, one figure after another came into view. The Supreme Lords of the Sacred race had arrived!


    Although Supreme Lords could use the Grand Teleportation to instantly cross several supreme worlds, in comparison to a True God''s ability in employing the Grand Teleportation, the distance they traveled didn''t hold a candle to what a True God could achieve in the same time span. In other words, it had taken quite some time for the Sacred Supreme Lords to arrive, especially coming from the edge of the Evolutionary Universe. The Sacred Grand Supreme Lord took a step forward and walked out of the space crack. When he looked at Pranav''s broken arm, he was utterly stunned.


    "Sir, your arm... What happened?!"


    As the many Sacred Supreme Lords stepped out one after the next, each of their gazes landed on Pranav. In such a short period of time, Pranav had lost his arm. This was far from being good news for the Sacred race!


    "Shut up!"


    Pranav''s face darkened again at the Grand Supreme Lord''s question. With a shake of his shoulder, the severed arm emitted dots of light. The light quickly condensed itself and formed a new arm. Despite rectifying this, the new arm was far inferior to the previous one.


    As he was condensing his arm, more and more Supreme Lords of the Sacred race arrived at the battle area, each of them with surprise and doubt etched on their faces.


    Above the shattered supreme world, the Supreme Lords of the Evolutionary Universe stood in confrontation with at least one hundred Supreme Lords of the Sacred race. Both sides knew that a fierce battle awaited them. All they could do now was examine one another, looking each other up and down.

 Chapter 2061 Wishing Spell (Part One)

    Wynn carefully handled Zen, bracing himself to toss him down to Lavender. Lavender flew a few more feet and once she was in the right position caught Zen in her arms. She flew a little further down to land gracefully on a sturdy boulder.


    Her face contorted in grief for her man, who groaned weakly in her grasp. Zen had been heavily injured, and she wasn''t sure what they could do to help alleviate some of his pain. The fact he had to be thrown into her arms hadn''t helped, and she was sure of that.


    Lavender knew just who was to blame for this terrible mess. A rush of irritation and hatred lanced through her core at the thought of Margaret. Despite the fact her neck had been snapped, she was still causing trouble for Zen.


    However, Lavender knew that Zen irrationally cared for those close to his heart. He was a kind person. She knew if she were to be injured in that way and she no longer were to be alive, Zen would become enraged. Even though that thought warmed her heart, she still believed the man was too impulsive! Too brash.


    "How could he be such an idiot!" She hissed, hugging him tighter to her chest. Her voice had been low so as not to disturb Zen, but he shifted as if he had heard her. She attempted to blink the tears from her eyes to no avail as she looked over his injury. He''d fought valiantly and for that she admired him, but her worry was stronger than her admiration. His chest was bloodied and slightly sunken in, his breathing ragged and labored.


    Zen had only been struck by Pranav twice. However, the seemingly unremarkable palm strikes had caused insurmountable damage to his chest.


    Ever since their return from the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, it was the first time Zen had been injured. It had come as a shock to them all.


    Lavender could see the energy from Pranav''s attack lingering in the wound. It was like a festering sore, attempting to corrode and infect his entire body.


    Zen was incredibly lucky to be the person he was. His physique was unique in that it naturally produced the primordial energy. Primordial energy was more commonly referred to as the warm current, and the gentle glow of the current was nearly surrounding Zen.


    The warm currents were like leeches, trying to overpower the energy and t


    n race and the Supreme Lords had understood that acting first was the best option as well. Zen and Lavender watched in awe as the Supreme Lords readied themselves, and then let loose every weapon they had.


    There was no Star Sealing Technique to seal the Sacred Supreme Lords'' space, no protection from the onslaught of attacks. After an attack, either side would keep their distance from one another. They didn''t need to be close to the other to do damage.


    "Crack!" The harrowing sound echoed through the sky.


    It was the Space Law cracking apart. They watched as fissures opened up in the sky above the battle.


    Those fighting in the sky must have not expected the outcome before, so they all started to flee. As many Supreme Lords escaped across the sky, others teleported to adjoining worlds.


    Those that were left continued to fight, using all manners of strange abilities and superior strength. All around them more and more Heavenly Destinies were released.


    A rumble rolled across the sky.


    The earth below the sky was quivering.


    It had only lasted less than thirty seconds, but the battle had resulted in the death of eight Supreme Lords. They had been the ones that were unable to teleport in time.


    Five of the dead were Sacred Supreme Lords, the other three belonged to different races. One human and the other two ogres. The deaths were a result of the Sacred race being attacked off guard thanks to Wynn''s forethought. It was the only explanation for how easily they had perished.

 Chapter 2062 Wishing Spell (Part Two)

    Across the sky it was a tangled melee among the Supreme Lords. To the eyes of the mortals below, it looked to be a free-for-all among the most powerful in the universe.


    Zen stared at the sky, searching. His gaze finally landed on his target in the battle zone. He stood behind the chaos, the Great Weighty Sword loosely held in his hand.


    There were five shallow finger imprints on the broad blade of the sword. They had been left there by Pranav when he grabbed it with just his hand. Zen''s understanding of a True God was rough at best, but the power of Pranav far exceeded his expectation. He wondered what other surprises the True God had up his sleeve.


    Glancing over to his left, Zen saw Wynn surrounded by oval shaped stars. Wynn stood at the center of the stars as they revolved around him. Sharp light emanated from the middle of the stars and extended out into points as if they were long spears. He was readying for a fight.


    Pranav summoned five eyeballs around himself, each the size of a fist and of different colors. They represented the Five Elements Godly Way: silver for metal, green for wood, blue for water, red for fire, and brown for earth. All were refined from the eyeballs of a five-colored peacock. Zen had never laid eyes on such a weapon before.


    Each time the eyes met the other''s gaze, a beam of five-colored light would fly towards Wynn. However, Wynn was faster and able to dodge each time.


    He had been correct. Pranav, although incredibly powerful, was no match for Wynn. He had a strength and battle prowess unheard of, and was easily able to thwart the enemy''s attacks.


    The sky roared once again.


    Lavender and Zen looked away from Wynn and Pranav to see nine Genuine Dragons surge through the battlefield. They were resisting the array of eight Sacred Supreme Lords, their heavenly bodies easily deflecting spells and weapons. Another roar followed them through the sky, and the fighting stopped for a single moment. The Ancestral Dragon had joined the blood bath, and it changed everything.


    A flash of light shot across the sky and then disappeared to reveal the unreachable pagoda. The Buddhist light dimly glowed along the walls of the building, casting an eerie light over the land.


    The appearance of the pagoda was enough of a distraction for the Thoughtless Minds to act. They quickly arranged the Star Destroying Array, meteorites streaking across the sky in flames.


    Supreme Lord Leroy, Supreme Lord of Oracle, Supreme Lord Mathias, and Supreme Lord Leia began to make use of their own unique talents.


    A fierce and bloody battle waged between the leader of the Celestial Position ra


    e,"


    Zen urged. This was what he had been waiting for. A chance at revenge.


    His heart stuttered in his chest, the fear Supreme Lord Healum felt clear on his face. He did not wish to send Zen into the middle of a battle between two True Gods. However, he''d also witnessed the hidden strength in Zen and the amazing feats he had managed to perform. Perhaps he should believe in Zen to pull through once more.


    Nodding to Zen, he gave him an encouraging smile. Hopefully it would give him enough luck to be successful in this crazy endeavor. It took only a second and very little of Supreme Lord Healum''s power, and Zen disappeared from the boulder.


    While Supreme Lord Healum had hesitated, Pranav had summoned five short swords before him, each corresponding with one of the eyes in color. The moment he waved his hand, the swords would shoot forward and pierce in the Five-element Energy Seal. As the seal trapped Wynn''s Godly Tile, his source of power, he would be too weak to stop the attack. A wicked smile spread across Pranav''s face.


    Before he could deploy his attack, a force at his back broke his concentration and made him stumble forward. He didn''t have time to turn around when he heard a voice ring out, "Wishing Spell!" His eyes widened when he realized it was that brat Zen. "I wish that the one hundred thousand supreme worlds would be eternal. I will do everything in my power and even sacrifice my life to exterminate the foreign race who has invaded!"


    Zen had learned to use the Wishing Spell while in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land.


    He had never used the spell as the side effects were unpredictable, and it would exhaust much of his strength. However, he had no other choice now. In order to defeat Pranav he had to use it.

 Chapter 2063 Marko And Mateo (Part One)

    The Wishing Spell was quite a powerful technique. In fact, when it was used, it could greatly increase the strength of its user in a very short period of time.


    This technique had a catch, though. The users were condemned to fulfilling the wishes they had made, otherwise they would never advance in their cultivation.


    Under normal circumstances, no one dared use the Wishing Spell unless it was a life and death situation. A battle to the death. Once Zen used this skill, he would have no choice but to kill Pranav, a True God!


    Upon Pranav''s arrival here, Zen had chopped off his arm with the Great Weighty Sword. Although this made Pranav extremely furious, he didn''t have the time or the opportunity to revenge himself on Zen at the time.


    However, at the crucial moment when Pranav had reached his limit and was about to go all out to deal with Wynn, Zen suddenly reappeared at his side and interrupted him.


    What sent Pranav into a spiraling disarray of emotion was that this basic fellow actually knew how to use the Wishing Spell.


    He knew that Zen was a Godly Genius, and the Wishing Spell was a Godly Way that nearly everyone in the divine land would have the chance to learn. However, the Godly Geniuses in this universe rarely came across such an opportunity. Zen had surpassed what was expected of him.


    There were no words to describe how Pranav was feeling right now.


    "It''s you! Again, you brat! Get out of my face!"


    Pranav shouted, as he thrust out a hand in an attempt to slap Zen away. He really didn''t have the time right now to bother with him.


    On Zen''s behalf though, now that he had activated the Wishing Spell, he was entering a wondrous, dazzling state of mind.


    It was as if everything else in the entire world was left behind,


    light as a feather, collided with Zen''s Great Weighty Sword, but didn''t waver in the slightest.


    Instead, it moved smoothly, almost like a nimble flying snake, as it continuously swerved in the air, trying to find an opportunity to close in and kill Zen.


    Despite its relentless precision, Zen''s reaction and flying speed had also greatly increased. Furthermore, having activated the ultimate sword intent from the Great Weighty Sword, he protected himself perfectly. The power he infused into the Great Weighty Sword was extremely strong, and every time it collided with the small sword, it would send the small sword flying quite a distance away.


    One second.


    Two seconds.


    Three seconds.


    Pranav had initially planned to end Zen''s life within three seconds so that he could then use his full strength to kill Wynn.


    But once again, Zen had displayed a strength that far exceeded Pranav''s expectations, forcing him to deviate from his devise.


    It didn''t take long before a full thirty seconds had passed and Zen was still vigorously waving the Great Weighty Sword in his hand. Zen was trying to turn the tables... if only he could find a flaw in Pranav''s attack!

 Chapter 2064 Marko And Mateo (Part Two)

    Thanks to Zen''s valiant effort, Wynn suddenly found himself with a grace period in front of him. He used this time wisely and managed to get himself free.


    At first, Wynn had underestimated Pranav''s strength. They were both low-rank True Gods, but Wynn''s cultivation level was slightly higher than that of Pranav. Logically, he should have prevailed in a battle against Pranav.


    The situation took an immediate turn when Pranav suddenly used the Five-element Energy Seal, though.


    The Five-element Energy Seal was one of the many mysterious skills of the Five Elements Godly Way. Although there were many True Gods who had learned the Five Elements Godly Way, only a small portion of them were actually capable and competent enough to unleash the Five-element Energy Seal. This was because the skill had special requirements on the user''s physique.


    Once Wynn had been sealed by the Five-element Energy Seal, he was suddenly overwhelmed with anxiety and struggled aimlessly to break free.


    On the other hand though, he also understood that his mistake might actually bring an end to the battle between these two True Gods. There would have been enough time for Pranav to kill Wynn ten times over before he could escape from the Five-element Energy Seal.


    That was when Zen had miraculously appeared at his side anew and used the Wishing Spell to hold Pranav back.


    Moved with surprise, Wynn seized the moment to break free from the seal.


    Thirty seconds might only be enough time for a mortal to drink a glass of water but for Wynn, this was more than enough to save his own life.


    With a flick of his hand, five rays of starlight shot out, one from each finger and his thumb.


    Although he wasn''t the most proficient in the Five Elements Godly Way, he had cultiva


    s Great Weighty Sword was scarred by the Five-element Divine Sword and many bloody wounds instantly appeared all over his body. Had his body been any less strong and resistant, he would have already been torn to shreds.


    Wynn had successfully struggled his way out of the Five-element Energy Seal and therefore, there was no way he was just going to stand by and watch Zen die.


    Just as he was about to take action in assisting Zen though, two new figures enveloped in incandescent light suddenly appeared before him, completely out of the blue. As the incandescent light slowly faded, two individuals with careless smiles on their faces were revealed. One of them looked Wynn up and down, while the other mocked Pranav, "Hey, Pranav, didn''t you say that you could handle it all by yourself? Tell us, why have we been summoned, then?" one of the newcomers was asking, chuckling ironically.


    These two individuals were known as Marko and Mateo. They were the other two True Gods that came from the Murphy Universe. Just like Pranav, they were also Holy Murphy''s disciples. With three True Gods standing against them now, how could Zen and his companions ever hope to win this war?

 Chapter 2065 Zens Sudden Disappearance (Part One)

    "Marko, stop blabbing nonsense! What are you waiting for? Just hurry up and kill the old guy!"


    As Pranav spoke, he continued his precise control of the five-colored small swords with which he attacked Zen ferociously!


    Even Zen, having deployed his Wishing Spell, could only handle three five-colored small swords at most. Every time the five-colored small swords simultaneously shot towards him, at least two of them would break through Zen''s defenses, penetrating his armor, leaving a deep, bloody wound on his body.


    But because Pranav had now been forced into a corner, he had no other choice but summon another two True Gods for help. Pranav was more than just pissed though, and in order to vent the boiling fury in his system, he loosened his attack on Zen. In other words, as the five small swords drilled toward him, they didn''t do so with the direct intention to take his life. Instead, the small, five-colored swords avoided Zen''s vitals parts, only leaving a painful lesion behind every single time!


    Even though Zen was wearing his Redemption Armor in order to protect his body, the small five-colored swords pierced through to his body with a ridiculous ease. Despite Zen''s best attempt at defending himself, he had at least two or three dozen wounds covering his whole body.


    Marko, who had just been scolded by Pranav, didn''t show the slightest intention of shutting up. Instead, he chuckled and said, "Pranav, might you''ve taken a fancy to the boy? Since when have you had an interest in this mere little world lord?"


    These two True Gods had been summoned here by Pranav. They had crossed tens of thousands of supreme worlds, all the way from the Murphy Universe and entered directly into the Evolutionary Universe to come to Pranav''s rescue.


    They had believed that Pranav w


    eings. Ha-ha! You can do that too."


    "The rules of the Hall of Holy Beings cannot be violated. Murphy''s actions are not against the rules," a third voice was quick to answer.


    "But if rules can be changed at random, wouldn''t it be too reckless? This rule that was set three thousand divine eras ago is changed right now, at this critical moment. It is indeed completely unfair!"


    "If you have the ability, then you too can also change the rules on the stone slab yourself!"


    Numerous voices sounded out, interrupting one another as they argued.


    As they quarreled back and forth endlessly, an even more majestic voice sounded above theirs. The voice contained an irresistible aura as it spoke and said, "Stop arguing! The rules of the Hall of Holy Beings are not violated, and no one has the right to criticize Murphy. Have you forgotten the original intent for creating the Hall of Holy Beings?"


    As this dignified voice was heard, everyone else quickly fell silent.


    A few of the Holy Being were actually quite sympathetic to what had happened to Mike.


    With a Holy Being''s power, anyone was able to destroy Mike''s inner world easily, which, of course, was the Evolutionary Universe.

 Chapter 2066 Zens Sudden Disappearance (Part Two)

    But the rules of the Hall of Holy Beings stated that it was forbidden for a Holy Being to destroy the inner world of another Holy Being. Without such a rule, the war between Holy Beings would fall into a viscous cycle. The final result, at best, would be both sides suffering great losses.


    However, a Holy Being had the permission to start a war between two universes. A Holy Being could make the secondary creatures within their inner world invade the inner world of another Holy Being. But they too had to follow a set of very strict rules. A Holy Being was only allowed to send one True God in to help with a war, and the True God could only be of low-rank.


    Once Mike escaped, with severe wounds of course, he had made full preparations. Not only had he arranged one of his disciples within his universe, but he had also made his universe last forever. The other Holy Beings were all amazed by him achieving such a technique. As long as the Evolutionary Universe remained untouched, he''d still have a chance at returning.


    That didn''t matter much anymore, though. Not long ago, this rule was changed. The number of low-rank True Gods that a Holy Being could send to war between universes had increased from one to three.


    It was obvious that this change had been made as a direct strike at Mike.


    The Hall of Holy Beings originally had great enmity with Mike. Even if a few of the Holy Beings wanted to speak for Mike, they wouldn''t be able to do anything. They could only watch what happened in the Evolutionary Universe helplessly.


    Most of the Holy Beings knew very well that the Evolutionary Universe would eventually collapse. When was impossible to tell. When the time came though, one thing was fo


    e. You don''t even have the Heavenly Destiny, and yet you managed to cut off one of my arms," Pranav said flatly.


    "What? This brat cut off your arm?!" Marko, who was standing to the side and watching, was also stunned.


    Pranav ignored Marko and continued speaking to Zen in a condescending tone, "You''re a secondary creature, thus you''re born with a lowly life. You''re doomed to being restricted by the heavens. No matter how talented you are, how strong your willpower is, the only thing you''ll chase after in your entire life is nothing but a joke in my eyes. Kneel down, and I will grant you a dignified death!"


    Once Pranav finished speaking, Zen revealed a dry smile.


    Upon Zen''s eerie smile, Pranav was overwhelmed with a strange feeling, one that made his heart pound. Clearly this world lord was already in a bad position. What in the hell could he be trying to say with such an expression on his face now?


    "Are you qualified to grant me with my death?" Zen asked.


    And once these words escaped his mouth, Zen suddenly disappeared, vanishing completely like a miracle, right before Pranav''s and the other True God''s eyes.

 Chapter 2067 Internal Dissension

    Zen, in order to escape into the fairy palace, had used the mountain token. It was his last resort.


    On the record, Zen mainly had three methods of escaping. The first method was the Grand Teleportation technique.


    However, it would be useless to apply the Grand Teleportation technique in front of a True God. Everyone at Pranav''s level would easily block off Zen''s Space Law, and even if he successfully used the Grand Teleportation technique, he could only travel a thousand miles at most. He wouldn''t be able to escape even from a Supreme Lord at such distance, let alone get rid of a True God.


    The second method of escape was to use the Teleportation Token, which was essentially a Heavenly Destiny. This Heavenly Destiny could create a space for Zen, allowing him to freely teleport to any supreme world in the universe. But despite the advantage, the speed he would use for the Teleportation Token was much slower than that of the Grand Teleportation technique. If things came to worst, he might be intercepted by his opponent before he could even formulate the space channel.


    The third method of escape was to activate the mountain token, which was a projection of the fairy palace''s entrance. For this technique, once he activated the mountain token, he would immediately be pulled into the fairy palace without leaving any sign of the Space Law Power.


    Assessing that the first two methods would have a big possibility of having no effect before Pranav, Zen had chosen to use the mountain token.


    Aside from his three usual methods of escape, Zen in truth could also rely on Supreme Lord Healum''s Space Lock. However, wherever he was sent to by Supreme Lord Healum, it would still be impossible for him to escape from a True God''s pursuit. And since Supreme Lord Healum was busy fighting with the Sacred race''s Supreme Lords, Zen knew that he had no time to offer him a helping hand during this crucial time. He could only rely on his own ability.


    "You want to escape from me?"


    Seeing Zen suddenly disappearing from his vision, Pranav''s mouth twisted in a contemptuous sneer.


    He taunted Zen since it would be impossible for him to easily flee. He could reach every nook and cranny of the entire Evolutionary Universe in just one step.


    As his eyes glittered with scorn, his powerful soul released a massive mental power that instantly spread out.


    He had indeed noticed that Zen had disappeared in a strange way. He felt that not a single trace of the Space Law Power was left on the spot at the time he instantly disappeared. Nonetheless, wherever he hid or how far he had gone to, may it be hundreds or thousands of miles, he did not think that Zen had the ability to escape that far from him.


    But at this moment, something made him frown slightly. As he spread out his soul power throughout the entire supreme world to search for his location, he couldn''t be traced.


    He never thought that Zen was able to escape from the present supreme world in such a short period of time. Not a single sight of his figure nor his presence could be found.


    Whoosh!


    His invisible soul power continued to spread out. This time, it extended its search over the ten supreme worlds around him.


    But, he still couldn''t detect Zen.


    One hundred supreme worlds!


    Even a Supreme Lord wouldn''t be able to travel over a hundred


    One million great worlds.


    The endless deep space.


    The entire Evolutionary Universe had been completely covered by his soul power.


    From Pranav''s point of view, it would be impossible for Zen to escape from the Evolutionary Universe.


    After scanning every corner of the entire Evolutionary Universe, he was completely caught in a surprise as the perplexed expression on his face became more and more obvious. He couldn''t find even a tiny hint of Zen''s figure!


    "How was it? Did you find him?" Marko, who was sulking on the side, asked. He always felt that Pranav was too serious and often wasted his time on meaningless matters. Was there any good in trying to kill an insignificant world lord?


    "No! I can''t find him!" Pranav breathed a deep sigh. Zen''s sudden disappearance had already exceeded the scope of his understanding.


    "This is really weird. Just forget it. After we destroy this universe, the heavens will collapse. All the living creatures in this universe will surely disintegrate and die automatically. That boy will definitely not be able to escape." Marko didn''t have a way to figure it out as well but could only try to comfort him.


    "But it wouldn''t be me who killed him," Pranav replied.


    "Is there any difference? Is there any meaning to be so obsessive?" Marko could only shake his head. He really couldn''t understand Pranav''s logic.


    Pranav glanced at Marko and said in a stern voice, "You will never understand the meaning of the word ''meaning.'' Therefore, even though your talent is greater than mine and you have more resources than me, your strength will never be stronger than mine!"


    But Marko wasn''t annoyed at all and only shrugged his shoulders. He was born to be playful and carefree. He would rather die than become someone like Pranav. "Well, we can talk about this later," he said, "but we need to take actions now."


    Pranav nodded and then lowered his head. His gaze locked onto the Supreme Lords of the Evolutionary Universe.


    Meanwhile, at this moment...


    After entering the fairy palace, Zen fell face first to the ground. His golden blood slowly flowed through the cracks on the stones. Weakened and bleeding, he seemed to no longer have the strength to get up.

 Chapter 2068 Enter The True Path Again

    For the past years, Saul had been in a closed and secluded state for a long while.


    His puppet body remained immortal, while his body had a true soul. The endless years meant endless loneliness.


    Zen''s visit in the fairy palace was the happiest moment of Saul''s life.


    Over the past decade, Zen had entered the fairy palace several times. Every time he did so, he would reap remarkable rewards. Eventually, his control over the fairy palace grew stronger as he journeyed further along the True Path.


    Later on, Zen even let his family stay within the fairy palace, too. Geoffrey, Zen''s son, brought a lot of happiness to Saul and Immortal Book. Everyone was fond of Geoffrey''s quirky, refreshing youth.


    Saul didn''t seem to care about what was happening in the outside world, but this didn''t make him clueless. He knew about the Evolutionary Universe, and knew that Zen was facing a great test.


    Nonetheless, Saul had immovable faith in Zen. He had a firm belief that Zen could not be defeated so easily.


    So seeing Zen suddenly appear in the fairy palace, sprawled across the ground, body covered in blood, Saul was drawn with worry. He carefully examined Zen''s injuries with gentle movements. Afterwards, he breathed a sigh of relief.


    Though Zen''s injuries looked frightening, they were not fatal.


    As he was a world lord, only his soul and cinnabar field were critical points to look at. As long as these two weren''t in too much damage, they could recover quite fast.


    Moreover, Zen''s physique was already extraordinary compared to others''. He was rapidly recovering, like nothing had happened.


    The currents in his body met the wounds all over Zen''s body. Some of the wounds were deep and went through a few of his internal organs. But as the currents moved at high speed, new pieces of flesh formed along the wounds to heal his body completely.


    Not long after, Zen''s eyes fluttered as he regained consciousness. The moment he opened his eyes, a sharp light flashed and he turned over to get up.


    "Puff, puff, puff!"


    His body resembled a deflated rubber ball, and several blood streams were shot out from his body as he activated his power. Some of the wounds had only just healed, so couldn''t withstand Zen''s vigorous movements.


    "Master, you are still weak," Saul said.


    Zen shook his head, unbothered by anything. He twisted his body and used his strength to force the gaping wounds to heal. He said, "Take me to the True Path!"


    "Master, you want to go through the True Path once again?" Saul asked.


    Zen nodded his head and took a step forward.


    In the past, Mike had given him advice and revealed some significant secrets of the fairy palace. He mentioned that there were powerful creatures there, and if he promised to release them, then these creatures could assist him if he ever needed help.


    d and instantly descended, landing not too far away from Supreme Lord of Thunder Punishment. The two Sacred Supreme Lords were killed without time for them to react.


    As Supreme Lord of Thunder Punishment saw them get turned to ash, the corners of his mouth curved up into a cold smile. He turned his gaze towards another supreme world where the patriarchs of Thoughtless Minds were trying to break through the Sacred Spirit Array. This was formed by nine Supreme Lords of Sacred race. But despite their hopeful efforts, they were unable to succeed in the end.


    If Supreme Lord of Thunder Punishment led the Supreme Lords of the Blessed Buddha Land to join in on the war, then the nine Sacred Supreme Lords would possibly have a weaker defense.


    The Sacred Supreme Lords perished left and right, mostly because they were outnumbered by the Evolutionary Universe Supreme Lords.


    However, just as Supreme Lord of Thunder Punishment was about to use the Grand Teleportation technique, a flag suddenly appeared in front of him.


    Across its surface was a strange, unidentifiable pattern. In the same moment, he felt a sharp pain go through his soul.


    Just then, Marko appeared beside this flag and chuckled at him. "Not bad. You know how to use your own Heavenly Destiny properly. If all of you joined forces, you might have the qualifications to fight me!"


    "True God!"


    When Supreme Lord of Thunder Punishment saw Marko, he got shocked.


    And at the same time, Shay, Jamal, Jace and Alyx, the four Supreme Lords of the Blessed Buddha Land, were also in a state of high alert at the same time.


    "Haha! There''s no need to be so nervous." Marko chuckled. "This Soul Searching Flag of mine is quite precious, and it particularly likes to devour souls. It could devoir your Gold Fighting Souls too. So do yourself a favor, and don''t resist. I''ll make sure you die quicker if you obey."

 Chapter 2069 Gray Light

    As Marko finished speaking, the Soul Searching Flag began bursting with rays of gray light.


    The sight brought on some kind of heavy pressure to the five Supreme Lords of the Blessed Buddha Land.


    After reaching the level of Gold Fighting Soul, the plasticity of one''s soul increased. Ordinary methods couldn''t harm a Gold Fighting Soul and some warriors who specialized in cultivating the soul even used their own soul to protect themselves from their enemies¡ªsome even turned their souls into weapons.


    It was precisely because the Gold Fighting Soul was so strong that when a Supreme Lord fought another Supreme Lord, rarely did either use the power of their own souls. After all, no harm could be done to either.


    But the Soul Searching Flag was a supreme primordial weapon¡ªonly a True God could activate it, someone who could unleash this supreme primordial weapon to the extreme.


    Compared to that of the Supreme Lords, Marko''s understanding of the soul was on a whole new level¡ªeven if Supreme Lord of Thunder Punishment and the others had a Gold Fighting Soul, it was still difficult for them to resist the Soul Searching Flag''s gray light.


    When the rays of light struck the body of Supreme Lord of Thunder Punishment, he immediately felt his mind turn upside down because his soul couldn''t help but leave his body. The gray light was actually trying to absorb his very soul.


    The same went for the four other Supreme Lords behind Supreme Lord of Thunder Punishment¡ªShay, Jamal, Jace, and Alyx.


    At this moment, the five Supreme Lords'' expressions became twisted. Some rolled their eyes and some had their mouths wide open. Their faces shifted into odd and terrified expressions because their souls were crazily resisting the gray light.


    "Grand Buddha Pagoda¡­ Calm my heart!"


    Under this constant struggle, Supreme Lord of Thunder Punishment blurted out words unclearly.


    The Grand Buddha Pagoda set up by the five Supreme Lords was a powerful weapon that could be used for both offense and defense.


    The moment his voice fell, the Grand Buddha Pagoda behind them emitted a golden Buddhist light. Simultaneously, waves of Buddhist chanting resounded, as if the gods were softly chanting throughout the sky.


    The chant spread far, far away, audible from dozens of neighboring supreme worlds.


    And this voice contained the magic power of a divine weapon. Listening to it, one couldn''t help but be put at ease. One''s entire being grew lazy and tranquil, the mind becoming clearer.


    The golden Buddhist light continued to appear on the five Supreme Lords.


    Under this illumination, the gray light was somehow forcibly repelled and the eyes of the Supreme Lords grew clear once again. Now, there was a hint of fear in their eyes as they looked at the Soul Searching Flag.


    Because Supreme Lords were also living beings, it was normal that they would be afraid of death¡ªthe Soul Searching Flag was meant to take their souls away. If the


    still continued to increase.


    "It''s really not worth it."


    Marko shook his head. Gathering so many Gold Fighting Souls wasn''t an easy matter¡ªSupreme Lord of Thunder Punishment''s Blood Refinement True Thunder was undeniably amazing. Marko himself didn''t dare to test just how powerful it was.


    At this moment, the Soul Searching Flag in his hand shook slightly as if there was something within it struggling to get free.


    The corner of his mouth curved into a faint smile. "Alright, it''s been a long time since you came out last time. It''s a good time to let you out once for a while."


    Whoosh!


    As the flag shook slightly, a gray light flew out from it.


    It was incomparably fast¡ªafter rushing out, it drew a thin gray line in the air with incredible speed. The line was billions of miles long, equal to a crossing of two supreme worlds.


    To a Supreme Lord, crossing two supreme worlds with Grand Teleportation was a piece of cake¡ªif they could display the Space Law, then they could easily compress ten billion miles into an extremely short period of time.


    But this gray light didn''t use the Space Law¡ªit relied entirely on its own speed.


    Although the soul form was weightless and its speed was abnormally high, the gray streak of light had taken six seconds to traverse ten billion miles¡ªit surpassed the imagination of all beings in the Evolutionary Universe.


    "I didn''t make you run that far to get some fresh air. Come back!" Marko shouted coldly as he held the flag.


    So after six seconds, it circled back at an inconceivable speed. Meanwhile, it passed through the space between Supreme Lord Alyx''s eyebrows with extreme precision.


    As Supreme Lord Alyx sat cross-legged in the air, his mouth was falling open and the light in his eyes was gradually fading. The soul in his mind had already been devoured¡ªhe maintained his posture as he sank.


    Once again, the entire universe shook violently. In the end, Supreme Lord Alyx fell to his death.

 Chapter 2070 Cultivators From Remote Ages

    The grey dot of light continued to fly ahead at an excessively fast speed, but no one still had any idea what it was--not even after Supreme Lord Alyx had died.


    All they saw was a trail of grey that was left by the grey dot of light.


    However, the grey light circled around once and landed on Marko''s shoulder after it had killed Supreme Lord Alyx.


    Only then did realization dawn upon Supreme Lord of Thunder Punishment and the rest of them. That grey dot of light wasn''t light.


    It was a bat, but it was also a soul body. However, this soul was at the level of True God Soul, not the level of Gold Fighting Soul. The bat was well-known in the divine land as it was the fastest true spirit--the Flash Bat.


    The bat, when with its body, could move at insanely fast speeds, but with just a soul, it was even faster than what was possible. It was no surprise that warriors who practiced evil cultivation methods to refine their souls viewed it as a sacred treasure.


    The only thing was, true spirits in the divine land were rare. It was extremely hard to catch a Flash Bat. Besides, if ordinary True Gods came across one, they would feel lucky if they were not killed by it, let alone catch it.


    Naturally, Marko didn''t catch the bat himself as he couldn''t do so. The Soul Searching Flag was originally a treasure that Murphy had used before. It was powerful not because of its flag, but rather the souls that were imprisoned within the flag.


    "Are you full?" Marko turned to the bat.


    He extended his finger and gently caressed the small creature on his shoulder.


    The little bat just nudged his finger with a weak noise.


    "You are still hungry? Then continue eating."


    Marko had originally planned to collect a few more Gold Fighting Souls for the Soul Searching Flag, but since he had taken the Flash Bat out, he had to let it eat to its heart''s content.


    The moment he gave the Flash Bat permission, it whirled into a greyish blur before it sped away.


    Meanwhile, Supreme Lord of Thunder Punishment and the others were already on full alert. However, they didn''t have the chance to react when they saw the Flash Bat charge towards them. All they saw was a grey streak of light, then nothing.


    These Supreme Lords looked around in search for the bat. Supreme Lord Jamal looked down and finally saw the bat''s grey colored trail. "Down there," he muttered. As soon as he finished speaking and before the sound could spread further, the Flash Bat from below flew straight towards his body and came out from the top of his skull.


    Supreme Lord of Thunder Punishment turned his head and saw a line of grey shoot out from Supreme Lord Jamal''s head. Then, Supreme Lord Jamal''s senses faded. His eyes began to dim as his entire body silently plummeted downwards.


    While Supreme Lord Jamal''s body wasn''t damaged, the Flash Bat had devoured his soul.


    "Get close to me!" Supreme Lord of Thunder Punishment shouted.


    He promptly ordered Shay and Jace to gather around him. As the three Supreme Lords gathered together, red light flashed from the spot between Supreme Lord of Thunder Punishment''s eye brows. The Blood Refinement True Thunder shot out.


    The Blood Refinement True Thunder turned into a lightning cover which spread out. Countless bolts of blood-red lightning for


    dly any difference between the two.


    However, Zen knew the fundamental difference between the two.


    If the Sacred martial artists in the Murphy Universe were formed from Murphy''s life vitality, the real Sacred martial artists seemed to be formed from Dark and Light energies.


    Dark and Light energies were formed from the chaotic energy. In that case, who had turned the chaotic energy into Dark and Light energies? The creatures in Zen''s inner world had been directly formed from the chaotic energy and didn''t undergo the process of Dark and Light energies.


    As of the moment, almost all of the Sacred martial artists that Zen had fought were at the cultivation level of a world lord.


    Zen faced the continuous onslaught of the Sacred warriors head-on and did not hold back in the slightest.


    "Kill!"


    "Puff puff puff!"


    A huge chunk of the Sacred world lords were torn apart and killed. Their bodies dissolved into Dark and Light energies that disappeared on the True Path.


    Although Zen had consumed more than 90% of the nine stars'' strength source, he had relied on the chaotic energy ever since he had entered the fairy palace. He had continuously transformed it into his strength to increase his power.


    Only ten percent of his power was more than enough to kill the Sacred world lords.


    After an hour of slaughter, Zen had finally killed all of the Sacred race''s world lords.


    He looked at the mountains of bodies around him and sighed. "Have I passed?" he whispered.


    He currently wasn''t in the mood to hone his skills on the True Path. He simply wanted to pass through it and obtain the heaven token as quickly as possible.


    As the Sacred world lords disappeared, the Dark and Light energies swirled again and formed two huge black and white vortexes on both sides of the road. The vortexes repeatedly gathered Dark and Light energies and turned into two ragged Sacred world lords.


    "The final challenge will still be fighting two Sacred world lords?" Zen muttered. He was slightly baffled, but he thought it was a good thing.


    At that moment, Saul''s voice rang in his ears once more and said, "Zen, you must be careful. They are cultivators from remote ages."

 Chapter 2071 Time

    The two Sacred world lords emitted really strange auras. Their bodies looked old and withered but they were brimming with life.


    "Cultivators from remote ages?"


    Although Zen was in a hurry to pass through the True Path, he knew rushing would only screw things up.


    "They were the first ones to understand the Godly Way," said Saul.


    In the early days of the divine land, a number of low-rank races existed alongside the famous Holy Beings from ancient times.


    One of them was the Sacred race.


    Back then, they were far stronger than the other races.


    They were the ones who established the three thousand Godly Ways in the divine land.


    When the Creating Axe created the divine land, it created the 3, 000 Godly Ways, which were formed in tablets and scattered throughout the divine land.


    Aside from a very small number of Godly Ways that were passed down by Holy Beings from ancient times, most of the three thousand were comprehended by the Sacred race, and were only spread through the divine land after.


    Some of these were the Five Elements Godly Way, Truth Godly Way, and Star Godly Way.


    Gaining insights was easier for the later generations, but it had cost the forerunners an extreme amount of effort.


    The tablets in the divine land were no ordinary Law Tablets, as Zen had found in the Cloud Hall, the Genuine Dragon World, and the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land.


    Usually, when a warrior wished to understand a Law Tablet, they only needed to make sense of the law written on it to be able to control the Law Power that lay within. The entire process did not entail any risks.


    On the other hand, understanding Godly Way Tablets required one to undergo testing. Those who dared take the test would have their bodies worn down, their souls destroyed, and their inner worlds in chaos.


    That was why every cultivator from the remote ages was a pioneer of the divine land. They had a much deeper understanding of the Godly Ways than the Godly Geniuses.


    Although these two Sacred warriors were only world lords, they had comprehended the Godly Way, and so could be considered Godly Geniuses. And they were more powerful than the Godly Geniuses Zen had encountered before.


    "Master," Saul called worriedly. More of Zen''s wounds had reopened causing golden blood to seep through his clothes. "Perhaps you''re putting too much pressure on yourself."


    Before his body had been tempered by Holy Drew, Zen''s ability to heal had been terrifying. However,


    As his body shot forward, a sharp gust of wind blew. His sword moved fluidly, and Zen used his momentum to hack at the old cultivator.


    "Gods-intimidating Strike!"


    This time, Zen released the sword light ahead of time.


    As the fan-shaped energy spread out, it formed a crescent moon about a thousand feet long, which rapidly swept across the area.


    This guy could force Zen back into the past. Could it be that he could also force his strike back into the past?


    If that was the case, then there was no need to get through the True Path. Zen could just go home.


    As expected, the cultivator did not use the Timing Godly Way again. Instead, he leapt up and dodged Zen''s attack. While airborne, he lightly tapped on air and pounced on Zen.


    "Want to fight face to face?" Zen''s face almost broke into a smile, but just as he was about to accept the invitation, the cultivator dove below Zen, intentionally missing him.


    At the same time, a crisp sound was heard. Zen, for the second time, returned to the past and went to where he was six seconds ago. The cultivator from the remote ages had already anticipated where Zen would be, and his fists landed on Zen''s face before Zen had realized it.


    Thanks to the two massive forces, Zen was instantly sent flying dozens of feet away¡­


    Fortunately, his physical body was not what it used to be.


    Because of the Redemption Armor he wore, even a Supreme Lord would find it difficult to harm him.


    Zen rolled off the ground and brushed off the dirt on his clothes. He was unharmed, but he was getting frustrated by the minute. He needed to find a way around this fellow''s troublesome ability.

 Chapter 2072 The Valley Token

    These Sacred warriors looked no different from real people.


    The only difference was that they were all created by Bromley using the Dark and Light energies. In short, they were nothing but mere puppets.


    Zen, who had already explored the True Path a couple of times, had already figured out how these warriors moved.


    The only person on the True Path with his own consciousness was Gus.


    Some of the warriors would take the initiative to attack but most of them only reacted when Zen made the first move.


    This was exactly how the two ancient cultivators in front of him acted. Neither of them would make the first move unless prompted by an attack by their opponent.


    Whenever Zen challenged the warrior on the right, the one on the left would simply stand in a daze and watch.


    Whoosh!


    With the whistling of the wind, the ancient cultivator charged towards Zen once again.


    Zen knew there was no way he could dodge but he still tried to move to the other side, albeit with great difficulty.


    Crack!


    The warrior snapped his fingers and Zen found himself returning to the place he had been six seconds earlier, as per what was dictated by the Time Law.


    Bang!


    He didn''t have any time to react as a powerful punch struck him on his abdomen.


    An ordinary world lord would find it hard to fight against this ancient opponent, however, Zen was no ordinary world lord. Others might survive these punches, but it might cost them half their lives.


    But for Zen, this ancient cultivator couldn''t cause any harm to him, and he still had the luxury of making a few mistakes here and there.


    "I was right! He can only reverse time to exactly six seconds earlier," he muttered to himself. Though winded, Zen managed to stand up and feel a bit more confident in this fight.


    The True Path was difficult but there was surely a way to pass it.


    As Zen continued to challenge the ancient cultivator, his opponent simply repeated his trick of turning back time to six seconds earlier. The technique was incredibly precise, not a half-second too much or too little.


    It was after receiving a dozen punches in a row that Zen finally got the confidence to defeat this warrior.


    "Master, are you alright?"


    Saul asked, the worry evident in his voice.


    "I''m fine!" Zen roared back with full energy.


    It felt as if the True Path was a game set for him by Bromley. This wasn''t just a trial of his strength and willpower, but also of his intelligence.


    Whoosh!


    The ancient cultivator charged towards him once again. This time, Zen unsheathed his sword and swung it in front of him.


    His target wasn''t his opponent, but the empty air in front of him.


    O


    do was to kill him before he had any chance to react.


    Just as Zen had predicted, the ancient cultivator would only be on guard at a distance of one hundred and twenty feet. The reaction, however, required a bit of time before he launched a counterattack. Giving his opponent no chance to react, Zen''s Great Weighty Sword was already crashing down!


    Boom!


    The explosion was massive as Zen''s heavy sword slashed down with tremendous power.


    Although the ancient cultivator was just about to parry Zen''s attack, it was already too late.


    A beam of sword light cleaved through the ancient cultivator''s body and even left behind a long crack that extended into the depths of the True Path.


    "Master..."


    Saul murmured. He was currently rendered speechless by what he had just witnessed. He couldn''t help but wonder what Bromley would say once he found out how Zen took advantage of the loophole and somewhat cheated his way into winning.


    It couldn''t be denied though that Zen finally managed to pass through this part of the True Path.


    As the Dark and Light energies slowly dispersed, Zen once again followed the path in front of him and returned to the starting point.


    The moment he landed on the shore, the sky started to flicker. A speck of light slowly floated in the air and fell towards Zen''s hand.


    As the light reached him, Zen suddenly felt his pulse throb in his throat. What he wanted the most was the heaven token which would allow him to save the Evolutionary Universe. He was extremely nervous at that moment.


    When the spot of light finally landed on his hand, he quickly turned over his palm to take a look. Disappointment filled his belly as he realized what was bestowed upon him: a valley token which was used to open the pill refining workshop.

 Chapter 2073 The Pill Refining Room (Part One)

    The tokens on the True Path were all given to Zen at random. Unfortunately, he still hadn''t received the token he wanted.


    The valley token to open the pill refining room was entirely useless for Zen. He had no use for such a thing. Disappointment was apparent in Zen''s face.


    He casually stuffed the valley token into his space ring and prepared himself to rush onto the True Path once more. Perseverance was seen in his expression as he didn''t plan to give up until he got a heaven token.


    Saul, who stood at the side, stopped Zen. "Since you have obtained a valley token, I think you can have a look in the pill refining room. This pill refining room has been closed for many years. The first master of the fairy palace must have left behind quite a few good things in that place."


    The challenge on the True Path would grow even more difficult with every step. Saul was worried about Zen''s condition.


    After he heard Saul''s advice, Zen pondered for a moment. Ultimately, he took Saul''s suggestion to enter the pill refining room.


    Previously, when he opened the library or the weapon refining workshop, Zen had obtained a lot of treasures. The rare cultivation methods in the library and the unique materials in the weapon refining workshop of the fairy palace were the best among the various universes. Some of those rare treasures couldn''t even be found in other universes. However, it was a pity that Zen could not make full use of them.


    If he could find some top quality pills in the pill refining room, it might bring him quite a bit of benefit. Such a discovery would definitely be advantageous for him.


    Thus, Zen headed straight to the fairy palace''s middle courtyard with the valley token in his hand. Soon, he stepped into the pavilion. His eyes were filled with expectations.


    The enormous pavilion had a total of six paths that headed towards different directions. The first pat


    with the development of his body. Although there was help from the warm currents, his rejuvenation was not as fast as before. Something must have affected his regeneration.


    The dark golden blood was the blood clots that lingered in Zen''s body. Even if warm currents were to clear the blood clots, it would still take a considerably long time. The coagulation of the dark golden blood was the reason Zen was unable to recover completely.


    After the dark golden blood completely flowed out, Zen could feel a comfortable sensation throughout his body. The previously crazy and turbulent blood energy in his body also calmed down. Calmness and tranquility flowed inside him as if he was finally rejuvenated. Then, Zen slightly twisted his body, and all the wounds on his body closed up again. His regeneration had gotten faster at that time.


    "This is the fragrance of the Divine Blood Pill. The fragrance is very potent." Saul appeared behind Zen. He was only a puppet, so he naturally wouldn''t be affected by the fragrance.


    "Divine Blood Pill! I see..."


    Zen looked at the front door of the pill refining room. A faint brown color continuously lingered around the room. The previous aroma made Zen wonder how strong the medicinal fragrance in the room would be.

 Chapter 2074 The Pill Refining Room (Part Two)

    "Why not just go inside?" Saul said with a smile and a gentle expression. "This is what your master has left for you."


    Bromley had made some arrangements before he left the fairy palace. After he considered Zen''s talents, Bromley expected Zen to be able to make it through the True Path and open the different places of the fairy palace.


    Zen nodded his head as he decided to follow Saul''s suggestion. The main door of the pill refining room was already open, so Zen walked through it with hopeful eyes.


    The moment he stepped into the pill refining room, he instantly felt as if the brown fog around him was a real substance. The fog was so condensed and heavy that Zen felt like he was surrounded by water as he walked. There was even a slight resistance force in this fog that tried to push him out. Additionally, the medical fragrance he inhaled tasted bitter. Zen felt that his nostrils were filled with rich bitterness.


    "What''s this fog? I can''t see anything!"


    Due to the obstruction of the brown fog, Zen''s vision was very clouded. Irritability began to invade his eyes. Soon, it began to hurt even to look. Pain enveloped his pupils and eyelids. He could only close his eyes and release his soul force to sense everything in the pill refining room.


    However, the moment Zen released his senses, he was startled. He noticed that there was a strange face in front of him. The face looked extremely ferocious. Sharp teeth and a powerful jaw armed the face. It opened its mouth and was about to bite Zen.


    Zen tilted to the side and dodged the bite. At the same, he tried to counter-attack and threw a kick to the face.


    "Waah!"


    A loud scream echoed, and the face immediately disappeared into the brown fog.


    The human face


    n in the divine land.


    Under Zen''s continuous strikes, the strange faces were all destroyed. Soon the brown fog that floated around the pill refining room also gradually dissipated. Although the fragrance of the medicine was still repugnant, its scent had begun to weaken.


    When Zen had opened his eyes again, he could finally see everything in the pill refining room clearly¡­


    Although the pill refining room was small, everything was arranged in an orderly manner. On three sides of the room, there were exquisite wooden cabinets. Within the shelves, there were little golden cauldrons that contained medicinal pills the size of eyeballs. The patterns on the surface of these medicinal pills were all different. Additionally, the color and smell of the pills were different too. As different kinds of fragrances gathered together, it formed the extremely strong scent that Zen had smelled before.


    However, the most noticeable thing in the pill refining room was the round furnace in the center. On top of the furnace, there was a purplish-gold square lid. The lid constantly moved up and down as if something inside of it wanted to jump out and escape.

 Chapter 2075 Potent Pills

    With the fire token, Zen had obtained the embryo of the Great Weighty Sword from the weapon refining workshop before.


    He hardly expected anything to be inside the pill refining furnace in front of him. He stood there, while trying to gauge the contents inside.


    After mulling over, he walked towards the furnace, with the intention of opening it.


    Just as he was about to pry open the lid, Saul rushed past him and pressed the lid with his hand, facing Zen. Saul said furiously, "Don''t open! Stay away from it!"


    Zen was stunned looking at Saul''s reaction.


    He was well aware of the fact that if the pills in this workshop were all extraordinary, the pills in the furnace would be even more precious. But he was not in need of any of these pills. Until now, he had relied on his own talent and perseverance to cultivate. His excellent shape was the proof of that.


    In the meantime, Saul sternly stopped him, "You shouldn''t be taking off the lid!"


    "Why shouldn''t I open the lid? Why are you creating so much suspense around it?!" Looking at Saul''s reaction, Zen became even more curious.


    Saul pointed to the corner saying, "All the seven times refined pill present here were refined within that furnace."


    Zen looked in the direction that Saul pointed. In the corner of the workshop, there was another furnace which looked almost exactly the same as the one in front of him, but it was comparatively smaller. Despite Zen''s experience, he was unable to understand the functioning of this furnace. But of course, any furnace used by the Holy Being was way out of the ordinary.


    "What is this furnace used for?" Zen asked, pointing at the first furnace.


    "Although it''s been a long time, I clearly remember that my master used it to refine the eight times refined pills," Saul replied.


    "Eight times refined pills? Just one level higher than the seven times refined pills in this room?" Zen didn''t care much for the eight times refined pills. He felt a bit disappointed at this new piece of information. "I thought it was for refining the nine times refined pills."


    Saul laughed. "Nine times refined pills? Seriously?! Don''t even think about it! For what I know, there are only two nine times refined pills recorded in the history of the divine land for countless divine eras. How they were used and who took them are still mysteries even today. So theoretically speaking, the eight times refined pills are the highest level pills within the divine land."


    "Then why didn''t you let me take off the lid?" Zen persisted.


    "The eight times refined pill in here is not bound." Saying this, Saul pointed to the golden cauldrons which were the size of a water cup and contained the seven times refined pills. "Look over here. These seven times refined pills are bound by the medicinal cauldrons, so even if they have souls, it is highly impossible for them to take form. They can only release their souls to roam around the workshop. On the contrary, the furnace here does not have any binding on the eight times refined pill, so the pill may have been tr


    ooks like this pill is only made for you!"


    In fact, Saul had wanted to recommend the Nine-head Snake Blood Pill to Zen from the start, but as a servant of the fairy palace, he was not in a position to advice Zen. Now that he saw Zen stop on his own in front of the pill, he took the opportunity to give his opinion.


    Right now, Zen''s body''s recovery ability was quite weak.


    The Nine-head Snake Blood Pill probably had the lowest value among the seven times refined pills.


    However, it did not require Zen''s cultivation to be strong or weak. Just by merely swallowing it, he would greatly enhance his recovery ability.


    "Good." Even if Saul didn''t give his opinion, Zen would have still chosen this pill. Then he reached out and took the Nine-head Snake Blood Pill.


    However, just as he took away the pill, his gaze shifted to the other side where there was another seven times refined pill, the Emotion Closing Pill.


    "Master, since you cultivate the Emotion Closing Godly Way, this pill is also ideal for you. But your level of cultivation is too low, so you can swallow the Nine-head Snake Blood Pill. However, the Emotion Closing Pill is for a True God who cultivates the Emotion Closing Godly Way. You may not be able to withstand it, if you take it without careful consideration," Saul patiently explained.


    Zen smiled slightly and reached out his hand to take the Emotion Closing Pill. "Since the Emotion Closing Godly Way is considered a forbidden Godly Way within the divine land, then this pill is considered a forbidden pill, isn''t it?"


    "Yes, you''re right," Saul agreed.


    Ever since he cultivated the Emotion Closing Godly Way, Zen had always relied on malicious aura to suppress his emotions. However, this was only a helpless compromise.


    If he advanced to a higher level in the Emotion Closing Godly Way, he would definitely be able to fight against the True Gods from the Sacred race.


    With this thought, he reached out his hand and took the Emotion Closing Pill, despite Saul refraining him from doing so.

 Chapter 2076 Thick Blood

    At the same time, what was happening in the Evolutionary Universe was not to be ignored.


    The battle there was getting more and more intense.


    "Give up! You know as well as I do that there''s no point in struggling!" Mateo howled coldly.


    Right then, Mateo discreetly activated some sort of secret technique. Black blood continued flowing out like streams from his eyes. And as the blood gushed, as dark as a starless midnight sky, it rapidly turned into a black, bloody mist before wrapping him up tightly.


    Surges of starlight were repeatedly released from Wynn''s open hand. The starlight shot out in two opposing directions, turning into a slender starlight ray and shooting toward Mateo.


    The starlight was extremely sharp, like the fiercest blade. So much so that previously, when he was fighting with Pranav, Pranav had actually feared it and done his best to stay as far away from it as possible.


    Mateo, on the other hand, demonstrated a fearless aura. He stood confidently. As the starlight pierced through the black mist surrounding him, it was instantly swallowed whole.


    "Humph!"


    Mateo grunted, as he repelled Wynn''s powerful attack, pointing forcefully at him.


    Swish! Swish! Swish!


    A mass of black mist immediately appeared by Wynn''s side. When the black mist came into contact with his body, his expression drastically changed. With a quick twist of his torso, he managed to save the vital parts of his body. The same couldn''t be said for his arm and foot though, both of which sadly disappeared into the mist, leaving nothing at all behind.


    "I almost killed you," Mateo stated calmly.


    Wynn steadied his body. Starlight flashed in his gloomy eyes, and in a matter of seconds, he grew himself a new arm and foot.


    The black mist wasn''t actually a real mist at all, but tiny insects, no larger than the needle hole. They were known as the Waves Devouring Worms, and they fed on blood energy. They had to live in a life form with powerful blood energy in order to survive.


    Mateo used his exuberant blood energy to support a large number of Waves Devouring Worms. If he encountered an enemy strong enough, and it was worth it, he would drive these black worms out to fight.


    A few seconds ago, Wynn made nothing but slight contact with the black mist formed by the Waves Devouring Worms. And even so, one of his arms and one of his feet had been devoured. Clearly, these worms were more than just powerful. They were dominant.


    Due to this worm controlling secret technique, Wynn was being slowly beaten back little by little. Mateo though, appeared to consolidate at every step, as if victory was already within his grasp.


    In this battle between two True Gods, Wynn was obviously at an absolute disadvantage.


    In comparison however, the Supreme Lords of the Evolutionary Universe were in an even more miserable circumstance.


    Before Mateo and Marko intervened in the fight between the Supreme Lords, the Supreme Lords of the Evolutionary Universe were still capable of suppressing those of the Sacred race. However, once Mateo and Marko had joined the fight, the situation began to take a turn.


    The first to die were n


    wood fern, that strike would have easily shattered him to thousands of pieces.


    The two Supreme Lords that controlled the Heavens-suppressing Objects had been fighting with each other from the very beginning. It was difficult to determine who was stronger, but as the momentum in the Evolutionary Universe increased, Master Feng appeared to hold the upper hand.


    Because of Master Feng''s slap, a tiny crack could be seen slithering along the center of the spinulose wood fern.


    "Once again!"


    Master Feng clasped his hands together. As the Evolution Lotus Flower spun, a terrifying momentum once again flowed into his palms, but he didn''t stop there. His greatest desire was to kill his enemy in one fell swoop and shatter the spinulose wood fern to pieces.


    After Zen swallowed the Nine-head Snake Blood Pill, he immediately felt the blood in his body begin to bubble and boil. An unprecedented power surged out from the golden blood, flowing crazily in his body as his heart pounded it out at an extremely high speed.


    Pound. Pound. Pound.


    Zen''s heart was beating like a drum. His heartbeat was unexpectedly ten thousand times faster than usual. His breathing accelerated.


    It was a known fact that mortals'' hearts could beat from three to five times in three seconds.


    Warriors'' bodies were strong, and their hearts were also abnormally strong. When they reached Zen''s level though, their hearts could only beat once in five minutes. At this very moment though, Zen could actually feel his heart beating a hundred times in three seconds.


    With Zen''s current willpower, he was capable of enduring the pain.


    After fifteen minutes, the flow of Zen''s blood began to slow, eventually coming to a stop, and his heart also stopped beating maniacally.


    Now, Zen''s blood had become thick. As his blood and vitality grew stronger, his body''s recovery ability also improved by leaps and bounds.


    After swallowing the Nine-head Snake Blood Pill, Zen chose to not swallow the Emotion Closing Pill. Instead, he stood up and rushed out of the pill refining room, heading straight for the True Path.

 Chapter 2077 The Dungeon

    More than half of the strength source of the nine stars in Zen''s body had been restored. With his recent rejuvenation, it would be a lot easier for him to conquer the next section of the True Path.


    The challenge in that section of True Path was more difficult than the one before. Additionally, there were some restrictions when Bromley set up this path.


    Based on Bromley''s plan on the arrangement of the True Path, the Sacred martial artists that appeared at every section of the True Path would be a realm higher than the former section.


    However, the strength of a martial artist could not be determined with only one''s realm as the basis.


    The two ''cultivators from remote ages'' that Zen had fought before would be great examples. Although they were only world lords, their true strength was even higher than that of ordinary Supreme Lords. Their power was more condensed and mighty for their level.


    However, the ancient cultivators did not have any intelligence and were unable to utilize their strength fully. That was why they were so easily killed by Zen. Otherwise, in theory, Zen would not have been able to defeat them. With Zen''s current comprehension of various Laws and Godly Ways, he was comparably inferior to them.


    It took Zen less than an hour to pass that particular section of the True Path. His strength had been recovered, and he was able to travel much more quickly.


    A lot of Sacred world lords had emerged from this True Path. It was also the first time Zen had met the ancient Supreme Lords of the Sacred race. When he encountered the ancient Supreme Lords of the Sacred race, he was puzzled. He studied them with confused eyes.


    A Supreme Lord was actually a world lord who had carried a Heavenly Destiny. However, Heavenly Destinies didn''t exist in the divine land. Where could they be able to find one to carry in the divine land then?


    Nonetheless, Zen immediately got the answer from Saul. In fact, the title of Supreme Lord originated from the Sacred race. Back then, the Sacred race was in the top position in the divine land. Additionally, the power comprehended from the Godly Way Tablets was known as the Heavenly Destiny. At that time, whenever the Sacred race comprehended a Godly Way Tablet, they would seal it immediately in efforts to make themselves the only ones to comprehend it. As such, they would be able to maintain their dominance over the divine land.


    Therefore, once an ancient cultivator comprehended the power within a Godly Way Tablet, they would be called as a Supreme Lord. Impressive abilities would be gained by the cultivator even if their realm remained the same.


    However, as the Sacred race disappeared for no reason, the seals on the Godly Way Tablets also became ineffective. After that, more and more martial artists comprehended the Godly Ways. Moreover, the number of creatures that managed to become True Gods also increased. The concepts of Supreme Lord and Heavenly Destiny also gradually disappeared. As time passed by, their existences in history and textbooks were forgotten.


    Decades afterward, warriors were able to become Holy Beings and constructed their universes. As su


    of Holy Beings. If it were to happen, it would be easy for Murphy to shatter Evolutionary Universe since he had a justified reason.


    At that time, Mike was not aware that the rules of the Hall of Holy Beings had been changed. Nevertheless, Zen was aware of the changes now and had no qualms about the completion of his plans.


    However, the people locked up in the dungeon weren''t easy to deal with. Saul could be an example as it seemed that it was horrible for him to stay in the fairy palace. Fortunately, Saul was still able to move freely in the fairy palace and even manage the affairs of the fairy palace. It was hard to consider him as a prisoner.


    The warriors in the dungeon had actually been trapped there for countless years. Slowly, their minds and characters had deteriorated and were corrupted over the years. Who knew what their state of mind had become after so many years'' imprisonment? Perhaps they had all become lunatics. Zen feared that as soon as he opened the door of the dungeon, they would tear him into pieces.


    Everything had certain risks, and that time, Zen was the one who had to take the risk.


    As he stood in front of the door of the backyard, Zen became hesitant. He paused for a moment before he activated the heaven token in his hand.


    Creak!


    A section of the fence in front of the back courtyard swung open. An entrance appeared for Zen. However, it also meant that an exit just became available for the prisoners.


    The instant the fence was opened, a thunderous roar rang out. At the same time, a fearsome aura came from the back courtyard¡­


    The aura was extremely vicious, but the creature that released it was still unidentified.


    Zen recognized the aura. A long time ago, he encountered it in the fairy palace. At that time, Saul had told him that it was from a dog kept in the fairy palace.


    As Zen stepped into the backyard, he followed the source of the aura. Nonetheless, he saw that there was indeed a dog house on the side. A ferocious beast with a formidable appearance was lying on the ground. The green eyes of the beast stared coldly at him.

 Chapter 2078 The Terrifying Bark

    This enormous creature did not look like a dog at all. If anything, it looked like a lion with overgrown fur.


    Its black fur shone nicely, making its coat look like satin.


    As soon as Zen stepped onto the yard, the dog stood from its place in the doghouse and ran towards him.


    It pawed the ground, creating two holes that were half a foot deep.


    "Woof! Woof!"


    All of a sudden, fear washed over Zen like a waterfall. He was paralyzed to the spot, his pulse bounding in his ears. Zen tried to steady his breathing in an effort to quell the panic but found that he couldn''t. Was he honestly afraid of a dog''s bark?


    Zen had already mastered the warrior spirit to consummation during his time in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. Hardly anything affected his state of mind now. Facing a True God didn''t even make him flinch.


    However, the fear he felt now was different. Terror had sucked the very breath from his lungs. He couldn''t think much of anything except that he had to get away.


    This dog was causing him to feel this way, and if he stayed like this for another minute, he was going to die for sure.


    Clink! Clink! Clink!


    The sounds the silver dog chain made were not helping at all. In the haziness of his mind, Zen hoped that it wouldn''t break.


    If it did, there''d be nothing to restrain the dog from eating Zen for dinner.


    "Woof! Woof! Woof!"


    The dog stuck out its thorny scarlet tongue as it tried to reach Zen. If Zen had been an inch closer to the dog, he would''ve already been dog chow.


    Zen was getting lightheaded by the second. He knew he needed to flee but he could no longer control his legs; they were shaking violently.


    "Blackie! Back to your house!"


    Saul, who had hurried over, shouted.


    At Saul''s command, the violent and manic aura that surrounded the dog dissipated. It turned its head towards Saul, licked its lips, shifted on its haunches, and bounded back to the doghouse.


    With the dog gone, Zen finally regained control of his breathing. His hands were still shaking as he wiped the perspiration off of his brow. His clothes were drenched in sweat.


    It had been a long time since he felt fear that intense.


    The strength of that dog truly was terrifying. Even Zen, who had a firm state of mind and posses


    sent out by the Sacred race already gave their verdict. Moreover, Zen had already known the new rules of the Hall of Holy Beings. This was their best hope.


    And it all depended on these guys.


    Zen mentally prepared himself as he walked over to the man. "Hello," Zen smiled. "I am the master of this fairy palace!"


    "Duh," the man said with a wave of his hand. "I knew that after you barged into this place with your cultivation base of the nature level. But I tell you, your rate of improvement is really amazing."


    The man looked at Zen with gleaming eyes.


    Bromley had made a promise to them before, saying that if someone were to take complete ownership of this fairy palace, everyone in the dungeon would be released.


    For hundreds of millions of years, they had waited for this day to come, and now it was finally here.


    It took everything to hide his excitement. After being locked up for so long, they were finally going to be set free.


    "Hmph! What''s there to be surprised about? This guy made us wait for almost twenty years!" A hoarse voice came from the dungeon.


    It had been nearly twenty years since Zen first stepped into the fairy palace.


    Saul frowned. "A few years ago, who was it that said it would take a thousand years for Zen to rule the fairy palace?"


    Hearing these words, the entire dungeon fell silent. Although they were powerful, they were still no match for Zen. After all, it was because of the three Holy Beings'' painstaking effort that Zen had become this strong.

 Chapter 2079 Inner Demon Oath

    Hearing Saul''s conversation with those people, Zen could guess what they were thinking.


    These people wanted to leave the place as soon as possible and this was the only chip Zen could use to bargain with them.


    "I will let you go," Zen chimed in.


    The long-haired man''s eyes flashed with a fiery light and the corners of his eyes twitched intensely when he heard Zen''s announcement.


    Though he began bubbling with excitement, he tried his best to restrain his emotions.


    Whoosh!


    Several fierce auras exploded instantly from the prison''s entrance¡ªthey were filled with anticipation.


    "Tell me, what do you want?"


    "I can teach you the Heinously Evil Way personally!"


    "Hmph! I can help you cultivate the Heaven Devouring Technique¡ªit''s much better than that Heinously Evil Way!"


    "Hey, Big Mouth¡­ what do you mean? How about we fight it out right now?"


    "Haha! Master Evil¡­ you weren''t my opponent all those years ago. Even if we were anywhere else, you still wouldn''t be my match!"


    Just like that, the two figures in the dungeon got into a heated argument as if they were fighting over a high position.


    During the long debate, they left Zen on the sideline. After a long moment, Zen finally interrupted. "I have only one request for you all to be released."


    This time, everyone kept silent.


    Mulling it over for a moment, he then spoke, "Help me kill three True Gods."


    Amidst the silence, the old voice resounded once again. "The difference in strength between True Gods can be huge. What''s their level, low-rank, mid-rank, or top-rank? Perhaps the consummate level?"


    "Three low-rank True Gods," Zen said.


    "Three mere low-rank True Gods¡­ it''s a piece of cake. What are their names?" The old voice inquired further.


    "Pranav Mu, Marko Mu, and Mateo Mu."


    "Three unknown juniors. Tsk, what an easy mission."


    Because these people had been imprisoned for many years, they didn''t recognize any of the new True Gods within the divine land.


    "Wait, their last name is Mu?" one of them asked. "Are these three related to Murphy Mu?"


    "Yes," Zen nodded in response.


    That made the long-haired man at the entrance frown as he said, "These three are all disciples of Murphy?"


    "Yes," Zen nodded another time.


    And again, there was only silence for a moment.


    These people in the dungeon were the most vicious types of True Gods in the divine land. They were extremely powerful, but that wasn''t to say that they didn''t care about anything.


    Back then, it was because they offended Bromley that they


    need to continue."


    After he finished speaking, Zen turned around and walked away.


    He was well aware of his own bargaining power¡ªthese people hardly had any choice but to adhere to his conditions.


    If these fellows were unwilling to swear the inner demon oath, even if they killed Marko, Mateo, and Pranav, they might cause trouble to Zen.


    Watching Zen retreat, the long-haired man suddenly stood up and said, "I, Blayd Zhan, swear an inner demon oath that I will obey your commands for the rest of my life. If I should violate any one of them, I shall be devoured by the inner demon and die."


    When the man spoke, Zen''s steps came to a halt. He then turned around and smiled at the man, saying, "I''ll see you free."


    With that, Zen walked towards the entrance and activated the token of heaven in his hand. Immediately, a faint gray light shot out from it.


    Swish!


    The moment the gray light touched the Fairy Chain, it cracked open layer by layer and disappeared from Blayd''s hands.


    "Sir, since you have sworn an inner demon oath, you may come with me," Zen said with a smile.


    When the chain broke, the long-haired man suddenly stretched out his muscles before rushing out. Then, he ran wildly across the backyard as a crazed expression appeared on his face.


    "Haha! I''m finally free! I''ve been locked up for too long! I''m finally free!" The elated Blayd''s face was full of excitement. As he ran, his bones crackled and he was brimming with satisfaction.


    When the old guys below the dungeon heard the commotion, they couldn''t help but feel envious. Though they didn''t want to give up the opportunity, they didn''t want to make such a serious inner demon oath either.

 Chapter 2080 Releasing The Prisoners

    After the long-haired man ran around with the joy of gaining his freedom, he cast his gaze at Zen. A hard-to-read look flashed on his face as he said, "No matter who your enemies are, I will kill them." He then looked at the dungeon and let out a laugh. "As for the guys in the dungeon, it''s better to let them stay there!"


    Hearing this, Zen let out a faint smile. He knew he didn''t need to release everyone in the dungeon. If Blayd alone was enough to kill Pranav, Mateo, and Marko, there was no need for him to release the rest prisoners from the dungeon.


    "If you really have the balls to kill the three people I just mentioned," Zen said. "Then there''s no need to release them." He gave a small nod.


    At first, the people in the dungeon were not willing to take the inner demon oath, but hearing Zen and Blayd''s conversation brought them to a panic. Previously, Zen had something to ask for them, so he offered to release them. The chance would be long gone at this point.


    The thought of this brought a lot of anxiousness to the encaged warriors.


    "Blayd! What are you saying?"


    You want to burn the bridges? You ungrateful bastard! I should have never taught you my cultivation method!"


    "Well... Your name is Zen, right? I will swear by my inner demon. I, Master Evil, will listen to your commands in this life. If I disobey in any way or form, I will be attacked by the inner demon and suffer through my own death." Just then, his old voice echoed off the walls of the dungeon.


    Apart from Master Evil, another person who was called Big Mouth spoke up loudly, "I am also willing to take the oath! I, Wayne Wu, am willing to submit to Zen in this lifetime. If I break my oath, I will be burned by the inner demon and suffer through my own death."


    Seeing that two warriors couldn''t wait to take the oath, Blayd looked quite defeated at the sight of this.


    Many years ago, Blayd was captured by Bromley and taken captive to the fairy palace. However, Bromley did not imprison him in the depths of the dungeon. Compared to the three old freaks in the dungeon, he was deemed unqualified to be locked up in dungeon.


    However, Blayd, who was locked out of the dungeon, had gained a lot of things from Wayne and Master Evil by cheating. If these two people were released at the same time, they would definitely find out the truth and take revenge on him, and that was why he had been so against the idea of Zen releasing anyone else from the dudgeon just now.


    "There''s no need to release them. I can help you kill those three True Gods. Even if they are the disciples of a Holy Being, they shouldn''t be my match," Blayd advised.


    "You, I knew you were a swindler!"


    "Wait till I come out and tear you apart!"


    As the two people heard Blayd''s words, they were enraged and profanities and cuss words echoed back and forth w


    wondered what kind of warrior was chosen by Bromley to be his disciple, but it seems that it is a warrior that has nothing special."


    Zen ignored him. He simply activated the heaven token and a gray light shot out towards the silver bars in front of him.


    "Crack..."


    The moment the light entered in between the bars, dense cracks started to appear on them. As they collapsed, they disappeared before Zen''s eyes. Previously when Zen released Blayd, he had been amazed that the material used for the chains was magical because they disappeared and evaporated like water. For some reason, this kind of material could actually imprison True Gods.


    "Ding, ding, ding..."


    As Master Evil saw the bars dissipate, he extended out his hands in front of Zen in a plea. "Please!" There were two Fairy Chains holding his arms together.


    After Zen untied the two Fairy Chains binding Master Evil, the latter stretched out his wrists and rubbed them with his palms. A joyful smile then appeared on his face. To gain freedom was indeed something that could make one wild with joy. However, when such smile appeared on Master Evil''s sinister face, it was quite uncomfortable to look at.


    With a flip of his body, Master Evil immediately disappeared in front of Zen. Zen merely felt a gust of wind brush past him and when he turned his head to look, Master Evil had already rushed out of the dungeon.


    "Hey, please don''t forget me! I''m still locked inside!"


    An anxious voice called from the other cell.


    Wayne, the Big Mouth, was imprisoned here together with Master Evil for countless years. When he saw that Master Evil had been freed, he was itching to get out as well.


    When Zen arrived in front of Wayne''s gloomy cell, he couldn''t help but let out a laugh. This Big Mouth really lived up to his name. He had a huge mouth, and his lips were like two sausages, making him look very amusing.

 Chapter 2081 Enslaving

    "Do I look funny to you?"


    Wayne snarled, his ugly face crumpling in malevolence.


    Since he was not human, it was natural for his appearance to be a bit odd. Unfortunately, he had an incredible amount of pride, so any sort of offense against him was intolerable.


    "I''m sorry," Zen apologized as he tried to suppress his smile.


    Even if he was successful in forcing these people to swear the inner demon oath, they were still supreme elders of the divine land. It wouldn''t be good for Zen to be rude.


    Believing the sincerity of Zen''s apology, Big Mouth found himself surprised at how easy it was to talk to this young man.


    After taking such a serious inner demon oath, he could now be considered enslaved by this young man. There was no need for him to have apologized to him.


    In the divine land, both he and Master Evil were outlaws that were hunted by all forces. All the friends they''d made were naturally vicious and he often had to fight other people that made fun of his appearance.


    Of course, almost all True Gods that made fun of him were very swiftly eaten by him. This was because Big Mouth cultivated the extremely powerful Heaven Devouring Technique. After devouring a True God, he did not destroy their cinnabar field, rather he was able to merge his prey''s inner world with his own. The more True Gods he consumed, the stronger and more terrifying his inner world became.


    His current strength was only a notch below Master Evil but the rate at which he improved was definitely faster. As long as he kept devouring True Gods, then achieving the consummation of True God''s level and becoming a Holy Being wasn''t that far off. To do that though, he needed to devour an unimaginable number of True Gods. It was after having devoured thousands that Bromley caught him.


    "Alas, I''m used to this," he muttered with an uncaring wave. "Set me free. Quickly!"


    If one treated others with respect then he or she too would be treated the same way.


    Zen nodded before using the token of heaven to help free this Big Mouth.


    As soon as he was set free, he quickly scrambled and ran out of the dungeon.


    Zen was left in the dust. He turned his gaze and looked deeper into the dungeon once again.


    There was a big dog in the backyard and then Blayd who was locked out of the dungeon. On the first floor were Master Evil and Big Mouth, Wayne. Zen also remembered hearing another voice, the one that told him he was requiring too much.


    At the end


    ng enslaved by you seems a better option."


    The prisoner on the second floor had secretly observed Zen. Confident that the young man was neither despicable nor dark, that prisoner willingly handed over the Enslaving Token in a desperation to attain freedom.


    That prisoner truly was cunning, as Saul had said.


    With his suspicions confirmed, Zen took the token back and returned to the dungeon. Under the mysterious prisoner''s guidance, Zen sent a thread of his soul force into the token.


    The moment he linked the token with himself, Zen immediately felt a cold feeling invade his mind as he sensed an unfamiliar, yet powerful soul. It seemed that he could read any thought or memory that this soul had.


    Zen possessed the will of worlds which allowed him to read the lives of countless creatures, however, he was reading them as a bystander. Right now, Zen had an absolute and unfettered view of this soul''s secrets as well as its understanding of cultivation methods and life. There was no resistance and Zen could even erase any memory if he wanted.


    In short, Zen was now the master of this soul.


    "Can you release me now?" the prisoner''s faint voice called out once again.


    Zen nodded. In a flash, he rushed through the narrow moss passageway towards the second floor. The moment he entered, the mossy walls suddenly wrapped around him.


    "Humph!"


    Zen snorted as he began to fight his way forward.


    According to Master Evil, the moss in the Swirl Forest could swallow even a True God, but to Zen, this was nothing once he activated the power of the nine stars. So Zen began his fight against the growth of the thick moss.

 Chapter 2082 The Woman In Blue

    Zen squeezed himself between the walls of the narrow passageway and found that he was on the second floor of the dungeon.


    However, the scene that unfolded in front of him had left Zen completely dumbstruck.


    The second floor of the dungeon was vast, and it was about several hundred feet in depth. This was in contrast to the constricted space of the dungeon''s first floor. This floor seemed far more spacious.


    Eight silver discs were mounted on the ceiling, floor, and walls of the dungeon. Each of these discs had a Fairy Chain attached to it, which extended to the center of the dungeon. At the end of the Fairy Chains was a person bound in them...


    The Fairy Chains were wrapped tightly around the person like a cocoon. There were no discernible features to recognize the person''s appearance.


    Zen noticed countless slender hair strands that stretched out from the gaps between the chains and extended further onto the ground.


    ''Is it a woman?'' Zen thought.


    Although it was him who enslaved this person by using the Enslaving Token, he didn''t try to explore the memories of the person''s soul. When he had heard the voice from the second floor, Zen wasn''t able to distinguish if the person who spoke was a man or a woman.


    An alabaster arm was visible from a small gap between the Fairy Chains.


    The arm was pale and slender, as if it was carved out of white jade. It had an elegantly beautiful form. There was a high chance that this hand had thrown the Enslaving Token to Zen earlier.


    ''Is this person''s cultivation level too high that it requires so many Fairy Chains to restrain her?'' Zen wondered.


    He advanced towards the cocoon and said, "Let me help you unravel the chains."


    When he finished speaking, he activated the heaven token again. Cracks riddled the Fairy Chains and they crumbled before disintegrating, like silk that was reeled off from a cocoon.


    Little by little, a naked body was revealed in front of Zen.


    Usually, when a warrior reached a certain level of cultivation, they were expected to have a thorough understanding of physical bodies and how they functioned.


    Soul Sea Realm warriors lived for thousands of years, and they had seen all kinds of beautiful creatures. As for the higher level warriors, and even True Gods, they could live for an even longer period of time. They were no longer amazed by beauty; all creatures were just vessels in their eyes.


    A True God like Wayne, who cared a lot about his looks, was a rare case.


    However, Zen was only forty years old. He still felt a little awkward when an extremely beautiful woman appeared in front of him stark naked. She radiated a glow that was as bright and clear as the moonlight. There seemed to be some kind of enchantment hidden within her body that made it impossible for Zen to look away.


    But out of respect, Zen still forced his face to one side.


    After the Fairy Chains were all removed,


    an. It was an unusual sight to see such a frightened expression on his face.


    The blue-clothed woman chuckled. "We are all on the same boat now. There is no need to kill you. But I''m not sure that I will not kill you in the future if we meet again. Right now, I think we should talk about... how to help this young man."


    As they got down to discuss the matter at hand, Zen''s gaze wavered slightly. "Two people. I only need two people to fight with me."


    "Can''t we all go together?" Blayd asked immediately.


    "I agree. If all of us go, we could quickly tear them apart and finish the job as soon as possible," Wayne echoed.


    They thought that if the blue-clothed woman stayed in the fairy palace, the others who hadn''t been chosen by Zen would probably be in great trouble. If the four of them went with Zen, at least this blue-clothed woman wouldn''t be able to act rashly. It seemed that their fear of her had already reached its peak.


    "No," Zen shook his head. "I need you to fight in the universe. The enemy only has three True Gods on their side, and we can only have three on ours. This is a rule."


    "Universe?"


    "Are you talking about an inner world built by a Holy Being?"


    "Isn''t there only one True God allowed to stay in a universe?"


    "Who did Murphy wage a war against?"


    The four of them all had surprised looks on their faces. They were imprisoned in the fairy palace so they were sure that this was the Swirl Forest. They didn''t expect that Zen would take them to the universe to fight.


    Before this, they already knew that they would be fighting against warriors who were Murphy''s disciples. Since they were going to fight in some universe, Murphy must have launched a new war against another Holy Being...


    "Does the person that Murphy waged a war against have the surname Luo?" a devious smile appeared on the woman''s face as she asked.


    With this remark, the few True Gods instantly found the answer.

 Chapter 2083 An Urgent Situation

    The divine land possessed a long history.


    The time span of a single divine era was unimaginably long. Since the establishment of the divine land, numberless divine eras had flowed into history.


    In every divine era, there were countless living beings that became True Gods. And after becoming a True God, their inner worlds would form a perfect closed loop. Their lifespan was unlimited, which normally meant eternal existence for all of these beings.


    True Gods continued to be born, but only a few had died.


    As each of the countless divine eras passed, the number of True Gods in the divine land began to form an extremely large group.


    However, the number of True Gods that were able to become Holy Beings was extremely small.


    Mike Luo was the only one with the surname "Luo".


    When these True Gods heard her speak, they instantly understood what the blue-robed woman meant.


    They had heard that Holy Mike and Holy Bromley were friendly with each other, so even though there was quite a commotion in the Hall of Holy Beings in the divine land, Holy Bromley still remained firmly on Mike''s side, resisting the pressure placed upon him. This Zen must be the son of Mike. Then it was no surprise that he had been able to take Bromley as his master.


    Master Evil and Wayne had sensed Zen''s talent and had considered taking him in as a disciple. They abandoned the idea while they heard that Zen was Bromley''s disciple. Now that they knew he was the son of Mike, they understood that they were overthinking things.


    "Well, I really did not see that coming," Master Evil grimaced.


    Wayne standing beside him nodded his head in agreement.


    At most, he would simply run away after killing three of Murphy''s disciples. The divine land was vast and boundless, so although Murphy was a Holy Being and had access to the highest authorities, it would still be difficult for him to learn the truth about what had really happened.


    However, the war between two universes had begun within the inner world of a Holy Being. Murphy was not the only one who was watching this war with interest; the Hall of Holy Beings were also monitoring the situation closely.


    At the start the two of them had been very active, but now they had begun to retreat.


    "I will go," Blayd spoke calmly.


    "Ah! Blayd is eminently suitable. He has a highly esteemed status. And he is not afraid that Murphy will take revenge on him. Then, thank you for being so willing to take on this task," The face of Master Evil was beaming while he spoke.


    Blayd rolled his eyes. He had a very different background compared to these two. The two of them were both known as infamous villains in the divine land. If they were exposed, they would be haunted by many people. Even if Murphy did not act against them, other Holy Beings might be inclined to kill them.


    However, Bromley held Blayd here for different reasons, so he was not afraid of Murphy.


    "Then I will also go." The blue-robed woman smiled slightly. Compared to the two of them, she didn''t display any reluctance. Her alluring eyes revealed a faint black fog that escaped along her eyelashes as if it had left a black eye shadow on her eyelids.


    "Alright," Zen said as h


    and swiftly encompassed Lavender.


    The moment Lavender became entangled by the light, she felt her soul unable to move. Even her speed of thought greatly slowed down, and she was unable to control her body to make an escape.


    "Such a beauty, it would be a shame if she died." Marko chuckled before falling backwards. With the Soul Searching Flag in his hand, he shot downwards.


    Supreme Lord of Oracle was falling while unconscious, and she was caught up by Marko after a little while. As Marko shook the Soul Searching Flag, a gray light belt once again appeared from the flag and wrapped around Supreme Lord of Oracle, holding her tightly.


    Marko hung the two girls from the Soul Searching Flag just as if they were spoils of war.


    As for Lavender and Supreme Lord of Oracle who was now waking, by this point, their mood had already sunk to rock bottom. It was better to die fighting in the universe than be captured by a person who acted in such a way.


    "Wow!" Marko''s face had a dirty expression as he reached out his hand and gently pinched the face of Supreme Lord of Oracle. Supreme Lord of Oracle could not move, but she continued to stare into Marko. Her cold eyes were filled with burning desire to kill.


    "I like the expression in your eyes," Marko patted the face of Supreme Lord of Oracle. Then, he glanced to the side to see Lavender. Although the two women both wore cold expressions, their auras were as different as the sky and the earth.


    He was about to play around but just then he suddenly heard the whistling of the wind behind him. His heart froze and he pulled the Soul Searching Flag as he rushed to the side.


    Whoosh!


    A sword light sent from several hundred miles away slashed Marko from the side. The sharpness of this sword light actually chilled Marko''s heart.


    If it had not been for his sharp reactions, this strike might actually have killed him.


    A few hundred miles away, Zen held his Great Weighty Sword as he stared at Lavender and Supreme Lord of Oracle, who were hanging on the Soul Searching Flag. The veins on his temples were exposed while his face was filled with a malicious aura.

 Chapter 2084 A War God

    Out of nowhere, Marko saw Zen appear in this place. He jostled slightly with surprise as he exclaimed, "What?! Aren''t you the boy that Pranav was looking for earlier? Where did you go? And how have you managed to reappear?!"


    Moments before, Pranav had used Marko''s Soul Searching Flag in order to search for Zen''s figure throughout the whole Evolutionary Universe.


    However, Zen had disappeared without leaving a trace. This was strange, and everyone had felt quite uneasy about such an occurrence.


    But Zen was now standing right before Marko''s eyes. Marko felt utter shock.


    Still though, despite his curiosity and his questions, he didn''t take Zen very seriously. From Marko''s perspective, Zen was an ordinary Godly Genius who just happened to be slightly stronger than the others. If he wasn''t bothered in the slightest by the many Supreme Lords of the Evolutionary Universe, then there was no way a Godly Genius, who was only at the world lord''s level, was going to intimidate him. He was nothing in his eyes! In Marko''s opinion, Zen''s reappearance here was no different than courting death.


    "Thank God! You''ve finally shown up on your own. Pranav is stubbornly persistent. He will fight to the end just to find you, and if he doesn''t, he''ll be talking about this for the next tens of thousands of years to come!" Marko whined.


    Zen did nothing but stare coldly back at Marko. After Marko finished speaking, Zen ordered, "Kill him. Use the most painful method possible." His tone was completely flat and without any emotion whatsoever.


    Marko''s face suddenly became astonished, "Who are you talking to? Wait! Have you managed to get yourself a helping hand?"


    As the True Gods of the divine land, no one ever considered a secondary creature as anything, let alone worthy of something. The True Gods'' identities as Murphy''s disciples made them even prouder and more arrogant. Although he couldn''t take his question back, the fact remained that Marko had never thought Zen would really find a powerful helper.


    Before Zen could answer his question, a calm voice suddenly came from behind Marko. "Congratulations! You got that right!"


    Boom!


    Abruptly, an overwhelming fighting intent began to rise.


    This man''s fighting intent contained an invincible might. It was as if he feared absolutely nothing in the world. Even if his life was directly on the line, he wouldn''t hesitate in charging forward ¡ª not even for a second.


    Upon feeling the overwhelming fighting intent, Marko immediately knew that he had encountered great trouble.


    Although his frivolous and playful personality often took precedence, Marko''s talent was undoubtedly excellent. This was true because otherwise, he would never have been taken in by Murphy as his disciple. As soon as he felt the fighting intent, his right hand started to shake, and the Flash Bat that was perched on the Soul Searching Flag instantly turned into a grey light as it charged toward the person behind him.


    The Flash Bat''s speed was so tremendous that it could barely be seen by the naked eye.


    Some moments earlier, even Supreme Lord of Thunder Punishment and the others had been completely unable to catch a genuine glimpse of it. All they could see was a grey flash.


    The person w


    wn souls. In other words, capturing a True God''s soul wasn''t set out to be an easy task. Once someone succeeded in doing so though, it was a formidable and rare skill.


    Although Master Evil and Wayne were much stronger than Blayd, dealing with these powerful souls might actually prove to be a challenge for them while it was much easier for Blayd. The main reason for the latter was because Blayd was from the War God Hall.


    The warriors of the War God Hall specialized in the Fighting Godly Way. Once their fighting intent was activated, it became completely unstoppable. Even their souls would be surrounded by the raging fighting intent and thus, they wouldn''t even fear soul-level attacks.


    When the first True God Soul rushed over to him, Blayd immediately punched it head-on. His fist was filled with fighting intent as it smashed into the void. The space, tens of thousands of feet wide immediately exploded, and everything within it began to dissipate.


    Boom!


    Once the glaring light that was produced by the annihilation disappeared, the first True God''s soul was gone, nowhere to be seen. It had already been destroyed and had disappeared.


    Blayd didn''t stop there, though. His second punch was loaded and he launched it without a moment''s hesitation.


    Boom!


    Boom!


    Boom!


    Every time a dull sound reverberated, a vast expanse of space was ultimately demolished, leaving nothing more but dust behind. Simultaneously, a True God Soul was also destroyed.


    It was then that Marko''s heart sank in despair. Each of these True God Souls were legitimate enough to serve as his trump card, but they couldn''t even withstand a single blow from this man. He wondered how Zen had managed to find such a powerful helping hand.


    When Supreme Lord of Oracle and Lavender, who were bound to the Soul Searching Flag, watched the scene play out before them, their eyes widened in astonishment. They stared at the man who looked like a war god, and both their expressions were filled with disbelief.


    And at the same time, they shared the same thoughts that Marko was having. Where had Zen found such a powerful warrior who was actually willing to help him?!

 Chapter 2085 Fighting Intent Penalty

    Lavender appeared to be thinking of something. She knew Zen better than Supreme Lord of Oracle did, and she had also stayed in that fairy palace for a very long time.


    When Zen travelled to the Illusion Battlefield, Lavender had often walked around the fairy palace, aimlessly and alone. The fairy palace still had many secrets that had yet to be revealed.


    Occasionally, from the palace, she could hear the barking of a dog.


    Although Lavender had never seen Blackie before, the power contained in Blackie''s roar had left a deep impression on her, who at the time, was still a soul body. Although she was fearless, when Blackie barked, the sound caused her to feel a lot of pressure, even if the distance between them was far too great.


    She guessed that Blayd must have come from the fairy palace.


    Once Blayd had successfully destroyed the True God Souls one by one, he gradually slowed his speed and leisurely walked toward Marko.


    His long black hair draped messily over Blayd''s shoulders, and his muscles were bulging, which made his body look as though it had been embedded with stones. His muscles even appeared to emit a faint glow, as if there was some kind of special power hidden within that was just waiting for the right moment to erupt.


    Once Marko, who was grabbing the Soul Searching Flag, noticed Blayd, his face finally revealed a hint of fear.


    He had already understood that the person before him didn''t take him seriously at all and was even not afraid of his master.


    Perhaps Murphy was watching the ongoing battle in this universe, but he would never act rashly.


    Starting a war in the universe was not a small matter and definitely not something to be scoffed at. It required the Hall of Holy Beings'' approval. Aside from Murphy in fact, many other Holy Beings were equally paying attention to the war. It was genuinely impossible for Murphy to openly violate the Hall of Holy Beings'' rules by taking part in the war personally.


    In other words, under the attack of this random guy from the War God Hall, no one was permitted to help Marko resist.


    Many True Gods had peacefully lived for an extremely long period of time. According to the calendar in the Evolutionary Universe, their lifespan could reach tens of billions of years, or even hundreds of billions of years. In the divine land, there were even a few True Gods who had committed suicide because they had lived far too long a life and couldn''t continue doing so anymore.


    Marko, on the other hand, was still an extremely young, remarkable True God. He still had an endless amount of longevity to enjoy. He could experience the endless cycle of reincarnation and enjoy the worship of billions of creatures...


    Until this very moment, he had never thought he could die in the Evolutionary Universe. He never imagined it would be possible.


    Right then, as he was out of the fear of death, Marko''s only desire was to flee. There was only one place left to which he could escape, and that was the Murphy Universe. Although both universes were each fighting their own wars, and it


    hough he believed that Blayd was more powerful than Marko, he didn''t expect the entire process to have been so simple for Blayd. In the end, he had once again underestimated the group of people living in the dungeon.


    Whoosh!


    Zen''s figure flashed, and he instantly moved to the Soul Searching Flag''s side. Lavender and Supreme Lord of Oracle were both still trapped in bands of light, motionlessly bound to the flag itself.


    At the moment, he grabbed the Soul Searching Flag and felt a powerful repulsive force coming at him. His head felt like it had been ripped open and the pain was unbearable.


    Although Lavender couldn''t move or speak, her face displayed pure worry. Her eyes looked lost.


    "The Soul Searching Flag is not an ordinary supreme primordial weapon. Although I destroyed seven True God Souls, there are still tens of thousands of souls trapped within." Blayd stepped forward and stretched out his hand in order to grab onto the Soul Searching Flag. With a sudden shake, the two light bands binding Lavender and Supreme Lord of Oracle broke like chains, and the two women instantly regained their freedom.


    After completely getting rid of the light bands, Supreme Lord of Oracle lightly tapped her foot on the ground before cupping her hands and bowing towards Blayd. "Thank you for saving my life!" she praised.


    Blayd faintly smiled. "You''d be better off thanking him. I''ve only come on his orders. I had no intentions of helping you." There was no right or wrong in this universal war. Although he chose to help Zen, this didn''t automatically mean that he chose to take a stand. Blayd had been imprisoned in the fairy palace by Bromley for a long time, and he didn''t know what position the War God Hall had taken toward the two Holy Beings. In such a case, he was even less likely to position himself on one side or the other.


    When all was said and done, Blayd tossed the Soul Searching Flag to Zen. "This thing is also an extremely powerful treasure. I''ve already erased the imprint on it. It''ll be of great use to you."

 Chapter 2086 The Battle

    The Soul Searching Flag had once been Murphy''s most precious treasure. However, after he became a Holy Being, this sort of treasure was of no value to him. Therefore, he passed it on to his favorite disciples.


    The Soul Searching Flag had passed through several pairs of hands before it had reached Marko''s.


    Not only could the flag capture souls, but it could also imprison them within and constantly refine them. In time, the souls would be enslaved. Besides all of this, the flag could also amplify the perception.


    Once Blayd had erased the soul mark on the flag, Zen was finally able to easily hold it in his hand.


    The flag was a soul-related supreme primordial weapon, and was highly valuable to Zen. After expressing his thanks, he stored it safely in his space ring.


    At that moment, an awesome roar could be heard resounding from the mist in the depths of the divine land.


    "Woodruff Zhan! Why did a member of your War God Hall appear in the Evolutionary Universe? And he actually killed my beloved disciple! Get him to leave at once!"


    Naturally, the one who had been roaring was Murphy.


    In his eyes, the defeat of the Evolutionary Universe was already an established fact.


    He wasn''t the only one who thought like that. The Holy Beings in the Hall of Holy Beings had also come to the same conclusion. The living beings in the Evolutionary Universe were clinging to life with their last breaths. They had no chance of survival unless Mike could come back to life overnight and save the Evolutionary Universe.


    While the Holy Beings were silently watching the war in the universe unfold, another True God had suddenly appeared.


    The moment Blayd appeared, the Holy Beings knew instantly where he came from. The person who suddenly appeared had to be from the War God Hall. The War God Hall was one of the several great powers within the divine land. Moreover, three Holy Beings from the War God Hall had joined the Hall of Holy Beings. In strength, they far exceeded Murphy.


    "Hahaha!" A hearty laugh rang from the clouds. "Blayd is alive!" A hint of ecstasy could be detected in the voice.


    "Woodruff, I require an explanation from you. What do you mean?" Murphy''s voice turned cold.


    "An explanation? Murphy, you altered the rules written on the stone slab, which is entirely unacceptable. You know that the reason that we set up the Hall of Holy Beings is to restrain each other, so that we can follow the rules. Did my clansman break the rules by entering the Evolutionary Universe?" Woodruff laughed without humor.


    "Of course not. According to the rules set out on the stone slab, the Evolutionary Universe is permitted to send three True Gods," the voice of Holy Jay replied.


    "If so, why should Blayd retreat? Just because of your words? Or because your head is larger than mine? Hahahaha!" Once again Woodruff laughed maniacally.


    The people of the War God Hall had always acted with arrogance, and Woodruff was the leader


    ad halberd into the head of the Ancestral Dragon.


    But just as the halberd was about to touch the Ancestral Dragon''s head, a bronze fist, larger in size than Pranav''s head, suddenly appeared in front of him. With this bronze colored fist coming at him, he no longer had sufficient time to kill the Ancestral Dragon. He instinctively placed the ghost-head halberd horizontally in front of him.


    Boom!


    With the impact of the first punch, his ghost-head halberd had been bent from the middle.


    Seeing that his supreme primordial weapon had suffered such damage from a single punch, he felt a chill growing in his heart.


    Thump!


    Almost immediately, the second punch landed on the ghost-head halberd.


    With this blow, the halberd became even more bent.


    Thump!


    When the third punch smashed down, the halberd broke apart, and that massive fist smashed into Pranav''s chest.


    Puff!


    These three punches seemed insignificant, but they contained an unimaginable power. Pranav spat out blood, and his whole body flew backwards, leaving a long, thin line of blood trailing behind it.


    Despite the impact, he wasn''t dead. He was sure that these three punches could have killed him. It was just that their strength had weakened at the last moment. The attacker must have deliberately suppressed it.


    Now he was facing a very strong enemy, but it seemed like his enemy intended to spare his life. What was his purpose?


    His mind spun rapidly as he came to this conclusion. He then looked up and saw a tall, sturdy man with disheveled hair standing close by. The three punches from before had been given to him by this long-haired man.


    "Alright, that guy is dying. Go and make your wish come true," Blayd said calmly.


    In order to fight against Pranav, Zen had in the past resorted to the Great Wishing Spell. He might not be a match for Pranav, but he would still be able to fulfill his promise with someone else''s help, as long as he personally killed Pranav.

 Chapter 2087 Infinite (Part One)

    Due to the unexpected occurrence of the event, Pranav became confused. He suffered three punches as he didn''t have the time to analyze the situation. Bewilderment was apparent in his expression.


    As he heard Blayd''s remarks, Pranav''s befuddlement grew even worse!


    Suddenly, Zen appeared next to Blayd. Pranav''s expression became stiff.


    "You!" Pranav''s eyes flashed. Hatred was reflected in his eyes as he stared at Zen.


    Pranav had been planning to search for Zen meticulously, after he murdered all of those Supreme Lords. He was determined to find Zen, no matter the cost.


    The Evolutionary Universe was vast. However, with Pranav''s cultivation base, he knew that there was nowhere for Zen to hide.


    Never would he have thought that the guy would actually show up and invite such a powerful expert. Pranav couldn''t believe the situation he was in.


    Just then, Pranav still wondered why Blayd only used sixty percent of his strength in his three punches instead of his maximum power to kill Pranav. Pranav was aware that the third punch of Blayd would be able to kill him. When he finally saw Zen, Pranav immediately understood that Zen had once employed a Wishing Spell towards him. The reason why Blayd did not kill him was just to make Zen fulfill the Wishing Spell.


    Zen slowly walked towards Pranav with the Great Weighty Sword in his hand. Coldness was apparent in Zen''s eyes. When he arrived in front of Pranav, Zen gently held the Great Weighty Sword horizontally and pressed it against Pranav''s neck.


    With the help of the Wishing Spell, Zen felt that his power had almost doubled. That was the advantage brought by the Wishing Spell, but the drawbacks were obvious. If Zen did not kill Pranav personally, his cultivation base would be permanently stagnated. Moreover, there was no way to break that curse, and Zen


    av.


    Even though it was just a provocation, it was not easy for Zen to answer Pranav''s question.


    From the very start, Zen had always struggled just because of his sister. He had survived all sorts of difficult situations just to get her back to his side. However, he finally realized that his father had personally arranged every predicament and danger for him...


    It had been a long time ever since he thought for a purpose about why he worked so hard to improve and to advance his cultivation...


    Pranav said such provocative words so that he could disturb Zen''s state of mind and stall for time. If Mateo were to appear here, he would still have a sliver of a chance to survive. Naturally, he would not give up. He also felt pleased as he saw that Zen was stunned after he delivered his provocations.


    Actually, for Zen, Pranav had asked a critical question. The query Pranav gave was related to the purpose of Zen''s life.


    "Boom, boom, boom¡­"


    Thunderous sounds of explosions could be heard from far away. The large balls of light exploded as the Supreme Lords continued their deadly battles. Even without the Roaring Token, the energy fluctuations and sounds of explosions could still spread very far away.

 Chapter 2088 Infinite (Part Two)

    Dozens of supreme worlds were already torn apart while countless creatures had also died. The smell of blood and corpses decorated the battlefield.


    A lot of creatures, even innocent ones, were murdered in the war. The deaths included mortals from thousands of kingdoms up to emperors who had just ascended to the throne. Innocent lives like women who were just about to give birth and infants who had not even opened their eyes to look at the world were also lost. Even scholars who had only participated in the imperial examinations were also trapped and at death''s door.


    Many martial artists paid attention to the war in the universe. But, many of the ordinary mortals still focused on their own lives. Even after they sighed over the strange phenomenon that occurred in the heavens and earth, they could only suffer in silence. They didn''t want the war, and yet, their lives were still forfeited.


    The innocent creatures didn''t know whether the supreme world where they stayed would be torn or not. Even if they knew the situation, they could not do anything about it. After all, it would be tough for them to leave a supreme world no matter how hard they tried. They were like ants on a large ship. Even if they knew that this ship would sink, they wouldn''t be able to escape to another ship. Despair enveloped them as they remained crippled by their powerlessness.


    What was the point of their lives? How could weak and pathetic creatures like them continue to live in such a war-torn place?


    As the lowest-level secondary creatures, these mortals also pursued beautiful things. They wanted to thrive and be able to find love and a family.


    They pursued more beautiful women, more b


    could find the blood-soaked stone would be able to obtain the inheritance of that True God. It became a hunted treasure for warriors who wanted to strengthen themselves quickly. Thus countless warriors went there to dig and look for that stone, which made the entire plain full of bumps and hollows.


    As such, the plain was called the "God Slaying Plain".


    "How could you be so powerful? What kind of comprehension have you gained?" Lavender asked as she floated nearby Zen. Her slender body curled up and leaned against Zen''s shoulder while she stared at him with a crooked face. Curiosity and a hint of fear were reflected in her eyes. Zen had been in a daze for a long time just then. Additionally, Zen''s behavior was extremely abnormal. Lavender was afraid that he would spiral into madness.


    "I''m fine." Zen took a deep breath and raised his head to look at the sky. Afterward, he tightened his grip on the Great Weighty Sword. "There''s only one more left¡­"


    After he murdered Pranav, Zen had finally realized his wish. At that moment, the power generated by the Wishing Spell had quickly disappeared from Zen''s body.

 Chapter 2089 Wynns Head

    Wind ruffled through Zen''s matted hair as he raised his head to look at the sky. Another giant star had exploded in the inky sky.


    The star released a blinding light that covered the entire sky the moment it had exploded. The vast expanse of light caught everyone''s attention, but they risked getting blind if they had stared too long.


    Once the bright light had dissipated, a dot of star light quickly fell and flew across the sky at an incredible speed, and plummeted towards the Dream Sound World of the Thoughtless Minds.


    "Wynn!" Zen raised his eyebrows.


    Meanwhile in the Dream Sound World, the other two Supreme Lords, namely Master Feng and the Grand Supreme Lord of the Sacred race were in the midst of a fierce battle.


    The situation was quite odd--the more the Evolutionary Universe was at a disadvantage, the more powerful Master Feng''s Evolution Lotus Flower became. At that moment, Lotus Flowers bloomed continuously in the whole Dream Sound World. They bloomed everywhere from the rocks, the mountaintops, the plains, city walls, and even the pots and stoves and the cyan tiles in the mortals'' homes.


    Soon enough, the whole Dream Sound World was like a sea of Lotus Flowers.


    The Sacred Grand Supreme Lord''s spinulose wood fern had taken root within the Dream Sound World. Its web of roots continued to spread, and so did the tree itself until it had formed a large, lush forest.


    While Master Feng absolutely had the upper hand against the Sacred Grand Supreme Lord, he could not defeat him in such a short period of time. After all, as long as the Sacred race''s momentum existed, the Sacred Grand Supreme Lord wouldn''t be defeated.


    Therefore, the constant confrontation of the two caused the whole Dream Sound World to be plummeted into chaos.


    However, the two strongest Supreme Lords in the two universes stopped fighting when the comet-like light fell from the sky.


    Master Feng''s face darkened as he saw the scene and said, "Wynn..."


    "Haha, the outcome of the war has already been decided. I''m afraid there is no meaning to our fight anymore!" the Sacred Grand Supreme Lord laughed.


    And so, the war between the two universes and the fights between the Supreme Lords had lost all their meanings. After all, the most important thing was still the battle between the True Gods. Since Wynn had already been defeated, then the victory would be on the side of the Sacred race.


    "All Sacred Supreme Lords, return to my side!" the Sacred Grand Supreme Lord declared through a Roaring Token.


    Just then, all the fighting between the Supreme Lords of the two universes had stopped as well. Suddenly, demonic red space cracks appeared behind the Sacred Grand Supreme Lord and a total of thirteen Sacred Supreme Lords emerged from them.


    The previously rejoicing Grand Sacred Supreme Lord was now appalled to see that only thirteen Supreme Lords survived.


    All in all, they


    eo had felt that the situation was very tricky.


    In the latter part of their battle, Wynn had lured Mateo straight into the star maze that he had set up beforehand. After that, he detonated the inner world in his body and launched a desperate attack, known as the "Star Tribulation Wave".


    In turn, Mateo had used the Wheel Swirl technique in that critical moment to guard his own body and stood the "Star Tribulation Wave" by force. Therefore, he had ended up with numerous injuries.


    "Crack!"


    A splitting sound was heard when Mateo loosely grabbed at the air and the ball of light landed in his hand.


    "No, stop!"


    A sharp gust of wind blew as Master Feng appeared beside the ball of light in a flash, in an attempt to snatch the ball of light from Mateo.


    "Who do you think you are? Get out of here!"


    Mateo was furious at the sudden intrusion and threw a punch. Master Feng felt as if he had been struck by lighting and a fist imprint appeared on his chest. He fell backwards like a kite with its string suddenly cut, then collided into the edge of the broken supreme world and shattered a mountain range in the process.


    When the other Supreme Lords who originally planned to wait for a chance to take action saw the scene, they gave up their ideas. The gap between them and Mateo was far too big.


    The ball of light finally ended up in Mateo''s hands, and his lips curled into a sinister smile. He gently pinched the surface of the ball of light, which shattered like an eggshell. His hands grabbed Wynn''s decapitated head and lifted it up for all of them to see.


    "Hahaha! I didn''t expect you to be so troublesome, to the point that I had to use my Wheel Swirl technique! You old fellow, how do you feel right now? Would you like to share it with the followers of your master?" Once the words died on Mateo''s mouth, he turned Wynn''s head to the side and made it face the Supreme Lords of the Evolutionary Universe.

 Chapter 2090 The Unexpected Image

    Wynn hadn''t perished completely.


    A True God''s soul was particularly tough¡ªeven if one was beheaded, they could still think up a way to reconstruct their body.


    But it was a lengthy process. Reconstructing the body and cinnabar field was equal to cultivating all over again.


    The eyes on Wynn''s head suddenly shot open and looked up at Master Feng and the group of Supreme Lords on the other side. The originally star-like bright eyes were now completely devoid of any light.


    To fight against the Sacred race, Wynn had led the Celestial Position in planning countless years, only to end up with awful results.


    When Murphy changed the rules in a snap, everyone''s hard work and effort turned into nothing.


    Anyone facing such a blow would naturally lose all confidence and Wynn was no exception.


    "You have nothing else to say, do you? Haha! Then go to hell!"


    Mateo grinned viciously. Suddenly, he pulled up Wynn''s gray hair and threw the head away. Forming a fist with one hand, he got ready to smash his head apart in a single punch...


    Wynn''s head spiraled continuously in the sky. The starry sky, the earth, and the mountains seemed to be rolling images in his eyes as he was thrown.


    Although he looked like a man of old age, he was still relatively young among the True Gods. While lurking in the Evolutionary Universe, he was under his master''s protection at all times.


    In his life''s final moment, time had slowed immeasurably and the entire Evolutionary Universe left him with a nostalgic heart.


    "Master... I failed..." Wynn muttered weakly.


    As his head circled in the air, a sudden blaze of white light appeared close by. Because his head was spinning quickly, the scene was a blur.


    But after his head spun for another circle, he suddenly saw an unexpected image.


    Zen, Lavender, and Supreme Lord of Oracle walked out from the crack in space. And in the end, he also saw a long-haired man exuding an extraordinary aura.


    ''Who is that long-haired man?''


    Master Feng thought in wonder.


    When Wynn''s head started spinning again, he felt a sudden wave of power grabbing onto it before it was thrown away again. Now with a faster rotation, it was difficult for Wynn to see what was happening around him.


    In an instant, his head was caught and he could see that Supreme Lord of Oracle was beside him, shooting him a wink.


    "Wynn, it''s over..." Zen voiced from behind him.


    "It''s over? What''s over?" Finding his bearings again, he realized that it was Zen who c


    nn''s head to Master Feng. Then, he turned to Blayd and gave the order. "Go ahead."


    "Ha!" Blayd''s laughter resounded as a blazing light burst from beneath his feet, and then he pounced towards Mateo without hesitation.


    "Boom..."


    The battle between the True Gods began.


    When Mateo battled Wynn, he had already consumed over half of his life vitality because Wynn launched the Star Tribulation Wave, injuring him severely.


    But even in his best condition, Mateo was no match for Blayd. Given the difference in their strength, it was unlikely that Mateo even had a shot at winning this fight.


    So the moment the fight began, Mateo threw attacks continuously as he retreated, facing Blayd''s formidable attacks. He barely had any strength to fight back.


    Up on the cliff, Zen didn''t even bother looking back.


    Meanwhile, the Supreme Lords of the Sacred race and the Evolutionary Universe had mixed feelings of hope and worry. The people of the Evolutionary Universe thought that Mateo could have other trump cards to use against Blayd. And the Sacred Supreme Lords hoped that Murphy would protect Mateo long enough for him to turn the tide.


    But Zen''s behavior made it clear that Blayd wasn''t his only way to deal with Mateo if he managed to win the fight.


    At the very least, he still had the mysterious woman in blue by his side.


    While Zen couldn''t clearly see through the strength of these True Gods, Master Evil and Wayne were definitely stronger than Blayd and the woman in blue seemed to be even more powerful than the former.


    The Sacred race had no way to turn the situation around other than Murphy coming down to join the battle himself.

 Chapter 2091 Soul-eater Summoning Method

    "Bam!"


    Accompanied by the muffled sound, Mateo collided into the ground after being punched powerfully by Blayd.


    Then, a crack appeared across the earth, revealing a gaping hole.


    "These Waves Devouring Worms are able to devour most of my fighting intent. They possess a pretty good set of abilities. Raising these small worms within your body would probably be a very difficult task," Blayd lightly said. "What a pity... It''s still far from enough!"


    Right after he finished speaking, Blayd chased after Mateo viciously. A series of muffled explosions then arose left and right. For a moment, the fighting intent filled the area and the black light seemed blinding. The Dream Sound World was only a narrow battle ring to the two True Gods. This broken battle ring was collapsing quickly.


    Zen didn''t seem interested in the fight as he walked towards Supreme Lord of Original Sin. He then handed over a space ring to him.


    Supreme Lord of Original Sin greeted Zen with gratitude upon receiving the space ring in his palm.


    He gave Zen a light nod and they simultaneously turned their heads to look at the other side. Apparently, Supreme Lord Lester was standing right behind them the entire time.


    Supreme Lord Lester''s Heavenly Destiny of Revival was very significant and precious. This led him to never participate in a battle. He was even able to revive the Supreme Lords who had just lost their lives.


    Since the beginning of the chaotic war, he saved the lives of seven Supreme Lords with just his miraculous Heavenly Destiny of Revival.


    On the other hand, the space ring that Zen had given to Supreme Lord of Original Sin was keeping Maha''s Silver Moon Wolves. These were the wolves Zen had previously killed as he saw them feasting on Nathan''s corpse.


    Zen made it a point to store the wolves as much as he could, because they would have Nathan''s parts in them. He stored the fragments of the wolves and Nathan into the space ring, and hoped that Nathan was lucky enough to be revived by Supreme Lord Lester.


    Margaret''s corpse was also placed strategically into another space ring. However, her body was completely preserved in comparison to Nathan. With the Heavenly Destiny of Revival''s power, it would be simple enough to revive her. They knew that reviving Margaret was not going to be too difficult, but Zen couldn''t help but worry.


    As the battle between the two True Gods went on, the Sacred Supreme Lords didn''t intend to take action. They already knew that joining the battle wouldn''t benefit the situation in any way. Looking at it critically, they''d have to deal with Master Feng, Supreme Lord of Original Sin, Supreme Lord of Oracle, many mid-rank Supreme Lords and low-rank Supreme Lords of the Evolutionary Universe if they made a move.


    All of the Supreme Lords, from both sides, understood this. It would be useless to take action.


    This was where Zen decided to take advantage of the situation. He''d hop


    ords only seemed to care about the battle of the True Gods, so they shifted their attention towards that.


    In comparison to Marko and Pranav, Mateo proved to be a lot stronger. To endure that for so long while injured was something people wouldn''t even attempt to do.


    However, at this point, he was like a spent arrow. The Supreme Lords, Blayd and Mateo all knew this.


    When Mateo was eventually tested to his limits, the two streams of black tears finally stopped flowing from his eyes.


    "Are you giving up?" Blayd asked lightly.


    This was a tough question mostly because Mateo''s self-esteem was extremely high. His skill and perseverance were outstanding, so he had never been put in a situation where someone had to ask him if he would give up. Besides, this wasn''t any ordinary battle. He was determined to win.


    At this moment, a hint of anger appeared across face as he stared at Blayd. "I have never known what it felt like to give up," he said. "And I''m not starting now."


    As he finished, he suddenly smacked his forehead with a heavy hand. Just then, a strange silhouette began to develop above his forehead, intricately formed with golden lines. Eventually, this formation developed into a strange, humanoid creature coming out of his forehead.


    This human-like being grabbed Mateo and stuffed him into its mouth, all in one go.


    Seeing this, Blayd retreated immediately in fear.


    A chuckle echoed through the mist of the divine land. "Murphy, your disciple really isn''t good. Although Blayd has been missing for so many years, his cultivation has been improved by a great deal. This, this surprises me." The laugh just lasted for only a short while, but it was obvious that the Holy Being who had spoken had seen the strange change in Mateo. His usual composed voice also became firm as he said, "Murphy, you have even imparted such a vicious cultivation method, such as the Soul-eater Summoning Method, to your disciple! Are you crazy?"

 Chapter 2092 Grand Fighting Technique

    "It really is the Soul-eater Summoning Method!"


    "Anyone who uses this evil magic will never be reincarnated. They''ll be tormented for all eternity!"


    "Murphy''s crazy for teaching his disciple that horrid magic!"


    The Soul-eater Summoning Method was a dark and pernicious martial art.


    This magic allowed a warrior to summon a Soul-eater at the price of their soul.


    It was an irreversible contract that subjected a person''s soul to eternal torment.


    As its name implied, Soul-eaters devoured and inflicted pain on the summoner''s soul in order to gain energy. The more pain inflicted, the more power the Soul-eater got.


    In the past divine eras, when the True Gods realized the danger and consequences that came with the Soul-eater Summoning Method, they had forbidden the practice and spread of the art in the whole divine land.


    And as time passed, the number of True Gods that knew about the Soul-eater Summoning Method became less and less.


    No Holy Being ever imagined that Murphy would pass on the Soul-eater Summoning Method to his disciple.


    As soon as the golden threads had completely devoured Mateo, a Soul-eater had immediately formed. Its body morphed into weird shapes until it grew a potbelly and a double chin. With a fiendish aura and a heavy black mist shrouding its body, it resembled a fat evil Buddha.


    And as if that wasn''t creepy enough, its face was scarily similar to Mateo''s. "So painful..."


    It groaned brokenly, voice as rough as sandpaper. Mateo''s soul was fully absorbed by the Soul-eater.


    Its beady black eyes stared at Blayd intently for a few seconds before it suddenly twisted its enormous body and pounced at Blayd.


    BOOM!


    Blayd dodged just in time. As he jumped backward to avoid the attack, he had managed to throw a punch at the space in front of him, destroying the area and releasing a strong counterforce that accelerated his retreat.


    Unfortunately, the Soul-eater was even faster. Seeing Blayd move to a distance, the Soul-eater flash-stepped and instantly caught up with him. Like two giant mallets, its two hands slammed down on Blay


    Blayd flying backwards, through a supreme world, and into the Lower World, disappearing from everyone''s sights.


    "Ughh..."


    Having lost its opponent, the Soul-eater turned its big head and looked to where Zen was standing.


    Even with his soul devoured and unconscious, Mateo''s hatred was alive and burning. His eyes gleamed with malice. There was no one he hated more than Zen.


    He had put in blood, sweat, and tears to kill Wynn. But just when he was about to help his master win the universal war, Zen and Blayd had to appear and ruin everything, leaving him no choice but to use the Soul-eater Summoning Method. Now he had to endure an eternity of pain!


    With his present visual acuity, Zen was unable to see beyond several supreme worlds. However, he knew from Blayd''s weakening fighting intent that he had already lost the fight. Meanwhile, the Soul-eater''s gaze had caused a cold sinister feeling to wash over him.


    This was bad. Seeing that things weren''t going in their favor, Master Feng summoned the Evolution Lotus Flower. They weren''t just going to sit and wait for death. They''d do whatever was necessary in order to stay alive.


    On the other hand, the Sacred Supreme Lords wore proud smiles. They never imagined Mateo had it in him to turn the situation around to their favor.


    They could only imagine the lengths Mateo had to go through in order to give them their victory.

 Chapter 2093 Possessed

    The menacing Soul-eater was approaching.


    It was massive, around the size of a mountain, and although it did not use Grand Teleportation, it still managed to cross several supreme worlds in just one minute.


    "It''s coming!"


    "Supreme Lord Lester, you have to go now!"


    "Let me block it..."


    If Blayd was unable to defeat this monster, then what more the other Supreme Lords could do? They knew they couldn''t possibly win this fight but they couldn''t just revert into meek lambs who waited to be slaughtered by the wolf. They were Supreme Lords and they would fight this monster to the death if need be.


    At that moment, Zen raised his head and stared up at the sky. "You... are you still not going to make your move?"


    His words stunned Master Feng, along with the other Supreme Lords. They all looked at him with strange expressions.


    "Zen, who are you talking to?"


    "Do you know someone who can help us?"


    "Is that person more powerful than that long-haired man?"


    The Supreme Lords began to ask in earnest.


    Seeing that Zen wasn''t that nervous from the start, Supreme Lord of Oracle figured that the young man might have some tricks up his sleeve, and he seemed very confident in his trump card.


    Zen chose not to directly answer their questions but there was a faint smile on his face as he looked at the Sacred Supreme Lords on the other side.


    The blue-clothed woman was enslaved by him but he still respected her. If she wasn''t willing to appear right now, she might have her reasons. He could only ask her.


    "Hooo... hooo..."


    The blast of the wind was deafening as the Soul-eater continued passing through several more supreme worlds. It was now only a few million miles away now. It would only take it a split second to cross this distance with its fast travelling speed.


    The Sacred Supreme Lords were naturally overjoyed. If the Soul-eater managed to kill all these Supreme Lords in one go then that would save them a great deal of effort in truly conquering the Evolutionary Universe. After all, the Sacred race had lost so many Supreme Lords on their side and if they acted rashly now, they were afraid that they would lose more.


    However, at that moment, a pillar of blazing light appeared in front of Zen. From the space crack emerged a burly figure.


    "Blayd? No. You''re too injured... You don''t have to fight!" Zen told him. He had thought that it was the blue-clothed woman that was going to make her move.


    Blayd''s body was currently bathed in blood. After that slap from the Soul-eater, his body was worse for wear: he had broken bones and muscles all over his body,


    self!"


    "What should we do now? Should we go to help him?" Supreme Lord of Oracle did not care why Zen was suddenly behaving like this, all she cared about was his safety.


    Master Feng frowned as the Evolution Lotus Flower spun above his head. "Let us watch what will happen first. Zen would never act so rashly. He might be planning something."


    Meanwhile, Blayd was already brimming with fighting intent and was ready to unleash his Six-Five Fist. Zen''s sudden appearance suddenly threw him off. "What are you doing here?"


    Zen merely smiled at him and Blayd couldn''t help but feel something strange with that smile. "Step back," Zen told him.


    The tone and the expression on Zen''s face confused Blayd greatly. He knew that the voice was Zen''s but it was definitely another person. Why did he feel as if the young man''s manner resembled that of the blue-clothed woman?


    Thinking quickly, Blayd finally realized what just happened. Just as he was about to speak, Zen had already placed his hand on his shoulder. An intense mysterious aura hit Blayd on the face as Zen made a strange gesture by pressing the tips of his thumb and forefinger together while keeping the other three fingers raised. The young man then lightly brushed against Blayd''s shoulder with his fingers.


    Blayd suddenly felt himself shooting backwards before smashing into the supreme world where the Supreme Lords of the Evolutionary Universe were staying.


    Just as Zen pushed Blayd away, the Soul-eater burst forth and suddenly charged towards him. Zen quickly turned and brushed his hand upwards towards the monster. As his fingers lightly brushed his opponent, Zen was able to skillfully change the Soul-eater''s direction and made it charge up into the sky!

 Chapter 2094 Explosion

    As soon as the Soul-eater flew upwards, Zen''s gaze followed it. In a flash he disappeared from where he stood.


    The next moment, he appeared right above the Soul-eater. He twisted his body in an astonishing way and rammed his elbow into the monster''s head.


    Thump!


    The elbow struck with a dull sound. The amount of energy Zen put did not have much impact.


    But despite the blunt blow, the Soul-eater started rapidly descending.


    "Aargh! The pain! What did you do?"


    Physically, the Soul-eater did not seem to have suffered any heavy injuries, and the top of its head was not at all damaged in the least. But it seemed to be in enormous pain. The faint green light in its eyes grew brighter by the minute, and its entire body started expanding once again. Its incomparably vicious aura began to spread out in all directions, causing the hearts of all the living beings within a radius of ten million miles to sink.


    However, despite this sight, Zen hardly felt any trace of fear. His body vanished and appeared below the Soul-eater, which was now looming like a giant mountain. In front of this monstrous being, Zen looked like a tiny sparrow.


    But the tiny sparrow launched a ferocious attack on the behemoth beast, forcefully lifting it up. At the same time, one could hear the painful roar of the Soul-eater.


    Zen''s blow was so enormous that every attack had a painful effect on the Soul-eater. And with each pain, the monster increased in size. So by now, the Soul-eater had become like a giant ball that Zen kept kicking.


    The Supreme Lords of both sides looked at Zen, their facial expressions filled with mixed emotions. They couldn''t believe their eyes at the sight they were witnessing.


    "How in the world does he manage to do this?"


    "Has Zen actually condensed the Godly Tile and become a True God?"


    "That long-haired man is an extremely powerful True God, but he isn''t a match for the Soul-eater. Even if Zen has condensed the Godly Tile, he can''t really fight against that monster!"


    The Supreme Lords whispered amongst themselves. Zen''s performance was definitely a good news for the Evolutionary Universe. However, this scene was simply too shocking. Even Supreme Lord of Oracle and the others found it hard to accept.


    "No, he hasn''t condensed the Godly Tile," Master Feng said, shaking his head in denial. "His Lotus Flower hasn''t fully bloomed for him to become a complete Godly Genius."


    As the controller of the Evolution Lotus Flower, Master Feng was very clear on the degree of blooming of every martial artist in the universe, and the Lotus Flowers of the ten Godly Geniuses were his top priorities. After returning from the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, barring Zen, all the Godly Geniuses'' Lotus Flowers had bloomed in immediate succession. But this did not deter Zen''s


    the Soul-eater exploded as the center, hundreds of supreme worlds around were completely destroyed. Countless living beings were instantly turned into dust.


    The only ones to survive the explosion were the Supreme Lords from the Evolutionary Universe as well as from the Sacred race. If one were to look down from above, he or she would be able to see that the densely-packed supreme worlds were neatly arranged together like discs. But now the image was scarred with a huge hole in the Thoughtless Minds, which was caused by the explosion of the Soul-eater.


    "It''s definitely over," Supreme Lord of Oracle muttered.


    Although there were still over a dozen Supreme Lords and the Grand Supreme Lord of the Sacred race in front of her, the disparity in strength was too great. There was no longer any powerhouse left for the Murphy Universe to fight.


    Master Feng, Supreme Lord of Original Sin, Supreme Lord Mathias, Supreme Lord Amritpal, and the others looked on with an expression of gratitude.


    They once lost all hope of winning this war. Hence they were immensely grateful and relieved to win this war in such a manner. They could proudly admit that it was all because of Zen''s bravery. So much so that the efforts of the Supreme Lords were almost insignificant.


    The Grand Supreme Lord of the Sacred race looked completely shocked at the spectacle that unfolded in front of him.


    He was the highest ranking Supreme Lord in the Sacred race, and also the possessor of the Heavens-suppressing Object. In the Murphy Universe, he even had the ability to communicate with Murphy, who was the creator. The entire universe was the sole creation of Murphy, including the Grand Supreme Lord.


    He never thought that Murphy and the Sacred race would fail so miserably! However, now that the situation had developed to this point, the chances they had vanished into thin air.

 Chapter 2095 Holy Beings Sword Strike (Part One)

    The Grand Supreme Lord of the Sacred race and other Sacred Supreme Lords were all shocked and upset. Displeased expressions were revealed in their faces.


    The dozen or so Sacred Supreme Lords stood there still like blocks of wood. All of their minds were in chaos.


    The head of the Celestial Position race, Master Feng, stood formidably on the Evolution Lotus Flower. The Evolution Lotus Flower continued to spin around and floated towards the Grand Supreme Lord of the Sacred race. The eyes of the head of the Celestial Position race flickered as he looked at the Grand Supreme Lord. He then asked with an arrogant tone, "Are you guys going to kill yourselves here, or are you trying to struggle in vain?"


    The Grand Supreme Lord lifted his head and looked at the head of the Celestial Position race with a complicated expression in his eyes. Despair seemed to have enveloped him. Meanwhile, the spinulose wood fern behind him was already dark and without light. As the Grand Supreme Lord of the Sacred race, his best course of action was to let everyone escape back to the Murphy Universe. However, would they be able to survive such a miserable situation?


    Suddenly, a strange sound rang out.


    The mysterious sound echoed throughout the area.


    "Pop, pop, pop..."


    The sound was like that made by a woodpecker when it continuously knocked against a hollow tree.


    It seemed like the noise came from all directions. Everyone present could hear it clearly. However, they could not find the source of the sound!


    "Pop, pop, pop..."


    The sound continued to reverberate...


    Soon, both Zen and Lavender raised their heads and looked up at the same time.


    All of the Supreme Lords present at the area also looked up. Their eyes continued to search for the source of the noise...


    The mysterious sound actually came from hi


    ught that such a thing would be possible.


    "Crack, crack, crack..."


    The sound of the Sighing Wall breaking spread throughout the Evolutionary Universe. It was like the noise made by the keel of a massive ship when it was torn apart. Panic and confusion caused everyone''s heart to palpitate.


    As the sound continued, the crack on the dome relentlessly grew bigger for millions of miles.


    The bright light of the Sighing Wall reflected off the crack. Countless mortals in the one hundred thousand supreme worlds discovered that a strange star appeared in the sky. The mysterious star was far larger than any ordinary star. Similar to a giant spider that lay with dangerous intentions, the star settled suspiciously in the sky...


    Bang! A thunderous noise was heard by everyone.


    As the entire Evolutionary Universe began to shake, a voice came out from the crack in the dome of the Evolutionary Universe. Everything shook as the voice reverberated through the Evolutionary Universe. The voice was solemn as if it could command all living things and control everyone''s life and death!


    "No matter who you are, just go to hell!"


    "Splash..."


    Suddenly, a beam of soft light flashed from the crack in the dome.

 Chapter 2096 Holy Beings Sword Strike (Part Two)

    It was a cross-shaped sword light!


    The cross-shaped sword light seemed to possess the power to destroy the worlds. Without any delay, the sword light hacked down towards Zen from above!


    Along the way, the sword light collided with many stars...


    However, as soon as the sword light touched the stars, they would be completely destroyed. Without any exception, the stars were obliterated by the sword light.


    "This is..."


    After he looked at the ray of sword light, the head of the Celestial Position race took a deep breath.


    "This is troublesome. A Holy Being has finally taken action," Blayd said as he frowned. Distress was apparent in his eyes. Additionally, he also once again made a guess at what had really happened.


    Once a war between two universes began, it was almost impossible for Holy Beings in the two universes to meddle in the war. The stone slab with the rules recorded on it was not just for show. The rules were supposed to be followed by everyone in the divine land, even the Holy Beings. Once the rules were broken, even a Holy Being would be punished and pay a heavy price.


    Blayd had also heard of the feud between Murphy and Mike. Even if these two Holy Beings were mortal enemies, there was no need for Murphy to be in such a rush. However, Murphy badly desired Zen''s death, and even the terror from the punishment of the stone slab was not enough to discourage him.


    The punishment must be considered dangerous and risky to his own life...


    Since Murphy willingly accepted the punishment of the stone slab in order to kill Zen, then there must be a hidden reason behind his actions.


    "Does the Holy Being really make a move?"


    "Everyone, run away!"


    "Where should we go? Can we even esca


    mstance has forced me to do this..."


    A faint voice suddenly sounded out in the ears of all the Supreme Lords. The voice contained a mysterious quality that left an impression they could never forget for the rest of their lives!


    Suddenly, the woman in blue clothes appeared in front of Zen. A beautiful face partnered by a slim figure made the woman irresistibly gorgeous. She looked at Zen with a resentful expression. "Why did you ask me for help before? Why don''t you ask for help now? Are you afraid that I cannot withstand the Holy Being''s sword strike?"


    Zen stared at the woman in blue and smiled faintly. Afterward, he showed a callous expression and replied honestly, "Yes!"


    "You just underestimate me too much." The woman in blue shook her head. A pout was seen in her delicate lips. She then looked towards the sky. "I am not a match for the Holy Being, but it shouldn''t be difficult for me to block this sword strike..."


    After they saw her appear suddenly, all of the Supreme Lords were shocked once more. They couldn''t believe that she would attempt to block the Holy Being''s sword strike! Wasn''t the woman in blue way too arrogant?

 Chapter 2097 Estelle Shi

    The moment the blue-clothed woman appeared, another commotion broke out in the dense fog deep within the divine land.


    These Holy Beings were the strongest existences within the divine land. They had lived for hundreds of thousands of years and were rarely surprised by anything. But now, every Holy Being in the Hall of Holy Beings were utterly dumbfounded. As they gasped, their voices were full of great surprise, as if the appearance of this woman in the Evolutionary Universe was inconceivable.


    "This woman¡­ Isn''t she Estelle Shi?!"


    "This is unbelievable! Estelle is actually still alive!"


    "Why would she appear in the Evolutionary Universe? Didn''t she disappear after she took over the Soul Wilderness? Holy Zakaria even went into the depths of the Soul Wilderness to search for her. Not only did he find nothing, but his life vitality weakened considerably once he came out of the Soul Wilderness!"


    This blue-clothed girl was named Estelle Shi, a legendary figure in the divine land.


    She was also the only True God that had stepped into the depths of the Soul Wilderness and taken control of it. Ruling the Soul Wilderness was an unimaginable feat, even for a Holy Being. But Estelle Shi had done it, which was why it was not an exaggeration for Estelle Shi to be called the number one woman in the divine land.


    The woman had also attracted the attention of some Holy Beings. One of them was Zakaria Jian, who was also known as Holy Zakaria.


    In the past, Estelle Shi had hidden in the Soul Wilderness where even Holy Beings couldn''t enter easily. Holy Zakaria had searched for her in the Soul Wilderness several times but to no avail. What was worse, he had encountered a lot of troubles in the Soul Wilderness and as a result, his life vitality had depleted greatly. He had to return to the Hall of Holy Beings to recuperate for two divine eras before recovering completely. There were some forbidden places in the divine land that even Holy Beings could not recklessly break into.


    A few other Holy Beings were also searching for this woman. She had something to do with a very important secret of the Soul Wilderness.


    Several divine eras ago, Estelle Shi had suddenly disappeared from the divine land. Even Holy Beings had failed to find her.


    There had been rumors that Estelle Shi had escaped from the divine land and stepped into the endless chaos outside it. There were also rumors that she had died.


    These rumors had been circulating for many years, but they gradually faded away with the passage of time.


    It was only when some True Gods roamed the Soul Wilderness that they would occasionally mention the woman who once controlled the Soul Wilderness. After all, before her, not even a Holy Being had been able to control the Soul Wilderness.


    Estelle


    the dome of the Evolutionary Universe.


    "I''m sorry, Holy Murphy. I didn''t mean to make things difficult for you. I was enslaved and controlled by Zen," she said.


    Murphy obviously couldn''t hear her. If he could, he would be furious.


    The next moment, a sea of flowers surrounded the woman.


    As she made a gesture in which her fingers were shaped like an orchid and waved her hands, the petals began to dance in the air. They formed into a tornado of petals that faced Murphy''s sword slash.


    The power behind Murphy''s strike was no joke. Anyone who touched the sword radiance would be destroyed instantly.


    The same was true for the beautiful petals. The moment the soft petals touched the sword radiance, they disappeared without a trace.


    However, the petals left dark spots the size of a copper coin on the wide sword radiance.


    Each petal could leave a dark spot, and such a large number of petals were like a rain of petals rushing towards the sword radiance. The sword radiance had eliminated the petals, but the petals were also eroding the sword radiance.


    As the two strong powers clashed, the petals scattered, and the gigantic sword radiance began to shrink rapidly like a piece of ice in summer.


    The ray of sword radiance had an astonishing momentum.


    When it was a million miles away from Zen, there was only half the sword radiance left.


    When it was 300, 000 miles away, more than half of it had been eroded by the petals, leaving only a third of the original.


    When the sword radiance was 100, 000 miles away, it was only one-tenth of what it originally had been.


    And when it finally landed in front of Zen, the petals had already wrapped around Zen. At this moment, the sword radiance was only a 100 millionth of the original and the size of a finger. Its power was negligible!


    But it still landed on Zen''s forehead.

 Chapter 2098 Comprehension

    Although the power of the sword light that was only a few inches long was not great, the sword light was still exceptionally sharp when activated by the Mantra Sword and used by a Holy Being.


    It actually cut open the space between Zen''s eyebrows, leaving a gaping wound three inches long on his forehead!


    "Splash!"


    Golden blood gushed out freely from Zen''s forehead...


    The three-inch long sword light was just about to cut into Zen''s bone and brain.


    At the side, as Estelle extended her hand, a jade light flashed and blocked the sword light. Then, she waved one hand around the sword light, and a speck of jade light flowed out from her nimble fingers and formed a jade-colored ball of light, trapping the three-inch long sword light inside!


    However, Lavender, who stayed close by, made a sad face. "You can obviously eliminate this sword light, but why did you leave behind this section of light and let it injure Zen?"


    Although Zen was injured, this wound was clearly not a major injury. However, Lavender still felt sorry for him.


    After Estelle glanced at Lavender, she turned to say to Zen, "You are a sword cultivator, and the sword intent contained in Murphy''s Mantra Godly Way is also extremely powerful. This sword strike landed on your forehead, allowing you to comprehend the true intent of the swordsmanship. The extent of your comprehension will depend on your own ability."


    If a Holy Being were to make a move, it would send shock waves throughout the entire world. Perhaps no one would be able to survive the Holy Being''s sword attack.


    On top of that, Murphy launched the sword strike with his full strength this time!


    However, Estelle decided upon an artful method to resolve it. She even left the three-inch long sword light for Zen to understand.


    When Zen heard what Estelle said, his heart missed a beat. He hadn''t progressed in his comprehension of the swordsmanship for a long time, nor had he even been able to progress on the Emotion Closing Godly Way. This was one of Zen''s bottlenecks!


    With a flick of Estelle''s finger, the ball of light floated to a position in front of Zen.


    Just now, when Zen''s forehead was cut open, what followed was not an ice-cold sword intent, but an extremely gentle sword intent.


    The sword intent that Zen had comprehended before had been extremely sharp and fierce, and Zen had cultivated the Emotion Closing Godly Way, which pursued the ultimate sharpness. Therefore, the Emotion Closing Godly Way required one to put aside all their emotions and to possess an undisturbed heart. Only in this way were they able to launch the most powerful sword strike!


    As for Murphy''s swordsmanship, it was completely different from any ordinary swordsmanship. It was in e


    kles were placed on them.


    The last wave of attacks from the Sacred Supreme Lords were directed straight at Zen. Unfortunately for them, just as they executed the Grand Teleportation technique, they were blocked by Master Feng and the others. After that, Blayd activated his fighting intent and joined the fray. In this situation, the Sacred Supreme Lords were at a distinct disadvantage.


    As the heavens of the Murphy Universe continued to shake, all of the remaining Supreme Lords fell to the ground and died.


    The shock of the heavens was originally transmitted only through the Heavenly Destiny, and was only detected by the Supreme Lords. When the Grand Supreme Lord died, Blayd also smashed the spinulose wood fern to pieces!


    Although the Heavens-suppressing Object that the Grand Supreme Lord controlled was not the true form of the spinulose wood fern, it still had a great impact on the Murphy Universe. Under the crazy vibration of the heavens, all of the Sacred martial artists in the Murphy Universe could sense it.


    From that point onwards, not one Supreme Lord remained in the Murphy Universe.


    However, the loss of the Supreme Lords of the Murphy Universe wasn''t a major blow to Murphy. After dissipating, the Heavenly Destiny would automatically return to the heavens and appear again in some form in the Murphy Universe.


    For example, the Heavenly Destiny in the Evolutionary Universe took the form of the Crown of Destiny, and the Heavenly Destiny in the Murphy Universe would appear in some corner of the universe in the form of the Heavenly Destiny seed.


    However, the entire Sacred race''s force had been stable for countless years. With the retraction of the Heavenly Destiny, the Sacred race could start to experience intense internal strife and upheaval. That wasn''t what Murphy wanted to see...

 Chapter 2099 The Bicker

    All of the remaining Supreme Lords of the Sacred race had perished. This meant none other than the end of the universal war.


    To the Evolutionary Universe, this war was still a massive calamity.


    Countless supreme worlds had been shattered; countless kingdoms had been destroyed and it was hard to even estimate the number of warriors that had been killed.


    All the same though, like the aftermath of a forest fire, destruction also meant rebirth.


    Here, in the Evolutionary Universe, there were only thirty-odd remaining Supreme Lords across all the land. In other words, there were over ninety current vacancies for Supreme Lords!


    It was true that quite a high number of Evolutionary Universe''s world lords had lost their lives in the battle, but the overall number of world lords was still good. The remaining two hundred thousand world lords would strive to fight for the Supreme Lord position.


    That said, fighting for a position as a Supreme Lord was far from easy. After all, bearing the Crown of Destiny required time, and the Supreme Lords within the Evolutionary Universe weren''t yet completely dead. In fact, it was highly plausible that the distribution of over ninety Crowns of Destiny was still controlled by the remaining thirty-odd Supreme Lords!


    Due to the Sacred race invasion, all present Supreme Lords had dropped their prejudices. When it came to the interests of their own race though, the chances of conflict lingering between them were still great.


    Given the fact that these Supreme Lords had passed through such a disastrous event together, the distribution of the Crowns of Destiny should no longer resort to force. It was now more likely than ever that it would be resolved through negotiation.


    It wasn''t long before Master Feng used the Roaring Token in order to announce the victory to the entire universe.


    When Master Feng''s voice echoed throughout the universe, the Evolution Lotus Flower became heavy once again. The "momentum" contained within the voice had more than doubled. All the intelligent creatures in the Evolutionary Universe began to celebrate.


    Joy pervaded every mortal royal court, every temple, street, countless sacred places and divine kingdoms...


    Not only were the intelligent beings affected by the atmosphere, but so were a few of the savage beasts, rare insects and plants. Heck, even the regular mountains and rivers seemed to be exuding a refreshing aura. This victory belonged to the entire universe, and this world was alive and thriving!


    As Zen lay on a supreme world fragment, a sense of relief washed over him.


    In order to survive this universal crisis, he had been extremely busy for dozens of years. Fortunately though, the result wasn''t half bad at all.


    Although Zen also understood that this was the end for everyone in the Evolutionary Universe, he knew his life was truly about to begin.


    Now, he had to jump out of this universe and face the real enemy.


    Speaking of which, he wasn''t the only one who needed to jump out of the universe. The other Godly Geniuses were actually obliged to make


    -clothed woman. However, once they reached the Soul Sea Realm, it was quite easy to change their appearances, which then became unimportant. Despite that, this woman''s temperament made all the present Supreme Lords flip out. Even Supreme Lord of Oracle, who was a woman, was no exception!


    Estelle smiled faintly while taking two slow steps toward Margaret. Her brown eyes seemed to have countless souls circulating within them. She was the controller of the Soul Wilderness, and no one could surpass her study in soul throughout the whole of the divine land. With just a glance, she seemed to have the capacity to suck in Margaret''s soul.


    Before the blue-clothed woman, Margaret felt naked, completely exposed. Amidst her nervousness, she retreated behind Zen.


    "Lady, Margaret is straightforward and outspoken. Please forgive her," Zen uttered, clasping his hands together.


    Although he didn''t know this mysterious blue-clothed woman at all, deep in his heart, Zen didn''t feel as though she had any ill intentions toward him. He knew she wasn''t a mean person overall, and this was just a small matter, so Zen wasn''t very nervous.


    "Never mind. I just have something I want to tell her," Estelle responded unexpectedly, with a cold smile on her face. "So what if I steal your man?"


    As soon as these words were spoken, not only was Zen stunned, but the other Supreme Lords present were equally taken aback.


    Even Blayd was dumbfounded at this reply. "She really is the number one extraordinary woman in all the divine land. She can say such words..."


    "But... Your man is still a little too inexperienced," Estelle uttered lightly. "Now, I don''t have much interest in him, but who knows if my interest will change in the future."


    After that, she lightly swiped her pinky across Zen''s forehead where the wound had nearly completely healed, leaving only a small cut. With her touch, the cut quickly disappeared.


    Everything happened so quickly that even Zen himself hadn''t noticed that a tiny petal had quietly been planted inside the wound.

 Chapter 2100 Wedding (Part One)

    Margaret was afraid of the woman in front of her. However, after she saw the woman''s actions, Margaret felt like the woman coveted something that belonged to her. With a pout on her lips, she craned her head to peer from behind Zen''s back. A vicious expression was displayed in Margaret''s face as she glared at the blue-clothed woman.


    After she planted that petal, Estelle seemed to have lost her interest with Margaret. Estelle decided to stop her pranks against the pitiful lady. She said to Zen indifferently, "I can''t leave the Evolutionary Universe now. Why don''t you let me return to that fairy palace?"


    Estelle had had to block Murphy''s strike, for which she had exposed herself.


    Those Holy Beings didn''t dare to enter the Evolutionary Universe directly. However, if she left through the crack at the top of the Evolutionary Universe, it would lead to endless trouble. She would be in a bad situation.


    Once she returned to the fairy palace, Estelle would be able to leave through the Swirl Forest.


    Naturally, Zen would agree to this request of Estelle. However, he still asked doubtfully, "But the enchanted barrier around my fairy palace has yet to be opened. Are you able to pass through that enchanted barrier?" Zen even raised an eyebrow as he asked his question.


    The entire fairy palace was covered in a special enchanted barrier. Although Zen had already obtained seven tokens, he still had one more to get from the True Path. He had yet attained complete control of the fairy palace. As such, he couldn''t remove the enchanted barrier.


    Moreover, Zen''s current cultivation wasn''t at the level of a Godly Genius. He could still improve his strength. As for the Swirl Forest, where the fairy palace was located, it was indeed somewhere in the divine land.


    Once that enchanted barrier was removed,


    aze on Lavender, "Hey! Aren''t you angry?"


    Lavender did not pay any attention to Margaret. She callously rolled her eyes, then turned her body to the other side and didn''t even give Margaret a single look.


    However, Margaret was persistent. She continued to ask with a bold tone, "You must be jealous, why don''t you show it?! You should express your thoughts more freely. It''s not good for a woman to hold back her emotions."


    As she was continuously nagged by Margaret, Lavender became utterly helpless. With her personality, she would probably directly attack if it was another person that annoyed her.


    As he watched Lavender''s expression grew more and more impatient, Zen could only forcefully drag Margaret to another side.


    Supreme Lord of Original Sin saw Margaret was safely sent back by Supreme Lord Lester with mixed feelings. Certainly, he knew that Supreme Lord Lester was continuously using all his strength to revive Nathan. He was naturally somewhat nervous, but he could not go and disturb him. Right at that moment, another space crack appeared, and Supreme Lord Lester walked out of the space crack.


    The eyes of Supreme Lord of Original Sin flickered as he asked nervously, "Is Nathan¡­"

 Chapter 2101 Wedding (Part Two)

    Before his voice had even faded, a figure floated out from the space crack. Supreme Lord of Original Sin gawked. It was Nathan himself.


    But compared to what he looked before, Nathan looked rather weak when he appeared from the space crack. His face was pale, and he did not have the slightest bit of vitality. But when Margaret was revived by the Heavenly Destiny of Revival, she was lively and full of energy.


    "Father." Nathan bowed and also became excited when he saw Supreme Lord of Original Sin. Just like Margaret, he had thought that he would be dead already. Despair and hopelessness enveloped him as he never thought that he would see the sun again.


    "There is no need to greet right now! You silly boy. It is good to see that you are alive!" Supreme Lord of Original Sin stepped forward and hugged Nathan. In the entire Xuanyuan Clan, he had treated Nathan with the most care. At first, Supreme Lord of Original Sin no longer held any hope to Nathan''s revival. However, now that Nathan was healed, Supreme Lord of Original Sin felt comforted and let out a grateful sigh.


    Because Nathan had been killed by Maha, he wasn''t aware of any of the conflicts in the universe. But after he heard some details from Supreme Lord Lester, his look at that time towards Zen was completely different.


    Previously, Nathan had gradually been convinced that Zen was his equal and treated him as a friend. However, after the events, Nathan was utterly in awe of Zen.


    As far as the other Godly Geniuses were concerned, no one was qualified to participate in the battle between the Supreme Lords. Rocher continued to cultivate arduously, while Lucille and Lawson hid. The other Godly Geniuses were also in closed-door training. Each of them planned to improve their strengths before they engaged


    me Lord, namely Supreme Lord of Thunder Punishment, but the other four Supreme Lords also perished at the same time. There was no remaining Supreme Lord in the Blessed Buddha Land after the war. Their defenses were weakened to a pathetic level.


    In the past, when such things happened, the other forces would be ready to make a move and try their best to divide up the Blessed Buddha Land. However, after the recent crisis, the different races had shown more mercy. All of them had a new appreciation for the lives of other creatures and started to cherish peace more.


    A year later, the Celestial Position race spread out their invitation letters and invited all the Supreme Lords in the Evolutionary Universe to gather in the Breaking Cloud Sacred Place. Additionally, there were also grand world lords of various races and Saint Lords of different sacred places who also went to the supreme world of the Celestial Position race. Countless gifts and tokens were brought by each visitor. It was because Zen had kept his promise to marry Margaret. As such, a marvelous wedding was celebrated, and Margaret''s dream had finally come true. After this wedding, he would officially be Zen''s wife.

 Chapter 2102 Special Guests

    The wedding of Zen and Margaret had been the liveliest day in the entire Evolutionary Universe!


    The existence of Roaring Tokens had already become a part of the tradition in expressing one''s blessing.


    This was also known as the most extravagant method of conveying good wishes for a celebration. After all, all the other Roaring Tokens were disposable compared to Zen''s Roaring Token.


    But on this auspicious day, the wishes and greetings for the husband and wife echoed throughout the universe.


    "Today is the wedding day of Zen and Margaret. I, Leandro, on behalf of the Western Spirit Sacred Place wish you a long and happy marriage¡­"


    "We wish you a wonderful beginning, and love to last for a lifetime. May the coming years fill your lives with love and happiness! This is the blessing from Dragon Dust Sacred Place for Zen and Margaret¡­"


    "Bless them as unmovable and eternal, and may their lives flourish like luxuriant trees! We wish for the bride and groom, together with the heaven and earth, the sun and the moon, to continue to give out light and radiance.¡­"


    Waves of congratulations resounded all through the Evolutionary Universe.


    Servants in formal attire busily moved around with their own tasks in the grand hall. The grand hall was situated at the foot of the Breaking Cloud Mountain. Thousands of musicians were drumming in unity as melodious sounds of joyous music continuously wafted about.


    The Supreme Lords were mostly humble, keeping a low profile. The wealth and glory which mortals desired were things that weren''t new to them. They had already experienced such grandeur though it didn''t stop them from enjoying the celebration.


    It was a fulfillment of promise. Zen never thought that it would be such a sumptuous wedding ceremony. As Margaret only wished for a more extravagant wedding, he could only accept and cooperate with the preparation. The ceremony had been arranged by the Celestial Position.


    "Grandpa, this way!"


    The person who spoke was the talent of the Ethereal Spirit Sect in the Central Region, Brent.


    Brent looked different compared to the young and inexperienced him back then. He had already entered the Life and Death Realm, and became the mainstay of the Ethereal Spirit Sect. This time, he appeared more mature as he led Xander towards the entrance of the hall.


    With the powerful means of the Celestial Position, it wouldn''t be difficult for them to usher the people from the Central Region to the Upper World.


    Brent was very curious about everything that was going on around him as it was the first time he had stepped into the Upper World, "Powerful Soul Sea Realm warriors! There are so many of them. And they are only guarding the entrance?"


    Astonishment was shown on his face. On either side of the hall, standing in a row were three hundred warriors in golden armors, and all of them were at the Soul Sea Realm. If any one of them were placed in the Lower World, they would be titled as war kings or war emperors. However at this moment, they were just placed as guards in this place.


    Even though Xander was


    time, there are too many guests that sometimes there are some unavoidable omissions. I hope you Xi Clan can forgive us!"


    Witnessing Supreme Lord Mirage''s attitude, the world lords around were all stunned. Supreme Lord Mirage was actually being so courteous towards the two Life and Death Realm warriors. They couldn''t believe their eyes!


    What was the Xi Clan?


    They had heard of the Xuanyuan Clan. the Ji Clan where Lucille came from, and another Ji Clan where Janet came from. But they never heard of the Xi Clan.


    Some people though were quick to analyze things. Wasn''t it that the woman Zen would marry today had a surname Xi? These two were the guests from the bride''s family!


    After expressing his apology, Supreme Lord Mirage reached out his hand and grabbed the rude martial artist. He copied what the martial artist had done moments ago and actually used the Grand Teleportation to throw him into the space crack. It was just that the distance Supreme Lord Mirage''s Grand Teleportation covered would be countless times greater than what the warrior could achieve. He had directly thrown the martial artist out of the Breaking Cloud World.


    Brent and Xander were then led to sit at the very front of the square together with the group of Supreme Lords.


    Brent went completely obedient after being seated. Although he was filled with curiosity about his surroundings, he still felt great pressure from the aura faintly emitted by the Supreme Lords.


    Not long after, he finally figured out what the ten pillars were used for.


    A series of thunderous dragon roars soon bellowed from the sky as ten dragons hovered in the sky.


    The nine Genuine Dragons were once capable of transforming into human shapes, but having Heavenly Bodies made it difficult for them to transform into other forms. The Ancestral Dragon, although had gained intelligence but was still unable to transform into other forms, so it could only maintain its original form.


    The ten dragons roared and coiled themselves around the pillars with their own different gestures.

 Chapter 2103 Rocher Became A True God

    Margaret lay down on a rocking chair in a side hall. She was dressed in a bright red wedding gown with matching embroidered shoes and heavy make-up.


    There was a smirk on her face. Her gown had been made of blood silk, the kind that, when peeled off cocoons and thrown into the air, would not fall to the ground even after several years. It was extremely light and was considered a top-level material for making chain-type weapons. Any treasure made from this material would definitely be listed on the Universe Spirit Tablet.


    Such a coveted material was made into a gown Margaret was only going to wear once.


    Each woman''s pursuit of marriage was different. Lavender never cared for a title and couldn''t understand Margaret''s desire for such a grand wedding ceremony. Aura, meanwhile, was content in quietly staying by Zen''s side to pray for his safety. So long as Zen reached his goals then she would be happy, and even if he failed, she would not regret.


    It was mostly Letitia and Margaret who often argued with regards to the title of being Zen''s wife back in the Lower World. The matter had already been decided long ago and there was no more conflict between them, however, Letitia couldn''t help but still feel a bit jealous. Her sadness might not be that obvious to outsiders but Geoffrey knew his own mother well enough to notice her strange temper. However, he didn''t know why her mother was unhappy.


    Not long after, several rays of light shot towards the sky and blossomed into numerous fireworks that illuminated the entire Breaking Cloud World.


    It seemed that the wedding ceremony was going according to plan.


    Just as it was beginning, an extremely sharp aura suddenly surged out from the depths of the Breaking Cloud World.


    Swoosh!


    A white beam of sword radiance suddenly pierced through the sky, hitting a star that was at least three hundred million miles away.


    The sword radiance did not weaken at all despite hitting the star and continued to rise instead until it reached the dome of the Evolutionary Universe. It was only after it cut into the Sighing Wall for about one thousand feet did it finally dissipate.


    This dome had once been broken by Murphy. However, after being damaged, the Sighing Wall had the ability to gradually heal itself. It was very much like animal skin and a thick scar would be left behind where it was hit.


    The guests, who were originally in a state of jubilation were quickly plunged into silence with the appearance of this sword intent.


    There was n


    Never mind that Rocher! The fact that you are able to break through and become a True God is the best gift of all!" Zen laughed.


    The other Supreme Lords were also quick to give Rocher their congratulations.


    Meanwhile, Margaret, who was still covered in her red bridal veil, pouted in displeasure. She didn''t care whether or not Rocher broke through. All that mattered to her now was that he had obviously upstaged her grand wedding day!


    As she sulked, someone from the crowd shouted, "Good! Two happy events in one day! How wonderful!" Somehow, that made Margaret feel a bit better.


    Rocher soon took his seat and the wedding ceremony continued.


    Half a month after the wedding ceremony ended, Thirteen Supreme Lords of the Evolutionary Universe, together with Rocher who had just recently become a True God, Zen, the Ancestral Dragon, and the nine Genuine Dragons all entered the Genuine Dragon World.


    The Genuine Dragon World was not a world within the Evolutionary Universe. Rather, it was an independent Supreme World quite similar to the Purple Power World, only many times larger. The sounds from the Roaring Tokens also could not reach here.


    Basically, the Genuine Dragon World was Mike''s gigantic spirit beast bag.


    When the nine Genuine Dragons'' physical bodies were destroyed, they escaped by attaching their souls to the furnace. Murphy had already planned this early on, just like how he planned for the sorcerer race''s invasion.


    However, Mike was able to turn the tables against him and used the nine dragons to lead Zen to the path of martial arts.


    Now that the Sacred race had been defeated, it was now time to clear the Genuine Dragon World.

 Chapter 2104 Swallow The Pill

    Each Holy Being had their own style of raising the contractual beasts.


    For instance, Holy Jay had thrown the Black Weasel into his inner world and made it sleep. Then, he used the Cross-world Theurgy to summon it whenever he needed its help.


    However, different creatures grow in different ways.


    There was the Genuine Dragon that belonged to a large race, which was completely different from the Black Weasel that grew up free on its own.


    It was why Mike had created a place that served as a resting space for the Genuine Dragons when he constructed his inner world. In addition, he also used the place as the spirit beast bag.


    From the Genuine Dragon race, many other related races had emerged as well, such as the Dragon Lineage Human race.


    The Genuine Dragon was considered a kind of super legendary beast, but the strongest individuals were true spirits. A fully-grown, adult Ancestral Dragon could be considered a true spirit.


    Now, the powerful warriors of the Evolutionary Universe had entered the Genuine Dragon World along with Zen, which quickly caused a huge uproar.


    The mystery of the nine dragons at that time was a huge mystery to ordinary living beings, but the Genuine Dragons were already aware of the conspiracy. That conspiracy had been arranged by a Five-clawed Black Dragon from the Genuine Dragon World.


    Back then, it was thanks to Murphy''s help that the Five-clawed Black Dragon had managed to kill the Five-clawed Golden Dragon and his eight brothers.


    However, the Genuine Dragon World didn''t directly intervene in the war between the two universes and instead, simply paid close attention to whoever won or lost. Of course, the Five-clawed Black Dragon hoped that the Sacred race would win. The Genuine Dragons were just the contractual beasts of the Holy Being, and they weren''t born in the universe. Thus, the contracts that had been signed in the past would lose their effectivity when the Evolutionary Universe was destroyed and Mike died. The Five-clawed Black Dragon became free and was then able to travel to the divine land.


    The Five-clawed Black Dragon thought that it was a pity that the final outcome of the war was way worse than he had expected. When he learned that the Sacred race had been defeated, he realized that the real trouble was yet to come.


    But since he was a contractual beast, he couldn''t leave the Genuine Dragon World without Mike''s permission. There was nowhere to flee, so the dragon could only gather other race members to guard the area with their lives on the line.


    The cyan dragon had created the most powerful array in the Genuine Dragon World. Moreover, there were even three top-rank Supreme Lords including Supreme Lord of Oracle, Supreme Lord of Original Sin, and the head of the Celestial Position race among the dozen or so Supreme Lords who went with them. Furthermore, they were also accompanied by the newly advanced True God, Rocher, and the Ancestral Dragon.


    It was no doubt that such a powerful force was capable enough to start a universal war.


    The


    raculous view.


    Even though Xenia had yet to condense the Godly Tile, she had probably made a considerable breakthrough. Perhaps she would be the second Godly Genius to become a True God, only second to Rocher.


    However, Zen was not truly a Godly Genius as his Lotus Flower had yet to fully bloom.


    It wasn''t that Zen was inferior to the other Godly Geniuses because he didn''t have great talents and a solid foundation. The reason he couldn''t make a breakthrough was most likely related to his inner world.


    After all, the other Godly Geniuses all cultivated life vitality, and Zen''s chaotic energy was fundamentally different from the life vitality. Therefore, no one could guide him in his path of cultivation¡ªhe could only rely on his own comprehension.


    Helpless, Zen could only use the Emotion Closing Pill to break through the Godly Genius'' shackles.


    The moment Zen had swallowed the Emotion Closing Pill, he immediately felt a strong presence rush into his mind!


    The facts proved that Saul''s warning was right. Since the Emotion Closing Pill was a seven times refined pill, it was a spiritual object itself. When Zen had got it a few years ago, it had actually quietly condensed its own consciousness.


    What happened was, the pill actually wanted to possess Zen''s body shell!


    Fortunately, Zen''s Gold Fighting Soul was extremely tough and with the Emperor Soul Imprint in his soul, he was able to release a strong soul pressure to gradually suppress the Emotion Closing Pill''s consciousness.


    Then again, the dangers of the soul battle weren''t any less than the dangers he had faced before.


    It was because of that very battle that Zen had been unconscious for nearly half a month and had only woken up again slowly with the help of the Celestial Position race.


    When Zen had just regained his consciousness, his soul was still quite weak. However, he discovered that his soul had more imprints. Upon closer look, he saw that there were small, pale golden swords in the center of the Emperor Soul Imprints!

 Chapter 2105 Ripping Consciousness

    The Emperor Soul Imprint was initially a method used by Holy Jay to cultivate his soul. Such a method of cultivation was extremely powerful.


    When the soul''s power was released, the Emperor Soul Imprint could release a pressure that could dominate other people.


    The powerful pressure released by the Emperor Soul Imprint was even stronger than the Great Dominance Technique. Even if the opponent was stronger than the user, the user could simply disrupt the opponent''s mind. If the opponent''s strength was on par with the user''s, then the user could suppress their opponent. Ultimately, if the user was stronger than their opponent, then they could directly make the opponent yield without any combat. The warrior who practiced the Emperor Soul Imprint could achieve victory without the need for a physical battle.


    However, that particular kind of aura didn''t match with Zen''s personality. After all, he wasn''t a particularly insolent person. He never wanted to look down on people, especially innocent ones.


    Nevertheless, for achieving the Gold Fighting Soul in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, Zen had no other choice. He had already entered the Mind Refining Tower. After all, the soul cultivation method given by Holy Jay was the only method for him to improve his soul.


    Zen''s consciousness continuously observed the soul in his mind. The small swords and the Emperor Soul Imprints interacted with each other. Suddenly, they released a golden light. The strange events made Zen curious about the changes that had occurred in his soul.


    Wasn''t that the Emotion Closing Pill he used was to help him comprehend the Emotion Closing Godly Way? How could it cause such a change to his soul? He wasn''t aware of such side effects.


    Curiosity enveloped Zen and made him want to do something.


    As excitement got the better of him, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head. His vision went black, and he almost fainted again.


    At that moment, his soul was abnormally weak. Even though Wynn had personally nurtured Zen''s soul, it would still not be possible for him to recover so quickly.


    Wynn only had his soul left. However, his True God Soul was far more powerful than the souls of the Supreme Lords. Additionally, his methods were also many times more profound. He knew Zen''s importance to Mike, so he naturally used his last bit of power to help him.


    Although Zen''s soul injuries were severe, with Wynn''s help, it only took him almost a month to recover from his injuries.


    The second day after his soul had fully recovered, Zen found a secluded valley. With a relaxed expression, he sat on a boulder within the valley and tightly closed his eyes.


    Zen could not measure the power of the seven times refined pill. However, the Emotion Closing Pill had tortured him to death. Therefore, the little golden swords that it had left behind on his soul could not possibly be mere decorations.


    Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!


    Calmness enveloped Zen as he closed his eyes and entered a meditative state. Suddenly, the power in his soul also began to emerge.


    The sound of peaceful birds also began to echo in the valley. Additionally, the tranquil blow of the wind through the grass around was also reflected in Zen''s mind.


    "Emperor Soul Imprint!"


    Zen did not know how to activate the small golden


    rd intent was only the size of a needle. However, it somewhat constantly shimmered around the tip of the sword.


    "Condensing sword intent?"


    Zen said coldly as he meticulously observed. At that moment, his emotions were completely gone. As such, he naturally didn''t have much of an expression on his face. Under the influence of the Emotion Closing Godly Way, both of Zen''s negative and positive emotions had dissipated. Not a single sentiment could be felt by him.


    Wuu! Wuu!


    As the sword intent continued to condense, the silver light it emitted also became stronger. The light grew even brighter as time went by.


    It was as if a star had formed on the tip of the ordinary long sword. A brilliant light glimmered at the pointy end.


    "It''s still not enough. To step into the Emotion Closing Godly Way, one has to let go of all their emotions¡­ Those small golden swords did indeed cut off my grief, my happiness, and other emotions. However, I''m not really leaving everything behind," Zen muttered as he stared at the silver light emitted by the sword intent.


    At that moment, Zen''s heart continuously pounded at a fast pace. He suddenly thought of something and raised his eyebrows. "I finally understand," he said with a cold tone and a blank expression. "Even if I have cut off all my emotions, I still have my own consciousness!


    So the ultimate comprehension into the Emotion Closing Godly Way should be¡­"


    At that moment, the small golden swords on the surface of Zen''s soul moved even faster.


    As they continued to rotate, golden sword light shot out from Zen''s eyes. It even seemed like Zen''s pupils turned into brilliant stars.


    Swish! Swish! Swish!


    The sword light that was only emitted from his eyes had directly penetrated the mountains within the valley. All that was left was a thin line of sword marks. The destruction it caused was catastrophic.


    That was the power of Zen''s gaze.


    "It is... Ripping Consciousness!"


    Zen''s strike shot straight towards the sky.


    The strike of his was the same as the strike of Rocher''s. Both of their strikes were comparably powerful. However, Rocher''s strike was intense and powerful, while Zen''s strike was decisive and sharp.

 Chapter 2106 Replacement

    Zen completely forgot about himself with this slash.


    To him, everything in the world was moving away from him. Nothing seemed constant. He felt some sort of distance with everything around.


    Only the sword intent remained.


    It was a cruel strike that even he had forgotten about himself.


    As his sword flashed out, a light appeared out of it.


    Zen stood rooted to the spot.


    If he were to face the enemy head on, he would be easily defeated because of the obvious reason that he couldn''t even move a limb in this motionless state.


    Such was the essence of the Emotion Closing Godly Way. The Ripping Consciousness was a deciding factor of life and death.


    Swoosh!


    The sword that Zen thrust towards the sky did not have much impact. But the two-inch-wide sword light shot straight into the sky, advancing at an extremely fast speed into the depths of the universe.


    Soon, the small white sword light pierced through the first star, leaving a gaping two-inch-wide hole in between.


    For a star that was tens of thousands of miles in diameter, a two-inch-wide hole hardly made a dent. The star did not even tremble, as if it did not feel anything.


    However, not long after the sword light left the star, it slowly began to sway. The slight sway created countless ripples across its surface.


    There were quite a few Spirit Transformation Realm martial artists cultivating on this star. They were all confused about the sudden movement of the star. Quickly they transformed themselves into light beams and vanished.


    Boom!


    As soon as they vanished, the star shuddered and slowly began to collapse.


    But the stream of light didn''t stop after piercing through the star and continued to move up. However, no one in the universe noticed its existence and the flurry of activities it created. After all, this tiny bit of sword light was insignificant compared to the humongous universe.


    However, the amount of power that was packed into this little light was unimaginable.


    The light kept piercing through various stars. Despite its increasing ascend, its power and brightness did not dim at all. Finally it pierced through the Sighing Wall.


    Rocher''s sword had left a huge gap that was 1, 000 feet deep on the Sighing Wall. However, Zen''s sword was much sharper and more penetrating. It went as deep as 30, 000 feet into the Sighing Wall.


    When the ray of sword light finally disappeared, Zen''s consciousness gradually returned. Although he was still recovering from the haze, he could slowly move himself around.


    His eyes became sharp and shone with intelligence. The corner of his mouth curled up slightly, and a look of satisfaction appeared on his face. After comprehending the Ripping Consciousness, he had a deeper understanding of the Emotion Closing Godly Way.


    Rumble!


    Suddenly, the mountain wall that was looming ahead of him collapsed. In a blink of an eye, the giant structure was reduced to a heap.


    Zen hardly lifted a finger to do this feat. The golden light that emi


    be destroyed just like that!


    Hearing these words, Master Feng was extremely surprised. Through his experience, he knew and understood a lot of people. Although he felt that Zen was definitely different, he didn''t expect that Wynn would give such a bizarre evaluation.


    "Look! There''s movement!" Master Feng''s eyes flashed.


    The Lotus Flower floating above Zen''s head suddenly began to spin at a furious speed.


    Zen''s gaze was fixed on that Lotus Flower. His gaze was becoming intensely bright, as if there were two flames burning fiercely at the same time.


    Swish!


    "Eh? What''s going on?"


    At that moment, the Evolution Lotus Flower that was originally controlled by Master Feng had escaped from his control. It suddenly condensed and flew towards Zen.


    Master Feng wanted to chant an incantation to bring the Evolution Lotus Flower back, but he was stopped by Wynn. "Don''t interfere. This is my master''s arrangement. Let us not disrupt it."


    Huff!


    It was astonishing to witness the speed of that Evolution Lotus Flower. It only took a matter of seconds for it to fly millions of miles away. Soon, it arrived above Zen''s head.


    "A second Lotus Flower? How is that even possible?!"


    Zen was dumbfounded when he saw the Evolution Lotus Flower fly over. "This flower is the one controlled by Master Feng! How did it escape then?"


    The Evolution Lotus Flower that Master Feng controlled, was slightly different from the Lotus Flowers that floated above the heads of ordinary warriors. For example, the Lotus Flower above Zen''s head was pinkish white, while the Evolution Lotus Flower of Master Feng was deep red. Apart from that, there were many other details that separated it from the rest. For example, the Evolution Lotus Flower of Master Feng had always been a bud and never produced petals.


    The Evolution Lotus Flower suddenly leapt above Zen''s head and overlapped with the Lotus Flower that Zen had previously possessed, eventually replacing it and forming into one Lotus Flower.

 Chapter 2107 Legacy

    The Heavens-suppressing Object had already escaped Master Feng''s control.


    It had now merged with Zen''s Lotus Flower that had already bloomed. This meant that Zen had to reopen this Evolution Lotus Flower again.


    This Evolution Lotus Flower had never been opened ever since Master Feng had carried the Heavenly Destiny and obtained the Heavens-suppressing Object.


    The Heavens-suppressing Objects were originally precious weapons to the Holy Beings. Only Holy Beings had the right to use them. Letting the strongest Supreme Lord in the universe obtain the Heavens-suppressing Object as a treasure was a common convention among the Holy Beings, but that did not mean that they could use it as they wished.


    Irrespective of whether it was Master Feng or the Grand Supreme Lord of the Sacred race, they could only display a fraction of the Heavens-suppressing Object''s true strength.


    Master Feng watched the Evolution Lotus Flower fly away, and with a casual wave of his hand, opened a space crack. In the blink of an eye, he and Wynn had walked into it and appeared beside Zen.


    "This Evolution Lotus Flower... It is blooming!" Master Feng''s face was filled with astonishment.


    Wynn, on the other hand, was calm. "The Evolution Godly Way is ranked at the 13th place, a high place among the three thousand Godly Ways in the divine land. But very few people cultivate this Godly Way. There are countless True Gods in the vast divine land. But there have only been fewer than a hundred people who have cultivated the Evolution Godly Way since the ancient times until now. Do you know why?"


    Master Feng didn''t have a great understanding of the divine land. The information he had obtained so far came from both Wynn and his own blood. Now that he had heard the story of the Evolution Lotus Flower, he asked, "Why?"


    "The chaos is an entirety. You have heard of the Evolutionary Fifty, right? It originated in ancient times," Wynn said.


    Master Feng knew what the Evolutionary Fifty meant and carried a Heavenly Destiny, but he did not know the logic behind it. His head spun as he listened to Wynn''s explanation. "I wonder what sort of a relationship your words have with the number of people cultivating the Evolution Godly Way."


    Wynn laughed and replied, "This is because this Godly Way is an attempt to generalize the entire chaos, which is the entire space outside of the divine land."


    "The entire chaos..." Master Feng''s eyes lit up as his thoughts drifted.


    As far as mortals were concerned, the great world was already vast enough a


    . Which was why he was still confused by what he saw.


    But Zen instinctively understood that whatever was happening before him must be related to his father''s arrangements. And he would gladly accept it, no matter what happened.


    The faint light surrounding the stamen was like a firefly the size of a grain of rice. It circled around the lotus petals and sprinkled down towards Zen, enveloping him in a drizzle.


    Zen felt a gentle force on his face, blowing against his cheek.


    This feeling of laziness tired him out a little. His eyelids felt like they weighed a thousand pounds and they then closed. It was not long before he entered dreamland.


    "Of the Evolutionary Fifty, only forty-nine are useful. Of the Evolutionary Fifty, separate one into two. One is variable, and the other one is definite!"


    a grave voice echoed.


    ''I''ve heard those words before.'' Zen still had clear thoughts as if he was conscious, even though he was still dreaming.


    Irene had said this back in the Illusion Battlefield, but no one, including Zen, had been able to figure out the meaning of this phrase.


    "The Evolution Godly Way is the origin of counting-"


    The grave voice continued to speak. Zen did not understand these words and could only engrave them into his heart, one word at a time.


    It was a while before the voice finally stopped. Zen''s heart was suddenly filled with clarity and he discovered that he now seemed to have a profound understanding of the Evolution Godly Way.


    This wasn''t an epiphany on Zen''s part, but a natural epiphany that followed the grave voice.


    Only now did Zen understand his father''s painstaking arrangements.


    This was the legacy his father had left him.

 Chapter 2108 Stealing Into The Divine Land

    The Heavens-suppressing Object that was in full bloom was still slowly hovering above Zen''s head.


    Bits of light continued to pour down, and eventually turned into a pale golden book that was reflected in Zen''s mind.


    On top of the book were three large black words, ''Evolutionary Divine Arts''. The voice that had been transmitting into Zen''s mind was a part of the Evolutionary Divine Arts, and was also Mike''s lifelong comprehension.


    The Evolutionary Divine Arts had the miraculous effect of strengthening the soul and spirit. One''s soul power became several times stronger than that of an ordinary martial artist once they reached the highest level of cultivation. This meant that the power of Mike''s soul was unrivaled among the Holy Beings.


    But Zen didn''t know that the moment he began to comprehend the Evolutionary Divine Arts, the aura emanating from his soul had begun to grow stronger by the minute.


    The Gold Fighting Soul belonged to the strongest realm that a soul could reach in the universe.


    Becoming a Gold Fighting Soul allowed one''s soul to freely leave the body to defend it against the enemy. One could even attach their soul to their swords and sabers to increase the power of their weapons.


    The souls of Master Feng, Supreme Lord of Original Sin, and the others were all Gold Fighting Souls.


    However, the True God Soul was stronger than the Gold Fighting Soul. The True God Soul was just a generic term for the soul of the True God, but in reality, there was a difference in the strengths of the souls of different True Gods. In the divine land, souls were classified according to their power.


    For example, the souls of Wynn and Murphy''s disciple, Marko, were considered to be stronger than those of other True Gods. The souls of Mateo and Pranav were slightly weaker.


    "Zen''s aura... is increasing by a huge margin!" Wynn had already detected the change in Zen''s soul.


    Since a few golden sword shadows were still on Zen''s soul, a sharp aura was now mixed within his soul. When he would release his soul aura, it would be like an arrow made to oppress and threaten.


    Wynn was still comfortable as he faced the waves of sharp aura that Zen was emitting.


    But Master Feng was beginning to feel uneasy.


    The streaks of formless, formidable aura shot out in all directions, some even piercing Master Feng''s mind. The aura penetrated his soul, causing him great pain.


    "This soul''s aura is so formidable!"


    Master Feng was so astonished, he retreated 3, 000 feet in one startled jump.


    Master Feng was forced to retreat in surprise because of the aura. If Zen were to use his full strength and release his soul aura to attack someone, wouldn''t he be


    e Jiang Clan. But the guide in the Evolutionary Universe has already been forced to return to the Jiang Clan."


    "The young lady from the Jiang Clan?" Zen asked.


    Wynn nodded. "The Jiang Clan wrote down this rule through that stone slab a thousand divine eras ago. That''s why the Jiang Clan is responsible for guiding the warriors in the universe to the divine land and controlling the heavens. None of the Holy Beings could violate this rule. But this time, we are lucky enough that the young lady was forced to stay back in the Jiang Clan. Even your sister has also contributed to this matter."


    Zen''s eyebrows rose at Wynn''s mention of Yan and a sword-like light flashed through his eyes.


    Wynn laughed and said, "Don''t get too excited. I''m only guessing at the moment. If I''m not mistaken, Harold might have done something, otherwise the Jiang Clan wouldn''t have allowed the controller of the heavens of the Evolutionary Universe to become vacant for so long."


    Zen calmed himself down. He was too sensitive and did not know where to look for Yan even if he did go to the divine land. But right now, he had another question to pose to Wynn. "Why did the Jiang Clan send their own members to control the heavens?"


    Sending members of the clan to different universes to help other Holy Beings control the heavens was a thankless task.


    "You don''t even know that the Jiang Clan''s Floating Island in the Time Sea is considered one of the top ten big islands in the first tier! The reason they are able to raise their clan to such a high level is because they rely on the method of controlling the heavens. And this is related to the Jiang Clan''s cultivation method. You will gradually understand all of this once you enter the divine land. Now, I can help you sneak into the divine land."

 Chapter 2109 A Maze

    The divine land, over time, had developed countless divine eras.


    The passage of time here was unimaginably long.


    A set of strict rules had been put into place in the divine land. A few of these rules were so important that even a Holy Being wouldn''t dare be caught defying one of them.


    Once Murphy had put his anger into action, he received the punishment he deserved, to say the least. There was no room for disobedience!


    Wynn didn''t speak up much about the way Zen was going to be sent into the divine land. In fact, it had taken quite some time for Mike''s disciples to figure out a plan for forcing Irene into returning to the divine land.


    Rocher, in fact, had also entered the divine land by sneaking in.


    No matter if it was Rocher or Zen, if they entered the divine land using any normal method, the Mu Clan would immediately be informed about their arrival.


    One of the reasons why their blood had been exchanged was just for that: to avoid being tracked.


    If Murphy had been able to track them, then the ten Godly Geniuses would all be doomed.


    "I have no choice but to sneak into the divine land..." Zen frowned as he murmured to himself.


    "This has been decided a long time ago. Even if I die, there will still be others to help you sneak over there," Wynn said.


    Wynn had managed to survive the great war. If he died now though, the weighted responsibility of helping Zen and the others sneak into the divine land would be handed over to Master Feng and the other Celestial Position members.


    "I understand," Zen nodded. In the end, it didn''t matter to him what method he used in order to enter the divine land.


    "When you''re ready, you can come and find me. That said, it''s best if you enter the divine land as soon as possible. Although they can try their best to hinder the Jiang Clan, they might send someone else over at any moment..." Wynn added, matter-of-factly.


    "You know, Irene is a friendly young lady. Try not to worry too much, she isn''t as harsh as she seems," Zen explained as he recalled his conversation with her.


    Wynn smiled. "Well, she isn''t as friendly as you think, either. Anyone who sent by the Jiang Clan to control the heavens is far more powerful than you can ever imagine. It''s not that simple. What''s more, she isn''t a ''young lady''.


    Judging by the average life span of a True God, she would still be relatively young.


    However, if one was to calculate according to the time flow rate in the Evolutionary Universe, she would be over twenty billion years old!"


    Both Zen and Master Feng were rendered speechless in an instant.


    That meant that even Master Feng was much younger than Irene, not to mention that Zen himself was nothing more than a few decades old.


    Twenty billion years of age... Unbelievable! That was equivalent to several grand eras.


    This woman had lived for so long and yet she was still capable of communicating with Zen like any other ordinary young lady. It was indeed hard to imagine how she had lived through the past countless years.


    Now that Zen had the right conditions for going to the divine land, his only remaining task was to arrange his family members well.


    Over the years, Zen had always been worried about the problem of time.


    ould be trapped inside the fairy palace''s enchanted barrier!


    If it wasn''t for the fact that they were afraid of triggering a few of the restrictive spells within the fairy palace, they would''ve already tried destroying it long ago.


    Right now, they had to wait for Zen to pass the True Path!


    "This maze is related to the disappearance of the Sacred race, and it was not invented by Master. It actually exists in the world," Saul explained. "However, the maze built by the Sacred race was countless times larger and more complicated than the one in front of you. Back then, even Master was unable to pass through that maze... until he was trapped inside it for twelve divine eras. After finally escaping from the maze, he replicated a small part of it according to his memories."


    "Even Master can''t successfully pass through the Sacred race''s maze?" Zen asked as obvious astonishment quickly filled his eyes.


    "Yes, that is true, but this maze really does have an exit. Master wants you to firmly carve this maze into your mind. Just as it was carved into his," Saul replied.


    Since Saul had described it as of utmost importance, Zen had no other choice but to challenge the maze again and again. In fact, with Zen''s current memory, no matter how complicated the route was, he would still remember it. This maze seemed to be an illusionary one though, and therefore Zen wouldn''t have the chance of repeating the same route twice.


    Zen''s only option left was extremely stupid: that of only turning right in the maze. Theoretically, even in the most complex maze, he would eventually find the exit if he always chose one same direction.


    Ultimately, Zen spent nearly four months in the maze before managing his way out, after a countless number of attempts and failures.


    Just like Saul had said, this maze had been deeply engraved in Zen''s mind from beginning to end. That said though, he couldn''t think of any use for remembering the maze''s route.


    Once Zen had the earth token in hand, he didn''t even have the time to open the training tower before Master Evil and Wayne were already anxiously asking him to open the enchanted barrier for them.

 Chapter 2110 Disintegration

    Before opening the enchanted barrier, Zen went to the weapon refining workshop and took Livingston from the fairy palace, permitting him to stay temporarily in the Breaking Cloud World.


    Livingston was not pleased to be disturbed by Zen. He had been busy forging weapons in the weapon refining workshop day and night, but now his work had been interrupted by Zen. He naturally found the situation unsatisfactory.


    However, Zen did in that way as a precaution.


    The secondary creature would be disintegrated upon entering the divine land, and if Livingston entered the divine land as a puppet, that would probably not be much better.


    It could be said that all the materials from the universe would disintegrate after they were brought into the divine land...


    If the enchanted barrier was removed, then the power within the divine land could potentially disintegrate his metal body and soul.


    After chasing Livingston away, Zen returned once more to the fairy palace.


    Following to Saul''s instructions, he neatly placed the eight tokens together.


    As Zen activated these tokens one after the other, the eight tokens seemed to come to life. At first they circled in the air for a while before finally settling themselves in their own order!


    The sequence of the eight tokens was heaven, earth, thunder, wind, water, fire, mountain, and valley.


    The tokens connected together in the air and formed themselves into a ring. A black and white light began to shine out from the ring. These were the Dark and Light energies that Zen had encountered on the True Path. The Dark and Light energies circled and fused together, eventually turning into the perfect Eight Diagrams.


    The Eight Diagrams floated slowly in front of Zen...


    "Put in your hand..." Saul instructed.


    Not far away, when Master Evil and Wayne saw the scene which unfolded, their eyes betrayed their greed and desire.


    Being able to control the Eight Diagrams meant that one could exercise complete control over the whole fairy palace.


    The fairy palace had been left behind by Bromley. They might not know about all the secrets and resources within the walls, but the dungeon that had trapped them for countless years had left an indelible impression upon them. Therefore they assumed that the rest of the fairy palace must be equally magical.


    However, their greedy expressions only lasted for an instant before fading away.


    After all, there was a chance that they might not be able get the approval of the Eight Diagrams. On top of that, they had sworn an inner demon oath in front of Zen before, and if they broke it, it would cast a shadow over their future lives. Moreover, Bromley was not Mike, and was not yet dead. If he came back to attack at any point, then even if they occupied the fairy palace, they would not be able to resist him in a fight... At that point they would simply be courting deat


    ught this space ring I forgot that it also comes from the universe!"


    Unfortunately, it was now too late to correct his mistake. The space ring rapidly turned into a mass of white mist that scattered in all directions.


    And as the space ring disintegrated, an even more bizarre scene started to unfold.


    Normally, if a space ring was damaged, the space within would collapse and it became impossible to find the things hidden within it. When that happened the things that were hidden within the Sumeru Space would be lost forever.


    However, at this moment, when the space ring had broken apart, the space in the space ring that was brought over from the universe didn''t collapse, but instead disintegrated along with the space ring. Thus the things that were inside the space ring shot out in an instant.


    Fairy weapons, sacred weapons, sabers, swords, bows, and other weapons of the various ranks were all squeezed from the disintegrated space and sprinkled onto the ground before Zen...


    Fortunately, Zen had acted cautiously earlier and had placed some important items within the Breaking Cloud World, rather than brought them with him into the fairy palace. Thus the items stored in this space ring were not especially valuable.


    Cracks also began to appear on the surface of the sabers and swords. White mist continued to billow out before disappearing in front of Zen...


    The only items that did not vanish were the Great Weighty Sword and the Great Weighty Sword''s scabbard that Zen had in his possession. They were spared because they were made by Livingston from materials taken from the fairy palace, and these materials originated in the divine land.


    Noting that the enchanted barrier had now disappeared, Master Evil and Wayne could not disguise their joy.


    They clapped their hands together to thank Zen, and then while laughing got ready to leave.


    "Just one moment, please," Zen suddenly said.

 Chapter 2111 The Huge White Ape (Part One)

    With the enchanted barrier was removed, nothing could stop Master Evil and Big Mouth anymore. Danger still lurked in the Swirl Forest. However, as long as they did not seek their own deaths, it would not be too dangerous for them.


    "What else do you want?" Master Evil asked with a smile. Despite his current situation, arrogance was still in his tone.


    "You should remember that you promised to help me accomplish one task," said Zen with suspicious eyes.


    Zen forced them to make the inner demon oath at that time because he wanted them to fight against the True Gods of the Murphy Universe. They were stronger than Blayd but weaker than the blue-clothed woman. In the end, they did not fight. However, the oath still applied.


    "Of course I remember." Master Evil let out a loud laugh. "If we meet in the divine land one day and you have any needs, I won''t hesitate to help you. Tell me any desires you might have at that time."


    "Yeah. Don''t worry about that. We won''t forget." Wayne hurriedly nodded his head as well. It seemed that they would both honor their oaths.


    However, it wasn''t their exact thought. At that moment, they could already leave the fairy palace. The divine land was so vast that it was very likely that they would never have the chance to see Zen again for the rest of their lives. They believed that they wouldn''t have to keep their promises as long as Zen couldn''t find them.


    Zen shrugged his shoulders and laughed. With a callous look he said, "Since you are so reasonable, I can be relieved."


    Master Evil and Wayne didn''t hesitate any longer. They strode forth and headed straight for the entrance of the fairy palace. At last, they were finally able to leave the place where they were imprisoned for countless years.


    As he saw them leave, Zen''s eyes widened. Bewilderment enveloped Ze


    were powerful enough to will the laws with a simple thought.


    Their comprehension came directly from the master of the Evolutionary Universe, Mike''s comprehension of the laws. Since Mike could use the Law Power in the divine land, why couldn''t the secondary creatures that obtained his inheritance use it?


    "They don''t all lose their effectiveness," Saul said flatly. His face was calm with a hint of pity. "If you don''t believe me, you can try condensing a flame."


    As he heard Saul''s remark, Zen flicked his finger. Suddenly, a fireball shot out from his fingertip. It continuously rolled forward until it exploded about dozens of feet away.


    Boom!


    After the flame exploded, the intense fire turned Zen''s face bright red. He stared dumbfoundedly at the fire and muttered, "Does that mean that only the Wind Law and the Space Law are suppressed?"


    Normally, when martial artists flew through the air, they would use the Wind Law. Similarly, when they traveled through space, they would use the Space Law. Although these two kinds of Law Power weren''t particularly mighty when used against an enemy, they were still indispensable to martial artists. Such mobility was necessary inside and outside of combat.

 Chapter 2112 The Huge White Ape (Part Two)

    "And the Time Law. These three laws have been suppressed in the divine land. The use of them is limited by the rules stated on that stone slab," Saul reminded with a callous look.


    "Does this mean even the Holy Beings can''t fly?" Zen raised another question. Curiosity began to invade his mind.


    Saul shrugged his shoulders. "Not really. In reality, the top-rank True Gods can resist the suppressive power and fly. Master Evil and Wayne are both only at the peak of mid-rank True Gods'' level, so they are unable to resist the suppressive power. Therefore, they can only run on the ground. However, as warriors grow stronger, their resistance to the limits of the stone slab also improves."


    "I see." Zen nodded as he digested his newfound knowledge.


    Just as he finished his words, a sharp, high-pitched sound could be heard from outside the fairy palace.


    Thump! Thump! Thump!


    As the high-pitched sound reverberated, the ground under Zen''s feet also began to tremble.


    Everything in the Swirl Forest was unfathomable. Moreover, the divine land was extremely stable. The thing that could cause such a commotion must be an extremely powerful existence. It could shake the earth beneath. Such power would be extremely mighty.


    Soon, Zen''s gaze pierced through the eaves of the fairy palace. Suddenly, a huge white ape entered his field of vision.


    The ape, which was about two thousand feet tall, stood at the edge of the fairy palace''s outer wall. As its slender and powerful arms dropped to the ground, it sized up Zen with its bright yellow eyes. It opened its bloody mouth slightly and howled ferociously.


    As he was stared at by the ape, Zen fel


    nd in the fairy palace, the huge white ape acted quickly. The moment Zen jumped up, it changed the direction of its two giant hands and grabbed him in midair. An enormous fist tightly gripped Zen''s body. Then, it tried to drag him out of the fairy palace.


    The Swirl Forest was one of the forbidden lands for True Gods. In addition to huge white apes, there were also some other unimaginable and dangerous monsters. If Zen was taken to the forest, he would not be able to protect himself with his current strength.


    However, before the huge white ape could retract its hand, a black shadow jumped up from the roof of the weapon refining workshop. The Soul-shaking Mastiff named Blackie let out a series of roars. Intense pressure accompanied each of his barks.


    Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!


    The power contained in the roars could make many creatures feel fear, and the huge white ape was no exception. Its giant hand that held Zen trembled involuntarily. Terror seemed to devour the huge white ape''s feral mind.


    Immediately, the Soul-shaking Mastiff had already bit onto the arm of the giant white ape.

 Chapter 2113 Black Birds And Bugs

    This Soul-shaking Mastiff was much smaller than the giant white ape in size, but it was nonetheless extremely powerful as it was a true spirit.


    As the Soul-shaking Mastiff chomped down on the giant white ape, a crisp sound that could send shivers down one''s spine was heard!


    Within a few more seconds, the giant ape''s thick arm was bitten straight off. Zen got rid of the ape''s grip and he fell down from the sky.


    "Awooo..."


    The giant white ape howled out in pain, its eyes gleaming with anger. It waved its other arm out in front of him and quickly sent a palm strike flying toward the Soul-shaking Mastiff!


    The Soul-shaking Mastiff reacted very fast, though.


    After biting off the giant white ape''s arm, it once again leaped and dodged the giant ape''s slap. It then climbed up the giant white ape''s remaining arm. As soon as the Soul-shaking Mastiff reached the ape''s shoulder, it pounced again, this time its mouth open wide with the intent to bite the white ape''s throat!


    However, just as the Soul-shaking Mastiff was no more than a few feet away from the white ape''s throat, a white shadow suddenly flashed past them and a mountain-like fist smashed directly down onto the Soul-shaking Mastiff.


    Boom!


    "Woo, woo..."


    Accompanied by a loud bang, the Soul-shaking Mastiff let out a blood-curdling screech as it was smashed down into the fairy palace.


    Surprisingly and unexpectedly, another giant ape had appeared outside the fairy palace!


    The second giant ape was also white in color. In contrast though, this one had a clump of red fur on its head. It looked like a flame dancing above its head. "Awoo..." The giant red-furred ape let out a low growl. It was obvious that it was enraged, and with reason.


    Although the Soul-shaking Mastiff had been punched by the second white ape, the second it landed, it rolled over on the ground in an attempt to get up. It lowered its body and vigilantly looked at the two giant apes standing outside the fairy palace. It too, roared in low voice and revealed its two long fangs, but it didn''t dare pounce on them.


    It was only seconds ago that Zen had struggled free from the white ape''s arm. When he noticed that the Soul-shaking Mastiff was showing signs of fear, a strange expression appeared on Zen''s face.


    From Zen''s point of view, the Soul-shaking Mastiff, known as "Blackie", was most likely extremely powerful. Although these two giant apes were powerful, there was no reason Blackie should be afraid of them. Blackie, on his behalf, didn''t dare rush out of the fairy palace just yet.


    Less than a split second later though, Zen understood what the Soul-shaking Mastiff was afraid of!


    Outside the fairy palace, more and more giant apes emerged from behind the walls and around the corners, one by one. In a very short period of time, more than ten apes had actually appeared. Each and every one of them very tall and strong.


    The first giant ape, the one who had attacked Zen, had a completely white body. The second giant ape had a wisp of bright red fur that looked like raging flames on the top of its head. It was three times bigger than the first giant and was also much stronger. The apes that emerged now were even larger than that, and they all had red hair on their heads, too.


    In fact, the all-white giant ape was just a baby compared to


    , it seemed to have a miraculous effect on the monsters in the Swirl Forest. The enormous monsters were trapped in this great flow of power and were pushed out of the fairy palace with a gust of force!


    "Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak..."


    The giant crimson bug, on its behalf, was unwilling to be expelled so easily. It had keenly sensed Zen''s existence and seemed to know that he was a key figure in the fairy palace. It was at that moment that it opened its six pairs of bright red wings and charged towards Zen, despite the onslaught of power. Despite its best efforts, the invisible force was very great and the bug''s flying route in the air was crooked. Its speed was still shockingly fast and in the blink of an eye, it was only two or three short feet away from Zen.


    So close up, Zen could now clearly see its detailed sickle-like mouthpart and smell the stench emitted by it.


    When the giant crimson bug opened its mouth to swallow Zen''s head, beams of seven-colored light flew over once again. A saving grace!


    It turned out that the seven-colored long sword continued releasing sword shadows in order to kill the remaining vicious beasts. However, most of the vicious beasts had been pushed straight out of the fairy palace by the surge of power just before. Now, the seven-colored long sword naturally aimed at its next target, the giant crimson bug.


    Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!


    A cambered blood-red light appeared on the surface of this giant crimson bug, blocking the seven-colored sword. Despite its capacity to block the attack, its body was involuntarily pushed back by the sword shadows, and it kept getting further and further away from Zen!


    It took a split second for Zen to realize what was happening, but once he did, he turned around and ran, quickly dashing into the pavilion.


    Clang!


    Accompanied by a second sound from the top of the pavilion, another surge of power flooded out in all directions. The giant crimson bug wanted to block the seven-colored sword shadows, but it no longer had enough strength to resist the torrent of power. Its body, as tall as a human being, rolled into the air and in the blink of an eye, it too, was sent flying directly out of the fairy palace!

 Chapter 2114 Path To The Divine Land

    The killing arrays of the fairy palace had been triggered in a specific order.


    Zen had panicked though, and he had left several powerful killing arrays not activated.


    However, the seven-colored long sword and the mighty hammer atop the pavilion''s roof had done their job. They''d exterminated most of the vicious beasts in the courtyard, and left only corpses of birds, bugs, and giant apes behind.


    The terrible creatures that had been driven out of the palace were seen circling the walls and searching for a way in. Zen could tell they wouldn''t be leaving anytime soon.


    It was the mammoth, crimson bug that worried Zen the most though. It stared at him with unblinking, blood red eyes. A hiss slipped from its pincers making him shiver in disgust. It seemed as if it were trying to speak to Zen.


    A strange feeling crawled up Zen''s spine and made his heart stutter in fear. The voice that echoed in his mind was high pitched and grating.


    It wasn''t like he could understand the hissing sounds, but he was able to understand the impression and meaning of the words. Such a unique form of communication.


    "Release the item from underground," the bug hissed. "We will allow you to leave the Swirl Forest without causing you any difficulty. We will even gift you with three precious fruits. It is a very generous deal."


    Zen''s face was scrunched, expressing just how uncomfortable receiving the message had been.


    Saul, who was standing nearby, barked out a cold laugh when he noticed Zen''s face. "It''s best to ignore the creature. It must want to release the thing under the palace. Humph, these damned monsters will never give up."


    "What is buried underneath the fairy palace, exactly?" Zen asked, curious.


    Earlier, Zen had discovered that many of the restrictions and killing arrays in this place were targeted at something hidden underneath the fairy palace. The beasts outside the palace were as strong as True Gods, and they must have been clawing their way through to reach this level. Their need was so strong that they were risking their lives to steal what was under the palace. Whatever was down below was incredibly important Zen was sure.


    Taking a deep breath, Saul shook his head and said, "It benefits you not to know that now. This thing can affect the rankings of the Floating Islands in the Time Sea. When the time comes, you''ll be told. For now, though, let us drive these foul beasts away."


    If Zen had been presented with this before now, he would have exploded with hundreds of questions.


    After experiencing everything he had though, Zen was able to hold himself back. He understood that it might not be prudent for him to know at this time, and he just needed to simply focus on the task at hand. If he knew what was under the palace, it could cause unneeded worries and distractions.


    Zen met the gaze of the crimson beast and shook his head. "I refuse."


    Zen did not shout or use his chaotic energy, instead he had spoken calmly and in a soft voice. That didn''t seem to hinder the bug from un


    ly Geniuses, represented the hope that Mike had planted. Although the hope was not great, it represented an infinite number of possibilities. Wynn couldn''t allow Margaret to go gallivanting wherever she pleased. Not when he needed her here to continue cultivating. He hoped one day she would have the chance to become a True God.


    Zen had heartily agreed with Wynn''s decision, and it only served to make Margaret angry. It took a long time for Zen to calm Margaret and convince her that staying with Wynn would be the best option. Because of this it had taken him much longer to prepare than he had planned.


    A month and a half had passed by the time Zen settled everything, and went to find Wynn.


    Since Wynn''s body had been destroyed, he could no longer move freely in the universe. Master Feng had to lead Zen through the universe to reach a northern supreme world of the Evolutionary Universe. It happened to be the Gem Jade World.


    There was a small, nameless race occupying this supreme world. It was so minuscule, and it only had three world lords.


    Zen and Wynn kept their arrival a secret from the small race. Once they entered the Gem Jade World, under Wynn''s careful instruction, Master Feng directed Zen to continue north. He would continue north until he reached the northernmost tip of the Evolutionary Universe, and arrived at the Sighing Wall.


    When Master Feng stopped, Zen asked, "Did Rocher also sneak in from this place?"


    Wynn shook his head and answered, "No. He did not follow the same route as you."


    When they were all quiet again, Wynn stepped up to the Sighing Wall. Placing his hand on the wall, a red light started to emanate from Wynn''s palm. They watched as the pulsing red light crept out along the wall, and the section of brick seemed to melt away to form a tunnel.


    Along the tunnel walls and ceiling, blue veined patterns crisscrossed and spiraled down the path. There wasn''t the slightest fluctuation of the Space Law, and they knew this was the correct path to the divine land.

 Chapter 2115 The Slabs Punishment

    Before Zen entered the passageway, Wynn had provided a piece of crucial information. "In theory, the Godly Genius is allowed to enter the divine land. However, if they were to sneak into the divine land, they would be punished by the latter. Hence, ever since the ancient times and up until today, only a very limited few secondary creatures have chosen to sneak their way in."


    "The smuggling will be punished?" Wynn''s words had stunned Zen. "But I don''t understand! When I''m in the fairy palace..."


    "That''s because you haven''t left the Swirl Forest yet. If you enter the divine land through Holy Bromley''s fairy palace, even if you manage to leave the Swirl Forest safely, you''ll still be punished. This rule was amended by the Jiang Clan."


    After the Jiang Clan had taken charge of the ascension, they helped the Holy Beings in the Hall of Holy Beings in guiding the secondary creatures who ascended. Every single creature who ascended to the divine land would be recorded from then on.


    The warriors who successfully ascended to the divine land were considered valuable resources to the Holy Beings. After all, martial artists that ascended from their own universe were all True Gods and they relied solely on themselves when it came to condensing their own Godly Tiles. True Gods like these were also viewed as extremely popular talents across the divine land.


    Following countless years of development though, the Hall of Holy Beings had formulated a set of detailed rules in order to balance out the interests of the various great clans as well as the Holy Beings. Those who ascended to the divine land were actually distributed according to the Floating Islands'' ranks. The powerful warriors that a few Holy Beings cultivated in their inner worlds were taken away by others, which caused them to become displeased and angry.


    And thus during a good period of time, a great number of warriors were stolen into the divine land.


    Certain Holy Beings even brought their inner worlds'' Godly Geniuses directly into the divine land for training.


    In a fit of rage, the Jiang Clan immediately changed the rules on the stone slab in order to restrict the Holy Beings from doing such a thing.


    The few martial artists that still dared to steal their way into the divine land would certainly receive the stone slab''s punishment. From then on, only very few secondary creatures dared to secretly immigrate the land; after all, the stone slab''s rules were not to be violated by anyone.


    "I''ve never heard of such a serious matter in the past... Why have you never mentioned this before?" Zen asked in bewilderment.


    Wynn smiled slightly. "Master has already taken this question into consideration."


    Zen suddenly remembered something. "My blood?"


    Wynn nodded briskly. "Yes. The blood that has been inherited by the Celestial Position race was prepared for the Godly Geniuses. This kind of blood can avoid tracking and punishment, but those who utilize it will ultimately face unpredictable consequences."


    If they hadn''t swapped Zen''s blood though, then Murphy would discover him the very moment he set foot in the divine land. At this point, the serious conse


    he time it was halfway toward Zen, he felt his body suddenly warming up as the golden blood in his body began to burn!


    Simultaneously, the palm print seemed confused, having lost its target, and it looked like a headless fly circling over and over again ten miles above Zen''s head. It just wasn''t capable of locking down on Zen anymore.


    ''So that''s how it is!'' Zen thought to himself.


    He looked up at the sky, a faint smile now slowly spreading on his lips.


    He instantly understood that Wynn had been right. The golden blood could indeed help him escape punishment...


    This black palm print continued circling around for quite a while but never found Zen. After some time, it turned into a black ball and came crashing down from the sky!


    ''This is bad!'' Zen''s thoughts were whirling now.


    Immediately upon seeing the scene, he knew something was wrong. He turned his head and ran toward the other side of the vegetable patch.


    The moment the black ball hit the ground, it exploded, sending out several clumps of black threads. The threads interweaved themselves in order to form a huge web that spread out in all directions. This web spread at an extremely high speed. Even though Zen was running as fast as his legs could carry him, the web wasn''t escapable.


    Swish, swish, swish...


    Strands of black, hair-like threads shot toward and into Zen''s body.


    These black threads didn''t cause any substantial physical damage to Zen''s body, but they tightly wrapped around his cinnabar field. And after his cinnabar field was completely bounded, he immediately felt as though he had lost contact with his inner world!


    ''This... This can''t be happening...''


    Zen, suddenly felt overwhelmingly shocked and confused.


    Wynn had reminded him on several occasions that there might be unpredictable consequences, and Zen was well-prepared.


    Despite that, he never expected that the consequence he would face would be one like this. His own cinnabar field was sealed and he was unable to extract the chaotic energy and strength source within. Thus, he lost the two greatest things that he relied on...

 Chapter 2116 Crickets

    The strands of black thread were like thick locks of hair. A part of them fused into Zen''s body and coiled around his cinnabar field, and the rest just disappeared.


    He looked at the blue sky and let out a long exhale.


    It had been a long day. He was greatly disappointed that his cinnabar field was sealed, but at least he was still alive. That was good, right?


    Zen sighed. Looking far into the distance, a rich vegetable field caught his attention. Its wide expanse was out of this world, the lush green fields extending as wide as the ocean.


    And now, he was standing in the middle of it.


    "What the hell is this place?"


    Though ruled by True Gods and Holy Beings, there were also mortals with low levels of cultivation that lived in the divine land. Could it be that this vegetable field was theirs?


    No, Zen frowned. The soil under his feet was soil of the divine land. Even the warriors at the Soul Sea Realm or Spirit Supreme Realm would have to exert much effort to reclaim this field. Ordinary mortals wouldn''t be able to move a piece of dirt.


    "Then these seedlings..."


    Zen reached for a seedling and studied it closely. He could not identify what type it was, but it was certainly a tough one. It didn''t break under Zen''s fingers when he casually pinched it, and only when he had used 1% of his strength did the seed break.


    "Huh," muttered Zen. "This is tougher that a sacred weapon in the Evolutionary Universe."


    Obviously, these vegetables weren''t for ordinary mortals to eat. What mortal could bite a sacred weapon to pieces?


    Right now, Zen regretted not asking Wynn about the local customs of the divine land. That way, he would''ve known a little more about this place, and he wouldn''t be so lost.


    Refusing to wander aimlessly, Zen chose a direction and started to trek.


    Although he couldn''t fly or travel through space in the divine land, he had an extremely strong physique and his running speed wasn''t too slow.


    What he didn''t expect however, was that six hours later, when he had traveled ten thousand miles, he was still in the lush green vegetable field. This field was endless!


    Zen was distraught. No matter which angle he looked at it, this world just didn''t seem real. Was this preposterous illu


    was made.


    "This cricket is following me!" Zen''s eyebrows had raised slightly. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a swarm of black insects pop out, all of them as big as a puppy. Soon, Zen was surrounded.


    "Click! Click! Click! Click! Click..."


    Jumping sounds filled the night as the army of crickets gathered around Zen.


    "Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak¡­"


    The crickets began chirping. The sound that hundreds of crickets made was deafening, as if the crickets were the only creatures that existed in this world. It did not last very long, though.


    After they conversed for a while, the area became quiet once again. However, the crickets which glowed under the full moon looked at Zen with greedy eyes. They were looking at him like food!


    Zen made a face. "Were you discussing how to divide me among yourselves?"


    "Clatter!"


    One of the crickets jumped up. As the puppy-sized cricket leaped into the air, it spread its wings and swooped down towards Zen.


    But just as it got close, a fist sent it flying to the other direction.


    Zen had a surprised look on his face as he clenched his right fist and looked at the cricket that was thrown away by him.


    Even though his cinnabar field was sealed, his physical strength and the power in the Eight Path Platforms couldn''t be underestimated. At least this strength was ten times that of an ordinary world lord. Zen frowned and pursed his lips. His punch should have shattered the cricket but there it was, unscathed.

 Chapter 2117 A Little Boy

    After the first cricket was smashed into the air, all the other crickets started moving.


    "Click! Click! Click..."


    The crickets charged forward astonishingly fast. In the blink of an eye, they were firmly wrapped around Zen. Obviously, they wanted to take advantage of their large numbers to devour him completely.


    But they soon discovered a big problem¡ªtheir originally invincible mouth parts couldn''t seem to tear the prey in front of them, nor could they leave any wounds on Zen''s body.


    Zen sighed as he was pressed down at the bottom. Although the black insects couldn''t hurt him, he was still rather flustered.


    Then, he rolled up and stomped heavily on the ground.


    And the insects under his feet were stomped into the earth.


    If Zen was in a universe, he would''ve been able to shake the earth with a single stomp and maybe even a whole valley would''ve collapsed. But now, he caused only a small hole between the grass and not a single cricket was trampled to death.


    But with the help of this force, Zen managed to soar straight into the air, shaking off the crickets attached to his body and landing heavily somewhere not too far away.


    These crickets seemed to possess some incredibly powerful concealing abilities, able to avoid the soul power Zen released. However, their strength was not strong, and they would probably be considered the lowest level of life forms within the divine land...


    Click, click, click¡­


    When the crickets saw Zen escape, they all made another leap, spreading their wings and chasing him in the air.


    Zen heaved a sigh¡ªhe wouldn''t be able to walk out this lush and verdant vegetable field in a short time anyway. Since these reckless insects were attacking him, he didn''t bother to run away. He would just stay to play with them for a while to kill time.


    Immediately after he closed his eyes, the surface of his soul in his mind flashed with golden light. After it lit up, it instantly spread over the whole surface of his soul. Then, small golden swords began circling Zen''s soul.


    Apart from using his cinnabar field, Zen could also use his soul power.


    When the swarm arrived, Zen suddenly opened his eyes.


    A golden light suddenly surged from his pupils.


    Swish, swish, swish, swish¡­


    The golden lights contained sharp auras, all of them like many small invisible arrows. These arrows looked incredibly real and back then, they could even shatter a cliff wall.


    But what made these small arrows tru


    o make it out of a vegetable field.


    Seeing Zen''s expression, the little boy smiled again. "What I said is the truth. You are fortunate to have met me today. Otherwise, you would never be able to leave this place! Get on, let my Ed take you!"


    The boy said, patting the back of the huge bull.


    The enormous bull stood about thirty feet tall with an extremely broad back. A dozen people could have probably fit on there with ease.


    Seeing the boy''s sincerity, Zen thought he might have just been overthinking too much. Without any more hesitation, he took a step forward and jumped onto the bull''s back. The boy patted the bull''s back and said, "Ed, take me back!"


    The giant bull began moving forward with its head bowed.


    Moving very slowly, the bull was like regular farm cattle plowing the soil. But suddenly, Zen felt a change in the surrounding space as if it was an illusion. Although the bull seemed to be moving slowly, it was still carrying him forward swiftly.


    "There are so many plants in this field, I wonder what they are," Zen remarked cautiously. Though the little boy didn''t seem to have any tricks hidden away, Zen figured he had to be careful about everything in the divine land.


    "You don''t even know this? Are you from outside?" the little boy returned the question.


    After a moment of hesitation, Zen answered, "Sort of."


    "All the plants growing here are Jade Immortal Rice¡ªall food for the divine citizens," the little boy explained. "The Jade Immortal Rice is exclusive in our Vast Sky Region! It''s a specialty!"


    Divine citizens? Vast Sky Region? Zen could only repeat the words silently in his mind.

 Chapter 2118 Misunderstanding

    The entirety of the divine land was divided into multiple regions.


    The four largest regions were the East, the West, the North, and the South; and their corresponding divine trees were the Ray Tree, the Sunrest Tree, the Lofty Tree, and the Hidden Tree.


    The four divine trees each had their own unique and miraculous abilities. It could also be said that they kept the divine land stable, and it was because of them that the divine land constantly drew in chaotic energy and converted it to vitality between the heaven and earth.


    In addition to the four great regions and the central Time Sea, there were many other regions in the divine land as well.


    Although Zen roughly understood them, he couldn''t memorize every single one of them. However, he knew that he was in the Vast Sky Region as of the moment.


    He had tried to learn about the situation from the little boy on the back of the bull, but the little boy didn''t know much and gave him a lot of irrelevant answers. Nevertheless, Zen quickly got a rough grasp of the whole situation.


    It turned out the so-called divine citizens were actually mortals from the divine land.


    These divine citizens either did not cultivate or they had mediocre talents. Despite that, they were still much stronger than the mortals in the universe.


    For instance, they were able to reclaim the vast and boundless vegetable field on their own.


    Generally speaking, not even a Life and Death Realm warrior in the universe could easily dig out such a vegetable field. Only the warriors of the Soul Sea Realm could do so with their physical power, and they could barely even. However, ordinary divine citizens in the divine land could do it.


    In other words, every single divine citizen of the divine land was born to be a super powerful warrior.


    It was no wonder when Zen had obtained Holy Jay''s strength source, the Holy Being warned him that pure power was nothing in the divine land.


    "Such a large vegetable field, how many divine citizens are needed to reclaim it?" Zen asked again. The wide vegetable field seemed endless.


    Thus, it would need a large number of people if they wanted to reclaim it. In any case, Zen wanted to know how many divine citizens lived in the place.


    However, the little boy just rolled his eyes at Zen and said, "Who said we have to dig up the field ourselves? We have cattle." He patted his Ed as he spoke, who in turn responded with a low ''moo.''


    At that moment, Zen couldn''t help but feel a bit awkward when he heard the boy''s words.


    Apparently, the village where the little boy was from only had around four thousand divine citizens. It was just a nameless little village in the Vast Sky Region.


    All of those divine citizens depended on farming to make a living, specifically growing Jade Immortal Rice.


    Although the divine citizens were strong and formidable, they w


    anwhile, the boy who hid at one side examined Zen''s indifferent expression. His large eyes were wide with shock when he realized that the man on the bull''s back was just toying with them.


    It was known that the divine citizens were not trained professionally. Even though they were exceptionally strong, they couldn''t hold out for too long by just using their strength. After less than two minutes, many of them were too tired to the point that they were gasping for air. They held their spears and stared at Zen, dumbfounded.


    The few remaining divine citizens who still persisted decided to stop as well. They weren''t stupid; after all this entire time, they hadn''t even touched Zen''s clothes. Their differences in strength were too much. They all thought that this brat was simply toying with them.


    Zen stood on the back of the bull and surveyed the divine citizens. "Everyone, why did you attack me?" he asked coldly.


    As soon as his voice died down, the divine citizen who was at the helm angrily shouted, "There''s no need to say anything else. If you want to kill us, just do it. We members of the Misty Mountain Village will not leave this place!"


    "Right, this Misty Mountain is a clan land that has been passed down by our ancestors for generations. Why should we let you drive us away?" another divine citizen furiously chimed in. Suddenly, the crowd parted as someone rushed forward.


    "I, I''m going to kill you!"


    The strongest divine citizen among the lot held his long spear and charged towards Zen once again.


    Zen raised his eyebrows as he gripped the divine citizen''s long spear. The Eight Path Platforms in his body burst and exerted a powerful force. When the divine citizen stabbed him with the spear, the weapon had gotten crushed with an exploding sound.


    The rest of the divine citizens were stunned in silence. "Is there any misunderstanding here?" Zen asked in a deep voice.

 Chapter 2119 The Proving Godly Warrior

    Zen''s actions intimidated the excited divine citizens.


    He slightly understood what they meant when he heard what they said.


    Some people seemed to be trying to take over the Misty Mountain Village and driving the people out. These divine citizens were unwilling to leave though so their supposed conquerors decided to hire some extra muscles to cause them trouble.


    When Zen entered the divine land, he immediately fell onto a vegetable field and then eradicated a great crowd of pests there. Soon he was seen by a boy who immediately took him to the village so that the other divine citizens could team up and kill him.


    Realizing that it was all a misunderstanding, Zen felt the need to clarify things.


    "I am a mere passerby. I unintentionally crashed into that vegetable field. I did not intend to offend anyone. Why did you all attack me though?" he murmured faintly.


    He wasn''t angry, not after knowing what was finally going on.


    "Did we misunderstand then?"


    "Weren''t you sent here by the Sun Moon Village?"


    The divine citizens all wavered, seeing the innocent look on Zen''s face.


    Zen shook his head. "I haven''t even heard of a Sun Moon Village before."


    "How can we trust you?" one of the divine citizens asked.


    "Just trust me." A friendly smile broke through Zen''s face. "Then you can trust me!"


    "Whoosh!"


    Zen finally left the back of the bull in a flash.


    Even if he couldn''t launch the Wind Law to fly, he could still make use of the ingenious movement techniques he had learned in the past. To these divine citizens, it appeared as if he simply vanished like a ghost.


    They only felt a light breeze brush past them and suddenly, their grips on their spears loosened and they found themselves without their weapons.


    In just a few seconds, Zen was already standing in the middle of the village gate with a bundle of spears in his hands.


    Everyone''s faces paled in fright. "If I had been sent by the Sun Moon Village, then all of you would''ve already been dead," he told them indifferently before throwing the spears on the ground.


    Nobody uttered a word to dispute Zen''s claim.


    What he said was reasonable. The strength Zen had displayed was enough to kill all of them in one sitting. That much was pretty obvious.


    However, the divine citizens were still full of hostility and Zen couldn''t help but despair in his heart.


    If it weren''t for the fact that he newly crashed here then he wouldn''t have bothered with these divine citizens.


    He had to remind himself that this was the divine land and not the univer


    now."


    His words immediately eased the tension. The divine citizens all seemed to believe Woolley''s words and felt that Zen had no enmity towards them at the very least.


    With the misunderstanding solved, Woolley led the way and took Zen to the largest building in the village.


    Inside the building was a brazier located at the very center. On top of the brazier was a large pot that seemed to be cooking something and emitted a thick fragrance of meat.


    Zen couldn''t help but stare at the fire. However, he couldn''t see through the laws that were contained within the flames.


    His gaze then went to the logs on the bottom of the brazier and he immediately understood that it was this precious pile that gave the flames such a strange quality.


    No wonder Livingston was so excited when he saw the materials in the fairy palace. Rare and precious logs such as these were used as kindling for cooking by common divine citizens.


    The divine citizens were all very accommodating to Zen and treated him as a guest. A proving godly warrior was a very high status in their eyes after all.


    "Where did you come from, Sir?" Woolley asked. "Why did you come here to our Misty Mountain Village?"


    Even when he was still in the universe, Wynn had already taught Zen a set of excuses to answer any question that might endanger his real identity.


    "I''m Thad Luo. I came from another region and got lost when I went into the Vast Sky Region. I accidentally broke into that vegetable field..." Zen narrated sheepishly but in his mind, all the information he gave was tied in an orderly manner.


    "You got lost in the Vast Sky Region..." Woolley murmured in astonishment, disbelief written all over his face.

 Chapter 2120 Zens Guidance (Part One)

    Zen certainly knew that if he made up any kind of story, there would always be something he couldn''t explain clearly. Little details and crucial parts would usually be a dead giveaway in a false story.


    However, if he provided less information instead, it was less likely that they would discover that he was a liar. Additionally, it didn''t matter whether they believed all of his words or not


    Moreover, these people were just some divine citizens. It was impossible for them to find out anything about his background. For those citizens, they would easily dismiss Zen as a random passerby.


    Just as Zen had expected, Woolley did not pursue the topic any longer. Instead, he told Zen honestly that their little mountain village was quite remote in the Vast Sky Region. Even the nearest divine city was very far away. As such, a smile shone in Woolley''s face as he invited Zen to stay in the Misty Mountain Village first.


    The Misty Mountain Village faced a great enemy and Zen was a proving godly warrior. Ever since he arrived at their village, their invitation was completely within Zen''s expectations. He gladly accepted the offer.


    After he witnessed that Zen had agreed to stay, Woolley immediately beamed with pleasure. "My friend, I bet you must be wearied by your long journey. It must have been a long way before you arrived here. Brother, go and fetch two jugs of our best wines for our honored guest!"


    Afterward, Woolley opened the large pot in front of him. A rich aroma of meat suddenly filled the entire place.


    Zen hadn''t eaten any food for a long time. As such, he immediately felt his appetite stir the moment he smelled the aroma of the meat. A loud growl was heard in his abdomen. Based on Woolley''s introduction, the meat stewed in the pot had been peeled off from the Iron Tooth Beast.


    As a Spirit Transformation Realm warrior, Woolley didn''t need to eat food as well. However, he still ate the meat of the Iron Tooth Beast which had the function to increase his strength. F


    e squarely!"


    The sun had not yet fully risen. However, multiple swords were heard as they clashed with each other from outside the house. Even though it was just the break of dawn, dozens of warriors already held swords and sparred with each other.


    Zen stood up and pushed open the door. As he laid eyes on the field, he saw Woolley with a cyan steel sword. Systematic strikes and slashes were magnificently displayed by Woolley.


    The movements displayed by Woolley were unfamiliar to Zen. However, Zen''s comprehension of swordsmanship had already reached the level of Ripping Consciousness. He had long since far surpassed the level of a grand master and had profound insight about swordsmanship. He could tell with a single glance that this set of sword skills was extremely simple and crude. A chuckle almost escaped Zen''s lips as he was amused by the sight in front of him.


    ''It seems that these divine citizens aren''t more advanced than secondary creatures in every aspect. Their swordsmanship could really use some improvements, '' Zen thought to himself.


    Let alone a Spirit Transformation Realm warrior, even an ordinary Life and Death Realm or Soul Sea Realm warrior from his universe could be regarded as a grand master of swordsmanship. Most warriors from Zen''s universe practiced many sets of excellent sword skills.

 Chapter 2121 Zens Guidance (Part Two)

    However, although Woolley was at the Spirit Transformation Realm, the sword skills he used were rather ordinary. It was just a variant of the basic swordsmanship, which was far less flexible. Woolley would be easily defeated by most warriors from Zen''s universe when it was about swordsmanship.


    Zen pondered over it. Curious eyes painted his face. Immediately, he quickly understood the reasons. The divine citizens were born with spectacular strength. If they could absorb the vitality between heaven and earth in the divine land and advance in their cultivation levels, they could open up their Soul Sea and become a Soul Sea Realm warrior.


    The Soul Sea Realm warriors in the divine land had equivalent status to nature creatures in the Lower World of Zen''s universe. Additionally, they had just started their martial path. As a Spirit Transformation Realm warrior, Woolley was only slightly stronger than an ordinary person. He was a villager of a remote village, so it was incredible enough that he could reach the Spirit Transformation Realm. It was nearly impossible for him to get any advanced sword skills to learn. The distance of the village to civilization had hindered any advanced sword techniques to be integrated by its warriors.


    Along with Woolley, a group of children also diligently practiced.


    The kids probably couldn''t get a sword, so they could only use branches and sticks instead. However, their determination was still apparent in children''s expressions. They were quite serious as they imitated Woolley''s movements.


    ''These branches should be valuable enough to exchange for a high-quality sacred weapon in our universe.''


    As this thought passed through his mind, Zen smiled softly. No matter where he went, there were always people who were dedicated to the martial arts. With a calm and appreciative expression, he walked down the stairs of the house.


    "Be serious! Adjust your stance properly!" As he noticed Zen''s presence, Woolley starte


    cultivation methods, resources, and even masters...


    To the divine citizens, those were things that they couldn''t even reach. As such, the Godly Way Tablets for cultivation were only a legend to most divine citizens.


    Although Zen was not a True God, as a proving godly warrior, he could still be a good teacher to them. However, they had never thought that Zen would agree to teach them so easily. All of them started to form a sense of admiration towards him.


    After Zen had finished his words, he took a step forward and waved his hand toward Thomson. The wooden sword in the boy''s hand suddenly flew into Zen''s hand. Thomson revealed a surprised expression.


    Although this wooden sword was a toy for a child, it actually weighed over ten thousand pounds. Thomson was only seven or eight years old but he was still a divine citizen. His strength could not be measured by the standard of the universe. A divine citizen would naturally be born with spectacular strength compared to secondary creatures.


    "To learn to use a sword, you should learn to move swiftly first. Take a good look!"


    As he finished his remarks, Zen took a step forward and started to shift left and right. He was using the Sword Step that he hadn''t used in a long time. Incredible footwork was witnessed by Woolley and the children.

 Chapter 2122 Pursue The Godly Way (Part One)

    Once Zen began to exhibit his set of Sword Step, the eyes of Woolley, Thomson and a few other children immediately lit up. All of them were in awe of Zen''s magnificent display of skill.


    Due to the Eagle Sword Skill that Woolley had used previously, Zen had already understood the strangeness of the divine land. The cultivation methods, which were practiced by the disciples supported by the True Gods, were extremely exquisite. Each disciple would cultivate many of those methods in their lifetime. Perhaps those methods were inherited from the comprehension of Holy Beings and later inherited from the Godly Ways!


    However, the distance between divine citizens and those disciples was extremely far. As such, their abilities were also vastly different.


    When the divine citizens finally grew up, they would naturally have incredible strength. Additionally, their perception would be several times better than those of the divine land''s martial artists. However, it was difficult for the divine citizens to even get a chance to learn some of the most basic martial arts of the universe! Zen had no idea how such a situation had developed. Pity and disappointment were in his eyes.


    Perhaps it was because the little mountain village was too remote. Or maybe, it was because the situation had been developed in the divine land for countless years. Nonetheless, their predicament should be addressed as soon as possible.


    Although the divine citizens did not possess any powerful martial arts manuals, their physiques were still powerful and they had extraordinary perception. Each of them meticulously watched Zen''s movements. After Zen finished his Sword Step, the eyes of Woolley and the children were full of admiration!


    "Hooo... hooo... hooo¡­"


    After Zen ascended to the Upper World, it was no longer important to fight against a martial artist with sword moves. As such, most of the cultivation methods he had gathered over the years became less useful. There were many cultivation methods that he could only discard.


    B


    ivation. However, Woolley''s talent was average at best. Additionally, the Misty Mountain Village was not rich with resources. The village could barely give him the rare resources he needed. Therefore, Woolley''s strength was also mediocre.


    After he saw the talent that his little brother had displayed seemed to far surpass his own, Woolley felt both depressed and happy for his little brother. A mix of admiration and regret crept in his heart. He wondered if he should let his brother become Zen''s disciple...


    Over the next few days, Zen continued to teach the children the Sword Step. Everyone was very eager to comprehend the profound movements. Zen also saw some benefits in his interaction with the villagers.


    He could learn more information about the Vast Sky Region. Additionally, since the village provided him a place to stay, he could unravel the black threads in his cinnabar field with ease.


    The villagers of the Misty Mountain Village were all very kind. They knew that Zen was a proving godly warrior. Additionally, he even taught a few children the swordsmanship every day. Naturally, they were very grateful and always made the best food in the village for Zen to eat.


    At the same time, the villagers had all sorts of speculations about Zen''s background. His mysteriousness and kind character created colorful rumors about him.

 Chapter 2123 Pursue The Godly Way (Part Two)

    The villagers were not stupid. A proving godly warrior with unknown background stayed in their little village might because the warrior possibly committed some crime and escaped his origins to avoid punishment. However, since the Misty Mountain Village was so remote, perhaps no one would be able to find the place. As such, they were not too worried.


    Zen had been in the Misty Mountain Village for more than half a month. Within that period, about half of the black threads in his cinnabar field had already melted away. In another half a month, he should be able to completely get rid of all of those black threads. His strength would finally be rejuvenated. Additionally, Zen had good knowledge of the Vast Sky Region. After those black threads melted away, he would leave the village. The vast region could be finally explored by him.


    The divine citizens'' cultivation talent was not weak. However, it was just that their foundation was too poor. Thus, it was difficult for them to bring out their full strength. With his cultivation base of the Spirit Transformation Realm, Woolley could barely employ the Sword Step. As such, his movements were still not agile enough.


    On the other hand, Thomson''s talent was indeed beyond Zen''s expectations. Even though he had yet to open his Soul Sea, it only took him three days to master the Sword Step. Such fast comprehension was spectacular even for Zen. Thomson''s talent was greater than that of any ordinary people. Even seasoned warriors would be impressed by Thomson''s extraordinary talent for comprehension.


    Therefore, based on Thomson''s talent, Zen had developed a new sword technique. He aligned it with the basic sword technique Woolley practiced, with the addition of the Sword Step. The newly created technique was then imparted to Thomson...


    Thomson meticulously practiced the sword technique day and night for the past few days. When he


    A determined expression painted his face. He then announced with a brave tone, "I cultivate the martial arts not just to protect the Misty Mountain Village! "I, I want to... pursue the Godly Way!"


    After he heard Thomson say such words, Woolley was very shocked. With an opened mouth, Woolley gawked at his brother. He had never thought that his brother had such an ideal.


    In the divine land, there was a huge gap between the divine citizens and True Gods.


    Once one succeeded in the cultivation of the Godly Way, it meant that they would achieve unlimited lifespan and unlimited possibilities. The Godly Way was a gateway for limitless power and strength.


    However, even though the number of True Gods in the divine land was large, it did not mean that it was easy to cultivate the Godly Ways. That particular method of cultivation was very strenuous. The warriors that cultivated the Godly Ways also rarely succeeded.


    The vast majority of True Gods were born countless divine eras ago. A True God wouldn''t die because their lifespan was already inexhaustible. Old age and sickness would mean nothing to them. As such, there were so many True Gods out there. However, only a few divine citizens would be able to master the Godly Ways and become True Gods.

 Chapter 2124 The Invaders (Part One)

    An intense passion was reflected in Thomson''s black eyes. It almost seemed that a wildfire had lit up in his pupils.


    As he looked at Thomson''s resolute gaze, Zen''s heart was moved. Thomson was like him in his early years, firm and decisive. Such a dedicated character was very respectable.


    Whether it was the warrior spirit or the Godly Way, in truth, it was a path of continuous growth. Zen himself didn''t know whether there was an end to that path either. However, once warriors set foot in the path of martial arts, they must try hard to make progress. The improvement of their strength and cultivation was an integral part of their lives.


    If Thomson only wanted to protect Misty Mountain Village, there was no need for him to acknowledge Zen as his master. It would be enough for Thomson to diligently practice by himself.


    "Sorry. You are very passionate. I commend you for that. However, for now, I can''t take you as my disciple," Zen said with a regretful smile.


    "Not now, but when?" Thomson asked, his eyes flashed with glee. He was surprised that Zen didn''t refuse him directly.


    Zen took a deep breath and looked up at the sky above the Vast Sky Region. A brilliant sun shone across the sky and emitted an intense light. That was a true sun, and also the only sun in the divine land.


    After some thought, Zen looked deeply at Thomson''s passionate eyes. He then replied with a kind voice, "If one day you hear my name in the Vast Sky Region, come look for me."


    Zen had come for revenge, so the probability of his death was very high. The enemies he wanted to defeat and might encounter were dangerously strong.


    If he could one day defend himself against Murphy, then he would have the qualifications to establish his own sect within th


    re two divine citizens from Misty Mountain Village. With further inspection, the two citizens were already mutilated corpses. One of them had his neck cut off, while the other was directly cut in half. The sight was too horrible to look at.


    "Humph! Our leader gave you three months to leave Misty Mountain Village. He was already kind enough to give you a chance to escape. Since you refuse to leave, you will be punished. Don''t blame us for being cruel!" The one in the lead waved the large cyan saber in his hand and laughed sinisterly. An arrogant expression painted his ugly face. He ruthlessly killed the two divine citizens to intimidate and drive away all the people of Misty Mountain Village.


    "Since you are unwilling to depart, then there is no need to leave anymore. The chief has already said that the sabers in our hands won''t become sharper unless we kill continuously. You imbeciles will be the perfect sacrifices for our strength. Guys, other than women, kill everyone else. The elderly and children are no exception!" The warrior waved his long saber and led the other six warriors to rush in. With a barbaric howl, the warriors infiltrated the village.

 Chapter 2125 The Invaders (Part Two)

    Zen had stayed in Misty Mountain Village for more than half a month. The people there were simple and hospitable. They were more than kind enough to provide Zen with delicious food and a place to stay. As he witnessed how cruelly the villagers were killed, Zen immediately felt unparalleled wrath in his heart. However, the anger instantly disappeared from his eyes. As a mature warrior, he was able to suppress the emotions in his heart at any time.


    Most of the villagers fled helplessly in panic, but there were still some brave villagers who stepped forward with spears in their hands. However, they were pitifully weak despite their valor. They also knew they were no match for their opponents. As their arms shook with terror, they hoped for at least an honorable death.


    Thump! Thump!


    A cyan saber light flashed, and the long spears in the hands of those villagers suddenly broke into two pieces. The villagers became engulfed with despair as their weapons became useless. The warrior in the lead had a cold smile on his face. He raised the cyan saber in his hand again and was about to chop off the head of a villager.


    "Now is the time!"


    Zen descended from the top of the house. Before he landed, he gave the ground an elbow strike. His powerful display immediately caught the attention of the invaders. As his body spun in a circle, the wooden sword in his hand pointed out.


    The wooden sword weighed more than ten thousand pounds, while the cyan long saber in the Spirit Supreme Realm warrior''s hand weighed more than a hundred thousand pounds. Since Zen couldn''t activate his cinnabar field, he naturally could not infuse his chaotic energy into the wooden sword. As such, the wooden sword he held would naturally be inferior to the long sabers of the enemies.


    However, just as Z


    had only heard of it from his brother. However, it seemed that they weren''t as powerful as Zen.


    "I, I''m not sure either." Woolley''s heart pounded relentlessly. He originally couldn''t tell Zen''s cultivation level, but as far as he knew, a proving godly warrior couldn''t defeat seven Spirit Supreme Realm warriors in such a short time. However, Zen had easily defeated not just one, but all seven of them. Was Zen already a True God? But he didn''t have the unique aura of a True God.


    "Brat, who are you? How dare you do this? We are from the Sun Moon Village. Our leader..." The head of the group of Spirit Supreme Realm warriors covered his arm and stared at Zen fiercely. Surely, he had discovered that Zen was a proving godly warrior. Therefore, he wanted to scare Zen away. He immediately mentioned the village they were from to incite fear in Zen. A small village like Misty Mountain Village would not have a proving godly warrior.


    However, before the enemy warrior could finish his words, Zen lifted his foot. Instantly, a stone flew towards the enemy warrior. The stone heavily smashed into the warrior''s jaw and crushed it into pieces. The warrior couldn''t even scream, let alone speak.

 Chapter 2126 The Village Leader (Part One)

    A small pebble in the divine land weighed about five hundred pounds. Combined with Zen''s insanely powerful kick, it could shatter anything it hit.


    The martial artist at the helm couldn''t say anything that threatened Zen, so another martial artist beside him wanted to say something. After all, the Sun Moon Village backed them¡ªthey had no reason to be afraid.


    But just as that martial artist was about to speak, Zen''s foot kicked another stone and hit the martial artist''s jaw accurately.


    "Tack!"


    Of course, his jaw had been broken.


    When the other martial artists saw the scene, they didn''t dare to threaten Zen. All of them remained quiet in fear of Zen, who might kick a stone that would smash their faces as well.


    "You guys deal with these people," Zen said indifferently.


    Indeed, the Misty Mountain Village''s people all wanted to kill those warriors and they shared the same sentiments among each other. "They killed two of us!


    We have to avenge them!"


    "Kill them!"


    Those who had killed others must die¡ªsuch was a principle that was universally accepted in the entire world.


    Therefore, the angry villagers tightly held on to their spears and charged toward those warriors.


    Although the villagers of the Misty Mountain Village were kind and honest, they didn''t show the slightest mercy to the murderers who killed the members of their village.


    The warriors on the opposite side immediately ran for their lives at the sight of the Misty Mountain villagers despite their broken wrists, courtesy of Zen.


    However, just as they turned around, Zen stomped his foot on the ground and kicked the stones beneath his feet one by one.


    The tiny stones that were filled with great momentum were accurately shot at the crooks of the wa


    Village started to get louder. "We might as well leave here!


    If the warriors of the Sun Moon Village come over to kill us, won''t all of us have to die?" "Leave?


    Why do we have to leave? From generation to generation, this place has belonged to our Misty Mountain Village. We can''t just let them occupy this place. They are just too unreasonable!"


    "Our Misty Mountain Village is remote and we are not rich, but why do the people of the Sun Moon Village still want to occupy this place? I think they just want to cause trouble!"


    There was indeed, nothing important about their village.


    In addition, the outside of the Misty Mountain Village was just a flat and wide vegetable patch. What could the Sun Moon Village want from that vegetable patch?


    "What are you afraid of? We can just let Thad attack and destroy the Sun Moon Village," one villager shouted. When the rest of the villagers heard those words, they all turned to look at Zen.


    He was their only hope. The question was whether Thad was willing to take such a huge risk to help them fend off the Sun Moon Village.


    On the other hand, Woolley and Thomson sat by the side without saying anything.

 Chapter 2127 The Village Leader (Part Two)

    Back then, Zen suddenly appeared in their remote mountain village. He taught them martial art skills and helped them resist the Sun Moon Village''s attacks. It was no doubt that he had done a lot for them. Now, they also wanted him to destroy the Sun Moon Village, which seemed a bit unreasonable.


    The entire house suddenly quieted down. No one dared to take the initiative to ask Zen for help.


    At the corner of the house, Zen looked at the ceiling and said, "I will stay in the Misty Mountain Village for another fifteen days, and then I will leave. Thanks for treating me in a friendly way these last few days. If the warriors of the Sun Moon Village dare to come here again, I will help you punish them."


    That was the guarantee Zen could give. He did not know much about the Sun Moon Village, but he discovered that they weren''t actually powerful warriors. Thus, he believed that their leader wasn''t that strong as well. Even if Zen couldn''t use the chaotic energy for now, it shouldn''t be hard for him to deal with them.


    However, he also guessed that there must be a higher-level force behind the Sun Moon Village. If such a force was a True God, Zen''s current strength wouldn''t allow him to effectively fight back. He would be in trouble.


    He didn''t want to enter the divine land and be chased around by a group of True Gods. If he wasn''t careful, he might lose his life. That was not what he wanted.


    Once Zen was done speaking, he closed his eyes again. The house was slowly filled with the villagers'' whispers once more.


    Since the warriors of the Sun Moon Village had been killed on this day, and their people were known to be domineering, it wouldn''t


    nce.


    "Proving godly warrior!"


    Of course, the Sun Moon Village leader knew much more than the ordinary warriors because he was a proving godly warrior. He could tell with a single glance that Zen was powerful. Even though Zen had deliberately restrained himself, the aura that he loosely emitted still shocked the leader of the Sun Moon Village.


    "I protect the Misty Mountain Village. Please leave this place. Then, I will not kill you," Zen spoke first.


    However, the warriors around the leader of the Sun Moon Village were deeply offended by his words.


    "Who the hell are you? Just kneel down in front of our leader, and then apologize to him with your life!"


    "You are just a mere proving godly warrior, but why are you so reckless? Do you think you are the best in this world?


    Our leader will make you regret ever coming here!"


    "All of you shut up!" the leader of the Sun Moon Village suddenly yelled.


    The whole time, his cold gaze was fixed on Zen. After he regained his bearings, he cupped his hands and asked, "Sir, would you care to tell me who your master is? May I have your name?"

 Chapter 2128 Master Evil

    The martial arts of the Divine Land had existed for a long time and had gone through countless eras of development. However, it was now stuck in a bottleneck.


    Generally speaking, the level or achievement a divine citizen could reach was already defined after they were born. Moreover, their social strata was fixed and thus, rarely changed.


    Therefore, the chances of a small village like the Misty Mountain Village to have some powerful warriors were close to none.


    The leader of the Sun Moon Village was naturally infuriated, but he had sharp eyes. He knew that Zen wasn''t an ordinary person and of course, secretly raised his vigilance. That was why he first asked Zen where he learned martial arts from in order to find out more about his background.


    "My master?" Zen flatly said and glanced at him.


    Zen glanced at this person and said indifferently, "You don''t have the right to know about this."


    The subordinates of the Sun Moon Village''s leader began to curse Zen among themselves once again when they heard his words.


    Just as they began to speak, Zen threw the pebbles that were concealed in his fingers at lightning speed. Several swooshing sounds filled the air as the jaws of the martial artists who cursed Zen had gotten shattered by the pebbles. They fell to the ground and rolled around in pain.


    Meanwhile, the leader of the Sun Moon Village just stood there motionlessly. Even if Zen hadn''t moved yet, he knew that he was no match for this person. Since Zen had refused to reveal where he had learned martial arts, he relented and said, "To be honest, my friend, our Sun Moon Village is doing favors for someone else! That person is definitely not someone you can afford to offend. Doing so for the sake of the Misty Mountain Village is surely not a wise choice!"


    When he was finished speaking, Zen paused in contemplation.


    It could be said that this leader of the Sun Moon Village was intelligent to some level. He wasn''t like some extremely conceited and foolish people who looked for trouble with Zen and wanted to kill him first.


    Since the leader said that they were doing things for someone else and that person was someone he couldn''t afford to offend, then that person must be a powerful True God.


    There was still a huge difference between a world lord and a True God. However, to be able to bridge that gap would certainly feel like reaching the heaven from the earth. But, Zen''s current strength did not allow him to have even the slightest chance of winning against a low-rank True God.


    Moreover, those black threads currently bound his cinnabar field, so it was even more impossible for him to compete against a True God.


    The leader of the Sun Moon Village mentally snickered when he noticed the change in Zen''s expression. ''This person hesitated. I''ll push a


    Silence immediately enveloped the Misty Mountain Village at the leader of the Sun Moon Village''s words. However, they whispered among themselves, and their murmurs did not escape Zen''s ears.


    "About the thirty-six islands and seventy-two villages, I remember that there is indeed such a legend in the Vast Sky Region. Our Misty Mountain Village belongs to one of these regions."


    "Hmph, that is just a story someone has made up. A few divine eras ago? Will anyone even believe the things that have been passed down from such a long time ago?"


    "Yes, that person is the infamous Master Evil. It''s just that according to the legends, he had died a long time ago, and those villages and islands have been destroyed as well."


    "..."


    The whispers were barely audible, but Zen still heard them all. He couldn''t help but raise his eyebrows, his lips twitched. A glimmer of confidence flashed in his eyes when he heard the words "Master Evil". He stared at the leader of the Sun Moon Village and asked, "The person you''re talking about, is he really Master Evil?"


    As for Master Evil''s return, the leader of the Sun Moon Village hadn''t found the right time to announce it to the public. At the very least, he did not plan to reveal it until he had helped Master Evil obtain the thing that he had buried under Misty Mountain Village.


    Now that some people had already guessed who the person was, the leader of the Sun Moon Village chuckled as he assumed that Zen was frightened. He thought that it would be best if Zen would be wary of the overwhelming odds against him and just back off. He then continued, "Master Evil is now a mid-rank True God. If he personally comes here, you won''t have any chance to resist and you will definitely die. Those villagers will also suffer from an unimaginable disaster. You should convince them to leave with you as quickly as you can!"

 Chapter 2129 Muddy Moon Cave

    The divine citizens of Misty Mountain Village didn''t believe that Master Evil had returned.


    Such a legend had been spread over a long time, after all. Most of the characters in these legends were already ancient figures¡ªtheir return wasn''t something people would easily accept.


    But Zen had no doubt about it because it was he who personally released Master Evil.


    After being released, Master Evil and Wayne had rushed into Swirl Forest before the fairy palace was besieged by a group of vicious creatures from the divine land.


    At this point, Zen wasn''t sure whether or not these two had died under the hands of those ferocious beasts¡ªhe had also been worried that even with the two''s strength to defy the heavens, they''d still have difficulty surviving against the vicious beasts.


    Now, it seemed that Zen''s worries were unnecessary. Master Evil had been imprisoned for so long that as soon as he was released, he wanted to restore his former glory. It was merely a coincidence that Master Evil''s den was actually the Vast Sky Region.


    "If you don''t believe me, I won''t be the one coming here again. Next time, it will be Master Evil himself," said the chief of the Sun Moon Village.


    A strong mid-rank True God was also a powerful figure in the divine land.


    With such a backer, his Sun Moon Village''s position could be greatly enhanced in the future. It pleased the chief, believing that Zen would compromise and no one was willing to seek death before a True God.


    "I believe you," Zen said faintly.


    Hearing Zen''s words, the Sun Moon Village''s chief and his subordinates immediately heaved a sigh of relief, knowing that they didn''t have to fight Zen, a proving godly warrior. If they could make him retreat on his own in the face of such difficulties, they''d achieve ideal results.


    "Since that''s the case, you can persuade the villagers of Misty Mountain Village to leave obediently or you can leave on your own. Let us deal with the villagers," the chief said with a smile.


    The members of the Misty Mountain Village weren''t expecting Zen to truly believe the chief''s words¡ªthey were stunned. "Thad, you can''t just accept what they say. They mean only to scare us."


    "The Sun Moon Village is a mere dilapidated village that has survived for tens of thousands of years. How could they possibly find a True God to help them?"


    "¡­"


    Ze


    rations of our ancestors¡­"


    "Our ancestors?! This person has been around much longer than them! If the legend is true, we have indeed occupied Master Evil''s old territory."


    Zen was speechless.


    Since the villagers were too agitated, Zen couldn''t be bothered to explain any longer.


    Meanwhile¡­in the Sun Moon Village


    The Muddy Moon Cave was originally abandoned for countless years¡ªthe entrance had also collapsed a long time ago.


    But during this period of time, the Sun Moon Village had reopened the Muddy Moon Cave''s entrance and cleaned it meticulously. Soon after, it was classified as a forbidden area by the Sun Moon Village. No one was allowed to approach it.


    The Sun Moon Village''s chief kneeled before the cave in respect. Lowering his voice, he said, "Master Evil, it is not that I have failed my mission. I don''t know where the Misty Mountain Village got such a strong warrior to help them. Although he''s only a proving godly warrior, his strength is indeed extraordinary. I''m very sensitive to soul theurgy, as you may know, and I found that proving godly warrior''s soul may surpass the Gold Fighting Soul. His soul may even be a True God Soul!"


    After that, the chief didn''t dare move an inch.


    "Nonsense! A mere world lord able to cultivate his soul into a Gold Fighting Soul is already too outstanding¡­ but to have the True God Soul? I''m afraid that even the wealthy clans of the Floating Islands cannot do it." Master Evil''s voice transmitted from the cave. There weren''t many world lords with a Gold Fighting Soul¡ªit was difficult to believe.

 Chapter 2130 Meet Zen Again

    After Master Evil left the Swirl Forest, he noticed a large group of vicious beasts. The beasts frantically rushed towards the fairy palace.


    Although he and Wayne were powerful, if they really were to be surrounded by that group of ferocious beasts, then the odds were against them. Such dangerous beasts would give them a hard time and probably even severe injuries¡­


    The strange thing was that the vicious beasts only glanced at the two of them for a brief moment and then ignored them. It seemed like that the beasts considered them unimportant.


    After the beasts had left, Master Evil and Wayne then quietly left the Swirl Forest. As they finally safely escaped the forest, they both went their separate ways.


    Master Evil had been imprisoned for many divine eras¡­


    For a True God, seven or eight divine eras wouldn''t have too great of a change. Nothing more than two or three new Holy Beings would appear in that period. Additionally, there would only be little changes in the rankings of the Floating Islands on the Time Sea.


    However, for the divine citizens, the change was quite significant. The point-of-views of a True God and divine citizens were extremely different.


    When Master Evil returned to the Vast Sky Region, he discovered that the thirty-six islands and seventy-two villages that he had founded had long since been destroyed. All of his creations were already in ruins. The vast majority of them had already disappeared as time passed by.


    He had expected it. However, when he found out that there were three villages left among the seventy-two villages, he felt delighted. After all, those were the inheritance that he had left behind. Additionally, after all those years, there were still many warriors who continuously struggled just to survive.


    It was true that Master Evil had committed many evil deeds. However, he still treasured old friendships. Even though the talent and strength of the warriors that remained were like jokes in the eyes of Master Evil, he still treated them well. He was even prepared to take out some of the things he had hidden in the Vast Sky Region before he slowly regained his power!


    However, there were some things about Master Evil that could not come to light. For example, the thing buried under Misty Mountain Village. He had just returned to the Vast Sky Region, and was just about to regain his ground, so he had to do everything with extreme caution.


    Furthermore, the weakness of the people in the Sun Moon Village was beyond his imagination. Their talents and strengths were pathetic. They had even failed to complete a small task like the expulsion of divine citizens. That was not something that Master Evil had expected. A depressed expression came across his face.


    Immediately, the leader of the Sun Moon Village had made a report. In order to conceal his incompetence, he naturally exaggerated about Zen''s abilities. A soul of a world lord was comparable to that of a True God? What nonsense!


    In all of his life, Master Evil had only seen one person who had cultivated his soul to such


    nly take a blink of an eye to kill him!"


    Master Evil lazily sat on the palanquin with an indifferent look. Even if what the leader of the Sun Moon Village said was true, the other party was still just a world lord. Such a low-level warrior was not qualified to be his opponent.


    After they crossed the hill, Master Evil and his group finally arrived at the Misty Mountain Village. With a callous expression, Master Evil lazily lay on the palanquin. As he finally stopped, he looked at the direction which the Sun Moon Village''s leader pointed. His eyes suddenly widened as he gazed at the entrance of the village. The moment he caught the person at the entrance of the village, Master Evil frantically stood up and revealed a look like he had seen a ghost!


    "Zen!"


    Disbelief painted Master Evil''s face. He then used his hand to wipe his eyes, as if to get a better look...


    "Master Evil?" After he saw Master Evil''s expression, the leader of the Sun Moon Village was also slightly surprised. Could it be that the proving godly warrior at the entrance of the Misty Mountain Village was indeed someone of great background?


    Master Evil did not answer. He observed for a while and after he confirmed that the warrior was indeed Zen, he felt conflicted at the moment. His confusion was reflected in his expression. Previously when he left the fairy palace, Master Evil hoped that he would never encounter Zen again for the rest of his life. After all, the divine land was a huge place, so the chances of another encounter with him were slim. But he didn''t expect that he would meet Zen again so soon. He was really unlucky! All he could do was bite his lips in disappointment.


    He then jumped down from the palanquin and turned around. Without a single word, he left the Misty Mountain Village. The leader of the Sun Moon Village was baffled by the scene. With widened eyes, the leader could only gawk silently.


    However, after Master Evil had taken more than a few steps, he heard Zen call out to him, "Master Evil, didn''t you recognize me?"

 Chapter 2131 The Sealing Machine

    Master Evil had never thought that he would meet Zen in the Misty Mountain Village! A displeased expression came across Master Evil''s face.


    The Swirl Forest was not far from their location, but it was still three regions away. Master Evil thought that he probably had some bad karma to coincidentally run into Zen in this small mountain village in the northern part of the Vast Sky Region. He could not tell how he felt, and could only accept that he and Zen were fated to meet.


    Other than Bromley and a few other Holy Beings, Zen was probably the last person Master Evil wanted to see.


    To leave the dungeon, Master Evil had accepted an extremely unfair inner demon oath to Zen that he would do precisely as Zen asked. If he disobeyed Zen, he would be attacked by the oath! A heavy gulp was made by Master Evil as he remembered the oath.


    After he had managed to leave the dungeon, Master Evil naturally wished to achieve more in the Godly Way. With an insatiable thirst for power, he wanted to cultivate more to improve his strength. He was already at the peak of the mid-rank True God which meant that as long as he took one more step, he would be able to become a top-rank True God. At that time, his strength and position would be on a whole new level. Even if the Holy Beings wanted to make a move against him, they would be wary of him.


    With a strong desire to keep his life, Master Evil definitely wouldn''t violate his inner demon oath. As soon as he heard what Zen said from behind, Master Evil''s body instantly stiffened. He then slowly turned his head, and chuckled, "I did, of course I recognized you."


    "Good," Zen uttered and nodded his head. With an indifferent face, Zen casually said, "Since you still remember me, you can stay here today. I have something that I need your help with."


    The leader of the Sun Moon Village and his subordinates, who stood beside Master Evil, were instantly dumbfounded. A curious expression painted their faces as they witnessed how obedient Master Evil''s reaction was. Master Evil had a high reputation in their hearts.


    Who was the proving godly warrior from the Misty Mountain Village? How dare he speak to Master Evil in such a manner!


    To their surprise, Master Evil did not get angry nor annoyed. Instead, he gave a pleasant laugh, which made it even harder for them to think straight. He was just belittled by the proving godly warrior. How could he be so calm?


    "It''s okay if you need my help, but I''ve only just returned to the Vast Sky Region. There is a thing that I want to take away, and it just so happen to be buried under the Misty Mountain Village. Can you ask these villagers to retreat first?" Master Evil stated with a calm tone. His gentle face didn''t reflect his true emotions. In his eyes, the divine citizens were as humble as ants. However, since Zen was here, he had to get his permission first.


    When the villagers of the Misty Mountain Village saw that Master Evil had personally come, they were naturally frightened. Cold sweat trickled down their spines as they witnessed his arrival. To them, Master Evil was a legendary evil god. In the Vast Sky Region, if a child behaved badly, some adults would use his existence to scare the child. They would often say, "If you don''t behave well, Master Evil would come and captur


    e achievement of such a goal was easily within his grasp. With his abilities, Zen could even be a consummate True God in the future.


    However, not everyone dared to fight against those Holy Beings! A battle with such powerful creatures could only be a hellish nightmare.


    Since Master Evil was reluctant to join him, Zen did not force the matter anymore. All Zen needed Master Evil to do was to help him settle down in the divine land.


    After they had entered the center of the Misty Mountain Village, Master Evil became restless. He stretched out his hand and slapped the ground left and right. As he searched for a certain object, his head almost touched the ground.


    Some time had passed for their search. Finally, Master Evil confirmed a spot. Then, he walked a few steps to the side and suddenly slapped the ground with his hand.


    Immediately, a massive divine texture appeared in his hand! An intense expression was revealed in Master Evil''s face as he saw the divine texture.


    Without any delay, the divine texture turned into a giant arrow, and then the arrow slowly crawled on the ground.


    "Click! Click!"


    At that moment, a muffled sound came from underneath the Misty Mountain Village. Metals and heavy stones were heard to collide with one another. It seemed that a huge mechanism had been opened deep underground.


    An expression of euphoria appeared on Master Evil''s face. Expectant eyes and a cheerful smile revealed his happiness about the discovery. The Sealing Machine that he set before was still effective. It only meant that in the years that he had been gone, no one had been able to get their hands on the thing that he had hidden underneath.


    However, when he opened the Sealing Machine, a powerful aura suddenly erupted from one of the buildings in the Misty Mountain Village. Both Zen and Master Evil immediately raised their guards. At the same time, a burst of arrogant laughter resounded, "Ha-ha, Master Evil, you''re finally back! I''ve been waiting for you for seven divine eras!"


    As soon as Master Evil heard the voice, his face immediately changed. The previous joyful expression he displayed had suddenly disappeared!


    Zen''s eyebrows creased with curiosity.

 Chapter 2132 Falling

    The Sealing Machine was set up by Master Evil and it was quite ingenious, to say the least.


    Once the Sealing Machine itself was sealed, it only gave one chance to be opened. If someone attempted to open it using the wrong order, the entire Sealing Machine would self-destruct, including everything inside it.


    At the time, Master Evil had sealed an extremely important treasure, one that he had obtained himself and buried it beneath the Black Wind Ridge. Even if someone was determined enough to try stealing it from its spot, they wouldn''t obtain anything anyway.


    After the seven divine eras had passed, the first thing Master Evil did after he returned was retrieve his treasure. Clearly, through his actions, one could tell that this treasure was extremely important to him.


    What Master Evil hadn''t expected though, was that someone would be waiting for him in the Vast Sky Region. Even more so, that same person had waited for a full seven divine eras.


    And yet, Zen had been staying in Misty Mountain Village the entire time. Never had he noticed the presence, let alone the existence of such a character.


    To have the capacity of hiding within Misty Mountain Village and completely avoiding Zen''s sharp spiritual sense could only mean that this person was strong. Perhaps even stronger than Master Evil. And what was to say of his courage, showing up here at such a time?


    With a squeak, a house door amidst the Misty Mountain Village creaked slowly open. A figure walked out. He was thin and handsome and carried a feather fan in his hand. As he walked, he spoke and smiled arrogantly. "To be honest, I never actually expected you to come back, you evil old dog. This Sealing Machine is so ingenious - I''ve studied it myself for so many years. I even asked someone to seal it with the Timing Godly Way so that I could take out its content after triggering it. Unfortunately, I just didn''t dare take the risk, for fear of destroying the Sealing Machine. My only option was to sit and wait, possibly forever. And now, the day has finally come!"


    Master Evil''s face was covered in a coldness. He stared at the person with his bean-sized eyes as words came out of his mouth, "Yorick Yin! Humph! You really are fucking patient!"


    Seeing Master Evil''s expression, the smile on Yorick''s face quickly began to spread. His eyes twinkled and he said, "Of course! For something of such importance, trust me, I could''ve afforded to waste even more time. What''s a mere seven divine eras? Make me wait for seventy! Then we''ll talk patience."


    As Yorick spoke, his eyes indifferently glanced behind Master Evil on several occasions. "But I''m curious, this little fellow named Thad standing behind you, where does he come from?" he asked. "Among proving godly warriors, Thad can be


    now have the opportunity for revenge, but he also had a sense of pride in the idea that he was going to obtain that important object.


    At that moment, Zen was at a loss. He had encountered Master Evil in the divine land and wanted to help him. But who knew that Master Evil would run into a powerful enemy right after he had returned to Vast Sky Region? Zen hadn''t seen it coming.


    In a battle of this level, even watching the fight was a great risk for Zen, much less going forward to help. Right now, the wisest decision for him was to leave. His strength was nowhere near being up to par.


    "Humph! You evil old dog! Back when you stole my good fortune, you never expected this day to come, did you?"


    Yorick suddenly turned around with mighty speed, once again dodging Master Evil''s grab with ease. He waved the feather fan and slammed it down heavily on Master Evil''s body.


    Boom!


    Master Evil''s frail body suddenly smashed into the whole of Misty Mountain Village. The ridge, originally a maze of cracks, ultimately collapsed with a loud crash. The hill that Misty Mountain Village was on was now a hollow ditch.


    After the small hill collapsed, the houses and pavilions that had been built there rapidly sank into the hill and fell into a huge, dark cave. Zen also involuntarily fell into the cave.


    As Zen fell into the depths, an overwhelming feeling of depression washed over him. ''It''s truly inconvenient for a person in the divine land to be unable to fly, '' he thought to himself.


    As for the warriors of Sun Moon Village, those that were standing outside guarding Misty Mountain Village, they were all dumbstruck as well. How could they dare step foot into Misty Mountain Village after Master Evil told them not to go inside? Thus, they stayed where they were and remained ignorant to what went on within Misty Mountain Village.

 Chapter 2133 Crack On The Ball

    Zen kept on falling down, colliding with random things in his way.


    The things found in the divine land were a thousand times bigger than those in the universe. So if a mountain collapsed, the impact would without a doubt send a Spirit Transformation Realm warrior or even a Spirit Supreme Realm warrior to death.


    Zen''s physical body was considered quite strong, so he didn''t get injured when he fell. The damage to him was that he became involved in the conflict between Master Evil and Yorick.


    "Boom, boom, boom..."


    It turned out that there was a huge cave tucked under the Black Wind Ridge. Apparently, Master Evil set this place up as his lair because of its remoteness and covertness.


    He used the Sealing Machine in the past to completely seal the cave. Historically, only Yorick had attempted to sneak into this cave to open the Sealing Machine and take the treasure. However, Master Evil''s Sealing Machine was designed so ingeniously that it remained almost impossible for anyone to take the treasure out the Sealing Machine without destroying it. Because of this, Yorick waited for seven divine eras in the Vast Sky Region, and Master Evil finally came back.


    However, the villagers of the Misty Mountain Village were completely unaware of this. Their ancestors came to the Black Wind Ridge in the hopes to reclaim the land. They wanted to turn Black Wind Ridge into a small village, where the members of the Misty Mountain Village would reside for generations.


    The thing was because Yorick and Master Evil were at war in that place, the mountain collapsed.


    Just like Zen, Yorick and Master Evil proved to be unable to fly in the divine land too. At this moment, they started falling into the cave with Zen beside them.


    Notably, the two of them were both mid-rank True Gods, so they were much stronger than Zen. Amidst a pile of rubble and ashes, Master Evil and Yorick continued to battle one another.


    After a long while, Zen finally dropped down to the bottom of the cave and was buried under the sand. The sand and stones found in the divine land were always extremely heavy. Though there seemed to be only a few stones above him, he felt as if tens of thousands of mountains were pressing down on him, inhibiting him from moving.


    He mimicked an earthworm to wriggle himself out.


    When Zen was finally able to stick his head out, he spat out all the sand and dirt from his mouth with a loud "Bleh". Then, he took advantage of the faint light that shot


    and to deal with the enemy all the time, but in the end, he didn''t dare to face Master Evil head on. When his face was finally formed, he charged forward. He dodged Master Evil''s devil claws with a palm blade, and chopped horizontally forward.


    "BOOM!"


    "Crack, crack, crack..."


    Following a muffled sound, the devil claw on Master Evil''s right hand suddenly fell to the ground. His bones were shattered and easily seen as Yorick seemed to have chopped it off.


    "I have told you countless times," exclaimed Yorick. "If you want to die, don''t blame me for killing you." An evil grin plastered across his face as he sent out another palm strike.


    "Crack, crack, crack..."


    The second palm blade landed on the shoulder of Master Evil. Half the bones in his body were crushed within him as he crashed into a rock on the side of the cave. This created a hole in the rock as his body fell through it, tens of feet deep.


    This was surprising, because the toughness of the rocks in the divine land was similar to that of the Dark Star.


    If Zen did not use the strength source, he knew it would take some effort to break these rocks apart.


    It was odd. It seemed as if the rocks became weakened during the battle between Yorick and Master Evil. How could he have slammed into the rock so deeply?


    "Crack."


    Just then, an extremely faint cracking sound rang from within the ball. Yorick and Master Evil had been in the middle of their battle, so they failed to even notice.


    From a distance, Zen was able to see everything clearly. A small crack developed down the ball, as if the treasure within was trying to break out of it. What could it be?

 Chapter 2134 The Mouse

    That last attack had Master Evil panting for his last gasp.


    The energy from that palm blade that struck him was still wreaking havoc in his body, half of which was now paralyzed.


    Yorick, on the other hand, had a faint smile on his face as he walked towards Master Evil. "As a True God, you should know when to give up. I never got the chance to obtain that thing in the past. Do you know why I let you obtain it?"


    Master Evil merely lay there at the crevice and stared up at Yorick, refusing to answer.


    "Because I knew that it would provoke Bromley. I''m not stupid. I knew that taking something from a Holy Being was like courting my own death," Yorick continued. "That''s why I gave up and that''s how it ended up in your hands. In the end, you were just one of my many scapegoats. Seven divine eras is indeed a long time but our lifespans are limitless. Time is basically nonexistent. Ha-ha-ha-ha..."


    His maniacal laugh echoed in the entire cave, causing a disturbance in the stone. When Zen heard it, he immediately felt a sharp pain in his ears that made him dizzy.


    Despite his speech, Master Evil remained silent in front of Yorick. This made the latter feel quite bored. With a light sigh, he turned his right hand into a palm blade and once again swung towards Master Evil.


    Realizing that he was about to be dealt by the killing blow, Master Evil wasn''t willing to just sit and wait for Yorick''s attack. He also raised the devil claw on his left hand and sent it towards his opponent.


    Unfortunately, just one flip of Yorick''s hand was enough to shatter Master Evil''s devil claw. There was the sick sound of shattering bones as Master Evil''s left hand was crushed under Yorick''s force.


    Master Evil felt a surge of grief in his heart and his hand fell limply to his side. He found himself no longer able to resist what was coming.


    He had spent everything getting that one thing: from shaking the entire Vast Sky Region to almost losing his life at one point. When he did manage to get it, he was inevitably caught by Bromley. Fortunately, Bromley was one of the most merciful Holy Beings in existence which meant Master Evil''s life was spared but he would spend it imprisoned in the dungeon of the fairy palace.


    Seven divine eras - that was how long he spent in the darkness of his cel


    from the inside. He pointed at his chest and continuously shot out a series of attacks.


    Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff!


    Numerous bloody holes appeared on his chest; even his heart wasn''t spared and blood continuously gushed forth from his body.


    However, the mouse remained nimble and was now quickly drilling its way to his lower abdomen.


    Immediately afterward, Yorick felt a numbing sensation in his cinnabar field. He fell to the ground with a plop as his body convulsed involuntarily.


    All of these events happened in a span of ten seconds. Both Zen and Master Evil couldn''t help but gasp in shock as they watched such a gruesome scene.


    What kind of mouse was that? How could it be so powerful?


    Not long after, Zen noticed a small bulge appear on Yorick''s lower abdomen before bursting out in a spray of fresh blood. The mouse had drilled itself out of Yorick''s body through his stomach. With a sassy flick of its head, it spat out a jade-green thing from its mouth and onto the ground.


    It seemed to be an octagonal gemstone that flickered with a faint green light and emitted a unique ''momentum.'' It was Yorick''s Godly Tile!


    This Godly Tile was incomparably sturdy and impossible to destroy. The mouse would be unable to swallow it but it still managed to tear it out from Yorick''s inner world.


    After spitting out the Godly Tile, the mouse then looked up at Zen and sized him up with its bean-sized eyes.


    Realizing that he was only a world lord, the mouse let out two squeaks and leaped towards Master Evil instead.

 Chapter 2135 Devouring The Soul

    The mouse proved to be so extraordinarily powerful, so how could Master Evil even resist?


    All he did was to watch as the mouse pounced towards him, stabbing into his stomach.


    The mouse was very intelligent as it seemed to understand that Master Evil had no power to resist. Thus it became even more unscrupulous. For some reason, it drilled half of its body into the body of Master Evil, greedily sucking the life vitality from Master Evil''s inner world. From the outside, one could notice a slender tail hanging from his chest, emitting a small bright yellow light.


    Master Evil and Yorick both gave similar reactions, both with widened eyes and mouths left hanging. He trembled in horror at the sight.


    Not long after, with a splash of blood, a black Godly Tile was bitten out by the mouse. A loud sound wailed out as it was thrown to the ground.


    Since Master Evil had sealed the inner world with the Godly Tile, this prevented the mouse from devouring the creatures found in the inner world. Because of this, the mouse stripped the Godly Tile directly from Master Evil''s inner world.


    Once the Godly Tile was removed, it extended its head into the body of Master Evil and began to frantically devour the creatures around.


    Zen never would have thought that the "treasure" Master Evil tried to hide would turn out to be such a small, yet vicious beast.


    After this mouse emptied out Master Evil''s inner world, the one next to suffer would probably be Zen. Although Zen had a sturdy body and the Redemption Armor to protect him, he was afraid he wouldn''t be able to resist this eccentric mouse''s attacks.


    After making his way out of the sand, he glanced over at Master Evil with pity in his eyes. Master Evil''s eyes were closed shut, and his physical body was totally damaged.


    Zen was not a relative nor friend of Master Evil. However, seeing him go through such a miserable death made Zen feel sorry for him. It was so tragic.


    Notably, Master Evil was a True God of the divine land who had sworn an inner demon oath before. If he could give Zen some help or advice, Zen would be able to deal with everything easily in the divine land, avoiding great trouble.


    The mouse''s exposed tail was still wiggling around. While it continued devouring Master Evil''s cinnabar field, Zen carefully walked towards the other side of the ca


    his cage, but it became more and more difficult for his soul to move. There seemed to be an invisible force suppressing his soul while at the same time, quickly going through his memories.


    "You... you are actually the son of Mike?"


    After Yorick read a portion of Zen''s memories, his soul was slightly stunned before a look of bliss spread across his face. If Zen was really the son of Mike, then he would obtain all of Mike''s wondrous inheritance. If Zen had controlled the secrets of the Holy Being, then that would be the greatest treasure of all.


    If he knew earlier of Zen''s identity, he would have gone through this entire process even before the mouse hatched.


    However, just as Yorick was devouring Zen''s soul, Master Evil''s soul soared out of his mind and entered Zen''s, too.


    "Yorick! I will not let you off!"


    Master Evil had just returned to the divine land but was harmed by Yorick to such an extent. In addition, his cinnabar field and physical body had also been destroyed by the Stone Mouse. Now that his soul managed to escape his lifeless body, he was going to seek revenge on Yorick at all costs.


    The soul of Master Evil was naturally powerful. As soon as it entered Zen''s mind, it went straight for Yorick''s soul. Without any hesitation, the two souls fiercely collided with each other with a strong, forceful impact of energy.


    It was also because of Master Evil''s attack that Yorick was forced to stop consuming Zen''s soul. Immediately, Zen felt a sense of relief and seized this opportunity to break free from Yorick''s claws.

 Chapter 2136 A Lose-lose

    That narrow escape from death threw Zen''s mind into turmoil.


    He never thought he would almost lose his life in this small mountain village. If it weren''t for Master Evil''s soul rushing into his mind at the most critical moment then his soul would''ve already been devoured by Yorick.


    He had lost his father''s help ever since he left the Evolutionary Universe. He no longer enjoyed the privileges of having a miraculous destiny as he did in the past. Danger lurked in every corner of this divine land he found himself in.


    Master Evil''s and Yorick''s souls were entangled together and fought fiercely in Zen''s mind.


    Cultivating souls was not an easy feat, not even for True Gods.


    During the time that Master Evil spent locked up in the fairy palace, Yorick''s cultivation had increased quite a bit. It was true that Master Evil was not his match but the difference between them wasn''t extraordinary.


    In the end, the fight between these True Gods concluded with a draw.


    If he were to die, then Master Evil was determined to pull Yorick down with him. However, Yorick had already waited for so many years and he wasn''t willing to die in this fight.


    "Stop!" Yorick roared before another round began. "Do you know who this brat is?"


    However, Master Evil wasn''t listening. There was a crazed look in his eyes as countless spikes appeared on the surface of his soul before it charged towards Yorick again!


    "That boy is the son of a Holy Being. His soul contains great secrets! Once I get his soul and read his memories, I can share them with you. I can even create a powerful body for you in the future..." Yorick said, dodging Master Evil''s attack.


    "Hmph, I already know about everything you just said! You''re too sly. How can I ever trust you? I won''t stop until I kill you. I will definitely shatter your soul!"


    Master Evil had taken the inner demon oath. Even if he already knew Zen''s identity, he couldn''t really make a move against him. In the end, Yorick''s offer was no good for him at all. Besides, Yorick was sly and once he took over Zen''s soul, he would definitely attack Master Evil. Only a three-year-old would believe Yorick''s supposed compromise.


    "We can negotiate¡­"


    However, before Yorick could even finish his words, Master Evil was already charging at him. The latter stretche


    to bring it back from the precipice of collapse.


    Master Evil couldn''t help but stare at Zen with a complicated expression.


    "Why did you save me?" he asked. He definitely wasn''t someone Zen could trust and he knew that the young man wasn''t stupid. Why in the world would he help a wicked old man like him?


    "I still need your help. You can''t die now," Zen answered simply.


    "My physical body has already been destroyed and my cultivation is gone. My soul, the only thing left of me, is a mere dying candle. I am no different from a dead person. Ha-ha!" Master Evil laughed as if mocking himself. Maybe it was because of the state of his soul, maybe it was because he was sad, or maybe it was both but it seemed as if he had lost the courage and the will to live on.


    "Isn''t there still a chance? You can still seize this opportunity," Zen told him.


    "Seize this opportunity..."


    Master Evil lowered his head in thought. He was previously afraid of Murphy so he didn''t dare involve himself in the battle between Holy Beings. He only truly wanted to regain his past glory in the Vast Sky Region.


    Now, all he was left with was his soul, so did he really have any other choice?


    Someone like Zen had terribly great potential. If he could achieve astonishing things and find a place in the Hall of Holy Beings, then it might not be impossible for the young man to help him recover his physical body and increase his cultivation by leaps and bounds.


    With this in mind, Master Evil''s eyes shone bright with hope for the future!

 Chapter 2137 Run Away

    Master Evil thought that Zen''s origins and his status were both extraordinary.


    Although the Floating Island that was built by Mike years ago had collapsed, his disciples were still very active. Harold, Mike''s chief disciple, was still a well-known figure in the divine land.


    However, Master Evil didn''t understand that Zen had stepped into the divine land like a headless fly, and almost got lost in the Vast Sky Region. Not only that, but he also stayed within a small mountain village in the north of the Vast Sky Region for a long time.


    Master Evil did not know that Zen had been sent to the Vast Sky Region because he had sneaked into the divine land. Wynn had carefully chosen the place to secure his first foothold since it was a small region, which didn''t make it stand out much in the divine land. Furthermore, it was a relatively stable region, so it also wasn''t too dangerous.


    The deep voice of Master Evil spoke, "I am a True God and the only goal of my life is to rule over a region. I used to be too bloody and ruthless, which is why I am called Master Evil. Right now, I am hopeless as I have fallen into this kind of situation. I am willing to give up this chance, but if you need my help, I will do my best to help."


    His usually sinister and vicious eyes were filled with sincerity as he spoke to Zen. It was truly shocking, especially if someone else had seen his expression.


    A faint smile danced across Zen''s lips. Although Master Evil''s words were believable, he didn''t have to take them seriously. He didn''t completely believe that Master Evil didn''t want to regain his body. However, Zen wouldn''t treat him shabbily in the future.


    At that moment, Zen''s expression suddenly changed. "Oh no!" he yelled.


    Back when Master Evil and Yorick had been in a fierce battle in Zen''s mind, the Stone Mouse had devoured Master Evil''s belly and leapt down from his body. It looked like it had been longing for something, but now, its eyes were glued on Zen who as at the side of the cave. Its small, beady eyes were dim as it looked at him.


    Since Zen was just a world lord, the mouse thought that he was far from being as delicious as a True God, but he was still good food.


    Thus, the mouse dashed towards Zen once again at an incredible speed!


    "Run! The Stone Mouse is a one-of-a-kind true spirit.


    Even though it has just hatched, it still has a huge part of its strength from its previous life!" Mas


    re in action.


    Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!


    The cave was filled with the Stone Mouse''s angry shrieks. It was frustrated as it also knew that Zen''s ordinary looking robe was indestructible. It continued to pounce again until it had actually went through the collar of Zen''s robe.


    Zen''s Redemption Armor could be moved according to his will and quickly covered his whole body at the most critical moments. However, the mouse''s speed and reaction time continued to defy Zen''s imagination. Before he could cover his entire body with the Redemption Armor, he felt a sharp pain from his shoulder. The Stone Mouse had bitten him there!


    It was true that Zen''s physical body was tougher than both Master Evil''s and Yorick''s. However, the Stone Mouse had some sort of theurgy, and even something as sturdy as Zen''s body couldn''t stop it. Soon enough, the mouse was able to freely travel in Zen''s body.


    It didn''t take long before the mouse had drilled into Zen''s abdomen, and it was about to thrust its tusks into Zen''s elixir field.


    Just then, the black lines that wrapped around his elixir field suddenly glowed and enveloped the mouse''s tusks. The black lines had successfully prevented the mouse from devouring Zen''s inner world.


    The black lines were there to block the connection between Zen and his inner world.


    If the Stone Mouse wanted to drill into Zen''s elixir field, it would naturally have to cross the black lines first.


    However, the Stone Mouse had never seen such strange objects in any of the memories it inherited. Thus, the sight of the unfamiliar black lines caused it to be even more aggressive.

 Chapter 2138 The Evil God

    After several frustrated shrieks, the Stone Mouse suddenly thrust its tusks in a burst of anger and tried to cut off the black threads.


    The black threads were extremely difficult to deal with. Zen had tried to continuously melt them with his golden blood, but a small portion of the threads still remained tied to his elixir field. To his astonishment, the Stone Mouse''s tusks managed to break off the black threads.


    After the last black line was broken, the Stone Mouse didn''t hesitate in the slightest as it put its pair of tusks into his elixir field and urgently absorbed Zen''s inner world.


    Zen was swathed in a numbing sensation which came from inside his body. He couldn''t help the shiver that ran down his back. He couldn''t resist at all, and it made him extremely anxious.


    When Master Evil saw the scene, he felt powerless and couldn''t do anything about it. The Stone Mouse was simply too strong. Had Zen completely controlled the little creature before it had hatched, then things would''ve gone so much better!


    Unfortunately, the Stone Mouse had woken up on its own. It became a little demon after it had inherited the memories of the past, and not even a True God could confidently face such a beast.


    However, just as the Stone Mouse had sucked in a few mouthfuls of energy from Zen''s inner world, it abruptly pulled out its sharp tusks and squeaked out in pain. It crawled out from Zen''s shoulder and fell onto the ground. Its body was suffering a spasm like crazy and its limbs writhed around helplessly.


    Meanwhile, Master Evil in Zen''s mind couldn''t believe what he just saw.


    ''What''s wrong with the Stone Mouse?'' he wondered.


    Zen''s body returned to normal after the Stone Mouse had retracted its tusks from his elixir field. Although the Stone Mouse had drilled into his body and he had suffered a lot of internal injuries, he was still able to endure the pain. He too, looked at the convulsing rat in surprise, but quickly realized something.


    The Stone Mouse''s attempt to absorb his inner world was actually a method of absorbing life vitality. In addition, it possessed a very unique innate theurgy that enabled it to devour the entire inner world, including the secondary creatures living inside.


    However, the inner world in Zen''s elixir field was formed directly from chaotic energy, which was highly toxic to living beings!


    It was known that in the divine land, only the Holy Bein


    mber of humans inside his body was only a little more than ten million. However, the Evil God alone had killed about one-third of all life form!


    It was no surprise that Zen was enraged!


    At that moment, his incarnation floated high up in the sky and observed at the many continents below him. His gaze finally locked onto a grey continent. As the controller of the inner world, Zen had the ability to know everything. With just a thought, he knew that the Evil God was on this continent.


    "Whoosh!"


    A gust of wind blew sharply as Zen dashed towards the grey continent.


    He never expected that just as he was halfway through, the nine stars in the sky suddenly started to spin. The surface of the nine stars each formed a profound rune, from which a colorful beam of light shot out.


    Once all the powers the strength source had formed gathered together, they turned into a colorful arrow that was aimed directly towards Zen!


    "What?" he exclaimed.


    He couldn''t believe the scene in front of him!


    He didn''t activate the strength source, yet the strength source actually had the audacity to attack him.


    Although the runes weren''t powerful, they had already extracted the powers of the strength source. Thus, that arrow made from the strength source alone was enough to kill an ordinary world lord.


    However, it would be a fantasy if the arrow did kill Zen. After all, he was the real controller of the nine stars. When the colorful arrow was only an inch away from him, he spat out the word "freeze." Then, the arrow immediately stopped in front of his chest and was unable to advance any longer.

 Chapter 2139 Talent

    With a mere wave of Zen''s hand, the colorful arrow dissipated into streaks of colors as they made their way back to the nine stars!


    Zen gazed downward again as he sneered at the puny attack on him.


    He didn''t expect that someone with such talent was born in his inner world. The Evil God already knew of his existence. On his own, he had actually created nine divine textures which he had sent to each of the nine stars. He had planned to kill Zen using the power of the nine stars once Zen entered into his inner world.


    Disregarding the fact that the Evil God didn''t have an inch of chance in winning against him, Zen was still praising him for being able to put up a fight until this point.


    "Let me see if you really are a stunning and extraordinary person." Zen laughed coldly and continued to move towards that continent.


    Due to Zen''s presence and support, the human race within the inner world had no competition in regards to their power.


    Smack in the middle of that continent was a Law Tablet that Zen had intentionally flung down in the past. Currently, this tablet resided in the palace which was built upon the highest place. The tablet was even considered a divine object, as it was impossible for ordinary martial artists to comprehend the Law Tablet!


    Even though these creatures were born and existed inside Zen''s inner world, he had no control over their thoughts or ability to dictate their behavior.


    To hoard treasure or anything precious and keep it for oneself was the natural instinct of almost all creatures!


    Atop the highest mountain, on its very peak, a massive altar was built. Multitudes of martial artists gathered around it; they constantly knelt down and worshiped a statue on the altar. Upon closer look, it was the statue of the Evil God himself.


    "He''s gathering the Faith Energy..."


    After the Evil God cultivated himself to the maximum level he could reach within Zen''s inner world, his cultivation base was no longer able to increase.


    Because Zen had only reached the world lord level, the Evil God''s cultivation base could only reach the Spirit Transformation Realm. If he wanted to become stronger, the Evil God had actually thought of utilizing the Faith Energy!


    Currently, Zen wasn''t in need of any Faith Energy. Lacking a Godly Tile, he wouldn''t be able to utilize the Faith Energy within his inner world. Only after condensing his own Godly Tile would the Faith Energy become available for him to use, and his strength would increase by a whole level!


    But given the Evil God''s ongoing attempt to gather the Faith Energy of the entire world, it did not bode well for Zen. After all, Faith Energy was limited, and


    t was him who condensed the laws that he had comprehended into the Law Tablets and erected them all over the world to let martial artists comprehend and cultivate.


    In her heart, the woman did not really want to make an enemy of the God of Creation. After all, he created this world and every living being in it!


    However, it was her husband who had a great ambition. He didn''t want to be trapped and limited in this small world. He knew that there was a greater space in the outside world. He even predicted that there were beings who existed in the outside world that were stronger than the God of Creation.


    Thus, she and her husband could only come up with a crazy plan to exterminate the God.


    Trying to kill Zen using the power of nine stars was only a preliminary step. They expected that it was naturally bound to fail. However, the moment that the woman saw Zen, she had a feeling in her heart that her husband was bound to lose...


    "Spare my life?" The Evil God laughed and added, "From the day I was born, no one has been able to get a chance to kill me. Even you are not qualified to do so!"


    Zen''s brows knitted slightly when he heard this.


    He cared greatly for the creatures in his inner world. If the Evil God agreed to his request, he would be able to let him off. Countless times, Zen wasn''t willing to disrupt the balance in his inner world; he just let the creatures develop on their own.


    Furthermore, this Evil God indeed possessed extraordinary creativity and talent; he also had the qualifications and the right to be arrogant. It was a pity that he did not have an inkling of how arrogant he was...


    "Then I''d like to personally check if I''m qualified enough," Zen spoke with great curiosity. He wanted to see what the Evil God could accomplish.

 Chapter 2140 The Evil Gods Tactics

    "Humph!"


    The Evil God snorted, the light in his eyes shining with a cold intensity that could make his weaker adversaries retreat in fear. Specks of starlight shot out swiftly, hitting all corners of the hall.


    A total of nine specks of starlight had been released, corresponding to the nine stars in the sky.


    "He truly wants to borrow the power of the stars?" Zen shook his head, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.


    When the Holy Beings built universes, they usually masked the nine stars. Creatures of the universes could not borrow their strength source. Holy Jay was the only among them who allowed the Collapsing Mountain race to use his strength source as they wished.


    When Zen constructed the Nine Divine Stars, he had placed the nine stars into his body in advance, without much hindrance. On his own, however, the Evil God had observed the heavenly bodies every night and developed a set of star battle techniques using his talent.


    Rumble!


    The nine stars in the sky began spinning, the motion causing a roaring sound. As they whirled, Zen felt as if nearly one percent of his strength source had melted from his body.


    The nine dots of starlight behind the Evil God only swelled in size. They were like endlessly flowing waterfalls that inched toward him willingly.


    The woman beside the Evil God was now floating in the air. Her eyes were shut and her pair of soft hands were tightly clasped together. She appeared to be concentrating fervently. When she pulled her hands apart, a ray of light stretched out from between them like elastic, swiftly transforming into a purple sword.


    Dense Faith Energy emanated from the sword. The sword was in fact a faith weapon.


    As she hurled the sword toward her husband, the nine white dots entered the body of the sword. The Evil God grabbed the sword and wielded it in the air, thrusting it straight at Zen.


    In the face of this strike from the Evil God, a small smile pulled at the corners of Zen''s mouth. "What a peculiar sword technique!" he exclaimed in lordly praise. "Did you create it yourself?"


    Saying this, Zen reached out with a finger and flicked the sword before the Evil God knew it.


    Clatter!


    A loud sound rang out. Zen had successfully managed to toss over the long sword to the side.


    The Evil God''s face darkened as he retracted his sword. A ray of sword light set loose and his body flew toward Zen once again. His sword strike was invincible, but Zen nonchalantly extended a finger and lightly flicked the sword again.


    Clatter!


    The sword seemed to wither like a leaf as it halted in its attack and drooped down.


    The rhythm of the Evil God''s attacks grew faster and more abrupt, but Zen''s fingers retaliated in a similar fashion. A


    r mind is imprisoned."


    Suddenly, Zen''s voice boomed in all directions.


    The Evil God looked up and around, but he still could not feel any energy fluctuations. Zen''s modus operandi had completely escaped his comprehension abilities.


    Boom!


    As Zen''s form appeared again, his knee crashed fiercely onto the face of the Evil God.


    Boom!


    The Evil God had been struck. He plummeted and collided straight into the palace below.


    In this world, the Evil God''s palace was known as the Palace of Marvels. The impact of the crash caused the three twenty-thousand-foot pillars in the palace to collapse like a house of cards.


    Smoke and dust billowed, and rubble fell. The Evil God''s palace had caved in. The sight was gruesome. It was a clear sign of his defeat.


    The Evil God was imprisoned within the mountains. As he looked up at Zen in the sky, the fire in his eyes continued to blaze and spark. Even when at the end of his road, he would not admit defeat.


    As for the woman imprisoned by Zen, her face was deathly pale. Just as she had anticipated, her husband had suffered a crushing defeat. They had no option but to bend their knees. She had known that they were not on the same level.


    "I can introduce you to the real world someday, but this is not the right time," continued Zen.


    Zen had once tried to place the creatures in his inner world into the universe rather successfully. The creatures had not lost their lives. According to his own deductions, his inner world and the divine land were on the same level, so logically, the creatures in his inner world would encounter no hindrance in entering the divine land.


    Upon hearing Zen''s words, the previously tameless Evil God raised his head and looked at Zen with hope in his eyes. "Do you truly mean it?" he asked. Eagerness etched his face.

 Chapter 2141 The Stone Mouses Corpse

    "I don''t need to lie to you. As a matter of fact, it would only take me a single thought to kill you," Zen continued to say.


    The Evil God froze.


    His wife had deduced that the God of Creation had the ability to get rid of any living beings and wasn''t someone they could contend against by just relying on their own strength.


    Quite unfortunately, the Evil God was extremely stubborn and was determined to eliminate this God of Creation himself, causing him to end up like this.


    It was like he was a joke in the God of Creation''s eyes. Zen could have easily killed him off, but he gave him a chance instead.


    "You... why give me a chance?" The Evil God asked cautiously. The way Zen dealt with things greatly differed from what the Evil God had thought. He had lost and he had thought that he would die for sure, but why the hell did Zen spare his life and even help him? This had to be a trap!


    To his surprise, Zen smiled. "Just do as I say. You''re not qualified to collect Faith Energy. Don''t get me wrong. I may be giving you a chance but it has nothing to do with you."


    With that, Zen''s avatar quietly dissipated.


    As soon as Zen disappeared, the woman in the sideline regained her freedom to move. She ran straight to her husband and bit her lip in worry. "Are you alright?"


    "Why did he do that?" she asked.


    "Why did he say that it had nothing to do with you?" The woman was also left confused by Zen''s words.


    The Evil God was embedded in the mountain, still in a daze.


    "It has nothing to do with me... nothing to do with me..."


    Not long after, the Evil God scoffed and looked at his wife. He smiled wryly. "If I spare an ant, is it because of the ant itself?"


    The woman shook her head. "Of course not."


    "That''s what I am in his eyes. An ant."


    The woman blinked in realization. "He... is a life form at a level which is beyond our comprehension, and it''s normal for him to think of us as ants."


    The Evil God sneered and his eyes burned with flames. "I will prove to him that this ant is an extremely special ant!"


    Truth be told, the Evil God was indeed a special ant in Zen''s eyes.


    With the population steadily growing in Zen''s inner worl


    f a True God.


    Having a contract with the Stone Mouse was comparable to getting the key to a treasure trove.


    "Yes, it is indeed a pity," Zen said with a shrug of his shoulders. "I''ve been blabbering about how special this mouse is to you, and you''re still going to leave it there?"


    "Isn''t this mouse dead already? What else could it possibly be used for?" Zen asked curiously.


    As Master Evil said, the theurgy of the mouse was not in its own abilities, but in its memories that it had inherited as a one-of-a-kind true spirit.


    What was the use of a dead Stone Mouse?


    "You still know so little about the divine land," Master Evil said helplessly. "Even if the Stone Mouse is only a corpse, you will find countless True Gods who will fight for it. Even the wealthy clans in the Floating Islands won''t back down from getting it!"


    "Why?" Zen asked again.


    "Because, through the corpse of the Stone Mouse, you could be able to find the place where it reincarnates and dig out that strange mouse-shaped stone. Even if you only use it as an exchange for something, the value of this mouse''s corpse is beyond your imagination!" Master Evil patiently explained.


    Zen nodded, finally getting the point. The Stone Mouse held incredible value, and even if he had no use of its memories, he''d still be able to exchange it for something else!


    With this in mind, Zen walked towards the mouse''s corpse, plucked it from the ground, and put it away.

 Chapter 2142 Divine Might Coin

    Now that he had fallen into such a predicament, Master Evil no longer thought of the Stone Mouse and was only focused on helping Zen.


    After instructing the young man to put away the mouse''s corpse, he then led him away and guided him through the narrow cave. When they finally got out, Zen found himself by a mountain stream a hundred miles away from the Misty Mountain Village.


    The path they had taken originally connected to the hollow area below the village. In the past, Master Evil had used a special method to dig countless branch paths, forming an inescapable underground maze.


    A few villagers had mistakenly entered the cave and inevitably got trapped in the maze. This was confirmed by Zen when he saw several sets of bones that most probably belonged to the villagers who had unfortunately lost their way.


    After crossing the mountain stream, Zen managed to return to the Misty Mountain Village where the Sun Moon Village''s chief and warriors remained waiting in silence.


    They knew something was wrong when they saw the state of the Misty Mountain Village. None of the Sun Moon Village warriors dared to step into the bottomless pit in front of them.


    However, none of them also dared to leave without seeing Master Evil first so they could only stand in wait.


    It was only half a day later that they finally saw Zen walk towards them.


    "You... Sir, where have you been? Did you see Master Evil?" the Sun Moon Village chief asked.


    With Master Evil''s return, the possibility of reviving the seventy-two villages was now at hand. If that happened then the Sun Moon Village chief would definitely be recognized. Of course he would be worried about Master Evil''s condition.


    "Master Evil?" Zen scratched his head. "I almost fell to my death and walked out of the cave in a daze. I''m not really sure where he is now either..."


    "You''re not sure?" The Sun Moon Village chief and his warriors could only look at each other in dismay. The glaring confusion on Zen''s face meant he was obviously not pretending so it was no use questioning him anymore. All they could do now was to go down into the pit and find their master themselves.


    A sigh came to Zen''s mind.


    Master Evil had returned to the Vast Sky Region in order to revive the seventy-two villages. He couldn''t bear seeing the Sun Moon Village reduced to the state it was in now. Unfortunately, he had lost all power and ability to ever set out what he intended to do. He could only let Zen deal with them and let them fend for themselves.


    The villagers of the Misty Mountain Village also returned and were stricken with grief upon seeing how their home had turned out.


    It was fortunate that they were able to evacuate quickly. If they were too slow in leaving then they would''ve died under the collapse.


    Now that the Sun Moon Village could no longer cause trouble for them, the divine citizens could only build new houses on the other hillside. The vegetable field they cultivated fortunately sur


    ly use to replenish life vitality within their cinnabar field.


    These divine might coins were currency used between True Gods who didn''t need to consume life vitality but instead relied on the Faith Energy within their inner world. If they operated on the same kind of logic as life vitality crystals, then that could only mean one thing.


    "Is the divine might coin able to replenish the life vitality? Or can it replenish the Faith Energy?" Zen asked.


    However, Master Evil shook his head. "No, it can''t."


    "Then what''s the use of the divine might coins?" Zen asked once again.


    It had to have some kind of special, attractive quality for the True Gods to value it, otherwise, it was nothing but a pile of trash.


    Master Evil laughed. "The use of the divine might coin is too great. Every year, those wealthy clans on the Floating Islands in the Time Sea would fight over it. It can be said that possessing divine might coins is equal to owning everything in the divine land. You will know what exactly these coins are used for in the future. Even if I tell you now, it would simply be useless. Just wait."


    "Possessing the divine might coins means possessing everything in the divine land?"


    Zen couldn''t help but repeat Master Evil''s words. Wasn''t the old man exaggerating?


    In the universe, only low-level warriors risked their lives obtaining life vitality crystals and life vitality jades. Higher-level warriors need not bother since they didn''t need to replenish their life vitality while fighting. Even before they had used up their life vitality, the winner was already decided, so the world lords and Supreme Lords only needed to take hundreds of life vitality jades with them.


    Thus when high-leveled warriors bartered, they usually used objects, weapons, or treasures.


    This black disc in Zen''s hand couldn''t be eaten or consumed so how could it be used as currency?


    Unfortunately, Master Evil wasn''t willing to tell him so he could only give up in the end.

 Chapter 2143 Mirror City

    After collecting the divine might coins, Zen quickly headed north, still under Master Evil''s guidance.


    As soon as he entered the divine land, Zen tried to get an overview of the place. It had been quite difficult to gain any insight back when he was still in the Misty Mountain Village since its inhabitants weren''t well-travelled and the farthest they''d ever been to was Mirror City.


    Master Evil had been locked up in the dungeon for seven divine eras so his information was mostly outdated. Fortunately, his knowledge and experience were still quite comprehensive.


    "I just don''t understand why a top figure like Harold won''t directly pick you up¡­"


    In Master Evil''s eyes, Zen was a proud son of a Holy Being. His lineage and talent were enough to directly send him to the wealthy and influential clans on the Floating Islands. Even if the Floating Island built by Mike had been destroyed, with Harold''s connections, it would not be difficult for him to send Zen to the Floating Islands.


    Zen also knew his father''s disciples still played an active role. At the very least, they took very good care of Yan.


    However, due to Wynn''s arrangement, Zen could only adapt to the situation and rely on himself.


    "I think your first aim is to enter a wealthy and influential clan on a certain Floating Island!" Master Evil advised. The Floating Island was a place everyone in the divine land yearned for. A warrior such as Master Evil simply did not have the qualifications to enter such a place.


    "Floating Island¡­ What kind of place is it exactly?" Zen had heard Wynn mention it back in the Evolutionary Universe but he didn''t really elaborate much on it.


    Master Evil sighed. Zen was Mike''s son and Bromley''s disciple, but it was amazing just how little Zen knew about the divine land. "In the middle of the divine land is a vast sea called the Time Sea... The sea is formed by light and time, and any living being who falls onto this sea will be split by different time. I once walked by the sea. It is extremely dangerous! In the center of the Time Sea are the Floating Islands built and constructed by powerful, wealthy clans.


    These Floating Islands are naturally built by Holy Beings of the divine land. Only Holy Beings have the qualifications to establish a Floating Island so each Floating Island represents a peak-level power of the divine land! The wealthy clans that live on the Floating Islands have monopolized around 90% of the resources in the divine land. These include those divine mighty coins.


    Once you enter a Floating Island, you will have a promising future! However, it''s going to be difficult as you will have to gain the recognition of some powerful clan. It is quite rare for them to acce


    . Now that he finally realized the value of the divine might coins, he suddenly felt as if those small, black, round pieces he carried got heavier.


    A crack suddenly appeared on the city gate. Out came a middle-aged man wearing a fancy robe.


    "A True God?"


    Zen''s eyes narrowed upon realization that this middle-aged man was a low-rank True God.


    He pointed at a proving godly warrior in the crowd who visibly became very excited and began bowing to him. Afterwards, the chosen proving godly warrior followed the middle-aged man inside the Mirror City.


    "Bam!"


    The gates closed with a bang and all of those who were left behind wore expressions of unbridled envy on their faces.


    "What''s going on?" Zen asked curiously.


    "Those who have a house in the Mirror City can bring three people inside. That middle-aged True God must be a native and the proving godly warrior he brought in with him must be his relative," Master Evil answered.


    "That''s allowed?" Zen was quite dumbfounded with the amount of information he had suddenly been given.


    "Back then, I also had about seven houses in the Mirror City. Ah, but it''s a pity. After so many years, they most probably belong to other people now," Master Evil muttered in a wistful tone. "Anyway, let''s drop the subject. We should hurry and enter the city as soon as possible."


    Since Zen had divine might coins, he naturally didn''t need to work like the other warriors.


    Once he bypassed this group, Zen managed to squeeze his way to the front of the city gates.


    A guard noticed him and pointed a whip to the side. "Don''t you know the rule? Line up over there to receive your task!"


    The blatant rudeness did not anger Zen, in fact, he was smiling. "I''m not here to do any task. Shouldn''t one be able to enter by paying a divine might coin?"

 Chapter 2144 The Han Clans Ancestral Land

    It was common knowledge that divine might coins were extremely rare in the divine land.


    Not even a True God had many of those coins, let alone those warriors who busied themselves outside the city their whole lives. They had to accumulate enough points to enter the city and exchange their divine might coins, which would eventually end up in someone else''s hand.


    That was why when a guard of the Mirror City heard that a proving godly warrior say that he had a divine might coin, he prompted, "You have a divine might coin?"


    Zen nodded his head and took out a divine might coin.


    The Mirror City guard''s eyes lit up at the sight of the round, black piece in Zen''s hand. With a wave of his hand, the divine might coin in Zen''s grasp was taken away from him!


    The other Mirror City guards who stood next to the first guard looked at Zen as well and scanned him from head to toe.


    If a proving godly warrior like Zen possessed a divine might coin, it must either be a gift from a True God or he simply got really lucky and found a treasure some True Gods might''ve left behind.


    If it was the former, then it didn''t matter. But if it was the latter, then this kid probably had more than one divine might coin.


    A few moments passed and the Mirror City guard continued to examine Zen''s coin. "Can I go in now?" Zen asked.


    The guard inspected the small round piece one more time before he looked at Zen with a smile. "Not yet," he said.


    "Why?" Zen asked again. He was confused. He had already presented the coin, what more could they ask?


    The guard laughed and said, "I''m sorry, but two divine might coins are required. One is not enough to enter the Mirror City."


    Many True Gods most likely lived in the Mirror City. Although the guards in front of Zen were probably just proving godly warriors, he did not wish to stir up trouble. Thus, he did his best to be amiable despite the guards'' display of arrogance.


    However, this Mirror City guard obviously tried to rip him off. Zen raised one brow and said, "They say that you only need to pay one divine might coin to enter the city."


    The guard shook his head. "Today, the price has risen. You need to pay two coins to enter the city, if you pay one less..." He pointed to the crowd of warriors at the side. "You''ll have to take on missions like them to save up enough points for you to enter the city!"


    It wasn''t easy to become a Mirror City guard. The guards at the city gate had many connections to some important figures in the divine city. Even if Zen only had one divine might coin, they still wouldn''t let go of the opportunity to take his coin for themselves.


    If Zen presented two divine might coins, it would certainly make the guards happier.


    They''d seen too many people like Zen, who looked plain and even dubious. It was usually easy to handle people like him as with just a few words, those warriors would go away. What could a proving godly warrior do at the gates of a


    sorb talents, and produced even more world lords who would eventually fight each other to become a Supreme Lord.


    Furthermore, the divine land had been in development for countless divine eras, so it was very much stable.


    It wasn''t that there were no talents in the divine land, but they were just too few to be taken into account. Thus, the different powers weren''t so eager to expand their influence. In any case, those rich clans on the Floating Islands changed their rankings only every few years. Besides, it was difficult for a True God from those clans to reach the consummation of True God level, and even harder for them to become a Holy Being.


    That was also the reason that the distribution of resources was directed towards the great powers. The competition among the martial artists at the bottom level was even more brutal!


    Zen wasted no time in following Master Evil''s instructions and rushed to the west side of Mirror City. It was the only place where he could use the teleportation channel to travel across the Vast Sky Region.


    "The Vast Sky Region is just really a small region with a total of three powers stationed in the place. Those three major powers control all the divine cities within the region, but those who know better are aware that those powers are nothing more than puppets of the Han Clan. You can use the teleportation channel to head to the Six-Burden Region to the south of the Vast Sky Region, which is the Han Clan''s ancestral land," said Master Evil.


    "The Han Clan? Ancestral land?" Zen was slightly surprised.


    Master Evil nodded and continued, "That''s right. The Holy Emperor of the Han Clan became a Holy Being 130 divine eras ago. The current Han Clan is also one of the wealthiest clans on the Floating Islands. During the past divine eras of my absence, its power has probably increased still more. Since the Six-Burden Region is the Han Clan''s ancestral land, it is the place where you can go to find a chance."

 Chapter 2145 Changing Appearance

    After hearing Master Evil''s introduction, Zen''s thoughts floated back to the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land.


    He thought about Laquisha and Aleyna.


    At the time, the two sisters were a big headache to Zen.


    "Since Han Clan''s Holy Emperor is a Holy Being, what''s his relationship with Murphy?" Zen asked.


    With wide eyes, Master Evil shook his head. "I don''t know about that."


    His influence only reached within the Vast Sky Region. Even within the region, he wasn''t a peak existence¡ªhe had never even been to those Floating Islands, so how could he have known about the relationships between the top level characters in the divine land?


    "But... It doesn''t matter, does it?" Master Evil asked helplessly.


    "I''ve been to the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land and have met some of the Han Clan''s members. If I were to rush in, I''m afraid they would recognize me," Zen explained.


    What Zen needed to pay attention to wasn''t only the two sisters of the Han Clan, but also the personal guards of the two girls, including Kennan. If the Han Clan had a good relationship with the Mu Clan and if Zen was recognized, such things would get troublesome.


    Although Zen knew that since there were hundreds of thousands of proving godly warriors, it was unlikely that the Han Clan would take notice of Zen, he understood that everything had to be done with caution. In the divine land, Zen had no way out.


    "It''s no problem if you don''t want to go to the Six-Burden Region," said Master Evil, "but the thirty-six smaller regions around it are all under Han Clan''s control, so merely leaving this small region isn''t an easy task for you."


    The wealthy clans of the Floating Islands all had their own areas within the divine land, and the Vast Sky Region was also a part of the Han Clan.


    Now Zen was unable to use Grand Teleportation, and his Teleportation Token was rendered useless. What was worse, he couldn''t even fly. All he could do was use Han Clan''s long-distance teleportation channels, but teleportation was quite expensive even for a True God, even more so for the current Zen.


    Even the hundreds of divine might coins Zen got from Master Evil weren''t enough to send Zen out.


    Zen fell into deep thought¡ªit was just as Master Evil had said, divine might coins were too important, but Zen did not have the ability to earn divine might coins himself yet.


    Suddenly, Zen remembered that he had the Soul Searching Flag that Marko, Murphy''s disciple, left behind. He had brought it into the divine land. "I have some treasure¡ªMarko''s Soul Searching Flag. Is it worth any divine might coins?"


    But Master Evil rejected the suggestion. "The Soul Searching Flag? Haha! That''s valuable indeed. It was Murphy''s treasure. Even though he''s given up on using it, it''s still very famous. If you use it, you might be discovered soon. That will be even more dangerous."


    Zen was stuck in a dilemma.


    "In my opinion, you''re only really afraid that the Han Clan will recognize you. Though they have so many


    didn''t let himself overthink it.


    But never did he expect Zen to head straight for the teleportation channels.


    The middle-aged man was also a native True God of the Vast Sky Region. He had fought for three divine eras in Mirror City before finally taking root and buying a house there. But in total, it was only worth 80 divine might coins, making up his entire wealth.


    However, it seemed that Zen might be able to easily take out a hundred divine might coins to use the teleportation channel. This brat was only a proving godly warrior!


    The middle-aged man suddenly felt an ache in his heart¡ªit would be good if he had intercepted Zen before he entered the city.


    Seeing that Zen was about to leave through the teleportation channel, the middle-aged man gritted his teeth and quickly stepped in front of Zen. In a low voice, he said, "Friend, why have you come to our Mirror City?"


    Zen had discovered the person long ago and there wasn''t the slightest trace of panic on his face. Although this was his first time entering the divine land, he knew humans'' hearts and minds were about the same.


    Zen shot a glance at the middle-aged man. "Is this Mirror City yours?"


    His question put an awkward expression on the middle-aged man''s face. After concealing his embarrassment, he said, "The divine city does not belong to one person."


    "Then to whom does this city belong?" Zen asked once again.


    "Mirror City belongs to the Qian Clan of the Vast Sky Region. Strictly speaking, the Qian Clan is controlled by the Han Clan, making Mirror City belong to the latter." In all seriousness, the man explained.


    "I see, thank you. Goodbye, now." Zen laughed and turned to leave.


    For a moment, the man was stunned silent before he realized that he had been tricked. He was there to rob the brat, not to talk about the city, and his expression turned dark. "Although I do not know where you came from, if you want to leave Mirror City safely, I''m afraid you will need to leave something behind."

 Chapter 2146 Ruling Slate (Part One)

    As Master Evil had said, the rules of a divine city were very strict. As such, most of the people there would always follow such regulations. Even top-rank True Gods wouldn''t dare to act rashly in the city, let alone a mere low-rank True God!


    Zen had heard a lot of threats in his life. However, this was probably the lamest one he had ever heard. He even suspected about how this person became a True God with such stupid brain.


    What Zen didn''t know was that it wasn''t difficult to become a True God in the divine land. The achievement of such a title was rather easier than he had imagined.


    Moreover, the strength of True Gods varied greatly. For example, Marko and Mateo were low-rank True Gods, but they were Murphy''s disciples. Their techniques and abilities were still above ordinary True Gods. Even if they encountered some ordinary True God, they would be able to kill their opponent in the blink of an eye!


    Blayd was also a low-rank True God. However, he was comparatively much stronger than Marko, Mateo, Wynn, and some others.


    That was also the reason why Master Evil suggested Zen join a wealthy clan on some Floating Island first. Zen could rapidly increase his strength if he became a disciple of a Holy Being. Under a Holy Being''s tutelage, Zen''s comprehension and abilities would significantly improve.


    "Leave what behind?" Zen asked in confusion.


    The middle-aged man laughed coldly. With an arrogant tone, he replied, "Of course I meant your divine might coins!"


    As he heard the middle-aged man''s demand, Zen carelessly took out several divine might coins. With a callous look at his face, he held the coins in his hand. Then, he asked in an aloof tone, "Are you talking about these?"


    As the middle-aged man saw the divine might coins in Zen''s hand, his eyes suddenly lit up with greed. A look similar to a hungry


    e precision and high speed. Panic immediately enveloped him as he was scared out of his wits. With a bitter face, he said, "I, I... I didn''t want to do anything!"


    Unfortunately, the stone slab was not a human and did not listen to the True God''s explanation. It continued its advance toward its target. From the surface of the stone slab, small dots of lightning were emitted. The small dots quickly condensed and formed a thick bolt of lightning that shot towards the True God.


    Boom!


    Although the lightning looked very ordinary, the power contained within it was almost unparalleled. The destructive capabilities of the released lightning would terrify most martial artists.


    "Ah..."


    The lightning struck the True God''s body and the lightning fragments continued to move around his body. The True God let out a miserable scream as he frantically rolled on the ground. After a while, the True God lost consciousness and lay pathetically on the ground.


    Zen felt a bit of life energy in the True God. He knew that the middle-aged man was still alive. Nonetheless, Zen still felt cautious of the stone slab. If it was him who had been struck by the lightning, even if he did not die, he would at least lose half his life¡­

 Chapter 2147 Ruling Slate (Part Two)

    "That stone slab¡­" Zen raised his head to look at the stone slab in the sky. Curiosity filled his eyes.


    Wynn had once mentioned to Zen that there was a stone slab in the divine land that even Holy Beings would be restrained by it. Murphy had previously attacked the Evolutionary Universe, so he was punished by the stone slab. Zen would not doubt that the palm-sized stone slab in front of him was able to restrain a True God, but it was hard to believe that even Holy Beings would be afraid of the stone slab in front of him. A sense of doubt shone across his expression.


    "This is not a Ten Thousand Commandments Slate," Master Evil reminded as he noticed Zen''s doubtful look. "It''s just a Ten Commandments Slate."


    "Ten Commandments Slate?" Zen asked curiously, "Is there more than one of such slates?"


    Master Evil chuckled. He looked at Zen rather boastfully. "How else do you think these divine cities were formed?"


    After the Godly Way Tablets landed on the divine land, countless stone slabs had appeared all over the divine land. Their sizes varied greatly. The small ones were known as the ''Ten Commandments Slates'' while the big ones were called ''Hundred Commandments Slates''. Furthermore, the more enormous ones were the ''Thousand Commandments Slates''.


    The people in the divine land discovered the usage of the slates rather quickly. Rules could be set on the slates. The rules were unbreakable and must be followed by everyone in the covered area of the slate. If the rules were violated, the offender would be instantly punished by the slate.


    From the moment the slates appeared, not a single one had been destroyed. Even Holy Beings would not be able to damage even the weakest ''Ten co


    the rules. Although the current divine land is very stable and the rules are strict, there is still a large group of people who are looking for loopholes in the rules and trying to find a chance to achieve higher levels," Master Evil continued his explanation.


    Zen nodded his head as he finally understood the situation.


    At that moment, three True Gods in red and black armor rushed out from the side. After the slate was activated, it also alarmed some people in Mirror City. They came here to inspect what actually happened.


    The three True Gods looked at the middle-aged man who was half-dead on the ground and asked Zen about the situation. After they understood what had happened, the three True Gods left peacefully. Although the rules on the slates were strict, every year, there would always be some idiots who couldn''t control themselves and violated the rules.


    Before they left, the True Gods were also a bit curious about Zen''s identity. After all, among proving godly warriors, there were very few who had enough divine might coins to use the teleportation channel. Zen''s incredible wealth was rather strange for them.

 Chapter 2148 Heavenly Han House

    When Zen informed the guards which space channel he wanted to use, disbelief was written all over their faces.


    For the guards, a person who owned a hundred divine might coins could buy themselves a house in Mirror City, take a True God as their master, and buy some land to cultivate. For a proving godly warrior, a hundred divine might coins were extremely precious. The fact that Zen was willing to spend that much just to enter the space channel was horrendous.


    At that point, the guards thought that Zen merely came here to joke with them.


    However, the moment Zen took out the coins, their attitudes changed immediately.


    It seemed this young man truly did have money.


    These guards would never be able to understand. Ordinary True Gods would never be able to teach Zen anything. He wasn''t going to be able to find growth in Mirror City and the Six-Burden Divine City was a mere detour. He had to go to the Floating Islands.


    The guards had no choice but to lead Zen towards the space channel. As the gate on the stone wall opened, Zen found himself staring at a familiar place: deep blue space that spiraled rapidly, leading to an endless abyss. He sneaked himself from the Evolutionary Universe to divine land by using this kind of space channel before.


    He stepped inside the space channel without any hesitation.


    He was gone in less than a minute.


    In the center of Mirror City was a resplendent building, on top of which stood two, sage-like men.


    This tall building held a special position in Mirror City given that its owner was from the Qian Clan - the main controller of the city.


    "Looks like another rich kid of a Floating Island has run away from home," one of the old men lightly remarked.


    "Very few wealthy clans are willing to let their disciples go to the wild these days. It''s extremely risky with no guarantee of good results," his companion said.


    The nurturing of true elite disciples in the Floating Islands was usually done within the clans. Most of the outstanding geniuses would first be sent to the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. They would spend quite some time there before they were directly brought back to the Floating Islands. Geniuses in the middle level would be directed to the ancestral lands while those in the lower level would be sent to an ordinary divine city.


    However, it couldn''t be avoided that some disciples had wild and untamed natures. These disciples would be sent out to wander freely, to be ''one with the wild.''


    Although Zen had completely restrained his soul, the two elders of the Qian Clan could feel his nature through their extraordinary senses. They immediately knew that Zen was not just an ordinary person and the fact that he was willing to spend a hundred divine might coins to enter a space channel had them think that he came from a wealthy clan from the Floating Islands.


    "His background is suspicious. He''s not from any wealthy clan. What is his purpose in heading to the Six-Burden Region? Do you want to notify the Han Clan?"


    "He is nothing but a mere low-level p


    divine citizens who entered the divine city would most often go into one of these proving godly houses to comprehend the Godly Way. Their goal was to one day successfully obtain limitless lifespan.


    Unfortunately, these proving godly houses were useless to Zen. If it was to learn the Godly Way, Zen wasn''t confident that he would match up to the True Gods in the proving godly houses. But as for the pure understanding of martial arts, he believed that many True Gods would first have to acknowledge Zen as their teacher.


    After exploring, Zen made sure to ask around and gain some information.


    It was through his dialogue with the locals that Zen was able to find the largest proving godly house in the Six-Burden Divine City: the Heavenly Han House, set up by the Han Clan.


    Those who entered the Heavenly Han House had a slight chance of getting selected by the Han Clan to receive their training. If one was lucky enough to get selected and train, then there was a slight chance of becoming the Han Clan''s personal disciple and getting sent to the clan''s Floating Island.


    Of course, these chances were extremely slim and ordinary divine citizens did not even dare dream of such a thing. It was understandable that most of the people Zen asked gave him strange looks because of this.


    Armed with this kind of information, Zen then made his way to the Heavenly Han House. As soon as he arrived on the premises, he immediately saw tens of thousands of proving godly warriors sitting cross-legged on the floor, two feet apart from each other, with expressions of the utmost respect on their faces.


    At the forefront of these proving godly warriors was a chanting old man who sported a moustache. The old man held his hands behind his back and swayed unsteadily as he chanted. "Life, death, regret, and ...."


    Zen did not have the slightest idea of what he was talking about but since he had a certain level of understanding towards the Godly Way, he figured that the old man was most probably teaching the Five Elements Godly Way.

 Chapter 2149 Slander

    Not every warrior had the chance to see the Godly Way Tablets. Their existence was elusive and legendary for others.


    Moreover, the comprehension of the Godly Ways under the Godly Way Tablets was an extremely serious test. The power it offered was not easily attained. If things went wrong, their souls might shatter.


    In fact, most proving godly warriors only learned the Godly Ways from the tutelage of True Gods.


    Nonetheless, each True God had their own unique instructions.


    The Holy Beings knew more about the Godly Ways. As such, if they passed on their knowledge personally, their disciples would better comprehend the Godly Ways. With any luck, they might even gain the Holy Beings'' own insights that they couldn''t gain from Godly Way Tablets. But not everyone was able to receive such treatment. Only the descendants and disciples of the Holy Beings had the qualifications.


    That was the reason why the disciples of the Holy Beings were so much stronger than ordinary True Gods. Their knowledge and comprehension of the Godly Ways were vastly different.


    Second to the Holy Beings were consummate True Gods, top-rank True Gods, mid-rank True Gods etc.


    The lower one''s cultivation level was, the shallower their comprehension of the Godly Ways would be. There were huge differences in the instructions of different low-rank True Gods. A low-rank master would definitely produce a rather weak disciple.


    The Heavenly Han House boasted of all sorts of True Gods who had comprehended hundreds of the most common Godly Ways. Therefore, it was the most famous place in Six-Burden Divine City, and countless proving godly warriors wanted to join it.


    However, only a chosen few would truly be part of the Heavenly Han House. It was very picky about its recruitment process.


    The proving godly warriors who couldn''t join the Heavenly Han House could only linger around it all day long.


    Lucky for those who failed, the Heavenly Han House was generous. Whenever its members were free, they would invite some True Gods to teach the warriors outside the house.


    That was what the old man was doing. He imparted the Five Elements Godly Way today, which was one of the most widely spread Godly Ways in the divine land. Some proving godly warriors who were unable to join the proving godly houses would naturally seize this opportunity to comprehend the Godly Ways for free and listen attentively.


    Zen had already made up his mind to join the Heavenly Han House. Although countless proving godly warriors blocked his path, Zen was not anxious at all. Nonetheless, he kept his focus on the old man. After the old man''s lecture ended, he wanted to make some inquiries. With that thought in mind, Zen found an empty seat and went up to sit down with his knees crossed.


    He did not intend to cultivate the Five Elements Godly Way. However, the instructions of the Godly Ways contained the truth, so Zen would also get much from it. With curious eyes, Zen planned to listen attentively to the old man.


    However, just as he sat down, a bald warrior''s face sank. The bald warrior immediately screamed at him, "Get the hell out of my way!"


    Zen was not aware of the inside information. He only knew that everyone could listen to the lectures of the Heavenly Han House. However, the seats in front of the house were in high demand. Addi


    en humiliated him in public, his face was deathly pale. "What did you say? Say it again!"


    "In my opinion, you were talking nonsense," Zen repeated as he remained his callous expression.


    "..."


    The faces of the warriors present stiffened even more. Zen''s responses were truly out of their imaginations. Some of them began to whisper among themselves.


    "Is this man crazy?"


    "Although the people of the Heavenly Han House have always been nice, they can''t bear to be slandered like this."


    "Even though Master Wu is only a low-rank True God, he has a deep understanding of the Five Elements Godly Way."


    Master Wu''s lips hardened and an angry mask shadowed his face. However, a burst of laughter suddenly came out of his mouth. "Oh? Why did you say that?"


    ''Alas!'' Zen sighed in his heart.


    He didn''t want to offend Master Wu, but under the circumstances, he had no choice but to say, "It''s a good idea to use the four words of generation, restriction, subjugation, and counter-restriction to summarize the five elements. But Master Wu, what you said is the exact same as the Godly Way Tablet. The Godly Ways can be comprehended in thousands of ways. You have just comprehended the literal meanings and drawn conclusions based on partial understanding. As such, it is very difficult to see through everything."


    "Humph! Most True Gods in the divine land cultivate the Five Elements Godly Way. What''s wrong with this concept?" Master Wu felt a trace of surprise in his heart after he heard Zen''s words. Nonetheless, he still questioned Zen coldly.


    Zen shook his head. "It''s absolutely wrong! We can''t follow the old rules when comprehending the Godly Ways. There are twenty-five different forms of the Five Elements Godly Way. However, there are two taboos, namely the fire-wood taboo and the water-earth taboo. We must first remove these two taboos before we can take a step forward. Many low-rank True Gods have no idea of this, so they can''t cultivate the Five Elements Godly Way. Presumably, this is also the reason why you have been unable to make progress in the Five Elements Godly Way."


    After Zen finished his sentence, Master Wu''s expression changed! His previously angry expression had disappeared.

 Chapter 2150 Throwing Him Out (Part One)

    The old man had already been a True God for many years now, and he was currently stuck in the ''two taboos'' of the Five Elements Godly Way.


    These two taboos respectively referred to the fire-wood taboo and the water-earth taboo! They were easier said than done.


    Due to these two taboos, the old man was having difficulties improving his cultivation base and thus making a breakthrough in his Godly Tile.


    Common proving godly warriors weren''t actually aware that these two taboos existed. Even if a small number of proving godly warriors had gotten wind of them in the past, they wouldn''t have the capacities of understanding what the two taboos meant. That was, until now, of course. The young proving godly warrior in front of them now was capable of seeing through these two taboos with a single sentence. This had greatly shocked the old man.


    In fact, there was a reason why the old man was unable to break down these two taboos. Furthermore, here in the divine land, only the Taboo-breaking Pill had the power to break them down.


    The Taboo-breaking Pill was actually a fusion of the Wood-melting Pill and the Water-dissolving Pill, which were respectively made of the Fire-shaped Bird''s ever-burning comb and the Earth Barbarian Beast''s heart. After consuming the Taboo-breaking Pill, a warrior would have a thirty percent chance of breaking down the two taboos. It wasn''t much, but it was better than nothing.


    However, both the Wood-melting Pill and the Water-dissolving Pill were five times refined pills. Once the two kinds of pills fused together and refined each other, they would become a six times refined pill¡ªthe Taboo-breaking Pill. A six times refined pill was far from something that a lower level True God in the Heavenly Han House could possess.


    The old man had been diligently working in the Heavenly Han House for more than half a divine era now, but he had


    use standing beside the old man couldn''t help but crack a smile, too.


    In fact, every one of the proving godly warriors burst into laughter along with him. They ridiculed Zen¡ªwhat a joke he was!


    Once the old man''s laugh tingled off, he suddenly spoke in a contrasting, cold voice, "According to your bones, you''re not old at all. Why don''t you spend your time learning to do things the right way instead of becoming a liar? I want to hear what kind of method you''ve come up with for breaking down the two taboos. We all want to hear it, really."


    At this, Zen didn''t appear flustered at all. Instead, he calmly replied, "When a warrior has just learned the Five Elements Godly Way, their Godly Tile has two cracks in it because the five elements are mixed. Fire and wood are hard to merge together, and earth and water repel each other. Thus, these two cracks lead to two taboos! The Five Elements Godly Way has been passed down for generations and generations, and countless proving godly warriors have tried to prove the Godly Way with the ancient method. Despite that though, they didn''t think of another solution and had never been able to avoid these two taboos! And that''s why you were wrong to only follow what is recorded on the Godly Way Tablet.

 Chapter 2151 Throwing Him Out (Part Two)

    You can use the power generated from metal in order to make up for the lack, or the crack. In other words, if you make iron in your cinnabar field, it will automatically fix it. Although this method takes a lot of time and effort, it will eventually work out after performing it for a good ten thousand years. Anyway, a normal True God wouldn''t be able to obtain the Taboo-breaking Pill."


    After he finished speaking, Zen stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze indifferent. His eyes were looking nowhere, yet everywhere at once.


    All of the proving godly warriors that had heard Zen speak felt dazed and confused, as they didn''t understand what Zen was saying at all.


    "This guy is such a clown. He''s just randomly making stuff up as he goes."


    "You know, some people just don''t have much ability, but they sure are good at talking nonsense."


    "Talking crap like that in front of your teacher is just the same as courting death."


    Seeing that the old man surnamed Wu hadn''t responded anything yet, though the proving godly warriors began whispering to one another. They were waiting in anticipation to see Zen thrown out.


    But the old man didn''t budge. He stood in his spot, lost deep in his thoughts as he contemplated what Zen had just said.


    Suddenly, an idea flashed within his mind, as if a bolt of lightning had streaked right before his eyes, invigorating his soul. At that moment, his face flushed red and he looked abnormally agitated, as if he had grabbed onto some kind of lifesaving straw. He could no longer keep his tone calm and under control. "You, you said we could make up for it with iron. How much wood and me


    ose in his heart.


    Zen suddenly continued, "Allow me to explain. What I have just said was not with the intention to laugh at you. It''s just that I sat in the wrong seat and was slandered by this person. Besides, I never said that what you taught was bullshit and nonsense. That was also from the people who joined together to slander me. My only choice was to push the boat with the current."


    As Zen spoke, he pointed to the bald warrior standing beside him.


    The old man glanced at the bald warrior. Right now, it was no longer important whether or not Zen had been so rude. What counted was that Zen had pointed out a solution that no one had ever thought of before.


    Because Zen had made such an explanation, the old man would take action, of course. Now it was the old man who pointed at the bald warrior before saying, "Throw him out. I don''t want to see him ever again."


    Whoosh! Whoosh! As soon as these words left the old man''s mouth, two figures zoomed toward the bald warrior. The two guards, one on each side of him, picked up the bald warrior and threw him out of the crowd.

 Chapter 2152 Repaying The Favor (Part One)

    Although Zen had a little knowledge of the Five Elements Godly Way, he really didn''t have a very deep understanding of it.


    Zen was not the one to say what he had just said, but Master Evil in his mind. He would have been unable to provide that advice without Master Evil''s help.


    Master Evil chuckled and said, "The powerhouses on the Floating Islands in the divine land simply think nothing of six times refined pills. If the wealthy clans'' disciples were to encounter the two taboos, they''d just take a few pills. We ordinary True Gods have struggled so hard for so many years, and yet we don''t even have a single five times refined pill. We had no other choice but to come up with this method."


    Master Evil had also trained in the Five Elements Godly Way. In addition, he had personally visited the Five Elements Godly Way Tablet and studied it. His understanding of the Five Elements Godly Way far surpassed that of an ordinary low-rank True God.


    As he had said before, breaking the two taboos by using the force of iron was stupid. The two taboos were not problems for the Holy Beings and their disciples. In their eyes, five and six times refined pills were of no importance, so they wouldn''t waste time thinking about a method for breaking the taboos. Even if some of them did come up with the idea, they would not bother to use the force of iron.


    Master Evil was considered a talent among the warriors with no strong backgrounds. With his super talent, he had reached the peak of mid-rank True God. There weren''t many True Gods like Master Evil throughout all the divine land.


    After Master Wu had ordered the guards to chase away the bald martial artist, he looked out at the crowd and said, "Tha


    s he said, "You don''t come from any of the Floating Islands, and yet you said that you came up with the idea of using iron to break down the two taboos on your own. How can I even begin to trust you?"


    It wasn''t a question of talent. If Zen''s comprehension of the Five Elements Godly Way had reached such a level, it was simply impossible for him to be just a proving godly warrior. He should have become a True God long ago, and besides, by using the force of iron to break the two taboos, he would become a mid-rank True God in only ten thousand years.


    With this logic, it was easy to see why Master Wu thought Zen was lying.


    Zen knew that Master Wu would have such suspicions, so he had already prepared an explanation. "To be honest, the method of using the force of iron to break the two taboos wasn''t invented solely by me, but left behind by a nameless senior. Master Wu, think about it. Those wealthy and influential clans on the Floating Islands would have to be really bored to come up with such a stupid method. They can have access to the Taboo-breaking Pills easily. Why would they even need to go through so much trouble?"

 Chapter 2153 Repaying The Favor (Part Two)

    "Well..." Master Wu hadn''t thought about things so deeply just yet. Listening to Zen, he solemnly nodded in agreement. The top-rank True Gods, consummate True Gods and the Holy Beings had monopolized nearly ninety percent of the divine might coins in the divine land. Six times refined pills were nothing more than common objects in their eyes. Zen was right. They had no reason whatsoever for using the force of iron to break taboos. Master Wu continued, "Indeed, from the looks of it, the nameless senior you''re speaking of is an intelligent warrior with a humble background. I have studied the Five Elements Godly Way all my life, but I have never thought of such a method. As you said, I must be blinded by the old system. Alas..."


    "In fact, I need your help in the Heavenly Han House," Zen took this opportunity to make a request.


    Master Wu glanced at Zen. Although Zen hadn''t told him what his purpose was, Master Wu could easily take his guess. "You want to join the Heavenly Han House, I presume?"


    Zen nodded.


    The reality was, too many proving godly warriors wished to join the Heavenly Han House.


    All of the proving godly warriors viewed the Heavenly Han House as a springboard to success. Once they joined the Heavenly Han House, they knew they would become True Gods.


    Almost every day, a few warriors burned with the desire to ask Master Wu for help in joining the Heavenly Han House. However, in the end, they had to rely on their own strength and talent in order to be accepted there.


    Master Wu finally understood that this warrior, who was named Thad Luo, wasn''t from any influential clan, nor


    r Wu turned on his heel and left the courtyard.


    Not long after, he came back with a White Jade Token in his hand. He handed the token to Zen and said, "Just engrave your name on it."


    Zen accepted the White Jade Token and held it in his hand. There was a cool feeling that seemed to be radiating from it. This kind of jade was extremely rare in the universe, but rather common in the divine land. Zen stood up and bid farewell to Master Wu.


    Once Zen had left and was out of earshot, Master Wu shook his head and muttered, "I hope that you can rely on your own abilities to enter the Heavenly Han House, but I''m afraid that there''s no hope for you this year."


    This year was a great year for the Han Clan''s test, and all of the talented disciples of the 36 regions under the jurisdiction of Han Clan would be gathered in the Heavenly Han House. Zen was less than 100 years old. Although Master Wu didn''t have the chance to verify his talent, he knew he stood no chance in front of all those super talented martial artists. He still wished him good luck in his heart though.

 Chapter 2154 Brilliant Moon Restaurant

    It would be a month before the test of the Heavenly Han House began. Zen decided to stay in the Six-Burden Divine City during this time.


    More and more people flocked to the Six-Burden Divine City and a vast majority of them were proving godly warriors. They were obviously here with the aim of entering the Heavenly Han House.


    There were still a lot forces in the vast space outside the divine cities. Some sects were even willing to pay a lot of money to send some of their talented disciples to the Heavenly Han House. They hoped that these talents could cultivate Godly Ways in the Heavenly Han House and then give back to their sects.


    Apart from the various sects, the smaller clans of the thirty-six regions also hoped for their own disciples to enter the Heavenly Han House.


    Thanks to all this activity, the Six-Burden Divine City had become very lively.


    The price of using a space tunnel was as high as a hundred divine might coins. But it wasn''t a problem for the clans that controlled the divine cities. More and more proving godly warriors came to the Six-Burden Divine City through the space tunnels.


    The downside was that when there were too many proving godly warriors, trouble would erupt.


    It was a Thousand Commandments Slate that had recorded the rules of the Six-Burden Divine City. There was a huge difference between a Thousand Commandments Slate and a Ruling Slate, but it was naturally much more powerful than a Ten Commandments Slate. The Thousand Commandments Slate could record a thousand rules and covered a much larger area. This was why the punishment was much harsher.


    Some of the rules of the Six-Burden Divine City were slightly different from those of the Mirror City.


    The Six-Burden Divine City had banned fighting in the city, but there were still some additional rules. For example, one could issue a challenge to anyone else in the Six-Burden Divine City, but one would have to pay the price of a divine might coin.


    No matter who won, the divine might coin would be paid to the Six-Burden Divine City. It could be considered as a kind of a fighting tax paid to the Han Clan.


    Most proving godly warriors of the divine land were very young. They had started practicing martial arts since they reached the Soul Sea Realm, and it was fairly easy for the divine citizens to reach the Spirit Transformation Realm. These youths were at an age where their blood ran hot. So inevitably, they would trouble for each other when they eventually got together. And they had to pay the fighting tax the moment they began to fight. The Six-Burden Divine City was only too happy to receive more divine might coins.


    So before the test of the Heavenly Han House began, the proving godly warriors of the Six-Burden Divine City occasionally fought with each other, and the fights had become an opportunity to test each other''s strength.


    Brilliant Moon Restaurant was the largest restaurant in the Six-Burden Divine City.


    A huge patio was built on the top of the restaurant, supported by six pillars. All customers ate at the outer circle while the center of the patio was reserved for the warriors to fight.


    Those who could enter t


    the Brilliant Moon Restaurant. They felt fortunate to find a chair to sit on for free so they could get a glimpse of the strength of this year''s proving godly warriors.


    Zen smiled faintly. This was when he noticed the disdain in the lady''s eyes. He was not angry. Instead, he only smiled as he ordered the dishes Master Evil had told him about.


    As Zen reeled off the names of the dishes, the astonishment in the young lady''s eyes became more and more obvious.


    It turned out that the dishes that Zen had ordered were the best in the Brilliant Moon Restaurant. They weren''t the most expensive, but they were definitely ones that one could not miss if they went there.


    Some proving godly warriors, with the support of their families, could spend extravagantly in the Brilliant Moon Restaurant. But they did not understand the essence of the Brilliant Moon Restaurant. What Zen had ordered were the classiest dishes of the Brilliant Moon Restaurant, which was why the girl was so surprised.


    Once Zen had ordered the food, the girl''s expression shifted.


    He had ordered more than ten delicacies in one go, which meant that he would later have to pay about two hundred divine might coins for the bill. As she looked Zen up and down and at the kind of clothes he was wearing, the girl was worried that he would not be able to pay the bill.


    However, she was not afraid. The Brilliant Moon Restaurant was run by the Han Clan and no one dared dine and dash here. If he really couldn''t pay the bill, it was not her who would suffer in any way.


    As the girl left, Zen suddenly felt an imposing aura in the air. Someone from the third floor jumped down and stood in the middle of the patio. He cupped his hands and said, "I am Holt Qian from the Qian Clan of the Mirror City!" He then raised a divine might coin and flicked it into the air.


    With a swish, the divine might coin rose into the air.


    And as if a mysterious power had seized it, it suddenly stopped in its tracks.


    Holt Qian raised his head and shouted towards the fourth floor, "I want to challenge Steve Sun! Do you dare accept my challenge?"

 Chapter 2155 Battle Between Two Warriors (Part One)

    On the fourth floor of the Brilliant Moon Restaurant, a robust proving godly warrior coldly snorted as he reached into his pocket to take out a divine might coin.


    The black divine might coin rolled downward and began falling from the fourth floor. Simultaneously, the proving godly warrior shouted, "I, Steve Sun, accept the challenge!"


    With that, the divine might coin that was falling to the ground was suddenly stopped in mid-air, caught by a mysterious power.


    It was at that moment that Steve jumped down from the fourth floor. He tapped the divine might coin with his toe, using it as a stepping stone. With his newfound momentum, he landed in the Brilliant Moon Restaurant''s patio.


    Whoosh!


    The divine might coin that had been hovering motionless in the air circled on itself a little before flying up toward the sky, zooming past the tall buildings in the Six-Burden Divine City and finally landing in front of a slate. In front of the slate, the densely packed divine might coins formed a small mountain, and there were at least ten thousand divine might coins.


    "That divine might coin... It has been taken away by the power of the Thousand Commandments Slate, right?" Zen asked Master Evil in his mind.


    "Of course, once they''ve paid two divine might coins, the two warriors can fight each other, but still, they cannot make any move against others," Master Evil said.


    The delicacies that Zen had ordered were yet to be served, but at least now, there was an interesting show to watch.


    Although Zen felt very confident that there wouldn''t be much of a problem with his entering the Heavenly Han House, he still felt the need to know the abilities of the talents of the divine land.


    "The Sun and Qian Clans have begun fighting each other once again..."


    "They fight against each other almost ev


    s spear''s shape was a bit strange, though. It was curved like a snake''s body, and it looked like a triangular golden snake''s head had been embedded into the spear head.


    "Coiling Dragon Spear," Steve shouted.


    Although they were only sparring here in the Brilliant Moon Restaurant, it still remained a duel once the divine might coins were paid up. Generally speaking, it was normal for warriors to die in a duel, especially when one of the two didn''t hold back.


    That curved long spear stabbed outward like a snake launching out at its prey. His spear appeared to be aimed directly at Holt''s head, but with a gentle twist of his wrist, it was actually aiming at his chest.


    "Wow! What an excellent move!"


    "The Sun Clan''s Coiling Dragon Spear is famous for its strange shape which makes it extremely difficult to dodge its attack."


    "Look! With Steve''s momentum, I''m afraid that the Sun Clan will remain in control of the Heavenly Canopy Divine City..."


    Upon hearing such comments, Zen couldn''t help but roll his eyes in annoyance.


    Although he had just arrived at the divine land, he had already had the chance to see the strength of the divine land''s martial artists in the Misty Mountain Village.

 Chapter 2156 Battle Between Two Warriors (Part Two)

    Thomson and Woolley were from the Misty Mountain Village, which was considered a remote mountain village, thus making it reasonable for them not to have practiced high quality martial skills.


    However, in Zen''s opinion, the warriors of the Sun Moon Village were also extremely weak. They might all have the cultivation of the Spirit Supreme Realm, but that was all they had. In terms of martial skills, they weren''t even close to the level of those of the Soul Sea Realm in the Evolutionary Universe.


    Now that Zen had arrived in the Six-Burden Divine City, the people he had to face were easily considered the elites of the third-class clans. However, Steve''s move still left Zen feeling disappointed.


    Although the Coiling Dragon Spear was exquisite, Zen thought it was much too gaudy. He knew he could easily break through the spear with his great speed. How could the spear be considered so ''excellent''? Zen wondered.


    What Zen didn''t know though, was that in the universe, martial skills actually progressed much further and even much faster than those in the divine land. This was because the divine citizens of the divine land would have the capacity of surpassing the Soul Sea Realm, the Spirit Supreme Realm and the Spirit Transformation Realm in a shorter period of time, thus becoming proving godly warriors at an early age.


    And after becoming a proving godly warrior, one would immediately step into the Godly Way.


    The cultivation period of those below the True God level was very short. It was therefore only normal that no one was willing to put much time and effort into studying these martial techniques. After all, once they became True Gods, they were bound to have higher-level cultivation methods to study.


    Steve''s spear pier


    om upstairs. It bounced a few times on the ground, spun on itself and landed with a barely audible thud. From somewhere in the crowd, a faint voice sounded out, "Holt, how about I challenge you?"


    As the voice faded further away, the divine might coin on the ground suddenly jumped again, as if controlled by magic, and hovered in the air. When the voice issued its challenge, the power of the Thousand Commandments Slate appeared anew, allowing the divine might coin to float in the air.


    "I have something more important to do, so I think I''ll skip my turn this time around."


    In all honesty though, Holt''s only desire was to challenge Steve. He didn''t want to accept any challenge from anyone else. Once he finished speaking, he turned around and left the patio at once.


    Zen looked at the floating divine might coin indifferently.


    Of course, he had no intentions of fighting. Even if he won, he would still lose a divine might coin just for a battle. Such a terrible deal meant absolutely nothing to him.


    However, what Zen saw next made his eyes widen and brighten with excitement.


    Divine might coins were suddenly raining down from the fourth floor!

 Chapter 2157 Eric Hulan (Part One)

    The black divine might coins looked like both gold and wood, but they were neither gold nor wood. When they hit the floor, they made blunt and heavy sounds.


    About three to four hundred divine might coins fell down from the fourth floor. All those coins became scattered on the ground.


    When the proving godly warriors in the Brilliant Moon Restaurant saw such a scene, their breaths quickened, especially those on the first and second floors. A few True Gods also revealed an expression of interest. All their eyes were focused on the coins on the ground.


    Four hundred divine might coins were enough to buy two houses in Six-Burden Divine City. Such an amount was not easily gained by the warriors. To many low-rank True Gods, it was a huge sum of money.


    Although the warriors in the Brilliant Moon Restaurant were envious, no one dared to pick the coins up. No common warrior would easily throw away such wealth. The one who dared to toss out such a large number of coins must be very influential socially.


    Whir!


    On the fourth floor, a figure descended and silently landed on the ground. The eccentric arrival of the figure piqued the interests of those around him.


    No warriors below the top-rank True Gods in the divine land were able to fly in the air. However, one could still be creative as he fell from a high place. The man from the fourth floor used a clever method to reduce the force of the impact and descended just like a nimble cat.


    The man wore a purple robe and a purple gold crown. Redness decorated his lips while his skin was flawlessly white. Beautiful features similar to a young girl''s could be seen in his face. Additionally, his appearance looked no older than that of a youth at sixteen or seventeen years of age.


    "N


    "I want to challenge you."


    Generally, the proving godly warriors of the clans of second and third tiers were on the third floor and above. The elite disciples of these clans weren''t interested in several hundred divine might coins. Such money might not be worth their time or possible injuries.


    However, those proving godly warriors on the first and second floors were different. If they won these divine might coins, it was very likely that their fates would be changed. So it would be a reasonable risk for them. Besides, some of them had never heard of Eric before, so they weren''t afraid of him.


    As Eric saw that someone had finally come up to challenge him, the corner of his mouth slightly curved upwards. A beautiful smile came across his pretty face.


    "What a handsome man! He is even more alluring than a girl," one girl said with a soft sigh. She was filled with envy about Eric''s good looks.


    As two divine might coins flew into the air and shot out of Brilliant Moon Restaurant, the burly man didn''t say anything else. He leaned forward and charged towards Eric like a ferocious beast. A malicious aura came out of the man as he attacked fiercely.

 Chapter 2158 Eric Hulan (Part Two)

    As he ran bravely towards Eric, the large man stretched out his right hand. The brown scales on his right hand began to flicker with a faint luster. Suddenly, a myriad of colors flowed through his right hand.


    "It''s a poisonous hand! Watch out!"


    "He cultivates the poison technique. You have to be careful of his right hand!"


    "Those who dare to challenge Eric must be strong."


    The burly man rushed forward. As he pointed his right hand towards Eric, the man tried his best to grab Eric. The air in his palm was foul, and each of his fingers was as thick as an arm. It was not a hand. With its strange appearance, it was clearly the huge claw of a vicious beast!


    Eric stood firmly in the center of the arena. He calmly watched the huge claw approached him. Suddenly, with a callous look in his face, he stretched out his finger and pointed it at the center of the claw.


    Thud!


    The burly man''s charge was immediately stopped! Eric''s finger landed at the center of the claw. With just his index finger, he had already blocked the claw. At the same time, everyone heard a strange sound, as if some kind of metal vibrated violently.


    Then, circles of black ripples suddenly appeared around the burly man''s arm. The ripples were extremely small. Only those with keen eyesight would be able to notice them.


    As soon as the ripples appeared, they began to tighten.


    Rustle!


    Immediately, the sound of a shattered object echoed in everyone''s ears. Something was obviously broken in the man''s body!


    The burly man''s right hand was chopped into seven or eight pieces. A mixture of shock and pain was seen in his expression as each piece of his ri


    interested in Zen.


    They all stared intently at Zen. From head to toe, Zen was gazed upon by the warriors around him, as if to gauge his worth. When they saw his clothes and face, they all felt he was a stranger. Moreover, Zen appeared to be an ordinary warrior with a humble background. How could he afford so many dishes?


    "Sir, the dishes you ordered are all here. Please enjoy them." The girl bowed towards Zen before she left with her servants. Her thought was the same as the others''; she wanted to see how Zen would settle the bill. She even suspected that Zen might not pay and instead escape after his meal. However, if Zen didn''t have enough divine might coins, the girl had henchmen who were True Gods. Their establishment wouldn''t be easy to mess with.


    Zen didn''t mind their gazes at all. He casually took a pair of chopsticks and poured himself a cup of wine. A delicious aroma of alcohol filled the air. Then, he pointed his finger towards the cup and a wisp of Fire Law began to spread out.


    Whirl!


    The wine in the cup was lit ablaze. A cyan flame intensely erupted from the cup.

 Chapter 2159 Special Way To Eat (Part One)

    Cyan flame rose up from Zen''s wine. It burned intensely and condensed into the shape of a crescent moon.


    The wine was one of the famous wines in the Six-Burden Divine City. It was called the Moon Melting Wine. Just a small pot of it would cost twenty divine might coins. Only extravagant and wealthy warriors were able to afford such wine.


    Zen thought the price was outrageous. However, Master Evil had recommended it strongly and told him that this pot of wine was the key.


    Everyone felt a sense of novelty when they saw Zen ignite the cup of wine. Most of their attention was focused on Zen. Some of them started to speculate about Zen''s origins. Eric''s round eyes also stared intensely at Zen, for he also didn''t know what Zen was about to do.


    After he caught everyone''s attention with the cyan flames, Zen held his chopsticks and reached for his first dish.


    The snow lotus petals on the plate overlapped with each other to form a small arched bridge. The delicate formation of the dish made it more attractive to eat. It was the famous dish of the Brilliant Moon Restaurant, the Snow Lotus Arch.


    The snow lotus which had been harvested from a snowy mountain of a snowy region was naturally cold. At that moment, the petals still emitted a dense, cold aura.


    In the divine land, even the ordinary divine citizens could swallow such an extremely cold object. If it was any living being below the Life and Death Realm in the universe, they would not even be able to come close to a three feet radius from the table, let alone eat it, which would be no different from courting death.


    When Zen used chopsticks to pick up a petal of the snow lotus, a layer of frost immediately covered his chopsticks. The petals emitted a chilly atmosphere in which Zen''s breath could be seen.


    Soon after, Zen roasted the snow lotus petals on the fire above the cup. The crescent-shaped flame surrounded the snow lotus petals.


    Extremely cold objects often had extreme reactions to fire. Snow lotus petals continuously melted under the fire, and at the same time, emitted a strange stench. A smelly odor immediately filled the restaurant.


    "So smelly!"


    "What''s that disgusting smell? What is this fellow burning?!"


    "This is too smelly! Can anyone stop that fellow?"


    The s


    nd.


    On the top floor of the Brilliant Moon Restaurant, Watts Han and Jimmy Han looked down at Zen with a strange expression on their faces. Intense curiosity developed in their heads as they witnessed Zen''s actions.


    "That person is less than a hundred years old, but he is truly knowledgeable. He can even concoct an Original Pure Food Pill," Watts said in surprise. His eyes widened as he gawked at Zen.


    "I don''t know which senior he got the secret recipe from, but it was a splendid display. He''s rather interesting. This year, Han Clan''s examination attracts some strange people again," Jimmy said with a smile.


    The two brothers had represented the Han Clan as the manager of the Brilliant Moon Restaurant for three divine eras. Countless customers had already visited the restaurant and the menu had changed from time to time. They had heard of the Original Pure Food Pill, but they had never seen it with their own eyes. Since they saw such an extraordinary recipe from a proving godly warrior, they were naturally confused.


    "Should we bring in that fellow and ask him?" Watts asked. His curiosity about the pill grew even stronger.


    "No, this person will definitely take the Han Clan''s exam. Then whether he''s a dragon or a dog, we''ll know when the time comes," Jimmy replied as he shook his head. Expectant eyes were on his face.


    Although the Original Pure Food Pill was truly magical, it could only satisfy one''s appetite for a while. It was still not the right way in the eyes of some people.

 Chapter 2160 Special Way To Eat (Part Two)

    Everyone in the Brilliant Moon Restaurant had their eyes fixed on Zen as they made all sorts of guesses about his identity. A bizarre range of speculations rose through the chatter of the customers.


    Eric stood formidably alone in the center of the patio. His eyes were still focused on Zen.


    Eric had appeared in a high-profile manner to show his might. The earlier encounter with the burly man was to exhibit his great strength and prowess.


    The examination of the Heavenly Han House was difficult. The process not only involved strength but many other things as well. There were many variables, and it didn''t necessarily mean that one could pass just because one was strong. As such, many warriors failed to be part of the Heavenly Han House.


    Eric originally thought that after he intimidated those martial artists, everyone would be afraid of him during the examination. As such, they wouldn''t dare to act rashly against him.


    However, just after he won the match, everyone suddenly shifted their focus to the delicacies of the Brilliant Moon Restaurant. Eric couldn''t believe how easily his prestige was stolen.


    As he felt depressed, Eric pointed at Zen and shouted, "Hey! You!"


    Zen was still captivated about the aftertaste of the pill. Suddenly, he saw Eric point at him and shout loudly. Due to the interruption of his mood, Zen frowned and said with an annoyed tone, "What''s the matter?"


    "How about I challenge you?" The corner of Eric''s mouth curled up as he issued a challenge. He then continued, "If you won, these would be all yours!" As he spoke, Eric''s stare pointed at the divine might coins in front of his feet.


    Zen''s eyes followed Eric''s gaze. A cold smile came across Zen''s face as he shook his head.


    "What do you mean? You don''t dare? Are you a coward?" Eric felt unhappy and continued to provoke Zen. If Zen didn''t agree to the challenge, then he really would have no way to deal with him. Even if he was a member of the Hulan Clan, he couldn''t act rashly in the Six-Burden Divine City. It was forbidden to attack anyone outside of a duel. If Eric were to break that rule, the punishment of the Thousand Commandment


    rtunity to earn as many divine might coins as he could, Zen meticulously incited Eric''s attention.


    Previously, Zen didn''t want to challenge Eric. He indeed felt that the number of divine might coins was not enough. Two hundred was not enough. Even the one thousand divine might coins were still not enough. Zen wanted an opportunity to get as much as he needed.


    He didn''t expect that the fellow from the Hulan Clan would be so impetuous. As such, the opportunity to earn a huge sum appeared in front of Zen rather quickly.


    "This much," Zen held out five fingers and said calmly. An arrogant smile came across his face.


    "Five thousand divine might coins?" Eric asked as he frowned.


    The corner of Zen''s mouth curled up slightly, "That''s right!"


    "Five thousand..."


    "That fellow is really arrogant! That''s way too much!"


    "Maybe he purposely said a big number. He is making it difficult for Eric. I''m afraid that guy doesn''t really want to accept the challenge. What a coward!"


    "Unfortunately, he might have underestimated the Hulan Clan''s wealth. 5000 divine might coins is indeed a huge amount of money, but for the Hulan Clan, it''s not a big problem."


    As expected, Eric was deep in thought for a moment. After a few seconds, he looked at Zen and smiled coldly. Then with a prideful tone, he said, "Five thousand it is!"


    With that, Eric raised his head and shouted towards the fourth floor, "Uncle Lambert!"

 Chapter 2161 With Only One Hit

    As soon as Eric finished speaking, a bald man with a strange pattern on his brain stuck his head out from the fourth floor.


    It was Lambert, the man Eric had spoken to.


    "Young Master," Lambert bowed in respect.


    "Give me the money," Eric said calmly.


    "But..." Lambert glanced at Zen.


    He was a low-rank True God at the top level, much more powerful than ordinary True Gods.


    It was not that he didn''t believe in Eric''s strength, but was it really wise to take out five thousand divine might coins at once? After all, five thousand divine might coins was an insanely huge amount of money.


    Moreover, Lambert couldn''t shake the feeling that Zen was much more than he let on. Although Zen was extremely reserved, Lambert could still feel a faintly discernible soul aura coming from him. It was like an unseen double edged sword, vague and powerful.


    "What?" Eric asked as he looked at his servant.


    Perplexed, Lambert frowned.


    Even though he was a True God, he was still just a guard of the Hulan Clan.


    He''d been serving the young master for years, and therefore knew his temper better than anyone. Right now, Eric had already figured that this warrior had a lot of pride and wouldn''t fight. And since he had already thrown the thousand divine might coins, giving up now was out of the question.


    If Lambert upset the young master here, he would surely get punished later.


    Having no choice, Lambert could only grit his teeth as he summoned a small gold silk pouch with a clap of his hands and lightly tossed it to Eric.


    Eric caught the pouch and turned to smile at Zen. He gently twisted his fingers and untied the pouch.


    Pak! Pak! Pak!


    Instead of metal, the divine might coins were made of some kind of wood and made a crisp sound when they landed on the ground.


    Now, Eric had a total of five thousand divine might coins under his feet.


    "Oh my God!


    It''s five thousand divine might coins!


    For many third-tier clans, this is a huge sum of money!"


    "He is so confident in his strength. Let''s see what the poor guy is going to do to save his face!"


    The people surrounding them all focused on Zen. It was Zen himself who had asked for five thousand divine might coins, and now that Eric had actually taken it out, everyone wondered just how Zen would escape the fight.


    But what they didn''t know was that Zen had already thought of a way out of all possible scenarios before h


    ough she was only a divine citizen, she had worked in the Brilliant Moon Restaurant for a long time and had witnessed countless fights before. However, she couldn''t remember a lot of people who defeated their opponents with a single hit like Zen did.


    This only happened when the fight happened between two warriors with great gaps in strength and cultivation levels. However, Zen was a proving godly warrior while Eric was a powerful warrior from the famous Hulan Clan, so the girl couldn''t understand why the outcome was like this.


    Zen smirked and took out the Great Weighty Sword from his waist. He pulled out the scabbard and began to collect the divine might coins on the ground.


    When he entered the divine land, Zen''s space ring had been destroyed, but the Great Weighty Sword and the sword scabbard were made of divine land items so they remained intact. Now, Zen used the sword scabbard, which was originally a Sumeru Space, in place of the space ring.


    As Zen was taking the divine might coins, several people led by Lambert of the Hulan Clan jumped down from the fourth floor of the Brilliant Moon Restaurant.


    "Are you really going to take these divine might coins?" Lambert asked with a frown.


    Zen straightened his body and asked with a smile, "Why not?"


    "Aren''t you afraid of offending our Hulan Clan?" Lambert had become suspicious of Zen''s real identity after witnessing his strength


    and was now asking Zen these questions in an effort to sound out his background.


    But Zen had already figured out his intentions.


    He looked into his eyes fearlessly. "Why should I be afraid?"

 Chapter 2162 Zens Information

    Zen''s rhetorical question caught Lambert by surprise.


    Lambert stared coldly at Zen and asked, "Which clan do you come from?"


    Zen smiled. "Why should I tell you?"


    Lambert knew this tactic as a swift and decisive person. Zen answered himself with three "why" words in a row.


    He already realized that threats were useless against Zen. After all, Zen was a very fearless person.


    But as a guard of the Hulan Clan, Lambert had to be observant and smart. Since Eric had lost five thousand divine might coins, he would not refuse to give them to Zen under the watchful eyes of the people. After all, there still happened to be the elders of the other clans on the fifth and sixth floors of the Brilliant Moon Restaurant.


    Without looking back, Lambert walked up towards the other side. Meanwhile, the two servants of the Huoulan Clan had already helped Eric up.


    Lambert reached out his hand and gently pointed at Eric''s forehead. Just then, a powerful ray of light coruscated from between Eric''s eyebrows. His mind was just put at rest.


    Eric suffered a great amount of bone damage after Zen''s hit. However, it was common knowledge that physical injuries were easiest to heal, taking around two to three days to recover. This was supposed to be no hindrance to his test of the Heavenly Han House. What worried Lambert the most was Eric''s soul because he did not dare to underestimate Zen''s power.


    Fortunately, only a small hole was found on Eric''s soul, so it was not really something to worry about. It seemed that Zen had been lenient on him, but Lambert still sighed in his heart. It was hard for him to imagine how a proving godly warrior could cultivate his soul to such a state.


    After collecting all the divine might coins on the ground, Zen cupped his hands in salute towards Lambert and the others. Then, as if there was no one else present, he walked out of Brilliant Moon Restaurant with his head held high.


    Gasps and whispers filled the restaurant once Zen exited.


    "Who the hell was that man?"


    "Well, he used the food in the restaurant to refine a food pill, so he should be a citizen of Six-Burden Divine City, right?"


    "That''s not even the point. I just wonder how he became so strong. He defeated Eric with only one move. It seems that he even played it easy on him. Eric would have been dead if he went all out."


    These people continuously wondered but had no clue that Zen was more powerful than anything they could ever imagine.


    On the other hand, Eric was just an elite disciple from a second-tier clan.


    Even the proving godly warriors who were trained by the influential clans on the Floating Islands were no match for Zen. Eric didn''t stand a chance.


    Due to the special nature of Zen''s inner world, he had not managed to condense the Godly Tile. But once he successfully condensed the Godly Tile, his strength would be enhanced by millions. By then, o


    o fight hand-to-hand. In other words, the basic martial skills played an important role.


    Now, Zen had to be very careful when using chaotic energy. He didn''t dare to use the Emotion Closing Godly Way as it was classified forbidden in the divine land. If he was caught using it, he would get into a lot of trouble.


    Zen didn''t use his trump cards now, but he was still full of confidence nonetheless.


    According to Master Evil''s analysis, as one of the three great clans under the rule of the Han Clan, the Hulan Clan was quite powerful. Eric was from this clan, and was renowned one of the best warriors they had to offer.


    But since Eric proved to be powerless against Zen, the disciples of the other clans would be even less likely to fight back.


    Although there might be a few strong competitors, Heavenly Han House offered at least ten spots. Given his abilities, Zen would not fall out of the top ten. Therefore, he had a sure spot in the Heavenly Han House.


    Before the test, many clans would order their men to gather information about their competitors in Six-Burden Divine City for a competitive advantage. Therefore, everyone was more or less knowledgeable of the potential competitors.


    A group of people spent their lives collecting such information and selling it to the great clans and sects as a business.


    The information included the characteristics, strength and specialties of the competing martial artists. Even their Godly Ways and cultivation methods were also recorded.


    Notably, after his fight with Eric, Zen was honorably ranked at the fourth place.


    But for some reason, his information was completely different from that of the others.


    His basic information was all unknown and difficult to discover.


    The only thing that had been acknowledged was his strength. His fight with Eric had been briefly described. With a tremendous power, he had defeated Eric in one simple, drastic move.

 Chapter 2163 The Money Alley

    Zen was highly irritated. Over the past few days, there were always people who sneakily followed him no matter where he went.


    Although those people hid well, Zen could still detect their presence. Then again, he didn''t need to bother with them as it was very safe in the Six-Burden Divine City.


    He shifted his focus back to his priority, which was to get some essential items such as the space ring that could store things.


    He had been using the sword sheath as a substitute for a while now, but he found that it wasn''t very convenient at all. Now that Zen had earned five thousand divine might coins in one go, he could buy anything he wanted.


    After a few moments under the guidance of Master Evil, Zen had crossed more than half of the Six-Burden Divine City and had now arrived at a small alley.


    "Money Alley? You mean here?" asked Zen.


    His face twisted into an unreadable expression as he stood in front of the alley.


    The pathway was very narrow and could allow only one person to pass through and from the outside, it looked rather plain and even shabby.


    "Hehe, of course this is the place. The Money Alley is very famous in the Six-Burden Divine City. As long as you have the divine might coins, you can buy any strange things that you could imagine," Master Evil said with a smile.


    "But why people like to come to this narrow alley?" Clearly, the alley''s appearance confused Zen.


    Suddenly, Zen heard a loud, rough voice behind him that sounded like rocks that were rubbed against each other.


    "Get out of the way!"


    Zen quickly dodged to the side and turned around, only to see a group of about seven people who walked towards the Money Alley.


    The owner of the voice was a fat guy at the forefront of the group. His body''s girth was equivalent to his height, which made him look like a ball.


    When Zen saw him, his eyes flashed in realization. "A mid-rank True God!"


    Zen had seen quite a lot of True Gods after he came out of the Evolutionary Universe, but the majority of them were only low-rank True Gods. The only mid-rank True Gods he knew were Master Evil, Wayne, Yorick, and a few others.


    There was a time when he had asked Master Evil why there were only a few mid-rank True Gods.


    And since Master Evil had always answered Zen''s questions, he naturally indulged him.


    The divine land was an extremely stable world, completely different from the environments in any universe.


    Incidents rarely happened in such a world, and there were rarely any talents or unique beings who could change the world. It was safe to say that the vast majority of the divine citizens did not have very long-term aspirations. Even if they did become True Gods, it would be very hard for them to become mainstream powerful masters, and it was even less possible for them to achieve the consummation of True Gods; and even more unlikely for them to become Holy Beings.


    In other words, the paths for lower level martial artists to advance to achieve higher levels were completely blocked.


    "The martial a


    . Those quiet ones simply placed the items they sold on the stall and sat on the side, their eyes closed in contemplation.


    "This Heavenly Spirit Root was unearthed three divine eras ago. It''s only for twenty divine might coins!"


    At that moment, a certain seller''s voice caught Zen''s ears. Zen immediately turned and saw a section of shiny wood in the stall on the left. The piece of wood was crisscrossed like a catapult and its surface glowed jade green. It was indeed, quite eye-catching.


    "Hey, man. Are you interested?"


    The stall owner was also a low-rank True God and didn''t seem to mind Zen''s identity as a proving godly warrior, as seen in his friendly disposition towards Zen.


    He went closer to the stall and examined the shiny piece of glowing wood. "What is this?" Zen asked curiously.


    "Haven''t you heard of the Heavenly Spirit Root? It is something that can increase one''s talent. It can be swallowed directly, or it can be refined into a Heavenly Spirit Pill. After one takes it, their mind would become clear and their comprehension will soar," the True God said as he smiled, his eyes both shaped like upturned crescents.


    However, Zen remained silent as Master Evil quickly said in his mind, "It''s fake! Not even two hundred divine might coins would get you a genuine Heaven Spirit Root, much less twenty!"


    Once Master Evil had finished, Zen turned around and left without a word.


    "Hey, man! Don''t go¡­" the True God helplessly shouted a few more times. He could only sigh. It was truly harder and harder to deceive younger people these days, he thought.


    Meanwhile, Zen continued his stroll as his eyes wandered about. Just then, a ray of light burst out from somewhere, and he quickly followed where it was.


    It led him to a shop with several brocade boxes. The brocade box on the outermost was already opened, and inside it was a golden Sanskrit word. There were small densely-packed characters around the Sanskrit word, which turned out to be notes that explained the Sanskrit word.

 Chapter 2164 A Piece Of Mud

    Zen did not expect to see golden Sanskrit words in the Money Alley of all places.


    What was more shocking was that they were actual, real Sanskrit words. Zen was certain since there was no way to fake the genuine auras they exuded.


    The stall owner was a sleeping old man in plain clothes. He was a low-rank True God and seemed completely indifferent to his surroundings.


    "Can the Sanskrit words be sold?" Zen asked in his mind.


    "Why do you ask? Sanskrit words are normal commodities here in the divine land. Of course they can be traded," Master Evil said in response.


    "But..."


    It didn''t really sit right with Zen. To him, every single Sanskrit word was filled with extremely rich meaning. If he could decipher just one word, then he was bound to benefit greatly from it.


    The old man''s stall was densely packed with over a hundred brocade boxes, so did that mean there were over a hundred Sanskrit words here?


    "Look at the Sanskrit word in your hand. This is the very first word Holy Waldo discovered years ago and its meaning has long been comprehended by hundreds of people. It has been widely spread all throughout the divine land. What''s so great about it?" Master Evil said, trying to convince Zen of the lightness of the matter. "The other words in this stall have most probably already been seen by so many people. They''re not that special."


    The discovery of the first golden Sanskrit word had left a profound impact on the divine land, causing a frenzy of divine citizens to search for other Sanskrit words all over the land. Each discovered word was then copied countless times.


    This led to the widespread circulation of the early discovered Sanskrit words.


    That first batch spanned roughly around 90 words that many talented individuals translated and deciphered.


    These Sanskrit words were by no means rare, and since this old man dared sell them, he must have obtained new understandings and explanations for these words.


    "If it''s a new Sanskrit word, never seen before yet readable, then that word''s value would be extremely terrifying. That type of Sanskrit word would greatly alarm the wealthy clans on the Floating Islands. That kind of precious Sanskrit word could never be sold here," Master Evil added.


    "What do you mean the value would be extremely terrifying?" Zen asked, his heart skipping a beat by Master Evil''s words.


    Back in the fairy palace, Geoffrey had managed to read the Sanskrit words in the library. Zen


    e stepped into the Soul Sea Realm. This was the very first time he did so.


    Zen frowned, not quite understanding why such a thought was transmitted from his elixir field.


    However, before he could think about it any further, the consciousness reminded Zen to turn his head. He immediately conceded and found himself face to face with another stall. The owner was a young girl who wore an orange dress. She was very pretty, and looked around sixteen to seventeen years old. Zen knew though that it was impossible to judge one''s age just by their appearance.


    His gaze shifted from the owner to an item she was selling.


    A number of strange things lined the stall, most of which Zen did not even recognize.


    However, one object caught his eye. It was at the edge of the stall: an unremarkable piece of mud, covered in dust.


    The girl smiled sweetly at Zen. "Is there anything you wish to buy?"


    "What did you take a fancy to?" Master Evil also asked. There didn''t seem to be anything of value in this stall but he could clearly feel the tremble in Zen''s soul. Whatever it was that he saw seemed to be extremely important.


    Zen did not answer either of them and simply continued to stare at that lump of brown mud.


    At that moment, the consciousness that had come out from his elixir field suddenly wrestled Zen''s own consciousness and took control of his body. Pretty soon, the young man found himself moving towards that piece of mud.


    This only lasted for a moment. A glint flashed across Zen''s eyes as he immediately suppressed his inner world''s consciousness, halting his footsteps. However, he still stared at that lump of mud.

 Chapter 2165 Sky-High Price (Part One)

    The consciousness of Zen''s inner world was soon suppressed by Zen.


    Despite having done so, the surging waves of consciousness continued to spread out, constantly reminding Zen that this item was more than just important.


    As Zen was the creator of this world, this consciousness also belonged to Zen, and such waves simply couldn''t resist him.


    In the past, while Master Evil was communicating with Zen, he had warned him that an inner world''s consciousness wasn''t necessarily entirely safe. If he was careless, such consciousness might even occupy his body.


    There had once been True Gods who had neglected to monitor and manage their own inner worlds. Within such inner worlds were born very ambitious secondary creatures. Through the method of controlling the Godly Tile, these creatures succeeded in destroying the True God''s soul.


    Luckily enough for the True Gods, only the secondary creatures from a Holy Being''s inner world could actually comprehend the Godly Way and eventually escape. Although the aforementioned secondary creatures obtained the bodies of those Gods of Creation through the Godly Tile, they remained confined within their inner worlds, without possibility of ever entering the divine land. In other words, these True Gods all became walking corpses.


    During the period of time that Zen''s cinnabar field had been sealed, a creature like these had equally appeared, Evil God. If Zen hadn''t interfered, it was very likely that Evil God would have been able to do this to Zen, as well. After being suppressed by Zen though, Evil God became much quieter.


    Now that the entire inner world was suddenly so intrigued by the piece of "mud", there was no way Zen was going to ignore it.


    "Let me see," Zen replied calmly to the little girl. In his mind, h


    sty Mountain Village, but despite that, they still weren''t strong enough to be considered among the third-tier clans.


    "Human form? Escape? This mud must really have spirituality then," Zen nodded in agreement, somewhat surprised.


    "That''s right! And my uncle was so happy and pretty proud, too," the little girl added as she laughed. "But I guess after being bound by my uncle, this piece of mud seemed to have lost its spirituality, and later on, it became like this¡­"


    As it turned out, after the Tie Clan had obtained this piece of mud and controlled it, they had self-proclaimed it to be an incredible treasure.


    Throughout all the divine land, many spiritual objects existed. Time here was endless and as a result, bizarre things would appear every now and again. Time could give many things a spiritual sense, but a piece of mud that had spirituality was extremely rare, to say the least.


    After obtaining the piece of mud, the Tie Clan had secretly and carefully studied it for a long time. Despite having been doing so, they couldn''t find anything special about the said piece of mud. It literally was just as Master Evil had said ¡ª an absolutely ordinary piece of mud.

 Chapter 2166 Sky-High Price (Part Two)

    Of course, the members of the Tie Clan were naturally all upset, but after studying it for more than ten years, they eventually gave up. They firmly believed that this thing was far from ordinary though, and took it to the Six-Burden Divine City. Here, they found a few True Gods with incredibly keen eyesight to verify the mud. Upon seeing the mud, the first words uttered by the True Gods were, "What is this? Did your Tie Clan go mad from poverty and use a piece of the mud dug out from the ground to fool us?"


    In a fit of anger, the Tie Clan''s leader left the mud to this little girl in the Money Alley.


    The Tie Clan rented a stall in the Money Alley. It was run by the daughter of the Tie Clan''s leader, a little girl named Linn Tie. Over the past two years, many True Gods had noticed this piece of mud; after all, it was quite unusual to find an ordinary mud for sale in Money Alley. If it was really a piece of ordinary mud, why would the stall owner bother to let it occupy a pot in the stall, they all wondered.


    Whenever someone asked, Linn would tell them this same story. With her numerously told story, many people became quite interested in the piece of mud. After all, there would always be people willing to spend a little money to buy an opportunity. What if this mud really was a treasure? How could they know without getting their hands on it first?


    However, when they heard the little Linn''s price, the interested True Gods became so angered that they glared at her and cursed her loudly for being crazy. It turned out that Linn was asking for five hundred divine might coins.


    ite difficult for them to be capable of affording it.


    And yet, shockingly enough, the little girl still shook her head once again, this time revealing her silver teeth as she sweetly smiled and said, "Five hundred divine might coins."


    "What clan does this girl belong to? Is she out of her mind?" Master Evil said in Zen''s mind.


    Before Zen could say anything aloud, Master Evil''s voice was heard cursing in his mind.


    In Master Evil''s eyes, the piece of mud was worthless. Despite that though, Zen had a few secrets that Master Evil wasn''t aware of and perhaps Zen could really see the value of the mud. Never had he imagined that this young girl would have an asking price five hundred divine might coins. Now that was not only daring, but outrageous, too.


    And upon hearing Linn''s price, Zen couldn''t help but frown in an instant. Simultaneously though, he noted a trace of slyness on the girl''s fair face. He was in a dilemma now, for he couldn''t figure out the value of the piece of mud but his need of it came from the consciousness of his inner world.

 Chapter 2167 Deal

    Zen felt a headache coming on.


    He was not good at putting on airs and what was worse, he had let this little girl see through him.


    "This price isn''t for you alone," Linn said. "In the past few years, I told anyone who asked about the price of this mud the same thing: that it was priced at five hundred divine might coins. But I feel that it is more appropriate to ask you for a thousand divine might coins. I know you know the value of this mud."


    Linn was speaking the truth. She knew this piece of mud was extraordinary, but what made it special, she didn''t know. No one in the Six-Burden Divine City would be able to point it out.


    And now, Zen came along, seeming to know everything about the mud. How could she let him go?


    Linn was right. Even if she charged Zen a thousand divine might coins, he would probably have no choice but to accept it.


    He was clear about what was going on in his inner world. This thing would probably turn out to be extremely useful to him if it was able to evoke such a reaction from his inner world''s consciousness. But the twist was: he did not know how it could benefit him.


    However, he was not willing to spend five hundred gold coins on the mud. He shook his head and said, "It''s too expensive. I''m just a proving godly warrior. How could I have that much money?"


    Five hundred divine might coins! Even mid-rank True Gods couldn''t take out that much money. Most proving godly warriors were extremely poor, and would have to work hard for a long time just to earn a divine might coin.


    Linn''s eyes were full of regret. She had obviously thought of this. How could she even expect a proving godly warrior to take out so much money? But she knew that the proving godly warriors who dared enter the Money Alley more or less had some background. And she continued talking in order to probe the best price Zen could offer.


    "Then how much can you offer?" Linn asked.


    "I only have thirty divine might coins," Zen replied.


    "Only thirty?" Linn stared at Zen, the corners of her mouth lifting into a smile. "That''s too less. I can''t sell it at that price."


    "Well, that''s all I have," Zen said regretfully and turned to leave.


    Linn''s smile didn''t slip as she watched Zen leave. She was still counting to herself. One step, two steps, three steps¡­ Ten steps, eleven steps¡­


    He was not far away when he suddenly turned around and walked back. He declared loudly, "I''ll double it! Sixty divine might coins!"


    Linn shook her head.


    If the seniors of the Tie Clan were to see this scene, they would probably curse Linn for being stupid for not accepting it.


    They knew that they''d be happy to get ten divine might coins in exchange for the piece of mud, the use of which they had absolutely no idea about. And now when someone had offe


    "Luck? If you do not rely on your cultivation of a True God, can you defeat that young master from the Hulan Clan?"


    Amidst these discussions, Zen took over the piece of mud from Linn. The moment he grabbed the mud, the consciousness from his inner world started to pour out like a hungry wolf setting eyes on a sheep. It could not wait any longer.


    "Really? So many divine might coins just to buy a piece of mud?"


    "The Tie Clan has placed that piece of trash there as a treasure for several years. That young girl from the Tie Clan knows how to do business, but this piece of mud has always been priced at five hundred!"


    "Five hundred divine might coins? I''ll eat that piece of mud if it can be sold at that price!"


    "Too late. It had already been sold."


    Everyone was dumbfounded. They could not believe that someone would buy that item at such a preposterously high price. What was more, the one who had bought it was the kid who had just become famous by defeating Eric.


    After Zen had counted the divine might coins and paid the bill, he stuffed the mud into his space ring and left, the crowd parting as he made his way out.


    He had been ripped off by the little girl, but Zen still felt that it was worth it. He believed that this seemingly ordinary object contained quite a few secrets.


    Master Evil didn''t ask anything along the way. He knew that if Zen wasn''t willing to tell him, it must be related to his secret. Master Evil also knew that he was relying on Zen now, so he wouldn''t ask about things he shouldn''t know.


    Once he returned to his temporary residence in the Six-Burden Divine City, Zen sat down with his legs crossed. He placed the piece of mud in front of him and carefully inspected it.


    His inner world''s consciousness was now restless. Out of caution, Zen would not casually place this item into his cinnabar field.

 Chapter 2168 Cloud

    On the surface, it looked like this piece of mud was an ordinary object, scattered all over the outskirts of the Six-Burden Divine City.


    Zen immersed his consciousness into it, but didn''t discover anything out of the ordinary.


    If this really was an ordinary piece of mud, putting it in his inner world wouldn''t cause any trouble at all.


    As this thought crossed his mind, Zen inwardly said to Master Evil, "I need to meditate and cultivate now."


    Master Evil rolled his eyes and shrunk his soul into a ball. Strands of purple light flashed on the surface of his soul and condensed to form the word ''seal''. He had sealed his soul on his own.


    This seal could only be undone from the outside. Zen would release Master Evil''s soul once he finished his cultivation.


    Zen had earlier told Master Evil that he would not allow anyone to spy on him while he was cultivating.


    Back in the Misty Mountain Village, Zen had neglected this important point because he was too anxious to suppress the Evil God. But at the time, Master Evil''s soul had also been on the verge of collapsing, which was why he hadn''t tried to pry into Zen''s inner world. There were some secrets that Master Evil knew but it was not as big a deal as to make an impact. Zen was cautious at the moment.


    Zen took the piece of mud in his hands and placed it in front of his belly. As he activated his cinnabar field, a faint light flowed out of his abdomen, forming a short passage between his inner world and the divine land.


    The consciousness within his inner world was still restless, continuously urging Zen.


    Zen was hesitant as he looked at the brown mud. But it was not long before all his hesitation disappeared from his face. With a wave of his hands, the mud disappeared from his hands.


    In the inner world...


    the dust condensed in the sky, and before long, had turned into an incarnation of Zen. He looked up in time to see a black dot fall from the sky.


    Zen had now personally entered his inner world.


    He flew towards the mud at the same descending speed as the mud''s, keeping a close eye on its movements.


    But the piece of mud continued to roll down and fall.


    As it gathered speed, it began to disintegrate into bits and pieces in the air.


    It wasn''t long before the mud finally fell into the chaotic sea.


    The mud was the exact same color as the brown chaotic sea. It had disappeared without a trace, but Zen could still feel its presence.


    Zen stood motionlessly on the surface of the chaotic sea and quietly observed the changes within.


    With a swooshing sound, a figu


    lity.


    The bubbles were releasing these tiny droplets of water, continuously rising, converging and creating a mist in the sky.


    "What''s that?"


    the Evil God asked in surprise when he saw the misty object in the sky.


    Zen smiled and replied, "You can call it a cloud."


    The inner world that Zen had built was actually incomplete and was somewhat different from the divine land in essence. The biggest difference was that everything within the divine land was transformed by the chaotic energy.


    For example, a tree in the divine land was an ordinary creature because it was formed from the chaotic energy. But it wouldn''t return to the chaotic energy once it dissolved.


    Moreover, to the creatures of the divine land, the chaotic energy was an extremely poisonous substance that they couldn''t resist. Only Holy Beings and divine trees could resist the corrosive power of the chaotic energy.


    The creatures within Zen''s inner world, on the other hand, were born directly from the chaotic sea. This chaotic sea was liquefied chaotic energy. These creatures frequently touched the chaotic energy and weren''t eroded.


    This meant that the chaotic sea did not transform into ordinary seawater, and the liquefied chaotic energy would not evaporate. There were naturally no clouds in this world, and the Evil God obviously did not know what a cloud was either.


    "Is that a cloud?" the Evil God muttered as he stared at the cloud in the sky that gradually became denser as time passed.


    The water droplets continued to condense, the brown cloud became thicker, and the light in Zen''s eyes became brighter. He had never thought that the problem that had puzzled him for so long would be solved by a piece of mud!

 Chapter 2169 A Tiny Crystal (Part One)

    The condensation of one''s own Godly Tile was a very complicated process.


    Moreover, the situation would be completely different from each martial artist. The difficulty would be based on their own comprehension of the Godly Ways.


    Zen''s talent was not inferior to Rocher''s. However, Rocher was still able to condense his Godly Tile before Zen. The reason for such fast development had something to do with the composition of Rocher''s inner world.


    Rocher''s inner world was completely condensed with life vitality. After his sea of life vitality was formed, it turned into ordinary seawater. Every day the seawater evaporated and gathered in the clouds in the sky. As such, a complete life vitality cycle was formed in his inner world. The design was simply ingenious!.


    In fact, the cycle was a "purification" process.


    Ten Godly Geniuses had received a Godly Plate from Irene. To this day, the Godly Plates had remained fixed within their inner worlds.


    As the life vitality got constantly purified, it transformed into pure, white clouds. The clouds contained one''s comprehension of the Godly Way. Additionally, the clouds would be continuously filtered through the Godly Plate. A Godly Tile would then be slowly formed in the Godly Plate¡­


    However, there was no such process within Zen''s inner world. His inner world was completely different from Rocher''s and the others''.


    Without that particular process, it became very difficult for Zen to condense his Godly Tile. He tried to activate the power of chaotic energy. Additionally, he combined it with his comprehension of the Emotion Closing Godly Way. He wanted to inject the chaotic energy into the Godly Plate, but after countless experiments, there was no significant effect. There was still no Godly Tile formed in his Godly Plate.


    Back then, Mike had already followed


    shadows flew around, they emitted a sharp aura. Sound of the metals clashed against each other reverberated through his inner world.


    "Sword clouds, condense!"


    With expectant eyes, Zen had condensed all of his insights about the Emotion Closing Godly Way into those clouds. Afterward, the brown-colored clouds had turned into a cluster of sword clouds!


    "This momentum! What''s happening?!"


    The Evil God looked at the "clouds" in the sky with eyes filled with shock. A small gap could be seen in his mouth as his mind was filled with confusion.


    Although the Evil God had lost to Zen before, the power Zen used was the power that governed this inner world. As such, the Evil God could not resist the power. That was the Creator''s privilege. Zen''s power would irresistibly affect those inside his inner world.


    However, the Evil God had never seen Zen''s true strength.


    Now that the Evil God had seen Zen''s comprehension of the Emotion Closing Godly Way, his heart was stirred. A strong emotion had swirled deep inside the Evil God.


    The sword clouds floated rapidly in the air. Finally, they reached the side of the Godly Plate. With great precision, they moved towards the Godly Plate and gathered around it¡­

 Chapter 2170 A Tiny Crystal (Part Two)

    The process continued for a long time. Finally, the sword clouds became dimmer and dimmer. Darkness had engulfed each of them. They were actually completely absorbed by the Godly Plate!


    With a flash of his body, Zen arrived at the top of the Godly Plate. He focused his gaze and saw that there was a hair-like object in the middle of the Godly Plate. It also emitted a brown light, and it seemed to be some sort of crystal. The thin crystal in the Godly Plate radiated a strange essence.


    After he observed the crystal for a while, Zen composed himself. He then reached out his hand and touched the crystal.


    The moment Zen touched the crystal, it suddenly released an absurd amount of extremely sharp energy. Zen''s guard wasn''t fast enough to react to the crystal''s energy!


    Pfft!


    In the blink of an eye, Zen''s arm was cut off!


    After the attack, Zen instinctively retreated to avoid the released energy. With a light wave of his broken arm, a brand-new arm was instantly formed. Although he was injured by the hair-like crystal, Zen still revealed a smile on his face. With curious eyes, he stared at the crystal.


    The hair-like crystal should be an essential part in the formation of a Godly Tile. Or rather, the crystal was an extremely small Godly Tile. It was also the embodiment of Zen''s complete comprehension of the Emotion Closing Godly Way.


    It was all thanks to that piece of mud that Zen was able to form the tiny crystal!


    Although it was very far from a complete Godly Tile, Zen was happy that he had found the right direction. He finally had a clue on how to form his Godly Tile. That was the most crucial point!


    After a while, the Evil God caught up t


    thing was that he had the chance to leave Zen''s inner world which was like a cage to him!


    "Creator, I will definitely help you take care of this world," the Evil God said with a serious expression.


    Zen nodded his head lightly. The Evil God was indeed very smart. With a committed attitude, the Evil God played the role of a gardener in Zen''s inner world. He helped Zen carefully manage the inner world so that the many forces in his inner world would no longer fight and the number of life forms in the world would steadily increase.


    Not long after, the avatar of Zen dissipated from the inner world¡­


    Then, Zen suddenly opened his eyes as a smile appeared on his face. He was finally able to make some progress. However, his smile didn''t last long.


    It seemed that the miraculous mud was indeed helpful in the condensation of his Godly Tile. However, the problem was that he had only stumbled upon it with great luck. He only obtained a piece of it from the Money Alley. If he really wanted to condense his Godly Tile, he would need a considerable amount of such mud. But where could he find more of the mud?

 Chapter 2171 The Test (Part One)

    Since the girl''s uncle was able to dig out this piece of mud, there was a very high possibility that there would be another. Hopefully, there would be a third, or maybe even more.


    Zen also had a headache due to that little girl''s character. She was simply a girl who saw only money. Without any hesitation, she had already tricked Zen once. If he went to her directly, he would probably be ripped off again.


    However, the condensation of his Godly Tile was the most important thing for Zen at that moment. If he really could find the other pieces of mud, then he would have to accept it no matter the cost. The condensation of his Godly Tile was worth more than mere divine might coins.


    As he thought about it, Zen could no longer stay calm. A conflicted expression appeared in his face. After he lifted the seal on Master Evil, he asked, "Do you know where that little girl came from?"


    Master Evil was surprised by Zen''s query. With a curious tone, he asked Zen, "That piece of mud, is it really effective on you?" When Master Evil saw Zen''s expression, he naturally understood that Zen had bought the right thing. However, he was still confused about the use of that piece of mud.


    Zen nodded, "Yes, it is very important to me!"


    "That young lady claimed to be from the Tie Clan. It must be the Tie Clan outside the Six-Burden Divine City," Master Evil said as he recalled.


    As the ancestral land of the Han Clan, the Six-Burden Region was much larger than those small regions. However, the surname Tie was not a great one, and even Master Evil only knew one Tie Clan in the Six-Burden Region. It was a rather small and unknown group. Master Evil smiled and said, "The Tie Clan is not even considered as one of the third-tier clans in the Six-Burden Region, so they can''t force their way into the Six-Burden Divine City.


    ad the same surname, Han.


    Though those warriors were all merely disciples from the Han Clan''s branches, their surname was still something they could be proud of. In reality, the people who managed the Han Clan''s ancestral land all belonged to the small branches of the Han Clan. Some of them who were in-laws even took the initiative to change their surname to Han.


    The real Han Clan had long gone to the Floating Island. Zen had met the two Han sisters in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. Both of them radiated beauty and prestige. Even in the real Han Clan, their status was extraordinary.


    However, even if it was just the Han Clan''s branch family, they were still far more powerful than the ordinary second-tier and third-tier clans. In the past, the five most popular people in the Heavenly Han House usually had the surname Han.


    However, there were some exceptions this year. The nameless young man who defeated Eric in one move in the Brilliant Moon Restaurant was ranked fourth. Everyone was still in awe of how the nameless young man defeated Eric.


    The vast space within the Heavenly Han House was now filled with a sea of people. Countless warriors wanted to be a part of the Heavenly Han House.

 Chapter 2172 The Test (Part Two)

    The vast majority of those who participated in the test were all abnormally excited. Eager expressions could be seen on their faces.


    Proving godly warriors were not rare in the divine land. As for the majority of the divine citizens, if they wanted to cultivate up to the world lord realm, it would not be too difficult for them to reach that level even if they just relied on their willpower. The real difficulty was in the cultivation of the Godly Way and the ability to condense a Godly Tile, which only a few people could do. If one could enter the Heavenly Han House, they would be helped by the Heavenly Han House. As such, the achievement of such difficult tasks would be more attainable. Once they could condense the Godly Tile and get an infinite lifespan, they would have a bright future.


    Thus, a considerable number of proving godly warriors participated in the test of the Heavenly Han House. They all wanted to see if they could pass nearly every year. Only a few of them would pass each year. However, they still didn''t give up hope. They would usually try again next year.


    On the platform at the side of the arena, five proving godly warriors either stood or sat. Those five people occasionally glanced down at the black mass of proving godly warriors. Disdain was apparent in their eyes.


    "Brother, why are these divine citizens so excited? Over a hundred thousand people are fighting for over twenty places. Are they all here just to take the test for fun?" Among the five people, a man asked with a smile. An arrogant expression could be seen in his face. That person was Seth Han, who was ranked third on the list of examinees of the Heavenly Han House''s test.


    "You''re right, they might not have viewed themselves objectively," Hector Han said with a smile. He w


    t today.


    The old man surnamed Wu had spent the past few days trying to eliminate the ''two taboos'' based on the mystical method that Zen had taught him.


    Although he only cultivated it for few days, it actually showed a little effect. He had a stubborn personality and did not like to owe favors to others. Even after Thad taught him such an impressive technique, he had only given him a place to take the test. That was too petty of him.


    In the eyes of the old man surnamed Wu, Thad couldn''t enter the Heavenly Han House. Nonetheless, he still wanted to return Thad the favor. If Thad came today to take the test, then he would have a valuable gift for him.


    Unfortunately, he didn''t see Thad. The old man thought that Thad had lost his confidence and directly chose to give up. That kind of thing happened very often in the Heavenly Han House''s test. Warriors would usually suffer from stage fright and retreat from the test.


    At that moment, a loud discussion among the crowd was heard. The proving godly warriors all suddenly chattered about a person who just arrived.


    "Is it really him?"


    "The one that defeated Eric in one move? Are you sure?"


    "He looks so ordinary..."

 Chapter 2173 The Heavenly Han House

    Every name on that list was a matter of great concern.


    Undoubtedly, it was that mysterious young man who had the highest level of attention.


    No one noticed Zen when he appeared at the gate of the Heavenly Han House.


    But once he was discovered and identified, word spread quickly.


    Soon after, in the vast yard of the Heavenly Han House, everyone knew that the proving godly warrior clad in plain clothes was the young man who had defeated Eric in a single move.


    Eric''s eyes shot through the crowd and landed right on Zen.


    His eyes were like two awls that pierced straight through Zen.


    Back in the Brilliant Moon Restaurant, before Eric could even react, he was already defeated by Zen. After Zen hit him, Eric was rendered unconscious. Later, he woke up to the dreadful fact that he had been defeated in a single move.


    Five thousand divine might coins were by no means a small amount of money, but to Eric, it was nothing.


    Recently, everyone had been talking about that young man. As Zen had not left his name behind, people referred to him as "the one who defeated Eric in a single move." Eric had become a mere stepping stone for Zen, much to his shame.


    Because of Zen''s sensitivity, he immediately felt Eric''s hostility.


    Apart from him, there were others in the crowd who didn''t seem too friendly.


    A faint smile still hung on Zen''s face as he walked through the crowd, not caring in the slightest.


    After confirming Eric''s strength, Zen had a complete understanding of the strength these proving godly warriors had.


    In the Evolutionary Universe, when ordinary talents became world lords, they grew even stronger than these proving godly warriors. The proving godly warriors were no match for top-ranked ace talents or Godly Geniuses. Zen had no interest in dealing with these proving godly warriors, but to him, entering the Heavenly Han House was mandatory.


    Wherever Zen passed by, the surrounding proving godly warriors gave way for him.


    Some were envious of him and some believed he was a nobody¡ªhe must have been lucky enough to be able to be on par with the elite warriors of big clans.


    Still, there were those who felt that Zen wouldn''t be happy for long. If someone targeted Zen in the exam of the Heavenly Han House, he could very well be eliminated.


    News of the mysterious young man who defeated Eric in the Brilliant Moon Restaurant had also reached Master Wu. Despite being a True God, he was also very curious about this powerful man blessed with luck. Hearing the commotion, he pushed his way through the crowd.


    When his eyes landed on Zen, he


    e Heavenly Han House should at least guarantee the fairness of the test.


    Otherwise, the whole exam was a joke.


    Although the chances of these warriors being admitted into the Heavenly Han House were low, it didn''t stop them from pursuing it. Fairness was a must.


    As Zen quieted down, the rest of the warriors began chattering among themselves.


    "That''s right. If Zane thinks he''s an examiner, then he can just announce that he has passed the exam and joined the Heavenly Han House. Why does he still need to act for everyone to see?"


    "We came all the way here just to be toyed with?"


    "Every year, half the slots are taken up by the disciples of Han Clan. Just enroll them and stop with the act!"


    Before long, the faint discussions grew into a wave of booing.


    Some even began making a ruckus.


    "It seems there''s no need for an exam this year. Just let the Heavenly Han House decide on who can enter."


    "I thought one''s comprehension and strength were what mattered, but I was wrong. The Han Clan has the final say.


    We might as well just leave now."


    Of course, the warriors weren''t intending to leave. They were just relieved to have someone take the lead in venting their anger.


    The playfulness in Zen''s eyes grew more apparent the longer he stared at Zane. He was deliberately guiding the emotions of these proving godly warriors to say such words. But he didn''t think the result would be so satisfying.


    The booing grew louder and louder, spreading back and forth like a tidal wave through the courtyard.


    It was something completely new to Zane, leaving him in a panic. Although he could represent the Han Clan, its rules still stood. If he caused unnecessary trouble, he would be severely punished.

 Chapter 2174 Tossing The White Jade Tokens (Part One)

    Zane was at a loss for words. Suddenly, a well-built middle-aged man walked to the center of the yard. With a displeased expression, he quickly shouted, "Quiet down!"


    The man''s voice was filled with authority as if there was an irresistible force that sealed everyone''s mouths. As his voice echoed, the entire Heavenly Han House instantly became abnormally quiet.


    The middle-aged man glared at Zane angrily. Seth, who stood beside the man, shook his head slightly.


    This middle-aged man was called Malloy Han, Seth''s uncle. Additionally, he was also the leader of the Heavenly Han House, who presided over the entrance exam of the Heavenly Han House.


    When he noticed that the situation didn''t look very good, Seth decided to ask Malloy Han out in advance. He didn''t want the situation to grow any worse.


    Malloy Han then said, "Only strength matters in the exam of the Heavenly Han House! I believe everyone knows that there have been many Han Clan''s disciples who have been eliminated in the past. Guys, I know all of you want to prove the Godly Way and your perseverance is commendable. I feel honored that you choose our Heavenly Han House. If someone here proves the Godly Way, they''ll be a member of the Han Clan. It would then be possible that they will be selected by the Floating Island and become a disciple of the Holy Emperor."


    His words, combined with the presence hidden in his voice, captivated everyone. A mixture of fear and respect was felt by those who heard him.


    True Gods had always wanted to enter the Floating Islands. Even for a reclusive overlord like Master Evil, he had always hoped to be enrolled by one of the Floating Islands. Nonetheless, it was an unattainable dream for most True Gods.


    Furthermore, what Malloy Han said was not false. The Han Clan had also constantly nurt


    ched six hundred and seventy feet," a person from the Heavenly Han House announced in a rather formal voice.


    Zen leaned against the wall and stared indifferently at the little white dot in the air. Although he hadn''t been in the Six-Burden Divine City for long, he had at least investigated and knew the rules of the test.


    The chance of accomplishment of the examination wasn''t equal for the participants. After all, when one hundred thousand people were assessed together, there had to be a sequence. The martial artists at the front naturally held the advantage. As such, every year before the start of the exam, they would throw out White Jade Tokens to determine the order of each proving godly warrior.


    There was an extremely strong restrictive force in the sky above the Heavenly Han House. The higher the White Jade Token went, the stronger the restrictive force became. The only way to go higher was with incredible strength.


    Last year, the highest score that the participants in the Heavenly Han House had achieved was only five hundred and twenty feet. This year, the first participant''s result had already surpassed last year''s best result. The proctors of the exam all had expectant eyes.

 Chapter 2175 Tossing The White Jade Tokens (Part Two)

    This year''s participants in the Heavenly Han House''s exam were far better in both numbers and quality than last year''s. As such, Seth''s results didn''t surprise anyone.


    After Seth took the initiative, the other participants began to throw their White Jade Tokens one after another. The tokens all recorded their names and where they came from. When all the tokens were restricted by the force in the air, the order and the detailed information of each of the proving godly warriors would be recorded. The height of their throw would be then announced by one of the proctors.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    When the proving godly warriors were throwing their White Jade Tokens, all of them used their own methods to apply the power they had comprehended onto the tokens. That way, the White Jade Tokens could fly a bit higher and earn the warriors a place in the top rankings. It was the only way they could get a better chance for the examination.


    Some of the White Jade Tokens had strong flame energy attached to them. As the tokens flew upwards, a series of strange sounds rumbled throughout the place as each warrior attempted to push their White Jade Token even higher. There were also some White Jade Tokens that had a variety of different types of powers attached to them. Some of these powers came from various Godly Ways, while some merely came from the warriors'' brute force to throw the tokens.


    These warriors could be called proving godly warriors, so more or less, they had already stepped into the Godly Ways. Their strength and abilities were already impressive. However, they didn''t have a deep comprehension of the Godly Ways and were still unable to condense their Godly Tiles.


    The vast majorit


    nt of the exam. It was a truly fair competition, and they had to rely on their strength. Each of those disciples had already earned some respect due to their own strength.


    Zen was still leaning against the wall and tilted his head back slightly. A casual smile was still on his face as he stared indifferently at Zane.


    He had never wanted to compete with anyone when he came to the Heavenly Han House. With the Han Clan''s Floating Island as his focus, Zen wished to quietly pass the exam. However, Zane inexplicably had to target him.


    "Throw the White Jade Token in your hand to the sky. If you don''t dare, giving up now will save you some face," Zane said in an arrogant tone. He still wanted to provoke Zen.


    Almost all of the one hundred thousand proving godly warriors had tossed their White Jade Tokens up into the air. Most of the energy that surrounded the tokens had already dissipated. The tokens were densely packed in the air, just like a flock of small white birds that were suspended in the air. It was an extremely spectacular sight.


    Only a very small number of the proving godly warriors had yet to act. Zen was one of them.

 Chapter 2176 Shatter The White Jade Token

    Zen had originally intended to throw the White Jade Token up as he pleased. He didn''t have any desire to fight for the top spot.


    After all, he did not want to attract too much attention before even joining the Heavenly Han House.


    The only reason he had defeated Eric at the Brilliant Moon Restaurant was that he had been tempted by the five thousand divine might coins. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have bothered to take action.


    But now, Zane was trying to provoke him.


    At the same time, most of the proving godly warriors expectantly turned to Zen.


    They wanted to see if Zen was as strong as the rumors said he was or if they were just an exaggeration.


    "The rest of you, please throw your White Jade Tokens. Then, I will make a list," Malloy said. Although his tone was very faint and he didn''t mention any specific names, everyone could tell that his words were targeted toward Zen in particular. Moreover, Malloy seemed to dislike Zen.


    As per Malloy''s instructions, the rest of the proving godly warriors threw their White Jade Tokens one by one. Soon, Zen was the only one left holding the White Jade Token.


    "He must be a coward," a proving godly warrior said in a low voice.


    "Agreed. He''s afraid of losing face."


    "Everyone who is in the Heavenly Han House should behave themselves. Why is he going against the Han Clan?"


    When Zen heard these words, he felt a bit helpless.


    He wanted to join the Heavenly Han House. When had he ever gone against the Han Clan?


    It was these fellows who had provoked him!


    "You''re the only one left. Stop putting on airs. Just show your strength!" Zane demanded with a sour expression on his face. The faint smile on Zen''s face displeased him.


    "Well then..."


    Zen sighed softly.


    He then gently flipped the White Jade Token twice in his hand.


    Zane, Seth, Eric, and even Malloy all watched Zen''s White Jade Token with unwavering attention.


    Even though the test of the Han Clan had begun, none of them knew Zen''s name and origin. Even when Zane had asked him about it outright, he hadn''t said anything. Since none of the people present had any measure of Zen''s abilities, they were paying close attention to him out of sheer curiosity.


    On Zen''s White Jade Token were clearly carved the words "Thad Luo from Misty Mountain Village." As soon as they read it, the place erupted into discourse.


    "So his surname is Luo."


    "Misty Mountain Village? Where is it?"


    "Such small villages can be found everywhere in the 36 regions. There might be hundreds of thousands of them. Who knows where this village is?"


    Zen had already decided to disguise himself as a divine citizen who came from Misty Mountain Village. Since he had already stepped into the Godly Way, no one would be able to tell that he once used to be a secondary creature.


    Ignoring the murmurs around him, he slowly walked forward a few steps before raisin


    ctually possessed.


    As soon as Malloy had realized that Zen from Misty Mountain Village was not an ordinary warrior, he had begun to be very cautious. However, Zane was still talking nonsense and embarrassing the Han Clan, so Malloy was annoyed and couldn''t help scolding him.


    But Zane, who had finally gotten a chance to humiliate Zen, didn''t want to let go of the matter. His eyes blazed with fury as he insisted, "Uncle Malloy, he intentionally broke..."


    "Shut up!" Malloy''s voice turned as cold as ice.


    As a senior of the Han Clan, he couldn''t afford to lose face even if Zane ended up doing a good job today.


    "Zane, as Uncle Malloy said, don''t say anything," Seth advised.


    Seth was one of the many people present who hadn''t clearly seen what had happened, but he was good at gauging the atmosphere and reading people''s minds. From the surprised and cautious way Malloy and the other True Gods were staring at Zen, Seth could tell that Zen had done something extraordinary just now and that he couldn''t be underestimated.


    With a drastic change in his attitude, Malloy slowly walked over to Zen. The cold smile on his face had disappeared; now, his face was filled with kindness as he said, "You''re Thad Luo, right? And you are from Misty Mountain Village. Our clan rules 36 regions, and there are a total of 13 Misty Mountain Villages. In which region is the Misty Mountain Village you live in located?"


    "I come from the Misty Mountain Village in the Vast Sky Region," replied Zen.


    "The Vast Sky Region," Malloy repeated, memorizing the name. He was planning to send someone to investigate Zen''s background. He smiled at Zen and said, "It''s a pity that the White Jade Token has been damaged, but it''s not your fault. How about we give you something else to throw? Otherwise, I wouldn''t know where to put you on the list."


    Zen had no objections to Malloy''s arrangement, so he casually nodded his head.

 Chapter 2177 Short Halberds (Part One)

    Malloy also understood in his heart that the power that Zen had just released was too scary. The others who also saw Zen''s power were also mystified. It had simply exceeded the limit of what a proving godly warrior should possess. To be able to shatter the White Jade Token with just a single throw, it was enough to prove his ability¡­


    For someone who had reached such a level, there was no need to rank him. Zen was clearly at a different level compared to the other participants. Malloy could even make an exception and directly recruit Zen into the Heavenly Han House.


    However, he needed an excuse to find out Zen''s strength!


    The Heavenly Han House was also under great pressure. For the past thousand years, the Holy Emperor of the Han Clan had only accepted one disciple. Furthermore, that disciple did not originate from the Heavenly Han House but was a direct descendant from the Floating Island of Han Clan. As such, they still hadn''t produced anyone worthy to be a disciple of the Holy Emperor of the Han Clan.


    In these thousand years, the Heavenly Han House had already nurtured quite a lot of elites and talents. However, after those talents advanced to become True Gods, their performances were very mediocre. Even the warriors who were recommended by the Heavenly Han House to go to the Floating Island hadn''t done anything very impressive. It seemed that the potential of the recruits they had was not that great.


    The Han Clan on the Floating Island had already spread the word that if the Heavenly Han House failed to recommend an eligible disciple for the Holy Emperor within the next thousand years, they would distribute the qualifications of recommending warriors to the thirty-six regions. At that time, all the proving godly houses in the thirty-six regions could recommend warriors to the Floating Island of Han Clan! The influence of the Heavenly Han House would gre


    e test of the Heavenly Han House, the five descendants of the Han Clan sub-branches had all participated. Due to their great potential, they all had a high opinion of each other''s strengths. Originally, all five of them wanted to take over the top five rankings. Additionally, Malloy promised that he would give the pair of short halberds to whoever got the top spot!


    The weapon that Zane usually used was a short halberd. Although this particular pair of short halberds were not of high quality, they were still supreme primordial weapons. He didn''t expect that his uncle would just give them to Zen like that. It was too unfair. Jealousy and disbelief crept into his heart.


    The eyes of the five descendants of the Han Clan sub-branches were all focused on Zen. They had different thoughts in their minds. When Seth saw Zane''s indignant expression, he lightly patted him on the shoulder and consoled him, "Uncle Malloy is also doing this for the consideration of our Han Clan sub-branches. This Thad really has such a terrifying strength and talent, so we shouldn''t offend him. Don''t say anything you shouldn''t say. Uncle Malloy might want you to apologize¡­"


    "Why should I apologize!" Zane roared angrily in a low voice. He didn''t want Malloy to hear him.

 Chapter 2178 Short Halberds (Part Two)

    "Why?" Seth smiled faintly. He then explained in a warm tone. "Don''t you understand? It''s both a fortune and misfortune to be born in Han Clan. Everything you have was given by Han Clan, and they have the right to take them away, unless¡­"


    "Unless what?" Zane''s expression darkened. He didn''t want to believe Seth, but he had no choice but to admit that Seth''s words were reasonable.


    Seth continued to smile and said, "Unless you can display more powerful strength and better talent than Thad. If you could do that, you should be able to attract the attention of the main Han Clan. Isn''t it very simple?"


    "Damn it! Is it simple?" Zane cursed. Right now, he could only wish that Zen was a swindler and he had used some trick to intentionally shatter that White Jade Token. However, Zane also knew that it was just an empty wish on his part. Deep in his heart, he feared that Zen was truly more powerful than him.


    Zane was not the only one who was jealous of Zen. All the proving godly warriors present saw that Zen had broken the White Jade Token. Not only was he not kicked out, but Zen was instead given a pair of supreme primordial weapons by the master of the Heavenly Han House. Envy was apparent in the eyes of the proving godly warriors present. They felt extremely aggrieved in their hearts ¡­


    Zen did not decline. Since he had already decided to join the Han Clan, he would not be too estranged from the Han Clan. He happily accepted the pair of short halberds. Before he threw one of them, he looked at Malloy and asked, "How do you know that I''m a sword cultivator?"


    He didn''t display his swordsmanship in front of Malloy. The Great Weighty Sword was also in its sheath and was kept in his space ring. There was no apparent evidence that he used a sword.


    Malloy smiled faintly. "I can see t


    900 feet mark, and I think it will soon break through 1000 feet."


    A disciple of the Han Clan chuckled as he heard this, "Breaking through the 1000 feet mark? How absurd! That would be impossible! The binding power in the sky above the Heavenly Han House was created according to the rules of the Thousand Commandments Slate. Generally, the highest point is only 990 feet! No matter how powerful Thad is, would he be able to break the rules of the Thousand Commandments Slate? Even a top-rank True God would find it hard to get rid of this binding force!"


    What the warrior said was the truth. The sub-branches of the Han Clan controlled the Thousand Commandments Slate in this area, and the rules were all written by them. As such, the rules naturally favored Heavenly Han House. As for the other proving godly houses in the Six-Burden Divine City, they could not enjoy any special treatment.


    But after the short halberd broke through the 900 feet mark, it still easily rose upwards. After a few moments, it reached a height of 990 feet!


    Bam!


    The black halberd seemed to have hit something hard before it stopped. Everyone''s gaze was high up in the sky, focused on the motionless black halberd.

 Chapter 2179 The Veto Token (Part One)

    When the short halberd hit the invisible barrier, the sky above the Heavenly Han House began transforming into an illusion of colors, as if various colors of inks had been dropped into water and were now bleeding and intertwining together.


    Just as the Han Clan disciple had said, the restrictive power over the Heavenly Han House was actually an enchanted barrier that had been created by borrowing the Thousand Commandments Slate''s power.


    This said barrier completely covered the sky above the Heavenly Han House. Generally speaking, the barrier wasn''t visible to the naked eye. In fact, nobody was capable of seeing it unless there was an enemy attack ¡ª then the barrier would activate itself!


    However, warriors who were qualified to fight in the Six-Burden Divine City were top-rank True Gods, at the very least. True Gods on Master Evil''s level were considered powerless against the Thousand Commandments Slate.


    Two divine eras had already passed since the last time the barrier had activated itself due to an enemy attack.


    Everyone in the Heavenly Han House, including the True Gods and the proving godly warriors, all stared blankly at the sky. Only a few of the True Gods who had lived for a long time already had seen the barrier being triggered in the past. This though, was the first time the young warriors witnessed such a wondrous scene!


    "Oh gosh!"


    When Malloy noticed the flowing, blending lights, he suddenly remembered something important and his expression changed at once.


    At the same time, he spun his head to the side and roared, "Elder Chen! Hurry up! Use the Veto Token! I''ll give you a new one later!"


    The True Gods of the Heavenly Han House, including the old man surnamed Wu, had gathered together on a small corner of the land. Every one of these True Gods was equally paying close attention to each of Zen''s movements.


    "Tell me, wa


    floating in the air. On the slate were a thousand rules written in small, golden words. These golden words were personally handwritten by the Holy Emperor of the Han Clan, and these rules had been set long ago by the ancestors of the clan.


    Any time someone violated the rules of the Thousand Commandments Slate, the small golden words would begin to shine brightly.


    Right now, the words of a paragraph located in the middle of the slate began to flicker with light.


    At the same time, a sliver of lightning suddenly appeared above the slate. As the lightning continued to circle in the air, it slowly began to condense itself, finally forming a small ball of lightning.


    As the golden words continued flickering with light on the slate, the ball of lightning rapidly grew in size. From no bigger than a closed fist, it quickly became the size of a house!


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    The outer layer of the lightning ball was a deep shade of indigo, while the inner layer was midnight black. This pitch black layer contained the thunder tribulation''s ultimate power.


    Once the lightning ball was completely formed, it flew straight toward the Heavenly Han House, leaving nothing behind except a terrifying series of rumbling thunder in the air!

 Chapter 2180 The Veto Token (Part Two)

    Upon noticing Malloy''s expression then, Zen realized that something was definitely wrong. At the same time though, Master Evil came to his mind with a reminder. "Zen, you have to be careful. You seem to have triggered the Thousand Commandments Slate," he said.


    Before, in the Mirror City, Zen had already witnessed the Ten Commandments Slate''s power. The Thousand Commandments Slate in the Six-Burden Divine City was much more powerful than the Ten Commandments Slate. Nevertheless, never had he thought that the Heavenly Han House would be so careless. They obviously knew the danger of triggering the Thousand Commandments Slate, and yet they still held such a test!


    Crack! Crack!


    The ear-piercing claps of thunder were approaching, coming from the horizon and heading straight toward the Heavenly Han House.


    Many intelligent warriors seemed to come to their own conclusions on what was going on and scattered in all directions in an attempt to avoid Zen. They were afraid that they would be implicated in the Thousand Commandments Slate''s punishment. It wasn''t before long that the ball lightning broke through the Heavenly Han House''s enchanted barrier and plummeted toward Zen!


    The power contained within this lightning ball was enough to heavily injure and even kill a True God. The second it plummeted into the Heavenly Han House, the powerful thunder energy formed a strong electric field, causing the hair of the hundred thousand proving godly warriors to stand on end.


    Everyone had one same thought in their minds: this guy, who also went by the name of Thad, was absolutely doomed!


    Generally speaking, most people didn''t have any conflicts with Zen. After they understood the whole of the situation, they usually felt nothing but pity for him. Zen had easily set an incredible record and


    ling to watch his tragic death.


    Zen was already prepared to use his Redemption Armor in order to protect his body and then use his greatest strength to defend against the lightning ball. Even though he felt that his chances were slim, he knew he had no other choice. Despite this, a bitter feeling still arose in his heart. He never expected that his life would end like this, in such a ridiculous way!


    Right at that moment, the Veto Token in the girl''s hand, who was still standing in the corner suddenly emitted a red light, and with an incomparably fast speed, the token flew out of the Heavenly Han House, crossed half of the Six-Burden Divine City in the blink of an eye, and struck the Thousand Commandments Slate straight on. Simultaneously, the lightning ball strangely stopped above Zen''s head, kind of just hovering there, just a couple of feet away from him. Even the lightning surrounding it, which resembled thousands of little snakes, had frozen like statues.


    Following a slight flash of light from the Thousand Commandments Slate, the rule was temporarily negated. The lightning ball began to disperse rapidly, and all the energy contained within it quickly disappeared without a trace.

 Chapter 2181 Causing Trouble

    Zen stood on the spot while his body was still in a tense state. As cold sweat trickled down his back, his chest continued to heave non-stop.


    If the lightning ball descended another foot, he would also use his theurgy to defend himself.


    However, Zen was well aware that the Thousand Commandments Slate was powerful enough to kill a top-rank True God. With his current level of cultivation, resistance would be futile.


    Because of that accident, Zen had been caught off guard and almost gotten killed. If he had really died in the Six-Burden Divine City, it would have been too much for him to accept. He still hadn''t achieved his ambition.


    Before the ball of lightning disappeared, Zen saw a red light leap out from a corner of the courtyard.


    Although he wasn''t sure what that red light was, the disappearance of the lightning ball must have something to do with the red light. Curiosity became apparent in Zen''s eyes.


    He turned his head and saw a girl in green clothes standing at the corner. She had a simple ponytail that revealed her pure white neck. Her chubby face was filled with a delicate aura. Even though it was in a ponytail, the girl''s hair was still long enough to hang down her heels.


    At that moment, Zen wasn''t the only one who focused on the girl. The attention of everyone in the courtyard was also stolen by her.


    Some of the young proving godly warriors'' eyes lit up as they saw the girl. Their hearts thumped in their chests. Curious expressions could be seen on the faces of the proving godly warriors. No matter where she appeared, she would definitely attract countless gazes. Nonetheless, none of the warriors had noticed her before this moment.


    As for the people of the Han Clan, including the True Gods, their attention was naturally not on the girl herself, but on her hand.


    The girl''s hand was fair and exquisite without a single wrinkle. In that hand, there was a token. On the token was a large "Veto" word. It was the Han Clan''s Veto Token.


    Malloy held his breath, and then let out a sigh of relief.


    He''d thought that Zen was about to perish just now. He hadn''t thought that this girl would make a move at that moment. The recent events had been beyond his expectations. A mixture of surprise and relief was seen on his face.


    Malloy also didn''t know the girl. However, he knew that she was someone extraordinary. Of course, how could someone with a Veto Token be an ordinary person? With a few conjectures in his mind about the girl''s background, Malloy approached her. A respectful expression appeared on his face as he cupped his hands towards her. He then said in a humble tone, "Young lady, thank you very much for saving him just now."


    The girl''s bright eyes blinked as she looked at Malloy. She then wa


    en she heard that Malloy had asked Elder Chen to use his Veto Token, she immediately gave up on the idea.


    Never would she have thought that at the most crucial moment, Elder Chen would say that his Veto Token was not by his side. A mix of shock and anger crept upon the girl''s heart for such a slow response from Elder Chen.


    Thus, the girl fiercely glared at Elder Chen as she silently cursed in her heart, ''Why didn''t you say it earlier?'' Only then did she activate her Veto Token to reject the punishment of the Thousand Commandments Slate. With quick action, Zen was saved.


    "How am I going to repay you?" Zen was startled and suddenly had a strange feeling. A confused look was seen on his face.


    When he saw that Zen didn''t know how to respond, Malloy quickly said from the side, "We still have a few Veto Tokens. After the exam, we''ll have someone send them to you. What do you think?"


    However, the girl shook her head. She said in a playful tone, "The Veto Tokens are easy to obtain. I don''t care about them at all. I saved his life, so according to the rules, his life counts as mine? So he''s my man, right?"


    When these words came out from the innocent girl''s mouth, everyone was stunned.


    Zen was also speechless. With his strength, he was brave enough to fight most opponents. However, he was useless against such twisted logic.


    To save a warrior''s life was definitely a huge favor. However, it didn''t mean that the life that was saved belonged to the savior.


    This was the first time that this girl had left the Floating Island. As such, she was originally very clueless about worldly affairs. Bruce followed and took care of her along the way, and she hadn''t caused any trouble. As Bruce didn''t enter the Heavenly Han House, the girl became alone. With an innocent look on her face, she had begun to cause trouble.

 Chapter 2182 Malloys Worries (Part One)

    Neither Zen nor Malloy took the girl''s words seriously. Those who heard it were dumbfounded at first, but they had soon dismissed her words as mere nonsense. Maybe it was just a playful prank by the mysterious girl.


    However, Malloy did not dare to offend the girl in the slightest. As such, he wanted to change the topic of the conversation. With a mischievous laugh, he said, "I wonder which branch of the Han Clan you are from?"


    The Han Clan on the Floating Island had a total of three main branches, which were the Spiritual Branch, Heaven Branch, and Earth Branch. Those three branches were the core strength of the Han Clan. Additionally, the three of them together controlled the affairs in the Floating Island.


    When she heard Malloy''s question, the girl looked confused. "Which branch? I don''t know either."


    "You don''t know?" Malloy''s face froze, while the other True Gods also revealed looks of surprise. Their faces were again painted with confusion.


    Even people like them, who came from the sub-branches of the Han Clan, were very familiar with the three main branches on the Floating Island. If the girl in front of them really came from the Floating Island, how could she not know? Could they have guessed wrongly? Maybe the girl was from another place.


    Malloy thought for a moment. Afterward, he decided to change his method pf query. "Since you don''t know which branch you are from, can you at least tell me your father''s name?" he asked.


    "You want to know who my father is?" The green-clothed girl suddenly understood. With an innocent look on her face, she answered, "Why didn''t you ask earlier? My father is¡ª"


    Huff...


    However, before the girl could finish, a strong wind blew in from outside the Heavenly Han House. Along the wind were some p


    him. Although some of the descendants of the Han Clan had the blood of the Holy Emperor, they might not be able to meet the Holy Emperor for the rest of their lives.


    However, there were a few people from the Han Clan who had the qualifications to see the Holy Emperor. Such people had extremely special statuses.


    Perhaps such people didn''t have high positions in the Han Clan, nor did they even take on any jobs. However, such people were not easily ignored. Their existences and statuses were extraordinary. Each of them had a small green sword on them.


    The small green sword on the old man meant that either the old man or the girl was someone close to the Holy Emperor. It was a symbol of status and evidence that they could meet the Holy Emperor.


    As such, the people from the Han Clan did not salute the old man. Instead, their respect was targeted towards the little green sword that hung on the old man''s waist.


    Bruce gave them a nod as a faint reply and didn''t pay any more attention to them. He turned his head to look at his young lady. In a gentle yet firm tone, he said, "Miss, you''ve said that if your identity is revealed, you must go home with me. So don''t¡ª"

 Chapter 2183 Malloys Worries (Part Two)

    "No!" The girl didn''t wait for Bruce''s words to finish before she refused. A rebellious expression could be seen on her face.


    Bruce shook his head. "Miss, you have to keep your word." Although he was a servant, his tone was firm and there was no room for negotiation. A stern expression painted his face.


    The girl probably knew that she couldn''t go against Bruce. Nonetheless, the pure eyes of hers fiercely stared at Zen. With a face on the verge of a tantrum, she pouted her mouth and said, "Then, bring this brat back with us. If I didn''t use the Veto Token to save him, I wouldn''t have been exposed!"


    The eyes of the Han Clan''s disciples slightly flashed as they stared enviously at Zen. Deep in their hearts, everyone was jealous of how lucky Zen was. After all, those two were from the Han Clan''s Floating Island, and entering the Floating Island was their lifelong goal. If Zen could really go to the Floating Island with the girl, then it would be having a skyrocketing rise.


    When Malloy and the other True Gods heard the girl''s words, they grew anxious.


    The exam of the Heavenly Han House had yet to start, but Zen had already shown his talent. Malloy had placed a great amount of hope on him. If Zen really became a disciple of the Holy Emperor in the future, Malloy would benefit greatly. Furthermore, the status of the Heavenly Han House would be maintained for the time being. However, if Zen entered the Floating Island without the accomplishment of the examination, he wouldn''t be affiliated with the Heavenly Han House.


    If the girl could really take Zen away with her, then it would be a disaster for the Heavenly Han Hous


    land.


    The one hundred thousand proving godly warriors present could only wish in their nights of sleep about such a thing. None of them would be able to enter the Floating Island in their lifetime. However, Zen was just only a step away from that dream!


    "I think this brat was just saying this to conceal his regret."


    "I agree with you. After losing this opportunity, he wants to go to the Floating Island on his own? In his dreams!"


    "There are so many geniuses in the Han Clan every year. Furthermore, they are much stronger than normal proving godly warriors. The Han Clan''s Floating Island has rejected many talented warriors, including those from the sub-branches of the Han Clan. Yet Thad Luo wants to enter the Floating Island by himself? Not taking shortcuts? What nonsense! He is merely bluffing!"


    These people stood in different positions, and their thoughts were naturally different.


    Of course, they could not understand Zen. It would be difficult for those warriors to reach certain heights in their entire lives. Naturally, they would not be able to see the wider world.

 Chapter 2184 Devin Tie

    The air above the Heavenly Han House glittered with the White Jade Tokens everyone had thrown up to the sky, all of them arranged in order.


    After that, the old man with the surname of Chen walked out as a roll of yellow paper materialized in his hands.


    He opened the yellow paper and pointed it up towards the sky above Heavenly Han House. Then, he narrowed his lips and blew lightly.


    The White Jade Tokens above the Heavenly Han House glowed a bright cyan. Each time a White Jade Token flickered, a name appeared on the yellow paper together with the place the person was from.


    The first White Jade Token that glowed belonged to Zane, and his name appeared on the yellow paper. On the other hand, the rest of the others'' names appeared one by one in order according to their tokens'' height.


    Not long after, the roll of yellow paper had finished recording the 100, 000 proving godly warriors'' names and the places they came from.


    As for Zen, his name would not appear on the yellow paper because he didn''t throw a White Jade Token but a short halberd.


    But of course, the old man surnamed Chen obviously wouldn''t neglect Zen. He took out an ink brush and lightly shook it, and then a small stream of ink flowed out from the brush tip. A few words were formed on the yellow paper, namely, "Thad Luo, Misty Mountain Village, Vast Sky Region."


    Zen''s name naturally ranked first, so it appeared before Zane''s name.


    Although it made Zane internally unhappy, he had to accept the fact that Zen had easily thrown the black halberd to a height of 990 feet!


    Just like Seth had said, the descendants of the Han Clan sub-branches were already born with a huge advantage. It didn''t matter when it came to their bloodline or talent since they were all far stronger than ordinary warriors. Once they stepped into the Godly Way and became True Gods, they would be far more powerful than ordinary True Gods.


    However, the Han Clan also needed to strengthen their position because a closed wealthy clan would be eliminated anytime soon.


    In the past, some of the rich clans on the Floating Islands were completely isolated from the outside world. The clans'' disciples were prohibited from marrying outsiders, and outsiders weren''t allowed to hold important positions. There were consequences for those various methods of isolations, which didn''t manifest themselves until ten or so divine eras later. Those consequences included the decrease of the rich clans'' rankings, and some Floating Islands had even fallen into the Time Sea.


    Currently, the rich clans on the Floating Islands were quite nice to the outsiders. They also treated the outsiders they invited to work for the clans equally in many aspects.


    After the old man with the surname of Chen had organized the list, he left with the yellow paper.


    The leader of the Heavenly Han House, Malloy, took down the black halberd and returned it to Zen before he turned to everyone in the Heavenly Han House and announced, "Ev


    to take part in the test, he clearly had to pay attention to the rankings. Now, he felt embarrassed by what Linn had done to Zen.


    While Linn was an eloquent lady, she definitely did not do a good thing when she sold a piece of mud to Zen for five hundred divine might coins.


    Then again, five hundred divine might coins was still a huge sum of money for the Tie Clan. Even if Devin Tie wanted to return all of them, he didn''t know if his clan members would agree or not. Therefore, he ended up saying that he would return a part of the coins to Zen, even if he didn''t know how many coins yet.


    On the contrary, Zen was not concerned about a mere five hundred divine might coins...


    Even though Master Evil had said that the divine might coin was still greatly useful, Zen currently did not care about it. After he had spent so many divine might coins and condensed a crystal, he figured out his method of condensing the Godly Tile. Therefore, he thought that the mud which cost him five hundred coins was worth buying.


    "There''s no need to return the coins to me," Zen said flatly.


    Anxiety quickly flooded Devin Tie''s mind when Zen had refused. "This must be..."


    "No need. But I want you to help me," Zen continued.


    He had originally planned to find Linn from the Tie Clan after the test in the Heavenly Han House, but now he didn''t need to look for her. Her brother seemed to be much more generous, and this was a good opportunity to ask him for help.


    "You want me to help you?" Devin Tie asked in shock. He couldn''t believe what he heard.


    Zen nodded and said in a serious tone, "I wonder where did you dig out that piece of mud? Can you take me there after the Heavenly Han House''s test is over?"


    "That mud?"


    Devin Tie''s eyes quickly lit up. He remembered that Alfred had always said that the mud was good, but he thought it was nothing special.


    Yet from Zen''s words, he was sure that he was looking for that same piece of mud. What could it be possibly for?

 Chapter 2185 Consulting God Hall

    In the divine land, people had a deep understanding on all sorts of materials and their functions.


    For example, everyone knew that the cheapest Coleoptrata Winter Grass was used to make an excellent base for pills because its lower portion could be made into a gelatinous substance which could be fused with the majority of materials. Therefore, though this material could be found almost anywhere, it was something even high-ranked pills would need.


    In contrast, the most expensive materials were priced so impossibly high that most people couldn''t find themselves possessing them. The "Winged Dragon Horn" for example, could enable the activation of illusions of remote ages, and by transcending time, warriors could attain the highest level of comprehension when they wanted.


    The usage of all sorts of strange materials and substances had been thoroughly studied over countless divine eras. Aside from particular forbidden areas that very few people explored, there weren''t many secrets within the divine land.


    However, there was nothing special about the mud dug out by the Tie Clan aside from having a trace of spirit. After studying it several times, they landed on this same conclusion. In the end, Devin''s uncles gave up on trying to prove its worth.


    Hearing Thad ask about it puzzled him even more. It seemed that the substance was of greater use than they expected.


    Not knowing why, Devin agreed to Zen because it seemed like he really needed it. He was quite easily swayed, but if his sister, Linn, were here, she would have extorted a huge amount of divine might coins from Zen.


    As the two conversed, they followed the throng of people and entered the backyard of the Heavenly Han House.


    The backyard was a wide field with a building at the center. For some odd reason, the building was half buried into the ground. It resembled much of a wide well-bay, but the entrance was found on the front.


    Wisps of black smoke emerged from the dark entrance of the half buried structure.


    Zen''s nose twitched slightly as he realized someone was burning incense in this building.


    Once all of the proving godly warriors gathered at the backyard, a man came out from the entrance. It was the master of the Heavenly Han House Malloy, standing before them with a huge smile across his face. "I believe that it''s not the first time that many of you have taken the test in our Heavenly Han House," he said. "And you all already knew a lot about the Consulting God Hall of our Heavenly Han House. However, I still wish to reiterate the rules within."


    Amongst the proving godly warriors that took the test of the Heavenly Han House, quite a number of them had taken the test almost a dozen times. Those who failed continuously had grown to become familiar faces in the Heavenly Han House.


    However, there was always a portion of warriors who took the test for the first time. For this reason, the rules were constantly reiterated because of the dangers that awaited them.


    Zen had only been in the Six-Burden Divine City for a short period of time. Although he had already done a portion of his own research, he knew he was not completely knowledgeable of everything he needed to know. He listened intently as the master of the Heavenly Han House discussed the rules.


    "This Consulting God Hall was built by the Holy Emperor of Han Clan. It''s been twenty-three divine eras since it


    hrough the air as the strong fragrance of incense entered his nose. But for some reason, Zen didn''t feel any effects on himself. All he could feel was a slight cooling sensation going through his mind, but it eventually disappeared as if it was never there to begin with.


    "This Soul-awakening Fragrance has a miraculous effect on Jasper Fighting Souls, but only a slight effect on Silver Fighting Souls. However, its effect on Gold Fighting Souls is almost negligible. So considering your soul level, it is obviously useless on you." Master Evil shook his head and flaunted a mischievous smile.


    This made sense.


    The soul cultivation levels of the proving godly warriors outside were extremely weak. So for sure, if the Soul-awakening Fragrance had the miraculous effect of enhancing one''s comprehension, it would probably have an outstanding effect on them.


    Zen was the first to enter the Consulting God Hall, and now the Soul-awakening Fragrance was at its strongest dose.


    However, as a hundred thousand warriors gradually entered into the Consulting God Hall, the Soul-awakening Fragrance was being slowly absorbed by the crowd. Zen''s perk as the top in the ranks was to absorb it purely, but it went to waste as it had no effect on him whatsoever.


    He had only taken a few steps when the sound of hurried footsteps came up from behind him. It was the warrior who was ranked second: Zane.


    After Zane entered the Consulting God Hall, he sniffed greedily as if he was going to suck in all the Soul-awakening Fragrance in one inhale. All of a sudden, he caught a glimpse of Zen looking back at him and his eyes immediately darkened in expression. However, now that he had absorbed the Soul-awakening Fragrance, his mind was instantly cleared. He instantly thought about Seth''s warning, and the fierce light in his eyes flashed and disappeared.


    However, he had a distaste for Zen that was a little too obvious. He nodded faintly towards Zen and even whispered lowly, "Those at the top of the rankings can take the best spots. You''d better remember that." With that, he walked past Zen and disappeared into the depths of the hall without another word.


    Zen only smiled in response. He slowly made his way towards the depths of the Consulting God Hall.

 Chapter 2186 Imitated Godly Way Tablets

    The moment Zen took a few steps forward, he suddenly heard a set of loud footsteps behind him. It was Seth, who was ranked third.


    The third-placer''s face was full of doubt as he scanned Zen''s calm face, despite Zane being ahead of him.


    When he passed by Zen, both of them looked at each other. He smiled politely at Zen and then quickly left.


    He was known as a steady and sensible man. He didn''t have much of an opinion on Zen, but he knew not to provoke the other warrior. At the very least, he had to act courteous even on just the surface. Furthermore, they had to rely on only themselves in the Consulting God Hall. It was also why he didn''t need to remind Zen the way Zane did.


    After all of the warriors entered the Consulting God Hall, they were led to a small downward slope. Zen moved neither fast nor slow, so other proving godly warriors who were ranked a bit lower than him surpassed him one by one.


    Those proving godly warriors were the elites of the great clans, but they didn''t dare to offend Zen either when they passed by him. They secretly mocked Zen and his slow, leisurely pace in their minds, but they didn''t say anything. They thought that he had wasted his advantage, even though he had won first place.


    "The Heavenly Han House has inherited the Han Clan''s heritage, so it is impossible to even underestimate it.


    Sadly, it''s a pity that because the Han Clan doesn''t manage its sub-branches well, they haven''t accomplished anything in years," Master Evil lamented while Zen looked around the Consulting God Hall.


    The hall had been built a long time ago, but the carvings on the walls were still as impressive as ever. They were grand and majestic, decorated with all kinds of legends. There were patterns of the immortal birds constructing a rainbow bridge, and the Creating Axe used to separate the heaven from earth.


    "When someone of the Han Clan becomes a Holy Being, they will surely transfer all the outstanding warriors of their family to the Floating Island, and only the sub-branches will be left. What can the sub-branches accomplish then?" Zen asked curiously.


    "The Han Clan doesn''t care about its sub-branches. I''ve once traveled to the ancestral lands of other great clans in the divine land, and found that they''re in a much better situation than the Han Clan."


    Generally speaking, some of the ancestral lands were still under the care of their clans. In some cases, with the accumulations of ancestral lands, their members could become Holy Beings. However, the Han Clan didn''t think the same. They looked down on the proving godly warriors who took part in the test of the Heavenly Han House, and even Master Evil.


    "Look at how the owner of the Heavenly Han House treats you," Master Evil continued. "You''re like a life-saving straw to him." "It looks like it won''t be long. They won''t even wait until you master the Godly Way before they hurriedly recommend you to the Floating Island," he added.


    Although Master Evil hadn''t actually spoken mu


    total of 327 imitations of Godly Way Tablets in the Consulting God Hall.


    Now, the Godly Way Tablets were constructed in their current location not to allow them to comprehend the internal momentum contained within them. Many proving godly warriors had observed the Godly Way Tablets for a hundred years, but might not be able to comprehend the internal momentum. Therefore, any proving godly warrior who was acknowledged by the imitations of Godly Way Tablets could join the Heavenly Han House.


    Such a request seemed simple, but only a few people could actually do it. A maximum of twenty people succeeded every year. The Heavenly Han House had conducted a big test this year, so it might be more than twenty people--but it was not expected to exceed thirty.


    "This is the tablet of the Five Elements Godly Way," Zen said. He stepped forward and looked up at the first Godly Way Tablet in awe.


    Just as he looked at it, he felt a strong sense of internal momentum of five elements from the tablet.


    The Five Elements Godly Way was one of the most widely cultivated Godly Ways in the divine land. Many proving godly warriors had already begun to climb up the stairs, and the higher they climbed, the stronger the pressure of internal momentum they faced. Currently, there were more than a dozen warriors on the stairs. All of them climbed upwards slowly and silently in order to obtain a better position.


    However, the quietness was disturbed when someone shouted, "Get out of my way!"


    The voice came from a warrior who pushed another warrior in his way. The steps were extremely narrow and could only accommodate one person. When everyone had reached their limits, they all had to fight for the same position. Thus, it was no surprise when a dispute arose.


    When Zen saw the scene, he only shook his head and continued to walk forward. He wasn''t too interested in the Five Elements Godly Way. Besides, it wasn''t easy to travel to the place, so he wanted to see the other Godly Way Tablets.

 Chapter 2187 Purple Aura Godly Way

    The Godly Way Tablets in the Consulting God Hall were arranged in an equidistant manner.


    The closer one was to the Godly Way Tablets, the greater the impact they felt from the internal momentum. They were also able to communicate with the tablets better.


    Getting too close was a problem though. The internal momentum could get too much and injure the person. Proving godly warriors were vigilant in maintaining a safe, proper distance to these things to make sure that the internal momentum was within the limit that they could handle.


    Most of the proving godly warriors'' souls were at the same level but the steps in front of the Godly Way Tablets were narrow and the space was quite limited. Thus, the good spots were usually already taken by those who had come earlier, while those who came later could only take the places that were further to the Godly Way Tablets.


    Zen followed the winding road, passing through several Godly Way Tablets and seeing a few other proving godly warriors gathered on the steps before those tablets.


    The proving godly warrior named Zane stood in front of the sixth Godly Way Tablet on the right.


    The words on the tablet emitted a faint blue light and radiated a sharp chill.


    The chill didn''t seem overwhelming, but Zane who stood beneath the tablet looked pale. He shivered with his teeth practically chattering as a layer of white frost engulfed his body.


    "Snow Godly Way..."


    Zen shook his head. This wasn''t the Godly Way he was looking for.


    He cultivated the Emotion Closing Godly Way but since that was classified as forbidden within the divine land, then he figured that it might be difficult to find it within the Consulting God Hall. In fact, the number of Godly Ways here only took up around ten percent of the three thousand Godly Ways in the divine land.


    However, since he was already here, Zen figured that he might as well broaden his horizons. He wanted to see just how profound the internal momentum that the top-level True Gods comprehended was.


    The deeper into the Consulting God Hall he went, the fewer proving godly warriors he saw.


    Godly Way Tablets placed near the entrance were the ones that most people cultivated. The deeper one went, the more obscure the Godly Ways were. These were usually the ones that were of the same power as other Godly Ways but more difficult to comprehend, thus leading to their unpopularity.


    Not long after, Zen finally found himself in front of a Godly Way Tablet.


    This tablet emitted a strange, purple mist that transformed into various, unique shapes. Horses galloped around the tablet, eagles screeched and flew, and purple sword images constantly evolved into a myriad of sword arrays.


    Zen''s brow furrowed at the sight. "This aura¡­."


    He was very fam


    Godly Way?"


    "Isn''t the Purple Aura Godly Way only cultivated by women?"


    "No, that''s not completely right¡­ There''s also a couple of men who possess the Purple Power Body," someone interjected. "However, they''re pretty rare. Most of them are eunuchs."


    The warriors were all bewildered...


    A person who possessed a Purple Power Body emitted an aura different from ordinary warriors. The white-robed woman, for example, was the eldest daughter of the Xue Clan of the Six-Burden Region. The Xue Clan was only a third-tier clan but May, the woman, had already managed to reach the 41st rank by relying on her special physique.


    However, the other warriors had already seen Zen and knew it was impossible for him to possess a Purple Power Body.


    Zen wasn''t quite aware of the attention his actions had gotten. There was quite a distance between each Godly Way Tablet so he didn''t really hear what the other people were saying.


    Once the light from the Snow Godly Way disappeared, Zen shifted his gaze away and continued climbing up.


    May had previously tried to dissuade him from going up further but she understood that he was someone far stronger than her. If he insisted on pushing forward, then she naturally wouldn''t be able to stop him.


    As Zen continued to climb, he got ever closer to the Godly Way Tablet. As he did so, the purple mist that lingered around the tablet began to stir and surge.


    "Hooo... hooo... hooo..."


    The auras churned and transformed into dozens of sharp sword shadows, forming an ingenious sword array that shot towards Zen.


    "Be careful..." May warned. She was well aware of Zen''s power but being cautious never hurt anyone. The number of geniuses who perished due to their arrogance was way too high.


    However, when the sword array came towards him, Zen didn''t show any intention of dodging at all.

 Chapter 2188 Infinity Ruler

    Ever since Zen stepped into the divine city, he had been extremely cautious.


    Since the Emotion Closing Godly Way was classified as a forbidden Godly Way, Zen wouldn''t use it randomly, nor would he use it in the presence of a large crowd.


    When he had used his spiritual will to form a soul attack in the Brilliant Moon Restaurant, Zen had also erased the sharp aura within his soul¡ªit could only be called the enhanced version of the Spiritual Thorn.


    In the face of this sword array attack forming from the internal momentum, Zen did not dodge¡ªhe instead allowed the sword shadows to enter his mind.


    When these sword shadows gathered within his mind and formed into a sword array, the small golden swords on the surface of Zen''s soul instantly radiated with boundless light. As the strands of golden light reverberated in his mind, they shattered all the sword shadows.


    The eyes were the windows to the soul. While the golden light of his soul flashed, Zen had already closed his eyes and covered it within his mind.


    When he opened his eyes again, everything had returned to normal.


    The scene left May flabbergasted¡ªshe thought that Zen had some sort of precious treasures that could protect his soul, letting him forego dodging. Judging from Zen''s innate talent and performance, it was highly possible.


    Never did she expect Zen to lack such a thing. But instead, he allowed the sword array from the internal momentum''s pressure to pierce his mind.


    Just as she worried about Zen taking mental damage, he had already regained his composure and had taken another step as if nothing even happened.


    "No wonder the old man from the Floating Island thinks so highly of him," May murmured. As she thought about her own fate, she couldn''t help but sigh.


    Zen didn''t know May was so sentimental¡ªas he continued climbing, the pressure from the internal momentum began turning into all sorts of things, disappearing into Zen''s mind one by one.


    There were nine-floor purple pagodas, ten thousand giant swords, and a two-headed serpent. The materialized purple mist had turned into everything, but no matter what shape it took, they were all materialized from the pressure of the internal momentum¡ªtheir power couldn''t have been too far off from each other.


    As these things drilled into his mind, Zen couldn''t help but close his eyes and kill them with his soul pressure once again.


    But there were simply too many of them. Waves after waves of attacks flowed into his mind and Zen only shut his eyes tightly and used his spiritual sense to figure out his surroundings. He then continued to climb the stairs and quicken his pace.


    There were over a hundred steps under each Godly Way Tablets. Most proving godly warriors could only stay on the 50th to 60th steps, like May, who stood on the 52nd step. If she advanced, the pressure on her would m


    om the internal momentum began fluctuating frantically.


    "Ah, what''s going on?!"


    Standing on the stairs, May was surprised at the scene.


    Although Zen''s actions were strange, May was still working hard on her own comprehension¡ªshe was hurrying to comprehend the internal momentum on the Godly Way Tablet, so she paid little attention to Zen.


    But now, Zen glared at the Godly Way Tablet with blazing eyes, turning the internal momentum on it into a mess. May was no longer able to comprehend it.


    Though Zen didn''t want to cause a huge commotion either, the seemingly calm and peaceful Infinity Ruler suddenly turned ''abnormal'' in front of the Godly Way Tablet.


    At this time, it wasn''t only the proving godly warriors who paid attention to Zen¡ªeven the leader of the Heavenly Han House and the other True Gods were quietly watching him from a corner. Each and every one of their expressions read ''wonderful.''


    "What kind of secrets does this Thad have?!"


    "That fellow''s eyes... It seems to be the Fire God Eyes?"


    "They''re definitely not the Fire God Eyes! Otherwise, how could he have messed up the internal momentum on the Godly Way Tablet? The Grand Purple Aura Technique''s Godly Way Tablet was personally crafted by Joy Han. The internal momentum within is much deeper than the internal momentum of other Godly Way Tablets."


    Joy was a True God at the consummation level. In addition to Han Clan''s Holy Emperor, there was also a Demi-holy Being called Joy in this clan. While the Purple Sky Land she created wasn''t as big as a universe, it had made her strength much greater than other True Gods at the same level.


    But the internal momentum on the Godly Way Tablet had already turned into a mess¡ªthe purple characters were showing signs of crumbling and the deepest comprehension hidden within the internal momentum had turned into a purple light before quietly entering Zen''s eyes.

 Chapter 2189 Absorb

    Two blazing circles continued to revolve within Zen''s eyes.


    During this process, the previously disordered internal momentum began to settle within him and he felt a sense of enlightenment sink into the depths of his soul.


    At that moment, Zen felt as if he was able to see the true meaning of the Purple Aura Godly Way!


    "Hiss..."


    "The Purple Aura Godly Way is not consummate because the woman who carved this Godly Way Tablet did not cultivate it up to the consummate stage. Actually, even if she did reach the consummate level, displaying all of her comprehension on the tablet may not have been what she wanted!"


    Zen judged in an instant.


    Each of the three thousand Godly Ways was completely different. The Grand Purple Aura Technique could create a myriad of sword arrays and transform into several extremely powerful true spirits. Its final level meant it could transform into a Purple Sky Land!


    However, the description for the Purple Sky Land remained incomplete.


    "If I want to gain complete enlightenment of the Grand Purple Aura Technique, I''ll need to find a complete Godly Way Tablet... I didn''t expect that with this Infinity Ruler, I could actually see through the internal momentum and figure out the essence of the Grand Purple Aura Technique. This..."


    Previously, he had been perplexed as to how to use the Infinity Ruler but now, he was finally able to appreciate its extraordinary ability. Even if the treasures of the divine land were still a bit of a foreign concept to Zen, he knew very well that this Infinity Ruler was extraordinary.


    The light of the Infinity Ruler gradually dimmed down as it returned to its original state. However, it was slightly different from before.


    A small dot appeared on a scale in the middle of the ruler. Zen took a closer look and discovered a faint, purple light that flowed through the center of the dot¡ªthe essence of the internal momentum!


    "This ruler... has absorbed the Purple Aura Godly Way?" he remarked in surprise.


    Zen once again examined the jade ruler, carefully counting the scales from beginning to end. He was able to get a number: three thousand scales.


    In short, this jade ruler was meant to contain the three thousand Godly Ways.


    Once the light disappeared, so did the two blazing rings in Zen''s eyes.


    The internal momentum that Zen had initially disturbed became silent and orderly once again.


    Wanting to test his hypothesis quickly, the young man had no plans in staying there any longer. He immediately set out to leave but, just as he turned his head, a dark-purple pillar of light shot out from the top of the Godly Way Tablet and headed straight for the ceiling of the Consulting God Hall.


    A purple halo e


    hing aura.


    The Elementary Fire Godly Way...


    This was the origin of all strange flames in the world and the purest form of fire.


    With the Elementary Fire Godly Way, one would be able to comprehend all kinds of mysterious flames.


    There were already three proving godly warriors on the stairs of this Godly Way Tablet and one of them was ranked second on the great list¡ªSeth.


    The young man''s eyes flashed when he saw Zen climb up the stairs. He then began to wonder whether Zen wanted to be acknowledged by the second Godly Way Tablet.


    Normally, so long as one was acknowledged by a Godly Way Tablet then that person would automatically gain the qualifications to enter the Heavenly Han House. It was quite rare for a warrior to be acknowledged by two Godly Way Tablets. Only four warriors had accomplished such a feat in history.


    Now, it seemed Zen was planning to do the same.


    Unknown to Seth, this wasn''t exactly Zen''s intended goal. The young man didn''t just want to be acknowledged by mere two Godly Way Tablets. If he was given enough time, Zen had every intention of letting all three hundred Godly Way Tablets be absorbed in the Infinity Ruler!


    Seth and the others made way for Zen the moment they saw him climb up the stairs.


    Seeing this, the other proving godly warriors all stopped comprehending and watched Zen intently.


    "Huff, huff..."


    Just like what happened with the Purple Aura Godly Way, the moment Zen climbed, the internal momentum immediately surged towards him. This time, it came in the form of numerous fire birds.


    These flames were formed by the internal momentum and were capable of burning the soul. If one''s soul was weak, then it would be incinerated in an instant.


    However, Zen was not afraid at all and allowed the fire birds to flow into his mind...

 Chapter 2190 Comprehension

    The unending stream of fire birds rushed into Zen''s mind, being destroyed like the internal momentum formed from the Grand Purple Aura Technique.


    When Zen closed his eyes, the sharp golden light on his soul''s surface flashed, and all the fire birds formed from the internal momentum flames were exterminated instantly.


    While killing the fire birds that drilled into his mind, Zen also quietly observed the Infinity Ruler in his head.


    With his current abilities, he was still unable to control the ruler. Just now, when the ruler activated its special ability, it did so on its own.


    Now that Zen had paid attention to it, he finally discovered the reason.


    After the fire birds were shattered by Zen''s soul pressure, they turned into the internal momentum power, quietly absorbed by Infinity Ruler.


    When the Infinity Ruler absorbed all the remaining internal momentum power to a certain extent, a golden light erupted from the section of the Infinity Ruler.


    "Rumble..."


    The golden light moved from one end of the ruler to the other, finally stopping at a scale on top of it.


    ''This scale should be the location the ruler reserved for the Elementary Fire Godly Way.'' As he had guessed, Zen understood that these three thousand scales corresponded to three thousand Godly Ways¡ªeven the location of each Godly Way had already been set!


    When the light stopped at the scale, another blazing light burst out and enveloped Zen''s mind.


    When Zen opened his eyes again, a pair of golden light rings appeared around his pupils.


    "Splash..."


    With Zen''s eyesight, he could see that on the tablet of the Elementary Fire Godly Way in front of him, the pure flames were like the unceasing surging of waves¡ªthe internal momentum became extremely chaotic.


    Although others might have thought that the internal momentum was a mess, Zen could see through everything it contained.


    "The Elementary Fire Godly Way is the fire source... All the Fire Laws were developed from the Elementary Fire Godly Way. This Godly Way is divided into four different levels. The first level is to control fire, the second is to create fire, the third is to create spirit essence, and the fourth is to turn into objects..."


    In others'' eyes, the internal momentum seemed incomparably profound¡ªit would have been difficult to understand even if one spent ten thousand years in comprehension. But in Zen''s eyes, the mysterious internal momentum seemed rather simple.


    Even though Zen''s comprehension ability far exceeded that of an ordinary talent, it was impossible for him to achieve such a level¡ªthat sudden enlightenment allowed Zen to see through the true meaning of the Godly Way Tablet in a short period of time. It all started with the Infinity Ruler.


    Soon after, the light on the ruler dimmed along with the rings of light around Zen''s pupils. Finally,


    strange thing.


    "I heard that after Pascal became a proving godly warrior and returned from the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, he had comprehended four Godly Ways consecutively in a year. He was also already an outstanding warrior on the Floating Island. Thad Luo has now been acknowledged by three Godly Ways, and he..." Malloy''s expression turned solemn, but his heart was filled with ecstasy.


    He had to prove his value to the Han Clan after he took the position of the leader of the Heavenly Han House. If he really did recommend Zen, the Han Clan would be more friendly toward the sub-branches of the clan.


    "He doesn''t have any plans to stop. He has already climbed to the fourth Godly Way Tablet," the old man surnamed Chen said.


    "Should we go and stop him? It''s too much," said another True God.


    Malloy looked rather hesitant, but eventually, he shook his head. He couldn''t tell how Zen had done it, but since Zen didn''t want to step out, Malloy had no intention of stopping him.


    And so, in front of everyone, Zen comprehended the fifth tablet, the sixth tablet, the seventh...


    The scene left everyone stunned.


    Many proving godly warriors could only sigh as they groped for their own Godly Way, hoping to gain the acknowledgement of the Godly Way Tablet by comprehending it.


    Soon enough, Seth came in third, passing the test. But he didn''t look the slightest bit happy about it. After all, there was a remarkable warrior in the Consulting God Hall that could easily earn the acknowledgement of the Godly Way as easily as breathing. After working so hard, Seth obtained the acknowledgement of the Elementary Fire Godly Way, but it was all for nothing. He could only sigh lightly and with a face heavy with sadness, he turned his head and left the Consulting God Hall.


    In spite of all Seth''s experience in the world, he was still deeply shocked and disappointed inside.

 Chapter 2191 The End Of The Big Test (Part One)

    The test that took place within the Consulting God Hall of Heavenly Han House usually lasted a total of seven days.


    To proving godly warriors, the Heavenly Han House''s test wasn''t just an exam to verify their abilities, but even more so, an opportunity for cultivation.


    There were a few of the proving godly warriors who usually listened to the teachings of True Gods outside the Heavenly Han House. Now that they were inside the Consulting God Hall, they were capable of using what they had learned in order to comprehend the internal momentum inscribed on the Godly Way Tablets.


    Despite the fact that these Godly Way Tablets were only mere imitations, being here was still a rare opportunity for such proving godly warriors to cultivate.


    Throughout the seven days, more and more proving godly warriors were recognized by the Godly Way Tablets. For these proving godly warriors, they entered the most crucial stage in their entire lives after the recognition. It was then that their fate would be completely changed forever.


    This was because the chances of one mastering Godly Ways in the Heavenly Han House were rather high. Becoming a True God in the future was equivalent to obtaining the chance of living forever, as well as other limitless possibilities.


    As for Zen, things were a little different on his behalf.


    Over the past few days, all of the proving godly warriors present had been used to watching miracles he had created.


    Zen tirelessly traversed through the Godly Way Tablets, continuously absorbing their internal momentum and he was equally constantly acknowledged by the Godly Way Tablets.


    Other than the Grand Purple Aura Technique, there were certain other Godly Ways that required special conditions and physiques for cultivation. However, despite the fact that Zen had ignored these requirements, h


    Clan came to select warriors was also the year when the Heavenly Han House held a bigger test. These proving godly warriors hoped that they would be lucky enough to be chosen by the Han Clan and enter the Floating Island, thus becoming a member of the divine land''s core power and rising to prominence.


    That said though, the Han Clan sub-branches equally had special rights when it came to recommending warriors. If they were to meet an extremely outstanding warrior, they wouldn''t have to wait the aforementioned 16 years. The only requirement was to send someone to apply to the main Han Clan, but the precondition was that the warrior really had outstanding abilities.


    The few proving godly warriors who had successfully passed through the Heavenly Han House''s test were arranged to stay in a courtyard, while the rest were dismissed. Those who failed could only wait until next year to take the test once again.


    The courtyard where the select sixty-seven stayed was very elegantly constructed, with a few bridges built on top of a beautiful pond. Within the pond, a group of little fish with golden scales could be seen swimming around happily. Pink lotus flowers adorned the water and here, they would never wilt.

 Chapter 2192 The End Of The Big Test (Part Two)

    The sixty-seven proving godly warriors here, in this wondrous courtyard, were the lucky ones that had passed this year''s Heavenly Han House test.


    A handful of them, such as Zane and Seth, had been acknowledged by the Godly Way Tablets on the very first day that they entered the Consulting God Hall. They had easily been waiting here for six days now.


    Zen sat upright on a large stone beside a rockery, his eyes closed as he attempted to recuperate his strength as best he could.


    As it was, his soul was currently in a deep slumber, and this was the ''Soul Recovery Technique'' that Master Evil had taught him. The cultivation methods that Master Evil practiced were nothing extraordinary, nor did they have any special origins. But someone like Master Evil, who had learned martial arts in his own way, indeed had a few practical methods to share.


    The Soul Recovery Technique for one, was a technique that allowed one to reserve a little soul power in order to maintain a minimum of vigilance, while the soul fell into a deep slumber. This way, one would be capable of recovering their soul power more rapidly within a shorter period of time.


    Throughout the past few days though, Zen had simply felt too tired. He needed to have a good rest in order to better replenish the soul force that he had consumed.


    As for the other proving godly warriors, they gathered in groups of twos or threes. Most of them wore very excited expressions, as if they were very surprised that they managed to pass Heavenly Han House''s test. It was only natural for them to feel such joy.


    It wasn''t until the very last moment, on the seventh day in the Consulting God Hall, that May received the acknowl


    ling Blade'', which was an extremely rare supreme primordial weapon, but it was impossible for it to possess such outrageous abilities. If Zen was given the chance to observe all the three thousand Godly Ways, wouldn''t he be able to master all of them?


    As the voice of Master Evil faded away from his mind, the purple mist in Zen''s hand began to dissipate and once again condensed itself into traces of a grayish-white internal momentum.


    The streams of greyish-white internal momentum quickly condensed into a small, round shield. A large number of hexagonal patterns appeared on the surface of the shield, making it resemble a tortoise shell. This was a technique used to protect one''s body from the Tortoise Godly Way.


    While Zen was continuously experimenting with his newfound techniques, a voice came from outside. "Thad, the house master wants to meet you," it said.


    Upon hearing the voice from a short distance away, Zen jumped up from the ground. With a flip of his palm, the tortoise shell instantly disappeared, and a profound look appeared in his eyes. He wondered what the hell Malloy wanted to say to him.

 Chapter 2193 A Top-rank True God (Part One)

    Malloy was seated within the main hall of the Heavenly Han House. There were equally two people sitting by his side, both of whom were at the peak of the cultivation level of mid-rank True Gods.


    They weren''t True Gods of the Heavenly Han House who taught the Godly Ways, but they were leaders of the Han Clan sub-branches.


    Although the sub-branches of the Han Clan were not considered as powerful as the rich clans on the Floating Islands, they were still first-tier clans. The strength and number of the True Gods from these clans far exceeded that of ordinary second-tier or third-tier clan.


    Currently, there were a total of twenty-seven sub-branches of Han Clan, each respectively led by one of the twenty-seven sub-branch leaders. These two specific individuals were the leader of the ninth sub-branch, Luke Han, and the leader of the twelfth sub-branch, Declan Han. Zane, who himself had just entered the Heavenly Han House, was Luke Han''s son.


    "The news we received earlier from Mirror City has just been confirmed. Thad Luo''s origin is very suspicious," Luke Han said with a frown.


    Ever since the moment Zen had risen to prominence in the Brilliant Moon Restaurant, many forces had tried to track his background down. However, at the time, the information that Zen had provided was too little, and despite their many inquiries, they still hadn''t found any clues concerning Zen''s background. For this reason, on their list, they could only describe him as ''the mysterious youth''.


    Not long ago though, during the Heavenly Han House examination in fact, Zen had mentioned that he came from the Misty Mountain Village of the Vast Sky Region.


    That was when the Han Clan had sent people out to investigate Zen''s identity.


    And the Han Clan''s efficiency was very high. Within no more than a f


    se, hmm? As long as the two of you and Bentley agree, I won''t hesitate, not even for a second!"


    Upon hearing Malloy''s words, Declan Han and Luke Han fell silent, adding nothing more to the conversation.


    "To put it bluntly, you both just want me to take all the responsibility. You want to recommend Thad to the Floating Island, but you''re equally worried about his unknown origin. If something happens in the future, you don''t want to be implicated." Malloy''s eyes glittered. "If that''s the case, then speak up, and I will take the responsibility!"


    Malloy''s words had clearly revealed Luke Han''s and Declan Han''s true feelings. Their facial features were completely distorted now.


    If the Han Clan sub-branches didn''t provide a suitable candidate, then the Han Clan would really take some actions, and if that were to be the case, the twenty-seven Han Clan sub-branches would be in deep trouble.


    Through the Heavenly Han House''s test, they were capable of figuring out that Zen had a remarkable talent. This fellow clearly surpassed an ordinary talent, and by far. Even among the rich clans on the Floating Islands, never had there been such an extraordinary proving godly warrior in the past!

 Chapter 2194 A Top-rank True God (Part Two)

    In their eyes, this proving godly warrior was like a tender shoot that had just emerged from the ground. Zen was a little too strong for his own good, though. If he were to condense a Godly Tile in his inner world in the future, wouldn''t he naturally become a disciple of the Holy Emperor?


    "Not necessarily, you don''t have to. In the past, the sub-branches of the Han Clan have always been one and the same! How could we let you bear all the responsibility alone?" Luke Han said.


    "Yeah... Why don''t we ask Thad about it later? Maybe it''s not as we''re imagining it to be," Declan Han was next to speak.


    Both Luke Han and Declan Han offered their words with a slight awkwardness.


    It was at that moment that someone was heard uttering just outside the main hall, "Thad Luo has arrived!"


    Malloy nodded in response and said, "Let him in."


    It was only a few short moments later that Zen slowly walked inside.


    Malloy''s lips curled into a smile and he said politely, "Thad, please sit here."


    Zen nodded his head and sat down in the chair, a little off to the side. At the same time, he asked, "May I know why you''ve summoned me here?"


    In total honesty, Zen had a rough idea of that reason. Seeing as he had already spoken of where he came from to the Han Clan, they had definitely summoned him in order to investigate his background.


    Prior to leaving the Misty Mountain Village, Zen had told the villagers to keep his identity a secret from all the others. However, most of the divine citizens of the Misty Mountain Village had never been to a divine city. It was thus impossible for them to hide it from the members of the Heavenly Han House.


    Today, it was highly li


    he would find himself another way.


    If he were to reveal his identity though, now that would be quite a serious matter. It was impossible for him to reveal his identity just to enter the Heavenly Han House.


    As the words left his mouth, Luke Han and Declan Han kept silent. They had wanted to threaten Zen with the qualification to join the Heavenly Han House, but Zen didn''t seem to care in the least.


    Malloy glanced at Luke Han and Declan Han indifferently, and shrugged his shoulders. He knew that Zen wasn''t an idiot, and since he possessed such great talent, every proving godly house would be eager to admit him. Did he even care about the qualification to join the Heavenly Han House? Malloy continued wondering to himself.


    Just as Malloy was thinking about how to continue his attempt in persuading Zen, a figure appeared in the sky above the Heavenly Han House, slowly descending into its main hall.


    "This warrior can actually fly within the divine land..."


    Zen''s eyes suddenly flashed with astonishment, realizing that the warrior was a top-rank True God. But who was he? And why did he come here?

 Chapter 2195 Testing Zen

    Across all the divine land, only top-rank True Gods and those above their level had the right to fly in the skies.


    In the past, Zen had never known very much about the rules set by the Holy Beings. It wasn''t that proving godly warriors and low to mid-rank True Gods couldn''t fly, but that their abilities were actually limited.


    Thanks to Master Evil''s explanation though, Zen was capable of solving the doubt he felt in both heart and mind.


    The wealthy and powerful clans on the Floating Islands that had entered the Time Sea first were all bent on consolidating their status. Therefore, they would without a doubt use all sorts of methods in order to hinder the other clans from rising to prominence.


    For this reason, back in the middle ages, many wealthy and powerful clans on the Floating Islands teamed up together in order to establish such a rule on the Ruling Slate. It was thus stipulated that only those on and above the level of top-rank True Gods could fly in the air, and that furthermore, only those on and above the level of consummate True Gods could use the Space Law.


    Due to this rule, the newcomers naturally lost many opportunities. After all, there were many forbidden areas within the divine land that would be very difficult for them to explore if they weren''t allowed to fly.


    Therefore, very few newcomers had been bestowed the title of Holy Being over the past few years. Becoming a Holy Being was now quite a challenge.


    Someone suddenly flew down from the sky and steadily landed without hesitation in the main hall.


    Immediately after his arrival, a faint sense of majesty spread throughout the hall. Although he didn''t release any soul pressure, he did give off a very natural force. The force itself didn''t come from him in fact, but from his inner world.


    As a top-rank True God, his inner world had already been perfected. It had become a huge entity, and therefore he radiated a sense of majesty. Similarly, Estelle on the second floor of the dungeon gave Zen an inexplicable sense of mystery.


    The individual who had just landed looked extremely young, but his face faintly revealed a sense of lethargy. It was almost certain that in reality, he must have lived for a long time, and he must be unimaginably old.


    Malloy, Luke, and Declan stood up and saluted him. Upon seeing them do so, Zen equally followed suit. Despite the fact that the Heavenly Han House seemed to want to expel him, he still had to be polite and show his respect, at the very least.


    The arrival was Bentley Han, the man whom Malloy had mentioned earlier. He was the leader of all the Han Clan''s sub-branches, and thus, the twenty-seven sub-branches were all under his command.


    It was just a few days ago that he had heard about Zen. Not long afterward, he came to find out that Zen was born in a strange place, and therefore, he presented himself today in order to decide what should be done.


    Once Bentley had pleasantly greeted everyone present, his gaze shifted directly to Zen. When he noticed Zen''s Redemption Armor, his eyes opened wide as he asked, "What kind of treasure is this robe you''re wearing?"


    Malloy and the other two also paid attention to Zen''s robe as Bentley asked this question. From the outside, Zen''s dark robe didn''t look like anything special.


    oon as he could and turned himself around.


    As he was standing there though, he began to feel an irresistible force coming from behind him, pushing him forward by several steps and almost knocking him down again. Zen suddenly looked very miserable.


    Malloy, Luke, and Declan quickly looked at each other. Their expressions were wild, their hearts in turmoil.


    They had invited Bentley to decide whether or not to keep Zen. After all, Bentley was the leader of sub-branches. They hadn''t expected the fact that Bentley had never asked them about Zen''s origins and background, nor had he discussed whether to keep Zen with them. Instead, as soon as he had arrived, he had begun teasing Zen.


    After all, he was a top-rank True God. Was there really any point in fooling around with a proving godly warrior? Did he not feel shameless?


    Moreover, Zen had been very tough when they threatened to expel him earlier. Would Bentley offend him by acting in such a way?


    Malloy was unsure of all this. After a moment of hesitation, he stretched out his hand and shouted, "Master Bentley..."


    Bentley ignored him and simply smiled with relish instead. "You haven''t fallen yet? Then watch this!" With that, he once again turned into a gust of wind and floated toward Zen.


    This time, Zen''s eyes flashed with a fierce light. He respected Bentley as a top-rank True God, but these repeated attacks were too much for him to handle right now. He didn''t dodge the attack this time and only used a single hand to swipe at Bentley.


    Bentley''s face revealed a look of contempt. In his opinion, a proving godly warrior was just as weak as a baby. He reached out his left hand in an attempt to brush away Zen''s right hand.


    However, just as he reached outward, Zen abruptly changed his hand''s direction and firmly grabbed Bentley''s arm like a pair of iron pincers.


    Given his reaction and speed though, it was very easy for Bentley to avoid Zen.


    Despite that though, he didn''t attempt to dodge Zen at all. Instead, he planned to use brute force in order to break free from Zen''s grasp once he had caught his arm.


    Unexpectedly, just as he tried to struggle free slightly, his expression suddenly froze.

 Chapter 2196 A Little Freak

    Zen''s intention wasn''t to offend this guy in any way.


    That said though, having been toyed with like an ant over and over again, Zen had had enough. Even a Buddha would have become angry with such teasing.


    As Zen took action, the Nine Divine Stars in his body began revolving crazily. The surging energy quickly converged into a torrent of energy that gushed outward, gathering in his hands faster than ever!


    In addition to the thirty percent of strength source that his body could withstand, he also released the remaining seventy percent of his power through the Cross-world Theurgy. This seventy percent power formed a giant invisible hand that grabbed the middle section of his opponent''s arm.


    In that very moment, it was as if Zen had three hands that worked together and simultaneously grabbed Bentley.


    Bentley, who was a top-rank True God, had already condensed Six Divine Stars, therefore, he also had his own strength source.


    Despite that though, the six stars that were hidden within his body were much smaller than Zen''s.


    The strength source of the Nine Divine Stars in Zen''s body came from Holy Jay. At the time, he had absorbed a third of Holy Jay''s total strength source. Although Zen''s use of the strength source was far from being as efficient as Holy Jay''s, and the fact was that it didn''t even compare to Bentley''s power in the least, it was still completely terrifying when it poured out!


    Moreover, Bentley hadn''t expected Zen to unleash such a terrifying power. He felt that Zen''s hands were like iron pincers, and even more shockingly, there was an invisible hand that seemed to be grabbing onto him at the same time. Furthermore, the invisible hand''s power was great, causing his arm to creak. He felt like it was going to snap like a twig on a tree.


    This overwhelming power only lasted for a brief moment. With a flip of his body, Zen twisted his hand and threw Bentley backward!


    Beneath the surge of such a huge force, Bentley didn''t have time to resist. Confusion was written all over his wrinkled face as Zen sent him flying at an extremely fast speed. His body soared through the air and smashed into the wall of the main building, destroying it into hundreds of little pieces.


    The wall then turned into dust in a flash, as if it was made of flour. This hit didn''t stop Bentley''s momentum though.


    Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom¡­


    After smashing through at least seven or eight walls consecutively, Bentley had finally managed to stop himself from going further by relying on his own power and strength. Finally, his body collapsed to the ground with an atrocious thud.


    Bentley''s body was now covered in dust, and before landing, he had crashed into a few flower pots. A few fresh and tender flowers were stuck in his hair, making him look both bedraggled and odd at the same time.


    Bentley, who was still lying on the ground, was still in a daze and felt dizzy. It took him at least half a minute before finally reacting. Upon standing up, he saw a room full of people, including the old man surnamed Wu, who was giving a lecture to the disciples of the Heavenly Han House.


    As he


    d had thrown him out in such a way, causing him to suffer a huge loss as well as lose his face. Master Evil had every reason to be worried that things might not end so well for Zen...


    "If I were to tolerate that over and over again, what would this guy have ended up doing to me?" Zen retorted in his mind. "He did that only to force me to show the limits of my strength, or to investigate my background. I can die, but there are some things that will never be revealed," he said aloud in his mind.


    His father had indeed placed his greatest hopes in him, but Zen wasn''t his only hope. After all, there were still Nathan and the other Godly Geniuses in the Evolutionary Universe.


    Upon hearing this, Master Evil fell silent. He could feel Zen''s determination, and he understood how heavy the burden on his back was for him to reach his goal. Although he had an extraordinary origin, that he was the son of a Holy Being and what was more, he was a disciple of another Holy Being, he still had to pay a greater price than any other ordinary warriors with such unique advantages.


    Zen''s gaze was as calm as the surface of a motionless lake as he stared at Bentley, who was walking over through the holes, one wall at a time.


    Bentley stepped out from the final hole and gently shook himself. An invisible force spread out from his body, causing all the dust, rubble, and broken leaves to disappear. His body was now completely clean, and his face was expressionless. No one could read him, and no one could tell how he was feeling.


    Malloy, Luke, and Declan held their silence. They didn''t dare say anything more. Although Bentley had an eccentric temperament, he was still the leader of the Han Clan sub-branches. They had no idea how Bentley planned to deal with Zen. Bentley''s personality had always been unpredictable though, to say the least.


    To everyone''s surprise, Bentley laughed and said to Zen, "Good. Although I don''t know how you''ve managed to cultivate such power, I think the old freaks on the Floating Island would be very happy to see a little freak just like you!"

 Chapter 2197 Agreement

    At last, Bentley''s words quickly broke the tense atmosphere that blanketed the whole main hall.


    At the same time, Zen also sighed in relief, but he still firmly said, "If you still want to test me, I will leave the Heavenly Han House. Everyone wants to go to the Floating Island, but this won''t be my only chance."


    Upon hearing Zen''s words, Malloy felt slightly moved.


    There were many highly talented proving godly warriors in the Heavenly Han House, but most of them were wildly arrogant. However, none of them was actually sure that they would enter the Floating Island. Meanwhile, Malloy saw absolute confidence in Zen''s face, and he believed that Zen was capable of doing so.


    Even if the Heavenly Han House didn''t help Zen, it wouldn''t be too hard for him to enter the Floating Island.


    "Young man, it seems that you''re still angry," Bentley said to Zen with a chuckle. "You almost broke my old bones, but I won''t seek revenge for that¡­"


    "According to Master Malloy, you don''t accept people with unknown origins," Zen abruptly said in a serious tone.


    Bentley blinked, and then turned to stare at Malloy.


    The real reason why they invited Bentley over was to discuss the said matter. However, Bentley attacked Zen once he had arrived. Apparently, he had discovered Zen''s inexplicable power and was greatly interested in the younger man''s true strength.


    "Who said you came from the unknown? Your name is Thad Luo, right? You were born in Misty Mountain Village, a suburb of Mirror City in the Vast Sky Region. You are highly talented, have infinite power and have devoured strange objects since a young age. And, you have learned from powerhouses..." The longer Bentley spoke, the wilder the tales that he fabricated. He even made up some stories about Zen''s childhood. It sounded true at first, but after careful consideration, it didn''t.


    However, Malloy looked quite happy. He guessed that Bentley was in favor of him. Bentley was still responsible for checking Thad''s origins. Since the Han Clan had been on the Floating Island for a long time, it was impossible for them to thoroughly investigate many things, so they believed whatever Bentley said without any doubts. In their case, as long as he could forge a fake identity for Thad, everything would go smoothly.


    "What if, I mean, what if..." On the other hand, Luke appeared quite wary as he said, "It''s not that I don''t trust Thad, but if he is plotting something, then what should we do when his plot is exposed?"


    Bentley glared angrily at Luke. "Don''t worr


    s and was able to act accordingly and reasonably.


    As for Zen, he wasn''t interested in the things that they discussed. Whoever helped him enter the Floating Island wasn''t important, as he thought it would be best if Malloy forged an identity for him. If the Han Clan didn''t suspect anything, then the other great clans on the Floating Islands wouldn''t have any doubts.


    After Zen had left the main hall, he didn''t return to his own residence. Instead, he headed towards the Money Alley.


    Bentley had already informed the Han Clan on the Floating Island, so Zen wouldn''t have much time to stay in Six-Burden Divine City. He had to hurry and investigate where the mud came from. He didn''t expect the Heavenly Han House to help him condense the Godly Tile and become a True God. Thus, that piece of mud from the Tie Clan was the key to condensing the Godly Tile.


    In the Money Alley, Linn sat and took care of her clan''s stall. She looked as bored as ever as her eyes blankly stared into the distance.


    She didn''t participate in the test of the Heavenly Han House this time. It wasn''t that her clan wasn''t able to get a slot--she could even get many slots easily with her way of management.


    However, her innate talent for cultivation was quite mediocre. If she relied on her own strength to condense the Godly Tile, it might take too long for her to progress. Therefore, she might have to implant an ownerless Godly Tile someday.


    Just then, Zen appeared in front of Linn. Her eyes immediately glowed with a strange light. Anyone who knew her would know that she would only look that way when she saw divine might coins.


    Clearly, Zen was like a heap of divine might coins in her eyes.

 Chapter 2198 Tie Clan

    As soon as Linn saw Zen, a faint smile surfaced on her pretty face. "What are you going to buy this time?" she asked, cocking her head. "I dug out a few more pieces of mud. Interested?"


    "What?" Zen was slightly surprised. His gaze fell to the stall before her. As she had said, several pieces of mud covered the panel.


    However, this time Zen''s inner world did not react to the mud like it had last time. Clearly, these pieces of mud were ordinary. Zen smirked at her. This little girl was brazen enough to dig out a few pieces of mud straight from the ground and sell them unabashedly.


    Once the Tie Clan sold the piece of mud to Zen, the curiosity of many members was piqued. Earlier, Linn''s uncle, Alfred, had decided that the mud was not ordinary, but after many evaluations, the Tie Clan lost their patience and handed over the mud to Linn without a second thought. No one in the clan knew about the use and origin of the piece of mud.


    Zen, naturally, was not aware of the internal affairs of the Tie Clan. He also did not imagine that a series of ramifications would occur once he bought the piece of mud with so much money.


    The Tie Clan never would have dreamed that someone could spend five hundred divine might coins on some mud. It had caught them unaware.


    Certainly, Thad was not a fool in their eyes. The fact that he was willing to pay such a steep price for the mud, coupled with his astonishing performance in the Heavenly Han House, was enough to make the clan believe that the dirt was indeed highly valuable.


    Some of the Tie Clan members had been regretful, thinking that Linn should have asked for a higher place. However, just a few days ago, there was still someone who had criticized her for her tactics.


    Linn did not care for the voices in the first place, but the pedantic elders in the clan were getting worse and worse. Even if this piece of mud was some extraordinary treasure, it was sold already and should now be irrelevant to them.


    To Linn, doing business meant pursuing the greatest gains, so she did not hesitate to ask for a high price. She felt it was her prerogative.


    However, she paid heed to honesty and integrity each time. No matter how much damage she incurred, she would not regret her approach.


    At this time, everyone in the Tie Clan suddenly found themselves extraordinarily busy. This was not only because Devin was taking the Heavenly Han House''s test, but also because of the piece of mud. The small hill where the Tie Clan had dug out the piece of mud had been turned upside down in search for more treasure. They hoped to dig out a second piece of that exceptionable mud, but so far, it was to no avail.


    Linn, on the other hand, had casually dug out some ordinary mud outside of the Six-Burden Divine City. Each piece of mud was priced at five divine might coins. Seeing her sell it, s


    failed the test, like Devin himself.


    Zen immediately agreed to Linn''s request.


    The Tie Clan had some property in the Six-Burden Divine City. Following Linn''s guidance, Zen quickly found Devin.


    Devin''s mood these few days had indeed slumped, but his personality was such that he did not suffer too much of a blow. Instead, he made an ambitious decision. He did not pass the test this year, but he was sure to come back next year. And if he did not pass next year either, then he would try for the year after. He was determined to demonstrate his full abilities. For a proving godly warrior, a few decades was only a short period of time.


    Three days later, Zen left the Six-Burden Divine City under Devin''s lead and headed toward the Tie Clan.


    As the ancestral land of the Han Clan, the Six-Burden Region was much larger in terms of the area it covered.


    Although the Tie Clan was said to be just outside of the Six-Burden Divine City, the distance it took to reach there was not short. It took them half a month to arrive at the place.


    For the Tie Clan, Zen, the genius who had turned up out of the blue was an honored guest. Apart from a round of warm hospitality, the Tie Clan''s elders wanted to draw out from Zen the true use of the mud.


    But how could Zen give them the explanation they wanted? In the end, he managed to dodge their queries. When the Tie Clan saw that Zen was unwilling to answer, they did not pursue the matter further.


    Some rounds of entertainment later, Devin escorted Zen out of the Tie Clan and headed to the mountain where they had dug out the piece of magical mud.


    When Zen arrived at the mountain and saw it full of potholes, he was rendered speechless. The earth was in disarray. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the Tie Clan had dug three feet into the ground to look for the mud.


    However, it seemed like they had gained nothing so far.

 Chapter 2199 Digging A Passageway

    Thad was being quietly observed by some of the Tie Clan members either sitting or standing around the mountain.


    It was known that a piece of mud could be sold for five hundred divine might coins which shocked everyone. The elders of the Tie Clan announced that whoever dug out another piece of that mud would receive a generous reward.


    Wanting to try their luck to obtain the reward, everyone including women and children in the Tie Clan moved out.


    But no matter how deep they dug, the mud would always turn out to be ordinary. They had never run into the kind of mud that could jump and run and would be spiritual again.


    Zen stood at the edge of the large pit. Looking down, he saw that the pit as deep as three thousand feet was dug beneath the whole mountain.


    It was impossible for the divine citizens to dig such a huge pit in such a short amount of time. The True Gods of the Tie Clan must have been involved, and some of them seemed to be mid-rank True Gods.


    Zen sighed in his heart. These True Gods were truly different from what he had imagined.


    Living in the Evolutionary Universe, Zen had always thought that the True Gods was a lofty existence. No one ever dared to offend them as they looked down upon all living beings below the True God''s level. They were out of touch, and nothing could stop them.


    After he arrived in the divine land, Zen discovered that these True Gods were more like ordinary people to some extent.


    In order to preserve the purity of their mortal bodies, the martial artists of the Evolutionary Universe would usually choose not to eat grains saving them a great deal of trouble. For those who continued to eat grain, they had to purify their bodies every once in a while.


    Only few True Gods of the divine land chose not to eat. They only viewed all kinds of delicacies as a great pleasure.


    The Tie Clan had many True Gods, and due to the benefits of the five hundred divine might coins, they had dug such a huge pit. Every single one of them were affected, controlled, and driven crazy by the divine might coins.


    Zen realized that this scene might have something wrong with it. He once again asked in his mind, "Master Evil, what is the use of divine might coins?"


    The divine might coin had a great value. For instance, a single divine might coin could be saved up by a proving godly warrior only after he or she struggled for many years. Zen became curious about the source of the value of the divine might coin. Why on earth did this piece of black disk have so much value?


    "Hehe..." Master Evil laughed, "I will only tell you after you enter the Floating Island. Now you can still let me keep you in susp


    about to climb up the side, he suddenly felt a slight tremor in his body.


    His entire body froze on the spot, a strange look flashing through his eyes.


    ''It seems to be here...'' Zen thought in his heart.


    The movements within his inner world were rather weak, but he was still able to detect them.


    His inner world''s consciousness was not very sure towards this special mud as its reaction was very weak. Yet, it still sent a signal to Zen.


    "Thad?" Devin asked curiously as he saw Zen suddenly stopped.


    Zen turned around and smiled at Devin, asking, "Can I dig here?"


    "Of course, go ahead," Devin uttered and waved his hand. He sincerely hoped that Zen would find what he was looking for.


    Zen reached for his sword hilt and pulled his sword fiercely. The Great Weighty Sword appeared in his hand. Twisting it lightly caused the Great Weighty Sword to spin and pierce towards the side of the pit.


    "Plop!"


    The Great Weighty Sword touched the soft soil and the power within was like an invisible ripple, spinning along the soil.


    By the time he withdrew his Great Weighty Sword, a circular passageway about sixty to seventy feet long had appeared in front of him. This passageway seemed to have been carved out of the tip of a sharp knife. It clearly showed Zen''s powerful ability to use strength.


    Without the slightest hesitation, Zen charged into the passageway in the blink of an eye.


    The moment he entered the passageway, the consciousness in his inner world gradually became clearer making his heart beat faster and faster. It seemed like that kind of special mud was more than just a piece.


    Reaching the end of the passageway, Zen stabbed out with his sword once again. He was like a mouse completely immersed in digging a long and narrow hole.

 Chapter 2200 Digging Deep

    Devin refrained himself from following Zen into the cave.


    The members of the Tie clan above the giant pit had paid close attention to Zen''s activities. They showed interest when they felt Zen had discovered something.


    But needless to say, right now they felt a bit disappointed.


    They could only watch helplessly while this outsider called Thad kept digging in their territory. It was obvious that nobody would be happy about it.


    And the frustrating part was that they could not even identify the object!


    They had spent all their time digging on the mountain which by now had formed a huge pit. But they still could not find any more mud. Whereas, Zen had just arrived and already found some clues.


    "Even if Thad finds some mud, should we just let him take it with him?"


    "I am not in the favor of allowing some random outsider to take us for granted!"


    "But what options are we left with? Suppose we find the mud. Then what do we do about it? What good would that do? Should we ask Linn to sell it? Don''t you know that there are mud sellers everywhere in the Money Alley right now?"


    Some of the Tie Clan members realized the crux of the problem. They were in deep thought with this realization.


    Even if they found the mud that possessed intelligence, they wouldn''t be able to sell it for much money in the Money Alley. Others would definitely show hesitation in believing their words. Who could affirm that it was the same sort of mud that Zen had bought from them? And if at all it could be proved that it was the similar mud, what use could it bring to others? Nobody knew the purpose of this mysterious mud except for Zen himself.


    And to make matters worse, there were rumors that Zen and the Tie Clan had joined hands to sell a nominal piece of mud for an enormous price just to deceive those who were completely unaware of the truth.


    The elders of the Tie Clan were not dimwitted. They had listened to Devin''s suggestion and allowed him to invite Zen over to the Tie Clan after careful consideration. Even if the mud that Zen wanted was indeed rare, it was the result of Zen''s discerning eyes. They would have to allow Zen to take it.


    The tunnel that Zen had created was horizontal. He kept changing positions in the long and narrow cave, going by the movements of his inner world.


    As he followed the path in the cave and excavated a distance of over a thousand feet, his inner world suddenly became still.


    "Looks like I''ve gone too far," Zen concluded.


    He turned around and walked down the tunnel as he paid close attention to the changes in his inner world. When his inner world became active again, he immediately stopped, "This is where it is! It should be around here!"


    Zen did not let others know that he was not very confident in his judgment. He was completely relying on his inner world''s reaction t


    scene below him. It was a cave with a width of over ten thousand feet. In the middle of the cave was a two hundred feet wide square brown rock.


    As Zen intently gazed at the rock, he suddenly felt a movement behind him!


    He quickly pulled his sword from the gangue and felt himself plummeting inside the cave. As he was falling, Zen quickly rolled over and could make out a black form at the top of the cave.


    The black form looked like a figure made out of mud. The form had stretched out its thin needle-like hand and intended to launch a sneak attack on Zen''s back. After that attack failed, its needle-like hand rapidly transformed into the shape of a gecko''s claw that pressed against the top of the cave and began to climb up.


    Swish! Swish! Swish!


    The mysterious thing emitted a series of strange sounds as it climbed. Its speed was extremely fast and it quickly disappeared from Zen''s vision.


    "This thing... Is it the same sort of mud as I absorbed?"


    When Zen saw the form, he felt a surging consciousness within his inner world. It was almost exactly the same way he had felt in the Money Alley. Right now, the consciousness within his inner world was constantly reminding Zen to swallow that form. And he must do it immediately!


    Of course, Zen would not let this chance slip by. The moment he landed on the ground, he infused enough strength into his legs and jumped up, shooting towards the spot where the black form had disappeared.


    Bam!


    Zen once again inserted his sword into the gangue so that he could hang himself at the top of the cave. He looked at the wall at the top of the cave with a slight frown.


    He had clearly seen that the black thing had disappeared from this spot. Then where did it vanish? There was only a layer of glossy black gangue above him. There was no place to hide. Was it possible that the black thing had hidden itself into the gangue?

 Chapter 2201 Cage

    A puff of air escaped Zen''s lips. After a careful examination, he still didn''t find any clues.


    The consciousness that passed from his inner world was still very strong, but he could no longer determine the direction through his inner world after he entered the cave.


    The only thing he had done was to pull the Great Weighty Sword out from the gangue and place it steadily on the ground.


    The inside of the cave was absolutely silent. It seemed that no living creature had entered it for countless years.


    Anyone who was well-versed in geology and geomancy would be dumbstruck to see such a large cave in the gangue layer.


    Generally speaking, the whole divine land had a smooth and neat topography.


    Its outermost layer was composed of ordinary soil. Underneath it was a layer of gangue, beneath the gangue was a layer of flint that was a hundred times tougher than the gangue, and below the flint was a layer of soft stone.


    The soft stone was flexible enough that even a top-rank True God would find it hard to break it. Green magma, known as the Lethal Fire Magma flowed under the soft stones. This magma was so dangerous that even if a Holy Being fell into it, they wouldn''t be able to escape.


    For so many years, numerous True Gods had explored the forbidden lands while the Holy Beings had seen the chaos outside the divine land. However, no one still knew what exactly was in the core of the divine land.


    Over a hundred divine eras ago, there had been three Holy Beings who had been in the Lethal Fire Magma. One of them died, and the other two had gotten injured. In the end, they had no choice but to retreat.


    It was because of that reason that many True Gods believed that they were still far from truly understanding the divine land, and the related rumor that had spread throughout the wealthy clans on the Floating Islands wasn''t exactly true.


    The gangue layer was considered as the second layer of the divine land. Most of the caves in the divine land were on the soft soil. In addition, it was nearly impossible for large caves to be formed on the gangue layer due to the pressure under the soil that had been there for countless divine eras.


    Zen slowly moved his Great Weighty Sword across the cave. The tip of the sword emitted a beam of clean light. Since Zen couldn''t find the black thing, he explored the cave first.


    While the sheer size of the cave was astounding, the cave''s most striking part was the round stone in its center.


    As Zen walked to the side of the round rock, he found that there was something odd when he took closer look. "What the hell is that thing?" he and Master Evil in his mind cried out at the same time.


    On top of the circular stone that was two hundred feet w


    l.


    This cave, however, was beyond his understanding!


    "Whoosh..."


    Just then, he suddenly felt something move beneath his feet. His eyes flashed and he exerted force on his heels, which caused his whole body to tumble.


    "Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh..."


    Pieces of thin, sharp gangue shot out from the ground like rapidly growing stalagmites. Then, the sharp protrusions tried to pierce him! The toughness of the special gangue was on par with Zen''s Great Weighty Sword. It could even injure a normal True God, let alone a proving godly warrior.


    Meanwhile, Zen surprisingly rolled away quite fast. However, the gangue that protruded from the ground was slightly more powerful!


    It wasn''t long before the entire cave was densely packed with sharp rocks, just like a monster nest filled with spikes.


    During the entire process, Zen moved constantly. As soon as he stopped however, a rock flew out from beneath him. In the end, he could only grit his teeth and leap upwards towards the round stone.


    The moment he leapt through the air, many sharp, slender pieces of gangue stretched out for several hundred feet from both the top and bottom of the cave. They were like long snakes that coiled themselves up to bite him.


    "Boom, boom, boom..."


    In turn, Zen slashed the rapidly growing needles of gangue with his Great Weighty Sword. With the help of the momentum from the attack, he finally got to jump onto the round rock!


    "Rumble..."


    However, the series of unfortunate events weren''t done. Zen was shocked to discover that just as he stepped on the round stone, the entire cave began to quake.


    There was nothing wrong with his judgment, as no sharp thorns grew on the round stone. However, hundreds of stalagmites grew out from the top of the cave and began to envelope both him and the round stone!

 Chapter 2202 A Movable Cave

    The members of Tie Clan remained waiting outside.


    Devin stood at the side of the crater with a look of hesitation on his face as he looked at the passage dug out by Zen.


    There were strong vibrations felt earlier from Zen hitting the gangue layer, but it stopped after a while. They could only guess that the young man had finally given up.


    It was already hard for Devin''s elders to deal with the gangue layer, what more could Zen do? Besides, there was nothing underneath anyway.


    After brewing in silence for so long, Devin couldn''t help but want to go in to see what happened.


    At that moment, his two uncles Alfred and John slid down from the edge of the crater.


    Alfred had been the one to find the mud last time, but digging out the entire crater was a team effort between him and John.


    "Hasn''t Thad come out yet?"


    The elders of Tie Clan had since paid attention to this place but never appeared here because it was inconvenient for them. After Thad got in touch with Devin, they figured that the young ones would be able to deal with this matter. However, a long time had passed but there was still no movement, which caused them to worry.


    Thad was a popular figure in the Heavenly Han House. If something bad happened to him, then the Tie Clan would surely suffer.


    Devin shook his head. "No, he hasn''t yet."


    Alfred and John threw each other meaningful looks. "Maybe it''s time we go in and have a look. We have to make sure he''s safe," Alfred suggested.


    "Don''t worry. He won''t encounter any danger." John smiled languidly.


    This place wasn''t far away from the Six-Burden Divine City and the Tie Clan had been stationed here for a long time now, so no powerful, vicious beasts would dare to stay in the nearby vicinity. However, John still went after Alfred into the passage, followed closely by Devin.


    "Be careful. There is a hole under your feet," Alfred reminded them. Nonetheless, the three ventured forward and eventually reached a dead end.


    "Thad must''ve gone down that hole we saw just now. We should go down and have a look," Alfred said. He was very sensitive and could guess what might''ve been Zen''s thoughts when he ventured inside. The young man might have felt something wrong and decided to turn back to go down the hole. "You don''t have to go down, Devin.


    l felt that this might be a trap set up by that black thing.


    The forbidden lands were the most dangerous places in the divine land. Everyone knew that. In fact, there were some forbidden lands that even Holy Beings found difficult to enter.


    Outside the forbidden lands was the world of the True Gods. Ordinary vicious beasts could never hope to survive outside the forbidden lands.


    Any beast that managed to venture out and live outside the forbidden lands was most probably extremely powerful and terrifying. Not even Holy Beings dared fight with these beasts since they most likely had strong, hidden powers that could prove fatal to an unsuspecting opponent.


    Zen couldn''t possibly deal with them right now.


    In Master Evil''s opinion, the beasts in this cave were the ones with strong hidden powers. They most likely had devoured quite a number of True Gods over the years.


    "I think I might need to escape," Zen affirmed as he stared at the swaying shadows behind the walls. His eyes, however, remained affixed to the squirming black mud on the wall. That mud might have summoned all those shadows behind the wall.


    The wisest choice was to leave this place as soon as possible; however, Zen''s inner world thought otherwise. That mud was too important. If he wanted to condense the Godly Tile as soon as possible, then he needed to take the risk and go all out.


    Zen did not delay any longer. He reached out and grabbed two stalagmites above his head, and the power of the Nine Divine Stars began to rapidly circulate.

 Chapter 2203 Unable To Escape

    As the power poured out of him, the golden light in Zen''s eyes also flickered.


    A magnificent, sharp, sword intent was condensed on the surface of the Great Weighty Sword...


    "Ripping Consciousness!"


    "Gods-intimidating Strike! Slash!"


    "Swish!"


    The blazing sword intent almost cut off all of Zen''s emotions and any thought within his mind. It hovered around and formed a sharp radiance.


    Zen was all alone so he could freely activate the Emotion Closing Godly Way.


    However, he did not release his sword intent. His only purpose was to cut these stalagmites.


    Despite being faded, the stalagmites were extremely tough. However, under Zen''s physical prowess and the might of the Emotion Closing Godly Way, they were as crisp as paper.


    "Bang! Bang! Bang!"


    There was a loud explosion as the stalagmites all broke down.


    "Whoosh!"


    Without the stalagmites restricting him, Zen jumped up and headed straight towards the black mud, turning into a sharp sword as he did so.


    "Phew!"


    The young man couldn''t really figure out just what kind of strange life form this mud was but it was obvious that it created this cave as a trap.


    The mud continued squirming on the wall. The liquid it secreted strongly attracted the giant black shadows inside the walls as the more it let out, the faster the shadows moved.


    This "mud" probably thought Zen would never be able to get out of its cage, so it maintained an extremely slow speed. However, after that loud explosion, the young man managed to free himself and attack!


    Seeing Zen rushing in at an extremely terrifying speed, the mud suddenly grew out five tentacles and reached into the gangue layer. Both the mud and the entire cave became one instantaneously. Transparent stalagmites began to spread from the mud, determined to cage Zen once again.


    However, the young man''s current speed and strength were far beyond the mud''s expectations.


    It hadn''t taken Zen that seriously. After all, it had already consumed quite a number of True Gods so what could a proving godly warrior do?


    It was the mud''s mistake to judge Zen so wrongly, however, it was too late.


    The stalagmites were not enough to obstruct Zen at all.


    As the young man entered the state of ''Ripping Consciousness'', he not only could make full use of the power of hi


    deactivated the Eight Smoky Melodies and gasped for breath, his chest heaving as he did so.


    The sight of those densely packed arms made Zen''s scalp tingle. The longer he stayed there, the more danger he was bound to face. He had to find an exit as soon as possible.


    He went into the cave from the top but the tunnel he had created suddenly disappeared.


    He couldn''t figure out the reason as to why this happened and he didn''t have the time to think about it either. All he could do was to slash at the top of the cave with his sword in hopes of finding an exit.


    As the sword swung forward, a long, thin sword radiance directly tore open a huge crack on top of him. Zen was about to rush out of the crack but the sight of what awaited him inside made him weak in the knees.


    On the other side of the crack was another huge cave and inside this cave were countless tiny pieces of mud which kept jumping around. Each mud had a bulge at the center where a pupil resided. These pupils currently stared at Zen.


    If this cave contained only the mud Zen needed, he would''ve been happy. Collecting those pieces of mud would help him condense his Godly Tile much faster. Unfortunately, along with these pieces of mud were seven or eight huge heads. These heads looked like skinless monsters that stared at Zen menacingly.


    He felt his chest constrict as these eyes stared at him.


    At that moment, Zen truly felt that he had been pushed into a dead end. He felt genuine fear that he would be unable to leave this strange cave, forever.

 Chapter 2204 The Pond

    At this point, Zen was suspecting that he had fallen into some kind of illusion.


    He remembered coming down from the top of the cave, but why the hell were there so many monsters up there in the other cave?


    It was impossible for a huge cave to have formed in the gangue layer above him in such a short time. He couldn''t figure out what had really happened.


    "Zen, watch out! Down there!" Master Evil was shouting at him in his mind.


    He had also sensed Zen''s fall into depression and the reason behind it.


    Whoever encountered such a situation would wonder if he had lost his mind.


    Master Evil was just as shocked, but he only had a soul fragment left and wasn''t as nervous as Zen. The scene before him was absolutely absurd, but he hoped that Zen would find a way out.


    Since the cave appeared above Zen''s head out of nowhere, Master Evil thought Zen could switch directions and find another way out, so he asked Zen to create a path from below.


    Zen''s eyes narrowed as he focused on keeping his composure.


    He was quick to pull himself together, thanks to his change in mentality. Back in the Evolutionary Universe, Zen had moved along the path of martial arts rather smoothly as he aimed to grow stronger. His confidence was like the sun that had just risen in the morning. With his passion for martial arts alone, he seemed capable of defeating anything in his path. Now, Zen had grown more cautious and sensitive to his environment¡ªthe divine land was a different territory, so he merely had to adjust his mindset to face it.


    After Master Evil''s warning, a strong instinct for survival rose in Zen''s heart. Even if the way he previously entered was gone, he had to do anything he could to find another way out¡ªanything was better than being trapped there.


    The arms around the cave were getting closer to him and the dark shadows could emerge from the walls at any minute. Simultaneously, the huge heads above his head also came down from the crack.


    "Ripping Consciousness¡­"


    In this situation, any negative emotion could put Zen to death. Once again, he suppressed his emotions with his swordsmanship comprehension while at the same time employing the Emotion Closing Godly Way.


    With a flip of his right hand, he thrust the sword downwards abruptly and backed up. The sword intent from the Great Weighty Sword cut a hole right into the ground and the coal-black gangue on the cave''s surface turned dark green.


    Looking into the hole, he was surprised to see black pieces of gangue at the other end, but t


    , built in a unique fashion.


    Several maidservants in the courtyard saw a sudden whirl in the middle of the pond, piquing their curiosity. The water sank so quickly down Zen''s passage. Soon after, Zen appeared in the middle of the pond, drenched. The sight earned screams of shock from the Tie Clan maids.


    After the commotion, Zen was led back to the main hall.


    Devin''s uncles were utterly puzzled and were eager to know what exactly happened.


    Not only did they fail to find Zen, they had no idea how he left. The huge crater was still rather far from the clan. A few hours after Zen disappeared, he appeared in their pond, much to their surprise. It was all too strange.


    But Zen didn''t tell them the truth¡ªif he had only dug out a few pieces of mud underground, it wouldn''t have been necessary for him to lie, but when he found the weird cave and saw the man and woman on the stone, he knew that it was no simple matter. He figured it would be wiser to avoid revealing anything.


    He told the clan that he found something strange as he dug along the way, but couldn''t find a way back and dug randomly into the ground. After a few hours, he just managed to find a way out and accidentally found himself in the clan''s pond.


    The elders didn''t respond well to Zen''s story¡ªthey weren''t convinced in the least. After Zen left, they already made up their minds to send people down the passageway Zen created and explore it.


    Zen, of course, was well aware of this plan, but it was hard to say whether or not they were able to find the strange cave. Based on what happened, Zen was certain that the cave could move. Perhaps that was why no one had discovered the cave for so long.

 Chapter 2205 A Girls Head

    After spending a day in the Tie Clan''s house, Zen finally left. Of course, they didn''t ask him to stay¡ªthey were anxious to explore the passage below the pond themselves.


    When he returned to the Heavenly Han House, Zen chose to cultivate in seclusion.


    By now, he had already figured out the usage of the mud.


    Although the will of his inner world continued to urge him to devour the mud as soon as he could, he continued to ignore it.


    Apart from the mud, this time, he had also obtained the transparent bead.


    At that time, after Zen had taken away the bead, the magical mud lost its energy, leaving it as nothing more than ordinary mud.


    So when Alfred caught the first piece of mud, the black thing had actually abandoned a part of its body¡ªthe real core should have been this bead.


    Gently, Zen flipped the space ring and took the bead out with his right hand.


    Too busy escaping from danger, he hadn''t been able to observe it carefully. When he did, he found the bead''s surface full of cracks.


    While the bead was indeed strong, it couldn''t bear the full power of Zen''s sword strike.


    "This is a soul container¡ªthere must be the soul of some living being within." In Zen''s mind, Master Evil looked at the bead and analyzed it for him. "Generally speaking, only the best puppet technique could seal one''s soul into a bead. It is said that some Holy Beings actually like doing it."


    "To seal one''s soul into a bead?" The thought made Zen''s eyes flicker. Saul was a puppet in the fairy palace, and his soul had lived for countless years. Zen had never seen Saul''s soul container, nor did he know if Bromley had sealed Saul''s soul into a bead too.


    While Zen examined it, the pupil in it suddenly turned. Rolling gently on his finger, the bead wanted to escape his grasp.


    Though it was unexpected, he managed to react quickly. With a smile on his face, he turned over his palm and grabbed it once again. "There is indeed a soul inside it. It still wants to escape."


    When he grasped the bead again, the pupil disappeared and the bead stopped moving.


    "Haha! The soul in it has been pretending to be dead," Master Evil remarked with an amused smile.


    To find out the secret of the cave, Zen had to start with the bead. He held the bead tightly until an invisible spiritual sense sprea


    oed and lingered in Zen''s mind. While he tried his hardest to deny the thoughts, he couldn''t escape the worries in his heart. What if it really was Yan?


    "She is absolutely not Yan!"


    A sharp gaze flashed through Zen''s eyes before he quickly dismissed the idea.


    Once the thought manifested, it grew madly, shaking Zen''s entire state of mind. If he let the idea develop, it would have eventually evolved into his inner demon¡ªit definitely wasn''t worth it.


    The woman seemed to have been trying to say something at the last minute. But after a slight movement of her lips, the soul in the transparent bead exploded and Zen lost his chance to understand what went on after that.


    Reading her lips, he could only see that she started by saying "I," but what was she trying to tell him?


    For a long time, Zen stood frozen until he finally decided to let the matter go and put the transparent bead back into his space ring.


    No matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn''t get an answer. If he was strong enough in the future, he could probably explore the strange cave again, but now was surely not the time to pour his energy into it.


    After dealing with the bead, Zen took the mud out from his space ring.


    A single piece of mud could only be condensed into a single piece of Godly Tile crystal. Though Zen didn''t know how many pieces of mud were needed to condense a complete tile, he had no choice but to use the only method he knew of at the moment.


    When he brought the mud out, his inner world began stirring again.

 Chapter 2206 Dispute

    Zen had a longing to throw the piece of mud into his inner world. He was curious to find out as to what might happen to it.


    He let go of the mud, his nerves tingling with excitement.


    Zen watched with anticipation as the thick, gooey mud fell into the chaotic sea. Vast bust bubbles appeared and a strange brown mist engulfed everything upon the moment of impact.


    Zen grinned broadly. He noticed that even though the color of this mud was a tad bit different, it had the same effect as the one given by Linn. He assumed that the Tie Clan''s mud was preserved for far too long; thus it turned brown rather than black.


    Thus, he grabbed hold of the other five pieces of the mud and threw them in the water.


    Much to his astonishment, the water appeared as if a submarine was emerging from it. It looked as if someone had put the sea on a burner. His excitement lay no bounds.


    Zen couldn''t quite believe what was happening in his inner world. He was further stunned when a dark brown cloud rose from his inner world and moved towards his Godly Plate.


    At this point, Zen''s comprehension of the Emotion Closing Godly Way was infused into the cloud, paving way for dark sword-like figures which rose from the cloud and started to glow, converging into sword clouds.


    The sky was filled with the whooshing sound of the sword clouds.


    The sword clouds made their way towards Zen''s Godly Plate. They tried to penetrate Zen''s Godly Plate, unsuccessful at first but after a while, they turned solid, into a triangle crystal and attached themselves to the center of Zen''s plate.


    Zen noticed the difference in the size of both the crystals. He was astonished by how gigantic this crystal was.


    Thus, he came to the conclusion that the larger the pile of mud thrown into the inner world was, the larger the size of cloud would be, thus paving way for a bigger crystal to be formed. All Zen ever wanted was to condense a Godly Tile in his inner world. He knew that the time was ripe and he had to condense his own Godly Tile. Although, he had some doubts about it.


    A few days ago, when Zen was running away from that weird cave as quickly as possible, he found another cave adjacent to his. What he saw next turned his blood cold. Although he couldn''t quite figure out what they exactly were, he knew he had to get away from those hideous black creatures.


    With Zen''s current level of strength, it wouldn''t be a wise choice for him to return to that cave as his life was quite dear to him. He had to wait until his cultivation reached a higher level before going back.


    While staying at the Heavenly Han House, he obediently followed every command and listened to every single word the True Gods had said about the Godly Ways. Although the True Gods were blessed with knowledge, they were not very good fighters. Their sole purpose was to explore the Godly Ways.


    They had a firm grasp on the Godly Ways and k


    without any remorse.


    This infuriated Bentley. He couldn''t hide the outrageous expression on his face anymore. He stood up, facing the old man, his eyes flaming with anger. Other leaders had to calm him down as he still mumbled angrily under his breath.


    The old man held an important position in the Floating Island. But so did Bentley, who was the leader of the Han Clan''s sub-branches. Although, Bentley''s position was not inferior to that of the old man, he could always be overruled by the old man due to his status and his connections in the Han Clan.


    All the warriors that were inducted in the Floating Island were examined by the old man. Due to his position and vast experience, he was respected by all the members of the Han Clan. Bentley tried his best to please the old man, but every time the old man visited, he would bring up the unfortunate incident Bentley''s son had, which enraged Bentley.


    Bentley vowed that he wouldn''t leave the old man unscathed the next time he mentioned Adam. Had it not been for the leaders, Bentley would have struck down the old man for good.


    Although, the old man realized his arrogance, he felt humiliated by Bentley''s actions and did not take them kindly. "Adam''s talents were average. He was always proud and arrogant. When he realized he couldn''t compete with the rest, he went mad, and the whole bullying story is being used as a scapegoat. How could you be so blind, Bentley? Just admit that he failed," he roared.


    Bentley was taken aback. He pointed out the fact that the old man himself tested Adam before he was admitted to the Floating Island. Bentley wanted to punch the old man, Yazid. But he knew that doing so would get him trouble and it might end up in him being banished from the clan.


    Yazid knew that Bentley couldn''t harm him, even if he wanted to. "I will definitely test the warrior you recommend this time more carefully," he answered, while smiling maliciously.

 Chapter 2207 Making Things Difficult For Zen

    Upon hearing Yazid''s words, all the members of the Han Clan''s sub-branches, including the leader of the Heavenly Han House, Malloy, looked forlorn.


    The sub-branches of the Han Clan possessed a special recommendation right, and they attached great importance to this right. They seldom used it, but once they used, they only recommended capable and competent people.


    Although Yazid was shouldered with the responsibility of evaluating all the candidates, his duty was just a formality. Usually, he didn''t do it too seriously. After all, the sub-branches of the Han Clan wouldn''t recommend any random person casually. Else, the real strength of the one that was recommended would be disclosed once they came to the Floating Island.


    In fact, Adam, the youngest son of Bentley, could definitely not be considered as a loser. He had suffered something undisclosed after he went to the Floating Island of the Han Clan. That was how he got into such a situation.


    If Yazid was really going to take the test seriously, then it would obviously be difficult for Thad.


    The people from the Heavenly Han House were naturally nervous.


    Looking at the nervous expressions on the faces of the people from the sub-branches of the Han Clan, Yazid was complacent. In his eyes, none of these people was able to question him. He continued to raise his voice and sneered, "Why hasn''t the boy arrived yet? If I have to wait any longer, I shall leave at once!"


    "Hold on! He has arrived!"


    The guard from the Heavenly Han House came from outside the main hall, to announce their arrival.


    Then Zen followed, led by two guards and stepped into the main hall.


    Zen was a little thrilled, knowing that his plan was going on smoothly. After all, entering the Floating Island was the crucial part.


    But as soon as he stepped inside the hall, he sensed something amiss.


    The headmen of the sub-branches of the Han Clan, including Bentley and Malloy, looked gloomy. In fact, Bentley to some extent even looked angry! As a top-rank True God, the leader of the sub-branches of the Han Clan could not be ignored in the entire divine land. What happened that made him so angry?


    Glancing at Zen indifferently, Yazid said in a voice dripping with sarcasm, "I thought you were going to recommend someone incredibly talented. But it turns out you bring another waste to the Floating Island!"


    Hearing this, Zen frowned slightly, and an imperceptible cold light flashed through his eyes. Yazid sat on the top of the main hall with a dignified and arrogant expression. Zen could tell at a glance that this person was probably the key person to bring him to the Floating Island.


    But he didn''t expect the old man to call him a waste. That was highly insulting of him!


    Though the people of the sub-branches of the Han Clan didn''t speak on his behalf, Zen didn''t lose his temper. Instead, the flame of excitement in his heart instantly went out, and his face looked cold.


    "Ahem," Malloy cleared his throat in his attempt to break the tension hovering in the air. Although there was some sort of strain


    isappeared, as he stepped into a world made by the power of the five elements. The ground beneath his feet, the golden light in the sky, the tree at a distance, the tsunami that came overwhelmingly from afar, and the fire clouds made up a wonderful world.


    However, the world was rapidly collapsing and destructing.


    In the destructive mode, the powers of the five elements collided with each other and at the same time attacked Zen.


    Zen''s eyes shot up sharply. The top-rank True God''s attack was quite extraordinary. The powers of the five elements intertwined and released an extremely complicated power. That kind of energy was completely different from the energy contained in the Magnetic Sacred Mountain.


    The Magnetic Sacred Mountain became extremely complex after condensing five types of laws, hence it proved to be very stable.


    However, Yazid could make those Law Powers crash each other and cause destruction. An extremely unstable destructing energy burst out. Since it was not stable, the power would be multiplied.


    In the blink of an eye, Zen was surrounded by the destructing energy.


    Streaks of sharp golden light cut through Zen''s body, while the flames burned Zen with vigorous intensity. Zen could endure the attack of these Law Powers, but when the destructing energy burst out, he felt a great sense of threat.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    The destructing energy easily penetrated through the Redemption Armor and worked on Zen''s body. Even if Zen''s body was strong enough to endure the attack, he still got hurt by the energy and got a wound.


    Seeing the spectacle, Yazid sneered and said, "If you can''t withstand it, then don''t push yourself too hard. If you can''t go to the Floating Island, you will still have a chance in the future. It will be a pity if you''re killed though."


    Both Malloy and Bentley glared at Yazid coldly.


    The people of the sub-branches of the Han Clan were completely disappointed with Yazid, since despite being a top-rank True God, he attacked a proving godly warrior with his powerful theurgy.

 Chapter 2208 Absorbing The Internal Momentum

    Yazid hadn''t used his full strength.


    Being a top-rank True God, half of the Six-Burden Divine City would be destroyed if he used all his strength.


    Even so, it was unfair to Zen. The Five Elements Destructing theurgy, which was used by Yazid, was not suitable for the test of a proving godly warrior.


    Unable to stand it anymore, Malloy shouted at them. "The test is too much for you to handle, Thad! You need to give up! The Floating Island will send people to recruit young geniuses next year. I am sure that you will be able to enter the Floating Island by that time!"


    The geniuses that had been recommended particularly by the sub-branches of the Han Clan were brought to the Floating Island by Yazid. As it was designed for a person only this time, Yazid did not care to take the test seriously. He had made the evaluation based on his own knowledge and preferences. However, next year, the test for the geniuses selected would be different than this one now. They were to be chosen with strict standards before they could enter the Floating Island.


    Malloy knew that the test the Han Clan on the Floating Island had one perform was very strict and difficult, but understood that it was much easier than Yazid''s. If the True God did not want Zen to pass, than Zen would never accomplish this task. It was practically impossible for Zen to resist the Five Elements Destructing theurgy for even five minutes. Yazid had to be entirely shameless to scheme up something like this!


    If he ever had the chance to go to the Floating Island in the future, Bentley decided that he would report Yazid to the Han Clan on the Floating Island. His schemes would surely anger them.


    However, Zen did not follow Malloy''s advice. He did not want to let this hard won opportunity to go to waste, and tried his hand at this challenge for five minutes at the least.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    The sound of the earth cracking, metal colliding, and fire roaring echoed all around them. The sound was nearly overwhelming to Zen as it seemed to surround him.


    This power was proving to be terribly destructive.


    Zen knew Yazid had been holding back, saving his strength. He knew that the True God was much more powerful than himself. Although the chaotic power didn''t look violent, it still ripped into Zen''s skin like a knife.


    Attempting to avoid the brutal power, Zen was using several different methods including the Eight Smoky Melodies. It seemed to do no good as he could not get away from it all. This method had proved effective for him against proving godly warriors, and even some low-rank True Gods; however, facing a top-rank True God was no simple task.


    Zen could do nothing but grit his teeth and try to withstand the onslaught.


    Yazid easily masked the astonishment he felt at Zen''s performance behind a calm facade.


    In the beginning, he had no intention of using this destructive power. He had only planned to use the power of the five elements to defeat Zen. Very quickly though, Yazid realized that just the five elements wouldn''t be enough to harm Zen, so he had decided to activate this destructive power.


    He had expected Zen to crumble and beg for mercy under the power within a few seconds. However, Zen had performed beyond his expecta


    The internal momentum that leaked out from the destructive power was slowly slithering into Zen''s mind. It proved to be incredibly powerful, and Master Evil''s soul had already hidden away from it. Zen also hid his own soul deep in his mind as a precaution. If he wasn''t paying close attention he would lose his soul, and that would not be fun.


    But the Infinity Ruler still continued to float in his mind quietly and did not respond.


    Zen wondered if he had guessed wrong. Maybe the amount of the internal momentum was still insufficient.


    Even with the great risks he had taken, the Infinity Rule remained motionless. It made Zen feel anxious.


    Smack!


    The destructive power slapped Zen in the forehead. He felt the skin open up on his forehead, and a warm gush of blood dribbled down his face.


    Shouts of horror and shock filled the main hall at the gruesome sight.


    Even Yazid was equally panicked. It was true that he did not intend to let Zen pass his test, but if he killed Zen by mistake things would not go very well for him. Despite the fact Zen brought it upon himself, the responsibility would still fall on him.


    "Stop, Yazid!" Bentley shouted, a harsh look on his face. At the same moment, the internal momentum in his body was being slowly released. He couldn''t watch Zen die in the Heavenly Han House. He had failed to persuade Zen to give up, but he could at least stop Yazid. Moreover, he had long wanted to have a fight with Yazid.


    "He brought this upon himself,"


    Yazid explained hurriedly when he saw that Bentley was preparing his attack. Although both of them were top-rank True Gods, Bentley was much stronger than him. If Bentley really fought him out of anger, he was bound to suffer.


    "It doesn''t matter what''s the reason, you must stop," Bentley ordered. His tone brooked no room for an argument. He looked as if he were ready to attack at any moment.


    If the two top-rank True Gods fought in the Heavenly Han House, it would undoubtedly be a massive event. So Malloy and the others all stepped out to mediate.


    Just as the main hall erupted into chaos, two circles of golden light suddenly appeared in Zen''s pupils.

 Chapter 2209 Break Through

    "It''s that pair of eyes again!" Malloy exclaimed, raising his eyebrows.


    The main reason Zen was easily and quickly recognized by the Godly Way Tablets in the Consulting God Hall was due to his eyes!


    So much so in fact that some people even believed that Zen had Fire God Eyes.


    Although Bentley hadn''t personally appeared at the scene, he had certainly heard of Zen''s eyes with the golden rings. Upon looking at them now, he was truly impressed.


    Yazid''s expression was also full of surprise. He had no idea how Zen could have struggled in his Five Elements Destructing with such golden eyes.


    The Infinity Ruler''s scale of the Five Elements Godly Way was flashing with a blazing golden light!


    At the same time, the internal momentum that rushed into Zen''s mind gathered on the ruler''s scale!


    The internal momentum absorbed by the Infinity Ruler wasn''t the original Five Elements Godly Way, but the internal momentum of the Five Elements Destructing, which was actually understood by Yazid himself. And as the Infinity Ruler absorbed the internal momentum, Zen felt as though a stream of clear water was being injected into his mind.


    "According to the nature of the heaven and earth, water can quench fire... Fire can melt metal... And metal can chop wood..."


    At that very moment, Zen unexpectedly understood Yazid''s theurgy, the Five Elements Destructing, through the Infinity Ruler.


    "According to the Five Elements Destructing, one element would be destroyed by another as the five elements restrict each other. In such a case, the five elements could also generate each other in order to become consummate. At that point, it becomes easy to break the Five Elements Destructing."


    It was obviously unrealistic for Zen to break through a top-rank True God''s theurgy.


    Although Yazid had used his unique skill, one thing was certain: he hadn''t used all his strength. Thus, Zen actually had a chance of winning!


    Zen''s figure suddenly began to shake as the chaotic energy quickly circulated in his inner world. It immediately turned into the power of the five elements, which gushed out from his body like five distinct rivers.


    "Five Elements Godly Way?" one of the leaders of the Han Clan sub-branches asked, as he frowned slightly.


    "Indeed, you''re correct. He is activating the Five Elements Godly Way. The question is, what is he trying to do?" another leader replied, his eyes still fixed on Zen.


    The Five Elements Godly Way was one of the most common Godly Ways in the divine land and countless people cultivated it. Yazid was capable of having his own insights when it came to the Five Elements Godly Way, which undoubtedly made him a top leader. If Zen used the Five Elements Godly Way now, it would be equivalent to displaying his measly skill before an expert.


    "Does Zen plan to use the Five Elements Godly Way to break through..." Malloy hesitated for a second before continuing. "The Five Elements Destructing? Is he making a huge mistake?" Malloy felt rather confused, now. If Zen couldn''t see through the foundation of the Five Elements Destructing, there was no way he''d successfully break through the Five Elements Destructing even after he employed the Five Elements Godly Way. Besides, he would be taken advantage of by Yazid. After all, according to Zen''s Five


    ldom fought with other people, no one had been capable of breaking through the Five Elements Destructing over the years. This didn''t mean that the Five Elements Destructing was invincible, though. Not at all. To the contrary, there were still numerous other theurgies that were much more powerful than the Five Elements Destructing, and there were many top-rank True Gods that could defeat Yazid. The only thing was that no one could break Yazid''s theurgy.


    ''This brat has even understood the Five Elements Destructing''s internal momentum! How is that possible? I have to kill him because he has broken my internal momentum!''


    Among the top-rank True Gods, Yazid wasn''t considered to be very powerful. He couldn''t be ranked among the top True Gods in the Han Clan, not to mention in the divine land.


    Those who weren''t very remarkable would cherish their theurgy very much. The Five Elements Destructing was Yazid''s masterpiece. No matter how Zen broke his internal momentum, Yazid simply couldn''t bear watching him do it.


    Right then, it was extremely difficult for Yazid to suppress his evil thoughts.


    Suddenly, the creatures in Yazid''s inner world all began quietly offering their Faith Energy. The Faith Energy intertwined into thin threads and gathered in his Godly Tile. The momentum that Yazid had used before was very insignificant, but now that he had the killing intent, it was different and much more meaningful.


    For the top-rank True God, killing Zen was going to be a piece of cake.


    The moment the power began gushing out, Zen had sensed something strange.


    In this illusory space, the five elements'' power that surrounded him had quickly undergone a fundamental change.


    If Zen had fought with little snakes before, then now he was facing a gigantic dragon. The top-rank True God would easily suppress and even kill Zen only by means of the five elements'' power, without ever even using the Five Elements Destructing. This, now this was the power of a top-rank True God!


    "What?" Zen''s eyes froze. He had never expected Yazid to take serious action!


    "Watch out! That old man is going to kill you, Zen!" Even Master Evil had realized that Zen''s actions had provoked Yazid.

 Chapter 2210 Mae Han

    Even Master Evil hadn''t said anything, Zen was already very well aware that Yazid wanted to kill him.


    The problem was that he didn''t have the ability to fight against Yazid. All he could do now was pin his last hopes on the Han Clan sub-branches!


    He bet that the people from the Han Clan sub-branches would help him. At the very least, he truly hoped they wouldn''t just watch him die at Yazid''s mercy.


    Throughout his time there, Zen had rarely faced such danger in the Evolutionary Universe. Back then, never would he place his hopes on anyone else but himself, because he knew very well that if he ever placed his hopes on the wrong person, the only result would be his death!


    Here and now though, he was in the divine land. And Zen, who was a secondary creature and a total stranger in this place, had no choice but to take a few risks.


    As the power of the five elements surged upward, Zen suddenly heard a loud collision, followed by a muffled groan...


    The illusion around him completely disappeared at once.


    A smile of relief simultaneously spread on Zen''s face.


    Not far away, Bentley was clenching his fists and he looked to be boiling with anger. As Yazid placed his hands on his chest and fell into the corner of a wall, he continued coughing loudly, and blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.


    And yet, no one had even seen how Bentley had done it. He was way too fast.


    "How dare you attack me, Bentley?" Yazid spat resentfully.


    Bentley sneered back coldly. "There''s nothing I wouldn''t dare do! We might be just about the same age, but I am the leader of the Han Clan sub-branches, after all. Let that be heard! Speaking of which, you''re only a liaison from the Floating Island. Do you really think I can''t hurt you? Even if I killed you, the main Han Clan wouldn''t punish me in the least!"


    "You!" Yazid felt both scared and angry at the same time.


    Yazid might be a member of the main Han Clan, and equally a top-rank True God, but he wasn''t valued by the main Han Clan whatsoever. His mediocre talent and average strength didn''t impress them at all.


    The liaison he served as was actually a position with little responsibilities, but because of his seniority and his cultivation level, everyone respected him. In fact, his status was even far inferior to that of Bentley.


    In contrast, Bentley had an eccentric character and often found himself laughing and joking with the disciples of younger generation. As the leader of the Han Clan sub-branches, he was actually highly valued by the main Han Clan. Over the years, the main Han Clan even wanted to transfer Bentley to the Floating Island in order for him to serve through a meaningful position, but Bentley refused them time and time again.


    If he did kill Yazid, the main Han Clan would certainly hold him responsible, but the punishment wouldn''t be too severe and not to mention that Bentley was reasonable on this matter. After all, it just didn''t make any sense that it was just because a talent recommended by the Heavenly Han House understood Yazid''s Five Elements Destructing technique that Yazid wanted to kill him.


    Zen stood in the center of the main hall without saying a word. The old man had al


    loating Island instead. The whole thing was rather ironic.


    In order to impress Mae Han, Bentley smiled and spoke up, "Joy has an eye for talent. This person is indeed a rare talent. One couldn''t have found such a talent among the children of the Han Clan on the Floating Island if they had wanted to!"


    To Mae Han though, Bentley''s words didn''t make any sense.


    The Heavenly Han House was always cautious when around Joy. But why was Bentley being so cooperative today? What was wrong with him?


    Malloy equally bowed his head in agreement and sighed softly. He knew his only choice now was to hand Thad over to her.


    Yazid, who had planned to leave, was unable to accept such a result. He suddenly said, "Joy only recruits warriors that cultivate the Purple Aura Godly Way. And yet this guy doesn''t have a Purple Power Body. How did he attract Joy''s attention, then? This is just ridiculous!"


    Yazid knew that Zen had been recognized by hundreds of Godly Way Tablets, but he didn''t know that among them was a Purple Aura Godly Way Tablet. Never in the past had he heard something so strange. A warrior without a Purple Power Body simply couldn''t cultivate the Purple Aura Godly Way!


    Bentley laughed. "Thad, show a few of your abilities to some of these people who seem to come from a hole in the ground."


    Zen responded very quickly. As soon as Bentley finished speaking, Zen gently waved his hand, and a wisp of purple mist shot up into the sky!


    The purple mist turned into a phoenix and circled above the sky over the Heavenly Han House, before obediently landing directly on Zen''s shoulder.


    ''He can turn purple mist into substance! And he is doing so with such skill. But he hasn''t condensed a Godly Tile yet. What a strange guy!'' Mae thought as she sized Zen up with a strange look in her eye. Zen didn''t have the Purple Power Body, but he could certainly cultivate the Purple Aura Godly Way. This was simply incredible.


    And with what she had just witnessed, it was even harder for her to believe that Zen hadn''t condensed a Godly Tile despite having mastered the technique of turning purple mist into substance.

 Chapter 2211 The Time Sea

    Even though Zen wanted to explain the problem of his Godly Tile to Mae, he was unable to do so.


    He knew that it would be easier for him to condense his Godly Tile if he practiced the life vitality system.


    He could choose any one of the Godly Ways and condense the internal momentum he had comprehended into a Godly Tile.


    But since he practiced the Primal Chaos Technique, it would be a gigantic task for him to condense a Godly Tile.


    Zen played a huge gamble on his part when he acquired the strange mud. But he knew he had to get it in order to condense the Godly Tile. Even though only a small part of it was condensed, he knew that he took the right decision. He was worried what might happen if he couldn''t find this kind of mud again.


    Yazid was in awe and shock when he saw Zen release the Purple Aura Godly Way without much effort. He stared at Zen silently, memorizing his appearance, and then took off, making his way towards the sky.


    Mae grinned from ear to ear when she saw a furious Yazid leaving. She said to Bentley, "I guess the Heavenly Han House must have clashed with Yazid. Otherwise, you won''t let this young man go with me."


    Bentley shook his head in dismay. "Forget it. Mae, you had a long and arduous journey. Get some rest and you''d feel better."


    "I''m fine," she said. She had all her interest on Zen.


    She circled Zen, without taking her eyes off him. "Most of Master Joy''s disciples are females, and there are only three male disciples. I did not expect that she would have another male disciple."


    ''What? I am not looking for a new master!'' Zen thought.


    Zen craved to enter the Floating Island. But he had no plans to acquire a new master; he already had one.


    Mae was quite good at reading people''s minds. "You don''t want to be Master Joy''s disciple?" she asked Zen.


    Joy was quite famous as a Demi-holy Being in the divine land. Only the Holy Emperor of the Han Clan outranked her on the clan''s Floating Island. Joy had plans of her own. She wanted to set up her own sect and create her own Floating Island. Many True Gods sought for Joy so that they might get enlisted as her disciples.


    Mae was unaware of the fact that Zen had a master and he wasn''t looking for another.


    Zen knew that even if Bromley was here in person, he wouldn''t be able to teach him anything. After all, he was cultivating the chaotic energy system. He was aware of the fact that Joy was practicing the Purple Aura Godly Way.


    "I am not looking for a master as I already have one," Zen said, shaking his head.


    Mae smiled at his words.


    She acknowledged that Zen was indeed gifted, but he was just a proving godly warrior who had struggled in a small divine city. She wondered how his master could be superior to Joy, who wa


    ing?"


    "I just want to see the sea water," Zen said absentmindedly. His eyes were transfixed upon the Time Sea. He felt complete and had this strange yet wonderful feeling as if he was home. He felt one with the sea and had a strong urge to go into its water.


    Mae was watching Zen closely. "The Time Sea is quite dangerous," she said sternly. "I would be in great danger if I went into its water and so would you be."


    Zen had this confused yet blank expression on his face. Mae patiently explained that the Time Sea wasn''t at all what it looked like. She lay out the fact that what looked like water wasn''t actually water but rather fragments of time. "The Time Sea records whatever happened in the history, and turns it into countless fragments. If you touch one of the fragments, you would fall into that certain time period," she explained.


    Zen couldn''t quite comprehend what he was hearing. "So I can travel to any stage of the divine land through the Time Sea?" he asked excitedly.


    "Well, it''s a bit complicated than that. These are fragments of time and not a complete time passage. So when you fell into the sea, you would also be split into countless pieces and fall into different periods of time. So falling into the sea means death; believe me!" Mae warned.


    Zen was taken aback when he heard this. A look of horror crept onto his face. "Why did all the wealthy clans establish Floating Islands here, knowing that this place is quite dangerous?" Zen asked in an alarming tone.


    "That''s because the Ruling Slate is here," Mae replied calmly.


    Zen was still a little puzzled. The Ruling Slate was here didn''t seem to have anything to do with the fact that those wealthy clans had built Floating Islands here. He still had a lot of questions, but he didn''t want to annoy Mae. So he just shrugged and said nothing.

 Chapter 2212 No Ferry Out Of Fear

    An hour had passed as Zen waited by the sea.


    Suddenly a small black dot appeared in the distance.


    As it got closer, the dot became bigger. Zen soon realized that the dot was in fact a boat sailing on the Time Sea.


    Zen refrained from asking Mae any more questions. So he decided to ask Master Evil through his mind. "Mae has said anyone who fell into the Time Sea would face instant death. Then how is there a boat sailing on the Time Sea?"


    Until now, Master Evil had been silent all along in Zen''s mind. He had visited the Time Sea long back and as he revisited the place again, endless thoughts were running through his mind. When he heard Zen''s question, he laughed out loud. "Oh, there is a way to cross it. The materials used to make the boat are so special, that they can isolate the Time Law within the Time Sea. I personally haven''t been to any of the Floating Islands before, but as far as I know, these boats belong to a very mysterious race called the Sun Blind race. All the divine citizens of this race have never opened their eyes to see the world, as they are all blind. They have been sailing on the sea for generations."


    There were many legends about the Sun Blind race in the divine land, and some of them were quite staggering.


    It was a low-key and mysterious ancient race. Not everyone was privy to their lifestyle. As Master Evil had said, everyone in the Blind Race was blind, but this was not important. The key point was that this race had traveled on the Time Sea before all the powerful clans occupied the Time Sea, during the ancient times.


    Up until now, the True Gods in the divine land had little understanding about this race. Many of their customs and strange rules were often unfathomable to outsiders, because of which, many of the warriors from the wealthy clans considered them like a fly on the ointment. These powerful clans were the top forces of the divine land, and were usually domineering at an extreme level. However, they tried to avoid and even tolerated them to some extent. Because of insufficient knowledge, there were many speculations about this race from the people of the divine land.


    The boat was constantly floating on the Time Sea. It seemed to be sailing at a very slow pace, but in reality its speed was extremely fast.


    Zen''s vision could reach a thousand miles away at most. Within five minutes, the boat arrived from a thousand miles away to where Zen was standing.


    As the boat approached, Zen saw that the ferryman was a strong man with crimson skin. He seemed to be blind, as his eyes were closed firmly, and his thick and powerful arms were pushing and pulling a pair of strange paddles, which seemed to be made of the backbone of some kind of gigantic fish.


    After the boat pulled on to the shore, the strong man stood still, while cocking his head to one side. He then asked, "Is it Mae who wants to cross the sea?"


    "Yes, it is," Mae replied in a gentle voice.


    The man nodded and steering the boat said, "Please get on to the boat."


    As sh


    t him inside the boat?"


    "Because I''m afraid of him," the ferryman of the Sun Blind race said.


    "Afraid? Thad is just a proving godly warrior. What is the need for you to be afraid of him?" Mae asked curiously. She knew that once these guys of the Sun Blind race made up their minds, it was very difficult to convince them otherwise.


    Zen was completely confused with the ongoing situation. For the life of him, he could not understand the ferryman''s despair, and he also became vigilant.


    The Sun Blind race were known to have extraordinary senses. Once his origins, or some of the flaws in himself which he even didn''t know were revealed, it would be troublesome.


    The ferryman shook his head and said, "I''m afraid of him. His aura is not right."


    Hearing this, Mae felt helpless.


    There was no way she could deal with the Sun Blind race with force. No Floating Island resident would dare to offend this mysterious race. If the ferryman refused to ferry him across, then that was the end of discussion! There was no way he would be able to enter the Floating Island.


    "So is there any other way for him to enter the Floating Island?" Mae asked again looking at the ferryman hopefully.


    In her mind, if this Sun Blind man was not willing to ferry Thad, the only other way would be to ask her master to personally come. The master had the ability to send Thad to the Floating Island, but it was too trivial a matter to ask for her presence. Moreover, Thad was not qualified to enjoy such a privilege.


    "I think my father can do the job. My father and my brother may not be afraid of him," the ferryman said.


    The members of the Sun Blind race were divided into various ranks. Because of their mysterious lifestyle and their seldom communication to outsiders, they all looked the same. It was very difficult to make out their difference physically. Although Mae had traveled on the Time Sea many times, she didn''t really know them. Even she felt that all the Sun Blind members looked exactly the same.

 Chapter 2213 The Emperor Resentment

    The ferryman''s words alleviated Mae''s anger.


    With a light flick of her hand, she threw two divine might coins toward the ferryman.


    But instead of taking the two divine might coins, the ferryman just waved his hand lightly and sent them flying back to Mae. He shook his head and said, "You have already paid the price. We won''t charge you twice."


    Then, the ferryman suddenly stood up and turned his face to the Time Sea with his eyes still closed. He moved his lips, but no sound left his mouth. No one knew what he was saying.


    The Sun Blind members had a special ability.


    No matter where one was in the Time Sea, as long as they stood on the shore, they didn''t need to send any messages or inform anyone, and the Sun Blind members would come to them as soon as possible without wasting any time.


    In the remote ages, the Hall of Holy Beings hadn''t been established and there were no Floating Islands in the Time Sea. At that time, if a True God wanted to explore the Time Sea, they only needed to bring a few divine might coins with them. After the Sun Blind members reached the shore, they would ask if the True God wanted to explore the Time Sea.


    Later, the Hall of Holy Beings was established and the Time Sea became occupied by the wealthy clans. The Hall of Holy Beings and the leader of the Sun Blind race reached an agreement. Other than the members of the wealthy clans, the Sun Blind members usually wouldn''t ferry a True God who didn''t belong to these wealthy clans.


    That was why after Mae and Zen stayed at the shore for a while, a Sun Blind member came with a boat.


    Zen and Mae waited in the boat for a long time.


    Finally, two small black dots appeared on the surface of the colorful sea. Two boats were approaching them rapidly, one after the other.


    The boat in the front was controlled by a burly man, while the boat in the back was being steered by a stooping old man. Apparently, these two men were the ferryman''s brother and father respectively.


    The two men slowly drew the boats and came closer. Once the three Sun Blind members converged, they talked to one another in secret for a while without making so much as a sound. The only sign that they were even communicating was the slight trembling of their lips. Zen and Mae had no idea what they were talking about.


    After this secret exchange, the old man said to Zen, "Get in my boat and I''ll take you there."


    Seeing that the old man had agreed to ferry Zen, Mae let out a sigh of relief. She nodded at Zen and said, "Go ahead. See you on the Floating Island."


    Zen leapt up and landed firmly in the old man''s boat.


    Once Zen was seated, the old man set down the two huge bone oars he had been holding and gently swung his arms to row the boat. This boat was like a flood dragon that dove


    ntment.


    The legends of the Emperor Resentment existed not only in the Sun Blind race, but also in the divine land.


    However, the Emperor Resentment was too mysterious. No one had seen its complete form so far. If the sea monster truly began hunting in the Time Sea, there was no possibility of any warrior inferior to a Holy Being making it out alive.


    Once, in the middle ages, an Emperor Resentment had dragged a Holy Being into the Time Sea, intending to kill him. However, as long as the universe created by a Holy Being existed, the Holy Being would be immortal and their body would not be destroyed. As such, the Holy Being finally escaped from the Time Sea after years of entanglement with the Emperor Resentment. Although the Holy Being hadn''t been taken down by the Emperor Resentment, he had still been very embarrassed.


    Some people listed the Emperor Resentment as a true spirit, but most agreed that the strength of the Emperor Resentment was far beyond the strength of an ordinary true spirit, because even a Holy Being could not do anything to it.


    "I have an aura similar to that of the Emperor Resentment?" The old man''s answer had only increased Zen''s puzzlement. Zen hadn''t been aware that he had such a peculiar aura.


    "Yes," the old man said. "My son is young, and hasn''t seen the Emperor Resentment. But I saw the Emperor Resentment in the last divine era. Well, technically, I saw its hand."


    His face was full of fear and sadness, as if talking about it reminded him of a sad memory.


    It was said that the appearance of an Emperor Resentment would bring about a devastating disaster. It would not be unreasonable to think that the Emperor Resentment had caused a heavy blow to the old man. Even though a divine era had passed since the last time he had seen one, he became immersed in sorrow as soon as he thought about it.

 Chapter 2214 The Luo Clan

    The old man of the Sun Blind race didn''t tell Zen what had happened back then, nor did he tell him what the Emperor Resentment actually looked like.


    In fact, the Sun Blind members were people of few words. They ferried people on the Time Sea, but they seldom spoke with their guests.


    In other words, it was already pretty obscure for the old man to be talking so much with Zen.


    Ultimately, the old man ended up inviting Zen to his race in the Astronomical Transit Day.


    Zen was curious about the Sun Blind race, and thus he accepted the invitation without a second of hesitation. He didn''t feel anything strange in the moment, but when he arrived at the Floating Island, he realized that even the ordinary warriors on the Floating Islands had never been invited by the Sun Blind race before.


    Two hours later, the scenery around the boat vanished.


    From their point of view, it appeared as though nothing else existed between heaven and earth on the boundless Time Sea, nothing except the elderly man, Zen and the boat.


    Unknowingly, Zen began to fall into an extremely tired and sleepy state. He couldn''t help but yawn continuously.


    In his mind, he then tried checking in on Master Evil''s soul. To his surprise though, Master Evil was in deep slumber.


    Zen was puzzled. The old man said flatly, "On the Time Sea, many people lose their time judgment. Although we are on the sea for only two hours, you probably feel as though your body has gone through a long passage of time. You''ll be tired and that''s normal. If you are, don''t hesitate in resting."


    "So that''s how it is..."


    The old man''s words were like magic. Zen felt his eyelids getting heavier, fighting to stay open and inevitably closing into complete darkness. He didn''t even realize that he was falling asleep.


    Creak! Creak!


    Zen didn''t know how long he had slept, and he woke to the only sound of bone oars. When he opened his eyes, still in a daze, he saw nothing but giants filling the sky!


    "Those are the Floating Islands!"


    Zen came back to himself in a flash.


    At the same time, Master Evil said lazily in Zen''s mind, "Well, those should be the Floating Islands of the wealthy clans. This is the first time I''ve actually seen them."


    The Floating Islands were extremely high in the sky above the Time Sea, and each of them was incomparably huge. There were no words to describe their sizes!


    The Floating Islands were like the Cloud Hall in the Central Region, but they were thousands of times¡ªno, tens of thousands of times¡ªlarger. Each of them was a huge city, quietly floating in the air.


    These Floating Islands were not arranged in a line. Instead, they rose in spirals and extended all the way into the highest of skies.


    A few of the Floating Islands were so high up that they were surrounded by thick clouds. Zen was unable to see exactly how high they


    anked second to last. It hasn''t gone up or gone down, ever," explained Mae before Zen could utter a single question.


    The Xie Clan''s Floating Island was completely different from the Liu Clan''s. The entire island was covered in lush trees, and from the outside, Zen couldn''t even spot a single building.


    The disc continued moving upward.


    This time, Zen found himself looking at a dark Floating Island.


    The Floating Island seemed to have been burned to ashes. The outside of the island was charred, like a chunk of pure black charcoal floating in the air. There was no trace of life on the island, but dead silence seemed to reign there. As for the large character carved on the outer side of the island, it was incomplete.


    A strange look appeared on Zen''s face. He looked at the blurry and incomplete letter and tried to distinguish it. "L? Is it the Ling Clan? Or the Lan Clan, perhaps? What happened to this Floating Island? Did someone set it on fire or something?"


    Mae smile. "No, neither. It''s the Luo Clan. It used to be one of the top ten wealthy clans, but now, it has been destroyed. Every once in a while, the island will drop by one rank. There is no one on this island, and its ranking will keep falling. I believe that before long, it will fall directly into the Time Sea."


    What she said was unintentional, but the listener suddenly became more thoughtful.


    Zen stiffened upon hearing her words.


    "The Luo Clan!"


    Master Evil exclaimed in Zen''s mind. "So this is supposed to be your father''s Floating Island!"


    It was Master Evil''s first time entering the Time Sea. And it was quite an eye-opener for him. Although he didn''t know much about the disputes among the wealthy clans, he did know about Mike''s "death." As a Holy Being, Mike had his own Floating Island in the Time Sea, but Master Evil never expected that the Luo Clan''s Floating Island would be in such a state!

 Chapter 2215 Meet Quentin Again

    As the son of a Holy Being, Zen could be considered a member of a noble clan.


    Zen had heard of the noble clans of the Floating Islands before, but he had never imagined what the real Luo Clan would look like.


    It had never occurred to him that the Floating Island owned by the Luo Clan would be in such a state when he first laid eyes on it.


    How prosperous had this island used to be?


    How many disciples, True Gods and talents had the Luo Clan once had?


    Now though it had been turned to ash. What was once full of life and color was gray and listless.


    Mae was talented when it came to reading other''s facial expressions. Even a minute change would not escape her notice. Taking in Zen''s expression, she smiled and said, "I forgot that your surname is Luo. Are you a member of this clan?"


    "A member of the Luo Clan?" Zen was slightly stunned at the question. He smiled and shook his head. "Of course not. My surname just also happens to be Luo. It is sad though," he said, turning back to the scenery before him. "Seeing the state of the clan."


    Although the storm in his heart was raging, he did his best to keep it from showing on his face. He needed to be calm.


    The Luo Clan had lost the support of the Holy Beings, and it did not take long for their island to fall into disrepair. The noble clans were eager to draw a line between them and anyone that had something to do with the Luo Clan. If Zen admitted that he was a member of the clan he would only cause trouble for himself.


    "Of course. If you were a member of the Luo Clan, you would have known what had happened to this Floating Island," Mae said indifferently. There were many divine citizens whose family name was Luo throughout the divine land. Mae had no reason to doubt Zen''s words.


    "What happened on this island? Why would it have ended up like this?" Zen asked.


    He was extremely curious as to the answer.


    The only thing Zen was aware of was that his father had offended the Hall of Holy Beings, and that he had a terrible grudge against Murphy. Even knowing that, he still didn''t know the true reason.


    "This is the punishment from the Ruling Slate. Mysterious bolts of lightning had attacked the Floating Island. They were enough to completely destroy the entire island," Mae said.


    Zen nodded and asked, "Why would the bolts of lightning attack the Floating Island? What did the Luo Clan do? Who had they offended?" The questions just seemed to pour out of him.


    Zen wanted to take this opportunity to get more information. That way, he could also eliminate Mae''s suspicion of him. After all, he really knew nothing about what happened to the Luo Clan, which worked in his favor.


    Her answer was a disappointment though.


    "This was a fight between the Holy Beings, True Gods would not be privy to that information." Mae shook her head. It was believed that Mike had betrayed the Hall of Holy Beings in the past, and no one knew his motivation for doing so. It had been buried and hidden like a dirty secret.


    After so many years, the Luo Clan had almost been forgotten by many of the Tr


    familiar with all the happenings in the Qin Clan, and could talk about it with great familiarity.


    "He lost to a secondary creature. It seems that it would be difficult to find the person," Zen echoed. A strange feeling began to settle in his chest. He wondered what Mae would think if she knew that the secondary creature that Quentin was searching for was him.


    "Of course he can''t find him," Mae replied with a smile.


    Since the restriction of the Wishing Spell was blocked by the Holy Emperor of the Qin Clan, Quentin''s ability to identify Zen was weakened. It was why Quentin had only felt slightly strange when meeting his gaze.


    What a strange set of circumstances. If the Holy Emperor hadn''t interfered, Quentin would have recognized Zen right away. No matter how much Zen''s outer appearance had changed, it wouldn''t change the fact the magic of the Wishing Spell would recognize its target.


    Although Quentin had become a True God with the aid of the Holy Emperor, he gave up the one thing that would have helped him fulfill his wish. It was unfortunate for Quentin, as this would have been the perfect opportunity for him.


    The small disc that carried Quentin and the others suddenly changed direction, and headed towards a massive Floating Island off in the distance. It was owned by the Qin Clan, which happened to be ranked eleventh in the Time Sea.


    As they floated away, Quentin couldn''t stop himself as he looked over his shoulder to look at Zen again. He couldn''t shake the feeling that something important was right in front of him.


    The Floating Island of the Han Clan was ranked tenth in the Time Sea, so it was higher than that of the Qin Clan.


    They only rose for a short moment when the vast island of the Han Clan finally appeared before him.


    Each clan''s Floating Island had a style all their own. Some had a style that was a little more wild while others liked to have a more delicate look. The Han Clan liked their island to be delicate. It was inlaid with white jade, making the entire island look incredibly elegant.

 Chapter 2216 Enter The Purple Soul Hall

    The clouds around the Floating Island of the Han Clan were unmoving and unnaturally quiet. It brought about a mysterious atmosphere, almost too calm to enjoy.


    Just then, Zen was on the disk and gracefully rose up into the sky.


    As he stood there, he looked down at the Time Sea. From up there, the Floating Islands below resembled a pearl necklace floating majestically above the ocean.


    He even caught sight of the center of the divine land.


    However, he could not seem to figure out where the Hall of Holy Beings was because of the thick clouds that surrounded him. For all he knew, formidable power could have been contained in those clouds, but it was too difficult to see through them.


    As he kept on moving and searching around, the disk he was on finally approached the giant Floating Island of the Han Clan.


    Once it landed, Mae jumped off first in pure excitement. Zen followed suit and leaped off. As soon as they were off the disk, it hovered into the air and automatically flew back to its dock at the bottom.


    Mae continued to lead Zen forward. "You can enter the Floating Island because you have a Purple Power Body," she explained. "But I''ll take you to the Purple Soul Hall first."


    The Floating Island of the Han Clan was divided into two separate parts. The members of the Han Clan took up most of the area, while one-sixth of the entire island belonged to Joy. Joy, the Demi-holy Being of the Han Clan, built the Purple Soul Hall on the island, so it did not have any connection or relation to the Han Clan at all. It was solely Joy''s place, and she was the master.


    Because Zen was not yet part of the Han Clan, Joy freely invited him to the Purple Soul Hall.


    "I do not seem to have a Purple Power Body..." Zen said with concern in his eyes.


    Mae responded, "I know, but as far as I''m concerned, you can cultivate the Purple Aura Godly Way. You probably have the Purple Power Body already."


    Zen didn''t know what to respond. He was not planning on explaining the matter of the Infinity Ruler, because that would be an easy giveaway. If she thought that he had the Purple Power Body, then he decided it would be best to just let her believe so.


    All along, Zen thought they were going to the city. However, Mae made a detour and didn''t bring him there at all.


    Not long after, they finally reached their destination¡ªthe Purple Soul Hall.


    The Purple Soul Hall was a very large, glorious, and luxurious place. There were beams of purple light slowly flowing in random patterns with unique energies and auras. Zen even suspected that the entire palace was formed through the Grand Purple Aura Technique.


    "Mae, you''re back?"


    As soon as they reached the gate, a woman dressed in blue walked up to them in a hurried pace.


    She had the cultivation base of a low-rank True God, yet did not seem so intrigued to meet Mae, a top-rank True God. She just greeted to her casually, as if they were longtime friends. At the same time, she glanced at Zen who was behind Mae, and a


    the Purple Soul Hall under any circumstances anyway.


    At night, the thick fog still hovered over the Floating Island, but it lightened a little bit compared to earlier in the day.


    With the dim moonlight, Zen could tell the giant islands above him, looking like giant meteors in the sky. They were the Floating Islands of other several great clans.


    "The Luo Clan has its own Floating Island. As a Holy Being, my master must have one island too. Why didn''t I see his island on the way?" Zen asked Master Evil.


    Although this was the first time Master Evil had ever entered the Floating Island, he was possibly already knowledgeable about these things because he had lived in the divine land for a long time.


    "Ha-ha! Holy Bromley is very formidable, even though his clan is not regarded as very powerful. Although he has only accepted two disciples, they prove to be top warriors with extraordinary strengths. With these two remarkable disciples alone, the Floating Island of the Gu Clan always managed to be ranked as one of the top five islands. That was the situation before I was taken away by Bromley. I have no clue of what is its ranking now. But, I know that it must be above the Han Clan''s island," Master Evil explained. He didn''t know much, but this was already common knowledge.


    "So this means that the Gu Clan''s Floating Island is located at a higher place..." Zen responded as he absorbed everything Master Evil said.


    When he heard Master Evil mention the two disciples of his master, Zen suddenly recalled the time he met Gus along his journey on the True Path. At that time, Gus had given Zen some advice and recommended the Eight Smoky Melodies, Thunderbolt Annihilation and Enemy Repelling Arts for Zen to cultivate.


    "I don''t know the actual names of my master''s two disciples," Zen uttered.


    Hearing this, Master Evil let out a soft chuckle. "As the junior fellow disciple of Augustus Yu and Hallet Jing, you don''t even know their names? You truly are quite a joke, Zen."

 Chapter 2217 Rules Of Ruling Slate

    "Hallet? Augustus?"


    It was the first time that Zen had heard of those names.


    "Yes. Although Bromley is a Holy Being, his descendants didn''t flourish and the number of Gu Clan''s members is small. However, the two disciples he has taken are quite outstanding. His first disciple, Hallet in particular, is most likely to become a Holy Being," Master Evil explained.


    Hallet was the first disciple, and Bromley''s another disciple called Gus who Zen had seen before was his second disciple.


    "With these two men taking care of you on the Time Sea, you should have been able to do whatever you want," Master Evil joked. "Unfortunately¡­"


    When it came to one''s background, Zen had a higher starting level than many core disciples from numerous wealthy clans.


    Unfortunately, Zen''s opponent was too strong.


    In any case, his first concern was Murphy and even the whole Hall of Holy Beings as well.


    Even if Hallet and Augustus were very powerful, they might not be able to protect Zen if he just showed up randomly.


    "Clearly, now isn''t the right time for me to find them," Zen said with a shake of his head.


    The relationship among Mike, Bromley, and Jay might be known in the Hall of Holy Beings. Mike had been expelled, Bromley wasn''t in the divine land, and Zen did not know about Holy Jay''s whereabouts. Therefore, Bromley''s disciples were likely to be under Murphy''s watch. Thus, Zen wasn''t so stupid as to show up suddenly.


    "Well, it is not suitable to meet them on the Floating Island, but because of this relationship you have with them..." "Of course, there will be opportunities in other places," Master Evil said with a mysterious smile.


    Upon hearing those words, Zen''s eyes went wide. "Other places?" he asked.


    Master Evil continued, "You don''t know much about the divine land. Well, do you remember asking me about the use of the divine might coins?"


    Zen''s eyes lit up at the memory, "Right, you said you will tell me the use of the divine might coins when we get to the Floating Island. Well, now is the time."


    Ever since he became familiar with the customs of the divine land, he had great doubts about the divine might coins.


    The black discs didn''t look too valuable, but their exchange value was quite high. Even if a proving godly warrior had worked hard for so many years, it was still difficult for them to obtain a divine might coin. Therefore, such a currency was deemed as unimaginable in the universe.


    It could be inferred that the divine might coin wasn''t a currency released by a clan. Thus, it was safe to say that the divine might coins were very important and could play a great role on all the third-tier, second-tier and even the first-tier clans.


    "Ha-ha! Do you know what is the most powerful in the divine land?" Master Evil laughed. Until this point, he still intended to keep Zen on his toes.


    "Holy Beings?" Zen asked tentatively. Ma


    ly write ''kill everyone in the Hall of Holy Beings''? Then this world will be yours, right?" he asked.


    "Well, why not," said Zen seriously.


    "Do you think those Holy Beings are all fools? You are not the only one who had the idea. With so many divine eras that have passed, do you know why no one ever wrote such a rule?" Master Evil asked in return. Of course, Zen would never think that those Holy Beings were fools.


    Surely, there must be a reason.


    "It needs an astronomical number of divine might coins to write a rule on the Ruling Slate. Even the wealthy clans could hardly accumulate enough divine might coins to write a rule once, and the rules on it are already divided into many levels. The rule you said is too unimaginable, and the cost of divine might coins is also unimaginable. So, such a rule cannot be written down even with all the divine might coins of the wealthy clans. Am I clear?" said Master Evil. Master Evil shook his head. "The numbers of divine might coins that different rules need are also different," he said.


    Zen nodded at the explanation. Had any Holy Being written an invincible rule, they would be undefeated in the divine land, and the current divine land would not be what Zen saw now.


    What Master Evil had said suddenly enlightened Zen. No wonder every clan placed so much importance on the divine might coins. Those coins did have an irreplaceable role in the divine land. At the same time however, he had a new doubt about them.


    "These divine might coins don''t look like ores. Where did they come from?" he asked. When he was in the Central Region, those cubic crystals came from the mines.


    Meanwhile, the life vitality crystals and life vitality jades were condensed from the vitality between heaven and earth. Was it possible that divine might coins were also dug out from mines?


    "That''s why everyone wants to go to the Floating Islands," Master Evil said with a smile.

 Chapter 2218 Madam Moon

    The large clans on the Floating Islands got 80% of the resources in the divine land.


    The countless second-tier and third-tier clans took up 15%.


    And the vast majority in the divine land, the divine citizens, shared the remaining 5%.


    If the divine citizens wanted to achieve something great, they needed to enter various divine cities and climb up the pyramid through the proving godly houses. And those with remarkable talents had a chance to enter the Floating Islands and obtain valuable resources.


    "The most important resources are in the forbidden lands," Master Evil emphasized. "Divine might coins and all sorts of rare treasures are in them. However, almost all the entrances to the forbidden lands are controlled by the large clans on the Floating Islands. Ordinary citizens, even True Gods, have no chance of getting in."


    "I was lucky to enter the Soul Wilderness once," Master Evil reminisced with a shake of his head. "And because of this rare opportunity, I obtained rewards that were almost equal to my efforts in several divine eras!"


    Master Evil had just become a mid-rank True God then. He didn''t have much strength or influence and he was barely known in the Vast Sky Region but one day, he joined a group of powerful warriors from large clans and followed them into the Soul Wilderness. He had suffered a lot in that place, but found it all worth it in the end as he obtained spoils that helped him reach the top level of a mid-rank True God.


    Since then, Master Evil managed to make a name for himself in the northern part of the Vast Sky Region.


    In fact, with his power and influence, he could have established a third-tier clan. However, given his reclusive and single-minded tendencies, he never did such a thing and instead, set his mind into becoming a top-rank True God.


    The True Gods living on the Floating Islands practically had endless resources, and still, it was difficult for them to become a top-rank True God. And for the True Gods born as divine citizens like Master Evil, every step they took towards the top of pyramid was as difficult as crossing a natural chasm!


    Master Evil had his chance with the Stone Mouse but when things did not go according to plan, he had landed in such a pathetic situation.


    "The forbidden lands are more important than I have expected," mumbled Zen, lost in thought.


    Master Evil chuckled. "Although I hadn''t been to


    Zen grew impatient every passing minute but willed himself to listen and school his facial expressions.


    When Madam Moon finally finished, she turned to the group of women warriors in the corner. It was then that Zen realized how "kind" Madam Moon was acting with him.


    "Those who rank in the bottom three hundred this month, stand out now!" Madam Moon ordered in a thundering voice.


    Three of the women warriors felt chills up their spine and began to tremble when they heard her words.


    "I said now!" Madam Moon roared.


    The three women dragged themselves out of the crowd with shaking legs as the rest looked at them with pity.


    Madam Moon then waved her hand and a purple aura condensed in front of her. Zen couldn''t stop his eyebrows from rising at the sight of her purple power. Madam Moon truly was a legend in the Purple Aura Godly Way, and her internal momentum was no doubt pure and powerful.


    As the purple power gradually condensed, it slowly morphed into a thorny purple vine.


    "Please have mercy on us, Madam Moon!"


    "We will strive to perform better next month!"


    "Please!"


    The three girls sobbed as they begged for mercy.


    Madam Moon didn''t budge at all. She waved her hands and the purple vine shot out, filling the room with sharp crisp sounds reminiscent of a hail storm.


    Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!


    In the blink of an eye, Madam Moon had cracked the vine whip hundreds of times!


    The girls'' clothes were ripped to shreds and their bodies were covered in thick red blood. Save for their faces, every inch of their flesh was mangled and torn to pieces.

 Chapter 2219 Jade Wall Of Legends

    Zen couldn''t help but raise his eyebrows at the sight of three beautiful women being beaten so miserably in front of him.


    The atmosphere in the Purple Soul Hall was, according to Mae, supposed to be relaxed but it seemed there was a cruel side to it as well.


    Madam Moon mentioned something about ranking in the bottom three hundred. It seemed to be a mission from the Purple Soul Hall that these three women failed to complete, hence, their punishment.


    After the accorded lashes, Madam Moon then patted her hands gently.


    It was then that a woman from the Dream Pavilion came in with a porcelain plate containing three, blood-red pills.


    Madam Moon snorted at the three women. "Take these Blood Flesh Restoring Pills!"


    These pills were certainly not common. Even if they were quite far away, Zen could still smell the medicine''s strong fragrance. There was no doubt that these pills were refined by a very powerful pill refiner.


    However, despite being presented medication, the three women turned even paler at the sight of the pills.


    "What''s going on?" Zen asked in his mind.


    "She is really cunning. The Blood Flesh Restoring Pill is terrific for restoring flesh, curing wounds, and improving the overall physical strength of the body. However, it is extremely painful to swallow," Master Evil explained with a laugh. It was a cruel method he had also used to punish disobedient subordinates. He often gave them such kind of medicine as a "reward."


    The three women looked miserable but their wounds were only physical. World lords like them would not take long to regenerate and recover from such injury. There was no need for a Blood Flesh Restoring Pill.


    It seemed that these pills were part of Madam Moon''s punishment.


    None of the women were willing to take the medicine but, because of the pressure from Madam Moon, they had no choice but to swallow the pills.


    Immediately after swallowing, the three began to tremble violently. A large spray of blood burst from the wound and their faces all contorted in extreme pain!


    Blood on their skin began to condense and gradually formed scabs. A blood cocoon soon wrapped around them and not once did their screams cease. By the time they emerged from their cocoons, their wounds would all be healed.


    These female disciples were young and hadn''t trained that hard before coming to the Floating Island. Such cruel punishment most likely made a deep impression on


    s is only a list of people''s strength?" Zen asked Master Evil in his mind.


    Master Evil shook his head. "It''s not that simple. Look at the dense names at the bottom. Some of them seem to be constantly moving."


    Zen looked and, as Master Evil had said, some names did move downwards while a few moved up.


    "Could it be that the Jade Wall of Legends has the magical ability to rank everyone automatically on the Floating Islands? That''s amazing!" Zen remarked with the slightest hint of disbelief. One could perhaps measure a creature''s cultivation base but their strength was something that could only be proven through actual combat. A high cultivation base did not necessarily equate to more power as Zen had proven time and again.


    "It''s impossible. Not even the Ruling Slate can do that, let alone the Jade Wall of Legends," Master Evil agreed.


    As the two discussed the use of the Jade Wall of Legends, Madam Moon turned around and stared right at the young man. Zen immediately stiffened under her gaze. "Master said that the genius especially recommended by the Heavenly Han House does not need to be examined by the Purple Soul Hall. She seems to be very confident in you. I doubt that though. I don''t know by what means you''ve used the Purple Aura Godly Way. You still need to prove your strength. If you can''t even defeat the weakest opponent, I will tell my master and kick you out of the Floating Island!"


    The aggressive aura she emanated quickly made Zen feel helpless. She was definitely an old woman who thought too highly of herself. Zen looked around and asked, "Where am I going to find my opponent?"

 Chapter 2220 The Arena Of Legends

    Madam Moon hadn''t got the slightest idea about Zen''s origins.


    And although she wasn''t considered popular in the Purple Soul Hall, she was actually an important figure.


    While the Purple Soul Hall didn''t determine one''s importance according to seniority, and all female disciples were like sisters, basic rules still had to be observed.


    That was why Joy granted Madam Moon such great power, which granted her a status similar to that of the elders in some sects who enforced the laws. In addition, she came to grow subconsciously suspicious of some people, which came with her many experiences.


    Indeed, Joy had personally allowed Zen to enter the Floating Island of the Han Clan and that Mae had paid a visit to the Han Clan''s ancestral land--but Madam Moon thought that she had to help her master check up on Zen.


    "Your opponent?" Madam Moon sneered. "There are too many! But here in the Jade Wall of Legends, you can choose them at will."


    "But how do I find my opponent?" asked Zen. His eyes drifted to the huge Jade Wall of Legends once again. He truly was confused, but he did have a rough plan of how to do it in his mind.


    "Just put the jade token I gave to you in front of the Jade Wall of Legends," Madam Moon said and pointed towards the distance.


    After that, Zen followed the direction where Madam Moon had pointed and walked towards the Jade Wall of Legends. Only then did he find that the area below the Jade Wall was not a level ground, but had many small grooves. He pulled out the jade token that Madam Moon had given him and placed it in one of the grooves. At the same time, he activated the jade token.


    "Buzz..."


    The moment the jade token was activated, a ripple disturbed the smooth surface of the Jade Wall in front of him, and the name "Thad Luo" appeared on it.


    Zen had assumed the name of "Thad Luo" to enter the Floating Island. After the Purple Soul Hall had used that name to register him, it was that same name that appeared on the Jade Wall as well. In addition to his name, it also recorded the number of the round he had taken part in and his point. In his case, both the numbers were currently zero.


    Just then, a beam of light came out from the Jade Wall of Legends and enveloped him within it.


    "This beam of light..." he muttered.


    Suddenly, his eyes lit up as if he seemed to have realized something.


    It wasn''t the first time he had seen such kind of light. Back when the Evolutionary Universe had held a competition for the world of chaos, they had claimed that its purpose was to select talents in the world of chaos when in reality, they had used the trillions of warriors who had participated to temper the Godly Geniuses through fights.


    During that time, he had relied on that same kind of light to engulf him so that he could enter the Illusion Battlefield.


    It was highly possible that his father had created the Illusion Battlefield based on the Jade Wall of Legends in the Floating Islands. After all, his father dominated the Evolutionary Universe, and the Illusion Batt


    he soul pressure that burst out from Zen''s eyes. For a moment, he felt disdainful.


    However, that feeling only lasted for a second. When Zen turned his stream of soul pressure into a sharp arrow and immediately rushed into his mind, he realized that the soul pressure was much more powerful than he had imagined.


    It turned out that he was the stupid one, and not his opponent!


    Moreover, he was the unlucky one, and not his opponent as well!


    Many others thought that Herman Tang was the new, shining star of the Tang Clan. He himself had also claimed to be an invincible proven godly warrior, but he had never thought that he would fight a freak with such a strong soul in his first battle no less!


    As the son of a Demi-holy Being, Daniel Tang was quick to react. He had a much better reaction time than the proven godly warriors from the masses. In fact, the proven godly warriors on the Floating Islands were more than one level stronger than those from the other places in the divine land--but it was clearly because all the talents of the whole divine land were gathered in the Floating Islands above the Time Sea.


    When Herman sensed that Zen''s soul pressure was too strong, he had thought of a counterattack. He knew that his opponent would immediately launch a deadly attack after he had hurt his soul.


    Zen had used the same skill to defeat Eric back when he was in the Brilliant Moon Restaurant.


    Then again, Herman Tang was much stronger than Eric. With gritted teeth, he almost used up all his strength to retreat in an attempt to avoid Zen''s deadly attack.


    Unfortunately, even though he had predicted it beforehand, he still failed to dodge it.


    "Bang!"


    Zen''s fist hit Herman Tang square on his body. He aimed his punch directly at his opponent with no frills, but his punch was far from what Herman Tang could bear.


    ''His speed, strength and soul are far beyond my imagination. Is he really a proven godly warrior?''


    A confused look was written across his face, before his body disintegrated.

 Chapter 2221 Efficiency And Speed

    On the Floating Island of the Tang Clan, a young man in his early twenties walked out of the Jade Wall of Legends.


    It was none other than Herman, the warrior who had just lost to Zen.


    Outside the Jade Wall of Legends stood a dozen people from the Tang Clan, and among them was a middle-aged man with grey hair.


    He had a square face, big eyes, long eyebrows, a long pointed beard, and faint flames on his forehead, which, when all combined together, gave off an intimidating aura.


    This middle-aged man was Herman''s father, Conrad Tang. He was a Demi-holy Being.


    Herman returned to the Floating Island of his clan after his cultivation in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. This was the first time that he had stepped into the Arena of Legends.


    Conrad had trained his son with great effort, so he was eager to see his son''s performance. That was why he had brought his son to the Jade Wall of Legends.


    Conrad had absolute confidence in his son''s strength.


    The proving godly warriors on the Floating Islands were not weak. But since Herman was a new arrival in the Arena of Legends, he was consecutively paired with other new arrivals. Hence, the opponents he met weren''t very strong and he was able to win repeatedly. Conrad estimated that Herman could get at least ten consecutive wins in four hours, and that he would meet his real opponents only after twenty consecutive wins.


    However, when Herman withdrew from the Jade Wall of Legends, green words slowly floated up from the bottom of the wall, indicating that he had lost.


    "Herman was defeated?"


    "Did he let his opponent go on purpose?"


    "Did he meet a talent from another big clan?"


    The True Gods present looked at one another, unable to make sense of what was happening.


    Of course, no one was as surprised as Conrad was. "Nobody at the same level as Herman can defeat him and his powerful body. So how could Herman lose in the very first round?"


    Buzz!


    The light on the Jade Wall of Legends that enveloped Herman disappeared. With a gloomy expression, Herman stood up from the ground. His mind was blank.


    "Herman, what kind of opponent did you encounter? Why were you defeated in the first round?" Conrad asked worriedly.


    Although Conrad was a Demi-holy Being, he didn''t have many sons. Herman was the most talented son he had in recent decades. Therefore, he cared about him very much.


    The True Gods around them all curiously turned their attention to Herman, wanting to know what had happened. This was a result that none of them could have predicted.


    Herman pouted and said helplessly, "Father, it was my bad luck. I ran into a monster in my very first round."


    "A monster?" Conrad and the others were stunned to hear this. "Do you mean he was very powerful? How did he manage to withstand your great strength?" Conrad asked in dis


    d, he might not be so lucky in the next round. Perhaps he would have to face a talent from a big clan. In that case, he would definitely lose. Madam Moon was actually trying to embarrass Zen by asking him to win five consecutive rounds.


    The female disciples felt indignant on Zen''s behalf, but no one dared to speak up for him.


    However, Zen did not hesitate even a little. The battle he had just won was not even a warm-up for him. After he turned around, he activated the jade token again and entered the Jade Wall of Legends for the second time.


    In the illusory space, his second opponent appeared.


    This time, his opponent was a rough-looking man with a fierce expression on his face. As soon as he appeared in the arena, he opened his mouth with the intention of saying something malicious to threaten Zen and shake his morale.


    However, the words he had prepared in his head didn''t even leave his throat before he found himself crushed under Zen''s foot. "You''re much weaker than my first opponent. The disciples of the wealthy clans are far inferior to what I have imagined," said Zen, shaking his head.


    "You, you..." The man under his foot kept struggling.


    Zen looked down at the man and smiled. "By the way, aura doesn''t come from your mouth. It''s a reflection of your strength!" With these words, Zen pressed his foot down harder on the man, and soon, he heard the crack of bones breaking. The second battle was over.


    Zen''s first battle in the Arena of Legends had lasted only for about a minute, including the time Herman had sprouted nonsense.


    Now, his second battle had lasted less than that: a mere 27 seconds.


    Madam Moon saw Zen activate his jade token and enter the Arena of Legends under the glow of light. But before she could even come back to her senses, Zen had already finished the battle. The Jade Wall of Legends showed that he had once again won.

 Chapter 2222 Points

    It did not take much time for Zen to conclude the fight and emerge victorious.


    Watching this feat, all the female disciples in the Nameless Hall were amazed.


    It was beyond them to understand how Zen had won all both the battles with such ease. Were his opponents really too weak to hold on even for merely a few minutes while fighting with Zen?


    "Is it possible for Thad to be more powerful than Shauna?"


    "No, of course not! He cannot be compared to her! Shauna has mastered a Godly Way. Moreover, her points at that time were high, and the opponents she encountered were much more powerful."


    "They are in completely different league zones. Thad has just entered the Jade Wall of Legends, and the opponents he encounters won''t be that powerful."


    The entire time, the female disciples were discussing among themselves in hushed tones.


    Shauna, about whom they were discussing, was once considered the best cultivator among the proving godly warriors in the Purple Soul Hall. Not long after entering the Purple Soul Hall, she had shown her extraordinary talent. She easily won every battle after she entered the Arena of Legends.


    Recently through her achievements, she had become a True God.


    Despite all these accomplishments, they could not help but compare Shauna with the newcomer, who was showing some remarkable skills.


    Madam Moon was not expecting this at all. With her typical skeptical attitude towards anything, she actually thought that there was something wrong with the Jade Wall of Legends. She was not ready to accept the fact that Zen completed two battles so quickly, with one lasing for a minute and the other less than 30 seconds.


    The opponents that Zen encountered could not be really that weak. After all, this was the Floating Island, and his opponents weren''t those ordinary divine citizens outside of the Time Sea.


    It only meant that Thad''s strength was far too powerful, and the difference in strength was enough to pulverize his opponents to mere pulp.


    Madam Moon had in fact accepted Zen''s strength, but she didn''t say it out loud. She continued to frown as she said, "Go and fight again!"


    Zen said nothing, as he turned to activate the jade token again.


    As Zen was enveloped by a gentle light, Madame Moon began to count the time in her mind.


    She still wanted to see if Zen was really that outstanding. Would it take only seconds for him to take every opponent down?


    One, two, three...


    In fact, Madam Moon was not the only one who was counting the time. The female disciples were also curious about how long it would take for Zen to finish this battle.


    By the time they reached the 18th second, the figures on the Jade Wall of Legends changed. The gentle light that enveloped Zen disappeared, and he retreated from the Arena of Legends.


    "Eighteen seconds."


    "He has yet again won another battle and accumulated twelve points in total."


    "His points surpassed even mine!"


    In the Arena of Legends, the points were obtained from their opponents.


    Technically s


    en said in a stern tone, "Don''t you know that the statuses of all of the Floating Islands on the Time Sea and all of the clans are decided by the Jade Wall of Legends?"


    As Master Evil had said, the only reason they wanted to enter the Floating Islands was that all the entrances to the forbidden areas were controlled by the noble clans of the Floating Islands. It was extremely difficult for True Gods who were from the grass root level to enter the forbidden areas. They probably wouldn''t get a chance even in their whole lifetime.


    The warriors and True Gods in the Floating Islands had to fight to get a chance to enter the forbidden areas. The number of points they got was one of the conditions that could help them gain the qualification to enter those forbidden areas, and the requirement for the number of points varied in different forbidden places.


    The points could not only help warriors obtain the qualifications to enter the forbidden areas, but the Han Clan would also offer very attractive rewards and even privileges according to the rankings of the warriors'' points.


    It could be said that the points in the Arena of Legends were only second to the divine might coins for the warriors on the Floating Islands. Sometimes, they were even more important than the divine might coins.


    Madam Moon patiently explained all the details to Zen.


    "Understood." Zen nodded.


    It had to be appreciated that the powerful clans on the Floating Islands did find an effective method to motivate everyone to work hard after countless divine eras'' exploration.


    The Arena of Legends did not involve the Holy Beings. But if the strength of True Gods in a Floating Island weakened, the ranking of the Floating Island would also decline, which forced those Holy Beings to do their best to train the warriors on the Floating Island as well as their own disciples.


    Zen would definitely earn the points in the Arena of Legends, but before that, he wanted to see the reward the Han Clan had to offer to the warriors.

 Chapter 2223 Four Great Forbidden Lands (Part One)

    After successfully passing Madam Moon''s test, Zen was set free.


    The female disciples who had entered the Purple Soul Hall were all focused on cultivating the Purple Aura Godly Way, in hopes to gain great achievement in terms of the Godly Way as quickly as possible.


    Up until now, Zen had been having difficulties improving his cultivation base. More so, the Purple Soul Hall didn''t keep the disciples under strict control and thus, everyone present had enough spare time on their hands.


    Fortunately though, no one in the Purple Soul Hall had controlled Zen. These past few days, he swam around the Purple Soul Hall lazily, informing himself roughly about the disciples of the big clans on the Floating Islands.


    There were seven Jade Walls of Legends in the Purple Soul Hall, including the one in the Nameless Hall which Zen had entered before. Each one of them had their names on the Jade Walls of Legends and could enter the Arena of Legends in order to challenge the others. Every month, everyone had the obligation to challenge three opponents. If they left the Floating Island that month, they still had to complete three challenges in a very limited time frame after they returned. Everything would be recorded dutifully.


    For the most part though, the vast majority of True Gods were unwilling to challenge their opponents in the Arena of Legends. They were more willing to explore the forbidden lands and earn divine might coins through doing so.


    This was with reason, however. There were just too many masters in the Arena of Legends, and the opponents selected based on their points often had the same strength as theirs.


    If they were to be accidentally defeated, points would be deducted and it would be difficult to obtain the qualifications for entering certain forbidden lands. This exp


    er a certain forbidden land, then one had to try their best to obtain the required number of points.


    "The Demon Annihilating Forest. Ha-ha..." In Zen''s mind, Master Evil revealed a look of envy. "It''s so easy for these guys to enter the Demon Annihilating Forest. This world is just so unfair!"


    "What exactly is the Demon Annihilating Forest?" Zen asked curiously.


    Master Evil replied with emotion, "It''s a second-grade forbidden land, but it''s very small. In the past, before the Demon Annihilating Forest was controlled by the wealthy clans on the Floating Islands, many ordinary True Gods would enter it. In fact, even I was a regular visitor of it at the time. After a while though, even the Demon Annihilating Forest became occupied by the powerful clans. Alas..."


    "A second-grade forbidden land? How many forbidden lands of this kind can be found in the divine land, anyway?" Zen questioned.


    In order to reply to Zen, Master Evil simply introduced the division of forbidden lands within the divine land.


    Ever since the Hall of Holy Beings had been established, it was in constant monopoly of the resources throughout the entire divine land, especially within the said forbidden lands.

 Chapter 2224 Four Great Forbidden Lands (Part Two)

    And since its establishment, the four great forbidden lands were declared as belonging to the Hall of Holy Beings. No True God was allowed to enter without the Hall of Holy Beings'' permission!


    Prior to such an occurrence though, everyone was allowed to enter and exit any forbidden land across the divine land.


    This change caused everyone''s dissatisfaction in the divine land. However, even though they weren''t happy with this decision, who would dare challenge the Holy Beings'' authority?


    Originally, the Hall of Holy Beings only controlled the four great forbidden lands. However, as time went on, all kinds of forbidden lands of different sizes were placed under the Hall of Holy Beings'' control.


    The forbidden lands in the divine land were divided from first to sixth grade, according to the degree of danger. The four great forbidden places were sixth grades, and they were equally considered to be the most dangerous places in the whole divine land. These four great forbidden places were respectively known as Soul Wilderness, Everest Spirit Mountain, Swirl Forest, and Abyss Demon Region.


    So far, the rich clans on the Floating Islands had explored the four great forbidden lands countless times, but still to this day, they didn''t have a complete understanding of them.


    While exploring the four great forbidden lands, it was even possible for a True God who had reached the consummate level of cultivation to die accidentally! The dangers here were not to be underestimated.


    "Is the Swirl Forest also one of the four great forbidden lands?" Zen asked with wonder in his voice.


    Master Evil nodded. "Yes."


    "Then how did you ever escape from that place?"


    Bromley''s fairy palace was standing in the middle of Swirl F


    to know more information about the matter you just mentioned," Zen said in a serious tone this time.


    He didn''t care about Harold in the least. Although Harold was one of his father''s disciples, he had never met Zen. What Zen cared about was that Yan, his sister, stayed with Harold!


    "Go away! You are just a proving godly warrior. You don''t have the qualifications to know such information. Leave my presence and continue your cultivation!" The man waved his hand impatiently at Zen, trying to drive him away.


    "Ha-ha! Little guy, you''ve got nothing more than an average cultivation base. Why do you want to hear these rumors so badly?"


    "Entering the Han Clan''s Floating Island is not an easy task. What you should try doing now is improving your cultivation base."


    A few True Gods also mocked Zen. The appearance of a proving godly warrior had truly surprised them all.


    Splash!


    As Zen gently shook his hand, hundreds of divine might coins poured out from his palm. Zen stared at the mid-rank True God and stated in a serious and flat tone, "Tell me the matter of Harold and the Jiang Clan. Then, I will give you all these divine might coins."

 Chapter 2225 The Everest Spirit Mountain

    The True Gods of the Floating Islands were different from those in the Six-Burden Divine City.


    They were much richer than the True Gods outside the Time Sea and could explore forbidden lands with their points to obtain divine might coins.


    Despite this, the hundreds of divine might coins that Zen had thrown away were a large sum to them.


    Since they were on the Floating Island of the Han Clan, Zen knew they couldn''t dare to act rashly. He didn''t care about the divine might coins. All he wanted was to get news of Harold and Yan.


    "If I tell you, all these divine might coins are mine?" The speaker licked his lips.


    Zen, a proving godly warrior, had generously thrown out hundreds of divine might coins, because of which the True Gods had begun to feverishly speculate about his identity. They usually obtained only a few dozens of divine might coins from exploring a forbidden land. Even if they were lucky enough, they would only get about a hundred coins, and that was after risking their lives.


    But now, they could receive such a large amount of coins merely by sharing a piece of news with Zen. Their greed knew no bounds.


    "You want to know about the fight between Harold and the Jiang Clan, right? I know about it too. I can tell you," a True God said.


    "Harold rules the Everest Spirit Mountain and has the ability to fight against Holy Beings. He led his men to fight the Jiang Clan a few days ago," another True God chimed in, his eyes fixed on the divine might coins at Zen''s feet.


    Although Zen had offered a lot of divine might coins, the True Gods wouldn''t scramble for them. There were no fixed rules on the Floating Island, but no one dared act recklessly. Moreover, Zen had offered so many divine might coins at once that it made everyone wary about his background and power.


    Harold''s situation wasn''t a big secret. The mid-rank True God had warned everyone to be careful when they had gone to the Everest Spirit Mountain. He hadn''t expected Zen to offer so many divine might coins. When he saw the other few True Gods scrambling for the coins, his expression shifted. He stared at Zen as he said, "Don''t listen to them. I have first-hand news. Most of them don''t even know the inside story."


    "Take the divine might coins. Let''s talk about it somewhere else," Zen said coldly. He did not want to attract too much attention. He had taken an assumed name and called himself Thad, but he was still a Luo. His blatant inquiries about Mike''s disciple would definitely raise doubts.


    Although Zen was just a proving godly warrior, he was not inferior to the mid-rank True Gods in terms of aura. It was true that money made the world


    ntrol of it. The Jiang Clan also knows this secret, so they launched an attack at a critical moment. In this case, Harold might die. Besides, the descendants of the Luo Clan who follow him will also die."


    "What?" Zen was shocked.


    Seeing Zen''s expression, the mid-rank True God shook his head and said, "It''s normal. Whoever fights against the Hall of Holy Beings usually faces a tragic end. Back then when the Luo Clan was defeated, Harold should have chosen a different great clan. With his talent, he might have become a Holy Being. But look where he has ended up now."


    The mid-rank True God seemed to feel that it was a bit too much for him to have received so many divine might coins from Zen. He was still sighing with emotion about Harold when Zen turned around to leave. But before Zen took a step forward, he turned back and asked, "How many points do I need to enter the Everest Spirit Mountain?"


    "Points needed for entering the Everest Spirit Mountain? You want to go in there?" the mid-rank True God asked incredulously, laughing.


    "Yes," Zen nodded.


    "As a sixth grade forbidden land, the Everest Spirit Mountain requires more than eight thousand points. Mid-rank True Gods like me can only wander around the mountain and don''t dare to step in. The top-rank True Gods can fly, but it''s hard for them to survive in the mountain. You''d better pursue the Godly Way first," the mid-rank True God advised Zen.


    But Zen did not heed his advice.


    His father hadn''t made any arrangements after sending him to the divine land. So Zen had to fight his way out.


    He didn''t know what was waiting for him. This was a critical moment, when he had to decide which way to go. If he could meet Yan on the Everest Spirit Mountain, he would not hesitate to go there.

 Chapter 2226 Measures To Save The Ranking

    In the Spiritual Heart Hall of the Floating Island of Han Clan, over a hundred important figures of the Han Clan gathered together. They were all sitting in a row in the capacious Spiritual Heart Hall.


    In the middle sat the present-day leader of the Han Clan, Alfredo Han, while Joy, the Demi-holy Being of the Han Clan sat next to him.


    She was sitting on a thick blanket, her elegant dress making her look like a royalty. She had a blank expression on her face as she gazed across the group of people.


    Everyone went silent as Alfredo stood up. He directed his gaze towards Joy and said, "Joy, it is your Purple Soul Hall that is bringing us down this time. If we don''t take the necessary measures, I am afraid the ranking of the Floating Island would drop further by two places." His voice was calm yet affirming.


    The whole place fell silent.


    As the Demi-holy Being of the Han Clan, Joy was only second to the Holy Emperor of the Han Clan.


    Although Alfredo Han was only at the consummation of True God Realm, the Holy Beings of all powerful clans on the Floating islands never interfered in the affairs on the islands. The Holy Emperor of the Han Clan also trusted him and took his word for everything, never getting in his way unless it was a matter of life or death.


    Everyone in the Han Clan knew how short-tempered and quick-witted Joy was. She had always been arrogant and rowdy. People wondered how Joy would react since Alfredo Han accused her in her face.


    "It''s not a big deal if the ranking drops," Joy said calmly yet distractedly, much to everyone''s surprise.


    Alfredo Han knew what Joy would say. "Joy, if the ranking of our Floating Island drops out of the top ten, not only we would lose a lot of opportunities, but our warriors would also suffer great loss. Surely you can''t be serious?" He frowned, much to Joy''s dismay.


    Alfredo Han always tolerated Joy in the past. He had given the Purple Soul Hall many privileges. But his patience was running out.


    He knew that the results would be catastrophic if the Han Clan Floating Island''s ranking dropped by further two places. For this particular matter, he had sought the Holy Emperor''s guidance who advised him to be stern, as far as Joy was concerned.


    Joy couldn''t care less. "Nonetheless, we the Purple Soul Hall can''t do anything about it. Our female warriors are not as talented as the warriors of the main Han Clan, so expecting them to earn more points would be unrealistic," she proclaimed.


    Only the best of the best got recruited by the Han Clan Floating Island. These warriors had to go through various difficult tests in order to get recruited by the Heavenly Han House. All of these warriors proved their worth in the Han Clan''s ancestral land.


    Joy on the other hand had a different criteria for recruitment: as long as one possessed the Purple Power Body and could be acknowledged by the Godly Way Tablet of the Purple Aura Godly Way,


    urple Soul Hall. One of those disciples was Zen.


    There were about thirty to forty thousand female disciples present in the hall.


    Zen had heard about men who possessed the Purple Power Body in the Purple Soul Hall before but he had never seen one since he came here.


    Zen looked around and finally saw two men with the rare Purple Power Body. They both were behaving like women, just like the eunuchs in the royal palace of the mortal world.


    All in all, Zen quite possibly was the only real man in the Purple Soul Hall.


    The door behind the platform was suddenly pushed wide open, much to everyone''s surprise, and a group of top-rank True Gods emerged through it. Among them were Madam Moon and Mae.


    The top-rank True Gods covered both sides of the platform.


    A moment later, another woman walked through the door.


    With Zen''s knowledge, Zen could clearly distinguish among the low-rank, the mid-rank and the top-rank True Gods.


    But the aura emitted from this woman was unfathomable and divine.


    "Is this Joy?" Zen asked in his mind. "A Demi-holy Being''s aura is quite extraordinary and overwhelming!"


    However, as Zen complimented, Master Evil couldn''t help but say, "This woman is not Joy. Joy is a Demi-holy Being of Han Clan, and her cultivation is only second to that of a Holy Being. This woman is actually a consummate True God, to be precise."


    "Ah, I see," Zen felt a bit embarrassed by his lack of knowledge.


    True Gods at the consummate level had perfected their own inner worlds, and only required to merge with the nine stars to create their own universes. Their strength was indeed unparalleled.


    "This woman must be Joy''s eldest disciple," Master Evil speculated.


    Just as he finished speaking, another woman made her way through the door. She had an expression of distress on her face and the corners of her eyes were red as if she had cried. Her original charming and dignified face now revealed a hint of gloom.

 Chapter 2227 Win The Battle

    The moment the woman appeared, the atmosphere immediately shifted.


    The inner worlds within the Purple Soul Hall disciples'' bodies started to tremble slightly. Everyone''s, of course, except for Zen''s.


    Joy had mastered the Purple Aura Godly Way so well that she had reached the level of Purple Sky Land, and thus, she could have a strong impact on the other Purple Power Bodies.


    Once again, though, on everyone except Zen. His elixir field had no reaction at all.


    Silence befell the platform in a split second.


    A few well-informed female disciples had already received accurate news that


    forced by Alfredo Han, the Purple Soul Hall had no other choice but to expel most of its disciples.


    For the disciples in the Holy Emperor City, though, this was good news.


    The disciples in the Holy Emperor City had long envied the Purple Soul Hall. And at the same time, they felt the overall situation was truly unfair. How come the women from the Purple Soul Hall had so many more resources despite their weaker strength?


    All afraid of Joy, no one dared say anything, though.


    Now that the head of the clan had ordered Joy to banish eighty percent of the female disciples from the Purple Soul Hall, they were quite content.


    Recently, when these female disciples went to the Holy Emperor City, they were mocked by the disciples there, by a higher or lower degree. When they had originally heard the news, no one could believe their own ears. Later, though, they were informed that it was true.


    In fact, their guess had been confirmed just by the expression on Joy''s face.


    A few of the women looked as though they were on the verge of tears, their eyes hastily turning red.


    Some of them had already been staying in the Purple Soul Hall for many years. Although their strength hadn''t increased much over this period of time, they had deep feelings of attachment to the people in the Purple Soul Hall. How could they ever feel willing to leave?


    Sadness spread throughout the group. It wasn''t long before someone cried out loud. Even Mae and the others, who were on the platform, were affected by the scene, their expressions contorted and eyes red.


    "It seems that most of you are already aware," said Joy. "The majority of you have to leave in three months'' time."


    The Holy Emperor stipulated a deadline of three months. By the end of the next three months, the jade tokens of most of these disciples would be cancelled on the Floating Island, and all these people would be discharged from the island!


    "All of the proving godly warriors must leave. Eighty percent of warriors at the True God Realm will equally be expelled," Joy continued.


    Zen had heard of this in the past. He was quite disappointed to hear it again, especially coming from this Demi-holy Being directly.


    He had just entered the Floating Island and had not yet had the chance to show himself. Was he already being driven out?


    e depths of her eyes and in her soul.


    Zen quietly found a Jade Wall of Legends a few days later.


    Hundreds of people sat cross-legged beneath the Jade Wall and their bodies had completely fallen into the Arena of Legends. They were all focused on fighting, hoping to earn the most points in a terribly short period of time.


    Many people were quite disgusted with the Arena of Legends. After completing the three mandatory battles every month, they usually wouldn''t set foot anywhere near it.


    But now, in order to stay, the disciples of the Purple Soul Hall had to raise their points and rank like never before in the Arena of Legends!


    Soon, the Jade Wall of Legends in the Purple Soul Hall was overcrowded with people.


    "I won another battle today. That means I now have two consecutive wins!" a woman exclaimed.


    "Be careful. Once you''ve won two wins in a row, the opponent you meet in the next round won''t be nearly as weak!" her companion reminded her.


    "Yes, I know," the victorious woman replied.


    Within the Arena of Legends, the rules were very fair. If you continued to win, the opponents you would encounter would become more and more powerful.


    Zen waited for a long moment before someone finally put away their jade token and withdrew from the arena. It was the woman who had just spoken. Her jade token demonstrated that she had won two battles. Normally, the person who had won two consecutive rounds would take a good rest before facing the third battle.


    As soon as the woman stepped out, Zen placed his jade token into the groove. The woman was a low-rank True God, and she was still immersed in the joy of her two consecutive victories. She looked at the Jade Wall with a casual expression on her face. After all, Zen''s cultivation base was a level lower than hers.


    In spite of her mood, when she saw that Thad had twenty-six consecutive wins, her mouth fell open so wide, her jaw could have touched the ground.

 Chapter 2228 Grover Mu

    By now, Zen''s consecutive wins had quietly increased to twenty-six rounds


    and according to the rules of the arena, his point advantage was terrifying.


    Zen had only earned one point when he defeated Herman during the first round, but at the twenty-sixth round, he garnered one hundred and twenty points. At this point, he accumulated more than two thousand two hundred points.


    In a single round, he could only gain three to six points at most. The reason Zen could accumulate so many points at a time was that his wins were consistent all throughout. He was winning rounds in a row, and this gave him point advantage.


    Although the woman behind Zen was a low-rank True God, she had merely accumulated eight hundred points so far. Seeing Zen''s undefeated record and the number of points he had made her feel lightheaded, as if she were in a dream.


    Initially, the woman planned to rest for the meantime, but she decided against it. She wanted to see with her own eyes how Zen had accumulated more than two thousand points.


    Generally speaking, the points of a proving godly warrior would be zero to six hundred, while the points of a low-rank True God would be 600 to 2, 000, and the points of a mid-rank True God would be 2, 000 to 8, 000. For some reason, the points of a top-rank True God and a consummate True God were insanely high, and some consummate True Gods could get as many as hundreds of thousands of points. There were some cases where they even reached millions.


    At times, after entering the Arena of Legends for the first time, many talents who came from wealthy clans on the Floating Islands were able to gain points through consecutive victories. Zen had won twenty-six consecutive wins, while his points totaled to those of a mid-rank True God!


    However, the points accumulated like this were quite faulty on a particular level. After winning consecutively, a warrior could backfire and lose most of their points if they lost in just one battle. Moreover, especially in the Arena of Legends, no one was ever guaranteed a victory.


    After a few rounds, Zen had no idea that his own score began to attract the attention of others. Right after he activated his jade token, he fell into the Jade Wall of Legends.


    "Gina, what are you looking at?"


    Another woman noticed the woman lost in her tracks and asked her out of concern.


    The woman, Gina pointed loosely at Zen. Her companion looked that way and was immediately shocked. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed. "Twenty-six consecutive wins, and more than two thousand points!"


    As a proving godly warrior, it was shocking to see that he had over two thousand points. This was not something people saw very often, so it attracted a lot of attention. Moreover, it had not been long after Zen entered the Purple Soul Hall. The other warriors like him had only earned tens of points, but he was an exception.


    Her exclamation garnered more and


    y. In essence, it was obvious that Murphy crafted this skill especially for Grover Mu.


    Murphy had even had Grover Mu''s two short swords made for him, too. The left one was called White Fur, and the right one was called Silver Scales. These two swords were supreme primordial weapons tailor-made for Grover Mu. Did Murphy really love Grover Mu this much?


    Grover Mu had fought at least a thousand battles in the Arena of Legends. Much like Zen, when he had just entered the arena, he was undefeated in battle. He had won twenty-one matches consecutively, and only after being defeated in the twenty-second round had he been given an official rank.


    In the thousand battles of Grover Mu, no one could ever save themselves from the Silver Scales Slash.


    Therefore, seeing that Zen didn''t try to avoid the swords, he was immediately stunned. If Thad had seen enough of the world, he would have known the great power of his Silver Scales Slash, and he wouldn''t have just stood there and offered himself up for death.


    However, when the silver light that Grover Mu waved was one foot away from Zen, he finally jolted out of his place.


    His body tensed up as he moved backwards, avoiding the silver light. At the same time, he stretched out his hands all of a sudden and took the light by his own hands.


    Clank! Clank! Clank!


    The white light sliced Zen''s hands, making satisfying, crisp sounds. The swords were short, but extremely sharp. However, the Silver Scales Slash just left a few white marks on Zen''s hands while it was supposed to do more damage.


    As Zen blocked the rotation of the two short swords, he took advantage of the situation to grab Grover Mu''s hands and stop him.


    Grover Mu hadn''t expected Zen to break his move in such a simple manner. His jaw dropped and he had no clue what to do.


    At the same time, he also began to feel a huge surge of energy go through his fingers, up to his palms, and upwards his arms!

 Chapter 2229 An Unexpected Discovery

    Zen didn''t give Grover any time to think.


    His goal was to end this battle as quickly as possible.


    Grover''s martial arts skill was very mysterious and there was no way Zen would be able to break it even if he came up with a clever method to do so.


    Not unless he went the other route. As the saying went, "a man of great strength can defeat ten men of martial arts."


    Basically, instead of brains, Zen could use his brute physical body in order to break his opponent''s martial arts skill and then use his powerful strength to suppress them. He''d use his soul attack if necessary. With Zen''s current strength, it was almost too unfair for the proving godly warriors to fight with him.


    In the Evolutionary Universe, Zen could barely fight against Pranav and others like him.


    Pranav was a low-rank True God but, because he was Murphy''s disciple, his real strength was on par with mid-rank True Gods!


    Given Zen''s current strength, he would barely be able to contend against an ordinary mid-rank True God.


    At this stage, he had no motivation at all to challenge warriors above his level. The additional, cumulative points awarded for successive wins were more appealing to him and it seemed a wiser choice to obtain points from fights with proving godly warriors in the Arena of Legends.


    With his quick reflexes, Zen managed to grab Grover''s hands and channeled his immense power towards his opponent. There was no resisting this attack and thus, Grover was brutally halved.


    The victory inevitably went to Zen.


    Despite his winning, Zen didn''t think too much of it and quickly got out of the arena.


    However, the moment he turned he was frozen in shock by the dense crowd that had formed behind him.


    Hundreds of beauties stood staring at him. It seemed his match garnered quite a bit of attention and there were also numerous whispers from the crowd.


    "Twenty seven consecutive wins..."


    "His current opponents should be the most powerful proving godly warriors from the wealthy clans on the Floating Islands."


    "His points are rising so fast! This battle gets him two hundred points!"


    In the eyes of these female disciples, Zen was somewhat of a freak. He didn''t possess the Purple Power Body yet he entered the Purple Soul Hall. Back when the master was speaking he casually stepped up and encouraged everyone, and now, they all discovered his real strength which was extremely powerful!


    How long could he keep his winning streak?


    After finding out that his battle with Grover easily earned him two hundred and forty points, Zen immediately wondered just how many points he''d manage to get if he kept winning.


    Despite the gazes of so many beauties focused on him, Zen merely ignored them and continued to imme


    treasure! I never expected the Han Clan to offer it as a reward."


    Numerous mid-rank True Gods, and even some top-rank True Gods, salivated over the five treasures.


    However, it wasn''t the five treasures that attracted Zen per se.


    No, he was instead focused on the bronze lion statue, rather, what it was placed on. Below the statue where it was prostrated was a huge, cyan plate.


    This plate obviously had a bit of history. Zen didn''t recognize the material it was made of but his inner world clearly showed a strong desire for it. This plate was actually made of that special mud.


    His failure of condensing a Godly Tile had always been a cause of concern for him.


    He got his chance back in Six-Burden Divine City but he had almost lost his life. It was just too difficult to find that kind of mud again.


    If he couldn''t find any more of that special mud then his cultivation level would be doomed at the world lord level. It was understandable that he felt extremely depressed by this.


    Zen never thought he''d get another shot after finding this cyan plate here! He was extremely grateful that luck was in his favor.


    These five treasures were all superior to the thirty-odd supreme primordial weapons below. The bronze lion statue also seemed to be the best reward out of the five which meant it was going to be extremely difficult to obtain.


    "Sir, may I know the requirements to get this year''s rewards? For example, the bronze lion statue at the top..." Zen asked the mid-rank True God beside him.


    The mid-rank True God had been staring blankly at the treasures but was jolted back to reality by Zen''s question. "Bronze lion statue? Oh! You mean the Golden Beast Statue! Those five treasures are only for the disciples of the main Han Clan. Ordinary people don''t have the qualifications to obtain them."

 Chapter 2230 The Reunion

    The disciples of the Holy Emperor City knew that while the Han Clan had shown them great sincerity, they couldn''t grasp it.


    There was a distinction in rank and status between the disciples of the Han Clan''s Floating Island¡ªaccording to their born status, those disciples could be divided into four grades.


    The disciples with other surnames were in the fourth grade, including Zen. But his situation was rather special.


    Those in the third grade were members of the Han Clan sub-branches. These children differed little from the disciples at the fourth grade in strength and talent, but because they had ''Han'' for a last name, they had to be taken care of by the Han Clan.


    On average, the children of the main Han Clan belonged to the second grade. These kids were born and raised on the Floating Island. Unfortunately, their talent was mediocre at best and they lacked in strength, so their clan could only use certain resources to keep these children from being thrown out¡ªthey were clan members after all.


    Those in the first grade, of course, were the elite children of the Han Clan.


    These people were considered the pride of their clan, meaning that the Han Clan provided them with almost all their resources and efforts. As elites of the clan''s next generation, they bore great expectations from their people.


    The elites included Pascal, who had been in the limelight for years, and Laquisha, who had just become a low-rank True God.


    Normally, these people seldom appeared in public, but they weren''t invisible in the Arena of Legends. Compared to those in the same realm, they ranked extremely higher. Although this group of people made up only a fraction of the Han Clan''s population, their points could often determine the ranking of the Floating Island.


    The mid-rank True God explained it clearly¡ªthese five treasures were the best of the best, and the ordinary disciples of the island could only drool over them in the future. Those who could take the treasures out were destined to be the elite children of the Han Clan.


    "Whether or not you''re qualified, you need a fair rule, right?" Zen asked, his eyes crystal clear.


    He was well aware that in this world, there was no such thing as absolute fairness. There was a huge gap in strength between all the Han Clan disciples. While on the surface, these treasures could be obtained by anyone, only a select few could even meet the conditions.


    The mid-rank True God glanced at Zen with utter indifference¡ªhe figured that as a proving godly warrior, Zen was overestimating his own strength, so he reported the Han Clan''


    "Thad, now that you''ve passed the great test of the Heavenly Han House, why didn''t anyone from the Holy Emperor City pick you up?" she asked him all of a sudden.


    Holding a high position in the Han Clan came with access to inside information¡ªshe knew that the house had recommended Thad to the Floating Island and that he was to arrive. But she had no idea that something had happened¡ªbecause of the dispute between Yazid and Bentley, Zen was sent to the Purple Soul Hall in the end.


    So the girl in green had come to the Holy Emperor City several times to investigate, getting no news that Thad had entered the city¡ªit was rather odd, in her opinion.


    She was on good terms with Aleyna and Laquisha, but the elites of the Han Clan weren''t only good friends¡ªthey were also great competitors. When Aleyna and Laquisha encountered Zen in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, they came across a series of adventures. When the two girls returned to the Floating Island, they told the girl in green about the story.


    She had been getting an earful about Zen''s stories, seizing the Pristine Life Vitality, single-handedly fighting off a group of top-level elites from big clans of Floating Islands. A twinge of envy came when she heard the tales, for the two girls who met such a strange person in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land¡ªshe herself had grown very curious about the stranger.


    After returning to the Han Clan''s ancestral land, the girl in green met a genius named Thad Luo. Judging from his strength, she figured that even the big clans'' elites couldn''t measure up to him. The girl was barely sixteen, even younger than Aleyna, but her great competitiveness and ego had her bragging about Zen when she came back.

 Chapter 2231 Suspicion

    Ever since Aleyna and Laquisha had returned from the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, they''d both been quite worried about Zen.


    What was more, Laquisha had even tried to use her connections with the Jiang Clan in order to obtain a little information concerning the Evolutionary Universe.


    Had this occurred in the past, the chances were she''d have succeeded. She did benefit from a high position in her clan, after all. It was easy for the Holy Emperor''s eldest daughter to get information here and there from the Jiang Clan. This time, it was another story though. She gained nothing at all.


    Because of Harold and his group, the Jiang Clan had equally lost control of the Evolutionary Universe.


    As a result, she had no choice but to give up. There was no way she could travel to the Evolutionary Universe personally. Her father would never agree or allow such to happen.


    Earlier though, upon hearing Kelsey provide news about Thad, she began to feel rather curious.


    As of the moment the Luo Clan had been exterminated, less and less talents with Luo as their family name existed. Thus, it was kind of strange that a talent surnamed Luo had suddenly appeared. Moreover, if Zen really did come to the divine land, there was no way he''d actually use his real name.


    On second thought though, the divine land really was very vast. Maybe Zen happened to arrive in the Han Clan''s ancestral land and successfully passed the Heavenly Han House test. Maybe he happened to meet Kelsey in the Heavenly Han House, and Kelsey just happened to show off in front of Laquisha. And perhaps, Zen really was that person, only using an alias.


    Was that even possible? The probability of such an occurrence was very slim, almost negligible. After figuring this out though, Laquisha didn''t pay much attention to it.


    As for the young girl named Kelsey, she went out on a whim and had a strong desire to win. In the past, she had searched high and low in the Holy Emperor City on several occasions for information about Thad, but to no avail. Ultimately, she gave up.


    Nevertheless, today, she, Laquisha and Aleyna had all come to observe the rewards distributed by their father there, and they had happened to encounter Thad.


    From her standpoint, Laquisha looked Zen up and down secretly.


    Although Zen looked totally different now and even his aura had become stronger than in the past, Laquisha still felt like she recognized him. This feeling confused her deeply, for it was the first time they had ever met. Why did he give her such a familiar feeling?


    "I didn''t join the Holy Emperor City," Zen stated, shaking his head in negation. "I joined the Purple Soul Hall."


    "What?!" Kelsey exclaimed. "You joined the Purple Soul Hall?" The corners of Kelsey''s mouth twitched slightly and a strange smile spread


    could be said that Aleyna, who ranked second among the proving godly warriors in the divine land, had extraordinary talent.


    It was true that Kelsey had said that in the past, but she was reckless and less sensitive than Laquisha. She had already forgotten what she had said, and Aleyna didn''t see any special thing in Thad. In other words, she hadn''t connected Zen and Thad together whatsoever.


    But as Laquisha reminded her, she remembered immediately, clapping her hands together at once as the thought flashed in her mind. "Oh, yeah, that''s right! Kelsey, didn''t you brag about this guy''s strength every day a while back? You said he was stronger than me, huh? Thad, why don''t we compete, right here, right now? Come on, hurry up! Let''s do it!"


    Aleyna was the type of person who always did whatever she pleased. And right now, her full intention was to compete with Zen.


    Unfortunately for her, had she known that Thad was Zen, she would have never made such a silly choice. Although she was somewhat reckless, she was also very clever. Once Laquisha and she had come back, they took the time to secretly analyze Zen''s background, and even read up on a little history that was hard for regular warriors to get their hands on.


    The more they knew, the more astonished they became. It was at that point that they decided to keep this secret for themselves.


    Aleyna had already been slightly aware about Zen''s background and origin. Therefore, she knew very well that she was no match for him.


    Now though, she wasn''t thinking too clearly. Just a few seconds ago, instigated by Laquisha, she had offered to challenge Thad. At least, while they competed, Laquisha would be capable of using the time to retrieve more information and clues on Thad.


    Zen looked at Laquisha helplessly. As long as he had to deal with Laquisha and Aleyna, nothing good would happen.

 Chapter 2232 Playboys From Wealthy Clans

    If he really fought with Aleyna, he must learn to hide his moves, or he would be easily seen through.


    But Laquisha was thinking the same as Zen. She knew that Zen''s strength far exceeded the strengths of people at the same level as him, but he didn''t have as many tricks. Now, Aleyna was much stronger than before, so she thought that it would be difficult for Zen to hide his tricks before her.


    These thoughts wreaked havoc in Zen''s and Laquisha''s minds.


    But the battle between Zen and Aleyna did not start.


    Because at this moment, the door on the other side of the hall was pushed open with a loud bang.


    More than a hundred people rushed into the hall. They weren''t very strong but they exuded an extraordinary aura.


    Some of these people were proving godly warriors, and the others were low-rank True Gods. Most of them were very young. While the proving godly warriors were only 16 or 17 years old, the low-rank True Gods were only in their early twenties. They were all dressed informally but their clothes were all very fancy. Some had cyan-winged phoenixes embroidered on their shoulders, while some had gold dragons on their sleeves. They must belong to influential clans.


    In addition to these warriors, there were four top-rank True Gods, who were hiding their aura and keeping a low profile. What was more, they were only the bodyguards of some of these young people.


    "No outsider is allowed to enter this place!" Grant frowned and stepped up to stand before them. He said, "It doesn''t matter who you are. Please get out!"


    Since the Princess Royal had come here, all the others on the Han Clan''s Floating Island must avoid being seen. No resistance was allowed.


    The fifteen year old man at the front shook his head and laughed as he said, "What? I can''t hear you."


    "This guy told us to get out! Ha-ha! Can you hear me now?" Another young man in blue whispered loudly to the young man in front of him.


    "Fuck off! I think I''m going to be deaf!"


    "Lower your voice. The two princesses of the Han Clan are here today.


    Don''t embarrass Lang!"


    Now that these young people had stirred up trouble, the quiet hall had suddenly descended into a mess.


    Grant''s face darkened. He gritted his teeth and made to attack.


    As a top-rank True God, dealing with these juniors was easy for Grant. But he had barely made a move when two top-rank True Gods blocked his path.


    "Hey buddy. You''d better stay out of young people''s businesses," one of them whispered threateningly to Grant.


    "I just want to protect my princesses," Grant said flatly.


    "Our young master can''t be hurt either. Don''t force us to do anythin


    ay with the one she loved.


    Although the divine land was large, how could Laquisha avoid being chased by a Holy Being?


    They all thought that Laquisha would eventually compromise with her father after struggling for a while.


    Langston was an outstanding young man. In the Arena of Legends, he had ranked among the top five mid-rank True Gods, and had never fallen out in all these years. Langston was the youngest son of the Holy Being of the Leng Clan. His status was no worse than that of Laquisha and it could be said that they were perfectly matched.


    Langston greeted her warmly, but Laquisha was still pulling a long face and was avoiding looking at him.


    As he watched Laquisha helplessly, Langston wanted to walk over to her. But Aleyna and Kelsey were staring coldly at him from either side of Laquisha.


    "Stay away from her!"


    "Fuck off!"


    Although these two girls constantly fought with each other, they were very united when it came to guarding Laquisha against him.


    "You two little girls, get out of the way!"


    "The girls of the Han Clan are really beautiful. The two girls might become more beautiful than their sister when they grow up!"


    "You can also ask your father to come here to propose marriage, can''t you?"


    The playboys were straightforward and even began to comment on Aleyna and Kelsey. They didn''t dither before saying something harsh.


    Even though Aleyna looked weak and feeble, she was tough, just like her mother. Their words brought her to the point of explosion, her round eyes widening as two blood shadows emerged from her hands.


    The two blood shadows dragged in her hands like two shapeless knives, and she jabbed them towards one of the playboys.


    She intended to kill them by using all her strength!

 Chapter 2233 Harassment

    The rich clans had introduced many rules and regulations among them.


    Some rules were written on the Ruling Slate, while some on the Hall of Holy Beings. Some were even the rules of the various rich clans and the sect rules.


    There was also a rule among the young men from the rich clans.


    The top-rank True God said to Grant, "Keep one thing in mind. No matter what you do to protect the princesses of the Han Clan, ensure you do not displease these children from the noble clans. Else you will be punished severely! If these warriors begin to fight with each other, you better stay away and watch from a distance. Don''t involve in their fighting."


    It was a set rule that servants were not allowed to engage in fights among the core disciples of the rich clans.


    Aleyna was all set to challenge Zen who was appreciated for his remarkable talent by Kelsey.


    However, she was now in a towering rage and rushed towards the nearest proving godly warrior.


    To make matters worse, she had clearly heard the warrior make some crude remarks with lustful eyes. She vehemently despised such people and to top it, she was ranked second among all the proving godly warriors!


    Hiss...


    The two rays of red light elongated and transformed into a mesmerizing blood-red pattern. It charged towards the reckless proving godly warrior!


    The pattern exuded an aura of murderous intent, creating an illusion of situating in the Abyss Demon Region. No matter where one stood, they would be affected by the surging malicious aura.


    The top-rank True Gods and mid-rank True Gods seemed to be unaware about the turn of events. They were not affected by this aura.


    But some of the low-rank True Gods felt their hearts suddenly race. Their blood pumped so much adrenaline that they were filled with an intention to kill others.


    The proving godly warrior, Egbert Zhou, who was about to be covered by the blood-red pattern was the core disciple of the Zhou Clan.


    The Zhou Clan''s Floating Island was only ranked in the middle on the Time Sea. It could be regarded as a middle level island, but it was still guarded by a Holy Being. Although this clan did not showcase any extraordinary talent, they were socially active and were on good terms with other clans. It also maintained its own position and rank in the past few years.


    Egbert Zhou never realized that the younger daughter of the Holy Emperor of the Han Clan was so stubborn and reckless that she was just randomly going to kill him for no fault of his.


    The disciples from rich clans on the Floating Islands were all bossy and cruel by nature, but it was the first time that Egbert Zhou had met such a fierce and domineering woman. He was not prepared for such kind of behavior.


    Even if Egbert Zhou managed to maintain his composure, he was still no match compared to Aleyna.


    Aleyna was ranked second among the proving godly warriors, while Egbert Zhou was ranked beyond 80th. The two of them had confronted each other in the Arena of Legends twice, but Egbert Zhou lost in a very short period of time during each round.


    Warrio


    iance stood in front of her.


    Langston said coldly, "Aleyna is a little bad-tempered, and it''s not a bad thing for her to spar with Keenan. Keenan has the sense of propriety and might drive some sense into her."


    Hearing this, Laquisha felt outraged. "Spar with him?" She knew that all of those noble clan disciples were not only powerful, but also eloquent. She just said coldly, "Get out of my way!"


    Langston shook his head and smiled. "You are not supposed to talk to me with that tone, but I still find it appealing!" he uttered.


    Langston was not afraid of Laquisha''s counterattack as he said those words. After all he was the top mid-rank True God, while Laquisha had just mastered the Godly Way. Laquisha was no match for him. Since Langston stood in front of Laquisha, it was impossible for the latter to make any move.


    Grant who was in the hall was now sweating profusely. He was the guard responsible for protecting both Laquisha and Aleyna. Faced with the current dilemma, he felt helpless. What should he do? What if anything untoward happened to the two sisters of the Han Clan? He knew he would be in a very grave situation if he failed to protect them.


    "Humph! How dare you bully my sister!"


    Kelsey shouted angrily when she saw that Keenan Liu was bullying Aleyna with the silver flute.


    But Kelsey''s strength was inferior to that of Aleyna. It was an easy job for Keenan Liu to deal with the two girls. He enveloped both of them in the silver light that spread from his silver flute. All this while, he was stroking Aleyna''s face from time to time, taking advantage of her position under the flute''s spell.


    When the other rich clan disciples witnessed this scene, they merely started laughing. They showed no intention to prevent Keenan Liu, and even made fun of Aleyna.


    Zen had never expected that the situation in the hall would create such a turn of events. Earlier he had planned to leave without anyone''s notice, but now, he realized it would be difficult to do so. He silently shook his head and walked towards Aleyna.

 Chapter 2234 Driven Mad

    The rich playboys of the wealthy clans were quite used to this kind of situations.


    In fact, they meant no harm, as they only thought of it as a game.


    However, this game would prove to be quite costly to the three sisters of the Han Clan.


    The Han Clan was meant to be riding on the Leng Clan''s coattails. Although the playboys mostly kept it to themselves, they despised the Han Clan in their hearts. They also had a tendency to create troublesome situations for others. They were quite keen on the politics of the Floating Islands as well.


    They were aware of their actions and knew whom to avoid when they stirred trouble.


    The playboys were unaware of Zen standing there. He wouldn''t have caught their attention even if he was a top-rank True God, let alone a proving godly warrior.


    Zen kept his head down and started walking towards them.


    Since Zen was on the Floating Island, he didn''t want to cause any trouble. He had no one to lean on and was weak. Provoking these guys didn''t seem like a good idea as he could jeopardize everyone knowing his true identity, However, he couldn''t just stand there and watch Aleyna getting bullied.


    "How about that?"


    When he was only seven or eight feet away from Aleyna, a great force made way through his feet and exploded.


    Zen increased his strength in order to make up for the loss in speed. In the Evolutionary Universe, when everyone was flying back and forth, this was not much of an advantage, but in the divine land, it was extremely valuable and effective.


    Due to that turbulent force, Zen''s speed increased in an instant. His body started to lean forward. Few pieces of ice were condensed in his left hand, and a raging flame was seen in his right hand.


    If Zen used the Great Weighty Sword combined with the Emotion Closing Godly Way, he would have been able to even kill Keenan.


    However, the consequences would be quite severe once his Emotion Closing Godly Way was exposed.


    Fortunately, Zen had stored a lot of Godly Ways through Infinity Ruler. Although, he was unable to cultivate anything during this time. He was also constantly thinking about the cooperation between these Godly Ways. He suddenly started waving his left hand just as he became fast.


    The air was filled by sudden swishing sounds.


    The ice cones in his left hand suddenly flew towards Keenan.


    As Zen started to attack, he finally attracted the attention of people that were present there.


    As Zen was only a proving godly warrior, the people over there didn''t take him much seriously. After all, Aleyna was the strongest among the proving godly warriors, but she wouldn''t have been able to d


    me, some snowflakes drifted. The snowflakes covered the whole area, and suddenly it became cold there.


    "Snow Godly Way!"


    "This is the sixth Godly Way," someone exclaimed. "This fellow is quite mysterious."


    "I know plenty extraordinary people, but I never heard of this person in the Han Clan before."


    The playboys from the wealthy clans present were the most powerful and talented ones in the same realm. In their opinion, cultivating three or four kinds of Godly Ways was way too much work. And it would be a queer if they could display five or six kinds of Godly Ways casually. Moreover, this guy seemed to have cultivated much more Godly Ways than he had displayed.


    Even though Keenan had been cornered by Zen, the onlookers had no intention of helping him. They were interested in seeing what Zen would do next.


    Suddenly Aleyna intervened and stopped Zen in his tracks. She asked Zen to let her kill Keenan. Aleyna was not a softhearted person. Her cultivation base had restrained her strength, but she wasn''t afraid of killing Keenan.


    Aleyna hated Keenan ever since she was molested by him. She didn''t want to standby watching idly as Keenan was getting killed. She wanted to be the one to kill him herself.


    "Let me kill him!" Aleyna exclaimed.


    Keenan felt quite dizzy and furious at the same time. Whenever he tried to get out of this difficult situation, Zen would come up with something new.


    Keenan raised the silver flute in his hand and shoved it into the ground.


    Buzz!


    A streak of silver light suddenly flashed from the upper end of the silver flute which stunned the spectators.


    "This isn''t good."


    "Keenan is mad now!" one said.


    "Everyone, move back quickly!"


    Everyone rushed back to safety when they saw this.

 Chapter 2235 The Lesson

    Although this group of people made quite a havoc in the Han Clan''s territory, they were also well aware of what was more important.


    It was nothing more than a basic prank. At first, when Keenan had started picking on Aleyna and Kelsey, he didn''t have any intentions of hurting anyone.


    When Zen stepped in, though, things became a little more subtle.


    Although the Liu Clan''s Floating Island didn''t rank high, it was still one of the richest and most powerful clans. It was a great shame that Keenan had been fooled by a proving godly warrior using different Godly Ways.


    If they were outside of the Time Sea, this might not have been a problem, as there was such a long distance between the wealthy clans.


    But right now, these huge Floating Islands were close to each other. No matter what happened, the news would spread in the blink of an eye. Everyone knew everyone around here. Keenan was too pissed to swallow his fury.


    At that moment, he felt very serious.


    From the top of the silver flute, a bright silver light suddenly burst out. Numerous mysterious thin rays spread out from it.


    Simultaneously, Zen felt there was something familiar about the burst of light: Chaotic energy.


    Upon noticing the burst of chaotic energy, everyone present began to show signs of fear. The top-rank True Gods in the hall were no exception.


    Anyone below a Holy Being''s status was completely unable to resist the chaotic energy''s erosion. Neither a consummate True God nor a Demi-holy Being.


    Zen raised his eyebrows slightly. Seeing as the flute could emit such chaotic energy, it was logical to deduce that it was a supreme chaotic weapon. And upon noticing the nervous warriors in continuous retreat, Zen knew that Keenan''s next move was bound to be extremely fierce.


    ''I sense trouble, '' he thought solemnly to himself.


    At that very moment, Zen''s dull eyes suddenly lit up. This time, not only did he refuse to retreat, but he rushed toward Keenan with speed and might.


    The chaotic energy could be seen pouring out from the silver flute and it was slowly circling around, preparing a killing tactic. How could an ordinary person even dare to approach such danger? Even just a tiny amount of chaotic energy could, and would, be a problem.


    Zen, on the other hand, didn''t have to deal with this psychological burden.


    The chaotic energy''s poison wasn''t harmful to Zen in any way. In order to avoid making himself too ostentatious, Zen gently twisted his body and found a gap to dodge through.


    "Is that guy going to stop Keenan?!" someone shouted in surprise.


    "He is much too bold. Encountering chaotic energy is far from being pleasant..."


    have no right to call me that..." After saying such words, Zen suddenly began wriggling his body on the spot.


    As he squirmed ceaselessly on spot, Zen activated the nine stars and motivated an enormous force.


    Zen''s movement wasn''t extremely fast, but because of the power infusion, it was too heavy for Keenan to react. When he clenched Zen''s arm, he felt a huge force escape it, which was much greater than that of anyone he had ever fought in his life before!


    With the strength Zen was exuding from his arms, Keenan was soon tossed into the air toward the hall''s ceiling by force.


    Splash!


    A milky white glaze lamp was hanging from the hall''s ceiling. Keenan smashed directly into the lamp, and it immediately shattered, falling to the ground in hundreds of sharp little pieces. Keenan, too, smashed violently down to the ground.


    Before his body was even completely splayed out on the floor, Zen kicked him hard in the ribs.


    Zen figured that since he had already offended this Keenan guy by defending Aleyna and Kelsey, he decided to teach him a good lesson. And what was more, Keenan had even tried to kill him!


    If it wasn''t for the fact that he had a couple scruples concerning the wealthy clan standing behind Keenan, he would have sliced him in half with his Great Weighty Sword!


    With a roar, Keenan''s body looked like a folded, half empty sack of flour. He went crashing into a wall on the other side of the hall, and his body sprawled helplessly out on the ground.


    Everyone in the hall was now staring at Zen intensely. Previously, they hadn''t cared about Zen''s background or name. Now though, something had changed. Their hearts and minds were full of questions. When had this guy shown up exactly? And why had they never heard of him before?

 Chapter 2236 An Outsider

    Because the Arena of Legends existed, a powerful warrior on the Floating Island would soon attract attention.


    For example, when Aleyna placed second among the proving godly warriors in just a couple of years, the wealthy clans knew that she was destined to be a new star of the Han Clan.


    Irrespective of whether they were weak or powerful, warriors could always find opponents to match their level of strength. The Arena of Legends was not only for battles of strength; it could also prove to everyone a warrior''s talent and their future.


    Zen had also done well in this arena, winning all of his battles.


    But he hadn''t climbed up to obtain a rank. He was like a ghost wandering around the arena, constantly drawing points. Except for the dozens of proving godly warriors who Zen had defeated, no one else knew him.


    Among all the proving godly warriors, Aleyna was only second to Donovan, the little talent of the Jiang Clan. And yet, she hadn''t been able to defeat Keenan.


    There was a huge gap between the strengths of a world lord and a True God, which one couldn''t cross by relying merely on their talent. After all, the energy released by a True God''s momentum was much more than ordinary life vitality.


    Zen had deftly combined six Godly Ways and attacked Keenan.


    It was not difficult to do this. With careful design, diverse Godly Ways would often have miraculous effects. But this move was as opportunistic as juggling, and was widely considered a low trick.


    However, no one had thought that the kid could be so fast and suddenly burst out such unimaginable strength; the way he had defeated Keenan was truly incredible.


    It was normal for a low-rank True God to challenge or even defeat a mid-rank True God. But it was extremely rare for a proving godly warrior to defeat a low-rank True God.


    Laquisha''s attractive eyes glinted with mirth.


    Zen''s physical disguise was pretty effective, but he couldn''t mask his character. She had never even imagined that Zen would quietly appear on Han Clan''s Floating Island.


    "Just as I said, he is stronger than the guy you mentioned," Kelsey said, smiling.


    "No, he isn''t," Aleyna snapped.


    "Now that Thad has arrived at the Floating Island, I''ll ask Father to transfer him from the Purple Soul Hall tomorrow," Kelsey added.


    "Such a talent should be used by our clan, but I''m afraid h


    d him in its shadow. While he chased Zen, he dragged out a number of figures sheathed in red behind him so that it looked like a large group of people was chasing after Zen.


    And it seemed that he was even faster than Zen.


    No sooner had Zen retreated eighty feet than Sheridan Xie appeared before him and blocked his path. He placed two of his slender fingers on his forehead and touched the blood red mark.


    A ray of blood light flashed from the gem mark on his forehead and gathered on his fingertips.


    A metallic sound resonated from his fingertips, his bloody fingers seeming to have turned into two sharp swords.


    He flipped his right hand and pointed two fingers at Zen, his eyes blazing. Killing an outsider wouldn''t give him any sense of achievement. But it would be a great shame for Keenan to lose to this guy, which was why he had decided to help Keenan.


    At the receiving end of Sheridan Xie''s attack, Zen felt cornered.


    "Eight Smoky Melodies!"


    A puff of white smoke rose from the surface of his body, and his entire body had now become light as paper.


    Two rays of sword radiance spurted out of Sheridan Xie''s fingertips. Zen floated around as if he couldn''t feel gravity.


    "It is really him!"


    Laquisha looked relieved.


    She had seen Zen perform the Eight Smoky Melodies. And now, due to Sheridan Xie''s force, Zen used this move to keep his life, which confirmed her conjecture.


    She was anxious too. She couldn''t bear to see Zen killed by these people. Although she was blocked by Langston, she smiled and sent a voice message to Grant.

 Chapter 2237 Threat

    Everything happened so fast that it was all a blur. After Zen used the Eight Smoky Melodies, he suddenly lost his weight and floated in the air like smoke.


    On the other hand, Sheridan didn''t pull his punches.


    The red light on his fingers intertwined with each other as numerous small red rings circled all around his fingertips. A pleasant, metallic clang rang out every time the rings came into contact with each other. When he slightly tapped his fingers, a strange red sword light burst out from his fingertips!


    "Swish! Swish! Swish!"


    The Eight Smoky Melodies was known as a flexible skill in the Evolutionary Universe because it didn''t have much gravity, and all the things inside it were relatively lighter than those in the divine land. However, it wasn''t as effective when used in the divine land.


    After all, the Eight Smoky Melodies was just an ordinary kind of martial arts technique. Thus, Zen found it hard to use it against Sheridan''s Godly Way. Sometimes, he even had to roll on the ground just to dodge the red sword radiance, and it made him look very awkward.


    "Dodge towards this side!"


    "Move back! Move back quickly!"


    Meanwhile, Aleyna and Kelsey cheered nervously but excitedly for Zen as they couldn''t participate in the battle. They didn''t know how dangerous his situation really was, but they believed that he could turn the odds to his favor.


    Of course, Zen clearly wanted to do so.


    However, his opponent had the advantage since the beginning, so he almost had no chance to fight back. He was even lucky enough to dodge the sword radiance, but he knew that he couldn''t keep going like this.


    "Whoosh!"


    A red sword radiance left a long trail of red light in the air as it swept past Zen''s face. It left a scratch on his cheek that was almost invisible to the naked eye, but strings of blood gushed out from the very small wound.


    His face remained impassive, but his eyes began to burn with rage.


    His opponent, who was much faster than him continuously shot sword radiance from his fingers to attack. Furthermore, he always maintained a distance of three steps away from Zen, which left him no way to escape.


    Despite his tight predicament, Zen quickly did a mental analysis of the situation.


    He knew that he had limited means to use in the face of such a strong opponent. Aside from all kinds of Godly Ways, the best thing that he had thought of was only


    y?


    It was why it came as no surprise when everyone wanted to know how he had managed to extend his physical strength.


    Even the top-rank True Gods who had come with the warriors all looked at him with utter shock and confusion.


    While everyone was still in a daze, Zen''s eyes glittered with murderous intent. He grabbed the air, and the invisible hand lifted Sheridan up from the ground.


    Sheridan was still out of his wits because of the heavy slap. Now, he looked limp and lifeless as he was hung in midair.


    There was an uproar when Zen suddenly launched his attacks. His fingers continuously hit Sheridan''s limbs, chest, and spine!


    Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!


    All of his moves were extremely precise and crushed the most important bones and joints all over Sheridan''s body. It was too much that before Sheridan could react or even scream, he already lost his consciousness because of the immense pain!


    When Zen was satisfied enough, he threw him onto the ground and stepped on him. He looked around the hall coldly and said, "I didn''t intend to offend you here today, but these girls of the Han Clan are my old acquaintances, so I have to step out and help them. If you want to try my strength, I am willing to spar with you inside the Jade Wall of Legends. But if anyone wants to kill me here, I''m afraid that this guy will have to join me in hell!"


    As soon as his voice died down, he lightly stepped on the gem mark on Sheridan''s forehead. Had Zen used his full power, he could even make a top-rank True God''s head explode. What more with Sheridan, who was only a low-rank True God?

 Chapter 2238 Forced To Kill (Part One)

    By now, Zen realized that his involvement with these men would be a never-ending battle.


    Even if he defeated Sheridan, someone else would inevitably take his place to continue harassing him.


    Harder still, it was verging on impossible for Zen to fight against a True God, even if it was a low-rank one. At his current level, he would definitely lose if he fought with a mid-rank one.


    His only chance was to hold Sheridan hostage. That was the most realistic strategy he could adopt.


    Although the disciples of the wealthy clans were cruel, they cherished their lives above all else. In their eyes, everyone outside the Floating Islands was worthless. They would never sacrifice themselves for Zen.


    And he was right.


    At the sight of the fierce expression on Zen''s face, silence fell upon the crowd like a giant blanket.


    Out of the almost oppressive silence, a purple-haired young man near Zen at the edge of the crowd narrowed his eyes and said in a harsh voice, "Do you have any idea who you''re going up against?"


    "Of course!" Zen answered, a smirk curling the edge of his lips. "He is from the Xie Clan. That is all the information I need."


    "You are naive. His surname is unimportant. What you don''t know is that his grandfather is a Holy Being," replied the purple-haired man, visibly frustrated at Zen''s complacence. "You know the consequences of killing him, don''t you?" he said, louder this time. Zen didn''t have to say anything. The purple-haired young man sneered victoriously. He knew Zen wouldn''t dare to do anything to harm Sheridan.


    After this exchange, the tense atmosphere relaxed slightly. It was like a bomb had been disarmed. The crowd knew that Zen''s intentions were nonviolent.


    Zen blinked, his expression wide-eyed and somewhat disturbed. "If I don''t kill him today, will you let me go? Sheridan has been trying to kill me time and time again, and every time he has acted without mercy. Why can


    on, her fiance. Noticing her expression, he could not help but feel helplessly jealous seeing her eyes fill with admiration for another man.


    It was an arranged engagement, and they only met twice. Needless to say they did not know each other very well. However, Langston could not contain his jealousy as, distant as she was, she had nevertheless been promised to him.


    Langston came to visit Laquisha often, but she had refused to see him every time. Her rejection made him rather angry, and now his anger was compounded by his jealousy.


    What kind of person was Langston?


    His status, cultivation level and talent were on par with Laquisha''s. He could find a partner of her level easily. It was not as if he didn''t have other options. Countless girls with the same breeding wanted to marry him.


    However, as a male member of the Leng Clan, Langston had factors other than breeding and talent to consider when choosing a future wife. He knew why his father wanted him to marry a girl from the Han Clan. He also knew that a great earthquake was due to hit the Time Sea. After careful evaluation of the overall situation, he was determined to marry Laquisha. It had not been a difficult decision to make, however, as he happened to like her. After all, she was beautiful and elegant.

 Chapter 2239 Forced To Kill (Part Two)

    Now, a murderous intent formed in his mind. His entire being filled with fury as he saw his fiancee being attracted to another man. Deliberately, he walked towards Zen, with a cold smile on his face, and said, "I''ve seen a lot of people who look tough in the outside, but actually turn out to be cowards! Do you want to exchange your life with his? Do you dare?"


    "Lang?" someone shouted. The crowd stirred, shocked.


    "That guy is a little crazy. You''d better..." someone warned.


    "Don''t provoke him. Just let the matter go, okay?" yelled another voice.


    Upon seeing Zen being so serious, the crowd didn''t want to provoke him to do something stupid. Seeing Langston make his move made them uneasy.


    They didn''t expect Langston''s reaction either. Instead of backing down, he walked slowly and deliberately towards Zen and pointed at him. "Humph!" he said, addressing the crowd. "This kind of person probably had a hard time climbing up from the bottom of society. I''m pretty sure he won''t have the guts to push through with this and risk losing everything." As he spoke, his eyes followed the changes in Zen''s expression.


    Of course, Langston didn''t care a smidge about Sheridan''s safety. He only wanted Zen to die and at least be humiliated.


    If Zen dared kill Sheridan, he was doomed. Everyone knew that. Even if Langston himself didn''t kill him, the Xie Clan would never let him go. If Zen managed to solve the problem by words and threats alone without spilling any blood, things would be a lot less complicated. That was exactly what Langston wanted to do.


    As Langston kept moving forward, Zen sa


    w hard one tries to maintain it.


    Whoosh!


    As soon as he had crushed Sheridan with his feet, Zen moved backwards. As he retreated, he pulled out his Great Weighty Sword. Without looking, he swung his sword left and right at everything and anything coming at him.


    On the list of the Arena of Legends, Langston ranked fifth among all the mid-rank True Gods of the divine land.


    Master Evil was a top-level warrior among the mid-rank True Gods. But compared to Langston, Master Evil was far inferior in skills and capabilities.


    The Arena of Legends wasn''t the ultimate test of ability. Outside the Time Sea, Langston could easily overpower and even kill some of the top-rank True Gods from the second tier clans.


    Zen was unable to resist such a strong enemy.


    He didn''t use the Emotion Closing Godly Way, but a considerable amount of strength source was poured into the sword strike.


    Whoosh!


    With a blast of wind, Zen''s sword didn''t land on his enemy, but swayed off course and cut through the empty air.


    Langston''s speed was beyond Zen''s imagination.

 Chapter 2240 Being Defeated

    Zen let go of his sword without any hesitation.


    The Great Weighty Sword flew off from his hand, whirling in the air, and piercing through the wall. From there, it continued its trajectory before smashing heavily into the open space outside.


    Two low-rank True Gods outside the hall could only stare in shock as the large sword stuck itself into the ground.


    They knew there were some important people inside the hall but they didn''t know that there was also a fight so they were quite surprised by the sudden appearance of the Great Weighty Sword.


    Meanwhile, Zen, having let go of his sword, contracted his body and rolled to the side.


    His opponent was such a top strongman that he couldn''t capture his figure at all. Both his eyesight and spiritual sense were unusable to him.


    His decisions from henceforth were all based on mere instinct.


    As he rolled to the side, a faint figure flashed through where he had been. That figure launched three crimson claw prints.


    Swish! Swish! Swish!


    The three claw prints did not catch Zen but were strangely in the air for quite a long time.


    Langston stood with a trace of surprise in his eyes. Behind his back was his hand that flashed a faint, cold light. Zen couldn''t have dodged his blow but it seemed that Zen had a god''s support and managed to avoid him.


    "Interesting," Langston exclaimed before a cold smile broke through his face. "Let''s see you avoid me this time."


    He then took a step forward and his figure immediately became a blur. He couldn''t fly as a mid-rank True God but his extreme speed made up for it.


    Luck had helped Zen avoid Langston''s grasp just now but how long would it last? Just as Zen watched Langston disappear, he gritted his teeth and rolled away again.


    However, Langston was prepared this time. Before he jumped, he already predicted the direction Zen would try to escape to and thus was able to make his way there and wait for him. He still stood with one hand behind him, as if it was a great insult for him to fight against a proving godly warrior with both his hands.


    He was about to grab Zen but his expression suddenly changed. Langston suddenly raised his entire body and turned his head backward, as if he had been pulled out of the desert. Only then did he stand firmly on the ground as a rough wound appeared on his forehead.


    Despite their difference in level, Zen


    ed Zen''s body continuously.


    These claw prints penetrated through Zen''s Redemption Armor while the forces inside his body continued to rampage and destroy his internal organs.


    Puff!


    Zen spat out blood but continued to roll to the other side. As he rolled, he left behind a streak of golden blood on the ground. The strength hidden in Langston''s strange claw prints was too special and his body couldn''t bear its power.


    Seeing his opponent down, Langston now walked freely and had a contemptuous look on his face. He was just careless before and was accidentally hit by Zen''s spear earlier. The graze didn''t mean that the young man was more powerful than him. Just as he was about to end Zen''s life, a graceful figure suddenly floated over and shielded Zen.


    It was Laquisha. "Let him go," she ordered Langston in a cold voice.


    "He killed Sheridan, so he must die. You know this. Even if I let him go, he will still die," Langston reasoned. He stared at Laquisha with a sneer. Even if he didn''t have deep feelings for her, she was still his fiancee so he still had to listen to whatever she said.


    "Be that as it may, you do not have the authority to execute him," she said.


    Langston tilted his head and smiled coldly. "What if I insist on killing him?"


    Splash!


    A little blue flame rose between Laquisha''s browns and swiftly ignited her hair. At the same time, blue flames burst forth and spiraled around her arm. She was entirely enveloped in blue flame as she stood against Langston determinedly. "If you want to kill him, you''ll have to go through me first!"

 Chapter 2241 Hug

    The three siblings of the Han Clan were now famous in the Time Sea.


    Pascal, Laquisha, and Aleyna, the youngest children of the Holy Emperor were all outstanding in the younger generation.


    Among them, Aleyna was ranked second among the proving godly warriors while Laquisha was ranked third among the low-rank True Gods. As for Pascal, he was ranked first among the mid-rank True Gods.


    There were thirty-six Floating Islands on the Time Sea, meaning the existence of thirty-six wealthy clans. The talents of each clan were not to be underestimated¡ªamong them, some were lineal descendants, some were geniuses from the sub-branches of the main clans, and some were outstanding disciples of other clans...


    But the three siblings of the Han Clan occupied the top positions respectively, creating quite the miracle. Someone even announced that the Han Clan was about to rise again, likely to break into the top three among the big clans in the future.


    Soon after Laquisha came back from the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, she had condensed her own Godly Tile.


    But it was a very special Godly Tile¡­


    Her inner world was completely different from that of others.


    Before condensing her own Godly Tile, all Laquisha knew was that when her body emitted deadly blue preternatural flames, it was completely out of her control. The flame had even hurt her family, distressing her greatly.


    Not even the Holy Emperor knew what the flame was, nor could he help his daughter get rid of it.


    When Laquisha condensed her Godly Tile, her inner world underwent a dramatic change.


    At that time, countless blue preternatural flames spurted from her inner world she had created and preserved. They burned her entire inner world to ash, destroying all its living beings along with it.


    It was an extremely painful process¡ªas a girl, it pained Laquisha to witness the numerous creatures that she had created burn down to nothing.


    When the flames descended upon her inner world, huge clouds of blue flames appeared in the sky. It was these clouds that condensed her Godly Tile, allowing her to become a low-rank True God.


    Countless creatures came into existence in her inner world at the same time.


    These creatures were not human beings, nor were they created according to Laquisha''s own will¡ªthey were all monsters born in the sea of flames and they had no problem living in these blue flames. They began reproducing and becoming the ''aboriginals'' of her inner world.


    The Godly Tile condensed by a proving godly warrior was usually for one of


    the Leng Clan and the Han Clan will unite by marriage. You can die if you don''t want to marry me. But after you die, I will marry your sister! If your sister dies too, I will marry your cousin¡­"


    Hearing that, Aleyna and Kelsey looked at each other in worry.


    Laquisha''s eyes flashed¡ªLangston wasn''t someone who would easily give in. If she meant what she said, Langston was also sure to act on his words.


    "I don''t want to talk about this with you today," Langston continued. "But the man behind you must die!"


    "You can have a try." Laquisha was ready to go all out. Zen was standing up for Aleyna and she wouldn''t let him die for this.


    Lying on the ground, Zen couldn''t move as his blood continued gushing out. He leaned against the door to the hall and stared at Laquisha''s back, the flickering flames on her hair sending him into deep thought.


    Did she already know who he was?


    Even if it was Thad who got into trouble because of helping Aleyna, Laquisha wouldn''t have been so determined to protect him.


    As he was gathering his thoughts, Zen felt a figure flicker nearby. As a gust of wind blew, his heart sank. If Langston really acted to kill him, Laquisha wouldn''t be able to stop him.


    Seeing Langston pounce on Zen from the sky, Laquisha dashed towards Zen and hugged him tightly at the same time.


    "Sizzle!"


    Blazing blue preternatural flames swept out and covered the area.


    Even Langston was afraid of Laquisha''s preternatural flames, his body twisted and landed several feet away. He could only stare coldly into the flames. It seemed that Laquisha''s preternatural flames could burn everything. And if so, wouldn''t that brat also be burned to death at that rate?

 Chapter 2242 Talking In The Flames

    When Zen was in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, his body had been tempered by Laquisha''s preternatural flames.


    Because of this, he was valued by the members of the Collapsing Mountain race. Otherwise, it would have been difficult for the two of them to leave the Collapsing Mountain race.


    Maybe because the smell of the Calamity Dispelling Fragrance could stimulate the most primitive instincts of any creature, the image of her and Zen hugging each other was deeply imprinted in Laquisha''s mind. It was fresh in her memory and was just one of the many indicators that she had been missing Zen all this while.


    But she was also certain that Zen was destined to be just a passerby in her life.


    He had carried a great mission, had incredible talent, and had great ambitions. But he was now going to complete something that seemed impossible.


    Even though Laquisha was fully aware of this, she met Zen again and confirmed to herself that Thad and Zen were the same person. It was then that all her hesitation fell away and Laquisha began to try her best to help Zen.


    But she hadn''t expected things to go like this. Zen had first killed Sheridan, and then Langston had wanted to kill Zen.


    She had told Grant to ask her brother, Pascal, to come over to her as soon as possible. But Pascal had still not arrived.


    In a moment of desperation, Laquisha hugged Zen. She then activated her Godly Tile and drew the blue unearthly fire from her inner world, letting the flames envelop Zen and her.


    "Oh my God! If she keeps doing this, she will burn Thad to death!" Aleyna exclaimed, looking at the fire in blank shock.


    But Kelsey whispered, "I wonder if Thad can bear the flames."


    "How can he resist her flames? Have you forgotten how formidable her flames are?" Aleyna retorted.


    They were the people closest to Laquisha, so they knew her preternatural blue flames the best. Ever since Aleyna was a child, she had been warned not to get too close to Laquisha. But Aleyna seldom heeded the warning and continued to run after Laquisha.


    Whenever Aleyna was with Laquisha, the unearthly fire that she could not control hadn''t erupted.


    But several outbursts of Laquisha''s preternatural flames had left a horrible impression on Aleyna. Some members of the Han Clan had even died because of Laquisha''s flames, and there had been a period


    didn''t you look for me?" Laquisha asked in a low voice.


    If Kelsey hadn''t gone to the Han Clan''s ancestral land and they hadn''t encountered such an incident, Laquisha would never have known that Zen had entered the Floating Island.


    Zen didn''t say anything. Instead, he looked at her innocently, as if he didn''t know her.


    At first, Zen had intended to deny his identity, so that Laquisha would have nothing to do with it. Never had he thought that he would eventually need this woman to protect him. And his physical body was undergoing some changes as it burned in this unearthly fire. But now, he couldn''t deny his identity anymore, since Laquisha had figured it out on her own.


    "Were you afraid that I would betray you?" Laquisha asked, fuming.


    She did know Zen''s identity and some of his secrets, but it didn''t mean that she would sell him out to the Hall of Holy Beings. She had no intention of doing that. Instead, she would try her best to help Zen.


    At the earnest expression on her face, Zen said in a low voice, "No. I''m just afraid you''ll be implicated."


    In fact, Zen thought that Laquisha and Aleyna were the uncontrollable factors to his plans. But he was also afraid of getting them into trouble. Because once the elders of the Han Clan came to know the truth, they would not take Zen''s side anymore. And then, it would be even more difficult for Laquisha to deal with the situation.


    At Zen''s answer, Laquisha looked up at him and said softly, "If I were to be involved, I would be in a much better place than the one I am in right now."

 Chapter 2243 Pascal Han

    Sensing Laquisha''s affection, Zen''s heart skipped a beat.


    For him, the trip to the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land was mainly for training purpose. He didn''t expect to leave such a long-lasting impression on this woman.


    But keeping in mind what lay ahead, he kept his thoughts to himself.


    Zen never ever wanted to rely on a woman to help him.


    Ever since he started to cultivate martial arts, he never expected anyone to help him. However, he always remembered those who did help him, assuring them that he had their back at the time of need.


    Later, he found out that his father had been decorating his life secretly, helping him to improve. Zen was once very depressed, which however was due to his own nature.


    A solemn expression crept upon Langston''s face as he walked around the flame.


    He had already heard of this blue preternatural fire, so he found it wise not to touch it.


    But that didn''t mean that he couldn''t deal with the flame.


    If this woman took that guy in with the blue preternatural fire, it would probably be a great shame for him if this thing spread out. He didn''t expect Laquisha to behave like this as she didn''t even think of his clan''s reputation.


    If the guy had been burned to ashes, it would have been quite logical for Laquisha to remove the flame. But why did she keep the flame burning?


    The spectators nervously glanced at each other, with a puzzled expression on their faces.


    Langston had had enough. He stretched out his hands and clapped, a series of sharp claw prints spread out from his hands.


    These claw prints rose up in the air and circled Langston. These claw prints would cut anyone who tried to approach Langston.


    The air was filled with sound of the spinning claw prints.


    The claw prints spun faster and faster. They also shrank simultaneously beside his body. All the claw prints turned into many small spirals and gathered on his hands. It looked as if a small top was spinning swiftly on his hands.


    Then he raised his hand and gave it a wave. As a result, the spinning top whooshed over and barged into the flame arranged by Laquisha.


    There was a splashing sound as the spinning top collided with the preternatural fire.


    Laquisha''s preternatural fire could devour everything. However, the spiral made from the claw prints made of momentum was actually a mass of high-speed spinning energy. Once the energy entered the flames, a gust was generated, swaying the flames sideway


    er dismay.


    "You haven''t married into my clan yet, but still you''d be punished according to my clan''s rules. Then you''d come to know what the principles of a wife are!" Langston roared.


    Clap!


    Langston slapped Laquisha just as he finished talking.


    Laquisha did not see the slap coming as she was thrown sideways by its force.


    Zen didn''t know how to react. He glared at Langston without saying much. He was too badly wounded to react.


    Master Evil in his mind said, "You young people are way too impulsive."


    Master Evil naturally didn''t want him to provoke the playboys of these wealthy clans. And it was a wise decision not to react given his current strength and status. Yet Zen knew he had to do something. However, he was only a soul that was living in Zen''s mind after all. How could he influence Zen''s decision?


    "You disgusting animal!" Langston looked down at Zen and weird claw-like prints slowly popped out from his fingers, making their way towards Zen''s face.


    Aleyna and Kelsey watched in horror, their fists clenched. Not knowing what to do.


    Just as the claw prints were about to hit Zen, the door of the hall was suddenly pushed wide open and a powerful aura rushed in followed by a man who hastily made his way towards Langston.


    There was a loud bang.


    Langston was pushed back by the loud blast and the deafening voice of the man could be heard all over the place, "I just went to the forbidden land for a while, and you all acted wildly in my territory. Do you think the Han Clan is weak?!"


    At the sight of the man, Aleyna heaved a sigh of relief and cheered, "Brother! You finally came back!"

 Chapter 2244 Who Are You

    Pascal Han did not possess a very impressive height nor was he physically appealing. However, after he entered the hall, he gave a remarkable aura.


    Most of the playboys and disciples of the wealthy clans in the Floating Islands were already proving godly warriors, low-rank True Gods, or mid-rank True Gods.


    After reaching the level of the top-rank True God, they stopped their practices and focused on reaching the consummation of True God Realm and other higher levels. The mid-rank True Gods had the supreme power among the wealthy clans. After all, their cultivation level was the most powerful one in this circle and their strength was naturally the strongest.


    Pascal ranked first in the mid-rank True Gods, and was also the strongest among the younger generation of these clans.


    Hence, Pascal scoffed at these so called ''playboys''.


    These playboys were divided into four to five circles depending on their clan backgrounds. In the past, they had tried to impress Pascal, but he rarely bothered about them much.


    Pascal glanced at Langston indifferently and looked around. Soon, his eyes fell on Laquisha.


    The slap received from Langston was quite hard. Her swollen cheek and clear palm print were proofs of that.


    Pascal''s blood boiled when he saw the palm print and he asked coldly, "Who hit you?"


    Before Laquisha could say anything, Aleyna pointed at Langston and shouted, "He was the idiot who hit her!"


    With his eyes fixed on Langston, Pascal replied casually, "You are a bold man, Langston, to do such a gross thing."


    Langston asked coldly, "Pascal, do you even know what your sister did?"


    Langston firmly believed that he had the right to teach Laquisha a lesson. After all, she was to marry into their clan sooner or later. No man could remain indifferent after what she did.


    But Pascal was slowly advancing towards Langston as he said, "I don''t care what my sister has done. Whoever dares to hit her, he or she must be prepared to face the consequences!"


    Seeing Pascal approach him, Langston started to retreat. He raised his hands in defense and continued to explain, "Pascal, there is a reasonable explanation for everything. Our Leng Clan..."


    Langston thought that after hearing his own clan''s name, Pascal might stop. After all, the Leng Clan was much richer and more powerful than the Han Clan.


    But Pascal left him with zero chance.


    Everyone felt that a great force was about to be released. All of a sudden, everyone''s shoulders got heavy. Soon, Pascal was rush


    gends was just a game for the children. If one wanted to obtain full strength in their own clan, they should be able to at least stand for themselves and be heard among others after reaching the consummation of True God Realm. This was the rule of most wealthy clans.


    Hogan was speechless after Pascal''s statement. Because what Pascal said was indeed the truth.


    "Now get out of our Han Clan''s Floating Island," Pascal shouted angrily.


    The people from the other wealthy clans slightly trembled as they heard Pascal. Having left with nothing to say, they walked out of the hall with their heads bowed. Hogan also followed them, carrying Langston on his shoulder. Before he left, Hogan said, "It is true that we are no one to represent the Leng Clan, but someone has to be responsible for Sheridan''s death."


    As he said this, Hogan glared at Zen before leaving.


    Earlier, as soon as Pascal had entered the hall, he noticed a pool of blood in the middle of the hall. But at that time he was not aware that Sheridan had been killed.


    After the men left, he asked with a cool expression, "Who killed Sheridan?"


    Those men from the wealthy clans might not have decision-making power amongst themselves, but if they died, then things would get terribly serious.


    It was the same case like children when at home might not have much power, but if something happened to them, the parents would definitely demand an explanation. And the wealthy clans were no exception.


    "It''s him who killed Sheridan," said one of the disciples of the Han Clan, pointing at Zen.


    Pascal turned his head and stared at Zen. He was a little confused, and then asked coldly, "Who are you?"

 Chapter 2245 Take Responsibility

    Pascal didn''t quite know what happened.


    However, if Sheridan was really dead, it was a matter of great importance.


    According to the rules set by the wealthy clans on the Floating Islands, sub-branches'' disciples along with the noncore disciples could die. But the killer was to be severely dealt with if one of the core disciples died.


    Due to Sheridan''s high position in the Xie Clan, the clan members wouldn''t let his death slide so easily.


    Pascal had his eyes fixed upon Zen. "My name is Thad Luo," Zen said.


    "Did you kill Sheridan?" Pascal asked Zen.


    Pascal didn''t know much about Sheridan. Although Sheridan had performed well in the core disciples of the wealthy clans, his efforts weren''t enough to get Pascal''s attention.


    Almost all the members of the wealthy clans were quite powerful. Sheridan was a low-rank True God, while Zen was only a proving godly warrior. The thought that a proving godly warrior killed a low-rank True God confused Pascal.


    "I killed Sheridan," Zen replied seriously.


    It wasn''t Zen''s intentions to run from the fact that he killed Sheridan.


    "Why did you kill him?" Pascal questioned.


    Aleyna quickly rushed to Zen''s aid and said, "You ask him why? Don''t you know the answer to it yourself? It''s not his fault," Aleyna stated.


    Pascal had a rough idea as to what might have happened, even though he was not present there.


    Pascal was one of the most dignified disciples in the younger generations. He enjoyed a high position in the Han Clan. All the elders of the Han Clan respected him dearly. Although, his two younger sisters weren''t afraid of confronting him from time to time.


    Aleyna angrily confronted Pascal but was unable to get a reaction from him.


    Laquisha intervened and said, "This is not the time to play the blame game."


    Everyone looked at Laquisha as she finished speaking.


    The fingermarks on her face were long gone but her pretty little face was swollen.


    Pascal''s heart was filled with sorrow when he saw Laquisha''s face. He took out a bunch of emerald green grass from his Sumeru Space. In the middle of the grass was a blooming flower, and in the middle of the stamens was a small human face.


    The human face in the middle of the grass screamed as Pascal squashed and crushed it. Then he put it on Laquisha''s face.


    This healed Laquisha''s face and her swelling subsided.


    "I know, but someone has to take some responsibility for this,"


    as the current leader of the Han Clan, Alfredo Han.


    At that night...


    Zen''s injuries healed at a rapid pace. Grant, who had helped Zen get better was quite surprised by how quickly he could recover. After Zen fully recovered, Grant tied him with a rope and sent him to the Spiritual Heart Hall in the Han Clan''s Floating Island.


    Dozens of top-rank True Gods lined up in the Spiritual Heart Hall and on the floating platform at the top of the hall stood several warriors who were at the consummation of True God Realm.


    Although these masters hid their breath, a strong aura was developing in the Spiritual Heart Hall. All the masters fixed their eyes on Zen as he made his way through the hall. They were curious as to find out who was the outer disciple that was able to cause such a commotion by killing Sheridan.


    Zen felt quite nervous as he saw all those eyes were fixed on him. He still mustered the courage to look up.


    "Sheridan was pretty close to the top rankings of the low-rank True Gods. How can this guy kill him as he is only a proving godly warrior from the outside the Floating Island?"


    When people present there heard this, their faces dropped with utter shock.


    Once warriors had obtained the Godly Way, the Godly Tile had raised their own cultivation too much. Therefore, it was quite hard for this proving godly warrior to kill someone with a Godly Tile. Even among the children of the wealthy clans on the Floating Islands, only few were able to cross the gap. People wouldn''t believe it if they heard that a little fellow from outside the Floating Island could kill a low-rank True God.

 Chapter 2246 Arrogance

    The news about Sheridan''s death had not spread yet. At the very least, no one from the Xie Clan had come to the Floating Island of Han Clan to seek revenge, for now.


    However, the Han Clan still took the matter seriously.


    In fact, the Xie Clan and the Liu Clan¡ªwhich ranked last, both didn''t have high status nor much authority in the Time Sea.


    Although the two clans were both led by Holy Beings, they didn''t have a strong foundation. Therefore, they were most likely to fall into the Time Sea if they were in a fierce competition.


    Generally speaking, the wealthy and powerful clans must be guarded by Holy Beings, but it didn''t mean that a clan with Holy Beings was qualified to stay above the Time Sea.


    There were indeed some clans in the divine land that were not powerful enough but had a Holy Being in their families. Their comprehensive strength did not qualify them to enter the Time Sea, or to have a Floating Island to their name.


    Therefore, to enter the Time Sea did not depend on a Holy Being, but on the whole clan''s comprehensive strength.


    Of course, the Han Clan was not afraid of the Xie Clan to the point that even the death of several core disciples was not a big deal for them. However, the Xie Clan had good relationships with some powerful clans on the Floating Islands. Moreover, the Han Clan should be responsible for the problem, and they would be in trouble if the Xie Clan wanted to avenge Sheridan''s death.


    On top of that, the Han Clan had to get everything ready. However, Alfredo needed to figure something out first.


    "Please tell me your name," said Alfredo, who was in the middle of the hall.


    Despite his calm tone, there was an undeniable edge to his voice. It was like thunder that resounded in Zen''s ears, which made him seem like he was the only God between heaven and earth.


    That was the aura that a God should have.


    In turn, Zen looked up at the clan leader in front of him. He had never seen such a character like the man before. He was so shocked that his facial muscles refused to move and make any expression at all.


    "Thad Luo," Zen replied flatly.


    "Do you know why you are tied here?" Alfredo asked with a smile. When Zen heard the question, he couldn''t help having a sinking feeling in his chest.


    Apparently, the top masters of the rich clans in the divine land also liked to talk a load of garbage.


    The Han Clan had tied him up and brought him to this place just because he had killed Sheridan. He didn''t have to answer such a question again. ''Do the True Gods present intend to set up a court trial?'' Zen wondered.


    "I''m very curious. You are all the top martial artists in the divine land, while I am just a proving godly warrior. Why did you tie me up like this? Are you afraid that I will escape?" he suddenly asked. The sm


    ds from a mere proving godly warrior shocked the senior leaders of the Han Clan to their core.


    On the left side of Alfredo, a middle-aged man in red armor burst into laughter. "Little guy, are you crazy? Do you just overrate yourself? You may be talented, but we have a lot of talented disciples. There is no lack of such outsiders like you in our clan. It''s a good thing to be confident, but it''s ridiculous to be arrogant!"


    The others present nodded in agreement. They all thought that Zen was wildly arrogant as well.


    They had lived for so many divine eras, but they had never seen such a reckless talent like him.


    The smile on Alfredo''s face was completely gone now. Everyone was bound to dislike an arrogant person. "Maybe I was wrong. You don''t belong to the two types of people I just mentioned. You''re a conceited warrior," he said coldly.


    In Zen''s defense, he did know that his words would annoy them, but he didn''t want to die. He wanted to have a chance to prove his worth. He believed that he was valuable enough for the Han Clan to protect him.


    Even if both Aleyna and Laquisha might take actions, he didn''t know if that would stop the Han Clan''s decision.


    He could guess that the reason Alfredo wanted to see him was because he wanted to determine if he was worth it or not.


    Just then, a gentle voice rang throughout the hall and said, "I believe handing this young man over to the Xie Clan must be the stupidest thing for the Han Clan to do ever since the beginning of the divine era!"


    The owner of the voice was none other than Joy, the Demi-holy Being of the Han Clan. When her words had died down, she stepped fully inside the Spiritual Heart Hall. She glanced at Zen with a smile, and then said, "I wonder why you didn''t go to the Arena of Legends today. Now, it turns out that you came here to rest. Come back with me right now."

 Chapter 2247 Purpose

    Zen had been personally permitted by Joy to be a part of the Purple Soul Hall.


    But after Mae brought him in, he hadn''t talked with Joy much.


    It was as if she only viewed Zen as an ordinary disciple who had entered her Hall, so she did not bother contacting him.


    In fact, those who were familiar with Joy were well aware that her restriction of only being able to recruit disciples in possession of the Purple Power Body meant that they were not as talented as the disciples of other Holy Beings. They were far weaker in strength and power and often left unnoticed.


    Zen was someone who had been recommended by the Heavenly Han House. A talent like him would be regarded with interest and attention even if he were to enter the Holy Emperor City. But Joy turned a blind eye to Zen as soon as he entered the Purple Soul Hall, which was rather unusual considering his potential.


    What Zen did not know was that Joy had been a silent spectator to his activities all this time.


    She had noticed Zen from the moment he stepped into the Arena of Legends for the first time; how he had encouraged the people around him; to the time when he won all the battles in the Arena of Legends. Joy had kept a constant eye on him throughout his endeavors.


    Others might be unable to watch what was inside the Jade Wall of Legends, but this was not a problem for Joy. She had been a witness to almost all of Zen''s battles.


    As a Demi-holy Being, it was no doubt that Joy had a keen eye.


    She knew that Zen did not possess the Purple Power Body, but he was capable of displaying the Purple Aura Godly Way through a special magic weapon instead. As for what magic weapon it was, even Joy, who was in possession of a wide range of knowledge, had not yet realized.


    But what surprised Joy was Zen''s actual strength.


    He had won more than thirty times in a row ever since he entered the Arena of Legends. He easily won in the face of the proving godly warriors. The chasm between him and his opponents was huge, and Joy could not wrap her head around the phenomenon. It was as if a low-rank True God had fought the proving godly warriors. The gap in strength could not be so easily overlooked.


    Joy was unaware of Zen''s true hidden strength because the proving godly warriors were yet to test his limits. Zen, on the other hand, was almost dismissive in his behavior toward them. He seemed as if he did not even take them very seriously.


    Zen''s words were indeed arrogant and even Pascal wouldn''t dare say those words. But Joy showing up was a sign that the Demi-holy Being of Han Clan was on Zen''s side.


    "Master," Zen said, bowing to Joy. He did not know much about Joy and had hardly expected her to turn up. Although Joy was no master of his, he still referred to her as


    iercing through every inch of him.


    Zen''s secret must never be let out to outsiders.


    Even Laquisha and Aleyna couldn''t be fully trusted, which was why Zen had disguised himself and avoided them.


    It was impossible for Zen to tell his secret even when confronted by the Demi-holy Being, Joy. He was under great pressure when facing such a strong warrior. He cleared his throat unwillingly.


    "When I was a child, I received a great opportunity, so I cultivated from the level of an ordinary divine citizen..."


    Zen was merely making something up when Joy waved her hand at him intently. An invisible force spread out and he found himself unable to continue.


    "You are quite powerful, and you also seem far too familiar with making up lies. You must have lied a lot, correct?" Joy''s eyebrows curved up like a new moon as she stared at Zen and clicked her tongue.


    Although Zen had been exposed straightaway, he remained calm. "Everyone has their secrets. If I end up revealing mine to others, it would be like losing my soul. I will not survive it. I hope you can understand."


    "Look at you... why are you so nervous? I didn''t say that I won''t understand." Joy smiled at his reply.


    If she truly wanted to fish out Zen''s secret, it would not be difficult for her. However, as a Demi-holy Being, Joy tended to agree with Zen. All had their secrets and hidden agendas. If one forced others to disclose them, it could have unnecessary and dangerous consequences.


    However, Joy had not asked for a secret. Joy continued, "If you want to keep your secret, you need to do something else in order to prove yourself."


    Joy would not offend Alfredo over a proving godly warrior for no reason. Since she had taken such pains to take Zen away, she must have a purpose in mind.


    "What do I have to do?" Zen asked, his gaze full of curiosity.

 Chapter 2248 An Impossible Task

    In Zen''s eyes, a Demi-holy Being was almost an omnipotent existence.


    ''What does she want from me?'' he thought.


    "Last time, you motivated the disciples of our Purple Soul Hall, and their rankings have risen significantly in the Arena of Legends, but¡­ It is far from enough!" Joy said lightly.


    The Purple Soul Hall was highly important to Joy. Thus, how could she bear to expel those disciples?


    Everyone had their own ambitions, and a Demi-holy being was no different.


    "It''s far from enough, but what does it have to do with me..." asked Zen. There were more than thirty thousand people in the Purple Soul Hall. It was too many of them.


    Thus, she couldn''t rely on Zen alone to increase the Purple Soul Hall''s total number of points, could she?


    He did earn a lot of points recently, but it was just a drop in the bucket compared to the entirety of the Purple Soul Hall.


    "I want you to earn more points," Joy gazed at Zen and said with a smile.


    "More? How many?" he asked incredulously. He was clearly quite speechless. He never expected that his speculation would turn out right. Perhaps, Joy really planned to pin all her hopes on him to turn the tables around.


    "You need to earn one million and two hundred thousand points more. That is equivalent to every Purple Soul Hall disciple earning forty points on average. If that still doesn''t work, then I will have no choice but to eliminate the ten percent of the disciples who are ranked at the bottom," Joy calculated as her lips curved up into a charming smile.


    Zen almost choked in disbelief as he heard the number. He paused for a while before he repeated, "One million and two hundred thousand points..."


    To his surprise, Joy replied flatly, "Yes. Is it difficult? Back then, I earned three million points in the Arena of Legends!"


    "What was your cultivation level at that time, Master?" asked Zen. "A consummate True God!"


    "¡­¡­"


    There was a pause. Zen couldn''t help but roll his eyes at her.


    Of course, the True Gods at the consummate level naturally had many, many points.


    They had so much that the top masters recorded on the Jade Wall of Legends had over a million points!


    It was safe to say that the several consummate True Gods from some clans could directly determine their clans'' rankings!


    However, there were only a few consummate True Gods in each clan. Unlike the battles of ordinary True Gods, which were usually held three times every month, a battle between consummate True Gods often drew great attention. So much that sometimes, there wasn''t a single fight between consummate True Gods once every few years.


    Since the points of powerful warriors at the top rarely had significant changes, many clans focused on the True Gods at the bottom to improve the overall points. It was a more practical and stable way to keep their rankings. After all, some consummate True Gods might lose hundreds of thousands or even over a million points in one battle.


    "Defeating a proving godly warrior in a battle only earns me several hundred points, and that already includes the


    nd nodded.


    "Give me your jade token," Joy suddenly said and reached out to him.


    His hands fished out the jade token from his pocket and handed it to her. Then, Joy gently stroke the token with her slender fingers until it glowed green. She gave it back to him and said, "Now, when you go into the Arena of Legends, your opponent can''t find out your name. In other words, it is like you''re anonymous."


    "Really? Can it even work in this way?" he asked. Curiosity filled his mind as he took back his jade token.


    "It''s normal. Some warriors from the rich and powerful clans would do so when they don''t want to attract attention. But the anonymous function only works on your opponents that challenge you. Once you lose, your name will appear on the ranking list," Joy said. "And... From now on, you can enter the Arena of Legends from here," she added.


    As soon as she was done, she clapped her hands.


    The hall began to vibrate slightly as the Jade Wall of Legends, which was thirty feet tall, rose from the ground. This Jade Wall of Legends was rather small compared to an ordinary one, but it was possible for three people to enter the Arena of Legends at the same time.


    Joy was a little tired after she had finished her arrangement. A yawn escaped her lips, then she said, "You can enter the Arena of Legends at any time. I''ve already helped you apply for the battles to challenge warriors at a higher level. I''ll have to rest first..."


    Once she was done speaking, her body emanated a purple mist that surrounded her. The mist soon dissipated, and so did she.


    ''I can''t believe a Demi-holy Being would feel sleepy. She must be acting; it''s too obvious, '' Zen thought as he pursed his lips.


    After a few moments, he walked towards the Jade Wall and inserted his own jade token into it.


    "Buzz-"


    The Jade Wall of Legends started to tremble, and some information about him began to appear on it. Just as what Joy had said after she helped him to become anonymous, his name was blurry, and there was no way for anyone to know it.

 Chapter 2249 So Popular

    A gentle light from the Jade Wall of Legends enveloped Zen and everything around him faded away. He had entered the Jade Wall of Legends.


    This time, however, he wasn''t sent to the battlefield directly. Instead, he came upon an empty room.


    "Eh? What happened?" Zen looked around in confusion.


    In the past, he would always directly enter the battlefield with an opponent already pitted against him. Why then did he come upon this empty room?


    He walked around and noticed strange divine textures carved on the walls. As he looked around, he also found a small door tucked away on one side of the room.


    Zen made his way towards the door and pushed it open. As soon as he did, a ray of light hit his eyes and momentarily blinded him. At the same time, he heard a loud noise.


    "So noisy..." he murmured as he opened his eyes.


    Outside was a huge annular space where small doors were densely packed in a spiral, forming a sort of staircase.


    In this space were countless low-rank True Gods. Some in small groups and barking loudly, others whispering to each other. There were so many of them which made the place such a mess.


    "Where the hell am I?" Zen asked himself in astonishment.


    "Oh, a proving godly warrior has come in," a young man wearing a golden crown bedecked with emeralds remarked. The young man had been standing beside Zen and was now gazing at him with surprise.


    He sized Zen up and his expression became even weirder. "Wow, he is an anonymous man!" he exclaimed loudly.


    His voice caught the attention of the other low-rank True Gods who also then stared at Zen. With Joy''s help, Zen was able to hide not just his name, but also his appearance. Anyone who tried to look at him would end up seeing a blurred face and nothing more.


    "He really is a proving godly warrior."


    "Is he going to challenge higher-leveled warriors?"


    "Which powerful clan is he from? How can he have the confidence to challenge those of a higher level than him?"


    Challenging warriors of a higher level wasn''t rare in the Arena of Legends. However, they only saw low-rank True Gods challenged mid-rank True Gods, mid-rank True Gods challenged the top-rank ones and top-rank ones challenged consummate True Gods.


    The difference in strength between a low-rank True God and a mid-rank one wasn''t very big so there were a lot of warriors at the low-rank True God level who challenged those a level higher than them.


    It was much more difficult for a mid-rank True God to go against a top-rank True God since the latter could fly and thus had an adv


    se of this anonymous proving godly warrior, they became competitors now.


    Meanwhile, Zen was back inside his room and he followed the young man''s instructions. He was quickly able to figure out how to use the divine textures on the wall. All he needed to do was to use the room number and he would be able to challenge anyone in the Hall of True Gods at any time.


    As he was fumbling around, one of the divine textures flashed. He touched it and immediately understood the information contained within: the young man had already challenged him.


    Hardy Qin from the Qin Clan. He had one hundred and ninety-three points and was ranked after one million and nine hundred thousandth.


    Such meager points were shabby for Zen but were, in fact, normal for someone like Hardy who had just stepped into the Hall of True Gods and lost a battle.


    Zen quickly accepted the challenge and the scenery around him changed once again. He finally stepped into the Arena of Legends.


    Hardy, his opponent, stood across from him. "Although it''s unfair to challenge you with my cultivation level, you accepted the challenge. Therefore, you yourself have chosen to participate in this battle. Surely you''re well-prepared, right?"


    Zen stretched his arms and legs, giving Hardy a smile. "Of course."


    "Then I won''t be mercy," Hardy said, giving Zen a polite bow. All wealthy clans paid great attention to points and rankings. As a direct disciple of the Qin Clan, the young man was under a lot of pressure and he was eager to win a battle in order to prove his strength.


    After bowing, a great power suddenly surged out from Hardy''s body. He looked up and his eyes shone with confidence that he would definitely win.

 Chapter 2250 Badgering

    After summoning his momentum from his inner world, a bright white light suddenly burst forth around Hardy''s right hand.


    This bright light slowly coalesced and formed itself into a milky white blade.


    "The Destruction Godly Way is practiced by very few people. My personality is not very suitable for it but it seems I have a bit of talent on it," Hardy explained modestly.


    His explanation rendered Zen speechless.


    This Qin Clan disciple was quite interesting. His manner of speaking was so fastidious despite the fact that he was just about to fight an enemy.


    Zen was so close to just attacking him immediately to catch him off-guard but he restrained himself.


    He didn''t want to gain his victory through trickery. His goal was one million and two hundred thousand points. Earning so many points couldn''t be done through mere deception.


    If he was being honest, Zen didn''t really feel that his task was realistic.


    It was true that he defeated Sheridan who had been ranked 40th but that was through a sucker punch using the strength source. Had Sheridan been at full strength then the battle might have turned out differently.


    However, he was quite confident in defeating Hardy. Still though, after winning consecutive victories, Zen''s points and ranking would quickly rise. That meant fighting with more and more powerful opponents which was going to be challenging for him. If those True Gods didn''t underestimate him then he might have a slimmer chance of defeating them.


    He also couldn''t use the Emotion Closing Godly Way which was his most powerful trump card. Up to now, Zen had no idea how he was going to face against those True Gods.


    Joy was the one who arranged for him to take part in this event. He could only hope that she prepared something for him. Right now, Zen had no choice but to adapt in his fights and try his best to win consecutive victories.


    Zen waited patiently for Hardy to get ready.


    Whoosh!


    The milky white blade had condensed in Hardy''s hand and was almost like an extension of his arm. As the blade radiance completely congealed into shape, it continued to emit countless tiny beams of light and made it look illusory.


    From this blade radiance alone, Zen felt a strong force of destruction.


    ''A Godly Way activated through the Godly Tile is able to reach a higher level. Hardy is one of the weakest low-rank True Gods but his strength cannot be underestimated...'' Zen surmised to himself.


    "I''m ready now," Hardy said with a smile. "What about you? Where are your weapons? Show me your weapons!"


    As a low-rank True God, Hardy felt that this battle was truly unfair to his opponent. Now that he had condensed his de


    Hardy was forced to use his trump card.


    The Air Destruction skill was something he comprehended through the Destruction Godly Way. He still wasn''t that familiar with it so he avoided using it against his opponents but the pressure he felt from Zen was too much and he found himself revealing this hidden move of his.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Countless crescent destruction blades condensed and flew around aimlessly within three thousand feet of Hardy. These blades constantly collided and garroted against each other, providing him with a sharp, powerful shield.


    "Eight Smoky Melodies!"


    There was no need to panic. Zen remained calm and simply used his movement technique against his opponent.


    These destruction blades were extremely sharp and contained a formidable destructive power but they weren''t very fast. All the blades did was to fly around at a very slow speed.


    Once he used the Eight Smoky Melodies, Zen''s body became light as a feather and he found himself easily dancing around the destruction blades. As he did so, he also absorbed the internal momentum Hardy had spread out.


    "What, what the hell are you doing?!" Hardy shouted. He couldn''t stand it having Zen badger him without attacking. If it were anyone else, then they might''ve already launched fiercer attacks but Zen didn''t seem to have any plans of doing so.


    However, Zen chose not to answer his question.


    The next moment, his eyes were already open wide and the edges of his pupils covered with two golden rings. These rings continued to break the mystery of the internal momentum Hardy had comprehended.


    Not long after....


    a faint light appeared on a scale on the Infinity Ruler. As the faint light dissipated, a round blade was left behind ¡ª the mark of the Destruction Godly Way.

 Chapter 2251 One Strike

    Zen was in an anonymous state, so his face was distorted into a constant blur and Hardy couldn''t discern the difference in his eyes.


    Now, after absorbing the Destruction Godly Way into his Infinity Ruler, Zen put more distance between Hardy and himself.


    He paused for about five seconds, and then with a gentle wave of his hand, he slowly emitted a bright white light from his palm.


    As the light condensed, it turned into a broad blade radiance.


    The most powerful way of using a Godly Way was to activate it with the momentum; a Godly Way had to be matched with one''s Godly Tile.


    Although Zen didn''t have a Godly Tile, the internal momentum of the Destruction Godly Way that he released using the chaotic energy seemed to be purer and shinier than the blade radiance that Hardy had released.


    "How...how is it possible?" Hardy stammered in bewilderment. He was stunned to see the large blade radiance in Zen''s hand. "You''ve cultivated the Destruction Godly Way too?"


    The Destruction Godly Way was not like the Five Elements Godly Way.


    There was almost no threshold to practice the Five Elements Godly Way, so the vast majority of warriors could cultivate the Five Elements Godly Way.


    There were many other extremely powerful Godly Ways in the divine land, but the thresholds of cultivating these Godly Ways were very high. When Hardy said that he was a little talented in cultivating the Destruction Godly Way, he was actually being modest. A warrior who cultivated the Destruction Godly Way to a certain degree would be unstoppable, but there weren''t many people who were capable of doing it.


    All of a sudden, Hardy saw Zen use the skill of the Destruction Godly Way and, overwhelmed with astonishment, wondered if Zen had just learned the Destruction Godly Way from him.


    But that was impossible!


    He had met a lot of talents in his life, including a few elders of the Qin Clan, who were all outstanding talents not only among the clan members but also among all the warriors from the Floating Islands. And yet, none of them were as talented as the warrior standing in front of Hardy now. Who else would be able to understand and comprehend the Godly Way of their opponent while battling them?


    If Hardy breathed so much as a word about this when the battle was over, no one would believe him.


    "The Destruction Godly Way is focused on destroying everything. Among hundreds of thousands of weapons, only the powerful but precise force of a blade can wield it. It is indeed the right choice to condense the light into a blade," Zen said with a faint smile.


    When Hardy heard these words, all his suspicions were confirmed. It was obvious that Zen had indeed just mastered the Destruction Godly Way during their battle.


    But it was still too unbelievable for him to accept.


    "You...you must have already tried to cultivate the Destruction Godly Way and encountered some bottleneck. Then, while battling me, you saw me using it and overcame that


    he door of Zen''s room suddenly flashed. Then, it turned into a blue ray of light and quickly shot upward from the side of the Hall of True Gods.


    "Huh? His door...is moving up!"


    "The rank of the anonymous man has risen!"


    "He actually defeated Hardy..."


    The low-rank True Gods who had been waiting for the anonymous man to emerge could do nothing but look at his door in awe and surprise as it moved up. They hadn''t expected at all that Hardy would lose this battle.


    The rankings of these doors in the Hall of True Gods represented the warriors'' rankings.


    Zen had never been ranked so far, so his name would not be displayed on the Jade Wall of Legends. However, the position of his door would still change.


    Now that Zen had won the match with Hardy, his rank and his door rose up sixteen spots.


    Buzz...


    The mobile blue light quickly transformed into the shape of a door frame before fading.


    At the same time, the door of Hardy''s room swung two spots downward. He had already reached the bottom floor, so he couldn''t lose much. It was impossible for him to fall to the level of proving godly warriors.


    Crack!


    While the low-rank True Gods were discussing the outcome of the battle with disbelief on their faces, Hardy walked out of his room with a gloomy expression.


    "Hardy, were you really defeated by that anonymous man?"


    "Did you lose to him on purpose? Or because of your carelessness?"


    "Or is it because that guy is really capable?"


    When Hardy heard these anxious questions, his disappointment was replaced by annoyance. He had always been a fair person, and had thought that it was unfair to fight with the anonymous man whose cultivation level was lower than his. And yet, Hardy had lost to him. It had come as a heavy blow to him.


    A wicked thought emerged from his irritated mood. With a sly expression on his face, he said to them, "That guy''s strength is ordinary. I was just too careless. Otherwise, I wouldn''t have lost to him!"

 Chapter 2252 A Trap

    In Hardy''s opinion, this anonymous man was quite powerful.


    Even if he put aside the man''s ability to instantly comprehend his Godly Way during their battle, he judged that the man was much stronger than the low-rank True Gods who had just proved the Godly Ways.


    But regardless of the anonymous man''s abilities, he was still only a proving godly warrior. Hardy was already in a bad mood after losing to him, but his mood worsened when the other low-rank True Gods surrounded him and kept annoying him with questions. Even though he was a straightforward and simple-minded man, he was willing to watch them lose their points to the anonymous man.


    As he had expected, the group of True Gods relaxed upon hearing his words.


    Then, they began to chide Hardy for his carelessness as if they were superior to him.


    "How could you be so careless?"


    "No matter how weak the opponent is, you should always keep vigilant!"


    "You''ve lost to a mere proving godly warrior. I hope you learned your lesson. Hey, hey, wait for me..."


    After saying a few perfunctory words to Hardy, the True Gods rushed to Zen''s door. They didn''t want to miss the chance to beat a proving godly warrior. For them, it seemed like an easy way to gain points.


    As a result, the few True Gods swarmed in front of Zen''s door, blocking it completely.


    Seeing this group of fellows rushing toward Zen''s door, the other low-rank True Gods had puzzled expressions on their faces. However, it was only when Zen opened the door that they realized that there was a proving godly warrior who had begun to challenge warriors above his level. As a result, more low-rank True Gods went up to Zen''s door. They all thought that they could beat this proving godly warrior and earn easy points.


    On the other hand, Zen was shocked to see so many low-rank True Gods gathered in front of his door. He glared at them and asked, "What are you doing?"


    "Quick, accept my challenge!"


    "I''m even weaker than Hardy. Maybe you can also defeat me!"


    "Choose me..."


    These low-rank True Gods all eagerly tried to lure Zen into choosing them to challenge next.


    Zen rolled his eyes, and then suddenly realized that these people couldn''t see his expression as he was still in an anonymous state.


    According to Joy, as long as he won consecutively without losing any battles, it would be easy for him to amass a large number of points. So, it was actually a good thing for him that so many people were enthusiastically waiting to challenge him. He could pick them one by one and defeat them.


    After all, these guys were the weakest of the low-rank True Gods. Some of them had just proved the Godly Ways and their Godly Tiles were not stable yet, so naturally, they couldn''t exert their full strength. Otherwise, they wouldn''t be picking on a proving godly warrior for the sake of points. However, with Zen''s current ability, it would be a piece of cake for him to defeat them.


    But on second thought, Zen found the whole commotion a little strange and realized that he was being too optimistic.


    These guys were clamoring to challenge Zen only because they didn''t know his real strength


    hich little boy could be so radical. It''s just two consecutive wins. Just keep paying attention to him."


    In addition to the Qin Clan, there were also a few other powerful clans that were keeping an eye on Zen. It was likely that they had all come to the same conclusion.


    After Zen defeated the second low-rank True God, he gained 75 points for his victory as well as an extra reward for his consecutive win, which was another 75 points. Thus, he obtained a total of 150 points. It was true that he could gain a lot of points by challenging True Gods, but only if he managed not to lose any battles.


    But despite his victory, Zen looked a little upset when he reached his room. Shaking his head, he thought to himself, ''I risked so much but I couldn''t activate the Infinity Ruler. It''s a pity that I couldn''t absorb his internal momentum. The Infinity Ruler is really hard to use.''


    When Zen opened his door again, there were still countless low-rank True Gods waiting outside his door, but this time, many of them had cautious expressions in their eyes.


    They knew that Zen had to have more than just luck on his side now that he had won two battles against low-rank True Gods in a row. This anonymous man must have unusual strength.


    "Hey, do you want to challenge me?" Zen''s voice sounded again from his blurry face.


    The True Gods who had been relentlessly arguing with one another to challenge Zen now fell silent all of a sudden. They were all secretly considering Zen''s true strength.


    After a few seconds of silence, one of them finally decided to take the risk. "I...I challenge you!"


    "I''ll wait for you!"


    Zen smiled and went back into his room.


    After he closed the door of his room, the True Gods gathered outside fell into a dilemma. If this fellow''s strength was ordinary, then wouldn''t this be a chance for them to gain points?


    However, they didn''t have to think about it long this time. After just 90 seconds, the door of Zen''s room flashed blue and then shot upwards.


    Seeing Zen''s door soaring up again, these True Gods found themselves at a loss for words.

 Chapter 2253 Gossip

    After entering the Hall of True Gods, Zen won three consecutive battles, and his ranking steadily increased by more than a hundred places.


    However, his ranking could only be seen within the Hall of True Gods by the ranking of his room door. Since he hadn''t lost even a single battle, it was impossible to find him on the Jade Wall of Legends.


    Now that he had put a space of a hundred ranks between himself and the low-rank True Gods just now, he had shattered all their expectations. There was a rule that participants could only challenge warriors within a hundred rankings from themselves, so these low-rank True Gods were no longer qualified to challenge Zen.


    Moreover, Zen had already shown his strength by defeating three low-rank True Gods in a row.


    People could claim that Zen''s first victory had been a matter of luck. They could explain his second victory away as well by claiming that his opponent had taken him lightly. But after Zen''s third victory, it would be downright stupid to downplay his skills and take him as a mere proving godly warrior.


    No one took the initiative to challenge Zen again, and Zen also tried to choose his opponents randomly. Anyway, they were selected according to their rankings, so at his current level, Zen wouldn''t face any opponent who was ridiculously strong.


    His fourth opponent turned out to be Fletcher Li, a disciple of the Li Clan which ranked 17th among all the Floating Islands. His Godly Way was the Great Manipulating Way. The Great Manipulating Way could help one manipulate everything in the world. It was similar to the puppet techniques that Zen had seen before. It could also be considered the peak method of the puppet techniques. However, the Great Manipulating Way was much more overbearing, and one could exert thousands of invisible silk threads to break into an opponent''s mind and manipulate their soul.


    This time, Zen didn''t let the silk threads enter his mind. He knew that Fletcher would make every effort to turn him into a puppet. If he allowed that to happen, he would face a lot more than a defeat. Once his soul was invaded, his opponent would be able to see his true identity and his deepest secrets. It would be his biggest problem.


    The Great Manipulating Way was indeed very special, but its combat effectiveness was not very strong. Perhaps it was because there was no powerful puppet in Fletcher''s hands. Some of the golden puppets he was using could not block Zen''s attacks at all.


    In the end, after a cautious battle, Fletcher was defeated and he left the Arena of Legends unwillingly. Because of the special nature of the Great Manipulating Way, Zen was unable to absorb this Godly Way.


    If the Infinity Ruler could be activated freely, Zen would not be in such trouble. With the Infinity Ruler, he did not need to take any risks to take in the internal momentum of his opponent; he only needed to use his golden pupils to see through the internal momentum of his opponent. Just thinking about it made him feel depressed.


    There was no day or night in the Hall of True Gods. All the disciples of the Floating Islands w


    refined God-turning Pill was used only to accelerate the condensation of the Godly Tile. Only wealthy clans like the Han Clan would refine these pills for direct disciples. And since it was specially refined, it was, of course, rare.


    Even Master Evil gasped in admiration at the extravagance of the wealthy clans when he noticed the seven times refined God-turning Pill.


    "Thank you." Zen politely took this delicate brocade box from Laquisha''s hand.


    As their hands brushed against each other, Laquisha pinched his finger with great force. However, she''d forgotten that Zen''s corporeal body was much tougher than a supreme primordial weapon. Zen didn''t show any reaction whereas she felt a dull pain in her fingertips.


    And although Laquisha had tried to be subtle and secretive, this gesture didn''t go unnoticed by Joy''s keen eyes. But Joy didn''t want to question Laquisha about it now.


    "May you prove a Godly Way as soon as possible and make a contribution to my Han Clan," Laquisha said to Zen.


    "Now that I have become a disciple of the Han Clan, I must make a contribution..."


    After exchanging a few conventional remarks with Zen in front of Joy, Laquisha said goodbye and left. As soon as she turned around, the smile on her face disappeared without a trace. It was replaced by an expression of extreme disappointment, and even a little anger.


    When she had come to see Zen, she had been hoping to have an opportunity to talk to him alone. She hadn''t expected Joy to directly bring Zen to her palace.


    Laquisha had even implied that she would have a talk with Thad alone, but Joy had pretended not to understand her words and had shown no signs of leaving. In addition to giving the gift to Zen, Laquisha had wasted her time.


    After Laquisha left her palace, Joy stared at Zen with great interest and asked, "Thad, have you ever met Princess Royal outside the Floating Island?"


    Seeing Joy''s strong desire to get the truth out of him, Zen sighed in his heart. Even though Joy was a Demi-Holy Being, she still liked to gossip. This was very abnormal.

 Chapter 2254 Joys Deduction (Part One)

    Although Joy''s question came off lighthearted and casual, Zen had a hard time finding the words to answer her.


    He had no clue whether or not Laquisha had gone anywhere other than the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. As the Princess Royal of the Han Clan, what she said and what she did were under the scrutiny of many. If Zen were to make up a story on the spot, he was afraid that Joy would see right through him in an instant.


    Noticing the embarrassed look on Zen''s face, Joy said indifferently, "I think Laquisha knows something¡ªsomething important like your true identity. Over the years, I''ve never seen her leave the Floating Island. She''s never even travelled to the Han Clan''s ancestral land. In fact, the only time she left the Floating Island was to go to the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. I can only deduce that if you met her before, then you could only have met her in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land."


    Her eyes flickered with two rays of pale purple light, as though there were two worlds flowing deep within. She was attractive and resonated a curious beauty. Such powerful warriors at high levels of cultivation always had their unique and incomparable charm. "Divine citizens living outside the Floating Islands aren''t qualified to enter the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. Only the descendants and disciples of the wealthy clans on the Floating Islands can enter. You just joined the Han Clan, and thus, I know you aren''t from any of those wealthy clans."


    Joy''s analysis made Zen''s heart jump from his chest to his mouth. If nothing else, he had to admit that she was very clever. She had a unique way of analyzing so many situations with such simple information.


    "Most likely, you come


    reated by Mike, and they did have a mother. Now that his guess had been confirmed by Joy, his curiosity was piqued of course, and he had to ask her more questions.


    "You don''t have to ask so many questions," said Joy with a light and friendly smile.


    Zen''s face was still gloomy. He hadn''t expected Joy to guess what had happened with just a few words about Laquisha. And did she say that even Harold had tried fighting her? Could this mean that Joy was actually standing on the Luo Clan''s opposing side? Zen had too many questions swimming in his mind. This was only one of several possibilities, but it definitely wasn''t good news.


    "What are you going to do?" Zen asked anew, frowning slightly. This time, he didn''t even call her "Master," now that he knew she might actually be an enemy.


    Joy''s eyes flashed suddenly and she turned around; the cunning expression on her face left just as quickly as it came. She changed from a sly woman to an innocent girl, with eyes wide open. "Take it easy. The world is so boring! At that time, Mike wanted to make the world more interesting. I was looking forward to it, but he failed. What a pity!

 Chapter 2255 Joys Deduction (Part Two)

    But I know what kind of person he is. He''s the type of man who will never give up, not until his death stops him. That said, it''s safe to say that he''s almost dead now, but he has yet to give up. Alas, I do see a shimmer of new hope," she said with her lips curled upward.


    Upon hearing her speak, Zen was in no way relieved. Warriors like Joy were far too smart, and Zen couldn''t quite figure out exactly what was on her mind.


    For this reason, Zen tentatively asked, "You said you saw new hope. Did you mean me?"


    With a shrug of her shoulders, Joy didn''t admit it, nor did she deny it. She just continued staring intently at Zen, looking him up and down. There was still a strange feeling coming from her eyes, as if she had been reluctant to let Zen leave, or as if she wanted to say something more.


    This kind of feeling was confusing, and Zen couldn''t figure out what this Demi-holy Being meant.


    The two stared at each other for a short while, although it felt like a few hours. A voice coming from outside the palace disturbed them. "Master Joy, Princess Aleyna wants to see you."


    The Han Clan''s Holy Emperor only had two daughters. Both of them were born in recent decades. The elder princess was Laquisha, and the younger princess was Aleyna.


    Joy cast a reproachful glance at Zen. "I don''t know how much talent you''ve inherited from your father, but in terms of attracting girls, the apple didn''t fall far from the tree. You''re just like him."


    Aleyna and Laquisha had a good relationship with each other. They should have come here and visited Zen together. However, they were visiting in turns, and Joy could


    as now here, on the Han Clan''s Floating Island. There would be plenty of chances for her to meet him in the near future. With a smile now, she looked at Zen again and said, "By the way, I have something for you, to say thanks!"


    And at that, she clapped her hands together briskly.


    Like magic, she pulled a huge table out of her Sumeru Space. As she waved her hand a second time, cups and bowls wondrously appeared atop the table. All kinds of precious dishes spread out, a few of which Joy herself had never even seen.


    Once Aleyna left, Joy fixed her eyes upon all the dishes splayed out the table and said with a smirk, "That little girl is just so thoughtful! You know, some of these dishes are very precious. Collecting them is quite the task."


    Before she could finish her sentence, a voice from the gate rang into their ears. "Master Joy, the clan head''s daughter, Kelsey Han, has requested to meet with you."


    As she took in what she just heard, the corners of Joy''s mouth twitched in surprise before pulling into a tight line. Did this girl come here to meet Thad, too?

 Chapter 2256 Purple Sky Land

    Laquisha, Aleyna and Kelsey were quite dear to everyone in the Han Clan.


    Kelsey was the daughter of the master of the Han Clan while Laquisha and Aleyna were the daughters of the Holy Emperor of the Han Clan. Everyone held them in high esteem.


    Zen was of great assistance to the three girls therefore he didn''t think of it as a big deal when they visited him. However, he didn''t expect them to come one after another.


    Although Kelsey was a year younger than Aleyna, she was much more cunning than Aleyna was. As soon as her eyes fell on Joy who was sitting nearby, she bowed and said, "I''m so glad to see you, Aunt Joy. I missed you so much, so I came here today. Wow, you look much prettier than before."


    Joy smiled with delight. "You always have a sweet tongue, but I think that you didn''t miss me and you didn''t come to see me, right?"


    Kelsey was taken aback. "What do you mean? Aunt Joy," she stated nervously.


    "Hmm, let me guess. You are here because you want to give Thad a gift for he has helped you that day, right?" Joy asked joyfully.


    Kelsey hesitated but quickly regained her composure and said, "I''m just grateful that Thad helped me. I just wanted to thank him."


    Joy gave Kelsey a broad smile. "That''s totally fine, but why didn''t you all three come together?" she questioned.


    Kelsey was shocked when she heard what Joy had said. "Did Aleyna come here before me?" she enquired.


    "Not only Aleyna but Laquisha also paid him a visit," smiled Joy.


    This confused Kelsey.


    Laquisha and Aleyna knew who Zen really was but Kelsey was unaware of Zen''s identity.


    She didn''t know that Zen had already met the two sisters in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. She even thought that Zen had taught Keenan a lesson for her that day.


    Thus, this came as a bit of a shock to her that both the sisters visited Thad alone.


    Kelsey was able to hide her emotions and did not say much. She planned to take Thad to the Holy Emperor City which was under her father''s control, in order to train him.


    However, her father held some grudges against Joy and since Thad belonged to the Purple Soul Hall, Joy had a keen liking for him. Thus, taking him to the Holy Emperor City would be an uphill task.


    Kelsey took out a blue necklace, which was the honoraria she had prepared for Zen. It was a supreme primordial weapon which could protect one''s soul from being hurt.


    Even though it was not a top-grade supreme primordial weapon, it was still of extrem


    ts, Zen saw huge plants that were touching the sky. The leaves of these plants covered the sky and sun, and on the leaves hung countless purple bats.


    The purple bats were startled by the high-pitched screams of the snakes. They rattled their wings with annoyance as they prepared to fly.


    Everything appeared quite strange to Zen.


    It felt as if Zen was in the Purple Power World.


    Zen asked Joy, "What place is this?"


    "Purple Sky Land. I built this universe." she beamed proudly.


    The Purple Sky Land was a special universe. Joy acquired the title of Demi-holy Being because of the Purple Sky Land, and if Joy further perfected the Purple Sky Land, she also had the opportunity to become a Holy Being.


    "Why am I here?" Zen asked curiously.


    "I am unaware of where your strength came from, but I will teach you a method in the Might Godly Way, in this way you can exert your strength to the most extent. This cultivation method is mainly used by the True Gods who are able to condense the Nine Divine Stars. Although, you haven''t activated a star yet, I believe that you would benefit from it a great deal."


    ''It''s for the True Gods who have Nine Divine Stars?'' he thought.


    Zen was a little stunned. Not only had he fully condensed out the Nine Divine Stars, they were also present in his inner world.


    Joy was unaware of the Primal Chaos Technique, and she was unaware that someone was quite skilled at it.


    After Holy Jay gave Zen a large amount of strength source to gather nine stars, they automatically infused into Zen''s inner world. Before Zen, only Holy Beings were able to merge the Nine Divine Stars with the universes.

 Chapter 2257 Power Shaping

    The warriors in the divine land had a thorough understanding of the Godly Ways.


    Each of the Godly Ways was a mature and complete system unto itself.


    But after years and years of hard research, a few talents had cut the internal momentum in the Godly Way, and with their comprehension, had created their own cultivation method. For example, Holy Jay''s Ice Soul Flame and Yazid''s Five Elements Destructing.


    This type of cultivation method was known as the ''theurgy beyond way'', which was a theurgy beyond the Godly Way.


    Some theurgies were extremely powerful, such as the Ice Soul Flame. So far, there had been a countless number of True Gods who had wanted to take Holy Jay as their master so that they could practice the Ice Soul Flame.


    The Five Elements Destructing was relatively ordinary and wasn''t any more powerful than the theurgy of the Five Elements Godly Way. It was better to spend time on cultivating the Five Elements Godly Way than to the former, which was why the True Gods considered the Five Elements Destructing as ordinary and weren''t interested in it.


    The argument between supporters of the theurgy beyond way and that of the Godly Way was a lasting one. Some people said that the Godly Ways were the foundation of the divine land and that they should focus on cultivating the Godly Ways.


    But there were also people who said that the theurgy beyond way was the future of the divine land. Strong creatures had deliberately created the 3000 Godly Ways. A greater chaos still existed outside the divine land, and being limited by the 3000 Godly Ways was not a good thing.


    This argument was still ongoing with no conclusion in sight.


    "The preciousness of the Might Godly Way is the single use of brute strength and is very powerful. Because the strength source can morph into various shapes, the effect is very direct. This is the natural advantage that the Might Godly Way has over other Godly ways," Joy said, waving her hand gently at the purple sky.


    A sudden splash sounded and the snake-like giant beasts in the purple mist surged in one direction and disappeared before anyone could blink.


    At the same time, twenty-one purple stars appeared in the sky.


    Zen counted for a few seconds before he asked, "Shouldn''t there be only nine stars? Why are there twenty-one?"


    Joy smiled. There were nine sparkling lights among the twenty-one purple stars. They were beautiful and reflected different colors as gems under the sun.


    Zen knew that it was the color of the strength source. There


    e power was the strongest in this stage, but the conditions were most severe. Only those who had the Cross-world Theurgy could use it freely and that meant that this was an ability exclusive to Holy Beings.


    Zen was placed somewhere between the second and the third stages. With the Cross-world Theurgy, he could easily turn the power into simple shapes, but his movements were not as flexible as Joy''s.


    Joy was about to teach him the basic principles but Zen spoke up. "Master, is this the first stage?"


    Zen thrust his fist forward, a pure force gushing out of it and breaking through the purple mist in front of him. It formed an outline of his fist.


    Joy remained calm at this, and said, "If you have comprehended the method of Power Shaping, why didn''t I see you use it in the Arena of Legends?"


    Since he was so talented, it wasn''t strange to Joy that Zen had mastered this by himself.


    Zen didn''t answer. He continued demonstrating and said, "Is this the second stage?" He shook his fist slightly and waved his hand in the purple mist. Gradually, the outline of a long sword appeared in Zen''s hand.


    "You!"


    Only now did Joy show any semblance of surprise. She hadn''t thought that Zen, a proving godly warrior, could have cultivated the Power Shaping to such a high level.


    In fact, without the Cross-world Theurgy, Zen couldn''t have learnt anything about Power Shaping. After all, Power Shaping was just one feature of the Cross-world Theurgy.


    Zen grinned at Joy and grabbed the invisible sword. With a gentle wave, the sword flew into the purple mist and back, leaving a clear trail in the mist.


    "Is this the third stage?" Zen asked, turning to look at Joy.

 Chapter 2258 The Origin Of The Purple Power World

    It did not surprise Joy when Zen employed the first stage of Power Shaping.


    It proved not difficult for Zen to comprehend and practice the basic skill of the Power Shaping through the Might Godly Way. He had mastered so many Godly Ways, and could cultivate the Purple Aura Godly Way.


    Learning the second stage of the Power Shaping, which required the warrior to have extensive understanding of the power, was a challenge. The power of the Eight Path Platforms was obviously not enough to help Zen master the second stage. That was why Joy was astonished when he actually did it.


    Zen had even been able to let the long sword, which was formed by the power, fly. It was inconceivable!


    Even a consummate True God would be unable to do that, no matter if they had formed the Nine Divine Stars.


    Once the power was used and released by the one who controlled it, it would become complete chaos and out of control. It was another reason brute power was not valued in the divine land.


    Once one reached the cultivation level that Joy was at, they could give full play to their power after using the Cross-world Theurgy. However, Holy Beings normally did not need that kind of pure power. It was why Holy Jay had destroyed the nine stars after creating the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land. He had poured the strength source into a large pool, and gave some of it to others from time to time.


    If someone was at a low cultivation level, they couldn''t use the power. When they were at a higher cultivation level, however, there was no need to use the power. It was an embarrassment of the body refiners.


    Joy had made an exception in this case though.


    She fused the Nine Divine Stars with her inner world. Her inner world was the Purple Sky Land, and had been built through the Purple Aura Godly Way. This meant that it was not an intact universe, so she would only become a Demi-holy Being.


    Despite the fact that Joy didn''t have a complete universe, she owned an omnipotent Cross-world Theurgy. From her understanding of the Purple Aura Godly Way, she was able to use all her strength to create a massive invisible sword array. The additional strength she had left was used to give full play to the Cross-world Theurgy, and the Power Shaping.


    It was Joy''s most powerful skill, and she had the utmost confidence in it.


    In all her experience and knowledge, that far surpassed any ordinary True Gods, she never thought that what was occurring in front of her would ever be possible. She might just be a Demi-holy Being, but she was still incredibly powerful. The fact that a proving godly warrior was so easily able to do that blew her mind.


    She was silent for a long while before mumbling, "No wonder. Judging by your performance in the Arena of Legends, it is still difficult for you to kill Sheridan. It is even more impossible for you to hurt Langston. Now I see the reason."


    When Joy''s words reached his ears, Zen sighed. He knew Joy was indeed an ou


    riginal agreement, there is a warrior with the first-rank Purple Power Body in the Purple Power World!"


    Margaret did indeed possess the first-rank Purple Power Body. However, the rank division of the Purple Power Body in the Evolutionary Universe seemed to be different than that of the divine land. At least he hadn''t heard that the Purple Power Bodies of the disciples in the Purple Soul Hall would be divided into several ranks.


    Joy''s words seemed to dredge up a lot of memories for Zen.


    The Purple Power World was special and incomplete supreme world. The rules of the Evolutionary Universe did not completely rule over this supreme world, and the Purple Power World hadn''t seemed to have undergone the great extinction during the recurrent grand eras.


    Zen was lost in thought for a long while, and when he came to the conclusion he looked at Joy. Joy knew what Zen wanted to confirm, so she said, "You''re right. The Purple Power World is where I resided before. Your father has specially created it for me, and the Gods Killing Sword Array was created by your father and me. I have promised him that if a warrior with the first-rank Purple Power Body in the Evolutionary Universe existed, I would naturally let this warrior inherit the Gods Killing Sword Array. But I am not sure how Mike has arranged this matter."


    She paused to collect her thoughts, curiosity flitting across her face. "As you have seen the Gods Killing Sword Array, you must know who is the one to employ it. Who is it? Does that warrior travel to the divine land?"


    Zen took a moment to think.


    After Zen stole into the divine land, he had been staying in the Vast Sky Region. He had been confused as to why he had reached the Han Clan''s territory, but now he understood that this was his father''s intention. His father hoped that he could rely on Joy.


    He placed a finger on his nose, and replied unnaturally quietly, "The one who has displayed the Gods Killing Sword Array is my wife."

 Chapter 2259 Four Swords Change

    When Joy first met Mike, she was just a mid-rank True God. However, she was a key member and warrior of the Han Clan.


    The research on the Purple Aura Godly Way wasn''t as advanced then as it was now, and the creation of the Purple Sky Land was an uncertainty as it was no easy task to create a universe in the divine land.


    Except for the formation and control, the Purple Aura Godly Way was much weaker than other Godly Ways on many aspects.


    As time went by, Mike asked Joy to enter his universe to open a world. Joy tried to build the Purple Sky Land in the universe. This was how the Purple Power World came into existence.


    Thus, it was quite easier for Joy to build a world in the Evolutionary Universe as compared to doing so in the divine land. Not to mention the fact that she had Mike''s backing as well.


    Joy was quite talented. After she created the Purple Power World, she created many great sword arrays, among which the Gods Killing Sword Array was the most powerful one.


    As Joy was fully satisfied with her creation, Mike pointed out that the swords that the most powerful Gods Killing Sword Array was using were not real swords, but they were rather illusory swords. He also drew attention to the fact that the so-called illusory swords were invisible, and were made by the Power Shaping which forced the power out of one''s body.


    Joy wasn''t a Demi-holy Being at that time, so she quite couldn''t exert the Cross-world Theurgy. She was only able to practice the second stage of the Power Shaping and was still unable to do away with the real swords, the Long Vine Sword, the Buddha Emperor Sword, the Grant Sun Sword and the Heavenly Tooth Sword which were given to her by Mike.


    Joy no longer used the four swords now, but she still kept them, as they reminded her of the wonderful time she spent in the Evolutionary Universe.


    Mike also had Joy''s support when there was trouble on the Luo Clan''s Floating Island. However, she was just a top-rank True God at that time, and she couldn''t cultivate the illusory swords of the Gods Killing Sword Array. She was willing to help the Luo Clan but was ordered to stay on the Han Clan''s Floating Island. The Han Clan went to the extent of assigning a consummate True God to her, who watched her closely thus, she was unable to slip by. Thus, she sat idly by and watched Mike suffer.


    Those were dark days for Joy. She vowed that she would try to help Harold and others, if opportunity arose. She also wondered if Mike would come back, since he and his universe were immortal after all.


    She just waited for the right moment to come by.


    ord Array, and since she is your wife, you must have seen the Gods Killing Sword Array."


    "Yes, I have. I have also seen the Purple River Sword Array, the Two Modes Sword Array..."


    Before Zen could finish his sentence, Joy said, "They all used to be my sword arrays back in the day, but I could only use the real swords back then. Although the Gods Killing Sword Array is powerful, it has a huge limit."


    Joy later became the Demi-holy Being and succeeded in using the illusory swords. After she mastered the Power Shaping, she had a new understanding of the Gods Killing Sword Array.


    She was aware that the power of a sword activated by the Cross-word Theurgy would be much more powerful and the change in it would be much more rapid.


    She was also aware that the strength in it would be more than a hundred times stronger.


    As Joy spoke, she calmly waved her hands.


    The calm and peace was interrupted by a swishing sound.


    Zen saw Joy''s power transformed into dozens of invisible swords and they flew aimlessly, in all directions.


    Thousands of invisible, colorless long swords pierced through the purple mist, leaving the shadows of the swords.


    Zen was soon surrounded by the sword shadows.


    Joy gave Zen a faint smile and said, "At the beginning, the Gods Killing Sword Array only had the Four Swords Change. Later, I figured out the Thirty-two Swords Change, the Ninety-six Swords Change, and other techniques. You have mastered the Cross-world Theurgy. Moreover, you can cultivate the Grand Purple Aura Technique. It should not be difficult for you to learn it. Today, I''m teaching you the Four Swords Change. The Four Swords Change was personally made for me by your father, and today I''m teaching his son."

 Chapter 2260 Concentrating On Cultivation

    Zen had seen Margaret yield the Gods Killing Sword Array before. He knew that its power was truly formidable.


    Back then, Margaret was only a world lord, yet with the Gods Killing Sword Array, she had defeated many Supreme Lords. It was well known that at least five Supreme Lords had been killed at the hand of this skill.


    The four swords that Margaret used were created by the divine textures of the Celestial Position race, greatly reducing their power.


    If Zen truly mastered the Four Swords Change of the Gods Killing Sword Array to the point of using it well, his strength would improve remarkably.


    As soon as Joy finished speaking, countless invisible swords began swarming around in a purple mist, merging into four distinct swords.


    Zen could only just make out their shapes.


    Vines weaved around one of the swords, their irregular curves twisting around the blade. Zen recognized it as the Long Vine Sword.


    The second sword''s hilt was fashioned into a sitting Buddha, with its blade as wide as a wheel ¡ª the Buddha Emperor Sword.


    The next sword had many layers much like a pagoda, the Grant Sun Sword.


    The last sword was filled with sharp spines, making up the distinct look of the Heavenly Tooth Sword.


    "Use your Power Shaping and create the same four swords," ordered Joy.


    "Why?" Zen asked. "Do the shapes of the swords truly matter that much?" Was it truly necessary that the Gods Killing Sword Array was made up of the same four swords? With his Power Shaping, he was capable of creating swords into so many other various shapes.


    "Cut the crap!" Joy snapped. As a Demi-holy Being, she was being more generous by teaching Zen the skills she had acquired and yet he was incredulous enough to question her.


    "Okay," Zen finally nodded obediently. Without another word, he summoned the strength of the Nine Divine Stars.


    Zen hadn''t actually mastered the true Power Shaping skill. With only the power of the Eight Path Platforms, it would''ve been impossible, but by using the Cross-world Theurgy, he realized that he could still shape things to his will. That meant he was effectively bypassing the second stage of Power Shaping and going straight to the third stage.


    Whoosh!


    The power of the Cross-world Theurgy came rushing through him, transforming into the swords'' very shapes.


    First that started coming into form was¡­ The Long Vine Sword.


    Keeping the shape of Joy''s sword in his mind, soon, Zen made an identical Long Vine Sword appear in front of him, only a tad smaller in size. It turned out to be a piece of cake for him.


    "Okay! The second sword!"


    When he began shaping the second sword, the Long Vine Sword suddenly trembled until it immediately dissipated.


    "What?!" Zen scratched his head in confusion and embarrassment.


    Joy merely sneered and asked, "Didn''t you understand the internal


    ing of the Floating Islands was to be established. If he wasted a few months in the Purple Sky Land before the new ranking was established, the Purple Soul Hall would probably have no choice but to dismiss 80% of its disciples.


    Naturally, forming four swords was miles harder than only three. It was no surprise that he failed to do so on his first try.


    But there was no change in his expression ¡ª he didn''t even blink. He only continued to patiently stimulate his strength source again.


    Staring at him from behind, Joy remained silent, her eyes turning glassy. Zen looked very much like Mike when he was focused on practicing the martial arts. She couldn''t help but fall back into memories. She recalled the old days when she was practicing in the Purple Power World. In order to help her cultivate, Mike asked her to take a moment and close her eyes. When she opened them again, she saw the Purple Power World become a fairyland ¡ª a world of huge swords.


    99.9 billion huge swords were densely packed in the sky of the Purple Power World. Controlling the swords at her will had her truly overjoyed.


    After ten full days, Zen finally managed to maintain four swords for three seconds.


    It was something Joy managed only after six months of practice.


    Merely two months had passed in the Purple Sky Land and Zen was able to maintain four swords for fifteen seconds.


    Half a year later, he could keep them up for a long period.


    During these six months, Zen seemed to have no other thoughts except for concentrating on shaping the swords. After they dissipated, he repeated the boring process over and over.


    Fortunately, Joy had already changed the time flow rate so that half a year in the Purple Sky Land was only three days in the outside world.


    Since he could maintain four swords at the same time now, Joy began teaching him the operation method of the Gods Killing Sword Array.

 Chapter 2261 Trouble For The Clan

    The Gods Killing Sword Array was created by Joy herself, but the idea for the array had originally been provided by Mike.


    At that time, the Four Swords Change was the most original Gods Killing Sword Array, and even it still had many flaws.


    Later though, Joy became a Demi-holy Being, and the four swords array changed drastically. In terms of power alone, it became much stronger.


    "I asked you to shape the power to the Long Vine Sword, the Buddha Emperor Sword, the Grant Sun Sword and the Heavenly Tooth Sword because the four swords have different abilities. The Long Vine Sword focuses on the array of entangling the enemy; the Buddha Emperor Sword''s main ability is the killing array; the Grant Sun Sword is mainly used for defensive array; and the Heavenly Tooth Sword forms the hunting array. In fact, the Thirty-two Swords Change and the Ninety-six Swords Change of the Gods Killing Sword Array have broken through these constraints, but now, you cannot master the Thirty-two Swords Change. And the Four Swords Change is based on these initial four swords..."


    The four swords each had their own single sword changes, and they respectively corresponded to entanglement, killing, defense, and hunting.


    When the two swords cooperated with each other, they could combine their arrays and create something even more powerful, like the entangling-killing array or the entangling-hunting array. Furthermore, there were also many changes, including the cooperation of three swords and four swords at the same time.


    On the one hand, Zen had to maintain these powerful swords in perfect balance, and on the other hand, he had to master their respective coordination. This was a great feat, even for Zen, to say the least. Fortunately, time was controllable in the Purple Sky Land, and with Joy''s help, his understanding of the Gods Killing Sword Array increased little by little.


    In just a month''s time, Zen had already obtained a small achievement. He had mastered the change of a single sword. In other words, he could now make the most of any sword he laid his hands on.


    After three months, Zen had mastered the use of two swords. Swordsmanship with double swords offered more mysterious changes and was generally better in both power and flexibility.


    Half a year later, Zen had enabled the capacity of performing with three swords together. Using three swords at once was the Gods Killing Sword Array''s essence, and notably, it was also considered a unique skill.


    It took Zen an entire year to completely grasp the technique of using four swords together, all at once. This was the Gods Killing Sword Array''s ultimate kill attack. This was more difficult to attain because he not only needed to understand the array, but the characteristic of the four swords, too.


    As Joy watched how quickly Zen progressed, she felt calmer.


    Zen''s father was a very gifted man, which indicated that Zen was destined to be special. Besides having inherited his father''s amazing talent, he was equally bound to be even more terrifying than his father.


    Pondering things over, Joy knew deep inside herself


    maintain our current rank."


    "WIth what? Your Purple Soul Hall?" Alfredo sneered.


    As far as Alfredo knew, Joy had mobilized female disciples of the Purple Soul Hall to make a breakthrough in their rankings and points in the Arena of Legends. Recently though, while those great clans were hard at work, the Purple Soul Hall''s ranking hadn''t risen, but instead had gone down. All the disciples'' points had only risen a little.


    The ranking just clearly couldn''t be improved by disciples'' willpower alone. Their talent and strength needed to be considered as well.


    "Two months later, you''ll see the results. Asking me to hand Thad over to them is wishful thinking and you know it. I don''t want you to come to me for this matter again," said Joy coldly.


    Joy''s firm words went hand in hand with her attitude, and Alfredo looked at Zen with confusion.


    Joy had once protected Zen, and Alfredo could understand. After all, there were very few talents in the Purple Soul Hall, so it was only normal that Joy didn''t want to give up on the little guy. That said though, today, her performance had gone overboard.


    Was it possible that Thad Luo had a special background?


    A smart person like Alfredo could always guess at different possibilities. He knew how Joy had grown up¡ªshe didn''t rely on the Han Clan''s Holy Emperor because, at the time, the Purple Power Body wasn''t highly valued in rich clans.


    In fact, Mike was the one who helped her become a Demi-holy Being.


    ''Zen''s surname is also Luo. Is he one of Mike''s descendants?'' Alfredo wondered to himself.


    Joy''s conjecture was confirmed by Laquisha and Aleyna, but there was no evidence to confirm Alfredo''s. In other words, he could only secretly make blind and disorderly estimates.


    At the same time, he wondered why Joy was so confident. Did she really have the ability to bring the Purple Soul Hall''s points up to a higher level? If she could really manage such a thing, she''d have the possibility of keeping the ranking of the Han Clan''s Floating Island, and even to become one or two places higher.

 Chapter 2262 Consecutive Victories (Part One)

    At this point, Alfredo could only let out an awkward smile. On that note, he turned around and left reluctantly without another word.


    Around the same time, Joy turned to Zen and said, "Don''t blame him. Everyone has their own responsibility."


    Alfredo had been wanting to drive Zen out of the Han Clan''s Floating Island ever since he heard Sheridan was killed by him. As the head of the Han Clan, it was appropriate for him to do so in order to seek the best interest of the clan and to make sure he kept everything as hands on as possible.


    "I know," Zen responded. "And my responsibility is to earn as many points as I can." He let out a faint sigh and smiled.


    Everyone faces challenges, and anyone in high position or authority is not an exception to that. When one is not strong enough, they can''t blame others who have ignored them. In the end, it''s really the survival of the fittest.


    Through it all, Joy was afraid that Zen would burst in anger at Alfredo. She was relieved to see Zen''s calm expression. She sighed and giggled, wondering how well Mike was able to train Zen for him to be such an excellent young man.


    She knew that Holy Jay had a knack for studying and solving difficult problems, Holy Bromley was good at exploring and creating, and Holy Mike had expertise in strategic planning and organizing overall arrangements.


    In the past, Mike, who had previously made a few mistakes, was attacked by the members of the Hall of Holy Beings and got into a dangerous situation. For sure, he must have already planned to make Zen avenge himself. However, Joy didn''t expect that the entire Evolutionary Universe was created by Mike, just for Zen.


    Of course, it was impossible for Mike to take everything under his


    im. As a proving godly warrior, he was so conspicuous among those True Gods.


    When the anonymous man had just won two consecutive wins, he drew the attention of a few powerful clans on the Floating Islands.


    Zen, regarded as the "anonymous man," challenged warriors who were way above his level, yet he still managed to win two consecutive wins. This was something very unusual, and that was why people were drawn to it.


    Later on, Zen won four matches in a row, which naturally caused more commotion among the people.


    After seeing his advances, wealthy clans on the Floating Islands began to investigate Zen''s identity in secret, but he didn''t show anything special from the beginning to the end. The four men who went against Zen also got nothing about his identity, and the only thing they noticed was the two golden rays of light in Zen''s eyes. They resembled the Eyes of Fire God, but they couldn''t be sure because he didn''t use the theurgy of the Eyes of Fire God.


    The clans began to pay closer attention to the anonymous man. If anyone was able to gather information, these people would naturally report it to their own clans for advantage.

 Chapter 2263 Consecutive Victories (Part Two)

    In the past few years, the rankings of the Floating Islands happened to be very stable and organized. Because of this, all the powerful clans already knew who was in the lead, and who was falling behind. It was rare for them to guess it wrong.


    For example, the Han Clan was in danger of falling out of the top 10. This led them to become allies with the Leng Clan, so they could both boost up their rankings.


    However, Zen''s presence made the battle unpredictable. As he continued to win, it directly affected the clan rankings, so there was a need to monitor him throughout the process.


    The moment Zen returned to his room, the door to his room flashed with blue light and began to float upward. His ranking had been increased more than thirty places.


    "So fast!"


    "Plus, considering the time he spent in finding his opponent when he went back to his room, it only took him less than a minute to find and defeat his opponent, another low-rank True God!"


    "He has already had five victories in a row! This is truly something to worry about. Which clan did they say he was from?"


    The doors in the Hall of True Gods continued to shift from rays of light up and down. This wasn''t a surprise to anyone, but none of them were attracted to any of the doors aside from Zen''s.


    Around five minutes after Zen won his fifth round, the door began to move upwards once again.


    Just like that, he was at his sixth consecutive win!


    Zen easily dominated his matches. What made him feel the most accomplished was being able to smoothly absorb the Internal Momentum of two new Godly Ways throughout these matches. Moreover, the extra reward points doubled, so he gained more than one thousand an


    ry throughout all the battles. He has never been defeated when he was fighting against proving godly warriors; even his ranking has not appeared once. Why is it so impossible to determine his identity?!"


    "I want to challenge this man!"


    Every time a person who took part in a battle that was beyond their cultivation level appeared, the True Gods in the Arena of Legends would fuss like never before. It left people enraged, giddy, and perplexed all at the same time.


    Historically, powerful clans hated people who challenged warriors with higher cultivation levels because it broke the balance among the clans. What made it worse was that no one knew who he was, which made them very suspicious and frankly, mistrusting.


    However, this was also a huge opportunity. Everyone looked forward to garnering his points and some low-rank True Gods, who were highly confident in their strengths, were now eager to get a fight out of Zen.


    To their disappointment, Zen had no plans to leave his room. He was still going to choose his opponents at random, so everyone waiting just had to bank on their luck in order to fight him.

 Chapter 2264 A Tough Fat Guy

    Zen''s ranking had risen rapidly in the Hall of True Gods, drawing unprecedented attention to himself.


    But he himself didn''t know this.


    After attaining ten consecutive wins, Zen finally decided to pause for a breath of some fresh air in the Hall of True Gods.


    The moment he opened the door, he saw that the entrance of the room was crowded with low-rank True Gods, who were waiting for him.


    The low-rank True Gods were taken by surprise as they didn''t expect Zen to get out of his room this moment. They were in the midst of exchanging information on the anonymous man that they had mastered. Everybody whispered among themselves trying to guess the identity of the anonymous man. When the door opened, everyone immediately fell quiet at the same time. This scene was very strange.


    Zen glanced at everyone and asked indifferently, "Are you all waiting for me? What''s up?"


    The low-rank True Gods looked Zen up and down, trying to find some clues as to his identity. However, Zen did not have any specific features that would reveal the mystery. In order to maintain the enigma, he had specially turned his long robe into a light blue one.


    "I want to challenge you!" someone shouted boldly.


    After the first low-rank True God threw this challenge, all the others followed suit and started challenging Zen.


    "Can I challenge you? There are 70 rankings between us."


    "Choose me!"


    In the Arena of Legends, very few people were as popular as Zen.


    They thought that if this anonymous man participated in the battles against low-rank True Gods, he was likely to be defeated. If someone won a duel with the anonymous man, they would also gain a great number of points from him.


    And even if they were defeated by the anonymous man, they would only lose a small amount of points, so it was a risk everyone was willing to take.


    "If you defeat me, I will give you another twenty divine might coins!" someone offered in an attempt to goad Zen into fighting him.


    Twenty divine might coins were not a big number for the low-rank True Gods on the Floating Islands.


    So more people started bribing him subsequently increasing the amount!


    "If you accept my challenge, I will give you eighty divine might coins. If you can defeat me..."


    "Two hundred divine might coins..."


    "Three hundred..."


    Soon it was like an auction: the True Gods in front of Zen began to raise their offers one after another.


    ''I never expected that!'' Zen thought to himself, flabbergasted, as he stared at this crazy group. Unexpected as it was, he still wanted to see how it would play out.


    However, according to the rules of the Hall of True Gods, only the ones who were a hundred ranks higher or lower than him were qualified to challenge Zen. The number of people in this category was only two hundred. Moreover, the warriors who ranked low in the current rankings we


    , it felt cold in his hand. The stick was actually a bunch of snowflakes. Zen chopped with his backhand and cut the fatty in his face. The fatty turned into a bunch of snowflakes and scattered on the ground.


    "I have already known that you possess extraordinary brute force. But if you think you can defeat me only using strength, you are too naive. Hahaha!"


    The strength and characteristics of the anonymous man had already spread among the low-rank True Gods. Many low-rank True Gods had studied Zen. The fatty was obviously well prepared.


    The fatty''s voice rang out behind Zen. At the same time, a loud roar was heard. The fatty had excellent hiding skills. He disappeared all of a sudden and in the next moment, he was behind Zen''s back, attacking him.


    Without a word, Zen turned his body, turned around and kicked the man.


    Swish! Swish!


    With one kick, the fatty turned into a pile of snowflakes again. The snowflakes danced like thousands of silver bugs, painting a beautiful picture.


    "Wrong again!"


    The fatty chuckled and made another move. Once more, he appeared behind Zen. There were icy marks on the long white stick in his hand, and he suddenly brought it down on Zen''s back.


    However, the stick only left a light icy mark on Zen''s back, without causing substantial damage to him.


    After he attacked with this stick, he rolled like a ball to quickly distance himself from Zen. A hand, producing cold air, constantly stroked the top of the long stick, as if it was pouring something into it.


    He still wore a smug smile on his face, as if he was sure to win.


    Zen stood there, his face as solemn as never before. The fatty had left a mark on his back just now, and he didn''t know what it would do. Although the fatty used the Snow Godly Way, the Godly Ways were changeable and many people could use all kinds of theurgy beyond way. The scene in front of him was really strange.

 Chapter 2265 Snow Divine Spear

    The fat man swung the long stick in his hand. Its tip began to glow a blue light as another frost mark, much like the one on Zen''s back, appeared on it.


    "I''m coming again. Are you ready?" The fatty laughed, his chubby cheeks and double chin shaking.


    As Zen''s ranking had improved drastically in the Hall of True Gods, he estimated that he wouldn''t encounter too many difficulties at this stage. However, after meeting this fat man, Zen figured he should probably stop underestimating his enemy.


    As soon as the fatty finished speaking, he waved the long stick he held wildly and charged towards Zen like a raging bull.


    To Zen''s mild surprise, the man stopped about a foot from him and turned into a flurry of snowflakes.


    "Behind me again?"


    Zen turned around and launched a punch without hesitation.


    Unfortunately, he guessed wrong again. The snowflakes behind him had condensed into the fatty who didn''t waste time in hitting Zen''s back with his stick.


    Dong!


    Zen''s back now had two frost marks overlapping like a tattoo.


    "I heard you are strong and that you have a special body protection treasure.


    With my current strength, it''ll be quite difficult to kill you," the fat man admitted before turning into a pile of snow that melted as soon as it appeared. A hundred feet from Zen, a flurry of snowflakes turned into the fat man once again. The fatty tilted his head. "But there are many different ways to kill people. I''m sure I can use another way..."


    Then, he waved his stick again and stomped heavily on the ice.


    Splash!


    Six piles of snow suddenly appeared around Zen.


    "Break them all!"


    Quick to react, Zen spun his arms in all directions like wheels, causing an invisible force to leave his body and blow the snow away.


    However, the snow collected in the air and morphed into several fatties, all charging at Zen.


    Zen immediately felt a headache seeing this scene.


    This fatty''s bodily movement skill was too weird.


    It was impossible for a low-rank True God to move in a flash, but Zen was unable to recognize which fatty was real and which ones were fake. More importantly, the fatty''s clones were made of real snowflakes and not just virtual shadows.


    Seeing the six fatties pouncing on him,


    right?" The fatty chuckled.


    Whoosh!


    As fatty talked, the third Snow Divine Spear shot from the snowflake pattern again. This Snow Divine Spear had turned a blue black color, and the tip of the icy spear rotated with flowing light continuously.


    Bang!


    Zen tried his best to dodge but failed, the third icy spear hitting him.


    Shards of ice fell everywhere. Zen slid down the icy ground and spat a lot of blood. The powerful force spread through his body, injuring his internal organs.


    "What tenacity indeed," the fatty clicked his tongue twice and shook his head. "With the fourth spear, I shall end your life."


    The fat man only cultivated to the forth level of the Snow Divine Spear which was the theurgy beyond the Snow Godly Way.


    After defending his opponent, he only needed to leave three frost marks on his opponent with the mystical snow steps, then the battle would be as good as over.


    However, there were just some monsters who were too stubborn to die. The fatty had once fought with Pascal, and Pascal also withstood the first two spears. The third spear was the most lethal one but since Pascal managed to dodge it, the fatty had lost the battle.


    This time, the fatty had prepared four spears and he really took Zen seriously.


    Whoosh!


    The fourth Snow Divine Spear shot out of the snowflake pattern. However, unlike the previous ones, this spear was completely black.


    Those who forced the fatty to show the fourth Snow Divine Spear all lost pathetically.

 Chapter 2266 Moon Clan

    When Zen saw the black Snow Divine Spear, his eyes quickly narrowed into slits.


    He knew that each Snow Divine Spear was more powerful than the last one, so he guessed that the fourth one could seriously injure, or kill him even.


    However, he couldn''t fully stop the Snow Divine Spear--he could only resist it with his body.


    Whoosh!


    A faint tinge of regret flashed across the fat man''s face as the Snow Divine Spear flew ahead. "This battle is still too easy. You may die now, anonymous man," he lamented.


    Despite his sad voice, his eyes hid a bit of mirth. He was confident that Zen would surely die after the black spear was fired.


    At that same moment, Zen focused and immediately retreated backwards, his hands blocking his chest. His whole body flew and slid across the ice a little too closely.


    But the black Snow Divine Spear was incredibly fast, that it shot towards him in almost a blink of an eye!


    "Eight Smoky Melodies!"


    At Zen''s command, a faint white mist flickered over the surface of his body.


    The Eight Smoky Melodies was an ingenious attack, but its ability to move swiftly had a huge limitation: any opponent who was fast enough could easily break it. After all, Gus had only aimed at the opponents Zen would face in the universe when he had recommended the cultivation method, but hadn''t thought of the current situation.


    Now, Zen had used the Eight Smoky Melodies--but not to escape from the Snow Divine Spear itself. Rather, the Eight Smoky Melodies pushed him away and weakened the spear''s power when it got too close to him.


    Whoosh!


    However, Zen didn''t have much time left to deal with the Snow Divine Spear since it had appeared. It had only taken a thousandth of a blink of an eye in ordinary people''s eyes, and he had already made all his preparations.


    Boom!


    The moment the Snow Divine Spear hit his arms, the power in his limbs exploded!


    Even though his bones were as strong as a supreme primordial weapon, his arms had to bear the power of the Snow Divine Spear as well as his own strength. Thus, his arms immediately cracked open at the impact of the two great forces combined.


    Bang!


    Zen paid the price with his arms, but the momentum of the Snow Divine Spear only decreased slightly. Moreover, it attacked his chest in the next moment despite the Redemption Armor acting as a barrier.


    The soft Redemption Armor was indestructible and could even weaken a huge chunk of the Snow Divine Spear''s power. However, the spear''s violent penetrating force still pierced through it and entered his internal organs.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    There were several audible cracks, and his chest was torn with his ribs broken as well. He could even see his heart beating if he tried to bow his head.


    "Tsk, tsk, tsk. You do deserve to be the man with ten consecutive wins.


    tream of blood flowed from Zen''s lung, then he spoke. "Why should I accept my failure? Do you think I will lose?" he asked curiously.


    Needless to say, Moore was shocked.


    "Do you think you still have a chance?" he asked. "Chance... Isn''t it always there?" Zen said calmly.


    "What do you mean?" A small smile tugged at the corner of Zen''s lips.


    "Look behind you."


    Moore did as he was told and saw a circle.


    Just as Zen had retreated a few seconds ago, he had left an oval imprint in the ice. Moore was still confused over his words.


    As soon as Zen had finished speaking, an icy blue flame suddenly combusted and rapidly spread around the circle.


    Splash!


    The Ice Soul Flame started to burn fierily, then it enveloped Zen and Moore.


    "You truly have strange tactics. Even until now I can''t find where your real body is, but I think it must be in this circle," said Zen. "If so, then I just need to freeze everything in this circle," he finished.


    "This is¡­" Moore uttered in shock when he saw the icy blue flames. "This is the Ice Soul Flame! And it is complete! How could you possibly fully comprehend Holy Jay''s Ice Soul Flame?!"


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    The Ice Soul Flame had spread at an extremely fast speed. It had already filled the whole circle in just a blink of an eye.


    Zen didn''t answer Moore''s question. The Ice Soul Flame could have a stronger effect in the Land of Extreme Chillness, but at least, the speed at which the flames had spread was still beyond his expectation.


    However, Moore wasn''t willing to lose to Zen. His fat body dodged the Ice Soul Flame that constantly licked at him and occasionally turned into a pile of snowflakes, then back to normal again. Finally, Zen saw a fat man in an ice armor, who rolled on the ground before the Ice Soul Flame froze him completely. ''This one should be his real body, right?'' Zen thought.

 Chapter 2267 Assumption Based On Limited Information

    It was undoubtedly extremely difficult to remove the Ice Soul Flame from a body it had invaded.


    If an ordinary low-rank True God was frozen as such, Zen would have already won.


    Perhaps it was because Moore cultivated the Snow Godly Way or because he had some special treasure protecting his body. He merely curled up into a ball and lay motionless on the ground, but by then the outcome of the Arena of Legends hadn''t yet been decided.


    Still, Moore had lost the ability to resist. Zen walked over and leaped high into the air. The tips of his toes had gathered a powerful force that he charged right at Moore.


    Crack!


    Zen crushed Moore''s body into a million pieces.


    Soon after, the world of ice and snow began to dissipate. When Zen returned to his room, his injuries disappeared.


    "The eleventh consecutive win."


    He pursed his lips. He didn''t expect it to be so difficult.


    In truth, he had already predicted such difficulty, and so had Joy. It was widely known that Moore ranked twentieth among the low-rank True Gods. He was much stronger than the low-rank True Gods that Zen had fought at that stage¡ªZen had practiced the Gods Killing Sword Array in preparation because of this.


    But never did Zen expect that someone would lower his rank just to challenge him.


    If he really fought all the way up in the Hall of True Gods, he would surely have to use the Gods Killing Sword Array to deal with the powerhouses among the low-rank True Gods.


    But if he used the Gods Killing Sword Array now, his opponents were likely to guess that he was from the Han Clan and the Purple Soul Hall¡ªexposing himself too early was unfavorable to the Han Clan. By then, within the Hall of True Gods, many clans would do all they could to deal with the True Gods of the Han Clan.


    "I must be careful next time. I can''t accept any more challenges," Zen said to himself rather dejectedly. The warriors who lowered their ranks to challenge him were interrupting his plans.


    Even more dejected was Moore.


    After leaving the Arena of Legends, the fat on his round face kept shaking. "The Ice Soul Flame¡­ How could it be the Ice Soul Flame?"


    It was no big deal to lose some points, nor did it matter to lose hundreds of divine might coins. But Moore was not satisfied losing to a proving godly warrior who fought with those beyond his level.


    Many disciples from the powerful clans on the Floating Islands had gone to the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land¡ªMoore was no exception, and he had also gone to its interior world arranged by Holy Jay. Since he mainly practiced the Snow Godly Way, it was natural for him to yearn for the Ice Soul Flame. If the Snow Divine Spear could be combined with the magical ice flame, his power would be enhanced remarkably.


    But


    her and lower than his had grown intense.


    In order to lower their rankings to qualify for challenging Zen, some masters even gave up and admitted defeat to each other.


    But much to their disappointment, Zen no longer accepted their challenges and chose his own opponents randomly.


    In this way, his opponents had once again become the warriors at his level, making it much easier for him to win¡ªhe won over and over again.


    On that day, he had four consecutive wins. In total, he had 14 consecutive wins, earning him 112, 000 points. The extra points from winning a single round came up to almost 17, 000.


    Meanwhile, the low-rank True Gods in the same rank as Zen usually had over a thousand points¡ªto them, Zen''s points made an astronomical figure.


    But 112, 000 points was by no means his final goal. According to Joy, he needed at least 1.2 million points to protect the Purple Soul Hall and change the ranking of the Han Clan''s Floating Island. Zen still had a long way to go in the Arena of Legends.


    On each of the following days, Zen only fought two matches.


    Four days later, he had accumulated 22 consecutive wins.


    Because of the string of wins, his ranking quickly rose from 500, 000 to the top 10, 000, top 1, 000, and top 100, until he was finally ranked at the 96th.


    After the last twenty-second round, his ranking rose directly from the 920th to the 96th. In other words, all the opponents he randomly selected were in the top 200.


    These were the best of the low-rank True Gods, as well as the talents among the disciples of powerful clans on the Floating Islands.


    It was no surprise that they were all eager to accept Zen''s challenge. Whoever defeated the anonymous man would receive a great number of points.


    Never did they expect the anonymous man to quietly take his leave from the Hall of True Gods.

 Chapter 2268 An Open Battle

    The difference between the top two hundred warriors in the Arena of Legends wasn''t that large.


    There were more than thirty rich clans on the Floating Islands and if each one possessed around five talents, then that would mean a total of 200 talents in the entirety of the Floating Islands.


    At this stage, Zen''s opponents were now as strong as Moore.


    He remembered his battle with him. If Zen hadn''t made use of the Ice Soul Flame, then he might''ve lost that fight.


    In order to face off against the top two hundred low-rank True Gods, Zen would have to make use of the Gods Killing Sword Array if he wanted to ensure his victory.


    There was still a month and a half before the re-ranking of the Floating Islands and so far, Zen had won twenty-two consecutive times and owned three hundred and seventy thousand points. He wasn''t as anxious as he was before and only needed to wait for the last period to win a few more crucial matches.


    With this strategy, even if others were to discover that he was from the Han Clan, it would be too late to attack him. This was all well-thought-out by Joy.


    However, his sudden departure from the Hall of True Gods left the other talents feeling quite anxious.


    Even Laquisha was upset.


    The young woman was under a lot of pressure mostly due to the conflict between her and Langston.


    Their relationship at the moment was less than ideal but she had to consider the overall situation as a member of the Han Clan. Sometimes, the disciples of the rich clans on the Floating Islands ended up being more helpless than ordinary people.


    Laquisha was ranked third among all low-rank True Gods. However she found it difficult to win consecutively and even if she did, she could only get around one thousand points. Such a meagre amount wouldn''t be able to change their current situation.


    During this time, Pascal spent his days persevering in the Arena of Legends and participating in battles above his level. He challenged a top-rank True God and found it quite challenging given his cultivation of a mid-rank True God.


    After three consecutive wins, he was then defeated three consecutive times by other warriors. The top-rank True Gods still had the advantage of flight, which made Pascal suffer while he was fighting with them.


    Even without saying anything, Laquisha knew that he did it all for her.


    Pascal didn''t want to obey the Leng Clan either. He wanted to help her with his own strength. Unfortunately, he might be far too weak to do so.


    However, Laquisha still had a chance.


    Just recently, an anonymous warrior appeared within the Hall of True Gods and participated in the battles above his level. That warrior won all 22 co


    ce and made him suffer such a huge loss.


    "I''m not interested," she replied coldly.


    "You don''t want to accept my challenge, Your Highness?" he asked, almost mockingly. "I heard there''s something wrong between you and Langston."


    Gossip in the clans always spread like wildfire. Quentin was not close to nor had a friendly relationship with Langston, but he still knew about the matter between him and his fiancee. "It was said that a proving godly warrior emerged from your clan and killed Sheridan. I''m wondering if this proving godly warrior is the anonymous man. His name is Thad, right?"


    It wasn''t just Laquisha who had her suspicions of Zen being the anonymous man.


    Many warriors saw Zen kill Sheridan and hurt Langston after all. His strength wasn''t really a kept secret.


    Since he had the capacity to kill Sheridan, then he most certainly had the qualifications to participate in battles against those with a higher cultivation base than him.


    However, Zen''s name was never on the ranking list. He just directly participated in the battle anonymously. There were little to no clues offered to mere spectators. Even Quentin could only make his guesses.


    "It''s possible but I''ve already sent people to inquire about this matter. Thad seems to be focused on learning the Purple Aura Godly Way from the Demi-holy Being of our Han Clan," Laquisha replied. She wasn''t really sure about the current situation, but since she didn''t have anything to hide, then there was no need to lie.


    "I see!" Quentin replied indifferently. He too was only speculating.


    At that moment, a majestic voice suddenly boomed in the Hall of True Gods. "Harold Yu from the Luo Clan is challenging Rachelle Mu from the Mu Clan. Low-rank True Gods can pay 40 points to watch the open battle on-site..."

 Chapter 2269 Method Of Activation

    As the voice rang throughout the area, Laquisha and the others temporarily froze in surprise.


    "Here comes Harold again! He appears every time when the clans'' Floating Islands are about to be ranked," Quentin chuckled.


    "That''s true. He really worked hard to keep the Luo Clan''s Floating Island above the Time Sea," agreed a genius from another clan.


    "It is said that he has completely controlled the Everest Spirit Mountain, and his skills have probably improved so much--which is bad for Rachelle Mu. Actually, it can be considered as Rachelle paying off the debt for the Mu Clan."


    It was known that the ranking of the Floating Islands had changed multiple times in the past few years.


    Most of the members of the Luo Clan had died, while the few remaining ones left and hid away in the forbidden lands.


    Yet over the years, the Luo Clan''s Floating Island never fell into the Time Sea. It still even remained in the third-lowest place among all the wealthy clans, and it was all because of Harold.


    Back then when he had left the Time Sea, he had taken away a piece of the Jade Wall of Legends. Then every time the Floating Islands were ranked again, he continuously challenged a few consummate True Gods, and thus obtained enough points to protect the Luo Clan''s Floating Island.


    In addition, every time the first person he chose was Rachelle.


    Back then, it wasn''t just the Mu Clan that had destroyed the Luo Clan--the Hall of Holy Beings had also gotten involved. However, Murphy Mu was at the helm, and he was the one who subsequently launched a war in the Evolutionary Universe. Of course, Harold had released his anger on the Mu Clan.


    The True Gods went into thousands of battles in the Arena of Legends every day, but what garnered the most attention were the battles between the consummate True Gods.


    These consummate True Gods could have tens of thousands, or even millions of points at a time. The results of their battles determined the ranking of their Floating Islands, and that was one of the reasons why the Holy Beings gave so much importance to cultivating their own disciples. While the chances of disciples becoming Holy Beings were very small, they still played an important role.


    Now, the battles between the consummate True Gods were usually open battles. Everyone from the Floating Islands could come to the battle site and watch. Warriors had to pay according to their own cultivation level to watch, as the low-rank True Gods needed to pay forty points, mid-rank True Gods needed to pay two hundred points, and top-rank True Gods had to pay six hundred points.


    The consummate True Gods all had reached the consummation of some kind of Godly Way, and they often had good comprehensions and strong theurgies beyond way. These True Gods could comprehend a lot from watching the battles, so they would gladly pay to spectate the fights.


    Therefore, numerous True Gods had used their points to pay to watch the open battle after the announcement today.


    Meanwhile, Zen had been quite relaxed the past few days. During that period


    inadvertent attempt actually worked!


    His face was twisted into ecstasy after he freed himself from the state of emotion closing. Through such a method, he could easily solve many problems he had encountered and be more unrestrained in comprehending the internal momentum used by other True Gods.


    The rings in his eyes lasted for about five minutes before they slowly dimmed.


    The moment the light was gone, Joy''s voice slowly cut into the silence.


    When Zen heard the sudden voice, he thought that Joy had noticed what he just did. Nervousness coursed through his body as Joy said, "Harold is going to challenge Rachelle. It''s an open battle. You can watch the battle after you enter the Jade Wall of Legends."


    "Harold!" Zen exclaimed with raised brows. Harold was the one who had taken away Zen''s sister back in the Central Region.


    Back then, he was able to catapult Zen several hundred miles away with the power of just one finger.


    At that time, Zen secretly swore that he would definitely defeat that guy one day.


    He never expected that this young man was his father''s chief disciple, Harold Yu!


    "Wasn''t the Floating Island of the Luo Clan destroyed? Why could he enter the Arena of Legends to challenge Rachelle?" he asked. He was very confused, but Joy just gave him that one message then kept silent, and did not answer his question.


    In any case, he didn''t wait any longer and rushed into the Jade Wall of Legends.


    Soon enough, he reached his destination and paid 40 points to enter a huge world.


    A bloody red setting sun hung at the edge of the world, which seemed to be washed over with blood. It even had a salty, coppery smell as well.


    Although it was a made-up space, everything in it looked absolutely real.


    "So many people..." Zen whispered helplessly. Everywhere he looked was filled with spectators. He saw countless proving godly warriors, low-rank True Gods, and mid-rank True Gods at a single glance.


    Just when the anonymous man had arrived, all the spectators immediately paid attention to Zen.

 Chapter 2270 Challenge Accepted

    There were different expressions on the faces of the low-rank True Gods as they looked on at Zen.


    Some admired Zen for his performances while some looked on warily.


    "Is him the anonymous man?"


    "He has not even proven a Godly Way, and yet he ranks ninety-sixth!"


    "What''s important is that he defeated Moore. We are well aware of Moore''s strength. Moore is most likely to enter among the top ten. And this anonymous man defeated him!"


    "You mean to say that this anonymous man is likely to enter the top ten then? How many points will he accumulate then?"


    "¡­¡­"


    The participants of this open battle were yet to make their appearances, but Zen already seemed to be the crowd''s favorite.


    Apart from the low-rank True Gods, even the mid-rank and top-rank True Gods seemed to be interested in Zen. After all, all these clans were investigating the background of the anonymous man, and they had already heard of him before.


    Laquisha also noticed him. She bypassed the crowd and tried to get closer to Zen.


    It was the first time she saw this famous anonymous man.


    Zen''s face was in a blurry state, and so she could not really make out his features. Moreover, his Redemption Armor had also been changed to a different hue.


    Laquisha continued to stare at Zen. She felt a familiar feeling tugging at her from inside, but she could not quite place it. If it was really Zen, she would not be able to confirm in front of so many people.


    Zen boldly smiled knowingly, as he looked at Laquisha''s bewildered pretty face, since no one could see his expression.


    Laquisha was fully aware that everyone was staring at them as she said politely, "Nice to meet you. The anonymous man."


    "What''s the matter?" He lowered his voice so that his voice could be deeper. It was easy to change his voice.


    "In the Hall of True Gods, can you accept my challenge?" Laquisha said in a soft voice. Anyone who challenged the anonymous man was to earn his points, but Laquisha tried to be as sincere as she could.


    Zen smiled even more when he saw Laquisha''s earnest and careful face.


    However, before Zen could answer, a woman wearing a black suit so tight that it seemed like her second skin, walked towards him quickly. She had black hair that was tied into a pony tail, complete with bangs in the front. Her beautiful and dignified face was brimming with infinite vitality, emitting a strong aura.


    As she walked, the people around stepped aside. She glanced at Laquisha indifferently, almost with a look of disdain in her eyes. "You have already been defeated by me. Please don''t embarrass yourself again."


    "You!" Laquisha frowned at the lady. The so called ''defeat'' happened 3 months ago. She and the woman were evenly matched in strength, so she tried to challenge her again. But the woman always refused to fight with her on the pretext of not fighting with ''losers''. Laquisha also unfortunately never encountered her again in any of the random battles.


    The woman really didn''t bother about Laquisha''s tur


    uisha were the two most talented girls in the Floating Islands.


    The two girls had their own advantages. Nelly was straightforward and lively, while Laquisha had a gentle and sober personality. It was inevitable that people would compare the two girls to each other. Moreover, Nelly was extremely proud and arrogant, and she did not even consider Laquisha as her equal. She did not like it at all when others compared her with Laquisha.


    "You can keep guessing whether I''m a disciple of the Han Clan or not," Zen said indifferently. "This is the condition. It is up to you whether you want to accept the deal or not."


    Last time, Zen had bet on 550 divine might coins with Moore.


    As a result, after Zen had defeated Moore, that slimy fellow had disappeared. With Zen''s current identity as the anonymous man, it was impossible for him to go to the Moon Clan''s Floating Island.


    Even if he defeated Nelly, his identity still couldn''t be revealed, so it would be better to hand over the stake to Laquisha.


    As for whether or not he was a disciple of the Han Clan, they could keep guessing for eternity.


    Nelly coldly glanced at Laquisha. What Zen asked of her was undoubtedly a great humiliation, but in order to challenge Zen, she gritted her teeth and agreed.


    "I''m glad to hear that," Zen replied with a nod. He then walked over to Laquisha and asked with a smile, "Did you just say that you wanted to challenge me?"


    Laquisha didn''t know what had happened. She was still in a daze, but since the anonymous man asked her, she nodded and replied, "Yes."


    "After I defeat that woman, I will accept your challenge," Zen continued with a smile.


    "What?" For some reason, Laquisha was a little nervous in front of the anonymous man. "But I can''t afford three supreme primordial weapons."


    Laquisha actually could afford it, but she was unwilling to do so.


    "Oh! Don''t worry about it. I will not ask for anything if you lose." Zen laughed strangely.


    In meantime, Nelly was fuming with rage.

 Chapter 2271 The Strength Of The Consummate True Gods

    It was clear to everyone that the anonymous man didn''t care one bit about the three supreme primordial weapons.


    It was obvious that he had a strong grudge against Nelly and was trying to irritate her on purpose.


    Nelly, on the other hand, who had noticed his partiality for Laquisha, was now in a bad mood.


    "But... I don''t think that''s a good idea." Laquisha was surprised at this, having not expected what was happening.


    "I will accept your challenge if you will accept my condition," Zen said.


    "Of course," Laquisha said, her lips curving into a lovely grin and eyes wandering to Nelly.


    Laquisha''s mocking was the last straw for Nelly and her irritation showed on her countenance. Zen''s attitude towards her was nothing more than provocation and insult. But she knew that it was improper for her to vent her anger at Laquisha. So she rushed over to Zen and demanded an answer from him, "What is the meaning of all this discrimination against me?"


    Zen merely raised his head and gazed into the distance, not bothering to pay any attention to Nelly. He just pointed into the distance and said, "The battle begins!"


    In the distance, the shadow of a slender figure lengthened as it moved in the blood red wilderness. It belonged to a petite woman.


    She was dressed in a blood red robe and walked slowly along the vast wilderness. A strong killing intent emanated off of her. Zen could feel the threat of death across the vast distance that separated them.


    Her killing intent was like a sharp knife, pressing against everyone''s hearts. With just a glance, the knife could pierce through their hearts and take their lives.


    "Rachelle Mu. So this is the aura of a consummate True God?" Zen''s eyes narrowed.


    Joy was a Demi-holy Being and had an aura that was completely different from that of Rachelle''s. Zen didn''t think that Joy''s aura was more powerful than Rachelle''s.


    "It''s Rachelle!"


    "What a strong killing intent! Her cultivation of the Murdering Godly Way is already perfect and it is said that she has also grasped three other theurgies beyond the Murdering Godly Way. It seems that she has made a lot more progress!"


    "But will she still be defeated brutally by Harold this year?"


    Since the destruction of the Luo Clan''s Floating Island, Harold challenged Rachelle every year, and every year, he would ruthlessly defeat her.


    It was strange that Rachelle never turned down Harold''s challenges when she had the option. According to the rules, consummate True Gods only needed to complete one open battle


    "You don''t have to feel sorry," Rachelle said nonchalantly. "I will take back all the points."


    Saying thus, she raised her hands, two rays of light flashing around them before two weapons appeared in her hands. In her right hand was a short silver machete with an arc-shaped blade. The thick, broad blade was emitting a faint blue light, and inside the blue light, was a narrow line of golden Sanskrit. In her left hand was a short sword that looked rather ordinary.


    Harold leisurely put his left hand behind his back, while the fingers of his right hand continued to move, as if he was calculating something. He didn''t pull out any weapon but merely said, "Let''s begin."


    Rachelle''s eyes flashed. She moved towards Harold in one big stride and the redness in her eyes spread along her cheeks to the back, leaving two blood-red tracks behind her.


    She was incredibly fast!


    Rachelle quickly approached him, as if she was moving like the wind. She silently drew an arc in the air with the short machete in her right hand.


    Harold was rigid as wood and moved stiffly but numbly to the other side, easily avoiding the slash. The arc in the air began to expand, and before long, it had grown into one that was a thousand feet wide. Once it had fully activated the energy contained within it, it created a wave of blood red power that stretched to the end of the wilderness before dissipating.


    "This slash alone has such great power! The entire power of this attack had condensed in her machete from the very beginning!" Zen said wondrously, stunned as he watched the monstrous wave of blood-red power. This was the first time he had watched a battle between two consummate True Gods.

 Chapter 2272 An Unprecedented Body Refining Technique

    Rachelle held a short machete in one hand and a short sword in the other. She resembled a gazelle in her stance and fighting technique, quick and nimble.


    Harold had avoided all of Rachelle''s attacks with the simplest moves; he had been able to predict her moves as if he was able to foresee everything.


    They had faced each other in battle so many times before, and every fight ended in a life-and-death situation between them. They were very familiar with each other''s personalities and fighting styles.


    But in this particular fight, Harold was much calmer and more focused. He dodged everything, ignoring all of Rachelle''s attacks. It seemed that he was confident he wouldn''t get hurt at all.


    Splash!


    Each cut of Rachelle''s short machete triggered a terrible blood wave that spurted and scattered across the vast space. It was as if the very space bled with each stroke of the machete gliding through the air.


    The disciples of wealthy clans on the Floating Islands were awed at what was unfolding in front of their eyes. A scene like this was very rare, and only during an open battle between two consummate True Gods were they able to witness something like this.


    Zen, on the other hand, was tired of it. After all, he had witnessed much more terrifying effects of battles between Supreme Lords when he was in the Evolutionary Universe; this fight was not a big deal compared to that.


    However, it should be recalled that the Evolutionary Universe was still the inner world of Holy Mike, and it shouldn''t be compared with the divine land.


    It was easy for those Supreme Lords to destroy a supreme world in the universe, but it was a hard task for them to turn a mountain upside down in the divine land.


    The exchange of blows between Rachelle and Harold was gaining speed at an alarming rate. The two of them rapidly circled in the air, launching from the ground. Without any warning, she disappeared from behind him and suddenly reappeared above his head. In an instant, a bright red blade radiance slashed down on him.


    "Space travel..." Zen''s lips were pressed into a thin line.


    Perhaps Harold was not expecting this move from Rachelle, or he might have had deficiencies in his cultivation. As she slashed downward from above him, he had no time to dodge the attack.


    Momentary surprise flickered in Harold''s eyes. Unexpected by everyone, he grabbed Rachelle''s blade radiance in his fingers.


    Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!


    How awe-inspiring the power of blade radiance was!


    When Harold was able to constantly avoid Rachelle''s blade radiance earlier, its power just transformed into billowing waves of frost and dissipated immediately. But now, as he caught the blade radiance in his hand, its power poured forth, and he had difficulty fighting against it.


    Dark blue light radiated from Harold''s hand. With the protection provided by the light, he forcefully pulverized Rachelle''s blade radiance into pieces. However, his facial expression turned much more serious. He retreated and traveled quickly through space, as if he wanted to put as much distance as possible between himself and her.


    "Do you feel strange?" Rachelle smiled smugly, like a cat about to kill its prey. "Did your calculations fail you?"


    His head down, Harold kept cle


    n Harold''s chest. His body had been cut open almost in half, leaving only a sliver of flesh connecting the two parts of his body.


    "Oh my God! Harold has been cut in half by Rachelle!"


    "I''ve told you, the reason why Rachelle lost to Harold so many times before was because of the Evolution Godly Way. If we would consider their real strength, it would appear that Harold is not stronger than her!"


    "I thought Harold was going to defeat his opponent easily. I spent all my money betting on him!"


    Looking upon this scene, Zen also appeared a bit worried. Although Harold wouldn''t actually die, would the Luo Clan''s Floating Island fall into the Time Sea because of his failure?


    Harold''s face was still calm. He extended his hand and gently pressed the wound in his chest; his broken body quickly merged into one. The shocking wound eventually disappeared.


    Harold then said in a stern voice, "The Floating Island of Luo Clan won''t fall into the Time Sea. I had already defeated you for 15 times before you knew how to deal with my Deduction Technique. It must be those damned old men from the Hall of Holy Beings who put you up for this. You wouldn''t have come up with these ideas on your own. In that case, I can let you and the old men of the Hall of Holy Beings watch as I tear up your bodies and trample on your Floating Islands in the future!"


    His shoulders suddenly trembled, and the clothes at the back of his shoulders suddenly expanded. In addition, his chest, thighs, and almost every part of his body began to swell up. Everyone watched this scene with curiosity and trepidation; even Zen was stunned speechless.


    In the blink of an eye, the frail and weak young man transformed into a tall, muscular man. His clothes were ripped into pieces, and the veins on his muscles stood out prominently.


    "The strength source is flowing in his blood vessels instead of blood. How is he able to do it?" As he saw the situation, Zen was also astounded.


    A True God''s strength was not determined by the size of his muscles, but by the strength source itself. It seemed that Harold had displayed a new body refining technique that was yet unheard of in the divine land.

 Chapter 2273 Three Punches

    Across the entire divine land, no one placed much value on body refining skills. Even the Might Godly Way wasn''t truly welcomed here.


    The conservative True Gods were still focused on condensing the Godly Tile in a traditional way, in an attempt to attain the consummation of True God Realm and become Holy Beings.


    This was a path that had been tried, tested and proved by countless True Gods. It was true that ever since the ancient times, only a few people had been capable of standing at its peak, but this remained a successful path.


    That said, this world certainly didn''t lack warriors who could take the lead to a new path. At the time, Mike had cultivated the Evolution Godly Way alone and created the Evolutionary Universe. However, there were only very few people like Mike. The paths that were yet to be discovered by people were filled with unknown fog, and some of them even had a huge pit. One could only imagine the difficulty of crossing them.


    Just like the Primal Chaos Technique that Zen had cultivated, until now, it had been difficult for him to condense a Godly Tile. If it wasn''t for the strange mud, Zen probably still wouldn''t have any clue.


    The crowd surrounding Zen started whispering, a low hum spreading throughout the group.


    "I can''t believe that Harold used such a strange body refining skill," someone murmured.


    "It''s completely beyond the Eight Path Platforms and the Nine Divine Stars. What the hell is this strength source? How can it replace blood?" someone else said, completely dumbfounded.


    "That isn''t what Harold would do. Isn''t he good at calculating the opponent''s flaws and killing them in the simplest way?"


    To anyone who knew Harold, he was considered to be one of the most modest and quiet.


    When the Luo Clan''s Floating Island had been destroyed, Harold had left without saying a single word. When he turned his head to take a final look, his tender eyes were filled with reluctance, and then he disappeared from the wealthy clans'' sight. For a long time, he had even been forgotten by plenty.


    It was also throughout that period of time that the Luo Clan''s Floating Island''s ranking had dropped significantly.


    Just when the wealthy clans thought that the Luo Clan''s Floating Island would sink into the Time Sea by the next time''s ranking, Harold strangely appeared in the Arena of Legends. Using his own strength alone, he had nearly shouldered the entire Luo Clan''s Floating Island.


    Following such, the Luo Clan''s Floating Island had been fixed in the third place to last. In other words, it hadn''t fallen, not even one place, and it managed to maintain the position for many, many years.


    All this was thanks to a man''s loyalty and tenacity.


    But today, for some reason, he came forth presenting his muscles to all the True Gods for the very first time.


    The muscles all over his body were wildly bulged, radiating the beauty of power. That said, his head hadn''t changed at all. It seemed rather incongruous to have a huge and thick body combined with a small head.


    When Rachelle saw this scene, she jumped backward, somewhat subconsciously. Her figure seemed to have traveled through spa


    once said this move could keep her alive for a short period of time. Within it, she would be almost invincible.


    Just as the idea flashed in Nelly''s mind though, the scene that played out before her eyes made her change her mind.


    At the same time, with a colorful glow gleaming on his right arm, Harold grabbed Rachelle with his left hand and waved his right fist just inches away from her face.


    There was a certain drawback in using the strength source, which was that one couldn''t completely integrate the strength source into their own body.


    Harold though, seemed to have a better understanding of the Might Godly Way as well as the body refining skills.


    This was even beyond a Holy Being''s vision.


    Even Rachelle''s ultimate skill, which was claimed to be invincible, couldn''t currently bare the Might Godly Way.


    Bang!


    He thrust his fist forward and the punch landed on Rachelle. Dark spikes spread out around Rachelle''s body. These spikes were ripples caused by the space shock, which actually spread out for dozens of miles.


    Crack! Crack!


    Rachelle''s body, on the other hand, had been strengthened to a terrifying state. After being punched, her body didn''t disassemble in the least. Only countless cracks appeared on her skin as she began to fall downward at high speeds.


    As she fell down by twenty to thirty feet, Harold once again appeared just below Rachelle.


    Bang!


    With the huge space ripples spreading further and further, the second punch hit Rachelle straight on and most of the bloody red scales on her body flew off and disappeared.


    Boom!


    When Harold threw his third punch forward, the scales on Rachelle''s body completely dissipated, and in front of all the onlookers, her body did the same. There were only huge black ripples that continued to spread, as if the space shocks that were created by Harold were too strong and they would now spread forever amidst this fake space.


    Harold raised his head and looked out at the spectators, who stood silently watching him. He didn''t care about the win. On the contrary, he had more important things to do today.

 Chapter 2274 A Hint

    Harold pondered for a moment and then said, "After this re-ranking of the Floating Islands, the members of the Zhao Clan, the Liu Clan, the Qin Clan, the Mu Clan, the Tang Clan, the Leng Clan and the Dongfang Clan are strictly not allowed to enter the Everest Spirit Mountain."


    His voice sounded very calm.


    However, this caused a stir among the True Gods present there.


    "What are you saying? That''s impossible!"


    "Why can''t we enter the Everest Spirit Mountain?"


    "Harold, are you out of your mind? Your mere words can''t stop us from entering the mountain. What a joke!"


    The True Gods of all the ranks were visibly upset with Harold''s decision.


    They were not convinced at all and believed that they had every right to enter the Everest Spirit Mountain.


    On the contrary, members of other clans, such as the Han Clan and the Zhou Clan were undeterred by this decision. They were secretly pleased instead.


    The forbidden lands meant a great deal to the powerful clans on the Floating Islands as they provided them with a foundation to gain a foothold.


    The forbidden lands consisted of the massive divine might coins and rare mineral resources. Over the years, the powerful clans had explored thoroughly the forbidden lands, and the competition was fierce among them. Their disciples would fight with each other every time the forbidden lands were opened. Although the safety of anyone who went there wasn''t guaranteed, all the clans and the True Gods went there without much hesitation.


    The Everest Spirit Mountain was one of the four great forbidden lands, and it wasn''t as dangerous as the rest of the forbidden lands.


    The Soul Wilderness was quite mysterious and changeable as far as the four forbidden lands were concerned, and the Swirl Forest was full of fierce animals. The Abyss Demon Region was the most dangerous one. There was a slim chance of survival even for the top-rank True Gods who went there. It was quite common for the consummate True Gods and the Demi-holy Beings to die there.


    Therefore, the Everest Spirit Mountain was of great value and importance to all the powerful clans on the Floating Islands.


    "The Zhao Clan, the Liu Clan, the Qin Clan, the Mu Clan..." Zen muttered to himself.


    He took a mental note of all the powerful clans Harold had mentioned earlier.


    Murphy wasn''t able to destroy the Luo Clan alone. His clan was way too weak to compete with Zen''s clan, so the above-mentioned clans must have worked together with Murphy in order to wipe out the Luo Clan.


    "If the members of the Han Clan, the Moon Clan, the Sword Clan and the Gu Clan wish to enter the Everest Spirit Mountain, I will take it upon myself to open the Cloud Dragon Ravine


    ppeared quite furious and enraged.


    "What are we going to do about Harold?" Clark roared.


    The Tang Clan developed quite swiftly over the divine eras. Their rank increased from twenty-sixth to ninth. This was due to the Everest Spirit Mountain. Among the powerful clans, they knew the mountain quite well and had gathered a great deal of information about the mountain. Whenever the Everest Spirit Mountain was opened, their disciples always reaped the most.


    Therefore, Clark was the first Holy Being to lose his temper in the Arena of Legends.


    "You didn''t kill Harold when you had the chance. Now he has gained control over the Everest Spirit Mountain. Do you regret it now?" A calm voice came.


    "We won''t compromise with Harold. Didn''t you see him make that gesture? He has been saving his strength for a while now. Now he is about to make some big moves."


    "He is also good at making plans just like Mike. He must have been fully prepared by now."


    "I wonder which clan and person he targets." The Holy Beings had no clue as to what the future held.


    "No matter what kind of trap he sets, can he really flatten the Floating Islands? He''s just bragging and showing off his position. It isn''t necessarily our loss if we give up a forbidden land. If we join hands to develop the Swirl Forest and the Abyss Demon Region, there may be some unexpected surprises."


    "Well, we can ask Dongfang about it, when he finishes his practice."


    There was a vast majority of unexplored forbidden lands in the divine land, and no one knew what was in them.


    Although the Holy Beings believed that these uncharted territories would help them, they were still quite upset over the loss of the Everest Spirit Mountain and they knew that it was irreplaceable. That was the reason why Clark was so angry.

 Chapter 2275 Imprisoned

    In the Mu Clan''s place, the door of the God-killing Hall swung open with a loud bang.


    The guards on both sides of the gate knelt down on the ground.


    In the blink of an eye, Rachelle left the Mu Clan''s Floating Island like a ghost.


    The guards exchanged glances with each other and began discussing in low voices.


    "Miss Mu was quite confident this time, wasn''t she?"


    "But she has still been defeated by Harold. Alas, things will not be good for her in the following days."


    "Everyone should be so careful from now on."


    They all knew that Rachelle had a bad temper.


    After leaving the Floating Island, Rachelle stepped on the transparent disk and floated up into the air. Flying was forbidden in the Time Sea and all warriors were banned from using the spatial transference. Even if she reached the consummation of True God Realm, she could not break this rule.


    As she traveled through the thick fog, a dark mountain came into view in front of her.


    The mountain was a hundred thousand feet high and it was very steep.


    Halfway up the mountain stood a huge slate which represented the highest rule of the divine land. It was the Ruling Slate.


    The slate connected the entire mountain with lightning that seemed ordinary but contained strong power that even Holy Beings could not resist.


    Under normal circumstances, no one could climb the mountain or approach the slate.


    Rachelle didn''t travel toward the top of the mountain. After looking up at the slate, she moved to the back of the mountain and entered a huge cave.


    In the cave, a figure in a silver robe was bound by the lightning and could not move at all. It was none other than Murphy, who had broken the rules of the slate. After he had attacked the Evolutionary Universe, the Ruling Slate had trapped Murphy in the cave as punishment.


    "Father!" Rachelle shouted.


    "You''ve lost?" Murphy asked indifferently.


    He knew his daughter''s character very well. Judging from the subtle difference in her voice, he could tell that Rachelle had been defeated.


    "Yes." Rachelle nodded, showing a little grievance on her face. But that grievance disappeared in an instant. She already had a cultivation at the consummation of True God Realm and was the hope of the Mu Clan. She could not let herself display any negative emotions in front of others, not even her own father.


    "I guess Harold has made some progress on his strength again," Murphy said. Then, he shook his head and added, "He has indeed benefitted a lot from the Everest Spirit Mountain."


    Recalling the strength that Harold had shown, Rachelle felt a chill run down her spine. However, it was no longer important. "Father, Harold has taken complete control of the Everest Spirit Mountain. He announced in the Arena of Legends that the Mu Clan can never step into the Everest Spirit Mountain again."


    "What?!"


    Murphy shouted in shock.


    He knew better than anyone how much the Mu Clan would be affected if the Everest Spirit Mountain was closed off to it. "Is the Mu Clan the only clan that isn''t allowed to enter the Everest Spirit Mountain?" he asked, holding his breath in apprehension.


    "No. The Tang Clan and the Dongfan


    ed eighth, was a bit smaller.


    There were only a few thousand people in total on the Gu Clan''s Floating Island. Among the 36 Floating Islands, the Gu Clan''s had the smallest population.


    Bromley did not like to accept disciples, and the Gu Clan did not have many descendants. On top of that, outsiders were not allowed to enter the Gu Clan''s Floating Island. With all these limitations, there was barely any growth in the number of people living here.


    After watching the fight between Harold and Rachelle, Augustus left the Jade Wall of Legends. He traveled through the clouds and the mist, and then jumped into a unique courtyard and spoke to his senior fellow disciple. "Hey! Did you watch the open battle between Harold and Rachelle?"


    There was a boy in the courtyard carrying an emerald green fishing rod. Under the ray of light that hit the water from the rod, there was a blue fish biting on the bait.


    The boy was not fishing; instead, he was feeding the fish.


    However, Augustus''s roar startled the fish, and it hurriedly swam away.


    "Yes, I did," the boy replied impatiently as he glared at Augustus and threw the fishing rod aside.


    "Harold has become more powerful again, and also very domineering. He seems completely different from what he used to be." Augustus sighed.


    The boy glanced at him but did not say anything. Harold''s quick progress was indeed beyond his expectations.


    Since the boy stayed silent, Augustus continued, "Do you think that he was hinting for us to enter the Cloud Dragon Ravine when he spoke at the Arena of Legends? I think that he can''t pass through the Cloud Dragon Ravine on his own, so he wants us to help him. Don''t you think so?" At this thought, Augustus giggled.


    "Dream on," the boy said coldly. He then looked at the pool in front of him and said, "It''s about to begin!"


    "What is going to begin?" Augustus asked in confusion upon hearing his senior fellow disciple''s strange words.


    "Harold''s words might have been a hint to our junior fellow disciple." The boy narrowed his eyes. "We''re also going to take action. We can''t fall behind Harold."

 Chapter 2276 A Hundred And Ninety-five Challengers (Part One)

    Hearing the boy''s words, Augustus was quite confused. "What do you mean? Has Zen already ascended to the divine land? And is he currently on one of the Floating Islands?" he asked in confusion.


    The boy threw a sharp look at Augustus. "If Zen had ascended to the divine land, then his ascension must have been guided by a member of the Jiang Clan. Do you think those Holy Beings would let him go? Why do you think Harold has been giving so much trouble to the Jiang Clan in the recent times?" he asked, his voice rising.


    "Oh yes!" Augustus patted his forehead.


    Although he was much more talented than his senior fellow disciple in terms of cultivation, he was quite slow as far as analyzing a situation was concerned.


    Augustus then said, "So he entered the divine land in an illegal way. Since Zen is on one of the Floating Islands now, how about we bring him here? I will train him personally, and he is sure to make a rapid progress."


    "Augustus, can you really find him? Do you really think that he is as careless as you are? Let''s just say that you found him, then what? Do you think that you can keep him safe on the Gu Clan''s Floating Island?" The boy said impatiently, his tone indicated that he perceived Augustus as an ignorant person.


    Bormley had been roaming the boundless chaos for countless years without coming back. If Zen entered the Gu Clan''s Floating Island and the Holy Beings wanted to take him away, there was nothing anyone could do about it.


    Although Zen knew that he was quite close to his two senior fellow disciples, Augustus and Hallet, he had no intentions of going to the Gu Clan''s Floating I


    treasure do you wish to acquire?" Joy asked with a smile. She thought of Zen as a stubborn fellow. She knew that he wouldn''t ask her for help even if he needed it desperately.


    It was quite true that Zen didn''t like asking for help, no matter how dire the circumstances were. He had no plans of asking Joy for help.


    "I want the Golden Beast Statue. After I accumulate enough points, I''m going to¡ª" Joy interrupted Zen midway through his speech and said, "Hold on." She gave her waist a sudden twist and disappeared.


    A few seconds later she reappeared, making her way towards Zen. She had something in her hands.


    Clang! She threw the mysterious object in her hands on the ground.


    The Golden Beast Statue lay right in front of Zen.


    He looked at the statue with astonishment. It was as big as a fully-grown human being. He didn''t expect Joy to fetch the statue just for him.


    Zen examined the Golden Beast Statue. He had an intense awareness in his inner world again. The target of the consciousness of his inner world was the mud at the bottom of the Golden Beast Statue.

 Chapter 2277 A Hundred And Ninety-five Challengers (Part Two)

    "The Golden Beast Statue is a real gem. Its full body was made from a special material, and it can transform into the shapes of thousands of beasts. After refining it, the user can skillfully resist the low-rank True Gods with it. But to you, I believe it isn''t of much use as you can already defeat most of the low-rank True Gods easily. Therefore, I was wondering what use it is to you?" Her eyes lit up with curiosity.


    "Well, I just have a liking for it," Zen said.


    Joy nodded but didn''t quite believe Zen. He must have known something about the Golden Beast Statue, but since he didn''t want to discuss it, she didn''t pursue the subject.


    Zen smiled triumphantly as she left.


    The mud tray at the bottom of the Golden Beast Statue was of great importance to him.


    Zen knew that he had to prove his Godly Way before he went to the Everest Spirit Mountain. Otherwise, he wouldn''t be able to enter the Cloud Dragon Ravine.


    The mud at the bottom of the Golden Beast Statue was present in great amount, but he was not sure whether it was enough for him to smoothly condense his Godly Tile.


    Zen gave the Golden Beast Statue one last glance and finally put it away.


    He knew that he still had to fight against the low-rank True Gods. If he made a breakthrough in his cultivation base and became a low-rank True God himself, he wouldn''t be able to earn a great deal of points by fighting other low-rank True Gods. Therefore, he decided to absorb the mud after the rankings of the Floating Islands were determined.


    He had thirteen days before the rankings of the Floating Islands were to be decided.


    This led to an increase in the number of open battles in the Arena of Legends.


    t of the powerful clans. However, Hallet''s and Augustus'' efforts were enough to rank the Gu Clan''s Floating Island eighth in the Time Sea.


    People said that if Augustus and Hallet were on the Floating Island of some other wealthy clan, that clan would have been in the top three.


    However, Hallet and Augustus were nowhere to be seen this year. And the ranking of the Gu Clan was at risk of falling out of the top ten, if they decided not to fight in the Arena of Legends.


    Three days remained before the rankings of the Floating Islands were to be decided.


    Zen finally entered the Jade Wall of Legends. While in his own room, he noticed that there were one hundred and ninety-five low-rank True Gods that had challenged him to battle.


    According to the rules of the Hall of True Gods, only the warriors who were ranked one to a hundred places higher or lower than Zen could challenge him. Zen was ranked 96th and only ninety-five warriors were ranked higher than him, and one hundred and ninety-five low-rank True Gods had offered to fight with him, which meant that everyone who was eligible to challenge Zen did so.

 Chapter 2278 The Parting Water

    When he noticed the scene on the wall, Zen fell speechless.


    In other words, he no longer had the need to find an opponent at random. All he needed to do was accept any True God''s challenge. He could have his pick among the one hundred and ninety-five warriors.


    "How fucking weak do I really look if everyone wants to challenge me?" Zen touched his nose shyly and forced a smile.


    On the contrary though, the one hundred and ninety-five people who had challenged him didn''t actually think Zen was weak at all.


    The Hall of True Gods had a very reasonable system, in fact. Through constantly adjusting the warriors'' rankings, the system could accurately show a True God''s genuine strength.


    Of course, Zen''s situation was completely different. From the very first day he entered the Jade Wall of Legends, never had he been defeated. No one knew his true ranking, and there was no record of this anonymous man in the Jade Wall of Legends. He was currently ranked 96th, according to his room''s position.


    "Since I can simply choose my own opponent, I better choose the weakest one."


    Zen reached out his hand and his finger grazed the names on the wall. These names were all inscribed neatly in front of him. Finally, his finger came to a stop on someone''s name, someone who ranked 196th. This warrior was named Yilia Fang.


    The strength gap between any two warriors among the top two hundred wasn''t very large.


    In order to benefit from the most possible consecutive wins, Zen would naturally choose the weakest opponent. What he wasn''t really aware of though, was that his opponent wouldn''t really be weak.


    In the Hall of True Gods


    The competition that would decide the Floating Islands'' rankings had reached its peak intensity.


    A few of the wealthy clans on the Floating Islands had estimated that their points would be beneficial to them, and they thus convinced many of their disciples to avoid accepting challenges so as to prevent being defeated and losing their points.


    Other wealthy clans thought that their rankings would ultimately be lowered, so they naturally forced their disciples to fight in the Hall of True Gods in order to gain more points.


    The Fang Clan''s Floating Island ranked sixth in the Time Sea, but it had great ambition. The top three powerful clans, the Dongfang Clan, the Sword Clan, and the Moon Clan, had unshakable positions, and the Fang Clan was unable to deal with them. Yet, with an immense effort from the Fang Clan, they had respectable chances of defeating the Leng Clan. For this reason, the Fang Clan''s True Gods were currently very active in the Hall of True Gods.


    Today, Yilia Fang was also looking for her opponents in the Hall of True Gods. She had already won four consecutive wins herself, rising from the 247th ranking to the 196th. Following such a success, she immediately launched a challenge to the anonymous man.


    The anonymous man carried such an incredible number of points. If the anonymous man accepted her challenge and she won against him, she would equally gain a huge amount of points. Furthermore, her contribut


    rain didn''t flow down onto the ground. Instead, it was actually glued to his body.


    Realizing how strange this was, Zen shook his body lightly in an attempt to get the water off him. However, the rain stuck to his body like paste, and no matter how hard he shook, he failed to make it come off.


    "This water is very strange," Zen murmured, frowning slightly. He had a feeling that something bad was about to happen, and took action without a second''s more delay.


    When Zen faced Moore Moon, Zen had almost lost to him. These talents from wealthy clans all had very special tricks up their sleeves. Upon remembering this, Zen suddenly flashed and rushed toward Yilia Fang.


    "You didn''t notice anything wrong until now? It''s too late!"


    Yilia Fang stood on tiptoe, and her body quickly slid backward. On a street full of rain, she continued retreating, bringing up bursts of water flowers with every step.


    The water splashed out as it equally turned into a short sword, shooting toward Zen.


    Zen didn''t go too far. More and more rain clung to his body, weighing him down. He couldn''t get rid of the thick layer of water. It was even blocking Zen''s speed now. How could he catch up with Yilia Fang with so much water slowing him down?


    "Burn it out!" Zen frowned and a flame emitted itself from his body. The blazing, orange flame was immediately extinguished the second it shot out.


    "The Parting Water can conquer all kinds of fire, not to mention that your flame hasn''t even fully developed yet." Yilia Fang shook her head. "I may as well tell you that you can''t break out from the Parting Water''s grasp with your strength alone. I''m curious to discover what else you have to resist me with."


    As she spoke, the rain water that was hitting Zen''s body formed a water ball of at least ten feet in height, tightly wrapping itself around him.


    The Parting Water was a thousand times heavier than ordinary rain water. Zen simply couldn''t exert his strength beneath such dead weight. He had no choice but to accept the fact that he was indeed trapped.

 Chapter 2279 Buddha Emperor Sword

    Standing not too far away was Yilia, looking at Zen mischievously.


    Countless raindrops were gathering in the space. They transformed into short swords and shot towards Zen, making the water ball surrounding him grow bigger and bigger.


    For a while, she looked Zen up and down before suddenly lowering her head and saying, "Come to think of it, it''s meaningless for me to defeat you."


    Her voice seemed obscure over the thick layer of water. Zen was puzzled, wondering what she really meant.


    She walked toward the water ball slowly and tapped its surface with her finger, triggering a small whirlpool to appear on its surface. It continued spinning until it formed a fist-sized hollow passageway, directly penetrating to Zen''s head. She had brilliantly mastered the control of water.


    "The divine land is rather boring. It''s not easy to find a warrior who has won twenty-two consecutive times. It''s quite a pity that you will lose to me," said Yilia as she smiled at the passageway.


    "Are you sure you can defeat me?" Zen asked in return.


    Though he couldn''t speak in the water, because his head was in the passageway, he could still make a sound.


    In spite of him being restrained by the water, it was impossible for her to use it to kill him. ''She''s not going to drown me, is she?''


    With a confident smile, she replied, "Since I managed to trap you, naturally, I have the ability to kill you as well. So tell me, do you want to defeat me?"


    "What''s the point? So what if I say I want to defeat you?" Zen asked.


    "Well then¡­ Tell me your real identity and which clan you come from, will you?" With her hands clasped behind her back, she continued with a smile, "If you can tell me the truth, it won''t be impossible for me to admit defeat."


    Hearing this, Zen put on a strange expression.


    What were those disciples from the divine land thinking about all day? This Yilia seemed completely normal. Why would she make such a strange request?


    "Don''t you care about the points?" Zen asked again.


    "Points? Of course I care," she smiled. "If I defeat you, I''ll get a lot of points. Even my brother will think highly of me. But what''s the use? There''s no point in moving our Floating Island one place up."


    Yilia''s brother, Shahn Fang, was the one who won two consecutive victories in the open battles. This time, the Fang Clan had risen rapidly¡ªit had been estimated that the Fang Clan, ranked sixth in the past, might reach the fifth or fourth place this time.


    "Think about this carefully. An anonymous man appeared out of nowhere. I think it will be more interesting to let you remain undefeated." Yilia''s face was filled with loneliness as she said, "This divine land is so boring."


    The highest level of creatures'' pursuit was the eternity.


    From the mortals in the universes to the powerful warriors of the Soul Sea Realm, and to the Supreme Lords, they all pursued a longer life span to get rid of the control of time.


    But whether it was the Supreme Lord who had a lifespan of over a hundred million years or the mortal who had a lifespan of about 60 to 70 years, none of th


    ¡­''


    When Zen''s eyes instantly saw through the internal momentum within the Godly Way, he was left to unscramble it in his mind.


    Noticing Devouring Spirit Turbid Current''s remarkable power, Zen didn''t hesitate at all.


    The Nine Divine Stars within his inner world began revolving rapidly until an invisible force gushed out. The sword handle seemed to be a Maitreya Buddha with the sword''s middle part as wide as a wheel.


    It was the Buddha Emperor Sword¡­


    The killing sword in the Gods Killing Sword Array.


    It didn''t take Zen four swords to kill Yilia. So now, Zen took out this one sword.


    Whoosh!


    Since Zen controlled only one single sword, he didn''t need to activate the Purple Aura Godly Way. As soon as he made a thought, the Buddha Emperor Sword broke through the water rapidly and shot toward Yilia. The Buddha Emperor Sword was created by Power Shaping, and the Parting Water caused it no hindrance at all.


    "This sword..."


    At this moment, Yilia''s eyes were filled with surprise.


    "Parting Water Divine Mirror!"


    Realizing that things weren''t going well, Yilia clapped her hands, creating a piece of water mirror. The Parting Water Divine Mirror was also a powerful theurgy. The Parting Water could transform into anything, and the Parting Water Divine Mirror could clone anything reflected onto it rapidly and shoot it back.


    Whoosh!


    An identical Buddha Emperor Sword shot out from the Parting Water Divine Mirror.


    Crack!


    Two Buddha Emperor Swords collided in the air, both falling apart in an instant.


    But Yilia''s power was limited after all. It was impossible for the Parting Water Divine Mirror to perfectly copy the theurgy of her opponent. After the sword dissipated, it disappeared while Zen''s Buddha Emperor Sword once again took shape.


    With a clang, the Buddha Emperor Sword was smashed into Yilia''s mirror. It was already pressed against her white neck and then it pierced right into her. Blood slowly flowed along the invisible sword, converging on the wheel in the middle of the sword, forming the word, ''kill.''

 Chapter 2280 Triumph

    The real Buddha Emperor Sword had blood grooves on the body, and the word "kill" was carved in the wheel.


    After the opponent was killed, the blood would flow along the blood grooves and fuse with the word "kill". With the divine textures around, more malicious aura would be condensed.


    As per Joy''s strict instructions, Zen restored all the details of the Buddha Emperor Sword, including the word "kill", which was floating in the air.


    Yilia stared at the sword in front of her with surprise.


    In fact, Zen had used the Cross-world Theurgy before, but no one had recognized it. After all, no one could even imagine that a proving godly warrior could use the skill of a Holy Being.


    Besides, back then, Zen had used the most basic skill of the theurgy without having a deep understanding of Power Shaping.


    "This is the Power Shaping of the Might Godly Way!" Yilia stared incredulously at the Buddha Emperor Sword. The power was invisible, so she could only see a vague outline of the sword. And yet, at the same time, she could see her blood flowing slowly along the blood grooves, forming the word "kill".


    "This is not right at all!" she exclaimed. Then, she added in a low voice, "The power can''t be separated from your body! And even if it can, once it''s broken by my Parting Water Divine Mirror, it should be completely impossible for you to shape anything again. How did you do that?"


    The passageway that Yilia had opened just now had disappeared, leaving Zen completely submerged in water and unable to speak. When he heard her words of surprise, he just shrugged his shoulders and, with a light flick of his index finger, sent the Buddha Emperor Sword flying forward until it pierced through Yilia''s head.


    Splash.


    Yilia was instantly killed on contact. The Parting Water enveloping Zen disintegrated and gushed out around him like a torrent. It was a spectacular scene to watch.


    However, the Parting Water did not completely dissipate. A scale on the Infinity Ruler in Zen''s mind had already lit up faintly. He slightly raised his hand, causing some of the Parting Water to turn into crystal water swords and float up.


    If Yilia had seen this, she would have been even more shocked.


    "The Parting Water Godly Way can only be employed in a place with water. That''s why Yilia chose such a foggy environment.


    If I''m not around water, I guess I''ll have to find another way to employ this Godly Way. Otherwise, the theurgy of the Parting Water Godly Way might be greatly weakened."


    Splash...


    With a slight shake of Zen''s finger, one of the glittering and translucent water swords turned black. It was the Devouring Spirit Turbid Current of the Parting Water Godly Way. As Zen gently moved his finger, the black water sword shot toward him and immediately corroded his arm.


    "As I expected, this Devouring Spirit Turbid Current can restrain all kinds of magic weapons, and it also has an effect on my physical body. No wonder she was so confident earlier! However, this theurgy doesn''t mean much to me. On the other hand, the Parting Water Div


    t. The palm print was so erratic that it finally hit the wall and disappeared. "It''s not a difficult thing to do. Most of the True Gods who focus on cultivating the Might Godly Way can do it."


    Although Shahn hadn''t cultivated the Might Godly Way much, he had condensed the Nine Divine Stars; he was just unable to put them into his inner world. Anyway, it wasn''t difficult for him to hit the wall with a formidable strike like that.


    But unexpectedly, Yilia shook her head and said, "That''s not what I mean. My opponent made use of Power Shaping to form a flying sword..."


    Before she could finish speaking, Shahn struck the wall again, but this time with an invisible sword which had been formed from the strength source. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "It''s not difficult."


    "Can you let me finish?" Yilia glared at Shahn. Then, she continued, "After he detached the flying sword from his body, he managed to control it freely. Then, after I smashed it with my Parting Water Divine Mirror, he managed to shape it in the air again."


    At these words, a mixture of bewilderment and disbelief appeared on Shahn''s face. He shook his head immediately and said, "That''s impossible. The power can''t be controlled freely after being shaped into an object. It would rapidly weaken. You might not have clearly seen what happened, or he might have used another kind of theurgy. It can''t be the Power Shaping. As for the skill you just described, only a Holy Being can do it with the Cross-world Theurgy. Even I can''t do that at my present level."


    "Really? Well, I thought I made a mistake. But he really did it..." Yilia uttered with a smile of admiration.


    "Who?" Shahn asked with confusion. In fact, although Yilia looked serious and utterly sure about her words, Shahn still doubted what she had said. Yilia''s opponent was just a low-rank True God, so there was no way he could have been able to do that.


    "It was that anonymous man who challenged me today. And what I just described was the method he used to triumph over me," said Yilia.

 Chapter 2281 Passing A Message

    Shahn had gotten wind of news about the anonymous man.


    Anonymity aside, it was indeed a miracle to be able to obtain twenty-three consecutive wins in challenging warriors at higher levels.


    Only a few select people had been able to do this in the history of the Arena of Legends.


    "Even he is an anonymous man, it should be impossible for him to do what you just said." Shahn stretched out one hand, and an invisible power was condensed again. Then he threw it lightly, and the power began to rapidly disappear.


    Power had only been a description at the beginning. But after the activation of the Eight Path Platforms, it was transformed into pure energy and stored. An interruption of supply would mean the depletion of someone''s power, and only by the Cross-world Theurgy would they able to extract power from their body, keeping the power from weakening.


    "A proving godly warrior and the Cross-world Theurgy? I can''t believe it." Shahn shook his head.


    Across him, Yilia looked annoyed. "Have I ever lied to you?"


    "No," smiled Shahn. "But you are spewing nonsense."


    This earned him several punches from Yilia. "The shape of that sword was a little odd. Its handle resembled the Maitreya Buddha while the body looked like a wheel. And after it made contact with blood, the blood formed the word kill..."


    "Kill?" Shahn questioned, eyebrows raised.


    "It''s the Buddha Emperor Sword, the unique skill of the Demi-holy Being of the Han Clan."


    Joy''s Gods Killing Sword Array was famous in the divine land, plus, the shape of the Buddha Emperor Sword was very special. It was practically a giveaway.


    It dawned on the siblings at the same time. "The Han Clan!"


    "The anonymous man came from the Purple Soul Hall," Shahn said calmly.


    "Interesting! You''re finally exposed!" Compared to Shahn''s calm reaction, Yilia was excited.


    After defeating Yilia, Zen immediately chose the next opponent.


    The top warriors in the divine land were all gathered in the Floating Islands. Whatever method he used would be spread quickly.


    His next opponent was Sam Zhao, who ranked 176th.


    Like Yilia, he''d been elated to be chosen by Zen, however, his excitement did not last very long.


    Zen had absorbed the Five Elements Godly Way which Sam also cultivated. He tried to force Sam to use the theurgy beyond way, but Sam seemed to have cultivated the Godly Way step by step without inheriting any theurgy beyond way from his clan. So when Sam thought that he had the upper hand in the battle, Zen took out the Buddha Emperor Sword and killed him without hesitation.


    Twenty four consecutive wins! Six hundred and ten thousand points!


    Nearly one hundred and fifty thousand points would be gained when he defeated a low-rank True God, almost as many points as one would get defeating a consummate True God. It was appalling.


    Zen returned to his room, calm and at ease, and chose another name from the list.


    "Go on!"


    As Zen challenged opponent after opponent, the low-rank True Gods of t


    an Zen''s. After activating his Godly Tile, he had indeed displayed a powerful theurgy.


    He was able to control the invisible Buddha Emperor Sword by using the Green Wood Godly Way to make special willows.


    With the Buddha Emperor Sword restrained, Zen took out the Heavenly Tooth Sword without hesitation.


    If the Buddha Emperor Sword was used to kill, the Heavenly Tooth Sword was mainly used to hunt, which would usually bring destruction upon the opponent. Under the hunt of the Heavenly Tooth Sword, Quentin''s defense was instantly broken.


    However, before any more damage could be inflicted, Quentin suddenly shouted, "Wait! I still have something to say."


    The two swords immediately halted in front of Quentin. Zen frowned, curious at the sudden interruption. Warriors in the Arena of Legends didn''t really die, so his opponent wouldn''t beg for mercy, would he?


    "I wanted to tell you at the start. You didn''t even give me a chance," Quentin said gloomily. "Someone requested me to tell you to go out of your room and meet with her in the Hall of True Gods."


    It turned out, Zen never left his room. The people in the Hall of True Gods didn''t have the chance to talk to him and could only send him messages this way. However, Zen immediately fought Quentin as soon as they met, never giving him the chance to speak.


    For Quentin, losing to Zen was not a big deal. But it was certainly a huge deal if he couldn''t relay the message successfully.


    "The person who asked you to pass the message was sure that I will challenge you?" Zen asked curiously.


    "Of course not," Quentin answered. "But she did inform the top one hundred and thirty True Gods from whom you might choose one."


    Zen frowned. "Who is it?"


    The True Gods at the top of the rankings all had extraordinary backgrounds. Most of them were direct descendants of wealthy clans. Who had the influence to do so?


    Zen chewed on his lip. Even if Nelly ranked first, it was still impossible for her to do that, wasn''t it?

 Chapter 2282 Dongfang Clan

    "Her name is Pearl Dongfang, ranked second in the Hall of True Gods," Quentin answered.


    ''Pearl Dongfang?''


    Zen knew he heard this name before but hadn''t paid that much attention to it.


    Currently, the top three low-rank True Gods in the Hall of True Gods were as follows: Nelly Mu, Pearl Dongfang, and Laquisha Han.


    They were all women which hadn''t really happened before.


    Harold also mentioned Dongfang Clan in his speech earlier. This clan ranked first among the Floating Islands. Zen hadn''t come in contact with any of the low-rank True Gods of the Dongfang Clan yet.


    Since they were ranked first, it was only natural to assume that the Dongfang Clan had very high points at their disposal. Zen couldn''t be too sure though since he never met any of them as he fought his way up the Hall of True Gods.


    "Why does she want to see me?" he asked. He didn''t really know this so-called Pearl Dongfang after all.


    Quentin shook his head. "I don''t know. I''m just here to deliver a message. You can go ask her if you want. I admit defeat now."


    With their battle ended, Zen immediately made his way to the door.


    From the doorway, he had a good view of the spiraling rooms in the Hall of True Gods. The height he was on indicated that he was almost at its peak.


    Each time he pushed open the door of his room, a crowd always awaited him which always caught him by surprise.


    A few True Gods simply stared at him in silence, not daring to come close, including Laquisha and Nelly, while a woman stood beside the door, waiting with a calm expression.


    This woman''s face was covered with light blue gauze, revealing only her eyes that reflected a faint ray of light. Despite having her face covered, her eyes were terribly expressive and were enough to convey a thousand words to anyone who looked into them.


    "You''re finally out," she said.


    "Are you Pearl Dongfang?" Zen asked.


    The woman smiled and nodded in reply.


    Pearl Dongfang rarely came to the Hall of True Gods during this period of time. She heard about the anonymous man but never really had the chance to come into contact with him since he never went out of his room.


    Her status on the Floating Islands was far beyond Zen''s imagination.


    As Quentin emphasized, her words were law. A mere statement from her was absolute and could not be disobeyed. He didn''t fight Zen seriously and merely imparted what Pearl wanted him to say because she ordered him to.


    Under normal circumsta


    ter than Mike who had been so excellent many years ago. Mike was one of the few who refused to bow down to the Dongfang Clan, but he ended up dying.


    As Zen looked into Pearl''s beautiful eyes, he saw nothing but contempt.


    He had already joined the Purple Soul Hall and even if he wasn''t in the Floating Islands, he would still refuse the invitation. There was a ten-second pause as the two of them stared each other down. Then, Zen broke the silence with a chuckle. "I don''t know if it''s because I didn''t make myself clear or if there''s something wrong with your head. Whatever the case, I can only tell you these two words."


    "What?" Pearl asked.


    Zen''s nose flared. "Fuck off!" he exclaimed before going back into his room and slamming the door shut in his wake.


    The Hall of True Gods was rendered completely silent.


    It had been many years since the Dongfang Clan rose into power. Their disciples were even more distinguished than other warriors and everyone else was extremely cautious when dealing with them.


    However, this anonymous man just scolded Pearl, even insinuating that there was something wrong with her head. It was a very big offense.


    The anonymous man, in effect, had just signed his own death sentence for having gone against the Dongfang Clan.


    None of them were aware of the fact that Zen was already set on leaving the Floating Islands, as per Harold''s suggestion.


    Nelly was extremely surprised by how things turned out, not expecting the anonymous man to be so bold.


    Laquisha, meanwhile, was delighted and couldn''t help but notice the anonymous man''s temperament to be completely in line with Zen''s.

 Chapter 2283 Change

    Pearl''s eyes were like two pools of anger as she stood perfectly still.


    She was only a mere lobbyist in her clan.


    Generally speaking, the powerful clans on the Floating Islands were ranked like a pyramid. The top three clans were far more powerful than the ordinary clans and were the ones that were completely in control.


    In addition, only those three powerful clans were qualified to demand warriors from other ordinary clans, and the latter couldn''t refuse.


    What was worse was that they could dominate and oppress those clans if they wanted.


    Back then, it was the Qian Clan that had been oppressed. They had offended the Dongfang Clan, but they did not have a direct conflict. However, the Dongfang Clan allied with several other clans to crush the Qian Clan in the Arena of Legends. Therefore, the Qian Clan''s rank dropped sharply from their original thirteenth place, and soon fell out of the whole rankings. According to the rules, they had no choice but to evacuate the Time Sea and watch their Floating Island sink into the waters.


    That said a lot about the dominant role of the top three clans in the Time Sea.


    After Pearl had spent quite a while by the gate of Zen''s room, she turned around and left. Just as she was about to leave the Hall of True Gods for her room, a voice said, "He shouldn''t be a direct disciple of the Han Clan. The warriors of humble origin are always very disobedient."


    Pearl turned and looked coldly at a grinning Nelly. In turn, she stepped back a little in fear that she might take her anger out on her. "You''re right. He is from the Han Clan, but they did not train him. It''s useless to threaten an arrogant guy like him," she responded.


    Then, she turned to Laquisha and said, "Ask your elders to give me the anonymous man."


    In reality, Laquisha was already annoyed at the fact that Pearl looked down upon her clan, so she replied coldly, "Why?"


    "Because of the reputation of my clan," said Pearl.


    "But we don''t necessarily have the anonymous man," Laquisha stressed. She thought about the strong influence of the Dongfang Clan on the Time Sea, so she said what she had said for her clan to be considered.


    However, Pearl shook her head and said, "I think Joy knows very well whether he belongs to your clan or not.


    Forget it, it''s useless to talk to you. I will just go to your clan and personally ask for him some other time."


    When she was done, she gently pushed open the door to her room and disappeared in front of everyone.


    The top disciples of the powerful clans in the Hall of True Gods bowed their heads down and filled the area with whispers. None of them had thought that the Han Clan would offend the Dongfang Clan because of the anonymous man.


    They strong


    hold the illusory sword in their hands all the time.


    Nonetheless, Laquisha didn''t try to persuade her father and instead added, "Now that he has won 31 consecutive wins, his points should have risen to about 1.6 million."


    "Oh? Those are higher than Alfredo''s points."


    Alfredo, a consummate True God and the leader of his clan, only had 1.26 million points in the Arena of Legends. Moreover, he had recently lost an open battle.


    Samuel was overjoyed. It was a great fortune for his clan to have such a talented disciple.


    "But today, Pearl suddenly appeared in the Hall of True Gods. She demanded the anonymous man to join her clan," his daughter disclosed.


    As Samuel heard those words, his smile quickly faded. He surely wasn''t afraid of a little girl like Pearl. However, since the Dongfang Clan sent Pearl to make such a demand, it meant that they had already noticed the anonymous man.


    "What did the anonymous man say?" he asked.


    "He asked her to fuck off," Laquisha said with a little smile.


    Samuel frowned. "Then why did you come here today?"


    "Can you refuse the request if the Dongfang Clan asks you for the anonymous man?" Laquisha sincerely asked. Her father had always catered to her wants ever since she was a child. This time, she hoped that he would agree again.


    Meanwhile, Samuel remained quiet for a while and sighed heavily. "The truth is, I, as well as our clan, have been worried over the years. You are still young, so I don''t want you to worry. If the anonymous man is really from our clan, I''m afraid I can''t refuse the Dongfang Clan when they come."


    "Why? You know, he will make a great contribution to our clan!" Laquisha responded a bit heatedly. Yet, Samuel stood firm and shook his head.


    "It''s because the Time Sea is going to change again," he said in a serious voice.

 Chapter 2284 A Small Advice

    The things the Holy Emperor did this year had puzzled many members of the Han Clan.


    After they had become enemies with the Qin Clan, He also tried his best to please the Leng Clan and betrothed the Princess Royal to them.


    Now, he even agreed to the dissolution of the Purple Soul Hall as requested by Alfredo!


    What they didn''t know was that Samuel himself forced Joy to dissolve the Purple Soul Hall and that Alfredo was actually under his jurisdiction.


    On the day Joy and Alfredo quarreled, the former went to Samuel seeking justice but ended up going back to the Purple Soul Hall in silence.


    The Time Sea''s rules were not absolute. In the past, cases of revisions on the Ruling Slate abounded.


    However, not every wealthy clan above the Time Sea had the ability to modify the rules.


    The Han Clan''s fortune that they accumulated over the years was only enough for them to slightly modify some words on the Ruling Slate.


    On the other hand, the Dongfang Clan could afford to revise an entire rule.


    Of course, rules couldn''t be changed randomly. The Hall of Holy Beings still had restraints and each revision would only commence after many discussions among the clans.


    Moreover, a rule that would only prove beneficial to the Dongfang Clan would cost them. For example, if they made it so that they could be the only Floating Island on the Time Sea, then they would need countless divine might coins. It would be impossible to afford.


    This time, however, there was a big possibility for the Dongfang Clan to succeed in changing the rule. They had already obtained the approval of the Moon Clan and the Sword Clan.


    ... The union of nine wealthy clans was led by the Dongfang Clan. Though the Hall of Holy Beings was not ruled by the Dongfang Clan alone, they still occupied nine seats in the Hall of Holy Beings. The connections also ran deep: the Mu Clan and Zhou Clan were quite close, the Zhao Clan was in an amicable relationship with the Fang Clan, and the Tang Clan was close to the Li Clan.


    The Dongfang Clan, to a certain extent, could control the entirety of the Hall of Holy Beings.


    Challenging them would be tantamount to challenging the entire Hall of Holy Beings.


    So long as the Dongfang Clan got the acquiescence of the Moon Clan and the Sword Clan, they could pass whatever revision they wanted and passing such a rule would no doubt have a far-reaching effect on all the wealthy clans.


    To maintain the Han Clan''s position, Samuel had to bow down to the powers above. This was the reason why he approached the Leng Clan.


    He didn''t really want to explain all of this to his daughter.


    "You''re too young. You will only understand in tim


    enced in the cycles of life so they had great control over their emotions.


    Having restrained his anger, Samuel sighed softly. "You can leave now. Let''s talk about this some other day."


    "Let''s talk about this now!" Laquisha insisted.


    However, her father simply waved his hand and released an invisible force, pushing her out of the palace. The gate also closed with a loud crash.


    Laquisha trembled in anger in front of the palace. It took quite a while for her to calm down. At that moment, she suddenly thought of Joy, then she slowly left here.


    In the Arena of Legends...


    Zen stood in the middle of a bloody red plain.


    This was exactly the space that was used when Harold challenged Rachelle.


    After winning thirty-two consecutive fights, Zen now had 1.85 million points which far exceeded the amount Joy requested.


    He accepted Nelly''s challenge, as promised.


    She slowly walked towards him with a smile. "It seems we will be on the same side in the future."


    "What do you mean?" Zen asked.


    "You will eventually join the Dongfang Clan in the future. Our Mu Clan is with the Dongfang Clan so we will naturally be on the same side," Nelly explained.


    "What?" Zen could only repeat the question.


    "It is a great honor to be liked by the Dongfang Clan. A lot of True Gods want to join their clan and there is no way to refuse if you are chosen by them. Pearl has a high status in the Dongfang Clan so it''s not advisable to provoke her," Nelly continued.


    "Are you going to persuade me for her?" Zen asked.


    "Of course not. I''m just giving you some advice. It''s also compensation for you once I win and collect all the points you''ve gotten so far," she said. Nelly then stretched out her white arms and let a red and green halo spread throughout her body.

 Chapter 2285 Blood Breaking Bite

    What kind of attitude did the Dongfang Clan hold toward the anonymous man? And how would the Han Clan react?


    Anyway, all that had nothing to do with Nelly. Her goal was to earn points from the anonymous man.


    Normally, no one would covet the anonymous man''s points too much. The rankings of the Floating Islands usually changed every few decades. Even if someone managed to take the points of the anonymous man, they would then become the target of other warriors.


    Although Nelly was temporarily ranked the first among the low-rank True Gods, there was no guarantee that she would always win.


    Usually, the high points that a warrior gathered would slowly be diluted during the many battles.


    But now, the situation was different. The final rankings of the Floating Islands were about to be released. Nelly had already finished her three compulsory battles this month. And if she defeated the anonymous man, she would get all his points. That way, her feat was equivalent to a consummate True God''s in the Mu Clan. By then, her points would well exceed that of her sister Rachelle''s.


    The key was to defeat the anonymous man in front of her, and Nelly was well-prepared for this battle.


    Within the energy that spread out from her body were two completely different forces.


    One of the forces was the Murdering Godly Way.


    In most powerful clans, warriors cultivated the Five Elements Godly Way.


    However, the Mu Clan was different. The Godly Way that Murphy had mastered was the Murdering Godly Way, and ever since then, it was also this Godly Way that almost all of the warriors in the Mu Clan cultivated.


    Rachelle had cultivated it, and so had Nelly.


    However, there was a slight difference in the skillset of Nelly and that of her sister. When Nelly had been cultivating the Murdering Godly Way, she had grasped another kind of Godly Way at the same time¡ªthe Life Godly Way.


    When she had first encountered this new Godly Way, Nelly had been a little confused. It wasn''t unheard of for warriors from rich and powerful clans to comprehend several kinds of Godly Ways at the same time, but they would all finally choose one Godly Way as their major Godly Way while the others would be their auxiliary Godly Ways. But when Nelly had condensed her Godly Tile, she had somehow condensed a unique dual Godly Tile.


    Her Godly Tile was split right in the middle. The left side was blood red while the right side was cyan green, and these two sides exuded two completely different auras.


    As soon as her father Murphy had heard about this, he had gone to the Godly Way Tablet of the Life Godly Way to learn about it. Then, he had combined the Murdering Godly Way he had comprehended with the Life Godly Way to create the "theurgy beyond way" that was suitable for Nelly to cultivate.


    The Murdering Godly Way and the Life Godly Way were two extremes, like fire and water. However, Murphy, who had been immersed in the Murdering Godly Way for countless divine eras, had figured out how to successfully combine the two Godly Ways. He had insisted that if Nelly succeeded in mastering the theurgy, then she would definitely


    want to know how long you can survive my attacks without moving..."


    But before she could finish her sentence, she saw some kind of energy reverberating around Zen. The streams of strength source were so heavy, that they distorted the space around him. Before long, four invisible swords appeared.


    The Buddha Emperor Sword, the Heavenly Tooth Sword, and the Long Vine Sword floated horizontally in front of his chest, while the Grant Sun Sword circled above his head continuously to protect him.


    Then, Zen said, "I want to know if I can kill you without moving."


    "Gods Killing Sword Array! You''ve really mastered it..." Nelly''s eyebrows twitched slightly, and a look of vigilance appeared on her face.


    Once again, before Nelly could finish her words, Zen waved his hands gently and began to use the Separate Controlling of the Purple Aura Godly Way. The Buddha Emperor Sword and the Heavenly Tooth Sword became like twin stars in the sky, spiraling into the air and shooting down toward Nelly.


    Meanwhile, the Long Vine Sword quietly disappeared into the ground. When it came out the next moment, there were countless invisible vines formed by strength condensed around it, and these vines were rushing toward Nelly!


    The four swords of the Gods Killing Sword Array were working together to fight the enemy. The Long Vine Sword was mainly used to bind the enemy before the Buddha Emperor Sword and the Heavenly Tooth Sword came to kill the enemy. As for the Grant Sun Sword, which continued to hover above Zen''s head, it was used to protect the owner.


    This was the first time that Zen was defending himself against an enemy with a complete Gods Killing Sword Array. While simultaneously controlling the four swords with the Separate Controlling technique, he activated the Infinity Ruler with the internal momentum. Then, golden rings appeared in his eyes. He looked at the wound on his arm.


    What Nelly had cultivated was the Murdering Godly Way, and Zen wanted to absorb it into the Infinity Ruler. Moreover, he wanted to know what the mysterious Blood Breaking Bite was.

 Chapter 2286 The Avenging Body

    Nelly believed that she would be totally invincible after Zen was injured by the Blood Breaking Bite. Finally, it would be her time to shine!


    However, it never occurred to her that she would be in grave danger in the very next moment.


    A thought crossed her mind: ''The rumor is true.''


    No wonder the Dongfang Clan was so eager to enlist Zen. One could have the Cross-world Theurgy only after they created a universe. If this was true, it meant that there was a possibility of a universe existing in the body of the anonymous man.


    There was no way it could be viable, could it?


    Regardless of whether this was possible or not, one thing was certain that the inner world of the anonymous man was very special. At least, it was the first time that this kind of a thing occurred in god knew how many divine eras.


    Maybe the reason why the Dongfang Clan wanted to take the anonymous man back was that they wanted to study him, and not simply because they admired his talent.


    The movements of the Long Vine Sword were very strange. The invisible power of the vines intertwined Nelly trapping her, and forcing her to use almost all her skills.


    "Shadow Escape!"


    Blood swelled in her eyes. Her speed more than doubled suddenly.


    Even though she was imprisoned by the dense vines released by the Long Vine Sword, she was still like a nimble butterfly, creating an unpredictable trajectory by constantly shuttling about. She was being followed by the Buddha Emperor Sword and the Heavenly Tooth Sword.


    In just a few seconds, Nelly was in great danger. The Buddha Emperor Sword had almost hit her on the head from the front, and the Heavenly Tooth Sword had left a bloody wound on her arm.


    As for Zen, he paid close attention to the wound on his arm, and didn''t fully engage the four swords.


    If he used the full extent of his mind power to control the Gods Killing Sword Array, Nelly would be in more pain.


    If Zen could absorb the Blood Breaking Bite, imprint a mark on his opponent''s body, and then drive the Buddha Emperor Sword to chase her all the way, the opponent would be in pursuit until she died.


    "But this theurgy seems to be more complicated. It should be a theurgy beyond two Godly Ways..." A golden light flickered in Zen''s eyes, while the light on the Infinity Ruler too continued dancing.


    Some moments later, the light on the ruler split into two parts, and one of these stopped at the Life Godly Way. Zen had already absorbed the Life Godly Way in the Heavenly Han House, but the Life Godly Way hidden in the Blood Breaking Bite was a completely different theurgy.


    The second light stayed on another scale on which there was a small amount of red blood. It was the Murdering Godly Way!


    "Blood is a fundamental component of life energy. The Life Godly Way knows everything about living beings... The Murdering Godly Way is an extreme path of killing. Tho


    , Nelly''s Avenging Body would also appear after she was killed. However, she could only use this skill once. Once the Avenging Body disappeared, Nelly would also die forever. Thus, this was a fatal tactic that could only be used once in her life.


    However, Nelly could use it again and again in the Arena of Legends. It turned out that she was taking advantage of the loopholes in it.


    "Shadow Escape!"


    "Swish!"


    In an instant, Nelly turned into a blood light and zoomed toward Zen at an incredible speed.


    "Slash!"


    Sitting on the ground, Zen gently lifted his finger. The Buddha Emperor Sword pierced through Nelly''s blood body, but no matter how it went in and came out, or how many times he did it, it did not cause any harm to her.


    ''If it''s really just all blood, I don''t think that any amount of strength that she unleashes will do any harm to me, '' Zen speculated as he stared at Nelly''s blood body.


    When Nelly was getting closer and closer to Zen, he saw a faint blood light shining from the surface of her body. A strong power emitted from her body, and she went straight for Zen.


    Unable to dodge, Zen had no option but to take it head on.


    Zen''s body far exceeded the strength of an ordinary True God so he wouldn''t fall behind!


    "Haha!"


    A muffled sound came through.


    Thanks to the violent impact, Nelly turned into a ball of blood and flew away. The blood began transforming again and finally took shape of Nelly''s features. There was a hint of mockery on her face.


    Zen didn''t suffer any major losses in this collision. Although Nelly''s Avenging Body was very strong, it wouldn''t cause much damage by crashing into Zen''s physical body. However, during the collision, he had been pushed back about three hundred feet.


    He sprayed blood across the three hundred feet because of the wound caused by the Blood Breaking Bite.


    "Damn it! What bad luck..." Zen cursed! He was depressed now.

 Chapter 2287 Intense Competition

    Even though Zen''s blood vitality was very strong, he would not be able to withstand it, if he continued to bleed at such an alarming rate.


    Moreover, Zen could think of no better option to deal with Nelly who had transformed into the Avenging Body.


    "You were very arrogant about your recent victories. Let''s see how long you can withstand this now!" He could hear Nelly''s chilling voice coming through a distance. At the same time, her body mutated into a blood shadow and charged towards Zen once again.


    Zen took a deep breath and started to gather his inner strength.


    Puff!


    There was a massive sound as they collided against each other.


    Zen was hit again and with the impact, he shot a great distance away. Blood was still gushing out from his arm. As for Nelly, her Avenging Body was blasted into a ball of blood again by Zen. However, the blood quickly gathered up the molecules to shape her body again.


    If the current situation continued to prevail, he was bound to lose, sooner or later.


    Zen was completely at his wits'' end.


    Moreover, Nelly didn''t even give Zen time to strategize. She kept attacking him non-stop.


    The impact of each collision was getting stronger.


    Although he was not physically injured by the collision, he kept losing a lot of blood along the way. Soon, with the rapid blood loss, Zen started to feel dizzy.


    On the other hand, Nelly was dead, physically. Even if Zen didn''t destroy her Avenging Body, it would gradually disappear on its own. However, in the Arena of Legends, it didn''t matter who died first. What mattered was the victory and defeat!


    Zen finally understood the amazing combination of Nelly''s Avenging Body and Blood Breaking Bite. If someone killed her first in the divine land, even if she successfully became an Avenging Body, they would still be able to run away from her.


    However, things would be different if they were first hit by the Blood Breaking Bite. The blood in their body would continue to drain as long as they kept running away. If they didn''t run away, they would have to fight the immortal Avenging Body. These two powerful skills were a genius combination.


    Bang!


    Under another collision, Zen retreated back to a full distance of around 70 feet. As he lost more and more blood, the meridians in Zen''s body became even more depleted. He couldn''t even find the strength to operate.


    As he grew more dizzy, his vision started to get blurry.


    The Gods Killing Sword Array was a powerful skill in itself, but it obviously had no effect on Nelly in her current state!


    "The Avenging Body was probably created by the fusion of the Murdering Godly Way and the Life Godly Way, along with the extraction of one''s own blood. Anyways it is created by blood. What if I use the Blood Breaking Bite to deal with it myself?"


    If Zen could leave a mark of the Blood Breaking Bite on Nelly''s body, it would definitely drain her blood as well.


    The problem was that th


    Soon, Nelly''s body was fully formed, but the mark left by Zen using the Blood Breaking Bite was still imprinted on her forehead.


    "It''s not enough yet, but I think it should be enough after a few more attempts." Zen suddenly smiled.


    Although she couldn''t see through Zen''s blurry face, she could almost imagine his mocking smile. At the same time, the Buddha Emperor Sword had quietly appeared behind her head and smacked hard with its large, invisible blade.


    Bang!


    As Nelly hit towards Zen, her body once again turned into a blood ribbon because of the Blood Breaking Bite. One end of the blood ribbon was only a few feet away from Zen.


    This time, before the blood gathered into blood beads and shaped her body again, Zen summoned a pale blue flame.


    "Ice Soul Flame!"


    Zen seized the chance and banged heavily on the ground. An extremely cold aura quickly spread out, over the blood ribbon.


    In the blink of an eye, the blood ribbon was covered with thick ice.


    "Now show if you can recover this time!"


    Actually, he did have doubts whether the Ice Soul Flame would do the trick of destroying the immortal Avenging Body.


    Theoretically, even though the blood was frozen, the Avenging Body was still not destroyed. If that was the case, then he would have to stay in the arena and continue to fight it for days, months, or maybe even a few years!


    Then the winner would never be determined, would it?


    Fortunately, Zen''s worry did not last too long. About five minutes later, the bloody wilderness slowly dissipated in front of his eyes.


    In the blink of an eye, he returned back to his room and the wall in front of him had recorded another victory.


    He had won now a total of 33 consecutive wins and his points had surpassed two million.


    Since he hadn''t lost in a single match, his name still did not appear on the ranking list. Otherwise, with his current points, he would have already been ranked ahead of many consummate True Gods.

 Chapter 2288 Rejection

    When Zen won against Nelly, he equally won the final battle in the Arena of Legends.


    The Gods Killing Sword Array hadn''t fought with its ultimate strength. In fact, although Zen had destroyed Nelly''s own body after releasing all four of the swords, he could do nothing at all to her Avenging Body.


    In the end, Zen never truly defeated Nelly''s Avenging Body, but fortunately, the Arena of Legends still announced him to be the winner of the battle.


    The next step Zen had to take care of was losing to Laquisha and giving her his points.


    In this way, it would be difficult for the wealthy clans on the Floating Islands to investigate the anonymous man''s true identity. Moreover, Zen could make an attempt in becoming a True God by taking in the mysterious mud.


    As Zen glanced at the wall, he found that Laquisha''s name was grey, which meant that she wasn''t in the Hall of True Gods. Even if he challenged her, he wouldn''t receive her response.


    Zen had no interest in continuing to challenge the other low-rank True Gods. Without lingering much longer, he left the Hall of True Gods.


    Now, his room was ranked first in the Hall of True Gods. Nelly, on her behalf, had fallen down two places, currently positioned behind Laquisha. As for Pearl''s room, it was still second.


    In Joy''s palace, the atmosphere was sullen.


    Laquisha buried her head in Joy''s chest, sobbing.


    Joy was trying to comfort her, frowning somewhat.


    Zen hadn''t told her what had happened between him and the Dongfang Clan. Thus, there was no way she could have expected him to be in such trouble.


    If the Dongfang Clan really wanted to retrieve Zen from the Han Clan, the pressure would be passed on from Samuel to Joy.


    Zen was now in an anonymous state. Other than himself, Joy, Laquisha, and her sister, Aleyna, it was possible that no else knew who the anonymous man was.


    If Joy hadn''t told anyone else about Zen''s identity, they would never find him.


    The question was whether she was capable of resisting the pressure.


    "Samuel has made a mistake," Joy said in a low voice, as she stroked Laquisha''s silky hair gently with her fingers.


    In a state of depression, Laquisha had confessed a lot of things to Joy, such as how she had made acquaintance with Zen in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land as well as her future plans.


    The little girl''s courage made Joy sigh with admiration. Laquisha had regarded Zen as her soul mate. If there was any chance for him to escape from the Floating Island with her, she even hoped Joy could help them.


    Honestly speaking, had it been any other warrior aside from Zen, Joy could


    e''d do so in a hurry. His attitude disappointed her bitterly, so much so that she was even embarrassed to disclose that to Zen.


    "I won''t go to the Dongfang Clan." Zen placed his hands on Laquisha''s shoulders, slightly pushed her back and added with a smile, "I''ll leave the Floating Island long before they come for me."


    "I know," Laquisha nodded. Other people had to try figuring out what Harold had meant, but there was no need for her to do so. Harold knew Zen was in the Han Clan''s Floating Island, and of course Laquisha knew what Harold had tried to tell Zen. "I want to leave here with you anyway!"


    Zen shook his head slightly. "No," he said firmly and inserted the jade token into the Jade Wall of Legends. Once again, he stepped into the Hall of True Gods.


    As she watched Zen react, Laquisha pursed her lips. She activated her jade token in a fit of rage and she too, entered the Hall of True Gods.


    As soon as he had seen the name "Laquisha" written on the screen, Zen chose to challenge her.


    Before long, Zen stepped into the Arena of Legends. He was actually on a strange island, and surrounding him was the vast sea. This was probably the scene selected by Laquisha.


    The said island was barely over a hundred feet wide, and as a battle ring between two True Gods, this was much too small.


    Soon enough, it was Laquisha''s turn to step into this world. She walked directly over to Zen and asked, "Why did you refuse me?"


    "You''ll die." Zen thought for a moment and then added, "Or perhaps I''d say you have very high chances of dying, because it''s very dangerous."


    "And what if I told you I would definitely die if I chose to stay here?" Laquisha asked in a serious tone, all while staring Zen straight in the eye.

 Chapter 2289 Being Defeated

    Zen was stunned for a moment. After he had regained his composure, he smiled faintly and said, "Don''t be absurd. You won''t die."


    "I am telling you the truth!"


    Laquisha snapped angrily. She pounced on Zen and grabbed him tightly by the collar, her eyes burning with rage.


    An explosive power generated from her, and it hit him.


    Zen was taken aback by the magnitude of that explosion. He landed on the ground, on his back. Laquisha landed on top of him. They gazed into each other''s eyes.


    Laquisha couldn''t make out Zen''s expression due to the mist covering his face. She heard his muffled laughter though. "Don''t you dare laugh at me! My strength and talent are no worse than Nelly''s," she stated.


    Those who were able to rank among the top ten in the Arena of Legends often had their own unique talents.


    As a matter of fact, Nelly had a dual Godly Tile and had the theurgy beyond way which was specially designed for her by Murphy. Laquisha, on the other hand, was the possessor of a special preternatural flame.


    As if boasting about her strength, Laquisha jumped into air, and the air around her became dry. Streaks of bright blue flames began to dance on her left hand.


    Suddenly, the flames condensed into a blue spear which was directed towards Zen.


    "Stand up, Zen! Use your strength to the fullest!" Laquisha ordered in an assertive voice.


    She had been defeated by Nelly in the past, as the latter possessed the Avenging Body. If it weren''t for the Avenging Body, it would have been a daunting task for Nelly to fight against Laquisha.


    When Laquisha was finally able to find a way to counter Nelly''s Avenging Body, Nelly never accepted her challenge, much to her annoyance. Had she accepted Laquisha''s challenge, she might have had to give Laquisha the first place in the Hall of True Gods of the low-rank True Gods.


    Lying on the ground, Zen looked at the spear that Laquisha had conjured. A sharp aura emitted from the tip of the spear. It seemed as if the spear had the ability to penetrate everything.


    Laquisha had indeed made great progress. She had become much stronger than Zen had expected her to be. Her being ranked among the top three people in the Hall of True Gods justified her strength.


    ''I don''t want her to get involved. It''s quite dangerous, '' Zen thought.


    He was able to see much more clearly after entering the Floating Island of the Han Clan. He was also able to see his enemies who were able to conceive themselves


    nse. Giving up, she finally made her way back to her room and left the Hall of True Gods.


    She ignored the queer expression on many people''s faces as she passed them by in the Hall of True Gods.


    "Laquisha won the battle against the anonymous man!"


    "I''ve told you, the anonymous man is from the Han Clan. He let Laquisha win. This way, no one would know his identity and he would never be exposed."


    "You think so? If the Dongfang Clan really makes a move, the Han Clan could do nothing to protect the anonymous man."


    The first defeat of the anonymous man got everyone talking and speculating. People had their doubts regarding the anonymous man belonging to the Han Clan. Now, it was all confirmed.


    Laquisha had almost acquired two million points by defeating Zen. Therefore, in the rankings of the Floating Islands, the Han Clan was likely to have an advantage.


    In Joy''s palace, she watched the Jade Wall of Legends emit some faint light as she saw two figures emerging from it. Joy said to Zen, "So you have lost your points¡­"


    Before she could finish her sentence, Laquisha shouted in rage, "Stop!" Zen backed off a few steps.


    "I have already proved my strength, haven''t I?" she said in a fit of rage.


    Zen gave a weak smile and said, "I lost to you accidentally."


    "Well, isn''t this the worst excuse of all times? If we were not in the ring, you would have died. And you wouldn''t be standing here right now," she stated angrily.


    Joy had no idea what on earth was going on between the two.


    ''Wasn''t Zen supposed to lose to Laquisha?'' she thought. She knew nothing of the spat between the two in the Arena of Legends.

 Chapter 2290 A Human Figure

    Joy finally put a stop to the ongoing drama between Zen and Laquisha.


    In the end, Zen hadn''t promised Laquisha a thing.


    In Zen''s opinion, Margaret, Rocher, Letitia and the others in the fairy palace were all creatures born in the Evolutionary Universe and had been closely related to the life and death of the latter.


    Laquisha, on the other hand, was different. Judging from the overall situation, she was just an outsider. It was unwise for her to get involved in what Zen was facing, and he simply wasn''t willing to do so.


    Ultimately, Laquisha ended up leaving bitterly, with disappointment in her eyes. As he looked at her retreating figure, Zen couldn''t help but feel at a loss.


    Joy didn''t mention anything about the dispute between the two. She had a faint feeling that she''d be faced with a choice; the Floating Islands and even the entire divine land would be faced with a choice.


    Ever since the Floating Islands and the Hall of Holy Beings had been established, the divine land had lasted for countless divine eras.


    For ordinary mortals, this was considered an eternal existence.


    To the True Gods who were immortal, on the other hand, they had lived longer, and thus, they could see many crises.


    There was a saying that the divine land was falling and was about to be destroyed, and another one that said the Time Sea was expanding. They were also trapped in the endless debate concerning the Godly Ways, and up until now, there still hadn''t been a complete conclusion.


    In the endless time, these paradoxes were ultimately hard to prove. These caused the True Gods and even the Holy Beings to feel even more confused.


    A few hours had passed.


    Zen was in one of the best practice rooms of the Purple Soul Hall.


    The warriors who were capable of using these practice rooms were mostly the top-rank True Gods in the Purple Soul Hall.


    Zen sat up straight and turned his hand over. In the blink of an eye, the Golden Beast Statue appeared before him.


    The Golden Beast Statue was a special kind of beast that looked neither like a lion nor a tiger. Zen didn''t know what the beast was exactly.


    Since the Han Clan was willing to pull the treasure out and treat it like a reward, it clearly had to be a valuable treasure in and of itself. Due to such, Zen made the decision to take some time to refine it.


    After observing the Golden Beast Statue for a short while, he noticed a small round divine texture on its back side.


    Upon noticing the divine texture, Zen touched it with his finger and injected it with a hint of chaotic energy.


    Hiss! Hiss!


    The chaotic energy surged down the divine texture, and the latter began to spin. Then, it slowly rose, forming a small funnel. It was an amazing sight to watch.


    ''Do I need to put a drop of my blood int


    d only observe this scene nervously. The mud couldn''t have lost its effect just because it had been dug too long ago, could it?


    He reflected on the possibility carefully. The first mud he absorbed had been really slow to react. It had been dug out by the Tie Clan for a long time, while the fresh mud he had obtained from the cave had really reacted very quickly.


    The mud used to make the plate to hold the Golden Beast Statue had been dug out for a longer period of time. He estimated that the reaction time could be longer.


    That said though, the waiting process was a sufferance. If the mud really was useless after being dug out for so long, then Zen would have to delay the moment he''d form his Godly Tile.


    It took about an hour, but felt much, much longer.


    A single bubble floated out from the bottom of the chaotic sea. Soon after, more and more bubbles began to emerge.


    As he watched the scene play out before him, Zen sighed with relief. It seemed that there was no reason for him to worry, after all.


    As the bubbles constantly emerged, a small cloud formed in the sky above the chaotic sea. As the cloud spread, Zen integrated his internal momentum directly into it. Not long after, a huge sword cloud appeared.


    The mud that Zen had just thrown in was a lot larger than both previous times, and the sword cloud was naturally even larger. As soon as the sword cloud was condensed, it floated toward the Godly Plate in the center of his inner world.


    With his previous successful experiences, Zen didn''t need to stare at the sword cloud to condense the Godly Tile. Instead, this time, he continued to crush the mud and throw it into his inner world, piece by piece.


    It didn''t take long before a large number of sword clouds slowly floated in the air in Zen''s inner world, and the crystal in the Godly Plate became bigger and bigger.

 Chapter 2291 A Multiple Godly Tile

    Zen quietly gazed at the crystal on the Godly Plate, his heart brimming with excitement.


    He didn''t have a Godly Tile so he was unable to use the power of Faith Energy. This also meant being unable to display the theurgy of his Godly Way.


    Fortunately, Zen was able to use chaotic energy. By relying on it, Zen had managed to make up for the difference between him and the True Gods.


    ''If there are True Gods that exist in my inner world, then my momentum could be considered coming from True Gods. If that''s the case, then what''s the difference between my momentum and the momentum of ordinary True Gods?''


    Zen did not know how the two differed, but he was looking forward to finding out.


    Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!


    The sword cloud began to shrink. From a distance, it looked as if it was being devoured by a monster.


    When the whole thing disappeared, Zen flashed and popped on top of the Godly Plate. After examining it for a while, he found a transparent crystal the size of his palm in it.


    "It became bigger..."


    Although the crystal had been completely integrated with the other one that was formed after absorbing the clumps of mud he previously threw in, compared to the Godly Plate, it was only a small part.


    "Go on!"


    Without hesitation, Zen reached for another clump of mud, and threw it into his inner world.


    Minutes later, another sword cloud rose.


    It left behind a transparent crystal in the Godly Plate which overlapped with the other crystal, and now occupied about a third of the size of the Godly Plate. If he continued to condense the crystal at such rate, he supposed that after he threw all the mud in his inner world, the transparent crystal he finally got would be more than enough to take up the whole the Godly Plate!


    Zen then continued to throw mud into it little by little, the transparent crystal growing larger and larger with every handful he took. The strange thing, however, was that it condensed in the middle of the Godly Plate instead of around it. It turned into a round and smooth crystal, quietly lying in the middle of the Godly Plate and emitting a faint light.


    This was also the first time that he condensed a Godly Tile so he had no idea whether what he was doing was correct.


    ''Now, I should be able to get a perfect Godly Tile, '' Zen thought as he threw the last of the mud in his inner world.


    As the mud turned into a cloud and hovered above, a beautiful crystal slowly began to take shape on the Godly Plate.


    Meanwhile, the lower part of the Godly Plate began to spin steadily and the divine textures on the surface faintly glowed.


    This Godly Plate was meant to support the Godly Tile and stabilize it in one''s inner world. However, as Zen''s Godly Tile condensed, the Godly Plate suddenly trembled.


    Crack! Crack!


    Countless cracks appeared on the surface of the plate, and in the blink of an eye, it shattered into tin


    tivate the first three levels of a Godly Way. With enough time and determination, one would be able to master them. Especially for these geniuses of the rich clans, it was a common thing for them to cultivate a few types of Godly Ways with their special talents.


    But if one wanted to cultivate the last three levels of a Godly Way, which were more advanced, they would have to condense their own Godly Tiles. Otherwise, it would be difficult for them to use the internal momentum of the last three levels of their chosen Godly Way.


    However, the theurgy beyond way was an exception. Even if a True God had never cultivated any Godly Way, if they could somehow grasp a powerful theurgy beyond way, they''d be able to release terrifying power. For instance, back then when Zen hadn''t practiced the Mysterious Ice Godly Way, he was still able to use the Ice Soul Flame.


    The theurgies at the consummate level were the most important. If one condensed the Five Elements Godly Tile, they could only become consummate True Gods by reaching the consummate level of Five Elements Godly Way - Divine Five Elements Body. At the same time, they wouldn''t be able to cultivate any consummate level theurgies of any other Godly Ways.


    However, True Gods with multiple Godly Tile could freely choose which Godly Way they wanted to cultivate.


    There were also cases where some of them could even cultivate two consummate level theurgies and became duel consummate True Gods, which would make them more powerful than common consummate True Gods.


    Of course, the number of True Gods that had a duel Godly Tile was small, and the True Gods who could cultivate their dual Godly Tiles to consummate level were even rarer.


    But Zen saw three thousand small scales appear around his Godly Tile, something that made him feel extremely strange.


    This seemed to be a multiple Godly Tile, and it was a Godly Tile containing three thousand Godly Ways?

 Chapter 2292 The Construction Of The Divine Land

    Zen desired to know the reason he was unable to form a Godly Tile. Thus, he read quite a few books after he entered the Purple Soul Hall.


    The description of the Godly Tile lay bare in one of the classics.


    The Godly Tiles were the True Gods'' profound comprehension of the Godly Ways, and they were condensed after the Internal Momentum Clouds formed.


    These Godly Tiles had different shapes. They were square, circular, rectangle and even polygonal shaped. The dual Godly Tile was formed by two equal parts, whereas the triple Godly Tile consisted of three equal parts.


    The edge of Zen''s Godly Tile was covered with dense scales. It was quite like the Infinity Ruler. It was as if the Infinity Ruler had rolled up to the edge of the Godly Tile. Zen could also feel the internal momentum of the Godly Ways from the scales.


    As the light emerged from the Infinity Ruler, it made its way towards the Godly Tile. About three thousand rays of light were emitted. The majority of the light rays were light golden, but some rays were of different colors.


    The light that contained the Snow Godly Way emitted a ray of white cold light.


    With a sudden whoosh, Zen''s body was suspended in the cold light.


    The cold light made its way towards the chaotic sea.


    Faint snowflakes began to appear where the light fell. These snowflakes also contained the internal momentum of the Snow Godly Way, and the surface of the chaotic sea began to slowly freeze.


    A moment later, Zen''s body flashed and appeared under another ray of purple light.


    The purple light hit the coast of the continent.


    The onlookers on the coast were in awe as they noticed the light. The humans that were present in Zen''s inner world were shocked as to where the light came from.


    "Is this purple light auspicious?"


    "I think it contains something that is beyond our comprehension."


    "Who is talented enough to cultivate this kind of light?"


    Zen''s sudden appearance shocked the onlookers.


    There were a few people in this world who could instantly teleport to any place. Zen was one of them. He could even teleport silently without any space fluctuation. No one was able to do so in his inner world.


    These people belonged to the sixth-grade sacred place on the continent. Many of them had reached the Soul Sea Realm, and they also had a vast experience and knowledge.


    "Who is he?" An old man at the Soul Sea Realm stared at Zen.


    "He is the Venerable Creator!"


    another middle-aged man at the Soul Sea Realm stated. He knelt in front of Zen. "Greetings, Venerable Creator!"


    Zen had many titles in this world, and each culture had a different name for him. According to the culture followed by the people in this continent, Zen not only created this world, but also too


    his sect come over to have a try.


    "You won''t be able to cultivate the Purple Aura Godly Way, but look..." Zen pointed towards the sky and said, "Did you notice the rays of light?"


    The old man of the Soul Sea Realm gave him a nod. The phenomenon was quite unusual. He brought the elites of the sect to this place along the rays of light.


    "Except the golden light rays, the internal momentum of other light rays can be comprehended," Zen stated.


    The golden rays of light were from the Godly Ways that Zen had never absorbed. The scales of the Godly Ways that had been absorbed reflected all sorts of aura and colorful light rays.


    The old man was quite pleased when he heard what Zen said. He and his sect members wanted to rush over and comprehend immediately, but given that the Venerable Creator was present, they just stood there.


    There was a splash, and a huge Boundary Cloud was visible far away in the distant sky of the inner world.


    Someone had become a world lord.


    Zen was quite surprised by the unexpected turn of events, as the shadow of the Evil God flashed right before him. Then he smiled with relief. The Evil God''s talent was extremely terrifying. Zen had just proven the Godly Way while the Evil God was immediately able to become a world lord.


    Zen addressed the old man, "Goodbye." There was a flash, and he disappeared with a flash. His body still did not produce any space fluctuation.


    After seeing Zen leave, the old man of the Soul Sea Realm pointed at the grey light and said, "Quick. Don''t let the Dark Cloud Sect get ahead of us. Send more people to guard this purple light ray, and then bring out all the female warriors of our sect."


    The Dark Cloud Sect was also a sixth-grade sacred place.


    The grey light ray that was visible contained the internal momentum of the Tortoise Godly Way.

 Chapter 2293 Levels Of Lives

    In the inner world, various sacred places, large clans started to fight for these rays of light that contained the internal momentum. The light rays were in such a demand that many sects even started a war.


    Back then, Zen did not want Evil God to build his own divine kingdom and gather the Faith Energy. Hence, he had cut off Evil God''s intentions. Thereafter, Evil God dismissed his divine kingdom. And that was when Zen established a new rule in the inner world. No martial artists were allowed to establish a divine kingdom. Nor were they allowed to light the incense to absorb the Faith Energy.


    Every time a powerful warrior appeared and proclaimed his intention to develop the sect into a divine kingdom, Evil God would interfere and abolish the warrior''s purpose.


    So far, Evil God proved to be the strongest martial artist in the inner world. As a result, nobody dared to oppose him. The martial artists did not have a clue about Evil God''s opposition. Hence they had no option. As the strongest martial artist in the inner world, Evil God''s strength had far exceeded that of an ordinary martial artist. Although those powerful martial artists didn''t know why Evil God did not allow it, they had no choice but to develop the sects into the sacred places. Therefore, there were only sacred places in this world and no divine kingdoms.


    Zen did not interfere when the sacred places were fighting for the light containing the internal momentum. A baby world took its own time to grow up slowly. That was the nature''s rule. As long as they did not seriously affect the balance of the world, the way Evil God had done back then.


    If one looked closely, a lone figure could be seen atop a mountain.


    Evil God sat cross legged on the top of the mountain, alone.


    Ever since Evil God had retired, he became a legend, his position just next to the world''s creator. He was in charge of managing the inner world.


    Very few exceptional masters were aware about his existence.


    The strange phenomenon continued to develop in the sky. At the same time, Evil God felt the blockage that had been trapped inside his body, was released.


    This barrier was not caused by his own strength, but by the world itself. Previously, no world lord was allowed to appear in this world, so he was destined to continue his existence in the same cultivation level.


    But when Zen''s Godly Tile matured, he was like a wild horse, freeing himself from the limits of the world and stepping into the world lord realm.


    When one became a world lord, he or she would disturb the vitality between heaven and earth and transform it into a Boundary Cloud. This Boundary Cloud attracted Zen''s attention because of its increasing size.


    "Ten miles. Twenty miles. Thirty miles."


    Zen raised his head and looked at the rapidly expanding Boundary Cloud, with a trace of surprise in his eyes.


    The most exceptional world lor


    orld where Creator is?


    Could they cultivate the internal momentum as well?''


    Countless questions were going through Evil God''s mind.


    It was not that Evil God was not smart. In fact, he possessed the highest intelligence quotient.


    However, the level of his life was limited.


    As Evil God had grown up in this relatively narrow world, he couldn''t understand the boundless divine land. With his current knowledge and experience, he was always under the impression that Zen''s world was about the same size as this world.


    "I have my own Godly Tile now, so now there are some things that I need your help to accomplish," Zen said quietly.


    There was only a small segment of people, who were aware of Zen''s existence. After the Godly Tile was condensed, Zen could absorb the Faith Energy through the Godly Tile.


    The Faith Energy was the momentum of a world. After a proving godly warrior became a True God, they would usually give up their life vitality and use the Faith Energy, to prevent the life vitality from being consumed.


    However, Zen was still a little confused about choosing the Faith Energy or continuing using the chaotic energy.


    For an ordinary True God, using life vitality to display a theurgy was a far too energy consuming thing. If the life vitality was consumed too much, it could even cause the entire inner world to collapse and the inner world would have to be rebuilt. However, Zen''s chaotic energy was very durable compared to the life vitality. Moreover, Zen''s World Tree was able to continuously absorb the chaotic energy from the outside world. Therefore, Zen didn''t require the Faith Energy at the moment.


    However, Zen still needed to figure out the difference between the Faith Energy produced by the world that was constructed through chaos and the Faith Energy of the other True Gods.


    Evil God was naturally willing to help Zen, after all he had collected the Faith Energy before.

 Chapter 2294 Fall (Part One)

    Not even a second later, Zen looked down and gently tapped the side of a snowy mountain peak with the tip of his finger.


    The snow on the peak disappeared in the blink of an eye, revealing the dark cyan rock wall hidden beneath.


    Zen waved his hand, and the peak, which was already well over ten thousand feet high, began to float in the air. Under Zen''s control, the enormous peak crackled in movement. For a moment, dust billowed all around and stones flew into the air...


    As he watched this scene, the Evil God also secretly felt quite shocked.


    With the Evil God''s power, destroying an entire mountain with a height of ten thousand feet was a breeze. On the other hand, grabbing a mountain of this size and remolding it at will like what the Creator had done was impossible for him to achieve.


    It didn''t take long before the huge peak turned into enormous stones, each a hundred feet in size. At that very moment, Zen closed his eyes, and an invisible force spread out from his body. He was an omnipotent existence in this world, and thus, nothing could stop him.


    As the invisible force swept over, the surfaces of all the giant stones turned into fine powder that blew away in the wind.


    When all the powder was gone, the giant stones turned into giant statues of Zen''s image that floated in the air.


    "I will distribute these one hundred statues to every corner of this world, and you will complete the rest." Once Zen had finished speaking, his figure once again weirdly disappeared into the air, along with the one hundred statues that had covered both the sky and the sun.


    Moments later, Zen appeared in the Emerald Pine City, which was over a thousand miles away from the snow mountain.


    As Zen floated strangely in the air, he didn''t trigger any of the city''s restrictions. He did however, attract th


    wo days later, the wind continued blowing.


    Across the Time Sea, the gusts of wind became stronger and stronger. The magnificent seawater began to turmoil and turned into waves that rolled out on the sea.


    Occasionally, a few strange fish popped out of the sea''s surface. The creatures wandering in the time fragments had the magical power of protecting themselves from the Time Sea''s tearing power.


    The increasingly strong wind worked like a pair of chopsticks that got into the muddy water, continuously stirring the thick clouds. The thick clouds acted like huge spirals, circling in the sky above the entire Time Sea.


    At the edge of the Purple Soul Hall stood a viewing deck where many female disciples gathered. Right now, they all looked somewhat gaunt.


    Over the past few months, in order to obtain points, they had tried their best to fight in the Arena of Legends. However, their strength was limited, and so were the points they received.


    Only a few days ago, the Purple Soul Hall had tallied all the points, but they failed to meet their master''s requirements. Almost everyone was in despair. According to what Joy had said, most of them would be forced to leave the Han Clan''s Floating Island.

 Chapter 2295 Fall (Part Two)

    Every woman in the Purple Soul Hall was considered the pride of their clan, having entered the center of the divine land and become a disciple of a powerful clan on the Floating Island.


    Once expelled from the Floating Island, they could only expect to face an unimaginable nightmare.


    What these women hadn''t expected though, was that the day before yesterday, news had been received that the princess of the Han Clan, Laquisha, had defeated the anonymous man. This man had taken part in many battles against opponents of a higher level and lost to Laquisha. The princess had earned nearly two million points!


    In other words, that was the equivalent to the Han Clan suddenly having one more consummate True God, out of nowhere.


    It was this news that pulled the Purple Soul Hall disciples out from the abyss of desperation.


    "Do you know who the anonymous man was? A proving godly warrior who could accumulate several million points... How unbelievable! It almost killed me just to accumulate two hundred points," a woman sighed.


    "Ha-Ha! What''s important here is that the anonymous man was defeated by the princess, and he lost most of his points to her - points that he had earned through his hard work. I believe that the anonymous man must be very sad!" said another woman, with a smile.


    "Think about it, all of you! Why exactly was this anonymous man defeated by the princess? It has been said that this anonymous man is from our Han Clan. He was surely defeated by the princess on purpose!"


    "Do you really think that''s true?" someone questioned.


    "I don''t believe it. The princess'' strength is extraordinary. She was originally ranked third among the low-rank True Gods. I think it''s norma


    Purple Soul Hall, but I haven''t made any progress," the woman said, shaking her head in despair.


    "There will always be other opportunities. When it comes to cultivating a Godly Way, it''s usually the smallest opportunities that make the biggest difference. Trust me, I''m speaking from experience," Zen said.


    "Yeah, you''re right." The woman nodded and suddenly pointed down. "Look," she said. "The Floating Islands are moving. The ranking process has begun..."


    Bang!


    With a dull roar, Zen saw the two Floating Islands - one of the Xie Clan and the other of the Liu Clan, which were at the bottom, began to rise slowly. Simultaneously, the Floating Island of the Luo Clan began to descend slowly. So much so, in fact, that it was about to fall into the Time Sea!


    "What happened? "Harold has defeated Rachelle in the open battle and won many points for the Luo Clan, hasn''t he? Why is the Floating Island of Luo Clan falling now? How is this possible?" Zen asked in disbelief. Zen''s eyes were filled with anxiety and confusion. As the Luo Clan''s Floating Island continued falling, his heart couldn''t help but sink along with it.

 Chapter 2296 The Rankings

    The change in the rankings of the thirty-six Floating Islands on the Time Sea started from the bottom.


    Originally, the Floating Island of the Luo Clan had been ranked third to last. But while the Floating Islands of the Xie Clan and the Liu Clan moved upward, the Luo Clan''s Floating Island slowly descended.


    According to the ranking rules, the last one on the list would be expelled from the Time Sea, after which it would be replaced by a new clan''s Floating Island.


    Of course, the new clan would need to have at least a Holy Being.


    The strongest Holy Beings in the divine land were almost all gathered in the Time Sea, but there were a few exceptions. There were a few large clans with Holy Beings outside of the Time Sea, but they were still too weak to compete with the powerful clans on the Floating Islands, so they didn''t have the capability to have a Floating Island on the Time Sea.


    "Will the Luo Clan be replaced this time?"


    "Of course. The Hall of Holy Beings has long been dissatisfied with the empty Floating Island of the Luo Clan. No one is there, but it holds a seat!"


    "The Xie Clan and the Liu Clan that came from the east of the divine land have the support of the Dongfang Clan. And this time, they have performed extremely well in the Arena of Legends. I''m afraid that the Floating Island of the Luo Clan won''t be able to maintain its rank based on the points gained by Harold alone."


    The women discussed the rankings of the Floating Islands among themselves, pointing at the falling Floating Island of the Luo Clan. Most people thought that the Floating Island of the Luo Clan was a miracle. It had stood in the Time Sea without falling for so many years depending on a single person''s points alone.


    Zen''s frown deepened when he heard the women''s discussion.


    While his clothes flapped around in the strong wind, he stood rooted to the spot like a statue, staring closely at the Floating Island of the Luo Clan.


    For some reason, he felt that this island was immensely important to him. He felt like if it fell into the Time Sea, he would forever lose something dear to him.


    However, something unexpected happened then. While the Floating Island of the Luo Clan descended to the second to the bottom, the Floating Island of the Zhou Clan rocked about and started to move down rapidly as well.


    "Look, the Floating Island of the Zhou Clan is also moving."


    "This time, the Zhou Clan didn''t perform well. It is said that several powerful clans worked together to oppress them."


    "I wonder which clan will be ranked


    Hall of Holy Beings."


    The female disciples of the Purple Soul Hall sighed in a low voice.


    The rankings of the 36 Floating Islands were constantly changing. This time, although the rankings had changed a lot, none of the changes had come as a surprise.


    Suddenly, Zen felt a tremor under his feet.


    The entire Floating Island he was standing on began to slowly float upward.


    The Han Clan had ranked 10th among the Floating Islands, but now, it surpassed the Tang Clan, the Gu Clan, and the Fang Clan. At last, it was ranked 7th.


    The Gu Clan''s Floating Island dropped sharply from the 8th rank.


    The Gu Clan had two consummate True Gods, Hallet and Augustus. Moreover, they had always had a great advantage when it came to points because they only had a few members. As such, the ranking of their Floating Island had always been stable. So now, its sudden drop in ranking caused a lot of exclamations of surprise from other clans.


    Only then did many people remember that Hallet and Augustus hadn''t fought in the open battles for the rankings of the Floating Islands.


    By the time all the Floating Islands were rearranged, the disciples of the Zhou Clan had left their Floating Island. Under everyone''s gaze, the magnificent Floating Island of the Zhou Clan tilted slightly to the side and flew toward the Time Sea.


    The moment it touched the Time Sea, the magnificent sea seemed to turn into a ruthless giant beast that chewed the island into pieces and swallowed it up in the blink of an eye. Not even a single residue was left, and no waves were made.


    Standing on the boats of the Sun Blind race, the members of the Zhou Clan looked back, their faces filled with grief and reluctance.

 Chapter 2297 Samuels Change

    The Spiritual Heart Hall was immersed in a peaceful atmosphere.


    The maids cheerfully splashed the Holy Dew, covering the hall with sparkling crystals.


    Alfredo and the senior leaders of the Han Clan were all present in the hall. Their sole aim was to maintain the ranking of the Han Clan''s Floating Island. If the total number of points did not meet the requirement at the final stage, then they would dismiss the Purple Soul Hall thus, liberating themselves from all the trouble caused by the women of the Purple Soul Hall, as agreed before.


    But in the final two days, Laquisha defeated the anonymous man. She elevated the ranking of the Han Clan without any help. She accumulated around two million points, so the ranking of the Han Clan didn''t fall. They climbed up a few places instead. The members of the Han Clan were witnessing a miracle.


    Joy wore a purple dress. She looked quite elegant and beautiful in that dress. She leaned on the bench glancing around, lost in her thoughts.


    "To be fair, Joy, our clan''s Demi-holy Being made the greatest contribution to the Han Clan. She sent such a talented disciple to help us at our time of need. I didn''t expect her to be capable of such a thing." Alfredo chuckled.


    The clan members looked at Joy with great admiration.


    Joy raised her head, a confused expression on her face, and asked, "What do you mean? I think our princess contributed the most. She helped us when we needed her the most."


    "If the anonymous man isn''t your disciple, how was he defeated by the princess so easily? Moreover, the Gods Killing Sword Array that was used by the anonymous man is your unique theurgy, isn''t it? Today is a big day for us. Why don''t you bring such a talented disciple here?" Alfredo said with a smile.


    Joy gave Alfredo a hard look and replied, "I don''t know what you are talking about. There is no such talent in my Purple Soul Hall. I heard that the anonymous man has even mastered my Gods Killing Sword Array. What''s more queer is that he can display the illusory swords with the Cross-world Theurgy. That''s an impressive feat. I''m curious about him myse


    ned around and prepared to leave.


    "Samuel Han!"


    Joy shouted in anger. The muscles of her body tightened, showing her perfect figure.


    Even though Joy was the Demi-holy Being, it was not appropriate for her to call the Holy Being by his full name.


    Alfredo and the other senior leaders were left in awe. They couldn''t quite anticipate what was going to happen next.


    Samuel froze in his tracks.


    "Must our Han Clan be a vassal for another clan?" Joy asked rising her voice.


    The Holy Being, as the controller of the universe, had already surpassed the scope of a True God and after they created a huge and complicated world, their comprehension of the world and life had risen to a new level. It could be said that every Holy Being had the absolute great wisdom. They had seen the collapse of the worlds as well as the annihilation of hundreds of billions of creatures and had also experienced endless cycles of reincarnation of life and death.


    Therefore, how could such a Holy Being become a vassal for others.


    Joy perceived Samuel as invincible and matchless. And the Han Clan had never depended on any other clan. Samuel''s affiliation with the Dongfang Clan troubled her.


    Samuel turned and stated in a serious tone, "No one. I repeat, no one is qualified to make me their vassal. Not even Jeremiah Leng, Murphy Mu and Nicholas Dongfang."


    With that, he left, leaving everyone confused.

 Chapter 2298 The Black Faith Energy

    The meaningful words spoken by Samuel left Joy, Alfredo and the other Han Clan members feeling stunned.


    It was Samuel, the Holy Emperor of the Han Clan, who made the ultimate decision to curry favor with the Dongfang Clan in recent years. Therefore, the people of the Han Clan had nothing to say about it. In fact, even Joy hadn''t dared speak her mind, even though she disliked such a decision. After all, the Han Clan, its Floating Island and the clan''s property were all created by Samuel.


    Now though, based on what Samuel had said, he seemed to have other plans.


    "I don''t know what Holy Emperor is up to," Alfredo admitted. As the master of the Han Clan, he seemed to sense a hint of danger. He had to control his emotion for the greater good of all.


    From Alfredo''s and other Han Clan members'' perspectives, joining the rich and powerful clans'' union wasn''t a big deal, and they''d even gain great benefits from doing so. After all, the Dongfang Clan did nearly control almost the entire Hall of Holy Beings. As long as the Sword Clan''s and the Moon Clan''s Holy Brings didn''t say a word, Nicholas Dongfang was the only individual allowed to make a decision in the Hall of Holy Beings.


    If anyone wanted to have a stable position in the Time Sea, it was almost inevitable that they''d attach themselves to the Dongfang Clan. The Xie Clan and the Liu Clan demonstrated this perfectly. Both had been the last to rank and became more and more powerful with the help of the Dongfang Clan.


    "It is absolutely impossible for Samuel to demean himself in front of others. Although I don''t know what exactly he''s doing, I''m afraid that if anyone wants to take advantage of Nicholas, they will drag the entire clan into deep trouble," said Joy hysterically. Then she turned around and left.


    Ever since the Hall of Holy Beings'' establishment, the divine land was peaceful for thousands of divine eras.


    Prior to such, Joy had vaguely understood that Mike and Bromley''s layout might affect the entire divine land, but she still hadn''t thought carefully about her own, nor the Han Clan''s future. She hadn''t made a clear plan for dealing with everything that was bound to happen, probably sooner rather than later.


    In this moment though, it seemed as though Samuel had a greater foresight than her, and he had already made his choice.


    Before Zen came to the Floating Island, she had been considering building another island and even thinking about her next opportunity for becoming a true Holy Being.


    ''What should I do?''


    As she pondered this thought for a few seconds, Zen''s figure flashed in her mind.


    ''Should my choice be simpler?'' she thought to herself.


    Aft


    Faith Energy, because they could use the momentum within the entire universe at will. During the war in the Evolutionary Universe, everything from the biggest beast all the way to the smallest blade of grass, emitted momentum. A Holy Being didn''t need to deliberately absorb Faith Energy. Even if someone set up a secret sect in the universe, or if the Demon Night race were to take the Faith Energy, the Holy Beings wouldn''t meddle in such situations.


    Zen waved his hand and a brand-new statue appeared before them on the ground, landing with a slight tremble, which made everyone present cheer and applaud happily. Upon doing so, Zen simply turned around and left.


    The top of the mountain peak was white with snow.


    The black statue stood out against the white background.


    Zen reached out to grab the statue''s hand, and with a gentle twist, the statue''s stone hand immediately shattered. At the same time, a faint power was emitted from the stone. Zen looked down at the piece of stone he now held and said, "It''s also black inside..."


    The Evil God picked up a piece of stone this time and thought, ''The aura from this stone is similar to that of the Faith Energy, but why is it black?''


    "The black Faith Energy... What kind of secret sect have you actually built?" Zen asked, in complete disbelief.


    Because the followers had different beliefs, the colors and auras of the Faith Energy they produced would also be different.


    Lavender was the Demon Night race''s Queen of Killings. When countless Demon Night members worshiped her, there would be an unanimous killing thought. In other words, Lavender''s statue was blood-red, and the Faith Energy gathered in the Pool of Faith was like a lake of blood, and the Faith Energy equally contained violent, killing wills.

 Chapter 2299 A Place Out Of His Control

    Another example would be Latonia''s Faith Energy, which contained the vitality of life. It was collected by the Queen of Life in the Demon Night. The Queen''s statue was green, as was the Faith Energy itself, which contained endless life energy.


    If the Evil God established an evil sect, it was possible to possess this black Faith Energy.


    Upon hearing Zen''s question, the Evil God immediately understood what he meant. He shook his head and said, "It''s absolutely impossible. The secret sect is established according to the traditional way, and there can''t be any mistakes. Moreover, as you have seen, those believers are not evil people, nor are they able to bring this black Faith Energy. Besides, the statues all over the world are like this."


    Zen nodded and looked at his statue. "Well, I didn''t feel any evil in this energy, but I don''t understand why it is happening like this."


    The problem was that the Faith Energy had poured into stones from which it could no longer be separated, so how could it possibly be used?


    According to accounts of the process of forging the Faith Energy for an ordinary True God, the Faith Energy would automatically flow into the Godly Tile before accumulating, and the Godly Tile was equivalent to the Pool of Faith.


    But how could these black stones store it?


    ''It must be caused by the cultivation of the Primal Chaos Technique, '' Zen thought to himself, his brows furrowing.


    Zen could have obtained a lot from the practice of the Primal Chaos Technique. However, he had encountered a lot more trouble with it than he had expected. In spite of that, he had succeeded in gathering the Godly Tile in the end. Now, he encountered a new problem.


    While Zen was thinking, the Evil God seemed to remember something, and said with a pensive expression, "Creator, there are some strange things in the world, and there are also some things... It looks like these black stones..." He trailed off, not quite knowing how to put his thoughts into words. He looked up at Zen, hoping that he would somehow understand what he was thinking.


    "Tell me," said Zen.


    "Creator, please follow me," the Evil God said, and as he spoke, he had passed through space itself, teleporting himself to another continent.


    Zen immediately followed suit, his figure disappearing into space, following the Evil God to his destination.


    The land in his inner world split into seven pieces. Tens of thousands of years ago, the continent before his eyes was called the Monster Slaughtering Continent. This continent had been connected to the World Tree since those ancient times, and the local warriors thought of the green creatures on the World Tree as monsters and had spent many years fighting against them, giving the continent its name.


    "Creator, that is the place I spoke about," the Evil God said, pointing ahead.


    He was pointing towards a hilly area of the Monster Slaughtering C


    them with its mountain-sized fist, about to punch them.


    As the fist moved towards them, almost in slow motion, so enormous it blotted out the sky, Zen calmly pointed at it with his finger, just as he had done before. The fist suddenly stopped in midair, unable to go any further. Then, with a gentle flick, a much fiercer force overpowered the huge monster.


    "Bang!"


    The thousand-eyed giant collapsed, and the force of its fall started a tremendous earthquake. As the land continued to shake, the giants in the depths of the forest began to scream, one after another.


    The giant wanted to get up again, but Zen had already jumped onto it and stood on its mountain-like head. As Zen stomped on it, the giant''s head became pressed further and further into the ground. Unable to pull its head out, it could only wave its giant arms in vain. Although the giant had a thousand eyes, it seemed unable to see anything.


    "This creature shouldn''t have been born in my inner world, and such a powerful creature couldn''t have been formed overnight," Zen said to the Evil God. The human race and the other intelligent creatures in his inner world had all undergone a great amount of tribulations, and they had thus gradually evolved into what they were today.


    "I think so too," said the Evil God, passing the giant''s body and then entering the forest as if looking for something in its depths. Soon, he came back with a number of black objects in his hands. The Evil God stretched out his arms, presenting them to Zen, and said, "Creator, look: I think these black objects, too, contain the Faith Energy."


    The black objects in his hands were thin. As Zen observed them, his eyes suddenly showed disbelief. "They...they''re divine might coins!"


    This time, it was the Evil God''s turn to be confused. "Divine might coins? What are they?"


    Zen heaved a sigh of relief. He had figured it out. "I think I know what this place is," he uttered.

 Chapter 2300 The Origin Of The Forbidden Land

    The scene in front of him had even cleared the many doubts in Zen''s mind.


    Master Evil informed Zen that all the divine might coins were found in the forbidden lands. However, Zen was unsure how they were produced in the first place.


    The life vitality crystal and life vitality jade were condensed by the vitality between heaven and earth. After they gathered for countless years, they formed mines. Even if a mineral vein was dug out, other mineral veins kept growing and replenishing the source. So the life vitality crystal and life vitality jade were almost inexhaustible resources.


    The divine land had been in existence for countless divine eras.


    During this long period of time, countless True Gods had set foot into the forbidden lands.


    Divine might coins were present in various forbidden lands. Even if there were huge quantities of divine might coins, all of them would be dug out and taken away one day. If this happened, how would the warriors who arrived later find and get their hands on any of these coins?


    According to Master Evil''s explanation, a True God who stepped into a forbidden land would always find the divine might coins, which meant that the coins would constantly keep appearing...


    Finally, it all made sense to Zen. He figured out that the divine might coins were formed by the Faith Energy of the True Gods!


    "What is this place?" The Evil God inquired curiously.


    Zen glanced around until finally his eyes fixed on the giant with one thousand eyes. He then smiled broadly and said, "This is the world you have imagined!"


    "The world we have imagined?" repeated the Evil God. Surprise was written all over his face.


    Zen nodded, and suddenly an idea occurred to him. The history of the Monster Slaughtering Continent in the past few years played like a movie in his mind. With the help of his omniscient ability, he quickly found the clues he needed, and then remarked casually, "The Monster Slaughtering Continent belonged to the Howe Clan many years ago."


    "I''ve heard of the Howe Clan. It''s an ancient race," added Evil God nodding in agreement.


    The conflict between the Howe Clan and the Totem Clan had begun long before the birth of the Evil God, but the history of the two ancient races had passed down from generation to generation, so mostly everyone was aware of the enmity between these two races.


    "It''s recorded in history that the queen of the Howe Clan was exquisitely beautiful, so she seduced a God to help her. Are you the God who aided her?" The Evil God questioned and then asked with a lecherous smile, "Is the queen of the Howe Clan as beautiful as she''s made out to be in the stories?"


    According to the legend, the queen of the Howe Clan was regarded as the most beautiful woman in history. Her beaut


    e place is saturated with the Faith Energy, it will transform into the divine might coins..."


    This was Zen''s guess too. According to the clues he had gathered, his guess would not be too far from the truth. The only thing he couldn''t figure out was why the divine might coins formed from the Faith Energy were black.


    Zen collected all the divine might coins in the forbidden land and took them with him when he left with the Evil God.


    Then Zen and the Evil God found another forbidden land on the ice land, which was covered by the ray of light-purple light. The ray of light covered a triangular area, which was the same as what happened on the Monster Slaughtering Continent. Zen was unable to unearth any information about this forbidden land.


    The two encountered a kind of human-shaped snow monster with long hair upon entering this forbidden land. These snow monsters were very powerful in the Evil God''s eyes. However, no matter how mighty these fierce creatures were, they wouldn''t be able to harm Zen.


    Zen found over a hundred divine might coins in this forbidden land, and at the same time he also discovered the legend of the "polar snowman", which proved his guess correct once more.


    The forbidden lands in Zen''s inner world had just been established right now, and there weren''t many divine might coins in them yet.


    But the time in his inner world ran faster than that of the divine land. As the forbidden lands became larger and larger in the future, the number of divine might coins would also increase.


    The divine might coins could be used to change the laws of the Ruling Slate, but that was not something he could dwell on at this point. The bigger issue for him was to figure out a way to use the Faith Energy in the divine might coin. How would he crack this one?


    This was the topmost priority for Zen right now.

 Chapter 2301 The Astronomical Transit Day

    The divine land had existed for countless years, so it went without saying that the talents there had diligently studied the effects of the divine might coins as much as they could.


    But in the end, all they were capable of using the coins for was to change the rules on the Ruling Slate. This meant that the True Gods could not wield the true power of the coins.


    Zen, who was no stranger to experimentation, used his strong power to crush the coins, but all he ended up with was a handful of black powder. He was unable to release the Faith Energy in the coins.


    He even tried sprinkling the black powder onto his Godly Tile as well as into the chaotic sea, but the powder didn''t react with anything.


    During his time in the inner world, he exhausted all sorts of strange and bizarre methods to try to release the true power of the coins. The Evil God gave him advice and suggestions as well. But in the end, he had no choice but to temporarily give up on this endeavor.


    There were certain facts that he might have ignored. It was possible that the Faith Energy constructed by the chaotic energy in the divine land could not be directly used.


    Whatever it was, Zen didn''t feel upset or disappointed. After all, now that his Godly Tile was condensed, he had become a True God. This improvement in his cultivation had also caused a great increase in his strength.


    Zen ordered the Evil God to stop the secret sect for the time being after his avatar left.


    At this stage, he was unable to use the Faith Energy, so it was useless to collect it in the statues. Moreover, the extra Faith Energy would automatically form divine might coins.


    After he gave the order, his consciousness returned to the practice room.


    Although he had spent a lot of time in his inner world, only a few hours had passed in the divine land.


    When he opened the door to go outside, he saw that it was already past dawn.


    He hadn''t seen Joy in recent days.


    After all, the Dongfang Clan had started to look for him, the anonymous man. His performance in the Arena of Legends had almost made them sure that he was a member of the Purple Soul Hall, so Joy was doing her best to avert suspicion.


    "It''s time to leave the Floating Island," Zen said, staring at the tumbling clouds in the sky.


    The rankings of the Floating Islands had been reorganized yesterday, so the channels to the forbidden lands would be open today.


    Zen left the Purple Soul Hall and went to the Holy Emperor City again.


    Traveling by flight and spatial transference was prohibited in the Time Sea. This was a rule stipulated on the Ruling Slate.


    However, in order to monopolize the forbidden lands, the Hall of Holy Being


    te a few important people from the powerful clans. Zen was also invited.


    Suddenly, the words that an old man from the Sun Blind race had told him flashed in his mind. The old man had said that Zen''s aura resembled the terrifying aura of the Emperor Resentment, a monster that resided in the Time Sea.


    "Alas! Today is the Astronomical Transit Day. The only people who are invited are the principal figures of each clan. Of course, none of us stands a chance!"


    "We can leave now and come back another day!"


    "It''s said that attending the Astronomical Transit Day will bring unimaginable benefits, and that the participants can even explore the secrets of time."


    In the eyes of the world, the Sun Blind race had always been covered by a mysterious veil. These True Gods would never be able to participate in the Astronomical Transit Day, so naturally, there were all sorts of guesses thrown out among them.


    None of them knew exactly what the Astronomical Transit Day was.


    After a few minutes of complaining and speculating about the festival, the True Gods gradually began to leave.


    "Should I take part in the Astronomical Transit Day?" Zen wondered hesitantly.


    The biggest problem for him now was not the Mu Clan. Although they were interested in finding the anonymous man, they would not be able to connect Zen to the anonymous man. Besides, Murphy, the only person who had seen his true identity, was still being punished by the Ruling Slate.


    As for the Dongfang Clan, they didn''t have any malicious intention by looking for him. They just wanted to recruit him as a member of their Floating Island.


    If he faced the worst situation, he could activate the token of mountain and return to the fairy palace in the Swirl Forest.


    With this thought, Zen made a decision.

 Chapter 2302 The Invitation

    Thousands of transparent discs rose slowly from below the Floating Islands and stopped at the entrances of the Floating Islands.


    The True Gods from different Floating Islands stepped onto the discs and slowly descended to the bottom of the Floating Islands. These True Gods had different cultivation bases, and even some were low-rank True Gods. No matter what cultivation bases they had, they were the elites of the wealthy clans on the Floating Islands.


    Before long, dozens of transparent round discs also descended from the Floating Island of the Han Clan.


    Laquisha stood alone on a disc, expressionless.


    Aleyna and Kelsey stood together on another disc.


    The two girls were whispering to each other and side-eyeing Laquisha from time to time. Worry was written all over Aleyna''s pretty face. Laquisha had been practicing hard in her room during this period, and now looked totally different.


    It was easy for a smart girl like Aleyna to get to the root of the problem. She was sure that Zen was responsible for the change in Laquisha, but she couldn''t figure out what had happened between her sister and Zen.


    "I think Laquisha is in a bad mood because of Thad Luo," Kelsey murmured.


    "I think so too..." Kelsey didn''t know Thad''s true identity. However, Aleyna did, and she had a bad feeling that her sister would be in greater trouble if she continued to be involved with Zen.


    Most younger sisters worshiped their elder sisters during their childhood and this adoration usually continued well into adulthood, and Aleyna was no exception.


    In fact, she mostly liked Zen only because of Laquisha. To her, it seemed like her sister only liked the best things or people. In fact, deep down, she was even a little jealous of her sibling.


    But if Zen hurt her sister, she would not stand it and would do everything in her power to destroy him.


    "I''ll talk to Thad after Astronomical Transit Day," Aleyna whispered.


    Meanwhile Pascal also stepped on a transparent disc and glided down from the other side. He had been busy and never paid much attention to Laquisha in the beginning. Now seeing that she was all alone and looked sad, he asked, "Laquisha, why are you unhappy?"


    Hearing the voice, Laquisha suddenly raised her head and forcing a smile, she replied, "Brother, don''t worry. I''m not upset."


    "Okay then, that''s good!" He smiled softly and added, "It''s Astronomical Transit Day today. Remember, you must perform well!"


    "I know," she nodded.


    After a short while, the motley group of warriors had all arrived on the giant disc at the bottom. Beneath their feet the Time Sea raged and rumbled.


    The disc was already swarming with elites of various powerful clans on the Floating Islands, and they were waiting for the invitation to the Sun Blin


    pitiful expression. They thought that Zen would be in trouble shortly and it would be better for him to just cooperate. At the very least, Ackley Tang might let him go.


    Seeing that Zen''s eyes were still closed, Ackley Tang stretched out his hand to slap Zen''s face like a streak of lightning. He cursed, "I''m fucking asking you..."


    Just when he started to move, Zen suddenly opened his eyes and slightly leaned his head back.


    The tips of Ackley Tang''s fingers swept past the tip of Zen''s nose, missing his face by an inch.


    He was a little stunned to see that Zen had dodged his slap so easily.


    The next thing he saw was Zen''s figure flashing past and his collar being grabbed by the young man. An irresistible force pushed his entire body back uncontrollably!


    Ackley Tang was standing on the edge of the huge disc, and behind him was the Time Sea whose waves were rolling savagely. If he fell off the disc, he would certainly die. Even a consummate True God would be torn to pieces by the menacing sea water, and he was just a mid-rank True God!


    He looked terror-stricken, but suddenly his body stopped in mid-air, and at the same time, a faint voice said, "You are a dignified True God, but your temperament is like an inferior mortal hooligan. Whichever clan has a scumbag like you is really unfortunate!"


    "You, you, I, ah..."


    The huge disc floated very close to the surface of the Time Sea now. The colorful waves rolled and crashed, and from time to time, some waves stretched towards Ackley Tang''s head, threatening to swallow him any minute. How could he dare to oppose Zen now? He cried out in panic and his overbearing attitude disappeared completely!


    When the other True Gods saw this, they took a deep breath. They never thought that the ordinary-looking low-rank True God would be so ruthless when pushed to make a move.

 Chapter 2303 Dragon-bone Ship

    All the blood was drained from Ackley''s face as he panted desperately and uncontrollably.


    Since he was a member of the Tang Clan, an ordinary mid-rank True God wouldn''t dare offend him, let alone a low-rank True God.


    He never expected that Zen, who certainly wasn''t an elite disciple from any large clan, dared to fight back and even wanted to kill him!


    Now however, his life was on the line. Thus, he refrained from saying anything that might irritate Zen. Puffs of hot air escaped his lips as all he begged for at that moment was mercy.


    On the other hand, Zen really didn''t want to provoke those disciples from the large clans.


    There were indeed many outstanding and highly talented people on the Floating Islands, but there were always some rotten fruits at the bottom of the fresh pile.


    He tried his best to avoid such kind of people, but Ackley had gone too far this time.


    Then again, his righteousness prevailed as he still had some scruples and did not have any intention of killing Ackley. After all, his identity was a sensitive issue and this place was not safe for him in any way.


    "Whoosh!"


    A small breeze blew as Zen lifted Ackley with force and smashed him against the disk.


    He didn''t know what the disk was made of, but its surface was abnormally hard. Even though Ackley was a mid-rank True God, he still felt uncomfortable when he collided against its surface.


    Moments ago, Ackley was on his knees begging for mercy. After he landed on the ground, however, his attitude suddenly changed. He thought that it was just because Zen''s attack had caught him off guard but if it wasn''t for that, Zen would''ve never stood a chance against him!


    He stood up and released the power within his body with newfound hope. Yet before he could even steady himself, he saw a figure flash in front of him. It turned out to be Zen, who raised his leg and kicked downwards.


    Bang!


    The great force hit him square on the head. His legs gave away as he couldn''t bear the immense pressure, and ended up kneeling in front of Zen.


    "If you dare make another move, I will kill you straight. Don''t think that I wouldn''t dare to do so," Zen coldly said and stared down at him.


    Although Zen couldn''t use the Faith Energy in his inner world and couldn''t release his ''momentum, '' his strength had increased significantly after he had condensed the Godly Tile. In addition, the improvement of his cultivation level had also caused his body and soul to completely change.


    His cold aura hung above Ackley''s neck like an invisible guillotine, ready to chop down anytime if Ackley moved even a bit. In the end, Ackley couldn''t do anything but kneel still like an obedient dog.


    Everyone on the huge disk fell silent. All of them quietly observed Zen and gu


    hell is he?"


    "How could he get such a treatment from them?"


    "Only the Holy Emperors are qualified to board the dragon-bone ships, right?"


    Perhaps the Holy Emperors could enjoy this treatment, but they were different from the consummate True Gods. The consummate True Gods were forbidden to use the spatial transference skill on the Time Sea, but the Holy Emperors and the Demi-holy Beings were allowed to do so and they did not need to be taken by the Sun Blind race with ships.


    Therefore, Zen was probably the first one to be picked up by a dragon-bone ship on the Astronomical Transit Day.


    "Go back to the island!" The old man shouted.


    A large ship like the dragon-bone ship needed over ten people of the Sun Blind race to steer it, which naturally made it faster than ordinary small boats.


    It had only been a while since Ackley had left, so the ship Zen had taken soon caught up with the small boat.


    The wind gently blew through Zen''s hair as he stood on the deck. He looked down and saw Ackley on the small boat.


    Ackley looked up as well and saw Zen. His lips subconsciously twitched a few times. He too, stared at Zen dumbfoundedly like those True Gods on the disk. He immediately felt rather insignificant in the presence of the large ship.


    Splash!


    The ship moved with a sudden burst of speed, which caused large waves that rocked the small boat.


    Ackley turned to the young man who steered their boat and couldn''t help but ask, "Why could that guy ride a big ship? What the hell are you thinking about? Who the hell is he?"


    Yet, the young man only shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.


    For the majority of the time, the members of the Sun Blind race did not say a word, but they were able to communicate with each other even in silence. Besides, the young man couldn''t possibly answer such questions.

 Chapter 2304 Illusion Smoke

    Never did Zen think he would be treated as such by the Sun Blind race.


    The huge dragon bone ship seemed to be speeding up. Gradually, the Floating Islands on the Time Sea turned into small black dots until they fully disappeared from Zen''s view.


    The old man of the Sun Blind race remained silent as he returned to the cabin to pull out a delicate cigarette pipe. He then took out a small packet from his waist pocket and poured out powder from it. Zen did not know what sort of powder it was but it looked as colorful as the Time Sea.


    After the Sun Blind old man ignited the powder, he took a deep breath, emitting colorful smoke.


    Zen''s eyes flashed with surprise upon witnessing the smoke. A faint layer of the Time Law appeared within the cloud.


    "The cigarette is made from the Illusory Grass in the Time Sea. It produces the Illusion Smoke when used, and within it, you will see an illusion of the past. Do you want to take a puff?" He said before offering the cigarette pipe to Zen.


    Though Zen didn''t smoke, he was very interested in the Time Law.


    Even after entering the Floating Island, Zen had almost no chance to cultivate the Time Law. But the smoke breathed out by the Sun Blind old man could spread the Time Law, naturally piquing Zen''s curiosity.


    Taking the pipe from the old man, he fiddled with it before taking a puff.


    The moment he breathed in the Illusion Smoke, Zen immediately felt something tearing into his throat. After all the small pieces of the Time Law dissipated, they caused some small wounds inside his body.


    Simultaneously, the smoke flowed through these wounds until he fully absorbed it.


    Dizziness overcame Zen and the colorful smoke he coughed out spiraled around in front of him. Then, some scenes began appearing faintly.


    Through the smoke, Zen saw a huge turtle floating on the surface of the Time Sea. It was tens of millions of miles long and on its back was no city, but an entire continent.


    Zen squinted, trying to see more clearly, but the smoke quickly floated away until the illusion quickly disappeared from his eyes.


    The Sun Blind old man smiled and asked, "What did you see?"


    "A turtle," Zen answered.


    "Well, lucky you! You can see the Cliff Spirit on the first puff of the cigarette," laughed the old man.


    "Cliff Spirit?" Zen asked curiously.


    "It is one of the biggest true spirits in the ancient legend, the mount of the Lord of Weapons."


    "Lord of Weapons, Chiyou?


    mi-holy Beings, the most powerful and talented people of every wealthy clan had gathered there as well.


    Such a group of people could be said to represent the divine land''s future. Who else in the divine land could possibly be more distinguished and honored than them?


    But as the dragon bone ship approached them slowly, many of the True Gods widened their eyes.


    A low-rank True God was standing on the deck of the huge dragon bone ship.


    "Who is this guy?"


    "Why was a low-rank True God treated so politely by the Sun Blind race?"


    ...


    As they waited, the True Gods grew chattery. Many of them lowered their heads and began whispering among themselves.


    The consummate True Gods quietly looked at Zen, seemingly lost in thought.


    "It''s him?" In the back of the crowd, Alfredo thought the whole situation odd. ''This is the disciple enrolled by Joy into the Purple Soul Hall. How could he be invited by the Sun Blind race to attend the Astronomical Transit Day?'' More importantly, why was he getting such good treatment from the Sun Blind race?


    "Ah! It''s Thad!" Kelsey jumped up and smiled at the sight of Zen.


    "Kelsey!" But Alfredo stopped her with a frown.


    "Laquisha, it is him, indeed," Aleyna murmured.


    Even from a long distance, Laquisha''s gaze fell right on Zen''s body. Her expression seemed rather complicated. Though she had guessed that Zen might have been invited by the Sun Blind race, she never thought that they would pay so much attention to him.


    Thanks to Kelsey''s reaction, the True Gods there quickly understood what was going on.


    ''Is that guy on the dragon bone ship from the Han Clan?''

 Chapter 2305 The Island Of The Sun Blind Race

    The dragon-bone ship slowly went ashore under everyone''s gaze.


    When Zen jumped off the ship and landed on the shore, his eyes fell on the people from the Han Clan.


    Aleyna gave Zen a playful smile, to which Zen responded with a nod before shifting his gaze to her sister, Laquisha.


    When Laquisha''s striking eyes met Zen''s, she raised her eyebrows slightly, revealing a trace of anger, before turning away.


    It seemed that she was still angry at him. Zen smiled bitterly and then found a place to wait.


    When Aleyna noticed the expression on her sister''s face, she became lost in thought, wondering if something had happened between her and Zen.


    Most of the True Gods'' eyes were still focused on Zen, and they murmured among themselves about where he''d come from.


    "This guy doesn''t seem to be from the Han Clan."


    "Yes, I think so too..."


    It was apparent from the way Zen didn''t greet Alfredo, Pascal, or any of the others that he was not familiar with the Han Clan at all.


    However, someone present did recognize Zen.


    "It''s him again! He has actually become a low-rank True God in such a short time!" A gloomy voice came out of nowhere. The one who had spoken was Langston from the Leng Clan.


    "Langston, do you know this guy?" Nelly asked, confused.


    "Humph, he is the one who killed Sheridan. His name is Thad Luo. He''s also the one who caused the wound on my forehead! I didn''t expect that he would break through in his cultivation and condense a Godly Tile in such a short time after entering the Floating Island," Langston said coldly with a murderous hint in his eyes.


    He still felt a lingering fear when he thought of how he had gotten his wound. If he hadn''t responded so quickly that day, he would have been killed by that guy.


    And if it weren''t the Astronomical Transit Day of the Sun Blind race today, he probably would have attacked him.


    "You were struck by a proving godly warrior. You were too careless," said Nelly indifferently.


    Hearing what Nelly said, Langston felt annoyed. His cultivation was a level higher than Nelly''s; how could he tolerate her undermining him like this in front of everyone? He immediately retorted, "Even you may not be a match for him. Sheridan wasn''t much weaker than you but he was still killed by that guy!"


    Rachelle, who had been silently listening to the conversation between her sister and Langston, suddenly had a thought flash through her mind.


    ''His surname is Luo? A new talent of the Han Clan?''


    With her eyes on Zen in the dista


    land.


    Zen was only this confident because he had never considered the possibility that someone would talk to Murphy. But since Rachelle had had a conversation with Murphy, she had become a lot more vigilant. So as soon as Zen had just showed up, he immediately caught Rachelle''s attention.


    As everyone waited, Sun Blind members constantly arrived with guests on the ships.


    After a long time, about seven members of the Sun Blind race came over and saluted the crowd. The Sun Blind member in the front said politely, "Today is the Astronomical Transit Day. We are very honored to invite all of the True Gods here. Please follow me..."


    With the Sun Blind members leading the way, all the True Gods left the port and headed into the island.


    On the surface, the island of the Sun Blind race looked like an extremely ordinary island. Judging by the surroundings, the living environment was almost the same as the living environment of ordinary divine citizens.


    But after entering the island, the True Gods could feel strong Time Law spreading out almost everywhere, ranging from small plants to rocks around the island.


    The Time Sea could tear apart anything, but this small island was somehow able to resist its devastating power. It was an extremely peculiar feat. This gathering place of the Sun Blind race was probably the only island that existed in the Time Sea.


    Soon, everyone arrived at a flat and wide open space.


    The open space was surrounded by Sun Blind members of all ages. All of them prostrated on the ground devoutly, and no one looked up at them. What they were worshiping were the nine well-shaped stone pagodas in the center of the open space.

 Chapter 2306 The Appearances Of Holy Beings

    There were nine pagodas, all built within ten feet of each other. Complicated, mysterious patterns were carved onto them which emitted an extremely powerful Time Law.


    "These nine pagodas can be pieced together, it seems," Zen muttered.


    Each pagoda had its own distinct pattern that seemed to be able to connect to another pagoda. If all nine were put together, it could form the complete picture.


    The Sun Blind race currently worshipped these nine pagodas, so a solemn and peaceful environment hung over the area.


    "Please wait here. Be quiet," a Sun Blind member told them in a low voice.


    The True Gods all nodded and found a place to sit down.


    Aleyna and Kelsey, who had been following Laquisha closely, took this as an opportunity to get closer to Zen.


    The young man was looking at the pagodas when two girls suddenly appeared beside him. He was a little surprised but kept calm. "What is it?" he asked in a low voice.


    "What did you do to my sister?" Aleyna asked in a low voice, but there was a hint of a smile in her eyes.


    "Laquisha doesn''t seem to look happy recently," Kelsey added.


    Zen couldn''t help but reveal a helpless smile with these two girls questioning him.


    He didn''t think he did anything wrong. Laquisha was a princess of the Han Clan while he was a desperado who had been walking in the dark. Agreeing to her proposal would only cause her more harm.


    "Say it!" Aleyna snapped angrily at Zen.


    Seeing this, Zen figured that she wouldn''t give up that easily. He shook his head helplessly and used his chaotic energy to communicate with her. "I will be leaving soon. Your sister wanted to leave with me but I refused."


    It might be a better choice to just tell her the truth since Aleyna might be able to change her sister''s mind. It made Zen''s heart ache to see such a sad expression on Laquisha''s face.


    Aleya tilted her head in thought and glanced at her sister carefully.


    She then turned to Zen and raised an eyebrow. "Why did you refuse? Isn''t my sister a good woman? She was even willing to elope with you! You''re so heartless to refuse her like that. A man like you..."


    Zen looked at her in a daze. He never expected Aleyna to rebuke him.


    Kelsey looked at them in confusion. She just knew they were talking through telepathy. "What are you talking about?"


    Zen ignored her and chose to reply to Aleyna verbally instead. "You know my background," he said and pointed t


    Holy Emperor of the Zhao Clan, Hamlin Zhao. Outsiders call him Holy Hamlin."


    Hamlin Zhao nodded in acknowledgment of the consummate True God''s greeting before suddenly disappearing. The next moment, he suddenly appeared above the square.


    As he appeared above the square, another ball of red light rolled over from the horizon and a burly man appeared out of thin air.


    The consummate True God politely bowed at the newcomer. "Greetings, Holy Clark!"


    Holy Clark''s face was flushed red and he let out a loud laugh. "You''re too polite!" he said, descending from the sky. He raised his fingers and gently rubbed them together. Wisps of flame appeared, weaving together and forming a huge flame throne for him to sit in.


    Zen heard Holy Clark''s voice before. Back in the Arena of Legends, Harold announced that he forbade the Tang Clan from entering the Everest Spirit Mountain and got into a fierce argument with Clark as a result.


    The flame throne summoned by Holy Clark was peculiar, and Zen''s heart skipped a beat when he took a closer look.


    The flame was condensed from the Elementary Fire Godly Way and its internal momentum was astonishing. There was no doubt that the Holy Being had mastered the Godly Way with ease since no heat emanated from the throne despite it burning so brightly.


    Judging from his behavior, Holy Clark most likely became a Holy Being through his reliance on the Elementary Fire Godly Way. Zen wasn''t sure what stage it was in, but if he used the Infinity Ruler to get its internal momentum, then it would benefit him greatly.


    He thought about it, but did not dare act rashly.

 Chapter 2307 The Head Of Sun Blind Race

    These Holy Beings had incredible awareness.


    If Clark, the Holy Emperor of Tang Clan, had detected something, then Zen might have gotten in trouble.


    After Clark arrived, the Holy Emperors of other powerful clans on the Floating Islands, including Fang Clan, Qin Clan and Li Clan, all showed up one after another.


    Of course, Samuel, the Holy Emperor of Han Clan came as well.


    Other than the top three clans, the other powerful clans, like the Leng Clan, only had one Holy Emperor each.


    But the top three clans were different from the rest.


    For example, the Moon Clan had three major forces¡ªthe Moon Sect, the War God Hall and the Mysterious Soul Building. Each of them had a Holy Being.


    The Sword Clan had four elderly men wearing black clothes, indicating that they were four Holy Beings.


    ''The second and the third ranked clans have three or four Holy Beings. Their strength is far beyond that of an ordinary clan. I wonder how many Holy Beings there are in the Dongfang Clan, '' Zen wondered and looked up.


    Suddenly, the sky turned dark, as if there was no light in the world. No one was able to see anything.


    This lasted for a very short period of time though. When everyone regained their vision, they saw a person appear in the sky.


    He was wearing a long black robe and had long hair. He looked quite elegant and handsome, as if men''s fortitude and women''s tenderness had been integrated into him.


    "Welcome, Holy Nicholas," said the consummate True God of Sun Blind race, his hands cupped.


    Before Zen could enquire, Kelsey explained in advance, "Nicholas Dongfang, the Holy Emperor of Dongfang Clan. He is the No. 1 warrior in the Hall of Holy Beings."


    Zen glanced at Nicholas and gave Kelsey a nod.


    Aleyna couldn''t take it anymore. She telepathically told Zen, "After I came back to the Floating Island with my sister, we found something disturbing. It was after your father was defeated by Nicholas that Murphy took the opportunity to attack him."


    Zen''s face didn''t bear any expression when he heard that. He just gave her a nod and stared at Nicholas as if trying to imprint him in his mind.


    He had already guessed that Nicholas had something to do with this.


    With the combined power of Mike, Bromley and Holy Jay, the Mu Clan wouldn''t be able to deal with them alone. No one in the divine land had the ability to destroy the Luo Clan except for the Moon Clan, the Sword Clan and the Dongfang Clan. Since Nicholas was i


    veryone thought that she wasn''t real and was just an illusion.


    What surprised Zen even more was that almost all the Holy Beings and Demi-holy Beings present rose and bowed to the woman.


    ''Isn''t a Holy Being the supreme existence of the divine land?'' Zen wondered.


    It seemed as if the status of this woman was higher than the rest.


    He looked at Aleyna with a confused expression and asked telepathically, "Aleyna, what''s so special about the leader of Sun Blind race? Since she is just a divine citizen, why did all the Holy Beings bow to her?"


    Aleyna gave him a faint smile and said, "This is because she has the right to decide the life and death of every living creature in the divine land."


    "Every living creature? Even a Holy Being?" Zen asked in shock.


    Aleyna nodded. "Yes, she has the right to decide their fate, even if one''s a Holy Being."


    "But how is this possible? This makes her capable of killing anyone she desires."


    Zen was in awe. If any of the Holy Beings waved their hand, the whole Sun Blind race would probably be wiped out.


    "Yes," said Aleyna. "Among all these people present here, she can kill anyone she desires except for three. And only seven or eight people in the entire divine land can''t be killed by her. The others have no power over her."


    "How is this possible?" Zen asked in disbelief.


    "Take a guess," Aleyna playfully teased Zen.


    The Sun Blind race was a mysterious race in the entire divine land. However, as a core member of the family, Aleyna always had the opportunity to learn some secrets that the others did not know. And the other core disciples knew about it as well.

 Chapter 2308 The Time Sword Of Gods

    "I don''t think that I''d be able to guess," Zen said shaking his head helplessly. He really didn''t know what theurgy could kill everyone at will.


    Aleyna gave the woman in white a look and said, "Don''t you think she''s in a strange state?"


    Zen gave her a nod of approval. The woman did look as if she was in a trance and might disappear any time.


    "Well, she doesn''t really exist in this world. She lives in time," Aleyna said through her life vitality.


    "She lives in time?" he asked Aleyna with a confused look on his face.


    Zen had already witnessed the Time Law in the universe, but when the warriors and the True Gods used the Time Law, they could only delay the passage of time. Such was the simplest use of the Time Law.


    Time was quite mysterious and difficult to comprehend.


    "Yes, the head of the Sun Blind race can go through the Time Sea freely and change the past in any time period," Aleyna said. "In other words, she is able to trace back to any time in the entire divine land."


    "Huh?" Zen''s eyes widened with surprise. "That''s quite a strong ability to possess."


    "So now do you understand the whole concept?" Aleyna asked. "Therefore, in theory, she can kill anyone in the divine land, but there are some restrictions imposed on her. Whenever she displays the Time Backing, she has to pay a heavy price."


    The Holy Beings were quite strong now, and maybe the woman in white was no match for them.


    However, she had the ability to go back to any time in the past.


    The endless training and opportunities in many divine eras enabled the Holy Beings to acquire all they had today. If the woman in white went back to hundreds or even thousands of divine eras ago, the Holy Beings were only ordinary divine citizens, or even babies that had just been born in the divine land.


    Had she killed them then, it wouldn''t have been possible for her to meet them now.


    Such was the ability of the white dressed woman.


    Besides the fact that going back in time was incredible, there might have been something else the woman in white could do, as indicated by the reaction of Holy Beings.


    There must be a reason behind the Holy Beings'' attitude towards the white dressed woman.


    "Is this the ability of the Timing Godly Way?" Zen asked, still very much confused. It would be quite incredible if this ability was gained by cultivating the Timing Godly Way, as there was no room for anyone to resist it.


    No one was initially strong. No matter how powerful the Holy Beings were now, there was a time when they were quite weak. If the Timing Godly Way was indeed so powerful, then there wouldn''t have been any need to cultiva


    nd. In that memory, the patriarch had traveled back to forty divine eras ago. At that time, that Holy Being was still a low-rank True God, but he was robbed of his sword by the patriarch. The patriarch told him that they''d meet forty divine eras later.


    Only then did the other Holy Beings understand how powerful the patriarch of the Sun Blind race was.


    The fact that the Holy Beings were invincible was a mere joke to her.


    The female patriarch''s presence enabled the members of the Sun Blind race to safely sail their boats on the Time Sea. No clan dared to provoke them.


    "But you said that she couldn''t kill everyone, right?" Zen asked again with curiosity.


    "Yes, I heard that she couldn''t kill Nicholas, the Holy Emperor of the Dongfang Clan," Aleyna said. "I don''t know what he did, but he seems to hide all his traces in the divine land, so the patriarch of the Sun Blind race can''t track back to his past and can''t kill him."


    She briefly heard these stories, and she wasn''t aware of the full details.


    As Aleyna was speaking, the patriarch of the Sun Blind race walked barefooted towards the nine pagodas. She reached out her slender hands and gently waved them on both sides. The nine pagodas began to move slowly towards the middle, and they leaned against each other, forming a mysterious stellar pattern.


    There was a total of nine stars in the pattern. Each of them had a different color, and the star in the middle was light blue.


    "This time it''s going to be the Water Luminous Star," the patriarch said softly.


    After she finished speaking, she reached out and gently patted the star.


    Zen noticed the light of the star become dimmer. He raised his head, and much to his astonishment, he saw a light blue star appear in the sky.

 Chapter 2309 The Forbidden Area Opened

    The so-called "Astronomical Transit" was the phenomenon referred to the moment when some star moved between the sun and the earth, covering a part of the sun''s light and creating a huge black spot shadow.


    Such a phenomenon wasn''t a rare sight in the divine land.


    That said, the Astronomical Transit phenomenon was particularly special in Time Sea.


    Every few years, a star would completely block out the sun''s light. The shadow of the black spot formed would cover the entire Time Sea.


    And every time, the star that caused the Astronomical Transit was a different one. More so, the nine stars that appeared before the Sun Blind race''s leader took turns causing the Astronomical Transit.


    What most people didn''t necessarily know was that when the sunlight above the Time Sea was blocked out, it was also the moment when the Time Sea, otherwise known as this big forbidden area, was opened. The nine stars represented the nine different entrances to the Time Sea.


    Across all the divine land, there were several different forbidden areas of various sizes and they were constantly being explored by the powerful clans.


    As soon as any divine might coins had been condensed, they were snatched by the True Gods from the place. The less divine might coins that existed, the more precious they became. For this reason, True Gods searched for them crazily, and eventually, it caused a vicious cycle.


    For the Time Sea though, this forbidden area was only opened on Astronomical Transit Day.


    Throughout any other period of time, no one ever travelled there to explore. The divine might coins that were formed would slowly pile up, and to the True Gods of the powerful clans, the place was genuinely a huge treasure trove!


    All the powerful clans hoped for the possibility that every one of their warriors from the Floating Islands would enter the Time Sea on Astronomical Transit Day, and collect the numerous divine might coins.


    Unfortunately though, this would never occur because the Sun Blind race had a harsh rule ¨C only the True Gods they invited were eligible to participate in the Astronomical Transit Day celebration.


    As for the rule the Sun Blind race had to invite their guests, now, that was still unclear.


    In general, the stronger their strength and the more talented they were, the more chances they had of being invited. However, occasionally, there were certain obscure people from the Floating Islands that also happened to be invited to the event. No one really understood why, or how.


    At the beginning, the rich clans would continuously organize a batch of True Gods that waited to be invited by the Sun Blind race on Astronomical Transit Day, but the Sun Blind race still stuck to their usual rule for inviting guests. In the end, the rich clans on the Floating Islands gave up their tactics. On Astronomical Transit Day, an


    way had finished forming and became completely stable, all of the consummate True Gods present exchanged glances.


    Whoosh!


    Rachelle was the first one to rush into the passageway, without a second''s hesitation.


    Shortly after, the consummate True Gods of other powerful clans began to fly into the passage, one after the next.


    Although there were no written rules about who should enter first, the True Gods present still entered the passageway according to their cultivation levels. The ones with higher cultivation levels always had priority, no matter the situation or event at hand.


    The consummate True Gods'' goal was not the amazing quantity of divine might coins!


    The consummate True Gods were followed by top-rank True Gods, and then mid-rank True Gods, and finally, the low-rank True Gods.


    Laquisha, on her behalf, didn''t wait for Aleyna, or any of the others in fact. With her back to Zen, she secretly kept an eye on him. What she observed though was nothing more than Aleyna, Kelsey and Zen muttering to each other.


    She didn''t stop before them, but rushed into the passage on her own instead.


    "Ah! Why didn''t Laquisha wait for us?" Aleyna''s mouth was wide open in surprise.


    "Let''s go!" Without any hesitation, Zen walked toward the passageway with Aleyna and Kelsey following right behind him.


    This was the first time that Zen had entered a forbidden area in the divine land. He was amazed!


    According to his judgment, the divine land''s forbidden areas were also places imagined by all True Gods, which were made from the Faith Energy. He wondered what the forbidden area in the Time Sea was like.


    Just as Zen entered though, he saw something that astonished him even more. Except for the consummate True Gods who had already disappeared without a trace, the True Gods that had rushed inside earlier were all crazily gathering the divine might coins on the ground...

 Chapter 2310 The Time Ghost

    The Time Sea Forbidden Land had been closed for a long time, and there was a huge amount of divine might coins piling up there as a consequence.


    As soon as Zen stepped into the forbidden land, he found an entire mountain of these divine might coins at the entrance.


    Nine roads led to the forbidden land. The road that was activated by the Water Luminous Star had been closed for seventy two years, since the Astronomical Transit Day, usually held every eight years, had been celebrated nine times after this road opened last time. The number of divine might coins that were collecting on the road was truly vast.


    Having just entered, the True Gods could still restrain themselves. They only used their space rings to collect the divine might coins, and there was no scramble to try to obtain them.


    When Laquisha saw the divine might coins, her eyes flashed greedily. Her body poised, ready to rush forward. She waved her sleeve dramatically. "Take them!" she yelled.


    "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."


    All of a sudden, a violent gust of wind blew over the land.


    Some of the divine might coins on both sides of the road were lifted by the wind and flew directly up Laquisha''s huge sleeve.


    The True Gods, who were picking up the divine might coins, turned their heads and glared at her, shocked and offended.


    They had come to the Time Sea Forbidden Land also to obtain the divine might coins, but there remained rules that had to be followed. If they used their skills as Laquisha had done, to collect the divine might coins, they would probably begin fighting with each other on the spot!


    "Hey, girl. You are from the Han Clan, right? I''m warning you! If you continue to act like this, don''t blame me for being rude to you," a mid-rank True God from the Tang Clan said condescendingly.


    The other True Gods, too, stared at Laquisha with hostility in their eyes.


    Even though Laquisha held a special position within the Han Clan, the True Gods who had been invited there with her also possessed considerable power and influence. The majority of them were the core disciples of the rich clans on the Floating Islands. Thus, their status was not lower than that of Laquisha.


    Complacent, Laquisha just sneered and shouted in an arrogant voice, "I like to collect these divine might coins in this way and what I do is none of your business. What can you do to me?"


    As soon as she had finished speaking, she waved her sleeve again. The fabric lifted up lightly, and another gust of wind blew, funneling even more divine might coins up her long sleeve.


    Zen, Kelsey and Aleyna exchanged looks of helplessness.


    Laquisha was not short of divine might coins. She was from a rich clan and was not in need of any more wealth. It seemed as though she was recklessly trying to flaunt her power before the True Gods, demonstrating her defiant and rebellious nature.


    But she was no longer on the Han Clan''s Floating Island. On foreign ground, the elites from the rich clans on the Floating Islands would likely not be accommodating towards her.


    The True God surnamed Tang was visibly furious. His figure flashed, as he charged towards Laquisha. He clenched his right fist, and the blood vessels on the back of his hand instantly turned into


    ly to keep a close eye on Zen. Before Langston so inconveniently stepped in, she had been convinced that Zen would fight Fredrick Tang. This would have been a great opportunity for Nelly to observe Zen. The more she watched Zen fight, the closer she would come to discovering his weakness.


    "It doesn''t matter," she told herself. "The Time Sea is very dangerous. There will still be plenty of chances for me to see him fighting." After putting all the divine might coins around her into her space ring, Nelly also followed the others to move forward.


    Inside the Time Sea Forbidden Land, there was another strange world.


    The Time Law seemed to be ubiquitous in this forbidden land. The earth under their feet, the high mountains in the distance, and the trees around them were all flashing with multicolored light. It seemed that everything in the forbidden land relied on the power of time.


    The divine might coins were scattered on the two sides of the road activated by the Water Luminous Star. Many of the True Gods kept stopping along their way to collect these divine might coins.


    Zen naturally wouldn''t let go of this opportunity either. Along the way, he had himself pick up around three thousand divine might coins. Even for the disciples from rich clans on the Floating Islands, three thousand divine might coins was a huge sum of money. Some True Gods might have accumulated over ten thousand divine might coins along the way.


    As for the consummate True Gods, such as Rachelle and Alfredo, they didn''t even bother to pick up the divine might coins. After entering into the forbidden land, they flew away immediately. Obviously, they were looking to find something more important than just divine might coins. No wonder all the powerful and rich clans attached great importance to the Astronomical Transit Day.


    When they reached the end of the road, a True God suddenly shouted, "Oh no! We are out of luck. This time, a group of Time Ghosts are blocking the way. I''m afraid we''ll be in trouble."


    Zen raised his head and saw a group of blue humanoid creatures flying back and forth at the open intersection in front of them, blocking their way.

 Chapter 2311 Surrounded

    These human-shaped creatures, which were floating about, were like ghosts. The aura emitted by them was not very powerful.


    "Oh, what bad luck..." Aleyna pursed her lips when she saw these Time Ghosts.


    "What''s wrong? These things seem to be quite weak," Zen commented curiously.


    Zen could conclude from the aura of the Time Ghosts that their strength was equivalent to that of ordinary evil ghosts, so it wouldn''t be too difficult to kill them.


    "While it''s true that these Time Ghosts aren''t strong, their bodies are stuck in another time, so it is impossible for anyone to hurt them. Moreover, once you are possessed by a Time Ghost, it will drag you to the gap in time and rip you into two," said Aleyna. Evidently, she had prepared quite well for her trip to the Time Sea Forbidden Land.


    This explained why the Time Sea had earned a reputation of being so horrible.


    The entire Time Sea was made up of countless broken time fragments. Each wave represented a different time period. This meant that if someone fell into the Time Sea, their body would fall into different times. If one compared time with space, the consequence of the fall was equivalent to their body being shredded apart by countless space cracks.


    However, the Time Law was much more domineering than space cracks. Zen had been able to resist the space cracks long ago. Even though the space cracks in the divine land were more powerful than those in the universe where he was from, they were still incomparable to the time cracks. These so-called cracks were not actual cracks, but rather a concept, which formed when the time was split into different time periods.


    Fortunately, there were many mighty warriors among this group of True Gods. With so many top-rank True Gods and mid-rank True Gods present, naturally someone or the other would figure out a way. So Zen was not worried.


    The group of True Gods, including Pascal discussed and debated for a while, and then someone stepped out.


    "Isn''t this just a bunch of silly Time Ghosts? They are not particularly intelligent. I''ll just draw them away." The one who spoke was a man with black hair, who looked very young, but was already a top-rank True God.


    Top-rank True Gods could fly in the forbidden area, but this place was filled with traps. They didn''t dare to run around recklessly like the consummate True Gods.


    Many


    face darkened and he lost his words...


    A huge army of Time Ghosts had appeared again!


    "How come there are so many of them?"


    "It can''t be that the first stage of the Time sea is so dangerous!"


    "Let''s retreat!"


    Those who had the qualifications to enter the Time Sea Forbidden Land were the core disciples of the various rich clans. They were the elites of their respective Floating Islands.


    The Time Sea Forbidden Land was dangerous, but these dangers were manageable. As long as they didn''t break into the third stage of the Time Sea, they would be safe.


    Therefore, the Holy Emperors were also willing to allow their children and disciples to enter the Time Sea in order to cultivate. After all, other than the divine might coins, they could also come across some pretty good opportunities.


    But this time, there were many Time Ghosts in the forbidden area, which caught the True Gods assembled there off guard.


    Defeating the Time Ghosts seemed liked an insurmountable task to some True Gods so they chose to retreat...


    However, just as they took a few steps back, they saw a group of Time Ghosts behind them. The Time Ghosts that were lured away by the puppets had already chopped up those puppets into pieces and were coming to surround them. All the True Gods were trapped in a dilemma as they had no way back.


    Aleyna''s and Kelsey''s faces turned ghastly pale. They didn''t take the journey seriously, thinking that even if there were really any dangers, it would be thrilling and exciting. They had never thought that they might lose their lives here.

 Chapter 2312 Supreme Treasure Of Belief

    Outside the forbidden land, the Holy Beings noticed this peculiar scene. This made all of them confused, causing their long faces.


    After all, it was true that many True Gods that wandered in the forbidden land were descendants of the Holy Beings.


    "What''s wrong with the forbidden land? Why are there so many Time Ghosts?" a Holy Being asked.


    Normally, the first stage of the Time Sea Forbidden Land housed no more than eight ghosts so when the Holy Beings noticed the increase in Time Ghosts, all of them were alarmed.


    The Sun Blind race''s leader wore a mask so her expression was hidden from everyone. "It seems that the level of difficulty in the Time Sea Forbidden Land has increased," she said.


    The controller of each forbidden land had the ability to manipulate the difficulty of the forbidden land to a certain extent, and


    ever since the forbidden lands appeared in the divine land, their difficulty had only constantly increased as the space they took up became bigger and bigger.


    For instance, the Soul Wilderness, a level-six forbidden land, located in the Spiritual Soul Region, at first only took up about one tenth of the said region. However, every divine era, it would expand and encroach on a portion of the Spiritual Soul Region.


    The Soul Wilderness had expanded at a terrifyingly fast rate and now, it covered the entire Spiritual Soul Region and was still expanding closer to its two neighboring regions. The divine citizens living in the two regions had no choice but to migrate in fear that they would be caught within the forbidden land.


    Other forbidden lands like the Swirl Forest and the Time Sea were also expanding. Day by day, the Time Sea took up more area, steadily growing and never stopping.


    This birthed a belief that the entire divine land would be completely devoured by the forbidden lands one day.


    "Isn''t the difficulty within your control?" another Holy Being asked.


    The leader shook her head. "No, the situation is different this time. It seems that a new supreme treasure of belief has appeared."


    "A supreme treasure of belief?"


    "You mean a new supreme treasure of belief has appeared in the Time Sea?"


    "What is its level?"


    Her words had caused a concerned chattering from the Holy Beings.


    Even Nicholas had black and white mists swirling in his eyes, evidence of his astonishment.


    Majority of the weapons in the divine land were supreme primordial weapons. Before the creation of supreme chaotic weapons, most of the weapons in the divine land such as sabers, swords, and axes had been supreme primordial weapons.


    But after the appearance of the supreme chaotic weapons, the status of the supreme primordial weapons declined. However, both presented their own pros and cons. The supreme primordial


    t even stop trembling. She had never been to the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land before, and had not once thought that she would face death one day. Aleyna, who had at least explored the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, was considerably calmer than Kelsey.


    The other True Gods were equally horrified. If they were not able to handle this, none of them would survive.


    "I''ll draw them away while you escape!" Just then, a top-rank True God stood out from the crowd.


    A top-rank True God had the ability to fly. If he drew away the Time Ghosts, the others would have a chance to escape, however, it would be extremely dangerous for him to do so!


    This top-rank True God, who they soon learned was Reginald, came from the War God Hall.


    As he stepped forward for the tough task, all the other True Gods present revealed a look of gratitude on their faces.


    Even Woodruff, the leader of the War God Hall and one of the three Holy Beings of the Moon Clan, wore a proud expression on his face. "There''s no coward in our War God Hall!"


    It was at this moment that the Time Ghosts flocked over to the crowd.


    At the same time, Reginald shouted his battle cry and charged at the ghosts in front of him.


    "Such a strong fighting intent... His theurgy is exactly the same as Blayd''s but he''s even more powerful," murmured Zen, eyes shining with admiration. This top-rank True God really had the courage to stand up for them at this crucial moment.


    Reginald''s overwhelming fighting intent had successfully attracted the attention of most of the Time Ghosts closest to them. Then, like a roc spreading its wings, he soared up into the sky!


    After the Time Ghosts chased after him, it was easy for everyone to see a path of escape in front of them.


    However, the Time Ghosts behind the crowd saw them and rushed towards them at a blinding speed.

 Chapter 2313 Divine Time Temple

    "Charge!"


    There was no hesitation in the True Gods'' steps as they all rushed forward.


    "Follow me." It was casually said by the still calm Langston to Laquisha who was behind him.


    The expression on her face was blank as she galloped ahead. But she was still worried about Aleyna and Kelsey, so she turned to look at them from time to time.


    Zen, Aleyna, and Kelsey all moved behind her but kept a certain distance. The Time Ghosts behind them began to take the later True Gods as their first targets.


    "Buzz..."


    A Time Ghost suddenly came closer and its body coiled around a mid-rank True God.


    "Ah! Ah! Help!"


    The mid-rank True God screamed in pain and couldn''t stop the shaking of his body. Soon, a shallow trace appeared on his head and his solid skull was cut evenly in just a second. Red and white things burst out of it and terrified those who saw it.


    "Puff, puff, puff..."


    More and more traces appeared on the mid-rank True God''s body, making more blood spurt from him.


    The grotesque scene made Kelsey extremely pale, so she activated all of her strength and tried to run as fast as possible.


    However, in that moment, a low-rank True God beside Kelsey moved a little too slowly, and was entangled by a Time Ghost. He then grabbed Kelsey''s hand almost instinctively!


    "Ah!"


    Kelsey screamed loudly as she tried to break free from the True God''s grip, but he was more powerful than she expected and she couldn''t get rid of him.


    Three Time Ghosts were about to pounce on Kelsey while she was distracted.


    "Kelsey!"


    "Kelsey!"


    There was heavy worry on Laquisha''s face as she turned and rushed towards Kelsey.


    And there was Aleyna who stood frozen still from fear.


    The terrified Kelsey turned to look at Zen, unable to accept that she would die here!


    "Whoosh!"


    Right at the critical moment, Zen flashed and gently pushed his finger forward and pressed on the arm of the low-rank True God. An invisible force came forward and tried to cut the low-rank True God''s arm.


    "Crack!"


    The low-rank True God''s arm was broken and Zen grabbed Kelsey. He turned around quickly and grasped


    n, none of them would be able to escape.


    But the Time Ghosts couldn''t move forward from the door of the Divine Time Temple. They were densely packed outside, as if an invisible wall had sealed them off. The Time Ghosts truly were unable to enter the Divine Time Temple!


    Only then did the True Gods heave a sigh of relief.


    Just like a group of bugs, the Time Ghosts crowded in a heap and looked just as disgusting. Everyone were shocked and frightened at the sight of them.


    "Ah, the arm..." Kelsey was almost faint from fear and belatedly noticed the severed low-rank True God''s arm still grasping her tightly.


    "Don''t move." Zen reached out his hand and lightly patted the arm, making it drop to the ground where he kicked it aside. With that taken care of, he stood up to observe the interior of the Divine Time Temple.


    That was when they all heard a scream from outside the Divine Time Temple. "Help! Help me drive away the Time Ghosts..."


    Through the translucent Time Ghosts, they saw Reginald, the top-rank True God, rushing forward with a group of Time Ghosts on his heels. There were so many Time Ghosts gathering at the door of the Divine Time Temple and he''d have no chance to get in.


    Reginald took the risk and attracted the Time Ghosts to another direction for everyone''s safety just now. They couldn''t just stand by and let him be dragged away.


    But who was willing to go out to help him?

 Chapter 2314 Saving Reginald

    These elites all came from rich clans and were particularly proud of their good conscience. They would never neglect to pay a debt of gratitude.


    However, they were currently caught in an extremely precarious situation. Rushing out now would mean immediate death and their conscience wasn''t enough for them to risk their lives.


    "Jolyon... Do you have any more puppets?" a True God asked.


    Jolyon had successfully lured a batch of Time Ghosts away with his puppets earlier. Unfortunately, that led to all of them getting cut into pieces.


    "Yes but I don''t think they''ll be really useful," Jolyon said.


    He did have several powerful puppets, even a special one that was even stronger than himself.


    "These Time Ghosts are blocking the door. Puppets will be useless against them," Pascal pointed out.


    Jolyon nodded in agreement.


    Sending out the puppets would only result in them getting surrounded by the Time Ghosts. They would only end up getting cut up and destroyed.


    "Help!"


    Reginald was still in the air with a bunch of Time Ghosts hot at his tail. His life was currently on the line as he would be dead meat the moment his pursuer caught up with him.


    The sight of Reginald literally running for his life gave the other True Gods bad anxiety.


    Even Woodruff, who was outside the Time Sea Forbidden Land, frowned deeply when he saw this scene.


    The War God Hall did not have many True Gods but each one of them was extremely talented and powerful. Reginald was one of Woodruff''s own disciples and the master was certain his student could become a consummate True God in the future. He wouldn''t want to see that go to waste if Reginald ended up dying here in the Time Sea.


    It was at this time that Zen walked towards the door of the Divine Time Temple. As he approached, the Time Ghosts grew restless.


    Laquisha gritted her teeth in concern. She wanted to stop him but ended up not saying anything.


    "Thad! Don''t get too close to them," Kelsey warned.


    Zen was only two or three inches away from the Time Ghosts. "These Time Ghosts'' attacks are simple. All they do is channel the power of the time cracks, surround their targets, and cut them into pieces..." he muttered.


    "The problem is that no one can resist the cutting power of the time cracks," Pascal pointed out.


    The young man smiled. "There''s no need to block the cutting power. There are things that can''t be cut into pieces."


    All of the True Gods present stared at Zen in confusion. Even Nelly couldn''t help but speak, "What kind of thing can''t be cut into pieces?"


    "Water, or any sort of


    quickly sat down. "Thank you!" he said in a breathless voice.


    Warriors of the War God Hall always had a fiery temper but good morals. Having escaped death, Reginald couldn''t thank Zen enough. He was truly grateful from the bottom of his heart.


    "You''re welcome. I just did what I had to do. Besides, you got yourself in such a dangerous situation because you wanted to save everyone," Zen replied. Reginald could''ve definitely run away by relying on his own strength but he chose to lure the Time Ghosts instead. Not everyone had the courage to do such a thing.


    Zen then looked at the Golden Beast Statue in the distance. He didn''t know if the Divine Time Temple had any other points of exit or entry. If it only had this one door, then he would still need to use the Golden Beast Statue when they left later.


    Woodruff witnessed all this outside the Time Sea Forbidden Land. "Good, good, good! Which clan is that boy from? He looks very promising! If he ever finds himself in our War God Hall in the future, I shall definitely reward him!"


    "This little guy sure does have some abilities but there''s also some luck at play here. I was afraid Reginald was about to die at some point," another Holy Being said.


    Was it through skill or merely sheer luck that this boy managed to successfully save Reginald?


    A faint smile made its way on Joy''s face. Worry lingered in her heart despite Zen''s heroic bravery. The more people paid attention to him, the more trouble he could potentially be in. She only hoped for the young man''s safety and that he would safely leave the Time Sea Forbidden Land. Once the Astronomical Transit Day ended, she also hoped for his uneventful departure from the Han Clan''s Floating Island.

 Chapter 2315 Secret Time Room

    It was as if the cloudy sky had cleared when everyone became in the mood to study the Divine Time Temple after Reginald was safely brought inside it.


    True to its name, the Divine Time Temple was an incredibly magnificent structure. A strange statue stood in the center of the broad hall. Its monstrous and thorny body looked like a huge bug, but it had a round mouth and rows of sharp teeth with spikes. It looked absolutely ferocious.


    "What kind of monster is this?" Zen asked curiously. He couldn''t think of a reason such a strange and ugly statue stood in the otherwise majestic Divine Time Temple.


    Generally speaking, everything in the forbidden area was created by the Faith Energy, the Divine Time Temple included. Thus, the monster in front of them must be something that existed in legends.


    On the other hand, disgust washed over Aleyna''s face as she stared at the strange statue. She shook her head. Although she knew something about the Sun Blind race, this was the first time she had entered the Time Sea Forbidden Land. Naturally, she was quite unfamiliar with the forbidden area they were in.


    A smile spread on Reginald''s face when he heard Zen''s query. "This is the Time Source Bug. It''s said that the passage of time in our world is the way it is now because these bugs devoured the past," he said with a smile.


    "If these bugs devoured the past, does it mean the past doesn''t exist anymore?" Zen asked again. According to what Aleyna had explained, only the leader of the Sun Blind race was qualified to go back to the past in this world, which meant that the past did exist.


    Furthermore, their leader could change the past to a certain extent. For instance, she could kill creatures in the past and it would affect the present.


    Yet, what Zen had learned and Aleyna''s explanation contradicted each other.


    In fact, he was confused at the beginning when Aleyna told him about that ability of the leader of the Sun Blind race.


    In theory, all clues about a Holy Being''s past would disappear once the leader of the Sun Blind race returned to the past and killed him. Then, everything related to him would change. For example, his children would disappear, and his partner would not have met him, nor would he even establish the


    me Room was he had returned to the ancient battlefield and met the first ancient warrior who cultivated the Fighting Godly Way, and saw the warrior launched the Invincible Fighting Intent with his own eyes.


    After that, he left the Divine Time Temple and went back to the War God Hall. Seven days later, he had completely mastered the Invincible Fighting Intent, broken through the shackles of his cultivation, and become a top-rank True God.


    Zen was even more surprised than he already had been when he heard that story. If it was true that the Secret Time Room would put one in a place where they needed to cultivate and gain more knowledge, then¡­


    A deep sigh escaped his lips. Such a miraculous place was beyond his comprehension once again. He couldn''t guess how the place managed to do that.


    When he saw more and more True Gods enter those arched doors, he finally chose a door and walked in.


    ''Where would this Secret Time Room take me?'' he wondered.


    Once the others had entered their chosen doors, they seemed to quickly sink into a period of time. Zen, however, did not have any reaction whatsoever for quite a while. He was still in complete darkness.


    After what seemed to be eons, he noticed that a wisp of dark brown aura slowly filled the dark space.


    "The chaotic energy?" he guessed.


    He was still in a confused daze and his face turned into a strange color.


    What was the meaning of that slowly rotating chaotic energy?


    Was it a piece of history of the divine land?

 Chapter 2316 An Epiphany

    Zen continued to stare at the mass of chaotic energy that was spinning slowly for a long time.


    As the energy continuously spun, the Secret Time Room''s light, that was earlier flickering faintly, slowly became brighter. But apart from that, everything else around was still gray.


    "Is this really the beginning of the divine land?"


    Zen was also very curious about the origin of the divine land. He had limited understanding about its source.


    To be honest, there were many True Gods, who did not even give a slight thought on the origin of the divine land. Maybe because they rarely paid attention to things outside of the divine land.


    However, after Zen created a mini divine land that was extremely similar to the actual divine land, his mind was full of questions. He kept wondering whether the divine land had been created by some powerful master or even by an extraordinary creature, earlier mentioned by Holy Jay.


    Under Zen''s non-stop gaze, the chaotic energy became denser and was spinning even faster. At the same time, the chaotic energy was condensing towards the center to form a core.


    Just then, an indistinct shape of axe appeared.


    "Axe?" Zen''s eyes narrowed.


    It was said that the Creating Axe was used to hack through the divine land. But this so called myth had appeared at the opening of the divine land, and the Creating Axe had been disseminated into pieces a few days after the divine land had been cut open. That was why there were numerous doubts about the existence of the Creating Axe.


    "Hooo..."


    A hand appeared from the darkness.


    The white hand looked delicate and smooth. And it was devoid of any sort of any wrinkles, right from the palm to the finger tips.


    Suddenly, the hand grabbed the Creating Axe and started cutting towards the "core" rapidly.


    "Boom!"


    With a loud bang, a blazing light shot out. The light was so bright that Zen was unable to open his eyes. His ears were buzzing, and his heart was thumping quickly.


    In the Secret Time Room, what he saw was only the past, but it still shook him to see the sight. He could only imagine how terrifying it would have been, when the Creating Axe split the core.


    When the light dimmed, Zen looked over again, only to find that the core was not cut in half. Instead, there was only a small crack on the surface of it. He couldn''t believe that the axe hadn''t even split the core into two parts!


    The delicate hand once again heaved the Creating Axe and smashed the core with more intensity.


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    It was not until the Creatin


    continued to strike, the divine land continued to expand endlessly. Zen watched the whole scene transform from beginning to end.


    Splash...


    Soon after, the rain poured down from the Boundary Clouds. This time, the raindrops were not brown, but pure and crystal clear. There was no true chaotic energy in the divine land after all, and this was different from Zen''s inner world.


    The creatures in Zen''s inner world were not afraid of the chaotic energy. In fact, the chaotic sea had never experienced such a process of transformation.


    As the figure slowly dissipated, Zen closed his eyes, remembering every detail of the figure''s swordsmanship.


    The figure had slashed out one hundred thousand sword strikes.


    But there were only thirteen sword moves in total.


    ''Every move of the thirteen is so effortlessly powerful. No one in the divine land would be able to display such amazing moves. The aura contained in the sword moves is very complicated, but I can somehow comprehend it. It is actually a mix of the hundreds of Godly Ways'' internal momentum!


    The so-called Godly Way Guide is the combination of three thousand Godly Ways.


    It turns out that my father gave me the Infinity Ruler, only because it can help me absorb three thousand Godly Ways. It is the most convenient and simplest method. But even so, it''s very difficult to collect all of the three thousand Godly Ways!'' Zen thought.


    After figuring out the use of the Infinity Ruler, Zen had more or less understood the working of it. However, he wasn''t sure what would happen after the Infinity Ruler sucked in all of the Godly Ways. But after he saw the scene in the Secret Time Room, he understood the whole meaning of it.

 Chapter 2317 Fusing Internal Momentum

    Once the figure in the clouds slashed a hundred thousand times, everything in the Secret Time Room disappeared right before Zen''s eyes. The Secret Time Room returned to darkness, as if nothing had ever happened.


    Zen wasn''t in much of a hurry to leave the Secret Time Room. He continued standing quietly and without moving in the darkness.


    It was difficult for Zen to completely absorb the three thousand Godly Ways with the Infinity Ruler in such a short period of time. Even if the figure slashed one hundred thousand times, Zen still couldn''t exactly comprehend the strikes, because he didn''t understand the many of the different kinds of internal momentum contained in them.


    That said, the Secret Time Room hadn''t taught Zen any theurgies, instead, it only offered him a new way of thinking.


    ''The method is to fuse the Godly Ways!'' Zen thought to himself.


    Indeed, there really were people who could fuse two or even three kinds of Godly Ways together. However, this was only a technique put in place in order to make good use of each Godly Way''s strength as well as to allow different Godly Ways to complement each other. Many Godly Ways clashed with each other though, and fusing hundreds of different kinds of Godly Ways was simply unheard of! The reason for the latter was because there was no second person throughout all in the divine land that possessed such an ability! It was safe to say that the Secret Time Room was truly amazing.


    ''Can I fuse them?'' Zen wondered.


    As of right now, Zen had a total of three hundred and seven types of Godly Ways in his body. He figured there was no harm in giving it a try.


    As this thought came to mind, streams of chaotic energy were continuously being drawn out from the chaotic sea. They flowed along the faint light and began to gather on the scales of the Godly Tile. The internal momentum coming from all sorts of Godly Ways began to slowly seep and spread out.


    Elementary Fire Godly Way...


    Tortoise Godly Way...


    Purple Aura Godly Way...


    Snow Godly Way...


    Murdering Godly Way...


    Parting Water Godly Way.


    Each scale only absorbed a small amount of the chaotic energy. Thus, in turn, the quantity of internal momentum produced wasn''t very much, either.


    The internal momentum coming from more than three hundred Godly Ways varied. As the different kinds of internal momentum slowly entangled with each other, the colors began to oscillate on a continual basis, almost like dancing light. In the end, it turned into black-brown, a color similar to that of chaos energy!


    "What a surprise! It went well. I don''t know if it''ll really work or not..." Zen muttered to himself.


    The process of fusing the internal momentum had gone very smoothly, which was beyond any of Zen''s expectation. After fusing the internal momentum of all Godly Ways, Zen quietly extracted it.


    As soon as he began extracting the fused internal momentum, Zen immediately noticed that some of the energy was surging out widely.


    The energy was so violent that the moment it escaped his cinnabar field, it resembled a wild, running horse rampaging within his body.


    Phew! Phew! Phew!


    A serious of muffled sounds could be heard coming from Zen''s body.


    All of a sud


    eren''t for the fact that this wasn''t the place for a fight, he would have killed Zen off in the blink of an eye.


    The True Gods inside the Time Divine Temple left the Secret Time Rooms one after another, and gathered in front of the door once again.


    The Time Ghosts were still blocking the door, and Reginald, Jolyon and a few other True Gods were discussing where to go next.


    "If we find a way to lure these Time Ghosts away, then we''ll have a chance at entering the second stage of the Time Sea," a True God proposed.


    "This time though, the Time Sea is much more dangerous. The first stage is already so terrifying. Wouldn''t it be courting death if we go to the second stage? I think it''s probably better if we return the way we came, and leave the Time Sea Forbidden Land," another True God said.


    Many True God cherished their lives preciously, and thus, they wouldn''t take such a risk.


    That said, a good portion of the True Gods were still very persistent. One of the True Gods said, "This forbidden land has become much more difficult than before. In the past, the forbidden land was very stable, but perhaps a few great opportunities have formed within it this time."


    In their opinion, the female leader of the Sun Blind race was the controller of the Time Sea Forbidden Land. Seeing as she invited them to the Astronomical Transit Day celebration, it was impossible for her to casually adjust the difficulty in the forbidden land. Now that there were so many Time Ghosts in the forbidden land, there was a higher chance that great opportunities would present themselves.


    The group of True Gods were discussing whether or not they were to explore further. For some time, they even quarreled over this.


    "Stop quarreling. Whether we leave the Divine Time Temple or not depends on Thad, anyway," said Reginald, as he turned his head to look at Zen.


    The Time Ghosts were still blocking the gate, and therefore, they could only rely on the Golden Beast Statue to lure them away. Otherwise, no one could ever leave the Divine Time Temple.


    Upon hearing what Reginald had to say, everyone immediately fixed their gaze on Zen.

 Chapter 2318 Abduction

    Only the Golden Beast Statue that was thrown outside had the ability to lure away these Time Ghosts.


    When Zen distracted the Time Ghosts using the Golden Beast Statue a while later, everyone had to follow him. He was the one who had the right to decide whether to go deeper into the Time Sea Forbidden Land or to leave that place entirely.


    "I will continue to go deeper into the forbidden land," Zen said without hesitation.


    Reginald, Jolyon and others gave a nod of approval. About half of the True Gods didn''t want to explore the forbidden land while the other half wanted to continue the exploration with Zen.


    "And who do you think you are? What makes you think that you can make decisions for us?" a top-rank True God sneered.


    "He is just a low-rank True God," Langston muttered as he made his way towards the rest.


    "We want to go back! Chart out a way for us so that we can return," a mid-rank True God stated boldly.


    The Golden Beast Statue had no importance in the eyes of these True Gods. They thought that since they wanted to return, Zen was obliged to help them navigate their way back.


    The Holy Beings outside the Time Sea wore different expressions on their faces.


    According to the female leader of the Sun Blind race, there was a supreme treasure of belief in the Time Sea Forbidden Land. So these Holy Beings hoped that these True Gods would explore the forbidden land.


    Some consummate True Gods had already entered the place, but since the True Gods present were in a larger number, the Holy Beings pinned their hopes on the True Gods as well.


    Zen casually looked at the angry True Gods and softly said, "It seems as if we are no longer on the same page. Therefore, people who are willing to go further can step forward."


    As soon as he finished speaking, Jolyon, Reginald, Pascal and many other True Gods stood behind him.


    And the rest including Langston stayed where they were.


    "I''ll go with Thad as well." Without hesitation, Aleyna joined Zen''s team as well.


    "I''m following Thad." Kelsey walked up to Zen.


    "I want to further explore the forbidden land," Laquisha said after pondering for a while.


    "Laquisha, if you go further, you''ll most likely die. Don''t follow him," Langston pleaded.


    "I''m not following him. I''m just making a decision of my own," Laquisha said indifferently.


    Langston didn''t know how to convince Laquisha to stay. He gave Zen a hard look and said, "Listen, if you want to die, then go ahead, but don''t lead


    rue Gods at the same level.


    Reginald''s words proved enough to stop those True Gods who intended to return to the entrance from holding Zen as a hostage.


    As for Langston, his eyes were filled with fear.


    Zen could sense that everyone was watching him as he made his way towards the door of the Divine Time Temple. In the distance, a pile of golden fragments with even thickness were lying there.


    As Zen thought, the golden pieces merged slowly and finally turned into the Golden Beast Statue.


    "Follow me. Just to be clear, it''s not my fault, should anything happen to you if you are too slow to keep up," Zen said indifferently.


    The Golden Beast Statue was a bit far from the ghosts, so it didn''t quite attract the Time Ghosts after it got resurrected from the ground. Under Zen''s control, it started running wildly, forming a golden light that flew past the gate of the Divine Time Temple.


    The Time Ghosts reacted at once. As soon as they noticed the Golden Beast Statue, they flew towards the statue, just like moths flew towards flames.


    Letting out shrill cries, the Time Ghosts turned around and went after the Golden Beast Statue.


    Thus, the gate to the Divine Time Temple was no more blocked.


    "Let''s go!"


    Zen was the first person to rush out of the Divine Time Temple, and the other True Gods followed suit.


    Some of the True Gods still weren''t convinced and wanted to leave the Time Sea Forbidden land. However, the way back was filled with the Time Ghosts trying to tear the statue apart. If they went that way, they''d be courting death. Thus, they had no choice but to follow Zen into the depths of the Time Sea Forbidden Land.

 Chapter 2319 Goddess Statue

    The True Gods quickly distanced themselves from the large group of Time Ghosts.


    They bypassed the Divine Time Temple and continued advancing for dozens of miles before they began to slow their pace.


    Their vigilance was relentless, though. No one slacked in the least.


    Except for Zen, Aleyna, and a few of True Gods, everyone else had entered the forbidden land a few times at least, and had a great deal of experience.


    The level of difficulty affiliated to exploring a forbidden land wasn''t constant, but instead, changed and varied constantly.


    As soon as they entered this forbidden land, they encountered enormous trouble, which meant nothing else than the difficulty across all the forbidden land had been increased. The deeper they travelled into the forbidden land, the more dangerous it would become. It was even possible that they''d encounter an unsolvable crisis.


    However, the more difficult things became, the more abundant chances would be born. The risk was always in direct proportion with the possible profit. This easily explained why nearly half the True Gods were all very willing to take such risks.


    As Zen advanced, he continued combining the internal momentum within his inner world.


    Inside the Secret Time Room, he tried at least a dozen times.


    After mixing hundreds of kinds of internal momentum, he obtained a very powerful, never-before-seen energy.


    In spite of being its creator, he couldn''t seem to control it or use it smoothly.


    Zen had relied on his omnipotent ability to firmly tie the internal momentum together in his inner world. And yet, he still barely had the capacity to control the internal momentum!


    If he were to completely lose control over it, he knew the energy would run wild, like a horse without reins, in his inner world.


    If his intention was to use such formidable power to resist the enemy, he risked being seriously injured by the latter before even having the chance to make a move.


    He figured the problem had to be related to the mixed internal momentum.


    The scene in the Secret Time Room only showed him that the figure had mixed several hundred kinds of internal momentum and placed them within the sword. He was unable to figure out the names of the several hundred kinds of internal momentum, though. And other than that, it was also extremely dangerous for him to randomly combine a few hundred kinds of internal momentum. At the moment, all he could do was to keep trying within his inner world, constantly adjusting the different types of internal momentum and hoping to obtain the best possible results.


    "We are getting close to the Goddess Statue at the front. We can get to the second stage if we cross the Goddess Statue. Be careful. It will be much harder this time,


    rary transmission array can be built in this type of situation?" Zen asked, bewildered.


    "Yes. But the Star Door has a special characteristic that allows to transfer people to the nearest Star Door, and thus, the process requires two Star Doors. My brother will also use another Star Door later, so that a temporary transmission channel will be formed between the two," Aleyna explained.


    After hearing Aleyna''s explanation, Zen was still uncertain. He wondered why they needed the Star Doors when passing through the Goddess Statue. Despite his confusion, he didn''t ask any more questions. He silently moved forward along with the group.


    As he crossed a small mountain pass, he noticed a huge canyon and at its center, he discovered a statue that was more than a hundred feet high.


    The moment Zen saw the statue clearly, he was shocked and his body began to tremble.


    "Could this be the Goddess Statue?" he asked in a muffled voice.


    "Yes, it is. What''s wrong?" Aleyna asked. A strange look came over her face as she noticed Zen''s expression.


    Kelsey, who was silent, also looked at Zen''s face.


    The Goddess Statue was carved from a huge gem, and was completely transparent. The carved goddess was seated on a huge tree stump, looking up at the sky. Her expression, her clothes, and even her detailed strands of hair were incomparably exquisite.


    Zen felt as though he had seen this face before. It looked almost the same as Yan''s, but with a totally different temperament and aura.


    After killing the mud creature beneath the Tie Clan''s ground, Zen had obtained a peculiar bead from it. He had seen this face before, but at the time, he could only see a young girl''s head soaked in a big pot. Now, what he saw was her whole body.


    This Goddess Statue was the same one as he had seen back then. Now, Zen was sure of that!

 Chapter 2320 Protect The Goddess Statue

    Zen stared at the Goddess Statue for a long time before finally opening his mouth and asking, "Who is this goddess?"


    Clueless, Aleyna and Kelsey shook their heads in response.


    This was the first time that they had entered the Time Sea Forbidden Land, too. Although they had done some research beforehand and known that the Goddess Statue was here, they didn''t know much about it.


    "People have two conjectures about the identity of this woman," Reginald said. "One, she might be the leader of the Sun Blind race."


    "The leader of the Sun Blind race?" Zen raised his eyebrows slightly.


    The leader of the Sun Blind race never revealed her true face to others.


    In the past countless divine eras, no one had seen her true face, not even the Holy Beings.


    As the one who had control over the Time Sea Forbidden Land, it was indeed possible for the leader of the Sun Blind race to put a statue of herself here. However, it was difficult to think of a reason why she would do that.


    "The second guess is that she is the leader of the Time Guardians," Reginald continued. "However, this is just a wild theory. No one knows exactly what kind of race the Time Guardian is. All we know is that there is a race guarding time, but the existence of this race hasn''t been verified."


    "So that''s how it is," Zen said in a low voice.


    Reginald knew more about the Time Sea Forbidden Land than almost any of the True Gods, so if he wasn''t able to give a definite answer, it was safe to say that it would be hard to confirm the identity of the Goddess Statue.


    After answering Zen, Reginald went to set up the Star Doors with Pascal.


    Noticing the disappointment on Zen''s face, Aleyna blinked her eyes and asked, "You think this goddess looks familiar, don''t you?"


    Zen gave her a strange look. "How do you know that?"


    "By the expression on your face. You seem to have met this woman before. Or does she look like your family?" Aleyna smiled.


    Zen was a bit taken aback by how easily Aleyna had read him, but then he nodded reluctantly.


    "I don''t know who this goddess is, but look carefully at her face. Don''t you think she looks a bit like you?" Aleyna asked gently.


    Zen took another look at the face of the Goddess Statue and realized that Aleyna was right.


    The goddess did look like him.


    Of course, considering that she looked almost exactly like Yan, it wasn''t strange at all.


    After all, there was some resemblance between him and Yan since they were siblings.


    But Aleyna''s words sowed another doubt in Zen''s mind.


    It couldn''t be a coincidence that the Goddess Statue looked so much like Yan.


    Was it possible that this goddess was their mother?


    Although he was looking only at a statue, Zen was sure that he had


    their deaths are very difficult to handle. Make sure you''re not surrounded by them," Reginald warned.


    Four groups of Rhyme Butterflies fluttered in through the four entrances of the valley and moved toward the Goddess Statue in spirals. With their continuous movement, the rhythmic breathing sound became more and more intense.


    "Go!" As soon as Reginald gave the order, he rushed out first.


    The True Gods around the Goddess Statue also rushed toward the Rhyme Butterflies, and Zen was no exception.


    "Humph! Just Rhyme Butterflies. You look as if you''re facing a formidable enemy. I''ve wandered through the Dark Fire Forbidden Area several times. These butterflies are not even worth mentioning!" Langston smiled coldly and formed a claw with one hand. Then, with red light flashing from his fingertips, he raised the claw above his head and waved it.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Several thin blood lines spiraled in the air like waves, forming countless irregular curves in the air. They formed a thin net that covered the group of Rhyme Butterflies in front of him.


    In a flash, the Rhyme Butterflies that had come into contact with the blood lines were cut into pieces, and their broken black wings flew in all directions.


    At the same time, Langston quickly made his retreat.


    Swoosh! Swoosh!


    In an instant, the dead Rhyme Butterflies behind him exploded into blazing flames.


    Just as Reginald had said, the Rhyme Butterflies weren''t very powerful, but after their deaths, flames named "Spirit Burning Fire" erupted. Spirit Burning Fire could cover a range of several miles, and it was difficult to avoid it. Even a True God could be devoured by the fire.


    Langston was experienced and chose to retreat immediately to avoid being swallowed by the flames after killing hundreds of Rhyme Butterflies.

 Chapter 2321 The Poisonous Wolf Scorpions

    The Dark Fire Forbidden Area was a second-grade forbidden area. Most of the True Gods present had previous experience of going inside, and they all knew how powerful the Rhyme Butterflies could be.


    Aleyna, Zen and the others, on the other hand, weren''t aware of it at first. After being reminded by Reginald and seeing the other True Gods making their moves, they naturally understood that the Rhyme Butterflies were very weak. The power came from the Spirit Burning Fire following the deaths of the Rhyme Butterflies. As long as they maintained a certain distance when killing the Rhyme Butterflies, they didn''t have to worry about a thing.


    At the same time, an umbrella appeared in Aleyna''s hand. She held onto it tightly. With a cracking sound, the umbrella snapped opened. With a flick, she rolled the umbrella in her hand, and it spun at a high speed.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Numerous light needles, at least the length of an entire arm, shot out from the umbrella and directed themselves toward the group of Rhyme Butterflies, like heavy rain.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Suddenly nailed to the ground, the Rhyme Butterflies immediately turned into flames that began to explode. The rising flames spread out, releasing a turbulent heat before rushing toward Aleyna. Before the flames could reach Aleyna though, the terrible heat had already burned the beautiful hair just above her forehead.


    She quickly used the umbrella to block in front of her, keeping the Spirit Burning Fire as far as possible from her body. At the same time, she gently touched her bangs in front of her forehead, her little face revealing a trace of sadness. Then, she turned her head and glanced in another direction, not too far off. Upon seeing Zen, she immediately exclaimed, "Wow, that was quick!"


    Zen sauntered through the valley. Compared to the others who were trying their best to avoid the Rhyme Butterflies, he was much braver. Or, perhaps in the eyes of certain True Gods, he wasn''t afraid of death at all.


    As he casually waved his hand, countless golden rays of light suddenly began shooting outward. The golden rays were created from the Metal Law of the Five Elements Godly Way. As these golden rays of light gently flashed by his side, a large group of Rhyme Butterflies broke into tiny little pieces, and then flames erupted.


    The flames were extremely powerful, but Zen wasn''t afraid in the least. Even if he was sucked into the flames, he wouldn''t be burned. And what was more, what came toward him was nothing more than a hot flow.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    As soon as the Rhyme Butterflies were covered by the golden rays of light, they were crushed into pieces. Zen''s extermination of Rhyme Butterflies was as efficient as a gust of wind sweeping fallen autumn leaves.


    Many True Gods thought that dealing with the Rhyme Butterflies was a piece of cake, but upon seeing Zen''s killing technique, they all looked at him, eyes wide with astonishment.


    The only True Gods that even came close to Zen''s speed throughout all the valley were the few top-rank True Gods.


    These top-rank True Gods all ha


    to the Poisonous Wolf Scorpions. Surprisingly, the scorpions were quite agile, leaping over the fan-shaped flame, and their tails were already raised high toward him.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Black poisonous needles spurted out from the tails of thousands of Poisonous Wolf Scorpions, all at the same time. It was a scary and overwhelming sight for everyone!


    The poisonous needles were extremely thin and hard to distinguish with the naked eye. Without a doubt, they were a threat to the True Gods.


    "Watch out, Thad!" cried Aleyna, in surprise.


    "Humph!" Zen snorted and floated upward, like a ghost.


    Cling! Cling! Cling! Cling! Cling!


    Suddenly, all the needles fell to the ground.


    "Go to hell!" Zen shouted fiercely.


    With a quick flick of his finger, a thick bolt of lightning shot out from the tip.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    The thick mysterious lightening continued cracking and turned into millions of flashes of light as thick as a thumb, tightly covering the large area.


    To Zen''s surprise, the Poisonous Wolf Scorpions reacted very quickly, but he believed that they couldn''t dodge the lightning, no matter how fast they were.


    Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!


    A few seconds later, the ground was charred, and all the Poisonous Wolf Scorpions had been smashed to ashes by the striking lightning.


    When the True Gods noticed what had happened, they stared at the ground. Their fear of the Poisonous Wolf Scorpions'' venom had vanished, now only replaced by greed.


    As it turned out, once these Poisonous Wolf Scorpions were killed, they could be transformed into divine might coins right there on the ground.


    Moments ago, Zen had killed thousands of Poisonous Wolf Scorpions, and thousands of divine might coins took their places on the ground beneath their feet.


    Even though the Poisonous Wolf Scorpions'' venom was terrible, killing all these scorpions was now more than worthwhile, especially for so many divine might coins.


    When Reginald and the other top-rank True Gods saw these divine might coins though, their expressions only became grimmer.

 Chapter 2322 Nathaniel Dongfang

    "We have already begun to be rewarded with the divine might coins after only having killed the second wave of beasts." Reginald sighed as he shook his head slightly.


    "What''s wrong with this forbidden land, anyway?" asked another top-rank True God.


    It was common for warriors to obtain divine might coins after they killed the beasts in the valley. Certain warriors had even received the supreme treasure of belief.


    The rewards were usually distributed when the seventh or eighth wave of beasts had been attacked though, and only a few divine might coins appeared. In all, the number was far less than that of the divine might coins they could obtain now.


    Everyone understood the rules of the forbidden land from the past, which meant that the more the rewards were, the higher the difficulty was, and the greater the risk would be.


    "Well, if we can collect good rewards here, then maybe we don''t have to go to the second stage of the Time Sea Forbidden Land. We can just give it up later." Reginald shrugged his shoulders and a fierce fighting intent burst out from his body.


    Reginald equally had a tattoo on his shoulder. It was a large and magnificent blue lion head.


    As his fighting intent grew more and more intense, the lion head quietly revealed itself with a vivid, life-like look and emitted a blue light.


    "Hooo..." A low hum was heard from the crowd.


    Without a moment''s hesitation, Reginald had rushed into the mass of Poisonous Wolf Scorpions.


    The needles of the Poisonous Wolf Scorpions were indeed very powerful, but the True Gods were usually only attacked when they were caught off guard.


    The True Gods present maintained an extremely high vigilance. With their high speed, it wasn''t difficult for them to dodge the Poisonous Wolf Scorpions. As for the top-rank True Gods, on the other hand, such as Reginald, they looked like they were entering an empty, dark place. They rampaged wildly among the Poisonous Wolf Scorpions.


    Despite the poisonous needles shooting toward Reginald, he didn''t even bother dodging them. Before they got anywhere close to him, they were instantly shattered thanks to the fighting intent attached to his body''s surface.


    One Poisonous Wolf Scorpion''s death meant one divine might coin. Faced with thousands of Poisonous Wolf Scorpions spewing at them endlessly, the True Gods all went crazy.


    The True Gods ignored how powerful the Poisonous Wolf Scorpions were, and they hurried forward in order to attack them. Using their fiercest methods for killing the Poisonous Wolf Scorpions, the True Gods were quick to grab the divine might coins off the ground and put them in their space rings!


    Every time they attacked and killed the Poisonous Wolf Scorpions, they obtained as many divine might coins as they would get in other small lands over the course of several years. No one was willing to pass on such an opportunity.


    When it came to Zen''s speed for killing the Poisonous Wolf Scorpions, he wasn''t slow at all. He was the first one to take action and thus to obtain the decisive opportunity. He killed the Poisonous Wolf Scorpions and rushed off into the distance.


    The Poisonous Wolf Scorpions wrapped themselves up around him like a torrent of blood, shooting poisonous needles directly at him.


    Clearly though, he didn''t care about the poisonous n


    n seven consecutive battles and lost only one, he''d obtained 1.3 million points!


    If it wasn''t for the anonymous man''s appearance, then he would have easily been considered the warrior of excellence throughout the competition this time around.


    Nelly stood with her hands clasped behind her back, staring at Zen with her vigorous eyes. She wanted to see how Zen was going to deal with the situation.


    On the one hand, Aleyna and Kelsey were worried and upset. They couldn''t help Zen this time. Nathaniel Dongfang was from the Dongfang Clan which was very powerful, and the Han Clan didn''t dare offend this clan''s members. Besides, Nathaniel Dongfang''s strength was unfathomable. No one was a match to him.


    Laquisha frowned and stared at Zen. Although she pretended to feel indifferently about the situation, she paid close attention to him the entire time. She knew Zen''s character well. If Nathaniel Dongfang forced him hard enough, Zen would surely make his move. But Zen was just a low-rank True God, so how could he be of any benefit to the mid-rank True God?


    As Langston watched the scene, he felt overjoyed. He already had the intention to kill Zen, but he hadn''t found the proper time to do so. Now though, this temporarily gathered group was under Reginald''s lead. Zen had saved Reginald''s life, and if Langston took action to kill Zen, Reginald would definitely prevent him.


    It was at that moment that Nathaniel Dongfang appeared and bullied Zen. In this type of situation, it was possible that Zen would ultimately suffer greatly.


    Zen continued to move toward the other group of Poisonous Wolf Scorpions, as though he hadn''t seen what Nathaniel Dongfang was doing. After killing yet another group of Poisonous Wolf Scorpions, Nathaniel Dongfang took all the divine might coins away again.


    Most of the Poisonous Wolf Scorpions throughout the entire valley had been killed, and only a small number of Poisonous Wolf Scorpions were slowly crawling toward the Goddess Statue.


    A look of satisfaction suddenly appeared on Nathaniel Dongfang''s face. As he turned around with the intention of returning to the Goddess Statue, someone spoke flatly behind him, "Are you going to leave, just like that?"

 Chapter 2323 Earth Godly Way

    Hearing this voice, Nathaniel turned around to see Zen. "What did you just say?"


    Nathaniel grinned ear to ear. He wouldn''t take a low-rank True God like Zen seriously.


    He had entered the Time Sea Forbidden Land countless times, and as he went on, he came across warriors from the rich and powerful clans on the Floating Islands, and he took their lives without hesitation.


    He had even killed some of the Holy Emperors'' disciples and descendants. The wealthy clans on the Floating Islands kept their mouths shut to keep themselves off his list of victims.


    When Nathaniel picked up Zen''s divine might coins, he took it for granted, because with his strength, he could have killed these Poisonous Wolf Scorpions as easily as Zen had, maybe even more efficiently.


    He felt that Zen did not have the qualifications to kill the Poisonous Wolf Scorpions like this.


    The low-rank True Gods huddled up under the Goddess Statue, carefully hunting the Poisonous Wolf Scorpions while the mid-rank True Gods stayed a little far away from the statue. Only the top-rank True Gods could enter the crowd of the Poisonous Wolf Scorpions and kill them without any scruple. Because of this, the top-rank True Gods obtained the most divine might coins among the crowds of people.


    How did this guy manage to kill the scorpions like a top-rank True God?


    Nathaniel could definitely gain a foothold among the top-rank True Gods, though he wasn''t one. In the Arena of Legends, while going against top-rank True Gods, he had been able to win seven consecutive matches. This showed his strength and versatility which surprised most.


    The top-rank True Gods were more or less displeased too when they saw what Zen was doing.


    He took their divine might coins as he was very effective in killing the Poisonous Wolf Scorpions.


    But they knew that Zen relied on his own ability and courage, so they didn''t dare say anything against him.


    However, what Nathaniel did was somewhat straightforward and surprising to everyone. He completely took away all of Zen''s divine might coins, giving Zen a warning to not get them back. If Zen resisted, Nathaniel would have to teach him a lesson.


    At first, Zen remained silent and just let Nathaniel take them. Nathaniel thought it would stay that way, but Zen couldn''t hold his tongue long.


    "You took all my divine might coins. Are you going to leave like this?" Zen asked again.


    The corners of Nathaniel''s mouth twisted into a small grin. "It''s really a joke," he expressed. "As I''ve said, the Poisonous Wolf Scorpions you killed belonged to me. You should be relieved that I haven''t planned to get you in trouble after you killed my scorpions. So now, do you still have the balls to ask me for coins?"


    It was well known that the people of the Dongfang Clan were very domineering, and Nathaniel was no exception to this. Many elites of the influential clans on the Floating Islands, who were present, stayed silent as they listened intently to the two''s conversation.


    Naturally, Reginald was annoyed as he always was. He casually killed some Poisonous Wolf Scorpions and shouted, "Nathaniel, these beasts don''t belong


    prise, Zen approached him again and gave him a punch to the head.


    Although Zen''s punch was extremely powerful, Earth Godly Way''s defense was astonishing as it was. Because of Nathaniel''s power, the energy released from Zen''s punch merely spread under the yellow light from Nathaniel''s body and immediately passed to the ground under Nathaniel''s feet.


    "Rumble..."


    The ground around Nathaniel began to crickle and crackle as it split apart.


    People began to shriek as the ground of the whole valley was shaking.


    The power of the punch spread out and was absorbed by the ground, which caused a minuscule earthquake that no one was expecting.


    This ability was similar to the power transfer Zen possessed in the universe. As long as Nathaniel was in contact with the ground, he possessed an indestructible defensive power against Zen. He had to get him off the land immediately.


    "You''re all force and hits," said Nathaniel. "It''s getting really boring." He laughed to himself.


    Blood red flashes began to appear across Zen''s eyes, showing that a fierce killing intent was emitting from his body!


    "The Murdering Godly Way?"


    Nelly, who stood far in the distance, stepped forward and gave Zen a firm look. Her eyes spoke wonders, giving off anger and caution with just her expression. If that bloke really used the Murdering Godly Way, he would definitely be the anonymous man.


    But at this moment, Zen didn''t have much to worry about.


    "Blood Breaking Bite!"


    Just then, a blood snake suddenly sprang out from Zen''s hand and slithered towards Nathaniel. It ignored the Earth Godly Way''s internal momentum on Nathaniel''s body, biting a small wound in his neck.


    Before Nathaniel could react, Zen threw out another punch across his face.


    Bang!


    With a smacking sound, Nathaniel was tossed three thousand feet away.


    Lucky for him, the Earth Godly Way made sure that this punch was still unable to hurt him.


    However, scarlet blood began spewing out from his neck, pulling out a blood band three thousand feet long in the valley. It looked striking and frankly, terrifying.

 Chapter 2324 Accept Him As A Disciple

    Blood Breaking Bite!


    As Nelly witnessed this, her eyes suddenly widened. She stared at Zen trying to catch her breath as she gradually calmed down.


    Although she had highly suspected Zen''s identity after hearing Rachelle''s analysis, she now was sure of it after seeing Zen employ the Blood Breaking Bite.


    "Oh, it''s you..." Nelly murmured.


    When she was defeated by the anonymous man in the Arena of Legends, she found herself extremely angry. It came to a point where she even locked herself in her room for an entire day. Her strong and proud personality did not allow her to be defeated, let alone to be defeated by a mere proving godly warrior.


    At this point, she even didn''t care if the anonymous man would join the Dongfang Clan or not.


    Her ultimate goal was to find out his identity, and challenge him once again. This thought was something she couldn''t let go. She was full of the desire to know and learn everything about the powerful warrior before her.


    She was determined that her target was going to be no other than Zen.


    Nelly thought that her sister, Rachelle, shared the same ideas, but she did not know that Rachelle had also confirmed the other identity of the anonymous man. All she wanted to do was to find out the anonymous man and kill him.


    "What? Is that the Blood Breaking Bite of Murphy?!"


    "How did he learn it?"


    "What a pity... Nathaniel lost so much blood."


    Many True Gods who were there immediately recognized the Blood Breaking Bite which was a kind of theurgy beyond way. Some also gave looks of confusion towards Nelly.


    Even the Holy Beings outside of the forbidden land also had a strange expression on their faces. Zen''s cultivation was so confusing to most because the Blood Breaking Bite was derived from the Murdering Godly Way and was also the secret theurgy beyond way in the Mu Clan. How did Zen use such?


    Nicholas, on the other hand, remained indifferent and silent. It was not so easy for anyone to defeat the disciple of the Dongfang Clan. Besides, Nathaniel''s cultivation base already exceeded Zen''s by one crucial level.


    Nathaniel stood still as his face flushed into a pale white; he could feel weakness in his body. He clapped his hands, and a small red pill appeared in his hand. With a flick of his finger, the pill shot into his throat and he swallowed without hesitation.


    Once the pill dissolved, a strong power of blood and vital energy was released throughout him. Just then, his face began to regain color as if the pill had healed him.


    The pill that he had swallowed was renowned as the "Green Blood Pill", a kind of six times refined pill. It could instantly replenish the lack


    was a crafty and reckless fellow.


    With a hint of rage in her eyes, Joy bit her lips and felt humiliated.


    Although she knew from the very beginning that Samuel would definitely hand Zen over to others, she was still furious and thought that he would disgrace the Han Clan as he tried to please Nicholas in front of all the Holy Beings like that.


    Fortunately, Zen had two identities. Exposing his first identity was not a big deal to him because after exploring the Time Sea Forbidden Land, Zen would go to the Everest Spirit Mountain. He knew that once he got through this, no one would be able to reach him.


    If Zen''s second identity was exposed, then he knew that he''d be put into a big mess.


    Nicholas smiled and said, "You''re right. I asked Pearl to invite his guy in person the other day, but he refused me. I have planned to send people to the Han Clan again after the Astronomical Transit Day, but I didn''t expect to see him here. For some reason, Pearl said that he was very resistant to our Dongfang Clan."


    "Young people are always a little rebellious and arrogant," Samuel responded with a laugh. "This kid is not clear about the strength of the Dongfang Clan. If he finally comes to terms with that, he will finally be willing to stay in the Dongfang Clan."


    As these conversations went on, many Holy Beings despised him even more.


    No matter how powerful Nicholas was, those clans and Holy Beings that were supported by him would keep their basic dignity. At this point, there was no need for a Holy Being to flatter another being in this way.


    Nicholas, however, seemed to be quite satisfied with the attitude of Samuel. He smiled faintly and uttered, "That''s right! If this young man comes to my clan, I will accept him as my personal disciple."

 Chapter 2325 Freeze The Scorpions

    Becoming a Holy Being''s disciple in the divine land was an unparalleled honor.


    It was a rare thing. Even the biological children of a Holy Being didn''t necessarily have a chance.


    And Nicholas was the kind to accept a disciple only once in a blue moon.


    This meant that Nicholas truly thought highly of Zen, wanting to cherish his talent.


    With a slight smile, Samuel replied, "It''s of great fortune for him to be accepted as a disciple. He will be overjoyed once he hears the news when he leaves the Time Sea Forbidden Land."


    Joy and the other Holy Beings only rolled their eyes at Samuel''s words.


    As a proving godly warrior, Zen could win over thirty times consecutively. What was more, he had already defeated Nelly who ranked first among the low-rank True Gods. It could be said that the anonymous man was already unbeatable among the low-rank True Gods. Who wouldn''t want to take him in as a disciple, so talented a person as he was?


    One could assume that if Zen were there to choose, any Holy Being would take him in gladly.


    In order to please Nicholas, Samuel never cared about his self-esteem.


    Joy cast a sidelong glance at Samuel before sighing inwardly. Though she had always admired him, the arrogant man was no bowing to another Holy Being.


    Nicholas was indeed powerful. The union of the wealthy clans he dominated had an absolute advantage in the Hall of Holy Beings. But there were not only the union of the wealthy clans and the Dongfang Clan on the Time Sea. The Moon Clan and the Sword Clan were not afraid of him.


    "But¡­ I''m worried that Nathaniel will be too angry and he may kill the child by mistake," Nicholas said, looking to the distance. He was not pretending that he was worried, since he truly did want to take Zen in as a disciple.


    Nicholas had an estimate of Zen''s strength¡ªat this stage, Zen could probably defeat an ordinary mid-rank True God. But Nathaniel was the top figure among the mid-rank True Gods¡ªeven if he was hurt by the Blood Breaking Bite of the Murdering Godly Way, if Nathaniel really took it seriously, it was possible that Zen would be no match for him.


    "I''ll send Soren a message and have him control the situation. I won''t let them take the fight too far," Nicholas said quietly.


    To the Holy Beings, battles between the True Gods were like mere children''s fights.


    In the valley, the Goddess Statue looked up to the sky while the atmosphere in the vall


    deal with the final attacks of the beasts in the valley. Because the attacks of the beasts would only grow fiercer and more powerful, the True Gods would grow just more exhausted. Everyone would try freezing one or two vicious beasts for some valuable rest time.


    But now, Soren used this method specifically for his brother''s battle with Thad¡ªit was too selfish of him.


    After Zen summoned the four swords, he rushed to Nathaniel, as fast as the wind, without hesitation.


    After being hit by the Blood Breaking Bite, Nathaniel made no movement and instead stood still, carrying the black axe on his shoulder like a mountain. Seeing Zen rush over, he called out, "Come on!"


    With a sudden wave of his hands, the black axe turned into circles of black shadows swirling crazily in his hands.


    While the axe was as heavy as a mountain, it was a feather in Nathaniel''s hand.


    As the heavy axe spun at high speed, it seemed to tear the surrounding space apart.


    "Nathaniel is using the power of the earth."


    "The Earth Godly Way has an extremely horrible power. After it is integrated with the earth, it can use the earth in resisting the opponent''s attack."


    "He is one of the elites."


    When all the others saw that Nathaniel was using his full strength, they were all left shocked¡ªit was no wonder that with the cultivation base of a mid-rank True God, Nathaniel could defeat seven top-rank True Gods in a row.


    "Is he powerful?"


    As Zen quickly approached, the sense of fighting in his eyes grew even stronger.


    "Buddha Emperor Sword, kill him!"


    Then, the sword rushed right at Nathaniel ruthlessly.

 Chapter 2326 Rain Of Blood

    The Buddha Emperor Sword charged straight at Nathaniel''s head at lightning speed.


    But he spun his black axe wildly, making it seem as though he was carrying an airtight shield.


    Soon, the invisible Buddha Emperor Sword collided with the black axe.


    Bang!


    With a rather dull sound, the black axe in Nathaniel''s hand steadily blocked the attack. His heavy axe was still trembling when Zen''s Buddha Emperor Sword collapsed.


    "You''re not even qualified yet," Nathaniel sneered.


    But Zen remained calm as the pieces of the Buddha Emperor Sword suddenly gathered into form where it collapsed.


    It was only two feet away from Nathaniel and it grew more solid and thicker as it condensed. Then, it slashed at Nathaniel so fast that it was impossible for him to defend himself this time.


    Most impressive was that Zen could somehow freely shape the illusory sword again.


    Normally, the strength source Zen used to shape the four swords occupied only a small part of the Nine Divine Stars'' power, but Zen could adjust it as he pleased.


    A few moments earlier, Zen had seen the great power of the black axe and chose not to fight it head-on. The sword collapsing from Nathaniel''s counterattack was by design. As soon as Nathaniel let down his guard, Zen suddenly released fifty percent of his strength source. The power of the Buddha Emperor Sword immediately intensified when it was shaped once again, making it clear how much greater its speed and strength had gotten.


    Feeling the great power before him, Nathaniel narrowed his eyes slightly as a smile appeared on his face. Then, the Buddha Emperor Sword came slashing at his head.


    Crack!


    The invisible Buddha Emperor Sword cut his neck with a dull sound.


    If it were any other True God, their head would have fallen to the ground at that very moment. But a brownish yellow light flashed across the surface of Nathaniel''s body and forcefully blocked the Buddha Emperor Sword''s slash.


    Simultaneously, a crack appeared on the ground beneath his feet.


    Nathaniel used the Earth Godly Way to transfer the slashing power of Zen''s Buddha Emperor Sword to the ground.


    The crack on the ground continued to extend until it spread towards Zen. When it reached the ground rig


    ming softer and softer. It had all been turned into a plot of broken land.


    "It''s my turn now!"


    With a slight smile, Zen waved his hand. The Long Vine Sword and the Heavenly Tooth Sword immediately plunged into the soil.


    Noticing Zen''s grin, Nathaniel was rather stunned, wondering what his next move would be.


    In an instant, a circular crack suddenly appeared within a one-foot range around Nathaniel. He felt a tremor under his feet as the entire piece of the ground beneath him rose abruptly into the sky.


    "Your theurgy is indeed powerful. So long as you are connected to the ground, you''re practically invincible. But under the effect of the Blood Breaking Bite, you can''t move freely. Once I cut off the connection between you and the ground, things will get even more interesting!"


    With his hand raised high, Zen explained calmly.


    Under the piece of ground Nathaniel was currently standing on, the Long Vine Sword created countless vines, lifting the whole piece of earth into the air. At the same time, some vines crossed the ground and firmly wrapped around Nathaniel''s legs. With that, Nathaniel was sent flying into the sky.


    And since he moved vertically, the wound on his neck from the Blood Breaking Bite began bleeding.


    After finishing his words, Zen gently waved his right hand.


    The Long Vine Sword carried Nathaniel up rapidly, making him hover in the sky above the valley.


    Simultaneously, his blood spurted from the wound, falling like heavy rain.

 Chapter 2327 Soren Was Shocked

    Nathaniel had swallowed a Green Blood Pill before, which was known to be quite potent.


    Generally speaking, a consummate True God could quickly replenish their blood vitality if it was depleted after they''d taken the pill, let alone Nathaniel, a mid-rank True God.


    The Green Blood Pill worked constantly in his elixir field. It replenished his blood vitality and made it flourish even more.


    The current scene caused the people in the valley to be shocked when they saw it.


    Zen lifted Nathaniel in mid-air. His body swayed with the wind as blood continued to gush out from it. A rain of bright red showered the valley like crazy, while numerous True Gods tried to dodge the liquid.


    "Nathaniel is bleeding heavily..."


    "The blood in his body has almost dried out, I guess?"


    "Not necessarily. He just ate a Green Blood Pill to replenish blood vitality. But if it weren''t for that pill, he would have become a mummy."


    The Green Blood Pill continued to work its magic amidst the rain of blood, and more people became stunned.


    Meanwhile, Nelly''s hands were behind her back as her round eyes stared at Zen. Her usually sharp face became the slightest bit soft when she smiled.


    Although she mainly practiced the Murdering Godly Way, she never thought that the Blood Breaking Bite could be used like this. The Blood Breaking Bite was indeed a good skill, but it was usually used to prevent one''s opponent from escaping. Now, Zen completely depended on the Blood Breaking Bite and planned to drain Nathaniel''s blood.


    The Green Blood Pill did constantly replenish Nathaniel''s blood vitality, but the speed of his blood loss was much faster than the rate at which it was being refilled.


    Soon enough, Nathaniel''s face was gradually drained of color, until he was as white as a sheet.


    He tried to cut off the intangible vines at his feet, but the vines from the Long Vine Sword clung tightly on the lower part of his body. In order to cut those transparent and intangible vines off, he was afraid that he might have to sacrifice his lower body.


    His achievements in the Earth Godly Way were almost invincible like Zen had said, and he still had several kinds of theurgy that he had yet to show. Now, however, he had lost his chance to turn the tables because Zen had locked him in his grip.


    More and more blood spurted out from his body, and he felt like his whole being was slipping away. Panic filled his eyes. He would die if he didn''t stop bleeding.


    On the other hand, the Holy Beings outside


    cy crystals.


    All of the ice butterflies flew and gathered behind Soren. Apparently, he controlled all of those ice butterflies.


    The air around them grew colder as the more Ice Soul Flame Zen released, the more butterflies Soren created, which was in Soren''s favor.


    "Don''t waste your energy anymore. Let me give you the divine might coins, okay?" Soren said consolingly. Zen''s eyes glinted in the light.


    His brows were furrowed as he sighed deeply.


    It was truly difficult for him to fight against a top-rank True God with his current strength.


    Soren noticed the change in Zen''s expression and smiled, "Maybe we will be family in the future..."


    "Brother! Kill that idiot!" someone shouted. It was Nathaniel, who had finally regained his strength and quickly turned against Zen once again.


    Soren, however, mentally cursed him for his words. ''My idiotic brother¡­''


    Anger began to fill Zen as he glared at Nathaniel with a malicious aura in his eyes. An extremely violent energy started to brew in his body.


    He couldn''t fully control the raging energy. Hundreds of streams of internal momentum intertwined and gave off a terrifying aura.


    The aura didn''t really spread that far, so Nathaniel, who was in mid-air, wasn''t aware of it. Neither was Reginald, who was ten feet behind Soren.


    Only Soren was the closest to Zen, and there was a hint of true fear in his eyes when he smelled the rabid momentum.


    He immediately let go of Zen''s arm and retreated at an outstanding speed, way back to the side of the valley. His legs stood upright on the mountain wall and his whole body was on high alert. He looked wide-eyed at Zen, as if he had seen a ghost.

 Chapter 2328 Dark Crows

    Reginald had originally trailed behind Soren because he was afraid that the latter might kill Zen. All his senses were on high alert in case such a thing would happen.


    To his utter surprise, Soren seemed to have sensed a natural enemy in front of him and suddenly flew backwards. He kept a huge distance from Zen.


    If it wasn''t for the valley that blocked Soren''s way, no one would know where he was now.


    The others were also confused and didn''t know what on earth Soren, a top-rank True God, was afraid of. Was he afraid of Zen? But how?


    Meanwhile, Zen really could not control the raging energy in his inner world. He didn''t even have a way to activate it. He had tried many times back in the Secret Time Room, but to no avail.


    Having been threatened by Soren, Zen had no choice but to activate the raging energy. If he forced that ball of energy out of his body in a short period of time, then there would be a quick but terrifying explosion.


    Yet, he never thought that Soren would react that way.


    Soren remained glued on the cliff of the valley. The fear in his eyes eventually dissipated, but he still remained highly vigilant.


    He had quite sharp and powerful perception. Furthermore, he could always trigger a strong fighting instinct, especially in the face of life and death. It was one of his talents, and at that moment, his instincts told him that Zen would kill him if he didn''t run away.


    Generally speaking, he would launch his most powerful counterattack to kill his opponent when such a feeling arose.


    Nicholas, however, requested that he refrain from hurting Zen. Thus, he was left with no choice but to leave Zen''s vicinity and run. Of course, the others did not know that.


    Until now, he still couldn''t understand how the strange internal momentum in Zen''s body came out and why it made him feel so stressful.


    As for Zen, he turned to Nathaniel again once Soren was out of the way.


    A shiver coursed through Nathaniel''s spine when he saw that Zen seemed to have scared his brother away.


    He was weak all over and Zen''s Long Vine Sword still bound him, which left him no room for resistance. If he was pale before, now his skin was the color of a dead person.


    If Zen really killed Nathaniel, Nicholas, who was outside the forbidden area, would not let him go.


    As Zen thought about it, his right hand suddenly trembled.


    Crack!


    The frozen ice shell on the


    Zen, no one could stop him except the top-rank True Gods like Reginald. Moreover, whether or not Reginald was willing to sacrifice his life for Zen was another question.


    "It''s okay. I just want to get my divine might coins back," Zen said with a smile.


    On the other side, Laquisha was relieved now that Zen was safe, but Langston, who stood next to her, looked more miserable.


    Some True Gods noticed that the dispute had ended, and they had killed all the remaining Poisonous Wolf Scorpions together. After all of the scorpions had died, another tremor shook the valley.


    "The beasts of the third wave are coming for us. Everyone, disperse! Don''t stand together. According to previous experience, the beasts of the third wave are usually birds," Reginald warned in a loud voice.


    As soon as he finished speaking, black objects flew out from the four entrances of the valley.


    In addition, loud croaking sounds echoed throughout the area.


    Just like Reginald had said, the third wave of beasts that were going to attack them were indeed birds.


    The black birds were called the Dark Crows. They were usually found in the Dark Fog Forest, which was a fourth-grade forbidden area. The Dark Crows flew at a highly fast speed, but they did not attack the True Gods in the valley. Instead, they went straight to the Goddess Statue.


    It was known that if the Goddess Statue was destroyed, everyone would fail and lose their chance to enter the second stage of the Time Sea Forbidden Land. Therefore, all of them immediately launched into action.


    "Stop those Dark Crows!"


    "Shoot them down!"

 Chapter 2329 Mysterious Glimmer Balls

    Loud croaks were heard from above.


    A flock of Dark Crows had arrived, blotting out the sun and plunging the entire sky in darkness.


    In the blink of an eye, the Dark Crows managed to cross a third of the distance between the four entrances and the Goddess Statue.


    "Don''t panic! There may be a lot of them but it''s very easy to defeat these Dark Crows!"


    Reginald assured everyone. A fighting intent surged through him as he flew up into the sky. There, he clenched his right hand and suddenly threw a punch towards the Dark Crows.


    "Bang!"


    His punch landed in the void but still produced a loud bang.


    Fighting intent gathered in his fist, forming a fist shadow that rushed up into the sky.


    According to his estimates, the force of his punch could potentially kill the entire flock of Dark Crows above them.


    However, the moment the fist shadow hit the crows, a light blue light shone on their bodies, blocking Reginald''s force.


    "It''s the Mysterious Glimmer Ball! I knew it wasn''t going to be that simple!" he grumbled through gritted teeth.


    The so-called Mysterious Glimmer Ball was a kind of supreme treasure of belief in the Dark Fog Forest. Like the Star Door, it was also consumable but undoubtedly much more precious.


    These Mysterious Glimmer Balls were very rare in the Dark Fog Forest and it was often the case that only one such ball would appear in every ten years. A Mysterious Glimmer Ball could be sold at an auction in the Floating Islands for over four hundred thousand divine might coins.


    However, its rarity wasn''t its main selling point. It was more because of its magical functions.


    If a True God used a Mysterious Glimmer Ball, the supreme treasure of belief would integrate itself into their body. Nobody would be able to detect its existence except until an enemy launched a fatal attack on the True God, in which case the Mysterious Glimmer Ball would show its peculiar power and protect its host''s body.


    Thus, a Mysterious Glimmer Ball could be equivalent to an automatic second life that could come in handy in the most critical moment. And that was why its price was always so high.


    Reginald''s attack, which could''ve certainly killed the Dark Crows, merely bounced off because of the Mysterious Glimmer Balls that wrapped around their bodies.


    These Dark Crows were weak and there was no way that they could resist Reginald''s attack themselves. However, the power of such a rare and mystical treasure protected these crows from death and rendered Reginald''s attack useless. As a resu


    at he worked for, this True God then also tried his best to collect the money off the ground.


    Greed could oftentimes be deadly. Since there were quite a few who did not want to get the short end of the stick in looting, they began to scramble around and pick up as many divine might coins as they could off the ground. Unlike killing the Poisonous Wolf Scorpions, it was hard to tell who killed which crow so some even got into disputes over ownership of the reward.


    It was this reason that the defense built around the Goddess Statue began to crumble.


    A large group of Dark Crows broke through the weakness in the defense and rushed straight towards the Goddess Statue.


    "Don''t pick up the coins! Focus on the crows! These coins will be equally divided amongst everyone. Get through this crisis first and eliminate these crows so we can reap bigger rewards later on!" Reginald burst out in anger. He couldn''t help but feel extremely frustrated at the short-sightedness of these people. They were blinded by the surge of prizes and grew greedy that they ended up scrambling to get as many rewards as they could. They didn''t think of the fact that they would need to survive this wave of beasts in order to earn the better, more astonishing prizes such as supreme treasures of belief in the following stages.


    Unfortunately, these True Gods could only see what was in front of them and were afraid that the divine might coins at their feet would be taken away by the others. Because of this mentality, they let the Dark Crows slip by and fly over their heads.


    "Caw! Caw! Caw..."


    With the Goddess Statue left unprotected, a large group of Dark Crows finally reached it successfully.

 Chapter 2330 Bevan Moon

    True Gods who had been to the Dark Fog Forest knew that these Dark Crows weren''t that powerful. Even low-rank True Gods would be able to kill them easily.


    These Dark Crows always came densely packed in groups and resided in the shadow of the Dark Fog Forest. As long as they found any True Gods, they would flock to them and attack them.


    It was true, these Dark Crows weren''t too powerful but there was strength in numbers. If a large group managed to surround an unsuspecting True God then their destructive power could potentially be devastating.


    Their beaks were awfully powerful and potentially lethal even to mid-rank True Gods. If surrounded, a True God could have their entire head pierced with these beaks along with their bones.


    After reaching the Goddess Statue, the crows ferociously began to peck at it with their beaks.


    The constant tirade of pecking produced a chilling drumming noise.


    Cracks quickly began to appear on the surface of the statue.


    It was only going to be a matter of time before it crumbled into dust with the amount of Dark Crows that kept pecking at it.


    Zen''s heart couldn''t help but sink at the sight and he quickly dashed in the direction of the Goddess Statue.


    However, before he could even get close, he saw another figure come from not far away. It was Nelly, holding a short sword and dressed smartly in a suit. Red dots of light flashed from under her feet and she circled the statue once.


    The circle quickly formed into a strange killing array.


    With the formation of the killing array, a strange rune appeared above each Dark Crow that pecked onto the Goddess Statue.


    "Die!"


    Nelly screamed with a murderous look in her eyes before her figure disappeared into a blur.


    "Swoosh!"


    She slashed at the crows with incredible speed.


    The Dark Crows'' bodies shone with blue light from the Mysterious Glimmer Balls at Nelly''s first strike. Her attack was simply negated and the crows resumed to peck at the Goddess Statue. The cracks on the statue were widening rapidly.


    Landing on her feet after her first strike, Nelly lightly tapped her toe on the ground and looked back at the crows. "Again!"


    Nelly''s body disappeared a second time, transforming into a blur headed for the crows.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    The


    y die if they disobeyed.


    It was an empty threat, of course. Bevan Moon couldn''t really join hands with other top-rank True Gods to kill them if they chose to collect the divine might coins instead of fighting the crows. There were so many Holy Beings watching outside the Time Sea Forbidden Land after all and most of the True Gods here were closely connected with them. Killing without a legitimate reason could only result in troublesome consequences.


    However, the True Gods subconsciously chose to believe Bevan Moon''s words and follow his orders.


    This was the magic of the Great Dominance Technique. At a high enough level, it enabled one to have a strong leading power that caused other people to submit humbly.


    "Let''s just kill these Dark Crows first!"


    "Everyone, let''s stop gathering the coins. Since Bevan said that the coins will be equally divided later then it would be best if we deal with the crows first!".


    "Another flock is coming! Everyone get ready!"


    The True Gods were now resolute and no longer had greed clouding their vision. They were motivated to fight the crows instead of gathering up their divine might coins.


    Most of them were not truly resolute and were merely influenced by the Great Dominance Technique.


    Nonetheless, it still worked to unite them.


    The Goddess Statue was once again surrounded protectively by the True Gods. With their concerted effort, the protective circular ring grew larger. The Dark Crows could no longer cross this line and hurt the Goddess Statue.

 Chapter 2331 Abyss Demons

    Dark Crows were crushed by the True Gods one after another, leaving a thick layer of divine might coins that blanketed the valley.


    It was an impressive amount even for the rich clans on the Floating Islands but under the suppression of the Great Dominance Technique deployed by Bevan, nobody dared to scramble for the divine might coins.


    Everyone did their best to try and kill the crows in the sky.


    Even though Rhyme Butterflies in the first wave and the Poisonous Wolf Scorpions in the second wave were easy to deal with, the crows in the third wave made them feel some pressure.


    Just five minutes later...


    No more crows appeared from the four entrances of the valley.


    The fight with the third wave of beasts came to an end.


    The light brown gem on Bevan''s forehead slowly dimmed and dissipated as he quietly retreated to the side.


    It disappeared along with the powerful aura that emitted from his body.


    With Bevan no longer suppressing the True Gods, they turned to greedily look at the divine might coins.


    If nobody stopped them, then the True Gods would probably be fighting for the coins in just a moment!


    "Don''t take any of that! Gather them together!"


    Reginald ordered. His entire body emitted a powerful aura from his fighting intent that was boiling in his body.


    If no one stepped in, the low-rank True Gods and mid-rank True Gods wouldn''t get any divine might coins because all of them would fall into the hands of the top-rank True Gods.


    That wasn''t difficult for the True Gods to understand and so they didn''t act rashly.


    Reginald and the other top-rank True Gods waved their hands and the divine might coins on the ground gathered together, forming a small hill that was as high as forty or fifty feet.


    With those top-rank True Gods guarding the small hill of divine might coins, no one dared to take a move. The pile contained seven or eight hundred thousand divine might coins, and if they were divided equally, every True God would get a good share.


    Under the command of Reginald, all the True Gods got in line and orderly took the divine might coins.


    After distributing the divine might coins, Reginald said, "The first three waves


    Statue.


    "I''ve never been to the Abyss Demon Region before," Reginald stated. "Who is experienced in dealing with them?"


    The Abyss Demon Region wasn''t a place everyone could go to.


    "I am," replied Soren with a faint smile.


    "What should we do?" asked Reginald.


    "They''re very powerful..." Soren shook his head. "No top-rank True God present here can resist any of their blows."


    Some of the True Gods subconsciously looked at the Star Door as their hearts sank at those words. The top-rank True Gods weren''t a match for the Abyss Demons and so it was better to run away as soon as possible. They already got enough divine might coins.


    "Let''s give up!"


    "Even top-rank True Gods won''t be a match for them, we''ll only be killed if we fight them."


    "We already have had the harvest that has far exceeded our expectations in this Time Sea Forbidden Land. We have no regrets."


    Soren stared at the Abyss Demons which were walking slowly in the distance and spoke, "The Abyss Demons'' weakness is that they''re very slow. In fact, they''re a kind of puppet made up of the bones of fiends and they''re not very smart. If we want to kill them, we have to delay them as much as possible and we shouldn''t get too close to them."


    Cold air rose from his hands as he spoke, and a handful of ice cocoons appeared in his hands. Exquisite ice butterflies broke out from the cocoons and flew around him. He said confidently, "Do you understand what I mean?"

 Chapter 2332 Attacked By True Gods

    The True Gods present understood Soren''s words, but they still had no confidence in their hearts.


    However, Soren was always free and alone, living in total isolation from society. Although he was very strong, he was not as good a commander as Reginald was, and he did not have the character of a leader like Bevan did.


    Seeing that everyone was silent, Soren felt helpless. All he could do was to tell Reginald, "You give the orders. The first step is to make these guys slow down as much as possible. In fact, it''s not that difficult..."


    Reginald nodded and swept his gaze across the crowd. "Bevan, you lead a team to deal with the Abyss Demon in the east!


    Nathaniel and Jolyon..."


    Before anyone even had the time to blink, Reginald had already divided the True Gods present into four teams, which immediately proceeded to charge towards the four Abyss Demons.


    Zen was assigned to Soren''s group.


    Soren had previously had the experience of exploring the Abyss Demon Region, so he ran towards the Abyss Demon directly, stopping when he was about twenty feet away from it. Then he raised his arm and pointed at the Abyss Demon slowly and deliberately. "Go!"


    A multitude of translucent ice butterflies floated towards the Abyss Demon.


    "Swish, swish, swish..."


    These ice butterflies continuously threw themselves at the Abyss Demon. Butterfly-shaped ice marks formed on the body of the Abyss Demon in the places where the butterflies had hit it.


    The Abyss Demon was extremely slow. And after the butterflies had left their marks on the Abyss Demon''s body, it became slower still, moving at half of its previous speed. It looked as if it was trying to walk underwater, each step taking over five seconds.


    "You lot! Help me out here. Don''t just stand there watching!" Soren yelled, frustrated at the True Gods that did nothing but passively watched from behind as he faced the Abyss Demon.


    Stirred into action by Soren''s sudden scream, the True Gods began to attack.


    Zen stretched out his hand and made a strange gesture, as if he was patting the air. A translucent Long Vine Sword shot out from his hand and transformed into countless vines that wrapped themselves tightly around the Abyss Demon.


    This Abyss Demon''s power was astonishing. It was able to break the vines just by lifting its feet. However, the Long Vine Sword also impaired the Abyss Demon''s mobility, making it slow and disoriented.


    "Snow Attack!"


    A mid-rank True God thus summoned the internal momentum of the Snow Godly Way.


    Soon after, a white cloud appeared above the head of the Abyss Demon. Snowflakes floated down from it, and as they descended, they congregated to form a spinning storm which engulfed the Abyss Demon completely.


    nster!"


    "I wonder what reward will we get for killing the Abyss Demon. It''s so powerful, and if it dies, will the supreme treasure of belief appear?"


    Once the True God mentioned the reward, all the other True Gods'' faces immediately displayed excitement. At the same time, they all glanced tentatively at Soren.


    If a supreme treasure of belief really was to appear, how would they distribute it?


    It would not be right for Soren to possess it alone.


    Many of the True Gods had a faint suspicion in their hearts. If they worked hard to help kill the Abyss Demon but received no reward, no one would want to help kill the next one.


    "Click, click..."


    After a while, the continuous attacks of the True Gods began to take visible effect. Cracks started to appear on the surface of the Abyss Demon''s body. At the same time, its ribs, now full of thorns, began to break, one by one.


    "It seems that it can''t hold on much longer!"


    "Everyone, come on!"


    Some of the True Gods began inching closer towards the Abyss Demon. If killing the Abyss Demon would truly get them the precious supreme treasure of belief, then they would surely try their best to be the first one to get it.


    However, unbeknownst to them, danger was just around the corner.


    "Woo, woo, woo..."


    The Abyss Demon managed to unleash a fiery aura as it raised the flame sword in its hand, and red flame shot out from its pupils.


    At the same time, its bones glowed, coated with a layer of golden light.


    Protected by that layer of golden light, all the True Gods'' theurgies lost their effects. Regaining its original speed, the Abyss Demon charged at the nearest mid-rank True God.


    The mid-rank True God was still thinking about how to snatch the reward. Before he could react, he was grabbed by the big black hand of the Abyss Demon!

 Chapter 2333 Dangerous Situation

    Everything seemed to move in a blur as the Abyss Demon suddenly seized the mid-rank True God.


    As soon as the True God came to his senses, he struggled frantically in an attempt to escape the Abyss Demon''s clutches.


    The Abyss Demon however, was like a giant snake that had coiled around its prey. No matter how hard the mid-rank True God struggled, he couldn''t get rid of its grip. There was nothing he could do except watch as the Abyss Demon raised the flame sword and stabbed it into his chest.


    "Whap..."


    The flaming sword pierced the mid-rank True God''s chest. Blood spurted out from his gaping wound before the blazing flames vaporized it. Soon enough, the fire had completely engulfed the mid-rank True God.


    "Ahhhhh!"


    The Abyss Demon raised its flame sword while the mid-rank True God''s body still writhed in the middle of it, his shrill cries filling the humid air.


    Soon enough, his screams stopped and the mid-rank True God''s body turned into ashes and drifted away in the wind.


    "Hoo..."


    The ground shook as the Abyss Demon waved its sword.


    Thick smoke billowed in the air as the rising flames rose higher and higher.


    The scorching flames released terribly hot heat waves, which swept over the other True Gods.


    At that moment, the Abyss Demon''s body glowed with a golden light and it rushed towards the True Gods at an extremely fast speed!


    "Run!"


    "What''s going on? It''s so fast!"


    Not only was the Abyss Demon immensely fast, it had a very strong defensive power and incredible strength. An ordinary True God could never stand a chance against it. Perhaps, only the consummate True Gods could fight it.


    The golden light around the Abyss Demon shone brighter, and then it broke free from all its restraints. It was finally able to move even faster, and all the True Gods scrambled to dodge in panic.


    Meanwhile, Zen''s body kept on sliding backward. He gently waved his hands. Then the Grant Sun Sword and the Heavenly Tooth Sword shuttled back and forth as they tried to hit the Abyss Demon.


    "Clang!"


    There was a loud, metallic clang when the two invisible swords collided against the Abyss Demon''s hard body. Both swords however, disintegrated.


    The Abyss Demon didn''t care about Zen at all. It chased after the True Gods at an extremely fast speed and slashed at them with its flame sword!


    Three low-rank True Gods failed to dodge the Abyss Demon''s attack, and they ended up being cut in half.


    "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."


    Luckily, it did not necessarily mean that they would die.


    However, the bad thing was that the flame of the great sword came from the Abyss Demon Region, and those who made contact with it even in the slightest


    same size as the Abyss Demon''s huge flame sword.


    Of course, the sword contained all of Zen''s strength source.


    His strength source had come from Holy Jay, and it was equal to one third of a Holy Being''s strength.


    Back when Zen trained constantly, the nine stars also gradually grew and expanded. Thus, they could contain more amounts of strength source.


    Despite that, however, he did not have the confidence to kill the Abyss Demon.


    If even a top-rank True God couldn''t kill it after they''d gone all out, it was impossible for Zen to kill it with just one sword strike.


    Then again, his goal was to save Aleyna, and not to kill the Abyss Demon.


    "There are cracks on its arm!"


    The Abyss Demon had been under siege by a group of True Gods for a long time, and the surface of its body was covered in bumps and cracks. Zen carefully observed the Abyss Demon''s left arm and found that a large fissure had already appeared at the upper end of it.


    "I should hit its arm!"


    At this moment, Zen had no time to think too much. He controlled the giant sword to attack the crack on its left arm.


    Aleyna and Nelly only felt a tremendous force sweeping past their heads. It was a horrible force that could terrify people. It seemed as if they would be smashed to pieces if they touched it!


    "Bang!"


    "Crack!"


    The area was filled with a loud ringing sound when Zen hit the crack.


    A loud thud followed after the Abyss Demon''s left arm, which was as huge as a tree trunk, broke and fell off.


    The two girls fell down when the Abyss Demon''s left arm got amputated. Suddenly, the Abyss Demon waved the flame sword with its right hand and slashed towards Aleyna and Nelly. The scorching hot flame sword brushed past them from above their heads, but it managed to burn their hair.

 Chapter 2334 The Orange Light Ball

    Zen went all out to strike, consuming almost ninety-nine percent of his strength source.


    The nine stars within his inner world dimmed rapidly.


    Most of the creatures in his inner world had no clue what happened¡ªonly the Evil God looked up and muttered, "The Creator is fighting a powerful opponent again¡­"


    Bang, bang, bang¡­


    The Abyss Demon''s broken arm with Aleyna and Nelly in its grip fell to the ground.


    The True Gods who saw it widened their eyes in shock.


    These Abyss Demons had astonishing defensive power¡ªevery True God was well aware of it. Though they had used their most powerful killing method, they couldn''t cause any substantial damage to any of the Abyss Demons. Some of the low-rank True Gods'' attacks couldn''t even leave a single trace on their bodies.


    When Thad launched a full attack, he had actually cut off an Abyss Demon''s arm.


    Just how powerful was this guy''s attack?


    If even the Abyss Demon couldn''t withstand that blow, then who else among the True Gods present could?


    Although one of its arms was cut off, Aleyna and Nelly were still in danger.


    The Abyss Demon''s flame sword missed its target and tried chopping Aleyna''s and Nelly''s heads right off again.


    Having used up most of his strength source, Zen could no longer burst out any power. It was too difficult for him to drag Aleyna and Nelly out from the Abyss Demon''s hand.


    But Pascal, standing beside them, took action. He clenched his fist until a light golden fist shadow was formed.


    "Phew!"


    The first shadow began rapidly spinning and rushed towards the Abyss Demon''s broken arm.


    Meanwhile, on the other side, the top-rank True God of the Mu Clan condensed some energy in his hands and heavily pulled back. An invisible wind was formed out of thin air, wrapping around Aleyna and Nelly, dragging them toward the top-rank True God. By this pull, the two, along with the broken arm, were moved for about forty or fifty feet.


    Crack¡­


    The Abyss Demon''s sword came down right then, but rather slowly. Finally, its sword landed on the ground and triggered a crack¡ªit lit up with a blazing flame, as though it was an entrance right to hell.


    "Withdraw!"


    Because the girls had been rescued from the Abyss Demon, everyone quickly distanced themselves from it and Zen was no exception.


    The strike had consumed ninety-nine percent of Zen''s strength¡ªhe could no longer reach a high speed by relying on bursts of his strength source. But it was still no problem for him to distance himself from the Abyss Demon.


    The top-rank True God of the Mu Clan stretched out hi


    Sizzle..."


    The four giant swords inserted into the ground suddenly burst into blazing flames, devouring the Abyss Demons'' bodies.


    An invisible heatwave then spread in ripples within the area.


    Those True Gods did not retreat, however, they continued instead to approach the Abyss Demons, facing the heatwave head-on. The looks in their eyes grew even more vigilant.


    They were no longer wary of the Abyss Demons, but of the other True Gods.


    Standing by quietly was Zen, calmly watching the flames. It would take some time for his strength source to recover, so he couldn''t participate in the fight over the treasures.


    When the Abyss Demons'' bodies were burnt out, the flames gradually dissipated.


    "Nothing?" Zen raised his brows slightly in surprise.


    "What the hell? There isn''t even a single divine might coin?"


    "My brother has lost his life for nothing¡­"


    "Alas, if the Abyss Demons left their bones behind, they would still be worth quite an amount of money. It''s such a pity that they were burned!"


    The Abyss Demons'' bones were taken from real ''fiends'' after all. Even the top-rank True Gods couldn''t break them. Their bones alone were extremely valuable. But unfortunately, they were nothing but ashes now.


    "What''s that?" One of the True Gods suddenly piped in.


    Everyone turned to the ashes and saw that they began glowing with some kind of orange light.


    A top-rank True God was extremely fast¡ªbefore the others could even react, he jumped up, reached into the ashes, and grabbed the orange ball of light. Ecstasy seemed to come over his face, but as soon as he caught the ball, a miserable scream escaped his mouth. He threw it back quickly, but half of his hand was already charred.

 Chapter 2335 The Promise Of Absolute Beginning

    Everyone steered clear of the orange light ball after seeing the top-rank True God''s miserable condition after touching it.


    After rolling, the ball then began to float strangely.


    At the same time, more orange light balls emerged from the other three ashes.


    Buzz...


    In no time at all, the fist-sized balls suddenly began to emit rays of light.


    The speed at which the light burst was incredibly fast and the rays of light connected themselves to every True God.


    Some tried to dodge but it proved impossible.


    Zen was no exception. A ray of light shot straight at his chest. He raised his hand to touch it but it did not fluctuate at all.


    This was only for a brief moment. The four light balls soon disappeared along with the light rays that connected with everyone present.


    However, despite the disappearance of the light, Zen found three orange lines inscribed on his chest.


    These lines weren''t divine textures nor were they Sanskrit. They were somewhat similar to the textures on the Abyss Demons'' bodies. Zen couldn''t be too sure of the purpose of these textures since he had never seen them before.


    "What the hell are these?"


    a True God huffed, placing his hand on his chest, trying to activate the lines.


    To his surprise, his attempt actually worked.


    Buzz...


    A burst of golden light appeared from the orange lines and enveloped the True God. It was the exact light that flickered on the bodies of the Abyss Demons.


    "Wait! What''s going on?" The True God couldn''t understand what was happening and was now in a state of mild panic.


    Nobody could offer him an answer and simply stared, not really knowing how to help him.


    Outside the Time Sea Forbidden Land, the Holy Beings also noticed the movement in the valley.


    "They''re quite lucky. They were actually able to get three Promises of Absolute Beginning after killing those Abyss Demons," Clark remarked with laughter.


    "This is quite an achievement for them. Although the Abyss Demons weren''t very powerful, ordinary True Gods wouldn''t have been able to defeat them," one of the Demi-holy Beings remarked with a nod.


    The Holy Beings were well aware of the trials and dangers within the Abyss Demon Region. A Demi-holy Being would never dare to venture forth without the necessary precautions, let alone a consummate True God. The Faith Energy gathered there bore the malice of all living creatures from countless divine eras; thus, the monsters there were beyond control.


    "Tell them that the Promises of


    u?" a top-rank True God from the Fang Clan said with an arrogant laugh.


    It wasn''t just the Han Clan and the Mu Clan that were interested in getting the arm.


    The True Gods didn''t know much about the Abyss Demon Region but they heard a couple of things here and there. Fiends'' bones were supposedly very useful, especially in refining pills. The Fang Clan''s famous Fiend Soul Pill, for example, required such an ingredient. Very few True Gods dared venture forth in the Abyss Demon Region, so the fiends'' bones were very rare.


    A tense atmosphere hung over everyone over the ownership of the broken arm.


    The other True Gods initially showed little interest in the arm, but after seeing the True God of the Fang Clan get involved, they figured this was something that was worth a lot.


    "Cut the arm and share the pieces with each other!"


    "This bone is extremely strong. How long will it take?"


    "Sharing it equally is indeed a good idea."


    The Han Clan was extremely weak in terms of power standing. No top-rank True God from the clan got invited to the Astronomical Transit Day, only two consummate ones, but they were not here right now.


    Seeing the beginnings of what seemed to be a messy dispute, Reginald took a neutral stance. "Let''s not argue. We''ve got such a good reward in the fourth round, so the next prize must be better. It''s not good to break the peace and harmony over an arm. I''ve got an idea: whoever cut the arm should be the owner."


    With that suggestion, Reginald looked at Zen meaningfully.


    The other True Gods also turned to look at him. Some of them completely forgot that the arm was actually cut down by this low-rank True God.

 Chapter 2336 The Soul-killing Ghosts

    Zen never intended to join the discussion regarding the ownership of the broken arm.


    He didn''t really have much to rely on in the Time Sea Forbidden Land. The fusion of several hundred kinds of internal momentum was way too violent and he still couldn''t control it.


    His Emotion Closing Godly Way had been greatly improved by his cultivation base but he really couldn''t use it since it was a forbidden way.


    The Godly Ways and the theurgies beyond the Godly Ways he got from the powerful clans above the Time Sea through the Infinity Ruler were alright.


    However, the greatest thing Zen relied on was the unbelievable amount of strength source within his body.


    His top priority right now was to refill the nine stars in his inner world as fast as possible so that he would be ready by the time the next wave of vicious beasts arrived.


    The nine stars slowly rotated within his body, exerting a huge gravitation force that continuously drew the chaotic energy into them. His strength source was now filled at around 15%.


    Reginald announcing that this arm belonged to him came as a bit of a surprise for Zen.


    What Reginald said was indeed reasonable. Zen cut the arm so it was perfectly justifiable for him to claim it. It resolved the dispute and even earned Zen a really rare and useful item.


    Nobody would be willing to hand over such a precious thing to Zen under normal circumstances. Whoever cut it off was irrelevant in the dispute given how everyone wanted a piece of this arm. The strongest warrior could very well take it for his own benefit.


    However, to bring an end to this messy dispute and ease the tension among the top-rank True Gods, Zen being the arm''s rightful owner only seemed to be right.


    "That''s a good idea, Reginald. I also think the arm should go to Thad," Soren agreed with a smile.


    "That''s right. The arm was cut off by him anyway," Nelly said on behalf of her clan.


    Bevan also agreed with this.


    Several top-rank True Gods also voiced out their agreement. If anyone else was dissatisfied, they didn''t make it known.


    "Since everyone agrees, then I won''t refuse," Zen said, reaching out his hand in order to put the 10-foot-long arm into his space ring.


    At that moment, a mid-rank True God of the Fang Clan stepped forward. "Thad, hold on."


    Zen turned to the fellow. The other True Gods frowned. A consensus had already been reached, so what was this fellow doing? This was simply too embarrassing.


    Soren also frowned. He regarded Zen


    nstant, seven to eight True Gods trembled and spasmed as their souls were dragged out and devoured by the monsters.


    Zen and the other members of the Han Clan were not in the outermost circle, but the sight of their comrades having their souls sucked out of their bodies made a few of them tremble. Under Zen''s lead, the Han Clan chose to retreat immediately.


    As he released his spiritual sense, Zen''s eyes flashed with a faint green light.


    Others could only see faint shadows but with Zen''s magic vision, everything was just a bit clearer.


    He looked into the distance and saw a few cloaked dwarves crawling on the ground. They moved at an extremely fast rate and held thin hooks that were used in taking souls.


    As he stood there, two Soul-killing Ghosts suddenly jumped up and threw their hooks at him.


    "Humph!" he snorted.


    The internal momentum flashed on his arm and shot out two bolts of blue lightning.


    Clap! Clap!


    The lightning shot the two Soul-killing Ghosts and hit them square on the chest.


    Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!


    These Soul-killing Ghosts were without flesh and blood and couldn''t resist the power of lightning. As Zen''s attack hit them, everyone heard mice-like squeaks before the two monsters vanished into thin air.


    "Hurry up! Who cultivates the Thunderstorm Godly Way?"


    "Other thunder methods will also work!"


    "Bombard them all to death!"


    These creatures disgusted the True Gods. Just thinking about their souls getting devoured sent a chill down their spine.


    Bang!


    Crack!


    Numerous True Gods who cultivated the Thunderstorm Godly Way had begun to display their most powerful methods one after another.

 Chapter 2337 Encirclement

    After Zen had struggled to split the two Soul-killing Ghosts into pieces, they finally released an invisible soul force!


    The immensely pure soul force circled around for a while before it flew towards him.


    He, however had originally planned to dodge it but he didn''t have enough time to do so. The soul force immediately entered his mind and merged with his own soul.


    As soon as it fused with his mind, he suddenly felt that his soul became a little stronger.


    Yet at that moment, he quickly figured out something... "This is not the broken piece of the Soul-killing Ghost... this is the reward!" he exclaimed.


    Instead of divine might coins, the soul force was the reward for eliminating the Soul-killing Ghosts. Such a big prize was beyond his expectations.


    Meanwhile, the other side became slightly chaotic as some of the True Gods were in the middle of a commotion. "I have no way of dealing with these ghosts. I need to go first through the Star Door!" some of them shouted.


    Although many True Gods cultivated two or even three kinds of Godly Ways, not every one of them cultivated a Godly Way related to the thunder. Therefore, those True Gods couldn''t do anything to deal with those malicious spirits.


    "Crack! Crack! Crack!"


    Crackling sounds filled the air as the True Gods fired lightning and retreated at the same time.


    White, blue, and purple flashes filled the place.


    Those different Thunder Laws they exhibited contained different kinds of powers and their corresponding effects.


    The Soul-killing Ghosts however, weren''t ordinary ghosts at all. They were intelligent, and they simply crawled away at a very fast speed when faced with lightning.


    The lightning strikes struck violently, but they only managed to kill about three Soul-killing Ghosts every time.


    On the other hand, about eight Soul-killing Ghosts jumped simultaneously and threw the hooks in their hands once they found a chance to attack!


    "Watch out!" Zen warned. He was fortunate that he could see things more clearly with his eyes.


    The other True Gods had to use their soul power to sense the ghosts'' presence.


    "They are coming! What should I do? I¡­" Not far away from Zen was a low-rank True God, who had sensed with his own soul power that the Soul-killing Ghosts were about to attack him. The whole thing was absolutely chaotic, and the True God became so anxious that he activated the Promise of Absolute Beginning on his chest.


    "Promise of Absolute Beginning!"


    "Buzz!"


    At that moment, golden light appeared in the air and surrounded his whole body.


    That True God thought that he would be safe when he used the Promise of Absolute Beginning, but the hooks spiraled ov


    eir circle! It seemed that they had planned everything well!


    "Run!!" Laquisha shouted from the stump at the bottom of the Goddess Statue. "I would if I could¡­" Zen lamented.


    Despite his misery, he created another lightning ball.


    The Thunderstorm Godly Way was really effective in dealing with these Soul-killing Ghosts, but these ghosts were very smart. When they noticed the lightning ball in Zen''s hand, they avoided getting too close and threw their hooks at him from a certain distance.


    It wasn''t long before the invisible hooks flew towards him with a burst of coldness.


    The moment he saw what they did, he threw the lightning ball directly at them and tried to get out of their encirclement as the lightning ball exploded.


    But as soon as he moved, the Soul-killing Ghosts also moved along with him, and even more Soul-killing Ghosts joined the encirclement.


    At the same time, he saw an agile figure not too far away, who continuously dodged the hooks as well. It seemed that the person saw the open space around him. The person jumped up and with a flash of red, landed firmly next to him. It was Nelly.


    She had been chased all the way by the ghosts as well. Even though she mastered the powerful Murdering Godly Way, she found it difficult to deal with these Soul-killing Ghosts. She could kill them with the Ghost-killing Sword, but it was too dangerous to get close to them. A hook almost hit her just now!


    She saw an open space in front of her while she had been fleeing, so she quickly ran towards it. She didn''t know that Zen was in the open space, which turned out to be a circle of the ghosts.


    Her face dimmed at the sight of the ever-increasing Soul-killing Ghosts. She tightly gripped her short sword, and couldn''t help the uncertainty that washed over her.

 Chapter 2338 Out Of Body

    The already chaotic situation had gotten much worse, but the True Gods could only rely on themselves.


    Furthermore, the Star Door that Pascal and Reginald had set up was still a bit far away from the Goddess Statue.


    The root cause was that it was too late when the True Gods had found the Soul-killing Ghosts. Only a few of them who were close to the Star Door were able to get in, while most of them had to retreat and crawl up the Goddess Statue.


    Meanwhile, Nelly had escaped into a new encirclement and looked at the numerous Soul-killing Ghosts that crawled on the ground. She couldn''t help the chill that ran down her spine.


    "Kill them?" she asked simply.


    They didn''t have enough time to talk too much.


    Now, the only way to get rid of the Soul-killing Ghosts was to kill them and run to the Goddess Statue.


    The top-rank True God of the Mu Clan decided to not think twice about the overwhelming number of Soul-killing Ghosts. After all, how could he save others when he wasn''t sure about avoiding their hooks in the air?


    "We don''t have another choice," Zen said as another wave of thunder and lightning surged from his palm.


    There was a hint of blood red killing intent in Nelly''s eyes, which seemed like she was possessed. Even both of her short swords became blood red and emitted a strong killing intent.


    It was the "Ghost-killing Sword" of the Murdering Godly Way, which contained her killing intent from the soul. It could kill all kinds of evil spirits and ghosts of those who were wrongly put to death.


    The Ghost-killing Sword usually had magic to deal with the Soul-killing Ghosts, but there were too many of them. It was nearly impossible to do.


    "Let''s go!" Zen shouted.


    He opened his palm, then quickly released several bolts of thunder.


    "Crack..."


    Surprisingly, the bolts of thunder from his palm were able to destroy several Soul-killing Ghosts in front of him.


    "Whoosh!"


    On the other hand, Nelly suddenly turned into a blood-red shadow and ran forward at a speed even faster than Zen''s. Her eyes glittered like two rubies when she neared the Soul-killing Ghosts and she hissed, "Go to hell!"


    "Swish! Swish! Swish!"


    She wielded her two short swords in a crisscross motion and quickly cut a Soul-killing Ghost in front of her. She pulled her short swords to her sides, and then two arc-shaped blood lights spread out and cut four more Soul-killing Ghosts in half!


    At that moment, the two of them had cleared a path and immediately tried to escape the encirclement.


    However, countless hooks quie


    odly warrior.


    After he was promoted to a low-rank True God, his soul had greatly improved.


    Besides, the Emotion Closing Godly Way had everything to do with the soul. As his soul became stronger, he had comprehended the most crucial move¡ªthe Ripping Consciousness of the Emotion Closing Godly Way. Thus, it could be said that his soul had also gone through the training of the Emotion Closing Godly Way.


    If he used it without careful consideration, the other True Gods would discover his secret. Thus, Zen rarely used his soul power after entering the divine land. In the Heavenly Han House, he had used his soul power alone, but hadn''t activated the golden sword shadows on the surface of his soul.


    In addition, it wasn''t a good idea to trigger the Emotion Closing Godly Way in the Time Sea Forbidden Land. It was a forbidden skill, so it was destined to be a Godly Way that nobody was allowed to practice. Now, he didn''t know if those Holy Beings would let him go when they saw his situation.


    Zen, however, had no choice at all when he came to such a situation. The only thing he could do was to live first.


    At that moment, the golden sword shadows appeared and emitted rays of golden light that scattered in all directions.


    Although the golden light belonged to the soul power, it was so strong that it could even flatten a mountain back when Zen was still in the universe. Now that his cultivation base had increased, it was even more powerful now.


    The Soul-killing ghosts that came from various directions were already about to bite his soul, but the golden lights had turned into arrow-shaped offensive forces and violently flew everywhere before they could even open their mouths.

 Chapter 2339 The Forbidden Godly Way

    The arrows formed from Zen''s soul pressure were extremely sharp.


    In fact, Zen''s current cultivation base was so powerful that the small arrows transformed from his soul pressure could probably cut and injure some of the low-rank True Gods.


    The soul was far weaker than the physical body, so if the low-rank True Gods could get injured, there was no way the Soul-killing Ghosts would be able to survive the arrows.


    In the blink of an eye, the Soul-killing Ghosts that were closest to Zen were pierced by the many small arrows from his soul pressure and suffered torture.


    Zen''s soul arrows shot out in all directions, some of them reaching up to several thousand feet!


    But since Zen was in his soul form now, no one could see the arrows except for the Soul-killing Ghosts and Nelly. The other True Gods could only sense Zen''s location with their spiritual perception and notice the extremely sharp and powerful soul pressure that was emanating from where Zen was.


    Whoosh, whoosh...


    Some of the small soul arrows pierced right through the Soul-killing Ghosts and continued flying toward the stump below the Goddess Statue.


    Reginald gently reached out and blocked the arrows with his broad hand. Unexpectedly, he heard a muffled sound. Although these soul arrows hadn''t hurt him, the power they had emitted shocked him. "Is this the soul pressure released by Thad? It''s so powerful!"


    Other than Reginald, a few other True Gods were also hit by the soul arrows. However, since they had already been flying for a few seconds, they had lost most of their power and did not hurt anyone.


    But the Soul-killing Ghosts crawling on the ground below were in trouble!


    Countless arrows shot toward them before they even had time to dodge, killing them instantly.


    Nelly''s soul, which was in the crutches of the Soul-killing Ghosts, was curling up. At this moment, Nelly''s mind was blank and she could barely remember anything from her life.


    All she knew was that she didn''t want to die here. She still wanted to become the Mu Clan''s top warrior and as excellent as Rachelle, who she had always looked up to as an example. She was confident that she could do it because she was just as talented as Rachelle.


    Unfortunately, she would lose everything once her soul shattered.


    A wave of indescribable pain spread over her, making her feel like her soul was being torn into pieces. It


    Could it be that he just inadvertently obtained the soul cultivation method of the Emotion Closing Godly Way?"


    "You are right. Maybe his cultivation method is separate from the Emotion Closing Godly Way, and even he has no idea of it." Samuel pitched in with the discussion.


    "I don''t think so," Clark said with a sarcastic laugh. "He probably didn''t use the Emotion Closing Godly Way before because he knows that it is forbidden. Just now, he passively used the Emotion Closing Godly Way to circulate his soul force and kill the Soul-killing Ghosts because he was in a desperate situation. He was forced to do that in order to survive. Who knows which level of the Emotion Closing Godly Way he has reached?"


    Nicholas nodded, but he didn''t look fully convinced. "After he comes out, we have to ask him to explain this matter."


    It wasn''t because a low-rank True God had cultivated the Emotion Closing Godly Way that the Holy Beings felt threatened. The Emotion Closing Godly Way had long been regarded as a forbidden Godly Way. Everyone in the Hall of Holy Beings knew and accepted that. No one was allowed to cultivate this Godly Way.


    However, even if Zen had really cultivated the Emotion Closing Godly Way, it wouldn''t be a big problem in Nicholas''s eyes. After all, Nicholas was the one who had banned anyone from cultivating it.


    If he were to take Zen as a disciple, he would be able to remove Zen''s Emotion Closing Godly Way, or even erase his memory of it.


    Now, the most important thing that Nicholas wanted to know was where Zen had learned the Emotion Closing Godly Way.

 Chapter 2340 Withdrawal (Part One)

    The Emotion Closing Godly Way had already disappeared in the divine land for over a hundred divine eras.


    Even though a True God had a life span that couldn''t expire, a hundred or so divine eras was still way too long.


    Despite the fact that these True Gods in the valley knew the existence of the Emotion Closing Godly Way, and more importantly that it was forbidden, they had never seen it before.


    In recent years, only when Sword Chen fled to the Abyss Demon Region did people ever hear about the Emotion Closing Godly Way again. It was otherwise a pretty full dead topic.


    Though that event wasn''t sensational, many True Gods were aware of it. However, no one had seen Sword Chen again since he had fled into the Abyss Demon Region. In other words, the matter eventually blew over and no one really thought about it anymore.


    With the use of the Evolutionary Divine Arts, Zen had greatly increased his soul power and now, he displayed an extremely powerful soul pressure when using the Emotion Closing Godly Way. Needless to say, the True Gods were all stunned!


    Prior to this occurrence, most of the True Gods were still worried that even if they fled to the Goddess Statue, the Soul-killing Ghosts would eventually catch up.


    In fact, the True Gods who had mastered the Godly Ways that were related to the thunder had been unable to kill these Soul-killing Ghosts. It was possible that they had taken for granted that, other than the top-rank True Gods, everyone else would be killed.


    Unexpectedly, Zen, who was working alone, chased a large group of Soul-killing Ghosts!


    "Is this guy really just a low-rank True God?" One of them spoke out. Standing in a daze, a mid-rank True God stared at Zen, who was running wildly through the valley after


    ory, and they were truly hopeless.


    The True Gods cleared up the scene quickly and carried those bodies out the Star Door.


    It was suddenly very quiet in the valley, and most of the True Gods kept silent. No one dared speak in such a sad moment.


    The majority of the True Gods obtained no substantial benefit from resisting the Soul-killing Ghosts'' attacks. They didn''t even receive a divine might coin from doing so. The only ones that had gained benefit from this were the True Gods who had killed Soul-killing Ghosts! Their soul force, like Zen''s, had grown quite a lot, too.


    Of course, among them all, Zen was the one whose strength had grown the most.


    He had killed more than three fourths of the Soul-killing Ghosts on his own, and continued to retrieve their pure and precious soul power. It was only expected that his soul strength would grow significantly!


    From Zen''s mind, Master Evil was staring blankly at Zen''s soul.


    After the death of Master Evil''s physical body, he had seen Zen use those small soul arrows to tear apart Yorick''s soul.


    At the time, Zen had only been a proving godly warrior and yet, he had broken a mid-rank True God''s soul.

 Chapter 2341 Withdrawal (Part Two)

    Now, though, Zen''s soul was fuller and stronger after having absorbed so much soul power. A glimmer of glazed light could be seen shining on the surface of his soul. Although Zen hadn''t released any soul pressure now, the aura hidden in his soul caused Master Evil to feel an invisible pressure.


    "Zen, your soul seems to be getting closer and closer to that of a consummate True God''s. Is it about to become the Soul of Light?" Master Evil couldn''t stop himself from asking this question.


    "The Soul of Light?" Zen wondered.


    Master Evil nodded and replied, "The soul of a consummate True God is called the Soul of Light."


    If a True God wanted to reach the consummation of True God Realm, they had to grasp the consummate theurgy of a Godly Way. The seventh stage of each Godly Way was very powerful, and thus, a consummate True God''s combat power would be enhanced to a level higher than that of a top-rank True God!


    Nevertheless, a consummate True God still experienced certain weaknesses, in both soul and body.


    Certain True Gods would try to make up for these two shortcomings after they had reached the consummation of True God Realm. They would cultivate in order to form Nine Divine Stars, which meant the consummation of their physical body. When their soul became the Soul of Light, it was considered as their soul''s consummation.


    "It is said that after becoming the Soul of Light, one''s soul will change from dark to light, as if it was experiencing rebirth. Such a soul doesn''t fear lightning or any method of exorcism, for that matter," Master Evil added.


    Even a True God Soul was still a Soul of Darkness. It came down to the same thing as the evil spirits and ghost soul


    rcular pits. Despite crawling very slowly, there were too many of them to count.


    "Golden Shell Turtles," Soren confirmed, shaking his head expressionlessly. "They are the fourth-grade beasts in the Everest Spirit Mountain. They''re strong enough to rebound attacks. In the end, we really can''t deal with this kind of beast right now."


    "Let''s go," Bevan stated without second thought. Since they couldn''t deal with the coming beasts, the only remaining choice for them now was to retreat¡ªjust like the others did earlier.


    Seeing as the other top-rank True Gods had all made their decisions, the True Gods from the Han Clan, the Mu Clan and other clans sitting on the fence, didn''t hesitate any longer.


    A look of regret spread across Reginald''s face. He could only shake his head and walk solemnly toward the Star Door.


    It was at that exact moment, though, that the light in the center of the Star Door began to ripple slightly. Barely noticeable, but it did.


    In a panic, a low-rank True God rushed out from the Star Door. His face was filled with fear, and he was moving very fast. He collided with Reginald at once.

 Chapter 2342 Inside And Outside The Star Door

    The True God rushed out in absolute panic, an extremely terrified expression on his face.


    Even a Soul-killing Ghost couldn''t have caused such fear in a True God. What could he have possibly seen on the other side of the Star Door?


    "What''s up? Something wrong?" Reginald asked curiously.


    "Outside, outside..." the True God faltered, pointing at the Star Door. Paralyzed by extreme fear, he couldn''t even find the words to speak clearly anymore.


    All of a sudden, the Star Door began to glow and more True Gods rushed back in from the Star Door. The True Gods returning from the outside of the valley looked as though they had found something completely unimaginable outside the valley.


    "What happened?" Reginald asked again, more seriously this time.


    "Out...out there, there''s a monster!" another True God said in a trembling voice.


    One after another, the True Gods came back from the Star Door. No more than thirty seconds later, half of the two hundred True Gods who had left earlier were all back, huddling in a group.


    "Ah¡­"


    This time, a burly top-rank True God rushed in from the Star Door and roared, "It''s coming! Run! The monster is coming!"


    The burly top-rank True God was from the Xie Clan. His previous performance had also been quite impressive. He was a fearless man. Even when he encountered the Soul-killing Ghosts, he hadn''t hesitated to kill many of them with his Thunder Halberd.


    Now though, it was almost as though he was someone else. He looked scared to death!


    Just as he finished speaking, Zen''s eyes noticed a movement coming from the Star Door. He looked over just as a strange claw stretched out of it.


    It was a three-toed claw. Each of the toes had a black nail. Once the claw had stretched its way out through the Star Door, it gripped onto the Xie Clan''s top-rank True God, as if clawing at an ant, before dragging him back toward the Star Door.


    "Cut the claw off!" someone hurled. Reginald''s face darkened. Before the person could finish screaming, he had already made his move!


    Besides him, the other top-rank True Gods were equally taking action and making their moves.


    Zen''s eyes flashed. The Buddha Emperor Sword in his hand was like an invisible fish and it condensed itself in the blink of an eye before charging toward the claw.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Clang! Clang! Clang...


    Bang!


    Hammers, swords, axes and many other kinds of terrifying weapons swung together at the claw.


    Every single True God present launched their attack and ruthlessly slashed at the giant claw.


    Without wavering in the slightest, Zen''s Buddha Emperor Sword hit the claw straight on!


    After this round of attacks, the giant claw that had stretched through the Star Door hadn''t been harmed in the least. Unbelievable!


    "Help! No! Kill me! Please! Just kill me..."


    The Xie Clan''s top-rank True God shouted in despair. His eyes were full of fear as he cried out in pain. He clawed at the soil and left several fingerprints on the ground. Clearly, to him,


    .


    After swallowing the pill, her original tired face recovered greatly. Nelly, who had been silent beside her, asked with concern, "Rachelle, what happened out there? Can you tell me?"


    The consummate True Gods didn''t care about the rewards in the first stage or even the second stage of the Time Sea Forbidden Land.


    However, many years ago, even the consummate True Gods had to fight their way in order to go to the higher stages of the forbidden land, together with ordinary True Gods. In other words, they still had to endure the attacks from waves of beasts beneath the Goddess Statue before they obtained the qualifications needed to reach the second stage.


    Later, a consummate True God found a space crack in the Time Sea Forbidden Land out of pure luck. If one used spatial transference, one could enter the second and even the third stages through the space crack. This was a shortcut that only the consummate True Gods could take.


    As a result, the consummate True Gods no longer explored along with the ordinary True Gods. After entering the Time Sea, all of the consummate True Gods would enter the third stage directly.


    It had never occurred to Rachelle and the other consummate True Gods that the difficulty of exploring the Time Sea Forbidden Land had greatly increased. Now, they had provoked an extremely powerful monster on the third stage of the Time Sea Forbidden Land.


    The strength of these consummate True Gods was also extremely great. They wanted to kill the monster, of course, but if they fought with the monster on the third stage of the forbidden area, they would alert other powerful creatures. After discussion, they decided to lure the monster to the first stage of the forbidden area, instead.


    Therefore, they fought while withdrawing along the space crack. Unexpectedly, as soon as the consummate True Gods retreated, they came into direct contact with more than two hundred of the other True Gods who had just withdrawn from the valley through the Star Door.

 Chapter 2343 Hiding In The Valley

    More than two hundred True Gods who had left the valley were totally oblivious as to what was happening with the consummate True Gods.


    All they wanted was to leave the forbidden area. But if they were to follow the path they had taken earlier, they''d probably run into those Time Ghosts again. Thus, they had to find a different route.


    They didn''t expect to see a group of consummate True Gods suddenly appear just as they came out of the Star Door.


    Some of the True Gods were overwhelmed when they saw the consummate True Gods. They thought that with consummate True Gods by their side, leaving the Time Sea Forbidden Land was a piece of cake.


    However, they were shocked to find that all the consummate True Gods were either injured or exhausted. It looked as if they had been in a fierce battle.


    Then the huge monster was seen on the first stage of the forbidden area.


    Some True Gods with lightning reflexes rushed through the Star Door and returned to the valley. The first one to reach the valley collided with Reginald.


    The top-rank True God of the Xie Clan entered the Star Door and considered himself quite unlucky as he was being targeted by the monster.


    Even if the True God had rushed through the Star Door, he was still caught by the enormous monster.


    Boom! Boom!


    Before Rachelle could reply to her sister, the outskirts of the valley shook violently and the sound of an explosion was heard, much to everyone''s discomfort.


    She glanced at the east of the valley. "They are still busy fighting the monster. And they''ll be escaping into the valley soon." Then she pondered for a moment and added, "Who possesses the Star Door?"


    "I do," Pascal answered, stepping forward.


    "Give me the scroll," Rachelle ordered.


    Pascal didn''t like Rachelle''s tone one bit. However, she was a consummate True God and he couldn''t fight her. Thus, he sulkily handed her the scroll.


    "It''s likely that they won''t be able to defeat the fierce monster. Therefore, when they escape into the valley, I''ll close the Star Door so that the monster wouldn''t be able to enter," Rachelle said.


    The True Gods finally understood what was happening.


    These consummate True Gods had provoked an extremely power monster and were unable to kill it. Thus, they had to escape through the Star Door to the valley.


    The True Gods wore an unimpressed expression on their faces. Since their path of leaving the valley was destroyed, they weren''t quite sure of what to do next. They were stuck in the valley.


    Zen leaned on the side of the tree block and observed the turtles which were crawling towards them from a distance. "Dealing with these Golden Shell Turtles is the most important thing right now, isn''t it?" he suggested.


    The Star Door had become


    of these in the Everest Spirit Mountain," a consummate True God of the Zhao Clan said, walking towards the Golden Shell Turtles with a golden saber in his hand. According to him, the Golden Shell Turtles were annoying, but they could be dealt with easily.


    With the presence of the consummate True Gods in their midst, the True Gods such as Reginald, Soren and Pascal all calmed down.


    However, once they passed the trial of the Goddess Statue, the light curtain that isolated the valley would disappear, and the monster outside would be able to enter the valley. Thus, they''d have to deal with it as well. Everyone knew that it was essential to be prepared for the monster.


    While the True Gods were pondering over the ongoing situation, the consummate True God of the Zhao Clan had already waved his large saber towards the Golden Shell Turtles.


    This man from the Zhao Clan was Naylor Zhao. He was a powerful man, and thus, he could easily deal with the Golden Shell Turtles.


    With one strike of his saber, he killed three Golden Shell Turtles.


    But suddenly, a white light curtain appeared from each of the Golden Shell Turtles'' shells, shot back the blade lights and bounced back Naylor Zhao''s attack.


    Puff! Puff! Puff!


    The blade lights weren''t enough to cause him any harm. Thus, he didn''t try to dodge them.


    After Naylor Zhao killed the Golden Shell Turtles, three balls of blood red fog arose from the bodies of the Golden Shell Turtles, and strong power of blood energy suddenly penetrated his body.


    Other consummate True Gods stood still under the Goddess Statue and didn''t move.


    Now that they had already reached the current cultivation base, they weren''t interested in any ordinary reward. However, they were in awe when they watched what Naylor Zhao got.


    Zen''s eyes flashed when he saw the blood energy.

 Chapter 2344 Bounce And Copy

    The souls, the Godly Ways, and the strength could be refined to consummation, which was the limit of True Gods'' power.


    Once a True God had cultivated Nine Divine Stars, they could continue to accumulate the strength source. The soul, on the contrary, was hard to make progress on after one achieved the Soul of Light. The Godly Ways were standards to figure out whether or not one had become a consummate True God. If one wanted to become stronger after breaking through, their only hope would be the theurgies beyond the Godly Ways.


    The blood energy, however, could be infinitely absorbed. The bodies of consummate True Gods were exceptionally strong, and the blood energy they contained was far stronger than that of ordinary True Gods. But it was very difficult to recover their bodies using only their own blood energy.


    For example, Rachelle paid a high price when she had to repair her wounds by taking the seven times refined pill.


    The True Gods could heal quickly without using pills, if their blood energy was strong enough.


    Therefore, the consummate True Gods often scrambled for pills and methods to strengthen their blood energy. Several of them stood up one after another, intending to kill the Golden Shell Turtles.


    The turtles'' shells could send back all attacks in ricochets but it was not a big deal for the consummate True Gods.


    Zen had also noticed the blood energy.


    He had swallowed a Nine-head Snake Blood Pill in the fairy palace that had greatly increased his blood energy.


    However, his corporeal body was far stronger than those of the True Gods of the same level. He had been a low-rank True God, but his blood energy was still not enough.


    As a vast majority of the True Gods did not intend to make a move, Zen turned and began walking towards the Golden Shell Turtles.


    Thump! Thump! Thump!


    In no time, the first Golden Shell Turtle had found Zen and rushed towards him.


    But since it carried a heavy shell on its back, it was achingly slow even at its full speed.


    Threads of strength sources condensed before Zen''s body and formed the Buddha Emperor Sword.


    It then thrust towards the head of the Golden Shell Turtle.


    Watching the invisible Buddha Emperor Sword approaching it fiercely, the turtle retracted its head into the shell.


    Crack!


    The Buddha Emperor Sword crashed onto the shell of the turtle, leaving a fist-sized crack.


    Zen didn''t use his full strength. It was obviously impossible for him to kill a Golden Shell Turtle with a single move like a consummate True God. But according to Zen''s estimation, he could kill it with a few more strikes.


    As soon as his sword hit


    he hadn''t figured out what had happened. He had only noticed that Zen had the strength source by his side. But he was stunned when he finally saw it clearly.


    "He''s using the Parting Water Divine Mirror. Where did he learn it? I didn''t expect it to work in this way!" Shahn said, having got a nasty shock on seeing this.


    By then, Zen had thrown sixteen swords onto the shell of the Golden Shell Turtle at a time. The shell exploded, and the turtle died, giving off a glimmer of blood energy that was absorbed by Zen''s body.


    The broken shell shone with a white light, and sixteen Buddha Emperor Swords appeared from the light curtain, shooting towards him.


    Zen once again employed the Parting Water Divine Mirror to reflect them one by one. He then controlled the sixteen swords.


    He was now controlling thirty-two Buddha Emperor Swords.


    Zen was shocked at the swords thickly dotted in front of him.


    There were thirty-two Buddha Emperor Swords in all. If Zen used them to attack a target, even a top-rank True God would be beaten to pieces.


    "Once again!"


    Zen gently waved his left hand and controlled sixteen Buddha Emperor Swords to attack a Golden Shell Turtle on the other side. He then waved his right hand, and the other sixteen Buddha Emperor Swords also shot out.


    As the two Golden Shell Turtles were immediately killed by the thirty-two Buddha Emperor Swords, another thirty-two swords bounced back from their shells towards Zen. Zen took them under control after the Parting Water Divine Mirror had reflected them.


    By now, Zen had already controlled sixty-four Buddha Emperor Swords.


    The swords gathered together, releasing the unique power of the strength source. Many of the consummate True Gods could feel the great pressure.

 Chapter 2345 Kill Him

    Generally speaking, the Golden Shell Turtles usually appeared in the most remote areas of the Everest Spirit Mountain. Because these beasts moved so slowly, very few True Gods ever came to attack them.


    In the Fang Clan, not many True Gods specialized in the Parting Water Godly Way. Only four True Gods, including Yilia, had mastered this theurgy beyond way called Parting Water Divine Mirror. And these few True Gods had never encountered the Golden Shell Turtles before.


    As for Shahn, on the other hand, he had killed Golden Shell Turtles in the Everest Spirit Mountain. That said, he didn''t practice the Parting Water Godly Way, and thus, had no idea that the Parting Water Divine Mirror could have such an effect when encountering a Golden Shell Turtle.


    The sixty-four Buddha Emperor Swords continued swaying next to Zen, several of which began showing signs of instability.


    After all, Zen didn''t have a Purple Power Body. Although he had cultivated the Purple Aura Godly Way, he couldn''t completely master the Separate Controlling. For this reason, Joy had only taught him the theurgy of controlling four swords.


    Although Zen had become a True God now, it was still difficult for him to control sixty-four Buddha Emperor Swords all at once!


    ''Just combine together!''


    Zen thought to himself.


    The sixty-four Buddha Emperor Swords merged together in haste and changed from sixty-four swords to four huge swords!


    ''The strength... It''s weakening so fast!'' Zen thought, and his gaze suddenly froze.


    His strength weakened quickly as it escaped his body!


    When Zen''s Buddha Emperor Sword was completely expulsed from his body, its strength source needed continuous replenishment through the Cross-world Theurgy in order for the Buddha Emperor Sword''s shape to be maintained. If he stopped replenishing the strength source, the Buddha Emperor Sword would collapse in a very short period of time.


    The strength source that formed the four huge swords didn''t come from Zen, but was the duplicate created by the Golden Shell Turtles.


    The four huge swords were too large and needed so much strength source. Zen''s strength source was unable to maintain their shapes and the four huge swords were rapidly weakening, like the melting ice and snow, right in front of Zen''s eyes.


    "Go!" he shouted aloud.


    Before the four huge swords completely weakened, Zen controlled them and directed them to chop the four Golden Shell Turtles not too far off!


    Puff!


    The four huge swords contained the power which was so astonishing that it was comparable to a strike coming from a cons


    hance that there could be a talent or two, like Zen, appearing from an unknown clan."


    Rachelle looked at Nelly with strange, doubtful gaze. "Father isn''t completely sure, and neither am I. But there is another thing. Back in the Arena of Legends, Harold has unexpectedly said that except for the Moon Clan, the Sword Clan, the Han Clan and the Gu Clan, the other clans weren''t even allowed to enter the Everest Spirit Mountain...


    According to our father''s analysis, Harold must have known that someone had already arrived in the Han Clan, and thus sent such a message to this person. That is to say, he spoke those words only to ask the warrior to travel to the Everest Spirit Mountain''s Cloud Dragon Ravine. Coincidentally, the Han Clan''s anonymous man suddenly emerged. Do you still think this is a coincidence?


    There''s at least an eighty percent possibility that the anonymous man was sent by Mike. Let''s face it..." As she spoke, Rachelle glanced at Nelly indifferently and asked in confusion, "What are you so nervous about, anyway?"


    Nelly''s heart skipped a beat. She shook her head at once and said, "You''re right. His identity is suspicious, but we can''t be completely sure that he belongs to Mike, either."


    "Don''t you know me better than that?"


    Unexpectedly, Rachelle stood up with a tight smile on her lips and said, "Mike is very powerful and crafty. He''s good at laying out plans, and each of his chess pieces is of great use to him, and only him. But it''s easy to break his plot. I''ll kill each of his men one by one!"


    As she finished speaking, Rachelle pulled out a short sword and looked at Zen, who was still killing the Golden Shell Turtles in the distance. "I''d rather kill him than let him go."

 Chapter 2346 Determined Identity

    As she watched her sister walk toward Zen, Nelly couldn''t help herself but feel suddenly uneasy.


    Despite the feelings that were overwhelming her, she agreed with her sister''s analysis. She thought that her sister was doing the right thing in trying to eliminate the crisis in the cradle.


    Subconsciously, however, she still wanted to justify Zen.


    Zen didn''t realize that danger was looming not far from him. He was getting better and better at killing the turtles.


    The power of blood energy provided by killing these Golden Shell Turtles was coveted, even by a few of the consummate True Gods. It was quite an amazing tonic for Zen, and the blood energy in his body benefited from a clear qualitative improvement!


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    After chopping the four Golden Shell Turtles in half, the four huge swords grew weaker than ever before, and dispersed at once.


    Not even a few seconds later, the four golden turtles were already sending the four swords back at Zen!


    At that very moment, a cold voice sounded behind Zen. "I heard that you have two names? One is Thad Luo. And the other is... Zen Luo?" the voice asked.


    Zen''s eyebrows furrowed slightly as he heard these words.


    He didn''t turn around, but continued to concentrate on controlling the four huge swords, in an attempt to kill the Golden Shell Turtles, as if he had no ears.


    As the others noticed the scene, all the True Gods standing under the Goddess Statue glanced at each other in confusion.


    As she too heard the voice, Laquisha turned pale, and Aleyna''s nerves felt like they were taking over her.


    Kelsey, on the other hand, had no idea what was being said. She whispered curiously, "Laquisha, who is Zen Luo?"


    Among the three girls of the Han Clan, she was the only one who didn''t know Zen''s true identity.


    Sensing something was wrong, Alfredo turned to his daughter Kelsey and scolded, "Don''t ask about what doesn''t concern you!"


    Being scolded by her father, Kelsey pouted and stopped speaking immediately.


    Now, Laquisha felt deeply remorseful. She had inadvertently called out Zen''s name, but no one mentioned it afterwards. She thought that no one had noticed her mistake since the name "Zen" wasn''t very well known in the divine land.


    At that time, the consummate True Gods, including Rachelle, hadn''t entered the valley just yet. Presumably, it could only have been Nelly who informed Rachelle.


    Of course, Laquisha didn''t know that Nelly had been paying close attention to Zen this whole time, and she wasn''t one t


    ned and replied.


    Rachelle stood no less than a few feet behind Zen, but her expression was careless. She watched Zen''s back quietly, and was extremely patient.


    Although Zen allowed himself to kill the Golden Shell Turtles at will, he still felt disturbed!


    Rachelle''s demand was way too sudden!


    Originally, he hadn''t thought that exposing his identity as the anonymous man would be so problematic.


    It had never occurred to him in the past that Rachelle had successfully guessed his true identity so easily.


    Judging from what she said, Rachelle still wasn''t completely certain. That, though, definitely wasn''t enough to stop her from killing him!


    What a cruel woman she was!


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Once again, the four swords bounced immediately back from the Golden Shell Turtles.


    Zen spun around on his heel and held out his hands. In the air, two huge swords flew toward each of his hands and then flew back outward.


    The strength source contained within these four swords was even stronger than that of a consummate True God! The swords were raging with ultimate power.


    The four swords flew toward Rachelle in an abrupt gust. The powerful strength source activated strong pressure and made her ponytail fly crazily at the back of her head. Instead of showing any fear on her face, she looked excited. "I may have given you a chance, but it was also a test!"


    Swish!


    She quickly jumped down using the tip of her toes and floated backward. Her slightly narrowed eyes revealed a cold smirk, and the short sword in her hand became blood red.


    If Zen chose to attack her directly, then his identity would one hundred percent be determined, alas.

 Chapter 2347 No Match For Rachelle

    Zen finally spoke as he wielded the four swords with his mind.


    He shouted angrily, "I know you just want to kill me! Don''t try to give excuses. Everyone knows how unreasonable you are. I beat your sister in the Arena of Legends that day, so you''re just standing up for her now. But don''t you think trying to kill me is too much? And if you really want to kill me, then what option do I have other than to fight back?"


    This was the most dangerous situation Zen had found himself in after entering the divine land.


    At this moment, countless ideas popped into his mind.


    If he just ruthlessly fought back, it would arouse everyone''s suspicion of him and make it seem like Rachelle was right. If he merely stood there and argued with her, the results wouldn''t be much different. She wasn''t one to be swayed by words and would still try to kill him.


    However, he thought that if he argued while resisting her attacks, he might be able to turn the situation around.


    "My sister?" Just like Zen had expected, Rachelle froze. She didn''t understand what Zen was talking about. Why was Nelly suddenly involved in this?


    "I defeated Nelly and humiliated her. So being a narrow-minded woman, you are not willing to let me go," Zen continued.


    His words actually didn''t make sense at all. Instead of refuting Rachelle''s claims, he was attacking her with a ridiculous claim of his own. But the more he acted like this, the more convincing he was.


    Moreover, Rachelle was notorious for her narrow-mindedness. Even though her personality had nothing to do with her current accusation about Zen, the other True Gods couldn''t help but take it into account after hearing his words.


    More importantly, Zen had started fighting back.


    There was no time to logically think about the matter and so they all subconsciously stood on Zen''s side.


    If they thought about it carefully, they would realize that Zen was talking nonsense. But right now, most people believed that Rachelle had a crazy hidden agenda for trying to kill Zen.


    Even Nelly was a little confused after hearing Zen''s words. She was indeed unhappy that she had been defeated by him. Like her sister, she was a very proud woman with a strong character. She couldn''t let her sister teach Zen a lesson on her behalf.


    "Father! Thad is not just a member of the Han Clan, but he''s also a genius. Rachelle is going to kill him just because he defeated her sister! Please help him!" Kelsey said worriedly.


    She didn''t know anything about the situation, so sh


    rd, the blood-red sword light didn''t stop. It spread, ruthlessly hitting the palm of his hand.


    Clank!


    After a moment, save for the crisp sound, there was no trace of the sword light, and his hand was completely intact.


    "Stop it, Rachelle," Troy said calmly.


    "Why did you stop me?" Rachelle asked coldly.


    At the same time, Alfredo quietly appeared behind her and said, "No matter where Thad came from, he is still a member of our Han Clan. It won''t be too late to make a decision after things are clear!"


    Under the persuasion of the three girls of the Han Clan, Alfredo had been hesitating about whether he should stop Rachelle. The truth was, he personally didn''t like Zen and didn''t care about whether he lived or died.


    But now that Troy had come forward, as the head of the Han Clan, Alfredo would seem cold-blooded if he didn''t do anything.


    Troy glanced at Alfredo with disdain in his eyes before turning back to Rachelle. "As you said, there is indeed something that doesn''t add up about this guy''s background. But whatever it is, he was chosen by the Holy Emperor of our Dongfang Clan. It won''t be too late to deal with him after we find out his true origins. There''s no need to rush to kill him!"


    In Troy''s eyes, Zen was just a fish on a chopping board. No matter what, he would not be able to escape. Why did Rachelle have to kill him in such a hurry?


    "Oh, I see," Rachelle said expressionlessly as she pulled her sword out of Troy''s hand.


    However, the moment she pulled out the sword, murderous intent flashed in her eyes. The blood-red light on the sword spun madly, turning into a blood awl before shooting toward Zen''s head once again.

 Chapter 2348 A Calm Mind

    Rachelle''s attack was as quick as lightning.


    Zen couldn''t dodge it at all because the internal momentum hidden in that blood awl was extremely sharp.


    When encountering a top-rank True God like Soren, Zen still had the ability to fight back.


    However, he didn''t have the chance to put up even a desperate fight against the fatal attack of a consummate True God.


    Even before the blood awl made contact with him, his soul was firmly grasped by the powerful killing intent from the blood awl. He felt a thrill of horror run through his body.


    The killing intent in the Murdering Godly Way always had a special effect on the opponent''s soul.


    With that, Rachelle could easily kill the Soul-killing Ghosts.


    Naturally, Zen felt as if he was going to die.


    Although Rachelle was quick, there was someone who was quicker than her.


    Troy barely even blinked, but somehow his hand, which had a metallic luster, shot out faster than Rachelle''s blood awl, catching it in his palm.


    Clank! Clank! Clank!


    The still-spinning blood awl made harsh noises as it clanged against Troy''s hand.


    However, Troy''s hand was too strong. The blood awl could almost penetrate everything, but it couldn''t penetrate his hand at all.


    Soon, the metallic luster on the surface of the hand became more and more intense until it was glowing with a kind of strange and powerful energy.


    A moment later, Troy clenched his fist around the blood awl, covering it completely.


    Bang!


    A dull sound came from Troy''s hand as the blood awl exploded, releasing a strong energy.


    However, the energy was firmly contained within Troy''s fist.


    Nevertheless, Zen, who was standing nearby, could feel the power of that energy.


    He knew without a doubt that if this energy had escaped from Troy''s hand and touched him, it would have instantly annihilated him.


    ''Wow! He is so strong!'' Zen thought in great astonishment.


    On the surface, these consummate True Gods didn''t seem to be as intimidating as Holy Beings, but their power was also extremely terrifying. Although warriors had watched these consummate True Gods battle in the Arena of Legends, witnessing them fighting in the real world was a completely different feeling altogether.


    Troy cast a glimpse at Rachelle and said coldly, "I''ve said that no matter where this guy is from, his fate will be decided by our Dongfang Clan. Don''t humiliate yourself again."


    Anger was written all over Rachelle''s pretty face when she heard what he said, and a fierce light glinted in her eyes. She couldn''t help but feel aggrieved.


    After all, she had wanted to kill Zen because she believed he was Mike''s man, and it was the Dongfang Clan which was the chief plotter in dealing with the Luo Clan.


    own in such a short period of time. However, Zen had already managed to calm himself down.


    Once he was feeling okay, Zen took out his Buddha Emperor Sword and walked toward the Golden Shell Turtles.


    Since no one was going to restrict his freedom, he wanted to take this opportunity to make himself stronger.


    The Holy Beings outside the forbidden area also saw this scene clearly.


    "Haha! Rachelle is getting smarter and smarter! According to Harold''s words, there is indeed something fishy about that little guy''s origin," Clark said with a laugh.


    "Harold did mention the Han Clan during his speech after his open battle. And it was at that time that the kid appeared. The chances of him being Mike''s man are really very high." Jeremiah also nodded in agreement.


    With a calm face, Samuel said, "Mike has always been fond of military tactics. It''s possible that he has put a pawn in our Han Clan to carry out his plans, but these are only speculations and can''t be completely confirmed. Rachelle crossed the limit by trying to kill someone so casually."


    "Samuel is right," said Nicholas in a calm voice. "When Thad leaves the Time Sea Forbidden Land, I''ll personally investigate him. Everything will be clear at that time. Rachelle was still too impulsive. Fortunately, Troy was able to stop her."


    The Holy Beings grew more and more curious about Zen''s identity.


    Among these people, only Joy knew the truth.


    Although she looked calm on the surface, she felt restless in her heart.


    She hadn''t expected things to develop like this in the Time Sea Forbidden Land. There was no way to turn back now.


    If things went on like this, Zen would be in grave danger.


    Thinking of something, she sighed softly, and a touch of determination flashed quietly in her soft eyes. She had just made a decision.

 Chapter 2349 The Time Elk

    As Zen finished up his slaughter, there weren''t many Golden Shell Turtles left in the valley.


    Soon after he had killed the last Golden Shell Turtle, the four swords became weaker and disappeared completely.


    Without the Golden Shell Turtles'' cooperation, Zen simply couldn''t copy such large swords.


    As he finished, he immediately returned to the Goddess Statue.


    "Thad ..." muttered Laquisha, who obviously felt very guilty toward Zen.


    Just as Rachelle had said not too long ago, name wasn''t the key factor here.


    In fact, only three members of the Mu Clan knew of Zen''s name, namely Marko, Mateo and Pranav, but they had previously died in the Evolutionary Universe.


    "It''s okay." Zen smiled gently at Laquisha. He simply didn''t take this matter to heart.


    Aleyna and Kelsey kept silent, holding their lips tightly shut in a straight line.


    Kelsey still didn''t know what was going on. She even thought that Rachelle was deliberately making trouble for Zen, and she thus offered her comfort, "Well, it doesn''t matter. I believe that the Holy Emperors can ultimately tell right from wrong!"


    As Kelsey spoke, both Laquisha and Aleyna couldn''t help but sign interiorly to themselves.


    If the Holy Beings were to investigate this matter, Zen would probably be unable to hide anything much longer.


    As for the other True Gods, they didn''t have much of an opinion on him. Most of them only cared about the upcoming attack from the next group of monsters.


    Generally speaking, they had to go through eight rounds of attacks in order to protect the Goddess Statue, among which the seventh and eighth rounds were the most difficult. It was also these two final rounds that offered the most rewards; however, the rewards were only divine might coins.


    This time, there was something wrong in the Time Sea Forbidden Land. It could only be expected that the situation would be different.


    The Golden Shell Turtles had appeared in the sixth round. Who knew what would happen next? The True Gods could only stand around and wait anxiously.


    Fortunately, there were many consummate True Gods guarding the valley now. Even if the fierce beasts were very strong, they would be capable of coping with them.


    Rumble!


    A few moments later, a loud rumble could be heard throughout the entire valley. It was so intense that everyone thought the seventh wave of fierce beasts appeared!


    All of the True Gods present immediately rested their eyes on the surrounding entrances.


    However, no beasts came from the south, the west or the north.


    "The east! They''re coming from the east!" a True God roa


    d.


    The aftermath of a battle between two consummate True Gods was extremely terrifying. If ordinary True Gods were involved, they would all die without exception. No one could even imagine the results to come from the fight between dozens of consummate True Gods and the elk.


    "Damn it! I would have run away had I known this earlier!"


    "Even when facing the Time Ghosts, we still had a chance to live. Alas... I don''t think so anymore."


    "But now, we have nowhere to run anymore!"


    Many True Gods complained one after the next as they helplessly retreated.


    At first, a few of them noticed the consummate True Gods entering the valley and thought they were saviors.


    However, the so-called saviors had attracted an even more horrible existence. The True Gods were immediately seized with remorse.


    Howl!


    The Time Elk suddenly raised its pointy head and roared toward the sky.


    The whole valley began to shake violently. So much so that the space gave off a faint sign of collapsing.


    Both space and time were slightly disordered and altered, but in the moment, that was rather difficult to perceive.


    Whoosh!


    In a flash, Walton disappeared and quickly reappeared directly in front of the Time Elk. He was literally no more than a few inches away.


    Fearlessly and exuding braveness, Walton held onto his machete with an indifferent expression etched on his face. His foot stepped onto the ground.


    Thump!


    With a muffled sound, the earthy yellow internal momentum quickly spread throughout, and Walton found himself integrated as one with the entire valley.


    It was obvious now that he also cultivated the Earth Godly Way, just like Nathaniel.


    He, on the other hand, had reached the consummation level.

 Chapter 2350 Action

    The strength of Walton''s body was nothing to the Time Elk, but a thick current of internal momentum escaped Walton''s body, leaving others with an intense feeling of heaviness.


    He was as sturdy as a thick brick wall, able to block the Time Elk all by himself.


    "Howl!"


    The Time Elk suddenly burst into a shrill roar.


    It had been at war with these consummate True Gods for a long time, and it was strong enough to defeat any one of them at any time, all by itself.


    It could even devour all these consummate True Gods within several seconds.


    However, the Time Elk was overwhelmed by sheer numbers. The consummate True Gods were like a pack of wolves, and the Time Elk was like a helpless lone bull. No matter what kind of technique it used to attack, the True Gods'' combined efforts rendered it useless. Despite the Time Elk''s great strength, it was helpless.


    The Time Elk suddenly let out a thundering roar and shook its thick wings, pushing into the ground with its powerful, muscular legs. Then it crashed into Walton.


    Its head down, the Time Elk rushed, and the surrounding space was torn open with huge cracks, resembling a beast''s irregular, jagged teeth. However, the space in the divine land was not only stable, but also possessed great self-regenerative strength. The small space cracks began to shrink almost as soon as they appeared, and were soon gone.


    "Ha-ha! Come on!"


    With a wave of his huge hand, Walton slashed at the air with the purple machete.


    Streaks of yellow ochre power radiated in circles around the purple machete, its power warping and distorting the surrounding space, making it look as if the thing Walton was waving was not a machete, but a mountain.


    Bang!


    The two huge forces collided.


    The surrounding space tore violently, and the repeated impact of the conflicting forces continued to ravage it faster than it could repair itself. Some of the space cracks were like sharp arrows flying in all directions.


    Fortunately, the True Gods had escaped to the other part of the valley. Otherwise, the black gashes in space, now spreading rapidly, would have cut them to shreds.


    The Earth Godly Way was not an aggressive Godly Way. Even though the power of the slash was shocking to any who observed it and extremely powerful, it was still not powerful enough to hurt the Time Elk.


    "Howl!"


    The Time Elk''s head began pushing Walton''s machete.


    Even though Walton was connected to the earth, he still couldn''t block the Time Elk''s advance.


    With the Time Elk advancing towards him, Walton began to retreat. His feet dragged on the ground, creating two deep furrows. Once he had retreated to a distance of several hundred feet, the Time Elk suddenly twisted its body, hitting Walton and sending him flying for a distance of seventy to eighty feet.


    The Time Elk was not unintelligent.


    Back when they were outside t


    could turn back was itself.


    When the Time Elk''s injuries were serious, it would use its own talent to perform the Time Backing. It quickly wrapped itself in a thick cocoon and began self-regenerating. The wounds inflicted on its body by Rachelle began disappearing, one after another in rapid succession, and it soon returned to its previous healthy state.


    At this moment, the other consummate True Gods were ready to take action.


    Fortunately, the Time Elk was able to activate Time Backing only once in a while.


    No matter how severe the injury was, it would be able to recover and go back to normal by performing the Time Backing, but it could not perform it at will. Therefore, they asked Rachelle to force it to activate the Time Backing, and then killed it before it could use it again.


    This was probably the only chance they had to kill the Time Elk.


    Otherwise, all their efforts would continue being rendered futile by its use of the Time Backing technique.


    Crack! Crack! Crack! ...


    After some time, the cocoon encasing the Time Elk began to break into pieces.


    The moment the Time Elk emerged, Troy ordered, "Action!"


    As soon as he had spoken, all the consummate True Gods began to summon the power of the Godly Tiles held within their bodies. For a moment, the power that was emitted by all sorts of internal momentum reverberated around the valley, forming ripples that could be seen by the naked eye.


    When the inferior True Gods felt and saw the ripples, they didn''t even dare to breathe, and their souls were suppressed to the extreme.


    "Grand Curse Skill!"


    A dreadful, vibrant green skeleton appeared on the top of the Time Elk.


    After the skeleton appeared, it began shaking over the Time Elk''s head.


    The Grand Curse Skill was being employed by the consummate True God of the Liu Clan. When it was cast on the body of the Time Elk, the Time Elk would suffer more damage.

 Chapter 2351 The Jade Seal

    Every consummate True God usually cultivated a Godly Way to its max.


    So they had the ability to control the Godly Ways in whatever way they pleased.


    With a large number of consummate True Gods coming together, even a Holy Being could not deal with them!


    But when it came to monsters, they needed their combined power to destroy them. If it was the Spiritual Mountain Monster¡ªthe sixth-grade fierce beast in the Everest Spirit Mountain, or the Vicious Ghost¡ªthe sixth-grade fierce beast in the Soul Wilderness, they did not need to work together to attack it.


    However, the Time Elk''s theurgy was related to time, so it was really difficult to kill it.


    Whoosh!


    An ice spear was released by a consummate True God. It went straight for the Time Elk.


    "Snow Divine Spear?"


    Zen looked up at the icy spear with a confused expression.


    He had suffered a lot because of the Snow Divine Spear in the Arena of Legends. The one who had shot the Snow Divine Spear was Moore, the fat man from the Moon Clan.


    It was no different today. The consummate True God who used the Snow Divine Spear was also from the Moon Clan.


    "This Snow Divine Spear is as powerful as that of Moore." Astonishment was written all over Zen''s face.


    The True God released a second Snow Divine Spear, then a third one, followed by a fourth one...


    Each spear was just as lethal as Moore''s Snow Divine Spear.


    The consummate True God was a formidable foe. And he was, of course, far more powerful than an ordinary low-rank True God.


    What happened next jolted Zen out of his musing.


    Whoosh!


    In the blink of an eye, more and more Snow Divine Spears were released by the consummate True God. The power of the fifth Snow Divine Spear was far greater than the fourth one. Subsequently the sixth Snow Divine Spear, and the seventh one were even more powerful... By the time the thirteenth Snow Divine Spear was released by the consummate True God, the power contained within it had grown manifold!


    Even if one wasn''t stabbed by the deadly spear, just a light touch was enough to smash them to pieces.


    This was the power of the consummate True God! Zen was shell-shocked.


    The other True Gods were just as fearsome.


    The flowing internal momentum in the sky transformed into a variety of attacks aimed at the Time Elk in the distance!


    "I can absorb all of this internal momentum!"


    Zen was quite excited at the prospect.


    Perhaps no one would notice him in the chaos.


    It was possible that some Holy Beings outside the Time Sea Forbidden Land would notice his actions, but he had already exposed almost all of his skills as he was in great danger now. It was meaningless to hide anything anymore.


    Buzz!


    His eyes quietly lit up and a golden circle of light was visible in them. He started to absorb the internal momentum in the valley!


    No matter how complicated the internal momentum was, he cou


    as also focused on the Time Elk, which was sprawled out on the ground motionless.


    Its body was covered in darkness, and the wide wings on its back were also riddled with holes. It didn''t look like a savage beast anymore, and seemed to be dead.


    The consummate True Gods warily moved towards the Time Elk.


    But just as they approached the creature, the indestructible beast suddenly opened its eyes scaring the living daylights out of everyone present.


    Its colorful eyes exuded a new level of ferocity.


    The light flew along every piece of its flesh, muscle and blood vessels, soon converting into numerous sharp thorns and shooting out in all directions!


    Swish, swish, swish!


    Suddenly, the Time Elk had transformed into a giant hedgehog.


    And each colorful thorn was formed by the power of time.


    This phenomenon had occurred all of a sudden!


    Rachelle was the first one to react. Almost in an instant, she used the spatial transference. Just as her figure disappeared, the sharp thorns had pierced into her chest!


    The next moment, she appeared in another place of the valley. A fist-sized hole had formed in her chest and blood was gurgling out of it.


    The other consummate True Gods also reacted swiftly. Most of them were injured, save for a few, who managed to escape quickly.


    The consummate True Gods of the Zhao Clan and the Qin Clan were killed. Their heads were pierced by the sharp thorns. The formidable power of time destroyed their souls and their bodies were also pierced through. They died on the spot.


    The mighty Time Elk staggered to its feet.


    It seemed to be unable to use the Time Backing, so it let out a desperate roar.


    All the spikes flew back to its body, and at the same time, a colorful halo spread out from its feet.


    The Time Elk was sucked into the halo immediately.


    Everyone was still frozen in fear, but they saw a small jade seal appearing in the center of the halo.

 Chapter 2352 Time Passage

    A small slender snake was carved on the top of the jade seal. The little snake raised its head and flicked its tongue, as if it were alive.


    The jade seal was quite inconspicuous at a glance, a little thing, about the size of a thumb.


    But all the True Gods in the valley had exceptionally sharp eyes. Even a tiny mosquito would not escape them.


    Thus, the atmosphere of the valley suddenly became charged.


    Had they come across this seal in any of the other forbidden areas, the True Gods would have probably all rushed forward and fought to get their hands on it.


    But here, nobody dared to take a move.


    Everyone, including Rachelle, knew that anyone who moved would become a target.


    The strong power of time that radiated from the jade seal tortured the souls of every consummate True God with longing.


    Even if it was only a first grade supreme treasure of belief, to the True Gods, it would be worth fighting for.


    Because this was the Time Sea Forbidden Land.


    Usually, any supreme treasure of belief that had a connection with the Timing Godly Way had powers and functions one could only dream about.


    Seeing that this jade seal was emitting such a strong power of time, they could tell that it was definitely not a first grade supreme treasure of belief. It was at least third grade, or even fourth grade.


    Outside the Time Sea Forbidden Land...


    Even those Holy Beings couldn''t contain their excitement at this moment.


    Every supreme treasure of belief in the Time Sea Forbidden Land was by no means ordinary, and this jade seal seemed all the more unusual.


    They tried to act as if they were not affected at all, hiding their extreme excitement. However, they were all, in fact, secretly communicating with their consummate True Gods.


    "Get that jade seal..."


    "At any cost!"


    "You must take the jade seal out of the Time Sea Forbidden Land!"


    "Use the right tricks..."


    These Holy Beings, however, were also very conflicted in their minds.


    One thing was clear for the consummate True Gods: whoever rushed to the circle of light would be attacked by all the other consummate True Gods.


    If one of them was attacked by dozens of other consummate True Gods at once, even the exceptionally powerful ones, like Walton, Troy or Shahn, would surely die.


    If the consummate True Gods were slow to react, however, they would undoubtedly lose the opportunity to obtain the jade seal!


    The valley was engulfed in a heavy, oppressive silence.


    The atmosphere among the inferior True Gods, on the other hand, was relatively relaxed.


    "There seems to be a jade seal over there!"


    "It''s a supreme treasure of belief in the Time Sea Forbidden Land. Well, do you think they will fight for it?"


    "Of course!"


    "I honestly don''t really care, as long as their fight doesn''t harm us."


    With their cultivation level, these True Gods were not qualified to participate in the fight for the jade seal. They could only stand and watch from the side.


    Zen''s gaze swept the valley and landed on the jade seal. The expression in his eyes was one of utmost calm.


    It seemed like a f


    sucked in by the colorful circle of light.


    In fact, anything that touched the edge of the colorful circle of light would inevitably be sucked in!


    "Have those consummate True Gods already died?" a True God asked.


    As Kelsey heard this, her face immediately darkened. "Stop talking nonsense!" she said angrily. Alfredo was, after all, sucked into it.


    Soren looked towards Kelsey. "No, they haven''t died," he said. "These streams of power of time are continuous. I think people can pass through it safely, but I don''t know where it will lead to..."


    Theoretically, the Time Sea of the divine land could lead to any point of time in the past.


    But the Time Sea was made out of time fragments, and there were countless time cracks. Therefore, any creature that fell into the Time Sea would be cut into pieces by those cracks, and then these pieces would fall into different times in history!


    However, the power of time in front of them was a complete time passage, unlike that of the Time Sea.


    "Should we go in?" another True God asked.


    "Haha, it is possible that those consummate True Gods will never be able to come back! We cannot know for sure what has happened to them. If you go with them, you will be flirting with death!" a True God taunted.


    A helpless expression appeared on the faces of many True Gods. The jade seal was so close to them, but they couldn''t even touch it. This made everyone feel depressed.


    Zen stared at the colorful circle of light for a short while. After making up his mind, he turned around to look at Laquisha and said, "I''ll go in, too."


    Hearing Zen''s words, Laquisha''s fine eyelashes trembled slightly. "Why?" she asked.


    Aleyna and Kelsey also looked at Zen. It seemed to be a reckless decision. As the other True Gods had already said, it was too risky.


    Zen smiled. He said something to Laquisha, his lips barely moving. Then, a confident smile turned up the edges of his mouth. Without further ado, he proceeded to jump into the colorful circle of light, followed by the screams of the True Gods he left behind.

 Chapter 2353 The Insect With Pincers

    "Oh no! He has really jumped into the halo!"


    "Doesn''t he care about his own life?"


    "Thad!"


    The True Gods hadn''t expected Zen to really jump, which was why they were so astonished when he did.


    Aleyna''s and Kelsey''s eyes were wide open, their hands at their mouths in shock.


    After a while, Aleyna whispered, "Laquisha, what did he say to you?"


    Laquisha was lost in thought. At Aleyna''s question, she smiled and said softly, "He asked me to wait for him."


    Laquisha knew Zen''s motives very well.


    If he left the Time Sea Forbidden Land now, Zen would be at a dead end. Everyone knew what would happen to him if Nicholas were to lay hands on him. It was a fact that Samuel couldn''t save him. And although Joy was a Demi-holy Being, she couldn''t win against Nicholas either.


    Zen might just get lucky by jumping into the light and be able to reverse what was happening.


    Another figure in red jumped up and into the colorful light, disappearing from before everyone''s eyes and leaving behind circles of shallow ripples that spread slowly.


    "It''s Nelly!"


    "She has also jumped in!"


    "Young people are getting bolder by the day!"


    Laquisha was encouraged, seeing that Nelly had also jumped in.


    No one knew where the colorful halo led to. Perhaps it led back to the past or perhaps it led to a dangerous, secret land where they would all meet.


    But Laquisha was willing to take the risk, as long as it was for Zen.


    Crack!


    While Laquisha was lost in her thoughts, Aleyna grabbed her clothes from behind.


    She whispered to Laquisha, "Laquisha, you have to trust him. I''m sure he will return safe and sound."


    Aleyna knew what was on Laquisha''s mind, which was why she decided to stop her before Laquisha could follow Zen and jump in after him.


    "Laquisha, please don''t leave us alone," Aleyna begged.


    Laquisha looked at Aleyna''s pleading face and heaved a sigh. Zen had always been able to turn any kind of bad luck around. She hoped that he would return safely this time as well.


    Following this, about thirty True Gods jumped in one after another.


    A few of the True Gods tried to use their techniques to get the jade seal out. But everything disappeared as soon as it entered the light.


    They had tried all sorts of methods before they were left with no choice but to give up and think about leaving the Time Sea Forbidden Lan


    n he was free again!


    Before he could identify his surroundings, he twisted his body and changed direction. He found a pair of huge pincers clamped tightly around him, and spikes embedded in his head.


    The black insect rushed out of the halo along with him, but half of its body was still stuck in the halo.


    Soon after, Zen felt the pincers emitting a heavy force. The insect wanted to drag him back to the time channel.


    "Go to hell!"


    Zen had been like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered since he had been unable to move.


    But now the situation was different.


    He grabbed the two large pincers with both his hands, causing a force to rush forth and explode. He then dragged the insect out.


    At the same time, he summoned his Buddha Emperor Sword and Heavenly Tooth Sword.


    He concentrated his energy, and two balls of strength source appeared outside his body.


    Zen had almost been eaten up by this black insect and now that he was sufficiently angry, how could he let it go? He would not rest before killing it!


    But he didn''t expect the two balls of strength source to burst into pieces as soon as they were formed.


    "What happened?" Zen exclaimed, astonishment written large on his face.


    He found that he couldn''t use the strength source, and the Separate Controlling of the Purple Aura Godly Way.


    But he was smart enough to twist the two pincers.


    And with two resounding cracks, the pincers broke.


    The insect, at Zen''s explosive power, looked at Zen fearfully. It did not dare to do anything else but quickly retreated into the colorful halo.

 Chapter 2354 Skeleton

    Thinking of what he had just experienced, Zen was a bit shaken on the inside. His life had been on the line just now.


    If he had been even a little slow in responding, the black insect in the passageway would have devoured him in no time. He would have been dead meat.


    After resting for a while, Zen remembered something. He suddenly reached out and used the Cross-world Theurgy to extract strength source from his body.


    However, when the Power Shaping began, the ball of strength suddenly vanished into thin air, unable to take any shape.


    "What happened?"


    Zen''s eyes narrowed as a strange suspicion nagged at him. That was an odd thing to happen. Logically, this should not have occurred at all.


    He seemed to ponder on something as he once again readied himself, this time about to condense a flame.


    In the Godly Tile of his inner world, there existed a square that contained the Elementary Fire Godly Way. At the moment, it began to glow. The chaotic energy was constantly extracted and sent outside of his cinnabar field.


    However, despite this, no internal momentum flowed through his hand currently.


    Unconvinced, Zen continued to condense other Godly Ways. He kept trying several times but in vain.


    It was not until now that Zen was certain of one fact. "Is it that internal momentum cannot be condensed in this world?" he mumbled to himself. "I don''t know if it is only me who can''t condense it or if all True Gods struggle in doing so."


    "Nothing is wrong with you. Perhaps it''s this world that is abnormal." Master Evil''s voice sounded out of the blue, interrupting his thoughts.


    Zen had left the Golden Beast Statue in the Time Sea Forbidden Land, causing Master Evil to manifest once again in Zen''s mind. He had followed Zen to reach here.


    Ever since he followed Zen into the Time Sea, he had been witness to a lot along the way.


    Not only did he come face to face with the Holy Beings, he saw battles among the consummate True Gods; the Time Elk which was a sixth-grade fierce beast; and numerous other awe-inspiring things.


    Although he only had a strand of soul left, he felt that the journey with Zen had been worth every minute.


    Zen nodded in agreement. Along the way, he had not encountered any other beings except for the long and thin insect. Perhaps it was more likely that the world he was in caused this to happen to him.


    He looked around, appraising his surroundings. Everything around him was grey and hazy. Except for the shadows of some trees, all that he saw in the distance seemed unreal.


    Buzz...


    At this moment, the five-colored circle of light beneath his feet shrank rapidly. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared, revealing a barren land.


    If the light was truly a time passage, then could he be in a different era in the history of the divine land?


    "The other True Gods didn''t come into this world with me..."


    When Zen had descended, he saw many True Gods fall with him.


    the surface of the skeleton, one could not tell how many years it had been since the person died.


    "Zen, look at the hand of the skeleton!" Master Evil pointed out.


    Zen''s gaze zoomed in on the three faint black rings on the skeleton''s fingers. The rings were well made, like a sword that had been smelted and forged back into a circle.


    "Is this the skeleton of the consummate True God from the Sword Clan?" Zen asked, stunned.


    Back in the valley, Zen had observed the consummate True Gods of these powerful clans.


    The consummate True God from the Sword Clan remained silent, but the sharp look in his eyes had left a deep impression on Zen. There was a similar set of three rings on the man''s right hand.


    When Zen had run his eye over these rings before, he had been somewhat confused as to why this person wore three space rings. He had even asked Aleyna about it in secret.


    Aleyna had told him that the rings were not the kind of space rings that could hold things.


    Rather they were symbols of supreme honor in the Sword Clan. They were also precious and powerful treasures that could save one''s life.


    "The consummate True God from the Sword Clan was indeed wearing white clothes!"


    Thinking of the white shadow that had constantly flashed before, Zen felt a faint sense of unease rise in him.


    The consummate True Gods had entered the circle of light about five minutes before Zen did. And within this short period of time, a consummate True God had died?


    Moreover, a consummate True God''s body could not decay so easily.


    It would take ten million or even over a hundred million years for the corpse of an ordinary True God to rot and decompose. Moreover, the bones left in the end would still shine with a brilliant light.


    How long would it take for the corpse of a consummate True God to rot, fester, and eventually turn into a mottled skeleton?


    It was likely that even after several divine eras, it would not turn into such.

 Chapter 2355 Sea Of Bugs

    Zen surveyed the area.


    Certain that he wasn''t in any danger, he bowed to the skeleton with cupped hands. "Sir, you must have led me here for a reason. I apologize if what I''m about to do offends you."


    He had no qualms with the consummate True God of the Sword Clan, but it was necessary to search through his remains for anything he might have left behind. Zen swallowed. He felt uncomfortable and disrespectful touching this consummate True God''s bones.


    Master Evil shook his head in his head. If it were him, he would directly take anything he could find away.


    Meanwhile, Zen pulled the three sword-shaped rings from the dead True God''s phalanges and studied them.


    Still not knowing what to do, he took some chaotic energy and injected it into one of the rings. The moment the chaotic energy touched the ring, the ring emitted a bright white light and turned extremely hot.


    "Shit!"


    Burned by the scorching heat, Zen dropped the ring.


    As the ring turned in the air, it morphed into a small sword which quickly grew larger and larger.


    In the blink of an eye, the sword had transformed into a silver sword that was over three hundred feet long.


    The huge silver sword contained a very sharp sword intent. Its blade glinted under the sun, resembling a giant silvery ship.


    Whoosh!


    It flew away and pierced through the air, leaving waves of sand in its trail.


    Bang!


    With a dull thud, the huge silver sword drilled into a huge sand dune causing a wide and deep hole in the dune. It continued and drilled into another sand dune.


    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Dozens of sand dunes were drilled into by the huge silver sword all the way. The muffled sound spread far away and finally dissipated.


    Most of the sand piles were lifted by the power of the silver sword, and the skeleton was all buried. Zen eyed the swiftly collapsing sand dunes not far away with a look of astonishment on his face.


    "This is amazing..." muttered Zen.


    Even Master Evil was stunned. "This power is so terrifying."


    Although Master Evil had lived a lot of eras in the divine land, this was the first time he saw such a powerful magic weapon.


    There was a multitude of True Gods in the divine land, but very few had reached the consumma


    pened its mouth.


    "Damn it!"


    Zen kicked the bug, breaking it into two. The bottom half of its body rolled down the sand dune.


    As soon as he killed the bug, more yellow lights lit up around Zen. Countless bugs came out of the sand dunes and grew as big as trees. They wrapped around Zen in the blink of an eye, about to devour him completely.


    "Humph!"


    Zen unsheathed the Great Weighty Sword.


    He couldn''t use the Emotion Closing Godly Way here, but he was not going down without a fight.


    Swish! Swish! Swish!


    The sword light spread out in all directions and dozens of strange bugs fell to the ground.


    He had just killed a batch of strange bugs but more of them came out of the ground. There was now a steady flow of them.


    "You can''t kill all these strange bugs. Hurry up and leave this place!" Master Evil told him.


    Zen stopped fighting off the strange bugs and made his way through the gap and rushed out.


    The strange bugs swarmed the desert like a tidal wave.


    As soon as he stopped, the bugs would completely surround him so Zen could only run wildly.


    He had no idea where he was heading in the dark. He just kept running for a few more hours in the darkness. He didn''t know how far he had run until he saw a white pillar of light in front of him.


    And below the light pillar stood several cloaked figures.


    He had been running on the desert for quite a while now and all he could see were the strange bugs so Zen got excited at the sight of the human figures.

 Chapter 2356 Eagles And Rocs

    The huge column of light appeared to be very close, but it took Zen a full five minutes to get to it.


    The cloaked men standing around the light column seemed to panic a little when they noticed Zen who was not far away now. They muttered something to each other and marched towards him.


    Zen did not understand the language of the cloaked men, but judging by their tone and movements, he could sense that they weren''t a welcoming committee.


    Two of them even held steel pitch forks and pointed them at Zen.


    Zen remained calm. He chose not to get close to avoid annoying them, and instead quietly watched on the side.


    The sole reason that the consummate True Gods had entered this world was to obtain the jade seal.


    Zen knew too little about this world and he needed to obtain some useful information as soon as possible. These cloaked men would play an important role in this quest.


    Strange bugs were scuttling about in the sand dunes in the desert, but within the scope of the light column, there was not a single bug. The cloaked crew were obviously familiar with the habits of these strange bugs.


    Zen waited and observed not far away for a while.


    Suddenly he heard loud sounds in the sky.


    A group of black shadows were flying across the sky and circling around the huge light column.


    "Eagles?"


    Zen gazed at this scene. Although the light was dim, he still recognized that the black shadows were eagles.


    The black feathers of the eagles were camouflaged in the night sky. Their black eyes were sharp and feral.


    A cloaked man standing under the light column took out a green flute and played it gently. Guided by the melodious sound of the flute, the eagles pounced towards the light spots in the distance.


    An eagle flew down quickly, and stretched out its powerful claws to drag one of the bugs out of the sand dune. Then it tossed the hapless creature lightly in the air and swallowed it.


    "It turns out that these cloaked men are herding the eagles and the bugs are their fodder," Zen said to himself.


    The strange bugs in the desert were the food for the eagles, and luckily, they were inexhaustible.


    The eagles kept swooping down, and the strange bugs were unable to resist them. Each time they flew by, a light dot disappeared in the desert.


    This hunt lasted for almost an hour.


    Zen still maintained a safe distance from the cloaked men. They thought that Zen was not a threat to them, so they didn''t guard themselves against him.


    They paid no attention to Zen.


    d him, he brutally attacked it on its face.


    Bang!


    Sand was flying around.


    The impact caused the yellow sand under Zen''s feet to form a huge ripple which fanned out around him.


    The cloaked men stared blankly at the dust floating in the air. When the dust settled, what they saw shocked them.


    The golden roc lay motionless in front of Zen, and its head had been completely obliterated by the bombardment.


    Zen balled his right hand into a fist and stared at the only golden roc in the sky with a smile. If this golden roc kept flying in the sky, he would have no way to deal with it. But if it zoomed down, it would be courting death!


    "Yo!"


    The golden roc circled in the air, eyeing Zen with its golden eyes. It realized that it was no match for the human, so it reluctantly retreated.


    After the golden roc left, the cloaked men under the light column whooped with joy and rushed towards Zen.


    Two of them raised their hands, bowed and patted their chests. Zen was confused with the gestures, but he understood that they were thanking him.


    Several cloaked men surrounded the eagle with the broken wing, and one of them bandaged up the wound, while the others looked very sad.


    The eagle with a white ring around its neck was special, but it might never fly high as its wing was broken.


    After the cloaked men tended to the eagle''s wound, another one took out a bamboo flute and played it again.


    All the eagles flying in the sky descended and perched on the ground in a circle.


    One of the cloaked men patted the back of an eagle and motioned to Zen.


    "Are you asking me to ride on the eagle?" Zen raised his eyebrows slightly at this request.

 Chapter 2357 Meet Nelly Again

    After Zen helped the cloaked men kill the two golden rocs, they got a good feel for him.


    Zen needed to get to know this world better and these cloaked men were his way in.


    Without another moment''s hesitation, Zen gave a leap and landed himself on the eagle.


    The cloaked men moved the eagle with a broken wing to the back of another.


    Then, one of the cloaked men pulled out a flute, playing a sweet melody as all the eagles spread their wings into the air and continued to fly through the deep darkness.


    These eagles were indeed powerful. They only needed to rest every four hours. Wherever they landed, there were simple camps.


    The cloaked men seemed familiar with these camps. It seemed that they had built them.


    "It seems they do have the way out of the desert," Zen muttered to himself.


    They stayed in the camp for an hour before setting out again.


    Along the way, Zen tried to strike up a conversation with the cloaked men. Though the language barrier was great between their two races, Zen began to pick up quite a bit of what they said.


    After spending just one night with them, Zen had mastered a few simple phrases and was able to hold a conversation with them, albeit simple.


    About fourteen hours later, a yellow crack struck across the dark sky. It looked like one infinitely long sword, stretching across the whole darkness. It quickly expanded, and the entire world was bathed in the bright day light in the blink of an eye.


    It was the first time that Zen had ever seen night turn into day in such a way. He was shocked.


    But these cloaked men were used to it.


    Zen saw the scenery change around him. In the darkness of night, he had not realized they had flown out of the desert.


    Zen sat on the back of the eagle and looked down, his face lit up with the changing scenery below.


    Below, the desert opened up into incredible canyons, spread out across the ground like cracks. Within each canyon, strange, black bugs stretched their heads to the skies and wandering through the cracks - their bodies were 200, 000 to 300, 000 feet in length and thousands of feet in width.


    These strange bugs were very similar to the ones in the desert in appearance, but their size was thousands of times larger. The power within them, no doubt, was stronger.


    If Zen had attempted this journey alone, he probably wouldn''t have made it across these canyons.


    ''What the hell is this world?'' Zen proclaimed internally. He was scared at the thought of the dead consummate True God of the Sword Clan.


    Watching Zen inspect the huge bugs below, one cloaked man tried to speak to him but Zen did not under


    s. Zen could not make out a single word


    but he could tell he was not welcomed.


    "Enemy?" Zen asked calmly, as he scanned his eyes across all the cloaked men.


    They were no match for him. If he wanted, he knew he''d be able to kill them all in the blink of an eye.


    "Yo!"


    An eagle shot over Zen''s head like a sharp sword zooming through the air. It perched by the roof in front of him, a cold stare affixed on Zen.


    Even the eagle''s feathers were reminiscent of sharp swords, holding fierce gravitas around it. Zen gulped, a faint sense of fear washing over him.


    "Feathers?" Zen''s eyes looked towards the circle of white feathers that seemed to adorn the neck of this eagle. It was the same arrangement as seen on the eagle with the broken wing. It must mean something significant.


    The cloaked men continued to surround Zen. Those who had brought him to the fortress tried to explain and calm the tensions. From time to time, they pointed at the eagle with the broken wing.


    From what he could tell, they were trying to tell them that he was an ally and had saved the eagle.


    It seemed to be working as the hostility subsided and the men put down their forks.


    The cloaked man who seemed to be the leader bowed slightly to Zen, gesturing at the eagle with the broken wing as though he was saying thanks. Indeed, there was something important about these eagles with the white feathers around their necks.


    The leader gestured towards Zen, inviting him into the fortress.


    Zen followed him but suddenly, stopped in his tracks.


    Over his shoulder, he''d caught sight of a red figure, sitting in a cage not far away, her face buried between her knees.


    "Nelly?" Zen was shocked.


    What was Nelly doing here? And imprisoned, no less?

 Chapter 2358 Recovering The Broken Wing

    These men draped with cloaks did not display the amount of power to defeat Nelly. How had they captured Nelly?


    Even with the absence of Godly Ways in this world, Nelly''s power was enough to defeat the cloaked men easily.


    Zen bet they should have relied on the eagles.


    Zen had noticed that there were some special eagles, and their strength was far stronger than that of an ordinary eagle. There might be some extremely powerful individuals among the eagles raised by the cloaked men.


    Nelly looked quite upset.


    Zen gestured to the cloaked men, meaning for them to wait for a moment before he started walking towards the iron cage.


    Because her head was buried in her legs and she stayed motionless, Nelly didn''t notice Zen''s arrival at all.


    CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!


    Zen knocked on the iron fence.


    "Fuck off! I''m not going to eat your disgusting food!" Nelly exclaimed but didn''t raise her head.


    The cloaked men would send her food every day in fear that she would die of starvation after they locked her up.


    But after all that had happened, how could Nelly swallow her pride and eat their food? Moreover, as a True God, she didn''t need to eat anything.


    Zen approached and put his hands behind his back. He then stared at Nelly with a faint smile and without saying a word.


    Nelly sensed something was wrong. Often, before the cloaked men left, they would say something she couldn''t understand. Why was it so quiet this time?


    As she looked up and saw Zen, her eyes were filled with astonishment, and she was stunned for a moment.


    "Why are you here?"


    Her face had shown immense excitement and surprise at the same time.


    "Why? Can''t I be here?" Zen said with a calm voice.


    Majority of the members of the Mu Clan did not give a good impression on Zen, but he had saved Nelly''s life twice already.


    However, Nelly''s elder sister, Rachelle, had tried to kill Zen once entering the valley. Because of this, Zen believed that Nelly must have told her sister something.


    In Zen''s opinion, Nelly had returned his kindness with ingratitude!


    "But how did you manage to make friends with these cloaked men?" Nelly asked as she noticed that the cloaked men treated Zen as a guest instead of an enemy.


    Zen just shrugged his shoulders and chose not to answer.


    "Can you help me out?" Nelly begged.


    After hearing that, Zen displayed a mocking smile on his face and said, "Why should I save my enemy?"


    Although Zen knew that his biggest enemy was the Dongfang Clan, the Mu Clan remained to be his first target. After all, it was Murphy who had planned to destroy the Evolutionary Universe.


    Astonished at what she heard from Zen''s mouth, the excitement in Nelly''s face vanished.


    Royal Eagle well."


    "We are willing to take the punishment."


    "Yes, I''m willing to accept the punishment."


    The members of the Eagle race being tied said one after another.


    The Royal Eagles were the spiritual deities of the Eagle race and no accident was allowed to happen to them. If the Royal Eagle died in the course of grazing, the race members grazing it would have to pay with their lives.


    This was the rule and practice of the Eagle race, so it was improper for Zen to intervene. However, he still asked, "Is there any way to get rid of their punishments?"


    The executioner shook his head. "It''s impossible, unless the Royal Eagle can fly into the sky once again."


    After its wing was broken, they said that the Royal Eagle had lost its fighting capacity forever, which was a great loss to the Eagle race. The Eagle race members had to be extremely careful while grazing the Royal Eagles.


    "Let the Royal Eagle fly again?" Zen''s eyes flashed and a smile appeared on his face.


    For the Eagle race members, they could never mend a broken wing. But for Zen, it was not that difficult.


    If the Godly Ways could be used, Zen could directly use the Life Godly Way to help the Royal Eagle grow a new wing. Now that the Godly Ways couldn''t be employed here, he still could use the pills.


    He thought for a while and Nelly''s face flashed in his mind. He smiled and said, "If I can help that Royal Eagle recover its broken wing, can you let them go?"


    "You can recover the broken wing?" The executioner stared at Zen with an incredible look.


    Zen nodded slightly and said in a serious tone, "I suppose so."


    The executioner looked at Zen doubtfully. He did not really believe what this outsider had said, but he finally put down his long sword. "I have to report this to our chief first!"

 Chapter 2359 Let Go Of Her

    The chief that the executioner was referring to was the supreme commander of the Eagle Castle.


    "Okay," Zen said with a nod.


    With that, the executioner left in a hurry, leaving all the members of the Eagle race awaiting punishment to look at Zen in surprise.


    "You¡­ You can really do it?"


    "You can heal the broken wing of our Royal Eagle?"


    "Impossible!"


    In their excitement, the voices of the members of Eagle race trembled.


    They were all too willing to take on the punishment.


    It was an unforgivable sin to let the Royal Eagle get hurt¡ªit was worse than losing even their own lives.


    So when they heard Zen make such a sudden promise, naturally, they got riled up. Still, they were worried he was just lying.


    Aoo¡­


    After a moment, an eagle was heard singing.


    Some sort of black light appeared in the sky where the eagle spread its wings and circled the area, flying towards Zen.


    The moment the black light appeared, all the eagles in the Eagle Castle grew extremely quiet. They scattered into every corner, curling up their wings and sticking out their chests, motionless, like soldiers under inspection.


    "This eagle is huge!" Zen muttered while looking up at it.


    The feathers on the eagle''s neck turned out to be a light golden color, and the eagle''s powerful momentum left Zen feeling threatened¡ªit was a truly powerful Royal Eagle. It had the power to fight him.


    In the blink of an eye, the Royal Eagle landed opposite to Zen as a sturdy member of the Eagle race leapt off its back.


    It shed a strange cloak, revealing a middle-aged man with a wide forehead¡ªthe chief of the Eagle Castle.


    Turning to face Zen, the chief asked in the Eagle race''s language, "Can you heal our Royal Eagle''s broken wing?"


    Unlike the other members of the Eagle race, the chief didn''t doubt Zen''s words. If he was lying, he would soon be exposed, after all.


    "Yes, I can," Zen nodded.


    Hearing these words, the chief''s Royal Eagle made a sound¡ªit should have understood Zen''s words and stared right at him with sharp eyes.


    Also looking intently at Zen was the chief as he asked, "Do you have any requests other than letting these people go?"


    He figured it was natural to forgive those people if the Royal Eagle could be healed. They had nothing to do with Zen, after all. So this didn''t count as a request at all.


    "Yes, of course," Zen said with a smile. "Let go of the woman you have caught."


    A sense of hesitation came over the chief at Zen''s request. "She killed our eagles. She is our enemy."


    "I can promise you that she will not be making a move again," Zen affirmed.


    The chief nodde


    age.


    Still cautious, Nelly didn''t leave the cage immediately. Instead, she suddenly stood up and took two steps back, her expression growing vigilant. "What do you want?"


    "I''m letting you go," Zen said flatly.


    "Letting me go?" She couldn''t believe it.


    Shrugging his shoulders, Zen turned around and left without a word.


    Standing in the cage, Nelly was still in a daze, wondering how on earth Zen made these people let her go so easily.


    When Zen''s back disappeared at the corner, Nelly rushed out of the cage to run after him.


    The members of the Eagle race held a grand feast to show their gratitude.


    Nelly took a seat beside Zen.


    Thinking about how she became a distinguished guest from nothing but a prisoner in the cage, she got rather emotional. Seeing how the Eagle race respected Zen so much, she was puzzled. It seemed that the guy had even learned the Eagle race''s language in a short time.


    Zen could communicate well with them, but Nelly was left stunned at the banquet like she had gone deaf.


    Everyone clinked their glasses and toasted to the chief. It wasn''t until then that Zen learned basic information about their world.


    His very purpose in helping the Eagle race was to get to the truth of the world as soon as he could. From the looks of it, it was very likely that the world was built by the jade seal, meaning that there must be a key point in controlling it.


    Apart from Zen himself, the consummate True Gods had also entered the world.


    Although the consummate True God of the Sword Clan died in the desert rather strangely, other consummate True Gods were unlikely to die so easily.


    Those consummate True Gods would definitely pour their efforts into finding a way, so he had to rush things along.

 Chapter 2360 The Heavenly Wheel Snake

    There was some information withheld by the Eagle race in the beginning.


    Despite the fact that Zen saved their Royal Eagle and was treated like an esteemed guest, he remained an outsider to their race.


    However, completely rebirthing the Royal Eagle''s wing by means of a pill was completely taking it to a whole other level.


    To say the chief was excited was an understatement.


    It was amazing just how Zen kept on surprising them. The young man actually had a pill that could save a disabled Royal Eagle. One could only wonder how many more magic pills he had in his possession.


    The chief didn''t know where Zen came from, but it didn''t really matter. If the young man wasn''t strong enough, then those pills were as good as the chief''s.


    Of course, Zen was already aware of the chief''s intentions.


    On hand, he still had around seven or eight five times refined pills. If the members of the Eagle race wanted to snatch them by force, then the price they would have to pay would definitely be higher than the harvest.


    Zen was no fool. He had already made inquiries and understood how this world worked more clearly.


    This world had three great races.


    The Eagle race was one of them, then the Roc race, and finally, the Swallow race. The golden rocs Zen had seen previously belonged to the Roc race.


    These three races lived through the birds they tamed and they flourished around the vast desert.


    "Is it caused by those bugs?" Zen asked.


    The chief nodded. "Yes. Our eagles take the Heavenly Wheel Bugs as their meal so they can grow healthy and strong."


    ''So those strange bugs are called Heavenly Wheel Bugs, '' Zen thought to himself.


    Every once in a while, the Eagle race would take their eagles out into the desert to graze and have their fill of Heavenly Wheel Bugs. It was there that Zen met them.


    The golden rocs had the same agenda and thus fought with the eagles. This had been going on for so long that each race always treated the others with animosity at sight.


    It was this desert that comprised the center of this world. Incidentally, a consummate True God of the Sword Clan also died there.


    Thinking of this, Zen asked again, "Are there some special places in this world? Or has anyone ever seen something similar to a jade seal?"


    Zen didn''t know how to control the jade sea


    stion uncovered old wounds that never really healed.


    "I''m sorry," Zen apologized in a low voice.


    The chief sighed. "We''ve gotten used to it after so many years." He then pointed at the wooden carving Zen made. "The Heavenly Wheel Snake cannot be offended. We have to sacrifice our children for us to live in peace. My poor daughter will be sent to the Heavenly Wheel Temper in half a month."


    A trace of sadness appeared on his face at the mention of his child.


    His daughter was only six-year-old and did not yet quite understand what the elders were talking about. All she had been doing so far was sit next to her father and enjoy her meal.


    When she heard him mention her, she smiled brightly at him.


    "In half a month?" Zen repeated in surprise.


    The chief could only nod sadly. "Yes."


    "May I take part in it?" Zen''s eyes flashed.


    The chief looked up at Zen in surprise, but a look of vigilance immediately replaced his shocked expression.


    Even if Zen helped in curing one of their Royal Eagles, they still did not trust in him fully. They did not know the origins of him and the woman beside him. Whether in dress or in aura, it was obvious that the two did not belong to this world.


    This small world they lived in formed their narrow views. None of them cared about the truths of the world. All they really cared about was their survival.


    Zen could read the chief''s thoughts on his face. It seemed that his request was about to be rejected, so he quietly took out six five times refined pills from his space ring.

 Chapter 2361 Offering Up Sacrifices

    When Zen took out the five times refined pills, their fragrance filled the entire hall.


    Most of the members of the Eagle race had never seen magical pills before and didn''t know how useful they were, but the chief had seen the effect with his own eyes.


    As soon as he saw the six milky white pills, his breathing became heavy as he imagined how it would be to have them in his hands.


    During the past few years of fighting, a lot of Royal Eagles had died. Most of the remaining ones were injured and couldn''t fly anymore. Among these injured eagles were the precious golden-feather Royal Eagle and the bloody-feather Royal Eagle.


    These six pills alone could heal the injured eagles as well as greatly enhance their strength.


    "If you take me there, these are yours," Zen offered.


    The chief found his proposal very tempting.


    Recently, the conflict between the Eagle race and the Roc race had been getting more and more serious. The chances of a fierce war breaking out between the two races were very high. The Eagle race needed these magical pills to enhance their strength before that.


    "I''m willing to take you there, but I don''t think the other chiefs would agree to it," the chief replied after a deep breath.


    The Eagle race was divided into five tribes¡ªthe Eagle Castle and four other tribes.


    Even if the chief of the Eagle Castle agreed to Zen''s proposal, the other four might not agree.


    Zen frowned, wondering how to solve this dilemma.


    Judging from the clues he had obtained, the Heavenly Wheel Temple was probably the only place that could control the jade seal. He had no choice but to go there.


    He had been searching the desert for so long, but to no avail. Without the guidance of the Eagle race, it would be impossible for him to find the temple.


    Thinking of this, he turned and looked at Nelly.


    With a glass of wine in her hand and a smug smile on her face, Nelly said, "Oh, it turns out that you are using these pills to entice these people to do your bidding."


    Nelly couldn''t understand the conversation between Zen and the chief of the Eagle race, but she managed to get the gist of it by looking at their expressions and actions.


    The chief of the Eagle race was obviously very interested in these healing pills, and Zen was probably offering them to him in return for something else.


    Moreover, judging from Zen''s expression, she could tell that the chief of the Eagle race had not agreed to his request.


    "Do you have any healing pills? They must be refined pills, but it doesn''t matter how many times they''ve been refined," Zen said, ignoring Nelly''s jab.


    Even if she had only one or two times refined pills, those pills would still be able to heal the injured Royal Eagles. He had no doubt that the Eagle race would agree to his request as long as he offered them more pills.


    "Yes, I have a lot of them," Nelly replied with a smile.


    "Give them to me," Zen said, reaching out his hand.


    "Why do I have to do as you say?" Nelly asked.


    Zen''s eyes darkened slightly. "Because I saved you three times!"


    He had saved Ne


    ave of his hand, he grabbed the purple light.


    It was a palm-sized purple fruit with a transparent hard shell on its surface. The transparent flesh inside was very sweet with a faint flavor.


    "Just eat it!"


    A voice came from above his head.


    Zen raised his head and saw Nelly standing on the back of a Royal Eagle, looking down at him.


    With her snow-white skin and jet-black hair, she exuded infinite vitality. Her beauty would make anyone stop in their tracks.


    After Nelly had discovered how Zen had become friends with the members of the Eagle race, she had begun offering them a lot of valuable things.


    Now, in the eyes of the members of the Eagle race, Nelly was a hundred times more generous than Zen.


    She had taken out powerful divine textures from her small space ring, as well as pills and magic weapons with different uses.


    It hadn''t taken long for the Eagle race to give Nelly certain privileges over Zen. They even assigned a Royal Eagle to provide services specially to her.


    After some simple practice, Nelly had been able to control the Royal Eagle with a bamboo flute in her hand. During this period of time, she had been riding the Royal Eagle to tour around the Eagle Castle, always bringing back some strange things and food.


    The first person to taste the food was Zen. It was lucky that he was not afraid of the poison, or he would have already died.


    "Waah!"


    At this moment, a crying sound came from not far away.


    A woman from the Eagle race was holding a boy in her arms and weeping.


    Tomorrow, the members of the Eagle race would gather at the Heavenly Wheel Temple. At that time, a few boys and girls would be offered up to the snake as sacrifices, which meant that the boy would be separated from his mother forever.


    Whoosh!


    Nelly jumped down from the Royal Eagle and landed lightly on her feet. Then, she sat down next to Zen and looked at the mother and son below. As she pursed her pink lips, a hint of sadness appeared in her eyes.


    The expression on her face was rare for a woman like Nelly.

 Chapter 2362 Heavenly Wheel Temple

    Nelly was akin to many other talents of the rich clans on the Floating Islands.


    Her life was pre-planned from the day she was born.


    She practiced hard day and night and admired her sister very much. She paid little to no heed to the stuff that was going on around her. Her sole aim was to become the second Rachelle of the Mu Clan.


    She seldom appreciated other good things in life.


    However, these days were unlike the rest. She felt as if the time had slowed down for her, and her feelings to the occurrences around her were completely different than usual.


    "That snake is too cruel. Why does it have to feed on small boys and girls?" Nelly said with a frown.


    Zen threw her a casual glance and said, "Since when did you become so sentimental?"


    "I''m not!" Nelly glared at Zen.


    Zen calmly looked at the mother and son and said, "These things happen all the time in the divine land and in the universes. On the other hand, it''s quite understandable if it surprises you."


    Nelly''s heart skipped a beat when she heard Zen''s words. She looked at him with a complicated expression on her face.


    Her sister had told her that Zen was a stowaway from the Evolutionary Universe.


    He must have experienced a great deal of things on his way from the universe to the divine land.


    Her curiosity for Zen deepened as she developed a strange feeling regarding the whole situation.


    The very next day, the selected children were carried onto the backs of the eagles.


    Then, hundreds of eagles took off from the Eagle Castle.


    Leading the flock were thirteen Royal Eagles. Zen and Nelly were seated on two different Royal Eagles.


    Under the leadership of the chief, they flew some distance to the northwest. After a while, they were greeted by a circular mountain.


    It was a dead volcano. Hundreds of years'' weathering and erosion had turned its crater into a beautiful lake. Many eagles landed around the lake. The people of the Eagle race had finally reached their destination.


    The Eagle race was divided into five tribes: the Vision Tribe, the Myth Tribe, the Edge Tribe, the Collar Tribe, and the Cape Tribe.


    Zen and Nelly were with the Vision Tribe.


    "Why do we have two outsiders among us?" the leader of the Edge Tribe demanded, staring at Zen and Nelly.


    Besides Zen and Nelly, there were also the consummate True Gods and other True Gods who had entered this world.


    The Eagle race were wary of the intruders. Just like Nelly, some of the True Gods were capable of killing people without saying much. Therefore, the natives were ultimately inclined to defend themselves.


    The Edge Tribe was attacked by two True Gods a while ago, and it took


    In the center of the city stood a huge altar, behind which was a lofty hall.


    Upon hearing the tribal leaders'' words, all the eagles descended, withdrew their wings and landed on the altar.


    Zen jumped off the back of his eagle and carefully examined the altar.


    At the center of the altar, a statue of a huge black snake was erected. The snake resembled the one on the jade seal.


    "It''s that snake," said Nelly, who was following Zen closely.


    "Heavenly Wheel Snake." Zen gave a nod of approval. That was what the members of the Eagle race called this snake.


    The tribal leaders and other members of the Eagle race simultaneously jumped off the backs of their respective eagles, and then carried the children with them.


    These children had been crying for their mothers throughout the journey. But they had fallen asleep since all the crying made them tired. Serenity could be seen in their childish faces. They were unaware of what they were about to face.


    Looking at the innocent face of the boy who was sleeping in her arms, Nelly felt pity for him and whispered, "Can''t we do anything to save these children?"


    "Let''s wait and see," Zen replied faintly.


    He was not sure of how ferocious the Heavenly Wheel Snake was.


    If the beast in the jade seal was as powerful as the Time Elk, even the consummate True Gods wouldn''t be able to save the children, let alone him.


    Suddenly, the sky was filled with sounds of birds chirping.


    Then, several colorful clouds were visible floating in the sky. Those colorful clouds were made up of palm-sized colorful birds. Some people were standing on top of those birds.


    "The Swallow race is here," the chief said.


    At the same time, Zen also noticed three consummate True Gods standing on top of the clouds.

 Chapter 2363 Rachelles Chance

    "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."


    After a few scattered bird songs, a group of colorful clouds made entirely of the mysterious birds descended slowly.


    The members of the Swallow race also brought several children to worship the Heavenly Wheel Snake.


    Although the Swallow race wasn''t openly at war with the Eagle race, the two races were not on friendly terms with each other in this world. Thus, the members of the Swallow race present exchanged no greetings or niceties with the members of the Eagle race. Rather, the two races simply looked upon each other coldly from afar, huddling together with their own peers.


    When the three consummate True Gods from the Swallow race noticed Zen and Nelly, they were surprised.


    "Aren''t you from the Mu Clan? Why are you here?" The one who had spoken was a young man with dark skin. His name was Eugene, and he came from the Mysterious Soul Building, one of the three forces of the Moon Clan.


    The Moon Clan and the Mu Clan were not on the same side. Hearing this, Nelly was taken aback. She nodded fiercely. "If you can come here, so can we!"


    Eugene rolled his eyes and smiled coldly. "You are just a low-rank True God. How dare you run around this world?" he said in a condescending tone. "It''s really unexpected that you were even able to find the Heavenly Wheel Temple!"


    Nelly didn''t say anything. Frankly, she didn''t even care much about controlling the jade seal. She was too busy thinking about how to prevent these children from being eaten by the Heavenly Wheel Snake.


    Zen also remained silent. These consummate True Gods had found this place through the Swallow race. It seemed that his judgment had been right.


    The key to the jade seal was probably inside the Heavenly Wheel Temple.


    After a while, a peculiar sound, loud and clear, came down from the sky again.


    "Yo..."


    Then a golden cloud of birds shot across the sky.


    It was a group of golden rocs!


    In a heartbeat, the cloud of rocs swooped downward and landed on the other side of the altar.


    The Swallow race had been successful at avoiding conflicts with both the Eagle race and the Roc race over the past years. Thus, even though they were far from being allies, the Swallow race did not consider either of the two other races to be their mortal enemies.


    However, there had been a feud between the Roc race and the Eagle race for many generations.


    Not long ago, the Myth Tribe of the Eagle race had sent out eight Royal Eagles and over a hundred fierce male eagles to massacre a small village belonging to the Roc race.


    Of course, the Roc race retaliated, ruthlessly slaughtering many members of the Eagle race themselves.


    Zen himself had witnessed the golden rocs attacking the cloaked men who raised eagles. That, too, was part of the Roc race''s revenge against the Eagle race.


    It was no surprise that the two races regarded each other with such anger. They were, to all intents and purposes, enemies.


    Upon landing, the large golden rocs acknowledged the eagles on Zen


    t was impossible for anyone to use the internal momentum.


    Of course, Rachelle''s most powerful Murdering Godly Way couldn''t be condensed in this world either. She had simply extracted the power of the nine stars from her body and emitted a strong power. It was difficult for this power to penetrate through the Redemption Armor, and even if it succeeded, it would become much weaker in the process. Zen was already able to withstand it with just his own physical body!


    When she noticed the strange thin film on Zen''s body, a strange expression colored Rachelle''s face. She stretched out her hands, a short sword and a short machete appearing on each of her hands. Then she said coldly, "Even though you have the magical treasure, I still can cut you into pieces!"


    As soon as she had finished speaking, she took a step forward and charged towards Zen at breakneck speed.


    Zen retreated immediately, looking calm.


    Rachelle was not as intimidating without the help of the Godly Way. Indeed, she far surpassed Zen in terms of speed, but as far as physical strength was concerned, Zen was not much less powerful than her.


    "In that case..."


    In a flash, the Great Weighty Sword appeared in Zen''s hand. However, just as he was about to attack, an unknown figure flew past him unexpectedly.


    Zen had been going around in a wide circle as he continuously dodged Rachelle. Nelly had taken the shortcut and caught up with Rachelle, placing herself between her sister and Zen.


    "Rachelle!"


    "Fuck off!"


    As Nelly went to stop her sister, Rachelle looked livid. She didn''t even think she recognized her sister any more.


    However, Rachelle was so eager to kill Zen that she chose to simply ignore Nelly.


    With a single move, she pushed Nelly out of the way and onto the ground.


    As she pushed Nelly away, she was faced with a surprise. Something in front of her suddenly roared.


    Not only had Zen not run away, but he stood there, both of his hands on his heavy sword, aiming to swing it at her head.

 Chapter 2364 Cut The Gordian Knot

    Zen was ready to burn his bridges with his choice to fight back against a consummate True God.


    He had gone all out with the slash, nearly activating the strength source to the limit that his body could bear.


    In this world, Zen couldn''t use the internal momentum, so he couldn''t fight using the Emotion Closing Godly Way. Despite that, he wasn''t scared of Rachelle. His swordsmanship alone bested hers any day, and she couldn''t use the Godly Way either.


    The terrifying power of the strike formed a heavy pressure in the air that Rachelle could feel, the thick sword blade ringing with the force.


    Rachelle snorted, a look of contempt appearing on her face.


    Instinctively, she twisted her left arm and raised her right arm.


    The sound of metal clashing rang through the air.


    Her short sword and machete had blocked the Great Weighty Sword in midair.


    Her momentary triumph was soon over, her face contorting in shock. The power from the Great Weighty Sword was nearly unbearable. Her arms became heavy and her feet sank into the yellow sand.


    She had no choice but to lower her weapons.


    The moment she had lowered her arms, Rachelle was left unguarded.


    Zen seized this opportunity to charge forward. He brought the sword back to him, and readied to swing again. There was sharp whistle through the air as he swung it at Rachelle.


    The Great Weighty Sword was not effective at stabbing due to its weight, but that didn''t change the fact it was still difficult for Rachelle to dodge the attack. Her only choice was to retreat.


    Zen could not let Rachelle off so easily.


    Rachelle fled at an extremely fast speed, leaving a trace of a thin line in the desert sand.


    Zen gathered an immense amount of power at his feet.


    Dust and sand clouded the air, a deep hole appearing under his feet. By taking advantage of the great force, Zen turned into a sharp arrow. In this form, his speed was not inferior to Rachelle''s.


    "Dream on if you think you can take me down!"


    She rarely took any weak consummate True God seriously, and would never take a low-rank True God as a serious threat.


    Only five or six Consummate True Gods in the rich clans could compete with her!


    To be forced away by a low-rank True God was shameful for such a proud woman as her.


    Even if she couldn''t use her Godly Way, she could still subdue this brat with just her technique and strength.


    After retreating for more than one hundred feet, she suddenly lowered her body and used the short sword to circle the Great Weighty Sword. She gently lifted it and intended to use a mysterious and dexterous sword skill to deflect Zen''s Great Weighty Sword, and then to use the machete to cut off Zen''s head.


    In a battle between two gods, martial arts and hand-to-hand combat skills did not determine any kind of outcome. It was why True Gods never paid much attention to them.


    Even s


    hahn strode quickly towards Rachelle.


    Rachelle''s body was like a blood red shuttle, zipping around Zen and looking for an opening to attack.


    Her speed still held an advantage, but every time she launched at Zen, the unpredictable heavy sword would be ready for her to hit it. She would retreat with gritted teeth.


    This time, as Rachelle readied to rush Zen, Shahn seized her wrist and pulled her back.


    "What are you doing?" Rachelle shouted in fury at Shahn.


    "If you continue to fight with that brat here, I''m afraid you''ll alert that thing," he said, pointing at the huge statue of the Heavenly Wheel Snake.


    Rachelle was determined to kill Zen however. She said in a cold voice, "Since that''s the case, why don''t you help me? Are you afraid that Troy will get angry and give you trouble?"


    Shahn considered her words for a moment, glancing at Zen. "You''re right."


    Shahn, Walton and the others didn''t care whether Zen was alive or dead. All they wanted was for Rachelle to stop making a fuss. Although Zen had showed great strength in the world by virtue of his own advantages, the strength Zen had displayed was nothing at all if the several consummate True Gods acted at the same time.


    When Zen caught wind of this, ice chilled the blood in his veins. His middle and ring fingers curled up slightly. The two fingers were adorned with the rings which had belonged to the consummate True God of the Sword Clan. If these consummate True Gods were really going to attack him together, he would probably have no choice but to go all out to fight for his life.


    "We will help you finish this brat. After we return to the Floating Islands, you must make sure to offer some benefits to us though," said Walton, carrying a large machete and walking slowly towards them.


    The three consummate True Gods moved to surround Zen. Clearly, they were planning to cut the Gordian knot to finish Zen off quickly.

 Chapter 2365 Being Threatened

    Not far away, Nelly had finally gotten herself up from the ground.


    From where she now stood, she watched the scene, and felt a dilemma arise within her.


    Of everyone, she knew Rachelle best. Once that girl had made up her mind on something, nothing and no one was going to convince her to change it.


    In the past, Nelly had never dared try persuading Rachelle.


    But in this present moment, a sudden burst of courage washed over her out of nowhere. She rushed forward at once. Now, she was standing right in front of Zen.


    "Rachelle, please..." Nelly began. "Stop!" She begged her sister, gritting her teeth.


    Rachelle, Walton and Shahn were on the verge of attacking, when unexpectedly, Nelly had shown up.


    It was difficult for them to understand right away why Nelly, who had stopped Rachelle once before, was standing in front of Zen.


    "What the hell is Nelly doing? Is she absolutely crazy?" Walton chuckled nervously, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.


    Without saying anything, Shahn looked at Rachelle who was a little off to his left. Seeing as Nelly was Rachelle''s younger sister, he was incredibly curious to find out how Rachelle was going to deal with her in this situation.


    "Nelly! What''s wrong? What are you doing? Are you out of your mind?"


    Rachelle shouted angrily, raising her eyebrows as her face flushed.


    In front of her, Nelly stood her ground. She had always been compliant and obedient, and had never gone against her sister''s will before.


    Yet, this was the second time and Rachelle had to do something!


    "I... I..." With a nervous look on her face, Nelly thought for a brief moment before she said tremblingly, "I think we need to have a serious conversation."


    "Have a serious conversation?" Rachelle was stunned. Her eyes narrowed and her brows furrowed together this time. "Are you kidding me?"


    "Ha-ha! Now, isn''t that funny!" A big, goofy smile appeared on Walton''s face as he laughed. Rachelle spun around and glared at him with fierce eyes.


    Zen watched Nelly''s slender back, his expression full of surprise and disbelief.


    He had never expected that this girl would stand up for him time and time again. Especially now, before her sister!


    Nelly gritted her teeth and said, "Even if he''s really a member of the Luo Clan and Mike''s son, that doesn''t automatically mean that he''s our clan''s enemy. Why do you have to kill him so badly?"


    As Rachelle heard what Nelly had said, her frown tightened. She glared at Nelly as if she was staring at a stranger. Her eyes were careless, emotionless. After a short while, she displayed a helpless smile and said, "When did you become so naive, Nelly?"


    "I''m not naive," replied Nelly, shaking her head. Then, she added decisively, "I just think we should all give each other another chance."


    "Ha-ha." Rachelle was really pissed off and laughed sarcastically.


    of the Eagle race, Roc race, and Swallow race all knelt down, facing toward the Heavenly Wheel Snake.


    How was it possible that the consummate True Gods present could be willing to show their respect to such a snake?


    If it weren''t for the fact that they were unable to use the Godly Way in here, they would have already charged into the Heavenly Wheel Temple and chopped the snack to bits.


    A consummate True God was also a God!


    In their inner world, they were the ones to be bowed down before. There wasn''t any reason for them to kneel before others.


    "That''s it!"


    One of the members of the Roc race reminded Rachelle and the other consummate True Gods, despite trying to keep his voice low.


    The members of the Swallow race and the Eagle race also hinted at the other consummate True Gods and Zen. All of them had an expression of panic on their faces, fearing that this group of outsiders would infuriate the Heavenly Wheel Snake.


    After hesitating for as long as they could allow, the consummate True Gods bent their knees, too.


    This world was the Heavenly Wheel Snake''s home. In order to enter the Heavenly Wheel Temple, they had no choice but to debase themselves.


    Zen also knelt down on one knee, slightly raised his head and carefully looked at the slowly wiggling Heavenly Wheel Snake. It was terrifying.


    Indeed, like the members of the Eagle race had said, the Heavenly Wheel Snake was very vigilant. It carefully extended its huge body from the temple and looked up and down, as if it would retract into the temple if it caught a glimpse of any sign of movement.


    As Zen was observing the Heavenly Wheel Snake, he suddenly felt someone looking at him. He turned his head slightly and his eyes met directly with Nelly''s.


    Nelly looked at Zen with a complex expression. She seemed to be trying to send a message through her bright eyes. Her expression was confused, but firm.

 Chapter 2366 A Fierce Battle

    In just a dozen days, Nelly had changed a lot, much to Zen''s surprise.


    However, Zen agreed with Rachelle. It was not that easy to dissolve the grudge between the Mu Clan and the Luo Clan. What Nelly thought was too naive.


    Buzz! Buzz!


    At this moment, Zen heard a series of noises coming from afar.


    When he raised his head, he saw a light curtain flash in front of the Heavenly Wheel Temple. On the surface of the light curtain, pitch-black spears appeared, carrying within them a strange force that almost made them seem as if they had been formed by time itself.


    "Black spears!"


    Zen''s eyebrows rose slightly. He instantly remembered the words of the consummate True God of the Sword Clan, "Be careful with the black spears." It seemed that he had been killed by these black spears when he had visited the Heavenly Wheel Temple.


    But what power was hidden in these spears that had made him look like he had died for countless years in a short period of time?


    With their abilities, there was no way the consummate True Gods would be wasting time on infiltrating the Roc race and the Swallow race if they could directly enter the Heavenly Wheel Temple on their own. Zen guessed that they must have tried to do that once and suffered a great setback, so they had no choice but to ally with other races now.


    ''Was Troy also killed by these black spears?'' Zen wondered, but soon, he concluded that it wasn''t a possibility. After all, Rachelle had just mentioned that Troy would give Shahn and Walton trouble.


    However, he hadn''t come with them today, which meant that he must have been hurt by these spears. Zen looked at the snake, lost in thought.


    When the Heavenly Wheel Snake arrived in front of the light, it suddenly thrust out its long and thin tongue with a hissing sound. Slowly, a crack ran up the middle of the light curtain enveloping the Heavenly Wheel Temple, splitting the curtain into two.


    The moment the light curtain was opened, many consummate True Gods raised their heads with a faint murderous look in their eyes.


    Hiss...


    The moment they unleashed the killing intent, the Heavenly Wheel Snake paused, and its huge body instantly retreated back within the light curtain. At the same time, it raised its head high, vigilantly glancing around.


    Seeing this, Shahn gently waved his hand, indicating everyone to calm down.


    Although these consummate True Gods couldn''t use their Godly Ways, they had no doubt that they could take the Heavenly Wheel Snake down.


    What they couldn''t break was the light curtain that enveloped the Heavenly Wheel Temple and the black spears. When they saw the light curtain open a crack, they couldn''t help but feel a killing intent in their hearts.


    However, they hadn''t expected the snake to be so alert. They lowered their heads once again so as not to scare it away.


    The Heavenly Wheel Snake looked around with a t


    Heavenly Wheel Snake raised its head high and smashed it onto the altar.


    Boom!


    As the snake''s body vibrated violently, many consummate True Gods standing on top of the snake fell down.


    Only Zen, Rachelle, and Shahn, who had been sharp enough to stab their weapons into the snake''s head and tightly fix themselves on it at this critical moment, remained on top of the snake.


    Then, in one swift moment, the snake retreated into the Heavenly Wheel Temple, dragging Zen, Rachelle, and Shahn along with it.


    As soon as the snake disappeared from sight, the crack in the light curtain began to slowly close.


    "Hurry up!"


    "Charge in before the light curtain closes!"


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    The consummate True Gods passed through the light curtain and rushed into the temple one after another.


    There was a great gap between Nelly''s ability and that of the consummate True Gods. Therefore, she didn''t rush forward immediately. Looking at the light curtain that was slowly closing, she pulled out the bamboo flute in her hand and summoned the Royal Eagle of the Eagle race.


    A chief of the Eagle race tried to stop her when he saw this scene. But on second thought, he decided that they had no choice but to help the outsiders, now that they had already offended the Heavenly Wheel Snake. He just hoped that these outsiders would really kill the snake. Otherwise, everyone would feel its wrath.


    The moment the Royal Eagle reached Nelly, she turned over and jumped onto its back. With her eyes on the crack in the light curtain, she grabbed the feather on the Royal Eagle''s back with one hand.


    By now, the crack had shrunk small enough for only one person to pass through it. Without wasting a single second, Nelly exerted all her strength and thrust herself up with the Royal Eagle. Miraculously, she managed to enter the crack. As soon as she entered, the crack in the light curtain was completely closed.

 Chapter 2367 Deep Inside The Temple

    In his hands, Zen held the Great Weighty Sword tightly and fixed himself on the snake''s head.


    As he bumped and jolted along the way, he ended up face to face with the beams at the top of the temple. He was so close that at times, he was pressed and even rubbed up against the ceiling.


    Thanks to his powerful physical body though, such a collision wouldn''t cause him any harm. On the contrary, in fact, the Heavenly Wheel Temple''s ceiling was instead pitted by him.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Rachelle, who was firmly fixed on the other side of the snake''s head, went through the same thing. Both she and Zen were currently facing the same fate.


    She was in a position higher than Zen. As the Heavenly Wheel Snake continued retreating, her head, of course, crashed onto countless beams.


    Although she was a consummate True God and her body''s physical strength was much stronger than that of an ordinary True God, it was safe to say that her body wasn''t as strong as Zen''s. Moreover, Zen''s body was protected by a layer of Redemption Armor, which was extremely secure. After several rounds of collisions, she felt dizzy.


    She looked a mess with the pieces of broken stone in her hair and grey-black ashes on her face.


    From the opposing side of the snake''s head, Zen sent her a glance just fast enough to reveal a faint smile. Having caught a glimpse of his expression, Rachelle flew into a rage and shouted, "What the hell are you laughing at?"


    Zen shrugged his shoulders and the smile on his lips only spread wider.


    Just as Rachelle was about to abuse him angrily, her head made contact into a beam again, causing it to smash. She was dazed.


    In contrast, Shahn, hanging low, was feeling much better. His cyan sword was nailed to the huge snake''s side, and he stood on his tiptoes on the hilt. Even though the snake''s head was shaking in irregular rhythm, he maintained his balance as would a solid, mature mountain.


    As he noticed Rachelle''s messy face and hair, he couldn''t help himself from laughing out loud.


    Rachelle was so angry that with her temper, she might just roll right over to the other side of the snake''s head and kick Zen straight off.


    Despite her desire, the snake head was retreating back far too fast. If she was accidentally thrown down to the ground, it would be difficult to keep up with it. She couldn''t take such a risk.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    The Heavenly Wheel Snake continued to withdraw toward the depths of the Heavenly Wheel Temple.


    The consummate True Gods behind the snake followed Zen all the way, and at the end of the line was Nelly. Her speed was much slower than the others'' at the moment.


    It wasn''t before long that a whole five minutes had passed.


    Nobody knew how the Heavenly Wheel Snake had reached the bottom of the ground exactly, and the surroundings were completely immersed in darkness.


    Zen clenched the hilt of his Great Weighty Sword, activating his mag


    n a moment of desperation, Zen had suddenly remembered the Space-striking Ring in his hand.


    He stomped on the hilt of the huge silver sword, and an extremely powerful force exploded forth. His entire body shot upward once again. With a leap, he jumped onto the Heavenly Wheel Snake''s back. He was not in the same position as Rachelle.


    As Zen caught his balance, the huge silver sword made from the Space-striking Ring had turned into a silver light. It was shooting toward the void and firing into the noodle-like lights.


    When the huge silver sword shot into the glow, it also turned into a silver light ray and flowed rapidly along with the other light rays.


    A black insect that lay on a light ray didn''t even have time to dodge before it was pushed over by the silver light and killed instantly.


    "You''re quite the tough one to kill!"


    It had never occurred to Rachelle that Zen would use this method in order to get back onto the Heavenly Wheel Snake''s body. She was pissed alright, but still impressed.


    Before Zen was even standing completely still, she drew back the chain that circled the beams and the snake''s body, and with one foot, she stepped on the machete that connected with the chain. She pressed it further and further into the Heavenly Wheel Snake''s body, making sure that she wouldn''t fall anymore. After that, she grabbed the chain and turned into a red light once more, rushing toward Zen.


    Of course, Zen had no desire in admitting that he was inferior. With a flick of the Great Weighty Sword in his hand, the two of them began fighting violently on the Heavenly Wheel Snake''s back anew.


    Only Shahn was left alone, holding the snake''s head. He also noticed that his cyan sword was being thrown out little by little. If it went on like this, he would eventually fall down, sooner or later. Shahn couldn''t help shouting out at Rachelle, "Rachelle, you should save me first! Please! I''ll take that guy''s life for you!"

 Chapter 2368 Dramatic Reversal

    "You hold on yourself first!"


    Rachelle said without looking back. She held the chain while approaching Zen.


    The head was the part of the Heavenly Wheel Snake that was shaking the most violently. On the other hand, its body, which Zen and Rachelle were clinging onto, was much more stable.


    Zen continued to glide backward on the smooth back of the Heavenly Wheel Snake with the Great Weighty Sword leaning against his chest. In the face of Rachelle''s fierce attack, Zen fought back while retreating. It was obvious that Rachelle couldn''t take him down in just a short moment.


    However, Shahn, who was on the head of the snake, was in danger. He was barely hanging onto the long sword and could be thrown out at any time.


    At this moment, several consummate True Gods appeared at the entrance of the pillar.


    The goal of all these consummate True Gods was the same¡ªto get the jade seal. Now that they had managed to enter the Heavenly Wheel Temple, there was no reason for them to give up.


    However, the Heavenly Wheel Snake was retracting too fast for them to catch up with it.


    Fortunately, although the Heavenly Wheel Temple was enormous, it had only one path; they just needed to follow it all the way on the path.


    "Shahn!"


    As soon as Walton entered, he saw Shahn hanging onto the sword and dangling in the air. His eyes widened as he said, "Don''t worry. I''ll help you out!"


    The consummate True Gods might not be able to use Godly Ways, but they had brought with them a lot of magic weapons. Walton gently patted his wrist, summoning a big dark red crossbow. On the back of the crossbow, there was a huge capstan, around which there were golden ropes that coiled into loops.


    He grabbed one end of the golden rope and threw it at the bottom of the pillar. After falling, the red crossbow, under the control of the golden rope, swung back from the other side of the pillar like a pendulum bob.


    Walton jumped up and caught the red crossbow. Quickly tying the golden rope into a knot, he knelt on one knee and aimed at the head of the Heavenly Wheel Snake.


    "Phew!"


    A shining red bolt, with the golden rope tied to it, shot toward the Heavenly Wheel Snake.


    Very few consummate True Gods in the divine land would be equipped with weapons like crossbows. The Earth Godly Way that Walton cultivated was very special. Although it was a powerful Godly Way, it wasn''t perfect in terms of flexibility. Therefore, Walton always carried all sorts of magic weapons with him.


    This Fire God Wrath was an extremely powerful supreme primordial weapon. The bolts it shot were enough to hurt any consummate True God.


    Buzz...


    The thick bowstring was still vibrating


    Great Weighty Sword.


    Crack!


    The cracks on the Great Weighty Sword began to spread again.


    "A Holy Being?" Zen''s eyes narrowed slightly, and a mocking smile appeared on his face. He shook his head and said, "Your field of vision is too narrow. There are some ideas that you will never be able to figure out!"


    "What do you mean?" When she saw that Zen didn''t seem to be lying, a look of doubt appeared on her face.


    "You don''t need to know," Zen said. As he spoke, he waved the Great Weighty Sword again. The sword floated in the air in a strange arc before rushing toward Rachelle''s neck.


    Noticing the arc of Zen''s sword, Rachelle flew up into the air and easily dodged the attack.


    But Zen only smiled faintly. Suddenly, the sword turned and slashed at the chain under Rachelle''s feet!


    Zen managed to cut off the chain in an instant.


    At the same time, Walton and the other consummate True Gods managed to finally pin the snake''s head to the pillar.


    Since the big snake was unable to move its head, it began to roll its body side to side in an attempt to escape.


    Unable to keep her footing, Rachelle fell to the side of the snake''s back.


    "Phew!"


    She had never expected such a dramatic reversal. In a moment of desperation, she stabbed the short sword into the snake''s body and hung onto the side of the snake. At the same time, Zen, who was still firmly standing on the back of the snake, pointed his Great Weighty Sword at Rachelle and said indifferently, "There are some chess pieces that you can''t easily get rid of."


    Then, the intense sword intent from the Great Weighty Sword began to surge.


    Just as the sword intent was about to shoot out and hit Rachelle, a red figure quickly rushed forward, grabbing Zen''s hand and begging, "Zen! No, please!"

 Chapter 2369 Let Him Go

    Once Walton and the other consummate True Gods had fixed the snake head at a place, Nelly was the first one to climb up.


    Unexpectedly, as soon as she pulled herself up, she found that her sister''s life was on a line. Her sister was going to die! All she could do was to pounce on Zen and plead for mercy.


    Zen stood motionlessly on the snake''s back, and his emotion didn''t waver at all either.


    ''This woman has tried to kill me several times. I have no reason to spare her life!'' he thought to himself.


    However, as Zen watched Nelly run up to him like this, he hesitated for a moment.


    He hesitated a moment too long.


    Holding the short sword''s hilt, Rachelle took a turn in the air with her flexible body. She somersaulted high above and a blood red long whip zipped toward Zen.


    Swish!


    In the blink of an eye, Zen was pulled forcefully downward by the long whip.


    "Ah!"


    Nelly screamed. With her subconscious, she dragged Zen using all her power.


    As the two of them slid downward, Rachelle took the opportunity to pull herself up toward the snake''s back.


    As Rachelle Mu and Nelly Mu passed by each other, their sisterly eyes met and clashed together.


    Terror and astonishment were written all over Nelly''s face, but Rachelle on the other hand, was extremely calm.


    While Rachelle stood firmly on the snake''s back, the blood red whip in her hand rolled down once more. The end of the whip moved at extremely high speeds and before either of them could react, the whip wrapped itself around Nelly''s arm. Because Nelly was clinging to Zen, the whip hung them both in the air.


    Zen glanced at the black insects crawling on the light rays below him with a gloomy expression.


    "Nelly, let him go!" Rachelle said calmly, yet firmly.


    Resting her hands tightly on Zen''s chest, Nelly shook her head and said stubbornly, "No!"


    "Then I''m afraid you''re leaving me with no choice but to kill you along with him," said Rachelle threateningly.


    This young sister was used to obeying. Now though, she had been disobedient time and time again, which riled Rachelle.


    Despite her boiling rage, in her heart, she loved her younger sister very much. The words she spoke were really just to threaten Nelly. She would never bury her sister alongside Zen.


    Nelly''s big round eyes blinked a few times and she lowered her head to look at Zen, her heart pounding with regret.


    All this time, she had hoped that she''d simply solve the underlying conflict between her sister and Zen.


    Although she also knew that her actions were very naive, sh


    was only a one-time magic weapon. If the silver light dissipated after moving forward for a period of time, he and Nelly would probably have to face the black insects. If that were the case, chances were, they''d be swallowed up whole.


    However, back in the desert, Zen had also activated another Space-striking Ring, and the power that it exuded out gave him an extra boost of confidence.


    The silver light, which was transferred from the Space-striking Ring, explored in front of them and crushed the black insects. After a short while, Zen heard a loud bang.


    The silver light turned into a huge silver sword, and it collided into the opposite wall with a loud explosion.


    It wasn''t before long that Zen felt his body become lighter and his originally stretched form began to shrink and recover quickly. He was delighted that they had made it out in such a short period of time.


    Bang!


    And that was when Zen bumped directly into a very solid wall. His body slammed straight on to it.


    "Ah!"


    With a shriek, Nelly was next out of the light and she slammed into Zen''s chest.


    She straightened her hair and stepped back with a blushing face, as quickly as she possibly could. She whispered, "I''m so sorry. I didn''t expect that my sister would..."


    Zen waved his hand, in a nonchalant manner. He didn''t care about what had just happened, not in the least. He then glanced to his side, his eyebrows twitching nervously.


    He guessed that they must be at the very end of the Heavenly Wheel Temple. A huge bronze wall stood at the end and a few very unique lines were drawn on it. Furthermore, right smack in the middle of all the gathered lines was a small jade seal, emitting a faint light.

 Chapter 2370 The World Of The Bugs

    As Zen looked at the jade seal, his heart rate accelerated. He resisted the urge to take it, observing it carefully from a distance.


    The huge pillar at the center of the cave extended all the way down into the void and was connected to the bronze wall. This was the only route to the jade seal.


    The bronze wall was engraved with ray-like lines and intricate carvings of insects.


    "These lines show the time passages to the void surrounding the cave."


    Zen''s gaze followed the lines and soon found that one of the lines had no insects on it.


    He looked back at the void around the cave and found a corresponding blue line.


    ''I see. These lines should be the only shortcuts to the bottom of the cave, '' Zen thought to himself.


    There must surely be some clues in this world, left for those who desired to obtain the jade seal. And these clues would most likely lead to a shortcut to the bottom of the cave.


    However, neither the consummate True Gods nor Zen had the patience to look for the shortcut. Instead, they simply went ahead and barged into the Heavenly Wheel Temple.


    Zen, on the other hand, had accidentally created his own shortcut, forging a passage by using the Space-striking Ring.


    "It seems like it won''t be that easy for Rachelle and the others to reach the bottom using this huge pillar," Zen said, after having taken a long look at the pillar.


    Just as Zen had guessed, a large group of consummate True Gods had affixed the Heavenly Wheel Snake to the pillar. They moved forward along the body of the giant snake which stretched for tens of miles.


    One of them was accidentally swept off the pillar by the giant snake''s tail and fell onto a light. He was then cut to pieces and consumed by the black insects.


    As they advanced along the pillar, they encountered attacks again and again. Even though they had reached the consummation level, these attacks could be lethal if they were not careful enough, so their progress was slow.


    After much consideration, Zen was sure the path he had taken was the only true path to the jade seal, so there shouldn''t be any other hidden dangers along the way.


    He then carefully approached the jade seal and extended his hand towards it.


    Sitting behind Zen, Nelly stared at his back, her eyes glazed over, as if in a daze.


    She had, up to now, maintained the belief that her position and character entitled her to take this jade seal herself.


    Yet, the events that had taken place during the quest for the seal had made her start doubting if her value was sufficient to allow her to possess it.


    In particular, the recent actions of her sister, Rachelle, had confused her greatly.


    As an especially talented member of the Mu Clan, Rachelle worked hard for her clan. She would stop at nothing to achieve her goal.


    Even if she had to sacrif


    this world of light he came across a slightly smaller bug.


    This bug was only a few dozen miles in size. A few pieces of light golden scales were embedded on its brown body. In the place where it was, under the countless intersections of the light lines, a circular wheel of light had formed. The small bug lay right in the center of this wheel of light.


    Sensing that this golden bug was different from the others, Zen allowed his consciousness to possess its.


    With the help of the jade seal, Zen''s consciousness remained unblocked, and the giant bug with golden scales also accepted him. Immediately, he learned all he needed to know about the giant bug.


    Before this, Zen only knew the bugs were hungry, nothing more. Now, he had finally obtained all the missing information he had sought for. He understood, now, what these giant bugs ate to survive.


    "Bang! Bang! Bang!"


    "I have found the weak point of these shadows! It is the eye ball in the middle of their bodies!"


    Several wounds had appeared on Rachelle''s white thighs. The swords in the shadows'' hands were condensed with the fragments of time. The time cracks in the fragments were invincible. Even those consummate True Gods could bleed to death if they were cut.


    Rachelle was not the only one in a precarious position. Walton and Shahn had also sustained injuries since having forced their way in there.


    "We will soon reach the bottom of the pillar. Hold on, guys!" As Rachelle spoke, her slender fingers gently brushed the air, and a small bird condensed from the little blood droplets escaping her hand. The little bird then turned into a thin line of blood light and rushed towards one of the shadows.


    Along the way, those consummate True Gods had also used a lot of magic weapons in order to come here.


    They would soon reach the end of the path, so they were getting more and more impatient.

 Chapter 2371 Removing Three Seconds

    With a resounding crack, the blood-red bird pierced through the black bead that was in the middle of the shadow.


    The shadow disappeared almost immediately after the bead shattered.


    The bird then circled around with soft whooshing sounds, and returned to Rachelle''s hand.


    A smile took its place on her face, but when she saw flashes of figures trying to run away, the expression on her face shifted. "Want to run away?" she shouted.


    The number of these shadows was diminishing by the minute. Some of the consummate True Gods could not hold back and rushed over.


    With a tap of her toe, Rachelle turned into a red light and shot along the pillar.


    As she went deeper and deeper, a bronze wall appeared before her, Nelly and Zen at the foot of the wall.


    "Nelly!"


    Rachelle exclaimed, delighted.


    After all, Nelly was her younger sister and Rachelle was happy to see her safe.


    But as her gaze shifted to Zen, she noticed the jade seal in Zen''s hand and was startled.


    "The jade seal!"


    Zen sat upright on the ground, his eyes closed. It was obvious that he was refining the jade seal.


    Like Rachelle, the other consummate True Gods looked at the jade seal greedily.


    They had turned the Time Sea Forbidden Land upside down to get this jade seal. They had searched and searched for a long time.


    And now that the jade seal was right in front of them, everyone was eager to get their hands on it.


    Nelly had pulled out two short swords and was standing before Zen to protect him. Her round eyes were sharp and she didn''t cower even if she had to fight the numerous consummate True Gods.


    "It''s so strange that the girl from the Mu Clan is helping an outsider," said a consummate True God with a sneer on his face, and then looked at Rachelle.


    Rachelle''s face darkened. Her sister had been behaving unnaturally ever since she had come in contact with Zen. Rachelle didn''t know what had happened to Nelly, and now that the latter was standing in front of Zen, it made her feel even stranger about her.


    "What the hell do you want?" Rachelle shouted at Nelly.


    Nelly pulled one short sword forward and held the other behind her, like a mantis ready to attack.


    The swordsmanship, the martial arts, and the Godly Way she had cultivated were all arts she had learned from Rachelle.


    When she saw what her sister was doing, the only thought that passed through Rachelle''s mind was


    enly started to surge. They began to devour the light of the whole world.


    "Devouring three seconds is enough." Zen''s thought spread to the minds of the countless giant bugs.


    Once the thought was spread out, strange things began to be found all over the divine land.


    A True God had just killed a monster, but in the blink of an eye, it had returned to an unharmed state.


    In a battle ring, a proving godly warrior used his most powerful skill to punch his opponent and cause him to spit out blood. But all the blood disappeared in a flash.


    In a tavern, someone had eaten a dish in one swallow, and there was still some flavor left in his mouth. But in a trice, the dish was still on the table, unmoved.


    Such strange things occurred all over the divine land. Even the Holy Beings were unable to avoid it.


    And all these happened at the moment Nelly was killed.


    But Nelly was now standing right there before Zen, without any injuries.


    The three consummate True Gods looked at each other, their weapons dangling limply in their hands.


    Rachelle''s eyes widened in surprise. This was completely beyond her comprehension.


    Nelly looked at herself, confused. She didn''t know what had happened. She could feel the cold weapons cutting into her body. Why was she restored to her previous condition in the blink of an eye?


    ''Have we gone back in time?''


    But Nelly rejected this thought almost immediately.


    Time backtracking could only be used on the martial artist who activated it. And people couldn''t use the Godly Way in this world. Moreover, she hadn''t felt any internal momentum.

 Chapter 2372 A Torn Page

    Zen manipulated the giant bugs to wipe out the period of time.


    Outside of the Time Sea Forbidden Land, Nicholas took a small step back as the space in front of him became a little blurry.


    The Sun Blind race''s leader also stepped back as


    all the Holy Beings and Demi-holy Beings looked on with confusion and astonishment.


    "You all are seeing this, right?" Jeremiah asked, frowning. "Something''s wrong with the divine land''s time...?"


    Clark nodded. For the first time he was very quiet.


    The time flow rate within the jade seal was different from that of the outside world. Although the consummate True Gods and Zen had spent about twenty days inside the jade seal, the Astronomical Transit Day in the Time Sea hadn''t ended yet.


    "Someone just stole three seconds from the world," Nicholas said warily. He looked through the Time Sea Forbidden Land and stared at the jade seal.


    "Looks like someone has obtained the jade seal," a Holy Being observed. "Is this the ability of the jade seal?"


    Was it?


    Since they couldn''t see through the jade seal, they weren''t sure about what exactly was happening inside.


    They only hoped that everything would be revealed soon.


    Meanwhile, at the bottom of the cave, Zen stood as still as a statue. His usually calm expression was replaced with the tiniest hint of surprise.


    Through the jade seal, he felt like he had acquired a new definition of time and a greater understanding of it.


    If the time of the divine land could be described as a book, then every three seconds would be a page that was continuously turned by an invisible hand.


    Page by page, second by second, minute by minute, day by day, month by month, year by year, age by age. Time was a big old book


    and the giant bugs were moths eating at the pages.


    Judging from time, each page was a complete but static divine land.


    Just now, following Zen''s order, the huge bugs had devoured a separated static divine land.


    Like silkworms polishing off a leaf, they had wolfed down the page where Nelly died in the blink of an eye.


    The page contained how Nelly would die ¡ª torn into pieces by the consummate True Gods'' weapons.


    If Zen hadn''t ripped the page off and the whole thing had come into existence, then Nelly


    e sky, their eyes went wide and their jaws fell open.


    "They are back!"


    The little boy exclaimed happily as he ran all the way into Nelly''s arms.


    He and the other children had almost been eaten by the Heavenly Wheel Snake before, but thanks to the consummate True Gods, they had been saved from death.


    However, the failed worship had made all the aboriginals quite uneasy.


    The Eagle race''s chief walked up to them nervously. "Where is the Heavenly Wheel Snake now?"


    It would be a good thing for them if the Heavenly Wheel Snake had been killed by this group of strong warriors that appeared from outside.


    But now, only Zen and Nelly had returned. Did the Heavenly Wheel Snake eat the others?


    "You no longer need to worship that snake," Zen replied.


    "What!" The chief''s eyes almost bulged out.


    Everyone else exchanged confused glances. What was he saying?


    The Heavenly Wheel Snake had been subdued by the consummate True Gods but Zen didn''t know if they had killed it.


    However, he understood that the Heavenly Wheel Snake was able to drive the bugs only with the jade seal in its hand. In other words, the Heavenly Wheel Snake had been guarding the jade seal in this temple.


    Now that the jade seal belonged to Zen, the existence of the Heavenly Wheel Snake had lost its meaning, so there was no need for them to worship the snake anymore.


    "I-I still can''t understand what you mean," the chief said hesitantly.


    Zen grinned. "You can think of that snake as dead!"

 Chapter 2373 Sneak Attack

    "What?"


    "Is the Heavenly Wheel Snake... dead?"


    "Oh my God!"


    The members of the Eagle, the Roc, and Swallow races were all shocked hearing Zen''s words.


    The snake that had threatened them for so long was finally gone!


    In fact, these three races despised one another all because of this Heavenly Wheel Snake.


    At the beginning of everything, they didn''t really have a problem with each other at all.


    However, because of the Heavenly Wheel Snake, they had to offer their children at intervals. This was unacceptable for everyone, and it began the conflict between the races.


    Therefore, they began to snatch at each other''s young boys and girls, offering them to the Heavenly Wheel Snake. Gradually, there grew a fierce conflict among the three races, which turned into an irreconcilable hatred.


    If the Heavenly Wheel Snake had really died, everyone knew that the hatred wouldn''t disappear instantly, but would gradually fade over time.


    In the end, the source of the three races'' hatred was merely a beastly snake.


    "Are you serious?" asked the chief who had been talking to Zen.


    He asked with his eyes wide open, hardly believing what Zen had said.


    Zen smiled, clutched the jade seal in his hand and infused an idea into it. Afterwards, he pointed at a place not far away and said, "Look over there."


    The chief and other people looked in that direction, puzzled.


    For some reason, they saw nothing but a desert amidst them.


    As they squinted and searched for something to look at, a snake''s hiss came from the ground. A small sand dune was blown up in the desert, as if something was about to break out of it.


    "What is it?"


    "Could it be Heavenly Wheel Bugs?"


    "That''s... impossible. The bugs in the desert won''t appear during the day."


    The group murmured as they stared at the small sand dune.


    "Yo!"


    "Chirp..."


    "Yo!"


    The people were nervous, but the mysterious birds, golden rocs and eagles all fixed their eyes at the small sand dune with vigilance.


    As sharp as these birds were, they already knew that the Heavenly Wheel Bugs were coming out.


    Splash!


    It was exactly as they guessed. Within seconds, there were over a hundred Heavenly Wheel Bugs emerging from the desert, squirming and making hissing sounds all around.


    However, the Heavenly Wheel Bugs did not launch any attacks unlike what they''d expected. They just stuck out a part of their bodies outside the sand dune but refused to move at all.


    At the sight of this, the chief widened his eyes and stared at those Heavenly Wheel Bugs. He then asked, "So


    on?" With his eyes wide open, Alfredo watched the scene in a daze. Did he just do that?


    Within seconds, Zen held the jade seal with one hand, took Nelly with another hand and launched them up to the sky. He hovered in the air and looked down at Alfredo, with a self-satisfied smirk across his face.


    He had no idea that Alfredo would go and attack him. However, he smirked because it seemed he still succeeded despite Alfredo''s attempt.


    Zen did not have much time to study the jade seal, and he was not sure if he would become its owner.


    Also, if Alfredo took the jade seal, Zen would lose absolutely everything.


    On the other hand, Alfredo didn''t expect that Zen would be able to retaliate so quickly. His expression changed several times before he said, "Thad! As a member of my clan, you must give me the jade seal after you get it!"


    Upon hearing this, Zen sneered and said coldly, "If you thought I would just hand it to you, you wouldn''t have had to attack me." He chuckled and continued, "Why do you speak such nonsense?"


    Narrowing his eyes, Alfredo added, "Give me the jade seal. Give it to me and I''ll protect you from the Mu Clan''s attack..."


    But before he could finish his words, Nelly interrupted with a hissing tone, "You are stupid, but I didn''t think you''d be this stupid. What a dumb excuse coming from you!"


    Both Zen and Nelly choked Alfredo off, and Alfredo was rendered speechless. His eyes were twitching constantly, and he began to regret the course of actions that he just took.


    But as he pondered, Zen had already flown away.


    He knew that he didn''t want to waste his time on consummate True Gods. Heck, he had more important things to do besides getting the jade seal.

 Chapter 2374 The Spear Of Time

    At the edge of this space, a wide waterfall hung like a curtain of light on the cliff, splashing downwards.


    There was an emerald green jungle around it, forming a natural semicircle at the edge of the cliff. The whole scene looked pleasant.


    Zen had found this place under Nelly''s guidance.


    Some time ago, Nelly had borrowed a Royal Eagle from the Eagle race, and she had flown high in the sky and traveled many places.


    On the edge of this cliff, an ancient cypress tree stood tall and majestic.


    Nelly sat on the tree trunk, her snow-colored slender legs exposed now that she had taken off her shoes.


    She gently pushed her legs forward and immersed them into the waterfall. Her feet looked like they were coated with a layer of pearls as countless crystal clear water drops came in contact with them.


    She stared blankly at Zen, who was sitting cross-legged on the tree trunk.


    For a moment, she thought that it probably was not a bad thing if they had to stay like this all the time.


    There was no dispute in this small world.


    The intrigues and conflicts among the powerful clans on the Floating Islands were beyond her reach here. She felt relaxed when she unloaded her self-defense.


    She hoped this moment could last forever.


    Once they left the world within the jade seal, they would have to face endless trouble.


    Zen took out a piece of his soul and put it into the jade seal.


    He didn''t know what was going through Nelly''s mind.


    He needed to prepare for everything.


    Once he left the world within the jade seal, he would return to the Time Sea Forbidden Land. And once he left the Time Sea Forbidden Land, he would have to face a bunch of Holy Beings, some of whom were his enemies.


    And now that his identity had been revealed, he had to consider how he would escape from the Holy Beings.


    He had previously been in a hurry to control the jade seal and did not have the time to explore it carefully.


    The gigantic bugs crawling on the light could devour three to nine seconds. It was indeed a special ability.


    But on second thought, it was not a very strong one.


    Currently, this ability could only prevent him from being harmed in a short period of time.


    Under his full strength, the bugs could devour nine seconds. And in these nine seconds, all t


    had turned into ash.


    The spear itself did not have much power.


    But once the spear touched the robe, time flowed at a faster pace and the robe was baptized for a number of years.


    The robe could not withstand the corrosion of countless years, which was why it was now rotten by time.


    The black spear finally hit a wall, leaving it covered in cracks and then turning into dust.


    Everything turned into dust due to the power of time.


    At this, a cold shiver ran down Alfredo''s spine.


    In theory, the life span of a True God was unlimited.


    This was because their body would not become decadent with the passage of time. In other words, the metabolism of a True God''s body was enough to offset the passage of time. All these factors combined to a balance, and a True God could live forever.


    However, anyone who experienced such fast speed for an endless time would not be able to withstand it.


    No wonder Troy was badly hurt after being hit by a black spear.


    It seemed that the power of the spear was limited in a small range. If it weren''t for this, even Troy wouldn''t have been able to endure it and would have already died.


    While Alfredo was deep in thought, another black spear rotated above the curtain of light and aimed at him.


    "What the hell?!"


    He then ran away from the desert.


    On the other side of the world, Zen smiled smugly.


    It was not a difficult task for him to kill Alfredo, but it was meaningless. Moreover, he could only count on these consummate True Gods to leave the Time Sea.

 Chapter 2375 We Are Leaving

    After Zen had fused with the symbols in the jade seal, his control over the space and time in the jade seal had been elevated to the next level, which was almost the same as he controlled his inner world.


    Just then, a dark red light film deep inside the jade seal caught his eye.


    On the surface of the light film was a pattern of a small black scorpion, and he could see a light dot that floated inside its see-through exterior.


    He then tried to break through the light film with his soul a few times but to no avail. In the end, he had to give up.


    In addition, he might not be able to kill the consummate True Gods in the jade seal with his current control of it. However, none of them could leave.


    Those consummate True Gods were important, as they were his bargaining chips to safely leave the Time Sea.


    With that thought in mind, he glanced at Nelly, who sat on the tree trunk. His eyes traveled to her fair and slender legs, and he felt a bit restless.


    Nelly sensed his gaze on her. Her lips curved into a smile as she stretched her hand and gently pressed on the tree trunk. She took her shoes and jumped, landing barefoot on the platform where Zen was. At that moment, she splashed brilliant water drops at him.


    When Zen saw the water drops in front of him, he thought about stopping them, and all the water drops paused in mid-air. Then, the drops converged into a spiral formation and turned into a small water knife in his hand.


    Nelly slightly raised a fine brow.


    Such an ability could only be used in one''s inner world. From the looks of it, it seemed that Zen had great control over the space and time within the jade seal. She couldn''t help but be amazed.


    "We''re leaving," Zen said.


    Although the time flow rate in the world they were in was much faster than that in the divine land, the Astronomical Transit Day would be over if they stayed there for too long.


    If the Astronomical Transit Day was over, then the Time Sea Forbidden Land would be closed and would not be opened until the next Astronomical Transit Day, which was in the next eight years.


    Nelly felt slightly frustrated at Zen''s words and stayed silent for a while. How she wished that she could stay where she was now with Zen forever!


    A few moments later, she took her shoes and walked to him barefoot.


    She wasn''t that tall, but her small body was full of strong energy. Her sincere eyes looked up at him and she said, "I want to ask you again. Is there really no way to resolve the hatred between the Mu Clan and t


    l the Holy Beings outside the Time Sea Forbidden Land fell into silence.


    On one hand, Nicholas'' face lit up as he stared at Zen.


    "It''s impossible!" said a Holy Being with his mouth agape. Generally speaking, Holy Beings were supposed to be calm no matter what situation. This time, however, was different.


    "Hahaha!" Clark laughed boisterously. "Congratulations! Your Han Clan has so many talents! This guy is really promising! But it seems that you are very happy to give him to the Dongfang Clan. Nicholas, congratulations!"


    Samuel''s lips twitched into a snarl at his words.


    No one had ever thought that just when a group of consummate True Gods tried so hard to win the jade seal, it eventually fell into the hands of a low-rank True God. It was really unexpected.


    However, Samuel suddenly had an idea which he thought was brilliant.


    It was known that Zen''s identity was a troublesome matter. Regardless of whether he could get the jade seal or not, there was no way he could stay in the Han Clan.


    Then again, Samuel was reluctant to give the jade seal to Nicholas.


    "Thad Luo is indeed promising, but his identity is unclear. If he is really Mike''s son, let''s see how Nicholas is going to deal with him. But, he obtained the jade seal when he was still a member of our Han Clan. I guess it should still belong to our clan," Samuel said calmly. As he spoke, he looked at the leader of the Sun Blind race, who stood not too far away.


    It looked like what he said was meant for Nicholas, but in fact, he was speaking to the leader of the Sun Blind race.


    Now everyone wanted to get the jade seal, but the Holy Beings couldn''t fight for it right then and there.

 Chapter 2376 Sprint For The Exit

    Stirring up any trouble on the island of the Sun Blind race was not, by any means, a wise decision for anyone, including the Holy Beings.


    The head of the Sun Blind race wore a mask, hiding her expression, but her voice remained calm. "The Sun Blind race holds the Astronomical Transit Day celebration, and all the young warriors we invited are our friends. Obtaining a chance in the Time Sea Forbidden Land highly depends on one''s own luck and ability! Now that the young man has obtained the jade seal, he can give it to whomever he wants to."


    Hearing that, Nicholas chuckled and said, "That would be great. Samuel, I''m afraid you''ll have to give up this time!"


    Samuel''s face darkened at that.


    ''Humph! If it were Alfredo who succeeded in acquiring the jade seal, Nicholas would be too shameful to say something like that, '' he cursed inwardly.


    But Zen''s identity was such a sensitive matter that Samuel couldn''t come up with an idea for a retort.


    The jade seal should''ve belonged to the Han Clan, but Samuel could only watch helplessly as it was about to be handed to the Dongfang Clan. It was no wonder that Samuel was frustrated, in spite of him being a Holy Being¡ªsomeone supposed to be always calm and composed.


    Still, he managed to recover in the blink of an eye. With a slight smile, he generously said, "Congratulations, Nicholas. You have extraordinary insight. You must have known from the beginning that Thad could obtain the jade seal. I must endure any pain and give this treasure up."


    With that, he shook his head¡ªhis face was full of admiration for Nicholas.


    The other nodded slightly, staring at him with mutual admiration. "I don''t have many people I can look up to in the divine land, but you must be one of them. I believe the Han Clan will rise up the ranks in the future."


    Now, with Zen''s help, the Floating Island of the Han Clan had gone up a higher level.


    Even if the Han Clan continued climbing up, it was impossible to defeat the Dongfang Clan. But the rise of the Han Clan meant the inevitable decline of the other clans. It was rather interesting to think about what Nicholas meant by what he said.


    Hearing this, Jeremiah, the Holy Being of the Leng Clan, remained silent as a look of disdain surfaced on his expression.


    Below the Holy Beings stood the True Gods


    who had already left the Time Sea Forbidden Land.


    Although they couldn''t sense the scene in the Time Sea Forbidden Land, they could clearly hear the Holy Beings'' discussion.


    Soren, Reginald, and the other top-rank True Gods were all shocked upon hearing the Holy Beings.


    "Thad Luo has obtained the jade seal?"


    them. If the first group turned against them again, they''d be surrounded. But if they didn''t lead the Time Ghosts ahead of them away, they wouldn''t be able to get to the exit at all.


    "Charge," Zen remained calm.


    With that, Nelly realized that he had a special ability with the help of the jade seal.


    She couldn''t figure out how he made it. It seemed as though no matter how seriously injured he was, he could recover in an instant.


    But no matter what the situation was, she trusted him wholeheartedly.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    When they approached the Time Ghosts, the large group began circling crazily like a group of headless flies before rushing towards Zen and Nelly.


    Meanwhile, the Holy Beings outside the Time Sea Forbidden Land also craned their necks to catch the scene.


    They were also aware that the ability of the jade seal seemed to have been able to devour a period of time. But their curiosity lingered because they hadn''t actually seen Zen display such an ability in person.


    As the densely packed group of Time Ghosts pounced, a sudden thought flashed in Zen''s mind.


    ''Swallow the time of nine seconds¡­''


    The giant bugs lying on the beams of light began to wiggle, swallowing up all the nine seconds.


    With this thought, Zen tore up another three pages of the book of time.


    Under the gaze of the Holy Beings, Zen and Nelly were already caught by the Time Ghosts. They were dragged into the time cracks and the two were cut into pieces.


    But after a sudden flash of their figures, they were able to pass through the crowd of Time Ghosts and swiftly move forward.


    The Time Ghosts even seemed to be in a daze. It wasn''t after a moment that they got their senses back and chased after Zen and Nelly in a frenzy.

 Chapter 2377 Facing The Holy Beings

    Zen''s activation of the jade seal''s ability made Nicholas frown.


    There was a look of helplessness in his eyes, and his figure once again turned into a shadow to prevent himself from getting devoured by time.


    "It''s really true! This brat has erased a period of time!"


    "This is the ability of the jade seal."


    "I was able to sense it just now. There is a nine-second difference between my universe and the divine land. Has the jade seal reached its limit? It''s already so intimidating!"


    The flow of time in the universe was way faster than in the divine land, but it was still easy to calculate just how much time was devoured. Knowing such things was easy for Holy Beings.


    These Holy Beings all gazed at Zen with passion burning in their eyes.


    Despite the awesome effects in Zen''s hands, the jade seal had yet to reveal its true power. At the hands of a Holy Being, its true potential could be further unfolded.


    In nine seconds, the wielder of the jade seal would be invincible. A Holy Being who could obtain it would no doubt be able to do many glorious things. It was the kind of treasure that grew more powerful depending on its wielder.


    Moreover, this was not the jade seal''s limit!


    There was unwillingness deep within Samuel''s heart as he looked at the jade seal longingly. It was such a supreme treasure of belief that there was no way he would be willing to give it to Nicholas.


    Unfortunately, he had no choice but to endure since he couldn''t hold a candle to Nicholas.


    Meanwhile, Zen and Nelly were both getting chased by countless Time Ghosts.


    They ran at full-speed for about half a minute before finally emerging out of the Time Sea Forbidden Land''s main road and walking towards the road created by the Water Luminous Star.


    Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!


    The Time Ghosts did not rush into the road and merely circled around the entrance.


    Both warriors did not pay their pursuers any mind and continued to run, not stopping until they found a safe place.


    After circling around for a while, the Time Ghosts eventually dispersed. Noticing this, Zen carefully made his way back and found the Golden Beast Statue that had been cut into pieces by the creatures. He picked the pieces up and merged them into one piece before going back towards the exit.


    The two of them walked towards the exit of the Water Luminous Star.


    Breathing deeply, Nelly took a good long look at Zen. "Good luck." She then walked forward and headed towards the


    rk initially radiated. The flames on the flame throne quickly waned, completely doused by Jeremiah''s chill.


    "Clark, you are a guest here in the Astronomical Transit Day celebration. You cannot make any sudden moves here!" the head of the Sun Blind race warned.


    "Humph!"


    Clark merely snorted in contempt before keeping silent.


    It was then that Nicholas finally opened his mouth.


    Compared to Clark''s fiery personality, Nicholas was much more amiable.


    Instead of berating Zen, Nicholas smiled at him. He was like a refreshing spring breeze as compared to Clark''s suffocating fury.


    "Your surname is Luo?" Nicholas asked.


    "Yes," Zen replied.


    "Are you Mike''s son?" Nicholas asked again.


    "Yes," Zen answered truthfully.


    Back in the Time Sea Forbidden Land, Rachelle had been almost certain of his identity.


    He could stir up trouble among the consummate True Gods, but there was no way he could deceive the Holy Beings. Zen saw it fit to just admit who he was instead of lying.


    Joy sighed. ''He is very forthright, so much like his father. Although I want to take you away, I don''t think I''ll be able to in front of all of these Holy Beings.''


    She had initially made her mind up to take Zen away.


    After becoming a consummate True God, one would be able to use the Grand Teleportation.


    However, the distance consummate True Gods would be able to cover wasn''t very far.


    Demi-holy Beings and Holy Beings were different. They could cross great distances using the Grand Teleportation. Had she been given the chance, Joy would''ve used her abilities to take Zen away.


    But would Nicholas ever give her the chance?

 Chapter 2378 A Useless Bargaining Chip

    Zen had admitted his identity in front of the Holy Beings in a straightforward manner.


    And the True Gods immediately burst into an uproar.


    "He is the son of Holy Mike!"


    "No wonder he is so strong!"


    "So what if he is the son of a Holy Emperor? Your father is a Holy Emperor, and so is mine!"


    More than a third of the True Gods present were descendants of Holy Beings.


    Outside of the Floating Islands, a child of a Holy Being was rare. But that wasn''t the case on the Floating Islands.


    In terms of strength, however, there was a huge gap between Zen and other descendants of the Holy Emperors.


    Laquisha balled her hands into tight fists, her clothes soaking with sweat. She didn''t know what Zen would have to face after admitting his true identity.


    Nelly, on the other hand, was quite calm. She merely pursed her thin lips and frowned slightly.


    "Okay. Mike''s son is frank. Just as expected," Nicholas said appreciatively.


    Zen stood still, his face a mask of calm.


    "If you want to join our Dongfang Clan, I will put aside the conflict between Mike and me and accept you as my disciple. What do you think?" Nicholas said, smiling.


    At this, many Holy Beings were confused, unable to understand what was on Nicholas'' mind.


    Previously, Nicholas had wanted to accept Zen as his disciple before he had known his real identity.


    It was understandable because anyone would be willing to accept a genius like Zen as a disciple.


    But he was Mike''s son.


    And Mike and Nicholas were enemies!


    If he were to take Zen as a disciple, knowing his origin, wouldn''t he be nurturing a snake in his bosom?


    The True Gods were whispering among themselves.


    "This guy is really lucky!"


    "The Holy Emperor of the Dongfang Clan is willing to accept him as a disciple, regardless of previous grievances!"


    "I thought he was dead for sure!"


    Laquisha fixed her eyes on Zen and hoped that he would agree. Nicholas wasn''t doing this out of goodwill, but it was the only choice Zen had.


    But judging by what she knew of Zen''s character, she was certain that he would reject Nicholas'' offer.


    Nicholas'' words had surprised Zen as well. He looked up at him and said calmly, "It''s an honor to be accepted as a disciple by the Holy Emperor of Dongfang Clan."


    Nicholas nodded, looking as gentle as a spring breeze.


    "Thank you for your kindness, Holy Nicholas, but I don''t want it," Zen added.


    As soo


    ds the Holy Being and said, "Mikail was killed before I entered the jade seal. All that is left of him is a pile of bones."


    "What?!"


    The Holy Beings of the Sword Clan paled collectively.


    "Given the chance, I will return his bones," Zen said calmly.


    He didn''t want to offend any other powerful clans on the Floating Islands.


    "Young man, if you dare hurt Walton, even in the slightest of ways, I will not leave you alone," said Clark grimly.


    "Then it all depends on whether you''ll let me go. If I can leave safely from here, I''ll ensure that these people are safe," Zen countered.


    The Holy Beings fell silent. Some of them turned their gazes to Nicholas. Zen had become tricky to deal with after he had obtained the Jade Seal.


    Did they really need to sacrifice so many consummate True Gods for the sake of one low-rank True God?


    Joy was relieved at how the Holy Beings were reacting. She hadn''t expected things to go so far.


    Perhaps Zen could really escape from the Holy Beings by threatening them with the lives of the consummate True Gods.


    As Joy contemplated this, Nicholas opened his mouth to speak. A mocking smile appeared on his face as he said, "As you said, you do have the lives of more than twenty consummate True Gods in your hands. But there''s only one person of our Dongfang Clan who is under your control and that is Troy. I won''t be threatened by anyone, and I don''t care one bit what happens to him!"


    Nelly and the three girls of Han Clan were shocked at this. Joy''s heart sank as well.


    Nicholas'' words meant that the only bargaining chip Zen had was now of no use.

 Chapter 2379 The Impasse

    Joy''s pretty eyes quietly scanned Nicholas'' face.


    Zen was at Nicholas'' disposal. He could kill Zen at any moment.


    Zen took the lives of more than twenty consummate True Gods in exchange for his departure. This move of his made perfect sense, and as a low-rank True God, this was the best option he had.


    Unfortunately, it wasn''t enough.


    Joy heaved a deep sigh. She was aware that the Holy Beings would not agree to Zen''s condition.


    Suddenly, the dark sky was filled with light.


    The head of the Sun Blind race, who had been silent all this time, said in a deep voice, "The Astronomical Transit Day is over."


    The head of the Sun Blind race was least bothered about Zen''s life. Even after he had acquired the jade seal and was being threatened by the Holy Beings, she had nothing to say.


    Swoosh! Swoosh!


    The passageway that had formed in the middle of the nine pagodas began to disperse slowly.


    The Holy Beings'' attention suddenly shifted from Zen to the nine pagodas.


    ''Now, the time is right!''


    Joy''s eyes lit up with sheer determination. There was no way that she''d let Mike''s son die here.


    She jumped over on her tiptoes.


    Purple circular fog spread out from her feet.


    "Grand Purple Aura Technique! Purple Sky Land! Deluding Fog!"


    The purple fog spread throughout the island before the True Gods and Holy Beings could do anything about it.


    The fog transformed into numerous circular spaces, enveloping all the Holy Beings and True Gods in them.


    All the Holy Beings were engulfed by the revolving circles of the purple fog. The moment they were immersed in the circles, it seemed as if the Space Law around them had completely changed. Each circle of the purple fog was an independent space, and all the senses that were connected to this world had disappeared.


    "Has the Purple Sky Land descended? What is the Demi-holy Being of the Han Clan doing?" a Holy Being asked with a frown.


    "Joy, what are you up to?" Samuel shouted in desperation, his face pallid with fear.


    Some Holy Beings just sneered, observin


    intention to kill him.


    As if he read Samuel''s mind, Nicholas smiled at him breezily and said, "Samuel, why would the Demi-holy Being of the Han Clan run away with this kid? Do pray tell."


    Samuel''s expression changed as he listened to Nicholas. His clenched fists loosened as he said awkwardly, "I am not sure why she did it!"


    Nicholas gave a chilling laugh. He walked towards Joy and said loudly, "It''s not your fault, Samuel. You were unaware of her motives. But you know me well. I hate being provoked. Don''t blame me for the death of the Demi-holy Being of your clan."


    Laquisha and Pascal threw hopeful glances at their father, expecting him to stop Nicholas.


    ''Aunt Joy is the Demi-holy Being of the Han Clan after all!


    Father will save her, won''t he?'' they both thought.


    Samuel''s body went rigid as he stared at Nicholas.


    Seeing Nicholas walk towards Joy, Samuel gave a nod of approval and said reluctantly, "That should be the case. Do what you must."


    Laquisha was dumbfounded when she heard those words. She shouted, "Father! How can you do this to her?"


    Aleyna''s, Kelsey''s, and Pascal''s faces were worth watching. They glanced at Samuel, who was still in the air, unable to believe that he was such a coward.


    There was nothing that Joy and Zen could do to save themselves. They helplessly watched as Nicholas approached them briskly.

 Chapter 2380 The Entire Divine Land Fell Into Silence

    The Holy Beings looked at Zen with cold eyes.


    In the entire divine land, they were known to be the most powerful figures. One of the things they hated the most was being threatened.


    They wanted to witness how Nicholas would deal with a Demi-holy Being.


    The moment Nicholas walked towards Zen and Joy, the female leader''s body trembled slightly, and she had weirdly appeared in front of him in a flash without making any movement.


    "You promised me that you won''t make trouble on the Astronomical Transit Day," the female leader said with a slightly crisp voice.


    Nicholas paused his step at her words with a foot lifted in the air. His slightly thick eyebrows furrowed and he answered back, "This is a special case."


    "Is there always a special case when you want to make trouble?" the female leader of the Sun Blind race asked.


    "Yes. So what? Are you trying to stop me? Or do you think you can stop me?" Nicholas'' domineering aura expanded in his breezy momentum as he stared at the masked female leader.


    It made the masked female leader go silent for a while.


    She was in charge of the Time Sea Forbidden Land, but that didn''t mean that she fully controlled the Time Sea.


    Nicholas was not the owner of the Time Sea, but she didn''t have the power to fight against him. She couldn''t do anything to him.


    "Get out of the way!" Nicholas said dryly.


    The female leader had to move aside silently.


    Meanwhile, somewhere in the divine land, a phenomenon occurred.


    Thick dark clouds stretched over countless miles, and blotted out the sky completely covering the sun.


    Even the strongest sunlight could not penetrate through the black clouds.


    During the day, the black clouds gathered in silence.


    But in the evening, the maintained silence was disturbed.


    Thousands of souls had come back to life. The souls screamed, rolled, entangled and wrestled on the clouds. One divine era was like this, and so were a hundred divine eras.


    Stronger souls swallowed up weaker ones, and the stronger souls could devour every other souls.


    The primordial law of the jungle was incisively and vividly displayed in these thick dark clouds.


    Some powerful souls occasionally would fall from the black clouds when they became strong enough. But another fierce competition awaited them. In the Soul Wilderness, the most common thing was the strong souls.


    There stood a huge figure, moving from the thick black clouds


    to the depths of the Soul Wilderness.


    It was known as the Wilderness Giant.


    The Wilderness Giant was completely shaped by souls.


    It


    .


    Before he even had the time to react completely, he fell down involuntarily. His broad body was stretched out, creating a big crater in the ground.


    Not far away, Nelly, Laquisha and the other True Gods had watched everything that transpired and were greatly shocked. It was beyond their expectation that a Holy Being could fall down so embarrassingly. They wanted to laugh, but they dared not for the situation was deemed serious.


    Back to Nicholas, he steadily balanced his feet on the ground.


    He already understood what had happened. In his universe, the nine stars were conjectured together like a necklace. In this form, the nine stars could gather the power at the fastest speed.


    This time if the Faith Energy would be silenced, Nicholas had planned to make a move using his pure strength.


    Although he reacted quickly, Estelle was much quicker to act. When Estelle lifted the Scepter of Gods'' Silence, the small petal between Zen''s eyebrows spread out.


    The petal formed a unique diamond pattern covering a small area which exactly enveloped Joy and Zen.


    This place was probably the only small piece of land that hadn''t been silenced.


    Joy, who was in desperation, had never thought that Zen would make such a move.


    The moment the Holy Beings fell down in fast motion, Joy was back to her senses. Seeing Nicholas rushing toward them with a burst of strength, she quickly grabbed Zen once more. She even saw a glimpse of how Clark fell down awkwardly. She covered her mouth with one hand, and with a touch of irresistible smile in her voice, she said, "Let''s go!"


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    In the blink of an eye, the figures of Joy and Zen had disappeared without a trace from where they stood.

 Chapter 2381 Resting And Healing

    Nicholas'' grab was so powerful and intense that it left deep marks on Joy''s body.


    Although she was badly injured, Joy managed to drag Zen out of the Time Sea and brought him to the seaside.


    The petal that was lodged between Zen''s eyebrows continued to shine brightly. It emitted a diamond-like pattern that engulfed them both.


    "Come on! Let''s leave!"


    "Swoosh!"


    With that, they left as fast as they could.


    If they moved only once, the Holy Beings could sense their movements through the fluctuations in the space and even locate their general direction and position.


    However, because of the silence in the entire divine land, it was a remote possibility.


    However, Nicholas had hidden a lot of skills from everyone. Joy was extremely careful once she seized the chance to escape.


    During the silent period, she had used the Grand Teleportation four times consecutively


    Estelle could not make the entire divine land silent for a long time.


    Five seconds was all the time she could offer!


    The Floating Islands above the Time Sea began to descend during the silent period.


    The Luo Clan''s Floating Island almost reached the surface of the Time Sea.


    However, once the silent period was over, the divine texture arrays hidden among the Floating Islands began to function at a normal pace. Once all the islands started to ascend, all the True Gods on the Floating Islands released their pent-up breath.


    Even if one island fell into the Time Sea, the consequences would be unthinkable.


    After the silent period passed, the boundless space in the entire divine land turned back to normal.


    Although it was a short period, it still caused tremendous chaos.


    Across the island, Nicholas stood still.


    The energy that had been extracted from the Nine Divine Stars was constantly rolling within his body. Even though it was not released, it had already caused the space around him to bend. Anyone who saw him would get the illusion of a twisted body.


    The island itself was enveloped in a deep depression.


    Samuel squinted his eyes and finally looked relaxed.


    Clark, Jeremiah and other Holy Beings, however, got up from the ground looking glum, for Zen not only ran away, but also took the jade seal and imprisoned a group of consummate True Gods.


    The Holy Beings had never imagined that the end would be so drastic.


    On the other hand, Nelly had a strange gleam in her eyes and seemed excited by the turn of events.


    She had witnessed the petal shini


    e went on, the black fog did not dissipate, but became more intense.


    When Nicholas had grabbed her, Zen used the power of the jade seal to save her, but he still couldn''t eliminate Nicholas''s attack. It seemed that Nicholas had used some way to avoid this.


    "The wounds..."


    As soon as Zen started to speak, Joy shook her head, while she endured the pain. Later she stood up and walked towards the lake.


    When she noticed that Zen had also followed her, she quickly stopped him and said, "Wait there! Don''t come over here!"


    When the clear water spread over her waist and touched the wounds, there was a hissing sound.


    The clear water soon turned black, as her wounds continued to heal. Soon the lake transformed into a black and sinister-looking lake.


    All the fish and other living beings residing within the lake died instantly. Even the beings within a100-foot radius were not spared.


    "Such a powerful poison!" Zen''s eyes flashed as he exclaimed.


    After soaking herself for a little more time, she came out ashore. She glanced at Zen with a pale face and said, "I''ll heal myself first."


    Zen had planned to take her to the fairy palace. He remembered that there were many pills in his master''s pill refining room which would help in healing her wounds.


    However, as soon as she sat on the ground, she took out a colorful pill. It looked like a pill that was refined at least seven times.


    Seeing this scene, Zen didn''t say anything but quietly stood aside. Then he turned his palm and looked at the little black snake. He frowned. Now that he had safely escaped from the Time Sea, how should he deal with these consummate True Gods?

 Chapter 2382 Who Spared The Others Life

    Zen''s original intentions were to enter the Everest Spirit Mountain after traveling through the Time Sea Forbidden Land.


    Despite his plans, after these encounters, he was left with no other option but to threaten the consummate True Gods'' lives. Unexpectedly, the Holy Beings didn''t seem to mind them in the least.


    In fact, Zen almost lost out to them.


    Of course, the lives of the consummate True Gods were of little value to the Holy Beings.


    Joy swallowed the pill in a single gulp, tilting her head back with force. A trace of purple aura, like a slithering snake, circled her body rhythmically before finally penetrating the wounds in her waist.


    As Joy took the time to heal herself, her pretty eyes fell on the small black snake in Zen''s hand. It wasn''t before long that she noticed that Zen''s expression gradually became unfriendly. "Let them go right after I recover from my injury. We will leave here immediately afterward," she said faintly.


    "Why would I let them go?" Zen asked, frowning slightly.


    A few of the consummate True Gods within the jade seal might have been innocent, but most of them had a grudge against Zen and even wanted to kill him. Notably warriors like Rachelle and Walton.


    Though Troy had stopped Rachelle from killing him in the forbidden land, he didn''t do it to help Zen. He just wanted to hand Zen off to Nicholas, who would dispose of him properly.


    It was only normal that he didn''t want to let the consummate True Gods go that easily.


    "If you really do kill these consummate True Gods, the Holy Beings will never let you go," added Joy, in a matter of fact tone.


    "Joy, do you really think the Holy Beings will let me go if I don''t kill the consummate True Gods?" Zen''s gaze and expression were completely frozen as he asked this question.


    With her beautiful eyes coldly fixed on Zen, Joy said with a smile, "You are Mike''s son, but you''re nothing more than a low-rank True God after all. You''re not powerful enough to cause a group of Holy Beings to hunt you down. But, if you kill the consummate True Gods, that''ll be a different story..."


    As he listened to Joy speak, Zen fell into deep thought.


    Joy was right.


    In those Holy Beings'' eyes, like Nicholas'', Zen was just a speck of dust in the air. He wasn''t even highly qualified enough to make them become serious.


    Although Nicholas knew that Zen was Mike''s son, he was still willing to accept him as a disciple. Perhaps he had another motive, but one way or another, it demonstrated that Zen''s identity really had very little importance.


    "If you can help your father fulfill his wishes and revive the Luo Clan in the future, then these consummate True Gods will become nothing more than ants in your eyes, too. More so, taking their lives will be a piec


    before it collapsed with a loud crash.


    "Having any fun?"


    Zen''s voice rang out again.


    In the blink of an eye, another five sand sculptures formed, all identical to Zen. All five sculptures gathered beside Rachelle.


    Rachelle wasn''t tolerating the provocation whatsoever. She began swinging her machete anew.


    As soon as she crushed these sand sculptures though, more and more sand sculptures rose to life. The sand in the desert was endless. How could she destroy them all if they kept coming?


    Rachelle couldn''t stop herself from shouting, "If you have the ability, show your real body! Why the hell are you sneaking around like a coward?"


    "Why not?"


    With that, Zen quietly appeared behind the light curtain, hovering in midair leisurely.


    It was impossible to fly in this world! How did he manage such a feat?


    The only person who had actually seen Zen flying was Alfredo, but he didn''t provide this clue to the other consummate True Gods.


    As a result, the consummate True Gods'' expressions changed greatly as they took notice of the scene, too.


    Troy''s face darkened. The sand had naturally gathered and formed. Now that Zen was floating in thin air, everyone knew he had a very high control over this world. It was safe to say that Zen could rule everyone''s life and death in this space.


    Swish!


    With a sudden slash from her machete, Rachelle snapped, "Hand over the jade seal and I''ll spare your life!"


    She was impetuous and enjoyed killing, but she didn''t think before acting as much as Troy did.


    Zen raised his hand gently. The dense black spears on the light curtain were like beady snake heads that were raised slowly. They aimed at the great group of consummate True Gods, including Rachelle. The corners of Zen''s mouth curled into a smile, and he said, "I wonder who''s going to spare the other''s life now?"

 Chapter 2383 Let Them Go

    The black spears aimed at the crowd, turning all the faces of the consummate True Gods ghastly pale.


    Even Walton, who was lazily lying down, stood up and stared at Zen.


    These consummate True Gods had witnessed the power of the black spears before.


    Both Mikail Sword, the consummate True God of the Sword Clan, and Troy had been shot by those spears before. Mikail Sword had instantly died when the black spear pierced him.


    Troy, on the other hand, had been fortunate enough to survive, but even though he had recuperated for a long time, the wound caused by the black spear still hadn''t healed completely.


    When these fatal countless black spears shot out, how would all the consummate True Gods escape?


    Rachelle didn''t speak. She still held the machete tightly, unwilling to admit defeat.


    She was far more stubborn than ordinary people, and she would not yield even when facing death.


    At this moment, her body bent slightly and a great surge of power went through her long and slender legs. She leaped high in the sky, taking the arc of a parabola as the machete in her hand came at Zen''s head.


    "Huh!"


    Zen smiled faintly before he disappeared.


    Rachelle''s machete missed its target and landed on the ground. Before she could steady herself, Zen reappeared in front of her again.


    But this time, he had a handful of sand in his hand.


    When he saw Rachelle come up again to attack him, he threw the sand at her.


    "Kill..."


    The thin lines of sand swept off Rachelle''s wrist, leaving bloody cuts. The impact of the sand also made the machete fly out of her hand.


    Seeing this, Shahn and Walton rushed over.


    Bang! Bang...


    They had barely taken a few steps when two black spears shot out and pierced the ground in front of them.


    They instantly froze.


    The time in the area that the spears had pierced passed quickly and the originally fine sand turned into dust.


    "Phew!"


    Since she didn''t have the machete in her hand anymore, Rachelle abruptly turned around and released another surge of power, aiming straight at Zen''s face with her knees!


    She had almost unleashed all of the power of the nine stars in her body. There weren''t many people in the divine land who would be able to resist this blow.


    Bang!


    Zen just raised his hand and casually deflected her attack.


    Then, without missing a beat, he released his own surge of power, knocking Rachelle''s body to the ground.


    After that, handfuls of sa


    . I wonder what''s happening outside. Let''s talk about it after we get out of here three days later," said Troy, shaking his head.


    When Zen returned from the jade seal, he told Joy, "Everything is arranged. They will soon escape from that circle of light. We can''t stay here for too long."


    Three days in the jade seal was only equivalent to an hour in the divine land.


    Joy nodded her head. She planned to leave this place with Zen again using the Grand Teleportation.


    Zen took out a token and said, "Although the divine land is vast, there are still some risks. Why don''t we just hide in the fairy palace for some time?"


    Zen had been in the divine land for a while now, but he had never returned to the fairy palace during this time.


    Joy looked at the mountain token in Zen''s hand and raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Bromley''s fairy palace in the Swirl Forest?"


    Zen nodded.


    She thought for a while before nodding back in agreement.


    Although Bromley''s fairy palace was not unbreakable, it was indeed a good place to temporarily take refuge in.


    Once Joy agreed, Zen activated the mountain token in his hand.


    Soon, the surrounding space started to vibrate slowly.


    The space in the divine land was several times stronger than that of the universes.


    In the universes, it only took him a split second to enter the fairy palace, and it was convenient. But in the divine land, it was difficult for the mountain token to break through space. It was only after about half a minute that the mountain token dragged him and Joy into a space channel.


    Soon after, they appeared at the gate of the fairy palace.

 Chapter 2384 A Small Misunderstanding

    After Zen and Joy left for a period of time, ripples appeared at the edge of the lake from the colorful circle of light.


    As the ripples spread, Troy jumped out and landed steadily next to the lake.


    He immediately looked around and a glimmer of surprise appeared in his eyes.


    Soon, Shahn, Walton, Rachelle, Alfredo, and the other consummate True Gods stepped out of the circle of light one after the other.


    "This is not the Time Sea!" Walton observed, looking at the great lake.


    Shahn glanced at Walton. "Isn''t this nonsense?"


    "That guy must have escaped from the Time Sea," Troy said with a frown. "But with the amount of strength he has, it''s impossible for him to escape from the Time Sea all by himself..." Troy took a few steps toward the striking black lake as he spoke.


    Then, he reached his iron hand out to the surface of the lake and tapped it.


    His iron hand, which had been shining with silver light all along, instantly turned black. A resolute expression appeared in Troy''s eyes as he said, "Our Holy Emperor has taken action, and even wounded a Holy Being with his Destructive Poisonous Hand. I don''t know who the Holy Being was, but it should have been the one who helped that guy escape."


    "You mean that Holy Nicholas has made a move?" Shahn''s eyes flashed.


    Troy nodded. "Yes. But although I can''t figure out who that Holy Being is, I know that this Holy Being has been heavily injured."


    "We''ll know everything as soon as we get back. But first, we''ll have to find out exactly where we are in the divine land," Shahn said.


    The divine land was too vast. Holy Beings could travel through the place at will, but the distance that a consummate True God could teleport was limited in comparison.


    "Why do you keep silent?" Walton looked at Rachelle curiously.


    During these three days, she had been unusually silent and depressed.


    Swish! Shahn spread his fan open and said, "A mere low-rank True God managed to control the jade seal, but it was only with luck and arrogance. I hope you won''t let your state of mind be affected by this."


    Everyone who had become consummate True Gods in the divine land had only managed to do so after having their state of mind thoroughly tempered. How could they take a little humiliation to heart?


    "No, it''s not that..."


    Rachelle looked up at the sky and gazed at the clouds that were slowly floating in the air. "Before I entered the jade seal, I had a hunch that if I missed that opportunity, I would never be able to kill him... I''m afraid there will be no such chance in the future."


    Hearing this, Shahn and Walton burst into laughter.


    "How is that possible? Th


    woman. More importantly, she exuded an extremely strong aura, which, though plain, instilled a strong sense of fear in anyone who met her.


    It was impossible for Letitia to figure out the woman''s cultivation level, but she faintly felt that this woman was probably the strongest person she had ever seen.


    What annoyed Letitia the most was that the aura she sensed from this woman was somewhat like Margaret''s!


    When Imogen noticed Letitia''s expression, she heavily knocked her walking stick onto the ground and gave a cold snort while pulling a long face.


    If it were not the fact that she had sensed the unfathomable cultivation level of the woman, she would have asked, "How dare you bring back a bitch?" right to Zen''s face.


    When Zen noticed the change in Letitia''s expression, he became embarrassed.


    Of course, it was impossible for Joy to not notice their reactions, but she continued standing near Zen with a smile on her face.


    With her status and temperament, there was no way she would explain anything.


    "Tia, this is a friend of my father," Zen said.


    Although Joy had never explicitly stated the kind of relationship with Zen''s father, Mike, Zen had been able to read between the lines. However, since she was a Demi-holy Being, it was impossible for him to address her with any inappropriate titles.


    Hearing this, all the women were slightly shocked.


    Although their cultivation levels lagged far behind Zen''s, their horizons had broadened during the time they had spent with Zen. They had a certain understanding of the structure and hierarchy of the divine land and the origins of the universes.


    Zen''s father was the creator of the universe, a Holy Being of the divine land. So, they wondered if this woman was also a Holy Being.

 Chapter 2385 The Decipherment

    Zen''s words clearly suggested who Joy was. Letitia was an intelligent woman, and she understood that Joy was a senior.


    She walked over to Joy and bowed to her. "Nice to meet you. Pardon me, but I''m unaware as to how to address you."


    "Just call me Joy," smiled Joy.


    "Alright. Good to see you, Joy," Letitia said sweetly.


    Then Aura and Freya bowed to Joy.


    "Zen, you haven''t introduced them to me," said Joy while looking at Zen.


    Zen gave her a smile and introduced his wives to Joy one by one.


    Joy chuckled to herself as Zen introduced the women to her. Thinking of Laquisha''s reaction on the Floating Island, she sighed in her heart. ''This guy is as good as his father in relationships.''


    When Zen introduced Imogen to Joy, Imogen nodded coldly to her and said, "I''m Letitia''s master, and you''re a friend of Zen''s father. I''m a senior to them too, just as you are, so there''s no need for me to heed etiquette in front of you, right?"


    Zen smiled weakly and said, "This is how Lady Yu always is."


    Joy didn''t mind Imogen''s bluntness. After examining the women briefly, she said, "They haven''t totally mastered the Godly Way, so they can''t really enter the divine land, can they?"


    "No, they can''t," Zen said.


    Among the three women, Aura was comparatively weaker, whereas Letitia and Freya were always neck and neck talent-wise.


    However, back then, there were only about ten people in the entire universe whose Lotus Flowers bloomed fully and who had mastered the Godly Way. Now, in such a short period, even though they lived in the fairy palace, it wouldn''t be that easy for them to become proving godly warriors.


    "That isn''t easy to accomplish," Joy said. She paused for a moment and waved her hand. Three light green pills appeared in her hand. "These Enlightenment Pills will greatly enhance your talents. Consider them a gift from me since this is the first time that we have met. Please take them."


    "Really? They can enhance talents?" Letitia and the other two women had a surprised expression on their faces.


    "Yes," replied Joy, much to their delight.


    The Enlightenment Pill was a better kind of seven times refined pill.


    These pills were quite rare even in the rich clans on the Floating Islands. The materials required to refine them came from the Soul Wilderness.


    The Holy Beings had many children. Thus they selected those who were distinctly talented.


    Some of the Holy Beings'' offspring had spec


    frey get hurt, not even in the slightest, let alone take unnecessary risks.


    Joy was quietly pacing in the side hall, her face wearing a surprised look. "This boy can decipher Sanskrit?"


    Immortal Book then greeted Joy. During Joy''s first visit, she had borrowed Bromley''s books in the library, and he was an acquaintance of hers. Immortal Book laughed and said, "Don''t underestimate the boy! Master has left behind a great deal of Sanskrit words, and this kid has deciphered about thirty percent of them."


    "What?" asked Joy in amazement.


    For so many divine eras, a large number of golden Sanskrit words had been passed down across the divine land, and a portion of the golden Sanskrit words was deciphered, but it turned out to be worthless.


    Genuine rare Sanskrit words were collected by wealthy clans on the Floating Islands. Some of them were collected by the Holy Beings. They were so rare no one had seen a printed version.


    It was extremely difficult to decipher those rare Sanskrit words. Up to now, few of them had been deciphered completely. Deciphering Sanskrit required extremely rich experience. Sometimes, the decrypted Sanskrit content made no sense at all.


    Bromley was quite fond of travelling in the chaos. Due to Holy Jay, the Sanskrit he had collected was of great value. One deciphered chapter of his collection would already mean a great deal. But the kid lying in front of Joy had deciphered thirty percent of it. Joy couldn''t believe her ears.


    How could she not be surprised?


    When she looked at the words translated by Geoffrey, she froze.


    "Is this... the Truth of Godly Way?" she stammered.

 Chapter 2386 Sea Of Truth

    As a Demi-holy Being in the divine land, regardless of strength or horizon, Joy was at the top level. Not many things could shock her to such an extent.


    A look of curiosity appeared on Zen''s face as he asked, "Truth of Godly Way? What is it, exactly?"


    Joy didn''t reply to Zen''s question. Her gaze swept over the handwriting and the strange look in her eyes became more obvious. What was more, there was even a glimmer of excitement shining in her eyes.


    After a brief moment, she said, "Read the words, please."


    "What? Read them?" Zen asked, confused.


    Immortal Book beside them giggled aloud and said, "It''s difficult to read such words. The young master can''t read them, so I''m afraid that it''s even less likely for the master to..."


    Despite hearing the words with his own ears, Zen was unconvinced.


    Was Immortal Book trying to say that, in his heart, Geoffrey had surpassed his father?


    "Then I''ll give it a try!" Zen interrupted.


    He looked at the white papers, which were lined up in a row, and scanned the words with his eyes.


    These words were what Geoffrey had previously deciphered from the golden Sanskrit words. They had been written by using a writing brush. If one were to look at each word separately, they''d almost appear as nothing more than good works of calligraphy.


    As Zen scanned the words one by one and rearranged their order in his mind, a faint sense of discomfort rose in his heart and as his eyes widened, his pupils dilated slightly too.


    "These words!"


    He was too stunned to complete his sentence.


    "Read!" Joy smiled peacefully as she urged Zen along.


    Zen squinted his eyes a little and he began to read the words aloud.


    "The nature of the cultivation method is to reach eternity with strong will. The natural laws couldn''t be comprehended through common methods. If..."


    Surprisingly enough, these sentences weren''t unintelligible to Zen.


    As he followed his thoughts in order to read the words aloud, a subtle feeling washed over him.


    This feeling was similar to what Zen had felt back when he was cultivating the Godly Ways. There were certain mysterious and complex meanings hidden amongst the words, but their meaning was actually more complicated than that of the Godly Ways themselves.


    At first, Zen didn''t have too much difficulty speaking the words.


    However, as time went on, he felt more and more stressed with every word that escaped his mouth.


    Once he''d read over one hundred words, he felt his tongue going numb. Once he''d gotten through two hundred words, his tongue started flicking and he spoke with a lisp, as if he was drunk. His head began to feel dizzy. After five hundred words, he could feel the very depths of his soul shaking.


    Joy did nothing but look at Zen react and smile.


    When Zen had finished reading out eight hundred words, he had a faint hallucination.


    He felt as thou


    the end of that path."


    As they listened to Joy speak, Letitia, Freya and the other girls fell silent.


    Currently, they were only at the Soul Sea Realm. There was still a long way to go before they could even think about reaching the end of the martial arts path.


    Whether in the universe or in the divine land, the end of martial arts was the level of world lords. This was also the proving godly warriors'' level.


    After reaching this level, if the warrior wanted to step further, they had to master the Godly Ways and become True Gods.


    "What awaits us after the end of the Godly Ways?" Joy asked Zen out of the blue, fixing her gaze on him.


    "Holy Beings," Zen answered flatly.


    Joy refused his answer, shaking her head from side to side. "No," she said firmly.


    "Who is more powerful than a Holy Being?" she asked anew. Zen''s face filled even more with confusion.


    Through the clues he had obtained in the past, Zen was aware that other, more advanced creatures existed within the chaos.


    However, as Holy Jay had said, he himself didn''t even know these creatures'' forms. To put it simply, he didn''t know whether extraordinary creatures were humans or ghosts. Having never seen them himself in fact, he didn''t even know if they truly existed.


    Holy Jay had studied the golden Sanskrit deeply, and presumably, he had a more profound understanding of it than Joy. It was only normal for his prediction to be more reliable.


    Moreover, even Holy Bromley''s adventure indicated that the whole of the chaos was most likely empty.


    Zen''s knowledge was confined within this wide and extensive divine land. Never had he allowed himself to imagine that, in this world, someone would be even stronger than a Holy Being.


    "The end of the Godly Ways is a boundless ocean." Joy''s eyes grew darker. "The ocean is filled with a perfect understanding of Godly ways, which is otherwise called the Sea of Truth."

 Chapter 2387 The Full Text

    "The end of the Godly Ways is an endless ocean..."


    Zen was taken aback when he heard this. His gaze fell on Geoffrey''s writing.


    When he read the words in his mind, he indeed had a very wonderful feeling.


    This feeling consumed him such that his soul couldn''t bear it any more. Was that the so-called Truth of Godly Way?


    "So you mean, there are many kinds of Truths of Godly Ways? Similar to the Godly Ways?" Zen repeated.


    Joy shook her head. "Actually, it''s the opposite," she replied.


    The divine land had been in existence for countless years.


    The Holy Beings had refined their Godly Ways to the hilt and built their own universes. After that, they began to explore the chaos outside the divine land, hoping to achieve a bigger breakthrough.


    Some Holy Beings had traveled through the chaos and found that it was empty.


    It was a boundless place where only grayish brown chaos could be seen. No strange civilization was to be found there.


    Some persistent Holy Beings wandered around in the chaos for hundreds of divine eras, but still found nothing. Despite traveling significant distances, in the end, they had to return disappointed.


    They failed in the exploration of space, and in the exploration of Godly Ways too.


    A warrior reached the end of the Godly Way only when their Godly Way reached the consummation. At the end of the Godly Way lay an endless ocean. All Holy Beings and consummate True Gods had spent lots of time and energy exploring this ocean, but they weren''t able to gain any insights from it.


    Therefore, the Godly Ways in the divine land had begun to develop all sorts of bizarre theurgies beyond ways, and warriors now practiced the double Godly Tile and mixed Godly Ways.


    Apart from these, no other notable breakthroughs had been made.


    "Later on, Armand Yan, the Demi-holy Being of the Yan Clan, received two golden Sanskrit words completely by accident. These two words were extremely rare. And the Yan Clan had spent a great deal of time and paid a high price trying to decode them. Finally, they were able to decipher the words and comprehend the Truth of Godly Way," Joy said. "But nobody knew how this piece of news was leaked. The Yan Clan was destroyed because of this."


    "The Yan Clan had a Demi-holy Being, and yet it was destroyed?" Zen gasped in disbelief.


    Joy explained, "Actually, the Truth of Godly Way recorded in the two golden Sanskrit words that Armand Yan deciphered might be incomplete, but it


    a rest first, Geoffrey?" Letitia asked.


    "Mom, you know these words. As long as you don''t read them or think about them, you''ll be fine," the boy assured his mother casually.


    When Geoffrey had deciphered the golden Sanskrit words for the first time, he had uncovered the secrets hidden in them. It wouldn''t be a problem if he didn''t read these words together. But once these words were read together, he would become dizzy.


    This was the reason why Geoffrey would only decipher a single golden Sanskrit word at a time. This way, he would not feel the pressure.


    Geoffrey studied the white paper with a look of concentration on his face. He held a brush in his hand and began to write something down.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    No one spoke as they watched Geoffrey. The young man in white was still writing with quick and smooth movements.


    About an hour later, he had written down many words!


    Zen was gratified to see his son''s achievement.


    After Geoffrey had written down all of them, Joy couldn''t resist the temptation any longer. She looked at Zen and asked, "Can I see the mind method of Truth of Godly Way written by your son?"


    Before Zen could answer, Geoffrey pursed his mouth and said in a disgruntled manner, "It was me who wrote this mind method. Master Joy, you should ask me!"


    When she saw the look on his face, Joy smiled. "Okay. Can I have a look at it, Geoffrey?" she requested.


    "Of course you can! I''m not so narrow-minded," said Geoffrey, shrugging his shoulders. "But you will have to give me something if you want to get something from me."


    "Hey!" Zen was at a loss whether to laugh or to be angry.

 Chapter 2388 Spar With Lavender

    Geoffrey''s expression spelled mischief.


    Looking at the kid made Zen''s heart sigh. Compared to Geoffrey''s carefree life now, when Zen was sixteen years old, the responsibilities he carried weighed so heavily on his shoulders.


    It was also the pressure put on by his father that made the burden so much as he moved on.


    Zen assumed that Geoffrey was not an integral part in his father''s plan, so Zen hoped that he could grow up happily.


    "Um?" Joy''s smile became wider. "What do you want? If I have what you want, I will give it to you."


    "I want a spear!" Geoffrey said excitedly.


    Zen scrunched his nose..


    "A spear?"


    Letitia smiled lightly. "Geoffrey is really obsessed with practicing spear techniques. He often goes to the training tower to spar with Lavender."


    "He can spar with Lavender?" That was new.


    In the past, Zen had never seen Geoffrey ever show any talent or inclination in martial arts. Even now, his cultivation had just reached the Internal Elixir Realm. There was still a long way to go before he could reach the Life and Death Realm and form his Soul Sea.


    In the past, Zen didn''t have much resources. He had to rely on himself for everything.


    However, Letitia and the rest of his family had already made preparations before they entered the fairy palace. These resources in the fairy palace were also at their disposal, so they didn''t need to worry about it any longer


    Geoffrey''s cultivation speed was rather slow.


    Letitia smiled at him again. "It''s just a spar."


    "Even if it''s only a spar, how could he spar with Lavender?" Zen asked, eyes trained at Geoffrey.


    While Lavender''s spear technique was not complicated, it was extremely terrifying. He found it hard to imagine how the two sparred with each other.


    "Dad, you''re always underestimating me!" Geoffrey scowled and glared at Zen. "If it isn''t for the fact that Aunt Lavender''s spear is too good, I might have been able to win against her. I''ve even asked Livingston to make a few spears for me, but they are still not as good as the one Aunt Lavender has!"


    Zen raised an eyebrow. "Really?"


    The Saint Killing Spear Lavender wielded was the sacred object of the Demon Night.


    No matter how excellent the spears refined by Livingston were, it would still be difficult for them to match Lavender''s Saint Killing Spear. Geoffrey crossed his arms and huffed but said no more.


    Beside them, Joy cleared her throat. "I don''t use weapons. I have some spears, but..."


    As she spoke, she gently waved her hand, and seven spears appeared. Wit


    ender took everything she did seriously. As she focused on sparring with Geoffrey, she paid no attention to the door at all. "How could it be that Livingston''s weapon refining skills have improved so fast?" she asked curiously. "This spear... was not refined by him, was it?"


    Livingston had made several spears for Geoffrey in the past but Geoffrey was unable to protect the spears with his life vitality. All of them broke shortly after Geoffrey used them against Lavender.


    As Geoffrey casually thrust his spear into the air, it made a whistling noise as if the air was being pierced through!


    This was the divine land and even Lavender couldn''t have achieved this. However, Geoffrey did that easily. The spear in his hand was by no means an ordinary weapon. It was even much stronger than the Saint Killing Spear in Lavender''s hand.


    "No way can he make such a weapon," snorted Geoffrey.. "Master Joy gave it to me! Hahaha!"


    Lavender was taken aback. "Joy? Someone came to the fairy palace?"


    "Yes," Geoffrey nodded. "My father brought her!"


    Hearing this, Lavender looked towards the door subconsciously. She was not in the mood to spar with Geoffrey anymore.


    As if on cue, Lavender caught sight of Zen by the door.


    At this moment, Geoffrey had already hit out with his spear and it was too late for him to take it back.


    Lavender pursed her lips. Without looking, she flipped her hand and grabbed the tip of the Space Spear. With a pull, the Space Spear flew away from Geoffrey''s hand. It shot towards one side and nailed itself on the wall with a clang.


    "Aunt Lavender, you''re cheating..." Geoffrey''s words fell on deaf ears as


    Lavender charged at Zen at full speed.

 Chapter 2389 The Fallen Divine City

    Wind blew through Lavender''s gossamer hair as she ran to Zen at an extremely fast speed. When she was finally a meter away from him, she flung her slender and delicate body against his muscular chest quite hard that it pushed him out of the training tower.


    The impact of their collision even threw off Letitia''s hand that grasped his arm.


    At that moment, everyone looked at them with varying expressions.


    For instance, Aura covered her mouth in surprise at Lavender''s openness.


    Geoffrey''s jaws dropped as he stared blankly at the scene outside the door.


    And Letitia frowned deeply before looking fully angry. She quickly went into the training tower and slammed the door with a bang. Then, she turned to Geoffrey and shouted, "What are you looking at! It''s not a sight a child should see!"


    "It just happened right before my eyes! I cannot choose not to look at it!" refuted Geoffrey as he pursed his lips. "What''s more, I''m already sixteen years old..."


    The young Geoffrey had grown up in the Cloud Hall, where he had a few playmates during his childhood.


    Later on, Zen had been worried about his families'' safety, so he took Geoffrey in to the fairy palace, where the young boy''s life had changed dramatically.


    Although he kept himself busy with deciphering the Sanskrit words and practicing the spear, he was still young and energetic, especially when he reached the age of puberty when his blood ran hot often. He was curious about everything in the world and hoped to take a trip outside the fairy palace.


    He had mentioned it to his mother several times, but Letitia rejected him with the excuse that he was too young.


    In reality, Geoffrey couldn''t leave the fairy palace as their living conditions didn''t allow it.


    If the enchanted barrier of the fairy palace was opened, all of them would have to hide in the training tower. Otherwise, they would break into life vitality and disappear in this world.


    That was the secondary creatures'' limitation. It was impossible to get rid of it if one did not have powerful theurgies. Even Zen still had to comprehend Godly Ways to secretly enter the divine land. And so, there was no way that Geoffrey could go to the divine land.


    Moreover, returning to the Evolutionary Universe definitely wasn''t easy.


    Now that the fairy palace''s transmission node was tied to Zen''s mountain token, if they wanted to enter the Evolutionary Universe, they had to go over a vast distance and find the entrance to the Evolutionary Universe themselves before they could enter it.


    That was why the moment Letitia and the others entered the fairy palace was equivalent to them setting foot on an isolated island. If they left the lone island, none of them would be able to survive.


    The Demon Night didn''t have so much etiquette as the humans did, so Lavender wasn''t as reserved as most human women.


    She missed Zen, so she expressed her


    Yet according to the contents of the Golden Sanskrit words, he discovered that those extraordinary creatures were not as mysterious as he had imagined. There were halls and complex social relationships in their world. They would also die; there were also powerful warriors among them, and they also revered those who were more powerful than them.


    Geoffrey and Zen also exchanged ideas and discoursed. Although the young boy didn''t have a high cultivation level yet, he had gained plenty of knowledge from the library. He was broad-minded and intelligent. It was even likely that many True Gods who had lived for so many divine eras couldn''t compare to him in that regard.


    And at night, Zen spent his time wonderfully with his wives and enjoyed the land of warmth and tenderness.


    On the first day, he had offended Letitia, and she didn''t talk to him for a full day. She was full of jealousy, and it took him a long time to make her laugh through tears.


    Meanwhile, things brewed differently in the east of the divine land.


    Dozens of people dressed in jet black cloaks swiftly moved forward across the endless desert.


    It turned out that all those cloaked beings were mid-rank True Gods.


    The one at the helm had a long sword that hung from his back. He was tall and moved in a steady pace.


    Under his lead, the group of True Gods soon found a crater that was over ten million feet deep in the desert.


    One by one, the True Gods in black cloaks slid down the crater. After all of them were in, they were surprised to see where they ended up.


    "It''s the Jade Bone Divine City."


    "The entire Jade Bone Divine City had been destroyed. What on earth has happened?"


    The leader of their group stepped forward and lifted his cloak''s hood to reveal a heroic-looking face. He glanced indifferently at the ruins in front of him and coldly ordered, "Let''s find the slate first."


    Then, he took the lead and went forward.

 Chapter 2390 Eat The Slate

    Occasionally, there were disputes between the powerful clans in the divine land, but rarely did they ever turn into a large-scale war.


    Wealthy clans on the Time Sea meant to maintain the stability of the entire divine land.


    The divine land had a large number of divine cities, most of them having been controlled by the first and second-tier clans¡ªthey usually belonged to those wealthy clans on the Floating Islands.


    So the various wealthy clans on the Floating Islands actually took control of ninety percent of the divine cities through these first and second-tier clans.


    The Jade Bone Divine City trapped in the crater was a medium-sized divine city. Protecting it was a Hundred Commandments Slate. The Jade Bone Divine City was originally controlled by the He Clan, a second-tier clan.


    But it had to pay its dues to the Ru Clan, a first-tier clan, in divine might coins.


    The Ru Clan was situated near the Ray Tree.


    And this was in the eastern part of the divine land.


    The sun rose in the east, rising right above the Ray Tree every day.


    As one of the four great divine trees in the divine land, this tree was over trillions of years old, having experienced countless changes over time.


    Now, it was occupied by the Dongfang Clan.


    Relying on the Ray Tree, the Dongfang Clan managed to gain control over hundreds of regions, hundreds of thousands of divine cities, countless divine citizens, proving godly warriors, True Gods, and so on.


    Some of the first-tier clans that had Demi-holy Beings were to submit themselves wholly to the Dongfang Clan''s rule.


    No one dared offend it.


    A Jade Bone Divine City was nothing to the Dongfang Clan, but the entire divine city suddenly disappeared. Such a strange matter had drawn the Dongfang''s attention.


    And this was why a team was exploring it.


    "Be careful. Let''s observe the surroundings first," one of the mid-rank True Gods in the team said cautiously, examining the environment.


    "That''s right, who knows what kind of power had caused this divine city to collapse?"


    Even if a divine city were to collapse, it would be impossible for all those True Gods to perish. Although most of them couldn''t fly, even with a collapse, injury was nearly impossible.


    But an eerie silence now washed over the Jade Bone Divine City.


    The sunlight coming in from outside the crater was a thin veil that covered the divine city. One couldn''t clearly see the entire city in this light. In fact, it grew even stranger and more mysterious.


    "Stop observing. We need to hurry up!" the young man said as he turned around, flashing a brilliant smile.


    But


    iece and swallowed each chunk.


    The fire starter went out and the black and red scutigers were crawling towards him now. Seeing this, Lowell lit up another fire starter before he continued eating the Hundred Commandments Slate.


    "Ah!"


    A series of screams rang out in the Jade Bone Divine City.


    Right when the mid-rank True Gods entered the divine city, they were attacked by the black and red scutigers.


    The scutigers'' poison was truly terrible. Once bitten by them, even a mid-rank True God could die within seconds.


    In the blink of an eye, over twenty mid-rank True Gods were poisoned to death.


    Numerous scutigers formed a sea in black and red, blocking all the retreat roads.


    The only path left was the one Lowell had created with the fire starter. And so the remaining True Gods had no choice but to charge towards the center of the city aimlessly.


    ...


    Only one of the mid-rank True Gods managed to get rid of the scutigers¡ªhe rushed to the central pavilion of the divine city and passed through the wall.


    When he lowered his head, something incredible came into view.


    "Lowell, what¡­ what are you eating?"


    Half of the Hundred Commandments Slate had already been gobbled up. Lowell raised his head rather cryptically and smiled as he said, "The slate! Do you want some?"


    "Who the hell are you?" The mid-rank True God seemed to have sensed something off.


    "Who am I? Let''s say I tell you. Then what? What can you do? You can''t go back now anyway¡­" Lowell merely shook his head and continued gnawing on the slate.


    The mid-rank True God felt some kind of pain in his back followed by a powerful numbness. In the next moment, his entire body lost consciousness before he was covered by a dense pack of scutigers.

 Chapter 2391 Limited Justice

    In just a short while, Lowell was able to completely devour the piece of slate. He then clasped his hands and stood up.


    A trace of helplessness appeared in his eyes as he looked at the mid-rank True God''s corpse.


    All of this went totally against nature.


    However, since he had chosen this road, his belief had now become stronger and there was no way he was going to change. Everything he did went towards his goal. Anything or anyone that stood in his way would be eliminated.


    "From a whole point of view, you... died for this battered boat," he murmured.


    Just as he was about to leave, a very small and very weak voice spoke from behind him.


    "Help, help me..."


    The sound made Lowell frown.


    He turned around and noticed a tiny hole on the wall. It seemed the sound was coming from there.


    "A high-level breath-restraining technique? Or are you using a special treasure that helps you restrain your breath?"


    There was no way he would miss a living person on the other side of the wall. The only explanation for this was that the person''s hiding skill was exceptional and ingenious.


    A strong killing intent appeared within Lowell''s eyes as he lightly patted the wall.


    His touch was light but it was enough to make the stone collapse.


    A compartment was revealed behind the wall, as high as half a person. A girl, around fifteen to sixteen years of age, was curled up inside.


    The girl was covered with tulle and she held onto her legs for warmth. Her entire body was littered with bruises and dust but she was surprisingly pretty. However, despite her beauty, her eyes looked dead and she looked more like an abandoned doll than a person.


    "This layer of tulle..."


    Lowell reached down and took off the tulle that covered her. "It is a very rare treasure. It might not be possible for even a first-tier clan to own it..."


    "Help me, please..."


    the girl pleaded again.


    "Did you see that?" Lowell stared at the girl and asked.


    The girl quickly shook her head. "I didn''t see anything!"


    Hearing this, Lowell smiled. "You''re lying. I can''t save you. Goodbye."


    Leaving the girl there, Lowell leapt up and climbed onto the patio, disappearing before her eyes.


    His disappearance crushed any hope that remained


    sensed what was about to happen, a trace of sadness once again appeared on her face. "You want to kill me, don''t you?" she asked Lowell, looking at him straight in the eye.


    "Yes," he replied emotionlessly.


    Had she been from a small clan then he might''ve been able to save her.


    However, she was a member of the Dongfang Clan which completely changed everything.


    A look of grief crossed over Iris Dongfang''s beautiful features and she could only let her eyes speak for her as she looked at Lowell sadly. He put his hand on her forehead and all she could feel was the coldness of his fingers.


    "I can swear by my inner demon...


    I will always follow what you say.


    I won''t resist or disclose your secret. Please,"


    she continued pleading with him.


    Lowell practiced the Justice Godly Way and was someone who pursued the idea of justice supremacy, but the concept of justice itself was split between absolute and limited. Even in the debate over the Godly Ways, there was no right conclusion.


    Limited justice would dictate he kill her for the greater good of more people.


    However, according to absolute justice, there was absolutely no reason for him to kill her.


    Lowell looked at her eyes as he battled himself internally.


    She did not say anything and merely looked back at him pitifully.


    "Alas..."


    Lowell heaved a sigh. "Be with me from now on. Swear by your inner demon and I will not kill you."


    Iris Dongfang nodded and smiled up at him like a child in relief.

 Chapter 2392 The Truth Boat

    The air on the Floating Islands became subtle and solemn after the Astronomical Transit Day.


    Not many True Gods witnessed Nicholas''s angry face in person. But the things that happened on Astronomical Transit Day were quickly spread among the various Floating Islands.


    "The anonymous man''s identity was finally revealed. It''s Mike''s son!"


    "It''s quite bold of him to come here. He even bypassed the Jiang Clan''s supervision, and directly came to the divine land!"


    "What''s more, he took away the jade seal from the hands of many consummate True Gods. It''s said that the jade seal is a fourth-grade supreme treasure of belief."


    "Is there something going on between him and Estelle? She silenced the whole divine land for him."


    "Not to mention that the lives of those consummate True Gods are at his disposal, and he''s just a low-rank True God. That''s quite impressive!"


    Most of the wealthy clans on the Floating Islands had a stable relationship.


    The numerous True Gods worked hard day and night, shuttling back and forth in the forbidden lands and the Floating Islands.


    The news of the incident quickly spread through the rest of the Floating Islands like wildfire, because not only it involved Zen, but the Demi-holy Being of the Han Clan was caught up in it as well.


    Thus, things were really on edge. Everyone was curious as to how Nicholas would react, and how the Han Clan would deal with the matter, and whether the consummate True Gods which were taken by Zen, would return safely or not.


    If Zen really killed those True Gods, then things were about to go south.


    A while later, Rachelle, Troy, Alfredo and others finally came back.


    As soon as Alfredo stepped foot on the Han Clan''s Floating Island, he was summoned by the Holy Emperor.


    The next day, after the three girls of the Han Clan had walked into the main hall of the Purple Soul Hall, the female disciples of the Purple Soul Hall entered the wide hall as well.


    The disciples were also aware of rumors that were going around.


    Initially, they didn''t quite believe that the rumors were true, but after they heard certain undeniable things, and when they noticed that Joy was gone, they concluded that Joy had run away with Thad.


    Joy was the sole reason the Purple Soul Hall existed, and her being a Demi-holy Being strengthened the Purple Soul Hall.


    Since Joy had offended Nicholas, it was a mere dream for her to return to the Floa


    rohibited to leave the island and were strictly guarded all the time.


    In the side hall of the fairy palace, the hemline of Joy''s light purple dress fluttered even when there was no wind.


    She recited the words repetitively.


    As a Demi-holy Being, she could imprint these ten thousand words in her mind at a glance, but when the next thought came to her, the words in her mind would vanish, and she couldn''t remember them anymore.


    If she wanted to memorize the Truth of Godly Way, she could only utter the words one by one, and as long as she could hang on for more words, she could retain more of them.


    It was not easy even for a Demi-holy Being to completely learn the Truth of Godly Way in a short time.


    On the first day, she could recite only 1, 700 words.


    The next day, she could enumerate 3, 200 words.


    Things became more complicated as she went on.


    The more words she accumulated, the more difficult it was for her to recite.


    It was not difficult to recite the words, but rather to comprehend the true meaning of the mind method.


    In the void sea, at the end of the Godly Ways, the Truth of Godly Way was like a small boat that would lead her to the other shore. The process of understanding the Truth of Godly Way was the process of climbing onto that boat.


    By the fifteenth day, she was able to recite about 4, 700 words in one go, almost half of the Truth of Godly Way.


    After she finished reading the words, her eyes sparkled with excitement and her face beamed with delight.


    She felt as if she had caught a slight opportunity, got the key point, and held one side of the boat.

 Chapter 2393 Truth Of Cultivation Nature

    "The 3, 000 Godly Ways have their own rules and are very different," Joy recited.


    "But in the end, they all follow the natural course.


    It''s called the Truth of Cultivation Nature."


    As she murmured these words, a realization hit her.


    Her slender fingers moved, causing strength source and streaks of purple aura to flow out of her body and fill the side hall.


    In the divine land, Joy was an absolute authority on the Purple Aura Godly Way.


    It was the perfect Godly Way to make an array.


    When the predecessors of the Purple Aura Godly Way had cultivated it, they had nurtured all kinds of living beings using the purple aura and then set up all kinds of arrays.


    Then, with Mike''s help, Joy had tried to spread their ideas to the world.


    The Four Swords Change in the Gods Killing Sword Array was the foundation.


    The Thirty-Two Swords Change was a little more complicated and fierce.


    The Ninety-Six Swords Change, which had the maximum power, was the final and perfect form of the Gods Killing Sword Array. The variables and killing intent in it were all extremely horrible.


    In addition to the sword arrays, Joy also had other arrays like the Beasts and Dragons Array, the Bird Dream Array, and the Purple Spirit Strife Array under her belt.


    In order to maximize the power of the Purple Aura Godly Way, Joy had been working hard to build an even larger array by trying to perfectly match the Purple Aura Godly Way with the strength source.


    It was a massive project as there would be a lot more variables involved than in the previous arrays.


    Even for her, it would be an extremely difficult task to build such an array.


    Therefore, she hadn''t made much progress even though she''d been working on it for a long time.


    "It''s difficult if one is obsessed. If you are too eager, you will only be stuck. If you spend too much time thinking, you will only have empty thoughts..." she continued reciting.


    "No obsession, no eagerness, no empty thoughts...


    Only then will you reach self-realization."


    Joy was no longer controlling the purple aura, nor was she shaping the strength source. She just let them float on their own in the side hall.


    As she recited the words, a strange idea popped into her mind.


    Invisible strength and purple aura were slowly flowing through the side hall. Sometimes, the purple aura enveloped the strength, and other times, the strength pushed the purple aura away.


    Like the clouds in the sky, the purple aura sometimes turned into galloping horses, and sometimes into gods and ghosts¡ªall sorts of strange and bizarre figures.


    "Although the arrays are mysteriou


    ally knocked his spear away before gently knocking him down.


    But ever since Geoffrey had deciphered the six golden Sanskrit words, the situation had been different.


    The first time Geoffrey had managed to hurt Lavender with his spear, she had been caught off guard.


    Although she had always suppressed her cultivation to the Internal Elixir Realm, she had still been shocked.


    After that, Lavender had begun to take this "little opponent" seriously and had spared no effort while sparring with him.


    In the beginning, she had still been able to suppress Geoffrey with her moves.


    However, as Geoffrey deciphered more and more words of the Truth of Godly Way, his understanding became more and more profound, and he was able to have an even battle with Lavender now.


    At the thrust of his spear, Joy turned around.


    She didn''t move very fast or think much about it. Her body was as gentle as the wind, so she naturally avoided the spear.


    "What?"


    Geoffrey sensed a trace of the Truth of Godly Way emitting from Joy, but hers was much more profound than his.


    "Again!"


    Geoffrey knew that sparring with an opponent like this would benefit him a lot.


    He had a slight knowledge of the Truth of Godly Way, but he was able to comprehend it even more now from Joy''s skills.


    An Internal Elixir Realm secondary creature sparring with a Demi-holy Being was indeed a rare scene.


    "Godly Ways follow the natural course; the understanding of them demands perseverance. All Godly Ways follow the natural course.


    There is no other way to comprehend the Godly Ways."


    As Geoffrey thrust his spear, he became more enlightened and then tried to recite the Truth of Godly Way. Hearing his recitation, Joy smiled and started to recite it too.

 Chapter 2394 Visitors

    They were in one of the fairy palace''s chambers.


    Lavender leaned her face against Zen''s chest as she breathed evenly and slowly. She had fallen asleep.


    On the opposing side, Letitia was equally curled up under Zen''s arm, sleeping deep like a baby.


    With their cultivation levels, they generally didn''t need sleep in order to replenish their energy. For most of the year, they could simply sit cross-legged for a short while to maintain their full energy.


    That said, these past days were different.


    Sometimes, sleep wasn''t just sleep. In fact, it could have a special meaning.


    Zen moved his arm slightly, and Lavender immediately opened her eyes. She looked up at Zen with her red eyes, like a vigilant kitten. She was on her guard.


    Letitia, on his other side, also woke up. The moment her soul fully awakened, the ridiculous scene of the three of them having a passionate night replayed in her mind. Her face couldn''t help but redden and she was very embarrassed. "Zen, yesterday, I..."


    As she noticed Letitia''s hesitation, Lavender intentionally said indifferently, "What''s done is done. There''s no need to feel ashamed."


    Letitia''s expression looked everything but natural as she listened to Lavender speak. Her mouth opened, but she didn''t know what to say. Instead, she grabbed the blanket and whipped it over herself in order to better cover her body.


    "Lavender," Zen murmured as he gently patted her head.


    Lavender quickly revealed a complacent smile.


    "Get up, or Geoffrey will complain again," Zen said as he smiled bitterly.


    Once Zen had gotten dressed and peered out, he was met with the sound of a spear whooshing through the air.


    As Zen walked out and turned the corner, he came face to face with Geoffrey and his spear, who was charging and jabbing at Joy relentlessly.


    "Has Joy finished her closed-door cultivation, yet?" Zen''s eyes lit up and opened wide.


    As Zen looked closer at Joy''s bodily movement skill, a very special feeling crept over him.


    Her body moved around in an elegant manner. She seemed to change position gracefully, as though she was dancing without giving it any thought. As she fluttered around Geoffrey''s long spear, Zen couldn''t help himself but think that she resembled a butterfly. The scene was very harmonious, to say the least.


    "It seems that the Truth of Godly Way has provided her with great benefit," Zen said.


    Before long, Letitia walked over. When she saw Geoffrey making an attack at Joy while muttering something, she raised her eyebrows in surprise. She was always worried that Geoffrey would get hurt.


    Luckily, Joy and Geoffrey only sparred with each other for a short while. When Joy noticed Zen, she flicked her spear away and, without a moment''s hesitation, she walked over to him.


    "Congratulations, Joy! You ha


    s the size of lakes around their feet.


    With the boy''s strength, upon casting the fishing line, he caused ultimate injury. He was so powerful that even if a consummate True God was hit by his attack, they''d be seriously injured. As the golden fishing line sliced at the apes, it left cuts on their bodies.


    Despite their injuries, one of the golden apes relied on its strong instinct to avoid the fishing line thrown out by the boy and rushed toward him instead.


    It was then that the golden ape stretched out its fluffy big hand to catch the boy. The boy suddenly yet calmly blurted out, "Go."


    The boy on the cyan ox immediately disappeared.


    "Hey! Wait for me!"


    As the long haired man saw the boy use the spatial transference and appear in front of him, his face was full of indignation. As he jumped up, he also disappeared from his spot.


    As they continuously flashed using the spatial transference in order to move forward, the two of them got closer and closer to the fairy palace''s enchanted barrier!


    "Is... Is that... Gus?"


    Zen said, who had been standing behind the enchanted barrier, with his eyes wide open. The two individuals were moving so quickly that it was hard to tell.


    Zen didn''t know Hallet, though.


    He had once fought with Augustus on the True Path. He had a deep impression of Gus, and thus he recognized him in a single glance.


    Joy, who was standing beside Zen, smiled and said, "Yeah, that''s Hallet and Augustus!"


    "Can they even come inside? Should I open the enchanted barrier for them?" As he watched the scene before him, Zen immediately became anxious.


    Before opening the enchanted barrier, Zen had to send everyone in the fairy palace to the training tower. Otherwise, when the space in the fairy place was connected to the space outside, Letitia, Lavender, and the rest would turn into life vitality and disappear.

 Chapter 2395 Teach Zen A Lesson

    Now, looking at their momentum, Zen was very conflicted.


    Back then, when Estelle left the fairy palace, the enchanted barrier failed to stop her.


    However, Zen had no idea whether she escaped because she had broken the enchanted barrier or perhaps she had a secret method to go through it.


    If a consummate True God could tear open the enchanted barrier, they could easily connect the space of the divine land with that of the fairy palace which would cause some grave consequences.


    As he worried about what could happen, Saul came out to console him, "Master, don''t worry. They can enter this enchanted barrier freely."


    Hearing Saul''s words calmed down Zen, allowing him to focus on other things.


    His family resided in the fairy palace. They were the most important people to him. Naturally, he could not allow any accidents to happen.


    As the two men gradually approached the enchanted barrier, their speed did not decrease at all.


    Gus, who was rushing in the front, suddenly flipped his hand and a small token appeared in his hand.


    A wind token!


    Zen saw the token immediately and gave it a good look.


    The eight tokens-- of water, fire, thunder, wind, mountain, valley, earth, and heaven--all had different uses and advantages. Among them, the wind token was the first token Zen had obtained, and the only use of this token seemed to be to dodge the two huge puppets in the fairy palace, so that he could enter the fairy palace safely.


    After Zen obtained the recognition of Saul, the wind token didn''t have much use to him anymore. Moreover, he had already managed to enter the fairy palace several times by passing through the space node in the valley of the Eastern Region. Later, after he got the mountain token, he could then eventually return to the fairy palace directly.


    He never would have guessed that the wind token would have such use.


    As soon as Gus took out his token, he headed straight towards the enchanted barrier. As the indestructible enchanted barrier slightly fluctuated, it somehow engulfed Gus'' body entirely.


    At the same time, the boy riding the cyan ox also raised a wind token and entered through the enchanted barrier in a similar manner.


    "Bang, bang, bang!"


    Just then, the apes that chased after them arrived and left big gaping holes on the ground outside the enchanted barrier.


    Among them, several golden apes looked quite indignant. They pounded hard on their chests and showed their teeth to the two people at the other side of the enchanted barrier, trying to provoke them.


    "Wow... These damn apes are really hard to deal with." The long haired man gasped.


    "Gus, Hal, long time no see," said Saul, greetin


    for Zen who was being made into a ball.


    On the other hand, Lavender didn''t say a thing. Although she couldn''t tell how powerful the two were, she didn''t feel that Augustus bore any ill attention. Despite how it seemed, she could tell that his attacks were well controlled and not intended to harm Zen.


    "Bang! Bang! Bang..."


    As Zen was hit back and forth like this, he began to feel a little nauseated.


    It was a good thing that he had the Redemption Armor, so he wasn''t hurt by Augustus'' attacks.


    But despite this, he was not at all pleased to be fooled around in such manner.


    However, he couldn''t even see Augustus considering his speedy movement. How could he fight back?


    ''He''s at the back!'' Zen thought.


    As he struggled in midair, he turned around and tried to grab Augustus by the neck.


    He was thinking of all the things he''d do to Gus when he finally captured him.


    Lucky for him, Zen was right. However, Augustus began to float away from Zen and appeared above him. He was about to stomp on Zen!


    "Eight Smoky Melodies!"


    Because he was so dizzy and tired of this game, Zen had no choice but to use Eight Smoky Melodies. He floated like a piece of paper.


    "Does it work? Remember this is the cultivation method I recommended for you!" Augustus let out a loud laugh, trying to stomp onto Zen''s body with no mercy.


    But the moment his foot collided with Zen''s body, he felt something wrong. He saw a trace of incomprehensible truth from Zen, and his face began to show fear instead of excitement.


    With that trace of truth, together with the bodily movement skills of the Eight Smoky Melodies, Zen dodged Augustus'' foot with no extra movements. Just then, he stretched out and gripped Augustus'' leg firmly. "Gus." He smiled. "I guess it''s my turn now!"

 Chapter 2396 Truth Of Dark And Light Chaos

    Still in the air, Zen sent Augustus spiraling down with a roll of his body.


    He had been preparing for this for a long time. Therefore the power of his strikes should never be underestimated.


    Caught off guard, Augustus wasn''t even able to react to this surprise attack.


    Bang!


    Quietly, Augustus just lay in a huge pit, eyes staring out in awe at what just happened.


    Just then, Zen landed steadily at the edge of the pit. A faint smile appeared on his face, and a hint of excitement flashed from his eyes.


    When he used the Eight Smoky Melodies a few moments before, Zen discovered that he could fuse the Truth of Godly Way into this particular skill.


    Although Zen had been considering the use of the Truth of Godly Way recently, he wasn''t in a hurry to totally grasp it as the side hall was occupied by Joy. Thus, his understanding of the Truth of Godly Way was still very shallow, and it didn''t even amount to Geoffrey''s understanding of it.


    However, the principle of the Eight Smoky Melodies was free to be used. So while employing it, Zen managed to fuse the Truth of Godly Way as if it were an instinct already.


    Unlike Joy who had understood half of the Truth of Godly Way, Zen had no idea that the Truth of Godly Way had to follow the natural course.


    Now that he was fully aware and capable of harnessing this great power, it excited him to have a new skill.


    At the beginning, Letitia had been very angry with the sparring, but seeing Zen smash Gus into the ground left a smile on her face. ''Serves you right, '' she thought to herself.


    "This is... The Truth of Godly Way! Where in the world did you learn it?" Hallet''s eyes were full of disbelief.


    On the other hand, Augustus was just about to ask the same thing but he was frozen in shock. He opened his mouth to speak but closed it soon after so he didn''t look too stupid.


    Although his original plan was to pull punches to let Zen have a counterattack, he was a consummate True God, anyway.


    Originally he wanted to teach Zen a lesson, but it turned out that it was the other way around. It was too embarrassing for Augustus.


    He didn''t care about Zen. To him, Zen was a young boy from the universe. Even if he had inherited the fairy palace, he was a mere new-comer to the divine land. Would he even be so lucky to already have the opportunity to learn the Truth of Godly Way? This was unfair!


    The Truth of Godly Way was considered such a rare thing in the divine land. Even the Holy Beings rarely had the chance to learn about it, not to mention the consummate True Gods.


    In fact, both Augustus and Hallet had already learned about the Truth of Godly Way years ago.


    Back then, Holy Jay had handed a golden Sanskrit word to Bromley. Then, Bromley spent much time prying into its deepest secrets, and eventually obtained an abridged cultivation method from it. This came to be Truth of Dark and Light Chaos, something that Bromley


    gh many of the golden Sanskrit words had already been discovered, only a few of them were deciphered correctly, while only a handful were considered valuable.


    "I think I should be thanking my son for this," Zen said with a proud smile.


    Hearing this, Hallet''s eyes grew wider and he was struck with confusion.


    Although he didn''t say anything about it, he already knew that Zen had moved his family here when he saw the several beautiful women residing in the fairy palace. Zen had the right to do this, so no one really bothered him for doing so.


    But did the Truth of Godly Way have anything to do with Zen''s son?


    A few minutes later, Zen led Hallet into the side hall. He pointed at the golden Sanskrit words hanging on the wall and said, "The Truth of Godly Way was deciphered by my son from the golden Sanskrit words left by our master," he explained. "I actually didn''t know this until I returned to the fairy palace."


    Hearing this, Hallet''s jaw dropped and he let out a little gasp. His gaze fell on Geoffrey who was not too far away from them. "He is only 16 years old," Hallet processed. "How was he able to decipher the golden Sanskrit words?"


    Joy smiled softly. She had felt the same way earlier. She said, "Why not ask him to write a translation for you?"


    She neatly tucked away what Geoffrey translated for her, not wanting to share it with the rest.


    On the sidelines, Geoffrey grew quite curious about Hallet all along the way as he watched him riding his ox and throwing Augustus into the pond.


    His attention immediately perked up as he heard them speaking about him.


    "Kid, do you mind writing another translation of the golden Sanskrit words for me?" Hallet asked politely.


    A faint smile appeared on Geoffrey''s face. He looked quite shy and hesitant, but he responded, "Of course I can. It''s not that hard, but..." He stopped for a while and eventually smiled, "Is there any benefits for me to do that?"

 Chapter 2397 More Than A Thousand Puppets

    For Geoffrey, it wasn''t difficult to decipher the six golden Sanskrit words.


    He studied the boy and the long-haired man in front of him. The both of them looked sharp and extraordinary, and Geoffrey knew for a fact that they were the two other disciples of his father''s master, so he really didn''t mind wringing them for some treasures.


    "No problem!" Without hesitation, Hallet drew a palm-sized bottle gourd from his space ring and showed it to Geoffrey.


    It was a purple-golden color and had two green leaves by the end of its vine.


    "What does it do?" Geoffrey asked curiously. He was very excited to see the bottle gourd, but he tried his best to appear nonchalant.


    "This is called the Purple-golden Creating Gourd. It has a world inside it, and it can make you double the result with half the effort when you are cultivating," said Hallet. "Since you can''t leave the fairy palace, you must be very bored. The world within the Purple-golden Creating Gourd is much larger than a great world and there are countless secondary creatures in it. Moreover, there is a large lake in the Purple-golden Creating Gourd filled with erosive water. If you drive the Purple-golden Creating Gourd to absorb an ordinary low-rank True God into it, they would be incinerated in an instant! More importantly, you can use this Purple-golden Creating Gourd without refining it."


    Geoffrey was sold.


    He truly was bored staying in the fairy palace all the time. He was young and he wanted to wander around and explore the world around him. He lived a very comfortable life, yes, but staying in the fairy palace was just as boring as being in prison.


    Although Geoffrey wanted the Purple-golden Creating Gourd badly, he schooled his face to not show his excitement. "This Purple-golden Creating Gourd is very common. Do you have any other treasures?"


    But Hallet was a smart man.


    When he heard this, he put the gourd back into his space ring and sniffed, "Forget it! It''s okay if you don''t like it."


    Geoffrey''s eyes widened. "No, please don''t! Deal!" Then his eyes fell on Augustus, who just struggled to his feet. "But there are two of you. You''re the only one who can see my translation."


    Hallet turned to Augustus and smirked. "You have a lot of scrap metals, don''t you? Pick one for thi


    tus glanced at Zen and smiled wryly.


    It was true that with this battle puppet, one could defeat an ordinary mid-rank True God. However, the previous fight between him and Zen had already made Augustus realize that Zen was by no means an ordinary mid-rank True God.


    In Augustus'' eyes, even a top-rank True God would be unable to defeat Zen now.


    Geoffrey, however, didn''t think too much about the answer. He liked the two gifts from Augustus and Hallet very much.


    Fulfilling his part of the agreement, Geoffrey took out his pen, unfolded a piece of soft white paper, and began to translate the six Golden Sanskrit words.


    To a certain extent, Augustus and Hallet kept suspecting Zen''s words.


    It was hard for them to believe that the little boy before them could decipher the group of Golden Sanskrit words that even their master couldn''t crack. It also didn''t help that what he deciphered was a mind method of Truth of Godly Way.


    But then again, seeing is believing.


    So when Geoffrey started writing the words one after the other, they recited them.


    In no more than twenty words, the two of them changed colors and felt a streak of the Truth of Godly Way slowly pressing down on their souls.


    This was how they felt when they cultivated the Truth of Dark and Light Chaos given by their master.


    However, in the opening chapter of the Truth of Dark and Light Chaos, the Truth of Godly Way was not very strong, and it was far from being as powerful as that contained in the words written down by Geoffrey.

 Chapter 2398 Non-combat Zone

    Originally, the Truth of Dark and Light Chaos was written by Bromley by using backstepping based on his own knowledge and experience.


    He had deciphered the middle part of the Truth of Dark and Light Chaos according to some golden Sanskrit words.


    But since not every word of this part was a hundred percent correct, the Truth of Godly Way contained within it was greatly weakened.


    On the other hand, the Truth of Cultivation Nature, which Geoffrey previously deciphered, was a complete text. With his natural talent for interpreting great texts, the power of the Truth of Cultivation Nature that he had cracked was horrifying.


    Now, as if bewitched, Hallet and Augustus continued to read the words written by Geoffrey one by one, and their eyes hung onto the tip of Geoffrey''s brush, not willing to stop at all.


    Letitia''s face was filled with a mixture of pride and relief when she saw this.


    Before, when Immortal Book had talked about the value of the golden Sanskrit words and about Geoffrey''s great talent in deciphering them, Letitia had had her doubts.


    Although she had been happy to hear those words, she had wondered if Immortal Book was overestimating her son or playing up his abilities.


    After all, Geoffrey was still a little boy. Even if he was talented, how could he have made such exaggerated achievements all of a sudden?


    Not to mention that in her eyes, True Gods like Hallet and Augustus were far superior.


    Even if she thought that Supreme Lords were extremely powerful, they were nobodies when compared to the True Gods. So, this situation hadn''t made sense to her at all.


    When Zen had come back to the fairy palace with Joy, Letitia had noticed the two of them paying a lot of attention to the words on the paper deciphered by Geoffrey.


    After that, when she had been in bed with him, she had asked him how powerful Joy was.


    Zen had told her that there were countless True Gods in the divine land and yet Joy was someone that all the True Gods looked up to.


    But this woman, whom all the True Gods admired, had been reading something written by Geoffrey for half a month. How could Letitia not be proud of her son?


    Now, another two disciples of Zen''s master had suddenly shown up at the fairy palace. The two warriors were strange but the power they exuded didn''t seem to be much less than Joy''s. And these warriors were also stunned by the words written by Geoffrey.


    It seemed that Immortal Book hadn''t been talking nonsense after all¡ªthe mind method of this Truth of Godly Way was more important than Zen himself.


    ''But for me, my child and my husband are the most important, '' Letitia thought as she looked at Zen and Geoffrey in silence.


    A short while later, Geoffrey had written a thousand more words.


    Soon, both Hallet and Augustus met a bottleneck just like Zen ha


    ldered expression on his face.


    "The Sunrest Tree is located in the west of the divine land; it is the place where the sun falls. It is the stronghold of the Sword Clan and the debate venue," Hallet explained. "There are still two years left before a new round of debate over the Godly Ways will begin. If I''m not wrong, Harold is supposed to take you to participate in it."


    A smile spread across Hallet''s face at this moment. "Maybe Harold has some Truth of Godly Way to teach you."


    "But your father made a mistake. You didn''t go to Everest Spirit Mountain. And what is more surprising is that the Truth of Godly Way decoded by your son is probably more powerful than what your father has prepared for you!" Augustus couldn''t help chipping in after keeping silent for a while.


    "Shut up," Hallet warned coldly.


    Augustus fell into silence again. Apparently, Hallet always had a way to deal with Augustus.


    Anyway, Zen wasn''t disheartened by Augustus'' words as he was still pondering over what Hallet had just told him.


    All he knew was that there were four divine trees in the divine land and that the Dongfang Clan had occupied the Ray Tree.


    The Sword Clan, which ranked second among the wealthy clans on the Floating Islands, also possessed one of the divine trees¡ªthe Sunrest Tree.


    "So you''re saying that Harold will definitely go to the Sunrest Tree?" Zen asked.


    "I think so," answered Hallet.


    What Zen cared about was not Harold, but Yan.


    "It doesn''t make sense. Let''s say Harold takes me to the Sunrest Tree, what if Nicholas comes there too?" Zen asked again.


    A trace of disdain appeared in Augustus'' eyes, as if he was ridiculing Zen''s ignorance. He opened his mouth to say something, but after a stern glance from Hallet, he quickly closed it again.


    "It''s very simple. The Sunrest Tree is the Non-combat Zone," said Hallet in a calm voice.

 Chapter 2399 The Girl On The Back Of A Bull

    In the four corners of the divine land stood the four divine trees, all in different positions.


    The Ray Tree helped strengthen the Dongfang Clan, which ranked first and enjoyed long lasting prosperity courtesy of the Ray Tree.


    The Sunrest Tree was located in the west of the divine land, where the Sword Clan lived. Their Floating Island was ranked second in the Time Sea.


    Three forces occupied the Hidden Tree, namely the Moon Sect, the War God Hall, and the Mysterious Soul Building. They worked together to form the Moon Clan, whose Floating Island ranked third.


    Those top three clans were known as the most powerful above the Time Sea, and it was virtually impossible for an ordinary clan to overthrow them. Those three clans relied on the three divine trees in the divine land, which was why their resources were far richer and more abundant than those of the ordinary clans.


    As for the Lofty Tree in the north of the divine land, it was a divine tree that changed constantly.


    The Lofty Tree changed every once in a while¡ªsometimes it was a place of ice and snow, and sometimes it was a hell of flames. It was certainly not a suitable place for races to live in.


    As of the current divine era, the Lofty Tree gave off a strong sense of death, so its surrounding area was devoid of life as well.


    Zen was stunned upon hearing Hallet''s words. "Non-combat Zone? What do you mean by that?" he asked in disbelief.


    He knew that there were four divine trees in the divine land, but they all stood near the edges. He had never been to those places yet.


    "There is a miraculous thing in the area of the Sunrest Tree. When this thing is activated, no one is allowed to fight within the area," Hallet answered.


    "No one is allowed to fight within the area?" Zen was confused. "Will I be punished if I fight someone else?"


    Battles were not allowed in many areas in the divine land. The stone slabs would punish anyone who offended the rule. Such a thing was rather common.


    "It''s not like what you think. It''s impossible to fight in the Non-combat Zone. If you enter the Non-combat Zone, you will be infected by a strange atmosphere and you will not be able to fight with others," Hallet said with a smile.


    "Not even Holy Beings are exempted?" "Right, even Holy Beings are not exempted," Hallet nodded.


    "I''m aware that you don''t understand that feeling right now, but you will know when you are in the zone."


    "The Non-combat Zone is quite unique." True to Hallet''s analysis, the time when Zen had entered the divine land was very important.


    His father would definitely have things planned. If he based his speculations on the timeline, then he would absolutely participate in the debate over the Godl


    ed down at the True Gods with piqued interest.


    "Who...who are you?"


    The three mid-rank True Gods from the Bai Clan stared at the girl on the back of the bull, their faces full of vigilance.


    Although the girl was truly beautiful and her innocent face shone brightly with a kind smile that was definitely far from being harmful, her sudden appearance at a dangerous circumstance seemed strange.


    It looked like those Brutal Bulls were under her control. "Answer me, which clan are you from?" the girl asked indifferently and stared at the three men.


    Left with no other choice because of their precarious situation, the three True Gods had to answer. The mid-rank True God who took the lead mustered his courage and answered, "We are from the Bai Clan. The Bai Clan is a powerful clan above the Time Sea. My name is Lange Bai. This is my junior brother, Jarred Bai. That is my another junior brother¡ª"


    "Wait! I didn''t ask your names..."


    The young girl didn''t expect that the mid-rank True God would actually introduce themselves. Her eyebrows were furrowed and she looked a little helpless, but nonetheless charming. She was incomparably beautiful.


    "I just want to know something from you. If you can answer me honestly, I will protect you from being in danger until you leave the Everest Spirit Mountain safely," the girl added.


    Upon hearing what she said, the three mid-rank True Gods lit up with hope.


    Although they didn''t know who she was, she could protect them until they left because they saw how she calmed down the Brutal Bulls.


    "What is it then? If I know it, I will tell you everything!" said Lange Bai as he bowed to her respectfully.


    "Has anything happened in the Floating Islands after their rankings have been determined?" As she spoke, her eyes flashed with a strange light.

 Chapter 2400 Inquire About The Situation

    "Has anything happened on the Floating Islands after their rankings were determined?"


    Lange echoed the girl''s question as he was stunned after hearing it.


    Almost everyone who was able to enter the Everest Spirit Mountain was a True God from one of the Floating Islands.


    However, it seemed that this girl didn''t know much about the Floating Islands, which meant that she must have been staying in the Everest Spirit Mountain for a long time.


    And those who had been staying in the Everest Spirit Mountain for a long time could only be... The answer was clear in Lange''s mind.


    Right now, the Everest Spirit Mountain was under Harold''s control. In other words, this girl was on Harold''s side.


    The girl noticed the change in Lange''s expression and immediately knew what was on his mind.


    Standing on the back of the Brutal Bull, she said in a cold voice, "Don''t try to guess my identity. Just answer me!"


    "Something big did happen not long ago!" Lange answered immediately as he couldn''t afford to offend her. "It''s related to the Luo Clan!"


    Lange knew that this girl was a member of the Luo Clan, so he understood what she was asking. Besides, there was only one big thing that had happened on the Floating Islands recently. In fact, he felt a bit relieved because it was not hard to guess what the girl wanted to know.


    There was no enmity between the Bai Clan and the Luo Clan. As long as they honestly answered the girl''s questions, their lives would likely be spared.


    "The Luo Clan?"


    Just as he had expected, a tinge of anxiety appeared in the girl''s eyes. It seemed that she really cared about the Luo Clan.


    "People say that a son of Mike was smuggled into the divine land from the universe and that he infiltrated the Han Clan''s Floating Island. Then, he turned into an anonymous man and set terrifying records in the Arena of Legends," Lange explained.


    After the Astronomical Transit Day celebration, the True Gods had spread this news to the public, so it was not a secret anymore.


    At this, the girl''s face was full of undisguised concern.


    She had been waiting for her brother all this time.


    She had even asked Harold to pass on a message to Zen, hoping that he could come to the Everest Spirit Mountain.


    According to the rules, Zen should have been able to enter the Cloud Dragon Ravine after the rankings of the Floating Islands were determined. However, nearly a month had passed after the rankings were determined, and yet he still hadn''t arrived!


    She had the feeling that something must have gone wrong.


    But as she had been staying away from the Floating Islands, she had had


    en to know that her father had just created clones of her two uncles when he had set up the Eastern Region and even given them the same names.


    Of course, her two uncles in the Everest Spirit Mountain had no idea what had happened in the Luo Clan of the Eastern Region.


    It could be said that the two of them had been made to be bad guys by their elder brother Mike. When they had first met their young niece, they had been puzzled about her looming hostility toward them. After Yan had explained the situation, they couldn''t help but laugh. After all, it was typical of Mike to be so unkind.


    "Yan is as talented and capable as Zen. The only thing she lacks is experience," said Harold in an indifferent tone. "It''s better for her to do something by herself."


    "Yes!" Yan said unhappily to her two uncles. "You can''t worry too much about me. Otherwise, I will never grow up!"


    Bryson and Ken could do nothing but shake their heads with a smile. Then Bryson asked, "What about the information you went to inquire?"


    "Something happened to my brother," Yan said calmly. "Rachelle Mu figured out his identity."


    "What?"


    "How is he now?"


    The facial expressions of Bryson and Ken changed.


    At the same time, a trace of concern also appeared on Harold''s face. However, Yan didn''t look upset, so he knew that Zen''s condition couldn''t be too bad.


    "He was rescued by Joy Han," Yan replied.


    Hearing this, they were all relieved.


    Then, Yan told them about everything she had heard.


    With a worried expression, she added, "I wonder where my brother is now."


    Her wish to be reunited with her brother had been so close to coming true. She had never expected that things would go wrong, so she naturally felt rather disappointed now.

 Chapter 2401 Sudden Comprehension

    Zen''s failure to enter the Everest Spirit Mountain only further complicated the situation. Harold needed to make another deduction.


    With a sigh, he had Yan reveal everything she had collected down to the smallest detail.


    "The treasure that the consummate True Gods scramble for in the forbidden land must be a supreme treasure of belief."


    "The supreme treasure of belief in the Time Sea¡­ my goodness! The supreme treasure of belief in the second level is already very powerful."


    Both Bryson and Ken were utterly shocked to have gotten the news¡ªZen managed to rob the treasure in the forbidden land from the very hands of consummate True Gods.


    Even Harold looked surprised. "With Zen''s strength, it''s almost impossible for him to grab a treasure from the hands of the consummate True Gods. Perhaps he chanced upon a great opportunity."


    With a noncommittal expression, Yan raised her head and said, "My brother is always the best, of course!"


    Seeing Yan''s adorable yet proud face, Bryson smiled. "Okay, it''s true. In your eyes, your brother is indeed the best."


    These words made Harold smile too before he sat cross-legged on the ground with his fingers rolling in the air.


    Wisps of gray aura began wreathing around his right hand¡ªit was the Faith Energy triggered by the Evolution Godly Way.


    The prediction of this Godly Way was quite different from the general prediction of fate.


    All sorts of prediction skills hoped to see through mysteries and get right to the truth.


    It was a fairly useful move in most universes as their fate rarely changed so much. The Holy Beings who built the universes would have left some flaws, after all. Sometimes, they even gave out hints deliberately, letting the people infer the truth of the afterlife to some extent.


    But the divine land was much closer than the universes¡ªit was almost impossible to infer its future through a few flaws.


    But the Evolution Godly Way''s prediction did not solely rely on the divine land.


    During the prediction, Harold would integrate all the possible changes into the Evolution Godly Way.


    He was to create a temporary world with the help of the Evolution Godly Way. Then, he would step back and watch all the changes unfold in the world until he got the end result.


    For instance, if there was a bird with an egg about to hatch, then out of that egg would surely be a baby bird. Such was the way to presuppose a reason before getting a result.


    When Harold ad Rachelle faced each other in battle, Harold had thought about Rachelle''s character, her use of the Murdering Godly Way, and the fact that consummate True Gods coul


    ultivation Nature word per word, increasing his comprehension speed remarkably. Within a short time, he managed to recite 3, 500 words.


    Witnessing the scene, both Zen and Hallet were rather surprised.


    "Maybe it''s natural for him to do what he pleases." Hallet couldn''t help but curl his mouth helplessly¡ªhe was used to seeing Augustus in such a state, having known that the latter''s talent bested his own.


    "Well, it''s easy to merely recite the words," he said with a click of his tongue before continuing to recite.


    And because he took the lead, he showed some disdain for Hallet''s and Zen''s progress.


    "What kind of expression are you wearing?" Hallet asked in a querulous voice.


    Zen turned to Augustus'' triumphant expression and shook his head helplessly before focusing on his reciting once again.


    But after reciting 2, 800 words, he seemed to have encountered some kind of bottleneck as well. His soul began trembling more and more severely, making it difficult for him to go on.


    "The Truth of Cultivation Nature is a natural understanding. It is not created by the later generations but is a natural existence."


    When he managed to memorize 2, 850 words, an idea suddenly came to his mind.


    At that point, he felt that he had caught an important window of opportunity.


    When the others practiced the Truth of Cultivation Nature, they used their minds. But behind the method, the truth lay in nature''s real will¡ªsomething that could be comprehended by using any means.


    "Something unknown exists before the birth of heaven and earth. It holds no specific shape¡ªits nature is profound and subtle and its voice cannot be heard. I can only blame it on nature." Zen raised his head as something sparked in his eyes. "I see!"

 Chapter 2402 Getting Beaten

    It was as if a light bulb switched itself on inside Zen''s mind.


    The Truth of Godly Way was extremely complicated to begin with.


    One had to continually recite it in order to uncover the truth and engrave it deeply into the soul.


    If one was unable to handle the Truth of Godly Way, they would naturally not be able to recite it thus making it impossible to memorize the ten thousand words by rote. Only by comprehending the meaning would one be able to truly recite and memorize it.


    The more words, the more insights one could get on the Truth of Godly Way, and the more the soul was influenced.


    Memorization was no easy feat. Even an outstanding consummate True God like Augustus couldn''t take the pressure of the Truth Godly Way and passed out quite frequently.


    The moment Zen attained enlightenment, all that unbearable pressure quickly disappeared.


    Reciting the Truth of Cultivation Nature after that was so easy and as he did so, Zen felt as if his soul entered a strange world.


    It was as if he was within a desolate ocean.


    Specks of crystal light were scattered on the surface of an endless, blue sea.


    As he took a step, an illusory boat appeared beneath his feet. There was a sense of safety that rose in his heart as he boarded the boat that would help him cross the boundless sea.


    In the side hall, everyone stared at Zen in a daze.


    Augustus was very fidgety in his anxiousness while Hallet tried his best to calm his mind.


    Zen''s pupils had lost all their luster.


    He was staring blankly at the text on the Truth of Cultivation Nature, reciting it slowly and constantly, "If we don''t sit in meditation, don''t get jealous of the general things, don''t...."


    "This guy... has recited three thousand words!" Augustus exclaimed.


    After breaking through the bottleneck, Augustus had been able to recite three thousand and five hundred words. He was greatly ahead in the comprehension of the Truth of Cultivation Nature compared to Hallet and Zen.


    "No. I can''t let this guy surpass me. He is just a low-rank True God..." Not willing to get beaten, Augustus also began to recite out loud.


    The comprehension of the Truth of Godly Way required full devotion of both mind and body. Augustus had to give it his all and could not afford to be distracted.


    The more anxious he was, the harder it would be for him. Unfortunately, he had already been quite buzzed with e


    -legged and now appeared to be in meditation.


    "It won''t be long until he fully comprehends the Truth of Cultivation Nature... He is just a low-rank True God but his talent is already so extraordinary," Hallet could only sigh.


    Augustus stared at Zen meditating and couldn''t help himself. "He''s cheating! His son cheated and he is cheating too!"


    When Geoffrey completely deciphered the Truth of Godly Way, Augustus thought it was definitely ridiculous. Those golden Sanskrit words had been left behind by their master and there was no way a mere boy like Geoffrey would be able to decipher them. Augustus just simply refused to believe it.


    But now, right in front of him, Zen had actually comprehended the Truth of Cultivation Nature to such an extent. It was a tough pill for Augustus to swallow.


    At that moment, a loud noise came from outside the side hall. It was Geoffrey who came in with the puppet Augustus had given him.


    This puppet made him quite happy and he took it with him everywhere he went around the fairy palace.


    "Hush!" Hallet signaled to Geoffrey. Zen was in his meditative state and he didn''t want anyone to disturb him.


    "Where''s my father?" Geoffrey asked. His eyes swept the entire room but he didn''t see him.


    Augustus pointed at Zen. "There! Can''t you see?"


    Zen sat upright on the floor but under the influence of the Truth of Cultivation Nature, he could appear as a chair or even a pillar in this room.


    If one did not look closely, then it would be difficult to notice his existence.


    This was the natural magic of the Truth of Cultivation Nature.

 Chapter 2403 The Other Shore Realm

    Geoffrey turned his head and gazed at Zen for a long time before he separated him from the surrounding scenery.


    It felt surreal.


    Zen was not hiding himself; he was just standing there without any disguise.


    "Daddy, why did you become a pillar?"


    Geoffrey asked curiously.


    "He seems to have turned into a chair," Augustus laughed.


    Hallet said calmly, "This is the work of Truth of Cultivation Nature. It''s a wonderful state. It''s quite hard to describe such a state. No wonder that skeleton can turn the Sunrest Tree region into a non-fight place. The Truth of Godly Way can reach the origin of life."


    Zen''s eyes flashed as all his thoughts vanished, and the Truth of Godly Way that was emitting from his body completely disappeared.


    "Skeleton? What skeleton?" Zen asked curiously.


    Hallet smiled, "Don''t you know why the debate over the Godly Ways happens? Or you don''t know the reason why Holy Mike wanted you to join the debate?"


    Zen shook his head.


    He had been used to this for so many years.


    It seemed as if the people around him knew the truth, and only he was in a state of ignorance.


    Every time he asked, they would always shake their heads mysteriously and keep him in the dark. This infuriated Zen.


    Therefore, Zen stopped asking the people. He hoped that he''d find out the truth, sooner or later.


    "Are you talking about the argument that arises due to the Godly Ways?" Zen said after pondering for a while.


    Hallet nodded, "You''re right!"


    The divine land was an independent existence in the chaos. It was like an isolated island!


    As more and more True Gods obtained a permanent lifespan, people started thinking about this world, such as exploration in the space, research in the field of Godly Ways, and so on.


    However, it was extremely difficult to go further after they had reached the end of Godly Way.


    Except for a few people who had gotten some pages of the Truth of Godly Way, others weren''t able to advance any further.


    Some Holy Beings, Demi-holy Beings, and the consummate True Gods were able to comprehend that there was indeed a vast world after the Godly Way, the Sea of Truth.


    The True Gods pondered over the ways which could help them cross the Sea of Truth.


    The purpose of the debate over the Godly Ways was to solve those problems that were passed down in the past countless divine eras.


    Every time the debate was held, True Gods from all areas of the divine land would participate. Some people would bring all kinds of golden Sanskrit words with them.


    During the debate, the True Gods would share their views and opinions about the world, express their speculations and their novel comprehension about the Godly Ways, argue with each other, and even criticize


    Letitia that he was safe. Most of the time, he was wandering in the world of the gourd.


    This gourd was an extremely valuable treasure for cultivation. In the next two years, his cultivation base had increased rapidly. It had only taken him four months to reach the Virtual Tribulation Realm from Internal Elixir Realm, and another six months to reach the Life and Death Realm. His cultivation base was catching up to Letitia''s!


    Joy had been out once during these two years to inquire about news on the Floating Islands. When she heard about the Purple Soul Hall being dissolved, she was distraught. After all, it was her fruit of painstaking efforts. She had gone all out to make things better, but in the end, all her efforts were in vain after she got injured.


    However, Joy was very pleased with what Hallet had to say.


    During these two years, Hallet and Augustus would occasionally stay inside the fairy palace to learn the Truth of Godly Way, but mostly, they went in and out of the fairy palace, busying with something else. Every time they entered the fairy palace, Hallet would have one more light golden fish line on his fish rod. He would tie the fish line to the pavilion in the fairy palace, and then would leave with Augustus.


    The other end of the fish line was tied somewhere in the Swirl Forest. When Zen asked its exact location, Augustus would only give a goofy grin. Frustrated, Zen simply stopped asking.


    To the True Gods, two years was as short as the blink of an eye.


    Snow was swirling in the west of the divine land.


    With the cold winter wind howling, the most magnificent debate over Godly Ways was about to commence in the Sunrest Tree. Most of the True Gods anticipated that this year''s debate would prove as fruitless as the previous ones. But suddenly, things took an unexpected turn.

 Chapter 2404 Embarking On A Journey

    This time the winter was so cold and intense that the snow engulfed almost half the divine land, with the Time Sea located in the center.


    It was the biggest snow of this divine era.


    The entire Swirl Forest was covered with thick, soft snow. The huge trees, towering at a thousand feet high, also looked majestic as they were cloaked in white.


    All the women, including Letitia, Lavender and Aura, stood at the entrance gate of the fairy palace. They had assembled to say their farewells to Zen.


    "Zen..."


    There were too many things that Letitia wanted to say, but all of a sudden she became speechless. She just kept looking at Zen.


    She was well aware that Zen had many priorities and obligations to fulfill. Hence, she was treasuring every second she spent with him. Despite her dread over their separation day, she knew she must be strong in order to motivate Zen to fulfill what he was destined for.


    "This time, I won''t be gone for long." Zen smiled ruefully.


    Letitia nodded sadly while saying, "This time, Aura and I will enter the training tower together."


    Previously, with their existing talents and skills, they had very limited chances of becoming proving godly warriors.


    Once in the tower, it was difficult to gauge the time that passed by. It was way too arduous to pass the seemingly long years within the tower, before they reunited with Zen.


    Now with Joy''s help, if they practiced rigorously at the training tower, they would still have a good chance of becoming proving godly warriors.


    Their next step was to exchange their blood and avoid the punishment of the Ruling Slate.


    "It''s time to go," said Joy who stood at a distance.


    "Yes. We should leave now."


    Zen nodded with a trace of sadness in his eyes. Abruptly he turned around and left.


    He was fully prepared for the debate over the Godly Ways.


    From time to time, he would take out Geoffrey from the gourd when he required his help to decipher those golden Sanskrit words.


    Although Geoffrey kind of flinched when his father asked for his help, he patiently deciphered many contents.


    Once, when Geoffrey was in a candid mood, he actually told Zen that he had fallen in love with someone, who was said to be a princess of a divine kingdom within the gourd.


    The world inside the gourd was considered as the secondary world, along with the secondary creatures that lived in it.


    Under the protection of the enchanted barrier at the fairy palace, Geoffrey could even bring the creatures from the gourd into the fairy palace.


    Zen didn''t really care about what Geoffrey did within the gourd.


    Geoffrey was a responsible grown-up, so he had the right to take control of his own business.


    However, Letitia objected strongly to Geoffrey''s doings, and once she had even sealed off the gourd to stop Geoffrey from re-entering it.


    But under her boy''s insistence, she had no choice but to give the gourd back to him.


    These days, Geoffrey had been in the gourd to enjo


    will have to pay for the entry," the man in black said bluntly. "Hand over all the divine might coins and all the golden Sanskrit words, that are in your possession. Only then will the path to the Non-combat Zone be opened for you."


    Darrel Xiao and those low-rank True Gods had been feeling bad for a long time. Everyone could enter the Non-combat Zone. The sudden appearance of these two top-rank True Gods was already strange. Their feelings were right.


    "As the top-rank True Gods, you two are the best in the divine land. To rob us, it''s very demeaning at your end," Darrel Xiao said bitterly, with a heavy heart.


    All they wanted to do was to take part in the debate over the Godly Ways and gain some insights. They had spent time and money just to arrive here. It was a very unfortunate situation that they should encounter such heartless souls.


    "Don''t waste time engaging in a conversation with them. Just finish them!" said the man in white impatiently.


    The man in black shrugged his shoulders and said to Darrel Xiao, "Did you hear that? My younger brother doesn''t have much patience. If you speak one more word, we won''t be left with much option."


    Everyone was dismayed hearing these words. Looking at their destination not far away, they sighed helplessly in their hearts. The Non-combat Zone was only a few dozen miles away. Even the Holy Beings couldn''t do anything to them once they entered. It was really an undeserved catastrophe for them to be blocked by these two men.


    Realizing that they couldn''t escape this, these True Gods sighed and took out their divine might coins, to hand over.


    Suddenly, not far away two more figures appeared in the snowfield.


    Each of them wore a cloak.


    They were Zen and Joy.


    The spatial transference was not allowed in the Non-combat Zone, so Joy planned to leave after Zen entered it.


    Hence, before she reached the zone, she would try everything to hide her own cultivation base to avoid unnecessary attention.

 Chapter 2405 In The Wind

    The wealthy clans on the Floating Islands would also participate in the debate over the Godly Ways.


    But Joy had once mentioned that those from wealthy clans on the Floating Islands didn''t have to travel a long way like the ordinary True Gods to participate in the debate over the Godly Ways. They just needed to go to the Floating Island of the Sword Clan and pay a certain number of divine might coins before they could use the transmission channels of the Sword Clan.


    The boundary of the Non-combat Zone was vast and wide. The place that Joy had brought Zen to was remote. The possibility of encountering warriors of wealthy clans on the Floating Islands was close to none. Moreover, they would be safe once they entered this Non-Combat Zone.


    The two top-rank True Gods, one dressed in black and one in white, were familiar with this area. They were fellow disciples. The one in black was called Andreas Lai, and the one in white was called Jordi Fan.


    Since this place was in the middle of nowhere, the members of the Sword Clan rarely patrolled it for inspection. On the contrary, many True Gods often entered Non-combat Zone through this path.


    The two top-rank True Gods had predicted this would happen. So every time the debate over the Godly Ways started, they would rob the True Gods of divine might coins or golden Sanskrit words.


    Divine might coins were hard currency in the divine land and were preferred by the two top-rank True Gods even though golden Sanskrit words could also be sold during the debate over the Godly Ways. If they were lucky enough to obtain rare golden Sanskrit words, they could then sell them at a high price.


    Over the years, they had gained a lot through these robberies.


    "I''ve come all this way to participate in the debate over the Godly Ways with these Sanskrit words. You can keep the divine might coins, but could you spare these Sanskrit words?"


    One of the low-rank True Gods took out what looked like ten divine might coins. This was all the money he had.


    "Ha-ha!" Andreas Lai grinned coldly as he grabbed the Sanskrit words. "These are only copies of Sanskrit words and they are cheap. I won''t take them even if you give them to me for free!" With these words, a bright fire flickered in Andreas Lai''s hand and burned the papers down before anyone could react.


    "Aaahh!"


    the low-rank True God screamed in pain as he saw this, his face contorted in grief.


    He was aware that the copies of these Sanskrit words were cheap, but he had his own understanding of them.


    "You are a group of idiots! You''re foolish to expect that luck would be on your side. Let me tell you, you just want to be a tiny part of the debate over the Godly Ways, and that is a waste of time!" Andreas Lai said disdainfully as he looked up and off into the distance.


    "E


    exist at all.


    Andreas Lai now felt a faint sense of impending danger, but he did not pay much attention to it. After all, he believed he could deal with two low-rank True Gods easily.


    "I offered you the chance," Zen said as a warning.


    His voice had barely faded away when


    he suddenly emitted a faint aura.


    He then disappeared before Andreas Lai.


    Although his opponent was a top-rank True God, Zen had no intention of showing him the slightest bit of mercy.


    Before he had comprehended the Truth of Godly Way, he might not have been able to defeat a powerful top-rank True God like Soren. But he was now confident that facing any top-rank True God outside the Floating Islands would not lead to his defeat.


    Thanks to his cultivation of the past two years, Zen''s comprehension of the Truth of Godly Way had risen to a new level. What was more, his Godly Tile had become more and more stable, and his strength had steadily improved as well. Zen was no longer who he was before when facing those top-rank True Gods.


    "Disappeared?"


    Andreas Lai was stunned. He couldn''t think of the kind of concealment skill Zen had used that had enabled him to disappear in such a manner from before his eyes! Even if his perception was not slow, it was difficult to find any clues.


    Joy suddenly raised her head. As a breeze swept by, she said with a gentle smile, "No, he hasn''t disappeared."


    "Hasn''t disappeared?" he repeated, panicking. "Then where is he?" Andreas Lai could barely maintain his calm now that he had realized that Zen was only a low-rank True God. The gap in their cultivation levels was so huge that Zen should technically not be a threat to him.


    Joy looked up, where there was nothing visible, and a hint of admiration appeared in her eyes.


    "In the wind," she said lightly.


    A cold wind swept towards Andreas Lai, howling as it came.

 Chapter 2406 Kill Two Top-rank True Gods

    Andreas didn''t understand what Joy was saying at all.


    When he felt a gush of wind on his face, he sensed that something was wrong, but he couldn''t figure out what it was. After all, the wind howled all the time in this ice and snow.


    But when he saw Zen again, he realized that the distance between him and Zen had reduced to less than a foot.


    Feeling Zen''s strong and dangerous presence at such a close distance overwhelmed Andreas. Instead of counterattacking, he chose to shoot up into the sky.


    At any time, life came above everything. This was what most of the True Gods who roamed the divine land would have chosen to do if they had been in such a situation.


    However, Zen had come too close to Andreas to let him escape so easily.


    In a split second, Zen''s hand reached out as fast as lightning and grabbed one of Andreas''s legs before he could completely rise into the sky.


    A gut-wrenching pain shot up Andreas'' leg, making him feel so dizzy that he lost his balance.


    Bang!


    Even though he''d been about to fall anyway, he was suddenly smashed down by a strong force. The thick snow cushioned his fall but the strong impact nevertheless made his blood surge.


    "This guy... Is he really just a low-rank True God?"


    Lying on the ground, Andreas gulped. Fear was written all over his face.


    Not far away, the trembling True Gods all turned their heads when they heard the sound. When they saw the low-rank True God smashing Andreas to the ground, they all widened their eyes in shock.


    Darrel and the others had thought that the two low-rank True Gods would be no match for the two top-rank True Gods, just like themselves. However, not only had that young man fought back, he had also knocked down a top-rank True God in just one move, leaving him no strength to fight back.


    "Damn it..."


    Looking at his fellow apprentice, who had been pathetically knocked down, Jordi''s expression changed again.


    He didn''t know where the young man had come from, so he looked at Joy insidiously. Having made up his mind, he left the group of True Gods behind and suddenly turned into a light, rushing toward Joy.


    As he shot toward her, a steel claw appeared in his hand.


    He believed that the safest approach was to subdue the woman first.


    With his fast speed, it only took him a blink of an eye to cross such a short distance.


    But the moment he left the group of


    ng Bite on his leg. If Zen had used it on his head, he couldn''t have solved the problem by chopping his head off.


    Dragging his severed leg along with him, Andreas continued speeding into the distance.


    "Should I go after him?" Zen asked.


    "Don''t waste any more time," Joy said while shaking her head. As she narrowed her eyes, wisps of purple light condensed into a monster covered with spikes.


    After the monster took shape, it waved its sharp front paws, dug in the snow for a while, and quickly dived into it.


    The only indicator that it was traveling was the rapidly moving bulge underneath the blanket of snow. The monster was racing in the direction which Andreas had escaped in.


    "Let''s go." After releasing the monster, Joy walked forward, leaving footprints behind in the snow.


    Zen followed her without so much as a glance back.


    Darrel and the other True Gods stood rooted to the spot, stunned by what they had seen.


    Two top-rank True Gods who had won hundreds of battles hadn''t been able to fight back at all against these two strangers. What was even more bewildering was that the aura of the monster that the beauty in the cloak had casually created using the Purple Aura Godly Way was much more terrifying than the aura of any top-rank True God.


    However, that woman was only a low-rank True God herself!


    The scene in front of them was completely beyond their ability to comprehend.


    Although they were in a daze, when Zen and Joy walked past them, the group of True Gods, led by Darrel, bowed to them and watched them leave while holding their breaths.

 Chapter 2407 Sunrest Tree Region

    It was not until Zen and Joy had departed that the respectful expression that Darrel and other True Gods had on their faces faded away.


    The several True Gods glanced at the bodies of the two top-rank True Gods, threw each other a concerned look, and then rushed over to their corpses.


    They had handed over all their wealth to these top-rank True Gods, and now they would certainly take their things back. Furthermore, they decided to make a profit out of these two top-rank True Gods.


    The two top-rank True Gods had accumulated a great deal of wealth. If the True Gods were to rob them, they''d all become rich.


    Soon the belongings and the space rings on the two top-rank True Gods in black and white had all been emptied. Then all the things they had gathered were distributed by Darrel, the mid-rank True God and the leader of the group.


    "Where did the two low-rank True Gods come from? They didn''t even care about the wealth these two top-rank True Gods had?" One of the low-rank True Gods said with a puzzled look.


    "Well, since they are able to kill these two top-rank True Gods with ease, then why should they care about such immaterial things? Didn''t you see that the young man didn''t even bother to make a move initially? He causally took out several hundred divine might coins to pass by. Didn''t you see that?" Darrel sighed, "These two top-rank True Gods were quite ignorant to notice what was going on. I think the two low-rank True Gods were most likely from the Floating Islands."


    "Do you mean they were from those rich clans on the Floating Islands?" another low-rank True God asked with widened eyes.


    "But even a low-rank True God of some rich clan on the Floating Island wouldn''t be able to kill these two top-rank True Gods so easily, right?" Another elder True God shook his head.


    To the vast majority of the True Gods in the divine land, the rich clans on the Floating Islands above the Time Sea were all legendary existences. The True Gods hailing from those rich clans were all elites.


    It was not strange for a low-rank True God to challenge a mid-rank True God. However, for a low-rank True God to kill a top-rank True God effortlessly, it was simply mind-boggling.


    On the border of the Non-combat Zone...


    "The Non-combat Zone will suppress warriors with the Truth of Godly Way of that skeleton. The higher one''s cultivation is, the greater the suppression one would suffer. If I enter the Sword Clan, I will be discovered." Joy, who was hiding under her cloak, whispered, "I can only leave you here."


    The difficulty in suppressing a Holy Being and a True God was quite dissimilar.


    Zen smiled faintly and said, "You can also participate in the debate over the Godly Ways."


    She shook her head slightly. "I have to help Bromley''s tw


    age in the eyes of the True Gods who cultivated swordsmanship. Their devotion was not towards the Sunrest Tree, but rather towards the Sword Clan.


    When Zen arrived at the divine city, he witnessed a row of guards dressed in black and white standing at the city gate.


    They stood in a line, with a serious expression on their faces. An aura of awe-inspiring righteousness was emerging from them.


    If someone evil encountered them, they would feel extremely uncomfortable under the influence of such righteous aura.


    For most of the cities in the divine land, anyone who wanted to enter these cities needed to pay some divine might coins. However, this divine city did not have such a tradition. All the True Gods that came to participate in the debate over the Godly Ways only needed to present a piece of Sanskrit word to enter the city for free. If it was only a copy, it could work as well.


    It wasn''t difficult to acquire a copy of a Sanskrit word.


    "Hey, young man, do you have some Sanskrit words with you? You can''t enter without Sanskrit words!" On the side of the road to the city gate, a mustached low-rank True God waved at Zen. He took out a pile of white paper. The Sanskrit words on the paper were the copied version of the original text. They were even decorated with a layer of gold powder, glowing with a golden light. "One divine might coin for one piece,"


    Zen glanced at them and then shook his head.


    The structure of those Sanskrit words was quite simple, and the information contained in them was insufficient. Thus, they weren''t of much use.


    "How about two? One divine might coin and I''ll give you two pieces." Seeing Zen''s lack of interest, the low-rank True God tried harder to make a sale. "These Sanskrit words are out-of-print versions. As long as you comprehend them, you will benefit a great deal from them!"

 Chapter 2408 An Original

    Zen didn''t bother to talk to him.


    However, the low-rank True God remained persistent. He even ran in front of Zen just to stand in his way. He wouldn''t let Zen go as long as he didn''t purchase anything.


    It was forbidden to fight in the Non-combat Zone, so people here didn''t worry that others might make a move when they were angered.


    To take advantage of the said rule, this low-rank True God pestered passers-by at the gate of the divine city and made good profit out of it. Although many True Gods who came by to participate in the debate over the Godly Ways prepared their own Sanskrit words themselves, there were always some True Gods who would be tricked by him.


    "Don''t miss this opportunity! Once you master and comprehend this Sanskrit word, you will be able to make a splash in this debate over the Godly Ways!" The low-rank True God walked alongside him, observing Zen''s unreadable expression. He then took out another pile of paper and said, "If you are not interested in those Sanskrit words, how about these? These are purple-gold Sanskrit words, so rare and so useful. The price would be a divine might coin for one word. Actually, it''s already a losing business at such a price... "


    When Zen heard purple-gold Sanskrit words, he felt a little bit uneasy. He shifted his gaze at the paper, not knowing if he should laugh or cry.


    It turned out that the so-called purple-gold Sanskrit words were pieces made by coating a layer of purple-gold powder on the common Sanskrit words.


    The True Gods entering the city burst out laughing when they saw the purple-golden Sanskrit words.


    However, this didn''t faze the pestering low-rank True God at all. He was determined!


    Zen had no choice but to stop in his tracks. He looked at the True God indifferently, and then took a golden Sanskrit word in his hand, saying, "This Sanskrit word is very simple to decode. The meaning it conveys can be summarized into roughly forty six words. Generally, it describes a plant in the chaos. The fruit of the plant is very sweet, and it can quench people''s thirst after taking it."


    After he finished speaking, he stuffed the golden Sanskrit word back into the hands of the low-rank True God, and then he snatched a purple gold Sanskrit word from the low-rank True God. "This Sanskrit word is so laughable. I think it might just be a poem of a certain race... These two Sanskrit words are meaningless. Now can you please leave me be?"


    Hearing Zen''s words, the low-rank True God was shocked and very much hurt. The other True Gods were also skeptical about what he had just explained so carefully.


    Even simple Sanskrit words would not be that easy to decode.


    There were probably thousands of interpretations of this one Sanskrit word in the divine land. But because the deconstruction of a certain Sanskrit word was completely different than the rest, and there wasn''t really a lasting consensus on it


    he originals. Some of the Sanskrit words were engraved on the stone tablets, some were engraved on the walls, and some occasionally appeared in the air, too.


    There also existed Sanskrit words that appeared on some special places. For example, the "Grand Weapon Refining Method" Zen had been practicing was engraved directly on his body...


    Zen made it a point to properly prepare since he had come to participate in the debate over the Godly Ways. This Sanskrit word was not particularly important, unlike what everyone was thinking. He had not expected that a Sanskrit word he had casually taken out would attract such astonishing gazes of the crowd. But for some reason, the place became silent and everyone''s eyes were tightly fixed on the emerald green paper in his hand.


    When the low-rank True God who had previously peddled Sanskrit words to Zen saw the original in Zen''s hand, his jaw dropped.


    On the city wall, the two True Gods, namely the old man and the young man, were dumbfounded as well. How could this be?


    "This guy... Where did he come from? How could he have an original?" questioned the young man, still in deep thought.


    The old man in white had a complex expression on his face. Back then, he had tried every means to gain approval of Master Loren to have a look at an original Sanskrit word, but Master Loren had been very careful about doing so. He only allowed him to take a glance for a few seconds, then never again.


    Whoever had an original Sanskrit word would probably keep it in secret and tuck it away somewhere safe.


    A copy might be the work that had been modified on the basis of the original, while the original was the most accurate. This was another factor why the originals were deemed very precious.


    Seeing Zen take it out as if it were nothing important, the young man was very curious. At the same time, he wondered if Zen could possibly have a lot more than that one piece in his hand.

 Chapter 2409 Seven Sanskrit Words Of Lorena River

    The guards stared starry-eyed at the original Sanskrit word in Zen''s hand for eight impossibly long seconds.


    Coming to his senses, one guard looked at Zen with the utmost respect. He pointed at the paper in Zen''s hand. "Can I make a copy, sir?"


    The paper didn''t record sensitive information so Zen nodded.


    The guard, not expecting Zen to be so kind, was overjoyed. He quickly took out a pale yellow stone tablet from his space ring and thanked Zen profusely.


    On the back of the stone tablet was a simple divine texture.


    If a person aimed the blank side of this stone tablet at another person, after activating the divine texture, they would be able to copy the other person''s appearance.


    And not only that. If one aimed the stone tablet at a mountain, they would be able to make a copy of the mountain''s appearance.


    The stone tablet was convenient like that, and many True Gods kept a few stone tablets in their space rings in case they needed to copy some good golden Sanskrit words.


    The guard aimed the stone tablet at the emerald green paper. A wave of energy came from his hand and the divine texture on the stone tablet began to glow. At the same time, a Sanskrit word identical to the one on the paper appeared on the blank side of the stone tablet.


    "Eh, what''s this? It''s very interesting." Curiosity appeared on Zen''s face when he saw the stone tablet. He had never seen such a thing before.


    "This is a duplicating stone tablet," the guard laughed good naturedly. "It''s just an ordinary item in our Sunrest Tree Region. I can give you some if you want."


    The guard then reached out his hand, and a stack of pale yellow stone tablets appeared in his palm.


    This kind of stone came from the sea below the Sunrest Tree. The True Gods took the stones in the bottom of the sea, cut them into thin pieces, and drew divine textures on them, enabling them to achieve such a strange ability.


    However, the duplicating stone tablets could only be kept for a period of time. About two years after a duplicating stone tablet was drawn from the sea of the Sunrest Tree Region, it would be completely useless.


    This was why the duplicating stone tablets were not spread everywhere in the divine land, and Zen had never seen them before.


    Zen smiled and took the pile of duplicating stone tablets from the guard. He studied the tablets briefly and thanked the guard, about to enter the city.


    However, before he could take one step, he saw the other guards and dozens of True Gods looking at him eagerly.


    They all had pitiful looks in their eyes.


    A row of exquisite brocade boxes were placed in front of Zen. The surface of the boxes revealed seven vague golden Sanskrit words.


    ''These golden Sanskrit words...''


    When Zen noticed a Sanskrit word in front of him, his heart skipped a beat.


    Zen had seen this word once.


    To be exact, he had seen half of this golden Sanskrit word in the fairy palace.


    His son had told him that that golden Sanskrit word should be a kind of Truth of Godly Way.


    However, because there was only half of the golden Sanskrit word, the Truth of Godly Way Geoffrey had cracked was incomplete.


    But now, Zen had actually found the other half of golden Sanskrit word!


    More importantly, the mind method of Truth of Godly Way that Zen had cultivated was from a group of six golden Sanskrit words, and the seven golden Sanskrit words in front of the middle-aged man looked like they were a group too.


    ''Is this also a complete set of Truth of Godly Way?'' Zen''s heart thumped wildly in his chest. His fingers drummed against his thigh, barely able to contain the excitement.


    Not far away, the young man and the old man in white saw the irrepressible excitement on Zen''s face, and a strange expression appeared on their faces.


    "I don''t understand this guy..."


    "He knows so much about Sanskrit words, but why doesn''t he know anything about the Seven Sanskrit Words of Lorena River?"


    The Seven Sanskrit Words of Lorena River were the group of seven Sanskrit words on the stall.


    The first time the Seven Sanskrit Words of Lorena River had appeared was in the 17th divine era, on the side of the famous Lorena River, on the west side of the divine land. And with its appearance came great chaos in the divine land.

 Chapter 2410 Getting Ripped Off

    In the divine land, any group of Sanskrit words was considered to be of extraordinary value.


    The water of the Lorena River flowed endlessly, having existed in the divine land for years beyond count.


    In the 17th divine era, after tens of thousands of years had passed, heavy rain suddenly fell upon the Bright Mortal Region where the Lorena River was.


    Because of this heavy rain, a section of the Lorena River collapsed.


    An enormous black rock then appeared in the section, seven golden Sanskrit words engraved on its surface.


    And such was the origin of the Seven Sanskrit Words of Lorena River.


    The news got around fast, attracting the attention of many forces in the divine land. Even the powerful clans on the Floating Islands showed strong interest.


    The first force to receive the news was the Bai Clan. They ranked 18th that year and didn''t hesitate to make a move.


    Its territory included the Bright Mortal Region.


    Although the Bai Clan ordered a complete news blackout at an impressive speed, copies of the seven Sanskrit words still managed to slip through.


    Many powerful clans had spent a large sum of money purchasing all these copies. In spite of the efforts of the Bai Clan to block the copies from getting leaked, it was already impossible for them to completely eradicate them at that point.


    One copy was enough to replicate a thousand times over, after all.


    The Bai Clan was utterly furious about it, but it was impossible to trace it all back to who made the first copy.


    When the powerful warriors of the divine land got their hands on the copies, they wasted no time and started deciphering the seven Sanskrit words right away. But when they began studying, the True Gods, the consummate True Gods, and the Holy Beings in the divine land discovered the great difficulty in deciphering the Sanskrit words.


    Although some rare Sanskrit words were unusually strange, there was always someone out there who could interpret some of them here and there. After being passed on from generation to generation, the True Gods'' understanding of the Sanskrit words was slowly growing.


    But the Seven Sanskrit Words of Lorena River were simply too complicated in comparison to ordinary Sanskrit words. Warriors could barely find any window of opportunity to fully interpret them.


    And this problem troubled the people in the divine land all the way until the present time.


    Most of the True Gods interested in Sanskrit words had, at one point, tried solving the problem. It was already a shame that no one had managed to interpret the words up until now. Great fortune would come to anyone who could do it.


    A wise man would, at a glance, know that the group of seven golden Sanskrit words


    en was really to leave, he was ready to offer a lower price. The man almost grinned from ear to ear. He would''ve been happy to sell the words at the price of a hundred divine might coins, let alone five thousand.


    But of course, he had no clue he was to encounter a truly rich man today.


    Pursing his lips, Zen sighed and finally gave in. "Okay. Five thousand."


    The middle-aged man''s eyes shot wide open when he saw the mass of black divine might coins pouring from Zen''s hand. His heart started racing wildly as he was worried about how unrealistic the situation seemed.


    Even the rest of the crowd had their mouths hanging open as they stared blankly at Zen. The divine might coins were flowing out in waves.


    "Huh?" The old man clad in white couldn''t stay calm any longer.


    He exchanged a glance with the young man, and just as the stall owner was about to reach for the pile of coins, the two of them rushed over like a gust of wind.


    "Wait!" The old man in white stopped Zen.


    And the young man glared at the middle-aged man maliciously.


    The sudden appearance of the two had Zen puzzled.


    "What''s wrong?" Zen asked in confusion.


    "The seven Sanskrit words aren''t worth such a price. If you really need them, I can give them to you for free!" The old man smiled as he gave the offer.


    Hearing this, the seller grew anxious, worried he would lose his chance to get the five thousand divine might coins. "Don''t you know the rules? How could you stop him? We made a deal!"


    To that, the young man only sneered. "Rules? My clan set the very rules of the Famous Sword Divine City. If you want to stay here, don''t you dare mention the rules to me!"


    His declaration had the middle-aged man stumped. He looked the young man up and down and suddenly realized something, so he kept his mouth shut.

 Chapter 2411 Purchasing

    Silence hung in the air like a thick curtain, and none of the vendors dared to speak.


    Although it was impossible to fight in the Non-combat Zone, the Sword Clan that dominated the place was still highly influential.


    On the young man''s chest was a black and white striped pattern, one of the unique symbols of the Sword Clan. It was known that the members of their clan enjoyed absolute privilege in all the divine cities in the Sunrest Tree Region.


    When the young man saw that the middle-aged man didn''t say anything anymore, he picked up the divine might coins on the ground. He turned around and his previously cold face was now alight with warmth.


    "You want to give the words to me for free?" Zen asked dumbfounded. He couldn''t deny that he was quite stunned.


    Now, he had considered the thought that the Sanskrit words might be fake.


    Then again, with his wealth he didn''t care too much about it.


    Even though the seven unique Sanskrit words might be fake, they were still of great value. The old man even generously offered them as gifts to Zen, which greatly puzzled him.


    "Yes, we can give them to you for free because there are many copies of the Seven Sanskrit Words of Lorena River all throughout the divine land. They are not secrets, so they''re actually worthless," said the young man with a smile.


    Upon hearing those words, Zen understood. Yet, he saw only the pitiful and pathetic look of the old man whose eyes were full of regret, when he casually stole a glance at him. He smiled and grabbed a handful of divine might coins and said, "As you said, these Sanskrit words are priceless in the eyes of certain people. Surely, they can be sold at five thousand divine might coins. But these two men have made it clear today. Can you sell them to me at one hundred divine might coins?"


    The middle-aged man looked hopeless. He was going to be rich so quickly, but now all his hopes were washed away.


    When Zen willingly offered one hundred divine might coins, however, he was quite surprised. A hundred divine might coins was a lot of money, even to many True Gods. Furthermore, the Seven Sanskrit Words of Lorena River weren''t even worth that much.


    "What?" the young man and the old man exclaimed in shock.


    They had already said that they would give the Seven Sanskrit Words of Lorena River to Zen for free.


    Yet here he was, still willing to spend a hundred divine might coins. Did he really have that much money to burn?


    It was true that the price Zen offered was a little unbelievable, but it wasn''t enough to make them feel sorry for him. Besides, he had insisted himself, so they wouldn''t stop him.


    "Yes, sure!" the middle-aged m


    id that he would give Zen the copies of the Sanskrit words, which were of far better quality than what the vendors sold.


    Soon enough, Zen was invited to the highest sword shaped building in the Famous Sword Divine City.


    The hall had horizontal and vertical features, while the sword-shaped ornaments were filled with killing intent. Generally speaking, sword culture had great importance in the Sunrest Tree Region.


    "These are the Sanskrit words you chose just now," Hayden said as a waiter placed a pile of Sanskrit words on the desk in front of Zen.


    The Sanskrit words in the pile were also copies, like Hayden had said, but they were far superior in condition compared to those sold on the street. Every Sanskrit word was plated with a golden frame, and a pure glaze covered its surface. It looked like it was a piece of art.


    At that point, Zen took the Sanskrit words without hesitation.


    Then he heard Hayden ask, "Why did you come to the Sunrest Tree Region at this time? Did you come for the debate over the Godly Ways?"


    "Of course," was Zen''s response.


    In reality, Zen didn''t really come for the debate.


    He came because according to Hallet''s presumption, Harold would bring Yan to this place.


    The only thing was, the Sunrest Tree Region was a large region in the divine land, and there were several cities like the Famous Sword Divine City in it. Thus, he didn''t know exactly where to look for Harold and Yan.


    "That''s great," Hayden said with a smile. "This debate is also very, very important to our Sword Clan."


    He emphasized "very" twice in a row, which made Zen feel strange.


    Hayden noticed that Zen looked confused as he spoke. Therefore, he asked, "Is it your first time to take part in the debate? Do you know how this debate goes?"

 Chapter 2412 Screening

    Before coming to the Sunrest Tree Region, Hallet had already informed Zen about the detailed procedures of the debate over Godly Ways.


    The number of True Gods who wanted to participate was huge.


    Not a lot of people had the opportunity to come to the Sunrest Tree Region because it was relatively far.


    However, there were still a few strong-minded True Gods who were willing to travel thousands of miles and spend all their money just to participate in the debate.


    This was despite the fact that they might not even qualify.


    Nearly ninety percent of True Gods would stop in a divine city and did not have the qualifications of climbing the Sunrest Tree.


    Try as they might, their climb would be marred with countless tests from the Sword Clan.


    In the end, only a few hundred would be deemed worthy and have the privilege of participating in the debate. Those who managed to get all the way to the end were mostly from powerful clans.


    Only a few ordinary True Gods could really talk about the Godly Ways in the center of the Sunrest Tree.


    Incredibly large and mighty, the Sunrest Tree grew countless branches that took root in the sea, eighty-seven of which extended all the way to the shore.


    Beside each of these eighty-seven roots were eighty-seven divine cities that the Sword Clan built. One of them was the Famous Sword Divine City.


    These divine cities would serve as the bases for the temporary selection of candidates during the debates. It was there that they deliberated over those with the most potential to be sent to the Sunrest Tree.


    This was also one of the main tasks of every city lord.


    Hayden had just taken office as acting lord of the Famous Sword Divine City and was eager to consolidate his position through achievements.


    He hoped to find around one or two qualified True Gods to participate in the debate.


    However, this was easier said than done.


    The number of truly knowledgeable ordinary True Gods was very few. Among those recommended by the eighty-seven divine cities, only around fifty to sixty managed to participate. The rate was actually less than one in each divine city!


    The Famous Sword Divine City was relatively remote and Hayden decided to personally participate in the selection this time.


    What he didn''t expect was Zen''s unusual behaviour back when he observed with Marley at the city gate.


    The young man actually had the original of a golden Sanskrit word and was even able to actua


    preposterous!


    "There''s nothing we can do. Some guys aren''t even here for the debate at all. They seize seats and sell to the True Gods who may need it. Those in the front can easily get hundreds of divine might coins upon selling their seats to disciples of powerful clans," Hayden said helplessly.


    Many True Gods worked hard but did not earn as many divine might coins as they would''ve liked.


    Time, however, wasn''t that valuable to them. Since they could still cultivate while queuing up here, then they simply did so.


    Noticing the look on Zen''s face, Hayden quickly gave him a reassuring smile. "Relax. I personally recommend you, so there is no need to line up behind all these people."


    With that, he quickly took Zen past the queue.


    Three True Gods, dressed in white robes, sat upright in front of the west gate. Engraved on the ground was a very strange circular array.


    This array was around 100 feet in diameter and its lines were made of long swords, piled up together but leaving a path in the middle.


    Some strange power emanated from this array.


    One of the three white-robed True Gods waved his hand at the first True God in the queue, motioning him to enter.


    The True God momentarily paused before taking a deep breath and then stepping into the array.


    As he stepped into the array, all the swords began to vibrate and his body began to tremble.


    However, after taking the first step, he seemed to be unable to take another one.


    Realizing this, the True God opened his eyes and had a look of fear on his face. He quickly retreated from the array and collapsed on the ground, looking very awkward.

 Chapter 2413 Jump The Queue

    Looking at the True God''s behavior, all the other True Gods present around burst into laughter.


    He was thoroughly embarrassed, when he saw their reaction. Glaring at them, he quickly walked away.


    He waited for a long time, but in the end, he took only a step forward. At this rate, no one would ever be happy.


    Zen''s gaze was fixed at the array made of long swords on the ground. He looked at it for a while, but did not find anything special about it.


    He knew that the debate over the Godly Ways in the Sword Clan must have something to do with the Truth of Godly Way. But when he looked at the exhibition of the swords, he didn''t feel any Truth of Godly Way.


    After the first True God left in a haste, another young man appeared in front of the line.


    The young man was wearing a purple and golden robe with works of embroidery. Across his waist, there was a beast identification tag. Zen guessed the tag must be some sort of identification mark of a powerful clan.


    He waved at the three white robed True Gods with pure disdain. "Is it my turn?" he asked in an indifferent tone


    "Please step forward."


    One of the three men waved his hand.


    The young man proudly sauntered forward. The moment he stepped into the array, the long swords began to vibrate again.


    Generally speaking, most of the confident people possessed real skills.


    It was evident that the young man''s performance was far better than the earlier True God. He took a step forward, closed his eyes and walked back and forth in the array, as if he was casually wandering.


    Buzz!


    He had hardly taken a couple of steps when one of the long swords floated upwards and slowly flew towards him.


    At the same time, Zen instantly felt a unique aura emanate from that sword.


    "What is it about the aura? It is definitely getting stronger."


    Zen wondered as he raised his eyebrows slightly.


    Ever since the time he entered the Non-combat Zone, he had been constantly oppressed by an irresistible aura.


    According to Hallet, this aura should be the Truth of Godly Way from the skeleton on the Sunrest Tree.


    If the Sword Clan wanted to conduct a test, they would choose to use the Truth of Godly Way. But till now, Zen hadn''t seen any clues.


    As soon as the sword floated up, Zen felt that the original Truth of Godly Way that emitted from the array of swords had become stronger. Now he was dead sure about it.


    "So the test is about the understanding of the Truth of Godly Way!" Zen was astonished with this revelation.


    As far as he knew, the Truth of Godly Way couldn''t be reached by any ordinary True Gods. Only a few disciples of the powerful clans on the Floating Islands had the eligibility to reach the Truth of Godly Way.


    Hayden was slightly stunned hearing Zen''s words. He excitedly looked at Zen as he as


    Rufus and Rudolf were from the direct line of the Wang Clan, so they naturally inherited vast fortunes.


    They did not want to wait in line to participate in the debate over the Godly Ways. They had spent a large sum of divine might coins, so they claimed the first two seats in the queue.


    Now that Rufus had passed the test, they began celebrating by distributing the divine might coins.


    Seeing this, Zen just smiled and then asked, "At what level are the True Gods if they can drive four Truth Spiritual Swords?"


    "What level? They just barely scrape through the test," Hayden said in a disdainful tone. "There are totally 23 Truth Spiritual Swords in this array. I could drive six of them when I was thirteen, and I''ve already driven nine this year. Come with me."


    As he spoke, Hayden led Zen towards the array.


    After Rudolf distributed the divine might coins, it was his turn to take the test.


    "Rudolf, if you pass the test, you should also celebrate by distributing divine might coins!"


    "Rudolf, you will surely pass the test!"


    The True Gods all began to shower their flattery on Rudolf, with the hope that they would get more divine might coins.


    Rudolf grinned back at them saying, "Sure, no problem!"


    However, as he walked towards the array, Hayden walked past him and stood in front of him. He said indifferently, "A distinguished guest wants to take the test first. Wait till he finishes!"


    "A distinguished guest? What do you mean by that?"


    Stunned, Rudolf glanced at Zen who was standing behind Hayden. Then he knew who the distinguished guest was.


    Both of the brothers stood there, sulking at the sudden turn of the event. Staring at Hayden, Rudolf said, "We spent a lot of divine might coins in getting the first two seats. Even if you are a member of the Sword Clan, you just cannot allow someone to randomly jump the queue!"

 Chapter 2414 Sword Hunting

    The Wang Clan was a vassal force of the Sword Clan in the Sunrest Tree Region.


    As one of the first-tier clans, the Wang Clan was quite famous and enjoyed a good reputation among the rest of the clans. For so many divine eras, they had been closely related to the Sword Clan.


    Rudolf''s face darkened as he saw a young man of the Sword Clan jumping the queue with another person beside him.


    Not far away, Rufus said, "Isn''t it inappropriate for a member of the Sword Clan to do so?"


    Noticing Hayden''s clothes, both Rudolf and Rufus deduced that he belonged to the Sword Clan. However, they weren''t sure who he was.


    After all, Hayden had recently taken over the position of the city lord, so only a few people were aware of it.


    "Rufus is right!"


    "Although the debate over the Godly Ways is presided over by the Sword Clan, you still have to be fair!"


    "I have been waiting in the line for a year and a half. Why should that person jump the queue?"


    The True Gods standing in the line appeared quite irritated.


    Hearing them complain, Hayden sneered, "Why? As the lord of the Famous Sword Divine City, I have the privilege to do so. If you don''t accept this, then you can complain about it to the elders of your clan."


    "Are you the city lord?"


    "Since when did you become the lord of the Famous Sword Divine City?"


    Rufus and Rudolf had a confused expression on their faces.


    "He actually is the lord of the Famous Sword Divine City!"


    "At such a young age, he is able to rule a divine city!"


    The True Gods standing in the line were dumbstruck. Some of them covered their faces and hurried back to the queue, fearing that they would be noticed by the young city lord.


    Seeing everyone speechless, Hayden snorted and waved his hand at the three white robed True Gods guarding the array.


    They nodded as if to greet Hayden. Then, Hayden turned to Zen and said with a smile, "Now it''s your turn."


    "Okay."


    With that, Zen walked towards the array.


    The array was quite ingenious. When the Truth Spiritual Swords floated up, Zen sensed a tinge of power that spread out.


    But as he entered the array, the situation was different.


    With a sudden whoosh, an illusion obstructed Zen''s view, and he couldn''t help but close his eyes.


    As the circular array changed its form, a long, narrow path appeared in front of him, and countless swords emerged from both sides of


    Those who were sensitive to the Truth of Godly Way could easily differentiate between the twenty-three real swords and the fake ones.


    "It feels strange."


    Zen felt something wasn''t right after acquiring the first Truth Spiritual Sword.


    The Truth Spiritual Sword in his hand continued to vibrate violently, as if it was whining and wanted to break away from Zen''s hand.


    Hayden, the three True Gods in white, and the two brothers of the Wang Clan noticed it as well.


    "What''s wrong with this Truth Spiritual Sword?"


    "It seems like it wants to struggle to free itself from that man!"


    "This has never happened!"


    Hayden frowned. He couldn''t comprehend what was going on. The Truth Spiritual Sword circling around Zen seemed to be resisting him.


    "It''s something out of the ordinary!"


    Zen tightly gripped his Truth Spiritual Sword, giving it no chance to escape. He continued to walk forward.


    He had only taken a few steps when he was attacked by more Truth Spiritual Swords.


    This time, Zen knew how to react. He lowered his body, and with a flash, he had discerned the subtle differences in the swords with his keen senses. Then he stretched out his hand as fast as lightning and grabbed the second sword easily. Again, the dense swords disappeared.


    However, this sword also tried to break free of Zen.


    But Zen didn''t pay any heed to it.


    He clutched the sword under his arm and dashed forward.


    A few seconds later, the third Truth Spiritual Sword appeared in his hand, and at the same time, a fork appeared in front of him, which was the way out of the array.

 Chapter 2415 The Skill

    Hayden had told Zen that catching three Truth Spiritual Swords meant that he had passed the test.


    And now, there was a fork in the path.


    Previously, after Rufus had caught four Truth Spiritual Swords, he had known that he couldn''t catch the fifth one and had voluntarily withdrawn.


    "Should I go out?"


    Zen hesitated for a while. He didn''t need to prove anything here.


    But the test might determine how far he would go on the Sunrest Tree, although Hayden hadn''t told him clearly.


    Yan''s face appeared in his mind.


    If Harold brought her into the Non-combat Zone, would she enter the core of the Sunrest Tree just like the disciples of powerful clans, or climb up through a divine city, step by step?


    As he thought this, Zen smiled and continued on his way.


    He had barely taken a step forward when more swords rose from both sides of the path and attacked him.


    Zen remained calm.


    Before he knew it, more swords came stabbing at him.


    Zen frowned. As he walked further and further along the path, the pain that the long swords brought to him seemed to intensify.


    This meant that the rest of the path would get more difficult with each stretch.


    The pain was unbearable, and directly affected the soul with the power of the array.


    After being stabbed several times, Zen''s body leaned sideways, his eyes fixed on one particular long sword. With a gentle flick of his hand, he grabbed a Truth Spiritual Sword from among the swords.


    "It has been a painful experience, trying to get the fourth sword. And Hayden, only a mid-rank True God, had actually obtained nine Truth Spiritual Swords."


    Zen looked at the path that extended into the distance, and saw the numerous swords on both sides. He knew that even if his ability to endure pain was extremely great, he would not be able to withstand it in the end.


    Outside the array...


    "He has gotten the fourth sword," said Hayden, as he looked at Zen in the array with a smile on his face.


    He had deliberately not made the rules clear.


    He hadn''t given Zen the chance to stay in contact with others, nor had he allowed him to understand the rules.


    In fact, the result of taking thre


    gling, wanting to break free.


    "Why are these Truth Spiritual Swords rejecting him so strongly?"


    "That can''t be true. The Truth Spiritual Swords don''t have their own consciousness. They just have a little more Truth of Godly Way than ordinary treasures."


    "Could it be that different kinds of Truth of Godly Way repel each other? In other words, has this person practiced another kind of Truth of Godly Way? I''ve heard about this!"


    A True God in a white robe came to this conclusion.


    "That''s impossible. You think too highly of him," another white-robed True God said, denying this theory unhesitatingly. "For the Truth Spiritual Swords to repel him, he has to cultivate another Truth of Godly Way to an extremely high level."


    There were very few True Gods in the divine land who were qualified enough to cultivate the Truth of Godly Way.


    A few True Gods of humble birth had cultivated the Truth of Godly Way by chance, but they usually knew just a few words. It was rare for even True Gods from powerful clans on the Floating Islands to cultivate the Truth of Godly Way to a certain level.


    "I have no idea either," another white-robed True God said, his eyes fixed on the array. "The man has gotten the fourteenth Truth Spiritual Sword! The city lord must be overjoyed."


    The fourteen Truth Spiritual Swords formed a fan and circled slowly around Zen as they groaned. It sounded like a bunch of swords groaning mournfully.

 Chapter 2416 Zens Limit

    Hayden''s face lit up in excitement and anticipation.


    The very moment that Zen had entered the city, he could already sense that Zen was an extraordinary person.


    Yet he had never expected that Zen would collect the fourteen Truth Spiritual Swords with such ease.


    He had good knowledge of the arrangement of the Truth Spiritual Swords.


    It was reasonably easy to get the first three Truth Spiritual Swords, but the fourth to ninth ones were quite tricky to obtain.


    As for the tenth to seventeenth Truth Spiritual Swords, the difficulty was a whole different level altogether!


    The last time Hayden had attempted to collect them, he had gotten hit simultaneously by three long swords while going for the tenth Truth Spiritual Sword. Then he had blacked out and gotten kicked out of the array.


    His personal best as of today was still only nine Truth Spiritual Swords.


    Zen had already obtained fourteen Swords, and it didn''t seem hard for him to get seventeen.


    Among the eighty-seven divine cities in the Sunrest Tree Region, very few True Gods were able to grab seventeen Truth Spiritual Swords.


    ''This guy... He would be perfect to participate in the debate over the Godly Ways!


    If he could participate in the debate, then my authority as the new city lord would be guaranteed and I would be able to ask my uncle for some rewards.''


    As Hayden was lost in his thoughts, Marley walked up to him and asked, "How''s it going?"


    Marley had been busy with some personal affairs, thus the late arrival. He too was very curious about the performance of the young True God who had just arrived the day before.


    "See for yourself!" Hayden pointed at the direction of the array happily.


    Marley had expected Zen''s performance to be above average. At the very least, he should be able to pass the test of the array. But if Zen couldn''t even get the qualification to get onto the Sunrest Wood, then he would have to admit that he had overestimated Zen.


    As his eyes followed the direction of Hayden''s finger, the expression on his face froze.


    He saw Zen taking two steps forward and one step backward before a Truth Spiritual Sword floated up and joined the other swords which fanned out and spiraled around him.


    "What? He managed to grab so many?" Marley shouted with disbelief when he finally got over his


    odd.


    Amongst the rain of swords along the road, there were flashes of red lightning, and the speed of these swords seemed to be boosted even more compared to the previous ones.


    Puff!


    Before he could reach the blind spot ahead, he was hit by a Truth Spiritual Sword.


    Crack!


    As he was penetrated by the long sword, Zen felt an unbearable pain in his soul. In a flash, he felt that his head was about to explode. The pain almost reached the depths of his soul, and was absolutely unbearable.


    His strong willpower seemed to disappear in the face of such pain.


    Even so, Zen fought through the intense pain and struggled towards the blind spot. His body shook uncontrollably.


    "What the hell is that?"


    After making sure that his soul was unhurt, Zen took a closer look at the red swords and couldn''t help but shout.


    Hayden and Marley observed Zen''s trembling body and smiled at each other in anticipation.


    After a long while, the pain deep in his soul slowly disappeared. Then he looked back at the Truth Spiritual Swords with an intense look.


    He had planned to grab all the Truth Spiritual Swords with the same speedy method, but he finally realized that it would be no easy feat.


    If he got stabbed by the swords another three times, he would definitely black out.


    "Should I give up?" he wondered.


    He knew that he had done well enough and had far exceeded the requirements of entering the Sunrest Wood.


    But as he looked at the Truth Spiritual Swords shuttling back and forth, he was overcome by his stubbornness.

 Chapter 2417 Accidental Injury

    With Zen''s current speed, it was impossible to completely dodge the rain of swords coming straight at him.


    If he used the jade seal, however, he''d be capable of dodging the rain of swords with ease. After all, those bugs could devour an entire period of time in which Zen was invincible.


    It was only natural that Zen wasn''t quite so willing to make use of the jade seal that easily.


    Another technique that he could rely on in this moment was the Truth of Cultivation Nature, of course.


    Originally, he didn''t want to use the Truth of Godly Way now.


    Needless to say, having come this far, he definitely wasn''t going to give up this early.


    As soon as this thought came to his mind, Zen began to make his move. Less than a second later, a tiny strand of Truth of Godly Way began slowly circling around his body.


    The Truth of Godly Way wasn''t a cultivation method, but a deep understanding of the Godly Way instead.


    If the Truth of Godly Way was combined with any other cultivation method, it would thus have a very magical and unique effect.


    In fact, Zen had already tested this himself before.


    "Eight Smoky Melodies!" Zen roared at once.


    After summoning just a hint of Truth of Godly Way, Zen flew backward with might.


    Right then, he looked like he had no bones in his body whatsoever, as if he were a slowly flowing liquid!


    Even though the flying swords were coming at him extremely fast and were densely packed, they did not form an inescapable wall, after all.


    Directly from the rain of the swords, Zen penetrated out in a very weird gesture.


    On the one hand, if someone were to stand within the magic array at this very moment, they''d see that Zen''s body had contorted, like a fried dough twist, in a completely inhuman shape.


    On the other hand though, in the eyes of people outside the magic array, there was nothing unusual with this scene.


    "I can see it!"


    A satisfied smile appeared on Zen''s face as he shouted aloud. He identified the Truth Spiritual Sword from the rain of swords and removed it immediately.


    Now that Zen had already used the Truth of Godly Way, he no longer hesitated when doing so again.


    He didn''t even search for a place to avoid the rain of swords. After fusing the Truth of Godly Way with the Eight Smoky Melodies, he resembled a fish swimming through water, freely shuttling through the rain of swords. Thanks to the combination of techniques, his speed of grabbing the Truth Spiritual Swords had increased ten-fold, at least.


    Hayden and Marley were pretty convinced that Zen would only be capable of retrieving seventeen Truth Spir


    gs on both sides of the street.


    Buzz!


    One of the Truth Spiritual Swords was nailed to the west entrance''s thick wooden gate, and the sword''s blade shook continuously.


    "Aaaargh!"


    As they screeched at the top of their lungs, two True Gods were stabbed by the swords.


    One of these two True Gods was Rufus Wang, who was the closest to Zen.


    From his position on his stomach, Hayden glanced at the True Gods who had been stabbed, and he let out a sigh of relief. Neither of them was hit in their vital parts.


    As soon as he let out his sigh of relief, he noticed Rufus Wang, who was lying on the ground, rolling over. He shrank himself into a ball, screaming madly, his face distorted and he looked to be in an extremely horrible state.


    "Brother!" Rudolf Wang, Rufus Wang''s younger brother, didn''t expect his brother to be in such pain. He hurried over and glared at Zen before he began to check on his brother.


    "It''s the Red Fire Thunder..." A helpless expression appeared on Hayden''s face.


    The eighteenth to twenty-third Truth Spiritual Swords had the nature with the illusory swords in the magic array. In other words, this meant that they possessed the Red Fire Thunder. Touching the sword in the magic array was alright, but now that the sword had hit Rufus Wang, it had released the Red Fire Thunder.


    Now that the Red Fire Thunder had penetrated into his body, Rufus Wang would undoubtedly have a hard time.


    Zen, on the other hand, stood at the edge of the magic array, still a little stunned.


    As soon as he came out, he saw the Truth Spiritual Swords shooting out, and he felt as though he was at a loss.


    When he came to his senses, the first thing he noticed were the two True Gods lying on the ground.

 Chapter 2418 A Faint Light

    As he lay on the ground, Rufus convulsed for a long period of time before he came back to his senses.


    Fortunately for him, the Red Fire Thunder hadn''t hurt him severely, but the pain it caused was enough for him to remember it for a lifetime.


    As he watched the scene, Rudolf only grew more and more furious. Their Wang Clan was one of the first-tier clans in the Sunrest Tree Region. They had never suffered such loss before.


    He had the burning desire to argue with Zen, but was stopped by Hayden.


    "This is our fault. If you really want to blame it, then you can only blame the array for its omission," Hayden said, keeping his calm.


    Faced with the Famous Sword Divine City''s acting leader, Rudolf was helpless. He could do nothing but glare at Zen angrily before turning his head in the opposite direction.


    After dealing with the two brothers of the Wang Clan, Hayden said to Zen with a smile, "Congratulations! You''re the first True God to get all the Truth Spiritual Swords in the history of the Famous Sword Divine City."


    "Do you actually have a reward for me?" Zen asked flatly, as he stared at Hayden.


    "Ha-ha!" A look of triumph appeared on Hayden''s face. "Of course, you won''t receive any true reward. All this means that you''ll be capable of walking further on the Sunrest Tree. What''s more, I''ll be your recommender and thus issue a letter of recommendation in your name. I believe that the elders of Sword Clan will pay special attention to you."


    Zen wasn''t disappointed to hear such a statement.


    In his current situation, it was only normal that he wanted to seize every opportunity he possibly could.


    "Can I get onto the Sunrest Tree right now?" Zen looked at the west gate in the opposite direction, not far away.


    Nodding his head, Hayden made way for Zen and stepped aside. "Of course, please, just head that way!"


    Rumble!


    A True God in a white robe opened the west gate for him at once.


    Zen nodded at Hayden and Marley before walking off toward the west gate.


    "City Lord, don''t mind if I ask, but why didn''t you investigate his background and identity?" A look of confusion appeared on Marley''s face as he watched Zen''s gradually receding figure.


    Listening to Marley, Hayden smiled slightly. Then he said, "Such a fellow is destined to be somebody. I''d bet that he is most likely the son of a Holy Being. Or at the very least, a Demi-holy Being''s son."


    "A Holy Being''s or a Demi-holy Being''s son?" Marley felt somewhat puzzled. "If s


    nation!"


    Yan exclaimed with a relaxed face as she jumped next to Harold.


    "Do you still have a little strength left in you?" Harold asked, with a slight smile curling at his lips.


    Yan thought for a while, pouted her lips and said, "Well, I should be capable of obtaining the rest of the swords as well, but to do that, I''ll surely suffer to no end."


    As she spoke, the True Gods who were still waiting in line fell speechless.


    Harold responded with nothing more than a brief smile; he knew what Yan had said was true.


    "Harold, you told me that my brother would come!" Yan said seriously and accusingly, as she stared at Harold.


    Upon hearing her words, Harold turned his head back to look at the slowly opening gate. At that very moment, the Sunrest Tree appeared in front of him. "He will. Maybe he''s already on the Sunrest Tree," he replied.


    "Then I must hurry up!"


    Yan dashed over to the gate like an agile rabbit, without a second''s hesitation.


    Despite her confidence, a hint of worry revealed itself on Harold''s face.


    Zen didn''t go to the Everest Spirit Mountain, which disturbed Harold''s overall plan.


    Now that he was unable to give Zen what was left by Mike, he placed all the pressure on Yan.


    Just like playing chess, one false move would lead to a series of problems. In particular, Mike''s situation wasn''t an optimistic one, and Harold couldn''t allow any mistakes to be made.


    Even if Harold could calculate everything with his Evolution Godly Way, no clues were uncovered.


    ''This time, no mistake is allowed to be made during the debate over Godly Ways held by the Sword Clan!'' he thought to himself determinedly.

 Chapter 2419 Second Round Of Screening

    Zen had been running for so long that he couldn''t remember how many miles he had covered on this root.


    The root cut right smack in the middle of a large sea. At time, glimmers of the other roots could be seen faintly in the distance.


    As he continued his way deeper and deeper along the root, the surrounding scenery became paler and paler.


    On his way, he occasionally met a few True Gods. They wasted no more time than that of glancing at each other before rushing forward in a hurry.


    Seven days later, things began to change.


    The root, at least ten thousand feet wide, now gathered on a wider branch.


    More and more members of the Sword Clan gathered here on this branch.


    Every hundred miles or so, Zen would meet one or two True Gods of the Sword Clan.


    The True Gods of Sword Clan sat upright on the branch''s edge, while stabbing their long swords into it. They closed their eyes as if they were comprehending something.


    ''Could this be the Sword Clan members'' unique way of cultivating?'' he wondered to himself.


    While running, Zen eyed the Sword Clan''s True Gods closely.


    All of them appeared to be in a meditative state, indifferent to everything around them. Most importantly, no one paid any attention to Zen whatsoever.


    Four more days of journey passed.


    It was only then that Zen saw a wider branch.


    ''It''s no wonder that the Non-combat Zone is called the Sunrest Tree Region. The Sunrest Tree alone is extremely huge, if not boundless. I''ve been running for more than ten days at such a high speed, but I still can''t seem to reach the tree''s trunk, '' he thought.


    This time, the length of the branch was even longer¡ªat least twice as long, in fact. It had taken him nearly half a month to continue travelling incredibly fast along this branch.


    A month later, Zen finally arrived at the end of the branch.


    Surprisingly, what appeared in front of him was a brown plain.


    Moreover, countless sword-shaped buildings stood on the surface of the brown plain. The plain appeared endless.


    ''Just how huge is this Sunrest Tree anyway?'' Zen thought to himself.


    He was suddenly faced with the idea that his imagination simply wouldn''t suffice.


    After running for over a month, he finally got close to the Sunrest Tree''s trunk. Alas, his objective! That said, the trunk was equally huge and boundless beyond imagination, just like the rest before.


    Two Sword Clan members in white robes were standing not far ahead. Both of them were top-rank True Gods.


    A few True Gods were standing in line, waiting for something from the two Sword Clan members. They had expectant looks on their faces.


    Just like Zen, it


    hall fell silent aside from a few whispers.


    "A consummate True God!" someone hushed under their breath.


    "It''s a Sword Clan''s consummate True God!" someone else whispered.


    "Wow!"


    There were very few True Gods who would ever reach such level of consummation in the divine land.


    Even in the first-tier clans, not many of them actually had a consummate True God.


    The Sword Clan was still the second-ranked clan among the powerful clans on the Floating Islands. It wasn''t strange that a consummate True God had appeared here in the Sunrest Tree Region.


    "Thank you all for walking thousands of miles or more in order to come to our Sunrest Tree Region. Sorry to keep you waiting for me," the old man said as he cupped his hands toward the crowd.


    The consummate True God spoke in a courteous manner, which made the group of True Gods feel flattered and comfortable.


    "Since you were capable of passing the first round of the Sword Clan''s selection, you are very sensitive to Truth Spiritual Swords," the old man continued. "But our Sword Clan only has a few places vacant, and thus by convention, we must hold the second round of screening! If any of you can pass the second round of screening, then you will be considered indispensable at this year''s debate over the Godly Ways!"


    When the True Gods present heard the old man''s words, their eyes suddenly lit up and opened wide. Their mood equally perked up.


    Most of these True Gods were elites from the first or second-tier clans.


    If they could join the debate over the Godly Ways, they would be capable of competing with the major clans'' elites. Additionally, it was more likely that they would comprehend a hint of the Truth of Godly Way.


    This was an opportunity no True God could ignore.

 Chapter 2420 The Killing Zone

    There were only few True Gods in the divine land that had the chance to see the Truth of Godly Way.


    However, it didn''t stop the many legends of the Truth of Godly Way.


    The most interested were the True Gods who came to participate in the debate over the Godly Ways and passed the first round of screening.


    There were various reasons why these True Gods, who were all originally extremely talented people, still made no breakthroughs in their cultivation.


    It took a lot of resources to consummate a True God and it was extremely difficult even for the powerful clans on the Floating Islands. If they didn''t have other chances, they might never be able to become consummate True Gods.


    The ethereal Truth of Godly Way was their life saver.


    If one could fully understand a Truth of Godly Way, they would be able to cross the Godly Way and reach the other shore. It was the complete comprehension of the ultimate mysteries of the world.


    Various rumors had spread among the True Gods.


    Later on, many opinions were formed about the Truth of Godly Way.


    Through sheer coincidence, there had been a few True Gods who managed to decipher one or two sentences of the abridged versions of the Truth of Godly Way. They all claimed that they were enchanted and felt wonderful as they read.


    But a few words were nothing but a glance at the end of the Godly Ways. It wasn''t any help but was a deadly temptation.


    A solid proof of the Truth of Godly Way was the Non-combat Zone, a special existence in the Sunrest Tree Region.


    Neither the Holy Beings nor the consummate True Gods could afford to ignore the Truth of Godly Way contained within.


    The Sword Clan took advantage of the True Gods'' intense yearning for the place to hold a debate over the Godly Ways every few years.


    Many True Gods who studied Sanskrit words would participate in the debate, but most of them couldn''t pass the first round of screening.


    Even more candidates were eliminated in the second


    en if he was being ignored, the man kept muttering by Zen''s ear and no one understood why he was especially pressuring Zen.


    "Stop talking crap!"


    Zen frowned and rebuked loudly.


    The crowd quieted down as they all suddenly stopped and looked at Zen and the man.


    Even Bill, who was leading the way, turned around to frown at them and said, "Please keep quiet."


    Zen shrugged his shoulders and didn''t say anything more.


    But the man felt quite embarrassed.


    If it had been outside of the Non-combat Zone, he would have killed Zen immediately. But the moment his killing intention formed, it had instantly dissipated due to the invisible force from the Non-combat Zone.


    In the end, he could only glare at Zen without saying anything.


    They followed a downward path under Bill''s lead and they stopped at a dark entrance.


    As he stood at the entrance, Bill said, "This is where the Sword Clan cultivates. It''s well known that we built the Non-combat Zone because we cherish lives but no one knows that we can also sacrifice lives. This is the Killing Zone."


    The Truth of Godly Way that enveloped the whole Non-combat Zone was exceptionally extreme.


    The True Gods couldn''t even fight with each other in areas covered by that aura.


    But the opposite side of the Non-combat Zone was the Killing Zone.

 Chapter 2421 Zens Identity

    The Sword Clan was a relatively peaceful race in the divine land.


    At the very least, they rarely caused any disputes in the divine land.


    Despite the fact they were the second-ranked clan, they had no use for violence. They were very devout in their belief of kindness.


    They expected every member to cultivate his or her mind to not kill indiscriminately or be bloodthirsty. Therefore, the clansmen were extremely humble and righteous. beings.


    However, those who knew the Sword Clan knew of the terrifying strength hidden behind the humble exterior.


    "It''s not uncommon for members of the Sword Clan to die when they cultivate in the Killing Zone. You must not force yourselves. If you cannot hold on, crush the Sword Card in your hands, and our clan members will rescue you." Bill glanced at the crowd and waved his hand, adding, "Remember, in the Killing Zone your killing intents will be ignited, but you cannot kill each other. If you attempt to do so, the Sword Clan will not be kind. Does everyone understand?"


    Paying little heed to the warning, the large group of True Gods charged into the Killing Zone.


    The dark-skinned man glared coldly at Zen before entering.


    Zen walked unhurriedly to the back of the queue.


    As Bill watched them enter the zone, an emerald bird spiraled down from the sky toward him.


    A small jade slip hung from its feet.


    Bill stretched out his hand, and the bird perched atop his wrinkled finger.


    "Tweet, tweet, tweet!"


    it chirped.


    A look of doubt appeared on Bill''s face as he unbuttoned the jade slip. "Hayden''s letter? The kid has just taken office as the lord of the Famous Sword Divine City and no longer caused any trouble. He has been quiet for the past few days. What could the letter be about?"


    "Clank!"


    Bill crushed the jade slip in his palm, and a flash of thought flew out.


    "How could this be? Someone in the Famous Sword Divine City has got twenty-three swords?"


    It was rare for someone of the Sword Clan to be able to get twenty-three swords.


    "His name is Zen Luo. Zen Luo..."


    Bill murmured the name several times.


    "I''m sure I''ve heard this name somewhere before..."


    Bill''s eyes popped open in surprise moments later.


    "The man who holds the number 940


    four great divine trees, three wouldn''t attack any living beings on their own, especially the Sunrest Tree.


    If warriors cultivated on the Sunrest Tree, they''d be able to feel its strong life energy. Under its nourishment, the warriors could promote their cultivation speed immensely.


    Because of this, Zen watched many of the Sword Clan members stab their swords into the tree to cultivate.


    But as this was the Killing Zone, some parts of the Sunrest Tree were affected by the Truth of Godly Way. This area was extremely dangerous.


    Countless vines spread at an incredible speed, and almost instantaneously a majority of the True Gods were ensnared.


    "Whish! Whish!"


    A scream caught Zen''s attention.


    A short distance from Zen, a top-rank True God''s feet were tightly wrapped up in the vines. Suddenly, seven to eight vines curled around him so tightly that no matter how hard he tried, he could not escape.


    The more the top-rank True God struggled, the stronger the vines became. In no time, a crunching sound came from him. The vines had snapped his bones.


    "Crack!"


    Now desperate, the top-rank True God had no choice but to break the Sword Card. He did not dare move anymore. Realizing their prey was still, the vines stopped moving and didn''t get any tighter.


    Zen frowned at the scene before him, but the sound of rustling overhead caught his attention. Several vines, like the tentacles of an octopus, formed a complicated net and came at him from different directions.

 Chapter 2422 Black Beetles

    The vicious vines attacked all the True Gods, including Zen.


    The vines attacked like nimble snakes, wreathing and slithering towards Zen.


    "Whoosh!".


    Zen couldn''t fly and escape like the top-rank True Gods, so he could rely only on his agile body to keep away from them.


    Seeing the vines approach him rapidly, he twisted himself and shot towards the side of the cave.


    But the vines seemed to have eyes as they quickly changed their direction and followed Zen. They twisted and overlapped with each other to form a net and completely block Zen''s escape.


    "Swish! Swish!"


    At the same time, another seven or eight vines extended from the ground below and obstructed Zen''s exit from all sides.


    "Like I said, low-rank True Gods such as yourself, come here looking for death," sneered the dark-skinned man as he floated above.


    In the Killing Zone, there was no restraint and the top-rank True Gods naturally had a better advantage.


    Their strength was not only far greater than that of the average mid-rank and low-rank True Gods, but they could even fly freely.


    That was why, in the second round of screening, almost ninety percent of the candidates were top-rank True Gods and a very meagre number formed the mid-rank True Gods.


    Zen was the only low-rank True God among them. Everyone was already astounded to witness this.


    Zen barely flinched even after hearing the man''s words. With a single tap of his toe, he transformed into a sharp arrow and shot forward.


    "Why throw yourself into the net so soon? Losing already?"


    The man smirked, as he thought that Zen had given up.


    The vines, as the spiritual roots of the Sunrest Tree, were impossible to destroy. From what the man witnessed in the many debates that he took part in, those who were trapped by the vines were all knocked out, and were powerless to cut the vines by themselves.


    Sometime back, a True God who was trapped by these vines did not crumb the Sword Card to seek the help of the Sword Clan. In the end, he was strangled to death by the vines!


    Therefore, once the True Gods were trapped by the vines, they would immediately crumb their Sword Cards and quit the second round of screening. That was the only way to escape one''s death.


    There would be other chances to take part in the debate over the Godly Ways,


    r, under the aura of the Killing Zone, thousands pairs of compound eyes emitted bright red lights and charged towards the numerous True Gods.


    "Go to hell!"


    Not far ahead of Zen, a top-rank True God was covered in a layer of lightning.


    This top-rank True God was practicing the Thunderstorm Godly Way. His body was covered by numerous beams of thunderstorms. With his hair standing up, he looked like an angry god of thunder.


    The lightning snakes rushed towards the black beetles one after another and exploded on their shells.


    However, these beetles seemed to be completely unharmed by the lightning effect. Instead, they spread out their wings, turned into black lights, and rushed towards the top-rank True God at an alarming speed!


    "Swish! Swish! Swish!"


    Even though that top-rank True God had transformed into lightening and moved extremely fast, he still couldn''t escape from the attacks of the dozens of black beetles as they swarmed up.


    "Puff!"


    Through their tentacles, they jabbed into the body of that top-rank True God and pinned him to one side of the tree hole.


    In a moment of desperation, the True God broke the Sword Card in his hand.


    Perhaps it was because those black beetles were very dangerous, the reaction of the Sword Clan was extremely fast. Suddenly a gap appeared at the top of wall. A light from outside the tree hole quietly shone on the True God.


    All of the black beetles had been very aggressive a moment ago and wanted to kill the True God, but now they simply walked away from him.

 Chapter 2423 Ivan And Clifford

    Zen flashed a satisfied smile when he saw the light appear from the top of the wall.


    ''It turns out that this is how the Sword Clan saves people, '' he thought.


    It made sense. The Sword Clan wouldn''t send people to save the fighters in the Killing Zone. If too many top-rank True Gods were in danger, the Sword Clan wouldn''t be able to save all of them.


    Despite that, the Sword Clan had devised a simple method to save them.


    They directly pierced the wall above the head of the contender who was in danger and released the aura from the Non-combat Zone. Once the aura had surrounded the injured True God, those beetles wouldn''t be able to attack again.


    There was a loud noise when the top of the cave was broken through. Then a member of the Sword Clan jumped down from above and seized the top-rank True God before leaving in the same fashion.


    That True God had been lucky, but not all of them could be saved.


    Just as Bill said, there was a risk of dying in the Killing Zone.


    A black beetle popped out from his side when a top-rank True God flew in the air. Then, the beetle''s sharp horn pierced through his head and nailed him to the wall of the cave.


    The man fell silently on the ground despite the pain. Of course, he also didn''t have a chance to break the Sword Card before he was killed.


    All of the True Gods who saw the scene felt a chill run down their spine. Therefore, they were left with no other choice but to move even faster and outrun the beetles as fast as they could.


    "These beetles are really troublesome," Zen muttered.


    Just then, his gaze froze slightly as he ran forward.


    According to the information he got, he would be able to participate in the debate over the Godly Ways after he passed the second round of screening.


    If everything went according to what Hallet had said, Harold would definitely be present in the debate venue with Yan!


    He actually wasn''t interested in the debate over the Godly Ways, but he had to go through this round of screening because he wanted to see Yan.


    Swoosh!


    Once again, he turned into a beam of light and sped away.


    Buzz¡­


    When he had run over ten miles, he heard a humming sound above his head.


    A breeze flew over his head when he sharply turned around almost on reflex.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    More than ten black light beams suddenly flew towards him!


    Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock!


    At th


    ders of the Sword Clan.


    The other one was an old man with a sinister appearance and an indifferent expression. He was also one of the elders of the Sword Clan, and his name was Ivan Sword.


    "Has the second round of screening begun?" Clifford Sword asked with a smile as he stepped on the round platform. Ivan Sword, however, did not feel the same cheeriness.


    "Humph! It''s stupid to place hope on these warriors!" he said coldly. "This is just the first group of True Gods participating in the second round of screening.


    This time, the number of True Gods who will join the second round will be several times more than those of the previous ones. I believe that there will be more elites who will pass the screening test," Bill said happily.


    "It won''t change even if the number of elites is a hundred times larger. The elites from a group of trash are still trash," Ivan Sword spat out.


    Even if he was ill-tempered, Bill seemed to be familiar with his attitude and did not look bothered at all.


    "Is there any warrior with better performance within the first group of ten thousand True Gods?" Ivan Sword still asked despite his disdain.


    Bill shook his head as if he was in frustration. "No. None of them performed well."


    "I knew it! They are all garbage!" Ivan Sword sniggered.


    Bill''s lips curved up into a playful smile. "But I''ve found an interesting little fellow among them!" he announced.


    It was known that only a handful of people were able to attract Bill''s interest.


    Therefore, Clifford Sword and Ivan Sword immediately perked up and asked almost simultaneously, "Who is that?"

 Chapter 2424 The Twelve Abridged Truths of Godly Ways

    Bill''s eyes scanned the Killing Zone before he pointed at the distance.


    In turn, Clifford''s and Ivan''s eyes flickered with a unique light.


    Then they had a panoramic view of the Killing Zone inside the tree trunk.


    Even if Bill didn''t pinpoint exactly who, they were still able to spot Zen quickly.


    "A low-rank True God?"


    It wasn''t hard to differentiate Zen from the numerous True Gods, since he was the only one with the lowest cultivation level among them.


    "Ha-ha, yes you are right." Bill gently smiled.


    For a long time, both Clifford and Ivan only watched Zen on the battlefield.


    His body moved as if it was one with the wind. Every time the black beetles got close to him, the light of his fist flashed brightly and the black beetles were easily smashed like delicate shells.


    "This young man''s strength is not bad," Clifford praised. "He''s an outstanding low-rank True God and must be one of the top disciples of the powerful clans," Ivan said simply.


    Any other clan would''ve been surprised to see a low-rank True God like Zen in the Killing Zone. Clifford and Ivan, however, weren''t just from any other clan.


    They were from the Sword Clan, the second-ranked clan among the Floating Islands.


    Thus, they were no strangers to all kinds of talents.


    A smile stretched across Bill''s lips. "Is he on the level of a top disciple from a powerful clan? Does our clan have any low-rank True God that can defeat him?"


    "I don''t think some of our low-rank True Gods are any weaker than him," Ivan said proudly.


    Clifford observed the fight for a while and shook his head. "I don''t agree. This guy apparently has suppressed his ability. Our low-rank True Gods may not be on par with him," he commented.


    "Hahaha!" Bill laughed upon hearing both of their words.


    "Do you know who he is?" he asked with a mysterious look.


    In turn, Clifford suddenly became extra curious. "Who is he?" "If I''m not mistaken, the skeleton of Mikail is still in his hands," Bill said with a trace of sadness that faintly weighed his face down.


    It was known that the seven elders of the Sword Clan were second only to their clan''s Holy Beings and Demi-holy Beings, and they all enjoyed a healthy relationship with one another.


    Therefore, they considered it a great loss if one of them died.


    Both Clifford and Ivan were immersed in their thoughts af


    divine land have already been accustomed to such a peaceful and stable life. Sometimes, I really hope that this kind of life can continue!" Clifford sighed wistfully.


    "Dream on! If we can''t think of a way, the ship will sink sooner or later. Then, we will die together!" Ivan chuckled coldly.


    "I know. I just haven''t accepted it. If the Mountain of Holy Beings descends next time, I still have the chance to become a Holy Being!" Clifford lamented with regret.


    "So many Demi-holy Beings are expecting the mountain. Even if it really comes, I''m afraid you won''t be able to get a chance," Ivan sneered.


    "I''m not afraid of those Demi-holy Beings!" The two of them continued to bicker as they watched Zen.


    Zen had walked further into the Killing Zone in just a few seconds.


    He had passed the second stage, and now he had entered the third stage.


    Back in the first stage, about ten percent of the True Gods had quit by crumbing their Sword Cards.


    The number increased to fifty percent in the second stage. About four hundred top-rank True Gods died in the Killing Zone and became food for those black beetles.


    The Killing Zone was divided into only five stages.


    Ninety percent of the True Gods would be eliminated in the first four.


    Then, only three to five contenders would be really able to pass the fifth stage.


    As the fight progressed, Bill, Clifford, and Ivan were still in talks about whether Zen could pass the test.


    As for Zen, he kept moving forward under their watchful gazes. Six hours later, he finally stepped out of the Killing Zone.

 Chapter 2425 Return Mikails Skeleton

    The dark-skinned man who had been following Zen all this time also had an outstanding performance.


    With his knowledge and experience, it was possible that he could pass the fifth stage of the Killing Zone.


    Unfortunately, he still lagged behind Zen in the fourth stage.


    All of a sudden, huge, blood red lizards began to crawl out from the cracks in the fourth stage. They spewed out large amounts of venom in random moments. Although the tree hole in the Killing Zone was very wide, the venom swept through it like a storm.


    Zen, however, was not afraid of the venom.


    The dark-skinned man, on the other hand, had no other choice but to hide.


    He got hit by a little bit of venom and lay paralyzed on the ground. As he lay there, the venomous lizards slowly crawled towards him.


    Zen took this opportunity to turn around and use his strength source to form an invisible sharp sword, slicing the Sword Card beside the man into pieces.


    Luckily, the man found safety after he was enveloped by the light falling from the top of the tree hole. A fierce, bright light flashed in his eyes as he watched Zen leave so gracefully.


    Along with Zen, there were four True Gods who managed to pass the fifth stage.


    Among them were three top-rank True Gods.


    Being able to pass the second round of screening gave them a chance to participate in the debate over the Godly Ways.


    Therefore, once they left the Killing Zone, they were in high spirits. This was a chance that many True Gods didn''t even have the opportunity to see.


    But as usual, Zen remained calm.


    Just then, three gray lights shot over from somewhere nearby. They were the three consummate True Gods of the Sword Clan: Bill, Ivan and Clifford.


    "Hello, elders!"


    The three top-rank True Gods were extremely flattered seeing the three consummate True Gods of the Sword Clan at the same time.


    But for some reason, the three consummate True Gods didn''t look at them at all. Instead, they all were hooked on Zen.


    "You are Zen Luo, right?" Bill asked Zen, giving him a good, hard stare.


    "Yes."


    Zen''s heart sank in the slightest, but he nodded calmly anyway.


    He didn''t use his alias when he came to the Sword Clan this time.


    This was because the Non-combat Zone was not as dangerous as he had thought for it to be.


    Perhaps the Sword Clan had their own ways to kill, such as using the Killing Zo


    l, Zen flashed and arrived at a corner of the desert.


    Mikail''s skeleton, which was stabbed by the Spear of Time, was lying alone in the windy, gloomy desert.


    He reached out his hand and with a light wave, the skeleton flew right over with him. He then took the skeleton back to the Sword Clan through the time path.


    "Is this... Is this Mikail''s skeleton?" The faces of Clifford and Bill fell to the ground. They were speechless at the sight of the corpse.


    Ivan took a deep breath. The surface of the skeleton was covered with spots and cracks, as if Mikail died many years ago.


    Given Mikail''s cultivation, his corpse would have undergone a long period of time before it gradually became decadent. Why did it look so rotten after only a few years?


    "Yes, he was hit by a Spear of Time," said Zen. "I entered the world of the jade seal a little later than Master Mikail, and when I met him, he had become what he is now." Zen wanted to be as honest as possible. Seeing that Ivan was indistinctly doubtful, he continued on to explain, "If you don''t believe me, you can try to inquire about Troy''s injury. He was also unexpectedly stabbed by a Spear of Time. When I met Master Mikail, I took three Space-striking Rings from his hand. If it weren''t for these rings, I wouldn''t have gotten this jade seal in the first place."


    The three consummate True Gods looked at Mikail''s right hand. As the highest honor of the Sword Clan, the Space-striking Ring was indeed something that they had to take with them all the time. As Zen had said, the rings were gone from Mikail''s fingers.

 Chapter 2426 The Captain Of The Ship

    The three elders no longer doubted Zen.


    "Mikail wandered all over the divine land and did many good deeds. He unexpectedly died in a supreme treasure of belief," Bill lamented.


    All three of them looked extremely aggrieved.


    The Sword Clan had a good reputation due to their benevolence.


    It was rare for the members of their clan to get into conflict with others. They were upstanding and helped whenever they could, especially if someone was being bullied.


    Back when Mikail was stabbed by the Spear of Time and was at the edge of death, he still reminded Zen to be careful with his residual consciousness. This did not benefit Mikail but helped Zen avoid the danger.


    He was truly benevolent.


    "Thank you for bringing back Mikail''s bones," Clifford told Zen with sincerity.


    "I should really be thanking Master Mikail," Zen replied.


    After Ivan carefully collected the skeleton, Zen said, "I''d like to ask for your help."


    Bill looked at Zen. "What can we do for you?"


    "Harold Yu, a consummate True God of my clan, is also participating in the debate over Godly Ways. I don''t know where he is right now, but if you manage to hear any news about him, can you tell me?" Zen asked.


    Bill, Clifford, and Ivan looked at each other and smiled.


    "It''s no big deal. No matter which city he appears in, we will inform you immediately," Bill affirmed with a nod.


    As he spoke, an emerald bird flew over them. It circled the beams and landed on his hand.


    Clasped between the bird''s feet was a jade slip that Bill took and crushed.


    The moment the jade slip was pulverized, a wisp of consciousness immediately poured into his mind.


    He was taken aback for a moment before laughing out loud. "What a coincidence! It''s a letter from the Sword Casting Divine City."


    Zen''s heart skipped a beat. "Harold has already passed the first round of screening with a girl. That girl managed to obtain seventeen swords in the first round," Bill announced.


    "What?"


    Zen exclaimed, his eyes flashing with a brilliant light.


    According to Hallet, Harold must participate in the debate.


    However, this wasn''t an assured thing.


    This piece of news


    ace, this debate held by the Sword Clan was to study the limits of the Godly Ways, decipher Sanskrit words, argue about the meanings of the Godly Ways, and discuss the Truth of Godly Way.


    These were what attracted countless True Gods in participating.


    However, these things were impossible to solve. Not even Holy Beings would be able to do so.


    So what exactly was the true purpose for this event?


    Harold was quiet for a moment but there was a decisive look in his eyes when he opened his mouth again to speak. "You''re right. There is another purpose. The true goal of the Sword Clan is to obtain that skeleton," Harold replied frankly.


    Zen''s eyes flashed. "You mean that skeleton of the powerhouse at the Other Shore Realm?"


    "It seems Hallet already told you about this," Harold remarked appreciatively.


    "It might also be Joy," Zen said but he couldn''t deny the excitement in his eyes. At least what he knew was beyond Harold''s expectations.


    Hearing this, Harold merely shook his head. "Women aren''t interested in these things at all."


    With that, he reached out and cast a faint light curtain over him and Zen. There were just some things that weren''t for other people''s ears, even the Sword Clan''s.


    "What is the identity of that skeleton?" Zen asked.


    Harold pointed to the sky. "The captain of the ship," he said, his finger also dropping and pointing to the ground. "The captain of the entire divine land."

 Chapter 2427 A Fight For Authority

    Back when Zen was in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, Holy Jay told him something interesting.


    According to Holy Jay, the divine land was constantly falling and there would eventually come a day when it would crash.


    Zen knew this but felt that it wasn''t such a danger for him to worry about, so he didn''t think about it that much.


    Harold''s words made him remember what Holy Jay told him and he immediately connected the two things.


    "You compare the divine land to a ship?"


    Harold laughed at Zen''s remark and shook his head. "No, the divine land is a ship by nature, but since it was built, it has traveled through the chaos for countless years. The skeleton used to be the captain of this ship."


    Zen frowned. "If he was the captain, then why did he die? Why did a powerhouse at the Other Shore Realm die?" he asked.


    "It''s true that warriors at the Other Shore Realm are very powerful but they can be killed by another warrior at the same level," Harold answered.


    "In other words, there''s more than one powerhouse at the Other Shore Realm here in the divine land?" Zen asked, his eyes widening in surprise.


    Harold only nodded in response.


    "Then, what''s the point of obtaining the skeleton?" Zen kept his tirade of questions going.


    This time, Harold did not give a direct answer. He first stared at Zen for a moment before speaking. "What exactly are we fighting for with the Dongfang Clan?"


    "I wanted to ask you the same thing," Zen answered with a bit of sass.


    He initially thought that his father had gotten into a feud with Nicholas and offended half of the members of Hall of Holy Beings, thus ending up in such a situation.


    Harold shook his head. "What do you think? Do you have any ideas on why exactly we''re fighting them?"


    Zen shrugged, not knowing how to answer this question.


    "On the surface, we are at an absolute disadvantage," Harold explained. "Holy Jay is not very powerful, Holy Bromley has since disappeared in the chaos, and my master is on the verge of death. Everything seems as if it''s against us, but that''s not really the case."


    Zen remained q


    ul one wasn''t important.


    From this point of view, the Sword Clan''s goal was similar to Holy Jay''s.


    Holy Jay also looked for True Gods with the capacity to save the divine land. Zen didn''t know if he sent any disciples to participate in this debate.


    "You should''ve gone to the Everest Spirit Mountain as arranged, but unfortunately..." Harold trailed off and shook his head. "Anyway, we have to count on Yan in this debate."


    "Is it because I don''t cultivate any Truth of Godly Way?" Zen asked with a smile.


    Harold replied with a nod.


    Zen could only shrug. "Such a pity."


    Soon after, Harold glanced past the enchanted barrier. "Look, Yan has passed."


    Harold then removed the enchanted barrier and walked with Zen towards the exit of the Killing Zone. Zen''s face was obviously lit up with joy at the result.


    The difficulty of the Killing Zone was obvious to all.


    Only two of the ten thousand top-rank True Gods passed the second round of screening. Yan was one of those two.


    She looked a bit tired after going through such an intense battle.


    In fact, there was no joy on her face as she walked out.


    Just like her brother, she didn''t really have much interest in participating in the debate.


    Not long after she came out of the Killing Zone, a thin figure appeared in front of her.


    When she raised her head, light suddenly flashed in her crystal-like eyes in astonishment.

 Chapter 2428 Enoch Nanlong

    Harold had promised Yan time and time again that she''d definitely see Zen in the Non-combat Zone.


    It was no wonder why Yan''s heart was filled with expectation.


    What she hadn''t expected though, was for her brother to appear in front of her in the way he did.


    After having gone through the second round of screening, she was a little tired and unmotivated.


    The second she saw Zen, all the fatigue, dissatisfaction, and worries in her heart had disappeared in an instant.


    Once they went their separate ways in the Central Region, Yan entered the divine land with Harold.


    According to the time flow rate in the universe, Zen had been separated from his sister for several decades now.


    Contrastingly however, according to the time flow rate in the divine land, the two had only been away from one another for a few years.


    It was in fact in these last few years that Yan had finally understood what a secondary creature and a universe meant. She had greatly matured.


    In the universe, a supreme world was even larger than one thousand great worlds combined as one.


    A great world and the Central Region were nothing more than a drop of water in the bucket.


    In this point of view, Yan and her brother could be considered insignificant specks of dust on the drop.


    No matter how insignificant they were, they couldn''t simply be ignored. What happened instead was that they were so tiny that they couldn''t be noticed and were less taken seriously by others at all.


    As soon as Harold took notice of her, Yan was directly brought from the Central Region to the divine land.


    As for her brother, he still resembled the almost invisible dust.


    Despite that, he constantly struggled throughout the universe, steadily becoming stronger and stronger, growing sturdily and barbarously, and experiencing countless trials and tribulations between life and death. Alongside the unimaginable difficulty, he finally stood before her.


    She had waited too long for this day to come true.


    "Whoosh!"


    Yan''s tiptoes tapped together lightly, and her light body slid toward Zen. She threw herself into his arms and snuggled her face into the crook of his shoulder.


    Tears gushed out from the corners of Yan''s eyes, instantly wetting Zen''s robe.


    Yan kept sobbing, but couldn''t manage to utter a single word.


    Zen gently patted her on the head and comforted her in a soft voice, "It isn''t easy for me to come here. You know that. Why are you crying?"


    A


    sfully become a Holy Being and would eventually build a Floating Island above the Time Sea.


    Therefore, standing before Zen and his sister, Enoch felt very confident. Of course, introductions were still mandatory.


    However, Zen and Yan were both estranged here in the divine land.


    This was the first time that Yan had left the Everest Spirit Mountain after entering the divine land. She knew only little about the powerhouses and the forces of the powerful clans on the Floating Islands. Aside from that, she knew nothing about the divine land.


    When Zen had arrived in the divine land, it hadn''t been long since he had gained a superficial understanding of the forces through cursory observation, and he had never heard of the Nanlong Clan. However, as Enoch had said, his father was a Demi-holy Being, and thus, Zen had to show his respect, at the very least.


    "You''re welcome," Zen replied faintly before grasping onto his sister''s arm and dragging Yan away.


    Instead, Yan turned her head and smiled back at Enoch. "Don''t be so stupid next time. That way, you won''t need my help!"


    Enoch stood his ground and stared at Yan''s bright smile.


    As he stood, the two approached a consummate True God.


    ''That consummate True God is probably an elder of their clan. The two of them shouldn''t be from a clan with no mark, '' Enoch thought to himself.


    No matter what, Yan had already successfully passed the second round of screening.


    Her brother was merely a low-rank True God and he therefore wouldn''t join the debate over the Godly Ways.


    Enoch thought he''d still have a chance of meeting with Yan face to face in the debate.

 Chapter 2429 Marsh Sword

    The Sunrest Tree was the largest out of the four divine trees. Standing tall and glorious with its massive trunk, its top was easily as large as a quaint region in the divine land.


    It was so humongous that the Sword Clan managed to build sixteen divine cities around the top of its trunk, a testament to its powerful size.


    The Orchid Sword Divine City, the divine city where Zen participated in the second round of screening, was located on the edge of the tree trunk. He couldn''t help but admire the Sunrest Tree for its otherworldly appearance. He was not a stranger to beautiful, mysterious places, but the Sunrest Tree was arguably one of the most astonishing places he''d been to. It was simply unbelievable.


    Originally, after the screening, Zen should be with Enoch and the other True Gods who had passed, so they could move to the Sword Clan''s ancestral land¡ªthe Heavenly Sword Divine City¡ªtogether to participate in the debate over the Godly Ways, but the plans had changed.


    With the sudden arrival of Harold, both Zen and Yan were permitted to go to the Heavenly Sword Divine City ahead of the other participants, because, as per the rules of the Sword Clan, all the wealthy clans on the Floating Islands were given the permission to send several disciples to join the debate without undergoing the screening process.


    Being fortunate enough as their Floating Island did not fall into the Time Sea, the Luo Clan was still a big clan, so Zen and Yan could join the debate directly.


    Zen soon found himself entering a palace of the Sword Clan. It was a grand and exquisite palace located in the north of the Heavenly Sword Divine City.


    He lifted his gaze and studied the long historic walls with admiration.


    They were filled with a series of breathtaking frescoes he''d never seen before.


    The frescoes showed various pictures of a True God wielding his sword in refined but mysterious ways. Each image was different than the last, and Zen found himself immensely absorbed in studying every intricate detail he could lay his eyes on.


    "This kind of swordsmanship is powerful and daunting in the divine land. But here, in this place, it''s just a mural?"


    Zen mumbled with a sigh, unable to pry his eyes away.


    Yan sat on the steps nearby, her hands supporting her head, as she stared at her brother, who was still lost in his own world.


    Meanwhile, Harold, who was standing behind Zen, said in a flat voice, "The Sword Clan is called the Sword Clan because their style of swordsmanship is unique. They have spent a lot of time and effort practicing sword skills, and no one else has ever managed to challenge them since. It''s a pity that they are still too pedantic, though." He couldn''t help but shake his head at the thought.


    Zen blinked, turning to him. "Pedantic? What do you mean?" he asked, curious.


    With a faint smile on his face, Harold answered, "The Sword Clan requires its members to be merciful. They even have the Theory on Moral Spirit to back that up. See, they are


    shock, looking on at Marsh Sword with rounded eyes.


    Puff!


    After a split second, Yan''s eyes shone just as a white mist began to leak out of her.


    Wisps of air formed and went around her body like a protective shell.


    Then an invisible aura spread out of her, extending outward into the hall.


    "The Truth of Godly Way?"


    Zen had a startling realization when he felt and noticed the aura coming out of his sister.


    This was not an attack meant to harm Yan. Instead, Marsh Sword was using this battle to gauge and test Yan''s Truth of Godly Way.


    If he would be honest, he himself had no inkling as to what kind of Truth of Godly Way his sister had cultivated.


    Fortunately, he was very proficient in the Truth of Cultivation Nature, so he focused on Yan to feel and distinguish her Truth of Godly Way.


    As he tried to get a read on her power, he came to an understanding that his sister had also mastered the Truth of Godly Way to a much deeper level.


    One step, two steps, three steps...


    With each passing second, Marsh Sword was getting closer and closer, his blade glinting in the air.


    Swoosh!


    While he was still a good distance away from Yan, everyone in the hall heard the sound of cloth tearing apart. A sound so distinctive and loud despite the commotion.


    There was no physical contact made, and yet it felt as if he managed to pierce through Yan''s aura.


    Despite the brunt of his force, Yan remained collected and closed her eyes. She cast her head low and recited something in her head.


    As she finished the words in silence, her aura intensified and became more aggressive, effectively slowing down Marsh Sword''s advances.


    In the end, the tip of his sword stopped inches from her forehead. Sensing that the fight had concluded, Marsh Sword then stepped backward, setting his weapon aside. The blade disappeared in the blink of an eye.


    He nodded and looked at Harold, saying, "She is not bad, I''d admit, but she hasn''t reached the level that you have promised."

 Chapter 2430 Truth Of Goodwill And Malice

    As if he had expected how Marsh would react, Harold let out a long sigh. "She wasn''t the one we planned on sending to join the debate over the Godly Ways. Now she is our only choice, though."


    Marsh smiled bitterly and looked over at Zen. "He should be the original one, right?"


    "Yes, that''s right!" Harold replied with a single nod.


    Marsh took a moment to look Zen up and down.


    Zen had left a deep impression on Marsh back at the Astronomical Transit Day celebration.


    He could tell that Nicholas had really wanted to accept Zen as his personal disciple before Zen''s true identity had been revealed. Things changed greatly when that was announced.


    It came down to the fact that Zen was Mike''s son. Mike and Nicholas were deadly enemies.


    Of course, at that time, Marsh was terribly shocked to discover Zen''s identity too.


    "If it were him, I''m afraid the odds would''ve been higher now. But as it stands, we have no other choice but to do as you say." A look of regret appeared on Marsh''s face.


    "With all due respect, may I ask you something?" Zen suddenly asked, without warning.


    "Please, go ahead." Marsh accepted as he nodded his head.


    "Why have no consummate True Gods joined in the debate? And what about Demi-holy Beings and Holy Beings? Can''t you acquire the heritage on your own?" Zen asked.


    Upon hearing Zen speak, both Marsh and Harold shook their heads with a bitter expression on their faces.


    It was then that Marsh explained, "The debate is only popular among the True Gods from the grassroots in the divine land. Our ultimate goal is to obtain the skeleton''s inheritance as well as the ability to control the entire divine land."


    The Sword Clan was the first to know the skeleton''s secret in the divine land.


    It wasn''t long after this clan had occupied the Sunrest Tree that they discovered its absolute uniqueness.


    It was a rule to all that nobody was allowed to attack in the area where the Sunrest Tree was located¡ªotherwise known as the Non-combat Zone.


    If one were to peel the surface of the tree and go inside, a totally opposing area could be found. This area was known as the Sword Clan''s Killing Zone.


    In fact, the so-called Non-combat Zone and Killing Zone each spread outside their respective areas.


    The Truth of Godly Way that emitted from the skeleton was the Truth of Goodwill and Malice.


    One could be blessed with goodwill at any moment.


    And in the next, they could be rained on in malice.


    It was said that both goodwill and malice were based on nothing more than a single thought. It w


    imself but interrupt, "It seems that the biggest conflict between my father and Nicholas was caused by this, right?"


    "Yes, or at least, this is one of the reasons," said Harold, nodding his head.


    "Since you''ve found the skeleton, then why didn''t you just take it away?" Zen asked, confused.


    A wry smile appeared on Marsh''s face. "It''s the skeleton of a warrior at the Other Shore Realm. Do you think it''ll be just as easy to collect it? It is still unknown how this warrior at the Other Shore Realm died in the Sunrest Tree. What we know for sure though, is that he had a set of powerful restrictions within it. Even a Holy Being is as weak as an ant in front of such powerful restrictions. I speak from experience¡ªI died because of the restrictions."


    "What?! No way? You died?" Zen felt immediately stunned with surprise. "Aren''t Holy Beings immortal?"


    "You''re right, we are. If the universe in the body is still present, then the Holy Being won''t die. I wouldn''t be here standing in front of you and talking to you had I died completely," said Marsh with a sarcastic smile. "When I died, I was only half dead. Just like your father, Mike. Thanks to the existence of the universe I created, I was capable of coming back to life."


    "Since such a set of powerful restrictions are present and even a Holy Being would be killed, wouldn''t ordinary True Gods be courting death if they entered such an area?" Zen asked again.


    With a faint smile, Harold waved his hand at Zen and shook his head. "In fact, now that''s where you''re wrong. It''s not that we''re going to take away the skeleton''s inheritance. To the contrary, it''s the skeleton who is looking for the person suitable for its inheritance."

 Chapter 2431 Preparations

    The Sword Clan had occupied the Sunrest Tree but they didn''t know the existence of the skeleton.


    It would take them a long time to explore the Sunrest Tree to find the skeleton at the bottom.


    Who knew how long it would take? Maybe ten or ten thousand divine eras or maybe they would never find it!


    The True Gods and Holy Beings had ridden themselves of the shackles of time and become eternal creatures, but if the divine land was destroyed, all eternal beings would probably vanish in an instant!


    A giant, intimidating worm suddenly emerged from the Sunrest Tree and was killed by the Holy Beings. It was very puzzling.


    But by decoding the Sanskrit words, Mike and Holy Jay soon unraveled the mystery.


    The giant worm was designed to allow the Sword Clan, living on the Sunrest Tree, to discover the existence of the skeleton.


    When they figured out the intention of the skeleton, they learned that the inheritor whom the skeleton was looking for could only be a True God.


    Moreover, this True God must have an extraordinary ability to comprehend the Truth of Godly Way.


    However, the races in the divine land did not understand the Truth of Godly Way too well.


    The Sword Clan thought it about long and hard before they began to hold debates over the Godly Ways.


    They had to find a way to test the True Gods'' comprehension of the Truth of Godly Way.


    The only way for them to test the sagacious perception of the True Gods was by using the Truth Spiritual Swords. This test was actually a last-ditch attempt.


    "It''s a pity that the Sword Clan has wasted so much time." Harold''s tone was slightly accusatory.


    After all, a divine era lasted quite long.


    Although the Sword Clan claimed to hold the debates over the Godly Ways over the divine eras, they had selfish motives for the inheritance of the skeleton.


    They didn''t want an outsider to obtain the inheritance of the skeleton.


    However, the members of the Sword Clan had tried their luck countless times. None of their True Gods was qualified to obtain the inheritance of the skeleton.


    The members of the Sword Clan still did what they wanted until the last debate.


    On the surface of it, all of the True Gods in the divine lands could participate in the debate over the Godly Ways, and the Sword Clan welcomed all sorts of talents from various


    arry the heavy load on her shoulders.


    After Yan inquired about her nephew, her interest was quickly diverted to her sisters-in-law.


    "Zen, how many sisters-in-law do I have now?"


    "And which one do you like best?"


    "Oh, wait, which one do you think is the prettiest?"


    "Well... Am I prettier than them?"


    Yan''s bombardment of questions made Zen see stars. He didn''t know how to answer them all.


    By the time Zen answered her questions briefly, other members of the Sword Clan came.


    Many True Gods had gathered in the main hall located in the center of the Heavenly Sword Divine City.


    Elites from various powerful clans and the selected top-rank True Gods of humble birth all gathered here.


    There was a buzz in the air. Most of the top-rank True Gods showed a hint of excitement.


    Zen and Yan also stepped into this spacious main hall led by Harold.


    The moment this trio entered, many eyes turned to them. The noise level in the hall suddenly went down.


    A majority of the True Gods in this hall knew too much about Harold. Of course, they had also heard a lot about Zen.


    Enoch and some top-rank True Gods were engaged in an excited conversation at one end of the hall but when he saw Yan, his eyes lit up. "Look! That''s the extraordinary girl I''m talking about! I don''t know which first-tier clan she''s from. If it weren''t for her, I probably wouldn''t be able to pass the second round of screening. I''ll go and say hello to her. Haha!"


    Enoch didn''t sense the change in the atmosphere in the hall and walked straight to Yan.

 Chapter 2432 Bickering

    The seats of all the True Gods in the hall were already pre-arranged.


    The Holy Beings of other wealthy clans on the Floating Islands weren''t welcome in the Sunrest Tree Region.


    So those who sent the elite disciples to join the debate over the Godly Ways were all consummate True Gods of wealthy clans.


    All the warriors gathered on the stairs of the hall were the disciples of wealthy clans¡ªthey were made up of about two hundred top-rank True Gods and even some consummate True Gods.


    Over a hundred top-rank True Gods with humble backgrounds stood at the foot of the stairs.


    Majority of the hundred top-rank True Gods came from the first-tier clans, many of which had consummate True Gods and Demi-holy Beings¡ªthey were also powerful forces in the divine land.


    But in the eyes of the Floating Islands'' disciples, they were merely warriors from grassroots.


    "Nice to meet you two again!" Enoch greeted Zen and Yan with a hearty smile.


    Zen returned his greeting with a nod while his eyes were fixed on the stairs.


    There were too many familiar faces there.


    Troy, Rachelle, Alfredo¡­


    When Enoch noticed where Zen''s gaze was, he assumed Zen was ready to run up the stairs so he quickly said, "Our seats are at the foot of the stairs. The seats on the stairs are for disciples from the Floating Islands. We¡ª"


    But before he could finish his sentence, a clear, sharp voice resounded in their ears.


    "Wow! Guess who''s here? He''s been hiding away for two years. Tell me, why didn''t you just hide for a lifetime like a coward?"


    It was Rachelle speaking, clad in a light red dress. As a consummate True God, she couldn''t participate in the debate. But she still came over through the Floating Island.


    Although in that dress, she didn''t seem as valiant and heroic as she used to be, it made her look more feminine.


    But the top-rank True Gods in the hall more or less knew of her short temper. They took quick, discreet glances at her before averting their eyes.


    After three people entered the hall, they didn''t expect Rachelle to scold one of them coldly right off the bat. They all wondered who had the nerve to provoke the Mu Clan and its consummate True God.


    Even Enoch was shocked when he turned around and saw Rachelle walking gracefully down the stairs.


    Though he didn''t know Rachelle personally, he had


    eated, you say?" Harold sneered. "How many times have you lost to me? I''ve lost count. Do you remember?"


    The look in Rachelle''s eyes darkened at his words. She seemed to have remembered something before she returned the sneer. "Then I hope you can succeed this time." With the last word, she turned around and went back to her seat.


    On the stairs, the top-rank True Gods from the Floating Islands, including the Mu Clan, the Dongfang Clan, the Tang Clan, and the Fang Clan, all cast hostile glares at Zen, Yan, and Harold.


    Yan followed Zen quietly.


    She was no longer the ignorant girl she used to be. She knew that her brother had almost died at the hands of this woman and that the latter must have already made adequate preparations. Yan knew not to underestimate her.


    Harold led Zen and Yan to the stairs where they seated themselves on spots belonging to the Luo Clan. Yan leaned over and whispered, "Zen, I''m afraid they will aim at you during the debate over the Godly Ways."


    To that, Zen only nodded and smiled. "Of course they will."


    It wasn''t the first time he had been targeted, after all. He was used to it.


    "I will protect you, Zen," Yan said seriously. "Now that I am strong enough, you can follow me into the Killing Zone. If anyone dares to hurt you, I will kill them all."


    Her expression was stern and unmoving.


    When Zen saw the serious expression on Yan''s fair and gentle face, his heart ached for her. If he had a choice, he would rather let Yan live quietly in the fairy palace instead of fighting alongside him.

 Chapter 2433 Duke Dongfang

    Since Zen entered the hall, the atmosphere seemed to fall quiet.


    Most of the top-rank True Gods in the hall had taken part in the debates over the Godly Ways before and didn''t seem to find any particular difference in this debate.


    But some of those in the know had guessed something had changed when Harold appeared.


    Perhaps this debate truly differed from the rest.


    The subtle atmosphere dragged on for a while until Marsh led the members of the Sword Clan into the hall.


    Wearing a faint smile, he entered the hall and let his gaze fall on Troy.


    "I''m sorry," he said. "This time, the seats our Sword Clan can give the Floating Islands have been reduced to half."


    "What?"


    The top-rank True Gods were dumbfounded.


    The expressions of the consummate True Gods suddenly changed as well.


    A particularly sharp glint flashed in Troy''s eyes as though he was trying to see into Marsh''s mind.


    "According to our arrangement, the Sword Clan has always given each Floating Island six seats to take part in the debate. Why did you reduce the seats by half this time?" Troy''s tone was cold.


    Because he was a calm and thorough man, he wouldn''t utter words that could wage war against Zen and Harold as Rachelle did in her rage. All he wanted to do was get to the bottom of it.


    He was well aware of what this debate meant, after all.


    In this situation, if the Dongfang Clan couldn''t get what they wanted, neither could Harold.


    So naturally, the top-rank True Gods he brought along were the most powerful in his clan.


    The goal of these top-rank True Gods wasn''t to obtain the inheritance of the skeleton but to eliminate all the candidates who could possibly do so.


    Certainly, Zen was one of them.


    Marsh grinned as he glanced at Troy. "Are you kidding me? When did our clan make such an arrangement with you? How about the Tang Clan? Or the Mu Clan?"


    Marsh was asking more aggressively now, rendering the consummate True Gods speechless.


    Indeed, the Sword Clan hadn''t made any such agreement with the powerful clans on the Floating Islands.


    All the True Gods in the divine land had the qualifications to participate


    ly reasonable¡ªsince Marsh didn''t prepare enough flying swords, the extra True Gods couldn''t go.


    Seeing what Marsh had done, Troy became clear that Marsh had long been scheming with Harold.


    "Duke!" Troy shouted all of a sudden.


    A man in front of him, about thirty years old with gray hair, turned to him.


    He was Duke Dongfang, Troy''s younger brother.


    But Nicholas had picked him out in particular.


    It was only natural¡ªDuke was an outstanding top-rank True God.


    It could be said that below the consummate True Gods, Duke was ranked first.


    His goal was to kill all those brought in by Harold.


    And to be exact, these people meant Yan and Zen.


    Troy didn''t know for sure who was to get the inheritance of the skeleton under Harold''s arrangement, so in this case, it was safer to kill them both.


    Whether or not Duke could kill Zen and Yan in the end, he would end up dead.


    This was perhaps the last time Troy could ever see his brother.


    "Don''t worry." Duke''s eyes quietly swept over Zen and his sister. No contempt laced his eyes as he firmly stepped on a flying sword.


    When all the True Gods stood on their swords, Marsh stepped on one himself and shot forward. "Follow me!"


    "Swish! Swish! Swish!"


    Zen and the others stood on the swords as well as they spiraled upward, flying out of the Heavenly Sword Divine City behind Marsh.


    As soon as Zen and Yan flew off, Harold turned around and left.

 Chapter 2434 The Rotten Odor

    The Sunrest Tree''s trunk was too wide that it almost blocked everyone''s view.


    When they looked at it, they couldn''t see where it ended. After a while, the crowd moved on the flying swords as if they were flying over an ordinary plain.


    The only difference was that the ground below was not a prairie, nor a desert, but the greyish-brown surface of the Sunrest Tree.


    Although the Heavenly Sword Divine City was the core city of the Sword Clan, it was not located in the center of the Sunrest Tree, but rather in the northern part.


    Everyone had been moving south for a while now. About twenty five minutes later, they came across a large crack.


    It was just a single crack in the entirety of the Sunrest Tree, but it looked more like a huge canyon.


    Marsh slightly adjusted the direction of his long sword and flew along the crack.


    The other True Gods followed suit and trailed closely behind him.


    The crack became increasingly wider as they advanced forward and more cracks appeared.


    The cracks crossed one another and eventually formed one large gap. Suddenly, something clicked in Zen''s brain.


    It seemed that the gap was like a "wound" on the Sunrest Tree. Did it came from that giant worm?


    The gap was hundreds of miles wide. Even if all of them stood on the flying swords as they looked down, they couldn''t see the bottom.


    Marsh stopped in the middle of the gap after a few minutes. What he said next proved Zen''s guess.


    "We''ve arrived at our destination. I can only send you until here. Next, you will enter a big hole with a height of 300 million feet. It will be dangerous if you walk forward all the way. Those who want to give up now can go back!" he announced flatly.


    None of the True Gods on the flying swords said anything. Only the whistles of the wind were heard.


    No one would give up at this stage.


    On one side of the group was Yan, who stood upright on her flying sword, looking too excited.


    On the other hand, Duke and the top-rank True Gods from the rich and powerful clans such as the Mu Clan, the Tang Clan and the Fang Clan, all cast mischievous look at Zen and Yan.


    "All of you can start now," Marsh said. Then he looked at Yan and Zen through the crowd and whispered with a smile, "Good luck to you."


    "Whoosh, whoosh..."


    "Whoosh, whoosh..."


    One by one, the flying swords circled around and swooped downwards into


    ords and slowly rotated downwards, as they simultaneously spread out their own soul power and carefully observed their surroundings.


    If they had been in great danger in the Killing Zone that was located near the surface of the Sunrest Tree, then it was even more perilous now that they were at the Sunrest Tree''s core.


    There was nothing but silence in the dark space.


    Not even air existed inside it.


    Suddenly, a loud voice cut through the quiet air.


    "Look, a giant worm!" one of them exclaimed and pointed to the wall.


    There in front of them was a huge, grotesque worm!


    It had a very large and long body that extended until who knew where.


    The straight cave was already quite wide, but the huge worm''s fat and swollen appendage almost took up half the cave''s space.


    "This giant worm is sleeping," whispered a True God. "Don''t worry. This kind of giant worm has never woken up.


    They are growing, but also perishing in their deep sleep," another True God chimed in.


    However, they came across another giant worm after a short while.


    Then, more and more giant worms appeared as they moved downwards.


    Thirty thousand feet...


    One hundred thousand feet...


    Five hundred thousand feet...


    Rows upon rows of giant worms slept soundly. They wondered how many giant worms were asleep in the vertical tree cave, which looked more like an abyss.


    A pungent, rotten odor assaulted their noses as soon as they descended to seven hundred thousand feet.


    Although they didn''t know where the smell came from, they had a faint feeling that something was wrong.

 Chapter 2435 Fanged Cicadas

    The deeper they dove in, the stronger the stinky smell got.


    Yan looked around with vigilance. "Brother, it''s dangerous below. You should slow down," she reminded Zen in a low voice.


    With that, she gently tapped with her tiptoes and moved her sword downwards.


    By doing so, she could quickly block and defend Zen if any danger arose suddenly.


    Zen, however, looked speechless at Yan''s actions. Was he that weak in his sister''s eyes?


    After they descended for another five thousand feet, they finally found the source of the rotten smell.


    "Oh my God! It''s a dead giant worm!"


    "It''s rotting, so that''s where the smell came from!"


    Those giant worms had a green colored body and they normally looked like cabbageworms, only tens of millions of times larger.


    The dead giant worm in front of them, however, had turned greyish-brown. Its hard shell was severely damaged and was covered with numerous holes of various sizes.


    "How did this giant worm die?" some of them asked curiously.


    "Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"


    At that moment, their musings were interrupted by a swishing sound that came from above them.


    It turned out to be the members of the Sword Clan that came at a later time.


    As their leader, Reinhard, arrived, he looked around until his gaze rested on Zen and Yan. His lips curved into a faint smile and nodded at Zen.


    Zen didn''t know about Marsh''s plan, but he knew that the Sword Clan had decided to cooperate with Harold this time, so he nodded in response.


    "This is a larva of its kind. They usually take dozens of divine eras to mature, and they never move while they''re still larvae," Reinhard explained as he eyed the dead worm with a frown. He added, "This larva¡­ It wasn''t able to resist the other creatures that must''ve paralyzed it.


    Some of its flesh and blood had been eaten, and its body began to rot after it died..." "What creatures?" a True God asked warily.


    "Fanged Cicadas," Reinhard replied in a calm voice.


    "Cicadas? Aren''t all cicadas very noisy? Can''t the Fanged Cicadas make any noise?" another True God asked. Generally speaking, most species of cicadas in the divine land were quite strong.


    Their most lasting impression on people, however, were their noisy sounds.


    It was especially true for the type of cicadas whose


    become a headless corpse like the old man.


    The Fanged Cicadas, however, moved so fast that they barely had time to react. Even though the giant worm was still a larva, it was tens of thousands or even millions of feet long. It was too dangerous to continue downward!


    A frown made its way to Reinhard''s face as well.


    He knew he had to be more careful about Duke. Since Duke was a top-rank True God from the Dongfang Clan, the True Gods of the other large clans on the Floating Islands might obey his words without question. Duke had moved so fast just now that Reinhard was even wary of his strength.


    At that point, everyone heard another light explosive sound.


    Almost all of the top-rank True Gods breathed quickly at the same time. Everyone''s nerves were on edge.


    Phew!


    Another beam of jet black light flashed in the air!


    Swish!


    This time, Reinhard had seen it clearly.


    He already launched an attack while the black light was still in the air.


    He slashed with his sword so fast that his movements looked almost blurry.


    A sword slash had three steps: unsheathing the sword, slashing the sword, and then returning the sword to the sheath.


    When Reinhard did it, it was so fluid that all three steps looked like only one step.


    The rest of them heard a crisp sound as soon as he returned his sword to its sheath. He had cut the black light in the air into two with his sword.


    When Duke, who was still holding the old man''s head, saw Reinhard''s sword slash, his eyes were filled with caution.

 Chapter 2436 Annihilate

    Reinhard''s sword strike was way too fast.


    Not even a top-rank True God would''ve been able to avoid it.


    "These Fanged Cicadas aren''t very scary. So long as they don''t get into our heads, then we''ll be fine," Reinhard said. "Everyone! Follow me."


    With that, he lightly stomped on the sword under his feet and shot down vertically.


    Reinhard''s orders from Marsh were to protect Zen and his sister, but to him, if these two siblings couldn''t manage to get through here, then protecting them wasn''t going to be of any use.


    The dangers they would face were grave, and there was no way they''d be able to approach the skeleton if they were too weak.


    To him, it was better for them to pin their hopes on the members of their own clan.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    The remaining eleven disciples of the Sword Clan followed Reinhard and also swooped down.


    Enoch and the other top-rank True Gods saw Reinhard courageously wielding his sword. The sight painted a very reliable and valiant image of Reinhard in their hearts, and they naturally followed after him, confident that he would be able to protect all of them.


    Yan had a smile on her face, seemingly unaffected by Reinhard''s attack. "Let''s go, Zen," she told her brother. "Just hide behind me no matter what happens."


    Zen could only smile back and follow his sister down.


    As they fell, their speed also increased. Some even opted to kick the flying swords under their feet away and just delved into the free-fall.


    The Fanged Cicadas lurked in the larva''s body. Whenever a creature passed by, a black blur would suddenly jump out which turned out to be a Fanged Cicada.


    Reinhard was in the front. He held his scabbard with one hand and the hilt of his sword in the other.


    Crack!


    There were numerous cracking noises as the larva''s skin crumpled.


    Reinhard lightly moved his right hand and let out a sharp sword light that immediately cut the cicada in half.


    There weren''t that many Fanged Cicadas in the beginning. One or two would come out every thousand feet or so.


    However, as they went farther down, more and more Fanged Cicadas shot out of the larva''s body. Reinhard''s sword wielding got even faster in order to keep up. A f


    h! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Each Fanged Cicada was a deadly killer.


    A swarm merely looked like a collection of thousands of black lines that swiftly charged towards them.


    "Watch out!"


    Crack!


    The top-rank True God who shouted to warn the others was the first to fall as a small hole appeared in his forehead.


    Boom!


    His elixir field flashed blue before his entire body burst into a huge fireball.


    Unfortunately, nobody could afford to pay any attention to this top-rank True God.


    It was every man for himself in the utter chaos and all the True Gods could only watch out for their own backs as they dived down.


    The purple light in Yan''s eyes grew brighter. As a top-rank True God, she had the ability to fly and had no need for the flying sword. She quickly kicked it under her feet and grabbed Zen''s hand.


    "They are coming!"


    In an instant, sixty to seventy streaks of black light appeared not too far away from them.


    Zen was very much ready to fight against these Fanged Cicadas.


    These creatures were fast but it wouldn''t be terribly difficult to kill them.


    He never expected that his sister would only need to utter a single word to deal with all of them.


    "Annihilate!"


    Then, something strange happened.


    Just as she spoke, the Fanged Cicadas heading towards them all fell to the ground, as if they had suddenly died in mid-air.


    While this happened, Zen did not feel even the slightest fluctuation of energy.

 Chapter 2437 Entangled In The Whirlpools

    "Does this theurgy allow one to launch an attack by merely speaking?"


    Zen asked, astonishment written all over his face.


    He was aware of Yan possessing a Purple Power Body.


    However, he didn''t know much regarding what skills she practiced.


    When he asked Yan about this, she simply hummed and avoided giving him any definite reply.


    She had been extremely vague with her answers, even when Zen asked her about their mother.


    It seemed he couldn''t see through his sister anymore.


    When Yan launched her attack by speaking, Zen expected some energy fluctuation. However, there was none at all.


    For example, when one practiced the Great Dominance Technique, it was possible to activate it just by speaking. However, this could only be done through a special method of mixing the Godly Way and mental attacks. It was still a certain kind of mental attack.


    Yan''s method was formidable. Her word was ''annihilate'' and it had been enough to cause all these Fanged Cicadas to immediately drop dead.


    Zen could only look at his sister''s back, lost in his thoughts.


    "Boom!"


    "Bang!"


    Nobody else noticed what Yan had just done, except Zen of course.


    The entire situation was just too chaotic.


    More and more top-rank True Gods fell prey to the Fanged Cicadas and were exploding left and right.


    The explosions were also a hazard to the other nearby True Gods. Once injured, they were immediately the next target for the Fanged Cicadas.


    However, those who died were the top-rank True Gods of the first-tier clans.


    All the rich and powerful clans on the Floating Islands had prepared their disciples extensively for this competition.


    Thus, in the face of such a sudden crisis, they naturally had a couple of tricks up their sleeves.


    Duke, for one, summoned a group of palm-sized birds from his chest.


    These birds flew all around him. Any Fanged Cicada that ventured too close would get swallowed up by the birds.


    Meanwhile, the three top-rank True Gods of the Bai Clan were arranged in a triangle, surrounded by sharp rays of light.


    T


    ls continued to appear around everyone.


    The previously innumerable Fanged Cicadas started to dwindle as they were sucked in.


    The sight of these miraculous whirlpools caught the top-rank True Gods in surprise. They absolutely had no idea where these came from!


    "It''s her!"


    "It''s the woman below!"


    They all exclaimed, pointing at Yan.


    There was no evidence of energy fluctuation around her, but they were able to confirm that it was her that created these whirlpools.


    "This woman... Wow, she''s so powerful. She''s already saved me five times!"


    Enoch announced. He had been quite frightened before but was now very excited at Yan''s appearance.


    "You..."


    Reinhard looked at Yan with a complicated expression on his face.


    He didn''t believe her theurgy was powerful but it was extremely unbelievable.


    It was only then that he finally understood. The Sword Clan must have thought it through before assigning the task of inheritance to Zen and Yan. Marsh wasn''t a fool after all.


    The strength of these two was absolutely beyond his imagination.


    As they descended, more and more whirlpools appeared. They did not kill the Fanged Cicadas but still rendered the creatures immobile.


    This lasted for five minutes more.


    After this time, they finally saw the rotten worm''s tail, which meant that they finally got rid of all those damned Fanged Cicadas.

 Chapter 2438 Sunrest Wood Spring

    All the top-rank True Gods began to slow down as they fell.


    Enoch and the other top-rank True Gods breathed a collective sigh of relief.


    They had really been out of luck this time and hadn''t expected to face such a crisis when they had just entered the cave at the center of Sunrest Wood.


    "I really narrowly escaped death!"


    "I was so close to death. One of the Fanged Cicadas scratched my forehead."


    "How many people have died?"


    The top-rank True Gods all looked relieved.


    "There were forty-seven explosions in all. Including the one whose head was tore off by Duke, a total of forty-eight people have died," a top-rank True God said calmly.


    Not all top-rank True Gods were panicking.


    Some of them had gone through some unimaginable trials and tribulations. They were indifferent to questions of life and death, and had even taken the time to memorize these matters, despite how dangerous the situation was.


    Zen glanced at the top-rank True God, surprised that he had counted the number of the people who had died.


    Forty-eight people had indeed died, including forty-three disciples of the first-tier clans and five belonging to the rich clans on the Floating Islands.


    This top-rank True God was very thin, inconspicuous in his appearance and eyes brimming with a radiant vigor. Zen didn''t know which clan he belonged to and hadn''t noticed him before.


    Reinhard turned his sword and in a matter of mere moments, turned into a ray of white light. He then came up to Yan and bowed to her. "Thank you. If it weren''t for you, more people would have died."


    Reinhard was certain that


    Yan was the most important person in the Luo Clan.


    According to Reinhard''s estimation, if Yan didn''t make a move, at least half the members of the Sword Clan would die when faced with so many Fanged Cicadas attacking. Even Reinhard might die!


    All of them relied on Yan''s protection when they passed through the section of the road that had the largest number of Fanged Cicadas.


    "You''re welcome," Yan replied rather indifferently.


    Reinhard didn''t care about Yan''s attitude. Marsh had chosen them and the twelve top-rank True Gods of the Sword Clan had made up their minds to be death warriors.


    He turned around and said to the remaining ten disciples of the Sword Clan through his life vitality, "The next t


    n were to try to stop those excited True Gods, it would lead to an immediate dispute.


    In a flash, Zen moved so that he was standing at the edge of a platform.


    Zen had seen the Sunrest Wood Spring before.


    In the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, Holy Drew had used a pot of Sunrest Wood Spring to forge his body.


    Zen was unable to move at the time, but he could see that Holy Drew was obviously unwilling to use the Sunrest Wood Spring.


    The Sunrest Wood Spring was very valuable to Holy Drew. He knew that it must cost a fortune.


    After Zen had broken through and become a low-rank True God, his cultivation base had stopped increasing.


    The other True Gods had begun to expand their inner worlds after forming the Godly Tiles.


    Simultaneously, the clouds were transformed from the life vitality sea in the inner world and gathered into the Godly Tiles throughout the day and night. As long as one kept making breakthroughs in the Godly Way, it would be natural for them to create a Godly Tile of a mid-rank True God.


    But things always became complicated when it came to Zen.


    The chaotic energy could not be gathered into the Godly Tile.


    He wondered if he had to look for the brown mud as he continued to advance.


    Now, he even couldn''t figure out the use of the divine might coin.


    He had heard that it could greatly benefit the creatures in the inner world if one drank the Sunrest Wood Spring directly. So he would try it too.


    But as he stood up, a harsh voice sounded around him. "Get away from here! This is my place!"

 Chapter 2439 Being Cold Blooded

    Over twenty platforms, all of different sizes, filled the Sunrest Wood Spring.


    Zen reacted almost instantly. As soon as he had alighted, he landed on one of the largest of the platforms. Naturally, this attracted the attention of the others present.


    Only one of them spoke, however. It was Brendan Tang, a top-rank True God of the Tang Clan.


    He was intimidating to behold. Standing over 2.5 meters tall and with skin of deep bronze, he was in the top thirty among the top-rank True Gods in the Arena of Legends. His strength could not be overstated.


    The Tang Clan, including the branch of the clan Brendan Tang belonged to, was famous for their mastery of weapon refining.


    Thus, he valued the Sunrest Wood Spring even more than the other True Gods did.


    Brendan Tang was a little slow to react, however. As he saw these guys starting to occupy the platforms, he began feeling anxious.


    When his eyes swept the platforms, he realized that Zen was standing on the biggest one, and he was overwhelmed with outrage.


    "What a fool!"


    Seeing that Brendan Tang was about to give Zen a hard time, Duke swore quietly in his mind.


    Before the debate over the Godly Ways, those consummate True Gods of the alliance of wealthy clans, and the True Gods that accompanied them, had conspired together.


    And they had concluded that it was not the time to make a move yet.


    Even though the Dongfang Clan was the leader of the union of wealthy clans, Duke himself was just a top-rank True God.


    Donne Tang and Gage Tang from the Tang Clan were doing fine.


    An impulsive man like Brendan Tang, however, would probably not want to join Duke.


    "Your place?"


    Zen glanced at Brendan Tang with total indifference.


    Yan, who had been hovering just behind Zen, quietly leaned against his shoulder. A trace of ridicule appeared on her face as she sneered, "You asked Zen to get away? Do you want to flirt with death?"


    Brendan Tang''s face darkened at her words. Although Yan had displayed her use of a special method, and had been successful at trapping all the Fanged Cicadas, he couldn''t quite gauge her real strength. In fact, he might not have to be afraid of her and Zen!


    But he was not confident enough to fight the two alone.


    He raised his head and shouted, "Gage Tang, Do


    head and the body were allowed to stay separated for too long, the physical body and the inner world would be affected.


    "No need to save him," Yan said gently, her expression cold. She pointed at Brendan Tang''s head.


    "Kill," she uttered, her voice calm and quiet.


    As she spoke, Brendan Tang''s face suddenly lost all vitality, his eyes still wide open and filled with fear.


    All the life energy vanished at once. He was dead.


    "What?"


    "You!"


    Both Gage Tang and Donne Tang had fallen into a panic.


    Reinhard, who stood by with the crowd, looked on with incredulity, still reeling from witnessing Yan make her lethal move.


    With only two words, Yan had killed a top-rank True God. Not only was this girl too powerful, she had no reservations about using her powers, and did so ruthlessly.


    Duke, not far away, remained calm. The faces of other clans'' True Gods darkened. They knew they could not complete their task with Yan present. She was too strong.


    Yan''s face was calm.


    However, there was coldness in her eyes flashing purple light.


    She slowly sat down on the edge of the platform and looked at the True Gods present. "No matter what your goal is, if you provoke Zen, you will come to the same end as this guy," she said nonchalantly.


    Enoch stared at Yan, and his heart sank.


    The girl had looked gentle and adorable. He hadn''t expected that she would be so ruthless and cold blooded when someone provoked her or Zen.


    Even Zen himself did not expect Yan''s reaction to be so intense.

 Chapter 2440 A Slight Change

    Yan could be considered a cold and powerful goddess that dominated both life and death.


    As she sat next to Zen however, her fingers trembled, just enough for Zen to take notice.


    Upon perceiving this trivial detail, Zen smiled and whispered through his chaotic energy, "Yan, if you''re a little nervous, don''t force yourself. I can handle it on my own."


    Yan hadn''t experienced too much slaughter in her lifetime; at least, not yet. This was probably her first experience of killing a True God and therefore, it was only inevitable that she felt a little uncomfortable.


    It was perhaps because of Harold''s teachings that Yan had behaved in such a way.


    All in all, it was clearly really hard for her.


    "I''m not nervous at all," Yan replied in a matter-of-fact tone, equally through her life vitality. "Zen, you''d better absorb the Sunrest Wood Spring. I don''t need it."


    As he looked at her serious expression, Zen smiled.


    He immediately put his hands directly into the cool spring.


    The Sunrest Wood Spring was the Sunrest Tree''s essence, which was so powerful that it could literally melt anything it came into contact with.


    As soon as Zen immersed his hands into it, the green liquid automatically began gathering around his fingers, palms and wrists.


    Visibly, the Sunrest Wood Spring on the platform was gradually being absorbed by Zen.


    Zen didn''t spread the spring into his body however, but placed it instead into his cinnabar field along the meridians.


    Duke, on his behalf, occupied a different platform.


    On the edge of the platform stood two other top-rank True Gods from the Dongfang Clan.


    One of them was named Gino Dongfang, and the other, Wesley Dongfang.


    This time, the three True Gods of the Dongfang Clan were very carefully hand-selected by Troy.


    "Duke, the Sunrest Wood Spring..." murmured Wesley, a young teenage warrior standing beside him.


    "Don''t leave it to me. You can absorb it by yourselves." Duke shook his head as he replied. He didn''t care about the Sunrest Wood Spring in the least.


    As he looked over at Yan, Duke felt very preoccupied. Gino, through his life vitality, secretly asked, "Duke, are you still worried about Yan? What kind of strength was she using? It doesn''t seem to be any Godly Way, and even no internal momentum fluctuated. It''s really strange!"


    ''s going on?"


    As the World Tree expanded and swelled, Zen could clearly feel his inner world starting to do the same.


    Whoosh!


    Zen''s avatar suddenly flashed and instantly arrived at the edge of his inner world.


    He gazed into the distance, a touch of bewilderment in his eyes. With a flick of his finger, a thin line brushed past the edge where he stood.


    There were a total of ten thousand and eight hundred golden Sanskrit words around his inner world. These golden Sanskrit words were equally spaced, with an exact distance of thirteen thousand miles between each one.


    The thin line drawn by Zen, however, went sixteen inches further.


    The distance between each golden Sanskrit word was sixteen inches longer.


    "My inner world has expanded," Zen concluded aloud.


    As his inner world continued to expand, the Sanskrit words surrounding it equally distanced themselves even more.


    The scope of this expansion was very small, and thus, Zen hadn''t felt anything different at all. That said though, he had confirmed it anyway.


    "The Sunrest Wood Spring is just the Sunrest Tree''s life essence. Why can it expand my inner world?"


    Zen felt utterly confused.


    The world in his cinnabar field was completely different from those of ordinary people. It was understandable that Zen had to grope how to break through to the next cultivation level by himself.


    All of this had risen from his meager attempt to absorb the Sunrest Wood Spring into his body. He hadn''t expected that there would really be such a change in his inner world.

 Chapter 2441 Arrival

    However, the Sunrest Wood Spring was much too rare.


    Even in the Sword Clan, it was highly possible there wasn''t much of it.


    Just moments ago, Zen had absorbed at least a dozen pots of Sunrest Wood Spring. Even the Sword Clan would take more than a thousand years to accumulate so much Sunrest Wood Spring.


    Despite such, the whole of his inner world had only expanded by very little.


    In fact, it was unrealistic to rely on this kind of spring water in order to expand one''s inner world.


    After Zen withdrew his incarnation from his inner world, he once again stepped on the flying sword without hesitation. Together with Yan by his side, he continued his journey downward, along with the other True Gods.


    As they continued working their way down, the quantity of giant bugs that buzzed around them gradually decreased, eventually disappearing completely.


    The surrounding area was totally barren without any vitality, but the Truth of Malice released from the Killing Zone grew more and more intense!


    Many people''s eyes were red with anger, and there was a strong sense of murder filling the space, as if they would jump on one another and fight to the deaths at the slightest disagreement, especially Gage and Donne.


    These two in particular, were a little out of control due to their enmity with Yan. It appeared as though they wanted to get into a fight with her, but after Duke obliged each of them to swallow a pill, they ultimately restrained themselves.


    After confirming their safety, a few of the True Gods sat upright on their flying swords. Here, they rested with their eyes closed, all while keeping a certain speed as they descended.


    "Look! Down there! I can see plenty of circles on the cave wall below!" Yan stated as she pointed vigorously in the direction she was looking into.


    Zen equally looked over to where Yan was pointing and indeed, he too saw the white circles on the wide cave wall.


    "Huh. What are they?" Zen asked in a curious tone.


    "Those are the annual rings," Yan replied frankly, with a smile.


    She not only was powerful, but also knew more than Zen.


    Or in other words, before they''d gone to the Sunrest Tree, Harold had taught Yan plenty of important information.


    "Are they the Sunrest Tree''s annual rings?" Zen asked anew.


    "Yes. A single branch will appear on the Sunrest Tree every divine era, and at the same time, the trunk will grow another annual ring. These huge annual rings define the Sunrest Tree''s age," Yan explained seriously.


    The True Gods standing not far away also felt surprised as they listened to Yan''s explanation.


    After all, the truth remained that not everyone h


    one hundred warriors forward along with him.


    The bottom of the tree was filled with the roots with all kinds of distorted shapes. Furthermore, a few plants with peculiar forms grew in the darkness and the wet places down here.


    Purr...


    Purr...


    It only took a few moments before a strange scream could be heard coming from not too far away.


    A True God looked into the direction where the voice was coming from, and he quickly noticed a bunch of pale yellow Ganoderma lucidum.


    In fact, from what he could see, there were nearly twenty Ganoderma lucidums and they were all neatly arranged in a row, which looked very attractive, to say the least.


    "Can you believe it? The Ganoderma lucidums look supernatural!"


    "They are absolutely not ordinary beings!"


    Enoch and several other True Gods were a bit intrigued by the Ganoderma lucidums. Before the others knew what was happening, they rushed forward and picked them.


    As he watched them do so, Reinhard only turned his head and asked, "Solomon?"


    "Yes?" replied Solomon questioningly, who was standing behind Reinhard and taking a step forward. A long sword shot outward as fast as lightning.


    Crack!


    The lightning was completely fused with the sword light, or perhaps, it was completely integrated into it! It appeared as though the two had now become one.


    In an instant, the sword light shot out at a distance of over a thousand feet. It immediately pierced through the Ganoderma lucidums.


    Crack, crack, crack...


    Surrounded by bright blue lightning, the twenty or so Ganoderma lucidums started twisting crazily as they screamed out in torturous shrills.


    Before long, the Ganoderma lucidums equally changed into groups of ferocious ghost shapes, standing there and contorting wildly.

 Chapter 2442 Get Used To It

    Multiple clouds of dark green miasmas floated around the twisted ghosts.


    The miasmas flashed with phosphorescence and were highly toxic.


    "This is the Soul Corroding Ganoderma, one of the most dangerous things ever. Even a consummate True God couldn''t pick it. Are you sure you want to?" Reinhard asked.


    The warriors'' faces turned pale at the sight of the ferocious monsters and at Reinhard''s words.


    "The poisonous miasmas are about to float over. Stay here if you want to die," Reinhard said and led the Sword Clan disciples forward.


    The other True Gods followed them as soon as they left.


    Duke and his friends also looked sullen when they saw the Soul Corroding Ganodermas.


    All the wealthy clans on the Floating Islands had gathered some information about the debate venue. But they were not as familiar with it as the Sword Clan was.


    If they weren''t careful enough in such a dangerous place, they would most likely be killed. And if Reinhard wanted to do something bad to them, it would be difficult for them to defend themselves against him.


    "There is a fork in the road. We need to go right!"


    A massive root loomed ahead of the crowd, dividing the path into two. To the right was a narrow cave.


    The moment Reinhard finished speaking, he swooped into this cave.


    The others had no choice but to follow him in. Zen and Yan also squeezed into the cave.


    They traveled through this cave for a while before they came upon an open space.


    Their surrounding environment now changed drastically.


    The wet, soft ground turned into a mottled stone road. There were still a lot of huge roots around them, through which they could indistinctly see some walls. But these walls were riddled with holes, having been unable to withstand the erosion that the tree roots were causing.


    They walked along the mottled stone road for a while, and with time, the road became wider and wider. A faint layer of mist prevented all the True Gods from looking ahead.


    ''The bottom of the Sunrest Tree is so wide!''


    Zen thought to himself. He hadn''t expected the debate venue to be so vast.


    But the top of the Sunrest Tree was so huge that he couldn''t see its edges. So it wasn''t surprising that its trunk was so wide and the


    rtable that they were beginning to turn red at the effort of keeping it together. They were being greatly influenced by the Truth of Goodwill and Malice, suffering severe headaches and violent mood swings. And if they didn''t get used to it quickly, their willpower would be destroyed beyond repair.


    Yan was the first one to get used to it.


    And that was because she didn''t need time to get used to it.


    When the Truth of Malice came at her, the purple light in her eyes bloomed.


    As the Truth of Goodwill came to her, the purple light in her eyes began to dissipate.


    "Zen, can you get used to it?" Yan turned to look at Zen.


    Zen closed his eyes and felt the intense fluctuation in his mind.


    ''Truth of Cultivation Nature...


    All the Godly Ways originated from nature...''


    The Truth of Goodwill and Malice would allow one to turn their idea into the Truth of Goodwill and the Truth of Malice.


    Faced with the constantly changing Truth of Goodwill and Truth of Malice that affected his state of mind, Zen also activated the Truth of Cultivation Nature.


    He did not resist this. Instead, he acted according to his will, and obeyed it as it came.


    By the time he opened his eyes again, he had returned to normalcy.


    "How did you get used to it so soon?" Yan asked, astonished. Her eyes were shimmering with curiosity.


    It wasn''t easy to adapt once the Truth of Goodwill and the Truth of Malice had come together. She hadn''t expected her brother to follow her so easily.

 Chapter 2443 Fear And Malice

    It took five minutes for Reinhard, who was very familiar with this place, to adapt to the environment.


    Naturally, the others took much longer.


    Some of the grassroots True Gods had indeed cultivated a few Truths of Godly Ways before coming here.


    However, the Truths of Godly Ways spreading around the divine land were not complete. They only consisted of a few dozen words or so. What was worse, some of them were wrongly translated. So, these warriors who had cultivated the Truths of Godly Ways before didn''t have much of an advantage here.


    Aside from them, there were warriors who had poor perception. For those warriors, it was impossible to adapt to this constantly changing Truth of Goodwill and Malice.


    One by one, they sat down cross-legged as they tried to adapt to or even fight against this unfamiliar environment.


    However, there was no way to wipe out the aura of the Truth of Godly Way. Otherwise, it would be impossible for the Non-combat Zone to forbid a Holy Being from attacking others.


    "Aargh!"


    A top-rank True God suddenly vomited and staggered out of the thin line.


    Bang!


    Another top-rank True God fell to the ground, his eyes rolling to the back of his head as he fainted.


    At first, it was the True Gods of the first-tier clans who decided to quit. Later, even some disciples from the wealthy clans on the Floating Islands chose to quit too.


    In order to enter the debate venue, one must have a certain degree of comprehension of any Truth of Godly Way, or else they would find it difficult to move even a step.


    The True Gods who dared to enter the debate venue in the end were more or less prepared.


    About an hour later, nearly seventy percent of the True Gods adapted to the venue''s aura, including Enoch.


    As for the remaining thirty percent, they could do nothing but wait outside the thin line.


    "Now that you have adapted to the Truth of Godly Way here, follow me," Reinhard said indifferently, but he couldn''t stop his gaze from falling on Zen from time to time.


    Zen''s performance was a small blow to him.


    Reinhard had gotten used to the aura in the debate venue within five minutes?¡ªa record time for him.


    Naturally, the disciples of the Sword Clan had an advantage in the debate venue.


    Since the Sunrest Tree Region was their home, they had had a lot of practice in adapting to the Truth of Goodwill and Malice.


    The Sword Clan had dug a bi


    ue Gods looked terrified.


    Everyone had a fear, and they also considered it the evilest existence.


    If a boy was bitten by a dog, he would be most afraid of dogs.


    Then, if he came to the debate venue, he would see a dog in the mist.


    However, the top-rank True Gods present here had all participated in countless battles, and were elite warriors in the divine land.


    It was no surprise that the things that these top-rank True Gods feared the most were all rare and terrifying. Hearing Reinhard''s words, Wesley and Gino gulped in fear.


    They were obviously afraid of whatever they were seeing in the mist.


    However, to their surprise, Duke had a smile on his face. "Duke, what are you looking at?" Wesley asked.


    Duke took a long look at Wesley and then said, "For the past few years, I wasn''t living in our clan. Do you know where I was?"


    "I don''t know. Weren''t you cultivating in seclusion?" Curiosity was written all over Wesley''s face.


    Until a few years ago, Duke had often fought in the Arena of Legends and had once even ranked first among the top-rank True Gods.


    But suddenly, he had disappeared without a trace, and his points had been cleared up. Even the disciples of the Dongfang Clan didn''t know where he had gone, but they had all assumed that he had gone to cultivate in seclusion. After all, it was common for warriors to do that.


    It was only after the opening of the debate venue that Duke had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. None of the disciples of Dongfang clan had been expecting it.


    "No." Duke shook his head. "All these years, I was in the Abyss Demon Region."

 Chapter 2444 The Avatars

    It was not a coincidence that the Dongfang Clan had sent Duke there. It was a calculated move.


    This was not the first debate, neither was it the first time the True Gods of the wealthy clans on the Floating Islands had participated in the said debate. It had all happened previously.


    For the alliance of the wealthy clans, they only needed to prevent anyone from obtaining the inheritance of the skeleton.


    The easiest way to achieve this was to place a ferocious beast that no one could defeat in the debate venue.


    Contrary to accustomed belief, Duke had not gone to the Abyss Demon Region to gain experience. Instead, under the leadership of the consummate True Gods, he had undergone the most fearsome experience.


    The fear was rooted deep in his heart. Right after, he was sent to participate in the debate.


    Under the influence of the debate venue, the seed of fear began to sprout in him bit by bit, threatening to spread on his insides.


    "My God! What is in the mist?" With his eyes wide like a pair of saucers, Wesley stared at Duke in dismay.


    Duke shook his head helplessly and laughed, sharp bitterness resonating in the sound. "We are all going to die," he said quietly.


    "What?! How dare you bring me here? I quit!" Wesley sputtered, his mouth twisting. Disbelief etched his features.


    Although he knew that the debate venue was rife with danger, he felt it was incredibly insensitive of Duke to bring him and the others here, since it was apparent that all of them were about to die. Duke had effectively thrown them into the beast''s den.


    "Our clan has kept the wisps of your souls before we came here," Duke continued earnestly. "The reason why our clan cultivates us is that they hope we can repay them someday in the future. The debate this time is of utmost importance, so we have to take it seriously."


    As Wesley listened to this, his eyes twitched.


    "It''s not so simple to defeat the fears in our hearts."


    "That''s correct. Usually, what we fear the most is stronger than ourselves."


    "I have been wondering why no one has stepped into this debate venue for so many years. It turns out that this is simply a dead end!"


    Many people began to regret coming here.


    Not everyone was able to pluck up their courage to face the worst fears in their heart.


    "It''s only that you must face them. Of course you cannot defeat them," Reinhard said with a faint smile. "The courage in your hearts will


    the avatar. This rule must have been set by the skeleton intentionally.'' Zen closed his eyes and fell into deep thought.


    Obviously, the skeleton set such a barrier in order to choose the right one to inherit its legacy.


    The person must be utterly sensitive to the Truth of Godly Way.


    However, the kind of Truth of Godly Way they cultivated was not important.


    What was the purpose of the skeleton?


    As Zen pondered on the answer, he began to recite the Truth of Godly Way slowly in his head.


    The Truth of Cultivation Nature began to revolve and Zen emitted an extraordinarily unique aura.


    In the divine land, the True Gods did not comprehend many Truths of Godly Ways.


    Most of the True Gods present had comprehended less than ten percent of a Truth of Godly Way.


    Reinhard, Duke, Tyrone Mu, and Ellis Fang all had comprehended a little more because of the inheritance of their clans. However, they too could only reach twenty percent of the criteria.


    It was not that they did not want to comprehend more, but they were unable to find a complete text of the Truth of Godly Way in the divine land.


    What Zen had received, however, was a complete one.


    He had not fully comprehended the Truth of Cultivation Nature and was unable to recite the last part no matter how hard he tried, but he still managed to comprehend almost ninety percent of it.


    As he employed the Truth of Godly Way, a natural aura converted into specks of light and occupied the array underneath his feet, intermingling with the designs.


    That aura was so intense that it attracted the attention of the others as Zen employed it.

 Chapter 2445 An Avatar Of The First Class

    The light began to condense and quickly transformed into a dark shadow.


    As Zen watched, his curiosity grew. He wanted to know who he trusted most.


    He hadn''t been with Yan for a long time, and he was not the most powerful being in her opinion.


    However, Yan subconsciously trusted Zen the most so her avatar had taken his form.


    So, who would be the person he trusted the most? Who would the shadow transform into?


    As the light continued to condense, it finally turned into a slender, tall red figure.


    It stood before Zen with a long spear in its hand.


    When he was able to see the figure clearly, he was stunned. How could it be Lavender?


    The red avatar shone with a blazing light, and it looked like bright blood spilled over its body. Once it had taken its full shape, it outshone the others.


    "Zen, isn''t this your sword spirit?"


    Yan craned her neck to study the tall and slender girl.


    The last time Zen had been with Yan, they were in the Ethereal Spirit Sect. But then she had been taken away by Harold, and he hadn''t seen her since.


    At that time, Lavender had woken up, and had become his powerful support, but he didn''t summon her in the Ethereal Spirit Sect.


    Because of that, Yan had always thought that Lavender was just Zen''s sword spirit. She''d never considered that Lavender was the queen of the Demon Night race.


    Zen himself did not expect that Lavender was the person he trusted the most. He had expected it to be his father.


    He thought carefully for a moment. Realization dawned on him as he remembered that his father had only appeared twice when he was in dire need of him.


    Once his father helped him resist the Luck-devouring Snake Tribulation, and the other time was when he fought against the energy soul of Murphy.


    However, when he was in the Lower World, Lavender had accompanied him on many perilous escapades.


    All the way from the Tower of Sin to the Divine Kingdom Continent.


    Now that he really thought about it, Lavender was indeed one of the people he had relied on the most during that time.


    The strange look in Yan''s eyes became more prominent. "Zen, why do you trust your sword spirit so much?"


    She tilted her head and looked at Lavender with a curious expression.


    "It''s a long story. She belongs to a special race. She was not a pure sword spirit. When I have time in the future, I will tell you what happened," said Zen with a smile.


    While the two of them were discussing Lavender''s appearance, everyone around them stared at Zen''s avatar with a dull ex


    impossible! You mean that Zen has learned a nearly complete text of the Truth of Godly Way?"


    They all knew that to summon such an avatar, the summoner had to comprehend ninety percent of a certain Truth of Godly Way.


    It was hard to believe that Zen had the power of comprehending so much.


    From what the disciples of the Sword Clan knew, there was no way to get a complete text of the Truth of Godly Way in the divine land.


    Who could possibly decipher all the Sanskrit words needed to learn so much?


    They had been studying Sanskrit words ever since the debate was held. No person with that skill had been discovered up to now.


    The disciples of the Sword Clan had the most right to comment on this. They had spent the longest time studying Sanskrit words, and knew a great deal about them.


    "I do not know why," Reinhard said in a low voice. As his face relaxed into a neutral expression, he went on, "But it''s a good thing after all. A great deal of good news! Solomon, deploy the Eye of Perception."


    "Isn''t it too early for that?" Solomon questioned.


    "We must inform Holy Marsh of the news as soon as possible," Reinhard answered.


    Solomon nodded, stretched out his fingers, and gently flicked them towards the ground. A small seed buried itself in the ground.


    In the Heavenly Sword Divine City at the top of the Sunrest Tree, Marsh''s eyes fluttered and he smiled. "The seed of the Eye of Perception has been buried. Harold, you can see the scene below using the perception technique I taught you."


    The Sword Clan''s perception technique was only a small trick derived from the Cyan Wood Godly Way. With Harold''s talent, he could use it skillfully in an instant.

 Chapter 2446 The Truth Of Holy Words

    "They have planted the seed of the Eye of Perception, which means that they have managed to summon avatars in the debate venue," Marsh continued. "If Yan has really understood more than half of the Truth of Holy Words, she may be able to summon an avatar of the second class."


    The old man next to Marsh spoke when he heard those words, "In the past, we summoned avatars of the second class but we failed to resist the manifestations of our fears. Although four of us worked together to force our way in, we triggered a restriction and had to retreat. Yan has an avatar of the second class but she may not be able to resist the incarnations of fears."


    The old man was another Holy Being of the Sword Clan, Gibson Sword.


    A helpless look passed through Harold''s face. "That''s all I can do."


    Because Zen had gone the wrong way, he tried his best.


    In fact, Yan did a good job.


    Even if the Truth of Holy Words left by Harold''s master was incomplete, since she mastered ninety-nine percent of it, she could be called perfect.


    Even Zen couldn''t have done better.


    It was all up to luck whether they could pass or not.


    Harold was very clear that although the beings of the divine land all called themselves gods, no one was a real god. It was impossible for them to control their fate.


    "First, let''s use the perception technique to see what happens."


    The Sunrest Tree could block the mind.


    Therefore, even Holy Beings couldn''t have an all-encompassing view.


    If they wanted to detect movements in the Sunrest Tree, they needed to use the perception technique of the Sword Clan.


    As Marsh''s eyes flashed, the scene of the debate venue at the bottom of the Sunrest Tree entered his eyes.


    A strange expression appeared on his face as he was stunned by the scene that he saw.


    It was rare to see such an expression on a Holy Being''s face.


    "What''s wrong?" Gibson asked curiously.


    Marsh glanced at Harold meaningfully. "Take a look."


    Harold didn''t unders


    ar!"


    The True Gods present condensed their own avatars one by one.


    Some of the avatars were in strange shapes and sizes, but the majority of them were human shaped.


    "Let''s go!"


    At the signal, Lavender, his avatar, quickly stepped in front of him.


    "Charge!"


    "Whoosh!"


    Lavender threw the long spear in its hand and it immediately turned into a red light that rushed out!


    It was as easy as controlling his own arm for Zen to manipulate the avatar because of his powerful soul force.


    When he saw the current Lavender, Zen couldn''t help but think of the time when she was his sword spirit. The resemblance was uncanny but the avatar was even stronger!


    "All of the avatars have been condensed. It''s time to go," Reinhard smiled as he spoke. "Zen, Yan, your avatars are the strongest. Please follow me."


    Taking the lead once again, Reinhard headed towards the mist. Zen and Yan followed closely behind him with the other True Gods behind them.


    Even when they obtained powerful avatars, the faint shadows flickering in the thick mist still weighed heavily in their minds.


    They trudged forwards for miles and plunged deeper into the mist.


    They looked around their surroundings and found that everything was hazy.


    They all knew that the incarnations of their fears were hidden in the mist.

 Chapter 2447 Multiple Antennae Snake

    "Stop."


    Reinhard, who was leading the way, suddenly stopped and looked at his side.


    Surprised, the rest still followed his order and stopped walking. Wondering at what he just felt, they followed his gaze.


    There was nothing in the heavy mist. It was so quiet that they could hear each other breathing. The air felt heavy.


    They had been down this road for some time now. Previously, they could still see some huge shadows in the mist.


    But at this moment, all of the shadows had disappeared, as if they had all retreated to the depths of the mist. Staring at the darkness surrounding them, the True Gods were unable to question what was causing the delay.


    "Why are we stopping here?"


    "There seems to be nothing around us!"


    "I couldn''t see anything too."


    The other True Gods looked at each other in dismay. They thought it was a bad call. They were in the middle of nowhere.


    Frowning, Reinhard sighed. Was his perception wrong?


    Keeping this in mind, he flicked his fingers.


    Crack!


    The sound of unsheathing a sword came from his sleeve.


    Shooting out from his sleeve, the tiny sword circled in front of his eyes.


    It was a short sword, almost like a dagger, only a hand long. Its body shone dimly against the mist. The exquisite detail on its grip and blade made it look like a work of art.


    "Heed my command and detect any dangers around us. I command you to ring once you find any!"


    Buzz!


    The ringing sound of the tiny sword in front of Reinhard surprised everyone.


    But just like a compass, the pointed end of the blade did not stop in one direction. Instead it continuously swayed in the air, as if trying to find a target.


    The group were all startled by the sound and had their eyes locked onto the piece of metal floating and swaying mid-air. After a while, it stopped and pointed downwards.


    "Underground?"


    Furrowing his brows, Reinhard uttered loud enough for everyone to hear. The members of the Sword Clan exchanged confused glances with each other.


    This tiny sword was the Sword Clan''s treasure, the Tribulation Exterminating Sword, which could tell the direction of dangers to a certain extent. And based from experience, it was never wrong.


    ''Could they really have gone deep into the ground?''


    Pondering to himself, Zen''s eyes flashed with confusion. Voicing out his concern, he finally asked, "Are the incarnations of fear intelligent?"


    This was a very important problem.


    Ordinary incarnations were easy to deal with. Even though some were really powerful, they were lacking intelligence, making them easy to deal with. Being such a mechanical and stupid opponent, they had many flaws and weaknesses.


    However, an opponent with intelligence and skills would requi


    ae Snake?"


    "How could it be?"


    "Isn''t the Multiple Antennae Snake an ancient beast? It had been extinct completely. Who the hell has seen it before?"


    The other True Gods all shouted doubtfully.


    After a short while, Enoch took a deep breath and replied, "I, I think I had seen it before."


    His statement triggered everyone''s doubts.


    Seeing that nobody was willing to believe him, Enoch continued, "I''ve been wondering about it since I saw many antennae in the mist earlier. My clan has a secret cultivation place left behind from the ancient times. After it was restored by my father, the children of our clan are able to practice there. This secret place enables us to see the Multiple Antennae Snake from the ancient times. I was lucky since I saw it once when I was still very young. After that day, I had nightmares about it for three full years."


    After hearing his explanation, the other True Gods'' expressions all became restless.


    "Damn it! Why would your father repair an ancient relic? We''ll all die here because of you!"


    "The Multiple Antennae Snake is an ancient beast. If what you''re saying is true, we will be in great trouble!"


    "Based from the records of the ancient books, the Multiple Antennae Snake is indeed good at crawling underground. Noting that the earth here is soft soil made of the accumulated bark and tree roots of countless years, it''s very suitable for it to move around."


    Upon hearing all this, many True Gods stared fiercely at Enoch.


    But it wasn''t his fault. Everyone had his or her own fear. Enoch had been clear that he had seen the Multiple Antennae Snake when he was very young, and he had almost forgotten about it when he reached adulthood. However, this kind of memory was usually deeply hidden in everyone''s mind, and the debate venue had finally awaken it.

 Chapter 2448 The Giant Thunder Rhinoceros

    No one knew what powerful incarnations of fears were waiting for them, apart from the Multiple Antennae Snake¡ªEnoch''s incarnation of fear.


    Although each of the True Gods had used the Truth of Godly Way to create a powerful avatar, these avatars did little to give them a sense of security.


    "Reinhard, I think we should just quit now, before it''s too late,"


    asked one of the disciples of the wealthy clans on the Floating Islands. He was not the only one with that thought; many other True Gods had made up their mind to retreat.


    It was not that these True Gods were cowards. In fact, their resolve had not waivered since the start.


    After all, a True God who was qualified to participate in the debate would be of the top talents of the divine land. This sort of qualification wasn''t easy to obtain, and was certainly not for the fearful or timid. No one was willing to give up so easily.


    The one who succeeded in gaining true ownership of the inheritance of the skeleton would be bestowed with a great honor, for themselves and for their clan.


    These True Gods were the hopes of their clans.


    But now, their situation was desperate.


    The Multiple Antennae Snake was a famous ferocious beast in the remote ages and was recorded in many ancient books.


    But there was more. It seemed as though encountering the legendary beast was not the only fear in the hearts of the True Gods. And no one could guess what those fears were.


    Usually, even the chance of winning was one in a million, these True Gods would take that chance and fight for the inheritance.


    Now, however, it seemed that the odds were completely against them. It was as if they knew that defeat was inevitable and certain. That fighting was an exercise in futility.


    Reinhard, however, looked disgusted. He took a long look at the True Gods who had just expressed their desire to quit, and laughed. "You can go back now."


    "Really? Then what are we waiting for?"


    "We''ll retreat!"


    "We can go back along the same route. Everybody, as long as we work together¡ª"


    "I haven''t finished," said Reinhard. He did not shout, but his deep voice exuded a menacing authority that made everyone fall silent at once. "If you want to quit, you can go back by yourselves, and never show your faces among us again. None of our Sword Clan members will quit. Besides, the incarnations of fears have already been in the mist. I''m afraid you will die a much more miserable death on the way back. As for your choice, it''s up to you." With these words, he raised his hand, still grasping the trembling Tribulation Exterminating Sword. It was constantly vibrating in all directions¡ªeast, west, south and north. This only meant one thing: the incarnations of fears had surrounded them completely.


    Everyone was silent as they stared at the Tribula


    and hot-headed. On one occasion, when a True God had provoked a Giant Thunder Rhinoceros, it had run through hundreds of mountains in the Everest Spirit Mountain to chase after that True God.


    "Let''s go. Don''t fight the rhinoceros head on," Zen said.


    Although Zen also wanted to test the power of his avatar, judging by the size and speed of the Giant Thunder Rhinoceros, he realized it was not the occasion to do so.


    Yan, however, did not follow Zen. She simply smiled, standing still.


    "What''s wrong?" Zen asked curiously.


    "Have you forgotten how long I have been in the Everest Spirit Mountain? A long time, I tell you. I know how to deal with it. I know the right way," Yan said calmly.


    Although Yan rarely fought with the True Gods or got involved in life or death battles, she had been trained extensively in the Everest Spirit Mountain.


    After Harold had taken control of the Everest Spirit Mountain, Yan was able to move freely in the forbidden area.


    She had no concern for the Black Mountain Ghost Monkey or the Heavenly Eye Snake. She knew their weaknesses well.


    Of course, the Giant Thunder Rhinoceros was no exception.


    Even though the Giant Thunder Rhinoceros was fierce and terrifying, Yan understood that it had a weak spot, just like all the other monsters.


    "Why are you still here? Keep away from it!"


    Reinhard had moved a long distance away by now. But then, he noticed that Zen and Yan hadn''t followed. Not only had they not moved an inch, but they were also standing dangerously close to the Giant Thunder Rhinoceros.


    ''Facing a mountain-like Giant Thunder Rhinoceros on her own? Just with her tiny body? Seriously?'' he thought.


    By the time his thoughts had trailed off, the Giant Thunder Rhinoceros had already crossed the short distance between itself and Yan. The giant beast and the petite girl now stood face to face.

 Chapter 2449 The Sky And Thunder Breaking Necklace

    The presence of Harold guaranteed the safety of Yan, who had been receiving much training over the past few years.


    Although this kind of training was nowhere near the battles of life and death, it was still necessary to train Yan and make her a formidable warrior.


    Facing the Giant Thunder Rhinoceros, when most of the top-rank True Gods chose to run away, Yan was able to deal with it calmly because of her many years in training.


    Zen stood behind his sister without ever moving.


    Since Yan was so confident, he knew he had no power to stop her anyway.


    But he always made sure to keep an eye on the situation. If he found anything wrong, he would save her without hesitation.


    As the Giant Thunder Rhinoceros inched closer and closer, Yan and her avatar suddenly separated from each other, and they stood at either side, ready to fight.


    Because of this, the Giant Thunder Rhinoceros began to charge toward Zen instead.


    "Huh? Yan? What is going on?"


    Looking at the angry Giant Thunder Rhinoceros, Zen was stunned to see it coming after him. He thought Yan was deliberately asking him to deal with it.


    Whoosh!


    As Yan and her avatar moved to either side, her avatar suddenly waved its sword towards the giant horn of the Giant Thunder Rhinoceros.


    "How dare her avatar attack the Giant Thunder Rhinoceros''s horn!"


    "What a fool! She''s trying to die, right?"


    "Well, I have never seen anyone attack the Giant Thunder Rhinoceros''s horn."


    The most solid part of the Giant Thunder Rhinoceros was its horn.


    The thunder rings on the horn were powerful, and the horn itself was extremely strong. Actually, it was considered a top-grade material for weapon refining in the Everest Spirit Mountain.


    However, no one ever wanted to harvest the horn because it drove the creature mad. No one wanted to deal with a mad Giant Thunder Rhinoceros.


    So even the consummate True Gods would avoid the horn when they faced the Giant Thunder Rhinoceros. But for some reason, Yan had enough confidence and motivation to attack the horn deliberately.


    Clang!


    After a ringing sound, the Giant Thunder Rhinoceros stopped in its tracks and its eyes flushed with redness. It roared and rushed towards Yan''s avatar desperately.


    The avatar of Yan was on the right, while Yan herself was on the left.


    As the Giant Thunder Rhinoceros twisted its neck and dashed towards the avatar, Yan kicked the ground lightly and gently lifted off the ground, floating into the air.


    Whoosh!


    Wi


    arly an hour to kill it!"


    Although many True Gods knew Yan to be an extraordinary girl, they felt that she had learned some special abilities and she wasn''t strong without them.


    Only now did they realize that this girl was not as simple as they imagined.


    After a few moments, Yan floated gently and landed in front of Zen. There was purple lightning constantly flowing back and forth in the necklace around her neck, as if the lightning that erupted from the Giant Thunder Rhinoceros had been absorbed by the necklace around her.


    "Yan, you are so powerful. You killed it so easily," Zen exclaimed. Now he was convinced by the strength of his sister.


    "Actually, I didn''t kill it," Yan said calmly. "I just pierced the thunder container in the middle of its neck, letting it kill itself by explosion. If Harold didn''t give me the necklace, I probably wouldn''t have been able to do that at all."


    The lightning power of the Giant Thunder Rhinoceros was extremely powerful. If it burst out, people standing near it wouldn''t have stood a chance.


    However, that necklace was indeed a supreme treasure of belief from the Everest Spirit Mountain¡ªthe Sky and Thunder Breaking Necklace. Although it was only a first-grade treasure, it had very strong powers to absorb thunder. Apart from a few particular types of lightning in the divine land, all the other lightning could be all absorbed by it in an instant.


    In addition to the necklace, Yan also knew well about the habits and weaknesses of the Giant Thunder Rhinoceros because of her previous training experience. All these things considered, that was why Yan made it seem so easy to kill the creature.

 Chapter 2450 The Fearful Incarnations

    In the eerie depths of the mist, a black fog rose and swirled around slowly, containing endless resentment.


    The resentment floated towards a huge black figure and merged with it as if controlled by an invisible force.


    "You will die soon. The devils will arrive in the night. You will all be crushed, just like the insects you are. All of you have to obey me!"


    These scary incarnations had a memory but no intellect.


    Some lower level incarnations, such as the Giant Thunder Rhinoceros, were capable of remembering stuff, but they were stupid. Naturally, they attacked the True Gods recklessly.


    However, there were some intelligent creatures too and they operated differently.


    These powerful incarnations didn''t know how they had come there, but there were some powerhouses in the forbidden area. So conflicts among them were inevitable.


    The circling black figure was one such powerful ghost. He was the evil god of the Soul Wilderness!


    "Ha-ha! Even an evil god can talk crazy. How will you withstand my lightning?"


    "Sizz, sizz."


    The person who spoke was covered in lightning and soft thunder echoed around him.


    The man did not have a solid physical form. His body was made up entirely of lightning, and a thunder ball hovered over him.


    If the True Gods saw this person, they would probably shriek out loud. Atlas, who had wreaked havoc in the divine land several divine eras ago, had revived.


    Atlas had cultivated a special theurgy beyond the Thunderstorm Godly Way. He transformed himself into lighting. Although he had only reached the consummation of True God Realm in the form of thunder, he had the abilities of an immortal!


    Taking advantage of this ability, Atlas committed many sins in the divine land. He harassed several powerful clans on the Floating Islands and several consummate True Gods chased him, but nobody could subdue him.


    In his modified form, he was no longer a living being, but rather a force of nature with the intelligence of man.


    As long as lightning existed, he would survive easily.


    According to legend, a Holy Being finally took action against him and banished him into the chaos.


    Atlas was unable to absorb the energy in the chaos, and h


    egion!


    "Ha-ha, you''re right! You should surrender to me, explore the whole world, and report back to me!" said the fiend lightly.


    The fiends in the abyss belonged to a very intelligent race.


    Even though they were unable to leave the Abyss Demon Region, they were stronger than Holy Beings when it came to using and researching various energies.


    Therefore, even the Holy Beings did not have the guts to go to the bottom of the Abyss Demon Region because these fiends would use powerful methods to bury them.


    "I will surrender to you!"


    Atlas didn''t dare to resist. He thought that the fiend had the power to kill him. Such a mighty being had abilities which were far beyond what Atlas could imagine.


    "Go forth and explore the mist. I want to know who brought me here. I, Edmond, won''t listen to anyone!" the fiend murmured.


    Clap!


    In a flash, Atlas turned into a streak of lightning and shot off in the distance.


    Just as he left, a woman strolled out of the heavy mist.


    The woman''s hair, like gorgeous black satin, was thousands of feet long and trailed behind her on the ground, shining like black pearls.


    Her gorgeous eyelids shone with a purple glow and underneath those gorgeous eyelids were a pair of coquettish red eyes.


    A strange feeling overcame the fiend as he watched the woman sauntering towards him.


    He looked down at her and asked, "Who are you?"


    She glanced at him indifferently and walked past him slowly and gracefully.

 Chapter 2451 Snake Spirit

    As a fiend that had been living in the abyss ever since his earliest memory, Edmond was not one to let anyone dismiss his capabilities.


    His instincts told him that this woman wasn''t someone to be trifled with, but he still raised his humongous fist and slammed it heavily in front of the woman.


    Bang!


    The thunderous blow made a significant dent on the ground in front of the woman.


    A current of strong wind was stirred up by the punch, and this wind blew the woman''s long hair into the air, flying like thin ribbons that were a thousand feet long.


    "Answer my question!" Edmond said coldly, still waiting for the woman''s response.


    A faint smile played on the woman''s lips as she told him, "You don''t even know what you are. I am under no obligation to answer you."


    "What do you mean?" Edmond asked in a rumbling voice.


    In the world of fiends, they understood almost everything that went on.


    But he suddenly appeared in this world of mist for no apparent reason, and he was prevented from leaving by a powerful force that restricted his body.


    As much as he wanted to leave this place, he realized that it was beyond his ability. He also felt an intensely murderous intent in his heart.


    The murderous intent wasn''t of his own will, but it kept persuading him to kill some creatures. He felt the will deep in his soul, and he couldn''t do anything to resist it.


    It made Edmond feel miserable.


    "Get out of here," the woman told him coldly.


    "Go to hell!"


    Edmond raised his fist again and directly smashed it straight down on the woman.


    The woman tilted her head upward slightly, as if to meet the fist that was slamming down on her.


    A single strand of her hair fluttered in the wind gently.


    Her hair was as soft as a swan''s feather, but as the strand of hair floated upward, it was fortified with great strength and force as it was pulled tight.


    Puff!


    In a flash, the hair strand lightly grazed Edmond''s gigantic arm.


    Plop!


    Edmond''s arm was cut in half. It fell from the sky and crashed on the ground, creating a huge crater.


    Blood spurted from his arm where it was detached, spraying everywhere like a crimson shower.


    Fizz!


    The scarlet blood melted and corroded everything in a crazy manner.


    Fiend''s blood was highly corrosive to everything it came in contact with.


    Blood spurted everywhere, falling in all directions around the woman. Miraculously, not a drop fell upon her. It was not clear whether it was a coincidence or she had a special ability that enabled her to avoid being splattered.


    "You!" Edmond shouted, full of rage.


    But the woman already left and walked into the mist without a backwards loo


    idently written all over Burke''s facial expression and body language.


    In a blink of an eye, countless snakes simultaneously rushed out of the mist.


    There were snakes of different types and sizes, ranging from palm-sized snakes to gigantic snakes, and even variously colored venomous snakes!


    Some snakes were ones that were ordinarily found in the divine land, but there were also a number of snakes that came from the forbidden lands.


    "Everyone, fly to the sky!" Reinhard ordered, "Make sure you find that Snake Spirit. Otherwise, we''ll all be drowned in an endless sea of snakes."


    Swish! Swish! Swish!


    At the same time as the True Gods launched themselves into the sky, long and thin shadows also shot upwards.


    It seemed that there were also countless flying snakes congregating from all directions.


    "Kill these snakes!"


    "It''s just some little snakes. What are you afraid of?"


    "Right, we True Gods are not afraid of any poison."


    The True Gods began their counterattack.


    Zen suddenly came up with an idea, and Lavender immediately rushed towards the sea of snakes. As she slashed her long spear gently, a thin arc-shaped spear light spread outwards quickly. In a flash, more than a thousand of the snakes were cut in half.


    ''It''s not that hard, '' Zen thought to himself.


    The other True Gods had also found out that the snakes were significantly easy to kill. They didn''t have a hard time eliminating them so they were off-guard.


    They soon realized that it was all just an illusion.


    Suddenly, a dark shadow estimated to be as high as thirty feet materialized from deep within the mist. As the shadow approached closer, they discovered that it was a great mass of wriggling, writhing snakes entangled altogether.


    This was the real snake sea.

 Chapter 2452 Dangerous

    If it was a group of ordinary snakes, no matter how many they were, they wouldn''t pose much of a threat to these True Gods.


    Even if they somehow got stuck in a sea of those snakes, it wouldn''t be much of a threat.


    These True Gods were so skilled that any number of snakes would be crushed to smithereens before they could even move an inch in their direction.


    "So what? They are just snakes. Burn them to death!"


    "Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!"


    One of the disciples of the wealthy clans on the Floating Islands took out a black fire dragon.


    The fire dragon charged into the sea of snakes, and then proceeded to fall and roll. The tens of thousands of writhing snakes were immediately burned to ashes.


    "Wind Demon, fulfill my command!"


    A light green shadow was formed in the hands of another top-rank True God. It was the Wind Demon. Once the shadow had condensed itself, it immediately turned into a strong wind and tunneled into the sea of snakes, cutting them to pieces.


    Under attacks from all sides, the snakes were unable to rise from the sea. The threat had been constrained.


    Even the flying snakes from the sky were instantly killed.


    "Haha! These snakes are not that dangerous. Even in large numbers, they are easily restrained. Why should we be afraid of them?"


    "Hey, Burke, why are you scared of these snakes?"


    "These snakes are easily killed."


    Many of the True Gods really didn''t give the snakes much thought.


    "It''s not what you think," said Burke quietly. "They might not be much of a threat now, but they will grow stronger and stronger with time!"


    "And how strong can they get, exactly?" someone scoffed disdainfully.


    There was, indeed, a small number of Snake Spirits remaining in the divine land. The vast majority of the True Gods had never seen or heard of them, so they didn''t know how dangerous they were.


    "They are unimaginably strong. If we can''t drive the Snake Spirit out, they will grow strong and large enough to swallow even the consummate True Gods whole!" said Reinhard, his voice somber. With a wave of his hand, dazzling sword lights spread in all directions. The flying snakes in the sky were then immediately cut into smithereens, and the fragments were scattered in the wind.


    As soon as he had finished, someone spoke, "The situation is indeed different. These snakes have grown stronger! Look there, those are level-one ferocious beasts in Forbidden Land of Fallen Leaves."


    There were many kinds of snakes in the divine land, and the difference in strength between them was considerable. Ordinary divine citizens could kill the weakest snakes, but some of the powerful snakes were recorded in ancient legends and could even fight against Holy Beings.


    However, the most powerful snakes were reclusive beasts. They tended to lurk out of sight, and thus were rarely seen.


    Reinhard had heard the legend of the


    al with than the green snakes, especially as there were so many of them!


    It was not until then that the True Gods realized that what Reinhard said was absolutely right. In order to survive, they had to find out the Snake Spirit and kill it as soon as they could!


    "Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!"


    The Red Phosphorus Snakes came in great numbers. They reared their horrifying heads, opened their mouths and spat out corrosive, toxic fires.


    The toxic fire emitted by a single Red Phosphorus Snake was not threatening at all. It was, after all, quite small.


    However, the amount of fire that this enormous number of Red Phosphorus Snakes could emit was dangerous, if not lethal.


    "The Parting Water Enchanted Barrier!"


    "The Enchanted Barrier of Five Elements!"


    "Light of the Shield!"


    The True Gods present each used their own means to block the poisonous fires.


    Zen didn''t seem afraid of these Red Phosphorus Snakes at all. He had rushed to the front, taking the lead.


    He had no care for either poison or fire. It was no threat to him.


    These Red Phosphorus Snakes were level two ferocious beasts. Zen had killed a huge number of them effortlessly, with an air of being completely at ease, as though he were chopping vegetables, not killing countless venomous creatures. However, the speed with which he was moving was too slow to be efficient.


    "We can''t go on like this!" Still maintaining control over the Tribulation Exterminating Sword, Reinhard yelled, "The Snake Spirit is fleeing. I''m afraid we can''t catch up! We only have fifteen minutes."


    The snakes would evolve every five minutes.


    They didn''t know what kind of snake would come next, but they were sure that it would be a level three beast. And after another five minutes, level four beasts would come.


    If the Snake Spirit managed to fill this vast land with level five beasts, even the consummate True Gods would face certain death.

 Chapter 2453 Antennae

    If the group of True Gods were to fight together, they could definitely resist the troublesome snakes that surrounded them.


    As they advanced while fighting, their speed was slow.


    "What should we do?" The whole debate venue was swarming with enemies.


    Zen''s eyebrows were scrunched together. The situation was getting ugly really fast. Each one of their fears had a physical manifestation, and the Snake Spirit and other powerful existences they met around the debate venue were just a few of them.


    Meanwhile, the Multiple Antennae Snake that attacked them before was nowhere to be seen now.


    None of them knew where it was hiding but all of them were on guard for a surprise attack.


    "Zen, Yan, let''s rush out and kill the Snake Spirit," said Reinhard, stepping up to the occasion.


    "The others, hold your ground."


    Zen let out an affirmative grunt. Now was not the time to hesitate.


    Just then a soft squeaky voice spoke from Zen''s left, halting his steps. "Can you bring me with you?"


    It was the short True God whose eyes were like two soybeans.


    While the other True Gods didn''t pay this person much attention, Zen had quietly watched him along the way.


    The soybean-eyed guy was not from a Floating Island and he kept a low profile but he had a deep understanding of the Truth of Godly Way. Plus, his avatar was much stronger than those of other disciples from the Floating Islands.


    Reinhard hesitated but Zen nodded his head. "Alright."


    Since Zen had agreed, Reinhard didn''t say anything else. He looked back to the others. "Disciples of the Sword Clan, set the Soaring Sky Sword Array!"


    "Yes, sir!"


    "Aye!"


    After a chorus of affirmative noises, Solomon and the other disciples began to arrange the array.


    It wasn''t the most critical moment yet. The disciples of the Sword Clan still had a trump card, namely the Calamity Swords given by Marsh. They''d wait for the moment they stared death in the face before they used the Calamity Swords.


    "Let''s go!"


    And without delay, Reinhard, Zen, Yan, and the soybean-eyed guy sprinted ahead.


    Among the four of them, Yan, Rein


    snakes gushed out from beside the little Snake Spirit.


    Now another five minutes had passed, and just as they had guessed, the level three fierce beasts, Three-Element Snakes were surging out. Their front ends were red, the middle parts were black, and the tails were purple. They had three deadly poisons in their bodies, making them several times stronger than the Red Phosphorus Snakes.


    "Another five minutes has passed. I wonder if they can block these Three-Element Snakes. Let''s kill the Snake Spirit first!"


    Reinhard then charged at the Snake Spirit.


    However, the Snake Spirit, sensing danger, darted and went underground.


    "You can''t escape!"


    Reinhard brandished his sword.


    "Crack!"


    At once, the soft ground cracked open, revealing the Snake Spirit.


    "Go to hell!"


    Reinhard didn''t hesitate or show mercy. He had to kill the Snake Spirit as soon as possible, or all of them would die.


    But just as Reinhard was about to make the final blow, a huge antenna filled with fist-sized suckers suddenly erupted from the ground, held on to his ankle, and dragged him below.


    "Holy crap!"


    "Damn it!"


    Yan, Zen, and the soybean-eyed guy looked on with gaping mouths and pale faces.


    Then more than ten huge antennae suddenly extended from the ground and surrounded them.


    They didn''t expect that at this critical moment, the long lost Multiple Antennae Snake would reappear!

 Chapter 2454 Killing The Snake Spirit

    It was known that a Multiple Antennae Snake was much stronger than a Snake Spirit.


    Yet no matter how powerful a Multiple Antennae Snake was, it was still alone. It couldn''t possibly kill everyone in front of it.


    On the other hand, the Snake Spirit was on a whole different level¡ªit could summon almost everything related to snakes in the divine land.


    If it was still alive, it could even summon a large number of Multiple Antennae Snakes.


    Perhaps, the reason the Multiple Antennae Snake was there was to protect the Snake Spirit.


    "I''ll go kill that Snake Spirit, and you go save Reinhard," Zen said.


    There was no time to hesitate in such a crucial moment. They based most of their decisions on instinct as even one second of hesitation could land them in a desperate situation.


    "Whoosh!"


    A gust of wind blew as Zen flew towards the little snake on his flying sword.


    In turn, the snake''s antennae flailed wildly when it saw Zen, then prepared to pounce and bind him.


    Just a few moments ago, the antennae had caught Reinhard off-guard. There was no way Zen would make the same mistake.


    He was still rushing forward on his flying sword and did not intend to make any move, when a red figure suddenly jumped up behind him.


    Meanwhile, the long spear circled around Lavender''s waist like mad, so that it almost looked like it was a dancing wheel.


    Zen did not evaluate the avatar''s strength.


    After all, he didn''t have enough spare time to test it in the debate venue. Besides, Lavender''s attack was extremely powerful that even he himself could not resist. She was undoubtedly his greatest ally in the debate venue.


    The red spear turned in a few moments, and then all the tentacles were ground into shreds of flesh.


    The ground shook as Zen immediately ran over to it without hesitation!


    The small jasper snake continued to drill a hole into the ground as it simultaneously summoned numerous Three-Element Snakes, which surrounded him.


    In response, he ran straight towards them without second thoughts.


    All the Three-Element Snakes that collided with him were smashed into smithereens.


    If a Three-Element Snake exploded, it released three kinds of deadly venom at the same time. Other True Gods normally avoided touching the venom at all costs, but Zen did not care.


    In just the blink of an eye, he had


    in a span of three seconds. He was already invisible under the pile of thick snakes, but more Death Bringers tangled around him and formed a python tower.


    If one python was already horrifying to even see, how much more dozens of them?


    Not too far away was the small jasper snake, who watched the whole scene with its malicious, beady eyes that seemed to smile. The vicious creature was clearly a clever and wise being.


    Yet, it didn''t feel complacent for too long.


    Blood suddenly spurted out from the middle of the python tower, followed by a massive force that exploded and flew straight towards the small jasper snake!


    "Die!" shouted a faint voice from the python tower.


    After Reinhard found the Snake Spirit, Zen quickly fixed his spiritual sense on it.


    Although he was trapped in the heap of Death Bringers, the distance was short enough for him to use the Four Swords Change of Gods Killing Sword Array.


    He then summoned the Buddha Emperor Sword.


    Finally, it was shot directly at the small jasper snake.


    The moment he finished speaking, the Buddha Emperor Sword had already cut it in half!


    The Snake Spirit wasn''t that strong, but its upper half still tried to drill into the ground with a tenacious momentum despite being cut in half.


    "You want to escape? You''re dreaming," Zen sneered.


    The Buddha Emperor Sword circled around the Snake Spirit, before it cut its body into thin pieces.


    When it finally died, the Death Bringers that surrounded Zen and the other millions of Death Bringers in the mist disappeared as well.

 Chapter 2455 The Destroying Light

    Solomon led all the other disciples out to fight against the Death Bringers.


    But the group of top-rank True Gods was by no means on the same level as these horrifying opponents.


    Under the snake sea''s impact by the Death Bringers, the enchanted barriers and the magic arrays arranged by all sorts of magic weapons were as fragile as eggs,. Not even the True Gods could resist in such a situation.


    Everyone continued shrinking back and drawing together, ready to retreat.


    Under such a defeat, the True Gods were dispersed by the Death Bringers and were most likely to die very soon.


    "Just die here?"


    "I can''t accept that!"


    "There are hundreds of thousands of fourth-grade beasts. You''re not even qualified to fight with your full strength..."


    "Move back! Move back! Ah..."


    All the True Gods seemed full of despair¡ªmore and more of them were swept away by the Death Bringers, disappearing in the vast sea of snakes. There was no doubt that they would perish in the end.


    Many of the True Gods merely gave up resisting and remained still as they waited for death.


    But amidst the chaos, the Death Bringers suddenly disappeared in an instant.


    At that moment, the place quieted down. Only some True Gods failed to recover from the shock. Somewhat blurry roars resounded and they quickly realized what had happened.


    "Unbelievable! They disappeared!"


    "All of them are gone!"


    "Oh my God!"


    "They made it!"


    "The Snake Spirit has been killed."


    In their excitement, the survivors began cheering.


    If the Snake Spirit hadn''t been killed, probably everyone would''ve died within half a minute.


    But in the middle of the cheer, the ground began to shake.


    Zen rushed ahead and killed the small jasper snake in a series of swift movements.


    Even the avatar under his control failed to make a move, having arrived a moment too late.


    And after killing the snake, Zen did not linger.


    He returned promptly with his avatar.


    Meanwhile, Yan and the guy with soybean-like eyes were busy rescuing Reinhard.


    Yan''s strength had already far exceeded Zen''s imaginatio


    ated on finding a way to escape the damned place. And as for the True Gods, they figured they could let other fear incarnations deal with them.


    When some of the fear incarnations were stabbed by the light, their flesh and bodies disappeared until they were nothing but a pile of bones, falling to the ground.


    Buzz...


    A ray of red light shot towards the fiend called Edmond.


    It then happened to hit Edmond''s body.


    Though Edmond''s figure was enormous, the flesh on his body was turned to nothing by the light.


    "The destroying light?" In spite of the situation, Edmond''s expression didn''t seem to change too much. ''Even the Multiple Antennae Snake exists here. This place seems so interesting... I''m quite curious now.''


    A white shadow emerged from the surface of Edmond''s huge body as it shook. After the shadow covered the body, the red light couldn''t penetrate it in the slightest.


    Instead, the lights continued to wander around until one of them went directly into the depths of the debate venue.


    The woman with long hair had made it to a huge iron bridge. She seemed to have figured she was going to get hit by one of the lights one way or another, so she turned around and rotated her finger a few times in the air before stepping onto the iron bridge, as calm as a rock.


    When the red light shot towards her, it strangely changed direction, reflecting at another angle.

 Chapter 2456 An Accident

    "Buzz!"


    The head of the Multiple Antennae Snake was still spinning as its red light shone on its surroundings.


    "Zen! Let''s go!"


    When she rushed over, Yan called out to Zen right away.


    With a nod, Zen somersaulted with his flying sword and joined the team that was ready to flee.


    The four of them fidgeted around in the cracks of the red light and constantly dodged them.


    "Down there!"


    Zen yelled out the warning.


    They all dodged to two sides swiftly.


    A beam of red light, much like sword radiance extending to an endless distance, shot upward from below.


    "Left!"


    Just as they avoided the light, another one swept towards them from the other side.


    So they sank down and dodged it once again.


    Never did they expect dozens of antennae to suddenly emerge from the ground at this time¡ªone of the antennae managed to wrap around Yan.


    In spite of being trapped, Yan didn''t seem anxious¡ªshe barely even struggled. With a slight flash of purple light in her eyes, she uttered, "Break."


    Poof!


    The antennae surrounding her were broken in an instant.


    When she uttered the word ''break, '' it was as though a person had cut off the antennae swiftly.


    "Yan, look up! Watch out!"


    Although Yan acted quickly and the antennae had grabbed her for a mere moment, two red lights fell from above her head.


    Zen''s eyes almost fell out of their sockets upon witnessing the scene.


    On the flying sword, Zen immediately halted and turned back.


    Reinhard''s face changed dramatically as well. To him, everyone there could perish¡ªeveryone but Zen and Yan. Nothing could happen to them!


    But who could ever resist the powerful light that burst from the Multiple Antennae Snake''s eyes?


    "Zen, don''t go there yourself! Use your avatar to block the red lights!"


    After keeping quiet all the while, the guy with soybean-like eyes suddenly called out to him.


    Their avatars fell behind. Yan had been bl


    ppear.


    This place is so weird."


    Edmond had asked Atlas to explore the debate venue where he saw many fear incarnations together with a large group of top-rank True Gods.


    But thanks to his cleverness, he had already sensed the strangeness of the place¡ªhe remembered very clearly that he had died, so his revival was nothing short of abnormal. He didn''t kill anyone¡ªhe merely passed there when he sensed Yan''s special aura. He wanted to take her away to give her to Edmond.


    At the sight of Yan with her eyes tightly shut, Zen''s face darkened.


    "A consummate True God!"


    Both Reinhard''s and the soybean-eyed guy''s hearts sank.


    The fear incarnations in the debate venue were all too powerful to deal with.


    If the Snake Spirit alone couldn''t be killed soon, it would kill everyone in sight.


    When the Multiple Antennae Snake appeared, all anyone could do was escape.


    And now a consummate True God had appeared.


    "Put her down," Zen said with a voice like a growl.


    There was invincible dignity in his voice¡ªa strong intention to kill began boiling within him, making him tremble all over.


    "What? You''re just a low-rank True God. Your cultivation base should be the lowest among the group." Atlas gave Zen an indifferent glance, fully intending to ignore him.

 Chapter 2457 Ways-blending Strike

    "Let her go!"


    Zen shouted, his entire aura going icy cold.


    He had undergone so much hardship and exerted unimaginable effort in trying to find his sister. He travelled through the great world, the Upper World, and even the divine land. It was only recently that he was finally able to reunite with his sister.


    There was no way he was letting Yan get kidnapped ever again.


    Buzz!


    The Sword Clan''s flying sword rotated and fell onto Zen''s hand.


    There was no longer any hesitation on his face.


    "You are so childish! Go to hell!"


    Atlas felt Zen''s remarkable momentum but did not feel the least bit afraid.


    His opponent was a mere low-rank True God and there was no way he was going to take him seriously.


    Crack!


    Atlas raised his hand and gathered bolts of lightning in his hand.


    He was the incarnation of thunder and already had a consummate understanding of the Thunderstorm Godly Way.


    There was nothing special about his bolts. However, they were extremely powerful.


    Fuzz!


    The bolts in his hand condensed into a sharp, thunderbolt awl.


    "It''s so powerful!" Reinhard exclaimed. "Even Master Ivan wouldn''t be able to defeat him with the Thunderbolt Sword. Who exactly is this guy? Whose incarnation of fear is he?"


    There was a big gap between the consummate True Gods.


    Atlas himself was destined to be the top existence among warriors who reached consummation of True God Realm.


    In the past, any wealthy clans on the Floating Islands already sent several consummate True Gods after him but none succeeded in bringing him down. Only a Holy Being managed to succeed in sending him into chaos.


    Bang!


    The thunderbolt awl in Atlas''s hand came straight for Zen.


    Zen fiercely waved his sword in the face of such a powerful thunderbolt awl.


    The moment he sent out that strike, all emotion disappeared from his bloodshot eyes.


    In the past, this sword skill of his, taught to him by Supreme Lord Sword, was called the Gods-intimidating Strike.


    in this mist-filled world.


    Since this low-rank True God wanted to die though, then he had no choice.


    Atlas threw a thunderbolt awl containing sixty-percent of his power. To his surprise, however, it was easily destroyed by a low-rank True God.


    What the hell was going on?


    Reinhard and the guy with soybean-like eyes were stunned.


    The appearance of a consummate True God made both of them feel powerless.


    If the top-rank True Gods cooperated with their avatars then it was possible for them to deal with the Multiple Antennae Snake.


    However, a mature consummate True God was a different story.


    That thunderbolt awl was enough to end Zen.


    That meant Yan was going to be taken away again.


    Such an outcome would have led to the failure of the entire mission.


    Even Reinhard saw no hope.


    However, the entire situation was turned around by Zen.


    Who would''ve thought that this young man would easily dissolve a consummate True God''s attack?


    Moreover, the strike he used to counter Atlas''s thunderbolt awl wasn''t anything he''d ever heard of before.


    As he and the soybean-eyed guy were still comprehending what just happened, Zen was already on his second strike.


    "Ways-blending Strike!


    Die!"


    He swung his sword once again, directing it towards Atlas as it shone with a dazzling light.

 Chapter 2458 Repel The Enemy

    A ray of sword light, one thousand feet long, appeared.


    Zen had been trying so hard in the fairy palace''s training tower.


    If the Godly Ways, which were over three hundred, weren''t fused and drawn out from the inner world, then they could cause severe internal injury.


    The Truth of Cultivation Nature could be used to integrate them smoothly and make the "Ways-blending Energy" become very obedient.


    However, despite already being obedient, it was still difficult to tame.


    Controlling the Ways-blending Energy after being extracted from the inner world was still difficult because it was very thick.


    He tried using the Emotion Closing Godly Way but it was still to no avail.


    Fortunately, Zen managed to stumble upon the key to his problem soon.


    Back in the Divine Time Temple, Zen saw a huge figure send out a hundred-thousand strikes in just thirteen moves.


    Comprehending the mysteries of that amazing master was impossible to do in just a short amount of time.


    However, he remembered comparing notes with Rocher when they were still in the universe.


    It was through these battles that Zen comprehended a certain extent of the Beginning Swordsmanship, up to the preliminary level.


    He wasn''t too sure if the Beginning Swordsmanship was the exact same technique practiced by the giant shadow in the Divine Time Temple. Rocher''s abilities were limited, after all. What he could concur was that the Beginning Swordsmanship was definitely related to it.


    So after fusing the momentum with the swordsmanship, Zen launched his strike once again.


    The power that burst out from him shook the entire training tower and startled Saul, Joy, and even Zen himself.


    Bromley had put a lot of effort into building the fairy palace after all. It was so solid that even a consummate True God wouldn''t destroy it.


    "Whoosh!"


    As the sword light extended, it transformed into a large, new moon and slashed away at the consummate True God.


    The sword light disturbed and cut the flow of the air.


    It was so fast that Zen did not even have any time to react.


    Reinhard and the guy with soybean-like eyes only saw Zen waving the sword.


    In just a flash, a long, narrow cut appeared on his opponent''s


    Luo Clan was destroyed, Reinhard merely turned up his nose condescendingly at them.


    However, it seemed the dispute between the Luo Clan and the Dongfang Clan wasn''t as unreasonable as he first thought. It might have very well involved powers far above the rich and powerful clans.


    "Sizz, sizz..."


    Atlas'' body had been cut in half.


    An ordinary blade couldn''t have injured his thunderbolt body at all.


    Facing against several consummate True Gods was something he could easily handle with ease.


    He even considered himself as an indestructible existence sometimes, much like a Holy Being.


    It wasn''t until he was in his most desperate moment that he realized his vulnerability. In the end, he was eroded to death by the air of chaotic energy.


    He had been reborn for no reason.


    He had initially wanted to grasp this opportunity of having been reborn.


    However, he never expected that he would be ended like this by a low-rank True God.


    "Has everything changed?" he murmured in confusion.


    Half of his body fell down with Yan.


    The other half turned once again into a complete human body although the light of the thunderbolt was noticeably dimmer.


    Dying always made people cherish their life even more. After realizing that his life was threatened, Atlas knew that fighting was futile and opted to run away instead.


    "Crack!"


    There was a loud noise as he turned himself into a bolt of lightning and fled at a much faster rate than when he came.

 Chapter 2459 Wall Of Avatars

    After launching that sword attack, Zen gasped for breath.


    The Ways-blending Energy was very thick, and forcing it out with the Emotion Closing Godly Way had taken a huge toll on all his meridians.


    At this moment, the Godly Tile in his body dimmed down.


    Every time Zen had used the Ways-blending Strike in the fairy palace, he had needed to rest for a period of time.


    Moreover, he had always restricted himself, never daring to release the full energy of the Godly Ways.


    But when Zen had seen the consummate True God take his sister away, he had been ready to risk everything.


    He had swung his sword without hesitation, pushing himself to the limit.


    Now, even the smallest movement made him feel like his meridians were on fire. The pain came in waves; every time he thought that the worst was over, he felt another jolt of unbearable pain.


    Fortunately, his attack had been enough to startle the consummate True God, who quickly retreated.


    Despite the pain he was in, Zen gritted his teeth and rushed to Yan.


    Every inch of the consummate True God''s body was covered by thunder; a single touch would turn a person into ashes.


    Zen didn''t know whether Yan had gotten injured while being held by the consummate True God, so he was very worried about her.


    When he finally reached her, he felt a little relieved after seeing the Sky and Thunder Breaking Necklace hanging on Yan''s chest. Electric current crackled on the surface of the necklace, but it didn''t touch Yan at all.


    He had forgotten that this necklace Yan wore could resist all kinds of thunder attacks.


    However, he was still a little worried. He put his hand on Yan''s forehead and released a wisp of spiritual sense so that he could check Yan''s soul, which could have been damaged by thunder despite the necklace she was wearing.


    But just as his spiritual sense was about to invade Yan''s brain, a powerful force burst out from Yan''s brain and blocked his spiritual sense.


    "What?"


    A puzzled expression appeared on Zen''s face, but then he smiled.


    It seemed that Harold had prepared Yan well for the debate. He had not only given Yan a necklace that protected her from thunder attacks, but he had also given her a treasure to protect her soul


    silence, Reinhard answered, "That''s an agreement among the Holy Beings. How could I know?"


    "I don''t know much about it either. I just heard that the Emotion Closing Godly Way is related to the Mountain of Holy Beings. Later on, the Holy Beings prohibited the cultivation of the Emotion Closing Godly Way," the soybean-eyed guy said.


    "It''s related to the Mountain of Holy Beings?" Zen''s eyes narrowed.


    He didn''t care about the ban now.


    Anyway, he was just a stowaway in the divine land and his identity had already been exposed. He didn''t have anything holding him back.


    "I don''t know the specific reason, though." The soybean-eyed guy shuddered, poker-faced. Then he looked up at the sky and said, "It''s coming!"


    As a red light descended from the sky, they quickly flashed to the other side to avoid it.


    After they traveled some distance in the mist, a human wall suddenly appeared in front of them.


    They were stunned for a moment, but then they all burst into laughter.


    The red lights shot out by the Multiple Antennae Snake extended to almost every corner of the debate venue. This place was no exception.


    In order to resist the red lights, all the True Gods had summoned their avatars and made them link arms and climb on top of one another to form an indestructible wall.


    This was a very practical method indeed. As long as this wall of avatars was placed here, the red lights wouldn''t be able to hurt the True Gods at all, no matter how powerful they were.

 Chapter 2460 Unreasonable

    The top-rank True Gods were scared to death.


    Many True Gods had been killed by the numerous Three-Element Snakes and Death Bringers.


    They finally managed to ward off the sea of snakes. Everyone was still high on the joy of surviving the disaster.


    Nobody had expected the red rays of light to burst out of the heavy mist again.


    These rays of light moved at a high speed, and there was no time for anyone to dodge them.


    By the time they realized what was happening, the rays had enveloped more than ten top-rank True Gods within them. The flesh and bones of the top-rank True Gods were like ice on a hot summer day, melting quickly and turning into a pool of liquid.


    Fortunately, there were a few top-rank True Gods who knew it was better to be cautious.


    When one of these True Gods saw what was happening, he used his avatar such that it stood protectively before him.


    Others soon followed suit.


    There were some people with huge avatars, such as the True God of Zhao Clan, whose avatar was a massive elephant.


    But some avatars were tiny. A True God simply had a long sword as his avatar and it couldn''t block him at all.


    As the red rays of light swept around, the True Gods decided to bring all the avatars together to block the light. This way, they finally managed to completely block the red light.


    "Reinhard! Are you okay?" Solomon exclaimed.


    The disciples of the Sword Clan were excited.


    They had gone through enough despair and now, were thankful that they had been lucky enough to survive.


    "Did you kill the Snake Spirit?"


    "What is going on with these rays?"


    One after the other, the True Gods began to ask questions.


    Zen didn''t have the patience to answer them. With Yan on his back, He walked behind the wall made of the avatars and carefully put her down.


    He didn''t expect to see her stand the moment he put her down. It looked like she wasn''t hurt at all.


    "Thank you, Zen, for carrying me all the way here," Yan smiled.


    Zen was relieved at how lively she sounded but he pretended to be unhappy. "Looks like you are doing just fine!"


    "Don''t


    afe and sound.


    It was nothing short of a miracle.


    "Yes. I''ve heard of Atlas too. The gap between a consummate True God and a top-rank True God is simply too big."


    "It was said that Atlas was so much stronger than a normal consummate True God. But in the end, the Holy Beings had exiled him.


    That was how he disappeared."


    Reinhard smiled bitterly at these confused voices. He looked meaningfully at Zen, but didn''t know how to explain it.


    ''Shall I tell them the truth? That Zen forced Atlas to retreat just using a sword strike? They won''t believe it!''


    Reinhard wouldn''t have believed it either if he hadn''t seen it with his own eyes.


    Duke, Gage, Donne, Tyrone, Ellis, and all others from the alliance of wealthy clans remained silent.


    Duke''s face was etched a perpetual sneer.


    It didn''t make any difference whether Reinhard was telling the truth or not.


    It had been far beyond Duke''s expectations when they had managed to kill the Snake Spirit.


    Even if the four warriors had the strength to escape from a consummate True God, they would finally have to face a fiend.


    Long story short, after Duke followed them into the debate venue, every warrior here would die.


    Just as the True Gods had begun to doubt Reinhard''s words, Zen looked at the thick white mist in the distance and said to the True Gods, "Don''t you think the design of the debate venue is unreasonable?"

 Chapter 2461 In A Fix

    Reinhard was completely confused. He asked, "What do you mean by that, Zen?"


    Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!


    At that moment, two rays of red light shot through the mist and beamed on the wall, constructed by avatars.


    The Multiple Antennae Snake still refused to give up.


    Looking at that wall, Zen said, "The mystery behind the debate venue is no longer a secret for you guys. I am aware that most of the people came for the inheritance of that skeleton."


    He paused for a moment and then continued, "Let me rephrase it. The debate venue was designed by the skeleton, who wanted to choose a successor for himself. Am I right?"


    Tyrone of the Mu Clan sneered, "You are talking plain nonsense. Everyone knows that."


    Zen just smiled indifferently. Tyrone''s attitude hardly bothered him. "If that is the case, then the skeleton had completely lost his senses. Otherwise he wouldn''t have set up such a debate venue."


    Hearing this, Yan couldn''t help giggling, On the other hand, most people were still clueless about what Zen meant.


    But the guy with soybean-like eyes nodded and said, "That''s true. Since the intention behind creating this debate venue was to pick up a successor, it was impossible for the skeleton to design an unbreakable dead end!"


    The Truth of Goodwill and Malice permeated in the debate venue.


    As per Reinhard''s explanation, the debate venue used the Truth of Goodwill to test the True Gods'' comprehension of the Truth of Godly Way, and everyone would be in possession of a powerful avatar.


    The Truth of Malice would detect what those True Gods feared the most and create incarnations of their fears.


    It sounded normal.


    But then, the avatars were weaker than the incarnations of fears, and the True Gods were unable to bring their power into play.


    In other words, the avatars were useless to fight with these powerful incarnations of fears.


    Facing the Snake Spirit, all the avatars were trying their best to kill the group of snakes, but they still lost a considerable number of True Gods.


    "In the debate venue, neither a consummate True God nor a Holy Being can pass the skeleton''s test. As for top-rank True Gods... I believe everyone present should be able to represent the top-rank True Gods in the divine land. Even so, it''s still impossible for us to even move a single step. It clearly means that the skeleton doesn''t want to find a suitable successor after all," Zen said.


    Duke exclaimed with a mocking smi


    hat skeleton!" a True God exclaimed in a desperate tone.


    "You can always leave, if you chose to," Zen said, shrugging his shoulders.


    Hearing Zen''s words, the true God turned to Duke and asked, "In that case, would you please take us away?"


    Anyone who looked keenly, could clearly see the situation.


    The warriors in the debate venue were divided into two groups.


    One was led by Zen and Reinhard, and the other was the group of people from the alliance of wealthy clans, led by Duke.


    Those grassroots True Gods, and the other True Gods from neutral Floating Islands did not dare to leave alone. After all, if they left by themselves, they would probably encounter greater danger.


    But if Duke took the lead to turn back and leave the debate venue, they would gladly be willing to follow.


    "Yes Duke, we are willing to take your side and go back with you," said a True God from a neutral Floating Island.


    "Why bother yourself, by trying to bring some sense to them? If they wish to court death, they are free to do so at their own will."


    This time, it was Duke''s turn to be in a dilemma.


    His sole purpose of coming to the debate venue was to prevent Zen and the others from obtaining the inheritance of the skeleton.


    How could he leave the debate venue before his mission was completed?


    According to the rules of the debate venue, the fiend that had never appeared in the mist had existed because of his fear. Once he left the debate venue, the fiend would also disappear.


    This was a result that he could not accept.


    Zen looked at Duke calmly with a smile on his face, waiting for what he had to say.

 Chapter 2462 We Exist Because Of Them

    Duke just stood still there, saying nothing.


    How could he leave before completing his task?


    But he could not tell the others what was playing on his mind.


    He had just encouraged them to return together. Now, he himself was refusing to leave. This put him in an embarrassing position.


    He glared at Zen, as a killing intention surged in his heart.


    "How about we kill them now?"


    Wesley asked Duke using his life vitality.


    In Wesley''s opinion, they had an advantage right now.


    Duke was more powerful than any ordinary top-rank True God. Tyrone and Ellis were not weak either, and the members of the alliance of the wealthy clans would be on their side.


    Wesley thought that they could solve the problem swiftly.


    ''Now?''


    Duke thought to himself with a hint of apprehension. He had hoped to find a suitable opportunity.


    However, while being under siege from the sea of snakes, Yan and her brother chased the Snake Spirit and ran away, while Duke and the others got trapped by the sea of snakes.


    More importantly, he had got a very dangerous feeling from Yan from the very beginning. The sword array of the eleven people from the Sword Clan should not be underestimated either. What was more, Zen had a powerful avatar.


    "No, this is not the right time," Duke answered telepathically.


    The safest way would be to lure out the fiend, and then the fiend was strong enough to kill everyone present there.


    This thought brought a smile to Duke''s face and he suddenly changed his attitude. "In fact, Zen, you are right. There must be some secrets in the debate venue. Now that we are here, it will be disgraceful to return like this!"


    As he spoke, he began to retract the aura that had been spreading out.


    "Duke! What are you doing?"


    "Are you afraid of them?"


    "Zen is so arrogant. Let''s take him on together. It won''t be difficult for us to kill him."


    The True Gods from the alliance of wealthy clans were now burning with rage.


    Although they entered the debate venue with Duke, he hadn''t let them in on his plan.


    After all, not every True God had the courage to sacrifice their own life. If they knew that everyone in the debate venue was sure to die, how many would have actually come?


    "We still have a chance to go back right now."


    "Duk


    could track down some True Gods by following them for days and nights. It was very difficult to get rid of this bird.


    It was said that the Nether Hawk could release a powerful death intent while tracing a True God. A black smoke would encircle the True God.


    In the beginning, it would not cause any damage to the True God, but if the black smoke lasted for three days or so, no matter how strong the True God was, they would die without any resistance.


    Therefore, if a True God was being targeted by a Nether Hawk, they would certainly kill it, or else, they would be the one to be killed.


    Currently, there was a strong black smoke rising from the shoulder of Edmond, the fiend, but this Nether Hawk might not have the chance to kill him. He just pinched the Nether Hawk slightly and it let out a bitter cry. Then Edmond popped the bird into his mouth and began chewing it.


    "Ugh, it tastes awful!"


    Edmond said with a frown.


    The Abyss Demon Region was an unimaginably terrifying place in the divine land, and yet it was much better than this damned place!


    After swallowing the Nether Hawk, Edmond remarked, "You seem to be injured."


    Atlas nodded respectfully and replied forlornly, "I was hurt by a low-rank True God."


    "A low-rank True God?" Edmond was surprised. "Tell me, what have you found?"


    "This place is indeed very strange. All my killing intentions are aimed at a group of top-rank True Gods in this damned place!" Atlas had a dubious look on his face. "I feel we exist because of them!"

 Chapter 2463 The Source World

    "We exist because of them," Edmond said as he glanced at the mist in the distance. "That''s the truth. We were created by a strange method with the only purpose of killing those True Gods."


    "In other words, it''s safe to say that all this is nothing more than a basic trial for top-rank True Gods. Then, we..." Atlas suddenly frowned and stopped speaking.


    "Creating a creature that has all the memories is something even a Holy Being can''t do." Edmond thought for a brief moment before continuing, "I''m not interested in those guys. Take me to find the Multiple Antennae Snake so I can swallow it. After that, we''ll find a way to leave this place!"


    Once Edmond and Atlas gained their chance of rebirth, their ultimate goal was to obtain absolute freedom and never to be controlled by others again.


    What they didn''t know though, was that their efforts were in vain.


    At the end of the debate venue, on the huge iron bridge, a woman with long hair could be seen strolling.


    Every hair of hers was glowing with a strange luster and it poured toward the bottom of the bridge, all while slowly floating with the gentle wind.


    So far, in all its existence, no one had ever crossed the iron bridge.


    The Holy Beings of the Sword Clan had made it through the debate venue twice, and yet, they were still blocked by the iron bridge.


    Generally speaking, as an incarnation of fear, this woman wasn''t qualified to cross the iron bridge, either.


    Despite all that, there she was, walking along the iron bridge, completely safe and sound.


    After she crossed over the iron bridge, she disappeared into a small cave.


    The cave wall, on the other hand, was full of observant, curious eyes. As she entered, all the eyes swiveled and rolled in her direction.


    She kept an indifferent look on her face and moved along.


    She stopped, and at her feet, a deep well appeared. The aura that it exuded was extremely strong. So much so, in fact, that one could presume that the aura throughout the Non-combat Zone was flowing out of this well.


    Without a moment''s hesitation, the woman jumped down into the well.


    Thump!


    She landed loudly on her two feet. The well was only about a hundred feet in height, and she reached the bottom in an instant.


    At the bottom of the well, a skeleton held a long sword. He had maintained his sitting posture all this time.


    "Harper,"


    res?" The skeleton shook his skull. "It''s too late. It''s too late for Zen and Yan to obtain my inheritance. We have been falling for too long now. We''ve arrived in the depth of pure chaos. The ship has already been targeted by the Out-of-Land Fiends."


    "The Out-of-Land Fiends? What do you mean by that?" The woman with long hair frowned as she asked her question.


    "Well, I''ve never seen them myself before. The chaos is just too huge. There aren''t many records of the Out-of-Land Fiends in the Source World, but I''ve already noticed their existence," the skeleton replied. "And even without the existence of the Out-of-Land Fiends, you still wouldn''t have any chances at winning!"


    "Ah. I believe them," the long haired woman said calmly as she kept her composure.


    "I hope so. But I''m afraid it''s hard to say whether or not Zen and Yan will get through this. They have made the right decision, but the fiend has equally made the same choice." The skeleton pointed to the picture displayed on the well wall.


    As she listened to him speak, the long haired woman felt utterly shocked.


    Earlier, she had felt suspicious about whether she was the fear incarnation that Zen had created.


    Now though, she''d confirmed that both Zen and Yan were located in the debate venue.


    How could they even fight against the fiend?


    She felt extremely anxious about protecting her children.


    "I should have killed him right away!"


    The long haired woman wore a murderous look on her face. In a flash, she jumped out of the deep well and quickly crossed back over the iron bridge.

 Chapter 2464 The Passable Path

    As soon as the long-haired woman left, the skeleton returned to his original, motionless state.


    He gripped his long sword in his hand and went back to staring at the scene on the well wall with empty eyes.


    "They haven''t given up. They really are a persistent family." The skeleton let out a long, final sigh. "Although there''s only a very slight chance, I''d actually like to see them succeed. I''ll grant them with this opportunity..."


    The debate venue and the entire Non-combat Zone were completely under the skeleton''s control.


    Although Zen had inferred that something was wrong in the debate venue, he still had high hopes that he''d figure the mystery out.


    However, he didn''t know that the mystery was controlled by the skeleton!


    The skeleton could give his heritage to anyone, as long as such was as he desired.


    That said though, if he didn''t agree, then no one could pass through the debate venue.


    The mist was heavy and white.


    Zen, with both his feet on the flying sword, rushed forward.


    Reinhard followed right behind him, anxiously.


    This situation was now completely out of his control. He no longer had any idea what to do.


    According to Reinhard''s initial plan, he was supposed to be the one escorting Zen and his sister through the debate venue.


    After seeing Zen''s avatar, Reinhard was very hopeful about the debate over the Godly Ways.


    He had never expected that the incarnations of fears he encountered in the debate venue this time would be the most powerful ones he''d ever seen.


    What would they encounter under Zen''s lead?


    Howl!


    A roar rang out loudly from the mist.


    Suddenly, a huge shadow was rushing out toward them as fast it possibly could.


    "Giant ape!" someone screamed.


    "It''s the Giant Mountain Ape that is hiding in the Swirl Forest..."


    "It''s only a fifth-level beast. It might not even be too difficult to deal with it..."


    All the same, the fact remained that it was very difficult for one top-rank True God to fight against a fifth-level beast.


    However, there were more than a hundred top-rank True Gods gathered together now, and each of them was ready for combat. For them, dealing with such a ferocious beast was as simple as pie.


    "Attack!" Zen shouted at the top of his lungs.


    A bright burst of light flashed in his eyes.


    He quickly circled around in the sky on his flying sword!


    Howl!


    As it grew more and more annoyed, the Giant Mountain Ape waved its thousand-foot long arm, in an attempt to pinch Zen flat between its finger and thumb.


    This wasn''t Zen''s first time facing the Giant Mountain Ape.


    Once before, he had been


    ff with ease.


    "In other words, it''s a kind of soul attack. Am I right?" Zen asked, using his curious tone once again.


    "Yes, you are. Harold has said that if my soul is strong enough, I can almost kill all living creatures, even Holy Beings, through uttering a single word." Yan smiled with confidence. "Of course, my soul can''t be strong to that extent. Not yet, at least."


    Such a theurgy made Zen admire her so much, and Yan''s ability had genuinely been beyond his wildest imagination.


    As for the other top-rank True Gods standing behind them, they were all stunned, their eyes wide as they stared at Zen and Yan.


    Reinhard was holding his scabbard in his hand so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. His face was pale with embarrassment.


    He had planned to summon the disciples of the Sword Clan to attack the Giant Mountain Ape together, but to his surprise, Zen and his sister had killed it on their own. They did so with ease and in approximately ten seconds. Reinhard even had an illusion and was left wondering whether or not it was a fifth-level beast.


    Upon facing Zen and his sister, the beast had been too weak.


    After killing the Giant Mountain Ape, the team continued marching forward without hesitating.


    On their way, they encountered two more fear incarnations. However, these two fear incarnations were not as powerful as the ape they had defeated not long ago. Beneath Zen and his sister''s lead, who appeared totally unbeatable, the others simply had no chance of fighting back.


    After having walked for dozens of miles, everyone began noticing at once that the mist in front of them was becoming very strange.


    The thick white mist dispersed at once from both sides and suddenly formed a passable path!

 Chapter 2465 A Cyan Stone Tablet

    It was obvious that a power separated the mist, almost straight down the middle, providing them with a path.


    The path that had appeared out of the blue was abnormal, however.


    When the crowd saw this scene, their eyes flashed with reason.


    Reinhard, a warrior from the Sword Clan, was clearly the most familiar with the debate venue.


    But he never heard that there was such a path in the debate venue.


    "Is this a trap?" Reinhard asked, wanting to proceed cautiously.


    Zen just shrugged his shoulders carelessly and walked forward with his sister by his side.


    One way or another, it was useless overthinking things. They simply had no other choice.


    Reinhard watched their receding figures for a moment with a bitter smile plastered on his face. It appeared as though Zen and Yan didn''t have any psychological burden whatsoever.


    "Reinhard, are we really going in there, too?" Solomon asked, worriedly.


    Reinhard only nodded firmly and led the Sword Clan disciples forward at a brisk pace.


    As for the True Gods of humble origins, as well as the members of the powerful clans on the Floating Islands, they also chose to catch up, although they had hesitated for a good while.


    Because there was no longer any mist obstructing their view, everything in front of them became clear as day. They could see very far off into the distance, without anything blocking the way.


    After about 20 miles of marching, deep marks began to appear on the ground. These marks seemed to outline strange arrays in certain shapes.


    "These arrays... These arrays are very similar to those where the avatars were summoned! Don''t you think?" Reinhard was amazed and excited as he spoke.


    He quickly jumped into an array in an attempt to activate it.


    However, the array didn''t respond, not in the least.


    "Why isn''t it activating?" Reinhard questioned aloud, now feeling quite confused.


    Zen took a careful look at these marks which continued spreading far off into the distance. So much so, in fact, that Zen couldn''t see where they ended.


    "Maybe these marks are different from what we imagine." Zen offered his hypothesis lightly, moving briskly along the marks that extended endlessly.


    Reinhard glanced over at Solomon and ordered, "Plant the Eye of Perception. Do it now!"


    There was necessary information that needed to be seen by the Sword Clan leaders.


    Upon noticing the strange marks as well, the other True Gods revealed an expectant look as they picked up their pace in order to catch up with Zen and the others.


    As for Duke and the rest, they looked at one another and unanimously chose to follow the group, too.


    Unwittingly, Zen seemed to have led them to an unusual, outlandish place.


    The marks on the ground continued to spread until they reached the very end.


    "Look! Over here! There''s a stone tablet!"


    Zen''s eyes flashed with excitement as he saw the towering cyan stone tablet.


    What was more, on th


    kes the inheritance out on purpose? And what''s his purpose?"


    "He specifically wants to hand it over to either Zen or Yan," Harold answered.


    As he listened to Harold''s response, Marsh fell speechless.


    "If I want to obtain the inheritance, then I have to leave my name on the top of the stone tablet. That''s easy! A piece of cake!"


    Someone else had taken the lead.


    A top-rank True God of humble origin was the first to rush up. He shot at the top of the cyan stone tablet with might.


    However, his speed suddenly became incomparably slow.


    A powerful aura emitted itself from the huge words spread at the top of the cyan stone tablet and pressed down on the top-rank True God.


    One hundred feet...


    Two hundred feet...


    Three hundred feet...


    As the True God continued to rise, the pressure only became greater and greater. He could barely endure it anymore.


    Thump!


    When the True God reached a height of approximately four hundred feet, he stopped abruptly, seemingly having crashed into an invisible wall.


    He fell down like a stone thrown into a pool at once.


    He didn''t reach the top of the cyan stone tablet. There was no way for him to mark his name. It was completely impossible.


    As the other True Gods watched the scene, they naturally followed suit, but most of them equally stopped at the four-hundred-foot mark.


    Anywhere above that, it was as though they were stopped by an invisible wall of irreproachable strength.


    "Let me try!"


    Wesley shouted.


    His body turned into a cyan light, and a pair of illusory cyan wings suddenly spiraled out and spread around him.


    He flapped his wings a couple times before flying upward with precision and skill.


    Just as Wesley was about to reach four hundred feet in height, his body began trembling violently. He lost control of himself!


    "Humph!" he grunted.


    He flapped his wings once more. This time, he broke through the invisible wall and flew all the way up.

 Chapter 2466 Height

    According to the words on the cyan stone tablet, the inheritance would go to the warrior whose name was inscribed at the top of the tablet. Only the most excellent would be rewarded.


    And there was no set limit to prove that one was excellent.


    The higher the position of the inscription, the better.


    Although Wesley was not very old, he was still a rare talent in the Dongfang Clan.


    After breaking through four hundred feet, he did not abruptly leave his name, but continued to rush upward.


    "The Truth of Goodwill and Malice is really powerful," Wesley said excitedly. "But our Dongfang Clan''s skill is also good!"


    Besides the Truth of Godly Way, Wesley activated a secret cultivation method, causing a vast force to burst out of his body.


    It was this force that made him accelerate into the sky.


    Five hundred feet...


    Six hundred feet...


    Seven hundred feet...


    When he broke through seven hundred feet in the air and raised his head, he was able to see the top of the cyan stone tablet.


    The entire cyan stone tablet looked to be about a thousand feet in height.


    If he managed to leave his name at the height of a thousand feet, he would definitely be able to obtain the inheritance.


    But after crossing seven hundred feet, he felt the space around him become viscous, as if he was flying through thick, heavy oil, instead of air, and he felt like he was being dragged down by countless hands.


    "I''ve reached the limit..."


    Seven hundred and twenty feet.


    A small snake-like knife appeared in Wesley''s hand.


    The knife hurtled toward the tablet, followed by a few crisp sounds.


    To Wesley''s surprise, the material of the cyan stone tablet was soft. It was not hard at all to carve his name into it.


    Soon, a few letters appeared on the cyan stone tablet, spelling out "Wesley."


    Whoosh!


    As soon as his name was inscribed, Wesley fell and landed on the ground.


    Looking up at his name on the tablet, Wesley smiled and said, "Duke, it''s not that hard to carve words on the tablet."


    Duke nodded excitedly.


    The True Gods had originally been worried that it would be extremely difficult to carve words on the stone tablet, but Wesley''s words dispelled their misgivings.


    Now, all of them were eager to try their hand at getting the inheritance.


    Many


    What was more, he didn''t seem to have any intention of slowing down.


    "It''s not enough!"


    Reinhard gritted his teeth.


    Faint traces of sword textures appeared on his face.


    All the momentum in his inner world surged madly like a flood.


    "Flaming sword!"


    Splash!


    The blood-red sword textures on his face seemed to be burnt, and he shot up with newfound energy.


    Seven hundred and eighty feet...


    Seven hundred and ninety feet...


    Eight hundred feet!


    At this point, Reinhard turned over in the air, and the sword in his hand vibrated to form a beautiful shape.


    Clang! Clang! Clang!


    The long sword sparked against the cyan stone tablet.


    The word "Reinhard" was carved on the stone tablet and then he fell down.


    His name was inscribed eighty feet higher than Wesley''s.


    Even though Wesley was annoyed, he had no objections. After all, he knew the difficulty of surpassing any distance above seven hundred feet.


    Reinhard was indeed stronger than him.


    As the skeleton in the well stared at the scene on the wall, a glimmer of light flashed in his hollow eyes.


    "I didn''t expect that there would be such a talent among the younger generation of the Sword Clan. He left his name at eight hundred feet. Very good!"


    Being adjacent to the Sword Clan, the skeleton had witnessed the early growth of the Sword Clan.


    During that period, he had even silently given some help to the Sword Clan through the Sunrest Tree.


    It was just that he had never thought of leaving his inheritance to this clan.

 Chapter 2467 Breakthrough

    Deep in the skeleton''s heart, he knew that he would eventually be destroyed with the destruction of this world.


    He had been prepared for it ever since he had left the Source World.


    His inheritance would disappear subsequently.


    This ship carried both hope and destruction.


    What he was pursuing was now meaningless.


    He watched them struggle and fight in vain, striving for every opportunity.


    In this way, a one in a trillion chance could be turned into two in a trillion.


    He had once thought it ridiculous. Sure, the probability was doubled, but two in a trillion was still smaller than a grain of sand on the seashore.


    However, with these minuscule chances, they had made it to the debate venue.


    The skeleton finally understood what the long-haired woman had said; even a one in a trillion chance could mean a lot.


    They had transformed that one in a trillion chance into one in a hundred thousand.


    Because of that, a faint hope blossomed in his dead grey heart.


    After Reinhard carved his name at a height of eight hundred feet, the other True Gods also gave it a try.


    "Six hundred and sixty feet!"


    "Five hundred and twenty feet..."


    "Five hundred and seventy feet..."


    It could be seen from this that the strength of the True Gods of the Floating Islands was higher than that of the grassroots True Gods.


    Most of the True Gods of the Floating Islands could break through a height of six hundred feet, while the grassroots True Gods, with the exception of a few, reached only a height of five hundred feet. Occasionally, some of them could break through the height of six hundred feet.


    Although the vast majority of people could not reach the terrific height of eight hundred feet, their hopes weren''t extinguished.


    And Wesley also tried it a second time.


    This time, he used all his strength, but he only got ten feet higher¡ªseven hundred and thirty feet. That was his real limit.


    And as soon as he reached that height, he fell down, not having the strength to even carve his name.


    "Brother, it''s my turn," Yan said to Zen with a smile.


    Zen nodded. Yan stepped off the ground lightly and rose up at a steady speed.


    Most o


    ehind without any suspense.


    Gibson admired her performance, but in his heart, he was a little disappointed.


    "I told you, Yan will definitely be able to obtain the inheritance," said Harold with certainty.


    Marsh rolled his eyes. "You did, but Zen hasn''t had his turn yet. Maybe her brother will get the inheritance."


    "He can''t fly," answered Harold.


    Hearing such an answer, the two Holy Beings were left speechless.


    It did make sense.


    The top-rank True Gods could fly without anything, but Zen could only fly with his flying sword.


    It might not be much of a disadvantage for him during battles, but in this case, it would have a huge impact on his abilities.


    After all, he would constantly have to split his focus between rising up and driving the flying sword under his feet.


    Just as they were talking, the purple light in Yan''s eyes suddenly brightened.


    She lowered her head and murmured to herself.


    A ring appeared under her feet.


    "Break! Speed! Strength!"


    Buzz!


    As the circular ring began to spin, her body suddenly shot up.


    As she climbed, everyone heard a harsh grating sound around her body.


    One could only imagine how much resistance she had to face.


    Even so, Yan broke through the barrier and reached a height of nine hundred and twenty feet!


    As she pointed at the cyan stone tablet with her finger, its surface sank.


    A huge "Yan" appeared on the stone tablet, and then she rolled down.

 Chapter 2468 Energy-extracting Needles

    Everyone fell into silence when they looked at the graceful strokes of Yan''s name carved onto the stone tablet at a height of 920 feet.


    Some of the True Gods didn''t want to accept the result and planned to try a second or even third time, even though they knew deep in their hearts that Yan''s record was unbreakable.


    They looked at Yan''s slender and weak figure and couldn''t believe that she could have done this.


    "I''m afraid no one can climb higher than that," the guy with soybean-like eyes raised his head and declared.


    "Yan, you were great!" Zen also praised her.


    Yan looked up at the word she had engraved and smiled. "Brother, aren''t you going to do it?"


    Zen glanced at the group Duke was in, and then shook his head. "There''s no hurry."


    Since Yan had occupied the first place, Zen was not in a hurry to mark his name on the cyan stone tablet.


    Moreover, no one from the alliance of the wealthy clans on the Floating Islands had tried yet. To make sure that he won, Zen decided to be the last one to do it.


    "Then let me do it," said the soybean-eyed guy with a faint smile.


    As soon as he finished his sentence, a cyan cyclone appeared beneath his feet. As the cyclone circled around, his body spun faster and faster, and a spiraled mass of power began to rapidly rise.


    Four more True Gods also began to climb the cyan stone tablet at the same time.


    Duke squinted as he looked at the top of the stone tablet.


    He couldn''t help but feel irritated when he saw the name "Yan" inscribed on it.


    "Duke, what should we do?" Tyrone asked.


    Tyrone was a warrior of the Mu Clan and had been cultivated by Rachelle.


    He had entered the debate venue for the sole purpose of helping Rachelle take revenge.


    According to Rachelle''s instructions, Yan was not important. Regardless of whether Zen had a chance to obtain the inheritance of the debate venue, his priority was to kill Zen!


    However, the strength shown by Yan and the disciples of the Sword Clan had made Duke become very cautious.


    That was why he had warned everyone in his party not to act rashly.


    Tyrone had also realized that he might not be able to defeat Yan, so he was contro


    uring their blood and energy, and even the life vitality and momentum in the inner world of their body.


    At the same time, there was a reverse whirlpool in Duke''s chest.


    As strength flowed into his body, he felt as if his body was being inflated.


    It was impossible for the seven Phoenix-head Golden Needles to transfer all of the energy of the seven True Gods to Duke. But his power doubled in a short time after his energy was combined with the seven top-rank True Gods'' energies.


    By this time, the soybean-eyed guy had already reached the top of the cyan stone tablet.


    "850 feet!"


    "That guy isn''t from a Floating Island either. I didn''t expect him to be so powerful!"


    "Although he is not as strong as Yan, he is ranked the second..."


    The soybean-eyed guy stopped and wrote "Jay" on the stone tablet.


    The others didn''t care much about the word, but Zen''s eyelids twitched when he saw it.


    ''Did Holy Jay send him?'' Zen wondered.


    When he had been in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, he had heard that Holy Jay was looking for a True God who could save the divine land. Obviously, in the eyes of Holy Jay, Zen was only one of the candidates.


    For some reason, Zen couldn''t shake off his suspicions.


    When the engraving was done, the soybean-eyed guy descended to the ground with a sour face. He was not satisfied with the height the word was at.


    Then he turned his head and looked at Zen. "Zen, we look to you now."

 Chapter 2469 The Sword Array

    Right now, most of the True Gods had their names on the cyan stone tablet.


    The lowest name was just above four hundred feet while the highest one, Yan''s name, rested at nine hundred and twenty feet.


    Some of the True Gods had tried a few times. One of the ones from the Floating Islands had even tried more than ten times, but his best result was just six hundred and fifty feet high.


    In the end, this disciple of the wealthy clan had given up and resigned himself to watching other people''s good performances with a sigh.


    As soon as Zen walked out with his flying sword, Duke immediately followed behind.


    Reinhard pulled a long face as he watched Duke step out.


    It wasn''t prohibited for several True Gods to climb up at the same time in front of the cyan stone tablet.


    However, it was obvious that Duke, as the leader of the alliance of wealthy clans in the debate venue, had waited for the best chance to take his turn.


    When Zen was finally ready to give it a go, Duke moved close to him, putting Reinhard on high alert.


    "Duke, if you want to leave your name on the stone tablet, you can wait for Zen to carve his name first. There is no need to go up together," Reinhard said without the least bit of politeness as he stared at Duke.


    "Why do I have to wait for him?" Duke sneered.


    He had restrained himself from fighting or making any moves this whole time, but that didn''t mean he was afraid of Reinhard. He had just been waiting for the opportune moment to strike.


    "If you have a problem waiting, you can go first." Reinhard stretched out his hand, gesturing for Duke to go ahead, and then he winked at Zen.


    Of course, Zen knew what Reinhard meant.


    Duke had purposefully been waiting for this moment to make a move. Obviously, he was plotting something.


    Reinhard''s words naturally displeased Duke, who laughed and said, "I have the freedom to give it a go whenever I want to. Why should I listen to you?"


    No matter what, he was going to follow Zen.


    He opened his mouth to spit out a retort, but before he could do that, Zen waved his hand gently and said, "It''s okay, Reinhard." Then, with a glance at Duke, he said, "Since someone likes to follow me, just let him do it!"


    As soon as he finished his sentence, Zen sli


    Zen. "When did I wait for you?"


    "If you can surpass me, everyone will be safe. And if you can''t, you will attack me, right?" Zen said lightly.


    Hearing this, Duke was a little shocked. It was exactly what he had been thinking.


    But even if Zen had guessed his plan, so what? Unless Zen chose to give up now, the outcome would not change!


    "Humph!" Duke snorted coldly, and the momentum inside his body suddenly burst out, causing his speed to increase threefold.


    In the blink of an eye, he left Zen far behind him. Soon, he crossed seven hundred feet and went straight for eight hundred feet.


    Zen still looked calm and unhurried. He was slowly climbing on the flying sword with a faint smile on his face.


    In the Heavenly Sword Divine City, a trace of tension appeared on Harold''s face.


    "I didn''t expect that Duke would have a set of Energy-extracting Needles!" Gibson said flatly.


    Taking a deep sigh, Marsh said, "There are not many Energy-extracting Needles left in the Dongfang Clan. What if Duke surpasses Yan?"


    After Solomon had set the Eye of Perception, strong warriors could see details that weren''t obvious to the naked eye.


    Therefore, they had all watched with a long face as Duke quietly distributed the gold and silver needles.


    "Even with a set of Energy-extracting Needles, Duke can only double his strength, at the most. I don''t think he can reverse the situation by taking advantage of the needles," said Harold with a frown.


    However, Harold''s tone was uncertain.

 Chapter 2470 Be Overtaken

    Once Duke attained a height of 800 feet, his speed also suddenly decreased greatly.


    After all, among the over one hundred top-rank True Gods present here, only Yan, Reinhard and the guy with soybean-like eyes had been capable of reaching such heights.


    "Humph, go on!"


    He mustered all his strength. The Dragon-head Silver Needle that pierced his chest now shone with brilliant, bright light.


    The whirlpool in his body spun faster and faster. It was dizzying.


    Under the cyan stone tablet, each of the seven people, including Tyrone and Ellis, took one pill and sat cross-legged on the ground.


    When Yan and Reinhard saw them, their eyes flashed with excitement.


    Although they weren''t sure why the seven men acted in such a way, it was clear to them that they had used some kind of method in order to help Duke.


    "Zen..." Yan muttered.


    She raised her head and looked at Zen in the air above her, her face filled with worry.


    Once Duke had reached 800 feet in height, his speed slowed down, sure, but he continued to climb upward at a steady rate.


    Despite seeing Duke push forward, Zen had almost stopped after reaching 750 feet.


    If Duke broke the record left by Yan using his real strength, there were high chances that they''d lose absolutely everything!


    This was the last thing that the Sword Clan and Harold wanted to see happen, of course.


    Although Yan rarely took the big picture into consideration, nor did Harold really ever allow her to make the final decision, she knew the seriousness of the situation.


    ''If Duke really overtakes me and my brother fails, I''ll just keep trying, '' Yan thought to herself.


    Sensing Yan''s nervousness, Reinhard said lightly, "Don''t worry. There''s still a little chance that Duke won''t overtake you." He was trying to be encouraging.


    "Okay!" Yan nodded in reply.


    860 feet...


    870 feet...


    He reached 880 feet!


    Duke grasped onto and climbed up the cyan stone tablet.


    As the daredevil of his clan, he had his back to the wall. He was more loyal than anyone else, and he was more aware of death than anyone else, too.


    What he wanted though, was to be alive and see his clan''s ambitions and dreams become a reality in the world.


    He wanted to overtake Yan and obtain the inheritance for himself.


    In this way, he would be capable of saving his life and become one of the clan''s masters in the future!


    What was more, he''d even have chances of becoming a Holy Being.


    How could he give up on such a chance? Such an opportunity?


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Once Duke had climbed to a height of 890 fee


    ed to win this.


    Wesley and Gino weren''t the only ones to take action, in fact.


    The True Gods of the union of wealthy clans, such as the Leng Clan, the Mu Clan, and the Tang Clan had also been preparing to make their respective moves.


    "If you want to fight, go ahead. We''re ready and waiting!" Wesley sneered, his nose raised in the air.


    Although Duke was afraid of Yan and Reinhard, they still had a few advantages, thanks to the union of wealthy clans.


    Whether in strength or in quantity, never had they feared the Sword Clan before.


    As for the other True Gods of humble origins as well as the other members of the wealthy clans, they just quietly retreated to the side. They didn''t want to get involved for no reason.


    Yan''s tiptoe tapped on the ground a few times and she immediately floated three feet above the floor below her. With a flick of her finger, she asked quietly, "Do you really want to fight against them?"


    Reinhard felt kind of hesitant.


    Just as he was thinking about whether to fight or not, everyone heard Solomon shout out loudly. Duke on the cyan stone tablet had finally broken Yan''s record! Unbelievable!


    As Yan, the soybean-eyed guy and the others saw that Duke had climbed above Yan''s name, their hearts sank deep.


    Now, their last and final hope was Zen. It was only normal that everyone was depending on him alone.


    However, Zen had barely made his way over the 700-foot mark. He was slowly but steadily making his way upward. It was a question of waiting and seeing whether he could reach 800 feet or not.


    They weren''t the only ones feeling utterly nervous at this time.


    Harold, Marsh and Gibson were shocked to their core. They held their bodies stiff as boards.

 Chapter 2471 A Glimmer Of Hope

    As far as Harold was concerned, Yan was their best shot of winning in the debate.


    Marsh didn''t know the Luo Clan''s real background, but since Harold only focused on Yan, he, along with Gibson, paid attention to only Yan too.


    When it came to Zen, they all thought that the avatar that he had summoned was indeed quite amazing.


    This meant that Zen had a deep understanding of some kind of Truth of Godly Way.


    But that alone couldn''t make up for how much he was lagging behind the others in terms of cultivation base.


    Just like Harold had said, Zen couldn''t even fly on his own. How could he make a record with the help of the flying sword of the Sword Clan?


    Therefore, the three of them hadn''t taken Zen into consideration at all.


    When Yan had marked her name at a height of 920 feet, Harold and the others had all breathed a sigh of relief. They had been sure that Yan would get the inheritance.


    But now, their hope was destroyed!


    Duke had easily broken Yan''s record with a set of Energy-extracting Needles.


    "What should we do?" Gibson asked as he impatiently paced up and down the place.


    If the Dongfang Clan really got their hands on the inheritance in the debate venue, how could the Sword Clan shelter themselves in the future?


    This would have a far-reaching impact on the structure and hierarchy, and even the future, of the divine land.


    They could not accept such a result!


    "I wonder what the inheritance of that powerful man at the Other Shore Realm is. Whatever it is, we can''t let the Dongfang Clan directly take control of the Sunrest Tree," Marsh said with a bitter smile. If that happened, it was very likely that the Sword Clan would be expelled from the Non-combat Zone.


    Staring at the cyan stone tablet with a stiff face, Harold said, "There''s still hope. There is still a glimmer of hope!"


    In front of the stone tablet, Zen continued to climb up with the help of the flying sword.


    The young man who had been led all the way here from the universe by Harold had not given up.


    Even if he was only a low-rank True God who couldn''t even fly using his own abilities, he was still the seed that Mike had sown.


    He had sprouted and grown into a strong sapling.


    With a little bit of water


    to take the help of the Sword Clan''s flying sword to fly.


    Achieving a height of 850 feet itself was incredible!


    The skeleton in the deep well stared closely at the picture on the well wall.


    "It took him almost no time to get used to the rhythm of the Truth of Goodwill and Malice!


    He is as smart as his mother.


    I haven''t seen such a smart man in a long time. Even in the Source World, he would be considered highly gifted," the skeleton exclaimed. "But he won''t be able to reach 900 feet with the rhythm alone. He must be taking advantage of the Truth of Cultivation Nature."


    Just as the skeleton thought, after 850 feet, Zen''s swing range and his speed both increased.


    He looked like a phantom that was flashing back and forth.


    "860 feet."


    "870 feet."


    "Oh no! I''m getting faster and faster!"


    Zen was using the Truth of Cultivation Nature to move along the rhythm of the pressure.


    But although his body could bear the pressure, the flying sword under his feet began to vibrate violently.


    Crack! Crack!


    Faint cracks appeared on the sword blade.


    If he continued to climb against the pressure, the flying sword would probably be shattered into pieces!


    "Go!"


    There was a sharp look in Zen''s eyes.


    At the same time, Duke, who had overtaken Yan, finally reached his limit.


    He was 940 feet high.


    But just when he was about to carve his name into the stone tablet, he saw Zen climb up quickly.


    There was determination in Duke''s bloodshot eyes.

 Chapter 2472 Carve The Name

    The height of nine hundred and forty feet had already exceeded Yan''s height for twenty feet.


    Even as Yan attempted another round, she couldn''t go beyond this. Duke was thinking that the height was safe for now.


    However, he had no idea that Zen would rush up in such a short amount of time.


    "Alright then!"


    Duke stretched out his hand and scratched, leaving a "Duke" on the cyan stone tablet.


    Then he lifted his body into the air and shouted, "Do it! Now!"


    His hands morphed into claws and then he rushed towards Zen from above him.


    He would make sure to put a stop to Zen no matter what.


    At the foot of the cyan stone tablet, disciples of the wealthy clans and the Sword Clan were found to be at a stalemate. They sat quietly, watching Duke and Zen closely.


    Just then, Duke announced that everyone could take action as well.


    Among the members of the alliance of the wealthy clans, except the seven men with the Phoenix-head Golden Needles in their bodies, the rest of the True Gods took action.


    "You, get out of here!"


    A sinister smile plastered across Duke''s face, and a destructive energy began to erupt from him.


    "Destructive Godly Way!


    Sinking star in the ocean!"


    Before climbing up the cyan stone tablet, Duke had so many ideas and plans running through his mind.


    If Zen wasn''t strong enough, Duke thought it best to ignore him.


    However, if this guy''s height slightly threatened him, he would definitely make a move.


    Though Zen and Duke were both suppressed by the Truth of Godly Way, Duke had already carved his name which gave him a noticeable advantage.


    He would win in any way.


    "Brother! Damn!"


    Yan grew nervous at the sight of his brother in war with someone so powerful.


    Reinhard had led Sword Clan''s disciples to form the sword array, ready to fight against the True Gods from the wealthy clans, but Yan was not in the mood to fight.


    At this moment, Duke seemed to transform himself into a star and directly launched himself at Zen. He smirked, giving off a face full of pride.


    Now that Zen was under such a strong pressure, and he had no way to dodge, he was having a hard time resisting the attack in any way.


    Everyth


    and! I think I''m too old to remember this, hahaha..." Gibson roared with laughter.


    With a deep sigh, Harold added, "Let''s see how Zen can defend himself from Duke!"


    "Nine hundred and ten feet!"


    Now, Zen had made great efforts to advance over his opponent.


    He just needed to surpass Duke, even if by an inch if he could.


    However, at this time, the crisp sound of "click" came from the flying sword under his feet again.


    "It''s finally going to break," he whispered to himself.


    The flying sword seemed to be covered with cracks so it was most likely to be broken into pieces anytime soon.


    "Strength source..."


    Zen had to let go of all of his fortune for a single throw.


    Bang!


    Just like that, the strength source exploded and it slammed on the flying sword.


    Whoosh!


    Zen began to spurt upwards.


    Nine hundred and forty feet...


    Nine hundred and fifty feet...


    Nine hundred and sixty feet...


    "Now, it is the time!"


    Zen''s gaze froze as an invisible flying sword materialized before his very eyes.


    The flying sword moved on the cyan stone tablet, and a huge "Zen" was finally engraved on it.


    Whoosh!


    Then, Zen''s body floated and he fell down.


    Duke''s heart broke at the sight of Zen''s name.


    As soon as their eyes met, Duke''s face flashed with a certain fierceness and anger.


    In the end, this was the result of Duke''s little trick. There was only one thought left in his heart: to kill this guy at any cost.

 Chapter 2473 Footsteps

    Looking at the fury in Duke''s eyes, how could Zen not understand?


    As he fell, a sneer appeared on his face and the four swords of the Gods Killing Sword Array materialized next to him.


    He had spent most of his time comprehending and using the Truth of Godly Way during the two years of cultivation.


    He then found that the Truth of Cultivation Nature was a lot different from the other Truths of Godly Ways.


    The Truth of Cultivation Nature was practically compatible with any theurgy, including the Gods Killing Sword Array.


    The four invisible long swords then flew and shot towards Duke.


    In this way, he had already made a small breakthrough in Joy''s Gods Killing Sword Array.


    However, Joy had also felt that the Gods Killing Sword Array used with the Truth of Cultivation Nature was more powerful and had fewer flaws.


    After figuring out this, Joy was also working hard on the potential of the Gods Killing Sword Array.


    According to her, he might be able to create an array with more changes.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    All four swords shot down


    as Duke drew a long sword with a wide blade.


    However, just as he brandished the long sword, the leading Buddha Emperor Sword struck towards him.


    Bang!


    The Buddha Emperor Sword collided with Duke''s blade.


    Even though Duke was a top-rank True God, he was still unable to resist the killing power of the Buddha Emperor Sword. The long sword almost flew out of his hand.


    He stepped back in an attempt to retreat but he suddenly felt shackles on the lower part of his body.


    "Long Vine Sword!"


    The four swords were controlled by the Truth of Godly Way and all of them moved and worked together seamlessly.


    That was the terrifying nature of the Truth of Cultivation Nature.


    It made everything natural and harmonious.


    "Heavenly Tooth Sword!"


    Puff!


    The Heavenly Tooth Sword suddenly hacked at Duke''s neck.


    But Duke leaned back and managed to avoid a horrible gash in his throat. The attack didn''t leave him unscathed though, and he now had a shallow cut on his neck.


    After taking continuous blows, Duke finally broke free from the Long Vine Sword and quickly sc


    rally greatly reduced.


    To everyone''s surprise, the disciples of the Sword Clan cooperated so well with each other and even had the upper hand.


    Of course, Yan''s attack was also very crucial.


    Although Yan didn''t want to fight those wealthy clans'' disciples face to face, the theurgy she cultivated was extremely powerful. Once she used it, she would definitely take one opponent''s life.


    All she needed was to cast one spell, "Die".


    Five minutes passed.


    Zen was fleeing backward, calm and cool as ever.


    However, the look on Duke''s face had darkened, and the red flame on the blood sword in his hand was becoming dimmer and dimmer.


    Just as Zen guessed, the method of burning the blood essence wouldn''t last long.


    Duke was getting weaker and weaker, and he finally stopped and panted with the blood sword clenched tightly in his fist. He looked at Zen, feeling desperate.


    Zen still looked at Duke indifferently and said, "You should give up. You have done enough for your Dongfang Clan."


    "Give up..." Duke spat bitterly.


    It shouldn''t have been like this.


    Before setting out, Duke had heard about Zen from Rachelle.


    She said that they probably wouldn''t be able to kill Zen and at that time, Duke did not understand.


    But now, he finally did.


    Just at this moment, a loud sound of footsteps suddenly came from the distance, and a huge figure appeared in the mist.


    Looking at the figure, Duke suddenly smiled.

 Chapter 2474 The Mad Duke

    "Thump!"


    "Thump!"


    The crunch of gravel echoed too loudly in the mist, as if it came from a gigantic creature.


    The footsteps became increasingly louder and indeed, a gigantic creature was slowly approaching.


    On the other hand, the True Gods were so excited when they found the cyan stone tablet that they let down their guard for a little bit.


    After all, the most important thing was to get the inheritance of the powerful warrior at the Other Shore Realm. Anything other than that was of no account.


    Both Reinhard and Duke thought so, until¡­


    The True Gods suddenly stopped in their tracks when they heard the loud footsteps, turned around and looked at the mist in the distance.


    "Hahaha!" Duke laughed wildly. "Finally he''s coming! Finally!"


    Zen turned around as well to look at the giant shadow within the mist. "What do you mean?" he asked dimly.


    "It''s the fiend! The fiend in the abyss!" Duke announced madly. "I don''t need to give up. Ha-ha! I''m just waiting to get killed!


    You and I, all of us will die!" "Is this fiend the incarnation of your fear?" asked Zen.


    "Yes," Duke bellowed. "All of you were doomed to fail the moment I entered the debate venue! All of you are doomed to die!"


    Then, instead of moving backward, Duke rushed headfirst towards the huge shadow from the mist that slowly approached them.


    "What? Why is there a fiend here?"


    "Based from what Duke said, he has predicted it ever since he entered the debate venue."


    "In other words, he knows what he''s afraid of. This fiend is the incarnation of fear that he summoned!"


    The chatters became louder as some disciples of the wealthy clans on the Floating Islands theorized among themselves while staring at Duke in the distance with gritted teeth.


    "If he wants to die, he can do that himself. Why should he get us all killed?"


    "Duke has gone too far!"


    "That is a fiend in the abyss. Some of them are as powerful as the Holy Beings!"


    Generally speaking, True Gods were able to fight against some incarnations of fear like the Snake Spirit and the Multiple Antennae Snake that had appeared before.


    They, however, could not fight against a fiend.


    Tyrone and the other six who had recovered their consciousness sat cross legged in meditation. All of them had sus


    ng, before it crashed deep into the ground. No one knew if he was dead or alive.


    Edmond knew that his own existence was related to those True Gods.


    But he was more aware of the fact that none of those True Gods could have possibly created him.


    Zen, who had witnessed the whole scene, was shocked.


    "He''s so powerful!"


    Indeed, Edmond could be compared to the Demi-holy Beings, and even the Holy Beings in terms of strength.


    He carelessly flicked the mad Duke''s body away, when Atlas had noticed Zen nearby.


    "Master, it''s that powerful man who could cut off my thunder-like body!" he exclaimed.


    In turn, Edmond looked at where Atlas was looking and saw Zen. Zen suddenly felt an invisible pressure had surrounded him, and then the air around him became thick and balmy.


    "This powerful man you say? Haha..."


    As soon as he was done speaking, he stomped on Zen''s head.


    Even though Edmond had a tremendous size and he looked like he moved slowly, he actually had an immensely fast speed!


    Zen was greatly surprised, but he swiftly used his bodily movement skill and retreated.


    "The Eight Smoky Melodies!"


    The Eight Smoky Melodies had become more powerful after it was fused with the Truth of Cultivation Nature.


    As for Edmond, he stepped down with his overly large foot, which created a strong wind pressure. Zen quickly took advantage of the wind and dodged even faster.


    "Thump!"


    Edmond stepped away from the ground where his large footprint was, but there was no sign of his target.

 Chapter 2475 Determination

    "En?"


    Edmond threw an indifferent glance at Zen who was floating like a leaf, surprise written all over his face. "What a wonderful bodily movement skill! It''s interesting how he can use the momentum in such a way."


    In terms of bodily movement skill alone, the Eight Smoky Melodies was nothing in the divine land.


    It wasn''t a theurgy of the Godly Way, after all.


    But when it was infused with the Truth of Godly Way, it was a whole new game¡ªEdmond was shocked.


    While in his eyes, the top-rank True Gods were rather insignificant, one of them had managed to wiggle his way out from under his feet.


    "Huh!"


    At the thought, Edmond''s lips curled into a faint smile.


    Then, he rose up, his huge body towering his surroundings.


    His leap was somehow mountainous as he slammed his fist right at Zen.


    Even if Zen fled extremely quickly, he still couldn''t get rid of the giant on his tail.


    Looking at the huge figure above his head, Zen smiled bitterly¡ªall he could do was to use the Eight Smoky Melodies again.


    Boom!


    With a giant, mountain-like body taking heavy steps, the whole debate venue shook.


    Even the bottom of the Sunrest Tree trembled slightly.


    The fiend''s body came down with a loud sound and a hurricane swept over the mist, turning it into a mess.


    Zen was like a mosquito, flying wildly around the hurricane.


    From the way things looked, Edmond wasn''t going all out in this fight against Zen. Instead, he was somehow mocking the man, trying to catch Zen with his bare hands like he would a bug.


    When Yan saw her brother in trouble, she spun and flew towards him without hesitation.


    "Run!"


    "No one is a match for him!"


    "We should''ve already left this place long ago!"


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    The top-rank True Gods present, regardless of the disciples of the wealthy clans or the grassroots, were all frightened and they ran away in all directions.


    The True Gods of the alliance of wealthy clans started to hate the Dongfang Clan more¡ªhow could they be willing to risk their lives to help them? In the end, they scattered.


    "What should we do?"


    Solomon was anxious as he asked, seeing Zen in a life and death situation.


    The disciples of the wealthy clans were all gone.


    E


    s left immediately. The soybean-eyed guy was still surprised to see that Enoch had stayed.


    His face turned pale¡ªhe was clearly terrified. But in spite of his fear, he said in a low voice, "There is more than one enemy in the debate venue. I''m afraid running away rashly will lead me to a dead end."


    With one hand grasping a double-edged sword, the soybean-eyed guy smiled. "Staying here is also a dead end."


    But Enoch shook his head. "Not necessarily."


    The enemy before them was truly terrifying¡ªEnoch had already heard all sorts of inconceivable rumors about the Abyss Demon Region.


    But he had a hunch that staying there gave him a purpose that was yet to be revealed.


    "Well, I''d like to think so."


    With a gentle smile, the soybean-eyed guy floated away showing no trace of fear in his expression.


    "Let''s see how you escape this time!"


    A series of rough curses came from Edmond''s throat.


    Having failed to land a hit to Zen for quite a while, Edmond had finally lost his patience.


    Blood-red lightning burst from his hand. It formed a whirlpool, completely restricting Zen within.


    He saw no window of escape as he watched Edmond''s giant hand come towards him.


    "Damn!"


    Zen narrowed his eyes at the hand. He had nowhere to hide and all he could do now was withstand the blow.


    But right at this moment, a dazzling purple light suddenly flashed behind him.


    Yan''s eyes were full of determination. When she crossed her hands, a purple shadow surrounded her.

 Chapter 2476 Shadow Of Snake Goddess

    The purple shadow rapidly extended after fully enveloping Yan.


    Now restrained, Yan put her hands over her chest and recited something softly.


    The shadow continued expanding.


    A hundred feet, a thousand feet, ten thousand feet¡­


    In the blink of an eye, the shadow turned into a colossal creature.


    While it had the slender figure of a woman, the ends of its arms had no hands but instead, two slender whips.


    Its head was akin to an eagle''s with a sharp, beak-like mouth.


    And Yan was completely embedded right in the middle of it all.


    "What...what is this?"


    Enoch was completely dumbfounded at the sight of the huge monster.


    Never had he heard of such a thing in the divine land.


    After Yan entered the Everest Spirit Mountain, Harold had told her that there was a powerful monster hidden in her heart.


    He said that it would make her slowly lose her mind, devour her own soul, and eventually, completely replace her.


    Until now, Yan had no clue what he was talking about.


    As she heard of it, she never realized what its existence meant.


    Harold said that it was a sort of talent and ability of her race.


    Everyone from this race had to face the monster within from the moment they were born.


    If one could control the monster, they would have far more powerful abilities than the other race members. If not, then one would simply die young.


    When Yan was in the Lower World, she had never discovered the monster herself.


    She hardly even believed what Harold told her.


    It wasn''t until Harold woke up the monster in Yan''s heart that she discovered its existence and understood her own uniqueness.


    She wasn''t primarily concerned for herself, but for her brother.


    Harold revealed to her that while they shared the same parents, they belonged to two different races.


    As a result, Zen didn''t carry such a monster in his heart.


    Under Harold''s guidance, Yan continued fighting off the monster.


    There was a time when she had been in an unfavorable situation, and it was with Harold''s help that she managed to survive it.


    But while Yan currently had the upper hand, she still found it difficult to control the monster. If she released the monster in her heart rashly, it was likely to make a sudden counterattack.


    Bu


    uld send their disciples into the Abyss Demon Region every once in a while.


    But never did they expect to encounter Edmond on the very first stage.


    For the disciples of the alliance of the wealthy clans, Edmond''s arrival was a complete nightmare.


    In less than half a minute, he had killed over 500 True Gods, including 76 top-rank True Gods and 470 mid-rank True Gods.


    Because of Edmond''s appearance, the wealthy clans were more cautious about training in the Abyss Demon Region. The large-scale training must absolutely be accompanied by consummate True Gods and Demi-holy Beings.


    In Edmond''s eyes, these True Gods were simply too weak to even bother killing.


    But Zen was his first encounter in this place. A special aura filled Zen''s bodily movement skill. Edmond couldn''t catch him and had to use his full strength just to tie Zen up.


    When he sighed at the strange man, a top-rank True God suddenly formed a strange shadow.


    Its power was far stronger than Edmond had expected.


    "Have the young fellows from the divine land become so powerful?"


    When the two whips came right at him, Edmond was left with no choice but to stretch out his hands and clasp them together, preparing to grip the whips in his hands.


    "Humph!"


    Upon witnessing the scene, Yan snorted.


    Splash!


    When Edmond grabbed the two whips, his face changed immediately.


    A powerful, tearing force was transmitted. His hands became as fragile as pieces of paper, instantly reduced to brittle pieces of blood.

 Chapter 2477 Sword Light

    The fiends in the Abyss Demon Region absorbed countless evil intentions which made their bodies extremely powerful.


    A fiend was the evilest yet most perfect creature ever imagined.


    Countless divine eras had strengthened these creatures and refined their bones, blood, and flesh.


    Through the power of imagination, they became evil and extremely powerful creatures.


    The fiend race represented fear and annihilation. The Faith Energy in the divine land did not turn into momentum but constantly gathered in the forbidden areas.


    It was in the Abyss Demon Region that all negative Faith Energy gathered.


    However, such a powerful fiend was unable to resist the shadow summoned by a top-rank True God.


    Trapped in the blood-red lightning, Zen could only gaze wide-eyed at the scene in front of him.


    It was only then that he understood what Yan said when they encountered Atlas. She told him that if she was careful enough, then there would be no need for her to fear a consummate True God.


    If Atlas hadn''t come out of nowhere, Yan would''ve dealt with him swiftly.


    Furious at the scene, Reinhard and the Sword Clan members all drew their Calamity Swords.


    However, eleven people with Calamity Swords were still no match for Edmond.


    It was clear for Reinhard and the others that they were only courting death.


    Under such circumstances, however, they did not really have a choice.


    Just before they attacked though, Yan had gone ahead and shocked all of them.


    Reinhard was wild with joy.


    He didn''t know just what kind of method Yan used, but perhaps it was possible for her to forge a miracle and kill this fiend.


    Yan had effectively given hope to these Sword Clan disciples.


    "Soul Killing Sword Strike! Kill him!"


    Reinhard yelled.


    He stood at the helm with the other Sword Clan disciples behind him, lined up in two rows with their Calamity Swords drawn.


    Each disciple had a resolute expression on their faces.


    Streaks of crimson light connected them.


    In order to fight against


    he attack.


    However, the punch wasn''t enough to destroy the array, so Edmond raised his fist once again.


    One more punch and the Soaring Sky Sword Array would certainly be torn into pieces; those who formed it would die instantly.


    This scene gave Duke hope.


    It seemed he hadn''t failed just yet.


    "Yes! This is the power of a fiend. Show them more of your power!" Duke laughed.


    At that moment, Marsh and Gibson in the Heavenly Sword Divine City closed their eyes at the same time.


    The twelve disciples of the Sword Clan, including Reinhard, were all selected carefully, As a top-rank True God, Reinhard was granted the surname "Sword" and was an outstanding figure in his clan.


    Only a consummate True God was qualified to bear such a surname.


    The two Holy Beings knew their disciples would die after using their Calamity Swords, and they couldn''t bear to see such a scene.


    Just as Edmond''s punch was about to land on the sword array, a majestic aura suddenly rose!


    An incomparable blazing sword light shot out from where it rose.


    This sword light seemed to have the capacity to cut through both heaven and earth. Nothing in the vast divine land could resist it.


    Swiss!


    A faint wind blew.


    Edmond suddenly felt his right shoulder become lighter.


    Boom!


    His huge right arm was cut off and hit the ground hard.

 Chapter 2478 Got Serious

    Zen stood not far away, holding his light green sword with an expressionless look on his face. He panted, staring at Edmond.


    The long sword he held was just an ordinary supreme primordial weapon and could not bear the energy of the Ways-blending Strike.


    As soon as he brandished the sword light, the entire blade became riddled with holes.


    When Yan and the Sword Clan''s disciples attacked Edmond, the lightning cage that trapped Zen disappeared.


    However, he couldn''t use the Ways-blending Strike continuously.


    He had already launched two strikes in a row against Atlas earlier, in order to save Yan.


    Both his body and Godly Tile had been pushed to the limit.


    The few hours of rest he got was far from enough for him to recover.


    His legs trembled in exhaustion.


    He was very much like the damaged sword he wielded.


    The energy he exerted after merging the Godly Ways was too powerful and could destroy all his meridians even if he merged it with the Truth of Godly Way.


    "It''s this strike. It''s this strike..."


    Atlas hid far away and only looked at him from a distance.


    He had already learned his lesson from Zen''s strike.


    Before, Atlas did not offer Edmond a hand because this strike had great influence on him. Moreover, he yielded to Edmond because he wasn''t powerful enough.


    If this group of top-rank True Gods managed to miraculously kill Edmond then Atlas was willing to sit on the sidelines and wait for a chance to benefit from it.


    As a result, he tried his best to stay away.


    "This strike..."


    Duke had a stunned expression on his face.


    As the anonymous man, Zen''s achievements in the Arena of Legends were truly amazing.


    His record of consecutive wins earned him quite the stellar reputation.


    A talent like him was rare even in the wealthy clans on the Floating Islands. Nobody could compare to Zen when it came to his achievement, not even the Holy Beings.


    However, it was still going to be impossible for him to unleash such a terrifying sword strike.


    It wasn''t reasonable.


    The strike just now was powerful en


    the complexities of merging Godly Ways. He simply widened his eyes and used his perception to watch everything in the debate venue. Energy continuously flowed in one of his hands as he calculated the possibilities.


    Edmond was suffering and was also one arm less because of Zen.


    Yan also showed great strength and the eleven disciples of Sword Clan could still be considered strong, however, the chance of winning against the enemy remained at zero.


    With his arm cut off, Edmond became silent.


    He grabbed his arm and docked it back to his shoulder. Countless flesh burst out from the wound and regenerated around the site.


    Countless red lightning also poured out from his body and wrapped around him.


    Edmond had a really bad temper but he had no energy to rage right now.


    He was silent and calm.


    There was no way he could regard this group as mere ants. It was time he treated them as serious opponents.


    Fizz! Fizz!


    Countless red lightning leaked out from his skin.


    He then took a step forward.


    The next second, he suddenly vanished.


    ...


    Before he had a chance to react, Edmond already appeared above Zen.


    The fiend was wrapped in infinite red lightning and Zen felt as if the area around him was enveloped by an unattainable mountain.


    "Die!"


    Edmond''s eyes exuded a surging killing intent.


    He should''ve ended this boring game earlier.

 Chapter 2479 A Nobler Being

    Edmond was all charged up and determined to catch Zen all by himself.


    The scene resembled some human trying to catch a fly with his bare hands.


    What had started as a playful confrontation, had now turned into a frustrating conflict. Immediately, within ten thousand feet, the area was engulfed by infinite blood red lightning.


    When Atlas in the distance saw the scene unravel, he could not help but shiver. "That guy is a rare talent in the divine land. I''m afraid that he will face his end soon."


    "No!"


    Yan screamed.


    Edmond attacked so fast that Yan didn''t have any time to react.


    Her eyes were wide open as she looked at the circle of red lightning. She was smoldering with anger.


    With the whistling of the wind, her body suddenly flew in the air, and the huge shadow of Snake Goddess followed her.


    They dashed towards Edmond regardless of the consequences.


    "You?"


    Seeing that Yan and the shadow were rushing towards him, Edmond waved his huge hand.


    He threw a punch in the air that transformed into a huge fist shadow.


    Now the fight erupted between the fist and the shadow of Snake Goddess.


    "Boom!"


    The shadow of Snake Goddess endured the blow, and its surface began to glow brightly.


    Yan was still finding it difficult to control the shadow of Snake Goddess, although it was only in its primary form.


    As Harold had said earlier, even though the power of the shadow of Snake Goddess was extraordinary, it did not really belong to the divine land.


    However, no matter how extraordinary it was, the shadow of Snake Goddess that Yan controlled was equivalent to an infant. It was not strong enough to beat a fiend.


    The light on the surface of the shadow of Snake Goddess flickered for a while and then started to fade. Suddenly, purple light started gathering to Yan''s chest.


    The purple light in her eyes began to flicker rapidly and she looked very painful. Suddenly her body fell down from midair.


    And the counterattack had already begun.


    Unreconciled, Yan looked at the sea of red lightning and said in a low tone, "Zen, I''m sorry that I failed to protect you."


    A


    o fight with a fiend who was as strong as a Demi-holy Being.


    He had two Promises of Absolute Beginning left. But Yan was unable to resist the blood red lightning. Was this their end?


    "Zen," Yan called out, her lips bloodless. She braced herself up and reached out to stroke Zen''s face. "You''ve tried your best. Don''t struggle anymore."


    "Don''t be silly!" Zen was furiously thinking of a way as he kept retreating.


    Unlike Yan, he had earlier experienced similar situations. And never had he given up on any kind of situation before.


    "Yan is right." Duke''s voice came faintly from behind Zen. "Your struggle is meaningless. To meet death is your final destination!"


    Having known that he could not escape death, Duke followed Zen fearlessly.


    Zen glanced at him indifferently and sneered, "You are like a maggot yourself. Do you think that everyone in the world is like you?"


    Hearing Zen''s words, Edmond smiled and said, "Your so-called Gods are similar to maggots in my eyes!"


    "Did you hear that?" Duke mocked. "Who do you think you are? Why do you pretend to be nobler than me? Haha..."


    The wild laughter was very harsh, and Zen''s face was ashen.


    Duke continued to laugh, looking at Zen''s predicament.


    Suddenly, a soft female voice could be heard from the thick mist.


    "Why? Because he is my son"


    As soon as these words were spoken, a slender figure slowly walked out of the mist.

 Chapter 2480 Mother

    Up to a moment ago, everything had been quiet, shrouded in a silence as thick as the mist itself. The voice that had, so suddenly, come from the fog rang loud and clear, cutting through the stillness.


    Zen, Duke and Edmond


    all turned towards the source of the voice.


    "The long-haired woman!"


    Edmond''s face darkened immediately.


    He had encountered this mysterious woman after he had suddenly appeared here, seemingly at random.


    He was wise enough to know the type of people he couldn''t afford to provoke, and this woman was undoubtedly one of them.


    The last time they had met, she had broken his arm, and then left without a word. They had never met again since then.


    Edmond even suspected that she possessed the knowledge of how one could exit in this strange world.


    But not for a moment had he thought that she would appear here once again.


    Duke, too, was stunned when he heard the woman''s voice.


    "What the hell does she mean by ''son''?"


    As his eyes examined the woman''s face, realization dawned on him.


    "They look exactly the same!"


    The woman''s hair, which was over a thousand feet long, trailed on the ground as she walked slowly in their direction. She had a mesmerizing aura, and was stunningly beautiful.


    And yet, one detail about her appearance was deeply disturbing.


    She looked exactly like Yan!


    Her son. The brother and sister...


    A possibility suddenly occurred to Duke. "Is this woman Yan and Zen''s mother?"


    How could she be here, of all places? How could such a coincidence be possible?


    Duke felt that he was crazy enough to have agreed to the plan arranged by his clan. Now, however, he understood that plan was ridiculous, because this world was even more bizarre than he had ever expected.


    Harold had nearly given up on the hope that someone would come and help Zen.


    Although Zen''s performance had, so far, exceeded his expectations again and again, he believed that Zen had finally met his match in Edmond, and was doomed to die.


    This was a desperate situation, and the results were not difficult to predict, especially for an intelligent, experienced man like Harold.


    His master had entrusted the protection of Yan and Zen to him, but he had failed to save them from this tragic situation. His heart sunk in his chest with great shame and defeat.


    Although he had tried his best to restrain himself, his face could not help but show his inner turmoil.


    He had been standing there for a while, wallowing in guilt and self-pity, when suddenly, he caught a glimpse of the long-haired woman through the Eye of Perception. Immediately, he emerged from his trance, trembling from shock.


    "It''


    her!"


    Zen''s heart skipped a beat. He wanted to believe the woman. He wanted to believe that there was a chance for Yan, whose life force was weakening with every passing moment.


    "The shadow of Snake Goddess? You mean the purple shadow?" Zen asked, desperation in his voice. He didn''t have long to make a decision.


    The woman nodded. "Yes," she whispered.


    Zen knew what he had to do. If he wanted to save Yan, he had to act fast. This was his last chance, risky as it was.


    The powerful fiend was still there, hiding in the mist. Did this woman plan to save Yan right here?


    "But that guy is still here..." Zen said.


    The woman, however, did not seem to think much of Edmond. She treated him with complete indifference, as if he were a piece of dirt on her shoe, not a mountain-sized fiend.


    Upon hearing her alleged son''s words, she frowned, but then smiled soon after. "You are right. Wasn''t it because of this guy that Yan had to use the shadow of Snake Goddess? Then..."


    "Buzz!"


    Her extremely long hair suddenly lit up with a hellish red light. Then, each hair on her head suddenly turned sharp and malleable as a fencing sword. With the mass of knife-like hair circling her head like a cobra''s hood, she charged towards Edmond.


    "Woman, you..."


    Edmond''s eyes widened in fear. He desperately tried to use the spatial transference, but it was to no avail. It was already too late.


    Her hair, already a thousand feet long, now started elongating infinitely, and wrapped itself around Edmond, who stood tens of thousands of feet tall.


    A loud ripping noise tore through the foggy air.


    Her hair, now a thousand knives, tightened around Edmond, and began cutting into his flesh.


    It was not long before he was completely shredded into pieces.

 Chapter 2481 Precious Memory

    Reinhard and the other True Gods were so far away from the woman that they didn''t hear her.


    Edmond had used spatial transference to dodge the sword strike from the Soaring Sky Sword Array. Reinhard then manipulated the sword array to fly back towards him again.


    When he was midair, he spotted the woman with long hair.


    "Another incarnation of fear!"


    "The aura that this woman is giving off is more terrifying than that of the fiend!"


    "I''m doomed!"


    The disciples of the Sword Clan, including Reinhard, were ashen-faced.


    The huge sword shadow also came to a halt. It looked like they had nothing to do but wait for death.


    But what happened next was beyond their wildest expectations.


    They didn''t know what the long-haired woman had said to Zen, but she floated towards Edmond and before anyone could react, smashed his body into smithereens.


    "What is going on?!"


    Reinhard was dumbfounded. So were the disciples of the Sword Clan.


    The long-haired woman had actually cut Edmond into pieces!


    This sudden change was hard for them to accept. A powerful fiend as Edmond had amounted to nothing, just as fragile as a piece of paper before this woman.


    "No!"


    Edmond had only been able to utter one word before he was killed, a trace of panic appearing on his huge face.


    Boom!


    His mountain-like body was cut open, and his body began to collapse.


    His flesh and bones began to fall and disintegrate.


    His corrosive blood spurted in all directions like a fountain.


    Zen retreated quickly with Yan in his arms, avoiding the rain of flesh and blood.


    Duke was also confused.


    But he managed to escape, given that he still had the desire to survive deep in his heart.


    The long-haired woman floated in the air, letting the rain of blood and flesh fall around her. But not a single drop of blood splashed on her.


    At this scene, Atlas, who was hiding in the distance, began to shiver.


    This woman was so much more powerful than he was!


    The only thing he could now do was run away.


    With a crack, he turned into a flash of


    perimenting with the previous grand eras in the Evolutionary Universe. And when this grand era had arrived, the two hopeful seeds of Zen and Yan were finally nurtured and began to grow healthily.


    The long-haired woman shook her head. "It seems that your father''s arrangements are not necessarily correct. It''s because you''re lucky. If I hadn''t become your incarnation of fear and landed in the debate venue, I''m afraid you and Yan would have been killed."


    She looked like a decisive woman, one who knew what she was talking about.


    She couldn''t bear to put Zen and Yan in such dangerous situations. Going by her words, she seemed to be dissatisfied with Mike''s and Harold''s arrangements.


    With Zen, she was like an ordinary mother who had been wronged.


    She behaved strangely with Zen, but he still felt a sense of familiarity from the bottom of his heart when he heard her voice.


    "It''s been a long time, but it has also passed so fast! You arrived in the divine land in the blink of an eye, and are already strong enough to be on your own," she said, relieved. And then, she raised a finger. "I don''t want to forget what happened here. You have to help me keep this memory. Return it to me when you see me again."


    A gentle light burst out of her fingertip. It continued to condense and formed a small cocoon of light that hit Zen squarely between his eyebrows.

 Chapter 2482 Poor Duke

    The cocoon of light instantly entered directly between Zen''s eyebrows, and immediately disappeared, leaving no trace behind.


    After being planted with the cocoon of light, Zen had an unexplainable strange feeling in the pit of his heart. The bizarre feeling touched him to his very core.


    Back then, he had also been planted with a petal by Estelle. This time, he was planted with a cocoon of light.


    Would the cocoon of light really record all his actions?


    As the long-haired woman retracted her hands and smiled, he quickly felt a sense of relief wash over him.


    ''Perhaps this is how a family feels, '' he thought to himself.


    "Let''s go. I''ll take you to get Harper''s inheritance," stated the long-haired woman as she took Yan in her arms.


    It was then that Reinhard and the Sword Clan disciples suddenly rushed over.


    Despite the fact that the long-haired woman had killed Edmond not long ago, Reinhard was still worried about Zen and Yan. He couldn''t help it.


    In his eyes, any kind of incarnation of fear was an enemy. The long-haired woman gave people a weird, indescribable feeling. Could she be a fiend that had the capacity to bewitch people?


    "Zen, tell me, who is she? Do you know?" Reinhard asked, his voice shaking with nerves.


    His reaction was completely understandable.


    One couldn''t forget that Edmond had been killed with just one single move on her behalf.


    Even if every single one of them joined together and fought back, there still wouldn''t be any point. But how could Reinhard ever feel at ease if he didn''t figure it out.


    Since having activated the Calamity Sword, he was doomed to his death. That said, he still had hopes that Yan and Zen could escape the disaster and obtain the skeleton''s inheritance.


    "She..."


    Zen stuttered as he hesitated for a moment, unsure of how exactly to answer his question.


    The long-haired woman bit her lips and stared at Zen with her demonic red eyes, a hint of expectation clearly visible on her face.


    Of course she hoped that Zen would admit that she was his mother! Wasn''t it only normal for her to feel that way?


    When Zen''s eyes met those of the long-haired woman, his heart skipped a beat and he immediately said, "She''s my mother."


    As she heard him respond, the long-haired woman narrowed her eyes and smiled.


    "Your...your mother?! What?!" Reinhard was stunned. He couldn''t believe what he''d just heard.


    The disciples of the Sword Clan looked at each other in disbelief. They couldn''t believe it either.


    It was really unimaginable. After all, the incarnations of fears here in the debate venue were all extremely horrible and had unique appearances.


    How could Zen have met his mother here?


    No matter how coincidental it appeared, it was simply too outlandish for it actually be a coincidence.


    ''No. Perhaps she''s still a fiend capable of bewitching others. Maybe this woman is from the Soul Wilderness


    s?


    Zen, however, turned on his heel and gazed at someone standing not too far off.


    The others also looked in the same direction.


    In the distance, they could see Duke, who didn''t seem to have returned from his state of great shock.


    At the moment, he was in a daze. With his hair down, he didn''t have the visual quality of a top-rank True God whatsoever.


    He stared blankly at the flesh and bones piled up on the ground with a face full of grief. It was almost as if Edmond was his masterpiece, and that someone had actually dared break it.


    "Duke!" someone called out excitedly.


    "We can transfer the three crises and three calamities to him!"


    "Yes! Bring him here!" another agreed.


    The Sword Clan disciples looked at Duke as if they had just seen their life-saver.


    Duke was indeed still stuck in a stupor. It took him a good moment before noticing the Sword Clan disciples rushing toward him. He was startled back to his senses, and his only desire was to run away as fast as he could.


    However, he was been hit by Edmond once earlier and had been seriously injured.


    The Sword Clan disciples'' Calamity Swords were still powerful enough to deal with him. Did Duke really think he''d get away now?


    It wasn''t before long that the Sword Clan members tied Duke and carried him to the woman with long hair.


    Reinhard still felt a little worried. "Can the three crises and three calamities of every single one of us really be shifted over onto one person? One person alone?"


    "Yes, they can. You''ll individually have to stab the swords into his body. However, you''ll have to do so without killing him," the long-haired woman replied indifferently.


    The Sword Clan disciples looked at Duke with malicious eyes.


    "What...what do you want from me? What do you want to do to me?!" Duke shouted fearfully.


    "Don''t worry. Our swordsmanship is excellent. We won''t kill you. It''ll only hurt a little!" Reinhard laughed.

 Chapter 2483 Nine Li People

    If it weren''t for Duke, they never would have been put in such a difficult position. So they did not hesitate at all.


    Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!


    Everyone stabbed Duke''s body with the Calamity Swords one after another.


    The swordsmanship of the disciples from the Sword Clan was brilliant. The Calamity Swords had pierced through Duke''s body, but they had avoided his vital parts, and he did not even bleed much.


    Duke had also tried his best to retaliate during this period of time.


    The only way he could resist this attack was to self-destruct. But just as the idea popped into his head, the woman with long hair discovered his intention.


    He felt a slight pain in his belly, and a thin hair penetrated through his cinnabar field. Instantly Duke lost contact with his cinnabar field and was unable to end his own life.


    The eleven Calamity Swords had pierced Duke''s body, making him look like a hedgehog.


    He couldn''t understand what these people wanted to do and had given up resistance despairingly.


    That was when the long haired woman waved her hands gently and cast a spell, from which a strange aura burst out.


    "This aura..." Zen''s eyes narrowed suspiciously.


    He had felt the same aura when he faced the Luck-devouring Snake Tribulation.


    Zen''s faith in destiny was steadfast at the very beginning.


    However, Rocher''s words made him doubt the destiny later.


    When he found out that everything was his father''s arrangement, he rejected the destiny. It turned out that his life was pre-arranged by his father.


    "The so-called misfortune is just a special energy, right? Or is it that the three crises and three calamities are actually a counterattack from the Calamity Swords?" Zen couldn''t help but ask.


    Unexpectedly, she shook her head and said, "No, this is the punishment of the previous luck."


    "Does luck really exist?" he asked.


    The spell in the long haired woman''s hand was constantly changing. The aura gushed into the eleven swords, which was going to divert the three crises and three calamities to Duke.


    At the same time, she answered Zen''s question in seriousness, "Of course, it exists! This is an authority in the divine land."


    "Really? This is an authority?" Zen was stunned.


    The long haired woman gazed at her son with ten


    ft Duke alone.


    "How come they let me off so easily?"


    Duke stared dumbly at the group of people walking away. He still could not believe his eyes.


    After they left, Duke felt that something was amiss. It seemed that an invisible ghost was approaching.


    ...


    Soon Zen and the others heard Duke''s gut-wrenching shrieks echoing in the distance.


    So awful were the screams that even at a distance, it was terrifying.


    Hearing the cry, Zen, Reinhard and Solomon turned around and saw a cloud of black smoke enveloping Duke.


    No one could fathom what kind of torture he might have suffered in that vicious black smoke.


    Zen showed no mercy towards Duke because he had almost killed him and Yan.


    As he walked by his mother''s side, he suddenly thought of a weird question. He turned to her and asked, "Mother, I don''t know your name yet."


    It was indeed strange that he didn''t even know his mother''s name.


    "My surname is Li..." She shook her head and smiled wryly, "Actually, Li is not a surname. Have you heard of the phrase ''Nine Li people''?"


    "Of course I''ve heard of it," he replied.


    In the universe, they referred to those mortals as Nine Li people.


    In the divine land, Nine Li people meant divine citizens.


    "In fact, the Nine Li people has been collectively used to describe people in the world, without anyone bothering to investigate the real meaning behind it. It is a race in the wider world outside the divine land. And I am a member of the Nine Li people," she said softly to Zen.

 Chapter 2484 Responsibility

    "I have never heard that ''Nine Li people'' has such a meaning," Zen muttered, his eyes glinting slyly.


    She nodded and said, "And my name is Lorena."


    One would not call each other XX Li among the Nine Li people.


    But in the divine land, people who knew her name still called her Lorena Li.


    "Lorena?" Zen was stunned before he recovered enough to say, "Isn''t there a river in the divine land called Lorena River?"


    Zen didn''t understand the divine land fully, but he had obtained a set of the Seven Sanskrit Words of Lorena River in the Famous Sword Divine City. He knew that the Lorena River was an ancient river in the divine land, and also the longest.


    Lorena smiled, "Because that river was named after me."


    "The river was named after Mother!" Zen was speechless.


    Lorena''s face softened at Zen''s expression. "Zen, do you have anything else you want to ask me?"


    "Yes!" Zen said, his tone suddenly serious.


    Even now, a lot of things were still a mystery to Zen.


    He wanted to know everything.


    "Why did you hide underground, Mother?" Zen asked.


    Lorena stared off into the distance, a sudden gloom crossing her. "To avoid someone, of course," she said.


    "You mean the Holy Beings of the alliance? Nicholas?" Zen asked, frowning.


    Lorena smiled as she answered him. "Nicholas is half of the reason. As for the other Holy Beings, they are nothing."


    "Really? Nicholas is only half of the reason?" Zen said, shocked yet again.


    But when he thought about it, he remembered that his mother, in her current state, had been able to kill Edmond, who was as strong as a Demi-Holy Being, pretty easily.


    The Holy Beings might actually mean nothing to his mother.


    "Since the divine land was created, I''ve only ever considered two people to be geniuses. One was your father, and the other, was Nicholas," Lorena said, smiling at Zen. "Both of them can effortlessly reach the Other Shore Realm using their abilities. In the past, Nicholas could cross the Sea of Truth and he should, by now, have one foot on the Other Shore Realm."


    Zen''s eyes fla


    cked.


    Zen nodded, "Yes. Because of the Primal Chaos Technique given by my master, my inner world..."


    "Primal Chaos Technique?! They really dare!" Lorena said angrily, her voice rising with each word.


    Even Reinhard and the others, who were thousands of feet away behind them, heard her and looked at her strangely.


    "What''s wrong?" Zen looked curiously at his mother, unable to understand the reason behind her vehement reaction.


    "And you created the inner world, absorbed the Spiritual Darkness, and successfully condensed the Godly Tile?!" Lorena said excitedly.


    "Yes," Zen nodded again.


    "How many Sanskrit words have you formed in your inner world?" Lorena persisted in her questions.


    "1080 golden Sanskrit words," replied Zen.


    "1080!"


    Lorena stared at Zen, shocked. "Bromley was so crazy that he dared give you the Primal Chaos Technique! You also dared cultivate it, and you have mastered it!"


    Zen pursed his lips and said, "It is truly painful to cultivate this."


    He had once been tortured so much that he could not help feeling pain dart through him at the thought of it.


    "The Primal Chaos Technique that Bromley created is actually a special method that had never appeared before. I didn''t expect it to really work. What''s more, it''s the Thousand Sanskrit Land! Did your father even think of that?" Lorena wondered, still looking confused.

 Chapter 2485 Bloodline

    "The Thousand Sanskrit Land?"


    Zen was stunned, realizing that he had asked the right person the right question.


    Even Bromley and Mike hadn''t been able to answer this question. They had, after all, worked out the Primal Chaos Technique by themselves, but hadn''t known how far it would go.


    Lorena nodded and stared at her son as if he was some strange creature.


    "They stumbled across the right way pretty unexpectedly.


    I used to think that all hope was lost. Maybe this is a turn for the better.


    This is the will of the Chaos Ancient God! The Chaos Ancient God is helping us!" Lorena exclaimed excitedly.


    Lorena had been pleasant before, but now she seemed so happy that she had completely immersed herself in her thoughts.


    Seeing that his mother had zoned out, Zen waved his hands in front of her, trying to bring her back to the present.


    At this, Lorena came back to her senses. She was embarrassed to have lost her manner before Zen.


    "Mother, what happened? What is the Thousand Sanskrit Land?" Zen asked curiously.


    Once Lorena had calmed down, she said, "Zen, do you know what the divine land is?"


    "A ship?" Zen replied, his answer a question.


    Lorena nodded and said, "It looks like Harold has told you that. The divine land is a big world, but it''s also a ship. Do you know the purpose of this ship?"


    Zen had no idea.


    He only knew that the ship was constantly falling.


    According to Holy Jay''s explanation, the divine land would finally crash.


    And with the crash of such a huge world, perhaps all the creatures in the divine land were destined to die.


    After all, nobody else except the Holy Beings could resist the chaotic energy that swarmed into the divine land.


    "I don''t know," Zen said, shaking his head.


    Lorena sighed and explained, "The divine land used to be a ship that embodied the hope of the Nine Li people. It''s a ship that was used to flee."


    "Flee?" Zen''s eyes narrowed.


    "Yes." Lorena nodded. "The Nine Li race was a big race that enjoyed a long history in the Source World, but was defeated by the Yellow Emperor. Countless people were slaughtered. In order to continue our race, in our desperation, we had to create the divine land and enter the endless chaos."


    Lorena''s face reflected the grief and indignation she felt at the mention of these things.


    The Nine Li race was prosperous, with nine tribes and one hundred tho


    though the Nine Li people were very strong, there were still quite a number of weaklings among the tribes. Some people were still young, and their strength was similar to that of the divine citizens in the divine land. The head of our race had left three thousand Godly Ways on the ship of hope. We had to pass them on."


    Zen''s brow cleared as he felt enlightened by his mother''s explanation.


    It turned out that the three thousand Godly Ways had all been created by the head of the Nine Li people.


    "Then why did the Sacred race disappear?" Zen asked.


    "Because of the pursuing troops," Lorena replied. "The Yellow Emperor had to kill us to spare himself the trouble that was bound to emerge later. He couldn''t allow the tribe with the purest bloodline of the Nine Li race to escape. He had sent Yellow Emperor Guards to chase after us. Even though we tried our best to resist, one of the Yellow Emperor Guards managed to use the Blood Splitting Technique."


    Lorena seemed to travel back to the ancient times through her thoughts.


    "The Blood Splitting Technique is extremely vicious. It''s a way of killing everyone within a radius. With just a few drops of blood of just one of us, he could kill all our people within a certain range. He did his best and used the Blood Splitting Technique, and turned all our people in the divine land into blood foams, causing them to explode.


    That''s why later generations of the divine land think that the Sacred race disappeared overnight. It was because they all had died!"


    Lorena looked sad. Zen''s question had drawn her into a painful memory.

 Chapter 2486 The Past

    The war that had taken place that year had been brutal.


    But what hurt Lorena the most was watching the members of her race turn into blood before her very eyes.


    And all this was because they shared the same bloodline!


    At the time, she had shouted at the Yellow Emperor Guard who had unleashed the Blood Splitting Technique with all her strength and screamed questions at him, asking him why so many innocent Nine Li people had been involved.


    The Guard had given her a very realistic answer.


    "You''re guilty if you have Chiyou''s bloodline."


    She had been ignorant at the time, but she later realized that one was guilty if they were weak. Not if they had Chiyou''s bloodline.


    In that war, almost all Nine Li people were killed.


    The Nine Li Guard, who had guarded this ship, had also paid a heavy price.


    Only thanks to Harper''s protection had Lorena been saved.


    The Yellow Emperor Guards, who had chased after the Nine Li race, had had an absolute advantage in strength.


    But the remaining Nine Li people relied on the divine land and blocked the pursuit of the Yellow Emperor Guards.


    She then came to know Mike, who had been very young at the time.


    Mike was not from the Source World, but a divine citizen born in the divine land.


    She had never seen such a confident man, nor had she seen such talent.


    Maybe because she had seen countless people of her race turned into blood, she had a natural adoration of the strong. It was also at that time that she fell in love with Mike.


    When Zen''s father, Mike, knew that she was from the Sacred race and legends of the Nine Li people, he became very interested in her.


    Lorena continued to narrate, Zen listening attentively.


    "Since you have already blocked the chase of the Yellow Emperor Guards, why are you still hiding?" Zen asked curiously.


    The Nine Li race in the divine land had suffered a heavy blow.


    Even so, the strong masters of the Nine Li race survivors had an absolute ruling power in the divine land.


    There was no need for these Holy Beings to rule the divine land.


    "Those Yellow Emperor Guards are still alive. Harper activated the Mixed Element Seal in the divine land," Lorena said, laughing a cold laugh that sent chills down Zen''s spine. "But this battle has never stopped. It lasted until today. Your father wanted to help me and the Nine Li race. He was a man of great self-confidence. At the time, he was always in the limelight and held favor in the Hall of Holy Being


    e women were no matter.


    If he wanted, a Holy Being could have thirty thousand or three hundred thousand women, akin to an emperor''s imperial harem.


    So it was hard to imagine two Holy Beings fighting over a woman.


    Nicholas had been attracted to Lorena the moment she had appeared.


    Especially because Lorena was unique in the divine land.


    Zen had never thought that his mother had been the cause of the dispute between his father and Nicholas.


    At the time, Nicholas hadn''t spoken his mind. He had just watched coldly as Lorena and Mike became a couple.


    They had been about to join hands to destroy the sealed Yellow Emperor Guards when Nicholas turned on Mike and attacked him. Not only had he hurt Mike, he even opened one of the seals and released a Yellow Emperor Guard.


    Because of this, Lorena had gotten hurt and lost her physical body.


    And now, she could only use the Spiritual Darkness to replace her body.


    "So basically, Nicholas betrayed you and then sided with the Yellow Emperor Guards, right?" Zen confirmed, his eyebrows knitting. "But Mother, you said that the goal of the Yellow Emperor Guards was to kill all the Nine Li people and destroy the divine land. Was this a disadvantage to Nicholas as well?"


    "What if the Yellow Emperor Guards gave him great benefits? He could have climbed to higher levels after sacrificing the divine land. Gone to the Source World even? He has been mad," Lorena said lightly.


    But there was one more important thing that she was not telling her son. Once the divine land crashed, she would not be able to hide underground.


    And then, Nicholas could find her without difficulty.

 Chapter 2487 Resolution

    As Lorena spoke about the grudges from the last generation, all sorts of feelings welled up in Zen''s mind.


    If only the Holy Beings could work together and kill the Yellow Emperor Guards, then perhaps everything would be just fine.


    No one could have expected Lorena to make an already bad situation worse, though.


    It was no wonder people always attributed the fall of a country to Helen of Troy.


    That said, it wasn''t Lorena''s fault.


    After all, Nicholas'' ambition wasn''t only to target Lorena. What was more, he had no desire of being trapped in the divine land.


    "Where is the Yellow Emperor Guard released by Nicholas?" Zen asked again, more adamantly this time.


    Either a Nine Li Guard or a Yellow Emperor Guard should be an Other Shore Realm warrior and more so, they had to be of Harper''s rank.


    It just didn''t make sense that such a powerful warrior had never appeared in the divine land before.


    With Nicholas'' personality and such a powerful support, he might have already destroyed the Sword Clan and the Moon Clan, and unified the divine land. How could he even tolerate the existence of these independent wealthy clans?


    "He''s hiding in the dark," said Lorena, her eyes revealing a sudden, deep light. "I hid in the depths of the ground to avoid being chased by the Yellow Emperor Guard. That time, he also sneaked into the ground to hunt me down. However, I beat him back instead."


    "Mother, is your strength really equivalent to that of the Yellow Emperor Guard?" A strange expression could now be seen on Zen''s face.


    The strength that Lorena displayed was extremely powerful. So much so, that it could kill a fiend like Edmond¡ªthat wasn''t to be denied.


    That said however, there should still be a considerable gap in strength between her and the Yellow Emperor Guard.


    "I defeated him with the help of the Spiritual Darknesses and the Malicious Monsters around me. Moreover, among all the Yellow Emperor Guards, a few of them were very powerful, but certain others were considerably weak. The guard released by Nicholas was the weakest one among them, actually," she explained.


    "So, that''s how it is, huh?" Zen finally understood what was going on.


    The monsters hiding in the stones under the ground were indeed very powerful, enough to protect his mother.


    "The Yellow Emperor Guard might have no way of dealing with you


    quickly and held his face in her hands. "Although my father told me that the hopes of the Nine Li race were in this ship before we fled from the Source World, I knew very well that we didn''t have any way out without the support of the Source World.


    And that''s what I''ve always thought before meeting you, Zen. Now, the only hope that could support my life is to see your father again!


    Also, I finally understand what my father meant.


    He was right. I did see hope.


    And that hope was you, Zen! It is you!"


    His mother was talking loudly, in a trembling voice. Obviously, she was very excited.


    It was in that exact moment that things began to change.


    Zen''s mood also took a subtle turn.


    A blazing flame suddenly ignited in his heart, burning all the pressure out.


    For this woman, for his mother, he was more willing than ever to move forward.


    Staring at her with his firm eyes, Zen replied, "Mother, trust me, I won''t let you down."


    She nodded confidently, with a serene smile plastered on her face.


    It was then that a voice rang out expectantly. "Mother, I won''t let you down either!"


    Yan had come to herself, out of nowhere.


    "Yan, were you eavesdropping this entire time?" Zen pursed his lips helplessly as he waited an answer.


    Their mother smiled, "I knew she''d woken up."


    Yan made a silly face and turned around in order to hold her mother in her arms tightly.


    The two of them didn''t look like mother and daughter at all. They looked so much alike, in fact, that they could be mistaken for twins, only with opposite temperaments.

 Chapter 2488 The Sun-resisting Umbrella

    Compared to Zen''s complex thoughts, Yan was much simpler.


    Unlike the awkwardness between Zen and Lorena, Yan and Lorena were much more familiar with each other.


    In fact, Zen still had some doubts about Yan.


    He and Yan were siblings, and yet their blood powers were different. That made Zen confused.


    Based on the uniquely shaped and powerful shadow that Yan had released, it seemed like his mother also possessed that.


    This was very likely because of Yan''s blood power.


    Zen didn''t press further.


    He knew enough.


    The three reached the foot of the cyan stone tablet.


    Right behind the stone tablet was Enoch, who was hiding there. He hurriedly scurried away from Lorena with terror written on his face.


    Lorena walked to the cyan stone tablet and gently stroked it for a moment.


    Buzz!


    The Sanskrit words carved on the cyan stone tablet faintly began to flicker with color.


    Rumble...


    The stone tablet began to violently tremble.


    "Because my father didn''t come here, there isn''t actually a controller in the divine land," Lorena said.


    Chiyou created this world and made it a ship that would go far in the chaos. He didn''t come with the ship himself because he stayed in the Source World to lead the clansmen''s fight against their enemies.


    Even though it was called a ship, it wasn''t an accurate description. After all, the divine land was a big world.


    In order to give the Nine Li people better opportunities to cultivate, Chiyou mustered all his cultivation into the divine land.


    Because there weren''t enough warriors to manage the divine land, he left several blank slates.


    The slates were all blank in the beginning.


    Using divine might coins, the Nine Li people could write rules on the slates.


    In fact, it was exercising one''s right of control.


    The entire divine land would have been controlled by the Nine Li race, who began calling themselves the Sacred race, if it weren''t for the Yellow Emperor Guards.


    There would be no divine citizens or wealthy


    ect you from being burned by the fire of the sun," Lorena explained.


    "This light shield can resist the fire of the sun?" Zen was shocked.


    There was a great sun hanging in the divine land.


    The sun rose from the Ray Tree in the east and disappeared to the edge of the Sunrest Tree Region in the west.


    No matter how many divine eras had passed, there had never been an exception.


    The power of the sun could burn everything, and even the Holy Beings never got too close.


    Zen didn''t expect that the paper umbrella could withstand its power.


    "This umbrella can take you into the sun. In the Heavenly Wheel Hall, you would be the new captain of the divine land who can change the direction of this ship," she said.


    "Enter the sun?" Zen''s eyes narrowed.


    "My brother''s going to be roasted!" Yan said with a laugh.


    Lorena had a general idea of what Zen was thinking. "Even if you practiced the Grand Weapon Refining Method and forged your body to be able to resist fire, you still won''t be able to take the heat. However, you''ll be safe as long as you take this umbrella. You can treat the umbrella as a key to open the door in the sun. But before that, I''ll take you to meet Harper."


    She turned her head and glanced at the others. Her voice was cold when she spoke. "You may leave. I will send Zen and Yan back later."

 Chapter 2489 The Ancient Sword

    Reinhard, Enoch and the other True Gods nodded at Lorena''s words.


    Although they had gained nothing from the debate venue, they still survived.


    Notably, Reinhard and the other ten disciples of the Sword Clan survived too. They initially thought they were doomed, but lucky for them, they were given a second chance.


    What was important was that they had accomplished a very difficult task in this journey.


    The members of the Sword Clan, including Reinhard, would certainly be rewarded and put in important positions someday.


    "Well, I guess we''re leaving now," Reinhard said as he cupped his hands towards Zen and Yan.


    Zen nodded with a smile.


    With that, Reinhard led the group and went deep into the mist.


    After they left, Lorena stared at her son and daughter, her black hair twirling behind her.


    As these strands of hair intertwined around Yan and Zen, the two of them were soon wrapped in Lorena''s hair.


    "I''ll take you there."


    As soon as Lorena''s voice fell, Zen felt the hair wrap around his body in a strong, hugging motion.


    And just like that, he was lifted from the ground and dragged into the air in a forward motion.


    He noticed that Lorena''s beautiful hair emitted a delicate fragrance.


    The scent was very quite strange to Zen, but he felt a sense of intimacy, which calmed him down nonetheless.


    Maybe this was just the manifestation of their connection in the bloodline.


    In the Heavenly Sword Divine City, Harold, Gibson and Marsh all looked very pleased to see Lorena carry Zen and Yan away.


    The area within the Eye of Perception was limited. After Lorena, Zen and Yan left, they couldn''t track them down anymore.


    "I didn''t expect that the umbrella was inside the debate venue, not on the other side of the iron bridge. We were misled." Marsh let out a laugh.


    Gibson nodded in response, saying, "Now that Zen has got the Sun-resisting Umbrella, shall we move onto our next step, Harold?"


    When they explored the debate venue, their goal was to reach the very end of it. They wanted to cross the iron bridge, but they were never able to succeed.


    With a brief "Hmm," Harold added, "Why don''t we wait until Zen comes out?"


    Although the three of them d


    hook his head vigorously. By the sound of it, it seemed that the bones in his body were too old to withstand such sharp shake. There were very intense cracking sounds when he shook his head.


    "Do you want to play dumb, Harper?" Lorena was not happy.


    Noticing her expression, Harper said helplessly, "My inheritance is just that Sun-resisting Umbrella! Now that you''ve got the umbrella, you can leave now. I have a short cut. Do you need me to give you a ride?"


    "Are you seriously unwilling to face up to the reality, Harper?" Lorena stared at Harper and asked.


    After a long while of silence, Harper jolted up and said, "He has the Thousand Sanskrit Land. I''m so jealous! But even so, we still have a slim chance of winning."


    "Old bastard! If you already lost all of your persistence and courage, then what''s the use of cultivating your soul to such a state?" she spat in return, voice as cold as ice.


    Zen and Yan felt rattled as they heard their mother calling names.


    Giving Zen and Yan a meaningful look, Harper smiled bitterly. "I don''t have many treasures with me. Just tell me what you want, Lorena!"


    Lorena smiled, glad that he made a concession as she looked at something behind Harper.


    There seemed to be a long bronze sword inserted there, tucked away very secretively.


    This long sword had existed for countless years. Before this, it had been held in Harper''s arms. After he had condensed his skin, he had inserted the sword behind his back.

 Chapter 2490 Dispute

    Noticing that Lorena took a fancy to his sword, Harper narrowed his eyes and held the ancient sword tighter in his arms.


    "Mike already got the Soaring Snake Sword, and now you want to take my sword too? No way!" Harper yelled.


    Lorena looked at him innocently. "I didn''t say I wanted this sword."


    Harper breathed a sigh of relief but what Lorena said next made him nervous again.


    "However, the Shadow Bearing Sword is a perfect match with Truth of Goodwill and Malice. If you pass the Truth of Goodwill and Malice on to Zen and give this sword to him, it will be great."


    "Bullshit! Don''t even think about taking my sword!"


    The mere thought of Lorena wanting his sword was enough to set him off.


    Zen and Yan also looked at each other helplessly. They wouldn''t be able to get a word in this conversation at all.


    "Harper," said Lorena seriously. "Have you ever thought that we will return to the Source World one day?"


    "Duh, of course I have," said Harper, rolling his eyes.


    To ordinary people, the divine land was extremely large. It was an entire world.


    There were many True Gods and most of them didn''t care about anything outside the divine land. They only knew the divine land their whole lives.


    They only knew its countless regions and divine cities.


    But, Harper and Lorena were from the Source World.


    They knew that the Source World was the center of the chaos and that the divine land was created by Chiyou. It could form an entire circulatory system as well as produce many inconceivable creatures. But so what? No matter how perfect the divine land was, it was just a ship.


    Harper had dreamed of going back to the Source World.


    He even regretted getting on the ship. He''d much rather die in the Source World than live in the divine land.


    "Father said our hope would be born on this ship one day," said Lorena.


    "Then the hope should be born into the Nine Li race. But every one of them was killed," Harper retorted.


    All of the Nine Li people were descendants of Nine Li race''s ni


    aura changed drastically.


    He was like a dead tree that suddenly bore healthy green shoots, the rotten air around his body disappearing.


    As he slowly raised the Shadow Bearing Sword, the Sunrest Tree and the Truth of Goodwill and Malice in the debate venue also changed.


    The whole Non-combat Zone also changed dramatically.


    Concurrently in the Famous Sword Divine City, some top-rank True Gods raised their heads and looked in the direction of the Sunrest Tree in the west.


    "What''s going on? Why did the aura suddenly change?"


    "What a strong will!"


    "What happened in the Sword Clan?"


    Many True Gods thought the Non-combat Zone was a Sword Clan''s arrangement.


    Even in the Sword Clan, only a very small number of people knew the truth about the debate venue.


    Hayden stood on the top of the tower and looked at the huge Sunrest Tree in the distance. Doubt filled his eyes. This was not normal.


    Buzz...


    Marley was also flabbergasted. "The aura from the Non-combat Zone is no longer useful! And it could no longer suppress the malice in one''s mind. What happened to the Sunrest Tree?"


    He also thought the Non-combat Zone was formed by the Sunrest Tree.


    In the countless divine eras, the Non-combat Zone had never failed to suppress the killing intent even for a second. But that wasn''t the case now.


    Something was wrong.

 Chapter 2491 A Sudden Change

    In a palace of the Heavenly Sword Divine City, Rachelle was relentlessly pacing up and down the steps.


    As someone who practiced the Murdering Godly Way and naturally had a killing intent in her heart, Rachelle often gave off a murderous aura.


    However, after coming to the Sunrest Tree Region, she had been affected by the Truth of Goodwill; her killing intent wasn''t able to gather while she was here.


    She despised this feeling and it made her restless.


    "Hey! Can you sit down?"


    Shahn asked impatiently. He was starting to get annoyed after watching Rachelle walk around for such a long time.


    They had sent the True Gods of their respective clans into the debate venue, but they had no way of knowing what was happening there right now.


    They could only wait here for the result, so they were all anxious.


    "I wonder whether Tyrone and the others have succeeded or not. I''m afraid it would still be too difficult to kill Zen," said Rachelle with a sigh, ignoring Shahn''s words and continuing to pace up and down.


    Walton sneered, "Although our warriors entering the debate venue have become smaller by half, they are still the top figures among the top-rank True Gods. Wouldn''t it be a piece of cake for them to kill Zen, a low-rank True God?"


    "Humph, that''s so easy to say. It was not that we didn''t have a chance to kill Zen in the Time Sea Forbidden Land. But who killed him? No one!" Rachelle said, staring at Walton. "How could you forget the humiliation you suffered within the jade seal so soon?"


    Back when they were in the world inside the jade seal, the lives of so many consummate True Gods had been in Zen''s hands.


    Hearing what Rachelle said, Walton became silent.


    Troy was sitting in a chair with two golden Buddha beads in his metal hand. The two beads were spinning in his hand, and each time they collided, they emitted a faint light.


    Troy slowly said, "Don''t worry. The two siblings of the Luo Clan will surely die in the debate venue."


    A trace of doubt appeared on Rachelle''s face. Troy had always been calm and collected. If he said that he was sure about something, then he must have a good reason. "How are you so sure?" she asked.


    Shahn, Walton, and the consummate True Gods of the alliance of wealthy clans all looked at Troy.


    "Because Duke will summon the most powerful incarnation of fear in the debate venue," Troy replied with a smile.


    "The most powerful incarnation of fear? What is it?" Rachelle asked anxiousl


    speaking, a unique aura spread out from the Sunrest Tree.


    The calm expression on Troy''s face was replaced by one of surprise and disbelief.


    Buzz...


    At this moment, Rachelle felt the invisible binds around her disappear; she was able to gather her killing intent again. "Has the Truth of Godly Way in the Non-combat Zone been removed?"


    "No." Troy shook his head. "The Truth of Godly Way has been diverted. The Truth of Goodwill and Malice... The captain of the ship is making a move!"


    "What...what does this mean?" Walton asked with a puzzled look.


    Troy''s face darkened. "If no one had succeeded in the debate venue, the captain wouldn''t have made a move."


    Troy knew no less about the debate venue than the Sword Clan. He knew that the debate venue was controlled by the Other Shore Realm warrior, but he didn''t know how to succeed in the debate venue.


    "You mean someone has gotten the inheritance of the debate venue? Is it one of our people?" Rachelle asked with concern.


    Troy shook his head. "I''m not sure yet. We can only wait for them to come out."


    Even Troy couldn''t stand it anymore.


    His goal was simple. He didn''t want anyone to obtain the inheritance of the debate venue.


    This result would have a great impact on the Dongfang Clan''s next strategy to cope with the situation.


    It had taken the Dongfang Clan a lot of effort to summon a fiend in the debate venue; there was no way things could have turned out this way.


    That was why, so far, he had been absolutely confident that things would go according to the Dongfang Clan''s plan. But now, things seemed to be developing in a direction beyond his control.

 Chapter 2492 Change Harpers Mind

    Tension filled the air.


    "This is the aura of a real powerful warrior at the Other Shore Realm!" Zen declared as he stared blankly at Harper.


    Known as a powerful master, Harper''s gaze alone could push anyone into fear or even submission.


    He raised his sword, laid it flat slowly, and then pointed its tip towards Zen.


    "Leave the masters in the Source World aside first. Some of the masters who hide in the divine land are more powerful than me. Are you brave enough to resist them? Or are you brave enough to resist me?"


    There was no time for responses as the aura of the Truth of Goodwill and Malice immediately covered Zen.


    It was known that the aura of a True God was so strong that it made people feel that it was actually real.


    Harper''s aura, however, was truly real.


    Zen appeared as if he was wrapped in a crystalline layer of water. The layer of water looked deceptively soft, but it was quite strong.


    For a moment he seemed to fall into the winter, but in the next, it looked like he sank to the depths of the roaring flames.


    It went on for a while, and the two sensations alternately tortured the life out of Zen.


    In reality, his current situation was a test.


    Based on Harper''s facial expression, he could tell that he really did not want to hand over the Shadow Bearing Sword to him.


    Even if Chiyou was his grandfather, Harper still refused to give him the sword--at least for now.


    It was because there was something that Harper still wanted to verify.


    As for Zen, he couldn''t do anything but do his best to resist Harper''s powerful aura even if it was almost killing him.


    His face quickly became white as a sheet while his soul trembled constantly. Even his heart was shaking.


    Lorena and Yan didn''t look too good either, especially Yan.


    "Mother, Zen is just a low-rank True God. His soul isn''t weaker than mine, but he can''t resist such an aura," Yan said anxiously.


    Since she was under Lorena''s protection, she didn''t have to undergo such a thing.


    Yet, Lorena just frowned and said nothing.


    It was true that she could help Zen make those requests, but she knew that there were some difficulties that he had to face by himself.


    If he couldn''t even pass this small test, then there was no point for her to help him too muc


    sed that Zen would have all the resources from Mike.


    Meanwhile, a heavy feeling washed over Zen as he took the Shadow Bearing Sword in Harper''s hand. The sword was about as heavy as the Great Weighty Sword.


    A gentle smile spread across his face. He had experienced so many transformations in his life, but he didn''t answer.


    "Zen has experienced a lot," Yan muttered solemnly as she looked at her brother. She was the one who understood Zen''s struggles in the past the most.


    After Harold had taken her to the divine land and when she had learned the truth, she also felt that her father had gone too far.


    It could be said that Mike had used all kinds of methods to push Zen to the edge of life and death and to squeeze every inch of his strength and courage.


    Lorena learned from Yan that Mike had organized a relentless family, where Zen was tormented. "My husband was too cruel! How could he treat his son like that?" she lamented.


    "Ha-ha, Mike is really heartless!" Harper chuckled and sighed. "Because of such training, Zen''s will is stronger than anyone else''s. He is not only stronger than the members of the wealthy clans in the divine land, I''m afraid that even I am inferior to Zen in some ways."


    Truly, will had nothing to do with strength.


    The reason Harper had been slacking was that his mood had changed. After he lost his confidence, he became hopeless, simply watched the divine land fall apart and did not offer to help.


    Now, the confident young man in front of him changed his mind.

 Chapter 2493 Departure

    Staring at the Shadow Bearing Sword in Zen''s hand, Harper went on, "You seem to have cultivated more than ninety percent of the Truth of Cultivation Nature, and you have a good understanding of martial arts. However, the sword has been with me for many years, and it already has the spirituality. If you want to wield it, you must be well-versed with the Truth of Goodwill and Malice."


    Zen nodded in reply.


    There was nothing special about the long sword in Zen''s hand except for its weight. It looked like an ordinary long sword.


    It must be driven by the Truth of Goodwill and Malice.


    He bowed to Harper and said, "I hope you will give me some advice."


    "It''s not a big deal. The comprehension of the Truth of Godly Way depends on one''s own abilities. You can only get as much of it based on your own understanding. The pursuit of the Truth of Cultivation Nature is natural. It could cooperate with almost any cultivation method, but the Truth of Goodwill and Malice is different,"


    Harper said as he tapped his finger in the air.


    Immediately, the scenery around the deep well began to change.


    The streaks of time quickly intertwined on the wall of the well, leaving dense characters on it.


    The words that appeared on the wall were, "You have a malice, then all the people in the world will be your enemy. You have a goodwill, then you will benefit the whole world."


    "Is this the mind method of the Truth of Goodwill and Malice?"


    Zen''s eyes widened.


    When he was reading the words quietly in his mind, an indescribable feeling of discomfort arose in his heart.


    The words needed to be fully comprehended before he could absorb them bit by bit.


    ''However...'' Zen thought to himself.


    ''Since Harper and Mother are from the Source World, they should be considered extraordinary creatures.


    Can''t an extraordinary creature use Sanskrit words directly?''


    Buzz!


    In no time, the words on the well wall flew down and gathered in front of Zen, forming a small scroll.


    Zen picked up the scroll, and asked, "Master Harper, there''s one more thing that I''m not sure of. Are you using the same language as ours? Don''t the extraordinary creatures use Sanskrit?"


    Every


    the final victory," said Lorena triumphantly.


    "Maybe." Harper''s eyes were full of expectation. "If the Thousand Sanskrit Land that Zen possesses can indeed grow and become stronger, it certainly has the ability to resolve the present crisis. However, cultivating the Thousand Sanskrit Land requires a large number of Spiritual Darknesses, and you will need your mother''s advice on your cultivation method."


    Lorena smiled faintly and said, "That''s for sure. Zen, Yan, you''d better follow Harold''s suggestion after leaving the debate venue. But you''d better come to me when you have the chance. Zen knows where I will be hiding."


    "Alright," Zen agreed.


    Lorena walked up to Zen and Yan and hugged them lovingly.


    She was just an incarnation of fear and her real body did not know what had happened there. However, the light cocoon between Zen''s eyebrows was recording everything, and Lorena would know when she met him again.


    As a mother, this was a precious memory for Lorena.


    "Well, since you have taken what you want, and even the things that you shouldn''t take, it''s time for you to leave," said Harper waving his hand.


    "It''s time to say goodbye," Lorena smiled wistfully and kissed Yan and Zen on their foreheads.


    "Mother!"


    Yan embraced Lorena tightly. Although it was the first time she had seen her mother, the blood tie was unbreakable.


    Then, Lorena''s body turned into little red dots and disappeared right before Yan''s eyes.

 Chapter 2494 The Results

    Several figures rushed out from the enormous hole at the top of the Sunrest Tree.


    The group was led by Tyrone, Ellis, and some others.


    Because of Duke, they had all suffered major injuries.


    But before Edmond appeared, they all scattered like roaches and managed to escape the debate venue by sheer luck.


    Plop! Plop!


    As soon as they fled from the hole, they landed on the surface of the Sunrest Tree, all of them panting with exhaustion.


    "I thought I was going to die."


    "Duke wanted to get himself killed. Fine, but he shouldn''t have all of us die with him!"


    "Hmph! I''m sure he''s already turned to dust."


    Now, Duke had replaced Zen as the man the top-rank True Gods hated the most.


    After almost getting killed because of Duke, they managed to save their own lives, giving them a sense of narrow escape.


    After taking a good rest at the edge of the hole, they flew towards the Heavenly Sword Divine City.


    Soon after they left, Reinhard emerged from the hole with ten disciples of the Sword Clan behind him, the soybean-eyed guy and Enoch.


    "We''re back!"


    After finally leaving the debate venue, the crowd wore huge smiles on their faces.


    While the Sword Clan lost one of their members, they at least got to help Zen and Yan meet their goal. Their trip to the debate venue was a nearly perfect experience in hindsight.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    These people also shot toward the Heavenly Sword Divine City.


    In the hall¡­


    Marsh, Gibson, and Harold all looked quite relaxed.


    They already knew the result, after all.


    Although they weren''t too sure what Zen and Yan would encounter with Lorena, they just assumed that she wouldn''t do anything to harm her own children.


    However¡­


    Both Troy and Rachelle looked pissed off.


    "I heard that the Sword Clan has some kind of technique that allows you to see the situation within the Sunrest Tree. You should already know what happened in the debate venue," Rachelle pressed.


    But Marsh only grinned and said, "I have no time to watch the younger generation''s movements. They all have to rely on their own skills to succeed. The one who dared to play a trick has already met his


    r how Reinhard survived, but they wanted to find out whether or not someone had obtained the debate''s inheritance.


    "Kill that fiend." Reinhard laughed.


    Tyrone''s expression suddenly changed at this news.


    It brought a frown to Troy''s face as well. "You killed the fiend? How? You''re all merely top-rank True Gods."


    Because the two Holy Beings of the Sword Clan were there, Reinhard wasn''t the least bit afraid of Troy. He merely shrugged in response before leading the disciples of the Sword Clan up to the hall. As he walked, he said, "It wasn''t us who killed the fiend, but he died indeed. Duke stirred up trouble and got himself killed. Believe it or not."


    To this, the faces of Troy, Rachelle, Shahn, and Walton all grew dark.


    It wasn''t easy to tell if Reinhard was telling the truth or not. They could only exchange looks and read each other''s eyes, assessing their worries.


    Zen and his sister hadn''t shown up yet, after all¡ªthe rest were hoping that the two would perish in the debate venue so that they wouldn''t have to deal with the pair ever again.


    But barely five minutes passed when¡­


    Another two figures appeared at the door of the hall¡ªthey were none other than Zen and Yan.


    After spending much time in the deep well, with Harper''s help, they were covered in a layer of green liquid, allowing them to fly all the way up the Sunrest Tree. Because of this, they didn''t lag too far behind Reinhard and the others.

 Chapter 2495 Dealing Method

    All of a sudden, Zen appeared in the great hall with Yan, deflating all the hope that Troy, Rachelle and the others had had.


    They glared at Zen as if they wanted to swallow him up.


    A faint smile hung on Zen''s face as he responded to Rachelle''s gaze. "You''re disappointed, aren''t you?"


    A murderous look appeared on Rachelle''s face. Unfortunately, the debate venue had returned to normal, so her murderous intent was once again suppressed by the Truth of Goodwill.


    "You''ve gotten the inheritance of the debate venue?" Troy asked while staring at Zen.


    "Is it necessary for me to answer your question?" Zen raised his eyebrows slightly.


    Although he was just a low-rank True God, everything from the way he spoke to the way he behaved made it seem like he was on the same level as the consummate True Gods.


    Troy couldn''t help but take offense, but he took a deep breath, relaxing his expression before calmly replying with a question of his own. "Do you think that you''ve already won?"


    "At least we''ve won the first step." Yan, who was standing beside her brother, raised her little face high, her eyes flashing with a sharp luster.


    Troy smiled coldly and turned to look at Harold. "Let''s hope that you''re still this lucky next time." Then, turning to his allies, he said, "Let''s go!"


    Under his lead, Rachelle, Walton, all the consummate True Gods, and the top-rank True Gods from the alliance walked out of the hall.


    When Troy reached the gate, Marsh suddenly called after him. "Say hello to Nicholas for me! Please forgive us for our poor reception!"


    Troy turned to Marsh and nodded. "No problem, I will report it to him. Thanks for your ''meticulous'' treatment." Then he left the hall in a huff.


    Returning to the Time Sea from the Heavenly Sword Divine City was very convenient. One only needed to pass through the transmission array.


    After the group of people in the alliance of the wealthy clans left, Marsh looked at the main entrance of the hall and said with a faint smile, "Nicholas is going to explode with anger this time."


    Harold nodded. "Nicholas is not one to back down. I''m afraid that the Dongfang Clan will try to take revenge on the Sword Clan."


    ndeed running out of time.


    "Okay!"


    Zen nodded. He had learned a lot of things from his mother, so he had no doubts about Harold''s arrangement.


    Troy and the others returned to the Sword Clan''s Floating Island through the transmission array.


    All of them had sour expressions on their faces and kept silent.


    They had suffered a crushing defeat this time.


    After leaving the Sword Clan''s Floating Island, Troy traveled through thick clouds and returned to the Floating Island of the Dongfang Clan, which was the first-ranked Floating Island on the Time Sea.


    "Look! It''s Master Troy!"


    "Master Troy!"


    "Troy, you''re back!"


    When Troy entered the Floating Island of the Dongfang Clan, all the members of the Dongfang Clan bowed respectfully to him.


    But Troy just walked past them without saying a word. He was heading toward the East Hall on the Floating Island with a gloomy expression on his face.


    "What''s wrong with him?"


    "Why hasn''t Duke come back with him? They went to the Non-combat Zone together, right?"


    "Did they fail?"


    "So what if they failed? When have they ever succeeded in recent years? Why is he so upset?"


    The disciples of the Dongfang Clan didn''t know any details, but they knew that something was wrong from the look on Troy''s face.


    When Troy reached the entrance of the East Hall, he stopped and closed his eyes, revealing a trace of exhaustion on his face. It wasn''t until minutes later that he entered.

 Chapter 2496 The Sun Essence Flames

    The East Hall was built with a particularly distinctive translucent glaze.


    When one stepped on the ground, the impact triggered ripples, as though one was walking on a dense lake.


    When Troy entered the hall, he walked along a long, thin corridor.


    A small door waited at the end of the hall.


    Behind the door, he saw a huge gray chair in front of him, Nicholas lying on his back atop it¡ªhe held a cup of diluted-blood-like wine in his hand. A sweet, charming smell from the liquid filled the hall.


    Plop!


    Before this sight, Troy knelt to the ground, saying nothing.


    "I thought we were bound to win this time but I was mistaken," Nicholas said lightly.


    "It''s all my fault," Troy said, bowing his head.


    Hearing that, Nicholas looked down at Troy and sneered. "You merely sent Duke to the debate venue. You couldn''t even see the whole process, so you can''t be blamed for that."


    As the leader of the Dongfang Clan''s group, Troy couldn''t take any real part in the debate.


    But he couldn''t help but blame himself, not willing to accept the result.


    The Dongfang Clan''s plan was absolutely flawless from beginning to end.


    Until now, Troy couldn''t tell what went wrong¡ªhow could the candidates escape in the face of the fiend?


    It was too disconcerting to him.


    Looking at Troy with his head bowed, Nicholas stepped onto the ground and stood up, his burly figure rising from the chair. He poured the wine onto the ground and said calmly, "Harold may have known of our plan."


    "I don''t understand." Troy shook his head.


    "The fear incarnations that the candidates summoned in the debate venue held their own memories¡ªwhat if they summoned strong fear incarnations to serve them?" Nicholas asked.


    Something clicked in Troy''s head when he heard this.


    "Although I don''t know exactly who they summoned, that''s the only explanation that makes sense," Nicholas continued. "The capta


    created a halo in his hand, ready to cover Zen''s body with it.


    But right at this moment, Zen''s body suddenly began glowing with tiny golden Sanskrit words¡ªit seemed he was absorbing the Sun Essence Flames.


    "You''re refining your body with the flames?" Marsh was completely astonished. "You''re absorbing them!"


    He himself didn''t dare to absorb the Sun Essence Flames for his own use. Even the Holy Beings couldn''t tame the manic flames, but Zen was absorbing them continuously!


    There was a legend in the divine land saying that there was a huge palace in the sun¡ªanyone who lived there was qualified to control the divine land.


    In an era when the divine citizens remained ignorant, only the most exceptional True Gods could become Holy Beings, and only a select few of them truly challenged the sun.


    In the end, they were all burnt to ashes by the sun without exception. But because the Holy Beings could make themselves immortal through universes, they eventually recovered.


    Since then, no one ever dared try to get close to the sun.


    It was an absolute shock to Marsh to see Zen absorbing the Sun Essence Flames so freely.


    Since Zen continued absorbing the flames, Marsh remained in the air, waiting for the other to absorb as much as he wanted to.

 Chapter 2497 Whirlpool

    Zen''s entire body glowed golden from all the Sanskrit words written on his skin.


    Marsh stood and waited patiently.


    After five minutes, Zen''s body slowly dimmed.


    His outline became more distinct and the aura he exuded was more refined.


    The scene intrigued Marsh. "Absorbing the preternatural fire can make you become stronger?"


    From a Holy Being''s perception, it was apparent at first glance that Zen''s body was far mightier than an ordinary True God''s.


    For example, Zen''s astonishing slash that he performed in the debate venue well proved his powerful strength.


    If an ordinary low-rank True God made that move, their entire body would''ve collapsed before they even completed the strike.


    However, Zen''s body had no problems standing up against such a force.


    The young man had shown so many incredible things that his incredibly tough physical body was often overshadowed and ignored.


    "Yes," he replied to Marsh with a nod.


    Marsh sighed, "I have never heard of such a magical method..."


    Since Zen could adapt himself to the Sun Essence Flame in the outermost layer then he naturally would seize the opportunity to refine his body.


    He still had no idea as to what extent his body could be cultivated with the Grand Weapon Refining Method.


    Ever since entering the divine land, he found it really difficult to find suitable flames for his cultivation.


    The answer, fortunately, came to him from his mother who told him that all cultivation methods related to Sanskrit were heritages left behind by the Chaos Ancient God. Thus, the Grand Weapon Refining Method''s limit could very well go beyond the divine land.


    Its limit could be further explored in the future.


    Now Zen had to solve his problem.


    "I''ll teleport you once again but you''ll have to rely on yourself afterward," Marsh told him.


    He then carried Zen and zoomed off once again.


    "Phew!"


    In the blink of an eye, the two of them traveled several million feet!


    They were high above and couldn''t find any trace of the Sunrest Tree or the Non-combat Zone below.


    All Zen could see was a white, oval shape on the ground. The white was no doubt sno


    our, Zen noticed more and more fire clouds surrounding him.


    He was now close to the middle layer of the sun.


    Not even Holy Beings would be able to bear the heat at this stage.


    ''The Sun Essence Flame here is probably a hundred times stronger than in the outer layer. If I lose the Sun-resisting Umbrella''s protection here, I''d burn to ashes instantly!'' he thought to himself.


    He was also quite shocked by the fire clouds formed by the layers of the Sun Essence Flame.


    Zen had no idea how the sun was formed and how it maintained such a powerful momentum despite burning in the sky for several divine eras.


    It was at that point that he truly felt insignificant.


    "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."


    A sharp, whooshing sound suddenly came from behind him.


    When he turned, tens of thousands of Sun Essence Flame rays coalesced and now formed into a huge whirlpool.


    "Damn!"


    His expression changed and he immediately tried to fly to the other side.


    However, the whirlpool was too large. Had Zen been a consummate True God or a Holy Being then he might''ve stood a chance.


    Unfortunately, he was only a low-rank True God and he was merely relying on a flying sword to fly. It was impossible for him to escape.


    "Swish, swish..."


    At that moment, Zen felt that there was a great force pulling him, as if he was a mere leaf that was sucked in by the whirlpool. He lost control of his body and whirled around crazily.

 Chapter 2498 The Creatures In The Sun

    The whirlpool propelled Zen upwards at incredible speed.


    Throughout the whole process, Zen stood precariously balanced on the flying sword, trying to remain standing as his hands tightly gripped the Sun-resisting Umbrella.


    "The speed is too great!"


    Now Zen''s speed had far exceeded his flying speed, even when he tried his best. The whirlpool thrust him all the way upwards to the sun above.


    The momentum built up for about five minutes as he was continually pushed higher into the air.


    "Splash!"


    In the raging sea of fire above his head, a huge flame wave was triggered and swept down towards him.


    "I''ve finally arrived."


    The Sun Essence Flames on the outermost and middle layers were merely the flames that left the sun''s internal body.


    The sea of fire above Zen was the innermost layer of the sun.


    There was no time for Zen to think or even adjust his position to get a better stance on the flying sword. Holding the Sun-resisting Umbrella over his head, he plunged with tremendous force into the sea of fire.


    When he opened his eyes, he saw that everything around him was crimson colored, as if he was inside a crimson sea.


    The burning whirlpool couldn''t resist the sea of fire, and gradually it was absorbed into the flames, until it became smaller and smaller, finally dissipating completely.


    "The internal area of the sun is vast. I don''t know where the hall that Harper mentioned is, so all I can do is slowly look for it."


    Zen selected a direction at random and commanded the flying sword to slowly move ahead.


    There was no magma in the sea of fire, but a kind of purplish red heat current ebbed and flowed like tides of the ocean. The heat current was very thick, almost becoming a burning liquid. It was probably the liquefied form of the Sun Essence Flames.


    The energy contained in it was mind boggling. After all, even if the Holy Beings were to touch it, they would instantly perish!


    As Zen continued to steer the flying sword across the fire sea, it was proving difficult for him to increase his speed.


    He could only slowly fly while looking around.


    He was probably only the second person to ever visit here, besides the captain of the ship.


    In such a terrible environment, there could exist no other creatures. This was some relief to him at least, as he did not relish having to fight in such a hostile environment.


    "Keep moving up!"


    Zen didn''t delay or dilly dally.


    Two hours had already passed.


    Four hours had now passed.


    Finally, six hours had passed, and still his search revealed nothing!


    He steered across the sea o


    r seven feet long dashed towards him, their bodies curving as they swam.


    These fish were almost an adult''s height, and they soon began circling around Zen. They opened their mouths and grabbed the strange shrimps, swallowing them in one gulp.


    "These strange shrimps are food for the fish." Zen was stunned to witness this weird drama.


    It seemed that there were more than just these two kinds of creatures living in the sea of fire. At least it appeared to form a complete food chain!


    The big fish had an excellent appetite. Soon, they had devoured all the shrimps that had been attached to the light curtain.


    Perhaps it was because they were now interested in Zen that they didn''t leave. Like the shrimps, they began to use their sharp mouths to bite the light curtain.


    But soon, Zen suddenly became aware that the light above him had darkened.


    At the same time, the big fish gathered around the light curtain all swished their tails and fled in all directions.


    When Zen raised his head, he was confronted with the view of a gigantic whale, which was a few hundred thousand feet long arching above his head!


    There were two dark green flames burning in the gigantic whale''s eyes, and faint flames were spawning all over the outer layer of its skin.


    As soon as the gigantic whale arrived, it opened its cavernous maw and swallowed the big fish whole.


    The fish within an area of thousands of feet were sucked into its mouth with a maelstrom of force.


    Zen was also within this area, and he was unable to escape. He felt a huge gravitational force passing through, and he was instantly being sucked into the body of the whale together with the big fish. Together, they sank into the darkness within the whale.

 Chapter 2499 Palace

    Even within the whale''s belly, the swirling darkness was at a boiling high temperature.


    Zen was unable to set aside the Sun-resisting Umbrella since he still needed its protection, so all that he could do was to stay put and watch what happened around him.


    Fortunately, the protective light curtain from the Sun-resisting Umbrella was truly solid, although Zen and the curtain were being violently thrown about in the giant whale''s body.


    But as long as Zen held the Sun-resisting Umbrella tightly in his grasp, the protective curtain could not be broken!


    Assured of this knowledge, Zen felt somewhat relieved.


    "Splash..."


    As soon as Zen managed to focus on examining the world within the whale, he became aware of a creepy feeling under his feet. The slow convulsive shivers felt like the peristalsis of some massive body part.


    With the Sun-resisting Umbrella in his hand, he continued to roll head over heels into the depths of the whale''s inner darkness. He realized that he might be travelling in the whale''s esophagus.


    When Zen finally managed to find some stability and rise to his knees, he saw a flickering cyan light up ahead!


    "Cyan flame?"


    Zen''s attention was instantly roused.


    At the same time, he saw some of the big fish being sucked into the cyan flame.


    The gigantic whale had no teeth. Instead, it just swallowed both the fish and Zen whole into its stomach. As a result, and fortunately for Zen, they reached the whale''s gut alive, and were not chomped into fish bait.


    But when the fish tumbled into the cyan flame, their bodies began to twist madly as if they were in agony. The tenacious fish bodies rolled and bounced in the flame. Soon, Zen saw that these big fish were being burned alive by the flame. They began to sizzle and pop and soon melted little by little, leaving behind only fish bones and triangular heads.


    As the burned fish corpses sank into the cyan flame''s depths, even the bones gradually disintegrated.


    "Is the cyan flame in the whale''s body more powerful and intense than the Sun Essence Flame?" Zen was both surprised and awed.


    These big fish had been merrily able to survive in the Sun Essence Flame. With such specially resilient bodies, they should not be afraid of any type of flame. However, they were actually consumed and turned into nothing by the cyan flame!


    ''No, this can''t be right... The Sun Essence Flame is supposed to be the strongest fire in the divine land. The cyan flame, shouldn''t be more powerful than that. The cyan flame is only equivalent to the gigantic whale''s intestinal juices, and here it is used to digest th


    sting, and its stomach began to shrink violently!


    Zen, who was still dashing around inside the whale''s body, also sensed the change. The space around him began to contract rapidly!


    "Okay, now''s the time!"


    Zen held the Sun-resisting Umbrella tightly in his hands while standing at the ready on the flying sword.


    As soon as he readied his position in the air, he felt a tremendous force building under his feet, which violently shot him out.


    "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."


    He tumbled about as if caught in a windstorm and quickly passed through the dark interior of the whale''s esophagus and finally saw the light of the sea of fire ahead!


    "I''m being chucked out!"


    Zen quickly stabilized himself on the flying sword with a deft move of his tiptoes.


    After spitting Zen out, the giant whale did not depart. Instead it stared at Zen with its big eyes.


    Probably it wanted to make a mental note of what Zen looked like so that it would not make the mistake of swallowing such a strange thing again. Then the whale turned and dived down into the sea of fire with its massive tail sending out fiery ripples.


    It was not until the whale had left that Zen heaved a sigh of relief, slowly wiping his sweaty hands on his clothes.


    Zen had been an unwelcome tenant in the whale''s stomach for several hours. He had no idea how far it had traveled with him inside, or even what distance it had covered in that time.


    Just as he turned around to check his surroundings, Zen saw a faint structure rise from the heat waves, not far from his upper right.


    "That is..."


    Zen narrowed his eyes, his eyebrows raising in anticipation. His face suddenly beamed with joy.


    There was a magnificent golden palace floating on the horizon!

 Chapter 2500 Looking Down At The Divine Land

    Zen continued to worry even after entering the sea of fire.


    The sun looked like a tiny fireball from afar, but it was massive from within.


    Zen had relied on a flying sword to wander in the sea of fire at a snail-like pace.


    At this rate, it would take a long time to find the palace.


    On the other hand, the whale was swimming at a speed that was many times faster than Zen''s.


    After he was sucked into the belly for several hours, the gigantic whale swam for quite a long distance and finally took him to his destination.


    It was a blessing in disguise.


    Zen''s heart beat faster as he looked up at the towering golden palace.


    But he did not hesitate. The flying sword under his feet moved upward and then towards the palace.


    The palace looked to be nearby, given Zen''s vantage point, but it took him close to an hour to get close to it.


    "What a magnificent palace!"


    Zen exclaimed as he stood at the door of the palace, looking up at it in awe.


    The entire palace shone with a golden light. He didn''t know what metal it was made of, but he was sure that it was definitely not gold. The soft metal would have long turned into liquid under the high temperatures surrounding it.


    He then controlled the flying sword so that he floated into the palace through the open door.


    The first part of the palace was also immersed in the sea of fire. But once he had moved forward for a distance, Zen noticed that several mysterious array textures had appeared on the ground.


    A curtain of faint yellow light spread out of the textures, blocking the sea of flames.


    ''This light is almost the same as the light released by the Sun-resisting Umbrella!''


    Zen thought, his eyebrows going up in surprise.


    So when he approached the light curtain with the Sun-resisting Umbrella, the two light curtains connected to each other.


    This allowed Zen to go in without resistance.


    "That was easy!" Zen murmured in surprise.


    The palace had used the light curtain to create large, saf


    huge the clouds formed by the chaotic energy actually were.


    He looked around for a while before returning his gaze to the divine land.


    Zen looked down and noticed that there were still small black dots on the surface of the divine land.


    There were not many, only about fifty to sixty of them.


    "These dots look small, but they are actually huge. They are attached to the surface of the divine land. I think they are the universes of Holy Beings," Zen said to himself.


    From where he was standing, he could see the Evolutionary Universe, but could not tell which Holy Beings the other universes belonged to.


    Zen''s gaze continued to travel down. It bypassed the divine land to finally find a grey world.


    "Is that the bottom of the chaos?" Zen was shocked.


    Harold, his mother, and Harper all had the same opinion about the divine land.


    The divine land was falling rapidly.


    And according to what Zen was seeing right now, it was true.


    Under the divine land was a greyish white world, where the slender bones of beasts stood vertically like the fiends'' teeth.


    Each bone was as long as the entire divine land.


    It was hard for Zen to imagine how huge these beasts had been when they were alive.


    The bottom of the divine land was huge and was where bones were buried.


    "What the hell is this place?"

 Chapter 2501 Control

    Zen was shocked even though he knew how enormous the chaos was.


    But if a beast''s bone was larger than the divine land, how huge must the giant beasts have been when alive?


    Zen had also seen huge creatures in the universe.


    For example, the Ancestral Dragon was thousands of miles long in its complete form.


    A few of the giant beasts even reached ten thousand or even a hundred thousand miles in length.


    But these giant beasts at the bottom of the chaos might be several hundred million miles long. How powerful might such creatures be?


    How had they perished and fallen down to the bottom of the chaos?


    Zen''s gaze swept over the bones and saw that they were piled in disorder. They extended into far distance, and were blocked by the chaotic energy.


    The number of giant beasts that had died there was probably far beyond Zen''s imagination.


    "I don''t know what''s hidden at the bottom of the chaos, but if the divine land¡ªthe ''ship'' really falls down, the living beings in the divine land will surely be annihilated!"


    If such a huge divine land smashed into the chaos, it would cause a huge vibration before disassembling.


    The creatures of the divine land, on the other hand, could sense the ground cracking and the mountains collapsing.


    And in this process, ninety percent of creatures would be destroyed, with only a portion of the powerful ones being able enough to survive.


    Once the divine land broke, the chaotic energy would surge in madly.


    The poison of the chaotic energy would destroy the remaining creatures, and in the end, only a few dozens of the Holy Beings would be able to survive.


    Furthermore, once the divine land was broken, the universes attached to the divine land, which were also the inner worlds of Holy Beings, would also be affected. The universes would be destroyed.


    Murphy and Nicholas would also probably be affected, but Zen had no idea how they would deal with the situation.


    "At such a speed, the divine land will probably crash in less than ten years. No wonder Harold thinks that this is of such importance!"


    Ten years was just a blink of an eye to the True Go


    d at a great angle. But since everyone was in the divine land, they hadn''t felt it too clearly.


    Some people were ecstatic and realized that someone was manipulating the direction of the divine land, in a bid to save the divine land.


    But some of them looked sullen. They had plotted for a long time, but now, Zen''s actions had destroyed their plans. They were furious and dejected.


    Zen wasn''t thinking all this as he was in the palace.


    "Looks like these rings can control the direction of the divine land''s flight!"


    The front of the divine land had tilted dangerously when he had lowered his right hand.


    So Zen gently lifted his right hand, and the ring that surrounded his right hand floated upwards.


    This gesture caused the front of the divine land to lift and tilt upwards.


    "It''s done!"


    Zen muttered excitedly.


    But the moment he lifted his hand, Zen realized that something was wrong. The divine land had only risen upward on one side. The other side remained tilted.


    He took some time figuring out the rules, and then slowly raised his left hand.


    The divine land had changed its direction completely, but it still maintained its fall.


    The divine land was, after all, a huge place and it had great inertia as it fell.


    It was not easy to completely change the situation in such a short period of time. But if it kept going at the present pace, the crash could eventually be avoided.

 Chapter 2502 The Red Light Band

    Being able to change both the position and direction of the unimaginably enormous divine land was quite an incredible, unbelievable feat.


    Zen, however, was extraordinary and he accomplished it quite easily, merely by relying on several rings.


    Zen could only sigh with emotion and continue believing that the person who built the divine land had been ingenious enough to create such an exceptional method.


    At that very moment, Zen had an overwhelming sense of accomplishment.


    "But what power does the divine land rely on in order to fly within the chaos?" Zen wondered aloud.


    Among these seven rings, two of them were above his head and would provide him with the vastest of views.


    Four more small rings, located on both his hands and feet, controlled the position of the divine land during its flight.


    The final ring encircled his waist.


    This time, Zen released his spiritual sense without a moment''s hesitation and infused it directly into the ring!


    As soon as Zen was closely connected with the ring around his waist, he immediately felt four waves of immense energy fluctuations!


    "These energy fluctuations are so terrifying..." he uttered to himself.


    Such tremendous energy fluctuations were completely above Zen''s level of understanding. Describing how powerful the four energy waves were was beyond words. Zen was slightly shocked.


    And he clearly felt that these four forces came from the four corners of the divine land!


    ''The Ray Tree, Sunrest Tree, Hidden Tree, and the Lofty Tree!


    I can summon the four great divine trees'' power with this ring! These forces could drive the entire divine land into movement! So, that explains it... The four divine trees are like this ship''s driving power. Or, perhaps they are the ship''s paddles. They provide constant energy in order to make it possible for the divine land to travel within the chaos!'' Zen thought.


    The Dongfang Clan, Sword Clan, and the Moon Clan on the other hand, were a different story.


    Although the three clans had respectively occupied the Ray Tree, Sunrest Tree and the Hidden Tree, they had only obtained some support of the divine trees, and thus, couldn''t use divine trees'' power themselves.


    If one ever wanted to use the four divine trees, then they''d have to use the ring that was currently around his waist!


    After all the pieces of the puzzle had come together and he had a thorough understanding of what had occurred, everything seemed to become simple and clear.


    With the help of the ring around his waist, Zen released the four divine trees'' energy all at once.


    It only took a few brief seconds before four


    er, no matter how Zen erupted the energy from the four divine trees, or even used both his hands and feet to make the divine land move left, right, up, and down, he was unable to tear the red light band in half. All he succeeded in doing was ensuring that the divine land remained in its exact current position, floating amongst the chaos.


    "All of this is going to cause a lot of trouble."


    Zen looked and felt helpless.


    In Zen''s attempt to shake the band of light off, it had also caused a certain degree of chaos in the divine land.


    After all, the violent shaking of the divine land was bound to still cause a great deal of trouble. Certain sources of water such as the great rivers and lakes poured ragingly, forming a torrent. Even a portion of the colorful sea water in the Time Sea surged outward!


    Both the divine citizens and the True Gods were tingling with agitation. They couldn''t help it.


    Harold and Yan, who were both waiting in the Sunrest Tree, looked at each other in dismay.


    "Why is the divine land trembling so violently? Are we having a quake?" Yan asked at once.


    "I''m not sure, to be honest. It''s strange, really," Harold said with a frown.


    Though Harold had never left the divine land, he knew more things than quite a few Holy Beings, thanks to his master.


    Without a doubt however, such a substantial shake in the divine land was absolutely abnormal! The only thought that crossed his mind was: what the hell Zen could have encountered when he was controlling the divine land?


    After trying several times, Zen finally chose to give up. He was out of options.


    When Zen took back his spiritual sense from the seven rings, they directed themselves back to the ground, inlaid just as they formerly had been.

 Chapter 2503 The Out-of-Land Fiends

    Zen chose to continue exploring the palace after jumping out of these rings.


    Behind the main hall was another hall.


    Zen pushed open the door and stepped inside, his expression shifting.


    This hall was hundreds of times wider than the main hall with seven rings. It looked like it was anywhere between 30, 000 and 40, 000 feet high.


    It was so huge that it could fit an ordinary-sized mountain within it!


    In the middle of the hall stood a huge statue.


    "Three heads and six arms?"


    This three-headed statue almost reached the roof of the hall.


    The three heads all had the same face, but with varied expressions. The one in the middle was angry, the one on the left was happy, and the one on the right was sad.


    All six arms held different weapons:


    a machete, a sword, an axe, a dagger, a hammer, and a crossbow.


    "This is the Soaring Snake Sword!"


    Zen''s eyes widened at the realization.


    The sword that the statue was holding was exactly the same as the one Rocher had used in the Illusion Battlefield.


    "This must be Chiyou''s statue!"


    Zen understood now.


    The figure of the man Zen had seen in the Divine Time Temple was that of Chiyou when he had created the divine land. He didn''t have three heads or six arms.


    This statue before him was perhaps another of Chiyou''s incarnations.


    Zen looked up at the statue for a while.


    If what his mother had said was true, he was Chiyou''s grandson.


    A mighty warrior as Chiyou who had created the divine land had actually had to help his people escape! Just how powerful did his enemy have to be?


    Zen shook his head.


    He could hardly imagine such a confrontation.


    It was also beyond Zen''s imagination that the beast bones at the bottom of the chaos really existed outside the divine land.


    After observing the statue for a while, Zen looked at the wall at the back of the hall.


    The wall was about 40, 000 feet high and had words of a huge size inscribed on it.


    "These words could only have been left by Chiyou," Zen concluded and then began to read the words on the wall.


    His mother had told him that Chiyou himself didn''t use Sanskrit words. The words en


    f the band, but in the end, I could not. The divine land has stopped falling now but I just can''t seem to get rid of the light band," Zen repeated what he had seen.


    "You mean, the band of red light has bound the divine land?"


    Harold asked, his eyebrows disappearing into his hairline.


    Marsh and Gibson looked at each other, astonished.


    As Holy Beings, they were well aware of the massive size of the divine land. Even the universes they had built were as tiny as ants on the surface of the divine land.


    What kind of light band was strong enough to bind the entire divine land together?


    How long was the band? What kind of powerful force could stop the divine land from falling?


    It was unbelievable!


    "Yes, absolutely. I had observed it for a long time. The band came from below the divine land, the bottom of the chaos," Zen said with certainty.


    Harold''s mouth dropped open in shock.


    It was quite a sight to watch Harold drop out of his calm demeanor and look so shocked.


    "Harold, do you have any idea about what''s going on?" Marsh asked curiously.


    Harold was silent for a while before he decided to speak. "My master told me many years ago that the legendary Source World isn''t the only place where extraordinary creatures live. There are a large number of creatures at the bottom of the chaos that are despised by the Chaos Ancient God. They are known as the Out-of-Land Fiends in the Source World."

 Chapter 2504 Control The Shadow Bearing Sword

    Mike was a Holy Being, but his knowledge was no greater than that of other Holy Beings.


    At the very beginning, all the creatures in the divine land, including the Holy Beings, had thought that they were the only creatures in the chaos, and that the divine land was the only world.


    It was not until they found a large number of Sanskrit words that someone began to doubt this knowledge.


    They had found clues related to the extraordinary creatures.


    It was not until Mike had met Lorena that he realized that there existed a greater Source World in the chaos.


    And the Source World was not the only world.


    At the bottom of the chaos were a group of creatures that had been cursed by the Chaos Ancient God. They were called the Out-of-Land Fiends.


    Harold had heard his master mention this before, which was why it had been easy for him to connect to the strange encounter that Zen had had in the sun.


    "How strong are these Out-of-Land Fiends?" Marsh asked, concerned.


    Since the Sword Clan had chosen to be on the side of justice and was ready to fight against the alliance of the rich and powerful clans on the Floating Islands, their situation would become more troublesome if other forces and powerful living beings became involved. This was the reason behind Marsh''s concern.


    Harold shook his head. "I don''t know. The master didn''t reveal much."


    After all, everything that Mike knew about the lands outside the divine land, he knew from Lorena. But Lorena wasn''t experienced when it came to the Source World, and neither had she seen the real Out-of-Land Fiends.


    She only knew that there was indeed a group of creatures at the bottom of the chaos that had been cursed by the Chaos Ancient God.


    However, if these creatures could release a band of red light that could wrap around the divine land, while allowing themselves to survive in the chaos, it only explained how powerful the Out-of-Land Fiends actually were.


    "You mean to tell me there is no way to solve this problem?" Marsh asked.


    Harold merely nodded.


    Marsh smiled bitterly at this. Gibson, who had been standing silently beside him, said bluntly, "I feel like you tricked us into getting involved."


    Harold smiled broadly at this and a moment later, continued, "I haven''t tricked you. We''ve been on the same boat since the very beginning. And soon


    them to make a move at this time!" Once Zen returned to the Sunrest Tree, Harper listened to Zen''s report.


    "But Lorena said that you were the hope. The fate of the entire Nine Li race rests on you. We are hoping that you could help us out of this predicament," Harper murmured.


    "What? You want to try the Shadow Bearing Sword now? Oh, no, no. Your understanding of the Truth of Goodwill and Malice is still at the lower level. How can you control that sword?" Harper''s hollow eyes flashed.


    Zen was tired after cultivating the Truth of Goodwill and Malice. And now, he was fiddling with the Shadow Bearing Sword!


    "I''ve tried this sword before. It''s like an ordinary sword and has no life," Zen said, holding the heavy sword in one hand. "If I want to use this sword, I must rely on my comprehension of the Truth of Goodwill and Malice! I''ll try again!"


    Zen began to recite the Truth of Goodwill and Malice in his mind.


    When he activated the Truth of Godly Way, he felt the sword in his hand begin to quiver.


    "I was right!" Zen was filled with joy as he continued to activate the Truth of Godly Way.


    After he activated the Truth of Goodwill and Malice to a certain extent, he suddenly felt a vague consciousness emanating from the long sword.


    This consciousness seemed to wait for Zen to make a choice, but because it was too vague for him to tell what it was, he could only make a random choice.


    But the moment Zen made his choice, he felt like he was being suppressed by the sword and that his whole body was no longer in his control!

 Chapter 2505 Battle In Mind

    Harper watched the scene in silence.


    He was so anxious that he wanted to interfere, but soon, he gave up that thought and calmed down.


    "The Shadow Bearing Sword is a godly sword...


    Only a warrior who enters the Other Shore Realm can truly wield it.


    If you want to use this godly sword, you need to fully comprehend the Truth of Goodwill and Malice. Otherwise, you will become the Shadow Bearing Sword''s slave! But since your talent is so great...I wonder if you can break free from the Shadow Bearing Sword?"


    Harper murmured as he watched the scene in front of him.


    Lorena''s persuasion had aroused a glimmer of hope in Harper''s heart.


    And this tiny ray of hope was Zen.


    The worst thing in the world was hope turning into disappointment and despair.


    But right now, Harper still had a chance of survival. When the time came, he would not hesitate to sacrifice everything he had, but he hoped that it all meant something because of Zen.


    "Come on. Don''t let me down! If you can really tame the Shadow Bearing Sword while being a low-rank True God, I, Harper, will definitely follow and serve you for the rest of my life," Harper added.


    The color in Zen''s eyes gradually dissipated.


    A powerful spiritual sense burst out from the Shadow Bearing Sword, pouring into his mind in the blink of an eye and exploring his soul.


    It was the soul of the Shadow Bearing Sword.


    The Shadow Bearing Sword had accompanied Harper for countless years. It had been a part of many wars in the Source World. Under the infiltration of the Truth of Goodwill and Malice, it had long formed its own consciousness.


    To be the owner of the Shadow Bearing Sword, one had to get its consent.


    One way to do this was to have a complete comprehension of the Truth of Goodwill and Malice.


    Another method was to use another Truth of Godly Way to wipe out the marks in the Shadow Bearing Sword, but this was a much higher expectation of the sword holder. It was impossible to do unless the warrior was at the Other Shore Realm.


    But right now, Zen felt stuck because he didn''t fit either of these requirements.


    After he activated the Shadow Bearing Sword with the Truth of Goodwi


    ound Zen''s mind and once again shot toward him. It seemed as if it wouldn''t give up until it cut Zen''s soul into pieces.


    This sword was actually so troublesome.


    Zen hadn''t expected that the sword that his mother had helped him obtain would bring him a fatal disaster.


    But when people were walking on the tightrope between life and death, a powerful force would burst out of them.


    "Ripping Consciousness!"


    At this moment, Zen finally used the Emotion Closing Godly Way.


    Although Zen had been using the Emotion Closing Godly Way in the swordsmanship a lot, the Emotion Closing Godly Way was actually related to the soul.


    It could be said that the base of the Emotion Closing Godly Way was the soul.


    Buzz!


    The sword light on his body intensified.


    As the sword soul approached him again, his soul emitted countless thick golden sword lights that surged toward the sword soul, forming a golden river.


    Clang! Clang! Clang!


    The sword soul was soon washed away by the river and drowned in the blink of an eye.


    It was evident that the sword soul wanted to rush against the current, but it didn''t take long for it to be carried away by the current instead.


    Zen''s eyes were expressionless as he looked at the sword relying on the golden light he had emitted.


    This time, a cold soul and an expressionless sword soul confronted each other in Zen''s mind.


    After a short while, the sword soul moved and rushed toward Zen again.

 Chapter 2506 Fusion

    Zen stared coldly at the sword soul, and emotionally, he was in an absolutely calm state.


    The sword soul didn''t give Zen very much time. It only hovered in his mind for a few short seconds. Then, the sword blade rushed toward Zen with the intent of killing him.


    "Come on!" Zen roared.


    A light flashed in Zen''s cold eyes at once, which were still as bright as stars.


    In the end, the sword soul of the Shadow Bearing Sword was only a soul - not a real sword. Seeing as it was constantly being consumed, it would certainly eventually be subdued!


    Therefore, Zen''s soul once again shone brightly with an alluring golden light.


    Zen sat quietly in a secret room. The Sword Clan, Harold, Yan were not capable of sensing the room''s abnormality.


    Only Harper silently observed the strangeness.


    That said, Harper was still confused with what he was currently looking at.


    Logically speaking, Zen simply couldn''t conquer this sword with his current strength. In all honesty, it was more likely that he''d become a slave of the Shadow Bearing Sword!


    On the other hand, Harper truly hoped that Zen could conquer this sword with his own strength and power. This was the only way that Zen could qualify to obtain his wholehearted assist.


    Two hour had passed.


    Zen was still sitting quietly on the secret room''s floor.


    The Shadow Bearing Sword had the Soul-isolating Seal, which could completely isolate Zen from the sword soul. Even Harper couldn''t understand what was going on in Zen''s mind.


    Four hours had now passed...


    Harper was getting more and more anxious.


    If Zen really became the slave of the Shadow Bearing Sword, it wouldn''t matter anymore whether or not Harper went for help. It would simply be too late, and Zen''s soul would be destined to suffer irreversible injury.


    Another hour passed, now making a total of five hours.


    It was then that Harper could no longer ignore his feeling of confusion. One way or another, now was the time that the outcome should be decided.


    Soul-level battles weren''t like battles using martial arts skills, in which warriors fought each other for several rounds when their strength was approximately of the same level.


    Many soul-level confrontations were usually decided on the spot, and there was no time for special exercises. But Zen had persisted for more than four hours, and the sword soul of the Shadow Bearing Sword was still in his mind. What were they doing?


    "Never mind. I''d better interfere first..." Harper thought.


    He waved his skeleton arm high up above his head.


    A trace of invisible soul energy immediat


    d you really tame that Shadow Bearing Sword?"


    "Yes." Zen nodded his head briskly.


    "How is that possible? How did you succeed something like that?" Harper asked in a bewildered tone of voice.


    Harper had thought of two ways to tame the sword. That said, with Zen''s current cultivation, it was just an impossible accomplishment.


    Zen blinked his eyes a few times and said, "At first, the sword soul was constantly attacking my mind... Then, it fused completely with my own soul after I cut it into pieces with my own two hands..." His voice trailed off.


    As he listened to Zen, Harper fell silent for a long time before he slowly asked, "Is that all? Just that simple, hmm?"


    "That''s all," Zen said tightly. Zen pursed his lips and a little displeasure showed on his face.


    How could he say that was simple? How could he be so degrading? Zen frowned.


    Just like a maniac, the sword soul had attacked Zen continuously and ferociously without stopping.


    Zen had clenched his jaw and grinded his teeth hard in order to continuously reactivate his soul force and fight back. He hadn''t had an easy time whatsoever.


    Zen didn''t even know how he had endured the last few hours.


    Fortunately, the light on the surface of the sword soul suddenly dimmed, and at last, it turned into a few pieces of soul fragments before finally integrating into Zen''s soul. Only then did he completely get rid of the Soul-isolating Seal.


    As he repeated what Harper had said in his mind, Zen felt a little helpless.


    In the end, the Shadow Bearing Sword was so dangerous and Harper hadn''t even warned him beforehand. If he had let his guard down even just a little earlier, he might have been the one devoured by the sword soul instead!

 Chapter 2507 Writing The Rule

    Harper showed a pleased look noticing Zen wearing a disgruntled expression.


    His lips curved into a smile in a relaxed manner.


    "Good, very good! Hahaha!"


    His laughter lingered as the soul faded away.


    As soon as Harold and Marsh sensed the disappearance of the soul waves, they immediately looked at Zen''s training room with concern.


    After a while, the door of the training room creaked open revealing Zen as he slowly walked out holding a sword on his hand.


    "Zen, are you okay? What happened?" Harold asked in concern.


    Surprise flickered across Zen''s face as he saw two Holy Beings and Harold rushing over to him. Warmth filled him making him smile as he said, "An accident occurred during my time of cultivation."


    "What''s this sword?"


    Gibson asked and stared at the long sword on Zen''s hand.


    The soul of the Shadow Bearing Sword was thoroughly refined after it had successfully fused with Zen.


    As the two strongest Holy Beings in the Sword Clan, Marsh and Gibson had sharp eyes for the well-known swords in the world.


    It could be said that eighty percent of the best swords in the entire divine land were from the Sword Clan.


    They immediately recognized the extraordinary power of the Shadow Bearing Sword at a glance.


    "The aura of this sword seems to be very similar to the Truth of Goodwill and Malice. It doesn''t seem to belong to the divine land," Marsh observed and stated.


    They were curious and didn''t know where the sword came from. Because Zen had been brought to the well by Lorena in the debate venue, they had no knowledge about this sword.


    Whoosh!


    Zen stretched his arm as the Shadow Bearing Sword was slowly lifted up.


    Merging with the fragments of the sword soul, he suddenly realized that his understanding of the sword had reached a new level.


    He felt like the sword was already like his arm and it could be regarded as a part of his body now.


    "This sword was given to me by the master of that soul a moment ago," Zen said flatly.


    "Is it the sword of that powerful man at the Other Shore Realm?" Marsh asked with his eyes opened wide.


    "Yes," Zen answered and nodded.


    After merging with the sword soul, Zen had already figured out several theurgies about the Shadow Bearing Sword. But as he was still affected by the Truth of Goodwill in the debate venue, he was not able to activate them.


    He was very mu


    the punishment from the Ruling Slate.


    Nicholas had sent someone to make a thorough investigation, but they didn''t find any trace of a stowaway.


    He suspected that those stowaways must come from the Evolutionary Universe, but he could do nothing about it when Harold had distracted the Jiang Clan.


    In the end, he just ignored them.


    After all, the stowaways from the universe were only a group of proving godly warriors. Would it even matter even if they became low-rank True Gods? Could they change the situation around?


    But even if they could, there was no time left. He had no intention of wasting time arguing with Harold. The game should be over now.


    "The ninety third rule..."


    Swish!


    Nicholas flew up. He held the ink brush with his fingers and squinted his eyes.


    He patted slightly and a bag appeared on his waist.


    Inside the bag was a Sumeru Space. The Sumeru Space was considered to be as large as a world.


    There were countless divine might coins stored in this space.


    The divine might coins of the Dongfang Clan had been collected and stored over the years. In addition, the alliance of the wealthy clans would also give half of their own divine might coins to Nicholas.


    The amount of divine might coins of the Dongfang Clan was dozens of times more than that of any clan.


    "The rules are destined to be written by me. Now you will never be able to fight against me," he said coldly.


    Nicholas'' eyes slowly emitted a faint light. The ink brush in his hand was already waving towards the Ruling Slate, aiming to change the ninety third rule.

 Chapter 2508 Murphy Was Released

    It would require a warrior''s divine might coins to erase the characters on the Ruling Slate.


    In the past, it had required many divine might coins to write these characters, and it would require an equivalent amount of divine might coins to erase these characters too.


    The limitations and targets of each rule on the Ruling Slate were unique, so one had to consume differing amounts of divine might coins to either write or wipe out the characters on the Ruling Slate.


    For example, the 93rd rule applied to the prohibition of the Holy Beings from attacking each other''s universe directly. The restriction was not particularly strong, and it was not aimed at any one person directly. Therefore, not many divine might coins were required to write this rule.


    Nicholas'' brush constantly swiped across the rule on the huge slate.


    The divine might coins stowed in his brocade bag disappeared one by one, and turned into a special kind of energy. He then applied his huge black brush to the slate.


    The words "divine eras" in the 93rd rule started to blur and finally were erased completely from the stone plate.


    After erasing the two words, Nicholas checked his brocade bag. As he had expected, it hadn''t cost many divine might coins to erase the two words.


    Of course, the total number of divine might coins that had been consumed was awe inspiring, even by the standards of some powerful clans on the Floating Islands. But Nicholas didn''t care one way or the other.


    Then he continued to wave the ink brush in his hand through the air and created a new word, "years," replacing the words, "divine eras."


    According to the previous sentencing, Murphy had been supposed to be imprisoned for three whole divine eras. However, now after the rule had been revised, he only needed to face a prison penalty of three years.


    As soon as Nicholas painted the new rule, the whole Ruling Slate glowed with a luminous mist, which meant that the new rule began to take effect.


    At the same time, in the cave within the huge mountain, the invisible energy that bound the cave had disappeared.


    The moment Murphy had become trapped within the cave, he was surrounded and suppressed by the invisible energy.


    This energy could only affect him, and no one else would feel it.


    Therefore, other warriors were permitted to enter the cave and visit Murphy at any time they wished, but Murphy was restrained from leaving.


    "What? The invisible energy has disappeared!"


    With a sudden gleam in his eyes, Murphy, whose hair had grown lank and was disheveled, rose to his feet.


    A few moments later, a figure hovered ov


    l and Malice, he, Harold, and Yan left the debate venue.


    After Zen activated the token of mountain, he had directly returned to the fairy palace.


    He had only been away from the fairy palace for a short period of time.


    He hadn''t expected that Lavender could rely on her own comprehension to prove the Godly Way within such a short time span.


    However, Lavender was still unable to enter the divine land without permission. After she had become an ordinary creature, she would not be split apart by the divine land. However, if she entered the divine land, she would still be sensed by the Ruling Slate and would be punished by it.


    But this time, they had Harold to accompany them. Once he had learned about Lavender''s situation, he immediately assumed all the responsibility.


    After all, it was Mike who had taught Harold how to change someone''s blood. In turn, it was Harold who had ordered Wynn to enter the Evolutionary Universe and establish the Celestial Position race.


    If Harold could help them change their blood and they could become True Gods in the future, they would then be able to walk freely in the divine land.


    Making his way back to the fairy palace, Zen did not see Hallet or Augustus. Even Joy was nowhere to be found in the fairy palace.


    Apparently, after she had sent Zen to the Non-combat Zone, Joy had quickly returned to the Swirl Forest and helped Hallet and Augustus to control the Swirl Forest. So far, they had not returned yet.


    Besides, Bromley had already formulated his own plans on controlling the Swirl Forest. Therefore, Harold had no intention of interfering in that.


    The most important thing for Zen to do now was to visit his mother and make a breakthrough in his own cultivation base.

 Chapter 2509 Look For His Mom

    Zen stayed in the fairy palace for three days.


    During that time, Yan became acquainted with Letitia, Lavender, and the others one by one.


    However, the person who interested Yan the most was her nephew.


    Geoffrey was still exploring and cultivating in the bottle gourd, so Yan herself entered the bottle gourd to force him to get out.


    With his personality, everyone expected Geoffrey to rip his aunt''s head off as soon as they came out of the bottle gourd.


    However, ever since then, Geoffrey was nothing but obedient to his aunt.


    Just like her brother Zen, Yan was strict and merciless toward Geoffrey. In the world inside the bottle gourd, she had taught him a good lesson and made him obedient to her.


    Three days later, just as Zen was about to leave with Harold, dim red light rose from the depths of the Swirl Forest.


    It was clearly visible even from a distance.


    The red light spiraled up like a tornado, containing a terrifying aura.


    A moment later, they heard shrill howls.


    "Judging from the volume of the voice, I can tell that it''s coming from thirty thousand miles away from the fairy palace. That''s the center of the Swirl Forest," explained Harold, frowning.


    Zen''s eyes flickered slightly. "Are Hallet and Augustus in trouble?"


    "Perhaps they have met an obstacle," Harold answered, nodding his head.


    "Do they need our help?" Zen asked.


    Harold shook his head. "You''re more important than them!"


    "But they¡ª" Zen said worriedly, but before he could finish his sentence, Harold interrupted him.


    "Our master and their master have already taken the possibility of failure into consideration. It is not your concern."


    A look of helplessness appeared on Zen''s face. Harold''s words were so stern that he couldn''t argue.


    However, not long after they heard the shrill howls, a bright white light shot toward the fairy palace. It was none other than Hallet.


    Hallet always had the look of an immortal being around him, as if he was the person in the fairy painting. However, at this moment, his body was covered all over with bruises, half his ear was missing, and his hand was burned black.


    It was not until he rushed into the fairy palace that he noticed Harold and Zen. Seeing them, he was slightly taken aback. "


    alf a month to travel from the Six-Burden Divine City to the Tie Clan. But now, when they used spatial transference, they reached the Tie Clan in the blink of an eye.


    After they arrived, Harold flicked his finger, producing a milky-white curtain of light that immediately enveloped the two of them.


    Zen didn''t want to disturb anyone here or attract too much attention to himself, and the light curtain helped by completely restraining both of their auras. After all, although the Tie Clan was only a third-tier clan, it had a mid-rank True God.


    In mid-air, Zen distinguished the location and said, "Here it is!"


    "Let''s go down," said Harold as he led Zen down.


    The moment the two of them touched the earth, it melted away beneath their feet. The two of them shot toward the ground like arrows and sank into it.


    As he sank, Harold threw a white flag behind him.


    The flag flew straight out of the ground and pierced it. A gust of wind blew, and the flag grew larger in the wind, forming a magic array.


    This array flag was also a supreme treasure of the Luo Clan. No one but a consummate True God would be able to see it. And since there was almost no chance of any consummate True God getting close to this area, the array flag could protect this place from being discovered.


    Soon after they dived into the ground, Zen and Harold bumped into a gangue layer.


    An ordinary True God would find it hard to dig through the rocks, but for Harold, the gangue layer was as fragile as bean curd.

 Chapter 2510 The Underground

    Harold and Zen proceeded further down the layer of gangue, which was several thousand feet deep.


    Suddenly a loud bang came from below. Something had blocked Harold''s path.


    "Should we continue digging even after we arrive at the flint layer?" asked Harold.


    Flint was a translucent crystal, and it was a hundred times tougher than the gangue.


    No matter how tough the flint was, it couldn''t stop Harold.


    "Wait a minute. It seems that this is the wrong direction," Zen said with a frown.


    There was some reaction in his inner world the last time he went underground.


    The brown mud, known as the Spiritual Darkness, seemed to have a strong attraction to Zen.


    But this time around, even after going so deep into the underground, his inner world still didn''t have any reaction, which meant that they had deviated in the opposite direction.


    On the other hand, the last time, Zen had dug down in the territory of the Tie Clan, and finally escaped from the top of the cave, which led to a pond in the backyard of the Tie Clan.


    At that time, Zen had come to the conclusion that the underground cave could change and move freely.


    But his mother had asked him to look for her in the Six-Burden Region, so there must be no problem here.


    "Let''s go that way." Zen could only rely on his internal compass to find the direction by instinct.


    Harold nodded. Instead of digging further in the layer of flint, he moved horizontally on the layer of gangue.


    However, they had traveled horizontally on the layer of gangue for a long distance, but Zen''s inner world still showed no reaction. In the end, they had no choice but to stop.


    "Do you think your mother has left this place?" asked Harold with a frown.


    Zen shook his head. "No, she said she would wait for me here. She won''t leave before I find her."


    "But don''t forget that the woman you saw in the debate venue isn''t really your mother," warned Harold.


    The Lorena in the debate venue was just an incarnation of fear. She was merely a replica, not the real deal.


    This meant that the real Lorena was clueless about the fact that her son wa


    eneath the layer of gangue was the layer of flint, and below that was the layer of soft stones.


    As the name suggested, the soft stone was not as hard as flint, but it was extremely malleable. It could not be penetrated by force alone.


    Even Harold couldn''t break it easily.


    With all these obstacles, exploring the depths of the divine land was no mean feat! This was also the reason why Lorena chose to hide underground.


    "We have reached the deep underground, haven''t we?" Zen asked.


    "You are right," said Harold. "If we go past these soft stones and keep moving further down, we will encounter the Lethal Fire Magma. The green magma can kill the Holy Beings."


    "Really?" Zen asked in surprise.


    Harold nodded. "That''s the purest energy in the divine land, and also the foundation for maintaining the entire divine land. We can''t continue anymore. Let''s look for your mother somewhere else," he proposed.


    Zen was reluctant to leave. The underground world was so large and finding a particular cave was like looking for a needle in a haystack. However, he had to follow Harold''s orders or advice whatever you might term it.


    Just as Zen was about to leave with Harold, he suddenly felt a hint of warmth coming from his inner world!


    So he stopped immediately and looked around frantically.


    His inner world was programmed to have such a reaction only when the mud was very close to him!

 Chapter 2511 Meeting Lorena Again

    "What''s wrong?" Harold asked.


    "There!"


    Zen stretched out his arm and pointed at the grey soft stones in front of him. He moved and rushed towards the stones.


    The moment he approached the stones, his inner world suddenly gave him a strong sense of hunger. It felt like the most delicious food was hidden behind those stones.


    "It''s here! I have felt it. The mud is right behind the stones," Zen stated with certainty.


    Harold nodded in response.


    He went in action but it was not easy for him to break those soft stones.


    His muscles started to swell as his shoulders worked up doubling in volume within three seconds, and his arms were not in proportion to his stature.


    The soft stones couldn''t be easily broken with brute force.


    "Crack!"


    Harold thought of another way by abruptly inserting his fingers into the stones. He opened his arms to both sides, and a crack appeared on the layer of the soft stones.


    Zen immediately saw a glimpse of a wide space through the crack.


    Under the dim light, he even saw the round stone plate.


    "It''s that cave! It can really move under the ground!"


    Zen''s face was filled with excitement. He was about to step in the cave, but was stopped by Harold.


    "Let me go in first," Harold said and made Zen halt his steps.


    Harold thought that they might come across something strange in the depths of the ground. It was reasonable for him to ensure their safety by going in first.


    He positioned himself in front and climbed through the crack, and Zen followed closely behind.


    Entering the cave, Zen saw a brown thing running crazily not far away. It was about to enter another crack beside the cave.


    "Don''t let that thing get away!" Zen hurriedly urged.


    The brown thing was the mud that Zen wanted, which was also the Spiritual Darkness that his mother mentioned.


    "Of course not!"


    Harold answered plainly. He effortlessly waved his hand in the air.


    The Spiritual Darkness on the verge of escape froze on the spot. It kept squeaking with fear as it was suddenly grab


    s they silently waited.


    "Crack! Crack!"


    Cracking sounds were suddenly heard from the left corner of the cave.


    A crack appeared among the rocks. It looked like a monster with its mouth wide open.


    "Whoosh!"


    Right then, a figure with a long hair flashed by and firmly stood in front of Zen.


    The figure in front of Zen was his mother, Lorena, whom he had met in the debate venue.


    Meeting his mother in the debate venue was, however, different from this moment. What he saw before was only the incarnation of his mother, and in front of him right now was his real mother.


    "Hello, Lorena,"


    Harold greeted with a reverent bow.


    Lorena glanced at Harold. "Thank you for bringing Zen here in person."


    "It''s my pleasure," Harold replied humbly.


    Lorena nodded and turned to look at Zen, her son.


    She had already absorbed all the memories of her incarnation. But for herself, it was the first time she really had contact with her son face to face.


    She touched Zen''s face, revealing an attractive smile on her face. "Zen, please follow me!"


    "Yes, Mother," Zen resolutely answered and nodded.


    Before leaving with his mother, Zen naturally would not forget to activate the mountain token.


    The activated mountain token took Harold to the fairy palace in a flash. Zen put it away and walked towards the crack along with his mother.

 Chapter 2512 The Origin Of Spiritual Darkness

    Zen walked quietly behind Lorena as he scanned the cave up and down.


    The cave seemed to be emitting a faint smell of blood, while there were several pieces of brown "mud" running around.


    In addition, Zen also saw many huge heads that were embedded in the rows of rocks.


    The eyes of these heads were closed, as if they were sleeping peacefully.


    "Mom, what are these creatures? Why could they travel in the rocks?" Zen asked curiously.


    After reuniting with Lorena in the debate venue, Zen didn''t feel distant from his mother. Instead, he felt very secure and safe with his mother.


    "These stone spirits were grown by me one by one. They are my bodyguards," Lorena replied with a smile.


    "You grew them?" Zen asked, slightly stunned.


    "Well, they are blessed by Chaos Ancient God to possess extreme powers. Even Harold may not be able to deal with them," said Lorena.


    "No wonder," Zen exclaimed, his eyes flashing with a spark. These stone spirits had always made Zen feel great pressure. Just as his mother had said, because they had the ability to contend against Harold, they might be comparable to Holy Beings.


    Underground, caves were connected one by one. Every time Lorena led Zen to the end of one of the caves, there would be a new one. The underground world was far more complicated than Zen had ever imagined.


    Along the way, Zen had seen a large amount of Spiritual Darkness. His inner world was like a beast that was ready to move, urging him to devour the Spiritual Darkness. He took a lot of discipline to restrain his urges.


    Soon after, Zen passed another cave and saw a large pot resting on the ground.


    Zen had seen this huge pot through the Spiritual Darkness'' eyeball. Back then, his mother only had a head left which was soaked in the pot.


    Beneath the pot was a faint green flame swaying back and forth.


    "Sit down," said Lorena while pointing her finger at a particular corner.


    Zen nodded and followed his mother. He sat cross legged on the ground beside the large pot.


    Lorena placed herself in front of Zen and stared at him with a happiness across her face.


    She had fused the memories of her incarnation of fear, but it was the first time she had seen Zen herself, so she had a different feeling.


    ous benefit Chiyou managed to create for his people.


    However, people cultivating with the Spiritual Darkness were not actually people from the divine land, but extraordinary creatures that had opened up the Sanskrit Land, and Lorena was one of them.


    Later on, the Nine Li people had been almost all killed, and the True Gods of the divine land couldn''t reach higher level to become extraordinary creatures. The divine might coins could only be used to modify the rules on the Ruling Slate.


    After Lorena was done explaining, Zen gave off a bitter smile He had been exploring hard and was unable to break through in the end. He didn''t expect that it was because the Primal Chaos Technique he learned was incomplete.


    To put it simply, the Primal Chaos Technique only recorded the methods to open up a small divine land, but it did not record how to expand or cultivate it in the first place. Zen, on the other hand had relied on himself and accidentally reached what he was now.


    However, Zen had been stuck in condensing his Godly Tile, and couldn''t develop any further up until he discovered the mud.


    "You have created the Thousand Sanskrit Land for a long time," pointed out Lorena. "Now I can help you break through your bottlenecks, but you still need to master the way to nurture the Spiritual Darkness." She looked at her son with a seriousness in her eyes. "Are you ready, Zen?"


    Zen nodded.


    With one point of her finger, the Spiritual Darknesses flocked towards Zen in a rapid pace.

 Chapter 2513 Mikes Ambition

    Ever since Zen''s inner world had emitted a strong desire that constantly stimulated him, he had been looking forward to making a breakthrough for a long time.


    His elixir field emitted a gentle light and he did not resist at all. Then, all the Spiritual Darknesses were completely absorbed.


    It seemed that Lorena didn''t consider Zen''s endurance, or she didn''t need to consider that at all.


    "May I enter your inner world and take a look?" asked Lorena. A smile spread over Zen''s face as he nodded.


    At that moment, a figure that resembled Lorena''s consciousness quickly floated into his inner world.


    Beside her stood his avatar and together, they landed at the same time.


    "Phew! Phew! Phew!"


    Numerous Spiritual Darknesses kept squeaking and falling from the sky.


    The Spiritual Darknesses did not have a higher form of intelligence and were completely under Lorena''s control.


    Although it was clear that they would be swallowed down, they still flew into Zen''s inner world without hesitation.


    "The strength source of the Nine Divine Stars is actually quite a lot," Lorena exclaimed as she glanced up at the sky. "If I''m not mistaken, some Holy Being helped you forge the Nine Divine Stars, right?"


    "Yes, it''s the strength source Holy Jay has given," said Zen.


    Lorena smiled. "They are a bit unusual, aren''t they? They actually gave the strength source directly to you."


    She thought that it was simply crazy to forge Zen''s inner world into what it was now.


    She paused and gazed into the distance, only to see dozens of rays of light in the air.


    "Is that the internal momentum of the Godly Ways?" Lorena''s eyes narrowed. She wasted no time and immediately flew towards the rays of light.


    As for Zen, he didn''t say anything and simply followed his mother from behind.


    When Lorena arrived above the Godly Tile that Zen had condensed, she saw that it emitted more than 300 rays of light.


    Those rays of light contained the internal momentum of different Godly Ways, which were distributed throughout Zen''s inner world.


    "So many Godly Ways!" Lorena cried out in surprise. "There are at least three hundred Godly Ways! How? How is that possible? I don''t understand!"


    Meanwhile, Zen


    r got the Infinity Ruler much later," Zen tried to reason. Lorena''s lips curved up into a small smile.


    Although she was angry at her husband, she was happy that he and her son could do such a thing. "There will be a day when the truth comes out. Since you have expanded your inner world to such an extent, you must absorb these Spiritual Darknesses quickly!" she told her son.


    Zen, however, didn''t absorb all the Spiritual Darknesses as his mother instructed.


    More than ninety percent of them fell into the chaotic sea and the waters began to surge.


    He let the rest of the Spiritual Darknesses fall to the ground.


    In turn, the Spiritual Darknesses dug holes and hid underground like rats.


    If he wanted to cultivate more Spiritual Darknesses, he just needed to feed them with divine might coins continuously. He would have more Spiritual Darknesses in his inner world as long as he could get enough divine might coins.


    He hoped that wouldn''t be a problem since the forbidden lands in his inner world continuously produced divine might coins.


    He didn''t know the use of the divine might coins before. Now that the Spiritual Darknesses constantly divided and reproduced, he could easily get almost an infinite number of Spiritual Darknesses.


    A large number of Spiritual Darknesses in the chaotic sea turned into numerous brown clouds which almost shrouded the entire sky of Zen''s inner world. Soon enough, those brown clouds gathered towards Zen''s Godly Tile.

 Chapter 2514 Breakthrough

    In the past, it took Zen much effort to get a complete Spiritual Darkness.


    Now, looking at the gathering clouds, he was struck with surprise.


    "Sword cloud, condense!"


    Zen''s eyes flashed and a faint sword shadow suddenly appeared within the surging clouds and fog.


    It split into two, then four, and then finally, into eight parts.


    As the shadow spread, it suddenly turned into countless sword shadows. Their collisions produced the crisp sound of metal scraping against metal, constantly colliding in Zen''s inner world.


    "Zen has cultivated the Emotion Closing Godly Way..."


    Something seemed to click in Lorena''s mind as her eyes glowed. "I see... Holy Jay must have discovered the inheritance of my father in the Mountain of Holy Beings. The Infinity Ruler has also been obtained from there!"


    It hadn''t been long since Holy Jay became a Holy Being, and Lorena wasn''t aware of what happened after that.


    But when she saw Zen practice the Emotion Closing Godly Way and absorb 3000 Godly Ways by means of the Infinity Ruler, she was almost certain that it was from her father''s inheritance.


    Such inheritance could''ve only been taken from the Mountain of Holy Beings.


    The Godly Way Guide was one of her father''s most powerful theurgies. But it couldn''t be activated even after comprehending the three thousand Godly Ways. The only way one could use it was through the Emotion Closing Godly Way.


    And this was why the other 2999 Godly Ways worked as auxiliaries, and the Emotion Closing Godly Way remained the most important.


    Zen had gotten the Infinity Ruler and it was quite the major when it came to cultivating the Emotion Closing Godly Way¡ªit had to be more than a mere coincidence. It was likely that he obtained the Infinity Ruler while receiving a lesson as well.


    Putting together all the details, Lorena had a strong feeling about her speculations.


    In the inner world, all the living creatures raised their heads to gaze upon the dense sword clouds.


    This included the Evil God and all the various talents on the continent.


    Although they didn''t know how the sword clouds actually came into being, they knew that such an abnormality meant a great change in the world was nearing.


    Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...


    All the brown sword clouds gathered at the center of the inner world, completely surrounding Zen''s Godly Tile and gradually forming an enormous wh


    Hearing his mother''s words, Zen heaved a sigh of relief.


    In the cave, the Spiritual Darknesses were still gathering from all directions, rushing into Zen''s inner world and falling into the chaotic sea.


    The waters of the chaotic sea began boiling as more and more dark clouds and mist spread into the sky.


    And so Zen made use of these elements as means to try and become a top-rank True God.


    In the East Hall on a Floating Island¡­


    Nicholas stood there along with Jeremiah, Murphy, Clark, and the others.


    The Holy Beings gathering there belonged to the alliance of the rich and powerful clans led by the Dongfang Clan.


    Nicholas had never had to endure anything. To him, only the weak had to endure all kinds of things in life.


    The Sword Clan had offended the Dongfang Clan and he was dead-intent on counterattacking without hesitation.


    "Ten divine eras ago, I said that the day would come sooner or later. Are you guys ready, now?" Nicholas'' tone was cold.


    "I obey all your command. I shall do anything you decide!" The Holy Being from the Liu Clan answered promptly.


    Because they were considered rather weak among the rich and powerful clans, the Liu Clan was more than willing to suck up to and take advantage of the Dongfang Clan.


    "Our Tang Clan supports you, of course. But can you ensure a smooth process?" Clark asked skeptically.


    With a small smile, Nicholas was ready to answer.


    But at this moment, a small voice suddenly came to his mind, changing his expression entirely. He abruptly screamed out, "Everyone, would you give me a moment of your time?"

 Chapter 2515 Hamish Hu

    Under the gaze of the Holy Beings, in the blink of an eye, Nicholas disappeared right before everyone''s eyes.


    Those present exchanged glances, none of them knowing what had just happened.


    But Nicholas was the one who gathered the Holy Beings to discuss some important matters.


    Why did he leave so suddenly?


    Thirty thousand miles to the east of the Time Sea was the Silverwing Divine City.


    Originally, it belonged to a second-tier clan in the divine land, but the Dongfang Clan forcibly expropriated it some divine eras ago.


    How could a second-tier clan dare to go against a powerful clan above the Time Sea like the Dongfang Clan? They were forced to keep their resentments to themselves to avoid damaging trouble.


    But the Dongfang Clan never attached much importance to the divine city. Although the Silverwing Divine City technically belonged to the Dongfang Clan, the city revenues still went straight to the second-tier clan.


    Soon, Nicholas'' figure appeared within the borders of the city.


    But no one in the entire city knew of his existence¡ªnot even the city''s no-fly ban had been triggered.


    In a flash, his figure entered a building in the Silverwing Divine City.


    A thin old man was in the building.


    He was bent over at the waist, sorting out some materials.


    "You old man¡­ hurry up!" a mid-rank True God beside him berated.


    They were in a well-known pill-refining workshop in the Silverwing Divine City, where the old man had dedicated many divine eras working hard.


    Being too humble and honest of a worker, he was often bossed around by those around him.


    But he was always diligent and efficient, in addition to being knowledgeable and requiring minimal salary¡ªthe pill-refining workshop was naturally glad to have him as an employee.


    While many people treated him as someone insignificant, he had, in fact, long become indispensable.


    "Whoosh!"


    Just then, Nicholas entered the workshop.


    The sudden appearance of the stranger was quite a surprise to the many True Gods there.


    "Who are you? How dare you break in here! This is an important venue of our Qian Clan, welcome only to important people."


    This Qian Cla


    it!" Then, he turned and left without another word.


    Behind him, Hamish Hu held a herb in his hand as a smile flashed across his face. "I hope you mean it!" he called out.


    Nicholas had chosen to side with the Yellow Emperor Guards because of Lorena. But if he could get what he wanted, he probably wouldn''t hesitate to betray the Yellow Emperor Guards¡ªHamish Hu knew Nicholas'' personality well.


    Only then did Hamish Hu notice that all the True Gods in the pill-refining room were staring at him in fear.


    Never did they expect to see this obedient old man would be respected by such a strong cultivator!


    And this man had a remarkable theurgy¡ªthe True God had already turned to ash, but he could easily bring him back with a simple wave of a finger. Just what method did he use?


    "Don''t you have better things to do than to stare at me? Mind your own business," said the old man lightly.


    His voice seemed to be somehow laced with a powerful wave of soul power. In an instant, this power invaded all the minds of the True Gods, actively erasing a portion of their memories.


    The True Gods were trembling as their eyes grew full of confusion.


    But this trance lasted only momentarily before they came back to their senses¡ªthe scene they had just witnessed was completely erased from their minds.


    The mid-rank True God who had been previously pulverized once again shouted at Hamish Hu, "You old bastard, how dare you slack off!"

 Chapter 2516 Approaching

    Nicholas performed the spatial transference once again in order to return to the East Hall.


    The Holy Beings freely moved around in the divine land since they had the ability to reach their destination almost instantly, save for a few, specific places.


    The Holy Being in the East Hall waited for a while and guessed where Nicholas might have gone. He unexpectedly came back within five minutes.


    Nicholas was uncharacteristically joyful when he reappeared.


    "What makes you so happy Nicholas?" Jeremiah asked curiously.


    Everyone''s gaze fell on Nicholas.


    "Come with me!" he told everyone enthusiastically.


    Clark frowned in confusion. "Where?"


    "To the Six-Burden Region," Nicholas answered.


    "The Six-Burden Region?"


    "Isn''t that the Han Clan''s ancestral land?"


    "Won''t the Han Clan be alerted if we go to the Six-Burden Region?"


    Despite the fact that they could literally move freely in the divine land, the Six-Burden Region was the Han Clan''s territory and they needed to tell them first before going there.


    "Shouldn''t we tell Samuel first?" someone asked. The joy on Nicholas''s face faded into disdain. "Ignore him! Just follow me."


    Samuel, to Nicholas, was nothing more than a clown.


    He didn''t even consider the Sword Clan and the Moon Clan, let alone the Han Clan and Samuel.


    "Buzz..."


    As soon as he said these words, the energy around Nicholas fluctuated and he disappeared.


    Since it was him who said so then the Holy Beings didn''t really refute him. They all disappeared from the East Hall one by one.


    A wave of space swept through the Six-Burden Divine City.


    Nicholas suddenly appeared in mid-air.


    As the Han Clan''s ancestral land, the Six-Burden Divine City was much better protected than the Silverwing Divine City.


    The moment Nicholas appeared, the ban above the city was immediately activated and the Thousand Commandments Slate within turned into several blue lightning snakes that shot straight towards him.


    "Someone is trespassing into our Six-Burden Divine City!"


    "Guards!


    ly unbelievable. They rubbed their eyes, some even checked the expression on other people''s faces just to confirm if they were all seeing the same thing¡ªthere were indeed more than a dozen Holy Beings in front of them.


    "Is there something here Nicholas?" one of the Holy Beings asked.


    Nicholas narrowed his eyes and gazed at the distance. "One hundred thousand miles to the north."


    He then took a step forward.


    Once again, Nicholas suddenly disappeared.


    The other Holy Beings had no idea what he was trying to do and simply followed him.


    In a flash, all of them suddenly disappeared, leaving only the stunned True Gods in the Six-Burden Divine City.


    Nicholas had launched the spatial transference once again and arrived above the Tie Clan. He swept his gaze and saw an array flag.


    "This array flag must have been placed by someone who is at least a consummate True God," Jeremiah said. "It hasn''t been here for too long. It seems to be guarding something underneath. What could it be?"


    Nicholas smiled. "An extremely important thing."


    As he said this, he immediately shot towards the array flag.


    In the depths of the earth, Lorena, who was within the rock layers, suddenly opened her eyes.


    She looked at Zen, who currently had his eyes closed as he tried to break through and become a top-rank True God, with indescribable fear.

 Chapter 2517 Face The Danger

    "How could this be..."


    Since the moment Nicholas had crashed into the ground, Lorena had been on high alert.


    Right now, Zen was leaping over hurdle after hurdle on his way to becoming a top-rank True God. She couldn''t believe she had been complacent enough to have exposed herself like this, at this time.


    ''How could I have been so careless!'' she thought.


    The space she had created over the years with the help of the nether power was independent and separated from the outside world.


    Indeed, the last time Zen had entered the underground, only one layer of the space had been connected to the outside.


    However, now Harold and Zen were here, she had not separated the space from the outside at all.


    The divine land was not just a very large ship. It was, in fact, enormous.


    In Lorena''s opinion, it was impossible for the enemies to monitor and police the entire divine land all the time.


    But she was wrong. This was the complacence that had gotten her in trouble.


    Zen, however, hadn''t noticed any change in his mother.


    There were other things on his mind. In his inner world, he was still concentrating on transforming the Spiritual Darkness to form his own Godly Tile...


    The avatar that had formed from Lorena''s thoughts was staring at Zen in silence. She was trying her utmost to keep calm on the surface, but in fact, her mind was in chaos.


    ''I, I must keep them out...'' Lorena thought to herself.


    The real Lorena, however, still in the cave, was ready to make her move.


    She patted her hands gently, and a force began spreading out from them.


    Cracks formed under her feet...


    As the cracks spread quickly along the floor of the cave, the stones on its perimeter began to break too. Soon, the giant beasts that had been sealed within the stones for thousands of years were finally released, one by one.


    The stone spirits climbed out of their stones, and slowly traipsed towards the entrance of another nearby cave.


    The power of these spirits was great: they were not much weaker than Holy Beings.


    But that was only true of their physical strength.


    The reason why the Holy Beings were so invincible was that they had more than just physical strength.


    Therefore, the stone spirits were still far from being on a par with the Holy Beings, or even Demi-holy Beings and consummate True Gods.


    One could not rely on the stone spirits to defeat Holy Beings.


    Nicholas dived, following the passages dug by Harold. A black fireball was spinning in his hand.


    Whether it was ordinary so


    Nicholas moved forward in this new, complex cave. The Holy Beings that followed him had come to kill the stone spirits.


    "They are coming too fast..."


    Meanwhile, Lorena, who remained at the bottom of the cave, frowned.


    With so many Holy Beings coming together, she would be overwhelmed by sheer numbers.


    Although she still had an advantage in the divine land, now was not the time to use it.


    Zen was still absorbing the Spiritual Darkness with his eyes closed. Oblivious, he didn''t know how close his mother was to desperation, nor did he know that danger was approaching fast.


    As time ticked by, her eyes filled more and more with despair.


    Consumed with anguish, she realized that she had no choice but do the only thing she knew would work in this situation.


    "Zen, I''m sorry..."


    She stared at Zen with a complex expression on her face, sad but resolved. It seemed that she had made up her mind to take a gamble.


    She raised her finger gently, and a small purple jade plate appeared in her hand. A purple circle of light shot out from the jade plate and completely enveloped Zen.


    Lorena''s movements were precise and extremely subtle. Zen, all his attention focused on his inner world and his avatar, didn''t notice a thing.


    A strong space fluctuation shot out from the purple circle of light shrouding Zen''s body. Then, the fluctuation suddenly formed a whirlpool, and Zen disappeared into nothingness.


    At the same time, Lorena stood up, a smile on her face, a beautiful, but sad and desperate smile. She reached out and gently flicked her fingers. The center of the cave cracked, and a stream of cyan magma poured out from it. It was the Lethal Fire Magma.

 Chapter 2518 Perish Together

    The Lethal Fire Magma could just burn down anything, but the big black pot floating above it looked intact.


    Suddenly, Lorena jumped up and stood upright on the pot, looking outside of the cave.


    Although the divine land was huge, it was still too small for the Holy Beings. They could easily reach the remotest corners of the land in a short span of time.


    Lorena was well aware that as long as she went unnoticed, she was safe. Once she exposed herself, there would be no way out.


    Although she had some tricks up her sleeve, her slowness might bring her down. She had no choice but to send Zen away.


    "Phew!"


    Soon a figure flew over. She realized that it was Nicholas.


    When Nicholas saw Lorena standing on the pot, his astonished face lit up. "Lorena!" He exclaimed in delight.


    "Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"


    Instantly, a dozen figures appeared behind Nicholas.


    The Holy Beings were slightly stunned, seeing Lorena. That was when it struck them Nicholas'' purpose.


    It turned out that he came for this woman.


    The Holy Beings started to talk in whispers.


    Once they became Holy Beings, they controlled the universes, so much so that they could create lives and other objects prevailing in the universes, as per their liking.


    For them, women were of little importance. That was why they were stunned that Nicholas could be so obsessed with a woman.


    However, this woman was no ordinary one. She possessed a special status. If they caught her, probably many of their problems could be solved.


    After all, it was a good sign for the alliance of wealthy clans.


    Lorena glanced at Nicholas coldly and curled her lips. A cold smile appeared on her face as she said, "You''ve been looking for me for a long time. Am I right?"


    Nicholas nodded in agreement.


    For years he tried to locate Lorena, but was unsuccessful.


    Hence, he came hastily, as soon as he got the news from Hamish.


    "Your talents and skills are still a bit weak. Even if someone taught you those, there is still the Sea of Truth for you to cross," Lorena said lightly.


    Nicholas smiled hearing her words. "I''m just a step away from it. Very soon I will cross the Sea of Truth and reach the Other Shore Realm!"


    C


    to the bottom of hell.


    She might not be able to truly kill these Holy Beings, but it would take them a long time to recover. That way, she could buy more time for Zen, Yan, and Harold.


    Without any hesitation, Lorena tapped her tiptoe gently in the pot and jumped into the Lethal Fire Magma.


    However, just as she was about to jump into the Lethal Fire Magma, Nicholas had rushed over towards her.


    "Humph!" Lorena sneered coldly. Her hair shot towards Nicholas like arrows.


    When Nicholas'' hand touched the air, an invisible energy turned into a shield and protected him in front.


    "Tuk-tuk."


    Lorena''s arrows were unable to penetrate the shield.


    At that time, Nicholas reached out to grab her arm.


    Lorena continued to smirk at Nicholas.


    Suddenly her upper torso, barring her head, turned into brown mud, which clung to Nicholas'' body like an octopus.


    "If it weren''t for you, my husband might have succeeded." Lorena, with only her head left, stared at Nicholas with hatred. "That is why I am going to kill you today!"


    The mud flowed around Nicholas and towards his elixir field.


    In the eyes of the True Gods of the divine land, the Holy Beings were indeed indestructible, unless their universes were destroyed.


    But that didn''t mean Lorena couldn''t kill the Holy Beings.


    In fact, she could cut off the connection between Holy Beings and their universes.


    "You!"


    Only then did Nicholas realize that he had fallen into a huge crisis.

 Chapter 2519 Leaving The Divine Land

    Zen had no idea what had happened inside the cave.


    He sat cross-legged in the stable space and wholeheartedly continued to break through to the top-rank of the True God Realm.


    A series of occurrences happened in his inner world.


    The sword clouds rolled towards his Godly Tile.


    Even though there was no more Spiritual Darkness entering his inner world, the brown clouds transformed by the Spiritual Darknesses were more than enough.


    "It seems that Zen can successfully become a top-rank True God," Lorena said softly.


    The events that happened in the cave were clear to the wisp of Lorena''s soul but she didn''t reveal anything not to disturb Zen''s concentration.


    A focused Zen placed all of his thoughts on that Godly Tile.


    The breakthrough on becoming a top-rank True God had unexpectedly taken much longer time.


    Before he knew it, two hours had passed.


    With another roar in his inner world, the entire world once again expanded out.


    "I made it!" Surprise filled Zen''s face as he cried out in success.


    As his inner world expanded, he felt that he had a much deeper comprehension about Godly Ways.


    "Mother!"


    Zen''s avatar rushed towards Lorena.


    "Congratulations, Zen." Lorena greeted him with a smile on her face, but was followed by an extremely complicated look on her eyes.


    Zen sensed his mother''s strange emotion and couldn''t help but ask curiously, "Mother, what''s wrong?"


    The smile on Lorena''s face gradually faded away, and she lightly explained, "I''ll tell you, but don''t panic. After all, this is not a dead end for you."


    Zen was confused but still nodded in understanding.


    "I have sent you to the chaos outside the divine land," Lorena bluntly said.


    "What?!"


    Zen''s heart skipped a beat as he opened his eyes.


    Only then did he realize that he was no longer in the cave, but was covered by a purple circle of light.


    He was full of doubts as he once again closed his eyes, and placed his consciousness on his avatar. Back in his inner world, he stared at his mother and eagerly asked, "What happened?"


    "The Holy Beings found me when you were breaking through," Lorena voiced out with bitterness.


    Lorena was afraid of affecting his breakthrough so she didn''t bring it up.


    In order to make Zen understand the situation, she tried her best to explain the


    threat to him because after all, his inner world was made up of the chaotic energy.


    His mother didn''t lie to him. She had indeed sent him out of the divine land.


    Thinking carefully, he realized that his mother''s choice at the last moment was right. If she had sent him to any place in the divine land, perhaps Nicholas could track him down instantly with the Holy Being''s power.


    The time he left the Time Sea and was taken away by Joy, Nicholas couldn''t track his location. It was because of Estelle''s action which he was grateful for.


    Joy on the other hand, to prevent them from being caught up, still took Zen to move thousands of times in a short time.


    His mother then could only send him out of the divine land. This was her only choice.


    "Mother, I don''t think you will definitely die this time!" A light flashed across Zen''s eyes. "Maybe there''s still a chance for everything, but the premise is that I must have enough strength!"


    He had been down and depressed for ten days, but he finally became resolute as his mood was adjusted.


    He observed as the crack in the space that fettered him gradually became wider. He could finally take a look at the situation outside.


    Zen could see a huge oval-shaped gem floating above him.


    He could almost recognize at a glance that it was the true form of the divine land. A red ribbon could be seen binding the gem.


    He grasped and understood from his location that he was already quite far away from the divine land. He didn''t know when he would fall at the bottom of the chaos.

 Chapter 2520 Wild Bone

    As he fell rapidly into the void, the bones of the beasts at the bottom of the chaos became larger and larger in Zen''s eyes.


    Cracks kept appearing in the purple light circle that enveloped Zen and eventually, it completely disappeared. It was as if Zen was sitting in a box without a lid as he fell down.


    ''It may take a long time for me to fall to the bottom at this speed, '' he thought.


    The divine land itself was quite close to the bottom of the chaos. However, calculated in the measurement of the divine land, it still felt like quite a long distance for Zen.


    A month later, Zen had finally reached the same height as those beast bones in the void.


    But these enormous beast bones were incredibly tall!


    Another ten days had passed slowly.


    When he was about one hundred thousand feet away from the ground, Zen jumped out, flew in the air and began to float down like a leaf.


    Zen was like a speck of dust in this mammoth world. He descended quietly without drawing any attention.


    "So this is the bottom of the chaos!"


    The ground under Zen''s feet was like a vast bed of snow. The world in front of him was pristine white.


    This whiteness was not due to snow; it was littered with skeletons. This was a wasteland of bones!


    All kinds of bones were strewn everywhere: arms, ribs, lamellar bones as well as bones of various strange shapes.


    Some of the bones were the size of a palm, while others were tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of feet long.


    No matter how huge the bones were, they couldn''t compare with the huge beast bones, which were as long as the divine land. They stood like many mountains in the distance that no one could conquer.


    "These bones must have all come from extraordinary creatures." Zen bent down and picked up a piece of bone.


    If the bodies of the True Gods dropped into the chaos, they would get corroded to nothingness by the chaotic energy. So these bones certainly didn''t belong to the True Gods.


    These bones might have been at the bottom of the chaos for countless years. They were actually all intact under the cover of the chaotic energy, so perhaps only the bodies of extraordinary creatures could have withstood the


    the remaining Wights halted mid-pursuit and then scattered helter skelter.


    These Wights were not entirely stupid, but their IQ was very low. Seeing Zen kill their mates with ease, they knew that they could not afford to offend or take him on.


    Seeing the crowd of Wights dispersing, the young man breathed a sigh of relief. He then turned to Zen and stared at him blankly.


    When he saw Zen ambling over, he took out a wild bone from his waist, knelt down on the ground, and held it up above his head as an offering. He said loudly, "This is what I collected from the wilderness. Please accept it as a token of thanks, sir!"


    At first, Zen was puzzled about the young man''s actions.


    But when he heard the boy speaking the same language as him, he became less wary.


    Anyway, humans were present at the bottom of the chaos.


    The language of the divine land was inherited from the Source World, so the creatures at the bottom of the chaos must surely have some connection with the Source World.


    Zen''s gaze was fixed on the wild bone. From its appearance, the bone was no different than an ordinary one, but he could sense extraordinary power radiating from the bone.


    "What kind of a bone is this?" he asked.


    A strange expression appeared on the young man''s face, as if it was hard for him to fathom the fact that Zen didn''t know about this bone.


    But he still replied earnestly, "This is a wild bone, sir! I just dug it out of this wilderness."

 Chapter 2521 The Tribe

    The wild bone was plucked from the teenager''s hand as Zen carefully studied it.


    Even though the beast bones were untouched by the chaotic energy in this barren place, there wasn''t anything special about them.


    But the unique power in the wild bone was interesting.


    But then again, even though this young man and the humanoids didn''t have advanced cultivation, they seemed unafraid of the chaotic energy.


    Would they also be considered as extraordinary creatures? Or Out-of-Land Fiends?


    It wasn''t the time to focus on that so Zen put away the bone. The teenager nimbly approached him. "Sir, since you can fly, can you take me away from here?"


    Without hesitation, Zen grabbed the teenager''s hand and flew. He needed to know about this strange place.


    "Do you come here often to pick up wild bones?" Zen asked.


    "Yes."


    "This place is too dangerous for you," Zen softly said.


    Even if the crawling humanoids were like ants to Zen, they could still easily kill this teenager.


    It seemed like such a waste to get himself killed just to pick up wild bones.


    The teenager faintly smiled. "I was careless this time and went too deep in the Immemorial Wilderness. I used to only pick up bones at the edge. But now more and more people come to pick up wild bones so I had to go deeper and try my luck!"


    ''So this place is called the Immemorial Wilderness...'' Zen thought to himself. Out loud, what he said was, "There''re many other people who get wild bones like you?"


    "Of course! The wild bones are what we use to live on," the teenager replied without hesitation.


    When he followed the gist of the teenager''s words, Zen understood the general idea of the situation.


    At the edge of the Immemorial Wilderness was a tribe and the teenager was a member.


    The people absorbed the power within the wild bones to


    !" The fake fear on the teenager''s face completely disappeared and was replaced with excitement.


    In just a moment, the expression of the people changed.


    It wasn''t within their expectation for a stranger to be so powerful and help the teenager.


    "Who... Who are you?"


    "Why are you helping this bane?"


    a man with cropped hair asked as he stared at Zen.


    Zen replied calmly, "I don''t plan on helping him but you can talk calmly. There''s no need to do this to a child."


    It didn''t have anything to do with him and Zen didn''t like being used.


    "A child?" The man laughed coldly. "Ever since he came to our tribe, misfortunes occurred every year. He''s not a child but a living bane. He always brings bad luck!"


    "Sir, this is our own issue," another person said.


    "I''m not a bane!" The teenager forced his chin up despite the sadness in his face as he defended himself. "Zelda can prove it!"


    "Humph! If Zelda didn''t take you in out of kindness, we wouldn''t have ended up like this. You can''t go home!" the man with cropped hair said firmly.


    From within the tribe, a woman slowly walked over and spoke in a cold, sweet voice, "Since you don''t let Luther return home, I''ll leave the tribe with him."

 Chapter 2522 The Wild God

    The woman wore a blouse and a skirt made out of coarse cloth.


    Although she was dressed in shabby clothes, her astonishing beauty was unrivaled. On the face of it, this stunning woman seemed out of place in a humble tribe such as this.


    Zen''s gaze fell on the woman and comprehension dawned on him.


    The woman''s cultivation base was not obvious, but her body emitted a unique, magnetic aura.


    It seemed as if she was a body refiner, but not entirely so.


    Zen knew that she was no match for him, but she was obviously far stronger than most ordinary people.


    What made Zen more intrigued, however, was that the aura she emitted was very similar to that of the wild bone in his hand.


    "Zelda!"


    The teenager''s face lit up at the sight of the woman.


    As the others heard Zelda''s words, they were embarrassed.


    Zelda held a very high position in the tribe. More importantly, each time an adversity knocked on their doors, she was the first to step up and chase it away.


    If Zelda left, the tribe would probably die out when the next disaster came.


    The conflicts between their tribe and the Macon Tribe were never-ending. Members often got involved in disputes. Each time, it was Zelda who acted as mediator and put an end to their mischief.


    "Zelda, what if the Wights come again?"


    "We don''t know how to face them without you. The members of the Macon Tribe are waiting for a chance to pounce on us and make trouble!"


    Zelda had an undisturbed expression on her face. "Didn''t you say that these disasters are brought upon us by Luther? If I leave with Luther, no disaster will happen to you, correct? So what is there to worry about?"


    "Well..." The man with cropped hair fell short of words, not knowing how to retort to this matter-of-fact statement.


    Ever since Zelda had brought Luther back, the Wights often broke out from the Immemorial Wilderness to attack the tribe.


    But truthfully, this had occurred before Luther was brought back too.


    Seeing how the man was speechless, Zelda smiled coldly. She walked up to Luther, saying, "Let''s go home."


    The teenager, Luther, nodded and obediently


    neither weathering nor decomposing.


    The creatures at the bottom of the chaos absorbed the energy in the wild bones for cultivation. This way, their strength advanced rapidly. In the end, they became Wild Gods.


    However, despite the huge number of wild bones, they existed to be used up one day.


    Zelda''s tribe made a living out of picking the wild bones. Every once in a while, strong warriors arrived to exchange their necessary supplies for a batch of the wild bones.


    Of course, a part of the wild bones was left to Zelda for cultivation.


    In the past half a year however, the number of wild bones dug out by the tribe had reduced significantly. So far, they had only accumulated less than twenty pieces.


    If they sold all the wild bones, Zelda would not have any left for her own cultivation.


    Luther was well aware that Zelda needed the extra wild bones to reach a higher level. Determined and sullen, he took a risk to go deeper into the Immemorial Wilderness. The more dangerous a site, the higher the probability of finding the wild bones.


    However, he did not expect to be chased by a group of Wights after being lucky enough to dig out three wild bones. At long last, he was saved by Zen.


    "I see."


    Zen sighed in his heart, finally perceiving the situation.


    These people had managed to establish a unique training system with the support of the ghastly wild bones. It was commendable.

 Chapter 2523 A Spar

    "One must be a body refiner of a higher level in order to become a Wild God. Your body doesn''t seem strong enough."


    Zelda had noticed that Zen knew nothing about it. So Zen decided to learn more by asking questions.


    A body refiner needed to have a strong body.


    And Zen could become a body refiner only if he cultivated his body to what seemed at the moment to be a terrifying level.


    Even though Zelda exuded a strange power, her body wasn''t strong enough.


    Zelda glanced gently at Zen, obviously thinking that Zen had asked a very stupid question.


    Luther smiled at this. He didn''t know what kind of guy he had brought back with him. It looked like Zen didn''t belong to this world. What was more, he seemed to have minimal to no common sense when it came to worldly things.


    Fortunately for Zen, Zelda was patient. She turned to him and said, "If you don''t know anything about the Wild God, you can follow me."


    She then walked out of the thatched hut.


    Zen followed her without hesitation.


    In the ground outside the thatched hut, Zelda turned at her waist to look at Zen, smiled sweetly, and made to untie her clothes.


    "What?" Zen was shocked, unable to understand what she wanted to do.


    To his surprise, she cast off her thick clothes to reveal a brown bodysuit that hugged her body and outlined her exquisite figure.


    The surface of this suit was lined rather strangely.


    She let out a strong breath.


    "Hooo..."


    The breath left a visible light in its wake that was pale yellow in color.


    Zen still looked at Zelda, confused and wondering why she was doing this.


    Zen could feel a primitive energy surging through Zelda, touching almost every part of her body.


    There were very few people in the divine land who could use power like this. Most of them used their life vitality on blades.


    For example, if Zen used his strength source, his power wouldn''t have spread all over his body like the way Zelda''s power was flowing through her.


    A


    Zen, seemed to know nothing and his background seemed strange. But he had saved Luther and she thought that it would be inappropriate if she slammed him into pieces.


    But when their fists collided, she could feel an immense power radiating from this young man, the force of which seemed so irresistible!


    Once Zen had blocked Zelda''s fist, he suddenly pulled back his elbow.


    The strong force moved along his arm, and Zelda''s huge body began to retreat.


    Every time she took a step backward, the ground shook and a muffled sound could be heard.


    Her body expanded in size to become dozens of times bigger, but she was still very agile. She took a few steps backwards before turning and steadying herself. She stared at Zen''s gleaming eyes and said, "You have such a strong power!"


    She was no longer looking down upon Zen and had become even more cautious.


    This time, she unleashed ninety percent of her strength towards Zen''s head.


    The two collided again.


    Zen stood still, the muscles on his arm bulging. He was blocking Zelda''s punch with just one hand.


    Luther''s eyes bulged at the sight of this.


    Zen hadn''t even turned into a Wild God! Nor did he have the power of a Wild God. But he was using his own strength to resist Zelda''s all-out blow. And this was confusing the heavens out of Luther!

 Chapter 2524 The Bloodline In The Wile Bones

    The two had never seen such a thing before, so they were confused, especially Zelda.


    After all, she knew very well how powerful she herself was.


    Over the past few years, she had relied on the wild bones to grow at a steady pace, and her talent would today ensure that she could fully take advantage of the power in the wild bones.


    Only a very few Wild Gods that shared the same realm as her could actually surpass her.


    Despite her obvious strength and power, the young man before her blocked her blow. An attack that contained nearly all her might in one single fist!


    She was surprised by his reaction. Besides, he hadn''t even become a Wild God yet. How terrifying would he be if he did become a Wild God? That was a scary thought.


    Zelda withdrew her fist at once.


    The faint yellow light on the surface of her body began flickering slightly before she began shrinking more and more.


    It wasn''t before long that she had returned to her original state.


    She picked up her clothes and slowly walked toward Zen. In her eyes, a trace of awe and doubt could be seen.


    ''This guy just can''t be a nobody! And yet, he''s ignorant of both the Wild God and the world. What a strange man!'' she thought to herself.


    "Where..." she mumbled a little. "Where did you come from?" Zelda curiously asked.


    "May I refuse to answer your question?" Zen retorted.


    Zelda pursed her lips. She quickly came to the conclusion that Zen wouldn''t tell her the truth easily, and thus, she asked him another question. "Tell me then, what''s the purpose of your coming here?"


    "My purpose?" Zen asked pensively.


    His mother threw him down.


    Over time and especially now, Zen had gradually come to understand his history and what he would eventually have to face.


    If he had to have a purpose, then he indeed had one. "I want to become stronger!" he stated with confidence, his eyes shining eagerly.


    Luther suddenly interrupted them, "It seems that your enemy is very powerful, am I right?"


    "Why have you come to that conclusion?" Zen asked.


    "Well, you''re already so strong! And yet, you want to become stronger still. That''s the only reason," said Luther with a shrug of his shoulders.


    Zen didn''t refute. After his mother had explained everything to him, he indeed realized that his opponents were truly formidable. Defeating Murphy and Nicholas was a near insurmountable problem. Moreover, they were not his only opponents throughout the divine land.


    His only option was to become stronger. And what was more, doing so was quite urgent.


    "In that case,


    urities from his flesh body.


    However, the method for using the wild bone was the exact opposite. He needed to completely infiltrate his body with the wild bone''s power.


    "Don''t worry too much. It''s the lowest grade wild bone, so you won''t be resistant to it. Some powerful wild bones aren''t so easy to absorb," Zelda added.


    "Are you saying there are even stronger wild bones?" Zen asked curiously.


    Taking on an indifferent expression, Zelda smiled and said, "Of course, there are many kinds of wild bones throughout the Immemorial Wilderness. Some of their owners were extremely powerful in their day! Even trillions of years after their death, the marks of power contained in their bones haven''t disappeared. And chances are, they never will. The power hidden in this kind of wild bones is extremely strong, but that kind of power is only be passed down to the descendants. That is to say, those who absorb their power must have their blood."


    "Must have their blood, you mean?" Zen''s eyes flashed with curiosity.


    Zelda nodded, only once. "Several years ago, I dug out two pieces of wild bones that contained Chiyou''s bloodline. But I couldn''t absorb the power found within them. I could only sell or trade them for ordinary wild bones..."


    As she spoke, Zelda couldn''t stop her expression from displaying a hint of disappointment. The power and impact were different from each other in the wild bones, but something like blood was predestined.


    That said, Zelda exchanged the two wild bones for dozens of ordinary ones. These bones had laid her foundation and eventually helped her in becoming a Wild God. Now though, as she thought back, she still felt the loss simply wasn''t worth the gain.

 Chapter 2525 Absorb

    "These are wild bones with Chiyou''s bloodline..." Zen uttered as he raised his eyebrows slightly.


    As Zen had learned from his mother, the Nine Li race was a huge race in the Source World, and there were also many warriors with Chiyou''s bloodline.


    The wild bones had been, presumably to say the least, left behind by the mighty masters of the Nine Li race.


    However, Zen had no idea what could have happened in the chaos that caused so many bones to scatter here.


    "Seeing as only those who have Chiyou''s bloodline can absorb the power within the wild bones, why would someone even buy them?" Zen asked. He continued, "Could it be that there are also warriors with Chiyou''s bloodline here?"


    Zelda nodded her head. "Yes. It has been said that among the powerful warriors on the bone towers, a few of them do have the powerful bloodline!"


    "There are actually people with Chiyou''s bloodline here," Zen stated, almost to himself. His heart skipped a beat.


    Only the Nine Li people could actually inherit Chiyou''s bloodline.


    Was it possible that the Nine Li people also existed among the Out-of-Land Fiends? Or, could they have used other lesser known methods to obtain Chiyou''s bloodline?


    If there were really Nine Li people here, they could possibly become one of his strong reinforcements...


    Quite frankly, this was only the thought running through Zen''s mind. He knew he couldn''t act rashly before he completely figured out that crucial point.


    "Let''s just drop the subject for now. Don''t you have a wild bone in your hand? I''ll teach you the method for refining it now! Remember, you must keep it in your mind!" Zelda smiled honestly.


    The methods for refining the wild bones were about the same, but not everyone could bear the Wild God Power.


    In the Iron Tribe Zelda was from, she was the only one who could bear the power of Wild God Power.


    "The power of a wild bone is owner-less. For this reason, extracting the power from the wild bones isn''t difficult. What''s truly difficult, is how much you can make use of such power," Zelda said seriously as she faced Zen, sitting with her legs crossed. In her hands, she too, held a wild bone.


    Luther dug three wild bones out of the Immemorial Wilderness. One of them was given to Zen in order to repay him for saving his life, and the other two were given to Zelda.


    "The method I use is called the Trickle Spring Method. I learned it from a master when I was still very young," said Zelda. As soon as her hands left the wild bone, the bone floated in front of her with ease.


    Her hands moved around the wil


    ve their own two eyes.


    Zen, on the other hand, simply continued sitting there, doing what he was doing.


    The three of them continued like this for a long time. Suddenly, Zelda, who had a look of completely incomprehension asked, "Where did the Wild God Power go, then?"


    "I have absorbed it," Zen replied.


    "Why isn''t there any Wild God Power escaping from your body?!" she asked bewildered. Zelda was stunned.


    Even after having cultivated the Wild God Power for so long, she could only make use of thirty percent of its power. And this was already a laudable feat. It wasn''t anything to be scoffed at.


    It was said that a few geniuses of certain great forces could make use of sixty or even seventy percent of the Wild God Power. But this was rare, and Zelda had never encountered such an individual.


    That said, this was Zen''s first time absorbing the Wild God Power and he''d actually absorbed all of it! What was more, not even a tiny bit of it was leaking out!


    Despite her vast knowledge and experience, Zelda simply couldn''t understand what she had just witnessed.


    As for Zen himself, he only felt a little confused. A brief moment later, he''d understood how he had come to achieve something so unbelievable.


    It was simple. Most creatures'' physical bodies weren''t flawless. More so, there were always certain loopholes that couldn''t be detected. The life vitality one sucked in could leak out through those specific loopholes, and the same went for the Wild God Power.


    Zen''s body had been forged so many times that he already possessed a Flawless Divine Body from back when he was in the Evolutionary Universe.


    Once the Wild God Power had entered Zen''s body, escaping it was simply impossible.

 Chapter 2526 Collect The Wild Bones

    While Zelda and Luther looked at Zen as though he was a monster, Zen slowly stood up.


    The Wild God Power was nothing like the strength source, life vitality, or the chaotic energy. All three of those powers could be used at will.


    The Wild God Power, on the other hand, was completely a part of one''s body.


    As this thought flashed across Zen''s mind, he immediately ignited the Wild God Power.


    He felt his body shake violently and his muscles, bones and even veins began to swell at once. As the swelling increased, he felt an indescribable power surge throughout his body.


    This was the first time that Zen had ever absorbed the Wild God Power. Seeing as he''d only absorbed a small piece of wild bone of the lowest level, he couldn''t instantly turn into a two-hundred-foot giant like Zelda was capable of.


    His body only stretched very little, and a brief moment later, he was a good inch taller.


    Even so, all this had made Zen feel very excited.


    "The Wild God Power is really very unique," Zen muttered. "It''s nothing like I''ve ever experienced before." It was then that he noticed the surprise in Zelda''s eyes and asked, "What''s wrong?"


    "You... You haven''t answered my question yet," Zelda replied excitedly.


    Zen was capable of absorbing all the Wild God Power. In fact, his efficiency was three times better than Zelda''s.


    In other words, when Zen refined a single piece of wild bone, it came out to the same as when Zelda refined three pieces. The gap was very wide.


    How could Zen answer such a question? It was difficult and confusing to explain.


    All he could do was shrug his shoulders and reply in a confused manner, "I don''t know either."


    Zelda stared at Zen''s face suspiciously. Based on Zen''s previous performance, it was clear that he knew nothing about this power, but once he began putting it into practice, the technique went far beyond the common sense she could comprehend.


    Had she not seen it with her own two eyes, there was no way she would believe it now.


    Ultimately, Zelda said, "Maybe you really are suitable for cultivating to become a Wild God."


    Any time she had faced a problem that couldn''t be explained, she always eventually put it down to talent.


    Although she didn''t want to compare herself with such a talented young man, she couldn''t help but feel a sense of frustration right now.


    Becoming a Wild God was more than having the capacity for absorbing a piece of wild bone.


    The unsatisfied Zen quickly turned his eyes toward the Immemorial Wilderness.


    Over the past few days, the people of the tribe came and went. They were busy collecting wild bones on the e


    ild bone fell directly into his grasp. He tightened his fingers around the bone.


    As soon as he obtained the first wild bone, he flew to the next location and repeated his technique. In this way, he had obtained all eight of the wild bones in the surrounding area.


    It was obvious that Zen''s method was much more efficient in finding the wild bones than that of ordinary people.


    After obtaining the wild bones, Zen flew into the air once more and continued flying deeper into the Immemorial Wilderness. As he continued on his way, he used his spiritual will in order to search an area of at least a dozen miles around him.


    After performing his technique several times, he had more than thirty wild bones in his hand. During this time, the ruckus he inevitably caused had also alarmed a few Wights.


    As he attacked and killed a few of them, all the others left as quickly as they could. From that point on, no one dared attack him again.


    In half a day''s time, Zen had already traveled thousands of miles deep into the Immemorial Wilderness. His pace was unbelievable.


    Just as his mind was off elsewhere, absorbed in collecting as many wild bones as he could, he suddenly heard an astonishing howl.


    The howl contained an extremely powerful, ear-piercing force. As the sound spread, it actually lifted countless bones up off the ground, forming a tsunami of bones.


    Zen looked in the direction from which the howl came. Tens of thousands of miles away, he was certain that he could see a huge skeleton shadow appearing and heading closer his way!


    He was startled, and with reason.


    Even from so far away, the skeleton shadow could still be seen quite clearly. No doubt about it, this huge skeleton must be at least a thousand miles tall.

 Chapter 2527 A Piece Of Blood-red Wild Bone

    The huge skeleton let out a chilling wail, and a giant appeared beside it instantly.


    "That''s a hominine giant!" Even though he was tens of thousands of miles away from the giant, Zen could still see it clearly and knew what it was. "This giant appeared so suddenly. How did it get to this size so quickly? Did it take advantage of the Wild God Power?"


    Zen remembered that Zelda had told him that although she was already a Wild God, she was at the lowest level and could only grow to two hundred feet high.


    The most powerful Wild God in the world, however, could potentially grow hundreds, even thousands of miles high.


    One mile was equivalent to about five thousand feet.


    The vastness of a thousand-mile tall giant was indescribable. What kind of power could such a giant be capable of unleashing?


    Zen couldn''t even begin to imagine.


    Standing before this giant of a thousand miles tall, Zen seemed smaller than a speck of dust.


    He had never expected that he would see such a creature in the Immemorial Wilderness. It was beyond what any legend could ever describe.


    Soon after its appearance, the giant started to fight the skeleton.


    A gigantic creature like this would let out a huge roar every time it collided with something. The collision and the giant''s roar sent shock waves in all directions, which turned into massive, destructive storms.


    Bones of different shapes and sizes were blown all over the Immemorial Wilderness.


    "Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh..."


    Waves of cold windstorm rolled over the land, and the bones were swept forward towards Zen.


    If ordinary humans were hit by these bones, they would probably lose half of their lives immediately, and could even die if they were not strong enough.


    Zen, however, just stood there, letting the bones hit him, like a huge rock in a gushing river. His eyes remained firmly fixed on the battle between the two giant beings in the distance.


    "Boom! Boom!"


    Soon after, Zen saw the giant snap the huge skeleton in two along the waist. The giant had won.


    Then, its job done, the giant seemed to evaporate, disappearing from Zen''s sight.


    "It should have become smaller again," Zen mumbled, standing buried almost up to his neck in the bones that were blown over.


    He twisted hi


    e ring.


    At this moment, a gust of wind swept past his ears. He turned his head and saw four figures in the air, moving rapidly towards him.


    Zen frowned. This couldn''t be a good sign.


    The space ring in his hand flashed slightly, and the man-sized wild bone disappeared into it.


    "Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh..."


    The four figures approaching Zen sped up, and soon stood in front of him.


    The leader of the four was a thin and pale young man. He was followed by a young girl in a bright red robe, and the other two were dressed as guards.


    "I swear I saw a large blood-red wild bone just now, but then it disappeared! Where is it?" the girl in red robe said, her eyes and voice cold as ice.


    The young man''s eyes immediately fell on the space ring in Zen''s hand. "Well, it must have been hidden by this guy!" said the young man, looking Zen up and down, his eye arrogant and disdainful.


    "No matter who you are," he continued in a threatening voice, "the wild bones dug up in this area belong to our Blue Sect. Hand it over!"


    Hearing this, Zen raised his eyebrows. He had met this kind of fellow many times before.


    Zen smiled coldly and replied, his voice calm, "The bones in the Immemorial Wilderness have no owner. Naturally, they belong to whoever finds them. Why should I hand it to you?"


    The young man, however, didn''t want to waste time arguing with Zen. He sneered, "Your life is nothing to me. I will say it again. Hand it to me and I''ll let you go! If not, you die. It''s that simple."

 Chapter 2528 Kill A Wild God

    The girl in bright red robe blinked her eyes repeatedly. "Well, you''d better take out the blood red wild bone obediently," she said. "My brother is kind-hearted and will spare your life!"


    The young girl and the young man had realized that Zen seemed to be a True God, not a Wild God.


    In this world, True Gods were not the mainstream. In order to obtain some theurgies, some Wild Gods might open up an inner world to cultivate, but they mainly cultivated Wild God Power. All the other cultivation methods they practiced were only auxiliary methods.


    It was rare to see people like Zen, who only cultivated in the True God Realm.


    So, they didn''t take Zen''s cultivation or strength seriously.


    "Really?" Zen smiled faintly as he still held his temper.


    He tried not to get himself into trouble in such a strange place.


    Then he showed off a small smile. Just then, a powerful force was released from his legs, and his body immediately shot backwards.


    "Phew!"


    As he was moving backward, Zen flew at high speed on the Immemorial Wilderness.


    The girl and the man were not expecting Zen to escape. All of them were stunned, and a trace of hostility appeared on the young man''s face. "How dare he! Nobody has ever run away in front of me. What a joke..."


    "Hoo, hoo, Hoo..."


    Within seconds, the young man''s body shone a bright yellow light, and his body began to increase in size very rapidly.


    One hundred feet...


    One thousand feet...


    In the blink of an eye, he turned into a giant of five thousand feet tall. Right after growing so big, he rushed straight towards Zen.


    Even though he was already so huge, he even became faster than Zen.


    The girl looked towards the direction of Zen and sighed helplessly. "This guy is so stupid. If he has just taken out the wild bone, he could have survived. Now, he''s annoyed my senior fellow apprentice. How in the world is he going to survive?"


    Just like that, the girl flew upwards with the two guards behind her.


    As Zen flew away with the young man tailed behind him, they were moving extremely fast, travelling a hundred miles within seconds.


    The aura released by the young man behind Zen was already very intimidating, and when the Wights that were crawling on the ground felt this aura, their faces were all stained with fear. Almost all of them ran away.


    "He''s huge! How could he manage to move so qui


    four thousand feet high, Zen was floating in the air, gasping for air as his chest rose and fell.


    To his surprise, it was easier to get rid of the guy than he had expected.


    For him, it was actually easier to kill a Wild God than to kill a True God, because the life force of a Wild God just came from their body.


    If he was fighting a True God, losing a head wouldn''t have been a fatal problem.


    For a True God, the truly fatal injury was if their souls were destroyed, or if their elixir fields were broken. Because Wild Gods depended largely on their bodies, they''d immediately die as soon as they were physically harmed.


    "Ah!"


    At this moment, a scream echoed faintly from the distance: It was from the girl in red robe.


    The girl and the two guards realized that they had overestimated the young man''s strength, so they had followed him quietly as he battled Zen. In their eyes, the young man could kill Zen in the blink of an eye, and the latter probably wouldn''t have the chance to escape.


    Little did they know, the young man was fated to get beheaded by Zen, someone they thought to be weak.


    They didn''t even witness how the young man''s neck was cut off.


    Buzz...


    As the body lay on the ground, Strong Wild God Power escaped it as it rapidly shrank down to normal size. Within a few seconds, it became the size of Zen once again.


    "You, you, you..." The girl stared at Zen in fear, her face full of disbelief.


    But the fright in her voice was not for Zen, but from seeing the young man''s death. "You actually killed him! Do you have any idea who he is?!"

 Chapter 2529 Showing Mercy

    Zen''s expression was surprisingly calm. "I don''t care who he is. It''s none of my business.


    I only know that he was courting death!"


    "How dare you!"


    spat the girl in the red robe. Not once did she think about meeting a guy who feared nothing and no one.


    "You''re the one who''s courting death!"


    shouted one of her guards.


    The Blue Sect was the overlord of this vast Immemorial Wilderness.


    The young man Zen killed was the most talented disciple in the Blue Sect for nearly a hundred years. Just recently, he had been chosen as a personal disciple by the sect leader, but now he had died on a trip outside.


    Thinking of their leader''s cruel and violent nature, the guards worried about how they were going to explain all of this to him.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    The two guards'' bodies glowed a faint yellow light and their bodies began to grow in size.


    They grew and grew until they were five thousand feet tall.


    The two of them looked at Zen menacingly.


    "Don''t kill him. He killed my dear brother. We''ll surely be punished when we return to the sect but if we take him back, my master might vent his anger on him instead of us," the red-clad woman said coldly.


    She was also a personal disciple of the Blue Sect''s leader. Like her late fellow disciple, she was very gifted, but her cultivation base was much weaker than his.


    The two guards considered her words before shooting Zen malicious glares. "You brat! If you know what''s best for you, you will surrender without a fuss!"


    They already knew Zen''s swordsmanship was very strange and powerful, however, they also believed that the young man died because he had underestimated Zen.


    Now, both of them were going all out, leaving Zen no chance to win.


    "Surrender?" Zen slightly raised the corner of his mouth and gently lifted the Shadow Bearing Sword in his hand. "Do you think that''s possible?"


    "Cut the crap! Just cripple him first," the other guard spat angrily.


    Without hesitation, the two giants came at Zen like two mountains.


    The girl stared


    mp. She had just stared death in the face.


    Zen knew that letting this woman go would bite him back in the future but he just couldn''t bring himself to violate his own rules.


    Besides, the Immemorial Wilderness was very vast. No matter how powerful her sect was, there was only a small chance of finding Zen.


    Back in the tribe, Luther had been studying the cultivation method that Zen had given him.


    This cultivation method, taken from the library of the fairy palace, was a very special theurgy


    and Luther had been very unwilling to study it. After all, it was Zelda''s idea that he should cultivate in the True God Realm.


    However, with his meridians sealed, he couldn''t cultivate to be a Wild God and this was the only option for him. Left with no choice, he began to study it.


    And quite unexpectedly, he was attracted by this cultivation method.


    The cultivation methods in the divine land were all inherited from Chiyou while the True God Realm was popular in the chaos. However, at the bottom of the chaos, due to the existence of the wild bones, the practice in the True God Realm was seen as inferior.


    But this cultivation method that Zen had given him was created by Bromley himself and was naturally one of the best.


    Luther''s talent was extraordinary. And as he carefully read it, he felt as if a whole new world was opening for him.

 Chapter 2530 A Big Harvest

    "Zelda, who do you think is he?" asked Luther, who held the scroll in his hand. The air between them was quiet for a while.


    "He doesn''t seem to belong to our world," Zelda said lightly after a moment of thought.


    "He doesn''t belong to our world?" Confusion marred Luther''s face and he asked, "Is there any other world?"


    Zelda raised her head and looked at the foggy skies outside the thatched hut. "Yes, of course. It is said that our ancestors all came from the deep sky, an extremely high place. It is called the Source World. And we are the descendants of a group of people who have been exiled from that world," she answered.


    She gazed at their surroundings, only to be greeted by the sight of thick brown clouds and mists¡ªthe chaotic energy once again.


    "Is he¡­ from the Source World?" Luther asked as his eyes glittered strangely.


    A smile made its way to Zelda''s lips. "I was just guessing! You should concentrate on your practice. Besides, Zen has such powerful techniques to become a True God. If you have the chance to return to your clan in the future, maybe you can defend yourself with your strength of a True God."


    Luther pursed his lips and continued to study the scroll in his hand. The methods recorded in it made him itch to give it a try and want to create a Soul Sea of his own.


    Just then, they heard a noise outside the thatched hut. Both of them instinctively looked outside at the same time, and saw Zen.


    "You''re back," said Zelda with a gentle smile on her face.


    "How was your harvest? You haven''t got any wild bones, have you?" Luther remarked. The hint of dissatisfaction on his face betrayed his attempt to keep cool. Although he was not a Wild God, he had rich experience in distinguishing the locations of wild bones. He thought that Zen would probably get nothing after he went to the Immemorial Wilderness.


    When Zen saw how Luther looked at him, he didn''t say anything and went straight into the thatched hut.


    "The shape of a wild bone is similar to an ordinary skeleton. It''s indeed difficult to find it. Hundreds of people in the tribe only find a few pieces by luck within a month. There''s actually no need to worry," Zelda said slowly.


    "I asked you to take me with you. No wonder you got no harvest," Luther complained with a pout.


    As for


    he would have been very happy already if Zen gave her two or three pieces.


    She even thought that she didn''t deserve to have twelve wild bones, but she also didn''t want to refuse.


    On one hand, Luther had originally planned to tease Zen and ask him to send some pieces of wild bones to Zelda. When he saw how generous Zen was, he felt too embarrassed to say anything else.


    "Yes, I have a special wild bone that I''d like you to look at," Zen said.


    Zelda was a little puzzled, and then asked again, "There''s another piece of wild bone?"


    The space ring on Zen''s finger glowed once more. A triangular bone that was as tall as a man, landed on the ground with such a loud thud that the entire thatched hut trembled slightly.


    There in front of them, stood the blood-red wild bone.


    This time, Zelda was completely, utterly dumbfounded.


    She was stunned to silence for a long while and when she finally came to her senses, she quickly urged, "Put it away! Hurry up!"


    "What''s wrong?" Zen asked curiously. He was quite confused, but nevertheless tucked the blood-red wild bone away into the space ring.


    In turn, Zelda went to the thatched hut''s entrance door and carefully scanned the outside. Then, she closed the door and said, "If someone else saw that wild bone, you will be in big trouble..."


    It was true that the tribe people relied greatly on Zelda, but it didn''t mean that they were a trustworthy bunch. If they ever knew that Zen had such a wild bone, they would be more than glad to sell the news to outsiders.

 Chapter 2531 The List Of Blood Lineage

    After a few moments, Zelda finally decided to scan the blood-colored wild bone.


    She slowly approached it, stretched out a slender hand and gently stroked the wild bone''s surface.


    Meanwhile, Zen didn''t say anything about Zelda''s actions. It seemed that she wanted to draw out the Wild God Power from the blood-colored wild bone.


    She continued to stroke the wild bone''s surface, until her fingers pressed more firmly against it.


    Hiss...


    At that moment, a wisp of blood red Wild God Power began to circle constantly around her fingertip.


    Zen''s brows shot up to his forehead in surprise. "That''s a really insane Wild God Power!" he exclaimed.


    Generally speaking, the Wild God Power in ordinary wild bones only contained a strange kind of energy, but no special emotions.


    However, in this one, there was a violent aura hidden in the Wild God Power that was ready to burst at any moment.


    There was a bare trace of gratitude on Zelda''s face. She smiled, and let the wisp of Wild God Power sink between her hands.


    The Wild God Power unfurled into the depths between her hands like a cloud of ink in water, transforming into a fascinating shape.


    After a while, it finally stabilized and turned into a shadow of the blood wolf. The fierce wolf''s head opened its ferocious mouth and emitted a strong, wild aura.


    "What creature is that?" Zen asked curiously. A gentle sigh escaped Zelda''s lips.


    "As expected, it''s the blood wild bone of the Spirit Wolf God," she explained.


    "The Spirit Wolf God?" asked Zen. "Yes!"


    Zelda''s eyes shone with delight as she looked at the small blood-colored wolf shadow in her palm. "I never expected that there could be such a huge piece of blood wild bone in this barren area. The Spirit Wolf God is ranked 61st on the List of Blood Lineage, which is a very powerful bloodline."


    She had dug out two pieces of egg-sized wild bones that contained Chiyou''s bloodline way back before. Those wild bones were a hundred times more valuable than the ordinary ones because of Chiyou''s blood inside them.


    "It is said that a great clan in the Northern Leaning Bone Tower has inherited the blood of the Spirit Wolf God for generations. They have longed for the wild bones that contain the Spirit Wolf God''s blood so much. You cannot abso


    rom the Yellow Emperor race.


    However, the fight between the two races unexpectedly extended to the bottom of the chaos, a desolate place full of bones.


    "Whose blood power is ranked first on the list?" he asked again. ''Who could possibly be greater than Chiyou and the Yellow Emperor?'' he thought.


    "The Snake Goddess''s blood," Zelda whispered.


    "The Snake Goddess''s blood..."


    Zen racked his brains for information and tried to remember.


    Although he didn''t know much about the Source World, he could get some information from where he was now.


    Then again, his mother had never mentioned anything about the existence of the Snake Goddess race to him.


    Was that race also one of the big races in the Source World?


    He did have a faint memory of associating it from the shadow of Snake Goddess that Yan had summoned. Furthermore, his mother had said that Yan''s blood was different from his. Could it be that Yan had the blood of the Snake Goddess race?


    Still, it was only a guess.


    Now that he knew everything that he wanted to know, he didn''t ask any more questions. He sat cross-legged, practiced the Trickle Spring Method Zelda had taught to extract the Wild God Power from some of the ordinary wild bones, and integrated them into his own body.


    Just like what had happened before, he did not miss anything when the Wild God Power was fully infused into his body.


    A small smile made its way to Zelda''s lips. She sat down beside him as well, and began to refine the wild bones Zen had given her.

 Chapter 2532 Strengthen Himself

    The night had passed and Zen had finished refining all the 77 wild bones.


    With his Flawless Divine Body, he could absorb all the Wild God Power.


    He was even three times more efficient than Zelda was.


    The Wild God Power spread all over his body, directly increasing his strength.


    The next morning, Zen left the thatched hut earlier than usual. Using only a slight thought, he activated the Wild God Power within his body.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    In an instant, his body expanded.


    In the blink of an eye, he grew up from only eight feet tall to thirty feet.


    He was far inferior to Zelda and the young man he killed in the Immemorial Wilderness


    Zen realized that by refining the wild bones, his strength greatly increased.


    As he stood there, he looked below¡ªthe thatched hut went up only to his knees.


    "The Wild God Power¡­ It is very powerful indeed!"


    Excitement filled his eyes. This new body-refining skill was highly suitable for his body.


    If he could absorb just enough Wild God Power to expand his body up to a thousand feet high, just how powerful would he become?


    Zen had long anticipated the arrival of this day.


    ''It''s only been a few days, but he''s reached such a high level. What a talented man!''


    From the entrance of the hut, Zelda observed Zen carefully. Though she had her own plan in mind, she knew she couldn''t yet reveal it to Zen at this point.


    While Zen was a generous person, it was impossible for him to risk his life for her and Luther''s sake unless she could help him significantly. If he was worth trusting, she was considering the possibility of revealing her secret to him.


    All the while, Luther had been reading the scroll Zen gave him.


    Whenever he encountered problems beyond his understanding, he would consult Zen, who would then answer him patiently.


    But Zen didn''t stay within the tribe most of the time. He often visited the Immemorial Wilderness to continue searching for the wild bones.


    Zen''s method of finding the wild bones was truly efficient. All he needed to do was spread his mind before everything within a dozen miles fell unable to escape his eyes. He could easily see the wild bones hidden underground with ease.


    But this luck of h


    s highly precious.


    If the Wild Gods knew he had a piece of it, they never would''ve allowed him to even go to the auction house. They''d have killed him and the tribe right then and there just to get their hands on it.


    Riley grabbed a quick glance at Zen. At that point, the latter had absorbed quite an amount of wild bones and could release the Wild God Power.


    But he had only cultivated for a rather short time and hadn''t yet absorbed enough wild bones in Riley''s eyes. So to him, Zen was nothing more than another weakling. At this point, Riley was growing impatient. "I don''t have any time to spare on him!"


    With that, he was ready to leave again.


    But Zelda rushed to him and put three pieces of wild bones into his hand. With a smile, she said, "Please accept them, Riley. We would really appreciate your kindness."


    Zen had found these pieces, so the tribe members said nothing of it.


    A strange look appeared on Riley''s face when he examined the bones in his hand. He couldn''t think of anything good Zen would have that Zelda thought was worth bribing him for.


    But it was a good enough bribe. All Riley needed to do was let Zen tag along and recommend him to the auction house. It was a piece of cake.


    With that, he smiled at Zen. "Hey, kid! You''d better catch up with us!"


    Since Zelda had told him all he needed to know, Zen merely nodded at Riley indifferently. When the Wild Gods flew into the air, Zen floated gently, quietly following them close by.

 Chapter 2533 The Falcon Caravan

    Riley and his group flew at full speed.


    "Hey Riley, can that brat even keep up with us?" one of them called out.


    "Whether or not he can is his problem," Riley answered smugly.


    Three wild bones were alright as a bribe, but not enough for him to go out of his way to take care of Zen¡ªRiley was planning on ditching him.


    Swoosh!


    Riley deliberately sped up and the other two followed him closely.


    "They think they can get rid of me? Ha!"


    All the while, Zen had been following them at a moderate speed.


    When the three sped up, the corners of Zen''s mouth quirked up in amusement as he sped up after them.


    After taking a quick glance at Zen behind him, Riley was surprised at what he found.


    The young man was still steadily following them from about a hundred feet¡ªhe didn''t even fall behind.


    "Riley, he''s not slow."


    "Seems like he has recently started to cultivate the Wild God system?"


    "I think he has cultivated the True God system. He has a high cultivation base, too. It''s pretty strange."


    The two behind Riley discussed.


    But Riley merely laughed and said, "It doesn''t matter what he has cultivated. You two, keep up!"


    The Wild God Power flashed from Riley''s body, strengthening his momentum remarkably. All of a sudden, he shot forward even faster.


    The two behind him glanced at each other. All they could do was stimulate their own Wild God Power. If they wanted to follow Riley, they had no choice but to go all out.


    Zen remained indifferent at the sight of the scene before him.


    With his chaotic energy in his inner world slightly revolving, he easily kept up with the group.


    After five minutes had passed, Riley was far in the lead, assuming that he had already gotten rid of Zen. But when he turned to check, his eyes widened in shock.


    The guy was still following close behind them, maintaining the hundred-foot distance without breaking a sweat.


    "What a strange guy¡­" Still, Riley refused to give up and continued moving forward at high speed.


    "Slow down, Riley!"


    "We can''t keep up with you!"


    The other two Wild Gods couldn''t stand


    chest. "Stop!"


    "He''s a guest of our Falcon Caravan," Riley said, handing another light-green token to Zen. Every warrior who entered the city required a special token. With that in hand, the guard stepped back and let Zen pass.


    Zen then understood why Zelda had him follow Riley into the city. He couldn''t have gotten in there on his own without stirring much trouble.


    Upon entering the city, Riley led Zen straight to his base.


    After Riley talked to some of the people, an old man wearing a silk kerchief stepped out.


    He looked Zen up and down before asking, "Young man, do you have something you want to entrust us to auction?"


    Everyone''s eyes fell on Zen. They knew that Zen must have had something highly valuable, but neither he nor Zelda revealed anything.


    "This is what I want to auction," Zen said, pulling out a large piece of wild bone.


    It was black all over and as big as an adult''s fist.


    Both Riley and the old man were surprised at the sight.


    Pure black blood wild bones were considered highly precious because of the various types of blood within them¡ªthey all ranked very high on the List of Blood Lineage. One of them was called the Heavenly Core Blood, ranking 19th; another was the Nether Luminous Blood, ranking 11th. Blood wild bones containing such kinds of blood held amazingly high value.


    Undoubtedly, many people would flock to it at the auction.

 Chapter 2534 The Fake Wild Bone

    Zen flaunted the wild bone and then stashed it in his space ring. He smiled and said, "Does this qualify for an auction?"


    Although the Falcon Caravan also held the occasional small auctions, its influence was not as vast as that of the large auction house in Sand Core City.


    Some of the most rare and precious treasures were on offer at the auction house of the Sand Core City. However, these belonged to the powerful forces of the bone towers.


    These impressive forces, which occupied the bone towers, were the creators of the world order. Normally, they would not covet something as small as Zen''s blood wild bone.


    In order to place the item on auction, Zen needed to obtain a qualification for auction from the Falcon Caravan.


    The old man was puzzled by the bone.


    Although he had merely glanced at the black wild bone, he had also sensed the Wild God Power within it.


    This old man was a senior member in the Falcon Caravan. He had seen both the blood wild bones of the Heavenly Core Blood, and of the Nether Luminous Blood. The aura that emanated from them was completely different from the aura he had sensed from Zen''s wild bone.


    But the Wild God Power in Zen''s black wild bone contained a powerful undertone and was rare indeed.


    "Can I see the black wild bone again?" asked the old man.


    "Well, I don''t think that''s a good idea." A look of vigilance settled on Zen''s face.


    Ordinary people who possessed such a precious treasure would not easily reveal it. The old man had probably understood Zen''s concerns, for he grinned and took out a white bone card. Engraved on the surface was a lifelike falcon.


    "This is an auction qualification card from our Falcon Caravan. With it, you can gain access to the auctions at the auction house here in Sand Core City," the old man explained, handing it to Zen.


    It was the rule that no item could be auctioned without the bone card of a reputable trade group.


    Zen accepted the bone card and thanked the old man. Then he left the Falcon Caravan at best speed.


    A faint smile remained on the old man''s face until Zen left.


    However, as soon as Zen had left, the smile slid off from the old man''s face, disappearing completely. "The origins of that kid''s black wild bone is very special!"


    "What makes it special?" asked Riley. He had also felt the unique aura of the wild bone. But he remained clueless as to the black wild bone''s origins.


    "It is neither the wild bone of the Heavenly


    ribution to the Falcon Caravan this time, and his status would increase.


    Not far away, Zen walked out of an alleyway with a faint smile hovering on his face.


    He had expected this rash action from the Falcon Caravan.


    The black wild bone that he had so easily handed over to the thieves was a fake one that Zen had forged in anticipation of their knavery.


    The Wild God Power was a very pure power, which had been inherited from the owners of ancient bones, and it had accumulated over countless years.


    This power was easy to absorb, but it was also easy to be altered!


    While Zen was in the Iron Tribe, he had infused the Truth of Goodwill and Malice into a random wild bone, making it exude a unique aura. He had then blackened the surface with paint. Thus, he had quite easily created a unique wild bone.


    Of course, this was not a special blood wild bone.


    After convincing the Falcon Caravan''s assessor earlier, Zen could now take the Falcon Caravan''s bond card to the auction house for the real auction.


    In order to protect all the trade groups, the auction house had adopted a system of anonymity. They only knew which trade group was attending an auction, and they did not care who actually owned the items on auction!


    Therefore, Zen had now ensured his own safety, and he also made sure that the Spirit Wolf God''s blood wild bone could be auctioned without any hiccups.


    On this world, Zen had no friends or relatives, so he had to be extra cautious about everyone and everything. Fortunately, Zelda had given him some sound advice. Otherwise, it would have proven a huge problem to auction the blood wild bone.

 Chapter 2535 Identification

    It took Zen an entire day to get a general feel of the Sand Core City.


    The Sand Core City was the only large city within a two-hundred-thousand-mile radius of where Zen had been. The force that controlled the city was the Mysterious Soul Sect, which was located in the Night Bone Tower.


    The Mysterious Soul Sect was one of the largest sects for the ordinary Wild Gods.


    The auction house in the Sand Core City was personally hosted by the steward of the Mysterious Soul Sect. The major business groups gave the treasures they had acquired to the auction house for selling.


    But the auction was held only once a month, and there were three days left until the next one.


    So Zen had to stay in Sand Core City and wait for the auction.


    Only after having arrived at the Sand Core City did Zen realize that the value of the wild bones was not as high as he had previously thought.


    Everyone here cultivated the Wild God system, and they used a great deal of the wild bones as they were the currency they used to trade.


    It was no wonder that Riley of the Falcon Caravan was so restless in the Iron Tribe. As an ordinary steward of the Falcon Caravan, he got several pieces of wild bones per month as his salary. According to the order of the Falcon Caravan, he collected the wild bones. If he had only managed to collect a small number of wild bones, it was not worth him to come here.


    The part of the Immemorial Wilderness where the Iron Tribe lived had been excavated so many times that it had become an exhausted mine. The members of the tribe could only make a living by picking up any leftovers they were lucky to find.


    Although Zen had managed to collect what he had initially thought was a sizeable amount, all he had done was gather the leftovers. In this world, that was worth nothing. The situation was not completely bleak, however. He had been lucky enough to obtain the wild bone with the blood of the Spirit Wolf God.


    "Now I understand how some people can grow their bodies to be thousands of miles tall. With enough wild bones, the Wild Gods can grow infinitely."


    However, it was not easy to collect so many wild bones.


    Ordinary people living in the Sand Core City got just one or two pieces of wild bone per month as their salaries. In a year, they could collect a total of twenty four wild bones at most.


    Only by joining those great powers could they obtain more wild bones.


    At this thought, a plan formed in Zen''s mind.


    Three days passed, and Zen took the bone card of the Falcon Caravan to the auction house.


    Yet, Zen made sure to take precautions this time. He would not let carelessness thwart his


    to take every one of the sellers into the auction house, so she was eager to move things along, not wanting to waste precious time on Zen.


    "Well, what do you want to sell?" one of the masters asked.


    "I want to sell a blood wild bone," said Zen with a deep breath.


    "A blood wild bone?" The master who had answered looked incredulous. "The hierarchy of the blood wild bones is very complicated. The value is different for every rank. As you might already know, the blood of some wild bones is poor and ordinary people can''t extract the Wild God Power from them. Such wild bones are less valuable than the ordinary ones. And even if the blood of the wild bones is good, we still have to judge their size, quantity and so on."


    All this time, the fair-skinned woman continued to stare at Zen with relative indifference. She had been impressed by Zen''s determination, but she knew that Zen''s cultivation level was too low and that he held the bone card of the lowly Falcon Caravan. It was most likely that the wild bone he had was of poor blood, just as the master had said. Yet, he still wanted to sell it as a treasure at the auction house. He would make a fool of himself.


    Zen nodded and raised his hand gently. A ray of blood red light shot out from his space ring.


    At the same time, a violent aura spread through the cubicle.


    "Boom!"


    A blood colored wild bone, tall as a man, smashed on the ground, and the cubicle shook.


    The three masters and the fair-skinned woman all stared at the wild bone, their mouths open in surprise.


    There were many kinds of blood colored blood wild bones. They couldn''t yet tell what blood Zen''s wild bone belonged to, but the violent aura radiating from within it was undoubtedly a sign of extraordinary power.

 Chapter 2536 An Auction

    The blood wild bone required inheritance.


    The unimaginably enormous bone towers at the bottom of the chaos almost fully belonged to the clans that had the same blood as that contained in the bones.


    As a result, these forces occupied a large area of the Immemorial Wilderness. The number of wild bones they had accumulated in the past countless years was unimaginable to ordinary people.


    But these clans didn''t care about ordinary wild bones at all. The only wild bones that caught their eyes were bones of their own blood, and since these clans were rich, they often spent a lot of money on them.


    Zen''s wild bone, which was huge in size, was particularly enticing.


    "What kind of blood is hidden in this piece of wild bone?" asked one of the middle-aged men.


    With a calm look on his face, Zen replied, "You can see for yourself."


    The middle-aged man immediately stood up and strode over to Zen, his eyes fixed on the blood wild bone.


    With a few flicks of his fingers, he made a series of knocks on the surface of the wild bone.


    Soon, a wave of blood-red Wild God Power appeared.


    ''The method he used to extract the Wild God Power is different from what Zelda used, '' Zen thought to himself.


    Zelda had used the Trickle Spring Method. But even though Zen had no idea of what method this man was using, the result was the same.


    The blood-red Wild God Power slowly spread out, circling around and turning into the shape of a wolf.


    Looking at the little blood-red wolf, the three middle-aged men cried out in unison.


    "The Spirit Wolf God!"


    "Yes, that''s it!"


    "What a coincidence! Haha!"


    Excitement appeared on the three middle-aged men''s faces.


    Zen couldn''t understand what they meant, so he asked, "Why do you say it''s a coincidence?"


    "The Blood Wolf Clan in the Northern Leaning Bone Tower has been looking for the wild bones of the Spirit Wolf God, so the price of the wild bones of the Spirit Wolf God has risen greatly!" answered the middle-aged man.


    Blood wild bones were comparatively rare, so people who dug them out would choose to hoard them until they could find a suitable opportunity to sell them later.


    When some elders and masters of the Blood Wolf Clan started to buy the wild bones that contained their blood without restraint in order to brea


    d with a smile.


    Soon after, Zen entered a wide hall.


    It was still early, so there weren''t many people in the hall. Zen found a seat in the corner of the hall and sat down before closing his eyes, waiting for the auction to start.


    An hour later, people began to enter the hall one by one.


    Those who could participate in the auction here were the most respected people in Sand Core City and their strength was much more powerful than the ordinary Wild Gods.


    As Zen''s gaze swept over these people, he noticed that about seven of them were exuding great Wild God Power. These people were much more powerful than the four people he had met in the Immemorial Wilderness.


    Gradually, the hall became lively. Everyone talked loudly as they waited. Deciding to take this chance, Zen pricked up his ears and listened carefully.


    "It is said that there will be several major items in this month''s auction!"


    "Hey! I heard that the Heaven Core Bone Tower and the Moon Orchid Bone Tower are fighting again!"


    "On the eve of the war, the price of wild bone will soar. It''s so pitiful for us..."


    ''The Heaven Core Bone Tower and the Moon Orchid Bone Tower...


    Do great forces in this world also have wars among each other? It seems that wars happen frequently in this world, '' Zen thought to himself.


    At this moment, an old man dressed in glorious clothes, his hair loose, came from the side of the hall and stood on the stage. With a quick glance, he said, "Everybody, welcome to the monthly auction at our Sand Core City!"

 Chapter 2537 Admission Token

    The old man''s opening remarks finished signifying the start of the auction.


    The weapon refining in this world was not very advanced. The first treasure presented was a red flame saber, the second treasure was a black long sword, and the third...


    For every treasure shown, it would eventually cause a burst of surprise.


    However, they were of no interest to Zen.


    The weapons were far from being as good as the weapons of the divine land. Though some weapons might have fused the chaotic energy, the weapon refining methods used to forge these weapons were too inferior to make them qualified to be called supreme chaotic weapons.


    Nevertheless, such low-level weapons still attracted many people to compete for them.


    The auction was in an uproar selling about twenty weapons, until it reached the crucial time.


    The old man cleared his throat and announced, "The following items will be the finales of this auction. For the first item, we have received it not long ago!"


    All the people in the auction were holding their breath.


    The old man clapped his hands and two strong men walked out from the back hall carrying a stretcher.


    The stretcher was covered by a thick piece of cloth. Then from underneath, a wild and aggressive aura leaked out.


    Zen smiled as he saw the cloth. It was the blood wild bone he was going to auction.


    The two strong men put down the stretcher, and the old man gently held a part of the cloth as he suddenly lifted it off. He followed with another announcement, "The first most important treasure is a blood wild bone!"


    The moment the blood wild bone as tall as a person appeared in front of the crowd, they immediately let out a cry.


    "Such a huge piece of blood wild bone?"


    "Whose blood is in this wild bone?"


    "How could the owner find such a big piece now? That person must have taken a huge risk..."


    Everyone in the auction hall went into a frenzied uproar. The atmosphere fired up.


    The blood wild bones were much rarer than the ordinary wild bones, and a blood wild bone with such a huge size was most especially rare.


    The old man observed everyone''s reaction in silence. He gently gave a pat on the blood wild bone then a stream of Wild God Power had been drawn out.


    "Buzz..."


    The Wild God Power swept through the air and then turned into a blood red wolf shadow.


    "Spirit Wolf God!"


    "I was wondering just now if th


    ttain.


    It was a rare occasion that today, an Admission Token actually appeared in the auction house of Sand Core City. Everyone present gasped, holding their breaths.


    "Why is there an Admission Token for auction?"


    "If I have an Admission Token, I will dig the wild bones myself. Who would be willing to sell such thing out..."


    "It must be fake, right?"


    Doubt filled everyone''s speculation. It seemed illogical for an Admission Token to appear here.


    The old man had already anticipated that the token would cause a debate. He smiled and said, "This Admission Token is genuine, and the starting bid of this Admission Token is only five thousand wild bones!"


    His next words once again gave everyone a start.


    If the Admission Token was indeed real, anyone who got it would surely make a good deal.


    "However, this Admission Token is the pass to enter the place beneath the Sky South Bone Tower." He continued to explain, "I''m sure some people know why the Admission Token is so cheap."


    "The Immemorial Wilderness beneath the Sky South Bone Tower..."


    "No wonder..."


    "The Nine Li race and the Yellow Emperor race have been fighting there for countless years. No one knew how many people have died in that Immemorial Wilderness. Of course this Admission Token doesn''t worth much!"


    "Five thousand wild bones? Even if anyone gives me five thousand wild bones, I won''t go there!"


    For those who knew the origin of the Admission Token, they naturally backed off.


    Zen, who had been silently listening to their words, suddenly had a strange light that flashed in his eyes.

 Chapter 2538 Conflict Between The Tribes

    Every centimeter of the Immemorial Wilderness was considered a vast gold mine.


    Of course, these gold mines were reigned by the strong warriors.


    A few of the big clans with noble bloodlines occupied many sections of Immemorial Wilderness with their powerful strength. By means of the numerous wild bones of the Immemorial Wilderness, they raised their own children here in order to make their clans the strongest and most prosperous.


    And that was how the world developed.


    As for the Immemorial Wilderness located beneath the Sky South Bone Tower, due to both the Nine Li race and the Yellow Emperor race, no part had been capable of claiming it.


    Up until now, the two clans had been fighting in that part of the Immemorial Wilderness incessantly.


    However, after so many years of constant combat, the two clans felt that the struggle had become meaningless. Still though, neither of them were willing to give up the Immemorial Wilderness territory.


    For this reason, the two great clans created plenty of ''Admission Tokens'' in order to attract a few outsiders. The objective was to have them enter the place and collect the wild bones.


    In the process of collecting wild bones, it could only be expected that violent conflicts would naturally erupt!


    Countless Wild Gods had died during such ferocious conflicts.


    However, they all knew that the greater the risk was, the greater the profit would be. Their reward was worth putting their lives on the line.


    Many people were clear on the fact that obtaining an Admission Token such as this was easy. It was actually entering it that requested them to risk their lives.


    The old man at the auction house had just recently set the floor price of the Admission Token at five thousand wild bones. His reasoning was obvious.


    "One token only costs five thousand wild bones. Is anyone going to bid?" asked the old man, as casually as he could.


    No one responded. The room fell silent.


    The Admission Token costs five thousand wild bones, and it wasn''t necessarily expensive, but the Wild Gods were hesitant about risking their lives just to enter that part of the Immemorial Wilderness.


    Of course, if they could survive, they''d benefit from a huge profit. That said, the Wild Gods present just didn''t have the courage and guts needed to take that kind of risk.


    "Five thousand wild bones, calling twice. Do we have an offer yet?" the old man asked anew. Disappointment was starting to spread across his face.


    "Five thousand wild bones, for the third time..." He cleared his throat.


    If no one was willing to bid on it, the Immemorial Wilderness Admi


    n if the tribe is ultimately destroyed. You can take your brother to our Macon Tribe, instead," the Wild God in the lead shouted loudly.


    The Macon Tribe was located to the south of the Iron Tribe. It was also a very simple and backward tribe. The tribe members also lived in the edge of the Immemorial Wilderness for the search of wild bones.


    The two tribes were extremely poor. Despite that, their only mission was to fight for the remaining wild bones.


    The Macon Tribe was slightly stronger than the Iron Tribe. Had it not been for Zelda, in fact, the Iron Tribe might have actually been conquered by the Macon Tribe.


    Zelda didn''t expect the Macon Tribe to hire two more powerful warriors to fight against her, forcing her out of the Iron Tribe.


    Zelda and Luther had been living in seclusion in the Iron Tribe for quite some time now. If they were to leave at their own will, they would very likely be exposed. It was only normal that they weren''t really willing to leave.


    During the battle, it was Zelda who was at a clear disadvantage.


    Bang!


    Before Zelda could stand firm on her own two feet again, the two Wild Gods were already right in front of her, and one of them kicked her straight in the abdomen.


    Boom!


    Zelda stumbled and fell backwards. Her tall body, which reached high into the sky, smashed into the Iron Tribe, destroying a large area of the thatched hut.


    "You are so stubborn and stupid. It seems that my only choice is to kill both of you!" the Wild God in the lead said, as he stepped onto Zelda''s chest.


    Simultaneously, he raised his right hand. In his palm, one could see Zelda''s brother, Luther, struggling desperately.


    As she saw what was going on, Zelda''s heart quickly filled with despair.

 Chapter 2539 Clean Up

    After Zelda escaped to the Iron Tribe and managed to hide her identity, she smoothly took Luther there.


    For Luther''s sake, a lot of masters sacrificed themselves.


    It wasn''t within Zelda''s expectations that Luther would be killed by these pariahs.


    She couldn''t accept it.


    Even when she struggled, a powerful force crushed on her chest and firmly nailed her huge body to the ground.


    "I gave you a chance," the Wild God said with his lips pulled in a hideous smile.


    With every word he spoke, his palm tightened to crush Luther into a pool of blood.


    In that moment, a figure flew over from the side of the Wild God.


    "Crack!"


    The sharp light of a silver sword flashed in everyone''s eyes in an instant.


    A thin line appeared on the arm that held Luther and half of it dropped to the ground.


    "Boom!"


    Luther had accepted the situation and had already closed his eyes to wait for his death.


    The giant hand that held him loosened its grip and his eyes snapped open when he fell with it.


    "Zen?"


    Luther''s eyes flashed.


    Zelda grinned wide.


    Right at the critical moment, the bizarre stranger actually came back.


    "Who are you?!" the Wild God roared furiously as he clutched the stump of his arm.


    The question made Zen''s lips twitch as he hovered in the air. He didn''t answer the question and turned into a flash of light again and shot over.


    Since he already had an initial understanding of this world, Zen could now predict the consequences of his actions.


    These were just Wild Gods who relied on the tribe to cultivate and they had no foundation. Killing them wouldn''t bring any trouble.


    Even if Zen didn''t know much about Zelda and Luther, they were the first people he met in this world, and so he trusted them. In order to save Luther, he naturally wouldn''t show any mercy.


    "Whoosh!"


    When another Wild God saw Zen transform into a beam of light that was incredibly fast and rushed over, he suddenly stretched out a big hand and plucked up Zen.


    "How dare you be so


    hirty was a huge number of wild bones for Zen in the past.


    But now, Zen had over ten thousand wild bones so he didn''t care about Zelda''s wild bones.


    When Zelda noticed Zen''s calm expression, she asked, "Have you sold the blood wild bone?"


    "Yes."


    It worried Zelda for Zen to sell the blood wild bone in the Sand Core City. The Falcon Caravan was just a small force in the city but it was still a giant monster that they didn''t dare to provoke. If the whole process didn''t go well, Zen probably wouldn''t be able to return. She didn''t expect that the blood wild bone would be auctioned off so smoothly.


    "How much was it?"


    It hit Zelda that the blood wild bone must be auctioned off at a high price and so her voice became a little excited.


    "Thirteen thousand."


    "Thirteen thousand? What a large sum!"


    Zelda covered her mouth with her hand.


    It was a puny number of wild bones in her previous clan.


    But in this barren area of the Immemorial Wilderness, it was definitely a lot!


    "I''ll leave five hundred wild bones to you. After I refine and absorb the rest, I''ll leave." Zen smiled softly.


    It was thanks to Zelda that he got to know this world and so he''d give her the wild bones as a gift.


    "You''ll leave? Where do you want to go?"


    Zelda appreciated the gift but she was more concerned about Zen''s destination.

 Chapter 2540 The Giants Power

    Zen had nothing to hide from Zelda.


    As he reached out his hand, a jade token appeared in it.


    "I got an Admission Token from the auction," Zen said quietly.


    "An Admission Token? How is that possible?" A light flashed in Zelda''s eyes.


    Only the powerful forces had the authority to give out the Admission Tokens. It was not a task to be taken lightly, and thus it was entrusted only to those at the very top. These forces could obtain the fertile parts of the Immemorial Wilderness.


    In addition, just one Admission Token could bring the owner a very large profit, so the price was terribly high. One could often be sold for the price of hundreds of thousands of wild bones.


    Although Zen''s blood wild bone turned out to be quite valuable, it was not even near valuable enough to be able to exchange it for an Admission Token.


    However, Zelda only remained surprised for a moment. Staring at the Admission Token, she asked, "What are you going to do with it?"


    "I am going to the part of Immemorial Wilderness beneath the Sky South Bone Tower," Zen replied.


    "That place!" Zelda''s frown deepened. "Do you not know the current situation in that part of the Immemorial Wilderness?" she asked, her voice apprehensive.


    "Yes," Zen nodded. "I have been told about it."


    "Then why are you going there?" Zelda exclaimed, puzzled. "If a person like you enters that place, you will be killed immediately, either by the Nine Li race or by the Yellow Emperor race!" she continued.


    Zen''s face remained serene.


    As soon as that place was brought up, silence shrouded the auction house like an oppressive mist. Obviously, everyone wanted to avoid it. The risk was too great.


    Now that Zen had left the divine land, he knew nothing about the situation there, even though he wanted to know.


    In the face of such an opportunity, he was willing to take the risk.


    Most importantly, there was Chiyou''s blood in that part of the Immemorial Wilderness, and he wanted to find out more about their background.


    "I must go," Zen replied firmly.


    Seeing Zen''s expression, Zelda knew she couldn''t persuade him otherwise. She knew that a man like Zen wouldn''t change his mind once he had set his heart on something.


    Zen gave five hundred wild bones to Zelda, and then he began to refine the rest of them, working quickly, absorbing the Wil


    of the Iron Tribe did not even come to the top of his ankles.


    As for Zelda and Luther, they seemed as small as ants!


    "The power..."


    The Wild God Power stirred in his body and he had a sudden urge to eject it.


    "Bang, bang, bang..."


    Zen took a huge step forward.


    With each step, a crater formed in the ground.


    After taking just about dozens of steps forward, Zen had walked far away from the tribe and reached the Immemorial Wilderness.


    "The power..." he continued to muse, mesmerized.


    Zen abruptly raised his hands, bent down and hit the ground.


    "Boom!"


    An immense force exited in his body, forming a faint wave in the air, which spread out, like ripples on a lake.


    "Rumble..."


    With this wave, the ground within a dozen mile radius of him began to shake violently. He had triggered a small earthquake just with a clap of his hands!


    "Now I know the Wild God Power can''t be compared with my strength source. But it''s rising fast. I''m only six hundred feet high. How powerful will it be if I become a giant a thousand miles high?"


    After a period of learning to control his newfound powers, Zen understood that the speed of cultivating the Wild God system depended on the quantity of the wild bones.


    Moreover, Zen''s body was special enough to have the capacity to absorb all of the Wild God Power in a bone.


    If he managed to find enough wild bones, his strength would grow faster still. He would become invincible.


    "It''s time to leave..."


    With this thought, Zen shrank his body back, and returned to the Iron Tribe.

 Chapter 2541 The Curse Chain

    In the Iron Tribe...


    Staring at Zen with mixed emotions, Zelda couldn''t help feeling embarrassed. "Congratulations! It''s only been a month but see how far you''ve come. You''ve already cultivated to such level."


    Clearly, the five hundred wild bones that Zen gave Zelda also improved her cultivation by leaps and bounds during this period of time.


    However, her utilization rate of the wild bones appeared to be far less than that of Zen''s. Her absorbing five hundred wild bones would have been equivalent to Zen absorbing about a hundred and seventy, but getting the exact same effect.


    Zelda could only grow up to two hundred-odd feet, but Zen already surpassed her as he could turn to a six hundred feet high Wild God.


    How could she not be jealous of his fast improvement? Giving out a silent sigh, Zelda finally looked away.


    "I think I was just lucky. If I didn''t get that blood wild bone, I wouldn''t have cultivated so fast." Zen smiled lightly, glancing back at her.


    "You''re so modest. Having luck on your side can also be an advantage," Zelda said with a determined look in her eyes, and then she asked, "Before you leave, can I ask you a favor?"


    Looking at Zelda''s face, Zen asked noncommittally, "What is it?"


    He knew that Zelda''s and Luther''s background might be more complicated than he could imagine, but he did not have much time to care about such things right now.


    "First, can you promise me that you will definitely help me?" Zelda asked with a sly smile.


    "No," Zen refused without hesitation.


    Zelda pursed her lips, probably anticipating Zen''s answer even before he said it out loud. After a moment, she finally said, "But I think this will be a great opportunity for you. It can even help you escape the Light of Adjudication."


    "Light of Adjudication?" Zen repeated. It was the first time that he had heard of that term. "What''s that?" Zen asked curiously, looking back at her.


    Zelda shook her head at his ignorance. "Now I really suspect that you''re not from this world. It''s so strange that you didn''t even know about the Light of Adjudication."


    Zen shrugged. He knew for a fact that he was indeed from another world, so he didn''t defend himself.


    "In this world, everyone is striving to enter the bone towers. Do you want to know why every force and every clan in this land want to occupy the bone towers?" Zelda asked, lowering down her volume as if it was a secret she was imparting.


    Staring at her, Zen shook his head again.


    "Because the Wild Gods o


    ure out how numerous pariahs could be born in the next incarnation.


    "Have you ever seen the Wights crawling in the Immemorial Wilderness?" Zelda asked.


    "You mean..." Zen had a speculation in his mind.


    Zelda nodded. "Yes. All of the pariahs are developed from those Wights when they gain wisdom. Those Wights won''t be killed by the Light of Adjudication."


    In this world, the Wights were like zombies.


    After the Light of Adjudication wiped out all the pariahs, a new group of Wights would gain wisdom and become the new pariahs.


    A small number of these pariahs had strong talent, or sometimes, their children had good talent. If they were lucky, these talents might be able to attract the attention of some great forces, making them qualified to enter the bone towers. And the most important of it all, they would be able to extend their lives and escape the limitation of a thousand years'' lifespan.


    Hearing such a secret, Zen was dumbfounded. He didn''t expect that the world was far more complicated than he had imagined.


    By comparison, this place was countless times more cruel than the divine land.


    "As for the Curse Chain, there are no more than thirty people in this world who could see it." Blinking her eyes, Zelda looked at Luther, who was a few feet away from where they were. "My brother is one of them."


    Curling his lips, Luther asked, "Do you want to see it? I can help you."


    Somehow, an ominous premonition arose from Zen''s heart. "Am I also bound by the Curse Chain?" he immediately asked.


    He was not from this world, so logically he wouldn''t be bound by the Curse Chain, but this was a strange world and everything was possible.

 Chapter 2542 The Warden Race

    At first, Zen thought that there wasn''t anything special about Luther except for the fact that he was smart.


    Yet, Luther had fully mastered the cultivation method for life vitality that Zen had taught him. In fact, he could be ranked as a talent if he was in the divine land.


    All in all, Zen didn''t expect that Luther could have such a power.


    Luther crossed his hands together and slowly separated them. Then, he put his index fingers and thumbs together.


    A flash of unique energy burst out between his four fingers, which turned into a faint brown light curtain.


    He looked through the light curtain with a faint smile on his face and said, "Of course you are bound by the Curse Chain as well."


    In turn, Zen''s eyebrows shot up as he moved forward and looked through Luther''s hands.


    Upon first glance, everything remained the same through the light curtain.


    Just then, he noticed that there was something behind him. He looked at it more closely and soon enough, recognized it. His eyes lit up in surprise. "Is it the Curse Chain?"


    The Curse Chain was composed of golden button-sized bugs.


    The bugs'' heads and tails each had a hook on them, which were connected to each other and formed a chain.


    Zen wasn''t the only one who owned the chain. Luther and Zelda also had it.


    "How could this be?"


    He had only been in the world he was now in for a short time, so he didn''t know when the chain had bound him up.


    Meanwhile, Luther went to the door of the thatched hut. He aimed his hands at the distance and told Zen, "Take a look again."


    Zen looked into the distance through the light curtain again as instructed.


    There, he saw millions of intertwined chains that swayed in the air and were scattered all the way to the distance.


    "Every living being in this world has a chain like this, and you are no exception," Luther said flatly.


    "Even the most powerful Wild Gods in this world can''t get rid of these chains. They can only hide in the bone towers when the Light of Adjudication comes," Zelda added.


    A bitter frown made its way to Zen''s face.


    He wanted to return to the divine land a


    e at all even when the huge dead body just came down.


    After a few cycles of reincarnation however, some living creatures had discovered its use.


    Those exiles were very clever. They hid in the dead body to avoid the purification of the Light of Adjudication for numerous cycles of reincarnation, and then eventually developed.


    As more and more exiles came, the prison gradually became prosperous.


    At the beginning, the exiles were all united and did not have any conflicts--after all, survival in the prison was more important than anything else.


    All was well until the dead Chaos Ancient God''s skeleton had begun to decompose with the passage of time, and the life energy contained within the skeleton had also flowed away. Only his bones that towered into the clouds were left behind, which were now the bone towers.


    After that, the exiles constantly moved from place to place like nomads, but in the end, they could only hide inside the bone towers.


    As time passed by, the living creatures in the chaos increased in number. In addition, the strong warriors became incomparably powerful because they took advantage of the wild bones. They began to fight for the bone towers because only the bone towers could protect their lives.


    Consequently, the wars broke out among the clans as well because they wanted to occupy the bone towers and seize the wild bones.


    The long fight lasted until today.

 Chapter 2543 The Free Faction

    The great forces and clans in the bone towers did not consider such things as secrets.


    Yet, numerous pariahs in the Immemorial Wilderness, as well as the Wild Gods in the cities had no idea about it.


    It wasn''t until now that Zen had realized a major problem. "As you''ve said, the Light of Adjudication will purify the world every one thousand years. How many years are left before the next purification of the Light of Adjudication?" he asked.


    Zelda blinked and calmly said, "There are still three years left."


    "So that means, all the people outside of the bone towers will die if they don''t make it inside the bone towers within three years?" "Yes," Zelda said and lowered her head.


    "This is going to be troublesome."


    At that moment, Zen''s lips stretched into a wry smile. The Curse Chain had bound him and he was now stuck in this world.


    He couldn''t leave, let alone flee back to the divine land.


    He had to go inside a bone tower if he wanted to survive.


    If not even the powerful Wild Gods could resist the Light of Adjudication, then he most likely wouldn''t escape from being purified as well.


    "But how did you, members of the Warden race, end up here?" he asked Zelda with a frown. The Warden race, just as its name implied, was supposed to manage this huge prison.


    Both Zelda and her brother, however, were extremely weak.


    It simply didn''t make sense.


    "Because we chose to betray our race," she answered.


    Since the Warden race had existed for a long time, they had a colorful history.


    The Chaos Ancient God had created them and they inherited the huge prison and managed it. Moreover, they had to ensure the smooth operation of the Curse Chain and the Light of Adjudication.


    All the races, with few exceptions, eventually doubted their own actions over the endless years.


    After all, the Warden race managing the prison also meant that they were trapped inside it just like the exiles.


    The Chaos Ancient God had also realized this problem. From time to time, he used his strong will to order the Warden race to do their duty.


    Under the will of the Chaos Ancient God, the Warden race had to follow the order to guard the priso


    e looked too wise for his young age.


    Luther couldn''t become a Wild God, while Zelda''s strength was weak.


    Although she had been cultivating hard, there were too few resources. Furthermore, her cultivation level increased rather slowly because she didn''t dare to enter the cities.


    Now, the conservative faction only needed to ensure that the two of them couldn''t enter any bone tower.


    Three years later, all the creatures outside the bone towers would be purified except the exiles in the bone towers. Zelda and Luther undoubtedly wouldn''t be able to escape either, so there was no need to worry about the future.


    "I see. You want me to enter a bone tower and join the exiles inside?" Zen asked.


    "Yes. I don''t know where you''re from, but you''re bound by the Curse Chain. No matter how outstanding your talent or cultivation level is, you won''t be able to escape the prison. I believe you''ll make the right choice," Zelda encouraged.


    "But it seems that I have no choice," Zen sighed and smiled tiredly. Zelda burst into laughter as well at his words.


    The two siblings had stayed in the Iron Tribe for a very long time and were very careful not to cause any trouble.


    This time, however, they were determined to go all out.


    So they revealed almost all of their secrets to Zen, a young man from nowhere.


    Then again, they had no choice. This was their last chance. As for Zen, he had truly won their trust with his performance.

 Chapter 2544 A Stronghold

    In the sky, Zen flew rapidly on his own.


    He had originally wanted to leave with Zelda and Luther.


    Zelda, however, refused his offer.


    Approaching the bone towers carelessly could only lead to them being discovered by members of the conservative faction.


    Therefore, Zen had to go there alone.


    The Sand Core City was just a border city and didn''t have any transmission arrays.


    After passing through this city, Zen would enter another part of the Immemorial Wilderness.


    This part of the Immemorial Wilderness was almost the same as Zen''s first one. The wild bones in it had been exhausted after being collected. It was uninhabited.


    "There are so many Wights!"


    Zen remarked, looking down at the thousands of Wights that galloped along the barren wilderness.


    People in this world had three different origins.


    One was the Warden race created by the Chaos Ancient God.


    Second were the exiles who were prisoners in this huge prison.


    Last were the pariahs that lived outside the bone towers. They were evolved Wights who developed intelligence and could have the qualification of entering the bone towers if they were strong enough.


    "All the strong warriors in this world are afraid of the Light of Adjudication except the unintelligent Wights. Where did they exactly come from?" he mumbled to himself, remembering that he forgot to ask about these creatures'' origins.


    The Immemorial Wilderness was vast and boundless. It took Zen almost half-a-month to cross it despite already flying at a very high speed.


    Half-a-month later, Zen finally caught sight of another city.


    Whoosh!


    He unfolded a map.


    Zen paid one wild bone to buy it from the Sand Core City. It was well-made and recorded the specific locations of cities and bone towers.


    "The Sacred Bone City. There is a transmission array to Herren City! Herren City is also located on the same Immemorial Wilderness as the Sky South Bone Tower. This can be a shortcut!" Zen exclaimed, his eyes flashing with delight.


    He put the map away and went straight to the Sacred Bone City.


    Just like the Sand Core City, the Sacred Bone City was also on high alert. The guards blocked Zen''s path upon sighting him.


    "Friends, consider this as m


    ods I fought in the Immemorial Wilderness. They also seem experienced and are absolutely resolute in killing."


    Zen waited with them in front of the gate. Eventually, he couldn''t help but turn to ask the man closest to him. "Why is the gate locked?"


    The man had a narrow and long scar on his face. His mouth curled up at Zen''s words. "What a foolish question! The gate hasn''t been opened so it''s locked. You just have to wait here."


    "Why do I have to wait here?" Zen asked.


    "Another foolish question! Aren''t you here to enter the Immemorial Wilderness? How can you get in there without the Nine Li members'' lead?" the man replied impatiently.


    The man might have been very rude to him but Zen tried his best to be patient. "Isn''t everyone with an Admission Token allowed to enter?"


    "Oh my God!"


    "What an ignorant boy!"


    "He knows nothing at all!"


    The people around him burst out laughing.


    The man with the scar, however, looked curious. "How did you get the Admission Token? You know nothing at all. How did you have the guts to come here?"


    "I bought it in an auction," he answered.


    The people around him laughed even harder.


    "So there really is someone who bought an Admission Token from an auction! How many wild bones did you spend?" the scarred man asked with a smile.


    "What do you mean?" Zen asked.


    "You can get as many Admission Tokens here as you like. I''m only afraid that you won''t live to use it!" the man announced with a booming laugh.

 Chapter 2545 Grouping

    "What? We can get as many Admission Tokens as we want?" Zen asked in shock.


    He spent 3, 000 wild bones in order to get his Admission Token, but it seemed he could have as many as he wanted for free here!


    "The rule was revised last month though Admission Tokens were already very cheap before then," a woman with a ponytail informed him.


    The Immemorial Wilderness beneath the Sky South Bone Tower was very prosperous.


    Outlaws would willingly go inside, risking their necks just to collect wild bones. If they were able to come back alive, they were certain to have a great deal of wild bones with them.


    After handing over a certain amount to the Nine Li race, they would still have a lot left for themselves.


    Only with enough wild bones could one make rapid progress with their cultivation base.


    However, things changed ever since the violent fight that transpired between the Nine Li race and the Yellow Emperor race. The Immemorial Wilderness had gotten more dangerous. Bringing wild bones back had become a matter of life and death.


    The risk was high and the outlaws knew they had to prepare themselves for death once they got their Admission Tokens. Over time, fewer and fewer people entered the Immemorial Wilderness.


    Prices for Admission Tokens dropped and dropped until they were declared free-for-all.


    Opportunistic merchants took advantage of this. Warriors in remote cities were not necessarily aware of the Admission Tokens'' loss in value and bought them from exploitative merchants at a high price.


    Sand Core City was one of these remote cities, and it was in an auction house that Zen found and bought his Admission Token.


    It was only then that he realized how much he wasted to buy this worthless Admission Token.


    However, he shook this off.


    He had more important things to do than worry about 3, 000 wild bones.


    "With your cultivation base, the chances of you surviving are pretty slim. It''s not too late to back out," the woman said.


    Not even the real outlaws dared to bet their lives in this Immemoria


    re much stronger than ordinary Wild Gods. It was much harder to kill them.


    From time to time, Wild Gods with noble blood lineage would be able to slaughter a group of ordinary Wild Gods.


    This was the reason why this place was so dangerous.


    The steward said a few more things before she began to group them.


    Four people were grouped, forming a temporary team that went in together.


    She called out the names one by one and those that were clustered together began evaluating the strength of their teammates.


    Everyone hoped for capable allies, and none of them wanted to carry a burden with them.


    "Amos, Hiram, Sarah and, Zen, you four make a team," the woman announced.


    The scarred man, the pony-tailed woman, and another burly man stepped forward.


    The three of them looked around to find out the identity of their last teammate. It was then that Zen finally walked out.


    The scarred man''s expression changed. He didn''t expect to be teamed up with the newbie.


    He turned to the steward. "I don''t want to be teamed-up with this guy. Can I be reassigned?"


    The other Wild Gods thought the same thing and even cast a few pitiful looks at Zen''s teammates.


    The steward merely gave the scarred man a cold smile. "Amos, this isn''t your first time here. Do you not know the rules? You can''t change teammates, not even if they''re good for nothing!"

 Chapter 2546 Enter The Immemorial Wilderness

    Amos looked at Zen with disdain. Turning to the woman in emerald, he asked her with bitterness in his voice, "Can I give up now?"


    "Your name has been registered on the list. If you give up, you will be blacklisted and will never be allowed to enter the Immemorial Wilderness again," the woman in emerald replied softly.


    Hearing this, Amos felt his heart sink in desolation.


    Sarah, the young lady with a ponytail, and the man with an almost military composure, Hiram, also looked on with downcast faces.


    This was a matter of life and death. Who would dare to joke about it?


    However, regret was a pointless emotion. All they could do was try to make the best of the current situation.


    Yet, Amos was still unwilling to give up. He turned to Zen, staring at him with a vicious expression. "Man, I am giving you a chance to get away with your life. Now, get out of here!"


    If Zen quit, there would be someone else to take his place.


    However, if he left, he would be blacklisted and denied the Admission Token of the Nine Li race, and he would be forever barred from the Immemorial Wilderness.


    Hiram and Sarah stared at Zen, hoping that he would back down in the face of these challenges.


    They had underestimated Zen''s resolve, of course. Zen looked Amos square in the eyes. "Why should I quit?" he asked pointedly.


    "If you don''t quit, don''t blame me for being rude," said Amos, a sinister expression appearing on his face. "The Immemorial Wilderness is extremely dangerous. You will die there!"


    "Every time you open your mouth, rubbish comes out," Zen said flatly.


    Amos opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again, at loss for words. He knew nothing he said would sway Zen. He stayed silent, glaring at him.


    "Well, Amos, forget it. Even if there are only three people in our group, the problem will not be too big. At most, we will be more careful," said Sarah, her voice soothing.


    With a playful smile, Hiram said, "Relax. It won''t be a big deal to take a loser with us."


    Eventually, the two succeeded in stopping Amos.


    After the Wild Gods had been divided into groups, they rested in the hall for a while.


    About an hour later, they heard some noises coming from the innermost part of the hall. Then, someone announced, "Master Romeo has arrived!"


    Soon, a young man, dressed all in white, entered, escorted by a crowd of women. He walked slowly, as if


    ion.


    As he flew, Zen silently employed the power of his spiritual sense and sent it into the ground below him.


    The moment his spiritual sense reached the ground, his eyes flashed.


    He finally understood why these people were willing to risk their lives to enter the Immemorial Wilderness.


    Having entered the Immemorial Wilderness himself, he sensed that hundreds of wild bones were hidden underneath the surface of the soil.


    No wonder the Immemorial Wilderness of the Iron Tribe had been abandoned. Compared to this place, it was barren.


    Now, Zen wanted to act on his own. Even if he picked up only the wild bones lying along the border, he would still manage to get a substantial number of them.


    "There''s no hurry. The deeper we go, the more wild bones there will be," said a voice in his head. Zen calmed down and continued to fly, following his group members.


    After about eight miles of flight, Zen used his spiritual sense once again, this time to check if there were more wild bones under the ground. It made his heart ache to see so many go to waste.


    "Right here!"


    "Whoosh!"


    Amos abruptly stopped flying, froze in the air and then descended.


    After the four of them had landed, Amos looked around and said, "Let''s look for the wild bones separately. But listen: don''t go too far! This is a treasure land. It is relatively safe, and the wild bones are abundant. I''ve found plenty of wild bones here when I came before."


    With these words, he cast a sidelong glance at Zen and rolled his eyes. "If you are afraid of death, stay here and don''t cause any trouble."

 Chapter 2547 Different Methods

    After giving Zen a warning, Amos started looking for wild bones.


    Sarah and Hiram followed suit.


    These people all had different methods when it came to searching for wild bones. While Sarah held a small, round mirror in her hand, there was a slight fluctuation of Wild God Power from it. Through the object, she could identify the general direction of the wild bones.


    But the precision of such a method was undoubtedly low. Even if she managed to determine the position, it took a long time to find the actual bone.


    In contrast, Hiram''s method was much more violent.


    He pulled out his one thousand-foot long rake from his space ring and activated the Wild God Power in his body. Then he turned into a thousand-foot tall giant.


    Wielding the rake, he pressed it into the ground and continued turning over the bones in the soil.


    Deep furrows appeared on the plowed ground¡ªthe rake struck the bones and they were attached to it.


    It was quite an efficient way to look for wild bones.


    Meanwhile, Sarah and Amos gazed at Hiram''s thousand-foot long rake with admiration.


    He belonged to a large sect under the command of the Nine Li race. His rake was not something any ordinary Wild God could possess.


    Since the other three had already started, Zen couldn''t just sit by idly.


    Compared to the other warriors'' skills, his only reliance was his spiritual sense.


    The others were not on the same level as Zen in terms of using spiritual sense.


    After choosing an area, Zen, standing above the heap of bones, bowed his head and unfocused his eyes as an invisible spiritual sense spread from his figure.


    He could then spot every piece of bone within a dozen miles¡ªhe saw their shapes, sizes, and properties.


    "It''s... It''s..."


    Zen''s pupils contracted as he came upon a pleasant surprise.


    He had already observed the place when he flew into the air.


    The Immemorial Wilderness was indeed rich with wild bones. But he wasn''t expecting them to be abundant in the area Amos chose, beyond his


    "What the hell is going on?" Amos muttered, staring into the pit.


    Soon, he realized what was going on¡ªa huge bone peeked out from the bottom of the pit. Zen was pulling it up himself!


    The larger the bone was, the more powerful its Wild God Power was.


    As soon as Amos got a glimpse of it, he felt a great Wild God Power immediately.


    "This is a wild bone, about ten feet long!" Amos'' eyes gleamed with shock. "How is that possible? How did he find one?"


    In the Immemorial Wilderness, the bones first found were generally on the earth''s surface.


    Some of them were huge and some were over ten thousand, or even a hundred thousand feet long.


    But the huge wild bones had long been occupied by the powerful warriors of the bone towers. It was difficult for ordinary Wild Gods to search for any of them.


    There were always some sort of huge wild bones hidden deep underground, waiting to be taken away.


    It was difficult for ordinary Wild Gods to find such bones with ordinary methods. Both Amos'' squirrel and Sarah''s bronze mirror failed to sense anything that deep underground.


    It was also impossible for Hiram to plow the entire Immemorial Wilderness thoroughly enough with his rake. The wild bone was about ten feet long.


    It was equal to nearly three thousand wild bones.


    At the thought, greed filled Amos'' eyes.

 Chapter 2548 Trouble Caused By Greed

    In Amos'' eyes, it didn''t matter how Zen found the wild bone¡ªall that mattered was Zen was the one person he could bully at will.


    Zen pulled out the wild bone, activating the space ring in his hand.


    Then, the huge wild bone entered the Sumeru Space.


    Raising his head and throwing Amos a glance at the edge of the crater, Zen flew up from the bottom.


    "You''re a lucky man," Amos said as he stared back.


    Zen smiled faintly in return. "It''s truly luck."


    The latter''s expression made Amos frown¡ªwas Zen merely pretending to be calm or was he merely not as simple as he first seemed?


    Amos was a cruel man and after coming to the Immemorial Wilderness so often, he had already seen many people who would pretend to be fragile.


    But Zen wasn''t hiding his cultivation¡ªhe was indeed a newly formed Wild God without any particularly strong strength for support.


    To that thought, a ferocious expression surfaced on Amos'' face. "It''s not about luck. I brought you here. It only makes sense that I get a share of the wild bones you dig up¡ªsuch is a rule I''ve made."


    "A rule, you say?" Zen looked at Sarah and Hiram who were standing far in the distance. "Do you mean that you also have a share in their wild bones?"


    That made Amos sneer. "You''re different from them. Cut the crap! Now that I know you have a wild bone, you must give me a good share!"


    Sarah and Hiram were about as strong as Amos, allowing them to refuse to share anything with him.


    "Really? How many do you want?" Zen raised his eyebrows mockingly.


    "I''ll have ninety percent and you''ll have ten percent of everything. You''re far too weak to be using so many wild bones, anyway¡ªthey''re wasted on you," Amos said, observing Zen''s expression. He figured that a scared loser like Zen wouldn''t dare to disobey him in spite of his courage.


    In fact, according to the Nine Li race''s rule, they were prohibited from any internal killings¡ªsuch an act would receive severe punishment.


    But the four were completely alone in the wilderness. Who else could''ve known if Sarah and Hiram kept silent?


    Too many people had already died there¡ªthey themselves were killed by the Yellow Emperor race and by their own companions. People murdered and were murdered every


    ttack came as a surprise. Even Amos thought the same.


    If Zen let go of him, Amos would activate the Wild God Power and turn into a giant up to 8, 000 feet. Then, killing Zen would be as easy as squashing an ant.


    Never did he expect Zen to be such an arrogant man, void of any fear of him.


    "Whoosh!"


    Zen''s right hand suddenly shrank and the Shadow Bearing Sword was pulled from Amos'' neck.


    It was sharp, but it did not draw a single drop of blood.


    The other touched the paper-thin scar on his neck and heaved a sigh of relief.


    He gave Zen another look. Thinking of the man''s warning, Amos couldn''t help but shudder.


    Zen was probably not as simple as he first seemed.


    So then Amos decided to put up with the act to see what would happen. If he found that Zen was bluffing, then he''d make his move.


    Zen, however, cared nothing about what was on Amos'' mind¡ªhe wanted to dig for more wild bones instead of wasting time on Amos and the others.


    Plenty of wild bones lay in the area, but Zen used his spiritual sense to search for them, pulling them to him with strength source. It was an extremely efficient method¡ªwherever he walked, he took all the wild bones in the area for himself.


    After observing him, Sarah and Hiram got a sense of what Zen was doing, making them even more curious about his origins.


    In just about six hours, not many wild bones were left in the area¡ªZen had obtained almost every single one. Sarah then suggested they move to another spot.

 Chapter 2549 Romeos Strength

    The sound of shoe soles roughly scraping the ground filled the area as the four of them had run for more than 300 miles in the wilderness, then they came to a halt.


    "This is the place," said Sarah with a smile. "This area should be the place with the most abundant wild bones in the Immemorial Wilderness."


    At that moment, the squirrel on Amos'' shoulder let out a squeak.


    Perhaps, it might''ve sensed the rich Wild God Power in the place.


    In turn, Amos vigilantly scanned the whole place and said, "There are indeed a lot of wild bones here, but it''s not safe here."


    The area in the Immemorial Wilderness where they were in wasn''t really small, but it was likely that they could still encounter people from the Yellow Emperor race.


    The Wild Gods who came into this area in the Immemorial Wilderness all thought that their survival was their most important priority, not the number of wild bones they could get.


    After all, the Admission Tokens to enter the place were not of much value, but everyone had only one life.


    "It''s not a big problem. This is not the core area of the Immemorial Wilderness. I doubt that the elites of the Yellow Emperor race would take the risk and come over," said Hiram. He, too, was interested in the huge amount of wild bones in the place.


    Although they were all generally cautious and careful people, it was a huge risk for them to come to this area.


    "Just be quick," Sarah said with a faint smile as she looked helplessly at Zen.


    Everyone had been watching Zen dig up the wild bones for most of the time, up until now.


    The number of wild bones he got alone was probably more than the total number of wild bones the three of them had dug up. It was safe to say that he had a really big advantage.


    Yet, he didn''t know much about this part of the Immemorial Wilderness. He simply began to search for the wild bones quietly by spreading out his spiritual will like a net that covered a radius of several dozen miles.


    Meanwhile, eight thousand miles away from them was Romeo of the Nine Li race who floated in the air.


    He was dressed in white and his calm exterior exuded a faint aura. He looked like a man who came from the scroll.


    Surrounding him were the eight Wild Gods who had grown up to eight thousand feet high.


    "I''m a little surprised. When did you guys have the guts to come to this core area of the Immemorial Wilderness to dig wild bones?" Romeo asked.


    It was known that this specific area in t


    there--he turned around and punched two more Wild Gods. Then, he twisted his body, pulled out the bamboo sword, and slashed at them.


    "Phew!"


    The green sword light swept through the space of tens of thousands of feet all around and along the necks of three Wild Gods.


    Three giant heads rolled down the Wild Gods'' bodies and hit the ground with a loud thud.


    Romeo had brought his four arms and two heads into full play, which made it impossible for his opponents to dodge his attacks. The Wild Gods were about as huge as Romeo''s form, but they actually couldn''t fight back and only retreated.


    In the blink of an eye, he had killed all the eight Wild Gods.


    "You''ve overestimated yourselves!" Romeo''s two heads said together.


    He glanced at the eight corpses, which had now shrunken.


    Yet, he also felt a little dubious. He wondered, why did the Yellow Emperor race offer such a reward for this group of trash to kill the warriors of the Nine Li race?


    Are they going to wage an all-out war?


    With that thought in mind, his eyes subconsciously drifted over to the tall, huge Sky South Bone Tower in the distance.


    The Yellow Emperor race and the Nine Li race had been enemies for a long time. Romeo had heard from the elders of his race that even in the Source World, the two races were like water and fire as they could not tolerate each other.


    Still, they lived in a world where they had to set aside their hatred in order to survive.


    The fight that happened in this area in the Immemorial Wilderness was all for the Sky South Bone Tower. He wondered, was the Yellow Emperor race prepared to seize the Sky South Bone Tower?

 Chapter 2550 A Plot

    As Romeo lost himself in his thoughts, a small black dot suddenly flew in front of him.


    The black dot grew bigger as it approached him. When it got closer, it turned into a giant over ten thousand feet in height.


    This giant''s Wild God Power was incomparably pure, and his body shone with a faint, golden light.


    "The Wild Body of the Yellow Emperor."


    At that moment, Romeo increased his guard. He held the bamboo sword in one hand and slightly leaned forward, prepared to attack at any time.


    A layer of light golden color would wash over the bodies of the Wild Gods from the Yellow Emperor race when their blood was activated.


    Thus, Romeo thought that the one who arrived must have the blood of the Yellow Emperor race.


    "You''ve killed eight Wild Gods in an instant. You really are worthy of your reputation as a new talent of the Nine Li race." The man from the Yellow Emperor race laughed.


    "If you want to challenge me, so be it. Why did you send your useless followers to fight me?" Romeo snorted.


    The man''s lips curved up into a grin. "I just wanted you to warm up.


    Since I let you in, of course I won''t let you leave the Immemorial Wilderness!" "What do you mean?" Romeo asked as his face darkened.


    It was true that the Nine Li race and the Yellow Emperor race had been fighting fiercely in the Immemorial Wilderness.


    The only thing was, most of those who had died were the outsiders who came to collect wild bones. It didn''t matter if they received the Admission Tokens of the Nine Li race or the Yellow Emperor race, because the core disciples of the two races eventually killed them as they were just collateral damage from the core disciples'' cultivation.


    The core disciples of the two races, however, rarely fought in real fights. They even deliberately avoided too many conflicts.


    After all, most of the core disciples were cultivated by consuming a great amount of blood wild bones. The death of any core disciple would bring a great loss.


    Just then, Romeo had a bad feeling about the man''s words.


    On the other hand, the man thought that Romeo wouldn''t be able to live anymore. "It''s very simple. We''ve been fighting for the Sky South Bone Tower so long.


    It''s time for our race to settle in," he said with a chuckle. "You think you can settle in if you


    nes in this way was countless times higher. Just by absorbing more than 30, 000 wild bones alone would be able to increase his body to a thousand feet high.


    What if he came to collect wild bones for a month?


    When Zen released his spiritual sense again, he felt something different and his heart beat slightly faster.


    "What?"


    He had clearly sensed that a wild bone underneath the ground gave off a special kind of power.


    "It''s a blood wild bone!"


    He had seen a blood wild bone before and knew that the auras of different blood wild bones were different.


    "Whoosh!"


    He wasted no time and his body began to dig down in a flash.


    The blood wild bone wasn''t buried too deep. It was only about twenty feet underground.


    It wasn''t long before he was twenty feet deep. He carefully removed the skeletons and pulled out a piece of brown wild bone.


    "The aura of this wild bone..."


    The moment he touched it, he was hit with something familiar.


    "Does it have Chiyou''s blood?" he muttered. The mere thought of it quickly made him excited.


    He had Chiyou''s blood, but there were too few blood wild bones in the world. He didn''t get the second one after he dug out one blood wild bone, let alone the one with Chiyou''s blood.


    Despite being thrilled for words, he gently moved his hand along the surface of the wild bone and used his spiritual sense to draw out a wisp of the Wild God Power.


    "Swish!"


    In turn, the wisp of the brown Wild God Power quietly transformed into the shape of three heads and six arms.

 Chapter 2551 Ignored

    This wasn''t the first time Zen had seen something with three heads and six arms.


    The shadow formed by the stream of brown Wild God Power was obscure but Zen was certain that this wild bone contained Chiyou''s bloodline.


    Finding this wild bone was a good thing but Zen still had some concerns.


    Back in the Evolutionary Universe, he changed his blood in order to avoid being punished by the Ruling Slate. He didn''t know if doing so would also affect his absorption of the blood wild bone''s power.


    The only way to find out was to give it a try.


    It was not suitable to refine the Wild God Power in the Immemorial Wilderness so Zen had to put away this blood wild bone in his space ring for the meantime.


    At that moment, he heard a clamor of footsteps approaching.


    Zen jumped from the hole and saw smoke billowing in the distance. At the same time, he saw countless Wights running away from the smoke.


    These Wights were on all-fours and were currently rushing towards Zen at a surprisingly fast rate.


    "These Wights... Are they crazy?"


    Sarah exclaimed, her face filled with astonishment as she watched this scene.


    The Wild Gods who often explored the Immemorial Wilderness knew of the large number of Wights that resided here.


    Once, the entire population of Wights was wiped out by a great force. Not long after, a large number of Wights appeared in the Immemorial Wilderness all over again. There was simply no way of getting rid of them.


    The strangest thing was that nobody knew where these Wights came from.


    Fortunately, the strength of these creatures was ordinary and not much of a threat against the Wild Gods.


    However, seeing them rush over in such large numbers was strange. Something must be wrong.


    "Get out of here, all of you!" Hiram shouted, waving his thousand-foot-long rake.


    "Phew..."


    The rake hit hundreds of Wights, turning them into broken corpses.


    This bloody scene made Zen frown.


    He did not feel any ill intent from these Wights. On the contrary, it seemed as if they were merely escaping from something.


    Just as this thought flashed through his mind, a figure, ten thousand feet long, appeared in the smoke. The figure moved across the smoke and fell towards Zen.


    It was a huge giant, equivalent to a h


    going to go all out to fight for their lives.


    Zen still hadn''t activated his Wild God Power. He, instead, used chaotic energy to send Romeo, Sarah, Hiram, and Amos a voice message. "Romeo, try to delay those two men while I suppress Bilaal with soul force. The rest of you, work together and kill him. As long as we eliminate one of them, everything will be easier."


    A strange expression appeared on everyone''s face when they heard Zen''s voice.


    Most of the warriors in this world mainly cultivated Wild God Power, largely because of the environment they were in.


    Because of this, all Wild Gods had one shortcoming: their souls weren''t strong enough.


    Fortunately, everyone''s soul was about at the same level so it wasn''t a determining factor in fighting against their opponents.


    When Zen told them that he intended to suppress Bilaal with his soul force, they couldn''t believe their ears.


    However, there was no time to think about it.


    The middle-aged man and Tyreke were already rushing towards Romeo. Without so much as a thought, Romeo chose to retreat.


    At the same time, Bilaal also rushed towards Hiram like a strong beast, face red with excitement.


    Zen, who still hadn''t activated his Wild God Power, was ignored by Bilaal as if he was a mere mosquito.


    Taking advantage of this, Zen flew high up into the air. He narrowed his eyes and two rays of light on the Shadow Bearing Sword began to flash. He sent a message through his chaotic energy once again. "Now is the time. Attack!"

 Chapter 2552 Take Action In Person

    Hiram, Sarah, and Amos could change into eight thousand feet tall giants and were regarded as mid-rank Wild Gods.


    However, there was a huge difference between their strength and that of a Wild God with a bloodline.


    They would be the ones to get killed.


    Hiram was considered a brave warrior. He clenched his teeth and held onto his rake, standing still despite the oncoming attack of Bilaal from the Yellow Emperor race.


    Amos looked as if he was prepared to fight to the death, but he actually kept a safe distance and was always prepared to turn tail if things went south.


    Hiram didn''t think much after hearing Zen''s words. He opened his mouth and let out a roar, activating the Wild God Power in his body as he jumped up and slashed his rake towards Bilaal.


    At the same time, Sarah''s figure flashed past the other side, armed with a short sword.


    Despite her weapon being a short sword, it should be considered that the one who wielded it was about eight thousand feet tall which made the sword more than a thousand feet long.


    "Are you guys seriously resisting? Ha-ha!" Bilaal mocked.


    The Yellow Emperor race regarded these Wild Gods as mere target practice. Bilaal thought of them as nothing more than dirt so he didn''t really take them seriously.


    His entire body flashed with golden light and he stretched out his thick, right hand to directly snatch Hiram''s rake.


    Zen''s eyes flashed.


    "Frenzy of Goodwill and Malice!"


    As he shouted, his strong soul force activated the Shadow Bearing Sword. This soul attack with the Truth of Godly Way rushed towards Bilaal.


    "Bang!"


    Bilaal felt as if his head had been hit by a heavy hammer and was immediately dazed.


    He was totally confused and ended up standing in place like a fool.


    "I''ll hit you to death!"


    Hiram knew he had to take advantage of this and tried to also hit Bilaal. He didn''t know how Zen did it but knew it was his opening.


    The huge rake came smashing down towards Bilaal.


    "Clang!"


    The rake came crashing down on Bilaal''s head with a crisp sound.


    They saw how the go


    He didn''t really want to use the Ways-blending Strike in front of others which was the main reason why he hoped Hiram and Sarah could''ve been enough to help him kill Bilaal.


    However, he didn''t expect the gap between ordinary Wild Gods and a Wild God with a bloodline to be so big. Bilaal was already just standing there yet the two of them could do nothing. Zen had no choice but to intervene.


    Noticing that the hand that grabbed her neck lost its strength, Sarah immediately struggled and threw Bilaal''s arm off her. She retreated a few steps back and stared at her foe.


    Hiram and Amos were also stunned.


    Not long after, blood spilled out of Bilaal''s neck. His huge head began to tilt until it eventually fell off cleanly from his torso. Only then did they realize that Zen had succeeded in what they failed to do. He didn''t even turn into the form of a Wild God!


    "Well, that guy doesn''t depend on the Wild God Power at all," Hiram remarked excitedly.


    Sarah was calmer now and couldn''t help but heave a sigh of relief. She looked at Zen with complex emotions. "I haven''t heard of a True God that possesses such powerful strength!"


    Amos couldn''t help but gasp in surprise. It was only then that he realized that Zen stabbed the sword into his neck not because of his carelessness.


    It was only because Zen showed him mercy that he was still alive and breathing.

 Chapter 2553 Cooperation

    Facing the overwhelming forces in the attack of both the middle-aged man and Tyreke of the Yellow Emperor race, Romeo was left with no choice but to retreat.


    "Bang!"


    Rallying the golden glow on the surface of his body, the middle-aged man delivered a stunning series of punches to Romeo''s head.


    "Bang, Bang, Bang..."


    Romeo staggered back seven or eight steps in the onslaught, and with every step he took, a huge crater formed in the ground. The Immemorial Wilderness began to shake violently as cataclysmic forces were at work.


    As soon as he had balanced his body, Tyreke charged in closely behind.


    Fortunately, Romeo had four hands. He clasped the bamboo sword in one hand and swung it with tremendous force.


    An emerald green sword radiance spewed forth to block Tyreke.


    Tyreke knew fear at the sight of this emerald green sword light. This was probably the only force that could penetrate the Yellow Emperor Wild Body, so he tried his best to avoid it.


    However, just as Tyreke was forced to back off, the middle-aged man stepped up again. As the two tag-teamed in attacking Romeo, he almost had no way to fight back and could only defend himself desperately.


    He didn''t even have a spare moment to glance at the battle that Zen was embroiled in.


    Just now, Zen had used the soul attack to disrupt Bilaal''s soul, which gave Romeo a glimmer of hope.


    It was a pity that the combined strength of the other two Wild Gods had proven too weak. They were unable to even dent Bilaal''s Yellow Emperor Wild Body. His only glimmer of hope died in the instant that it had been ignited.


    When Bilaal finished off those Wild Gods and joined forces with the middle-aged man and Tyreke to attack him, he would surely perish today.


    Thinking of this, Romeo felt a pang of sorrow in his heart.


    He was unwilling to face death here in this Immemorial Wilderness. If he could only get some more blood wild bones, then he could even have a chance to become the top warrior among the younger generation!


    As despair set in, even his fighting spirit gradually began to weaken...


    Seeing the middle-aged man rush at him again, he even had a brief urge to simply give up resistance.


    Just then, a voice delivered by chaotic energy echoed into his ears again. "Romeo! I''ll disturb these two''s minds, and you take the chance to vanquish them!"


    "What!"


    Romeo''s eyes flashed in surprise as he looked over and saw Zen who was several thousand feet away.


    Zen still hadn''t activated the Wild God Power. He hovered in the air like a small mosquito. He was utterly inconspicuous, but in Romeo''s eyes, he had become a life-saving straw!


    "Swish!"


    s.


    As long as he could kill this guy, Romeo would still be no match for him!


    He took a step to the right, and his mammoth sized body rolled in the air, heading straight for Zen.


    "Watch out!"


    Romeo called a warning to Zen as he saw the middle aged man''s plan.


    Zen floated serenely in the air and watched the middle-aged man''s more than ten thousand feet tall body turn on him. It was like watching a huge mountain turning over.


    However, Zen didn''t look panicked at all. As the light of the Shadow Bearing Sword flashed again, a smile lit up his face.


    "Buzz!"


    The middle-aged man was once more hit by Zen''s soul attack.


    In agony, he lost his balance and fell heavily on the ground.


    Romeo had gone through many battles, and there was no way that he would let such a good opportunity to kill his enemy slip by.


    He launched upward, and clasped his sword with both hands, prepared to strike. Before the middle-aged man once more regained his consciousness, the bamboo sword in Romeo''s hand had struck down at the middle-aged man''s head.


    "Phew!"


    The bamboo sword instantly nailed the middle-aged man''s head to the ground, cracking it open like a melon.


    The middle-aged man''s body struggled reflexively and then finally stopped twitching.


    Romeo clutched the bamboo sword tightly, ready for more actions as the adrenalin coursed in his body, and he was still a little nervous.


    After the middle-aged man''s body sagged under its own weight, and it was clear that he had died, the Wild God Power in his body began to dissipate, and his mountainous body began to rapidly shrink.


    Romeo pulled his sword free. His face bubbled with joy as he thought of how narrowly he had escaped from death. He looked over at Zen, who floated not far away.

 Chapter 2554 Fully Loaded

    Romeo had never imagined that he could narrowly escape death. What just happened was like a nightmare!


    Zen''s sudden appearance had helped reverse the end result especially for him at death''s door.


    He was still in disbelief as he felt that he hadn''t gone back yet on his senses.


    "Thank you!" Romeo faced Zen as he earnestly cupped his hands. "I, Romeo, will never forget that you have saved my life."


    Zen only smiled faintly and uttered, "Even if I didn''t make a move, after killing you, they would still come to kill me. It would count as I''m also saving myself. Don''t take it to heart."


    Romeo shook his head and said, "It''s different! Without you, I couldn''t have killed them."


    "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."


    Sarah, Amos and Hiram immediately turned back to their original figure and rushed straight over.


    "Sir, are you okay? You have defeated three Yellow Emperor members all by yourself. I bet that among the young generation of the Nine Li race, no one can defeat you... " Amos praised Romeo with a flattering expression on his face.


    In his eyes, Romeo was a nobleman who was beyond his reach.


    Going through the crisis together, he naturally would seize this opportunity to play up to Romeo. He was expecting that he might get the chance to enter a bone tower and even join the Nine Li race in the future!


    Sarah and Hiram on the side both frowned upon hearing Amos'' flattering words towards Romeo.


    Anyone who wasn''t blind could see and understand that the one who played the key role in winning the battle was Zen.


    If it weren''t for Zen''s powerful soul attack, every single one of them would have turned into corpses, including Romeo.


    Amos was the blind one, shamelessly talking nonsense just to flatter Romeo.


    Romeo glanced at him indifferently. These Wild Gods were nothing important in his eyes, and he felt that this Amos was more like a clown.


    In the midst of their fight, he had seen that Sarah and Hiram were the ones who had gone all out to fight back, but Amos was just standing far away. Obviously, he had no intention of taking action.


    He had no expectations that these Wild Gods would save him. After all, they had Admission Tokens and their purpose of coming here was to collect wild bones, and they didn''t have the obligation to save anyone from the Nine Li race. But deep in his heart, he had no good impression of this guy who did nothing but brazenly cosied up to him.


    Romeo just glanced at him but didn''t respond. As the core disciple of the Nine Li race, he was clear about the secret of the bone towers.


    There were so many Wild Gods in this world. After


    them.


    Among the four people, only Amos was depressed. Zen, Sarah and Hiram weren''t much affected and began to busy themselves digging for wild bones.


    The Admission Tokens issued by the Nine Li race had a time limit. They were only given a time limit of eighteen days with the Admission Tokens they had.


    On the first day, Zen collected about ten thousand wild bones, and had also dug out two wild bones with Chiyou''s bloodline. Much more that in the following days, he was still fortunate to have good luck on his side.


    On the second day, although he didn''t get any blood wild bone, he dug out a big wild bone which was over twenty feet tall! Sarah was green with envy with the turn of events.


    On the third day, Zen dug out three blood wild bones. The three blood wild bones, however, were not the blood wild bones with Chiyou''s bloodline.


    The following days, collecting the wild bones had gone smoothly without distractions. Perhaps it was because the Yellow Emperor race was busily planning on seizing the Sky South Bone Tower, the Immemorial Wilderness was very peaceful during this period of time.


    Eighteen days were already up. Zen had accumulated nearly two hundred thousand wild bones. In addition to that, he also obtained seven or eight kinds of blood wild bones, the total number of which added up to dozens.


    Despite the total number of wild bones he got, he was a little upset that there were only four blood wild bones that contained Chiyou''s bloodline.


    At the same time, Sarah and Hiram had returned back fully loaded. But for Amos, perhaps he felt unhappy by not receiving the same treatment as the other three had, so he was depressed the whole time, making him leave the Immemorial Wilderness ahead of time.

 Chapter 2555 Giacomo

    After leaving the Immemorial Wilderness, Zen and the others returned to the stronghold.


    According to the ordinances, these Wild Gods were obliged to have all of the wild bones they had found checked while the Nine Li race would take half of the wild bones. Only then were they permitted to leave.


    The Nine Li race possessed a secret method to detect the amount of wild bones dug out by the Wild Gods. Even if they were to hide them in their space rings, they could not leave without the wild bones being detected. Every Wild God was required to hand over all of the wild bones they had obtained to the Nine Li race for inspection.


    However, Zen and the two other Wild Gods with him didn''t need to hand over half of their wild bones to the Nine Li race, yet they still needed to go through the inspection procedure.


    "Master Romeo has informed us that you are to keep all your wild bones, and you are welcome to exchange the blood wild bones you have obtained for ordinary wild bones at market price here," the woman in emerald clothes said and smiled sweetly at Zen.


    Perhaps it was because of Romeo''s instructions that she was very polite and treated Zen with respect.


    It was common practice here to exchange the blood wild bones for common wild bones at the market price. After all, the Wild Gods here didn''t have any special blood lineage, therefore it was useless for them to keep any blood wild bones that they had found. Although it might not present the best deals to trade the blood wild bones at market price, it was convenient. Most of the Wild Gods chose to use this option.


    Sarah and Hiram didn''t have any quarrel with this arrangement, and they handed over the blood wild bones they had found. Then someone came in and took the blood wild bones away. The Nine Li race would give them a correspondent number of common wild bones after they had evaluated the blood wild bones.


    "Exchange the blood wild bones at market price?" Zen frowned slightly as a suspicion formed in his mind.


    The woman in emerald noticed Zen''s apprehensiveness and said with a smile, "Yes, you won''t lose out on the price."


    "That is not the problem. One type of the blood wild bones I have dug out has proven very useful to me. I''m afraid I can''t exchange those," Zen said.


    The girl in emerald was now caught in a dilemma. Although Romeo had ordered special treatment be given to Zen, the rule was resolute. All kinds of blood wild bones the Wild Gods had gathered had to be handed over to the Nine Li race.


    After all, most of the major races suffered a severe shortage of blood wild bones of their own bloodlines. Only in trading the blood wild bones with each other could they gain access to the blood wild bones they needed.


    However, Zen didn''t look like he could have any special bloodline in his body. The girl wondered what he wanted the blood wild bones for in the first place.


    The girl in emerald considered this and said, "Can I see the blood wild bones you


    ed to bring you to this achievement."


    Those living in the bone towers would never refer to the Wild Gods outside the bone towers as "pariahs". After all, that would be too disrespectful, so he only called Zen "a man of wilderness".


    Zen cupped his hands and asked, "Are you serious about the challenge that you laid down just now, sir?"


    "Of course! But there is no need to try, for it is futile. You can''t do it. Ha-ha-ha." Giacomo laughed heartily. "But you saved my nephew, Romeo, and he said you are extremely powerful. Now we of the Nine Li race are badly in need of talent. It''s not difficult for us to give you one set of blood of our Nine Li race. Do you want to take it?"


    Giacomo had come here specially for Zen.


    This time, the Nine Li race and the Yellow Emperor race had made a bet to determine ownership of the Sky South Bone Tower and this part of the Immemorial Wilderness.


    However, while making the bet, the Yellow Emperor race had killed Chandler and Farhann of the Nine Li race.


    These two men had both been powerful warriors of the younger generation of the Nine Li race. With the Nine Li race''s loss of them, they would most probably now lose the bet.


    Nine Li race was consumed with fury, but their opponent hadn''t broken any rules. So the Nine Li race had no avenue to voice their complaints. They could only blame themselves for not having been better prepared to prevent being tricked by their opponent.


    After Romeo''s return to the bone tower, he had recommended Zen to Giacomo. Without any hesitation, the latter had immediately rushed to the stronghold, hoping to find out whether Zen was as magically strong as Romeo had described.


    Hearing Giacomo''s offer, everyone present became tense, and greed burned in their eyes.


    The face of the woman in emerald also became tinged with envy. Born into a large sect in the bone tower, she had an extraordinary background, but even she was not qualified to be gifted with a set of Chiyou''s blood!

 Chapter 2556 Blood

    Blood transfusion was not an easy task. It was said that such a thing had to be done by powerhouses of the Nine Li race.


    For most of the Wild Gods in the world, this was undoubtedly an opportunity to completely change their fate.


    In the past, only a warrior from another race who made great contributions to the Nine Li race could earn such a privilege.


    If it weren''t for the pressure from the Yellow Emperor race, the Nine Li race wouldn''t have decided to let Zen in.


    As far as Giacomo was concerned, Zen was very lucky to have such a good chance that was only given once in a thousand years. So naturally, he believed that Zen would accept this chance with excitement.


    However, Zen just gave a slight nod in response. "Of course I''m willing, but before that, I still hope to have a try. I want to know if I can directly absorb the Wild God Power in them."


    Hearing Zen''s words, Sarah, the woman in emerald, and the others stood still, staring at Zen with confusion on their faces.


    ''What a lucky reward! But why isn''t Zen immediately accepting it?''


    Giacomo himself frowned, feeling a little angry. In an affronted tone, he said, "Well, let me see if you can absorb the Wild God Power of our Nine Li race!"


    Without saying anything more, Zen grabbed one of the blood wild bones with one hand.


    The truth was that Zen himself was not sure if he could directly absorb the blood wild bone. After all, he had undergone the process of blood exchange, so he had no idea if his blood would be compatible with the blood of the wild bone.


    "Master Giacomo, the wild bone would be wasted in this way..." the woman in emerald said worriedly.


    If Zen extracted the Wild God Power from the wild bone and his body wasn''t able to absorb it, then all the Wild God Power would dissipate.


    It wasn''t advisable at all to let Zen waste the blood wild bone just for the sake of an experiment.


    "It doesn''t matter!" Giacomo said as he waved his hand. He was too offended to think straight.


    Ignoring the tense atmosphere around him, Zen gently moved his hand over the surface of the brown wild bone, and brown waves of Wild God Power burst out like spring water.


    "Trickle Spring Method?" A trace of disdain appeared on everyone''s face when they saw Zen''s skill.


    Although Ze


    know who you are. But do you know how long you would live if you didn''t come here at this time?" Giacomo asked deliberately.


    Zen thought for a moment, and then smiled and said, "Maybe three years."


    "So you know?" Giacomo raised his eyebrows.


    Only a few people knew about the Light of Adjudication, and these people would go all out to fight and get into the bone tower to avoid the disaster that occurred once in a thousand years.


    Zen nodded. "Yes. That''s why I came here," he said frankly.


    "Let me take you to the Sky Spirit Bone Tower. First, I want to know how pure your blood is. If it turns out that you are really from our Nine Li race, we will treat you well," said Giacomo.


    Even though he had seen Zen suck the blood wild bone dry in front of his own eyes, it was still difficult for him to believe. After all, it made no sense at all.


    Zen had mainly cultivated the True God system and he had strong mental power. Now, it turned out that he had Chiyou''s blood running through his veins too. It was hard for Giacomo to imagine that these characteristics would appear in a foreign member he did not know.


    "You want to know how pure my blood is?" Zen was a bit confused.


    Giacomo looked at Zen calmly. "Our race has the noblest blood in the world. It has been passed onto us by our progenitor, Chiyou. However, the purity of each person''s blood is different. We usually check the purity of a person''s bloody the day they''re born. Of course, you can''t be exempted from this tradition either."

 Chapter 2557 Enter The Bone Tower

    Zen nodded and followed Giacomo in silence.


    He had felt a strange sensation in his body while absorbing the blood wild bone, as if something in his body was going to come into being. Although this feeling was fleeting and felt like background noise to him, it still existed. He wondered what it meant.


    Romeo was a member of Nine Li race. After activating his form of Wild God, he came to possess two heads and four hands. It was the Blood Wild Body of Nine Li race. Zen wondered if his own Wild God too would have two heads and four hands, now that he had absorbed enough blood wild bones.


    Some time passed as they flew over, and Zen realized that Giacomo had taken him back to Herren City.


    Herren City was large and had a huge number of guards. When Zen had come here for the first time, he had been cautious and alert, not daring to cross the guards in the slightest. He had no reason to invite trouble for himself.


    Giacomo flew into Herren City with Zen behind him. Immediately as they entered, seven or eight streaks of light flew toward them.


    Zen looked them up and down. These people, he assumed, were high-ranking figures of the city. Although they did not have the blood of the Nine Li race, their cultivation bases seemed very high to him.


    "Master Giacomo!"


    "Master Giacomo!"


    They cupped their hands in unison and greeted Giacomo respectfully.


    Herren City was under the management of Star Sect, a sect associated with Nine Li race. Giacomo was respected by the warriors of the race, and so naturally these people showed him deference.


    Although they were utterly respectful toward Giacomo, their gazes fell on Zen from time to time.


    Giacomo wanted to use the transmission array in Herren City, saying he had an urgent matter to deal with. The people assumed that it had something to do with the man behind him.


    "Is the transmission array ready?" Giacomo asked them impatiently.


    The leader of the group nodded. "Yes, it is. Please come this way, Master Giacomo!"


    "Take me there," said Giacomo.


    The leader waved his hand and the rest of the company retreated. He led the way and the three of them flew to the west of the city.


    In a giant square in the west of the city, a huge transmission array had already been activated. It appeared like a delicate lotus leaf, slowly turning, a halo of soft pink light encircling it.


    After landing from the skies, Giacomo and Zen walked straight to this very exquisite transmission array.


    Buzz...


    ge the bone tower in the slightest, not even create a crack on it.


    Still, there were a few giant cracks in the bone tower. The Nine Li people lived inside these cracks, but they were not the ones to create them. These had existed from a long time ago.


    It was speculated that the Chaos Ancient God had been seriously injured before he fell into this world, so the mottled cracks in the bone tower must have been left behind at that time.


    If the corpse of the Chaos Ancient God was intact and devoid of cracks in his bones, then no one in this world could have hidden inside the bone towers.


    It was a fact.


    For instance, there was no crack in the Heavenly Wild Bone Tower, and no one had been able to dig out a crack in it either. No race was able to step in the Heavenly Wild Bone Tower. It was a worthless endeavor.


    Zen and Giacomo flew in the air through the crack and the space ahead suddenly narrowed. It was so tapered that only one person could pass through.


    However, after a period of time, the space widened again. What appeared in front of Zen was an area spanning three large cities. Several buildings occupied the space and many of the Wild Gods were hurriedly shuttling through it.


    "Have we arrived?" Zen asked quietly.


    Giacomo shook his head. "This is where the three affiliated sects of Nine Li race live. Our race resides at the top."


    He pointed to the ceiling in the air. A wide crack could be seen above their heads. On the other side were a flight of steps that extended to a higher place.


    The bone was extraordinarily firm. No one was able to carve the steps out, so they had to be built out of other materials.

 Chapter 2558 Grand Elder

    Giacomo and Zen flew to the top of the roof. Once they landed there, they climbed up the stairs.


    Halfway up, Zen saw another Chiyou statue with three heads and three pairs of arms.


    Giacomo took a step forward and respectfully bowed to the Chiyou statue. "This is the leader of our Nine Li race. Before you become a member of our race, you have to worship him with sincerity."


    Although Giacomo had managed to smoothly bring Zen to the bone tower, it was extremely difficult for one to become qualified enough to enter the bone tower.


    The Light of Adjudication, which appeared once every thousand years, could take away anybody''s life. Those who knew about it were desperate to enter one of the bone towers because only the bone towers were able to resist the Light of Adjudication. There were even those who were willing to become guards of the Nine Li race''s affiliated sects just so that they could enter the race''s bone tower.


    After all, entering a bone tower was the only way that could guarantee them a longer life.


    As for going up this staircase and entering the Nine Li race''s territory, that was the lifetime dream for many people.


    It meant getting Chiyou''s blood, which would open the door to countless possibilities.


    Every member of the Nine Li race had the utmost respect for Chiyou. So before entering the Nine Li race''s territory, they would worship the Chiyou statue first.


    Now, Giacomo treated Zen as a member of the Nine Li race too. Although he couldn''t understand how, Zen had managed to absorb the energy of the blood wild bone right in front of his eyes.


    When Zen heard Giacomo''s words, he didn''t hesitate at all.


    His mother had told him that Chiyou was his maternal grandfather, so he worshipped the statue like Giacomo did.


    Then, the two of them continued on their way up. Soon, a large cave lit up by a raging firelight coming into view.


    The cave was filled with countless huge palaces. This was the real territory of the Nine Li race.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    About seven people suddenly flew over from the cave.


    The head of the group was tall and strong, and he had a bare torso and messy hair. Before he even landed in front of Zen and Giacomo, he said, "Giacomo, you want to give this boy the blood of our race?"


    At the sight of this man, a touch of displeasure appeared on G


    that agreement at the beginning?"


    The voice was as sweet and melodious as a beautiful song. Even without seeing her, anyone who heard her voice could tell that she must be extremely beautiful.


    Zen turned his gaze to the direction where the sound came from and saw a bright figure not too far away, floating in the air.


    It was a woman with snow-white skin and bare feet. She wasn''t wearing any clothes, but her private parts were covered by pink silk cloth. Her silver hair was tied back in a bun, and her face was even more stunning. She blinked gently and looked Zen up and down.


    The moment she appeared, the tense atmosphere suddenly eased.


    Erik gave her a salute and said, "You are right, Grand Elder. I believe Giacomo wants to directly give this brat the blood!"


    ''This woman is the Grand Elder?'' Zen wondered in shock.


    After shooting a triumphant glance at Erik, Giacomo strode toward the Grand Elder and said, "I didn''t mean it. I wanted to meet you, but not for the blood, because Zen doesn''t need the blood at all!"


    Not understanding the meaning of Giacomo''s words, the Grand Elder replied, "If he really has the strength to fight against the young talents of Yellow Emperor race, then he must accept the blood of our race. After all, according to the gambling agreement, the one who fights for our race must be a member of our race. So what do you mean, Giacomo?"


    "I mean that Zen is already a member of our race! Grand Elder, I wanted to come to you just to test the purity of his blood," Giacomo explained in a proud voice.

 Chapter 2559 Blood At The Sixth-grade

    Grand Elder, Erik as well as the rest of the crowd showed a puzzled expression.


    Erik''s face had darkened. He stared at Giacomo and asked, "Giacomo, do you know what you are talking about?"


    A strange expression gradually appeared on the Grand Elder''s delicate and white face. She also stared at Giacomo indifferently and asked, "Did you just say that Zen is originally a member of our race?"


    Giacomo naturally knew that they wouldn''t believe it. If he hadn''t seen with his own eyes that Zen had absorbed a piece of blood wild bone, he wouldn''t have believed it either.


    There were over all seven thousand people who had Chiyou''s bloodline, and all of them lived in the Sky Spirit Bone Tower. It was quite incredible learning that a stranger had the same bloodline like them.


    "Yes, I saw it with my own eyes. He has absorbed a wild bone containing Chiyou''s bloodline." Giacomo clarified, nodding his head.


    Giacomo explained with such determination, but the rest still looked skeptical about it, especially Erik, who stared at him vigilantly and questioned, "Giacomo, are you playing some tricks?"


    Giacomo felt unhappy about the way Erik questioned. He sneered and said, "Since you don''t believe me, let Grand Elder assess Zen. I believe that Zen can pass the test. It''s not bad for Zen to get an extra blood of our race!"


    If Zen didn''t have a need to transplant blood, the only remaining blood within one thousand years would naturally be given to Erik''s friend.


    Erik became silent upon hearing Giacomo''s response. It was true that they were on bad terms, but if what he said was true, it would be an advantage for him.


    "Stop arguing." The Grand Elder floated up gently and stopped in front of Zen, her attractive eyes staring at him. "Whether you have the blood of our Nine Li race, we can know it through a test at once. Erik, go and inform our clansmen to bring all the children of six years old or over. I''ll take care of the preparation. Zen, you and our clansmen will participate in the blood purity test."


    After she gave out further instructions, she smiled at Zen. Gently twisting her waist, she retreated into the distance.


    A few moments passed.


    About four to five hundred people of the Nine Li race had gathered in the square. The crowd were immersed in whispe


    gently poked it on the tip of Frida''s finger.


    Several drops of blood flowed out from her fingertip.


    Frida felt pain from her finger and was about to cry, but the Grand Elder already stretched out her arm gently touching her forehead. The pain immediately disappeared.


    As for the drops of blood, they were guided in midair by the Grand Elder. The drops of blood had fused, and they fell towards the jade.


    Bits of bright red blood blossomed on the jade''s surface, and were swiftly absorbed by the jade in the blink of an eye.


    "Buzz..."


    The jade started to tremble. The pure white jade started to glow with red light, and was constantly turning fully red.


    "It''s already the third-grade!" "And the color is still changing!"


    "It''s the fourth-grade!"


    "Maybe Frida''s blood could be above the fifth-grade?"


    "I''ve told you that the purity of Frida''s blood is definitely great!" the clansman who had carried the two children in his arms before uttered in excitement.


    A few seconds later, the color of the jade stopped changing and became stable.


    The Grand Elder then announced flatly, "Frida''s blood is at the top of sixth-grade, and will reach seventh-grade soon. Congratulations, Akshay!"


    The purity of blood was divided into ten grades. The sixth-grade blood was considered as a top grade in the Nine Li race. In the future, the girl would surely be of great importance in her race.


    Frida''s father, Akshay, was naturally thrilled when he learned that her blood would reach the seventh-grade surely.

 Chapter 2560 An Accident

    Quickly moving, Akshay stepped forward and picked Frida up, throwing her in the air and letting out a cheer.


    All over the square, the Nine Li members also started to cheer.


    Talent was bestowed by the bloodline and the races had to maintain their power. That was why this world had a strong sense of racial crisis.


    The result of the test proved that Frida was a worthy successor. It was a cause for a huge celebration since within this thousand years, only two people had the sixth grade blood, and Frida was the only one who had the quasi-seventh grade blood. Naturally, this was something worth celebrating!


    The still dazed Frida had no idea on what was happening.


    Then it was her brother''s turn.


    The method was the same as the Grand Elder pierced Jeffery''s finger to get a few drops of blood and then threw them on the jade.


    "Plop..."


    "Buzz..."


    As the blood was absorbed by the jade, it began to shake once more and its color began to turn red.


    It was changing but it was very slow.


    Akshay and all the other Nine Li members stared at the jade nervously.


    "Jeffery''s blood isn''t good..."


    "It''s been so long but his blood is only at the second grade. I''m afraid it won''t reach the third grade."


    "Well... a dragon can have nine different sons, and brothers born of the same parents differ from each other; even purity of boy-girl twins'' blood would greatly differ."


    It took a few more moments but eventually, the Grand Elder announced, "Jeffery''s blood is at the third grade."


    Unlike earlier, Akshay silently stepped forward to pick up Jeffery and gently pat his back. Blood purity was largely decided by luck and no one could change it. It was already a great blessing from God to have Frida in his family.


    After their turn, the rest of the people carried their children over to undergo the same test.


    Most of the other children had blood that was third grade to fifth grade.


    Third grade was average but fifth grade was outstanding.


    Those who were graded as just the standard would feel depressed, while those who were


    lood of our race but it''s a pity that your grade is too low."


    Zen wasn''t too disappointed.


    Even if his mother told him that he had the purest blood of the Nine Li race and that he was the most legitimate descendant of Chiyou, that didn''t change the fact that his blood had been exchanged. Zen could accept this result.


    As long as he could prove himself to the Nine Li race and stay then his goal was achieved.


    Right when Zen nodded, the jade beside him suddenly let out a crisp sound.


    All eyes turned to the jade.


    A blood red crack appeared on the surface of the jade!


    "Crack!"


    "Crack!"


    "Crack!"


    With every explosive sound, a new blood red fracture ruptured on the jade.


    It took only a few more moments for the surface of the flawless white jade to be filled with bloody cracks.


    "Buzz!"


    The color of the jade started to quickly change as it shook.


    The previous pale pink color gradually turned bright red and then became dark red, as if blood was bleeding from the jade''s surface!


    "Crack! Crack! Crack..."


    Soon, the jade broke into pieces right in front of their eyes.


    The noisy square suddenly fell silent as everyone was confused by the unexpected scene.


    The jade was bestowed by a powerful master of the Nine Li race and endured years of blood purity tests. It was unanticipated that the jade would break into pieces today.

 Chapter 2561 Exiles

    As she watched the scene play out before her, the Grand Elder felt confused.


    The others didn''t know much about the blood purity test. In fact, they only knew that the jade could test blood purity, but they understood nothing of the principle behind it.


    The Grand Elder, on the other hand, did understand. She had been given the jade long ago by her own father.


    This jade, named Blood Stone, was actually very weak, but it could activate the power hidden within the blood. If the hidden blood power was strong, then the stone''s coloring would change.


    Notably, the Blood Stone could do more than just test the Nine Li race''s blood. It could equally test the blood of other races. The arrays arranged for the multiple tests were different and had their own respective colors.


    The Grand Elder herself had blood at the top of the eighth grade¡ªalmost at the ninth, to be more specific. Once, she had dripped her blood on the Blood Stone, and the stone changed into a deep red hue!


    She was her father''s first-generation successor, and her blood''s purity far surpassed that of other Nine Li members!


    Now though, the Blood Stone had turned dark red, but it broke. What could this possibly mean?


    "Zen, stay here. I''ll be back soon." The Grand Elder took a long, meaningful look at him before reaching out her hand to gently touch the broken stone fragments. In the blink of an eye, all the pieces of Blood Stone fragments immediately collected in her hands.


    Whoosh!


    With a slight twist of her feminine waist, she quickly turned into a streak of white light, silently retreating off into the distance.


    At that moment, one could hear many people discussing with low voices in the square. A quiet mumble rolled over the small crowd.


    The Nine Li members weren''t foolish though, and they understood Zen''s special characteristics. Many warriors watched him incessantly with uneasy expressions on their faces.


    "Hey brat! Tell me, how did you break the stone, huh?" Giacomo laughed mockingly.


    The Blood Stone''s color change could prove that Zen''s blood was also at the ninth grade.


    In all, only two people had ninth grade blood, and that was including the Grand Elder. It was extremely rare.


    "I don''t know either," Zen was also confused. He had no logical response.


    The Grand Elder walked through the cave for a while before entering another small and narrow cavity. A short while later, she had reached the front of a jade wall.


    She stood her ground steadily and c


    The same rang true for the other exiles hiding within the bone tower. They had all sealed themselves inside the jade wall and rarely showed up anywhere, if at all.


    There was once a time when the Nine Li race was in danger, and an exile had escaped the bone tower, taking immediate action.


    Adele remembered that the exile had revealed an incredible power, breaking hundreds of members from the Yellow Emperor race into pieces in the blink of an eye and thus dissolving the Nine Li race''s crisis.


    In other words, all this meant that her father wasn''t actually forbidden from leaving the jade wall... He was just unwilling to do so.


    Adele took this matter to heart very seriously, all the time. After all, she had grown up and she still didn''t even know what her father looked like.


    Never had she expected that her father would leave his precious jade wall just because Zen had broken the Bloody Stone!


    She was stunned and stared at her father''s strange face. She couldn''t believe what was happening.


    A bitter smile appeared on the middle-aged man''s face. He walked up to touch Adele''s fair, soft cheek and said faintly, "It''s not that I didn''t want to leave the jade wall. As the exiles, we''re suffering from Chaos Ancient God''s curse at all times. Our only option is to curl up here, in this small, solitary space..."


    "Oh..." Adele blinked her eyes. She wasn''t sure what to believe. Although her father''s appearance came off strange to her, his voice was very familiar.


    After all, he was still her father, and he was trapped in this world without any way to escape. It wasn''t before long that Adele caved and took her father to see Zen.

 Chapter 2562 The Imperial-grade Bloodline

    Zen was still waiting in the square.


    The Nine Li people didn''t leave either, and once word of the broken Blood Stone spread, even more of them had flocked to the square.


    The Blood Stone was very important to the Nine Li race. After all, the purity of its people''s blood was tested by it. When that was determined, each member would be cultivated according to their blood purity.


    The purer their blood was, the more rewards they could receive and the more resources they could access.


    "The Blood Stone is broken. How will we hold the blood purity test in the future?"


    "Grand Elder will think of something, I''m sure."


    "But where is she? Where has she been for so long?"


    "Whoosh!"


    Two beams of light suddenly burst from the depths of the cave.


    Zen turned and saw Adele, followed closely by a middle-aged man.


    At first, he thought nothing of him. Taking a closer look, however, Zen recoiled, and his eyes flashed.


    The middle-aged man had hidden his cultivation base well, but Zen still sensed a strange aura emanating from him.


    ''Is this person an exile?'' Zen thought to himself.


    Almost immediately, Adele pointed at Zen and addressed the man with the peculiar aura. "Father, he is Zen Luo," she said loudly.


    The square fell silent again. Even Giacomo couldn''t help but take a few steps back.


    Adele was the Grand Elder of the Nine Li race, but it was clear that she was not the strongest among its members.


    The most powerful masters of the Nine Li race were reclusive, spending most of their time hiding in the bone towers, and the chances of crossing paths with one of them were slim.


    No one knew how powerful those masters really were, but their secretive nature gave rise to many tales and legends. The most commonly told story was that one master had slaughtered hundreds of people of the Yellow Emperor race single-handedly.


    After all, many people had witnessed that horrible scene and lived to tell the tale.


    His eyes firmly fixed on Zen, the middle-aged man walked slowly towards him. After having scrutinized him for a while, he finally spoke. "If I am not wrong, you have already acquired the Truth of Godly Way," he said coldly.


    A


    r seen her father so excited.


    Giacomo and the others were also baffled by his reaction.


    After all, the middle-aged man, Adele''s father, was a supreme existence in their race. They were lucky to have had the chance to see such a powerful man in their lifetimes.


    "What''s wrong?" Zen asked with a frown.


    "How can you have an imperial-grade bloodline? How could it be possible?"


    The middle-aged man couldn''t control his excitement any longer. He suddenly shouted, "Bro! Leopold! Guess what I saw! Hahaha! I can''t believe I found an imperial-grade bloodline! It''s right here! Right in this cage!"


    His voice carried, and was heard in a cave far away.


    In the depths of that cave lived several exiles who had sealed themselves inside large jades and stayed there all the year round without making a sound.


    "What? What is Ramzi talking about? The imperial-grade bloodline? Is it a dream?"


    "There is the imperial-grade bloodline in this world? It''s impossible."


    "Let''s go have a look."


    "Clank! Clank! Clank!"


    The jades broke into pieces.


    The masters of the Nine Li race who had just broken their jade cages immediately transformed into beams of light and shot to the square.


    In no time, several figures appeared above the square, all of them looking down at Zen with curious expressions.


    The oldest among them asked, "Ramzi, are you sure this young man has the imperial-grade bloodline of our race? Or did you make a mistake?"

 Chapter 2563 Overwhelming Salute

    Ramzi looked at Zen with a complicated look on his face. In a daze, he said, "I was absolutely right. His blood is pure and powerful, and his drop of blood devoured mine completely just moments ago. Even my blood power can''t resist his. Only the imperial-grade bloodline can do that!"


    The Nine Li race was divided into nine tribes. That was how it got its name, in fact.


    The nine tribes were each respectively called Beginning Yi, Square Yi, Yellow Yi, White Yi, Red Yi, Wind Yi, Mystery Yi, Sun Yi, and Field Yi.


    In the past, when the Nine Li race was at its most prosperous period, each tribe was viewed as a behemoth in the Source World.


    Ramzi was a descendant of Wind Yi.


    Ramzi had given the Nine Li race in the bone tower a Blood Stone and thus defined their bloodlines, ranging from first to tenth-grade.


    Admittedly, even the tenth-grade bloodlines weren''t really considered a big deal in the Source World.


    In point of fact, according to the Blood Stone, Ramzi''s bloodline was at about grade thirteen.


    Although testing his blood power using the Blood Stone had been quite difficult, the power contained within his blood hadn''t been enough to break the stone. Not even crack it.


    Therefore, when Adele had announced that the Blood Stone had been broken during Zen''s blood test, it was only normal that he felt very surprised!


    Only the Nine Li race''s eighty-one mages had bloodlines of a higher grade than Ramzi''s. Their bloodlines could be considered of the fourteenth grade.


    That said, it didn''t mean that their blood, despite being a higher grade, could devour Ramzi''s easily.


    He might not be the strongest in terms of strength among these exiles, but he did have the highest-grade blood power among them. And only imperial-grade bloodlines could devour his blood with ease.


    After hearing Ramzi out, the old man stared at Zen for a brief moment before asking, "Kid, who are your parents?"


    First and foremost, Zen didn''t completely trust the Nine Li members. He was always wary of everyone and in his mind, he always held onto a few misgivings. Ultimately, he was worried that these warriors had been taken to the prison because they had betrayed their race or had committed a grave mistake.


    However, upon entering the bone tower, he quickly noticed that the warriors here still treated Chiyou as their leader. Everyone who walked in would kneel down before him in worship.


    Zen''s worries gradually dissipated.


    "My mother''s name is Lorena," Zen stated in a low voice.


    "Lorena? Is that right?" The old man asked in reply, completely lost in thou


    me ago, at least. They were fully aware of its existence.


    At the time of its discovery, they had noticed that the giant ship was landing at an extremely fast speed, and it was estimated that it would crash into the world in just a few years.


    No one knew who had built the ship exactly, but all the races had been preparing for its crash. As soon as it did, they had the intentions of rushing up and plundering everything within.


    The resources within this world were extremely rare. Other than relying on the wild bones for cultivation, nearly no other cultivation resources existed here.


    Every race paid close attention to the ship and a detailed plan had been put together by the Nine Li race. They had determined the exact spot of the ship''s landing, and they were always ready to go and collect a few benefits from it.


    However, not long ago, an accident had occurred on the ship and it had soared up into the air, above the chaos, in a matter of seconds.


    At that time, the Snake Goddess race, which was the most powerful race in this world, had bound the ship above the Torrent Bone Tower.


    The oldest man and Ramzi, along with Leopold, all kept a close watch on Zen. It was highly possible that Zen had arrived here through the ship.


    "Yes," Zen nodded in a simple reply. "My mother told me that the ship was created by Chiyou himself. I wasn''t born in the Source World, but on that ship. As for the Source World''s current situation, it''s almost the same as what you have been led to believe. The Nine Li race has indeed been defeated, and for this reason, my grandfather made the ship so that the warriors could escape."


    As Zen explained the truth, the exiles quickly changed the looks on their faces.

 Chapter 2564 Discussion

    "The Nine Li race really has been defeated..."


    All of the exiles had a sad expression on their faces.


    "If we''ve been defeated by the Yellow Emperor, where''s the Grand Chieftain? And the eighty-one mages, and the many Nine Li Guards?"


    The eldest man stared at Zen.


    Zen shook his head. "I don''t know. I only know that this ship carries the hope of the Nine Li race and that there are a lot of Nine Li members. This is a ship for escape."


    "How could this happen?"


    "It''s impossible that the Nine Li race was defeated by the Yellow Emperor!"


    "Brother, I want to go out and kill all the Yellow Emperor members!" One shouted in anger.


    It wasn''t the members of the Yellow Emperor race in this world who caused the destruction of the Nine Li race. The people in this world were only exiles cursed by the Chaos Ancient God. It was just that they were shocked by the news and couldn''t suppress their anger.


    "Don''t be impulsive." The old man took a deep breath to calm himself. "Since it''s the Grand Chieftain that created the ship, why is it falling?"


    "Because this ship was hunted down by the Yellow Emperor Guards," Zen spoke softly. "The Nine Li members on the ship have all almost been cleanly killed off."


    Since they were so angry, Zen didn''t plan to tell them at first but because they asked, he could only tell them the truth.


    "Yellow Emperor Guards!" Even though he was calm earlier, the old man was once again agitated. "It''s my fault that I didn''t wipe out those Yellow Emperor Guards back then! I only ended about a hundred Yellow Emperor Guards..."


    A hundred Yellow Emperor Guards?


    The words shocked Zen.


    Zen didn''t know the number of Yellow Emperor Guards. There was a time that his mother mentioned that there were over a hundred thousand Nine Li Guards in the Nine Li race and the Yellow Emperor Guards should be about the same. This old man alone was able to kill over a hundred Yellow Emperor Guards. How strong was he?


    "After the Nine Li people were slaughtered, the divine land was gradually occupied by the human race, and then..."


    Previously, Zen didn''t want to say anything. Since Zen had decide


    ught, Lorena was the daughter of the Grand Chieftain, and he was in no place to blame her. Moreover, she had no other choice because she sent Zen here to save his life.


    Other exiles also looked depressed.


    At this moment, with just a blink of an eye, Zen used chaotic energy to send a voice message to the exiles'' ears, "What if... I know how to get back?"


    It puzzled Ramzi, the old man, Leopold and a few others why Zen had to be so secretive in giving his message.


    "What do you mean?" the old man asked back secretly.


    "Have you heard of the Warden race?"


    Zelda had once told Zen that the Warden race were searching for her and her brother all over the world.


    Since this Warden race ruled this prison, it was likely they had spies everywhere. Because he had just entered the Nine Li race and was unfamiliar with the situation, he had to be careful or it would be troublesome if there were people from the Warden race present.


    Hearing Zen mention the Warden race, the exiles looked at each other again. "You''ve just entered this world. Why do you know the Warden race?" the old man asked doubtfully.


    Very few people in this world knew the existence of the Light of Adjudication and the people who knew the mysterious Warden race were even rarer.


    It hadn''t even been a year since he came in this world and he had spent most of it in the wilderness outside the bone towers, so how could he know these things?

 Chapter 2565 An Opportunity To Break Out Of Prison

    The masters who were exiled here wouldn''t yield easily.


    Over the years, they had tried every means to leave this place, but they still couldn''t get rid of the restraints on their bodies. It felt like they were doomed to just stay and wait for death to come, but they shouldn''t be stuck with no choice.


    As soon as Zen appeared, they saw a ray of light, a little hope to what they were trying to figure out. He was going to tell them a way to escape this world. It was something the exiles naturally thought was inconceivable.


    If it weren''t for Zen''s special identity, they would have already driven him out and wouldn''t give him the chance to speak. His presence stirred up the place, causing doubts and confusion.


    "When I first entered this world, I encountered two members of the Warden race," Zen said calmly to the group of exiles.


    Thinking for a moment, the oldest man said, "Though they are the managers of this world, the Warden race rarely appears. Even if they show up, they usually disguise themselves by using the phantom theurgy. This way, ordinary people won''t notice their existence at all. Are you sure you have met them?"


    The Warden race, as its name suggested, was the warden of the prison, making these exiles their prisoners. They were tasked to watch over and make sure no one would escape.


    These prisoners did everything and would do unimaginable things in order to get out of this prison. If the people of the Warden race randomly appeared, they would be instantly torn into pieces by the exiles.


    In fact, some exiles secretly investigated the lair of the Warden race, hoping this would give them a way out of prison, but got nothing.


    The Warden race usually had regular visits planned. Every hundreds of years, they would secretly inspect the bone towers of each race, disguising as phantoms every time. That way, only the powerful exiles could perceive their arrival, and the rest remained clueless.


    "Yes, I''m sure it was them." Zen nodded.


    "How can you prove it?" the oldest man asked, looking at Zen.


    "They showed me the Curse Chain," Zen replied. "And I saw it myself," he said in a sure tone.


    Upon hearing this remark from Zen, all the exiles took a deep breath.


    The biggest constraint in this prison was the Curse Chain. It was what had been holding them locked up in this world. Even the oldest man, who clearly had supreme strength, could not do anything to cut loose from this invisible Curse Chain.


    Feeling confused, Leopold finally stepped up and asked, "I''m curious. Why did the


    saw Zen and the masters quietly communicating with each other. Confused as to what important things they were plotting, they couldn''t understand why they were talking so secretly and carefully.


    At this moment, a person from the Nine Li race came.


    "Grand Elder, some special envoys from the Yellow Emperor race come to ask for a meeting."


    As soon as he finished with the announcement, he noticed that all of the powerful masters of his race had left the cave and come to the square.


    Stunned, he remained standing there in a daze for a while, not knowing what just happened.


    It was difficult for him to see any one of them in thousands of years. But today, for some strange reason, all of them appeared at the same time. Why?


    Looking at the reporter, Adele asked, "They come for the Sky South Bone Tower, right?"


    "Yes, they come to deliver a challenge in writing," the clansman answered.


    "I knew they would not let go of this so easily." Adele''s face was covered with a layer of cold air.


    Upon hearing this, Giacomo and Erik also frowned.


    The exiles would not deal with the affairs in the race by themselves. So as the Grand Elder, Adele was in charge of everything.


    However, this time, after agreeing to sign the bet with the Yellow Emperor race, her race had lost two talented warriors and fell into a passive position. It was her mistake and it made her very angry.


    "Let Adele deal with the matters of our race," the oldest man advised, watching her from afar.


    Other than matters concerning their own lives, the exiles wouldn''t participate in the fights between the Wild Gods. They naturally chose to avoid getting involved in these things whenever they could.

 Chapter 2566 David

    "Wait!" Adele abruptly cried out.


    Ramzi looked at his daughter and asked, "What''s wrong, Adele?"


    Adele''s beautiful eyes gazed at Zen, flashing with a hint of complexity.


    Giacomo brought Zen back because of the extraordinary strength he had displayed before Romeo. He was deemed to be eligible in participating in the battle between the two races.


    It was quite unexpected that Zen had the imperial-grade bloodline.


    Would he still be suitable to join the battle?


    "In the battle for the Sky South Bone Tower, Chandler and Farhann have been killed by Yellow Emperor race. Our chances of winning in the battle are very small. This time, I hope that Zen can fight the battle," Adele directly voiced out her intention.


    Before Ramzi could say anything, the oldest man smiled faintly and stated, "If Zen wants to become stronger, cultivating the Wild God system in this world is a shortcut, and he can give full play to his blood power. He can fight as long as his safety is ensured."


    The exiles were far-sighted.


    Zen was just a top-rank True God, but it seemed that he had already comprehended two Truths of Godly Ways. His soul was far more powerful than that of an ordinary Wild God. Fighting against the mid-rank Wild Gods would not be too difficult for him with his strength.


    Besides, he had enough time to absorb the blood wild bones in the Nine Li race.


    A smile appeared on Adele''s face as she heard the words from the oldest man. She nodded in understanding and said, "I see."


    After the exiles departed, Adele gave out an order to summon the envoys of Yellow Emperor race.


    Shortly, several beams of light flew from the sky.


    A group of people showed themselves before them. The leader of the group had fair skin, dashing eyebrows and starry eyes. His face showed an expression full of pride.


    He was only a mid-rank Wild God given his cultivation base, but he didn''t appear nervous at all being in the territory of the Nine Li race.


    He spotted Adele but didn''t show any respect. He casually took out a jade page and gently flipped it towards Adele. He then muttered arrogantly, "Catch it. This is the letter of challenge of our race!"


    "How dare you!"


    "How dare you!"


    Giacomo, Erik and the other cla


    swollen.


    David expected a burst of pain. He touched his face and gently moistened his lips. "Grand Elder, you are right. I''ll remember your lesson."


    After finishing his words, he left resolutely straight ahead without looking back.


    "What an arrogant guy!" Giacomo looked at their retreating backs sullenly.


    "Let me kill him halfway!" Erik urged.


    "No need for that. He did it on purpose. The Yellow Emperor race must have been prepared." Adele shook her head. "Rather than get angry with such a guy, it''s better to prepare for the upcoming battle. We can''t lose!"


    She then turned to Zen and instructed, "You have to cultivate with Elsa, Romeo, and Killian these days. I will give you enough cultivation resources. Three months later, you will fight the battle on behalf of our Nine Li race."


    Zen smiled and nodded.


    The Nine Li race was one of the top three races in this world. They had stored a massive amount of wild bones, which was an unimaginable number for ordinary Wild Gods.


    However in time, the blood wild bones of any great race were in short supply. They were distributed according to the clansmen''s blood purity and the talent shown. Even so, the clansmen still got a small number of blood wild bones. A talent like Romeo could only obtain dozens of blood wild bones a year.


    But the situation made things different. As Zen had the imperial-grade bloodline, all the restrictions of distributing the blood wild bones weren''t taken into consideration anymore.

 Chapter 2567 Body Tribulations

    There were two particular sections that divided the Nine Li race.


    The ordinary Nine Li members used the outer area as a residence, while the inner layer served as their venue for cultivation.


    People who filled the place were the most outstanding warriors of the Nine Li race.


    "Grow!"


    On a spacious muster station by the side of a cultivation place, a figure of a young man could be seen growing by the minute.


    In just a blink of an eye, that same man''s body had increased hundreds of times bigger than it already was. In such a short time, he managed to grow up to about three to four hundred feet tall.


    "Huh! Hey!"


    With his now larger extremities, the boy began bellowing and kicking in the air. He then casually kicked up a stone lock on the side of the muster station.


    Each stone lock was extremely heavy and was exceptionally tall like a mountain. When the young man finally seized the stone lock, his expression turned feral.


    Loads of younger Nine Li members stared in awe as the figure hovered over them.


    "Wow! Kiran never fails to impress!"


    "Indeed. They say Kiran is to undergo the Body Tribulations. Once he''s through with the process, he would be able to use the Nine Li Wild Body then."


    "What a powerful sixth-grade bloodline..."


    In the past thousands of years, Kiran was the second Wild God who possessed the sixth-grade blood in the Chiyou race.


    Obtaining such a talent wasn''t easy for the Nine Li race, that was why they trained him to the best of their abilities.


    However, Kiran was too young to represent the Nine Li race during fights.


    "Phew! Phew!"


    Accompanied by Giacomo, Zen slowly walked towards Kiran who was playing with the stone lock. With a hint of admiration in his eyes, Zen said, "This kid sure is young, but he already has reached such a level. A young Nine Li talent, indeed."


    Besides the exiles, the people Zen had seen since he entered the Nine Li race were also rather complex beings.


    Even ordinary Nine Li warriors were stronger than Wild Gods in the outside, let alone someone with the likes of Erik and Giacomo. Their strength could altogether sweep through a city in one swift move.


    "He still has a long way to go. We all know how hard it is to cultivate in the Wild God system," said Giacomo.


    Zen only nodded in agreement.


    Even if he had cultivated the Wild God Power as a shortcut, he knew quite well that it wasn''t easy to succeed in this path.


    With just one wave of the stone lock,


    ength Zen had displayed.


    They decided to advance for a while, walking past the muster station. As they made their way, tall warehouses began to appear one by one. Those things extended to a distance and there might have been a thousand of them.


    Just as they approached the warehouses, Zen began to feel an intense Wild God Power radiating from those high buildings. "Are wild bones stored in these warehouses?" Zen asked.


    "Yes, they are," Giacomo responded, nodding his head softly.


    "That''s a lot of wild bones!" Zen exclaimed, a little taken aback.


    The warehouses that stood before him were probably thousands of feet high, just how many wild bones could be stored in them?


    It surprised Zen to know that the resources owned by the Nine Li race were beyond his comprehension.


    "There are just too many wild bones and they are not very meaningful for us Nine Li race," Giacomo said flatly. "After all, the Wild God Power that everyone can absorb is limited. We ultimately have to face the Body Tribulations once the amount of Wild God Power we have absorbed has reached a certain level. If we can''t go through the Body Tribulations, our cultivation won''t improve regardless of how many wild bones we have absorbed."


    "Body Tribulations?" Zen was astounded. "What kind of tribulation is that?"


    Of course, he had heard about the life and death tribulation, and Heavenly Tribulation. However, he wasn''t familiar with anything like Body Tribulations.


    The puzzled look on Giacomo''s face surprised Zen beyond belief. He then asked in complete bewilderment, "Do you really not have the slightest idea of what the Body Tribulations are?"

 Chapter 2568 Herbert

    Zen was a stranger to this world.


    He had learned most of what he knew about the Wild Gods from Zelda, as well as the method of absorbing the wild bones and extracting the Wild God Power. Moreover, he also knew about the blood wild bones in the Sand Core City.


    However, he did not yet have a complete understanding of these things.


    He only knew that he could increase his strength by devouring the wild bones and absorbing the Wild God Power therein.


    If someone possessed the blood of a certain race, they could then exclusively absorb the blood wild bones of that race and obtain the talents contained within that blood.


    That was the sum of Zen''s knowledge on the matter.


    "I just started to cultivate the Wild God system. As for the Body Tribulations that must be faced, I really don''t know anything about them," Zen said, shaking his head.


    Giacomo gazed at Zen for a long while and then his surprise gave way to a smile. "The Wild God system is not merely about body refining. If you practice in the extreme, you would be able to cross the shore and reach the Other Shore Realm. Actually, the Wild God system is also known as the Ancient God Cultivation Method."


    "I can reach the Other Shore Realm through intense cultivation of the Wild God system?" Zen''s eyes flashed at the promise.


    Giacomo nodded. "Grand Elder instructed us in this."


    Those powerful exiles had been forced to this world by the Chaos Ancient God. At the very beginning, they couldn''t live for a thousand years. Whenever the Light of Adjudication came, the prisoners kept in the prison would be purified and emptied.


    But after the bone towers appeared, the exiles found a way to survive, and they began to form their own races.


    Gradually, this empty world had become lively, and the races had proliferated in their diversity.


    At first, the exiles were inclined to encourage their clansmen to cultivate the True God system, but soon they discovered that this world wasn''t suitable for cultivating this system.


    It was easy for the exiles to extract life vitality from the chaotic energy, but for the warriors who had just started to practice, it proved extremely difficult, despite the fact that they were born as extraordinary creatures and were able to survive at the bottom of the chaos.


    The strong warriors who had been exiled to this world by the Chaos Ancient God had not been weaklings in the Source World. The discovery was quickly made that there was a massive amount of wild bones here. T


    "Our backups?" Zen asked in bewilderment as the implications of this information struggled through his thoughts.


    The oldest man nodded. "Yes, each Wight corresponds to a living creature within the chaos. Once a Wight dies, there will be one more skeleton added to the Immemorial Wilderness. However, these Wights are only our backups. It''s impossible for you to know exactly which Wight is your backup."


    "Then why did Herbert do all of this?" Zen asked.


    "Why don''t you go ask him?" the oldest man suggested with a smile.


    Zen couldn''t help but smile. These questions were truly not what he had expected from this conversation.


    The oldest man looked around the warehouses and said, "It''s extremely painful to cultivate using the Ancient God Cultivation Method. If we accept what was said in the ancient times, we can use our body strength to pass through the Sea of Truth and reach the Other Shore Realm, but no one living has succeeded in this world. Even in the Source World, other than the ancient gods, no one has ever succeeded. If you are willing to explore this method, then we, the Nine Li race, will do everything in our power to help you."


    Zen''s eyes flashed with insight when he heard the oldest man''s words.


    Currently, he lacked the strength for this task.


    No matter how his father had planned his own growth in the past, Zen might not be able to take what would happen to him into consideration now. After all, he had met with too many accidents once he had stepped into the divine land.


    Now an accident had again caused him to be sent to this world by his mother. Still, he would follow this path laid before him without hesitation.

 Chapter 2569 Cave Of Wildness

    If Zen''s news was true and the exiles could leave this world, then the dispute between the Nine Li race and the Yellow Emperor race would no longer matter.


    The bone towers were fortresses, but who in their right mind would stay willingly in that damned place forever?


    The oldest man among them wanted to make Zen stronger in hopes that he''d be able to take them back to the Source World one day.


    "I''d face any obstacle and experience every pain if it means getting stronger!" Zen proclaimed.


    The old man only smiled and turned to Giacomo. "Let Zen absorb the wild bones first. When the Body Tribulations arrive, give him ten shares of blood wild bones."


    "Ten shares of blood wild bones?" Giacomo asked in disbelief. "Can he endure them?"


    Ten shares of blood wild bones didn''t mean just ten blood wild bones. Blood wild bones were very precious in the outside world as well as in the Nine Li race.


    And because of the value they held, one would think that there was a scarcity of them. But in truth, if the blood wild bones were distributed according to the blood purity of Nine Li members, there would be enough for everyone and more. This was because very few could handle their power.


    For instance, even though Romeo was a genius of the fifth-grade bloodline, he could only use two shares of blood wild bones.


    It was also said that Adele only used three shares to undergo the Body Tribulations in the past. Otherwise, the burst of the Body Tribulations would be too powerful for her to withstand.


    The old man looked at Zen and smiled. "His body is different from ours. I don''t know how he cultivated this body, but it''s so much stronger than an ordinary person''s. He can withstand ten shares of the blood wild bones."


    "I see,"


    Giacomo nodded.


    The old man was the most powerful warrior in the Nine Li race. His cultivation base was unfathomable and his insight was incomparable. Giacomo would be foolish not to trust his judgement.


    "We''ll all be watching," said the old man before his body melted into the shadows and disappeared from Zen''s sight.


    After that, Giacomo took Zen through the warehouses where Z


    omeone else is to take your place inside the cave," Giacomo replied calmly. While he did not expect this level of anger from Doran, he was unfazed by it.


    "Someone else? I know every member of the Nine Li race! Who else is more qualified than me?" Doran asked coldly before his gaze shifted to Zen. "Are you talking about him?"


    "Yes," answered Giacomo. "I am."


    "He''s a member of our race?" Doran looked Zen up and down. He couldn''t remember anyone like him in the Nine Li race.


    Their argument immediately attracted the others'' attention. Meanwhile, Romeo came out of another cave and noticed Zen standing not far away from him. A smile appeared on his face as he walked up to him. "Hi, Zen! You''re here. Have you accepted the blood of our race already?"


    After Romeo went back to the bone tower of the Nine Li race, he told the elders about Zen. According to the original plan, they would give Zen Chiyou''s blood so that he could be a member of their race.


    The acquired blood was weaker than the blood born with, but Zen himself was powerful enough, which would make up for it.


    However, getting the blood transfusion would take some time, and Romeo was curious why Zen was sent to the Cave of Wildness so soon.


    "A foreigner with the blood transfusion wants to squeeze me out of the Cave of Wildness? Why?" Hearing Romeo''s words, Doran became even more furious. Competing with Zen only smeared his reputation!

 Chapter 2570 Dispute Among The Same Race

    Even until now, Doran remained unconvinced. "Doran, our race has activated the Cave of Wildness to let us cultivate so we could enhance ourselves and win the battles against the Yellow Emperor race. Zen is much stronger than you," Romeo advised.


    It was known that the Nine Li race rarely gave Chiyou''s blood to a warrior of a foreign race. The only exception was when the race was facing a strong enemy.


    Romeo was the one who recommended Zen to the race, but he himself didn''t know that Zen was actually a member of his race.


    However, Doran''s face darkened.


    "Stronger than me?" he scoffed.


    After all, he was one of the most outstanding warriors in Nine Li race. He just might be a little weaker than the others such as Elsa and Romeo, and he admitted that he was inferior to them in both talent and bloodline.


    On the other hand, Zen was only a warrior from the wilderness and Chiyou''s blood was not inborn to him.


    Doran was much more powerful than warriors of the same cultivation level from the wilderness. He could deal with five warriors of the same cultivation level from the wilderness at the same time.


    On the contrary, Zen had a very weak Wild God Power in his body. He was clearly only a beginner in cultivating the Wild God system, and he didn''t absorb much of the wild bones. Thus, Doran couldn''t believe that Romeo said that Zen was stronger than him.


    "Yes, you are right. He is stronger than you and maybe even me," Romeo answered seriously.


    He had killed two of the enemies back in the battle in the Immemorial Wilderness, but this was all because of Zen. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have had much chance of defeating anyone from Yellow Emperor race. More importantly, Zen had also defeated one of the enemies before he helped him.


    Although Zen didn''t say anything more, Romeo was sure that he might even be able to kill the three warriors from the Yellow Emperor race.


    "Nonsense! I don''t believe it! Hey, you!" Doran exclaimed as he pointed at Zen. "I won''t leave the Cave of Wildness unless you can defeat me!"


    Meanwhile, Zen felt rather helpless. He didn''t expect to cause trouble even in just finding a training place.


    Giacomo looked at Doran dimly. Even the prominent figures in the race who seldom appeared in front of the clansmen had to worship Zen. His bloodline was unprecedented. Even the Grand Elder was much inferior to him in terms of the purity of


    ievable.


    "Mother, what do you mean?" Doran hissed in a low voice. If it wasn''t his mother who had said Zen was the Grand Chieftain''s grandson, he would never have believed it.


    Elder Celia paid no attention to her son and continued, "However, we must win the battles against the Yellow Emperor race and take over the Sky South Bone Tower. The five warriors who will participate in the battles must be the elite members of our race. Zen''s cultivation base is still low, and there are only three months left. I''m afraid he won''t be able to take over my son''s position in three months. Why don''t we wait for three months and then let him cultivate in the Cave of Wildness?"


    She was still partial to her son as evidenced by her words, which suggested that even if Zen had a pure bloodline and a high status, he was still weaker than her son.


    "My mother is right. If he were to take over my position, I''m afraid he would be smashed into meat paste in one second," echoed Doran.


    Giacomo couldn''t help but shake his head. It really gave him a headache whenever he had to face the unreasonable mother and son duo.


    At that moment, a smile tugged at the corners of Romeo''s lips as he said, "We''ll know whether he has the strength or not after a fight. Elder Giacomo, do you think it''s a good idea to ask Zen and Doran to duel?"


    Yet before Giacomo could say anything, Doran hastily said, "I agree. Zen, what do you think?"


    Zen thought that even though they were all members of the same race, they were involved in so many conflicts. In the end, he could only nod helplessly and say, "I agree."

 Chapter 2571 The Gap

    A look of suspicion came over Elder Celia when she saw how Zen agreed with them so easily.


    But she was well aware of her son''s strength. Among the younger generation of the Nine Li race, save for Romeo, Elsa, and several other powerful warriors, no one was a match for Doran.


    Giacomo didn''t agree with Romeo''s suggestion¡ªhe thought there was no real need to fight Doran.


    But since Zen agreed so quickly, Giacomo had nothing left to say.


    A vast wasteland lay on the other side of the Cave of Wildness. This temporary battle had immediately attracted the attention of many.


    "Alas! Alas! Who is Doran fighting?" a woman with bangs asked curiously.


    She definitely had yet to hit twenty years old and had a beautiful face framed by perfectly neat bangs. Her bright eyes stared at Zen who wasn''t standing too far away.


    "Elsa, you came out too?" Romeo took a glance at her.


    Elsa was at the top of the mid-rank Wild Gods in the Nine Li race. While her blood wasn''t all that pure, it had undergone some special change, making it very rare.


    "I heard a ruckus from outside. Who is that young man? I''ve never seen him before," Elsa commented.


    Romeo smiled faintly as he said, "I told you about him a few days ago. That''s Zen¡ªhe saved my life."


    "Oh, so that''s him! How interesting. According to what you said, he is quite a magical one. Doesn''t Doran have to lose this time?" she asked further.


    "I guess so. We can''t really know until the results later," Romeo answered with a shrug.


    Under the crowd''s gaze, Doran uttered the word ''grow'', making his body expand rapidly.


    In the blink of an eye, he had transformed into a giant that stood over ten thousand feet tall. Then, he said in a loud voice, "It''s your turn, little guy!"


    In Doran''s eyes, Zen only had a fraction of the Wild God Power. Even if he activated it, he could only grow up to about a thousand feet tall¡ªhe was still the "little guy" before Doran.


    But Zen had no intention to fight seriously, as he did not want to waste his time dealing with Doran.


    "There''s no need. To deal with you, I don''t need to activate this Wild God Power..."


    As he stood on the ground, Zen loo


    ''s body as they infiltrated and pervaded it.


    The Wild God Power filled every inch of his bones, flesh, and hair.


    Six days later...


    Baldwin asked, "Elder Giacomo, Zen has absorbed nearly two million wild bones. Must he really continue?"


    Such an amount was already absurdly great for a low-rank Wild God.


    If other warriors absorbed twenty or thirty thousand pieces of wild bones, a sign of Body Tribulations would sure to come. But Zen merely continued absorbing the Wild God Power as though his body was a bottomless pit.


    "Go on!" Giacomo smiled cunningly.


    When the old man said that he would offer Zen ten shares of blood wild bones, he was worried that it would be too much for the boy. But now, it was made clear that his worries were totally unnecessary.


    The guy''s physical condition was insanely good.


    Hearing what Giacomo said, Baldwin held no scruples any longer. Since Zen obviously had such a great appetite, Baldwin simply asked several more people to extract the power of wild bones for him.


    Once again, a tremendous amount of wild bones were poured into the Cave of Wildness for Zen to absorb.


    But after another six days, Zen had managed to absorb another two million more wild bones, showing no intention to stop in the slightest.


    By now, Giacomo had grown a little impatient. Wild bones were nothing to the Nine Li race, but it was till surprising to them that Zen''s absorption was rather excessive.

 Chapter 2572 The Arrival Of The Body Tribulations

    It was unknown to Zen how much Wild God Power his body could hold, and how much of it he needed to obtain before the Body Tribulations approached.


    The Wild Gods were also divided into three ranks: top, mid, and low. The True Gods were also categorized according to that ranking.


    As this kind of division was created by the exiles, it was only natural that they weren''t extremely thorough. For one, the strength gap between low-rank Wild Gods was extreme. Zelda, along with the others who could grow hundreds of feet in size, were considered to be low-rank Wild Gods. But then, so were those who could turn their bodies three to four thousand feet taller.


    Meanwhile, those who could grow up to more than eight thousand feet were regarded as mid-rank Wild Gods.


    However, there was a threshold to the mid-rank Wild Gods. Once the first Body Tribulation had fallen and one didn''t pass it, their body would collapse and it could be the end for them.


    "Half a month has already passed, yet I still can absorb the Wild God Power!"


    In the small cave was Zen. Stretching himself, he could clearly feel the changes in his body.


    Strong forces that were hard to control immediately flew towards his body. If his spot in the Cave of Wildness wasn''t so small, he would''ve tried activating the Wild God Power just to see his progress and what level he was able to reach.


    Giacomo had reminded Zen to not activate the Wild God Power inside the Cave of Wildness beforehand.


    If Wild Gods turned into giants in ordinary caves, they could disintegrate the entire place without trouble. However, the Cave of Wildness took shape naturally by the cracks of the bone tower. No matter how strong one''s power was, he or she must not turn into a giant in such a cave.


    That particular tragedy had already occurred to the Nine Li race. A Wild God had activated his power in the cave. In return, his body was squeezed to death between the cave walls.


    While getting lost in his thoughts, Zen was also trying to suck up the pure Wild God Power.


    "What?"


    It stunned Zen that he was unable to absorb the pale yellow Wild God Power. Instead, it circled around the cave.


    ''Wait¡­ Does this mean I''ve taken in enough power?'' Zen thought to himse


    ve of Wildness.


    "Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!"


    At that moment, Zen was at a loss. He could not speak, his face was cold, all of his teeth were clattering, and his body was trembling violently.


    "The biggest test during the Body Tribulations is absorbing the blood wild bones. As a reward, I shall grant a member of my race one share of blood wild bones. And you need ten of them. The more blood wild bones you obtain, the stronger the Nine Li Wild Body you''ll have. However, the difficulty of undergoing the Body Tribulations will be doubled. This is one heavy test," said Giacomo.


    As far as Giacomo could see, it was a rather hasty move to allow Zen to absorb ten shares of blood wild bones in one go. But the old man was a master in the Source World, and his foresight was unparalleled. Even so, he still felt a little worried.


    "Boom!"


    As soon as he finished talking, the sound of an explosion could be heard from inside the Cave of Wildness.


    There was a crack on Zen''s left chest, where a half-foot-long wound inside of his heart could be seen.


    Golden blood sprayed out from the crack and splashed unto the walls of the cave.


    During that time, Zen wasn''t in the mood for absorbing the Wild God Power from the wild blood bones. Besides, the Wild God Power that was in his body had overfilled, and he was unable to absorb more.


    Meanwhile, the Wild God Power released by Giacomo seemed to have a mind of its own as it forcefully drilled itself into the wound on Zen''s chest.

 Chapter 2573 Bones Buried In The Ground

    Zen had absorbed one blood wild bone before and it gave him a strange feeling of something about to sprout.


    Despite the strangeness of the sensation, there was no pain.


    This time though, when the brown Wild God Power penetrated his wound and entered his body, Zen immediately felt a searing pain quite similar to a red-hot knife cutting through his flesh.


    "Uh!"


    he couldn''t help but groan.


    Both Giacomo and the old man had warned him of the Body Tribulations'' unbearable pain so Zen was, fortunately, a bit prepared for what was coming.


    He had already experienced all types of pain but was able to endure all of them.


    The Body Tribulations were said to be terrifying but, in the end, the pain was merely physical - at least, that was what Zen thought.


    Now that he was experiencing it, he realized that the pain affected his soul as well!


    "Boom!"


    Another wound appeared on Zen''s back and the golden blood that streamed down from it turned into a blood arrow that hit the wall. At the same time, more Wild God Power squeezed in through his wounds.


    "Szzz..."


    All Zen could do was grit his teeth and take deep breaths.


    As time went by, the number of wounds on his body increased.


    Zen now looked as if he had been beaten terribly with his body almost covered from head to toe with wounds. Some were as long as two feet, others as small as two inches. Not a single place in his body remained unmarked and the Wild God Power in the blood wild bones continuously penetrated his bloodstream through each opening.


    "The second batch of blood wild bones..." Giacomo took out another golden bag and emptied it of its contents. Dozens of fist-sized, brown wild bones rolled out.


    Each share contained around two hundred pieces of blood wild bones which meant Zen was to consume two thousand from all ten shares altogether.


    However, there were only about ten thousand blood wild bones in the whole of the Nine Li race''s reserves. That meant Zen was about to consume one-tenth of the race''s entire supply of blood wild bones.


    The muscles in Zen''s body were close to snapping when the Body


    the cave remained part of the bone tower and the golden blood that flowed through the cracks made its way down to the bottom of the tower...


    One hundred feet...


    One thousand feet...


    Ten thousand feet...


    One hundred thousand feet...


    Ten million feet...


    The bone tower outside was just a small part of the beast''s bone but about one-sixth of it was buried underground which was about forty million feet long.


    As Zen''s golden blood flowed down, it also infused itself onto the part of the bone buried underground. This was the vertebra of the Chaos Ancient God!


    Half of the Chaos Ancient God''s bones were buried underground and the bone towers that were exposed above ground were actually his ribs in the chest.


    "Drip, drip, drip..."


    As the golden blood dripped into the inner part of the vertebra, it converged and congealed into a palm-sized blood ball. This blood ball seemed sentient and rolled into the space within the bone. Then, it began to jump forward at high speed...


    It was as if a special force pushed the blood ball forward at an unimaginably fast speed, crossing hundreds of millions of miles in just five minutes.


    As the blood ball reached the end of the vertebra, it seeped into a huge skull.


    This skull was so enormous, as if it opened its mouth, it could devour the entire divine land in one gulp if it wanted to. This was the skull of the Chaos Ancient God!

 Chapter 2574 Brain Units

    This huge skeleton had fallen into this world for eighty billion years.


    Before the appearance of this Chaos Ancient God''s skeleton, all the exiles in this world would be purified by the Light of Adjudication every one thousand years. Everyone, not a single soul were saved then.


    But now, the presence of the Chaos Ancient God''s skeleton provided them with shelters.


    That was why all exiles, no matter how powerful they were, stood in awe at how marvelous it was.


    It didn''t matter if most of them knew that a large part of the skeleton was still buried underground. More importantly, they knew that the Chaos Ancient God''s skull would be a perfect shield, when the time came.


    But no one dared to dig it out. What was visible to their eyes already served a good purpose.


    Even if the skeleton was already right in front of them, the exiles would never believe that the Chaos Ancient God had really died. Death was something they never imagined to dawn upon great beings.


    A powerful creature like the Chaos Ancient God had far surpassed the level of a living being. Their mind couldn''t possibly grasp what would have happened billions of years ago. Even the boundary between life and death seemed uncertain to a Chaos Ancient God.


    Inside the huge skull was a world about the size of the divine land, but it wasn''t a real world of common sense. By comparison, this world was equivalent to an ordinary human''s mind, which was a world made of spirit.


    After the Chaos Ancient God''s consciousness had split, it formed a world of illusion. In this illusory world, thousands of brain units were created, each existing in a very special form. They could all think independently, even if there were no individual personalities in them.


    The fusion of these brain units was equal to the soul of the Chaos Ancient God.


    Beep! Beep! Beep!


    The sound went on after a drop of Zen''s blood was sent into the skull of the Chaos Ancient God, making it discoverable to one of the brain units.


    If one would only use their eyes to interpret these things, a brain unit would just be a small ball of light emitting a green halo. However, this form was only a representation in the outside world. If anyone could merge into the Chaos Ancient God''s mind, then the image of the brain units would become vivid and specific.


    In fact, in this world inside the Chaos Ancient God''s mind, the brain units also had their own aesthetic standard, their own language system, marriage, reproduction and social system. As complex as it seemed, all these were created by the Chaos Ancient God''s own soul.


    Buzz! The halo around the small gr


    the end, the results would always disappoint them.


    After countless times of disappointment, the brain masters had completely given up, finally admitting defeat. They no longer held any hope for the creatures in this world.


    Despite learning about this, the small light ball was different from the brain masters. The brain masters might have lived long enough to witness too much, making them lose interest in many things. As for the small light ball, the world was still young and it believed that miracles might come when you least expected it.


    Whoosh!


    The drop of golden blood was sent into the center of the huge mouth, rushing its way inside.


    Tick tack!


    Dropping on the tunnel-shaped spiral, it began to rotate slowly inside it.


    The red glow on the surface of the light ball had dispersed. Its anger had now cooled down. Slowly, it started to emit the peaceful green light, focusing on observing the scene in front of it.


    Truth be told, it was not as hopeful as it was supposed to be. Even though the golden blood was very special and fragrant, it believed that the brain masters had set too high a standard in the past. It was nearly impossible that anyone in this world could reach that standard.


    Buzz!


    The small light ball''s attention was caught by the sound coming from the spiral. Under its silent gaze, the color in the center of the spiral suddenly changed.


    "Blue?"


    Its consciousness seemed confused with the results. The small light ball was stunned for a moment.


    Over the years, every time a blood sample was sent into the spiral, the test result had always been the same. It had always been red.


    This time, however, it came up with a different color, making it so surprised to even react immediately.

 Chapter 2575 Decision

    When light ball No. 9527 realized what had happened, it became extremely excited.


    "Whoosh!"


    In what seemed like less than a second, it was on the fly again, heading back to the center of the brain.


    "Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!" "Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!"


    No. 9527 was making noise as it circled the ring of light, injecting its idea into every brain master.


    Reluctantly, the brain masters that had been sleeping finally woke up, some of them complaining as they arose.


    "No. 9527, what in this world are you doing?"


    "Haven''t I told you that you guys can''t disturb us?"


    "Wait! What''s that?"


    A brain master had finally noticed the change in the spiral.


    "Someone''s blood has passed the test," No. 9527 said cheerfully. It spun around the ring of light, fast as a bullet. It then proceeded to convey its own consciousness to every brain master.


    All the brain masters stared at the blue spiral together.


    "Is it true?"


    "I thought there was no hope, but..."


    "Whose blood is this?"


    The brain masters in the ring of light were all very excited at this news.


    The brain world, which had been very quiet for many years, was now buzzing with enthusiasm. Countless streams of consciousness flowing through it, it gradually regained its previous vitality.


    "This blood was collected from the sixth rib," No. 9527 said.


    "The sixth rib is occupied by the Nine Li race. Is this person from the Nine Li race too?"


    "Be sure to watch this person!"


    "Absolutely!"


    Unbeknownst to all, down in the underground world, the Chaos Ancient God was having the same thoughts.


    At the entrance of the Cave of Wildness, Giacomo looked down worriedly.


    "What sort of Body Tribulation is Zen undergoing now?"


    Adele descended on one side and found, looking down, that Zen was unable to move at all.


    "He has passed the Meridians Breaking Tribulation," said Giacomo after having thought for some time. "Next he will face the Blood Boiling Tribulation."


    "How many shares of blood wild bones have been released?" Adele asked.


    "This is the fifth share," answered Giacomo. "Grand Elder, please don''t give him so many blood wild bones this time. After he gets through the Body Tribulations, he can absorb them again and slowly re


    going the Body Tribulations."


    "All the Wild Gods in this world want to pass the Body Tribulations. But after the third truth was changed, they would be unable to travel to the other shore through body cultivation."


    "How could this guy pass the test?"


    The brain masters were all confused.


    So many talented exiles had come before Zen, but none of them could pass the test. This young man in front of them was most likely a descendant of the exiles of the Nine Li race. But even if his blood had somehow mutated, he couldn''t become better than those exiles.


    And yet, he had done it. Zen had passed the test. All the brain masters could do was observe him closely, searching for clues and hoping to find the answer.


    "Everyone, listen to me, I have a suggestion," a brain master suddenly said. It had suddenly come up with an idea. These brain masters controlled the thoughts of the Chaos Ancient God, and they were all extremely intelligent. "Whatever the case, he has passed the test. Since he is undergoing the Body Tribulations, we can take this opportunity to pour some blood power into his body. What do you think?"


    When undergoing the Body Tribulations, the warriors would be injected with the Wild God Power, which, in turn, contained the blood. If they succeeded, the Blood Wild Bodies would be activated.


    This was a common practice.


    The Chaos Ancient God knew this better than the exiles.


    However, Zen''s blood was not the same as that of the Chaos Ancient God.

 Chapter 2576 The Closed Cave Of Wildness

    "No. He''s just a member of the Nine Li race. How can he bear the power of our blood?"


    "Idiot! Is someone who can pass the test an ordinary person?"


    "If he really can reach the other shore with his physical body and get what our master needs, then we would make great contributions. It wouldn''t matter if we take the risk, right?"


    The brain masters began their discussion.


    In fact, these huge brain masters and the small brain units like No. 9527 represented the Chaos Ancient God. The consciousness of the Chaos Ancient God had already fallen asleep and these brain units maintained the operation of the brain.


    The brain masters used their consciousness to communicate with each other and their conversation was over in a flash.


    All of them took a vote and most of them decided to take the risk!


    Their order was transmitted through the light ring.


    While the flesh, bones, muscles, and even the veins of the huge Chaos Ancient God had degenerated, most of his blood marrow was hidden within the strong bones.


    Even the most powerful exiles couldn''t break the bones, and so, no one could suck the blood marrow of the Chaos Ancient God.


    Just as ordered, the blood marrow in the Sky Spirit Bone Tower of the Nine Li race, also called the sixth rib, began to slowly flow.


    Every bone tower was a shelter for the exiles.


    It wasn''t the exiles who made the cracks in the bone towers. They were left behind a long time ago and the exiles weren''t capable of making them.


    Most of the cracks in the Sky Spirit Bone Tower were at the bottom of the tower, so all the members of the Nine Li race lived there.


    The cracks of the Torrent Bone Tower were mainly in the middle of the tower and the members of the Snake Goddess race could only stay there.


    The top of the Sky Spirit Bone Tower wasn''t damaged and the blood marrow was preserved well. A part of that blood marrow rapidly flowed through the cracks of


    Although the Cave of Wildness was called a cave, it was actually made up of bone cracks of more than a hundred feet long. Why did this cave close? The other caves remained open except for the Cave of Wildness where Zen was.


    "Rumble..."


    The tremors continued to wrack through the bone tower.


    "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."


    Several figures swiftly gathered.


    It was the Nine Li race''s exiles who also sensed that power was constantly rushing to the cave.


    "What happened?" Ramzi asked as he stared at his daughter.


    "The Cave of Wildness closed..." Leopold gasped.


    The oldest man stared at the closed cracks of the cave and his face had a dark frown. "I felt a unique power flowing in the Sky Spirit Bone Tower. The power is gathering in the Cave of Wildness!"


    Everyone was puzzled when they heard the oldest man''s words.


    Was there any other power in the bone tower? They had never heard of it!


    "Do you think the power in the bone tower is from the Chaos Ancient God?" Ramzi asked the old man.


    The oldest man looked at the closed Cave of Wildness in uncertainty.


    He just sensed that there was a power but even he didn''t know whether the Chaos Ancient God was alive or not. A five-star Nine Li Guard like him couldn''t figure out such a high level life.

 Chapter 2577 Go All Out

    This was an unexpected turn of events for the Nine Li race.


    "Will... Will Zen die in the Cave of Wildness?" whispered Baldwin.


    The cracks were extremely firm. Forget Zen, even Wild Gods would be crushed into pieces no matter how powerful they were.


    Although Baldwin''s voice was low, the oldest man still heard it clearly. "No. The cracks in the upper part of the cave have been closed, but there are still cracks in the lower part. Zen is still alive. He will not die," he replied confidently.


    But despite his words, everyone was still worried.


    Inside the Cave of Wildness, Zen could clearly hear the sounds from outside.


    Even though he couldn''t move at all, he knew what was going on.


    ''Is the Cave of Wildness closed?'' he wondered.


    The bone towers belonged to the body of the Chaos Ancient God and could not be destroyed in the slightest. Who would even be able to close the cave?


    Zen closed his eyes as he pondered over this question. At the same time, he slowly absorbed the tenth share of the Wild God Power.


    As he absorbed the Wild God Power with Chiyou''s blood, he heard a tinkling sound again.


    "What is that sound?"


    Slightly surprised, he released his spiritual sense to scan the small cave.


    He couldn''t see anything with his eyes, but everything around him was already mapped in his mind.


    "Blood?"


    He noticed trickles of blood flowing along the bone textures on the wall and converging in the middle before dripping toward the bottom of the cave. It reminded him of bugs crawling out of the walls.


    Tick... Tick... Tick...


    The smell of blood was overpowering and as thick as oil.


    It was coming from the blood marrow in the bone tower.


    In fact, in both the Nine Li race and the Yellow Emperor race, the so-called blood transfusion was actually the transplantation of the blood power into the bodies of other Wild Gods.


    However, the blood marrow came from the Chaos Ancient God.


    Thick blood marrow dripped down, gradually filling the floor of the Cave of Wildness. In a few moments, Zen was completely soaked in


    d in the Source World.


    Everyone nervously watched the scene in front of them unfold. As the strongest person amongst the group of exiles, would the oldest man actually be able to destroy a small bone of the Chaos Ancient God if he went all out?


    Rumble...


    The blue veins on the oldest man''s arms were exposed.


    Although everyone was standing far away, they could feel slight tremors on the ground that were spreading out from the oldest man''s hands; that was how much power he was unleashing.


    "How powerful is he?" Elsa asked, sniffling.


    This was the first time Elsa was seeing the oldest man unleash his powers, and she was completely taken aback.


    His old and seemingly powerless hands now looked like they could tear everything apart.


    "Their strength is different from ours. Their powers aren''t based on the Wild God system, but on the True God system," Romeo explained calmly.


    "No matter what kind of master he is, it''s incredible that he''s gained so much strength," said Elsa while shaking her head.


    But after a few seconds, the Cave of Wildness still remained motionless in the oldest man''s hands.


    Spitting out a mouthful of stale air, the oldest man finally chose to stop. His wrinkled face looked even more haggard and his voice was a bit hoarse as he said, "I was too naive. I shouldn''t have tried to break the bone of the Chaos Ancient God."

 Chapter 2578 A Turn For The Better

    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    The old man''s figure shrank rapidly, and he stared at the Cave of Wildness with deep and searching eyes.


    He had thought that Zen''s appearance was an opportunity, but it had turned out to be just a fleeting one. "Zen''s life energy has disappeared," Ramzi murmured disappointedly.


    At this moment, the exiles were completely unable to sense any life energy inside the Cave of Wildness. Zen''s body was lying in the cave like a corpse.


    "What the hell is going on? Why are the cracks in the Cave of Wildness suddenly closed? The Chaos Ancient God hasn''t made any movement for countless years. Why is this suddenly happening?" Leopold asked with a sigh.


    Although this huge skeleton had fallen here, no one actually believed that the Chaos Ancient God had really died.


    Such an existence had already surpassed the conventional definition of life.


    However, the Chaos Ancient God hadn''t made a movement in countless years.


    It couldn''t be a coincidence that something like this had happened just after Zen had entered the bone tower.


    As the old man repeated Leopold''s questions to himself, he calmed down.


    What did the Chaos Ancient God want to do?


    It was not difficult for a powerful being like the Chaos Ancient God to kill Zen or even all the creatures in the bone tower.


    So why was he aiming at Zen?


    Looking up at the ceiling of the cave, the old man recalled the last recorded abnormal movement in the bone tower and suddenly thought of something.


    "All of you can leave now. The Cave of Wildness is closed for the time being," he announced flatly.


    The old man was the dominant elder of the Nine Li race, and as such, all the Nine Li people had to obey him unconditionally.


    Now that the cracks in the cave had been sealed, no one was allowed to cultivate here for the time being.


    Adele left with the Nine Li people. However, Ramzi, Leopold, and the other exiles remained behind.


    The old man stepped onto the sealed crack in the Cave of Wildness, squatted down, and took in a deep breath. "I smell blood."


    "Blood?" Ramzi echoed in confusion. He squatted down beside the old man and sniffed the sealed crack as well. "Is Zen submerged in blood? Where has the blood come from?"


    "It must be from the bone tower," Leopold said affirmatively.


    "Then.


    piritual sense, an intense aura began emanating from Zen''s body.


    "He isn''t dead!"


    The old man''s eyes flashed with excitement.


    The breath of life was getting stronger and stronger. Even though the Cave of Wildness was sealed, the old man could detect the breath of life even without using his spiritual sense.


    Swish! Swish! Swish!


    The blood marrow in the cave came to a rapid boil and began to flow into Zen''s body.


    When the last drop of blood marrow was infused into Zen''s body, all the wounds in his body healed in an instant, and his broken bones were instantly reshaped. Even his meridians were connected again.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    The originally sealed cracks in the Cave of Wildness opened slowly.


    Whoosh!


    Zen turned into a beam of light and shot out of the Cave of Wildness, floating in the air.


    At this moment, he felt an unprecedented sense of relief. His corporeal body had been completely reborn!


    "My body... Nine Li Wild Body!"


    Zen felt that something was about to emerge from his body.


    And indeed, his bones, flesh, and blood all underwent a marvelous transformation.


    Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!


    In the blink of an eye, he became a giant ten thousand feet tall.


    At the same time, two other heads and four other arms emerged from his body.


    One of the heads had a vicious look on its face while the other one was smiling.


    "Wow! The imperial-grade bloodline is so unique! He has three heads and six arms," the old man exclaimed in surprise and looked at Zen''s enormous form with joy.

 Chapter 2579 Set Off

    Most of the people from the Nine Li race who had acquired the Nine Li Wild Body could only grow one additional head and two additional arms.


    Warriors whose blood purity was at the fifth grade or above, however, had three heads and six arms when they activated their Wild Body, but they were far and few in between.


    Other than the exiles, only about five people in the Nine Li race had such a Wild Body.


    Moreover, except for the Grand Elder, who had ended up with three heads and six arms the very first time she had gone through the Body Tribulations, the other warriors had gotten only two heads and four arms after the first time they had gone through the Body Tribulations. It was only after their second time that they had ended up with three heads and six arms.


    But since the purity of Zen''s bloodline was far greater than that of ordinary people, it was no surprise that he had three heads and six arms after becoming a mid-rank Wild God.


    ''The brains in the two new heads are empty, and there is no soul. They are still controlled by my own soul...'' Zen inferred.


    Since it was his first time assuming the form of the Nine Li Wild Body, he was still trying to get used to the strange sensation of having three heads and six arms.


    When he raised his two arms, all six arms rose up. And when he lowered his head, three heads lowered at the same time.


    As he looked down with his three pairs of eyes, Zen realized that he had a wider vision and could see a lot more things around him.


    "Interesting... I guess I''ll need some time to get used to this. Eh? What''s this?"


    Suddenly, he discovered an odd structure in his body.


    At the center of his ribs, in his chest, there was a diamond-shaped sclerite.


    This sclerite was something that had appeared after he had reshaped his body, but since all his focus had been on his new heads and arms before, he was only noticing it now.


    "What''s this sclerite?"


    Zen''s spiritual sense swept over this sclerite but he couldn''t recognize it.


    After pondering over it for a while, he still couldn''t figure out what it was. Was it possible that everyone who could form the Nine Li Wild Body would have this sclerite?


    Finally, he made the Wild God Power dissipate. Once his body had shrunk back to its normal size, he flew over to the old man.


    "How are you feeling now?" the old man asked.


    "Very good," Zen said with a genuine smile. "It''s just th


    thout a word, Zen, Romeo, and the others also jumped onto the bone ship.


    In addition, several elders also set off with them for the war.


    Now, there was no need for these elders to protect the bone tower of the Nine Li race. After all, as long as the exiles stayed in the bone tower, the other races wouldn''t dare to attack it.


    On the other hand, Ramzi, who was a little worried about Zen''s safety, had hoped that one of the exiles could accompany him.


    However, Ramzi''s suggestion had been rejected by the Grand Elder. After all, the disputes between the Nine Li race and the Yellow Emperor race were disputes of the descendants of the two parties; they had nothing to do with the exiles. If the exiles got involved, the situation would change, and it would most likely sow further discord between the Nine Li race and the Yellow Emperor race.


    Anyway, the exiles were all powerful warriors at the Other Shore Realm. If there really was any danger, they could leave the bone tower and use Grand Teleportation to get there in an instant.


    Crack...


    The body of the huge bone ship creaked slightly before rising into the air and heading south.


    Elsa, who was standing on the deck, sized Zen up with her beautiful eyes. Then, she asked with a smile, "Your name is Zen, right?"


    Zen nodded slightly.


    "I''m Elsa!" Then, she continued, "I heard that you died in the Cave of Wildness. How did you come back to life?"


    "Elsa, what are you saying?!" Romeo, who was standing next to her, was flabbergasted. Then, turning to Zen, he quickly explained, "Zen, please don''t mind. This is just how Elsa is."

 Chapter 2580 Flying Sickle City

    Looking at Romeo''s nervous expression, Zen smiled faintly. "Why should I mind? Since she and I are peers, she doesn''t have to pay too much attention to courtesy when she talks to me."


    When Zen''s blood purity had been checked, it had been confirmed that the blood of the Nine Li race was running through his veins, and thus, he had successfully become a member of the Nine Li race.


    But in the eyes of the Nine Li people, he was different from them.


    Whether it was the elders or the other members, they all sported an expression of awe when they looked at Zen.


    After all, Zen had been identified as the grandson of the Grand Chieftain. The difference between his status and theirs could not disappear just because they were from the same bloodline.


    Elsa, however, didn''t treat Zen like he was superior to her. She wrinkled her delicate nose and asked Romeo curiously, "That''s right. Why should he mind?"


    "Fine." Romeo laughed as he tapped his forehead with his thumb.


    Monty and Yeoman also came over to Zen after seeing how casual and easygoing he was.


    After some conversation, the young people soon became familiar with one another.


    Among these five people, Zen was definitely the strongest, followed by Elsa. Romeo was on par with Monty, and Yeoman was a little weaker than them. After all, he had only joined the team after Chandler''s death. Before that, there had been no chance of him representing the Nine Li race.


    As the huge bone ship soared across the sky at an extremely fast speed, it passed a large mass of brown clouds formed by chaotic energy.


    There was nothing to prevent the chaotic energy from surging into the bone ship, but the Wild Gods didn''t seem to be bothered by it. In fact, Elsa took a deep breath to revel in the freshness of these clouds.


    As Zen watched this scene, he felt that his definition of life was going to change once again.


    A considerable number of the people born in this world were just ordinary people. Even if they cultivated to become Wild Gods, they were still inferior to the True Gods of the divine land in terms of strength.


    And yet, although only Holy Beings could resis


    le of Flying Sickle City knew that something big was about to happen here today.


    In the middle of the city was a wide wasteland where countless broken bones had been buried.


    On this deserted land stood the people of the Yellow Emperor race.


    "Are the guys of the Nine Li race too afraid to fight?" a strong and tall man from the Yellow Emperor race said in a muffled voice.


    "That''s just what I want," said a handsome young man next to him.


    This young man was David. Not long ago, he had given a challenge to the Nine Li race in the Sky Spirit Bone Tower. It had been only three months since then, but David''s aura had changed again. Obviously, the Yellow Emperor race had used a lot of resources on him in the past three months.


    "That''s impossible. If they don''t fight, it means that they''ve given up the Sky South Bone Tower. Do you really think they will do that?" the lady dressed in blue beside David asked with a laugh.


    Casting a glance at the lady in blue, David said indifferently, "Whether they do that or not has nothing to do with you guys. I can deal with them on my own. I don''t know what the elders sent you here for!"


    "You!"


    "You!"


    The strong man, the lady in blue, and the other two people all stared at him with rage when they heard this.


    David was notorious in the Yellow Emperor race for his arrogance. He not only behaved that way toward outsiders, but also toward his own tribesmen.

 Chapter 2581 A Wild Weapon

    David might be incredibly annoying, but he was superior to the others in his level in terms of both talent and blood.


    It was why the Yellow Emperor race treated him as a national treasure.


    He never received any kind of punishment, even after offending the elders of his race. The exiles of his race did have a bias towards him, though.


    On behalf of the Yellow Emperor race, the woman in blue, the burly man, and others were there to fight. They were not weak, but there was still a large gap between them and David.


    Despite wanting to say something to David for his arrogance, they didn''t. No matter how furious they were, they knew better than to speak against him.


    "Look! They are approaching!"


    someone called while pointing to the sky.


    They watched a group of people fly from afar.


    From the front of the group, Adele alighted on the ground with a toe first and then took several steps forward. Her brilliant eyes glared at the people of the Yellow Emperor race. "We, the Nine Li race, have come for battle," she said coldly.


    A middle-aged man adorned in a golden robe walked out to greet her. His eyes were focused on Adele''s face, and he couldn''t help but laugh. "Long time no see, Grand Elder Adele. It seems you have become even more beautiful!"


    He was Lancelot, Grand Elder of the Yellow Emperor race.


    Adele scowled at his words. "Enough! Let us get down to business."


    Ignoring her attitude, Lancelot smiled. "Of course. We have been fighting for so long that all of us wish to see it end. Once we confirm the ownership of the Sky South Bone Tower, we will fight no longer. I believe it is best if we all get along, right? My people do not cultivate very hard, so please show a little bit of mercy."


    The Nine Li people rolled their eyes at his words.


    It was the Yellow Emperor race that proposed to have a battle over the Sky South Bone Tower. The moment the Nine Li race had accepted their challenge, they had killed the outstanding disciples of the Nine Li race in the Immemorial Wilderness. Even before the two sides had fought, the Nine Li race suffered a great loss by their hand. It was obvious that the Yellow Emperor race had been well prepared for the battle. It was very hypocritical for them to speak in such a manner now.


    The rules of this battle were simple. Both sides would send five mid-rank Wild Gods, and if all five of one side were defeated then th


    ller than a toothpick in a giant''s hand. He couldn''t stick his opponent with a toothpick now, could he?


    Realizing his predicament, Zen called to Adele in a low voice, "Grand Elder?"


    Adele turned to him. "Zen, what''s wrong?"


    "I need a weapon," Zen said, pointing at the bamboo stick in Yeoman''s hand. "A weapon with a changeable size."


    Adele ran a hand through her hair, and smiled in apology. "I apologize. I can''t believe I forgot such an important thing."


    When the people of the Nine Li race reached a higher level, they were awarded a weapon.


    So many things had changed and happened after Zen had made the breakthrough that everyone had forgotten.


    Upon hearing this, Giacomo who stood beside them said, "Zen, you have excellent swordsmanship, yes?"


    Zen nodded.


    A cyan light flashed and a long sword appeared in Giacomo''s hand.


    The sword was fashioned of bamboo, and emitted a dark green glow. It was of much better quality than Romeo''s bamboo sword.


    "This is my sword, made from wild bones and bamboo. It''s called a wild weapon, and can change its size according to the change of its owner. Catch!"


    Giacomo suddenly tossed the delicate bamboo sword to Zen.


    "Thank you! I appreciate it."


    Zen held the sword close to his face, and looked at it with a critical eye.


    How Giacomo had used wild bones to refine such a miraculous weapon was beyond Zen''s imagination. There were extremely talented warriors in this barren world.


    "Bang!"


    Unexpectedly, there was a violent explosion. It seemed the battle between Yeoman and Roy was over, and the winner was decided.

 Chapter 2582 Being Suppressed

    Yeoman fell heavily down onto the ground.


    Roy, the member of the Yellow Emperor race, stood there like a God, his body shining with a bright golden light.


    Without even using a weapon, Roy defeated Yeoman with his bare hands alone.


    When Chandler and Farhann from the Nine Li race had been killed, Yeoman had been brought on as a substitute. Though he was also a mid-rank Wild God, his strength was weaker.


    As they watched the action play out in front of them, Adele and the others couldn''t help but frown.


    Sure, they were all pretty convinced that Yeoman would lose. However they didn''t expect that he''d be defeated so quickly. Both of the warriors were mid-rank Wild Gods, but the gap between Yeoman and his opponent was much too large.


    Yeoman, who was sprawled flat on the ground, was feeling rather indignant and tried getting up.


    Despite his attempt, Roy was quicker and his huge body jumped up. He then turned a somersault in the air and pounced directly on Yeoman.


    Boom!


    As a loud noise rang out, Roy pressed Yeoman tightly against the ground. As he did so, he stretched out his finger and pressed it down on Yeoman''s forehead. If he put forth his strength at this moment, the head of Yeoman would be crushed. If he gave any strength to his current move, he''d crush Yeoman''s head in an instant.


    "The competition''s final results are the most important. If you want to risk your life, I can simply do you the favor," said Roy in a cold, chilling voice.


    At that precise moment, Adele''s voice faintly floated over. "Yeoman, just admit defeat. Don''t resist uselessly. There''s no point!"


    Seeing as Adele and Yeoman were members of the same race and shared the same blood, Adele had no desire for Yeoman to die.


    On top of that, the Nine Li race only lost one battle. There would be other chances for them to triumph in battle later.


    "I lost," Yeoman admitted unhappily.


    "Ha-ha!" Roy laughed coldly. He stood up in a single motion and retreated to the Yellow Emperor race immediately.


    Yeoman had equally transformed, removing the Wild God Power in his body and returned to his people.


    "Grand Elder, I want to fight," Elsa stated in a serious tone, staring at Roy with her brows furrowed.


    As she watched Yeoman suffer a crushing defeat, Elsa became furious. All she wanted to do now was to fight in order to win honor for her race. And more importantly, for Yeoman.


    Adele blinked and shook her head, offering a negative response. "It''s better to fight in turn. It''s too early for you right now."


    In Adele''s mind, Elsa was the Nine Li race''s trump card.


    If she were to try fighting ahead of turn, she''d indeed be capable of defeating Roy. If and when she did


    had competed with the Nine Li race several times before, and their strengths were evenly matched. This time, it was a whole different story. The gap between the two was huge.


    As warriors of the Nine Li race began to notice the difference in strength, their expressions changed and they looked upset.


    Bang!


    Before Monty was capable of clearly seeing what had happened, his head was hit, the thud resonating loudly in his ears.


    Roy stopped moving for a second and looked at Monty, a trace of contempt on his face. He then pursued his actions.


    Boom! Boom! Boom...


    He continued swinging heavy blows at Monty''s head, which made the latter unable to fight back in any way, shape, or form.


    If there was one thing to be said about Monty, it was that he was extremely tough. He was so tough in fact that he actually managed to hold on despite the beating. He didn''t give in!


    "That''s really troublesome," Roy mumbled with a long, disbelieving face. He stretched out his finger without second thought.


    With a snap, a ray of golden light burst out from his hand and quickly turned into a golden short blade. For a second time, he rushed at Monty without even thinking twice.


    If he successfully launched this attack, Roy''s second battle was soon going to come to an end.


    As soon as Roy was no less than an arm away from Monty, Monty''s eyes flashed a firm and serious glare. He howled loudly, grabbing onto Roy with one of his hands. With two of his other free hands, he clasped onto Roy''s body, squeezing tightly.


    When fighting an opponent at close distance, the Nine Li Wild Body became even stronger and more powerful. It was both extreme and breathtaking to watch.


    Many of the Wild Gods were strong with more hands. Now that Monty bounded Roy, the result would be hard to predict.

 Chapter 2583 Anger

    A fierce battle had happened between the two men on the ground. Their powers matched up with each other''s strength and agility. Soon, smoke billowed and covered everything in sight, blinding the spectators of the good fight scene below.


    Though everyone wasn''t able to watch clearly what was happening, they continued to hear loud noises coming from the two warriors.


    Not long after, the smoke finally dissipated, and the two mountain-like giants revealed themselves.


    Everyone''s eyes focused on these two people.


    One of them was Monty, whose two arms were now cut off. He had a huge wound on his neck, which was bleeding outwards. His huge pupils were even unfocused.


    The other one, Roy, looked like he had a hard beating as well. Many bruises appeared all over his body. The golden light around him was getting dim. Apparently, he had suffered some serious injuries too.


    "Bah! What a hard nut to crack!" Roy grumbled, as he saw the crowd watching them.


    At the same time, Monty''s body began to shrink rapidly, his Wild God Power disappearing quickly.


    "Monty!"


    Erik shouted from afar, his face darkened and his eyes clouded with concern. Rushing towards Monty, he tried lifting him up.


    It was true that one''s corporeal body had an unprecedented power after they cultivated the Wild God system, but once the Wild God was seriously injured, it would be difficult to repair the body. The world is fair, after all.


    The wound in Monty''s neck made him lose a lot of blood, directly taking away his life.


    "How dare you kill him!" Erik exclaimed angrily, making his vigor and grand momentum emerge.


    Monty was one of Erik''s disciples and they shared a bond. Erik had trained Monty all these years, treating him like his own son. He never imagined that this battle would end up this bad. He didn''t expect that Monty would die here today. Erik felt his heart shattering into a thousand pieces as his grief took over.


    Even if Erik didn''t reveal his Wild God body, his reaction still put a lot of pressure on Roy.


    Wiping the blood off his face, Roy sneered, "He clearly couldn''t match my strength, yet he wasn''t willing to admit defeat. He was digging his own grave. If he had given up earlier, this wouldn''t have happened. He forced me to kill him!"


    "You..." Erik''s emotions stirred up. Unable to restrain himself, he was actually about to kill Roy.


    "In the battle ring, one''s death is never the other''s fault. One must accept that if they get killed¡ªthey only have themselves to blame for being inferior to their opponent. Are you going to bully a junior now, Erik?" a thin old man commented, his voice ringing as the cold breeze surrounded them. Erik turned to see who it was, and found an elder from the Yellow Emperor race approaching.


    to the other man, he told his opponent indifferently, "Your elders have said that in the battle ring, if one is killed, they only have themselves to blame."


    Nodding his head, Desmund blinked his eyes and asked, "Yes. So what?"


    "Then you can only blame yourself..."


    Romeo answered, striking Desmund as soon as he finished speaking.


    He sprang to his feet like a wild ancient beast. Ready to kill.


    His body stretched into tens of thousands of feet. As he jumped above the ground, he waved his bamboo sword in the air, drawing a flash of emerald green light in the air and emitting a resolute aura as he charged towards Desmund.


    When Desmund saw Romeo go all out, he felt cowardly, perhaps because he wasn''t prepared for a fierce fight.


    Just like any other battle, a warrior would be put into a passive position when they were intimidated by their opponent.


    Trying to be alert, Desmund turned over to avoid Romeo''s strike.


    Swoosh!


    However, as soon as Romeo touched the ground, another emerald green sword light followed him.


    Upon seeing this, Desmund gritted his teeth and took the chance to stab the blade he was holding towards Romeo''s chest.


    He was trying to force Romeo to retreat. After all, if Romeo wanted to kill him, he would be stabbed through by the blade too.


    However, Romeo turned a blind eye to the blade. He didn''t care about getting stabbed. Even if he had to fight to the death, he would still chop Desmund''s head!


    His reaction completely surprised Desmund. ''What? He doesn''t seem to care about his life at all!''


    Desmund cried inside. Taking his blade back, he retreated quickly to avoid his opponent''s attack. He thought to himself, ''Why did Roy have to kill his opponent? Now the Nine Li members are fuming mad. And I don''t think they would stop. This guy literally wants me dead! Damn!''

 Chapter 2584 The Gap In Strength

    Driven by rage, Romeo attacked with his greatest momentum. He went all out with every strike, showing no mercy to who he was going against.


    Just then, the bamboo sword in his hand morphed into rays of green sword radiance and swept up intensely towards Desmund.


    Desmund had escaped passively all the way. He wanted to fight back occasionally, which only invited even more ferocious suppression from Romeo.


    "Bang, bang, bang!"


    The bamboo sword, which seemed to be several thousand feet long, hit on the saber several times, leaving deafening clanging noises in the background.


    As Desmund retreated, he warded off dozens of strikes in panic, and finally exposed a serious weakness.


    Romeo''s eyes began to twinkle. He noticed the weakness and swung his sword towards Desmund.


    "Buzz..."


    As he looked around and saw that there was no place to dodge, the golden light all over his body began to glow. He planned to withstand the blow with his Yellow Emperor Wild Body.


    But when the seemingly harmless bamboo sword collided with his back, only then did he realize how naive he was.


    "Phew!"


    Within minutes, a sharp force burst from the bamboo sword, shattering the golden light on the surface of Desmund''s body into pieces. Immediately after, he felt a chill go up his right arm, and just like that, his thousand-foot long arm was detached from his body.


    With his arm cut off, the Wild God Power from the arm began to quickly dissipate. As it happened, the arm shrank so rapidly that people didn''t know where it went.


    "I admit defeat! I surrender!" Desmund shouted, desperate.


    He tossed aside the saber and knelt down on the ground, a bang echoing from his heavy knees. Suddenly, two big holes appeared on the ground under his knees.


    He was smart, and if he didn''t admit defeat, he would probably be killed by Romeo like Monty.


    But even though Desmund already admitted defeat, Romeo didn''t plan to show any mercy to him.


    As his blood boiled, all Romeo wanted to do was kill his enemy. But just as the sword came down towards Desmund''s head, he found himself unable to move.


    Just then, Giacomo, who managed to grow as big as Romeo, appeared behind him without him knowing. Giacomo gently clamped the sword between his two fingers.


    "Come back," he gestured towards Romeo. "He has already admitted defeat. You''ve already won."


    Although nobody would be held responsible for the life or death in the battle ring, Desmund had already knelt down and surrendered.


    If Rome


    hile Lisa Xia''s strength was far more powerful than that of Desmund.


    Head on with Romeo''s crazy attack, she drew back tactically, her parries steady and sure. For some reason, there was no trace of panic in her eyes.


    As Romeo''s desperate attacks drained all of his energy, Lisa Xia saw this as the perfect time to take initiative. The thin black sword in her hand was like a spiritual snake without bones as it formed a cage, firmly trapping Romeo within it.


    To his surprise, Romeo was like a trapped beast, unable to get out of her trap no matter how hard he tried.


    "Romeo is going to lose," Zen exclaimed as he watched the two giants fight. "He''s not a match for the woman in green."


    "Lisa! She''s so powerful!" said Elsa, blinking her eyes multiple times. She couldn''t believe what she was seeing.


    When Adele, Giacomo, Erik saw the strength that Lisa Xia was displaying, their faces grew gloomy.


    How could they have expected the Wild Gods in the young generation of the Yellow Emperor race would grow so quickly?


    However, looking at the way they arranged their warriors to fight, it was obvious that Lisa Xia was not the strongest warrior they had. However, the strength she had shown had left Romeo far behind already.


    Even Elsa could not surely take her down. Moreover, the Yellow Emperor race still had two warriors that hadn''t fought yet. Could the Nine Li race only count on Zen? Adele thought.


    In deep thought, Adele silently glanced at Zen who stood next to her. At this time, Giacomo''s and Erik''s gazes also fell flatly on Zen. It seemed as if the elders shared the same thought as they had bitter smiles plastered across their faces.

 Chapter 2585 Forget Someone

    There was a satisfied smirk on Lisa''s face as she leisurely waved the black sword in her hand.


    Generally speaking, the Wild Gods used crude and violent killing methods because they judged the distance and space in a complicated way.


    In addition, it was much more difficult for a giant to slip the thread through the eye of the needle than an ordinary man.


    Lisa, however, could control those things with absolute accuracy--and it was terrifying.


    Her moves were always careful, precise, and perfect.


    She could have killed Romeo several times, but her thin, black sword only scratched him slightly and left a minor wound.


    Soon enough, the wounds on Romeo''s body increased until blood had soaked most of his white clothes.


    "You''ve already been defeated. Don''t struggle anymore," said Lisa with pursed lips.


    Yet, Romeo didn''t listen to her and launched an even fiercer attack.


    In turn, Lisa gently drew her black sword. The tips of her toes barely touched the ground as she drew a huge pit that was over a hundred feet large. Then, she jumped up while Romeo slashed out with his sword. The black sword flew down like a giant flying snake.


    "Puff!"


    The sword''s blade pierced through Romeo''s arm.


    Suddenly, the bamboo sword flew and was nailed to the ground. Without the support of the Wild God Power, the thousand-foot-long bamboo sword quickly shrunk back into three feet.


    At the same time, Lisa swung her sword towards Romeo''s head. If she exerted more strength, he would be beheaded!


    All the spectators from the Nine Li race held their breaths.


    They had already lost Monty, and they wouldn''t be able to accept it if Romeo died too.


    Now, Romeo refused to give up. He didn''t want to admit defeat even though he knew he was no match for Lisa.


    "Surrender," Lisa insisted. She tilted her head to the side and after a while of thought, she continued, "If you''re really mad at Roy, I apologize to you on behalf of him. He shouldn''t have killed Monty by mistake."


    The muscles on Romeo''s face shuddered at her words.


    It took him a short while to calm down. In the end, he sighed and said, "I admit that I have lost. I am too weak to avenge him. You don''t have to apologize to me."


    "Okay." Lisa nodded. She carefully backed a few steps, and then slowly walked away.


    On the other hand, Romeo''s eyes were unreadable as he watched her recedin


    planned so carefully for a very long time to go all out for the sake of the Sky South Bone Tower.


    To their surprise, the Nine Li race was not strong enough to fight back.


    "Adele, our race has won this battle. According to the agreement, your race should withdraw from the area of the Sky South Bone Tower," Lancelot said with a blazing smile on his face.


    He was so happy not only because he would control the Sky South Bone Tower.


    The highlight of the battle was that the younger generation of his race had defeated that of the Nine Li race. He had never imagined that the younger generation of the Nine Li race would be that weak.


    Races needed to constantly produce their best, and the young people represented the future of their race. If such a thing continued, then the Nine Li race would eventually decline.


    Adele just beamed at Lancelot''s words, and then she said, "Grand Elder Lancelot, you have made a mistake."


    "About what?" His face dimmed. Why hadn''t Adele admitted her defeat?


    There would be a huge trouble if the Nine Li race went back on their word and did not surrender the control of the Sky South Bone Tower. After all, the Yellow Emperor race did not want to wage a full war just because of it.


    Moreover, even if the Yellow Emperor race did win the war, it would mean that they simply took advantage of the Nine Li race''s struggles--and they didn''t want to see the losses from the war.


    Adele''s beautiful eyes blinked and she looked coldly at Lancelot. "Have you forgotten that there''s one person from our race who hasn''t fought in battle?"

 Chapter 2586 Dodging

    When the elders of the Yellow Emperor race heard Adele''s voice, they were all stunned.


    As specified in the agreement, each race had sent five members to participate in the battle.


    Since four of the five Nine Li warriors had been defeated, the Yellow Emperor race didn''t take the remaining warrior of the Nine Li race seriously.


    After all, even Elsa, the most powerful Nine Li warrior they knew, had been defeated by them. So, they had simply ignored their fifth opponent.


    "I apologize for my negligence," said Lancelot. As long as the Nine Li race was willing to fulfill the agreement, there was nothing for him to worry about. "In that case, Lisa, fight again," he announced, his expression relaxed.


    "As I have already told you, there''re many losers among the Nine Li race, many more than those five. Even if fifty of them banded together, they would still be at a disadvantage. Honestly, I don''t know what they are thinking, getting involved in this. With each battle they fight, they just bring more disgrace on themselves," said David, speaking slowly.


    The members of the Yellow Emperor race responded with nothing but a chilling silence.


    Her expression unchanging, Lisa slowly stepped out of the crowd again, the black sword in her hand. Without further ado, she transformed herself into a towering giant, a Wild God, and stood still, waiting for her foe.


    "Zen, we are counting on you now!"


    said Romeo, who was sitting on the ground, tending to his wounds.


    Adele, Giacomo and the other elders also looked at Zen expectantly.


    They didn''t yet know how much potential Zen had.


    Yet, as Romeo said, Zen had already successfully killed mid-rank Wild Gods in the Immemorial Wilderness.


    And that was before Zen had undergone the Body Tribulations. Now he had the Nine Li Wild Body, his strength would have grown to an unimaginable degree. It would be unwise to underestimate him.


    Zen nodded, gently stroking the emerald green long sword in his hand as he walked towards the center of the deserted land at a slow but determined pace.


    "Grow," he muttered to himself as he walked. As soon as the word left his lips, he began to grow rapidly.


    In what seemed like no time at all, his body had reached a height of more than ten thousand feet.


    However, focused on the transformation, he had completely forgotten about the sword in his hand. As his body shot upwards, the sword slipped from bet


    wondered Lisa in disbelief.


    ''The distance between us was so small...I would surely have chopped his head off with my sword if he had made the tiniest of mistakes. And yet, he didn''t. He dodged it!''


    A smile danced on Zen''s face. Unlike Lisa, he was the embodiment of calm, inside and out.


    Seeing that, Lisa seethed with fury, even though her face remained deadpan.


    Her thin sword was immediately ricocheted and once again swung towards Zen''s head.


    This time, Zen threw back his head. The thin black sword swept across the air just above his head. Again, it was just a foot away, and the sword severed a few of the hairs on his head.


    ''This guy... He is not just relying on his luck!''


    Lisa was shocked at this revelation. She had thought Zen''s achievements were nothing more than a fluke.


    She had the best proprioception and body control among her peers from the younger generation. She outperformed even her brother, Jerome.


    But even she didn''t have the level of command that Zen had.


    Panic gripped her heart. She realized that the man in front of her was no ordinary person.


    As her mind raced, the thin black sword danced even more quickly.


    However, Zen didn''t make a single step. He stayed rooted to the spot, leaning away from Lisa''s advancing attacks. He resembled a birch tree, its flexible, strong trunk bending in the storm.


    Far away in the distance, the elders of the Yellow Emperor race watched, and their eyes widened in surprise.


    These elders had fought many battles and witnessed many more. They knew how strong Lisa was, and how difficult it was to dodge her attacks.

 Chapter 2587 Ward Off

    Using dozens of forceful strikes in a row, Lisa pummeled Zen. The way he dodged every single one of them made her anxious.


    She then took a few steps back and stomped on the hard ground in tiptoe, creating a pit that went three to four hundred feet deep. Clasped tightly in her hand was the thin black sword.


    Upon seeing her make such a move, Lisa''s brother couldn''t help but frown slightly. "I can sense Lisa''s uneasiness, but this time, let''s see how this fellow would survive that one."


    "Amorous Sword Net!" Lisa exclaimed.


    "Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!"


    The thin black sword looked and moved like a whip as it flew out of Lisa''s hand.


    In just a split second, streaks of what seemed like a bundle of black swords intertwined and formed a tangled net that swiftly enveloped Zen''s head.


    Since the net was fine-meshed, it was impossible for Zen to break free no matter what he did.


    "How can Zen escape from this?" Elsa''s eyes widened as she watched the scene with great concern.


    The striking eyebrows that rested on Romeo''s forehead trembled lightly at the view.


    Previously, he was downright defeated by that exact move by Lisa. He was trapped in a cage formed by the black sword net and failed to break out no matter how much he struggled.


    Seeing the massive black sword net charging towards him caused Zen''s eyes to flicker while the corner of his mouth raised slightly.


    The Wild Gods used martial skills to fight as well.


    The weapons they used would become wild weapons that were way larger, and the Wild Gods themselves would also grow.


    In terms of skills alone, Zen wasn''t threatened by anyone at all.


    "Swish!"


    Zen raised his long sword and used it to hurl the sword net in another direction.


    "Clank!"


    A loud sound cut through the thick air.


    Zen had successfully blocked one of the strips of the black sword radiance.


    A huge hole appeared on the thin net.


    Aware that it was just a casual sword strike from Zen, Lisa was stunned.


    The swordsmanship she used had quite an unyielding demand with space. Once she performed it, it went on for a while, resembling a cage that could crush her opponents. The more they struggled, the deeper they fell.


    However, that on


    en sword at the black sword radiance.


    This gesture from Zen caused Adele, Giacomo, and the other elders to feel uneasy.


    The others were just as stunned. Was Zen seeking death?


    Astonishment engulfed Lisa''s eyes. She knew that Zen could resist the strike she just made, but what he was doing at that time was no more than a suicide act.


    As soon as Zen''s long sword touched the black sword radiance, he began twisting his arm.


    The blade of his long sword slightly twisted as well, and the black radiance circled his sword as if it was being sucked into a whirlpool.


    At the same time, he pulled his long sword instantly, and Lisa felt a massive force coming out of her hand.


    Before she could even throw her sword away, she bumped into Zen.


    Since Zen had placed his sword horizontally by his chest, Lisa would be cut in half should she bump into it.


    "Lisa!"


    Jerome yelled from a distance, desperation evident in his eyes.


    As Lisa got closer to Zen''s sword, her face turned pale. She knew what was coming. She knew she was going to die.


    Just as she was about to hit the tip of the sword, Zen''s other hand gently emerged. With a loud bang, Zen blocked Lisa''s shoulder to avoid her from coming in contact with the blade.


    Simultaneously, he lifted his emerald green sword and pointed it just a few inches away from the damp skin of her neck.


    Lisa''s mind went blank. She was dazed. Zen''s low voice snapped her back to reality as he said, "You lost."

 Chapter 2588 Fight Head On

    Lisa stared at Zen, stunned.


    In the way she saw it, since Roy killed Monty, it was only natural that Zen killed her too.


    But fortunately for her, Zen showed mercy to her in the last moment.


    "I admit defeat," choked Lisa.


    Zen nodded and loosened his grip on her.


    Seeing that Zen had spared his sister''s life, Jerome, who was standing at a distance, breathed out a sigh of relief.


    Then, both of them transformed, turned off their Wild God Power, and returned to their own races.


    "Amazing, Zen! How did you break her sword net?" Romeo said excitedly as he bounded over to hug Zen.


    The other members of the Nine Li race also looked eager to hear.


    Out of previous several battles, only Romeo won a battle and sadly, one of their members also got killed. It was a crushing defeat!


    If Zen had lost and the news spread out, the sects which relied on the Nine Li race would have most likely lost respect for the Nine Li race and left.


    "With your strength, you''d have no trouble defeating everyone in the Yellow Emperor race," said Elsa, her big eyes crinkling happily.


    Adele also smiled at him. "There are still two tough battles ahead. You can''t let your guard down, especially when fighting David."


    "Okay." Zen nodded.


    When Zen won the sixth battle, the members of the Nine Li race felt their hearts burst with pride and they had trouble containing their excitement.


    On the other hand, the atmosphere on the Yellow Emperor race''s side was grey, dull, and depressing.


    They didn''t really care about losing this round, but the strength Zen had shown in the battlefield struck them with fear.


    Lisa had fought with all her might and yet, she was easily defeated by Zen..


    More importantly, Zen hadn''t moved from his spot for the entirety of the battle.


    It was obvious that Zen''s strength was on a whole other level.


    "Ha-ha! That guy is really something. I bet Jerome won''t be able to defeat him. It''s my turn, isn''t it?" said David as he sat on the ground.


    He was probably the most cheerful in the Yellow Emperor race.


    If it weren''t for Zen, he


    ied on the three thousand Godly Ways arranged in the divine land by Chiyou and


    the use of the strength source was not exactly seen as important.


    Zen had learned from the exiles that even in chaos, the Wild Gods didn''t play an important part in the Source World.


    The Other Shore Realm warriors in the Source World all used the Grand World Cultivation Method


    because it was impossible for a cultivator to reach the Other Shore Realm while cultivating the Wild God system.


    But now, Zen had become the mid-rank Wild God and his body was filled with a massive amount of the Wild God Power. Plus, he could now use the strength source of the Nine Divine Stars.


    While the two were complementary to each other, the instant explosive power would be extremely terrifying!


    "Zen, hurry up and dodge this strike!"


    "It''s too late!"


    "Don''t face it head on!"


    The members of the Nine Li race got worried as they shouted.


    Zen could easily dodge the blow and launch a counterattack, but he stood firmly, unmoving.


    ''Let''s try something...''


    Zen''s eyes narrowed as he side stepped smoothly, his cool and precise movements making him look like a fierce tiger.


    At the same time, the Wild God Power all over his body erupted!


    "Whoosh..."


    The emerald sword radiance cut through the sky and made a sharp whistling sound.


    Zen had really planned to take that strike head on!

 Chapter 2589 Jeromes Defeat

    Jerome fell quickly from midair with unparalleled momentum in the blade.


    He found that Zen wanted to fight fire with more fire¡ªa strange look flashed in his eyes until he replaced it with a sneer at the corners of his mouth.


    ''If so, you are doomed to lose, '' he thought to himself.


    Zen defeated his sister effortlessly, making Jerome a little more nervous than he initially was.


    Lisa''s ability to control wide spaces was quite a formidable one. After transforming herself into ten thousand feet tall, she could still control space perfectly while simultaneously manipulating her sword skillfully.


    Such an ability could actually restrain Jerome''s large-scale attack.


    If Zen didn''t fight him face to face and instead trapped him little by little as Lisa did, the likeliness of Jerome''s defeat would''ve proved to be overwhelming.


    But now that Zen was confronting toughness with toughness, Jerome had a feeling that his victory was in sight.


    A few seconds later¡­


    Jerome struck Zen''s sword with the weight of insanely great power.


    Clang!


    The two forces converged.


    ''The strength of this guy¡­'' Jerome thought.


    He looked incredulously at Zen as he hacked his sword down.


    The power from Zen''s seemingly unremarkable green sword was no weaker than his own.


    Clang!


    The cracking sound quickly spread and the originally leveled deserted land was suddenly torn apart layer by layer until the skeletons that had been piling up finally shot out in all directions, much like sharp arrows.


    After wielding the sword, Zen retreated about eight steps, creating eight giant footprints in the ground.


    From where he was floating midair, Jerome was thrown tens of thousands of feet away. With a somersault, he managed to land on his feet and take several steps back to steady his balance.


    Anyone with a discerning eye could see which of the two was stronger in this competition of strength.


    Many people were aware of Jerome''s great power and overbearing sword skills.


    They figured that if Zen faced Jerome one on one, he, along with his sword, would be cut in half. But the scene before them had completely gone beyond their imagination.


    "What? This man has forced Jerome back with his strength alone?"


    "He has mastered sword skills to thi


    ome.


    To no one''s surprise, he was defeated in the second fight of strength.


    This time, his loss was completely unquestionable.


    "Swish! Swish! Swish!"


    Meanwhile, an enormous blade of seven to eight thousand feet in length swirled out from the dust rapidly until it was buried in the wasteland on Jerome''s side.


    Without the infusion of the Wild God Power, the broadsword entered the ground and quickly shrank back to its original state.


    Everyone''s eyes darted to and rested on Jerome for a moment until their gazes once again shifted to the billowing dust.


    After the dust dissipated, Zen''s body came into sight.


    Half of his body stood in a large pit. With the green sword still in his grasp, he looked calmly at Jerome from a distance.


    The latter stood slowly from the ground, wearing a complicated expression.


    If Zen defeated him with some kind of trick, he wouldn''t have been so embarrassed.


    But Zen chose to fight him totally head-on and defeated him¡ªJerome had never felt so humiliated.


    Nevertheless, he wasn''t a narrow-minded man. After a moment of sulking, he got himself back up. In the world, there would always be someone out there who surpassed him¡ªJerome knew this to be true for everyone. He just had to admit that Zen was such a person.


    Comforting himself in his heart, he let out a long breath. He then cupped his hands in the air, directed them at Zen and called out, "You have proven to be far superior in terms of skill. I''m willing to accept defeat. I have lost!"

 Chapter 2590 Davids Battle

    A complicated expression was plastered all over Lancelot''s face as he looked at Zen. The leader of the Yellow Emperor race himself was stunned.


    Now that Jerome was defeated, David was all they had.


    Lancelot had faith in David, but what if he lost as well?


    It was a known fact that the Nine Li race was determined to have the Sky South Bone Tower back, but Lancelot couldn''t let that happen.


    Jerome walked back slowly, his shoulder hunched in defeat.


    David opened his mouth just to spite Jerome.


    "I''ve told you, Jerome, you against him is a total waste of time!"


    Before, David was pretty anxious to fight, but now, he wasn''t in a hurry at all and even managed to put up a calm face.


    Jerome walked towards David just to glare at him.


    The intensity of Jerome''s stare worried his sister Lisa. She thought that if it went on longer, it could turn messy. She hurriedly came up to him and said, "Brother, please ignore him!"


    "You''re probably not his match either," Jerome calmly told David.


    In response, David curled his lips and raised his eyebrows slightly. "Don''t assume anything yet. I''m not as useless as you are," he said lazily.


    "Zen hasn''t even used his entire strength yet," Jerome warned him. "Are you forgetting that he''s a member of the Nine Li race? He has yet to use his Nine Li Wild Body."


    That was true. Zen didn''t activate his Nine Li Wild Body during his last two battles.


    That meant that he had not put his real strength in display yet.


    Even during his match with Jerome, he only used the strength source from the Nine Divine Stars.


    After all, one of Zen''s real reasons for these fights was to hone his Wild God body.


    Jerome''s words made David rather unhappy.


    By nature, he was fickle, and although Jerome''s warning was in good intentions, it sounded harsh to David''s conceited ears.


    "Oooooh, that guy is so powerful! I''m so scared! I don''t want to face him anymore! I''m just going to admit defeat! Ha!" David was quick to change his tone.


    "You!" Jerome''s face darkened.


    There was a helpless expression on the faces of the elders from the Yellow Emperor race upon hearing such snide remarks from one of their warriors.


    David was one thic


    is shoulder.


    The final battle¡­ Zen versus David.


    At first, the Yellow Emperor race boasted such a victorious force. They were so sure about winning.


    None of them thought Zen could win those two battles, let alone get a chance to face a warrior like David.


    Before his power became known to them, Zen was just a nobody. David was the more popular warrior.


    But before David''s fame, it was Jerome and his sister Lisa who were regarded as the Yellow Emperor race''s top two warriors. In the Immemorial Wilderness, people trembled in fear upon hearing their names.


    After he rose to fame, David became the more eye-catching warrior. The attention he received was monumental.


    "Finally! David has decided to fight!"


    "He is going to end that boy from the Nine Li race for sure! Right?"


    While the others bickered, David had already turned into a giant that was over ten thousand feet tall.


    With heavy eyes and a nonchalant expression, he carefully scanned Zen that was right in front of him.


    "Thank you so much," said David, grinning from ear to ear.


    Zen''s eyebrows instantly wrinkled at David''s words. He had seen David once and had always thought he had a rather odd character. At that point, he had absolutely no idea why he thanked him. "For what?" Zen asked.


    "If you didn''t defeat Lisa and Jerome, the opportunity to fight might have not arrived for me and I would''ve come here for nothing," David said as he casually shrugged his shoulders.

 Chapter 2591 Cultivating Dual Systems

    Zen felt overwhelming disgust when he heard David''s words.


    This guy was a member of the Yellow Emperor race, but he hoped for the defeat of his own race members because of his selfish desire to fight in the arena himself.


    "Are you sure you''ll win against me?" Zen responded with scorn.


    David blinked, and a tinge of evil crossed over his handsome features. "Yes, I''m one-hundred percent sure I can win against you," he said with a chuckle.


    "Since you''re so confident, then there''s no point in talking. Let''s fight!" Zen announced in a calm but powerful voice.


    Seeing Zen''s composure irked David.


    To him, Zen should act a bit more nervous as if he was facing a formidable enemy. This lack of reaction from his opponent made David think that Zen wasn''t exactly taking him seriously.


    "Let me show you the reason why I''m so confident," David said in a cocky tone, taking a step back and spreading his hands.


    Buzz...


    Two sharp black knives appeared in David''s hands.


    The material that these knives were made of was exactly the same as Lisa''s black sword and emitted a sharp power.


    With the appearance of these knives, David''s face suddenly became serious.


    It was as if he had transformed into an entirely different person.


    Whoosh!


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    In the blink of an eye, David suddenly rushed towards Zen in quick, but extremely strange steps.


    He was so fast that the only thing people could see was his afterimage.


    It was amazing how such a huge creature measuring ten thousand feet in height could move so fast!


    A trace of vigilance appeared in Zen''s eyes as he took two steps back and raised his emerald green sword defensively in front of him.


    David was fast, but it was impossible for him to escape the spiritual sense that Zen suddenly released to track him.


    With the use of spiritual sense, Zen would always be able to find David no matter where or how fast he went.


    Whoosh!


    David circled around Zen a dozen times before suddenly jumping and rushing towards him from behind.


    However, Zen seemed to have grown a pair of eyes behind his head. He turned slightly and the long sword he carried swayed with him.


    Clank! Clank!


    With two clear sounds, David was forced back a couple of feet. "You have quick reflexes," he told Zen with


    gh this time.


    He felt something weird in this battle against Zen. He retreated a few steps back and kept a safe distance away from the young man, taking this as an opportunity to stare at him.


    "Do you want to continue?" Zen asked flatly.


    "Brat! Have you also cultivated the Truth of Godly Way?" David couldn''t help but ask.


    According to his master, only a few people among the True Gods could comprehend the Truth of Godly Way.


    There were even fewer people as wise as David who could learn it in such a short period of time.


    Given enough time and the right conditions, David was guaranteed to reach the Other Shore Realm.


    This was where most of his confidence and arrogance came from.


    He knew that he was different, and that no matter how hard the other Wild Gods cultivated, they would never be able to compare to him. Spending their entire lives training would only let them attain the Grand Elder''s level, at most.


    Meanwhile, David was fated to sit on the same couch as those powerful exiles.


    This was the true strength David pursued!


    All this time, he was confident that he was the only one who could comprehend the Truth of Godly Way.


    After so many years, amongst everyone who cultivated the True God system, he was absolutely certain that he was the only one who comprehended it, save for the exiles of course. This was also the reason why the exiles paid so much attention to David in the first place.


    He couldn''t believe that he just felt the Truth of Cultivation Nature from Zen just now!

 Chapter 2592 The Truth of Void Destruction

    David had felt the Truth of Cultivation Nature from Zen but it was not because he had an understanding about it.


    In the Yellow Emperor race, there were two exiles who had cultivated the Truth of Cultivation Nature. David naturally had a deep impression on it.


    Just now, he had observed Zen and had felt the same aura coming from him.


    David was not yet too sure, so he couldn''t help but inquire about it cautiously.


    "Is it strange?" Zen just smiled vaguely.


    The smile he gave signified an affirmative answer.


    David''s eyes sparkled and his gaze on Zen changed again.


    His first impression of Zen was that he was just a Wild God with extraordinary talent.


    He prided himself as powerful enough and thought that there was still an insurmountable gap between his strength and Zen''s.


    What he witnessed had totally changed his own insight. He had already regarded Zen as a man in his league.


    "It really surprises me. No wonder you could defeat Lisa and Jerome so easily," David complimented as he smacked his lips.


    He had never thought that there would be another guy in this world who was as capable as him to cultivate the Truth of Godly Way.


    "But you can''t still beat me," David confidently stated.


    "Buzz!"


    The Yellow Emperor Wild Body of David released a dazzling golden light.


    Once the Wild God Power was released from his body, there was another unique aura that followed.


    "This aura is another kind of Truth of Godly Way." Zen felt the unique aura, and his eyes narrowed.


    He had known five Truths of Godly Ways: the Truth of Goodwill and Malice, the Truth of Dark and Light Chaos, the Truth of Cultivation Nature, the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent, and the Truth of Holy Words.


    He had learned the Truth of Goodwill and Malice from Harper. He hadn''t mastered it completely yet, but he was almost there. Besides, he had already mastered ninety-nine percent of the Truth of Cultivation Nature.


    It was once said that twelve Truths of Godly Ways had appeared in the divine land. A book titled ''Twelve Abridged Truths of Godly Ways'' had circulated among the people in the divine land. The book had provided them some insights and knowledge about the certain information.


    As for how many kinds of Truths of Godly Ways there were in the Source World an


    nyone, the outcome and even life and death would be determined.


    "Zen is not using his soul force," Romeo muttered as he quietly watched the scene.


    "It seems that he doesn''t go all out. He wants to take advantage of this opportunity to train himself," Elsa also stated with a complicated look.


    They were also the talents in the Nine Li race, respected by countless people, and doted upon by their race.


    But compared with Zen and David, they were hardly worth mentioning.


    "There''s something wrong with David''s weapon." Adele''s eyes were fixated on David''s knife. A trace of worry gradually appeared on her face.


    Adele''s observation regarding David''s knife had been, in fact, noticed by Zen.


    Every time his long sword collided with David''s sharp knife, he had noticed a faint white light spot, which quickly gathered in the middle of his knife and formed a bright white light ball.


    Under the fierce collision of the two weapons, the white light ball was getting more and more eye-catching on the black knife.


    The smile on David''s face became more and more proud. He was rejoicing in his mind that Zen was slowly falling into the trap he had set up.


    "Turn to the void!"


    David laughed ferociously as the light ball released a blinding light. He then lifted up both of the two sharp knives in his hands.


    At this moment, there seemed to be two suns rising brightly on the sky.


    Zen quickly retreated seeing this change. Upon his retreat, a ray of light appeared on the Godly Tile in his inner world.

 Chapter 2593 Bounce Back

    Once David saw Zen retreat quickly, he could no longer hide the big smile on his face.


    The more powerful his opponent was, the more excited he got.


    The moment he knew that Zen was able to comprehend the Truth of Godly Way, he knew he would have fun defeating him.


    For him, he only truly felt a sense of achievement when overcoming real challenges. In his eyes, Lisa, Jerome, Elsa, and Romeo were not worthy of his time and effort.


    "Hoo!"


    After the two sharp knives in his hands collided with each other, the two light balls merged into one.


    The two sharp knives looked very similar to the black sword that Lisa used, but they were totally different.


    Since David''s master was an expert at refining weapons, he forged these wild weapons just for him. Moreover, the two wild weapons were modelled after the famous Dual Stream Saber of the Source World.


    Both of the wild weapons were able to open up the void.


    He could activate it whenever he made use of the Truth of Void Destruction.


    When David and Zen launched their ferocious attacks against each other, their formidable powers didn''t dissipate at all. They were instead kept inside the void by the two sharp knives.


    But not long after, the powers were then released by David!


    The surging power mixed with the Truth of Void Destruction formed a ball of energy that contained an extremely unstable wave of energy. Its strength was very devastating.


    Even David had to be careful as he tried to control it!


    "Whoosh!"


    The blazing energy ball flew straight towards Zen.


    "Will you still be able to resist it this time?"


    In David''s opinion, even if Zen displayed the Truth of Cultivation Nature, he merely mixed it with his body movements and was still unable to bring out its full potential.


    But what David didn''t know was that when it came to the Wild God, Zen was not as powerful as he was. After all, Zen was only able to practice the Wild God system for a short period of time. Although the Nine Li race trained him thoroughly, his foundations were still somewhat unstable.


    But in terms of cultivating the True God system, David''s understanding was clearly inferior to Zen''s.


    In fact, Zen had several methods he could use to break David''s move.


    For example, he could directly use the strength source to detonate the extremely unstable energy ball before it reached him.


    However, when the energy ball was coming for Zen, an in


    had lost.


    It was because they had faith that David could defeat anyone who dared to face him.


    He had already surpassed the level of the Wild God. He was getting closer to the exiles and had almost reached the Other Shore Realm.


    But as he battled Zen from an unknown background, David was at a disadvantage.


    "What is that strange method..." David asked Zen as his teeth was gritting in anxiety.


    Zen then withdrew his hand slightly as the internal momentum from the Parting Water Godly Way dissipated. The bright mirror had been broken and disappeared completely.


    "It was just some silly trick," Zen answered lightly.


    David''s eyes were beaming with hate. "Of course it was some silly trick! If you think you can beat me with it, you are more ignorant than I thought! You must be dreaming!"


    With that, he stretched out his arms and his huge body once again flew through the void as he headed straight towards Zen!


    In addition to the Truth of Godly Way, David had another trump card up his sleeve.


    In their world, the soul of the Wild Gods was regarded to be quite weak.


    But there were always some Wild Gods who had more powerful souls and David was definitely one of them.


    Several exiles had put great effort into helping him improve further. As a result, his soul was far stronger than an ordinary Wild God.


    At that moment, David rushed towards Zen without any hesitation and with a light golden ring on the head of the soul in the depths of his mind. And at that same moment, the surface of the ring flashed as a strong soul force leaked out of his mind and headed straight for Zen!

 Chapter 2594 Intervene

    Usually, when a warrior used his soul to suppress his opponent, his soul would need to be much stronger than his opponent''s.


    Since Zen had stepped into this world, he discovered that the Wild Gods in this world rarely spent any time cultivating their souls.


    Although the warrior''s soul would naturally become strengthened over time, it was a lengthy process.


    For example, since Giacomo, Adele, and the other elders of the Nine Li race, who had lived and battled all of their lives, had no increased cultivation on their souls, their souls, being inferior, could not measure up to Zen''s.


    Today, Zen hadn''t planned on using his own soul power, as he could handle his opponents without resorting to this step.


    However, he didn''t expect that David would first resort to this method.


    The latter was still emboldened and full of himself.


    David believed that he would never lose in a soul battle against any of his peers.


    Moreover, his master had gifted him with a Soul Ring. The Soul Ring not only protected his soul, but also strengthened his soul force, bolstering his potential. The Soul Ring was a precious soul weapon. If a ring bearer''s opponent didn''t possess a strong enough soul, he could crush that opponent with the Soul Ring.


    "I''ll shred your soul!" he shouted with a ferocious look gleaming in his eyes.


    David had never before suffered such a devastating loss. Now he wanted to use this opportunity to kill Zen.


    That soul pressure instantly attacked Zen''s mind and went straight for his soul with a murderous intent.


    Zen''s soul quietly floated in his mind, and a smile crept onto his face when he saw David''s soul pressure launching at him.


    After his soul had been integrated with the Shadow Bearing Sword, Zen no longer needed to fear even the soul of a consummate True God.


    The strength of David''s soul was only at a level where he had barely touched the True God Soul. The gap between him and Zen was substantial. Moreover, the battle between souls was very similar to a physical battle. It was a competition of strength. If one''s soul was strong, he was strong; otherwise, he was weak with a weak soul power. There were no coincidences.


    As soon as David''s soul attack encircled Zen''s soul, it began to bite and claw crazily at Zen''s soul.


    In less than one second, David was left stunned.


    His soul attack had not caused any harm to Zen. At the same time, he felt how the surface of Zen''s soul began to twist as many glittering small golden arrows materialized.


    Waves upon rippling wa


    e went into battle, they could then claim the Sky South Bone Tower from their opponents.


    How then was David''s soul suddenly being suppressed by someone? ''Who is that guy?'' Tyler Di wondered, his eyes flashing with shock as he realized an unknown entity had entered the game.


    With a gentle flick of his hand, a space projection appeared in front of him.


    Tyler Di, who had mainly cultivated the Truth of Void Destruction, had mastered an amazing control of space. He had become a legend for his skills among the Yellow Emperor Guards!


    "Who is he? How has he cultivated his soul to such consummation at such a young age? No... He hasn''t yet. Yet he has merged with the soul of a legendary weapon. Is it the Truth of Goodwill and Malice?" Noticing something strange reflected under Zen''s soul pressure, Tyler Di became curious about him.


    There were a limited number of people who had successfully cultivated the Truth of Goodwill and Malice.


    Those aged exiles of the Nine Li race had been secluded for eons, and there were quite a few disputes between the two races. Therefore Tyler Di knew much about the exiles of the Nine Li race.


    None of them had ever cultivated the Truth of Goodwill and Malice.


    How did this man then cultivate this method, and to such a level of proficiency?


    However, now was not the right time to spend his time contemplating this mystery. If he did not intervene in this matter, David would be vanquished today.


    He had invested such deep hopes in David, and he couldn''t bear those hopes being ruined so easily.


    With a focused thought, he moved across a gap of thousands and thousands of miles and stood at the top of the Flying Sickle City.

 Chapter 2595 Cheating

    On the edge of the deserted land, a strange feeling came over the Wild Gods in the Flying Sickle City when they witnessed the scene.


    To everyone''s surprise, Zen and David remained still on the ground.


    In the battle between the Wild Gods, they fought each other by turning their bodies into hundreds or even thousands of feet tall.


    Never had they ever seen a soul battle.


    So when they saw Zen and David standing motionless, they were dumbfounded, with no idea what the two were doing.


    Even Elsa, Jerome, and Lisa watched the scene unfold with curiosity.


    As the disciples of the Nine Li race and the Yellow Emperor race, naturally, they were more experienced and knowledgeable than ordinary Wild Gods.


    They had also trained their souls to a certain extent, after all.


    But compared to the True Gods, the Wild Gods required little when it came to their souls, so their souls weren''t as powerful. It was the first time they had seen such a soul battle.


    "Just now, I felt David''s soul grow very strong in an instant," Elsa said as she stared at David in the distance.


    Romeo nodded lightly. "But it seems that Zen has repressed him¡ªZen won''t lose to him in the soul battle."


    After all, Zen''s strong point was his soul.


    And that was the very reason why Romeo led Zen into the Nine Li race.


    But everyone seemed to have neglected this point after Zen''s background and impressive skill were revealed.


    At this point, David''s head was full of regret.


    To launch a soul attack through the Soul Ring was one of his greatest abilities.


    No matter how powerful Zen was, so long as he couldn''t resist David''s soul attack, he would be easily defeated or even killed.


    But never did David expect to meet a stronger counterattack from Zen after launching the soul attack.


    It was made clear that Zen''s soul was much stronger than his own.


    The cracking resounded constantly.


    More and more cracks formed on the Soul Ring¡ªit looked like it could easily break at any time after being shot by the small soul arrows.


    Once the Soul Ring broke, David was sure to die.


    When he was at a loss, he suddenly felt a touch of warmth from the Soul Ring.


    Somehow, the Soul Ring was repair


    e couldn''t overcome.


    Jerome and Lisa had been very formidable in the past and yet David only used 40% of his strength to defeat Lisa and barely 60% of his strength to defeat Jerome.


    Such strength was enough to put him above all the talents in the world.


    But this strange fellow appeared out of nowhere and outshone him in terms of both the True God system and soul strength.


    It was difficult for him to accept the fact¡ªthe frustration was like a sharp knife piercing his heart.


    Only when he killed Zen could he ever pull out that knife, he believed.


    "Do you think you can defeat me with such power?" David continued.


    Now, the golden light on his body began to change.


    The golden light that evenly covered his body seemed to come alive and begin flowing slowly.


    In most of the Wild Gods'' eyes, the Yellow Emperor Wild Body was supposed to condense a layer of golden light comparable to solid metal on the body.


    Most of the members of the Yellow Emperor race could use the Yellow Emperor Wild Body to this extent only.


    But as a member of the Yellow Emperor race, David''s blood was included in the Dubhe Chamber, enabling him to activate the Dubhe Secret.


    The exiles had been estranged from their clansmen in this world. Foe example, all these years, Ramzi had never seen his daughter, Adele.


    As a result, very few of them were willing to take the Wild Gods as disciples.


    But because of David''s blood, Tyler was willing to accept him.

 Chapter 2596 The Dubhe Secret

    Just like the Nine Li race, the Yellow Emperor race also had various levels of blood purity.


    However, it wasn''t classified into different levels but rather into chambers.


    The Yellow Emperor race had a total of nine chambers in the Source World.


    The disciples of the Yellow Emperor race were segregated into different chambers as per the different degrees of blood purity.


    The Dubhe Chamber was ranked first among the nine chambers.


    The Dubhe Chamber was inferior to the imperial-grade bloodline of the Nine Li race, but it was also quite excellent.


    Those who were part of the Dubhe Chamber could activate the Dubhe Secret in their blood.


    The Dubhe Secret was David''s most powerful trump card.


    Wisps of golden light floated out and converged into a mysterious pamphlet.


    This pamphlet was known as the Dubhe Pamphlet.


    Very few people in the Yellow Emperor race were able to create the Dubhe Pamphlet, and each person''s Dubhe Pamphlet was different.


    If David was born in the Source World, he would be sent to the Dubhe Chamber and study his own pamphlet. It contained very strong and complicated power, which involved the origins and secrets of the Yellow Emperor race.


    However, David couldn''t examine it in this world.


    He had scrutinized his pamphlet with the help of Tyler, and up to now, he had only mastered a small part of it.


    After all, this was not the Source World and exiles had limited abilities.


    Crack!


    When the golden light flowed on to the Dubhe Pamphlet for a while, it turned into a black light and covered the surface of David''s body.


    Soon, David was entirely engulfed by the black light.


    His physical figure, which was over ten thousand feet tall, emitted a black light. He looked very strange.


    Not only were Zen and the Nine Li people looking at him weirdly, even the people of the Yellow Emperor race were staring at him curiously.


    "Is this still Yellow Emperor Wild Body?"


    "Is this black light the power of our blood?"


    "It''s so bizarre."


    Some elders and disciples of the Yellow Emperor race were discussing in hushed tones.


    One thing was certain: they felt that David''s energy had increased greatly.


    However, this force was too alien for them. They couldn''t wrap their heads around it. It was as if David was no longer a member of their race.


    "Indeed,


    y wound on his back.


    He immediately felt a burning sensation.


    After his body was rebuilt, its strength was further boosted. However, the attack of the black blade radiance left it weak and vulnerable.


    "It''s about time we end our battle," said David with a smug smile when he saw an injured Zen. "I can feel your fear, helplessness and unwillingness. These are emotions that paralyze weak people like you! If you are willing to kneel before me and beg me for mercy, I may consider sparing your life."


    "Are you kidding me? You think I need you to spare my life?" Zen sneered.


    David didn''t care about Zen''s attitude and spoke slowly, "How stubborn you are! Like the guy killed by Roy, you have to use your own life to finish the battle!"


    As he spoke, he raised the two sharp knives again. This time, the black light on his body began to flicker violently. It looked like the end of the battle was close.


    Hearing Roy''s name, Romeo and the others were very sad. After all, Monty from the Nine Li race was the only one to be killed in this battle.


    But now, they were even more worried about Zen.


    Giacomo had planned to ask Zen to admit defeat directly. Zen had done his best anyway. They were convinced that Zen''s skills were inferior to David''s.


    Whoosh!


    However, Zen held his long emerald green sword horizontally across his chest, a faint smile appearing on his face. "We do need to end the battle, but I don''t intend to use my life."


    As soon as he finished speaking, the internal momentum within his body began to mix crazily.

 Chapter 2597 Going For The Kill

    The fight between the two races, namely the Nine Li race and the Yellow Emperor was predicted to be at its end. Both sides knew that it was already the final showdown for the battle for the Sky South Bone Tower.


    Back on the ongoing battle, it appeared that David had an absolute advantage.


    Zen had no way to confront David who had activated the Dubhe Secret.


    Every Nine Li warriors present who had been watching the fight had the same thought.


    They saw how Zen had given all his best to suppress the opposing side. If he was really no match for David, they thought that he''d better admit defeat as soon as possible.


    For Elsa, Romeo and some others, they had a deeper impression that Zen was considered to be more important than the Sky South Bone Tower.


    Everyone was lost in their own thoughts and feelings about the fight going on, but at this moment, an extremely complex aura suddenly emitted from Zen''s huge body.


    Zen, all along, had always kept his hidden trump card. The complex aura that was just emitted from his body was the Ways-blending Strike.


    When he first came to this world, he couldn''t tell the strength of those Wild Gods. His action all this time, fighting with them several times, was to test the waters.


    Even after entering the Nine Li race and cultivating in the Wild God system, he had never used the Ways-blending Strike.


    "Buzz..."


    The fused internal momentum began to rise in Zen''s inner world. After escaping from his inner world, it circulated in his giant body.


    The energy was afterwards attached to Zen''s long sword. Like a brown flame, it slowly rolled, and swirled around the long sword.


    "What kind of energy is this?"


    "What an intimidating aura!" "Just a glance of it will make me feel depressed!"


    "Is this Zen''s trump card?"


    Astonishment filled the people of the Nine Li race as they saw what happened. Perhaps, a flicker of hope lingered for victory.


    It was an unexpected move for Zen to have such a trump card hidden up his sleeves.


    David also noticed the brown energy lingering on Zen''s long sword.


    The momentum contained in the energy was so complex and powerful that he had never seen this before.


    Facing a sudden and strange situation, there was no way for him to retreat. He was a proud man who never gave in.


    The more powerful Zen seemed, the more intense the fighting intent in David''s heart became.


    "Swish, swish!"


    David madly activated the blood power in his body. The black light grew more brilliant, and the aura he emitted was now even on par with Zen''s!


    Two powerful auras surged up into


    e knew that David would surely be defeated.


    The Yellow Emperor race was determined to take over the Sky South Bone Tower.


    "It''s a foul play, but I have no choice. Don''t blame me, boy," Tyler muttered. As this thought flashed through his mind, a strong will instantly appeared in the Soul Ring in David''s mind.


    David''s movement halted for a quick second as his eyes lost their luster. His figure became unusually quick.


    Facing the sword light, he retreated while at the same time waved the two sharp knives in his hands in an unusual quick motion!


    "Cre-ka-rack!"


    Every time the sharp blades clashed with Zen''s sword radiance, they had weakened the sword radiance a bit.


    David continued to slash about seventy times, and every strike landed on the anterior of the sword radiance. This technique of controlling with utmost precision had amazed everyone.


    He retreated several hundred steps after the attack. The sword radiance seemed to be disintegrated by him!


    "Whoosh!"


    David, now whose eyes were lifeless, raised the two sharp knives in his hands and stepped forward. He traveled through space and rushed straight towards Zen.


    Out of a sudden, it looked like he had become a completely different person.


    Zen was shocked about the change in David''s action. He abruptly rolled to the side out of reflex.


    However, his speed was still a little slow.


    The strike that came out from the void had already slid past Zen''s shoulder, leaving a two thousand feet long trace of blood behind his back!


    David who had succeeded in leaving a hit on Zen''s body was not satisfied. Zen was still on the process of stabilizing himself, but another sharp knife had come at Zen''s back. He was going for the kill!

 Chapter 2598 Draw The Bow

    The sudden and unexpected change stunned everyone who saw.


    A series of attacks from David dazzled them and Zen was immediately cornered.


    He knew he had no place to hide.


    He moved his elixir field as soon as he could to create an invisible force.


    The Buddha Emperor Sword which wasn''t completely solidified yet rushed towards David.


    "Bang!"


    The Buddha Emperor Sword landed on his body and prevented him from moving.


    As he saw an opening, Zen quickly distanced himself from David.


    "What the... He shaped it with his strength source? How did he do it so easily? He really is full of tricks I haven''t seen before."


    Tyler was speechless. He didn''t expect Zen to have so many tricks that were very unique and innovative.


    However, he had no intentions of letting Zen go.


    If he wanted to get rid of Zen who was more outstanding than David, he had to do it as soon as possible to make sure everything went as he planned.


    So he continued manipulating David to go all out on Zen.


    Under the constant pressure from David, all Zen could do was dodge his attacks.


    But it seemed that David was always one step ahead of Zen and was able to take full advantage of his speed. Occasionally, he would use the Truth of Void Destruction to launch a sneak attack in the void.


    While they were fighting, Zen moved as fast as he could because he knew he was in a dangerous situation.


    On the top of the Sky South Bone Tower not far from the Flying Sickle City, a huge eye was watching everything that was happening in the Flying Sickle City.


    No. 9527 didn''t care about the ongoing fight between the Wild Gods at all.


    In their master''s eyes, these creatures were nothing but puny insects. Even the exiles were just larger insects.


    The only person able to intrigue No. 9527 was Zen.


    The brain masters asked No. 9527 to watch Zen closely and record his every move.


    If possible, they wanted it to get as close to him as possible.


    They knew that his own strength alone was not enough for helping himself cross the shore. He needed someone to guide him.


    "It''s just a duel. Why does the exile intervene in it?"


    No. 9527 was confused because it usually had trouble understanding humans'' intentions.


    Tyler had already mastered the Truth of Void Dest


    they still failed to notice that Tyler was hiding in the void.


    "Clang! Clang! Clang!"


    The two sharp knives of David flew violently and immediately went for Zen once again.


    Under the control of Tyler, David was now much powerful than mid-rank True Gods.


    Even the elders were surprised to see his improvement, but Zen was still able to deflect his attack with his long sword.


    "You are starting to get into my nerves."


    Tyler was getting a bit angry. After thinking about it for a while, he continued to control his puppet David. His attack became more and more ferocious after every strike.


    Zen tried his best to calm down and deal with the enemy without losing his cool.


    However, the gap between him and Tyler was so enormous that it couldn''t be ignored. Under the endless suppression from David, Zen finally showed a flaw.


    David then focused all his attacks on this flaw.


    "Clang!"


    A clear sound was heard.


    Zen''s legs were cut by the two sharp knives and he could no longer stand firmly. His long sword was suddenly thrown into the air before piercing the ground tens of thousands of feet away from them. It then shrank down to only several feet long.


    David''s eyes went totally blank as he slowly walked towards Zen, gripping his two sharp knives tightly.


    "It''s time to finally put an end to this fight," said David in a strange tone.


    At the same time, No. 9527''s consciousness appeared at the top of the Sky South Bone Tower. "You lose."


    All of a sudden, the bow was drawn.

 Chapter 2599 Exposure

    Soon after the Chaos Ancient God''s death, most of his powers and skills were distributed among the brain masters.


    But the powers seemed to be wasted on those naive brain masters. They were only concerned with their inner beautiful dreams in the spiritual world and cared least about what was happening outside.


    On the contrary, the brain units like No. 9527 showed keen interest in the outside world.


    Sometimes the brain masters would assign their powers to the brain units like No. 9527 to fulfill certain tasks that seemed to take too much of their time.


    Every once in a while, some undisciplined exiles would try to break into the Chaos Ancient God''s skull, but they were easily eliminated by the small brain units.


    Of course, like No. 9527, they too had borrowed the strength from the Chaos Ancient God.


    "Swish!"


    The arrow with a considerable length of about 620 feet disappeared the moment it left the bowstring.


    According to the estimation of No. 9527, the arrow would find its target Tyler, who was hiding in the void, in a very short time.


    But Tyler was very proficient in the Truth of Void Destruction. There was a chance of survival for him from the arrow.


    However, No. 9527 didn''t consider the probability that Tyler could even dodge the arrow. Tyler''s life was like dust to it, and held little significance for it.


    What was important was to refrain Tyler from killing Zen.


    Tyler, who was hiding in the void, carefully controlled David and gradually forced Zen into a corner.


    He felt like he was fighting Zen in person. He never imagined that Zen could be so stubborn. It took tremendous effort on his part to duel with Zen.


    Tyler sighed as he felt sorry for Zen. After all, Zen was his opponent now.


    Just as he was about to end Zen''s life, he suddenly felt a tremor.


    He solely focused on practicing the Truth of Void Destruction. Hence, he had a sharp sense of space, which was far more superior to other exiles.


    Even though the wave of spatial fluctuation was tens of billions of miles away, he could still sense it. What was more, he knew it headed in his direction.


    ''It''s a fluctuation that will come very soon. I think...''


    His pupils dilated, as he thought about


    s this the way to watch the fight? By hiding in a void?"


    As he spoke, he pointed his finger at the top of the sky and infused a force of soul into David''s brain.


    David, who had been fuzzy in the brain, quickly sobered up. After he regained his strength, his body started shaking violently. He looked in surprise at Tyler. "Master? Why are you here? I feel so weird. It seemed that I was being manipulated by someone."


    Hearing David speak, Lancelot sighed helplessly and rubbed his forehead. Although David was extremely talented, he could be real slow in observing the situation around him.


    As for his master Tyler, the corners of his mouth twitched in nervousness.


    Ramzi said, "Tyler, what else do you have to say?"


    Frowning, Tyler looked at Ramzi and then at his disciple David. He cursed himself for his action.


    If he had known that he would be exposed, he would have never interfered in the fight.


    Even if they lost, at least, he would not put himself and his race in such a position.


    At that moment, ripples appeared in the space behind Tyler, out of which a faint voice floated out. "Tyler''s actions can be justified to his impulse. Ramzi, you don''t have to be too hard because of this. You want the Sky South Bone Tower, right? We can give it to you."


    "Give it to us? Is this a joke? We won the bet in a fair deal, so automatically the Sky South Bone Tower belongs to us. In what context do you mean that you will give it to us?" Ramzi asked coldly.

 Chapter 2600 Prove

    The exiles were imprisoned in this world and they were all aware of each other''s existence.


    Ramzi could tell from the voice that it was Spark Yan from the Yellow Emperor race who was speaking.


    This person''s status in the Yellow Emperor race was the same as that of the old man in the Nine Li race. He was one of the most powerful characters in this world.


    However, this didn''t intimidate Ramzi. He didn''t back off.


    The Yellow Emperor race only fought for the Sky South Bone Tower in these challenge matches, so it was amply clear that they didn''t intend to start a war.


    Moreover, the Light of Adjudication, which appeared once every one thousand years, was about to arrive. This was not the ideal time to have a big face-off.


    Furthermore, even if the Yellow Emperor race really wanted to start a war, the Nine Li race would not fear its opponents.


    Ramzi was pretty confident about this.


    Ripples flashed in the space behind Tyler once more, and Spark''s voice came through the ripples.


    "So then... What do you want?"


    It sounded like Spark wanted this to be over now.


    Adele, Giacomo, and some others exchanged silent glances.


    Admittedly, they were furious that Tyler had manipulated David during the battle. But strangely, Tyler had recklessly exposed himself, which gave the Nine Li race a chance to take advantage.


    The Nine Li warriors knew exactly what that question meant and Ramzi was even clearer what he was going to do. He smiled faintly and said, "It''s very simple. The Yellow Emperor race should take their hands off the cities within five million miles around the Sky South Bone Tower."


    If they took their hands off, it meant that they would have to quit.


    These large races would never publicly announce that they had occupied these cities. After all, the cities where the people of the wilderness gathered were not important enough to attract the attention of these large races. Those who controlled the cities were usually sects that belonged to the race that occupied the place.


    What Ramzi meant was that the sects that belonged to the Yellow Emperor race should leave the area of five million miles around the Sky South Bone Tower!


    When the warriors of the Yellow Emperor race heard this, they were furious!


    For this generation, the Sky South Bone Tower had been shared equally by the two races. Even if the Yellow Emperor race gave up the Sky South Bone Tower, they would only lose one bone


    ndly, "Since Lancelot has doubts about your origin, you might want to clear his doubts."


    Zen nodded slightly.


    It was not difficult for him to transform into the Nine Li Wild Body. It was just that he had not got the chance to use it in these battles.


    Lisa and Jerome didn''t pose any threat to him. In fact, while going against David at the beginning, he was able to suppress him easily.


    After David was manipulated by Tyler, Zen had no chance to transform into the Blood Wild Body.


    With everyone''s gaze on him, Zen activated his Nine LI Wild Body through his thought. The bones and meridians in his body were surging, and another two heads and two pairs of arms sprouted from his body. He quickly turned into a creature with three heads and six arms!


    Three heads and six arms, and that too, all real!


    Moreover, there were few mid-rank Wild Gods who could turn into this form with three heads and six arms. If Zen could also achieve it, it meant that his blood was pure and rare. Considering this, it was not strange that he could manage such a feat.


    Seeing this, Tyler snorted and stepped into the air, disappearing right before everyone''s eyes.


    Lancelot cupped his hands towards Adele but had nothing else to say. He led the Yellow Emperor members and left.


    As for the Wild Gods who were quietly watching in the distance, some were happy while others were worried. After all, today''s battle had determined the division of power in the territory of the Sky South Bone Tower.


    From now on, all the forces that were attached to the Yellow Emperor race would be removed and other people would replace them.

 Chapter 2601 Activate The Sky South Bone Tower

    After the Yellow Emperor race left, some managers from the Flying Sickle City came up to congratulate the Nine Li race.


    Two of the managers belonged to the Yellow Emperor race''s subsidiary sects, but they turned against them the first chance they got.


    After all, the Yellow Emperor race wouldn''t be able to take care of the subsidiary sects when they decided to withdraw. These people would probably need to plan their own lives in the future. People without external motivation would easily betray the Yellow Emperor race.


    However, the people of the Nine Li race weren''t in the mood to talk to them, so they dismissed them just after a few words.


    There was no need for the Nine Li race to manage their cities as the race''s three major subsidiary sects would take care of everything.


    "The Sky South Bone Tower has been closed for 13, 000 years, and today, it''s finally going to open. Adele, go ahead and open it with the others," Ramzi said to his daughter with a smile.


    Adele nodded as she looked at her father with confusion. "Father, are you leaving so soon?"


    "No." Ramzi shook his head before shifting his gaze toward the top of the Sky South Bone Tower. "I still have to check on something."


    All of the Nine Li race''s exiles were staring at this spot when Zen fought David, but none of them had noticed Tyler hiding in the void. The moment he fell out of the void, they sensed a strong force rushing towards him.


    The force almost disappeared immediately. However, Ramzi could tell that it was the power that forced Tyler to come out of the void.


    He had no idea who helped the Nine Li race at this critical moment, and whether friend or foe, he wanted to know who it was.


    He had already felt the force was coming from somewhere extremely high. Judging from the direction and distance, it must be coming from the top of the Sky South Bone Tower.


    "Okay."


    Adele nodded slightly, a little displeased.


    She was Ramzi''s daughter, but she seldom saw her father in her whole life. And yet because of Zen, her father had appeared several times. The difference in his attitudes toward Zen and toward her was so great that she couldn''t help but feel wronged..


    Ramzi smiled knowingly seeing his d


    sappeared, Ramzi stepped out of the vortex at the top of the Sky South Bone Tower.


    He wandered for a while before he released his spiritual sense, willing it to spread throughout the tower.


    "Here!"


    In a flash, he appeared at the other side of the Sky South Bone Tower.


    With his keen mind, he could feel the aftereffect of the remnant soul. However, as he looked at the bone tower, he couldn''t help but feel that something was off.


    The fluctuation of the soul seemed to penetrate the inside of the bone tower.


    Since he had lived in another bone tower for many years, he knew very well that the bones of the Chaos Ancient God were abnormally strong. No living being possessed the strength to break through them and sneak into them.


    "Sure enough, the Chaos Ancient God is staring at Zen,"


    Ramzi muttered, his brows furrowed together.


    The Chaos Ancient God had infused his own blood into Zen''s body when the latter was undergoing the Body Tribulations, which had almost killed Zen.


    This time, the Chaos Ancient God personally forced Tyler out of the void.


    Ramzi didn''t know why a creature at such a level would target Zen.


    After all, for countless years, the Chaos Ancient God hadn''t made any movement, and it was because of him that the group of exiles were alive in this world.


    From the looks of it, the Chaos Ancient God didn''t hold any ill will towards Zen.


    This was good news. With a sigh of relief, Ramzi stepped into the vortex once again.

 Chapter 2602 A Visit To Snake Goddess Race

    Thirteen thousand years ago, a ferocious battle between the Nine Li race and Yellow Emperor race took place. As a result of that debacle, the Sky South Bone Tower was shut down.


    The two great races came to an agreement. Since the Sky South Bone Tower had been closed, they started to develop the Immemorial Wilderness right underneath it.


    However, the tower was finally in the hands of the Nine Li race.


    The members of the race failed to hide their excitement, especially Giacomo and Erik.


    The honor of helping the Nine Li race possess another bone tower was comparable to that of the emperors of the mortals expanding territories.


    Adele, however, seemed a little caught up in her own thoughts as she allowed her beautiful orbs to constantly glance at Zen.


    The changes his arrival could cause the Nine Li race were unknown to her, but she was certain that her father''s words had something to do with Zen.


    Could he really lead the Nine Li race to leave this world?


    Not long after, the bone boat slowly approached the center of the Sky South Bone Tower. There was a crack of a thousand feet long in the middle which served as an entrance for the boat.


    The races were always competing for those cracks. Through them, an entire race could hide and avoid the Light of Adjudication every thousand years.


    A huge red seal which was also hundreds of thousands of feet wide swirled around the crack.


    The scarlet aura circled the seal, which meant that there was possible trouble to come for anyone who came near.


    That seal was created by the exiles of both the Nine Li race and Yellow Emperor race. Once it was removed, the two races would be alerted.


    "Grand Elder, it''s time to remove the seal." Giacomo, who was standing next to the absent-minded Adele, felt her vibe and quietly nudged her.


    That gesture snapped her back to reality. Embarrassed that he noticed, she could only smile at Giacomo while nodding her head softly.


    Naturally, she was the one who could remove the seal of the Sky South Bone Tower. After all, she was the Grand Elder of the race.


    In the presence of everyone, Adele began to grow and her body started to swell up.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Ten thousand feet...


    A hundred thousand feet...


    A million feet...


    And four million feet!


    The huge body she now possessed was a brutal view for Ze


    s golden light shield, then the theurgy that David used was something he possessed after his blood power had reached a certain level. That black light also posed a great threat to Zen.


    The purity of Zen''s bloodline was definitely not lesser than that of David''s. However, Zen only got three heads and six arms after breaking through the Body Tribulations. He never got any bloodline theurgy, nor did he hear anyone speak of it.


    The old man smiled and said, "Our bloodline is not inferior to theirs, I can assure you that. But you are a direct descendant of the Grand Chieftain. It''s difficult for me to predict when you could activate the bloodline theurgy. However, I believe that sooner or later, you will."


    In the past years, there had never been a warrior with the imperial-grade bloodline in the Nine Li race. Even the exiles didn''t know much about the bloodline theurgy of their race. The old man didn''t have the answer. Zen needed to figure that out by himself.


    "Let''s go. It''s time," the old man said.


    "Go where?" Zen asked, his eyebrows furrowed.


    "To pay a visit to the Snake Goddess race."


    Escaping the prison could be a challenge for the Nine Li race alone. But if they were to ally with the Snake Goddess race and summon the other races to help them, the chances of leaving could increase a great deal.


    Furthermore, the Snake Goddess race had tied the divine land to the Torrent Bone Tower. They needed to solve that problem.


    They needed to make accurate preparations before they could take action, and Zen was a vital part of it all.

 Chapter 2603 Arrival

    The oldest man took Zen and quietly disappeared in the Sky Spirit Bone Tower.


    The Warden race had always been very mysterious. They had quietly visited this world. Only a few were aware of their existence, and even the exiles knew little about them.


    It was the reason that, as much as possible, they must be cautious and careful in leaving the place.


    The Torrent Bone Tower stood as the fourth rib of the Chaos Ancient God.


    On the rib was a crack which was as long as tens of billions of miles. The crack had created a wide space inside the Torrent Bone Tower, and it was then known to be the most suitable bone tower.


    Torrent Bone Tower had been occupied by the strongest race in this world. The Snake Goddess race, widely known and considered as the strongest race, naturally took control of the bone tower.


    At the foot of the Torrent Bone Tower, there was the vast Immemorial Wildernesses.


    For commoners to enter this part of the Immemorial Wildernesses, it was necessary to acquire the Admission Tokens from the disciples of the nine great sects of the Snake Goddess race. It would deem impossible for them to enter this place without the Admission Tokens.


    No one had the guts and was brave enough to fight against the number one race in this world, which was the Snake Goddess race. Even joining the sects subordinate to the race was extremely difficult, let alone the main Snake Goddess race itself.


    As a result, the Snake Goddess race had attracted countless outstanding talents in this world.


    "Sizzle..."


    Inside the void, the ripples spread out in circles.


    Zen was already taken out of the space channel. In a short period of time, together with the oldest man, they had already traveled over 30 billion miles.


    He took a look at the Torrent Bone Tower in the distance. A strange expression appeared on his face as he muttered, "It seems that there is still a long distance from the Torrent Bone Tower."


    The Torrent Bone Tower looked close at hand. But the truth was, flying there would take so much time. It would take a longer time than expected.


    The oldest man''s face revealed a bitter smile as he said, "The Snake Goddess race has made a lot of rules. They don''t allow outsiders to enter their bone tower at will."


    The Snake Goddess race made a rule forbidding the other e


    t you have found a young guy with a good talent. So you want to marry him into our Snake Goddess race, right?"


    A tinge of sadness could be felt coming from the sweet and soft voice.


    The woman probably noticed Zen behind Timotheus, so she played a joke.


    The exiles who were qualified to be imprisoned in this place weren''t just nobody in the Source World, so they felt quite helpless to fall into such a position.


    "Maybe such boring days will be gone forever." Timotheus smiled.


    The woman in the rainbow was very smart. She knew what Timotheus meant. However, she did not have much interest in it. She just lazily said, "We have tried so many methods before. But have we ever succeeded?"


    Timotheus kept his calm and spoke in a light tone, "If there is a slight possibility, are you willing to give up?"


    The woman in the rainbow was silent for a moment before saying, "No!"


    "That''s right!" Timotheus laughed. "Let us go in!"


    Soon after, the colorful vortex continued to spin. Timotheus and Zen entered it.


    As for the Wild Gods who had stopped Timotheus and Zen just now, they were in a daze witnessing the scene.


    "Hey!" One of the Wild Gods broke from his trance, patted the shoulder of their leader and cried out, "They have left!"


    The leader of the Wild Gods then came back to his senses. He didn''t know who that woman or Timotheus was, but no matter what the reason Timotheus came to the Snake Goddess race was, he couldn''t have a hand in it.


    He just shrugged his shoulders and led his men to leave in a hurry.

 Chapter 2604 Persuade

    Zen stepped into the passageway that seemed like a rainbow. A gentle fragrance went up his nose.


    As far as he could see, a colorful world was right in front of him.


    "Is this... the inside of the bone tower?" He was stunned by what he saw.


    When Zen saw the interior of the Nine Li race''s bone tower, he thought the place was simple and crude.


    The Nine Li race had halls and houses within the caves that formed naturally inside the bone tower, and the materials that they used were very simple.


    But in the vast cave of the Torrent Bone Tower were some emerald green plants. They were lined up in an orderly fashion and had light yellow flowers scattered around them. In the distance were mountains and waterfalls. Every structure inside seemed beautiful as if the place was from a fairytale.


    "He-he, of course it is." A soft chuckle rang through his ears.


    Not far from Zen was a tall woman who wore a long white dress and sat on a broad chair.


    She had a pretty face and clear eyes that glistened with crystal lights.


    Both her strength and reputation had exceeded those of the other exiles by a mile.


    Even Timotheus who was known to be a five-star Nine Li Guard wouldn''t stand a chance against this woman. It was because of her that the Snake Goddess race was able to secure the title of being the most powerful race in this world.


    But the woman had also hidden her aura. At a glance, one would think that she was an ordinary woman who had no experience in any cultivation of marital arts.


    As Zen observed the woman closely, the woman also looked at him.


    "For so many years, the Nine Li race has not developed anything at all. Except for a few old freaks, the people of the younger generation are all disappointing. But this time around, you seem to have gotten your hands on a good disciple." The woman had sharp eyes and she immediately saw through Zen''s cultivation with a quick glance.


    She was well aware of how difficult it was to train a powerful top-rank True God in their world. The most vital thing was that Zen seemed to have been able to comprehend two types of Truths of Godly Ways.


    Timotheus smiled out of embarrassment...


    The development of the Nine Li race in their world was indeed not as good as that of the Ye


    "What a shameless boy! I cannot believe you have the audacity to make such remarks!" The woman''s gaze went by Zen and fell on Timotheus. The more she listened, the more she felt that Zen''s words were very absurd.


    However, she knew Timotheus'' character very well. As a five-star Nine Li Guard, he would never bring a liar to fool her.


    "Please let Zen continue," Timotheus said as he waved his hand.


    Zen didn''t care about the woman''s reaction and went on with what he was saying, "When I came into this world, I had an encounter with the Warden race."


    "We see them every year. Those cowards recently came to our Torrent Bone Tower themselves. This is not surprising at all," the woman replied faintly.


    "My experience with them was quite different," Zen said as he shook his head.


    Zen told them in detail about his encounter with Zelda and Luther.


    As Zen spoke, the woman''s face gradually revealed a look of doubt. Once Zen was done speaking, the woman stared at Timotheus and said in a doubtful tone, "Timotheus, is this the opportunity you have mentioned before?"


    Timotheus nodded and said, "Yes. Aren''t you interested in this great opportunity at all?"


    Zen stared at her as he waited for her answer.


    The woman was the decision maker of the entire Snake Goddess race and her attitude determined everything.


    After a moment of contemplation, a wide smile appeared on her beautiful face. "Although what you just told me sounds like a made-up story, I think I''ll give it a shot."

 Chapter 2605 The Reunion

    For all the exiles, the worst fate was to be trapped here forever.


    Time was cheap and they didn''t mind using it just for a chance.


    Even if it was just a made-up story, they would still try to verify it because that was much better than doing nothing in the bone tower!


    Moreover, it was impossible that Timotheus especially brought Zen to deceive her.


    It made Zen secretly heave a sigh of relief when he heard the woman''s decision.


    It was easier to persuade these exiles than he thought.


    But Zen could understand. If he was trapped here for years, he wouldn''t miss any opportunity to possibly get out.


    "That''s great." Zen smiled.


    The woman calmly stared at Zen and said, "In fact, many years ago, I already knew that the prison built by the Chaos Ancient God is absolutely perfect and there exists no loopholes. Any efforts to escape are useless and the only way to possibly leave this world is in the hands of the Warden race. However, they won''t say anything."


    She shrugged her slender shoulders and helplessly smiled.


    The Warden race were like ghosts who would quietly pass by. No one could get anything useful when they tried to communicate with them.


    The woman had once set up an array to bewitch them, tried to tempt them with special offers, or even seduced them, but it was all in vain. After all kinds of attempts, the Snake Goddess race could only give up.


    But Zen said that there was a conflict within the Warden race and that he even found two Warden members!


    This made her realize that this opportunity was unique, therefore, important.


    No wonder Timotheus made Zen so important and personally took him to her place.


    After she paused to think, the woman asked, "Are the two from the Warden race you mentioned safe?"


    "Yes, they should be safe."


    "They can''t enter a bone tower. Once the Light of Adjudication arrives, they''ll definitely die. We must move faster." The woman''s frown deepened.


    If it weren''t for the Light of Adjudication which happened


    es, let alone powerful sects. However, even a small force in the city could bring them disaster. The lives of these desolate people were as light as feathers.


    "They''re..."


    Even Zelda couldn''t stop from gaping when she saw the group of people in the sky.


    They emitted a strong pressure even when they were just standing still but she couldn''t tell their cultivation level. It could only mean that their cultivation level was beyond her comprehension.


    Luther came close to whisper, "Zelda... who are they?"


    "Why did you come out?" Zelda scolded her brother but kept her eyes firmly at the sky.


    Luther smile bitterly. "Will I be safe if I hide in the hut?"


    He was less worried than his sister because if it was meant to happen, then it would.


    Another space fluctuation came as they were staring at the sky and Zen quietly emerged from it.


    The fists at her sides tightly clenched and her jaw dropped when Zelda recognized that it was Zen.


    Only one thought came in her mind, Zen succeeded even faster than she expected!


    In the air...


    The woman of the Snake Goddess race flatly asked, "Who are the two you talked about?"


    Zen''s gaze swept over the place, and he found Luther and Zelda who stood at the entrance to the tribe.


    His body flashed and he arrived in front of Zelda in an instant. "We''re ready!"

 Chapter 2606 The Agitated Exiles

    Zelda was from the Warden race. Although her cultivation level was not too high, her insight and knowledge were unmatched compared to most ordinary people.


    She had not the slightest reason to panic.


    She could easily see that Zen had brought over a number of exiles.


    At first, she had expected Zen to join an esteemed force and gain a foothold within it before sneaking her and her brother into the bone tower for a while.


    They would then have planned to escape once they avoided the Light of Adjudication.


    Zelda was well aware that entering the bone tower was difficult. It was even more difficult to establish contact with the exiles.


    What she did not expect was for Zen to not only come in contact with, but also gather so many exiles in such a short period of time.


    She could see almost all of the exiles before her.


    This was perhaps their most unusual act over millions of years.


    With careful planning and scrutiny, they had adopted the best plan of action.


    The exiles had never actually gone head to head with the Warden race, so they did not know their real strength.


    After a round of discussions, Timotheus, Emily from the Snake Goddess race had come to a decision. With their utmost strength, they would take away Zelda and her brother, whom Zen had mentioned.


    For the exiles, this rare opportunity was a godsend.


    All this was only possible because what Zen claimed was true.


    If Zen had cheated this group of exiles, however, his ending would have been certain.


    "You... You have succeeded. I didn''t expect you to get so many people here," said Zelda, staring at Zen in a daze.


    Zen smiled pleasantly. "It''s their decision. They think that it''s impossible to avoid the Warden race while sneaking you and your brother into the bone tower, so it''s better we confront the Warden race head on!"


    Hearing this, Zelda tilted her head, seeming to be lost in thought. "You think so much."


    As a matter of fact, what Zen said was highly possible.


    Perhaps the Warden race was not powerful, but since they were assigned to manage the prison, it was not easy to fight them.


    Whoosh!


    A white figure flew down from the sky and plopped in front of Zelda.


    It was the woman from the Snake Goddess race


    ain, one needs to reach a special place, and my cultivation isn''t high enough right now."


    "Cultivation? You are cultivating the True God system?" Emily frowned.


    She did not sense the Wild God Power from Luther''s body. At the same time, she felt that Luther was trying to condense the life vitality.


    If he cultivated the Wild God system, it would become very simple. The wild bones, even the blood wild bones, were not worth much to the exiles, but it was a special feat to train a True God.


    "Yes." Luther nodded. "But my progress has been slow."


    After fleeing from the Warden race, Zelda and Luther had wandered from one place to another, enduring many hardships. Luther simply did not get many opportunities to cultivate.


    After they had settled down in the Iron Tribe, however, Zen taught him a method to cultivate life vitality. But it was not suitable for him to cultivate life vitality in this world. Although he had a great talent for the martial arts, it was still a long way to go before he became a proving godly warrior, given his current cultivation base.


    Timotheus and the other exiles turned to face Emily.


    Emily pursed her lips, the soft light illuminating her face. "Although I have never accepted any disciple before, I''ll do my level best to help Luther."


    "That''s very good. I''m afraid that no one here is more suitable for the task than you, Master Emily. After all, the Grand World Cultivation Method came from your race," Timotheus said with approval.

 Chapter 2607 The Black Shadows On The High Platform

    The warriors with a Wild Body could not reach Other Shore Realm. The creatures in the Source World had been depressed for a long time, as


    this meant that they had no way of reaching higher levels.


    But at some point in that era, the Snake Goddess appeared. She then comprehended the Grand World Cultivation Method.


    With the help of the chaotic energy, she created her inner world and gave birth to countless creatures in her inner world. She had thus created a big world and condensed a Godly Tile. With this method, she actually managed to reach the Other Shore Realm without relying on the Wild Body, which made the entire Source World surprised and overjoyed.


    Since then, it was as if the people of the Source World had discovered a new continent. They continued to explore the Grand World Cultivation Method, contributing their own insights on the method and develop it.


    Because the Snake Goddess had created an inner world and the numerous people inhabiting it, the legend that she was the one who created humans passed down from generation to generation.


    Thus, the Snake Goddess was both the creator, and the greatest master of the Grand World Cultivation Method.


    If Luther wanted to increase the level of his cultivation quickly, Emily would be the most suitable person to guide him.


    A delighted smile appeared on Luther''s face after he had heard Emily''s words.


    Zelda and Luther had been carrying hatred in their hearts for many years now. Their entire family, including their parents and their closest relatives, were all slaughtered by the conservatives of the Warden race.


    They had fled all the way to this desolate place and hid here. The sorrow in their hearts was indescribable.


    Now Luther felt like he would finally get a chance for revenge.


    "Thank you, master," he said, preparing to kneel down before Emily.


    Emily raised her eyebrows. Luther immediately froze in his move. "I don''t recruit disciples," she said flatly. "You can follow me and practice. I don''t have too much time. You need to learn quickly!"


    In the eyes of the exiles, Luther had become their hope to leave this world.


    No matter what Luther needed, they would give him at any cost. But since he hoped to improve his cultivation, he had to rely on himself. There was little the others could do to help him.


    "I see," Luther said, eager to please Emily. She was his last chance.


    hat they still won''t be a match for the allied forces of those great races," the other man said, his voice doubtful.


    In terms of strength, the Yellow Emperor race was only on par with the Nine Li race, but compared to the Snake Goddess race, they still had a lot of improvement to do.


    Moreover, now that the Snake Goddess race had allied with more than eighty percent of the big races, the strength of the Yellow Emperor race paled in comparison. Even if they were strong, they would be overwhelmed by sheer numbers.


    "Yes, the Yellow Emperor race is indeed too weak on its own. But think about it...do you really think the exiles that have joined the Snake Goddess race are really as united as they seem?" the purple-haired man asked, his voice arrogant.


    "What do you mean?"


    "If I give some of them the chance to leave this world, don''t you think they would be tempted?" the man with purple hair replied casually.


    The Warden race were in charge of many aspects of this prison. The purple-haired man, for instance, held the power to determine who could gain freedom.


    Luther would have also become one of them if it hadn''t been for the feud between the conservative faction and the free faction. The quarrel had stripped him not only of his family, but also of his power.


    "For the exiles, freedom is the greatest treasure, their ultimate goal. I believe that they will not turn away such an opportunity," the purple haired man said slyly. "This prison has been too peaceful, dull almost, for a long time. It''s time to find something for these restless good-for-nothings to do..."

 Chapter 2608 Spark Yan

    Just before the end of this thousand years came, all the forces in this world could hardly sit still.


    The Northern Leaning Bone Tower was built on the ninth rib of the Chaos Ancient God.


    Unlike other bone towers which rose vertically to the sky, the Northern Leaning Bone Tower was tilted towards the north by 60 degrees.


    It was comparatively intact and there wasn''t much space for people to hide in it.


    However, in such a small and narrow bone tower, four races with bloodlines gathered together. One could imagine that the available space for these races to develop was very narrow.


    The exiles of these races weren''t powerful enough to compete against the top races so they had trouble obtaining new bone towers.


    More than ten thousand years ago, the four races in the Northern Leaning Bone Tower attempted to enter the Sky South Bone Tower. They hoped that by means of a fair deal, the Yellow Emperor race and the Nine Li race would be kind enough to give them a portion of the space in the Sky South Bone Tower.


    However, all of their propositions were immediately rejected by the Nine Li race and the Yellow Emperor race.


    As the number of disciples they had in their races increased, the interior of the Northern Leaning Bone Tower became more and more crowded.


    Most of the time, the disciples from the four races had to live outside the bone tower. Only when the Light of Adjudication arrived would they enter the bone tower to hide temporarily. This only occurred once every thousand years.


    In the past few years, the disciples of the four races always returned one after the other and it made the Northern Leaning Bone Tower even more crowded.


    In the depths of the Northern Leaning Bone Tower, on a scarlet golden pillar, the patterns of a wolf, a lion, a crane, and an ape were carved.


    They were sigils of the four great races, namely the Spirit Wolf God race, the Heavenly Lion race, the Hiding Crane race, and the Silent Ape race.


    Beneath the golden pillar was an exile dressed in gray that walked around the area. He asked in a very flat tone, "Everyone, do you know what happened in the past days?"


    Beside him stood eight exiles who were the mainstay of the fo


    tain had been formed due to the terrain. They had decided to name it the Pyramid Bone Tower because of this.


    At the top of the mountain sat a young man.


    Based on his appearance, he looked younger than thirty but there was a sense of vicissitudes in his slightly opened eyes.


    He was known to be the most powerful exile of the Yellow Emperor race, Spark Yan.


    A black figure floated right in front of him and asked him in a low voice, "Do you want the chance to get out of this place?"


    Spark seemed calm but his heart was racing uncontrollably.


    He already made himself clear about what happened with the Nine Li race and the Snake Goddess race. His race had always been on bad terms with the Nine Li race in this world and in the Source World. Now that the Nine Li race had found a chance to escape from the prison, of course they wouldn''t bother to include his race in their plans.


    However, he wasn''t about to give up. With his character, no matter how strong the Snake Goddess race was, he and his people wouldn''t just stand by and watch. Either all the races would be able to escape or they would all be trapped here eternally.


    Little did he expect that someone from the Warden race would show up and communicate with him for the first time in years.


    "A chance to leave this place..." Spark silently stared at the black figure floating in front of him as if he was trying to see through it. He then said, "Of course I do. But what is the price?"

 Chapter 2609 Consideration

    The figure in black replied, "It''s very simple. You only have to kill two people."


    "You mean the siblings?" Spark asked, the corners of his mouth lifting.


    "Yes," the figure in black said, nodding.


    The Yellow Emperor race had an information system that was much more advanced than those of other races. That was how Spark knew about what went on within the Snake Goddess race and the Nine Li race.


    What was more, the Snake Goddess race and the Nine Li race didn''t hide what they were doing, which made it easy for him to find information.


    Spark looked at the black figure in front of him with great interest and said, "So you really are scared. I can tell that the siblings are very important, so you have no choice but to kill them."


    After a short silence, the black figure answered, "Yes."


    The exiles were very intelligent. They often only needed a few details to see the truth. It was difficult to deceive them.


    So the figure in black had no choice but to admit the truth.


    Spark''s lips curled. "I''m afraid this price is too high for me. After all, the Snake Goddess race and the Nine Li race are trying their best to protect the siblings. It''s going to be very difficult to kill them. The Nine Li race may be displeased if I choose to join them, but I can still do that if I pay a certain price,"


    he said as he stared at the figure.


    Although he couldn''t see the expression on the figure''s face, he could guess what he was thinking.


    "You are indeed qualified to join them. But if you do so, it will still be impossible for you to leave this world," the figure said. "I know you''re testing me, but I''m telling you that even if they find us through the siblings and try to cut off the Curse Chains, we''ll destroy this world. And then, none of you will survive, even if you hide inside the bone towers."


    Spark''s eyebrows went up at this.


    He was trying to gauge whether the black figure was telling the truth or lying.


    He would absolutely not join the Snake Goddess race if the Warden race was capable of doing this. He didn''t want to die with that group of


    iringly at Luther. "Master Emily directly helps Luther establish a world, so he will naturally feel a lot of pain. It''s a welcome opportunity for many core disciples in our race."


    The Wild Gods of the Snake Goddess race rarely received such treatment. Many of them were now looking at Luther with blatant envy.


    Zelda was relieved at the Wild God''s words.


    The Wild God continued, "Master Emily has told me that I can transplant the blood of our race into you if you want. I can also give you wild bones and blood wild bones, so you can cultivate well during this time."


    "Transplant the blood of your race into me?" Zelda was surprised.


    She had lived in the Immemorial Wilderness, so she knew how precious the blood was.


    One blood wild bone alone could be used in exchange for numerous resources, many of which were unimaginable. But one must have the corresponding blood to devour the blood wild bones.


    Blood was naturally rarer than blood wild bones. What was more, she could now get the blood of the Snake Goddess race, the most powerful blood in this world!


    Despite this, she still refused after careful consideration.


    She wanted to become stronger, and although her free faction had betrayed the Warden race, she still needed to preserve her own blood.


    But since the Snake Goddess race was offering her a massive amount of wild bones, she wouldn''t refuse the offer.

 Chapter 2610 Lorenas Head

    After bringing Zelda and Luther to the Snake Goddess race, Zen had completed his mission. He felt relieved that he was able to get it done without any issues.


    Whether or not he could leave this world and return to the divine land would be decided after the Light of Adjudication came. For now, the Snake Goddess race would be responsible for increasing Luther''s cultivation base.


    Since his work was done, Zen had to return to the Sky Spirit Bone Tower to cultivate in seclusion. He needed to improve on a lot of things and prepare while he had time.


    He could imagine that it wouldn''t be easy for him to leave this world. He had to go through a fierce battle with the Warden race and survive.


    Moreover, after returning to the divine land, he would be required to face those Holy Beings too. Therefore, he had to improve his cultivation urgently. Zen took a deep breath as he thought how busy he would be from now on.


    Since the Nine Li race and the Snake Goddess race had joined hands, the Nine Li race started to have a more active atmosphere.


    Although the Wild Gods who were born and raised in this world were not urgent to leave, they were yearning for the further and larger Source World. With the help and leadership of the exiles, almost all the members of the Nine Li race sped up their cultivation.


    The colorful waves in the Time Sea rolled and foamed, with countless fragments rolling within.


    White clouds flew above the water, and from a very special angle, the light bounced off the Time Sea, reflecting colors against these clouds.


    The waves sparkled a prism of colors as light struck its surface. Deep in the Floating Island of the Dongfang Clan, a towering structure could be noticed.


    The pale golden palace stood in the middle of the island.


    By the looks of it, one could tell that the structure had only been recently built. Although it only covered a small area, it appeared particularly exquisite.


    Seeing its magnificent craftsmanship, any master in weapon refining would probably be amazed.


    A special kind of gold, usually used to make the top-grade weapons, was used to build this palace. A layer of emerald green rhomboid jades decorated its surface. It was believed that this kind of jade was able to attract the vitality between heaven and earth by nature. For the same reason, some True Gods liked to make beads with these jades and placed them in their houses, hoping they could continuously attract the vitality hun


    e only way to do it was to find it in the Time Sea. He would need to jump into the past and hope he was lucky. Unfortunately, even with his status, it was impossible to clear up the mess of these fragments.


    Lorena stared at Nicholas. Her expression appeared to be a little complicated.


    It was common for the young to say such ambitious words. However, hearing it from a person who had lived for countless divine eras as the number one Holy Being in the divine land, it sounded really strange.


    At last, Lorena sneered and closed her eyes. She had not decided yet whether or not she would believe in Nicholas'' ability to recover her body.


    Seeing Lorena''s attitude, Nicholas didn''t get annoyed at all. He watched as she let her head slowly bury into the brown liquid again.


    "Rumble..."


    Soon, the brown liquid began to boil again, drowning the head back until it was gone.


    As soon as she disappeared, Nicholas gave a bitter smile and decided to leave the palace.


    He had been busy recently. Despite his hectic schedule, he wanted to find a perfect body for Lorena, and at the same time to handle all kinds of things as the ruler of this land.


    Soon after, he reached the Cyan Shadow Hall on the Floating Island of his clan.


    As the clan leader, he came to observe the new excellent disciples of his clan. These were the disciples who made names for themselves recently. Some of them were chosen from the Ray Tree, while some were extremely excellent in the arena.


    Stepping into the Cyan Shadow Hall, his previous helpless and sad expression disappeared quietly, replaced by an aura of arrogance bursting out from his body.

 Chapter 2611 Hide

    In the Cyan Shadow Hall stood over a hundred True Gods.


    About half of them were disciples from this Floating Island.


    While the other half came from the Dongfang Clan who resided at the Ray Tree.


    Compared with other powerful clans on the Floating Islands, the Dongfang Clan had an especially strong foundation and their recommended disciples couldn''t be ignored. In other words, even if the Dongfang Clan didn''t rely on the Floating Island, they could still cultivate outstanding young warriors who were comparable to the disciples from the Floating Island!


    When Nicholas made his presence, all the disciples of the Dongfang Clan had great reverence on their faces.


    They knew that this burly middle-aged man was the leader of the Dongfang Clan and the most powerful Holy Being in the divine land!


    But perhaps the title of the most powerful Holy Being wasn''t completely right.


    After all, the Holy Beings wouldn''t fight with each other easily. Some Holy Beings would hold back their strength and they might even be more powerful than Nicholas.


    But on the surface, most of the True Gods thought that Nicholas was the strongest!


    "Greetings! Holy Nicholas!"


    The young warriors in the hall all bowed.


    "That our Dongfang Clan can stand on the top of the Floating Islands is not because of me alone, but all the elites present here. You are the future of our Dongfang Clan." Nicholas looked down at the crowd and nodded.


    "According to the rules of our clan, we will reward the best disciples every once in a while. This time, I will personally reward the best disciples."


    All the young warriors'' eyes lit up in great interest.


    Everyone present recently had the best performance. They either had abundant harvest in the forbidden areas, or made a great contribution to their clan, or showed astonishing abilities and strong potential in the Arena of Legends.


    The reward would be presented by the master of the clan this time so they were all especially excited.


    On the side of the hall, a Demi-holy Being from the Dongfang Clan quietly walked


    male warrior. Very good! This pair of Cyan Yellow Double Swords are rewarded to you two." Nicholas smiled faintly.


    Iris was the girl Lowell had saved before.


    She followed him ever since.


    But she became too reliant on him and couldn''t live without him even when she had the chance to return to the Dongfang Clan.


    In Iris'' eyes, Lowell was always so mysterious.


    It was because of that mystery that she was attracted enough to ignore everything. Up till now, she still couldn''t see through him.


    Although there were dangers in introducing a mysterious stranger into the Dongfang Clan, Lowell must have his reasons to suddenly require to join the Dongfang Clan. Nevertheless, she still willingly helped Lowell hide everything, such as the fact that he could appallingly eat the slate.


    For others, it looked like Lowell was able to enter the Floating Island by playing up to Iris and if they got married, he would be a member of the Dongfang Clan.


    But Iris knew that it was the other way around. In fact, she was subservient to him.


    "Kids, take the swords and show your gratitude to the master!" the Demi-Holy Being urged.


    A gentle smile was on Lowell''s lips as he cupped his hands and Iris followed his action.


    "Thanks, Holy Nicholas!"


    "Thanks, Holy Nicholas!"


    Nicholas flicked his finger and the pair of Cyan Yellow Double Swords shot towards them.

 Chapter 2612 The Guidance Of The Broken Sword

    To be honest, Nicholas really treasured Lowell''s extraordinary talent.


    So when he had heard that Lowell joined the Dongfang Clan for Iris, he rewarded them the Cyan Yellow Double Swords, with the obvious intention of drawing Lowell over to his side.


    After he had rewarded them the two swords, he also continued to reward other outstanding disciples.


    Meanwhile, Rocher tucked the sword into his space ring and stood quietly in a corner. Then, his eyes scanned Nicholas.


    This was Rocher''s first time to see his target.


    If he were to be asked about first impressions, then he honestly found it hard to dislike this middle-aged man with a fair-skinned face.


    Yet, he was fated to be this man''s enemy. It could never be changed no matter what happened.


    It was because of that very reason Mike had created him¡­


    And so, his first step in going undercover in the Dongfang Clan was to take advantage of Iris.


    In any case, he could gather more resources in this place and more importantly, he could gain the trust of the Dongfang Clan, or even Nicholas.


    Once Nicholas had given the rewards, he left with the Demi-holy Being.


    Chatter between the young talents quickly filled the Cyan Shadow Hall after the elders left.


    These young True Gods usually fought in the Arena of Legends, went into closed door cultivation, or traveled through the forbidden lands all day long. They rarely had the chance to get together.


    It was true that they were all outstanding, but they were also very arrogant. They all tended to compare with each other when they were together.


    Currently, all of them cast hostile looks on Rocher and Iris.


    After all, they were in the Dongfang Clan. How could they possibly allow an outsider to get the best reward?


    At that moment, something clicked in Rocher''s mind. "Let''s go," he said to Iris with a smile.


    Iris simply nodded and got ready to leave with him.


    It was also her first time to enter the Floating Island of the Dongfang Clan. Truth be told, she felt out of place. If it wasn''t for Lowell, then she might have never gone to the place in her whole life, even if she was eligible to enter the Floating Island.


    Just then, they heard a highly sarcastic voice that said, "I didn''t expect that a sub-branch of our clan could


    This low-rank True God was Lone, the Otherworldly Swordsman. He had sneaked into the divine land not long ago after he became a True God.


    The first thing he did after he entered the divine land was take the secret treasure in the Thunderstorm Mountain, which was a treasure the former owner of the broken sword had left behind.


    Although what the broken sword said was true, Lone still felt somewhat indignant.


    Anyway, he can''t deny the fact that he had only stood out among the geniuses in the Evolutionary Universe with the help of the broken sword.


    Even after he had entered the divine land, he had to rely on this sword to guide him.


    It was safe to say that the broken sword had given him everything he had.


    "I''m not a coward!" he retorted. He boosted his speed, turned into a beam of light, and flew down the undulating mountain road.


    Crack! Crack!


    Once he had set foot on the Thunderstorm Mountain, the golden lightning in the sky kept striking at him as if it had finally found a target.


    Luckily, he cleverly used his special bodily movement skill which enabled him to move quickly like a loach in the water and avoid all the thunder strikes.


    Some True Gods in the Thunderstorm Mountain noticed Lone, and they all looked at him curiously.


    "Look, a low-rank True God came on his own!"


    "He really wants death!"


    "This boy is quite flexible. He has barely avoided the thunder at the outer area of the mountain, but if he enters the inner area, he would die thousands of times..."

 Chapter 2613 The Traveler

    Luckily, the broken sword that Lone possessed was already familiar with the Thunderstorm Mountain.


    He had managed to resist all of the attacks at the periphery of the mountain range using his own strength.


    After he had successfully entered the inner circle of the Thunderstorm Mountain, the golden thunder had become stronger and faster. Lone''s current strength level was not enough to let him cross this place.


    However, the broken sword was well prepared for this journey.


    The Thunderstorm Mountain had an ancient history.


    It used to be the ancestral property of a large clan in the divine land. This clan also had Holy Beings, and they had been above the Time Sea dozens of divine eras ago. They had become a powerful clan above the Time Sea, and were famed across the divine land at that time.


    Unfortunately, their honor and fame did not last too long.


    This clan was sidelined by the alliance of the powerful clans on the Floating Islands. As its foundation was not solid, the alliance of the powerful clans managed to quickly drown its Floating Island in the Time Sea. Naturally, the ancestral land was also affected and the members of this clan were exterminated.


    Now Lone''s sword was to guide him to obtain all the inheritances of this clan.


    The broken sword carried this hatred within it.


    But it was just a sword, and there was no way for it to take revenge.


    Years later, when Mike obtained this broken sword, he allowed it to choose a swordsman in the Evolutionary Universe for itself. In the end, the sword pinned its hopes on Lone.


    Lone was just a Godly Genius, so it was impossible for him to help the sword take revenge. However, the sword''s goal was consistent with Mike''s so the only reason it assisted Lone was to help itself!


    Lone entered the inner circle and a strange blue rune flashed on the blade of the sword. When the rune flew into Lone''s mind, a blue path appeared in his eyes.


    The blue path winding through the mountain extended a long distance.


    When Lone followed this path, he discovered that all the golden thunderbolts seemed to be paying special attention to him, and each and every one carefully avoided him.


    No matter how intense the thunderbolts on both sides of the path were, not one of them hit him! It was as if he had invisible halo of protection around him.


    He entered the inner circle of the Thunderstorm Mountain with ease and reached the end of the path, whe


    the woman. They surrounded her immediately.


    Amazingly, the woman was not frightened at all. Instead, she just stared at the men blankly and asked, "What place is this?"


    "This is the Cyan Demon Region," answered the mid-rank True God who was leading the team.


    "The Cyan Demon Region?"


    The woman repeated and appeared more confused than before.


    She vaguely recalled that the fairy palace was located in the Swirl Forest. After she entered the divine land, she had to go into the Swirl Forest before she could find the fairy palace.


    "Where is the Swirl Forest?" the woman asked the hulks around her.


    "Swirl Forest? Ha-ha! It''s not far from here, but it''s not a place you can enter," the mid-rank True God laughed wickedly as his gaze wantonly swept over her.


    The Swirl Forest kept expanding much like other forbidden lands.


    Now, almost three quarters of the Cyan Demon Region had been swallowed up by the forest. All clans, large and small, which once lived in the Cyan Demon Region, had already moved away, and the ones gathered in the Cyan Demon Region were all notorious gangsters of the divine land.


    "Why can''t I enter it?" the woman asked curiously.


    Seeing the woman''s puzzled expression, the mid-rank True God laughed in a sinister way. "If you want to know the reason, just follow us!"


    If it was another woman in this situation, she would definitely be very vigilant. No woman would go away with strangers in an unknown land.


    However, this woman was different. After she thought for a moment, she blinked her pure and elegant eyes, nodded without hesitation and said, "Okay, let''s go!"

 Chapter 2614 Looking For Her Husband

    Upon hearing the woman''s response, those strong men burst into fits of uncontrollable laughter.


    It didn''t take them much effort to deceive this woman into coming with them. They thought she was a weirdo who wasn''t cautious at all.


    "Come with me then," the mid-rank True God said, leading the way.


    The other proving godly warriors and the low-rank True God followed suit. The woman walked forward, surrounded by all those warriors.


    It seemed as if she was being held hostage, but the woman didn''t see anything wrong with what was going on.


    The Cyan Demon Region territory was sparsely populated. After the city was abandoned, its ruins became a home for extremely tall and huge plants from the Swirl Forest.


    Normally, weeds could only grow up to the knee, but over there, they towered the entire place and almost reached the skies and the sun.


    On several occasions, they would hear strange bestial noises from the depths of the forest, which scared them.


    Finally, the woman came to her senses. She murmured, "Er...where are you taking me?"


    "To meet our leader!" the mid-rank True God answered with a mocking laugh.


    His words made her rather unhappy. "I''m not here to meet your leader. I''m going to the Swirl Forest."


    "I know. Our leader knows where you can find it," the mid-rank True God explained.


    As much as possible, the mid-rank True God didn''t want any trouble. He tried his best not to get himself into conflict with that woman. The less trouble, the better. If she just followed him, then it would be much easier for all of them.


    If she did something stupid, then he would be forced to take action.


    "Okay,"


    the woman responded. However, she had this look on her face. ''Something''s not right, '' she thought.


    Unfortunately, she was a little naive.


    Back when she was still in the universe, she had a master who protected her even if she could crush countless warriors in the Illusion Battlefield using her own strength.


    However, in the divine land, she didn''t have as much control as before.


    Even before she managed to sneak into the divine land, her master and fellow disciples had already given her tons of suggestions and words of advice. Those obviously


    id-rank True Gods in the divine land would find it difficult to withstand the power of the woman''s four swords.


    To her surprise, the top-rank True God opened his mouth which was filled with long white teeth. In the blink of an eye, he swallowed all of the swords.


    He used the Heaven Devouring Technique. By practicing such skill, he could swallow almost anything he wanted to.


    The top-rank True God rubbed his belly and laughed mockingly. "The internal momentum coming from the Purple Aura Godly Way is delicious! Chick, why did you come to the Cyan Demon Region?"


    The woman immediately sank into despair.


    She couldn''t help but resent herself for being too weak. She only went there to see her husband in the Swirl Forest. She thought the people who resided closest to the forest could help her, but she was wrong.


    She never thought it to be such a weird place.


    If she didn''t leave soon, she could die.


    There was bitterness written all over her face. With a hint of sadness in her voice, she said, "I intend to enter the Swirl Forest to find my husband."


    The Swirl Forest was a forbidden area of the divine land. Only members of the powerful clans on the Floating Islands were qualified to explore it. That woman just said that her husband was inside the Swirl Forest.


    The rest burst into laughter.


    All of them laughed except the top-rank True God. He opened his mouth and asked, "Your husband? Which part of the Swirl Forest is he staying at?"

 Chapter 2615 Agree To Help

    The top-rank True God was none other than Wayne, the Big Mouth whom Zen had released from the dungeon of the fairy palace.


    He and Master Evil were known for their very bad reputation in the divine land. After Master Evil was released, he had been anxious to call back his original followers and relive his past glory. Thus, he naturally hurried back to the Vast Sky Region.


    On the other hand, Wayne had stayed in the Cyan Demon Region and gathered a group of outlaws in the region to form his own force.


    The Cyan Demon Region was barren, but he was very happy these days.


    Therefore, it wasn''t a coincidence for him to meet the woman there.


    He had been imprisoned in the fairy palace for so long, and he knew that the only habitable place in the Swirl Forest was the fairy palace.


    So when he heard the woman in front of him say so, his heart skipped a beat.


    "I don''t know. I only know there is a fairy palace in the Swirl Forest," the woman replied, her lips pressed into a thin line.


    "Is there a fairy palace in the forbidden area?"


    "The Swirl Forest is full of fierce beasts. Who could possibly build a fairy palace there?"


    "Hahaha..."


    Once again, the malicious men around them burst into laughter.


    Although those men knew that the woman belonged to their leader, it was okay for them to mock her before their leader had his way with her.


    When Wayne heard those words, he was sure that she was Zen''s woman.


    Before Zen had released them from the dungeon, both Wayne and Master Evil had taken an oath by their inner demons that they would be loyal to Zen forever.


    Of course, it did not mean that Wayne couldn''t eat this woman. After all, his oath was that he must be loyal to Zen, not the people around him.


    Yet, he didn''t dare to do so.


    He knew very well how truly powerful Zen was.


    Zen was the son of Holy Mike and the disciple of Holy Bromley.


    If Wayne really ate this woman and Zen found out, he would surely end up in misery.


    Besides, he was highly ferocious, but not ungrateful.


    It was because of Zen that he had gotten to leave that damned dungeon which had imprisoned him for several divine eras.


    If he could send the woman to the fairy palace and return her t


    miles away from the fairy palace stood on her tiptoes on the top of a tree. She was none other than Joy.


    From her point of view, she could see tens of thousands of beasts that all rushed towards the lake from all directions.


    Those fierce creatures were the most powerful creatures in the Swirl Forest.


    There were blood and even golden apes, and a flock of Swirl Birds thousands of feet long that flew in the sky, which the consummate True Gods found difficult to deal with.


    Of course, she had arranged everything beforehand.


    She had created the Purple Sky Land, which had completely isolated the entire lake from the outside.


    The exit of the Purple Sky Land was connected to the fairy palace.


    "All right!"


    Joy answered and nodded. At that point, waves of purple light spread out everywhere.


    The light waves immediately enveloped numerous vicious creatures in the Purple Sky Land


    A few seconds later, an overwhelming amount of beasts were moved to the huge square of the fairy palace in an instant.


    All the beasts that charged towards the lake were now taken into the fairy palace for Harold to kill.


    Harold would also rely on the fairy palace''s own array. After all, he was the one who had been the most pressured. Moreover, he had already killed countless vicious beasts in the past few days.


    Swoosh! Swoosh!


    The power in his body suddenly erupted, and he killed all those beasts in the blink of an eye. It was as easy as crushing dry weeds!

 Chapter 2616 The Soul Of The Forest

    Pop! Pop! Pop!


    The vicious beasts couldn''t resist Harold''s fist at all.


    They had encountered such an attack after passing through the Purple Sky Land. Without any time to even react, they had all turned into a pool of blood mist.


    Weaker fierce beasts had been torn apart only by Harold''s air waves.


    But even consummate True Gods found it difficult to deal with such beasts.


    In the octagonal pavilion, the scene took Hallet''s breath away.


    "This guy¡­ What a strong freak!"


    Back then, Harold was indeed also very powerful, but the gap between him and Hallet wasn''t all that wide.


    If Hallet encountered Harold in the Arena of Legends, there would''ve been a 40% chance of Hallet''s victory.


    But now, the strength that Harold displayed had put a great distance between him and Hallet¡ªthere was no doubt that it was all because of the Everest Spirit Mountain.


    ''After Harold took control of the mountain, his strength has improved remarkably. I wonder about Gus'' future progress.'' While Hallet was lost in thought, he felt a sudden tremble from the fishing rod in his hand.


    His round eyes flashed as his expression changed. "Gus, the fishing rod is shaking! Attention!"


    The rod was over 10, 000 miles long, but Hallet could still feel its subtle vibration.


    In the lake over 10, 000 miles away, the bobber swayed intensely.


    Augustus held his breath in the void above it.


    It had been several days and nights since he settled there.


    The creature they intended to capture was highly alert, sensitive to every little sound and movement around it. Once it sensed any such movement, it would curl up deep within the lake.


    But now, it finally swallowed the bait.


    Augustus was still rather nervous¡ªif it ran away again, they''d probably lose any chance of finding it again.


    Plop! Plop! Plop!


    The undulation in the water grew more and more violent, indicating the restlessness of the creature there.


    In the fairy palace, Hallet suddenly stood up and raised his arm like a lotus root, tugging hard on the fishing rod. Simultaneously, he said to Augustus through his life vitality, "It is time!"


    Swish!


    As he pulled the rod, his strength was trans


    g in a pool of blood in the fairy palace, Harold gasped for breath. The huge square was filled with the acrid smell of blood¡ªthe liquid had reached up to his knees. One could only imagine how many beasts he had killed there.


    "It''s over. Saul, let Yan, Geoffrey, and the others come out," Hallet sighed heavily in relief.


    At long last, they had fulfilled the heavy task their master had charged them with.


    After being locked up for so long, Geoffrey, Letitia, Yan, Lavender, and the others finally left the training tower.


    But the moment they stepped out, the bloody scene before them frightened them.


    "So many beasts were killed!" Geoffrey exclaimed, wide-eyed in surprise.


    Lavender inhaled the air¡ªshe had missed the taste of blood after killing. "Did you succeed?"


    Hallet nodded once and pointed to the air.


    A faint halo of light appeared in the void. Within it was Augustus'' body resting quietly.


    After being integrated with the soul of the forest, his temperament had undergone a great change. His long black eyebrows were also stained and now a light golden color.


    But Augustus was wearing a strange expression as he said to Hallet, "I saw the Big Mouth we met in the dungeon. Didn''t Zen release him? Why did he come to the Swirl Forest? It looks like he''s with a woman."


    After controlling the Swirl Forest, Augustus could feel every single thing in the forest¡ªhe had found Wayne and Margaret at the edge of the forest.

 Chapter 2617 Missing

    In fact, Margaret and Letitia had both met Augustus before.


    At that time, Zen had battled against the incarnation of Augustus while passing the True Path.


    However, Augustus'' attentions had then been focused on Zen, so he hadn''t even given Margaret a thought.


    Augustus knew without a doubt that there were several important people locked up in the dungeon of the fairy palace, especially Wayne who had left a deep impression on Augustus before.


    Therefore, Augustus was able to instantly recognize him.


    They finally arrived at the land transitioning into the Swirl Forest, and a flash of pale golden light effused the big trees inside the Swirl Forest.


    It was this living, writhing golden light that repulsed all others from taking a step forward.


    Even though Wayne was a top-rank True God, he was also unable to enter into the forest.


    "What transpired just now?"


    Just before Augustus began to merge with the forest soul, the entire Swirl Forest emanated waves of anger.


    Wayne had never witnessed such a scene. He was stunned, and his big mouth gaped wipe open.


    Margaret couldn''t comprehend what was happening.


    She was a bit familiar with the lore of the Swirl Forest. However, she still questioned, "Is there really no way to enter?"


    "No way! All of the forbidden areas have only one way in. Now, this entrance is shut to us, and it is impossible even for a consummate True God to enter it by force!" Wayne said firmly, "Unless you have the means to enter the Floating Island of a powerful clan and use the transmission array on the Floating Island!"


    "The Floating Island of a powerful clan? What''s that? Can I join this powerful clan on the Floating Island?" Margaret wondered aloud, blinking her eyes.


    Wayne became somewhat impatient upon hearing Margaret''s musings. This woman seemed to be ignorant about everything. Given the complexity of this situation, it might take him forever to explain this to her.


    It didn''t even matter whether she was qualified to join a powerful clan or not. If she really wanted to do it, taking her out of the Cyan Demon Region and getting her to the Time Sea would be a great challenge to Wayne.


    He felt a sense of regret then. He hadn''t expected his men to bring Zen''s woman back and give her to him. Already this had caused him a lot of grief.


    As Wayne became somewhat morose, there was a sudden change in the Swirl Forest.


    An invisible force ebbed out of the fairy palace inside the Swirl Forest.


    Crash, crash, crash...


    Instantly, the trees groaned and tumbled over to either side with a s


    er among the powerful clans on the Floating Islands.


    Three Holy Beings had died, and one universe had collapsed. It was said that Nicholas had captured someone underground.


    As for Zen, there was no sign of him anywhere.


    This was an unacceptable result to Harold and those others in the fairy palace.


    While they were still in the dark about what happened, they could only bear the news of this shocking result. All that they could do was to work harder and harder according to their original plan. There was no time to morn or lament as they shouldered the heavy burden.


    Therefore, everyone was in a bad mood recently. Margaret''s unwitting question had stirred up everyone''s regrets, and they felt the loss again as their hearts sank.


    "My brother is missing," Yan whispered sadly to Margaret, who she had never met.


    Margaret''s eyebrows immediately furrowed in fear as her face became a pale lavender. "Missing? What do you mean?"


    Lavender noticed Margaret''s expression and sadly shook her head.


    Letitia blinked her eyes, fighting the tears that threatened there, and her long eyelashes fluttered.


    They knew Margaret all too well, and she might not restrain her emotions.


    Only Joy, who stood to the side, was watching Margaret with great interest.


    She had detected an astonishing quality in Margaret. This woman had successfully cultivated the Purple Aura Godly Way, and her Purple Power Body was most unique. Naturally, Joy was intrigued.


    Harold had revealed some of Mike''s plan to Joy, including some insight about the Godly Geniuses who had great talents.


    Margaret must be one of the so-called Godly Geniuses, but what Joy hadn''t expected was that Margaret was also Zen''s wife.

 Chapter 2618 Teaching

    The leader of the fairy palace right now wasn''t Hallet, nor was it Augustus.


    It was, instead, the charismatic Harold.


    After Mike died and Bromley left the divine land, it was he who planned and put everything into place.


    He was calm in the face of Margaret''s relentless questioning. "Zen is indeed missing but we are currently working hard in tracing him."


    "Why is he missing?! You... What did you do to him? How did you treat him?" Margaret might look obedient but she quickly grew hysterical if she got angry. She wouldn''t be able to distinguish between friend and foe once she got into one of her moods.


    Her temper also made her blind to whether or not the person in front of her was weaker or much stronger than her.


    Joy, however, was quite intrigued by Margaret''s temper. She slowly walked up to the young woman and talked to her in a soft, calming tone, "The fate will bless Zen. He''ll be fine."


    "How would you know?!" Margaret shot back with a gloomy face.


    Augustus couldn''t help but roll his eyes. He wasn''t as well-mannered as Hallet and Harold so he wasn''t averse to arguing with a hysterical woman. "You know what? Nobody knows if he''s fine because nobody knows where he is!"


    Margaret got even angrier when she heard this. Her eyes were suddenly filled with killing intent and a purple mist started to swirl around her body.


    In the blink of an eye, four long swords appeared beside her and were directly aimed towards Augustus.


    "Hey! How dare you?!" Augustus yelled with an exaggerated expression on his face. Given Margaret''s cultivation base, she was only showing off her incompetence in front of an expert. Augustus intended to severely make fun of her.


    However, Joy stood in front of Margaret and gently hooked her fingers.


    The four swords that were on their way to Augustus lost direction and circled around Joy instead.


    This sudden change in trajectory and movement filled Margaret with shock upon realizing that she had lost control over the purple mist.


    What was more interesting was how the four swords quickly dispersed around Joy into purple mist and began transforming into different shapes like dragons, strange birds, and exotic beasts. Joy was now fully in control and could


    ablets they housed would mysteriously disappear.


    Lone had opened that door and set his foot down upon a new path of fate.


    In the Evolutionary Universe, Wynn helped the Godly Geniuses steal out one after another and also activated the 833rd rule continuously. Given the extraordinary talents of these Godly Geniuses, they too forged their own paths upon entering the divine land.


    Some of their paths were clear and straight, while others deviated slightly.


    This deviation brought unexpected adventure but also great danger. Some advanced sharply but others ended up getting killed.


    "Eight hundred thousand wild bones!"


    Over one hundred Wild Gods helped Zen extract the Wild God Power and inject it into the Cave of Wildness.


    "Gnash..."


    Under the immense pressure of his bones tangled together, Zen''s bone membrane continuously made this nasty, rasping sound.


    The pain intensified even more!


    It was even more difficult for Zen now as he tried to become a top-rank Wild God.


    Once one reached this peak, it was said that there would be no more bottlenecks. A warrior''s body had the potential to grow infinitely as long as they devoured enough wild bones.


    This was the reason why Adele and several others managed to reach astonishing heights of three to four million feet.


    However, none of them were able to break through to the Other Shore Realm. This was a dilemma they had to face since the rules that matched the Wild Gods in the whole chaos were no more.

 Chapter 2619 Enter Zens Body

    While Zen was trying to break through to become a top-rank Wild God, No. 9527 was still up in the bone tower, carefully observing Zen.


    It had found himself conflicted, wondering about how to best approach Zen.


    No. 9527 didn''t have much authority. From the very beginning, the task the brain masters had given to it was merely to keep an eye on Zen and ensure that he remained alive.


    And it had performed its duty well so far.


    But now, the task had changed.


    The brain masters had ordered the brain units to pay close attention to this world''s movements.


    The brain masters also knew perfectly well what had happened a few days ago.


    They were aware that the prisoners had dared to plan an escape from this world. They were incensed to hear such divergent ideas, and had since been on high alert.


    The brain masters, however, were not interested in the idea of leaving this place.


    After all, their top master was still sleeping. If they left, it would immediately wake him up. He would, however, never allow this world to become a prison to him.


    The problem was that Zen''s departure would cause trouble.


    After having waited for so many years, they were finally lucky enough to find a suitable guy. If they let him go, the sleeping master would wake up and find out, and all the brain masters would be doomed.


    Thus, those fat brain masters were extremely worried about Zen and his intentions.


    Frustratingly, they couldn''t interfere with Zen or do anything to control him.


    They had considered imprisoning Zen in this world, but after careful consideration, this turned out to be an unrealistic strategy. If what was said was true and he really had the ability to leave, their plan would be thwarted. It was too risky when the stakes were so high.


    The brain masters had been discussing this for a few days in the spiritual world.


    Usually, the brain masters could always make their judgments in an instant, as it was so effortless for them to communicate with each other.


    It was testament to how complicated this issue was that it took the brain masters a good few days to discuss it, in spite of the high speed at which they were able to communicate. Finally, they had come to an agreement. They would allow No. 9527 to approach Zen.


    When it received this command, No. 9527 felt both great honor and great sadness.


    It was a great honor, because it had been entrusted with such an important task, which meant it would be granted higher authority since it was sort of the top master''s substitute now. Evidently, its status and importance surpassed that of those brain masters it resented so much.


    At the same time, it was also a poigna


    ly understood what was going on.


    The first time he underwent the tribulations, he had actually been infused with the bloodline of the Chaos Ancient God. Timotheus had known about this, even though he didn''t tell Zen.


    For some reason he didn''t yet know, the brain masters that No. 9527 mentioned chose him and ordered No. 9527 to enter his body.


    It had explained that its goal was to help Zen reach the Other Shore Realm with the cultivation method of the Chaos Ancient God.


    The old man, Adele''s father, had also mentioned this matter before, and this had put a glimmer of hope in Zen''s heart. Perhaps, if he took advantage of this shortcut, Zen could reach the Other Shore Realm with his physical body.


    Now, this so-called No. 9527, who was a strand of Chaos Ancient God''s soul, was repeating its own thoughts back at him.


    Zen couldn''t help but feel puzzled. "But I could reach the Other Shore by crossing the Sea of Truth using the Grand World Cultivation Method. What difference does it make if I use my physical body to reach the Other Shore?"


    "It makes all the difference," No. 9527 replied. "Using the Grand World Cultivation Method to reach the Other Shore, you can''t take anything with you. But if you use your physical body to reach the Other Shore Realm, you can take back some important things of value from the Other Shore. There is a great difference between these two methods."


    This explanation stunned Zen.


    In Zen''s mind, the Other Shore was a realm. Like the Sea of Truth, it should be a concept that people could only think vaguely about. It only existed in creatures'' imagination, and thus was not real.


    But according to this guy''s explanation, this did not seem to be the case. The truth was very different from what Zen had anticipated.

 Chapter 2620 The Truth Theurgy

    "Then, what do you want me to bring back from the other shore?"


    Zen continued to ask.


    "We can''t tell you," No. 9527 answered stiffly.


    ''This guy is so stubborn even though it is asking for help.''


    Zen curled his lips. "If you don''t answer me, I''ll drive you out."


    "You''re not strong enough," No. 9527 responded. "Although your soul power far surpasses that of others at the same level, it''s far from enough to expel me."


    Its answer was straightforward enough, which made Zen lose his interest in trying to get an answer.


    He really didn''t have any good way to deal with it, since the opponent was after all a strand of the soul of the Chaos Ancient God.


    The wound on his body caused by the Body Tribulations was in no time healed quickly.


    After making sure that his condition was back to normal, he stretched his limbs for a while. Afterwards, he immediately left the Cave of Wildness.


    "Have you succeeded this time?"


    Baldwin asked as soon as he spotted Zen. He was standing above the Cave of Wildness.


    He was greeted by a nod and saw a smile on Zen''s face. He knew that Zen had been successful.


    He had sent over a hundred people in order to help him undergo a breakthrough and become the top-rank Wild God.


    He was well aware and certain about Zen''s ability and sufficiency in absorbing the Wild God Power.


    It could be said that Zen''s body was like a black hole, easily absorbing almost all the Wild God Power without missing a single drop.


    The Wild God Power that he obtained was far beyond that of the ordinary Wild God.


    Zen was truly qualified to have succeeded on just the first time, but Baldwin could not help but sigh.


    He was held responsible and in charge of maintaining the Cave of Wildness distributing the wild bones to his race members. He had met and had various encounters with many talents in his race.


    But it was the first time for him to meet a guy like Zen. He knew that this might be their last encounter.


    Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Zen lightly stood on his tiptoe and flew away.


    "Grow!"


    Zen spoke an order.


    "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."


    A powerful aura was suddenly emitted from Zen''s body, and his body began to swell in the blink of an eye.


    One thousand feet...


    Five thousand feet...


    Ten thousand feet...


    If someone''s body could reach a height


    was incomparably high.


    The scene had indeed surprised them as he passed out right after becoming a top-rank Wild God.


    "Go and inform Grand Elder!" Baldwin abruptly gave out an order.


    Zen was oblivious to what was happening outside as he was still immersed in his own mind. No. 9527 continued to explain, "The Chaos Ancient God was lucky to observe the energy of the Godly Ways Great Unity in the early stage of chaos. Thus, he comprehended a truth which was in his use. That theurgy is the truth theurgy! It could control all the rules in chaos from the beginning to the end, in an unbreakable way!"


    The voice of No. 9527 sounded in his own mind. It sounded very illusory when the voice was isolated by the net.


    The more No. 9527 explained, the more he was astonished.


    It was superior to all rules, which could not be broken from the beginning to the end.


    What an incredible theurgy!


    The energy of the Godly Ways Great Unity?


    Zen had once cultivated the Ways-blending Strike which used to merge all of the three thousand Godly Ways in one. But what was the Godly Ways Great Unity? It even made the Chaos Ancient God come up with a truth!


    "Buzz..."


    The huge net began to spin, turning into a round ball and enveloping Zen''s soul.


    Then a strange picture, appearing on the inner wall of the ball, unfolded slowly right before Zen''s vision.


    "Golden Sanskrit words?"


    Zen was once more stunned looking at the golden words that had appeared in the inner wall of the huge ball


    His only concern was that he couldn''t understand it.

 Chapter 2621 Instructions

    Except for Geoffrey, Zen hadn''t seen anyone else who could read Sanskrit so well, not even his own mother.


    Of course, Zen couldn''t either.


    He had no knowledge of Sanskrit whatsoever, and the golden Sanskrit words were incomprehensible to him.


    While Zen was puzzling over the text, the speed at which the golden Sanskrit words spun became faster and faster. Soon they spun so fast that they resembled a rotating bowl of golden juice, splashing around and forming strange images in the air.


    These images only existed for a moment before they disappeared without a trace, like mirages.


    About hundreds of images had appeared and disappeared in the course of three seconds.


    "What are these images?"


    Zen stared at the changing images, trying to understand.


    This time, No. 9527 just kept silent.


    Zen hadn''t been chosen by the master for nothing. Surely, he must have extraordinary abilities. So No. 9527 knew to keep its thoughts to itself and let Zen take the lead.


    And if Zen couldn''t comprehend the images, it would only prove that the master had chosen wrong.


    Zen furrowed his eyebrows as he stared at the constantly changing images in front of him. He was lost in deep thought.


    Although this No. 9527 fellow''s origin was suspicious, Zen did not think it was a liar. He believed that the bloodline theurgy No. 9527 had mentioned could be found in these images.


    How much insight he could get all depended on his ability to decode the images.


    Since Zen had reached the True God Realm, his understanding of the various theurgies and cultivation methods had improved significantly.


    He had discovered that even the three thousand Godly Ways were just different kinds of energy that could be expressed by various different methods.


    The Wild God Power, too, was just another form of energy. What made it different, however, was that it depended more on inheritance, because the power of Wild Gods came not from themselves, but from the energy that had been extracted from the countless wild bones, which was known as the Wild God Power.


    After a moment of silence, a ray of light appeared in Zen''s eyes.


    "These images are instructions! They show me how to use energy!"


    Zen concluded.


    Hearing Zen''s conclusion, No. 9527 felt relieved and impressed. ''This guy...'' it thought, smiling to itself. ''It took him no time to fig


    Among those in the Source World, the Chaos Ancient God was an existence that all races looked up to.


    Although there had been countless talents that had appeared in the Source World throughout the years, they had still been unable to reach the level of the Chaos Ancient God, mostly due to the limitations of times.


    Of course, it might have well been because the level of the exiles had not been high enough, or because the top figures in the Source World were not like what they had imagined.


    While the exiles pondered over these questions, Zen suddenly opened his eyes.


    Exhaling deeply, he rolled over to get onto his feet. Although he tried to keep himself calm, the excitement in his eyes was obvious.


    "Master Timotheus, Master Ramzi, Master Leopold..." he whispered fervently.


    Zen spread his arms, making the Wild God Power dissipate. After shrinking back into his normal size, he flew up to them, cupping his hands.


    "Congratulations on breaking through again. It seems like you have gained a lot. I''m curious, what was that energy just now, the one coming from your chest?" Timotheus said with a smile.


    Zen did not have any reservations concerning Timotheus and the others.


    After all, they were of the same race as him, and they had known each other for so long. He knew they could be trusted.


    Zen stretched out his hand towards Timotheus and opened his palm. An emerald green light lit up like a flame, dancing in the palm of his hand. It circled around, and formed a small emerald green block. "Is this the energy that you asked about?"

 Chapter 2622 Storming The Torrent Bone Tower

    The green block looked quite ordinary, nothing special.


    However, there was a hint of excitement in the eyes of Timotheus and the others.


    "Is this the inheritance from the Chaos Ancient God?" asked Timotheus with his greedy eyes shining.


    Zen raised his eyebrows slightly and asked, "Did you know about it, Master Timotheus?"


    Timotheus nodded and said, "I already guessed it when you went through the Body Tribulations last time, but I didn''t think you would be able to obtain the inheritance in such a short period of time. It''s remarkable."


    Timotheus didn''t continue. Even Ramzi and his companions tried their best to suppress their curiosity.


    This was Zen''s secret, and they were being rude by prying.


    The exiles had no idea about the Chaos Ancient God''s purpose, but it was not a bad thing for the Nine Li race.


    In fact, it was a blessing in their eyes.


    After Timotheus and the others left, Zen asked for a quiet place to continue his research on that energy.


    "You''re very talented to be able to grasp a Truth Crystal in just half a month," No. 9527 commented. "But don''t get too excited yet. A complete truth is like a towering tree, and what you have mastered is only the smallest root. You can''t display its power yet."


    Zen nodded. Although the square Truth Crystal was indeed mysterious, it was not so powerful as Zen''s own energy to fuse the Godly Ways.


    "Don''t worry, I will teach you how to use the Truth Crystal," No. 9527 added.


    The Truth Crystal was the bloodline theurgy of the Chaos Ancient God. After he observed the Godly Ways Great Unity, he had comprehended his truth himself, and then integrated it into his bloodline.


    Using this Truth Crystal, or the bloodline theurgy, was very important. Next, Zen would continue to cultivate tirelessly.


    The time for the arrival of the Light of Adjudication was drawing near.


    The atmosphere in the bone tower grew intense. When the Light of Adjudication finally came, all the Wild Gods in the world, except the major races inside the bone towers, would be obliterated.


    According to past experience, most of the Wild Gods would experience the Light of Adjudication without even knowing.


    They would only have a few seconds left by the time they realized that the Light of Adjudication had arrived. Then they would


    join the Yellow Emperor race and seek refuge in their bone tower if he instigated the Wild Gods to charge into the Torrent Bone Tower.


    His strategy had been a success.


    "Sorry, our Yellow Emperor race''s bone tower will not be able to contain so many people," Roy said with an evil grin.


    The man''s face darkened. He stared at Roy and snapped, "But you promised me!"


    "So what?" Roy said lightly, "You can also storm into the Torrent Bone Tower with them. Maybe you''ll have a chance to live!"


    "You, you¡­traitor! I''ll fight it out with you!"


    The middle-aged man flew into a rage and began to activate the Wild God Power within his body to fight his backstabbing opponent.


    But before he could begin to swell up, Roy had already turned into a streak of light and flown past him.


    The middle-aged man''s eyes widened in surprise and his body stiffened.


    At the same time, blood gushed out from Roy''s fingertips.


    Thud!


    The middle-aged man fell to the ground, and Roy gently shook his right hand to clean off the blood stains on it. He looked at the middle-aged man''s corpse and said, "Why did you force me to do that? As a lowly person in the wilderness, you should accept your death by the Light of Adjudication."


    Then, Roy disappeared into the darkness again.


    Such things happened often in all big cities.


    All the cities and the Wild Gods within the territory of the Snake Goddess race were encouraged by the Yellow Emperor race. For the first time, ten million Wild Gods rushed towards the Torrent Bone Tower.

 Chapter 2623 Cold-blooded

    This kind of situation not only happened in the territory of the Snake Goddess race.


    There were countless Wild Gods in the Nine Li race, Star Deer race and other main races that were instigated by the Yellow Emperor race.


    However, for the Yellow Emperor race, the Snake Goddess race was their ultimate goal.


    Under the Torrent Bone Tower, about ten million people had activated the Wild God Power. They transformed themselves into figures of a few thousand or tens of thousands of feet high. They all piled up and formed into a layer of wall, blocking the entrance of the bone tower completely.


    At the entrance of the Torrent Bone Tower, six elders from the Snake Goddess race were fiercely guarding the place.


    "How could this be even possible? Who has spread the news of Light of Adjudication?" an old woman with a hunch back exclaimed angrily.


    Previously, before the Light of Adjudication descended, a small number of Wild Gods would try to break into the bone towers, but it would be dozens or hundreds of people at the most. Depending on the situation, the Snake Goddess race would either selectively chose a part of them to let them stay or mercilessly just kill them all.


    But this time, things were different. All the Wild Gods in the territory of the Snake Goddess race were present.


    Now the situation became more complicated.


    Even though the Torrent Bone Tower was considerably large, it was difficult to accommodate so many Wild Gods!


    "Someone is deliberately spreading the news. We are yet to make out the intentions for the attempt," an astonished female elder commented.


    "What can be their purpose?" asked another woman coolly.


    The former lady snorted coldly. "Isn''t it clear? Their reason could be the two people from the Warden race."


    The Snake Goddess race had accepted those two people, fully aware of the consequences that they would have to face. It was as good as announcing a war on the Warden race.


    However, they assumed that the real confrontation would come only after the Light of Adjudication descended. They never expected that they would use such tricks before that!


    "That cannot be possible. The Warden race obviously doesn''t have so many people. Is it even possible for them to instigate so many people in such a short time?" the enchanting female elder commented with a tinge of doubt.


    Besides, the Warden race rarely revealed themselves to others. They were al


    ally do so. There were over ten million warriors in this place!


    These several elders were born and grew up in this world after all.


    Although they regarded the Wild Gods as people of wilderness, it was still difficult for them to kill ten million living creatures.


    Emily and Timotheus, who were powerful warriors among the exiles, had already regarded ordinary creatures as weeds. In order to leave here, they wouldn''t hesitate even if they were to kill ten times the number of people present.


    Until now, the Wild Gods who gathered, had a sliver of hope that the Snake Goddess race would be benevolent and allow them to stay in the Torrent Bone Tower. That was why, they didn''t rush into the tower immediately.


    But now when they heard Emily speak, their hearts sank.


    "We belong to the territory of the Snake Goddess race!"


    "How can you bear to watch us die?"


    "I would rather be killed by you than be cleansed by the Light of Adjudication."


    These people knew their fate, but who would be willing to accept it?


    Sounds of begging, shouting, and roaring reverberated in the air. The whole place was in chaos.


    There were rage and disappointment among the people. Everyone present were torn between emotions.


    Nobody knew who took the lead, but suddenly some of them rushed towards the entrance of the Torrent Bone Tower, and more Wild Gods followed.


    All the Wild Gods united as a force and dashed towards the Torrent Bone Tower behind Emily like a torrent.


    Witnessing the changing scene down below, Emily slightly shook her head and sighed, "Don''t blame me for being cold-blooded then."

 Chapter 2624 The Superiors Strategy

    People in higher positions were, generally speaking, usually more apathetic.


    Despite that, it didn''t go to say that such warriors were cruel and bloodthirsty individuals, but compelled by certain circumstances, they were obliged to make important decisions.


    Emily had never been considered ruthless or barbaric, but right now, she didn''t hesitate in the least.


    Buzz...


    She suddenly and forcefully pointed at the crowd.


    Not far ahead of her, a beam of colorful light had begun to make its appearance. As it became brighter and brighter, the colorful light resembled a colorful little snake, slithering in the air. Its head slowly began chasing its tail, until it was connected end to end, forming a ring.


    The beam of light gained speed until it was spinning extremely fast. As it spun at the highest of speeds, it emitted a horrifying aura.


    A few Wild Gods halted and froze as they felt the horrifying aura creep over them, fear etched on their faces.


    "What kind of method is that? I''m afraid it''s even more powerful than the Light of Adjudication itself!"


    "If someone were to be strangled by the ring of light, they would definitely die!"


    Before long, these fearful voices were drowned out by others who were more confident in their words.


    "We have so many warriors here. She might not even dare kill us!"


    "You''re right. She can''t kill us all, that''s for sure."


    "Don''t be afraid. Let''s charge together at once!"


    The Wild Gods'' eyes had turned red with emotion. They knew very well that their only chance of survival was entering the bone tower. The desire and will to live had already completely suppressed the fear they felt in their hearts.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh...


    One after the next, the Wild Gods rushed forward without stopping. On the contrary, they picked up as much speed as they possibly could.


    "I don''t dare kill anyone?" A faint smile could be seen on Emily''s face. Her right hand made a grab at the ring of light and then gave a slight twist.


    Crash, crash...


    In an instant, the ring of light suddenly began to emit a forceful suction.


    So much so, in fact, that the suction was too strong to resist.


    It didn''t matter anymore whether the Wild Gods were several thousand feet high, or even tens of thousands of feet, they only felt a terrifying suction take over them. Even when unleashing their strongest power, they still couldn''t manage to break free. They felt themselves gradually bei


    of the other surrounding exiles were suddenly enlightened by his explanation.


    "In other words, if I understand correctly, we should arrange our assassins within the last batch of the Wild Gods. Is that right?" another exile asked.


    "Correct," Spark nodded.


    "But even if our assassins succeed in entering the Torrent Bone Tower, they still won''t have the chance to make a move." An exile expressed his worry as he frowned at the others.


    Even if the Snake Goddess race brought a few of the Wild Gods to the bone tower, she would order her people to watch over them like hawks. It was almost impossible for the assassins hiding within the group to escape, nor would they have the chance to kill the siblings. It was difficult to even find them.


    "Of course not," agreed Spark with a calm look on his face.


    "Then tell us, Spark, what''s your real purpose?"


    These exiles were quickly confused by Spark''s words. In their eyes, what Spark planned was useless. However, as smart as he was, they knew he would never do such a thing as waste his time.


    "Just watch for yourself, and you''ll see," said Spark, a confident expression taking over his handsome face.


    ...


    The ring of light summoned by Emily had, up to this point, successfully killed more than nine million Wild Gods at the foot of the Torrent Bone Tower.


    These Wild Gods didn''t even leave their corpses. Instead, they were immediately ground into dust and disappeared from this world.


    At last, when there were about twenty or thirty thousand Wild Gods remaining outside the bone tower, the ring of light, which symbolized death, finally stopped rotating.

 Chapter 2625 Assassins

    The Wild Gods thought that they would definitely die. But out of a sudden, the suction force had immediately disappeared. They all felt as if their lives had been spared, and they quickly retreated.


    A narrow escape from death! For a moment, the Wild Gods had shared the same thought as they felt lucky evading certain life and death situation.


    Emily''s voice faintly came through, "We Snake Goddess race take charge of the Torrent Bone Tower. But we are not heartless people who would like to see you die. It''s just that the space inside the tower is limited, and it''s impossible to save so many people''s lives in this world. You... You can hide in Torrent Bone Tower temporarily!"


    The tens of thousands of Wild Gods were already scared to death that all of them were in panic running for their lives.


    Although they would also die outside the bone tower, they could live a few more days outside. It was their instinct to make such a choice.


    However, when they were running for their lives, they suddenly heard Emily''s words. All the figures that were running suddenly halted and their faces were filled with disbelief.


    Looks of hesitation and doubt had gradually showed on each one''s faces.


    "Is she lying to us?"


    "Don''t be fooled by her. She is lying. When we come back, she''s gonna kill us!"


    "Humph, she has killed almost ten million people in a short time. If she really wants to kill us, it won''t take too much efforts for her. You are not qualified to make her fool us..."


    The people discussed and came upon an agreement with the idea.


    If it weren''t for the exile of the Snake Goddess race who had stopped, the remaining twenty thousand or thirty thousand people might have already been killed. There was no need for such a powerful master to cheat on them.


    Their faces gradually appeared overjoyed in ecstasy realizing this.


    It was beyond their expectation that they would be invited by the Snake Goddess race to temporarily take shelter inside the bone tower.


    Among ten million warriors, twenty or thirty thousand people entered the Torrent Bone Tower. They were very lucky.


    But unbeknownst the crowd, two people quietly exchanged glances.


    These two men were the assassins arranged by Spark.


    As Spark had ordered, they hid and blended among the last group of Wild Gods.


    The situation moments ago had made them feel desperate. They were unable to break free from the circle of light, and in the end, they would be both shattered into pieces like the others.


    The two assassins had dared sneak into the Torrent Bone Tower and


    assassin had already rushed over a dozen miles.


    Meanwhile, dozens of miles away, a figure was seated on a cyan stone platform and attentively cultivating.


    It was Luther. He had already successfully reached the mid-rank True God Realm in such a short period of time. As days passed by, he had surely made fast progress.


    All this should be attributed to Emily.


    "Hoo, hoo, hoo..."


    His concentration was suddenly interrupted by a deafening whistling sound of wind. Just at the right time, he sensed and saw a Wild God rushing towards him from afar!


    "The bloodline mark?" The sudden intrusion made him alert as his eyebrows jumped up.


    Because of the black aura on his forehead, which was also the bloodline mark that Luther had referred to, the assassin could now clearly detect Luther''s existence. Luther on the other hand, could as well sense the black aura being emitted from the figure coming straight towards him.


    In an instant, he realized that the Wild God was coming at him for an attack!


    The assassin''s speed was extremely fast. Even if the other Snake Goddess members realized what was happening, it was already too late to stop him.


    Just as the assassin was about a few miles away from Luther, a rainbow like light flashed out and shot towards him.


    Facing a sudden attack, the assassin''s huge body had no time to dodge since he had been keeping a high-speed in running. Having no time to analyze what had happened, his body was already split into half.


    Emily''s figure quietly appeared in front of Luther. She frowned and looked at the assassin.


    "That''s nothing impressive!"


    Although she knew that Spark would play tricks, she had the feeling that it was not so simple...

 Chapter 2626 Killed

    Luther walked up to Emily and looked around at the body that she had cut in two. He then said sorrowfully, "This man had the bloodline mark. He could find me as long as he was within a certain radius of me. The Warden race has started!"


    The bloodline mark seemed to have a comparatively small range of perception. Luther and Zelda couldn''t have escaped the hunt of the Warden race otherwise.


    Emily glanced at Luther before saying, "It''s not just the Warden race."


    "Did any other great races join them?" Luther asked, grinning. He was quite optimistic.


    "Don''t worry," Emily said, grinning back at him. "I will keep you safe."


    It was at this moment that several elders and some of the exiles of the Snake Goddess race arrived at the scene. Luther''s sister, Zelda, was the last to arrive.


    Everyone knew how important Luther was. And now that Luther had been attacked, nervousness crept up on all of them.


    But they were even more nervous because of Emily, whose eyes roved over them. And it was her who brought the hidden dangers in the crowd.


    "Master Emily, should we bring Luther to a more secluded place?" an elder asked.


    Zelda shook her head. "I felt the bloodline mark too. As long as we are in this bone tower, there''s no point hiding him."


    At the worried faces of the crowd, Emily smiled and said, "Don''t worry. Both the Yellow Emperor race and the Warden race only dare act in the dark. Now that I''m here, there''s nothing they can do!"


    Emily was the strongest exile in this world. Only Spark of the Yellow Emperor race and Timotheus of the Nine Li race could come close to even being second to her. She was confident about her own strength.


    Everyone nodded. There was no point in hiding him if Emily couldn''t protect him.


    But a space vortex appeared behind them, and Timotheus emerged from it.


    During other times, exiles weren''t allowed to enter the bone tower of the Snake Goddes


    k you can succeed! It turns out I''m right. You''ve already failed. I''m going to trade his head for a place to leave. Why wouldn''t I do this?"


    Spark hadn''t expected the assassins of the Wild Gods to finish the task. The only reason he had tried so hard was to create a reasonable opportunity for other exiles to visit the Torrent Bone Tower.


    And before that, Spark had given Levi Zhuang his promise.


    As long as Levi Zhuang killed that young man, the Warden race would let him go. He hesitated for a while before he had made his decision, choosing to betray his companions.


    The two assassins had used the Warden race''s bloodline mark to determine Luther''s location. Levi Zhuang had then taken the opportunity to visit the Snake Goddess race and when they''d relaxed their guard, had killed Luther. This method was direct, but effective.


    Emily sighed and shook her head. "You''re wrong. You had the chance to leave with us..."


    At these words, Levi Zhuang was suddenly uneasy. He gripped the head tightly and said, "Luther''s already dead. Do you still have the chance?"


    Timotheus grinned and said, "You should be the one to die."


    As he spoke, the blood on the head in Levi Zhuang''s hand turned into wisps of black mists, and wrapped around him like little snakes.

 Chapter 2627 Purifying The World

    An exile as talented as Levi could travel a hundred million miles away in an instant.


    His talent didn''t matter right now, though. As soon as the small, black, snake-like mists twined around his body, they held him firmly in place.


    "That, now that, is the Spiritual Snake Parasite! Emily, you..."


    Levi glanced at Emily nervously and confusedly.


    The Spiritual Snake Parasite was an extremely powerful technique. When performed by Emily in particular, it was even more impressive. When intertwined by the latter, even the Other Shore Realm master couldn''t escape.


    The problem was that when Emily would use the Spiritual Snake Parasite on Luther, he would be bound to death. Could this mean that she had the intention of sacrificing him since the very beginning?


    How could she single him out? How did she choose to sacrifice Luther? Levi simply couldn''t figure it out. It was incomprehensible.


    "Do you find it strange?" A smile finally spread across Emily''s lips, brightening her already beautiful face.


    "Were you truly willing to kill Luther?" Levi asked, as he continued struggling to get free.


    "Why wouldn''t I?" Emily''s smile widened and she clapped her hands together at once.


    Not too far away, a figure could be seen slowly floating over to them. As the figure approached, they could see that it was Luther, equally wearing a smile on his face.


    As he looked at the approaching young man, Levi frowned and shook his head simultaneously. "It''s impossible. They used the bloodline mark to confirm him... The one I killed couldn''t have been a fake!"


    "And who said he was a fake?" Emily clapped her hands loudly again.


    Several other youths crept out from the other side where they had been hiding. They moved very slowly. They all had the exact same appearance, manner, and even cultivation base. They were all Luther.


    As the many Luther-copies walked gradually forward, Emily continued, "The moment I took him into the bone tower, I knew that there would be traitors. It''s just that I couldn''t be wary of everyone, and thus, I just let you expose yourselves instead... You did kill Luther himself, but I have a dozen of him!"


    Levi''s jaw clenched and trembled as she spoke.


    "It isn''t difficult for our Snake Goddess race to create the same bloodline, the same appearance, and even the same memories. Aren''t I right?" Emily went on speaking, the smile on her lips never disappear


    ooked down upon Spark and stated flatly, "You failed."


    Spark simply blinked his eyes and answered, "It''s perfectly normal. Emily is a very vigilant person. In fact, it would be strange if I succeeded easily."


    "What''s your next move going to be, then?" the black-robed man questioned.


    In terms of the strategy for assassinating Luther, the Warden race wasn''t much helpful. All they did was plant a bloodline mark in the assassins'' mind. They weren''t prepared for the dozen Luther replicates that Emily had created.


    "We''ll discuss that after the Light of Adjudication is over," said Spark, with a gleam of danger in his eyes. "That said, you''ll have to give me more authority and help. Otherwise, it''ll be difficult to deal with that crazy woman on my own."


    Emily was extremely powerful. Clearly, even Spark was afraid of facing such a woman without immediate backup.


    "Okay," the black-robed man answered in a faint voice, "I just hope you won''t disappoint me."


    At that, he slowly disappeared.


    Three days later, a milky white light slowly rose from the east of the world. It gradually made its way toward the west.


    The light contained the Power of Purification, which was almost infinite. Its power would purify all living creatures, except for the unintelligent Wights.


    No matter if one flew to the top of the world or hid in the deepest underground cave, escaping the fate of being purified was completely impossible.


    Aside from those who hid in the bone towers, the other creatures could hide nowhere but accept their situation, waiting for the purification to come to them.

 Chapter 2628 The End Of The World

    The cities that used to be noisy were now completely silent.


    The creatures outside the bone towers had lived in the cities for a thousand years before being wiped out by the Light of Adjudication.


    Nobody knew how many cycles of reincarnation the world had experienced.


    All the races living in the bone towers were accustomed to such scenes and results.


    Previous experience dictated that the Wights would slowly and steadily become intelligent, and then, under the guidance of the races, step into the empty cities, cultivating the Wild God system. Among them, a very small number of excellent warriors could enter the bone towers.


    But this time, the situation was completely different.


    The exiles in the bone towers were eager to take action.


    The shared goal of the big races led by the Snake Goddess race and the Nine Li race, was to defeat the Warden race and escape from this world.


    The races that were led by the Yellow Emperor race also wanted to escape from this world, but their goal was to stop the Snake Goddess race and the Nine Li race.


    There was an irreconcilable conflict between the two forces.


    Both sides were clear about the fact that the new cycle of reincarnation that would happen in the next thousand years was destined to be different from those in the past.


    In the Sky Spirit Bone Tower


    All the members of the Nine Li race had gathered in the square.


    Timotheus stood before them, outwardly calm but excited from within.


    "As members of our race, you must have a clear understanding of our race''s background," he said, his voice loud and clear. "Ramzi, Leopold, ...and I came from a wider world, the Source World. It is our hometown. I''ve wanted to leave this world the moment I entered it, but I never had the chance. But now, there is an opportunity."


    The members of the Nine Li race started at Timotheus'' words.


    Apart from Zen and the exiles, all of the Wild Gods were born in this world.


    There probably were a few Wild Gods who were interested in the outside of this world. But there were many who weren''t. They had grown up in the bone tower. They were aboriginal


    he process, had improved a lot in cultivation. She was now a mid-rank Wild God.


    She was dressed in a long yellow dress, making her features stand out even more. Her temperament had undergone a great change.


    Luther, who was beside her, also looked completely different.


    Zen didn''t know what kind of a method Emily had used to improve Luther''s cultivation and make him a top-rank True God in such a short period of time.


    Even Zen marveled at the speed at which Luther had improved. But this didn''t mean Luther was more talented than Zen. It only meant that Emily was able enough that she could efficiently train Luther.


    After a short reunion, they began to move again.


    No one knew where the Warden race was located, apart from Luther and Zelda who led the way.


    Hundreds of thousands of people were still moving north.


    A few months later, they arrived at the northernmost part in the world.


    The land was deserted, devoid of any living creatures.


    Since there was no Immemorial Wilderness here, there was no Wight in this place.


    In fact, before this, many exiles had already explored this place, but to no avail.


    So when Zelda and Luther led them here, the exiles were confused. It was hard for them to imagine that the lair of the Warden race was hidden here.


    They continued to move, and half a month later, they came upon a serrated area. A dark void lay beyond it¡ªthe end of the world.

 Chapter 2629 The Erasing Water

    No one had ever charted out the entirety of this world''s expanse.


    The prison in which they were incarcerated only took up a very small area at the bottom of the chaos.


    The exiles only needed to pass through the serrated area and they would be able to leave this world.


    A number of exiles had already tried this, including Emily and Timotheus.


    Considering their strength, it would have been an easy task for them to make it through the serrated area, as the prison didn''t actually use real walls to keep them inside. What really stopped one from leaving was the Curse Chain.


    So far, no one had been able to break free from the Curse Chain yet. The chain would have pulled them back immediately even if they thought they had been successful in escaping from this world.


    The exiles knew that Luther was the only one that had the ability to destroy the Curse Chain. They looked to him for guidance in getting out of this world.


    As she gazed upon the serrated area, Emily asked curiously, "Is the Warden race''s lair not located in this world?"


    Luther only looked ahead and nodded in response. He drew a circle in the air as he extended his hand.


    Suddenly, they saw a unique scene appear inside the circle.


    The Curse Chains binding hundreds of thousands of people were entangled with each other in a great mass that extended beyond the serrated area into the darkness.


    The chains made a tortuous path that twisted and turned.


    "Can we find the lair of the Warden race along that path?" When Emily saw the path clearly, she raised her eyebrows slightly.


    The other exiles expectantly directed their gazes towards Luther.


    In turn, Luther looked towards Zelda.


    Actually, he still hadn''t reached a deeper understanding of his own race''s secrets. His sister was the one he depended on for this type of matter.


    Zelda nodded in acknowledgment and confirmed, "Yes, we can find them by following this path, but I think they''ve been well-prepared."


    "We''ve been well-prepared, too," Emily sneered.


    Almost all of the exiles had cold smiles on their faces, and several of them even clenched their fists in their intense desire to finally get their revenge on the Warden race.


    After being imprisoned for eons by the damned Warden race, it was understandable why the exiles all bore a grudge against the said race. Now that they finally had an opportunity to make the Warden race pay, they could barely hold back their glee.


    "Then, please follow us," Zelda said with a smile.


    At the head of the group


    We have no cause to panic as long as we are careful not to tear space apart. Everything will be fine!"


    Even after Timotheus reassured them, everyone''s spirits were still down.


    It had not been an easy task for the exiles to reach this place. The two sides hadn''t had a direct confrontation yet, but one of them had already died out of the blue. This trip would most probably be more challenging than what they had expected.


    Since the start of their journey, Zen kept his silence as he followed the group quietly.


    Although he had already made great progress, he knew he still wasn''t powerful enough as compared to these exiles.


    At the moment, he knew he wouldn''t be able to be of much help yet, so he could only wait and see.


    "Master Timotheus is right," Zelda nodded in affirmation. "Everyone, follow me. Even though they have set many traps, they are not as powerful as you think. Just be careful and don''t be so reckless!"


    With Zelda in the lead, the group of a hundred people made their way forward in the dark world.


    Right at that moment, there was a group of more than thirty people standing on an elevated platform deep in the world''s recesses.


    They were not members of the Warden race, but another group of exiles from the bone towers.


    They were apparently led by no other than Spark of the Yellow Emperor race.


    "Hey, this proves that this place is indeed powerful. Quintin hadn''t been able to resist it and it became the end for him. In the past, I was his defeated opponent!" one of the exiles said with a laugh.


    With a grim expression on his face, Spark shook his head and said, "Don''t be too careless. I''m afraid it''s not as easy as you think."

 Chapter 2630 Heavy Sea Water

    "Spark, what else you''re worried about?" A bearded exile uttered, "We have all seen the means the Warden race set up. We are far more superior than them. I am sure even 10 Emilys would stand no chance against us!"


    Hearing this, Spark smiled faintly. "You''re right, but don''t forget that the girl and her brother are in the hands of Emily, and they know this place like the back of their hand. The Warden race could not be feeling really confident, otherwise why would they lure us here to fight them?"


    "You have a point there..." The bearded man nodded.


    The other exiles were also silent.


    Aside from Spark and the exiles from the Yellow Emperor race who belonged to the first tier, the twenty-plus exiles were slightly weaker.


    If they were to engage in direct combat with Emily, there was no doubt that these warriors would lose.


    In order to leave the world, they had no choice but to let themselves be used by the Warden race. The result of the battle was equally important to them.


    As Zelda led the way, Emily, Timotheus, and their group started picking up speed.


    There was no attractive scenery in this dark space. The grey color seemed to be designed to make people feel depressed and hopeless. Fortunately, the exiles had strong minds, and all of them looked very calm.


    However, the elders of various races and the elite Wild Gods were all on edge. At the very slightest of sounds, they would become very vigilant. Long term vigilance would cause them to quickly get tired.


    Only Emily and the others who walked ahead leading the way could make them feel slightly relaxed.


    After they had walked for a hundred miles, they started hearing the faint sound of water. It sounded like ocean waves constantly rolling. Oddly enough, there was no water in sight at all.


    Hearing this odd noise, Zelda stopped immediately.


    "What''s wrong?" Emily asked as she stepped forward.


    "It''s the Heavy Sea Water," said Zelda with a frown.


    "What is the Heavy Sea Water?" Emily asked.


    Just as Emily asked, a series of slender bubbles suddenly appeared on the ground in the distance, moving towards them at an alarming speed.


    "Be ca


    eir safety, especially Adele.


    After all, her father was one of them.


    The intense roar lasted for a period of time before it quieted down, and the water arrows that were shot from afar also disappeared.


    Not long after, three beams of light flew over from afar. Everyone was relieved to see the three exiles of the Nine Li race return safely.


    Timotheus was in the lead, and he carried one man in his hand!


    "Bang!"


    After he arrived at the front of the crowd, he threw the man down casually, tossing him down in front of everyone.


    As the exiles looked down, confused expressions appeared on their faces.


    "Is that Burt?"


    "Isn''t he Burt from the Four-image race?"


    "What is he doing here?"


    The Four-image race was a small race with its bloodline. In this race, there were only two exiles, one of whom was Burt. They all recognized the man lying in front of them immediately.


    Timotheus stared at the man and said, "Apart from him, those who released the water arrows just now also included one member from the Earth Fiend race, and one member from the Nine Eyes race. The two of them have been killed by me. It seems that these small races have entered this place before us."


    Emily frowned. "So, Spark is also here?"


    In her eyes, the exiles from those small races were not a big threat to her, but the strength of Spark still made Emily scared, especially when he was lurking somewhere to launch attacks.

 Chapter 2631 The Strength Equalizing Theurgy

    Burt, who was now curled up on the ground, let out a sudden, strangled laugh.


    Emily frowned at him. "What are you laughing at?" she barked.


    "Spark has come! Of course he''s come!" he said, his eyes glowing as he stared at her.


    "So what?" she said, sneeringly. "He is no match for me. But I hadn''t expected you exiles to be so stupid as to follow the Yellow Emperor race!"


    The Yellow Emperor race was the second strongest in this world, but was still quite inferior to the Snake Goddess race.


    There was almost no match for Emily in this world. Timotheus and Spark might be her opponents, but they were still inferior to her.


    "Or what? You think nothing of us!" Burt roared ferociously at Emily''s words. "You big races always oppress us, step by step. You have the chance to escape now, but did you consider us? Did you count us? To be honest, I don''t think the Warden race will really let us leave after we kill you. But since we can''t leave, neither can you guys!"


    The exiles were taken aback at how fiercely Burt was reacting.


    Over the past few years, the smaller races and their exiles had been oppressed to no end.


    Since it was the group of exiles who supported the development of a race, it was obvious that they were immensely strong. Although many of the small races chose to form allies, they still couldn''t fight against the large races that were way stronger than them, especially top-rank races like the Snake Goddess race and the Nine Li race.


    When the small races were oppressed, their exiles could only make their clansmen retreat. They couldn''t change the fact that they had to endure what they were going through. And as time passed, the exiles became full of resentment towards the large races.


    They had lived in the same world in the past.


    Now that exiles like Burt had heard the news of the Snake Goddess race finding a way to escape from this world, the resentment they had accumulated over the years finally erupted.


    Just as Burt had predicted, since they were unable to leave, the large races of this world couldn''t leave either.


    They were like


    watch. The Warden race will finally use the Strength Equalizing Theurgy that Herbert passed on. By then, these powerhouses at the Other Shore Realm will definitely be stunned, and will have to rely on your Falling Star Palm."


    Once Zen learned the Truth Crystal of the Chaos Ancient God, No. 9527 taught him the methods of using it.


    The methods of using the Truth Crystal were broad and profound. Zen could not master some of them at his present stage. But the Falling Star Palm was the Chaos Ancient God''s most basic theurgy.


    Although Zen had mastered it to some extent, he had never used it in front of others.


    The Truth Crystal itself was not so powerful in Zen''s opinion. It couldn''t be as frightening as it was made out to be. Zen thought it was far weaker than the Ways-blending Energy.


    "The Strength Equalizing Theurgy? What is it?"


    Zen froze, almost forgetting that No. 9527, a wisp of the soul of the Chaos Ancient God, knew this world better than anyone.


    But he didn''t ask about it before, nor did No. 9527 mention it.


    "Herbert was the Chaos Ancient God who pursued the equality of all living beings. He comprehended the Strength Equalizing Theurgy from the Godly Ways Great Unity. He built this prison, although his body isn''t here. It isn''t strange for the Warden race to use the Strength Equalizing Theurgy when they have to, is it?" No. 9527 explained patiently.

 Chapter 2632 Start The Strength Equalizing Theurgy

    Zen frowned slightly at these words.


    He was not satisfied with the power of the Falling Star Palm, but that didn''t mean that he underestimated the truth theurgy.


    According to what No. 9527 had said, the truth should be comprehended from the fusion of Godly Ways. This kind of energy might be related to the nature of the entire chaos.


    Although Zen had condensed out the Truth Crystal, he hadn''t mastered its essence completely. It had formed quickly because of his bloodline.


    On the contrary, the Warden race must be quite powerful.


    They believed in Herbert and carried out his orders to control the world. They must have learned many tricks from him.


    If so, how would Emily and Timotheus deal with it?


    "Can I really go up against the Strength Equalizing Theurgy with my Falling Star Palm?" Zen asked, still not convinced. He still couldn''t understand how a theurgy that did not meet actual combat requirements could be used to fight against a powerful theurgy like Herbert''s.


    "You''ll know when the time comes," No. 9527 replied.


    Since it spoke with confidence, Zen nodded and didn''t ask any more questions. He followed the crowd in silence.


    With the formidable strength of the exiles and Zelda herself at the helm, the team had become unstoppable.


    Although exiles from a few small races had repeatedly attempted to assassinate the team members, the team had easily dealt with them and even killed some of those exiles.


    In three days, the team covered tens of thousands of miles in this space.


    When the once-distant high platforms finally came into view, many of the team members'' eyes lit up in excitement.


    After all, the expedition they had embarked on was a large one, but it had gone smoothly so far. Ever since they had entered this space, they had lost only one companion, Quintin; they had traveled the rest of the distance without meeting any great difficulty.


    But Emily, Timotheus, and a few other people were not as optimistic.


    The journey had gone far too smoothly for their taste; they couldn''t help but find it abnormal.


    Moreover, they were not only fighting against Spark, b


    hat Spark meant.


    As Spark turned around and looked at the central area of the high platforms, a black jade pendant appeared in his hand. With a slight pinch of his fingers, he broke the jade pendant into pieces.


    When the jade pendant broke, a disc with a diameter of more than ten thousand feet appeared thousands of miles away from this place.


    And on the disc stood hundreds of people in black cloaks.


    In the center of this disc was an old man with a stoop.


    This old man was so skinny that his face looked like a skull. He was a member of the Warden race and the leader of the conservative faction.


    "Unexpectedly, the two little kids have brought them here anyway..." the old man murmured.


    His voice was as small as an insect''s, but it clearly reached everyone''s ears.


    "Spark and his companions are good for nothing. They can''t stop them at all," commented a purple-haired young man standing beside the old man.


    The old man chuckled. "There is indeed a big gap between them in strength. Ever since Emily found the two survivors, I knew this day would come."


    "Master, should we start the Strength Equalizing Theurgy now?" A crisp female voice came from a black cloak.


    The old man gave a long sigh, and something unreadable flashed in his eyes. Then, finally making up his mind, he nodded slightly.


    At this moment, the huge disc under these cloaked people''s feet began to slowly spin...

 Chapter 2633 Weakened

    As the watchers of this world, it was safe to say that the Warden race''s strength wasn''t the highest.


    Their only duty was to maintain the world''s operation. Most of the time, they didn''t even need to show up in person.


    The space Herbert had opened for them was enough to ensure their safety, and they only needed to cast their shadows when they patrolled the world. No matter how strong the exiles were, they couldn''t do anything to them.


    If it weren''t for the conflicts between the Warden race''s conservative faction and the free faction, neither the Snake Goddess nor the Nine Li race could have found this place.


    As the disk slowly rotated, a light blue texture suddenly appeared on its surface and gradually spread until it was completely covered.


    "I had always thought that when the Light of Adjudication came, all the survivors of the free faction would have been dead. I never figured trouble would arise at the last moment. This is our Warden race''s fate..." the old man said before letting out a hefty sigh.


    "The free faction disobeyed our master''s will and we firmly believe that they will fail," the woman under the cloak said once again.


    "The meaning of our Warden race''s existence is to maintain the world''s operation. We can''t fail..." another voice spoke out.


    Many conflicts in the world were caused by situations that weren''t necessarily black or white.


    The free faction wanted nothing more than to pursue their goal, while the conservative faction followed Herbert''s orders. The exiles wanted to escape this world, and Zen wanted to return to the divine land.


    Click!


    Once the disk had spun to a certain extent, a crisp sound suddenly rang out.


    At that very moment, the light blue texture was now covering the entire disk. If one was to look down from the sky above, they''d see that this texture formed the exact shape of a three-eyed monkey!


    Buzz...


    As this faint blue light continued floating, it gradually rose from the disk. It turned into a light blue shadow in the image of a three-eyes monkey.


    "Greetings, Master!"


    All of the Warden race''s members standing on the disk suddenly knelt to the ground.


    The old man looked solemn and devout. Although the other people were covered beneath their bla


    rly fell to her knees.


    Everyone around her was experiencing the same thing she was.


    As the light spots continued touching them, they could feel their strength escaping them vigorously. The degree at which their power weakened was far beyond their imagination.


    "What the hell is going on here?"


    "I''ve never felt so weak in all my life before!"


    "¡­¡­"


    Timotheus''s, Leopold''s, Ramzi''s and the many other exiles'' faces darkened at once. They didn''t understand what was going on and felt furious.


    "Is... is this the Strength Equalizing Theurgy that you''ve mentioned before?"


    Zen stood still and asked No. 9527 after he felt the change occurring in his body.


    As the light dots entered his body, he immediately felt like he had lost everything.


    His previously indestructible body now became extremely fragile, no different from that of a basic mortal.


    As No. 9527 had mentioned something about the Strength Equalizing Theurgy to him before, Zen thus wasn''t surprised.


    "Yes, when this specific truth theurgy is activated, all the creatures in the space are weakened to the same level. Look at Emily, her strength is at the same level as yours now..." No. 9527 replied.


    As he heard this response, Zen smiled bitterly. "This isn''t good news."


    The exiles of the large races were the most important figures and more so, everyone relied on them. If Emily, Timotheus and the other powerful warriors'' strength had suddenly plummeted, then it was safe to say that this was a disaster.

 Chapter 2634 The Wights

    Emily glared down at her hands and an unprecedented grave expression was displayed on her face.


    "How is this even possible?" she asked, feeling totally dazed.


    Luther, who was standing beside her, was also incredibly confused. Back when the conservative faction fought with the free faction, he had been too young and therefore, he didn''t know much about the many situations that occurred in the Warden race.


    With a wave of his hands, Timotheus focused on his cinnabar field and took a deep breath, trying to forcefully activate the energy within his inner world.


    Yet, even as his face turned bright red with concentration, his cinnabar field still had no reaction whatsoever.


    Many of the other exiles attempted on their own behalf, in various ways. Whether they used the soul power, the pure strength, or even tried to feel the Other Shore, the results simply disappointed them.


    Ultimately, everyone focused their eyes on Zelda.


    Looking in the direction from which the scream came, she said flatly, "That is the Strength Equalizing Theurgy. They''ve finally activated it..."


    "And what exactly do you mean by that?" Emily asked with a sullen expression. "Can they weaken our strength directly?"


    If the Warden race had such a method, then they wouldn''t need to be afraid of anyone. In their current state, they could only let themselves be slaughtered. If Spark attacked them now, he could kill everyone in the blink of an eye!


    In other words, this theurgy was simply too domineering and unreasonable.


    "It has done much more than only weaken our strength." Zelda added, "But theirs, too. Every single creature''s strength has been dulled down to the same level. This is the so-called Strength Equalizing Theurgy."


    Emily paused for a brief moment, and then a bitter smile appeared on her beautiful face. "Really?" she asked, surprised.


    Zelda nodded in response.


    In other words, the exiles, the elders of the various races as well as the elites among the Wild Gods all had the exact same strength level. Right now, no one was actually much stronger than a basic, ordinary mortal.


    "We''re still in big trouble," said one of the exiles from the Star Deer race. And he was right.


    "Now that we have come to this stage, there is no turning back. If the Strength Equalizing Theurgy is really like what Zelda said


    that wandered the Immemorial Wilderness, and it was even less likely for a group of powerful warriors in this world to take them seriously.


    "Did you say only a Wight?! Have you forgotten your current strength, by any chance?" another exile refuted.


    It was only then that the Fire Melting race exile suddenly remembered what Zelda had said. If everyone had equal strength after the Strength Equalizing Theurgy was activated, then the strength of this Wight would be on par with his. He hadn''t thought of that earlier. As this thought settled within the group, everyone felt a little unsettled.


    "Besides... There''s always more than just one Wight," said Emily, biting her lips and frowning.


    "Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo..."


    From within the cracks beneath the high platforms, Wights slowly staggered out one by one. The number of Wights here was really quite high!


    The unintelligent zombie-like creatures could tear up any targets that came anywhere close to them!


    "Wights don''t have wisdom or weapons. We still have the advantage. Everyone, don''t be discouraged." Although Emily understood the meaning of the Strength Equalizing Theurgy, and more so that her strength wasn''t enough for her to take charge as chief, she still stood in front of the group without hesitating in the least.


    The Wights staggered forward for a good distance. When they realized that a pile of food had miraculously appeared in front of them, the Wight at the helm suddenly let out a howl. It instinctively pounced toward the group, and the others followed quickly behind.

 Chapter 2635 Killing

    The Wight approached them menacingly, crawling on its hands and feet.


    In the past, it didn''t seem to be moving very fast, and didn''t seem like a threat in the eyes of Emily and the rest of the group.


    But now, it was clear that its speed wasn''t that slow after all!


    "Awooo!"


    The Wight howled and rushed towards Emily.


    Emily stood straight, with her annular saber gripped tightly in her hand. The moment the Wight rushed to her, she suddenly stomped the ground, and her body rolled towards the Wight. She slammed the saber right on the Wight''s head!


    The annular saber was actually ring shaped, with sharp blades lying both on the inside and outside.


    After successfully positioning the annular saber on the Wight''s head, Emily twisted it in one quick motion, breaking the Wight''s neck. Its head fell to the ground and rolled for a while before coming to a stop.


    Emily''s action was fast and it was all over within a blink of an eye. When the other exiles and the Wild Gods saw the scene, they couldn''t help but applaud.


    Emily was very powerful. Even though her strength had greatly diminished and became ordinary like everyone else, her previous experience was still substantial, and her strength was undeniable.


    However, as she chopped off the Wight''s head, a large amount of blood spurted from its neck. Even though she tried her best to avoid the stream of blood, it was difficult to dodge and her white clothes were now tainted with the blood.


    Initially, the group of exiles had felt cornered and hopeless when they saw the group of Wights. But after hearing Emily''s words and seeing her kill a Wight so easily, their confidence began to return.


    Even if they lost their cultivation base, strength and soul forces, they still had their rich experience and years of practice of powerful martial skills!


    "Such Wights without wisdom are nothing! Everybody, go and kill them! Charge!"


    Timotheus roared as he rushed forward, bearing his saber on his shoulder.


    "Dragon Saber Skill!"


    With a twist of his saber, Timotheus cut a Wight''s stomach like a dragon streaking through the sun. Then just as quickly, he pulled out the saber and spun it with both hands, making the saber twirl and spin. "Ching, ching, ching!" The heads of three Wights flew off simultaneously.


    The Dragon Saber Skill was not only amazing and powerful, and it was also a joy to watch.


    "Is this saber skill also inherited from the Source World?" Zen


    em from behind!


    Some of the other exiles had noticed Zen''s brilliant method. Previously, they had used a variety of methods to kill the Wights. They either penetrated their hearts, or smashed their heads, which was not very effective.


    But now, watching Zen''s technique of killing them simply by slicing their necks, they were given new hope. Everyone immediately saw the astonishing efficiency and began following suit.


    In less than five minutes, the group of warriors had slaughtered about four thousand Wights!


    "Woo, woo, woo..."


    Frighteningly, the number of the Wights did not seem to decrease, but kept increasing!


    "Help!"


    An elder from the Star Deer race suddenly yelled.


    The elder was being dragged into a large group of Wights. In the blink of an eye, he had already disappeared into their midst, with no sign of him at all. The others could only hear his repeated calls for help, which grew weaker and weaker before disappearing all together.


    "Ahhh!"


    At the same time, another Wild God was also dragged away.


    More and more warriors were getting injured or killed, which upset the others and made them even easier targets.


    "Crack!"


    Emily heavily cut the saber down and broke the neck of a Wight.


    As the blood splashed, her charming face turned into a determined, fierce expression. "This is not going to work out. We can''t do this forever!"


    She walked around and called, "Timotheus, Ramzi, Lydia..." As she spoke, her gaze fell on Zen who was fighting in the distance. In the same breath she continued, "And Zen! All of you! Come here! Let''s move forward together and kill those Wights!"

 Chapter 2636 Exhausted

    After entering this world, Emily and the other powerful masters with her had served as the main force.


    She had never even thought that Zen could be someone who could help. After all, the gap between their cultivation was huge, and it was impossible for him to catch up to her. Therefore, Zen, together with the other elders, and the Wild Gods were all weaker people who needed her protection.


    At first, Emily only considered letting the many exiles, Luther, and Zelda enter this world. After all, in the eyes of the exiles, anyone else was just a burden!


    But after the Strength Equalizing Theurgy took effect, the strength Zen had displayed was no weaker than that of those exiles and even on par to that of Emily and Timotheus.


    Now that they were in dire need of warriors to help clear the path, Emily had naturally let Zen join them.


    "Okay!"


    Zen didn''t hesitate at all. With a flash, he moved up from behind.


    In the face of the Wights that were constantly advancing like a tide, they would all eventually die of exhaustion if they remained trapped here. Now, they could only pull together and fight their way out.


    After that, Emily ordered two exiles from the bigger races to bring up the rearguard, and the group began to make headway!


    "Heavenly Light Spear!"


    Now Ramzi blazed the way for the others, and the silver gray spear was like lightning, launching more than ten strikes in an instant.


    "Aoo..."


    More than ten Wights howled in pain and fell writhing to the ground.


    Immediately after, two exiles of the Snake Goddess race rushed up to take the lead. One of them wielded more than ten short swords, and the other one brandished a blade of a strange configuration. With their ferocious attacks, tens of Wights were quickly butchered.


    Then came Timotheus, Leopold, and the others...


    The exiles took turns to attack and slowly forged a path to escape.


    Those who came behind them walked on the path of bodies as they trod over Wight corpses to move forward!


    Zen did not hesitate or relent in his attacks, and he fought fiercely.


    Although he couldn''t use the Ways-blending Energy in his inner world, his swordsmanship had been perfected while cultivating in the universe.


    Now, his body had risen in the air, and the long sword in his hand struck down at the backs of those Wights that blocked their path in quick succession.


    After the attacks continued for a while, both he and Emily rushed to the front line.


    "Aoo..."


    Emily who was in the front was facing down a group of Wights that had advanced to surround her. Her eyes flashed, and as she tapped her t


    After all, the physical energy that had been expended was not nearly as much as a billionth of the physical strength they had possessed before. However, they all had to consider that the Strength Equalizing Theurgy was domineering, and their massive strengths had been reduced to that of mere mortals now.


    "Okay. I''ll be the lookout." Zen nodded.


    Emily nodded vaguely and settled against a corner. She leaned back against the pillars at the base of the high platform and closed her eyes helplessly. She couldn''t remember when last she had closed her eyes to sleep. It might even have been many tens of thousands of years ago.


    Perhaps she was too tired, for she drifted off to sleep in a few seconds.


    As for the other exiles and Wild Gods, they were also soon snoring in a bone-weary sleep.


    Zen plunged his long sword into the ground and swept his gaze over these warriors. A smile spread over his face. It was indeed strange that the mighty exiles had run out of energy!


    Now that everyone had fallen asleep, Zen sat cross legged and quietly began to meditate, circulating his bloodline theurgy.


    When they had fought the Wights just now, No. 9527 had urged him continuously to activate the bloodline theurgy and use the Falling Star Palm to vanquish the enemy...


    The Strength Equalizing Theurgy was also a truth theurgy.


    No one could resist an attack that used the truth theurgy.


    All the souls, their physical bodies, the life vitality from inside their inner worlds, and the Wild God Power were made equal, to the same level as that of mortals.


    Even all the visual acuity and physical strength of the creatures were made equal.


    However, No. 9527 had told Zen that only the truth theurgy could not be affected.

 Chapter 2637 Conversation

    Throughout the whole chaos, the low-level power would be suppressed by the high-level power.


    Those who had been known to hold the supreme power were the Chaos Ancient Gods.


    So, when the Strength Equalizing Theurgy was activated, it had the power to suppress everything.


    The exiles took pride in their own strength and were powerful, but they were not much stronger than the mortals now. Even the power they had obtained from the Other Shore couldn''t contend against the Strength Equalizing Theurgy.


    On the other hand, it was not the same case for Zen. His bloodline theurgy was also a truth theurgy, which could avoid the suppression of the Strength Equalizing Theurgy.


    Zen finally understood what No. 9527 meant after the Strength Equalizing Theurgy was activated.


    Although his bloodline theurgy didn''t contain much power, the power was at the high level.


    "Buzz..."


    An extremely slight chirp resounded from Zen''s body.


    A trace of green light eventually appeared and danced gently on his palm. This green light slowly bounced up and quickly turned into a small green cube.


    For now, he had no idea what kind of ability was hidden in the blood''s truth theurgy. With the guidance of No. 9527, he could make use of the theurgy¡ªFalling Star Palm.


    He flipped his palm slightly, and the small green cube slowly spread out merging into his palm. His entire palm suddenly was completely dyed green. His gaze then looked at a distance as his fingers slightly clenched.


    The green light in his hand had already dissipated before he employed the Falling Star Palm.


    Zen didn''t want to attract too much noise.


    Since the Warden race had activated the Strength Equalizing Theurgy, there must be some other means. Before the Warden race used those methods, Zen wouldn''t easily expose his own means.


    "Hoo..."


    "Hoo..."


    Right now, the exiles and Wild Gods were still in deep sleep engrossed in their own dreams, and some were even snoring.


    They hadn''t slept so soundly for a long time.


    After a peaceful time of rest, ten hours had already passed.


    Emily was the first one to wake up. Perhaps due to a good sleep, she habitually became vigilant and almost reflexively jumped up.


    Not once in her thought that she would sleep s


    ust be Yellow Emperor''s men, or namely the Yellow Emperor Guards, right?" Emily once again inquired.


    In this world, the Yellow Emperor race and the Snake Goddess race were considered to just be in simple states. Both races were complicated in the Source World.


    "Yes. Everything that had happened was because of those Yellow Emperor Guards," Zen stated.


    The Yellow Emperor Guards also supported Nicholas. Zen never had an encounter with the Yellow Emperor Guards before, but the reason why the divine land would be reduced to its current level now was because of them.


    If he were to return to the divine land, he would face them sooner or later.


    "If we can leave this world, I will help you kill them all," Emily said with a smile.


    She wasn''t clear about the strength of the Yellow Emperor Guards but she was confident in offering a helping hand.


    "Are you willing to meddle in this matter?" Zen asked curiously.


    Zen had never been to the Source World before, but he knew that the competition between these great races was full of various interests.


    If he could really leave this world, he naturally hoped that Timotheus, Ramzi, Leopold and the other strong warriors from the Nine Li race would come back to the divine land with him. He didn''t expect that Emily would offer to stand by him.


    "Why not?" Emily kept the smile on her face as her eyes flashed. "As long as I can leave this world..."


    With the current situation for the exiles, there would be no room for retreat.

 Chapter 2638 Sneak Attack

    Initially, Emily was confident that she could defeat anyone who blocked her as she tried to leave this world.


    To her, she saw the Warden race as hidden bugs, unable to be seen.


    But now that they were right in front of her, they had to prepare for their deaths.


    What she didn''t expect was that the Warden race would activate the Strength Equalizing Theurgy. As her strength weakened, she had no idea if she could leave the world.


    She grew anxious.


    "Don''t worry." Zen slowly stood up. "Luck has always been on my side. I don''t think it''ll fail me just yet."


    To her surprise, Zen seemed to be frighteningly confident. Soon enough, her worried face was replaced by a faint smile. This young man was so interesting, she thought.


    At this moment, the other exiles and Wild Gods also woke up one after another.


    After a brief rest, they continued forward.


    In the depths of the platforms, Spark and a few others walked along another road in silence.


    After the Strength Equalizing Theurgy was completely exerted, their strength rapidly diminished as well. This brought many inconveniences that the people weren''t used to.


    Luckily, the Warden race had arranged everything beforehand. All they had to do was follow as Spark had instructed.


    "They are as weak as we are now, so are the arrogant Emily," Spark whispered. "And we have the help of these Wights. I believe you know what to do next..."


    Lined up and ready, each of these exiles held a jet black bow in their hands.


    These were the most common bows, used by mortals. The bowstrings had been tightened, and the black arrows were also in place. The heads of the arrows glowed with a faint black light.


    Though they seemed intimidating, these bows posed no threat in the eyes of the exiles. In the past, even they were shot by a thousand or more arrows, they never got hurt.


    But right now, they were lethal.


    "Got it," one of the exiles responded, a sinister smile spreading across his face.


    For


    ushed the opposite direction. It seemed that the smelly medicine worked.


    Tyler and the others let out a huge sigh of relief.


    However, on the other side, "They are coming again!"


    When Zen, Emily and the others saw the Wights rushing over, they still remained composed.


    Everyone raised their weapons, ready for battle against the group of Wights.


    Because they had enough rest, everyone was pumping with adrenaline and energy. These Wights could hardly get close to them as they were quickly killed by the exiles.


    "Puff! Puff! Puff!..."


    As everything became hectic, Emily was like a deft spirit, walking among the Wights. She used the saber as a prop, and it looked like she was dancing as she killed them one by one.


    Not far away, Zen''s killing was no less efficient than hers. The two of them took the lead, killing off more than half of the Wights on their own.


    However, just as they were crazily killing, behind a high platform, several bows had already been quietly raised.


    Tyler, who ended up hiding in the darkness, aimed at Emily in the front, while the other three had locked their own targets.


    As soon as Tyler gave the order, everyone released their arrows in synchronization, "Swish, swish, swish..."


    Several black arrows shot out, like black rain pouring out from the darkness.

 Chapter 2639 Run Towards His Enemy

    Four arrows shot from the darkness, three of which flew towards Emily and one aimed for Zen.


    The exiles, however, were well-aware that the large races originally targeted Luther who was in the crowd, and not Emily.


    Yet, Luther was surrounded by several Wild Gods who formed a barricade around him. He was tightly guarded, which left little room for the enemy to attack.


    Therefore, the enemies had set their sights on Emily when they started to move.


    Perhaps, the exiles from the small races did not harbor a deep hatred towards Emily. Maybe they simply wanted to eliminate the most powerful person in the world with their own hands when the chance came.


    On the other hand, Tyler''s target was Zen, who was next to Emily.


    Not long ago, Zen, who had suddenly appeared when the Nine Li race and the Yellow Emperor race had competed for the Sky South Bone Tower, had made Tyler''s disciple David suffer too much. He later returned to the Pyramid Bone Tower, never to rise again.


    That was why Tyler deeply loathed Zen.


    Then, Zen displayed his mighty strength after the Strength Equalizing Theurgy was performed, which caused Tyler to be more fearful of him. Thus, he obviously wouldn''t let go of the opportunity to kill his enemy.


    "Puff!"


    Zen lifted his long sword and went straight for a Wight''s neck. Then, he stepped on its back and jumped high into the air.


    At that moment, he caught a glimpse of a few black rays of light from afar, and all of them flew at a high speed.


    "Watch out! There are hidden arrows being shot!" he warned Emily.


    He then reflexively twisted his body in the air and brandished his long sword at the same time. There was a crisp sound when the arrow that was aimed at him bounced away.


    Meanwhile, Emily had also noticed the three sharp arrows that were aimed at her when Zen shouted.


    Her sensibility had been greatly reduced when the Strength Equalizing Theurgy worked. Thus, she had only noticed the arrows when they were just about eight feet away from her.


    Her face darkened. She knew that she couldn''t dodge, so she stretched out her hand and grabbed the Wight nearest to her. She quickly pulled it and the Wight blocked her in front.


    "Puff! Puff! Puff!"


    There were three muffled sounds¡ªtwo arrows had stabbed the Wight''s body, and one pierced thr


    ivation.


    Mike could have forcefully raised Zen''s cultivation base, but he didn''t. Instead, he had created many training opportunities that pushed Zen to his limits in his inner world, and that made him who he was now.


    No one was sure if Mike had foreseen it, but at that moment, the martial arts that Zen had been cultivating did play an important role.


    Therefore, the Wild Gods and the exiles were so excited to see Zen in action. It greatly boosted their spirits.


    "Everyone, stay in your formations. Don''t panic," Emily ordered. She had already pulled out the arrow from her collarbone, but had to bear the sharp pain. Her eyes glowed strangely as she watched Zen''s figure shuttle through the Wights.


    She had always led her team, and even the powerful Timotheus listened to her command.


    However, she didn''t expect that Zen unconsciously played the dominant role now.


    "Shoot again!" Tyler yelled with gritted teeth as he abruptly waved his hand.


    Things had now gotten out of hand and it made him boil in anger.


    According to the original plan, they would never lose as long as those Wights caught up with Emily and her companions, while they attacked them with sharp arrows.


    He never thought that the inconspicuous youth called Zen would come to them alone!


    "Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof!"


    They shot four arrows simultaneously once more, but none of them even managed to hurt a hair of Zen.


    "I''m going to kill him with my own hands," Tyler yelled with a murderous look, and then drew out a saber from his waist.

 Chapter 2640 A Fierce Battle

    Before Tyler could even draw out his saber, Zen had already passed the Wights. He raised his sword and rushed into the shadows.


    When Zen charged in at first, he had attracted a large group of Wights. The fragrance of medicine emitted by Tyler and the others scared those creatures, so they never followed them.


    That very moment Zen came through, a beam of blade light slashed towards him.


    All of a sudden, Zen realized something and placed his long sword horizontally right in front of him.


    "Clang!"


    The collision of the sword and the saber sent Zen a few steps backward.


    When his eyes had already adapted to the darkness, he finally saw the person before him clearly.


    Zen raised his eyebrows and smiled. "Tyler? So, we meet again."


    Indeed, Zen had faced that man before.


    When the Yellow Emperor race and the Nine Li race fought against each other, that exile controlled David as he battled against Zen. Later, he was forced out of the void by that arrow shot by No. 9527. At that particular time, he was in a helpless state.


    Back then, there was a huge gap between Zen and Tyler in terms of strength, which was very difficult to narrow out. After all, Tyler had already reached the Other Shore Realm.


    Tyler nonchalantly stared at Zen.


    Not long ago, he could easily kill Zen with just a wave of his hand. Now that everyone became equal due to the Strength Equalizing Theurgy, Zen had become Tyler''s strong opponent, which displeased him a great deal.


    With an untamed smile, he told Zen, "You''re only a True God. How dare you assume that you''re my match?"


    As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately swung his saber towards Zen.


    "Clang! Clang! Clang!"


    Along with those three crisp sounds, Zen himself had retreated three steps backward.


    Tyler''s saber skill was very powerful. In the Source World, he successfully became an outstanding warrior from an ordinary man by doing it step by step. He went through a lot of fatal battles and had survived countless dangers.


    When he became an Other Shore Realm warrior, Tyler managed to restrain his behavior for many years while imprisoned


    "Puff!"


    The long sword flashed with a short sword light, which swept past the exile''s throat and cut off his entire neck. Thick blood flowed out of the wound.


    "What a cunning boy!"


    The two other exiles, holding the axe and the sword, had a distressed look on their faces. It seemed as if they were grieving.


    Although the three of them came from different races, they took care of one another in that world and had become close friends. They had a wonderful relationship over the years and treated each other like blood brothers.


    Now that one of them was badly hurt, they grew very angry.


    If only the exile''s cultivation base was still high like before, such an injury was nothing. However, their bodies weren''t stronger than that of mortals now, so that wound was enough to kill him.


    "Aaaargh!"


    The remaining two exiles let out a roar and immediately pounded towards Zen.


    At the same time, Tyler, who had recovered, wiped the blood off his face and also rushed towards Zen with his saber clutched tightly in his hand. The three exiles put their lives at risk fighting a True God.


    Facing three bold guys, Zen felt more pressure. If he kept retreating, he would be in so much danger.


    Then, they heard the sound of footsteps not far away.


    Zen had been facing the four men by himself for such a long time. After a while, Timotheus managed to lead a group of people to head towards Zen.

 Chapter 2641 Astonishing End

    As Timotheus led Leopold, Ramzi and the others, they didn''t rush to the back of the tall platforms immediately.


    They had already attracted enough attention from most of the Wights.


    For them, Zen''s safety was their top most priority. And for that, they had to eliminate the Wights that surrounded them first. After all, they didn''t know that Tyler and the others had eaten the medicine cakes. Hence, the Wights would not be following them towards the shadow behind the tall platforms.


    Behind the huge columns of the tall platforms, Tyler''s face twitched slightly.


    He realized that their only means to escape was by killing Zen.


    Tyler definitely did not want to die a pitiful death like other exiles from the smaller races.


    With this definite thought, his attack became even more aggressive.


    "The hell with you!"


    With a determined effort, Tyler brought down the blade, with all his strength.


    Instinctively, Zen raised his sword to block the attack in front of him.


    By now, everyone''s physical strength had weakened almost to the same level. Despite putting in his entire effort, he was no match for Tyler''s attack.


    "Bang!"


    With a cracking sound, the long sword in Zen''s hand flew out.


    "Now is the time!"


    Although the other two exiles had pledged their lives, they remained unsuccessful in defeating Zen. That was why, until now, they were getting extremely anxious.


    Tables changed for them, when unexpectedly, the sword in Zen''s hand was chopped away by Tyler with one swoop of the blade. As they witnessed the scene unravel before them, they quickly approached him with a delightful expression.


    Soon an axe and a sharp sword went sailing towards Zen.


    With the saber in his hand, Tyler followed the two exiles, displaying a vicious smile. His plan was to cut off Zen''s head as soon as he was hit by the sword.


    Even though Zen continued to dodge them at a remarkable speed, it was difficult to fight with bare hands.


    Suddenly, Zen had a faint smile while staring at Tyler, as he slowly raised one of his hands.


    "Death knocks at your door, but I applaud your courage to pretend to be strong," Tyler sneered.


    No


    d up in the air and in the blink of an eye, caught up with Tyler.


    At the right moment, Tyler ducked his head and the axe flew over him.


    Tyler was relieved to escape from the axe. He had maintained a distance from Zen, so that he could escape, if need be.


    But his relief was short lived as he instantly heard a howling sound.


    "Something is not right."


    A cold dread crept over him.


    The next moment he was stabbed by a thin flying knife. It resembled the wing of a cicada.


    Still at a distance, Zen slowly put down his right hand and shook it slightly. He slowly walked towards Tyler, as the green light on the surface of his arm disappeared.


    At the same time, Timotheus and the others also got rid of the Wights.


    "Go help Zen!"


    Timotheus hollered to the others. He sped up and rushed to the back of the high platforms.


    But when they arrived, they were stunned by what unfolded before them.


    Zen was pulling out the flying knife from Tyler''s back when he heard footsteps behind him. He faintly smiled as he heard their gasps.


    "That is Tyler! You killed all of them alone?" Leopold couldn''t believe what he saw.


    They were all members of the large races and knew that it would not be easy to deal with Tyler, especially under the effect of the Strength Equalizing Theurgy.


    But Zen defied all their beliefs, as he rushed over alone and killed the four exiles. This was definitely not what they had expected.

 Chapter 2642 Stealth

    Zen wiped the blood on the flying knife and gave Leopold a nod.


    Leopold, on the other hand, could only stare at Zen with wide-eyed shock. "How in the world did you make it?"


    Everyone was at the same level of strength. Even if Zen was an expert in martial arts, it would still take him a considerably long time to kill them.


    Moreover, those people were healthy, strong men. They might not be a match for Zen but they could still give him a tough time or even escape.


    Timotheus and the others were also puzzled.


    It was not difficult to kill a Wight with no intelligence.


    However, they had no chance in winning against four exiles on their own. Not even Timotheus was confident he could kill them.


    Zen merely shrugged. "They were weaker than I expected."


    He wasn''t in the mood to explain.


    The others were clearly unsatisfied with his simple reply but couldn''t really say anything.


    Besides, the more powerful Zen was, the more beneficial it would be for them in the end.


    With that, Zen picked up his sword and collected the crossbows Tyler and his companions left behind.


    The crossbows were normal weapons but proved themselves quite useful.


    As he tidied up the mess, the group of people who disposed of the Wights slowly caught up with them.


    Emily was at the helm. Her eyes immediately fell on Tyler''s body and she raised her eyebrows in intrigue.


    The exiles that she, Timotheus and the others had killed were not that strong and came from small races. Tyler, however, was different. He was someone important in the Yellow Emperor race and was far stronger than ordinary exiles. Seeing him dead like this was shocking.


    "You''re so efficient! Did Zen rush in without getting hurt?" she asked, looking at Zen and noticing that he was completely unharmed. She truly thought he had been a bit too impulsive and couldn''t help but stare at him with concern.


    Timotheus and the others could only grin helplessly. "We did nothing. By the time we arrived, Zen had already killed them."


    "What?!" Emily exclaimed yet her eyes visibly twinkled.


    The exiles of the Fire Melting race, the Star Deer race, and the other big races could only stare at Zen with


    As Emily led the crowd through a ten-mile journey, a murmur suddenly came from behind a tall platform.


    "They are here, still led by Emily..."


    "Tyler and the three haven''t returned yet. Did they fail?"


    "Maybe he did and couldn''t escape? So we must run if we can''t defeat them."


    According to Spark''s plan, different teams comprised of four people would attack Emily and her group with crossbows. Once they had launched their attack, they were to immediately run back and gather at the rear to prepare for the next round.


    If successful, this plan could effectively eliminate Emily and her team.


    However, Tyler and his companions didn''t escape which made this team that hid behind the pillars feel restless.


    "Don''t think too much about it. Release the Wights!" one of them ordered.


    With a crack, the fences between two high platforms suddenly disappeared.


    The Wights that had been trapped beforehand suddenly rushed forward like a tidal wave while the four men team set up their bows and arrows.


    Just as they took their aim, a flash of green light suddenly blinded them.


    "Ah! Where did this light come from?!" one of them murmured in confusion, turning his head to look for the source.


    He came face to face with Zen who stood not that far away from them.


    His right hand glowed green from which he held a flying knife as thin as a cicada''s wing. What was most unsettling was the way his eyes seemed to shine in the darkness.

 Chapter 2643 The Encounter

    "Who are you?"


    The exile wasn''t expecting anyone to arrive first. It happened so fast that he couldn''t even tell who Zen was.


    But the moment he finished speaking, the flying knife had already pierced his forehead.


    Bang!


    Before the exile fell to the ground, Zen had pulled out his long sword and held it forward.


    The other three exiles reacted fast.


    But with Zen using the bloodline theurgy, they had no chance of defeating him even during a head-on battle. And Zen was attacking them in a rather unique manner¡ªthey had no means to resist the attacks.


    Every single one of them could hardly manage to resist. In the end, they were all killed under Zen''s hands.


    Meanwhile, on the other side, Emily had ordered the group to kill the Wights.


    Because everyone grew more and more proficient in dealing with the Wights, the latter no longer posed as a great threat.


    About five minutes later, the last Wight was slain by Timotheus'' saber.


    Timotheus, Emily, and the others observed the elevated platforms from a distance.


    Zen''s figure appeared at the very back of the platforms. He gestured to the others with his thumb and smiled easily before disappearing into the darkness.


    "This guy..." The scene left Timotheus dumbfounded.


    Originally, he didn''t think that bringing Zen into this world would make such a difference.


    The rest of the exiles were stunned speechless¡ªit was such a strange thing. So many of them had died under Zen, a mere True God.


    But Emily chuckled and called out, "Everyone, move on!"


    After another ten miles, the Wights stood in their way once again.


    From the shadows, Zen emerged and merely killed the lurking men again using thunderous methods. Everyone moved forward smoothly after that.


    On the way, the exiles from the great races and the Wild Gods seemed to grow in their admiration.


    None of them could figure out what particular method Zen had used to easily wipe out their opponents.


    In spite of the mystery, they also found themselves fortunate to have Zen on their team. Otherwise, they didn''t know how many of them would perish.


    Zelda''s and Luther''s strength, the Warden race isn''t all that strong."


    They already had their inklings about the Warden race''s strength, but Zelda''s and Luther''s appearance had confirmed them.


    Before Spark answered, a figure clad in black popped up from the city wall. A woman''s voice resounded, "You are right. The cultivation base of the members of our Warden race is indeed inferior to yours. But don''t forget, you''re not the Other Shore Realm warrior¡ªyou''re just as ordinary as the mortal under the influence of the Strength Equalizing Theurgy. Our Warden race has received the master''s privilege. We can break through the limit of the Strength Equalizing Theurgy."


    The woman in the black robe stepped out of the shadows and revealed herself as a member of the Warden race.


    Everyone''s hearts skipped a beat while they were hearing these words.


    If the Warden race was truly capable of breaking through the limits, all the rest would be in deep trouble.


    Before the Strength Equalizing Theurgy was activated, they were strong, but after being equalized, their strength faded away. No matter how weak the Warden race was, they were still True Gods. And a single True God was enough to defeat them all.


    "Don''t listen to this bullshit. It''s impossible for them to completely break from the restrictions of the Strength Equalizing Theurgy," Zelda announced, walking out from the crowd.

 Chapter 2644 Abandon

    Zelda looked up at the black figure perching on the city wall. Her pretty face remained calm, but the hatred in her eyes was obvious.


    She and Luther had suffered too much. Luther was young at the time, and she had had to take on most of the difficulties.


    She had been devastated to lose her parents.


    She could do nothing but watch her uncle and his family being crushed by the huge millstone.


    The three brothers who had saved her were shot down by arrows.


    And the past flashed before her eyes again with the swiftness of a viper.


    She had her reasons to want revenge but she had to try to suppress the hatred that filled her heart.


    She had become excited at having found the right person - Zen, which resulted in her trying every possible means to ask him to help her.


    Zelda knew that Zen was a person of integrity, or she would have considered offering him everything she had, including her own body.


    As she waited, fear overcame her. She was afraid that Zen would go back on his word.


    She hadn''t expected everything to go so smoothly.


    So step by step, she stepped into this space, and finally returned to her hometown. Now it was time for her to exact her revenge.


    "Aunt Sandy! You weren''t expecting us to meet again like this, were you?" Zelda smiled, thoroughly enjoying herself.


    The Warden race wasn''t too big. Even if the free faction and the conservative faction had become enemies, they could still build up a kind of seniority with each other. That was why Zelda addressed the dark figure as Aunt Sandy.


    But that didn''t mean Zelda regarded her as a respected elder.


    Sandy stared at Zelda for a while before muttering, "I wasn''t expecting this. I never thought that your free faction would go this far and choose to lure these outsiders in to kill our race."


    Zelda made to retort, but Luther''s voice interrupted her from behind.


    "You think we have gone too far?" Luther walked up to Zelda as he


    looks like you are completely useless. They are easily torturing you one by one," Sandy said savagely and retreated.


    Spark stood still, his heart sinking.


    It was at this moment that he realized that the Warden race had completely used him.


    He was usually very smart, making it difficult for others to use him like this. But at the moment, he had been eager to leave this world, and had thought of obstructing the Nine Li race and the Snake Goddess race. That was why he had willingly agreed to work with the Warden race.


    He hadn''t expected to be abandoned so easily.


    "You!"


    As he looked at Sandy''s retreating back, his eyes filled with resentment.


    "Spark, what should we do now? Stop them outside?" one of the exiles of the Yellow Emperor race asked him.


    They had followed Spark all the way here, but they had never thought they would find themselves in such a situation.


    "Forget it! Let''s go!"


    There was a gleam in Spark''s eyes.


    He had led the Yellow Emperor race for so many years, which obviously meant that he was a remarkable man.


    And now that he had been abandoned, how could he continue to work for the Warden race? So he made a prompt decision and led his two clansmen to the other side. But he vowed that he would not let the Warden race go so easily.

 Chapter 2645 Chasing

    Generally speaking, the wall around where the Warden race had gathered was only ten feet high.


    It was built as such because their race never thought that they would be invaded. Besides, their city wall was only a form.


    When Spark and the two exiles escaped, a man climbed over the low city wall!


    Spark recognized the man on the city wall as the Nine Li race member who had fought David before. Even Tyler had failed to defeat him at that time.


    The man, who was actually Zen, met Spark''s gaze. He smiled a bit then jumped down.


    Instead of chasing after Spark, however, he went straight to Sandy!


    "Whoosh!"


    A swishing sound came from Sandy and her billowing cloak. Although she couldn''t fly, she was extremely light and moved rapidly along the street.


    On the other side was Zen who continuously jumped up and down along the high and low houses. He took advantage of the topography and ran much faster than Sandy.


    Soon enough, Sandy heard footsteps from her right.


    She looked around confusedly and saw Zen, who wasn''t far away from her.


    "I''m sorry. Someone wants you to stay," Zen said softly with a smile.


    "Really?" she sneered.


    She didn''t know where he came from, but if he was able to catch up with her, then it only meant one thing.


    He was very powerful.


    Even then, she didn''t panic.


    The Warden race couldn''t completely get rid of the Strength Equalizing Theurgy just like what Zelda had said, but the Chaos Ancient God had bestowed them with something that could help them in this situation.


    "Swish!"


    At that moment, she ran forward and gently tugged at the belt on her waist.


    The cloak which was previously wrapped tightly around her began to split from the top to the bottom. Her long, white hair flowed freely as well.


    The people of the Warden race always wore that cloak, and rarely took it off in the presence of others. They only removed it when they were engaged in a fight.


    Sandy''s cloak revealed her flexible figure. Her lips moved slightly. Then a blue beam of


    twined with each other and she pushed Zen with the blades, forcing him to retreat.


    However, she suddenly stopped.


    The corners of her lips twitched slightly. Then the two blades quickly changed their direction and charged towards Zen''s shoulders.


    If she could hit him, then his shoulders would be amputated.


    At that point, however, he raised his head and smiled at her as he held a long sword across his chest.


    His smile confused her. In reality, what he actually planned to do was to use an ordinary long sword to block her two sharp blades, which she thought was silly, because her sharp blades could cut his sword and his body into pieces.


    This young man should know about that well because he had always refused to use his sword to touch her sharp blades. Therefore, why did he resist the attack in such a stupid way this time?


    They just fought for a short while, and she didn''t have time to think about his behavior which puzzled her.


    As soon as she cut towards Zen with her two sharp blades, Zen''s arm quietly released a little green Truth Crystal. Then, a green beam of light quickly spread along his arm and covered his long sword.


    "Clang!"


    There was a loud, crashing sound from the collision, but the scene that Sandy had anticipated did not happen.


    Zen, however, had discovered her flaws while she was confused.

 Chapter 2646 Seek Death

    "Phew!"


    Zen''s long sword blocked Sandy''s two sharp blades. The sword drew back and immediately twisted towards her neck.


    Fear crept up in Sandy''s face. She never expected that Zen could block her attack with a weapon that was made of common iron.


    It was impossible for such a weapon to dodge her attack just like that. The only thing that could''ve possibly allowed him to do that was the green light wrapped around it. ''How could he utilize that kind of power?'' she wondered.


    This unknown skill surprised her to a great extent. She knew she wasn''t Zen''s match. How else was she going to deal with him?


    The power of Zen''s sword that was coming straight for her meant death. Sandy had no other choice but to retreat. In the end, she managed to avoid the sword, but she lost her balance and fell straight on the ground.


    Just as she struggled to get back on her feet, Zen''s long sword was already pointed on her snow-white neck, while the green light around it had disappeared.


    "Don''t move, or I''ll cut your neck," Zen said with a sly smile on his face. "Don''t ask me how I did it either."


    Sandy could only glare at Zen, her chest heaving, and her thoughts wavering.


    She finally understood why Spark was unable to stop those intruders.


    Under the effect of the Strength Equalizing Theurgy, only the Warden race was able to break the restrictions of the theurgy. Sandy''s double blades were grace from the master.


    But Zen seemed to have also broken the restrictions of the Strength Equalizing Theurgy.


    She didn''t have time to think about how he did it first. If these people could all break through the restrictions, it meant Spark''s men weren''t their enemies.


    Even if the Warden race and Spark had planned it for a long time, the people they sent out to attack would not return.


    From a distance, a bunch of rapid, disorderly footsteps could be heard along with some murmurs of curse words.


    "Damn it! Spark sure is quick!"


    "I wonder if Zen has caught up with that woman. If we can catch her, things would be a lot easier!"


    "I''m a little worried about Zen''s safety."


    Beneath the city wall, Zen had had a brief talk wi


    , with a hint of helplessness in his voice.


    "You did well," Emily reassured.


    An exile from the Fire Melting race nodded in agreement. "Yes. Now, we have finally killed a member of the Warden race."


    The way this group of exiles talked to Zen changed. Before, they were condescending towards him, but at that moment, they treated him as an equal.


    Emily bent down to study the textures that had appeared on Sandy''s arms. "Zelda, are these razor blades bestowed upon her by the Chaos Ancient God?"


    Stepping forward, Zelda was a little shocked by what she had seen. After all, the woman who had died right before her very eyes was a member of the Warden race, and they shared the same bloodline.


    However, when she remembered the time when her family was killed, her heart grew cold again. "Yes," she replied. "After the Strength Equalizing Theurgy has been activated, the master of our race will grant us grace to help us get rid of the limitations of such theurgy."


    "The grace for every one is the ability to condense a pair of sharp blades?" Zen asked, still fixated on Sandy''s corpse.


    If that was the case, then things would become easier.


    Those blades were sharp indeed, but the Warden race weren''t as difficult to deal with as they thought they would be.


    "No, it isn''t," Zelda shook her head. She knew why Zen was asking such a question. "Everyone''s grace is different. Some are strong, and some are weak."

 Chapter 2647 The Tomb Keeper

    Emily, Timotheus, and the others frowned when they heard the news.


    It was very troublesome for all of them.


    But it was relatively better than they initially expected.


    At the very least, the Warden race was also restricted by the Strength Equalizing Theurgy. They wouldn''t be able to go beyond their limits without the grace of the Chaos Ancient God.


    If the Strength Equalizing Theurgy didn''t work on the Warden race, then all of them might end up being slaughtered by the race without any room to fight back.


    "Since they have the grace of the Chaos Ancient God, does that mean you and Luther can obtain it as well?" Zen asked out of curiosity.


    Zelda nodded. "Hypothetically yes, but the place where we can obtain the grace isn''t here. We have to go to the foot of the Pray Tablet, but it''s difficult to get close to it because it is in the deepest part of our base."


    "Either way, we would still have to give it a shot," Zen said with a smile.


    Zelda nodded. "We''re on the way there. If we get the chance to approach the Pray Tablet, I''ll pray to the Chaos Ancient God for his grace."


    At the core of their base.


    A bunch of Life Lamps emitted steady lights around the huge disc.


    Many powerful practitioners preferred not to make the Life Lamps because the Life Lamps had the tendency to expose some flaws. However, under the effect of the Strength Equalizing Theurgy, these flaws didn''t exist anymore.


    As a result, the Warden race had already prepared their Life Lamps and arranged them accordingly around the disc.


    "Boom!"


    One of the Life Lamps suddenly made a faint sound. The bean sized flame in the middle of the lamp dimmed as it shook a few times before finally going out.


    "Did Sandy''s Life Lamp just go out?"


    "Who could''ve possible killed her?"


    "She was always very cautious. For some reason, she was unable to escape safely. Those people..."


    Most of the members of the Warden race were gathered on the open space on the opposite side.


    At the front of the open space were about seven or eight people sitting cross legged on the stairs. At the top of the stairs was a member of the Warden race. He was the old man who rotated the round disc to activate the Strength Equalizing Theurgy.


    Staring at the fading


    so rarely communicated with the Warden race.


    In the past, the people of the Warden race found trouble with the young man. They once gathered over a hundred members to surround him.


    But the power of the young man made them realize that they could not provoke him no matter how hard they tried. He was way stronger than any exile in this world.


    Fortunately for them, he was not bloodthirsty at all. He only taught them a valuable lesson during the conflict and then immediately let them go.


    Since then, no one from the Warden race ever dared to provoke him again.


    The Warden race had a lot of speculations about the person''s real identity but they never reached a clear conclusion.


    Actually, he wasn''t really a tomb keeper but since he had been staying in front of the tombstone for so long, the Warden race decided to call him that way.


    In the old man''s mind, there must be a reason why their master brought the man there.


    Now that the Warden race had reached its most critical moment, the old man hoped that he would be willing to give them the support they needed.


    The old man and the black-robed man with purple hair walked towards the foot of the tombstone but they didn''t see the young man right away.


    As the two of them scratched their heads in confusion, they saw the young man sitting on top of the tombstone. He was looking down at them as he chuckled and said, "You have used the Strength Equalizing Theurgy of the old monster. It seems that you are in a lot of trouble."

 Chapter 2648 You Cant Pass

    The old man raised his head and clasped his hands together as he replied with sincerity, "You''re right. Our race is indeed facing a crucial enemy invasion."


    The young man that stood on top of the tombstone chuckled.


    "By enemies, you mean the exiles in this world, right?" "Yes," the old man nodded.


    "You came to ask for my help. Is that right?"


    the young man asked again.


    The old man sighed to himself and could only nod in response.


    That young man might have looked crazy, but his strength sure was immeasurably compelling. Most importantly, he didn''t get imprisoned in that world like the exiles.


    Instead, he just showed up in the space where the Warden race resided. The old man had no clue why his master arranged such an encounter. The young man had been their neighbor for countless years. Maybe he wanted to help them for that reason.


    "The old monster''s Strength Equalizing Theurgy is really powerful. Even I am affected by it, so I am no different than any ordinary warrior now.


    My assistance might not make any difference," the young man smiled, shaking his head.


    Upon hearing his words, a complicated expression crept up on the old man''s face. All of a sudden, he bent his legs and knelt before the young man.


    "I ask you to please help our race," the old man said. The man with purple hair immediately grew anxious when he saw their leader kneel. "Sir!" he called out.


    Since the man had already mentioned about his cultivation base being weakened due to the Strength Equalizing Theurgy, he wondered why their leader still had to beg him like that. However, the old man''s gesture didn''t change the expression on the young man''s face.


    He then jumped off the tombstone and walked straight to the old man as he clicked his tongue in annoyance, "I made a bet with Herbert in the past, which is why I''ve been imprisoned in this world for trillions of years. Up to this day, I still couldn''t figure it out."


    Hearing his words, both the old man and the man with purple hair were taken aback. They were surprised to know that he was also a prisoner of that world.


    In that case, he was an enemy of the War


    If you don''t want to help us, then we shall take our leave."


    The old man bowed in respect to the tomb keeper then turned around to depart.


    The man with purple hair followed close behind. In his opinion, their leader made an unnecessary move by asking for the young man''s help. There was no reason for them to ask assistance from a freak like him.


    As they began to walk away from the tomb, the young man said, "Although your determination bores me, I appreciate persistent people like you."


    As he spoke, he stretched himself which made cracking noises. "I''ve stayed here for too long. This tablet didn''t do me any good. I think I''d like to get some good exercise now."


    His statement stopped the old man in his tracks. He turned back around and looked straight at the tomb keeper. His dim eyes lit up with excitement. "Are you going to help us?"


    On the other side, however, Emily, Zen, and others also stopped their steps.


    A man in a black robe stood before them. Blue butterflies danced around him.


    Although those butterflies were extremely beautiful, they contained deadly power.


    "You can''t pass," the man in the black robe said flatly.


    More black-robed men began to appear on the roofs and both sides of the street.


    Some of the Wild Gods and exiles could not help but take several steps back. That was the first time that they had to fight against the Warden race, and they were very frightened.

 Chapter 2649 Chaotic Battle

    Zelda and Luther came back to the center of the group, protected by the others encircling them.


    After all, they were the two most important people here. They needed the extra protection, for the Warden race might take them as their first targets.


    Zen, who was walking in the front of the group, narrowed his eyes and asked, "What if we''re determined to pass through?"


    The man wearing a black robe raised his hand gently, and all the butterflies surrounding him began to flutter violently, forming a pair of wings and floating behind the man. "The ball is still in your court. This is your last chance. Leave Luther and Zelda behind or you will all die!"


    "There''s no way!" Zelda''s voice was heard ringing out from the back.


    The others didn''t utter a single word. They knew that by coming this far, retreating wasn''t an option.


    "Oh, really?" The man in the black robe sneered and waved his hand, with more intensity this time. He slowly removed the black robe attached to his body and revealed his looks.


    Beneath the robe was a strong young man with a shockingly obvious scar on his nose.


    As the young man removed his cloak, the other men on the roofs, equally in black robes, took theirs off too. For the Warden race, this was their battle signal.


    "Seeing as you aren''t seizing your final chance, you''ll just have to die along with these two miserable people."


    Swish!


    As soon as he finished speaking, the butterflies behind the young man fluttered in disorder, rushing directly at the group in a giant wave.


    "You''re dealing with the enemies on both sides!"


    At that, Zen took the group''s lead in charging the group forward.


    These men in black robes all had blue energy, which was gifted to them by the Chaos Ancient God.


    According to what Zelda had said, everyone would receive different benefits from the Chaos Ancient God. Now, it seemed that the dense clutter of butterflies in front of them were their greatest threat. Moreover, it was impossible for them to get too close and therefore, Zen took it upon himself to make the first move!


    "Shoot!"


    Emily ordered as she focused her attention.


    The exiles pointed their bows and arrows at the warriors standing on both sides of the path. In seconds, they were ready to shoot them.


    Swish, swish, swish...


    As the arrows shot out one after the next, the Warden race''s warriors all lowered their bodies at once.


    With a series of deafening thuds, the arrows hit the roof tiles viciously.


    "There''s no way we''re retreating! If we don''t fight, we''ll die. Come on! Let''s go!"


    Emily said in a clear


    ittle space and tried to attack, the butterflies moved and protected the man instead.


    Zen tried to attack eight times in a row and circled around the strapping man three times. Several times, when his long sword was only a foot away from the strapping man, the butterflies surged over at the last second. Alas, Zen decided he had no choice but to give up.


    "Is that your only skill?"


    The strapping man grinned coldly. At that, he flicked his fingers and the blue butterflies flew around him in disorder. They began to spread in all directions!


    If only the butterflies could maintain a certain rule or pattern... At least then Zen could easily avoid them.


    Now that all the butterflies were moving in an irregular way though, it was much too difficult for Zen to dodge. He could only move cautiously among them. He had to be very carefully when doing so because the winged insects were in fact very dangerous.


    It was a pity that Zen couldn''t use the Eight Smoky Melodies in his current situation. If he could use it, then these butterflies wouldn''t be capable of touching him at all, not even if he closed his eyes.


    Puff!


    Zen kept moving backward, all while the strapping man manipulated the butterflies to continue approaching him.


    Constantly dodging, Zen suddenly felt a sharp pain run up his right leg. A blue butterfly had skimmed across his outer leg, leaving a mark as thick as a thumb.


    Due to his injury, Zen began to move more slowly, and countless butterflies gathered around him.


    "Go to hell!" the strapping man shouted at Zen in a ferocious voice.


    From Zen''s point of view, he could only expect to be bitten and seriously injured by these raging butterflies within the next three seconds.

 Chapter 2650 Chase

    After the butterflies had fully enveloped Zen, the strapping man looked away arrogantly.


    His name was Arvin and he was one of the Warden race''s strongest warriors.


    The battle with the invaders was led by him, Bonnie and Bergen.


    The original plan had actually been slightly different. Berge and Bonnie would lead their clansmen to outflank the intruders from the left and right and cut off their retreat. Afterwards, Bonnie was to control the azure blue Trapping Butterflies to finish them off.


    However, just when the two sides started to fight, Zen had rushed up alone to stop Arvin, which interrupted their plan.


    After being sure that Zen was going to die, Arvin turned his thoughts to the situation ahead. He shouldn''t have wasted his time on this young man.


    But just as he turned his eyes away, a green light flashed in the corner of his eyes.


    Zen''s Truth Crystal turned the sword green again.


    Facing the approaching butterflies, Zen narrowed his eyes and gently shook the long sword in his hand.


    "Crack!"


    The green sword tip touched a butterfly. With a crisp sound, the azure blue butterfly exploded and disappeared.


    After killing the first butterfly, Zen drew back his long sword and continued hitting the other butterflies, moving on to the next target as soon as he had killed one.


    "Crack! Crack! Crack!"


    In the blink of an eye, all the butterflies that were charging at Zen were blown up by his sword.


    When the barrier of butterflies formed a crack, Zen rushed out, heading straight towards Arvin.


    "What the..."


    Arvin was stunned by the sight in front of him.


    In the blink of an eye, Zen''s long sword had come straight towards his face.


    Arvin''s reaction was equally fast.


    He swiftly took a few steps back, dodging the sword with lightning fast reflexes.


    "Swish!"


    Zen''s sword still managed to graze him on the forehead, leaving a shallow wound that trickled blood.


    There was no way Zen was going to let go of this opportunity.


    Since he missed his target at the first try, he immediately thrust out his sword again.


    When Arvin looked at Zen''s sword radiance, fear appeared in his eyes. This was a life and death situati


    th the exiles. Bonnie had never thought that Emily would attack her in secret.


    "What a pity." Emily smiled faintly. The saber, which was stained with blood, spun slightly in her hand. She had just killed six black-robed people.


    "Humph!"


    Bonnie raised her hand. The blue light continuously condensed and turned into tiny flying knives once again.


    Even though she had the grace of the Chaos Ancient God, she was still under great pressure to face Emily. However, it did not mean that she wasn''t confident that she could kill Emily.


    Just as the two were in a stalemate and planning their next moves, a series of strange cracking sounds suddenly came from below and distracted them. They both looked towards the noises.


    "Zen!"


    Emily saw that Zen was chasing after Arvin with a long sword in his hand.


    More oddly, the long sword in Zen''s hand was glowing with a strange energy, which blasted through the butterflies easily.


    "Brother!"


    Bonnie''s face grew pale with worry as she took in the scene.


    She had thought that Arvin could get rid of Zen quickly, and then come to her aid as soon as possible.


    She didn''t expect that Zen would get this close to Arvin. She was now worried that her brother might be killed by him.


    Without a second thought, Bonnie turned around and threw several flying knives at Emily.


    Under the cover of the broken pieces of the flying knives, Bonnie jumped down from the roof and headed towards Arvin.

 Chapter 2651 Joint Attack From Brother And Sister

    After the fragments of the flying knives scattered in all directions, Emily took a few steps back as her eyes stared blankly at Zen.


    She always had a feeling that Zen had special methods she didn''t know about.


    Otherwise, he wouldn''t have been able to kill the exiles sent by Spark so easily.


    But what Emily didn''t expect was that Zen could break the restrictions of the Strength Equalizing Theurgy!


    The green energy was not very powerful but when Emily took a quick glance at it, she immediately felt that it was indeed quite mysterious.


    She really had a hard time seeing through him.


    After a short pause, she saw that Bonnie was rushing down. She lightly tapped her toe as she prepared herself to jump down from the roof. She didn''t want to let Bonnie mess up the situation.


    But just as Emily jumped up, a blue long whip immediately came after her!


    "Phew!"


    The long whip was very sharp. Its slash created a deep cut on the roof and immediately rushed towards Emily.


    She frowned as she saw it coming.


    Of course, she was unable to use her mortal body to withstand the impact. All she could do was to abruptly twist and stay put on the roof.


    "I am your opponent. Ha-ha!" another man in a black robe with a blue long whip in his hand blocked Emily''s way.


    Zen''s speed at brandishing his sword became faster and faster as he struck his targets more precisely every time.


    Although Arvin summoned a lot of butterflies in a ridiculous manner, it was all in vain. As soon as the butterflies were condensed, they were immediately destroyed by the tip of Zen''s sword. His precision with every strike was truly astonishing.


    It was as if his sword was a part of his hand. He used it with finesse and he could do whatever he wanted with it.


    ''What an amazing display of swordsmanship! How could someone like you exist?''


    Arvin thought to himself.


    In his opinion, there were only a few leaders from the exiles that he shouldn''t mess and those were Timotheus and Emily and the like.


    They were very powerful but they were nothing under the influence of Strength Equalizing Theurgy. On the other hand, they knew they were destined to stop the intruders with all that they had. After all, they were lucky enough to receive the grace of their master.


    But now a brat suddenly popped out, and no one understood what kind of method he used to surpass the restrictions of the Strength Equalizing Theurgy. They didn''t know what in the hell was going on.


    e path left by the flying knives.


    The moment Zen saw the joint attack from the brother and sister, he immediately moved his feet slightly to sweep his body to the side like a ghost. After circling around them, he found an opening and rushed towards his two opponents.


    Arvin and Bonnie executed their attacks perfectly. The two of them unhurriedly kept a proper distance from each other and at the same time, they also formed a two-pronged attack.


    If Zen rushed towards Arvin, he would be vulnerable to an attack from Bonnie. If he rushed towards Bonnie, he would be vulnerable to an attack from Arvin.


    As they came closer and closer, the two were able to surround Zen!


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    He then brandished his long sword as rays of green light formed a protective shield around him. When he saw that he was surrounded by Bonnie and Arvin, he couldn''t think of any way to escape.


    Bonnie waved his arms constantly to bombard Zen with more flying knives. She glanced up and said with a smile, "Bergen, your timing is perfect! Help us kill this brat right now!"


    The battle between Zen and the two siblings was starting to attract other people''s attention.


    After all, both Bonnie and Arvin were the core figures of the Warden race. But now Bergen was about to join the fight. He knew he had to help them.


    The Warden members couldn''t believe what they were seeing! Even Emily didn''t deserve them sending so many people to deal with her after the Strength Equalizing Theurgy was activated. Where did this talented swordsman come from?


    A lot of the warriors who were busy fighting stopped at that moment to see who Zen was.

 Chapter 2652 One Against Three

    On the other side of the roof, there stood a thin young man. He was Bergen Bai, the one whom Bonnie had called out earlier.


    In his left hand, he was carrying something like a terrifying trophy?¡ªBecker Cao''s head.


    As one of the exiles in the Fire Melting race, Becker Cao had been as significant in his race as Emily was in the Snake Goddess race, or as Timotheus was in the Nine Li race. Even if the Strength Equalizing Theurgy had worked, he was unquestionably powerful.


    But somehow, he had not only been defeated but decapitated by Bergen Bai.


    In his right hand, Bergen was holding a thick heavy sword. The blue light on the surface of the sword constantly sparkled, emitting a terrifying energy fluctuation.


    Right now, he was going up against four exiles, including the valiant Leopold and Ramzi from the Nine Li race.


    Now that they had racked up several wounds on their bodies, both Leopold and Ramzi looked at Bergen with vigilance and caution. The once unknown Bergen had now become a formidable enemy in their eyes.


    After all, the strength Bergen had displayed far exceeded that of the others in black robes.


    Becker Cao had even been killed just because he had underestimated his enemy.


    Even as Bergen fought with Leopold and Ramzi, he managed to slay more than ten Wild Gods and five or six exiles.


    During the fight, when he noticed the stir around Zen, he promptly withdrew from the battle and rushed toward the other side.


    "Really? Bonnie, are you asking me for help?" Bergen asked as he looked down from the roof.


    Among the younger generation of the Warden race, Bonnie and Arvin were the most popular ones.


    However, in terms of strength, there was a big gap between them and Bergen.


    The only reason Bergen wasn''t popular was because he was remote and arrogant, and not very well-liked within his race.


    Most importantly, the Lou Clan was the largest clan in the Warden race, and it was from this clan that the race would choose a leader.


    Because of this, the relationship between Bergen and the siblings had always been strained.


    "Cut the crap! Don''t you know what time it is now? Don''t you see that he is different from the others?" Bonnie yelled sternly.


    Right now, the W


    . Bonnie''s flying knives suddenly turned into a few streaks of light and shot toward Zen''s weak points in an almost fatal attack.


    And although the speed of the butterflies that Arvin had summoned was slow, there were still a large number of them. The trajectory of their flying was unpredictable and hard to guard against.


    As for Bergen, Arvin and Bonnie had deliberately left just enough of a gap for him to pass through, and from time to time, he would launch a fatal strike at Zen.


    Zen slowly retreated while he warded off their attacks, but at last, he was forced into a corner.


    "It''s close," Bergen said flatly.


    At this moment, he no longer looked down on his opponent.


    Bergen was confident that he would be able to defeat even the most powerful of exiles, but this guy in front of him was able to block attacks from the three of them combined.


    It was obvious to him that if he fought Zen one-on-one, he would be no match for him.


    Hearing Bergen''s words, Bonnie stretched out both of her hands. Under the condensation of the blue light, more than a dozen flying knives materialized and turned into streaks of light that shot toward Zen.


    Arvin''s eyes flashed as well. His blue butterflies fluttered faster and faster, forming a small storm that flew straight toward Zen.


    The brother and sister were trying their best to take down their opponent.


    At the same time, a blue light began to circle the heavy sword in Bergen''s hand as he rushed toward Zen.

 Chapter 2653 The Falling Star Palm

    Bergen injected everything that he had into his sword attack.


    Now that Zen had nowhere to escape, his only option was to deflect the attack as much as he could. His survival was not guaranteed at all.


    "Crack! Crack! Crack!"


    Zen tried his best to deal with the attacks from Arvin and his sister Bonnie at the same time.


    Although he seemed calm, he was under a lot of pressure.


    Seeing that Bergen was approaching with a heavy sword, Zen swung his long sword up and down as fast as he could. After he cut countless butterflies and flying knives, he began to swing the long sword sideways.


    The tip of his sword went straight towards Bergen''s heavy sword.


    Zen''s swordsmanship was still ingenious but the enemy he was facing then was not just any other warrior from the Lower World of the universe.


    Bergen ignored Zen''s sword and went straight for his body.


    "Bang!"


    As soon as Zen''s long sword touched the heavy sword, he immediately felt a huge crushing force. He reached out his hand but couldn''t hold it any longer. His long sword unexpectedly flew out of his hand and stuck on the ground not far away.


    Seeing that Zen no longer had his weapon, Bergen no longer hesitated and immediately raised his heavy sword up high to prepare for a strike.


    At that moment, on the other side of the roof was Emily rushing over as fast as she could.


    "Crack! Crack! Crack!"


    Azure blue whip shadows constantly exploded behind Emily.


    Seeing that Zen was being driven into a dead end, she gritted her teeth and bypassed the man in black who tried to stop her. She wanted to help Zen as much as she could.


    Emily was like a swift swallow. She jumped in the air as her extremely soft body tightened like a bow. As her body stretched further, the saber in her hand shot towards Bergen.


    At the same time on the back side of the street, Timotheus ran wildly with his saber on his shoulder.


    According to their previous agreement, Timotheus'' main responsibilities were to protect Zelda and Luther. So once the battle with the Warden race began, he immediately escorted the two to safety.


    Just like Emily, Timotheus couldn''t bear to see Zen die in that place.


    He rushed over and threw


    in''s Trapping Butterflies, and Bonnie''s flying knives were some of the best examples.


    Perhaps in Herbert''s opinion, the Warden race stood a chance against invaders because of their master''s grace.


    The only person who was capable of changing the shape of the blue energy was Bergen with his heavy sword.


    However, the number of changes he could do was also limited. Only to a certain extent could he control the energy. He couldn''t control it at will or activate and use it in a theurgy.


    But Zen had displayed a theurgy.


    In order to master the Falling Star Palm, Zen had to spend a lot of time studying it.


    However, the final power that it produced was a bit of a disappointment to him.


    According to what No. 9527 had said, if its master revealed the Falling Star Palm, thousands of stars would fall. Every star would be so powerful that it could destroy the world within minutes.


    However, it was currently impossible for Zen to accumulate so many Truth Crystals and use the technique.


    A small ray of light wouldn''t be enough to kill an ordinary Wild God so it was not ideal at all. That was why Zen chose not to show it to anyone yet.


    However, after the Strength Equalizing Theurgy had been used, they all became mortals. The Falling Star Palm was the only theurgy he could actually show.


    At that moment, the power of what was once proved useless suddenly became extremely terrifying.


    The shining star immediately lit up everyone''s face.

 Chapter 2654 Kill Them

    As he realized that his saber had been cut straight off, Timotheus'' heart sank.


    Zen''s identity was of great importance to the Nine Li race.


    For this reason, Timotheus didn''t want Zen to take too much risk. Hence, he was more willing to protect him.


    In spite of his will, after the Strength Equalizing Theurgy had been activated, Zen''s performance was outstanding, and persuading him had become a difficult - if not impossible - task.


    Fortunately for all the warriors involved, Zen had truly displayed his extraordinary talents and he led everyone safely into the city.


    Now that they had faced the Warden race, they found themselves trapped in another desperate situation. Had he known what was to come, never would he have brought Zen to this place.


    Just when Timotheus was at a complete loss and felt like nothing could get any worse, a whirlpool suddenly appeared in the sky above.


    "This theurgy..." he uttered.


    The ray of star light reflected itself in Timotheus'' old eyes, now shining with a green hue.


    After Emily threw her annular saber out, she jumped up into the air and hooked her arm onto a beam of the roof, hanging herself in midair.


    As she performed this movement, she was very anxious, without a doubt.


    Although she was extremely powerful, her special skills and theurgies didn''t work to her advantage now.


    ''You must rely on yourself, Zen, '' Emily thought to herself.


    She believed in miracles, because the mere process of her growing up was a miracle in and of itself. She knew that Zen could perform his own kind of miracle.


    And she was right. His results truly didn''t disappoint her. Beneath the light, she smiled slightly.


    Bergen hadn''t imagined that Zen would apply this theurgy whatsoever.


    To the contrary, he''d thought that his sword strike would kill Zen directly, seeing as he was standing no more than a foot away from him. The starlight had instead smashed his heavy sword to pieces.


    Bang!


    As soon as the starlight hit Bergen''s heavy sword, the vast amount of blue energy spread quickly and the sword broke in an instant.


    Bergen''s right hand that held the heavy sword also let out a crisp snapping sound. He hadn''t had any time to withdraw his hand from the sword hilt. Under the great pressure from the huge force, his arm broke.


    Once the starlight had effectively smashed the heavy sword, it crashed to the ground, forming a black crater the size of a watermelon. The deep, dark crater appeared bottomless.


    As he watched what was goi


    efore Arvin could even land back on the ground, his neck was cut by the flying knife. Blood began spurting from his neck, and he knelt down, covering his wound with both his hands and rolling on the ground. To a mortal''s body, this kind of injury was generally fatal.


    "Arvin!"


    Bonnie cried, her young face twisting in sadness. Her pain was obvious to all.


    In a heartfelt rage, Bonnie rushed toward Zen with two flying knives in her hands. She was ready to take her revenge!


    She, of course, was no match for Zen, especially not in such a close combat.


    Zen waved his sword in the air several times, causing the flying knives in Bonnie''s hand to break into pieces. At last, he stabbed his sword directly between her eyebrows.


    "I''m sorry," he spat as he performed his final attack.


    Bonnie was courting her death. In both Bonnie''s and Arvin''s eyes, Zen saw nothing but helplessness.


    Zen''s goal was opposite to theirs, and thus, his only resort was to kill them both. There was no right or wrong in this battle.


    Once Zen had killed Bonnie, Arvin and Bergen all in a row, the Warden race''s situation changed drastically.


    These three warriors were the leaders of the three Warden race'' teams. As they died one after the next in such quick succession, the Warden race''s morale had greatly decreased. No one was willing to fight anymore.


    It didn''t take long before the people wearing black robes fled in disarray. A few of them were even killed in all the chaos.


    The few of them who struggled really hard were quickly surrounded and killed.


    After a while, the area quieted down once more, leaving nothing but a strong, disheartening smell of blood.

 Chapter 2655 The Final Resistance

    Emily bent down and ripped a piece of cloth from a corpse. She bound it around her shoulder wound.


    Moments ago, she had been hit by an arrow and a serrated wound was left bleeding on her shoulder.


    In the past, she would have been capable of recovering from this kind of injury in the blink of an eye. In fact, there wasn''t any need to deal with such a basic gash.


    Now, on the other hand, such a wound could easily lead to her death!


    After dressing her wound, Emily jumped down from the roof top.


    The other exiles as well as the surviving Wild Gods also moved in order to gather around Zen.


    Zelda and Luther, who were still under protection, both followed quickly behind, too.


    The battle just now was too violent.


    At least three quarters of Wild Gods had died, while nearly half of the exiles had been executed.


    That said, an approximate two hundred members of the Warden race had also been killed!


    In the pits of their stomachs, everyone had the feeling of having survived a disaster. Their expressions quickly changed as they glanced toward Zen again.


    If Zen hadn''t fought Bonnie, Arvin and Bergen of the Warden race on his own, the battle''s results would have been hard to determine.


    After all, one couldn''t forget that Bergen alone had the capacities to fight against several exiles of high power, including Ramzi and Leopold.


    Furthermore, Zen had blocked Arvin from the very beginning. If Arvin really employed all of his strength and cooperated with the other men in black robes, it was highly possible that the situation would become worse.


    By that time, all members of Zen''s group would have been dead.


    Clap!


    Emily patted Zen on the shoulder heavily and said with a smile, "Although I''ve probably guessed quite a bit, I wouldn''t have expected this little guy to hide his skill so well!"


    Zen could somehow employ such a powerful theurgy under the effect of the Strength Equalizing Theurgy, which was unbelievable.


    Timotheus followed the others and looked as though he was lost deep in his thoughts. With a wry smile, he said, "Even I couldn''t discover that, not to mention you, Emily."


    In fact, Timotheus had already figured it all out.


    The Strength Equalizing Theurgy was created by the Chaos Ancient God. The rule he had set simply couldn''t be violated by a nobody like Zen.


    Zen, on his behalf, had such powerful might because of his blood.


    His theurgy was most likely the Chaos Ancient God''s bloodline theurgy. Thus, he could easily bre


    r strength won''t be any weaker than Bergen''s! We have nothing to lose." Another old man also took off his black robe and stepped forward, showing himself.


    All the race members present were either the old, weak, sick or disabled people from the conservative faction. With the Strength Equalizing Theurgy, everyone would be equal, no matter how weak they were. They would thus have the same ability as the strong, and the only thing that would come into play would be their experience and martial art skills.


    "You''re right... I hadn''t considered this option..." The leader of the Warden race nodded, struggled to open his eyes fully, clenched his jaw and said, "We can still join the fight!"


    With those words, he walked forward from the shadows of the Equality Altar.


    Not far off in the distance, the tomb keeper sat against a wall in a lazy manner.


    "Have you failed?"


    the tomb keeper asked casually.


    The leader of the Warden race nodded and replied, "Yes."


    The tomb keeper tilted his head and thought for a brief moment. "The so-called Strength Equalizing Theurgy couldn''t actually equalize all warriors'' strength, as you have the grace from Herbert. But they still defeated you. The exiles aren''t as simple as you think."


    "I know. And they''ll be here soon. Sir, do you think you can help me with that?" the leader of the Warden race asked, while cupping his hands pleadingly.


    Prior to now, he could place his hope on Bergen and the others. Currently though, the tomb keeper seemed to be his best option.


    The tomb keeper nodded lightly. "I have agreed and thus, I will certainly make my move. But don''t expect me to risk my life for you."

 Chapter 2656 Right Or Wrong

    As for the tomb keeper, the battle of the Warden race had nothing to do with him.


    He was just a bystander at most.


    And considering his position and real strength, the Warden race had no right to ask him to fight on their behalf.


    He had been imprisoned here for a long time and had failed to explore the secret of the tombstone and win the bet. His days here had been a downright bore.


    As such, he accepted the invitation of the old head of the Warden race just because he wanted something to do.


    Even if all the people of the Warden race died miserable deaths in front of him, he would not be sad in the slightest.


    "Got it." The head of the Warden race nodded.


    Although he knew how powerful the tomb keeper was, he was also clear that he could not pin all his hopes on an outsider who had nothing to lose.


    At this moment, he was exhausted, both physically and mentally.


    He thought that it was perhaps time for him to put the battle between his race and the invaders to an end.


    Six hours later...


    Zen and his companions were slowly walking along a dark road.


    The air around them was filled with a strange color. Led by Zelda, they turned a corner and saw a disk with a blue light flashing in the distance.


    "That is the Equality Altar," said Zelda as she looked at it.


    Beside the Equality Altar was a light blue stone tablet.


    This stone tablet was none other than the Pray Tablet that she had mentioned earlier. The grace that the Warden race enjoyed befell from it.


    If Zelda and Luther managed to get closer to the Pray Tablet, they would also be able to enjoy the grace of Herbert.


    "Will the effect of the Strength Equalizing Theurgy disappear if we destroy the Equality Altar?" Zen asked.


    Hearing his question, all the other exiles immediately pricked up their ears, waiting for an answer.


    This was what they were most concerned about.


    If it weren''t for the Strength Equalizing Theurgy, any one of them, even the weakest one, could defeat the Warden race at will.


    Having their strength equalized had made all of them feel deep discomfort as they itched to fight with their true power.


    After all, all of the exiles were powerful warriors at the Other Shore Realm, but many of them had been killed by the Warden race. How could they tolerate such


    den race said calmly.


    The man hesitated for a while, but in the end, he chose to be silent. In the Warden race, the old man''s word was final.


    Then, the old man raised his crutch with his wrinkled hands. As the blue light on his crutch continued to flash, all the people in black robes behind him also raised their weapons.


    Tears fell from Zelda''s eyes as she began sobbing. She could no longer tell what was right and what was wrong. She only felt sorry for the fate of her own race.


    When Zen saw this scene, his expression became rather complicated.


    The truth was, he didn''t want to attack these people.


    But just as the old man had said, they had already come this far; how could they choose to retreat at this stage?


    The old man hit the ground heavily with his crutch, and at once, the people in black robes charged forward.


    Zen was supposed to give an order in response, but he kept silent, still hesitating.


    Emily glanced at Zen and slightly shook her head. It seemed that Zen was still too young.


    Therefore, she gently waved her hand and ordered, "Fight!"


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    The exiles also charged forward at once.


    On the other side of the Equality Altar, the tomb keeper slowly walked over and shook his head at the scene in front of him.


    Then, he took out two inconspicuous black knives from behind him. When he held them in his hands, there was a dramatic change in his temperament.


    The cynical look on his face disappeared, replaced by fierceness as he slowly swaggered forward.

 Chapter 2657 Pierced In The Chest

    A series of bangs, cracks, whooshes sounded. . .


    The clanging sounds of the swords colliding with each other, the crackling sound of bones being broken, and the squelching of blood as a body was pieced by a sharp weapon - all these sounds rang out from time to time.


    Lives were like weeds, being ruthlessly uprooted and cast aside.


    The tomb keeper walked over briskly. He had a sharp gaze and looked relaxed.


    For him, this battle was a spicy deviation from his long years of boring cultivation.


    He had promised to help the Warden race, but he had to choose his opponents carefully.


    Just ahead of him, Emily took a step forward.


    The annular saber in her hand circled around and shot towards a man in a black robe.


    Emily had made an ingenious move. Not only did it allow her to avoid the sword shadow that the man in the black robe had thrown at her, she had also feigned an attack, goading the other party into making a wrong judgment.


    The man in the black robe didn''t know how to dodge and panicked.


    The annular saber whizzed past his neck.


    Before his blood could leave a mark on the saber, the man in the black robe had already fallen backwards.


    Bergen had cut in half the annular saber that she had previously used in order to save Zen. Emily had had to get a new one.


    "Annular saber? The Snake Goddess race?"


    The eyes of the tomb keeper widened as he saw the saber in Emily''s hand.


    This type of weapon was unique and very few people were actually good at using it. As the tomb keeper recollected, only a few women in the Snake Goddess race were ever any good at using this kind of weapon.


    The most famous of all annular sabers in the Snake Goddess race as well as in the Source World was called the Soul Conquering Ring.


    But Emily''s trick had attracted his attention.


    Without a second thought, the tomb keeper chose Emily as his opponent.


    He stepped onto the ground and went straight up to Emily.


    Once Emily had killed the man in the black robe, she looked up, her beautiful eyes narrowed, and locked onto her second goal. A voice sounded just as she turned around.


    "You can be my opponent," the tomb keeper said with a smile.


    Emily looked askance at him.


    All the Warden members were dressed in black. Even under their black robes, their clothes were of a color that remained distinct.


    The tomb keeper''


    minute!"


    Such an injury as hers would have been undoubtedly fatal to an ordinary person.


    But for a powerful warrior at the Other Shore Realm, the wound was minor, provided the Strength Equalizing Theurgy ended.


    The question was: Could Emily hold on until then?


    The tomb keeper took a few steps backwards and looked at Zen with interest. "Here''s someone else who looks more interesting-"


    Zen raised his sword and rushed at the tomb keeper before he could finish talking. .


    With a whooshing sound, the dozens of strikes that Zen had launched made their way over to the tomb keeper.


    When Zen''s sword collided with the man''s dagger, he could also feel a twisted force emanating from it.


    It was as if this force was pulling the long sword away from him. He felt like he could hardly hold the sword in his hands.


    The tomb keeper retreated before he was able to stabilize himself.


    Zen''s swordsmanship was ingenious, but it was quite easy for the tomb keeper to see through it.


    Dozens of strikes later, his eyes flashed. He had found a way to break Zen''s swordsmanship!


    He waved the dagger rapidly so that it spun like a flower. .


    As the flower hit Zen''s sword, Zen finally felt his right hand weaken, and his long sword forced out of his hand.


    The tomb keeper only smiled, and seemed to take it as a matter of course. He waved his dagger at Zen, but in this moment, he sensed that something was wrong.


    "This is..."


    He suddenly looked up to find that in a whirlpool in the air, a speck of green starlight was rapidly descending onto his head!

 Chapter 2658 Interrogation

    The tomb keeper was startled by the sudden falling starlight.


    He hadn''t thought that the fellow in front of him would be able to activate the theurgy at this time.


    Without time to think about anything, he abruptly gritted his teeth and rolled away.


    Bang!


    The starlight almost grazed his scalp as it fell and left a big crater in the ground.


    The tomb keeper looked up at Zen with a strange expression on his face.


    "The truth theurgy? Where did you cultivate it?"


    As one of the most powerful masters in the Source World, he knew that the truth theurgy was very rare.


    A cultivator could use the Grand World Cultivation Method to comprehend the Godly Way. When they reached the top level of the Godly Way, they could master the Truth of Godly Way, and then get to the Other Shore...


    Only those with great talent and perseverance would finally be able to succeed.


    As for how long they could move forward after arriving at the Other Shore, that would depend on their own abilities.


    However, it was impossible for anyone to comprehend the truth on their own; this was a widely-accepted fact in the Source World.


    So now, seeing Zen use the truth theurgy was a great surprise to the tomb keeper.


    However, Zen just ignored him.


    He was surprised to know that the tomb keeper was able to see through his bloodline theurgy, but he didn''t want to waste his time on such trifles.


    He knew that the best course of action would be to finish the battle as soon as possible.


    Whoosh...


    As the Truth Crystal rotated, another green star fell down.


    Taking advantage of this opportunity, Zen turned around and picked up his long sword from the ground. A beam of green light enveloped the sword as he rushed toward the tomb keeper.


    At the same time, Emily was kneeling on the ground and breathing deeply with her hand pressed to her chest.


    As blood flowed along the edge of the blade, she felt her consciousness blurring away.


    A sense of crisis flooded her. Was she going to die here today?


    In the current state that she was in, she would not be able to hold on for a long time.


    ''That guy is so determined...'' She stared blankly at Zen in the distance, feeling a little touched in her heart.


    No one had moved her this much in a long time.


    As the fi


    However, if he did as Spark said and stopped the Strength Equalizing Theurgy, Emily alone would be able to defeat their whole race!


    Drip, drip, drip...


    As the sound of blood dripping reached the man''s ear, a hint of panic appeared on his face.


    Sensing his anxiety, Spark smiled. "The only person who can save you is yourself."


    The man with purple hair had a fierce struggle in his heart. He was not afraid of death, but he was unwilling to die silently like this.


    After about thirty seconds, he said, "There are two solutions. The first one is to reset the Equality Altar to the original state, and the other is to destroy the Equality Altar."


    "Which way is faster?" Spark asked.


    "The first one! It''s not that easy to destroy the Equality Altar. With your current ability, you wouldn''t be able to destroy it even after several days and nights!"


    "Tell me the way to reset it then," Spark said calmly.


    Soon, Spark left the corner and wiped away the blood on his sharp knife.


    There was a fierce battle going on not far away. He sneered in that direction and then walked in another direction.


    Now that all of the warriors of the Warden race had been sent out to fight, there was no one guarding the Equality Altar.


    It was not easy to destroy the Equality Altar, and only a few members of the Warden race knew how to reset it, so it was meaningless to guard the Equality Altar now.


    At this time, Spark quietly appeared on the other side of the square and quickly strode to the Equality Altar.

 Chapter 2659 Deactivate The Strength Equalizing Theurgy

    "Swish!"


    Zen slashed the sword in front of him with practiced ease, leaving a barely noticeable mark on the wall.


    The house groaned, and a second later, collapsed with a deafening sound.


    Unfortunately, as fierce as Zen''s sword was, it was unable to hurt the tomb keeper.


    Zen weighed the sword in his hand, face solemn.


    Everyone became ordinary under the effect of the Strength Equalizing Theurgy, and in theory, Zen would be mostly unrivaled under this condition.


    However, he didn''t expect the tomb keeper''s body to be this tough. Even if he utilized the Truth Crystal, he still couldn''t do anything to the tomb keeper and it was frustrating him to no end.


    "Let''s make a deal," said the tomb keeper as he dexterously spun the dagger in his hand. "If I defeat you, you''ll tell me how you cultivated the truth theurgy. What do you think?"


    The sudden proposal puzzled Zen.


    He thought the tomb keeper would be on the Warden race''s side but judging from his attitude, it looked like he didn''t really care much whether the race lived or died.


    "I have no time for such nonsense." Zen extended his arm and with a slight turn of the Truth Crystal in his palm, starlight shone down the tomb keeper.


    Not a second after, Zen darted towards the tomb keeper, his sword enveloped in a green light.


    Swish!


    The tomb keeper took half a step back, as cool and indifferent as ever.


    This was how he moved, calculated and precise.


    He didn''t blink once as the starlight hit his body.


    And as Zen''s sword came at him, he merely tilted his head, narrowly missing a gash on the neck.


    His movements looked like dancing. Any carelessness would lead him to death.


    He moved leisurely, as if he was waltzing and not fighting to the death. It irked Zen but he guessed it would be good for him if the tomb keeper made a wrong step.


    If it weren''t for the Strength Equalizing Theurgy, Zen could easily claim victory by using the Eight Smoky Melodies.


    The tomb keeper, however, only had his experience to rely on. ''He must have perfect perception of energy, '' thought Zen.


    Watching his opponent''s fluid body movement secretly frightened Zen, prompting him to make fiercer and stronger attacks.


    Boom


    ut why was it that Zen got the truth theurgy without much effort when he had spent countless hours and energy trying to learn it, only to fail every time?


    "Tell me why he chose you," the tomb keeper continued, his eyes never straying from Zen.


    Zen only turned his head aside.


    "I have a way to make you speak," the tomb keeper said.


    But just as the tomb keeper pressed on Zen harder, a loud whirring sound suddenly came from far away.


    When the tomb keeper heard this, he looked up at the Equality Altar and frowned.


    Why did the Warden race deactivate the Strength Equalizing Theurgy now? Were they playing with death?


    It was already difficult to fight against the intruders under the effect of the Strength Equalizing Theurgy. Just imagine how it would be with the Strength Equalizing Theurgy gone.


    As the Equality Altar rotated slowly, it emitted dots of orange light which began to spread in all directions.


    Activating the Strength Equalizing Theurgy was a process that moved from inside to outside and from slow to fast.


    Deactivating it was the same.


    Spark, who was standing in the center of the Equality Altar, was the first to be infiltrated by the orange light.


    When his cultivation base was restored, a sinister smile appeared on his face.


    At this moment, the group of people not far from the altar were just a group of ants for him.


    Realizing it was his chance, he shouted, "All of you! Go to hell!"


    His voice echoed in the sky.

 Chapter 2660 Irritated

    It would take the Equality Altar some time to remove the Strength Equalizing Theurgy completely.


    It took about nine seconds for the orange dots to disperse from the Equality Altar and spread to Emily and the others.


    But those nine seconds were enough for Spark.


    Now that the constraint on his body had been cast off and he finally regained his strength, the power began to disperse.


    If an Other Shore Realm warrior went out to fight, it wouldn''t be a challenge to kill countless mortals.


    Spark let out a roar of fury as his body started to swell up, eventually turning into a giant that was four million feet tall.


    "Crack!"


    Eight flashes of dragon-shaped lightning furiously circled him.


    Spark felt immense joy as he thought of those men dying in his hands.


    "Emily, Timotheus, all the exiles, and the Warden race members, you all should go to hell!"


    Without any hesitation, Spark reached out his hand and tapped the air. The eight flashes of dragon-shaped lightning circled each other, and then poured towards the warriors who were busy fighting.


    At that moment, everyone was confused.


    The leader of the Warden race with a walking stick and a bent body let out a faint sigh.


    A huge wave of helplessness struck him.


    He didn''t want to think about how Spark would manage to break the Strength Equalizing Theurgy.


    The Warden race was on the verge of falling down. Even if the tomb keeper had defeated two of the most powerful intruders, it didn''t help ease the situation.


    The leader also couldn''t ask the tomb keeper to do more for them.


    They were running out of options. Doing anything at all was useless.


    The massive power had intimidated even Emily, Timotheus, and the other exiles. When they saw Spark, their eyes were filled with nothing but resentment.


    Letting Spark escape before was a terrible idea. No one had thought he would do such a thing.


    The eight flashes of dragon-shaped lightning had approached in just a blink of an eye. With the explosive sound of lightning, everyone''s eardrums were shattered, and their ears began to bleed.


    After all, they were just mere mortals. That kind of power was more than enough to wipe them all out.


    A bitter smile crept up on Zen''s face


    keeper said casually, raising his arm to point mockingly at Spark.


    At that very moment, he was more displeased than before.


    He helped the Warden race with the battle and even fought Zen. He was very relaxed amidst all those events.


    To him, those were just a touch of spice for his boring life.


    However, Spark suddenly broke the Strength Equalizing Theurgy, forcing the tomb keeper to break free from restraint of this theurgy by himself.


    Even for the tomb keeper, putting up a fight against the Chaos Ancient God wasn''t going to be a walk in the park. He would have to pay a huge price if he did such a thing.


    That annoyed the tomb keeper to a great extent. He had wasted so much over a nobody like Spark.


    All he wanted was to tear Spark into pieces.


    When the tomb keeper smacked the air, an invisible hand struck Spark pretty hard.


    All of a sudden, Spark felt an uncontrollable force crushing his body that stood four million feet high. The sound of his bones cracking was as loud as thunderclaps.


    "Crack, crack, crack..."


    Spark''s huge head was crushed flat even before he could get rid of the Wild God body.


    His huge body collapsed, resembling a mountain that was caving in.


    After his spiritual soul was obliterated, the Wild God Power began to quickly evaporate. His huge body continued to shrink into pieces until all of it disappeared right before everyone''s very eyes.


    It wasn''t until then that the orange dots slowly drifted into everyone''s body.

 Chapter 2661 The Human Sovereign

    Emily was already exhausted and reached her limit.


    She started losing her strength because of the excessive loss of blood, and her face paled just like a piece of paper.


    She felt like she was at the gate of death, and her spirit would leave her any time now.


    She had no recollection at all about what had happened. She only knew that this time, she had to rely on her remaining willpower to hold on.


    In the midst of her struggle, the orange light suddenly shot into her body.


    Her originally suppressed cultivation was quickly restored.


    In the blink of an eye, the almost exhausted power of life was powered up and became full!


    Her weakened body had been instantly energized exponentially as her haggard breath had recovered.


    She didn''t need to use any theurgy. She could recover in a short period of time by just depending on her powerful physical body and blood.


    The dagger, which was stabbed on her chest, drew itself out of the wound under the wriggling of her muscles.


    The wound was then completely healed without a scar, leaving only a flawless skin.


    At the same time Emily began to recover, the other severely injured exiles had also been healed.


    Powerful auras spread out and pervaded the space.


    The black robed men of the Warden race were not excluded and had also restored their own cultivation.


    Of all the members of their race, no one had ever reached the Other Shore Realm. As a result, compared to Emily and the other exiles, their auras were comparably small.


    The surroundings were still. Emily and the rest did not make a move.


    Everyone turned their gazes to Zen.


    An extremely powerful monster was standing beside him.


    The tomb keeper could get rid of the power of the Strength Equalizing Theurgy by himself. With just a single slap, he could easily kill Spark of the Yellow Emperor race.


    Both Emily and Timotheus were in awe looking at such a powerful man.


    If by chance, the tomb keeper would fight along the Warden race''s side, they would surely have no chance of survival at all.


    But at the thought, Emily didn''t feel anxious. The tomb keeper was obviously not, in a chance, under the control of the Warden race.


    His power alone could defeat all the exiles. It just showed that the Warden race didn''t have a hold on him. If the Warden race could really order him around, then they wouldn''t need to activate the Strength Equalizing Theurgy.


    Zen,


    or some unknown reason, Fuxi suddenly left in anger and eventually disappeared from the Source World.


    The Snake Goddess had tried her means to look for him, but failed several times.


    Unbeknownst to everyone, he had already left the Source World and hid at the bottom of the chaos, stayed and never went out for so many years.


    Fuxi heard Emily''s words and had a complex expression on his face. He let out a long sigh.


    He, after all, still cared about his sister.


    He looked back at the head of the Warden race and said, "As I told you, this world is a failure, and Herbert has abandoned it. I helped you as we agreed. You have lost. Let them go, and I will protect your race."


    The head of the Warden race already knew that Fuxi could not be on their side as he listened to his conversation with Emily. It was a great honor that he was still willing to protect their race. The head had no other choice but to accept.


    Fuxi, after speaking his statement, swiftly grabbed Zen and ordered, "Follow me!" Immediately after, he and Zen flew backwards.


    Seeing this scene, Timotheus panicked and shouted, "Master Fuxi..."


    But Fuxi just ignored him. In the blink of an eye, the two disappeared from everyone''s sight.


    Emily saw how anxious Timotheus was and comforted him, "Don''t worry. Zen will be fine."


    Fuxi''s intention on taking Zen away was still unclear, but she knew that he had no reason to harm him.


    She shrugged the thought aside and kept her focus on what was important at this moment. Now that they had already won the battle, it was time to cut off the Curse Chains on their bodies.

 Chapter 2662 Jealousy

    Zen skimmed through a row of low houses and saw a mountain from a distance.


    He saw that a row of black tombstones stood, lined up along the said mountain.


    After they flew over these tombstones, one singular tombstone stood out as it was tall and placed at the back.


    Just as Zen was wondering who was buried under this tombstone, Fuxi threw him down randomly. To his surprise, Zen fell to the ground.


    One foot close to the ground, Zen merely tapped his toe and stood steadily beneath the tombstone.


    Just then, Fuxi flashed and appeared right beside Zen.


    Zen took a long, intent look at the tombstone. There were no inscribed words or carvings on it, so he didn''t know who was buried here.


    "Why did you take me here?" Zen asked.


    With a calm expression on his face, Fuxi looked like an ordinary person without anything unusual.


    No one would have guessed that he had killed Spark, an Other Shore Realm warrior so easily.


    Fuxi didn''t answer Zen''s question and instead, lightly tapped on the tombstone.


    Just as his hand stopped tapping, gold threads slowly spread out at the bottom of the tombstone. These gold threads climbed up and soon spread all over the tombstone.


    Looking at the threads, Zen couldn''t seem to understand them.


    "I have stayed here for a very long time, about 30 billion years," said Fuxi, staring at the fine, majestic lines. "Even for me, 30 billion years is not a short time. I have wasted all my time here."


    "You are not trapped here, aren''t you?" Zen asked, puzzled. "You could have left as you wished. Why didn''t you leave?"


    All Zen knew was that the man in front of him, Fuxi, was very powerful. Besides, he was the brother of Snake Goddess. Because of this, he had the notion that no one could imprison him no matter how bad they wanted to.


    This guy chose to stay, and yet he was complaining that he had wasted his time here. Zen shook his head in bewilderment.


    "Leave?"


    Fuxi''s eyes flashed with a golden light, and his hand had already placed on Zen''s shoulder.


    Crackle!


    Just then, an intense force began to drop on Zen''s shoulder, which sent his bones shattering


    from the Godly Ways Great Unity.


    Zen was slightly shocked to hear this.


    This guy had been meditating here for 30 billion years, but he had not yet figured out the mystery of the tombstone.


    ''If he can''t master it, will I have to stay here for countless years, too?'' he thought to himself.


    "What if you still can''t comprehend it?" Zen just had to ask.


    "Then I guess you''ll be stuck with me for a while," Fuxi sneered.


    ''No way!''


    Zen''s face flushed with anxiousness and concern.


    But even though he wanted to retaliate so bad, Zen had no choice but to obey to the powerful Fuxi.


    However, at the same moment, No. 9527''s consciousness suddenly came out from the sclerite in Zen''s chest. "Fuxi, don''t waste your time. We will never ever choose you."


    After No. 9527 had sneaked into Zen''s body, it wasn''t planning on directly communicating with anyone. However, it chose to talk to Fuxi this time.


    As soon as Fuxi sensed the words coming out of Zen''s mind, his body suddenly trembled. He stared at Zen''s chest and asked, "You are... You are Othniel!"


    "No, I am not," No. 9527 beckoned back. "I am a mere fragment of his soul."


    "A part of his soul?" Fuxi''s eyes flickered in confusion.


    "Give up now. I advise you not to make things difficult for Zen. After all, he was handpicked by our master. Keeping him here would anger the master, and he would surely make you suffer," No. 9527 continued.

 Chapter 2663 Finale Hero

    The area was filled with No. 9527''s calm but slightly threatening voice.


    Fuxi wasn''t afraid of Othniel''s soul fragment, but of Othniel himself.


    But, No. 9527 represented Othniel in this situation.


    The thought of it made Fuxi cautious.


    Furthermore, he didn''t expect that Othniel had left a strand of his soul in Zen''s body, which only showed that he thought of Zen as highly important to him.


    "I once visited Othniel, but why did he refuse me? Am I really not qualified?" Fuxi said as he stared at Zen.


    He had long wanted to master a truth theurgy.


    He knew that he was strong and intelligent enough in every way.


    Yet, neither Herbert nor Othniel took him as a disciple. Herbert even posed a problem for him, which made him feel very bothered.


    "Are you tired of this cycle of reincarnation? Compared to the numerous creatures in the chaos, you have always been the most dazzling one. You are already very lucky!" No. 9527 countered.


    There was silence for a while before Fuxi shouted in anger, "Of course I am tired of it! I am tired of the endless cycles of reincarnation. Everyone will die and be born again and again. What''s the point of living in this way?"


    "This is exactly the point, as my master once said," replied No. 9527.


    "Bullshit! I''m afraid your master has been also tired of such a way, or why did he choose this guy?" Fuxi complained and pointed accusingly at Zen. When Zen saw Fuxi was annoyed, he subconsciously dodged.


    He didn''t want Fuxi to kill him in a fit of rage.


    It was because of that very matter that Fuxi had a dispute with the Snake Goddess, and left. He was stubborn, and wouldn''t change his mind once he''d decided.


    "Maybe you''re right. My master also gets tired. But I don''t know the reason why he didn''t choose you. Since he has chosen Zen now, you shouldn''t make things difficult for him," No. 9527 said.


    Fuxi couldn''t help his eyelids twitch in irritation. He stared viciously at Zen, before he jumped about like a possessed man and declared, "Only I can succeed! I am the chosen one! I will be the Finale Hero! Zen is not qualified!"


    He


    uld master two or three kinds of energy.


    Such was true in both the divine land and the Source World.


    Still, there were many reckless people in the world.


    They knew that it was impossible to comprehend the truth theurgies because they came from the energy of the Godly Ways Great Unity at the dawn of chaos.


    That was the only chance to obtain the truth theurgies. Other than that, they could only rely on the blood transplantation of the Chaos Ancient Gods.


    However, it was even harder to have the blood of Chaos Ancient Gods. Fuxi had tried for so long, but he still couldn''t get it.


    Therefore, they blended the energy of the Godly Ways in order to artificially create the Godly Ways Great Unity, and get the truth theurgies.


    They had expected a good outcome, but no one had actually succeeded.


    The Godly Tile that was formed from that way was not complete.


    As time passed by, the method was eventually abandoned.


    That was why the moment Fuxi saw that kind of Godly Tile on Zen, he thought that it was ridiculous.


    "It''s not the reason why my master chose Zen. Of course, he knows that the merging of Godly Ways won''t work," No. 9527 retorted.


    Fuxi nodded at its words. His lips curved into a smile. He became much more comfortable and said to Zen, "Although you have mastered many Godly Ways, I can still help you become a consummate True God. Choose a Godly Way yourself."

 Chapter 2664 The Eight Diagrams Chart

    A look of puzzlement appeared on Zen''s face. "Do you also have 3, 000 Godly Ways?" he asked.


    Fuxi had laughed at Zen for his stupid behavior of integrating the Godly Ways just now.


    And then, he told Zen that he could choose any Godly Way as he liked.


    Did that mean that Fuxi also cultivated the 3, 000 Godly Ways?


    Chiyou was supposedly the creator of the 3, 000 Godly Ways so how could he know them?


    There was a touch of embarrassment on Fuxi''s face. "I don''t know all the 3, 000 Godly Ways but I''ve mastered seventy to eighty percent. After Chiyou created them, I also tried to integrate them."


    The Grand World Cultivation Method was created by the Snake Goddess, which attributed the creation of life and people to her.


    Before Chiyou''s creation of the 3, 000 Godly Ways, people generally practiced some kind of energy to the extreme and used it to create their inner worlds.


    At that time, Chiyou strove to merge all the energy in the Source World in order to pursue the Godly Ways Great Unity.


    However, the different types of energy weren''t arranged under categories. With his wit and remarkable talent, Chiyou managed to gather all of them and listed 3, 000 Godly Ways.


    These Godly Ways were classified according to subject, which enthused people everywhere to integrate them.


    Those born in ancient times sought the truth theurgies and tried to integrate the Godly Ways.


    However, they found out that this did not work.


    Fuxi laughed now but he was most probably crazy for it back then, judging from his strong thirst for the truth theurgy.


    Among the 3, 000 Godly Ways Chiyou created, Fuxi was able to master 2, 630. Moreover, according to what he said, about 300 Godly Ways were essentially same as others. The Parting Water Godly Way and the Mysterious Ice Godly Way, for example, were different in energy performance but derived from the same energy.


    Fuxi worked really hard but got nothing in the end when he failed to gather all the energy. To say he was disappointed


    is magic weapon of Fuxi is pretty good."


    Zen did not really know the origins of this Eight Diagrams Chart but it must be of great value.


    The serene, peaceful state was broken, however, upon the arrival of a disturbance above him.


    This disturbance came in the form of sword energy and Zen''s eyes flashed as he caught sight of it.


    "The sword energy is amazing! The Emotion Closing Godly Way contained in it is so pure. I can''t see through it."


    Although he had made great attainments in the Emotion Closing Godly Way, he still hadn''t reached the level of a consummate True God.


    The Emotion Closing Godly Way within the sword energy in front of him was extremely mysterious. There was no way Zen could see through it!


    It also moved very slowly.


    The moment the sword energy burst through the Eight Diagrams Chart, it split into two rays. Upon a second collision, it further split into four and continued on and on.


    "The Emotion Closing Godly Way gets weaker with each collision." A glint flashed in Zen''s eyes.


    Four rays.


    Eight rays.


    Sixteen rays.


    Zen raised his eyebrows when the sword energy reached 128 rays.


    "The Ripping Consciousness?"


    At that point, Zen could finally see the Emotion Closing Godly Way within the sword energy.


    Just as he figured it out, the 128 rays began to merge once again.

 Chapter 2665 Nothingness In One

    The rays of sword energy merged at a very slow speed like when they got split just now.


    There were 128 rays of sword energy which merged into 64 rays. In addition, the Emotion Closing Godly Way contained in them became stronger.


    Lastly, the mysteries of the Emotion Closing Godly Way finally revealed themselves during the fusion process.


    "I got it...


    This Eight Diagrams Chart can continuously decompose the Emotion Closing Godly Way and reveal its innermost essence to me!


    What an ingenious method!"


    Yet, Zen thought that it still couldn''t compare to the Infinity Ruler.


    After all, the Infinity Ruler could hold all the energies that belonged to the three thousand Godly Ways. It was only that Zen''s cultivation was limited, so he could not fully display them.


    According to what Fuxi and the Chaos Ancient God had said, it wouldn''t work to merge the Godly Ways.


    Despite that, Zen refused to give up.


    Chiyou had passed down the Infinity Ruler to his mother, Lorena, who then gave it to his father, Mike, who had lastly chosen to give it to him, Zen.


    There must be a reason why such a thing happened.


    Besides, even if he couldn''t make it in the end, the power of the Ways-blending Energy alone would be of great help to him at this current time. Thus, he had no reason to give up.


    After he thought about it for a while, he stared at the sword energy intently and concentrated on comprehending it.


    Meanwhile, things had changed on the other side.


    The people of the Warden race had retreated to one side of the Equality Altar.


    Since Fuxi had spoken, the powerful warriors at the Other Shore Realm present didn''t make things difficult for them anymore.


    Anyway, all they wanted to do was leave. A long as the Warden race didn''t stop them, then they would have nothing more to worry about.


    As for the Warden race, they were now aware that the situation was hopeless. They would only bring about their own destruction if they persisted.


    Moreover, Fuxi had already told them that even Herbert had given up. From there, it proved that the free faction was right, and it was indeed unnecessary for the conservative faction to push through.


    Just then, the leader of the Warden race slowly approached Luther and unwrapped the bag on his back.


    The bag contained thirteen blue short swords.


    There were only a few people


    It was like a circular cycle. The streams of sword energy continued to merge and split over and over¡­


    At that point, the thoughts in his mind became much clearer.


    When those streams of sword energy finally merged into one, a strange light suddenly flashed in Zen''s eyes.


    "In essence, the Ripping Consciousness is still to negate the self consciousness. But in subconsciousness, one still can''t get rid of their own consciousness...


    The streams of sword energy ranging from the 64th stream of sword energy to the 16th stream of sword energy, form the Formless State!


    While the streams of sword energy ranging from the 8th stream of sword energy to the last one, form the state of Nothingness In One!


    In essence, the Emotion Closing Godly Way is a kind of virtual energy!"


    "Swish!"


    It was at that moment when Zen clearly saw what the sword energy had revealed.


    Furthermore, his understanding of the Emotion Closing Godly Way had broken several bottlenecks in a row!


    "Buzz..."


    Such an amount of enlightenment caused him to fall into some kind of magical state.


    In addition, the golden light that surrounded his soul was now quite dazzling!


    Still, he did not forget himself nor did he turn into an emotionless, statue-like being. He was simply in a state of nothingness.


    When Fuxi saw Zen who was in such a state, his eyes twitched slightly as he leaned more on the tombstone.


    It was true that Zen had help from the Eight Diagrams Chart, but the speed of Zen''s comprehension of the Emotion Closing Godly Way still surprised him a little.

 Chapter 2666 Breakthrough

    Fuxi wasn''t someone who could get shocked easily.


    The divine land, after all, was just a world created in the chaos by Chiyou.


    The Source World remained as the main world of the whole chaos.


    There were just too many amazingly powerful people who had done unbelievable things there since ancient times.


    Fuxi pressed on the Eight Diagrams Chart with his finger. The sheet that had formerly covered Zen''s head suddenly returned to his hand.


    With the sheet no more, Zen slowly opened his eyes and turned to Fuxi.


    He had just comprehended the Emotion Closing Godly Way but he wasn''t about to leave just yet. Instead, Zen chose to remain cross-legged by Fuxi''s side.


    His incarnation was currently condensing in his inner world...


    Below the continent of Zen''s inner world, tens of thousands of Spiritual Darknesses shuttled through numerous, small, weaving caves.


    These Spiritual Darknesses had grown in number and were now divided into different forces.


    Occasionally, they would even fight each other for territory.


    Zen''s arrival did not attract the attention of anyone in his inner world. However, as a thought came to his mind, a force suddenly grasped the Spiritual Darknesses. They were suddenly pulled out of the complicated caves they resided in and unceremoniously thrown into the chaotic sea.


    "Plop! Plop! Plop!"


    As soon as they hit the brown water, it immediately began to boil.


    Huge clouds then rose from the surface of the sea.


    Zen stared at these clouds and his entire temperament suddenly changed.


    He had already cut-off all his emotions since he was in the state of Ripping Consciousness.


    His eyes might look energetic but there was no vigor in them.


    He was like a stone carving, or perhaps a frozen iceberg that had been submerged under the still oceans for thousands of years.


    With the change of his consciousness, the brown clouds began to emanate the aura of the Emotion Closing Godly Way, turning into sword clouds.


    These sword clouds were infinitely fiercer than the ones Zen had made before.


    Once the Spiritual Darknesses turned into


    irmed. "Creator, when will you let me go out of this world?"


    Zen gave him a faint smile. "I have had a lot to deal with these past few years and have not given you a chance to go out. It won''t be too long now though!"


    He had no intention of explaining the divine land and the outside world to the Evil God right now.


    It would be quite difficult for the Evil God to understand the structure of the outside world by mere description. He would only be able to do so after he entered the divine land.


    Fortunately, Zen''s reply was enough to satisfy the Evil God.


    He could really do nothing else but wait. He had already waited for so long, so what was a few more years?


    During their conversation, the sword clouds had already merged into Zen''s Godly Tile.


    "Rumble..."


    There was a thunderous sound that came from afar.


    It was then that a sharp light burst out from the Godly Tile and soared into the sky!


    The Evil God was clever and immediately realized that Zen had just made a breakthrough in his cultivation base. He cupped his hands and bowed. "Congratulations Creator! Your cultivation base has reached a new level!"


    Only when Zen''s own cultivation was promoted could the creatures in his inner world also be qualified to reach a higher level. Seeing his Creator prosper filled the Evil God with joy, and perhaps it could be said that he was even happier than Zen himself.

 Chapter 2667 Start The Journey

    The Evil God was restrained by his very own cultivation base.


    Although he had dabbled in such Godly Ways, he could only ever manage to master twenty to thirty percent of each of them because he was a low-rank True God.


    Now that Zen had broken through as a consummate True God, the Evil God could also just as likely improve his cultivation base and comprehend more Godly Ways.


    Surprise came over Zen.


    He had learned quite a lot from Fuxi''s Eight Diagrams Chart. If he hadn''t, it would''ve taken much more time before he could become a consummate True God.


    But the most important fact remained¡ªZen was unique amongst the other consummate True Gods.


    With the Infinity Ruler''s help, Zen managed to quickly absorb nearly all the Godly Ways he had witnessed with his own eyes. Once fully absorbed, they were wholly owned.


    Similar to the Evil God''s situation, his cultivation base was also limited in the past.


    Now that he had become a consummate True God, he could also use the consummate level of the other Godly Ways.


    When the light shooting up into the sky slowly dissipated, his Godly Tile began spinning slowly as his inner world rapidly expanded.


    As more continents rose out of the chaotic sea, the water seemed to broaden tenfold¡ªthe distance between the Sanskrit words constraining his inner world also expanded.


    Soon after the scene, Zen slowly opened his eyes.


    Still sitting cross-legged, he extended his arm and a long sword appeared in his grasp.


    Zen wouldn''t dream of taking out his Shadow Bearing Sword in front of Fuxi. Although the latter showed no hostility and had even helped him break through, Zen couldn''t bring himself to trust Fuxi so soon.


    Buzz...


    With a slight shake of the long sword, a wisp of sword intent slowly spiraled up the blade.


    Simultaneously, Zen was once again immersed in the state of Nothingness In One. His sword was producing some kind of matchless energy.


    Just as Zen was about to slice through the air, a finger stopped the sword.


    This finger acted as a black hole¡ªas soon as it touched the sword, the built-up energy had vanished without a trace.


    "Don''t destroy my mountain," Fuxi simply said.


    Zen had intended to use his sword to test the power of the consummation level of the Emotion Closing Godly Way. When Fuxi stopped him, he s


    ce as though it could cut everything between heaven and earth.


    Clap!


    The sword radiance rushed forward rapidly and cut through the back of the Sky Spirit Bone Tower.


    In spite of the radiance being extremely sharp, it was still unable to leave any trace on the bone tower.


    But Zen was quite satisfied with the strike.


    "After I achieved the consummation of the Emotion Closing Godly Way, this sword strike has become five times more powerful than the Ways-blending Strike.


    In this case, I''m sure the power of the Ways-blending Strike can be increased even further. I can''t use it now, unfortunately."


    After Zen''s cultivation base was improved, he had to merge the energy once again because it wasn''t yet perfect.


    At the time, Zen hadn''t yet been able to employ the theurgies at the consummation level of other Godly Ways.


    Over the past month, Zen had continuously made progress in his sword strike. Meanwhile, he had been using the Truth of Cultivation Nature to re-merge the Godly Ways.


    But combining the consummation-level theurgies into one was undoubtedly a much more difficult task¡ªdoing so would take a long time.


    Just then, Zen saw several beams of light suddenly flash in the sky. They came rapidly from a distance, the one in the lead pulling a long, colorful ribbon of light.


    Zen''s eyes lit up at the sight. The Snake Goddess race was also ready.


    Emily had already agreed to go into the divine land with Timotheus and the others to assist him. At long last, it was finally time for their journey to begin.

 Chapter 2668 The Heavenly Mirror Shield

    In the Sky Spirit Bone Tower, ahead of the long queue of the Nine Li race''s Wild Gods, there was an oval-shaped transmission door.


    This transmission door led to Timotheus''s inner world.


    Timotheus had already created a separate continent in his inner world.


    And on that continent, he had created a huge bone tower.


    After all, it was not easy for these Wild Gods to leave the bone tower, so he wanted to protect their emotions and put them at ease as much as possible.


    Even so, there were still many Wild Gods who chose to stay.


    These Wild Gods were standing on the other side of the cave, silently watching the great migration of their people with a myriad of emotions on their faces.


    The bad news was that with the departure of the exiles, the Wild Gods would lose their main source of protection.


    But on the bright side, the exiles of the other races were also leaving. This meant that the remaining Wild Gods, with their bloodlines, would still be qualified to dominate this world.


    Most of the Wild Gods had already entered Timotheus'' inner world, and the exiles were saying goodbye to the rest of the Wild Gods who had chosen to stay behind.


    After all, the exiles and their race members had a deep relationship. Before they left, the exiles gave the Wild Gods a lot of extremely powerful magic weapons and left behind a large number of cultivation resources.


    Once it was all over, the remaining Wild Gods left the Sky Spirit Bone Tower and gathered with Emily and the others.


    Back when the exiles had just cut off their curses, Emily and Timotheus had warned all of them not to think about taking that ship.


    Naturally, the exiles had listened to Emily and Timotheus. Besides, the ship had originally been under the control of the Snake Goddess race.


    At this moment, Zen, Timotheus, and Leopold all looked toward the north, where the Torrent Bone Tower was located.


    Even from a long distance, they could see a faint yellow light floating in the sky. That tiny dot was the divine land.


    Although it was barely visible to the naked eye, it filled Zen with a sense of excitement. He had been longing for the day he could finally return to the divine land.


    On the other hand, Timotheus, Leopold, and the others had complicated emotions.


    As members of the Nine Li race, they were astonished and unable to accept the


    ivine land."


    As she spoke these words, a fierceness filled her eyes and several colorful spots of light flashed between her pale fingers.


    Each colorful spot of light contained an extremely terrifying amount of energy.


    They whirled around, producing a cone-shaped spiral.


    "Go!"


    With a slight flick of her slender finger, Emily shot the cone-shaped spiral toward the outer wall of the divine land.


    Buzz...


    Bang!


    The cone-shaped spiral spun fast against the outer wall of the divine land before it exploded, emitting a dazzling ball of light that everyone watched with bated breath.


    But soon, the ball of light faded off without a trace, and the expressions of the warriors at the Other Shore Realm changed drastically.


    The outer wall of the divine land was still emitting a faint yellow light, and in the middle of the light loomed a triangular shadow that seemed to be the shield.


    With the protection of this shield shadow, the outer wall of the divine land had stood firmly against Emily''s powerful attack.


    A bitter smile appeared on Emily''s face. "The work of the Lord of Weapons is too extraordinary..."


    Emily was the strongest among these warriors at the Other Shore Realm.


    If even she was unable to break through the outer wall of the divine land, it would be impossible for the rest of them. Their expressions froze in disbelief.


    "It''s the Heavenly Mirror Shield. I didn''t expect Grand Chieftain to integrate it into the divine land. We''re in trouble now," said Leopold, frowning as he looked at the fading shield shadow.

 Chapter 2669 Chiyous Efforts

    The Heavenly Mirror Shield was not made nor created by Chiyou, but was rather obtained by him from the ancient relic.


    Chiyou rarely used the shield ever since he became the Lord of Weapons. It was the reason why he handed it over to Kaden.


    Ramzi had seen Kaden use the Heavenly Mirror Shield before. The moment he recognized the triangular shadow of the shield, it had confirmed his thought.


    "The Heavenly Mirror Shield can cover even the heaven and earth with the formless power. It is not easy to break it," Leopold uttered.


    What Leopold said made Timotheus raise his eyebrows slightly. He spoke, "Let me have a try. Everyone, step back!"


    Ramzi put his hand on Zen''s shoulder, and all the Other Shore Realm warriors quickly retreated.


    After Timotheus was given space, he opened his palms and a golden broadsword appeared.


    "Grow!"


    As soon as he gave out the order, his figure began to grow and swell. It didn''t take much time before he turned into a giant of millions of feet tall in an instant.


    He carried the broadsword on his shoulder, his white hair and long beard were fluttering. As his aura spread out, it gave off such a huge pressure!


    Ramzi waved his hand and helped Zen block that aura. Otherwise, Zen would have been inflicted and injured under this aura.


    Timotheus let out a shout, holding the golden broadsword.


    The broadsword was slashed out, then followed by thin line appearing.


    The seemingly unremarkable strike contained an extremely mysterious Truth of Godly Way. That thin line contained certain energy of the chaos.


    "So powerful..."


    Zen took a secret glance at Emily beside him.


    After Zen fell into the world below, he had never seen Emily and Timotheus employ their real strength.


    He had no idea about their true ability. After all, the exiles of the Snake Goddess race, the Nine Li race and the Yellow Emperor race never had an encounter fighting against each other.


    He saw how Emily had easily defeated all the exiles in the space where the Warden race lived. And afterwards, everyone was suppressed by the Strength Equalizing Theurgy.


    Through these circumstances, they still didn''t have the chance to display their full strength.


    Now that he was looking at the sight of Timotheus''s terrible strike, he was shocked with fear.


    When the thin line created by the broadsword touched the outer wall of the divine land, a triangular shield shadow appeared for the second time.


    However, this shield shadow was countless times larger than the previous one!


    "Crack!"


    A deep mu


    "The top masters in the divine land attach the inner worlds to the divine land. Their strength is much stronger than those consummate True Gods!"


    Hearing Zen''s explanation, some of the powerful Other Shore Realm warriors were still confused.


    Emily seemed to have understood. She smiled and said, "Lord of Weapons has really put a lot of effort into it. Such Holy Beings are even able to create the lager inner worlds with the support of this ship, and they are more powerful than the consummate True Gods. Those Holy Beings almost reach the Other Shore Realm, right?"


    Zen nodded.


    A Holy Being might not be as strong as Yellow Emperor Guards, but they were much stronger than a consummate True God and not much weaker than an ordinary Other Shore Realm warrior.


    More importantly, they had the ability of immortality. They would live forever and would not die as long as the universes still existed. They had more advantages compared to the Other Shore Realm warriors!


    Just as they approached the protruding universes, Ramzi felt something strange in the distance. He slightly turned his head, pointed to the upper left side and asked, "Look, what''s that?"


    Upon reaching the top of the divine land, they had already been completely freed from the prison below.


    They could see that above them was a large area of energy clouds formed by the chaotic energy. These Chaotic Clouds didn''t look big in appearance, but in fact, each of them was as large as billions of divine lands.


    And at the tip of the tail of the Chaotic Cloud closest to the divine land, there was a cyan light dot that was rapidly moving.


    Behind the cyan light dot, there were a few black dots following closely!

 Chapter 2670 Zens Request

    In the vast chaos, one could see everything that was happening.


    They looked at the distance as if they were stargazing. The view was as far as it could get.


    Emily looked at it for a while as she said flatly, "Maybe it''s the plankton within the chaos. They are too far away from us. We shouldn''t mind them at all."


    Even with their unparalleled flying speed, it would still take several years for them to reach the black dots.


    "Are there also living creatures within the chaos?" Zen asked, taking the opportunity to know more about the subject.


    "Of course. The chaos may seem empty but that is only because of its ridiculous size. There are actually many creatures living inside it!" Emily said with a smile.


    Zen stared at the light dots that flew in the far distance as he also looked at the boundless brown Chaotic Clouds. The expression on his face made it seem as if he was lost in his thoughts.


    His master went inside the chaos a few years ago and they had never heard of him since. He wondered whether his master would be powerful enough to protect himself from the powerful creatures within the chaos.


    But then again, maybe his master already returned to the divine land while he was away.


    Zen couldn''t help but get anxious as he thought of it. He didn''t know how everything was doing in the fairy palace since he hadn''t been around for so long. What worried him the most was his mother and all he wished for was her safety.


    As he was thinking about all of it, he followed Emily and the others in approaching the giant bumps.


    Some of the exiles didn''t hesitate too much and immediately used their theurgies again as they hoped to break through the outer wall of the divine land. If they succeeded, they would be able to enter the divine land through the universes.


    To their surprise, their efforts didn''t pay off and the Heavenly Mirror Shield was still there!


    After their attempt failed, Leopold concluded, "I don''t think the Heavenly Mirror Shield is something we can break. If we continue to rely on brute force, I''m afraid we won''t be able to enter the divine land at all!"


    "If even you can''t enter the divine land, then it would be impossible for the Yellow Emperor Guards to enter," Zen said with a disappointed tone.


    Hearing this, Timotheus narrowed his eyes as he said in a serious tone, "What if the Yellow Emperor Guards are actually stronger than us?"


    "Maybe, but I highly doubt it," Zen said as he blinked his eyes.


    "You do have great confidence in us," Emily said with a faint smile. "If we still fail to break the Heavenly Mirror Shield, I''m afraid there''s


    ous connection to the little oil lamp. A faint green light then appeared inside the oil lamp.


    "This is your Life Lamp. If you die, the light inside your Life Lamp will be extinguished and we will know about it immediately," Emily said softly. "I will help you enter the divine land."


    "Emily!"


    "Master Emily!"


    "You know how important Zen is to our Nine Li race!"


    Timotheus and Ramzi both had indignant expressions on their faces. They thought that Emily was pushing Zen into a fire pit.


    "Of course I am fully aware." Emily turned around and smiled. "But don''t forget that this is Zen''s own decision. If he really is the hope of the Nine Li race, then you should choose to believe in him or the Nine Li race would lose all their hope!"


    Timotheus and his companions couldn''t say anything in return.


    If they were to think that the Nine Li race could rise again, it wouldn''t be enough to simply rely on the Other Shore Realm warriors like Timotheus and the few others.


    The most important thing was for Zen to grow up. It was indeed meaningless to protect him at all times.


    Seeing that Timotheus and others did not speak at all, Emily''s beautiful eyes flashed as she pointed downwards. An immense force of space spread out to form a round space channel in front of Emily.


    This space channel stretched over millions of miles. It passed through a universe and was able to reach the internal space of the divine land.


    While she was building the space channel, on a Floating Island above the Time Sea, Murphy was sitting on the lotus throne and was recuperating with his eyes closed. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and shock was written all over his face. "Who is that? Who dares to break through my universe and disturb me?"

 Chapter 2671 The Great Inertia

    The space channel that Emily created shot towards the Murphy Universe from above.


    It went straight down and pierced through the entire Murphy Universe.


    As the controller of the Murphy Universe, Murphy had a very keen perception of his own universe. He could clearly detect the fluctuations happening within the Space Law.


    As a Holy Being, he was able to build such a long space channel but he was unable to build such a stable one.


    Moreover, this space channel came from the periphery of the Murphy Universe which was also outside the divine land.


    Who created this space channel?


    With this thought, Murphy turned into an incarnation and appeared in his universe to investigate further.


    Right in front of his eyes was an invisible space channel penetrating downwards.


    "The space channel is trying to enter the divine land through the Murphy Universe." Murphy''s face revealed a look of pondering as he sneered, "No matter who you are, it''s absolutely impossible for you to pass through the Murphy Universe without my permission! I will crush your space channel to pieces!"


    He then pinched the space channel.


    Everyone was a god in their own inner worlds. They were invincible, omniscient, and omnipotent.


    As he pinched, the invisible space channel immediately broke down and collapsed.


    At the same time, Emily who was at the top of the divine land frowned and snorted, "It seems like a so-called Holy Being saw what I was doing and destroyed my space channel."


    "Like Zen said, since the universes are the inner worlds of Holy Beings, we need to bypass them," a powerhouse at the Other Shore Realm advised.


    They could easily bypass these universes and create other space channels.


    Emily raised her chin as she said arrogantly, "No!"


    As soon as she was done speaking, she gently waved her hand and a ray of colorful light slowly spread in her pupils.


    An aggressive stream of the Truth of Godly Way began to spread out.


    ''It''s the Truth of Void Destruction, '' Zen thought.


    The Truth of Void Destruction possessed some powers from the Space Law. Those powers weren''t complete but there was no doubt that the understanding of space inside the Truth of Void Destruction was much deeper than inside the Space Godly Way.


    Zen already sensed the same Truth of Godly Way before from David of the Yellow Emperor race


    ce channel.


    The space channel created by Emily was very stable and the speed at which he traveled was also extremely fast.


    Only six hours later, Zen had already crossed the Murphy Universe and was able to enter one of the thirteen paths.


    Twenty four hours later, Zen felt his body becoming heavier as the speed of his fall suddenly increased.


    "Whoosh!"


    The great inertia took a huge toll on Zen as he crashed down on the ground hard like a falling boulder.


    "Get up!"


    Zen roared as he tried to fly in the air.


    But the inertia was too strong and he couldn''t reverse any of it to fly. The inertia was like an invisible big hand that was pressing him down on the ground.


    Seeing that he was getting closer and closer to the ground, Zen was afraid that he would be seriously injured once he reached the surface. He was also worried that it could cause unwanted movement.


    Zen''s eyes flashed as he suddenly disappeared.


    He had reached the consummation of the True God Realm, which meant that he could then use the Grand Teleportation without being restricted by the Space Law.


    He then tried to move himself to a higher position.


    Even after doing so, the great inertia still refused to stop and he continued to fall.


    "One more time!"


    As he was about to hit the ground again, he teleported himself to a higher place but continued falling from there.


    After doing this for more than ten times, the great inertia finally weakened until it fully disappeared.


    He then regained his balance as he slowly descended to a low mountain top.

 Chapter 2672 Judgment

    On the Floating Island of the Dongfang Clan, a space wave appeared as Murphy came out of the void.


    In the Time Sea, only Holy Beings were allowed to use the spatial transference freely.


    However, the Holy Beings didn''t like doing it very often. There must be something very important that Murphy had to come to the Floating Island of the Dongfang Clan.


    When the two guards of the Dongfang Clan saw Murphy approaching, they immediately went up to him and bowed.


    "I''m looking for Holy Nicholas. I have something very important to discuss with him. You''d better hurry up and find him for me," said Murphy anxiously.


    The two guards looked at each other with embarrassment on their faces.


    One of them said, "Holy Nicholas is currently at the back hall. He told us not to disturb him no matter what happens."


    "The back hall! He has always been in the back hall! Only one thing is certain. He will be ruined by that woman sooner or later!" Anger was written all over his face.


    Nicholas'' character had been getting stranger over the past years.


    Originally, under the leadership of the union of the wealthy clans above the Time Sea, they were supposed to take control of the Abyss Demon Region but that wasn''t the case anymore.


    Each time the Holy Beings visited, Nicholas was either in the back hall or exploring the Time Sea to find the woman''s body.


    According to how some Holy Beings like Murphy saw it, the union of the wealthy clans had gained an absolute advantage and taken full control of the situation.


    However, there were already three forbidden lands out of four that were being controlled by outsiders.


    The Everest Spirit Mountain was under the control of Mike''s first disciple, while Bromley''s second disciple had control over the Swirl Forest.


    As for the Soul Wilderness, Estelle saved Zen''s life last time. It was safe to assume that she was on Mike''s side.


    Although Mike was dead in some sense, his strategy was still far-reaching, which always put Murphy in a constant state of fear. He was afraid that there were always some big troubles waiting for him.


    The two guards were so afraid that they turned pale when they heard Murphy''s words.


    "Holy Murphy, calm down."


    "We''re sure that Holy Nicholas will come out soon."


    I was still unable to destroy it."


    "What? How could that be possible?"


    His words caused Nicholas to worry.


    In their own universes, the Holy Beings were omnipotent and would never fight others in their universes.


    If Murphy couldn''t destroy the space channel in his own universe, then the creator must be very skilled.


    However, Nicholas soon calmed down. He narrowed his eyes and said, "It''s said that there is a space barrier just outside the divine land. Even if the outsiders create space channels, they will still be unable to enter. It''s not easy to open the barrier in a short period of time."


    "But the Yellow Emperor Guards were able to come in," Murphy said.


    Nicholas released a faint smile as he continued, "It took them twenty years to open the space barrier."


    "That means we only have 20 years left." Murphy raised his eyebrows.


    Twenty years was just a mere snap of their fingers when it came to the Holy Beings.


    The crisis was imminent. How could they possibly know how powerful the intruder was?


    "Apart from that, the space channel has been created to pierce its way to the divine land. It''s more likely that someone has been sent here. In order to avoid being discovered by me, they divided the space channel into thirteen paths and scattered them in thirteen regions," Murphy muttered.


    "Thirteen paths," said Nicholas with a pensive look on his face. "Who could they have possibly sent here? We can also assume that this intruder is someone from the divine land."

 Chapter 2673 The Real Godly Way Tablet

    The divine land was huge, so even with that clue, it was impossible to guess who the person that was sent to the divine land would be.


    Nicholas then asked, "Did you make a record of the thirteen regions?"


    "Oh yes, of course! I even noted down the areas that the thirteen space channels are linked to in the thirteen regions," Murphy replied.


    "Well done." Nicholas nodded approvingly before turning to a guard beside him and asked, "Did Lowell come back?"


    The guard put his hands together in respect and replied, "Lowell has returned, and Troy has also returned from the forbidden area!"


    "Ask them to come to the Goldenrain Hall and tell them I need them," said Nicholas.


    "Yes, sir!"


    After receiving the instruction from Nicholas, the guard transformed into a ray of light and flew away.


    "The areas in the thirteen regions are too large. I need to send my people to investigate too! If they did send someone in, then this person''s cultivation level could not be that of a Demi-holy Being or a Holy Being. We still have the chance to find the person and find out the truth. And I need to tell this to Clark and the others immediately! " Once he had finished speaking, he flew into the void and returned to his Floating Island.


    If it was a Holy Being or a Demi-holy Being that wanted to return to the divine land, there was no need for them to create a space channel and send him or her into a large region.


    Based on this logic, Nicholas and Murphy speculated that this person''s cultivation should be at the True God Realm.


    At the same time, it still didn''t make sense. How could a True God born in the divine land run into the chaos without being corroded to death? And now the person was being sent back again. This matter was very strange, so they had to investigate.


    Meanwhile, in the Goldenrain Hall, Troy stood straight. He lowered his head and observed his iron hand which gleamed with silver light.


    A few moments later, he heard the sound of footsteps coming from outside the Goldenrain Hall.


    A handsome young man walked in slowly.


    At the sight of the young man, Troy''s face darkened. "What? You are still alive?!"


    The young man was Rocher.


    Rocher had now achieved a high position in the Dongfang Clan.


    Now, Nicholas was slack in exploring the Abyss Demon Region. The alliance of the rich and powerful clans on the Floating Islands could only choose the Abyss Demon Region among the four great forbidden areas.


    Therefore, the exploration


    uld a True God return from the chaos unscathed? What the hell was going on?


    However, they controlled their faces carefully and did not reveal their inner thoughts. Since Nicholas had given the order, there was nothing they could do except follow his wishes.


    After receiving the order, they looked at each other briefly before leaving the Goldenrain Hall.


    Zen had originally planned to activate the mountain token as soon as he landed and leave immediately.


    After all, the space channel went through the Murphy''s Murphy Universe, and it was very likely to cause trouble...


    However, Zen was attracted by a strong stream of internal momentum from afar.


    "This stream of internal momentum doesn''t seem to come from a True God." Zen found it very odd.


    Curious, Zen rose to the air and flew forward.


    After crossing two mountains, Zen saw a tall stone tablet at the foot of the mountain.


    "That is... a Godly Way Tablet!"


    A gleam flashed in Zen''s eyes as he floated in the air.


    He knew that there were three thousand Godly Way Tablets in the divine land, which recorded each individual Godly Way, namely, the three thousand unique skills that Chiyou had mastered.


    He had seen the imitations of these Godly Way Tablets in the ancestral land of the Han Clan.


    By taking advantage of the Infinity Ruler in his mind, he was able to swiftly comprehend the internal momentum in a Godly Way Tablet and copy it to the Infinity Ruler.


    The internal momentum, obtained either from the True Gods or from the imitations, might be incomplete...


    While the most complete internal momentum of Godly Ways must come from the real Godly Way Tablets.

 Chapter 2674 Getting Close

    It was the first real Godly Way Tablet that Zen had ever seen, and it made his curiosity perk up.


    Since he wasn''t in a hurry to leave, he flew down the mountain ravine.


    On the huge cyan Godly Way Tablet, there were flashes of blue lightning that extended along it and spread into the surrounding ground like little snakes.


    Not a blade of grass grew within tens of thousands of feet around the cyan Godly Way Tablet.


    In exchange, there were tens of thousands of people sitting around it to stare.


    All of them came to get more insight into the internal momentum of the tablet and improve.


    While most of the people were very far, there was a few people dared to come within ten thousand feet of the Godly Way Tablet.


    The closer they were to the Godly Way Tablet, the greater the pressure of the internal momentum.


    If proving godly warriors came too close to a Godly Way Tablet, they would be like moths flying into flames and be swallowed by the internal momentum. Zen had experienced it when he was in the Consulting God Hall of the Han Clan.


    Zen flew down and quietly landed on the ground. He slowly walked towards the Godly Way Tablet after he hid his cultivation level.


    "It turns out to be the Thunderstorm Godly Way..." A flash appeared in his eyes as he approached the tablet.


    It was an extremely common Godly Way in the divine land, and even Zen had seen several True Gods use it.


    Zen had recorded the Godly Way using his Infinity Ruler, which should be almost perfect.


    But since his father had given him the Infinity Ruler for a reason, he still wanted to verify the Godly Way again. If it was possible, Zen would definitely visit all the Godly Way Tablets in the divine land.


    "Hey! Stop!"


    When Zen was still over ten miles away from the Godly Way Tablet, three top-rank True Gods flew over from the distance.


    The three suddenly appeared and blocked Zen from going further.


    A cold and arrogant expression appeared on the face of the True God in the lead as he stared at Zen. "Do you also want to learn from the Godly Way Tablet?"


    There was a pause as Zen looked them up and down before he nodded and answered


    arcs of lightning shot out from the barren land and spread along his legs.


    It horrified the proving godly warriors and even the low-rank True Gods present to see it.


    Only those with an extraordinary understanding of the Thunderstorm Godly Way dared to enter the range of ten thousand feet; most of them were top-rank True Gods, and some were even consummate True Gods.


    Because Zen hid his true cultivation level, he was now a bold low-rank True God in their eyes.


    "He''s simply courting death!"


    "I think he can only move forward for a few hundred feet!"


    "Doing that is still extremely difficult..."


    Others were shocked to see his actions, but Zen was walking as leisurely as he would in his courtyard.


    The closer he got to the Godly Way Tablet, the more lightning bolts extended to him.


    Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he had already traveled four thousand feet. Thunder snakes, each as thick as an arm, emerged and enveloped Zen in many layers.


    The three top-rank True Gods, tens of thousands of feet away, suddenly had a bad feeling.


    Even they could only get four or five thousand feet away from the Godly Way Tablet to study the Thunderstorm Godly Way.


    This guy was just a low-rank True God, yet he was now four thousand feet away from the tablet and seemed like he had no intention of stopping.


    As the stewards of the Fang Clan, the three of them had to consider Zen''s background and identity.

 Chapter 2675 Guidance

    Only a few top-rank True Gods were within the radius of ten thousand feet around the tablet.


    They were all surrounded by lightning snakes, just like Zen was.


    The top-rank True Gods had a deep understanding of the Thunderstorm Godly Way. They were comprehending here so that they could get a chance to master the consummate theurgy of the Thunderstorm Godly Way and become consummate True Gods.


    But within the numerous divine eras that had passed, only a few among the large number of top-rank True Gods had succeeded in becoming consummate True Gods.


    Zen was still some distance away from the Godly Way Tablet when an old man, who was sitting on the ground, spoke to him, "Young man, although you are talented and aren''t afraid of the pressure of the internal momentum, you have to comprehend the Godly Way step by step. You are just a low-rank True God. You don''t have to be so close to it."


    Zen smiled and bowed to the old man. "Thank you for your kind reminder. But I have a different purpose of getting close to the Godly Way Tablet."


    The old man didn''t talk but his eyes were filled with doubt.


    Zen came to a standstill when he was a hundred feet away from the Godly Way Tablet.


    The entire Godly Way Tablet was roaring.


    Huge lightning dragons circled madly around Zen, roaring as they made to tear him apart.


    But Zen remained steady as before, standing there unhesitating in the face of the danger.


    This distance between him and the Godly Way Tablet was enough for him to start taking action.


    Now that he was facing the Godly Way Tablet of the Thunderstorm Godly Way, Zen activated the Infinity Ruler in his mind. .


    The edge of the Infinity Ruler flashed in Zen''s mind.


    Simultaneously, two golden circles of light appeared around Zen''s pupils.


    "Absorb the Thunderstorm Godly Way again!"


    Buzz...


    The Infinity Ruler continued to vibrate. Once the Thunderstorm Godly Way had been absorbed, the lightning sign on the scale of the ruler became rounder and fuller.


    The Godly Ways that Zen had absorbed from the consummate True Gods were consummate.


    When Zen had been in the Consulting God Hall, he had absorbed the Purple Aura Godly Way from the Godly Way Tablet that Joy had created.


    But she


    divine land and he had to return to the fairy palace first.


    When Zen stepped out of the thunder pool, the three top-rank True Gods of the Fang Clan looked at him warily.


    Zen''s smile was actually scaring the three top-rank True Gods.


    Zen had been able to go up to a distance of one hundred feet from the Godly Way Tablet, which had taken them by surprise.


    Only a consummate True God was qualified to do that.


    Before Zen did that, these three True Gods had been plotting to kill him. But now, this idea had already vanished. It was obvious that this young man was powerful.


    When Zen was about to leave, tens of consummate True Gods from the powerful clans on the Floating Islands arrived at the large regions through the transmission arrays.


    They had received an order to check the space channels of the thirteen regions.


    These space channels were marked and were located in the thirteen regions. The consummate True Gods could look for the exact locations of the marks.


    "The space channel marked in the Square Sky Region is very close to the Fang Clan''s Square Sky City. It seems to be next to the Godly Way Tablet of the Thunderstorm Godly Way," Shahn said, staring off into the distance.


    "There are thirteen space channels. Who knows which channel that person has walked out of? Moreover, that person might leave even before we get there. If that happens, tracking down that warrior will be like looking for a needle in a haystack!" Rachelle retorted beside Shahn.

 Chapter 2676 What A Coincidence

    Rachelle had difficulty comprehending the task. It just didn''t make sense.


    But since Murphy had personally given the order, she had no choice but to follow the instruction.


    "It must be an extremely important clue, so we have to chase after that True God," Shahn replied blandly. "The chief of our clan said that the Dongfang Clan is going to seal off these thirteen regions."


    "Seal off the thirteen regions?" Rachelle was slightly surprised.


    The area of a region was not small, and even the Holy Beings could not fully seal them off unless with the help of some treasures.


    For example, the Dongfang Clan used the Ray Tree, and the Sword Clan used the Sunrest Tree to block the Space Law of a region.


    After the sealing, the Grand Teleportation and construction of a transmission channel would be prohibited.


    Seeing the expression on Rachelle''s face, Shahn said lightly, "They are going to use the Ruling Slate again!"


    "They have to seal off the thirteen regions just to hunt down a True God?" Rachelle said with a gleam in her eyes. "Who the hell is this True God?"


    Shahn shrugged. "I have no idea, but the chief of my clan looked furious. The True God must be very important, I bet."


    They continued talking for a while before flying to the air to begin their mission.


    At the exact same time, Nicholas was standing in front of the Ruling Slate with his writing brush in hand and started to write a new rule swiftly and without hesitation.


    According to the rules of the Hall of Holy Beings, the revisions of the rules on the Ruling Slate must be approved by all the Holy Beings of the hall.


    However, at the moment, the Hall of Holy Beings existed in name only.


    The Sword Clan and the Moon Clan were silent. The Holy Beings of these two clans had rarely appeared in the Hall of Holy Beings. Now the hall was ruled by the voice of Nicholas alone.


    So he used the Ruling Slate at will as if it was his personal object.


    "Buzz..."


    As soon as Nicholas finished writing, a golden light flashed on the rule, which meant that it had come into force.


    Sealing off the thirteen regions wasn''t a very overbearing rule. It wouldn''t consume a lot of divine might coins.


    But Nicholas'' face


    two beams of light and chased after Zen, leaving the top-rank True God in a daze.


    "Swish! Swish! Swish!"


    Zen had stopped hiding his cultivation level and moved forward as fast as he could.


    Behind him, Rachelle and Shahn were hot on his trail.


    The three flew at an extremely fast speed. Within seconds, they had flown past dozens of mountains.


    Although the three of them had reached the consummation of True God Realm, Zen was still a beginner, so he couldn''t go as fast as he wanted to. The distance between them was beginning to lessen.


    "It can''t go on like this."


    Zen frowned. An aura of the Space Law spread out in front of him. He decided to try to use the Grand Teleportation technique.


    However, when he was about to drill into the space channel, a flash of weird lightning appeared in the sky and shot down.


    "Bang!"


    The lightning shattered the space channel built by Zen.


    Zen was also affected by this lightning and let out a muffled snort. There was nothing he could do but resist the lightning, so his flying speed was greatly reduced.


    Seizing this opportunity, Rachelle and Shahn cornered Zen.


    "The entire space of the Square Sky Region has been blocked, but you still tried to use the Grand Teleportation technique." Rachelle stood in front of Zen to block his way. When she finally saw Zen''s face, she arched her beautiful eyebrows in shock. "What a small world. Who would have thought that the True God we are hunting down is you?"

 Chapter 2677 Passing On The Message

    It had been almost ten years since they had met in the Sunrest Tree last time.


    But Rachelle had never forgotten Zen.


    Whenever she remembered Zen''s face, the humiliation of her defeat in his hands replayed in her mind.


    It was because she was incredibly competitive that she couldn''t accept such a failure. The shame of being insulted by a low-rank True God would be something she would never forget for the rest of her life!


    The hatred grew in her heart until it turned into her inner demon.


    "You have stepped into the consummation of True God Realm!" It was a shock to Rachelle when she saw that Zen had improved so much in his cultivation.


    She could only watch helplessly as he rapidly improved from a low-rank True God and became a consummate True God in just ten years. It was hard for her to accept it.


    "It''s... It''s impossible!"


    There was also clear disbelief on Shahn''s shocked face.


    They were top figures in powerful clans on the Floating Islands, and they had seen many extraordinary talents in the divine land.


    Some talents improved their cultivation with great speed.


    With the support of rich resources on a Floating Island, it usually took only ten years for a warrior to become a top-rank True God from a low-rank True God.


    There were quite many people who achieved that. The Fang Clan and the Mu Clan had a couple of such talents, to say the least.


    However, it was astonishing and hard for Shahn and Rachelle to accept that a low-rank True God reached the consummation of True God Realm in just ten years.


    Reaching the consummation of True God Realm was a million times harder than reaching the common True God Realm!


    There were plenty of True Gods in the divine land and the top-rank True Gods among them was many. However, the number of consummate True Gods was few and far between, just a little more than the number of Holy Beings and Demi-holy Beings.


    For example, the top-rank True Gods around the Godly Way Tablet only wanted to enter the consummation of True God Realm.


    These top-rank True Gods were only a step away from reaching the consummation of True God Realm, but this step was like a vast chasm. The majority of them would never cross this gap their whole lives!


    There was a saying in the divine land that went, "One step to become a consummate True God, a half more to become a Holy Being."


    The strength of a consummate True God was just a little infe


    ating Islands made such a big move to find him? They even used the Ruling Slate to seal the space of the thirteen big regions.


    He had a vague hunch that something would happen...


    The Flying Bell Region...


    The Yellow Dragon Region...


    The Cloud Peak Region...


    All the scattered consummate True Gods in the thirteen large regions received the message and rushed towards the Square Sky Region.


    The space of the large regions was sealed by the Ruling Slate so they were also limited by the rule like Zen.


    It was impossible to travel through transmission arrays nor could they use Grand Teleportation.


    Any move that would trigger the Space Law would be punished by the Ruling Slate.


    They could only move to another region at their fastest speed and teleport from there. When they arrived in the neighboring region of Square Sky Region, they would enter the Square Sky Region from there.


    "Whoosh!"


    Rachelle transformed into a flash of bloody radiance as she swung her two blood red short swords and dashed towards Zen.


    Zen was well prepared to face her attack.


    He leaned back and his long sword came into his hand, a long streak of light shooting out!


    "Crack!"


    There was a loud sound.


    The streak of light Zen slashed out landed on Rachelle''s short sword. After refraction, it came down from the height of ten thousand feet in the sky.


    "Rumble..."


    In an instant, the unremarkable streak of light split a mountain range below right in the middle.


    "Phew!"


    After he launched the strike, Zen stabilized himself and quickly ran without any intention of continuing the fight!

 Chapter 2678 Thunder Materialization

    There was a difference in terms of strength between the consummate True Gods.


    In their clans, Rachelle and Shahn were considered as the top figures among the consummate True Gods.


    With his current cultivation base, Zen wasn''t threatened at all.


    Just as he had arrived at the divine land, he was immediately chased down by the powerful clans. That was too coincidental.


    After thinking about it carefully, he came up with a rough idea.


    Since Emily''s space channel was built on top of the divine land and had penetrated through a universe, a particular Holy Being must have been alerted.


    Zen didn''t know who exactly was alerted, but he assumed that it was a Holy Being that belonged to the union of the powerful clans since Rachelle and Shahn had been sent.


    He didn''t know what kind of power he was about to face. If Holy Beings and Demi-holy beings got involved, then he would be in big trouble.


    At that moment, he chose to retreat first.


    Now that the other party had used the Ruling Slate to seal off thirteen regions, he had to quickly move to an unsealed region. As long as the token of mountain was activated, he could escape and return to the fairy palace.


    "You want to leave?"


    Rachelle stomped the ground in tiptoe, immediately transforming into a ray of blood-red light that quickly flew over.


    Shahn followed closely, a bright silver sword appearing in his hand.


    "Swish!"


    Rachelle''s two swords that chased after Zen suddenly collided against each other.


    A deathly aura flowed out of those two blood swords, while a beam of cross-shaped blood radiance charged towards Zen.


    Each consummate True God had mastered a certain Godly Way. The power in Rachelle''s cross-shaped blood radiance was controlled, but its malevolence was undeniable.


    Zen, who was running right in front of them, didn''t even look back.


    "The Thunderstorm Godly Way!"


    The Godly Tile in his inner world flashed, and a beam of thunder burst out from it.


    "Crack!"


    The thunder struck down his elixir field and pierced through his back.


    In just a short time, the thumb-sized thunder condensed and formed a pair of huge thunder wings that were about a thousand feet long.


    "Crack! Crack! Crack!"


    Th


    north of the Square Sky Region were adjacent to the Sea Vessel Region and the Snake Spirit Region respectively.


    The area connecting the Sea Vessel Region and the Square Sky Region was very large. According to the direction that Zen had fled to, he would enter the Sea Vessel Region.


    Unfortunately, the space in the Sea Vessel Region had also been sealed off, which meant that Zen was unable to escape. Moreover, Walton was there. Barring accidents, he had been waiting with his people there.


    Five minutes later, Zen had finally crossed the border of the Square Sky Region.


    The intersection of the two regions was very distinct. The Square Sky Region was covered with mountains, and at the end of it was the Sea Vessel Region which was surrounded by a vast sea.


    The Sea Vessel Region looked like a carrier for holding water, and most of its areas were covered by water. That was why it was named that way.


    When he entered that region, an idea came to his mind. He actually wanted to travel through space.


    "Crack!"


    A flash of lightning from the sky charged towards Zen.


    Zen''s face turned dark. He was on full alert. By flapping his wings, he dodged the lightning.


    However, he could only watch the lightening destroy the space channel that he built.


    The space of the Sea Vessel Region had also been sealed.


    It meant that he could not escape by using the Grand Teleportation technique or return to the fairy place with the help of the token of mountain.

 Chapter 2679 Take The Credit

    Splash...


    The sea water rolled out from the deep of the Sea Vessel Region and endlessly slapped the mountains around the edge of the Square Sky Region.


    Wrapped in the huge pair of thunder wings, Zen stood in the air.


    Rachelle kept a certain distance from Zen and looked down at him. "Several great regions around the Square Sky Region are sealed off. Even if you have wings today, it is still difficult to fly away!"


    Upon hearing this, Zen frowned.


    That was the last thing he wanted. Crossing a large region would take him a lot of time.


    The longer he stayed there, the worse the situation could get for him.


    Although Zen knew Rachelle was right, he could only smile coldly at her. "You stress that the surrounding regions are sealed off because you want me to stay here. To me, it doesn''t seem that difficult to find the real exit."


    As soon as Zen finished his words, the thunder wings on his back suddenly spread.


    "Crack!"


    The blue thunder radiance effused from those wings.


    Rachelle and Shahn saw that Zen had turned into a beam of thick lightning and flew away.


    Zen wasn''t just randomly choosing a direction.


    He flew along the dividing line between the Square Sky Region and the Sea Vessel Region.


    That way, he could find the third large region through the shortest route. If he still couldn''t employ the spatial transference in the third region, then he could only figure out other ways.


    That was his best choice at present.


    When both Rachelle and Shahn noticed the direction Zen had escaped to, they looked equally displeased.


    If he followed the dividing line, it wasn''t long before he could enter the Snake Spirit Region.


    In that case, they were just letting Zen slip their hands again.


    Not long after Zen had escaped, a huge water curtain suddenly appeared in the sea just right below him.


    "Splash!"


    The water curtain instantly exploded into thousands of water drops that covered Zen.


    His eyebrows raised as he saw the situation. His pair of thunder wings flapped again. Just as he passed through the water drops, something strange happened.


    All of the water drops suddenly changed course.


    They all intertwined, forming a large net of water and once again enveloping Zen.


    "Is this¡­ the Parting Water Godly Way?"


    Facing the huge water net, Zen twisted his body and his thunder wings began to whisk.


    Such a move immediately broke the net into pieces, crystal drops of water splashing everywhere.


    Shortly after the water drops scattered, they condensed again and turned into a new, larger net that instantly covered Zen''s body.


    At the same time


    right hand.


    "Puff!"


    The Parting Water Arrow hit Zen and actually pierced through his body.


    "The arrow hit him?"


    "He''s either going to die or turn into a cripple this time!"


    Bryan and Diego Tang beamed with excitement.


    They thought it wouldn''t be an easy mission as most of the warriors from powerful clans on the Floating Islands had been sent out to make a move. It was beyond their expectation that they would succeed during their first attack.


    However, their excitement only lasted for six seconds.


    They noticed that Zen''s figure had ominously flashed and the wound pierced by the Parting Water Arrow had disappeared.


    Within just nine seconds, Zen had used the jade seal to erase the wound.


    The arrow that Bryan Tang had released destroyed the water nets which freed Zen.


    "Crack!"


    Zen flapped the thunder wings on his back, and then he turned into a thick thunderbolt that struck down from the sky.


    The Shadow Bearing Sword in Zen''s hand pressed against Bryan Tang''s abdomen. He looked at Zen with unexpressive eyes and couldn''t help but tremble.


    At that moment, an indescribable feeling arose in Bryan Tang''s mind.


    He felt that the person in front of him was not a living being or object, but a presence of nothingness.


    While Bryan was dazed by that feeling, Zen raised and swung his Shadow Bearing Sword.


    Immediately, he cut Bryan Tang''s cinnabar field and internal organs into pieces with the sword. At last, the soul that hid in Bryan''s mind was also chopped into pieces.


    "Swish!"


    As the Shadow Bearing Sword cut through Bryan Tang, a sword radiance of several thousand feet long came out from his back which caused a huge wave. Then, it flew towards Diego Tang who stood from a distance.

 Chapter 2680 Encirclement

    It was true that Zen was strong, but Diego didn''t expect that he''d not be hurt by the arrow at all.


    To make matters even worse, Zen had used that same arrow to escape from his water net and killed Bryan with his sword as well!


    How was that possible?


    In panic, Diego pushed off the ground with his legs and quickly slid backwards on the sea.


    Although he moved backward at an extremely fast speed, Zen followed him behind more quickly.


    Before the sword radiance that Zen had unleashed caught up to Diego, Zen had transformed into a streak of lightning and ran towards him.


    "Water Vortex Array!"


    Diego uttered the command as he retreated and frantically waved his arms.


    In turn, dozens of waterspouts rose from the sea and rushed towards Zen.


    "Crack! Crack! Crack!"


    Despite the harsh water out to whip at Zen, he didn''t even blink. He simply continued to wield his Shadow Bearing Sword.


    The waterspouts that attacked him did not stand against the Shadow Bearing Sword at all. The sword sliced through them and they quickly fell apart one after the other.


    "Puff!"


    After he was done with the waterspouts, he quickly approached Diego and thrust his sword through his chest.


    Then, he swung his long sword and pulled Diego towards his back.


    At that moment, the sword radiance that he had previously released took over with a loud roar.


    When Diego saw that the sword radiance was about to kill him, he gritted his teeth and a strange force flew out from his elixir field.


    "Splash!"


    His body suddenly turned into a transparent and shapeless thing, until it fully became a mass of water that flowed into the sea alongside the Shadow Bearing Sword.


    It was the Shapeless Water, the consummate level theurgy of the Parting Water Godly Way.


    This theurgy could instantly dissolve the body and merge it with water.


    If given enough time, one could even use this theurgy to control the sea, summon the storms, and churn the waves.


    Now, Diego had used it to run away out of desperation.


    After all, this particular world had been sealed off, so he couldn''t use the Grand Teleportation technique either.


    They had blocked Zen''s way, and also their own--but what they didn''t know was that they would face such a powerful monster.


    On the o


    wo formed the boundary between the Square Sky Region and the Sea Vessel Region.


    "Both the spaces of the Sea Vessel Region and the Square Sky Region have been sealed. Thus, we can''t use the Grand Teleportation technique once we enter. If we go along this coastline, we should be able to block our target in the Sea Vessel Region," he said.


    "I have an idea. Can we also ambush the target in the Snake Spirit Region?" a consummate True God from the Dongfang Clan asked.


    Rocher shook his head and said, "After entering the Snake Spirit Region, our target can run away using the Grand Teleportation technique--as long as he has reached the consummation of True God Realm. If I''m not mistaken, he''s indeed a consummate True God."


    If the target was not a consummate True God, Rachelle and Shahn, who had sent the message, would''ve killed him already. They clearly wouldn''t hold off until now.


    Yet, Rocher was still a bit confused. If the target was just a consummate True God, then it shouldn''t be too difficult for Rachelle and Shahn to deal with him with their power. Why did they delay it till now?


    At that moment, three spatial fluctuations suddenly appeared in front of Rocher, and it wasn''t long before three more consummate True Gods came.


    A frown tugged at Rocher''s lips at the sight of the group''s leader. It was Troy.


    The two of them hadn''t been on the best terms for a long time. They looked at each other. Troy snorted coldly and took his people to enter the Sea Vessel Region without a word.

 Chapter 2681 Attack

    The normally tranquil sky was now littered with dozens of streams of life vitality that quietly fluctuated.


    Meanwhile, the consummate True Gods who hovered around Zen conversed with each other through life vitality.


    "What are we waiting for? We''re only twenty thousand miles away from the Snake Spirit Region!"


    "At his current speed, there''s no doubt he''d be able to enter the Snake Spirit Region in five minutes. I''m afraid he would''ve escaped by then!"


    "What are you worried about, Rachelle? There are so many of us fighting together. Even a Demi-holy Being cannot defeat us!"


    Now, these consummate True Gods were really confused.


    It was true that Zen might have a certain reputation, but he had just stepped into the consummation of True God Realm. Thus, why did both Rachelle and Shahn ask them to surround Zen and be on standby? Why were they worried if their opponent was a new consummate True God?


    Generally speaking, the consummate True Gods from the alliance of the powerful clans on the Floating Islands regarded Troy as their leader.


    If Troy wasn''t present, they listened to Rachelle''s command. They had always done so when they explored the forbidden lands over the past years.


    Currently, however, those consummate True Gods began to doubt Rachelle''s strategy.


    "Do you want me to say it again?" Rachelle said icily. Her lips pressed into a thin line as she said, "Diego and Bryan joined forces to fight Zen, but the brat had killed them in the first round! If you want to die, then I won''t stop you!"


    Some of the consummate True Gods did not know that, and their mouths dropped at her words.


    They glanced at Zen again, and subconsciously acted more cautiously.


    Of course, Diego and Bryan certainly weren''t weak among their peers. Moreover, most of the other consummate True Gods present weren''t even confident enough to win against them. If so, how did Zen kill them so easily in one round?


    They wouldn''t have believed it if Rachelle hadn''t personally said it.


    Compared to the other consummate True Gods, Rachelle was more eager to kill Zen and she knew him better.


    And, it was precisely because of that reason that she could restrain herself from doing so.


    She had once missed the chance to kill him before and it made her depressed, but this time, she wanted to make sure that she would succeed.


    "But we can''t just watch him escape, right?" one consummate True God said with dissatisfaction. "Troy has entered the Sea Vessel Region.


    Let''s wait for h


    ter. No one could even notice that something bothered him.


    While Rachelle also got closer to Zen, streams of violent aura spread from the blood red short swords in her hands, and half of the sky was painted a bright, bloody crimson.


    As for Shahn, a sharp sword light appeared in his hand, which constantly swallowed and spat around the tip of his sword.


    Walton looked absolutely murderous as his body unleashed a powerful aura, the sword shield hoisted on his shoulder.


    All the consummate True Gods who surrounded Zen secretly gathered their momentum and waited.


    ¡­


    "Attack!" Troy ordered.


    Ribbons of highly powerful forces of Godly Ways suddenly erupted.


    "Divine Five Elements Body!"


    "Wind Ruin!"


    "Sky Bury!"


    "¡­¡­"


    Every single one of the consummate True Gods executed the Godly Ways they had comprehended to their fullest extent.


    Any theurgy at the consummation level could have the power to destroy the heaven and earth when it was performed alone. What more if twenty or so consummate True Gods exhibited their theurgies, all at the same time?


    "Rumble..."


    In a split second, all the theurgies rushed simultaneously towards Zen!


    The effect of the combined theurgies formed a blinding, massive energy flow that covered an expanse of a hundred thousand feet around Zen''s whole body.


    All the creatures within the hundred thousand-foot radius, even those with the cultivation of Demi-holy Beings, would barely survive.


    The shockwave from the energy flow alone had drained the sea water within an area of ten thousand miles. In the Square Sky Region, the mountains that stretched thousands of miles had been shaking violently.

 Chapter 2682 Taking The Opportunity To Absorb

    When he saw the tremendous energy currents rushing towards him, Zen was suddenly struck with an idea.


    These currents contained the internal momentum of the consummate stage.


    Zen had planned to visit all the Godly Way Tablets but apparently, he couldn''t do it any time soon.


    Every theurgy at the consummate level was powerful and couldn''t be underestimated since it might play an important role in the future. There was no way he was going to pass up this opportunity.


    "Buzz..."


    Two golden rings appeared at the edge of his pupils.


    Over twenty light dots on the Infinity Ruler in his mind were also instantly ignited.


    "The consummate level theurgy of the Five Elements Godly Way ..."


    "The consummate level theurgy of the Spiritual Wind Godly Way..."


    "The consummate level theurgy of the Earth Godly Way..."


    "The consummate level theurgy of the Murdering Godly Way..."


    The extremely consummate internal momentum formed marks on the Godly Tile in Zen''s inner world through the Infinity Ruler.


    "I don''t have enough time..."


    He absorbed the Godly Ways at a fast rate but he had only gone through half before the energy currents surrounded him.


    "Divine Five Elements Body!"


    Zen employed the theurgy belonging to the Five Elements Godly Way at the consummate level.


    The Magnetic Sacred Mountain he had discovered in the Lower World also gathered the power of the five elements which made it really solid.


    The Divine Five Elements Body mixed the Indestructible Metal Godly Way, the Earth Godly Way, the Parting Water Godly Way, the Elementary Fire Godly Way and the Cyan Wood Godly Way altogether. However, this combination was not like the one in the Magnetic Sacred Mountain. Instead, it was a theurgy produced through the comprehension of the Five Elements Godly Way.


    Five colors burst forth on his skin, making his body extremely strong.


    "Crack!"


    Zen let the energy currents wash over him and he readily absorbed the internal momentum inside them...


    The huge mass of energy currents shrank as Zen absorbed them, which made some of


    e True Gods were mere ants compared to Zen in terms of size.


    "What, what''s this?"


    "How did his body become so huge?"


    "What a powerful force! How did he make it?"


    "He is even stronger than a Holy Being in terms of physical strength."


    Those present were dumbfounded at the sight of Zen''s giant form.


    The pressure of the Wild God Power emanated from Zen in waves and was felt by the consummate True Gods around him.


    These consummate True Gods had never seen the Wild God Power before and mistook it as the power of pure strength. Even a Holy Being wouldn''t normally be able to create such an imposing aura when activating the Nine Divine Stars.


    Rocher couldn''t help but raise his eyebrows. He was standing at a distance but was still extremely overwhelmed by this surprising scene.


    He knew Zen was imaginative but he never thought he would actually be able to become a literal giant.


    Never had he heard of such great theurgy. After Zen transformed into a giant, his strength increased greatly and such level of skill simply amazed Rocher.


    ''Where in the world did he cultivate such an ability?'' Rocher thought to himself.


    "Anyone who dares stop me will get killed immediately," Zen threatened coldly.


    His manner of speaking was gentle but his tone was extremely serious. His voice was also terribly loud and it made the consummate True Gods'' ears buzz.

 Chapter 2683 Warning

    A pair of wings, made entirely out of thunder, burst out of Zen''s back.


    His wings were as wide as 200, 000 feet and covered half the sky.


    Zen did not want to deal with these consummate True Gods.


    The longer he dallied, the worse it would be for him.


    He had visited the bottom of the chaos and greatly improved his strength with Fuxi''s help.


    However, it would be hard for him to escape and return to the fairy palace if he was surrounded by Demi-holy Beings and Holy Beings.


    "Crack!"


    There was a sharp vibration as Zen''s wings flapped. He turned his body and seemed to be preparing to fly away.


    Intimidated by his aura, nobody dared to stop him.


    However, at that moment, Walton stepped forward. "Don''t let him go! Even if he becomes bigger, he is still no match for us!"


    Two consummate True Gods from the Tang Clan got killed. If they let Zen go, Walton wouldn''t have the nerve to face Clark.


    Unfortunately, Zen heard this and took a step forward.


    He raised his hand, poised to slap Walton on the face.


    Zen had been practicing the Wild God system for a long time now and could easily handle his gigantic body. Instead of being heavy and slow, he was incomparably flexible and fast.


    There was no way Walton could dodge Zen''s slap. All he could do was put the huge sword shield across his chest in hopes of protecting himself.


    "Bang!"


    The sword shield was a supreme primordial weapon in the divine land but Zen''s slap reduced it to rubble.


    A powerful force broke through the shield and hit Walton who was sent flying directly into a mountain.


    "Boom! Boom! Boom!"


    There was a series of explosions as his body crashed into the mountain''s face.


    Soon after, the entire mountain itself collapsed, and it wasn''t the only one.


    The border of the Square Sky Region was surrounded by mountains but they began to collapse one by one.


    Over a hundred mountains were flattened!


    Had it been another consummate True God that wa


    skipped a beat when he thought of the Dongfang Clan.


    On the day he met his mother underground, Zen used the Spiritual Darkness to cultivate himself. After his cultivation, his mother immediately sent him out of the divine land.


    She told him that the Holy Beings had found her. Zen had no idea where she might be. Perhaps she was taken away by Nicholas?


    "Have you ever heard of Lorena Li in the Dongfang Clan?" Zen asked.


    "Lorena Li? I''ve never heard of her. Who is she?" Rocher answered.


    Zen''s heart sank at his answer.


    What he feared most was the possibility that his mother might have died. He hoped that she was merely taken away by Nicholas. At least he would still have a chance to save her.


    "She''s my mother," Zen replied.


    This surprised Rocher greatly. "Your mother?"


    "Ten years ago, my mother sent me away for my safety. I was unwilling but I had no choice," Zen explained. "I''m afraid that she may have fallen into Nicholas'' hands."


    Rocher''s eyes flashed. "I''ve been greatly valued by Nicholas in the past few years. I can go to any place in the Dongfang Clan''s Floating Island, except for the back hall. I heard a Demi-holy Being of the clan complain about Nicholas being seduced by a woman and neglecting his duties these years."


    Zen''s eyes lit up at Rocher''s message.

 Chapter 2684 Escape Successfully

    "Tell me more, please!" Zen said.


    "It is said that Holy Nicholas is obsessed with a woman, the one in the back hall. Over the years, he has kept entering the Time Sea to look for her body. I wonder whether that woman is your mother," Rocher replied.


    "Looking for her body?"


    Zen''s heart skipped a beat. Perhaps he could finally get closure. A wave of peace rolled over him.


    In this case, this woman was very likely to be his mother. She had not died. She just needed her physical body, and Nicholas was helping her look for it.


    Whatever the case was, she wasn''t dead.


    Rocher sensed the change in Zen''s mood. "Is that woman your mother?" he asked.


    "She must be," Zen replied.


    This time, it was Rocher''s turn to be surprised.


    Zen''s father, Mike, was Murphy''s nemesis. Rocher had come to know the truth about their feud over the past years. Long ago, Murphy had launched the universe war on Nicholas'' orders. Mike''s real enemy was, in fact, the union of the powerful clans led by Nicholas.


    But one question remained unanswered. Why was Nicholas so obsessed with Zen''s mother, Lorena?


    Rocher felt confused. He looked at Zen with a curious expression.


    Now was not the time for lengthy storytelling, however. Rocher would have to remain in the dark for a little longer. Just several dozen miles ahead of Zen, the junction of three regions came into view. He had to concentrate on the task at hand for now. Once he was out of the Square Sky Region and the Sea Vessel Region, he would attempt to escape using the Grand Teleportation technique.


    Meanwhile, Troy was using his life vitality to communicate with the other consummate True Gods, "Everyone, once Zen enters the Snake Spirit Region, I am certain he will try to escape using the Grand Teleportation technique. The technique is not forbidden in the Snake Spirit Region. I want to try again!"


    No one was willing to let Zen go.


    "How are we going to stop him? He is much stronger than us. We should just be thankful that he hasn''t tried to kill us yet," said a consummate True God helplessly.


    The other consummate True Gods were similarly discouraged. It was a severe blow to these consummate True Gods that, despite coming from the powerful clans on the Floating Islands, a single man had the power to intimidate them. And yet, they cowered in fear at the sight of his unimaginably tall body.


    Troy, the most confident of the group, just smirked. "Is he really so much stronger than us? He is huge,


    e bore to the ground.


    "Whoosh!"


    Gritting his teeth, Troy ducked.


    Zen''s huge palm missed the top of his head by a hair''s breadth. The wind in the wake of the giant hand gushed over him, searing his scalp.


    After Troy had dodged his slap, the enormous thunder wings on Zen''s back flashed with light.


    "Crack!"


    It was too late. Zen had already stepped into the Snake Spirit Region. As he turned to smile triumphantly at everyone, his entire body began to shrink.


    He had made sure to do it right this time. He employed the Grand Teleportation technique at the same time as his body shrank, not wasting a second. A space channel formed, and he disappeared in a flash.


    "What are you doing? Go after him! Now!" yelled one of the consummate True Gods, pointing and shaking his hand wildly at the spot where Zen had stood a second ago.


    "He is nothing but a consummate True God! You know he can''t get far using the Grand Teleportation alone!" shouted another.


    "There''s still a chance to catch him!"


    As soon as the shock wore off and they had come to their senses, the consummate True Gods moved into the Snake Spirit Region and began to display the Grand Teleportation technique themselves.


    Their efforts, however, were in vain. Even though what they said was technically true, Zen was smart. When displaying the Grand Teleportation technique, he had held the mountain token in his hand. Thus, the moment he exited the space channel, he activated the mountain token, and it immediately created another space channel to the fairy palace.


    Without hesitating for even a fraction of a second, Zen dived head first into the space channel.

 Chapter 2685 Sneaking Into The Divine Land

    The consummate True Gods in the Snake Spirit Region simultaneously used the Grand Teleportation technique and spread out their soul power, trying to find Zen.


    But Zen was nowhere to be found.


    The consummate True Gods searched for him for quite a while before gathering together again.


    Troy was standing in the crowd, his face darkening with every passing second. He hadn''t expected Zen to force him away at the last moment, leaving him no opportunity to attack him.


    He looked doubtful. Everything was happening in a strange manner, as if Zen had known beforehand that he was going to use his Topsoil Bell.


    Had someone among them revealed this to Zen?


    Troy''s gaze shifted to Lowell at this thought.


    He had always been skeptical about Lowell''s background and had even questioned Iris publicly.


    But Iris was loyal to her husband and refused to tell Troy anything.


    He still believed that if anyone were to betray them, it would most likely be Lowell.


    In the fairy palace...


    Saul, Harold, Hallet, and the others gathered in the square.


    "Are you ready now?" Augustus asked as he stared at the center of the square where Lavender stood, carrying a long spear.


    Her charming face looked nervous as she nodded.


    Hallet snapped his fingers and the enchanted barrier that had protected the fairy palace suddenly disappeared, as if it had only been an illusion all along.


    The moment the enchanted barrier disappeared, Lavender would enter the divine land.


    The fairy palace wasn''t exactly small, but it had been a stretch, having had to move around only within the confines of the palace throughout all these years.


    Fortunately, after years of cultivation, Lavender had finally grasped a Godly Way and become a low-rank True God.


    Grasping a Godly Way was probably not too difficult, but escaping the punishment of the Ruling Slate was in no way an easy task.


    To help her, Harold had gone to the Everest Spirit Mountain before, and had sneaked into the Evolutionary Universe through the passageway there.


    This had been risky for Harold. For if the Holy Beings had discovered his movements, he would have fallen into great trouble. However, during the past ten years that Zen had been absent, his wives had become more and more worried about him. They had constantly begged for Harold''s help, and he had had no other choice but to help them.


    Harold obtained


    d.


    Letitia had already triggered the Ruling Slate just when she walked out of the training tower.


    Things happened in the same manner as Lavender had experienced before. After thunder exploded in the sky, a black palm print appeared, replacing the thunder. With Harold''s help, she successfully deceived the Ruling Slate as well.


    "Congratulations. You can both move around freely in the divine land from now on," Harold said, smiling.


    Letitia smiled and nodded at him. "Thank you for your help," she said gratefully.


    Lavender''s eyes flashed with concern as she stared at Harold. "Can we leave the fairy palace now?" she asked.


    Letitia looked nervous at Lavender''s question.


    In the past ten years, they had lost contact with Zen again, and they had become worried.


    They had been apart from Zen in the past, but this time, things seemed different. He had disappeared almost suddenly the moment he had met his mother.


    On the other hand, the information that Harold had collected through different channels, had made them even more worried.


    "Why are you in such a hurry?" Augustus chuckled.


    Harold nodded along and said, "The divine land is too vast. It will be impossible for you to find him if you go out now. You will also encounter a lot of danger if you go outside."


    "But we can''t just stay here doing nothing," Letitia said, frowning.


    "Perhaps the best thing that we can do is wait patiently," Harold sighed. He had never thought that taking Zen to the Han Clan''s ancestral land would attract the attention of the Holy Beings and cause such a predicament.

 Chapter 2686 Enthusiastic

    Lavender and Letitia looked at each other silently. Both of them were feeling a bit disappointed.


    Neither of the girls were unreasonable people. They hadn''t been to the divine land yet, but had a good general understanding of the place.


    Since they had just recently become low-rank True Gods, it was still difficult for them to move around in a large region, not to mention to search for Zen in the divine land.


    Right then, an indifferent voice said, "I don''t care how long you''re going to wait! I''m leaving today! With or without you!"


    Margaret, dressed in blue, walked straight out of a door.


    Joy followed closely behind Margaret. A helpless expression was etched on her delicate face.


    In the past few years, Margaret had gradually become a mid-rank True God, and the process went off without a hitch.


    Joy had tried her best to cultivate Margaret, very amazed with her great talent.


    As the Purple Soul Hall''s founder, Joy recruited plenty of women who possessed the Purple Power Bodies. However, in all her time, she had never met such a talented disciple.


    Of course, Zen was an exception among them all. He was different from other people.


    In Joy''s eyes, Margaret was like a piece of jade that Mike had carefully prepared for her. It had also been very interesting for Joy to train Margaret in the fairy palace over the past few years.


    She even believed that it wouldn''t be long before Margaret became a consummate True God. Joy had so much faith in Margaret that she thought she might even become a Demi-holy Being in the future.


    The only problem was that Margaret was extremely willful. Thus, Joy had to spend most of her time calming Margaret down.


    Swish!


    Augustus took a step forward and stood in front of Margaret. His shadow completely covered her.


    He was tall, with a wicked smile on his face. "No one is stopping you. The fairy palace''s gate is open. You can go anywhere you want!"


    Margaret looked up at Augustus and met his glare, her eyes fuming with rage.


    After having stayed in the fairy palace for a short period of time, she began to regret it. She was always clamoring to leave to find Zen.


    It only happened once in the past that Augustus really allowed her to leave the fairy palace.


    Despite that, she still couldn''t find her way out of the large Swirl Forest.


    The huge trees, tall grasses, streams, and rivers seemed to have grown their own feet. They changed positions at any given moment. From time to time, fierce gia


    im one day.


    That said, it seemed that he had no reason to be worried from now on.


    Zen had become a consummate True God over the last ten years, and he hadn''t just surpassed Augustus.


    No one else could ever make that kind of progress, especially not that fast, during so many divine eras.


    When Harold, Hallet and Joy noticed Zen''s cultivation base, they were also surprised. Their jaws dropped in awe.


    According to their conjecture, it wouldn''t be easy for Zen to become a consummate True God. It was possible that he could succeed in a few hundred years or even a thousand years, while to the divine land, such a period of time was considered short.


    Where could Zen have been in the past ten years?


    If the rumors spreading from the Floating Islands were true, Zen had no chances of survival.


    Although Harold didn''t say anything, he had suspected once before that Zen might have died under the Han Clan''s ancestral land.


    For this reason, he had already secretly searched for one of Zen''s substitutes, Nathan.


    Without a doubt, they had many questions in their minds, but since Margaret was hugging Zen like there was no one else around, it was improper for them to be disturbed right then.


    Zen felt Margaret, who he held tightly in his arms, tremble slightly. He could sense that she was truly excited...


    Compared to Letitia''s reserved character and Lavender''s absolute sincerity, Margaret''s straightforward manner came off as much more enthusiastic.


    It was also her fanatic temperament that made her so adorable, in his opinion. Zen couldn''t push her away, but only wrap his arms around her and hold her even tighter instead.

 Chapter 2687 A Good Talk

    Ever since Zen disappeared, his wives were helplessly quite worried about him.


    Seeing him return unharmed, they felt describable relief and could finally put their minds at rest.


    "I finally reached the divine land, but you didn''t wait for me in the fairy palace. I was devastated," Margaret blamed in a hurt tone, burying herself in Zen''s arms.


    Zen smiled. "But I''m back now, right?" he coaxed.


    "Yes." Margaret nodded obediently. She suddenly raised her head and looked warily at Letitia and Lavender who were standing not too far away. "Listen, they came to the divine land earlier than me so they were able to spend more time with you in the past. As compensation, you''ll have to accompany me for the next few days."


    A bitter smile spread on Zen''s face. Margaret was probably the only one who could pull off saying such capricious words.


    Although Margaret was speaking in a low voice, Letitia and Lavender could still hear her pretty clearly.


    Letitia frowned and was about to talk back in retaliation. Lavender, who was beside her, held her arm and shook her head in negation.


    What Lavender hoped for was very simple. As long as Zen could safely return back to her, then everything would be fine. She didn''t need to be jealous of Margaret over such a small, meaningless matter.


    Harold and the others patiently waited for Zen to come to them, even though they had several important subjects to discuss with him.


    The first five minutes ticked by.


    Five minutes turned into ten.


    Before long, an hour had passed.


    An awkward atmosphere unwittingly broke out in the fairy palace. Letitia had been stopped by Lavender, and thus, she could only resentfully criticize Margaret in her heart for not being reasonable instead.


    Augustus simply couldn''t wait anymore.


    In a flash, he had already arrived at Zen''s side. "Hey, Margaret, this isn''t the time for you to be all gooey over Zen! We''ve got business to take care of."


    "That doesn''t concern you!"


    A moment ago, Margaret had resembled a docile lamb, but now her voice was cold as she glared at Augustus with resentful eyes, as if she wanted to kill him.


    "You''re not the only one who Zen has. He also has me, Hallet, Joy, his sister, as well as his son. You can''t take up all of his time," Augustus said in a matter-of-fact tone.


    Margaret raised her nose and said proudly, "I''m his wife! My time spent with him is perfectly justified!"


    "But you are not his only


    bout what was outside the divine land in any way, but the consummate True Gods present had probably known about the chaotic world outside the divine land. After all, there were a few records about the chaos in the fairy palace''s library, which had all been left by Bromley.


    However, Zen shook his head. "The bottom of the chaos isn''t desolate. There are living creatures there, and many of them are strong warriors," he mentioned.


    "Huh? There are people at the bottom of the chaos? Do you know if they''re extraordinary creatures?" With what he''d just heard, even Harold, who was usually quite composed, was rather surprised.


    Hallet, who had been nothing more than a silent spectator until now, suddenly raised his brows. "There''s a world at the bottom?" he asked in awe.


    "That''s right." Zen blinked. "It is a prison. There are many exiles inside the prison, and they are all from the Source World."


    "What kind of place is the Source World?" Augustus asked curiously.


    Hallet and Harold looked at one another, and then Harold said, "It''s said that the Source World is the chaos'' center. Since the exiles are locked up in the prison there, they are very powerful, aren''t they?"


    "Yes, they''re all strong warriors at the Other Shore Realm." Zen nodded in agreement.


    Disbelief registered in everyone''s eyes, including Joy''s.


    At the same time, a sense of crisis dawned over the group.


    The Yellow Emperor Guards who they were fighting against were at the Other Shore Realm. They didn''t know if the exiles were friends or foes. If the exiles also had to get involved, the situation would become even more problematic.

 Chapter 2688 Anger

    Harold focused his gaze at Zen, and asked, "Are all these strong warriors at the Other Shore Realm locked up in this prison?"


    Zen nodded and responded, "But soon, we broke the shackles of the prison so that they could leave."


    "They have left?" Hallet on the side couldn''t stay calm as he asked, "Will they enter the divine land?"


    There was a pause for a few moments. Harold broke the silence and continued, "The key is the standpoint of these strong warriors at the Other Shore Realm."


    Zen smiled faintly. "It was the masters at the Other Shore Realm who sent me back to the divine land this time. They are divided into many factions according to their respective origin. Among them, the Snake Goddess race and the Nine Li race are the most powerful."


    Hallet, Augustus and Joy had no idea what Zen had just disclosed to them.


    They knew little about the Source World. Only Hallet had some knowledge about the existence of the Source World.


    Hearing the two race names from Zen, they were quite unfamiliar with them.


    Just then, Harold suddenly stood up and stared at Zen, his face full of incredulity. "The Snake Goddess race and the Nine Li race? Do the people of the Nine Li race know your blood?"


    Zen nodded in response. "In order to join the Nine Li race, I had my blood tested in that world."


    "What was their attitude?"


    Upon hearing Zen''s words, Harold had now fixated his eyes full of excitement at him, breaking his usually composed self.


    Harold''s reaction and expression had made Augustus'' jaw drop. He had never seen him so excited before. He remembered that even when he took over the Swirl Forest, Harold still showed a calm appearance. This moment was a bit unexpected.


    "They helped me a lot," Zen added.


    With a sudden sigh of relief, Harold asked with uncontrollable joy, "Where are they now? How many of them are there?"


    "Coupled with the members of the Snake Goddess race, I think there are thirteen of them. Originally, they planned to return to the divine land with me, but now there has been a problem. They are blocked outside the divine land, so they can''t come in," Zen responded.


    "They can''t come in?" Harold was a little stunned. He didn''t expect that the situation would be like this.


    Zen gave a nod and continued, "Back then, Chiyou had spent a lot of effort in building up this divine land in order to protect his people. Even the top figures at the Other Shore Realm


    rong he is, can he be stronger than all of you?" Nicholas mocked, showing a look of disappointment.


    Zen was, of course, their very important target. If others knew about their failure, they would certainly be laughed at.


    The others would think that the so-called powerful clans were all completely jokes.


    "Holy Nicholas, with all due respect," Rachelle cupped her hands and respectfully intercepted, "if the space was not sealed, we might catch him. But since the space was sealed, we couldn''t use the Grand Teleportation technique. Even the Demi-holy Beings couldn''t be sure of success."


    "Rachelle! You don''t have the right to speak!" Murphy right then scolded Rachelle. Of course, he didn''t want her to bear Nicholas'' anger.


    However, Rachelle was obstinate. She resolutely rebutted, "What I said is true!"


    Unexpectedly, Nicholas had suppressed his anger. "It has only been ten years. Has Zen really reached such a level?"


    Troy cupped his hands and said, "It is indeed out of our expectation. I don''t know where he learned the skills. He turned into a giant that was tens of thousands of feet tall. I tried my best to unleash the Indestructible Metal Hand, but the power was actually less than half of his."


    Hearing Troy''s experience of encounter with Zen, the Holy Beings present showed surprise on their faces.


    They were very clear about his strength, and they had also met Zen before. At that time, he was just a low-rank True God, inexperienced and still very young.


    It was really beyond their expectation. It was just ten years but they couldn''t understand how Zen had become so powerful.

 Chapter 2689 Accepting The Task

    Some of the best resources in the divine land were present at the Floating Islands.


    Through the forbidden areas'' entrances on the Floating Islands, all sorts of resources were continuously sent to the divine land.


    Hence it was no surprise, that over the years, whenever it came to the talents of the divine land, everyone had their eyes fixed on the Floating Islands.


    "So far Mike has been doing really good. I wonder if he has any more tricks up his sleeves," Jeremiah commented.


    "What is the use? He is already dead. No matter how powerful he is, it''s useless to use any trump card now," Murphy said indifferently.


    While the Holy Beings were busy in heated discussions, Troy said, "There is something strange that needs to be reported!"


    "Go ahead," said Nicholas calmly, nodding in agreement.


    "Although Zen''s physical body was powerful, we still stood a chance to capture him. We could apply the Grand Teleportation technique, provided the space in the region was not blocked."


    Nicholas was confused with Troy''s words. He merely smiled and said, "You are blaming me for sealing off the regions?"


    Earlier Nicholas had wasted the divine might coins, in order to write the rule on the Ruling Slate. This was done so that the target could not escape.


    However, the consummate True Gods were also restrained by this rule. This shocked everyone.


    "Of course not." Troy shook his head and added, "The space in the Snake Spirit Region wasn''t blocked. My plan was to use the Topsoil Bell to lock Zen, thereby allowing everyone to fight together. By then, everyone could freely employ the Grand Teleportation technique except Zen. However, I was about to enter the Snake Spirit Region, when Zen attacked me suddenly. After stepping into the Snake Spirit Region, he ran away!"


    "You mean to say that Zen saw through your scheme?" asked Nicholas.


    Troy shook his head, "It''s impossible that he identified my plan. He definitely was not aware that I had the possession of Topsoil Bell. Moreover, I informed others about my scheme through the life vitality, so there was no way he could hear anything."


    Nicholas''s eyes narrowed as he said, "So you mean someone informed him of your plan and that''s how he successfully escaped!"


    "Exactly! There is a spy among us!" Troy nodded and looked towards Rocher who was not far away.


    Everyone followed his gaze and stared at Rocher. It was very


    at are you afraid of?"


    "Master Hamish." Several Holy Beings such as Nicholas and Murphy exclaimed his name with reverence and bowed to the thin old man.


    "Is he the famous Master Hamish?"


    Abelard and the other several Holy Beings also cupped their hands and bowed.


    The Holy Beings of the union of the powerful clans on the Floating Islands had heard stories about Hamish, but very few had seen him.


    "You still haven''t realized the gravity of our situation. Since they sent Zen back, they will definitely try and find other means to enter the divine land. In the past, we were unable to destroy the outer wall of the divine land, so they will face similar difficulty. However, sooner or later, they will try to break through the barrier. Back then, we spent twenty years on such a thing. If they manage to enter, how do you plan to fight against them?" Hamish asked earnestly.


    Hearing Hamish explain, the Holy Beings looked very tense.


    If even Hamish, who was an Other Shore Realm warrior, was afraid of the people from the foreign land, then the Holy Beings had no chance of not fearing at all.


    Just as all the Holy Beings were silent, Hamlin, the Holy Being of the Zhao Clan said, "Well, I can give it a try! Let me go this time."


    The Zhao Clan had just joined the elite clans on the Floating Islands. With Nicholas'' help, the clan''s Floating Island was flourishing, but its foundation was still unstable. Thus the members of the Zhao Clan needed to do something to prove their capability to Nicholas.


    Seeing that no one was willing to accept the task, Hamlin had to give a shot.

 Chapter 2690 Drill

    Hamlin volunteered to go, surprising Nicholas quite a bit.


    The other Holy Beings heaved a sigh of relief.


    With their universes, Holy beings could not really be killed. But there were always unprecedented factors that led to accidents.


    When Nicholas led people to chase after Lorena, some of the Holy Beings fell into the Lethal Fire Magma and perished. Lorena had somehow cut off the Holy Beings'' connection to the universes for the time being, meaning that their deaths were absolute without any chance of them being reborn again.


    Now, the people they were to face were those from the outer world. No one knew what sort of theurgy they had.


    Going ahead meant taking great risks.


    "If you''re willing to go, that''s good. I swear to ensure the safety of your universe!"Nicholas said in a serious tone. Because Nicholas had promised to ensure Hamlin''s universe''s safety, that meant securing Hamlin''s very life, as well as the position of the Zhao Clan above the Time Sea.


    Hamlin smiled at that. "Holy Nicholas'' words always count. I have no more worries!"


    "The sooner we go, the better. Let''s set off now," Hamish said flatly.


    In spite of his calm demeanor, Hamish could feel the anxiety in his heart.


    As a powerful master at the Other Shore Realm, Hamish had always believed that the Yellow Emperor Guards had full control of the overall situation.


    So long as the Mixed Element Seal was removed, it meant the freedom of his many fellowmen¡ªit wouldn''t be long until they could take down the divine land.


    But when he suddenly heard of the arrival of someone from the outside world, an ominous sense of foreboding filled his mind.


    He was eager to confirm the people''s strength and stand, so he needed to see for himself.


    "The space channel they built has penetrated my Murphy Universe. I think they should be at the very top. Hamlin, you can reach there through my Murphy Universe. If you don''t mind. I''ll create a space channel first. Hamlin, Nicholas, and Master Hamish, follow me," Murphy suggested.


    A universe could only accommodate three True Gods simultaneously. Such was the number Nicholas had set after modifying the r


    At the center of this colorful ring were high-speed spinning space waves¡ªthey formed an enormous spatial spiral, constantly drilling into the restriction barrier in space.


    She had held this position for a long time.


    Timotheus, Ramzi, Leopold, and the female warriors of the Snake Goddess race remained sitting cross-legged with their eyes shut.


    Breaking through the restriction barrier was undoubtedly a time and energy-consuming act¡ªthey were prepared for the long haul.


    "Master, you''ve been holding on for over half a month. We can take over," said a Snake Goddess warrior at the Other Shore Realm.


    Emily only smiled faintly in return. "This is nothing. I will feel nothing even after doing this for a year or so."


    "But we also..." The warrior trailed off, a strange look appearing on her expression.


    Simultaneously, Timotheus, Ramzi, and Leopold opened their eyes.


    They felt a faint wisp of spiritual sense spread over them.


    "Who is spying on us?" Leopold said, knitting his brows.


    "It''s merely a consummate True God¡­ No¡­ this person is stronger than ordinary consummate True Gods," Timotheus added.


    "Hmph. No matter who it is, we''ll find out after I catch the person. Cecelia, take my place and continue working!" Emily sneered and disappeared from where she stood.


    Cecelia, the powerful warrior at the Other Shore Realm, then replaced Emily and continued drilling into the restriction barrier below.

 Chapter 2691 A Conversation

    Emily knew her current ability. It was just a piece of cake for her to find the target following the spiritual sense.


    The moment she disappeared, she had already identified where the spiritual sense came from.


    Meanwhile, Hamlin had discovered Emily and the others outside the divine land along his spiritual sense.


    After locating their presence, he felt a wave of space above his head.


    "Buzz!"


    "What a quick response." Hamlin was absolutely shocked.


    Emily suddenly appeared as she stood upright in midair. She looked down at Hamlin, and sneered, "You are a so-called Holy Being, right?"


    She was obviously not being haughty towards him.


    But the aura emanated from her body still made Hamlin under a lot of pressure.


    He felt that the pressure was much stronger than that of Hamish.


    Ordinary True Gods would simply think Emily was extraordinary, but Hamlin, as a Holy Being, was keenly aware that he couldn''t afford to offend her.


    "My name is Hamlin Zhao," he respectfully introduced himself. Both his hands were cupped, making him look rather humble.


    He kept telling himself in his heart not to annoy the woman in front of him.


    Emily glanced at him coldly. With a flick of her finger, a colorful ring enveloped Hamlin.


    "Swoosh!"


    Hamlin felt that the space around him was locked, as he was dragged into a space channel.


    Meanwhile, inside the green star at the top of the Murphy Universe, Hamlin''s companions had sensed something different.


    Nicholas and Murphy looked extremely cautious. Through their souls on Hamlin, they sensed Emily''s action.


    "Master Hamish, do you know this woman?" Nicholas asked.


    Both of them felt the same aura since their souls had been attached to Hamlin. The pressure given by Emily was too much!


    "I don''t know her," Hamish uttered, shaking his head. At this situation, he also felt very cautious. He, who was known to be an expert at the Other Shore Realm, felt burdened. "But this woman is very powerful."


    The faces of Nicholas and Murphy immediately darkened as soon as they heard Hamish''s


    erful warriors at the Other Shore Realm to help him."


    Nicholas sighed as he took a deep breath.


    Rachelle, at the time in the Time Sea Forbidden Land, had the chance to kill Zen. However, he had personally ordered Troy to stop her.


    He had never expected that his own order would bring such a huge hidden trouble. It was truly incredible.


    Hamish thought for a moment. He continued to control his soul, and made an offer. "We can give all that Zen can give to you, including the entire divine land. What do you think?"


    The divine land contained Chiyou''s painstaking efforts, and its own value was extraordinary.


    The exiles at the bottom of the chaos had also made countless plans to lay their hands on the divine land. Because of Emily, they could only give up on this idea.


    "Give me the divine land?" Emily was slightly stunned, and then looked at Timotheus with a meaningful smile.


    Timotheus, Ramzi, Leopold of the Nine Li race burst into laughter. Their laughter gave Hamlin the creeps and made the three figures back in the Murphy Universe feel guilty.


    Timotheus stood up. In the face of Hamish''s soul, his eyes were filled with killing intent. He rebuked, "You''re just an unknown Yellow Emperor Guard. How dare you hand over the divine land? Do you think that the divine land belongs to you as you live in it? Do you even know who built the divine land?"

 Chapter 2692 Emilys Confidence

    The Other Shore Realm was a cultivation realm, and it especially referred to the creatures that had stepped onto the Other Shore.


    The strength of two Other Shore Realm warriors could be quite different.


    Being a Yellow Emperor Guard, Hamish was considered a powerful person in the Source World.


    But in Timotheus''s and Emily''s eyes, his ability was nothing.


    Hamish felt strange about Timotheus'' words¡ªhe stared at him and asked, "What do you mean?"


    Emily smiled faintly and answered on Timotheus'' behalf, "Chiyou built the divine land, and Timotheus, a member of the Nine Li race, is a five-star Nine Li Guard. Don''t you find it too naive to think you can trade with the divine land?"


    The words changed the faces of Hamish, Nicholas, and Murphy dramatically.


    They didn''t know how Zen managed to invite these mighty warriors.


    Because they couldn''t deal with the warriors, they intended to instead sacrifice their interest in the divine land to bribe them.


    It was a last resort, but much to their surprise, the old man before them was a member of the Nine Li race and a Nine Li Guard.


    Timotheus'' face was solemn as he said in a deeply stern voice, "The divine land belongs to my clan. If you are smart enough to leave quickly, I will let you go without killing you."


    Now, Timotheus and Emily had fully expressed their stands¡ªthere was no room to maneuver.


    The wisps of souls of Murphy, Hamish, and Nicholas grew silent.


    Even Hamlin felt dejected at the moment. It seemed that the people there were truly hostile and he feared for his own survival.


    "What if we don''t leave?" Hamish asked.


    A glint flashed in Timotheus'' eyes before he shook his burly body and picked up Hamlin into the air.


    An irresistible force then enveloped Hamlin, containing immense power from the Other Shore Realm.


    Having been bound by Emily, there was no way for Hamlin to resist Timotheus'' attack.


    "Crack, crack, crack..."


    Hamlin could feel the irresistible force pouring


    n lake as he silently circulated the Truth of Cultivation Nature.


    The internal momentum in his inner world collided fiercely.


    Such was the greatest trouble brought by Ways-blending Energy.


    It was no easy feat blending hundreds of Godly Ways perfectly.


    Once one of the Godly Ways had changed, the original Ways-blending Energy became extremely unstable. One could imagine what a disaster would come about if unstable Ways-blending Energy burst in the inner world.


    This time, however, Zen needed to integrate all the Ways-blending Energy once more after reaching the consummation of True God Realm.


    "It''s too troublesome. Each time you absorb one Godly Way, you need to integrate this again. It''s too inefficient¡ªit won''t do you any good even after you merge all of them in the end. To achieve the Godly Ways Great Unity is merely wishful thinking." No. 9527 conveyed its consciousness to Zen''s mind. It had long despised the Ways-blending Energy.


    "It remains important to me at this stage," Zen simply replied.


    The power of mixing Ways-blending Energy and the Emotion Closing Godly way was not to be underestimated. In fact, it was enough to act as his trump card. All that mattered was that he believed his father''s arrangement must have some sort of hidden meaning, so he had no intention of giving up.

 Chapter 2693 Got Together

    As Zen began to recite the Truth of Cultivation by heart, he allowed himself to be completely immersed in a natural state, both his body and soul extremely relaxed.


    "Drip! Drip!"


    He was so at ease that he could hear the sound of dew rolling off the leaves, the buzzing of the mosquitoes and flies, and the noise the grass made when it was swaying in the wind.


    At the same time when he merged the Godly Ways, he had also made slight progress in the Truth of Cultivation Nature.


    Zen had grasped ninety-nine percent of the Truth of Cultivation Nature before. If he could break through the last obstacle, then he could begin to cross the Sea of Truth.


    The problem was, such an obstacle wasn''t that easy to surpass. In fact, he had not yet succeeded since he left the divine land.


    After an entire day¡­


    A surge of extremely powerful energy emerged in the center of the green lake.


    The energy waves continued to spread, causing the once calm lake to tremble and roll like boiling water.


    Sensing that kind of change in the atmosphere, the creatures that surrounded the lake scattered in different directions.


    "Buzz!"


    As Zen gently flipped his hands, a ball of extremely thick energy slowly discharged from his cinnabar field.


    The moment he drew out the ball of energy, the lake under his body sank.


    "I have succeeded in merging the internal momentum again!" Zen exclaimed with a joyful look on his face.


    After all, Zen had merged it once before. Compared to his previous experience, he felt that the difficulty in merging all kinds of internal momentum in his body had been greatly reduced.


    Now that Zen had stepped into the consummation of True God Realm, the internal momentum released from the Godly Tile was purer and the Ways-blending Energy was more powerful.


    "The Truth of Cultivation Nature has reached a new level as well. With just one more step, the Truth of Godly Way would reach the consummate level. I wonder how it feels like to cross the Sea of Truth," Zen muttered.


    Just as Zen descended deep in thought, a water arrow suddenly sprung out from the lake under Zen, directly charging towards him.


    "Phew!"


    The water arrow moved extremely fast. At that moment, Zen was still circulating the Truth of Cultivation Nature, and he only slightly turned his head to the direction where the water arrow


    ey, Freya, and Imogen.


    When they heard that Zen had returned, they came out of the training tower.


    In the fairy palace, Geoffrey stood in the hall dressed in a long pale purple robe, with a precious belt tied around his waist.


    He had definitely matured.


    He had a slight resemblance to Zen, but his temperament was softer. With smart eyes, Geoffrey looked at Zen.


    "Geoffrey!"


    Over the years, they seldom got together. Zen felt a little guilty about that.


    Every time they reunited, he was always thrilled to see how his son had grown, which was always a surprise.


    Back then, Geoffrey begged for a chance to wander around the divine land. After only ten years, he had followed Letitia''s and Lavender''s improvement and had already become a proving godly warrior.


    Zen thought that it wasn''t going to be long before Geoffrey could become a low-rank True God, especially with the guidance of consummate True Gods and a Demi-holy Being in the fairy palace, apart from his own extraordinary talent.


    If Harold could help him change his blood, then he should be able to step into the divine land without needing the protection of the fairy palace.


    "Daddy, how I''ve missed you after all these years! Do you miss me?" Geoffrey asked as he blinked his eyes. There was a hint of sadness in them.


    Hearing his son''s words, Zen even felt more guilty in his heart. He replied, "Of course, I do!"


    "Have you brought home a gift for me this time?" Geoffrey chuckled. The sadness in his eyes went away and was soon replaced by a cunning and greedy look.

 Chapter 2694 Stone Mouse

    Fiery anger burned in Letitia''s eyes as she glared at Geoffrey and scolded, "Geoffrey, I''ve told you countless times! You can''t be impolite to others, most especially your father!"


    "Well, since he''s my father and he hasn''t seen me in a long time, then he should give me a gift," Geoffrey retorted with a smile.


    His face twisted into a serious expression for about nine seconds, before it lapsed into a lazy grimace.


    "That''s right. A father is always generous to his son. Zen''s harvest was definitely abundant this time, so he must have something good to give his little man," a voice suddenly interjected. There in the distance was Augustus, who walked forward and winked at Geoffrey.


    However, a frown stretched upon Letitia''s lips. "Gus, don''t mess around!" she said in annoyance.


    Over the years, Augustus and Geoffrey had gotten on well with each other.


    Augustus, however, wasn''t as smart as Geoffrey, as the latter had taken many of his treasures by using various tricks.


    One of those treasures was even handed down from Bromley. That treasure was extremely important to Augustus, but Geoffrey had taken it away.


    When Hallet knew about the issue, he reprimanded Augustus and took the treasure back from Geoffrey.


    That incident was still embedded in Augustus'' mind, and it made him immensely upset. Yet just now, he helped Geoffrey ask Zen for a gift!


    "Geoffrey is picky. He doesn''t like common things, so Zen, you can''t give him something ordinary," he added.


    "Father, don''t listen to Uncle Augustus'' nonsense. I''ll accept whatever you will give me," Geoffrey shot back with another smile.


    Although he said so, everybody understood what he meant.


    Letitia couldn''t help but sigh at his words.


    On the other hand, Zen didn''t mind as he knew very well what Geoffrey was like. "Indeed, I shouldn''t be so stingy," he answered with a grin.


    Once he was done speaking, he pointed with his finger, and his space ring glowed faintly. Moments later, a golden snake swam out of it.


    Meanwhile, the other people in the hall watched as Geoffrey asked his father for a gift, curious about what Zen would take out.


    As soon as


    to death after it swallowed the chaotic energy in Zen''s inner world.


    According to Master Evil, this one-of-a-kind true spirit once helped a True God to become a Holy Being and could be reincarnated. With the help of the mouse corpse, one could find the reincarnation of the Stone Mouse. The Stone Mouse was valuable, even if it was dead.


    Then again, Zen had gotten many divine might coins later on, so he hadn''t sold the mouse corpse.


    What he didn''t expect was that the mouse corpse had some changes today. It meant that the new Stone Mouse was just born somewhere in the divine land.


    With that thought, he awakened Master Evil deep in his mind.


    "What''s wrong, Zen? Have you found a body for me?"


    Master Evil had been sealed for a long time, so he was still in a daze after he woke up.


    "No," Zen replied. It was true that he did not have a chance to find a body suitable for Master Evil at the bottom of the chaos over the years. "But there is something strange about the mouse corpse," he continued.


    "That Stone Mouse? Has it been reincarnated?" Master Evil was slightly stunned, and his eyes were immediately filled with excitement.


    Zen nodded in response. Then, he raised his hand, and the grey Stone Mouse''s corpse fell out of the space ring.


    Opposite of him were Augustus and Geoffrey, the former still pleading for the golden snake. When he saw the mouse corpse, however, he asked, "Zen, what''s that?"

 Chapter 2695 Gregorio Yue

    Joy looked at the mouse corpse closely. It looked familiar but she couldn''t quite remember where she had seen it.


    Meanwhile, Zen had no intention to directly answer Augustus''s question, but instead, he threw him a question of his own. "Gus, do you still have some puppets? The ones that can transform?"


    He was considering giving Master Evil a puppet he could use for the meantime.


    It would be impossible to cultivate with a puppet''s body but the puppet made by Augustus would no doubt be powerful since he inherited his skills from Bromley.


    Zen''s question stunned Augustus. "What kind of puppet do you want? Do you want to use it to become a mouse or a snake?"


    "I want it to become a human being!" Zen answered, his voice tinged with impatience.


    Instead of clarifying things, Zen''s answer simply confused Augustus even more. "Are you going to use it yourself?" he asked. He had a number of puppets but it wouldn''t be of much use to Zen given his current strength.


    "A friend, a mid-rank True God, will use it. He has lost his body and is just in his soul form right now," Zen explained.


    "I see. Alright, I got it," he answered.


    After a short while, a human-shaped puppet appeared in the middle of the hall.


    The puppet was about ten feet high and looked very powerful. It had eight swords in its back and was covered from its neck down to its arms with countless traps and arrays.


    Zen quickly scanned the puppet from head to toe and sensed several strands of internal momentum emanating from it.


    "This is my masterpiece. It''s strong enough to help defeat a top-rank True God and fast enough to run away from a consummate True God," Augustus said, beaming with pride at his work.


    "It kinda looks a bit weird. Don''t you have any that looks more normal? It would be better if the puppet looks as normal as Saul," Zen said.


    Saul''s body looked very real, having been made by Bromley''s skilled hands.


    Zen''s request had Augustus rolling his eyes. He stretched out his hands and patted the puppet lightly.


    The puppet then began to morph. Its ten-foot-tall body shrank until it was as tall as a normal person.


    Its traps and arrays were also now skillfully hidden.


    "Is this enough?" Augu


    man.


    "You have just been released by Zen, right? Why was your physical body destroyed?" Augustus asked curiously.


    "Well, this matter has something to do with the Stone Mouse," Master Evil said, staring at the Stone Mouse''s corpse on the ground.


    "Stone Mouse? You mean this mouse?!"


    Joy exclaimed in shock. She was still trying to figure out the mouse corpse''s origin when she heard what Master Evil said.


    She finally got an idea when she heard the name Master Evil used to call the mouse.


    Even Augustus was shocked and his gaze wandered onto the dead mouse.


    "Joy, have you heard of the story of the Stone Mouse?" Zen asked.


    Joy nodded. "It''s a one-of-a-kind true spirit, very famous. I have heard of it. In the past, Gregorio Yue of the Yue Clan became a Holy Being with the help of this Stone Mouse. It is said that this mouse keeps the secret of reincarnation of the entire divine land."


    Zen''s eyebrows rose. "The secret of the reincarnation?"


    Back in the universe, he heard of something related to reincarnation. Some living beings were able to experience rebirth and carry the memories of their previous lives.


    However, none of these legends had ever been confirmed.


    "The Stone Mouse was very famous in the past. It kept Holy Gregorio company all the time and was said to be even more powerful than a Holy Being. The Yue Clan was also very powerful since it was the only great clan that was qualified to compete with Nicholas," Joy told them.

 Chapter 2696 The Evil Ghost Region

    Doubt was written all over Zen''s face. "The powerful Yue Clan?


    I''ve never heard of the Yue Clan in the Time Sea," he said.


    He had come to know a lot about the history of the powerful clans back when he had been in the Floating Island.


    During his time there, he had never heard of the Yue Clan. He felt unfamiliar when he first heard the name.


    "Because Nicholas killed them," Harold interjected as he pushed the door open, his eyes transfixed on the mouse''s corpse. "Most of the younger generation from the powerful clans don''t know about the glory of the Yue Clan in the past, or a man named Gregorio Yue."


    Beside Zen, Joy nodded and said, "Right. At that time, Gregorio was powerful enough to challenge Nicholas. Later on, Nicholas was forced to fight him, and subsequently destroyed his universe. After he was killed, his clan''s Floating Island sank into the Time Sea. Since then, Nicholas has made a rule that whoever is surnamed Yue is not allowed to enter the Time Sea, which is why there are no True Gods with the surname Yue among the powerful clans."


    Naturally, Zen was shocked but he asked, "Nicholas is such an arrogant man. Was he actually so afraid of a surname? He''s made a mountain out of a molehill."


    All the clans had very few Holy Beings even when trillions of years had passed. Why was Nicholas afraid that the Yue Clan would have another Holy Being? Such a thing was almost impossible.


    "Perhaps he was making a mountain out of a molehill, but perhaps he was not," said Harold with a faint smile, and then added, "Because there is a rumor that Gregorio hasn''t died."


    "I''ve heard about that rumor too," Joy said and nodded as well.


    "Isn''t that strange? Last time I checked, the Holy Beings will die once their universes are destroyed," Zen said in surprise.


    The reason why Holy Beings were able to stay alive was that they relied on their universes. Since Gregorio''s universe had been destroyed, how could he survive?


    "Generally speaking, it''s true but Gregorio''s case is somewhat different. His spiritual beast is the unique Stone Mouse in the divine land, which has died many times and has been reborn many times," said Harold with a grin.


    Zen''s brows slightly shot upwards as he asked, "So you think that Gregorio has been reborn, just like the Stone Mouse?"


    "Well¡­ Yes," Harold answered.


    Truth be told, they didn''t live i


    re. The last time he left, there had been no news of him for ten years. She was afraid that one day, he would really disappear.


    "The powerful clans can''t enter the Soul Wilderness, the Everest Spirit Mountain, and the Swirl Forest right now, so they''ll probably go to the Abyss Demon Region." Joy fretted as well.


    "I think Zen can make a trip to the Evil Ghost Region," Harold opined with a small smile and then continued, "He would have no problems protecting himself with his current strength. Moreover, although it is adjacent to the Abyss Demon Region, its entrance is in the Red Lotus Region, which is very far away from the Evil Ghost Region."


    There was usually only one entrance to each forbidden land.


    There was no way to enter the Abyss Demon Region from the Evil Ghost Region, and the transmission arrays of the powerful clans on the Floating Islands were also connected to the entrance of the Red Lotus Region.


    Besides, Zen had the mountain token in his hand. Even if the opponent found any trace of him, he would be able to return to the fairy palace immediately by using the mountain token.


    When Letitia heard that Harold was in favor of Zen going to the Evil Ghost Region, she could only lower her head and fidget with the hem of her clothes. Her eyes were filled with loneliness.


    Now, she was no longer the mighty leader of the Cloud Hall that she used to be. She had already fallen too far behind Zen. She couldn''t stand the comparisons with him anymore.


    Most of the time, she could only choose to be silent in order to avoid being a hindrance to him.

 Chapter 2697 Yellow Emperor Magatama

    In the northern side of the divine land...


    After passing through the Dark Rise Mountain and crossing the north boundary, one would reach the North Star Region.


    Once a very prosperous and big region, the North Star Region produced many strong warriors. It was a place with many outstanding talents.


    But in the recent several divine eras, it had become a dead zone.


    The death aura emitted by the Lofty Tree killed all the living beings in the North Star Region. Due to its lack of use and maintenance, it slowly collapsed.


    In the midst of the surging death aura, Hamish quietly descended.


    As soon as he landed, the death aura gathered from all directions like a hyena that just found its meal.


    "Hmph!"


    Suddenly, Hamish''s body shook slightly, and an invisible force spread out from his body. The deathly aura that had gathered together then began to disperse.


    He then looked into the distance. The Lofty Tree, which was as high as three hundred and thirty thousand miles was partly visible from where he stood.


    After locating the tree''s position, Hamish activated the Grand Teleportation and moved towards it.


    After a while¡­


    Hamish appeared on the biggest branch right at the center of the Lofty Tree.


    Countless dark red silk threads spread throughout that branch and wrapped four giant crimson spheres.


    Inside each sphere was a faint shadow of a person.


    "Hamish, has something happened in the divine land recently?" a cold voice from one of the spheres said.


    Hamish gently cupped his hands towards each sphere and replied, "This time, we are certainly in trouble."


    "Trouble? That Harper has been cursed and is trapped in the Sunset Tree. That woman named Lorena is on the verge of dying. She only has a head left. What kind of trouble can''t you solve in the divine land?" A daunting voice came from another sphere.


    "Yes, you''re the only Other Shore Realm warrior left in this vast divine land. You manage the entire divine land by yourself. And still, you caused us trouble? You''re such a waste!" A scornful speech was heard from another sphere.


    The red spheres were the Mixed Element Seals that Harper had cast.


    All the Mixed Element Seals relied on the Lofty Tree. They needed the life force they got from the tree to maintain the spell of the seals.


    Therefore, the Mixed Ele


    l of the Abyss Demon Region¡­ Do those Holy Beings have the confidence to accomplish this task?" asked Leyton Pang.


    Hamish thought for a while before he answered, "Right now, Nicholas has almost ruled the Time Sea. With so many Holy Beings doing the job together, the chances of success are high."


    Zavier Pu heaved a deep sigh and said, "Even if the seals are removed, I''m afraid that it will not help. We don''t stand a chance against the five-star Nine Li Guard."


    Hearing his words, everyone fell silent, even including Leyton Pang.


    Indeed, even if the Mixed Element Seals were removed, the five Yellow Emperor Guards wouldn''t be able to do anything but escape.


    Even the strongest among them, Leyton Pang, was only a three-star Yellow Emperor Guard. The gap in terms of strength was a stretch.


    After a while, Leyton Pang stated flatly, "We still have a chance."


    "How?" Hamish asked curiously.


    "Use my Yellow Emperor Magatama to turn to chaos for help. We can gather the nearest Yellow Emperor Guards to come and help," he replied.


    A strange expression crept on Hamish''s face upon hearing Leyton Pang''s suggestion.


    The Yellow Emperor Magatama was a necessary token for all of the Yellow Emperor Guards. Through its power, they could summon each other in times of need.


    However, it only usually happened in the Source World.


    Using the Yellow Emperor Magatama to gather the other Yellow Emperor Guards in the vast chaos?


    The possibility of its success was so little that it was practically insignificant in the matter.

 Chapter 2698 The Call

    "Leyton, right now, the divine land has almost hit the bottom. It''s extremely desolate even compared with the chaos," Zavier said with a giggle. "It''s completely meaningless to use the Yellow Emperor Magatama."


    Leyton didn''t take his words and didn''t listen but instead, he said to Hamish, "Do as I say. Don''t miss any chance."


    Hamish was considered to be the weakest among the five Yellow Emperor Guards. The rest had more or less alienated him, but Leyton had always taken good care of him.


    Now that Leyton tasked him something important, he nodded and said, "I will do as you ordered."


    When he was on his trip to the Lofty Tree in the north, some people on the Time Sea had already begun to move.


    Most of the True Gods of the alliance of powerful clans had been exploring the Abyss Demon Region during the past ten years, so they had a further understanding and knowledge about it.


    However, their actions were at the expense of the lives of their peers.


    There were countless talented elites in the powerful clans, but it was a fat price to pay. They would be torn apart by the monsters lurking around the Abyss Demon Region if they weren''t careful enough.


    Many True Gods of humble birth grumbled and were discontented with this current situation.


    In the past, the members of the alliance of powerful clans could freely go to the Everest Spirit Mountain and the Swirl Forest. These two forbidden lands were extremely dangerous, but they could get countless divine might coins while ensuring their safety in the places that they were familiar with.


    But more than ten years ago, Harold appeared. He suddenly came forward and forbade them to go to the Everest Spirit Mountain.


    The worst thing that happened was, just few years ago, the Swirl Forest was sealed.


    The purpose for sealing the Swirl Forest remained a mystery to them. They didn''t even know who had ruled it.


    As a result, they could only go to the Abyss Demon Region, and the risks there were known to increase exponentially.


    Despite the risks, as long as they were careful enough and didn''t enter the second stage of the Abyss Demon Region, they would still get a lot of treasures. After all, the Abyss Demon Region was the biggest forbidden land.


    But now, it was said that even the Abyss Demon Region had also been sealed.


    "Have all the transmission channels leading to the Abyss Demon Region been closed?"


    "Why is the Abyss Demon Region also sealed? Could it be that someone h


    ishment on their faces.


    The two daughters were Laquisha and Aleyna, and the son was Pascal.


    The three of them had followed Alfredo with a stiff, indifferent and blank expression showing on their faces.


    Ten years ago, Pascal, Laquisha and Aleyna had been ranked first or second among their peers in the Arena of Legends.


    Of all the disciples of powerful clans on the Floating Islands, they were considered the most gifted people.


    Reaching the consummation of True God Realm was undeniably not an easy thing to achieve.


    Only a few had made it. Zen was one who had been successful in a span of ten years, which quite surprised other consummate True Gods. And now, there came three consummate True Gods of the Han Clan!


    When was it so easy to cultivate consummate True Gods?


    Samuel cupped one hand in the other and said respectfully, "I''m glad that my daughters and son have made great achievements in martial arts. Now that you are going to conquer the Abyss Demon Region, I''d like to ask for an opportunity. Would you give me this opportunity, Holy Nicholas?"


    Before Nicholas could utter a response, Jeremiah shook his head and said, "I''m afraid we can''t trust you."


    Samuel had planned to unite with the Leng Clan by marriage. He wanted to join the alliance of powerful clans through this way.


    But because of Zen''s appearance, Langston of the Leng Clan had a big conflict with Laquisha. The result was that their marriage was cancelled.


    This time, Langston had just become a top-rank True God, while the two daughters of the Han Clan had reached the consummation of True God Realm. This turn of events had quite upset him.

 Chapter 2699 The Participation Of Samuel

    This time, Nicholas was determined to gain control of the entire Abyss Demon Region. He had already gathered so many Holy Beings and consummate True Gods for this purpose.


    Inviting the Han Clan was already unnecessary considering the clan''s ambiguous attitude and stand in the whole matter.


    Laquisha floated to the front of a high platform and stared at Jeremiah. "Uncle Jeremiah, it was my fault for destroying the engagement, but to be honest, Langston''s talent is too poor and he isn''t really a good match for me!"


    As soon as she finished speaking, she quickly retreated and flew towards the consummate True Gods below. She held onto the arm of one of them and leaned into his shoulder. She looked up at Jeremiah and gave him a smile. "Uncle Jeremiah, don''t you think this consummate True God and I are well-matched?"


    This consummate True God was Cedric Leng and was also Jeremiah''s most excellent son.


    Cedric couldn''t help but freeze when Laquisha leaned onto his shoulder.


    It was extremely rare for a girl to become a consummate True God, even among the powerful clans on the Floating Islands. When Joy and Estelle broke through and became consummate True Gods, they had a lot of trouble fending off countless pursuers who professed their love for them.


    Later on, Rachelle also reached the consummation of True God Realm.


    However, it was already well-known that Rachelle was very ambitious. She had no intention of finding a man and showed disdain for married life.


    Laquisha, on the other hand, was both beautiful and elegant enough to make people fall in love with her at first sight.


    Her curly hair smelled so good and Cedric couldn''t help but feel an immediate attraction towards her.


    Jeremiah was quite surprised at Laquisha''s actions. "I have said that if the Leng Clan and the Han Clan were to forge an alliance, then the best way to do it was through marriage. I was willing to go for such an arrangement before but the current circumstances are not ideal for a wedding right now. We are slated to go to the Abyss Demon Region in half a month and I don''t think we''ll have enough time."


    Samuel and Jeremiah had made an agreement for Laquisha and Langston''s marriage in order to forge an alliance between their clans.


    With this marriage, the Han Clan would automa


    ter leaving Goldenrain Hall.


    He lived in a small, separate, white jade palace which was a luxury since most True Gods were eager to have such a place on the Floating Island.


    He opened the door and was suddenly greeted by a tight hug from behind him. A woman in plain clothes had rushed over and held him tightly.


    "What''s wrong, Iris?" he asked, gently stroking the woman''s arms which wrapped around his waist.


    "Can I go with you?" Iris asked.


    Her soft voice stunned Rocher but a trace of determination appeared in his eyes. "Iris, you remember our rule."


    Iris was not allowed to interfere with his affairs.


    She had kept this promise for years. After entering the Floating Island, Iris would merely stay in the palace and did not go anywhere.


    No one exactly knew where Rocher went and what he did, much less Iris.


    After a moment''s silence, a trace of sadness appeared on the young woman''s face.


    "Don''t be willful," Rocher said, getting her arms off him before turning around with a smile.


    Iris stared at him and shook her head. "But you promised me that you would take me with you forever. I''m scared that you might not return this time!"


    "How come?" Rocher asked with a laugh, rubbing Iris''s nose.


    However, there was no hint of humor on her face. She trusted her gut feeling on this matter very much. "Even if I know you will do something bad to our Dongfang Clan, I don''t care. You can''t leave me alone!"


    Rocher''s heart skipped a beat and a trace of panic appeared on his originally calm face.

 Chapter 2700 Heading South

    Iris had always done and accomplished what Rocher asked her to do throughout all the years that passed.


    But she was not completely blind.


    From the time Rocher entered the Floating Island and until he rose in fame, she had always felt that her husband had a plan.


    She might not be clear about his true standpoint or intention, but that didn''t mean that she couldn''t figure it out.


    "Dongfang is only my last name... I only have you in my eyes. You are my everything and know that I will always stand behind you," Iris said firmly.


    Rocher stared at his wife, looking pained and conflicted.


    He had always been determined and had never doubted his belief.


    But now, his perspective seemed to crumble and he began to doubt his motives.


    The woman standing in front of him was the wife he had always been with. But he was working for a Holy Being he had never even seen before.


    The boundary between right and wrong in his heart started to blur. Maybe it was a better choice to stay in the Dongfang Clan and work for Nicholas?


    Rocher shook his head and threw such unrealistic idea out of his mind.


    "Only the Holy Beings, Demi-holy Beings, and consummate True Gods are allowed to go to the Abyss Demon Region," Rocher uttered softly.


    The transmission gates leading to the Abyss Demon Region were already sealed, so no other True God was allowed to enter.


    "If you go and ask for the permission of Holy Nicholas, he will make an exception," Iris still urged.


    Rocher still shook his head and explained, "The Abyss Demon Region is too dangerous. I can''t protect you!"


    "But..." Iris still wished to strive for the chance to go with her husband.


    However, Rocher wasn''t willing. He swiftly pulled her into his arms and whispered, "Let''s drop it. I will definitely come back!"


    In his eyes, the situation had not progressed to that stage.


    The Godly Geniuses weren''t gathered yet, and Harold had not personally made his move.


    For the meantime, he only needed to follow his plan. If there was a chance, it would be best if he could take control of the Abyss Demon Region. He had hoped that he could get rid of the fate of death by taking advantage of the Abyss Demon Region!


    At the outermost part of the Swirl Forest...


    A one thousand-foot long black python was moving rapidly.


    It soon wrapped its body around a thick trunk. Preparing for a move, it suddenly opened its mouth, and rushed towards another figure. It was Zen!


    Zen was well aware of the black python''s movement but he just stood still, showing no in


    d were scattered throughout the land.


    Harold''s goal was to find the Godly Geniuses back from the vast divine land.


    On behalf of the Gu Clan, Hallet went to meet the Moon Clan in the Hidden Tree.


    The Sword Clan already had an agreement to ally with Harold and although they didn''t completely go against the alliance of the powerful clans on the Floating Islands, they had made their attitudes clear.


    And now, the only task remaining to accomplish was to know the attitude of the Moon Clan.


    After using the Grand Teleportation several times, Zen quickly crossed the Cyan Demon Region.


    Next to the Cyan Demon Region was the Wind Wood Region.


    He swiftly entered the Wind Wood Region. Looking around, he noticed that the place was covered with lush greenery.


    The whole world was full of vitality. The plants he saw around were so lush that it was beyond his imagination.


    "What a strong life force...


    So that''s how it is. There are two Godly Way Tablets in the middle of the Wind Wood Region. They are the Life Godly Way Tablet and Cyan Wood Godly Way Tablet.


    The area covered by the internal momentum of these two Godly Way Tablets is not very large, but it is enough to affect the entire environment of the region..." Zen muttered to himself as he scanned the area.


    Without hesitation, he directly moved towards the two Godly Way Tablets.


    It was not an easy thing to collect the Godly Way Tablets of the three thousand Godly Ways. During his journey to the south, he had seen a lot of Godly Way Tablets in the large regions along the way.


    As he headed to the south, he naturally wouldn''t miss the opportunity to absorb the internal momentum in the Godly Way Tablets.

 Chapter 2701 Mistaken For The Enemy

    The Godly Way Tablets had always been regarded as cultivation resources in the divine land.


    And apart from a tiny number of the three thousand Godly Way Tablets, the rest of them were controlled by all sorts of forces.


    The Thunderstorm Godly Way Tablet was under the control of the Fang Clan, which had a powerful Floating Island above the Time Sea. No outsiders dared object to this.


    But a few Godly Way Tablets were occupied by some first tier and even second tier clans.


    Other clans were envious of the profit that the Godly Way Tablets had brought. It would obviously cause disputes. Wars, even.


    A few hours later...


    The jungle that had seemed so endless to Zen disappeared suddenly, replaced by a mysterious grassland.


    Lush green grass grew at an incredible speed, and then withered and turned yellow just as quickly. And then, from the dead grass, new grass continued to sprout, and the cycle repeated over and over again.


    The entire expanse of this grassland constantly turned from green to yellow, and yellow to green in a circle.


    "Ordinary grass usually flourishes and withers once every year. But the grass here flourishes and withers so quickly!" Zen muttered as he stared at the grassland.


    This looked magical, but on second thought, Zen understood the meaning of all this.


    This place derived its power from the Life Godly Way Tablet. The grass grew faster than normal since it was driven by the life force. This was also why it reached the end of its life ahead of time and withered rapidly.


    Not long after he walked along the grassland, a huge cyan-colored stone tablet appeared in the distance.


    This powerful life force was so strong that it was showing its effect on Zen even from such a distance.


    On the other side of this first stone tablet, stood another huge stone tablet. It was the Cyan Wood Godly Way Tablet, and on the other side of this Cyan Wood Godly Way Tablet stood a row of lush trees.


    These two Godly Way Tablets were only a thousand feet apart.


    Zen wasn''t surprised. The Infinity Ruler had created a scene that lingered in his mind, in which the two Godly Way Tablets were close to each other.


    Zen had previously thought that if these two Godly Way Tablets were to have people guarding


    that these fallen trees had created, with people constantly flying past them.


    These people were fast, and they used the Wood Invisible Theurgy of the Cyan Wood Godly Way to blend in with the trees. But they still couldn''t escape Zen''s perception.


    Zen glanced over the forest with his spiritual sense and was surprised. Thousands of True Gods were hidden in there. It looked like it was a big clan.


    Zen didn''t want to kill too many people and commit a sin for no reason. He only wanted to teach these guys a little lesson.


    But just as he turned around to approach the Godly Way Tablets, a voice from the jungle sounded out. "The warrior sent by the Mo Clan is too powerful! Let''s fight it out with all our might! Form the Cyan Tree Array to suppress him!"


    The moment the voice had faded away, bits of cyan light shot up into the sky. The True Gods hiding in the forest had collectively released their internal momentum.


    These streams of internal momentum connected with each other and formed a mysterious array.


    The forest was now integrated into one whole with the connection of the internal momentum and had now turned into a huge beast.


    Zen was finally a little flustered, now that he was facing the pressure of the surging internal momentum. According to what he had heard, it seemed that he had been mistaken for the enemy that the Mo Clan had sent here.


    Zen was not afraid of the Cyan Tree Array. But he knew that once the opponents formed an array, it meant trouble for him.

 Chapter 2702 Unexpected Discovery (Part One)

    Gusts of air whistled past the nine top-rank True Gods who stood in the air in the center of the forest.


    Various streams of internal momentum that were deep or shallow gathered from all directions and closely connected with the nine top-rank True Gods.


    Their clan thrived for many generations and had long inhabited the Wind Wood Region.


    During the remote ages, it was considered a big clan and it even had two Demi-holy Beings.


    But when the time came to compete for the qualification to become a Holy Being, the two Demi-holy Beings of their clan perished in the Mountain of Holy Beings along with many others.


    Ever since those deaths, everyone couldn''t help but notice that their clan began to decline...


    It got even worse when the only consummate True God the clan had died in the last divine era. Their clan declined faster.


    It was bad enough that they lost the protection of their consummate True God, and now, they were about to lose even the two Godly Way Tablets they relied on for a living.


    Many clans coveted the Godly Way Tablets but none wanted it more than the Mo Clan, a second tier from the Wind Wood Region. They attacked the clan time and time again and came back stronger each time.


    Even though their clan no longer had the same power they wielded before, the Demi-holy Beings left them with the Cyan Tree Array. If thousands of people from their large clan cooperated at once, they could even put up a decent fight against a consummate True God!


    Even though they used to be so confident about their ability to defend the Godly Way Tablets, their anxiety shot up when they heard that the Mo Clan went to the Soft Light Region and brought back a powerful master to he


    incerity as he could in his words.


    The old man''s face crumpled as shock filled him.


    When no one moved despite of his explanation, Zen added, "I''m just a passer-by. I just wanted to comprehend the Godly Ways on these tablets. You started the fight so I had to fight back."


    As the words finally sunk in, the nine top-rank True Gods'' jaws dropped as they stared at Zen in a mix of astonishment, shock, and confusion.


    There were very few consummate True Gods in the divine land and since the Mo Clan spread the word that they had a powerful master to help them in their attack, it was natural that they assumed that Zen was the master when he happened to appear here.


    "You... you... Are you really not sent by the Mo Clan?" The old man''s eyes wavered and he looked as if he wanted to cry.


    "I''m not."


    The nonchalant reply had the True Gods of the Cyan Tree Clan let out a sigh of relief despite their sad faces.


    Even if they tried their best, they still wouldn''t be able to deal with the Mo Clan. Now that all of them had spent their energy in fighting Zen, how would they handle the powerful master when he or she came?

 Chapter 2703 Unexpected Discovery (Part Two)

    The old man thought for a moment and his eyes lit up as they settled on Zen. "Friend... no... Sir! Our Cyan Tree Clan have an enemy that would attack us. I can hand over all the savings of our clan over the years to you and I hope that you''ll help us resist our enemy!"


    Zen''s brows furrowed at the words.


    He just wanted to absorb the complete internal momentum and light up the Godly Way Tablets in his mind. He didn''t plan to stay for a long time.


    If, for example, he agreed and got involved in the fight between the two clans, he didn''t know how long the conflict would last and how long he would be delayed in his journey.


    "Are the two Godly Way Tablets controlled by your clan?" Zen directed his question to the old man.


    "Yes! We''ve controlled these two Godly Way Tablets for many divine eras-"


    Before the old man could finish speaking, Zen took out a hundred divine might coins and hurriedly handed them over with a shake of his head. "I-I''m sorry... but... but I just wanted to use the two Godly Way Tablets for a while. I can''t do anything else."


    Once the divine might coins were in the old man''s hands, Zen''s figure flashed and appeared between the two Godly Way Tablets in the next blink.


    The old man held the divine might coins close to his chest with a bitter and disappointed face. They didn''t need divine might coins but a powerful master who could protect them.


    There was nothing else the old man could do but helplessly take out a healing pill and bitterly swallow it down. "Everyone, please heal yourself as soon as possible. Since this person wasn''t sent by the Mo Clan, we may still have a chance to fi


    on''t worry. That isn''t someone the Cyan Tree Clan hired. We only need to deal with the members of the Cyan Tree Clan!"


    "That''s fine but I have to warn you. If that young man interferes, I will immediately leave!" Lathrop He flatly spoke his reminder.


    "Okay, okay..." Hallam Mo nervously agreed as he looked at Zen.


    "That''s good!"


    Lathrop He sneered and then clapped his hands to make an invisible stream of internal momentum spread out.


    Behind him, thirteen top-rank True Gods flew up in the air.


    These top-rank True Gods were like puppets with emotionless eyes that stared at nothing and saw nothing, but they were all real humans.


    At that moment, Zen had already completely absorbed the internal momentum of the Life Godly Way and was about to start on the internal momentum of the Cyan Wood Godly Way.


    But he paused in his actions as he was attracted by Lathrop He''s internal momentum.


    "Great Dominance Technique?" Zen''s eyebrows rose.


    When Zen swept his gaze across the crowd, his eyes darkened and his expression hardened as he fixed his focus on one of them.

 Chapter 2704 Stepping In

    Zen found his gaze drawn to a woman in cyan among the thirteen top-rank True Gods.


    Although it had been several years since he had last seen Lucille from the Evolutionary Universe, Zen thought that this woman bore an uncanny resemblance to her.


    However, there were so many True Gods in the divine land that there were bound to be people who looked like each other. So, instead of making a move, he decided to observe them quietly.


    Swish, swish, swish...


    Under Lathrop''s orders, the array formed by the thirteen top-rank True Gods quickly changed.


    On the surface, the array seemed to be in disorder, but in fact, there was a profound meaning hidden in it. It seemed that Lathrop not only was proficient in the Great Dominance Technique but also had made great achievements in mastering arrays.


    In the forest, the old man of the Cyan Tree Clan called on the other eight top-rank True Gods to form the Cyan Tree Array again.


    Bitterness filled the old man''s eyes.


    He had known as soon as he had seen Lathrop that this was a doomsday scenario for the Cyan Tree Clan.


    Although the Cyan Tree Array was said to be able to resist the attacks of consummate True Gods, it wasn''t as strong as it had once been. Moreover, Zen had greatly weakened the Cyan Tree Array by breaking it earlier.


    But even so, the Cyan Tree Clan still chose to put up a strong fight.


    When Lathrop saw internal momentum circulating in the forest, disdain filled his eyes.


    "What they are doing is useless. Form Thirteenfold Poison Array. Break their array!" he ordered with a sneer.


    Swish!


    In an instant, the bodies of the thirteen top-rank True Gods in Lathrop''s control began emitting black poison miasma into the air.


    Waves of sweet smell wafted off of their bodies. It was obvious that the black miasma was extremely toxic.


    Lathrop didn''t belong to any of the wealthy clans on the Floating Islands. He was both righteous and evil. After all, if one wanted to become stronger without the support of the rich clans, using cruel means to achieve it was inevitable.


    The Thirteenfold Poison Array required thirteen top-rank True Gods who were soaked in Phoenix Crown Blood, a kind of deadly poison from the divine land to make thirteen poisonous people. When they were faced with the enemy, they would release poisonous miasma to hinder and hurt the enemy.


    Even the trees and the grass died


    worse for them.


    But to their surprise, Zen had started fighting against Lathrop!


    These desperate people now had a glimmer of hope in their hearts.


    The look on Lathrop''s face turned cold when he saw Zen coming toward him despite everything.


    Swish, swish, swish...


    The poisonous miasma on the thirteen venomous human bodies took the shape of tentacles and swept toward Zen.


    Even a consummate True God wouldn''t be able to do anything in the face of the poisonous miasma. Lathrop was sure that this could, at the very least, make Zen back off.


    But to his surprise, Zen didn''t retreat at all; instead, he walked straight into the poisonous miasma!


    When Lathrop saw that Zen remained completely unaffected by the poisonous miasma, his face darkened.


    At this rate, he would definitely be defeated, because the Thirteenfold Poison Array was already his best trick up his sleeve. But he decided to take a risk instead of fleeing.


    With gritted teeth, he abruptly clasped his hands together and then held up his palm.


    The poisonous miasma of the thirteen venomous people gathered in his palm. Mixed with the thirteen people''s internal momentum, the poison palm was really powerful!


    Seeing that Lathrop was choosing to fight him instead of retreating, Zen raised his eyebrows slightly.


    He was pleasantly surprised by that.


    Without hesitation, he struck back with his palm.


    Although his attack seemed ordinary, the power contained in it was terrifying. Very few consummate True Gods would be able to withstand it. Unfortunately for Lathrop, he wasn''t one of those few.

 Chapter 2705 Freedom

    Bang!


    The moment Zen''s palm met Lathrop''s, the poisonous miasma on the latter''s palm disintegrated.


    The great force spread along Lathrop''s arm, turning it into powder...


    Although Lathrop had known that he couldn''t defeat Zen, he hadn''t expected that the gap between them would be so huge.


    He had once seized an opportunity to compete with a consummate True God of a powerful clan on the Floating Island. Although he had lost, he had not suffered a crushing defeat like this.


    Zen''s palm strike was beyond anything he could have imagined.


    While Lathrop stood frozen in shock, Zen quickly shifted forward and struck Lathrop''s belly with his other hand.


    Sometimes, it could be very difficult for a consummate True God to kill another consummate True God. Even if their strengths varied, both of them would be able to move in the blink of an eye.


    Zen was worried that if he let Lathrop escape now, it would be troublesome to chase him through the space channel. Although he was sure that he could catch Lathrop no matter what, it would still be a waste of his time. As such, it was infinitely better for him to not give Lathrop the chance to even think about his next move at all.


    The force of this strike seemed to be gentle, but it was enough to destroy Lathrop''s inner world.


    Crack!


    With a crisp sound, Lathrop''s inner world shattered into pieces.


    He had cultivated the Great Dominance Technique, which didn''t have a combat power as good as other skills. However, the structure of his inner world was extremely perfect. Now, as it disintegrated, trillions of secondary creatures died.


    Bang!


    Zen struck him once again with his palm, this time sending him flying back right into the tablet of the Life Godly Way.


    The Godly Way Tablets in the divine land were said to be incomparably sturdy. Now, Lathrop had proof that that was true.


    When his physical body hit the Godly Way Tablet, all the bones in his body broke. He sat on the ground, paralyzed.


    However, something miraculous happened then:


    the tablet of the Life Godly Way released a strong and powerful life force that infiltrated Lathrop''s body.


    His wounds healed in the blink of an eye, and even his arm, which had been smashed into powder by Zen, instantly recovered.


    However, his inner world seemed to be gone for good.


    The master of the Mo Clan, who was not far away, watched these events unfold with a racing heart.


    Zen and Lathrop were both consummate True Gods, so how cou


    s without any scruples.


    The past few years had been rough on Lucille. Although she was a strong-minded person, she couldn''t help but burst out crying like a child at this moment.


    When Lathrop, who was leaning against the Godly Way Tablet, saw this scene, the corner of his eyes couldn''t help twitching.


    "So the enmity between us is all because of this little girl?" Lathrop asked.


    In his eyes, these top-rank True Gods were just puppets who would be replaced within a year or so.


    There were only a few consummate True Gods in the divine land, but there was no shortage of ordinary True Gods here. It was a piece of cake for him to capture such True Gods and refine them into poisonous warriors. He had never taken them seriously or even thought of them as sentient beings.


    "Yes. Does it surprise you?" Zen asked in reply.


    A bitter smile appeared on Lathrop''s face. "It''s really unexpected..."


    "How should I deal with him?" Ignoring Lathrop, Zen turned to ask for Lucille''s advice.


    "Kill him!"


    Lucille said coldly. She had become much calmer after seeing Lathrop sitting helplessly on the ground.


    "Kill this vicious guy!"


    "You''d better draw out his soul for refining!"


    The other top-rank True Gods who had been refined into poisonous warriors also chimed in, their voices filled with anger and resentment.


    "Okay!"


    Suddenly appearing above Lathrop, Zen looked down at him and said, "I don''t have much interest in extracting and refining your soul, but I''m proficient in certain methods of torturing a soul. If you cooperate with me and hand over the method of detoxification, then I''ll grant you a less painful death."

 Chapter 2706 Detoxification Method

    Hearing Zen mentioning the detoxification method, the poisonous people were shocked.


    Their resentment for Lathrop temporarily blinded them to their own problems, and they had forgotten that they had been turned into poisonous people by him.


    However, they were not worried about the toxins in their bodies, at least not yet.


    They had suffered burns and erosion on their skin from contact with the Phoenix Crown Blood, some worse than others, but the toxins in their bodies were easy to remove.


    However, the Phoenix Crown Blood had entered their elixir fields along their meridians and begun to invade their inner worlds. This was the most pressing issue.


    "Yes! Detoxification!"


    "My inner world is about to collapse!"


    "We can''t kill him. Our life depends on him; only he can reverse what he has done. Ask him to give us some antidotes..."


    These top-rank True Gods'' desire to live was still strong.


    If they were rendered unable to cultivate anymore, the only solution would likely be to give up their elixir fields.


    This, however, was the last resort, as without their ability to cultivate, their cultivation base would be completely lost, and they would be completely useless in the divine land. It was a fate worse than death for some.


    Now Lathrop''s face was bloodless, pale as untrodden snow.


    After he had lost his elixir field, he couldn''t even explode the inner world in his body to commit suicide.


    No matter what, he was doomed to die. How he wished to end it quickly! He didn''t want his soul to be tortured and used for the benefit of his enemies, who might use the soul-searching method to extract information from him.


    All of a sudden, he raised his head, unbuttoned the space ring, and threw it at Zen. Hoarsely, he addressed Zen. His strength was dwindling. "Phoenix Crown Blood can be forced out of the body through the cultivation of the Energy-gathering Poison Skill," he said. "It''s inside this space ring."


    As he threw the ring, Lathrop wiped out the soul mark engraved in it.


    The ring glowed with a red light, and suddenly, an ornately decorated booklet appeared in Zen''s hand.


    Puzzled, Zen opened the booklet and leafed through a few pages. Then, he nodded, and his furrowed brow became smooth. Now he knew that the Energy-gathering Poison Skill was a kind of reverse poison cultivation method, used to detoxify the True Gods who had practiced poison skills and become contaminated as a result.


    Then, Lathrop''s expression suddenly changed. Indeed, an idea had just come to the surface of the tumultuous sea of thoughts in h


    n entire divine era to make just one such pill. It''s the most precious treasure of our Cyan Tree Clan, and I want your friend to have it. Once you swallow it, you can get a new body and expel all poison. Please accept this humble gift to you," added the old man, and bowed his head as he extended the box to Zen.


    Examining the emerald green pill for just a moment, Zen could tell it was authentic. It indeed contained a significant amount of extremely pure Life Law.


    After taking over the pill, Zen threw it to Lucille.


    Then he turned his head and looked at Hallam who was on the hillside. He said coldly, "I didn''t want to participate in the disputes between the Mo clan and the Cyan Tree Clan, but that guy you hired tried to destroy my friend. It''s a bad luck for your clan. The Mo Clan should move out of the Wind Wood Region from now on!"


    A second-tier clan often occupied several divine cities and had a deep foundation in a region.


    But now, Zen was asking the Mo Clan to move.


    Hearing Zen''s words, Hallam could only feel bitterness in his mouth. Fortunately for him, Zen was not a bloodthirsty person. Many other consummate True Gods would have chosen to kill Hallam if they had been in Zen''s shoes.


    Though reluctant and resentful, Hallam immediately consented. "Lathrop made poisonous people. He deserved his fate," he said, his throat tight. "Sir, you have rid this place of a villain. The Mo clan was blind and foolish to have associated with someone like him. We deserve the punishment and will move out of the Wind Wood Region immediately as you command."


    Having concluded his thoughts, Hallam didn''t dare to linger any longer. He turned and left, his people following close in his wake.

 Chapter 2707 Arrival

    The Cyan Tree Clan felt deeply indebted to Zen for driving away the Mo Clan. As a result, they zealously invited Zen to visit their clan.


    Zen refused them firmly but politely.


    His original intention was to completely absorb the internal momentum of the Godly Way Tablets, then leave as soon as he achieved his goal.


    But he had met Lucille, and his natural instinct was to protect her.


    The old man of the Cyan Tree Clan understood how Zen felt and did not pester him to go with them. He led his clansmen back into the forest after they had thanked Zen sincerely.


    "I still want to comprehend the internal momentum inscribed on the Godly Way Tablets. Meanwhile, you can try to cultivate this Energy-gathering Poison Skill. I will send you back to the fairy palace right after I absorb the internal momentum," Zen told Lucille.


    Lucille nodded her head a bit then sat down cross-legged.


    As she looked on, the other twelve poisonous warriors started to excrete the poison as soon as they obtained the copies of Energy-gathering Poison Skill.


    The Life Godly Way Tablet was very tranquil. Instead of attacking people with its internal momentum, it cured any living beings that approached it.


    In contrast, the Cyan Wood Godly Way Tablet was more volatile in temperament, almost equally so with the Thunderstorm Godly Way Tablet. It had taken Zen a significant amount of time just to approach this Godly Way Tablet.


    After five minutes, Zen had already finished the absorption of internal momentum from the Cyan Wood Godly Way Tablet and he returned to Lucille''s side.


    Lucille was in a state of meditation...


    He noticed that she had expelled a large quantity of toxic miasma.


    When the dark brown poisonous miasma had been excreted from her body, it immediately pooled into the ground surrounding her and formed a striking black circle.


    The same phenomenon had also happened to the other poisoned people.


    ''It would be best if I send her back to the fairy palace directly...'' An idea suddenly popped into Zen''s mind.


    It had not been long since he had left the fairy palace. If he returned now, it would not be easy for him to leave immediately.


    Lucille had already been to the fairy palace once. If he sent her back, Augustus and Joy would be able to take care of her needs in the fairy palace.


    The mountain token materialized in his hand the moment he thought of it. He immediately activated the token and pointed it at Lucille.


    "Buzz..."


    The disruption in space caused by the mountain token abruptly roused Lucille from her trance.


    "Zen, you..." Lucille was surprised by this turn of events.


    "I''ll send you back to the fairy palace. Please don''t resist," Zen told her softly.


    "


    e, it was a kid of butterfly with a ghost face on its wings.


    He had killed some of the butterflies with his Thunderstorm Godly Way, but eventually, he had no choice but to teleport again.


    After a few unpleasant encounters, Zen finally reached the eastern area of the Evil Ghost Region. This was where the border of the Evil Ghost Region and the Abyss Demon Region was located.


    "This is the Abyss Demon Region." As he floated in midair, Zen could only stare blankly at the scene before him.


    There was a huge crater in front of him.


    The deep crater seemed endless, its borders extending farther than the eyes could see. After all, the entire Abyss Demon Region had annexed several large regions.


    This scene was familiar to Zen as he had seen it before through the Stone Mouse, but it shocked him more when he saw the scene with his own eyes.


    Dark green smoke rose up from the bottom of the abyss, permeating everywhere.


    Although the space in the forbidden area had been sealed, his nostrils were still invaded by the pungent smell of sulfur contained in the smoke...


    "Rumble..."


    The edge of the deep crater kept collapsing inwards.


    The Abyss Demon Region was still expanding at an alarming rate, continuously eroding the land of the Evil Ghost Region. If it kept up such speed, it would completely engulf the Evil Ghost Region in a few divine eras.


    Some people had even dared to predict that if the expansion of the Abyss Demon Region would continue uncontrollably, it would completely occupy the entire divine land.


    Zen looked around him and found himself in a bit of a dilemma.


    The corpse of the Stone Mouse only gave him a vague picture of the place. Logically speaking, he had already reached his destination, but where could he find the Stone Mouse after it was reincarnated?

 Chapter 2708 Hiding

    Zen walked along the edge of the crater for a while, but he didn''t find anything special.


    He then narrowed his eyes and, with his spiritual sense, searched the surrounding area within dozens of miles.


    Except for the fact that when part of his spiritual sense expanded into the forbidden land, it hit an invisible wall and bounced back, he found nothing unusual.


    After searching for a while more, he took out the Stone Mouse''s corpse from his space ring.


    Once the corpse was activated, the image appeared in his mind again.


    As he mentally moved to the center of the image, he physically walked over to the same exact place that was in the center of the image.


    "It''s the same place," Zen said, feeling confused. Normally, when a rare creature like the Stone Mouse was born, it would make quite a scene. Traces of its birth would linger behind even if it wasn''t physically present yet.


    So why couldn''t he see the slightest difference in this place? It looked like absolutely nothing out of the ordinary had happened here.


    Had he come too late? Had the body of the reborn Stone Mouse already been taken away?


    Just as he was wondering about this, a dozen beams of light crossed his spiritual sense.


    "There are people coming."


    Zen immediately retracted his spiritual sense and looked down.


    Right below him, there was a crack that spread from the edge of the crater. He took a step forward and entered the crack.


    "The Truth of Cultivation Nature! Hide!"


    As he uttered these words, his breath and aura disappeared, and his physical form completely melted into his surroundings.


    In the perception of others, he would look no different from a stone.


    Not long after he had hidden in plain sight, more than a dozen people flew up to this area. One of the strong men sniffed the air and said, "The smell from the Abyss Demon Region is disgusting!"


    "It''s just the smell of sulfur. It''s not a big deal. Did you notice a streak of spiritual sense just now?" another man said in a low voice.


    "No."


    "I didn''t feel it, either."


    "Can there be anyone else in this damn place? Leland, you are too sensitive!"


    The rest of them didn''t know what Leland was talking about.


    "I sensed it, but it only lasted for a moment before disappearing... Was I just imagining it?" L


    such clans.


    For example, after the Han Clan had become a powerful clan with their own Floating Island, they hadn''t intervened in the development of the regions under their rule. They did not completely control the regions, but gave a lot of resources to the families attached to them.


    Knowing that it was impossible for him to become a Holy Being or make his clan a powerful one, Leland claimed to be the lord of the region he lived in.


    "I keep feeling like someone is spying on us, but it seems that I''m just imagining things," Leland said. He did not expect that a consummate True God could be hiding right under his nose.


    At this moment, Cameron walked three circles around an open space, and then he heavily struck the ground with his palms.


    A dark magenta line quickly spread along the path Cameron had walked, forming a big circle on the ground. Until now, everything inside this circle had been condensed by the magic array. Now that Cameron had withdrawn the magic array, a large cave appeared.


    Leland stared at the entrance of the cave for a moment, and then he entered it.


    Without any hesitation, the two consummate True Gods and over ten top-rank True Gods followed him into the cave.


    After a while, Zen slowly climbed out of the crack and frowned. "The cave must have been built for the Stone Mouse. Unexpectedly, they have found it ahead of me. What''s more troublesome is that one of them is a Demi-holy Being!"


    After waiting at the entrance of the cave for a while, Zen quietly slipped inside.

 Chapter 2709 No Way Back

    The cave was only just formed, so its stones and soil were still soft.


    A slight touch could make it collapse.


    While Zen had used the Truth of Cultivation Nature to keep himself hidden, if Leland was alerted, he''d be easily exposed.


    So Zen moved slowly and cautiously on his way down.


    "Leland, there are two paths."


    The cave mostly went straight up and down save for the fork in the road ahead.


    From where he was positioned, Zen could clearly hear the conversation happening below.


    "They''re not two caves. I''ve already checked with my spiritual sense¡ªthe one on the left is a dead end. We should turn right," Leland explained.


    "Okay."


    And so the group pressed on to the right and continued falling.


    Soon after, Zen also came to the same spot.


    Not wanting to go through the trouble of using his spiritual sense to identify the next paths, he decided to follow behind the group.


    Without much hesitation, he fell through the right cave as well.


    The cave grew darker and darker the deeper he fell.


    The smell of sulfur also grew more pungent.


    "The smell of sulfur is too strong¡­" one of the top-rank True Gods complained.


    "Do you think this will lead all the way to the Abyss Demon Region?" another man muttered.


    "Maybe. The cave is incredibly deep, after all."


    The Abyss Demon Region was nothing short of a nightmare to the people of the divine land.


    It was common for powerhouses from the powerful clans on the Floating Islands to perish there¡ªNicholas had even ordered all the best True Gods out as a precaution.


    If the cave truly did lead to the Abyss Demon Region, they''d be in deep trouble.


    "Haha! We could gain a lot if this place really leads there," Leland said aloud.


    "You''re right. We''ll have found another entrance to the Abyss Demon Region," said another man.


    The only known entrance to the Abyss Demon Region was located in the depths of the Red Lotus Region, a place occupied by powerful cla


    of the earth, not much else was truly known about them.


    Because most of the True Gods who had witnessed these creatures were already dead, the Earth Ghosts remained a mystery.


    But Zen knew better than to act rashly¡ªhe wasn''t the Earth Ghosts'' target, after all.


    He figured he wouldn''t leave his hiding spot unless it was absolutely necessary.


    "Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!"


    The Earth Ghosts bowed as they kept their tails within the walls, slipping out their tongues. They didn''t seem to be in a hurry to attack.


    "What are they doing?"


    "Doesn''t look like they mean to harm us¡­"


    "We... We''d better go back!" A rather lanky top-rank True God began sobbing.


    Jalen agreed and firmly said, "We still have time to leave. These Earth Ghosts may be protecting something, but no matter what it is, we''re too weak to get past them. We can just sell this information to the powerful clans and leave them to explore."


    But just as he finished his words, the entire cave began shaking. The path they came from was completely closed off from the vibrations.


    From a corner in the cave, Zen had no choice but to jump out.


    If he didn''t, he would''ve been completely trapped in the layer of soft stones.


    At he showed himself, he exchanged glances with the group and smiled, looking rather embarrassed.

 Chapter 2710 The Disappeared Space Law

    Leland''s group was high alert to the four-legged Earth Ghosts around them.


    But when the cave shut them in from above, they were surprised to see a person jump out before them.


    Taking a closer look, the stranger turned out to be a consummate True God. How strange, they thought.


    "Who are you? How dare you follow us?" Leland snapped, glaring at Zen.


    As a Demi-holy Being, Leland had cultivated his soul to the Soul of Light¡ªhis voice was laced with soul pressure, bearing right down on Zen.


    He wasn''t expecting Zen to be seriously harmed from it, but he was hoping to at least make the man dizzy.


    But Zen only remained still, giving no response.


    The eerie reaction had made Leland kind of scared.


    If they were still on the ground, Leland would have taken action without hesitation.


    But they were now in a dangerous place. The walls were densely covered with four-legged Earth Ghosts. And Zen looked like no ordinary person¡ªit didn''t seem wise for Leland to make the first move.


    While they were traveling, Leland had been aware of some kind of presence in the cave¡ªhe could sense that someone was following them, but wrote the feeling off as an illusion.


    "I''m not following you. You only happened to be a step ahead of me," Zen replied calmly.


    "You''re lying! I discovered this cave myself a long time ago. I''ve used a magic array to cover it up¡ªyou''re obviously following us." Cameron, a top-rank True God accused him coldly.


    With that, Leland and the other True Gods turned hostile.


    But Zen merely shrugged, not caring to defend himself.


    He was well aware that the cave had something to do with the Stone Mouse.


    Harold and he had found the abnormal phenomena there first.


    But he didn''t think it necessary to mention that fact to these people.


    "Leave him alone. The cave has sealed us in. We''d better find a way out of here first!" Jalen exclaimed, keeping a careful eye on the Earth Ghosts.


    After the cave sealed them in, the Earth Ghosts began moving.


    After a long moment of examining Zen, Leland turned toward the depths of the cave, unwilling to leave just yet.


    The situation seemed too complicated. He wasn''t going to break out into a violent


    and Cameron were the first to run down.


    Seeing that the group of True Gods had led the escape, Zen took a step forward and followed closely behind them.


    But as soon as he rushed over, dozens of four-legged Earth Ghosts pounced on him.


    "The Eight Smoky Melodies!"


    With a thought, Zen''s body became light enough to float naturally as he drilled through the cracks between the demons.


    "Ah!"


    "Damn it!"


    Just then, the two top-rank True Gods before Zen were surrounded by the Earth Ghosts, including Cameron who set up the magic array earlier.


    Soon, they were bitten off into pieces¡ªit was a horrible sight.


    "Help!" Cameron snarled furiously.


    The other one was already dead¡ªhalf of his head had been feasted on by the four-legged Earth Ghosts. There was no chance of his survival.


    While Cameron cried out for help, all the other top-rank True Gods were busy running for their lives. How could they even think about running back to their deaths?


    Leland, Jalen, and the rest didn''t have the slightest intention of helping him.


    Hearing Cameron''s shrill cries, Zen furrowed his brows as he floated in front of the struggling man. He gathered the force in his palm and laid a heavy blow on Cameron''s chest.


    "Puff!"


    The force entered Cameron''s body without hurting him.


    As he shuddered, the force spread out from his body, dispelling all the four-legged Earth Ghosts that were attacking him.


    With that, Zen grabbed him and fled.

 Chapter 2711 The Lethal Fire Magma

    The four-legged Earth Ghosts had terribly bitten Cameron.


    Half of his chest, neck, and arm were all gnawed off.


    When it all happened, he thought he was doomed.


    He also thought that Zen had intended to kill him when he saw his palm coming for him. After all, he had been rude to him before.


    It was beyond his expectations that Zen could shake off the four-legged Earth Ghosts in just one forceful swing of his hand.


    "You¡­ You¡­" Cameron stared at Zen for a while.


    While Zen was rushing forward, he waved his right hand and threw a light green pill right into Cameron''s mouth.


    As soon as the pill melted in his mouth, the deep wounds on his body healed quickly. His skin and flesh regenerated.


    He was quite grateful to Zen.


    He didn''t expect that some seemingly wicked stranger would save him from potential death.


    As he looked at Leland and the other True Gods running in front of him, a sense of disgust suddenly emerged in his heart.


    Upon discovering the abnormal phenomenon in this place, he immediately reported it to Leland.


    Leland had promised him a reward if he could find something valuable inside the cave. When he was in deep trouble, however, his companions did nothing to save him.


    "Hiss¡­"


    The four-legged Earth Ghosts moved at an unusual speed on the cave walls. Even if Zen flew through the cave, he was unable to get rid of them.


    "Look! There are a lot of Earth Ghosts behind!"


    Cameron told Zen with a terrified face as he heard more hisses from hundreds of black Earth Ghosts that were pouncing on them from behind.


    Zen no longer needed to hide himself. He could feel and see around him through his spiritual sense without even looking back.


    "The Gods Killing Sword Array!"


    Four invisible force fluctuations spread out, which immediately turned into four invisible swords that hovered around rapidly.


    "Power Shaping? Are you a consummate True God who mainly cultivates the Might Godly Way?"


    Cameron''s eyes were wide in shock upon


    water in the Time Sea. They could turn even the Holy Beings into ashes. How could they get past it?


    "Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!"


    Three top-rank True Gods who were unable to dodge were immediately cut through by a stream of Lethal Fire Magma.


    The Lethal Fire Magma resembled sharp arrows and left fist-sized holes on their chests.


    Such injuries were not fatal to the top-rank True Gods.


    But around the holes on their chests, there was still some Lethal Fire Magma left.


    They looked at each other with horror in their eyes.


    "Help! Help! Who can help me?" one of the True Gods frantically wailed.


    "Pull the Lethal Fire Magma out of your body!" someone shouted.


    But no one dared to help them.


    The presence of the Lethal Fire Magma could undoubtedly cause death.


    "Boom!"


    The small bit of Lethal Fire Magma that remained on their bodies instantly ignited, turning into balls of green flames that quickly enveloped the three top-rank True Gods.


    In just a split second, they all vanished.


    Their bodies, souls and inner worlds had been burnt to nothingness, turning into green streams of Lethal Fire Magma, and flowing into the gaps between the soft stones on the ground. .


    If there was anything in the world that could resist the power of the Lethal Fire Magma, it must be the layer of soft stones.

 Chapter 2712 A Dangerous Act

    Everyone gasped in astonishment upon witnessing the tragic end of the three top-rank True Gods in the Lethal Fire Magma.


    Even Leland looked a bit scared.


    As a Demi-holy Being, Leland could protect himself so long as he did not venture into the forbidden areas.


    Those four-legged Earth Ghosts were powerful but they did not really pose any big threat to him.


    However, the Lethal Fire Magma was different. Any sort of contact with the magma would be enough to burn him to death...


    "Drip, drip, drip..."


    The viscous, molten liquid rushed out of the layer of soft stones and erupted through the cracks on the ground.


    A scorching aura emanated from the earth.


    Everyone moved to higher ground and some even chose to float in the air.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    More Earth Ghosts emerged from the layer of soft stones, creating more holes on the wall.


    Each hole created emitted a faint, green light.


    This was enough to tell everyone present that another wave of Lethal Fire Magma was soon to erupt into the cave!


    "We''re doomed! It''s all over! We''re doomed!" One of the top-rank True Gods despaired.


    "Let''s fight them to death!"


    "How? Can you resist magma?"


    Everyone was at a loss, even Zen could only look around with a frown.


    Was this really how all would end? No way!


    He never expected things to end up like this.


    Zen''s eyes flashed and he stretched out his hand, using it to sweep through the ground.


    "Sizz, sizz..."


    This layer of soft stones was extremely tough. Back then, it took Harold quite a lot of strength to break through it.


    Thus, Zen saw it fit to go all out. He pulled out a pillar of soft stone which was as high as a person. After that, he stretched out his hand and activated the Power Shaping.


    He pointed his finger towards the pillar and cut away on the soft stone.


    Crack! Crack! Crack...


    Zen''s finger served as a kind of carving knife that cut through the stone and shaped it like a piece of meat.


    Everyone''s eyes lit up when they saw what Zen was doing.


    "That''s right! This layer of soft stones can resist the Lethal Fire Magma. We can use the stone as a shield," Jalen exclaimed with joy.


    "What a powerful strength! And he can even shape things at will!" Leland couldn''t help but remark in awe.


    If he went all out, he too could tear the soft


    th the stone piece in his hand.


    "Swish, swish, swish..."


    The stone piece spun in the air and blocked the falling Lethal Fire Magma drops, preventing any from falling onto everyone''s heads.


    As for that one guy who rushed out, his agility couldn''t save him and ended up bumping into a few four-legged Earth Ghosts. It was then that a stream of Lethal Fire Magma swept through him with a nasty sizzle.


    "Sizzle!"


    They watched as dark green flames immediately engulfed the consummate True God''s body.


    He quickly turned into a puddle of green fluid that dripped onto the ground.


    "Tobias!"


    "Why did you rush out like that!"


    "¡­¡­"


    This horrendous sight filled everyone with grief but it also served as an important lesson for them to keep their heads in this extremely pressured situation.


    Some others had wanted to rush out and flee from instinct.


    It was only because of Zen''s soul attack that they forgot about this urge and maintained their formation.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    The situation had somewhat stabilized but the four-legged Earth Ghosts remained a problem.


    They continued to clash and smash against the stone pieces everyone held for protection.


    However, Zen, Leland, and Jalen countered with their own attacks and drove the four-legged Earth Ghosts away.


    These creatures were thick-skinned but not even them could resist the heat of the Lethal Fire Magma. Some of the four-legged Earth Ghosts bounced off the stone pieces and came into contact with magma, turning into puddles of green fluid instantly.

 Chapter 2713 Stone Mouse

    There were only eight people left. Each of them carried a soft stone piece with great care as they moved forward on the road.


    The four-legged Earth Ghosts lived there all year round, so they were very familiar with the surrounding terrain.


    But with the joint efforts of Zen, Jalen, and Leland, they never got the chance to approach.


    Moreover, the Earth Ghosts were also afraid to die. At that point, streams of Lethal Fire Magma were shooting out everywhere in the cave. If they weren''t careful enough, they could be burned to death.


    Over a hundred of them had already been burnt before the attacks stopped.


    They just kept creeping through the layer of soft stones, creating more and more holes to draw out more Lethal Fire Magma.


    After an hour of moving forward against the magma, the group finally found an open space.


    "Look! We''re safe after we walk past the space ahead!" Jalen joyfully said.


    It was a huge cave ahead. The four-legged Earth Ghosts had drilled holes on the wall while relying on the pressure generated by the Lethal Fire Magma.


    There wasn''t enough pressure in the open space, and the Lethal Fire Magma would also no longer be a threat to them.


    As they approached the open space, the creatures stopped digging holes as expected.


    They even stopped coming after the group and just hid under the layer of soft stones.


    Leland then turned to Zen and saluted. "Thank you for saving us."


    If it weren''t for Zen, they all could''ve died.


    Even Leland wasn''t so sure how he could avoid the Lethal Fire Magma without help.


    He gave up on the idea of killing Zen. Whether Zen came all by himself or followed them, he did a great job in saving their lives.


    Zen nodded his head and said, "In situations like that, we need to look out for one another. I took action not just to save you, but myself as well."


    Leland couldn''t help the smile on his face as he nodded.


    Given his cultivation base, Zen was a man of a broad viewpoint.


    During countless years of exploration, many people had died of selfishness a


    rd through gritted teeth.


    "Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"


    Zen flew out while everyone else followed closely behind him.


    After flying for about a thousand feet, Zen said, "Stop!"


    "Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!"


    They all stayed still in the air.


    "Splash!"


    About seven pools around them erupted in unison, and only the one under their feet remained calm.


    When the eruption was over, bubbles began to emerge from the deep pool below them.


    "Plop! Plop! Plop!"


    Zen''s eyes flashed as he yelled, "Now!"


    At that moment, no one questioned Zen as they all flew with him without hesitation.


    Just as they had glided past it, the pool erupted.


    They were all in shock, but were also secretly admiring the way Zen had led them to safety with his correct calculations.


    They kept moving forward while alternately stopping, and they encountered no trouble.


    About two hours later, they all had finally flown past the deep pools. A small black altar appeared on the side of the cave wall not far away.


    A stone was pristinely placed on the altar.


    It was a grey mouse that was intricately and beautifully crafted.


    Zen''s heart skipped a few beats as he saw it.


    He knew very well that the mouse was not carved, but had grown naturally. It was the reincarnation of the Stone Mouse.


    Suddenly, Zen started to smell something fishy and sweet once again.

 Chapter 2714 Burned To Death

    Zen drew a breath and felt the smell seemed so familiar.


    Before he entered the cave, he had smelled something strange from the gust of the hot wind.


    And unexpectedly at this moment, it appeared once again which made him deeply doubt.


    Leland on the side had his eyes flash a glimmer of light upon seeing the Stone Mouse.


    He had no further knowledge about what it was but he knew that it was definitely not an ordinary thing.


    He had taken a great risk to come all the way down here. No matter what, he would definitely take the Stone Mouse as his own!


    He looked at the seven people present around him and contemplated. Among them, Jalen was no match against him.


    The only person he was wary of was Zen. Although Zen was only a consummate True God, he had a variety of methods. He was definitely not as simple as he looked.


    Leland had once speculated that Zen likely came from a large clan on the Floating Island.


    He was caught in his own thought not realizing that at this moment, the others were as well concluding their own plans!


    Especially Jalen!


    He previously made a scene and clamored to go back, but after catching sight of the Stone Mouse, he had the same intention just like Leland. His eyes were filled with greed.


    Seeing that Leland hadn''t made a move yet, he narrowed his eyes and decided to move first!


    "Whoosh!"


    It was to no one''s expectation to see Jalen suddenly rushing to the Stone Mouse. He was fast enough and in no time, he had grabbed it in his hand.


    "Jalen! Do you want to die?"


    Leland shouted being caught off guard by Jalen''s action, his face hardened.


    He had the same thought and wanted to get the Stone Mouse, but he was still rational.


    The path for them to go back was already blocked and they couldn''t use Grand Teleportation. So what if he obtained any treasure?


    The first thing that mattered was that he still couldn''t leave.


    Rushing out to obtain it first wasn''t of importance as he was worrying about such problem in the first place.


    "Hahaha, this thing..." Jalen just laughed it off. He gripped the Stone Mouse and grinned, but was frozen in an instant. He lowered his gaze and looked at his hand. It was empty as there was nothing. He asked in surprise, "What''s going on?"


    Everyone looked over.


    An incredible scene appeared as if by magic.


    The Stone Mouse that should have been in Jalen''s hands vanished and once again appeared on the altar!


    They couldn''t believe their eyes. Zen frowned at what happened.


    He witnessed how the Stone Mouse quickly vanished from Jalen''s hand and returned to the altar. There was even no space fluctuation at all.


    It was logically impossible.


    Leland also felt that something was wrong. "This thing... is weird!"


    As he finished speaking, he strode towards


    !"


    Zen''s heart skipped a beat.


    The golden light that covered him had isolated and prevented the Lethal Fire Magma from making any damage to his body.


    But there was a time limit on the effect of the Promise of Absolute Beginning.


    It could only last for nine seconds after it was activated.


    Using the protection of the Promise of Absolute Beginning, he exerted himself to swim in the Lethal Fire Magma. He had to escape in a short time as soon as possible!


    Three seconds passed...


    Six seconds...


    Nine seconds...


    The time was already on the limit as the golden light around his body quickly dimmed. He tried squirming away from the Lethal Fire Magma but he felt that it was endless and was unable to break away from it.


    "The last Promise of Absolute Beginning!"


    he cried out as a last resort. He had already activated the Promise of Absolute Beginning once when he faced Edmond.


    Now he had activated the last one...


    This time, he had another chance and there were only nine seconds left for him!


    Buzz...


    Zen struggled and continued to swim. The golden light shone brightly for the second time, enveloping his body.


    However, his attempt was once again futile. It felt as if he was swimming in the deep sea and couldn''t move to the surface of the sea at all. The last nine seconds had already passed, and the golden light on his body finally disappeared.


    He was entirely enveloped by the Lethal Fire Magma!


    "I won''t be lucky this time?" A bitter and complex feeling rose in Zen''s heart.


    "Sizz, sizz..."


    He felt the burning sensation on his skin until he felt it deeper inside his body.


    He looked at his hands which had been quickly burned to ashes.


    The Lethal Fire Magma burned him from outside to inside...


    It burned his skin, flesh, meridians, bones, viscera, and at last the inner world and the soul.

 Chapter 2715 The Hallucinatory Fragrance

    Nobody could escape from the erosion of the Lethal Fire Magma.


    At the final moment, Zen''s mind went totally blank.


    He was already being pummeled into darkness, even before he could recall the hits and misses of his life.


    One thing was clear. If his soul diminished, that was the end of his time in the world. There was no returning back.


    There were many legends revolving around death in the divine land. One such was that if a person died, he or she was destined for hell, namely the Abyss Demon Region.


    It was said that the Abyss Demon Region had eighteen layers, filled with fiends and monsters. Almost all of the incarnations of fears would automatically reveal themselves in the Abyss Demon Region.


    ''Harold said that the Stone Mouse knows the secret of reincarnation, '' Zen thought.


    ''Then, Gregorio, who is supposed to die, is still alive.


    If that is the case, then the Abyss Demon Region may be the place of reincarnation.


    Then it shouldn''t be a coincidence that the body of Stone Mouse showed up on the edge of the Abyss Demon Region.''


    ''Wait! Why am I still thinking? Am I not dead?''


    If one''s soul was completely destroyed, he or she would lose the ability to think.


    As soon as this realization dawned on him, a glimmer of hope lit up in his heart.


    But despite the hope, he could hardly move his limbs, nor speak, see or even smell. Except for the small strand of consciousness, he seemed to sense nothing at all.


    Suddenly, a thought communicated with him.


    "Zen, are you okay?"


    "Is that you, No. 9527?" Zen was more than happy to communicate with No. 9527. "How are you coping?"


    Technically, if Zen''s body was eroded, the sclerite on his chest and No. 9527 should have been burnt.


    He didn''t expect that No. 9527 could even communicate with him so freely.


    "Of course I''m fine. What should I be otherwise?" No. 9527 answered in astonishment.


    Its answer left Zen even more baffled. He said, "My body has been burnt to ashes. The sclerite where you are in should have been burnt as well."


    There was no way Zen could save himself, even if he used two Promises of Absolute Beginning.


    Once he entered that cave, it would be the end.


    No. 9527 was silent for a while before chuck


    ooking around. Both Leland and Jalen lay on the ground motionless, like corpses.


    It thought for a while and said, "Maybe I can pass on my sense of the surroundings to you. Let me try."


    As soon as it finished speaking, Zen could feel its consciousness.


    When his soul was connected with No. 9527''s consciousness, he could clearly see the surrounding environment in his mind.


    It was a dark world that possessed nothing.


    But not far away, Zen could see a small altar, on which the statue of the Stone Mouse was placed.


    This altar seemed different from the one he had seen before. There were tiny wisps of cyan smoke that slowly floated around it.


    Zen thought for a while and then asked, "No. 9527, is it possible for you to control my body? I want to have a closer look at the altar."


    Zen had a strong feeling that the key to the current problem was located on the altar of the Stone Mouse. But since he was detached from his senses, he couldn''t do anything.


    No. 9527 didn''t seem to have any problem in doing so.


    "Let me try." Without much hesitation, No. 9527 poured its own consciousness into Zen''s mind.


    After a while, Zen was able to get up. But he still felt unsteady.


    As soon as he got himself into upright position, he lost his balance and fell to the ground.


    "I''m sorry. It''s my first time to take control of a human body," No. 9527 said apologetically.


    Again Zen slowly got up and groping in the darkness, he unsteadily walked towards the altar.

 Chapter 2716 Repeat The Same Fate

    Just as Zen stood up and had taken several steps, a huge figure suddenly appeared not far away.


    The figure was discreetly moving slowly in the darkness, but No. 9527 still had sensitively noticed it.


    It didn''t take a while before two small dark-green spots emerged from the darkness. It turned out to be a mouse as tall as a man.


    "What a big mouse!" Zen cried out in surprise looking at the figure that suddenly appeared.


    As he was currently manipulated by No. 9527, he abruptly stopped and stood still.


    The mouse lightly crawled over drawing close to a top-rank True God. Once in a close distance, it held him up and dragged him into the darkness.


    Since all his senses were sealed off, the True God had no idea what was happening with his body.


    Even if the big mouse chewed him up, he would still not know.


    What a pity to die like this!


    Once targeted by the big mouse, Zen would probably suffer the same fate.


    His corporeal body was still much stronger than the other True Gods'' bodies. It was even sturdier than Leland''s body that perhaps it would be possible that the big mouse could not chew him, and he might have a chance to survive.


    However, it was still obviously unrealistic to pin hope on this.


    "This mouse is not intelligent. It won''t eat you for the time being," No. 9527 comforted Zen as it sensed the latter''s worry.


    In the meantime, it still continued to control Zen''s body with a slow movement.


    "Do you know where this mouse comes from?" Zen asked curiously.


    "It must be arranged by the person who has occupied the Stone Mouse. The Hallucinatory Fragrance can only make the illusion, and can''t kill people. After these persons'' six senses are sealed, they can only be eaten by the big mouse," No. 9527 continued to guess.


    "Most likely..."


    No. 9527''s inference might reasonably explain some of the problems.


    According to the changes around the place, it was not an easy thing to guess what had actually happened.


    While moving and taking a few steps, they noticed that in the distance, there were a few dark-green lights emitting in the darkness for the second time.


    "They are coming!" No. 9527 cried.


    Zen''s body once again stiffened. He had no other choice but to stand still.


    For now, his location was very close to the altar.


    From the darkness, another group of three big mice slowly emerged. Two of them did not hesitate to move forward and grabbe


    it didn''t work," Zen muttered.


    "Not really. Look!" No. 9527 sent all the scenes it felt to Zen.


    The Stone Mouse''s corpse would not rot at all, because after all, it was a magical creature.


    After the mouse''s corpse landed on the altar, its soft hair started to fall off bit by bit. Its body gradually started to rot.


    Then in the blink of an eye, the dead body had turned into a pile of bones.


    The white bones immediately decayed as cracks appeared. Soon after, the bones finally turned into a pile of dust and sank into the altar.


    The altar had then begun to rotate in a slow motion.


    After it rotated for three and a half circles, a faint orange light straight away emerged from its center.


    Swish! Swish...


    At this moment, Zen suddenly felt that the restriction currently sealing his six senses disappeared.


    He felt dizzy for a moment but he slowly felt that his senses of touch, smell and hearing were all back!


    Just as his control on his body was back, the Stone Mouse on the altar also came back to life. Without any warning, it threw itself at him.


    Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!


    Hatred was evident filling its bean-sized eyes.


    It aimed at Zen''s cinnabar field.


    Zen had once been bitten by a Stone Mouse when he just entered the divine land.


    At that time, the Stone Mouse had successfully gotten into his body. But it had struggled being eroded to death by Zen''s chaotic energy.


    Even if the memories of its previous life flashed to mind, instead of learning from it, the Stone Mouse seemed to undergo and experience the same fate as soon as it had just been reincarnated.

 Chapter 2717 Memory Flames

    After its last revival, the Stone Mouse had been at the mid rank of the True God Realm.


    Back then, even Master Evil couldn''t be a match for it, and his body had been effortlessly destroyed by the powerful creature.


    After another rebirth, the Stone Mouse''s cultivation level descended once again, and it was now at the low rank of the True God Realm.


    Another different thing was that Zen, who had been a proving godly warrior back then, was now a consummate True God.


    As soon as the Stone Mouse approached him, Zen reached out in one swift motion and caught the mouse in his hand.


    Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!


    The Stone Mouse struggled desperately in Zen''s hand, its body rolling up and snapping at Zen''s fingers.


    One of the Stone Mouse''s theurgies was that it could move freely through everything. Back then, Zen''s body was already strong, but it still couldn''t resist the mouse.


    If Zen''s finger was bitten by the Stone Mouse, it would be torn off without difficulty.


    Of course, Zen would not allow such a thing to happen. There was no way he would risk any part of his body; not even a single finger.


    He caught the mouse by its tail and shook it slightly. Before its mouth could reach his fingers, he swung it to the other direction, away from his flesh.


    No matter how hard it struggled, it couldn''t do anything but swing whichever way Zen wanted it to, like a puppet with strings attached to its limbs.


    Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!


    After a few more attempts, the Stone Mouse finally gave up and started screeching in despair.


    With its scream permeating the air and echoing off the invisible walls around them, seemingly a call for help, rustling sounds suddenly came from all directions in the darkness in response.


    Countless green spots of light appeared from the haze of black, followed by the shadows of numerous huge mice.


    "These big mice, strictly speaking, are not the same type of creature as you, right?" Zen asked with a knowing smile, looking at those huge mice.


    Since the Stone Mouse was a one-of-a-kind true spirit, it was a unique existence and, naturally, it was impossible to have a companion of the same kind.


    However, it seemed to at least have the power to summon these big mice.


    Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!


    The huge mice, seemingly stupid at first, all started squeaking after they saw Zen at the altar.


    Their eyes shone bright red when


    enter the Reincarnation Land, as the Abyss Demon Region was another way, albeit a treacherous path to take.


    But despite its difficulty and danger, the Stone Mouse firmly believed that its master would definitely find it again one day!


    With the mouse''s guidance, Zen left the altar and walked into the darkness.


    After he advanced several thousand feet, a row of low stairs appeared in front of him. He slowly climbed up the steps, and after two to three hundred steps, he felt a powerful aura emanating ahead.


    The aura was quite similar to that of a soul, yet Zen knew it was impossible for one''s soul to be so powerful.


    "What''s on the steps?" Zen asked curiously.


    "You''ll know it when you reach the end," the Stone Mouse said.


    It didn''t take long for Zen to finally get to the top of the stairs. As he looked down, he saw millions of orbs floating in the void in front of him. His eyes shone with wonder. The orbs created a huge ocean of light.


    Even the stars all over the sky paled in comparison to this magnificent sight before him.


    "What is this?" Zen asked with his mouth slightly open, taken aback by the sheer beauty of the lights.


    "They are Memory Flames," No. 9527 explained to him before Zen could force the mouse to answer. "The first condition for reincarnation is to get your Memory Flame. The Stone Mouse is technically the manager here, the one that makes sure everything is as it should be. This is why even though it died, its cultivation and memory would never disappear. Anyone who wants to be reincarnated needs its help to find their Memory Flames."

 Chapter 2718 Reading Memories

    Every living being throughout the entire divine land would eventually produce a Memory Flame.


    For centuries and centuries, countless living beings had been born into the divine land.


    Thus, the quantity of Memory Flames was absolutely unimaginable.


    There were so many in fact, that they formed an ocean of flames, floating in front of Zen.


    As soon as No. 9527 had finished explaining, a Memory Flame drifted towards Zen.


    "Is a Memory Flame equivalent to a soul?" Zen asked curiously.


    The theory of reincarnation was very mysterious and unheard of. Zen, on his behalf, was naturally very interested in knowing more.


    According to his current understanding, a reincarnation was the rebirth of one''s soul, and that was why the memory of the previous life remained.


    "No," No. 9527 stated. "Your soul is only your memory''s carrier. The Memory Flame is unique proof of a living being, which records a creature''s entire life."


    "The soul would only be the carrier?" Zen mumbled his question, deeply lost in his thoughts.


    Another Memory Flame, a purple one this time, hovered over to Zen. He stretched out his hand and touched it gently with his fingertips.


    The Memory Flame had no tactile impression. His fingers brushed up against nothingness, as if it were just a weak spot of light.


    As he touched the Memory Flame, a strange feeling quickly spread from Zen''s finger, all the way up to his mind.


    Buzz!


    In a split second, his mind was pulled into the Memory Flame and lost within.


    Countless pictures suddenly flashed in Zen''s mind one after the next, like a speeding slide show.


    It was actually a child''s memory being displayed!


    The child was born into the Lie Clan.


    Three thousand Lie Clan children were sent to cultivate under a Godly Way Tablet, and this child was amongst them.


    The child''s name was Rohan, and he was only four years old back when he was sent for cultivation. However, his talent in the Elementary Fire Godly Way field was unparalleled. Clearly, age wasn''t a factor, at least not in this case.


    At the tender and young age of four, he had already become a proving godly warrior and was capable of obtaining the qualification for cultivating under the Elementary Fire Godly Way Tablet.


    Needless to say, this child was considered a Lie Clan treasure. He was very precious.


    "In one thousand years no less, our clan will definitely be welcoming a new Demi-holy Being!"


    "Our clan should recommend him to the Fang Clan and give him permission to cultivate on the Floating Island!"


    "Perhaps, with Rohan''s help, of course, we''ll be crowned as one of the more powerful clans on the Floating Islands!"


    The Lie Clan elders had high hopes for Rohan''s future. And they had every reason to have such aspirations.


    Numerous pictures in the Memory Flame continued flashing in Zen''s mind.


    Zen could understand all kinds of different emotions felt


    Memory Flames were divided into different levels.


    The longer a person lived, the more they remembered, and thus, the brighter their Memory Flames would be.


    A few True Gods lived for dozens of divine eras, and their memories were countless times larger than those of an ordinary warrior. Such a True God had lived and experienced so much more.


    Beneath the Stone Mouse''s control, certain bright Memory Flames out in the ocean of countless light spots slowly moved toward Zen!


    Zen, of course, didn''t take any notice because he was still reading the Memory Flames surrounding him.


    Generally speaking, most people''s memories were very boring and had no interest to him whatsoever.


    After all, the majority of the people living in the divine land were ordinary divine citizens. They had led an ordinary and peaceful life, and had never practiced cultivation at all. What they wanted, and what they had obtained, was a stable and carefree life.


    Without the Godly Ways'' power, they had no infinite longevity. After their lifespans reached their ends, they quietly died in a corner of the divine land without saying a word or bothering anyone.


    "This Memory Flame''s owner died in the Soul Wilderness!" Zen stated to himself in surprise.


    The Memory Flame that he inadvertently fell upon was from a consummate True God of the Mu Clan.


    This man had explored the Soul Wilderness a whole fifteen divine eras ago. Back then, Estelle hadn''t controlled the Soul Wilderness yet.


    The man eventually died in a fierce competition within the forbidden land.


    The moment Zen snapped out from the Memory Flame, the Stone Mouse''s eyes were quick to gleam with cunningness.


    At the same time, No. 9527''s consciousness sent him a message, "Zen! Watch out!"


    In the ocean of Memory Flames, countless bright Memory Flames were gathered into a river. Out of nowhere, the river flow began to speed up and it was headed directly for Zen!

 Chapter 2719 Kill It

    The Memory Flames surrounded Zen on all sides. They were, however, essentially harmless. They were disembodied entities, but they were not souls. They were the engravings, the marks that etched themselves onto souls to record one''s life.


    Zen knew he didn''t need to take any precautions against these intangible entities.


    However, every Memory Flame contained a countless number of memories, and memories were powerful things.


    These particular Memory Flames moved like waves, and were chosen personally by the Stone Mouse.


    When the Memory Flames washed towards Zen, all the memories they contained entered his soul at once.


    In the span of less than a second, dozens of images flooded his soul and his mind, all at the same time.


    Desire, power, medicine refinement, remote mountains, the sky...


    All kinds of scenes, involving work, daily life, thoughts and feelings, were surging through his soul wildly.


    Zen''s soul was unable to absorb all of these memories in such a short time, and he felt like his head was about to explode.


    The surface of his soul had already started to crack.


    If another person had been overwhelmed like this by the Memory Flames, their soul would have broken down very quickly.


    As Zen was being attacked by the Memory Flames, the Stone Mouse left and rushed down the steps.


    "How careless of you..." whispered No. 9527 in Zen''s mind.


    As much as it wanted to leave Zen to his own devices, the situation was dire and No. 9527 had no choice but to manipulate Zen again.


    Then, under No. 9527''s control, Zen kicked his legs violently and his whole body rolled backwards.


    "Bang, bang, Bang..."


    He rolled until he reached the steps, and then proceeded to tumble down them.


    The Memory Flames that had rushed towards Zen couldn''t reach the steps. They continued to circle just above the steps before slowly returning to the sea of Memory Flame.


    Zen, meanwhile, having tumbled all the way downwards, rolled to a stop at the foot of the stairs.


    For a moment, he kept still, lying on the ground and staring blankly at the ceiling as the massive torrent of memories continued to flash across his mind.


    "Zen, are you okay?" No. 9527 shouted anxiously.


    As the minutes went by, Zen gradually regained his normal senses.


    "I''m ok. It''s nothing. But it was so dangerous just now. I was complacent, again."


    Zen''s face betrayed his shaken state. He had not expected the Memory Flames to have so much power.


    "That damn mouse..."


    Zen immediately stood up and rose into the air. Floating in mid-air, he stretched out his hand and gave it a flick.


    A small fire ball rolled right out of his outstretched palm.


    The little fireball was flung into the air, an


    following my master''s orders! He wants to control the entire Reincarnation Land and won''t stand for anyone else to occupy it!"


    "Isn''t your master Gregorio?" Zen asked.


    "Yes! I must warn you that you will never be able to kill me!" squeaked the mouse shakily. "My master will come back soon! You will be the one who is dead by then. I will even erase your Memory Flame, so that you can never be reincarnated!" The Stone Mouse spoke as if it were trying to convince itself of being in control more than it was trying to threaten Zen.


    Zen could see right through the mouse''s pretense. He smiled. "And what if I manage to take control of the Reincarnation Land?" scoffed Zen condescendingly.


    "Squeak... You?" the Stone Mouse said with a disbelieving sneer. "Even my master is not qualified, let alone you!" it exclaimed, its voice becoming more high-pitched with every word.


    Zen was suddenly curious. "What qualifications do I need?" he asked, frowning.


    "The Reincarnation Land was established specially for the Nine Li race to be reincarnated. If you want to control this place, the blood of the Nine Li race must flow through your veins!" the Stone Mouse answered desperately.


    Hearing this, Zen was slightly stunned, but a small, triumphant smile lifted the edges of his lips.


    At the same time, No. 9527 spoke, "It''s almost the same as what I guessed. The divine land was opened by Chiyou, so he naturally wanted to use it for the reincarnation of his people. But at some point, something must have gone wrong. That must be why Gregorio has owned the Stone Mouse. This little mouse does not serve the Nine Li race. It also acknowledges Gregorio as its owner and follows him loyally of its own will."


    "You might be right..." Zen said to No. 9527 in agreement, his mind immersed deep in thought.

 Chapter 2720 Nine Statues

    Zen glanced at the two altars beside him, then he looked at the Stone Mouse and asked, "Why is there nothing on those two altars?"


    The Stone Mouse squeaked and replied, "The Jade Scale Butterfly and the Flame Blood Vulture are supposed to be on the two altars. They have the same mission as me, but they have never been reincarnated in all these years."


    "Flame Blood Vulture..."


    Zen had come across this name when he had read through the ancient books on the Floating Island of the Han clan.


    But the record in the ancient books about the Flame Blood Vulture was not very clear. It only mentioned that the Flaming Blood Vulture was something that had appeared in the extremely ancient remote ages.


    As for the Jade Scale Butterfly, he had never heard of it!


    The Stone Mouse had to have its corpse thrown back on the altar if it wanted to be reincarnated. It was very likely that these two unique true spirits had died in some corner of the divine land and no one had ever discovered them.


    Zen glanced at the door again. "Does one have to enter that door to gain control over this Reincarnation Land?"


    "That''s right! Anyone who wants to rule this Reincarnation Land can only do so by entering that door first!" answered the Stone Mouse obediently.


    Back then, the owner of the Stone Mouse had entered the door, but he had not been acknowledged. It was not because he was not strong enough, but because of the problem of the bloodline.


    But in Zen''s case, the Stone Mouse actually wanted him to enter. If he could be killed inside, it would be perfect!


    "In that case, please get some rest first," Zen said faintly.


    "Rest?" The Stone Mouse was stunned by his suggestion.


    Just as it was recovering from the shock, Zen lightly patted its head wickedly.


    The Stone Mouse''s cultivation was equal to that of a proving godly warrior. How could it resist Zen at all?


    A stream of power poured into the Stone Mouse''s head and it exploded immediately. It was dead again.


    Zen didn''t throw its corpse back to the altar this time, but put it in his space ring.


    The Stone Mouse was still very loyal to Gregorio, so Zen would be uneasy if he just left it outside. No one knew what kind of trouble it would make if it was left unsupervised.


    After trapping the Stone Mouse in his ring, Zen walked past the three altars and headed straight for the huge door.


    Upon


    er, the force in his inner world was also activated at the same time.


    Zen had gone all out for it; he had pushed all his strength to the limit!


    "Open!"


    Zen shouted exhaling heavily.


    However, his roar was like a clap of thunder which spread quickly across the world.


    This roar had even stirred up the Memory Flames in the distance. The originally calm Memory Flames began to float in the sea.


    At this moment, the red light in Chiyou''s eyes vanished.


    And then it flashed again. This time it started emitting a dark green luster.


    Click!


    The gears shifted and a jarring sound rang out, followed by


    a rumble!


    The two gates began to open inwards with a groan.


    When the door opened just a crack, Zen stopped pushing.


    He shoved the door a smidge just enough to get in, so there was no need to open the door fully.


    The slit in the entryway was now over one hundred feet wide. His Wild God Body was too large to enter but after returning to his normal size, it would be wide enough for him to get in.


    Swish!


    After Zen withdrew the Wild God Power, he slipped in through the crack.


    When he walked in the door, a billowing cloud of dust rose up instantly, obstructing his vision.


    As the door had been closed for too long, a thick layer of dust had settled everywhere.


    "Spiritual wind! Blow!"


    Zen spat gently, looking at the blanket of dust.


    His breath turned into a hurricane that flew past the world inside the door. All the dust inside was quickly swept away.


    As the dust dissipated, nine colossal statues slowly appeared in front of Zen.

 Chapter 2721 Contaminated Blood

    The first statue took Chiyou''s shape.


    Zen was very well familiar with it since he had witnessed the same occurrence a couple of times. But it was the first time he had seen the other eight statues.


    The eight statues differed in shape.


    For instance, the second statue''s head was like a bull''s. A pair of horns almost took up half of its head. On its back was a double headed axe, making its appearance look fearless.


    The third statue''s head was like an eagle''s. It had wings on its back and a pair of three-pronged spears on its hands.


    The fourth statue...


    "These eight people''s statues are listed beside Chiyou''s. Are they the leaders of the nine tribes of the Nine Li race?" Zen muttered and questioned.


    The Nine Li race had nine tribes, hence its name. Chiyou was the head of nine tribes, so he was called the Grand Chieftain.


    "Yes, you are right," No. 9527 replied.


    Zen''s eyes flashed as he heard this answer. "How do you know that?"


    "Of course I know. My master was very observant in the Source World. After all, the Nine Li race was well-known. How could I not know? But you, Chiyou''s descendant, know nothing." No. 9527 laughed.


    Zen felt a little embarrassed. Since he didn''t grow up in the Source World, he rarely knew anything about it.


    "Look at that guy who looks like a bull. His name is Harvey Li. The bull head is not his original appearance, but just a mask. He is so powerful and reckless that he doesn''t listen to anybody except Chiyou. The one who looks like an eagle is called Ambrose Li, and the following ones are..."


    Zen silently memorized the names of the eight people in his heart as he listened to all the information being said. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "But why are the leaders of the Nine Li tribes here?"


    "I don''t know. I am a wisp of my master''s soul, not Chiyou''s. I can''t have a full guess of what is in his mind," No. 9527 responded.


    Hearing its response, Zen smiled.


    No. 9527 had been following Zen for a short time. It appeared to be dull at the very beginning, but the current it already learned and had gained its own personality.


    The nine statues were lined up in a row, and right in the middle was a dark passage.


    Zen took a step and moved along the pas


    Reincarnation Land, but was unfortunately stuck in the last step. He was not even from the Nine Li race, so he was doomed to fail.


    The people from the Nine Li race had long perished in the divine land. Even if Gregorio was a Holy Being, it was difficult for him to find the blood of the Nine Li race.


    Zen made up his mind and naturally wouldn''t miss such a good chance. Without hesitation, he picked up the knife.


    "Swish!"


    The knife was so sharp that it could easily cut Zen''s finger even if his body was firm.


    "Tinkle!"


    A drop of golden blood dropped into the container and kept rolling at the bottom.


    It rolled for a long time before it dispersed and disappeared at the bottom of the container.


    For a short while, there was a pause.


    The soul spoke, "You are a member of our Nine Li race, but your blood has been contaminated."


    Hearing this, Zen frowned. "How could my blood be contaminated?"


    Back in the universe, Zen''s blood had been replaced by a golden one. But despite the blood transfusion, his blood was still pure. As the soul of the hall mentioned that his blood had been tainted, he felt dejected. Why?


    "It''s because my master''s blood has blended with yours," No. 9527 reminded.


    A sudden realization came to mind as he remembered that in the Sky Spirit Bone Tower, his body was injected with the blood of the Chaos Ancient God. It was during the time when he activated the Blood Wild Body.


    It all made sense. The blood in his body now was not pure.

 Chapter 2722 Crow

    Zen stared at the soul of the hall and continued his questions, "Will my tainted blood still be qualified to control the Incarnation Hall?"


    "Yes," the soul replied. "If you pass the test, you are still qualified to control the Reincarnation Hall, but you cannot use the Reincarnation Soul Weapon."


    "The Reincarnation Soul Weapon?" Zen asked, his gaze narrowing. "What is it used for?"


    "The Reincarnation Soul Weapon can wake the Memory Flame of any creature in all their lives," the soul answered.


    "Wake the Memory Flame? What do you mean?"


    Zen was confused at the soul''s words and couldn''t make head nor tail of them.


    "Yes. It can wake the Memory Flame of any creature in all their lives," it repeated.


    But Zen was still at a loss. No. 9527 spoke up, "I see. The divine land has used the rule of endless reincarnation. It looks like Chiyou has placed great hopes on the divine land."


    "Endless reincarnation? What''s this?" Zen said, surprised yet again. He was realizing that he had encountered an alien domain of knowledge.


    "When one creates a world, there are two kinds of reincarnation rules. The first is the one-time reincarnation rule, under which one can only inherit the memories of the previous life, and each living creature has only one chance of reincarnation," No. 9527 continued to explain. "After this chance of reincarnation is used, the Memory Flame will disappear completely."


    "What about endless reincarnation?" Zen asked.


    "Under the rule of endless reincarnation, a Memory Flame is born every time one dies. All creatures can retrieve the Memory Flame of any of their previous lives," No. 9527 said, smiling faintly. "So in theory, creatures who are qualified to have the endless reincarnation will never die."


    "Really?" Zen said, surprised.


    "Of course," No. 9527 said. "The rule of endless reincarnation applies to any perfect worlds that the powerful masters have built in the Source World."


    Once the most powerful extraordinary creatures had created grand worlds in the chaos, they would then continuously select talents in the grand worlds.


    Many geniuses with powerful talents would probably die before they


    But according to the rules, I will give you a chance to be reincarnated," the hall soul said.


    Zen nodded, smiling.


    He didn''t want to be reincarnated, which meant that he would have to start everything all over again.


    According to No. 9527, the Memory Flame worked to record a creature''s past in the divine land.


    If that was the case, the Memory Flame that belonged to him might only record his memories in the divine land, and every other memory he had in the universe would probably be wiped out.


    But no matter what would happen, he was determined to take the Reincarnation Soul Weapon.


    Zen stepped inside the golden bronze door without hesitation.


    It was dark inside.


    "Bang!"


    Once the bronze door had closed behind him, a beam of light appeared in the distance, like dawn on the horizon, rising quickly.


    The entire place lit up in the blink of an eye, accompanied by a thunderous sound that shook the ground.


    "I had wanted to leave a wisp of soul in the divine land to protect my people, but the Yellow Emperor is skilled in tracing souls. It''s easy for him to locate the divine land through my soul. So I gave up that idea. In this test, I will represent myself as a Magical Crow. So if you happen to chance upon a Magical Crow, know that it''s me!"


    Zen looked in the direction from which the voice had sounded, a strange expression taking its place on his face. The voice was coming from a crow with curly fur.

 Chapter 2723 The Test

    "Quack! Quack!"


    The Magical Crow croaked as it stood on a golden branch. Noticing Zen''s gaze, it said, "Don''t you hear me? I represent the Grand Chieftain. As a member of the Nine Li race, you should kneel down to show your respect!"


    Zen''s eyebrows creased as he asked, "Even a member of imperial lineage has to kneel?"


    "You have imperial-grade bloodline?"


    The Magical Crow was taken aback by Zen''s words. It suddenly let out a weird scream and fell down from the golden branch.


    It flapped its wings and flew back to the branch. After staring at Zen for a long time, it pecked at the branch.


    "Boom!"


    A cubic stone carrying a container on it rose from the branch.


    It appeared that it was the vessel used to test Zen''s blood just now.


    "You really have the imperial-grade bloodline. Has the Nine Li race reduced to such a point? Is it necessary for the royal family to personally control the reincarnation? Besides, you keep me waiting too long, don''t you?" The Magical Crow continued to flutter its wings while crying out in surprise.


    It seemed that it had been locked up here for too long a time.


    In other words, it had never left since Chiyou placed it here.


    Just like the hall soul, it had been waiting for someone from the Nine Li race to rule the Reincarnation Hall. However, the time it took for them to wait had already been too long.


    "All the Nine Li people in the divine land have been killed," Zen revealed in response.


    "All of them have been killed? It''s impossible!"


    The Magical Crow fluttered its black wings and let out a strange scream. Its expression showed a look of disbelief.


    "That''s true. They were killed by the Yellow Emperor Guards," Zen continued.


    "How could this happen?" the Magical Crow mumbled. It constantly jumped up and down on the golden branch.


    Zen at this time didn''t bother to continue to talk to the bird, and asked directly, "Can we start the test now?"


    "What''s the hurry?" the Magical Crow complained.


    It was already enjoying having its finger in every pie, but the current situation reminded it of its duty. It had to preside over the test.


    Urged by Zen, it flew away from the golden branch and floated to the top of the space. Making a move, it spread its black wings and a string of golden light flashed down from the back of its wings.


    The test had begun. At this point, the space inside


    e flying sword.


    They had managed to launch various attacks on Zen but he was calm and didn''t avoid every bit of them. He just let them attack, but it appeared that their attacks didn''t hurt him at all.


    After a short while, he had killed all the warriors.


    The same scene that happened to the mortals took place once again.


    Memory Flames erupted from the bodies of the dead warriors.


    However this time, the flames were much brighter than those of the mortals.


    After all, a warrior at the Soul Sea Realm could live for tens of thousands of years, so the memories recorded in the Memory Flames were far more than those of a mortal. The Memory Flames of ten thousand warriors at the Soul Sea Realm were much more powerful than those of the mortals.


    "Swish! Swish! Swish!"


    With so many Memory Flames entering his mind, Zen felt a little pressure.


    But he could still handle it with ease.


    "The third wave! Quack! Quack!"


    The voice of Magical Crow resounded, and the world in front of him changed for the third time.


    This time, True Gods appeared in front of him.


    He looked around and there were 1, 000 low-rank True Gods.


    Zen was under increasing pressure in the face of the attacks of 1, 000 low-rank True Gods.


    "Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"


    In the blink of an eye, he was surrounded by the low-rank True Gods.


    Then all sorts of internal momentum surged up.


    "These low-rank True Gods cultivate different kinds of Godly Ways." Zen''s expression was complicated as his eyes flashed.


    The 1, 000 low-rank True Gods cultivated 1, 000 kinds of Godly Ways.

 Chapter 2724 Refining The Reincarnation Soul Weapon

    Since each of the low-rank True Gods had only comprehended the first two levels of a Godly Way, their internal momentum was not complete.


    However, Zen couldn''t contain his excitement.


    The internal momentum of Godly Ways from these low-rank True Gods couldn''t light up the Godly Way Tablets in Zen''s mind. However, it could light up the scales on the Infinity Ruler.


    "The Infinity Ruler!"


    The edge of Zen''s eyes began to flicker with a faint golden light.


    Trying hard to absorb the internal momentum, Zen failed.


    "Why can''t I absorb the internal momentum of these low-rank True Gods?" Zen wondered, narrowing his eyes.


    This place might be a huge illusion, and for some reason, it seemed like the Infinity Ruler was unable to absorb the internal momentum in the illusion.


    Zen tried hard to think about this, while the low-rank True Gods started displaying all kinds of theurgies.


    In fact, the joint power of a thousand low-rank True Gods was undoubtedly extraordinary. Focusing on dealing with them, Zen dared not let his guard down. He might appear to be outnumbered but his skills would have things in his favor.


    Five minutes later, Zen finally killed every low-rank True God who attacked him.


    It was a test which was indeed very difficult for ordinary consummate True Gods to accomplish.


    Bearing the impact of the Memory Flames would make them under great pressure.


    Even the most powerful consummate True Gods, like Troy and Rachelle, would find it difficult. Death would dawn upon them if they were not cautious enough.


    But it was another story for Zen. He didn''t find any difficulty in the task at all.


    The more rounds he experienced, the more relaxed Zen became.


    In the last round, he was able to take out three consummate True Gods on his own in just a minute.


    "Quack! Quack! Quack!"


    After Zen passed the last test, the Magical Crow fluttered its wings and jumped down from the sky towards him.


    "With imperial-grade bloodline, you are really so powerful," the Magical Crow said in a sharp voice.


    Zen smiled faintly and then asked, "After passing the test, can I rule the Reincarnation Land?"


    "Come with me."


    Flying to the other side of the space, the Magical Crow flapped its wings and circled along the edge.


    On the edg


    quadrillion...


    There were actually so many Memory Flames in the divine land!


    Subconsciously looking at the sea of Memory Flames, Zen confirmed the number of Memory Flames was beyond his imagination.


    "That is because of the rule of reincarnation. The creatures will leave Memory Flames every time they die. Just imagine how many creatures have been born in so many years! The total number is simply unimaginable."


    "So what''s Gregorio''s identity after his recent reincarnation?"


    Zen began to carefully search among the Memory Flames.


    When he had found Gregorio, his eyes flashed. Then, he jumped up and flew over onto the opposite step.


    In the face of the sea of Memory Flames, a thought flashed in Zen''s mind. In the depths of the sea, an extremely bright Memory Flame rapidly danced.


    The Memory Flames of Holy Beings were far brighter than those of ordinary people. This pale yellow Memory Flame belonged to Gregorio.


    In the sea of Memory Flames, there were not many such bright Memory Flames.


    Without much hesitation, Zen began to read the memories in the Memory Flame.


    After he controlled the Reincarnation Land, he could search any Memory Flame.


    Theoretically speaking, all the creatures in the divine land were unable to keep secrets from Zen.


    A moment later, retreating from the Memory Flame, Zen murmured, "It''s actually him! I''m afraid that even Nicholas doesn''t expect that after Gregorio was reincarnated, he gave himself a different surname and has become a Holy Being again."

 Chapter 2725 Samuels Secret

    Gregorio and Nicholas were sworn enemies.


    Zen understood the grudge as he learned that Nicholas was the person behind the whole Yue Clan''s destruction. Zen could feel the hatred emitted from the depth of Gregorio''s soul in his Memory Flame.


    It was not only the Yue Clan that was destroyed, but even their Floating Island was involved. It also fell into the Time Sea.


    Gregorio died but had gradually found a way to be successfully reincarnated. He learned about the Stone Mouse and relied on it to gain life.


    As he took a second chance to live, he dare not use his former name. He changed his name into Samuel Han.


    Nicholas on the other hand had always been watchful and cautious, but some things were certainly inevitable. He couldn''t have imagined that Samuel was the reincarnation of Gregorio!


    ''But the Stone Mouse has said that besides Gregorio, there are three other people who have been reincarnated. Who are they?'' Zen thought and pondered.


    The Jade Scale Butterfly and the Flame Blood Vulture had never appeared and the only one who could be reincarnated endless times in the divine land was Samuel.


    So were the other three people someone Samuel knew? Did they get reincarnated with the help of Samuel?


    To get a deeper understanding, Zen once again looked at the sea of Memory Flames.


    The Memory Flames of the creatures in the divine land appeared simultaneously when their memories were formed and were stored there.


    Normally, he should be able to find the Memory Flame of Samuel. Through searching his memory, he should be able to know the answer.


    Zen closed his eyes and continued to search using the Reincarnation Soul Weapon.


    After some time of searching, he opened his eyes with a trace of doubt on his face. "Why can''t I find Samuel''s Memory Flame?"


    Since Samuel had the Stone Mouse, he might have done some trick.


    At the thought of this, Zen went back to the altar. He took out the Stone Mouse''s corpse, and threw it back to the altar.


    He watched as the corpse came back to life again.


    "Squeak squeak squeak... You said you would not kill me!" The Stone Mouse cried out with a pitiful look on its face.


    Zen stared at it coldly and said, "I knew Gregorio''s true identity."


    When the Stone Mouse heard Zen''s words, its bean sized eyes widened as it stared at him. It asked in a panic, "How, how di


    Since young, Laquisha had shown astonishing talent. She had grown strong with the use of the destructive theurgy -the purple preternatural flame.


    Although she enjoyed a high position in the Han Clan, she had been lonely. When she went to the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, she was still a loner.


    At that time, she met Zen and he was almost clear about what happened to her later. She had originally planned to make use of him. But later on, she had discovered a lot of things and had been sent back to the divine land.


    After returning to the divine land, she had actually been missing him every day.


    Once, she secretly went to the Jiang Clan and through it, tried to sneak into the Evolutionary Universe.


    There were strict restrictions for True Gods to enter a universe. Furthermore, with the intervention of Harold, the Jiang Clan had already lost the control of the Evolutionary Universe. She was not aware of it so how could she make it?


    This girl was so naive.


    Zen smiled bitterly as he read this piece of memory.


    He continued to read. She had once again met Zen on the Floating Island of the Han Clan. In the end, they had later explored the Time Sea Forbidden Land...


    These events happened not long ago, but they were replayed from the perspective of Laquisha. Reading her memory on her perspective gave him a strange feeling.


    After the journey, Joy had taken away Zen from the Time Sea. Laquisha, Aleyna and Pascal began to cultivate in seclusion under Samuel''s requirement.


    The problem started to happen at this period of time.

 Chapter 2726 Find Out The Truth

    At this time, the Han Clan began to dissolve the Purple Soul Hall because of Joy''s disappearance.


    In order to prove his innocence to Nicholas, Samuel drove everyone from the Purple Soul Hall out of the Han Clan''s Floating Island.


    The children of the Han Clan, especially Laquisha, quarreled with Samuel over it and tried their best to stop it, but to no avail.


    Soon after that, Samuel requested Pascal, Aleyna, and Laquisha to cultivate in seclusion. The two girls were initially resistant to this but eventually agreed.


    But right before they left, Samuel said something puzzling; he stated that during their cultivation, he would help them reach the consummation of True God Realm.


    Reaching the consummation of True God Realm was not something that could be decided or learned, even by the members of powerful clans on Floating Islands. It had to be decided by fate.


    Even the Dongfang Clan would not dare to say that they could cultivate three consummate True Gods through a short-term closed-door cultivation.


    Moreover, at that time, Aleyna was only a proving godly warrior and Laquisha was only a low-rank True God. It was impossible to even think that they could reach the consummation of True God Realm in such a short period of time.


    Anyway, the three of them started cultivating in seclusion, and everything went fine for the first few days...until something strange happened.


    The last scene in Laquisha''s memory was the sight of Samuel appearing in front of her and reaching out his hand toward her forehead.


    Before she could scream, her memory came to an abrupt end.


    Buzz...


    Zen stared at the Memory Flame that danced gently in his hand with a complicated expression in his eyes.


    It seemed that to some extent, Laquisha was dead.


    As long as someone was alive, their Memory Flame would constantly be updated.


    With every second that passed in the Divine Land, a memory would be accumulated in one''s Memory Flame.


    Regardless of whether a moment revolved around pain, despair, boring cultivation, or an important event in one''s life, like weddings or funerals, it would all be added to the Memory Flame in real time.


    So in the Reincarnation Land, when no new memories were added to a Memory Flame, it could be said that the owner of that Memory Flame was dead. By this logic, Laquisha, Aleyna, and Pascal were all dead as their Memory Flames hadn''t been updated for a long time.


    ''I wonder what''s going on with Laquisha and the other two now, '' Zen wondered with a frown.


    Since Laquisha''s Memory Flame had stopped updating, he could no


    e for his mother and protected her carefully.


    In front of his mother, this man was no longer the overbearing Holy Being that he usually was. He even promised to her that he would find her a body in the Time Sea.


    ''It seems that my mother is not in danger for the time being, '' Zen thought to himself in relief.


    Zen got a general idea of what was happening next with Nicholas.


    Then, after learning about Zen''s return, Nicholas decided to go with Murphy to the Murphy Universe to test Emily, Timotheus, and others.


    It was obvious that Nicholas was already feeling a sense of crisis. He summoned the leaders of the alliance of the rich and powerful clans on the Floating Islands to Goldenrain Hall for a meeting.


    From Nicholas''s Memory Flame, Zen was able to learn what had happened in Goldenrain Hall.


    In Goldenrain Hall, he finally saw Laquisha, Aleyna, and Pascal, who had returned from their cultivation in seclusion.


    They had really reached the consummation of True God Realm as Samuel had told them they would.


    However, Zen''s heart ached when he saw Laquisha.


    She was no longer the Laquisha that he knew.


    The bodies of Samuel''s three children seemed to have become containers that held other people''s Memory Flames.


    Previously, Zen had discovered that by absorbing the memories in a person''s Memory Flame, one could obtain a massive amount of cultivation experience in a minimal time and improve their cultivation level at an unimaginable speed.


    However, for Zen, that had purely been a hypothesis. He had never imagined that someone would actually do it!


    ''Samuel... In order to avenge himself, he has done everything he can, and he has even sacrificed his own children!'' Zen sighed.

 Chapter 2727 The Abyss Demon Region

    Zen had seen Gregorio''s Memory Flame before and knew that there was great hatred between Gregorio and Nicholas.


    After being reincarnated, Gregorio could have begun a new life, but in order to take revenge, he had given up everything without any hesitation.


    A person like that was probably more terrifying than Nicholas.


    Buzz...


    Zen didn''t leave Nicholas''s Memory Flame until he finished viewing everything, right down to the last drop of his memories. A strange look appeared on Zen''s face then.


    It seemed that Nicholas hadn''t wanted to leave Lorena while going to the Abyss Demon Region with the alliance of the powerful clans, so he had taken her along as well.


    ''If my mother is in the Abyss Demon Region, what should I do?''


    After viewing the Memory Flames of two Holy Beings, Zen felt a little tired. He shook his head slightly, trying to forget the trivial memories.


    After descending the stairs, Zen walked up to Leland and the others.


    These people should not have entered the Reincarnation Land along with him.


    They had almost paid the price of their lives. They should definitely gain something.


    Using the Memory Flame to cultivate was a good method. As long as they didn''t destroy their own Memory Flame and were careful enough not to shatter their soul, their cultivation base would be further improved.


    Now, it was time to wake them up.


    Billowing smoke rose up, blotting out the sky and covering the sun.


    However, the Abyss Demon Region was not dark.


    Crimson magma was flowing between the numerous cracks in the ground, shrouding the whole area in heat and reddish light.


    In addition to the light and heat, the magma gave off a pungent smell of sulfur.


    Of course, anyone who stayed in the Abyss Demon Region for a long time would get used to this strange and unwelcoming environment, even the smell.


    Plop! Plop! Plop!


    A black fish leaped out of the magma.


    Fish like this, without flesh or blood, could only be found in the Abyss Demon Region. The only thing covering the fish''s bones was a thin layer of black skin.


    Thanks to the special property of its skin, it could survive in the horrible high temperature of magma.


    Just as the black fish fell back down into the magma, a thin line flew over and hook


    ang knew that he had indeed been too careless.


    Without responding, the Demi-holy Being of the Fang Clan took a step forward before turning into a flash of light and returning to his resting spot.


    At that spot, Nicholas and the other Holy Beings were currently looking at Rocher.


    Sitting with his legs crossed, Rocher said lightly, "In the secret land on the second stage, there is an exit which leads to the third stage. I''m sure this is a shortcut. Taking this path will save us at least a month!"


    When the Holy Beings heard this, their faces lit up.


    Sure, a month was not a long period of time for them.


    However, in the Abyss Demon Region, an accident could occur in the span of mere seconds, so the less time they spent here, the better.


    Naturally, everyone was willing to take this shortcut.


    "Why didn''t you report it to your clan before?" Troy questioned.


    Rocher glanced at him indifferently and replied, "I''ve never tested this path, and I''ve already reported the secret land in the second stage. Have you ever been there?"


    In the last year, Rocher had discovered and explored the secret land in the second stage of the Abyss Demon Region.


    In fact, on the side of the secret land was a path to the third stage.


    However, Rocher had not stayed long after stepping into the third stage. It was too dangerous for him to wander around the third stage of the Abyss Demon Region alone.


    "Well, it''s not a big deal," said Nicholas drily. "Just follow the path Lowell described!"

 Chapter 2728 Shortcut

    Since Nicholas had made a decision, no one dared to object.


    They were having a brief break when the smoke in the distance suddenly rolled up. There was a faint flicker of fire in the thick smoke, accompanied by low growls.


    The billowing smoke and the noise attracted everyone''s attention.


    "Demon Region Fire Spirits. There seems to be a large number of them approaching," one of them said.


    The faces of some of the consummate True Gods turned pale.


    Demon Region Fire Spirits were special creatures born in fire. They were known to wander in groups and leave destruction in their wakes.


    In the Abyss Demon Region, the coming of the Demon Region Fire Spirits was the same as a disaster.


    Naturally, any True Gods and even consummate True Gods who saw this scene would quickly escape and find a safe place to hide.


    If they were not quick enough, even consummate True Gods would die in the smoke.


    "Let me deal with them!"


    Samuel, who had been silent for a while, stood up immediately.


    "Creatures born in the fire of the Abyss Demon Region? I like it! Leave them to me, Samuel. Ha-ha!"


    Clark said. As he spoke, he leaped up and flew toward the sky.


    In mid-air, he stretched out his hands and released flames from his cinnabar field.


    These flames rolled together into a door of fire.


    Sizzle...


    All of a sudden, three fiery dragons that were a hundred thousand feet long charged out of the door.


    These dragons were all different in appearance, but each of them emitted a strong aura.


    All these fiery dragons had been raised by Clark for many years using the Elementary Fire Godly Way, and each of them was as strong as a Demi-holy Being. More importantly, they were all from the unceasing fire that Clark had created.


    Even if such a fiery dragon was killed, it could still be reborn in his inner world.


    From this point of view, it was similar to Holy Beings'' reliance on their universes to live forever.


    Clatter...


    The three dragons flew straight into the billowing smoke, splitting it into three parts.


    Although the Demon Region Fire Spirits were powerful, they mostly relied on their numbers.


    When faced with the three dragons, they


    , where is the shortcut you mentioned?" asked Nicholas.


    "It should be around here!"


    Rocher slowly descended from the air.


    He flew around the lava sea with his eyes sweeping over every inch.


    Last time, when Rocher had been chasing a vicious creature, he had accidentally discovered the secret here...


    The lava formed surging waves as it flowed, and these waves, in turn, formed vortexes.


    But all the vortexes disappeared after barely even spinning?¡ªwith the exception of one, which always stayed in the same place.


    It didn''t take long for Rocher to find this vortex.


    Swish!


    He held his sword with one hand and stretched his body, the light in his eyes getting brighter.


    "Hiya!"


    With a cry, he stabbed at the vortex with his sword.


    Splash...


    The vortex was split by an invisible sword momentum, and a hole appeared in the lava sea.


    Strangely enough, the lava around the hole didn''t merge, which made it possible for a tunnel to be formed. There was stable Space Law being emitted from the tunnel.


    When Nicholas saw the tunnel, a look of surprise came over his face. "This path was deliberately left here," he noted.


    Jeremiah nodded and said, "It might have been built by some fiend to serve as a shortcut for them to go up from the bottom."


    "Very good! Good job, Lowell!" Nicholas flashed a satisfied smile at Rocher.


    Rocher put away his longsword, clasped his hands toward Nicholas, and retreated to the side.

 Chapter 2729 The Purple Mist

    The Space Law was ineffective in the Abyss Demon Region.


    Everyone seemed aware of it, but no one was able to explain the reason behind it.


    It didn''t matter if they were Demi-holy Beings or Holy Beings. Nobody could use the Grand Teleportation technique in this place.


    Looking at the space channel, they wondered how it was even created.


    Without thinking twice, Nicholas rushed into the space channel first.


    Following him, the other Holy Beings, Demi-holy Beings and the consummate True Gods also went into it one after the other.


    The members of the Han Clan ended up being the last ones to enter.


    ''I never expected that this young man from the Dongfang Clan would also find this shortcut. Anyway, if they want to take this path, I''m afraid they will have to pay a bigger price!'' Samuel thought to himself.


    As a matter of fact, Rocher was not the first one to discover this shortcut.


    A long time ago, Samuel had used the same shortcut to escape from the Abyss Demon Region.


    It would be safe to assume that among all the Holy Beings in the divine land, Samuel probably knew the ways around the Abyss Demon Region the most.


    Looking at the others, he ordered flatly, "Let''s go inside."


    Floating behind him, Pascal, Laquisha and Aleyna reflected indifference on their faces.


    Alfredo, the leader of the Han Clan, decided to stay on the Floating Island instead of joining them in the trip to the Abyss Demon Region.


    "Yes!" The three responded in unison.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Turning into four beams of light, they flew straight into the space channel.


    The group of over one hundred powerful warriors flew all the way through the long space channel.


    Being built in a very peculiar way, strange lights flickered around the long channel, as different colors were carried out by the shadows.


    Even the Holy Beings could not decipher the power resonated inside this channel.


    "If the Space Law can''t be employed in the Abyss Demon Region, then how did this space channel come into being?" Zeke, the Holy Being of the Fang Clan, asked with much curiosity.


    "The great fiends are very intelligent. Lurking in the depths of this forbidden land for so many years, they always end up coming up with these unimaginable methods," Jeremiah replied.


    Deeply immersed in the internal momentum of the space channel, Murphy suddenly spoke his mind, "Is it possible t


    unch of small bugs!" A consummate True God exclaimed, staring at the ''mist.''


    Hearing his conclusion, the rest also stared at the mist and observed.


    And he was right!


    What initially appeared as a dense purple mist was actually a group of very small bugs. These bugs were much smaller than the grains of sand, and they looked like a mist when they gathered together.


    "How disgusting! Let me burn them up!"


    Letting out a sneer, Clark waved his hand and flapped out a flame.


    In the blink of an eye, the flame quickly spread out, covering the range of tens of millions of feet above their heads, as if it could burn a hole in the sky.


    Normally, all bugs and insects were afraid of all kinds of flames. Clark''s idea was to burn these small bugs to ashes in an instant.


    However, to his surprise, not a single one of them was burnt to death.


    The blazing flames continued to spread in the air, but the purple mist around them had not decreased at all.


    "What? How can these bugs survive my flames? That''s weird!" Clark exclaimed, his eyes widened in surprise.


    If these weak little bugs were not even afraid of the flames of a Holy Being, that could only mean they were immune to all types of flames.


    "I am unable to spread out my spiritual sense," shouted a Demi-holy Being, panicking.


    His concern raising panic among the others, they also tried to release their spiritual sense. Samuel watched them from where he was, the corners of his mouth curling up into a smile.


    As their spiritual sense started to spread, the quiet purple mist suddenly started to roll crazily.

 Chapter 2730 Tracking The Spiritual Sense

    The purple bugs originally had outspread throughout a large range of the area, but not one had showed any signs of attack.


    However for this instant, all the bugs went crazy.


    Likened to wolves that had smelled blood, they swarmed towards the living creatures below.


    "It''s itchy! These bugs are biting me!"


    "It hurts!"


    A consummate True God was immediately surrounded by countless small bugs which made him look like as if he was wrapped up by thick purple mist.


    He struggled madly and repeatedly rolled on the ground.


    "Damn bugs! I''ll shatter you into dead meat!"


    A stream of strong internal momentum had then suddenly surged from the consummate True God''s body.


    "Crack, crack, crack..."


    The consummate True God seemed to have already lost his mind. The streaks of lightning were like violent dragons shooting towards the people around him.


    The people noticed the sudden change and all had scattered away to avoid the lightning.


    "Keanu! Are you insane?"


    A Demi-holy Being from the Leng Clan scolded as he blocked a streak of lightning with his hand.


    The man who just went berserk was a consummate True God from the Leng Clan and his name was Keanu Leng.


    However, Keanu Leng looked as though he was indifferent to the people around him and still continued to activate his internal momentum crazily. It made things difficult for the Demi-holy Being of the Leng Clan to get close to him.


    The small purple bugs could even resist the flames from Clark, so they naturally wouldn''t be affected by Keanu Leng''s lightning attack at all!


    A few seconds passed as the current situation seemed to get worse.


    Jeremiah, the Holy Being of the Leng Clan, couldn''t patiently tolerate it and was about to attack but stopped. Keanu Leng, who kept on rolling on the ground, had also stopped his movement.


    The purple bugs, that forcefully attached themselves to his body, had all flown into the sky.


    Astonishment was written all over their faces when they saw how Keanu Leng looked like after every bug was cleared.


    His body was still intact, but it was evident that there was a big hole on the top of his head. It showed signs that it was bitten by the little bugs.


    The bugs had actually gotten into his head and ate up his soul!


    Keanu Leng was after all a consummate True God. Even if his soul was swallowed up, his body still continued to emit a strong life force. His inner world was still automatically running.


    However, everyone knew t


    ongfang Clan, but an outsider.


    There were only few people who could reach the consummation of True God Realm relying on their own talent. Lowell was really smart...


    Among all the people present, only Samuel had come into contact with these Soul Devouring Bugs.


    The Soul Devouring Bugs were unafraid of any attacks from internal momentum. Be it Thunderstorm Godly Way or Elementary Fire Godly Way, they could not cause any substantial harm to the bugs and they wouldn''t be affected at all.


    The bugs only had one weakness. Their perception was very weak as they just floated around a certain area aimlessly all year round.


    But once they sensed the spiritual sense released by someone, they would rush towards their target like mosquitoes that had smelled blood. They would not stop until they ate up the soul of their target.


    "We can check whether it is really like what Lowell has said." After saying that, Samuel smiled at Rocher.


    Nicholas looked over at Samuel and asked, "How do you plan to prove it?"


    Samuel moved quickly and got close to the transmission channel. He glanced at the purple Soul Devouring Bugs currently flying in the air. With a flash of his eyes, an extremely powerful stream of spiritual sense spread out in all directions.


    No sooner had he released his spiritual sense than it was swallowed by these small bugs. He did it swiftly in a short time so that his spiritual sense couldn''t spread far in this purple mist.


    Like what had happened before, the purple mist started to surge crazily and sweep towards Samuel.


    The moment he released his spiritual sense, he had already hidden in the space channel.

 Chapter 2731 Staying Put

    Once Samuel hid in the space channel, all the Soul Devouring Bugs lost their target almost immediately.


    They crashed into each other, entangled into a thick purple mist, and floated in a frenzy at the entrance of the space channel.


    It took a long time for them to leave.


    "It is just as Lowell predicted."


    "It looks like we can''t release any spiritual sense in this place."


    "The purple bugs won''t harm us as long as we don''t release our spiritual senses."


    People were relieved as they watched the bugs leave.


    Samuel emerged from the space channel after a while.


    By this time, the purple bugs had forgotten who their target was and left him alone.


    It was obvious that these Soul Devouring Bugs were unintelligent and had a pretty useless memory.


    "Thank you so much, Samuel!" said Nicholas gratefully.


    Samuel laughed and nodded. "Don''t mention it. We must fight at our best together in the Abyss Demon Region."


    "That''s right. We grossly underestimated this forbidden land before. And now, it looks like we can''t survive if we don''t work together," Zeke echoed.


    Samuel was smiling but his mind was elsewhere.


    Logic dictated that the Soul Devouring Bugs wouldn''t appear at the third stage of the Abyss Demon Region.


    These strange little bugs usually presented themselves at the core of the fourth stage.


    There was a special kind of moss in the fourth stage called the Death Tundra that contained a kind of strong soul power called the soul moss. These Soul Devouring Bugs then ate the soul moss.


    The appearance of such a large number of Soul Devouring Bugs at the third stage meant that there must be people who were unleashing their spiritual senses to attract these bugs.


    Only the fiends in the Abyss Demon Region could probably do this.


    They should have noticed the movement of these Holy Beings.


    The fiends didn''t allow anyone else to control the Abyss Demon Region, and they wouldn''t sit still and wait for death.


    This was probably the first wave of attacks that they had planned, or perhaps they were merely flying a kite.


    The True Gods were unable to release their spiritual senses. To them


    ''t been careful enough, they would have been killed first as they were consummate True Gods.


    However, the Holy Beings could not control the forbidden lands. It was a great risk, but they were unwilling to give up.


    All they could do was wait. And as long as they didn''t release their spiritual senses, they would be safe against the purple bugs.


    Two hours passed.


    Four hours.


    Twenty hours.


    Everyone stood still in their places.


    They were bored after such a long period of meditation. It was a test of patience for these strong warriors.


    On the other side of the Abyss Demon Region...


    A red-skinned creature squatted on a rock in the middle of the surging lava lake.


    He was only half as tall as the average person and had an ugly mouth, not unlike that of a strange monkey.


    Though he didn''t look like other fiends that were physically strong, he was a more intelligent fiend.


    "The Soul Devouring Bugs might leave if they don''t move for a long time," the fiend said, his eyebrows furrowed.


    Even the fiends could not command the Soul Devouring Bugs.


    It had taken them a lot of effort to get the Soul Devouring Bugs here from the fourth stage.


    If the Soul Devouring Bugs failed to find the soul food for a long time, they would all dissipate and return to the Death Tundra.


    "How cunning they are!" the fiend sighed and raised an arm. "We can''t wait any longer. Let''s attack!" he said sharply.

 Chapter 2732 Speed

    On the fiend''s arm, there was a skull that had obviously belonged to a True God.


    It wasn''t known how it had been refined, but its surface was shining with a strange luster.


    Cluck, cluck, cluck¡­


    As the skull''s lower jaw moved, the voice of the fiend came out through the skull''s mouth.


    On the other side of the third stage of the Abyss Demon Region, there was a humongous pile of corpses.


    At the very top of the pile sat another fiend, devouring the corpses with his sharp teeth.


    These corpses actually didn''t belong to any living beings. They were nothing but fantasies that were naturally produced in the Abyss Demon Region.


    Some of these corpse even had the ability to attack as a whole. They would squirm around, trying to swallow any creature that dared to approach them.


    This particular corpse pile had originally been 30, 000 feet high.


    However, the fiend, which was only two feet tall, like a dwarf, had devoured more than half of the pile in five minutes.


    The huge corpse pile kept wriggling as the corpses at the bottom stretched their limbs to carry the pile forward. However, the corpses at the top were not able to get rid of the fiend; countless corpses were letting out horrifying screams.


    "Take it easy. It''s not easy to get to the top, you know. I haven''t eaten such delicious corpses in a long time," said the fiend to the skull on his arm as he chewed. As he spoke, blood dribbled down his chin.


    "Yummy..." Then, after a while, the fiend said, "Wrath and Envy haven''t come up yet. I''m afraid we can''t do it alone."


    The Abyss Demon Region, which was formed by all the negative Faith Energies, had once been an extremely chaotic world.


    It had been dominated by seven negative emotions of all the creatures in the divine land:


    Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Pride, Lust, Envy, and Wrath.


    All of the monsters in the Abyss Demon Region were under the control of these emotions. There was no trust and no rule


    his spiritual sense. What could he see in the dense purple mist that they couldn''t?


    Just then, Nicholas suddenly grabbed the air in front of him.


    "Hoo, hoo, hoo..."


    A black shadow of a hand emerged from Nicholas'' right arm and grabbed the air in the same way as him.


    "Argh!"


    The crowd shifted forward to take a closer look at the thing that had let out a scream.


    It was a monster that was less than two feet tall and looked like a dwarf.


    This dwarf wriggled and screamed hysterically in Nicholas'' black hand shadow.


    "What''s this?"


    Everyone was stunned. This little monster seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.


    And yet, Nicholas had noticed it.


    Nicholas firmly grasped the little monster in his hand, shook his head, and said, "I don''t know. It moves very fast, even faster than me!"


    "Faster than you?" The Holy Beings were slightly shocked.


    "And there seems to be more than one," Nicholas added, turning his head to the other side.


    Samuel followed his gaze and abruptly grabbed the air behind Laquisha before flicking his fingers.


    Puff!


    Samuel''s fingers held so much power that the little monster that had charged at Laquisha at full speed flew backward like it weighed nothing.


    Seeing this, Nicholas was surprised.


    He took a deep look at Samuel.

 Chapter 2733 Calm Down

    The little monsters'' advancing speed had already reached an unimaginable level. They couldn''t be seen with the naked eye.


    If the warriors didn''t use their spiritual sense, locating the little monsters was completely impossible.


    Clark couldn''t locate the monsters, nor could Murphy or any other Holy Being in fact, let alone the Demi-holy Beings and the consummate True Gods.


    And nor could Nicholas.


    Despite that, Nicholas had used other methods to perceive the little monsters'' movements first, thus allowing him to catch one of them rather easily.


    How had Samuel managed to know their movements, though?


    Nicholas couldn''t help but think this over, feeling surprised and confused at the same time.


    He knew that he didn''t have the time to ponder over such a question right now. The little monsters were too difficult to deal with!


    "Aaaaargh!"


    One of the little monsters was struggling violently within the huge black palm created by Nicholas.


    It didn''t matter how hard he fought back. Seeing as he had been captured by Nicholas, there was little chance of him escaping.


    Puff!


    In a split second, Nicholas had tightened his grip noticeably.


    Less than a moment later, the huge black palm reacted, erupting with a powerful force and grabbing the little monster even tighter.


    Beneath such indescribable force, the little monster''s body was already distorted to an unrecognizable state.


    He continued howling like crazy and agitating himself from left to right. He didn''t appear hurt in the least!


    "This creature''s life energy is incredibly tenacious. What on earth are they, anyway?" exclaimed a Holy Being, unable to withhold his surprise.


    Nicholas shook his head and said, "I don''t know, either. But I agree, they really are very special..."


    "Damn it! Let go of me right now, or you''ll regret it!" The little monster suddenly threatened, screaming at the top of his lungs.


    As Nicholas heard the monster yell, he smiled faintly. "You can''t even protect yourself properly. How will you ever make me regret anything?"


    As soon as he finished speaking though, an odd sensation washed over him and he turned his heard in the opposing direction.


    A second little monster was rushing over to him!


    This little monster was equally unimaginably rapid. Lightning speed. To make matters worse, he was carrying a ten feet long broadsword in his hand, which didn''t match his two feet height whatsoever.


    When the others finally noticed the little monster, his broadsword was only inches away from Nicholas.


    Had it been anyone else, avoiding the weapon would have been impossible.


    However, Nicholas looked like a prophet who had


    ering seconds ago.


    Who had created the ominous black palm? Nicholas, of course!


    If he hadn''t dragged Jeremiah back down to the ground, then he would''ve been killed as well.


    "Calm down!" warned Nicholas, in a loud voice, making sure he was heard.


    Jeremiah was too furious seeing his brother die before his own two eyes, but he had never thought that he''d nearly lose his own life because of it.


    "Speed is the most important thing for these little creatures. Once the purple mist dissipates, they won''t be so scary and intimidating anymore," reminded Murphy.


    Jeremiah nodded and gently waved his hand in the air.


    A burst of chilling, cold wind spread around him, forming a milky white circle of light!


    Whoosh!


    In an instant, the circle of light was throbbing, pushing its way out from Jeremiah.


    In the blink of an eye, everything within a thousand miles was frozen by the chilling power. It was overwhelmingly cold and icy.


    He''d also figured out their tactic. Since they were unable to capture the little monsters, they only needed to stay in their positions and defend themselves adequately.


    As soon as Jeremiah would use his icy enchanted barrier, the little monsters'' speed would decrease greatly.


    Perhaps with the intention to provoke, the five little monsters hidden in the purple mist flew towards them at once, even after Jeremiah had frozen everything within a thousand miles.


    As they noticed what was happening, Nicholas''s and Samuel''s eyes lit up with caution.


    This time, Samuel seemed to remember something out of the blue. He cast an indifferent glance at Nicholas and chose not to attack instead.


    On his behalf, Nicholas quickly extended his hands and formed two huge black palms which slapped violently in all directions!

 Chapter 2734 Difficult To Deal With

    The speed of the little fiends was extremely fast as they moved.


    But Nicholas was quick to react.


    It seemed that he could always foresee any impending attack and was ready to block it precisely!


    He clapped his hands as two black palm shadows clapped five times in an instant.


    "Puff! Puff! Puff!..."


    The fiends currently moving at a high speed were all thrown away by the great force. Some of them were even thrown a hundred miles away.


    The other little fiends crashed into the rocks and in turn had created a crater as deep as ten thousand feet. Some were smashed into the lava lake which had caused a lava tide that was tens of thousands of feet high.


    If it was a consummate True God that was hit by Nicholas'' palms, the person would have been smashed to pieces.


    Even if it was a Demi-holy Being or a Holy Being, the result would not be inferior to the damage inflicted to a consummate True God. They would have been seriously injured!


    However, these little fiends were completely unharmed.


    A little fiend crawled out of the messy gravel, his sharp eyes looking ahead.


    Emerging from the mist, waves of internal momentum slowly spread out...


    Although other Holy Beings could not make such powerful attack like Nicholas, they could set up various enchanted barriers like what Jeremiah did.


    The purple mist would eventually dissipate, and they just needed to hold on to survive past it.


    "There is a very powerful guy who can locate us, but how did he do it?" a little fiend voiced out with a strange expression.


    "I''ll give it another shot. I almost cut his head off just now!" another fiend carrying the heavy broadsword on his hand gave a suggestion. This fiend was called ''Greed''.


    "It''s no use. I think that guy could predict what we will do in advance. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have been so accurate in his attack," a little fiend named ''Pride'' remarked as he shook his head.


    In terms of speed alone, the speed of the little fiends was among the fastest in the divine land.


    The Holy Beings who cultivated Spiritual Wind Godly Way couldn''t even be their match.


    However, the powerful masters in the divine land could use their spiritual sense to locate their opponents. And in order to reach them, they would use the Grand Teleportation.


    The little fiends would only have a difficulty in dealing with a Holy Being if it was in other places. But the Space Law in the Abyss Demon R


    l momentum contained in each of the flame spears was completely concentrated without any leak of heat.


    The strike was activated by Clark.


    At the same time the attack was released, a few warriors from the group had also moved to attack. They were Murphy, Jeremiah and other six or seven Holy Beings.


    With so many Holy Beings attacking together, the power burst out was beyond imagination.


    All the attacks were currently poured on to the little fiend.


    When Rachelle, Troy, Shahn and some others had witnessed the scene, they were greatly shocked.


    They had only entered the Abyss Demon Region not long ago, but these strange looking little fiends were simply too difficult to deal with. They had actually caused a group of Holy Beings to feel so tricky...


    If they reached the bottom of the Abyss Demon Region and faced those truly powerful fiends, what kind of predicament would they even encounter?


    The attacks had continued for some time.


    Nicholas gently waved his hand, and then Clark and the rest had also stopped attacking when they noticed the order.


    A great sense of pressure came out from the burning flame before it dissipated.


    As the smoke cleared, it was evident that Wrath was not hurt at all! Instead, he turned into a huge being that was over ten thousand feet tall, appearing in front of everyone.


    "Ha ha ha, I like this kind of power!" the huge fiend spoke with a twisted smile on his face.


    Different from the other little fiends, the more painful Wrath felt, the more furious he was. The more he was driven by fury, his strength and body would constantly grow larger.

 Chapter 2735 Fight For Survival

    Looking upset, the Holy Beings had worried expressions on their faces.


    "What should we do now?" Clark and the other Holy Beings also looked quite worried.


    Nicholas'' gaze became a little serious all of a sudden.


    He raised his head to look up at the sky, and his eyes flashed a gleam as he said through his life vitality, "Murphy and I will fight this monster. The rest of you, fly upwards. Clark, Jeremiah, Zeke, listen to me!"


    The purple mist above them had become very thin. Most of the fine bugs had already dissipated, forming a huge opening on top of their heads.


    As long as they could escape from this purple mist, they would face a turning point.


    Nicholas was not the type who would get panicky, even in such desperate situation.


    He only planned to use his own abilities to the maximum, leaving its outcome to fate.


    "Okay!"


    Murphy nodded, trusting his order.


    "But how can we deal with such a huge monster?" Clark couldn''t help asking.


    "These fiends can move at such a great speed because of their flexible figures. If this monster will still maintain his previous speed after he has become so huge, it''s not a shame that we will all die here," Nicholas answered with a faint smile.


    As soon as he finished talking, they heard the strange sound. Whoosh!


    Like a mountain in the air, the huge body of the fiend called ''Wrath'' jumped up, pressing down towards the crowd.


    "Everyone, let''s fly upwards!"


    Clark shouted, making sure everyone heard him.


    The consummate True Gods and Demi-holy Beings were already prepared.


    As advised, they all flew upwards at the same time.


    Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!


    Clark and the other Holy Beings flew a little slower, needing to stay behind of those consummate True Gods and Demi-holy Beings to assist them.


    Just as Nicholas suspected, after the little monster transformed to be ten thousand feet high, his speed suddenly dropped.


    "His speed is his only advantage." Nicholas squinted his eyes and gently raised his hand. "Such a huge tr


    bit glad to see that. There was also a hint of delight on Troy''s face.


    The little fiend was about to bite Rocher''s neck at an irresistible speed.


    At that moment, Rocher''s eyes flashed with a faint white light and a unique aura came from his entire body.


    Being affected by the aura of an irresistible will, the little fiend suddenly found himself unable to bite Rocher no matter how hard he tried.


    "Fuck off!"


    Just as the little fiend got stunned, Rocher knocked at his face with one knee, making him fall down.


    In a blink of an eye, Rocher and the little fiend did not reveal any incredible skills to each other.


    Meanwhile, the Holy Beings, the Demi-holy Beings and the consummate True Gods around them had been stunned.


    They initially thought that Rocher would be killed like the two consummate True Gods who died earlier. However, not only did he manage to stay alive, he was also able to dodge the attack of the little fiend and smash him.


    "Um?"


    The little fiend that Rocher had knocked down was also confused.


    The fiend felt extremely unhappy, being affected by that formidable will. Out of fury, he turned in the air and rushed towards Rocher again.


    Seeing this, Rocher frowned.


    Unless really necessary, he wouldn''t want to expose his ability to others, most especially, not in front of these Holy Beings.

 Chapter 2736 Narrow Escape

    Rocher had been travelling the Abyss Demon Region for years and naturally knew how dangerous this place was.


    However, the presence of so many Holy Beings and Demi-holy Beings assured him, Rachelle and the other consummate True Gods that this exploration wasn''t going to be as dangerous or difficult.


    Who would''ve thought they''d be stuck in such a situation?


    As the little fiend prepared to rush towards him, Rocher immediately waved his hand.


    A long purple sword appeared, looking extremely sharp and intimidating.


    Its sword intent increased and a sword light shot towards the little fiend.


    However, just as he was about to get hit, the little fiend suddenly disappeared!


    He reappeared near him and his big mouth was wide-open, aiming to devour Rocher''s long sword.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    Three, large, vicious bites.


    That was all it took for the purple sword, given to Rocher by Nicholas, to get devoured by the little fiend.


    After the sword, the little fiend wasn''t satisfied and aimed for Rocher''s head.


    However, as he got near him, that irresistible will was transmitted over again!


    Despite wanting to bite Rocher''s head, the little fiend couldn''t seem to do it.


    He immediately hung his head down in despair.


    Why couldn''t him bite this young man''s head off?


    At the same time...


    Nicholas, who was below the crowd, had gotten near enough and was right above the huge fiend''s head.


    He gathered a powerful force in his hands and pushed.


    Two, black palm shadows appeared in the air and ruthlessly pushed the fiend down.


    "Get out!"


    "Bang!"


    There was a shocking, explosive sound.


    This huge fiend, called ''Wrath'', was immediately smashed onto the soft mud below.


    However, Nicholas wasn''t yet done.


    Not pleased with his handiwork, he patted the ground a few more times.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Each slap was a tremendous force that had to be endured by the fiend.


    At the same time, the fiend became bigger and bigger, almost as if he was going to expand ind


    se Memory Flames had been stored here for countless years, which meant that there were countless comprehension techniques that were now available to them. So long as they withstood the flames, they could have endless experience in cultivation to comprehend.


    This was infinitely more precious than any rare treasure.


    These Memory Flames could help them a lot!


    Leland, however, was less enthusiastic about it.


    He was already a Demi-holy Being, after all.


    If he wanted to become a Holy Being, all he needed to do was to pass through the Mountain of Holy Beings.


    It was meaningless for him to comprehend other people''s cultivating experience. Instead of being entranced by the Memory Flames, he was more concerned with what he could find behind that huge door.


    Zen did not stop him.


    Leland did not have the Nine Li blood, so he wasn''t able to pass the test arranged by the hall soul after entering the Reincarnation Hall. Getting the Latent Theurgy now solely depended on his own ability.


    Now, Zen''s main agenda was finding out a way to get out of here.


    They had entered this place through a cave at the edge of the Evil Ghost Region.


    However, some parts of the cave merely existed as an illusion.


    There seemed to be only one exit in the entire Reincarnation Land and it connected directly to the Abyss Demon Region.

 Chapter 2737 Revenge And Soul Suppressing Sword

    After thinking about it for a while, Zen decided to ask the Magical Crow.


    Since the Magical Crow had stayed in the Reincarnation Land for a long time, it probably knew other ways to leave this place.


    This time when Zen pushed open the door, he wasn''t met with any obstacles. Instead, the door opened just a crack with a gentle push.


    However, the moment he entered, he heard a ear-piercing rumbling sound.


    The internal momentum of the Five Elements Godly Way had circulated and transformed into a five elements array with Leland inside it.


    To get a Latent Theurgy, Leland had to pass the test of the hall soul.


    Zen stood still and observed him for a while, and then he took a detour on the other side of the hall.


    Perhaps it was because Zen had obtained the Reincarnation Soul Weapon, the hall soul didn''t stop him.


    After entering through the small door behind the hall, Zen found himself face to face with the Magical Crow again.


    "Why have you come back?" the Magical Crow asked in a strange voice.


    "Is there any other way to leave the Reincarnation Land?" Zen asked.


    The reason why Zen had come to the Reincarnation Land was to find out the truth about the Stone Mouse.


    Now, through Rocher''s memories, he knew that the alliance of the powerful clans had reached the third stage of the Abyss Demon Region. Naturally, he wanted to avoid them.


    The Magical Crow, however, didn''t know why Zen had asked this question. "The Reincarnation Land is connected to the Abyss Demon Region. The way out of here is naturally through the Abyss Demon Region. What other way do you want to know?"


    "We came here from a cave in the Evil Ghost Region. Can we leave through that cave?" Zen asked.


    After some thought, the Magical Crow shook its head. "You came here through a one-way transmission array created by three Reincarnation Spirits. That road is irreversible..."


    "In other words, I can only leave through the Abyss Demon Region?" Zen smiled bitterly.


    "Yes!" Then, the Magical Crow added, "Anyway, with your strength, it won''t be difficult for you to leave the Abyss Demon Region."


    ''It won''t be difficult?'' Zen repeated to himself in his mind, smiling helplessly at the crow''s words.


    The Magical Crow must have be


    ther Latent Theurgies are mine now."


    Hearing this, Leland stared blankly at Zen.


    He had broken his back just to get one Latent Theurgy, and it had turned out to be an almost useless one as it would only work when he died. Now Zen was taking away all the other Latent Theurgies?


    How was that even possible? As far as he knew, Zen hadn''t been put through even a single test.


    However, what happened next made him realize that Zen was telling the truth.


    The hall soul floated in the air silently for a while, and then nodded. "I know."


    Then its arm lengthened again and pointed at the spheres above the remaining seven statues.


    Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz!


    Seven pale yellow spheres floated slowly toward Zen and hovered over his head.


    Each of the nine statues in the Reincarnation Hall had a Latent Theurgy. Gregorio had taken one and Leland had taken another, so there were only seven Latent Theurgies left.


    Curious about these Latent Theurgies, Zen raised his head and injected his spiritual sense into one of the spheres.


    In the blink of an eye, Zen had already comprehended the function of this Latent Theurgy.


    ''Killing Intent Counterattack! When someone shows their killing intention to me, this theurgy will summon the Soul Suppressing Sword to launch a counterattack.''


    Through his spiritual sense, Zen faintly sensed a soul sword sealed within this sphere.


    Though the Soul Suppressing Sword was sealed in the sphere, Zen could feel its terrifying power.

 Chapter 2738 Leave

    "The Latent Theurgy is quite aggressive in nature. As long as it feels the massive killing intent from my opponent, it will counterattack without hesitation,"


    Zen muttered to himself in his mind.


    No. 9527 had however countered and added, "It''s nothing. In the Source World, there are some more powerful Latent Theurgies."


    "Are there also Latent Theurgies in the Source World?" Zen asked curiously.


    "Of course. When some powerful masters protect the juniors of their clans, they would naturally grant these juniors those Latent Theurgies. Some Latent Theurgies will be triggered even just because you have taken a few glances at someone. Such Latent Theurgies are so outrageous," No. 9527 informed him.


    "Even a few glances will make one be punished." It was absurd and hearing about it made Zen speechless.


    Latent Theurgies were in actual fact similar to protective treasures. Only given the difference that they were more active and could start automatically when certain conditions were met.


    A sudden thought came to him about the ''Killing Intent Counterattack'', the first Latent Theurgy. It instantly aroused his curiosity.


    At that moment, he released another wisp of spiritual sense to explore the next Latent Theurgy.


    "Life For The Dead.."


    He realized that it seemed to be the same as the ''Revenge'' that Leland had obtained. This Latent Theurgy would only be activated once he lost his life.


    In the situation where he would breathe his last, this Latent Theurgy would still keep him alive and maintain his current fighting power for a period of time before he actually died completely.


    "This Latent Theurgy is the same as the Reincarnation Theurgy in the Life Godly Way," Zen stated with a nod.


    The consummate level theurgy of the Life Godly Way was the Reincarnation Theurgy. For the consummate True Gods who cultivated Life Godly Way, the moment they died, their life could be prolonged by creating another body.


    However, there was a deterrent condition in activating it. The time for the prolonged lifespan was limited, and they would completely die when the time ran out.


    "The next, Wind Cloud Escape..."


    Zen''s eyes lit up when he saw the third Latent Theurgy.


    The Wind Cloud Escape could be advantageous for him during the time he would be in a danger of death. It could force him to teleport for a distance which was a good way to save his life.


    But thinking about it, the Space Law was ineffective in the Abyss Demon Region. He wondered if this ''Wind Cloud Escape'' could still work in the Abyss Demon Region.


    "The fourth one is the ''Exhausting Power''. Once I unleash my full strength, it will work and give me even stronger power!"


    "The fifth one..."


    "Unfortunately, these Latent


    n to ponder.


    Choosing to still stay was not a good solution and indeed a risk.


    They pondered that even though their lifespan was unlimited, it was still impossible for them to live in this damned place all the time!


    After some time, some people finally made their decision. Three top-rank True Gods chose to leave together with Zen.


    As for Leland, he also chose to leave with Zen. He was also afraid of the Abyss Demon Region, but he was after all a Demi-holy Being and had always been confident of his strength.


    The group who chose to leave were already decided. There were Zen, Leland and three top-rank True Gods. Zen did not choose to go immediately as they carefully set a plan. It made them stay for a period of time in the place for a while.


    It was not until three days later that the group were already set and ready to leave.


    They went on their journey and reached the other end of the Reincarnation Land. There was a pitch dark valley.


    As they walked through the valley, they felt as if they were walking through a cave. There were no light cast around and the surroundings were indeed engulfed in darkness.


    It didn''t matter as they continued to move. They were always on guard but at that moment, they felt no danger in the Reincarnation Land.


    Five minutes later, they finally arrived at the end of the valley.


    A naturally formed stone arch bridge appeared in front of them. Beneath it, the turbulent lava was rolling and surging. They realized that it was a huge lava river.


    It seemed dangerous but they paid no attention to the lava below. Their gaze was focused on the other end of the stone arch bridge.


    They gradually continued and easily passed through the stone arch bridge. They successfully left the Reincarnation Land as they were ready now to enter the Abyss Demon Region.

 Chapter 2739 Green Head

    As they stood on the stone arch bridge and looked at the place they were supposed to enter, the three top-rank True Gods seemed hesitant.


    They knew that once they set foot in that dangerous place, they would have just a slim chance of survival.


    "It''s not too late to turn around from here," Zen said, smiling lightly.


    He wasn''t going to force these people to follow him into the Abyss Demon Region.


    He knew that apart from Leland, all the top-rank True Gods were only going to be a burden to him most times.


    "We''ve made our choices. No regrets," a top-rank True God said firmly.


    Every one of them had their own reasons for leaving here.


    "Let''s go," Zen said.


    The five of them left the stone arch bridge.


    Leland''s soul began to vibrate the moment they passed the bridge.


    A strong spiritual sense spread out in all directions.


    The Demi-Holy Being''s spiritual sense covered quite a large radius. He could immediately discover any danger the moment it came into existence.


    The others looked over at Leland, feeling his spiritual sense, and understood his actions.


    "This area is huge and empty. Everyone hide your aura and move forward carefully," Leland warned.


    The others nodded, trying their best to hide their auras and glided quietly along the ground. There were rivers of lava all around this area, the dark red lava illuminating their faces.


    There was indeed nothing unusual about this area, nor were there any vicious beasts, just as Leland had said.


    Zen used the Reincarnation Soul Weapon to link to the Reincarnation Land. He wanted to observe the movements of the alliance of powerful clans from the Floating Islands.


    The Stone Mouse had said that Gregorio would definitely come back to the Reincarnation Land. It was also highly possible that Samuel would take advantage of this opportunity to return to the Reincarnation Land.


    Zen would be in real trouble if Samuel were to bring Nicholas here.


    He didn''t stand a chance of winning against the large group of Holy Beings all by himself, which was one of the reasons why Zen wanted to leave.


    Otherwise, he would have spent more t


    t. He had even comprehended three theurgies beyond way on his own.


    The power of his attack couldn''t be underestimated.


    The great number of whip shadows almost shrouded Zen and had cut the tentacles off before they could touch him.


    The tentacle that gripped the top-rank True God recoiled rapidly.


    Before Zen had arrived, the tentacle had managed to pull down the top-rank True God deeper into the sand.


    Zen frowned and punched the dust heap beside the ditch.


    Zen''s power was so powerful, it stirred up a large area of sand, the beach rolling down to one side like sandy waves.


    Zen had managed to completely overturn the surface of the beach.


    The beast that had been hiding in the beach finally revealed itself.


    There were over a thousand green tentacles scattered across the beach, and at the convergence of these was a huge head.


    The head was triangular in shape and had an ugly-looking, hateful human face.


    And as they watched, it was about to stuff the top-rank True God who was trapped in one of its tentacles into its large mouth.


    The top-rank True God smelled the unpleasant odor and was filled with despair.


    But before the beast could swallow the True God, a sword light flashed across the beach.


    Crack!


    The thousand tentacles that were connected to the head were all mutilated.


    The giant head let out an ear-splitting shriek of pain and turned to burrow back into the sand.

 Chapter 2740 Questioning

    The top-rank True God broke free from the ripped tentacle and quickly fled.


    "You want to escape?"


    Seeing the huge head sink rapidly into the sand, Zen lifted his sword to strike again.


    Although what he was going up against was a ferocious beast in the Abyss Demon Region, it was not a very powerful one.


    It would not be difficult to kill it.


    Just as Zen was about to end its life with his sword attack, Leland suddenly shouted, "Zen, don''t kill it! It''s intelligent!"


    Although Leland''s words fell short of conveying the complete meaning of what he wanted to say, Zen understood his thoughts in an instant.


    Ever since leaving the Reincarnation Land, they had moved forward by instinct, completely unaware of where they were.


    If they were lucky, they would be able to leave this place and ascend to an upper stage of the Abyss Demon Region.


    But if they were unlucky and broke into the lair of some powerful beasts, they would be in real trouble. What they needed the most now was some information.


    And if this beast was really intelligent like Leland claimed, they would be able to get some information from it.


    Its huge triangular head was spinning madly, rapidly digging a big hole into the sand.


    However, its huge size affected its speed as it moved in the sand.


    Zen gently floated over to the beast, and then grabbed the tentacles on the back of its head with his hands and pulled it out.


    Bang!


    He kicked hard on the lower part of its head.


    The head flew, drawing a steep arc in the air before landing on the beach.


    "Wow, wow, wow, wow..."


    Its big mouth screamed as it rolled around in pain.


    Then, determined to flee, it began to spin again.


    However, Leland had already followed it to the beach. He gently stomped on the sand, infusing it with a stream of internal momentum.


    The sand immediately turned solid and hard, like a slate, with a colorful glow on its surface.


    The head continued to spin in an attempt to drill into the ground but to no avail. At last, it gave up.


    After Zen landed next to Leland, Leland stared at the head and said, "If I''m not w


    eally can''t leave, we can still return to the Reincarnation Land."


    "If we meet the legendary fiends, there is no chance for us to leave this place alive..."


    The three top-rank True Gods couldn''t stay calm anymore.


    Zen frowned and looked at the Western Sea Monster. "Is there any way to go to the fifth stage?"


    "I... I don''t know," the Western Sea Monster said with a mournful look on its huge face." I really don''t know. I''ve had enough of this place, but I can''t go anywhere. In the end, I can only be the food of the fiends!"


    Compared to the divine land, the environment in the forbidden areas was menacing.


    Even if not for the looming threat of the fiends, the ferocious beasts would fight among themselves; this was something they couldn''t avoid.


    After all, it was impossible for these creatures to escape into the divine land. Being illusions, they would disappear into thin air if they put a foot outside the forbidden area.


    "Since that''s the case, there''s no need for you to exist," Zen said as he raised his long sword, ready to kill the beast.


    In his eyes, these beasts didn''t deserve his mercy.


    "Wait, wait!" the head said anxiously in an attempt to get Zen to spare its life. "I''ve heard there''s a fellow in the sea who would know the way out!"


    "In the lava sea?"


    Standing on the huge head, Zen looked at the dark red lava sea and asked, "How can we find that guy?"

 Chapter 2741 Hooking

    The Western Sea Monster hesitated for a moment before saying, "That guy lives in lava. It''s one of the fiends'' most favorite food, but it''s too flexible. Usually, my body is used to hook it up..."


    "Hook it with your body?" Zen blinked his eyes a few times as his gaze swept back and forth across the beach.


    "Yes," the monster answered honestly. Although it was far from human, its features were very natural. Now, the monster''s expression took on a look of grievance.


    In this area, the monster was considered a kind of low-level beast.


    It might be one of the fiends'' food, but its biggest function was to lure that thing in the sea.


    "Well then, in that case, we can catch it. What do you think?" said Leland.


    "I''m afraid you''ll have to wait, actually..." The monster said, unexpectedly.


    "And why should we wait, exactly?" Zen asked, his brows furrowed.


    "Not long ago, that thing was eaten by a fiend. I don''t know whether it has been reborn now," the monster said with a light grin.


    Every single beast in the forbidden area would appear, over and over again.


    This was very similar to the divine might coins, which would appear at the same place time and time again, even after being taking away. The forbidden area was maintained by the Faith Energy, which explained the phenomenon.


    The monster, however, was obviously much luckier than the thing in the lava sea. That was a given.


    It was safe to say that the monster wasn''t quite popular with the fiends. As for the thing in the lava sea though, if it had been reborn, then it would surely be captured and swallowed by the fiends once again.


    In fact, the number of times that thing had been reincarnated was actually unknown.


    After he listened to the monster, Zen said, "I think that thing might have been revived. I can also give it a try!"


    At that, Zen reached both his arms upward and pulled at the air, as if he were tugging on a rope.


    With a little trembling and shaking of the surroundings, one of the tentacles buried deep within the sand began to emerge. Zen was pulling it out!


    As soon as he grasped the tentacle with his two hands, he shook it briskly. The tentacle shook in the air in a violent whacking motion, before smashing onto the lava sea''s surface.


    The lava was scalding, and yet, the tentacle was capable of withstanding it with ease.


    It only took a few seconds before the enormous tentacle began to sink into the lava sea, slowly disappearing until there was nothing left of it at all.


    As Leland watched, he smiled and decided


    worthy.


    That said, it didn''t mean that the skulls had any actual use for the fiend race. The fiends only took them as treasures, and placed them in their bedrooms for appreciation, almost like the trophies.


    Splash!


    Right smack in the middle of the altar was a small round hole.


    Out of nowhere, a surge of dark red blood began gushing out of the tiny hole. The blood spread along the lines of the altar and poured into the skulls.


    Once these skulls were completely injected with blood, their sunken eye sockets immediately glowed with an eerie red light.


    Before long, all the sockets on the skulls were glowing.


    Once countless red dots could be seen throughout, a pool of blood began to flood the center of the altar! What the hell was going on?


    The blood quickly condensed and suddenly formed into the shape of a human baby.


    The baby started to grow from the size of a thumb to the size of a fist. Two small horns suddenly appeared on its head, and its skin turned dark red. Obviously, this was the exact appearance of the previous little fiend who had died not long ago.


    "Damn it! The Holy Beings have burned me! They''re digging their own grave!"


    The little fiend hadn''t even grown up yet, and an incredible rage had already appeared on his still slightly childish face.


    As soon as he finished speaking, a huge fist suddenly descended from above the altar!


    Boom!


    The fist punched the altar straight on, and caught the little fiend between the two, making him turn into a cutlet.


    A loud, gloomy voice was next to sound out, "Luring the Soul Devouring Bugs into the third stage was not easy, but you''ve wasted such a great opportunity. What a group of waste!"

 Chapter 2742 The Great Fiends

    Amidst the thick mist above the altar stood a huge figure.


    When the figure slowly retracted his fist, the flat body of the little fiend twisted and resumed his original shape.


    "Master, please forgive me!"


    the little fiend cried in fear, dropping to his knees on the altar.


    At this moment, another mass of blood appeared next to the little fiend. The blood rapidly coagulated and took the shape of another little fiend.


    The two little fiends had been refined to death by Clark after being captured by the Holy Beings, so they had been revived at the bottom of the Abyss Demon Region, which was a lot faster than running back from the third stage.


    However, the little fiends actually hadn''t wanted to come back at all.


    Since their mission had failed, the ones who returned first would have to bear the brunt of their master''s anger.


    "Master, you can''t blame us for that. We failed because Wrath came too late. The Soul Devouring Bugs had already started to disperse by then. And after the Holy Beings rushed out of the area covered by the Soul Devouring Bugs, we were no match for them at all..."


    Bang!


    The little fiend which had just appeared tried to defend himself, but he was met with a huge fist in response.


    The two little fiends were smashed into pieces of meat.


    However, this heavy punch was not at all a punishment for the little fiends.


    They could not feel pain ¡ª at least not in the physical sense.


    What the two little fiends feared was that their master would give them other punishments. The fiends had numerous methods of torture. Some of these methods were so sophisticated that they could be called art.


    In fact, putting aside their ugly appearances, the fiends had an excellent talent for art.


    "Forget it. It was only a test. They are the strongest warriors in the divine land. It''s impossible for you to stop them," the huge figure in the mist said indifferently.


    "If you knew it was an impossible task, why did you assign it to us?" one of the little fiends muttered in complaint.


    Just like the monsters in the Abyss Demon Region had sprung into existence from the negative emotions of the divine citizens, the little fiends had sprung into existence from the negative emotions of the fie


    gs would have little effect on them.


    "I think this is an opportunity for us. We can''t always be restricted to the Abyss Demon Region," said Stuart with a look of yearning on his face. "We have thought about this for so many years, and now, finally, we have such a chance. Even if it''s a little risky, why don''t we take advantage of it?"


    The creatures in the forbidden land were fortunate enough to be born strong.


    However, it was their misfortune that, regardless of whether they were a strong great fiend or a weak fox, all of them were not real existences and were only illusions!


    After the great fiends had become the rulers of the Abyss Demon Region, they had begun to think about how to leave this damned place.


    Their goal was to conquer the entire divine land.


    However, as creatures of fantasy, they would vanish into thin air the moment they stepped out of the forbidden land. This was an inexorable law that even the most powerful fiends could not overcome.


    Still, the intelligent fiends had eventually managed to find a small loophole that would make it possible for them to leave the forbidden land and enter the divine land.


    All of a sudden, Gallio burst into laughter.


    The two other great fiends sitting with him laughed as well.


    "Why are you all laughing?" Stuart asked with a frown.


    "Just before you came, we took a vote on whether we should take such a risk. The result was 1 to 2. I lost," Gallio said with a smile. "I thought you would be on my side!"

 Chapter 2743 Strange Fish

    The fiend race could not be counted as a race with countless members. There were only less than a thousand fiends in the entire Abyss Demon Region.


    The four fiends in the huge hall were the actual commanders of the fiend race.


    If there was a big decision to make, the four fiends would vote for it.


    "There is no way I would back you," Stuart said sternly.


    His gaze traveled past Gallio and was fixated on a giant mural behind him.


    The mural had a depiction of an old man, holding a book. Countless fiends were surrounding this divine citizen.


    Right below these fiends were a myriad of True Gods in the divine land.


    Just like the divine citizens, the fiends also had their respective faith.


    And their belief rested on the ordinary old man, named Roberto Wang, in the divine land.


    During his entire lifespan, he hardly achieved any milestones. By the end of his time, he was only a proving godly warrior.


    Since he did not break through to the True God Realm, he could not live in the divine land forever.


    In short, he was nothing more than a negligible existence in the divine land.


    If it weren''t for his mundane lifespan, Roberto Wang could not have had such a drastic effect on others.


    In all fairness, Roberto Wang had a very mediocre talent in cultivation.


    He could only become a proving godly warrior. That was his limit. He did not possess the required talents or capacity to become a low-rank True God.


    As time went by, Roberto Wang''s lifespan also gradually drew to an end.


    But in his last days, he suddenly began to form different legends.


    In the meantime, the Sacred race had been wiped off. And the newly born divine citizens were still getting used to their new surroundings.


    Slowly, the legends that he made, began to spread everywhere.


    The most popular and widespread of these legends was of the fiend race.


    This race did not possess a specific surname. Hence, they were named like Gallio, Stuart etc.


    But despite this, they possessed a high intellect.


    Apart from that, they were physically well built and had a strong addiction to killing.


    They lived in the Abyss Demon Region, among all the other evil creatures of the divine land.


    Soon Roberto Wang''s random stories


    s had gathered.


    The strange fish was constantly eaten by the fiend race over and over again. It had heard a lot of secrets of the fiend race on the dining table. Therefore it knew this race very well and knew it better than any other creatures.


    After the enchanted barrier was launched, the strange fish swam in the sea of lava continuously.


    Vaguely, it could see a tentacle approaching.


    ''Wow! They are going to catch me so soon! Are these beasts so hungry?''


    The fish was somewhat confused with this situation.


    Normally, each time it was eaten, it would be released and left alone for a good period of time.


    As a unique ferocious beast, it was an extremely high-level food in the fiend race, which was not something that ordinary fiends could enjoy.


    ''How can this be possible?


    Again? I''m going to be eaten one more time? Isn''t that too soon?


    Why can''t they leave me alone?''


    The strange fish resisted that tentacle.


    But in the eyes of the strange fish, the tentacle was so tempting, just like the fish itself was so tempting to the fiends.


    Anyway, it would be eaten sooner or later, and it could still enjoy the meal before being eaten!


    ''Come on!''


    After a fierce struggle within the fish, it gave in to the temptation and finally bit the tentacle.


    At the same time, Zen felt the tentacle hanging from his hand suddenly turned heavy. A smile appeared on his face. "Finally it took the bait!"


    Saying that, Zen heaved the tentacle from the sea of lave.

 Chapter 2744 Joining Zen

    With an almighty splash, the strange fish was dragged out of the sea of lava and towards the shore.


    ''This doesn''t seem right.''


    The fish seemed to think, confused.


    It usually didn''t get dragged ashore until it almost finished eating the tentacle.


    After all, it couldn''t escape if the fiends were so intent on catching it.


    The fish usually didn''t resist. Since there was something it wanted to eat, it chose to satisfy its appetite first.


    The fiend who came to catch the fish was usually very patient and would let it have its last lunch.


    But this time, it had barely taken a bite when it was dragged up to the shore. How anxious these guys were!


    "So soon?"


    The Western Sea Monster was also surprised.


    Leland smiled and threw away the tentacle in his hand.


    It seemed to him that Zen was indeed luckier than him.


    The strange fish landed directly on the beach with a plop. It looked around with its strange eyes, and the first thing it saw was the Western Sea Monster.


    Its eyes widened in humor. "Western Sea Monster! You? Ha-ha! How did you find the courage to climb out of the sand? You''re usually so gutless!"


    As it spoke, the strange fish began to sense that something was wrong.


    Beside the Western Sea Monster stood several humans.


    "Humans? Human True Gods? How could they be here?" the strange fish screamed, its eyes filled with disbelief.


    This area was dominated by the fiend race.


    It looked like the only reason the human race would appear here would be if they were being controlled by the fiend race. It could be that the fiends ate people.


    The strange fish had a vague recollection of the fiends doing something like that before.


    Perhaps because the human race was similar to the fiend race, the fiends had been very interested in everything that the humans did or had.


    The human flesh was one of them.


    But they found it difficult to eat people.


    After all, although this fish was rare and was one of a kind at the moment, it would be reborn after being eaten.


    It had been eaten hundreds of thousands of times.


    It was a kind of food that was inexhaustible.


    And the fiends had to go to the upper stages of the Abyss Demon Region to ca


    again.


    But given its limited abilities, it was near impossible for it to escape.


    The human True Gods standing before it seemed to be strong enough, which had it believing that there might be a possibility, however small, of its escape.


    On the other hand, if it failed, it would only be eaten again by fiends. It knew its fate was miserable and nothing that happened would be worse than the things it had undergone so far.


    "Okay! I''ll show you the way out!" The strange fish agreed after thinking for a while.


    Zen smiled and pointed at the tentacles, "Have them."


    The strange fish, no longer fearful, opened its mouth and gulped down the tentacles.


    But as it ate, it still looked at the Western Sea Monster in the distance.


    The Western Sea Monster knew that the fish wouldn''t give up easily. So it turned and went down the beach. Zen didn''t stop it this time. In any case, its goal had been achieved. And now, the key lay in this strange fish.


    The strange fish gobbled down all the tentacles quickly. It was not until it finished eating that it said, "Right now, the great fiends are planning to leave the Abyss Demon Region. But they seem to have encountered some difficult enemies. This is an opportunity for us. If you had arrived before this, you wouldn''t have been able to leave this place."


    "Leave the Abyss Demon Region?" Shock registered on Zen''s face.


    It looked like the strange fish knew a lot, just as the Western Sea Fish had said.

 Chapter 2745 A Pass

    "Yes! I was right there! So I heard it clearly!" The strange fish spoke in a firm tone, "I don''t know what method they have come up with. They actually are planning to leave this damned place!"


    Its eyes suddenly showed signs of yearning to leave this place.


    Having such a sense and intellect, any creature would not be willing to stay longer at this place.


    "But it''s impossible for the creatures of the forbidden area to leave the place," Leland contradicted. He thought that for them to be able to run away, it was beyond belief.


    It was a known fact. Every living being throughout the divine land was aware of this common knowledge. Otherwise, every beast in the forbidden area would have already fled and scattered all over the world.


    "I don''t have any idea either. Those big fiends are surely planning this," the strange fish answered.


    Zen, on the other hand, couldn''t be bothered anymore by this and shook his head. He candidly asked, "I don''t want to talk about it at the moment. We must leave now. Can you show me the way?"


    In response to Zen''s question, the strange fish''s body twisted on the ground. From under its torso, slender legs instantly extended. One by one, about thirty pair of legs stretched out as its entire body was completely supported to stand on the ground.


    "Come with me!"


    The fish''s slender legs twitched and swung in the air.


    In a while, it began to move and run at an extremely fast speed on the ground!


    "Let''s go." Zen gave a nod, and in a flash moved following behind the strange fish.


    The next moment, Leland and the other three top-rank True Gods also moved in an instant. Their figures turned into streaks of light as they tagged along.


    The speed of the fish, as its legs moved back and forth, was extremely fast, but compared to Zen and the others, it was still slower.


    They continued to advance forward for quite a distance alongside the long coastline. Zen became a little impatient noticing the fish''s speed and couldn''t help but offer, "I will carry you now as we fly. You can just show me the way."


    Although the physique of the strange fish was not small, supporting its weight wouldn''t be a burden to him.


    "I''m not used to it. Moreover, the exit of this pasture isn''t very far, and it only takes at most an hour to get there." The strange fish turned down the offer. Naturally, it wasn''t willing to be carried on the way by Zen.


    Since it wasn''t willing, Zen just shrugged his shoulders and continued to speed up.


    On the way, he was caught in his own thought and examined Rocher''s memory again. What he saw made him frown slightly.


    He saw and witnessed how Nicholas and the others got rid of


    ity of the fiends, it could be said that their strength differed by levels.


    Holy Beings were known to be powerful but the top fiends held much strength and could overpower them. As the top ferocious beasts of the Abyss Demon Region, the fiends rarely died. Thus almost every fiend had accumulated a lot of Faith Energy. Even the strength of ordinary fiends was no different from that of the consummate True Gods.


    "We have to try our best," Leland encouraged.


    He was a Demi-holy Being but he did not come from a powerful clan on the Floating Island. He was not even in a high position. In terms of real strength, he was no match for Troy and Rachelle.


    "In that case, I have to be the bait this time, and you attack them from behind. What do you think?" the strange fish suggested with an awkward smile.


    The truth was that this suggestion would just be considered an adventure without danger.


    But it was a different case for both Zen and Leland. Not knowing what the strange fish had in mind, they were feeling under pressure as this was their only chance. Every action needed to be carefully planned out.


    "Okay," Zen agreed after a while.


    Back then, the fiend called Edmond was extremely strong among the fiends.


    But Zen''s current strength was strong enough to subdue him. Moreover, the fiends that were guarding the pass shouldn''t be stronger than Edmond...


    After further vigilant discussion, the strange fish made its move.


    Both Zen and Leland positioned themselves along the low-lying path on the side, and carefully walked matching its pace.


    As for the other three top-rank True Gods, they could only stay in place and wait. They would only follow after Zen and Leland had succeeded.


    Back to the strange fish, it was already near its destination.

 Chapter 2746 Finish Off

    The fiends that were guarding the pasture had little else to do.


    They always made sure that the ferocious beasts weren''t able to escape the pasture. They also needed to capture enough fresh food and handed it over when they were ordered to.


    The strange fish was already familiar with the fiend race as it had been in the presence of this race for countless years past.


    At the same time that Nicholas led an army of Holy Beings into the Abyss Demon Region, the fiends had also begun to send their own members.


    There were originally twelve fiends who were stationed at the pasture. When eight of them were dispatched to the other stages, only four fiends remained to guard this place.


    "Here I go! Let me see how you plan to escape!"


    Inside a room at the top of the building, two fiends faced each other on opposite sides of a big board. Both of them looked excited as they played the game of Go.


    The game of Go was complicated, but the fiends'' intelligence level allowed them to keep up with the game-play.


    Almost all of the fiends had unparalleled skills that they had mastered in playing Go. They were very proficient at playing Go and they were very fond of playing it.


    One of the fiends had thought about his move for a long time before he finally moved a piece on the board.


    "You made a mistake, idiot!" a fiend beside him, who was watching the game, sneered.


    The fiend who played his move in the game glared murderously at the fiend who mocked him, then said, "There exists a saying among True Gods: A true gentleman keeps his silence while watching a game..."


    Before he finished his statement, his eyes glanced towards the door. A smile was slyly revealed on his face. "Haha, it seems that we would be eating something scrumptious today!"


    The other fiends directed their gaze to the same direction he was looking at; they also caught sight of the strange fish outside the house!


    In the divine land, there was a legend passed down from generation to generation about the strange fish.


    In the legend, it had been described as being extremely delicious. Many True Gods in the divine land who believed in the legend wanted to capture the strange fish in the northern sea.


    Because of this legend, the strange fish came into existence in the Abyss Demon Region and became a delicacy for the fiends.


    However, this delicacy wasn''t enjoyed by just any random fiend. Only the powerful fiends had been offered with this strange fish for them to partake of. Ordinary fiends had only dreamt of having a share.


    But an opportunity had presented itself at that moment!


    When the other three fien


    however, had quick reflexes and managed to dodge the sword radiance beam. Even under the pressure exerted by the five colored light, he still avoided Zen''s sword and retreated rapidly!


    "Damn human!" the fiend cursed at him and raised his arm in a fist.


    On his arm was a tiny and exquisite skull.


    "Stop him! He''s going to call for reinforcements of the other fiends!" the strange fish raised its voice in a roar and shouted loudly. As it had hidden in the low-lying area, it saw everything that went on.


    Zen froze in concentration, then thunder wings instantly materialized on his back!


    "Boom!"


    With a crisp crack of lightning, Zen suddenly appeared at the fiend''s side. He slashed his sword downwards directly onto the fiend''s head.


    But it was too late. The tiny skull on the fiend''s arm had already lit up and glowed with a malicious light. The fiend roared, "Pasture, humans..."


    "Phew!"


    Zen struck the fiend''s head with his long sword and almost split the fiend into two.


    After he dealt the killing blow, Zen drew his sword and quickly thrust it at the skull.


    "Bang!"


    Zen''s sword pierced the core of the skull and immediately tore it into pieces.


    With the combined power of Zen and Leland, they had eliminated all four fiends without hassle. They had finished the job quickly and cleanly.


    However, their faces had unreadable expressions. The last fiend had already sent out the call for reinforcement!


    "We need to get out of this place as soon as possible. It will still take some time for the other fiends to get here!"


    The strange fish felt excitement running through its veins. It did not expect that the two humans were such powerful beings. This might really be an opportunity for it to escape alive!

 Chapter 2747 Pulverize Me

    "Da! Da! Da!"


    The strange fish moved its legs madly as it ran along the road between the two flaming mountains, completely disregarding the fact that there could be danger ahead.


    Zen couldn''t help but shake his head when he saw this scene. They all continued to follow closely behind the fish.


    However, just after they had crossed a hundred miles, a sharp cry erupted from the peak of the mountains on both sides.


    Enormous birds with wings as wide as a thousand feet flew over the mountains, covering the sun and the rest of the sky.


    The Abyss Demon Region was always dimly lit, but these giant birds had caused the mountain roads below to fall into almost pitch darkness.


    "Oh, so fast!"


    The strange fish was still running excitedly without even noticing the giant birds above its head.


    But a few moments later, it came to a stop. At the end of the mountain road stood a fiend that was three thousand feet tall. The strange fish turned around and looked at Zen and the others with innocent eyes.


    ''This stupid fish...''


    Zen cursed the fish in his heart. If it weren''t for the fact that they needed the strange fish to guide the way for them, he would have killed it.


    As the giant birds in the sky continued circling the mountains, seemingly having no intention of attacking, the fiend blocking the mountain path said, "Humans, you... are from the Reincarnation Land?"


    This gigantic fiend who was over a thousand feet high, had a ferocious face, and he was giving off a dreadful and gloomy aura.


    Compared to the four fiends that guarded the pasture, this fiend was much more powerful and superior in terms of strength and status.


    On the other side of the pasture was a dead end; there was no other entrance there. And these five humans seemed to have emerged out of nowhere. So, there was only one explanation¡ªthey had come here from the Reincarnation Land.


    Several years ago, a similar event had occurred. A Holy Being had run away from the pasture, killed a lot of fiends, and finally managed to escape the Abyss Demon Region.


    "So what?" Zen sneered arrogantly.


    Leland stared at the giant birds above them. There were also some tall figures behind these giant birds. It was obvious that some fiends were controlling these giant birds.


    "My name is Begaus an


    rank True Gods, he knew that they posed no threat.


    However, it seemed that his calculations had been wrong. The strength of the consummate True God was far beyond anything he had witnessed from a human! This man posed a much greater threat than the Demi-holy Being who was with him.


    At this rate, Begaus knew that all his warriors would be killed by this mysterious human in just a matter of seconds.


    Wisps of faint red light flickered on the rough skin on Begaus'' body.


    Bang, bang, bang...


    He was so large that he rushed over to the humans with just a few menacing steps.


    Leland knew that as the Demi-holy Being in the group, he should be the one to stop Begaus. However, Begaus'' strong aura and his mountain-like figure were so overwhelming that Leland hesitated. In the end, he said, "Zen, be careful!"


    "I''ll pulverize you!" Begaus growled, reaching Zen in the blink of an eye.


    Gathering thousands of pounds of force at his foot, he brought it down toward Zen''s head.


    The fiends in the Abyss Demon Region were good at using raw power to solve everything. Since it was impossible for everyone to use Grand Teleportation, their huge size had become a natural advantage.


    Seeing the huge foot coming down at him, Zen narrowed his eyes and sneered. "You? Pulverize me?"


    Then, he spat out a simple word:


    "Grow!"


    Before Begaus'' foot could touch him, he had grown to a height of four thousand feet.


    His physical form had surpassed Begaus'' in an instant, and it was still continuing to grow rapidly.

 Chapter 2748 The Desperation Plain

    Begaus was unable to compete against Zen, who was even taller.


    A shocked expression covering his features, he looked up at Zen, whose figure was increasing exponentially.


    The fiend''s colossal figure had been the greatest advantage in his arsenal.


    Now, for the first time, Begaus felt tiny and helpless like a leaf in the wind.


    In the blink of an eye, Zen had grown to become a giant who was fifty thousand feet tall.


    His huge body cast a giant shadow over the ground. The mountains before Zen were like small bumps. Their might was meaningless.


    "What''s this?"


    Leland sputtered, staring at Zen''s giant body.


    Compared to Zen, he was as small as an ant. Zen''s size shook him to the core.


    The three top-rank True Gods in the corner were also dumbfounded as to how this was possible. They were clueless about what had happened.


    "Now who is to be pulverized?" Zen sneered.


    Thud! Thud!


    Begaus took a deep breath and suddenly turned around, retreating in a hurry.


    Stomp!


    When Zen stepped, the earth around cracked. The crack spread and extended several thousand feet. Magma flowed out from it.


    Begaus thought he was lucky to dodge Zen''s attack.


    But deep inside, he felt helpless.


    The fiend race attached great importance to any intruders. The strongest of their warriors had assembled on the sixth stage.


    As the leader of the sixth stage, Begaus was powerful and held high status. He had himself volunteer to confront the trouble and go all out to solve it.


    However, he had never expected to face this monster!


    Was this person still a human being? How could his stature be so great?


    He managed to dodge when Zen tried to trample him for the first time, but he failed to do so the second time.


    Stomp!


    When Zen stepped on Begaus''s head with his foot, the latter''s vision blurred. The disturbing and violent sound of a crack was heard.


    Begaus was stunned for a while and realized that his bones were broken. He fainted in a flash.


    After Zen crushed Begaus, he reached out, his hand slapping at something around him.


    His hands were like two enormous doors and the previously giant birds were as tiny as flies in front of him.


    As Zen hit t


    it here."


    Right now, they would rather let the human warriors come to them than seek them out themselves.


    As soon as the fiend commander finished speaking, black smoke billowed over from behind the Desperation Plain.


    Hearing the faint sound, the fiends turned their heads.


    As the black smoke circled around them and dissipated, Gallio''s giant body stepped out.


    Thud! Thud! Thus!


    The fiends fell prostrate on the ground.


    The four great fiends, including Gallio and Stuart, held great status in the fiend race.


    They got their high status not by relying on their own strength. In their legends, these four fiends were renowned, which was why they were able to possess more Faith Energy and become the superiors of the fiend race.


    Standing there, Gallio looked into the distance and saw a huge door of space.


    "Generals and soldiers, today, your enemies are the Holy Beings of the divine land," Gallio said coolly. "You are to live forever. But if you were to die today, you will become stronger in the future! Those seemingly powerful humans are only the stepping stones for us to enter the divine land!"


    The fiends were not afraid of death, because in their minds, they had no concept of life and death. For them, death was only a loss in their cultivation bases.


    What truly excited them, however, was setting foot into the divine land.


    "Yes! Bravo!"


    Hundreds of fiends roared. Their loud cries echoed on the Desperation Plain.

 Chapter 2749 Predicament

    A deafening roar came from the Desperation Plain and echoed throughout the surroundings.


    Zen, who had been flying at a constant speed, froze in midair when he heard this powerful sound. His face darkened immediately.


    Leland and the other three top-rank True Gods also looked grim.


    "Why did you stop? The Desperation Plain is right ahead of us!" the strange fish said, continuing to rush forward.


    Zen reached out and slapped the air in front of him. At once, a big lone hand popped out of nowhere and grabbed the fish, dragging it back.


    "Why did you grab me? The exit is right ahead of us..." the strange fish complained as it struggled in the big hand.


    Zen didn''t bother to explain. With a slight movement of his finger, the big hand turned into a large net, trapping the strange fish within it. Then, he slowly floated toward a high mountain in front of him, followed by Leland and the others.


    After reaching the top of the mountain, Zen and the others carefully craned their heads to look at the scene below.


    "Oh my God! So many fiends!"


    "Are they waiting for us?"


    "We''re doomed..."


    the top-rank True Gods cried in fear.


    "Do you think we''re such a big threat that so many fiends would have gathered here to deal with us?" Leland sneered at them in response.


    There were hundreds of fiends waiting in the Desperation Plain. Aside from them, there was also a large number of ferocious beasts with relatively strong auras.


    In particular, there was a huge fiend standing at the end of the Desperation Plain which had such a strong aura that it struck fear into Leland''s heart. Even Holy Beings would be fearful of such a powerful fiend. Leland knew that there was no way that all these fiends had come here just to deal with them.


    "But who on earth is here that all these fiends are on high alert and ready for combat?" Leland muttered.


    Zen glanced down at the Desperation Plain, and then stared at the other side, where there was a huge space door.


    "The space door will lead to the fifth stage?" Zen asked the strange fish.


    The strange fish was now tied up by Zen. It couldn''t run around like it usually did, so it settled for nodding passively. "Yes! That''s the door!"


    Hearing this, Zen used the Reincarnation Soul Weapon once more to probe Rocher''s me


    mmander spoke, he raised a halberd that was crackling with waves of faint red energy.


    Feeling the power of that energy, Leland twitched his eyes in nervousness.


    This fiend was much more powerful than Begaus, the one they had previously encountered.


    The three top-rank True Gods also trembled in fear. They were not at all capable of going against a being this powerful.


    Zen, however, remained calm. From the corner of his eyes, he glanced at the space door at the end of the Desperation Plain.


    His best bet of getting out of this situation was to sneak away during the chaos when the two parties fought.


    From Rocher''s memories, Zen knew that the group of people led by Nicholas was very close to the exit of the space channel.


    Seeing Zen and his group stay silent, the fiend commander let out a sinister laugh. "You want to waste my time? Then let me finish all of you off..."


    However, before he could finish his sentence, there was a flash of dazzling light at the space door. Dozens of powerful auras suddenly burst out through the door. Nicholas had led all the members of the alliance to the sixth stage. The fiend commander naturally shifted his attention to them.


    ''Now, this is the right time!''


    Zen''s eyes flashed, and the Shadow Bearing Sword appeared in his hand. His body turned into a beam of light and shot toward the fiend commander.


    The fiend commander was quick to react. Seeing that Zen still dared to make a move in this situation, he sneered and brought the halberd down on Zen''s head.

 Chapter 2750 Escape During The Chaos

    Gallio did not pay heed to Zen and the people with him. He concentrated on the transmission door instead.


    The moment Nicholas led the Holy Beings and the consummate True Gods to walk out of the transmission channel, Gallio''s deep loud voice rang out. "Everyone! It''s time to fight!"


    Thousands of Abyss Demons dashed forward, their bodies flashing with golden lights that could protect them from the power of internal momentum.


    The Abyss Demons weren''t strong enough to fight the Holy Beings. They were even inferior to consummate True Gods.


    But they had certain talents that were unique to them and which could prove to be extremely troublesome to deal with.


    Nicholas had just stepped out of the transmission channel when he saw the advancing charge. His face hardened as his gaze fell on Gallio in the far distance.


    "Consummate True Gods, you deal with these Abyss Demons!


    Everyone else, kill the fiends!


    Murphy, Jeremiah, Clark - follow me!"


    The members of the alliance of the powerful clans on the Floating Islands were not always close to each other. But Murphy, Jeremiah, and Clark were ones whom Nicholas trusted most in the alliance.


    At Nicholas''s orders, the three Holy Beings leaped into air, turned into three streaks of light, and flew towards Gallio.


    As they flew over the Desperation Plain, dozens of giant birds gathered in the sky, blocking their way from afar. But before the birds could do anything, they burst into flames and fell out of the sky, crying shrilly.


    Clark looked rather indifferently at the giant birds. He knew that the birds couldn''t have stopped them anyway.


    Gallio stood there motionlessly, watching as the three Holy Beings rushed towards him.


    Rachelle and a few other consummate True Gods had transformed into a streak of blood light and rushed toward the Desperation Plain.


    But as she stepped into the Desperation Plain, she felt the life force within her body quickly consumed.


    But at her current cultivation level, she was full of life force.


    The rate that her life force was being consumed at the moment was not a big deal.


    A crack sounded, and an Abyss Demon''s body was cut in half.


    With their levels of strength, the Abyss Demo


    killed him with just one sword strike!


    The internal momentum contained in Zen''s strike was complicated, as if it contained hundreds of Godly Ways. Leland couldn''t believe his eyes.


    "Let''s go," Zen said as his gaze swept across the Desperation Plain.


    While tangled in the chaos, he had noticed Rocher locked in a fierce battle against the Abyss Demons. .


    ''I''m sorry I can''t accompany you to explore the Abyss Demon Region, '' Zen thought.


    He released the strange fish. They then took a detour along the side of the Desperation Plain and flew towards the space door.


    As the alliance of the powerful clans on the Floating Islands were engaged in the fierce fight, they hardly had any time to pay attention to Zen and his companions.


    They soon arrived at the space door.


    It was then that Rachelle, who had just killed several Abyss Demons, noticed Zen. Her beautiful eyes filled with disbelief.


    "Zen? Why is he here?"


    Zen had probably felt Rachelle''s gaze on him. The moment Zen stepped into the space door, he turned and smiled at her.


    Rachelle''s heart sank. She wanted to stop him, but on second thought, she knew she was no match for him now. What was more, the elders of the clan were fighting fiercely with the fiends on the Desperation Plain.


    This was an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Rachelle didn''t want to see Zen leave just like that.


    Zen stepped into the space door, but nothing happened. It looked like the door had stopped working!

 Chapter 2751 Unable To Escape

    The tall space door didn''t budge.


    "How can this be?" Leland muttered gloomily.


    The strange fish shuttled back and forth in the door of space, making rattling noises.


    If the Space Law wasn''t supporting the door, it would be just an ordinary door. How would it react when the strange fish shuttled back and forth like that?


    "The fiend race has probably sealed the door of space," Zen said, frowning.


    The alliance of the powerful clans had taken action, but the fiend race must have been preparing for this eventuality for a long time. The moment the Holy Beings entered the sixth stage, the fiends cut off their route of retreat.


    Zen''s route of retreat was also destroyed.


    "What should we do? Can this door of space be reset?" Leland asked.


    Zen looked at the door of space and saw that countless, complex array textures had gathered around the door frame.


    The Space Law was prohibited in the Abyss Demon Region. It must have taken the fiend race a lot of effort to build a space channel like this. And now that they had cut it off, they couldn''t recover it in such a short span of time.


    "I''m afraid it can''t," Zen said.


    Leland and the several other True Gods weren''t worrying as much. In fact, as long as the alliance of the powerful clans defeated the fiend race, they wouldn''t find themselves in any kind of a dilemma.


    But Zen was different.


    No matter which side won the battle, he would not have the most ideal of endings.


    Zen was deep in thought when Rachelle''s clear voice rang out.


    "Zen wants to escape from the Abyss Demon Region!"


    Chaos reigned as the Holy Beings fought the fiends.


    But Rachelle''s voice, which was filled with life vitality, clearly reached the ears of everyone in the Desperation Plain.


    Rachelle thought that it wasn''t difficult to win the battle. Only one Holy Being or Demi-holy Being was enough to stop Zen. Zen was too crucial, even more crucial than the Abyss Demon Region. So she decided to spread the news of his presence at this critical moment.


    "Zen? How could he be here?" Rocher was stunned.


    Even the alliance of powerful clans had paid a heavy price to enter the Abyss Demon R


    appeared on the plain.


    Nicholas was standing in the pit. He had just withstood Gallio''s attack and his clothes were muddy and torn. But his eyes were full of fighting spirit.


    He looked at Samuel and said, "Samuel, your strength is extraordinary, and it''s difficult to deal with these fiend commanders. I need your help!"


    The moment Nicholas finished talking, he turned into a gust of wind and headed for Gallio at the end of the Desperation Plain.


    "Such a foxy guy!" Samuel muttered furiously.


    He knew that Nicholas was alert to him. But now, Nicholas, Clark, and Murphy had to deal with Gallio without distractions. This meant it was a great opportunity for him.


    However, it was obvious that Nicholas wanted Samuel to stay at the battlefield.


    Seeing that Zen was already running towards the left side of the Desperation Plain, Samuel hesitated.


    "Catch him!"


    Laquisha, Aleyna, and Pascal were also fighting fiercely with the Abyss Demons. They seemed to be one when they worked together and so in tandem.


    The three of them had just become consummate True Gods, but their powers were far beyond that of a consummate True God.


    But now, the three of them stopped suddenly and stared at the place where Zen was running off. They looked at each other, a look of understanding passing between them. When they fixed their eyes on Zen, they jumped into the air at the same time, and rushed towards Zen at a great speed.

 Chapter 2752 Pursuers

    The Desperation Plain had become quite the chaotic place now.


    The Holy Beings might have been currently fighting a fierce battle, but they had a great advantage in the overall situation.


    In spite of the latter, they were clear on the fact that it wouldn''t be as easy when it came to taking the Abyss Demon Region down.


    Seeing as the fiends were willing to fight here, it was obligatory that they had their preparations made in order to meet contingencies.


    Nicholas pinned down Gallio as he quietly observed the whole situation.


    After Rachelle had given him a warning, Nicholas had equally discovered Zen.


    When he noticed Zen, his mind was immediately filled with confusion and questions. ''This guy is simply too amazing! He could enter any damn place he desires!'' he thought to himself, his heart sinking heavily.


    He himself had led a group of Holy Beings into the sixth stage, and had experienced a lot of trouble in doing so. It had been quite the challenging task.


    He just couldn''t figure out how Zen, a mere consummate True God, had come here.


    That wasn''t to say that Nicholas thought Zen''s arrival was a bad thing, though.


    One of the main reasons Nicholas was in such a hurry to control the Abyss Demon Region was because he wanted to confront the people at the Other Shore Realm outside the divine land.


    If he could catch Zen, then it would be an incredible benefit for him. At the very least, he could get to know the masters of the Other Shore Realm through Zen.


    It had only taken a few quick seconds for these crazy thoughts to start relaying each other in his mind.


    By moving his lips ever so slightly, he sent a message through his life vitality.


    The Dongfang Clan, the Tang Clan and the Mu Clan each had a Demi-holy Being capable of receiving his message.


    Upon reception, each of them looked at the north side of the Desperation Plain. They immediately jumped out of battle and flew in that direction.


    "These guys are so powerful! Even fiends are no match! Can you believe it?


    If only they could kill those fiends!


    What a bitter situation this all is! Even Gallio is pressed and beaten by them. Ha-ha!"


    The strange fish leaned on the side of the space door and from its position, watched the chaotic battle with interest.


    Leland said nothing and kept a calm, casual look on his face.


    A few of the Demi-holy Beings in the Desperation Plain were Leland''s acquaintances. Although somewhat worried, he still had hope.


    As long as the powerful alliance won, he knew he would eventually get through this hard period of time.


    He was definitely concerned about Zen, however.


    Looking intently in the direction Zen had fled, Leland saw at least seven or eight consummate True Gods chasing after him at a very fast pace. They


    nder snake heads, each of which was as bright as freshly polished metal. Facing Zen head on, they all gave off a ferocious aura.


    "No fucking way! Nine-head Snake living in the lava sea? This is impossible!"


    Zen had no interest, nor did he have the time, to start guessing the Nine-head Snake''s origin.


    Just seconds before the snake heads had a chance to come at him with their gaping mouths and sharp fangs, Zen swung his sword in front of him several times.


    Swish, swish, swish!


    As his sword light continued to flash in the air, Zen had already spread his thunder wings and quickly raised himself off the water, continuing to flee forward.


    He had no time to fool around with such monsters.


    "Grr! Ow!"


    Without any forewarning, the Nine-head Snake in the lava raised skyward and began to howl vehemently. As it did so, it began to extend its huge heads infinitely and rushed directly toward Zen.


    The snake heads inevitably moved even faster than Zen could. Three of them even got ahead of Zen, slithering in front of him in order to block his way.


    "Damn it!" Zen said under his breath.


    "Eight Smoky Melodies!


    Truth of Cultivation Nature!" he called.


    At that exact moment, Zen''s body became extremely nimble. From the air, he shot himself outward in a strange way and swept past the snake heads.


    The nine heads opened their mouths to attack but only bit Zen''s shadow trailing behind him.


    The Nine-head Snake''s block a few moments ago had had its desired effect, though.


    The pursuers behind Zen seemed to really be catching up now. At least, they were defintely even closer to him than before.


    Zen turned around in order to avoid the Nine-head Snake''s attacks when his gaze froze. Only then did he realize that two of the people who were apparently chasing him, or so he thought, were actually Laquisha and Aleyna!

 Chapter 2753 The Black Water Area

    Forming a special array, the three members of the Han Clan went into formation, with Laquisha in front, and Pascal and Aleyna standing on each of her sides.


    All three of them moved exceptionally fast, approaching Zen quickly when he was stopped by the Nine-head Snake.


    When he was still in the Reincarnation Land, Zen learned about Samuel''s secret and that the Memory Flames of these three had been erased. Looking them now, he knew that they were not the same people he had known about.


    Glancing at them, Zen had no intention to stop.


    Now his enemies were only these three people from the Han Clan. If he hesitated a little longer, he would end up battling with not just the consummate True Gods, but also the Demi-holy and Holy Beings.


    Though he wanted to help them to regain their original memories, he realized that now was not the right time to do that.


    Zen smoothly evaded the nine huge heads of the snake like a feather and then escaped far away. Seeing him flee like a thief angered the Nine-head Snake.


    And since it couldn''t catch up with Zen''s speed, it decided to release its anger on the approaching members of the Han Clan.


    Roar! The huge creature let out an angry cry.


    Facing the direction where Laquisha and the two others were fast approaching, the creature opened the mouths of all of its nine heads at the same time, spitting out some blood balls.


    Leading the way, Laquisha''s eyes flashed with a purple light, while a softer purple light suddenly flashed in the magic array they formed.


    Aleyna''s and Pascal''s internal momentum was thoroughly gathered by this magic array, merging with Laquisha''s.


    "Purple fire sword!"


    It was a magical joint-attack array which Samuel himself created.


    After connecting their minds together and cooperating with the magic array, they found that their joined strength increased several times!


    Seeing the blood balls spewed out by the Nine-head Snake flying towards them, Laquisha formed a purple fire sword in her hand and waved it gently.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Held in her hands, the sword quickly split into dozens of smaller swords floating in the air.


    These smaller swords flew in all directions. Some swords penetrated the blood balls and burned them to ashes, while most of them directly attacked the Nine-head Snake.


    With its huge body, the monster moved very slowly and was unable to dodge.


    In a blink of an eye, the small swords that Laquisha released penetrated its entire body.


    While each sm


    no choice.


    As he hesitated for a little while, he could already hear a sharp whistling sound coming from behind him.


    Whoosh!


    A spiraling purple fire sword came straight for Zen. It was Laquisha, launching an attack across a distance of tens of thousands of feet.


    Zen rolled in the air, easily dodging the fire sword. Spreading the lightning wings, he then entered the black water area ahead.


    Without any hesitation, the three members of the Han Clan continued to chase after him.


    Soon after, Jayden, Mathew, Raymond, Rachelle and the rest arrived. Their faces became serious when they saw the black space.


    "What is this damned place? The water is so black, and I can see no signs of life," Jayden said with a frown.


    After all, they were in the Abyss Demon Region. The forbidden land had a lot of dangerous places. Even if they had a high level of cultivation base, they still had to be very careful most of the time.


    "It doesn''t matter," Rachelle said, thinking about how far Zen would''ve been now. "We shouldn''t let that brat escape from us."


    "If you enter this place carelessly, you might end up dead sooner." After thinking for a while, Mathew added, "Rachel, why don''t you guys go back first? We''ll take care of the matter and chase after Zen!"


    In the eyes of the Demi-holy Beings, Rachelle and the other young warriors had the opportunity to inherit the Abyss Demon Region. It would be a pity if they lost their lives here.


    Moreover, they strongly believed that the three of them were enough to deal with Zen.


    After coming up with a decision, the three Demi-holy Beings rushed into the black water area leaving the rest behind.

 Chapter 2754 The Truth

    The consummate True Gods were also unwilling to give up.


    But they had no choice but to step down as their elders had given the order.


    Moreover, Zen was far more powerful than them and they were no match for him.


    In the end, Rachelle had no choice but to go back.


    "Whoosh!"


    A purple fire sword streaked across the black water and shot towards Zen explosively.


    Laquisha was launching consecutive attacks on him.


    Zen twisted his body abruptly but the purple fire sword still followed his movements.


    As he lifted his body upwards, the purple fire sword brushed across the black water as it lost its target.


    As the unearthly purple fire touched the black water, it immediately went out and disappeared.


    "The black water..."


    Zen watched the scene unfolding in front of his eyes and grew more cautious.


    He knew perfectly well how deadly the unearthly purple fire from Laquisha was. It could burn almost everything.


    Especially after Laquisha''s cultivation base had improved greatly, it could not only burn the Nine-head Snake, but even light up the lava sea in the Abyss Demon Region.


    But yet it got put out after touching the black water.


    What was that black water? How could it put out the fire?


    Just as Zen was considering the question, a cold voice rang from behind him. "You have been to the Reincarnation Land, haven''t you?"


    asked Laquisha.


    As Laquisha, Aleyna and Pascal had combined as one, they could fly faster than Zen, and the distance between them and Zen was gradually shortened.


    "Yes. So what?" Zen replied coolly.


    "What did you see in the Reincarnation Land?" asked Laquisha.


    Zen turned his head and looked indifferently at Laquisha who was not far away. "Why should I tell you?"


    "Oh?"


    Laquisha''s face hardened with a trace of coldness and she pinched her fingers together slightly.


    Next to her, Aleyna and Pascal activated the huge array in the center at the same time.


    "Whirl!"


    The unearthly purple fire branched out like vines in the air and turned into a large purple fire array which shrouded Zen.


    Zen''s instinct was to dodge, but it happened too fast for him to do anything.


    "Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!"


    With Zen trapped, Laquisha, Aleyna and Pascal separated from each other


    and stood on the three important positions of the purple fire array.


    "Even top-level Demi-


    f True God Realm.


    "Splash..."


    Zen''s body drifted slowly in the unearthly purple fire. When he came out, he was unharmed.


    His body was shining with golden light, making him look like a Buddha statue plated with a layer of gold foil.


    Despite being in two different locations, Samuel on the Desperation Plain and Laquisha standing right opposite Zen, both had the same reaction, which was to stare with wide eyes. They were dumbstruck by the impossible scene.


    Only then did Samuel vaguely remember that Alfredo had once reported to him that Zen seemed to have a body that was unaffected by fire, but he hadn''t taken it seriously as Zen was merely a low-rank True God at that time.


    He had chosen to control Laquisha, Aleyna and Pascal because Laquisha had the unearthly purple fire.


    He had made use of the power given to him by the Stone Mouse to urge the three of them to reach the consummation of True God Realm. After that, they could even kill the top-level Demi-holy Beings if they worked together with the help of Laquisha''s unearthly purple fire.


    But now they met this man who was unaffected by the unearthly purple fire at all, and their biggest advantage was gone.


    "Swish!"


    After rushing out the purple fire, Zen went straight to Laquisha.


    Laquisha reacted quickly and only took a step back, while Pascal and Aleyna took a step further. The three of them used the Dragon Trapping Array to fight against Zen.


    However, what made their array so powerful was the purple fire. Since it didn''t work on Zen, they could do nothing to trap him.

 Chapter 2755 Zens Arrogance

    The wind rushed by making a soft whirring sound like a propeller blade.


    Zen had flashed through several layers of fire curtains and stopped in front of Laquisha in the blink of an eye.


    He stretched out his hand and, in a flash, got ahold of Laquisha''s head.


    "No. 9527! It''s up to you!" This thought rolled around inside Zen''s mind.


    Both Laquisha and Aleyna were the puppets of Samuel, meaning that they were the products between the human and the puppet.


    Their souls might still be intact, but their Memory Flames had disappeared.


    They only had small fragments of the Memory Flames. The memories were chaotic at best, and there were only glimpses of different cultivations. What had made them who they were was gone. They had no more personality. They were mindless, lifeless puppets.


    The only way to help them restore their memories was to force their Memory Flames back into their souls.


    Before that could happen though, they had to be rid of the choppy memories in their souls and escape from Samuel''s control at the same time.


    Zen did not have the knowledge to perform any of that, so he had to hand that task off to No. 9527.


    The moment Zen had taken hold of Laquisha''s head, No. 9527 entered her mind.


    Laquisha''s soul was floating quietly, curled up into a ball.


    Behind her soul there was a pale yellow worm crawling along her back. Its face reflected the image of Samuel.


    "What''s this?"


    Samuel''s face contorted into a scowl as he beheld the green ball of light, which was No. 9527, surprise flickering in his eyes.


    Although he didn''t know what it was exactly, he knew it was a threat to him. The surface of the parasite began to emit a soft, yellow light. When the light became almost too bright, it launched a soul attack at No. 9527.


    "Go to hell!" Samuel yelled.


    The light morphed into numerous soul thorns that spiraled towards the green ball of light.


    No. 9527 might be the lowest level as a soul body, and not very powerful, but it was still a part of the Chaos Ancient God''s soul. It was easy for it to block against Samuel''s soul worm.


    This attack with the yellow soul thorns was an extremely powerful move, which would be beyond the endurance of an ordinary consummate True God''s soul.


    As the thorns reached the surface of the green ball of light, t


    the pursuers were only the Demi-Holy Beings, Zen felt he might have a chance if he fought them.


    "If you find it so amazing, perhaps you could just leave," Zen replied faintly.


    A faint light shone from Zen''s cinnabar field as he spoke. He would put Aleyna and Laquisha in his inner world.


    Once Zen took back their Memory Flames, they would be able to restore their original memories. For now they needed to be in a safe place.


    "I think it would be best if you present your hands for capture," said Mathew coldly, as he took a step forward and stared hard at Zen.


    The three Demi-holy Beings knew they were strong enough to deter people from retaliating.


    All three of them, who were all top-level Demi-Holy Beings, were confident that they would win over a Holy Being let alone Zen. It was almost laughable seeing as Zen had only just reached the consummation of the True God Realm.


    "You all want me to present my hands to you, and surrender to capture?" Zen shook his head. "I''m afraid you''re not strong enough."


    "How arrogant!"


    How could anyone expect Raymond to accept that kind of arrogance from a consummate True God? The killing intent swelled in his chest to an unbearable level.


    The moment Raymond revealed his killing intent, a ball suddenly appeared above Zen''s head with a crackling sound.


    With what sounded like a breath from the ball, a Soul Suppressing Sword formed, startling even the Demi-Holy Beings. In an instant it flew towards Raymond.


    Unexpectedly, the first Latent Theurgy began to work.

 Chapter 2756 My Reliance

    Zen''s head had contained seven Latent Theurgies all this while.


    But after a while, these balls of theurgies were concealed so that no one could see them.


    The first Latent Theurgy that was activated was the Killing Intent Counterattack.


    This theurgy would work whenever someone became hostile towards him.


    But even Zen couldn''t help but shrink at the explosion that the Soul Suppressing Sword had sent through the ball. The mighty soul pressure had been released, causing his soul to stiffen.


    However, this was only an aftereffect.


    The Soul Suppressing Sword was then placed before Raymond, with Jayden and Mathew standing on either side of him.


    The moment they faced the Soul Suppressing Sword, their sense of self diminished and they began to feel small, like ants. The enormous soul pressure was like an infinite giant, and they were too weak to resist or escape.


    As a result, all three of them stood there like statues, until the Soul Suppressing Sword hit Raymond''s head.


    "Boom!"


    A low muffled sound was heard.


    Once the Soul Suppressing Sword had killed Raymond''s soul, it disappeared into his head.


    Raymond''s eyes flashed, emitting two rays of dazzling golden light, before becoming dull and remote.


    "Whoosh..."


    Now that Raymond''s body had lost its soul, it began to fall backwards into the black water.


    Frightened at this sight, Jayden and Mathew didn''t stop Raymond''s body, and let him fall into the black water.


    Pascal, who was still fleeing in the distance, turned around suddenly.


    Samuel, standing on the Desperation Plain, sensed what had happened through Pascal. His face darkened in shock.


    "What was that? How could it launch such a powerful soul attack?"


    There was probably no one in the divine land who could resist a soul attack of this level. Even a warrior at the Other Shore Realm would die if he or she were to touch it.


    Zen also looked regretful.


    He had had a vague feeling that the Killing Intent Counterattack was a powerful weapon, but he hadn''t expected the Soul Suppressing Sword to be so horrifying.


    It could chop off souls belonging to Demi-holy Beings and even Holy Beings and warriors at the Other Shore Realm.


    Using it to kill a Demi-holy Being of the Tang Clan was a waste of its potential.


    "As


    d given him?


    But Zen didn''t move now that he had lifted the Shadow Bearing Sword.


    "On what do you rely now?" Mathew asked angrily. He had a feeling that he had been fooled.


    "I rely on myself!"


    Zen had barely finished talking when the pair of thunder wings on his back stretched with a deafening sound.


    With an almighty crack, Zen turned into a thunderbolt and shot towards Mathew, the Shadow Bearing Sword in his hand.


    Mathew really doubted if Zen had any other secret weapon, or if he had anyone to help him remain calm.


    At Zen''s answer, he burst out into laughter. He didn''t know how a consummate True God could defeat two top-level Demi-holy Beings.


    But at the end of Zen''s words, the Shadow Bearing Sword came hacking down on Mathew''s head.


    "Do you think you can defeat us alone?"


    A trace of contempt appeared in Mathew''s eyes. He raised his Invisible Incantation Sword to fend off Zen''s Shadow Bearing Sword.


    It was obvious that he was treating Zen''s sword as some kind of a joke.


    But the moment the two swords met, the Invisible Incantation Sword dissipated into hundreds of golden incantations.


    Mathew was stunned, again.


    He had expected everything, but he hadn''t expected Zen to be able to destroy his Invisible Incantation Sword!


    The Indestructible Metal Godly Way was known for its toughness and fierceness. The Invisible Incantation Sword was a theurgy that was derived from the consummation level of the Indestructible Metal Godly Way. It couldn''t be destroyed so easily!

 Chapter 2757 Black Eyes

    Mathew was most proud of this sword. He was certain that among all of the divine land''s treasures, it would rank in the top ten in terms of strength.


    However, to Mathew''s surprise, the moment it came into contact with the Shadow Bearing Sword, it disintegrated as if it was made of sand. ''What... is happening?'' he thought bewildered. He could not believe what he was seeing.


    His Invisible Incantation Sword vanished into thin air, while Zen''s sword landed on the ground with so much force that it caused a mild tremor!


    Mathew was unable to make use of the Grand Teleportation technique and being at such a close proximity to Zen, he was convinced that he would die.


    In a battle between powerhouses, one wrong judgment could lead to an excruciating death. Zen needed to seize this unique opportunity to defeat his opponent.


    When the Shadow Bearing Sword reached Mathew''s head, Jayden''s snake spear, which was not far away, zoomed towards Zen.


    Jayden was quite surprised to see that Zen was actually about to defeat Mathew.


    However, he couldn''t just stand by and watch as Mathew was beheaded by Zen. He directly attacked Zen''s face.


    He did not intend to kill Zen, but he wanted to obstruct him!


    Swish!


    A pure and vigorous force shot out from the snake spear.


    As the Demi-holy Being of the Dongfang Clan, Jayden was stronger than an ordinary Demi-holy Being!


    In terms of fighting, the Demi-holy Beings of the Liu Clan and the Xie Clan might not be able to defeat him.


    However, he was only a Demi-holy Being and not a Holy Being. So he could not build the universe or revive infinitely.


    Zen''s brows furrowed slightly when he faced the formidable attack from Jayden.


    If he insisted on killing Mathew, it was likely that the snake spear would pierce his body and he would at least be seriously injured!


    He abruptly twisted his body to deflect!


    "Eight Smoky Melodies!"


    Zen''s body flew up and down like a piece of paper, pressing close to the snake spear. He finally swung his sword and slashed at Jayden.


    "Perfect timing!"


    With a loud growl, Jayden suddenly raised his snake spear.


    Layers of internal momentum appeared on the snake spear, especially on its tip. A faint blood texture was also visible.


    "Murdering Godly Way!"


    "Flying Ghost Stab!"


    An extremel


    olden star light went straight for Zen.


    "This sword attack is very powerful, but it can''t kill me. Can I make such a judgment using the Latent Theurgy?"


    At this moment, Zen was still chatting with No. 9527 at leisure.


    In addition to the Killing Intent Counterattack, he also had another Latent Theurgy in his mind¡ªthe Wind Cloud Escape.


    When he faced a death threat, this Latent Theurgy would move him to a safe distance to avoid danger.


    Zen was also curious to know how the Latent Theurgy could distinguish between danger and safety. Could the Latent Theurgy really make its own judgments?


    "I guess you can," No. 9527 replied. "It''s not difficult for the Latent Theurgy to make it."


    Now that the Wind Cloud Escape wasn''t working, Zen naturally felt that even though the dazzling star light was powerful, he might be able to withstand it!


    "Phew!"


    Zen also raised his hand and held the Shadow Bearing Sword horizontally against his chest.


    The emotion in his eyes disappeared in an instant, and a cold temperament arose between his eyebrows.


    "Emotion Closing Godly Way!"


    Just as Zen issued the command, a pair of dark eyes peeped out from under the dark water, observing all of this.


    No matter how fierce the fight was, the eyes were abnormally calm, and remained indifferent to the entire affair.


    However, when Zen employed the Emotion Closing Godly Way, the black eyes narrowed sharply in disbelief.


    "Emotion Closing Godly Way... How can it be? Is this Godly Way already allowed in the divine land?"

 Chapter 2758 Plan To Kill Zen

    The black eyes continued to stare at Zen, as the man tried to gauge some clues from him.


    Just then, Zen suddenly raised his long sword.


    He was about to implement a simple yet powerful sword skill.


    "The Gods-intimidating Strike!"


    As Zen''s understanding of the Emotion Closing Godly Way deepened, other different skills that he had combined in the swordsmanship also increased.


    Powerful force, Ways-blending Energy, and more pure killing move were some of the skills that he had infused.


    But the Gods-intimidating Strike continued to be the foundation of his sword skills.


    At first, the man that was hiding in the black water looked mildly perplexed looking at Zen''s sword.


    Almost immediately, his eyes lit up after seeing the Gods-intimidating Strike. It seemed like all his doubts cleared up.


    "Phew!"


    The more Zen merged the Godly Ways perfectly, the more powerful the Ways-blending Energy became.


    As Zen slashed his sword, there arose a faint ray of radiance that began to spread out.


    Moreover, Mathew had every intention to kill Zen with his Golden Destruction Strike. He was determined to hack him into pieces this time.


    No matter how powerful consummate True Gods were, they too had limited abilities. Mathew didn''t expect that Zen would be able to resist his sword strike.


    However, when the two rays of sword radiance clashed with each other, Mathew''s confidence wavered a bit.


    Zen was in no way an ordinary warrior at consummation of True God Realm. If Mathew, a top-level Demi-holy Being, was defeated by Zen, he would be thoroughly humiliated.


    "Hiss..."


    The two rays of sword radiance collided with such force that an ear piercing sound was created, enough to tear open one''s eardrums.


    At the same time, the point where the swords collided, red golden light spots appeared.


    These light spots were shooting in all directions at an extremely fast speed. Some light spots fell on Jayden''s body, leaving behind some nasty wounds.


    Unable to withstand the violent shooting, Jayden gave up the idea of trapping Zen with his snake spear and started to retreat.


    ''Mathew''s Golden Destruction Strike should be more than enough to kill Zen, '' he thought as he stepped back.


    However, Mathew was finding it difficult to be so optimistic.


    He stared at


    distance and said through his life vitality, "Nicholas, my son and daughters are in trouble. I have to go save them."


    With these words, he flew to the left side of the Desperation Plain.


    Nicholas continued to fight fiercely against Gallio.


    So far, he had the upper hand, with the help from Murphy and Clark.


    But the fiend''s recovery was so remarkable that it soon became a seesaw battle.


    Nicholas wanted to keep Samuel at the Desperation Plain, but Samuel had every right to save his children, so he couldn''t stop him from leaving.


    "Whoosh!"


    After rushing out of the Desperation Plain, Samuel turned into a cyan light and rapidly flew towards the black water.


    Pascal started to retreat, but did not run away. Samuel could find Zen quickly with Pascal''s help.


    He couldn''t let out the secret of his identity.


    Once Nicholas knew about it, it would be a catastrophe.


    The safest way out was to kill Zen as fast as possible. That was why he quickly left the Desperation Plain, regardless of Nicholas'' suspicion.


    "If I were the leader of the union of powerful clans on the Floating Islands, I would surely treasure a talent like you. But it''s a pity that I am not the leader and you already know too much!"


    Samuel''s eyes were full of killing intent.


    He personally did not despise Zen. Furthermore, Zen''s performance was outstanding. If Zen joined the Han Clan, he would certainly be put in an important position.


    Now in order to make sure nothing would go wrong, Samuel had no option but to kill Zen.

 Chapter 2759 Instant Kill

    Despite Zen''s aggressive attack, it took time for Mathew to be convinced he was inferior.


    Zen might be good at practicing sword strikes, but would probably not be able to beat Mathew. What was more, Mathew had Jayden''s help now, which meant that they could even defeat a Holy Being together.


    Annoyed, Mathew had chosen to fight Zen again head-on.


    But the result was cruel and not something that he had expected to happen. After his Invisible Incantation Sword had disappeared again, Zen had cut off his hand with one strike of his sword.


    If Jayden hadn''t pulled him on time, Zen might have cut him in half.


    It was only then that Mathew began to believe that he was indeed no match for Zen.


    Jayden, on the other hand, understood much more than Mathew did.


    It was true that Mathew was more powerful than Jayden, but Jayden was much more far-sighted than Mathew.


    Even as Zen was employing the Emotion Closing Godly Way, Jayden was planning to retreat.


    According to him, the passageway from the sixth stage to the upper stage had already been closed, so even if Zen had a pair of wings, he still wouldn''t be able to leave the Abyss Demon Region.


    ''It''s not shameful that we didn''t catch Zen. If Nicholas takes control of the Abyss Demon Region, it will be easy for us to kill him.


    Why would we have to risk our lives to fight this guy?'' Jayden thought.


    But Mathew was a stubborn man. Now he wouldn''t be able to deal with Zen, who was chasing him down.


    "Golden Sword Condensation!"


    Mathew yelled.


    He was firm about the fact that he would fight. So what if he had only one arm? His eyes gleamed with fighting intent.


    The Invisible Incantation Sword had blocked him several times now. But Zen uttered a single word, "Break."


    The explosive power on the Shadow Bearing Sword suddenly increased tenfold.


    The golden sword shattered and turned into golden runes again.


    Zen was about to launch an attack when Jayden raised his snake spear and stabbed it at Zen yet again, from a different angle this time.


    Zen was taken aback. It was true that he could kill Mathew with a sword strike. But if he did so, the snake spear would pierce his body


    e, Samuel was also one of the strongest Holy Beings, which was why he had fought alone and made the Han Clan become one of the top ten powerful clans in the past.


    It took Samuel only six seconds to reach Mathew and Jayden.


    "Thank you for your help," Mathew said, bringing his hands together in respect and gratitude.


    Everyone could call Samuel ''Holy Samuel'' out of respect.


    But Samuel was not in a high position in the alliance of powerful clans, which was why he wasn''t qualified to be conferred that title.


    Samuel fixed his gaze on Zen as he smiled and said to Mathew, "Who said I was helping you?"


    Mathew was confused.


    Jayden''s brow furrowed as he thought for a little while, instinct telling him that something was wrong.


    "What are you talking about?" Mathew asked.


    Samuel said calmly, "I was worried that if Zen didn''t kill you completely, wisps of your souls might escape and return. It would be a problem if that happened, wouldn''t it?"


    Jayden and Mathew were shocked at


    Samuel''s words.


    They weren''t stupid to not see that something bad was about to happen.


    Seeing that the Demi-holy Beings were about to escape, Samuel clenched both his hands and sent two killing forces towards them.


    Mathew had barely opened his mouth when the force struck him and he shattered into pieces.


    "How dare you!" cried Jayden angrily, but before he could say anything else, his body also shattered into a thousand pieces.

 Chapter 2760 Help

    Large chunks of flesh fell from the sky, landing in the black water.


    Neither of the two Demi-holy Beings had a chance of escaping. Both their bodies and souls had already been killed.


    Samuel''s hands maintained their previous posture as he stood above the black, flowing water, staring at Zen with an indifferent glare.


    On the other hand, Zen''s expression became rather gloomy all of a sudden.


    Of course, he was well aware that Samuel wasn''t weak. That said, the method used was far beyond any of his expectations.


    Samuel had simply and casually released his strength, instantly killing two top-level Demi-holy Beings. It was absolutely incredible.


    It was safe to say that he just might be as powerful as Nicholas.


    "You shouldn''t have revealed my identity." Samuel stared at Zen calmly as a trace of killing intent began to form in his eyes.


    "Nicholas is my enemy, too. I''ll eventually kill him sooner or later. You shouldn''t have sacrificed your daughters." Zen stared back at Samuel angrily. His aura was by no means inferior to Samuel''s.


    Both of them had the same goal, to say the least.


    Zen, on his behalf, wasn''t going to stoop to his level and wouldn''t cross the line. There was no way in hell he was going to achieve his goal by sacrificing Laquisha and Aleyna.


    On the contrary however, Samuel resorted to every other possibly conceivable means.


    "Are you trying to say I should place my hope in you?" The corners of Samuel''s lips curled into a smirk and a look of mockery was quick to appear on his face.


    Samuel appreciated Zen, but he was clear on the fact that expecting Zen to rise and kill Nicholas was nothing more than a daydream.


    He himself had lived long enough to fulfill two lives. Thus, he knew that he couldn''t trust anyone, at any time.


    As he finished speaking, he stretched out his hand and grabbed at the air abruptly.


    "Divine weapon!"


    The space was immediately torn open by Samuel and the wide crack quickly began to condense itself, turning into a pitch black spear!


    Samuel grabbed the black spear in his hand, pointed its tip at Zen and said, "Everything I''ve lost will be paid back by Nicholas, multiplied by ten or even a hundred times. As for you, I''d better kill you first. In the future, whether I can bring you back to life or not will depend solely on my mood."


    As soon as he took notice of the black spear, Zen''s expression changed at once.


    Here, in the Abyss Demon Region, the Space Law was prohibited in every way, shape and form. Apart from the space channels built by the fiends, even a Holy Being was completely incapable of using the Grand Teleportation technique.


    Despite such, Zen clearly sensed an extremely strong Space Law pow


    rgies.


    Although the Space Law was prohibited in the Abyss Demon Region, the Wind Cloud Escape remained an extraordinary theurgy. Zen genuinely believed that this technique would help him escape such a horrid place.


    "But... Why isn''t the Wind Cloud Escape triggered?" Zen mumbled, questioning himself.


    As soon as Samuel thrust his spear out into the void, it headed directly for Zen in a dangerously straight line.


    Phew!


    Out of the blue, the once calm black water suddenly began to move, larger and larger waves crashing into each other.


    A sharp, thin line broke the black water''s silence and slashed upward.


    Crack...


    Click!


    Without the slightest deviation, the thin line broke the space cage that was binding Zen immediately, and then landed directly on the Spear of Supreme Harmony.


    The thin line was so incredibly powerful that for a few moments, Samuel felt unable to hold the spear in his own two hands.


    "The Emotion Closing Godly Way?" Zen questioned.


    For a while, he was utterly stunned. He was very familiar with the Emotion Closing Godly Way''s internal momentum. He couldn''t believe his own two eyes.


    From within the line, Zen could feel the internal momentum hidden inside. This was true, even if his eyes were closed.


    What was more, the internal momentum was simply perfect. There was no other way to describe it. Obviously, it had come from a very advanced stage.


    Just like the black eyes'' owner was shocked when he saw Zen use the Emotion Closing Godly Way, Zen was also extremely shocked right now.


    As this emotion washed over him, someone came to his mind.


    Sword Chen practiced the Gods-intimidating Strike as well as the Emotion Closing Godly Way. What was more, he had travelled to the Abyss Demon Region, but no one knew whether he was dead or alive.

 Chapter 2761 Going Into The Water

    Needless to say, Sword Chen was an extremely talented character in the Evolutionary Universe. Not many outranked him, and very few ever would.


    Since he was capable of escaping to the Abyss Demon Region, it was safe to assume that his cultivation level couldn''t have been very weak at the time.


    Despite everything, at least he was a top-rank or even a consummate True God!


    It didn''t matter. The Abyss Demon Region was known to be very dangerous, and it didn''t make any exceptions for anyone.


    Even if he was a Demi-holy Being or Holy Being, he simply couldn''t survive in the Abyss Demon Region, let alone the fact that he was merely a consummate True God at most.


    After all, he had never been to the Mountain of Holy Beings. In other words, it was completely impossible for him to become a Holy Being through cultivating on his own. It would take much more than that.


    One after the next, many ideas flashed through Zen''s mind. He could see them, but he couldn''t confirm any of them.


    Swish, swish, swish...


    In the blink of an eye, countless black, thin lines all came out from the deep, dark water at once.


    The black thin lines moved at an extremely fast speed, like long, skinny hairs. They rolled toward Samuel and Zen, who were both surprised.


    Anyone who was caught by the black thin lines would be cut straight in half.


    Despite his fear, with the Spear of Supreme Harmony in his hands, Samuel dodged the black thin lines with ease.


    The black thin lines had a single, very clear purpose: to force Samuel into backing up.


    Zen stood still, utterly motionless, and yet, all the thin lines flew around him without even touching him.


    "Come down now!"


    As soon as Samuel was forced backward, a voice was suddenly transmitted into Zen''s head through life vitality.


    Without a moment''s hesitation, Zen''s body began to sink.


    Although he had Latent Theurgies at his access, he would avoid their use as long as he possibly could.


    Whoosh!


    Zen had descended extremely quickly, but there was no way Samuel would let him off the hook that easily.


    Once again, the Spear of Supreme Harmony in Samuel''s hand slashed out violently. Swish, swish, swish, swish! The spear slashed through the air.


    In the blink of an eye, the Spear of Supreme Harmony transformed itself into countless spear shadows that pierced straight into the void.


    Zen glanced below him and he saw the spear shadows penetrating up toward him. He knew he was in a dangerous position.


    At the same time, Samuel took a confident step forward, bypassed the black thin lines with a few side steps, and suddenly appeared directly above Zen.


    He knew that Zen could use the Eight Smoky Melodies to perfectly dodge his sp


    d that the surface of the black water was absolutely calm and without any waves. It was extremely weird. Nothing of the sort had ever been seen in other places.


    Probing deeper with the spiritual sense was therefore impossible.


    No matter how strong the spiritual sense really was, the black water would swallow it whole as soon as it came into contact with its chillingly dangerous waves.


    Samuel, on his behalf, had equally noticed the black water''s problem. He had no desire to stay here any longer. He tossed the Spear of Supreme Harmony lightly.


    Once the long black spear was well hidden in the void, Samuel retreated to the west of the black water.


    In the black water, something strange was happening.


    Zen felt himself being dragged downward, as though a hand had clasped tightly around his ankle.


    At the same time, a dried voice sounded out from below him. "What''s your name?" the voice asked.


    Needless to say, both sides had already guessed at each other''s identities.


    Now, it was time to verify their hypothesis.


    "My name is Zen Luo," Zen stated in a flat tone.


    As he spoke his name aloud, the hand that held onto him suddenly trembled. The man''s voice asked back, "Do you come from the Evolutionary Universe?"


    Zen asked, a smile now plastered on his face, "Are you Sword Chen, the Killing Sword Mountain''s master?"


    Strictly speaking, Sword Chen was actually Zen''s master. After all, he had learned the Gods-intimidating Strike from him.


    For a short while, the man kept silent, and then burst out laughing. His laughter was full of life and joy, as though the depression that had overwhelmed him for countless years had finally disappeared with the snap of his fingers.


    "It seems that after all these years, I''ve finally got something in return," the man mumbled.

 Chapter 2762 Under The Black Water

    Sword Chen sighed, suddenly sensing something. He talked to Zen through his life vitality, "Hide your aura! Something is coming!"


    Heeding this instruction, Zen hid all his aura.


    They floated in the black water, as motionlessly as they could.


    Then Zen felt a wave emerge from the thick black water.


    He knew that there was probably a huge monster swimming in the black water, swilling the water around and forming an undercurrent.


    The mere manner in which the undercurrent reached Zen terrified him.


    Zen''s heart seemed to stop beating in that moment.


    The hair on his back stood on end, and his mood began to fluctuate violently.


    He had tried his best to restrain himself but fear had prodded his instincts.


    And now, he was trying to gather all his strength and hit back.


    At that moment, Sword Chen put a hand on Zen''s shoulder.


    A warm current flowed from his palm


    and into Zen''s shoulder, causing him to feel immediate relief.


    Zen had the sudden feeling of returning home, as if he had, all this while, been in a cold, frozen land and then spring had made its appearance again. His fear had disappeared as well.


    He had experienced this feeling before, when he had faced fear incarnations in the debate venue. But it hadn''t been as strong as it was now.


    The undercurrent disappeared after a while and the monster was also a significant distance away. It was only then that Sword Chen released Zen.


    "What was that? Is there a monster in the black water?" Zen asked.


    "No," replied Sword Chen.


    "No?" Zen repeated, puzzled. He had clearly sensed a huge monster just moments ago.


    And now, Sword Chen was saying that there was no ferocious monster here! What was Zen to make of this contradiction?


    "Do you know what the black water is?" Sword Chen asked.


    "No, I don''t," Zen replied.


    He only knew that the black water, like the Magnetic Sacred Mountain, was extremely complex.


    It would weaken all kinds of ene


    Do the fiends still need to practice?" Zen became even more puzzled at this.


    The monsters would become stronger and stronger as long as they stayed in the forbidden lands, because they had an inexhaustible source of Faith Energy there.


    Another way of becoming stronger was to devour other beasts, a way in which they could get extra Faith Energy quickly.


    "Of course, it''s necessary," Sword Chen said, calming down. "If the fiends only relied on Faith Energy, they wouldn''t have the strength they have now. They would have been just some obscure monsters. But in the Sea of Meditation, they can come in contact with the most wonderful ideas, some even beyond the limitation of the divine land."


    Zen''s heart skipped a beat at this.


    He had heard the strange fish mention that the fiends were looking for a way to leave the Abyss Demon Region. This was impossible, because it violated the rules of the divine land.


    And according to what Sword Chen was saying, did the fiends find the way out of the Abyss Demon Region through the Sea of Meditation?


    The moment Sword Chen finished talking, Zen felt the pressure around him loosen and he stepped into a space he couldn''t quite explain. The black water that had clung to his body peeled and flowed away from him like reeling silk from cocoons.

 Chapter 2763 The Way Of Survival Under Water

    Before, Zen had been shrouded by thick dark water that had completely blocked Sword Chen from his sight.


    Now, after entering this space, he finally laid eyes on Sword Chen.


    Covered in rags with messy hair and dirty skin, Sword Chen looked like a beggar.


    He looked nothing like the man Zen had met in the Corridor of Emperor years ago.


    The only thing the person in front of him and the Sword Chen he had met before had in common was the pair of sharp black eyes. They were like two obsidian gemstones shining with dark light.


    "This might not be the first time for you to see me," Sword Chen surmised, turning around.


    "Yes, I once saw you in the Corridor of Emperor in the Illusion Battlefield."


    Sword Chen nodded his head slightly. The person Zen had encountered in the Corridor of Emperor was nothing more than a soul mark that the original Sword Chen had left there.


    But the soul mark Sword Chen had left there hadn''t been as competent as Augustus''. When the soul mark Augustus had left in the Fairy Place was activated, he had immediately learned about Zen''s existence. Sword Chen, on the other hand, had had no knowledge of his encounter with Zen.


    Now, staring at Zen, Sword Chen asked, "What''s your relationship with Holy Mike?"


    He already had a guess that he was more or less sure about, but he still wanted to confirm it.


    "Mike is my father," Zen answered.


    "It is just as I thought! So you didn''t become my disciple in the Corridor of Emperor?" he asked calmly.


    "Yes." Zen nodded. "I already became Holy Bromley''s disciple before that."


    "Ah, that makes sense. Among the ten Godly Geniuses, you are the most important one. Holy Bromley''s fairy palace had been reserved for you..." Sword Chen muttered to himself.


    When Sword Chen had still been a Supreme Lord, he hadn''t known about the existence of the fairy palace.


    By the time he had found out about the plan involving the Godly Geniuses, he had already come to the divine land.


    Zen looked around the space they were in. It was a small sphere, and its outermost layer was still fluctuating. "So for the past few years, have you been living in the Sea of Meditation?"


    With a bitter smile on his face, Sword Chen said, "To be more precise, I''ve been living in this


    on Land," Zen explained.


    In the Reincarnation Land, there were three altars.


    When Zen had first seen them, he had been confused to note that there were no statues on two of the altars. He had wondered where the Jade Scale Butterfly and the Flame Blood Vulture could be in the divine land, but he had never expected that one of those things would be in Sword Chen''s hands.


    In this bubble, there were no other cultivation resources available to Sword Chen. However, his cultivation method was similar to Laquisha''s. For the past few years, he had used the Jade Scale Butterfly to approach the Memory Flames and absorb the cultivation memory of the Memory Flames little by little. In this way, he had improved step by step and become a Demi-holy Being.


    "You entered the Abyss Demon Region through the Reincarnation Land, but why were you hunted by Samuel and his group?" Sword Chen was a little confused.


    Although he had the Jade Scale Butterfly, he could not use it to search the Memory Flames at will like Zen could do with his Reincarnation Soul Weapon, so he didn''t know the recent happenings in the divine land.


    Zen quickly filled him in about everything that was happening.


    "Nicholas has joined forces with the powerful clans on the Floating Islands to conquer the Abyss Demon Region..." Sword Chen repeated. After thinking for a while, he narrowed his eyes and said with a cold smile, "It seems that the clever Nicholas can also be stupid sometimes. This might be an opportunity for us!"

 Chapter 2764 Use The Sea of Meditation

    "An opportunity? What do you mean?" Zen asked with a puzzled look on his face.


    Sword Chen''s eyes, however, were sparkling with excitement.


    Swordsmen were always adamant. Once they made up their minds to do something, they wouldn''t give up easily.


    Sword Chen used to be heroic, but after he was corroded by the black water for so many years, not only had his body taken substantial damage, but he had also become more stubborn.


    "An opportunity to control the Abyss Demon Region."


    Then, Sword Chen raised his eyebrows and looked Zen up and down. "Now, we have the perfect opportunity and the perfect candidate. This is simply the arrangement of fate!"


    As a Demi-holy Being, Sword Chen couldn''t control the Abyss Demon Region. Even if he was given a chance, he still wouldn''t be able to grasp it.


    Zen, on the other hand, was merely a consummate True God, so he was the perfect candidate for this.


    "Control the Abyss Demon Region..."


    Zen chewed over the words with his mouth, his gaze narrowing slightly.


    Many Holy Beings, Demi-holy Beings, and consummate True Gods from the union of the powerful clans on the Floating Islands, like Rocher and Rachelle, had come here this time.


    The goal of the union was probably to make one of the members gain control over the Abyss Demon Region.


    Zen had fought with Laquisha, Aleyna and Pascal just now. With the help of No. 9527, he had removed the restrictions on Laquisha and Aleyna. However, Pascal had escaped as fast as he could. Presumably, Samuel was trying to leave at least one behind to take control of the place.


    The Abyss Demon Region was ranked first among the four forbidden lands. If Zen could control it, it would be a powerful card in his hands.


    "But it''s not that easy to grab control of the Abyss Demon Region from the hands of Nicholas and Samuel," Zen said, shaking his head.


    Nicholas and Samuel had dozens of Holy Beings and Demi-holy Beings to help them. It was impossible for Zen to fight against them face to face.


    If not for the protection of the black water and Sword Chen, Zen would already have been on his way to death.


    The only thing he could have used to escape was the Latent Theurgies, and even that might not have worked.


    "Samuel and Nicholas are strong, of course. But we don''t have to fight against them f


    on.


    However, Zen had no time to worry about such trivial matters in the situation they were in, so he put them aside for the time being.


    "I can also set up the sword array?" Zen''s eyes lit up.


    According to Sword Chen, Zen could only use the force of primitive fear in the Abyss Demon Region, but that itself would be enough.


    Now, Zen couldn''t leave this place as the road to the fifth stage was closed, so taking control of the Abyss Demon Region might be the only option he had.


    Like Sword Chen had said, it was necessary to strengthen himself so that he could fight with the alliance of the powerful clans on the Floating Islands.


    "Of course you can, young master," Sword Chen replied, nodding his head.


    As he spoke, he took a step forward and stood at the center of the bubble.


    With a gentle flick of his hand, a long table appeared horizontally in the bubble.


    Then, with another wave of his hand, long swords of different styles and lengths appeared on the long table.


    "But the quality of these long swords is poor, and I''m afraid they won''t be able to withstand the corrosion from the Sea of Meditation." A hint of helplessness appeared on Sword Chen''s face.


    Although he had countless long swords in his own land, they could only be projected when he used the land. It was impossible to directly take them to the divine land. If he took any long swords out of his own land, they would be restored into life vitality.


    The long swords that he had conjured up now were only ordinary swords from the divine land.

 Chapter 2765 Scorching Gold

    As a swordsman, Sword Chen was obsessed with all kinds of swords.


    However, he had been stuck in the Sea of Meditation for too long. Out of all the swords he had, only three of them were supreme primordial weapons.


    Moreover, supreme primordial weapons could be classified into different levels of power; the three swords he had were the ordinary kind.


    And aside from these three swords, all the swords he had were regular weapons in the divine land; even ordinary citizens could easily obtain them.


    "These are all I have. I wonder if you have a spare sword?" Sword Chen asked, turning to Zen.


    "Of course I do," Zen said with a smile.


    Then, he went over to the long table and gently tapped the space ring in his hand.


    Swords fell out of the space ring and scattered all over the table.


    From the divine land to the prison at the bottom of the chaos, Zen had not been particular about collecting treasures along the way.


    Whenever he did stumble upon a treasure, however, he would secretly stash it away in his space ring.


    Every now and then, he would sort out all the items in his space ring and throw away whatever he didn''t need, especially common items.


    Therefore, almost all of the items he had accumulated in his space ring were rare and valuable.


    Even though he had left some common supreme primordial weapons behind in the fairy palace, there were still quite a number of treasures in his space ring.


    Clang, clang, clang...


    Sword Chen''s eyes widened as he watched the longswords tumble out of Zen''s space ring one after the other.


    "Supreme primordial weapons!"


    "There are dozens of long swords, and all of them are supreme primordial weapons..."


    "This brown sword seems to be a supreme chaotic weapon! What''s the name of this sword?"


    Looking at the excitement on Sword Chen''s face, Zen shrugged sheepishly. "I don''t remember..."


    He had probably gotten this brown sword from the space ring of some Wild God, so naturally, he didn''t know its name.


    Moreover, he couldn''t understand why a Demi-holy Being like Sword Chen was being this enthusiastic about a bunch of swords.


    With Sword Chen''s current strength, these swords should be no more than scraps of metal for him.


    And Zen''s line of thought was completely right, of course.


    With Sword Chen''s cultivation and strength, these swords were truly not


    ow me!"


    Holding the Scorching Gold in his hand, Sword Chen stepped out of the bubble.


    Zen quickly stretched out his hand and stroked the long table, recalling all the swords that had been refined by Sword Chen into his space ring.


    Plop, plop...


    Zen followed Sword Chen and sank into the thick dark water again.


    Before, when Zen had descended, he hadn''t been able to see anything.


    But this time, he could see each and every detail; the Scorching Gold in Sword Chen''s hand was emitting a golden light that illuminated the area ten feet around!


    "Make sure that you are always under the cover of the golden light from the Scorching Gold. These unknown things are very sensitive and will slowly gather around you. The moment you are outside the golden light''s protection, they will attack together!" Sword Chen warned him.


    "Didn''t you say that these unknown things have no forms? Then how do you know they will attack?" Zen asked.


    After a few moments of silence, Sword Chen replied, "There was a time when I was chased by a fiend in the Sea of Meditation. After his Scorching Gold burned out and the golden light disappeared, the unknown things came over..."


    Every time Sword Chen recalled this incident, his heart would flutter with fear. There was no doubt that even the fiends would be extremely afraid of the unknown things.


    As they were speaking, Zen suddenly felt a surge of power coming from beside him. Both of them turned their heads at the same time. It seemed that there were many huge things slowly approaching them from the distance...

 Chapter 2766 The Devil

    The light emitted by the Scorching Gold was extremely intense, but it couldn''t spread far in the black water.


    However, the force of primitive fear in the undercurrents had been dispelled by the golden light from the Scorching Gold, so Zen didn''t feel uncomfortable at all.


    Plop, plop, plop...


    As they continued to swim downward in the black water, the turbulent undercurrents became stronger and stronger.


    Some of these undercurrents surged toward Zen, intending to sweep him away from Sword Chen''s side.


    "Hurry up. These creatures are watching us greedily. If the undercurrents manage to sweep you away, you will lose your life," Sword Chen warned.


    Zen nodded and followed closely after the Demi-holy Being.


    From afar, it looked as if the two were moving forward in a dark forest under the light of the triangular bullion. If that light was extinguished, they would immediately be devoured by the menacing beasts.


    Sword Chen''s bubble was floating undisturbed in the middle of the Sea of Meditation.


    The depth of the Sea of Meditation was far beyond Zen''s expectation.


    Although they weren''t swimming slowly by any means, it took Zen an hour to finally feel the seabed under his feet.


    Just as he did every time he ventured a new place, he released his spiritual sense and found a huge trench in front of him. He didn''t know how far it extended.


    "Here we are. You can stick the first sword there,"


    Sword Chen said, pointing to one side of the trench.


    Zen let his spiritual sense wander over to the place that Sword Chen was pointing at and soon found that a sharp sword was stabbed into the surface of the trench.


    "Okay,"


    he said before obediently taking out a long sword.


    Following Sword Chen''s example, he activated the mark at the bottom of the sword and then launched the sword fiercely toward the surface of the trench.


    Rumble...


    The black water was very viscous, and the water pressure at the bottom of the sea was extremely high.


    Fortunately, with his strength, Zen was able to launch the sword with enough force. The long


    urrent began to weaken and the two wrestled free from it.


    "That current is so powerful. What is it?" Zen asked curiously.


    He felt like almost all of his strength had been drained by that current. The viscosity of the black water made it difficult to release any sort of power, so Zen had only managed to exert a tiny portion of his power.


    Even though he had tried his best to fight against the spiral current, he hadn''t been able to escape from it.


    "That current is also an unknown thing," Sword Chen said, looking off into the darkness with a solemn expression on his face. "But it is a very powerful one. The fiends call it the Devil. We are in trouble..."


    "The Devil?"


    Zen pondered over the name for a moment and then said, "Since it is also an unknown thing, it should also be afraid of the Scorching Gold, right?"


    "Of course," said Sword Chen. "But it''s so powerful that once it targets its prey, it will be difficult for the latter to escape from it even with the protection of the Scorching Gold!"


    After finishing his sentence, he suddenly pulled Zen by his shoulder.


    "Phew!"


    Thanks to him, Zen had just barely dodged an extremely thin spiral current.


    Otherwise, the current, which was not much thicker than the tip of a needle, might have pierced through Zen''s head.


    "See why I said it''s powerful?" A bitter smile appeared on Sword Chen''s face.

 Chapter 2767 Losing Protection

    Zen frowned. He got the feeling that the water current in the distance was constantly converging into tiny spirals.


    These spirals were like thin, long needles that gathered together and shot towards Zen and Sword Chen.


    "Let''s go!"


    they called out in unison, then turned around and waded through the dark water.


    "Water Resisting Technique!"


    The internal momentum inside Zen''s body bloomed.


    This skill enabled people to resist water and belonged to the Parting Water Godly Way. A smooth membrane of water formed on the surface of his body.


    Zen found it difficult to employ this skill in the dark water but it still had the power to speed him up.


    Sword Chen flew at a high speed, but the spirals formed by the water were faster.


    Hundreds of tiny spirals of water currents followed them, forming a large net and enveloping both of them.


    At this moment, Zen heard a baby''s cry in the dark water.


    "This cry!"


    "That''s the sound of the Devil''s laughter. It sounds like the cry of a three-year-old child," Sword Chen said, looking serious.


    The Sea of Meditation was vast.


    Meeting the Devil was a rare event.


    Sword Chen had hidden in the dark water for many years, and had only encountered the Devils twice.


    When he had first met the Devil, he had escaped by sheer luck. When he had encountered the Devil the second time, the fiends had led the Devil away.


    This was the first time that Zen had stepped into the Sea of Meditation, and he had already encountered a Devil.


    It looked like his bad luck had reigned.


    In the blink of an eye, the spirals had approached Zen and Sword Chen.


    Both of them drew their swords in unison.


    Splash, splash...


    It was a characteristic of the dark water that any power unleashed in it would be greatly weakened.


    Zen launched a sword attack and moments later, the dark water had suppressed the sword radiance, causing it to become weak and considerably slow down.


    Zen frowned as he looked at the slowly-spreading sword radiance.


    In contrast, the sword radiance that Sword Chen had created was much stronger than Zen''s.


    As he br


    nknown things would only cause a little bit of an interference to them at most.


    But if they weren''t careful enough, the Devil would probably chase and kill them, which was why it would be better for them to avoid it for the time being.


    "Okay,"


    Zen said, nodding, and they both moved upwards.


    But the moment they changed direction, more howls rang out from above them.


    This time, there were more and more strange screams, indicating the presence of multiple Devils above them.


    Both of them paled.


    "What should we..."


    Zen wanted to ask.


    But before he could do so, a number of spiral currents appeared in the dark water, flying downwards like raindrops.


    It was strange to see rain in the water, but Zen and Sword Chen weren''t interested in the wonder that it provided.


    Swish, swish, swish...


    The spiral water currents cut a path between Zen and Sword Chen, parting them from each other.


    One of the spiral water currents hit Zen''s arm.


    He felt a sharp pain, and he bent down to see a tiny hole on his arm.


    The water current had even penetrated into Zen''s bones.


    Under such great pressure, Zen had no choice but to keep retreating.


    As he retreated this time, he stepped out from under the golden light of the Scorching Gold.


    And now that Zen had lost the protection of the golden light, all the unknown things that had been lurking around him, surged towards him.

 Chapter 2768 Where To Go

    The force of primitive fear hidden in the undercurrents immediately engulfed Zen.


    Even if Zen was unable to detect the unknown creatures with his spiritual sense, he could still feel them rapidly closing in on him.


    Sword Chen had told him that even the most powerful fiends weren''t a match for these unknown creatures, and that even a Holy Being would die when faced against them.


    So there was no way that Zen would be able to fight against them, especially with his current strength!


    As the unknown creatures moved around, a strong force of primitive fear passed along the undercurrents.


    The whole time, Zen''s heart kept beating wildly. He felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar; it was difficult for him to move even an inch.


    Moreover, Sword Chen was getting farther and farther away from him until the golden light in his hand completely disappeared, leaving Zen wrapped in endless darkness and fear.


    Just then, when he had almost lost all hope, he remembered something. ''The Scorching Gold!''


    Earlier, Sword Chen had handed a piece of Scorching Gold to Zen just in case. Now was the time to use it.


    Zen immediately conjured up the triangular golden object in his hand.


    Although his body was as stiff as a statue, he gritted his teeth and forced a strand of internal momentum out of his body and guided it into the Scorching Gold.


    Fizz!


    The moment the Scorching Gold was activated, it had a wonderful reaction with the power of his internal momentum.


    A warm current instantly swept through his body, expelling the terrible force of primitive fear.


    Splash!


    Scared of the golden light, the unknown creatures that had gathered around him rapidly retreated in all directions.


    If Zen''s intuition was correct, the nearest unknown creature to him had been less than a foot away just now!


    ''How dangerous...'' he thought to himself as he breathed a sigh of relief, tightening his grip on the Scorching Gold.


    However, the golden light emitted by the Scorching Gold could only stop the unknown creatures from approaching, not drive them away altogether. The Devils hiding in the dark water were still lingering around as close as they could.


    Waah!


    With a strange sound that resembled a b


    hat worried as he still had the Latent Theurgy up his sleeve.


    ''The Devil doesn''t seem to have any intention of killing me...''


    Just as Zen arrived at this conclusion, he heard the sound of water flowing and splashing above his head.


    This time, a huge current was sweeping down toward him.


    Unlike before, Zen couldn''t just twist his body and escape from the approaching danger ¡ª all his limbs were broken. And even though Zen''s physical recovery ability was amazing, it would still take some time for him to recover.


    Splash!


    A few moments later, he found himself caught up in the huge current.


    The current didn''t hurt him at all, but it continued to roll down, carrying him deeper into the water.


    ''Where is it taking me?'' Zen wondered.


    Gripping the Scorching Gold tightly in his hand, he quickly released his spiritual sense.


    With his spiritual sense, he learned that he was four thousand feet from the bottom of the Sea of Meditation. He was now diving at a very fast speed.


    ''It couldn''t be planning on letting me crash and die, right?'' Zen was confused.


    However, now that he had calmed down, he really wanted to see what the unknown creatures wanted to do to him.


    At the speed the current was taking him, the distance of four thousand feet passed in almost the blink of an eye.


    Just as Zen hit the seabed, he felt something soft on his shoulders. The seabed suddenly collapsed, and a large hole with a diameter of more than a thousand feet appeared!

 Chapter 2769 A Phantom

    Without the slightest pause, Zen was pulled into the large hole by the strong current.


    After descending about ten thousand feet, he reached the bottom of the cave, which branched out in a horizontal direction.


    Then, along with the traction of the current, he began to advance horizontally.


    Splash...


    The sound of black water surging into the cave could be heard clearly from behind, signaling that this cave had originally been a hollow and empty space without water.


    Now that Zen had inadvertently opened the door to the cave by letting himself be swept up by the Devil, the cave was filling up with water.


    But why had the Devil forced Zen into this cave in the first place?


    "This cave..."


    It was hard for Zen to imagine that there would be a separate cave under the Sea of Meditation. The Sea of Meditation was located in the Abyss Demon Region, just like the Reincarnation Land. Where could this cave possibly lead to?


    Anyway, Zen thought that he would probably learn the answer in a short time.


    However, the size of the cave turned out to be far greater than he had imagined.


    Two hours later, he was still floating along the narrow cave with the Devil and the unknown creatures following closely behind.


    Every time the spiral current that enveloped Zen became weak, the Devil would release another current to continue to propel Zen forward.


    Although the size of the Scorching Gold that Sword Chen gave Zen was relatively large, it had been burning for quite a long time now.


    Now, it was barely the size of a small stone, and the light it was emitting had become faint.


    The unknown creatures behind him would probably swarm forward as soon as the light of the Scorching Gold went out.


    ''With these creatures, it seems that I won''t be able to reach the destination, '' Zen thought with a helpless smile. So far in his adventures, Zen had almost never given up hope on survival. But this time, he really couldn''t think of a way out.


    As soon as the golden light emanated by the Scorching Gold disappeared completely, the unknown creatures pounced on Zen.


    But just as he was about to be swallowed by them, he heard a sharp cry from th


    ers than the fiends.


    Zen was shocked by his inference.


    The fiends were already extraordinarily powerful. What could be stronger than them?


    While Zen was deep in thought, the bronze gate in front of him suddenly made a big noise and shifted a little, leaving a small crack.


    Looking at the thin crack, Zen took two steps back.


    The unknown creatures in the black water had already been terrifying enough. Who knew what was waiting for him behind this gate?


    As the crack got wider and wider, a figure appeared.


    "Why not come in since you are already here?" the phantom asked.


    ''That''s my voice!'' Zen thought.


    He raised his eyebrows in surprise and looked straight ahead. With the light from the flame, he was able to see the phantom''s face clearly; it looked just like him!


    "What a cheap illusion. Don''t play such low tricks," Zen said coldly, staring at the phantom.


    It was not difficult for even a True God to create an illusion incarnation.


    For example, Zen could create an incarnation with water by using the Parting Water Godly Way, and it was very strong, far more powerful than the phantom in front of him.


    "Do you really think it''s just an illusion?"


    The phantom in front of the door smiled faintly and stretched out a hand toward Zen before slightly flicking four of his fingers.


    Swish, swish, swish!


    The swords condensed by the forces from the four fingers shot toward Zen from different directions.

 Chapter 2770 So Real

    Zen could feel the auras of the four invisible swords even with his eyes closed.


    They were definitely the four swords from the Gods Killing Sword Array.


    The Buddha Emperor Sword fiercely attacked Zen head-on.


    The other three swords circled in from the side, trying to surround Zen.


    As someone who was very familiar with the Gods Killing Sword Array, there was no way Zen would allow himself to be trapped in it.


    In the face of the Buddha Emperor Sword''s attack, Zen didn''t retreat, but instead moved forward.


    When he was just a foot away from the Buddha Emperor Sword, he wiggled his body like a fish and brushed past the sword.


    In this way, he easily left the four long swords behind.


    Whoosh!


    He tapped his foot lightly on the ground, and then dashed toward the phantom in front of the gate.


    It was not surprising for an ordinary phantom to have the same face as his.


    What was surprising, however, was that the phantom in front of him could use the Gods Killing Sword Array. This made Zen curious about what the phantom was.


    Unexpectedly, the phantom standing in front of the gate just smiled at him and then took a few steps in the other direction.


    As it moved, its voice reached Zen''s ears.


    "Follow me. You have no other choice."


    Zen''s face darkened when he heard these words.


    Although he would be walking right into a trap, he had come too far to turn back now.


    Besides, the only way out that he knew of was to go back through the black water, but the Devil and the unknown creatures were waiting for him there. He didn''t know how to deal with them.


    When he opened the door in front of him, a gust of cold air rushed past him.


    In front of his eyes was a huge ice palace.


    The whole palace had been built with huge ice blocks. The rich cold air turned into a milk-white mist as it rushed past Zen who was outside the bronze gate.


    Before long, Zen''s face was covered with a layer of frost.


    Enveloped by the cold air, he felt like the blood in his body was about to freeze.


    "The air is too cold!"


    Zen stomped his foot lightly,


    as Zen''s.


    "Because I''m you. You have to listen to yourself," the phantom said softly.


    "A demonic trick!"


    Perhaps everyone would react so disbelievingly if they came face to face with a being who looked exactly like them.


    However, Zen was beginning to agree with what No. 9527 had said. It was likely that this phantom was him.


    But how could there be an exact copy of him in the divine land?


    Its martial arts, cultivation system, and everything else were the same as his. But even so, how could it have a Shadow Bearing Sword?


    The one-of-a-kind sword had personally been given to Zen by Harper, so how could there be another one?


    Swish!


    With a flash of light, Zen''s own Shadow Bearing Sword appeared in his hand, and a ray of sword radiance shot towards the phantom.


    "Haha..."


    The phantom chuckled and swung its Shadow Bearing Sword at the same time.


    Clang!


    The two swords collided with each other with a crisp sound.


    "Even the internal momentum is the same!" Zen raised his eyebrows.


    He cultivated plenty of Godly Ways, so the Ways-blending Energy contained in his Gods-intimidating Strike was very complicated. But the energy that the phantom''s strike had released was the same.


    It was obvious that the phantom even had the same Godly Tile that Zen had.


    "As I said, I am you, and you are me. How can you defeat me?" The phantom laughed again.

 Chapter 2771 The Infinite Ice Palace

    "I can''t defeat you?"


    Zen frowned at the phantom.


    Even though No. 9527 had said that there was something strange about the phantom in front of him, Zen didn''t believe that it was really him.


    The chillness of the air around him calmed him down quickly. After he thought for a moment, the corners of his mouth curved up into a sly smile.


    "Since you say you''re me, can you do this move?"


    As soon as he finished speaking, Zen released the Wild God Power within his body, and his body began to grow at an alarming rate.


    This ice palace was only about two hundred feet high. At the rate Zen''s body was expanding, his head hit the ceiling of the palace in no time.


    Bang!


    A small crack appeared on the ceiling, which was made of ice crystals.


    Cra-aa-ck!


    That crack began to rapidly branch out to the entire ice palace.


    This scene finally wiped the indifferent expression off the phantom''s face.


    Before this, it had been able to do everything that Zen could. Growing, however, was something that it couldn''t do.


    It squinted slightly, and suddenly, a soft voice came to its mind. "Stop him from destroying the ice palace!"


    "Roger that!" the phantom replied in its mind with a mental nod.


    Then, it took a step forward and suddenly leaped into the air.


    Crackle!


    A pair of thunder wings stretched out from its back.


    At the same time, it lifted the Shadow Bearing Sword and made a strange spiral in the air. The emotion in its eyes disappeared completely. Its internal momentum and the sword intent in the Shadow Bearing Sword merged at an alarming pace. "Emotion Closing Godly Way! Gods-intimidating Strike!" it roared.


    The huge ice palace was quickly crumbling under the pressure that Zen was putting on it.


    By the time the phantom unleashed the Gods-intimidating Strike, Zen''s body had grown to more than a thousand feet.


    His legs had pierced through more than ten floors of the ice palace, and his head and shoulders had made a hole.


    As he grew larger and larger, Zen''s attention was still focused on the phantom.


    Zen knew himself bette


    e Thunder Materialization, flying along the huge hole at full speed.


    In just a few seconds, he reached the end of this huge hole.


    Zen stood on the floor beside broken ice sculptures, and his face was set.


    He couldn''t find the end of the ice palace at all. Behind the transparent wall, there were still layers of exquisite ice walls, as if they had no end and extended all the way to a place that he couldn''t reach.


    "What the hell is going on?" Zen immediately felt a throbbing in his head as he tried to wrap his mind around the situation.


    The creatures in the dark water had brought him to a freakish place.


    Even the knowledgeable No. 9527 couldn''t see through it.


    After all, its deduction was based on the experience of constructing a world.


    And back when the masters at the Other Shore Realm had built worlds, things had been different. Chiyou''s reason for building the Sea of Meditation or what power he had put in it was unknown.


    Zen was still in a dilemma about how to proceed when a figure waddled over.


    It was none other than the phantom that he had slapped away a while ago.


    Although the phantom had been badly hurt, its recovery ability, just like Zen''s, was amazing. Leaning against an ice column, it smiled faintly and said, "Since my master wants you to stay here, you''d better stay obediently in the ice palace. It''s impossible for you to leave."

 Chapter 2772 Explosion

    "Your master?" Zen raised his eyebrows slightly and then ventured a guess. "Were you created by the fiends?"


    "The fiends?" The phantom shook its head and said, "Those fiends are working for my master. How can I be created by them?"


    "So you were indeed created by someone?" Zen smiled.


    The phantom laughed in response. "Don''t think such tricks can get me to talk. It''s true that I was created, but I have everything that you possess. Therefore, it won''t be hard for me to take your place in the divine land."


    Zen''s face darkened when he heard this. So that was what this whole thing was about...


    He had no idea who the so-called master mentioned by the phantom was.


    And if Zen really died in the Abyss Demon Region, the guy in front of him was indeed very likely to replace him without anyone noticing.


    Of course, Zen would not allow such a thing to happen. The killing intent once again appeared in his eyes.


    "It''s meaningless," the phantom continued. "Even if you own the Wild God Power and are stronger than me, you still won''t be able to kill me. If my master wants to copy you, it won''t take much effort. I advise you not to waste your energy.


    Just wait here!"


    Meanwhile, on the Desperation Plain, a Demi-holy Being from the Mu Clan tapped the ground with his toes.


    Splash!


    Wisps of golden light intertwined and formed a huge golden bow.


    The Demi-holy Being suddenly bent his body and drew the golden bow.


    Swish!


    Rays of golden arrows began condensing on the bowstring.


    The golden arrows were spread in the shape of a fan, and lay close together on the long bowstring of about ten feet.


    Bang!


    With an explosive sound from the bowstring, hundreds of rays of golden light shot into the sky.


    Each dazzling golden light released a terrifying power. These golden arrows seemed to have eyes and an extraordinary accuracy.


    In the sky, the giant birds were flying in the midst of the smoke, and every time they appeared, they would spit out thick lightning.


    They were a major threat to the True Gods on the ground.


    However, the golden arrows shot out by the


    nce.


    Clark and Murphy immediately realized how grim the situation was.


    "Let''s go!"


    "Retreat!"


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    As the two Holy Beings retreated, they sent a message to everyone on the Desperation Plain with their life vitality.


    Although the alliance of the great clans was about to win the battle, there were still many Demi-holy Beings and consummate True Gods who were fighting with all their effort. Just after they received the message from the two Holy Beings, they felt a vibration under their feet that was coming all the way from the other end of the Desperation Plain.


    An extremely terrifying energy had exploded from Gallio''s body.


    The explosion turned into a mass of horrifying energy that rushed over from the end of the Desperation Plain.


    Although Nicholas had asked Clark and Murphy to retreat, he was still standing firmly in front of the surging energy with his hands clasped together.


    The dark and light energies, which were black and white respectively, spread out from his hands.


    "Heaven and Earth Breaking!"


    Crack! Crack! Crack...


    The brown energy rushed toward Nicholas, but it only reached a few hundred feet before being blocked by an invisible wall.


    At the moment, Nicholas was like a big dam standing at the end of the Desperation Plain, singlehandedly holding off all the energy waves that were coming from Gallio''s exploded crystal.

 Chapter 2773 Suspicion

    Everyone was taken aback by what was happening before their eyes.


    Having lived for countless years, the Holy Beings and Demi-holy Beings present were particularly sensitive to the intensity of the energy that Gallio had released.


    The energy waves caused by the explosion of the magic crystal were terrifying.


    Even a dozen or so Holy Beings would not be able to stop the energy waves, let alone just one of them.


    In terms of strength, these fiends were indeed way superior to the Holy Beings.


    However, Nicholas still managed to singlehandedly block off the energy waves, once again showing his real strength to the other Holy Beings.


    It was at this moment that Samuel returned to the Desperation Plain with Pascal.


    He had already been wearing a long face the whole way back as he knew that letting Zen go would pose a threat to him in the future, but his face became even more sullen when he saw the amount of power Nicholas had.


    Nevertheless, Nicholas could not completely destroy the energy waves; he was only holding them off for the time being.


    Soon enough, the walls of the invisible dam began to collapse.


    Fortunately, the others had retreated to a safe place by this time.


    Splash...


    The energy waves finally burst forth and spread out, devouring everything along the road. Even the death auras that haunted the Desperation Plain all day long, along with the faint whines, had disappeared.


    Nicholas'' face remained calm as usual, as if killing one of the great fiends hadn''t satisfied him at all.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Clark put out the flames on his body and resumed his normal form. His original ruddy face had turned very pale, and he couldn''t help but cough. He quickly took out a red pill from the Sumeru Space and put it into his mouth.


    Although Nicholas was the one who had defeated Gallio, Clark and Murphy had also played a key role in their fight.


    Gallio''s power was much higher than a Holy Being''s, so even Nicholas would not have been able to fight against him head-on alone.


    Clark and Murphy had made a concerted effort to force Gallio to an impasse.


    Nicholas conveyed an order and soon, the other Holy Beings, Demi-ho


    Clark echoed in agreement.


    If the fiends were really stupid enough to let the union of the wealthy clans defeat them little by little without fighting back, it would obviously be a good thing for the union.


    However, Nicholas shook his head and said, "That''s impossible."


    "These fiends have gathered all the negative Faith Energies. It''s normal for them to fight amongst themselves. Why is it impossible?" Murphy asked.


    Nicholas squinted as he stared straight ahead. "Gallio died too calmly."


    "The fiends are immortal. They will be reborn after death," refuted Clark.


    Death was an ordinary thing for the beasts in the forbidden lands.


    "It''s not that. Gallio seemed to have foreseen his own death. If the fiends are having an internal conflict like Jeremiah said, it was unnecessary and dangerous for Gallio to take us on alone. Instead, he could have gained an advantage over the other fiends by joining hands with us," said Nicholas.


    "Sounds reasonable," Samuel interrupted as he caught up with the Holy Beings.


    The Holy Beings'' faces turned slightly cold when they saw Samuel.


    "Let''s put this aside first. Samuel, you went to personally chase after Zen. I wonder what you''ve found," Nicholas said, looking straight at Samuel.


    Samuel had sent Laquisha and her siblings to chase after Zen and then found an excuse to join them, directly going against Nicholas'' order. Now, Nicholas was criticizing him for what he had done.

 Chapter 2774 The Beasts Courting Death

    Samuel had already expected that Nicholas would ask him such a question, so he merely smiled and said, "Do you know why I chased after Zen even though he didn''t do anything to me?"


    "Of course I don''t know why," Nicholas said in an impatient tone, shaking his head with displeasure.


    He had specially made an exception to allow Samuel to join the alliance of powerful clans and explore the Abyss Demon Region.


    However, Samuel had run away from the Desperation Plain without obeying his words, so Nicholas was extremely dissatisfied with him.


    Samuel answered calmly, "My two daughters became friends with Zen when they were on the Floating Island. Since they followed him just now, as their father, I couldn''t turn a blind eye to that."


    Nicholas and the other Holy Beings were also aware that Aleyna and Laquisha were acquainted with Zen, so Samuel''s explanation sounded reasonable to them.


    But it still didn''t explain everything.


    "I see. Where are your daughters? Did you see Jayden, Raymond and Mathew?" Nicholas asked.


    A trace of worry appeared on Samuel''s face. "I went all the way to the black water area but I only found my son, Pascal. Zen, my two daughters, and the three Demi-holy Beings were all gone. I asked Pascal what happened and he said that all of them dived into the dark water..." Samuel turned his head and shouted, "Pascal! Report everything you saw to Holy Nicholas. Don''t hide anything!"


    Pascal quickly walked out from the group of consummate True Gods and bowed to Nicholas. In a tone that showed that he had prepared his answer in advance, he quickly described what had happened in the dark water.


    He repeated Samuel''s words, and then told a made-up story that the three Demi-holy Beings had chased Zen into the dark water and that he didn''t know whether they were alive or dead.


    "Yes, there is an area of dark water on the other side of the Desperation Plain..."


    Nicholas murmured as he pondered over Pascal''s words. He believed everything he had just heard.


    Anyway, since it seemed that three Demi-holy Beings had died in the dark water, Zen, who had fled into that plac


    the Abyss Demon Region, so they couldn''t figure out the thought process of the beasts in this forbidden land.


    After the strange birds were all killed, the surroundings finally became silent for a while, but this silence remained for less than three minutes.


    After they had only walked for dozens of miles, the mountains on both sides suddenly began to shake.


    Rumble...


    Wisps of fire light spread out from the back of the mountain range like a continuous fire cloud.


    A consummate True God with sharp eyes was the first to recognize the strange beast nearby. In a rather strange tone, he said, "The Flame War Horse... It is a kind of low-level monster. Are we really in the sixth stage of the Abyss Demon Region?"


    It was very common for the Flame War Horses to be seen in the first stage of the Abyss Demon Region. The consummate True Gods had often slaughtered such beasts, and some people had even tamed them. However, these Flame War Horses couldn''t be taken out of the Abyss Demon Region. Otherwise, they would be spotted on the Floating Islands of rich clans.


    "Are they... courting death as well?" Clark''s eyes widened in surprise.


    Of course, he had no idea that the transmission gate at the entrance of the sixth stage had been recovered. There were massive monsters surging out of the transmission channel.


    Leland and several top-rank True Gods were at a loss as they watched this scene.

 Chapter 2775 No Longer Powerful

    Before, Leland and the several top-rank True Gods watched in awe as the fight on the Desperation Plain raged on.


    He wasn''t able to believe what he saw as Nicholas released a tremendous amount of power during the fight.


    Despite being a Demi-holy Being, Leland''s combat abilities were definitely lower than those of the consummate True Gods who were engaged in the fight.


    He was acutely aware of this difference between their abilities; he had hoped that he wouldn''t cross with any of them. After all, he just followed Zen to come here.


    To his surprise, only one Demi-holy Being of the alliance of the powerful clans came over to check them out and asked a few questions. As quickly as they came, they left immediately, as if Leland and the top-rank True Gods with him were of no significance.


    After the alliance of the powerful clans on the Floating Islands had left, Leland''s group breathed a collective sigh of relief. But that didn''t change the fact that they still had to find a way out of this place.


    The strange fish had told them that the space door was connected to a space channel that led to the fifth stage. This path was the only way for them to leave this place.


    Just as they were feeling hopeless, the space door began to tremble. Strong waves of Space Law rapidly radiated through the door, and a deep gash formed the space channel that appeared within the door frame.


    Leland and the three top-rank True Gods were exhilarated when they saw the scene unfolding before them.


    Overcome with excitement, the strange fish rushed headlong into the space door without a second thought.


    But immediately after it entered the space channel and supposedly disappeared in front of everyone''s gaze, the strange fish came rushing back.


    "What''s wrong?" asked Leland, his eyes wide in fear.


    The strange fish had no time to answer. Countless fierce beasts came out from the space channel.


    Leland''s brows creased in a frown. He grabbed the strange fish and retreated to the side of the space door together with the other top-rank True Gods.


    "These beasts have been transported from the upper stages of the Abyss Demon Region..." Leland''s expression was grave as he said his observation.


    He had already been to the Abyss Demon Region in the past, and it was easy for him to identify the origins of several fierce beasts.


    Luckily, as if they were enchanted by something, these beasts went straight to the Desperation Plain. It seemed like they chased after the alliance of the powerful clans on the Floating Islands; they totally ignored Leland''s group


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    e or two thousand feet in height returned to a height of a hundred feet. Their strength returned to the level of an ordinary fiend after they had lost the Faith Energy; their power was greatly decreased compared to the level they had before they died.


    "Bang Bang Bang..."


    Fiends were continuously revived on the altar and they slowly made their way down, one by one.


    The last mass of congealed blood kept scintillating, until it finally formed into a fiend that was over a hundred feet high again.


    This figure became the center of attention; all fiends stared at it with a strange expression on their faces.


    It was Gallio.


    The longer a fiend stayed in the Abyss Demon Region and absorbed the Faith Energy, the more their power grew.


    Gallio was considered to be one of the powerful fiends because he had the ability to absorb other people''s Faith Energy, while his could not be absorbed by others!


    Aside from Gallio, there were three other powerful fiends who had become progressively stronger over the years. The level of their strength was way beyond that of ordinary fiends, so they naturally became leaders.


    But today, Gallio was actually killed...


    The fiends whispered among each other.


    "Shut up!" Gallio looked down upon the other lesser fiends and swept his gaze over the crowd. He spoke in an indifferent voice, "You wait here!"


    The current Gallio was not the powerful Gallio that he used to be. His strength was no different from that of ordinary fiends!


    But he still held a position of authority in the hearts of the fiends. All of the other fiends shut their mouths immediately.


    Gallio descended the altar slowly and headed straight towards the Fiend Hall in the distance.

 Chapter 2776 A Cold Voice

    Gallio had been preoccupied with a lot of thoughts.


    Once the big fiends died, they would lose all the Faith Energy they had gathered. Gallio had first-hand experience about losing everything by now.


    Knowing he had prestige in the past, those damn little fiends were still respectful to Gallio.


    Unsure if it was worth it, Gallio had been left with no choice but to gamble on it.


    Undoubtedly, losing his strength made him feel humiliation.


    Bang!


    Hitting the door with his fist, Gallio broke it open.


    The loud noise from the door was enough to call everyone''s attention. Stuart and the other two big fiends in the hall immediately turned and found Gallio standing by the door.


    As they saw that Gallio had become much smaller than before, the muscles on their faces twitched and they burst into laughter.


    "Hahaha..."


    "What a strange scene to behold! You have become so small!"


    The room roared as everyone started laughing at the sight of Gallio.


    Hiding in the corner, the little fiends also let out a shrill laughter.


    "How could Master Gallio become so small?"


    "But he is still bigger than us!"


    "In size, but in terms of strength, he must be very weak, right?"


    Those little fiends danced around the room. Unlike other fiends, they were vicious creatures refined by the fiend race through some special methods. They never relied on the Faith Energy to survive.


    Therefore, their strength would not be weakened even after they got killed by Holy Beings.


    "Phew!"


    Pride sighed, flashing above Gallio''s head.


    Even though Gallio was now only more than a hundred feet high, he was still a colossal sight to these dwarf-like fiends.


    However, in terms of strength, Pride was clearly more powerful than him now.


    Gallio used to bully these seven little fiends in the past. So now that he became much smaller and weaker, they naturally made reprisals.


    "Master Gallio, it appears that you''ve become sluggish,"


    Pride teased from above.


    Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.


    Seeing this, the other fiends also flew over and stood on Gallio''s head.


    "Get off me!" Gallio roared, wearing a long face.


    "Haha, you are so weak now,


    ere a lot of those domineering unknown creatures. The fiends did not dare to provoke them.


    On the other hand, the fiends had always been the masters of the Abyss Demon Region.


    Azazel''s and Stuart''s words made Gallio''s heart sink.


    This meant that his sacrifice would be meaningless. He would probably even lose his chair at the round table.


    "That''s unfair!" Gallio shouted, his voice sounding a little hoarse.


    "Is there any fairness in our race? Hahaha..."


    Hearing Stuart''s question, Gallio was rendered speechless. Everyone in the room burst into laughter, including the little fiends on the wall, filling the hall with joy.


    However, the next moment, the crowd stopped laughing.


    A unique feeling spread through the hall.


    As a wave of extreme fear started grabbing their hearts, even those little fiends on the wall became uneasy.


    This familiar feeling could only exist in the Sea of Meditation. But now, they actually felt it in the hall!


    "It''s indeed unfair. Since you have chosen to cooperate with me, I won''t give you a chance to back out now."


    A cold female voice came from the middle of the round table, calling everyone''s attention.


    The smooth surface of the round table began to freeze. While the milky white frosty air continued to spread, many beautiful rectangular ice crystals formed on the table.


    Soon, the temperature of the hall dropped sharply, making it like an extremely cold ice cellar.

 Chapter 2777 Meet Your Death

    In the furnace on the side of the hall, the blazing flames shrunk and were extinguished quickly. Even the ashes turned cold, leaving no trace of the warmth that once filled the hall.


    Everyone stayed still, as if they were stuck in their positions. Some of the fiend servants hiding behind the fiends started trembling in fear.


    Seeing how the place had been transformed, Stuart, Azazel and the other fiends looked sullen.


    It was a familiar voice that they heard earlier.


    It was the same voice that was hidden in the Sea of Meditation, taught the fiends to cultivate and made the fiend race develop to be powerful. Who would ever forget?


    Under its guidance, the fiends learned how to control their emotions and completely take the seven emotions out of their bodies, turning them into the seven little fiends.


    If not for this voice, the fiend race would not be able to make it this far.


    For the same reason, the powerful fiends were able to stay in the Sea of Meditation to cultivate.


    "Aren''t you in the Sea of Meditation? How are you able to come out?" Stuart asked, clearly surprised to see their visitor.


    The cold female voice replied, "When did I ever say that I can''t leave the Sea of Meditation?"


    Crack, crack, crack.


    The sound filled the room as the ice on the smooth table grew thicker and thicker.


    The fine ice crystals continuously gathered at the center of the table, rapidly growing like a plant.


    Layer by layer, it grew until the ice crystals were about the same height as a person. Then, they transformed into a shape of a very attractive human figure.


    Buzz!


    With a beam of milky white light flashing, everyone was blinded for a while. As soon as the light started fading, the perfect body wrapped in a light blue cloak appeared before them.


    Everyone was left speechless. The big fiends stared firmly at this body, including Gallio.


    They initially thought she was like those unknown creatures who didn''t have a body, and even could not prove their existence.


    But today, her real body appeared right before their eyes.


    The fiends yearned for the human civilization. They appreciated humans, so they imprisoned the female disciples of the powerful clans on the Floating Islands.


    Coming from powerful


    ooking at the woman with a complicated expression.


    A contemptuous smile appeared on the woman''s cold face. She uttered, "The fierce beasts in the entire Abyss Demon Region have poured into the sixth stage and they are all going to be reborn. With that being said, they will be cutting off the Faith Energy in their own bodies at the same time. Do you think that you still have a choice?"


    Stuart, Azazel and the other big fiends were all shocked with this news.


    This woman had always guided them, but they thought that her guidance could only be confined within the Sea of Meditation.


    They did not expect that this woman would be so powerful to control the fierce beasts of the entire Abyss Demon Region. Even the fiends couldn''t do that. They could only subdue those intelligent vicious beasts but not control them.


    "I will fulfill my promise. If I succeed, I will let you get out of the control of the Abyss Demon Region," the woman said calmly. Her eyes scanned the room for any violent reaction. "Now, should I kill you or should you go and meet your death before those Holy Beings?"


    While they were hearing her limited options, the expressions on Stuart''s and the other big fiends'' faces immediately turned bitter.


    Considering their sizes, these three big fiends were not unable to fight this woman.


    It was just that they did not even have the courage to resist her head-on!


    "Go ahead, Stuart. It is our original plan, isn''t it?" Gallio finally spoke, beaming a gloating smile.

 Chapter 2778 Reluctant Self-explosions

    "But there will be tons of Faith Energy around. Can you really devour all of it?" Stuart questioned her, unwilling to give up.


    Looking at him with cold eyes, the woman shook her head slightly and answered, "It''s none of your business. Just do as I say."


    The entire Abyss Demon Region was believed to be a negative Pool of Faith.


    All dead beasts would release their extra Faith Energy.


    Some of these Faith Energy would turn into divine might coins, while some would quietly nurture the entire Abyss Demon Region.


    Therefore, over the years, the total amount of the Faith Energy in the Abyss Demon Region consistently increased. Although the rich clans had taken away divine might coins from the Abyss Demon Region, in comparison with the Faith Energy being replenished every year, it was just a negligible loss.


    But this time, something strange happened in the Abyss Demon Region.


    All the beasts, regardless whether they were powerful or weak, rushed to the Holy Beings one after another.


    By committing suicide, they meant to willingly offer their Faith Energy. Instead of spreading in the Abyss Demon Region, their Faith Energy was collected by the woman.


    After being stared at by the woman for a while, Stuart finally lowered his head and nodded helplessly. "Okay."


    Gallio had led most of the fiends to offer their Faith Energy.


    Currently, there were only a small number of fiends that still maintained their strength, and that included these three big fiends who possessed much Faith Energy.


    "What do you think?" The woman tilted her head to stare at Azazel and another big fiend. Their eyes met hers, making them feel the cold stare of death.


    Stuart had already given in to this woman, so there was no point for them to resist.


    Moreover, they knew that this woman really had the ability to take them out of the Abyss Demon Region, so they nodded at the same time.


    Meanwhile, another battle was starting between the lofty mountains on the sixth stage of the Abyss Demon Region.


    Oink, oink, oink!


    In the sky, countless two-winged fire bats rushed over in all directions. They swarmed around like bees.


    "These fire bats are a bit concerning. Although they are not destructive to us, they have overwhelming explosive power. Th


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    battle.


    Nicholas and other Holy Beings could not help feeling curious, but they also became alert. They were afraid that the fiends would play tricks on them.


    Just then, the Holy Beings were surprised when the fiends started something that they did not expect.


    Looking at each other, the three big fiends smiled bitterly before stabbing their hands into their own chests all at the same time.


    "They¡­ What are they doing?"


    "Are they trying to get themselves to explode?"


    "Gallio did the same earlier. Why do they all try to explode themselves before we even have a fight?"


    Countless thoughts flashed through the crowd''s minds as they tried to make sense of it. No one knew what the fiends were doing.


    Although they felt strange, almost everyone retreated as fast as they could, knowing that the power of these big fiends'' self-explosions was too terrifying. If they happened to get caught in the explosions, they would probably be smashed into pieces.


    Fortunately, the explosions this time gave them enough time to retreat and save themselves.


    After the three big fiends'' self-explosions, the impact that spread out was several times more terrifying than Gallio''s.


    The rolling mountains were crushed in a flash, having magma burst out from their bottoms like fiery dragons crazily brandishing the magma on the ground.


    Although the members of the union of powerful clans had avoided the impact unharmed, they were dumbfounded, having no idea on what these three fiends were doing.

 Chapter 2779 No Way Back

    The self-destruction of the three big fiends blew open a huge hole.


    The air from the bottom surged upwards and swirled with the hot air above the magma, creating whistling air currents.


    "The three big fiends have blown themselves up."


    "I can''t believe it."


    "I don''t think any of the beasts remaining can fight against us, not for any reason they might have!"


    The consummate True Gods and the Demi-holy Beings discussed the situation among themselves.


    Rocher had also been dumbfounded as the scene unfolded in front of his eyes. An inkling of doubt made its way into his heart.


    During their confrontation on the Desperation Plain earlier, the big fiend called Gallio had exploded into pieces, and they had been totally confused.


    This was the fiends'' home territory. Gallio could have escaped or even asked other fiends for help even though he couldn''t defeat Nicholas.


    If the four big fiends had joined forces and fought together, Nicholas and his companions wouldn''t have had a chance to win against them.


    The current situation had gotten unbelievably out of hand. The three big fiends that had just arrived had chosen to self-destruct.


    ''They... They must have been forced!''


    The idea had come so suddenly into Rocher''s mind.


    But who had the power to force them to commit suicide? What had been the motive behind it?


    If such a being, or even a certain force, had existed that had the power to command them to sacrifice themselves, it must have been extremely powerful.


    "They were forced to explode,"


    Nicholas confirmed when Rocher had come to this conclusion in his mind.


    "Right." Murphy nodded slightly in agreement. "It was obvious that it was not their own will."


    Nicholas narrowed his eyes and looked forward. "The bottom of the Abyss Demon Region is a huge trap. Something is definitely luring us into this trap, but its intention evades me."


    The faces of Zeke, Clark, and the other Holy Beings darkened in foreboding.


    All of them agreed with Nicholas.


    They needed to be in control of the Abyss Demon Region during this trip. They had to push through this path even though they already knew that there was a trap set for them.


    The only other choice that they had was to retreat and leave the Abyss Demon Region immediately. There were several of them that had thought about leaving, but they were afraid to voice it out directly.


    After he took a deep b


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    had been as smooth as a mirror. The strength of the force did not matter; it would have just disappeared into the black water without any trace.


    But at that moment, unseen tornadoes had forced the black water into the air and formed an amazing spectacle of a dragon siphoning water.


    The black water had touched the gray fog, and similar to a drop of ink that dripped into rice paper, it had made a large area of the fog black. The sky of the Abyss Demon Region had considerably darkened a bit more.


    "Buzz!"


    A dazzling beam of light suddenly shot out from the fog and landed in an area not far from where everyone had stood.


    After the three fiends had self-destructed, a large opening had been opened on the road in front of them. That opening was the entrance to the seventh stage of the Abyss Demon Region.


    When the white column had struck down, the cold air rushed in. It had cut the space behind the group and blocked their way completely.


    "Hmm. It seems that you are determined to win." Murphy had looked at the entrance to the seventh stage of the Abyss Demon Region as he spoke, a cold smile upon his lips.


    It had been an undoubtedly arrogant challenge to them to have their route of retreat cut off in such a grand gesture!


    "We will see who will laugh in the end," Nicholas said coldly.


    He had immediately transformed into a streak of light, his hands behind his back, and shot forward.


    The other members of the group had been really hesitant to go forward in this trip. But since their retreat had been cut off, they were left with no other choice but to follow Nicholas.

 Chapter 2780 The Deadly Light Column

    The seventh stage of the Abyss Demon Region was the lair of the fiends.


    Originally, this had been the entire Abyss Demon Region, but as the years went on, the region had expanded all around this area.


    When the white column of light fell down from the sky, the temperature of the fiends'' lair suddenly decreased.


    "Why is the temperature so low?"


    "What happened?"


    "What is that white light?"


    Apart from the several big fiends, the rest of the fiends, including the fiend commanders, didn''t know what had happened.


    They were at a loss on seeing this abnormal phenomenon.


    Crack, crack!


    A huge crack suddenly appeared on the surface of the Fiend Hall which was ten thousand feet high.


    Crack, crack...


    It was as if a giant invisible hand was tearing apart the Fiend Hall.


    The Fiend Hall was slashed into two in the blink of an eye!


    Seeing this bizarre scene made the ferocious Ghost Dogs feel an inexplicable fear, so they began roaring and howling loudly in their cages, wanting to escape.


    "Ah..."


    Some of the human women who had been imprisoned in the Fiend Hall were free now. However, they had been here for so long that they had forgotten how to escape; instead, they hid in the corners, shrieking in fear.


    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom...


    In front of the Fiend Hall, a thin and transparent tip popped out of the flat square.


    As the square continued to crack, a transparent crystal palace rose out of the ground.


    However, this crystal palace was like the tip of the iceberg. It was only the entrance of the underground palace.


    Buzz...


    As the palace rose from underground, cold air enveloped the surface of the fiends'' lair, forming a thin layer of ice.


    Whoosh...


    A beautiful human woman walked out of the collapsed door of the Fiend Hall.


    She set her feet on the thin layer of ice and glided to the front door of the palace.


    A stream of milky-white cold air followed her as she moved. In the meantime, a crystal throne appeared. She gently sat down on the throne and looked into the distance.


    When Nicholas rushed over from the gap and saw the dilapidated Fiend Hall,


    e Zeke and Murphy had fear on their faces when they saw the tricolor Sacred Twilight Flame.


    They had never expected Clark to secretly hide such a great theurgy.


    Clark might be more proficient in the Elementary Fire Godly Way than anyone else.


    When the Sacred Twilight Flame condensed, it spiraled into a vertical column of flame and shot straight into the falling column of light straightly.


    However, just at that moment, Nicholas reached out to grab Clark!


    When he reached out his hand to touch Clark, the Sacred Twilight Flame on Clark''s chest was pushed away by a strange force. Then, Nicholas grasped Clark''s clothes without any hindrance and pulled him abruptly to the side.


    Buzz!


    The falling column of light had completely eaten up the tricolor Sacred Twilight Flame without so much as slowing down.


    Although Nicholas had pulled Clark away, it was too late; the light column grazed Clark''s shoulder before hitting the ground.


    With a gentle stroke of the light column, Clark''s right arm disappeared.


    The light column had quietly devoured both Clark''s flame and his right arm.


    They never expected such an inconspicuous attack was fatal.


    As the woman observed this whole scene, her eyes were filled with ridicule, but she was still a little surprised. "Not bad. You are worthy of being the leader of these people after all. But do you know what''s going to happen in a few seconds?"

 Chapter 2781 The Resentment

    Nicholas didn''t reply to the woman. He just sneered and attacked.


    Crack...


    A black claw print shot out of his hand, penetrating the space between him and the woman.


    The claw print seemed ordinary, but the power contained in it was extremely terrible. Any opponent, even a Holy Being, would have to go all out to defend against it, let alone counterattack.


    However, the woman just raised her eyebrows lightly.


    With a flick of her finger, another white light as thick as an arm fell from the sky and collided with the black claw print.


    Puff!


    The two forces collided with a muffled sound and then disappeared quickly.


    Nicholas immediately furrowed his eyebrows, but the woman just smiled. She didn''t take him seriously at all.


    Just now, Clark had been at a disadvantage when fighting with the woman, so Nicholas hadn''t wanted to let down his guard in this fight.


    He had known that he couldn''t hurt this woman seriously, but he had to save face, so when he had attacked her, he had used almost all of his strength. Nevertheless, she had easily avoided his attack. Her strength was beyond his expectation.


    Although Nicholas had launched a surprise attack, the woman did not seem to be irritated.


    The smile on her face was still warm, and she said softly, "It''s not time to fight yet. Let''s get back to the topic just now. Aren''t you looking for the supreme treasure of belief to control the Abyss Demon Region?"


    "Yes." There was a strange expression in Nicholas''s eyes.


    "I have it," the woman said coyly.


    Hearing this, the Holy Beings present were taken aback.


    Was this woman so powerful because she was in possession of the supreme treasure of belief that they wanted?


    Everyone''s eyes burned with desire, especially those of the consummate True Gods. If they managed to obtain the supreme treasure of belief, their strength and status would instantly be on a par with Nicholas''s, and might even surpass his.


    "If you are willing to hand over the supreme treasure of belief, we can cooperate," said Nicholas, casting a deep, significant glance at the woman. "I will satisfy you as much as I can in the divine land."


    "Really?" the woman asked, her face revealing a trace


    e of primitive fear in the Sea of Meditation, but they had been targeted by the Devils from the very beginning.


    At first, Sword Chen had thought that it was a coincidence, but later, he had realized that they had been aiming for Zen.


    There were a lot of unknown creatures in the Sea of Meditation, but most of them were not that powerful or intelligent. With the protection of the Scorching Gold, they didn''t have to be afraid of the unknown creatures. The Devils, however, were a different matter. Whoever encountered them would be in great trouble.


    However, the Devils were few and far between. Sword Chen had been wandering around in the Sea of Meditation for so many years, but he had seen them only a few times.


    On the other hand, Zen had encountered a group of Devils almost as soon as he had entered the Sea of Meditation.


    What a coincidence it was! Zen was really unlucky.


    ''Maybe Zen''s blood attracts the attention of the unknown creatures. Wait, that can''t be. What does Zen''s blood have to do with the Abyss Demon Region?''


    A myriad of thoughts had crowded Sword Chen''s mind when he swam to the bottom of the sea to look for Zen repeatedly, but he couldn''t find him.


    If Zen really died in the Sea of Meditation, what should he do?


    Looking at the madly rotating whirlpool in the distance, he gritted his teeth and finally made up his mind. With a light step on the bubble beneath his feet, he flew toward the center of the Abyss Demon Region.

 Chapter 2782 Purpose

    Sword Chen was naturally afraid of the big fiends but at this given critical moment, he could not care any less about such concern.


    Through Zen''s words, he had learned the true intention of Nicholas and his group.


    He had been hidden in the Abyss Demon Region for so many years, but he didn''t just live his life to survive. He also had great ambitions!


    Even it meant that he had to face the threat of the Holy Beings and of the fiends, he didn''t have the slightest hesitation at all.


    "Whoosh!"


    It was of no surprise that he faced no obstructions along the way...


    After all, every fierce beasts in the entire Abyss Demon Region had been exterminated. Right after the fierce beasts released the superfluous Faith Energy, they had returned to their respective lairs and waited to get revived.


    After travelling for some distance, it was not long before he saw the huge opening.


    Noticing how the opening looked like made him gasp in astonishment. He couldn''t believe his eyes!


    What intense explosion could cause such a huge opening?


    Without doubt, it was difficult for him to imagine the scene when the three fiends had self-detonated...


    After observing the opening for a while, he leaped and flew directly to the seventh stage through it. It didn''t take a long time before he was near the broken Fiend Hall. Getting closer, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a large group of fiends!


    "These fiends..."


    Seeing the fiends made his heart beat for a pause as he felt nervous. By reflex, he wanted to find a place to hide.


    But as he looked at them closely, he noticed that the fiends he was looking at right now were different from the fiends he had encountered before. They were very short in size, only over a hundred feet tall.


    Staying in the Abyss Demon Region for many years had made him gain more knowledge about the fiends. He learned that the powerful fiends usually had absorbed enough Faith Energy, making them constantly strengthen themselves, so their bodies were incomparably tall. Fiends at a powerful level were specially about six or seven thousand feet tall!


    As Sword Chen showed himself to the fiends, their eyes immediately widened in alarm.


    They had dared come over only after knowing that the members of the alliance of the rich and powerful clans on the Floating Islands had entered the ice palace.


    They were very upset when they were forced to release the Faith Energy, as they were incompetent under


    ''s image.


    The phantom looked like it had completely submitted itself to the woman. Its arms stretched out as it gently stroked the woman''s smooth and fair-skinned face.


    To be honest, seeing a person who looked exactly the same as himself being so intimate with a totally strange woman, Zen felt a strange feeling rising in his heart.


    He threw the strange emotion aside and asked, "Why did you lock me here?"


    The woman raised her neck and seemed to enjoy the caress of the phantom in Zen''s image. She narrowed her eyes and said indifferently, "Because you are the only Nine Li member I met in all these years! I was so lucky to meet you in the black water!"


    So it turned out that it was really because of his bloodline.


    Zen''s speculation was the same as that of Sword Chen.


    Sword Chen had stayed in the black water for so many years and everything was fine even with the unknown things around him. Then the moment he appeared, why did things suddenly change?


    It was confirmed that it might have something to do with Zen''s bloodline.


    "Even if I''m a member of the Nine Li race, what''s your purpose of trapping me here?" Zen still continued to ask.


    The woman paused and brushed off the phantom''s arm. She then walked slowly towards him.


    A burning excitement couldn''t be concealed in her eyes. As she approached Zen, she reached out her hand and gently rubbed his chest. She lowered her eyes and said, "After I get a real body, leave the Abyss Demon Region and cleanse the entire divine land, I will be able to carry on the bloodline of the Nine Li race with you. What do you think? Isn''t my purpose wonderful?"

 Chapter 2783 The Black Mist

    Was this woman mad?


    Zen stood still on the spot hearing her words which made him flabbergasted. "Cleanse the entire divine land? What do you want to get rid of?"


    "All arrogant humans," the woman answered seriously.


    "You mean you want to kill everyone?" Zen asked as he couldn''t comprehend why was the woman thinking about such a plan.


    The woman raised her head and stared at Zen''s eyes. Her eyes flashed with a gleam as she said earnestly, "That''s for sure! What do you think?"


    Confirming that the woman was indeed serious, he tried his best to calm down.


    He collected his thoughts about what the woman had said. She just mentioned that she wanted to find a way to own a real body, which meant that she herself had been relying on the Faith Energy. It also signified that she was a monster born in the Abyss Demon Region.


    From what he had experienced in the Sea of Meditation, Zen believed that it was very likely that this woman was born in the Sea of Meditation. Was it possible that she was also an unknown fearful thing?


    "Why do you want to kill all the humans?" he asked again.


    The expression on the woman''s face changed as a vicious light flashed once more. "Because the divine land belongs to our Nine Li race! How could we let these insects without our race''s blood control the divine land? Our Nine Li race should have been the real Holy Beings in the divine land! But such positions have been occupied by those humble nobodies. They all should die!"


    "But you are not a person of the Nine Li race, either. You also don''t have Chiyou''s blood," stated Zen.


    It was only him and Lorena who really had the Nine Li race''s blood in the divine land.


    The woman in front of him wasn''t even a real living creature, so naturally she was not considered as someone with the Nine Li race''s blood.


    The woman was unaffected by Zen''s rebuttal and just smiled faintly. Her gaze continued to linger at Zen revealing a hint of passion, as if she was looking at her true love. "So it''s really lucky for me to find you in the Sea of Meditation. Having you, I can own the Nine Li race''s blood."


    Zen sensed that the woman did not show any enmity towards him, but her gaze still made him feel creepy. Why would such a strange woman be born in the Sea of Meditation?


    Just then, Zen suddenly felt a tremor under his feet.


    "Bang!"


    An explosive sound came


    "


    He felt a bit relieved confirming Zen''s presence. As long as he held the sword, he could always sense his location.


    However, before he could go down two or three layers, a thick black mist had suddenly surged in from outside of the ice palace!


    The black mist not only spread in the space of the palace, but also in the ice blocks. The crystal clear building suddenly corrupted and changed to black as charcoal.


    "What kind of mist is this?"


    Sword Chen was soon lost in the black mist.


    As he sank into the black mist, a strong sense of fear rose from the bottom of his heart!


    "The force of primitive fear?"


    He halted going down as the surrounding area was gradually enveloped by darkness. The situation made him confused and alert at the same time. All of a sudden, he felt a gust of cold wind blowing from behind, as if a ghost was blowing on his back.


    Without any second thought, he flew forward and at once, a small gold piece was taken out of his space ring.


    The small gold piece was the ''Scorching Gold'' that was used in the dark water.


    The Scorching Gold released a ray of dazzling golden light. It eventually helped him scare the unknown things hiding in the darkness away.


    Sword Chen breathed a sigh of relief as his sense of fear disappeared at that moment.


    It seemed that after the dark water had been sucked into the sky, it had now spread down. This meant that the ice palace had also turned into another dark water area. It was fortunate that he had quite a few pieces of Scorching Gold on his hands. Otherwise, it would be troublesome.

 Chapter 2784 Cloning

    Sword Chen had wielded the Scorching Gold which emitted a radiant light, so he didn''t worry about the unknown creatures that lurked in the black mist.


    The others, on the contrary, weren''t as lucky.


    The black mist seeped in from everywhere and obstructed all the light sources. Everyone was enveloped by the darkness.


    "It''s so dark that I can''t even see my own hand in front of me."


    "What''s this?"


    "Something is in the darkness!"


    Fear immediately gripped the consummate True Gods and Demi-holy Beings.


    They all felt that there was something that circled around their group in the darkness. The chill of the ice palace did not help, as it was extreme to the point that their backs were wet with cold sweat.


    "Disperse the black mist!"


    one of the Demi-holy Beings yelled as a dazzling light flashed from his fingertip.


    The dazzling light had usually blinded ordinary people were they in a place somewhere outside of the ice palace; here, it had no effect at all.


    They only felt the white light flash for a moment before they were engulfed by the darkness again.


    "Fire!"


    a Holy Being growled.


    This Holy Being was also a master of the Elementary Fire Godly Way. His skills were not as powerful as Clark''s, but they were still not something to be trifled with.


    "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."


    A torrent of flame shaped like a dragon shot into the air and shone with a bright yellow light.


    Like the previous spell that cast a white light before, the yellow light also disappeared within a few seconds.


    But although they weren''t able to see the light, they still heard the sound of the flame as it burned. It meant that the flame had not been extinguished, but something had prevented the light from spreading.


    The Holy Being was frustrated. It was clear that he still controlled the flame and that the flame was just somewhere close by, but why wasn''t he able to see it? Not any one of them had figured it out.


    Everyone present were already experienced fighters, but the fear of the unknown unnerved them and affected their sanity bit by bit.


    "They''re getting closer and closer!"


    "Kill them!"


    "Phew!"


    A piercing scream split the darkness as a glimmer of a sword''s blade sliced past. Someone had accidentally hurt one of their companions.


    The group erupted in a state of utter chaos. If they hadn''t been a


    rgy really belonged to Chiyou as the creator of the divine land.


    Using the Faith Energy for cloning was considered as a form of creation from a certain perspective.


    This had been the explanation for the woman''s ability to make an exact clone of Zen.


    "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."


    Nicholas led the group as they had flown at an incredibly high speed.


    Tens of thousands of feet was a distance that Holy Beings traveled in the blink of an eye. But the woman''s speed was not something to underestimate. She had continuously escaped in the ice palace and she had kept almost neck-to-neck with Nicholas'' speed.


    As the distance he flew grew, Nicholas had felt increasingly afraid.


    Besides him, everyone had also felt that they were surrounded on all sides by something invisible.


    But when they reached out with their spiritual senses, they found nothing there.


    The fear of the unknown had blossomed subtly from the bottom of their hearts and had threatened to overwhelm them bit by bit.


    "It''s just an artificial illusion. Just ignore it!" said Nicholas.


    He had activated the Great Dominance Technique again. Everyone had calmed down as they heard his majestic voice in their minds, their fear suppressed once again.


    During this process, the formless creatures that had been following them simultaneously changed their shapes quickly.


    Only a few paces behind Nicholas, one of the formless creatures had already started to take on a human shape. In such a short period of time, it had cloned a complete face, and gradually cloned clothes, hair...

 Chapter 2785 Dark Light Torrents

    The woman weaved her way swiftly through the ice palace in the darkness.


    The huge ice palace expanded to tens of thousands of floors under the ground. There were also countless of rooms and ice pillars that would certainly make one unfamiliar with the place get lost.


    Such numbers of floors and rooms of the huge ice palace might be familiar to the woman, but it wasn''t her who built it but someone else.


    After discovering the ice palace at the bottom of the Abyss Demon Region, she wandered in it through the years, which was why it would be easy for her to find the right direction.


    "Whoosh!"


    She jumped up and slid along the side of the steps in front of her in spite of the dark surroundings. In an extremely high speed, she moved down to the bottom of the ice palace.


    As she ran, she pressed her hands together to form a unique mark.


    "Buzz..."


    In a flash, an invisible Faith Energy shot down from the sky above the Abyss Demon Region and passed through the mark in her hands to the formless creatures.


    Such a huge amount of Faith Energy had never been used by the woman before. This time served as the first time for her to do so.


    The Faith Energy was different from the True Gods'' momentum. The momentum produced in the True Gods'' inner worlds was also considered the Faith Energy. However, their inner worlds were completely under their control, and each and every one of them could control the Faith Energy in their inner worlds freely.


    The Faith Energy she used was owned by Chiyou, and belonged to the divine land. Therefore, for her to utilize and fully control it was naturally more difficult.


    She had taken advantage of it to severely repress the Holy Beings such as Nicholas before luring the crowd into the ice palace.


    The formless creatures were a great help to her.


    It was not long before the Holy Being had become aware that something went wrong. Then she was being chased after.


    Fortunately for her, she could also sense Nicholas'' location.


    Moreover, she was more familiar with the ice palace, which put her in a favorable condition. She could get rid of the Holy Beings in a short time.


    It took some time for the formless creatures to clone those people, and during that time, it was not good for her to take actions.


    "Bang!"


    A large block of ice was pierced, and Nicholas rushed to the front.


    "There are only two reasons why you are hiding yourself after luring us in. The first reason is that you want to lead us to a special place.


    The s


    limited, but the black spiral ripples were constantly supplemented and had already formed a tall wall.


    In the blink of an eye, the spiral ripples had counteracted all the Dark Light Torrents.


    What were the creatures crying in the dark? How could they be so powerful?


    "Thank you very much. Five minutes will be enough."


    Looking at how things had progressed on her side, the woman smiled at the Devils in the darkness. Without giving Nicholas a spare look, she moved and continued to slide down the ice palace.


    She put her hands together all the time, and the Faith Energy was continuously provided to the formless creatures through the mark on her hands.


    It was almost complete. She could clearly feel that the shapes of the formless creatures were almost finalized. She just needed five more minutes until they would take their full shapes.


    The clones being formed had the same strength and even the memories as the Holy Beings. Once complete, they would definitely acknowledge allegiance to her.


    Her plan was a helpless choice.


    However, she held her ground planning and trying for many years, just for this day.


    Obtaining the supreme treasure of belief located at the bottom of the ice palace was definitely a hard task to do.


    She had cloned Sword Chen in the Sea of Meditation for hundreds of thousands of times, but still failed to get the supreme treasure of belief.


    This time, the invasion of the Holy Beings into the forbidden land had actually given her a golden opportunity.


    It took her great efforts to lead the Holy Beings into the ice palace just to have the chance to clone them. She believed that this time, she would succeed.

 Chapter 2786 Clones

    Just after the woman got rid of Nicholas, a bright halo shot toward her from the side, cutting through seven to eight layers of ice in the process.


    Pieces of ice flew and shrouded her head, causing her to turn her attention to the side.


    Noticing the incoming halo, the woman frowned and tapped the ground lightly with her toes. The ice beneath her feet immediately cracked open. As she fell through the hole, she managed to avoid the halo.


    "Alas! She was almost killed!"


    "Nicholas said that she can''t fight back now, so we must take this opportunity to kill her!"


    "Leave it to me! I will shoot her to death!"


    Although the woman had managed to avoid the halo, she had no time to rest; she felt some powerful internal momentum gathering overhead.


    Even though the Holy Beings'' methods were powerful enough to shock heaven and earth, she could deal with them.


    However, it was really not convenient for her to fight back now. If the formless creatures were interrupted during the process of cloning, the Faith Energy that she had provided before would be wasted.


    So now, she had to carefully protect the mark in her hands while dodging the attacks of the Holy Beings.


    Buzz!


    Zoom!


    At that moment, a few crimson arrows shot toward her from above.


    The arrows, which contained a strong killing intent, were Blood Boiling Arrows created by the Murdering Godly Way.


    If ordinary people were hit by the arrow, their blood would boil and they would definitely die.


    The woman once again tapped the ground lightly with her toes and turned her body, skillfully avoiding the arrows.


    But after hearing Nicholas''s order, the Holy Beings were not going to let her go that easily.


    "Let me do it!"


    a bold and wild voice said.


    Then, a tricolor ball of fire burst forth.


    Suppressed by the black mist, the ball of fire quickly sank into the darkness.


    But the moment the ball of fire lit up, everyone knew that it must be from Clark.


    Although the crowd could not see the flames, they knew from the heat they felt that the tricolor Sacred Twilight Flame was still burning.


    The truth was, Clark was afraid of this woman as he had suffered a great loss to her before.


    lled this Demi-holy Being, it''s her turn to die," Zeke said coldly in the darkness.


    "The woman hasn''t run away," a Demi-holy Being remarked with curiosity.


    Logically speaking, the woman should have tried her best to run away while the phantom of Sword Chen had been fighting off all the Holy Beings.


    However, she remained at the same place she had been, standing still outside a broken ice layer beneath the hole. She gently put down her hands with a smile on her face. As she waved her hand, the formless creatures in the darkness began to gather behind her.


    "That''s too bad for her. Let''s kill her!"


    One of the Holy Beings attacked first. A streak of light swept across the darkness, heading for the woman with a whistling sound.


    Clap!


    With a crisp sound, another figure appeared behind the woman.


    This person had a powerful aura and was emitting a unique Truth of Godly Way?¡ªthe Truth of Dark and Light Chaos. All the people at the upper part of the ice palace were shocked to feel the aura. Obviously, it was Nicholas''s aura.


    The real Nicholas, however, was still dealing with the Devils. The force of primitive fear that the Devils used was far more powerful than he had expected it to be.


    As he fought, he kept trying to think of a way to break through.


    Since the Devils did not have concrete bodies, Nicholas racked his brains about how to hurt them.


    At this moment, he sensed a familiar aura from below. It was his own aura.

 Chapter 2787 True Demon Body

    The woman clapped her hands.


    As her magic unfolded, the black mist that lingered in the ice palace dispersed in all directions.


    Like fishes swimming in space, the Devils which had been fighting with Nicholas quickly fled and disappeared.


    Sizzle!


    A flame was ignited from below.


    The bright yellow light immediately shrouded its surrounding space.


    The black mist only moved away a little and did not completely dissipate. Though shining brightly, the yellow light could only light up the space of tens of thousands of feet around it.


    More figures walked out from behind the woman when the fire was lit up.


    Besides Nicholas, Zeke, Murphy, and Clark were all among them.


    All the Holy Beings of the alliance of the powerful clans on the Floating Islands appeared to now be standing behind her!


    That was the result she achieved by forcing so many fierce beasts and fiends to hand in their Faith Energy!


    All the Holy Beings, the Demi-holy Beings, and the consummate True Gods watched in great shock.


    "They are just phantoms!" one of the consummate True Gods said with contempt.


    But no one took in his words.


    Standing right next to the woman, Nicholas was emitting a very powerful aura.


    If it was only a phantom, it would be impossible for him to have such a powerful aura. Also, Nicholas'' aura was leaving the same pressure on people as before.


    Flying over from the side of the ice layer, Nicholas floated in the air.


    With doubt clouding his eyes, his gaze initially fell on that woman, and then to his phantom.


    Before Nicholas could say anything, the woman spoke first and took him by surprise, "Do you still want to attack me?"


    In order to give the formless things enough time to copy them, she could only suffer attacks passively. She knew that once the supply of Faith Energy was stopped, all her previous efforts would be wasted.


    With her grumpy personality, how could she tolerate that?


    "Go on!"


    Swish!


    Her clear voice echoed in the ice palace. The "Nicholas" standing next to her had already leaped towards the sky!


    Splash!


    Just like a bicolored dragon, two torrents in black and white entangled with each other and shot towards the real Nicholas in the air.


    It was the Dark Light Torrents.


    Seeing the two Dark Light Torrents, Nicholas was unable to hide the caut


    try to get the True Demon Body."


    The Holy Beings had been a little vigilant before, but after hearing her suggestion, traces of greed immediately reflected in their eyes.


    "Do you mean that''s the sixth level supreme treasure of belief in the Abyss Demon Region?"


    "Whoever controls it will be able to control the power of the Abyss Demon Region."


    "Wait, if the supreme treasure of belief has existed here for countless years, why have you not taken it yourself?" a Holy Being asked curiously, his eyes darting towards the woman.


    The fact was, she was waiting for the Holy Beings to get down there to get the True Demon Body. When she heard the question, she fiddled with her bangs and admitted, "Of course, because I am not capable to get it. If I could do it myself, why else would I leave it to you?"


    "Can you clarify on what you just said?" Zeke couldn''t help asking.


    Shaking her head, the woman sat on the edge of the ice layer and looked down at the ice coffin as she explained, "Whether you can get it or not depends on your abilities. I won''t say anything else. I can only tell you that, of course, it''s extremely difficult."


    In the past, she had tried with Sword Chen''s clones for countless times, but to no avail.


    In order to increase her success rate, she had also worked hard to guide the real Sword Chen to insert his long swords into the Sea of Meditation, so as to absorb the force of primitive fear.


    With this being said, Sword Chen didn''t know about her existence, nor did he know that she had helped him secretly.

 Chapter 2788 Taking Actions

    The Holy Beings stared and observed the woman''s expression, trying to find out whether she was telling the truth.


    But in the end, they realized that they could only sense resentment coming from her. They couldn''t detect any other disguised intentions no matter from which angle or point of view they checked.


    "Shall we go down now?"


    "What if it''s a trap?"


    "We have come this far, and I won''t return even if it is a trap!"


    Discussions of agreement and contradictions among the Holy Beings and the Demi-holy Beings began to arise. Although the consummate True Gods also tried to join the discussion, their opinions were almost ignored.


    "Let''s go down!"


    Nicholas suddenly intervened, and halted the other Holy Beings just as they were discussing fiercely.


    Ever since the beginning of their journey, he tried to avoid all of the unnecessary fights. No matter if it was the fiends or even the mysterious woman, he had been trying not to offend anyone trivial on the way.


    Now that he had finally found the supreme treasure of belief that could control the Abyss Demon Region, he naturally wouldn''t let the opportunity go.


    He had his own observations and judging from the woman''s actions, and he eventually figured something out.


    The woman had stayed around for so many years but was not able to obtain the supreme treasure of belief. It surely proved that it was extremely difficult to do so.


    He realized that the woman''s main intention by leading the Holy Beings into the ice palace was to simply create their replicas.


    It didn''t matter what kind of method she had used to copy them. Her plan was to rely on the replicas of the Holy Beings to help her. Was her real target the True Demon Body too?


    The Holy Beings stopped discussing upon hearing Nicholas making the decision. They did not dare say anything against him.


    Nicholas plainly cast a meaningful glance at the woman and then jumped down.


    The rest of the Holy Beings, Demi-holy Beings, and consummate True Gods also followed and jumped down from the above.


    As the woman had removed the black mist covering the area below them, there had been no obstacles on their way down.


    She continued to be seated on the edge of the ice as she looked down at the group''s departure. With pursed lips, she reached out her arm and gently pressed the ice. Her whole body spread into the darkness silently. The replicas of the Holy Beings hidden behind her had also quietly flown away with her.


    The black mist was powerful enough to block the energy waves as it shrouded the ice palac


    lame. The intense silence was then broken as a woman''s silvery laughter sounded.


    "Did I scare you?"


    The mysterious woman asked as she slowly walked out from behind the Holy Beings, her gaze fixated at Zen.


    Sword Chen was still in confusion and failed to figure out the situation, but the silence of the Holy Beings made him feel quite strange.


    Zen frowned and observed the Holy Beings for a while before he asked, "Are these Holy Beings also replicas?"


    "Uh-huh."


    The woman made a leap and flew towards him.


    Sword Chen was still on full alert. He pointed his sword at the woman.


    For some reason, he had felt that this woman''s aura was quite similar to that of the Sea of Meditation.


    He was given a surprise as the woman was not afraid of his sword at all. She stretched out her slender fingers and gently brushed on the sword. Under the light of the flame, he found out that some black energies were wildly twirling on his sword!


    "What a strong force of primitive fear!"


    He cried out in exclamation staring at his long sword with an incredible look on his face.


    He had carefully placed one hundred and twenty-eight long swords at the bottom of the Sea of Meditation. His strength could be increased greatly with the help of the force of primitive fear.


    With this additional power, he was able to fight against Samuel as a Demi-holy Being.


    Now when the woman gave a gentle stroke to his sword, the force of primitive fear that gathered on his sword was over ten times more than what he had collected!


    Who the hell was this woman?


    And what did Zen mean by saying those words just now? Could it be that the Holy Beings in front of them were also replicas created by her?

 Chapter 2789 In The Ice Coffin

    Seeing that Sword Chen didn''t understand, the woman commented casually, "We have been neighbors for so many years. This is the first time we have seen each other..."


    "Neighbors? Do you also live in the Sea of Meditation? Are you one of the Devils?" Sword Chen asked, staring at the woman totally dumbfounded.


    He was of the opinion that only those Devils could control the force of primitive fear.


    Hearing this, the woman smiled faintly. "Those Devils... are controlled by me!"


    Saying so, she waved her hand.


    The areas where the firelight couldn''t reach were submerged in the dark mist. The Devils who were wandering in this dark mist immediately responded to her.


    "Aoo... Aoo!"


    The Devils cried like babies.


    Sword Chen looked at the woman differently now. He asked seriously, "So, you are the master of the Sea of Meditation?"


    "The master of the Sea of Meditation?" she repeated. She bowed her head, pondered for a while, and said lightly, "Sort of I guess."


    She did not pay attention to the surprised look on Sword Chen''s face, and gently floated over to Zen.


    Sword Chen had already completed his mission according to her.


    He had contributed greatly. She had already figured out the way through numerous experiments. This time, she was determined to succeed!


    And after that, the most important thing to deal with was Zen.


    "Why did you clone these Holy Beings?" Zen asked as he stared at the woman who was gliding towards him.


    "Because they have immeasurable strength!" the woman remarked as she reached out to stroke Zen''s face with her hand.


    But Zen''s body subconsciously leaned backwards gently and avoided her touch.


    Surprisingly, the woman did not get annoyed. As Zen''s phantom walked over, she sat on his shoulder and said, "Now the Holy Beings who have invaded the Abyss Demon Region are trying to control that supreme treasure of belief. If they succeed in doing so, the Abyss Demon Region will be under their control."


    Zen frowned slightly when he heard this.


    Since Nicholas had stepped into the Abyss Demon Region, he was naturally prepared for this.


    Zen''s current strength level made it difficult for him to stop them.


    "So you will allow them to take control?" Zen asked in shock.


    His gaze was fixed on the Holy Beings'' clones.


    The auras


    hing substantial. There was nothing there. It was truly a lifelike projection.


    However, a faint power of space came from below the illusory ice coffin.


    Nicholas continued to explore but suddenly the little girl in the ice coffin opened her eyes. Her little face was full of anger.


    Splash!


    A burst of cold air circled the ice coffin. The chill could be felt deep in the bones now. Then, Nicholas suddenly disappeared in front of everyone''s eyes.


    The other Holy Beings were shell-shocked, especially the two Demi-holy Beings of the Dongfang Clan and Troy along with the others. They immediately rushed to the ice coffin.


    Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!


    The moment they rushed to the ice coffin, they, too, disappeared in front of everyone.


    "Let''s go, too!"


    Clark said and rushed toward the ice coffin too.


    They were not sure whether there was any danger under the ice coffin, but since they had already reached this stage, and Nicholas had entered it too, no one wanted to retreat.


    The Holy Beings from various rich clans on the Floating Islands led their own clans'' Demi-holy Beings and consummate True Gods in.


    Not long after the alliance of the rich clans on the Floating Islands entered...


    Zen, Sword Chen, that woman and the many clones she controlled also arrived at the bottom of the ice palace.


    The woman''s eyes lightly swept over the girl in the ice coffin, and her face revealed a cold smile. "As they broke in without placating the True Demon Body, these Holy Beings are going to have a hard time!"

 Chapter 2790 The Frozen Power

    Zen stared at the girl in the coffin. Coldness drifted out of the ice coffin, his eyes constantly flashing.


    "Is this the True Demon Body you talked about?" Zen asked.


    The woman nodded and looked at the body in the coffin with expectation.


    She had come this far. No one knew how she had tried every means and multiple times in order to get the body.


    And now, this day had finally come. She paved countless ways and troubles just to get to this point.


    She then slowly took a step as she approached the ice coffin. She stretched out her arm and reached out to explore what was inside.


    But all of a sudden, her action was brought to a stop.


    A blast of cold air instantly rose from the bottom of the ice coffin.


    The girl inside had suddenly opened her eyes. Her face showed a trace of anger.


    A black energy flashed from the woman''s arm and dripped onto the top of the ice coffin. It was the force of primitive fear.


    Other things could pierce the ice coffin, but pure energy was actually absorbed by it!


    After the ice coffin absorbed the force of primitive fear, the anger on the girl''s face gradually subsided, and was replaced by a serene expression.


    "She can absorb the force of primitive fear?" Sword Chen asked in surprise as he stared at the ice coffin.


    The woman smiled faintly and responded, "She can absorb all kinds of forces. It''s just a gesture of affection for her."


    Due to her experience and continuous great efforts, she had gotten a clear understanding of the characteristics of the True Demon Body.


    She once had successfully entered the world of the ice coffin. At first being inexperienced in dealing with such situation, just like Nicholas, she was met with the fury of the True Demon Body.


    It took her a long time to figure out the secret.


    After stabilizing the girl''s emotion, she threw a glance at the replicas of the Holy Beings. A thought occurred to her, and then the Holy Beings rushed towards the ice coffin and disappeared in the blink of an eye.


    More than ten of the replicas had already entered the ice coffin. The woman made a satisfied expression as she grabbed Zen''s arm and said, "It''s our turn to go in now."


    She wouldn''t expect Zen and Sword Chen to help her get the True Demon Body, but she couldn''t let Zen run away either. After all, she still wanted to use his most precious bloodline.


    Naturally, Zen and Sword Chen did not resist.


    They were well aware that this woman was not a


    could not clone.


    "Let''s hope so," replied Sword Chen.


    The current situation was too complicated.


    They knew that they could defeat neither Nicholas nor the woman. They could only hope that both Nicholas and the woman would suffer a loss!


    They continued descending all the way from the sky, but the storm did not seem to stop.


    Countless snowflakes constantly hit the Sacred Twilight Shield. And in turn, they broke every time and turned to wisps of mist. They became ice crystals at a very low temperature and drifted away with the wind.


    It was five minutes later that they finally landed on a snow plain.


    As soon as they landed, a violent roar came from the depths of the snow plain. A visible shock wave spread out right after.


    The shock wave quickly spread over the snow land, like an invisible plow that plowed the snow on the ground. The whole area was slowly engulfed by a freezing coldness. The Sacred Twilight Shield protecting the group had even darkened instantly. The duplicated Clark turned pale at the sight.


    ''What a powerful chilly energy!''


    Zen was also shocked. Even with the protection they had, it still penetrated through. As the cold air passed over his body, his blood seemed to freeze.


    What made him more confused was that the chilly energy was not produced by the internal momentum of the Mysterious Ice Godly Way, but an indescribable power. He had never seen it before.


    The woman looked into the depths of the snow plain and said lightly, "It seems like the True Demon Body is quite angry. To subside this anger, three or more Holy Beings will have to die. Huh, such bad luck for them..."

 Chapter 2791 Demon Ice Sculpture

    In theory, a Holy Being was also a True God. But their strength, insights and reactions were far better than those of Demi-holy Beings and consummate True Gods.


    The alliance of powerful clans on the Floating Islands fought along the way. During the fight, they had lost many Demi-holy Beings and consummate True Gods, but none of the Holy Beings died.


    Thus, the level of difficulty to kill a Holy Being could be imagined.


    The woman had mentioned that to quell the anger of the True Demon Body, at least three Holy Beings were needed to be sacrificed. The thought gradually made Zen wonder what kind of dangerous situation would those Holy Beings face.


    "It''s not easy to kill a Holy Being. Are you sure of what you said?" Zen asked with a smile.


    He might need to take advantage of the current situation to gather the secrets of this world of ice and snow. The more he would know about this world, the more chances there were for his survival. In the end, there might be a falling out between him and the woman at any point in time!


    The woman''s eyelashes flattered. She stared at Zen and spoke, "Of course I knew what I was saying. I''m so familiar with this place, and my judgments are always close to the fact. I remember that in my eight thousand and five hundredth attempt, I was able to deal with the True Demon Body''s anger using Sword Chen''s duplicate."


    The alliance of the powerful clans on the Floating Islands knew nothing about this world. As a result, they would pay a heavy price this time.


    Her valuable experience was based on her repeated failures...


    "Howl!"


    Roars once again resounded from the distance.


    Another wave of extremely cold energy spread out. The resounding roars were even louder this time as they got closer.


    "Looks like they are heading in this direction. The Holy Beings are very smart. They knew that they had to retreat when they couldn''t defeat their enemy," the woman spoke flatly after hearing the roaring sound.


    She shifted her gaze and looked at the replica of a Holy Being.


    The Holy Being clone perceived the gaze in understanding and nodded. He knelt down on one knee, and his one hand patted the ground gently!


    "Boom!"


    An extremely powerful energy shot into the ground as it gave an explosion underneath.


    This Holy Being clone was skillful at controlling energy. The explosion he made was violent under the ground, but the effect was unseen on the surface. The ground had only trembled slightly!


    "Okay, I''m done," the Holy Being clone informed after making the move.


    A small hole had appeared in front of him. The hole was only wide enough for one person to pas


    ations nor any aura from its body. It looked like an ordinary ice sculpture.


    A Holy Being even got close to it just to observe.


    They were too loose on their guard that to everyone''s surprise, as soon as the Holy Being got close, a stream of white cold air spewed out from the mouth of the Demon Ice Sculpture. It happened too sudden.


    The Holy Being was frozen in an instant. Then the Demon Ice Sculpture took the chance and slapped him.


    "Crack..."


    In mere seconds, a powerful figure had directly turned into ice pieces.


    No one had expected that such a thing would happen. Nicholas hadn''t expected it either!


    The Holy Being was ranked in the middle among his peers. However, he was shattered into pieces merely by a slap, which shocked everyone.


    The Demon Ice Sculpture didn''t stop but let out a roar. It moved its gaze to the rest of the group and started to advance towards them.


    Some Holy Beings and Demi-holy Beings held their stance and counter attacked.


    But no matter what method they used, it became useless once it got close to the Demon Ice Sculpture. Be it fire attack or thunder attack, the energy in their attacks would stop or slow down, and finally dissipate!


    During the fight, they lost another two Holy Beings and four Demi-holy Beings. They were being frozen and crushed to ashes.


    Realizing that they couldn''t fight with the Demon Ice Sculpture head-on, they fled immediately.


    In the process of the escape, another Holy Being died.


    However, none of the consummate True Gods died. They knew that their strength was not strong enough and they tried not to bring trouble to the group the whole time. The reason why none of them had lost their lives was that they had already gone far away and run first to escape.

 Chapter 2792 The Corpses

    The crack sound made the hearts of the crowd in the front tremble violently.


    This Demi-holy Being from the Li Clan was known to be one of the most powerful Demi-holy Beings. He had practiced the Elementary Fire Godly Way, which was able to suppress the chilly air.


    However, the fire prison he built was unable to resist the attack in the slightest.


    "Howl!"


    "Bang, bang, bang..."


    The Demon Ice Sculpture gave out a terrifying roar and chased after the group on the snowfield.


    Everyone was already in panic as they just fled in all directions.


    Just then, Nicholas'' voice was heard.


    "Everyone, calm down. This thing is not smart enough. Let''s go left!"


    Nicholas'' voice slipped through everyone''s ears carrying a faint gentle mood in it. They were currently being chased and attacked by the Demon Ice Sculpture in such a cold and snowy place, but hearing such a voice gave them a feeling like a spring breeze was kissing them.


    They realized that this was also the trick of the Great Dominance Technique.


    Normally, they would be very disgusted with it. After all, the Great Dominance Technique could bewitch people and no one wanted to be a spiritual slave.


    But using the technique at the moment gave warmth in their hearts. It provided them the strength to pluck up courage. Their hearts already felt at ease from panic.


    The snow falling from the sky was swaying. The snowflakes were so big that they almost blocked the sight in front of the crowd.


    They were instructed to go left and looking ahead, they could faintly see two big snow mountains.


    "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."


    As they were gradually calmed, they immediately turned around and flew towards the left direction.


    "Ah..."


    As they fled, another terrible scream was heard from behind. Everyone caught a sight of what happened.


    "He is the Demi-holy Being of the Qin Clan."


    "Leave him alone. Let''s go! If we slow down a bit, everyone will die here!"


    "¡­"


    If it was in a different environment, Nicholas would usually act and think about a solution.


    As the leader of the alliance of the powerful clans, he had to take the lead.


    But the power of the Demon Ice Sculpture was so strange that it was completely beyond his cognition and surpassed their own strength.


    He had also tried to attack the Demon Ice Sculpture, but he couldn''t do anything to it just like other Holy Beings.


    What he couldn''t understand was that no matter what methods they used to attack the opponent, the e


    se corpses and confirmed his thoughts. He opened his eyes and said, "He is the Demi-holy Being you killed in the ice palace."


    "But why are there so many corpses?" Clark looked completely puzzled, with an incredible expression on his face.


    Murphy narrowed his eyes and spoke, "There is only one explanation."


    Nicholas looked at him and nodded. "Right. He was cloned. That woman''s ability..."


    He then raised his head and looked forward. The corpses spread out all the way, and laid out a path which extended to the top of the snow mountain. It looked weird but appeared magnificent at the same time.


    "What is her purpose in cloning him for so many times?" Zeke who was standing not far away questioned.


    Nicholas shook his head. He thought for a while and said, "Maybe she has the same purpose as us. She wants to get the True Demon Body with the help of these clones."


    "Whatever. Let''s go up the mountain first. We can always find the answer," Clark finally uttered and urged.


    The group once again moved and ran towards the snow mountain top along the path formed by the corpses.


    "Thump, thump, thump..."


    The Demon Ice Sculpture, which had been chasing the Holy Beings, returned. Its steps were slow.


    It moved step by step across the snowfield, leaving huge footprints on the thick snow.


    After it went quite a far distance, the center of one of the huge footprints suddenly collapsed, and a black hole appeared.


    "Whoosh!"


    Figures flew out of the hole one after another.


    The woman floated in the air, looked to the southwest and said, "That group of Holy Beings should start climbing the mountain now. We should speed up!"

 Chapter 2793 Ice Volcano

    "Mountain? There are even mountains in this world?" Zen asked, staring in the southwest direction.


    "Of course there are," the woman replied lightly. "Actually, we are standing at the edge of this world."


    From this spot, they couldn''t see the whole world because they had turned into little figures and there were strong winds and heavy snow blocking their vision.


    But this woman had come to this world numerous times, so she was more familiar with it than anyone else.


    She did not hide anything from Zen, and instead treated him as if he was a close friend. She continued, "Although it has not been verified, it is close to the fact. In fact, we are right in the coffin containing the True Demon Body."


    "We are in the coffin?" Zen was surprised and he exchanged a silent glance with Sword Chen.


    Even the clones of the Holy Beings had puzzled looks on their faces.


    These clones were as smart as the real Holy Beings and had their own thoughts. However, they would never take the initiative to ask questions no matter how confused they were, as they had absolutely submitted themselves to the woman.


    "Well, do you remember seeing anything in the four corners of the coffin?" the woman asked in reply.


    Sword Chen thought for a while and shook his head.


    His attention had been completely focused on the girl in the coffin, so he had not noticed anything in the corners.


    Zen, however, raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "I remember seeing the runes... Or perhaps they''re more like special divine textures, but these divine textures seem to form the shape of a giant..." When he spoke of this, his eyes flashed with understanding. "Did those runes create the thing that chased Nicholas and his group?"


    The woman smiled at Zen. "Well, it seems that you can guess everything."


    Anyone who entered the coffin would randomly appear at one of the corners.


    If they didn''t comfort the little girl''s body before they entered, the runes at the edges of the coffin would be activated and a huge Demon Ice Sculpture would be formed and sent to chase them.


    "But how could a statue be able to hunt down so m


    d, it would take Zen and the others only about three minutes to climb to the peak.


    The moment Zen and the others set foot on the mountainside, the snow mountain shook again.


    Rumble...


    Due to the violent vibration, snow collapsed from the top of the mountain.


    The woman thought for a little while, and then directed one of the Holy Beings'' clones to step out. The clone slashed down with his sword.


    Crack...


    The collapsing snow split into two with a huge gap in the middle through which Zen and the others rushed up.


    About three minutes later, Zen finally reached the top of the mountain.


    He took a closer look and realized that there was a huge mouth in the center of the snow mountain''s peak.


    The snow mountain was actually like a huge volcano!


    However, what erupted from the mouth of the snow mountain was not lava, but freezing air and massive chunks of ice. It was an ice volcano!


    "Those people are in danger!"


    As soon as Zen reached the top of the mountain, he saw about five Demi-holy Beings and more than ten consummate True Gods flying above the huge mouth.


    When cold air shot out of the ice volcano, the Demi-holy Beings and the consummate True Gods didn''t have any time to dodge. By the time the air around the mouth of the ice volcano cleared, they had completely disappeared from sight.


    Completely frozen to ice by the cold air, they had fallen into the deep volcano.

 Chapter 2794 Yield

    The eruption of the ice volcano had taken more than ten lives!


    Zen was shocked. He looked around but couldn''t find anyone else. Had everyone succumbed to the chill?


    Had Rocher also died?


    "Where are the others?" Zen asked.


    Although the cold air that was erupted from the ice volcano was horrifying, it only shot straight up into the sky and didn''t spread in all directions.


    "Duh duh..."


    The woman slowly took a few steps forward and stopped at the edge of the mouth of the volcano. She pointed downward as she said, "Of course they are hiding there!"


    Zen walked over to her and looked in the direction she was pointing. The edge of the volcano mouth was very smooth.


    But there were huge grooves that were cut on the smooth walls of the volcano mouth.


    These grooves seemed to have been made by knives or swords. Although they were not large, every groove was big enough for over a hundred people to hide.


    Right now, Nicholas and the other Holy Beings, the Demi-holy Beings and the consummate True Gods were all huddled together in a groove.


    Just now when they had climbed to the peak of the snow mountain, they had had no idea what was awaiting them. When they had looked around to check their surroundings, the snow mountain had suddenly trembled, and a cold stream of air had erupted from the bottom of the snow mountain!


    Everyone who had been near Nicholas was lucky. They had instantly rushed into a groove on the wall of the ice volcano and avoided the attack of the cold white air.


    However, some of the Demi-holy Beings and the consummate True Gods had not been so lucky. They had directly turned to ice and plunged to their deaths.


    The faces of the crowd in the groove were pale. The Abyss Demon Region was truly the most dangerous place. Sometimes, life or death was decided in a split second.


    As soon as Zen and the woman showed up, Nicholas spotted them.


    "He is still alive!" There was a murderous look in Murphy''s eyes.


    Although it was sometimes hard for him to even protect himself in this dangerous place, he still had a mad desire to kill Zen.


    Samuel''s eyes also gleamed. He gently pressed the black ring on his thumb.


    His Spear of Supreme Harmony was


    and louder.


    The woman looked at them carefully and reminded them, "The cold air erupting from the ice volcano will pause soon. You can take that chance to rush into the next groove below. There will be enough time for you to achieve that!"


    By moving down from one groove to the next, one could reach the bottom of the volcano step by step.


    "Why should we listen to you? It''s too dangerous here. Let''s go up!" Jeremiah said with a frown.


    It was indeed too dangerous for them to stay in this narrow groove. And none of them wanted to move down and risk their lives.


    When the chill air that was erupting paused a little, they would naturally return to the mouth of the ice volcano and make further plans.


    Hearing this, the woman smiled faintly and said, "Too bad, you can only go down. I''m blocking all your ways of retreat..."


    As she spoke, the over a dozen Holy Beings who had been standing behind the woman rose and floated toward the edge of the volcano mouth.


    They began to gather their internal momentum, giving off an overwhelming aura.


    "So you''d better go down now," the woman said with a beautiful smile.


    Nicholas took a deep breath when he saw his clone.


    The current situation was very dangerous, but it was even more unwise to fight with this woman at the volcano mouth. And fighting with those clones wasn''t a good idea either.


    Now, the only choice they had was to move downward.


    Even Nicholas had to yield in such a situation.

 Chapter 2795 The Power Of Cold Air

    The others, who were waiting at the groove, looked at Nicholas in anticipation, waiting for his decision.


    Nicholas contemplated for a moment and then announced, "After the chill subsides, we will head to the next groove."


    No sooner had the words left his mouth


    than the cold air from the huge volcano stopped.


    The wind caused by the cold air also disappeared without a trace. An eerie silence spread across them.


    "Let''s go!"


    Nicholas shot a derisive glance at the woman above and rushed together with all the members of the union of powerful clans to the groove on the other side.


    The groove was about three to four thousand feet away from them. Thanks to their incredible strength, they could reach it in the blink of an eye and in a single step.


    "That''s right." The woman raised the corners of her mouth slightly and said, "Let''s also go down!"


    Whoosh!


    The woman floated ahead, and Zen and Sword Chen followed her closely, who in turn were followed by the clones of the Holy Beings.


    Very soon, Zen set foot on the first groove of the volcano. The groove was exactly where Nicholas and the others had been previously.


    However, there were no Demi-holy Beings or consummate True Gods in Zen''s group. With just about 20 people, it wasn''t very crowded here.


    The cold air from the large cave in the center of the ice volcano only stopped for a split second.


    As soon as Zen entered the groove, a terrifying roar erupted from below the cave.


    Swish, swish, swish!


    A milky white cold gust of wind erupted again from the bottom of the cave and rushed straight to the sky.


    Most of the people from the alliance of the powerful clans were staring at the woman with pure animosity in their eyes.


    "I would much rather fight with them than let her put us into a corner!"


    "Right. Don''t continue to go down. Let''s go back up to kill them!"


    "But if it weren''t for her, we would have done the same thing, wouldn''t we?" said one of the Demi-holy Beings.


    The alliance of the powerful clans found the coffin and the snow mountain, so they would naturally explore its inner wo


    the cold air outside. Once it came into contact with someone or something, it would take over.


    So the flexible thread also froze in an instant, and the turbulent cold air wound up along its length.


    When the cold air was about to reach the woman''s fingertips, she flicked them lightly, and the thread broke off from her fingers and fell to the ground.


    Crash!


    The thread had become hard and brittle, so it made the sound of glass breaking upon impact. It was broken into pieces on the ground and cold air emitted from its remains.


    "Don''t do anything stupid again! It''s very dangerous here. If anything goes wrong, even I can''t protect you," warned the woman. She stared at Zen with a pleasant smile on her face. She didn''t mean to reproach him.


    He nodded slightly and shook his stiff right arm.


    Only after the woman cut off the Ice Soul Flame was he able to regain sensation in his numb arm. If it wasn''t for her, he would have been an ice sculpture.


    "What kind of cold air is this? It is so powerful!" Zen asked overcome with curiosity.


    The woman explained with a faint smile on her lips, "It''s not cold air, but a way of energy flow. It''s just the effect of the energy flowing."


    "The way of energy flowing?" It was the second time that Zen had heard such words from the woman. He was puzzled.


    The woman nodded and said, "Yes. That''s why the True Demon Body is so strong!"

 Chapter 2796 The Explosive Crystals

    The woman had explained to Zen, but he still could not have a clear understanding about it all.


    After all, her statement was just based on her own inference. She hadn''t obtained the True Demon Body yet.


    For the meantime, Zen didn''t dare to try the cold air anymore. He could only watch the cold air gush upwards.


    He came to a conclusion that maybe the whole place was covered with ice and snow because of the eruption of the ice volcano.


    They stood still and waited. It was about five minutes later that the cold air in the cave began to weaken. Seeing the change, they became alert as it indicated the second interval.


    The woman moved her legs and stepped at the edge of the groove. At the same time, the clones of the Holy Beings arranged their postures as if they were also ready to fight.


    She did this to force every one of the alliance of the powerful clans to continue to go down. Moreover, she had to prevent the Holy Beings located below from going up to fight her.


    "It''s time to go down," the woman pronounced, looking at Nicholas and his group thousands of feet away.


    "I don''t need you to remind me," Nicholas responded in a cold voice.


    The members of the alliance of powerful clans had already been prepared.


    They were just waiting for the right timing to make a move. As soon as the cold air made a complete stop, everyone leaped and left the second groove. They straightaway flew to the third groove about six thousand feet away.


    Nicholas was the first to arrive.


    Looking around, he noticed that the third groove was deeper and wider than the second one.


    As soon as he stepped on the ground, he maintained sharp vigilance. He was fully alert being reminded by the woman''s warning that he might encounter trouble at the third groove.


    He narrowed his eyes and saw that some faint yellow lights flashed at the end of the groove.


    "Eggs? What kind of eggs are they?"


    Clark''s curious voice sounded behind him. He arrived shortly after Nicholas and followed behind. He also noticed the faint yellow lights.


    Seven or eight things shaped like bird eggs clustered together.


    The lights on the eggs were very steady at first, but Clark''s loud voice made the lights brighter in an instant. A trace of bright red even faintly appeared at the very front end of the eggs, and a strong energy was forming


    he ordinary True Gods.


    "I can shut up," the woman spoke back, unperturbed.


    Hearing her answer, the Holy Beings showed a strange expression. When did this woman become open to persuasion?


    Just then, a thunderous sound suddenly came from above.


    "Boom!"


    "Damn it! It''s the Wood Divine Thunder!" a Holy Being instantly proclaimed in anger.


    The woman did not speak, but asked one of the cloned Holy Beings to activate the Wood Divine Thunder of the Thunderstorm Godly Way.


    The violent exploding sound was much louder than her voice as it spread from top to bottom.


    The bright red color spread over until it reached the entire surface of the bird eggs at the depths of the groove.


    The bird eggs reacted as terrible energy madly surged inside them.


    Once the energy exploded in the small space, everyone present would surely die.


    Samuel placed his finger over the space ring, ready to activate it at any time. He would never want to die with Nicholas in this place.


    Nicholas shook his head slightly. He had no choice but to take action again.


    He flipped his palm and a light green cloth bag appeared.


    The surface of the cloth bag emitted the strong internal momentum of the Timing Godly Way.


    "Whoosh!".


    With a flash, he rushed to the bird eggs at an extremely fast speed. Once near, he enveloped the bird eggs using his cloth bag.


    "Puff!"


    Just as he had finished, a dull explosion sound was heard. The cloth bag was immediately swollen like a ball. It had actually gathered the explosive power of the Explosive Crystals.

 Chapter 2797 Cold Fiends

    The appearance of the bag had surely surprised everyone. The other Holy Beings had different expressions on their faces.


    They had never expected that Nicholas would have such a magic weapon.


    Judging from the internal momentum of Timing Godly Way spreading from the surface of the bag, they figured it was probably a supreme treasure of belief obtained from the Time Sea Forbidden Land.


    They wondered when Nicholas got the treasure.


    "Buzz..."


    Being covered by the cloth bag, the Explosive Crystals constantly produced huge energy.


    But no matter how the energy raged, it couldn''t break free from the bag.


    "I didn''t expect that you have such a magic weapon!" Clark said as he laughed.


    The entrance of the groove was already sealed by frosty air outside, and they couldn''t use Grand Teleportation. It would be a death land if the Explosive Crystals exploded.


    There would be no chance for them to dodge at all.


    All the Holy Beings and the consummate True Gods were in despair and in panic.


    At the most critical moment when they could surely lose their lives, Nicholas'' action was truly unexpected. Their emotions were a mixture of surprise and relief at the same time. Everyone felt lucky of surviving the disaster.


    Nicholas had been quick to throw the bag with its opening first on the ground to cover the Explosive Crystals. He was currently pressing it firmly on the ground preventing any energy from leaking out.


    After proper calculations, he took a deep breath and lifted up the plump bag with a strong flip.


    Everyone was attentive watching Nicholas'' actions. They took two steps back as soon as he flipped the bag.


    "The bag has been sealed, and time in the bag moves in endless cycle. These things can''t really explode, unless I open the bag," Nicholas explained.


    In truth, the bag wasn''t obtained from the Time Sea Forbidden Land.


    The Holy Beings would not be invited to the forbidden area on the Sun Blind race''s island. They would allow consummate True Gods to get there at most. Even Demi-holy Beings were not allowed to enter.


    Nicholas found it in a broken time fragment when he had helped Lorena look for her body.


    Because of this, Nicholas had new speculations about the whole Time Sea.


    The supreme treasures of belief could only be found in the forbidden areas, because only the forbidden areas could gather the Faith Energy of the entire divine land.


    If that was the case, perhaps the entire Time Sea should


    en and the others with him, they had also stepped into the third groove...


    Taking advantage of the intervals, the two groups of people descended from one groove to another. They could only descend for about four thousand feet in five minutes. Such a speed was not that fast.


    The Holy Beings felt fortunate to have good luck along the way.


    Except for the Explosive Crystals in the third groove, they actually did not encounter any threat on the following grooves.


    About an hour later, the alliance of powerful clans finished a third of the full journey.


    Everything changed at the eleventh groove...


    Nicholas was the first to enter the groove and immediately felt a stream of cold air advancing towards him!


    The temperature in the snow mountain was very low but the icy air in the groove was much lower.


    Buzz...


    Three translucent heads were floating in the depth of the groove. The heads looked ferocious, and cold air flowed out of their eyes.


    "Watch out!"


    Nicholas noticed these strange heads and reminded the people behind him at once.


    But his warning came a little too late...


    Three streams of milky white cold air were spewed out from the mouths of the three translucent heads.


    The chilly air was the same as that emanated from the ice volcano, but each stream of cold air was only as thick as a finger.


    Despite how it looked, it shouldn''t be taken lightly. A slight touch of it would also lead to death!


    Clark continued to follow closely behind Nicholas into the groove and upon hearing his warning, he reflexively rolled up. One of the three streams of cold air almost swept past him from his back!

 Chapter 2798 The Bottom

    When the cold air gently swept past his back, Clark felt like his back had lost all feeling.


    But since he was a Holy Being who cultivated the Elementary Fire Godly Way, the cold air didn''t actually manage to hurt him.


    He had barely had to think about it before the internal momentum in his body had begun circulating madly, expelling all the chillness inside his body.


    But while this stream of cold air didn''t hit Clark, the one behind him wasn''t so lucky.


    That was Abelard, a Holy Being from the Qin Clan.


    Before Abelard could react, a stream of cold air hit him squarely in the chest.


    Even though he was one of the top Holy Beings, he didn''t even have time to say anything; there was merely a stunned expression that froze on his face.


    Whoosh, whoosh...


    Abelard turned into an ice sculpture and plunged into the darkness like a stone.


    The Holy Beings near him might have been able to stop him from falling, but they were all wary of this strange cold air. It was more like a cold poison without an antidote!


    Nobody came to his rescue, and he soon disappeared in front of everyone''s eyes.


    They all held their breath as another two streams of cold air swept past them. Luckily, these streams passed without hitting or killing anyone.


    Nevertheless, everyone in the alliance of the powerful clans on the Floating Islands began to panic over Abelard''s sudden death.


    After all, the Holy Being of the Qin Clan had been on par with Murphy, Jeremiah, and Clark, but he had died just like that in the blink of an eye. It was unbelievable!


    No one dared to make a move in this situation.


    However, the intervals between the eruptions of the ice volcano were very short.


    Whooshing sounds began coming from below, meaning that the cold air at the bottom was about to erupt again. Whatever it was, they had to make a decision right now.


    Most of them gritted their teeth and entered the next groove. At this point, it seemed like they would die either way, but they had a better chance of surviving if they stuck with Nicholas, who might be able to solve the threat in the grooves.


    But a small group of people began to hesitate...


    After all, the safer option of returning to the previous groove was too tempting.


    Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...


    Two con


    the journey was far smoother.


    There were only a few Cold Fiends and Explosive Crystals scattered in the grooves created by Sword Chen''s clones.


    All the Explosive Crystals had already exploded. And for the Cold Fiends, they weren''t much of a threat as long as the members of the alliance were cautious and prepared. Every time, Nicholas was able to shatter the Cold Fiends the moment he found them.


    Two hours later, the alliance of powerful clans on the Floating Islands finally reached the last groove at the bottom of the ice volcano.


    "Look! It looks like a huge hive!"


    "There are so many Cold Fiends... I never imagined that the cold air was being spewed out of their mouths!"


    "The sight of them packed together so densely is disgusting!"


    The consummate True Gods stretched their necks to take a look at the scene below.


    Perhaps it was because they had been so frustrated and frightened all the way that they felt a little excited after getting through the tough journey and finally reaching their destination.


    There was a small mountain at the bottom of the ice volcano, and the surface of this mountain was covered with hexagonal grids. They wondered whether these grids were naturally formed or man-made.


    Each hexagon was inlaid with a translucent Cold Fiend.


    These Cold Fiends looked up at the sky and, with their mouths wide open, they unceasingly spat out cold air. As millions of Cold Fiends spat out cold air at the same time, they created the wondrous eruption of the ice volcano.

 Chapter 2799 Fighting Those Cold Fiends

    The Cold Fiends puffed for a while before their mouths and eyes slowly closed and gradually, they began to fall in a deep slumber.


    The deadly chill surrounding the atmosphere came to a halt.


    Everyone knew that this was the interval they were waiting for.


    However, at this moment, Nicholas appeared to hesitate.


    There was no way below!


    "What should we do now?"


    "Are we going to jump?"


    "..."


    Just as everyone had no idea on what to do next, the woman''s voice was heard once again. "Keep going down!"


    "Keep going down? How do we keep going down?" Clark asked, his face full of anger.


    "The Cold Fiends'' lair is unique inside. Just destroy it," the woman simply said, unaffected by his angry tone.


    "Why don''t you do it yourself?" Zeke snarled and was angry too.


    Even though the Cold Fiends were quite weak, the chill they spewed out was irresistible. The Holy Beings still had to be on guard and careful.


    And to make it worse, there were probably over a million Cold Fiends in this huge lair. Who would be brave enough to dare act rashly?


    Because they used the time to exchange words with each other during the interval time, their chance to move had already passed. The Cold Fiends at once opened their eyes and big mouths, and continued to spit out cold air.


    "Do as what I said in the next interval. Otherwise, don''t blame me for being unkind," the woman demanded this time.


    The Holy Beings and the Demi-holy Beings exchanged looks upon hearing her words and were urged to act.


    They felt that the woman indeed had no sense.


    On the other hand, the consummate True Gods were shrinking behind. Their faces were full of panic.


    "We can''t protect ourselves if we really offend so many Cold Fiends," Shahn refuted, and his expression had turned gloomy.


    He noticed that the consummate True Gods had been trembling all the way.


    Fortunately, the Holy Beings present were their elders and even their fathers. They were protecting them well from the dangers.


    As a result, the consummate True Gods had fewer deaths than the Demi-holy Beings.


    They feared that if they would really break into the Cold Fiends'' lair as ordered by the woman, the Holy Beings would not be able to look after them. They would be left to tend for their selves. A great number of consummate True Gods would definitely perish if that event happened.


    holas had not used this bag to collect the Explosive Crystals, we would have died up there!"


    Everyone had already witnessed and known that the Explosive Crystals were powerful.


    It was still beyond their expectation that their power would be so amazing.


    Unbeknownst to them as they rejoiced, Nicholas'' attack had stirred something big. The attack that killed more than a hundred thousand Cold Fiends at that time had spread all over the Cold Fiends'' lair.


    Under the vibration of their lair, the remaining Cold Fiends inside flew into the air. These creatures obviously started a higher level of vigilance.


    "If we stay here, we''ll definitely die. We have to rush out! Follow me! Let''s not face those Cold Fiends head on!" Nicholas shouted and ordered.


    He led the group and rushed out first in a flash.


    The rest of the Holy Beings, Demi-holy Beings and consummate True Gods quickly followed him.


    The Cold Fiends flew around. Recognizing their target, they began to spit out cold air.


    "Phew!"


    "Phew!"


    "Phew!"


    The milky white cold air, like fatal light, was shot around above the lair.


    There was chaos as all the people fled in anxiousness.


    Nicholas was the fastest, hovering above the Cold Fiends'' lair like an eagle.


    His extraordinary movement caught the attention of most Cold Fiends.


    The Cold Fiends flew over and puffed cold air behind Nicholas.


    Nicholas, being alert, seemed to be able to foresee the path of the cold air in advance. He moved and dodged swiftly among the cold air, and unexpectedly led these Cold Fiends to fly up.

 Chapter 2800 Suspicion

    Zen, Sword Chen, and the woman were watching everything from above.


    When the woman saw Nicholas flying to her, her eyes glittered.


    Of course she knew why Nicholas was doing this. He wanted to lure the Cold Fiends here.


    "Let''s leave," the woman said as she glanced at Zen. "Be careful."


    Her original plan had been to force the Holy Beings to break through the Cold Fiends'' lair. By then, most of the Holy Beings and Demi-holy Beings would have died. After that, she would have been able to lead the Holy Beings'' clones to reap the spoils.


    Unexpectedly, Nicholas was making a move against her first.


    Even with her strength, she wouldn''t be able to escape if the Cold Fiends blocked her way out of the groove.


    So, she had to get out as soon as possible.


    The only thought on her mind was escaping this place with Zen.


    Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...


    She tapped the ground with her toes and shot forward.


    The Holy Beings'' clones followed suit.


    "How dare you lure the Cold Fiends here!" the woman said coldly.


    Nicholas merely sneered in response and hovered in the air. The many Cold Fiends behind him spat out cold air from their mouths, aiming at the woman.


    Every Holy Being was a unique existence and a prestigious citizen of the divine land, but even among them, Nicholas was ranked first. How could he be controlled by the woman?


    Before, he had only gone down step by step because he had been forced to do so. Along the way, he had had to bear the urge to fight back.


    But now that he had found a chance to strike back, there was no way he would let it go.


    The dense cold air turned into a large disordered net and enveloped the woman. There was almost no space to escape in the large net.


    Nicholas had done a good job.


    "Master, be careful!"


    "Sacred Twilight Flame!"


    "Wood Divine Thunder!"


    The Holy Beings'' clones were standing in a lower spot near Nicholas, so they were not affected by the cold air.


    But when they saw that their master was in danger, they rushed to fight.


    Splash...


    Crack!


    These clones were actually as inte


    ace.


    ''Something''s wrong. He seems to be able to read my mind.''


    Such a strange thought suddenly popped into his mind.


    But how could his soul be read by a consummate True God? How was Zen doing it?


    Nicholas had his suspicions, but he didn''t voice them out to Zen.


    However, Zen himself volunteered the information. "If you want to know how I''m doing it, you can go ask Samuel!"


    "What do you mean? Why should I ask him?" Nicholas''s face darkened.


    At the mention of Samuel''s name, something occurred to him.


    When they had been fighting against the little fiends in the third stage of the Abyss Demon Region, they had been unable to use their spiritual senses because of the Soul Devouring Bugs.


    Therefore, no one had been able to see the movements of the little fiends¡ªwith the exception of two people: Nicholas and Samuel.


    With the Eye of Perception, Nicholas could foretell the next few seconds of every moment, so he had known how those little fiends would attack them.


    However, Samuel, who didn''t have the Eye of Perception, had also seemed to be able to foretell everything.


    Nicholas had had a strange feeling about it for quite some time. How had Samuel been able to see those little fiends?


    Could it be that he could read Nicholas''s mind?


    If that was the case, he would be able to make decisions in advance by taking advantage of Nicholas''s thoughts.

 Chapter 2801 Under The Lair

    There was not much time for Nicholas to ponder over Zen''s words.


    Nicholas had managed to bring hundreds of thousands of Cold Fiends up with him, but by now, they had scattered in all directions, and some of them were even heading downward.


    Waves of cold air filled the space. If Nicholas stayed here a little longer, he would be shrouded by dozens or even hundreds of gusts of cold wind!


    No matter what doubts or suspicions he had in his mind, he had to kill Zen while he still had the chance.


    "Nonsense!"


    As he approached Zen, he suddenly stretched out his hands.


    Two strands of power, one black and one white, spiraled out of his body like two dragons. Soon, they turned into a torrent that rushed toward Zen.


    The torrent covered a large distance in a matter of milliseconds.


    Even if Zen had read Nicholas''s Memory Flame and predicted his attack in advance, he still wouldn''t have been able to escape this torrent; it was much faster than he was.


    Splash!


    As the torrent shot toward him, Zen''s face slightly darkened.


    Swish!


    As he retreated, his long sword appeared in his hand, and his cold eyes filled with determination.


    "Ways-blending Energy!"


    Slash!


    Right now, Zen had to go all out to fight Nicholas.


    It was unfortunate that he couldn''t turn into a Wild God and become tens of thousands of feet tall. The Cold Fiends were spitting cold air in all directions. If he became a giant at this place, he would soon be turned into a huge ice sculpture!


    However, before he could strike with his sword, a slender figure suddenly fell from above and blocked him from the attack.


    The mysterious woman had finally gotten rid of the Cold Fiends'' fierce attacks.


    Then, noticing that Zen was in danger, she had immediately come to his rescue without any hesitation. As she widened her eyes in anger, the force of primitive fear quickly condensed in her palm, turning into a long sword.


    "Break!"


    The energy on the surface of the long sword was surging frantically. The long swor


    e Cold Fiends when there were only a million of them!"


    "These creatures can be reborn..."


    The fact was, the Holy Beings and the Demi-holy Beings present were so powerful that they could kill thousands or even tens of thousands of Cold Fiends with just one attack.


    But even though they had indeed killed many Cold Fiends, the number of their enemies had never seemed to decrease. Now, it all made sense.


    As soon as the woman finished her words, the clones of the Holy Beings began to use their escape techniques and flew down to her.


    Nicholas''s clone also stopped battling Nicholas and moved downward.


    "Let''s go inside," the woman said as she pulled Zen into the crack in the lair.


    The cloned Holy Beings followed closely behind them.


    Of course, Sword Chen would not stay alone here. Seeing that Zen was being dragged into the lair by the woman, he also followed them inside.


    People from the alliance of the powerful clans still continued to dodge the cold air, but most of them had stopped killing the Cold Fiends. Their eyes were all on Nicholas now.


    Many of them just wanted to leave this damned place!


    Too many people had died here already.


    Many Holy Beings, Demi-holy Beings, and consummate True Gods had been killed.


    Now that they had gotten rid of that woman, there was still a chance for them to go back.

 Chapter 2802 Two Light Balls

    Nobody knew what was hiding in the lair. But it was likely that once the alliance of the powerful clans entered, they would be killed.


    It was not a big deal for the Holy Beings if they died, because it would not take long for them to be reborn. However, for the case of the Demi-holy Beings and consummate True Gods, it would not be possible for them to come back to life.


    "Let''s go down."


    Nicholas gave an order after thinking for a while.


    According to the woman, the True Demon Body should be found in the lair. Now that he had come this far, it was even more impossible for him to give up.


    Hearing Nicholas'' words, the others were a little disappointed. They had no other choice but to go through the crack, thinking that they could at least temporarily avoid the Cold Fiends.


    "The internal space is so vast. There are two beautiful stars."


    Zen floated in the void and looked around. He never expected that there was a boundless void in the Cold Fiends'' lair.


    Two giant light balls floated in the center of the void. One was blazing red like the sun, and the other emitted a cool blue light, like a blue star.


    "The first time I came in, I was also surprised," the woman said with a nod.


    "This is not the first time you have been here?" Zen heard her and asked curiously.


    "Of course not," the woman said with a small smile.


    Since it was successful to use Sword Chen''s clones to get to the bottom of the ice volcano, she could naturally break into the lair.


    If Nicholas had obediently destroyed the Cold Fiends'' lair just now, the alliance of the powerful clans wouldn''t have suffered so many casualties.


    "But I failed many times, even though it was just in front of me," the woman admitted.


    She was currently referring to the True Demon Body.


    "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."


    From the crack she had created, the clones of the Holy Beings came in one after another. The woman took a look at them and added, "There will be no more accidents this time."


    Sword Chen went in after the group of Holy Beings'' clones went forward.


    Then the consummate True Gods, Demi-holy Being


    them to the bone as if they were in a world of ice and snow.


    The woman looked at the light balls and continued, "Actually, the True Demon Body itself is a kind of talent used to transform energy freely. The blue light ball contains cold air, which is the energy solidified by the True Demon Body."


    Her voice was not loud, but since no sound could be heard in the void, even the members of the alliance of the powerful clans could hear her words clearly and precisely.


    It also made them curious about the two giant light balls and they had noticed the girls inside. Now, everyone was listening to the woman''s speech carefully.


    "Energy solidification... Why is it so cold?" Zen continued to ask in puzzlement.


    In his own view, energy solidification should be a form of energy shaping. An example was the strength source which was made into various shapes, or the purple aura which was transformed into various living creatures. These were the manifestations of energy solidification for his understanding.


    The woman answered faintly, "It is not the energy solidification in your thought."


    As she spoke, she stretched out her hand towards Zen. The brown energy condensed in her palm was the force of primitive fear.


    Zen looked back at her in confusion. He wondered what kind of magic she was going to do.


    "Buzz..."


    The force of primitive fear suddenly began to spin in a violent manner.

 Chapter 2803 Trying

    The temperature kept increasing at a high speed!


    "With the violent flow of all the energy, the temperature will rise," the woman said lightly.


    Splash...


    After the temperature reached a limit, the force of primitive fear unexpectedly turned into a light brown flame that bloomed in her hand.


    Then, with a gentle pinch of her fingers, the brown energy and flame disappeared without a trace. "In the same way, if the energy stays completely still, the temperature will decrease and it will release absolute coldness."


    "You mean the cold air?" Zen had already more or less figured this out.


    The members of the alliance of powerful clans were also hit with the realization of what was happening around them. With a mixture of curiosity and excitement, they started to whisper amongst themselves.


    "It can directly control the flow of the energy. What kind of ability is it?"


    "If that''s the case, then wouldn''t the True Demon Body be able to freeze anything?"


    "Didn''t you feel it yourself?"


    Just now, all of them had endured the cold air while being attacked by the Cold Fiends.


    They knew just how strong the cold air was...


    "Yes, it''s the cold air," the woman said lightly, staring at Zen. "The True Demon Body is divided into two forms. One is the forward-flowing form, that is the red light ball... The other is the reverse-flowing form, that is the blue light ball. If we break these light balls, we can obtain the True Demon Body!"


    Although the woman had casually said these words, Zen had a vague feeling that the two light balls wouldn''t be so easy to break.


    "If it were really so easy to do that, I think you would have already obtained the True Demon Body. Why did you wait for us to come?"


    Clark said from behind.


    The others immediately nodded their heads in agreement. This woman had stayed in the Abyss Demon Region for many years and knew much more about this place than they did. If she could easily break the lig


    through the Floating Islands.


    However, it was in the Soul Wilderness that Zeke had obtained this ax, the powerful, five-star supreme treasure of belief.


    With a faint smile, Zeke pointed his finger at the huge illusory ax.


    Everyone heard a wail of pain coming from the huge ax. A turbulent force surged out of it and immediately slashed at the blue light ball.


    Hoo!


    Bang!


    The moment the huge ax made contact with the blue light ball, a cold light flashed on the ball''s surface.


    Splash...


    The blue light ball redirected the force from the ax to the red light ball, where it turned into a flame.


    As for the huge ax, it had frozen to ice.


    Fortunately, as a supreme treasure of belief, the huge ax couldn''t be destroyed. As Zeke gently waved his hand, the huge ax shrank and disappeared in front of everyone''s eyes.


    "The two light balls coordinate with each other and transfer their energy to each other. How can they be broken?" Zeke shook his head, admitting defeat.


    "Let me give it a try!"


    Clark shouted priggishly.


    He wanted to have a try after watching Zeke take action.


    The woman smiled faintly. "You can give it a try, but it''s useless for you to do it alone. The only reason I didn''t kill you before is because your Elementary Fire Godly Way is very important."

 Chapter 2804 Cooperation

    Clark''s face immediately darkened upon hearing the woman''s words. He turned his head and glared fiercely at her.


    She was telling the truth.


    The world of ice and snow was created by the True Demon Body. Clark might not be the strongest among the Holy Beings, but no one could parallel him in terms of controlling flames.


    Before she came to the ice palace, she had gathered the extra Faith Energy of all the fierce beasts in the Abyss Demon Region. The Faith Energy was then used to forge the clones. If she used it to kill Clark, it would be enough to kill him more than ten times.


    Meanwhile, Clark flew upwards several dozens of feet from the ground. With a light pat, flames of three colors were seen spreading over his head.


    "Sizzle!"


    The tri-colored flames instantly turned into a huge tri-colored fire cloud.


    "Phew!"


    A breath of air escaped Clark''s mouth


    The tri-colored fire cloud spiraled at a very high speed and rushed towards the blue light ball.


    Just like the woman had said, the faster the energy flowed, the more powerful it would be. He was actually applying the same theory.


    His tri-colored fire cloud sped swiftly and clashed against the blue light ball. As soon as his attack touched its edge, the flame within the red light ball began to roll, while the tri-colored fire cloud quickly froze and vanished.


    He had already gone all out with his attack. However, the result was just like that. He rolled his eyes and then came down from the sky.


    "This ice ball is not afraid of fire at all. It''s useless!" Clark honestly stated.


    With a faint smile, the woman remarked, "Judging from the reaction of the red light ball, we can learn that the energy it has just obtained is much more than the energy it has got from the strike of Zeke. Thus, it is useful."


    The woman''s statement made him breathe a sigh of relief. At least, he did better than Zeke.


    "Now do you know why I gathered so many Holy Beings? If no one else wants to have a try, we can work together to break the light ball," the woman continued.


    There were still over ten clones of Holy Beings that remained on her side. Added together with the real Holy Beings, the number of the combined group was all in


    d crazily.


    Zen and Sword Chen were also prepared to release their own power.


    "Go ahead!"


    As the woman gave the order, her slender fingers flicked lightly.


    "Whoosh!"


    The thousand-foot long spear she had suddenly flew towards the blue light ball.


    "Crack!"


    The long spear stabbed into the blue light ball as it made the surface of the light ball surge rapidly, and the flames in the red light ball on the other side spiraled crazily. There was a faint sign showing that it had expanded and swelled.


    "Emotion Closing Godly Way..."


    Zen''s eyes showed no emotion. The Shadow Bearing Sword in his hand brandished a crescent shaped sword radiance.


    "Swish, swish..."


    The sword radiance stirred and whooshed away.


    At the same time, Sword Chen followed with a move as he struck out streams of brown sword light.


    They both had cultivated the Emotion Closing Godly Way. Sword Chen had relied on the force of primitive fear while Zen had relied on Ways-blending Energy.


    "Boom..."


    The others also gathered their momentum and aimed their power at the blue light ball.


    Palm strikes, sword radiance, blade light, long arrows...


    All sorts of colors and attacks in various forms rushed to the blue light ball.


    The only important factor they had to pay attention to was to cut off their connection with the energy after releasing it.


    Otherwise, the blue light ball''s cold energy would be delivered back to them and worse would freeze their bodies!

 Chapter 2805 Crack

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom...


    The dozens of Holy Beings, Demi-holy Beings, and the consummate True Gods had joined forces to strike an attack. Even the powerful masters at the Other Shore Realm would have been shattered into tiny bits by this attack.


    However, the blue light ball was still floating in the air motionlessly and without any damage. The attacks had been absorbed and were then transformed into the red light ball.


    Red flames were formed and they roiled wildly with the red light ball like waves.


    If one would look closely, a faint figure would be seen. One could see that a body of a girl was inside the ball, and was also rolling madly.


    The red light ball had swollen up a little bit more.


    "That''s not enough! Everyone... Please do your best!" the woman ordered, raising her eyebrows at the scene.


    The clones under her command were naturally obedient after hearing the order. They once again prepared for another attack.


    Clark''s clone acted first as he patted slightly on his waist and a small bronze wine cup flew up. His hand then stretched to take a hold of the cup and drank down whatever was in it.


    As he emptied the contents of the cup, his face turned red and his aura had increased greatly.


    The real Clark was all along watching the actions on the side. He saw and noticed the moment his clone took out the wine cup.


    Seeing that his clone drank it without any hesitation, he couldn''t help but shudder.


    It was the ''Forbidden Fire Blood'' that he had secretly refined. Although it could enhance one''s power in a short time, it would have a negative influence on one''s soul. And now, he actually saw his clone drink it down without even hesitating.


    They were after all just clones. They cared about nothing and used different methods to enhance their strength at the woman''s order.


    Meanwhile, the alliance of powerful clans also heard the woman''s order and went all out. They gave their best in their strikes but not to cross a line. They surely wouldn''t enhance their strength by the way of harming their bodies.


    "The second round of attack!"


    All sorts of skills were exerted to attack the surface of the blue light ball.


    "Rumble..."


    A violent explosion resounded through the air.


    The


    erature had reached its limit. The cold energy also reached the limit of low temperature.


    Despite the pressure, everyone was ready to make a move!


    Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the blue and white cold energy began to intersect with the red flame. And they neutralized!


    "Sizzle..."


    A sharp sound was heard when the two forces converged.


    Soon, the fusion of cold energy and the flame appeared to get smaller in size.


    Two delicate figures floated quietly in the air. They were two identical girls.


    They looked exactly the same from their appearances, but their auras differed greatly. The girl on the left blinked her eyes and looked around with a joyful smile on her face.


    The girl on the right had a big pair of eyes, but there was no emotion in her blue eyes. If anyone met her eyes, it was as if they were looking at two lifeless cold pools. It would certainly make people feel chill in their spines.


    After the two streams of deadly energy disappeared, there was silence again in the void.


    The silence was soon disturbed as the girl on the left giggled. She looked at the crowd and asked, "Who are you?"


    Hardly had her voice faded away, the woman had already rushed forward!


    "Humph!"


    Nicholas sneered and followed her in a flash.


    "Whoosh!"


    They were soon followed by Clark and Murphy.


    Samuel looked tempted. The ability of the True Demon Body was so powerful that it was beyond imagination. For this opportunity, he naturally wouldn''t let it go.

 Chapter 2806 Food

    But looking into the girls'' eyes, he had a feeling that it wouldn''t be easy to obtain the True Demon Body!


    That was the reason why he didn''t rush out immediately.


    "Stop there!"


    As the woman floated in the air, brown energy emerged from her body, turning into a huge net, which was tens of thousands of feet in size, and it devoured the path in front of Nicholas and the others.


    Nicholas tore the net apart easily by twisting his arms slightly.


    As soon as the huge net was ripped apart by Nicholas, Clark and Murphy quickly scampered through the hole in the net.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Following them were Zeke, Jeremiah and the other Holy Beings in rapid succession.


    "The True Demon Body! It belongs to me!"


    Clark shouted triumphantly as he lunged at the girl on the left side.


    But as soon as he touched the girl''s body, he let out a painful scream!


    Boom!


    All of a sudden, his body was consumed by a flame.


    Most of the people present could not make sense of the scene unfolding before them. After all, Clark was able to turn his body into a flame while he used the Elementary Fire Godly Way. Moreover, as the top figure of the Elementary Fire Godly Way, who else could be more proficient at controlling flames than him?


    However, nobody noticed that Murphy, who was standing the closest to Clark, looked as if he had seen a ghost.


    He dodged and quickly distanced himself from the girls.


    ''Damn it!''


    Murphy cursed inwardly.


    He had seen everything clearly. Clark had not used the Elementary Fire Godly Way. He had been swallowed up by the flame!


    The Holy Being''s body had been burned to ashes in the blink of an eye.


    After Clark was burnt completely, the red flame finally disappeared!


    "Clark! Did he get burnt to death?"


    "The little girl..."


    "This is not the supreme treasure of belief, is it? Is THIS the strongest creature in the Abyss Demon Region?"


    When the red flame


    telligence, was all that planning in vain?


    While the woman was deep in thought, the girl with the red eyes began to attack once again!


    Whoosh!


    She moved through the void at a very high speed.


    However, Clark''s death had put everyone else on high alert. As soon as the girl moved, the Holy Beings floating in the air immediately scattered in all directions in a state of panic.


    "You are my food!


    I need food!


    Come back to me! I''m hungry!"


    The red-eyed girl laughed wickedly as she lunged at Jeremiah.


    "Why did you choose to come after me?"


    A look of helplessness appeared on Jeremiah''s face. A gust of cold air spread out from him, transforming into a large ice wall that blocked him from her.


    Seizing the opportunity, he fled!


    Boom!


    The girl blinked her eyes when she saw this.


    A red lotus appeared inside the ice wall. The ice wall quickly collapsed with a splash and turned into vapors thanks to the burning fire.


    The girl''s intellect was growing rapidly as she negotiated these obstacles.


    Originally she had the intellect of a two- or three-year-old child. But after listening to these people''s conversations, her intelligence grew as she picked up new information. So her brain was now equivalent to that of a four- or five-year-old child.

 Chapter 2807 Trapped

    "Stop!"


    the girl shouted as she chased after Jeremiah.


    Jeremiah heard the childish voice and felt annoyed.


    He wondered why the girl had chosen to go after him among so many people.


    It was indeed fortunate that she only had very little wisdom. Otherwise, with her ability, she could kill everyone in an instant.


    At this moment, he was feeling frustrated. The girl kept chasing him. She wanted his life.


    Whoosh, whoosh...


    The girl was much faster than him. The distance between them quickly closed.


    "Everyone, please help!"


    Jeremiah cried out as he circled in the void. He then rushed towards the alliance of the rich and powerful clans.


    The other warriors heard him, but they were all aware of the girl''s strength.


    They were all eager to avoid being attacked.


    How would they possibly help him?


    The red-eyed girl was persistent and continued to go after Jeremiah, not minding where the chase had led them.


    She lifted her little hand and gently waved, and then red lotuses constantly bloomed behind Jeremiah as he fled.


    Although the red lotuses didn''t burn Jeremiah, the temperature they gave off was so unbearable that even the body of a Holy Being could not stand it.


    Jeremiah was having a hard time to deal with them as his mind was troubled to find an escape.


    "Jeremiah, come to me!" Nicholas urged.


    Jeremiah was desperate for help at the moment, and as soon as he heard Nicholas'' voice, he felt excited and rushed to him directly!


    Nicholas then slightly clapped his hands.


    His left hand turned into thin threads of white silk, and his right hand turned into thin threads of black silk.


    This action indicated that he had already completely infused the Truth of Dark and Light Chaos into his own internal momentum.


    Swish!


    The filaments looked frail, but there was an indescribable mystery in them.


    "I will trap the girl, and meanwhile, the other warriors can give it another try to attack her! This time, she mig


    er girl did not know how to release energy.


    It obviously wasn''t going to happen here since the True Demon Body had acquired intelligence. Thus, when the chilly air in the blue-eyed girl''s body was accumulated to a certain extent, she would instinctively vent it out.


    She looked around with her blue eyes.


    "The people there!"


    The girl with blue eyes spoke, as she raised her hand slightly, traces of pure and extreme energy circling around her fingers.


    The energy had been transformed from the attacks of the Holy Beings. After being transmitted to the body of the blue-eyed girl, it was enhanced, and the temperature was lowered to the extreme.


    Wisps of chilling aura could be detected from the energy.


    "Go away, all of you!"


    The blue-eyed girl was raging at the moment. She didn''t have the concept of "death" yet, and she just subconsciously wanted to vent her energy on them.


    The freezing aura around her turned into ice flowers and spread out in the void at an incredible speed, producing clear and melodious sounds.


    But her words were not heard as most of the people were focused on the girl with red eyes.


    Zen didn''t involve himself. He did not participate in attacking the red-eyed girl since so many people were already making a move. His action was not necessary at the moment.

 Chapter 2808 Tell The Truth

    Moreover, Zen never felt a strong hostility from the girl. Although she treated everyone like food, she spoke just like a child. Perhaps they could reason with her.


    Zen also knew that it was impossible for these people to patiently communicate with these two girls.


    After all, everyone wanted to have the True Demon Body. They would end up competing with each other overtly or covertly. Conflicts also arose between that woman and the powerful clans, and between Samuel and Nicholas.


    Buzz!


    Hearing that crisp chirping sound, Zen automatically turned to see the countless ice flowers moving towards them like fast growing weeds.


    "Be careful!"


    Shouting loudly, Zen started to retreat.


    The joint attack just ended and those warriors were about to observe the situation of the girl with red eyes, and prepare for the second round.


    Hearing Zen''s warning, they all turned to see what was going on, their expressions drastically changing.


    "That girl with the blue eyes is also taking action!"


    "Damn it! Retreat!"


    "Like the two light balls, the two girls are able to relay energy towards each other!"


    The light balls didn''t know how to release the energy, and the energy would finally crush them.


    However, the girl knew that kind of thing.


    The woman''s face turned gloomy as she looked at the ice flowers coming towards them, but she had no choice but to retreat.


    However, the woman and those duplicates of Holy Beings were near the right side of the girl with blue eyes. Three of the duplicates failed to dodge in time, directly getting pierced through by the ice flowers.


    Soon, the surface of the three duplicates of Holy Beings was covered by a layer of frost and they were frozen to death.


    As those people continued to retreat, the blue-eyed girl fluttered in the void like a ghost, chasing after the Holy Beings.


    "You can''t escape!"


    the girl with red eyes warned, as she gently patted on the lotus flowers with her little han


    of the Han Clan used a faith weapon when he chased after me. He should have gained it from the Abyss Demon Region, right? He is even able to ignore the rules of the Abyss Demon Region and use the Grand Teleportation technique. I wonder if he could also break off the connection between these two girls."


    Hearing what Zen had said, Samuel scolded him angrily in his heart.


    If that woman hadn''t been protecting Zen all the time, Samuel would have found an opportunity to kill him.


    "I don''t know what you''re talking about. We all know that the Abyss Demon Region can restrict the use of Space Law, and I''ve never used the Grand Teleportation technique here," Samuel answered in his defense.


    "Ha-ha. In the area of dark water earlier, this Holy Being was using a very powerful spear, and I saw it myself," said Sword Chen.


    The truth was that Zen''s words might not be convincing.


    But now that there were two of them supporting that claim, the situation was naturally a little different.


    "Zen, are you serious about what you say?" the woman couldn''t help asking, surprised.


    Although this woman was in charge of the area of dark water, she had been busy dealing with the fiend race and the alliance of Floating Islands. Since she did not see the scene being discussed, she naturally knew nothing.

 Chapter 2809 The Spear Of Supreme Harmony

    "Absolutely," Zen replied flatly.


    Samuel wanted to explain, but the woman had already manipulated the Holy Beings'' clones to circle and surround him.


    At the same time, the woman also commented, "Whatever your reason, now you have to cut off the connection between those two girls with the spear that Zen mentioned."


    Her tone sounded like she was giving an order, telling Samuel that as long as he said "no", he would definitely suffer the consequences.


    "Samuel, better do as she says," Nicholas suggested.


    Zen had revealed some of Samuel''s secrets to him before. It seemed like Samuel could check his memories. He had doubts about Samuel, but along the way, he had no time to investigate about it.


    Choosing to believe Zen in this matter, even if the woman didn''t plan to start a fight, Nicholas would force Samuel.


    Hearing what the woman had said, the Holy Beings of the alliance of the powerful clans all stared at Samuel. The woman led a group of Holy Beings'' clones to surround him with a fiendish look.


    "Nicholas, why do you prefer to trust a junior? Can''t you see he''s trying to put a wall between us? I don''t have that spear!" Samuel retorted.


    "We can just ask your clone whether you have the spear or not," Zen suggested with a smile.


    Hearing his suggestion, the woman patted her forehead.


    She was so anxious just now that she forgot about Samuel''s clone.


    Shifting her eyes to Samuel''s clone, who was standing not far away from her, she watched carefully how the clone tapped his thumb. A light flashed from his space ring as the Spear of Supreme Harmony appeared in his hand.


    The Spear of Supreme Harmony gave off the abstruse internal momentum of the Space Law, making the Holy Beings'' eyes flash when they saw this scene.


    The Abyss Demon Region had suppressed all of the Space Laws. This spear


    s blossomed around the little girl, one after another.


    Initially there were only ten red lotuses.


    After a while, it blossomed to a hundred red lotuses.


    Zen lost count as countless red lotuses blossomed in all directions.


    "Run!"


    After putting away his weapon, Sword Chen drew a thin line in the void and then flew backward at full speed.


    Due to fear of being surrounded by the red lotuses, the Holy Beings'' clones also used their methods to leave as soon as possible.


    Zen, who was the nearest to the girl, ended up getting trapped in the red lotuses.


    "Zen!"


    the woman called out, her face full of fear at this scene.


    She wanted to rush in to save Zen, but she was worried about the power of these red lotuses. Like the Explosive Crystals, these red lotuses emitted extremely powerful flames.


    She was unable to resist the flames. Even if she rushed in, Zen would probably have already been burnt to ashes.


    The scene had Sword Chen''s face ghastly pale, while Rocher also looked worried.


    But then he remembered that Zen''s body was not afraid of fire. This girl''s flames were so fierce that even Holy Beings couldn''t resist them. He was unable to confirm whether or not Zen could withstand them.

 Chapter 2810 Samuels Ambition

    The red lotuses that surrounded Zen quickly turned into a sea of fire.


    Shining bright like the sun, its fiery light threatened to burn the eyes of anyone who would dare to take a glance at it.


    Using one''s spiritual sense wouldn''t help, and it would also be burnt to ashes. It was impossible to find out whether Zen was fine.


    "Samuel, why did you do that?"


    Nicholas asked with a frown.


    He wanted to kill Zen as soon as possible, but Samuel''s abnormal behavior led him to doubt him as well.


    "Nicholas, I just have a grudge against that guy," Samuel sneered. As he tightened his grip on the Spear of Supreme Harmony, a powerful force of Space Law began to spread out from his location.


    Samuel had planned to take action after most of the members from the powerful clans on the Floating Islands died. However, since both that woman and Nicholas already forced him to fight, he had no other choice but to make a move against them.


    "But..."


    With that, Samuel stepped forward.


    As the power of the Space Law emerged from the surface of the Spear of Supreme Harmony, he had already appeared behind the girl with the blue eyes.


    Though these two girls had terrible means, they only had the intelligence of a four or five-year-old child after all.


    Since Samuel had the formidable Spear of Supreme Harmony, both girls could not pose any threat to him at all. Instead, they became his most powerful weapons!


    Secretly descending behind the girl with blue eyes, Samuel looked towards Nicholas with a sneer. "But I have a deeper grudge against you!"


    With that, he once again stabbed the girl with blue eyes with the Spear of Supreme Harmony.


    Swish!


    The Spear of Supreme Harmony created a space channel, immediately devouring the blue-eyed girl afterwards.


    The next moment, the girl with blue eyes was sent beside Nicholas.


    A cold air spread out from her body, as countless ice flowers surrounded her, completely freezing all the energy around her.


    Nicholas was slightly stunned upon hearing Samuel''s resentful words. He was not expecting that from him.


    Seeing Samuel stab the spear towards the girl with blue eyes, Nicholas seemed to have guessed his next move. Shocked, he t


    s asked, raising his eyebrows slightly.


    It was believed that Gregorio''s Stone Mouse was related with reincarnation. That Stone Mouse could be reborn, but Nicholas never imagined that it could help Gregorio be reincarnated with the Memory Flame.


    "In other words, you have been reincarnated to the Han Clan and also become a Holy Being." Nicholas murmured, "But you didn''t seem to realize that you are Gregorio before, right?"


    Samuel was very arrogant when he just became a Holy Being. He had no intention of joining the alliance of powerful clans, and his attitude had changed only during these few decades.


    Nicholas was puzzled about this fact.


    "Yes, I really didn''t realize it in the past," Samuel said and laughed coldly. "It is the Stone Mouse that has awakened my memory. Are you still feeling confused? I can tell you all about it, as I won''t let you die without making sure you know everything."


    Staring at Samuel, Nicholas said with a grin, "Are you so confident in killing me?"


    The Spear of Supreme Harmony that Samuel was holding started trembling suddenly, its black shadow spreading out. The Spear of Supreme Harmony didn''t just have the ability to activate the spatial transference. It contained great power too.


    Samuel started to laugh coldly. "Killing you is just a starting point. After I inherit the True Demon Body, I will destroy all Floating Islands and universes. By then, no one in the entire divine land will be on par with me!"

 Chapter 2811 Slaughter

    "You dream on it!" A Demi-holy Being from the Qin Clan sneered in contempt.


    Holy Beings could still be reborn even after they died in this place.


    Once Samuel killed all the Holy Beings present, he would need to start wars in the universes after he returned to the Floating Island of Han Clan.


    But regarding the launch of a universal war, a lot of restrictions had already been stated on the Ruling State.


    It would not be so easy to destroy a universe. Otherwise, Nicholas would not have tolerated the existence of the Evolutionary Universe for so many years.


    "Shut up!"


    Samuel refuted as the long spear on his hand slightly trembled.


    His spear had once again created a space channel. The space channel didn''t suck the blue eyed girl in. This time, only some ice flowers were implicated.


    Seeing Samuel''s action, the Demi-holy Being was dumbfounded as the expression on his face changed drastically.


    He in turn had subconsciously wanted to escape, but when he was just less than a thousand feet away, a space fluctuation came from behind him.


    As the ice flowers were absorbed by the space channel, they were instantly made to be under the control of Samuel. He then used them to attack the Demi-holy Being, who was immediately frozen on the spot and was turned into an ice sculpture.


    Nicholas was enraged along with Murphy and the others as a flicker of anger was shown in their eyes. If they let Samuel continue to gain the upper hand, sooner or later he would kill all the members in the alliance of powerful clans.


    Their thoughts were proven right, because it was what Samuel had intended to do.


    Meanwhile, back on the other side, the woman and Sword Chen were staring at the sea of fire.


    The red lotuses were constantly taking shape and after releasing blazing flames, they would disappear. The woman looked more and more furious as it went on repeatedly.


    She was originally born out of resentment. There was only one goal in her heart, which was to clean the divine land and then to marry Zen to carry forward the bloodline of the Nine Li race!


    Because of what Samuel did, her plan could no longer succeed!


    Sword Chen on the side felt the change in the woman''s emotion, and he was a little worried. He wondered how terrible it would be if this woman went crazy.


    She suddenly turned her head...


    Far away, Samuel''s Spear of Supreme Harmony in his hand was continuously moving in the air.


    He created space channels one after another in the void, pulling out the ice flowers which kept attacking the people in the void.


    As they were attacked, the members of the alliance o


    fiercely slashed it at Samuel!


    "Will it work?"


    Samuel shook his head.


    With a slight shake of Spear of Supreme Harmony, he had already disappeared from the spot.


    The huge sword shadow formed by Zeke''s purple jade long sword missed its target. Things got worse when another space channel came towards him.


    He gritted his teeth and was able to detect the danger. He acted fast and threw the purple jade sword upward!


    Buzz...


    Once the purple jade sword was out of his hand, it grew larger in the wind and turned into a huge sword. It had then blocked all the ice flowers above his head.


    It gave him the time to rush to the other side and helped him escape successfully.


    However, the purple jade sword thrown upwards was already covered with a layer of ice flowers. It was rendered useless now.


    After Samuel disappeared from the spot, he reappeared in the space a thousand feet away.


    With his current means, it was not difficult for him to eliminate Zeke. It was surely an easy feat for him, and the only person he was still wary of was Nicholas.


    When he went through Nicholas''s memory, he found out some secrets about time. One way or another, he was cautious of any movement from Nicholas.


    Even after all of this, he noticed that Nicholas hadn''t taken any serious move yet. He decided to just ignore him and continued slaughtering. He thought when he killed Troy too, Nicholas would be finally enraged.


    However, as he was obsessed in killing, he completely ignored another person. He forgot about the woman.


    As soon as he came out of the space, he felt a space fluctuation behind him. He looked back and saw the woman coming out of a space channel. He was caught off guard as she straight away pounced at him.

 Chapter 2812 A Sea Of Crimson Magma

    The woman charged towards Samuel. With the brown energy gathered in her hand that turned into a long saber, she slashed him in a flash.


    The strike was quick and fierce, taking Samuel by surprise. It was too late when he realized that the blade had already pricked his skin.


    The force of primitive fear took over Samuel in an instant, its effect stunning him in place.


    During this critical moment, he gritted his teeth and activated the Spear of Supreme Harmony.


    The spear carried him away, leaving a few streaks of blood flowing on the woman''s long brown saber.


    Buzz!


    In the blink of an eye, Samuel was carried over ten thousand feet away from where he had been. Putting his finger on the wound, he tried to extract the force of primitive fear in his body. Staring at the woman, he shouted, "We are not enemies. Why did you attack me?"


    Right now, the only thing he feared the most was his clone.


    The Grand Teleportation could move the Holy Beings to any places as they wished, making it impossible for them to kill each other.


    It was conceivable that Samuel, with the use of his Spear of Supreme Harmony, had gotten the edge on the others.


    In the past, he couldn''t resist so many Holy Beings, but now he was able to make the two girls his best weapons.


    The only problem was, his clone also had a Spear of Supreme Harmony.


    Staring coldly at Samuel from far away, the woman called out, "You shouldn''t have killed Zen!"


    "Zen?" Samuel was a little surprised. Although the woman had always protected Zen, he didn''t think he was important. After thinking for a moment, he replied, "Zen is just another consummate True God. Why should I care if he dies?"


    Just now, more than a dozen consummate True Gods were already killed by Samuel.


    The woman couldn''t hide the anger flashing on her face upon hearing Samuel''s answer. "For you, he may just be an ordinary consummate True God, but for me, he is very important!"


    The next second, Samuel''s clone stretched out his arm, waving his Spear of Supreme Harmony.


    From not so far away, an arc-shaped space channel was shrouded in ice flowers. With a thud sound, those fatal ice flowers spread al


    ked.


    In her perspective, all the things in this world could be converted into energy, which she could then accelerate to the extreme to make the beautiful red lotuses.


    There shouldn''t be any exception in the entire divine land. Also, she was born to do this.


    However, before she left her "home", she saw an exception - this young man in front of her.


    He was shining with golden light, unafraid of the red lotuses. Instead, he was eating them.


    The red-eyed girl could not obtain external information. Since her intelligence was only made up from fragmented information, she made her strange judgment just by watching Zen.


    "Why are you swallowing these red lotuses? Are we of the same kind?" she asked, confused.


    Zen did not seem to hear her.


    Being burnt by the fire, the Sanskrit words started a magical reaction again. He then found himself in the sea.


    It was a sea of crimson magma.


    The sea undulated in front of Zen, sending off mysterious auras. He stared at it and wondered, "These auras seem very similar to the Truth of Godly Way. But at the same time, they are quite different. Am I at the Sea of Truth?"


    Zen shook his head.


    Back when he was cultivating the Truth of Cultivation Nature, he could vaguely sense the existence of the Sea of Truth.


    With that being said, he had a completely different perception of how the Sea of Truth would be like. It wasn''t the same as the one right in front of him now.

 Chapter 2813 Drifting In The Sea

    But if it wasn''t the Sea of Truth, then what was it?


    In the void, Zen was still trapped by the red lotuses.


    In the beginning, he thought it was his end. As he had seen that Clark was burnt by the flames released by red lotuses, there was no reason to believe he would survive.


    He didn''t expect that the golden Sanskrit words on his body lit up at an unprecedented speed.


    But this time, the situation was slightly different from the usual.


    As he continued to absorb the flames released by the red lotuses, his five senses suddenly disappeared.


    He realized that he could no longer see or hear anything, as if his soul had completely left his body.


    By the time he regained his consciousness, he was already in this crimson sea.


    Splash!


    He could hear the sound of his body as it plunged into the sea. Strangely, he felt no pain when he soaked in the magma sea.


    But every time he tried to move, he felt an indescribable pain from inside his body.


    "What the hell is this place?"


    Wanting to leave the crimson sea and head for the sky, Zen tried to use his internal momentum.


    Splash!


    Jumping out of the water, he was determined to leave the sea.


    Just then, he felt the magma sea pulled on him firmly, as if it had a life of its own.


    "I can''t get rid of it!"


    Surprised, Zen''s eyes widened. The magma turned into sticky glue, and he was stuck.


    Plop!


    After some standoff, Zen fell into the magma sea again.


    Soon, he also discovered that he would stay afloat even if he didn''t swim. There was a strange buoyant force keeping him on the surface, so he didn''t have to make any efforts to swim his way above the water.


    "Those brain masters were wrong. My master is always right. He has never made any mistake."


    During that moment, Zen heard No. 9527 talking in his mind.


    "No. 9527?"


    Zen abruptly rolled around the sea.


    He could feel a nauseous wave of pain breaking over him as long as he moved slightly on the sea.


    Hearing No. 9527''s voice, Zen was so excited that he forgot how his body ached. His body was now swollen, and he couldn''t help but cry out.


    "Where are you?" Zen asked again, hoping he would get a response.


    He already realized that No. 9527''s consciousness came from his deep brain, not from his chest.


    "I''m still inside your body," No. 9527 answered.


    "What has happened to me? Why did my soul leave my body?" Zen found a whole line of questions he needed to a


    the Sea of Truth in such a short time.


    After thinking about it for a while, No. 9527 concluded, "It''s a bit strange. Maybe the disciples of some great force in the Source World are trying to reach the Other Shore Realm at the same time."


    At that moment, one of the boats seemed to come a bit closer to where he was.


    The shadow on the Truth Boat suddenly shouted, "Look! Look! I can see someone in the water!"


    His loud voice was transmitted far away on the sea. Soon, the people on the other Truth Boats who heard him instantly turned their gazes at the same direction.


    "There''s someone floating in the Sea of Truth? Stop talking nonsense. Wait. What the..." Seeing Zen''s figure in the sea, another man was stunned and was lost for words.


    "Is he planning to cross the Sea of Truth with his physical body? I have never heard of anything like that. It''s so..." the shadow on another Truth Boat commented in an incredible voice.


    No. 9527 was right.


    This group of people, currently sailing, were disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace.


    This time, the Oneness Sky Palace opened the Sword Sky Road for its disciples to comprehend. Out of the 490, 000 inner disciples who embarked on the sky road, only sixteen had mastered the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent, made their own Truth Boats and sailed towards the Other Shore.


    They could not see each other''s real appearances but could see each other''s vague shadows and hear each other''s voices as they sailed across the Sea of Truth. Unlike Zen''s perception of the sea being a crimson magma, these disciples perceived the Sea of Truth as a brilliant sea of stars.

 Chapter 2814 The Broken Boat

    These sixteen disciples from the Oneness Sky Palace were known to be strong. They were the ones who stood out in the sky road.


    It was the first time that their Souls of Light had left their bodies to wander in the Sea of Truth.


    They had cultivated their souls into Souls of Light and had already built their Truth Boats, but it was not easy to sail on the Sea of Truth. Just the wind from the Sea of Truth alone would make many people''s souls tremble.


    Ten of the sixteen warriors'' souls lay down on the boats without even raising their heads. The pressure was heavy and they could not stand the wind blowing from the Sea of Truth.


    While the remaining six warriors appeared fearless and boldly stood at the bow of their boats. They were at the top among their group.


    If they developed in the future, they would become the pride of the Oneness Sky Palace in the future.


    "Stanley! Can you see clearly where this person comes from? He is floating still on the sea. Is he dead?" A girl''s beautiful voice rang out from a boat.


    Stanley Ming stared at the figure in the sea and frowned, his hands behind his back.


    Hearing the question from the woman, he immediately shook his head. "It''s impossible. The Sea of Truth can destroy any soul. Even if one''s soul has reached the Soul of Light, their soul would be gone once it falls into the sea. If they are dead, then how can there be any corpses?"


    Everyone entered the Sea of Truth in the form of soul. How could there be a corpse? Wasn''t it absurd?


    He wanted to see the features of the person in the sea, but he couldn''t even clearly see his companions in the Sea of Truth. He could only recognize the girl through her voice. So it was a wishful thinking for him to make out the figure''s appearance.


    Zen floated in the Sea of Truth and did not say anything, but the people''s conversations clearly reached his ears.


    Looking at their perfect Truth Boats, Zen was a little envious. If he could fully grasp the Truth of Cultivation Nature, he assumed that he would also be able to create such a boat...


    "Ha-ha, Sophia. If you want to know whether this guy is alive or not, why not just test it out?" a robust figure suggested as he laughed.


    Hearing this, Sophia kept silent and did not respond. The robust man had an extraordinary background and enjoyed privileges in the Oneness Sky Palace. He had already been pestering her a lot these days


    Boat!


    He instantly paled as he looked over. He attempted to suppress the fear in his heart and sat cross legged, activating the Truth of Godly Way to drive his Truth Boat to go faster.


    Zen was not lenient and was definitely irritated by the rash attack!


    As he swam in the magma sea, he felt strong pain. Despite that, he just gritted his teeth and moved very fast, faster than the Truth Boats!


    Although Terence Xi had made great effort to make his boat move faster, the driving power of the Truth Boat depended solely on his will. No matter how hard he tried, it was still not fast enough.


    In the blink of an eye, Zen had caught up with him!


    "Bang!"


    Zen threw a punch towards his Truth Boat without a word of warning.


    The Truth Boat was an illusion formed by relying on Truth of Godly Way. It was as fragile as glass in front of Zen''s physical body. His punch had easily created a hole in the Truth Boat.


    As a result, the small Truth Boat quickly tilted and fell towards the Sea of Truth.


    Terence Xi on the boat was scared out of wits as he didn''t know what to do. If the boat fell into the Sea of Truth, his Soul of Light would dissolve into nothingness. He would be done for!


    He was still in panic until he heard Stanley Ming shout, "Hurry up! Crush the Illusion Breaking Rune!"


    Hearing Stanley''s words, he was immediately reminded about their way of escape in times of danger. He hurriedly brought out the Illusion Breaking Rune he had and crushed it with all his might. Before completely falling into the Sea of Truth, he disappeared in front of Zen along with his boat.

 Chapter 2815 The Oneness Sky Palace

    A milky white bright moon hung over the top of the Oneness Sky Palace.


    Looking down from the sky road above, one could see tens of thousands of mountains penetrating into the clouds.


    Every mountain was likened to a towering sharp sword. On the tip of each mountain were significant words engraved on it.


    Together, these words would be read as ''Truth of Eternal Sword Intent''.


    Every year in the early spring, the inner disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace would have the opportunity to observe from the sky road above. It was the day they would study and comprehend the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent.


    While they observed, the masters would give enlightenment and teach them about its main points.


    The disciples depended on their abilities to grasp the teachings. Those with talent and great luck would be able to come out on top in this period of time.


    Once an inner disciple had fully grasped the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent, and at the same time had successfully stepped into the Sea of Truth, they would certainly get the attention of the Oneness Sky Palace.


    Currently at this moment, over 400, 000 inner disciples were still trying their hardest to understand the words.


    They were focused on their own ways to study the words as they persisted to hold on. Some were chanting and some stood with their eyes open wide.


    "Plop!"


    "Plop!"


    Understanding the Truth of Godly Way by force would put a lot of pressure on the soul.


    Although the inner disciples had become consummate True Gods and had the Soul of Light, they still couldn''t bear the pressure of the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent. As a result, their bodies gave way as they rolled their eyes and fainted on the ground.


    "Whoosh, whoosh..."


    Some Taoist priests in cyan robes flew and came over. They carried the fainted inner disciples out of the ring.


    At the front end of the sky road, there were sixteen inner disciples who were quietly seated.


    They had successfully built their Truth Boats and sailed on the Sea of Truth. Unlike the over 400, 000 inner disciples, they had taken a big step forward.


    They were considered as an inspiration as other inner disciples constantly looked at them from time to time, their eyes full of admiration.


    "Alas. I have been here for 36 years. In the very first year when Stanley and Terence set foot on the sky road, they wen


    r return."


    Back in the Sea of Truth, Stanley and the others were still watching the scene, cursing Terence in their hearts.


    If Zen vented his anger on them, he would destroy their Truth Boats.


    It might be troublesome but since they had already mastered the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent, it was not difficult for them to condense other Truth Boats.


    None of them dared and wanted to provoke Zen, so they all kept their silence.


    "I didn''t make things difficult for you, but he gave me problems. I have every reason to smash his boat, right?" Zen flatly said as he turned his attention to the group. He was still soaked in the sea.


    The group heard him but didn''t respond. Stanley heaved a sigh of relief, and then hurriedly bowed to Zen. "Yes, sir. Terence shouldn''t have been so reckless. His boat was smashed. He deserved it!"


    "Right. Terence is usually a rude man. He deserved the punishment from you!" Sophia chimed in.


    Although Zen could not see the faces of these people, he could roughly sense that they should also be consummate True Gods. Feeling their sincerity in treating him respectfully, he couldn''t help a suppressed giggle.


    No. 9527 told him a reminder to not expose himself. In order to do so, he didn''t want to talk to them too much, so he waved his hand and said, "Okay, you can go now."


    Hearing his words, Stanley and the others felt relieved as they were not to be implicated any more.


    Every one of them hurriedly sat cross-legged and meditated. They urged their Truth Boats to move on the Sea of Truth. Their journey continued.

 Chapter 2816 Zens Return

    Watching the Truth Boats leave, Zen began to swim slowly.


    "Alas, unfortunately, the Sea of Truth cannot hide people. You will soon be found," No. 9527 declared, heaving a deep sigh.


    "Why do I need to hide?" Zen asked curiously.


    After staying in the Sea of Truth for a while, Zen had met over ten warriors, which meant there were many people crossing the Sea of Truth.


    "You still don''t know what it means to roam in the Sea of Truth with the physical body," No. 9527 explained. "It won''t be long before people in the entire Source World start discussing about this matter. Fortunately, they can''t trace who you are unless you tell them. Remember that, otherwise, you will have endless troubles."


    Zen nodded slightly, acknowledging its advice.


    Although he knew nothing about the Source World, he knew that the Nine Li race was in a dangerous situation. Since his identity was so sensitive, he must be very careful about divulging information.


    Splash!


    Looking out of the sea, he asked, "How wide is the Sea of Truth? Do you know how long it will take to get across?"


    "How long?" No. 9527 repeated, thinking. "Travel time varies among people. Some might need several thousand years, or even over one million years, while some people might be able to cross the sea in just half a year. This is still a matter of talent and opportunity."


    As a matter of fact, the Sea of Truth did not have a fixed width. For some people, it was probably impossible to cross it within their lifetime, but some people would be able to reach the Other Shore on the first try.


    "What about me?" Zen queried.


    "The Sea of Truth is divided into nine sections. I suggest that you try and see if you can make it through the first section," No. 9527 replied.


    Zen nodded, his expression reflecting his hesitation. "But I''m afraid the time is not enough."


    He did not forget that he was still in the void at the bottom of the ice coffin. Meanwhile, those Holy Beings were still fighting fiercely. If he spent too much time here, who knew what would happen in the void?


    "Don''t worry," No. 952


    ind that could go deep into the soul and even blow away the boats. For most of them, it was their first time to step into the Sea of Truth, so they would have no choice but to leave after suffering for a few days.


    After swimming another few miles ahead, Zen found a dividing band in front of him. After the magma crossed that band, it turned into dark red!


    At this point, the pain that Zen felt on his body had reached an unbearable level.


    He felt that his body went stiff. He had tried his best to activate all his strength, but his body was somewhat disobedient.


    "Let''s stop here," No. 9527 said. "Once you pass the first section, the pressure will multiply. Your body will not be able to withstand it. And you will end up dissipating like the Soul of Light."


    Zen nodded. Floating on the surface of the sea, he stretched his body, hoping to ease the pressure his physical body had to bear.


    After a moment, he asked breathlessly, "How can I leave the Sea of Truth?"


    "I''ll teach you," No. 9527 said with a grin.


    It had been said that the Sea of Truth was really illusion. Perhaps there were some special skills required to leave it.


    After a short while, Zen felt dizzy, his surrounding starting to spin a little. Once again, he saw himself in a sea of fire.


    His vision regained its focus with the red-eyed girl floating in front of him, her innocent eyes set on him.

 Chapter 2817 Easier Than Expected

    As soon as he saw the girl with red eyes, Zen shrank back almost reflexively.


    The girl, however, had a warm look on her face and inquired, "Are you awake?"


    She had been talking to Zen for a while now, but he had not been responding at all. She naively thought that he had fallen asleep.


    He was amused by her innocence and he almost laughed out loud.


    But when he thought about how useful she would be to him, his heart skipped a beat.


    In the black water area, Sword Chen had decided to obtain this supreme treasure of belief together with Zen. He had even helped Zen arrange the sword array and make use of the force of primitive fear in the black water.


    But Zen had been unexpectedly brought to the ice palace by the mysterious woman.


    And now, the True Demon Body was so close to him after the chaotic battle.


    Wasn''t it the right time to refine the True Demon Body?


    "Yes, I''m awake now," replied Zen playing along.


    Pleased by his answer, the red-eyed girl asked, "Are you my companion now?"


    "Your companion?" Confusion flashed across Zen''s eyes.


    What he had been thinking about was how to refine the True Demon Body.


    Back when he had obtained the jade seal in the Time Sea, there was no need to refine it. He had become its owner by merely touching it.


    In fact, the process of refinement had begun from the moment Zen had entered the inner world of the jade seal. Everyone who had entered that world had an equal opportunity to obtain the recognition of the jade seal. Zen had made it before everyone else and so it became his.


    Similarly, did this red-eyed girl seem to be seeking recognition from him too?


    A smile appeared on Zen''s face when this thought popped in his mind. He immediately said, "I''m not afraid of your flames! Do you think I''m your companion?"


    The red-eyed girl widened her eyes and thought for a while before replying excitedly, "Yes! I think so!"


    "And then?" Zen continued.


    The girl tilted her head and thought some more. Finally, she said, "I have very few companions so I have to cherish every one of them."


    Her eyes turned a darker shade of red as she spoke.


    Zen was staring at the girl curiously. Suddenly, he had a strange feeling in his heart. He felt as though his eyes were intensely attracted to the girl. He was simply unable to look away!


    Then h


    k you''ll have a chance to survive? Don''t forget her purpose for coming here." Before Samuel could finish his sentence, a fluctuation in space appeared above him. The woman had already launched her attack again.


    Samuel brandished the Spear of Supreme Harmony and disappeared immediately.


    He had fought over a thousand rounds with that woman before.


    He just kept fleeing into space. So it was never an easy feat to kill him.


    However, Samuel hated to keep running like this.


    If he missed even the slightest detail, he would be gravely injured by this woman. If it continued this way, he would be killed by this woman eventually.


    He racked his brains for a solution to this deadlock.


    Whoosh!


    He used the Grand Teleportation technique once again and reappeared at the center of the void. His eyes followed a thin line in the void and he spotted the blue-eyed girl in an ice flower.


    It seemed that the girl was confused by the numerous space channels he had been creating constantly. She stood blankly in the void without moving.


    Seeing this, a bold idea slowly began to take shape in Samuel''s mind.


    Instead of wasting his time with that woman, why not try to refine this girl?


    Samuel didn''t know the method of refining, but he had no other choice. He believed that at least this was better than fleeing all the way.


    At this point, he vanished once again before the woman could catch up with him.


    Whoosh!


    He reappeared at another spot and pricked the line that connected the two girls using his Spear of Supreme Harmony!

 Chapter 2818 The Opportunity

    Samuel was not certain that he would succeed, but he decided to give it a go.


    The tip of the Spear of Supreme Harmony had suddenly disappeared, and in no time had integrated with the space.


    "Whoosh!"


    With a swift motion, it moved and as soon as it touched the thin line, the space was cut apart.


    At this moment, the thin line looked to be dislocated.


    However, Samuel was a bit dissatisfied with the result as he frowned.


    Although it seemed that he had cut the blue thin line, the line was still intact.


    "Not enough. Again."


    He made further calculations on his attack. Since he had made up his mind, there would be no reason to give up.


    "Whoosh!"


    "Whoosh!"


    As he struck another series of attack, the tip of the Spear of Supreme Harmony had slashed the thin line dozens of times.


    In the eyes of the crowd, the thin line had already been severely dislocated. The part being cut by Samuel was about ten feet away, which could be considered already close enough to damage it, but it didn''t break.


    "Crack!"


    Samuel thrust out the Spear of Supreme Harmony dozens of times, his eyes widening with anger.


    The long spear fiercely broke the void.


    A huge hole with a width of ten feet instantly appeared in the void. The blue thin line drilled in from one side of the large hole, and then came out from another. The part in the middle had already disappeared.


    The thin line swayed back and forth on both sides of the hole a few times before finally starting to roll back. Following that, it disappeared in everyone''s eyes.


    "Splash..."


    Lying in the sea of fire, Zen was currently absorbing the energy from the two girls.


    Because of Samuel''s action, the blue thin line collapsed. One kind of energy had mysteriously disappeared.


    "He has cut off the line!"


    "Cut the line and then we can refine the True Demon Body?"


    "It''s a good chance!"


    The consummate True Gods were full of fear that they would be killed by Samuel, so they fled a fair distance away from him. When they saw the change in the void, they were tempted and itched to have a go.


    But they were still rational in the end. They dared not to go forward rashly as they knew how powerful the two girls were, and were even aware that they had to fight Samuel first.


    Seeing that the thin lin


    t aggrieved as he knew that Samuel had the great advantage over the others due to the Spear of Supreme Harmony. And the worst was Samuel was able to pry into his memories, which had greatly limited himself.


    He had endured for so long and did not make a serious move yet. He had been waiting and planning for the right time and opportunity.


    Now that he had gotten the chance to refine the blue eyed girl, how could he let her fall into Samuel''s hands?


    He moved as fast as he could but yet was still a step behind. No matter how fast he went, he couldn''t catch up with the woman and Samuel.


    "Whoosh!"


    "Whoosh!"


    Samuel and his clone thrust out the Spear of Supreme Harmony almost at the same time, and two space channels enveloped the blue eyed girl.


    "Crack!"


    Under the collision of the two space channels, a serrated pattern appeared in the void and vanished without a trace.


    "Humph!"


    Samuel swung the Spear of Supreme Harmony to the air.


    This time he made sure that he would be half a step ahead. He managed to envelop the blue eyed girl in the space channel and sent her into the void a few dozen miles away.


    In the distance, Pascal was floating. He was still under Samuel''s control and was waiting for the opportunity.


    Seeing the girl come out of the void, Pascal stepped forward to hug her.


    Just before he could lay a hand on the girl, a ray of extremely sharp sword radiance flew over from a thousand feet away.


    If he didn''t retreat in time, he would be cut in half by the sword radiance.

 Chapter 2819 Unable To Attack

    The man who launched the sword attack was Rocher.


    The fight in the void was quite fierce. Rocher knew very well to himself that he couldn''t directly fight with the Holy Beings. Although he had some secret weapon to rely on, he didn''t get involved before.


    Seeing that Samuel used his Spear of Supreme Harmony to slash and almost slaughter everyone, he chose to immediately stay away.


    He fled a distance away and surprisingly noticed another person. It was Pascal.


    Since the very beginning, Pascal had never gotten involved with the fights. He quietly stayed far away like a puppet.


    Rocher observed him further, and an idea formed into his mind.


    The truth was that the True Demon Body could only be inherited by a consummate True God. No matter how powerful Samuel was, it would be impossible for him to inherit the True Demon Body by himself.


    As for the Han Clan, the only person they could rely on was Pascal.


    Thinking of this, Rocher lurked and stayed near him.


    The result of the fight was exactly the same as what he had expected. Samuel had successfully obtained the True Demon Body in the fight.


    Rocher''s plan all along was to precisely choose this timing to attack.


    "Lowell?"


    When Nicholas saw this scene, a touch of joy appeared on his face.


    He didn''t expect that Lowell was so vigilant that he had waited by Pascal''s side in advance.


    They knew that Pascal was not himself and was completely controlled by Samuel.


    Seeing Rocher''s sword radiance, Samuel frowned and had to dodge it. He immediately conveyed the idea to Pascal.


    Pascal was quick to turn around and step back, managing to dodge the slash.


    Rocher transformed into a beam of light and flew towards the girl with blue eyes, pulling her into his arms.


    "Go to hell!"


    Samuel cursed. His face turned cold when he saw Rocher''s actions.


    He stabbed the Spear of Supreme Harmony in his hand in the air.


    "Swish!"


    A space wave spread out.


    He wanted to pull the blue eyed girl and Lowell over.


    However, the woman was at the same time quick to act as well. When Samuel stabbed his spear out, she had also given instructions to his clone to do the same.


    Two space waves rushed to Rocher.


    "Crack!"


    The two space waves collided against each other and were then neutralized.


    Rocher knew that


    sword was getting closer and closer to him, he frowned slightly and his eyes flashed a sharp light.


    A milky white light rose from the surface of his body.


    The short sword in Pascal''s hand was already at a close distance to Rocher''s body, but he strangely discovered that no matter how hard he tried, the sword could not stab Rocher. It seemed like there was an invisible barrier in between.


    "What''s going on?"


    Samuel was flustered at the change of situation. He was still standing far away and had a puzzled look on his face.


    At this moment, he had an illusion that Pascal was disobeying his order.


    As his puppet, how could Pascal disobey his order?


    "Kill him!"


    Without any clue, Samuel urged further and gave the order in his mind.


    Pascal had now used both hands to hold the short sword, and fiercely stabbed Rocher''s back.


    The short sword, which flickered with the five colored sword radiance, was already only half an inch away from Rocher. But then the tip of the sword desperately shook. In such a short distance, however, no matter how hard Pascal tried, he just couldn''t give a blow. It was useless.


    "Will you protect me?"


    the blue eyed girl then spoke after Rocher had carefully soothed her.


    She felt even more insecure than the red eyed girl.


    "Of course I will," Rocher answered with a smile.


    "That''s great."


    Just then, he felt that the blue eyed girl opened her heart to him and at the same time, a unique energy began to blend. A connection was quickly formed between him and the girl.

 Chapter 2820 Fire Punch

    Finally establishing a connection with the blue-eyed girl, Rocher immediately felt her sense of hunger.


    He felt her thirst for power rapidly growing.


    Since her connection with the red-eyed girl had been cut off, she was unable to replenish all the energy her body released earlier. Now she was extremely "hungry" for an energy source.


    Feeling this emotion, Rocher released the internal momentum from his cinnabar field and passed it to the blue-eyed girl.


    Buzz!


    As a blue light flashed from the girl''s eyes, the cold ice flowers started spreading out of her body. These ice flowers were transformed by Rocher''s internal momentum.


    Although there weren''t many ice flowers that appeared, they were enough to cover both Rocher and her, protecting them from everyone''s attack.


    Pascal, who was controlled by Samuel, tried to stab them with his sword but failed. Seeing the ice flowers surrounding the girl again, he had to ask Pascal to retreat.


    Rocher had fully taken control of the blue-eyed girl now. Only the red-eyed girl remained unaffected.


    After the connection between the two girls had been broken, Samuel only needed to make the red-eyed girl release all her energy, and then he could refine her.


    Shaking the Spear of Supreme Harmony to create a space channel to cover Pascal, Samuel drew him to his side, prompting him to look towards the red-eyed girl''s direction. However, he was shocked to see what was happening.


    It turned out that while Samuel and that woman fought over the blue-eyed girl, some people targeted the red-eyed girl instead, knowing the competition would have less complications.


    However, the red-eyed girl was now covered by a large sea of red lotuses. No one could really confirm what the situation inside was, just by looking from the outside.


    "The red-eyed girl''s energy is now limited. As long as these red lotus flowers are consumed, we may be able to capture her,"


    Rachelle, who was holding two short swords in her hands, commented. Her swords began to emit two rays of blood light.


    Whoosh!


    Both swords flew towards the sea of red lotuses.


    Splash!


    These two short swords that Rachelle possessed were also ranked at the top among the weapons in the divine land. However, as soon as they touched the red lotus flow


    who should get out of here." The woman smiled faintly. Flicking her fingertips, she turned the wisps of brown energy into many slender short swords.


    At the same time, Samuel''s duplicate stood behind her and thrust his spear, making a space channel appear and pierce towards Samuel. As a result, the short swords were sent over through the space channel.


    Shocked, Samuel had no choice but to activate the Spear of Supreme Harmony and fight.


    The two fought fiercely. Murphy felt pleased while watching. He jumped up and floated in the sky above the red lotus flowers, quickly extracting the internal momentum in his body.


    Swish!


    Swinging the Spirit Annihilating Sword, he launched another attack.


    This time, the sword attack was more powerful than the previous one, as he was determined to annihilate all these red lotus flowers.


    The sword shot from the top towards the bottom.


    The blade cut through the red lotus flowers below, but suddenly a strange phenomenon appeared.


    All of a sudden, the red lotus flowers gathered together and burned.


    They all turned into bones. The flames then transformed into blood and flesh, forming a huge fist.


    Bang!


    The burning air surged up, instantly swallowing up the radiance released by Murphy''s Spirit Annihilating Sword, and smashed against him at the same time.


    "What''s this?"


    Murphy''s eyes were filled with astonishment, as he knew that getting hit by this punch might cost him his life.


    As he retreated, he employed many complicated techniques.

 Chapter 2821 A New Path

    As Murphy had continuously fired out many complicated spells, the black sword that he held in his hand flashed once.


    Not long after, a black crystal shield had been formed before Murphy''s body.


    "Bang!"


    The shield had intercepted the huge fire fist that had been rapidly rushing towards Murphy. After a few moments, the crystal shield shattered and disappeared after it had merged with the fire.


    The crystal shield had somehow reduced the flames'' power, and the huge fire fist immediately shrunk to about a tenth of its original size.


    Murphy had kept casting his spells with a dire expression on his face. After the first crystal shield had disappeared, the black sword in his hand flashed again, and instantly, another black crystal shield materialized in front of him.


    "Bang!"


    The second crystal shield had been smashed to pieces immediately as soon as it was formed.


    The same thing happened to the third, fourth, fifth...


    The crystal shields hadn''t been able to withstand the impact of the fire fist at all, but at least they had been able to shrink the fire fist bit by bit every time they intercepted it.


    Murphy had to condense these crystal shields; otherwise, he was the one who took damage.


    His body wouldn''t have been able to survive the impact if he had been directly hit by the fire fist. The only thing he had been able to do was give his full force in an attempt to put out the flames.


    As the Spirit Annihilating Sword''s power was used in such a way, it sapped a great deal of Murphy''s energy.


    More black crystal shields were released continuously, and the strain of this effort was evident on Murphy''s face which had turned deathly pale.


    When he was near his power''s limit, he bit the tip of his tongue and spat a mouthful of blood essence onto the Spirit Annihilating Sword.


    A dark aura briefly surrounded the surface of the Spirit Annihilating Sword. Murphy then hurled the sword downwards.


    "Crack!"


    The flames had been finally thoroughly extinguished.


    Suddenly, in place of the fire fist, there appeared a giant golden fist that steadily grew at an alarming rate.


    Murphy caught sight of it and his eyes widened in disbelief.


    "Zen?"


    All of the consummate True Gods, including Rachelle, had also been taken aback.


    The power of the fiery red lotuses had been known to all of them. If Holy Beings had fallen into them, they would be reduced to dust in an instant regardless of how powerful they were.


    Most people thought that Zen had already died when he fell into the red lotuses.


    l bodies to cross the Sea of Truth. There was a great probability that they had the same kind of Truth of Godly Way.


    "You may say so, but it''s not exactly right." After a bit of hesitation, No. 9527 continued, "The ancient gods learned the Truth of Powerful Holy Body. When the Wild Gods had cultivated to the maximum level, they were able to master the Truth of Powerful Holy Body, cross the Sea of Truth, and set their feet upon the Other Shore. Unfortunately, this method hasn''t been effective recently. You now possess a unique Truth of Godly Way, different from the ancient gods."


    Since there had been no way to learn the Truth of Powerful Holy Body, and even the Ancient God Cultivation Method had been of no use, it was eventually replaced by the Grand World Cultivation Method.


    After Zen had achieved the refinement for turning his body into a weapon, he seemed to have triggered an alternative way for body refining. With the assistance of the Ancient God Cultivation Method, he had been able to open up a new path that bypassed the third truth which had been applied to the whole chaos.


    After Zen consulted No. 9527 briefly, he stared at Murphy nearby and told him, "In the universe back then, you launched a sword attack on me. If it were not for Estelle, I would have died. Now, I reciprocated your sword attack with this punch!"


    With a gargantuan body, Zen''s voice had been quite loud. It spread through the expanse of space, and everyone heard it as though it was thunder.


    Murphy floated quietly in the open space. Compared to Zen''s gigantic body, it was as if he was only as small as an ant even though he was a Holy Being.


    He was badly hurt both physically and mentally.

 Chapter 2822 A Fight That Would Have Happened

    Only about twenty years had passed since he attacked Zen with his sword strike in Mike''s universe.


    To the Holy Beings, twenty years were almost negligible in comparison to their long lives.


    Zen, who had been considered as insignificant as ants by Murphy, had then grown to such a high level.


    Finally meeting each other once again, the tables had turned. Zen''s huge body now made Murphy as insignificant as ants, which was simply ironic.


    "Father!"


    Calling out with concern, Rachelle quickly flew upward and stood protectively before her father.


    After Zen had returned to the divine land some time earlier, many consummate True Gods had witnessed Zen''s great strength. At that time, Zen was already able to defeat the consummate True Gods with ease, and his strength was comparable to that of a Demi-holy Being.


    And with his strength greatly improved once again, even Murphy wasn''t able to withstand Zen''s punch.


    He was now so powerful that both the consummate True Gods and the Demi-holy Beings had to look up at him.


    Apparently, Zen''s control over the True Demon Body had upset the two other people present.


    One of them was Samuel.


    Knowing that he cut off the connection between the two girls, he believed that he was more deserving of the True Demon Body in the ice coffin.


    Unexpectedly, he ended up with nothing. One of the girls was obtained by Lowell, while the other one belonged to Zen.


    With this thought in mind, he was especially disgruntled at Zen''s luck.


    Witnessing how Zen was surrounded by red lotuses, everyone believed that he had been burnt to death. However, that was not the case. Samuel couldn''t understand how he could have shown up again, safe and sound.


    On the other hand, the woman was overwhelmed with mixed feelings as well.


    Her goal was to obtain the True Demon Body. She had tried countless times, but in the end, all her efforts had turned out to be a paving stone for others.


    Despite her failure, she felt pleased to learn that Zen was still alive. After all, she was born out of the resentment after the extinction of the Nine Li race. Knowing that Zen had survived, she was pleased that at least one descendant of the Nine Li race would remain.


    Whoosh!


    Stretching out his hand, Zen suddenly grabbed Murphy.


    Surprised, Rachelle gritted her teeth and defended her father by standing before him.


    But how would she be able to resist Zen now?


    Puff!


    A golden


    he summoned was extremely sharp, it should destroy Zen''s arm like a spiraling millstone.


    However, Zen had already seen the same pictures from Nicholas'' memory.


    Theoretically speaking, they had already fought once in the past ''future''. Since Nicholas had predicted the result, and Zen could read his memory, he had to give up his attack knowing it would be a failure.


    Therefore, this round of fight, which was supposed to have happened, would no longer be a reality.


    Frowning slightly, Zen took another step. He chose to attack from the right this time. But halfway through his attack, he suddenly stopped again.


    This signified a second round of a "could have been" that didn''t come into reality.


    With a complacent smile, Nicholas said, "Your body seemed to have been refined and enhanced, but you are underestimating me if you think you can defeat me with your physical strength!"


    After all, Nicholas was the head of the Holy Beings.


    In the Abyss Demon Region where the Grand Teleportation technique could not be used, the Spear of Supreme Harmony worked to Samuel''s great advantage. In addition, the flames and ice created by the two girls had made it easier for him to kill members of the powerful clans.


    Anyway, it still would not be easy for Samuel or Zen to kill Nicholas easily.


    From the eyes of their spectators, the fight between Zen and Nicholas that did not happen was so bizarre. The only person who could understand their strange behavior was Samuel, since he was also able to read Nicholas'' Memory Flame. Each time, he could see the pictures of their fight that didn''t come into reality.

 Chapter 2823 Dark Light Word Transformation

    Rising up in the sky, Zen paced in the air in this void.


    But every time he started to attack, he stopped after finishing only half of it.


    Having fought with Nicholas for ten times in the future, Zen had also stopped an attack ten times in a row by now. Each time he kept seeing the scene of his future failure.


    The Eight Diagrams condensed by Nicholas was like an indestructible millstone.


    It was true that Zen''s physical body had improved greatly and he could even travel through the Sea of Truth. However, it was still impossible for him to withstand the Eight Diagrams.


    After thirteen attempts, Nicholas closed his eyes, making the light in them fade away.


    Knowing that Zen could see through his memory, he no longer tried to see the scenes in the future.


    Smiling faintly, Nicholas said, "Time is a very interesting thing. If I don''t let you take a peek into the future, that makes it indefinite. You can attack me now."


    The scene appearing in Nicholas'' visions would surely happen. In other words, once Zen took action, he would definitely lose the fight.


    But if he stopped looking into the future, the future would be unpredictable.


    Even though Nicholas said so, Zen still didn''t make a move. As he stood there and stared at Nicholas, a hint of hesitation reflected in his eyes.


    "You dare not?" Nicholas teased with a faint smile.


    He then raised his arm gently.


    Truth of Dark and Light Chaos slowly flowed out from his hand.


    Splash!


    Constantly gathering above Nicholas, the black aura flowed clockwise, while the white one slowly flowed the other way. Since Zen refused to attack, Nicholas would make his move first.


    In reality, Nicholas was only afraid of the True Demon Body, together with its demonic red lotuses and cold ice flowers.


    He knew that the two forms of the True Demon Body were connected to each other, thus, their energy could be mutually transformed and never be exhausted. This made it invincible.


    However, after the connection between the two had been cut off by Samuel, Nicholas was given a chance to display his power. Moreover, the other form of True Demon Body was now in Lowell''s hands.


    As the Truth of Dark and Light Chaos continuously flowed, the E


    t I made a good friend on the Sea of Truth and he helped me a lot. After the Dark Light World Transformation has been passed to me, it enabled me to transform any world and make it for my own use."


    As a matter of fact, it was not easy to cross the Sea of Truth, even for the geniuses in the Source World.


    For example, Zen met several inner disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace, but they were still stuck in the first section of the Sea of Truth, and even Zen had not really passed that part.


    The further it went, the more challenging the journey was. There were some people whose Truth Boats were destroyed in the Sea of Truth and their Souls of light were shattered.


    The ninth section of the Sea of Truth was the most difficult, which was why more than ninety percent of True Gods were stuck near the ninth section.


    People who had reached the ninth section of the Sea of Truth were considered to be half step into the Other Shore Realm. However, there was a world of difference between them and the real masters at the Other Shore Realm.


    As a rare genius in the divine land, Nicholas grabbed the opportunity to make friends with talents in the Source World.


    The Dark Light World Transformation technique had been passed down to him from a friend.


    However, using this method might also cause him a great harm. It would even affect his Truth Boat and delay him in crossing the Sea of Truth.


    If he hadn''t been forced to the corner, Nicholas wouldn''t have used it.

 Chapter 2824 Attacked By Shadows

    The momentum of this place was almost palpable.


    Samuel turned deadly pale when he felt the force of the momentum and bore its pressure.


    He had endured his resentment for Nicholas for many years, right from the Floating Islands to the Abyss Demon Region, and even sacrificed his three children for it.


    Now, he finally found the opportunity to seek revenge in this void.


    Originally, he thought that he was invincible, so he didn''t take Nicholas seriously. Instead, he regarded the woman as his biggest rival.


    But now it looked like all his schemes and plots were turning out to be extremely ridiculous.


    Nicholas'' power was beyond his imagination.


    Nicholas, who was floating in the sky, just glanced at him but he could feel that the whole world was full of disdain for him.


    He had gone through great pains to be reincarnated and become a Holy Being again, but Nicholas never took him seriously.


    Splash!


    As the Eight Diagrams disk hovered in the void, Nicholas'' eyes fell on Zen again. He said, "Before Mike''s death, he managed to cultivate such an outstanding son. Within a hundred years, you have reached the consummation of True God Realm and have the strength to kill Holy Beings. Although it''s miraculous, I''m not surprised. This is not Mike''s contribution, but Lorena''s."


    Nicholas felt calmer after saying these words, but there was a trace of indescribable jealousy in his eyes.


    If there was any special woman in the divine land, it must be Lorena.


    Nicholas tried to cross the Sea of Truth and constantly communicated with the people in the Source World, so he had a general understanding of the structure and forces of the whole Source World. He was well aware about the importance of the Nine Li race in the Source World and Lorena''s position in the race.


    Lorena was without a doubt an excellent woman, so he had never forced her to do anything. He always took good care of her.


    "But today, I will have to personally destroy this miracle," said Nicholas ruefully.


    He wanted to free Lorena from all the shackles and give her enough t


    olve, many large indistinct shadows began to appear around Zen.


    The crowd was quite shocked when they saw this army of shadows appearing nonstop.


    "I''m afraid each shadow''s strength is even stronger than a Holy Being''s!"


    "If Holy Nicholas had chosen to use this power earlier, my father wouldn''t have died."


    "Humph, do you think such a powerful method comes without a price?"


    The survivors debated and discussed carefully in the distance.


    Bang!


    Zen was not ready when a huge shadow appeared in front of him, so its enormous fist smashed his face.


    Zen was thrown away by the blow as a golden light exploded.


    However, this light was produced from the collision and it remained within the body of the shadow, while the domineering golden light quickly tore the latter into pieces.


    Nicholas seemed unaffected by this.


    The hefty shadow was torn apart, but even more appeared in its place.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Boom!


    Just as Zen finished dealing with the shadows in front of him, a punch from another shadow had already landed on his back, sides, waist and head...


    More than a dozen shadows were attacking him together at this point and Zen was beaten black and blue.


    Seeing this, the woman and Sword Chen exchanged a worried look. No matter how strong Zen''s body was, he would not be able to bear such a brutal attack if he was being beaten passively.

 Chapter 2825 No Way To Escape

    Zen''s huge body was smashed and thrown into the air.


    The others immediately retreated to the distance.


    Regardless if they were hit by Zen''s huge body or by the shadows, they would surely be killed.


    Zen still didn''t look hurt.


    Even No. 9527 wasn''t able to confirm the state of Zen''s body right now. The golden light shone from the surface of his body, but No. 9527 also wasn''t sure which kind of Truth of Godly Way it belonged to.


    However, Zen had found a rule.


    In the past, a trace of primordial energy was being produced when his weapon body was refined, and it actually was from the power of the weapon refiner during the process.


    Now, as he continuously endured the attacks from the shadows, his physical body seemed to absorb a portion of the power and bounce some power back.


    The golden light that radiated from his body seemed to be the power that bounced back.


    "But I can''t bounce all the power back."


    The shadows seemed endless. It seemed that the only way to have Nicholas stop was for them to break Zen''s physical body.


    Initially, Zen could withstand these attacks, but after a while, he started to feel a slight pain. His physical body started to ache, and his Wild God body showed signs of instability.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    The loud sound echoed as the shadows and his physical body collided.


    Everyone was left dumbfounded.


    Nicholas'' endless shadows left them wide-eyed, as much as Zen''s ability to withstand it with his extraordinary strength.


    Comparing each shadow to a full blow from a Holy Being, Zen had so far received over a hundred blows from a Holy Being. However, he appeared to remain unharmed.


    "Could it be because of the True Demon Body he has inherited?" Greedy expressions started reflecting on the spectators'' faces.


    "That''s impossible! The True Demon Body only releases red lotus flowers and controls energy. Zen''s physical body is extremely terrifying in the first place."


    "How can he be so powerful? Isn''t he just a consummate True God? What kind of Godly Way has he cultivated to such an extent?"


    "Don''t you remember? Zen had been engulfed by the re


    nce. With this move, he made sure that they couldn''t avoid his attack this time!


    "Let me resist him," shouted the woman.


    But it was too late. Zen had stood up already. With a loud sound, Zen stood in front of the shadowy giant hand, blocking it like an unbreakable pillar.


    Puff!


    Zen spat out another mouthful of blood. With his muscles and bones all trembling, his body ached under the great pressure.


    After Zen''s Wild God body was gone, his physical body was still able to emit some of his strength to generate the overbearing golden light. However, the golden light was very weak now, perhaps because he had already suffered a lot of attacks earlier. Clearly, it was difficult to destroy the huge shadow!


    "Let''s go!"


    Raising his hand, Zen called out to the woman who was still in a daze.


    As the woman nodded her head, Samuel''s duplicate put the Spear of Supreme Harmony horizontally. The three disappeared from the huge palm again.


    Buzz!


    Just like earlier, Nicholas was able to figure out their movement, and a shadow had been condensed in advance, aiming at their position.


    "You go ahead. I know a way to deal with this shadow," Zen suggested.


    Even if Zen could peek into Nicholas'' judgment, he couldn''t tell the woman to dodge in advance, because telling her would mean a change in the "future". Nicholas would surely pick this up and make corresponding changes to his own attack.

 Chapter 2826 Borrowing Strength

    Upon hearing Zen''s authoritative voice, the woman had no other choice but to create another space channel. She gritted her teeth while doing it.


    In an instant, she, together with Samuel''s clone, disappeared from Zen''s side.


    As the two of them disappeared, the big hand reappeared and swung at Zen, trying to take a hold of his head.


    At that moment, Zen''s eyes suddenly flashed bright red. It was as if they were made of rubies.


    Buzz...


    Slowly, the girl with red eyes and hair emerged and silently floated behind him.


    He began to stretch out his hand, and as he did, a thin line of red lotuses appeared on his arm. Then, out of nowhere, they shot towards the direction of the big hand of the shadow.


    The girl had already integrated with him, and they had started to partake in each other''s energies.


    Since the girl''s energy hadn''t been used up, Zen didn''t need to use his internal momentum to produce the red lotuses.


    The exact moment the red lotuses touched the shadow, an incredibly strong reaction took place.


    Since the shadow that was summoned by Nicholas was also some kind of energy, the red lotuses were able to transform it into another type of energy. In the eyes of an untrained warrior, the shadow just caught on fire.


    "Phew!"


    In the blink of an eye, the shadow that was over 60, 000 feet tall started burning, upping the temperature around it into unfathomable levels. Everyone and everything near it was scrambling to flee to safety.


    But due to a special method done by Nicholas, despite the giant shadow being tall, it didn''t have too much energy. Because of that, its fiery threat only lasted for a couple of seconds and immediately disappeared.


    After successfully defeating the giant shadow, Zen glanced over his shoulder. When he saw what was happening, his expression darkened.


    It turned out that while he was battling the giant shadow, Nicholas had already summoned another one to deal with the woman.


    "Phew!"


    The moment the woman came out, a huge hand was already patting her head.


    She had seen the power of the shadow before. As she could not avoid it, a fierce and determined look flashed across her eyes and she began gathering the force of primitive fear in the black water.


    "Break it!"


    With those words, she po


    he woman.


    Unfortunately, Sword Chen was not able to stop the giant shadow for good. It once again raised its hand and launched an attack towards the woman.


    This time, however, she didn''t dare to ask Samuel''s clone to use the Grand Teleportation, which would only make her more passive.


    But then she still was unable to withstand the attack against her. With a slight frown, her eyes became filled with dread and anxiety.


    Just then, Sword Chen shouted, "Black water! Draw the force of primitive fear in the black water and give it to me!"


    He had already inserted one hundred and twenty-eight long swords at the bottom of the black water but he could only use a small part of the force of primitive fear.


    That was why he was trying his best to produce the most terrifying power of force of primitive fear. He had already managed to perfectly mix the force of primitive fear with the Emotion Closing Godly Way over the years.


    If he could use all the force of primitive fear, he would be able to maximize its power.


    Of course, the woman was also well aware of that.


    After all, she had used over a hundred thousand Sword Chen''s clones, and she had used the force of primitive fear to reinforce the strength of those clones.


    So she did not hesitate when Sword Chen made the request.


    More than one hundred vortexes suddenly appeared in the originally calm black water. The force of primitive fear contained in it was constantly poured into the one hundred and twenty-eight long swords of Sword Chen.

 Chapter 2827 The Dark And Light Destruction Sword

    By now, Sword Chen had acquired almost all the power in the black water.


    It would be safe to assume that he was now the master of the black water, replacing the woman.


    Buzz!


    His eyes were devoid of any emotions as he looked around, gently flipping his long sword. The internal momentum of Emotion Closing Godly Way was mixed with a strong force of primitive fear.


    "Gods-intimidating Strike!"


    Swish!


    Sword Chen thrust out his sword horizontally as he shouted.


    As all of the force of primitive fear erupted, a ray of sword radiance spread out. With width stretching to tens of thousands of feet, it cut at the huge shadow at an incredible speed.


    Its brown sword radiance swept past the shadow''s arms and body before it moved forward in the void.


    Feeling the power of the advancing sword radiance, all the Holy Beings, Demi-holy Beings and the consummate True Gods along the way were secretly frightened by this move.


    Was this a sword strike from a Demi-holy Being?


    For some reason, their experience during the trip to the Abyss Demon Region had greatly subverted their cognition about strength.


    Sword Chen''s sword had completely vanished the shadow now.


    Watching from afar, Nicholas couldn''t hide his disappointment. He didn''t pay much attention to this man all this while. Looking at him now, Nicholas remembered how he looked exactly like the dead bodies buried at the foot of the snow mountain.


    Why did this man suddenly appear out of nowhere? Why did it seem like he was able to fully borrow the woman''s power?


    "Well, it doesn''t change anything." Nicholas still regarded these people as insignificant as ants. After Sword Chen had employed all his strength to his strike, Nicholas was sure he could no longer resist.


    Stretching out his hand upward, Nicholas made another shadow appear to attack Sword Chen.


    Sword Chen was now in the state of Emotion Closing. His face remained calm as he awaited the attack. Then, putting his sword horizontally, he started to launch the second strike.


    The woman watched with a displeased expression. She couldn''t always rely on Sword Chen. Although the black water was filled with massive force of primi


    ck and white sword formed.


    Swish!


    Lifting the black and white sword, Nicholas aimed it towards Zen.


    The Dark and Light Destruction Sword could stop the reincarnation of life and death, giving full play to the Truth of Dark and Light Chaos. Even if the red lotuses could light all the energies, Nicholas was confident that his sword could cut them off.


    Before Nicholas launched his attack, Zen''s expression changed slightly. Being able to read Nicholas'' memory, he saw that the red lotuses couldn''t burn Nicholas'' black and white sword. As Nicholas hacked his long sword down, he had cut off all the red lotuses, turning them into flames.


    Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!


    In a few moments, what Zen saw really happened.


    Waving his long two-colored sword, Nicholas cut off all the red lotuses, and then rushed to directly attack Zen.


    "Now, let''s see how you block my strike!" Nicholas said coldly.


    He had paid a heavy price to get the sword. He was determined to get back at Zen.


    The Dark and Light Destruction Sword could stop birth and death, destroying everything. No one, not even Zen, could resist his sword attack.


    Right after Nicholas'' banter, a crisp sound echoed.


    Holding his long sword horizontally, Zen stood and blocked Nicholas'' sword.


    It was true that the Dark and Light Destruction Sword was powerful enough to chop the red lotuses off, but it could not damage the Shadow Bearing Sword that Harper had given to Zen.

 Chapter 2828 The Rebellion

    Seeing that Zen had blocked his Dark and Light Destruction Sword, Nicholas was a bit shocked.


    When he came to his senses, the Dark and Light Destruction Sword suddenly twisted. Like a nimble little snake, it snuck away from Zen''s Shadow Bearing Sword, stabbing his head.


    Despite the attack, Zen looked calm. Lifting his Shadow Bearing Sword, he pushed away Nicholas'' strike.


    Bang, bang, bang!


    They were already close to each other to fight.


    Zen launched again, his strike appearing very decisively and skillfully, while Nicholas swung his sword lightly and constantly.


    Although Nicholas could see through the future, Zen was using this to his advantage by observing his memory.


    As they fought, their sword moves seemed to be set in advance. They appeared like long-time buddies who were practicing their sword skills together.


    The people around them gaped as they watched, thinking they were really just sparring with each other.


    Buzz!


    Every time Zen waved his sword, its energy mixed with that of the red lotuses which coiled around the body of the Shadow Bearing Sword, making it even more powerful.


    Although the Dark and Light Destruction Sword was extremely powerful, its black and white light trembled and then dimmed each time it collided with Zen''s Shadow Bearing Sword.


    If this continued, the Dark and Light Destruction Sword would collapse sooner or later.


    Realizing this, Zen grew braver and more formidable.


    Nicholas''s eyebrows wrinkled slightly. He tried his best to keep a calm expression, though he was starting to worry. If this continued, his Dark and Light Destruction Sword would not be able to hold on.


    The red lotuses were not very terrifying, but when they were combined with the internal momentum controlled by Zen, Nicholas found them difficult to resist.


    ''What the hell! How could he do that?''


    When Zen knew what Nicholas was thinking, his attack was even more violent.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!


    He struck three times in a row. Even though Nicholas blocked the middle strike, the sword''s radiance on both sides still spread out at an incredible speed.


    Nicholas continued to retreat. At the same time, the light of the Dark and Light Destruction Sword continued to grow dimmer.


    If the fight went on, he was bound


    . He was about to move and join hands with Rocher.


    But Rocher shifted and pointed his sword''s tip at Nicholas.


    The other people in the void, including Samuel and that woman, gasped.


    Their faces were filled with confusion as they watched what had been happening.


    Of course, everyone had a different mood.


    "Lowell? Why is he pointing his sword at Nicholas?"


    "Isn''t he the consummate True God of the Dongfang Clan?"


    "Troy has been skeptical of Lowell before, saying there is something wrong with his origin. I can''t believe that his suspicions are right."


    Rachelle was close to Troy, so she knew his doubts before. But the Dongfang Clan''s affair was not something that others would casually ask about. Now Troy was dead, and there was indeed something wrong with Lowell.


    "Lowell, what do you mean?"


    Nicholas got gloomy upon seeing Rocher''s action. He immediately thought of Troy.


    He was previously approached by Troy as he was skeptical about Rocher''s origin, but he didn''t take it seriously. He thought that Troy just felt that his position was threatened by Rocher, so he was jealous of him. It was naturally for him to hate him.


    The point was that in Nicholas'' opinion, he was still able to suppress Rocher who had the strange background. After all, Rocher was only a consummate True God.


    Even the Demi-holy Beings and Holy Beings would be controlled by him, let alone the consummate True Gods.


    However, Nicholas was shocked as he hadn''t expected that he would encounter such a matter.

 Chapter 2829 Refine

    Rocher was feeling slightly uneasy.


    He replied, "We are in different positions."


    "What did you say? Different positions?" Nicholas'' eyes were full of disappointment. "I treated you so well!"


    Rocher had entered the Floating Island of the Dongfang Clan and received the resources and training of the clan. He had smoothly explored those forbidden lands with their help. And his marriage was granted by Nicholas himself.


    Rocher shook his head and said, "I''m not Lowell. My name is Rocher Hua, and I am from the Evolutionary Universe."


    Hearing his answer, Nicholas was slightly stunned. The expression in his eyes suddenly became fierce. At the same time, a self-mocking smile appeared on his face. "Evolutionary Universe! Were you also trained by Mike?"


    "Yes," Rocher answered firmly.


    "Hahaha."


    Nicholas'' laughter grew louder and louder and more sinister.


    He was hugely frustrated. The reason for his distress was not Zen or Rocher, but Mike.


    "Mike was really a cunning man. He died a long time ago, but he still managed to get back at me," muttered Nicholas.


    His eyes flashed.


    The Dark and Light Destruction Sword in his hand suddenly grew three feet longer and flew towards Rocher at an incredible speed.


    "Watch out!"


    Zen was taken aback. A flash of the fire lingered on the Shadow Bearing Sword and he also wielded his sword.


    However, Rocher was very close to Nicholas. The latter''s sneak attack gave no time to Zen to help Rocher out.


    Rocher still maintained his calmness. A unique light flashed in his eyes, and an irresistible aura emitted from his body.


    Under the aura''s influence, no one was allowed to make a move on him.


    If it was someone else, they wouldn''t be able to stab Rocher.


    However, Nicholas was not an ordinary person after all. His Soul of Light was very close to the Other Shore. It was far stronger than the ordinary Souls of Light.


    The aura emanating from Rocher''s body merely made Nicholas'' movements a little slower, but the Dark and Light Destruction Sword continued to advance forward.


    Thankfully, this slow pace gave Rocher enough time to react.


    Buzz!


    "Soaring Snake Sword!"


    Ice flowers fluttered on the Soaring Snake Sword, and at the same time, some strange streaks of lightni


    he was more willing to hinder Nicholas.


    The woman''s eyes lit up when she saw what Samuel had done.


    She couldn''t join the battle with the trio now, but she could also use the Spear of Supreme Harmony to help Zen.


    Crack, crack, crack!


    Nicholas'' Dark and Light Destruction Sword was getting dimmer and dimmer by the minute.


    Zen''s unrelenting and fierce attack caused the long black-and-white sword to finally disintegrate into black-and-white fragments that gathered in the huge Eight Diagrams disk above.


    Zen''s long sword was pointed at Nicholas, and Rocher was blocking his escape route.


    "It''s over," said Zen lightly.


    Today he finally had the thrilling opportunity to kill his enemy but he was abnormally calm.


    Nicholas stared at Zen. Although Zen was still a young man, he vaguely saw Mike''s shadow in Zen.


    "Is it over?" Nicholas heaved a sigh of relief quietly. It seemed that he had made up his mind. Suddenly, he laughed manically and said, "Good. It should be over!"


    He waved his hands upward.


    The Eight Diagrams disk above the void began to rotate once more.


    "The heaven and earth form a furnace, and Dark and Light energies are charcoal. Everything is copper!" Nicholas folded his hands all of a sudden and shouted loudly, "I''m the craftsman! Refine!"


    Splash!


    The aura within the void suddenly became ten times stronger than before.


    As the huge Eight Diagrams disk rotated like a millstone, it seemed as if it was going to refine everything within the void.

 Chapter 2830 The Vortex That Pulled Everyone Inside

    The Dark Light World Transformation was powerful.


    But since it was harmful to one''s soul, only a few people in the Source World would choose to practice this technique.


    The first and second levels of this technique were still acceptable, since they only caused limited damage to the souls which could be healed after years of rest.


    But its third level, namely the Furnace of Dark and Light, was regarded as a taboo method.


    Using this method at the expense of one''s own soul, they could use the Truth of Dark and Light Chaos that they had comprehended all at once.


    In the Source World, it was a method used to refine weapons, and not a method to destroy your enemies.


    In order to create peerless weapons, disciples were specially trained by some great forces on using the Truth of Dark and Light Chaos. Finally, they forced and tempted them to use the Furnace of Dark and Light.


    Some powerful forces had once ordered over a hundred consummate True Gods to use the Furnace of Dark and Light in order to refine some tough materials, which then cost their own lives.


    Whoosh!


    As the eight-diagram disc rotated, the entire space began rotating along with it.


    "It forces me to go along with it!" a consummate True God exclaimed, staring at the eight-diagram disc in a daze.


    "Does Holy Nicholas intend to refine us too?" a Demi-holy Being with a long face queried.


    "Yes, he wants to sacrifice us all! This is unfair!" Hearing this, terror appeared in Rachelle''s eyes.


    No one knew what price Nicholas would have to pay or whether he could be reborn since he employed this technique. Either way, she knew she was doomed to die, anyway.


    Everyone within this space was pulled into the vortex without a choice.


    At the center of the vortex was Nicholas.


    Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Noticing how unfavorable the situation was for them, Zen and Rocher both thrust their swords at Nicholas.


    However, it seemed too late. As soon as their swords penetrated through Nicholas'' body, they collided with each other, making a clanging sound. At the same time, Nicholas'' flesh seemed to have turned into nothingness.


    Zen and Rocher both felt a strong pull, dragging them into Nicholas'' body.


    Rocher tried


    uld have to wait for an opportunity.


    Keeping this in mind, he brandished the Spear of Supreme Harmony unhurriedly and prepared to leave through the space channel.


    "Samuel, can you please take me with you? I will absolutely express my gratitude after we return to the Floating Islands," a long-haired warrior begged Samuel.


    He was a Demi-holy Being from the Bai Clan.


    Seeing that everyone was trapped in this vortex, he knew that his strength wouldn''t be enough to escape on his own. After witnessing how the woman took Zen and the others away, he decided to ask Samuel''s help to leave together in the same way.


    Samuel only snorted in reply. Technically, there was no reason why he needed to help this guy. As the internal momentum of the Space Godly Way emitted from his body, he immediately disappeared on the spot.


    Moving along the space channel, he suddenly bumped into an invisible wall. With a muffled grunt, he stumbled out from the space channel.


    The expression on his face changed dramatically as he looked around once.


    Apparently, he failed to leave through the space channel. He was still inside the vortex!


    Standing on the other side, the woman, Zen, Rocher and Sword Chen all had a terrible look on their faces.


    "We can''t escape through the space channel," the woman concluded with a frown.


    Looking back at Nicholas from a distance, Sword Chen took a deep breath. "Are we really going to die here today?" he asked, sighing helplessly.

 Chapter 2831 Desperation

    Staring at Nicholas, who was standing from a distance, Rocher murmured, "With Nicholas'' cunning personality, he must have figured out a way to prevent us from escaping now that he performed this theurgy."


    "We can''t just stay still and wait for death to come," said Sword Chen.


    Looking up in the sky, Zen noticed some changes on the eight-diagram disc. He observed it for a while before saying, "The eight-diagram disc is becoming smaller."


    Upon hearing this, everyone looked up at the same direction.


    Like a millstone, the huge eight-diagram disc still kept spinning, pulling everyone to have them rotate around Nicholas.


    If it continued, they would eventually be pulled into the center of the vortex.


    Suddenly, a blazing light appeared from the other side of the huge vortex, spreading out an extremely strong wave of space.


    Even at a long distance, everyone felt the strong fluctuation of space.


    After the light gradually dimmed, Samuel appeared from out of the blue.


    His hand was trembling, as he held onto the Spear of Supreme Harmony. His face was ghastly pale.


    Even though he had hit the barrier of the vortex with all his might, Samuel still couldn''t break it.


    The woman initially planned to have Samuel''s clone to try it out. But having seen this, she couldn''t help shaking her head. It would be useless and a waste of energy.


    "Ha-ha! Samuel, do you think you can escape? Dream on!" Nicholas sneered, laughing hysterically.


    Raising his hands in the air, he controlled the eight-diagram disc, speeding up its spin as the vortex'' border shrank rapidly.


    All members of the alliance of powerful clans, as well as Samuel, Zen and the rest tried hard to press themselves against the barrier. But no matter how hard they tried to escape, they were like small boats drawn to the center of the huge whirlpool.


    The huge vortex, which was originally hundreds of miles wide, shrunk by half in just a few seconds.


    "What should we do now? Are we really going to die here today?"


    "Holy Nicholas, aren''t we all members of the alliance? For the sake of our cooperation, please spare our lives!"


    "Nicholas, we followed you obediently, but you want to sacrifice us? You don''t deserve to be the head of the alliance!"


    Most people who were members of the alliance were overwhelmed by despair.


    They had followed Nichol


    tching also revealed their disappointment.


    Shortly after, a small crack suddenly appeared on the surface of the eight-diagram disc and quickly spread to its center.


    During that time, the attacks launched by the other people also reached the eight-diagram disc, expanding the damage and increasing the cracks on the disc.


    "Did we make it?" one asked, seeing the cracks spreading.


    "It worked!" another giggled.


    "The Furnace of Dark and Light is actually fragile!"


    Their eyes lit up with hope and excitement.


    Someone consumed pills, burnt their blood essence, and others even activated secret techniques. They launched the second round of attacks simultaneously.


    With their joint attacks, the cracks on the eight-diagram disc became wider. Just as the cracks were about to spread to the edge of the eight-diagram disc, Nicholas suddenly sneered and said, "Ha-ha! How naive are you all!"


    After that, the Dark and Light energies on the surface of the eight-diagram disc started to fuse together, mending the cracks quickly until they disappeared without a trace.


    Everyone below were stunned and stopped their attacks in despair. They thought they finally found a way out, but it was just a misconception. Everyone felt desperate.


    "It''s no use."


    "The Furnace of Dark and Light is a perfect combination of Dark and Light energies. It would be impossible for us to break it."


    With all their hope gone, a deeper sense of despair overwhelmed them.


    Just then, the scope of the huge vortex shrank again, making it less than ten miles wide now.

 Chapter 2832 Rachelles Death

    The aura emitted by the Furnace of Dark and Light was originally scattered across a wide area.


    But right now, the aura was getting more and more concentrated.


    The Truth of Dark and Light Chaos, which was compressing, became denser, as if it was a real entity. The pressure exerted on everyone''s head became greater.


    The Holy Beings and Demi-holy Beings could withstand it.


    However, some of the consummate True Gods just couldn''t bear it anymore.


    Rachelle''s face had turned deathly pale.


    She took out a small jade pendant from her space ring and gently covered it with her hands. The pendant emitted a warm soul force.


    The jade pendant was a gift from her father and it was used to save her life. The Soul of Light, which didn''t belong to anybody, was inside the jade pendant.


    After she placed the jade pendant on her forehead, the pressure of the Truth of Dark and Light Chaos decreased. She began to feel better.


    But the jade pendant''s soul power was limited. In about nine seconds, the surface of the jade pendant began to dim.


    Although Rachelle could still rely on the soul weapon to protect herself from the pressure, the other consummate True Gods weren''t so lucky.


    A consummate True God from the Zhao Clan had his eyes wide open and he was gritting his teeth. He did not have a soul weapon, so he had to survive without any help.


    When he reached his limit, he suddenly let out a cry. His eyes rolled backwards into his head and his soul was completely shattered.


    "Hooo!"


    He was unable to resist the gravity from the center of the whirlpool and floated towards Nicholas''s body. He went inside Nicholas''s body and merged with him.


    "Ahhh!"


    A consummate True God from the Fang Clan, too, couldn''t stand the pressure anymore. He roared madly and rushed towards Nicholas''s body as well.


    He chose to commit a suicide explosion the moment he fused with Nicholas''s body!


    The inner world of the consummate True God was perfect so the power that emanated from the spontaneous explosion wasn''t to be underestimated.


    Bang!


    Nicholas was covered in a dazzling light with a deafening thud.


    However, what happened next was very bizarre. The blast wave that erupted accumulated


    ips raised slightly, and a small smile replaced the anxiousness on her beautiful face.


    In terms of appearance, Rachelle was more beautiful than Nelly and she was energetic all the time. However, she was too domineering, and most men did not dare to look at her directly. Most of them treated her as a man.


    After the faint smile, her eyes suddenly lost their glow. Her entire body was like a leaf floating in the air, sucked away by the gravity of the huge whirlpool. She got pulled into Nicholas and entered his body...


    Rachelle was the last consummate True God to die.


    The mammoth whirlpool shrank to a width of five miles.


    Now it was the turn of the Demi-holy Beings who were still holding on for dear life!


    "Who can save me?"


    "Damn you, Nicholas! Go to hell!


    "I don''t want to be killed by him!"


    Some Demi-holy Beings were wailing, some were silent, and some were thinking about a solution at this critical moment.


    They were very powerful figures in the divine land. How could they accept this kind of a death?


    Zen also shook his head. Of course, he was not willing to accept the result. However, the Eight Diagrams was like the True Demon Body. The dark energy and light energy were complementary to each other. How could any regular method break through it?


    The True Demon Body...


    Suddenly Zen thought of something and said, "Come out!"


    Buzz!


    The girl with the red eyes inside Zen''s body came out and stared at him with her big eyes.

 Chapter 2833 Entering The Eight Diagrams

    Rocher was a little puzzled when he saw Zen summon the girl with red eyes.


    Zen asked the red-eyed girl, "Can you establish a connection with the blue-eyed girl?"


    "With whom? What connection?" asked the red-eyed girl innocently with a smile.


    She had the intellect of a four-or five-year-old.


    Zen knew how the girl''s brain worked, but he didn''t know how to explain things to her. So all he did was command Rocher, "Summon the blue-eyed girl!"


    Rocher nodded. A blue light appeared and with that the girl left his body.


    "A connection between you and her," Zen said, pointing at the new entrant to help the red-eyed girl understand what he was saying.


    The girl with red eyes blinked and looked her blue-eyed counterpart.


    The two girls looked identical, except their temperament and the color of their pupils.


    "Connection..."


    The red-eyed girl frowned trying to think hard, and then she said, "Do you mean this?"


    As she spoke, a blue light flashed between her eyebrows.


    Space was being emitted faintly through the light. Then the light turned into a thin thread, spreading to the blue-eyed girl. It was a blue thread!


    It was a special spatial passageway, which could only be used to transmit energy between the two girls. It was their instinct and innate ability.


    As soon as the blue-eyed girl saw the thin thread, her previously indifferent demeanor changed. She showed a trace of interest, and the middle of her eyebrows also emitted a ray of light. The two thin threads intertwined in the void.


    When the thin threads met, Rocher and Zen also had a strange feeling, as if a layer of perception occurred in their minds, which allowed them to become aware of each other''s existence.


    "It''s done!" Zen smiled.


    By now, the woman and Sword Chen knew Zen''s purpose. Once the two girls got connected, they were seemingly invincible. Earlier, she had created clones of the Holy Beings, but even when united, the clones could not hurt the girls.


    Zen looked at the Eight Diagrams above and said, "Rocher, let''s go up together!"


    Warriors as powerful as Emily might be able to b


    pieces!


    Luckily, since his body had just been refined by the red lotuses, it was infused with the Truth of Godly Way. After taking a portion of the power into his own body, he was able to barely hold on.


    He was more worried about Rocher. After all, his body wasn''t as strong as his.


    He couldn''t see how Rocher was dealing with the Dark and Light energies.


    Zen was worrying about him when suddenly he felt a powerful surge of energy in his body. It gave him a start.


    Almost instinctively, Zen decided to release this energy!


    Hundreds of red lotuses surrounded his body, crazily extending outwards.


    Rocher was in the same situation as Zen.


    The overwhelming killing power in his body was transmitted to Zen, and as Zen transferred the surging power in his body to Rocher, thousands of ice flowers exploded everywhere!


    "Is it done?"


    The woman raised her head and looked up. She could see that in the spinning Eight Diagrams array, a ray of red light and a ray of blue light were rapidly rotating. These two lights must be Zen and Rocher!


    Nicholas was also observing the two lights in the Eight Diagrams. He could clearly sense the existence of both Zen and Rocher.


    Just like two stubborn stones in a torrent, Zen and Rocher helped each other to stop the circulation of Dark and Light energies, hoping to break the form of the Furnace of Dark and Light using pure brute force!

 Chapter 2834 Break The Balance

    "How can you break my furnace without finding the array eye? This... this cannot happen! No!"


    At that moment, almost half of Nicholas'' physical body had already been crystallized.


    His legs and the lower half of his torso had already been transformed into countless small yet incredibly spiky red crystals, rendering them useless. The only things that made him look human were his upper torso and head, but the crystals were fast approaching them too.


    Now that he had reached the last stage of refining, he definitely wouldn''t allow Zen and Rocher to break the furnace.


    "Keep shrinking! I don''t think you can hold on!"


    Nicholas'' rage-filled eyes widened as he activated the internal momentum of the Truth of Dark and Light Chaos to its limit.


    It seemed that he had put a fire in the furnace.


    At that moment, the Eight Diagrams above him as well as the huge whirlpool below him once again shrank greatly.


    The whole whirlpool was now only about three hundred feet wide!


    The Eight Diagrams, on the other hand, was now looking incredibly different from how it looked when the battle started, and it started to move downward.


    But as the whole Furnace of Dark and Light shrank, the power inside the Eight Diagrams was becoming greater than ever!


    Buzz... buzz... buzz...


    The killing power produced by the Dark and Light energies was transmitted to Zen and Rocher respectively.


    The two warriors absorbed the strong power and transferred it to each other. A few moments later, they started condensing the red lotus flowers and ice flowers once again!


    Unfortunately, the red lotus flowers and ice flowers they released were even assimilated to the Dark and Light energies, effectively being part of them.


    One could say that the two auras of the Eight Diagrams were actively resisting the forces exerted by Zen and Rocher.


    ''It can''t go on like this! We need a better plan!'' Zen thought to himself, his mind racing to find a solution.


    Since the two girls were connected to each other, Rocher understood what Zen was thinking.


    "But the Eight Diagrams doesn''t have an array eye, Zen. How will we be able to break it?" Rocher asked, also feeling a little anxious.


    Zen did not answer back, but he continuously released the red lotus flowers, lost in thought as to what to do next.


    Bromley had also cultivated the Dark and Light energies.


    Zen had come into contact with such energies on the True Path. During that time, all of the enemies he encountered were all formed by the Dark and Light energies.


    Because Bromley still hadn''t finished cultivating the complete Truth of Dark and Light Chaos at that time, Hallet and Augustus were only able to master a part of it.


    What shocked Zen the most was the Eight Diagrams Chart of Fuxi.


    The Eight Diagrams Chart had the ability to make any technique ev


    into Dark energies. Because of that, an imbalance was starting to occur: the Dark energies were more than the Light energies. "Finally!" Zen shouted, noticing that his plan was working.


    From below, it seemed that the area of the white side on the Eight Diagrams was constantly decreasing, and the area of the black side was constantly increasing!


    "You two..."


    Nicholas looked confused and shocked.


    He had no idea how Zen figured out the method to break the balance in such a short time.


    ''His method is undoubtedly effective!'' he thought in disbelief.


    After breaking the balance of the Furnace of Dark and Light, it became extremely difficult to control.


    The entire Eight Diagrams even started to deflect.


    "The Dark energies can turn into Light energies! Let me see how you can still break the balance!"


    shouted Nicholas.


    Now that he was at the last step of refining, how could he let them cause his failure?


    The superfluous Dark energies started to flow towards the white hole.


    Because of what was happening, in the eyes of Sword Chen and the others, the Eight Diagrams'' shape was becoming more and more bizarre...


    What Nicholas did was not normal, but he had no choice¡ªhe had to do that. Unconventional as it might have been, in the end, the balance was maintained.


    But this time, Sword Chen had no strength to see what was happening above. The other Holy Beings also couldn''t hold on any longer and they all fell into the center of the huge whirlpool. They were then absorbed by Nicholas and immediately turned into the red crystals.


    Now, only Sword Chen, Samuel, the woman, and Samuel''s clone were left in the huge whirlpool.


    Apparently, Sword Chen had consumed almost all of his strength. Even if he tried his best to activate the Emotion Closing Godly Way, he would not be able to resist the increasing power from the Furnace of Dark and Light.

 Chapter 2835 Falling Star Palm

    Sword Chen didn''t stop and continued to exert his strength. He wasn''t alone as the others also struggled to give their all.


    Samuel spared no effort but was also caught in a pickle at the moment.


    He kept on activating the Spear of Supreme Harmony to create a new space channel. This weapon had helped decrease the damage he had taken by using the new space channels for him to hide.


    As a result of creating multiple space channels, he disappeared and appeared from time to time like a shining star from the heavens.


    Just like a drowning man struggling to keep himself afloat in the water as he gasped for air, he used his remaining strength to struggle on the edge of the vortex.


    The woman had noticed the strategy Samuel tried to keep himself away from danger. She instantly gave an order to Samuel''s clone and imitated what Samuel had done, following his actions to create space channels. She moved in a swift manner and then instantly concealed herself before grabbing Sword Chen inside for a chance to survive.


    "Ha-ha! No more struggles! Both of you, come to me!"


    Nicholas fiercely bellowed. He only had one head left and the flesh below his neck had already been refined into red crystals.


    Exerting every bit of his remaining strength, he had managed to pull the eight-diagram disc.


    It wouldn''t be long before the Furnace of Dark and Light was completely absorbed into his body. Everything inside space which included the eight-diagram disc made from the Dark and Light energies, Zen, Rocher and even himself, would be refined!


    "It didn''t work," Rocher said anxiously.


    Zen frowned as he looked at the situation and responded, "No, it worked. However, Nicholas managed to maintain the balance of the eight-diagram disc again. Our attacks were not strong enough. We must do better than this."


    He believed that once their attacks had exceeded the range Nicholas could control, the furnace would break apart!


    Rocher thought about the plan and agreed. A trace of determination appeared on his vigorous face, but he was still feeling a bit hesitant deep inside.


    He was created for these moments.


    He had evaluated carefully about their situation and hoped that someone else would save the day.


    Maybe he didn''t have to use that power?


    This thought kept haunting him, preventing him from using his trump card. At the same time, Iris''s face kept flashing in his mind.


    Iris, his wife, was still on the Floating Island waiting for him to go back to her.


    This thought finally helped him make up his mind.


    He imm


    eved that he was the strongest throughout the entire divine land. He was the kind of person who never took anyone seriously other than the Yellow Emperor Guards.


    In his eyes, Samuel was not even qualified to be regarded as a rival. Samuel was nothing without the Spear of Supreme Harmony!


    But the two young warriors fighting him right now had shown great power beyond his imagination.


    The golden light that Rocher summoned was incredibly surprising enough. On top of that, the square crystal that Zen materialized emitted an indescribable aura of mystery!


    "This is the power that you can never understand!


    It represents...


    The truth of the entire chaos!"


    Zen explained in a cold voice as the square crystal in his hand began to spin.


    Simultaneously, a green vortex appeared above his head.


    A special star could be seen in the center of the vortex. The star seemed irrelevant in size, but it couldn''t be taken lightly by its appearance. In truth, nothing in the entire divine land could battle its great power!


    It turned out that the power of the Furnace of Dark and Light fainted in comparison with the tiny star.


    The three people struggling at the edge of the huge vortex ¡ª the woman, Sword Chen and Samuel were not subjected to its influence. They certainly felt its power as they showed different unbelievable expressions upon seeing the star.


    Samuel revealed his astonishment and fear at the same time. The woman showed curiosity and Sword Chen beamed with pleasure and relief.


    Everyone were all taken aback by the surprising turn of events. It was beyond their expectations.


    Nobody would have expected that Zen still hid such a powerful skill up his sleeve!

 Chapter 2836 Encounter

    Whoosh!


    The star grew for a short while and then plummeted towards the white hole.


    After Zen returned to the divine land, there wasn''t much time left for him to learn about the Falling Star Palm.


    Although an immense amount of mysterious energy was contained in the Truth Crystal, it was not particularly powerful in terms of its strength.


    But when it came to the energy of truth, it was impossible to transform it using only the Furnace of Dark and Light.


    Even the Furnace of Dark and Light set up by Fuxi personally would also be the same case. Of course, if he took action, there might be other methods he could use to cope with the Falling Star Palm.


    Bang!


    The star exploded as soon as it fell into the white hole.


    But the energy flow was swallowed up by the white hole so it disappeared without a trace.


    It was as if it had never appeared in the first place.


    In no time, beams of green energy suddenly gushed out from the black hole on the other side. The energy flow, like exploding fireworks, quickly filled up the entire Eight Diagrams disk.


    "It''s impossible!


    I can refine anything with the help of my Furnace of Dark and Light, absolutely everything in the world!"


    Nicholas'' eyes were about to crack. He tried his best to control the Eight Diagrams disk and forcefully drew it down. At the same time, the whirlpool below started to shrink rapidly.


    Sword Chen had fainted and was being propped up by the woman. Samuel had almost reached his limit, as there was a look of despair on his face.


    Bang!


    The Eight Diagrams disk could no longer maintain its shape. It started to collapse and explode at the last moment.


    Nicholas calmed himself down. He was in deep thought. The unwillingness on his face disappeared and was replaced by calmness and coldness.


    Shortly after, countless cracks appeared on his head, which then turned into red crystals.


    At the moment of the explosion of the Eight Diagrams disk, the huge whirlpool that had shrunk to sixty to seventy feet also collapsed.


    As soon as the fetters disappeared, the woman took Sword Chen and quickly retreated. Samuel clenched his teeth tr


    ced him out of his space channel. Now there was no escape.


    Samuel staggered, his face darkened and he threw the treasure body into the air. This time, he used the Spear of Supreme Harmony to tear up the void and drill his way out of the Cold Fiends'' lair.


    The woman didn''t mean to hunt him down. After all, his clone was in bad condition, and it was difficult for him to use the Spear of Supreme Harmony. But she had succeeded as Samuel left the treasure body behind.


    Zen was in no mood to pursue Samuel anymore. He flew over to the treasure body to take off the dark golden ring from its finger.


    There was a simple seal on the ring. Zen activated his spiritual sense and broke the seal with a bit of force.


    When he removed the seal, an unexpected beam of bright red light shot out from it.


    Lorena emerged from the little world with her long hair trailing behind her.


    She had expected to see Nicholas upon coming out of her world, so she pulled a long face, but when she saw Zen, her expression froze and her eyes were filled with disbelief.


    "Zen? Why are you here? Did Nicholas catch you?" Lorena sounded a bit worried. After all, the void didn''t seem like a normal place.


    She glanced around and was surprised to see the woman not too far away from her.


    The woman covered her mouth with her hand and stared at Lorena with her beautiful eyes. She couldn''t believe she would meet Lorena here of all places!

 Chapter 2837 Reunion

    Lorena stared at that woman for a while and her eyes turned glassy.


    "Rosie..."


    she called her name. There was so much she wanted to say, but she couldn''t utter a single word.


    As she gazed at the woman, Lorena felt as if she had been transported back to the early years of the war on the divine land...


    At that time, Rosie was still an innocent girl. She didn''t even care about the reason why the divine land came into being and why the Nine Li race had to leave the Source World.


    She was so curious about everything in this new world.


    Back then, the Time Sea was still a small lake. She liked the magnificent scenery of the lake. She asked people to build a pavilion by the lake.


    Lorena knew at that time that the Nine Li race was in danger. She was filled with melancholy and only Rosie''s innocent smile was able to ease her mind.


    "Sister! How did you become like this?"


    Rosie floated over, feeling heartbroken.


    She wanted to hold Lorena in her arms, but all that was left of Lorena was her head so she didn''t know how to hold her.


    Zen was baffled when he heard the woman''s words.


    Could this woman be his mother''s younger sister?


    So that made her his aunt!


    It was confusing at first for Zen but the more he thought about it the more it made sense. He was not surprised anymore.


    After all, this woman had always maintained that she was a Nine Li member, and Nine Li people all had the same blood.


    Lorena studied Rosie for a while and said, "You... You are not alive, are you?"


    Although Rosie looked the same to common people, Lorena could still feel that she didn''t have the aura of life. What she emitted was a strong Faith Energy.


    The people of the divine land generally called this the aura of ferocious beasts.


    Pressing her lips together, Rosie nodded at first. But then she shook her head firmly ad said, "I''ve never really died. One day, I''ll fight all the way back to divine land and rebuild our Nine Li race!"


    Lorena felt a little confused when she sensed Rosie''s deep resentment and looked at Zen who was beside her.


    "Mother, this is the Abyss Demon Region," Zen reminded her.


    Zen''s words dawned on Lorena.


    She continued, "Rosie, is your deep resentment due to the disaster of our Nine Li race? Is it because of that you became a ferocious beast in the Aby


    ... might already be dead."


    "Dead?" Lorena''s eyes flashed in astonishment upon hearing his words.


    "Yes, he wanted to refine all of us at the last moment, but Rocher and I destroyed the array set up by him," said Zen.


    Thanks to her knowledge and experience, she knew that Nicholas was not invincible.


    But it was hard to digest the fact that this handful of people had defeated Nicholas! It felt like a crazy fantasy. However, when she looked at her son''s serious face, she had no reason not to believe him.


    "Then, what''s this statue?" Lorena asked.


    This statue seemed to be made for her. It only had a woman''s body without the head.


    "This statue..." Zen was shocked. He didn''t think that Nicholas would leave behind such a precious body for his mother.


    Nicholas had wanted to refine a body for himself by taking advantage of his universe and his immortality. But he failed and knew that he couldn''t escape death. He had a change of heart at the last moment and left this precious body for his mother.


    "Mother, you can read his last memory by yourself," said Zen and gently flipped his hand. A small pyramid appeared in it. A tiny eye was carved into the pyramid.


    He turned the pyramid so that the eye was facing Lorena''s head. Then he asked her to inject her spiritual sense into it.


    Lorena looked at the small pyramid. She was a bit puzzled but she poured a wisp of spiritual sense into it anyway.


    A long time passed...


    Lorena extracted her spiritual sense and sighed. Nobody knew what was going on in her head.

 Chapter 2838 Shake

    "He finally fulfilled his promise..."


    Lorena murmured with a wry smile. She had never expected to be in such a situation.


    Nicholas had refined almost everything, including himself...


    She blinked and floated over to the body.


    The moment Lorena''s head touched the body, they were fused together.


    "Buzz..."


    A faint light enveloped her and the body.


    As the light gradually dissipated, the color of the body changed.


    The original red clothes were bright and new!


    The exposed arms and legs were white and delicate and as smooth as jade.


    This body didn''t merge with the True Demon Body as Nicholas had wished, but he already had refined too many things.


    He had refined the Holy Beings, Demi-holy Beings, Zen''s Shadow Bearing Sword, various kinds of treasures and eventually even himself.


    Lorena lifted her hands and studied them for a while. Then she held out her hands and a crimson light cone shot out from the tip of her slender fingers.


    "The Blood Body?" Lorena was astounded.


    This Blood Body was inherited from the Source World and she had not expected that Nicholas would refine and create it.


    She reckoned that it might be the Yellow Emperor Guards who had taught this method to Nicholas.


    But she was wrong. Nicholas had obtained the method to refine the Blood Body from the Sea of Truth and not from the Yellow Emperor Guards.


    Swish!


    With a flick of her finger, Lorena sent the crimson light cone towards the void in a dazzling momentum.


    "Congratulations, Mother," Zen said with a smile.


    Although this Blood Body was not her mother''s original body, it was a pretty good body. Judging from the light cone that his mother shot out, the Blood Body was extraordinary and very powerful.


    Lorena nodded. Her gaze once again fell on the pyramid in Zen''s hand. "What is this? Why can it read people''s memories?"


    Lorena had come across certain methods of reading peoples'' memories. She knew that there were some experts in the Source World who could secretly read memories.


    Now Nicholas didn''t exist anymore, but the pyramid could allow her to read his memory. She thought it was miraculous!


    "This is the Reincarnation Soul


    "It seems that a collapse takes place in a huge space."


    "Huge space..." Emily''s eyes flashed. "Is this a universe that Zen had mentioned?"


    Zen had revealed the divine land''s internal structure once. It was not difficult for the Other Shore Realm warriors to understand that. The methods of building a universe and keeping Holy Beings immortal were also spread in the Source World.


    "It might be a so-called Holy Being dying," Leopold said with a faint smile, looking disdainful.


    After all, in their eyes, Holy Beings were only at the True God Realm, and they were simply not qualified to become their opponents.


    As the Other Shore Realm warriors dissected it, heated discussions broke out on all Floating Islands.


    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!


    A muffled voice rang out from the sky and resounded through almost all of the regions in the divine land.


    The Floating Islands were in the middle of the divine land, and people there could hear the explosion very clearly.


    "A Holy Being''s universe has collapsed!"


    "Oh my God! Which Holy Being was so unlucky? There is no war taking place in the universe, isn''t it?"


    "Someone was actually able to cut off a Holy Being''s connection with the universe? This has only happened once a few years ago."


    At that time, Lorena had killed a few Holy Beings by using the Lethal Fire Magma. So what happened today reminded people in the powerful clans on the Floating Islands of that same event.

 Chapter 2839 The News Of Nicholas Death

    On the Floating Island of the Dongfang Clan.


    The grand and beautiful gardens stretched around the exquisite palace. It was lush and divine that you could wander all afternoon and get lost in its secret nooks. The palace itself was full of grandeur and beautiful paintings and frescoes. From afar, a smoke of incense ascended slowly.


    The booming sounds had Iris startled, making her stand up immediately.


    Looking up at the sky, deep concern filled her eyes.


    It had been a long time since the members of the alliance of the powerful clans had stepped into the Abyss Demon Region, leaving them with no news about them.


    Hearing those booming sounds now delivered a piece of news back. Unfortunately, it was a bad one. It meant that some Holy Being had departed forever, and could never come back to life.


    Was this Holy Being part of the alliance of the powerful clans?


    If so, who was it?


    Even the Holy Being couldn''t escape death. Where could her husband be now?


    Feeling ill at ease, Iris trotted back and forth in the palace. Clearly, she couldn''t sit around and wait.


    Making up her mind quickly, she walked out of the palace.


    Meanwhile, in one of the other palaces of the Dongfang Clan


    Several elders of the Dongfang Clan gathered to set up a magic array.


    A huge chess board lay in the center of the magic array, while a big drum stood inside it.


    As soon as the elders activated the magic array, the big drum thumped.


    Every time there was a rumble in the sky, a drumbeat also echoed its booming noise.


    On the chessboard, a small chess piece was jumping up and down.


    The Holy Beings'' universes were distributed in different directions. They used this method to determine which universe had collapsed, noting from which direction the voice came from.


    "Da!"


    The small piece would jump slightly on the chessboard each time the drum beat.


    It had been moving to the upper right bit by bit.


    Noticing the direction where the piece jumped, the elders of the Dongfang Clan couldn''t hide the ominous look on their faces.


    "Could it be..." one of the elders started to assume.


    But before he could say his thoughts out loud, another old man interrupted him, "No way! No matter who that Holy Being is, it''s not our Holy Emperor!"


    "Absolutely! Our Holy Emperor has far more supernatural power than ordinary Holy Beings. How could he


    sion.


    After the stars fell and the supreme worlds collapsed, it all ended up with numerous casualties.


    Watching helplessly, these secondary creatures could only feel devastated with what had occurred.


    In the Swirl Forest.


    Standing in the yard, Harold raised his head to look up at the sky.


    Augustus, Hallet, Joy and the others were watching him from afar.


    "Rumble!"


    Clasping his fingers, he couldn''t hide a thoughtful expression that flashed on his face.


    His gesture would change each time he heard another roar, making him unfathomable.


    After a long while, he finally saw it.


    A glint flashed in his eyes as his conclusion was drawn.


    "Who is it?" It was Hallet who spoke first.


    With the universe collapsing, Hallet and Augustus were the most concerned about their own master Bromley.


    Although they weren''t sure as to where Bromley was, the fact that his universe was safe meant that he was also still alive.


    A trace of doubt crossed Harold''s eyes as if he suspected that he had miscalculated. Calculating by bending his fingers again, he commented, "The sounds are coming from the northwest. It is Nicholas'' universe that collapsed."


    "So Nicholas is dead?" Augustus asked, leaving his mouth wide open.


    Hallet knew exactly what it meant. His eyes flashed with a dazzling light. "If his universe has collapsed, he can no longer come back to life!"


    They still had the chance to revive Mike, Zen''s father, because the Evolutionary Universe was still running smoothly.


    Joy''s mouth remained slightly open in shock after she heard the news.

 Chapter 2840 A Secret Cellar

    During this time, Hallet and Harold were all over the place.


    They knew why Nicholas was planning a conquest of the Abyss Demon Region.


    If Nicholas took control of the Abyss Demon Region, he might take some drastic actions when he returned to the Floating Island.


    Everyone, including Hallet, Harold, and the other forces, saw this.


    That was how Hallet convinced the Moon Clan.


    The Moon Clan decided to side with the Sword Clan. If the Sword Clan were to fight against the alliance of the powerful clans, the Moon Clan would join them.


    Harold, on the other hand, was trying to find the Godly Geniuses who were scattered in the divine land.


    The divine land was so large, it wouldn''t be easy to trace the Godly Geniuses.


    Even with the help of the Evolutionary Fifty to predict their whereabouts, the range was too large. But that didn''t mean there was no trace.


    After all, the Godly Geniuses would break a rule of the slate if they tried to enter the divine land. And thanks to this, Harold would get an approximate time and area range of their coming.


    The Godly Geniuses in the universe were secondary creatures, but in terms of talent, they were comparable to the talents of the divine land. They were all impressive, which was why he wouldn''t need a lot of time to find them.


    All preparations were carried out in an orderly way but they hadn''t expected Nicholas to die so suddenly.


    "Since Nicholas is now dead, does it mean that the alliance of the powerful clans has lost the battle in the Abyss Demon Region?" Hallet asked, frowning.


    "If that''s the case, then it''s good news," Augustus said, giggling.


    But Harold still looked conflicted. "I don''t think Nicholas is who we need to worry about," he said.


    The Dongfang Clan that Nicholas represented was no doubt powerful. But it was probably not invincible by a large margin.


    The strength of several old geezers belonging to the Sword Clan and the Moon Clan couldn''t be underestimated. These two great forces hadn''t made a move for so many years and hadn''t stepped out to fight against the alliance of the powerful clans. They were afraid of Nicholas


    ods, the Yellow Emperor race, the Snake Goddess race, and the Nine Li race.


    Everyone''s eyes widened at this, including Lorena and Sword Chen.


    Sword Chen had felt that his trip to the divine land had been strange, but compared to Zen''s, it was just a drop in the bucket.


    "So basically, the masters at the Other Shore Realm of the Snake Goddess race and our Nine Li race are outside the divine land, right?" Lorena asked.


    Zen nodded and said, "But the space barrier is blocking them from coming in."


    "Timotheus, a five-star Nine Li Guard," Lorena muttered. "I have never heard of this man!"


    Rosie smiled and said, "We were young when we left the Source World. Our Nine Li race is full of talented people. The five-star Nine Li Guards are powerful, but we have gotten many of them in our race in the past. Timotheus must have left our race a long time ago, which is probably why you haven''t heard of him."


    Zen nodded. He knew that except for Leopold, no one else had heard of Lorena. His mother hadn''t been born at the time.


    "A five-star Nine Li Guard should be able to deal with Leyton," said Lorena.


    The Nine Li race''s mortal enemy was not Nicholas.


    Nicholas had only released Hamish from his seal in order to fulfill his own ambitions.


    The true enemy of the Nine Li race was the Yellow Emperor Guard Leyton who had performed the Blood Splitting Technique that had killed all the Nine Li people.

 Chapter 2841 An Unexpected Event At The Entrance

    Zen''s information ignited a spark of hope within Lorena and Rosie.


    They knew it was difficult for the powerful masters to enter divine land, but it was only a matter of time before they succeeded in doing so.


    The powerhouses at the Other Shore Realm would have broken the space barrier within ten years. By then, they would be able to sweep away everything.


    The void was not meant for prolonged stays.


    Zen gave a rough introduction of what happened outside the divine land. Afterwards, Rosie instructed Samuel''s clone to crack through the void.


    The Cold Fiends in the lair at the foot of the snow mountain had been reborn.


    Rosie very well knew what lay at the bottom of the snow mountain. After breaking through the void, Samuel''s clone built a space channel and sent them directly to the top of the snow mountain.


    "What''s wrong with the snow mountain?" Sword Chen observed something unusual while watching the snow mountain.


    Rosie similarly felt strange. "Looks like an avalanche has struck. I don''t think I''ve ever seen anything like this before."


    The snow blanket on the mountain was gone, revealing the bare hilltop covered only with a thin layer of snow.


    Rocher said, "The fight in the void must have been too fierce. Maybe that caused the snow to slide."


    "But that''s impossible!" Rosie exclaimed, shaking her head.


    "The void at the bottom of the ice volcano is completely separated from the outside world. No amount of noise we made in the void can cause an avalanche."


    "Maybe Samuel did this to vent his anger," guessed Sword Chen.


    "That''s a possibility," Rosie agreed with a nod.


    After staying for a short while, Rosie flew the group up. They soon left the coffin and returned to the bottom of the massive ice palace.


    Zen and Rocher left the coffin together; at the same time, the girl lying in the coffin disintegrated into specks of golden powder and vanished right before everyone''s eyes.


    The True Demon Body was taken away by Zen and Rocher.


    Looking at the disappearing girl, Rosie felt a twinge of disappointment. "I have fought so hard for the True Demon Body, but you two ended up getting it."


    Despite being a monster in the forbidden area, Rosie possessed her own memories and emotions.


    Through the years, she had been coming and going into the coffin multitudes of times, even dying in it many times. Then, she revived again in the black water.


    Considering her own inadequate strength, she supported the fiends and helped Sword Chen. She left no stone unturned in her quest to


    is hand towards Rosie.


    With a dark, sinister aura emanating from it, the gate of the Abyss Demon Region appeared like the rabid, gaping mouth of a particularly terrifying monster.


    Dozens of transmission arrays were established outside the gate, which directly led to the Floating Islands.


    In order to monopolize the forbidden lands, powerful shackles were laid out at the entryways. All people could only enter the forbidden lands through the Floating Islands.


    "If we return, we have to enter a Floating Island from one of the transmission arrays," Rocher said. "However, there is another way: by breaking the restriction of the Abyss Demon Region." He continued, "With our current strength, that will not be too difficult for us to do, but it will take some time."


    "Let''s return through a Floating Island," Zen said faintly.


    With so many Holy Beings dead, they feared no one with their strength.


    Only the Yellow Emperor Guards could threaten them, but by reading Nicholas'' memory, Zen knew that Hamish had already left the Floating Island.


    Just as they had made their decision, an invisible wave suddenly struck, and a loud cracking sound was heard. "Crack!"


    Suddenly, the ground at the gate of the Abyss Demon Region splintered.


    The earth in the fractured ground morphed into a massive head that was about a hundred thousand feet high, dust and smoke suffocatingly filling the air around the gruesome sight. The monstrous head opened its bloody mouth and tried to swallow the group.


    Rosie was stunned at the sight of the huge face. She looked over to her sister and companions and shouted, "Lorena! Everyone! You must leave quickly! I''ll do what I can to block it!"

 Chapter 2842 The One In Control

    "Isn''t that Samuel''s face?" The moment Rocher saw the huge head, he was astonished.


    In the blink of an eye, it had already rushed close behind Rosie, threatening to swallow her.


    Rosie waved her arm and released the brown force of primitive fear, which turned into a huge pillar and blocked the jaws from snapping any further.


    Although the head was made of mere soil, its power was way over the limit.


    Crack!


    An explosion rang out, as the pillar was snapped into two. Then the head took Rosie into its mouth.


    "It''s just a man made out of soil. Why should I be afraid of it?"


    There was no way Lorena would watch her sister being swallowed.


    She immediately jumped, as a red light sprang out from her hand and aimed at the head.


    Phew!


    The crimson light awl directly hit the middle of the head.


    Boom!


    The light awl made a dull noise when it collided with the head.


    Suddenly a huge crack appeared in the head. Soon, half of the head was turned over, through which Rosie was able to escape.


    The head stopped moving, but a creepy laugh rang out.


    "Haha... Leave the True Demon Body here and I will let you go."


    It was Samuel''s voice.


    "It is really Samuel!" Zen''s eyes were wide with shock.


    Lorena raised her eyebrows, as her sharp eyes gleamed. She sneered, "Do you think you can keep us with your little trick?"


    "Can''t I? Hahaha, let''s find out!" Samuel roared with laughter.


    Rumble...


    The quiet Abyss Demon Region suddenly became alive.


    As the rumbling sound continued, they were stunned to see huge heads spring up one after another.


    The entrance to the Abyss Demon Region was through a vast plain. By now, thousands of huge heads had suddenly appeared.


    These heads were squeezed together like large moving mountains, as they charged towards Zen and the others.


    "This... This is truly astounding. What an incredible ability!" Rosie said, as she watched all this, agape; and then soon realized something. "I''m afraid the True Demon Body is not the key to controlling the Abyss Demon Region. That''s why Zen and Rocher were not able to control it. Until now, the Abyss Demon Region may have been controlled by Samuel."


    Zen''s eyes flashed in confusion. "There is no way Samuel is able to control the Abyss De


    The worst outcome was evident. If the Sword Clan and the Moon Clan joined their forces together, they would be able to turn upside down all the Floating Islands that belonged to the alliance.


    The clans'' elders had also intimated the guards to pay close attention to the transmission arrays leading to the Abyss Demon Region.


    Crack, crack...


    A guard of the Tang Clan heard strange crackling sounds. He looked towards the source of the sounds and found that the sounds were coming from the transmission array leading to the Abyss Demon Region. Waves of space fluctuation spread out from the transmission array.


    "It''s from the Abyss Demon Region. They are coming back! Go and inform the elders! Quick!" the guard shouted loudly, immediately attracting everyone''s attention.


    However, the space fluctuation within this transmission array only lasted for a while before it shattered into pieces!


    The guards and some of the disciples were stunned to see the scene.


    The sound was not because someone had returned, but because the transmission array on the other end had been destroyed.


    "What happened?"


    "Someone has destroyed the transmission array on the other side!"


    "So, Holy Emperor won''t be coming back?"


    This was not just happening to the Tang Clan. All the transmission arrays leading to the Abyss Demon Region on the Floating Islands were destroyed, including the clans outside the alliance of the rich and powerful clans. Even the Moon Clan and the Sword Clan were no exception.

 Chapter 2843 Pierson Dongfang

    The fact the transmission arrays were damaged was not much of an issue.


    After all, the restrictions at the entrances of the forbidden lands were built by the wealthy clans on the Floating Islands. They would be able to rebuild the transmission arrays at any time. However, the destruction of the arrays delivered a bad news...


    The Dongfang Clan''s transmission array had also been destroyed.


    In the moment the array had been damaged, the space passageway had separated as if an azure dragon had sliced through the sky.


    At that time inside the passageway, several light spots were moving at incredibly high speed.


    With the transmission array being destroyed, the passageway had been altered, and the path of the light spots deviated towards a square on the Floating Island of the Donfang Clan. Nothing was there to stop the projectiles from crashing directly into the center of the square.


    The collision caused a massive boom to echo across the island, and shake the ground.


    A large crater now consumed more than half the square.


    The impact had caused the island to sink by twenty to thirty feet before slowly bouncing back into place.


    All the guards had scrambled to get away in time to avoid being squashed.


    It took a long moment for the guards to regain their senses and inch their way to the edge of the pit to gaze inside.


    Amazingly, four people stood within the center of the crater.


    The only person any of them recognized was Rocher.


    Rocher had traveled to and from the forbidden lands under his false name Lowell for the past several years.


    "Lowell? You''re back!" one of the guards called.


    "What happened in the forbidden land? How is the Holy Emperor?" someone else asked.


    "Hurry up! Go get the elders of our clan!" another guard said, pushing the person next to him into motion.


    The guard stumbled and made it a few steps before he realized there was no need to get the elders.


    With the force of the impact, the elders had already been alerted and were flying towards the spectacle.


    Among them, there were Demi-holy Beings, consummate True Gods, and a single Holy Being.


    The Holy Being went by the name Pierson Dongfang. He stayed in the Ray Tree all year round. He had experienced much in life and was enjoying a mass amount of respect from the other clan members. He seldom moved about the island, though, so people rarely saw much of him over the years.


    When the news of Nicholas''s death had spread, the Dongfang Clan decided to ask Pierson Dongfang to take charge in clan matters again.


    As the strongest clan, it was only normal for the Dongfang Clan to have a Holy Being to lead them.


    Casting a glance at Lorena and the others, Pierson Dongfang asked, "Who are you? Why did you leave the Abyss Demon Region and trespass into the transmission array of our clan?"


    Among the four people, there was a Demi-holy Being, two consummate True Gods, and a woman whose


    ou are to be so..."


    Pierson Dongfang sputtered and finally lost his temper. He reached out one hand to grab Zen.


    The moment he''d moved, though, Lorena moved to stand before Zen to protect him. She would not stand by as someone threatened her son in this way.


    "You talk too much!"


    She raised her hand and a crimson light awl shot from her palm and cut towards the old man with a harrowing shriek.


    The sound made everyone''s ears throb.


    The crimson light awl might be only three inches long, but it was fierce. The aura it contained made the Holy Being feel a slight amount of fear.


    Pierson Dongfang hadn''t expected that someone from these four would dare to fight him and attempt to kill him.


    It was too late for him to dodge the attack, though.


    Gritting his teeth, he brought both hands before him and made to snatch the awl.


    He grabbed at it six or seven times.


    Each grab could only slow down the light awl little by little.


    His face became increasingly stormy and the scowl pulled the corners of his lips down.


    The power of the crimson light awl didn''t seem to be weakening.


    It kept coming for him as if it were death itself.


    The overwhelming feeling of danger had Pierson Dongfang nearly use all of his internal momentum to summon a golden bell shadow to shield himself.


    Dong!


    The sound of the light awl hitting the bell reverberated through the ground and up everyone''s feet.


    The toll was so loud that people on Floating Islands nearby could hear it clearly.


    An unmistakable cracking sound could be heard, and fissures began to crawl across the bell.


    The bell had only slowed down the light awl for a short moment before the bell disintegrated and became fine powder on the ground.


    With a pained grunt, the light awl burrowed through Pierson Dongfang''s chest and burst out his back leaving a triangular hole behind.


    With a single move, Lorena had nearly mortally wounded Pierson Dongfang.

 Chapter 2844 Breaking The Jade Harp Array

    The members of the Dongfang Clan were shocked.


    Since Nicholas died, they had relied heavily on Pierson, but to their surprise, Pierson couldn''t deflect a single blow from his opponent.


    A Demi-holy Being from the Dongfang Clan frowned slightly. A small jade harp appeared in his hand.


    He raised the jade harp and yelled, "Set an array!"


    The jade harp trembled.


    The entire Floating Island of the Dongfang Clan also started shaking.


    The Dongfang Clan had been the most powerful clan in the divine land for years, so their island was well equipped.


    It appeared to be the same as those of other clans, but the interior was woven with the branches of the Ray Tree. The branches were combined with the divine textures and formed a large array within the island.


    Someone once said that the large array would never be used because no one dared to stir up trouble on the Dongfang Clan''s island.


    However, one could never predict what life had in store for you. A month ago, everyone in the divine land followed the Dongfang Clan''s lead, and it held high status among all the clans. One month later however, it was in jeopardy.


    Buzz!


    As the Floating Island vibrated, rings of light spread across every inch of the island.


    Almost every disciple of the Dongfang Clan saw the light. Some disciples who were far away from the scene had no idea what was going on, but they knew what the light meant and stepped into it without hesitation.


    Plop, plop!


    All the consummate and ordinary True Gods stepped into the rings of light and got down on one knee. At the same time, they offered the Faith Energy in their own inner worlds and started murmuring something.


    "The Dongfang Clan enjoys everlasting prosperity. We control the sun..."


    They were chanting the ancestral doctrine of the Dongfang Clan. As they occupied the Ray Tree, they were the first in the divine land to see the sun every day. Therefore, they claimed that the sun belonged to their clan.


    The turbulent Faith Energy quickly passed through the rings of light under their feet and gathered on the jade harp which was in the Demi-holy Being''s hand.


    At this point, the jade harp erupted with terrifying power!


    The shock wave of power spread out, radiating on the Floating Islands below.


    Various clans, like the Han Clan, the Leng


    n''s body, but he was unharmed.


    "What the hell?" Winthrop and the others just stared at Zen floating nonchalantly in midair.


    "This method can even kill Holy Beings. But why is it not working on him?"


    "He seems completely unaffected by it."


    "What a mighty fellow!"


    The entire Dongfang Clan was dumbfounded.


    Even the Demi-holy Being, who was playing the jade harp, was getting more and more vicious. He started playing the jade harp more and more quickly!


    "I don''t think you can block them all!" the Demi-holy Being roared.


    Zen didn''t pay attention to him but lowered his head and said to Rocher, "It''s your turn!"


    When the light swords attacked Zen, most of the energy was transferred to Rocher''s body, leaving only golden halos on Zen''s body.


    Rocher nodded, pulled out his Soaring Snake Sword and got ready to defend.


    When the first chill collected at the sword tip, Rocher turned the Soaring Snake Sword and suddenly jabbed it into the ground.


    Countless ice flowers circled Rocher. Gradually, they all poured down along the Soaring Snake Sword and into the ground.


    The ice flowers were able to solidify all kinds of energies. When a massive amount of ice flowers fell onto the ground, they instantly condensed and froze the branches of the Ray Tree distributed on the Floating Island.


    The branches of the Ray Tree supported the Smoky Sea Array. If all the branches were frozen, the array would collapse just like that.


    Before long, the power that had gathered on the jade harp disappeared without a trace.

 Chapter 2845 Mixed Feelings

    The rings of light that shimmered under the feet of the disciples on the Floating Island disappeared.


    There was also a sudden chill coming from underground.


    And just like that, the two consummate True Gods had broken the Sea Mist Array.


    Several Demi-holy Beings were shocked at this development.


    Pierson, who Lorena had seriously hurt, was also stunned.


    He met these two formidable young warriors only a few days after he had reappeared in the public. A strange panic gripped his heart. This era seemed to no longer belong to those who were old.


    A figure clad in green approached them from a distance.


    It was none other than Iris.


    She rushed over to them as soon as she heard the noise in the transmission array.


    When she was on her way, the Demi-holy Being had activated the array. She had had to stop and contribute her Faith Energy to it.


    The moment the array disappeared, she started to make her way to them again.


    The first person she saw was Rocher.


    "Lowell!"


    Uncontrollable joy took hold of Iris''s heart.


    She had been restless these past days, and now, she finally had her husband back!


    "Iris," Rocher uttered.


    Iris was about to go straight to Rocher, but Winthrop stopped her. "Iris, do you know who Lowell is?"


    Iris looked at her father and then at Rocher. A look of understanding crossed her face.


    Rocher''s identity must have been exposed.


    Iris obviously knew that Rocher was not who he claimed to be.


    When Rocher had carried her and run in that abandoned city, she could not help becoming infatuated with him. That was why she had helped him hide his identity so that he could successfully infiltrate the Dongfang Clan.


    "I know," Iris replied calmly.


    Winthrop looked equal parts shocked and disappointed. But he recovered enough to ask, "Do you know he has harmed our clan?"


    Iris glanced at Rocher and nodded. "I... I know that too."


    Iris hadn''t known what Rocher was about to do,


    ou suppressed him in the Ray Tree. It is time to return him now," Lorena said equally coldly.


    Zen''s eyes flashed at his mother''s words.


    It had been a long time since he had entered the divine land, but he hadn''t known his father''s whereabouts until now. If his father had died, he would have been reincarnated in the Evolutionary Universe.


    Pierson''s eyes flashed, but he knew he had no strength to resist this woman. It was a while before he finally nodded.


    He stood up and led the others to the other side of the square.


    Half of the transmission arrays on the square were destroyed, and among the other half, the widest transmission array was the one that led to the Ray Tree.


    Led by Pierson, Zen and his companions stepped into the transmission array.


    After Zen and the others left, the members of the Dongfang Clan were relieved, thinking that they had gotten rid of them for the time being.


    "Will they attack Pierson on the Ray Tree?"


    "It''s of no use relying on the Ray Tree. Pierson, with his strength, is no match for them."


    "I''m afraid our Dongfang Clan will be in trouble this time. That woman said she won''t destroy our clan. But the Luo Clan has a grudge against us. I don''t think they will let us off."


    The disciples of the Dongfang Clan were anxious and upset.

 Chapter 2846 Mike

    The Ray Tree was located in the easternmost area of the divine land.


    The giant tree had twisted roots and gnarled branches, the longest root having penetrated several large regions.


    The trunk of the tree extended to the sky, forming a huge cloud-like cover.


    Standing above this cloud cover, one could see a vast sea of clouds in any direction. Compared to the Sunrest Tree, which was also known as the Non-combat Zone of the Sword Clan, the Ray Tree looked more charming and magnificent.


    The Dongfang Divine City was built on the top of the cloud cover.


    A cloud-capped tower stood at the center of the Dongfang Divine City.


    A huge transmission array was built on the top of the tower, and was connected to the Floating Island of the Dongfang Clan.


    The qualifications that were needed to enter the Floating Island were few, but there were many disciples of the Dongfang Clan.


    Every year, there would be a number of outstanding talents who wanted to enter the Floating Island of the Dongfang Clan by climbing the tower.


    To the members of the Dongfang Clan, entering the tower meant success.


    Buzz.


    The transmission array at the top of the tower began to glow.


    And then, Pierson walked out.


    Six consummate True Gods guarded two sides of the tower.


    They played significant roles in the Dongfang Clan.


    The news of Nicholas'' death had not spread to the Ray Tree, which was located at quite a distance from the Floating Island. The only shortcut here was the transmission array. So it was easy enough to keep the news a secret from them.


    But the principal members of the Dongfang Clan knew about it.


    "Master Pierson, what are you doing here?"


    the head of the guards asked, concerned. He had noticed the wound on Pierson''s body.


    Lorena, Zen and the others emerged one after the other.


    "Who are they?" the head of the guards asked, surprised.


    Pierson shook his head and said to him, "Nick, don''t ask too many questions. Just show them the way."


    Nick frowned at how weak Pierson looked and refused to lead them inside.


    "Master Pierson, who are


    fact, a half-dead person that was locked up in the cell.


    Every time this half-dead man came close to dying, a large array in the prison would be activated. This array contained the Life Godly Way and would pour a little life force into the body of the half-dead man, making sure that he didn''t die.


    The people of the Dongfang Clan knew that this prisoner was the Holy Being of the Luo Clan.


    Killing a Holy Being was a complicated business. Both of his body and universe had to be destroyed.


    The Dongfang Clan could not destroy the Evolutionary Universe now, which was why Mike had been imprisoned here.


    They would neither let him come back to life nor let him die, because once he died, he would soon be reborn in the Evolutionary Universe.


    The Dongfang Clan was not the first to use this way of imprisoning a Holy Being.


    Soon, the group, led by Pierson, arrived at the prison gate.


    "Open the gate!" Pierson shouted.


    The two guards standing at the gate were only mid-rank True Gods. They dared not disobey Pierson''s orders. They hurriedly opened the gate


    which creaked as it swung inwards.


    The gate had not been opened for many years and a strong, indescribable smell of blood spread through the air.


    Zen was the first to step inside, only to see a broken body lying at the center of a large emerald green array.


    It was none other than his father, Mike Luo.

 Chapter 2847 Reunion

    Zen openly stared at the half-dead man for a moment and silently searched for the familiarity he had before, in his heart.


    There were really times when Zen himself was totally confused.


    Was his father the man in front of him? He tried hard, searching for his memories of him, but everything seemed blurry.


    "Phew!"


    Before Zen could do anything, Lorena had already taken a big stride towards Mike and wordlessly took him into her arms.


    "Buzz..."


    A sound reverberated at the moment she embraced Mike. The array around him reacted.


    And an abnormally powerful force surged at Mike.


    "It''s soul suppression," exclaimed Sword Chen as he wrinkled his brows.


    It was by no means easy to suppress a Holy Being, especially a powerful one like Mike.


    A cold light flashed in Lorena''s eyes. She was about to destroy the visible array in prison. There was a hint of impatience in her demeanor.


    "No! No, don''t do that. If you destroy the array, Mike will die immediately," Pierson hastily cautioned. He stood still at the gate, looking so anxious.


    Apparently, it was the array that kept Mike alive all this time.


    "What to do then?" Lorena countered back in a cold voice. She refused defeat in not knowing what they should do to bring him back to life.


    "I will remove the soul suppression," suggested Pierson.


    Then, he decisively sauntered towards the edge of the array. Wordlessly, he stretched out his hand into the array and started manipulating it.


    "Buzz..."


    With the sudden contact, the array on the ground created a quick flash, and the force suppressing Mike''s soul gradually disappeared.


    The instant the force swiftly dissipated, Mike''s body soon started to shake violently, making them feel more anxious as moments went by.


    After a short while, Mike finally woke up. With a blank look in his eyes, he merely stared at Lorena''s face for a long time, not uttering a single word as his eyes were getting brighter and brighter. All the people surrounding him couldn''t help waiting, with great anticipation mixed with anxiety.


    "Lorena... Is it really you? Am I dreaming?"


    A soft mumble came from Mike''s throat, almost a whisper.


    He had been imprisoned over the years, and his vital energy had been notably weak. Even his soul had decayed after being suppressed for such a long time.


    "My dear..." Silent tears swiftly


    rained his gaze at Sword Chen and then towards Rocher, who was standing not far away. He nodded with a smile.


    He was the one who created the two, so he was very familiar with them.


    Soon after, without an ounce of hesitation, Sword Chen brandished his sword to slash the light that immediately broke the array in prison.


    The broken array could no longer give Mike life energy. So he quickly lost his breath and died.


    Lorena snapped back from her daze and carefully put Mike''s body in the Sumeru Space. The dead body wasn''t Mike any more. The real Mike would be reborn in the Evolutionary Universe, but she wouldn''t just leave the dead body here.


    After she had done putting away the dead body, she glanced at Pierson and stated coldly, "Zen, let''s go!"


    Pierson, on the other hand, finally felt relieved when Lorena and her companions started leaving.


    He definitely feared that this group of fierce people would destroy the Ray Tree in a fit of anger after witnessing Mike''s tragic plight.


    At the same time, the bottom of the Abyss Demon Region was continually roaring.


    "Rumble..."


    Then a lofty palace rose from the ground like a fast-growing tree.


    The fiends below were all ashen with fear, having no idea what was going on. They were all startled.


    "That woman has left, hasn''t she?" someone exclaimed.


    "What about the others? Is there anyone still in the ice palace?" interjected by another.


    "Who is it? How powerful this person is to build this palace in this way!"


    All the fiends looked up and incessantly discussed among themselves.

 Chapter 2848 The Ring

    Pascal slowly climbed down the stairs in the center of the palace under the silent gaze of the fiends.


    His body was shrouded in black mist.


    The mist spiraled up and around him and gathered on his back, forming into two huge majestic wings!


    The fiends, who were known to be fearless, now looked worried as they witnessed Pascal''s power.


    He walked down the stairs slowly and gracefully, shot an indifferent glance at the fiends, and ordered flatly, "Kneel before me!"


    His short command contained absolute authority that nobody dared to defy.


    The fiend race was extremely arrogant. Even though Rosie had been in the Abyss Demon Region for so many years, she never succeeded in making the fiends submit to her.


    But now, with a simple order, Pascal had made all the fiends obediently kneel before him.


    After the great fiends died, the others of their race scrambled for the position of the new ruler. During the relatively short period of struggle, they devoured many other beasts, which caused their bodies to grow big.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!


    They all fell on their knees with a thunderous boom.


    Even the rebellious little fiends now lay motionless on the ground, in awe of their new master.


    Pascal sat down on the broad steps regally.


    Just then, another figure walked out from the back of the palace. It was his father, Samuel.


    He looked around the palace and appeared satisfied.


    Samuel turned back and shot a glance at his son, gesturing him to raise his right hand.


    Pascal wore a red ring on the middle finger of his right hand. When Samuel stared at the ring, his eyes turned wild. He couldn''t help but reach out to touch the ring.


    But the moment he reached for the ring, his finger began melting.


    The sharp pain snapped him back to his senses.


    He had made the same mistake before as well.


    As a Holy Being, he was not allowed to master the Abyss Demon Region. When he had discovered the ring from a cellar, he couldn''t resist the temptation of touching the ring, and instantly his finger had started melting in the same way.


    Luckily, as a Holy Being, he c


    red at him. She looked furious, dangerous and beautiful all at once.


    "Everything in the Abyss Demon Region belongs to me. You''re great, especially with your magic of cloning. If you follow me, we can conquer the entire divine land together..." Samuel explained calmly.


    "No way!" Rosie spat angrily. She jeered, "Even if you really control the Abyss Demon Region, it doesn''t matter to me! Besides, the divine land is not as simple as you think..."


    Samuel shook his head wearily and asked, "You are referring to the Other Shore Realm warriors, right?"


    Rosie was astonished. "How did you know about that?" she asked.


    Samuel pointed at his head and said, "All of Nicholas''s memories exist here."


    Thanks to Nicholas''s memories, he already knew about the Yellow Emperor Guards and the Other Shore Realm warriors outside the divine land. He knew everything that Nicholas knew.


    "You think you can just swoop in and take Nicholas''s position? Hah! The Yellow Emperor Guards will not let you go easily," said Rosie.


    Zen had briefed her about the situation of the entire divine land, so she knew that the Yellow Emperor Guards had been supporting Nicholas behind the scenes.


    Samuel bent down and regarded Rosie with a weird smile. He suddenly laughed maniacally for a while before saying, "I didn''t expect you to be so naive even after staying in the Abyss Demon Region for such a long time!"

 Chapter 2849 Replacement

    Rosie stared at Samuel''s face, not knowing what he meant.


    Just then, Pascal rose slowly and came over to stand next to Samuel.


    That was when Rosie began to feel the space around her turning. After a moment, she had arrived at the gate of the Abyss Demon Region with Pascal and Samuel.


    The gate was a complete mess, and all the transmission arrays had been destroyed.


    The only thing that remained was the barrier set together by the many powerful clans on the Floating Islands.


    The barrier was too solid and powerful for ordinary True Gods and even Demi-holy Beings to remove. However...


    Pascal raised his hand slightly, and a torrent of power surged out of thin air before it charged toward the barrier.


    Bang!


    The barrier instantly disintegrated and the gate to the Abyss Demon Region was passable now.


    "Let me show you how naive you are!"


    Samuel said as he strode toward the gate.


    After a cold glance at Rosie, Pascal ordered, "Follow us."


    Much as she was eager to leave this place, as a ferocious beast, Rosie couldn''t disobey Pascal, so she merely followed him toward the gate.


    She was sure that the moment she stepped into the divine land, she would perish and then resurrect in the black waters.


    As she was walking to the exit, however, a black light shot out from Pascal''s ring.


    The moment the light hit her body, it latched onto her and penetrated deep inside.


    When she finally set foot in the divine land, she realized that she was still alive.


    "What?"


    she asked in amazement before stretching out her hands and looking down at her body with joy.


    Many years ago, before the powerful clans on the Floating Islands had entered the Abyss Demon Region and set up transmission arrays and the barrier, she had tried going back to the divine land.


    She still couldn''t forget how, at that time, her body had immediately turned into ashes and disappeared.


    Since then, returning to the divine land had been like a dream for her. It had been so close and yet so far.


    She had never expected that now, years later, she would be able to return to the divine land, albeit in such a situation.


    Even if she had been brought here by Samuel as a hostage, she was so happy that she couldn''t hide it. In a fit of joy, she spread her arms and spun


    know about your existence. Since I control the Abyss Demon Region now, I want to replace him!" Samuel said.


    At the same time, Pascal stepped forward and pointed his ring at the globes. The ring emitted an indescribable power which the Yellow Emperor Guards were immediately attracted to.


    Samuel was very confident that he could get what he wanted.


    Although these guards had supported Nicholas, that didn''t mean that they wouldn''t abandon him.


    To them, a man like Samuel, who had control over the Abyss Demon Region, would obviously be more useful than Nicholas.


    "You are ambitious and powerful. Good." Leyton''s faint voice was heard again.


    Just then, Rosie sneered, "Yeah, ambitious and powerful. So what? You are doomed to fail. In another three to five years, when our Nine Li Guards break into the divine land, you will all die!"


    "Shut up!"


    Samuel barked. He hadn''t anticipated that Rosie would speak.


    Pascal turned to her. His eyes twinkled, and then Rosie could not speak anymore.


    Leyton stared at Rosie in confusion for a long time before he realized who she was. "Ah, you were the little girl of the Nine Li race."


    To employ the Blood Splitting Technique to kill the whole Nine Li race, one had to use their blood. The purer the blood was, the better.


    That year, Leyton had slaughtered the whole Nine Li race with Rosie''s blood.


    Years had passed since then. If Rosie hadn''t spoken up now, he would not have recognized her. However, she had recognized his voice as soon as she heard it.

 Chapter 2850 Taking Advantage Of Each Other

    It was very apparent that it was not an easy feat to employ and utilize the Blood Splitting Technique.


    Back then, Leyton had adopted a forbidden weapon to be able to employ this grand evil magic of slaughter.


    While on the other hand, the use of the Blood Splitting Technique had caused his cultivation level to decrease considerably. And due to that, Harper and the others had taken advantage of the rare and golden opportunity to seal the Yellow Emperor Guards.


    Samuel, who was seriously afraid of being misunderstood by Leyton, kept silent for a while before he thoughtfully explained, "She is just a creature from the forbidden land..."


    "I know it," declared Leyton flatly. He radiated a neutral attitude towards him.


    Keenly observing Rosie, who stood next to Samuel, it was not hard for them to know what she had now become. After all, she did not have the life force of living beings, but only a manifestation of fear.


    "But what she said is true. The Other Shore Realm warriors located outside the divine land might be very complicated to deal with," Samuel carefully added, silently hoping that he could possibly strike a good deal.


    Based on his assessment, he was now clear that the Yellow Emperor Guards in front of him were not powerful enough to combat against the Other Shore Realm warriors outside.


    In Nicholas''s memories, Hamish had told him that what they only needed was powerful energy, and everything would be handled by them.


    And this was why Nicholas had intended to control the Abyss Demon Region at all costs.


    While they were conversing, Samuel couldn''t help turning suspicious and cautious at the same time. Although he craved to replace Nicholas, he didn''t trust the Yellow Emperor Guards as much as Nicholas did. He even openly mentioned the Other Shore Realm warriors on purpose, trying to sound them out.


    "Well, you don''t have to worry about this. If I use the forbidden weapon, even a five-star Yellow Emperor Guard won''t be a match for me. Now that the Abyss Demon Region is under your control, they will be no threat at all if you choose to cooperate with me. Besides, we still have another plan," Leyton revealed calmly.


    Samuel merely nodded in reply before he swiftly gazed around as if looking for something. Then he suddenly inquired, "Where is Master Hamish now? I should be able to help you remove the Mixed Element Seal."


    "It seems that you know everything about us," countered Leyton. Like Samuel, he was also exercising caution.


    "I told you, I have Nicholas''s memories, and I know everything he knew," Samuel claimed rather proudly.


    "We do need your help to remove the Mixed Element Seal, but I''m afraid not today. Hamish has something important to deal with at the moment. I think it would be best if you should go back to the Floating I


    She fully understood that it wouldn''t be long before Mike returned with a new body. They only needed to wait patiently.


    At this time, it suddenly occurred to Lorena that she hadn''t visited the fairy palace yet.


    And as a mother-in-law, she had never seen her daughters-in-law and grandson.


    Maybe it was because she was in a good mood after she returned to the Floating Island, Lorena warned Pierson, who had accompanied them all the way with such respect. She thoughtfully said, "If I were you, I would have all the disciples of the clan removed from the Floating Island."


    "But why?" Pierson inquired curiously.


    Lorena followed the rest into the transmission array leading to the Swirl Forest. She calmly added, "Samuel is still alive. If I''m not wrong, his son has controlled the Abyss Demon Region."


    "Really? But does it have anything to do with our clan?" The confusion was clearly evident in Pierson''s eyes as he thought to himself, ''As far as I know, Samuel is also a member of the alliance.''


    Fluctuations of space began to spread from the transmission array leading to the Swirl Forest, which were about to shroud them. At this time, Zen turned back and added, "Samuel has another name, and that''s Gregorio Yue."


    As soon as he finished speaking, the transmission array had been activated fully and enveloped Zen and the rest, who then completely disappeared from the spot, leaving no trace behind.


    Pierson was briefly stunned for a moment. As he mumbled the name to himself, he suddenly seemed to recall something, and his face darkened immediately.


    Inside the transmission channel, Iris still wondered what Gregorio stood for, so she gently asked Rocher in a low voice. After Rocher quietly explained for her, Iris''s face turned ghastly pale.


    If what Rocher said was true, she knew there was no way that her clan could be spared this time.

 Chapter 2851 Go Back Home

    Seeing the expression on Iris'' face, Rocher couldn''t help holding her hand tightly.


    After Nicholas had been defeated, the Dongfang Clan was bound to be in great trouble.


    Rocher was able to clear his mind.


    As far as he was aware, the Luo Clan had a deep grudge against the alliance of powerful clans.


    Perhaps, Zen didn''t bring about any turmoil on the Dongfang Clan''s Floating Island for his mother''s sake.


    It was inappropriate for Zen to deal with these matters by himself. After Mike came out of the Evolutionary Universe, he might take action.


    As a matter of fact, those who were able to become the Holy Beings had always been ambitious, powerful and decisive. That meant that Mike, who was one of them, might not be soft-hearted.


    Now, Samuel might do such things even before he came back.


    Soon, after they left the space channel, the main door of the Swirl Forest finally welcomed their arrival.


    Being a regular visitor of the Swirl Forest, Zen had never entered from the front gate. Making a detour and passing through the Dongfang Clan''s transmission array this time, they were able to get to the Swirl Forest.


    After the Swirl Forest was controlled by Augustus, the other wealthy clans rarely explored it. Thick weeds and vines ran from one direction to the other, covering its gate now.


    In the fairy palace, Augustus was able to see their arrival. A confused expression suddenly took over him.


    "What''s wrong now?" Hallet asked him flatly.


    "Zen didn''t use the token. He just came back from a Floating Island through a transmission array. He returns with a group of people this time," Augustus uttered curiously, not meeting Hallet''s eyes.


    "What?" Surprised, Hallet''s eyes flashed.


    Even though they had been worried about Zen''s safety these past few days, nobody said anything about it.


    Finally hearing about Zen''s return, Hallet naturally got excited and asked, "Do you know who are with him?"


    "I''ve never even seen those people," Augustus answered, curling his lip. "Wait, one of them looks familiar. It''s the guy who fled to the Abyss Demon Region from the Luo Clan back then."


    "Send Harold, Joy and the others here. And bring these people to the fairy palace," Hallet ordered.


    Grinning, Augustus stretched out his finger to gently poin


    owever, no matter how he guessed, he wouldn''t have thought that the Stone Mouse would lead Zen into the Abyss Demon Region. That was not even a coincidence but purely bad luck. He couldn''t understand how Zen had been through all these terrible situations and managed to turn the tables in the end.


    "Yes!" Sword Chen nodded.


    He appeared to be excited to tell Harold what had happened during this period of time. However, before he could say anything, Harold gestured for him to "keep quiet". "Why don''t we talk about how you survived in the Abyss Demon Region during those years? How did you cultivate yourself to be a Demi-holy Being?"


    Right now, Sword Chen''s cultivation base was higher than that of Harold.


    Harold was confused about this point.


    On the other hand, Zen came back with Lorena, making Margaret, Letitia and the other women feel bashful and embarrassed. Unsure on how to deal with the situation, they tried to behave themselves.


    Still holding Yan in her arms, Lorena keenly perceived the emotions of everyone in the place. "Zen, are you ready to introduce your wives to me?" she asked, turning to Zen with a playful smile. She blinked at him to make him feel at ease.


    Smiling, Zen nodded and suggested, "Let''s go inside first."


    They all went together inside the fairy palace.


    While they made their way inside the palace, Joy and Lorena exchanged glances but no one spoke a word.


    Everyone else were too busy to even notice it, except for Harold who forced a bitter smile as he went along.

 Chapter 2852 Retrieve Memories

    Harold was aware of the dynamics of Lorena and Joy''s relationship.


    Lorena was an arrogant person. She had quarreled with his master because of Joy. At one point, they couldn''t tolerate each other!


    Now that many years had passed, and everyone had gone through so much hardship, he assumed that they would have put aside all their past disputes.


    Besides, Lorena was already a mother-in-law, so she wouldn''t quarrel due to jealousy in front of her son.


    After Lorena entered the hall, Letitia walked up to her with a cup of tea in her hand. She said with a slight blush, "Mother, please have some tea..."


    Although these women had seen a lot, they felt strange to face their mother-in-law who suddenly popped up.


    Lorena examined Letitia with a smile on her face and praised her good looks.


    Zen then introduced Letitia, Margaret, Lavender and Aura to her one by one...


    Every race had different customs. Lavender might not be aware of the concept of a mother-in-law, so Zen tried his best to explain to her.


    Lorena was very happy to see Zen''s wives and she chatted amicably with them.


    Seeing that the women kept chatting nonstop, Harold and Hallet became increasingly anxious.


    They were mostly concerned about how Zen had come back and how he managed to bring Lorena and Sword Chen back...


    When there was a brief pause in the conversation, Harold took advantage and interrupted them. "Zen, what exactly happened in the Abyss Demon Region?" he inquired.


    Harold unwittingly rescued Zen from his mother''s non-stop questions. Otherwise, his mother would interrogate him more. He said immediately, "Well, let me start with the Stone Mouse. When I just arrived at Evil Ghost Region..."


    Zen recounted everything including how he met Leland in the Evil Ghost Region and what happened on the Reincarnation Land later and how he encountered Sword Chen.


    Rocher and Iris were seated on the other side of the hall. Rocher occasionally interjected the conversation, describing what he saw on the side of the alliance of the powerful clans.


    When they heard that Zen had been dragged into the ice coffin and that he and Rocher had to face Nicholas, everyone was astounded!


    Nobody reall


    c functions.


    Standing up, Lorena closed her eyes and focused her mind. She connected to the sea of Memory Flames in the Reincarnation Land and soon found the girls'' Memory Flames using the Reincarnation Soul Weapon.


    She gently brushed her fingers over the spot between Laquisha''s and Aleyna''s eyebrows turn by turn.


    The Memory Flames shot back into Laquisha''s and Aleyna''s souls.


    After a short while, the girls'' eyelids fluttered and they opened their eyes slowly.


    The moment Laquisha opened her eyes, she held her head and screamed, "Dad, what are you doing?"


    It was moments later that Laquisha finally put her hands down and stared at the scene before her eyes.


    Laquisha''s memory had paused at the moment when Samuel replaced her Memory Flame. That was why she had such a terrified reaction.


    Now that her Memory Flame was restored and her memory had reconnected to her soul, it continued where it left off.


    Laquisha felt disoriented. She suddenly found herself in a strange place and she was surrounded by a bunch of strangers. No, there was one person she could recognize and that was Zen!


    Despite the great confusion in her mind, she didn''t immediately ask Zen for answers. Instead, she threw herself into his arms and began to sob softly.


    As for Aleyna, she was completely at a loss because she didn''t realize it when Samuel took away her Memory Flame. She strolled over to Joy and asked, "Aunt Joy, what happened? Where are we now?"

 Chapter 2853 Plunder

    Joy''s heart ached. She took Aleyna into her arms to comfort her. It was unfortunate that Aleyna and her sister had such a father.


    "Zen, Zen, my father..." Laquisha said, sniffling in Zen''s arms.


    "Don''t worry. I know. I know everything," Zen interrupted in a soothing voice.


    He had read Laquisha''s memories, so he already knew what she was thinking.


    Seeing this, Letitia, Margaret, and the others exchanged a meaningful look with one another.


    Although Laquisha had guessed that her father had attacked her, she didn''t know what had happened exactly.


    Zen quickly gave Laquisha and Aleyna a full account of what had happened. After finally learning the ins and outs of the matter, the two women burst into tears again, heartbroken over how their father had treated them.


    The mark that had been left on them had already been erased by Zen in the black water.


    Samuel had no idea that his two daughters had returned to their normal state.


    At this moment, he and Rosie arrived at the edge of the Time Sea.


    Watching the waves formed by colorful time fragments, Rosie couldn''t help but let out an appreciative sigh.


    In the beginning, the Time Sea hadn''t been so vast.


    She used to live by the sea back then.


    The ordinary True Gods who wanted to cross the boundless Time Sea had to rely on the ferrymen of the Sun Blind race.


    Even the top-rank and consummate True Gods couldn''t fly or use Grand Teleportation; however, Holy Beings could.


    "Let''s go!" Samuel said gruffly.


    Whoosh!


    Samuel, Pascal, and Rosie suddenly vanished into thin air.


    The next moment, they found themselves in the Floating Island of the Han Clan.


    The vast majority of the disciples of the Han Clan had no knowledge of Samuel''s rebellious actions.


    In recent days, the people of the Han Clan had been panicked and worried about the safety of their Holy Emperor, just like the disciples of the other powerful clans.


    The moment Samuel appeared on the Floating Island, he let his aura spread out through the land to alert the disciples of the Han Clan.


    Alfredo, who was practicing in a quiet room, immediately sensed Samuel''s aura and rushed out of the room, his eyes lighting up in joy.


    "All the disciples of the Han Clan, come here to see me!" Samuel''s low voice was transmitted to each of the disciples.


    In no time, all of them gather


    "We have surpassed the Dongfang Clan?"


    "More than that. Although the Dongfang Clan was the leader of the alliance of powerful clans in the past, it didn''t dominate the Time Sea or the divine land."


    His words immediately had an effect on the disciples of the Han Clan;


    they were now itching to go over to the Floating Island of the Dongfang Clan, which was the richest and most prosperous place in the Time Sea.


    If Samuel was personally leading them to plunder it, it would be a great opportunity to make a fortune!


    "Disciples of the Han Clan, follow me!"


    Samuel said as he pointed at the sky with his finger and produced a space channel that led directly to the Floating Island of the Dongfang Clan.


    Then, he disappeared with Pascal and Rosie.


    As for the disciples of the Han Clan, they were all overcome with greed and rushed into the space channel one after another. Although Samuel had only called for those on and above top-rank True God Realm to accompany him, none of them wanted to give up such a good opportunity.


    Even the low-rank True Gods and proving godly warriors rushed in.


    However, when they arrived at the Floating Island of the Dongfang Clan, they stopped, not daring to go any closer.


    Sitting right in front of them was a Holy Being Pierson.


    In addition to Pierson, there were two Demi-holy Beings, several consummate True Gods, and hundreds of top-rank True Gods.


    All of them were dressed in black and had a look of determination on their faces. They reckoned themselves to be the daredevils of the Dongfang Clan.

 Chapter 2854 Appease Samuels Anger

    Samuel was slightly shocked by the scene that greeted him when he appeared on the Dongfang Clan''s Floating Island.


    He immediately released his spiritual sense and found that the whole Floating Island was empty.


    The majority of the Dongfang Clan''s members were gone; only a few hundred people in front of him were left.


    His face immediately darkened.


    Only moments ago, he had incited the disciples of the Han Clan to plunder and destroy the Dongfang Clan''s Floating Island.


    He had never anticipated that the Dongfang Clan''s members would leave without any trace as if they had foreseen his plot. His first fear was that a large amount of wealth of the Dongfang Clan would also have been taken away.


    Before he could react, Pierson spoke, "Most of the disciples of our Dongfang Clan have gone back to the Ray Tree. Only 573 of us have remained behind. All the magic weapons, divine might coins, pills, arrays, and classics of the Dongfang Clan have been left behind as well. All our wealth and even the lives of 573 people here will be handed over to you. We only hope that you can let our Dongfang Clan off this time."


    The headquarters of the Dongfang Clan was in the Ray Tree.


    As long as the Ray Tree existed, the Dongfang Clan could be called a powerful clan even if its Floating Island was destroyed.


    After all, the Dongfang Clan had some unknown and powerful warriors apart from Pierson.


    While Pierson spoke, the rest of the warriors of the Dongfang Clan, including Winthrop, stared ahead with a calm expression on their faces.


    They had become death warriors not to fight against Samuel, but to appease his anger with their lives.


    Samuel looked at Pierson in surprise and sneered, "Do you think I will let off the Dongfang Clan just because a few hundred of you willingly hand over your lives? In the past, everyone on the Yue Clan''s Floating Island was also slaughtered cruelly. Killing just a few hundred of you will not be enough for me to take revenge!"


    When the Dongfang Clan''s members heard this, their faces suddenly turned pale.


    Pierson''s eyes were filled with pain. Gritting his teeth, he suddenly knelt down in front of Samuel and hit his head against the cyan bricks so hard that he immediately smashed them. "Please forgive our Dongfang Clan''s crimes!"


    Pierson was a well-known and respected Holy Being in the divine land, but now, he was conceding to Sam


    You old bastard, if you want to die, then just die as soon as possible.


    After you die, you will not know whether the Dongfang Clan is destroyed or not."


    "Yes, you don''t have to worry about what happens after you die anyway!" another person in the crowd added.


    The disciples of the Han Clan didn''t care about the Dongfang Clan''s fate at all.


    They had enthusiastically followed Samuel here so that they could plunder this Floating Island. After all, Nicholas was dead, so they had no scruples. Besides, many of them thought that the Dongfang Clan should be exterminated.


    Although a portion of the disciples from the Han Clan sympathized with the Dongfang Clan, they were unwilling to stand up for them. Even if they wanted to, they had no qualifications to do that.


    Hearing the words of the disciples, Samuel said to Pierson, "If you ask for death, I will agree. But I will never let off the Dongfang Clan! Ha-ha!"


    The Abyss Demon Region was already under his control, and now, he felt like the entire divine land was, too. When he would destroy the Ray Tree would depend on his mood.


    As soon as he finished speaking, Pascal flew toward the Dongfang Clan''s members with the pair of black wings spreading out behind him.


    The wings exuded a terrifying momentum. As Pascal flew over the death warriors of the Dongfang Clan, all the flesh and blood in their bodies instantly collapsed and turned into powder.


    Even Pierson and Winthrop were killed in that way.


    Even at the last second, Pierson hadn''t made any attempt to resist. He had just continued to kneel down on the ground.

 Chapter 2855 Ignore

    Killing a Holy Being was a very complicated process.


    It was a different story, however, when Pierson was determined to die to protect the Ray Tree.


    A few seconds after he died, dull thunder resounded from the sky.


    It was the sound of a universe that was collapsing unto itself.


    It was Pierson who destroyed his universe by himself.


    Samuel looked up at the sky, as the dull thud of the collapsing universe sounded in his ears. He murmured with a mocking smirk, "This is the end of an ant. Even at the cost of his own life, he still couldn''t get what he wanted."


    Rosie glanced at him but opted to remain quiet.


    After Pascal killed hundreds of people from the Dongfang Clan, the disciples of the Han Clan couldn''t hold back any longer and rushed forward.


    The Dongfang Clan had been in the leading position for many years. They were quite wealthy and had many rare treasures in their possession.


    The disciples of the Han Clan didn''t care about the animosity between Samuel and the Dongfang Clan. They rushed to the herbal garden as soon as they had the opportunity. They raided and snatched the pill formulas and the weapons of the Dongfang Clan like hungry locusts.


    Rumble...


    They were running everywhere and left a mess anywhere they went. Someone smashed open a hall in his impatience, and hundreds of people immediately rushed in.


    Shouts and screams could be heard continuously. They plundered the place and even started to fight with each other.


    The elegant buildings of the Dongfang Clan were soon destroyed. The whole Floating Island was ruined as well.


    The truth was that Samuel could have taken over the whole Floating Island, but he wanted to vent his anger over the years, so he brought his people here.


    This was why, when Samuel saw the ruins left by their plunder, he was filled with great satisfaction. With a pleased smile, he left with Rosie and Pascal.


    Soon after, he appeared in the Hall of Holy Beings amidst the clouds.


    "Holy Beings! Show yourselves!" Samuel''s commanding voice echoed in the Hall of Holy Beings.


    This was a place where Holy Beings gathered and communicated with each other.


    As Samuel spoke, his voice reached the ears of the Holy Beings. They had been watching the drama unfold on their Floating Islands.


    The Holy Beings of the alliance of the powerfu


    e center of the Evolutionary Universe, a peculiar view appeared.


    A dark red ball of light emitted sun-like radiance. It attracted the attention of countless people in the Upper World.


    All of them tried to guess the origin of the red light ball, but they couldn''t think of anything.


    Some Supreme Lords were curious about the light ball, as they traveled through the universe with their physical bodies. Their curiosity got the best of them, and they tried to approach it.


    However, before they could get close to it, they felt a unique aura. The aura was very kind, but it could not be resisted. It stopped anyone from approaching the red light ball.


    In a secret place of the Celestial Position race, Wynn looked at the scene in the sky. His face was bright with excitement.


    "What the hell is this? Why are you so excited, Master Wynn?" Master Feng asked.


    He had also tried to explore the secret of the light ball, but he failed. In the end, he returned to the Celestial Position race and asked Wynn for help.


    He did not expect Wynn to be ecstatic at the sight of the light ball in the sky.


    "My master! My master is reborn! My master finally comes back to life! We made it! Zen made it! He hasn''t been in the divine land for long. How fast!" Wynn was so excited that he could not even speak clearly.


    Master Feng tried to make sense of Wynn''s words. He gasped when he realized what he meant.


    Wasn''t Wynn''s master the owner of the Evolutionary Universe? Not long after Zen left, he had managed to save his father. What a surprise!

 Chapter 2856 Clarks Fury

    As its ruler, Mike influenced the Evolutionary Universe in almost all aspects.


    In order to protect the Evolutionary Universe, he had to transform it entirely, causing a number of disasters across its span.


    If Mike were to return, it would be a blessing for the hundreds of trillions of secondary creatures in the Evolutionary Universe.


    "Tell the other Supreme Lords and world lords that they are not allowed to disturb my master!" Wynn commanded.


    Master Feng pulled out a Roaring Token to follow Wynn''s order.


    "The light ball is where the master of the Evolutionary Universe is to be reborn. No one is allowed to approach it. If anyone disobeys..." Master Feng paused here, thought for a moment, and then smiled as he said, "You will have to face the consequences."


    He knew that no one would dare to provoke the ruler and founder of the Evolutionary Universe.


    When his voice resounded through the universe, the creatures within it began to whisper and murmur to each other, causing a loud hum. A few Supreme Lords, who knew the truth, also learned something from this news.


    The colossal red light ball was continuously absorbing energy from the entire Evolutionary Universe.


    No one could observe the change in the energy levels of the Evolutionary Universe, not even the Supreme Lords.


    After all, Holy Beings had absolute authority over their universes.


    The red light ball was an independent world.


    At the center of this world, a human figure was coming into existence, quietly but surely.


    This human figure was not yet a living being or even just a body. But it had abundant levels of vitality and the power of its soul was irresistible.


    When the figure took a complete human shape, it would mean that Mike was finally reborn.


    In the center of the Murphy Universe was also a dark red light ball.


    Within this light ball was a complete human body; it belonged to Murphy, the Holy Being of the Mu Clan.


    Murphy''s body was complete, and his consciousness fully aroused.


    It wouldn''t be long before he emerged from the light ball.


    Zen had killed Murphy in the Abyss Demon Region.


    Murphy would never forget how Zen had controlled t


    haking his head.


    "Samuel returned later. He led his people to strip bare the Floating Island of the Dongfang Clan," Oscar added.


    "How dare he! How dare he plunder the Dongfang Clan!"


    These news were like thunderbolts raining down on him from a clear sky, making him angrier and angrier by the minute. He didn''t know what had happened after he died, but only Samuel had returned. So it was natural for him to blame Samuel for it.


    He was about to impulsively set out to seek revenge.


    But Oscar stopped him by saying, "Please don''t think of revenge, Holy Emperor. Samuel must have nothing to fear since he has dared to plunder the Dongfang Clan. I''m afraid that you will suffer if you go alone. How about we wait for the other Holy Beings?"


    Only Nicholas had died forever. The other Holy Beings of the alliance of the powerful clans were being reborn as they spoke and it wouldn''t be long.


    Oscar''s words calmed Clark down.


    Clark had died before Samuel''s true identity was exposed. That was why he didn''t know that Samuel was actually Gregorio, or why Samuel dared to plunder the Floating Island of the Dongfang Clan.


    Although Nicholas had died, the other Holy Beings of the alliance of the powerful clans hadn''t.


    But what gave Samuel the courage to fight the Holy Beings? Perhaps he had something to rely on.


    Clark sighed. He was in no hurry. He could wait for the other Holy Beings to be reborn before he sought revenge.

 Chapter 2857 The Use Of The Ring

    In less than four hours after Clark came back to life, Zeke returned to the Fang Clan''s Floating Island.


    He learned about everything in quite the same way as Clark, but Zeke was a very cautious fellow. He wasn''t as angry as Clark. Instead, he dug deeper to find more information about the Han Clan.


    As the Holy Beings had died around the same time, the time it took for them to be revived would differ, but it wouldn''t make too much of a difference.


    Over the next two days, the Holy Beings were revived one after another.


    The Holy Beings had gathered on the Floating Island of the Mu Clan as they were summoned by Murphy.


    "What? Are you saying that Samuel is actually Gregorio?" Clark''s eyes widened once more.


    Murphy nodded and said, "You were already dead when it happened, so you didn''t see it."


    Zeke, who was next to him, added, "His spear was so powerful that it could destroy the space suppression of the forbidden area. He had an advantage in the forbidden area. We could do nothing to him..."


    The only one who was able to stop Samuel at that time was Rosie''s clone.


    "Exactly how powerful is he?" Clark asked again, unable to fathom the recent developments.


    Murphy thought about this for a while, and said, "Let me put it this way: he''s a little stronger than us and slightly weaker than Nicholas."


    However, the term "slightly weaker" was only applicable when Nicholas had not performed the Dark Light World Transformation. Once Nicholas sacrificed himself to perform the technique, he was so much stronger than all the other Holy Beings.


    "If Samuel is only a little stronger, how did he dare to plunder the Floating Island of Dongfang Clan?" Clark sneered.


    Jeremiah who was next to him chuckled as well. "It is said that Samuel even imitated Nicholas and gathered Holy Beings in the Hall of Holy Beings to form a new alliance of powerful clans. But his plan was ridiculed by some Holy Beings like Woodruff..."


    "Hahaha!"


    The Holy Beings of the alliance of the powerful clans suddenly burst into uncontrollable laughter.


    They were well aware of the Holy Beings'' way of operating. Samuel had made a naive move. After all, it was very difficult to start a universe war. Murphy, who had done this once before, was certain of this fact.


    "Samuel is back and Nicholas is dead, so was it him who captured the two girls in the end?" Murphy assumed.


    After all, none of the Holy Beings pre


    ly stable. There was almost no deviation ever.


    But today, a strange phenomenon was taking place, which caused the entire divine land to fall into darkness. This event raised many speculations among the divine citizens.


    Pascal lifted his right hand and slowly floated off the ground with his father.


    The black energy circling Pascal''s body now emitted an even more terrifying aura.


    This aura suppressed Clark''s flames. The bright flames became as dim as a weak candle flame. It was almost unnoticeable now.


    "What kind of power is this?" Clark''s face turned pale.


    Murphy''s eyelids twitched. Maybe his guess was right. Maybe the Abyss Demon Region really fell into Samuel''s hands. In that case, Zen and Rocher might be dead. Could it be true?


    The tension between the two sides was growing and a battle was about to erupt. At this time, a faint figure quietly appeared behind Samuel.


    "We are in the same boat. So why do we have to fight it out? Stop it, Samuel!"


    As the voice rang out, an old man appeared in the air.


    "Master Hamish!"


    "Look! Master Hamish is here!"


    "Oh, it''s Master Hamish!"


    When Murphy and the rest saw Hamish, their eyes lit up.


    As members of the alliance of powerful clans on the Floating Islands, these Holy Beings were, of course, well aware that Hamish was the real sponsor of the alliance.


    Samuel''s eyes narrowed slightly and the murderous look in his eyes disappeared. Pascal also covered the ring with his fingers, bringing all activity to a halt.


    The dark skies quickly brightened again, and dazzling sunshine flooded the entire divine land once more.

 Chapter 2858 Approval

    The sudden appearance of Hamish had somewhat eased the tension on both sides, but Clark and the other Holy Beings still didn''t want to let Samuel go.


    After all, the Holy Beings could be reborn infinitely; even if they died during the fighting, they could be revived and engage in battle again.


    "Master Hamish! You have no idea how ambitious this man is. He has robbed the Dongfang Clan''s Floating Island right after he returned from the Abyss Demon Region. We can''t just sit by and watch!"


    "The alliance of powerful clans was established to let the clans depend on each other and have a mutually beneficial relationship. How, then, could we tolerate this man?"


    "That''s Gregorio, someone harboring a deep hatred against the Dongfang Clan."


    As the Holy Beings discussed the matter among themselves, the situation became a little chaotic.


    Hamish waved his hand at them, and everyone calmed down.


    He looked down at the disciples of the Han Clan, reached out his hand, and conjured up a bright yellow ring of light.


    The ring of light spread out and instantly encased Samuel, Pascal and the Holy Beings.


    He didn''t want irrelevant people to hear what he was about to say.


    "Some of the hatred in this world should be laid to rest. In the past, Nicholas destroyed the Floating Island of the Yue Clan; now, Samuel has already taken his revenge on him. This way, the enmity between the two clans can cease. Besides, Samuel doesn''t stir up trouble for the Ray Tree, so everyone can take a step back. What do you think?" Hamish smiled faintly.


    Clark immediately realized that Hamish meant to resolve the dispute.


    Murphy''s and Jeremiah''s eyes flashed. They wondered whether this Yellow Emperor Guard was going to support Samuel.


    Why? Was it because Samuel was so powerful?


    Samuel said nothing.


    Even though Pierson had sacrificed himself for a compromise, Samuel had no plans of giving up until the entire Dongfang Clan was wiped out.


    Every single member of the Dongfang Clan must be exterminated. He knew that better than anyone else.


    He himself had been neglected by Nicholas in the past. After being reincarnated, he finally seized the chance to take his revenge.


    However, hearing what Hamish said, Samuel thought it inappropriate for him to offer a retort and held his tongue.


    Most importantly, he realized in the Hall of Holy Beings that despite having control over the absolute power, he would still have difficulty suppressing other powerful clans if no Holy Being fol


    whole sky?


    Even after speculating in the fairy palace for a long time, Harold could not come up with a satisfactory answer.


    Recently, the fairy palace was inundated by an increasing number of people, who filled the palace with noise and excitement every day.


    The Godly Geniuses who returned to the fairy palace included Rocher, Lucille who had been sent back by Zen, Kurt, and Lone. It was Harold who had found and brought back Kurt and Lone.


    These several Godly Geniuses had been cultivating their skills day and night in the training tower. Upon coming out of the tower, they expressed their delight in seeing Zen and Rocher.


    Among the Godly Geniuses in the fairy palace, Lucille was the unluckiest. She was captured to become a puppet, and thus her training time was delayed. As a result, her cultivation base was slightly weaker than those of the rest of the Godly Geniuses.


    In the past, Lone was the weakest of the ten Godly Geniuses. Then, after having stepped into the divine land, he inherited the relics of a great clan''s ancestral land. Afterwards, he managed to succeed in every endeavor, all the time. Now, he had reached the peak of top-rank True God Realm and was starting to train to become a consummate True God.


    As for the remaining Godly Geniuses, it would still be difficult to find them even if Harold were to look for them in person. Even with his unparalleled skill in deduction, the search for the Godly Geniuses would be as difficult as looking for a needle in a haystack.


    Fortunately, Mike would revive soon. By then, if Mike would look for them, he would definitely be able to track the location of the other Godly Geniuses.

 Chapter 2859 Luck

    Deep in the Swirl Forest, a ripple flowed on the surface of a pool.


    Splash!


    Laquisha emerged from the pool.


    A pair of over one hundred-foot long tentacles closely followed Laquisha. The tentacles were covered with barbs, and each barb glinted with radiant light. Apparently, every one of them was laced with poison.


    The two tentacles rushed at Laquisha at high speed. Laquisha dodged them as she continued to hover over the water, the tips of her toes constantly touching the surface of the water. She maneuvered her dodges smoothly and quickly like a dragonfly.


    "Aunt Laquisha, watch out!"


    Geoffrey shouted, who was standing beside the pool.


    As this pair of tentacles were about to trap Laquisha, a purple light streamed right from Laquisha''s eyes.


    Sizzle!


    A handful of purple preternatural flames spiraled out and wrapped her in.


    The fierce beast in the water seemed terrified of the preternatural flames protecting Laquisha. It didn''t dare to get close.


    "Caw!"


    The fierce beast let out a scream under the water. The water that was originally a pool of dark green turned into strong hue of blood red.


    Then a semicircle head that resembled a pot cover popped out of the water. Beneath the "pot cover" were wedge-shaped teeth laced with poison. As its figure emerged from the surface of the water, its poisoned teeth shot at Laquisha covertly.


    It was only when Laquisha noticed the poisoned teeth that her face revealed a trace of panic!


    Although Laquisha was a consummate True God, she had reached such level of power because Samuel assisted her with the help of the Memory Flames. In terms of combat experience, Laquisha was far inferior to the other consummate True Gods.


    The fierce beast under the water was called "Green Turbid Monster". Their number was few in the Swirl Forest but their strength was powerful. Only those at least at the consummation of True God Realm were able to fight against them.


    When the poisonous teeth were about to hit Laquisha, space fluctuations appeared on the surface of her figure and she suddenly vanished. She had used the Grand Teleportation and appeared close to Geoffrey''s side.


    Splash!


    The Green Turbid Monster was irritated at Laquisha. Its huge body left the water and rushed directly to the two.


    "Caw!"


    It screamed in fury which was piercing to the ears. Then, it whipped out its tentacles, lashing at everything that was close t


    .."


    Right after he spoke, he suddenly felt a very unique aura spread out from several dozens of miles away.


    A green vortex appeared in the sky. The peculiar energy it emitted immediately drew everyone''s attention.


    "That''s where Zen cultivates... What method is it?" Augustus stared at the green vortex, and his eyelids twitched.


    When Lorena saw the green vortex, her eyes widened.


    It was this very green energy that broke the Furnace of Dark and Light in the Abyss Demon Region.


    Although Zen had told them about everything after he left the divine land, he had never mentioned about this power.


    Since he never mentioned anything about this, Lorena didn''t ask further questions. But even with her knowledge and experience, she could not tell the origin of this power.


    "Zen is cultivating. We better not disturb him," said Lorena calmly.


    As soon as she finished speaking, a green star rushed out of the vortex and fell into the Swirl Forest.


    "Boom!"


    The ground trembled, and tremors spread miles away when the star hit the ground.


    Zen stared at the huge crater in front of him and said to himself, "The power of the Falling Star Palm depends on the number of Truth Crystals. But my Truth Crystal was inherited from the Chaos Ancient God. What can I do to increase the number of Truth Crystals?"


    He had defeated Nicholas in the Abyss Demon Region largely by relying on the Falling Star Palm.


    Before that, he had thought that the power of the Falling Star Palm was not strong enough, so he hadn''t used it. But now, it seemed that it was still necessary to strengthen this technique.

 Chapter 2860 Green-eyed Lorena

    "Condense more Truth Crystals?"


    No. 9527 had not given any thought to this before.


    Its master was the one in charge of the truth and was free to use it however he desired.


    And as for the Truth Crystal, it was a unique technique that its master had acquired after having observed the energy of the Great Unity in the chaos for a long time.


    Now its master''s blood had fused with that of Zen, and now flowed as one.


    Zen was the one who had been selected by its master, the only one who had the honor to be chosen to inherit the blood of its master.


    No. 9527 was confident in the theurgies of truth energy, such as the Falling Star Palm. It could easily teach Zen how to use them, but it had never considered what to do in case he needed to increase the number of Truth Crystals.


    "Hypothetically, the purer your blood, the more Truth Crystals you should be able to condense," pondered No. 9527 aloud. This proposition, even if it were correct, was of little use to Zen. The only way he could further purify his blood was by absorbing that of the Chaos Ancient God, a feat that was presently impossible. "Luckily, there is a simpler way," said No.9527 quickly, having noticed Zen''s dissatisfied expression. "We would have to obtain and learn the truth rules that lie locked inside the crystal."


    Zen''s eyes brightened somewhat as he heard this proposal.


    "The truth rules within the crystal..."


    He lightly tapped the air with his finger, thereby condensing a Truth Crystal again.


    Now, he was faced with a dilemma. He knew how to use the Truth Crystal but did not know why.


    He could condense it, but lacked the knowledge about the nature of the strange energy it contained.


    He recalled the way Nicholas had used the Truth of Dark and Light Chaos, and noted that his method was unfamiliar to him. Frustratingly, Zen did not know the method by which the Furnace of Dark and Light could be created. Nevertheless, that did not signify that it was, necessarily, untraceable.


    With enough time to cultivate the Truth of Dark and Light Chaos, he would finally become able to destroy that furnace.


    It was a testament to how complicated the energy of the Truth Crystal was that despite all his gifts and talents, Zen hadn''t yet been able to master it.


    Additionally, as it involved the topmost secret of the chaos, it was verging on impossible to use the Truth Crystal to obtain this knowledge.


    Suddenly, No. 9527 threw up its arms, its eyes widening in realization. "I remember!" it yelled, almost making Zen jump. "I know of another way! If we cultivate the Ways-blending Energy and reproduce the energy of the Great Unity, we should be able to then cultivate all the truths within the chaos. Haha..." it trailed off, as if in disbelief at itself for not having thought of this earlier.


    Zen, how


    nd thus it would be disrespectful to joke with him. It was a privilege that Zen, as his son, seemed to have.


    In fact, Mike had something important to tell Zen, so he had chosen not to go after Lorena. It was imperative that he be there when Zen arrived. "I went back to the Floating Island after I had left the universe," he said to Zen. "The Holy Being of the Bai Clan let me know that the Floating Island of the Dongfang Clan has been robbed by the Han Clan."


    Zen and the others all raised their eyebrows in surprise. This was unexpected news. "I suspected that Samuel would take action, but I didn''t expect him to be so quick," said Zen pensively.


    "Really? Why were you suspicious of Samuel? What clue did he give that he might do something of the sort?" Mike asked, flabbergasted.


    He had briefly spoken with Zen when they were in the Ray Tree. They had been in a great hurry at that time, however, so their exchange had been short and many details had remained unclarified.


    Zen then recounted the details of the trip to the Abyss Demon Region to his father, not failing to mention Gregorio''s miraculous reincarnation.


    Mike remained quite surprised when he finally learned the truth. "Ian told me that Samuel had vowed to reestablish the alliance of powerful clans in the Hall of Holy Beings. The other Holy Beings, naturally, paid no heed to his words because of his lowly rank. To add insult to injury, he was humiliated by Woodruff. His plan had collapsed for the time being," Mike said with a frown.


    "Reestablish the alliance of powerful clans..." repeated Zen thoughtfully.


    Zen, Harold and Hallet all exchanged glances, wondering why Samuel had acted as he did.


    Indeed, they would have to fight the Yellow Emperor Guards one day, and the alliance of the powerful clans had been originally established by them.


    It was obvious what Samuel wanted.

 Chapter 2861 Breaking The Mixed Element Seal

    Harold pointed out the crux of the matter. "It is impossible for the Holy Beings to favor Samuel. Because the Holy Beings of the alliance will never let him go."


    Nicholas had been operating in the Time Sea for years. To have survived for that long, he not only relied on his strength but also on mutual interest and prestige.


    After the revival of the Holy Beings belonging to the alliance of the powerful clans, such as the Mu Clan and the Leng Clan, they would exact their revenge on Samuel.


    However, Mike shook his head and said, "I''m afraid the situation is far different from what you thought. Those Holy Beings have come back to life before me. They allegedly gathered on the Floating Island of the Han Clan some days ago, but they didn''t take any action."


    Harold and Sword Chen raised their brows slightly in askance.


    Zen said, "Only one person can suppress the anger of the Holy Beings of the alliance of the powerful clans."


    Mike nodded. As expected, Zen was quick to react.


    At that moment, Harold also understood. "You mean that Yellow Emperor Guard?"


    "They call him Master Hamish," Zen said.


    Hallet inquired, "You mean to say that the Yellow Emperor Guards want to utilize Samuel?"


    Mike nodded with a frown and said, "Nicholas is dead, so the Yellow Emperor Guards can''t place their hope on him anymore. If, as you said, Samuel has taken control of the Abyss Demon Region, then the Yellow Emperor Guards will need him to remove the Mixed Element Seal. That is our biggest problem." He continued in a serious tone, "Hamish is the weakest among the Yellow Emperor Guards. The Mixed Element Seal that imprisoned him was not complete, so Nicholas could release him. If the other Yellow Emperor Guards are released by Samuel, the consequences will be disastrous."


    Mike, Holy Jay, and Bromley had only taken Hamish into account when they formulated their plan.


    Mike knew nothing about the other Yellow Emperor Guards; he only knew that their strength far surpassed that of Holy Beings and that as adversaries, they were invincible.


    Noticing the dark look on Mike''s face, Harold and Hallet glanced at each other. Then, Harold turned to Zen and said with a smile, "Haven''t you told your fa


    the energy eroded the exterior of the sphere. It could only leave minute cracks each time, but the Mixed Element Seal would not be able to withstand the continuous damage for long.


    In a day, a pit as thick as an arm had appeared in the center of the Mixed Element Seal.


    After two days, the pit had become much deeper.


    Three days later, the center of the Mixed Element Seal was incomplete, and the pit was all but touching the person inside.


    Just then, Zavier said triumphantly from inside the Mixed Element Seal, "All right! Now, ask him to make way for me."


    Samuel nodded. Pascal stopped, jumped slightly, and distanced himself from the sphere.


    Soon after, they felt a strong, domineering aura emanate from the sphere.


    It was as if a gigantic beast was struggling to get out of the seal.


    "Crack!"


    With a loud cracking sound, a fracture appeared in the center of the sphere that held Zavier captive.


    After sounds of breaking


    and several loud thuds, the Mixed Element Seal finally succumbed to Zavier''s power. The eroded middle part of the seal completely shattered.


    A solid figure emerged from the Mixed Element Seal and shot up at an incredible speed.


    "Haha! After so long, I''m free at last!"


    Zavier''s wild laughter boomed through the sky with such strength that even the top of the Lofty Tree was swaying.


    He had been suppressed while imprisoned for so many years. Now, he was full of excitement as he savored his long-awaited freedom.

 Chapter 2862 The Princess

    Zavier arched through the sky in a large circle before dashing towards the Lofty Tree.


    Hamish and Zavier had completely different characters.


    Hamish had rarely revealed his true strength in the presence of others over the years.


    He had even disguised himself as an old man of True God Realm, hiding anonymously in a small divine city.


    Even Nicholas only knew Hamish as a powerful master of the Other Shore Realm. But then he had had no concept of the power that the Other Shore Realm masters possessed. Hamish had always maintained a low profile.


    Compared to Hamish, Zavier was at the extreme end of the spectrum.


    "Crack!"


    The moment he descended from the sky, he landed powerfully on the solid trunk of the Lofty Tree.


    The North Star Region had already been reduced to a waste land, and the Lofty Tree had come to resemble a dead tree, though the core was still alive. Without that life-force, it would have been impossible to keep the Mixed Element Seal working.


    It was no mean feat, even for a Holy Being, to break the strong main trunk.


    But as Zavier stomped down on the desiccated trunk, a crack appeared and spread through the surface of the main trunk. It was as if the bole itself would break if he had exerted even a little more strength.


    "What a strong aura!"


    Sensing the aura emitting from Zavier, Samuel was both shocked and awed.


    It was clearly the aura of the Truth of Godly Way.


    The Holy Beings had always pursued the Truth of Godly Way. Even if they could only claim an abridged one, they still practiced it tirelessly.


    Samuel had previously seen several different Truths of Godly Ways, but he had never before encountered such a powerful one...


    "You, are excellent..." Zavier patted Samuel''s shoulder and said, "You are also good. Better than that scumbag, Nicholas, at least."


    Hearing the reproach of Nicholas, Hamish frowned slightly.


    Hamish had been a staunch supporter of Nicholas for many years, so needless to say, he had felt close to Nicholas. Hearing Nicholas''s name being tarnished by name-calling so soon after his death left Hamish feeling quite upset.


    However, out of this group of Yellow Emperor Guards, Hamish was the weakest, and he held the lowest rank. It was improper for him to rebuke a superior or volunteer any comments.


    Samuel smiled and said, "Holy Nicholas seemed to be the only one who had attained the consummation of Truth of Godly Way. He stood in the front rank among the Holy Beings. I


    more times before they finally saw a huge vortex rising in the distance.


    "That''s the place," Zen said, narrowing his gaze.


    "What a great power!" When Mike saw the huge whirlpool, his eyes flashed with interest. The power contained in the whirlpool was not within the scope of a Holy Being to create.


    "Buzz..."


    When the three of them used the Grand Teleportation again and stepped out the space channel, a faint voice sounded. "Last time, a reckless guy ran out and was killed. It seems that others haven''t learned his lesson yet¡­ Eh, Zen! What are you doing back here?"


    The man speaking was Leopold.


    Timotheus, Ramzi, and the others were slumped down or sitting cross legged, trying to replenish their exhausted strengths. When they heard Leopold''s words, they dragged their tired eyes open with interest.


    They quickly noticed Mike and Lorena, who were standing behind Zen.


    Even though Mike was a Holy Being, he appeared no different from a consummate True God in their eyes.


    But Lorena was a different matter. They instantly recognized her Blood Body at a glance. They knew without a doubt that this was not something from the divine land.


    They were now confused. Who would be willing to sacrifice themselves and use the Furnace of Dark and Light in order to cultivate this precious body?


    "Zen, who are these people?" Timotheus asked immediately.


    "This is my father and mother," Zen said with a broad smile. "They wanted to see you."


    As before, they ignored Zen''s father completely. Instead, they all stared in awe at Lorena.


    "Your mother? Then she must be..." Leopold was the first one to understand who she was.

 Chapter 2863 Six-Pattern Blood-storing Seeds

    The Jade Toad Mountain was a blessed place full of spiritual energy, and it was also the core area of the royal family of the Nine Li race.


    Houses were built in a neat arrangement on the hillside.


    Back then, during the monsoon season when buckets of rain had poured down from the sky, a light film had been activated. That film of light around the Jade Toad Mountain had protected all the people and houses from even a single drop of rain.


    It was during this heavy downpour that Lorena was born.


    The nine tribes of the Nine Li race had celebrated her birth for three months. Obviously, Chiyou, the Grand Chieftain, had loved his youngest daughter very much.


    At that time, although there were many conflicts between the Nine Li race and the Yellow Emperor race, the overall situation had been stable.


    As for Lorena, she had continued to win the hearts of everyone around her as she grew up.


    Leopold had not yet been exiled at that time, so he had known of Lorena''s existence as well.


    However, he had not been a highly-ranked member of the Nine Li race, so he had never gotten the chance to meet her in person. This was the first time that he had ever seen her.


    "Get up. You don''t need to be so courteous to me. I''m afraid I''m no longer the honored princess," said Lorena indifferently.


    Of course, she was happy that she had at least been reunited with her husband and her children.


    The situation seemed to be turning around for the better.


    However, all of the members of the Nine Li race in the divine land were gone, and she didn''t know the situation of the Nine Li race in the Source World. What about the Grand Chieftain? And what about those Nine Li Guards?


    She didn''t dare to think about these matters at all.


    Timotheus, Leopold, and the others slowly stood up. "No matter the situation, you will always be our princess," Timotheus said firmly.


    Staring at the Nine Li Guards, Lorena forced a smile. No matter what it was, she felt grateful to them.


    The truth was, these Nine Li Guards were so powerful that they could return to the Source World at any time and get a handsome reward by joining other major forces.


    However, even though the influence of the Nine Li race was declining, they were still on Lorena''s side, and loyal to the Nine Li race. Such loyalty was rare.


    "Princess Lorena, right before I was exiled, the Yellow Emperor race was about to have a battle with our race in Gilt Town. I wonder how that turned out," Leopold said.


    He had already heard from Zen that the Nine Li race had lost the battle, but he still wanted to hear the truth directly from Lorena, even if it brought back some bad memories for her.


    "The battle in Gilt Town was a twist of our race''s fate. Our rac


    ''s blood.


    The divine land was a huge relic for these people. They cultivated from a low-rank True God to a Holy Being, slowly exploring the various secrets of the divine land. Even if they hadn''t found out everything about the divine land, they had their guesses.


    The origin of the divine land and the disappearance of the Sacred race were all secrets that had been left behind in the ancient times and spawned various legends.


    It was not until Lorena''s appearance that these secrets had come to light.


    It was only then that Mike had learned about the origin of the divine land, and that there was actually a wider space outside the divine land where Other Shore Realm warriors, who were stronger than even Holy Beings, existed.


    However, there was still one question that puzzled Mike: what was Chiyou''s purpose of creating the divine land?


    "The most important things in the divine land aren''t the Soaring Snake Sword, the forbidden areas, or even the divine land itself. The most important things are the two seeds and the Infinity Ruler," Mike said indifferently.


    "Seeds? Infinity Ruler?"


    The Nine Li Guards were confused.


    "My father gave me these two seeds and the Infinity Ruler. These seeds are Six-Pattern Blood-storing Seeds. One of them stores the bloodline of our Nine Li race, while the other stores the bloodline of the Snake Goddess race. It''s said that Snake Goddess personally gave the seed to my father," Lorena explained.


    Then, she looked to the other side where Emily and the others from the Snake Goddess race were sitting.


    Until now, they hadn''t participated in the conversation at all since it was regarding an internal matter of the Nine Li race. But after hearing that one of the Six-Pattern Blood-storing Seeds had been given by the Snake Goddess race, Emily opened her eyes.

 Chapter 2864 The Speculation

    The Blood-storing Seed was an intricate way to preserve blood.


    There was a tricky conundrum that had arisen with every great clan in the Source World continuing their bloodlines.


    Since the blood was passed down from generation to generation, over time it became diluted.


    For example, Lorena was an esteemed member of the Nine Li race, while Mike was an outsider. So it was inevitable that their children''s blood would be diluted.


    However, this crisis was abridged by the Blood-storing Seed.


    With the Blood-storing Seed, descendants of the clans would be able to ensure the purity of their blood.


    However, there was a class system in play for the Blood-storing Seed. For common people, an ordinary Blood-storing Seed would suffice.


    In the Source World, the One-Pattern and Two-Pattern Blood-storing Seeds were quite commonly and easily acquired, but the Six-Pattern Blood-storing Seed was more of a rarity and harder to find.


    Therefore, when Emily heard Lorena mention the Six-Pattern Blood-storing Seed that had been given by the Snake Goddess, her ears instantly perked up. This meant that one of her children had been gifted with the blood of the Snake Goddess race. If the Six-Pattern Blood-storing Seed had really been made by the Snake Goddess herself, then this child had a chance of possessing the purest blood of the Snake Goddess race.


    Of course, there was no doubt that Zen and Yan were Lorena and Mike''s children. The Blood-storing Seed carried the blood, which was its special ability.


    "The Blood-storing Seed of our race was used on Zen, right?" Timotheus asked, staring wide-eyed at Zen.


    Mike nodded.


    "Small wonder then that the Blood Stone broke into pieces." Leopold smiled woefully.


    They had tested Zen''s blood strenuously at the Sky Spirit Bone Tower, but they hadn''t known its limit. They only knew the imperial-grade bloodline flowed in Zen''s veins. Now it would appear that they had underestimated him.


    "What is the Infinity Ruler?" Timotheus probed Mike.


    "What is your view on the merging of Godly Ways?" Mike asked hesitantly.


    "The merging of Godly Ways? You mean the theurgy that Zen has been cultivating? I don''t know who instructed him to cultivate it, but I dare say it will prove a failure." Leopold shook his head disapprovingly.


    Timotheus supported his opinion by saying, "That is a road to nowhere,


    to fill the three thousand scales marked on the Infinity Ruler.


    Of course, no one was aware that Zen was talking with No. 9527. After hearing Emily''s response, Timotheus and the others found it difficult to further doubt things. After all, Mike''s assumption sounded somewhat reasonable.


    "Zen once mentioned those Yellow Emperor Guards. What are they like now?" Timotheus asked.


    The Nine Li Guards never busied themselves with the bizarre idea of Grand Chieftain. But they were concerned about the real threat. The Yellow Emperor Guards were potentially the biggest challenge in the divine land.


    "Someone has taken control of the Abyss Demon Region. It won''t be long before they break through the Mixed Element Seal," Lorena reported.


    Timotheus'' eyes flashed as he offered, "In that case, you must stay outside the divine land, and we''ll protect you."


    Emily agreed, "Right. Since you can''t oppose the powerhouses at the Other Shore Realm, you can place your family members in a small world and bring them here. You can return once we are able to enter the divine land."


    She longed to verify Yan''s blood. Although she was in the dark about what the Snake Goddess thought, she felt obliged to verify it since Yan possessed their race''s blood. Besides, she was willing to stay here because of Zen.


    "I''m afraid that will not be possible," Mike said, shaking his head.


    "Why not?" Timotheus asked, frowning. He felt this was the safest means available to them.


    "Zen has a mission of his own now. The Mountain of Holy Beings is about to emerge," Mike explained.

 Chapter 2865 Order

    Timotheus kept his eyes on Zen as he thought for a while. "I implore you, at least let the princess stay here, under our protection," he finally said.


    He didn''t know how to sway Mike''s mind, but knew that the least he could do was to ensure the safety of the princess.


    Lorena, however, had made up her mind. "I will stay with my husband no matter what," she said firmly.


    Timotheus had failed. The Nine Li Guards couldn''t keep Lorena here against her will, and Mike, stubborn as a mule, was impossible to convince.


    However, Mike had promised that in the event that he encountered an insurmountable danger in the divine land, he would immediately send Lorena and the others away to safety.


    Even after all discussion had ended and Mike had left with his family, Timotheus remained rooted to the spot, his expression sulky and obviously disappointed.


    Seeing his face, Emily smiled and reached out a hand to pat him on the back, reassuring him. "Sometimes you should just relinquish control and let things run their course. And it might even be what Chiyou planned from the start, right?"


    "Perhaps you are right," Timotheus said, more to himself than to Emily, nodding. "Anyway, we have to hurry and move as fast as possible."


    "The speed at which the space barrier recovers is much slower than we imagined. So we should be able to break through the space barrier a year earlier than we expected. At most, we will need three years," said Emily, pursing her lips.


    Timotheus did not like the sound of that. "If the Yellow Emperor Guards manage to escape from the seal, the situation on this ship will change dramatically. Three years is too much time. We need a faster solution," Timotheus said, shaking his head.


    "Let''s go with what we know, rather than spend even more time thinking up a new plan. And think about it, not so long ago we thought it would take at least five years! Three years is a huge improvement, isn''t it?" Emily said in an optimistic tone.


    As soon as Emily had finished speaking, a figure emerged from the giant vortex before them. It was a warrior of the Other Shore Realm from the Snake Goddess race.


    This warrior was obviously tired, having exerted a significant amount of Faith Energy.


    "Now, it is my turn!" Timotheus exclaimed, and he charged forwards, into the mouth of the vortex.


    The space barrier between the divine land and the chaos could, given enough time, regenerate on its own, so they had to move quickly before the window closed again. They would have to work in shifts, one working while the other rested. Otherwise, all their previous efforts would have been in vain.


    Back in the divine land, on the Lofty Tree, the last of the orbs finally split open.


    A beam of purple light shot out of it, stopping as it reached the top of the Lofty Tree.


    The man who had emerged from the orb was wearing a purple robe, a golden ribbon tied around his waist. His skin glimmered faintly in the daylight, and his eyes were clear and piercing.


    "Leyton!"


    "You are free now!"


    "Congratulations!"


    The remaining Yellow Emperor Guards similarly congratulated their leader, one af


    ith the complete Truth of Godly Way.


    However, Leyton''s motives were not purely altruistic. He was aware that this was the most effective way to bribe the Holy Beings into convincing them to work for the alliance and remain loyal to it.


    The Holy Beings all expressed their gratitude to Leyton, who waved his hand casually with an expression of feigned embarrassment. "Soon, we will be like a family, so you don''t have to continue with all those ceremonies and formalities. But there is one other thing. Tell me, why aren''t the other Holy Beings here? Surely you lot are not the only ones!" he said.


    "Those other Holy Beings are not part of the alliance," Samuel explained. "It''s not that easy to subdue them or order them around."


    "Hm...I see..." said Leyton, scratching his chin.


    A smile still lingered on Leyton''s face, however. With a slight bounce, he jumped upward and stayed suspended in midair.


    "Summon them to me," he directed Samuel.


    Samuel understood the innate meaning of Leyton''s words. "All Holy Beings, I order you to come to the Hall of Holy Beings immediately. Come now or suffer the consequences!"


    "Really?" scoffed one of the Holy Beings. "I''d love to see those consequences. Bet they are terrifying!" the person continued, who turned out to be Gibson, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He had always been quick to mock Samuel in the past, and was not changing tack now.


    He would soon regret his words, however. As soon as he had finished speaking, an overwhelmingly intense Truth of Godly Way spread, like an electric mist, from the Hall of Holy Beings and extended across all the Floating Islands.


    The moment Gibson felt the Truth of Godly Way, the mocking smile slid off his face as if it were a block of butter on an icy ledge.


    "It''s the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent!" he exclaimed, gasping with surprise.


    The Truth of Eternal Sword Intent possessed by the Sword Clan was an incomplete version. This Truth of Eternal Sword Intent, however, was released by a powerful warrior at the Other Shore Realm. They were on completely different levels.

 Chapter 2866 An Easy Punishment

    The power of the aura was incomprehensible by the Holy Beings.


    Besides Gibson, Woodruff, Ian and the other Holy Beings, who didn''t belong to the alliance of the powerful clans, were all taken aback.


    "Who is this guy?"


    "As far as I know, Hamish who is the main sponsor of the alliance, doesn''t practice the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent."


    "Have the other Yellow Emperor Guards been released?"


    The Holy Beings were astonished!


    The Demi-holy Beings and True Gods could also feel the overwhelming pressure.


    All the disciples of the powerful clans raised their heads to look at the sky. It felt like the ubiquitous aura was piercing through their chests with a kind of indescribable force.


    Everyone present in the Hall of Holy Beings, including Clark and Murphy, sucked in their breaths when they felt Leyton''s aura.


    Leyton took two steps in the air and hovered above the middle hall, looking down at everyone.


    Soon, he seemed to have spotted someone in the distance. With his fingers pressed together, he pointed downwards.


    The Truth of Eternal Sword Intent accumulated on his fingertips, turning into a bright white sword light, and hit the floor of the Hall of Holy Beings.


    Boom!


    The sword light immediately penetrated the floating Hall of Holy Beings, leaving a small round hole on the floor.


    The sword light went straight through the Hall of Holy Beings, the Floating Island of the Dongfang Clan, and the Floating Island of the Sword Clan!


    Bang!


    The cyan tiles of a three-story building on the Floating Island of the Sword Clan were hit and they crumbled like a pack of cards. Then the sword light rushed towards Gibson.


    By the time Gibson realized what happened, it was too late for him to teleport himself.


    Before he could step into the space channel, the thin sword light went through his head all the way to his feet.


    The sword light did not stop there. It rapidly impaled the Floating Island of the Sword Clan. Leaving a long trail in the air, it penetrated through the Floating Islands of the Tang Clan and the Leng Clan and landed in the Time Sea at a certain angle.


    "Master Gibson!"


    "Ho


    s. Let''s see what Samuel and that powerhouse have in mind and then we can plan our strategy," said Moon.


    "But we can''t just surrender to Samuel this way! We..." Woodruff gritted his teeth.


    "There''s no need for us to fight Samuel. Let''s find out their purpose first." A glint of smartness flashed in Moon''s eyes.


    The Moon Clan was ranked third among all the powerful clans above the Time Sea. The three Holy Beings of the Moon Clan believed that they were by no means weaker than Samuel, so they were unwilling to surrender, but right now they had no choice given the current situation.


    "Let''s go!"


    Buzz, buzz!


    The two of them stepped into the space channel and instantly appeared in the Hall of Holy Beings.


    The moment Samuel saw Woodruff, his mouth twitched and he had a wicked smile. "Woodruff, you finally show up."


    Woodruff stood there sullenly and did not speak.


    "That day, you asked me what I relied on to challenge you. Is this powerful enough?" Samuel sneered and looked at him aggressively.


    Woodruff was not used to being taunted like this.


    He had always defied power. In fact he was the one who had the guts to oppose Nicholas. The War God Hall had never been afraid of war and death.


    The blue veins on his forehead protruded. Just as he was about to refute, Moon stopped him. He cupped his hands and yelled out to Samuel, "Samuel, why do you summon us to the Hall of Holy Beings today?"

 Chapter 2867 The Maze

    The Moon Clan was led by the Moon Sect. Moon was the strongest among the three Holy Beings of the Moon Clan and was said to be ranked top three among all the Holy Beings. But normally, he seldom showed up in public, and the daily affairs of the Moon Clan were generally handled by Woodruff.


    Compared to Woodruff, Moon kept a low profile as if he did not exist.


    Samuel gave Moon an indifferent glance and didn''t continue to embarrass Woodruff. He said loudly, "I''d like to discuss the reestablishment of the alliance of the powerful clans."


    "The alliance of the powerful clans has been existing for a long time now, and we are aware that you are a member of the alliance. Now Holy Nicholas has died. If the Holy Beings of the alliance are willing to recognize you as their new leader, that will be a good thing. Congratulations, Samuel," said Moon in a respectful tone as he cupped his hands toward Samuel.


    Samuel said with a slight smile, "In addition, I require all the powerful clans to join the alliance."


    The Holy Beings outside the alliance frowned slightly when they heard this.


    Samuel had mentioned it before, but they just treated it as a joke. They did not realize that Samuel would really force them to join the alliance.


    However, with those powerful warriors at the Other Shore Realm backing him up, it was another story.


    Moon, on the other hand, calmly answered, "The purpose of the alliance is to unite the Holy Beings. Would it be too much to force all the Holy Beings to join it?"


    Samuel''s gaze swept over Woodruff and Marsh, one of the Holy Beings of the Sword Clan, and then said in a cold voice, "It''s surely too much for those who don''t want to join the alliance. As I have said before, there will only be one alliance of the powerful clans above the Time Sea in the future. If you don''t want to join, you can leave the Time Sea."


    The expression on Moon''s face slightly froze at his words. He tried his best to stay composed after hearing Samuel''s words.


    Meanwhile, the other Holy Beings also looked gloomy.


    Samuel was really rude and unreasonable. After he was in power, he became even more cruel and vicious than Nicholas, which made circumstances worse.


    "It''s a big deal to join the alliance of the powerful clans. There are many factions in my clan. I


    by this?" Zen asked intently.


    At that time, what Mike said had totally confused him. He needed clarification.


    Even if he became a Holy Being, his strength wouldn''t change significantly. After all, their opponents were the Yellow Emperor Guards at the Other Shore Realm who were known for their strength.


    "I don''t know either," Mike answered with a smile.


    A strange expression appeared on Zen''s face when he heard his father''s answer.


    When Mike saw the confusion on Zen''s face, he continued, "Even your mother doesn''t know why your grandfather made this ship. I can only guess it. Do you still remember the maze on the True Path?"


    Zen nodded quickly.


    The last part of the True Path led Zen to enter an enormous maze that seemed like no one could ever get out of.


    It took him four long months to leave the maze after countless desperately failed attempts. Since then, the maze was left in his mind magically.


    Saul once told him that the maze was left by the Sacred race and that it was very important. It was copied by his master using his sharp memory. The real maze was many times larger than what Zen entered.


    He had been in the divine land for so long but had never heard of the maze here.


    Now that his father mentioned the Mountain of Holy Beings and the maze at the same time, Zen was thrilled. His eyes lit up as he asked, "Father, do you mean that the maze is in the Mountain of Holy Beings?"


    Mike looked at Zen with appreciation and nodded. "Yes, it took your master a lot of effort to copy it."

 Chapter 2868 The Choice Of The Moon Clan

    "What''s at the end of the maze?" Zen asked curiously.


    Mike shook his head and said, "I don''t know. I''ve never been to that maze."


    "Dose Mother know anything about it?" Zen tried again.


    Mike smiled and explained, "The Nine Li race doesn''t have a thorough understanding of the divine land, so your mother doesn''t know much about it either. But Bromley believes that the key to controlling the divine land lies in that maze."


    Zen raised his eyebrows at that.


    The divine land was independent ever since it was set free by Chiyou. If they could reign over the divine land in place of Chiyou, then neither the union of the powerful clans nor the Other Shore Realm enemies would be a problem for them anymore.


    This sure clarified some things but Zen still couldn''t figure out one thing.


    A world in the universe would eventually develop its own will as time passed by.


    The divine land had been out of Chiyou''s control for a long time now but it didn''t seem to have developed its own will yet. Zen couldn''t fathom the reason behind this.


    Zen was deep in thought when he suddenly heard Augustus''s voice coming from the outer hall, "Some Holy Beings have come into the Swirl Forest."


    "Holy Beings?" Mike''s face darkened at this information.


    "Who are these people?" Hallet asked.


    "It''s Moon from the Moon Sect and Woodruff from the War God Hall," Augustus replied.


    Hearing this, Mike walked out quickly and ordered, "Let them in!"


    Moon and Woodruff were surprised when they saw Mike. His revival from the universe was known only to the Holy Being of the Bai Clan, while the rest knew nothing about it.


    However, they soon recovered from their confusion. After all, the Dongfang Clan had lost its past glory. Now, although the Floating Island of the Dongfang Clan still remained above the Time Sea, the clan was doomed to decline. As a result, they could no longer imprison Mike.


    "Long time no see, Moon and Woodruff," Mike greeted them amicably with a smile.


    Moon saluted to him and said, "Congratulations! I didn''t know that you''ve already returned. I am so glad to see you again!"


    Back when the Luo Clan was in trouble, both the Sword Clan and the Moon Clan had chosen to be silent spectators instead of offering to help.


    ng us is no easy feat!" Woodruff said angrily.


    Moon glanced at him indifferently and asked, "Do you think you''re a match for those Yellow Emperor Guards?"


    His words rendered Woodruff speechless.


    Strength was everything in the divine land. Since Samuel was now backed by the Yellow Emperor Guards, the rest of the Holy Beings were destined to be slaughtered if they chose not to submit to him.


    "Actually, we only need to wait for another three years. We''ll see the results by then," Mike said suddenly.


    "Three years?" Moon repeated in surprise. "Is it possible that you have figured out a way to deal with them?"


    The Holy Beings of the alliance were aware of the Other Shore Realm warriors from outside the divine land, but the other large clans still didn''t know of their existence.


    Mike didn''t get straight to the point and tell Moon everything. Instead, he said, "We do have a way of defeating them. As for what kind of method we will use, we won''t be able to inform you until the intention of the Moon Clan is clear to us."


    If the Moon Clan decided to join the alliance of the clans, they would also be treated as the enemy.


    "Mike, don''t worry. I have already made my decision. It''s out of the question for me to join the alliance of the clans and to surrender to Samuel," Woodruff answered firmly.


    Despite his sincerity, Mike still cupped his hands and said, "Please visit the Swirl Forest again after the Moon Clan makes a final decision. I''ll give you the answer then."

 Chapter 2869 Entering The Sea

    The two Holy Beings of the Moon Clan were sent out of the fairy palace by Augustus.


    Mike sighed. "I hope they make the right choice."


    "I won''t be surprised if they choose to submit to Samuel," said Harold.


    Most Holy Beings would be open to compromise in order to maintain their status and influence in the divine land.


    "But it may not be the best option," Mike said with a faint smile.


    Under Zen''s leadership, Mike had seen many Other Shore Realm warriors outside the divine land. He now understood the great gap between these two forces and hoped that the Moon Clan would make the best choice available.


    "It looks like we also have to withdraw the disciples from the Floating Island of the Gu Clan," Hallet said, rather sadly. "But I don''t know where Master is now."


    Back then, Mike had been imprisoned by the Dongfang Clan and not long after that, Bromley had left the Floating Island.


    Mike had returned safely but Bromley had disappeared without a trace.


    Mike shook his head and laughed. "He is very interested in the chaos, and exploring the chaos takes too much time. Fortunately, there are not many people in the Gu Clan. Even the fairy palace can accommodate them. Members of the Luo Clan don''t need to come over at the moment."


    Now that the Yellow Emperor Guards were out in the open, there was no safe place in the entire divine land. The only places that could come close to blocking them were the forbidden areas, and even that might not be able to keep them away completely.


    "I will arrange for inquiries to be made about the situation on the Floating Islands," Hallet said, nodding.


    The entrance to the Swirl Forest was not completely closed to the Floating Islands, which meant that they could still get some information about the Floating Islands.


    Geoffrey poked his head into the living room, smiled and said, "Grandpa, you promised me you would exchange something for the Truth of Godly Way."


    Mike''s worries disappeared the moment he lay eyes on his grandson. He flashed Geoffrey a smile and said, "That''s for sure! It looks like I still need to rely on my grandson."


    Geoffrey had learned that Joy had imparted the Truth of Cultivation Nature to Mike, and had immediately come up with an idea. After all, Geoffrey had deciphered the Truth of Godly Way, and he had the right to exercise his monopoly over it. And because of this, Geoffrey had worked o


    teenth day, only two words had not been recited.


    But by this time, Zen had consumed too much of his soul power and fell to the ground. Even if Zen had had strong soul power, it would still have been used up.


    But the moment he woke up, he continued to recite the Truth of Cultivation Nature.


    "Benevolent!"


    On the twentieth day after he had begun to cultivate in seclusion, Zen gritted his teeth and spat out the last word of the Truth of Cultivation Nature.


    Zen had finally merged his Soul of Light with the Truth of Godly Way.


    The Truth of Cultivation Nature emitted from his body with a bang.


    It wrapped Zen up in a blue picture. He found himself sitting on a boat floating in a sea of stars.


    Everyone in the fairy palace felt the abnormal movement in the training tower.


    The training tower that Bromley had built could block almost all fluctuations, but it could not block the aura of the Truth of Godly Way. Everyone''s eyes were focused on the training tower.


    "It looks like Zen has made a breakthrough," Augustus said, his lips curling, jealousy and disappointment lacing his voice.


    Zen had cultivated the Truth of Cultivation Nature earlier than others, but he had been busy bustling about all these years, without much time to cultivate. Augustus on the other hand, had spent a lot of time comprehending the Truth of Cultivation Nature in the fairy palace, but had only mastered half of it. He found it more difficult to cultivate after he reached a higher level. He thought it might still take him a long time to reach the consummate level of the Truth of Godly Way.

 Chapter 2870 The Legendary Man

    "This is the Truth Boat!"


    The boat formed by the Truth of Cultivation Nature was like a real object that could be touched.


    Zen reached out and knocked on the railing. An audible echo sounded.


    He knew that this was not in fact real. Even his own body was turned from the soul. The Truth Boat was probably something that was imagined in a certain method.


    "This sea..."


    The last time Zen had stepped into the Sea of Truth, he had seen a red sea. This time, however, the sea was blue.


    The sea was emitting a vast aura, as if all the mysteries of the chaos were gathered within it.


    With a ghostly howl, the sea before him rolled up suddenly and a gust of wind blew over.


    Zen felt a chill run down his spine.


    The chilly air blew into the Soul of Light, penetrating into it and causing Zen to shiver.


    "No wonder one can cross the Sea of Truth only after turning their soul into a Soul of Light. If one''s soul is not powerful enough, the wind will blow at it and smash it into pieces!"


    Only now did Zen understand why it was so difficult for the people who had come before him to advance in the Sea of Truth.


    The difficulty of passing the Sea of Truth with the soul was probably much higher than with the physical body.


    A splash sounded from his left, like something had fallen into the flowing water.


    A boat had appeared out of nowhere and fallen into the Sea of Truth.


    Zen had experienced it and immediately understood that this person might have just comprehended the complete Truth of Godly Way as he had done.


    But Zen had no interest in communicating with anyone. An idea flashed through his mind, and the boat at his feet began to move forward. As soon as his boat moved forward, the boat behind followed closely.


    As he stood on the Truth Boat, Zen felt like he was in an ice cellar, his soul power being consumed even more than usual.


    He slowed a little after he had traversed quite some distance. To his surprise, the boat behin


    the news of the strange swimmer had only been spread to a select few within a small range.


    But the woman enjoyed a special status and had heard the news from her clan''s elders, which was why she paid attention to it and accorded it some importance.


    "Yes, isn''t it horrible? The Sea of Truth can turn all Souls of Light into nothingness. That guy can actually swim freely in the sea. I wonder where he comes from," the woman continued to exclaim. "I don''t think he is too far away. Within this period of time, I''ve spent two Soul Bamboos in order to break through the shackles and enter the Sea of Truth. Maybe I can meet that guy."


    "It is indeed terrifying," Zen responded.


    Only after one''s soul entered the Sea of Truth would they understand that the Sea of Truth was dreadful. Their soul would be wiped out instantly if infected with the water of the Sea of Truth.


    It was easy to guess how the others felt when they saw someone swimming almost casually in the Sea of Truth.


    Zen and the woman chatted and as time passed, they traveled quite a long distance. They were close to the end of the first section of the Sea of Truth.


    It was then that dozens of Truth Boats appeared on the other side of the sea.


    They were not moving against the current, but heading straight for Zen and the woman.

 Chapter 2871 Soul Pills

    Since this group of people was sailing downwind, their speed was naturally incomparably fast. It was impossible for Zen and the woman to avoid them.


    "We might be in trouble," the woman who was sailing behind Zen said with a faint smile.


    Zen gazed at the Truth Boats and counted fifteen of them heading toward him.


    Boats condensed by different Truths of Godly Ways emitted different auras.


    For example, Zen''s boat, which he had condensed with the Truth of Cultivation Nature, gave people a sense of peace and nature. The woman behind him, on the other hand, had used the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent to condense her boat. As her boat drifted on the sea, it gave off a sharp aura.


    The auras of these fifteen boats were exactly the same, and there were some faint space fluctuations. Zen assumed that these people must be cultivating the Truth of Void Destruction.


    And they all probably belonged to the same great force.


    Just as Zen came to this conclusion, the fifteen boats spread out in the formation of a fan and blocked his way.


    "Stop!" said a robust figure standing on the Truth Boat right at the front.


    People wouldn''t be able to see each other clearly in the Sea of Truth, but just from the vague figure of this person, Zen could tell that the person was very strong.


    Splash...


    Zen''s Truth Boat slowly came to a stop. "What''s up?" he asked calmly.


    Just as the figure was about to answer, the woman behind Zen said, "No need to ask. They probably want to extort a few soul pills from us!"


    "Soul pills?" Zen echoed curiously.


    It sounded like something that could strengthen the soul. However, there was a big difference between the names of pills in the Source World and the divine land, so Zen was unable to tell the effect of these pills just by their name.


    "Haven''t you ever heard of soul pills? How did you even step into the Sea of Truth?" the woman asked, surprised by the confusion in Zen''s voice.


    "Stop playing dumb! If you want to pass, each of you has to hand over three soul pills. Otherwise, you will die in the Sea of Truth today," the head of the group said coldly in an unquestionable tone.


    The woman behind Zen also assumed that he was playing dumb.


    In the Source World, there were some pills that were specially used for souls, and the soul pill was one of them.


    If one''s soul was not strong enough while they were crossing the Sea of Truth, they woul


    Zen was only bargaining with these people; it had never occurred to her that he would really refuse to hand over what they were asking for.


    ''This is not worth getting into a fight for, '' the woman thought, sighing in her heart.


    With her abilities, she could tear these people into pieces using her soul weapon.


    But in her eyes, they were nothing but scum. It would be a total waste to use her soul weapon to deal with them. Finally, she sighed and said, "All right, everyone. Don''t make a move. I''ll give you the soul pills!"


    As she spoke, she waved her hand, and six rays of brown light shot forward and landed on the boat of the head of the group.


    When the brown light swept past Zen, he felt a strong soul force graze him. It seemed that the soul pill was indeed a precious pill that could nourish souls.


    "You should have taken them out earlier. Well, at least one of you is sensible!"


    The head of the group picked up the soul pills, sneered, and then turned around and rushed away. The others also followed him with a roar of laughter.


    Once they were out of sight, the woman said, "You owe me three soul pills!"


    "Are they really that useful in the Sea of Truth?" Zen asked.


    "Of course they are. They are still of much use even after one reaches the Other Shore. Isn''t there a saying? Soul pills are the currency of the Other Shore!" Then, the woman hesitated and continued, "You seem to... You really don''t know anything about soul pills?"


    It was impossible for cultivators in the Source World to not know what soul pills were, so she couldn''t help but feel suspicious about Zen.

 Chapter 2872 Using Physical Body

    "I never heard about it before," Zen replied.


    This made the woman even more curious. She asked, "Aren''t you from the Source World?"


    "No, I''m not," Zen retorted.


    They couldn''t see each other in the Sea of Truth. Zen had no reason to hide his identity from the woman since it''d be impossible for her to discover his origin.


    "Let me guess. You''re from the Green Sky Land? The Ghost Hunting race? No, that couldn''t be. They are much taller than you," the woman continued to speculate.


    Zen never intended to reveal his background. He had something else in mind.


    These people were notorious for robbing others'' soul pills on the Sea of Truth. Zen intended to follow their footsteps.


    However, he couldn''t do it alone.


    If he wanted to enter the Sea of Truth with his body, his soul would have to leave the sea first.


    The soul pills he robbed using his physical body wouldn''t work on his soul.


    He could work with the woman.


    Upon realizing this, he couldn''t get it off his mind. He gazed into the distance where fifteen boats sped off and turned into small black dots floating on the horizon.


    The woman was still trying to figure out Zen''s origin when he said, "Let''s go after those people."


    "But why? You want them to rob you again?" the woman asked in confusion.


    "No. I''m going to find a way to return your soul pills," Zen replied.


    "Return my soul pills? That''ll be unnecessary," she said with a slight smile. Given her status, a few lost soul pills didn''t matter much.


    Zen continued, "Not just that. I''ll get more soul pills but only if you help me. What do you say?"


    This left the woman confused once more.


    Not only was Zen from outside the Source World, but he was also poor. How would he be able to get the soul pills? Did he plan to rob them? By himself?


    "Enlighten me. How do you plan on getting those soul pills?"


    hesitation, he fell into the sea of fire.


    Once the Souls of Light stepped into the Sea of Truth, they felt a bitter cold. Zen, however, felt burning heat reminiscent of summer.


    "Last time I crossed the first section, I have to swim downstream if I want to catch up with those guys."


    Splash!


    Zen spread out his arms before gracefully diving into the water and then jumping out of its surface, disguising himself as a nimble fish from a distance. His speed was so astonishing that he managed to cross the first line within just a few seconds.


    "Look! A fish from the other side of the first line is swimming towards us!"


    "Impossible. The two sides of the first line were two completely different worlds."


    "I don''t think that''s a fish. I think that''s...a person."


    "What? How?"


    A fish moving at that speed was more believable than a person.


    The first line was an insurmountable bottleneck for almost all the consummate True Gods. They had never heard of someone going back after crossing it with great effort.


    What was more shocking was that this person didn''t sail a Truth Boat but swam in the sea, completely beyond reason for those on board. Those who wandered by the first line watched Zen leave with mouths agape.

 Chapter 2873 Robbery

    For the majority of people, the nine lines of the Sea of Truth proved to be enormous trials.


    Those select few with enough skill and expertise were the only ones able to traverse them in a single expedition. For this matter, the disciples of the great forces were provided with soul pills and soul weapons. As a result, they came prepared for the first line challenge.


    However, a majority of the challengers slowly wandered around the first line. Their souls needed to endure the trial of the wind first and acclimatize to it. It was because the Sea of Truth was known for its frigid temperature. Having done that, they cautiously approached the first line.


    Elvis Cao was in a good mood. He happily hummed a tune while navigating the sea on his Truth Boat.


    In the northern region of the Pastoral Continent, many forces finally offered their assistance. Because of this, more than ten warriors had triumphantly achieved the Truth of Godly Way.


    Elvis knew that he almost had no prospect of winning if he tried to travel the Sea of Truth alone. Hence, he needed over ten people who were willing to participate in this quest. With this number, they could probably rival the disciples of the great forces.


    For him, this was an incredibly good chance to rob others.


    In the Source World, the Pastoral Continent was not considered great. As a matter of fact, it was almost insignificant. Its northern region was dreadfully bleak and deserted.


    Fortunately, there was an exceptionally powerful Other Shore Realm warrior who appeared in the northern region of the Pastoral Continent. In the middle of the continent''s largest mountain, the warrior left a Heavenly Space Inscription.


    The Heavenly Space Inscription greatly helped people who wished to learn and develop the Truth of Void Destruction. They found that it became a whole lot easier to master it as they stood under the inscription. Therefore, the Heavenly Space Inscription enabled most of the warriors of the Pastoral Continent to step into the Sea of Truth.


    The Cao Clan was one of the biggest clans living in the northern region of the Pastoral Continent. Elvis Cao was only able to procure two soul pills from the clan before he stepped into the Sea of Truth. He was one of the lucky few for some of the people who came with him did not even have one soul pill.


    Among all of the people who joined this quest, Elvis was undoubtedly the best of them. It was only natural that he became their leader.


    More than ten warriors usually banded together to plunder soul pills from those who journeyed through the sea alone.


    The soul-level competition barely expended any energy from them. Even a talented member of the elite force would


    reciting the Illusion Breaking Rune. She was just about to leave the Sea of Truth when all of a sudden, she saw waves rising steadily from a distance.


    "A fish? Is it really? Hmm... I''m wrong! It''s a man!"


    Out of nowhere, Dora remembered that particular rumor.


    However, she thought it was absolutely preposterous. To her, it seemed highly unlikely. She would only believe it if she saw it herself.


    This was truly astonishing. It was happening right before her very eyes. Someone was actually swimming across the freezing Sea of Truth!


    With this scene unfolding, she immediately stopped reciting the Illusion Breaking Rune. Her eyes blazed with anticipation. She fixed them resolutely at the person swimming from the distance.


    As the man swam effortlessly in the chilling and unfriendly territory, it seemed like he possessed such great power. With every stroke, he launched himself from the surface of the sea and soared about ten feet in the air. After falling back to the sea, he repeated the process with intense speed. It was a remarkably surprising sight to behold for he was more than ten times faster than the Truth Boats!


    "I will definitely follow him when I have the chance. I need to find out how he does that. Grandma will reward me handsomely if I''m able to get this rare piece of information!" Dora''s lips twisted into a sly smile.


    Though he could not see their faces, Zen was able to recognize Elvis and his men quite easily.


    Aside from the fifteen Truth Boats, the Truth of Void Destruction released from them was what gave away their position to Zen.


    Splash! Splash!


    After two more strokes on the ice-cold water surface, Zen landed firmly on the red sea in front of Elvis. "Don''t waste my time and just surrender all your soul pills to me!" he said ruthlessly.

 Chapter 2874 A Stupid Way

    Stunned, Elvis was at a loss for words.


    He just stood there, amazed as he could not explain why Zen was able to swim in the sea. All he knew was that Zen was an absolutely formidable powerhouse.


    In his mind, he asked himself the most confusing question¡ªwhy did such a strong warrior have to rob him of the soul pills? Thinking about it hard, Elvis was at his wits'' end.


    However, when he came back to his senses, he suddenly felt Zen''s voice was familiar.


    "E... Elvis, I think he''s the man we met a while ago," someone from behind Elvis said as he reminded him.


    "Wait, which man?" Elvis asked, dumbfounded.


    "The one who didn''t even know what the soul pill was. Remember the man whose boat was made from the Truth of Cultivation Nature? That''s him," replied the man behind him.


    It was not until this moment that Elvis was clear. Looking at Zen in the sea, he felt his heart quiver as he recognized him. Stammering, he said, "You, you are..."


    But when Zen finally reached Elvis'' boat, he spoke coldly, "Just as I said, don''t talk nonsense. Give me all of your soul pills, and I will spare your lives! Otherwise, I''ll smash your boats into smithereens!"


    Just behind the group, Dora was also stunned to hear this on her Truth Boat.


    Blinking, she recalled what Zen had told her.


    As far as she could remember, Zen told her that he would return her soul pills and asked her to wait and follow the Truth Boats around.


    As it turned out, he was the one who swam in the Sea of Truth.


    "Does that mean that he has two identities in the Sea of Truth? But how is that even possible?"


    At that point, Dora was excited, although she could not figure out why. She had thought that crossing the Sea of Truth was a boring journey, but she didn''t expect that she would meet an interesting guy the moment she stepped into it.


    ''But he''s so stupid. With the way he''s doing it? I bet he won''t be able to get the soul pills. However, I can help him if necessary, '' she suddenly thought to herself.


    Meanwhile, Elvis and the rest of his group felt threatened by Zen''s presence, so they kept silent for a while as they tried to figure out what to do.


    To them, their soul pills were as precious and important as their lives, for they had risked everything just to obtain them. In fact, they were the guarantee for them to cross the Sea of Truth.


    For a long time, they had wandered around the first section. It was actually quite worse than killing them if they were to give up the hard-to-obtain soul pills.


    "Sir, we''re sorry. It was our fault. How about I return s


    ea, he only had the stern to grab on so tightly while his body shuddered in fear.


    But as soon as the Bewitching Spell vanished, he finally managed to activate the Illusion Breaking Rune.


    "Buzz..."


    Suddenly, his body and his boat shook violently right before they disappeared from the Sea of Truth.


    As soon as he left, his companions also hurriedly activated the Illusion Breaking Rune and followed suit.


    At that point, there were only Dora and Zen left in the sea.


    Staring at the blurry figure in the sea, Dora smiled and asked, "So, was that how you planned to return my soul pills?"


    Nodding his head, Zen threw the soul pills in his hands onto Dora''s boat. "You and me, fifty-fifty. Wait for me here!"


    As soon as he finished his words, he leaned back into the Sea of Truth and disappeared.


    Meanwhile, Dora picked up the soul pills one by one patiently and counted them. Then she said helplessly, "There are only sixty soul pills after all this trouble. Alas, he is really..."


    Just as Elvis had said, someone like Dora didn''t care about a few soul pills. In her eyes, Elvis wasn''t a thief.


    She didn''t take hundreds or thousands of soul pills seriously, not to mention a few or dozens of them. To her, Zen''s actions were very interesting. He had incomparable abilities, but he had spent so much energy just for several dozen soul pills. The more she thought about it, the more curious she got about Zen''s identity and origin.


    Sighing in surprise, she never knew that she would see such an interesting person.


    At that moment, she followed what Zen told her to do. Right in the middle of the sea, she floated and carefully put away the soul pills while quietly waiting for Zen to return.

 Chapter 2875 Inquiry

    Zen''s Truth Boat sailed in a straight line in the Sea of Truth.


    The closer he got to the first line, the stronger the wind became, and the colder the sea water was.


    Moments later, he saw a small solitary boat bobbling up and down in the sea.


    "You didn''t leave," Zen said, smiling as he approached Dora''s boat.


    "Leave? Just for a few dozen soul pills?" Dora said, frowning.


    "Ha-ha!"


    Zen felt the dissatisfaction radiating off her.


    He couldn''t place an accurate estimate on the value of the soul pills, but they were of great importance to him now.


    Dora was not angry with Zen. She had already guessed Zen''s identity, albeit vaguely.


    He was not from the Source World.


    He knew only a little about the Sea of Truth and the Other Shore.


    He hadn''t even realized his own potential.


    Even Dora didn''t know what Zen could do.


    But when the news had spread from the Oneness Sky Palace, she had seen the expression on her grandma''s face.


    She had never seen her grandma so surprised before.


    And now that she had met Zen, she wouldn''t miss this chance.


    "Well, here you go!"


    Saying this, she threw all the soul pills to Zen.


    Zen took the pills, counted them, and said, "Sixty soul pills. As I said, I''ll take half of these. Thirty are for you."


    Zen knew that there was a fatal flaw in his plan. If they withdrew from the Sea of Truth, he wouldn''t be able to do anything to them.


    And if Dora hadn''t stopped them from using the Illusion Breaking Rune, he wouldn''t have obtained these soul pills.


    Dora didn''t refuse Zen.


    Though she didn''t care much for the soul pills, she was afraid he would bear a grudge if she rejected them.


    Once the soul pills were divided, they continued to drive their Truth Boats forward on the Sea of Truth.


    "You haven''t told me your name yet," Dora asked.


    Zen threw her a look but decided to be honest with her. "My name is Zen Luo," he said.


    The Source World was an unknown field to him and he thought that no one had ever


    nd some information in the Sea of Truth, but he hadn''t expected to find such bad news.


    He had never met Chiyou before, but Chiyou was his grandfather, his mother''s father.


    "You seem unhappy," Dora said, staring at Zen and trying to figure him out.


    After all, the Soul of Light was a soul and emotions were easily released through the breath of the soul.


    Zen was taken aback at Dora''s words and reined in his emotions almost immediately.


    He didn''t know which force Dora came from, nor did he know if she was an enemy or a friend. All he knew was that he shouldn''t reveal his identity before he figured her out.


    "I''m fine. We have reached the first line. Let''s cross it!"


    A line cut through the sea before them. The color of the Sea of Truth on the other side of this line turned from light blue to dark blue. Warriors crossing this line had to accept the fact that their Souls of Light would have to bear greater pressure.


    Dora blinked. She was observant and was adept at judging people''s moods.


    She had clearly felt Zen''s mood fluctuating, especially at the moment she had told him that Chiyou had been killed.


    It was then that she realized that Zen hadn''t intended to inquire about the Yellow Thearch. He had wanted to know about the Nine Li race.


    ''Is he from the Nine Li race?'' Dora thought to herself.

 Chapter 2876 Holding On

    This was only a guess from Dora. She felt Zen''s unwillingness to reveal his identity so she wouldn''t probe any further.


    Pressure soared with every inch closer to the first line.


    Even Dora could feel the pressure ahead¡ªforceful and burdensome.


    Surprise became of her when she looked at Zen still standing on the boat, as though frozen solid.


    Even with just a small pool of experience, it was clear Zen possessed strength enough to come here without the help of the soul pill!


    As Zen rushed forward alone, the people who had been wandering around them also approached in their Truth Boats and followed closely behind Dora.


    With the presence of a leader, the people who followed felt the pressure lighten on their shoulders. This was what they wanted.


    Soon, the ten-odd Truth Boats lined up like a dragon, rushing towards the first line.


    They were met with a shockingly powerful breeze of icy wind a thousand feet away from the first line.


    It was said that the sea water across the line had caused the strong wind.


    Phew! Whoosh! Each icy gust was stronger than the last, leaving a chilly sensation down everyone''s spine.


    The wind blew on Zen''s Soul of Light so hard he felt as though it had pierced into his body like fine needles.


    ''To pass the Sea of Truth in the form of Soul of Light is indeed more difficult than to do it in the form of a corporeal body...''


    Zen gritted his teeth, while enduring the cutting wind and the pressure.


    But Zen was wrong. Crossing the Sea of Truth in the form of a corporeal body wasn''t easier than to do that in the form of Soul of Light. It was more difficult for those who cultivated the Ancient God Cultivation Method to cross the Sea of Truth. Since time immemorial, many warriors had attempted to cross the first line but were met with the fate of a severed life. Countless people were burnt to ashes by the red sea.


    However, Zen''s corporeal body was unusually strong. His strength made it possible for him to safely break through the first line of Sea of Truth last time.


    Those who followed them all took out some soul pills and swallowed them as soon as they reached a thousand feet from the first line.


    In the blink of an eye, their Souls of Light were reinvigorated. Even with the whipping of the wind, their souls remained firm and unyielding.


    Some people had to eat three or four pills in a row because one soul pill was not enough.


    Yet others were not so fortunate. They didn''t have any spare soul


    e in the distance was clearer to him than ever before.


    ''I''m still not going to take the soul pill!''


    Dora thought, clenching her teeth. She was stubborn and determined to get past without it.


    In the Source World, a maid hurriedly rushed out of the magnificent palace and shouted anxiously, "Oh, my God! Princess Dorothy... it seems that Princess Dorothy is suffering a great disaster!"


    At the sound of her screams, three streams of light immediately shot towards the palace.


    "Dorothy has just entered the Sea of Truth. No one within the first three lines can harm her, let alone the first line. What nonsense are you talking?" shouted a burly man who was visible in the first flash of golden light.


    "Let''s get inside first!" In the second golden light was the figure of a tall, beautiful woman.


    The person in the last golden light said nothing and rushed directly into the palace.


    When the three of them saw what was going on inside, their faces changed dramatically.


    At the center of the palace sat a woman, cross-legged.


    The woman was extremely beautiful and naturally gave off a stream of elegance. Her features were as perfect as if she had come from a painting. Her entire body was as flawless as a perfect piece of jade.


    Just as the maid said, Dorothy didn''t look good. Her body trembled, and her face looked extremely pale. She bit her lip so hard it was bleeding, and dark red blood flowed out from the corner of her mouth.


    "What the hell is going on? Even though she is just breaking through the first line, she should have activated the Necklace of Mystic Soul to protect herself!" the strapping man said anxiously.

 Chapter 2877 Crossing The First Line

    The tall and beautiful woman calmed down.


    Dorothy was not a child anymore. She was very clear about the dangers that she could face on the Sea of Truth.


    With Dorothy''s ability, she could cross the first line of the Sea of Truth with just a soul pill, even if she didn''t use the Necklace of Mystic Soul.


    "I''ll drag her back from the Sea of Truth!" As the strapping man spoke, a soul force burst out from his eyes and formed a soul ring that then began hovering over Dorothy''s head.


    With his ability, this man could indeed separate the Soul of Light from the Sea of Truth.


    However, to employ such a secret soul technique would be a great test for him. At the same time, even though it would save Dorothy, it would hurt her soul.


    Seeing that the man was about to use the secret soul technique, the woman suddenly reached out and gently tapped the soul ring, causing it to break down and disappear.


    "What are you doing?" the man snapped.


    The woman shook her head disapprovingly. "Dorothy has grown up. She''s not a child anymore. Crossing the Sea of Truth is just a small training for her. We should believe in her."


    "But she''s in danger now!" the man replied anxiously.


    At this, the woman smiled softly. "She will face a lot more life and death situations in the future. You won''t be able to protect her every time. Anyway, I have a feeling she will cross the first line. And if she really can''t hold on, she''ll leave the Sea of Truth."


    The man frowned at first, but then he gradually calmed down, finding reason in her words.


    Dorothy, Zen, and the others were only two hundred feet away from the first line.


    There were only five Truth Boats following Zen, and Dora''s was one of them.


    ''Crossing the Sea of Truth isn''t as easy as I thought. There are nine lines in the Sea of Truth, and I''m only now crossing the first one...'' Zen thought, taking a glance at the scene behind him.


    As soon as he turned around, another one of the people behind him couldn''t hold on anymore and his Truth Boat broke into pieces. But before he could sink, he quickly used the Illusion Breaking Rune and escaped from the Sea of Truth.


    Now, there were only four boats left.


    "The last one hundred feet!"


    Dora couldn''t bear it anymore.


    In fact, she had already done a great job.


    Zen had cultivated the Soul of Light for


    These words triggered Zen''s curiosity.


    "That''s right. As long as the Soul of Light enters the Sea of Truth, it will continuously grow stronger. As it becomes stronger, it will be able to go further in the Sea of Truth. Isn''t this a process of cultivation?" Dora said.


    "You''re right. That''s a good point." Zen nodded. While bearing the strong winds and the cold air in the Sea of Truth, the Soul of Light would grow stronger and stronger. "But one can only cultivate the soul in the Sea of Truth, right? How can I strengthen my cinnabar field and my physical body?"


    According to No. 9527, no one in the Source World so far had been able to put their body into the Sea of Truth.


    In other words, when one reached the end of the Godly Way through the Grand World Cultivation Method, their physical body''s strength would not be able to increase. Similarly, Zen wanted to know how to reinforce the inner world.


    "Haven''t you ever met an Other Shore Realm warrior?" Dora asked.


    "I have, but I know nothing about them," Zen replied honestly.


    Emily, Timotheus, and Leopold were all very powerful, but Zen didn''t know where their strength came from.


    "Humph, when you reach the end of this sea, you will understand," Dora said.


    Zen merely smiled at her in response, deciding to stop asking questions. If he really wanted to know more about the Other Shore Realm, he had a lot of ways to do it.


    However, he was confident that he would eventually reach the Other Shore of the sea. Then, he would be able to find out what existed there on his own.

 Chapter 2878 Leaving

    After passing the first line, the color of the sea suddenly turned a deeper blue.


    Many shining stars could be seen deep in the blue Sea of Truth, and the chillness that penetrated into the souls was emanated from the stars at the bottom of the sea.


    The Truth Boats slowly trudged onward in twos and threes. These people had just crossed the first line; it would take some time for them to adjust and adapt to their new surroundings.


    Two Truth Boats that had followed Zen to cross the first line quickly tried to catch up to him.


    "Friend, thank you for your help just now!"


    A husky voice shouted from one of the Truth Boats.


    Zen had practically carried the group on his shoulders when he crossed the first line. While he did all the dirty work, the rest of the group had, more or less, taken advantage of his strength.


    "Friend, it seems like you didn''t consume any soul pills."


    Another voice chirped from the other Truth Boat. Though his soul strength wasn''t that weak, he had needed the help of the soul pill in order to cross the first line. Still, he had the leisure to observe Zen with the remaining strength he had. "I wonder where you''re from. I''m from ¡ª"


    "It''s improper to ask such questions," Dora interrupted. "Don''t you know the rule in the Sea of Truth? The one who takes the lead to cross the first line has the right to charge others soul pills. If you have soul pills left, show your gratitude now." There was a tinge of annoyance in her voice.


    Zen remained silent. He hadn''t been aware of this rule.


    However, he wasn''t going to refuse free soul pills!


    Having a supply of soul pills would come in handy in the future.


    While he was able to cross the first line without using the soul pills, he didn''t know if the case would be the same for the second or third line. He realized now that the Sea of Truth was not as simple as he had thought.


    "Ha-ha! Of course I didn''t forget this rule," the man with the rough voice exclaimed. With a gentle wave of his hand, three soul pills flew towards Zen.


    The other man gave Zen five soul pills.


    It was obvious that they both wished to befriend Zen. Who was this powerful guy?


    If they could just follow Zen, it would save them a lot of trouble in the future. However, the moment Zen received the soul p


    than he did. If she could tag along, she could possibly save him the trouble of navigating alone.


    After promising to keep the soul mark, Zen proceeded to try to use the Illusion Breaking Rune.


    It wasn''t difficult for Zen to grasp the fundamentals of the Illusion Breaking Rune, and he successfully used it in his second attempt. It felt as though he had triggered something in the Sea of Truth, causing it to collapse in front of him. This was vastly different from being forcibly taken out by No. 9527.


    Because Zen had left, Dora followed suit shortly thereafter and left the Sea of Truth.


    Whoosh!


    Dora blinked. She was back in the palace.


    "Thank goodness! You''re finally back!" Ademar shouted with excitement.


    Although Dora''s body had returned to normal after she crossed the first line, he had still been very worried about her. Seeing her come to her senses was such a relief to him.


    "Am I that weak in your eyes?" Dora said with a pout.


    Ademar turned red with embarrassment and let out a howl of laughter. The tall, beautiful woman beside him asked, "Dorothy, did you try to cross the first line with your own strength?"


    Dorothy nodded wistfully. "I failed. I ended up using a soul pill."


    The woman nodded as though her suspicions were confirmed. "Don''t worry, there''s no need to get ahead of yourself. Very few warriors at your age can cross the first line without the help of the soul pills."


    Dorothy''s eyes gleamed, and her lips turned up into a wide smile. "I happened to meet one today!"

 Chapter 2879 The Truth Theurgy

    "Really? Did you actually encounter such a person?" the woman asked, her beautiful face registering her surprise.


    Ademar said, "It''s not a big deal. The Sea of Truth is just the beginning. He can break through the first line most probably because he had stayed there for a long time. However, it is the first time that you entered the sea. If you had stayed in the Sea of Truth for longer, you would have been able to cross it without using a soul pill, as well."


    Dorothy blinked her eyes in wonder and commented, "But it''s also his first time to enter the Sea of Truth!"


    "That''s amazing, indeed." The beautiful woman, Felicity, nodded with a smile. "I wonder which clan he hails from, since he is even better than you."


    She did not expect Dorothy to shake her head and say, "That''s not all. Have you heard the rumor from the Oneness Sky Palace, Aunt Felicity?"


    "What rumor?" Felicity asked.


    "About that man who swam in the Sea of Truth," the other replied.


    Felicity''s eyes flashed, and she nodded, her expression becoming serious.


    According to the rumor from the Oneness Sky Palace, someone succeeded in swimming in the Sea of Truth.


    Outsiders knew nothing about it, but the rumor attracted considerable attention within such a small area.


    Many people were skeptical about the rumor.


    No matter how powerful a Soul of Light was, it would completely disappear once it fell into the Sea of Truth.


    Since the ancient times, no one had disproved this rule, or at least none that they knew of.


    However, the children of the Oneness Sky Palace were certain about what they saw. After all, many people had witnessed the scene.


    Some people reasoned out that a mirage in the Sea of Truth might have deceived the kids into thinking that it was a real person.


    But then, how could a mirage destroy a Truth Boat? The deduction didn''t make sense.


    "Dorothy, did you also see that person?" Felicity asked urgently.


    Beside her, Ademar had his mouth wide open in shock. "You mean the guy who has passed the first line is able to go straight into the sea? If his Soul of Light could really enter the Sea of Truth and not melt, doesn''t that mean that he could do whatever he wants in the sea?"


    Souls of Light feared only a few things: cold air and the wind blowing on the Sea of Truth.


    Since this being wasn''t even afraid of the Sea of Truth, then cold air and the sea breeze posed no threat to him.


    "Yes, it''s him," Doro


    quired with some confusion.


    Dorothy had cultivated the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent; naturally, she didn''t need a truth theurgy of the Truth of Cultivation Nature.


    "That person is practicing the Truth of Cultivation Nature," Dorothy replied. "I noticed that he didn''t know anything in the Source World. If, by any chance, he doesn''t have a truth theurgy, then I want to supply him with one."


    The palace leader nodded slightly. "Although the warriors of our palace mainly cultivate the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent, we still have several truth theurgies about other cultivation methods. I shall ask Ademar to bring one of them for you."


    Dorothy''s guess was correct. What she asked for was indeed something that Zen lacked.


    After the Nine Li race was eliminated from the divine land, virtually no truth theurgy was left. Even if some of them had been preserved, no one could cultivate them


    because of a precondition for its cultivation: a complete understanding of a Truth of Godly Way.


    Actually, the Non-combat Zone, which Harper created using his Truth of Goodwill and Malice, had been a truth theurgy, and Nicholas'' Dark Light World Transformation was another truth theurgy.


    Back then, Nicholas had strived extremely hard to obtain this theurgy from the Sea of Truth.


    After retreating from the Sea of Truth, Zen heaved a long sigh of relief.


    True, he was able to withstand the sea''s pressure, but that kind of pressure would have stayed with him for as long as he was within the sea.


    Upon his retreat, the pressure bearing down on his Soul of Light totally dissipated, leaving him completely relaxed.

 Chapter 2880 The Changes In The Divine Land

    In the fairy place, Augustus looked at Zen from head to toe as if he was sizing up a stranger.


    After Zen understood the full meaning of the Truth of Cultivation Nature, his Soul of Light had suddenly been enhanced. Moreover, he learned that the Sea of Truth was a place for cultivation which could greatly improve his soul up to a higher level.


    After he left the Sea of Truth, Zen''s temperament had also changed.


    His eyes retained their sharpness, but his features looked very natural now.


    "Hey, you finally came out, Zen!" Augustus uttered as he came closer to Zen.


    "Hey, what''s wrong?" Startled, Zen could not help but ask as he wondered if anything big happened during his training.


    "Nothing. I just wanted to know if the Sea of Truth is interesting at all. So, is it?" Augustus grinned and asked.


    But as a response, Zen only gave him a glare before walking straight towards the middle hall of the fairy palace.


    Meanwhile, inside the middle hall, Mike was looking up at the ceiling with his hands clasped behind his back, showing a touch of sadness that drifted across his face.


    Suddenly, there was a noise near the door. Mike turned his head to see what it was and saw his son standing at the door. Upon his seeing his son, the sadness in his face instantly vanished. "Zen, you''ve come out! Congratulations! You have mastered the complete Truth of Godly Way."


    Back in his less stressful days, Mike also thought about the Truth of Cultivation Nature.


    However, his cultivation progress was a tad bit slower than Zen''s.


    In the Source World, Holy Beings didn''t exist, but he had lived countless times longer than Zen. Experiencing more things than Zen, he had a broader vision, which gave him an advantage over Zen with regards to the comprehension of the Truth of Cultivation Nature.


    Of course, if Mike wanted to enter the Sea of Truth, he also needed some opportunities.


    Somehow, even though the sadness on his face only lasted for a second, Zen keenly captured it. "Father, what happened? What choice did the Moon Clan make?"


    Narrowing his eyes, Mike answered, "Word came from the Floating Islands that the Moon Clan had already left there."


    "What? They have moved out of the Floating Island?" Upon hearing his response, Zen raised his eyebrows slightly.


    To which Mike replied by nodding his head.


    Although the Luo Clan had no members in the Time Sea, it still wasn''t too difficult to plant some informers in the area so that they


    in his head.


    "I''m afraid that I can''t make it in a short time," Zen answered as he shook his head.


    The first line in the Sea of Truth alone had put him under great pressure, and it was only going to get harder.


    "Even if you really set foot on the Other Shore, it would still be difficult for you to fight against the Yellow Emperor Guards. There''s no need to worry about this," Mike said with a smile. "But now, I have to personally take you out."


    "Where are we going?" Curious, Zen asked.


    "I''m taking you to the divine land to integrate all the other Godly Ways," uttered Mike.


    At that point, his greatest ambition was to use the Infinity Ruler to merge the three thousand Godly Ways together.


    Accidentally, Zen cultivated the Primal Chaos Technique, resulting in the creation of his special inner world.


    He had always believed that Chiyou must have meant something when he gave the Infinity Ruler to Lorena, but the secret of that meaning had never been uncovered.


    Still unsure of his speculation, Mike felt that it was already a necessary step for him to help Zen fuse the three thousand Godly Ways.


    Although Zen had already stepped into the Sea of Truth, he still did not cultivate the Truth of Void Destruction. With his current speed, it was too slow for him to absorb more than two thousand Godly Way Tablets throughout the divine land.


    After all, Mike was a Holy Being, and his Grand Teleportation technique allowed him to cross dozens of big regions at a time, which was a hundred times wider than what Zen could do. Therefore, Zen was able to move very fast across the divine land with the help of his father.

 Chapter 2881 Illusion Godly Way

    From a bird''s eye view, the backyard of the fairy palace appeared dotted with numerous neat, ornamental courtyards.


    Since Zen had gained control over the palace, it had blossomed and bloomed with new life, and looked like a completely different place to the barren ruin it had resembled before.


    Everyone noticed this transformation. Letitia and Aura, however, craved something other. The distant vision of the divine land enticed them with its mystery.


    When Zen was away, they would spend their time studying in the library and practicing, cultivating their skills to learn more about the world beyond the palace.


    And even when immersed in their studies, they daydreamed about the beautiful landscapes of the divine land.


    "What happened to your promise? You told me you would show me the Time Sea..."


    Letitia pleaded, lazily laying her pale leg across Zen''s body, searching his eyes with her own. Despite having a significant cultivation base and superior physical strength, she felt intimacy with Zen exhausted her.


    "Don''t worry. You won''t have to wait much longer," Zen answered with a smile, stroking her forehead with his fingers.


    Sometimes, Zen caught himself thinking whether he was behaving selfishly by making his wives stay inside the fairy palace. He had reasoned that he was doing it for their safety, but now he doubted whether his motives were motivated more by his own desire.


    Yet, he consoled himself with the fact that he had made that decision in the face of imminent danger to his father''s life.


    If something had happened to Zen''s father, the entire Evolutionary Universe would have collapsed, and no living creature would have survived. He had made this decision as a last resort.


    Before Zen had started cultivating in seclusion, Lavender had also expressed the desire to visit and see the Evolutionary Universe.


    As the queen of the Demon Night, she naturally still cared about her people.


    Zen had agreed to grant her wish.


    Once he managed to master the three thousand Godly Ways, he would ask his father to help make it come true.


    Mike, as the one who owned the Evolutionary Universe, was the most appropriate person to ask. After all, he had easy access to it.


    However, despite Zen''s attempts to reassure her, Letitia was not convinced. "Unlike the last time, your current problem isn''t as simple, is it?" she asked with concern.


    Zen had not, in fact, divulged all the details of the current situation in the divine land to his wives.


    They had the best intentions and made the utmost effort to assist him, but their abilities left much to be desired. Thus, Zen decided it best to keep them in the dark about the full exten


    ith the two greedy top-rank True Gods.


    This small central divine city wasn''t connected to the rich clans on the Floating Islands. Even if these people were to try spreading the news of Zen and Mike''s arrival, Zen and Mike would have already been long gone by the time the information reached the Floating Islands.


    As Zen walked past the two True Gods, the light rings in his eyes began to glint.


    The Infinity Ruler had begun absorbing the internal momentum of the Illusion Godly Way.


    A few seconds later, another mark on the Infinity Ruler lit up, and another light glimmered on Zen''s Godly Plate.


    He had finally mastered the Illusion Godly Way.


    Once the process was done, Zen didn''t stay a second longer. Under the astonished gaze of the crowd, Mike swept Zen away.


    Only then did the two top-rank True Gods, who had collected his divine might coins, dare to move.


    The observers of the tablet began arguing amongst themselves. "Was that man in the sky a consummate True God?"


    "He must be! His demeanor was surely that of a consummate True God. And that young man must be his son. He must be less than one hundred years old, and yet he has already become a top-rank True God. I wonder which first-tier clan he comes from... "


    "But what does he need the Godly Way Tablet for? Was he able to comprehend the Illusion Godly Way in such a short time?"


    "Hey, stop talking nonsense! That is impossible! Even if he was one of the talented sons of the rich clans on the Floating Islands, which I doubt he was anyway, there is no way he could fully comprehend the Illusion Godly Way in such a short time... "


    Meanwhile, as the observers continued to speculate about Zen''s and Mike''s identities, the subjects of their debate had already reached the next Godly Way Tablet.

 Chapter 2882 The Incomplete Godly Way

    The Godly Way Tablets were distributed evenly in the divine land. Generally, one Godly Way Tablet existed in every region.


    Occasionally, there were two, or even three, Godly Way Tablets in a particular region.


    With Mike''s help, it only took Zen five minutes to move from one Godly Way Tablet to another and absorb its internal momentum.


    In two days and two nights, the two had flown across the divine land without stopping, and Zen had absorbed 150 Godly Way Tablets!


    "The 151st Godly Way Tablet!"


    Zen looked at the Godly Way Tablet in front of him with a hint of surprise in his eyes.


    The Godly Way Tablets in the divine land were the painstaking fruits of Chiyou''s labor. They couldn''t be damaged. Theoretically, they were very difficult to destroy. But a part of this Godly Way Tablet was missing. Its surface was pitted, and there were cracks in the lower left corner.


    People jostled against one another for other Godly Way Tablets, and the first-tier clans often fenced off these Godly Way Tablets in a bid to earn some profit.


    But very few people showed interest in this dented Godly Way Tablet. Only a handful of people were gathered around it.


    Seeing Zen''s strange expression, an old man beside him commented, "It''s a pity when there is a slight flaw in a white jade, but nothing in the world is flawless. The incomplete Godly Way, in my opinion, is the only right way. Can you tell the implications of this Godly Way Tablet, young man?"


    "Incomplete Godly Way? What kind of theurgy does it possess?"


    Zen''s eyes flashed with excitement.


    There were three thousand Godly Ways and not all could showcase great power.


    Some of the Godly Ways were merely the insights into the world, and no powerful theurgy was created from their internal momentum.


    This incomplete Godly Way was one such piece.


    "Humph! This vast divine land is like a huge pot. The Holy Beings and consummate True Gods are nothing more than the ants in the pot. All of them have great aspirations and try every means to seek omnipotent skills, but they are too impatient to appreciate things that are incomplete," the old man remarked with a disdainful look.


    Zen''s eyebrows shot up when he heard this.


    odly Way, but Zen had mastered it in a matter of seconds. Not only that, he also entered a realm that he could not understand!


    The old man was on the verge of breaking down.


    "The incomplete Godly Way does have a special beauty. It is impossible to develop a theurgy from it, but it will allow me to observe this world from a special perspective."


    Zen was unaware of people''s reaction as he was completely immersed in the charm of the incomplete Godly Way.


    It was not until he came to his senses and saw the old man''s astounded expression that he realized what had happened.


    What he had done was simply too shocking. He had achieved the impossible.


    He didn''t walk away. Instead he strolled over to the old man with an apologetic look on his face and explained, "I didn''t comprehend the Godly Way by depending on my own talent. It''s not what you think. Please, don''t dwell on it too much."


    The method he had used to comprehend the Godly Ways with the Infinity Ruler was no different than cheating. Zen felt sorry that the old man misunderstood him.


    Although Zen had offered an explanation, the old man was still rooted to the spot.


    Looking at his stiff body, Zen felt helpless. There were still many Godly Ways that he needed to absorb, so he couldn''t spend too much time here. More importantly, he couldn''t reveal the secret of the Infinity Ruler to the kind old man.


    At last, Zen shrugged his shoulders and flew off towards Mike who was in the sky.

 Chapter 2883 Collecting The Divine Might Coins

    After Zen left, the old man came back to his senses. He looked up at the sky and his eyes were filled with awe.


    "Elder Hu, how did he do that?"


    "He was able to master a Godly Way in only half a minute. Not even Holy Beings can do that!"


    "Isn''t it impossible to reach the consummation of the incomplete Godly Way?"


    "I don''t know." The old man shook his head, amused. "But now we know one thing: one could also reach the consummation of the incomplete Godly Way! This means we have to work extra hard to be on the same level."


    The past few decades had been tumultuous for the entire divine land. It went through a drastic change unseen even in the last hundreds of divine eras. But plenty divine citizens and True Gods remained nonchalant. They did not seem to be affected by the changes. Instead, they continued minding their own business and pursuing their own path.


    Up in the bright sky, Mike could be seen taking Zen by the hands and teleporting away.


    Together they headed east, towards the direction of the Ray Tree.


    The Ray Tree was the highest divine tree in the divine land. It was so tall that one could still distinguish it from several regions away.


    The Dongfang Clan had withdrawn from the Floating Island following the death of Nicholas. Despite this, they were still worried. Any moment, Samuel could appear at the Ray Tree, still full of rage.


    So they had put up a lot of measures to protect themselves. For one, they had asked their elite disciples to change names. They were also sent to faraway places. In general, their clan had been staying under the shadows trying not to call any attention to themselves.


    Three days later...


    As they approached the Ray Tree, Zen suddenly requested a change in direction. Instead, he asked his father to head north.


    Throughout their trip, Zen had absorbed over a thousand kinds of internal momentum.


    As soon as they stepped into the Heavenly Stellar Region, Mike''s eyes flickered. "It seems that you have an old acquaintance in the Bright Night Region," he announced.


    "An old acquaintance?" Zen''s lips curled into a knowing smile. He knew exactly what his father was talking about. "Which Godly Genius is in the Bright Night Region?" he asked.


    Harold hadn''t found all the Godly Geniuses in the divine land. The Godly Geniuses that had gathered at the fairy palace were Margaret, Kurt, Lucille, and Lone.


    Now, Mike''s presence made things easier.


    He could easily sense the existence of the Godly Geniuses no matter how far they were from him. After all, they were creatures of the Evolutionary Universe.


    The changes in the Floating Islands prohibited Mike from taking them back


    werful clans were willing to cooperate and gather all their divine might coins together. That way, they could collect enough to make an extremely powerful rule.


    Alfredo also felt that something strange was up. Who were the Yellow Emperor Guards and Samuel dealing with to require such a powerful rule?


    It was rumored that even the Other Shore Realm master in the Sword Clan who created the Non-combat Zone had been killed. Who was powerful enough to stand up against the Han Clan in the entire divine land now?


    Though confused, Alfredo always took it seriously to accomplish every task given to him by Samuel.


    Splash!


    Suddenly, a consummate True God from the Liu Clan jumped off to the edge of the square and activated his space ring. As a result, black divine might coins poured out of the ring like water spilling over and piled up into a small hill on the ground.


    The consummate True God and Alfredo exchanged glances. Then, the True God snorted and prepared to leave.


    Alfredo ran after him and blocked his path. "Leander, do you have any complaints you want to air out on behalf of the Liu Clan?"


    Leander Liu''s expression changed immediately as he thought of all the rumors he heard these days. His sneer turned into a polite smile. "No," he said with a low voice. "We don''t have any complaints."


    "I''m glad to hear that," Alfredo responded with a nod.


    With a huge sigh, Leander Liu left hurriedly.


    The powerful clans held a lot of grudges against the Han Clan, but they were all too powerless compared to them. Most of them resorted to doing nothing.


    Thus, the popularity of the powerful clans had decreased significantly. All the disciples of the powerful clans, together with the Holy Beings of the clans were like fish on the chopping block.

 Chapter 2884 The Sea Cracking Skull

    In a palace on the Floating Island of the Han Clan, Pascal sat cross-legged as he put the ring he was holding into his elixir field.


    At the other end of the palace, Samuel was pacing restlessly to and fro.


    Samuel had declared that he was cultivating in seclusion when in fact, it was Pascal who was in seclusion.


    Leyton had given Samuel the Truth of Dark and Light Chaos, but he hadn''t been able to practice it because of the ring in Pascal''s hand.


    At the moment, Pascal was completely under Samuel''s control, which was why Samuel was able to use the ring''s power as he wished. But the power he was able to wield was not all that the Abyss Demon Region had.


    Pascal stood between Samuel and the ring, partially blocking Samuel''s view as if a thick veil separated them.


    "You can give the ring to me," Rosie said with a small smile from the corner she was sitting in as she watched Samuel''s impatience rise.


    Samuel stopped and glared at her.


    "If you don''t want to give it to me, you can give it to someone else. Alfredo, for example," Rosie said hurriedly.


    Alfredo was also a consummate True God who had been loyal to the Han Clan, which made Rosie''s suggestion all the more acceptable.


    "That''s impossible," Samuel said, shaking his head.


    He didn''t trust anyone except himself.


    He had actually come up with a solution, which was to get back Pascal''s Memory Flame.


    But he knew what kind of person Pascal was. If Pascal were to know what he had done, he would never help him and would turn against him.


    "You have no choice left in that case. When the Other Shore Realm warriors of the Nine Li race enter the divine land, you will all be dead. Enjoy yourself while you can," Rosie said glibly.


    Samuel was irritated at her words.


    She had gone too far.


    He had known her capabilities, which was why he had taken her out of the Abyss Demon Region.


    But her ability would cost a massive amount of the Faith Energy. During the battle between the Abyss Demon Region and the alliance of the powerful clans, she had almost exhausted the Faith Energy


    e in the city had been pulled out by an invisible force and sucked into the space channel.


    They had no idea about the catastrophe they were about to face.


    A man fell into the fish''s mouth and touched the blood light. He turned into a cloud of blood mist almost instantly and then disappeared completely.


    The others paled at this sight.


    "I don''t want to die!"


    "What''s this?"


    "Argh!"


    Some resisted the force while others roared and clanked against it in desperation.


    But it was all in vain. How could True Gods resist the power of the Other Shore Realm?


    The blood light in the huge fish''s mouth could devour over ten thousand people every three seconds.


    It wasn''t long before more than one hundred thousand people of a medium-sized divine city were devoured.


    The space channel closed after a while.


    The blood light in the fish''s mouth had also receded, but dark blood burned in its empty eye sockets. One of its sharp teeth was also lined red.


    Samuel passed the huge fish skull and bowed to Leyton who was behind it. "Congratulations, Master Leyton! There are more blood lines."


    Leyton had told him before that only when the sharp teeth in the fish''s mouth were full of blood lines could this weapon be activated. Now there were only four teeth with blood lines. He didn''t know how many more people were to be devoured before this could be activated.

 Chapter 2885 The Cao Clan

    Leyton shook his head at Samuel and said, "It''s far from enough. I''ll ask Zavier to speed up and target the central divine cities."


    An ordinary divine city only had about a hundred thousand people. But the central divine cities of the regions usually had more than a million or even millions of people in them.


    Every time Zavier launched an attack, he could capture all the people of a divine city.


    If this spread out, it would cause panic in the divine land. That was why he would be prepared with all possibilities before making a move to ensure that no one would be left alive.


    But attacking the central divine cities wouldn''t be that easy. The Thousand Commandments Slates could not hurt the warriors at the Other Shore Realm, but they would still cause him a lot of trouble.


    "Drop it. Have you found a way to release the Abyss Demon Region?" Leyton asked.


    Samuel sighed regretfully, "Not yet."


    "How many divine might coins have you collected?" Leyton asked, carefully arranging his features into one devoid of expression.


    "Alfredo is responsible for it. All the powerful clans are handing in the divine might coins. The quantity is quite large," Samuel answered honestly.


    Leyton nodded. "Let''s do this as soon as possible. We have the Sea Cracking Skull, but the powerhouses at the Other Shore Realm are too strong. We must be fully prepared even before they enter the divine land. If we survive this disaster, I will recommend your name for the Yellow Emperor Guards when we return to the Source World. You will be a hero to our Bear race!"


    Samuel was surprised at this. But he overcame his surprise quickly enough, saluted and said, "I will do my best!"


    Even though the Yellow Emperor Guards had specifically chosen to attack the divine cities at the edge, they had caused panic on a small scale.


    Every time Zavier launched an attack, a divine city would be emptied.


    There were a few second and third-tier clans outside of the divine cities. When they reached the city gates, they discovered that the guards had all disappeared.


    They entered the cities, only to find that all the people had disappeared as well.


    This was strange,


    ing.


    The sound of his voice brought all the dancing women to a halt.


    "What happened? Why are you in such a state?" Bruno asked, standing up, annoyed that he had disturbed Nathan and him.


    "Since Master is in seclusion, I can only come to report to you. Something has happened in the Bright Moon City!" the man said, clearly horrified.


    As a second-tier clan, the Cao Clan ruled three divine cities, one of which was the Bright Moon City.


    Bruno frowned and asked, "The Bright Moon City is protected by the Hundred Commandments Slate. What could possibly happen?"


    Most True Gods thought that the divine cities were extremely safe. Nothing could go wrong under normal circumstances.


    "Everyone in the Bright Moon City is gone!" said the man, his eyes as wide as saucers.


    Bruno was shocked. "What? What are you talking about? You must be mistaken!" he barked at the man.


    "Impossible! I didn''t go there alone. A total of twelve people, including me, searched for half a day in the Bright Moon City, but we didn''t see a single person, not even the stewards of the Cao Clan!" the man said, his voice dripping seriousness.


    "How could this happen?" Nathan exclaimed, realizing the gravity of the matter.


    What kind of power had the ability to empty a divine city?


    Moreover, the Cao Clan was a part of the Bai Clan and the Bright Night Region was under the protection of the Bai Clan. Who could have dared to do this so brazenly?

 Chapter 2886 Meeting Nathan Again

    Bruno couldn''t quell his worries any longer. He finally stood up and announced, "I have to report this to my father. You should go and inform my uncles as well! Nathan, sorry for disturbing you. Please forgive me."


    Nathan replied with a wave of his hand and said, "Never mind! We should pay attention to it. If there is anything I can help with, please let me know as soon as possible."


    Bruno nodded in response and left hurriedly.


    Nathan didn''t stay back. He, too, walked out from the side door of the hall.


    As the central divine city of the Bright Night Region, the Bright Night City was not a very big city, but it was quite special.


    Three hundred miles away from the city was a mine, which produced unique stones that could gather light. These stones absorbed sunshine during the day and sparkled brightly at night.


    These mineral resources didn''t hold much use to a True God. However, they adorned the divine city like beautiful jewels. Even the rich clans on the Floating Islands would purchase some of them for decoration purposes.


    The streets were all glowing with azure brilliance.


    Nathan had grown steadily in the city. In the past few years, he had already built his own house here.


    On his way home, he suddenly sensed an invisible aura.


    He frowned slightly but continued moving quietly.


    The news about the Bright Moon City was very strange, but Nathan subconsciously believed that the Bright Night City was still safe.


    Anyone who wanted to fight him needed to be at least a consummate True God, but such people didn''t have a reason to give him trouble.


    ''Am I being nervous unnecessarily?'' Nathan thought to himself.


    But as he continued moving ahead, he felt the invisible aura tracing him again.


    The owner of the aura was purposely not disguising it. It was as if that person wanted Nathan to discover it.


    With furrowed brows, Nathan sped up his pace.


    But the problem was that no matter how fast he moved, he couldn''t get rid of the aura. Every few seconds, the aura would catch up with him, making its presence felt.


    Finally, Nathan rushed into an empty corner and grabbed his space ring in desperation.


    The slate would be alerted in the divine city if a fight occurred, but it wasn''t instantaneous. It required some time to be triggered. So he had to be on full alert.


    Just


    the reason behind the mysterious disappearance of people in the divine cities. Moreover, the Yellow Emperor Guards were not afraid of provoking the Bai Clan.


    Nathan was even more confused now. "Aren''t the Holy Beings the strongest warriors in the divine land? Who can be stronger than a Holy Being?"


    Nathan''s range of knowledge was quite different than Zen''s.


    He wasn''t aware of the existence of the outside world, nor did he know about the existence of the Other Shore Realm warriors.


    "It''s hard to explain this to you. Anyway, we can''t fight against such strong enemies at present. So we''d better leave as soon as possible," Zen urged.


    To his surprise, Nathan thought for a moment before saying, "In that case, can I ask the Cao Clan to evacuate the people in the city? It will be a pity if they all die in vain."


    After living in the divine land for years, Nathan''s once arrogant nature had changed.


    Zen and Mike exchanged a glance. They were a bit hesitant.


    They would have to collect the Godly Ways all around the divine land and doing so might draw the Yellow Emperor Guards'' attention, which was something they wanted to avoid.


    "Perhaps they won''t suspect us if the people in the city are evacuated. After all, the Cao Clan is already alerted because of the Bright Moon City, and it''s reasonable that they would want to evacuate the city. You''d better do it fast if you want to help them," said Mike.


    The Yellow Emperor Guards could appear any moment and it would be a disaster of epic proportions to encounter them here.

 Chapter 2887 Abandoning The City

    Nathan shot out of his place like an arrow, while Zen and Mike waited where they were.


    Nathan returned ten minutes later, folded his hands respectfully towards Mike, and said, "I''ve informed the Cao Clan, but I can''t tell what decision they will take."


    Mike nodded. "You did the right thing. It''s a matter of life and death. The decision is theirs. You have done your part."


    As the master of a universe, he knew everyone in his universe like the back of his hand. With just a single thought, he could know a person''s life history, from the moment they were born to this present moment.


    Nathan''s talent was in no way inferior to Zen''s or Rocher''s. But there was a vast difference in the experiences and births of the three warriors.


    Nathan had been loved and doted on by some Supreme Lords in the universe, causing him to become arrogant. But a series of trials and tribulations in the divine land led him to tone down his arrogant temperament.


    Zen waved his hand and pulled out the mountain token. He smiled at Nathan as he drew out a space channel. "You go in first," he said.


    "Me go in alone?" Nathan exclaimed, stunned.


    Questions were bubbling up within him.


    "Someone in the fairy palace will receive you. We have other things to do," Zen answered Nathan''s unasked questions.


    Once Nathan entered the space channel, Mike stretched out his hand to activate Grand Teleportation. Soon, he and Zen left Bright Night Region.


    In a house of the Bright Night City, the master of the Cao Clan, who had stopped his seclusion, looked cautious. He was silent for a long time before he directed his question to everyone. "What do you think?"


    A while ago, Nathan had burst in and asked all the members of the Cao Clan to retreat from the city, telling them that if they did not leave, a great disaster would befall them and that everyone would die.


    "Dad, I believe Nathan," Bruno said. He admired Nathan, who had looked confident as he warned everyone. So Bruno chose to believe him even though he had not given a plausible reason for asking them to leave.


    "Abandoning the city will have a great impact on our clan! We should request the Bai Clan to make a decision about this. We should believe that they will protect us well, and we need to let th


    they spotted the blue light approaching them.


    But they were far slower than Zavier.


    The blue light released by the bronze mirror caught up with them and sucked them in.


    They felt the space around them freeze as they were absorbed into the sky and into the bronze mirror.


    Tens of thousands of people were taken away.


    Outside the city, a large number of people were fleeing. Zavier couldn''t be bothered to pay attention to them, and began to move towards the next city.


    Tens of miles away from the city, the Cao Clan''s people watched this scene, dumbfounded.


    "What method was that? He captured them all with a bronze mirror!"


    "That man''s aura is strange. I can''t figure out what kind of Godly Way he cultivates."


    "He is a Holy Being, right? I wonder which clan''s Holy Being he is."


    The Cao Clan''s members were relieved that they had survived a disaster and erupted in discussion.


    Had it not been for the master of the Cao Clan who had made the prompt decision to abandon the city, the entire Cao Clan would have been sucked into the bronze mirror.


    Most True Gods had lived for several divine eras but still hadn''t gotten the chance to meet a Holy Being. To them, Holy Beings were strong and admirable.


    "No, he is not a Holy Being. He is stronger than a Holy Being,"


    Bruno said, slowly but with great certainty.


    "Who can be stronger than a Holy Being?" Bruno''s father stared at him in confusion. "And how do you know?"


    Bruno smiled and replied, "Nathan told me about it."

 Chapter 2888 The Mountain Of Holy Beings

    "Nathan? How did he know? Do you know where he is now?" Confused, the master of the Cao Clan asked.


    Shaking his head, Bruno replied, "I don''t know. He said he would leave, and if we were meant to meet again, our paths would surely cross."


    Right before Nathan left, he said something vaguely strange to Bruno using his life vitality as he tried his best in persuading him to leave the divine city.


    When Nathan was trying to convince him, his voice was affirmative. Given what had happened in the Bright Night City, it seemed that he had already known in advance what would happen, but Bruno didn''t know how he knew about it.


    With this as proof, Bruno was convinced that Nathan was no ordinary person, for there was something quite odd about him.


    While the people in the Bright Night City were surprised, Mike had taken Zen into another region very far off from where they were, more than ten million miles away.


    There was a Godly Way Tablet in the region which was next to a large central divine city that hosted around over a million divine citizens.


    Looking at the central divine city, Zen said, "Father, should we spread the news of the massacre?"


    If the people in the divine cities were to be slaughtered at this rate, then the divine land would suffer great losses for sure.


    Now, if Zen and his father were to spread the news, then at least in that way they could save many lives.


    But Mike shook his head and said, "It''s too risky. We don''t even know where the Yellow Emperor Guards will appear. Even if we spread the news, it can''t spread throughout the entire divine land in a short span of time and they can go somewhere else."


    If the Yellow Emperor Guards discovered that the city was empty, then they would probably head to the north or south of the divine land.


    "If you want to save the people of the divine land, then you have to kill the Yellow Emperor Guards," Mike said as he gently gave Zen''s head a little pat. "Go."


    Upon hearing the go signal, Zen nodded his head. Immediately, he drew an arc in the air and charged straight towards the Godly Way Tablet below.


    The three thousand Godly Way Tablets were distributed evenly in the divine land.


    It was such a wide and vast area that there was a small chance of meeting any of the Yellow Emperor Guards.


    However, one thing that needed to be noted was


    of the three thousand Godly Ways. Concerned, he could not help but descend and ask, "What do you feel? Are there any changes?"


    Dazed, Zen stood still. Frowning, he said, "It seems that there is no change. The ruler just keeps spinning."


    "It keeps spinning?" Mike asked as his eyes narrowed.


    "It casually stops and points to the south!" Zen said as he moved his body to the southern direction. .


    But no matter how Zen rotated his body, the ruler acted like a compass as it kept on pointing towards the south.


    "The Time Sea?" Mike asked with astonishment.


    At that moment, Zen was in the north by east and was pointing at the direction where the Time Sea was located.


    Meanwhile, there was a faint vibration in the area.


    It was not violent, but everyone in the divine land had noticed and felt it clearly.


    Shaking slightly, the Floating Islands were not exempted from the vibration which did not come from underground. In fact, it seemed that the whole divine land was actually trembling.


    "Wait, what''s going on? Did another Holy Being die?" Zen looked up at the sky as he spoke.


    In his mind, he thought that this vibration could only be caused by the collapse of the universe.


    Surprised, Mike spoke, "No, no universe collapses in this way. In fact, the Mountain of Holy Beings is emerging as we speak!"


    "The Mountain of Holy Beings is emerging? Didn''t you say it would be some time before that happens?" Curious, Zen clarified.


    "Well, it confuses me too." Mike looked at Zen in confusion. "Maybe it''s because of the Infinity Ruler."

 Chapter 2889 The Ruler And The Will

    The Mountain of Holy Beings was emerging? Zen was slightly stunned.


    Mike clenched his hand, around which cyan wisps of the internal momentum of the Evolution Godly Way, were constantly rotating.


    It was extremely difficult to infer what was unknown. Even Mike couldn''t predict the real intentions of the Infinity Ruler. He could only make an educated guess.


    After the cyan wisps around his hand converged to a point, Mike said cautiously, "It should be because of the Infinity Ruler. It is pointing in the direction of the Mountain of Holy Beings. It seems that Bromley was worrying too much."


    Bromley was the only one who had ever entered the maze in the Mountain of Holy Beings.


    However, he had failed to figure out the secret of the maze, because he could not find his way out of it.


    Even after leaving the Mountain of Holy Beings, Bromley had kept thinking of the maze, so much so that, with his amazing memory, he had copied the entire maze on the True Path.


    "Do you mean that the Infinity Ruler isn''t merely leading us to the Mountain of Holy Beings?" Zen asked.


    Mike nodded. "It''s very likely that it''s leading us to the exit of the maze."


    Zen''s eyes burned with passion when he heard his father''s words.


    He didn''t know what was waiting for him at the end of the maze, but it didn''t stop him from making all kinds of conjectures. In his eyes, Chiyou wouldn''t have given something useless to his mother.


    In the north of the Time Sea in the middle of the divine land.


    Under the constant vibration, the waves in the Time Sea turned turbulent.


    All the Sun Blind people who were sailing in the Time Sea immediately ducked. They stretched out their hands and feet to stabilize their boats as much as possible and ensure that they wouldn''t be overturned by the waves in the Time Sea.


    Rumble...


    There was an endless plain in the north of the Time Sea. Now, a crack appeared in the center of that plain.


    It was noon, and the sunlight fell from the sky straight into the crack, from which silver radiance was reflected.


    The vibration in the area became more and more intense, and it seemed as if a huge monster was about to spring out of the crack.


    Rumble...


    Finally, a pointed mountain peak shot out of the crack and rapidly rose. In no time, a huge silver mountain body was visible above the plain. The crack in the plain was expa


    d, squinting his eyes.


    Everyone in the Source World cultivated the Grand World Cultivation Method, so they were familiar with secondary worlds.


    The universes, the inner worlds, and the divine land that Chiyou had built using extraordinary theurgies needed to be ruled by will.


    In normal cases, the rulers of the worlds would always exist. True Gods were usually the rulers of their own inner worlds. When they died, they would cease to be the rulers because their inner worlds would die along with them.


    However, in this vast chaos, accidents often occurred.


    For example, sometimes a ruler''s soul would vanish but their body would remain. In that case, their inner world would still exist, but it would be left without a ruler.


    This would give rise to two possibilities. One, if a strong being in the inner world noticed that the ruler had disappeared, they could then take the position of the ruler and even control the ruler''s body. However, such a situation was rarely seen as the beings of an inner world were seldom that smart. It was very uncommon for beings to realize the death of their rulers.


    The second possibility was the awakening of the will of the inner world.


    The will would appear to replace the original ruler of the inner world.


    Mike had been half-dead for so many years that his inner world was slowly beginning to awaken. However, his universe was already well-prepared. When the will was awakened, it would merge with Zen''s body. Then, Zen would be an immortal in that universe and could calmly control it to resist all attacks for Mike.

 Chapter 2890 The Death Of The Female Patriarch

    When Murphy planted the ancient sorcerer race in the Evolutionary Universe, his purpose was very clear.


    He wanted to control the will of the universe.


    However, Mike was the master of the Evolutionary Universe. As Zen''s father, he had made plans to protect Zen against any danger, from his birth even unto the future.


    Thus, Murphy couldn''t compete against Zen for the control over the will of the universe. Eventually, the Supreme Lords had won that battle.


    "Leyton, let''s just kill that woman! We''re going to fight to the death anyway," Hamish suddenly said after a short silence.


    Leyton squinted his eyes at him, a trace of cold light flashing quickly across his pupils. "I''m afraid this is the only path we can take. Let''s go to the Sun Blind race!"


    It had been a long time since the divine land separated from the Source World. As such, without influence from the Nine Li race, it would be easy for it to have its own will.


    The divine land wasn''t like a universe, but it was a well-developed place.


    Once its will was born, it would be impossible to suppress it.


    The Yellow Emperor Guards had realized this problem the moment they entered the divine land. But it was not until later that they found the means used by the Nine Li race.


    Splash!


    Splash!


    The waves of the Time Sea gently lapped against the shore.


    The time splinters in the seawater could tear apart everything in the sea, but it wouldn''t tear apart its container.


    For countless years, the Sun Blind race had lived a leisurely and relaxed life.


    The life of their people was quite short. The oldest only lived for thousands of years, while some died as young as three-hundred years old.


    That was very short compared with True Gods, who had a limitless lifespan. The lifespan of the Sun Blind race could be compared to a wildflower that bloomed in the morning, only to die later in the night.


    However, people cherished things that were easily lost. They learned to cherish their life, short as it was.


    Enjoying a limitless lifespan, the True Gods never stopped to think about how many years they wasted on a single thing. They lived like slaves chasing what they wanted. A residence in the divine city or hundreds of divine might coins could easily take a few divine era


    able to subdue the female patriarch by himself.


    "If you hand over the method of controlling the original will, I will spare your life. One day, if I return to the Source World, the Yellow Emperor race will have a great reward for you!" Leyton added.


    "I survived that time not because you pitied me, but because you didn''t dare to kill me. Would you dare to kill me now?" asked the female patriarch suddenly.


    "There''s nothing I won''t do now!" Leyton threatened in a cold voice.


    The patriarch held her head high. It was obvious that she wasn''t frightened. She challenged him with a mocking smile. "Then do it!"


    "You!" Leyton''s face darkened in anger. However, he hesitated to hurt her.


    He came here to force this woman to surrender. He was not planning to kill her, at all.


    "You think we won''t kill you, bitch?"


    Zavier twitched behind him, about to make a move. However, Leyton stopped him. He ordered him angrily, "Stop!"


    "You won''t make a move, so I have to move first."


    The female patriarch sighed as if she was getting bored. The moment she finished speaking, a powerful aura came from behind her.


    Leyton was stunned. "Damn it! Stop her!"


    The Yellow Emperor Guards responded quickly, but it was still too late.


    Before they could come near her, she had already brandished her sword.


    A bizarre, colorful sword radiance suddenly appeared behind her and tore her body apart. Even the Time Sword of Gods in her hand shattered at the same time, and it turned into colorful crystals.

 Chapter 2891 Under The Mountain Of Holy Beings

    Livid, Leyton wordlessly stared at the corpse of the female patriarch of the Sun Blind race.


    With a sneer showing on his expressionless face, Zavier commented dryly, "Huh. Her method of committing suicide is pretty unique."


    Hamish said in all seriousness, "The matriarch has taken her own life, which is equivalent to stopping suppressing the will of the divine land. It seems like she already knew who the successor is!"


    The Time Sea and the Time Sea Forbidden Land existed for one reason: to hinder the awakening of the divine land''s will.


    Chiyou provided the Nine Li race with a ship, the divine land, for them to escape, but they would have been in trouble if the divine land''s will had awakened.


    The will of a world was usually volatile. All would be well if the will was kind; otherwise, if the will was evil and violent, it could easily kill all the creatures in the divine land.


    The mission of the female patriarch of the Sun Blind race was to suppress the divine land''s will and keep it in its initial state.


    Back then, Nicholas and Hamish had every intention of killing and replacing the female patriarch.


    However, the idea was rejected by Leyton.


    Leyton was afraid that after the female patriarch''s demise, the original will of the divine land would be liberated and have its won consciousness and conscience. By then, the divine land would no longer be under their control. Given that the Yellow Emperor Guards were stronger than the natives of the divine land, they were very likely to become the first targets of the will.


    Based on the same reasoning, the matriarch had actively been suppressing the original will of the divine land, while selecting her own target in the process.


    In the Time Sea, the members of the Sun Blind race had previously attempted to verify Zen''s abilities and potential, but the results they had gathered were inconclusive.


    Afterwards, Zen seized the Time Jade Seal from many Holy Beings. Only then did the matriarch realize Zen''s massive potential. Even then, she continued observing Zen''s progress.


    This time, the Mountain of Holy Beings was opened in advance, and the matriarch could finally verify this fact.


    At that moment, she knew that her mission was over.


    She was even surer that the Yellow Emperor Guards would not just stand by and would definitely attempt to stop her.


    So, the matriarch took the most sensible method, which was to kill herself.


    As a security measure, she even used the power of the Time Sword of


    open, but most warriors camped at the foot of the Mountain of Holy Beings in advance.


    "Why did the Mountain of Holy Beings emerge two years in advance?" a woman inquired.


    This woman was a consummate True God who led the Wen Clan in a northern region of the divine land.


    "Who knows? Anyway, I''ve been waiting for this day for years! This time, I''m going to lead the Huang Clan to the Time Sea and own a Floating Island there after I become a Holy Being!" another man said with a fierce, determined expression on his face. He was the grand elder of the Huang Clan in a northwest region of the divine land.


    "Haha." A scholar-like man dressed in a long robe jeered, "Only three warriors at most are qualified to become Holy Beings when the Mountain of Holy Beings appears each time. Sometimes, only one warrior is given the title. I''m afraid you might even be disqualified to fight." To add insult to injury, he made a small salute toward


    the man, who harrumphed in displeasure. "If you''re that leery of my strength, maybe we can fight now..."


    When these people were gathered together, all kinds of exchanges and arguments were inevitable.


    Leland stayed at the edge of the crowd, staring blankly at the Mountain of Holy Beings.


    He was not counted among the top Demi-holy Beings, and it was extremely difficult for him to become a Holy Being. Even so, he would not give up this opportunity.


    Looking at the Mountain of Holy Beings, he thought of Zen.


    Zen was only a consummate True God, but his strength was formidable. He also seemed to carry a deep grudge toward the alliance of powerful clans. ''Will he come this time?'' Leland thought to himself.

 Chapter 2892 Chaos Winged Beast

    Leland was surprised at the thought that crossed his mind. But he was soon smiling.


    Even if Zen had obtained great opportunities in Reincarnation Land, it was highly possible that he wouldn''t be able to leave the Abyss Demon Region alive facing the alliance of the powerful clans.


    But he had a faint premonition that Zen wouldn''t die that easily.


    At this moment, a voice sounded close to them. "We, in fact, have a greater chance of becoming Holy Beings this time. I hear that the strength of the alliance of powerful clans has weakened considerably when they explored the Abyss Demon Region. All of them were almost killed. Holy Beings can be reincarnated, but the Demi-holy Beings and consummate True Gods of the clans are now dead. Even Nicholas'' universe has collapsed. The one that collapsed not long ago was his."


    "Where did you get the news?"


    "I have an old friend on a Floating Island. He told me. But keep this to yourselves. Don''t spread this news.".


    Leland''s expression shifted to one of sadness at these words.


    Now that he knew the news of these deaths, it seemed to him that Zen had died along with them.


    Once the Mountain of Holy Beings had appeared, Zen and Mike returned to the fairy palace.


    The Infinity Ruler in his mind changed direction according to Zen''s position. But it always pointed towards the Time Sea in the middle of the divine land.


    The Mountain of Holy Beings would be opened three months after it appeared.


    This time around, Zen had gathered all the Godly Ways, and had also taken his time to fuse them together. So he chose to cultivate in seclusion immediately after their return to the fairy palace.


    ''The power of the Ways-blending Strike created by the fusion of more than three hundred Godly Ways is extraordinary. If the three thousand Godly Ways are fully integrated...'' His eyes glinted with excitement at this thought.


    But No. 9527 was ready with a buzzkill the moment the idea came to Zen''s mind. "This method of Ways-blending Energy has been tried before."


    "Is it powerful?" Zen asked.


    "Of course! It''s incredibly powerful but only to warriors at the True God Realm. This kind of power is ordinary to those at the Other Shore Realm. So what you should do now is cross the Sea of Truth and cultivate the truth theurgy," No. 9527 warn


    ast suddenly let out a sound. The four giant wings on its back flashed with cyan light, and an irresistible space power spread out of them. These four giant wings contained the Truth of Void Destruction!


    "Damn it. It''s going to run away again. Hurry up!" a man on the flying ship shouted.


    The flying ship followed the Chaos Winged Beast into the space channel.


    They couldn''t give up since they had chased after the Chaos Winged Beast for many years.


    The moment the flying ship got into the space channel, a man on the ship had a strange look on his face and cried out, "Master Clement! My Yellow Emperor Magatama seems to be having a reaction!"


    Clement glanced at this man in surprise. Someone standing beside him couldn''t help but ridicule him, "Do you know how vast the chaos is? The Yellow Emperor Magatama''s range of perception is limited. If you can encounter Yellow Emperor Guards here, my name is not Cosmo!"


    Clement nodded in agreement.


    Yellow Emperor Magatama could allow the Yellow Emperor Guards to communicate with each other.


    Distance was not a problem in the Source World. But the Source World was only a drop in the ocean compared to the chaos. How could one meet Yellow Emperor Guards at the edge of such a chaos? Even Clement didn''t believe what the man claimed.


    Seeing that no one was going to believe him, the man patted his waist gently and pulled out the Yellow Emperor Magatama. "You better hear it for yourself then."


    Then they heard an ear-piercing screech from the Yellow Emperor Magatama.

 Chapter 2893 Communication

    "Listen," Clement said, as he signaled everyone to keep quiet. "There might be a space crack in the clouds that is disturbing the Yellow Emperor Magatama."


    Messages were usually sent to them through the space fluctuation from the Yellow Emperor Magatama. Through it, Clement got to know the consequences of a space crack: a violent wave would definitely disrupt the Yellow Emperor Magatama.


    "That''s right. Godfrey, you are too paranoid!" one of the others remarked.


    Godfrey felt his heart sink. He didn''t realize that was what people thought of him.


    He started to put the Yellow Emperor Magatama away when, all of a sudden, it started making noise.


    "Rustling, rustling... I am... And I''m at..."


    Godfrey held the Yellow Emperor Magatama closely.


    The rest of the group was staring in awe.


    They stooped closer to listen closely.


    "The divine land... Rustling, rustling..."


    "It seems like someone''s trying to reach us through the Yellow Emperor Magatama! They might be close by." Clement''s eyebrows furrowed in deep thought.


    "Which Yellow Emperor Guard came to this damned place?" a Yellow Emperor Guard asked.


    "What is this divine land, anyway? Not once have I heard of it," said Godfrey.


    The divine land was a name used by its residents to refer to their place, but it was a name unknown to outsiders. Thus, the warriors who weren''t part of the divine land didn''t understand it.


    "Godfrey, try to communicate with the Yellow Emperor Guard," Clement ordered. "If we continue trying to chase the Chaos Winged Beast, then perhaps we can find that Yellow Emperor Guard. But he seems to have encountered some trouble."


    At that point, they were nearing the bottom of the chaos where it was bleak and deserted.


    It was not normal for a Yellow Emperor Guard to idle around in that area, so he assumed that the Yellow Emperor Guard must have encountered a huge trouble.


    Because of this, they had to reconsider their options.


    Godfrey replied with a curt nod. He brushed the surface of the Yellow Emperor Magatama with his finger. A green light beamed above the Yellow Emperor Magatama and it started to make noises.


    H


    separate.


    This all changed upon the arrival of a Holy Being. The first-tier clans had to be integrated, and the clans in the Sunrest Tree became a unified group known as the Sword Clan.


    Thus, the Sword Clan owed its roots to the Sunrest Tree, and their protection to the Non-combat Zone.


    Unfortunately, they had to give up the Sunrest Tree.


    Samuel ordered all clans who didn''t join the alliance of powerful clans to give up the Floating Islands.


    The Sword Clan had no choice but to give up the Floating Island, completely aware of the consequences of their choice.


    As soon as they disaffiliated from the Floating Island, they''d make themselves an enemy of the alliance of the powerful clans.


    Not too long ago, the Yellow Emperor Guards killed Harper in front of the Holy Beings of the Sword Clan. As a result, the Truth of Goodwill and Malice disappeared along with the Non-combat Zone.


    The Sword Clan members were sullen to have reached their last days in the Sunrest Tree.


    The Holy Beings, the Demi-holy Beings, the consummate True Gods and a lot of disciples in the Sword Clan left the Sunrest Tree and entered the Everest Spirit Mountain, leaving only a few people in the Sunrest Tree.


    They didn''t want to submit to Samuel, and they also believed Mike.


    And on the other side of the divine land, the Moon Clan in the Hidden Tree had also made the same choice. They were on the way to the Swirl Forest.

 Chapter 2894 A Discussion

    In the past, the Moon Clan and the Sword Clan could work together to fight against the Dongfang Clan.


    But now, the Yellow Emperor Guards were much stronger than them, so they did not stand a chance to defeat them. They refused to make the same choice as other powerful clans, so the best option for them at this point was to retreat to the forbidden lands.


    A month later, at the Swirl Forest.


    Augustus was floating in the air. He gently brought his hands together and uttered, "Grow!"


    Rumble!


    On cue, giant trees rose one after another reaching out their leafy branches heavenwards.


    These trees grew rapidly, and before long they were towering trees swaying in the breeze.


    When the trees had grown to a certain height, the branches intertwined to form exquisite tree houses.


    This was a very easy thing for Augustus to do.


    Meanwhile, several Holy Beings were gathered in the fairy palace and an urgent discussion was underway.


    "Sooner or later, the Yellow Emperor Guards will attack us. If we really can''t oppose them, then I will willingly surrender. Ha-ha!" The one who was speaking was Vanessa, the leader of the Mysterious Soul Building.


    She looked like a girl of just thirteen or fourteen. She had a delicate but intelligent face, full of irresistible charm. She was seated on the chair with her slender legs crossed gracefully.


    "Vanessa, don''t talk nonsense," reprimanded Moon.


    They knew Vanessa was joking.


    People who knew her well were fully aware of her personality¡ªfiery and forthright!


    She was not the strongest among the Holy Beings, but the universe she had created was perfect.


    She had launched three universe battles and won every time. She had let the opponents go in two battles, and she had slaughtered a Holy Being by destroying his universe in the other battle.


    Other Holy Beings might pay allegiance to the alliance of the powerful clans, but it would be a cold day in hell before she would surrender.


    "Mike has finally returned after going through a lot of suffering. Zen has also killed Nicholas for revenge. Unexpectedly, Samuel has risen to power and released all the Yellow Emperor Guards. This is turning out to be a disaster," another person said from the other side of th


    why the rush?"


    "And even if he does become a Holy Being, he can''t change anything, right?"


    The crowd couldn''t fathom Mike''s plan of action. It was meaningless to have one more Holy Being. Plus it was a huge risk to go into the Mountain of Holy Beings right now.


    But Holy Jay knew the reason behind Mike''s seemingly foolish decision. He also knew what it meant for the Mountain of Holy Beings to come in advance.


    "This matter is very important to me and Zen," Mike answered flatly. "So when the Mountain of Holy Beings opens two months later, I hope you can help me."


    "The Mountain of Holy Beings is located on the side of the Time Sea. At that time, I''m afraid that the security from the alliance of the powerful clans will be heavier. If the Yellow Emperor Guards were to stop him from entering the mountain, it would put him in a tough spot," said Moon, trying to make Mike see reason. He really couldn''t understand why Zen had to enter the Mountain of Holy Beings.


    Holy Jay said with a small smile, "It seems that I have to go to the Soul Wilderness because we need Estelle''s help. It''s a pity that Bromley hasn''t returned. When he does, things will be much easier."


    While the Holy Beings were discussing among themselves, a strong wave of energy suddenly swept across from the training tower.


    Bang!


    There was an explosion and then a huge hole appeared in the tower.


    The Holy Beings turned around to look at the source of the deafening sound and the violent energy.

 Chapter 2895 The Difficulty Of Blending The Godly Ways

    Blending the Godly Ways was an extremely difficult task.


    Previously, Zen had had to put a lot of effort into blending three hundred Godly Ways. Naturally, blending three thousand Godly Ways would be a lot more difficult to achieve.


    The Ways-blending Energy would spin out of his control if he failed to blend even one of the three thousand Godly Ways.


    When that happened, the Ways-blending Energy would go wild, ready to explode at any moment.


    Such explosions had occurred many times in Zen''s inner world.


    That was why Zen always chose to do this task in the waters at the edge of his inner world.


    Even so, the aftermath of the explosions had still affected the surrounding continents.


    Now, Zen was trying to blend about 2500 Godly Ways, which was the largest number of Godly Ways he had worked with until now. However, the Ways-blending Energy soon began to go wild.


    As time went by, it became more and more unstable. If it exploded, half of his inner world would be destroyed.


    Not wanting to risk it, Zen forcefully pulled the Ways-blending Energy out of his inner world.


    The power of the explosion outside shocked Zen.


    His master had spent a lot of time and effort building this training tower. Such places where the time flow rate could be permanently changed were very rare, even in the divine land.


    Unfortunately, the explosion of Zen''s Ways-blending Energy destroyed the walls of the tower in the blink of an eye.


    Boom!


    Colorful shards began to pop up around the hole caused by the explosion.


    These colorful shards were actually fragments of time. Now that the walls of the tower had been smashed, exposing the tower to the outside world, time in the training tower was once again passing at the same speed as time in the outside world. These fragments of time were the residue of that change.


    "What kind of energy is that? Is he blending several Godly Ways?" Moon asked with a look of surprise on his face.


    During the explosion, he had clearly felt the internal momentum of some Godly Ways, but he had been unable to identify which Godly Ways they were.


    It wasn''t the first time he was seeing a warrior cultivate multiple Godly Ways. Some members of the Moon Clan cultivated multiple Godly Ways, including Moon himself. However, he hadn''t spent much time blending them. For one thing, blending the Godly Ways was a very troublesome task. Besides, it would


    uge cloud far away from the divine land...


    Three huge blood runes appeared around the Chaos Winged Beast.


    The blood runes sped up and closely chased the Chaos Winged Beast no matter how fast it moved in an attempt to escape.


    On the flying ship behind the Chaos Winged Beast stood Clement, holding a large bell in his hand.


    He suddenly hit the bell hard, and the blood runes circled once in the air before shooting three blood arrows at the same time!


    Puff!


    Although the blood arrows looked ordinary, they were extremely powerful. They directly pierced through the body of the Chaos Winged Beast, leaving six small holes in its body.


    Bang!


    He hit the bell once again, and another three blood arrows shot out.


    The Chaos Winged Beast immediately howled in pain. As the sharp sound rang throughout the area, the Yellow Emperor Guards watched with joy on their faces.


    "You did it, Master Clement!"


    "After so many years, you finally managed to subdue this beast!"


    "Congratulations! This is a huge credit!"


    They all praised Clement, beaming with excitement.


    The Chaos Winged Beast was highly valuable, which was why this group of Yellow Emperor Guards had been hunting it for countless years now.


    It was not until today that they had finally succeeded.


    While the others were shaking with excitement, Clement casually said, "Compared to the discovery of the divine land, the Chaos Winged Beast is nothing significant. I never imagined that Chiyou would have built a ship and sent it out of the Source World before his death. We didn''t know about it for so many years."

 Chapter 2896 The Sky Guard Pavilion

    During the chase of the Chaos Winged Beast, Hamish''s messages reached the flying ship one after another.


    Clement already had a general understanding of the divine land, and he was sensitive to the news.


    The capture of the Chaos Winged Beast was a sizable contribution to the Bear race, but Clement treated the achievement like it was nothing.


    If he had known it would take so long to capture the Chaos Winged Beast, he wouldn''t have gotten himself involved in the first place.


    He was pleasantly surprised to luckily stumble upon the ship when he pursued the Chaos Winged Beast to the bottom of the chaos. If he managed to bring the divine land to the Source World, it would be a great honor to him, and he might get rewarded by the Yellow Thearch.


    "Thud!"


    Clement again knocked on the bell in his palm.


    "Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!"


    Three more blood arrows shot out from the blood runes.


    The Chaos Winged Beast was familiar with the attacks of the blood runes. It executed a somersault in the air to avoid the three blood arrows.


    However, the attack of the blood runes was not that easy to dodge.


    "Puff, puff, puff..."


    The body of the Chaos Winged Beast was riddled with holes, and one of the blood arrows pierced through its neck.


    Strength all but gone, the beast could no longer lift its head, only flying with its head hanging and a low hiss of breath issuing from its mouth. Its flight speed had drastically slowed down. Evidently, the creature had no more energy left.


    "Well then, I''ll leave the rest to you." Clement glanced at the Chaos Winged Beast indifferently and then put away the bell.


    Meanwhile, Godfrey remained in communication with the divine land.


    With a flick of his wrist, a Yellow Emperor Magatama appeared in Clement''s hand.


    Compared to Godfrey''s, Clement''s Yellow Emperor Magatama was much more exquisite.


    As he activated the Yellow Emperor Magatama, Clement said, "I''m Clement. Who''s your leader?"


    In the divine land, the intermittent sounds suddenly became clear, and Clement''s voice finally reached Leyton and Hamish.


    "Master Clement! It''s Master Clement!"


    Leyton''s face registered pleased surprise, whil


    sformed into a sharp, golden sword, which Clement used to sever the head of the Chaos Winged Beast. The latter was already gasping for its final breath; how could it possibly resist Clement''s attack?


    The sword readily pierced through the creature''s swollen body, and a huge wound spread from its back to its head. Finally, it was dead.


    In the divine land, Leyton''s face registered a tinge of unabashed joy.


    "Leyton, is Master Clement very strong? Is he a five-star Yellow Emperor Guard?" Awash with curiosity, Hamish started quizzing Leyton.


    Leyton slightly smiled. "You know what? He was already a five-star Yellow Emperor Guard when we left. Not only that, he''s a member of the Sky Guard Pavilion. Thankfully, I can rely on such a personality to help me out in times of crisis!"


    Upon hearing the name of the Sky Guard Pavilion, Hamish was slightly shocked. With the large population of the Bear race, its members could not easily join the Yellow Emperor Guards, let alone the Sky Guard Pavilion. Thus, Hamish admired every member of the Sky Guard Pavilion. No wonder Leyton respected Clement so much.


    "Your mission has been completed. Now, you can join Samuel and drive out the mice from the forbidden land with Salim and Lorcan," Leyton said with a faint smile.


    Everything had been settled, so Leyton had nothing to worry about. The only thing that required constant vigilance on his part was the original will of the divine land.

 Chapter 2897 Mountain Power

    The forbidden lands, which were the domains defined by the creator, were considered almost sacred and inviolable in the eyes of the people dwelling in the divine land. These lands remained indestructible.


    However, in the eyes of the Yellow Emperor Guards, other than the Mountain of Holy Beings and the Ruling Slate, they could handle everything else with their bare strength alone.


    Harold had destroyed the transmission arrays connecting other places and the Everest Spirit Mountain in advance.


    After receiving Leyton''s order, Samuel led the Holy Beings of the powerful clans to the Everest Spirit Mountain. Of course, his group included Hamish, Salim, and Lorcan.


    The Holy Beings of the powerful clans seemed to hold a slight indifference in this whole affair. Primarily, they didn''t want and never aspired to work for them. But when they joined the alliance, they were left with no choice but to reluctantly go with them as if it was part of their allegiance.


    Equipped with such confidence, the three Yellow Emperor Guards and the Holy Beings found themselves at their mapped out destination half a day later. It was the region where the Everest Spirit Mountain rested.


    This forbidden land was not as large as the Abyss Demon Region, as it only occupied half of the area of the region.


    Standing on a barren mountain, the group unknowingly focused their gazes towards a light enchanted barrier. The space covered by that magical barrier belonged to the Everest Spirit Mountain.


    "Even if we destroy the Everest Spirit Mountain, Harold wouldn''t be waiting for us there. He will leave, and there is a chance that he would flee to the Swirl Forest," Samuel claimed in a tone full of certainty.


    The other Holy Beings did not speak or react even though they heard his words distinctly. They kept a stiff upper lip.


    Murphy and Clark also kept silent, giving off an impassive stance.


    It looked like they were all still not entirely convinced. The Yellow Emperor Guards might feel that everything went smoothly at this moment, because to win them, they imparted to them the Truth of Dark and Light Chaos. But, it seemed that they fell short in their expectation, and they still needed to work harder to gain their full support.


    For instance, the members of the former alliance of the powerful clans, like Murphy, had a real good relationship with Nicholas. How could they submit to their enemy Samuel? Likewise, other powerful clans held so much resentment in their hearts as they were forced to join the alliance. And there was no room for refusal.


    "It doesn''t matter. There are not many forbidden lands for them to hide. If we can destroy the Everest Spirit Mountain, we''ll continue to head for the Swirl Forest," countered Hamish, reassuringly, after a moment of reflection. He seemed in a daze, but he was sharply looking at the enchanted barrier.


    Previously, the


    In the divine land, the Everest Spirit Mountain symbolized the legend of power.


    It was told that there was someone in the remote past who had been moving with the Everest Spirit Mountain on his back. But after arriving in the region where the mountain was located at present, he couldn''t go any further and was pressed at the foot of the mountain. As time went by, the mountain absorbed his strength and became the symbol of power in the divine land.


    In terms of pure combat power, it was very likely that Harold couldn''t beat Samuel, because it was extremely tough to use the power of the Everest Spirit Mountain to fight.


    After taking control of the Abyss Demon Region, Samuel didn''t take the rulers of the other forbidden lands seriously as he only ignored them. He didn''t think that there would be an unexpected attack from Harold, so he was caught unprepared.


    "Buzz..."


    The light enchanted barrier of the Everest Spirit Mountain had an attribute. It could block everything, but it wouldn''t block its ruler.


    Harold''s punch had drawn almost half of the mountain power. Such a massive amount of strength source could mean several dozen times greater than that of a Holy Being. The second it gathered in Harold''s fist, a 100-foot gravitational field was suddenly formed.


    The space in the gravitational field collapsed toward his fist. Since he was caught off guard and unprepared, Samuel was pulled over by the power. His body clung to the light enchanted barrier in a sorry state.


    It was too late for Samuel to realize what happened. He had been unable to display the Grand Teleportation to dodge Harold''s punch. And at this crucial moment, he could only pull himself up.


    "Bang!"


    The punch struck him painfully hard in the chest!


    Although he was a Holy Being, his body was as fragile as a piece of paper. It was nothing in front of such power. The punch directly smashed his half body into pieces.

 Chapter 2898 Attack

    Samuel dragged his broken body and hurriedly retreated. His eyes narrowed in hatred.


    "How dare you launch a sneak attack on me?"


    Harold''s power was indeed tremendous. However, Samuel was confident that if they ever fought, they would be on par.


    He was caught off guard, and that was the only reason Harold managed to land a hit.


    The loss of more than half of the body was nothing to a Holy Being. Even if Harold had smashed his entire body to pieces, he would still be able to return to the universe and get revived.


    Still, it was such a great shame for him to be defeated by Harold, and in front of so many people too!


    Meanwhile, Harold looked on indifferently. He appeared bored and impassive, as he stood behind the light enchanted barrier.


    "Let''s fight together and destroy the Everest Spirit Mountain!"


    roared Samuel angrily.


    Murphy, Clark, and Zeke secretively exchanged glances. There were faint smiles on their faces. They were happy to see what happened, but they didn''t want to be too obvious. It could offend the Yellow Emperor Guards.


    Around them, many Holy Beings were attacking the light enchanted barrier of the Everest Spirit Mountain, but they were not making significant changes.


    Various attacks bombarded the light enchanted barrier. It didn''t seem to do anything, as the barrier only trembled slightly.


    Harold could sense the state of the entire forbidden land. He watched them indifferently from behind the light enchanted barrier, watched as they kept on attacking with no significant effect. Their attacks were too weak, they wouldn''t even shake the foundation of the Everest Spirit Mountain.


    Before long, Samuel asked Pascal to take action.


    Up to now, Samuel hadn''t figured out the full potential of that ring. Even so, he could not underestimate the ability that it could display.


    Pascal spread his two black wings, while wisps of black smoke swirled around. It quickly turned into sharp arrows that shot straight towards Harold.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Every black arrow hit the light enchanted barrier, but none of them caused much damage. The broken light arrows left minuscule black rings on the light enchanted barrier. On closer inspection, these rings were slowly corroding the barrier.


    Since the power of the Abyss Demon Region could even tear apart the Mixed Element Seal, its power was naturally immense.


    Harold frowned thoughtfully.


    When he was connected with the Everest Spirit Mountain, his consciousness integrated with the consciousness of the mountain. Now, he could sense t


    e same time, under his control, the fierce beasts of the Everest Spirit Mountain fought with the Holy Beings and the Yellow Emperor Guards.


    Even the Abyss Demon Region failed to resist the Holy Beings. It was even more difficult, now that there were powerful masters at the Other Shore Realm. The fierce beasts were at a distinct disadvantage. Soon enough, the beasts were torn to pieces and turned into streams of Faith Energy.


    When Samuel got injured, he should have returned to the universe. That would have been the fastest way to repair his physical body. However, he let his hatred guide his actions. He dragged his broken body and fought his way into the Everest Spirit Mountain, instead.


    He took Pascal and bypassed the ferocious beasts. They directly entered the Everest Spirit Mountain.


    They used the Grand Teleportation hundreds of times in the Everest Spirit Mountain, but they found nothing. The only thing they found was a destroyed transmission array. Exasperated, Samuel poured his anger out on the Everest Spirit Mountain.


    However, the Everest Spirit Mountain was so huge that Pascal barely made a dent even he had gone all out. He only managed to create a million-foot-long crack. This crack was insignificant compared to the huge Everest Spirit Mountain.


    After he poured out his anger, he had no choice but to leave with the alliance of powerful clans.


    "We''ll go to the Swirl Forest now. I won''t stop until I find out where he''s hiding!" Samuel said angrily.


    Hamish dissuaded him, "You''d better go back to the universe and rebuild your body first. You can recover in one or two days. It''s not proper for you to just fly around like this with only half of your body."

 Chapter 2899 Ask Estelle For Help

    The arrival of the people from the Sword Clan and the Luo Clan made the fairy palace even more crowded.


    Even Mike hadn''t expected the alliance of powerful clans on the Floating Islands to break through the Everest Spirit Mountain in just three days.


    It meant that the Swirl Forest had become an extremely dangerous place to be in.


    After a short discussion, the Holy Beings in the fairy palace finally persuaded Mike to let everyone retreat to the outside of the divine land.


    While Holy Beings could freely enter and exit the divine land, the rest of the members of the Luo Clan, the Moon Clan, and the Sword Clan, even consummate True Gods like Harold and Augustus, could only hide in the inner worlds of the Holy Beings.


    "They could break through the Everest Spirit Mountain, but they won''t be able to break through my Swirl Forest. It''s good at defending against all kinds of attacks. I..." Augustus interjected, dissatisfied with the direction in which the Holy Beings'' discussion was going.


    But before he could finish his words, Hallet hit him on his head, signaling for him to shut up.


    "Even if we retreat, I still have one request," Mike said. "We need to get Zen to the Mountain of Holy Beings!"


    They had already discussed this before, and all the other Holy Beings had ruled that it was unnecessary. However, Mike kept insisting on it.


    The thing was, getting Zen to the Mountain of Holy Beings was a risky operation.


    After all, the Mountain of Holy Beings was right next to the Time Sea. If the Yellow Emperor Guards managed to intercept them, they wouldn''t have much chance of making it.


    Mulling over this problem just gave everyone a headache, but Mike refused to back off.


    "Well, you can leave the divine land first. I''ll make a trip to the Soul Wilderness," Holy Jay said with a bitter smile. "Since Bromley is not here, I guess I''ll have to be the mediator."


    The reason why Estelle had been locked up in the fairy palace was because of a relationship with Bromley.


    It was going to be really difficult to convince Estelle to help. If Bromley were here, it would be a small problem, but they had not seen Bromley for so many years.


    "Well, thank you, Holy Jay. I believe this will work. Zen was the one who helped Estelle get out of the dungeon. After that, she made a move in the Evolutionary Universe and helped Zen block the strike from Murphy. She even silenced the divine land once to help Zen. Zen and Estelle have some connection by fate. For this reason, I hope she''ll help us," said Mike.


    Holy Jay nodded. Although Estelle was willful, she was a sensible woman.


    She controlled the Soul Wilderness an


    t do you want me to do? Has he rescued Mike?"


    Noticing the hint of concern in Estelle''s voice, Holy Jay was delighted. Estelle''s attitude meant that it would be easy for the conversation to proceed.


    Since she was not an outsider, Holy Jay did not want to hide anything from her, so he told her in detail about everything that had happened after Zen had stepped into the divine land. When Estelle heard all the unbelievable things that had happened to Zen, she was astonished.


    Five minutes later...


    With a faint smile, she said, "I knew that this guy would make a splash. He was able to confront Nicholas in such a short time! I didn''t expect him to be able to do that. Bromley really has an eye for talent..."


    Zen was Bromley''s disciple.


    If Estelle had never had those conflicts with Bromley, she might have become the wife of Zen''s master.


    "Yes, Bromley spotted him. And even Mike insisted that Zen become Bromley''s disciple. That''s why we need your help. On the day that the Mountain of Holy Beings opens, we need everything to go smoothly. We already have the support of a powerful master at the Other Shore Realm, but if we have your support too, we could be sure that nothing will go wrong," Holy Jay said cautiously.


    "A powerful master at the Other Shore Realm? Who''s this person?" Estelle asked in surprise.


    Although she was living here remotely, she knew a lot about what was going on in the divine land. And as far as she knew, the only people at the Other Shore Realm who were in the divine land right now were the few Yellow Emperor Guards.


    "It''s someone from the Nine Li race. He has been in seclusion this whole time, but on the day that the Mountain of Holy Beings opens, he will also come out to help us," Holy Jay said seriously.

 Chapter 2900 Danger Outside The Divine Land

    Holy Jay told Estelle this because he was afraid that Estelle wouldn''t dare to fight the Yellow Emperor Guards without strong support.


    The warrior at the Other Shore Realm from the Nine Li race had been in seclusion for many years and had never appeared in front of anyone. Now, however, since he had been summoned by Lorena, he couldn''t refuse.


    Estelle thought for a moment before saying, "I will help you, but on one condition."


    "What is that?" Holy Jay asked. He was prepared to do Estelle almost any favor in exchange for her help.


    "You must get that man back for me," said Estelle resentfully.


    At this, a smile appeared on Holy Jay''s face. The man that Estelle was referring to was, of course, none other than Bromley.


    "If we can successfully get through this crisis, Mike and I will do everything in our power to get Bromley back," Holy Jay said seriously. With that, they came to an agreement.


    Meanwhile, in the depths of the Time Sea, a gigantic beast that was ten million feet tall was in deep slumber.


    Each fragment of the Time Sea was a slice of the past of the divine land.


    There were, of course, countless slices. Every second that ticked away turned into a fragment that sank into the Time Sea. Many of these fragments were meaningless.


    For example, a bird flying over the divine land was a fragment, and so was a tree that had been broken.


    But it was fragments of trivial things like these that made up the Time Sea.


    Therefore, it had once been inferred that time and space could not be separated. However, no one from the divine land was able to comprehend this.


    And it was because of the existence of so many fragments that it had been impossible for Nicholas to find Lorena''s body.


    It had been like looking for a needle in a haystack.


    It was under all these fragments of time that the enormous ferocious beast slept peacefully. It was none other than the Emperor Resentment, the beast that the Sun Blind people were most afraid of.


    It would wake up occasionally, but most of the time, it slept.


    As its dozens of huge tentacles swayed with the waves, there was a sharp movement above it. On the head of the Emperor Resentment, a person sat up. There was a


    Holy Beings. Surprisingly, this was not the result that Mike had predicted.


    Instead, it seemed that something bad was about to happen outside the divine land.


    Lorena had already taken the others to seek the protection of the powerful warriors at the Other Shore Realm, so how could they be in any danger there?


    The result had completely blindsided Mike and his group.


    "I may have made a mistake since there are too many factors involved," Mike offered helplessly by way of explanation.


    If he had used the Evolution Godly Way to predict the fate of the Evolutionary Universe, he would have gotten accurate results because almost all of the factors were under his control. In the divine land, however, many variables were out of his hand, so he wasn''t able to arrive at an accurate prediction.


    Nevertheless, he had wanted to give it a try since Zen was about to enter the Mountain of Holy Beings.


    He didn''t fully believe what he had seen, but he still had a hint of worry on his face. "Don''t worry, Father. Emily and Timotheus both have extraordinary strength. They can protect my mother," Zen said comfortingly.


    Mike nodded. "Of course."


    Just then, Augustus'' face lit up in surprise. "These Yellow Emperor Guards are quick. They have destroyed the Everest Spirit Mountain in less than three days and now, they''re coming for us!"


    Upon hearing this news, everyone continued to look calm. After all, this was something that they had already predicted.

 Chapter 2901 The Preparation

    Before the Swirl Forest was being invaded, Mike led the others away to safety.


    For their sakes, he led them into the Evolutionary Universe.


    Harold and Augustus stayed within the Evolutionary Universe, while Zen, Marsh, Moon, and Mike arrived at the outside of the divine land.


    Even with Mike''s prediction that "danger came from outside the divine land," it was the safest place before the Mountain of Holy Beings was opened. At the very least, the Yellow Emperor Guards wouldn''t dare to leave the divine land to hunt them.


    This pleased Timotheus and Emily. After all, they had instructed Mike to let Lorena and Zen stay with them during their last meeting.


    A few days later, Samuel managed to finally break the Swirl Forest''s restriction. However, this was the exact situation at the Everest Spirit Mountain all over again. Not a single person in the forest remained except for numerous fierce creatures.


    This enraged Samuel so much that he soon began to destroy the entire fairy palace.


    "I''ve told you that they definitely would escape in advance due to the strength of their reinforcements," Hamish reminded.


    With disappointment twisting his features, Samuel stated, "They may have escaped to the outside of the divine land, but they can''t take the universes with them. I''ll change the rules of the Ruling Slate and destroy Mike''s Evolutionary Universe!"


    Countless universes hovered above the divine land. Everyone was prohibited from going against any of them unless they wished to receive a severe punishment from the Ruling Slate.


    The Ruling Slate divided its rules into different levels with some rules added by the divine land''s powerful warriors.


    However, the rules which governed the universes existed since the Ruling Slate''s inception was set up by none other than Chiyou.


    To remove these rules was quite challenging. Even when Nicholas changed a single word in the rule regarding the universe wars, it cost him a lot of divine might coins.


    If Samuel wished to eliminate that rule, then he''d have to sacrifice a hefty portion of his divine might coins.


    Following Nicholas'' death, the Han Clan forced the Floating Islands'' other powerful clans to surrender their divine might coins. Left with no choice, the powerful clans forced their respective first-tier and second-tier cla


    ly Beings who returned alive. The pair were stronger than Demi-holy Beings and could even fight against a Holy Being. Any consummate True God or Demi-holy Being that crossed paths with them would be asking for death.


    However, even their clans'' Holy Beings didn''t dare to disobey Samuel''s order. How could they?


    This left them feeling depressed.


    However, the Holy Beings of their respective clans also informed them that the alliance of powerful clans was conjuring up a plan to stop the pair from reaching the Mountain of Holy Beings. If they succeeded, then there would be nothing to worry about anymore.


    These three days seemed calm. In secret, however, all sorts of forces were quietly observing undetected.


    In the Time Sea, Leif had already awakened the Emperor Resentment.


    A thousand miles north of the Time Sea, Estelle and Holy Jay lurked deep within the mountains.


    Outside the divine land, Emily brought Zen, Rocher and Sword Chen to the area of sky that hovered above the divine land''s center.


    Of course, Mike and the other Holy Beings were there as well.


    All of them were prepared. Once the Mountain of Holy Beings opened, Holy Jay, who was observing the mountain, would inform Mike immediately.


    Emily outstretched her arm and pointed her finger. Out of it burst the Truth of Void Destruction. A wide, fluctuating circle began to gently envelop the surface of the divine land.


    While she could make a space channel with ease, it was unfortunately blocked by a barrier that prevented her from passing through.

 Chapter 2902 A Fierce Battle Before The Gate

    Holy Jay stood at the mountain peak, his eyes shifting as he looked around the vast expanse surrounding him.


    He could see every single detail. Even a tiny change taking place a thousand miles away didn''t escape his attention.


    The silver light on the surface of the Mountain of Holy Beings intensified.


    It looked like silver being melted and poured on it from above.


    And then, from deep within the mountain, came the sure effects of vibrations taking hold.


    A huge gate, about a thousand feet tall, appeared at the foot of the Mountain of Holy Beings.


    The appearance of the gate sent the Demi-holy Beings and the consummate True Gods into an excited tizzy.


    "The gate is open!"


    "Hurry up! I''d better be the first to enter!"


    "Run!"


    The moment people began scrambling towards the gate, a flame suddenly appeared before it.


    The flame bloomed and turned into a fiery snake a thousand feet high, floating in front of the gate.


    A Demi-holy Being rushed to the front, determined to get to the top this time. Since the fire snake had not yet filled the entire gate, he activated the Grand Teleportation and tried to rush in.


    But he was too late. He had barely reached the gate when the fire snake managed to block every last corner, showering him with its fire.


    The Demi-holy Being didn''t have the chance to struggle or scream before he was burned to ashes and scattered in the wind.


    "What kind of fire is this?"


    "Why did it stop us from entering the Mountain of Holy Beings?"


    Everyone was stunned.


    The power contained in the fire was far beyond their imagination. Even Clark, who was the most proficient person of the Elementary Fire Godly Way, was unable to deal with the fire.


    "Don''t panic. We''ll let you in when the time is right. But don''t you dare try and break through the gate. If you do, you will end up just like him. Don''t blame me for not warning you,"


    Hamish sneered, standing before the door.


    All the Demi-holy Beings and the consummate True Gods floated in the air in a daze, at a loss what to do.


    "He is the Other Shore Realm warrior that stands behind the Han Clan," an insider whispered.


    "A master like him is much stronger than a Holy Being."


    "I don''t know why he is blocking th


    ish and drive him away from the gate.


    Although Hamish was the weakest of the Yellow Emperor Guards, his strength could not be ignored.


    "You fucking beast! You are courting death!"


    With a push of Hamish''s hands, circles of blazing fire rings spread out around him.


    Sizz...


    The Emperor Resentment''s skin was rough and thick, but the fire rings managed to scorch its tentacles.


    "Woo... Woo..."


    The Emperor Resentment let out a groan of pain and opened its big mouth, revealing its sharp teeth.


    The beast roared and shot a thick, large poisonous blood arrow from its mouth towards Hamish. The arrow covered the entire gate, and if Hamish wanted to avoid it, he would have to leave his post at the gate.


    Hamish, however, didn''t budge. The poison blood arrow was only ten feet away when Salim''s figure appeared beside him. "Defense!" Salim said.


    An oval-shaped ball of light shrouded Hamish and Salim. This was the theurgy that came from the Truth of Holy Words, which Salim was proficient in.


    The light ball easily blocked the poison blood arrow.


    A thousand miles away, the tsunami caused by the Emperor Resentment had destroyed many villages along the way, including a small divine city. Except for a few top-rank True Gods, the others were all torn to pieces, falling into the cracks of time.


    Holy Jay and Estelle floated in the air. He looked very worried.


    Hamish was guarding the gate at all times, making it difficult for Holy Jay to find a way to send Zen in.

 Chapter 2903 A Fleeting Chance

    An orange scepter appeared in Estelle''s hand. She gently said, "Do I need to take action?"


    "Wait!"


    Holy Jay said as he looked ahead.


    He had only one chance; naturally, his judgment was crucial!


    On the top of the divine land...


    Mike pulled a long face.


    Holy Jay told Mike what he saw.


    According to their originally planned schedule, they would get the best opportunity when Leif took action. However, the Yellow Emperor Guards seemed to be more prepared than expected.


    "What''s wrong?" Zen asked as he stared at his father.


    "Hamish is still blocking the gate of the Mountain of Holy Beings," said Mike, frowning.


    Zen thought for a moment and said, "I can head down there first."


    Hamish''s flames might be extremely terrifying, but Zen thought he could withstand them. As long as he got into the Mountain of Holy Beings, everything would be fine.


    Mike shook his head and said, "It''s not just Hamish who is blocking the gate; another Yellow Emperor Guard is also stationed there."


    "It''s impossible to find a perfect chance," Zen said earnestly. "This scene is exactly what we have predicted in our original plan. Besides, we still have Estelle."


    Zen also knew that although his father intended to send him to the Mountain of Holy Beings, he was still worried about him.


    However, they had no other choice but to risk storming into the Mountain of Holy Beings. The perfect opportunity to do so was fleeting, so they could only take so many risks.


    Mike didn''t say anything because he believed in Holy Jay''s judgment.


    At the foot of the Mountain of Holy Beings, after its poisoned blood arrow was blocked by Salim, the Emperor Resentment stretched out its thick tentacles again towards the two Other Shore Realm warriors.


    Its body also rushed toward them.


    Seeing this, Salim said with a laugh, "This beast is stupid!" As he spoke, he once again unleashed the Truth of Holy Words. This time, he uttered two words, "Sword Strike!"


    The invisible giant swords rotating at a high speed materialized in front of Salim.


    The Emperor Resentment''s tentacles and body were cut into pieces by the giant swords. Blood splashed like rain with mangled flesh flying everywhere.


    Woo! Woo! Woo!


    The Emperor Resentment became mad with rage and it hurled itself with all its might against the swords.


    The power of the colossal creature was terrifying. Salim''s theurgy


    of the divine land, from the North Star Region to the South Dipper Region, and from the Floating Islands to the Time Sea. An eerie silence descended over the entire place.


    In addition to sound, everyone''s abilities were temporarily blocked. True Gods were unable to communicate with their inner worlds, and Holy Beings were unable to communicate with their universes.


    Such a skill blocked nearly all of the strength of the whole divine land. Even the Other Shore Realm warriors were not immune to the power of the Scepter of Gods'' Silence.


    How could Hamish and Salim employ the Grand Teleportation technique?


    Not only could they not make use of this technique, but their flying abilities were blocked. They both plummeted down from midair.


    However, the Emperor Resentment''s attack did not stop. It used its physical strength, so Estelle''s spell could not seal it. A thick tentacle immediately hit the bodies of the two Yellow Emperor Guards.


    There was no sound, and the only sight was that two warriors rolled in the air like broken kites, their strings of blood leaving traces behind them.


    The two of them were not the only ones who were affected. The consummate True Gods and Demi-holy Beings, who all flew into the sky in order to avoid the Time Sea''s tsunami, were now dropping rapidly.


    As they fell down, their faces turned deathly pale.


    They were not afraid of falling down from a height of over one hundred thousand feet. However, the colorful sea water created by the tsunami swirled ominously below them, and falling into the Time Sea meant a sure, inescapable death.

 Chapter 2904 Entering The Mountain Of Holy Beings

    Meanwhile, Zen, Rocher, and Sword Chen came out of the space channel as soon as the Scepter of Gods'' Silence was activated.


    Throughout the divine land, only the three of them, Estelle and Holy Jay were exempted from the effects of the Scepter of Gods'' Silence.


    Zen and his two companions didn''t stop for a second as they hurriedly left the space channel and rushed towards the gate of the Mountain of Holy Beings which was just a hundred feet away from them.


    But just as they were about to go there, the Sea Cracking Skull in the Hall of Holy Beings above the Time Sea suddenly opened its mouth.


    "What a good job! Your cooperation is so perfect, but it''s such a pity..."


    At that time, Leyton was standing at the top of the Hall of Holy Beings, waving his hand in the direction of the Mountain of Holy Beings.


    Upon activation of the Sea Cracking Skull, the entire divine land slightly vibrated, with a strong smell of blood coming right out of its mouth.


    In fact, this vibration was quite similar to the one that happened when the Mountain of Holy Beings emerged, but in a weaker and less violent state.


    The Scepter of Gods'' Silence used the power of the entire divine land to repress all the living beings in its territory, but during this process, the Sea Cracking Skull had actually broken free.


    "Phew!"


    Flowing from the distance, the blood torrents rolled towards the gate of the Mountain of Holy Beings.


    If Zen, Rocher and Sword Chen forced their ways into the Mountain of Holy Beings, then they would definitely be washed away by the strong torrents.


    Despite the fact that the gate was only about a hundred feet away, Rocher and Sword Chen could not help but hesitate upon seeing that the torrents kept rolling faster and faster by the second.


    "Rush in!"


    Zen roared as he ordered. They only had one chance, and there was no way back, so they had to quickly get inside as fast as they could.


    Upon hearing Zen''s command, Rocher and Sword Chen gnashed their teeth and sped up.


    Suddenly, the Time Jade Seal in Zen''s right hand appeared. But the moment he activated it, they were engulfed by the blood torrents.


    As all of this was happening, Leyton was still standing at the top of the Hall of Holy Beings, looking indifferently at the Mountain of Holy Beings. Smiling, he said, "They should be dead..." Before he could finish his words, he felt time fluctuate right be


    y saw this scene and let out a sigh. "Even the Holy Beings are afraid of the Emperor Resentment. But I didn''t expect it to be killed by the Yellow Emperor Guards."


    Estelle shook her head as her face looked sad.


    In fact, she could only use the Scepter of Gods'' Silence once in a period of time. If she could use it continuously, then she would probably be able to save Leif. He wouldn''t be killed as long as he had the chance to move to the space channel on the top of the divine land.


    "Let''s go. This place is too dangerous. What you did just now will surely alert the Yellow Emperor Guards," Holy Jay explained.


    Estelle nodded and soon left quietly using the Grand Teleportation from the top of the mountain.


    This fierce battle did not last long.


    Seeing that the battle was over, the Demi-holy Beings and consummate True Gods turned their attention back to the Mountain of Holy Beings. They thought they could get in after such a long time.


    However, just as they approached the gate of the Mountain of Holy Beings, Hamish suddenly appeared in front of the gate again, blocking their way.


    Plucking up his courage, one of the Demi-holy Beings asked, "Are we not allowed to enter the Mountain of Holy Beings?"


    Although the Emperor Resentment had already been killed, Hamish still did not feel good at all. Coldly, he replied, "I will let you in, but not right now!"


    Seeing that Hamish seemed to have a murderous intent, the crowd didn''t dare to say anything. If this warrior at the Other Shore Realm vented his anger on them, then they would die with grief plastered on their faces.

 Chapter 2905 Chasers

    Leland was floating behind the crowd in silence, and his heart was filled with shock.


    He had wondered whether Zen would come, but he heard from someone that all the people who went to the Abyss Demon Region had been killed, so he thought Zen died along with them.


    He didn''t expect that Zen would be here, alive and healthy, entering the Mountain of Holy Beings this way too.


    The powerhouses at the Other Shore Realm knew that Zen would be coming, and that was why they''d been patiently waiting for him here.


    However, even with the three powerhouses joining forces, they still couldn''t stop Zen!


    Who on earth was standing behind Zen and supporting him?


    Leland had once thought that he was a prominent figure in the divine land after he became a Demi-holy Being, but now, he began to reconsider his thoughts about it. The divine land was far from the simple way it looked, and there were many things that he still didn''t know about.


    Not long after, a space wave appeared next to Hamish, and three people materialized out of it.


    Leyton led the group, and his two companions were Samuel and Pascal.


    "Leyton, I''m so sorry." Hamish bowed to Leyton, feeling quite ashamed.


    Leyton had always been calm, and his demeanor was a sound, undisturbed lake. But right now he had a murky expression on his face. He sighed and said, "It''s not your fault. They indeed have a lot of methods."


    Samuel frowned and joined in, "I didn''t expect Estelle to make a move this time."


    "Forget it." Leyton waved his hand and directed his next words to the consummate True Gods and Demi-holy Beings in front of him. "You all know that the chance of being Holy Beings is too small. You won''t improve your strength much even after you become Holy Beings. But you are all highly talented, otherwise you wouldn''t have cultivated with limited resources to reach this level. You will have a chance to reach the Other Shore Realm in the future!"


    Some people''s eyes lit up with hope, while the others were still a little confused.


    All the members of the powerful clans knew what it meant to reach the Other Shore Realm, but there were still many who didn''t know.


    "What''s the Other Shore Realm?" someone from the crowd asked in a quiet voice.


    "The warriors at the Other Shore Realm are the ones that manage to surpass the Holy Beings," Leyton explained with a smile. "The dif


    w Rocher and Sword Chen emerge from the silver light too.


    "We''re finally here," Rocher exclaimed excitedly.


    "Lucky for us," Sword Chen said, evidently still in a state of shock.


    Rushing into the Mountain of Holy Beings in front of the Yellow Emperor Guards, they took a considerable risk. Especially when the Yellow Emperor Guard had broken free from the power of the Scepter of Gods'' Silence, they had almost fallen into despair.


    "Those who enter the Mountain of Holy Beings first gain an advantage. Let''s move quickly," Zen said.


    The three of them flew forward along the valley without any hesitation.


    Not long after Zen and the other two were gone, the other consummate True Gods and the Demi-holy Beings also reached the valley.


    "Haha! I''m not so interested in being a Holy Being now," said a consummate True God, who was from the south of the divine land and was a famous figure.


    "Indeed, if we can really reach the Other Shore Realm, then becoming Holy Beings means nothing to us," said a thin Demi-holy Being.


    "But we can''t underestimate the three people who managed to break in even with the Yellow Emperor Guards securing the entrance," somebody said watchfully.


    It didn''t matter though because they had already made their decisions. At least, in their eyes, killing Zen and the other two should be easier than fighting for a slight opportunity to become Holy Beings.


    The group of people tirelessly chased after Zen and his companions along the valley. The last one to come out of the silver light was Pascal with an expressionless face.

 Chapter 2906 A Siege

    Zen, Rocher, and Sword Chen walked for more than a thousand miles along the valley. With each step, the road before them became broader and broader.


    From the outside, the Mountain of Holy Beings looked like an ordinary mountain, but its interior was not soil.


    The space was not cramped at all. Moreover, the silver light overhead gave them the feeling of walking under the sky, even if its color was a little strange.


    As Zen walked forward, he scanned the surrounding environment.


    Unlike everyone who would enter the mountain, his main concern was not the chance to become a Holy Being but rather finding the way out of the maze.


    Before he had entered the mountain, Mike had told him all about what to expect inside the Mountain of Holy Beings.


    The space within the Mountain of Holy Beings was vast, but it was not as complex as the other forbidden areas.


    When Zen, Rocher, and Sword Chen finally came to the end of the valley, they saw an open plain in front of them. The plain looked vast and endless. In the distance, there was a line where the plain seemed to merge with the sky made of silver light.


    Once the competition began, silver holy springs would appear in this plain. Anyone who could occupy one of the holy springs would become a Holy Being.


    However, the number of holy springs that would appear was different each time. It could be two or three or more.


    At the time when Mike had become a Holy Being, there had only been one holy spring. Therefore, Mike had beaten everyone else to become a Holy Being.


    The rules were simple, but occupying a holy spring was not an easy task.


    On one hand, warriors had to pass tests from the Mountain of Holy Beings itself; on the other hand, they had to compete with other warriors for the chance to occupy a holy spring.


    "I don''t see any silver holy springs." With a light tap on the ground, Rocher flew up into the air and looked over the entire plain, which was completely empty.


    "Perhaps it''s not the time yet," Sword Chen said unworriedly.


    Zen took a few steps toward the plain. "My father said that a certain number of people must arrive before the silver holy springs appear."


    Usually, when the Mountain of Holy Beings appeared, a whole crowd of warriors would swarm in. But this time, only the three of them had arrived at the plain. It was likely that there were not enough people to start.


    Not long after Zen finished speaking, he felt a chaotic aura coming from behind him.


    He turned his head


    a large golden net that flew out in front of him.


    In the Abyss Demon Region, his strength was comparable to that of a top Holy Being, putting him on par with even Clark and Murphy. However, that was only because he could use the force of primitive fear when he was there. Outside the Abyss Demon Region, he couldn''t borrow the power of the dark water.


    Nevertheless, he was still strong enough to fight against ordinary Holy Beings by only using his Emotion Closing Godly Way.


    "What a powerful move!"


    Feeling the power hidden in the sword net, the Demi-holy Beings in the front moved their bodies lightly and avoided the attack. None of them dared to face the net head-on.


    They were unable to use Grand Teleportation in the Mountain of Holy Beings, but their bodily movement skills alone were good enough for them to avoid the attack. Moreover, since they were on an open plain, they had more than enough space to dodge.


    However, just as they dodged this net and prepared for a counterattack, they saw Rocher in front of them.


    They hadn''t expected Rocher to charge at them alone.


    "Water Cloud Hacking!"


    "Mountain-splitting Sword Strike!"


    The Demi-holy Beings all made their moves without hesitation.


    They didn''t think that it was hard to deal with Rocher at all.


    But just as their internal momentum turned into their respective theurgy, a strange aura suddenly came from Rocher, and the killing intent in their heart disappeared without a trace.


    "I can''t cut it down!"


    "I can''t do anything to him..."


    "What kind of ability is this?"


    They felt a sacred aura emitting from Rocher that rendered them powerless against him.

 Chapter 2907 The Confrontation

    While the warriors remained confused as to why they couldn''t attack Rocher, the sword in Rocher''s hand turned into a ray of light that headed straight for the three Demi-holy Beings in the front.


    These were highly experienced Demi-holy Beings.


    Although Rocher''s power took them by surprise, they all managed to react quickly.


    "Gentle Wind Twining!"


    From the body of a Demi-holy Being emerged a gently breeze.


    Although harmless at first, countless thin gusts began to quickly coil like invisible ropes around Rocher''s Soaring Snake Sword.


    "The breeze..."


    Rocher''s eyes widened. Despite the sharpness of his sword, it failed to inflict damage on the unshapely breeze.


    "I''ve stopped him!" the Demi-holy Being bellowed.


    "We must trap him before he can make another move!"


    Seeing this, other Demi-holy Beings followed suit.


    The burning flames evolved into long threads that headed straight for Rocher. Not long after, the Life Godly Way morphed into vines that ensnared him.


    Rocher''s eyes slightly narrowed as he looked at these wise individuals.


    Rocher was a consummate True God. He would''ve been unable to deal with several Demi-holy Beings if he hadn''t gone to the Abyss Demon Region.


    However, he was different now.


    Before the Demi-holy Beings'' attacks could reach him, tiny ice flowers appeared in front of him.


    Once the threads of flames reached the ice flowers, the flames immediately disappeared and were replaced by ice.


    The vines headed towards Rocher turned to ice as well.


    The chilly air that ran along the vines turned the fierce flames into frosty ice flowers.


    Even the gentle breezes couldn''t escape being turned into ice¡ªtheir outlines now visible due to the ice flowers floating in the air.


    "What energy is this?"


    "Is this the Mysterious Ice Godly Way?"


    "Impossible! The Mysterious Ice Godly Way isn''t that frightening. Back off!"


    The Demi-holy Beings looked terrified.


    Although a warning was sent out, Rocher''s ice flowers were too fast. The three Demi-holy Beings that tried to trap


    "


    Zen stared at Pascal and retorted with a smile, "Whether we die today or not isn''t for you to decide. That will be answered when we''re done fighting. But before that, I''ll have to admit that I do feel sorry for you¡ªbeing turned into a puppet by your father and all."


    Upon hearing this, all the bystanders looked at each other in shock and confusion.


    "Pascal? A...puppet?"


    "By his...father?"


    Alfredo''s brows furrowed and then raised abruptly.


    He was already aware of the changes that Pascal, Laquisha, and Aleyna had undergone even before entering the Abyss Demon Region. What he wasn''t aware of was how cruel Samuel could be to do such a thing to his children.


    Pascal¡ªor rather, Samuel in Pascal''s body¡ªwas clearly irritated with the fact that Zen had exposed him in front of all those witnesses.


    Just as Pascal was about to attack, Zen revealed, "I''ve restored Laquisha''s and Aleyna''s memories. They''re both disappointed in you, Aleyna especially. She never thought her own father would be capable of such cruelty."


    Even when the two girls stayed within the fairy palace, Zen could sense that they still had certain feelings toward the Han Clan.


    Their father''s poor treatment of them was unacceptable.


    "Stop!"


    Pascal interrupted him.


    A fierce light shot out of his eyes and his black wings trembled as he began charging towards Zen.

 Chapter 2908 The Black Ball

    As Pascal charged at Zen, a black spear appeared in his hand.


    Zen''s expression had also turned serious.


    Although Pascal was just a consummate True God, he had control over the Abyss Demon Region.


    And the person behind him was none other than Samuel!


    Whoosh!


    Just as the black spear was about to stab him, Zen gently twisted his body and avoided Pascal''s attack.


    Ever since he had mastered the Truth of Cultivation Nature, his every move contained the Truth of Godly Way.


    While avoiding the spear, Zen stretched out his arm and turned it over. Red lotus flowers rapidly blossomed and spread out from his arm.


    The moment they appeared, the temperature everywhere within a radius of ten miles rose. The Demi-holy Beings and consummate True Gods immediately felt overwhelmed by the heat.


    The red lotus flowers quickly spread and twined around the black spear.


    If they could encircle Pascal''s body, he would probably be burned to ashes in an instant.


    Even a Holy Being like Clark, who was skilled in the Elementary Fire Godly Way, hadn''t been able to escape these red lotus flowers. Even though Pascal controlled the Abyss Demon Region, his body hadn''t been reinforced to a great extent. In Zen''s eyes, there was no way Pascal could resist his attack.


    However, Pascal shook his spear lightly, and the red lotus flowers twining around it cracked into pieces!


    "Humph!" Pascal said gruffly.


    Zen''s eyes flashed with surprise. The red lotus flowers hadn''t been able to transfer the black energy!


    In the Abyss Demon Region, Zen''s red lotus flowers and Rocher''s ice flowers had been able to transfer almost all energy. But now, the red lotus flowers seemed to have no effect on Pascal''s black energy.


    After the red lotus flowers cracked, Pascal didn''t stop. The tip of his spear drew an arc in the air and came straight toward Zen''s face.


    Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...


    Zen suddenly turned his body and released hundreds of red lotus flowers that quickly shot forth and enveloped Pascal.


    As long as they found a slight gap, they would be able to kill him.


    However, at this moment, the ring in Pascal''s hand flashed.


    Buzz!


    More black energy came out of Pascal''s body and instantly transformed int


    f powerful clans. Why are you getting me involved in this?" shouted a Demi-holy Being.


    Bang! Bang!


    One of them used a theurgy to try to break the ball, but their strength was not on the same level as Pascal''s. Even if they tried their best, it would still be impossible for them to break the ball.


    "Go to hell, all of you!" With a murderous look in his eyes, Pascal pinched lightly with his right hand. When the black energy spread within the ball, everyone would be annihilated, including Zen.


    Samuel was actually not a hardhearted man.


    He had felt uneasy and ashamed after hearing the news that Laquisha and Aleyna had recovered their memories. Even if he was powerful and ambitious, he didn''t know how to face his children in this situation.


    As a result, even though Laquisha and Aleyna had recovered to their normal status, his resentment against Zen was still growing!


    At this moment, a brown sword radiance suddenly came out and hit the inner wall of the ball. Then the long sword in Zen''s hand broke into pieces and scattered on the ground.


    Ever since his Shadow Bearing Sword was swallowed, Zen hadn''t found a long sword that he could use.


    Ordinary supreme primordial weapons couldn''t bear the Ways-blending Energy at all. Thus, when he had tried to launch a strike with this long sword, its blade had immediately shattered.


    Zen''s sword radiance had merged more than 2, 500 Godly Ways, and this was the first time he had tried to use it against an enemy.

 Chapter 2909 Darkness

    The over two thousand and five hundred Godly Ways were completely integrated, which was close to Zen''s limit.


    When Zen finally released the Ways-blending Energy, it was stable enough to turn into sword radiance and rapidly charge forward.


    When it hit the inner wall of the black sphere, however, it became disturbed and unsteady. The Ways-blending Energy, which was the perfect combination of various Godly Ways, exploded. It was as if a bright sun had suddenly shone across the sky and emitted an intense light, accompanied by a violent explosive sound.


    Bang!


    Although the black sphere was very stable and near unbreakable, it had its limits.


    The moment when the Ways-blending Energy exploded, cracks began to appear on the surface of the sphere until it eventually collapsed, sending powerful shock waves throughout the area.


    Rocher, Sword Chen, and the Demi-holy Beings who had been trapped inside the sphere were thrown out in all directions, like kites with their strings cut off.


    Those outside the sphere, including Alfredo and Leland, were also physically blown away by the force.


    However, none of them had heard the explosive sound as it had shattered their eardrums and rendered them deaf. Fortunately, such small injuries would heal very quickly, but for now, their sense of hearing was gone.


    Only Zen and Pascal remained standing on the plain.


    Pascal''s body was still covered in the black armor, revealing only a pair of eyes under his black helmet. Astonishment filled his eyes as he looked at Zen.


    Samuel had been willing to send Pascal to the Mountain of Holy Beings only because he was determined to take Zen''s life. He didn''t think it was a difficult task.


    After all, he had seen all of Zen''s tricks in the Abyss Demon Region and estimated his strength.


    He was even aware of the power of the Time Jade Seal and the method Zen once used to remove the soul marks in his two daughters.


    But now, it turned out that he had still underestimated Zen.


    Zen''s strength seemed to have increased greatly after his departure from the Abyss Demon Reg


    again. At this moment, Samuel was glad that he had blocked Zen''s attack. If it weren''t for the necklace, his soul mark would have been erased.


    "Some methods aren''t for you to use," Pascal continued. "Ever since I gained control of the Abyss Demon Region, I have been trying to figure out the secrets within it. Unfortunately, that ring didn''t give me any clues. What exactly is this energy? How should I use it? There are so many questions..."


    The power of the Abyss Demon Region that Samuel had comprehended through Pascal was, after all, something that was second-hand. Although he had control of the Abyss Demon Region, he hadn''t brought out its power.


    "Fortunately, I have gained some new insight during this period of time. In fact, the role of the Abyss Demon Region should be to help destroy the divine land..."


    Pascal said as he raised his hand.


    Black aura swirled around his right hand and quickly turned into a pure black hole that devoured light.


    At this moment, the entire divine land fell into darkness.


    Even the originally dazzling sun died down to a small dot that shrunk and shrunk until it eventually disappeared.


    The entire divine land was now shrouded in complete darkness.


    No one in any part of the divine land was able to produce any light, not even if they lit torches or activated luminous stones. All the light had been taken away by Pascal.

 Chapter 2910 The Running Warriors

    The entire divine land was in a panic.


    Darkness was not a big obstacle to a True God. When one''s eyes were unable to see anything, they could use their spiritual sense to perceive instead.


    However, this kind of darkness had never happened before. No one knew what this kind of darkness meant. Speculations ran rampant, and ignorance fueled the panic people felt.


    "Is it doomsday?"


    "Is the divine land about to be destroyed?"


    "How long will this darkness last? Will it last forever?"


    Most of the divine citizens from the remote mountain villages and the True Gods of the central divine cities gathered under the cover of darkness. They wondered, discussed, and guessed about the nature of the darkness.


    Zen also couldn''t see anything with his eyes. Even if he activated his magic vision, it still had no effect.


    This was because Pascal blocked all the sources of light. If Zen wanted to see in the darkness with his magic vision, he still needed the help of faint beams of light.


    At that moment he was trapped in darkness. With a deep inhale, he released his spiritual sense.


    Rocher, Sword Chen, many Demi-holy Beings and the consummate True Gods also released their spiritual sense.


    All of a sudden, waves of soul force spread throughout the plain.


    Meanwhile, Pascal held a black ball in his hand. It was releasing a very powerful aura.


    This aura was very similar to the Destructive Godly Way''s aura, albeit much, much stronger.


    He raised the black ball high and said darkly, "It''s over..."


    Hardly had his voice faded away when Zen, Rocher and Sword Chen noticed that the same destructive aura was coming from above their heads. With a sweep of their spiritual sense, they realized that there was a black ball above each of their heads.


    "Don''t let them touch you!"


    "Let''s go!"


    Rocher and Sword Chen promptly flew backward and away from the black balls.


    Meanwhile, Zen jumped lightly from side to side. He turned into a sharp arrow and swiftly retreated.


    Whoosh, whoosh.


    Black spears shot down from each ball. As each spear touched the ground, they suddenly released terrifying energy and annihilated every area they touched.


    Zen continued to run away, as the black spears fell like a violent storm around him. The areas he passed were destroyed upon contact with the spears.


    Rocher and


    an eyebrow at Alfredo. He only smirked when Alfredo looked confused, but he didn''t elaborate.


    When he realized he wouldn''t get any answers, Alfredo spread his spiritual sense into the darkness again. He could feel the destructive aura everywhere in the plain.


    It appeared that most of the long spears from the black balls didn''t hit their targets. But as they melted, they spread in all directions rapidly, like ink over clear water.


    The longer they spent running around, the more black energy spread throughout the whole plain.


    Sooner or later, it would cover everything. By then, these people would have no way to escape.


    Some warriors had stopped running by this time. They, too, had realized what was happening.


    Zen circled the plain. When he came back, he found that the long spears behind him had blended into the ground, radiating an aura of destruction. This aura continued to spread. It wouldn''t be long before the whole plain and valley were filled up with the aura!


    "Rocher, we can''t go on like this," Zen uttered worriedly.


    Rocher, who was standing in the distance, agreed and said, "If we fly, we can dodge the black energy. However, after this place is filled with that energy, Samuel would definitely take further action. All the people in the Mountain of Holy Beings would be slaughtered!"


    "We need to stop him before that happens," Zen said as he ran madly. "Pascal has a soul weapon. If I can break that, I can rid Pascal completely of Samuel''s control."


    When he heard this, Rocher raised his eyebrows in confusion.

 Chapter 2911 At a disadvantage

    "You''ve just torn his armor open!" Rocher exclaimed.


    "It didn''t last long," Zen said. "Besides, I didn''t know that he had a secret soul weapon." He trusted No. 9527, and he believed that no secret soul weapon could block it in the divine land. The secret soul weapon Pascal had must have been given to him by the Yellow Emperor Guards. "I''ll try again!" Zen said resolutely.


    If they let Pascal continue to do what he was doing, everyone would definitely have no means to escape. Zen had no intention of sitting around waiting for his death.


    After he finished speaking, Zen''s body gently floated, and a pair of thunder wings suddenly extended and spread open behind him. With a loud crack, he hurtled toward his target. He already had Pascal''s position locked in.


    Seeing this, Rocher also quickened his pace and approached Pascal from the other side.


    "Holy Emperor, Zen is coming..."


    Using his spiritual sense, Alfredo identified a consummate True God hurtling toward him at breakneck speed. Even in the darkness, he recognized Zen.


    "Hmmm. He already knows my location, huh..." Pascal sneered. He held the black sphere with one hand and conjured a spear with the other. At the same time, the huge wings behind him morphed from the original soft black feathers into sharp knives. "Step aside," he said to Alfredo.


    Hearing his words, Alfredo immediately distanced himself from him.


    The two warriors were so powerful that their strength far exceeded those of Holy Beings. Alfredo could never withstand any attack from them.


    As Zen sped towards Pascal, the Ways-blending Energy frantically accumulated. The long sword in his hand kept trembling and whistling...


    As the two warriors got closer, Zen suddenly waved his long arm.


    Crack!


    The sound of the long sword shattering into pieces resounded in the darkness.


    Just before the long sword broke into pieces, a strong and violent beam of sword radiance rushed straight towards Pascal.


    "Nice timing!"


    Pascal had foreseen this strike from Zen, so he was fully prepared.


    He suddenly shook his long black spear, and black energy continuously gathered at the tip of the spear. As he jerked forward, the whole spear totally turned into spear radian


    Zen from the other side with his long black spear.


    Pascal was a dishonorable, devious person to have used such a method to mislead Zen. If not for No. 9527''s reminder, the spear might have cut Zen''s stomach open.


    Zen dodged the spear, but he was placed in a difficult spot. Pascal had returned the blood jade necklace to its original place around his neck. The broken armor was regenerated, and his broken wings were repaired. He began to crazily attack Zen, who was now at a disadvantage.


    A slight shake of his black wings sent black feathers, which were as sharp as knives, flying wildly toward Zen.


    Worse, Zen also had to dodge the spears that were constantly dropping overhead and rays of spear radiance that Pascal occasionally shot out.


    Even if Zen had activated the Truth of Cultivation Nature and utilized the Eight Smoky Melodies to the limit, he was still in danger.


    Phew!


    A feather grazed past behind Zen, leaving a deep furrow on his back. Even with Zen''s immense physical strength, he was incapable of resisting that type of black energy.


    As he registered the sharp pain in his back, Zen felt something cold touch his shoulder. His shoulder was pierced by a long spear...


    Zen knew he was in big trouble and his heart sank. He couldn''t elude Pascal''s attacks.


    His only consolation was that the black energy could not destroy his body like it did to the other people. But, if the attacks persisted, he would be torn to pieces by Pascal eventually.

 Chapter 2912 Sacrifice

    Swish!


    Pascal flapped his wings again in the darkness.


    Countless feathers, as sharp as knives, swept toward Zen.


    Phew! Phew! Phew!


    Zen''s body jerked roughly in the air, and he let out a muffled groan.


    This time, four feathers had hit him. Three of them grazed his shoulders and legs, and the other one pierced through his chest.


    Sword Chen and Rocher stood not far away. They tensed and clenched their fists when they heard Zen''s pained groan.


    "Zen may not be able to hold on like this!" Sword Chen told Rocher through his life vitality.


    It was understandable that Zen''s life mattered so much to them. After all, even though they went to the Mountain of Holy Beings to become Holy Beings, protecting Zen had always been their priority.


    As Sword Chen finished speaking, he thrust forward to dodge the spears falling from above his head. He brandished his long sword to create a sword net and shrouded Pascal.


    Click... Click... Click...


    His sword net could not destroy Pascal''s armor. Pascal didn''t even mind him. He just continued going after Zen.


    "Your method is useless!"


    Rocher exclaimed in frustration. He closed his eyes and felt what was happening in the darkness.


    "What can we do? This is not the Abyss Demon Region!" Sword Chen said anxiously.


    If he was in the Abyss Demon Region, he could use the force of primitive fear. However, even if Rosie lent all the force of primitive fear to him, it was still impossible to break Pascal''s armor.


    "The ice flowers of the girl can''t transform the black energy. If it goes on like this, Zen will die." Rocher was also anxious. They were both worried, but they didn''t know what to do next.


    Another muffled sound came from the darkness. Through his spiritual sense, Rocher could tell that blood was bursting out of Zen''s body.


    "There''s no other way. Let''s pin Pascal down to buy some time for Zen," said Sword Chen.


    "No," Rocher refused.


    "What? Why?" Sword Chen was stunned. He was surprised that Rocher was not immediately on board with his plan.


    After they came out of the Abyss Demon Region safely, his target,


    seemed to come to life and was full of vitality, while Rocher had sacrificed his life to the sword. His energy was gradually weakening, and he slowly turned into a cold stone statue.


    "Rocher!" Zen''s eyes widened in shock. He called out in alarm, as Rocher died in front of him.


    It was not until this moment that he finally understood why his father insisted on letting Rocher accompany him to the Mountain of Holy Beings. Perhaps, Mike didn''t want Rocher to become a Holy Being. He made such an arrangement because he had predicted a disaster would happen in the mountain.


    Splash!


    Rocher, who was now a stone man, brandished the sword with all his strength.


    His joints made a crisp sound, and his right arm was broken. He fell, like a bird with broken wings, out of the sky.


    Crack!


    The black ball that had floated above Rocher''s head shot out black spears. They pierced through his body and made a cracking noise. Then, the black energy quickly annihilated his body.


    The golden light, as bright as the sun, rushed straight toward Pascal.


    At the sight of this, Pascal''s face darkened.


    Although he trusted the power of the Abyss Demon Region very much, the golden light in front of him had broken his limits. It had destroyed the strong darkness that he had cast.


    As he faced the sword attack, he had to let go of Zen. He needed to go all out to deal with it, or else he could die.

 Chapter 2913 Paying With Lives

    Pascal waved a hand, causing a shallow whirlpool to appear within the black sphere in his right hand.


    As he extracted the power of the Abyss Demon Region, the plain that had been illuminated by the sword light began to dim again.


    But Pascal knew that he could only suppress the light and not the power of the sword light.


    The energy in the black sphere surged as he pushed gently with his right hand.


    It rippled like countless tangled black snakes and headed straight for the sword light.


    Pascal thought Rocher''s sword strike to be powerful, but the black energy would still absorb it.


    But the moment the black energy met the sword radiance, something strange happened.


    The golden sword light melted while the black energy kept extending. The golden light turned into something that resembled a spider''s web and wrapped the black energy into its folds. It then moved towards Pascal at an incredible speed.


    By the time Pascal realized what was happening, the golden energy had already spread all over his body, its beams looking like a knitted net as they covered him.


    The black energy within the net had frozen, and was no longer under Pascal''s control.


    Crack!


    Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!


    "No!"


    Pascal roared.


    Samuel''s voice boomed from outside the Mountain of Holy Beings at the same time. "That''s impossible! I can control the Abyss Demon Region. How could its power be rendered useless so easily? And by a mere consummate True God!"


    Pascal''s black armor, along with his wings, cracked and fell apart, revealing his body. His face was filled with utter disbelief.


    It was then that Zen pulled out a long sword and rushed towards Pascal.


    Phew!


    With a sound like that of a whistle, the blood jade necklace on Pascal''s chest broke as the sword light flashed across it.


    The blood jade necklace was only a soul weapon, and although it was given by a Yellow Emperor Guard, it had still been unable to withstand Zen''s strike.


    "Hurry up, now!"


    Zen said. Before he could finish talking, No. 9527 had entered Pascal''s mind.


    Something that looked like a small bug lay at the back of Pascal''s soul. It was the strand of soul from Samuel.


    This was the third time that Samuel had encoun


    now, Rocher''s hand still gripped the sword handle tightly.


    "My father is a little selfish," Zen murmured. Mike had predicted that this would happen when he had given the Soaring Snake Sword to Rocher. Mike knew Rocher would eventually sacrifice himself.


    "With your talent, it will only take you a few decades to start over again and come back, and I will never let you die," Zen continued.


    He then pulled the Soaring Snake Sword gently from Rocher''s hand and put his broken arm into the space ring. He gazed calmly at the crowd and smiled before saying, "I know what the Yellow Emperor Guards have promised you."


    At these words, the Soaring Snake Sword in Zen''s hand shook and let out a clear, melodious sound.


    Zen continued, trying to sound indifferent, "But Rocher will not die in vain. Eleven people have attacked him before and to them, I say, come out and offer your lives to the sword. This is what you have to pay for causing Rocher''s death."


    Many people''s hearts skipped a beat at Zen''s words.


    In fact, when this group of people had rushed into the Mountain of Holy Beings, most of them had intended to kill Zen, Sword Chen, and Rocher.


    Some had thought that their own strengths weren''t powerful enough and had refrained from taking any action. Some others remained silent and decided to watch from the sidelines. Only a dozen people had attacked Rocher. Rocher had killed three of them and then, the remaining ten-odd people didn''t dare make a move again.

 Chapter 2914 The Holy Springs

    Although these people had nothing to do with Rocher''s death, Zen did not intend to let them get away this time.


    They had picked their side; now, they had to pay a price.


    After Zen finished speaking, the thunder wings on his back suddenly spread, and he charged toward the person closest to him.


    "Run!"


    Eleven people broke away from the crowd and ran toward the valley.


    These people''s hearts were full of regret because they allowed themselves to be fooled by Leyton. Zen was so powerful that attacking the three of them was simply courting death.


    However, it was already too late for regrets.


    A young Demi-holy Being who was at the back of the group had only run over a hundred feet when he felt a burning sensation above his head. As it turned out, a thin red lotus was coming at him.


    "Spiritual Energy Gathering Shield!"


    With a wave of his hand, a large cyan shield appeared over his head.


    This huge shield, which had consumed nearly all of his internal momentum, could block the all-out blow from a Holy Being.


    Unfortunately, his opponent now was Zen.


    The moment the red lotus touched the huge shield, the energy of the whole cyan shield changed, and the shield transformed into a red lotus covering the young man.


    Boom!


    In the blink of an eye, the young Demi-holy Being was incinerated to ashes.


    The remaining ten was stupefied at the sight.


    That young man was a Demi-holy Being from a first-tier clan. He was among the top Demi-holy Beings from outside the Floating Islands.


    Even so, he could not withstand the least of Zen''s attacks. Thus, the others would definitely be slaughtered.


    Zen did not stop after killing the first young Demi-holy Being. He flew toward the next target with his thunder wings.


    When the second Demi-holy Being saw Zen coming straight at him, he panicked, shouting, "I don''t know anything! I mean no harm..."


    "You mean no harm now, but when you attacked us, this was not what you thought," Zen replied faintly.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh...


    With one roll of the red lotus, the Demi-holy Being was also consumed.


    When the remaining nine people saw this, their hearts sank. An old man gritted his teeth and said,


    hen approached him. With his eyes staring into the distance, he said, "Something has changed on the plain."


    Zen looked into the distance and saw rays of light rising from the surface of the plain, emitting a vast expanse of silver light. In the depths of the plain, several silver ribbon-like things streamed up to the sky like fountains.


    "The holy springs have appeared!"


    "I didn''t expect that there would be five holy springs this time!"


    "How come there are so many of them?"


    These Demi-holy Beings and consummate True Gods were still thinking of the chance to become a Holy Being.


    Zen and Sword Chen were not the sort of men that they could challenge. If only one or two holy springs had appeared, their chances would have been nil because there was no way for them to succeed against Zen in battle.


    However, everyone was surprised to witness five holy springs burst forth in the Mountain of Holy Beings.


    Every holy spring meant an opportunity for someone to become a Holy Being, and Zen and Sword Chen only needed two of the springs. This meant that three holy springs were available for the rest of them to fight for.


    "Let''s go!"


    Zen leaped slightly and flew toward one of the holy springs. Watching him, Sword Chen nodded and selected another holy spring a bit far away from Zen''s.


    The others consciously avoided the two holy springs that were selected and decided to fight with all their might for the other three holy springs.

 Chapter 2915 Fight For The Holy Springs

    Each time the Mountain of Holy Beings came, a disaster would dawn on the Demi-holy Beings and the consummate True Gods.


    In order to fight for a holy spring, everyone would spare no effort.


    Anyone who would reach the consummation of True God Realm was by no means ordinary. As they knew that they only needed to go one step further to reach the peak of the world, the attraction was irresistible to them.


    Flying his way to reach the holy spring, Zen could already see how it was getting closer to him.


    Splash!


    Like mercury, the shiny silver water came out of the holy spring. However, mercury was viscous, while the silver water flowed quickly.


    Flowing down the ground, the silver water rushed to the center of the spring on a low terrain, quickly forming a silver pool.


    Sauntering towards it, Zen was now a thousand feet away from the holy spring. Suddenly, the surface of the pool fluctuated.


    Rumble!


    Bubbles started to appear on top of the silver pool.


    A few moments later, a silver head came out of the water, followed by neck, body and legs.


    Soon, a complete human body rose from the spring water.


    Leaving the pool, it rushed straight towards Zen.


    "Is this the test of the holy spring?" Zen tried his best to remain calm.


    He knew that to occupy a holy spring, one had to be ready to fight both the other challengers and the holy spring itself.


    Seeing the silver man coming straight for him, Zen didn''t even need to dodge. With a flick of his finger, a red lotus bloomed from his fingertip, immediately sweeping towards the silver man.


    If the silver man was made of energy, the attack of the red lotus should do the trick.


    Da!


    With the red lotus wrapping all over its body, the silver man didn''t seem worried. Stretching out its hand, it tore the red lotus off.


    "It can''t be transformed."


    With this conclusion, Zen''s eyes narrowed slightly. It seemed that the silver man''s strength was coming from the body of the Mountain of Holy Beings.


    The Mountain of Holy Beings had been here for countless years, but neither Holy Beings nor warriors at the Other Shore Realm were able to enter it. Maybe it was because it contained an unbeatable treasure, or it was an extremely powerful


    From a distance, a burly man sneered, "How about you help me become a Holy Being, and I will repay your kindness?"


    After becoming Holy Beings, they would be able to join the powerful clans. In fact, this was the ultimate goal of most of the strong warriors in the divine land. No one was willing to give up so easily.


    "No need to argue. You both can just go to hell. This holy spring belongs to me!" a Demi-holy Being from the Qin Clan answered.


    By nature, the Demi-holy Beings of the great clans were more powerful than the ordinary ones, so they were more domineering.


    The facial expressions of the first two warriors changed at those words. Quickly coming into an agreement, they gave up on getting close to the holy spring, and started moving towards the Demi-holy Being of the Qin Clan.


    The fights continued around the three holy springs.


    Some warriors died after being attacked by several others, while some had been injured and had to temporarily retreat to the side. After healing their wounds, they charged again to join the chaotic battle.


    During the fight happening in the Mountain of Holy Beings, a flying ship rushed out swiftly from the huge chaos clouds.


    Without the chaos clouds blocking their view, Clement and his group could see more clearly.


    "At last, we finally get out of that mess," sighed Clement.


    "Watch out. There is something ahead," warned Godfrey.


    Narrowing his eyes, Clement stared at the gem-shaped thing floating in the air.

 Chapter 2916 Bathe In The Holy Spring

    From the viewpoint of the Yellow Emperor Guards, the divine land looked as if it was only a little bit larger than a grain of sand. But, nestled in the middle of a grayish brown, it remained a sight to behold.


    "Look at that beauty!" Godfrey exclaimed as he stared at the vast divine land before him.


    "Chiyou took a lot of efforts to create this world," Clement remarked nonchalantly. "Of course it won''t be ordinary."


    Another person assessed the distance between them and the divine land. "With the current speed of the Trumpet Flying Ship," he concluded, "we''d need roughly five days to reach it."


    The vastness of the chaos was intense.


    While the divine land was already at their line of sight, it would still take them a while to reach it.


    "Everyone, get ready," Clement announced. "We may need to face fierce battles after five days. How many divine crystals do we have on this Trumpet Flying Ship?"


    "Around three hundred," Godfrey reported. "That''s enough for us to return."


    "Use all these divine crystals to prepare the Slaughtering Moonlight Array," Clement ordered.


    The Yellow Emperor Guards exchanged surprise glances. Godfrey was the one to say what was on everyone''s minds. "If we consume all of the divine crystals," he started. "How are we going to go back? We don''t need the Slaughtering Moonlight Array to kill those Other Shore Realm warriors, do we?"


    Clement shook his head. "Do as what I said. Just to be on the safe side. I have the feeling that we''ll have a tough battle ahead of us. Besides, if we successfully occupy the divine land, it would have the resources we need to return."


    Even without the Trumpet Flying Ship, they could still return to the Source World. It would just take a longer time.


    Meanwhile, in the Mountain of Holy Beings,.


    Zen was rushing towards the silver water pool again.


    This time, ten figures emerged from the water.


    The ten silver men were of great power, yet they were unable to cause any substantial damage to Zen.


    Golden light shot out of Zen''s body and it tore the silver men into pieces.


    It took several rounds for Zen to realize that the fighting strategy of the silver men in the holy spring was the same as that of the person who attacked them.


    For one, the silver men used swords to attack Sword Chen just as what he did. And the Godly Way they used was exactly the same as Sword Chen''s.


    Zen relied on his fists and own strength to f


    oly spring was rather fast as he now was faced with six silver men.


    The moment Glendon Leng rushed over, he felt a chill.


    Leland was trained to be more vigilant than ordinary Demi-holy Beings, thanks to his experience in the Abyss Demon Region. As soon as he felt the chill, he bent down.


    Because of his quick response, the ice sword missed his scalp by a short distance.


    Glendon Leng clenched his fist in frustration; he had failed to hit Leland with his sword strike. He breathed deeply and decided to strike again.


    However, Leland was already floating backward and had avoided the second sword strike from Glendon Leng. At the same time, he quickly distanced himself from the holy spring.


    Glendon Leng didn''t chase after him. Leland wasn''t his primary target anyway. His goal was to kill all the competitors so that he could bathe in the holy spring in peace.


    Leland successfully retreated to a thousand feet away. He looked at the scene and smiled bitterly. ''These disciples of the powerful clans are too aggressive, '' he thought to himself.


    Just then, Leland heard someone cry loudly close by.


    "Look! Zen moved so fast. He has started bathing in the holy spring!"


    "Another Holy Being is about to be born!"


    "Holy crap! His strength has already surpassed that of a Holy Being! He deserves to gain the title of a Holy Being!"


    People talked among themselves with eyes full of envy.


    Then, the envy in their eyes disappeared as soon as they all realized something. "Something''s wrong," someone finally said. "It seems like the holy spring failed to integrate into Zen''s body. That''s strange."

 Chapter 2917 Giving Up The Holy Spring

    Zen stood still inside the holy spring, letting his body gently soak in the silver spring water.


    His attention was not on the spring water itself, but on why Chiyou had arranged such a test in the first place.


    If the Yellow Emperor Guards hadn''t killed anyone from the Nine Li race all those years ago, would the Nine Li people still have had to kill each other like this in order to become Holy Beings?


    Anyone who had reached the consummation of True God Realm could be considered useful in the Nine Li race. They were the hopes for the future.


    As soon as this thought came to his mind, Zen patted his head and realized that he had made a big mistake.


    If the Nine Li people were still alive, they would have been a whole. In that case, this many people wouldn''t be able to enter the Mountain of Holy Beings, and there wouldn''t be such a cruel competition. The holy springs were only a test.


    Splash...


    After that realization, Zen continued to bathe in the holy spring, but he soon discovered something wrong.


    Before entering the Mountain of Holy Beings, he had been told that all he needed to do was occupy a holy spring, which was not a difficult task for him.


    Then, as he bathed in the holy spring, the spring water was supposed to enter his elixir field and merge with his inner world.


    However, the spring water wasn''t entering his body at all. It just gathered around his body and slid down his skin like ordinary spring water. He felt as if he was taking a bath!


    "The spring water isn''t entering my body. What''s going on?" A strange expression appeared on Zen''s face. "No. 9527, do you know what''s going on?" he asked.


    No. 9527 thought for a moment and then said, "The role of the Rebirth Land is to connect your life to it. The holy spring can help you build a Rebirth Land. Since it seems to be incompatible with you, it means that you can''t connect your life to a Rebirth Land."


    The explanation was quite easy to understand, but a helpless expression came over Zen''s face. "There must be a reason!" he cried.


    After thinking for a while, No. 9527 shook its head and said, "Who knows what the reason is? Maybe the holy spring doesn''t like you."


    Zen was rendered speechless. He pursed his lips with an expression of dismay.


    ''My father built the Evol


    "


    One of them thought for a moment and replied, "They are nothing at all."


    "So I''m not interested," Zen said in a matter-of-fact tone.


    "But my supreme treasure of belief..."


    "My..."


    The group became anxious at once.


    Who would be willing to give up such a good opportunity?


    However, Zen''s annoyance was rising. His face darkened, and a cold aura suddenly shot out from him. "I have given this holy spring to Leland. You all should leave. Otherwise, don''t blame me for what happens next!"


    Seeing that Zen was angry, the crowd went silent. They reluctantly left, casting longing glances at the holy spring.


    Leland, on the other hand, felt very much indebted to Zen.


    It had never occurred to him that the journey to the Abyss Demon Region could bring him the opportunity to be a Holy Being. In no time, his clan would join the powerful clans on the Floating Islands.


    Without any hesitation, Leland rushed toward the holy spring, and Zen retreated.


    However, Leland still had to face the test of the silver men. The moment he approached the holy spring, six silver men appeared in the pool just like before.


    After Zen withdrew from the holy spring, he did not go to look for the maze.


    After leaving the Abyss Demon Region, Sword Chen had been unable to use the force of primitive fear. With his current strength, he might not be able to go up against a group of Demi-holy Beings if they decided to besiege him. So, Zen intended to stay here until Sword Chen finished bathing in the holy spring.

 Chapter 2918 The Maze

    Occupying a holy spring was not an easy task.


    In fact, it would not be easy for Sword Chen to rush into the spring even if there was nothing to interfere with him.


    The stronger one was, the fiercer the holy spring''s counterattack would be.


    After four hours, he took a quick break and then resumed to attack the holy spring again.


    Sword Chen was fortunate enough that no one dared to fight with him to compete for the holy spring, making him feel more relaxed.


    Finally, after half a day of fighting, he passed the test of the holy spring.


    All the fighting had hurt him badly, but after passing the test, he didn''t mind the wounds at all.


    To him, if he could make it and become a Holy Being, then all his efforts would not be in vain.


    Meanwhile, cupping his hands joyfully at Zen, he walked towards the holy spring.


    At that moment, the silver holy spring water suddenly poured out of the spring and started to wash his body.


    While bathing in the holy spring, Zen noticed that the spring water couldn''t penetrate his body, let alone enter his inner world.


    However, this was a different case for Sword Chen as the silver water continuously merged into his body, flowing along his meridians and reuniting in his elixir field.


    Not long after, he was transformed into a shiny "silver man."


    Sword Chen shining with utmost luster attracted a lot of people''s attention.


    The holy spring water continued to gather, and a stream of silver water suddenly appeared on Sword Chen''s head.


    Whoosh!


    Immediately, the silver water soared into the sky, which then vanished into thin air.


    Meanwhile, a strong and sudden space fluctuation came from the divine land. Soon after, a thunder-like roar spread throughout the divine land.


    This sound of thunder, however, resembled that of a collapsing universe.


    But the people from the divine land had also made it clear that ever since the Mountain of Holy Beings had appeared, the sound could also mean that some Holy Being was creating their universe.


    "Another warrior has become a Holy Being!"


    "I wonder who it is this time."


    "It''s so fast that someone has become a Holy Being, much faster than the previous times. The Mountain of Holy Beings has not even been opened for one day, and yet that Holy Being''s universe has already been built!"


    Having felt the movement from their feet, the disciples in the Floa


    he came into contact with the mountain wall, silver light flashed in front of him and he was inside the mountain.


    In front of him was a long and dark corridor.


    "Wow, it is indeed the entrance of the maze." A helpless smile appeared on Zen''s face.


    The entrance to the maze had always been located in the Mountain of Holy Beings, and for so many divine eras, countless consummate True Gods and Demi-holy Beings had come into the Mountain of Holy Beings.


    There must have been someone exploring the internal space of the Mountain of Holy Beings in curiosity, and someone must have found the valley that existed at the other end of the plain.


    However, only Bromley had found the entrance to the maze. He must have entered the maze accidentally.


    Observing the place for a short while, Zen continued to walk forward along the passageway of the maze.


    After he turned two corners along the passageway, a familiar feeling came into being.


    When he was at the end of the True Path, he passed through a similar maze which was created by Bromley. That maze was a copy of this one.


    Back then, Bromley had walked through the maze for quite a while, but he found that he couldn''t pass the maze, so he had no choice but to leave.


    Zen, on the other hand, was different. Every time he took a turn in the maze, the Infinity Ruler in his mind would show him the right path. And if he faced two or three crossings, he could still make the right choice with the help of the Infinity Ruler.


    After a couple of turns, Zen moved smoothly through the maze with the help of the Infinity Ruler.

 Chapter 2919 An Approaching Flying Ship

    The silence in the maze was deafening. Zen could not hear any other sounds aside from his own footsteps.


    Zen initially started walking quickly. But after realizing how large the maze was, he lightly tapped the tip of his toe and flew away.


    However, the terribly large maze was still beyond Zen''s imagination. Even after travelling through it the entire day and night, he still could not see the exit.


    The days seemed never ending inside the maze.


    On the third day, Zen walked along a black passageway, hoping to reach the end. After turning a corner, he was surprised to notice that the passageway in front of him suddenly changed.


    The walls on both sides of the passageway were shining with a colorful light.


    "Er? The fragments of time?"


    Zen couldn''t help assuming, feeling an intense aura of the Time Law from the walls. It was exactly the same aura he felt from the Time Sea.


    Tapping the fragments on the wall gently, he found nothing unusual.


    However, as Zen continued to move forward, he faintly heard a soft breath near his ears.


    Phew! Phew!


    It appeared like someone was sleeping in the maze.


    Moreover, the sound of breathing echoed in Zen''s ears, making him think he was getting closer to this person''s location.


    Frowning slightly, Zen flew away along the passageway. He wanted to find out the source of the breathing.


    After rushing tens of thousands of feet, he could still hear the breathing sound floating in his ears. It sounded like it was still by his side, even though he had already traveled so far.


    Even with the strange feeling in his heart, he still bit the bullet and continued his way.


    On the other hand, Emily sat on the top of the divine land and looked up at the vast chaos.


    She had missed the days in the Source World a lot of times.


    But after she had managed to flee from the prison, she got eaten up by depression.


    After opening the barrier of the divine land, she should be able to return to the Source World. Looking afar, she wondered how the Rose Sect was doing right now.


    If the leader of a sect went missing or dead, the sect members were expected to select a new leader.


    If she returned to the Source World, the position of the sect leader would probably be lost.


    But that was not something that made Emil


    mall world I have prepared," Timotheus recommended.


    However, Lorena declined, shaking her head mildly. "I won''t go into the small world."


    Timotheus tried to persuade her, but Lorena insisted on staying. In the end, he had to give up.


    Though it was true that hiding in the small world, or their inner worlds, would guarantee their safety, they would know nothing about the outside world. In fact, it was not only Lorena who was reluctant to enter the small world, but also the other Holy Beings.


    "If that will be the case, I''ll have Ramzi make an array to hide us," said Timotheus.


    The time flew slowly while they waited.


    Four hours later, the Trumpet Flying Ship was very close to the divine land.


    In front of Godfrey, a small jade plate floated in the air, and he was holding a light cyan crystal.


    Known to contain an astonishing amount of energy, this crystal was so-called the divine crystal, and was widely used in the Source World.


    After gently flipping the divine crystal, he placed it on the jade plate, allowing it to sink into the plate.


    "The last divine crystal has been set," Godfrey reported.


    "According to the Yellow Emperor Guards in the divine land, the Nine Li Guards are at the top of the divine land, but we haven''t come across any of them yet," another Yellow Emperor Guard said.


    Looking leisurely at the large divine land in front of him, Clement was in his best mood. In a light voice, he ordered, "First, activate the Slaughtering Moonlight Array. Then we will descend!"

 Chapter 2920 Searching For Space Fluctuations

    Following Clement''s command, Godfrey gently pressed the jade plate in his hand.


    A bright crescent appeared on the jade plate.


    Soon after, an invisible wave spread out, covering a large area around them.


    "The Slaughtering Moonlight Array has been activated," reported Godfrey.


    Clement nodded leisurely. The flying ship floating in the sky slowly descended and finally landed on the peak point of the divine land.


    Crack!


    Clement jumped off the flying ship in relief and glanced around. The peak point of the divine land was actually flat, and everything within his sight was extremely desolate.


    The Yellow Emperor Guard who jumped down right after him said, "The divine land is much larger than I imagined."


    "Well, it''s a world that Chiyou created, after all," Clement said flatly.


    Then, he squatted down and lightly knocked on the ground.


    After a few moments, he suddenly leaped up into the air, conjuring up a bright scarlet rune in his hand.


    As he came back down, he slapped the scarlet rune hard on the ground.


    Bang!


    The moment the scarlet rune touched the ground, a ring of scarlet light spread out from the center of his palm with a dull buzzing noise.


    The peak of the divine land trembled for a moment.


    Buzz...


    At that moment, a triangular shield quietly appeared on the surface of the divine land.


    "What''s this?" Clement asked, frowning and staring at the shield at his feet.


    "What a powerful treasure! Master Clement, even you failed to break this with your full strength," Godfrey exclaimed. He couldn''t believe his eyes.


    The other Yellow Emperor Guards could sense the power of this shield, but they shook their heads in response to Clement''s question. They didn''t know the origin of this treasure either.


    However, a relatively young Yellow Emperor Guard who was standing at the rear thought about it for a while before he said, "I heard that Chiyou had a supreme treasure?¡ªthe Heavenly Mirror Shield. It is supposed to be in the shape of a triangle, and it is said that it can''t be destroyed by any force in the world. Is this the Heavenly Mirror Shield?"


    Clement looked at this Yellow Emperor Guard in surprise and asked, "Abbas, are you sure?"


    The Yellow Emperor Guard named Abbas nodded. "This treasure is in the shape of a triangle, and we are in the world that Chiyou created. It can''t just be a coincidence."


    "No wond


    al in order to observe the space fluctuations, they still arrived in less than half a minute.


    Clement was sitting with his eyes closed as his spiritual sense spread out like thin threads, densely covering the entire area within a radius of thousands of miles.


    Space in the chaos was the most stable, even more stable than it was in the Source World. Therefore, even the slightest trace of space fluctuation would be very eye-catching.


    "Hm..."


    Clement suddenly felt a faint space fluctuation, but it disappeared in a flash.


    The moment he made a sound, Godfrey stopped the Trumpet Flying Ship. The others were trying to sense the space fluctuation too, but none of them had found anything.


    "Master Clement, did you sense the space fluctuation?" asked Godfrey.


    Clement looked to the left and pointed in that direction. "That way!"


    "That way? I see nothing..."


    "I didn''t sense the space fluctuation either."


    "Master Clement''s spiritual sense is stronger than ours. Maybe he can see something we can''t."


    The Trumpet Flying Ship quickly turned and moved in the direction that Clement had pointed in.


    When Ramzi saw the ship turn toward them, he clenched his fists, and a trace of tension finally appeared on his face.


    Of course, they had already known that the space fluctuations were likely to reveal their position. But since they had worked so long to excavate the space barrier here, they couldn''t give up. That was why Ramzi had specially set up another array to mask its position.


    However, it was very difficult to completely cover up the space fluctuations.

 Chapter 2921 A Surprise Attack

    The Four-Spirit Hiding Array cast by Ramzi was able to hide the space fluctuation. However, slight fluctuations occasionally managed to escape from the array.


    Ramzi could only hope that the people on the flying ship were so careless that they wouldn''t notice the space fluctuation.


    However, the flying ship paused and then flew towards them. He immediately realized that the warriors aboard had espied the fluctuation.


    "They have sensed it. What should we do?" Ramzi asked.


    "Let''s see what their next move is," said Timotheus calmly.


    He also had a bad feeling about what was happening, but he couldn''t afford to panic because it would affect others.


    Soon, the flying ship in the distance slowly approached. It flew past the Four-Spirit Hiding Array, almost touching it, and did not stop until it was one hundred feet away.


    The Yellow Emperor Guards jumped down from the Trumpet Flying Ship.


    "Looks like there is no space fluctuation..." One of the Yellow Emperor Guards looked around but did not sense any.


    "That''s impossible," spoke Clement flatly. "I felt the space fluctuation twice. It must be nearby. They must have used something to hide themselves so that the space fluctuation would seem faint..."


    As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly turned around and stared ahead. Just then, he felt another trace of space fluctuation.


    Under the cover of the Four-Spirit Hiding Array, Emily quietly narrowed her eyes and whispered, "They must have noticed it."


    "Where did they come from? I don''t even know whether they are allies or enemies... If they are enemies, shall we take action first?" Leopold uttered coldly.


    "They may be the Yellow Emperor Guards or helpers invited by the Yellow Emperor Guards in the divine land. For sure, they must be enemies," Emily responded.


    Hearing Emily''s judgment, Lorena blinked her eyes and asked, "How did you arrive at that conclusion?"


    "Ramzi has hidden the space fluctuation very well. If the newcomers were the outsiders who didn''t know anything about the divine land, they would probably try their best to break through the divine land immediately. If they failed to break the Heavenly Mirror Shield, they might probably, like us, try to brea


    arrior. The moment he felt the aura, his eyes emitted a sharp light. He reached out his hand, and with a slight tap, a blood rune shot out into the air.


    Boom!


    When the blood rune exploded, it turned into a mass of black and red blood that blocked Emily''s spike attack.


    Swoosh!


    The sharp spike speeding toward Clement immediately got sucked into the blood.


    Then, the sharp spike and the colorful rings behind it weakened, losing their original speed and power. Clement quickly grabbed the weapons.


    Clement easily foiled Emily''s attack and defended himself against his enemy. However, the other Yellow Emperor Guards weren''t so lucky.


    The moment Timotheus made his appearance, he stealthily sneaked beside one of the Yellow Emperor Guards. In one sharp movement, he twisted his opponent''s neck with his large hands.


    By the time the Yellow Emperor Guard realized what happened to him, it was already too late. As Timotheus''s hands flashed with a golden light, the half of the Yellow Emperor Guard''s body had already turned into dust, and the warrior perished.


    Ramzi, Leopold and the women of the Snake Goddess race joined hands and killed two other Yellow Emperor Guards.


    After a short time, three Yellow Emperor Guards were killed. The other Yellow Emperor Guards quickly moved away.


    Clement held his ground. His face a portrait of calm, he said sardonically, "I applaud your daring. What a surprise to find out that you''ve been hiding so close all along."

 Chapter 2922 A Drop Of Blood

    Emily''s face slightly darkened.


    She had used her full strength with that attack. Unexpectedly, Clement effortlessly resisted it.


    He was probably stronger than her, but she couldn''t stop now. She had already started this.


    She had no choice but to fight, more so since this was a life-or-death battle. There was no turning back.


    As soon as Clement finished speaking, she moved swiftly and disappeared from the spot. At the same time, she sent a message through her life vitality, "Timotheus, let''s kill him together!"


    A few moments later, she re-appeared beside Clement.


    Clement was startled when he was engulfed by a colorful halo. It never occurred to him that Emily could use the colorful halo to trap him.


    The space within the colorful halo had grown thick, and it became difficult to move. He struggled to escape with the Grand Teleportation but failed.


    Timotheus took this time to move as well. A strong aura surged through his body. He jumped up, a golden hammer and a long golden awl in each hand. As he flew over Clement''s head, a huge golden shadow appeared behind him. The shadow was like the legendary evil god. It released terrifying power and reeked of murderous aura.


    Timotheus pointed the long golden awl to Clement, his face shadowed. He knocked it hard with the golden hammer in his right hand.


    Dong!


    The shadow emitted a vast amount of power, and this power gathered on the awl. It shot toward Clement, who was still struggling inside the halo.


    This attack from Timotheus was so oppressive that even Emily, who had trapped Clement in the colorful halo, had to retreat. However, she didn''t remove the colorful light halo. If she did that, Clement would easily use the Grand Teleportation to escape.


    Whoosh!


    The long golden awl turned into a dazzling golden light and shot towards Clement.


    Although Timotheus and his group had successfully trapped him and killed three Yellow Emperor Guards, Clement still didn''t take them seriously.


    He had such a high opinion of himself. Since he joined the Sky Guard Pavilion, he had never taken the ordinary warriors at the Other Shore Realm seriously. He was truly


    and which side they were on before he fought them. However, they did not give him the chance, which made him feel upset.


    "What does it have to do with you?" Emily answered coldly.


    She turned her hands slightly, and two colorful halos appeared at the same time. One of them blocked Clement''s blood sword, and the other headed straight for Clement.


    Clank! Clank!


    Clement turned the blood sword around with his hand, and the blade of the sword passed the two colorful halos at the same time.


    Right after he broke the halos, he smiled menacingly and stabbed toward Emily''s chest. His actions were as smooth as water. "If you promise not to work with the Nine Li race, I''ll spare the lives of your race. What do you think?"


    The Snake Goddess race and the Bear race weren''t enemies to each other in the Source World. Without a doubt, Clement had made a good offer.


    But Emily knew clearly whom she should give her love and loyalty, and it wasn''t to him. Since Zen had helped her once, she wouldn''t fail him now. She shook her head and said, "Bad idea!" As she spoke, she swiftly tilted her body and avoided Clement''s blood sword, a charming smile on her face.


    Her body grew in an instant, and her white and petite fist turned into a huge fist. It was about a hundred feet high, and it easily smashed Clement.


    The sudden burst of the Wild God Power was far beyond imagination. Clement was sent flying like a broken sack.

 Chapter 2923 The Power Of Moonlight

    Clement had his back flat on the ground and his eyes towards Emily who was hovering over him. To Clement''s surprise, she had transformed into a giant.


    "Is that the body of a Wild God?"


    Clement was sure of what it was. It was almost unbelievable for him, except he knew that Emily had the strength to transform into a giant in such a short period of time.


    As far as he knew, the Ancient God Cultivation Method had completely disappeared from the Source World. And so it shocked him to witness it again in the divine land.


    As soon as Emily had activated the body of Wild God, she immediately launched an attack. She towered over Clement who was looking like a tiny ant for her. She simply held her finger towards Clement, allowed it to emit circles of colorful light and, with great force, pressed Clement with it.


    Unless Clement found a way to magically escape Emily''s giant finger, he was as good as dead. In a moment of desperation, two blood runes suddenly emerged from his eyes.


    In an instant, the power of the two runes covered Clement and his entire body was now covered in blood!


    Bang!


    The ground beneath them vibrated against the impact of Emily''s huge finger. As it did, the Heavenly Mirror Shield appeared on the surface of the divine land.


    The Heavenly Mirror Shield protected the divine land from the wrath of Emily''s force. Otherwise, the divine land would have been shattered into pieces.


    Any other powerful warrior of the Other Shore Realm would have had turned into a pool of blood with Emily''s attack.


    But Clement still had something up his sleeve. Instead of letting himself be shattered, he gave up his life force and turned himself into a corpse. This way, he turned into a dead man but with an almost invincible corpse.


    Using this power came with many risks, of course. Each time he would use it, he had to actually kill himself and only a secret method could be used to bring himself back to life. He didn''t use it unless he was desperate.


    As Emily lifted her finger, she was astonished to see Clement''s body in full form. She lifted her palm and, with a


    er arm. As she glanced over, her right arm had been cut off from her body. As soon as the arm dropped to the ground, it shrunk to its original size. Blood spilled out from her amputated shoulder like a waterfall.


    "Let''s see if you can dodge this," Clement teased with a laugh. Once more, he felt invincible.


    Just as Clement raised his silver sword, a figure clad in green rushed out from the side. It was an Other Shore Realm warrior from the Snake Goddess race.


    "Isla! No!"


    Emily exclaimed as she saw the woman in green.


    Clement sneered and waved the silver sword once more. He wasn''t aiming at Isla, but she was blocking his way, and so her body was torn apart from the middle and blood splashed all over the ground.


    Isla and Emily were incredibly close. Isla had been shadowing Emily for countless years. Emily was devastated at the sight of Isla''s broken body.


    "Don''t be sad. You''ll join her soon," Clement said with a chuckle as he raised the silver sword up high.


    With the power of the Slaughtering Moonlight Array, he now had everything under his control.


    Ramzi gnashed his teeth at the sight of Clement. He took out a yellow talisman, patted it, and spurted a mouthful of blood.


    Hiss!


    His blood stained the talisman. It burned and erupted into flames. The flames flew towards the crescent moons in the sky.


    At the same time, Clement slashed his sword at Emily.

 Chapter 2924 Laughter In The Passageway

    As Clement waved the silver blood sword gently, a silver moonlight suddenly appeared not far from Emily.


    It was the silver moonlight that had cut off one of her arms and cut Isla in half.


    However, against Clement''s expectations, the silver moonlight only flashed for a second before it disappeared without a trace. It was so fast that it was impossible to perceive the power within it.


    ''What?''


    Clement frowned. He carefully observed their surroundings and noticed Ramzi in the distance.


    "I''m surprised to see someone among you is proficient in arrays. You can counteract the Slaughtering Moonlight! You are quite good," Clement said indifferently.


    Ramzi ignored Clement''s praise. He shouted, "Everyone, leave this place as soon as possible, or you will only get killed. P¡ª" He cut himself off, aware that he had said too much. He almost revealed Lorena''s identity. It would''ve been troublesome if they found out she was their princess. He then said, "People from the divine land! Return to the divine land and hide for a while!"


    Holy Beings and Lorena would not be rejected by the divine land, so they could enter and leave as they desired.


    Vanessa hurried towards the divine land almost without any hesitation when she heard that. She had mentioned earlier that if the opponents were too strong, she would retreat to the divine land immediately. After all, the gap between their strength and the Other Shore Realm warriors'' was too great.


    However, just as she employed the Grand Teleportation and built a space channel, a pool of silver moonlight suddenly spread out on the ground beneath her feet, blocking the space channel she had built.


    "Even the space channel is blocked?"


    Lorena, Mike, and the others frowned. They had no way to retreat.


    At the sight of this, Godfrey chuckled. "You''re stuck here, and you still want to run? How naive of you!"


    The arrangement of the crescent moons in the sky was a little messy.


    The burning talisman was still disturbing the entire array, but Ramzi was sure that i


    rful spiral crushed Zen''s physical body, he wiped out the time. This left him standing in his original place as if nothing had happened.


    He accelerated his speed, but he had not reached far when the cackling laughter returned. At the same time, a rumbling sound rang again in the depths of the passageway. It sounded like another swirling power was rushing toward him.


    ''I''m afraid I''m in big trouble this time...'' A wry smile appeared on Zen''s face.


    There was a limit in the use of the Time Jade Seal. He could only use it three times in a short period, or else, the huge bugs hidden in the world would become disobedient.


    No matter how greedy the bugs were, they didn''t want to eat if they were full. Although the number of the giant bugs was large, every time the jade seal was used, they were eating the entire world''s time. So, there was no problem feeding them, regardless of the brevity of the process.


    When they had devoured time several times in a row, they couldn''t consume more.


    But Zen had no other choice. Once again, he used the Time Jade Seal to avoid the spiral.


    Out of the blue, the cackling laughter came back, just as he dodged for a second time.


    Rumble!


    The third spiral was on its way!


    Zen clenched his right hand tightly. The Time Jade Seal could be used again, but he hesitated. This would be his last chance.

 Chapter 2925 The End Of The Passageway

    Zen had no idea how deep this passageway was, but he reckoned that he might have already reached the core area of the maze.


    The spirals were surging toward him one after another from the path ahead. Even if he managed to dodge the spiral right in front of him, he would fail to avoid the next one.


    In such a situation, the Time Jade Seal proved to be essential. Without it, Zen might have died many times.


    Or, in other words, in the countless periods of time that he had erased with the Time Jade Seal, he had already been killed.


    Now, he could only use the power of the Time Jade Seal once more in the near future, so he couldn''t waste it casually.


    As the next spiral surged toward him, Zen suddenly turned to his right and entered the space-time on the wall of the passageway.


    The moment he stepped into the space, he felt like he had entered a different world altogether. This experience was nothing like how he had felt after entering the world inside the Time Jade Seal. A strong gust of wind blew on his face, carrying many grains of sand with it.


    These grains of sand were actually colorful particles, each of which contained astonishing cutting power. When they hit Zen, his face contorted in pain.


    He immediately brought his hands up to his face to protect himself. Then, he looked closely and discovered that he was in some sort of small desert formed by countless colorful grains of sand.


    "The sand..."


    He slowly crouched down and reached out to touch the sand. He immediately felt a sharp pain in his fingertips, like they had been pricked.


    If he had not had a strong and sturdy body, he might have been hurt by these strange grains of sand.


    ''What is this weird place?'' Zen wondered.


    Just then, he heard a loud cry from the middle of the desert. The sound seemed to be coming from a baby.


    As soon as Zen heard it, he associated it with the laughter and the breathing he had heard in the passageway. If there was really a baby in the desert, it was probably the same one that had been in the maze too.


    Whoosh!


    Zen leaped up and saw an astonishing scene in front of him.


    In the middle of the desert was a low basin surrounded by a circular sand dune. There was a golden cross hovering in the air, beneath which


    the Time Sea fell from the sky and poured down on the baby.


    Zen shook his head and returned to the passageway.


    For the time being, he didn''t know what this meant, but it didn''t matter. The important thing was that he could use the space-times on both sides of the passageway to dodge the spirals, so he could still move forward following the instruction of the Infinity Ruler.


    "Heh heh¡­"


    As Zen moved along the passageway, the baby''s laughter continued to sound in his ears.


    When he encountered the spirals again, he unhurriedly entered the space-times on the walls. Once the spirals were gone, he once again returned to the passageway.


    As he continued to move forward, Zen became more and more proficient in traveling between different spaces.


    Although the baby''s eerie laughter became increasingly frequent and more and more spirals came from the end of the passageway, they didn''t affect Zen''s speed.


    As for the scene playing out in the spaces on both sides of the passageway, Zen couldn''t be bothered to observe it again and again, because he had realized that it was almost the same every time.


    An hour later, Zen suddenly heard a whistling sound coming from ahead.


    As soon as he heard the whistling sound, a single colorful grain of sand was blown out from the end of the passageway and brushed past Zen''s face. He immediately felt as if someone had cut his face with a sharp knife.


    Was this passageway leading to the desert? Such an idea suddenly popped into Zen''s mind.

 Chapter 2926 Original Will

    As Zen turned the corner of the passageway, he finally saw what awaited him at the end.


    As he had expected, the passageway led to a desert made of colorful sand.


    A gust of strong wind blew a thin layer of colorful sand into the passageway.


    Without hesitation, Zen walked straight toward the desert. It was exactly the same as what he had seen in the space-times on both sides of the passageway.


    But he clearly knew that those spaces had been windows into the past; the desert in front of him was the one that existed in the present.


    The main difference he noticed was that the wind in this desert seemed to be much milder, and the tornadoes had disappeared altogether. Zen swept his eyes around for more clues and found that the sand dune in the center of the desert had collapsed.


    ''Did the baby manage to materialize and climb out of the basin?'' Zen wondered, a trace of anxiety gripping him.


    As if on cue, a chuckle rang out again. As he walked forward, Zen finally saw a gigantic baby on the other side of the sand dune.


    The baby was playing with the sand on the ground, and the cross that had been hovering above the basin had landed on its head.


    The baby inserted its hands into the sand and gently kneaded it before throwing the fistful of sand at Zen.


    As this fistful of sand flew in the air, it turned into a colorful spiral.


    Whoosh!


    Fortunately, the spiral wasn''t coming at Zen at full speed. He gently twisted his body and avoided the spiral.


    The baby didn''t seem to care at all and continued to giggle with an innocent look on its face.


    Once again, it gathered the sand in its hands and threw it at Zen, and once again, Zen dodged the spiral.


    As he moved, he suddenly found that the Infinity Ruler in his mind had turned in the opposite direction.


    Now, the Infinity Ruler was pointing to the baby instead of some part of the maze.


    ''Is the Infinity Ruler guiding me toward the baby?'' Zen wondered in confusion. His eyes twitched as he struggled to understand what this baby''s existence meant.


    As he was pondering over this, the baby suddenly got up on its feet and stood at a height of almost 400 feet.


    Then, it ran toward Zen li


    ill died."


    No. 9527''s speculation was actually very close to the truth.


    The person who was responsible for the suppression of the original will of the divine land was the leader of the Sun Blind race. Ever since she had taken over the Time Sea Forbidden Land, this had become her mission.


    However, when she had learned that the Mountain of Holy Beings had appeared in advance, she had known that the Infinity Ruler had been activated and that her mission had come to an end. In order to avoid being threatened or put in a tough spot, she had ended her life very decisively.


    "Anyway, it doesn''t matter. The biggest problem now is how to deal with this baby," Zen said in his mind.


    "Well...it''s actually not a problem. This original will is very pure. It has just been born, so it doesn''t have any thoughts or intentions of its own; that''s why it has taken a baby''s form. Even if the baby devours you, your memories will quickly affect it, and then it will become you. So it wouldn''t matter even if you were devoured," No. 9527 said with a laugh.


    "What? Are you kidding me? I don''t want to be devoured!" Zen shouted in his mind.


    Deep in his heart, he knew that No. 9527''s words were reasonable. Even if he was swallowed by the baby, he would still be Zen, and the baby would be affected by his chaotic memories and eventually turn into him.


    And yet, Zen felt a huge resistance to the concept of letting himself be swallowed by the baby.

 Chapter 2927 Devour The Original Will

    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    The baby ran over to Zen, leaving huge footprints on the desert sand.


    Although it looked adorable and innocent, Zen couldn''t help but shiver as it approached him.


    "Well, if you really don''t want to be devoured by the baby, I can help you. To be honest, if we came here even two years after the original will was born, I wouldn''t be able to do anything. Luckily for you, dealing with the original will in its infancy is a piece of cake for me," said No. 9527.


    "You can resist the original will?" Zen asked curiously.


    "How could that be possible? This is the will of the divine land. Even though it has just been born, it is impossible for me to contend against it. I am only going to guide it," No. 9527 said.


    This only confused Zen further. "Guide it? How?"


    "I will let it devour me, of course."


    As soon as No. 9527 said these words, a pale green soul floated out from Zen''s chest.


    This soul was, in fact, only a small part of No. 9527, but it contained enough of its essence and its memories to do the job.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    The baby was now only a few hundred feet away from Zen. The original will did not actually have a body. This was just the form it had taken.


    In this form, it was extremely sensitive to soul power, so No. 9527''s soul quickly attracted its attention.


    Whoosh!


    No. 9527''s soul turned out to be very cooperative. After swirling around in the air for a while, it flew into the baby''s mouth, and just like that, the baby swallowed the pale green soul.


    The baby smacked its lips and looked at Zen hungrily. The soul was rather tasty and the baby wanted more.


    However, just as it took a step toward Zen, its huge body suddenly trembled, and a trace of green gradually appeared in its originally pure eyes. Slowly, it swaggered toward Zen.


    Realizing that he could move his body again, Zen asked in surprise, "What on earth did you do to the baby?"


    It seemed that No. 9527 had successfully tamed the baby.


    "It''s simple. It swallowed part of my soul, so now, the original will is contaminated by me. However, there is only one will in the soul that it swallowed, and that is to let you devour it," No. 9527 explained indifferently.


    When


    e, so most of them chose to stay behind and watch.


    All of them wanted to recover to their best health in the shortest time possible, so they were pouring pills into their mouths one by one, as if these pills were free.


    By now, Zen had already passed through the plain and was heading straight for the holy springs.


    Although he seemed to be moving leisurely, the distance he was covering was astonishing.


    The Space Law seemed to have no effect on him. When he took ten steps, he covered the same distance that other people would only cover with a hundred steps. Usually, one would have to use the Grand Teleportation to achieve this effect. However, Zen wasn''t using it. There wasn''t even a trace of space fluctuation around him.


    One of the competitors noticed Zen and his strange movements. "Everybody, look, Zen is here again!"


    In view of Zen''s terrifying power, no one dared to ignore him. They all stared at him in awe.


    "Why has he come back here?"


    "Is he planning to occupy a holy spring again?"


    "Maybe he will try it again!"


    These people immediately became nervous. They knew that even though Zen''s attempt to bathe in the holy spring had failed, he would be unwilling to accept it.


    And if Zen chose to forcibly occupy a holy spring, they wouldn''t be able to do anything about it. After all, none of them was a match for him.


    Zen hadn''t planned to pay attention to these people at first. But when he heard what they said, he suddenly stopped.

 Chapter 2928 Zens Power

    When Zen stopped in midair, the Demi-holy Beings and consummate True Gods watching him began to feel a little nervous.


    Just now, Zen''s movements had been so fast and strange that they hadn''t been able to observe him clearly. Now that he was staying still, however, they noticed the dramatic change in him.


    His aura seemed to be completely different now.


    Although it was gentle, it also seemed to be almighty, as if Zen was the ruler of the world. The Demi-holy Beings and consummate True Gods suddenly had an urge to bow or even kneel to him.


    Anyone who could cultivate enough to become a consummate True God or a Demi-holy Being was considered a top talent in the divine land. All of the people here fighting over the holy springs had the ambition and desire to break through to be a Holy Being. For this, they would even risk their lives.


    They would indeed feel awe in the presence of a Holy Being or a warrior at the Other Shore Realm, but they might not submit to them easily.


    However, the moment they saw Zen, they felt an involuntary urge to submit to him. It was so irrational that it took them by shock.


    "You say I came back to occupy a holy spring?" Zen laughed. Then, he stretched out his hand and waved it, causing the entire area to tremble.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Under everyone''s gaze, silver holy springs spurted from the plain one after another.


    Soon, there were more than a hundred holy springs in front of them! These holy springs were arranged in a ring, like a magnificent fountain.


    "What? Am I daydreaming?"


    "So many holy springs!"


    "Does this mean every one of us can become a Holy Being?"


    The eyes of these Demi-holy Beings and consummate True Gods nearly popped out in surprise.


    Never in their wildest dreams could they have imagined that Zen could create so many holy springs with just a wave of his hand. How had Zen done it?


    But regardless of how confused or curious they were, they were much more eager to go ahead and occupy one of the several holy springs.


    "We don''t have to fight with each other anymore! Ha-ha, I can also become a Holy Being."


    "I can do it too!"


    "There are more than enough holy springs for all of us."


    The truth was, none of these people actually wanted to fight with each other. It was just that the scarcity of the holy springs had pitted them against each other. At least this time, five holy springs had appeared, so the chances of them becoming Holy Beings had been relatively larger than in th


    of Holy Beings. However, at the last moment, Leyton had used the Sea Cracking Skull to break Estelle''s Scepter of Gods'' Silence.


    Enraged by the incident, Leyton had ordered Zavier and Salim to hunt Estelle down.


    Every time Estelle used the Scepter of Gods'' Silence, powerful energy waves would be generated, and then they would quickly dissipate. However, the traces that they left behind would linger for a long time. Such traces would go unnoticed by normal warriors, but they didn''t escape Salim''s eyes.


    In addition, Salim was also able to find out her whereabouts through the space fluctuations produced when she used the Grand Teleportation. Thus, Salim and Zavier followed the space fluctuations all the way.


    In the meantime, Estelle and Holy Jay were as careful as they could be. Ever since Zen successfully entered the Mountain of Holy Beings, Estelle and Holy Jay had used the Grand Teleportation more than a hundred times until they finally stopped in a small remote place, where they believed they would be safe.


    Of course, leaving the divine land altogether would have been much safer, but they wanted to stay behind to observe whether Zen succeeded or not.


    "Two universes shook, indicating that two of them have succeeded in becoming Holy Beings. But only two. Do you think something has gone wrong?" Estelle speculated.


    Holy Jay had made the same observation, but he still said, "The competition in the Mountain of Holy Beings won''t end so soon. It''s useless for us to speculate about it. Let''s just wait and see."


    Just then, a space crack opened above this small town, and Zavier and Salim jumped out of it. They found Estelle and Holy Jay!

 Chapter 2929 The Power Of The Ruling Slate

    Estelle and Holy Jay looked up.


    When they felt the auras of the newcomers, their eyes widened in shock.


    Two Yellow Emperor Guards had arrived.


    Estelle and Holy Jay had already witnessed the strength of these two guards before, so the moment they saw them, the only thought that came to their minds was to escape. They had traveled using Grand Teleportation several times before finally stopping at this remote place, and yet these two warriors at the Other Shore Realm had been able to follow them.


    Obviously, they had some kind of secret tracking technique, so it didn''t make sense to continue playing the game of cat and mouse with them in the divine land. Right now, the best place for Estelle and Holy Jay to go to was the latter''s universe, the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land where Zen had cultivated before.


    Holy Jay''s universe was protected by the rules of the Ruling Slate, so even the Yellow Emperor Guards wouldn''t dare to break in.


    As Holy Jay gently waved his hand, ripples appeared in the space in front of him.


    Just as Estelle and Holy Jay were about to step forward and disappear into the universe, Salim laughed coldly and said, "Seal!"


    Crack...


    All space within a thousand miles was immediately sealed.


    The divine citizens and the rest of the creatures living there did not notice any change in the environment, but the ripples that had appeared in front of Estelle and Holy Jay disappeared without a trace.


    "You want to escape right under our noses? No way!"


    Zavier said, leisurely stretching his body. The power pouring out from his body was rapidly accumulating. Like a hidden leopard, he was ready to launch a fatal attack at any time.


    Holy Jay and Estelle narrowed their eyes slightly. They had not expected the Yellow Emperor Guards to find them at all. If they had, they would have escaped to the universe or at least to the outside of the divine land as soon as Zen entered the Mountain of Holy Beings.


    Salim also smiled faintly. "Anyone who attempts to attack the Yellow Emperor Guards will have to pay the price."


    Then, along with Zavier, he slowly descended to the ground and strolled toward Holy Jay and Estelle. In their eyes, the Holy Being and the consummate True God in front of them were like lambs waiting to be sl


    supposed to be safe until the next ranking.


    However, this sudden pressure was pressing the bare Floating Island of the Luo Clan into the Time Sea now.


    Like all the other Floating Islands that had sunk into the Time Sea before, the large Floating Island of the Luo Clan was quickly disintegrated and torn up in the sea before finally vanishing without a trace.


    Once the Floating Island of the Luo Clan completely disappeared from sight, it seemed that the rest of the Floating Islands would follow. The Floating Islands of another two clans both looked to be in a precarious position.


    These two Floating Islands were different from that of the Luo Clan. After all, the Floating Island of the Luo Clan had been completely empty, but these two islands were full of people.


    Some of the True Gods were quick to react. As soon as they realized that something was wrong, they wanted to escape through the transmission arrays, but they couldn''t move even a step under the huge pressure. In the end, only some of the guards guarding the transmission arrays managed to escape.


    Noticing the severity of the situation, a Holy Being from one of the two clans appeared in worry.


    In a flash, he appeared beneath his Floating Island.


    At this moment, the base of the island was hovering only a few feet above the Time Sea. Half of the Holy Being''s body was submerged in the sea, but he managed to support the Floating Island with his shoulders.


    With his strength, the Floating Island slowly rose against the pressure.

 Chapter 2930 The Strongest Thunder Punishment

    The Holy Being had supported his clan''s Floating Island just in time to prevent it from falling.


    Afterward, the Holy Beings of other clans also supported their respective clans'' Floating Islands. The warriors that took action included the Holy Beings of the Bai Clan, the Zhao Clan, the Li Clan, the Qin Clan, and the Mu Clan...


    In fact, the Demi-holy Beings on the Floating Islands also could hold a Floating Island. Nonetheless, all of the Demi-holy Beings were fighting for the title of Holy Being in the Mountain of Holy Beings. Because of such circumstances, the Holy Beings could only do it in person.


    However, not all Floating Islands had the Holy Beings at that moment. There were still some that needed some help.


    The Dongfang Clan had already given up on their Floating Island due to the threat from Samuel. The whole Floating Island was already empty with no people.


    With no Holy Being to support it, the Floating Island fell down under the enormous pressure...


    Similarly, the Sword Clan and the Moon Clan did not submit to Samuel. As such, the disciples of the two clans had been taken away from the Floating Islands. Thus, there were no Holy Beings to support the Floating Islands of the two great clans.


    Therefore, the top three Floating Islands had begun to haphazardly fall. It was a spectacle that was surprising yet depressing.


    Amidst the falling process, the Floating Islands of the Sword Clan and the Dongfang Clan almost hit the Floating Island of the Tang Clan. Fortunately, while he was supporting the Tang Clan''s Floating Island, Clark released tremendous power and pushed the island a little far away from the two falling islands. Thus, the Tang Clan''s Floating Island wasn''t hit and was left intact.


    Inevitably, the three Floating Islands fell miserably into the Time Sea. Not a single trace was seen after their descent.


    The Hall of Holy Beings still floated steadily in the air without any sign of decline. Leyton stood firmly on the ground of the Hall of Holy Beings as if he was stuck to it. It was only through this strong stance that Leyton managed to stop the Hall of Holy Beings from falling.


    He looked at the azure light that gathered majestically above his head. His beautiful eyelids constantly twitched.


    The Ruling Slate was suddenly activated, which indicated that Zen had finally left the Mountain of Holy Beings alive.


    However, Leyton''s face had no indication of delight nor happiness.


    The power of the Ruling Slate represented the power of the divine land. When the power of the Ruling Slate was activated by the divine might coins, the results were far beyond Leyton''s imagination. Even as a three-star Yellow Emperor Guard, Leyton was still a little afraid of the tremendous power it released.


    Leyton couldn''t help but wonder how great it would be if Zen was killed b


    t have broken Estelle''s Scepter of Gods'' Silence with the use of that thing.


    Additionally, the blood of the divine citizens and True Gods that had been taken away before should have been absorbed by it.


    When he saw that Leyton had such a complex expression, Zen slightly tilted his head and gently raised his hand. A rather warm smile was seen in Zen''s lips.


    The thunder that circled in the air finally came down. With the sudden surge of power, Zen simply raised his hand.


    "Bang!"


    The violent thunder poured down mercilessly onto Zen''s body. With its powerful electricity, it easily tore his flesh bit by bit.


    The azure blue light grew extremely brilliant. Even the Holy Beings and the Other Shore Realm warriors could not see Zen''s figure with their eyes. Any spiritual sense they emitted was immediately torn to pieces before it reached the thunder and lightning.


    "Rumble..."


    The thunder continued to echo with an ominous sound. Each strike made the Holy Beings frown.


    The power hidden in the Ruling Slate was simply incredible. Clark, who was observing in the distance, opened his mouth, but in the end, he couldn''t utter a word. With a feeling of helplessness, he was overwhelmed by such a miserable sight.


    He wanted to say that he himself couldn''t survive the thunder punishment and would immediately die in just a blink of an eye.


    Even the Other Shore Realm warriors such as Leyton and Hamish were shocked, not to mention a Holy Being like Clark. However, they also felt a little relieved.


    Fortunately, they had supported and cultivated Nicholas before. Eventually, they had successfully controlled the Hall of Holy Beings.


    If the powerful clans on the Floating Islands had teamed up and spent some divine might coins making a rule against the strong Other Shore Realm warriors, they would probably have been directly killed by the thunder of punishment.

 Chapter 2931 Killing

    The light of the thunder punishment lasted for five minutes. The blazing white light caused great discomfort in the eyes of the Holy Beings, and the constant roars were deafening.


    Eventually, the fierce thunder punishment gradually subsided after five minutes.


    The thunder light began to dim, and at last, it turned into a statue-like figure that was enveloped by thunder and lightning.


    At the sight of the figure, Samuel clenched his fists and looked very nervous.


    Leyton also looked cautious. He usually had a calm demeanor, but at the moment, he could feel his heart pounding.


    Crack!


    Flashes of lightning still cracked and sizzled on the surface of the figure, but they had become less now.


    Slowly, as the lightning disappeared, Zen''s figure was revealed.


    All the Holy Beings present were shocked at this moment as if an incredible truth had been revealed.


    "He is actually safe and sound," Murphy muttered to himself in disbelief.


    Some Holy Beings were quick to react, as they understood what it meant.


    Crack, crack, crack!


    The remaining lightning collected in Zen''s palm, and transformed into a pocket-sized lightning dragon circling his palm.


    Zen gazed at the small dragon for a while and then raised his head. He looked at Leyton in the distance and asked, "Is this the result you want?"


    Leyton stopped short in the air, his eyes twitching uncontrollably.


    The Yellow Emperor Guards had been imprisoned for so many years, and had long hoped and prayed for the removal of the Mixed Element Seals.


    But he never thought that he would have to face this consequence when he was finally free. How could he accept it?


    "Act now! Kill him!" Leyton roared in anger.


    His order could not be disobeyed, but the Holy Beings did not move as hesitation was written all over their faces.


    Even the deathly thunder punishment couldn''t kill Zen. If they chose to fight him, wouldn''t that be like courting death?


    The Holy Beings were hesitant and debating this internally when Hamish and Lorcan had rushed over.


    They had a different stand from the Holy Beings. This was a life-or-death battle and they had no choice but to fight to the death.


    With a pat of Leyton''s hand the Sea Cracking Skull opened its mouth. Streaks of blood spurted out from its huge mouth.


    p but call out, "Zen?"


    Zen turned his head and smiled at her and Holy Jay. "That was so dangerous. If you hadn''t used the Scepter of Gods'' Silence, I wouldn''t have known that you were in danger."


    Holy Jay was relieved and he looked down.


    Zen appeared and the power of his punch was extremely terrifying.


    Zavier plummeted and smashed into a mountain. A huge crater appeared on the ground from the impact. However, he was still alive and he slowly climbed up from the crater.


    "Thoo!"


    He spat out a mouthful of blood and it instantly turned into an arrow and created a hole filled with blood on the firm gangue layer under the ground.


    There was no fear on his face. On the contrary, a strong desire to fight rose inside him. A person like him was born to fight, and the more powerful his opponent was, the more determined he was to fight.


    "Interesting. No one in the divine land can fight. Haha! I want to fight with you until the winner is decided!" Zavier laughed wickedly.


    Special textures emerged all over his body, and his body expanded.


    Zen looked down at him and shook his head dismissively. "I don''t have the time to fight with you."


    With a light tap of his finger, tiny streaks of lightning appeared and transformed into a small silver dragon. As his fingertip gently flipped down, the silver dragon emitted a dazzling light and turned into a huge thunder punishment, pouring towards Zavier who was still in the crater.


    The next thing Zavier knew, he was being swallowed by the thunder punishment.

 Chapter 2932 A Desperate Battle

    Little by little, the thunder punishment started to disappear. It slowly reverted into a small lightning dragon. Ultimately, it returned to Zen.


    The small dragon incinerated Zavier''s body and instantly reduced it to a pile of ash.


    After the onslaught of thunder punishment, the existing huge crater became even bigger. It spanned over tens of thousands feet deeper than before. Subsequently, Green Lethal Fire Magma began to overflow out of it.


    As they watched the scene unfold before them, Estelle and Holy Jay were not able to stifle their gasps.


    Nonetheless, Zen''s expression remained inscrutable. He simply raised his head. Then, he looked at Salim, who stood on the other side.


    Even after all that, Salim remained perplexed. He wondered how Zen could have gotten stronger in such a short span of time. He even killed Zavier in the blink of an eye! What in the world was that small but fearsome lightning dragon?


    Salim was utterly stumped as he couldn''t find the answers to these questions. As he locked eyes with Zen, he was overcome with a horrible realization. He would be slain too if he didn''t run away now.


    He knew he needed to use the Grand Teleportation in order to escape. But as soon as he did, Zen blinked.


    Suddenly, Salim found himself at the center of an invisible wave. Then, he felt as though his power was immediately sealed. Before he knew it, he was hurtling down from the sky.


    As she saw this happen, Estelle''s eyes lit with undeniable awe and exhilaration.


    She was accustomed to using this kind of power. Her Scepter of Gods'' Silence manifested the same effect. However, she noticed that Zen was able to display the same kind of power without using the Scepter of Gods'' Silence.


    Zen''s figure instantly disappeared as soon as he took a step in mid-air. Almost at once, he reappeared on the other side.


    At that point, his arm had already become enlarged. The strength source rapidly flowed through his arm and accumulated in his fist.


    Without a doubt, this punch was much more intense than the one Harold had in the Everest Spirit Mountain.


    Bang!


    As Salim hurtled down from the sky, Zen threw his punch upward. His fist successfully landed on his prey.


    Boom!


    Even though his punch only sounded like a heavy thud, it effectively obliterated and vanquished Salim.


    Zen''s figure slowly vanished from its spot as the scattered remains of flesh and blood began to rain down from the sky. He would not let himself get tainted with that filth. Once again, he reappeared next to Estelle and Holy Jay.


    He looked at them and calmly smiled, "Let''s go."


    "Where do we go now?" Estelle inquired.


    "The Mountain of Holy Beings. The divine land needs a little cleansing. There are some people who must be wiped out from it," Zen answered.


    Estelle and Holy Jay caught each other''s eyes and grinned. They already knew what he meant by that.


    Zen activated the Grand Teleportation with a light tap of his finger. He proceeded


    ivine land. It doesn''t matter whether you reach that place or not. You are of no importance at all. How can you even think you can compete with us?" Leyton announced with such pride.


    From the moment the members of the Bear race joined the Yellow Emperor Guards, they regarded it with high honor until the end of their lives.


    Zen had no plans of arguing with Leyton any longer. He merely shook his head and told him, "Unfortunately, you would not live to see that day." While he spoke, he lightly flipped the tip of his finger. Instantaneously, the lightning dragon burst forth.


    As soon as they saw that Zen made his move, Leyton, Hamish, and Lorcan simultaneously released their stunning momentum.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    The mouth of the Sea Cracking Skull opened and closed multiple times. Consequently, blood started to gush from the sky.


    Even though Leyton mocked and argued with Zen, he also considered and planned the different ways in which he could defeat him.


    He knew that even if Zen had the power of thunder punishment under control, he was still capable of enduring it with all his might.


    "Leave the lightning punishment to me!" Leyton bellowed while blood shadows charged from the Sea Cracking Skull. These blood shadows attempted to trap the thunder punishment within them by taking certain positions and arranging themselves around it.


    Hamish and Lorcan were already flying in the sky. But in the blink of an eye, they appeared beside Zen.


    Samuel had no other options left. With the Spear of Supreme Harmony in his hands, he opted to go all out and put his life on the line. He had already acknowledged the fact that Zen was way more powerful than him. With that, his only choice was to fight him head-on.


    "Outside the divine land, my power might not have that much significance. But inside, it is boundless and way beyond what you can fathom,"


    Zen whispered as he bowed his head. He was absolutely ignoring the three men rampaging towards him.

 Chapter 2933 Extinguish The Memory Flame

    Blood red flames burst out from Hamish''s eyes and shot towards Zen.


    Rather than dodge the flames, Zen simply stood there, letting them hit him. As they dissipated, however, he emerged unscathed.


    The Mountain of Holy Beings behind him glimmered with silver light.


    Zen could transfer the attacks he received to the Mountain of Holy Beings, which could not be destroyed.


    One of Zen''s adversaries, Lorcan, was covered in silken threads of glimmering silver. Some of them hung from his hands. These threads looked soft, but they were sharp as steel. He tried to wrap Zen in those threads like a spider would catch its prey; however, Zen resisted them without making the slightest move.


    As long as these Other Shore Realm warriors were not strong enough to take on the entire divine land and win, they could not hurt Zen there.


    Suddenly, a thought flitted through Zen''s mind. As it did, the power of the Everest Spirit Mountain that had gathered in his body began to flow rapidly through his veins, making them black and bulging. He shook with the great power within his body.


    He tapped the air with his finger, emanating an invisible force that spread out, enveloping Lorcan and Hamish.


    Even if Estelle could control the Soul Wilderness, she couldn''t compete with Zen in the use of the Scepter of Gods'' Silence.


    Estelle''s use of the Scepter of Gods'' Silence was as crude as if it were a sledgehammer. She could only silence the entire divine land at once. Zen, on the other hand, could control the range of his power and use his techniques selectively.


    The same applied to the Everest Spirit Mountain: Zen could milk every ounce of power from it, unlike Harold, who could only access a small fraction of it.


    Once Lorcan and Hamish were silenced, the silver threads hanging off Lorcan suddenly disappeared, as did the flames on Hamish''s body. They were so sucked of power that they collapsed onto the ground, unable to stay suspended in midair.


    Zen instantaneously teleported to Hamish''s side, and without further ado, he pushed through the thickened space around him and punched Hamish with his huge fist.


    Boom!


    Immediately, Hamish''s body appeared to snap in half and hallow out, the hole becoming more and more pronounced as Zen''s power rained down onto him. Almost in slow motion, his body began to disintegrate and soon turned into a cloud of


    nd even the soul within his mind.


    Samuel had no last words. But he gave Zen a final glare of hatred before he succumbed to his wounds and died.


    Zen continued to look into Samuel''s eyes emotionlessly. "You have a part of the Stone Mouse''s theurgy," he said. "Also, you have hidden your Memory Flame. Did you really think I wouldn''t find out?"


    The muscles on Samuel''s face, that had, too, begun to crack, twitched. His eyes filled with fear.


    "Let me tell you what you did. You took your Memory Flame from the Reincarnation Land and hid it in the ancestral grave of the Yue Clan, thinking you could still be reincarnated if you died," said Zen slowly, twisting his hand in the air.


    Immediately, an invisible space wave flew through the divine land like a spear, heading straight for a divine city.


    The Yue Clan had once been the largest clan in the city and one of the large clans on the Floating Islands.


    When Gregorio was killed, the city where the Yue Clan had been located became desolate and the ancestral land ended up being destroyed.


    The alliance of the powerful clans had, thereafter, placed a ban on the Yun Clan. Even if the Thousand Commandments Slate remained in the city, no one would dare occupy it. Passersby would lament its destruction, but would not dare enter.


    Then, a moss-covered tomb in the cave of one of the barren mountains behind the divine city suddenly shook.


    Boom!


    The lid of the ancient tomb had been flung open by an invisible force. A small brocade box shot out from inside and was quickly sucked into the space channel.

 Chapter 2934 The Other Shore Token

    The brocade box traveled two hundred billion miles and appeared in Zen''s hand in the blink of an eye.


    Crack!


    The brocade box cracked open, revealing a bit of the Memory Flame.


    Zen had obtained the Reincarnation Soul Weapon in the Reincarnation Land, but he wasn''t able to read Samuel''s memory at the time. He knew that Samuel must have done something to hide his Memory Flame, but he had no idea where the latter hid it.


    But now Zen knew all about the divine land. He would immediately learn about the entire truth once a question popped out in his heart.


    "I am not like Nicholas, who gave you the opportunity to return. Your memory will be gone along with you..." Zen said in a menacingly low voice.


    The moment Samuel saw the brocade box, a terrified expression spread across his face.


    He was not afraid of the destruction of the whole universe or even of his physical body. After all, as long as his Memory Flame still existed, he could return.


    Back then, he knew that he would be invincible as long as he kept the Memory Flame intact.


    He had extraordinary talent, and he had the experience being a Holy Being in two lifetimes. Even if he was killed, he could be reborn again and again.


    Samuel had never expected Zen to find his Memory Flame so easily.


    "How... How did you know that?" Samuel asked in a trembling voice, as the arrogance in his eyes slowly faded away.


    "The divine land has no secrets from me," Zen replied.


    "Let me go! Please! Give me a chance. I can ask both my daughters to stay with you and serve you if you want!" Samuel begged shakily.


    He thought he was offering Zen a good deal but in truth, it would have been better if he didn''t mention Laquisha and Aleyna. When he spoke of his daughters, Zen flew into a rage. With a flick of his finger, he immediately extinguished the green Memory Flame!


    Even after the universe collapsed, and the body and soul were both destroyed, Samuel would not really die until his Memory Flame was put out.


    Since he had these multiple layers of protection, normal people, or even the Yellow Emperor Guards, wouldn''t succeed in trying to kill him.


    Samuel''s miserable end sent a chill down the spines of the Holy Beings.


    In fact, Samuel''s death was exact


    ce of strength. If they burn the Other Shore Token, they will be punished by the truth, so this guy will have a very miserable ending..." No. 9527 elaborated.


    Leyton''s eyes turned red. By this time his whole body seemed to have been soaked in blood. The force erupted by him had surpassed his own strength.


    The power within his body began to surge wildly. Leyton was a thin man, but right now he had turned into a large person.


    The Holy Beings, who were watching from not far away, sensed his power, and were petrified. They quickly fled the scene using the Grand Teleportation technique.


    "Zen!"


    "Zen!"


    Unlike the others, Holy Jay and Estelle tried to fly towards Zen.


    "Go away! Run!"


    Zen warned them.


    It was difficult for him to estimate how much power Leyton would unleash by burning the Other Shore Token. After all, he only learned about the Other Shore Token seconds ago.


    With all this uncertainty, there was only one option left for Zen. He used the Grand Teleportation technique, and took Leyton, who was still expanding crazily, to the space channel and then moved deeper into the Time Sea.


    Estelle and Holy Jay watched Zen disappear with Leyton, and the next moment, a dull roar broke forth from the Time Sea. The entire ground around the Time Sea began to shake violently and in the middle of the Time Sea, there appeared a mass of bright red blood.


    Even the fragments of time could not devour all the blood, and a strong smell of blood permeated the skies.

 Chapter 2935 Meet Maha Again

    Zen slowly floated in the depths of the Time Sea.


    Scarlet blood weaved and swirled among the waves. Strangely, the blood did not dissipate or dissolve into the water of the Time Sea, like oil to water.


    At the moment when Leyton exploded, Zen saw a faint red triangular fragment that was burning with intensity.


    "Is that triangular fragment his Other Shore Token?" Zen wondered aloud.


    At the sight of the triangular fragment, Zen felt a completely different aura, the likes of which he had never experienced before.


    "Yes," No. 9527 replied. "The power of warriors at the Other Shore Realm originates from such a token. You will find out what that means when you reach the Other Shore."


    An incredible amount of power was released when the Other Shore Token was incinerated for Leyton to self-destruct, but it was naive of him to think that he could drag Zen to die with him.


    To succeed in killing Zen within the confines of the divine land, one should have the ability to destroy the entire divine land. Zen had yet to meet an opponent who held that kind of power.


    Zen pondered for a moment and suddenly recalled that Leyton had previously mentioned the Sky Guard Pavilion and Clement.


    "Damn, something has happened outside the divine land!"


    Zen was unable to tell if Leyton''s words were true, but it was obvious that he had every confidence on that Clement.


    If Timotheus and Emily could not deal with the situation, then the others would be placed in grave danger.


    The Holy Beings would be fine; they could still be reborn even if they were killed. Unfortunately for his mother, she did not have a Rebirth Land.


    "Buzz..."


    Zen''s body vibrated slightly and disappeared from the bottom of the Time Sea. In the next moment, he appeared in front of the Mountain of Holy Beings.


    Estelle and Holy Jay had felt the tremors from the shore of the Time Sea. They were extremely worried about Zen''s safety. When he appeared before their eyes safe and sound, both of them couldn''t hold back their sigh of relief.


    Zen glanced at the Holy Beings in the distance and remarked softly, "I want to investigate the situation in the outside world. Take care of the matters hereabouts."


    Holy Jay frowned and said, "But your strength..."


    "I will not leave the divine land," Zen rebutted the other''s worried admonition with conviction.


    Zen''s cultivation was at the consummate True God Realm. In terms of physical might, he was slightly stronger than Holy Beings. Even so, all of his power was tied to


    onsummate True God Realm, but he kept his aura in check.


    In the Murphy Universe, even the highest of Supreme Lords could only distinguish between low-rank and mid-rank True Gods. It was impossible for them to recognize Zen''s cultivation level.


    Maha himself thought that Zen had only used secret techniques to conceal his cultivation and that the latter was a mere world lord.


    Besides, the Murphy Universe was his turf! Any altercation in the Murphy Universe would summon Holy Murphy at any time. Even if Zen was powerful, Maha sincerely doubted that he would be stronger than the Holy Being who had created this universe.


    Thus, Maha feared nothing.


    "It has been more than two hundred years, but you haven''t changed at all..." Zen tutted and shook his head.


    Back in the Evolutionary Universe, Zen was also considered as one of the top talents. However, it was not until he stepped into the divine land that he had realized just how insignificant he had been.


    Maha''s father was a Supreme Lord of the Murphy Universe, so Maha was naturally domineering and arrogant in his territory. However, failure to change after stepping into the divine land spelled big trouble and considerable loss for him.


    Before Zen could finish his words, Maha suddenly shook the spear in his hand. The spear shot towards Zen, moving like a poisonous dragon.


    As the spear was closing in on Zen, it only managed to move halfway to its target and no further. An invisible force had stopped it.


    At that moment, Murphy appeared in front of Maha. He gently held the tip of his spear with two fingertips and flashed Maha a look of cold contempt. Then, he turned his head and smiled at Zen.

 Chapter 2936 The Trap

    Being the master of the Murphy Universe, Murphy clearly knew everything about it.


    Zen''s sudden appearance didn''t get unnoticed.


    However, Murphy decided to not say a word about it. Right now, he was not in the position to provoke someone as powerful as Zen. Being a wise man, Murphy dared not to offend Zen in any way.


    Despite Murphy''s attempt to keep the peace, he didn''t expect that Zen would cross Maha''s path. And without any warning, Maha actually dared to attack Zen.


    Murphy didn''t care whether or not Maha would live, but his fate was on Zen''s hand. He didn''t want to be in big trouble because of Maha''s irrational acts.


    "Holy... Holy Murphy!"


    Maha stammered, seeing Murphy.


    Everyone who followed behind Maha got surprised.


    As the creator of the world, Holy Murphy was the owner of the universe. He basically made all the things in the Murphy Universe! With that being said, even the strongest Grand Supreme Lord was no match for Holy Murphy. He could easily smash him during a fight.


    Most of the people in the Murphy Universe were not even aware of Holy Murphy''s existence. A few people had a look of awe just by mentioning his name.


    "Holy Murphy! This man belongs to the Evolutionary Universe. He just snuck into the Murphy Universe," Maha commented immediately.


    "Shut up!"


    Murphy shouted coldly, not wanting to hear another word.


    Under Murphy''s extreme reprimand, Maha looked morose. However, he was not stupid enough to talk back.


    After scolding Maha, Murphy turned to Zen and said, "If you want to travel through the Murphy Universe, please communicate with me. I will do my best to help you."


    "Does that mean I''ll need to ask for your permission before I can enter the Murphy Universe?" Zen asked flatly.


    Feeling the chill went down his spine, Murphy quickly replied, "No, that''s not what I meant. You can travel the whole divine land freely. However, some people in this universe are still reckless and imprudent. Before you come here, I can wipe them out and make sure that you''ll have a peaceful stay."


    Zen indifferently glanced at Murphy. Knowing that Murphy couldn''t escape, he decided to let his father deal with him. "I won''t blame Maha this time," Zen said in a cold tone.


    He then flew upwards.


    There was an invisible barrier under the green star, just on the top of the


    Buzz!


    As the blood sword trembled on Clement''s shaking hand, a layer of silver frost covered its surface.


    Whoosh!


    Seeing what happened, Ramzi patted the yellow paper again. The paper burned and spread out along the Image Disrupting Array, causing the moons floating in the sky to be in disorder again.


    All of a sudden, the silver moonlight on Clement''s blood sword deflected and fell into the void.


    With the Slaughtering Moonlight Array in a chaotic state, Clement also had difficulty in controlling its power. It was precisely the same reason how Emily and Timotheus were able to hold on.


    However, resisting the Slaughtering Moonlight Array by means of one array was extremely difficult.


    In fact, the Slaughtering Moonlight Array relied on the divine crystals to continuously release its power. As for Ramzi, he managed to hold on using his own strength. During these few days, he didn''t even get a chance to close his eyes. His face reflected how lethargic and exhausted he had been.


    Of course, being aware of that, Clement didn''t worry at all.


    He knew that before the Slaughtering Moonlight Array used up all the divine crystals, the Image Disrupting Array would definitely collapse. He only needed to constantly give enough pressure.


    Therefore, while using the array, he also ordered the other Yellow Emperor Guards to continue in breaking the space barrier which led to the divine land.


    With the combined power of the sword and the Slaughtering Moonlight Array, he became powerful enough to trap and kill everyone before him.

 Chapter 2937 Protecting People

    The several silver moons rapidly flipped in the air until the Slaughtering Moonlight Array, which had been disturbed by Ramzi, quickly fell back into position.


    Once the messy silver moons returned to their quiet and orderly selves, Clement picked up his blood sword again.


    Ramzi felt his eyesight drifting out of focus, but he braced himself and activated the Image Disrupting Array in an attempt to disturb the Slaughtering Moonlight Array once again.


    However, at this moment, Clement secretly winked at the Yellow Emperor Guard who was on the other side and sent him a message through his life vitality. "It''s your turn, Len."


    The Yellow Emperor Guard called Len was really good at employing the soul attack.


    However, his soul attack only worked on those who were unprepared, so he had yet to launch an attack during this battle.


    For the past few days, Ramzi had maintained the Image Disrupting Array to combat the Slaughtering Moonlight Array. The slightest mistake or negligence on his part could lead to several deaths, so he had been on constant edge and under great pressure. Moreover, maintaining the Image Disrupting Array consumed a lot of soul power.


    Clement had sensed that Ramzi''s soul power was almost exhausted, so he thought that this was the perfect time for Len to launch an attack.


    Puff!


    The yellow paper produced by Ramzi exploded. The Image Disrupting Array he was maintaining also flashed a pale yellow luster. At this critical moment, a light green demonic statue suddenly appeared above Len''s head.


    The statue was strange-looking and had a mustache on its face. As soon as it appeared, it let out a sharp scream that cut through the air.


    Woo, woo...


    A powerful rush of soul pressure spread out along with its voice.


    The faces of Emily, Timotheus, Leopold, and the other warriors at the Other Shore Realm all darkened. With their strength, they managed to resist the soul attack.


    Mike and Lorena, however, felt as if their souls had been pricked by needles. The intense soul pain made their faces turn pale.


    "Damn it! Quick, go and help Ramzi!"


    "His soul power is exhausted. I''m afraid he can''t hold on!"


    Emily was the first to jump to action. With a flick of her hand, she conjured up a colorful necklace that could help the wearer resist the


    Before Mike and Lorena could get up from the ground, Clement launched another strike and an invisible force swiftly shot toward them.


    This time, the two of them had no way of dodging Clement''s attack. Moreover, it was all happening in such a short time that no one could step in to help them. Even the Nine Li Guards who were running toward them had helpless looks on their faces.


    Mike had no choice but to hold Lorena in his arms, his heart sinking into despair.


    It was not a big deal for him to be killed by the Slaughtering Moonlight Array. After all, he could come back to life in his universe. Lorena, however, had no chance of coming back if she were to die.


    But at this moment, the invisible force seemed to bump into something and made a crisp sound.


    Everyone was stunned. So far, no one had been able to stop Clement''s attacks, not even Emily and Timotheus.


    Clement himself was taken aback, unable to figure out what was going on.


    As he stared intently at Lorena and Mike, he saw a blue shadow of triangle shield gradually emerge in front of them. It was this shield that had blocked his strike.


    "The Heavenly Mirror Shield?"


    Timotheus, Emily, and Leopold were stunned.


    Clement frowned in confusion. When he had led the Yellow Emperor Guards to the divine land, he had tried to break the outer layer of the divine land, only to be stopped by the Heavenly Mirror Shield.


    But normally, the Heavenly Mirror Shield only protected the divine land. Why was it taking the initiative to protect people now?

 Chapter 2938 Devour

    The Heavenly Mirror Shield was one of the most precious treasures that Chiyou possessed. Ordinary warriors at the Other Shore Realm could not break it at all.


    Soon after Clement realized this, he immediately swung his sword again, with an intention to kill Timotheus.


    "Clang!"


    The Heavenly Mirror Shield appeared again, shielding Timotheus. The shield blocked Clement''s attack.


    Mike was the first to realize what just happened.


    As a Holy Being, Mike had known about the existence of the Heavenly Mirror Shield many years ago.


    However, he was clueless about its origin, until Lorena told him.


    The Heavenly Mirror Shield seemed to be omnipresent at the surface of the divine land. Whenever the divine land was attacked, whichever the side, the shield was always present to protect the divine land.


    Some Holy Beings had closely studied the Heavenly Mirror Shield and even dreamt to possess it.


    But till date, nobody had even come close to achieving their dream.


    Only when the Heavenly Mirror Shield was activated, did Zen''s name cross Mike''s mind.


    If Zen indeed had merged with the original will of the divine land, then everything in the divine land should be under his control!


    "How could this be even possible?"


    Even Clement appeared anxious. He didn''t look as calm or confident as he was before.


    "Buzz, buzz, buzz..."


    The silver moons in the Slaughtering Moonlight Array shot out beams with dazzling brilliance, as he constantly brandished his silver blood sword.


    Cling! Cling! Cling! Cling! Cling!


    No matter how hard he hacked at Ramzi who had lost his legs and fainted, or the members of the Snake Goddess race, the Heavenly Mirror Shield would always appear in time to block his fatal attacks.


    Timotheus, Emily, Mike and Leopold continued to look at Clement coldly, as they remained mum.


    "Who the hell is it?"


    Clement roared. The bloody sword in his hand was still controlling the Slaughtering Moonlight Array. Soon it unleashed streams of invisible force towards the Nine Li Guards and the others.


    "Clang! Clang! Clang!"


    All the violent attacks were blocked by the Heavenly Mirror Shield.


    His attacks went all in vain. Very soon, all of the divine crystals in the Slaughtering Moonlight Array were depleted.


    Emily narrowed her eyes, as she stared at him. Soon her expression cleared and smiled. The poor guy seemed to be in utter distress.


    "Who the hell are you? Get out! Coward! This is villainous behavior!" Clement roared again.


    Not far away, Godfrey and the others, who were waiting for orders, also looked nervous.


    At this moment, a piercing scream suddenly rang out fro


    ring Moonlight Array. Truth to be told, it was the only thing that bolstered his confidence.


    But since this young man had dared to pull them into the divine land, he must have some kind of support system. In fact he must be the one who had controlled the Heavenly Mirror Shield.


    "It doesn''t matter who I am..." Zen slowly floated towards Clement and said, "What matters is that all of you are going to die here!"


    Previously, Clement had lashed out at Lorena. The scene had greatly frightened Zen.


    After all, his mother''s life was threatened. If he had been one step late, he would have been parted from Lorena forever.


    Although Zen managed to appear calm externally, his killing intent was madly surging in his heart.


    When Clement heard this, he was stunned. The words came from a mere True God. It was ridiculous.


    "It''s you who will die today!"


    Clement raised the bloody sword in his hand in a casual manner. As the silver moons of the Slaughtering Moonlight Array shone brightly, an invisible force slashed towards Zen''s head.


    "Watch out, Zen!" Lorena called out.


    She knew that Zen never showed any kind of fear. Nevertheless, she was still worried about his safety.


    The power of Slaughtering Moonlight Array was invincible. Even the body of a warrior at the Other Shore Realm could be shredded into pieces in an instant. Powerful warriors like Emily and Timotheus would be no exception to this danger.


    However, the sword barely gave out a muffled sound when it struck Zen''s body. His body was complete, but ripples appeared on the surface of the Mountain of Holy Beings beside the Time Sea, which was millions of miles away.


    When Clement and the other Yellow Emperor Guards saw that Zen appeared unharmed, all their hearts sank.

 Chapter 2939 The Easiest Way

    All the Other Shore Realm warriors were surprised to see Zen resist Clement''s sword strike.


    After all, they had found out firsthand how terrifying the Slaughtering Moonlight Array could be.


    Even the strongest warriors like Emily didn''t have the strength to resist Clement''s attacks. In fact, Emily had even turned into a Wild God, but Clement had still easily cut off one of her arms.


    If Ramzi hadn''t set up the array, this group of Other Shore Realm warriors might have been slaughtered by the enemy!


    While Mike was watching this scene, a look of satisfaction spread across his face.


    Even though Emily and the others had objected again and again, Mike had insisted on sending Zen to the Mountain of Holy Beings. Now, it was obvious that he made the correct choice.


    If Emily and the others had left Zen and his companions to wait outside the divine land while they attempted to break the space barrier, the consequences would have been disastrous.


    Clement and his men would probably have killed all of them.


    "I don''t believe it!"


    Clement''s eyes burned with fury.


    Buzz...


    All of the silver moons began shining over ten times brighter than before.


    Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...


    Clement madly waved his silver blood sword at Zen without any premeditation whatsoever.


    His sword strikes were so incredibly fast that it was impossible for Zen to dodge.


    Plop! Plop! Plop...


    To his satisfaction, his sword managed to make contact with Zen''s body with every strike.


    As he attacked, the divine crystals in the Slaughtering Moonlight Array were being rapidly consumed.


    The Slaughtering Moonlight Array was indeed powerful. Other Shore Realm warriors wouldn''t be able to resist it even if they all joined hands. All Zen did, however, was to transfer the power that he absorbed with every strike on his physical body to the Mountain of Holy Beings, causing waves of silver light to roll over the surface of the mountain.


    After hacking at Zen more than hundreds of times, Clement finally stopped for breath.


    It had taken him a lot of energy to manipulate the Slaughtering Moonlight Array this way, and weariness was written all over his face.


    Moreover, the divine crystals of the Slaughtering Moonlight Array were almost used up. The silver moons floating above had become dim, indicating that the array could disappear at any time.


    Even after all those sword strikes on his body, Zen hadn''t budged even a little bit.


    Even those talents from the Sky Guard Pavilion wouldn''t be able to withstand so many sword strikes!


    "Master Clement, what should we do now?" one of the Yellow Emperor Guards asked secretly through his life vitality.


    These Yellow Emperor Guards were starting to get anx


    od why Zen had brought them here. "It takes a lot of divine might coins to modify the rules on the Ruling Slate. Can you modify them as you like?" Mike asked curiously with a hint of pride in his voice.


    Zen nodded.


    The rules on the Ruling Slate were aimed at all the living beings in the divine land. As long as enough divine might coins were used, they could be modified. Even an ordinary divine citizen could modify the rules.


    Of course, they did not have the qualifications to enter this place in the first place.


    Now that Zen had fused himself with the original will, the entire divine land was under his control.


    It was just wishful thinking for Clement and his men to think that they could hide from him. No matter where they were, Zen would be able to find them with just a thought.


    However, Zen knew that Emily, Timotheus, and the others must be exhausted after fighting for such a long time. Emily had even sustained a broken arm! Letting the rules on the Ruling Slate kill those Yellow Emperor Guards was the easiest way to deal with the situation.


    ''The existing rules on the Ruling Slate should be revised as well, '' Zen thought to himself, glancing at the Ruling Slate.


    With a slight wave of his hand, he dispelled all the rules on the Ruling Slate.


    All those rules had been written by the powerful clans on the Floating Islands. In order to write them, those clans had spent a lot of time and effort collecting the sufficient number of divine might coins. But now, Zen had easily erased those rules without a second thought.


    If the Holy Beings of those clans saw how easily Zen erased those rules without a second thought, they would have burned with anger and frustration.


    Then, Zen used his finger to gently write some new words on the Ruling Slate. Soon, a new rule appeared.

 Chapter 2940 The Floating Island Of The Han Clan

    "Kill all Yellow Emperor Guards in all regions of the divine land! Don''t stop attacking them until they are all dead!"


    In fact, the rules should be very precise especially if they were written on the Ruling Slate.


    For example, just to be exactly clear, what did the ''Yellow Emperor Guards'' mean?


    Countless dwellers inhibited the divine land. What would happen if a certain normal divine citizen was called as a ''Yellow Emperor Guard''? Would the citizen be killed on the spot even though he or she was not a Yellow Emperor Guard?


    However, it was still Zen''s first time writing a rule. Without putting much thought into it, his rule appeared like he just described what he wanted to do.


    After Zen finished writing the rule, a golden light flashed across the surface of the words, making the rule effective immediately.


    Crack!


    In an instant, the sky displayed blue streaks of lightning.


    The lightning carried such powerful and extraordinary might that Emily was not able to help but let out a gasp of surprise.


    "How could this slate have such terrifying power?" Leopold exclaimed in awe.


    Calmly explaining, Timotheus spoke, "It was made by the Grand Chieftain. Of course it is by no means ordinary."


    Moreover, the Ruling Slate''s power was mightier than its previous attacks on Zen. At that time, the disciples of the large clans below were once again in trouble.


    But after their last lesson, most of them had already realized that the Floating Islands were now the epicenter of the chaos. As a result, many of them had fled the area, only planning to return once the Time Sea regained its peace.


    Seeing that the Floating Islands were on the verge of collapse, the Holy Beings all prepared to take action to protect them.


    Meanwhile, Zen looked down at them. Afterwards, he waved his hand gently and all the Floating Islands became stabilized in the air.


    The Ruling State unleashed great power, but the Floating Islands remained calm and unshaken. Given this scenario, the True Gods still had to suffer under the immense pressure. However, this also served as a training for them.


    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!


    All of a sudden, six streaks of lightning spiraled out one by one, heading in all directions of the divine land.


    It was known that the Ruling Slate had a considerably high authority within the divine land. But in terms of influence, Zen was deemed to be superior to the Ruling Slate for he had merged with the original will.


    Considering that Zen had already written down the rule that implemented the killing of the Yellow Emperor Guards, th


    d what had happened in the divine land. During the past few days, they had been nothing but very worried as they hid and waited in the Evolutionary Universe.


    However, just as they were about to ask what had happened, an elder of the Han Clan rushed up to Joy and cried, "Master Joy! I know that in the past, Holy Samuel treated you unfairly, and we had no way of helping you. But now that he''s dead, can you please make the decisions for the Han Clan!"


    Joy, Laquisha, and Aleyna were all taken aback upon hearing this elder''s plea.


    "Wait. Samuel... is dead?" puzzled, Joy asked.


    "Yes! In fact, even his universe was destroyed," the elder said with tears starting to form in his eyes.


    Meddling in the conversation, Zen added, "It was me who destroyed his universe."


    Just before he killed Samuel, Zen still had some hesitations.


    However, Samuel was not at all qualified to be a father. He had even tried to use his own daughters in exchange for his life right before he was killed. With this, Zen couldn''t find any reason to forgive him.


    Pursing her lips, Laquisha shook her head and said, "I know he deserved what happened to him."


    "But what about my brother?" Aleyna asked. She knew that Pascal had been controlled by Samuel, and she was worried about his safety.


    "Samuel asked him to enter the Mountain of Holy Beings and kill me, but I managed to remove Samuel''s soul mark from him. In fact, he is here," Zen said as he gently waved his hand. In a blink of an eye, Pascal appeared in front of them out of the void. However, his soul had lost all memories and was reduced to nothing but a walking corpse now.


    Zen turned to Lorena and said, "Mother, please help us and look for Pascal''s Memory Flame."

 Chapter 2941 Revising The Rules

    Lorena nodded. With a flick of her finger, she took the Reincarnation Soul Weapon in her hand.


    Her eyes closed and her eyelashes trembled as her consciousness began to roam the sea of Memory Flames.


    With the ability of the Reincarnation Soul Weapon, she was able to find Pascal''s Memory Flame pretty quickly.


    Boom!


    A Memory Flame, faint orange in color, drifted over the Reincarnation Soul Weapon.


    Laquisha and Aleyna stared nervously at the Memory Flame.


    There was an old saying that the elder brother is like the father. Samuel had died, but it was nobody''s fault but his own.


    They needed support and though Joy could be that for them, she was not as close to them as Pascal was.


    The Memory Flame floated towards Pascal''s mind.


    A long time later, Pascal slowly opened his eyes and looked at the people around him, confused.


    "Laquisha, what happened to me?"


    As he spoke, he felt the tips of his fingers tingling strangely. A surge of power emerged from the ring on his finger. His eyes widened at the strength of this power. This ring made him feel the existence of the Abyss Demon Region.


    "What''s this ring? What happened?" Pascal said, panicking. He couldn''t help but want to throw the ring away from him.


    Many things had happened after Pascal''s Memory Flame was removed; it was a long story. Laquisha sighed and said, "Come here, brother. I''ll tell you."


    After Pascal and his sisters left, Iris burst out with the question she had kept down all this while, "Zen, how is Rocher now?"


    Iris knew that the Mountain of Holy Beings was not closed and the competition to become Holy Beings was still going on.


    What was more, Harold had told her that there was a high probability of Rocher becoming a Holy Being, and that she should not be worried about him.


    But Iris could only imagine how fierce the competition would be and couldn''t help but ask what was going on with Rocher at the moment.


    Zen looked guilty at this question.


    Iris''s heart tightened at his expression and she pressed on before Zen could say anything, "What happened to him?"


    "Rocher died in the Mountain of Holy Beings," Zen said gently.


    Mike''s expression turned serious. Rocher and Sword Chen were both from the Evolutionary Universe, and Mike had the ability to gauge the


    ght headed straight towards the Hall of Holy Beings and it was not long before five figures appeared in the Hall of Holy Beings. The two people in the lead were Leland and Sword Chen.


    When their inner worlds became Rebirth Lands, they could obtain some extra power from the divine land.


    They were still just consummate True Gods in the eyes of the powerful warriors at the Other Shore Realm. But they had a strength that was much more powerful than that of consummate True Gods.


    These five people looked joyful because from then on, they could be considered top-level warriors in the divine land.


    The new Holy Being of the Leng Clan, Cade Leng, beamed with joy. Now that he had become a Holy Being, he was on an equal footing with Jeremiah, the Holy Emperor of the Leng Clan.


    It was now that a figure appeared quietly in the Hall of Holy Beings. It was none other than Zen.


    Mike, Holy Jay, Lorena and others followed him into the Hall.


    "Master!"


    Sword Chen respectfully saluted Mike even though he had become a Holy Being.


    Cade Leng and the other Holy Beings glanced at Zen coldly.


    Zen had suppressed almost everyone on his own in the Mountain of Holy Beings. But truth was that he was still only a True God.


    They were fearful of Zen''s strength but they still thought they were at a level higher than Zen.


    Zen, on the other hand, didn''t even look at them. He walked onto the platform of the Hall of Holy Beings and said calmly, "Holy Beings! Please come together. Some rules need to be revised."

 Chapter 2942 A Way To Recover The Nine Li Races Glory

    Every time new Holy Beings were born, it was customary for the existing Holy Beings to welcome them in the Hall of Holy Beings.


    This was a ceremony of accepting new members into this circle, even though it consisted of only a dozen people.


    However, this time, the situation was different. Too many things had happened in the divine land in recent days.


    The alliance of the powerful clans had actually been established by the Yellow Emperor Guards. Before this, they had used every method they could to counter Zen. But now that Zen had defeated all the Yellow Emperor Guards on his own, no one in the entire divine land dared to go against him.


    Moreover, the scene of Zen mercilessly killing Samuel had left a deep impression on the Holy Beings.


    It seemed that Zen wasn''t restricted by the Ruling Slate and could easily destroy his opponent''s universe. It could be said that the fate of the Holy Beings was now in Zen''s hands, which put them all in a terrible predicament.


    If Zen really wanted to punish the Holy Beings of the alliance, what could they do?


    "Revise all the rules? Is he being serious?"


    "It''s extremely difficult to revise every rule on the Ruling Slate. Does he really think he can do as he wishes?"


    "Anyway, we''d better go to him now." The Holy Beings quickly talked among themselves and came to a decision.


    Meanwhile, inside the Hall of Holy Beings stood Cade and the other new Holy Beings, all completely unaware of the events that had occurred after they had entered the Mountain of Holy Beings. They couldn''t help but stare at Zen with an incredulous expression on their faces when they heard him summoning all the Holy Beings to him. ''Who does Zen think he is?'' they wondered.


    They were all aware that Zen was a great talent, but they didn''t think that he was strong enough to command all the Holy Beings.


    They didn''t believe that Jeremiah, Clark, Murphy, and the others would obey Zen''s words.


    So naturally, what happened next came as an enormous shock to all of them.


    All of the old Holy Beings began showing up one after another. As they appeared, they even greeted Zen with cupped hands.


    ''How did Zen make the Holy Beings submit to him?'' Cade wondered in awe.


    Once all the Holy Beings appeared, they all stared at Zen with an awkward expression.


    They had not wanted to come to the Hall of Holy Beings to see Zen at all, but they had no choice.


    All of them had caused Zen great trouble in the past. Now, if Zen wanted to settle the score with them, they would not be able to escape his wrath.


    Zen''s gaze swept past each of the faces of these Holy Beings before he final


    in the past?


    Ignoring their expressions of confusion, Zen continued, "I''m doing this so that the divine land can be returned to the people that it originally belonged to."


    Lorena''s biggest dream was to revive all the members of the Nine Li race.


    Although countless years had passed since the deaths of the members of the Nine Li race, their Memory Flames still existed. Lorena knew that she could find all of them once she had complete control of the Reincarnation Soul Weapon.


    The only remaining problem was the matter of the bloodline. After reincarnation, the members of the Nine Li race would have their past memories, but their bloodlines would no longer exist.


    Of course, this problem could be solved by Timotheus and his companions.


    In addition, Lorena had come up with a rather radical idea. As far as she was concerned, everything in the divine land belonged to the Nine Li race, including the divine citizens and the True Gods.


    As such, she wanted to directly revive all the members of the Nine Li race by forcefully stuffing their Memory Flames into the minds of living people. After all, these people were reincarnations of the members of the Nine Li race.


    However, Zen, Mike, and the others were all dead against that idea. Following Lorena''s plan would be equivalent to killing all the living people in the divine land as their Memory Flames would be completely wiped out.


    Finally, they had come up with another plan: to let the new-born lives in the divine land carry the old memories of the members of the Nine Li race.


    Although this was a slow way to recover the Nine Li race''s glory, the Nine Li race would be completely revived in a few hundred years or so without affecting the existing people in the divine land.

 Chapter 2943 Nelly

    The Holy Beings fell silent at Zen''s plan to recover the Nine Li race''s glory.


    No matter what stand they took, it was hard for them to wrap their minds around the situation.


    If the Nine Li race actually returned to the divine land, they''d take up a lot of resources.


    The powerful clans, as well as the other divine citizens residing in the divine land, would have to face keen competition. There was no way they could compete with the race that created this world!


    Alas, they had no choice. None of them could object to Zen.


    Moreover, what Zen said was actually reasonable. The divine land belonged to the Nine Li race. They were doing this only to return the divine land to its rightful owner.


    Ian cleared his throat. "However, in the future, if the Nine Li race grows in strength, how can we possibly live in peace with them?"


    "I will make new rules," Zen replied reassuringly. "In the future, warriors won''t need to fight for the titles of Holy Beings with their lives at risk, but fight for the top places on the Jade Wall of Legends. Only the strongest ones will be allowed to enter the Mountain of Holy Beings."


    The fight for the holy springs in the Mountain of Holy Beings was too tragic. There was too much loss of life. Zen''s goal was to change this situation.


    That was a good suggestion. The death of the consummate True Gods and the Demi-holy Beings had been a great loss for the powerful clans.


    In fact, the Holy Beings had also discussed the possibility of fighting for the titles of Holy Beings according to the rankings on the Jade Wall of Legends.


    However, the titles of the Holy Beings were a fatal temptation to the True Gods. Every time the Mountain of Holy Beings came, the powerful clans would fight intensely for the titles.


    If Zen could end this dire situation, they would be pleased to agree.


    "But the Sacred race... No. The Nine Li people are from the Source World. Those who carry the blood of the Nine Li race are surely stronger than us. How could we possibly compete with them?" a Holy Being of the Qin Clan asked worriedly.


    Even though the Sacred race had been gone for countless divine eras, their power was no secret. The Holy Beings were fully aware of their strength, as told by the stories.


    Before


    eyes widened in astonishment. "What are you going to do on my clan''s Floating Island?"


    "Take me to meet Nelly," said Zen. His gaze softened at the mention of Nelly''s name.


    Nelly was locked up by Rachelle because of him, so she should still be on the Floating Island of the Mu Clan.


    Murphy submissively led Zen to the Floating Island of the Mu Clan.


    The other Holy Beings returned to their respective Floating Islands. Mike, Lorena, and Sword Chen returned to the Han Clan''s Floating Island.


    The new Holy Beings, including Cade, left the meeting hall with mixed feelings bubbling up inside them.


    In the past, they had regarded the Holy Beings as the top-level warriors; becoming Holy Beings had been their ultimate goal. But just now, they witnessed the older Holy Beings were all submissive to Zen.


    They bitterly recalled how Murphy dared not even resist when his title as a Holy Being was taken away from him.


    All of a sudden, their esteemed view of Holy Beings was shattered; they weren''t as strong as they had imagined.


    There was a cliff in the west of the Floating Island of the Mu Clan. Its surface was so smooth that people could observe their shadows on its surface clearly.


    "Nelly is locked inside. It was Rachelle who ordered to lock her up," explained Murphy almost apologetically.


    "Don''t worry. I know."


    Rachelle had told Zen in person, so he was well aware of the situation.


    He walked along the cliff and passed a corner. Suddenly, a figure appeared before him.

 Chapter 2944 Reborn

    Throughout her years of captivity, Nelly concentrated all her attention on cultivation.


    She wasn''t too bad. In fact, she managed to become a top-rank True God.


    Rachelle had previously forbidden anyone to release Nelly, which was why the latter knew very little regarding the outside world.


    The Time Sea hadn''t been peaceful in the past few days. The Floating Islands, including the one of the Mu Clan kept rising and falling, leading Nelly to speculate. Something serious must''ve happened in the divine land, for even the Floating Islands of the various powerful clans fluctuated so greatly that some of them almost fell into the Time Sea at one point.


    Nelly''s heart was full of worry. She couldn''t help but think of Zen and wonder how he had been doing after years of not seeing him.


    As these thoughts restlessly raced through her mind, she had an even harder time calming down and focusing on the cultivation.


    However, she couldn''t escape the binding force of the Gods Confining Jade unless she reached the consummation of the True God Realm.


    She had nearly reached her cultivation limit to transform from a low-rank True God to a top-rank one during the past few years. Further improvement would require a rare opportunity for her to go past her bottleneck.


    As she contemplated on this, she suddenly heard footsteps behind her.


    "Who is it?"


    Nelly turned towards the direction of the footsteps, her ponytail swaying along with her.


    She was startled to see Zen appear in front of her. A look of bafflement and then relief washed over her as she exclaimed, "Zen! You''re here!"


    She blurted loudly before realizing that she was drawing too much attention. She immediately covered her mouth, her expression turning vigilant.


    "What are you afraid of?" Zen asked her amusingly. He couldn''t help but find Nelly''s reaction quite endearing.


    Lowering her voice, Nelly asked, "Did you sneak into the Mu Clan to take me away?"


    This girl''s imagination was wild. Zen chuckled before replying, "I''m taking you away but not in secret."


    "But...what about my sister?" Nelly asked with concern.


    She didn''t understand Zen.


    Did he plan on taking her away openly? This was the Floating Island of the Mu Clan!


    "Don''t worry. She won''t stop us," Zen reassured her.


    "How can you be so sure?" Nelly asked him.


    "Rachelle is...dead. She was killed in the Abyss Demon Region," Zen


    with certainty.


    Although he knew the newborn baby was Rocher''s reincarnation, Zen still felt a strange feeling tugging at his heart.


    "Who are you? How dare you trespass into the city lord''s mansion!


    How dare you!"


    They had failed to slip past the guards undetected.


    The leading clan that ruled the central divine city was the first tier Ye Clan. Its leader was Carlo Ye, a famous and powerful individual of the northern divine land.


    The Ye Clan guards spotted some individuals sneaking into the mansion and immediately had them surrounded.


    At this moment, Carlo Ye had been waiting at the door of the backyard for his wife to give birth to their child.


    As he heard the shouts of the guards, Carlo Ye''s face darkened and he came over quickly. Once he confirmed Zen''s cultivation level, he was surprised. He asked in a deep voice, "Who are you? Why did you trespass into the Ye Clan''s territory?"


    Zen pondered on how to best answer his question. Without warning, Iris spoke up and said, "I''ve come for my husband!"


    Carlo Ye was confused. He asked, "Who is your husband, exactly? Why have you come here to find him?"


    "The newborn baby. He''s my husband," Iris retorted.


    Realizing the awkwardness of her words, her voice began to trail off.


    Carlo Ye began to look at Iris as if she was a lunatic on the loose. She had a beautiful face, a noble temperament, and excellent cultivation. Was there anything wrong with her brain?


    His son had just been born and this woman came out of nowhere claiming that the baby was her husband. This was strange, even in the divine land.

 Chapter 2945 Destined For Greatness

    Reincarnation was a little known topic to the people in the divine land.


    Carlo wanted to drive Iris away, but Zen who was a consummate True God stood his ground in front of her.


    He did all that with a look of impatience on his face. "What do you mean he''s your husband? My son has just been born!" he snapped.


    Iris tried to calm him down with an explanation but Zen interrupted her. "Sir," he said, "have you ever heard of reincarnation?"


    Carlo shook his head. "You''re not really taking reincarnation seriously, are you?" he asked with a skeptical look on his face.


    "I understand if you don''t take me seriously for now, but you''ll know what I mean as soon as the baby grows up," Zen explained. "I just have one request¡ªname him Rocher." As he spoke, he tapped the space ring with his finger. It flashed briefly and then a long sword appeared in his hand.


    The Soaring Snake Sword meant death for Rocher. Now that Rocher was reborn, Mike would be unable to use the sword to control his fate again and Rocher was not fit to use it anymore.


    The sword in Zen''s hand was a top-level supreme primordial weapon. It wasn''t the most powerful weapon around. It wasn''t even more powerful than the supreme treasures of belief possessed by the Holy Beings. But it was very rare.


    Its kind was rarely seen in the first and second-tier clans.


    "This is for Rocher," said Zen, gesturing to offer the sword. He also took dozens of pills out and laid them on his palm.


    At the sight of the pills, the bodyguards of the Ye Clan gasped. They weren''t familiar with the pills, but the unique scent suggested that they were something extraordinary.


    Even Carlo looked panicked at the sight of them.


    The pills and the sword combined amounted to a value that was worth half of the Ye Clan''s possessions. That was a lot considering that the Ye Clan was a first-tier clan. Carlo stammered through a response, "What did my son do to deserve this?!"


    Zen''s face had a knowing smile. "He once saved my life," he said. "These things are noth


    n thousand times larger than an ordinary Floating Island. It looked like it was the size of thousands of divine cities.


    Zen never really got rid of other powerful clans'' Floating Islands. Instead, he moved them to the outskirts of the Time Sea. The Holy Beings of the powerful clans no longer had the right to modify and control the Ruling Slate.


    Soon, the emerging Floating Island would become the center of the entire divine land. It would attract talents from all over, including the newly born Nine Li people. These Nine Li people inherited memories and gifts from previous lives and practiced at an alarming speed. In the future, there would be a virtuous competition between the divine citizens and the Nine Li people.


    As soon as he finished all these arrangements, Zen intended to take Nelly, Laquisha and Aleyna to the Evolutionary Universe.


    Nelly had always wanted to see where Zen was born, but she didn''t look excited at that moment. "Zen," she finally spoke up. "I''m afraid I wouldn''t be able to get along with them."


    She had known of the other women''s existence.


    "Don''t worry about it," Zen said encouragingly. "You''ll get along just fine." He patted Nelly''s head gently.


    Not far away, Laquisha glared at Zen. Trailing behind them, Aleyna yelled, "Zen, my brother-in-law, have you said that to every other woman you''ve had?"

 Chapter 2946 Return To The Cloud Hall

    Zen was lost for words after Aleyna''s remark.


    "At least he didn''t say that to his first woman," Laquisha said as she nudged Aleyna''s arm playfully with her elbow.


    He sighed to himself and raised his hands as if surrendering to the girls. With a swift wave of his hands, he opened the passageway to the Evolutionary Universe out of thin air.


    Before entering the Mountain of Holy Beings, Zen had sent Letitia, Margaret, and the others to the Evolutionary Universe. Even the Godly Geniuses were made to return back safely.


    These Godly Geniuses held immense power and strength within them, power that could not be fathomed. They had become top-rank True Gods within a short amount of time. Their return to the Evolutionary Universe brought prosperity to their respective clans and forces.


    Back in the days, Wynn was only a low-rank True God, yet he was so strong that he was almost invincible in the entire universe. The potential of the top-rank True Gods was beyond conjecture, even for the Supreme Lords.


    However, Nathan and the other Godly Geniuses still felt a bit regretful. Their purpose of becoming Godly Geniuses was to help Mike, Zen''s father. However, Mike''s opponents were powerful warriors at the Other Shore Realm. Even Mike couldn''t fight against them, let alone these Godly Geniuses.


    After opening the gateway to the Evolutionary Universe, Zen promptly reached out his hand. In the blink of an eye, they arrived at the Breaking Cloud World.


    In the Breaking Cloud World, the members of the Celestial Position race had been waiting for them.


    The first person to welcome them was Master Feng. He personally approached them and greeted them with humility. All the Supreme Lords of the universe were present too.


    Zen''s current visit to the Evolutionary Universe was different from his last. This time, he came with the intention of informing the Supreme Lords of his father''s decision. Mike wanted to relieve them of their titles as the Supreme Lords for the purpose of providing them with a chance to enter the divine land. He wanted them to pursue higher levels of cultivation.


    The Crown of Destiny was similar to the position of a Holy Being. Although the power of a Supreme Lord was far beyond that of a world lord, a Supreme Lord couldn''t advance further.


    Back then, to face the upcoming war against Murphy, Mike had to appoint the Crowns of Destiny on these warriors. Moreover, the path to the divine land was half closed. It was impossible to enter it, unless they were led by the Jiang Clan.


    The only exception was Sword Chen. In contrast to the other Supreme Lords, he could sneak into the divine land at will due to his special Heavenly Destiny. The Heavenly Destiny distinguished him from others.


    Now that the threats of the divine land no longer existed, Mike decided he no longer needed the Supreme Lords to work for him. He allo


    f the eighth-grade sect, the Cloud Hall. Lewis proved himself worthy of being the leader. As a Soul Sea Realm warrior, however, he still had to fly to the Upper World in the end.


    Cloud Hall was a big sect. But there was no one worthy of taking control over it in the future.


    What was even more troublesome to Lewis was that the four divine kingdoms on the Divine Kingdom Continent would cause trouble at the critical moment of his ascension to the Upper World.


    The former war kings and war emperors of the four divine kingdoms had already left this great world because the path to the Upper World had been fixed.


    Now four warriors of the divine kingdoms, three war kings and one war emperor, gathered in the Ice Palace. They all stood before Lewis and raised their concerns about his ascension to the Upper World. A war king stepped up confidently and questioned him in an arrogant tone, "Master Lewis, although you can protect the Cloud Hall right now, haven''t you ever thought about who would be able to do so after you ascend to the Upper World? By then, the eighth-grade sect will probably not live up to its name!"


    "You''re right." Lewis removed his hand from his chin and sat up. He leaned forward towards the four men. His expression turned cold as he glared at them. "How about this? I eliminate the source of trouble before I ascend by killing all the war kings and war emperors of the four divine kingdoms?"


    The expressions of the four men slightly turned pale at his words.


    With the disappearance of the Chaotic Ocean of Stars, there had been a period of time that the Central Region and the Divine Kingdom Continent had a good relationship with each other. They lived in harmony until recent years, the warriors on the Divine Kingdom Continent were restless. The conflict between the Central Region and the Divine Kingdom Continent continued and they could not come to a conclusion to end it.

 Chapter 2947 Old Friends

    The Divine Kingdom Continent was far more powerful than the Central Region in almost every way.


    However, this had not always been the way. Hundreds of years ago, the Central Region could proudly claim Zen as their own. There had since been a series of shifts in power and Cloud Hall now was in the hands of Lewis.


    Lewis was nowhere near as gifted as Rocher or Zen. He was not even greater than Patrick.


    However, the resources of Cloud Hall made up for his short-comings. Furthermore, after his travel to the Upper World with Zen and Rocher, Lewis gained a great deal¡ªmore than he imagined he would.


    With only Cloud Hall''s vast resources and all he learned from the Upper World, Lewis had improved immensely. He had become much more than he was before, now possessing a strength unshakable in this great world.


    He was capable of conquering the entire Divine Kingdom Continent on his own, should he so choose.


    Because of this, the four from the Divine Kingdom Continent saw Lewis not just as intimidating, but as a man who meant the words he spoke, a man not to be trifled with.


    The war king of the York Divine Kingdom thought for a moment and said, "Even if you did manage to kill all the war kings and war emperors of our four divine kingdoms, we have countless citizens, and many of them will become fine and powerful warriors. When next time the Divine Kingdom Continent battles with the Central Region, the Central Region would stand no chance of victory, you must see this. Let us be civil about this, we are neighbors after all. Why don''t we both take a step back?"


    "Take a step back? That savage land has been untamed for tens of millions of years, and now you claim it to belong to the Divine Kingdom Continent. Is this because your Divine Kingdom Continent is closer to the land, or because you believe yourself to be more handsome?" Lewis asked with a sneer.


    "Because we''re closer to the land," Callan, the war king of the Wind Divine Kingdom, replied foolishly.


    Fredric, the war king of the York Divine Kingdom, glared angrily at Callan. Callan had been a fool since childhood and Fredric despised it. He knew that even in this most serious of situations, Callan would take the opportunity to act childish wherever he saw it.


    The dispute between the four divine kingdoms and the Central Region was over the savage land.


    Over the last few hundred years, the territories of the Central Region and the Divine Kingdom Continent had b


    t as Zen appeared, the tense atmosphere enveloping the Ice Palace was dissipated.


    Everyone was familiar with Zen, even intimidated by his strength, and the women standing behind him. This no doubt brought everyone down a peg, adding some humility to the scene.


    They were unable to tell their cultivation level, be it Zen, Letitia, Margaret, or even Aura who possessed the lowest cultivation level. Although they hid their strength, the auras flowing from their movements still stunned everyone. After all, these were True Gods.


    After some pleasantries, Zen turned the topic back to the reason for their gathering. "I heard that savage land caused your dispute?" Zen inquired.


    Knowing Zen would ask of this matter, they detailed the dispute in an almost rehearsed fashion.


    There was no right or wrong, only each continent''s interests at play.


    Before Zen could say anything, Letitia jumped in, "Although Cloud Hall doesn''t attach any great importance to the savage land, it''s unacceptable for the Divine Kingdom Continent to bully the Central Region and Cloud Hall."


    Letitia harbored no desire to live in this world, but the Cloud Hall was her home. Her allegiance to where she grew up was undoubtable, so was her intent on protecting the sect and its disciples, and who could argue with her reasons for it.


    Her words left the four from the Divine Kingdom Continent stunned.


    Randy and Callan looked helplessly at Zen, hoping above all else that their old friend would react sensibly. Surely he could see this sort of view was unreasonable; it would give the Central Region an unfair advantage in occupying the savage land.

 Chapter 2948 Time Flies

    Zen considered the scene before him with mixed feelings. Given how far he had come, and how high he had risen, these conflicts seemed to him like the quarrels of children at playtime.


    At this stage of his life, he could control all of the resources in the entire divine land, as well as those in the Evolutionary Universe or in the great world.


    To the warriors of the great world, this savage land was a place full of treasures. Yet Zen knew the truth. If he so asked his father, Mike could make a thousand or ten thousand savage lands in the blink of an eye. It made their disputes, such as the one he faced now, seem quite petty.


    However, looking at Letitia''s serious expression, Zen knew he had to back her up. This was clearly important to her, and treating it lightly would just make her angry with him.


    Concealing his indifference, he looked towards Randy and the rest. Solemnly, he said, "As for the matters regarding the savage land, you can make detailed rules. That land doesn''t belong to either the Divine Kingdom Continent or the Central Region, but I hope that you can develop it together and live in peace..."


    Randy and the others let out a sigh of relief when they heard Zen''s words. But then, Zen added, "However, no matter what happens, the Divine Kingdom Continent absolutely cannot attack the Central Region or the Cloud Hall. This one time, I''ll let it go. But if you dare attack the Central Region or Cloud Hall in the future, I will consider throwing the Divine Kingdom Continent into another great world."


    Zen''s pronouncement stunned his listeners.


    They believed in Zen''s power. Had he told them he could wipe out the entirety of the Divine Kingdom Continent, they would take his words as law. Indeed, they even believed each of the women behind him could just as easily wipe out the Divine Kingdom Continent too. But to throw the Divine Kingdom Continent into another great world? That was impossible.


    Callan was still naive and asked, "Throw the Divine Kingdom Continent into another great world? How?"


    Randy quickly intervened. He raised his hand to get Zen''s attention and said, "We have heard your words, and we will remember. I, on behalf of the Divine Kingdom Continent, vow that we will not start any further conflict with the Central Region."


    It was good that Zen''s arrival had led to a quick solution to their troubles. Yet Lewis still looked unhappy.


    Zen noticed Lewis'' expression. "Lewis, aren''t you satisfied with this result? Is anything wrong?"


    Lewis sighed. "This result is fine. It''s just that you and Master Letitia haven''t come back for so many years. And now that you''ve finally returned, you still find me helpless, needing your assistance with this minor matter. It''s humiliating for me."


    Letitia and Zen caught each other''s eyes, suppressing smiles. So, Lewis felt embarrassed.


    This


    e been resolved. He realized that he was happy here. He didn''t even consider returning to the divine land.


    With his women, Zen traveled around the Central Region, enjoying themselves.


    Naughty Aleyna suppressed her own cultivation base so she could take part in the Martial Arts Contest of World Commercial Alliance, to compete with some new geniuses of the Central Region.


    And so she and the warriors in the Central Region fought in the same arena. The expected outcome greatly wounded the morale of the talented people in the Central Region. Zen berated Aleyna, but she was complacent.


    At one point, Zen accompanied Aura back to the Eastern Region.


    The Cloud Sect remained the same, but the Burning Sky Empire had changed. Under the new emperor''s leadership, the Su Clan was now considered a fourth-grade clan, better than the Cloud Sect. Aura was very gratified by these developments.


    Zen was indulgent in this matter. If Aura so wished, then he wouldn''t prevent her from making the Burning Sky Empire as powerful as Cloud Hall.


    Yet Aura did not interfere. After all, she had been gone for a long time.


    The ages would change, and the empire would rise and fall, without need of any intervention. The empire''s fate was in its own hands, and she thought it wouldn''t be a good idea to force her own ideas on them.


    At the same time, several geniuses in the Luo Clan of C County were showing extraordinary talents in the Cloud Sect. One of them became the emperor''s son-in-law.


    The Luo Clan had become a second-grade clan, and now stood on par with the seven great clans of the Burning Sky Empire.


    The journey was pleasant for Zen, who found himself more relaxed than he had been in a while. Yet someone was still worried.


    After three months, an unexpected voice suddenly spoke up. "Zen, will you stay here for a lifetime?" It was No. 9527, who had been silent all this time.

 Chapter 2949 Hiding The Divine Land

    Three months in the universe were equal to ten days in the divine land, where time moved much more slowly.


    Zen seemed to be content with everyday life in the universe, which worried No. 9527. If he decided to stay indefinitely, it would certainly fail the task that its master had given it. Eventually, it could no longer hide its anxiety, and decided to discuss the matter with Zen.


    "It''s not all bad here, you know," Zen simply replied.


    He held up a cup of tea to his mouth. Wrapping a finger around its tiny handle, he sipped his drink carefully.


    The taste of spiritual tea back in the Upper World was miles ahead of the fresh tea he was now drinking. And yet, Zen could not get enough of the slight bitterness that lingered on the tip of his tongue with every sip. It just seemed fitting as he looked around the Eastern Region, now flourishing at springtime.


    No. 9527 scowled at Zen''s calm demeanor, making no efforts to hide its disdain. As if to simultaneously remind and scold, it said, "In case you forgot, Zen, the divine land is unsafe. Chiyou made this ship so that the Nine Li people can revitalize the race."


    Zen shrugged indifferently. "The Nine Li race will thrive again in no time. The old members of the race will all be reincarnated soon."


    "Are you kidding me? The divine land has limited resources. There can only be a few Other Shore Realm warriors, and their strength wouldn''t amount to anything in the Source World. Besides..." Zen tried to focus on the surrounding view as No. 9527 went into a frenzied sermon, furiously listing in points all the repercussions if he were to stay at the universe.


    As he got tired of the seemingly never-ending lecture, Zen finally interrupted No. 9527. "All right, calm down. I was joking. You know I''m going to the Source World."


    Zen could never forget the first time he had heard of what had happened to Chiyou. He died doing what he had been for a long time¡ªfighting. The Yellow Emperor race, however, turned out to be his last opponent. More so than that, Zen accepted his mother Lorena''s decision not to say anything regarding the matter, though he knew that she still had her own thoughts. After all, she would never allow the Nine Li race to forever hide within the chaos.


    Like many things, however, it is always easier said than done. First of all, detailed preparation was needed for the trip to the Source World. Every action, turn, possibility¡ªas much as possible, they must all b


    ''ll transfer the divine land to another location as soon as possible."


    "We shouldn''t waste time," Emily added. "Given the circumstances, we should hide the divine land from others as soon as possible."


    In fact, the divine land was bigger and quicker than the Trumpet Flying Ship.


    When Zen had first entered the sun, he had changed the entire divine land''s flight trajectory, stopping it from falling towards the bottom of the chaos.


    Back then, Emily had discovered the divine land. She had gathered the Other Shore Realm warriors of the Snake Goddess race and bound it to the bone tower. After she had released this restriction later, the divine land had gradually distanced itself from the bottom of the chaos. However, with no one to take charge, it moved extremely slowly.


    Zen understood the seriousness of the matter. Without any hesitation, he disappeared on the spot.


    Not a moment later, he appeared inside the sun.


    This time, Zen did not need to use the Sun-resisting Umbrella Harper had given him. He had fused with the original will, and even the Sun Essence Flame in the sun''s depths could not harm him.


    Since this was the second time he was here, Zen easily crossed the palace and walked past the Chiyou statue. He was standing in front of the seven rings in no time.


    Zen put his consciousness into the rings straight away. As he did so, each ring started to wrap around him¡ªhis neck, arms, legs, waist...


    Bang!


    Zen''s head was suddenly filled with an image of the entire divine land.


    As Zen gently lifted his hand, the once unshakeable divine land started to quiver and turn slowly to the other side.

 Chapter 2950 The Huge Whirlpool At The Bottom

    Something as enormous as the divine land could only start off at a very slow speed.


    Much like a running elephant, it might start by spinning rather slowly, but if it were to start going faster, it would quickly gain excessive speed.


    As Zen pushed the two rings on his wrists forward delicately and with precision, the entire divine land began to tremble even more violently.


    Everyone across all the divine land could feel the intense vibration. However, the vast majority of people couldn''t feel the divine land moving.


    Rumble!


    Zen had successfully turned the divine land''s direction and it began moving forward amidst the chaos.


    "Huh? Something isn''t right at the bottom of the divine land!" he exclaimed loudly.


    In that very moment, Zen felt a violent wave of energy coming from the bottom of the divine land. Its strength was undeniable.


    After fusing with the original will, Zen was capable of feeling the entire divine land''s existence. With such power, he quickly sensed that something was wrong with the divine land''s bottom.


    With his own two eyes, he could equally see that the Lethal Fire Magma was flowing down there.


    "Does all of the divine land''s driving force come from the Lethal Fire Magma?" he wondered aloud. Zen''s eyes suddenly flashed fiercely.


    The people of the divine land only knew that there was some kind of green liquid somewhere in the deepest depths of the divine land. In fact, this particular liquid was untouchable to all living things in the divine land. Even if a Holy Being were to touch it, they would definitely die, despite the power. There was no exception, for anyone.


    In the past, Lorena had killed several Holy Beings by using the Lethal Fire Magma.


    That said, nowhere was there any record of the Lethal Fire Magma''s use or origin in all the divine land.


    After all, in places like the Time Sea, Holy Beings had the capacity of exploring the area for themselves. Who would actually go that deep into the Lethal Fire Magma, however?


    Rumble!


    Zen pressed the rings on his wrists down this time, and the divine land began to move faster and faster. Below him, he also felt the Lethal Fire Magma at the bottom of the divine land gurgling and bubbling, becoming hotter and hotter and reaching boiling point.


    "This speed should be good enough," Zen murmured to himself.


    Even if the Bear race was well aware of Clement''s and his companions'' deaths, it would still take them a long time before sending warriors to investigate such a place.


    And by then it would simply be too late. In other words, the divine land would have already reached an extremely high speed, flying away completely from this place.


    The divine land had now officially been activated and it wasn''t before long that it no longer needed Zen''s control anymore.


    After


    he halt of movement, and their faces displayed sudden expressions of confusion and bewilderment.


    "Zen had just activated the divine land not long ago, why the hell is he stopping it now, completely out of the blue?" one of them questioned.


    "Did you think he might have found something?" someone else asked.


    As he stopped the divine land from moving, Zen injected his spiritual sense into the bottom of the divine land once more.


    Just as he had guessed, the huge whirlpool in the Lethal Fire Magma disappeared, and the boiling Lethal Fire Magma gradually calmed down.


    "It appears that this great whirlpool would be the divine land''s power source. But what exactly is it?" Zen asked himself.


    Although Zen proved his hypothesis, and it appeared to be correct, he was even more curious about this whirlpool than ever before.


    A few seconds later, Zen started the divine land again and left the palace in the sun, returning to the Floating Island.


    "Zen, tell me why you stopped the divine land just moments ago?" Timotheus asked in absolute confusion. He was afraid that Zen had encountered a few tough problems.


    Zen thought for a moment before replying, "I found something strange at the bottom of the divine land, but my spiritual sense can''t seem to enter it. I decide to go there myself instead."


    "Huh? The bottom of the divine land?" Leopold raised his eyebrows slightly in curiosity as he asked his question.


    They knew that the bottom of the divine land was full of Lethal Fire Magma. However, even the well-informed Leopold and Timotheus were incapable of determining its origin.


    The warriors at the Other Shore Realm were capable of enduring the burning of the Lethal Fire Magma. That was why Clement had hidden himself in the Lethal Fire Magma in order to escape the punishment of thunder, but it also took a lot of effort to protect his body.

 Chapter 2951 Absorbed By The Whirlpool

    Zen told the others what he had seen with his spiritual sense at the bottom of the divine land.


    This information spiked Leopold''s and the others'' interest. They couldn''t help but want to know more.


    Even in the Source World, few people would build such a large ship.


    The Trumpet Flying Ship left behind by Clement was only fifty to sixty feet long. It was safe to assume that travelling through the chaos would consume plenty divine crystals.


    For a huge ship like the divine land to be travelling in the chaos, the number of divine crystals it needed to consume was astronomical. Leopold and Ramzi had previously discussed this matter when they were outside the divine land. They had no idea what kind of method the Grand Chieftain used to drive the ship.


    Timotheus asked Ramzi and Leopold to stay behind and check the flying ship out, but the two were more interested in exploring the bottom of the divine land instead. Thus, the four of them decided to follow behind Zen.


    The great whirlpool''s location was at the tail of the entire divine land. If one was standing above the Time Sea, then the whirlpool would be situated in the west.


    With Zen''s current abilities, he naturally wouldn''t have to dig through many layers of underground stones like he had done in the past. He gently waved his hand and built a space channel. As he performed this movement, he said to Emily and the others, "On the other side of this space channel is the Lethal Fire Magma. Before entering, I''m afraid we have to be prepared."


    Emily and the others understood exactly what Zen meant.


    If they were to enter without taking absolute precaution, their bodies would be burnt to ashes in a split second by the Lethal Fire Magma.


    In turn, Emily gently stretched out her own hands and surrounded herself with a colorful halo.


    On his behalf, Ramzi drew a piece of yellow rune paper from his pocket and stuck it onto his chest. It formed a golden circle of light.


    Now that the others had carefully prepared themselves in their own way, Zen was the first to enter the space channel, followed by Emily, Timotheus and the rest.


    The space channel made by Zen had greatly shortened the distance to the Lethal Fire Magma. After taking only four or five steps, they felt a heat wave pouncing onto their faces and licking at their skin. They knew that they had already fallen into a sea of Lethal Fire Magma.


    Sizz! Sizz!


    Ramzi was falling into the Lethal Fire Magma and the golden circle protecting him quickly began t


    ithin the whirlpool, I''m afraid we have to go directly inside," Zen murmured, staring straight ahead.


    "But how can we do that? It''ll be quite dangerous!" Emily, naturally worried, still wanted to discuss the possible danger they were about to face.


    It was then that Zen gently stomped his feet and pushed himself forward like a sword fish.


    A vast force clearly surrounded Zen. With his current ability and strength, he could resist this force, but he chose not so. He simply let the force pull him into the whirlpool.


    Emily frowned to herself. She had no time to blame Zen for his recklessness. Instead, she too, followed him blindly forward.


    Timotheus smiled bitterly as he walked.


    The Nine Li Guards had already experienced countless dangers, and every time, they had no choice but to be extremely cautious. However, there was no other way around the situation they were facing right now, and therefore, they could only follow behind.


    With the Lethal Fire Magma''s movement, Zen began to move faster and faster. It wasn''t before long that he was pulled into the Lethal Fire Magma''s core.


    And standing within its heart, Zen felt a trace of space fluctuation.


    ''Leopold''s judgment is right. There is a space in here!'' Zen thought to himself, amazed.


    Just as this thought flashed across his mind, he was sucked even further into the whirlpool''s core, and Emily and Timotheus, who were following close behind, were next to be sucked in, too.


    As Zen was enveloped whole by the space wave, everything around him began to whirl at lightning speed.


    The Lethal Fire Magma was gone. The white crystal-paved path before him emitted pale and gentle light.

 Chapter 2952 The Mysterious Meteor Tripod

    Zen had seen this white crystal once before. After Leopold had taken a Yellow Emperor Guard''s corpse back from the divine land, he had found one from his space ring.


    That was the divine crystal they were talking about.


    Timotheus and the others thought that the Yellow Emperor Guards'' divine crystals had been used to activate the Slaughtering Moonlight Array.


    They were also positive that the Trumpet Flying Ship that the guards had with them needed the divine crystals to be driven.


    In Zen''s eyes, the divine crystal to the Source World was similar to that of the life vitality crystal to the universe.


    There was no life vitality crystal in the divine land because the power of True Gods came from the Faith Energy of their inner worlds. The divine might coin, which was similar to the life vitality crystal, couldn''t be used by True Gods directly either. The divine might coins could only be used by the Holy Beings of large clans on the Floating Islands to modify rules on the Ruling Slate.


    It was no wonder Zen''s mouth had fallen open in shock with the overwhelming amount of divine crystals that lay before him.


    He had not expected there to be such a mass amount of divine crystals in this space.


    Buzz! Buzz!


    Zen realized it was a fluctuation of space behind him, and Emily, Ramzi, Timotheus and Leopold appeared.


    The group glanced around Zen, and their jaws dropped in amazement, their expressions much more exaggerated than Zen''s.


    Zen was not a member of the Source World. Even though they told him the divine crystals were the currency of the Source World and the only way for Other Shore Realm warriors to replenish their energy, he still didn''t have a clear understanding of the crystals'' value.


    Because of this, Zen was not as shocked as they were by the sheer number of divine crystals.


    For Timotheus, Emily, and the others, they were different.


    When they were fighting against Clement and his men, it was not that Timotheus, Emily and the others were weaker than their opponents.


    In terms of the number of Other Shore Realm warriors, the Nine Li Guards and the Snake Goddess members had the advantage. The biggest problem, however, was that Timotheus, Emily and the others lacked resources. They didn''t have divine crystals. Shortly after they had been captured and placed in the prison, the divine crystals they had with them were exhausted.


    If they had been given enough


    a of why there is so much Lethal Fire Magma here as well."


    "Why do you think?" Zen asked.


    "Follow me," said Ramzi, taking the lead to walk along the path paved by divine crystals.


    Timotheus and the others followed him closely. They were certain they knew why, but they wanted clarification.


    At the beginning of the path, the divine crystals were laid flat on the ground, but the further they trekked, the more crystals there were. There were piles of crystals the size of small hills along the sides of the path.


    As they passed the small hills of crystals, the path became steeper and harder to walk. At the top, the walkway of crystals formed a slope and tapered down into the shape of a whirlpool.


    At the center of the whirlpool sat a large ancient tripod.


    In the center of the tripod, green Lethal Fire Magma was roiling, making the divine crystals around the whirlpool fall into the tripod.


    As Zen stared at the tripod, he got the impression that it was an illusion. It seemed the tripod did not exist in this world, but he could feel a mysterious energy coming from it.


    "This big tripod..." Zen muttered. He continued to stare at it for a long while, and thought over what Emily had told him. "Is it an Other Shore Token too?"


    "That is correct!" Emily said. A trace of admiration flashed in her eyes as she continued, "This is the Mysterious Meteor Tripod."


    Ramzi nodded and added, "The Lethal Fire Magma is actually named the Mysterious Meteor Fire."


    "Is the Mysterious Meteor Tripod the Other Shore Token of the Grand Chieftain?" Zen asked as he looked back at the whirlpool.

 Chapter 2953 The Wooden Puppet Soldiers

    Timotheus smiled at Zen''s words. "Indeed, as a token in the eighteenth stage of the Other Shore Realm, the Mysterious Meteor Tripod is good. However," he said seriously, "I don''t think the Grand Chieftain would use that as his Other Shore Token."


    Emily gravely nodded in agreement. "Technically, the token of a powerhouse like Chiyou should be above the thirtieth stage of the Other Shore Realm. The Mysterious Meteor Tripod in the eighteenth stage is not even qualified to be his token."


    While she might not have known what Chiyou''s Other Shore Token was, this made sense to her.


    "But if this is not my grandfather''s Other Shore Token, why is it here?" Zen asked curiously, scratching his chin.


    Ramzi smiled. "There is an Other Shore Token in Clement''s Trumpet Flying Ship, but it does not belong to him. In the same way, the Mysterious Meteor Tripod may have been borrowed by the Grand Chieftain to run the divine land."


    "So that''s how it is," Zen muttered as he stared thoughtfully at the Mysterious Meteor Tripod.


    The vitality between heaven and earth in the divine land was transformed from the chaotic energy that came from outside the land through the four divine trees; however, it was not enough to run the entire divine land.


    Only the Other Shore Token would be able to fuel this humongous ship.


    "But there are too many divine crystals here," Ramzi noted, deep in thought. "It''s very likely that most of the divine crystals collected by the Nine Li race in the past countless years have been stored here. If these crystals are used solely to run the divine land, that would be too big a waste. I wonder why the Grand Chieftain arranged it this way." Ramzi glanced at the divine crystals that surrounded him.


    Meanwhile, Leopold closely observed the Mysterious Meteor Tripod. His eyes were scanning each nook and cranny when he noticed dark shadows reflecting on the piles of shiny divine crystals.


    These shadows felt familiar. Narrowing his eyes at the figures in the distance, he said, "I don''t know the Grand Chieftain''s intention, but we are definitely in trouble now."


    Just as he finished speaking, the black shadows gained speed, making their way down the piles of divine crystals.


    E


    many Wooden Puppet Soldiers was equivalent to that of ten Slaughtering Moonlight Arrays.


    Zen was able to transfer all these attacks to the surface of the Mountain of Holy Beings, but even the mountain could not bear such forces!


    An image flashed through his mind, and it was revealed to him that the surface of the Mountain of Holy Beings that was located under the ground was cracking under the forces of the light rays. A silver light burst forth from the cracks, indicating the mountain''s gradual collapse.


    The Mountain of Holy Beings was very important to the divine land. If it collapsed, who knew what consequences they''d have to face then?


    In his desperation, Zen decided to divert part of the forces to other remote regions in the divine land.


    Rumble!


    Suddenly, to the north of the divine land, light rays wreaked havoc on the remote regions.


    Under these incredible forces, mountain ranges were cut off one by one, and gullies that were as deep as a hundred thousand feet were evened out. They had directly splintered the layer of soft stones, and the Lethal Fire Magma gushed out from the bottom of the gullies.


    Although these regions were considered remote, there were still a few divine citizens who lived there. As they watched this apocalyptic scene unfold before them, their faces turned deathly pale with fear.


    However, the weirdest thing was that the destructive forces didn''t cause any damage to the villages where the divine citizens lived.

 Chapter 2954 The Moving Statue

    Zen tried his best to avoid the villages when he transferred the forces.


    However, continuing on like this was not a solution.


    He could only hope that after Emily, Timotheus, and the others fled this place, he could quickly find a way to leave as well.


    Who would have thought that he would encounter such a strange thing in this space?


    Just as he retreated towards the exit, Emily and the others unexpectedly came back.


    "Why did you come back?" Zen asked in confusion.


    Emily shook her head. "We couldn''t find the exit!"


    After they went back following the path they took when they came in, they found that the space crack had completely disappeared.


    Even though Emily used the Truth of Void Destruction, it still could not open up a space channel that led to the outside world.


    Timotheus and Ramzi had also tried their best to find an exit, but they still could not find one. In the end, they had no choice but to turn back.


    "This is going to be troublesome," Zen said with a bitter smile. "I''m not afraid of the Wooden Puppet Soldiers'' attacks. But if I let them unleash their power, pandemonium will break loose in the entire divine land."


    Emily gazed at these Wooden Puppet Soldiers and said, "These puppets can''t attack endlessly. Their bodies will eventually run out of energy, right?"


    "It would be true if we were in another place. This place, however, is practically covered in divine crystals," Ramzi said with a bitter smile.


    As soon as he finished speaking, one of the Wooden Puppet Soldiers that attacked Zen at the very beginning suddenly stretched out one foot. With a light kick, it gouged out one of the divine crystals on the ground, picked it up, and then stuffed it into its chest.


    "Then we should find a way to break these Wooden Puppet Soldiers," said Emily.


    "That''s the only way." Zen nodded.


    Fortunately, these Wooden Puppet Soldiers were not smart enough. They would only instinctively eliminate the enemies in front of them and then move on to the next target.


    As long as Zen acted as a bait and attracted their attacks, Emily and others could easily destroy them.


    Worried that Zen could not handle the Wooden Puppet Soldiers on his own, Emily and the others separated into two groups and went around the Wooden Puppet Soldiers from Zen''s two sides, ready to attack them from the back. At this moment, Zen also drew out the Soaring Snake Sword from his space ring.


    At this moment, however, the Wood


    statues he had seen before had three heads and six hands. This statue, however, was a little strange. Five of its six hands held a weapon each.


    An ax, a spear, a halberd, a saber, and a crossbow¡­ But the remaining hand held nothing.


    Zen looked at the Soaring Snake Sword in his hand. Before the others knew it, he had put the sword in the statue''s empty hand without any hesitation in the slightest.


    The moment the Soaring Snake Sword left Zen''s hand, light once again burst from the big array under the small bridge. Those Wooden Puppet Soldiers seemed just like they were roused from their sleep. One by one, their eyes glowed red, and they swarmed around Zen and his companions from both sides of the small bridge.


    "This is bad!"


    "These Wooden Puppet Soldiers only acknowledge the Soaring Snake Sword!"


    Timotheus and the others were petrified.


    Zen frowned and tried to pull the Soaring Snake Sword out of the statue''s hand.


    But no matter how hard he tried, the Soaring Snake Sword did not budge.


    There was a slight change in the expression on Zen''s face. He ran the strength source in his body and then tried to pull it out again. Although he tried his best, he still could not pull it out.


    "What''s going on?"


    He didn''t expect this to happen either.


    Just as everyone was at a loss for what to do, the Chiyou statue moved and lifted up the Soaring Snake Sword in its hand.


    The Soaring Snake Sword quivered, and the Wooden Puppet Soldiers suddenly seemed like they had received some kind of order. Their red eyes dimmed again, and each went back to their own position inside the array under the small bridge.

 Chapter 2955 Finally Meet Again

    A hoarse voice came out of the Chiyou statue''s mouth which caught Zen and the others in surprise.


    "Who are you? Why do you have my sword?"


    After the shock had faded, Thimotheus, Leopold, and others realized whose voice they were hearing. It was Chiyou''s, and they were more than happy to hear it.


    "Grand Chieftain!"


    "We are the Nine Li Guards, Grand Chieftain!"


    Timotheus and Leopold said in unison. They were practically jumping with excitement and fervor.


    They were not qualified to meet the Grand Chieftain in the Source World. They felt so honored now that they had the chance to meet Chiyou in person in the divine land.


    "Nine Li Guards?"


    Chiyou''s voice sounded bleak and as stone cold as the statue. The statue looked around and, with no emotions, said, "I have given the Soaring Snake Sword to my daughter, Lorena. Where is she?"


    "Grand Chieftain, Princess Lorena is in the divine land..." Timotheus'' voice trailed off. He paused for a moment before continuing, "I want you to meet your grandson, Zen Luo!"


    Strictly speaking, Zen was Chiyou''s maternal grandson.


    But it was a good thing Timotheus was able to quickly think on his feet. Mike, after all, was a divine citizen who didn''t have the bloodline of Nine Li race.


    People like them would need to take their actual blood to know if they were related; their surnames suggested nothing to them. As far as the Grand Chieftain was concerned, Zen was his grandson.


    "My grandson?"


    The statue was almost twenty feet high. It stared down at Zen and reached out its hand to him. "Young man, show me your bloodline."


    Zen stared at the statue. He knew there was a remnant soul inside it, but he didn''t appreciate how he was being pressured by it.


    "Zen, give the Grand Chieftain a drop of blood quickly," Timotheus ordered.


    Zen stretched out his finger and, with a gentle force, a drop of go


    had already travelled to plenty of places, rarely dropping by the Floating Island. The couple was thoroughly enjoying their travels that their relationship flourished a lot.


    Zen''s presence in the palace confused them. "What happened?" Lorena asked.


    "Someone wants to see you, Mother," Zen responded.


    He couldn''t care less about his grandfather, but he knew that, as Chiyou''s daughter, Lorena had more respect in her.


    "Who is it?" Lorena inquired.


    He offered his hand in an invitation. "Come with me," he asked curtly. And then, looking at Mike, he added, "You too."


    He wasn''t sure if that was the correct decision. He didn''t know if Chiyou would be happy to see Mike.


    Finally, the couple drilled into the space tunnel built by Zen. In a short moment, they were standing in front of Chiyou.


    "Zen, why can''t you just tell me who it is?" Lorena was beginning to feel impatient. Then, at the sight of Chiyou, tears fell from her eyes.


    Chiyou''s indifference returned. "What happened in the divine land?" he asked coldly. "Why is your body gone?"


    The Blood Body which Lorena was currently using was perhaps precious in the divine land, but it was never valued by Chiyou. For Chiyou, what he was seeing was a broken body of Lorena.

 Chapter 2956 A Secret Agreement

    Lorena had always presented a strong front, and she seldom appeared sad in front of her husband and her son.


    However, in front of her father, all of her grievances over the years came rushing to the surface.


    She sobbingly related to Chiyou what had happened in the divine land, from the divine land setting out to the fact that Zen inherited the original will.


    When she had finished narrating the story, a hint of grief colored Chiyou''s usually indifferent voice. "Back then, I released the divine land to fly without anyone''s knowledge. I didn''t think that it would bring you such suffering..."


    Lorena shook her head. "Father, it is not your fault... but why didn''t you use your soul fragment to control the divine land? If you had done so, it would have given our Nine Li race an advantage."


    This question had been bothering Lorena, and even Mike was puzzled when she told him about it.


    It would not have been difficult for Chiyou to split his soul. Besides, he could train a soul fragment to guard the divine land so that the ordinary masters at the Other Shore Realm could not attack it.


    Chiyou gave a faint smile. "That''s because they have the means to track down all of my soul fragments. Therefore, if I placed my soul fragment in the divine land, then I would have exposed its location. In that case, I''m afraid that the divine land couldn''t have remained hidden up to this point..."


    "But Father, are you perhaps... right now..." A certain suspicion filled Lorena.


    Chiyou shook his head. "No, I am not a soul remnant; this presence is a trace of my will created through a special method. I can only last for a short time, so I''ll disappear soon. That''s why I was so eager to see you."


    "Is this our last chance to meet?" The thought made Lorena even sadder.


    For a powerful being like Chiyou, a strand of soul remnant meant a chance for resurrection. Lorena did not expect that her father was not even a soul remnant right now.


    "Perhaps, perhaps not," Chiyou replied sagely and shook his head again.


    At his ambiguous answer, Lorena was filled with determination. "What should we do, then? I will never give up as long as there''s hope, no matter how small it is!"


    Chiyou went silent again.


    That glimmer of hope


    erse with No. 9527 alone, not letting Zen overhear any of it.


    Less than three minutes later, Chiyou shot a meaningful look at Zen and suddenly let out a sigh.


    This sigh reverberated in the air. In an instant, the entire Chiyou statue and the weapons held in his five hands eroded, disintegrated into sand, and collapsed. Only the Soaring Snake Sword remained.


    As expected, Chiyou''s will disappeared completely.


    Just like he told his daughter, his apparition was not a soul remnant, so it only lasted for a short time. This was his final arrangement.


    After the statue collapsed, the Soaring Snake Sword had no owner once again, and the Wooden Puppet Soldiers under the small bridge were reactivated.


    Zen''s reaction was instantaneous. He snapped up the Soaring Snake Sword in his hand to avoid the Wooden Puppet Soldiers'' riot.


    "Buzz..."


    No. 9527 swung a green track through the air and entered Zen''s chest.


    "What did my grandfather tell you?" Zen demanded.


    He was dying of curiosity to find out about the agreement between Chiyou and No. 9527.


    Unexpectedly, No. 9527 just grinned and refused to say a word to Zen. "Anyway, your fate is in my hands. From now on, you need to listen to my orders!"


    Zen rolled his eyes and retreated from the bridge.


    At this point, Lorena was leaning against Mike''s shoulder, her eyes red with grief. When she saw Chiyou''s statue crumble, she knew that her father had finally left. Even so, she was content to see him for the last time.

 Chapter 2957 Fuxis Yells

    The Nine Li Guards returned to the Floating Island with a profound change in attitude.


    Zen had learned in the Sea of Truth about the defeat of the Nine Li race and Chiyou''s death. However, the Nine Li Guards had still had faith in their Grand Chieftain''s ability to save them and restore their honor.


    Now that Chiyou''s own message had corroborated the news, the case was closed.


    Timotheus, Ramzi and other Nine Li Guards had been eager to go back to the Source World to find the rest of the Nine Li race.


    This goal in mind, they had all been dedicating their time to studying the Trumpet Flying Ship. Now, however, they saw no point in continuing their endeavor. If Chiyou and most of his people were dead, what was the point of traveling to the Source World?


    Lorena knew she had been lucky to have had a chance to see her father one last time before he died. She had no regrets, but she grieved nonetheless, for her father and for the Nine Li race.


    Mike tried to offer his support to Lorena, but it did not seem genuine to her and thus offered little solace. Mike was not, after all, related to the Nine Li race in any way. All he could do was tell Lorena to talk to Rosie.


    After Samuel''s death, Rosie had been released and went to live on the Floating Island.


    Even though Rosie''s and Lorena''s physical strength was far from mediocre, their cultivation couldn''t improve much further due to their loss of the support of their inner worlds.


    There was a way out of this conundrum, however, and it was simple: all they had to do was reincarnate through their Memory Flames. The new physical body would create a new inner world, and allow them to cultivate and then cross the Sea of Truth to the Other Shore again.


    Indeed, Rosie had spent the past few days busy, preparing to reincarnate. She had never expected that her sister would come bearing news of their father''s death. Unexpected and devastating as this news was, the most they could do was stay together and offer each other comfort.


    Yet, not everyone had been touched by grief. Emily, one of the powerful warriors of the Other Shore Realm, was hopeful and optimistic.


    That was not to say she was indifferent to Chiyou''s passing: she felt the burden of sadness as much as anyone, but her delight at learning that Chiyou''s dying wish had been to send Yan to the Pear Hill overwhelmed any sense of grief she had.


    Emily had been very interested in Yan when she was outside the divine land, but due to Yan''s i


    uder.


    It was so loud that it created a hurricane that swept through the steppe, sending wild bones flying in all directions.


    By then, the man had realized that Gerald would not respond. In a rage, he stretched out his fist, his eyes filled with hatred. "You''ll be lying here all your life!"


    As soon as he had finished speaking, a mark of Eight Diagrams appeared on his fist. Without hesitation, he punched downwards.


    "Bang!"


    This time, the ground beneath the whole "prison" began to tremble.


    Beneath the man''s feet, the area of Immemorial Wilderness which was over ten million miles wide, began to expand and it had risen by several hundred thousand feet within seconds. It continued to expand crazily until it could stretch no more. Finally, it exploded in a burst of dazzling light, like a supernova, leaving behind nothing but ash.


    His punch had not only destroyed this area of Immemorial Wilderness, but it had also created a huge crater over a hundred million feet deep!


    The huge head that had been buried at the bottom of this area of the Immemorial Wilderness had finally revealed its true face!


    The giant skull had been stripped of all its skin and flesh, but it still exuded a vast aura, and its empty eyes seemed to tell a thousand tales without uttering a single word.


    The man in black glared at the huge skull. Angry as he was, he would not dare step on it. He turned to leave.


    A long time elapsed since the man in back had left. Suddenly, the skull he had left behind began to emit a faint light from its eyes. Then, it started to move side to side, and finally it dived down, burrowing into the depths of the earth.

 Chapter 2958 Preparation Before Leaving

    The air in a palace on the Floating Island was permeated with the mellow smell of food.


    The True Gods didn''t really need food to allay their hunger, but a variety of delicious food was always welcomed in the divine land.


    The food materials in the Floating Islands were sourced from many places in the divine land and were extremely rare. Ordinary disciples from the Floating Islands couldn''t afford them, let alone the divine citizens.


    "Yan, you have made great progress in your cooking skills," Zen, who was seated at the table, complimented while tasting one of the dishes.


    The corners of Yan''s mouth raised slightly, revealing a faint sense of pride, but she still said modestly, "You''d better thank Margaret! It''s her who has taught me how to cook these!"


    Yan had been separated from Zen at a young age. She just spent a little time with Mike and did not have a chance to see her mother before. Now that they were reunited, she naturally cherished these moments.


    She had started cooking recently and was loving it.


    Although there were many talented chefs in the Floating Island, Margaret had personally taught Yan how to cook.


    "Yan, you are being modest. You are so talented. You know everything even without any guidance," said Mike.


    Yan sat on the other side of the large table, her chin resting in her hands. She looked at Lorena with a gleam in her intelligent eyes and said to her, "Mother, do you have something to say to me?"


    Lorena, who had been smiling the whole time, stiffened slightly when Yan suddenly asked her this question.


    "Mother, I know there is something on your mind," Yan said as she suddenly shot a cold glare at Zen. "And brother too, but he doesn''t want to talk to me about it directly!"


    "It..." Zen looked embarrassed.


    It was true that he kept certain things from Yan. He didn''t want his sister to be burdened with anything, but sometimes fate was out of one''s control.


    "Let me guess." Yan blinked and asked, "The woman called Emily asked me if I would like to go to the Pear Hill while testing my blood. I don''t know where that place is, but I''m sure it''s not in the divine land. And perhaps you can''t refuse her, am I right?"


    Yan had no idea of Chiyou''s existence so she refu


    lly and Laquisha had lived on the top of the divine land since birth. Their vision was much wider than the others. The Other Shore Realm was a source of mystery and awe for them. They had a great curiosity about the Source World.


    "But..." Zen still believed that the divine land was much safer for them. At least, ordinary Other Shore Realm warriors could not break through it. Moreover, as the divine land was at the edge of chaos, it was difficult to discover it.


    At this point, Lavender stretched out her cold hand and covered Zen''s forehead. She spoke casually, "There''s no need to hesitate. This decision is not up to you; it is ours alone."


    "Okay!" Zen finally made the decision.


    Half a month later, he returned to the whirlpool and began collecting the divine crystals.


    According to Ramzi''s estimation, after the speed of the divine land increased, the speed of the consumption of the divine crystals would be very slow.


    Zen wasn''t very clear about the value of these divine crystals, but they could be used in the Source World.


    However, Zen only took away half of the divine crystals for any emergency, and left the Sun-resisting Umbrella to Mike.


    Even though Harper had died, the Reincarnation Soul Weapon could still locate his Memory Flame. If he could recover his cultivation base after he was revived, he would regain control of the direction of the entire divine land.


    A month later, Timotheus, Emily and the others stood in front of the Trumpet Flying Ship.

 Chapter 2959 Travelling Through The Chaos

    "The tracking array in the Trumpet Flying Ship has been destroyed. As long as you place divine crystals in it, you can drive it freely," said Ramzi as he jumped out of the flying ship.


    Zen glanced at the flying ship and turned to look at Lorena and Mike, who were standing some distance away.


    Lorena''s eyelids trembled as she rushed up and held Zen in her arms, her face full of reluctance.


    "No matter what happens, you must come back alive. This is my only request for you," whispered Lorena.


    Although she had been with Zen for a short period of time, he was her son, after all. Moreover, she had a very clear idea of what awaited Zen if he went to the Source World. It was impossible for her not to be worried about him. On the other hand, she believed her father and his arrangement for her son. She was certain that Chiyou would never send Zen on a suicide mission.


    Zen gently held Lorena in his arms and looked up into his father''s eyes. Mike nodded to him in response, his eyes saying what his lips were not.


    At the moment of parting, the father and the son needed no more communication with each other.


    Lorena then said goodbye to Yan and gave her words of consolation and advice.


    Emily led the other members of the Snake Goddess race and boarded the Trumpet Flying Ship. Leopold was the only one among the Nine Li Guards who decided to join the trip.


    Chiyou hadn''t given any further instructions to the Nine Li Guards; he only told them to escort Yan to the Pear Hill. This task could be accomplished by Emily, who hailed from the Pear Hill.


    As for Zen''s mission, No. 9527 was not very forthcoming regarding the details.


    Therefore, most of the Nine Li Guards, including Timotheus, elected to stay in the divine land. As far as the Nine Li Guards were concerned, the divine land was the last pure land for the Nine Li race, and they were more willing to stay with their princess and protect her.


    After Zen boarded the ship, Leopold went to the stern of the Trumpet Flying Ship.


    There was a jade plate embedded in the ground at the stern.


    As Leopold reached out and pressed the jade plate gently, it slowly floated from its position and levitated in the air. Then, he took out a divine crystal and placed it on the floating jade plate.


    This jade plate, which was snatched from Godfrey, was a powerful object. It could be used to drive the Trumpet Flying Ship and also served as the array plate for the Slaughtering Moonlight Array. These days, Ramzi had spent much time on the jade plate and learned how to utiliz


    ting island was built in the shape of a gourd. Zen built an identical Cloud Hall at front and a duplicate fairy palace behind it.


    The fairy palace in the Swirl Forest had not been rebuilt after it was destroyed. After all, it was Bromley''s masterpiece; even if Augustus had intended to restore it, it would not have been an easy feat. However, even with the fairy palace gone, Saul had been taken away beforehand by Zen. At present, he was staying in the duplicate fairy palace with Letitia and the others.


    The moment Zen appeared in his inner world, he raised his eyebrows, and his figure suddenly vanished. In the next moment, he manifested in front of the floating island.


    Meanwhile, Laquisha and Nelly stood at the door of the Cloud Hall, surprise evident in their eyes as they beheld a middle-aged man not far away from them.


    After the floating island was built, it was soon discovered by the creatures in the inner world.


    Some warriors with high levels of cultivation flew to a certain height and observed the floating island built by their creator some time ago, but none of them dared to approach it.


    However, this middle-aged man was different. He had directly set foot on the floating island and knelt down in front of the main entrance of the Cloud Hall on one knee.


    Curious, Nelly approached the man and asked him why he knelt here. However, the middle-aged man refused to answer, only telling her that he was waiting for someone.


    As for who he was waiting for, the middle-aged man would not answer her anyway.


    When Zen''s avatar appeared, Laquisha greeted him excitedly and said, "Zen, you''ve finally come! This man has been kneeling here, waiting for you for months."

 Chapter 2960 A Terrifying Talent

    Kneeling down at the door of the Cloud Hall, it was no other than the Evil God.


    Zen nodded slightly to Laquisha. Beaming an awkward smile, his face couldn''t hide a faint embarrassment.


    Zen''s expression caught both Laquisha and Nelly by surprise.


    Raising her head, the Evil God grew excited at the sight of Zen. "I have never begged anyone in my life except for you! Please keep your promise!" he told Zen.


    In fact, Zen indeed promised the Evil God he would be released from the inner world.


    However, he had been quite busy ever since he entered the divine land. Not having had the time to stop even for a while, he had no time to fulfill his promise.


    Seeing the Evil God on his knee made Zen feel guilty.


    Without thinking twice, Zen approached him, clasping the Evil God''s shoulders to help him up. However, the Evil God remained unmoved, with no intention to stand up. "I''m not going anywhere until you keep your promise!"


    "As I mentioned before, you already have my word, but now is not a good time," Zen explained helplessly.


    "You can fulfill it at any time!" the Evil God insisted, hoping Zen would agree to his demand.


    Even as a child, he had always been very ambitious. He had always seen difficulties as challenges he could solve with his own talent and perseverance. However, leaving this world was something he couldn''t overcome.


    Hearing Zen''s words, he thought Zen was just giving him another excuse to prolong his time spent there.


    Laughing, Zen replied, "I am currently in the chaos. With your current cultivation base, you will definitely die if you come with me."


    In reality though, Emily had means to allow the True Gods to come safely to the chaos.


    There was a time when they were outside the divine land, and Rocher and Sword Chen could move freely, thanks to Emily''s protection.


    But releasing the Evil God now would be meaningless. He could only move on the flying ship, and Zen couldn''t throw him into the space channel to drift.


    Watching Zen''s expression, the Evil God realized that he was telling the truth. Disappointment started to cloud his eyes.


    Seeing that, Zen continued, "I''m going to a bigger world. I''ll set you free when I get there."


    Expressionless, the Evil God stared at Zen. After all, Zen had fooled him several times in


    diately became a top-rank True God.


    The Evil God could become a consummate True God only after Zen broke through to the Other Shore Realm. This was a limitation of the Grand World Cultivation Method that he could not violate.


    After all, the appearance of a consummate True God in Zen''s inner world might threaten the safety of his inner world. Therefore, the strongest creature in the inner world were two levels lower than the one who created the world.


    After the universe of a Holy Being became the Rebirth Land, the entire inner world had become even larger. It allowed the living beings within the universe to cultivate into becoming the Supreme Lords, who were more powerful than the world lords but weaker than the low-rank True Gods.


    After the Evil God''s statement, Zen wondered how strong he could be if he would let him cultivate in the Source World freely. Would he be able to integrate the three thousand Godly Ways?


    "Have you tried integrating the internal momentum of the Godly Ways when you practiced the three thousand Godly Ways?" Zen asked out of the blue.


    With a strange expression, the Evil God looked at Zen and replied, "These Godly Ways are supposed to be integrated, aren''t they? I have observed how you have repeatedly merged the internal momentum several times. Now I have already integrated two thousand nine hundred and ninety-four of the three thousand Godly Ways."


    His answer left Zen completely astonished. Staring blankly at the Evil God, he couldn''t seem to find the words to respond.

 Chapter 2961 Power

    Zen had to integrate the different kinds of internal momentum in his inner world before he could fight the enemy with the Ways-blending Strike in the divine land.


    On the other hand, the Evil God watched him every single time he merged the internal momentum.


    The Evil God certainly felt how strong the power of the Ways-blending Energy was, and that was why he also tried to fuse the Godly Ways.


    In executing this, the Evil God used Zen''s experience with the matter as his reference.


    When Zen had merged the Godly Ways in his own inner world, he didn''t hide anything at all. The Evil God had observed his every move, even the proportions and the sequence of different kinds of internal momentum that Zen had activated.


    By closely watching Zen''s movements, the Evil God, in his own way, found a shortcut. As far as Zen knew, the Ways-blending Energy would become very unstable after 2, 500 Godly Ways were merged. Merging one more Godly Way could create a very terrible explosion.


    But unexpectedly, the Evil God had already merged 2, 994 Godly Ways successfully.


    He could complete the Godly Ways Great Unity as long as he fused the remaining six Godly Ways!


    Taking a deep and long look at the Evil God, Zen could not understand why there was such a supernormal talent appearing in his inner world.


    "Can you practice the merging of the Godly Ways?" Zen asked as he stared at the Evil God.


    In fact, in his inner world, Zen could easily find out how the Evil God''s fusion of the Godly Ways worked, but he still wanted to see it with his own eyes.


    "Okay," the Evil God agreed and nodded.


    Being very smart, the Evil God perceived the value of the merging of Godly Ways. He also knew that there was nothing in the world that he could hide from Zen. With this, the Evil God knew that it was better for him to use his skill openly.


    But just as the Evil God was about to fuse the internal momentum, Zen suddenly uttered, "Wait!"


    "Huh? What''s wrong?" the Evil God could not help but ask in puzzlement upon being halted.


    "I have a friend who needs to see this," Zen responded as he activated his spiritual sense which spread out of his inner world. At that time, he was summoning No. 9527.


    No. 9527 had always said that the 3, 000 Godly Ways were not possible to be fused together. Now Zen wanted it to have a look to confirm if any of it was true.


    After receiving Zen''s invitation, No. 9527 immediately entered Zen''s inner world.


    Mean


    ls all over his body were all about to burst from all the pressure. Raising his hands, he pulled out the Ways-blending Energy from his body, roaring loudly, "Go!"


    As soon as he finished his words, the Ways-blending Energy shot high up into the sky at a rapid speed.


    When it flew past a star formed by the strength source, it somehow exploded with terrifying energy.


    "Bang!"


    All of a sudden, a thunderous and loud voice resonated through the sky.


    The Evil God cracked a smile upon seeing the Ways-blending Energy''s explosion, beads of sweat trickling down his forehead.


    When Zen and No. 9527 were looking up, their eyes were filled with shock.


    Due to the limitation of the rules of the world, the Evil God couldn''t reach the consummate level theurgies of the Godly Ways. That was why the power that he exerted while using Godly Ways was surely not as formidable as the one Zen exerted. However, even if such theurgies were lacking, the Ways-blending Energy''s power released from him was almost as great as that from Zen!


    "It''s unbelievable. I can''t believe that the living creature in your inner world is able to get the Ways-blending Energy to this stage," No. 9527 spoke in utmost disbelief.


    Zen replied, "There are only six Godly Ways left. Do you still want to stick to your original opinion?"


    Smacking its lips, No. 9527 spoke, "It is impossible to achieve the Godly Ways Great Unity again. That is the absolute rule. Even if someone has merged 2, 999 Godly Ways, I would still have the same opinion... However, it is indeed an extraordinary method to take the Ways-blending Energy as a theurgy and cultivate it."

 Chapter 2962 The Black Hole

    It was evident that No. 9527 didn''t really favor the merging of Godly Ways.


    The Evil God was clueless about the origin of No. 9527, nor did he realize the importance of the Godly Ways Great Unity.


    However, he was excited to show Zen his capabilities.


    "Should I demonstrate the merging again?" the Evil God asked eagerly.


    Zen smiled and said, "No, that won''t be necessary. I am aware that you have merged the Godly Ways."


    Zen was not only omniscient, but also omnipotent in his inner world. If he wanted to, he could know everything.


    "Then allow me to take my leave. I hope you will be able to fulfill your promise as soon as possible." The Evil God cupped his hands toward Zen and in a flash disappeared from the floating island.


    After he had left, No. 9527 asked, "What kind of promise did you make to him?"


    Zen shrugged casually and replied, "He wants to leave my inner world."


    No. 9527 was appalled, as it asked, "Are you going to allow that to happen?"


    "Yes. What''s wrong in letting him go?" Zen asked curiously.


    No. 9527 said with a small smile, "You know I don''t think highly of the Godly Ways Great Unity. But he merged 2, 994 Godly Ways in just ten years, which suggests that he is exceptionally talented. It''s hard to estimate his achievements in the future. It will be a pity to let him go."


    "Should I place a slave seal on him?" Zen disdained to use this method.


    The Evil God was born in his inner world, but he never bestowed upon him any kind of special support. Despite that, with his outstanding abilities, the Evil God was able to obtain his current cultivation base and achievements. So if he wanted to leave, Zen would not be the one to stop him.


    "No matter how powerful the slave seal is, there is still a way to break it." No. 9527 shook its head as it continued, "As far as I know, many powerful masters in the Source World have such talents in their inner worlds. In fact, it''s very easy to keep them."


    No matter how large the Source World was, there was a limited number of creatures.


    However, there was a separate world in the body of every powerful warrior who reached the Soul Sea Realm. These inner worlds held different types and numbers of creatur


    eady entered a meditative state, he realized it was not the right time.


    They wouldn''t be able to reach the Source World now, so he had plenty of chances in the future.


    After observing the ship for a while, Zen returned to his seat. This time, he intended to enter the Sea of Truth.


    Leopold gently lifted the jade plate. The forces of Space Law spread out from the surface of the Trumpet Flying Ship. The ship was about to travel back to the space channel.


    The moment it entered the space channel, it started to vibrate violently.


    Rumble!


    Emily and the others who had been cultivating quietly, opened their eyes.


    "What''s wrong?" Emily asked.


    Leopold shook his head and said with a trace of panic on his face, "I cannot figure out. The Trumpet Flying Ship seems to be out of control now."


    The Trumpet Flying Ship that was flying smoothly a while ago was now constantly shaking. Even though Leopold tried his best to activate the divine crystals on the plate, he was still unable to maintain the stability of the ship.


    Zen stood up and looked into the distance. He pointed at something far away and shouted, "Look! What''s that?"


    In the chaotic space channel, there were intricate blue lines. They were hardly of any importance but just the traces left by the disorderly Space Law.


    However, they were all gathering deep into the space, towards a pitch black hole.


    All the lines stopped in front of the hole, as if they were all sucked in by it.

 Chapter 2963 The Sky Rending Rhinoceros

    The Trumpet Flying Ship was an exquisitely designed structure. Seen from the outside, it seemed to have a small interior space, but it actually had a larger space inside.


    The flying ship was trembling violently as it was traveling at a fast speed, but everyone was able to maintain their balance and keep standing.


    Emily squinted her eyes and directed her gaze to where Zen had pointed. "It''s a space cave..."


    "Is that what a space cave looks like?" There was a subtle change on Leopold''s expression. He knew about the existence of space caves from stories he had heard, but this was the first time he saw one for himself.


    Yan put her hand on Zen''s shoulder and asked, "What is a space cave?"


    Emily was the one who replied. She blinked her eyes and said, "The Sky Rending Rhinoceros is one of the top ten ferocious beasts of the chaos. It leaves behind a space cave after it travels through space!"


    "The top ten ferocious beasts of the chaos?" Zen narrowed his eyes.


    Emily nodded her head in confirmation and explained, "They are ferocious beasts that wander outside the Source World. They usually hide in the deepest parts of the chaos and very rarely get close to the Source World. But every time they appear, they can''t help but cause a huge commotion. Only the top masters in the Source World can fight against them..."


    "Then will there be any danger in a space cave?" Zen asked.


    Emily shook her head. "The space cave itself is not dangerous. The Sky Rending Rhinoceros is proficient in the Space Law. It doesn''t need to use techniques like the Grand Teleportation when it travels through the chaos."


    "It doesn''t rely on the Grand Teleportation technique?" Zen asked in clarification, as he was surprised by this information.


    Actually, people utilized the Grand Teleportation technique to create a space channel for travelling. The deeper their comprehension of the space, the more stable the space channel.


    For example, Emily created a space channel that was ten million miles long, but she only needed to take a single step forward to emerge from the other end of the space channel. On the other hand, the Holy Beings could also create a space channel ten million miles in length, but they were required to travel through the space channel for a period of time before they walked out of the other end of the channel.


    "In the simplest terms, the Grand Teleportation technique is a skill that relies on one''s understanding of the Space Law.


    go as well as she had hoped. She had been forced to step on the journey, and there had been an unknown fear that was weighing on her mind.


    Zen felt the emotion behind Yan''s actions, and he formed an apology for her in his heart.


    Her mother had given Yan the choice, but as a sensible girl, she did not have the heart to reject her parents.


    Sending her on the journey to the Pear Hill might have been a mistake.


    "Don''t be afraid. It won''t take long," Zen whispered to his younger sister.


    He felt pity for Yan, but he could only caress her silky hair; he thought that after emerging into the other side of the space cave, he could place Yan into Emily''s inner world so that she wouldn''t be so afraid.


    After they had been traveling in the darkness for several minutes, Zen felt more and more confused.


    This space cave could fold the space in between two places, so naturally, it should have made use of the Space Law. However, in this dark space, he hadn''t been able to sense even a single trace of the Space Law Power. Zen was puzzled as to how the Sky Rending Rhinoceros did it.


    While he was deep in thought, Zen thought he had seen a glimmer of light in his peripheral vision. He instinctively looked for the source of light, and his eyes narrowed. He covered Yan''s eyes with his hands.


    Leopold, Emily, and the masters at the Other Shore Realm were all stunned into a silent panic.


    A gigantic ferocious beast head was directly in front of the Trumpet Flying Ship, and the light shone from its eyes!


    "Oh, crap! This is probably the worst possible situation," Emily cursed in frustration, and her heart sank in despair.

 Chapter 2964 Its Purpose

    The chaos was so vast that it was known to contain many unknown beasts.


    Some people believed there were undiscovered beasts living in the chaos.


    The top ten vicious beasts were known widely around the Source World. They were feared for their overwhelming strength and size. They would cause turmoil and unrest every time they surfaced.


    Among the ten vicious beasts was the Sky Rending Rhinoceros. It was about ten million miles long. It resembled a large snake, and it did not have scales or claws. Its head had two wings fixed on both sides, making it able to fly up in space.


    Many years ago, the Sky Rending Rhinoceros surfaced in the Source World. Chaos ensued as it caused disturbances and proceeded to destroy a city. Zhurong later stepped up to fend off the city against it. Although Zhurong had the advantage over it, he still failed to exterminate it. In the end, the Sky Rending Rhinoceros broke through the space and flew off to hide in the chaos. (*TN: Zhurong, known as the God of Fire, is an important personage in Chinese mythology and Chinese folk religion.)


    Emily had read this record in a book when she was young.


    She was filled with fear when she read the description of the Sky Rending Rhinoceros in her childhood.


    At that time, she did not expect to come face to face with her childhood fears in the future.


    She felt her stomach turn when Leopold mentioned the Ruin Graveyard. At that time, she clenched her fists subconsciously as she felt anxious.


    It was known when the Sky Rending Rhinoceros passed through the void, the space cave it left would exist for a short period. Since the space cave was opened, it meant the Sky Rending Rhinoceros recently passed through there. If they came face to face with the mighty beast, it would be worse than falling into dangerous lands.


    Emily thought to herself about all the unfortunate events that could take place if they faced the beast. She attempted to calm her breathing and looked forward. Even if she decided to voice her troubles out to everyone, it would not make much of a difference. She silently prayed under her breath, hoping they didn''t encounter it.


    As she was in the process of collecting her thoughts, she looked up. Her worst fears came to life when the image of the Sky Rending Rhinoceros appeared in front of her. She froze and felt her soul leave her body. She forgot how to breathe as it filled her view.


    "Hoo..." "Hoo..."


    The Sky Rending Rhinoceros howled viciously as it twisted its body which was about ten million miles long.


    Suddenly, the air in the space seemed to have stopped flowing. The atmosphere changed as fear and terror filled the space. The Sky Rending Rhinoceros flaunted its dominant aura. Its eyes were like two huge stars glaring directly at them.


    Compared to the size of the mighty b


    while, they ignored the pain as they continued to study the movements of the Sky Rending Rhinoceros.


    "What is the Sky Rending Rhinoceros trying to do?" Leopold said, looking exasperated.


    "Beasts like the Sky Rending Rhinoceros have extraordinary wisdom. If it wants to know something, it should be able to communicate with us directly," a woman of the Snake Goddess race said with a grimaced look in her eyes.


    Emily showed a helpless expression. "Maybe it doesn''t think it''s worthy of communicating with us."


    Emily was also confused.


    From the way it looked, the Sky Rending Rhinoceros did not have any intentions of swallowing the Trumpet Flying Ship. It seemed to have sensed something within the ship. It continued its attempts to locate it.


    But on the ship, there were only Zen, Yan and the warriors at the Other Shore Realm.


    At this moment, Zen felt strange warmth in his chest as No. 9527''s voice resounded in his mind. It seemed to have calmed his nerves down from the intense situation. "Zen, leave the Trumpet Flying Ship. Let me talk to the Sky Rending Rhinoceros."


    The Sky Rending Rhinoceros was sensitive enough to perceive anything. Although No. 9527''s soul power was very weak, it could still perceive it.


    No. 9527 didn''t want to announce its presence to Emily and the others. It wanted to meet the Sky Rending Rhinoceros under discretion. It asked Zen to leave the ship so it could communicate with the beast.


    "Does the Sky Rending Rhinoceros aim at you?" Zen''s face turned pale as he asked No. 9527.


    "Yes, I knew this would happen when you entered the space cave. However, the Trumpet Flying Ship was unable to get rid of the gravity of the space cave, so I could do nothing to stop this from happening." A hint of helplessness could be heard in No. 9527''s tone.


    This made Zen curious. He had never felt such an emotion from No. 9527.

 Chapter 2965 The Shortcut

    Emily and the others shook like leaves in a storm.


    What the Sky Rending Rhinoceros was thinking? It could even swallow the flying ship in a single gulp. They were like ants that were floating on a leaf in a vast ocean. In the blink of an eye, they could all die.


    Just as everyone else fell silent, at a loss for what to do, Zen suddenly spoke. "I''m going to talk to it."


    The Other Shore Realm warriors gaped in shock when they heard what Zen said. Emily''s hands twitched as if she were going to shake him out of this decision.


    "Zen, are you crazy?" she asked with disbelief in her voice. Her eyes were wide in fear like she was already seeing all the things that could go wrong.


    "Zen..." Yan whispered, concern apparent in her voice.


    "I have to do this. It''s here for me," Zen insisted before they could say anything more.


    "For you? Why would it come for you?" Leopold frowned at Zen in doubt.


    Not much was known about the Sky Rending Rhinoceros even in the Source World. How could it possibly have anything to do with Zen, a warrior from the divine land?


    Zen didn''t know how to explain to Leopold, so he chose to ignore him instead. He turned to Yan and gently patted her head in reassurance.


    "Stay here. Believe me, everything will be fine," he assured Yan. He nodded at everybody, then leaped lightly off the ship. His tiptoes made a quiet tapping sound on the side of the Trumpet Flying Ship, as he flew into the dark space.


    By this time, Emily and the others didn''t try to stop him anymore. They knew that it would be useless, especially when Zen looked so determined. Perhaps, he was really capable of talking to the beast.


    At first glance, it looked like the Sky Rending Rhinoceros was extremely close to the Trumpet Flying Ship. That was because the Sky Rending Rhinoceros was gigantic, so it appeared like it was very close. Actually, there were at least three hundred miles between the beast and the Trumpet Flying Ship.


    Even so, Zen needed only a few seconds to travel this distance. He quickly reduced the distance between them to merely hundreds of feet.


    At such a close range, the pressure from the Sky Rending Rhinoceros disappeared.


    Due to the beast''s size, Zen couldn''t see the entire body of the animal. He could only see the rhinoceros'' two huge eyes, which hung over his head like two suns. Its wrinkled skin looked very rough and rugged, making the beast look like a mountain from where Zen was.


    As soon as Zen stopped, the Sky Rending Rhinoceros opened its big mouth.


    The mouth was so wide that Zen couldn''t even see where it ended. It was like a black hole, an endless pit that he definit


    n they saw this, Emily, Leopold, and the other people finally breathed a sigh of relief. However, they still couldn''t believe how Zen managed to talk to the beast.


    "I can''t believe Zen really persuaded the Sky Rending Rhinoceros to leave!" Leopold exclaimed with a grin.


    Emily was silent beside him. Her lips were pressed together thoughtfully, as she thought how Zen could have possibly done that. Although she could feel that Zen was extraordinary since their first meeting, she hadn''t expected him to be able to persuade the Sky Rending Rhinoceros to leave at their first encounter.


    After all, in Emily''s eyes, it was a disaster to encounter a ferocious beast like the Sky Rending Rhinoceros. If it were any other beast, she might have resisted, but she did not have the courage to resist the Sky Rending Rhinoceros.


    Meanwhile, as No. 9527 returned to Zen''s chest, Zen asked, "What did you say to him?"


    "I asked him to go away and open a space cave for us that leads to the Source World," No. 9527 said indifferently.


    Zen was astounded.


    Emily had spoken of the Sky Rending Rhinoceros'' ability. The beast could connect any two places in the chaos. This skill was unparalleled and was the most powerful talent of the Sky Rending Rhinoceros.


    He wondered how No. 9527 managed to make the beast obey it.


    Originally, it would take several years for them to travel to the Source World by the Trumpet Flying Ship. If they were to cross the space cave, they would be able to reach the Source World much faster.


    "You two talked for so long. You must have talked about something else," Zen pried again.


    No. 9527 just chuckled. It acted like an adult who was talking to a child, and it had no plans to tell Zen about the rest of the conversation.

 Chapter 2966 The Ring Of Chaos Clouds

    Zen was curious about the relationship between Gerald and the Sky Rending Rhinoceros. However, No. 9527 was unwilling to reveal any details and so he had no way of learning the truth of it.


    Once he returned to the Trumpet Flying Ship, Leopold, Emily and the members of the Snake Goddess race were all staring at him, as if he were some sort of hideous monster.


    The Sky Rending Rhinoceros left, leaving the space pitch black. Everyone wasted no time in using their spiritual sense to explore their surroundings.


    Yan was smiling, thinking that this was a piece of cake for her brother, and she was so proud.


    "Let''s go. The Sky Rending Rhinoceros has agreed to build a space cave that leads to the Source World for us. We should be very close to the Source World after we cross the space cave." Zen then added in response to the confused faces surrounding him, "Don''t ask. I too do not understand what the Sky Rending Rhinoceros said."


    He had spoken with the Sky Rending Rhinoceros for a long while, and now he said he didn''t understand what the Sky Rending Rhinoceros said. Zen was fooling no one.


    The others didn''t question him on seeing the sincerity across his face.


    "I have to say, I didn''t see us being able to take a shortcut like this, travelling through the space cave with the help of the Sky Rending Rhinoceros..." Emily said smiling joyfully.


    They had escaped danger, gotten the help of the Sky Rending Rhinoceros, and saved a lot of time. Everyone believed Zen was responsible for bringing this great fortune upon them.


    Leopold activated the Trumpet Flying Ship once more, continuing to advance silently through darkness.


    Soon after, a small white dot began to reveal itself in the distance.


    The white dot was like a tiny hole on a large black cloth. Although small, it was eye-catching in the darkness. The moment it appeared, Leopold had spotted it.


    "It''s the other side of the space cave. The entrance is pure pitch black, and the exit is clean and brilliant white. Let''s go over!" Emily was excited at the sight of white dot too.


    Leopold nodded and maneuvered the Trumpet Flying Ship to charge straight for the white dot.


    They were still tens of thousands of miles away and already the dot had become a huge stunning white cave.


    "Rumble..."


    The Trumpet Flying Ship began to tre


    a very close blood relationship with Chiyou. He was after all the talent born from the Six-Pattern Blood-storing Seed. Now Zen claimed that there was someone more incredible than him in his inner world. This was truly amazing.


    "In ten years, he has mastered 3, 000 Godly Ways. Does that make him outstanding?" Zen asked flatly.


    Leopold blinked in shock and Emily''s eyebrows raised.


    According to the masters in the Source World, the 3, 000 Godly Ways were the definitions of the various kinds of energy existing within the chaos. According to different classification methods, the number of the Godly Ways varied. Even the large majority of the True Gods in the Source World only needed to master one or two in order to challenge the Sea of Truth and cross it.


    Only a minute amount of supernatural talents were qualified and capable of comprehending several Godly Ways.


    Of course, some top masters in the Source World attempted to master 3, 000 Godly Ways, and Chiyou was one of them.


    "In ten years? Zen, you must be kidding?" Emily asked incredulously.


    No. 9527 didn''t have much interest in the Godly Ways. Even if the Evil God''s talent was astounding, it was not surprised at all. The only thing that shocked No. 9527 was that the Evil God even managed to merge the internal momentum of 2, 994 Godly Ways.


    As for Emily and Leopold, they were completely taken aback to learn that one would master so many Godly Ways. If one person comprehended 3, 000 Godly Ways alone in ten years, it was a shocking feat even in the Source World.

 Chapter 2967 Becoming A Holy Being

    "I also didn''t believe it when I first heard it, but it is true," said Zen, shaking his head.


    Emily knew that Zen was no liar. But she still struggled to believe him.


    "The method used to grant a Rebirth Land is not that complicated," she said thoughtfully, turning to look at a woman of the Snake Goddess race aboard the ship. "Betty, write one and give it to Zen."


    Betty nodded. With a flick of her slender hand, a long and narrow jade slip appeared.


    Her spiritual sense poured continuously into the jade slip, and after a while, it emerged, covered in her spindly writing. Smiling, she pushed the slip towards Zen.


    Zen opened the jade slip and glanced over its contents.


    Essentially, it reported that the number of Rebirth Lands granted in the inner world was limited, possibly no more than three.


    The divine land, however, was an exception. Over fifty Holy Beings'' universes currently resided there. Even though it contained many Rebirth Lands, the Holy Beings'' cultivation base was much lower than Chiyou''s.


    Zen quickly made a mental note of all the main points in the jade slip. Then, he proceeded to condense an avatar.


    To the north of his inner world lay a deserted land. Even though some creatures appeared there from time to time, they were few and far between.


    Legend said that the Thunder God and the Lightning Goddess lived in this deserted land. It was said that the destructive thunder and lightning storms that regularly swept the land were triggered when they were angry.


    The Evil God sat on a bald rock in the center of the deserted land.


    Throughout his life, he had never encountered a single impediment to his practice. He had cultivated effortlessly for years. The martial arts and the Godly Ways came to him with an ease that was almost laughable.


    However, now, he had encountered a problem for the first time in his life. The problem was to merge all the Godly Ways. How could one do that?


    The Evil God could read Zen''s expression, and knew that he had surpassed Zen in this aspect. But the puppet beside him seemed to think nothing of what he had obtained.


    Yet, he was always ready to accept a challenge. Since he had decided to merge the three thousand Godly Ways, there was no turning back.


    It was not easy, unlike everything that had come before. Naturally, it had turned into his obsession, so much so that he did not care whether he could leave Zen''s inner world.


    "Crack!"


    A crash resonated through the Evil Go


    for so many years. If the Evil God left, she would be consumed by worry for his safety.


    If Zen could help them in this way, however, she would feel safer.


    The Evil God, however, was not as happy to hear this as his wife. His eyebrows furrowed and his face turned gloomy and brooding. After a few seconds, he looked up from his thoughts. "Do I have a choice?" he asked pensively.


    Zen shook his head. "No, you don''t. If you agree, come to the floating island to see me tomorrow."


    Without further ado, Zen left the thatched hut, not uttering another word.


    Her face etched with confusion, Edna turned to look at the Evil God. "Why are you acting like becoming a Holy Being is a bad thing?" she asked.


    As she spoke, the Evil God punched the blue stone table that stood in the middle of the room.


    That table looked rough and unrefined, with jagged edges, but it was in fact made from the most expensive stone in the world. A piece that size could buy a small country.


    With one punch, the entire stone table dissipated into powder.


    "Look, I don''t know what it means to become a Holy Being, so I cannot say it is a bad thing, can I? But what I do know is that if my inner world merges with this one, he will have power and control over me forever."


    The Evil God didn''t know what the Rebirth Land meant, but a man of his talent did not have to think long to figure out the costs and benefits of becoming a Holy Being.


    The only real reason why he wanted to leave this world was to experience something new, and be free. He didn''t want to go from one prison to another. He knew Zen, but he hadn''t expected him to use such a dirty trick.

 Chapter 2968 Exposed

    Even though Zen had left the thatched hut, he knew exactly what the Evil God had said and thought.


    The Evil God seemed reluctant to accept his proposal, but Zen had no intention of backing down either.


    Zen did not plan on controlling the fate of the Evil God. Having a Rebirth Land would not affect the Evil God''s cultivation base. He could still have the chance to cross the Sea of Truth and become an Other Shore Realm warrior.


    By keeping the Evil God''s inner world here, Zen tried to make sure that he would not become his enemy. He wanted to keep the peace between himself and the Evil God.


    However, Zen was unsure if he would accept this condition. All that was left, was to wait for his reply.


    The next day, the Evil God came to the floating island after all.


    He had given Zen''s offer much thought and realized he was not in the condition to bargain with Zen.


    Not having much choice, the Evil God accepted his offer to become a Holy Being. However, that did not mean he approved of Zen''s methods. He planned on finding ways to retrieve his inner world once he left this world.


    Although this was Zen''s first time in granting a Rebirth Land, it was not too challenging. Just like what Emily had proposed. He only needed to give a small part of his inner world to the Evil God and ask him to merge it with his inner world.


    The process was similar to that of soaking in the holy spring on the Mountain of Holy Beings.


    Shortly after, a universe appeared in Zen''s inner world.


    His inner world was nothing compared to the divine land. The divine land was far superior in all its splendor. Likewise, this universe in his inner world couldn''t be compared to that of a Holy Being in the divine land. However, because of the appearance of this universe, some restrictions to the Evil God''s cultivation were removed, and the Evil God was finally able to break through to the consummation of True God Realm. He was able to surpass and conquer all his past limitations.


    Having mastered three thousand Godly Ways before, the Evil God''s understanding of them had risen to a whole new level.


    Within three days of becoming a Holy Being, he had mastered the consummate level theurgies of Thunderstorm Godly Way, Earth Godly Way, and Five Elements Godly Way. He even created some strange theurgies beyond these Godly Ways. The Evil God was unmatched in his talent of grasping every concept with ease.


    Zen silently observed him learn all of them from a distance. He could not help but be impressed by the limitless talents of the Evil God. He was taken aback by how quickly he acquired the theurgies.


    As he studied the Evil God at work, he became unsure. He began questioning himself and his decisions. ''Did I do the right thing in allowing such a powerful guy to enter the Source World?''


    Even if they did, they wouldn''t pay much attention to it. After all, outsiders didn''t know why the ship was there. The reason why Emily had had the ship hidden was to avoid getting spotted by the Yellow Emperor Guards.


    "Let''s keep going west. As long as we find the entrance to the Source World and enter the world, we''ll be safe when we arrive at Pear Hill," Emily suggested. Her face relaxed as they passed through all potential threats and were now safe.


    Leopold concentrated on controlling the jade plate in his hand. He slightly adjusted the direction and added another divine crystal on it.


    Just when he was about to accelerate the Trumpet Flying Ship, he sensed something through the jade plate and paused, which caused him to turn his head southeast.


    His eyes widened as he saw another flying ship suddenly appear above them. It was about ten thousand miles away from the Trumpet Flying Ship, and it was heading straight for them at an alarming speed!


    "It''s another Trumpet Flying Ship!" Emily''s face lost color as she panicked.


    Leopold''s expression darkened at the sight of it. "How did they find us?"


    Ramzi had taken down the tracking array of the Trumpet Flying Ship. It was almost impossible for the Yellow Emperor Guards to find them, especially while it was disguised.


    Now, another Trumpet Flying Ship was approaching them aggressively. Judging by how accurately the ship navigated towards them, it was certain they were discovered. Without Yellow Emperor Magatama, Emily and the others would certainly cause suspicion for the other party.


    Emily ordered without any hesitation, "Ignore them! Let''s get out of here as soon as possible!"


    As long as they fled to Pear Hill before a large number of Yellow Emperor Guards gathered, they''d stay safe. After entering the Pear Hill the Yellow Emperor Guards would not be able to harm them.

 Chapter 2969 Fighting Back

    Even though the Source World looked close to them, it would still take a total of three days before finding the Source World''s entrance, despite their fastest speed.


    Two Trumpet Flying Ships soared through the air like lightening, one chasing very closely behind the other.


    On the Trumpet Flying Ship behind the one where Zen and the others were, twelve people stood, all of whom were powerful warriors at the Other Shore Realm.


    A middle-aged man stood at the front of the Trumpet Flying Ship. He looked confident, his arms crossed.


    The man''s face was stiff, and his eyebrows resembled two black blades.


    He was wearing black armor from head to toe, on which the complicated veiny lines of blood were flowing. The aura emitted by the armor was very dark and depressing.


    "To the Yellow Emperor Guards on the Trumpet Flying Ship before us, tell me your names!"


    the man said in a loud and clear voice as he held a Yellow Emperor Magatama in his hand. He was trying to communicate with the people on the Trumpet Flying Ship in front of him.


    Despite his attempts at communication, no reply came from the group. Everyone remained silent.


    "Master Telmo, that Trumpet Flying Ship appears very strange to me. Why do you think they ran as soon as they saw us?" asked a short man standing beside the middle-aged man.


    When it came to the Yellow Emperor Guards, anyone who was capable of riding a Trumpet Flying Ship was considered having a high status.


    If ever they were to meet in the chaos, they would exchange their names and inform each other of useful information, as per usual.


    When Telmo ordered his men to meet up with the second Trumpet Flying Ship, none of his warriors expected the ship to speed up at their presence and flee.


    Everyone had the same thought on their mind: something had to be wrong with the ship.


    Without speaking a single word, Telmo ordered his men to chase after the Trumpet Flying Ship while trying to communicate with them through the Yellow Emperor Magatama. However, the opposing party refused to respond to them, from start to finish.


    "Is it possible that someone has hijacked the Trumpet Flying Ship?"


    "Hmm...who would dare commit such an act?!"


    "I don''t know. But why else would they be fleeing?"


    Just as the Yellow Emperor Guards continued to discuss, Telmo stared at the Trumpet Flying Ship in front of him and said, "No matter what the situation is, we will definitely investigate it further." As they conversed, they noticed a sudden streak of light flash across the Trumpet Flying Ship in front of them. In the blink of an eye, the entire Trumpet Flying Ship vanished right before their eyes.


    "They have entered the space channel. Let''s follow them! Hurry up!" Telmo ordered his men loudly wit


    rumpet Flying Ship in front of them. Out of nowhere, Emily''s pretty face came into view.


    "Huh? A woman?" Telmo''s eyes flashed brightly as he tried searching for information about this individual in his mind.


    A warrior capable of commanding a Trumpet Flying Ship was at least a five-star Yellow Emperor Guard. However, as far as he knew, Emily wasn''t one of the five-star Yellow Emperor Guards.


    ''Could she be from the Sky Guard Pavilion?'' Telmo wondered silently.


    As this thought crossed his mind, a chill shuddered through his heart. If the woman really was from the Sky Guard Pavilion, then she was qualified to ignore him.


    However, out of duty, Telmo would continue performing a regular check up on the Trumpet Flying Ship.


    Thirty miles...


    Twenty miles...


    Only ten miles...


    The remaining distance was quite small. Covering this distance for an Other Shore Realm warrior was as simple as pie.


    Emily stood on the ship''s rail with her legs and heels pressed tightly together. Her white robe embroidered with white chrysanthemum fluttered in the wind graciously.


    Telmo could see her quite clearly now, and he knew she could see him as well.


    As the two of them looked at each other, a strange smile suddenly spread across Emily''s lips. "Activate it now," she said to Leopold indifferently.


    Leopold flipped the jade plate in his hand gently, and a high number of crescents immediately spread out in all directions.


    In an instant, the Slaughtering Moonlight Array covered a hundred miles around. Emily gently waved her hand and lightly cut toward the Trumpet Flying Ship behind them. It looked so easy and simple for her, as though she were lifting a feather.


    At the sight of silver crescents, Telmo''s face filled with fear.


    "Watch out! It''s the Slaughtering Moonlight Array! Run!" he screamed in terror.

 Chapter 2970 Choice

    Even Ramzi, an outsider, was familiar with the Slaughtering Moonlight Array.


    The Yellow Emperor Guards were well aware of the power of this array. They knew from experience what damage could be done.


    The silver moons shimmered. Without warning, an invisible force leaped across the space between.


    A sharp, earsplitting crack sounded.


    As the invisible force sped towards the Trumpet Flying Ship, a pale purple light appeared on the surface of the vessel. An enchanted barrier had been raised.


    This enchanted barrier was the main protection of the body of the ship. Normally, the ordinary warriors at the Other Shore Realm would find it difficult to pierce the barrier without extended time and effort. However, as Emily chopped the air, the barrier trembled and seemed on the verge of collapse.


    Another crack sounded.


    The invisible force went deeper, piercing through the shield to touch the exterior of the ship. A thin, clear line appeared in the middle of the ship from the force of Emily''s blow.


    Within, several Yellow Emperor Guards groaned in horror as lines whipped across their bodies, leaving behind a trail of broken arms and legs.


    Two unlucky Yellow Emperor Guards didn''t even have time to react before a thin line split their bodies in half. They died instantly, their souls and inner worlds cut off without warning.


    The carnage was terrifying to Telmo and the other Yellow Emperor Guards, who didn''t dare to stay in the danger zone anymore.


    They fled in all directions, trying desperately to avoid the thin lines.


    Telmo felt like he was choking on his bitterness. He saw that the Slaughtering Moonlight Array was brutal and merciless in attacking and killing the Yellow Emperor Guards.


    If another opponent took the initiative to attack him, he would definitely question them and check their identity at the same time.


    The hard reality was that he was virtually defenseless against the Slaughtering Moonlight Array. His only choice now was to stay alive, no matter what.


    "Run! Run in every direction! Save yourselves!"


    Telmo warned the other Yellow Emperor Guards with his life vitality while he was escaping.


    But there was still a problem. Telmo knew it was possible for the Slaughtering Moonlight Array to seal the space.


    It didn''t even matter at this point what the enemy intended. The actions they had taken made it crystal clear that they sought to kill every Yellow Emperor Guard they could.


    Given enough time, the Slaughtering Moonlight Array would probably succeed in killing every single one of the ten or so Yellow Emperor Guards in the ship.


    At first, Telmo felt hopeless. But as he evaded the slashing lines, an idea came to him. Was there a way out of this situation? Perhaps time could save them.


    After all, the bottom of the Source World was


    d closely. "I see," he said, already thinking ahead. "Then they will find us waiting for them."


    He ended the conversation, and the light on the Yellow Emperor Magatama dimmed.


    He got up. He paced for a moment, thinking, and then he went to the door and left the room.


    This ship was not among the fleet of the Yellow Emperor Guards. It belonged to a trade caravan of the Source World, where Sanjay had hitched a free ride.


    He could no longer stay here. The urgent events of today and the impending arrival of the enemy had made it impossible for him to just stand by. He would have to make preparations for battle at the Wild Goose Pass.


    Inside their own ship, Emily and the others had convened. They all wore serious expressions, for they knew the plan had to be adjusted.


    "We have the advantage since the Yellow Emperor Guards don''t know who we are," said Zen. "Yet they will definitely see us and treat us henceforth as their enemy."


    Leopold nodded. "If I were them, I would try to predict our next move. I wouldn''t give up. That means they know we will try to enter through the Wild Goose Pass."


    Zen agreed with him. "Are there other options? Could we take another route?" he asked. Zen faced Emily, to whom he had directed the question.


    Emily looked deeply conflicted. "The path is already the most desolate one, the one which will be safest for us. But I didn''t expect to meet the Yellow Emperor Guards so soon, given the vastness of the Source World."


    Now the element of surprise was lost, and they were in a dilemma. They would have to guess and counter the movements of the Yellow Emperor Guards.


    Everyone waited silently as Emily analyzed the situation and considered alternatives. Finally, she said, "We will take the Wild Goose Pass. At this point, any change in our route will lead to months of delay and possibly even more accidents."

 Chapter 2971 The Wild Goose Pass

    Their choice of going through the Wild Goose Pass to get into the Source World was risky. But it was the only reasonable option they had.


    The Trumpet Flying Ship continued to travel along the space channel.


    The silence in the ship filled everyone with unrest. The pressure weighed on them like an invisible giant beast circling above their heads, waiting to consume them.


    Eyeing everyone up Zen knew he had to speak to break the tension. He hesitated for a while before he gathered the courage to speak. "If there is any danger, can you run away alone?"


    Zen looked at her desperately. It was not the best time to say something like this, but Yan was in Emily''s inner world. He had to assure her safety.


    If they encountered the Yellow Emperor Guards, Zen hoped Emily could escape so Yan would be safe.


    Emily glanced at Zen indifferently. She couldn''t blame him for saying that. It was understandable how he worried about his sister. He was supposed to protect her after all. She wanted Yan safe too. She thought to herself how much she wanted to take her to the Pearl Hill.


    Yan''s protection was important to her as well. It was part of her mission. She was supposed to keep her safe.


    "Don''t worry. If we run into overwhelming danger, I will run away," Emily promised.


    Zen nodded in approval.


    If they faced off against the most powerful warriors of the Yellow Emperor Guards, there was a possibility of them all getting killed. Even so, Emily''s promise of escaping at the first sign of trouble made Zen feel at ease.


    Three days passed by quickly.


    Leopold gently rubbed the jade plate in his hand. A wisp of blue light flashed in front of the Trumpet Flying Ship, allowing them to leave the space channel.


    As soon as the ship moved out of the space channel, a huge triangular opening came into view. They all looked up in wonder with their mouth agape at the size of it.


    The opening was formed by three ten million foot-long jade pillars that were connected in the shape of a triangle. Each pillar had unusual patterns etched into it. Hundreds of ships came in and out of the opening.


    Although Zen had seen most of the world, he was still impressed. He stared at the enormous opening with awe.


    "Is this the Wild Goose Pass?" Zen asked with curious eyes.


    Emily nodded. She felt nostalgic returning to the Wild Goose Pass after many years. She closed her eyes as she recalled the last time she came here. However, now was not the time to get emotional. She straightened herself and glanced at Leopold before she said, "Prepare to form the Slaughtering Moonlight Array. Everyone, stay alert!"


    The other women of the Snake Goddess race immediately nodded to themselves. They stood on guard and prepar


    comfort to the ears as they were forced to cover them from the loud noise. However, it was far more dangerous than that. Under the onslaught of the sound waves, the energy gathered at Emily''s hand through the connection of the colorful light circle and the Slaughtering Moonlight Array dissipated instantly and disappeared without a trace! Emily watched in horror as her attack failed.


    Her face immediately turned pale and lost color.


    "It''s the six Dragon Ghost Heads... Everyone, abandon the ship! Head to the Wild Goose Pass!"


    Upon seeing the ghost faces marked on the sword, she panicked. Despite that, she tried her best to compose herself and make rational judgments to guide everyone.


    The moment Emily gave the order, Zen, Leopold and the other people of the Snake Goddess race quickly rushed out of the Trumpet Flying Ship and headed towards the Wild Goose Pass.


    Just as they rushed out of the ship, the wide sword in Sanjay''s hand came slashing downwards at the ship in an attempt to obliterate them.


    The slash formed a strong surge of energy. The streak of light it formed was tens of thousands of feet long. The light surged and formed violent fluctuations in space. It was so strong that it made nearby ships shake from its impact.


    Some heads popped out of the buildings on those huge flying ships.


    Some of those people were powerful masters at the Other Shore Realm, but most of them were True Gods. When they saw the power of the sword in Sanjay''s possession, their eyes reflected fear.


    However, fights like these were like routine in the Source World. As long as the battle did not involve them, they would take it as entertainment.


    "Bang!"


    With a piercing sound, the Trumpet Flying Ship went down after being struck by the blade of light. It turned to dust and drowned into space.

 Chapter 2972 Escape

    Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!


    The people on the Trumpet Flying Ship transformed into nothing more than bright flashes of light, flying off toward the Wild Goose Pass.


    When they came into Sanjay''s view, a cold smile appeared on his face.


    Taking a step forward in the air, he once again turned into a thin, white thread and his moving speed increased sharply. In the blink of an eye, he caught up with a woman from the Snake Goddess race. More specifically, the woman was Betty who taught Zen the method to build a Rebirth Land.


    "Where did you even get this Trumpet Flying Ship?" Sanjay, who followed Betty closely, asked flatly, without the slightest killing intent in his voice.


    Despite his monotonous voice, Betty said nothing and chose to ignore his question instead.


    She was very well aware that the man in white was chasing after her; her face was full-blown proof of her panic. With no other choice, she sped up and flew at her highest speed.


    No matter how fast she flew though, getting rid of the man in white trailing behind her seemed completely impossible.


    "Why don''t you want to answer my question?" Sanjay prompted gently. He raised his eyebrows slightly and lifted the broad sword in his hand imperceptibly. A split moment later, he had reached Betty''s side.


    The broad sword gently swept over her body, and just like the Trumpet Flying Ship, she was swallowed up by the sword light only to disappear without a trace!


    "You''ve only got one chance. If you won''t give me an answer, then go to hell!"


    After he had killed Betty with a single swing of his sword, Sanjay adjusted his direction slightly and caught up with another woman from the Snake Goddess race.


    The woman had seen Betty be killed off so easily like that. She grieved, and her face was in despair.


    "Tell me, who the hell did you steal this Trumpet Flying Ship from?" Sanjay''s voice was heard once again.


    The woman screamed in terror and turned around briskly. An extremely strong energy spread out from her cinnabar field and a black, stringy spider web shot towards Sanjay at full speed.


    The spider web was actually highly toxic and it reeked of a strong, unpleasant stench.


    She had intended to risk her life. For this reason, she suddenly paused and launched a second, even more violent attack. She was relentless, and as Sanjay matched her speed, he was unexpectedly covered by the spider web!


    "Do you really want to know? Ha-ha! Then first, you should come to that world along with me!"


    As soon as she finished speaking, the black spider web began to burn in a violent manner.


    This specific spide


    mong the group of Other Shore Realm warriors, Zen was very eye-catching and attention-grabbing. When Sanjay noticed Zen''s gaze, his expression filled with surprise.


    The pair looked at each other for a very short period of time. In the blink of an eye, Zen had already entered the enchanted barrier and disappeared.


    As soon as Zen made his way into the enchanted barrier, he used the Grand Teleportation technique.


    He didn''t know what was waiting for him in the Sweltering Desert, nor what kind of place it could be. In fact, this was Zen''s first time setting foot in the Source World.


    Then Zen began to travel continuously through the space by means of the Grand Teleportation technique.


    He could cross a distance of several thousand miles every time he moved. After moving several hundred times, he finally stopped and took a very well-needed break.


    Although his physical body was strong, he felt extremely tired as he had madly activated the internal momentum in order to escape.


    Boom!


    Ultimately, he fell down from his midair hover and smashed into the hot sand, panting.


    After resting for a long time, Zen slowly got himself up from the sand, and then jumped up to the top of a sand dune. He stared at the grey desert in the distance, but didn''t think about how he could eventually leave this location.


    Moments ago, just after he rushed into the Wild Goose Pass, he used the Grand Teleportation technique immediately, not caring about anything. Now though, he wondered whether Sanjay could catch up with Emily.


    While he was deep in thought, sand and dust suddenly began flying up in the air in the distance. The seemingly calm desert was now hauntingly terrifying and the rolling sand storm swept towards him.

 Chapter 2973 The Mysterious Sandstorm

    Instantly, a blast of heat, wind, and hard brittle particles surrounded Zen. He was entirely shrouded by the sandstorm.


    For ordinary mortals and animals, the sandstorm was a dangerous threat, enough to draw blood and lift them off the ground. For Zen, however, it posed no threat at all.


    The sandstorm swirled furiously around Zen, hurling fragments of broken rock at him, surrounding him in sand particles as big as raindrops. But an invisible barrier surrounded him. Every particle stopped inches away from his skin, and he moved unscathed through the storm.


    He wondered how he could get to Excellence City, located in the north of the desert.


    He smiled bitterly to himself, watching the bits of sand and rock flying harmlessly around him.


    He remembered his first entrance into the divine land. He had been alone then. With no one to guide him, he had been slow in his explorations of the divine land, and everything had been new and confusing.


    This time he was with a team led by Emily, who was familiar with the world. Zen had thought this would save him a lot of trouble, but then, he hadn''t expected that they would be separated from each other the moment they entered the Source World.


    Although the sandstorm couldn''t hurt him, it interfered with his ability to gauge distances and tell which direction he was going. He had already used the Grand Teleportation over and over again, and yet he was still in the Sweltering Desert. He had not anticipated the enormity of the desert. He thought that even without the sandstorm, he would probably have some trouble navigating.


    "This is taking too long. I need to find someone who will tell me how to make my way to Excellence City,"


    Zen muttered. He was feeling perturbed, and took a breath to calm down. He stepped forward lightly and disappeared from the spot he stood in.


    Using the Grand Teleportation, Zen tried his best to keep moving in the same direction. He figured that traveling in a straight line would be the quickest way out of the desert.


    Zen kept going. And going.


    He was getting exasperated again. By his calculations, he had already traveled some 50, 000 miles using the Grand Teleportation.


    And yet, every time he emerged from the spatial passageway, he still found himself faced with whirling sand on all sides.


    As he studied the particles of the sandstorm, spinning inches from his face, a strange thought came to Zen.


    Of course, sandstorms were to be expected in this climate. It was normal for a desert, especially a large one, to have multiple sandstorms on a windy day. But he had traveled 50, 000 miles. Was he in a different sandstorm, or still in the same one? I


    me language. They would be able to communicate clearly.


    The Source World was itself the source of the cultural heritage of the divine land, including their language.


    "I don''t know what you''re talking about. I''m just passing by," Zen replied flatly.


    Skeptical faces looked back at him. The young men clung to their machetes. They obviously weren''t inclined to welcome him in just yet.


    But then a soft voice spoke from within the inner recesses of the tent. "Let him in."


    "But Master Maggie..." said the young man with a scar, sounding anxious.


    The woman called Maggie said, "Just let him in. He is clearly strong enough to kill all of us. If he were really sent by the king, we would be dead already."


    Zen respected the woman''s intuition. She was right. He could smash this tent and the people within in a single blow.


    At Maggie''s words, the young men stirred, traces of fear appearing in their eyes as they began to process how Zen had disarmed them. It was true. They were no match for the intruder.


    The young man hesitated, and then motioned with his hand for his companions to make way for Zen. As they stepped aside, Zen saw that there were passageways connecting the tents to each other.


    He went inside and into the passage from where the woman''s voice had emerged. As he walked forward, a faint fragrance filled his senses. He saw a woman standing in a small tent, covered with a veil.


    A small round face peered at him from beneath the thin veil. She had deep-set eyes. She was no great beauty, but there was an air of the exotic about her, a sense of charm and vitality.


    "You are a complete stranger to us and our ways. That must mean you arrived here at the Sweltering Desert by accident, right?" A single look was all she needed to know this.

 Chapter 2974 Maggies Condition

    The Wild Goose Pass was one of the exits from the Source World to the chaos.


    Despite not being the most important exit, as the Wild Goose Pass did not belong to any force, it was favored by neutral commercial alliances.


    The Source World consisted of many powerful forces. Commercial alliances had to bribe these forces to deliver goods past the borders.


    Some powerful commercial alliances thought it would be better to transport their goods outside the Source World and return to the Source World through every pass, which was also a shortcut.


    The Sweltering Desert was adjacent to the Wild Goose Pass. Those who were familiar with the trade routes would naturally not lose their way in this desert. However, there were always some exceptions, such as Zen.


    "Yes." Zen nodded in admission of his predicament.


    But the woman wouldn''t know that Zen was not from the Source World at all.


    "This sandstorm has enshrouded the whole desert. I have been looking for an exit for a long time, but still can''t find it. How can I leave the Sweltering Desert?" Zen asked, seizing the chance to clear his own doubts.


    However, the woman did not directly answer Zen. With a faint smile, she slowly said, "Sir, if you want to leave the Sweltering Desert, then where are you going?"


    Zen reckoned that she wouldn''t have any connections with the Yellow Emperor Guards, so he replied honestly, "Excellence City."


    The woman showed no surprise on her face. "Excellence City is a large city in the north of the Sweltering Desert. I have been there before."


    The woman appeared to be evading his question, and this made Zen a little impatient. He asked directly, "In that case, could you tell me how to leave this desert?"


    The woman replied with a smile, "There is a way to leave this desert, but you have to wait until the sandstorm in the Sweltering Desert subsides. Then you can walk north all the way out of the desert."


    Zen also knew that he could not get out of the desert mostly because of this sandstorm. He then asked, "How long will this sandstorm last?"


    "Once the sandstorm in the Sweltering Desert starts to blow, it will last for about one year and a half."


    Zen frowned slightly at the woman''s response. He needed to go to the Excellence City and meet up with Emily and the others. One year an


    .


    After some preparation, she took out a crooked green flute. As she placed it near her mouth and gently blew, a melodious sound burst forth from the instrument.


    Wooo...


    Just as the flute started to whistle, a strange happening occurred.


    The yellow sand rolling around the desert seemed to have heard the music and shifted to both sides to make way for them.


    "What is this?" he wondered aloud in awe.


    Just as the sand moved away, Zen felt a strong aura of Space Law.


    It seemed that the illusion of sandstorm was created using the Space Law, or even the Truth of Void Destruction. Zen had no idea how such a fierce beast hiding in the desert would be able to command such a strange illusion.


    "This flute was given to me by the Mist Summoning Spirit," Maggie confided to Zen in a whisper. "By using it, I was able to escape from the Sand Country."


    Zen glanced at the flute and asked, "Are you the only one in possession of this flute in the entire Sand Country?"


    If she used this flute to hide in the desert, then it was not surprising that she could escape from those pursuing her.


    Maggie sadly shook her head. "There are a total of three flutes in the Sand Country. That is why I am afraid that the new king''s people would be able to catch up to us and..." Her voice trailed off, her meaning clear.


    Zen nodded. Since he had found the way to leave the desert, he was no longer so anxious.


    Maggie played the flute and led the way. No sand came close to them after it had parted to make way for their group.

 Chapter 2975 A Ruse

    The True Gods barely cared about any disputes among the numerous ordinary people. In the divine land, those True Gods who had proven a Godly Way all focused their attention on figuring out a way to enter a Floating Island in hopes of finding better resources.


    Likewise, the warriors in the Source World focused on crossing the Sea of Truth after they reached the consummation of True God Realm. Their objective was to reach the Other Shore Realm at the earliest.


    However, there was one difference between the Source World and the divine land.


    The inhabitants of the divine land were permitted to only live on the outskirts of the divine cities within it, which prohibited them from forming large forces.


    The number of divine citizens in the Source World was much larger compared to that of the divine land itself. The divine citizens even went ahead and formed different countries within it. Of course, thirst for power and inheritance of thrones in those countries caused many disputes among people. Wars and fights broke out in hopes of overthrowing each other and taking control.


    The Sand Country was just one of the many countries in the Source World.


    After all, the divine citizens were not mere mortals. Even though they hadn''t entered the Soul Sea Realm, they were not much weaker than the warriors at the Soul Sea Realm in terms of physical strength and endurance.


    Half a day later, Maggie had led Zen to travel over a hundred miles.


    As she led him, she kept using her protective flute to clear away their path in the raging sandstorm. She even constantly switched their routes.


    Noticing Maggie''s strange moves, Zen''s face revealed a trace of suspicion. He began to suspect her motives. ''Why does she keep changing her direction?'' He put his guard up and followed her with caution.


    Zen carefully scanned his surroundings. The desert was dull and desolate, and there was almost no scenery which would serve as a landmark. The dunes would change their position every time the wind blew. There was no way to tell where they were.


    Although she could use the flute to break through space, how did she know where she was going?


    His suspicions grew with every step she took. He kept a careful watch on her.


    Zen quickly spread out his spiritual sense secretly and began memorizing the surrounding area of dunes into his mind. He ran his eyes over the place and paid attention to every detail around him. With his present memory, he could remember every significant detail and store it in his mind.


    Two hours later, Zen''s


    Luo, are you kidding? How could there be no one in such a big sand city? I..."


    Now that Zen was sure she was leading him to an ambush, he let out a cold snort and lightly stomped on the ground with his tiptoe. A terrifying force then spread out and poured down to the ground.


    The sand on the ground began to spread like ripples under the surging power. It was like the sand around them had turned into waves.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh...


    The ripples spreading around Zen formed a strong momentum that could topple mountains and overturn the seas. The rows of houses in the dust and sand began to topple down, and the citizens turned into piles of yellow sand. Zen stood flaunting his strength to the guards and Maggie.


    The overwhelming demonstration of Zen''s power caused Maggie and the guards to retreat out of fear. She shouted as she ran, "Mist Summoning Spirit! I have brought you a person! Please show yourself!"


    "Hoo, hoo, Hoo..."


    At this moment, the wind was so fierce that the seven dunes standing outside the city seemed to have grown hands and legs. They quickly spread to Zen''s side.


    As they advanced, the yellow sand on the surface dropped grain by grain and revealed the strong green vines underneath. At the top of each vine, a giant mouth with sharp teeth appeared. Their shapes were strange and they looked grotesque.


    "Is it a plant... Or a beast?"


    Zen stared at it in confusion. He had a hint of disappointment on his face.


    Everything he witnessed in the desert was a ruse. The only thing real was Maggie and the guards, who were divine citizens. They had worked so hard to fool him into coming here, and it was all for this so-called Mist Summoning Spirit.

 Chapter 2976 Killing

    Maggie had retreated far away with her guards. Under the veil, her exquisite face revealed a hint of excitement.


    It had been a trap from the very beginning.


    Although Zen had seen through her little ruse at the last minute, it was too late; she had already achieved her goal.


    Once the Mist Summoning Spirit devoured Zen, she and her men would be rewarded handsomely.


    "There are many citizens in the Sweltering Desert, right?"


    Zen turned his head and asked indifferently, even though the Mist Summoning Spirit was only a short distance away and he was in imminent danger.


    A look of surprise came over Maggie''s face when she heard his question, but then she smiled sweetly and said, "Of course. It''s how we live on. I''m sorry. You''re a kind-hearted man."


    It was already tough for ordinary people to inhabit a barren desert. The existence of the powerful Mist Summoning Spirit only made it even harder for them.


    The Mist Summoning Spirit had an outstanding talent; it could arrange a magic space array and trap lost True Gods in it. However, it had a very obvious shortcoming: since it was a plant, it could barely move around.


    Some of the civilians living in this desert chose to cooperate with the Mist Summoning Spirit. They lured any True Gods who got lost in the desert to the Mist Summoning Spirit so that it could devour them. In return, the Mist Summoning Spirit would secrete some light green sap that could prolong the lives of the civilians and protect them from diseases.


    Therefore, the civilians made up lies to gain the trust of outsiders, and took them to the Mist Summoning Spirit.


    "You are humans. It''s a shame for you to collude with a monster," Zen sneered, staring at Maggie.


    "Haha! A consummate True God! What good luck!" A strange sound came from the Mist Summoning Spirit''s mouth, which was full of sharp teeth. It turned out that it could actually speak human language!


    Swish!


    As soon as it finished its words, a thorn-covered vine shot out from its stem and rolled toward Zen on the desert sand.


    Zen did not dodge. Instead, he just let the vine wind around his body.


    "Shame? No. It''s just a way to survive," Maggie sai


    th his fist like a giant god had left all of them dumbfounded.


    "Like I said, it''s a shame to collude with a monster. What''s more, you betrayed my trust," Zen said in a frigid voice.


    The guards finally came back to their senses and ran away, scattering in all directions. Maggie was the only one who stayed rooted to the spot.


    With a nonchalant expression on his face, Zen stretched out his hand toward the guards. Lightning gathered at the tips of his fingers and shot out.


    It traveled several hundred feet before leaping onto the guards, instantly burning their bodies.


    "Why aren''t you running?" Zen asked, staring at Maggie.


    With a bitter smile, Maggie answered, "If you can kill the Mist Summoning Spirit that easily, I don''t stand a chance. It''s useless to run away from you."


    After all, they were only divine citizens. All this time, they had been able to trap and kill True Gods only with the help of the Mist Summoning Spirit. They had no strength of their own and were at the bottom of the Source World.


    "You are right,"


    Zen said expressionlessly. Another beam of lightning shot out from the tips of his fingers and hit Maggie.


    The shock knocked the flute in her hand to the ground, and her hourglass body was immediately incinerated.


    Now that Zen had revealed his Wild God Body to these people, he did not intend to leave any of them alive. Besides, they had all planned to kill him, so he took no mercy on them.

 Chapter 2977 Release

    Soon after Zen killed the Man-eating Demon Flower, the sand storm that had been raging around the area of about a hundred miles instantly vanished.


    But as Zen gazed into the distance, he could see the billowing sand storm a hundred miles away.


    "It looks like the Mist Summoning Spirit is not alone in this desert. I am sure there are others like it all over this place, even though the effect of each can only cover a hundred miles. If I continue to move forward, I''m afraid I''ll fall into the space illusion of another Mist Summoning Spirit."


    As he spoke, Zen''s gaze fell on the elongated flute lying on the ground. He reached out his hand to grasp it. The flute revolved once before landing in his hand. "What kind of flute is this? I am definitely sure that she was lying about it. However, this flute can break the magic array set up by the Mist Summoning Spirit. It must be a tool that the people of the Sand Country use to cheat the True Gods. This might be helpful to get me out of this desert."


    Just as he finished saying his thoughts aloud, he heard No. 9527''s voice. "Your guess is one hundred percent correct. Haha! Looks like you can''t be trapped easily."


    Zen frowned at No. 9527''s words. "All this while you were aware about it?"


    "Of course. The actual name of the Mist Summoning Spirit is Man-eating Demon Flower. It''s just a kind of demon plant in its nature. But I have to admit that its space illusion is quite unique," No. 9527 said.


    "Why didn''t you tell me earlier?" Zen demanded.


    No. 9527 grinned and answered, "I wanted you to personally experience the malice of the Source World. This is far different from the divine land. The Source World''s environment is much worse. You can expect such danger everywhere."


    After a long while, Zen rolled his eyes and spat out, "Damn!"


    But No. 9527 was right on one point. The divine land was built by Chiyou for the Nine Li race, so the forbidden lands were bound to be the most dangerous places. Outside the forbidden lands, however, there wasn''t much of a threat because there were almost zero fierce monsters.


    The Source World was much more dangerous than the divine land. There was no forbidden lands here, but neverthele


    e God Realm, he had to practice the Ways-blending Energy again. That was because the internal momentum that he had previously merged was not on consummate level.


    The sequence of the Godly Ways to be merged remained the same, and his speed was also not slow. But there continued to occur many explosions along the way. It could be because he was anxious to leave the world as soon as possible. Or perhaps he caused the troubles deliberately.


    At one time, the Ways-blending Energy at the consummation level exploded with great power. The barren land was blasted into pieces. Good thing was, the land was not inhabited.


    As soon as Zen appeared in front of him, his eyes lit up with hope. He stood up, as he stared at Zen and asked eagerly, "Can... Can I leave now?"


    Zen looked at the Evil God''s restless and eager face and smiled faintly. "If I don''t let you out now, I''m afraid you''ll ruin my inner world."


    The Evil God smiled sheepishly.


    "Aren''t you going to say goodbye to your wife?" Zen asked.


    "No need for that," said the Evil God, shaking his head affirmatively.


    "Well, then, relax yourself," Zen said as he pushed the Evil God.


    The Evil God felt an invisible force grab him, and by that force, he felt himself rising above.


    He flew across the blue sky, white clouds and nine stars and then into the depths of the world.


    Soon after, he felt the sky and the earth spinning. Then he fell to the ground, to be greeted by a brand new world.

 Chapter 2978 Entering The Excellence City

    The Evil God stood still while he gazed out into the world. It was as if he was feeling the pulse of the new world.


    In fact, Zen found it hard to guess what the Evil God thought. He believed that this brand new world was a good starting point for Evil God.


    "I could see the isolated and barren desert over there, and there is a big city. Where is this place?" the Evil God asked. His question forced Zen to pause for a while.


    "Honestly, I am not too sure." Zen squinted at once then shook his head, oblivious to the question.


    "You don''t know either?" The Evil God stared at Zen in disbelief and shuffled backward a few steps, both hands clasped behind his back.


    For the time being, Zen found it hard to explain the relationship between the Source World, the divine land, the universe, and the chaos. He replied, "Yeah, because it''s also the first time that I have set foot in this place, just like you. You can call it the Source World, which is also the biggest world!"


    "Is there any other world outside apart from this one?" the Evil God inquired further, eager to discover more.


    "There is, known as the chaos," Zen stated, matter-of-factly.


    The Evil God, absorbed in his thought, fell silent. "Is there another world beyond the chaos?" he continued to ask.


    Zen shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. "I don''t know."


    The problem involved appeared simple, but it covered the category of philosophy. Zen''s knowledge of the entire world was confined within the vast chaos.


    The Evil God''s face showed no sign of disappointment despite the lack of decent answers from Zen. He felt relieved after his greatest ambition happened. He finally broke free from Zen''s inner world.


    "Since this case is unresolved, I will explore and find the answers myself. Let''s end there!" The Evil God smiled as he obligingly bowed before Zen. But at the back of his mind, he could not stop thinking how much he wanted to be far away from him.


    His body then diffused wisps of the internal momentum from both Spiritual Wind Godly Way and Thunderstorm Godly Way. Once the two magical forces mixed, it formed a unique theurgy beyond these two Godly Ways - the Wind Thunder Escape Skill he had created himself.


    "Whoosh!"


    Equipped with the escape skill, the Evil God flew along the river and disappeared in the blink of an eye.


    The Evil God maintained great respect for Zen on the surface even though he felt absolute animosity towards him. He reasoned that if his inner world had remained the same and never shifted into a "Rebirth Land", they would have e


    ffered in some aspects. In most clans, natural birth established family names. The surname Luo long existed in the divine land, but Kenelm heard it from Zen the first time in the Source World.


    "I wonder why you invited me here?" Zen probed while scratching his head, looking confused.


    With a vague hint of a smile, Kenelm confessed, "It''s rare to see any consummate True God come to this city. Since you have come here, I believe some people have noticed you and are ready to contact you, but I''d say that I was lucky to have a chat with you ahead."


    The young man caught Zen off guard with this unusual announcement. Listening to Kenelm made him consider how sought-after he would be in Excellence City. He doubted this since he was only a consummate True God.


    Zen reflected on the incident earlier when the spiritual senses scanned him the moment he stepped into the city. This convinced him it could be true.


    Then Zen proceeded after breaking free from his thoughts. "I am just passing by Excellence City, and I have no intention of staying here or joining any forces." But he sounded more defensive than convincing.


    Zen faced him with an upfront rejection even before Kenelm could offer anything. Bitter disappointment reflected on his face.


    Recently, the peace and balance in Excellence City got disrupted. Kenelm found it essential if he could secure the help of another consummate True God.


    Just then, Zen continued, "I have something to ask you."


    When Kenelm heard that Zen needed to inquire something, he got intrigued. With brows elevated, he urged, "What do you want to know?"


    "Were there any Other Shore Realm warriors who entered Excellence City recently?" Zen asked quietly.

 Chapter 2979 The Mice League

    Excellence City was the first big city to be seen after one had successfully crossed the Wild Goose Pass.


    Trade groups would usually choose to take a rest in the city. There were also many warriors at the Other Shore Realm.


    Not knowing why Zen asked such a question, Kenelm replied with caution, "Big commercial groups arrive at the East Port of Excellence City every day, and those business groups all have Other Shore Realm warriors. So, yeah, there were Other Shore Realm warriors that entered this city. Zen, are you looking for someone in particular?"


    Zen nodded his head slightly and said, "I''m looking for a woman at the Other Shore Realm."


    He then proceeded to describe Emily''s appearance roughly, including the way she dressed.


    "Mmm. Don''t think I''ve ever seen her before." Kenelm shrugged as he shook his head.


    Zen, of course, wasn''t surprised at all. He believed that seeing as Emily was the most powerful warrior in her group, the man in white would focus on chasing after her in particular.


    Even if Emily had all the luck and succeeded in ditching the man in white, she would still have to keep her identity a secret. In other words, with the way Zen was looking for her, it would undoubtedly be fruitless. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack.


    Zen nodded briskly and then stood up, preparing himself to leave.


    "I''m not sure, but perhaps the members of the Mice League know... If you want to buy news from the Mice League, I can take you there," added Kenelm.


    "Huh? The Mice League? What''s that?" Zen asked curiously.


    A trace of surprise crept across Kenelm''s features. "Zen, have you truly never heard of the Mice League?"


    Zen shook his head. He really didn''t know who, or what, the Mice League was.


    "Then it''ll be worth the trip, Zen. Trust me on that one. There''s probably nothing in this world that the Mice League don''t know about, but their information must be purchased with divine crystals. I''d be curious to know if you have enough divine crystals to purchase their information..." Kenelm explained.


    When he heard Kenelm mention divine crystals, Zen immediately asked, "Do you know how many divine crystals they require if I want them to help me find someone?"


    "I''d say at least a whole divine crystal would be needed," answered Kenelm, hesitating a little.


    Considering that Zen didn''t even know about the Mice League and that the Excellence City was very close to the Wild Goose Pass, Kenelm suspected that Zen came from some remote area outside the Source World. Generally speaking, the people from remote areas were usual


    Mice League had created these rules in order to protect themselves.


    "Are you willing to follow these rules?" the guard asked.


    Zen nodded his head in agreement. "Of course I do..."


    As he spoke, he suddenly saw the guard''s real face through the gap in his robes, and Zen was absolutely shocked.


    The guard had a sharp, straight mouth, two bean-shaped eyes, and his face was covered with very fluffy, gray fur.


    He clearly wasn''t human. Oh, no, he definitely wasn''t... He was a mouse!


    The guard also noticed Zen''s astonishment and tightened his grey robes at once. Then he said in a sharp voice, "Go inside! Turn left and go straight to the end. From there, you''ll get the information you''re looking for. Go on!"


    Both guards were actually ferocious mice!


    If he were in the divine land, Zen would have already killed them in the blink of an eye. However, this was the Source World, and there were many things about this world that Zen couldn''t understand yet, after all. For this reason, he suppressed the desire to kill that overwhelmed his mind and soul.


    ''There''s no wonder it''s called the Mice League! It was probably formed by a group of mice!''


    As these thoughts raced through Zen''s mind, he entered the courtyard.


    "Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!"


    As soon as he set foot inside the courtyard, Zen heard mice all over and everywhere. They were of different shapes and sizes, running around at free will.


    Just as he was told, Zen turned left and walked to the end of the path. There, he saw a white curtain.


    As he approached, a sharp voice was heard coming behind the curtain. "Come in!"


    ''Is there also a ferocious mouse inside?''


    Zen couldn''t help but think as he lifted the curtain with one hand.

 Chapter 2980 The Ear Mouse

    As Zen had expected, it was not a person behind the curtain. It was a mouse.


    The mouse was as tall as a man. It hinted humanistic habits as it sat elegantly with its legs crossed on the ground. There was an unusual magical array surrounding it.


    The mouse looked at Zen and closed its eyes. "Why do I sense hostility?" It slowly opened them and glanced at Zen with a stern expression. It seemed to be able to read his mind.


    Zen was taken aback and immediately replied, "I''m just not used to being around fierce beasts."


    In the divine land, some people kept fierce beasts like pets. There were also contractual beasts. The beasts were not used to blending in with humans they were unfamiliar with. Mostly they only communicated with their owners. They had little to no knowledge about human society.


    However, things were different in the Source World. Beasts and humans lived amongst each other in harmony. They lived like equals and they each had an individual status in their society. All of this was still new to Zen.


    In the Sweltering Desert, he condemned the people of the Sand Country for closely cooperating with the Man-eating Demon Flower. He found it bizarre for humans to be interacting with fierce beasts. Now it seemed that it was common for folks and beasts to blend with each other in the Source World.


    The mouse appeared unbothered by Zen''s attitude and asked, "I heard that you were looking for someone. Is that correct?"


    "Yes," Zen answered with a slight nod.


    The mouse stared blankly at Zen and continued asking more questions, "What''s the cultivation level of that person? What does the person look like? When and where did this person last appear? The more details you give to me, the easier it is for me to find this person."


    Zen straightened up and began recalling everything he remembered about Emily. He thought for a moment before replying in a serious tone, "Three days ago, she entered the Wild Goose Pass from the chaos. I don''t know whether she passed through the Sweltering Desert. She is a powerful warrior at the Other Shore Realm."


    Zen was cautious enough to not give away too much information about Emily. He feared a link between the Mice League and the Yellow Emperor Guards. He wanted to avoid it, even if there was a slight chance of it being true.


    But then again, the Yellow Emperor Guards'' strength far surpassed Emily''s. They might have had close to no involvement with what happened at the Excellence City. Zen continued to have a debate with himself in his thoughts before deciding on telling the mouse everything he knew.


    The mouse listened attentively and nodded at Zen''s words.


    e and drew a line in the magic array on the ground with its sharp claw. Soon, a holographic illusion appeared before Zen''s face. He saw the image of Emily and Leopold standing side by side. They seemed terrified and confused.


    His eyes widened as he scanned the environment around them. Judging from their surroundings, it didn''t seem like they were in the Sweltering Desert. They were in a plain.


    "Where are they? What is that place?" Zen asked, with his stare fixated on Emily in the illusion.


    "The Cyan Brocade Plain, two million miles away from the Excellence City," answered the Ear Mouse. "They are not Yellow Emperor Guards, but they have the Slaughtering Moonlight Array. It''s quite interesting."


    The illusion only lasted for a few seconds before it faded. Zen asked desperately, "Is that all?"


    He saw Emily and Leopold had activated the Slaughtering Moonlight Array, so he assumed they hadn''t gotten rid of the man in white yet. His eyes reflected how impatient he was to know what happened to them.


    "Of course not. What you saw is just the scene sent by one of the many mice," the Ear Mouse said. It once again stretched out its sharp claw to draw another line in the magic array.


    Soon, a new illusion appeared in front of Zen.


    He saw a dazzling blue light on the screen. The man in white was still chasing after Emily and Leopold. Zen''s heartbeat quickened as he witnessed the intense situation. He desperately wished to be with them to help.


    His heart rate quickly came to a sharp drop. His eyes widened at the scene before him as it paralyzed his entire body in shock. The man in white had swung his sword at Leopold, who failed to dodge it in time. Zen watched in horror as the blade pierced through Leopold''s chest, impaling him.

 Chapter 2981 Rule

    Zen couldn''t get a full, clear picture. He saw only fragments of what he was being shown to him.


    He saw Leopold being stabbed by the man dressed in white when suddenly the image stopped.


    Zen was left anxious, worrying for Leopold''s life. He glared fiercely at the Ear Mouse who responded in an unhurried tone, "This is all I can show you with the twenty divine crystals you paid. If you wish to see more it is going to cost you more."


    It was true that all mice were cunning creatures.


    "How many more divine crystals do I have to pay?" Zen asked, frustrated and containing his anger.


    "One hundred more," the Ear Mouse replied, a sly glint in its eyes.


    Zen had enough divine crystals, so that was not a problem for him. He just hated having his fears being taken advantage of and used against him.


    Were they in the divine land, Zen would have given this mouse what it deserved.


    However, Zen was a stranger to the Source World and had no backup here. The Ear Mice were familiar even to No. 9527, which meant this race had great power here and it would be ill-advised for him to provoke them.


    Zen clenched his fists and swallowed his anger. "Is a hundred divine crystals enough to buy all I need to know?" Zen inquired.


    Zen had to ask such a question or the Ear Mouse would undoubtedly take the opportunity to con more divine crystals out of him.


    The Ear Mouse squeaked and laughed before admitting, "Yes, one hundred divine crystals will be enough."


    Zen snorted and waved his hand above the large porcelain plate. Another hundred divine crystals fell from his sleeve and stacked neatly together.


    With a devious grin, the Ear Mouse stretched out its claw and gently swept across the magic array.


    Zen could see Leopold again. Emily appeared immediately after he had been struck by the man in white, and dragged him out of the way.


    The strike of the sword had not taken Leopold''s life but the ground was left painted with his blood.


    As Emily moved him, several hundred circles of colorful light burst from Emily''s body.


    Zen had never seen Emily conjure so many circles of light all at once. He soon realized warriors of the Other Shore Realm like Emily needed the divine crystals to maximize their power. Emily had not had even a single divine crystal with her before.


    On their way to the Source World, Zen had distributed several hundred divine crys


    m the Mice League! By the way, Zen, what''s your next move?" Kenelm asked.


    When Zen and Kenelm first met, Kenelm''s intention to befriend Zen was clear. However, since Zen had denied their friendship before, he could not ask for it again, and the best he could do was be helpful and charming and hope.


    "I''m going to..."


    All Zen had been concerned with was his sister''s safety.


    Now that he had discovered she escaped safely, he was both relieved and a tad lost. ''What should I do next?'' Zen wondered.


    According to their original plan in the divine land, Chiyou should have arranged Zen''s next move. However, Chiyou hadn''t revealed it to Zen, but instead made a deal with No. 9527.


    It seemed he should inquire with No. 9527 for the answer to his question.


    It occurred to him he still knew very little about the Source World. It would probably be prudent for him to stay in the Excellence City and get a basic understanding of the Source World.


    "If you have no place to go, I can arrange a place for you to stay if you''d like," offered Kenelm.


    Although Zen only knew Kenelm for a short time, he knew he was not a cunning and insidious person. What was more, Kenelm had helped him to locate the Mice League.


    There was no reason for Zen to distrust him and decline his invitation, so he didn''t.


    Led by Kenelm, Zen walked across half the Excellence City and arrived at a house that Kenelm had found for him to stay in.


    Over the next few days he stayed in the Excellence City, Kenelm for company and a provider of a rudimentary understanding of the city''s environment.

 Chapter 2982 The Sword Light Palace

    Beyond Wild Goose Pass, from Sweltering Desert to Excellence City and Cyan Brocade Plain, all these areas belonged to the Gracious Province.


    It was a very vast province. Excellence City was merely a springboard to get to other cities. All the large commercial flying ships passing by would quickly replenish themselves in the city and leave for the next destination.


    After staying in the Excellence City for a few days, Zen had a rough understanding of the city.


    "Kenelm, according to you, it sounds like it would take a lot of work to move from one province to another one," said Zen.


    Kenelm confirmed, "Indeed. The Source World is said to be a complete and integrated world, but actually each of its provinces is like a smaller world. Most of the warriors and even the True Gods find it hard to travel between provinces!"


    Zen had believed that the Source World was a complete world like the divine land, but now he realized that he had been wrong.


    In comparison, the layout of the Source World was similar to that of the great worlds.


    Each of the provinces was equivalent to an independent world, and each province was distinctive.


    "In which province is Pear Hill located? Is it far from here?" Zen inquired.


    "Pear Hill, you ask?" Kenelm seemed surprised. "It is located in Clapper Province, which is very far away from here. Are you planning to go there?"


    Kenelm had only known Zen for a few days. Now he was sure that Zen came from outside the Source World as he seemed to lack a lot of common sense about this world.


    Zen shook his head. He did intend to go to Pear Hill sooner or later, but not today.


    Kenelm continued, "Consummate True Gods like us don''t have the qualifications to travel between provinces, unless we join a large sect of a provincial scale."


    "A sect of a provincial scale?" Zen repeated. "Does Pear Hill count?"


    Shaking his head, Kenelm answered with a smile, "It sure doesn''t. For True Gods, a sect like Pear Hill is a legendary force! A sect of a provincial scale is one that controls an entire province such as the Sword Light Palace."


    There was a look of yearning in Kenelm''s eyes when he


    he had been thinking about it all the time. He informed some people in the port. I don''t know what benefit he promised them, but it seems a few people went there with him yesterday!"


    Kenelm''s expression changed dramatically. "He what? How could he do that! That traitor!"


    "The people he had recruited are the guards of the commercial groups who are recuperating in Excellence City. They are a strong bunch. I think even if they do find the Stinger Guard''s belongings, Tanner won''t be the one getting them," the man sighed.


    "Well, let''s go now!" Kenelm''s anxiety was high.


    These people had always dreamed of joining the Sword Light Palace. It was the only way for them to grow their cultivation base and move beyond the consummation of True God Realm. If they failed in joining the Sword Light Palace, they would never reach the Other Shore Realm.


    Zen didn''t say anything. He figured that Tanner might be one of Kenelm''s friends, and it was common for people to betray their friends for benefits.


    However, he also understood that if he joined in the exploration of the cave of the Stinger Guard, it would become more complicated.


    Eventually, the five of them, including Zen, flew towards the west of Excellence City under Kenelm''s leadership.


    Half a day later, Zen came upon a stretch of grassland.


    He had seen this plain in the scene that the Ear Mouse had shown him before. It must be the Cyan Brocade Plain.

 Chapter 2983 A Blocker

    Meanwhile, a grey compass appeared in Kenelm''s hand as soon as they arrived in the Cyan Brocade Plain.


    Kenelm gave the compass a gentle pat, and the compass began to spin.


    Being true to its name, the Cyan Brocade Plain resembled a piece of green tapestry at first glance. Without any object as a reference, anyone could get lost in it.


    As a man from the Excellence City, Kenelm quickly found the way to the cave with the help of the compass.


    After an hour of traveling, he stopped in the middle of the plain.


    Releasing his spiritual sense, Zen noticed that there was a small pit at the bottom of the grass. Out of curiosity, he let his spiritual sense follow the pit and saw a cave.


    "Come on, let''s go down the cave!"


    Kenelm was in a hurry to go downwards.


    Knowing that his friend had decided to get ahead of him, he became extremely anxious.


    As soon as he finished speaking, he sprinted downwards. Zen, along with the other three consummate True Gods, followed suit.


    The cave below the grass was so narrow that it was possible for only one person to get in and out of it. One by one, the five people went down and crawled onward this narrow entrance.


    After a few hundred feet down the passageway, a broad karst cave appeared.


    After entering the karst cave, Kenelm held the compass to see which way they should be heading. Then he said, "Follow me, over there..."


    Walking a few steps along a path, Zen suddenly stopped and gave a slight frown.


    Walking in front of him, Kenelm turned his head and asked, "Zen, what''s wrong?"


    Just behind Zen, the consummate True Gods looked the exact same way.


    "Didn''t your spiritual sense perceive it? Some things seem to be crawling over here," Zen replied.


    Whenever a consummate True God, just like them, explored a strange place, they would spread out their spiritual sense very vigilantly. This was what Zen was doing at this very moment, so were Kenelm and the others.


    To them, the spiritual sense was similar to another pair of their eyes.


    "I didn''t sense anything!"


    "Well, me neither."


    Then they looked around, and their faces were full of caution.


    Kenelm''s face darkened, and he continued, "Are they using some kind of hiding skill?"


    "I think so."


    By using his spiritual sense, Zen could feel that the figures of those things were very blurry, like grass snakes or gray threads that appea


    er!"


    Kenelm''s eyes filled with furious resentment.


    Tanner, Kenelm and the others had the same cultivation base, and they had a good relationship in the Excellence City.


    However, it was out of Kenelm''s expectation that Tanner took some strangers here, and that now he even wanted to block them outside. How could he not hate his own friend?


    Looking at Kenelm''s irritated eyes, Zen heaved a soft sigh in his heart. He sympathized because he knew that betrayal was one of the worst feelings in the world.


    "Go back, losers. After all, none of you are qualified to enter the Stinger Guard''s tomb," the young man said impatiently as he waved his hand.


    Meanwhile, the other three consummate True Gods already wanted to retreat. They knew that no matter how attractive the Stinger Guard''s tomb was, it still wasn''t worth losing their lives for.


    "So, Kenelm, what shall we do? Shall we just go back?" one of them asked, waiting for an instruction.


    Kenelm hesitated for a while as he thought that he might have underestimated Tanner''s helpers.


    Although he had invited Zen, a consummate True God who had stepped into the Sea of Truth and had a Soul of Light that could subdue the evil spirit in the tomb, he still was not aware of how strong Zen was, nor did he expect too much from him.


    Kenelm felt helpless at that moment. He nodded his head in frustration and accepted his friend''s suggestion for there was nothing more he could do.


    Just as he was about to instruct everyone to leave, Zen suddenly asked, "Kenelm, do you know if the Noxious Army Ants are afraid of fire?"

 Chapter 2984 Pulverized

    Confused, Kenelm didn''t know why Zen asked such a question. All he knew was that the Noxious Army Ants were fatal.


    "The Noxious Army Ants are terrifying not just because of their poison. In fact, they are incredibly fast, and they are not afraid of water or fire. Moreover, it''s difficult to kill them with normal methods," Kenelm sighed in dismay. "Thank you for taking the trouble of coming with us, Zen. For now, it''s better if we just go back. It''s not worthy to risk our lives here."


    However, Zen was still intrigued by the ants and continued to ask, "If these Noxious Army Ants come to surround and attack us, will you guys be able to resist any of them?"


    Giving Zen a surprised glance, Kenelm responded, "Well, it''s already a given fact that it''s difficult for us to kill them. However, we can still manage to keep some distance away from them. Zen, you keep on asking some really weird questions. What do you want to do? Is it..."


    As Kenelm''s voice trailed off, Zen''s gaze was already rested on the young man not far away.


    The young man was still leaning on the cave''s wall waiting for them to leave. Apparently he had heard Zen''s words, and a cold smile immediately appeared on his face. "If you want to die, then just tell me. I can send you..."


    But before he could finish what he wanted to say, Zen already jumped up and flew towards him.


    When the young man saw that Zen was daring enough to dash towards him, the cold smile on his face suddenly became even wilder. He blew a gentle whistle, and the Noxious Army Ants hiding on the surrounding walls of the cave immediately fell like raindrops, rushing towards Zen.


    "Zen!"


    Upon seeing Zen''s move, Kenelm was shocked. He cursed in his heart that Zen was being too impulsive and stupid that he was not able to stop him.


    Even if they really wanted to take action, he should first rush to the man who controlled the Noxious Army Ants as fast as the speed of light. However, Zen flew towards the young man so leisurely that Kenelm could foresee that Zen would be bitten by the Noxious Army Ants in an instant. Why was he courting death this way?


    At that point, it was evident that Kenelm didn''t know what Zen was intending to do.


    As a matter of fact, Zen feared that they could not resist the Noxious Army Ants'' attacks. If he pranced to reach the young man, then it was likely that most of them would be attracted to him.


    As for the deadly poison of the Noxious Army Ants, it was not Zen''s concern at all.


    Duh duh duh...


    One by one, the Noxious Army Ants fell on Zen''s body, reaching out their stings and stabbing them mercilessly into Zen''s skin as they injected toxin into his body.


    When the Noxious Army Ants injected the toxin into Zen''s skin, a wisp of dark green aura s


    sion was put to an end. He looked at his sword and noticed that it was nailed to the cave''s wall.


    "Buzz..."


    In a blink of an eye, a ball of green light materialized in front of the long sword, soon followed by the appearance of the young man.


    The young man held a huge bug shell on his hand. This shell was so durable that it was able to withstand and even resist Zen''s sword strikes. After unleashing ninety percent of his strength, Zen finally pierced the bug shell directly, causing the sword to stab into the young man''s chest.


    "Why, why aren''t you afraid of the Noxious Army Ants'' poison?" asked the young man as he stared at Zen with utmost disbelief.


    At that moment, Zen''s face was still spiked with a dark green color. He was clearly poisoned, but it was still a mystery as to why he remained unscathed.


    "I am not afraid of the Noxious Army Ants'' poison, nor any other poison you can name of. If you don''t believe, you can try the scorpion sting in your hand," Zen said faintly.


    The young man looked at his hand with a worried face and shot a glance back at Zen again. In his right hand was a scorpion sting from the Doom Scorpion''s tail. Being more poisonous than the Noxious Army Ants, this scorpion sting was his last resort if he still wanted to live.


    He had turned the tables around as he narrowly escaped from death several times with the scorpion sting''s help. This time, however, he didn''t expect that Zen would expose the secret of this lifesaver.


    Desperate, the young man turned his right hand over and deliberately shot the scorpion sting at Zen.


    But before the poison could reach Zen, he twisted his sword and unleashed a vigorous force, leaving the young man pulverized to bits.


    "This cave boasts such wonderful scenery, and is indeed the perfect place to bury you," Zen said, shaking his head.

 Chapter 2985 A Tomb Containing The Personal Effects Of The Deceased

    The instant the young man was killed by Zen, every single Noxious Army Ant in the cave threw off his control over them.


    They crawled toward the narrow gaps in the walls of the cave.


    The four consummate True Gods looked nervous, as they stood close to each other, forming a circle, and used several theurgies for protection. They were fearful of hidden Noxious Army Ants.


    In a few seconds, the Noxious Army Ants rushed away in every direction and disappeared.


    They turned to look for Zen, and couldn''t hide their shock at what he had done.


    They had feared the young man and his total control and manipulation of the Noxious Army Ants, but Zen had killed him instantly, without any trouble.


    Kenelm did not doubt that Zen was stronger than him and his companions, for he had been to the Sea of Truth before. But his opponent who controlled the Noxious Army Ants had also been a consummate True God and entered the Sea of Truth. He and Zen should have been evenly matched.


    Since Zen had killed him in an instant, did that mean that Zen was far stronger than they realized? Or, perhaps the young man had underestimated Zen, and had accidentally left an opening for Zen to defeat him.


    Kenelm and his three companions thought the latter was more believable. They thought maybe Zen and his opponent had been equally powerful, and the young man had just been lax and caught off guard.


    It was difficult for them to accept that the strengths of two consummate True Gods could be so different. All four of them were of the same cultivation level, and they had been in Excellence City for a long time. They had not seen such a disparity in power before.


    "Be careful!


    There may still be some Noxious Army Ants that are just hiding. We must still keep away from the ground and protect our heads."


    Kenelm kicked off the ground, and rose into the air.


    The Noxious Army Ants had lost their master as soon as Zen killed the young man. However, they were still very dangerous and aggressive, and it would be wise for them to stay cautious.


    Kenelm and the other three flew towards Zen, keeping a sharp lookout for any lingering Noxious Army Ants.


    "Zen, are you all right?" Kenelm asked. He saw that Zen''s face looked green, and felt a trace of worry. "We do have some regular antidotes with us. But the poison of the Noxious Army Ant is ferocious and unlike any other..."


    Kenelm trailed off. He suddenly realized something. Zen''s face


    e men in the cave immediately turned towards them. Tanner saw Kenelm and looked astonished. "Kenelm? How did you get in here?"


    The young man in purple stared at the intruders. He had asked one of his men, who was strong and capable, to guard the entrance of the cave. He would have blocked these five from coming in, so how had they made it past him?


    Kenelm gave Tanner a look of hatred. Sneering, he said, "I''m here to take what belongs to me! I underestimated your shamelessness, Tanner. I didn''t expect you to bring outsiders here."


    Despite Kenelm''s words, Tanner didn''t show any sign of guilt. In fact, he looked just as angry as Kenelm. He said, "You are the outsiders here. Have you come to steal the personal belongings of the Stinger Guard? You must reconsider what you are willing to do. It is never wise to take something that doesn''t belong to you. Steal from the wrong person, and you will be courting death."


    As Tanner spoke, Kenelm''s face turned redder and redder. He could barely contain his rage.


    The man in purple frowned at Kenelm, Zen, and the others. "Where is Guido? Didn''t you meet him, guarding the entrance of the cave?"


    Zen smiled faintly. He said, "We met no one. Maybe he found the cave too stuffy, and left for a moment, to get some fresh air."


    "Nonsense," said the man in purple. He narrowed his eyes at Zen. Guido was the most powerful and capable among his men, and he was dependable, too. He would not have left at such an important time. Something must have happened to him. The man in purple looked at Zen''s bland expression. What had they done to Guido? Anger flashed in his eyes.

 Chapter 2986 A Trap

    Just then, the ferocious ghost bound by the fire chains let out another roar.


    "Ahahah..."


    The ghost emitted a strong force of soul that made the two chains binding it vibrate.


    The two consummate True Gods had identical looks of tension on their faces. They tightly gripped the chains in their hands, and the flames on the two chains blazed even stronger.


    "Oh no! Master Allen, the ghost''s soul force is growing stronger!"


    "The Flaming Sun Chains probably cannot hold it!"


    The faces of the two consummate True Gods lost their color.


    In the beginning, the soul force of the ghost was relatively weak. The two consummate True Gods had a talent for dealing with all sorts of evil spirits, so they had thought that they would be able to capture the ghost.


    They never expected the ghost''s soul force to increase continuously. Its strength far exceeded their expectations.


    For now, the ghost was still bound by Flaming Sun Chains. If it managed to break free from the chains, the consequences would be unimaginable.


    Hearing this, Allen, the purple-robed man, looked grim. He cast a glance at the ghost in mid-air and gave an order, "Artie, go and execute the intruders. I''ll subdue the ghost myself!"


    After issuing his command, he stretched out his hand and tapped gently. Two jade hooks appeared. He leaped high and threw the jade hooks toward the ghost.


    Following Allen''s orders, Artie took out a long golden stick and addressed the people who broke in, "Guido is my brother. I don''t know how you got in here, but I hope you can tell me where he is. In return, I will leave your corpses intact."


    Upon hearing his menacing words, Kenelm and his companions took some steps back.


    Actually, the situation had been completely out of the control since they entered the cave.


    For Kenelm and the other consummate True Gods, this was nothing but a thrilling, somewhat dangerous adventure. However, the strength of the group brought here by Tanner was completely beyond what they expected, and the soul force released by the ghost was even more terrifying.


    If Kenelm had known that th


    ick and was sent flying over a hundred feet before smashing into the wall of the cave.


    Kenelm and his companions stared in shock, eyes wide, at what they had witnessed.


    Kenelm finally realized that Zen had defeated Guido not because of sheer luck or the other''s flaws. His strength was far beyond that of the other consummate True Gods at his cultivation level.


    Zen came from a land outside of the Source World. Was he a talent of a great race in the chaos? Kenelm''s mind came up with a guess.


    Not far away, the purple-robed man had his two jade hooks firmly locked to the ghost. The jade hooks seemed to be specifically used to suppress evil spirits. After the ghost was hooked, it issued hissing sounds, as if the soul was being burned.


    The ghost moaned and seemed to choke out its last gasp.


    "You may be wrong. He appears to have subdued the ghost," Zen said.


    "I was mistaken?" No. 9527 asked, surprised. "That''s impossible. Although I don''t know how the tomb and its traps are arranged, I, as a soul, am more sensitive about such things than you." It calmly proceeded to instruct Zen, "Look at the sword on the tomb."


    Zen''s gaze was once again focused on the cyan sword. He saw a light flicker across the sword, and the moribund ghost suddenly swelled up.


    Just as No. 9527 had speculated, a soul force that was more than four or five times stronger burst forth from the ghost.

 Chapter 2987 To Destroy The Tomb

    The soul force of the ghost continued to grow. As it increased gradually, so did its strength. Shortly after, it became as powerful as a warrior at the Other Shore Realm.


    The fierce soul aura of the ghost surged violently throughout the cave, causing people to tremble in fear.


    "Clap! Clap!"


    The two fire chains holding the ghost collapsed in an instant!


    Its power was so terrifying that it dragged the two consummate True Gods across the ground like rag dolls. Showing no signs of mercy, it threw them in its mouth and broke their necks.


    The man in purple watched all this unravel in horror. His face changed color dramatically. He gently twisted his body in the air and moved backward in an attempt to retreat.


    Despite the intense atmosphere, the man in purple refused to panic. He remained calm and composed. It came as no surprise since he came from a noble clan.


    However, the ghost had no intention of letting him go. It wanted to feed on anything that moved. The ghost began charging towards the man at an alarming speed. It attempted to block the man''s path by spreading its arms wide, leaving him nowhere to go.


    As he was cornered, the man''s expression turned serious. He stared at the ghost with no hint of fear in his eyes. And then, a small seed exploded above his head!


    "The Latent Theurgy!"


    The man was a descendant of a large clan in the Gracious Province. His clan had made sure he remained unscathed. For his protection, they had planted the Latent Theurgy in case his life was ever in danger and he needed to make a quick escape.


    As the seed exploded, a shadow of a beautiful woman emerged from it. She curled her body and began to sing a strange song. It was like she was protecting the man from the ghost.


    As the woman sang, the sound waves surrounded the man''s head like ripples. They continued to grow till they enveloped the man in the shape of a sphere with a radius of one hundred feet. The sphere acted as an impenetrable force field for him, keeping him away from harm.


    The ghost was ferocious and enraged. It continued its attempts to break through the sphere of sound. Every blow of the ghost formed waves on the sphere but failed to weaken it. It was almost invincible.


    The man in purple knew the sphere wouldn''t hold for long, it came with a time limit. The Latent Theurgy would soon wear off. He knew he had to act fast. The internal momentum began to spread out of his body as he attempted to perform the Grand Teleportation technique in hopes of escaping from this place. But, the moment the space fluctuation condensed before h


    ouch it.


    As it screamed sharply, it quickly rushed towards Zen.


    It used its screams to destabilize Zen till it reached him. The loud sound of shrieks made Zen''s soul tremble as it weakened. He struggled to charge forward trying his best to ignore it. It was not hard for him to beat ferocious beasts. But in this case, the ghost was all soul. It proved more challenging for him since his Soul of Light was far weaker compared to his body. He did not want to imagine the consequences of being caught by the ghost. He was in no position to give up either. He kept advancing despite the approaching threat.


    At this moment, Zen exerted all his remaining strength into performing the Truth of Cultivation Nature. He moved as gracefully as a swallow flying into the dense forest, dodging the sword radiance released by the cyan sword from time to time.


    "Swish, swish, swish..."


    As the cyan sword drew closer to him, a green light flickered on the surface of the ancient sword. A dozen of rays of sword radiance spread out in all directions, quickly turning into a net of the sword to envelop Zen''s body.


    As the net rushed to trap him and the ghost chased after him, Zen became confused. He ultimately lost his balance while twisting his body, causing him to smash into the net.


    "Aaah!"


    Zen felt a sting of pain as he supported his right shoulder with his left arm. He groaned in pain and struggled to get back on his feet. There was a deep wound on Zen''s right shoulder all the way to his back. Blood spilled out from his wound as he stumbled to maintain his balance.


    He looked ahead with a pained expression to see that the tomb was right in front of him. It was a small price to pay to get to his destination.

 Chapter 2988 Cleaning Up

    Without hesitation, Zen had already grabbed the handle of the cyan sword with his left hand.


    As he held the sword handle tightly in his fingers, a repulsive force began to spread out from it. Zen was being so careless that he nearly let the sword slip out of his hand.


    As he activated the strength source, his left hand firmly gripped the sword, like an iron clamp. As he performed this action, Zen roared in his mind, "It''s your turn to make a move!"


    The sclerite on Zen''s chest flashed lightly, and No. 9527 entered the long sword at once.


    "Ha-ha..."


    The ghost followed closely behind, rushing toward Zen as quickly as it could.


    Beneath the terrifying and evil pressure coming from the soul''s aura, Zen could hardly breathe.


    Simultaneously, Zen had been forced into a corner, and there was almost no way out. Even if he used the Grand Teleportation, he knew he''d still be interrupted by the ghost. The scene of how the man in purple''s life ended was still very fresh in his mind.


    If No. 9527 was incapable of dealing with the cyan sword, Zen''s life would probably end in the same way. He looked very nervous, and with absolute reason.


    "Ahoo!"


    As the ghost howled, its dark brown arms extended toward Zen in an attempt to grab him, giving no forewarning whatsoever. Zen suddenly realized that the repulsive force emitting from the sword handle had disappeared, and the ghost''s body had also frozen in midair, completely motionlessly.


    There were certain, rather specific reasons for the formation of most evil ghosts. The main reason was that people''s souls contained both obsession and hatred, which intertwined with each other, causing the remnant souls to lose themselves and become abnormally vicious.


    Once the obsession disappeared, however, the evil ghosts would lose their meaning of existence.


    No. 9527 understood the reason why this ghost was formed, which was also why it let Zen take the risk. As soon as it entered the cyan sword and wiped off the Stinger Guard''s obsession, the ghost''s ferocious aura dissipated in an instant.


    The originally fierce and evil ghost actually transformed itself into a pure soul force. The hazel aura dispersed in all directions at once.


    "What the hell are you doing? It has swallowed countless souls! Its soul force is strong and pure. Its effect is even better than that of the


    Kenelm, with a cautious look on his face.


    Although the Gracious Province was a remote place, Kenelm couldn''t afford to offend any of the big clans. If the big clans were to find out about what happened today, they would be in deep trouble.


    "We have no choice but to dispose of the bodies and get rid of the evidence," said one of Kenelm''s friends.


    Although they weren''t strong enough, they were all clear-minded. Cleaning everything up and wiping the traces down were a means of survival.


    "And Tanner must also die!" As Kenelm glanced at Tanner, who was lying on the ground, flames of anger burned in his eyes. All the things that had happened were caused by him. He naturally had to vent his anger on him; it was to be expected.


    After Kenelm ended Tanner''s life and someone else killed Artie, they put all the corpses together and burned them to ashes.


    At once, their gazes fell on the cyan sword!


    "After the death of any Stinger Guard of the Sword Light Palace, if anyone packs their effects and returns them to the Sword Light Palace, they could obtain the qualification for joining the Sword Light Palace. Let''s take these belongings and long sword back to the Excellence City and report to the Sword Light Palace," said Kenelm eagerly.


    Although he listened to the others speak, Zen didn''t say anything.


    Before coming here, he had heard Kenelm say such things. That said though, he was suspicious of this rumor.


    If this Sword Light Palace really was some famous force, how could they use this method for selecting disciples to join them?

 Chapter 2989 The Secret Of The Copper Sheet

    Doubts continued to linger inside Zen''s mind. However, he didn''t say anything when he saw how pleased Kenelm and the others were.


    After all, they had worked hard to get the tomb. The last thing Zen wanted was to pour cold water on them. Additionally, he didn''t know much about the Source World. Perhaps the Sword Light Palace had truly set such a weird kind of rule.


    Afterward, Kenelm immediately collected the belongings of the Stinger Guard. Then, they left the underground cave and hurriedly returned to the Excellence City.


    Later that day, Kenelm hosted a fantastic banquet at the biggest restaurant in the Excellence City. Zen had already made up his mind that he would refuse to join the banquet. However, Kenelm''s kind words changed his mind as he finally accepted the invitation.


    "I have entrusted a caravan to send the news about the tomb to the Sword Light Palace. With their great efficiency, they''ll certainly complete the task almost immediately. I believe that it won''t take long before they come to the Excellence City." Kenelm raised his cup as a sign of respect. Afterward, he looked at Zen with sincere eyes. "If it hadn''t been for you, we would not have been able to enter that cave. Thank you very much!"


    After he said such kind remarks, Kenelm pulled his cup towards his mouth and gulped the wine.


    An appreciative smile was revealed in Zen''s face as he followed Kenelm''s toast.


    After the toast, a friend of Kenelm said in a curious tone, "I really want to know the star class of the owner of the tomb."


    The Stinger Guards were similar to the Nine Li Guards and the Yellow Emperor Guards. However, the Sword Light Palace was still inferior to the super forces like the Bear race and the Nine Li race.


    "Is it really that important?" Zen asked curiously. With creased eyebrows, he looked at the speaker with confusion.


    Almost immediately, Kenelm blinked his eyes and answered seriously, "Of course it is! If the owner of the tomb was a one-star Stinger Guard, his belongings can be exchanged for a place in the Sword Light Palace. If he was a two-star Stinger Guard, that means we can have two places. Moreover, if he was a five-star Stinger Guard..."


    The eyes of the audience lit up as they heard the remarks from Kenelm.


    They were already aware of the rules of the Sword Light Palace. The rewards from the rules were the main reason why they risked their lives to follow Kenelm in search of the tomb.


    That was an opportunity they couldn''t miss. They were currently consummate True Gods. I


    "What map is this? Where is this? Why is there a golden Sanskrit word in it?" There was a strange expression in Zen''s eyes. Confusion seemed to overwhelm him.


    With sharp eyes, Zen carefully studied the map. After some time, he finally asked, "No. 9527, do you know where this map..."


    "No, I don''t," No. 9527 replied decidedly even before Zen could finish his words.


    Disappointment enveloped Zen as he pursed his lips. It seemed that he had to figure out the origin of the octagonal copper sheet by himself.


    He didn''t know what the golden Sanskrit word meant, but he could turn to his son for help. Geoffrey was still in his inner world, and he should be able to figure out the meaning of the golden Sanskrit word. He had to put the copper sheet into his inner world and ask Geoffrey to study it.


    Two days later, a silver flying ship suddenly streaked through the dark sky and appeared in the air above the Excellence City.


    It scanned the area and checked the direction before it berthed at a dock next to the East Port.


    Click!


    An old man in a fur robe appeared from the ship. A furious aura enveloped him as he came down from the ship. His face was darkened with anger.


    A guard behind the old man came forward and saluted. With a respectful voice, he said, "Master Baber, although the Excellence City is a remote and small city, the people and their relationships are complex here. It is difficult to find Master Allen."


    When the old man heard Allen''s name, pain appeared in his eyes. His eyelids trembled a few times as his confusion seemed to settle. After a while, he said, "Go and buy news from the Mice League! We have to find this murderer by any means!"

 Chapter 2990 Revenge

    The guard''s eyes widened; he couldn''t hide his surprise at the old man''s words. "Master Baber, is it not better if we go to the Cyan Brocade Plain first?"


    The Mice League did not carry a good reputation in the Source World. It was rare for anyone to buy news from the Mice League, only if they were left with no choice. Moreover, the old man Baber Qi already had the location where his grandson died. It was more logical to investigate there first.


    Baber Qi''s nostrils flared. He was very anxious to get revenge. However, the words of the guard made sense. Swallowing his anger, he said, "Okay. Let''s go to the Cyan Brocade Plain first."


    Whoosh! They hastily took their leave.


    Baber Qi chose to pass through Excellence City directly.


    As he flew past the Excellence City, he didn''t even try to restrain his aura. A fierce killing intent permeated the atmosphere of the whole city, attracting the attention of the divine citizens living there.


    "What a powerful Other Shore Realm warrior! He is so aggressive!"


    "Will something bad happen to the Excellence City?"


    "Don''t worry. Even if the powerful warrior were to do something to the city, I''m sure our city lord will protect us."


    Although many Other Shore Realm warriors would visit the Excellence City, the vast majority of them would stay in the East Port. Seldom did they stay at the poverty-stricken Excellence City. It was even more out of the blue for a powerful warrior like Baber Qi to fly past the city without restraining their killing intent.


    In the city lord''s mansion situated at the center of the city, a middle-aged man with a pot belly sensed the killing intent in the atmosphere. His expression darkened.


    Although the Excellence City was but a small and poor land, no Other Shore Realm warrior dared challenge the entire city like this before. As he looked up at the sky, he squinted thoughtfully. "Baber Qi? Who managed to piss him off?"


    Although there was no super force in the Gracious Province, there were still some powerful clans.


    The Qi Clan, led by Baber Qi, was one of them. The Qi Clan was located in the center of Gracious Province, and had been well managed by Baber Qi over the years.


    The city lord bore this in mind as Baber Qi flew through his city. In the end, he decided to let the warrior pass through the Excellence City without conflict.


    Shortly thereafter, Baber Qi made it to the Cyan Brocade P


    aid in a low voice.


    The Ear Mouse nodded and then squeaked, "A powerful soul pressure burst out from this cave. We, the mice, could not get close, so we were unable to catch everything. But you should be interested in the following scenes."


    Then Baber Qi saw the scene wherein Kenelm and the others burned the corpses.


    Baber Qi snorted angrily. He whipped out a bunch of divine crystals and threw them in front of the Ear Mouse. "Tell me where they are."


    Baber Qi left the Mice League and headed straight to a place in the Excellence City with his guards.


    Whoosh!


    Baber Qi directly flew down from thousands of feet high, landing on the place where Kenelm lived. It was a large house. However, the moment Baber Qi set foot in the house, all the rooms collapsed in an instant. The ground cracked, forming crevices reminiscent of a spider''s web.


    "Kenelm Lai! Get your ass over here!" Baber Qi roared, and a stream of air spread out in all directions. Cracks suddenly snaked their way through the houses surrounding Kenelm''s. The divine citizens living here suddenly grew deaf from the sheer force of Baber Qi''s energy, blood gushing out of their ears.


    Kenelm had been hanging about with Zen these days. At this moment, the two of them were having a chat over a cup of tea in the backyard. Zen had been eager to learn something about the Gracious Province and the Source World.


    All of a sudden, when they saw the house collapse in front of them, both immediately fell silent. Their expressions darkened as they locked eyes with the figure emanating a fierce killing intent in front of them.

 Chapter 2991 A Fight

    Fortunately, Kenelm lived alone in his house, far from his family.


    If other people had been living there, they would all have died, crushed under Baber''s feet.


    As Kenelm looked over at the old man a small distance away, he realized that Baber was a powerful warrior at the Other Shore Realm.


    He could not understand why this old man hated him so much. He racked his brain for any way he could have offended him, but Zen''s voice cut his thoughts short. "This person is probably a relative of the man in purple," Zen said seriously.


    Pulling a long face, Kenelm frowned.


    He relaxed his face within a few seconds, however, consoling himself with the thought that he hadn''t, after all, killed the man in purple.


    Knowing that there was no way for him to escape, he had no choice but to step forward. He cupped his hands and said to the old man, "Sir, my name is Kenelm Lai. Forgive me if it is due to a lapse in my memory, but I don''t think we have ever met before. I am wondering why you came to me..."


    Baber had spent the past few days in a blind rage since he learned of his grandson''s death.


    He could only speculate who or what had actually killed his grandson. He thought it might have been the ghost. However, no matter what the true identity of the killer was, he knew for a fact that the dead body of his grandson had been destroyed by Kenelm and his friends. That was enough for Baber to desire their deaths.


    Before the shaking Kenelm could even finish his sentence, a green shadow, shaped like a human hand, appeared on Baber''s own right hand. The shadow reached out towards Kenelm, who immediately felt an intense pressure on his entire body.


    Kenelm was completely paralyzed. Then, he was pulled towards the old man like metal to a magnet.


    As Kenelm was being pulled forward, Zen stepped forward and harnessed the strength source within his body. He touched Kenelm lightly with one hand, using the Power Shaping to form an invisible piece of armor which pinned him to the ground.


    Baber looked shocked. He had not expected to fail in such a simple task.


    Even Baber''s guards, who usually showed no emotion, looked surprised.


    "Master Baber didn''t use all of his strength, did he?" one of them asked.


    "This brat actually has the power to resist?"


    "Nice try, boy. Don''t be too confident in your pathetic skills."


    These guards were hand-picked


    ortcut to the Wild Goose Pass.


    "A man called Kenelm Lai discovered the tomb of a Stinger Guard," she said calmly, with a glance at the bowing lord. "I am here to take him back. So, take me to meet him."


    ''The tomb of a Stinger Guard?'' the lord thought, perplexed.


    Realizing the importance and urgency of this woman''s mission, the city lord immediately sent his men after Kenelm, or at least news of him. After he had done that, he led the woman to the west of the city.


    At the midpoint of their journey, they encountered a burst of light, bright and intense as a solar flare.


    The aura of the energy coming off this light was very strange. The city lord thought for a second that it seemed to be similar to an internal momentum created by a True God, but it also seemed much more powerful than that.


    When the pale-faced woman and the three men in cyan saw the light, they also looked confused.


    "What kind of theurgy is this?" one of them said.


    "It''s not the internal momentum of an Other Shore Realm warrior. It seems to be a True God''s," said another.


    "What Godly Way is it? It''s so powerful!"


    These Other Shore Realm warriors had also been True Gods once. However, to them, cultivating the Godly Ways was a formality, a mere means to reach the Other Shore Realm. It was no surprise that they had little understanding of the energy of the Godly Ways.


    "It is the Ways-blending Energy," the pale-faced woman said in a low voice. Her eyes glimmered with curiosity. "And whoever is responsible for this seems to have blended a great many of Godly Ways together."

 Chapter 2992 Go To Hell

    The masters who had reached the Other Shore Realm more or less knew about the fusion of the Godly Ways.


    The fusion of the Godly Ways did increase the strength of the True Gods, but at that point there was a better choice for them, which was to reach the Other Shore. Who would waste time on this kind of a thing?


    Occasionally, there would be a few talents who tried to merge three to five Godly Ways, but these were just casual attempts. Their only goal was to test their own talents. Later, they would concentrate on the Truth of Godly Way.


    The pale-faced woman had never seen so many Godly Ways merged together. She estimated that there must be at least a thousand of them. She had never seen anyone in the Sword Light Palace who was able to cultivate so many Godly Ways.


    "Who the hell are fighting in the Excellence City?" the lord of the Excellence City demanded. He sped up and carried forward as he didn''t care about the fusion of the Godly Ways.


    The small Excellence City was under his jurisdiction.


    After being thrown out by Zen, Kenelm landed heavily on the ground. When he got up and looked around, he found that the place before him was enveloped in strong light.


    When the light gradually dissipated, his eyes widened in amazement. Not far away, Zen stood still, and the green hand of the old man disappeared without a trace.


    ''I can''t believe that this guy is able to bear the theurgy of an opponent at the Other Shore Realm!'' he thought in disbelief.


    The guards brought by Baber all took a deep breath. The seemingly inconspicuous consummate True God had single-handedly blocked Baber''s attack. Baber had used his Other Shore Token and it was an all-out blow from a master at the Other Shore Realm.


    Baber, who was standing in front of Zen, was more shocked than anyone else. His Emerald Palm Shadow was also a good Other Shore Token. He was very confident of the power of the attack that he had just aimed at Zen, but the attack was soon defended by the young warrior who was a mere True God.


    His face was as white as a sheet.


    On the other hand, Zen''s


    he first time they had met.


    He paused for a while before raising his head and announcing, "I''m from the Qi Clan of the Flame City..."


    As words left his mouth, he felt a slight shiver. The ashen woman stretched out three fingers to touch him. She said softly, "I won''t listen to your nonsense!"


    When she gently pinched her fingers, the sound of the mirror smashing was heard by everyone.


    Baber''s body crumbled into several pieces like a porcelain vase and scattered on the ground.


    It was indeed a miserable death, but not even a single drop of blood was shed. If one looked at his broken body carefully, they would see that the cuts on the flesh were as smooth as a mirror.


    The guards of Qi Clan, who were watching the entire drama, were so shocked that they didn''t even dare to breathe.


    Even Baber himself had no room for resistance, how could the guards dare to move?


    Kenelm, too, was stunned. He didn''t answer the woman until she fell from the air. "I...I am Kenelm Lai. And the Stinger Guard''s personal effects are here," he stuttered.


    He quickly removed the cyan sword from his space ring, walked two steps forward and presented it to the woman.


    The woman took the cyan sword and held it in her hands for a while. She gently rubbed the blade with her bloodless fingers.


    Although the cyan sword was very old, it was still sharp and immediately cut her finger.

 Chapter 2993 An Exorbitant Reward

    With blood flowing down along its edge, the quaint cyan sword started glowing once again. The sword released a sharp aura.


    As Zen saw this, his eyelids twitched as fear gripped his heart. He felt afraid that the cyan sword would cut him in half.


    ''This is the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent contained in the cyan sword, '' Zen thought.


    In order to get the sword from inside the cave, Zen had risked his life fighting for it. He even got injured before he successfully got a hold of the sword.


    Since this sword was activated by this pale faced woman, the power of the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent might have increased by a hundred times. Approaching it recklessly would probably have Zen cut into pieces by the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent alone.


    He wondered how powerful the owner of the cyan sword was.


    Buzz!


    After it absorbed the woman''s blood, a blood line was left on its blade. As the blood line gathered on its blade, dots of blood red light started to glow one by one gradually.


    Looking at the dots of blood on the glowing sword, Kenelm and the lord of the Excellence City were surprised, their eyes wide open.


    The standard sword in the Sword Light Palace was the Blood Kill Sword. Every Stinger Guard possessed this type of sword, and a dot of blood red light on it meant that its owner was a one-star Stinger Guard. It was also a secret known to most of the people in the Excellence City, even in the Gracious Province.


    "One, two, three, four, five!" As Kenelm counted the number of blood light dots on the sword, his mouth couldn''t help twitching.


    Even the city lord''s heart thumped wildly in his chest.


    If a five-star Stinger Guard''s tomb was excavated, and their personal effects were handed over to the Sword Light Palace, the excavator could get five places in the Sword Light Palace.


    It was rare for anyone to get so many places at one time. Even the lord of the Excellence City could not ignore such a chance to earn a place.


    "It''s actually a five-star Stinger Guard!" Kenelm felt completely flabbergasted. His face reflected an indescribable expression.


    Previously, he thought a one-star Stinger Guard would bring him satisfaction. At least, he could enter the Sword Light Palace. Never in his wildest dream did he expect what he had found was a five-star Stinger Guard''s tomb.


    The lord of the Excellence City couldn''t help but step forward before he bowed to th


    , and having the East Port, the flow of people and scale of trade were not small. Therefore, the overall wealth of all the people in the area was definitely not a small amount.


    Just the mere thought of fifty times the wealth of the Excellence City would make anyone feel dizzy. Kenelm was afraid that he would faint as he set his mind on it.


    Shifting her attention to Zen, the pale-faced woman stared at him with a strange expression. Through her sad eyes, she asked, "You seem to have¡­ no... psychological fluctuation?"


    Of course, Zen did not have much psychological fluctuation and his expression remained very serene.


    The Sword Light Palace was, after all, a big force. The reward offered for finding the former leader was quite high and promising. However, the divine crystals that Zen received were the heritage of the entire Nine Li race. Although he only took half of it, it was still an astronomical amount. So hearing this now from the lady, Zen was not shocked at all.


    On another hand, Zen was busy analyzing the turn of events. Knowing that Kenelm was not powerful enough and his talent was far from enough to attract the attention of the Sword Light Palace, Zen assumed that getting such a great fortune might not be advantageous on his end. Instead, it would be a disaster.


    Rich as Zen was, only a few people like Emily and Leopold knew it. If Kenelm went to the Sword Light Palace to claim his reward, he would be killed in less than two hours after leaving the Sword Light Palace. What was more, it was very likely that the person who would do that was from the Sword Light Palace.

 Chapter 2994 The Qualified People

    Zen hadn''t expected this woman to pay attention to him.


    After all, it was Kenelm who had presented the cyan sword to her, not Zen.


    She shouldn''t have reacted that way.


    After thinking for a while, Zen immediately put on a worried look and said, "This huge reward is indeed amazing. I''m just worried that Kenelm may not be able to bear it. As the saying goes, an innocent man gets into trouble because of his wealth."


    The pale woman looked at Zen and thoughtfully asked, "So you''re worried about this? Well, it''s not a difficult problem... I can only give him a part of it for the time being... But you are right! If all the reward is given to Kenelm, I''m afraid that many people from the Sword Light Palace will be tempted to rob him."


    Nervousness was written all over Kenelm''s face. He looked at the woman and asked anxiously, "Then what should I do?"


    The pale woman glanced at him indifferently and looked away. She said, "What should you do? That has nothing to do with me. If you can find ten people, I will take you on the journey. However, I will only wait for one day."


    With that, she floated in the air and left.


    The three men from the Sword Light Palace followed her too. Worried about being seen as a poor host, the lord of the Excellence City also left to follow them.


    Only Zen, Kenelm and the guards of the Qi Clan remained.


    These guards couldn''t dare to take revenge. They were sure that the woman would not trouble them, so they, too, escaped quickly one by one.


    Kenelm was worried sick by now. The more he thought about Zen''s words, the more he was convinced. He asked, "Zen, what... what should I do?"


    Zen smiled and comforted him, "Don''t worry too much, Kenelm. The reward of the Sword Light Palace is very valuable, but you can refuse it."


    "What! Refuse it?" Kenelm was shocked to hear this.


    The reward was enough to make the Lai Clan a formidable force in the entire Gracious Province. Nobody would refuse it casually.


    Hesitation and pain were written all over his face.


    "After all, you''ve attained your goal of getting the tomb and joining the Sword Light Palace, haven''t you?


    en Zen practiced several hundred or thousand Godly Ways if he was tens of millions of years old, or even hundreds of millions of years old. But this guy was less than two hundred years old!


    There were six places left with Kenelm after Zen was specially given a place by the woman.


    Two of the six places were allocated to the members of the Lai Clan, two to the lord of the Excellence City, and the other two to the two big clans of the Excellence City. So everyone could be happy. The Lai Clan was not a big clan in the Excellence City so it was likely that it would now gain prominence thanks to Kenelm.


    The following day, in the East Port of the Excellence City, the lord of the Excellence City was seeing those people off with his subordinates.


    The pale woman held the long cyan sword in her hand, and, there was an indelible sadness in her eyes.


    She did not reveal the fact that the owner of the cyan sword was her own father.


    Hundreds of years had passed, and her grief had already subsided, but many parties were involved in her father''s death. If this sword was taken back to the Sword Light Palace now, she would have to suffer a lot.


    As she was reflecting on this, her gaze swept down the large flying ship and finally landed on Zen.


    In her eyes, he was the only one who had the qualifications to enter the Sword Light Palace among the eleven people who got the places. He was her only hope.

 Chapter 2995 The Country Of The Man-eating Demon Flowers

    As soon as the group led by Kenelm set foot on the flying ship, excitement overwhelmed each of them.


    A brand new life was promised for them at the end of the trip.


    The Sword Light Palace did not give them much time to prepare. They were instructed to travel as soon as possible. After they got the news to set off, they all hurriedly bid goodbye to their families.


    The cyan flying ship of the Sword Light Palace was majestically decorated. The wood that made the railings of the ship revealed natural patterns. Such a rare wood naturally highlighted the outlines of the ship. The natural patterns were said to calm people''s minds. After the group stepped on the ship, they found that everything on the flying ship seemed to be exquisite. The ship was designed to be comfortable for most people.


    However, most of the eleven consummate True Gods who got the licenses to enter the Sword Light Palace looked restrained after they got on the ship. Kenelm and his friends even walked on tiptoes. It seemed like such a luxurious place made them uncomfortable.


    Only Zen was able to maintain his calm as he gave no interest in the facilities.


    After all, the divine land itself was a flying ship. With such a long experience in that place, he grew accustomed to its features. Additionally, he had personally controlled such a huge flying ship. As such, when he saw the other flying ships, they were rather insignificant in his eyes. Moreover, the flying ship of Sword Light Palace could not compare to the Trumpet Flying Ship.


    Everyone boarded the cyan flying ship safely. Afterward, one of the men in cyan shouted with an official tone, "Set off!"


    A slight shake signaled the take-off of the flying ship. The majestic cyan flying ship left the East Port silently.


    The flight started with fair weather. The huge Excellence City quickly grew smaller in the distance. Soon, the flying ship carried everyone into the sky and flew forward at high speed.


    Zen stood on the side of the ship with a callous expression. Because of the clear skies, he was able to look down at the scene below. Even though he was in the air and was over a hundred thousand feet high, everything around that he saw was still yellow and hazy.


    "It''s still the desert outside the Excellence City?" Zen''s eyes narrowed as he examined the area below. Suddenly, some dust blocked his vision.


    Above the desert floated a mass of sand storm. With his experience, Zen immediately realized that the sand storm was caused by a Man-eating Demon Flower.


    If there was still the vast desert around Excellence City, then the circumstances would be unfavorable to the Evil God.


    A few days ago, he let go of the Evil God. However, the Evil God did not choose to enter Excellence City but left along the big river instead. At that moment, as he looked down from the sky, he


    ntered the fifteenth stage of the Other Shore Realm... The whole Sand Country is under its control. Such a monster governs the vast desert. It is the true ruler of the entire Gracious Province..." said the woman with a dejected look.


    "A plant can actually reach the Other Shore Realm and grow to such an extent! How can that be?" Zen was stunned as his eyes fixated on the king of the Man-eating Demon Flowers.


    The woman smiled faintly. A nostalgic glimmer appeared in her eyes. "In this world¡­ There are many weirder things..."


    "But there are so many Man-eating Demon Flowers! What do they live on?" Zen asked with a curious expression.


    Since the Man-eating Demon Flowers had established a huge country, the number of Man-eating Demon Flowers was naturally huge. It was impossible to feed themselves only with outsiders that the people living in the sand brought to them.


    "Their food is the people living in the sand." Such is the harsh reality of this place..." A rather cold and determined look painted the woman''s face as she answered Zen''s question.


    "They prey upon the people living in the sand? Why don''t those people just run away?" Zen clenched his fist as his conscience was touched by guilt. He had killed a few people living in the sand that had deceived him. Although he was not the Savior, they were still all human beings as he was.


    The woman looked at Zen indifferently and said, "You are really not... from the Source World."


    In Zen''s subconsciousness, the human race should dominate the world. The other fierce beasts and monsters should be inferior to humans and they couldn''t surpass humans. It was an agreed rule both in the universes and in the divine land.


    However, that was not the case in the Source World. The human race was limited to a few big forces, while the races formed by fierce beasts and monsters were the mainstream of the Source World.

 Chapter 2996 The Unknown Fire

    After Zen entered the Wild Goose Pass, he had met the Mice League and the Man-eating Demon Flower.


    However, he had always believed in the dominance of humans, so it was difficult for him to accept the case in the Source World.


    Although the people of the Sword Light Palace did not show any interest in occupying the Gracious Province, they had once sent their warriors to exterminate the Man-eating Demon Flowers in the province.


    Although unable to move, the Man-eating Demon Flower reproduced rapidly. Every Man-eating Demon Flower could produce millions of seeds, and they could thrive even in such harsh environments like the desert.


    They would be seen everywhere again several years after the Sword Light Palace had exterminated them.


    Thirty thousand years ago, the Sword Light Palace had no time to pay attention to the Gracious Province due to its own problems. Therefore, a Man-eating Demon Flower had insidiously reached the Other Shore Realm and kept growing. As time went by, it integrated an Other Shore Token from the Stage Fifteen, becoming the king of the Man-eating Demon Flowers. As a result, the monstrous flower and its seeds became even more difficult to eradicate.


    The Man-eating Demon Flowers were very intelligent, and they used a unique system to support people of the Sand Country, who worshiped the flowers as gods.


    A large number of Sand Country folks willingly offered themselves as sacrifices to the beastly blooms because they considered it a supreme honor to do so.


    The Sword Light Palace tried to stop people of the Sand Country, but the people considered them as enemies and attacked them. In the end, the palace could only let the Man-eating Demon Flowers grow widely in the desert.


    "Perhaps, they mistake our goodwill for ill intent." The woman named Laura murmured. The deathly pallor of her skin had been replaced by the faintest flush of color, making her look radiant.


    She did not force Zen to tell her where he came from but went on explaining to him the structure of the Gracious Province.


    After she finished, Zen sighed. It seemed like the Source World was much more complicated than he had originally su


    .


    The Unknown Fire released by the Evil God had burned the man''s blood, flesh, bones, and brain. His body was now filled with the Unknown Fire.


    When the Evil God banged him onto the ground, all of the Unknown Fire in the man''s body rushed into the ground and surged under the desert.


    "Ahhh!"


    "What kind of fire is this?"


    "I''m burning!"


    As it turned out, people of the Sand Country were beneath those dunes.


    Their cultivation base was not low, and most of them were top-rank True Gods. They had the advantage in numbers, so they not only lured outsiders but also directly attacked them.


    However, they encountered the Evil God this time, so they were out of luck.


    They crawled out of the ground and rolled around on the dunes. Their bodies were charred by the Unknown Fire, but no flames were seen.


    In the blink of an eye, they were killed by the Unknown Fire.


    Among the charred corpses, a person managed to survive. The Evil God slowly walked toward him.


    The fastest way to learn about this world was by reading the people''s souls.


    The Evil God had had a conflict with a divine citizen before, so he slaughtered all of the residents in the citizen''s village by the river. In this manner, he had obtained many memories of this world.


    However, the status of these divine citizens was too low, and they didn''t have much experience. Therefore, the Evil God shifted his focus toward True Gods as his new targets.

 Chapter 2997 Sword Dance Palace

    The Evil God was slightly taken aback by the things he found in the True God''s memories.


    ''His head is full of crazy nonsense!'' he thought, his face flushing with anger.


    He didn''t inherently have any morals. Rather, he was fierce and arrogant, like a tyrant.


    However, there was one thing he cared about the most?¡ªthe human race. Of course, this was probably because of Zen''s influence.


    In Zen''s inner world, there had been the rise of other races, such as the Heavenly Spirit race. However, with Zen''s deliberate suppression and the rise of the human race, the Heavenly Spirit race had gradually been marginalized. In the end, the Evil God had even killed the warriors of the Heavenly Spirit race for the sake of the human race.


    In any case, the Evil God didn''t like other races.


    As he continued to look through the True God''s memories, he found out about the existence of Sand Country. Soon, he learned about how the people from Sand Country were obedient to the Man-eating Demon Flowers and how a great number of people from the country were sacrificed to the Man-eating Demon Flowers every year.


    ''How could the human race submit to plants? Humph! Once I''m strong enough, I''ll get rid of these man-eating flowers one by one!'' the Evil God thought to himself.


    Then, he found something else in the man''s memories that surprised him.


    ''The Truth of Godly Way? The Other Shore Realm?''


    When the Evil God had left Zen''s inner world, he had felt a special aura exuding from Zen that he had never felt before.


    Back then, he had been so eager to rid himself of Zen''s control that he hadn''t had the time to ask about the origin of that aura.


    Now, he finally realized that the consummation of True God Realm and the grasp of mixed internal momentum were not the peak of cultivation. If he wanted to become stronger, he would have to reach the Other Shore Realm.


    As an ambitious warrior, the Evil God was thrilled at this realization.


    He laughed wildly for a long time, as if he had lost his mind. Then, he tossed the man from the Sand Country to the ground. The man''s soul had been shattered into pieces, leaving him no more than a shell of his original self.


    The Evil God slowly walked toward the desert.


    Although he had found a method to get rid of the sandstorm, he didn''t intend to go deep into the desert, because that was where the extremely powerful Man-eati


    hat was seven hundred thousand feet long!


    Even from such a long distance, Zen could feel the strong Truth of Godly Way exuded by this stone sword.


    ''I''m afraid only a Wild God would be able to wield such a huge sword. But isn''t it said that there are no more Wild Gods in the Source World? Then what is the use of this huge sword?'' Zen wondered.


    As the flying ship descended, the Lofty Sword disappeared from everyone''s vision. Finally, the ship landed on a platform in the middle of the mountain city.


    The pale-faced woman jumped up first and landed on the rails of the ship. She looked at Kenelm and his companions, and then glanced at Zen with a meaningful look in her eyes. "Galeun, lead them to Sword Dance Palace,"


    she said before rushing into the mountain city.


    "Just follow me," said the man named Galeun Yu.


    Led by Galeun Yu, the group walked through the densely packed buildings in the mountain city and finally arrived at Sword Dance Palace.


    When they arrived at the gate, another two men in cyan slowly walked toward them and bowed to Galeun Yu.


    "These eleven people found a tomb, so Master Laura made an exception to allow them to join Sword Dance Palace," said Galeun Yu.


    The two men in cyan nodded and led the eleven of them into Sword Dance Palace.


    Just when they entered the palace with great expectations, a rough laugh sounded. "Oh, look, what do we have here? Another dozen dregs in our palace. Never mind. Sword Dance Palace has long become a place for trash. I don''t mind taking in more garbage. I hope you can hold on in here long enough."

 Chapter 2998 Little Devils

    Right at the corner of the Sword Dance Palace, there was a man in a cyan robe, who sat quietly.


    The man was tall and strapping and had sun-kissed dark skin. His face was covered with stubble, which emphasized the cynical look on his face. His clothes were stained and soiled, making him look very messy and unapproachable.


    As they were walking in the Sword Light Palace, Kenelm and the other people imagined what their future life would be inside the palace.


    What the strapping man said was like a pot of cold water poured on their faces. Zen was fine, but the other ten people''s faces changed immediately.


    "Sir, how... how could you say that?" a cyan-robed young man questioned, feeling embarrassed.


    The strapping man got up from the ground and smiled as he slowly walked towards Kenelm and the other people. He stopped in front of them and said, "Of the thirteen cultivation palaces of the Sword Light Palace, the first-class palaces include the Burial Sword Palace, the Demon Sword Palace, and the Broken Sword Palace; the second-class palaces include the Sword Anger Palace, the Sword Legend Palace, and several other palaces. Do you have any idea that of all the cultivation palaces, the Sword Dance Palace is the worst? Now, it only receives people like you who joined the Sword Light Palace in informal ways. You''re just wasting your lives if you stay in the Sword Dance Palace. Are you really sure that you want to join this team?"


    Upon hearing the man''s statement, Kenelm was the first to lose his temper.


    At that point, Kenelm felt that his dreams were crushed. He felt like an invisible giant hand suddenly fell from the sky, wiping away his future. Surely, he was not happy with the strapping man''s comments.


    "It''s said that people who can get to the tomb of your member can become a disciple of the Sword Light Palace. But at this point, it seems that the Sword Light Palace is not going to fulfill this promise!" questioned Kenelm.


    Smiling faintly, the strapping man replied, "There is no reason for the Sword Light Palace to not keep their promises. If you don''t want to change your mind and stay in the Sword Dance Palace, then I will certainly welcome you with open arms..."


    "What do you mean by that? What are you trying to say?" Kenelm asked as he was starting to get angry at the man''s audacity.


    Shrugging his shoulders, the strapping man responded, "Well, I''m not here to offend you. I''m just telling the truth."


    The Sword Light Palace had such a big force in the Seven-Star Province and had extremely complicated relationships with others.


    In fact, many big clans in the Seven-Star Province hoped to send their people to the Sword Light Palace. But due to various reasons, the Sword Light Palace was not able to refu


    rried tone.


    Although Kenelm appeared to be the backbone of the group, he would turn to Zen in times of trouble.


    However, Zen ignored Kenelm and trotted all the way, catching up with the two cyan-robed men who brought them to the living area.


    The two men turned around and saw Zen chasing after them. Confused, one of the men asked him, "What seems to be the problem?"


    Zen gave them a smile and asked, "I just want to ask you. What are the rules in the Sword Dance Palace? Would there be any punishment for any disciples who fight?"


    Taken aback by Zen''s question, the two cyan-robed men exchanged glances. Of course, they knew what was going on in the backyard, and that was why they left hurriedly. Although those little devils were not extraordinary when it came to talent, they had a very strong background and were also responsible for the Sword Dance Palace''s bad reputation.


    "Well, there are not many rules in the Sword Dance Palace. Disciples can spar with each other, but you can''t kill people," one of the two replied.


    Almost all the disciples who joined the Sword Dance Palace had to be challenged by that group of little devils, like some kind of initiation. Only a small number of people were able to make it through, and most of them chose to leave the Sword Dance Palace after staying for less than one day.


    In fact, more than one hundred people had chosen to quit this year.


    "I see. Thank you for answering my question." Zen nodded as he returned to the backyard.


    Shaking their heads slightly, the two cyan-robed men were concerned about him and his friends. "This person doesn''t believe that those little devils are difficult to deal with. If he leaves now, then he would surely avoid injury. I mean, those guys are really..."


    Apparently, the two of them had suffered a lot from those troublemakers.

 Chapter 2999 Counterattack

    The disciples of the Sword Dance Palace had mediocre talents. However, they had connections with the higher-ups of the Seven-Star City and the Sword Light Palace.


    Each of them had a different sort of link with them. They were either direct descendants of some elders, or members of the large clans in the Seven-Star City.


    Due to these links, they were spoiled rotten by their families. When they collectively joined the Sword Dance Palace, they became well acquainted with one another and formed an alliance. This proved cancerous for the Sword Light Palace. If anyone dared provoke them, they would find themselves facing severe consequences.


    After learning the rules of the palace, he made up his mind on what he had to do and headed back to the backyard through the same path he came.


    As he made his way back, an explosive sound coming from the backyard made him stop in his tracks. Shortly after, he witnessed a strong wave of heat spread across the walls. Before he could process anything, he heard disturbing outcries coming from the direction of the sound. He quickened his steps to see what was going on.


    Meanwhile, Kenelm and the others lay splayed out on the ground in the backyard. Each of their bodies was charred and badly injured from the impact.


    In a state of shock, one of the injured warriors became furious and shouted, "We are now fellow disciples of the Sword Dance Palace after we joined. How could you treat us like this?"


    The man who spoke out was a respectable authority figure at the Excellence City. He had been recommended by the city lord to become a disciple at the Sword Dance Palace. His arrogant nature did not stand for this behavior towards him. How could he stomach being treated with such disgrace by the members of the Sword Dance Palace?


    "Who are our fellow disciples? Do you think you are even qualified?" An authoritative voice came from the group. A silver-haired young man pushed aside the disciples and walked over to the protesting man. The approaching figure had handsome features, and was the youngest of the group. Overflowing with arrogance he took two steps towards this man before stomping him down on the ground. He looked at the man and scowled. "Whether you can join the Sword Dance Palace or not is not the decision of the higher-ups or Ingram. It is us, who make the final call. Understood?"


    The man gritted his teeth and glared at him. "What should we do to join the Sword Dance Palace?"


    The silver-haired boy shrugged his shoulders and chuckled in amusement. "Well, you have to pass five tests. What you''ve experienced just now was the first test: the burning test!"


    "What''s the second test?" the man asked looking displeased.


    "The second test is the statue test," the silver-haired boy replied as traces of ice particles began


    s full consciousness.


    "To know the rules, of course," Zen replied with a gentle smile.


    "To know the rules? What do you mean?" Kenelm asked again in confusion.


    Zen glanced towards the disciples and loosened his grip on Kenelm. He slowly stood up and said indifferently, "I heard that all disciples can fight freely as long as no one dies in combat. I didn''t expect the rules of the Sword Light Palace to be so loose."


    When the silver-haired boy heard this, he smirked mockingly. "Why do you trouble yourself to learn these rules? Do you want to fight with us?"


    In the Seven-Star City, they were always the ones who would bully others. No one dared to stand up against them.


    Zen balled his hands into fists and tightened his jaw. He glared at the silver-haired boy and smiled, "That''s exactly what I''ve been thinking about!"


    The moment these words left his mouth, Zen dashed towards the silver-haired boy like an arrow released from its bow. The ground beneath his feet turned to powder as he stomped on it with massive strength.


    The boy froze in place unable to react. Baffled from Zen''s sudden advancement, the boy saw a vicious flash of light sparkled in front of his eyes. Before he could say anything, Zen''s fist made contact with his face and sent him flying.


    Bang!


    With a grating sound, the silver-haired boy rolled over in the air and crashed into the wall of the backyard. The impact of his back hitting the wall so hard cracked it into pieces.


    Zen had only used one-tenth of his whole strength in this punch. Had he used up his full potential, he could have cracked the boy''s skull open.


    The silver-haired boy''s handsome face had been deformed from the blow as he lay motionless on the ground.


    Everyone who witnessed the scene gasped in utter bewilderment. After all, the young boy''s father was the head of the noble Yuebai Clan!

 Chapter 3000 The Bitter Lesson

    The air in the backyard seemed to solidify. These rich, evil disciples hadn''t expected Zen to make such a move.


    "How dare you attack Jago!" one of them shouted.


    Zen turned to smile at the young man. "I''m a fair person," he said with a shrug.


    "Fair about what?" the young man barked, puzzled at Zen''s words.


    "I don''t discriminate between people. I''ll punch everyone," Zen said, floating like a ghost towards the other man and slapping him in the face.


    The smack was so heavy it sent the young man spinning several times and flying through the air


    before he fell to the ground.


    The diabolical disciples finally realized that Zen wasn''t to be taken lightly.


    "The Soul-controlling Bead!"


    One of the disciples pulled out the silver bead again. With a flash of light, the bead sealed the internal momentum in Zen''s body.


    But Zen hadn''t used any internal momentum yet. He could move at a high speed using purely his physical strength.


    The rich, evil disciples all had a high cultivation base, but their actual combat ability was close to zero. They might be good at playing tricks and using their magic weapons to suppress consummate True Gods. But it was impossible for them to defeat Zen, who was experienced in battles.


    The Soul-controlling Bead blocked his elixir field, causing Zen to stop and reconsider. And then, in the blink of an eye, he rushed over to the young man.


    He stretched out both his hands like lightning and grabbed the bead with one hand while twisting the young man''s arm with the other, shattering it into pieces.


    Zen sighed as he saw the horror in the man''s eyes.


    These people had their cultivation bases and magic weapons, and yet they were so weak that they could hardly cope with anything.


    "Trap him!" someone shouted.


    But it was not easy to trap Zen.


    Zen activated the Truth of Cultivation Nature


    and moved extremely fast.


    There was no way for his foes to catch up with him.


    As they chased him, houses, rockeries, and walls in the backyard came crashing down. Even the ground


    himself.


    "Really?" Zen said, his faint smile amused.


    He spread out his arms and flew up into the air, drawing a perfect arc as he went.


    This time, Zen had used eighty percent of his strength.


    The golden eggshell shook under the violent attack, but it still stood strong.


    "Go on! You think you can break my grandfather''s Latent Theurgy? You are daydreaming!"


    the long-haired young man roared.


    Zen ignored the young man''s sarcasm


    and poured his violent power on the golden eggshell through his punches.


    A crack eventually appeared in the upper part of the eggshell.


    The young man panicked, horrified.


    He knew very well that he was no match for Zen. Once the golden eggshell broke, he would probably end up like the others.


    Zen took a deep breath and extracted his strength source so that it gathered in his fist.


    He was about to crush the golden eggshell once and for all when a palm emerged from one side and blocked his movements.


    Zen''s fist hit the palm.


    All of a sudden, all the power of his fist vanished.


    "That''s enough," said Ingram Qiu, coming to stand before Zen.


    He looked cautiously at the young man in front of him.


    Strength aside, he was surprised to see that Zen even had the courage to challenge the troublesome disciples of the Sword Dance Palace. After all, Zen had just joined the Sword Dance Palace.

 Chapter 3001 The Destroyed Sword Dance Palace

    The young man with long hair looked even more ferocious when he saw that Ingram had arrived and stopped Zen.


    He screamed, "Ingram! Crush him! Kill him! Just like the way you would kill an ant!"


    The youth with wild long hair was Faegan Qiu. Even though he was not a very powerful martial artist, he held an honorary position in the Qiu Clan hierarchy. That was why he had the audacity to command Ingram to kill Zen.


    Witnessing the scene, Kenelm and his friends started to get jittery. If the leader of the palace took the matter seriously, Zen would definitely land himself in big trouble.


    At the same time, they could not ignore the fact that Zen caused such a ruckus because he stood up for them. Kenelm cupped his hands towards Ingram and said, "Master Ingram, Zen just stood up for us. Hence, we all are willing to take up any punishment bestowed on us. Please leave Zen out of this."


    Ignoring their remarks, Ingram continued to stare at Zen, as he said, "You just joined the Sword Dance Palace. But in just a short span of time, you managed to injure so many disciples! You are bold!"


    Zen said calmly, "I am well versed with the rules of the Sword Dance Palace, all thanks to that friend, standing over there."


    As he spoke, he pointed to the man in cyan not far away.


    The man looked stunned when everyone''s attention was drawn on him. He was afraid that he would be blamed, so he quickly feigned ignorance and said, "Me? I merely informed him that warriors could spar with each other, as long as they don''t cause any death. That''s the rule we always follow in the Sword Dance Palace."


    The man didn''t expect that Zen would create such a scene and put him in the spotlight!


    Zen smiled at Ingram and said, "That''s a fine rule! Truth be told, no one died today. Even if the disciples of the Sword Dance Palace were seriously injured, they will recover instantly with some treatment."


    Most of those disciples were consummate True Gods. Zen had made conscious efforts to avoid making fatal impact on their bellies and souls. He knew they would regain their strength, no matter how seriously they were wounded, especially when they were in such a powerful place like the Sword Light Palace.


    Ingram stared at Zen for a while. Suddenly his expression cleared, as a thought crept up.


    Zen was sent here by Laura. She was in charge of the thirteen cultivation palaces under the Sword Light Palace. She should be well aware about the chaos of the Sword Dance Palace. Was there any motive behind her sending this man


    his head, there were stars as big as a fist, shining with brilliance.


    These stars were moving extremely fast, and they circled the sky once in just a few seconds. No one knew what kind of mystery was there in the sky of the Source World that it could produce such a miraculous scene.


    "What the hell am I doing here?" Zen wondered out loud.


    Zen had merely agreed to the woman''s invitation because of a whimsical idea of No. 9527. He didn''t see any point in joining this hell place. The Sword Dance Palace was rubbish and it was a complete waste of time for him to stay here.


    "There isn''t any special reason. Joining a human force is always safer than you roaming around aimlessly," No. 9527 replied calmly.


    "Is this what you had planned for me?" Zen complained.


    No. 9527 hardly regretted its decision. It inquired, "What is the problem? What can you do with your current strength? You are still insignificant in any place of Source World. Other than making yourself stronger, is there any other way?"


    "At least you could have selected a decent place and not this rubbish heap! This Sword Light Palace is just nonsense!" Zen complained.


    "The Ancient Scorpion race in the Source World owes my master a favor. If you go to the Ancient Scorpion race, I can help you get a good position, but would you be fine to live among those stinging scorpions?" No. 9527 asked.


    Zen pursed his lips and didn''t say anything.


    There were all sorts of strange races in the Source World, and most of them weren''t even humans.


    Besides, Zen was not capable of crossing a province. Since he had joined the Sword Light Palace, the only option he had was to stay and face the challenges.

 Chapter 3002 Killing Two Birds With One Stone

    Faegan was the last to wake up.


    When he finally pried his eyes open, he discovered he was soaking in a large tank filled with a blood red liquid.


    The liquid was the sap of an insect containing the soul force capable of effectively healing damage to the soul.


    Faegan awoke enraged.


    He was about to burst out of the large tank and on his way when a woman flew from behind, forcing him back into the tank.


    "Master Faegan, you really are injured quite badly. You''d better remain in the tank a while longer to fully heal your wounds," the woman said very patiently, a sweet smile on her face.


    "I wish to see my father! How dare Ingram hurt me! I''ll get my father to kick him from our clan!" Faegan exclaimed with great displeasure and resentment.


    On hearing this, the woman shook her head and said calmly, "I''ve already spoken with your father."


    "What did he say?" Faegan asked, his eyes lighting up.


    "He said you deserved it," the woman said helplessly. "Although the Board of Elders has demoted Ingram, he is still a hero of the Qiu Clan. The Qiu Clan is to blame for what happened that year. Even the elders dare not mention this in front of Ingram, but you did. You''re quite lucky he didn''t kill you in a fit of anger."


    Faegan frowned and realized that he really was too rash. At the least he shouldn''t have targeted Ingram.


    His heart still fluttered with fear when he thought of that dreadful scene.


    "Humph! I''ll put this matter aside right now! Astrid, accompany me to kill that brat from the Sword Dance Palace!" Faegan yelled in demand.


    Astrid was an adopted daughter of the Qiu Clan and a great talent no doubt. Although she didn''t join any palace, she had reached the Other Shore Realm under the training of the Qiu Clan. For her, killing a consummate True God would be child''s play.


    Astrid and Faegan had a good relationship. Because of this, Faegan thought she would accept his offer without hesitation. Much to his surprise, Astrid shook her head solemnly and said, "Master Faegan, I can''t."


    "Why is that?" Faegan asked, raising his voice. Astrid was always very obedient to him.


    "Your fathe


    the Demon Sword Palace, but she had made a decision to leave Zen in the Sword Dance Palace temporarily.


    On the one hand, she could test Zen, and on the other hand, she could teach the playboys in the Seven-Star City with the help of Zen. It could be seen as killing two birds with one stone.


    But she didn''t expect that Zen would go that far. On the first day, he had made the Sword Dance Palace a mess, and even made Ingram furious.


    That day, she had also been observing Zen secretly. If the situation got out of control, she would take action to stop it.


    However, Zen knew what he was doing. She was quite pleased that he hadn''t killed anyone.


    She had then informed all the clans of the Seven-Star City in advance that no one was allowed to make a move against Zen. She wondered how Faegan and other playboys would fight back with this in mind.


    The Sword Dance Palace was quiet for a few days. The eleven new members lived in the spacious backyard.


    Some goods were distributed in the palace, such as the cyan clothes and the cyan swords of the Sword Light Palace.


    Of course, the cyan swords that Kenelm and the others received were different from the Stinger Guards'', but they were enough to surprise and excite them.


    In addition, the Sword Light Palace had given them the most important thing, the translation of the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent, from which they could learn the Truth of Godly Way.

 Chapter 3003 Cultivating Two Truths Of Godly Ways

    Truths of Godly Ways were common in the Source World.


    It was difficult to decipher the meaning of the Sanskrit words that had been used to record the Truths of Godly Ways. However, once deciphered, the record would be extremely easy to replicate.


    Many versions of the translations of the Truths of Godly Ways existed. In addition to the versions of human language, the texts had also been transcribed in the languages of other races.


    The translations of the Truths of Godly Ways were easy to obtain, but few people could truly comprehend them.


    "There appears to be no difference between this translation and what we usually see," said Kenelm as he thumbed through the translation, his face plainly showing his disappointment.


    After staying at the Sword Dance Palace for so many days, the group had been looking forward to what they would get. To their disappointment, it was nothing out of the ordinary.


    "The Truth of Godly Way is translated as a whole. You cannot add or subtract one word, as it is strictly prohibited. It only makes sense that there is no difference between this translation and what we usually see. The most important resource belonging to the Sword Light Palace is the Lofty Sword. If we could observe it from a short distance, the knowledge could be extremely helpful to us," another person opined.


    "You''re right, Hyde. We joined the Sword Light Palace not because of this translation," Kenelm agreed. Then he looked over at Zen.


    Zen leafed through the cyan book in his hand and recited the contents of a page under his breath, as if he couldn''t wait to cultivate the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent recorded in the book.


    "Zen, do you want to cultivate the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent? Haven''t you already cultivated the Truth of Cultivation Nature?" asked Kenelm. A strange look passed across his face.


    Zen''s train of thought was interrupted by Kenelm''s question. He smiled faintly and said, "Can''t I? Is it not possible to cultivate two Truths of Godly Ways?"


    "It''s not like that. What I meant was, since you have already practiced the Truth of Cultivation Nature, it would be too late and time-consuming for you to cultivate the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent too. Although the masters in the Sword Light Palace focus on the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent, they also have the cultivation methods that correspond to the other Truths of Godly Ways."


    Zen nodded and replied, "If cultivating one more Truth of Godly Way wouldn''t pose any problems, then I don''t intend to waste such an


    to battle at will.


    These disciples had set up the rules of the Sword Dance Palace in order to drive away the disciples who joined the palace after them.


    Kenelm and his friends looked at each other, deeply concerned. Zen, however, was not the least bit worried about it.


    Zen tilted his head and stared at Faegan. "Even if the rules were laid down by you, they are still the rules of the Sword Dance Palace. Isn''t it against them to have an outsider fight for you?"


    "It''s a pity. I''m a disciple of the Sword Dance Palace," Chadwick said flatly.


    Faegan also mocked, "Only losers like you will follow the rules and try to avoid getting caught. It''s a pity, isn''t it?"


    Zen shook his head without any expression. "If he were not a disciple of the Sword Dance Palace, I would be breaking the rules. Now that he has identified himself as a disciple of the Sword Dance Palace, then I won''t be breaking the rules. I''m relieved to hear that."


    "What do you mean?" Chadwick''s eyes slightly narrowed.


    With a bang, the ground that had just been repaired was suddenly ripped wide open into a massive hole. Zen transformed into a remnant figure, cutting a path at an unimaginable speed and coming straight toward Chadwick.


    With his cultivation base, Chadwick could undisputedly rank first in the Sword Dance Palace. However, like the other disciples in the Sword Dance Palace, he had little experience in actual combat. He had never thought that Zen would suddenly launch an attack.


    When Zen reached him, Chadwick had already pulled his cyan sword out of its sheath. Then, a crisp sound rang, and before anyone could blink, his one arm was swinging down uselessly to his side.

 Chapter 3004 Observing The Lofty Sword

    Faced with Zen''s sudden attack, Chadwick flew into a rage.


    The Sword Light Palace was actually a sect that attached great importance to battle rules. In other words, they despised a sneak attack more than anything else.


    Even if the two were engaged in a fair competition, Zen was almost sure that he''d defeat his opponent without too much struggle. However, he didn''t want to waste both his time and energy by getting into a fight with this man. It just wasn''t worth it. What Zen wanted, in fact, was only to solve the problem as quickly as possible.


    Followed by Chadwick''s shocked and confused expression, Zen''s palm was already pushing against his opponent''s jaw. In a split second, Chadwick heard a loud roar coming from his very own head. White light flashed before his entire body went limp and unconscious.


    Zen cast a last glance at the unconscious Chadwick before turning to look at Faegan and Jago. He smiled faintly and asked, "Do you still want to fight me?"


    As Faegan and Jago watched the scene played out before their very eyes, their faces turned ghastly pale. If it were anyone else, how would they dare fight back?


    Despite everything, they had come here aggressively. How could they retreat now, after having come so far? That would be nothing less than humiliating. The two of them couldn''t help but feel completely embarrassed.


    "Fight!" Faegan shouted loudly.


    They were well prepared for today''s fight. Maybe they still had a chance, Faegan figured.


    It took no more than five minutes before thirty or so disciples were lying down on the ground once more.


    This time, Zen had restrained himself a lot. He simply knocked them out one by one, causing very little damage to the Sword Dance Palace.


    In a private Sword Dance Palace room, Ingram''s lips spread into a smile as he observed the ongoing scene. He couldn''t help but admire Laura''s foresight.


    After travelling to the Gracious Province, Laura not only brought the former leader''s personal effects back with her, but she also brought back a genius¡ªZen. Ingram believed that Zen would still be a top disciple if he were in the Burial Sword Palace. Perhaps this time, the Sword Dance Palace would be capable of flourishing thanks to Zen.


    Previously, Ingram was dissatisfied with being relegated to the Sword Dance Palace. But now, he was looking forward to the palace''s future.


    It wasn''t until they were taught two lessons in a row that Faegan, Jago and their followers finally understood what was happening to them.


    The clans that they relied on no longer provided them with assistance. Even Chadwick, the strongest one among them, wasn''t a near match for Zen. There were no resources on their side that could help them fight back.


    After understanding the problem clearly, they finally chose to accept their destiny, ultimately deciding to get along with Zen and his followers.


    "Zen, the best room of the Sword Dance Palace has been kept for you!"


    "As for the others, you may choose your rooms according to the rules."


    On h


    the Sword Dance Palace. Compared with other palaces'' platforms, this one looked somewhat ridiculous in appearance.


    Nonetheless, although the platform was small, it had never been full in the past. Sometimes, the platform was completely deserted, in fact. After all, the disciples in the Sword Dance Palace weren''t interested in cultivating. Even if the chance of observing the sword was very rare, they still wouldn''t cherish it in the least.


    When it came to tradition though, the middle-aged man would still call them over.


    "Disciples of the Sword Dance Palace, get onto the platform."


    As the middle-aged man''s voice spread out once again, waves of space fluctuation suddenly spread outward on the platform as well.


    Buzz! Buzz!


    In unison, more than forty people from the Sword Dance Palace appeared on the platform.


    The middle-aged man was rather taken aback upon seeing so many warriors appear on the platform at once. In fact, he had never witnessed such a scene before.


    As the other disciples watched their sudden appearance, they too, portrayed expressions of confusion.


    The Sword Dance Palace disciples'' bad reputation was known to the other palaces. The Sword Dance Palace disciples were arrogant and domineering, but they all had strong family backgrounds that couldn''t afford to be offended.


    Fortunately, the thirteen palaces were all established separately. The disciples from each of the twelve palaces wouldn''t provoke the Sword Dance Palace disciples, and in this way, not many conflicts rose amongst them.


    In the past sword observing activities, most often, there weren''t any disciples from the Sword Dance Palace in attendance. At times, there were seven or eight disciples attending the activity. They didn''t observe the sword carefully, but clamored instead. More so, they had been expelled several times.


    Therefore, the Sword Dance Palace platform was completely empty the last three times. More than forty people came here today, which made the others feel rather strange.

 Chapter 3005 The Lofty Sword

    Kenelm, Hyde, and eight others were from the Excellence City. It was their first time seeing the Lofty Sword from such a close distance. Naturally, all of them were absolutely thrilled.


    The origin and legend of the Lofty Sword were known far and wide. Kenelm and his friends heard about these stories from their families during their childhood.


    Once upon a time, the Seven-Star Province was only known as a savage land. It was inhabited by only a few people and most of them were still uncivilized.


    Back then, the Seven-Star Province was still being ruled by Jonas, a powerful unhuman monster. The size of his body was comparable to a huge mountain. His strength greatly exceeded the power of most Other Shore Realm warriors of the human race.


    It was about a million years ago when the Lofty Sword came down from the sky and nailed Jonas down to the Seven-Star Mountain.


    The Lofty Sword belonged to a swordsman named Athemar Qiu. He descended towards the Seven-Star Province and vanquished Jonas. After that, he created the Sword Light Palace.


    For the next million years, the Sword Light Palace continued to reign over the entire Seven-Star Province. It even expanded to some provinces surrounding it. It even had a huge influence on the inhabitants of the barren Gracious Province.


    For this reason, most people from the Gracious Province like Kenelm dreamed about joining the Sword Light Palace someday.


    Zen started looking around as he sat cross-legged on the platform. The people from the other palaces, however, were all sitting elegantly. His gaze fell softly upon the Lofty Sword not far away from him.


    The main reason why they were observing the Lofty Sword was to understand the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent. Yet as of this moment, the sword didn''t show its sharp aura which was supposed to radiate from it. Somehow, it seemed like it had been sealed by an invisible sword sheath.


    "This sword really has a magnificent presence!"


    Being an accomplished swordsman, Zen was well versed in the art of swordsmanship.


    When Laura brought Zen and the others into the Seven-Star City, the Lofty Sword had emitted a different kind of aura. It was much more unusual today compared to what they had witnessed before.


    The Lofty Sword he had been observing for quite a while now had possibly hidden its true aura. However, he knew that it was actually very similar to a dragon diving into the abyss. It could burst forth at any moment too. Therefore, it was far more frightening now than it had been before.


    ''I wonder if anyone in the Sword Light Palace is capable of controlling the Lofty Sword, '' Zen thought to himself.


    The other disciples like Faegan and Jago now appeared quiet and reserved. They had a bad reputation and se


    ward."


    These statements from Zen temporarily stupefied Faegan, Jago, and others. Soon after, these words began to stir something deep in their hearts.


    It was true that they already gave up on themselves in the Sword Dance Palace. At the same time, they were still quite proud of themselves. For instance, Jago was determined to believe that he was not lagging behind Freeman Qiu when it came to talent. Despite this, he refused to even prove himself.


    On the contrary, Zen stated that it wasn''t simply because Jago declined to prove himself. In reality, he was merely a coward who didn''t have the guts to challenge Freeman Qiu.


    They were perfectly fine being known as playboys who were up to no good. But deep within their hearts, they still yearned to prove themselves to their own clans.


    Faegan and his companions were engrossed in their own thoughts. Suddenly, the officiant told everyone, "Ready yourselves! I am now going to activate the array!"


    Hardly had the officiant finished his words when all the disciples of the thirteen palaces took out the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent translations.


    Subsequently, the officiant sat down in the middle of the platform. His hands made some sort of movement, and orbs of pale cyan light emerged around him.


    Almost simultaneously, the energy around the Lofty Sword changed abruptly.


    The Truth of Godly Way that had originally accumulated and formed into a sphere started to bloom. The Truth of Eternal Sword Intent gradually radiated from the Lofty Sword.


    Buzz! Buzz!


    Long and slender streaks of cyan light arose from the surface of the Lofty Sword. They wriggled and surged towards the disciples.


    A streak of cyan light shot towards the space between Zen''s eyebrows. This made him squint a little. Before he could dodge it, the streak of light entered his mind.

 Chapter 3006 Truth Competition

    Zen frowned dubiously. He hated anything else getting inside his head.


    After all, the Infinity Ruler was still in his mind. If its existence was found out by others, it might cause him some unnecessary trouble.


    Zen was slightly startled at the cyan thread drilling into his head. "Will this thing... you know..." he nervously asked No. 9527.


    Zen didn''t need to complete his thought. No. 9527 knew what he was worried about. "Don''t panic. This is just an illusion created by the sword with Truth of Eternal Sword Intent. This thread can''t pry into your mind. Besides, the Infinity Ruler in your mind is just a delusional idea of Chiyou. It wouldn''t be a big deal, even if it were discovered."


    Up until this point, No. 9527 still thought the chances of integrating all kinds of Godly Ways were slim.


    Zen breathed a sigh of relief. The instant the cyan thread reached his soul, his surroundings suddenly changed.


    The officiant, the platforms, and the scenery in the distance disappeared in an instant.


    The only things that remained were the Lofty Sword in front of him, the disciples of the thirteen cultivation palaces, and the translation of Truth of Eternal Sword Intent in their hands.


    "What an illusion!"


    "The Truth of Eternal Sword Intent seems to have tangible existence!"


    "No wonder it is said that Lofty Sword can save the disciples half the effort. I feel my mind is so much clearer now!"


    Kenelm and his friends could not contain their excitement. They eagerly reached out to touch the cyan thread hovering in front of their foreheads.


    When the disciples of the other cultivation palaces overheard what they were talking about, their faces fell with disdain and disgust.


    "Where did Sword Dance Palace get these nincompoops?"


    "It seems they have never been to such an event before..."


    "Sword Dance Palace is a dumpster. How can anybody expect them to recruit any talents?"


    "Just ignore them. Don''t waste your time!"


    The disciples of Burial Sword Palace and Demon Sword Palace shrugged at each other, sneering at Kenelm and his gang. They then held up the translation in their hands and began reading it.


    Their voices were very loud and clear.


    "The warriors of the land of the ancient swordsmanship have been exploring ways of cultivation since ancient times. Their eagerness to improve never ceases. It''s the way to the prosperity of the world..."


    They each recited at their own speed. However, with everyone reciting at varying lengths, together


    was on the same level as Elgin Qiu and Beldene Yuebai. Faegan couldn''t help but feel a bit jealous.


    "We can take our time. As long as we don''t stop, we can catch up to them, one step at a time," Zen said with a reassuring smile.


    Faegan shrugged but didn''t try to argue. Finally, he opened the translation in his hand, reciting the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent in a low voice.


    On the main platform, after having activated the array, the officiant put his hands behind his back and stared at the Lofty Sword.


    The leaders of the cultivation palaces also arrived at this time.


    "This group of disciples started their cultivation at the same time. Elgin Qiu and Beldene Yuebai have surpassed the others by a lot, unsurprisingly. I''m afraid there''s no way for the other disciples to catch up with them," said a petite woman as she observed the Lofty Sword. She was the leader of Sword Legend Palace. As she spoke, she watched Elgin Qiu and Beldene Yuebai battle, a hint of regret glinting in her eyes. She had come to the realization that not recruiting Elgin Qiu was her biggest mistake.


    "What''s with the Sword Dance Palace today? They have so many people present here. This is new," the leader of the Sword Anger Palace asked curiously. He paused to glance around. "Well, I don''t see Ingram..."


    "Why would he be here? Anyway, if the losers from the Sword Dance Palace don''t work hard, he will never be able to earn respect from the Board of Elders in his life," said the head of the Sword Legend Palace, smiling coldly.


    However, the moment those words left her mouth, two figures floated over.


    The figures were none other than Ingram and Laura.

 Chapter 3007 Talent

    Laura was the one in charge of the thirteen cultivation palaces, making her the immediate superior of each palace.


    She was only second to the three elders and the current leader of the Sword Light Palace.


    The leaders of other palaces showed their respect as they all bowed to her as a sign of courtesy.


    The leader of the Sword Legend Palace approached her with a small smile and asked, "How is your talk going, Master Laura?"


    Glancing at her indifferently, Laura coldly replied, "It''s none of your business."


    "Well, do you really think that we have to fulfill the promise?" inquired the Burial Sword Palace leader, Dalton Yuebai.


    "Think about it. The Seven-Star Province respects us for our good reputation. It is our duty to fulfill our promise. But more importantly, what does this have to do with you?" Laura questioned back.


    Right after Caspian''s disappearance, the Sword Light Palace swore that if his tomb was to be found, then a new leader would be selected.


    Over the past years, the tomb remained undiscovered and the current leader had been ruling the Sword Light Palace ever since.


    Nobody had expected that today, Laura could reclaim her father''s tomb. Staying true to their promise, they should choose a new leader.


    As of the moment, the Sword Light Palace was divided into two groups. Even the three elders could not get along with each other.


    Two of the three elders were on the current leader''s side so they did not agree with the reelection. Because of this, the whole Sword Light Palace was at a dispute.


    Thinking of this, Laura was understandably not in a good mood at all.


    After rebutting the two leaders, she glanced at the platform where the Sword Dance Palace was located, showing a touch of concern in her face.


    Smiling, Dalton asked, "You came here today to see the new disciples of the Sword Dance Palace, yes?"


    Before she could say anything, the leader of the Demon Sword Palace interrupted and spoke, "They are nothing but ordinary divine citizens from the Gracious Province. Why do you even care about them? They have such mediocre talent and weak foundation! Recruiting them is a waste of resources."


    "The Sword Dance Palace has long been a place for good-for-nothings and rascals of the streets. It''s not a big deal to have more like them,"


    loring ways of cultivation since ancient times..."


    After he read some words on the translation, an idea popped into his mind.


    At that moment, he felt that his consciousness was integrated into the sword-shaped pattern on the Lofty Sword.


    He felt that he himself turned into a sword! It was as if his soul had come out of his body.


    "Their eagerness to improve never ceases. It''s the way to the prosperity of the world....."


    As he continued to recite the words, the Lofty Sword slowly gave off the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent that soaked his soul.


    Zen had just started learning, so the knowledge of the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent was somewhat shallow.


    At that moment, he sensed that someone had actually led him to comprehend the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent, making the whole process smooth.


    Shortly after, he had already recited five hundred words, and the sword-shaped pattern had grown larger and larger on the Lofty Sword. Now it was about half a foot long and was as thick as an arm.


    At that moment, the palace leaders'' eyes were fixed on the platform of the Sword Dance Palace, waiting for something to happen. Finally, they found Zen''s sword-shaped pattern.


    Surprised, Dalton stared at Zen and said, "He must be the person Ingram mentioned. It''s quite an amazing feat that he can recite five to six hundred words despite that this is his first time learning the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent. However, the Burial Sword Palace also has a lot of talents like him. Let''s not make a big deal out of it."

 Chapter 3008 Understanding Level

    The voice of the leader of the Sword Legend Palace echoed through the air. "Let alone the Burial Sword Palace and the Demon Sword Palace, even in our Sword Legend Palace, more than ten disciples can pull that off!"


    The leader of the Demon Sword Palace laughed and said, "It''s normal for Ingram to be excited. After all, the Sword Dance Palace is a place where a bunch of useless craps gather. When there suddenly appeared a disciple who looked somewhat better than the others, he began gloating..."


    The other leaders of the cultivation palaces all agreed with her and smiled.


    However, Ingram just ignored their remarks and kept his gaze fixated on Zen. He rubbed his chin as he watched him from afar with curious eyes.


    Ingram believed Zen''s potential was far more than what he showed. He was convinced Zen was a lot stronger than he was letting on.


    The sword-shaped patterns on the surface of the Lofty Sword gradually got bigger and bigger, and they continued to rise higher and higher.


    If a disciple encountered difficulties during their practice with the Lofty Sword and was stuck at a certain point, the sword would assist them by showing the corresponding Truth of Eternal Sword Intent. Under the influence of the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent, the disciples would feel enlightened from its support. This would aid them in overcoming their problems.


    Due to this, the speed of cultivation of the disciples from the Sword Light Palace was faster than that of the True Gods outside who cultivated by themselves.


    Zen continued to put in efforts as he recited in a low voice, his eyes shining with determination.


    Normally during recitation, the further a person went, their speed of understanding would slow down and they would lose their momentum. But Zen was on a whole different level. If anything, his speed kept increasing!


    In fact, someone as talented as him didn''t even feel the need of taking the Lofty Sword''s support if he were to recite less than two thousand words. Under the baptism of the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent from the Lofty Sword, Zen seemed to become stronger!


    Six hundred words...


    Eight hundred words...


    One thousand words...


    The eyes of the palace leaders were now glued to Zen. What Zen had achieved currently could be considered a small feat.


    In less than five minutes, Zen had done the impossible task of reciting more than one thousand words. His talent was at a high level.


    "He has recited over a thousand words in five minutes. I suppose it might be something extraordinary in the Sword Legend Palace, but it''s normal in our Burial Sword Palace," said Dalton, looking uneasy. He pretended to shrug it off.


    Ingram continued to observe without uttering a word. If Zen was only capable of this level, then he wasn''t worth his attention. But he had a hunch that Zen''s first attempt at this wouldn''t stop here.


    "His speed of reciting seems to be getting fast


    elm assumed he might have recited two or three hundred words at best. He looked along the cyan thread that was connected to Zen''s forehead. Kenelm squinted his eyes to see Zen''s sword-shaped pattern on the Lofty Sword. He could not believe his eyes. His body trembled at the sight of it.


    "Zen''s sword-shaped pattern... is now as high as half a person?" A look of disbelief painted Kenelm''s face.


    Although he always knew Zen was a genius, he never expected him to be so gifted. Zen had already surpassed most of the disciples of the cultivation palaces in his first attempt.


    Kenelm was not the only one who was watching Zen in utter amazement. Faegon, Jago and the other disciples from noble clans witnessed his incredible talent from afar.


    Before this, Faegon was content with his achievements. He even thought he was better than the other disciples due to having more experience of being a disciple of the palace. At least he was able to recite over three hundred words, and his sword-shaped pattern was the size of a palm.


    But his sense of superiority over the others had only lasted for a quick quarter. Now Zen had left him far behind in terms of learning this Truth of Godly Way as he kept progressing further.


    ''This guy... He really shouldn''t belong to the Sword Dance Palace...'' Faegan sighed in his heart as he felt defeated.


    Meanwhile, Zen''s sword-shaped pattern continued to grow bigger and higher. Its size attracted the attention of the disciples from other palaces.


    These disciples were all full of themselves and thought they had the best talent. How could they tolerate Zen''s pattern growing so rapidly compared to their own? They began to take offense at Zen''s formidable strength.


    Several disciples from the Demon Sword Palace and the Burial Sword Palace took an unusual move. As they began reciting collectively, their sword-shaped patterns on the blade of the Lofty Sword surrounded Zen''s sword-shaped pattern.

 Chapter 3009 Disciples Gains

    The Truth Competition was a must-have activity in the cultivation palaces.


    These sword-shaped patterns reflected the level of the disciples'' comprehension of the Truth of Godly Way. When disciples at the same level battled against each other in the Truth Competition, their desire to win would be aroused, and they would gain more insight about the Truth of Godly Way in the process.


    In fact, it was common for disciples to make a breakthrough during the Truth Competition.


    For example, Elgin and Beldene had been participating in the Truth Competition from the very beginning, and both of them had been trying their best to win. In just a short period of time, they had already surpassed a large number of disciples who had started cultivating at the same time as them, and become the most outstanding star disciples in the Sword Light Palace.


    However, the disciples whose sword-shaped patterns were gathering around Zen''s were quite hostile to him.


    In particular, the disciples of the top two cultivation palaces, the Demon Sword Palace and the Burial Sword Palace, intended to uphold their reputation.


    They wouldn''t be nearly as hostile toward Zen if he was from another cultivation palace. However, he was a disciple of the Sword Dance Palace, which was regarded by all the other disciples as nothing but a trash heap. Besides, Zen was not from the Qiu Clan or the Yuebai Clan. The fact that he was allowed to participate in the Truth Competition was like an insult to all of them.


    "Overtake him and step on him!"


    "Force him to slow down!"


    "If he continues to move up, I will stop and defeat him!"


    These several people had also comprehended more than 3, 000 words of the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent. Their sword-shaped patterns were similar to Zen''s, and some of them were even a little stronger.


    As the sword-shaped patterns gathered together, the aura around the Lofty Sword became several times denser.


    Bang! Clank! Clank! Clank!


    When the sword-shaped patterns of the other disciples clashed against Zen''s, crisp metallic sounds resounded in the area as if their weapons were physically colliding with each other. Wisps of truth aura passed through the cyan thread into Zen''s soul.


    Ordinary disciples would have a tough time standing their ground if they were attacked by many people at the same time. They would feel a sharp pain in their heads and would have to stop.


    Zen, however, only slowed down a bit in the face of these attacks. He held a translation in one han


    alace. "Haha. I got it..."


    The man who had spoken was Wade Yuebai. He was the first disciple of the cultivation palace to challenge Zen.


    Just now, when his sword-shaped pattern had hit Zen''s, the truth aura had shot into his mind and produced a sharp pain, as if it was ripping his soul apart. However, when the pain finally faded away, he realized that he had been enlightened.


    After he had comprehended 3, 100 words, his progress had been at a standstill for two whole years. After attacking Zen, however, he had been able to make a breakthrough easily. It was no wonder he was so excited. He almost couldn''t wait to sit down cross-legged and silently read the translation. At this moment, his sword-shaped pattern on the Lofty Sword really started to grow.


    And he wasn''t the only disciple that this had happened to. Two other disciples had also gone through the same experience. With an incomparable excitement, they began to verify the comprehension in their minds.


    "What?"


    The leaders of the cultivation palaces were shocked by the peculiar behavior of these three disciples.


    In order to make it possible for their disciples to enter the Sea of Truth, the palace leaders had done everything they could to cultivate them. However, no matter how much effort they put into it and how many methods they used, they hadn''t been able to achieve their goal. Now, to their surprise, it seemed that these disciples had broken through the bottleneck just by competing against Zen during the Truth Competition.


    "Maybe it''s just a coincidence that these three disciples were able to make it..." Dalton, the leader of the Burial Sword Palace, said in a low voice.

 Chapter 3010 Breaking The Record

    Not long after Dalton finished speaking though, a second batch of disciples who also launched the Truth Competition towards Zen were enlightened.


    Their reactions were exactly the same as those of the first three disciples. They were surprised at first and then immediately concentrated on reciting the Truth of Godly Way in order to verify their ideas.


    There were anywhere between twenty and thirty disciples in the second batch. It was far from a coincidence that each of them broke through the bottleneck, one by one.


    "Can our disciples break through their bottlenecks after sparring with Zen?" someone asked.


    "Why is the Truth of Godly Way he infuses so magical?" someone else chimed in.


    "It''s proof that the way he apprehends the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent is very unique... and unbelievably precise!"


    In that very instant, everyone was astonished, even the officiant. With his mouth slightly agape, he asked, "How... how could this have happened?"


    He had been in charge of the sword observation for such a long time now and over all these years, never had he seen such a bizarre occurrence.


    The palace leaders were equally surprised, but rather delighted. Zen had helped dozens of disciples break through all at the same time, and that had been a great aid to the cultivation palaces.


    "He should be a perfect match for the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent. His truth aura is so perfect that it''s actually pure when left in other disciples'' minds during the Truth Competition. It has an excellent effect... I''ve heard of it once or twice before, but it has never occurred directly in our Sword Light Palace," Laura stated indifferently.


    The Lofty Sword could respond to the disciples with the matched aura of the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent. Nonetheless, the Lofty Sword''s guide lacked flexibility in the end.


    At this point, Zen was on the same page with these disciples, having comprehended over 3, 000 words too. So the truth he had comprehended was what these disciples needed most, making the fight with him more effective than the Lofty Sword itself.


    The leader of the Demon Sword Palace blinked her eyes a few times and came up with an idea. "Can we ask Zen to stop comprehending the remaining words and stay at this stage for a while?" she asked.


    Many disciples of the cultivation palaces had been t


    Competition.


    The Truth of Eternal Sword Intent was written in 9, 449 words. Now, the two of them had already comprehended over 9, 000 words. They were only a step away from driving the Soul of Light to enter the Sea of Truth that they had dreamed of.


    Both of them now had their sword-shaped patterns appearing at the top of the Lofty Sword, leaving the other disciples far behind. Currently, the number three disciple had reached just under 7, 000 words.


    What Elgin and Beldene cared about the most however, was keeping their own records.


    As he learned the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent for the first time, Elgin''s record was 4, 300 words and Beldene''s was 4, 250. Their records could be in the top thirty even when compared with those of the disciples from former batches.


    Elgin and Beldene were satisfied with the result, and this could be read in their expressions. Of course, never had they thought any disciple could surpass their records.


    Today though, a new disciple in the Sword Dance Palace had broken through the 4, 000-word mark. This amazed them to an even greater extent.


    "Disciples of the Sword Dance Palace, except for those from the big clans, are all mediocre people who came from small places. How can there be such a person this time?" asked Beldene, his eyebrows furrowed.


    Another disciple beside Beldene said, "It''s said that this batch of new disciples came here because they had discovered the former palace leader''s tomb. I wonder if that guy has received a certain kind of blessing from the former palace leader..."

 Chapter 3011 At The Top

    Beldene shook his head solemnly. "No matter what blessing he has received, he''s still just a nonentity. We have nothing to envy of him."


    The disciple shrugged his shoulders and said, "In that case, we can only say that there''s an extraordinary talent from the small Gracious Province. Unfortunately, he''s joined the Sword Dance Palace. I still don''t think he can break your record, though."


    "Well, let''s wait and see," replied Beldene with a sly smile, glancing over at Elgin who was sanding just a few feet away.


    Beldene and Elgin were considered to be the most outstanding talents in the Sword Light Palace. Beldene, on his behalf, wasn''t as talented as Elgin, but he was always the more optimistic one.


    Beldene knew how strong he was, and wasn''t shy about demonstrating it. He was an enviable talent in the Sword Light Palace, but he wasn''t considered as outstanding among the talented disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace. In other words, it was expected that someone could eventually surpass him and break his record.


    However, Elgin from the Burial Sword Palace wasn''t the most positive person. Now, he could be seen grim faced and fists clenched.


    In his eyes alone, he was now the number one warrior in the Sword Light Palace, and the palace had great expectations of him. Although Beldene was strong enough to become his opponent, he thought he was much better than him, of course.


    If Zen broke his record, he''d snatch away the honor that should belong to him. Zen might even replace him!


    Because his sword-shaped pattern had been on the top, he simply couldn''t compete with Zen in the Truth Competition. In fact, he couldn''t do anything to stop him.


    "4, 200 words!" someone declared.


    "Apparently, he just won''t stop!" someone else stated.


    "I''m sure he''s going to break the record."


    Many disciples spoke over one another. Zen didn''t quicken or slow down his reciting speed. Instead, he remained steady, constant and confident.


    ''I''m easily learning the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent. This is so strange!''


    Zen thought to himself while he continued reciting. It was safe to say that this was something that he hadn''t expected.


    The Truth of Godly Way reached him through the cyan thread. Instead of feeling any pressure, his thoughts were clear and he was greatly enlightened.


    "4, 250 words! He has officially broken Beldene''s record!"


    exclaimed the crowd together.


    Beldene shrugged his shoulders in a nonchalant manner, still


    miss such an opportunity.


    Without any hesitation, his sword-shaped pattern was already heading straight for Zen''s.


    Not only Beldene, but by the looks of it, Elgin had made the same decision.


    However, Elgin still felt a trace of resentment in his heart. Although he understood that he couldn''t necessarily suppress Zen, he still needed a way to vent his anger.


    When the two sword-shaped patterns, which were as tall as a man, attacked Zen, crisp clash sounds came from the Lofty Sword once again.


    Clang! Clang! Clang!


    As Zen had a better understanding of the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent, the aura he released quickly became extremely ferocious.


    At the moment of collision, Elgin felt a white light flash in his mind, a light that would tear his soul into two pieces.


    It was then that Elgin finally understood why the other disciples screamed in shrill voices.


    Elgin and Beldene remained far more powerful than the others. They let out nothing more than a muffled hum, endured the sharp pain, and continued battling Zen.


    Clang! Clang!


    The three sword-shaped patterns met at once and gave off a series of crisp sounds as they collided repeatedly with each other.


    Zen was as calm as he ever had been. Elgin and Beldene, on the contrary, were drenched in sweat, their eyes wide open. Obviously, they had reached their limits.


    After a while, Beldene ultimately couldn''t hold on any longer. He rolled his eyes upward so only the white could be seen and fell to the platform with a loud thud.


    Elgin''s eyes were red, and he held on for another three seconds. Then his tense face became listless and he fell down too.

 Chapter 3012 Athemar Qiu

    No one was surprised that Zen defeated Elgin and Beldene in the Truth Competition.


    After all, Zen had been participating in the Truth Competition ever since he recited two thousand words of the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent.


    Disciples who couldn''t recite more than two thousand words didn''t challenge Zen. They hadn''t realized yet how much they could benefit from competing against him. All the other disciples, however, were itching to lock horns with him.


    Zen had already beaten many of his challengers. Everyone expected him to win against Beldene and Elgin as well.


    "It seems that he''s stronger than you thought." Laura glanced towards Ingram.


    Ingram''s eyes clouded. "I thought he was about as strong as I was when I had started. I guess I was mistaken. He is much stronger. Is he going to grasp the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent all at once?"


    Laura murmured, "Just like Instant Enlightenment? No wonder he has mastered so many Godly Ways. It''s said that there had only been 19 talents capable of such a thing. I''ve heard about four of them. Three of them cultivated the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent, while the last one cultivated the Truth of Holy Words."


    "And where are these four warriors now?" Ingram asked.


    Laura smiled rather faintly. "Two of them died. Of the remaining two, one became part of the Oneness Sky Palace. The last one''s in the southeast, defending Dragon Cliff as fiercely as ever."


    Ingram''s eyes twinkled with excitement when he heard this.


    Sword Light Palace belonged to Oneness Sky Palace. Although Ingram missed the opportunity to be part of Oneness Sky Palace, he was familiar with its legends. Based on what Laura said, it seemed that the two remaining warriors continued living as powerful human martial artists.


    "If Zen is indeed capable of Instant Enlightenment just like the four warriors you''ve mentioned, does that mean that he..." Ingram''s words trailed off with him left shocked.


    But Laura shook her head and said, "Don''t think too simply of it. It is far more burdening to be talented. Remember that two of them died. A talented warrior will face greater difficulty."


    As they conversed, Zen had already recited 9300 words.


    The Truth of Eternal Swo


    different provinces many decades ago. I never expected to be surprised with a man capable of Instant Enlightenment!"


    The palace leaders looked astounded. They had never imagined a voice transmission array within the sword.


    Laura and the officiant, however, trembled in awe upon recognizing the voice.


    The voice belonged to Athemar Qiu, creator of the Lofty Sword and founder of the Sword Light Palace.


    He was also one of the Qiu Clan''s and the Yuebai Clan''s ancestors.


    He frequently travelled across the Source World and never stayed too long in the Sword Light Palace.


    It was just like what he said. He had created seven Lofty Swords, just as he''d established seven sects like Sword Light Palace. Moreover, the places he''d chosen to do so were seven vast provinces where beasts and monsters prevailed.


    But until now, only two Lofty Swords still existed.


    One of them was in Sword Light Palace. The other five established sects were counterattacked by peerless nonhuman monsters. They dissipated from history shortly after. Even the Lofty Swords were destroyed.


    Suddenly hearing Athemar Qiu''s voice excited the officiant the most. He had been in charge of the Lofty Sword for so many years, yet this was the first time he witnessed the activation of the voice transmission array!


    "Ma... Master Athemar..."


    For a moment, the officiant was at a loss for words. After all, how was he supposed to address the founder of Sword Light Palace, his ancestor?

 Chapter 3013 The Orthodox Forces Of The Human Race

    Athemar was a legendary figure in the Sword Light Palace, even in the entire Seven-Star Province.


    The Seven-Star Province was originally called the Evil-Mantis Province and previously occupied by the Evil Mantis race.


    Very few humans lived in the area. In the past, these humans hadn''t been civilized and had existed in tribes.


    At that time, the human race was at the absolute bottom of the society, and their daily life was a struggle for survival. There existed a constant threat of being killed by the Evil Mantises, who were too cruel and powerful that ordinary divine citizens couldn''t defeat them.


    Fortunately, Athemar''s appearance in the province had changed the situation.


    He had killed Jonas, the most powerful Evil Mantis in the Seven-Star Province who had haunted the province for millions of years and whose viciousness was known far and wide.


    All citizens of the Seven-Star Province well knew about Athemar''s legends, and so did the people in the Gracious Province. However, most people never saw him personally.


    Needless to say, the disciples, the heads of the palaces, the officiant, and Laura were all astounded when they heard Athemar speak.


    "Zen is so extraordinary that he even drew Master Athemar''s attention," Ingram murmured with an awestruck gasp.


    Everyone could hardly contain their excitement. Only Zen remained calm.


    He didn''t know exactly how powerful Athemar was, but he had previously encountered Fuxi and Chiyou in the past. No matter how powerful Athemar was, he couldn''t possibly be above those people.


    Ignoring the officiant, Athemar said to Zen, "Young disciple, please come forward."


    Zen blinked once and stayed rooted to his spot.


    Seeing this, the officiant anxiously said, "Zen, Master Athemar asked you to approach him."


    "I see," Zen replied flatly.


    He lightly stepped on the ground, and a gentle wind wrapped around him and carried him forward toward the Lofty Sword.


    As he approached the Lofty Sword, countless lines emerged on its surface and spread over the whole sword. At the same time, a circular arched door appeared at the center of the sword.


    The officiant was stunned when he saw the arched door.


    He was selected from all members of the Sword Light Palace and tasked with the honorable duty to control the Lofty Sword. Therefore, he held a very high position of authority in the Sword Light Palace and knew the Lofty Sword the best. However, he did not know that an arched door lay hidden inside the Lofty Sword... until now.


    As Zen approached the entrance of the arched door, he paused for a moment and flashed a helpless smile before finally


    ion. "No, I was mistaken. There are only three orthodox forces now. Moreover, Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s strength is no less powerful than that of Yellow Thearch."


    "What nonsense are you talking about? I already have a master," Zen spat out angrily as his face contorted into a scowl.


    Zen did not know what the three orthodox forces of the human race were, but he understood what No. 9527''s words meant.


    He surmised that the Nine Li people would have been one of the orthodox forces of the human race if they hadn''t been destroyed. As it were, only three orthodox forces were left.


    Athemar was very patient. He did not say anything else and just waited quietly for Zen''s response.


    No. 9527 had suggested that Zen should join the Sword Light Palace for a reason: for him to take advantage of their resources to improve himself quickly. However, entering the Sword Light Palace hadn''t been his decision. He did it only because he couldn''t travel through the provinces with his current strength.


    It was beyond their expectation for him to be able to join the Oneness Sky Palace through the Sword Light Palace, and it was indeed the best course of action for them for the time being.


    After weighing his options for several moments, Zen replied, "I am willing to join the Oneness Sky Palace."


    "Good!" Athemar said with a smile in his voice. "In that case, I would like to give you a gift."


    As soon as he finished his words, a cyan longsword with a faint light appeared in the space inside the Lofty Sword. The illusory weapon gave off an unusual aura.


    ''It has the aura of an Other Shore Token, '' Zen realized. ''This sword must be an Other Shore Token!'' At this realization, Zen was filled with elation, and his eyes narrowed in anticipation.

 Chapter 3014 The Imperial Sword Seal

    Athemar smiled faintly. "This is my Other Shore Token, the Enlightenment Sword. Of course, what you see is but a projection onto the Lofty Sword."


    The Other Shore Token was very important to any warrior at the Other Shore Realm. Athemar wouldn''t place his prized token in the Seven-Star Province.


    However, using a special method, one could project their Other Shore Token onto a treasure.


    This was most evident in the use of an Other Shore Token''s projection to allow the Trumpet Flying Ship to travel through the void.


    In this case, the Lofty Sword was a treasure that Athemar created with his Other Shore Token.


    Zen gazed at the light golden ancient sword in confusion. No matter how powerful the projection of the Other Shore Token was, he couldn''t own it. Before reaching the Other Shore Realm, his inner world could not take in any Other Shore Token.


    "The Enlightenment Sword is a great treasure on the Other Shore. It doesn''t have outstanding power, but it can give you an Imperial Sword Seal," Athemar said confidently.


    "Imperial Sword Seal? What''s that?" Zen asked, squinting.


    "You''ll know it soon. The Enlightenment Sword is the only one of its kind," Athemar answered with an arrogant air about him.


    Floating in space, the Enlightenment Sword began to rotate slowly. After a few circles, its blade was aimed directly at Zen''s chest.


    "It seems that I have to move." No. 9527 sighed resignedly, as it shuffled a bit to dodge the blade.


    Then Zen felt a stabbing pain in his chest. The diamond-shaped sclerite on his chest moved quickly.


    The sclerite was sharp. When it moved, it sliced through Zen''s muscles. Such an injury was nothing to him, as he would recover soon after, but that didn''t mean he didn''t feel the pain it inflicted.


    Just as No. 9527 moved away, the ancient sword shot towards Zen.


    It moved so fast that Zen barely had the time to react.


    In the blink of an eye, the sword stabbed Zen''s chest, going clean through him.


    However, as the sword was but an illusion, it didn''t leave any physical woun


    ated to the grade of the sword you use," said Athemar, as though the fact was so obvious.


    Zen''s heart beat wildly at this.


    The magic weapons in the Source World were graded in a different way. The cyan sword, as the standard sword of the Sword Light Palace, was considered ordinary. It was inferior to some of the swords Zen had brought with him from the divine land, among which were some top-grade magic weapons that were given to him by the Sword Clan.


    More importantly, he had the Soaring Snake Sword! Zen''s excitement grew as he explored this thought.


    If the cyan sword, which was deemed "scrap metal" by Athemar, could bring out such power, how much more power could the Soaring Snake Sword release?


    Noticing Zen''s strange expression, Athemar chuckled. "You have some amazing treasures with you, don''t you?"


    Zen''s expression fell as he struggled to conjure some excuse.


    "Don''t worry," Athemar continued, as though reading Zen''s thoughts. "I won''t grab a junior''s treasures."


    Of course, he didn''t know that Zen had Chiyou''s sword. If he knew that, perhaps he would have changed his mind.


    "Now that you have the Imperial Sword Seal, you can leave. Stay at the Sword Light Palace. I will send someone to Seven-Star Province." As he spoke, a circular arch materialized before them again.


    Zen bowed respectfully and then headed into the arch.

 Chapter 3015 Giving Soul Pills

    Zen could feel people staring at him as he retreated from the Lofty Sword.


    They envied Zen, a relatively new member of the Sword Light Palace, yet he was already allowed to see Athemar alone.


    Not even the current head and elders received such treatment.


    "Zen, come here," Laura said, gesturing for Zen to come closer.


    Zen flew towards her.


    The eyes of the other palace leaders followed his tracks.


    "Well, what did Master Athemar say to you?" Laura asked.


    With a smile, Zen responded, "He asked me to join the Oneness Sky Palace. He said he would send someone to pick me up."


    "That''s great!"


    All the people seemed happy, especially Ingram.


    He had made a mistake in the past that caused his removal from the Stinger Guards.


    The rules of the Sword Light Palace dictated that if he wanted to return, he had to make an achievement in the Sword Dance Palace.


    However, he already lost his hope throughout the years. The situation in the Sword Dance Palace did not help at all. He would need a lot of time if he wanted to return.


    Since Zen had joined the Oneness Sky Palace as a new disciple of the Sword Dance Palace, full credit would go to Ingram.


    It wouldn''t be long before Ingram became a Stinger Guard again.


    The other palace leaders were jealous.


    They were all working hard to train their disciples, perhaps much more than Ingram. Ingram was known to just drink wine each day. He was just lucky to have Zen as a disciple, so they were not convinced at all.


    Historically, if the Sword Light Palace offered talented disciples to the Oneness Sky Palace, the latter would give some rewards in return. Given Zen''s Instant Enlightenment, the Oneness Sky Palace was expected to give the Sword Light Palace generous rewards.


    As soon as that happened, Ingram wouldn''t just be able to return as a Stinger Guard, he would also be p


    to offend Zen.


    Elgin didn''t care. He only saw Zen as an outsider. He knew that he was a decent disciple of the Qiu Clan and had no reason to be afraid.


    But he dared not contradict Dalton.


    Zen didn''t indulge in Elgin''s games. He merely stared at the soul bottle.


    Laura gently rubbed the surface of the bottle. At once, three muffled sounds came out of it. Then three transparent bubbles followed, in which there were brown soul pills the size of a fist.


    "The soul pills are so large!" Zen said in shock. The soul pills were different from what he had seen before.


    Seeing Zen''s shock, Beldene knew exactly what to ask. "Zen, did you encounter any soul pills in the Sea of Truth?"


    Zen nodded.


    "That makes sense. The Sea of Truth and the Other Shore are located in a vast world. Things look different there. If I''m lucky enough to meet you in the Sea of Truth, do help me out. I''ll need it," said Beldene curtly.


    "We are both the disciples of the Sword Light Palace. We should help each other," Zen said with a smile.


    Dalton admired Beldene''s decorum. He glanced over at Elgin and sighed. Elgin was the more talented one between them, but he wouldn''t go too far if he didn''t know how to properly deal with the world.

 Chapter 3016 Sudden Change

    As Laura gently waved her hand, bubbles containing the soul pills floated towards the three warriors.


    When Zen saw the soul pill, he touched the bubble with his finger and it instantly burst.


    The fist-sized brown soul pill turned into a wisp of brown smoke and went straight into Zen''s head and entered his soul.


    "Once your Soul of Light enters the Sea of Truth, the soul pill can also enter it," Laura explained flatly.


    When Elgin and Beldene got the soul pills, they couldn''t wait to return to the platforms and sit there cross-legged. As the strong Truth of Eternal Sword Intent emitted from them, their Souls of Light entered the Sea of Truth.


    All the True Gods in the Source World had a strong desire to enter the Sea of Truth. They could get a fresh start only after crossing this sea.


    Zen also flew to the platform of the Sword Dance Palace and sat down there with his legs crossed.


    The Oneness Sky Palace members would take some time to get there and take him away, so he planned to spend that period of time crossing the Sea of Truth.


    But at this time, he wouldn''t be able to enter the Sea of Truth with his physical body, as it would easily expose him.


    Zen had learned from No. 9527 that the Oneness Sky Palace members were also human beings but he was unwilling to reveal some of his secrets to others.


    Zen started to meditate and summon the Truth of Godly Way.


    His Soul of Light was sucked in by the Truth of Godly Way, and it entered the Sea of Truth in an instant.


    Atop a palace, Dorothy sat on the edge of a corner with her legs dangling.


    A beautiful woman walked under the palace and looked up to Dorothy with a smile. "Dorothy, I heard that Ralf has crossed five lines."


    Dorothy''s lips curled up. "So what?"


    "Actually, you can cross the Sea of Truth by yourself. Once the young man enters the Sea of Truth, you can turn back to look for him and travel along with him. There''s no need to be so stubborn," the beautiful woman rebuked.


    Dorothy shook her head and said, "Aunt Felicity, you know me well. I assure you I''ll keep my promise and wait for him."


    Felicity responded, "But now you have fallen behind others."


    "I don''t care. Besides, they are not too far from me. Ralf and others always move slowly, so as long as I give it my best, I''m sure I can overtake them


    vine shot out from the crack.


    The shape of the vine was special. The leaves at the tip of the vine were like the toes of a gecko. The leaves crawled along the ground and clung to the boundary wall.


    Thump!


    The toe-like leaves slammed onto the boundary wall.


    A light flashed on the boundary wall, and a golden Sanskrit word appeared on its surface.


    Another golden Sanskrit word also appeared in the middle of the leaves. Then the leaves covered the boundary wall.


    Buzz!


    Since the two Sanskrit words couldn''t be matched, the boundary wall didn''t open.


    However, the Sanskrit word kept changing and adjusting on the leaves. After five or six attempts, a faint Sanskrit word finally matched the one on the boundary wall.


    After obtaining recognition on the boundary wall, thousands of cracks appeared on the ground beneath the wall and countless Man-eating Demon Flowers emerged from the ground.


    These Man-eating Demon Flowers were unable to move themselves, so they were living on an extremely huge vine now! And this vine itself was tens of thousands of miles in length!


    Rumble!


    The earth split open, and the fissure extended tens of thousands of miles, and even the entire Gracious Province shook.


    Following closely behind these Man-eating Demon Flowers was the king of the Man-eating Demon Flowers, which was the tallest one!


    Then a wild and violent aura enveloped the area within a million-mile radius.


    The Man-eating Demon Flowers were poised to go through the boundary wall and invade the Seven-Star Province!

 Chapter 3017 Destroy The Star City

    Located in the south of the Seven-Star Province, the Star City was deemed to be the smallest city in the area. In the whole city, the Star Tower, which was over a thousand feet tall, caught the attention of most people.


    Built by the Sword Light Palace, the Star Tower was an outpost position which was heavily guarded by the Stinger Guards all year round.


    Many divine citizens in the Star City hoped to be an apprentice to the Stinger Guards. Although the Stinger Guards didn''t accept disciples, the divine citizens still hoped that the latter could give them some valuable advice, and that was enough for them.


    Annoyed by the persistence of the divine citizens, the Stinger Guards felt that they had no choice but to lock the Star Tower.


    On top of the tower, two men clad in cyan leaned idly against the cushions. One of them complained, "I''ve been on duty here for only one month and I''m already at wit''s end! I can''t stand this any longer! Imagine, I''ll have to stay on duty in this tower for three more years! Is this the life of a Stinger Guard? How could it get so boring?"


    The man who spoke was named Chester Qiu. Six months ago, he passed the assessment of the Sword Light Palace and became a one-star Stinger Guard.


    Being a new Stinger Guard, Chester thought that he could go to other provinces to exorcise demons with the other Stinger Guards. However, he thought wrong for he was assigned to guard the Star City for three years.


    "Oh, come on. Quit ranting. You should be contented. That''s only three years compared to my five-year stay here. I''ve been staying here and will stay for more years in this barren place! By the time I get out, I guess that I won''t have any recollection of what the Seven-Star City looks like," the other young man replied.


    The other young man was Hasan Yuebai, also a one-star Stinger Guard.


    After being promoted to Stinger Guards, the disciples of the Sword Light Palace had their first task¡ªto guard the major cities in Seven-Star Province.


    Since the Lofty Sword was there to protect the province, few nonhuman demons dared to cause chaos, making the guards'' jobs so boring.


    Rumble!


    While the two guards were talking, there was a low and sudden rumble that came from the ground. The rumbling even caused the Star Tower to shake.


    "What happened?" Hasan curiously asked as he felt the ground tremble.


    "Is there an earthquake?" Chester asked back, frowning.


    At that moment, the ground continued to rattle more violently and so did the Star Towe


    oved towards the north, leaving the now chaotic city full of mess and appalling holes.


    Tens of thousands of miles away, the thick Lofty Sword would have never been made possible if it weren''t for Athemar''s painstaking efforts.


    Many magic arrays were set in the sword. One of them monitored the entire Seven-Star Province. In fact, it was said that no nonhuman monster could ever escape it.


    But this time, the Lofty Sword did not sense the attack of the Man-eating Demon Flowers.


    Now the Sword Light Palace and the Seven-Star City still remained at peace.


    Meanwhile, on the Sea of Truth, both Zen''s and Dorothy''s Truth Boats propelled forward at an increasing speed.


    At that moment, the anger burning in Dorothy''s heart had already vanished.


    As a chatterbox, she had been blabbering nonstop while she was behind Zen.


    Occasionally, some people would drive their Truth Boats and follow behind Dorothy. In this way, they could try and save some of their remaining soul energy. However, she had almost instantly driven them away.


    After about an hour, Zen heard something from not far away. Listening closely, he interpreted the sounds as cries of some strange insects.


    "Hush! Listen, do you hear that? What''s that sound?" Zen said as he put his finger near his mouth as a sign of silence.


    Upon hearing the instruction, Dorothy complied and stopped talking. She listened attentively as she heard the sounds of insects from the soft waves.


    "Look over there!" Zen reminded in a low and soft voice.


    Dorothy looked into Zen''s direction. She saw some Truth Boats that were about half the height of a man floating on the sea not far away from their right.

 Chapter 3018 The Huge Whirlpool

    Those Truth Boats stood half a man''s height and were incapable of bearing a person''s weight. Whatever was in those boats, they certainly weren''t human.


    Zen squinted and saw fist-sized gray shadows on the boats. Although he couldn''t see them clearly, he was fairly sure they were bugs.


    The Truth Boats themselves also took a strange shape and looked like pumpkins.


    "I was wondering what they were. They are, in fact, the Copper Insect race," Dorothy finally said after staring at the boats.


    "The Copper Insect race?" Zen''s gaze suddenly intensified, the way it did when he examined a possible threat.


    "Yes, it''s a race of large demon bugs in the Source World. What''s peculiar, however, is that they''re rarely seen. As far as I recall, they usually hide in the depths and are not ferocious," Dorothy replied.


    It wasn''t just humans that could reach the Other Shore in this world. Any intelligent creature could¡ªbe it snakes, ants, or even beasts. They could enter the Sea of Truth and try to reach the Other Shore, as long as they had the desire to become stronger.


    Zen knew of this. After all, he learned that the king of Man-eating Demon Flowers was able to accomplish the feat. It had even achieved the fifteenth stage of Other Shore Realm.


    However, it was the first time Zen had encountered non-humans crossing the Sea of Truth. Genuinely baffled, he blurted out, "Why haven''t we encountered any other race before?"


    "Every race crosses the sea at a different section. I guess happening upon these bugs is just a coincidence," Dorothy replied.


    "The Copper Insect race seems to cultivate Truth of Cultivation Nature," Zen muttered as he stared at the strange, pumpkin-shaped Truth Boats. Even from afar, he could feel the bugs'' aura.


    Dorothy nodded. "Well, other races seem to have a natural relation to it. Perhaps that''s why most of them cultivate Truth of Cultivation Nature."


    As Dorothy mentioned relation, Zen was reminded of the ease with which he understood Truth of Eternal Sword Intent. "Is there a Truth of Godly Way for every warrior?"


    "Of course! Everyone here needs to take a test of compatibility with the Truth of Godly Way they plan to cultivate. The more co


    nt''s direction has changed?"


    "See for yourself," said Zen, pursing his lips.


    Dorothy looked towards the water, confirming her suspicions. Her voice trembled as she said, "This is bad..."


    "What do you mean?" Zen knew something was amiss, but he couldn''t understand why Dorothy was so afraid.


    All of a sudden, over a hundred Truth Boats came into view, all withdrawing at an extreme pace. Zen and Dorothy heard someone scream, "Retreat! There''s a huge whirlpool in front!"


    Zen turned to Dorothy, confused. "There can be large whirlpools in the Sea of Truth?"


    "Yes, and they change the current''s direction. That''s why we have come across other races'' boats," Dorothy said in a muffled voice.


    "I know it is a huge whirlpool, but is it that frightening? At worst, we can leave the Sea of Truth first and come back when it disappears," Zen said, shrugging his shoulders.


    "It''s not as simple as you think. Once a large whirlpool appears in Sea of Truth, it won''t disappear," Dorothy replied sullenly.


    "Then we can go around it," Zen offered.


    Dorothy looked at Zen helplessly. "It''s useless. The whirlpool is as complex as it is massive. Once you''re trapped in it, you won''t be able to undo what happens after. I knew of a disciple. His talent was not far from mine, and yet he can never reenter the Sea of Truth. Every time he tries, he gets devoured by the whirlpool and all efforts to reach the Other Shore is futile. That is its consequence."

 Chapter 3019 Getting Trapped

    Hearing this, Zen''s expression grew grave as he realized the gravity of the situation.


    "Since the whirlpool does not disappear," he pondered aloud, "there must be many other whirlpools in the Sea of Truth, right?"


    Dorothy nodded to confirm. "Yes. According to some incomplete statistics, there are about 1, 200 whirlpools in the Sea of Truth."


    These whirlpools began to appear around twenty thousand years ago.


    They possessed special magic; people would be trapped forever once they were drawn in.


    At first, these whirlpools only appeared in the sixth to ninth sections. At that time, a lot of unfortunate creatures were drawn in.


    Even if they were extremely talented, once trapped, they could not free themselves from the force of the whirlpool. It was a harsh reality.


    Back then, creatures entered the Sea of Truth warily and cautiously eyed the movement of the water at all times.


    Sometime later, someone had come up with an intelligent way to spot the whirlpools. The method was basically to pour some special dye into the whirlpools.


    Once a whirlpool appeared, its area was completely isolated from the outside. The dye allowed the others to easily spot the light green or yellow spiraling waters in the distance. This gave them ample time to avoid the whirlpool.


    As time went by, the whirlpools gradually spread to the periphery of the Sea of Truth. Soon, they had appeared in the fourth and fifth sections, but they were yet to be observed in the first to third sections.


    "I didn''t expect that the whirlpool would appear in the second section. How incredibly lucky we are!" Dorothy heaved a distressed groan.


    Zen looked to the incoming Truth Boats. "It''s useless for them to try to retreat, isn''t it?"


    "Yes," Dorothy sighed. "Since we have been caught in the whirlpool, it means that we are already isolated from the Sea of Truth. No matter how hard we try, we won''t be able to get out."


    Splash! Splash!


    As they spoke, the Truth Boats brushed past them, carried by the force of the swirling water.


    "There must be a way to get out of here. Let''s go," Zen tried to


    e creature''s Soul of Light had been cleanly pierced through.


    The wolf-like creature stood motionless, as if someone had cast a spell on it. Its Truth Boat then cracked and broke into pieces, and it, along with the remnants of its boat, slowly sank into the Sea of Truth.


    In a flash, Dorothy had killed the wolf-like creature.


    "Whoa. She is so powerful!"


    Upon witnessing this scene, Zen was taken aback.


    He was well aware that Dorothy was not an ordinary girl, but it never crossed his mind that her Soul of Light was that strong when she was vexed.


    The kin of the wolf-like creature howled in anger. However, as they were intelligent creatures, they knew not to mess with Dorothy, so they didn''t dare to come near her.


    Dorothy let out a long sigh after having given in to her anger. "It seems I can only choose to be reborn. Zen, if you come to the Source World, I can help you extract your Memory Flame and bring you back to life."


    The only way to get out of the whirlpool was to be reborn, because it only trapped souls.


    After being reborn, one''s Memory Flame could be placed in a new soul. They would have a new body, and consequently, would have to start their life all over again.


    Zen knew this was the only known way to escape the whirlpool, but the price was too high. "Don''t worry, Dora." He smiled reassuringly. "There''s an exception to everything, and we will find it."

 Chapter 3020 The Silver Lining

    Normally, any girl would feel relieved and see a glimmer of hope after what Zen had told her.


    But, Dorothy was different. Since she was born in a noble clan, her knowledge and understanding of the Sea of Truth and the Other Shore far surpassed that of other people.


    She knew Zen was only trying to console her by sugarcoating the truth.


    "There''s a silver lining to everything, except for this," Dorothy said with low spirits.


    "Do you know what lies in the center of the whirlpool?" Zen asked while looking at her.


    Although Dorothy felt that Zen''s efforts to escape from the whirlpool were in vain, she still explained, "The center of the whirlpool is even more intense. It is said that it can devour anything. If we continue to stay here, we will eventually be drawn inside."


    Zen looked lost in thoughts for a while. He caressed his chin with his fingers and spoke in a serious tone, "The problem must lie in the center of the whirlpool. I want to explore it."


    "You want to explore the center of the whirlpool? Are you serious?" Dorothy stood stunned as she looked at Zen with curious eyes.


    Zen reassured her with a smile and said, "Don''t forget, my soul is not the only thing that can enter the Sea of Truth."


    As she heard this, Dorothy lifted her gaze from the water and looked up at Zen with beaming eyes. Her expression changed completely. It was like all traces of negative thoughts had disappeared from her face.


    None of the warriors who stepped into the Sea of Truth with their Souls of Light were able to escape from the whirlpool.


    However, Zen was a special person. Dorothy''s grandmother had said that he was the only one who entered the Sea of Truth with his physical body over the years. Perhaps he was the only one who could get to the bottom of this.


    Maybe a reincarnation could solve this issue once and for all. But if there was a possibility of other ways, why would anyone want to give up everything and reincarnate?


    Zen''s decision gave her hope, but her eyes reflected a hint of worry. "No one has ever come out of the whirlpool alive."


    After Dorothy''s cousin was drawn into the center of the whirlpool, he withdrew from the Sea of Truth. If he went back to the whirlpool, there was a chance of him getting sucked into the deep sea and never returning. The sea would absorb his Soul of Light and he would perish.


    "I''m not afraid of the water of the Sea of Truth," Zen said with a confident smile.


    But he couldn''t help but feel slightly shocked by hear


    harder. Soon after, he had teleported to the Sea of Truth. His body fell into it with a splash.


    He was now within the first section. The whirlpool was located somewhere in the middle of the first and second lines of the Sea of Truth.


    As soon as he appeared, he heard someone exclaim not too far away, "Look! What is that? There''s someone in the Sea of Truth!"


    Zen glanced at them shortly and then looked away. Struggling with time, he started swimming forward using his hands to speed up.


    He had managed to cross the first section of the Sea of Truth with his body intact in his first attempt. There was no way the first section could stop him from progressing now.


    As he continued swimming forward, he passed by over a hundred Truth Boats that were lined up in a row.


    Loud cries echoed from the boats but he did not stop.


    Most people on the boats screamed out in concern. They couldn''t believe their eyes when they saw Zen swimming in the Sea of Truth with such ease. It caused their curiosity to rise.


    Dorothy, who was sitting on her Truth Boat, watched him approach her swiftly. When he came up to the edge of the whirlpool, she gestured him to stop with her hands. "Stop!"


    "What''s wrong?" Zen asked with a baffled expression while removing his hair from his face. Dorothy was several feet away from him.


    "Maybe you would never be able to get out once you go in," Dorothy said, looking worried.


    Zen gave her a comforting smile and said, "I won''t regret even if so!"


    As these words left his mouth, he quickly dived right into the edge of the whirlpool.


    Dorothy clenched her heart subconsciously as it skipped a beat at Zen''s resolve.

 Chapter 3021 The Candle At The Bottom Of The Sea

    Dorothy had already told Zen the whole story of the vortex.


    She had also told him that, so far, no one had been able to destroy the great whirlpool. And yet, Zen still risked his own life to enter the whirlpool! This made Dorothy soften her expression, obviously touched at Zen''s bravery.


    However, Zen was not a reckless person. As he swam closer to the edge of the whirlpool, he internally asked No. 9527 for its opinion.


    Since he had entered the Sea of Truth with his physical body, the seawater didn''t scare him. Moreover, since his Soul of Light had been trapped in the vortex, he really had no choice but to physically dive into it.


    No. 9527 had some speculations. "There''s no way the vortex could have just appeared out of thin air," it told Zen. "This was, most likely, deliberately arranged by someone."


    Zen''s curiosity grew. Who was powerful enough to control the Sea of Truth? And...why would they do such a thing? To stop warriors from reaching the Other Shore?


    Zen could tell No. 9527 knew something more. However, he didn''t try to probe any further.


    "I''m going to explore the center of the great whirlpool," he said to Dorothy.


    Sitting in the Truth Boat, Dorothy had mixed feelings. She hoped that Zen could somehow make the vortex go away and free them; on the other hand, she was worried for his safety. In the end, she could only say softly, "You...Be careful..."


    "Don''t worry. In case of any emergency, leave the Sea of Truth first," Zen instructed.


    Dorothy nodded, swallowing her anxiety.


    The vortex hadn''t stopped whirling since its inception.


    In time, the ripples within the great whirlpool would only grow in strength. By then, none of the Truth Boats would be able to resist the waves, and instead they would be sucked into an eternity of swirling around according to the vortex''s will. If it ever came to that, there would be no choice but to use the Illusion Breaking Rune to leave the Sea of Truth.


    Zen suddenly dove into the water, leaving a trail of bubbles behind.


    Dorothy gazed at Zen''s receding figure in the distance, falling into a daze.


    She knew his success was highly improbable, but, for some reason, Zen gave her some hope.


    This unwarranted hope caused conflict with her rational mind.


    Soul of Light, it would have melted into the sea.


    However, after his body had been sucked into the tornado, he was thrown out.


    Zen''s gaze followed the contour of the tornado, until his eyes met the lowest part, where the tornado looked like threads swirling around a finger. While his vision was blurry in the red sea, he could barely make out that there was something flashing at the very tip of the whirlpool.


    ''There is something down there, '' Zen said to himself.


    Mustering his strength, he dove deeper towards the tornado.


    The depths of the Sea of Truth was empty. Zen didn''t see any other creatures, so he felt rather at ease, not having to worry about other threats.


    However, the sheer length of the vortex was beyond his imagination. Several thousand feet down, he still couldn''t see the end of the water tornado. After what seemed like hundreds of thousands of feet down, he finally approached the end of the whirlpool.


    He was surprised to see it was only as thick as his finger. It boggled his mind to think about how such a tiny water flow could cause such a huge whirlpool as it spread upwards.


    After further diving, he found the flashing light at the bottom of the tornado becoming brighter and brighter. As he closed in on the white light, he narrowed his eyes at its source.


    "A c-candle?"


    Deep at the bottom of the sea, a candle the size of his palm floated almost peacefully. The silver light Zen had seen earlier was the light burning from the candle''s single wick.

 Chapter 3022 Green Bats

    Zen could also condense flames in sea water.


    However, the sea water in the Sea of Truth was deemed to be something out of the ordinary. The candle emitted a silver light, which was unusual.


    The end of the water tornado was just right above the silver flame. This meant the candle was responsible for the huge whirlpool.


    Moreover, the candle''s sudden appearance was also considered to be a bizarre thing in the Sea of Truth.


    "The candle suddenly appeared here. And after it was lit up, a huge whirlpool appeared. I''m guessing someone must have arranged this," Zen said as he stared at the peculiar candle.


    "Well, they must have spent a lot of money on it. After all, it is a good treasure," No. 9527 replied.


    Curious, Zen asked, "They? Who are they?"


    "Ah, just a bunch of arrogant guys. It''s not important for you to know the details now," No. 9527 answered.


    Cautiously, Zen moved a few steps forward and approached the mysterious candle. As soon as he had a glimpse of it, he gave off a wary vibe.


    Whoever placed the candle in the Sea of Truth would most likely arrange a defense mechanism for it in case of any accidents. Moreover, based on No. 9527''s words, those responsible for the candle''s presence must be very powerful and influential creatures.


    If Zen waned to destroy the candle, then he must take utmost precaution and be very careful in doing so.


    "Don''t worry. I don''t think they ever expected that someone can enter the Sea of Truth with a physical body," No. 9527 assumed.


    "Well, I guess you are right!"


    It was not a secret that the Soul of Light would definitely die after falling into the Sea of Truth. So if it were Zen who placed the candle there, he would not be too worried about its safety.


    After thinking about this, Zen quickly stretched his hand out and grabbed the candle.


    But as soon as Zen touched the candle, there was a force of resistance that pushed his hand away from it.


    In an instant, rays of dark green light emerged and surrounded the candle like a force field. Swirling around the candle, the green light split into four balls. The balls'' surfaces were bulged continuously, and they turned into four bats that were as tall as a normal person!


    Moreover, these bats emitted the strong soul power and a kind of unknown, special Truth of Godly Way!


    Zen began to quickly back away after seeing the bats come to life. "These bats are also Souls of Light... No, they are much stronger than a Soul of Light!"


    What he saw in front of him was really out of the ordinary. After a while, he still could not put things together as his judgment brought him more confusion.


    In his mind, he thought, ''This is the d


    ter how strong the souls were, they were still unable to defeat Zen''s physical body.


    This meant that those who arranged the candle in the Sea of Truth were definitely not targeted at Zen.


    After dealing with the bats, Zen approached the candle again. He held the candle in his hand and the flames began to sway. Moreover, the water tornado that was as thick as a thumb also moved!


    Simultaneously, the huge whirlpool also started to move.


    Meanwhile, Dorothy and the others were leaning on the edge of the large whirlpool. As it moved, Dorothy could not help but show a slight trace of shock on her face. Then, she said, "Eh? Is the whirlpool... moving?"


    It was not just her who noticed the movement, but the others who were with her.


    "It is moving! The whirlpool has even moved a few feet!"


    "How could this be? It is impossible! Once the huge whirlpool appears, it will be permanently fixed..."


    "I''ve never heard that the big whirlpool can move!"


    Witnessing this scene with their own eyes, several warriors from different races on the Truth Boats also let out strange voices as they exchanged their ideas on what was happening.


    ''Did Zen make it move?'' Dorothy thought in her head as she blinked in disbelief.


    This was just her hypothesis. Although she had high hopes about this, she also knew very well that it could not be that simple to move such a great whirlpool.


    Meanwhile, Zen carried the candle underwater. As he swam, the straight water tornado seemed to follow him closely.


    Zen thought for a while about what he should do next. Afterwards, he stretched out his fingers and pinched the silver flame to extinguish it directly.


    As soon as he put out the candle''s flame, the water tornado seemed to have followed suit as it vanished without a trace.

 Chapter 3023 Rescue

    After the water tornado disappeared, the large whirlpool dissipated as well.


    The mad swirling in the center of the whirlpool had gradually subsided.


    Dorothy and the others saw that the water flow in this area had also returned to normal, merging with the other seawater.


    "Unbelievable! It''s gone!"


    "The whirlpool really disappeared!"


    "Let me have a try at this!"


    Immediately, someone drove the Truth Boat forward.


    With the others watching carefully, this brave soul actually managed to move without any struggle or stops.


    "Hahaha..."


    The others laughed aloud as they followed suit with excitement, driving their Truth Boats forward too.


    Falling into the whirlpool was like a death sentence. They had thought they were doomed for sure. But somehow that had all changed.


    Things had not gone as they had expected. Before long, the whirlpool was gone. They couldn''t believe it.


    All kinds of strange noises rang from creatures on the Truth Boats.


    Although the humans might not have understood these cries, the excitement and joy were easy to feel.


    Dorothy, on the other hand, was abnormally calm.


    She sat on the Truth Boat with a smile spreading across her face.


    She had been worrying about how to explain what had happened to Felicity; luckily now she wouldn''t have to. The crisis had been solved.


    No wonder her grandmother had attached such great importance to the fact that Zen was able to enter the Sea of Truth in the form of his body. If such a man entered the Other Shore, it would surely destroy the balance.


    Dorothy had just begun to sink deep into thought when a sloshing sound of water pulled her out of it. Zen had already emerged from the bottom of the water.


    She fixed her eyes on him, knowing she could not see his blurred appearance but still staring at him intently.


    "It seems that calming the whirlpool was really very easy for you," said Dorothy with thinly veiled astonishment.


    "It was indeed less difficult than I imagined," Zen confessed, smiling and drawing his hand from the water.


    Dorothy noticed that he held a candle tightly in his right hand.


    "What''s that in your hand?" Dorothy asked, staring at the candle in confusion.


    Zen shook the seawater off the candle and threw it to her. It landed in front of her on h


    at''s the Dark Region?" Zen then asked.


    No. 9527 didn''t answer. "There is so much you do not know about the Other Shore. It would take a long time to explain it to you. It will do you no good to know it right now."


    Zen shrugged his shoulders and focused on steering the Truth Boat.


    After a couple hours, the currents became rough again and their boats were pushed back by shallow waves rising from the Sea of Truth.


    "The resistance is growing stronger. I think we have reached the second line," Dorothy warned.


    "Charge over now!" Zen did not hesitate.


    He had too many mysteries and questions of the Other Shore. He wanted to cross the Sea of Truth as fast as possible.


    He was confident that his Soul of Light was strong enough to pass the second line. What was more, he had a lot of soul pills with him. He felt he had little to fear.


    "Alright!" Dorothy said beaming.


    Truthfully, she really wanted to give up on the Sea of Truth and tell her cousin this piece of good news.


    Once she and Zen reached the sixth line, then she would ask him to take the candle at the bottom of the whirlpool and save her cousin.


    She wondered how her cousin, aunt and uncle would react when they heard this good news.


    While she was lost in fantasy, she started to feel the Sea of Truth fighting back, and her Truth Boat began to shudder.


    "Hey, Dora, calm down. What are you thinking about?" At this critical moment, as they were about to pass the second line, Dorothy was still absent-minded, which made Zen curious.

 Chapter 3024 Good News

    Dorothy was slightly startled, and put a stop to all distracting thoughts.


    Then, just as she had calmed down, her Truth Boat abruptly tilted to one side.


    A Truth Boat tilting on the Sea of Truth was one of the most terrifying things to witness. If one failed to cast the Illusion Breaking Rune in time, they would fall overboard into the sea and die.


    As Dorothy''s Truth Boat leaned sideways, however, the hull of her boat bumped into Zen''s boat''s stern. Shoving her boat with it, he forced it into its original position.


    "Thank you," Dorothy said sheepishly.


    "The second line is coming soon. Stay focused," Zen reminded her.


    Dorothy smiled and returned to focusing on steering the Truth Boat.


    Making it to the first line was difficult, and making it to the second was even more testing.


    Having broken through the first line, Zen was experienced now. The power of his Soul of Light also far exceeded that of any consummate True God. In theory, breaking through the second line shouldn''t be too challenging for him.


    Dorothy''s condition was similar to Zen''s, even though her Soul of Light was weaker than his. However, she had the advantage of the Necklace of Mystic Soul, which would more than make up for this handicap.


    If she were to fully activate the Necklace of Mystic Soul, even Zen''s power would pale in comparison to hers.


    The first three lines were easy for a personal disciple of a large clan like Dorothy.


    In order to speed up their progress through the second line, Zen used two soul pills, whereas Dorothy used five.


    Having passed through the second line, Zen still felt like he hadn''t been fast enough. Considering their time limit, it would be ideal if he could cross the third line in a single breath.


    The moment Zen was about to act, No. 9527 spoke up. "Zen, someone is very close to your cultivation room."


    Zen had set up an enchanted barrier in his cultivation room to prevent others from spying on him. In addition, No. 9527 would also help him monitor his surroundings. It would not bother him if someone was just passing by his room.


    Zen frowned and told Dorothy that he needed to leave the Sea of Truth now.


    Dorothy noticed the change in Zen''s expression. Just as she was about to ask him what trouble he had encountered,


    st of the disciples could not get the correct answer. Very few of them figured it out, but they stayed silent and kept it to themselves.


    They knew the owner of the palace opposite them was the Oneness Sky Palace''s leader''s equal.


    After they had entered the palace, Felicity took Dorothy by the hand and led her straight to the backyard, where a woman in a white robe sat in a small pavilion.


    The woman was, perhaps, even more beautiful than Felicity. But her brows were deeply furrowed, and her face was etched with sadness.


    Whoosh!


    A beam of light flashed through the backyard and landed outside the pavilion.


    "Daisy," said Felicity to the woman in white.


    "Aunt Daisy," Dorothy called out.


    Daisy looked back at the two, her beautiful face deadpan. "Oh, hello there. Felicity and Dora, what brings you here?" she asked, her tone flat.


    Evaristus was her son, and after the accident, she had lost all interest in life. Seeing him listless and drunk broke her heart into pieces. However, she still didn''t want Evaristus to undergo reincarnation.


    Felicity walked into the pavilion and asked quietly, "Daisy, are you still worried about Evaristus?"


    "So what if I am," Daisy replied harshly, making Felicity recoil. "It seems that your brother-in-law can''t find a way to rescue him."


    "Dora fell into a whirlpool, too," said Felicity.


    Daisy''s body stiffened in response, and she stared at Dorothy, wide-eyed.


    "But someone helped Dora break the whirlpool!" Felicity continued, triumphant.

 Chapter 3025 A Calamity

    Daisy''s stiff body suddenly trembled. She stared at Dorothy and said, "Dora, do you know what I''ve been through in the past few years? You can''t crack a joke like this."


    Putting herself in Daisy''s shoes, Dorothy realized she wouldn''t have believed it either if she hadn''t seen it for herself.


    Even so, she tried to convince Daisy again, "Aunt Daisy, you have seldom gone out over the years. I''m afraid that you don''t know that I''ve met someone whose body can enter the Sea of Truth."


    "Can a corporeal body enter the Sea of Truth?" Daisy raised her eyebrows questioningly


    Felicity joined in to explain, "Over a year ago, Dora first entered the Sea of Truth and met this guy. I heard that this person was called Zen Luo. He can roam through the Sea of Truth with his body."


    "If a corporeal body can enter the Sea of Truth, then he won''t be afraid of the whirlpools," Daisy said looking convinced.


    In the past few years, she had spent her time gathering information about the whirlpools in the Sea of Truth. Although she did not know how they were produced, she still knew a great deal about them.


    She recalled what her husband had told her regarding them. One''s Soul of Light would perish if it touched the water of the Sea of Truth. Thus, once a whirlpool appeared, one would get stuck and would not be able to escape. However, if there emerged someone who was not afraid of the water of the Sea of Truth, they might be able to deal with the whirlpools.


    But these people had disappeared over time. It was impossible to find someone who was not afraid of the water of the Sea of Truth in the present.


    Naturally, when Daisy heard that Dorothy had discovered someone who fit the description, she found it hard to believe.


    Dorothy nodded and continued, "When I got involved in the huge whirlpool, I also felt desperate as I remembered what had happened to Evaristus..."


    To make her story sound concrete, Dorothy had to repeat what had happened to her again.


    Felicity nodded in acknowledgment and said, "Daisy, Dora is not a girl who speaks nonsense. Besides, she doesn''t want to disappoint you."


    Daisy showed no emotion the entire time Dorothy spoke. Suddenly, she sat up as her expression loosened. She gently clapped her hands together as if to summon something.


    A ghost-like figure emerged from outside the pavilion. "Master Daisy, what can I do for you?"


    "Bring Evaristus here," said Daisy flatly.


    "But Master Evaristus..." The man seemed hesitant at this request. Over the years, Evaristus was known for his bad temper. He was addic


    by the sorcerer race. However, the sorcerer race was a race created by Murphy, so it was still a war fought between different groups of humans.


    Watching humans get eaten alive by these flowers was hard for him to swallow. His heartbeat kept spiraling out of control.


    Rumble...


    All hell broke loose when one side of the Seven-Star Mountain got tangled by one of the huge wines. It swept down half of the mountain, causing houses to collapse with it. Many divine citizens died as they got buried under it.


    At this moment, whether it was a True God or a divine citizen, their lives were as worthless as insignificant insects in the crevices.


    "The Sword Light Palace isn''t afraid of the king of the Man-eating Demon Flowers, is it? Why aren''t they doing anything to stop these flowers?" Zen asked as he watched the massacre in anger.


    "I don''t know. The most important thing to do right now is to run!" Kenelm cried out as he begged Zen. He was only a disciple of the Sword Light Palace, so he had no idea of the intentions of the Sword Light Palace.


    The flowers quickly climbed the giant vines. Within a few seconds, they had reached the middle of the Seven-Star Mountain, not far away from Zen and Kenelm. The two of them could even see the dense mass of Man-Eating Demon Flowers that were attached to the vines.


    "Waah..."


    Just then, Zen heard a sharp cry.


    He looked in the direction of the voice and saw a baby lying on the ground crying helplessly. Amidst the chaos, the divine citizens hadn''t noticed it and kept running for their lives without realizing they had been walking all over its head.


    "Kenelm, you go first!"


    As Zen spoke, he descended in a flash to rush to that street.

 Chapter 3026 Who Is The Mole

    After drawing an arc in the sky, Zen descended into the crowd and stood in front of a baby.


    The crowd rushed forward, bumping into Zen. However, Zen remained unmoved as he was as firm as a solid rock.


    Rumble!


    Just then, the ground below their feet suddenly trembled and collapsed while the huge vines emerged and rushed along the street. At that moment, hundreds of people were unfortunate enough to be crushed by the huge vines, turning them into a bloody mist.


    In the blink of an eye, there was a blood bath on both sides of the street.


    Many of the divine citizens were not prepared for the sudden attack, leaving them with no time to run away from the threat. As a result, they were swallowed whole by the Man-eating Demon Flowers that were released by the vines.


    The corner of Zen''s eyes twitched at the sight of the chaos in front of him. Holding the baby he found in the street, he felt helpless as he could not do anything much to help the people at that moment.


    Just as the giant vines approached him, Zen performed the Grand Teleportation. In an instant, a space wave flashed in front of him, making him disappear from his current position.


    The next minute, he found himself up in the sky just above the Seven-Star City, still carrying the baby in his arms.


    Soon after, he saw dozens of people clad in cyan appear in the sky above the city.


    These people emitting extraordinary auras were all powerful warriors at the Other Shore Realm led by no other than Laura and Ingram.


    Just after they appeared, they instantly turned into cyan lights and charged towards the six evil giant vines.


    "They must be the Stinger Guards."


    Shaking his head, Zen thought that the guards should have acted sooner, and not now when most of the Seven-Star City had already been destroyed.


    Shortly after, Zen went directly to the top of the mountain where Faegan, Jago, and the others were. Most of the disciples of the cultivation palaces gathered on the platforms opposite to the Lofty Sword.


    When Zen and the baby landed on the platform, he immediately asked, "What happened? How were the Man-eating Demon Flowers from the Gracious Province able to invade this place?"


    Upon hearing Zen''s question, Faegan and the rest turned pale. In fact, very few monsters dared to enter and terrorize the Seven-Star Province under the Lofty


    iled from ear to ear.


    However, Reynald was not so happy about it as he frowned slightly.


    Flying behind the officiant, he said, "That''s impressive. You have repaired the Lofty Sword in such a short time."


    Nodding, the officiant replied cautiously, "It''s likely that someone has quietly placed some bugs in the Lofty Sword. They destroyed several of its magic arrays. But not to worry for I''ve already restored the arrays. The Lofty Sword is heavily guarded, so I think the person who placed the bugs is probably one of us. There must be a mole in the Sword Light Palace."


    "A mole? How could that be?" Reynald smiled as he repeated the question in a peculiar voice.


    At that moment, the officiant sensed that there was something wrong about Reynald. Turning around, he saw Reynald''s eyes. Taken aback, the officiant exclaimed, "Master Reynald, you..."


    But before the officiant could react, a long red sword had already pierced through his chest.


    Soon, a blood-red evil fire emerged from where he was pierced and instantly swallowed him whole. In a flash, his body had been completely burnt to ashes.


    "Reynald!"


    "What on earth are you doing, Master Reynald?"


    Up in the air, two old men could not help but cover their mouths in shock. Never had they thought that Reynald would kill the officiant.


    "Haha! Ibrahim, let''s start!" After killing the officiant, it seemed that Reynald had already taken care of his problem.


    Meanwhile, the third old man let out a loud and hideous laugh. Soon, his skin quickly cracked, revealing a muscular body.

 Chapter 3027 Escape From The Seven-Star City

    The figure that emerged from the old man was as tall as twenty feet and his skin was dark. Everything about his appearance was brimming with hostility.


    There were three horns at the top of his head and his face was long and thin. The arms of the unusual figure were as long as an ape''s. He flaunted his sparse sharp teeth when he opened his mouth. Every feature of his body contributed to making him look terrifying.


    The baby in Zen''s arms had just stopped crying. When its eyes met the deformed figure who suddenly appeared, it began to cry loudly again. Traumatized by what it saw, it embraced Zen tightly.


    When the two elders of the Sword Light Palace saw this scene, their faces turned extremely sullen.


    "It''s a member of the Black Armor race! You were actually hiding in Elder Theon''s body!"


    The elders were fuming with anger. They turned to the leader of the Sword Light Palace and exclaimed. "Reynald! You''re the leader of the Sword Light Palace! How could you bring a monster to invade it! What is your purpose?"


    The Black Armor race resided in the Bayrock Province which was situated west of the Seven-Star Province. The members of the race resembled humans in features. However, their unforgiving brutality and violent tendencies set them apart from human beings.


    Under the steady protection of the Lofty Sword, the Sword Light Palace flourished over the years. During that time, the Stinger Guards had repeatedly entered Bayrock Province to kill off many Black Armor members.


    If the Sword Light Palace continued to prosper, it would continue to grow its roots further to the Bayrock Province and drive the Black Armor race away. Both the Black Armor race and Sword Light Palace were as incompatible as fire and water.


    No one of the Black Armor race dared to enter the Seven-Star Province with malicious intentions fearing the power of the Lofty Sword. However, now they had broken the Lofty Sword and killed off the officiant. With nothing protecting the Seven-Star City, they colluded with the king of the Man-eating Demon Flowers to attack it.


    And the ringleader behind all this was no one but the head of the Sword Light Palace, Reynald.


    Reynald returned the cold stare of the elder who questioned him. A venomous smile appeared on his face as he spoke, "You old bastard, now you finally call me the leader of the palace? Caspian has been dead for five hundred years, and I haven''t seen you treat me as the leader of the palace even once since then! And that bitch still tries to take my place! Since you didn''t treat me well, you have no right to blame me for doing this!"


    Since Caspian''s death, Reynald had taken over the Sword Light Palace. But in name, he was only the acting leader and never had any authority over ruling it.


    Once Caspian''s tomb was found, the Sword Light Palace would have a new leader.


    Reynald had tried his best to act as a leader over the years, but his efforts were never recognized. He had devoted himself completely for the prosperity of the S


    anicking. With desperate eyes he looked at Laura for instructions.


    Laura gently bit her lip, her pale face drained of all its color. She took a deep breath and made a decision. "Order the Stinger Guards to abandon the Seven-Star City... You go and get the flying ship... We''ll take the disciples of the palaces and leave!"


    Ingram stared at her in bewilderment. The Sword Light Palace had stood strong for so many years and they had put in so many efforts to manage the place. How could they give up and flee like this?


    But after careful consideration, he realized they didn''t have much choice. They had to leave for now.


    "Let''s go!"


    They nodded to each other agreeably. Laura took a step forward on her tiptoes and ascended to the air. In a flash, she appeared in the sky above the Sword Light Palace.


    "Master Laura!"


    "What should we do, Master Laura?"


    The disciples were all in dismay. As soon as they saw Laura, they eyed her up as if she was their savior.


    Laura looked around and noticed Zen''s expressions. Compared to the other disciples, he looked the calmest. She snapped her fingers and an illusory sword shadow hovered above their heads to protect them.


    The disciples of the Sword Light Palace felt relieved under Laura''s protection.


    Soon after, a big flying ship appeared before them. There stood Ingram looking over at the disciples from the ship.


    "All of you, board the ship. We''re leaving..." Laura said flatly, signaling the disciples.


    "But as members of the Yuebai Clan, how can we abandon the Seven-Star City?" Beldene frowned and protested.


    "If you wish to die, by all means, stay here," Laura said curtly. Then she moved her body and boarded the flying ship.


    The disciples gulped down their hesitation and jumped aboard the ship without a second thought.


    Several disciples of the Yuebai Clan and Qiu Clan debated for a while. Finally, they realized that their lives were above everything. They quickly followed the others and got on the flying ship.

 Chapter 3028 The Last Resort

    The wide, white ship blended in with the clouds, flying up steadily before dashing towards the north.


    Back then, Athemar had eyed Seven-Star Province as an appropriate site to hold the Lofty Sword, for the purpose of building a direct path from the south to the north. Of course, Ingram would now choose to head north.


    Some disciples in the ship were in anguish, knees dropped to the floor.


    Although Sword Light Palace wasn''t known to be a great force in the human race, the Seven-Star City was their home.


    Leaving their family burning was nothing but pure horror, and yet escaping was the only choice they had.


    Faegan sat still in a corner, a dull look in his eyes. Nobody could read his expression.


    Suddenly, a figure darted across the room and grabbed him by the neck. Faegan''s back slammed against the ship, a loud clunk ringing in everyone''s ears.


    Elgin tightened his grip around Faegan''s throat. His voice, laced with ferocity, echoed across the room. "It''s all your father''s fault! He did all of this to us!"


    "That''s right!"


    "What Reynald Qiu did is unforgivable!"


    "Let''s kill his son!"


    The disciples of the Yuebai Clan and the Qiu Clan were indignant. Grief filled their hearts with nothing but retaliation. And who was more fitting on the receiving end than Faegan, the perpetrator''s son?


    The whole atmosphere turned tense. For a moment, it really seemed that they intended to kill him.


    Just then, Elgin felt a fist strike hard against his chest. The force was enough to briefly halt his breathing.


    The punch sent Elgin flying across the length of the ship. He could do nothing as he collided against the reinforced wall, creating an even louder, resounding thud.


    As he held the baby in one hand, Zen looked indifferently at Elgin, who grasped his stomach in extreme pain. In a low voice, Zen addressed the room. "I don''t know this feud within the Sword Light Palace, but Faegan is not at fault here. If anything, he is also a victim."


    Faegan resigned to the floor, making no effort to compose himself. "If my death means the safety of the Sword Light Palace, then by all means, please kill me," he said, voice trembling.


    As he heard Faegan''s defeated voice, Zen felt immense sadness.


    The prosperous Sword Light Palace was eradicated overnight. A place that had been a peaceful, stable home for many was no more¡ªeven the disciples had to flee.


    The human race was truly too weak.


    At the ship''s bow were Ingram and Laura. They both sighed and shook their heads as


    d the strength to contend against Other Shore Realm warriors.


    At that moment, Zen sensed a trace of space fluctuation from above.


    He looked around and spotted Kenelm flying near him. Eyebrows raised, Zen shouted at him, "Kenelm, catch!"


    He threw the baby in his arms to Kenem, and then a long sword materialized in his hand.


    Not far away, a slender arm stretched out from the space wave and tried to grab Beldene.


    Zen, who had been falling rapidly, caught sight of the trouble. He stomped lightly, and all of a sudden, he halted mid-air. Ways-blending Energy simultaneously began to burst out of him.


    "The Ways-blending Strike!"


    Swish!


    A gleam of sword radiance shot out.


    Crack!


    The sword radiance cut off the arm cleanly, as if it could have just easily split heaven and earth.


    The Black Armor man came out of space screaming. He had never thought that these disciples could hurt him, much less cut off one of his arms. He shrieked, "Brat! You''re wishing for death!"


    Zen did not stop after striking. He activated Grand Teleportation, then went into the jungle below.


    They were not in the divine land. With his current strength, it would be difficult to battle against powerful warriors at the Other Shore Realm.


    However, he had another advantage he could rely on: the Imperial Sword Seal, courtesy of Athemar.


    Athemar had told him that the power of the Imperial Sword Seal depended on the sword''s grade. As such, Zen wondered how powerful it would be if activated by the Soaring Snake Sword.


    However, the Soaring Snake Sword was too valuable to unveil in front of others. It was thus a last resort, saved for the most desperate moment.

 Chapter 3029 Intensify

    The Seven-Star Province was vast. Though there were over a dozen big cities developed by the Sword Light Palace, the other parts of it were covered with vast jungles.


    Bang!


    Falling from the sky, Zen broke an ancient huge tree in his track.


    Surviving the fall, Zen stood firmly on the thick leaves.


    Fallen leaves piled all over the ground, making the air smell rotten. The jungle was filled with sounds of little animals running around.


    Crack!


    Clap!


    Following Zen, some other disciples also fell into this area.


    Having the same thought as Zen, they wanted to hide in the jungle and escape from this disaster.


    Bang! Hearing the loud sound from far away, these disciples were dumbfounded.


    A violent impact wave spread out in all directions, destroying all the towering trees and shrubs. Soon after, it left an empty ground within ten miles.


    A Black Armor warrior stood thousands of feet away from Zen.


    Having one of his arms cut off by Zen, the warrior was in a state of rage. With his other hand drooping on the ground, he walked slowly towards Zen just like a gorilla, while commenting in an influent way, "You''re truly worthy of your reputation as a disciple from the Sword Light Palace. You can hurt me even without reaching the Other Shore Realm. It''s really surprising!"


    Watching from afar, Kenelm, Beldene and the rest spoke with Zen, almost at the same time, through their life vitality.


    "Zen! Run!"


    "He''s going to kill you!"


    Hearing their reminders, Zen only revealed a bitter smile.


    Of course, he knew that he was being targeted by the Black Armor warrior.


    It was not the first time that someone of the Other Shore Realm chased him. But he felt the greatest pressure this time.


    As the Black Armor warrior approached him, his Truth of Godly Way slowly appeared, forming a shield on the surface of his body.


    "The Other Shore Token of this Black Armor warrior is a shield." Zen''s eyes narrowed in trepidation, seeing the shield.


    He decided to employ the Grand Teleportation technique, seeing that the Black Armor warrior was only two thousand feet away from him.


    Noticing that the space channel was about to come into shape, the Black Armor warrior sped up significantly. With his strength, he lu


    eye, they had both rushed into the depths of the jungle.


    With the help of the Truth of Cultivation Nature, Zen moved through the dense bushes as quickly as a monkey.


    On the other hand, the Black Armor warrior dashed forward, breaking every towering tree in his path and leaving everything in a mess.


    After running about ten thousand feet, Zen suddenly stopped.


    Not knowing what Zen was up to, the Black Armor warrior also stopped not far away from him. "Are you going to surrender?" he asked with a sinister grin.


    Zen didn''t respond. Flicking his finger, another long sword suddenly appeared in his hand.


    The Black Armor warrior stood in awe.


    Although most races other than the humans didn''t use swords as weapons, the Soaring Snake Sword''s brilliance was too obvious. The Black Armor warrior might not know swords well, but he could tell that Zen''s sword had an extraordinary background. It was probably a peerless weapon.


    "That looks like a good sword. Ha-ha! If I bring that booty back home, I will obtain a lot of rewards," the Black Armor warrior said with excitement.


    Seeing that his enemy was ready to launch another attack, Zen started to recite the Imperial Sword Seal. The Truth of Eternal Sword Intent in his body constantly gathered in the attack he was preparing.


    Soon, Zen felt a burning sensation on his chest, as a dark golden light shot into the Soaring Snake Sword.


    Buzz!


    At this moment, Zen felt the Soaring Snake Sword in his hand had come to life.

 Chapter 3030 An Unknown Powerhouse

    It would appear as though Zen was not fully in control of the Soaring Snake Sword anymore.


    The sword was trembling violently as he held it in his right hand. To him, it seemed like it was struggling really hard to break free.


    He attempted to tighten his grip on it even more.


    Buzz!


    The sword continued to vibrate furiously. Suddenly, dark golden strands started to radiate out of it.


    Simultaneously, the blade of the Soaring Snake Sword became enshrouded by a small snake shadow. Its eyes opened and glinted for a moment. Almost at once, it silently disappeared.


    However, as it vanished, small snake heads emerged on the ends of the dark golden strands.


    Every single one of the strands looked like long and slender snakes. It was almost as if they were truly alive.


    "What''s happening? Is this some kind of trick?"


    This fearsome display left the man from the Black Armor race effectively stunned. Instinctively, he brought his Other Shore Token out.


    He acknowledged that the aura emanating from Zen''s sword was indeed remarkable and powerful. Nevertheless, Zen was merely a consummate True God in his eyes. It did not matter how strong Zen was. The man was absolutely confident he wouldn''t be able to break the invisible shield.


    After all, he was entirely covered by the shield shadow.


    The long and slender snakes were approaching his position very swiftly. There were thousands of them now and their movements caused a loud rustling noise.


    There were many rocks and ancient trees that existed for thousands of years within the area. But as the snakes rushed towards their enemy, they were all chopped cleanly in half. The cuts were as smooth as glass.


    The man felt a chill run down his spine.


    All of a sudden, he noticed that there were cracks all over the shield shadow now. They were starting to spread quickly to his body too.


    The snakes were not even close to where he was. He began to lose consciousness as dark blood spilled out from the cracks in his body. After a short while, he collapsed into the ground.


    Rustle! Rustle!


    Meanwhile, the snakes continued to move. They demolished and obliterated everything across their path. The man of the Black Armor race had previously created an open area. The snakes had burst out of its boundaries now.


    Every single snake could be compared to a harbinger of death. As thousands of them gathered, they brought about a surge of utter devastation.


    "What on earth are those things?"


    "Halt!"


    As Beldene a


    "A short while ago, I only saw a figure clad in white and nothing else. All of a sudden, the man of the Black Armor race was slashed cleanly apart."


    "Amazing! That powerhouse is extremely powerful!"


    "Maybe that person can take Reynald on!"


    "Still I wonder if this powerhouse would agree to fight against Reynald."


    With this, the disciples saw a glimmer of hope once more. They hoped that a strong and superior powerhouse would come and save them from all these evils and therefore save the Sword Light Palace.


    Nevertheless, Zen knew that they were just getting their hopes up.


    Dong!


    Out of the blue, they heard a muffled sound coming from the sky.


    A shadow of a huge sword appeared across the sky. Suddenly, two figures plummeted down and landed in front of the disciples.


    The two figures were actually Laura and Ingram.


    Ingram had lots of wounds all over his body. His legs were chopped off and blood spurted out of the cuts.


    Laura, on the other hand, was half-naked. Her colorless skin was covered with numerous sword marks.


    As this scene unfolded right in front of them, the disciples started to run to them.


    Moments after the two figures fell, a space wave flashed in the air and Reynald promptly appeared before it. He was holding a long sword with a cyan blade. Then he spoke heartlessly, "It''s useless to struggle. You finally found your father''s tomb after searching for so many years. So now, it''s time for you to go to hell and join him for eternity. Ha-ha..."


    Laura looked at him with utmost contempt and defiance. She gently tapped the space between her brows. Soon after, a ball floated out. It was a Latent Theurgy.

 Chapter 3031 Five Days

    The Latent Theurgy had a very unique history.


    Sixty years ago, Laura had managed to send an important person to the Oneness Sky Palace.


    As a reward, the Oneness Sky Palace gifted her the Latent Theurgy.


    Most of the Latent Theurgies would work automatically if their owners were in great danger. Now, however, Laura activated it herself.


    Once it had been activated, Laura''s voice could reach every disciple''s ear. "Don''t struggle," she said.


    Stretching out her hand, she beckoned to them. As if by an invisible force, all the disciples were dragged towards her.


    Zen also felt the invisible force on his body while flying in Laura''s direction. Once he was fifty feet away from her, the Latent Theurgy above her head suddenly split into two.


    "Whoosh!"


    Then, the two parts of the Latent Theurgy began to spread, and finally covered Laura, Ingram and all the disciples like a giant umbrella.


    At the sight of this, Reynald could only sneer. "How naive!" he scoffed. "Do you think that this pathetic little trick is enough to keep me out?" he yelled, pointing at the umbrella-like formation.


    "Swish!"


    A huge shadow of a sword appeared out of nowhere and lashed at the Latent Theurgy.


    Laura was not startled at all. She simply looked up at the falling blade calmly, as if it were a feather.


    A loud bang shook the earth, and with it, a blinding light flashed in the sky. It was so dazzling that it blotted out the sun and the entire sky.


    Slowly, the light began to dim. Once it had disappeared, everyone squinted at the sky, their eyes slowly recovering from the assault. Once they had regained their sight, they saw that the umbrella had remained unscathed.


    A mocking smile formed on Laura''s lips. "This is the Heaven Earth Umbrella Master Goran gave me. You cannot break it, no matter what you do," she sneered.


    "Master Goran?" Reynald echoed, his face darkening.


    Goran was one of the elites of the Oneness Sky Palace, as famous as Athemar. He had few equals, and Reynald could only imagine how powerful his Latent Theurgy was.


    There was a silver lining in this for Reynald, however. He was secretly happy that Laura had used the Latent Theurgy for defense. If she had used some other Latent Theurgy to attack, he would have surely died.


    Feigning confidence, he looked up. "So what? This Latent Theurgy isn''t eternal. How long will


    a connection with the Oneness Sky Palace.


    He could ask Dora for help, but if he did so, he would expose his identity.


    However, the only thing that would become known was that his body had entered the Sea of Truth.


    "Zen, what are you thinking about?" asked Laura, interrupting his train of thought.


    Zen had always been something of a mystery to her.


    Nevertheless, she had never asked him any specific questions concerning his past. As long as he didn''t harm the Sword Light Palace, it was fine. Besides, he was not at a level high enough to do significant damage to the Sword Light Palace anyway.


    "Is it possible to get to the Oneness Sky Palace from the Seven-Star Province in five days?" Zen asked.


    Laura knew what Zen meant. "Do you know anyone from the Oneness Sky Palace?" she said, narrowing her eyes.


    "Maybe," Zen replied ambiguously. After all, he was not certain about Dora''s background.


    The eyes of the disciples lit up. Laura and Ingram also saw a glimmer of hope. "Who is it?"


    "I don''t know. I made friends with her in the Sea of Truth," Zen answered honestly.


    Skeptical, Elgin sneered. "It''s just speculation, and that can''t give anyone hope," he scoffed. "Don''t listen to him," he added, rolling his eyes.


    Beldene, however, was optimistic as ever. "Even so, it is worth a try! Let''s go to the Sea of Truth together!"


    Finding someone in the Sea of Truth was not an easy task. To find Dora, Zen had to ensure that Dora entered at the same time as him and waited for him in the same area.


    This was not a problem for Zen, of course.

 Chapter 3032 Asking For Help

    "Beldene''s right. No matter what, it''s better than standing by and waiting," said Ingram, smiling.


    Knowing there was little hope, he and Laura didn''t expect too much.


    When the time limit for the Latent Theurgy came, they would probably have to put up a desperate fight.


    Sitting upright, Beldene activated the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent. Then he entered the Sea of Truth.


    Although Elgin said that it was impossible to get any help, he followed Beldene to the Sea of Truth.


    Sitting up straight, Zen began to activate the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent.


    But he was shocked with the turn of events.


    No matter how hard he recited in his heart, he couldn''t condense any Truth of Eternal Sword Intent.


    ''Is it because of the Imperial Sword Seal?'' Zen guessed, thinking hard.


    His Soaring Snake Sword had released sword threads with terrifying power. Even the powerful warriors like Laura and Ingram might not be able to resist its power, let alone the warrior of the Black Armor race who just reached the Other Shore Realm.


    Initially, Zen thought he could activate the Soaring Snake Sword''s power at no cost, but now, he realized that he was wrong.


    He wondered if he would not be able to make use of this Truth of Godly Way, or if it would take him some time to recover.


    But now was not the time to worry about it. Fortunately, Zen was able to master more than one Truth of Godly Way.


    For a moment, he stayed in deep thought, as traces of natural aura began to emit from his body. Now, he could only use the Truth of Cultivation Nature to return to the Sea of Truth.


    Meanwhile, in front of the main gate of a palace, the drunk Evaristus was thrown on the steps made of cyan bricks.


    Being taken back forcibly while he was drinking, he ended into a drunk rage.


    Despite being powerful, the palace guards all lowered their heads and looked at their young master expressionlessly.


    Evaristus stayed there for a while.


    After some time, Felicity, Daisy and Dorothy walked down the steps slowly.


    Seeing her son like this, Daisy slightly frowned before she gently walked up to where he was. Lightly waving her hand against his forehead, she wiped away his hangover.


    Although Evaristus had regained his consciousness, he still had a trace of unhappiness on his face. Seeing his mother, he said c


    hed his usual smile. Then he asked calmly, "Dora, you just said that you wanted me to help you too. What can I help you with?"


    "Let''s talk about it later. I... I''ll leave the Sea of Truth right now. Wait for me," Dorothy said to him quickly.


    She remembered that the Wild Goose Pass was located at the edge of the Source World, marking the entrance to chaos. It was not too close to the Oneness Sky Palace. Five days was too short, and she didn''t want to waste any time.


    Before Zen realized what just happened, Dorothy''s Truth Boat already disappeared.


    It took her less than five minutes to enter and leave the Sea of Truth, so naturally Dorothy met Daisy''s, Felicity''s and Evaristus'' curious stares when she got back.


    "Zen seems to be in trouble," Dorothy explained. "He is being besieged by some nonhuman monsters of the Other Shore Realm in the Seven-Star Province. He can only hold on for five more days."


    Hearing this, Daisy and Felicity felt a bit shocked.


    They knew that the only person who could save Evaristus was Zen.


    If what Dorothy said was true and Zen happened to die this time, then Evaristus would also be doomed.


    "The Wild Goose Pass is next to the Seven-Star Province. Five days is too long. I will ask my husband to take action."


    Being a decisive person, Daisy immediately made up her mind.


    In an attempt to save her son, she had gone through several disappointments. Even if Zen was really a liar, she would never give up trying.


    Without hesitation, she turned into a streak of light and flew away.

 Chapter 3033 Winchell Lin

    Felicity had a confused look plastered on her face as she watched Daisy take off. She asked, "Isn''t that man supposed to be outside the Source World? How did he suddenly appear here?"


    Evaristus stared at Dorothy, rubbing his chin in confusion. The news gave him some hope. But if what Dorothy disclosed was untrue, he would feel a sense of dread creeping up his neck until every hair seemed to stand on end.


    Dorothy shook her head. "He''s very discreet in disclosing his whereabouts. If not for the present dilemma he is burdened with, he wouldn''t have opened up to me."


    Whenever Dorothy attempted to pry into Zen''s background, he resolved to be as prudent as possible, and avoid, as far as he could, any discussion with her.


    "It''s okay," Felicity spoke lightly, "and it would be convenient if we recruited such an individual."


    Dorothy nodded, weighing her words without surprise. "I hope Uncle Winchell can rush over in time."


    Meanwhile, Daisy turned into an eerie glow that appeared to ignite as a beacon of light. She rushed over quickly into a cavern.


    Inside the dim cavern was an entryway leading to the main hall where meetings were held. Winchell and Goran sat on the far end of the long table, deep in conversation, their voices hushed. It was almost too quiet to be heard by anyone.


    Daisy rushed inside, her abrupt arrival drawing the attention of both men. Winchell hurried to meet her and asked, "Daisy, what makes you look so anxious?"


    "The affairs in the palace keep you occupied that you neglect your own household!" Daisy scowled at her husband, her sharp tone cutting through the silence. "Have you ever considered checking up on your own son?"


    "What do you mean?" Winchell wrinkled his nose, his frown deepening.


    "Somebody can rescue Evaristus out of the whirlpool!" Daisy heaved a heavy sigh.


    "What?"


    Winchell and Goran stood very still, surprised by the news.


    "But he is now at the Seven-Star Province, besieged by a group of nonhuman monsters. He would only live for five more days if you don''t go save him," Daisy echoed what Dorothy just stated.


    One eyebrow cocked, Winchell landed his gaze on Daisy, and he could tell from her expression that she was serious.


    "The Sword Light Palace?" Goran remained silent but widened his eyes significantly.


    "Have you ever heard of it, Master Goran?" Winchell asked.


    Goran responded, "It''s


    world existed like this for a long time.


    Zen''s eyes flickered as he opened his eyes, slowly adapting to the natural light extending from the sun.


    Almost everyone''s eyes gathered on him. Zen previously stated that it was very likely for him to succeed. His words gave them assurance.


    But before Laura could ask Zen, she heard a soft, rustling sound coming from outside.


    Zen raised his head and blinked rapidly, raising a hand to shield his eyes from the brightness. He saw a few members of the Black Armor race flying back and forth. They scattered snow-white powder into the air, which resulted in steam forming above them.


    "Apparently, they are trying to kill all of us," cried Ingram with a shaky smile, his eyes frozen on the incident in front.


    The powder isolated the nearby areas, so no one had the chance to create a space channel or perform the Grand Teleportation.


    "Even without this impediment, we still won''t be able to leave," Laura gasped, beads of sweat forming on her forehead. Ignoring what was happening outside, she looked at Zen and asked, "How''s your talk with your friend?"


    Zen shared, "Someone''s on his way here."


    "Is he a Oneness Guard?" Laura asked again.


    Zen tugged on his bottom lip, shaking his head. "I don''t know. I only know that his name is Winchell Lin."


    "Lin?"


    After hearing the family name, Laura felt disappointment in her heart.


    She hadn''t heard of a Lin Clan in the Oneness Sky Palace, but when the name Winchell came up, a feeling of strange familiarity enveloped her. A light sparkled from her beautiful big, brown eyes.

 Chapter 3034 Waiting Uneasily

    The Oneness Sky Palace was among the most massive, well-equipped, and powerful of the orthodox human forces.


    The branches of the Oneness Sky Palace varied in strength. Some were incredibly strong, with warriors that were considered living legends by their peers. Some branches, however, were much weaker in comparison.


    The Sword Light Palace was perhaps the weakest of the branches of the Oneness Sky Palace.


    In contrast, over the past years some of the branches had developed so quickly that they had become at least as powerful as the Oneness Sky Palace itself. One such branch was the Origin Mountain.


    The Oneness Sky Palace was located on Bulk Mountain, which was right next to Origin Mountain. It was said that Origin Mountain used to be the highest natural structure in the region, rising higher than Bulk Mountain; and in fact, it rose so high that it virtually blocked the sky and prevented sunlight from entering the Oneness Sky Palace. This aggravated the Eastern Emperor Taiyi, who leveled off Origin Mountain so that its height was reduced by 350, 000 feet. It was in the period after the leveling that Origin Mountain began to grow in strength and reputation.


    Winchell Lin was one of the most notable and outstanding warriors of Origin Mountain.


    Laura frowned, deep in thought, as memories from hundreds of years ago became clearer in her head. Finally she spoke. "I remember now. Winchell Lin isn''t a Oneness Guard."


    As soon as Elgin and the other disciples of Sword Light Palace heard what Laura said, they were immediately disappointed, especially Elgin. He felt that the Sword Light Palace had lost all hope, and he said in an eccentric tone, "He is not even a Oneness Guard. I bet he won''t be able to make it here within five years, let alone five days. When he does arrive, our flesh and bones will have turned into ashes by then. I''d rather not ask for his help!"


    Beldene laughed, "A person whom even Master Laura knows can''t be a nobody."


    Laura raised her eyebrows at Elgin. She turned to Zen and said, "Winchell Lin is not a Oneness Guard, because he is not from the main branch of the Oneness Sky Palace. Besides, with his strength, how could he possibly be a Oneness Guard?"


    "You mean, he''s not powerful enough?" asked Ingram.


    Like Elgin, he looked disappointed. After all, even Ingram stood a chance of becoming a Oneness Guard if he worked hard enough. If Winchell Lin was weaker than him, then how could they count on him for any help?


    "That''s not what I mean at all. As a matter of fact, Winchell Li


    e waited, feeling torn between hope that Winchell was coming, fear that he had changed his mind, and torment at their predicament.


    Zen had given them hope, but it was fragile. They were very restless.


    The fighting seemed to have ended. More and more members of the Black Armor race had arrived. Apart from Reynald, Ibrahim of the Black Armor race was also in the place.


    With each day that passed, the umbrella hanging over their heads became dimmer and dimmer.


    The umbrella was still able to withstand the attacks from the Black Armor race, but both sides knew that the power of the Latent Theurgy wouldn''t last much longer.


    Reynald sneered at Laura. "I thought your precious Latent Theurgy could protect you for a decent amount of time. At least ten days. But it looks like you''ll be dead by tomorrow."


    Laura ignored him. She wore a look of complete indifference, refusing to respond to any of Reynald''s taunts.


    "This human girl is very beautiful, isn''t she, Reynald? Maybe we shouldn''t kill her immediately once the Latent Theurgy is destroyed," Ibrahim said suggestively.


    Reynald licked his lips. "Good idea! We''ll do just that."


    Laura maintained her indifferent demeanor. The only sign that she had heard was the faintest trace of a flush on her pale cheeks.


    She had already decided that once the Latent Theurgy fell, she would not choose to live and make herself vulnerable to the suffering promised by the Black Armor race. Even if she had to pay the price of burning the Other Shore Token.


    At that moment, a member of the Black Armor race appeared via Grand Teleportation. He spoke to Ibrahim in their strange language, apparently giving him a report of some kind.

 Chapter 3035 Raining Swords

    Ibrahim smiled mischievously with an evil glint in his eyes. Turning to Reynald, he said, "Those guiders from the Oneness the Sky Palace have arrived. Kindly deal with them, Reynald. I shall stay here."


    Reynald then lightly touched his nose, activating the Grand Teleportation technique. In an instant, he vanished into thin air.


    Laura and Ingram perked up at what Ibrahim just said. If it was true that the guiders had been sent here, they had some hope yet.


    But before their hopes could be realized, Reynald had returned nonchalantly, and tossed something into the air.


    With an audible thump, several round objects rolled on the ground.


    To Laura''s horror, she realized what those things were: human heads.


    "The men sent by the Oneness Sky Palace were so lame. I thought I would finally get to have some fun. Boring!" Reynald complained disdainfully.


    Laura looked up at Reynald and yelled, "They are sent by the Oneness Sky Palace! How dare you kill them like that? Aren''t you afraid of irritating the Oneness Sky Palace? They will definitely avenge their men."


    "That thought did cross my mind, of course. After all, they are considered most dignified and authoritative among the human beings. But do you really think they will care about these small characters? How naive you are!"


    "Zen was chosen by Master Athemar himself. If he doesn''t go to the Oneness Sky Palace, Master Athemar will definitely find out," Laura threatened.


    "Ha ha! By the time he catches wind of this, I''d have already left the Seven-Star Province. The real question is, how long can you guys survive?" Reynald grinned menacingly.


    Laura grew silent.


    The disciples exchanged helpless glances. Their only hope was Zen now.


    However, with each minute that passed, the hope Zen gave them shrank smaller and smaller.


    Another day passed in the blink of an eye.


    On the fourth day, the Latent Theurgy of Laura had dimmed tremendously. Obviously, it was on the verge of sputtering out.


    Even Zen grew restless.


    While he believed in Dora''s promise, the fact that the Latent Theurgy was weakening was like death at their doorstep. How could anyone stay


    Latent Theurgy, which I gave to the woman in the Sword Light Palace, is also three thousand miles away in the same direction. Coincidently, the Heaven Earth Umbrella can only last five days," Goran laughed.


    The Latent Theurgy was a gift Goran gave to Laura. Goran, of course, could easily sense its whereabouts.


    "It seems that I owe you another favor," said Winchell with a laugh.


    Activating the Grand Teleportation, the two of them traveled towards the north in a flash.


    "Boom!"


    At the sound of the explosion, Zen looked in the direction of the Sword Light Palace.


    No ordinary person would be able to make such a loud noise. Laura and Ingram quickly realized this. They exchanged excited glances, as the familiar feeling of hope welled up within them.


    On the other hand, Ibrahim''s and Reynald''s expressions darkened.


    "What happened in the Sword Light Palace?" For the first time, Reynald seemed to be anxious and not in control.


    "Let me have a look!" Ibrahim said.


    But before he could do so, laughter rang through the place. They all looked upward, the direction from which the laughter came. "Your men are all dead. No need to have a look now, dude."


    Ibrahim was stunned. Reynald''s jaw dropped, unable to hide his shock.


    How did these two people manage to sneak in from above?


    As for Laura, she stared at the man behind Winchell. Goran, the one who sent her the Latent Theurgy, returned her gaze.

 Chapter 3036 Leaving

    "That is... Master Goran!" exclaimed Laura in disbelief.


    Winchell might be a stranger to Ingram, but Goran''s name had long resounded in Ingram''s ears. Goran was one of the three Oneness Governors in the Oneness Sky Palace, and both him and Athemar were well-known there.


    Zen had really made it!


    All the disciples were shocked.


    Elgin had given up. Zen had threatened him once and he didn''t dare to say anything since then.


    But the moment he saw Zen''s reinforcements, he realized he had made a fool of himself.


    Disciples like Beldene regarded Zen with reverence.


    Zen''s background was mysterious. The fact that he could call in such powerhouses meant that he was strong as well. But why had he joined the insignificant Sword Light Palace in the first place?


    Zen himself could not answer this question. No. 9527 had asked him to join the Sword Light Palace.


    Winchell ignored Reynald and the members of the Black Armor race and looked down as he asked, "Who is Zen Luo?"


    Zen stood up and bowed to him. "I am," he said simply.


    "Great! You are still alive!" Winchell laughed as he flew down. He crushed the Latent Theurgy and landed on the ground beside Zen. He stared at him as he said, "I heard from Dora that you can save my son. Is that true?"


    "Yes, I can," Zen replied without hesitation.


    "Very good! I hope you won''t let me down!" Winchell said, patting Zen''s shoulder in satisfaction. He liked Zen''s frankness.


    He had gone to such lengths so fast for his son''s sake and now that Zen had personally confirmed it, he felt much more relieved.


    Reynald''s and Ibrahim''s hearts sank as they watched this scene unfold.


    The two men who had appeared so suddenly didn''t show any killing intent, but they knew from their auras that they couldn''t resist them. They felt like two ants standing before elephants and that it would be meaningless to run away.


    ''Even I can''t call in such powerhouses.


    How did Zen, a disciple of the Sword Dance Palace, do that?''


    Reynald thought, his bloo


    temperament, he might become a Oneness Guard if he went to the Oneness Sky Palace.


    But as key members of the Sword Light Palace, they couldn''t leave when the palace was in trouble.


    The Seven-Star City had been destroyed but there were more than a dozen other big cities in the Seven-Star Province. If they left, more than ten million divine citizens would be eventually devoured by monsters, and the Seven-Star Province would become desolated again.


    Laura told Goran what she was thinking.


    Goran didn''t force her. Instead, he helped her control the Lofty Sword.


    Although the Sword Light Palace had been destroyed, it would be prosperous again under the protection of the Lofty Sword.


    Winchell and Goran stayed in the Seven-Star Province only for half a day. After that, he put Zen and over a hundred disciples in a small world. He then drove the Guiding Sword to leave alongside Winchell.


    In the small world, Beldene, Elgin, and the others were very excited.


    Faegan and Kenelm felt like they were in a dream.


    The Oneness Sky Palace was the place where really powerful human warriors lived. It was a legendary great force. Kenelm invited Zen to look for the tomb, and accidentally involved them in the disaster of the Sword Light Palace. He was now on his way to the Oneness Sky Palace. He couldn''t believe his good luck.

 Chapter 3037 An Unpleasant Meeting

    Several days had passed.


    Upon their release from the small world, the disciples of the cultivation palaces found themselves in a vast, empty square. However, Winchell and Goran did not appear.


    A beautiful, majestic mountain gate stood at the end of the square. The colossal gate had a huge plaque in its center, engraved with ornate lettering: "Origin Mountain". The design evoked sword intent.


    Everyone gazed at the gate for a moment, and then looked up. There was something blocking the view of the sky above the gate. It looked like a large, dark brown curtain.


    "What kind of place is this Origin Mountain?"


    "It isn''t the Oneness Sky Palace, is it?''


    "What the hell is that curtain? It''s blocking the stars!"


    Everyone in the group was confused by the curtain, including Beldene, Kenelm, and even Zen. They had no idea what it was.


    "That''s not a curtain... That''s the Origin Mountain itself! It is so high, so massive, that when one stands at the foot of the mountain, it seems like a curtain covering the sky," said someone behind them. The speaker had a pleasant, calm voice.


    Everyone turned around when they heard these words. A feeling of excitement came over them as they saw who was approaching them.


    Three beautiful women walked slowly and gracefully towards them. They were accompanied by a young man who looked to be young, and a few guards.


    The Sword Light Palace had occupied the Seven-Star Province for many years. Although it was a relatively small force, the palace was known to hold many lovely women. Surely, however, they could not all be winsome and charming as the women who now came towards them.


    The girl in the lead had fair skin and flowing hair, and wore a gauze dress in sky blue. She had a faint smile on her pretty face. She seemed to be very young.


    Despite her air of elegance and gentleness, there was a faint aura of sword intent around her. It was clear that she cultivated the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent.


    The two other women looked just as lovely, and slightly older. Their cultivation base could not be seen through at all. It was obvious that they were Other Shore Realm warriors, known for their power. The disciples did not dare to look directly at these two women, and kept their eyes focused on the youngest girl.


    "Which of you is Zen?" asked one of the women directly.


    The girl''s faint smile lingered. "Aunt Daisy, don''t be in such a hurry. See, I think I can guess, let me try..." she said softly.


    She moved closer to the disciples as she spoke, her gaze sweeping across every person in the group. In an instant, she had fixed her lovely eyes on Zen, and she


    gs she said are right. It is much better for you to stay here in the Origin Mountain," Dorothy said.


    "Are you saying that I won''t be able to pass through the Sea of Truth if I don''t rely on the Origin Mountain?" Zen asked, staring at Dorothy.


    "Zen does not need the Origin Mountain. He can cross the Sea of Truth without it. He is a superior talent, and he is capable of Instant Enlightenment. On his first try, he succeeded in cultivating the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent! And even Master Athemar has invited him to enter the Oneness Sky Palace."


    "Yes, all that is true! We see that the Origin Mountain seems extraordinary, but is it more powerful than the Oneness Sky Palace?"


    In response to Dorothy, a couple of the disciples had spoken up, eager to defend Zen and talk of his prowess.


    Dorothy listened, looking stunned. "Instant enlightenment... Zen, is this true? You achieved that?"


    She realized that Zen had used the Truth of Cultivation Nature to enter the Sea of Truth before. And this time, he had instantly grasped the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent. It occurred to her that if all this was accurate, then he was far more powerful than she had thought.


    The Origin Mountain had no hold on him if he was capable of all these things. Indeed, even the very leaders of the Origin Mountain would be quick to welcome such a talented and outstanding man into their group. Given his stature, Dorothy no longer knew how to persuade him to stay.


    Zen gazed at her with a faint smile. "It''s better for us to meet in the Sea of Truth."


    With that, he leaped lightly into the air, and soared down the mountain. The disciples followed his lead. In a moment, they had vanished from sight, leaving Dorothy standing alone at the edge of the cliff.

 Chapter 3038 The Reason

    Disappointed, Dorothy walked back to the square. She glared at Daisy and said, "Aunt Daisy! Zen is the person that even grandma cares about!"


    She had been expectant to meet Zen but now that he had left, she had become pretty annoyed.


    But she was also puzzled. Daisy was behaving very strangely today, very unlike herself.


    Daisy''s aggressive expression morphed into a gentle smile. She sighed and said, "Of course I know it. He is, after all, someone who could enter the Sea of Truth with his physical body. If we were to really keep him, we would agree even if he brought a thousand people with him, not to mention that he only brought a hundred...The Origin Mountain is so huge, and it could easily hold them."


    Felicity and Evaristus looked curiously at each other, while Dorothy frowned. "So why did you let him go?"


    "The Oneness Mountain already knew all about it when Winchell brought Zen back," Daisy said, smiling helplessly.


    "So what? Could the Oneness Mountain even interfere with Zen''s choice? Will grandma allow it to happen?" Dorothy asked, displeased with how things had been going.


    The Oneness Sky Palace claimed to be a unified force to the outside world. But from within, there were a thousand complications tangled with each other.


    The Oneness Sky Palace had occupied the Oneness Mountain. Its branches occupied the Origin Mountain, Bright Mountain, and the Azure Mountain, etc.


    These huge mountains could dominate a region if they were placed anywhere in the Source World.


    There was no doubt that the palace in the Oneness Mountain was the main force. But Dorothy had known Zen for quite a time, and this time, the people from the Origin Mountain had saved him. So it was taken for granted that he would join the Origin Mountain.


    The Oneness Sky Palace did have the ability to force Zen to join them, but doing that didn''t make any sense.


    To Dorothy, her grandma was an aggressive figure and wouldn''t ever make a concession in a matter as serious as this.


    Daisy shook her head and said, "Zen joined the Sword Light Palace after he entered the Source World. His talent was spotted when he cultivated Athemar''s Lofty Sword. The boy could actually attain Instant Enlightenment. The Oneness Sky Palace has sent out a few guiders before us, but they were killed ..."


    At thi


    y day, which is why they put a wall here. Crossing the Sword Wall is the first step to joining the Oneness Sky Palace."


    Zen gazed at the wall and asked, "It isn''t easy crossing the wall, right?"


    "That completely depends," Beldene said seriously. "If you''re highly compatible with the swordsmanship, it will be easy for you to succeed. If not, you might not be able to cross the wall in your whole lifetime."


    Compatible?


    At this, he remembered that Dorothy had mentioned this before. It turned out that the disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace used this wall to test their compatibility degree.


    But going by what Dorothy had said, if one could achieve Instant Enlightenment, they would be one hundred percent compatible. Seen that way, he had a high level of compatibility with the swordsmanship. So he assumed it wouldn''t be a problem to pass through this wall. But it might not be that easy for the others.


    "Get off! This is our place. Go back, you losers!"


    a loud voice scolded.


    Zen turned in time to see more than twenty angry young men coming their way. The young man in black in the front carried two swords that crossed at his back, his eyes glinting coldly. He was shouting at the disciples of the Sword Light Palace.


    "Your place? Have you engraved your name on your turf?" At these words, Elgin''s face darkened.


    He had never been humiliated like this in the Sword Light Palace.


    Beldene, Kenelm, and some others could tolerate this. But Elgin, Faegan, and Jago raised their eyebrows at the young man''s words.

 Chapter 3039 A Conflict

    The young man in black considered these disciples who came from nowhere as pariahs that didn''t deserve his attention.


    Elgin''s retort surprised the young man in black a little. He sneered, "Don''t you know the rules, you bastard? You''re courting death!"


    The young man in black raised his hand and struck out his palm towards Elgin.


    A trace of cold energy was hidden in his palm. Elgin would probably turn into an ice sculpture and fall into a pile of bloody pieces if he was hit. The man actually wanted to kill Elgin.


    Elgin, who was new here, felt confused about the situation.


    Even in the Sword Light Palace, no one dared to attack without a warning, but this man in black meant to kill when he attacked without giving any warning or signs.


    Out of desperation, Elgin suddenly twisted his body and instinctively held up the cyan sword that was still sheathed in front of him to block the attack.


    Bang!


    When the young man''s palm hit it, a wave of cold energy spread out.


    Elgin suddenly felt a cool sensation in his right hand, and half of his body was frozen within seconds!


    The young man in black had no intentions of stopping at that. After the first slap, he flipped his hand and tried to slap Elgin''s head again. He was determined to kill Elgin on the spot.


    Zen raised his eyebrows and leaped towards Elgin like a panther. He grabbed Elgin''s clothes and pulled him backwards. Elgin narrowly missed this slap. At the same time, he said to the man in black, "If you have any issues with him, we can talk. Why are you hell bent on killing him?"


    The young man in black stared at Zen coldly and laughed. "Who do you think you are? A waste of a warrior with poor strength! What makes you think you have the right to ask me to speak nicely to you?"


    As streams of Truth of Godly Way accumulated around him, countless palm prints covered Zen''s head.


    A fierce light flashed in Zen''s eyes. He didn''t dodge the palm prints and instead rushed straight towards the young man in black.


    Slam! Slam! Slam!


    Several palm prints hit Zen''s body, forming layers of icy shells on the surface of his body. But when his body shook slightly, the icy shells broke. He was not affected at all.


    In the blink of an eye, Zen rushed to the young man in black and extended his right hand like a bolt o


    hich had been noisy, fell silent.


    The young man at the helm flew down and scolded impatiently, "Anyone who dares to make trouble under the wall will be killed immediately!"


    Carlisle Wang moaned, "Jagger! He wanted to kill me just now!"


    The young man who spoke was Jagger Wang, two years older than his younger brother, Carlisle Wang, and he had already crossed the Sword Wall before his younger brother.


    After inspecting Carlisle Wang''s injury, Jagger Wang turned to look at Zen and asked, "You wanted to kill my brother?"


    "No," Zen replied with a smile.


    Jagger Wang was a little surprised to hear this. He sneered, "You dared to do it but are chickening out when it comes to facing the consequences of your actions? Do you think you will get away just by denying what you did?"


    However, Zen continued, "I have spoken the truth. If I really wanted to kill him, he would have already become a corpse by now. Moreover, such a useless person doesn''t deserve to be killed by me!"


    A malicious look took over Jagger Wang''s face. He sneered, "Interesting! There are very few pariahs who are so ignorant about everything under the Sword Wall."


    Zen remained calm and said coldly, "I also find it interesting. It''s rare to see so many good-for-nothings pop out one after another!"


    The faces of the young men in white robes darkened at this. The young man standing at the end of the queue didn''t think it was a big deal and instead laughed and remarked, "Jagger, a mere pariah dared to call you a good-for-nothing. Hahaha!"

 Chapter 3040 Who Will Die First

    There was a reason why the word "pariah" came into being.


    The Oneness Sky Palace was situated within the Bloom Divine Province. It had countless branches that further comprised of many clans.


    Every year, over a hundred million humans flocked into the vicinity of the Bloom Divine Province. They would hope to join the Oneness Sky Palace. The column of the people was so long that it appeared to be an endless pilgrimage.


    They had set several trials for the warriors to limit their entry into the palace. Sword Wall was one of the many tests they had to pass to get in.


    Since Zen and his group had come from the Origin Mountain, they didn''t meet the other barriers before the Sword Wall.


    The aboriginals of Bloom Divine Province looked down upon the outsiders and called them pariahs.


    When the others saw how Zen was being treated by the young men, they became nervous. They were worried about Zen and themselves since they all arrived together. Even Beldene and Elgin were tensed since they were all new to the place.


    With a sharp glare, Jagger stared at Zen and scoffed, "You dare to provoke me?"


    In response, Zen raised his eyebrows slightly and shrugged. "I never provoke losers."


    "It seems that in your eyes, I am not a loser," Jagger sneered at him meaningfully.


    Zen cast a sideways glance at Jagger and said, "You''re right. In my eyes, you are even worse than a loser."


    The young man from Jagger''s group broke out in explosive laughter and said, "Jagger, if you can''t win him in words, just kill him. Do you still want to keep such a pariah alive?"


    The killing intent in Jagger''s eyes grew stronger. His eyes were fuming with rage as he glared at Zen. "As I said, anyone making trouble under the Sword Wall shall be killed, regardless of occasions. I will give you one last chance. Kneel here and bow to me and my brother one hundred times, and disable your elixir field. Then maybe, I''ll spare your life. Otherwise, I will be forced to follow the rules and take your life!"


    The spectators in the crowd began whispering to each other. "That guy is digging his own grave..."


    "I''d disable my elixir field if I were him. How ignorant he is to fight against the people of the Oneness Sky Palace."


    "A warrior who has lost their cultivation base is as good as dead. If he leaves here, he will probably be killed!"


    "This is how one will end up when they offend the Wang Clan!"


    They looked at Zen with sympathetic eyes.


    As things got more intense, Zen did not appear to let up. Beldene knew the situation was going to spiral out of their control if he didn''t act upon it.


    He mustered up the courage and walk


    e Wang Clan. Now I see it''s really powerful," another white-robed disciple exclaimed.


    A malicious smile spread across Carlisle''s face as he imagined Zen being chopped up into pieces within that frosty aura.


    The temperature in the white fog dropped even lower than before. Zen sensed the killing intent that enveloped him.


    Not only was his pace slowed down but the sharp pieces in the cold aura kept piercing through his body. Even the Truth of Cultivation Nature was unable to assist him in dodging the pieces.


    If it had been anyone else, they would have been split into pieces by now from the continuous fierce attacks in the icy mist.


    However, Zen was not an ordinary warrior. His body began to emit a faint golden light and a mysteriously powerful aura emerged. The aura darted at the frosty swords and turned them to powder!


    The next moment, Zen emerged from the white fog in one piece.


    Seeing Zen break out from the mist unscathed made Jagger freeze in confusion.


    He could sense Zen''s presence in the mist when he trapped him. But he wondered why his body remained intact despite all the swords cutting through him. When he saw Zen rush out of the mist with no trace of blood anywhere, he was stunned. He desperately scanned his frame for any injury, but he was unsuccessful.


    Jagger was unable to hide his frustration in his eyes when he saw the glow of Ways-blending Energy on Zen''s sword.


    With his experience, he could not recognize the Ways-blending Energy. But the fierce aura emanating from Zen''s sword reminded Jagger not to underestimate it.


    "Now, let''s see who will die first!" Zen said nonchalantly.


    He covered the short distance between him and Jagger in a flash, swinging his sword at Jagger with lightning-fast speed.

 Chapter 3041 Prevent

    "Who will die first?"


    Jagger''s eyes widened as he heard Zen''s voice.


    At that moment, Jagger was shrouded in fear.


    Ever since he emerged from the Sword Wall, he had never taken anyone seriously.


    Jagger was able to cross the eighth line in the Sea of Truth. As a reward, the Oneness Sky Palace had rewarded him with a lot of soul pills.


    As a matter of fact, it would not be long before he could reach the Other Shore! Knowing that he had enough soul pills to last the journey, he surely had a very promising future ahead of him.


    On the contrary, he had never expected that death would get so close to him.


    "No! You can''t kill me!"


    Jagger kicked in the air and growled hysterically. At that point, he was losing hope for he was on the brink of giving up from escaping.


    Upon witnessing this scene, the other disciples'' expressions changed greatly as they had never expected how things turned out.


    "Stop it, you brat!"


    "If you choose to kill Jagger right here and right now, you will surely die a miserable death!"


    "How dare you! You bastard!"


    Hearing these words did not affect Zen''s decision. Instead, his sword remained pointed at Jagger.


    "Stop!"


    Suddenly, an old man clad in a white robe appeared above the Sword Wall. This man turned out to be a master at the Other Shore Realm.


    Everyone who heard his roar felt dizzy, and even Zen''s mind was slightly affected by it.


    Nevertheless, it was not enough for Zen to change his mind as he swung his sword at Jagger without any hesitation.


    Bang!


    The people who saw this were greatly astonished. Zen''s sword produced a dazzling light that enveloped Jagger, making him vanish into thin air.


    At that moment, all eyes were on Zen for he blatantly killed Jagger in front of everyone.


    Carlisle was in disbelief at what he saw. His lips twitched in fear as he could not believe that his brother was shamelessly killed right in front of him.


    The white-robed disciples'' faces darkened after witnessing such a gruesome scene. Never had they expected that Zen would be so bold as to kill Jagger in front of many disciples!


    "Zen made a very serious mistake!" Beldene scowled.


    Meanwhile, the other disciples from the Sword Light Palace all looked at each other in dismay. As for Elgin, he commended, "Hum...Well done, Zen!"


    Whoosh!


    Furious, the old man in a white robe quickly descended from the Sword Wall and pointed his finger at Zen. "How dare you! How dare you murder a disciple of the Oneness Sky Palace beneath the Sword Wall! You made a serious offense, you bold brat! How audacious of you to court death!"


    The other disciples in white robes walked up to the man to show their r


    his sword.


    Perhaps this mild aura was some sort of spell used to bewitch the people. However, Zen was quick to sense the killing intent concealed within the mild aura. As soon as he felt the killing intent, he instantly realized that the man was powerful and that he would not be able to resist his attacks.


    "The Soaring Snake Sword... If I use it now, then it will cause me endless troubles. But there''s no other choice for me now!"


    Just as Zen had made up his mind and was about to unsheathe the Soaring Snake Sword, the air suddenly became chilly.


    This gentle breeze, however, refreshed everyone as soon as it came in close contact with their faces.


    As soon as the stupefied crowd felt the sudden chill on their faces, they immediately regained their consciousness, clearing their minds.


    At the same time, an indifferent voice echoed through the air, "You can''t kill him, Galen."


    Upon the arrival of this voice, a young man in a blue robe appeared, looking aloof.


    "How dare you stop me? Jagger did not die for nothing!" Galen, the old man, retorted stubbornly.


    The long sword in his hand continued to charge towards Zen, emitting a wisp of pink breeze that swept towards him.


    Noticing that Galen ignored his words, the young man''s face contorted in anger. All of a sudden, he moved his body, and his once gentle aura turned into an aura of violence. He dashed towards the old man and did not hesitate to throw a heavy punch at him.


    Bang!


    The impact was so intense that Galen was sent flying towards a mountain wall.


    With his fist still clenched, the young man''s fury gradually returned to normal. With a little bit of anger remaining, he spoke, "How dare you turn a deaf ear to my words? This is your fault! You shouldn''t have forced me to attack you!"

 Chapter 3042 Fooled By His Trick

    Everyone considered Galen as a strong warrior but now he had been pounded against the mountain wall by this young man''s punch. Even the sword wind that had been curling up towards Zen dissipated.


    When the crowd saw this scene, they were all shocked and intrigued.


    Judging from the way this young man spoke to Zen, it appeared that he was familiar with him. So was he here to protect Zen?


    However, the young man shot a cold glance at Zen before zooming off to the Sword Wall.


    Galen struggled for a while on the mountain wall before he could emerge.


    His wrinkled face was full of ferocity as he glared at Zen.


    Obviously, Galen wanted to kill Zen, but he had been forewarned by the young man. What was more, he had now learned about the consequences of attacking Zen. Left with no option, he left.


    However, everyone present could see that Galen would never allow Zen to get away with this so easily.


    The young men in white robes didn''t leave with Galen. At last, one of them floated over to Zen. He stared at Zen with a weird smile on his face and said, "You''re doomed, you know that? If you leave now, you will definitely be hunted down and slain by Flag Master Galen. But if you choose to pass through the Sword Wall, you will also die. Ha-ha!"


    The young man in white was the one who had made fun of Jagger just now.


    Zen cast a cold glance at him and said, "Since the end result of both options is death, what''s your point of talking nonsense?"


    "Because if you got through the Sword Wall, I might have to kill you myself. I''m not a loser like Jagger! If I get my hands on you, you''d better commit suicide. Otherwise, I will show you what it feels like to live in hell!" said the man with a sinister smile.


    Zen''s lips curled up. These people were all arrogant and thought highly of themselves. He then smirked. "Well, I''m right here in front of you. If you think you are capable of killing me, you can give it a shot. But I think you and Jagger are the same loser type. Not qualified enough to do so!"


    A cold light flashed in the young man''s eyes, but when he thought of what had just happened to Galen, he restrained himself. "A cocky person like you can''t survive for


    a mediocre disciple among all the others.


    When the other disciples heard this, they were incredulous. They immediately understood what Zen meant.


    For a talent like Zen, passing this Sword Wall was a foregone conclusion. The disciples didn''t have the slightest doubt about that, but what about the others? Elgin and Beldene might just succeed, but it would be difficult for the rest to pass.


    Carlisle''s compatibility degree was only twenty percent. If he succeeded, it would mean one of two things: Either getting through the Sword Wall was easy or there were other ways to make up for a low compatibility degree.


    "If it''s only twenty percent, it will be very difficult for you to pass the Sword Wall. But you seem to be very confident. How''s that?" Zen asked again, feeling baffled at Carlisle''s behavior.


    Carlisle nodded. "It has taken me many years to cultivate the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent. I''m aware that it''s difficult for me to surpass the Sword Wall, considering my low compatibility degree, but I have a way to get the recognition of the Sword Wall."


    The Sword Wall had served as a screen for a long time. Some people who were reluctant to be rejected would have figured out some tricks to cross it, but the Oneness Sky Palace turned a blind eye to them. As a result, many unjustifiable methods had come up.


    "What is it?" Zen asked, staring at Carlisle eagerly.


    Noticing the hesitation in Carlisle''s eyes, Zen ordered, "Tell me!"

 Chapter 3043 Sword-reading Liquid

    Carlisle finally said, "It... It''s the Sword-reading Liquid. We can use it to improve the compatibility degree in a short time."


    "It can improve the compatibility degree?" Zen stared at Carlisle with eyes beaming with wonder. "Do you have any of it in your possession?"


    Carlisle was reluctant but he didn''t dare to defy Zen. He nodded to him, reached for a small jade bottle from his space ring and passed it over to him. "This is all I have."


    Zen immediately pulled the cork from the bottle.


    A pure yet distinct aura of the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent emanated from the jade bottle and flared up in the air.


    "Someone has infused the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent into the liquid," Zen muttered as he studied it carefully.


    Beldene noticed something and said, "This truth aura is quite similar to yours."


    Beldene had sensed it instantly since he and the other disciples had previously fought Zen in the Truth Competition. The truth aura that resonated from Zen''s body was quite similar to that of the Sword-reading Liquid.


    Then suddenly, Zen realized something as his eyes widened noticeably.


    If one had a low compatibility degree with the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent, they could still take advantage of others'' truth auras.


    It seemed that the Oneness Sky Palace turned a blind eye to this method.


    "Is it possible to make the Sword-reading Liquid by myself?" Zen asked while tilting the jade bottle, and eyeing it up.


    Carlisle shook his head in response, "No. Those who can make the Sword-reading Liquid must have a perfect fit with the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent. They are all talents capable of Instant Enlightenment. An ordinary warrior can''t make the Sword-reading Liquid. My clan bought it at a high price."


    "You mean, if I have a perfect fit with the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent, I can make the Sword-reading Liquid by myself?" Zen continued to inquire more.


    "I don''t know about that," Carlisle said shrugging his shoulders.


    It was extremely difficult to obtain the Sword-reading Liquid. It was capable of improving the compatibility with the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent. Naturally, it was expensive to buy. With such a high price, ordinary people were unable to afford it. Most people would only use it to pass the Sword Wall.


    "How many divine crystals is this bottle of Sword-reading


    Liquid, I believe it is to absorb the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent using some kind of liquid. I don''t have the liquid, but I do have this."


    At his words, he put his finger on the mouth of the jade bottle and tapped it lightly. An aura was formed in a spiral shape. It was his Truth of Eternal Sword Intent.


    The truth aura reacted to his command and circled his palm. Then it swiftly went inside the small jade bottle.


    He didn''t know what the liquid was, but it had reacted to his truth aura and smoothly fused with it as the liquid inside began to rotate.


    "Close enough." Zen felt the change in the bottle and smirked to himself.


    What made the Sword-reading Liquid expensive was the perfectly matched truth aura. The liquid itself held no such value. After the liquid was done, the maker had to fuse the truth auras of talents with the liquid.


    Such talents demanded high prices. Therefore, the Sword-reading Liquid sold high.


    "Here you go," Zen said as he tossed the jade bottle gently into Kenelm''s hand. "It should be the same as Carlisle''s."


    "It''s the same as yours?" Kenelm said, looking baffled. He stammered, "But this is too much. I can''t use it. Zen, you''d better sell it. It''s worth twenty thousand divine crystals!"


    With this bottle of Sword-reading Liquid, Kenelm was likely to pass the Sword Wall. But as Zen said, it was worth twenty thousand divine crystals. He didn''t feel right in using it for himself. It was too huge an amount for Kenelm to process. His hands trembled with the Sword-reading Liquid in his possession.

 Chapter 3044 The Opening Of The Sword Wall

    "Please, take it. I have no lack of divine crystals," Zen said, nodding his head encouragingly.


    He had a large sum of money on him, so the divine crystals truly possessed little value to him.


    However, the eyes of the other disciples of the Sword Light Palace filled with envy when he handed the bottle of Sword-reading Liquid to Kenelm.


    They had previously never imagined they''d be able to pass through the Sword Wall, but if they could get their hands on the Sword-reading Liquid, it would certainly give them a much better chance. Even Carlisle, a man of little talent, was confident in crossing the Sword Wall with the use of the Sword-reading Liquid.


    Although Zen could make the normal Sword-reading Liquid perfect, he didn''t have any more of such a treasure.


    The disciples looked at the Sword-reading Liquid with eager eyes. Although they did not speak, their thoughts had been written on their faces.


    Zen looked at all the people waiting close by and a great idea popped into his head.


    He strode over to a group, all of them with fear etched onto their faces. What Zen had done beneath the Sword Wall had clearly left a strong impression.


    "I would like to strike a deal with you," Zen offered.


    "What... what kind of deal?" a middle-aged man asked nervously and wide eyed.


    "I would like to trade this bottle of Sword-reading Liquid with perfect truth aura for your diluted Sword-reading Liquid. The more diluted the better," Zen said holding up the bottle he''d received from Carlisle.


    He opened the small jade bottle as he spoke, allowing the aura to rush out and twirl playfully in the air.


    Their eyes ignited with excitement when the others saw the small jade bottle.


    The concentration of the diluted Sword-reading Liquid was only one percent of that of the undiluted one, and the price was far lower. What was Zen thinking? What kind of deal was this?


    "How many bottles would you like?" the middle-aged man asked curiously.


    Zen thought a while and asked, "How about you set the price?"


    The middle-aged man pondered on for a moment, unsure if he was being tricked somehow. Finally, he turned to the others and ordered them to hand over their diluted Sword-reading Liquid. "We will not be passing through the Sword Wall today!" he announced.


    The thirty men behind him had obviously come as a si


    ''Rumble...''


    The trembling excited the crowd, and the anticipation of the next steps they would take began to build.


    "It''s begun!"


    "God bless me. I must cross it this time!"


    "This is the most important challenge of my life!"


    People of all ages and genders lingered beneath the Sword Wall. Some had been trapped under here for as long as they could remember and every time this challenge was just as great to them.


    As the Sword Wall continued to shake, the long swords that were attached to it all fell off.


    "Clang! Clang! Clang..."


    The long swords collided in a metallic thunder as they fell. After falling a bit, the swords seemed to possess a mind of their own and flew towards the other side of the wall, like a storm of swords had rained down from the sky.


    In the blink of an eye, the long swords which had been attached to the wall had now disappeared completely.


    A young man in a white robe walked out of the Sword Wall and said in a low voice, "The Sword Wall has been opened. Anyone who wishes to join the Oneness Sky Palace can hang your sword on the wall. In doing this, you may climb over the Sword Wall!"


    Hearing these words, the disciples of the Sword Light Palace were stunned. This was much simpler than they imagined and only served to boost their confidence.


    "How hard could it be!"


    "Don''t take it lightly.


    Hanging the sword on the wall is not that easy."


    Most of them then took out the small jade bottles and gulped down the Sword-reading Liquid in one swig before rushing to the Sword Wall. It was time.

 Chapter 3045 Flag Masters

    The rest of the disciples followed suit and drank each of their own Sword-reading Liquid up.


    The Sword-reading Liquid the disciples from the Sword Light Palace had was much purer than that of the others. After they drank it, the aura exuded by the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent from their bodies became intense.


    Most of the disciples from the Sword Light Palace had not completely mastered the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent yet. However, after drinking the Sword-reading Liquid, they all felt their heads surge with the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent. Moreover, they felt that their comprehension of the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent had increased and even reached a higher level.


    Now, if there was a continuous supply of that specific Sword-reading Liquid, then everyone would be able to enter the Sea of Truth easily in a short span of time.


    "Let''s go," Zen said lightly.


    After Zen''s command, all the disciples of the Sword Light Palace followed him as they headed directly to the Sword Wall.


    Meanwhile, as Zen was only about a thousand feet away from their destination, he sensed something odd¡ªa strong repulsive force was coming straight towards him.


    On the other hand, it was not only Zen who felt it, but also everyone else in the group. This repulsive force even seemed to have slowed down their paces.


    "Eh?"


    But somehow, even with the strong repulsive force, Zen quickly managed to adapt to it. By lightly twisting his body, his speed of moving forward returned back to normal.


    However, most of the other people still felt the force. They felt heaviness linger with their every step. On the other hand, the situation of the disciples from the Sword Light Palace was better because of their Sword-reading Liquid''s good quality.


    Tens of thousands of people were approaching the Sword Wall at the same time. In fact, with that great amount of people bustling towards the Sword Wall, about 90% of them were slowed down by the force. However, there were a few disciples who were not much affected by the force and stood out, and Zen was one of them.


    Behind him were two women walking together, while to his right, there was a young man who wore cotton clothes. Aside from Zen, they, too, looked relaxed as if they didn''t feel the pressure at all.


    ''Humans are so powerful. Every day, tens of thousands of people flock as they try their best to cross the Sword Wall and join the formidable force. There will always be people who would stand out from the rest. Hmm...I wonder if these few people have also taken the Sword-reading Liquid, '' Zen thought to himself.


    In fact, if Zen kept walking with such a brisk pace, then he would be able to reach the Sword Wall, which was about a thousand feet from him, in just a few seconds.


    However, when he was just a hundred feet away from the Sword Wall, the two women behind him slowe


    ed down below.


    Meanwhile, the young man in cotton robes and the other two girls started to climb as well. Unfortunately, it seemed that all three of them were struggling so hard to reach the higher layers on the Sword Wall.


    As for the others, they were no better for they performed even worse! In fact, most of them even found it difficult to take a single step forward after they managed to be three hundred feet away from the Sword Wall. But because of taking the Sword-reading Liquid, the disciples of the Sword Light Palace were able to perform better than the others.


    When Elgin and Beldene reached the Sword Wall, Faegan and the other disciples stayed very close behind them. Even Kenelm was only about eighty feet away from the Sword Wall.


    Zen heaved a long sigh of relief upon seeing this. At that moment, he expected that the disciples of the Sword Light Palace would all pass.


    Expecting a great turnout, he even wondered what Laura would feel if she saw this.


    Turning his head to the other side of the Sword Wall, Zen saw a large open space behind it. There, hundreds of people were gathered, all of whom were masters at the Other Shore Realm.


    Based on the aura that they were emitting, it indicated that they had reached the Other Shore Realm not too long ago.


    Each of them held a metal flagpole in their hands with flags that had different surnames written on each of them. They all stood there proudly as the flags spread out in the wind.


    "Yao!"


    "Chen!"


    "Mu!" Zen read some of the surnames he saw that were written on the flags.


    ''So are these people the so-called Flag Masters?'' he wondered.


    Just as the young man in cotton had mentioned, right after a person crossed the Sword Wall, they were required to join a Flag Master. Thinking about this, Zen said to himself, "So this is what the young man meant. Are these Flag Masters here to recruit new members?"

 Chapter 3046 The Depressed Flag Masters

    The Flag Masters also stared at Zen, some of them fascinated.


    Zen was the first person to have climbed over the Sword Wall and was popular among the Flag Masters.


    If any one of them were to have him alongside them, their team would have bright future.


    Suddenly, a dozen Flag Masters simultaneously raised the flagpoles in their hands and flew towards the Sword Wall.


    "Anyone who has just climbed over the Sword Wall needs to choose to follow a Flag Master. Join me and you will be rich and powerful!"


    "I am Flag Master Tang. If you choose me, no one will dare hurt you here!"


    "I am Flag Master..."


    The Flag Masters sent frantic invitations to Zen, afraid that if they were any slower, he would join another Flag Master.


    Harden flew down from the Sword Wall to convey a message. "Flag Master Galen has said that if anyone dares take this guy into their team, they will become his opponent. I hope you will think it over before making any decision, Flag Masters!"


    The Flag Masters looked concerned at this message.


    They had different cultivation bases. Galen was at a higher level among all of them. He also had a stronger backer.


    Therefore, some of these Flag Masters would reconsider if it was worth it to go against Galen and take Zen as their teammate.


    Harden watched the Flag Masters retreat before turning to look at Zen with a smug smile on his face. He said, "I told you. You will regret offending Flag Master Galen!"


    But he had barely finished talking when two Flag Masters walked up to them.


    One of them had a broad forehead and a large mouth, and was more than ten feet tall. He was wearing golden armor which glinted as he shouted in a rough voice, "Young man, join me. I''m Parr and I''m not afraid of Galen."


    The other Flag Master was a woman. She threw a sideways glance before saying, "You can join me."


    There were many Flag Masters. Only some were not afraid of Galen. Not only were these two not afraid of Galen, but they also considered him to be their enemy. They wouldn''t take Harden''s words seriously.


    The other Flag Masters looked regretful. The moment these two Flag Masters appeared, the other Flag Masters knew that they had no chance of drawing Zen over to their sides.


    But Zen clasped his hands together as a sign of respect to


    the heel of the young man.


    They walked towards the female Flag Master who had extended an invitation to Zen. It was obvious that they knew each other well.


    But to everyone''s surprise, Elgin and Beldene were next.


    Elgin and Beldene had excellent talents in the Sword Light Palace. Here, they were only mediocre. But with the help of Zen''s Sword-reading Liquid, their compatibility degree had greatly increased, and their speed was faster than that of others.


    Since the Flag Masters had failed to win the first four warriors, they would not want to miss the fifth and sixth warriors to climb over the Sword Wall.


    The Flag Masters were about to invite them when Elgin and Beldene turned to look at Zen.


    "I choose to be a Flag Master myself. Are you willing to join me?" Zen asked, smiling.


    "Of course!" Elgin said and walked up to join Zen.


    Beldene did not hesitate either. This was not even a choice.


    They couldn''t have come this far without Zen.


    Elgin had always been jealous of Zen, but when he had recognized the difference between him and Zen, this feeling had disappeared. He was not ungrateful, because of which he was unwilling to join any other Flag Master. He had made up his mind to follow Zen.


    The Flag Masters were now depressed. The fifth and sixth warriors had finally climbed over the Sword Wall but had chosen to join Zen''s team.


    More people climbed over the Sword Wall. On a closer look, they turned out to be more than ten disciples from the Sword Light Palace, including Faegan.

 Chapter 3047 Get The Flag

    Although Faegan, Jago and the other disciples were from the Sword Dance Palace, this did not mean they weren''t talented.


    Their talents were only inferior to Beldene''s and Elgin''s since those two were exceptionally gifted. Besides, there were more than ten disciples from the Burial Sword Palace and Demon Sword Palace, and they were also talented warriors.


    When the Flag Masters saw these disciples, they couldn''t help but feel excited. With heavy numbers of warriors pouring in, they had a higher probability of convincing some of them to be their followers.


    As the Flag Masters began approaching them with hopeful eyes, Faegan and the others ignored them and moved on to follow Zen.


    The Flag Masters stood baffled at the rejection as they watched them pass by.


    "Am I seeing things?"


    "Are all these guys flocking to follow that young man?"


    "That guy must have a noble background. Which clan is he from?" The Flag Masters discussed among themselves while glancing at Zen.


    It could be a stroke of luck when Elgin and Beldene decided to follow Zen''s lead. However, now that all these disciples went to stand behind Zen to pick him as their leader, things were different.


    Just as the Flag Masters attempted to process this awkward situation, another hundred warriors climbed over the Sword Wall.


    Their expressions made a quick switch from confused to glum as they stood there in dismay at the rare sight.


    Among these warriors, only sixteen or seventeen decided to stay back. The rest of them all gathered around Zen. No matter how much the Flag Masters tried to persuade them, they wouldn''t budge. They were all standing with the utmost resolve next to him. The Flag Masters'' efforts were all in vain.


    The disciples had made up their mind and they had no intentions of switching sides. All of them wanted to accompany Zen.


    As a result, an awkward scene revealed itself as silence reigned over the Flag Masters who stood empty-handed, whilst Zen stood tall with no flag yet more than a hundred recruits.


    As more warriors continued to pass through the Sword Wall, the embarrassment of the Flag Masters reduced when they began to join them.


    Tens of thousands of warriors would take part in the Sword Wall trial every day. However, in the end, only one-third of them succeeded in climbing over it. This was still a notable amount.


    As more and more warriors began filling up their ranks, the Flag Masters'' tensed expressions relaxed.


    After the trial, the Sword Wall closed up. The young man in a white robe standing over the wall declared in a clear voice, "The Sword Wall is closed now as the trial has ended. Everyone,


    s it.


    As he opened the door and walked in, his eyes fell on a half-naked old man. He instinctively attempted to scan his aura but was unable to. The old man had no hint of power fluctuating from within his body. Naturally, Zen concluded him to be a mere mortal like the ones in his inner world.


    Zen felt odd. This old man seemed to be even weaker than the divine citizens in the divine land. This was unbelievable!


    "Have you come for your flag?" The old man asked while stroking his chin.


    Zen nodded. "Yes."


    The old man drew out a tag hanging on the wall as he spoke, "Only one person managed to hang the sword on the sixth layer of the Sword Wall today. Was it you?"


    "Yes, it was," replied Zen.


    The old man continued to walk to the corner of the room. He struggled to carry the weight of his body as he lifted his feet and stumbled with his steps. He raised one of the flagpoles and threw it at Zen while saying, "You should find your territory before night. Otherwise, you might get killed."


    "My territory?" Zen narrowed his eyes.


    With a smile, the old man demonstrated what he meant by stabbing the ground with a flagpole. "Insert the flagpole into the ground and you will know."


    "Can I insert the flagpole in any space outside?" Zen asked again while raising the flagpole in his hands.


    "Of course you can, as long as you can insert it into the ground," the old man said with a weak grin.


    Zen didn''t understand what was so hard in just inserting the flagpole into the ground.


    He walked out from the room carrying the flagpole, and kept thinking about what the old man had told him.


    But Zen didn''t dare underestimate the old man. His ability to suppress his aura impressed him. Even he was unable to pull off such a technique.

 Chapter 3048 Obstruction

    As soon as Zen came out of the small door, the disciples who had been waiting outside the Dragon City quickly surrounded him.


    "Come with me," Zen said gently.


    At once, he led the disciples to the open space just outside of the Dragon City. The disciples felt confused but followed him anyway.


    Zen looked around until he found the perfect place. As he settled, he tried to insert the flagpole into the ground.


    As he did this, he felt a strong repulsive force coming from the ground. Zen was not able to resist it at all, causing the flagpole in his hand to bounce away. The impact was so huge that he was thrown into the air. Soon after, he landed heavily on the ground with a loud thud.


    "Now that''s powerful!" Zen exclaimed, shocked.


    Despite the flat area, Zen was unable to insert the flagpole into the ground.


    "Hahaha, what an ignorant bloke! How dare you try and insert the flagpole into the ground near the Dragon City! How could a mere Flag Master like you take a share in this land?" An arrogant voice suddenly echoed from the distance.


    When the disciples heard the laughter, they all glared at the owner of the voice.


    The voice belonged to a Flag Master who carried a flagpole on his shoulder. Based on where he came from, it was probable that he had just come out of the Dragon City.


    Looking at the Flag Master, Zen couldn''t help but ask, "Excuse me, but why can''t I insert my flagpole in the ground near the Dragon City?"


    "Well, theoretically, you can. But up until now, there is not a single Flag Master who is able to do so. Look, there is no one around here, right?" the Flag Master said as he pointed at his surroundings.


    Seeing this, Zen also became curious. He thought, ''Then why are there no flagpoles in this area if they have to be inserted in the ground before nightfall?''


    "The closer we get to the Dragon City, the more difficult it would be for us to plant our flagpoles in the ground. In fact, people at the Other Shore Realm can''t do this. Now, do you understand how naive you sound? After all, It''s getting dark, and you don''t have much time left," said the Flag Master. He carried his flagpole and resumed flying forward and out of Zen''s sight.


    Hearing this, Zen was instantly enlightened. It was such a shame that the old man did not tell him about an important piece of information such as that.


    But the Flag Master was right. If one was strong enough, then they would be able to insert the flagpole in the ground around the Dragon City. The truth of the matter was that Zen was not strong en


    ainst Flag Master Galen?" Harden asked harshly as his face darkened.


    On the other hand, Monica Yin came from a background that was not weaker than Galen''s. With that being said, it would not be difficult for her to protect Zen.


    "I''m not going to fight against Galen, but I still want to remind him that he can''t afford to offend some people," Monica Yin retorted with a confident smile.


    "Flag Master Monica, I also want to remind you that you must pay a price for offending Flag Master Galen," Harden also threatened.


    But Monica Yin seemed to turn a deaf ear to the threat. Instead, she said in a soft voice, "Zen, no one is stopping you. Come here if you want to."


    Unexpectedly, Zen shook his head and said, "I won''t insert the flagpole in the ground. I''m not afraid of them."


    Everyone was surprised to hear Zen''s answer. Upon hearing this, Monica Yin frowned and seemed helpless.


    Thinking of another way to convince Zen, she came up to him and said, "Find your footing for the time being. Once you become strong enough, you can kill these bastards one by one and no one would even dare to say anything. Right now, it seems that you are making things more difficult than they already are by getting in trouble like this one."


    Coldly staring at her, Zen asked her back, "Did someone tell you anything?"


    The woman froze and was taken aback by this question. She sighed and said, "Please don''t put me in a dilemma."


    The other Flag Masters in the area who heard their conversation were astonished. In fact, Monica Yin had a very threatening reputation¡ªshe was a vigorous and ruthless Flag Master who had killed countless Flag Masters. They didn''t understand why she was so nice to Zen.

 Chapter 3049 Robbery Again

    Back in the Sword Light Palace, Athemar had known about Zen''s talents and was determined to introduce him to the Oneness Sky Palace. Besides, he was the only one who could save Winchell''s son. He was important, in any way.


    Therefore, he maintained the idea that the Oneness Sky Palace wouldn''t simply watch him die.


    A young man had prevented Galen from attacking him, and once he''d passed the Sword Wall, Monica stayed close by in order to give him a few hints.


    Zen was already confused at this point. If the two weren''t sent by the Origin Mountain, then they were most likely instructed by Athemar. But why would they do something like that?


    "I''m just a nobody. Don''t put me on the spot," Monica begged as she tugged at Zen''s arm, pulling him.


    ''Let me see what tricks you have up your sleeve, '' Zen thought to himself. He finally made the decision to compromise on this one. It wasn''t for or about himself, but for the sake of many disciples who followed him diligently.


    Monica cautiously narrowed the area occupied by her flag. She raised her eyes toward the somber sky and said, "It''s getting dark. Hurry up, please."


    With a single swing of his muscular arm, Zen stabbed the flagpole solidly into the ground.


    Buzz!


    As soon as the flagpole collided with the earth, a faint light spread outward, creeping and covering an area of over a hundred feet.


    The disciples willfully followed Zen into the designated area.


    In comparison to the areas created by others, Zen''s area was obviously much too small for more than a hundred disciples, yet they had no other choice but to make do with it, at least for now.


    Moments after Zen inserted his flagpole, darkness fell. Now, faint starlight could be seen rising suddenly in the distance from the Dragon City.


    The starlight appeared to split repeatedly. In just a few minutes, tons of stars covered every inch of the sky.


    Every single star looked to be about the same size and the distance between them was relatively the same, too. They were as orderly as soldiers in an array, and they appeared quite beautiful, to say the least.


    "What a beautiful starry sky!" one of the disciples exclaimed.


    "What are these stars used for?"


    No one replied. Nothing but silence.


    Kenelm and the other disciples had all raised their heads toward the sky. If he had chosen to stay permanently in the Excellence City, he would have never witnessed such a scene. The Source World was so vast. The easiest way to describe the warriors located there was they were like frogs at the bottom of a well. All they could only see was a tiny patch of sky directly above them.


    Although Kenelm had nearly been killed on several different


    gainst the roaring waves than ever before.


    "Wait for me! Are you going to cross the fourth line?" Dorothy called loudly.


    "Isn''t your cousin still waiting for my help?" Zen shouted his question back at her.


    "There''s no reason to hurry like this. Don''t put yourself in danger," Dorothy said in a calmer voice.


    However, Zen had no intentions of stopping whatsoever. Instead, he kept driving his boat forward, despite the fact that the sea water was becoming colder and colder.


    It wasn''t before long that Zen reached the fourth line and he began to try crossing it. At this point, Dorothy felt like she had no choice and she gobbled three soul pills at once. Her soul aura increased greatly as she caught up with Zen''s pace once again.


    Crossing two lines in the Sea of Truth without stopping brought an immense pressure on Dorothy, and she could barely withstand it. She was a little tired.


    As soon as they crossed the fourth line though, three Truth Boats suddenly surrounded them in a pyramid shape.


    "Congratulations! Crossing the fourth line must have been quite a task. Am I right?" someone asked jokingly from one of the strange boats.


    "Hand over all the soul pills you have immediately, or we''ll make you suffer like you''ve never suffered before!" another of the strangers chimed in.


    "Give us the soul pills, or die here. It''s that simple."


    Any warrior who had just successfully crossed the fourth line was bound to be very tired. These three individuals had lurked here for a very long time, just waiting for their next victim. They had undoubtedly become even more arrogant after they profitably robbed others several times.


    Zen glanced at each of them indifferently, sensing their Truth of Eternal Sword Intent. "Do any of you have a death wish?" he asked coldly.

 Chapter 3050 An Enormous Deal

    Zen hadn''t consumed much of his soul power even after crossing the fourth line.


    Dorothy suspected that he was gathering his soul power and was about to use it for his next move.


    Slightly furrowing her brows, she gently pressed on the Necklace of Mystic Soul that dangled from her chest. The jewel began to emit a strong soul aura.


    The three warriors were surprised upon feeling the aura from Dorothy''s Necklace of Mystic Soul. Realizing that Zen and Dorothy were not the types of people to be dealt with lightly, they turned around and ran away.


    "You''re here now. Do you still wish to retreat?" Zen demanded an answer to his question coldly as he attempted to control the Truth Boat to catch up to those warriors.


    However, Dorothy was one step ahead of Zen and blocked him.


    The two Truth Boats bumped into each other lightly with a stifled sound.


    "Why did you stop me?" Zen demanded callously.


    Dorothy silently gazed at Zen''s silhouette with a gentle look in her eyes.


    Although he couldn''t see her face, Zen could still feel Dorothy''s calmness through her Soul of Light. This managed to soothe him as well.


    "The Dragon City has affected you..." Dorothy realized with a chuckle.


    "Affected?" Zen was stunned.


    "Yes," she replied. "You''re not from the Source World, so you''re unaware of how venomous the Dragon City can be."


    "The Dragon City is a venomous place," Zen repeated, chewing her words over.


    "Yes. Think of Dragon City as a tempting, yet highly malicious place that constantly attracts people from all over the world to join it¡ªlike a honey pot that attracts bugs. It may be easy to enter but it''s quite the opposite when it comes to living in it. Only those who survive within the city are eligible to become the best Oneness Guards. Some may start with mediocre talent but after becoming a Oneness Guard, they grow even stronger than the members of our Origin Mountain and the Oneness Mountain..." Dorothy explained calmly.


    Upon entering the Bloom Divine Province, Zen was disappointed. He realized that the actual Oneness Sky Palace was drastically different from what he had heard from others. His state of mind became more irritable along with the sadness and aggravation he felt.


    Even Dorothy''s explanation couldn''t bring him any relief. He sneered, "So you''re telling me that I was treated as a lowly bug that was thrown to the Dragon City to be t


    ility in the hopes of meeting him. It was highly likely that Zen would encounter the Ear Mouse along his path moving forward.


    The Ear Mouse''s anticipation was so palpable that Zen could feel it even from a distance.


    Dorothy remained silent. Only Zen could destroy the whirlpool and so she left him to his thoughts.


    Zen stared at the Ear Mouse and asked, "What do I get in return for saving you?"


    Upon hearing the offer, the Ear Mouse squeaked loudly in relief and asked, "Squeak... Can you really save me?"


    "Yes, I can. But I need to know if you deserve my help," Zen retorted.


    "Squeak... I will pay you 15 million divine crystals! In addition to an Other Shore Key!" the Ear Mouse offered.


    Dorothy was just as stunned as Zen upon hearing what the Ear Mouse had said.


    A few powerful clans in the Bloom Divine Province could only offer at most around 200 thousand divine crystals. Those who intended to cross over the Sword Wall would bring a bottle of Sword-reading Liquid, using up all the wealth they had. It was surprising to hear the Ear Mouse offer a reward that was even considered a big sum in the Origin Mountain.


    Chiyou left Zen with a large sum of money. However, this sum was only intended for critical emergencies. Now that he led his fellow disciples to erect a flag, he certainly required that money.


    Casting aside the risk of being discovered by the Other Shore Realm creatures, Zen could easily stop the whirlpool once and for all. He then faced the Ear Mouse to inquire it further. "How do you give me so many divine crystals? And what is the Other Shore Key?"

 Chapter 3051 Divine Megaton

    The Ear Mouse was surprised that Zen didn''t know of the Other Shore Key.


    Dorothy, who stood beside them, explained, "The Other Shore Key can be used on the Other Shore. It''s necessary if you want to obtain special Other Shore Tokens. However, it''s extremely rare and expensive in the Source World. Depending on its rarity, its value is usually over ten million divine crystals."


    "And as for the divine crystals, you can name a place and we will send them there," the Ear Mouse added.


    Receiving such a sizeable amount of divine crystals required powerful abilities. Those who were too weak would be killed for it. If Zen didn''t have the Oneness Sky Palace''s support, he wouldn''t dare to make a deal with the Ear Mouse.


    Zen glanced at Dorothy and said, "Please send fifteen million divine crystals to the Origin Mountain."


    "The Origin Mountain? Are you from the Oneness Sky Palace?" It was not until then that the Ear Mouse found out about Zen''s origin.


    "You can say that," replied Zen, smiling faintly.


    "Well then, can you save me now?" the Ear Mouse asked.


    Dorothy giggled at its request and said, "We could, but we don''t trust you right now. We can''t confirm your identity in the Sea of Truth. Who knows whether you''re merely deceiving us? First, send the divine crystals and the Other Shore Key to the Origin Mountain safely. Then we will save you."


    The Ear Mice had notoriety across the Source World as extreme dishonesty. They were often known to give secrets away and deliberately cause rifts among other races. No matter how much trouble came in their way because of this, they still couldn''t be annihilated. After all, they had their own way of survival. Because of such underhanded tactics, they grew more and more prosperous every day.


    Give you the divine crystals and the Other Shore Key first? I don''t trust you either. Who knows if you can really break the whirlpool?" The Ear Mouse paused to think about the situation. After a while, it continued, "Well, since you can break it, you should enter the whirlpool now. The Mice League will then send the divine crystals and the Other Shore Key to the Origin Mountain shortly after. What do you think?"


    "Haha!" Z


    neither tutors nor families of people under their command. Still, why are they equally responsible for their subordinates?"


    Zen was unfamiliar with the rules in Dragon City despite owning a flag.


    "They do this for their own benefit," Monica replied, smiling at Zen''s reaction. "Save for exceptions, the Oneness Sky Palace has determined that the only way to take part in the test of Oneness Guards would be to become an Alliance Chief. To do so, you would need to have ten thousand followers. The Oneness Sky Palace also gives us monthly allowances, which help in recruiting more members."


    "I see." Zen nodded.


    Zen felt that with every new information, he gradually understood the Oneness Sky Palace''s motivation.


    The cruelty of the Source World was far beyond his imagination. If the human race wanted to stay there forever and avoid being eliminated, they had to behave coldly towards both the inside and outside.


    Not far from the Dragon City gate was a huge red stone standing in the open square. Zen was in front of it, observing its features. As he did so, a Flag Master inserted his flag on one side and took out his Other Shore Token.


    The aura emanating from it flowed everywhere like water. As the Flag Master faced the red stone, he activated his full strength.


    Zen looked bewildered at the sight. As he was about to open his mouth to ask what was happening, Monica explained, "He wants to know how many divine megatons his force is."

 Chapter 3052 Zens Strength

    Once Monica finished speaking, the man testing his strength shouted and raised his hand which wielded a long sword.


    Six sword radiance beams shot out from the sword and charged at the red stone.


    "Bang! Bang! Bang!"


    "It''s the Six Fractals Strike. He has mastered it well. However, his Other Shore Token is nothing unique. It''s an ordinary Heavenly Cyan Stone," Monica explained while shaking her head.


    Although she didn''t hold this Flag Master in high regard, he was nevertheless a powerful warrior of the Other Shore Realm. In Zen''s eyes, his strike was anything but weak.


    At the same time, Zen asked, "You mentioned the divine megaton. What is it exactly?"


    "Look!" Monica exclaimed as she pointed at the red stone.


    He was clueless to what the red stone was made of. It didn''t crack under the powerful hit of a warrior of the Other Shore Realm. No damage was evident on its surface.


    The spiral pattern within the stone''s center began to slowly twirl and gradually revealed a word¡ªTwo.


    "The man struck the stone with his full strength along with the power of the Heavenly Cyan Stone. But the resulting strength is equivalent to only two divine megatons," Monica explained further with a smile.


    "In other words, the divine megaton is a scale unit that weighs one''s power?" Zen asked for confirmation.


    Monica nodded. Wanting to impress Zen, she outstretched her hand when the Flag Master left and a sword shadow soon appeared.


    Moments later, a triangular Other Shore Token hovered above her head along with a surge in her aura. Wielding her weapon, she rushed forward towards the red stone with agile steps.


    "Crack!"


    The illusory sword slashed at the red stone and was followed by an audible crack.


    Some Flag Masters who passed by hurriedly stopped as soon as they heard the sound. Turning their heads, they saw the word "Eleven" appear on the red stone.


    "Your power reached eleven divine megatons?" Zen asked in amazement as he walked to her side.


    Monica nodded and said, "My Other Shore Token isn''t strong enough. That''s why I was barely able to reach that level."


    Although her Other Shore Token was comparatively weak, it still possessed a powerful theurgy. Of course, she wouldn''t tell Zen what it was.


    Amused at his bewildered expression, Monica chuckled and said, "You should give it a shot. Let''s see what level your power is."


    "Me? But I haven''t reached the Other Shore Realm yet,"


    st displayed, he naturally began to doubt his abilities with his words.


    "Really? I wonder how strong you were when you had yet to reach the Other Shore Realm, Flag Master Philbert. Perhaps one-tenth of Zen''s current level? Or even less?" Monica retorted.


    In Monica''s eyes, even the disciples on top of the Oneness Mountain could hardly reach one divine megaton with the use of their strongest truth theurgy¡ªmuch less Philbert when he was still a True God.


    Philbert let out a cold snort and hurried away as he carried the flag on his shoulder.


    Monica turned to Zen and said, "Don''t mind Philbert. Once you reach the Other Shore Realm, people like him will have no right to belittle you like that..."


    "I don''t care." Zen shook his head.


    He realized now that staying in the Dragon City meant that he had no choice but to constantly improve his strength and gain the recognition of the Oneness Sky Palace.


    "Alright, come with me. It''s time you chose some truth theurgies," Monica said.


    Zen nodded in agreement and followed her into the depths of the Dragon City.


    At the peak of the Origin Mountain, a huge transmission array constantly flashed blue and white.


    Soon after, a short figure emerged. It was a golden-haired Ear Mouse.


    This transmission array was used by the Origin Mountain to connect to the outside world. On either side of it stood guards who were highly cultivated. They were all strong warriors of the Other Shore Realm.


    Once the guards saw this golden-haired Ear Mouse, they were baffled.


    With a high-pitched voice, the mouse requested, "Tell your master to come here at once!"

 Chapter 3053 Truth Swordsmanship Manuals

    A high cultivation level was needed to meet the head of the Origin Mountain. This standard was almost met by the golden-haired Ear Mouse but, it turned out, it still was not enough.


    A guard stepped forward and asked, "Why do you need to meet our master? If you have something to say, I can just deliver the message for you."


    Upon hearing these words, the golden-haired Ear Mouse tossed a space ring.


    Click!


    The space ring hit the ground and emitted the aura of divine crystals. Then, one by one, glittering and translucent divine crystals flowed out of it like water.


    "Here are fifteen million divine crystals!" With a flip of its claw, the golden-haired Ear Mouse revealed a small sheet with an Eight Diagrams pattern. "This is an Other Shore Key," it announced.


    The golden-haired Ear Mouse was one of the important leaders in the Mice League. It was tasked by the top managers of the Mice League to send fifteen million divine crystals and an Other Shore Key to the Origin Mountain.


    The golden-haired Ear Mouse did not initially agree, but it could not subvert the orders of the Mice League. For it, fifteen million divine crystals were too much, even if the Ear Mice were usually capable of earning money fast.


    The guards stared at the overflow of divine crystals. They had never seen so many in real life before. "I''ll go inform the elders!" one of them announced.


    The guard transformed into a light and flew into the Origin Mountain.


    However, the head did not show up. Instead, Winchell, Dorothy and Felicity came.


    ''Impressive, '' Dorothy thought to herself. ''The Ear Mice have lived up to their reputation. They can indeed gather divine crystals quickly.'' She stared at the divine crystals with joy and longing.


    Felicity and Winchell already knew this would happen. Dorothy had informed them the previous night.


    Face to face with the golden-haired Ear Mouse, Winchell exclaimed, "What a rare visitor! I didn''t expect you''d be here!"


    The golden-haired Ear Mouse was quite well known, although not any stronger than Winchell. Of course, Winchell made sure to receive it hospitably.


    "I''m only


    er you like, but you have to return them in a year."


    "I''m free to borrow all of these books?" Zen confirmed with a hint of shock in his voice.


    As Dorothy had said, the competition in the Dragon City was fierce and cruel, but the Oneness Sky Palace had made a great deal of effort in many aspects. The Flag Masters and their subordinates in the Dragon City could learn truth theurgies, even if they were not considered the disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace.


    "As you please," Monica confirmed with a faint smile. "There are many truth theurgies you could choose from. Come with me. I''ll show you the second floor."


    Together, they went to the second floor where over ten thousand manuals on truth swordsmanship welcomed Zen.


    "The manuals on this floor are usually provided to the Flag Masters. You can rent any of them at eight thousand divine crystals," Monica explained.


    "It''s expensive, so be careful about choosing," Monica added. "If you don''t have money, I can lend you some."


    "Lend me eight thousand divine crystals?" Zen confirmed. When Monica nodded, he shook his head and refused politely. He could anyway afford it himself if he found it worth it.


    He glanced ahead and noticed a staircase leading upwards. "Does the third floor provide manuals on truth swordsmanship as well?" he inquired.


    Monica looked up and her face turned grim. "Yes, but no ordinary man can afford the manuals there."

 Chapter 3054 Godly Ways Blending Swordsmanship

    Hearing Monica speak about it so cautiously, Zen asked, "Are the truth swordsmanship manuals on the third floor extremely expensive?"


    Monica nodded and replied, "Apart from a few Alliance Chiefs, no Flag Master dares to go to the third floor. The high price is the main deterrent. Besides, the manuals on the third floor are called the supreme swordsmanship manuals, which have strict requirements for the compatibility level of Truth of Godly Way."


    "What? They have requirements for the compatibility level of Truth of Godly Way?" Zen was surprised to learn this.


    "That''s right. It''s believed that those supreme swordsmanship manuals require a compatibility level of at least 80 percent or 90 percent and some even require a perfect compatibility level of 100 percent," explained Monica.


    She thought Zen would choose a truth swordsmanship manual from the second floor. There was no need for him to consider the manuals on the third floor now.


    If one''s compatibility level was not enough, they could take the Sword-reading Liquid regularly in order to practice the supreme swordsmanship manuals. However, a bottle of Sword-reading Liquid cost ten to twenty thousand divine crystals. Taking the Sword-reading Liquid regularly would be a very expensive affair.


    Since Zen was capable of Instant Enlightenment, he had an almost perfect compatibility level with the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent. So that was not a problem for him. As for the price... That wouldn''t be a problem, either. His interest in the third floor was very strong now.


    "I''d like to go to the third floor and have a look," Zen announced, looking at the stairs not far away.


    Monica was speechless. All she could say was, "All right, then let''s go up and have a look."


    With Monica leading the way, they proceeded upstairs to the third floor.


    The space on the third floor was obviously much smaller than that on the first or second floor. From the moment they stepped onto that floor, they could feel waves of energy under their feet.


    The stairway behind Zen and Monica had completely disappeared now. They had entered another space.


    This space was filled with a dozen light columns that soared up to the sky. Zen stared at them and spotted books with faintly golden covers inside the light columns.


    ''Those must be the supreme swordsmanship manuals that Monica mentioned, '' Zen thought to himself.


    The Dragon City, located at the foot of the Oneness Mountain, was a part of the Oneness Sky Palace. However, the supreme swordsmanship manuals here were extremely important, so rigid protective measures were in place to ensure their safety.


    for 3.5 million divine crystals! Even if she sold herself, she wouldn''t get that much money.


    This supreme swordsmanship manual was useful, but Zen hadn''t merged with any Other Shore Token. He kept it in mind for the future when he would merge with an Other Shore Token.


    So he continued onward to the other light columns.


    The rest few supreme swordsmanship manuals had their own advantages and the swordsmanship they recorded was second to none. The further he went, the higher the price of the swordsmanship manuals was.


    When Zen stopped at the last but one light column, he heard the voice say, "The incomplete Godly Ways Blending Swordsmanship, created by Eastern Emperor Taiyi. Back then, the Eastern Emperor Taiyi wanted to integrate the three thousand Godly Ways into the swordsmanship so that he could master the Truth Strike, but he failed... However, the reason he failed is that the three thousand Godly Ways couldn''t be fused together. It is not the Godly Ways Blending Swordsmanship''s fault..."


    "The Godly Ways Blending Swordsmanship?" Zen''s eyes suddenly flashed in delight.


    Blending the Godly Ways had once become a trend in the Source World. Some extremely talented masters tried it out but all had failed. And the Eastern Emperor Taiyi was one of them.


    "This incomplete swordsmanship manual is the result of Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s hard work. As it is incomplete, it costs only one and a half million divine crystals," offered the voice.


    Looking at Zen''s expression, Monica who was behind him gently tugged the corner of his robe and said, "Hey, you don''t want to buy this one, do you? This Godly Ways Blending Swordsmanship is a theurgy about blending Godly Ways. It can''t even showcase the power of the Truth of Godly Way!"

 Chapter 3055 A Sheet Of Yellow Paper

    Valued at just one and a half million divine crystals, the Godly Ways Blending Swordsmanship was considered as the most affordable item amongst the supreme swordsmanship manuals.


    But this was an incomplete manual. Plus, this theurgy didn''t involve any Truth of Godly Way.


    The uncertainty that if Zen could afford such an expense lingered in Monica''s mind. Still, even if he could, logic hindered him from draining so many divine crystals.


    Without a shadow of a doubt, Zen stated with conviction, "I want the Godly Ways Blending Swordsmanship."


    "Huh?"


    The guardian of Truth Library raised his eyebrows questioningly, stumped with his words.


    It was Eastern Emperor Taiyi who invented the Godly Ways Blending Swordsmanship, so the strength it held was indeed powerful and impressive. But this manual was an incomplete one, and it was common sense that blending Godly Ways wouldn''t work. So it really came as a surprise to the guardian that Zen decided to buy the manual.


    "Have you blended the Godly Ways before?" the voice asked.


    Zen nodded his consent. "Yes, I have. So, the Godly Ways Blending Swordsmanship is suited for someone with experience like me."


    "Very well, young man. I''m fascinated to know of your familiarity with blending the Godly Ways at a very tender age. And I wonder how many Godly Ways have you blended? Three? Perhaps five? If the number was insignificant, heed my advice and give it up. The most basic figure estimated for the Godly Ways Blending Swordsmanship to be fully cultivated is five hundred."


    The Godly Ways Blending Swordsmanship was very powerful. Even if one used the Godly Ways'' internal momenta to carry out the swordsmanship, they could fight against Other Shore Realm warriors. If anybody excelled in using this swordsmanship, they could attain supremacy.


    But the time and trouble spent in blending so many Godly Ways could prove worthless to any person. They opted to venture and set sail towards the Other Shore.


    Absorbing all the information from the voice, Zen lifted his right hand close to the chest, palm facing up.


    As the internal momenta of different Godly Ways in his inner world continuously merged, the synthesized energy surfaced in Zen''s hand.


    "Isn''t it sufficient to blend five hundred Godly Ways?" Zen consulted.


    The energy in his hand emanated from the cohesion of five hundred Godly Ways. Since the voice said five hundred was enough, Zen didn''t even bother to blend one more.


    The truth was witnesses found it difficult to calculate how many Godly Ways Zen had blended. But as they followed the unstable energy in his hand flickering like a candle even when there was no discernible breeze, they beca


    asserted.


    Zen studied the yellow paper with deep interest. But then again, even Eastern Emperor Taiyi himself strived to get to the bottom of this and failed. Could Geoffrey do it?


    Ten million divine crystals!


    If Geoffrey attempted to solve it but failed, then these ten million divine crystals would be in vain. Besides, the information inscribed on the yellow paper could be worthless as well.


    Although Zen kept plenty of wealth and ten million divine crystals seemed insignificant to him, he was confronted with a complicated task ahead. He needed to assess every circumstance before he could start allotting divine crystals at will.


    Just then, a figure formed at the door of the strange place and yelled from a distance, "Zen, are you here?"


    Overhearing Dorothy''s familiar voice, Zen spun around and noticed her.


    "Why did you come to the third floor of the Truth Library? The high-priced supreme swordsmanship manuals here should be treated with caution. If you need one of them, I can ask Aunt Felicity to furnish you with a copy. Which one do you like?" Dorothy pointed out.


    Monica felt her heart flutter with shock. She wondered how this young woman''s aunt could provide a copy of any of the supreme swordsmanship manuals here. Who was this young girl? Monica hoped to learn her identity.


    The guardian of the Truth Library got furious when he heard that. Sensing that his business was about to be disrupted, he exploded, "Who dared to trespass into the Truth Library?"


    Dorothy walked cautiously along the patterns on the wooden floor. As she approached Zen, a funny grin stretching from ear to ear covered her face. Her childlike and energetic face remained naturally beautiful. She said to the void, "Come on, Uncle Wilfred, you forgot me already? It''s me, Dora."

 Chapter 3056 Deals And Discounts

    From the obscure void, the figure of a man slowly emerged. He was handsome and had arched brows which gave him the air of someone dignified.


    He glanced at Dorothy before addressing her impatiently, "Dora, why are you here in the Dragon City? You should be cultivating on the Origin Mountain."


    Looking at the man with her innocent gaze, she pointed to Zen and said with a smile, "I''m here to give my friend something."


    With the Origin Mountain covering for him, Zen knew that no more than ten people had the inside information¡ªthat he had removed a whirlpool in the Sea of Truth. Zen would gain fifteen million divine crystals by saving a Mice League member, and Dorothy was here to give him the money. She wouldn''t reveal it to the outsiders.


    As she walked towards Zen, she reached for the space ring before stuffing it into his hand, winking at him. "If there''s any swordsmanship manual that you fancy, tell me. I''ve also selected a theurgy for you, but I forgot to give it to you," she said.


    A year ago, she had chosen the theurgy of Truth of Cultivation Nature for Zen. But he hadn''t returned to the Sea of Truth for a long time. And in the last few times he had been on the sea, he had been in such a hurry that she had forgotten to give it to him.


    Wilfred had been keeping a close eye on Zen. From his observations, he concluded that Zen was a man who had all the means necessary to afford the swordsmanship manuals that were offered. Over the past few years, few people had visited the Truth Library''s third floor. Meeting a rich man who could afford the manuals there was hard to come by, and yet here was Dorothy offering a manual to him for free. How on earth could Wilfred be happy?


    "Dora, even if the Origin Mountain has copies of those supreme swordsmanship manuals, you can''t do this. This is the Dragon City, after all," Wilfred reminded her.


    "What''s the big deal? If it weren''t for the Oneness Sky Palace, Grandma would have passed even the Origin Swordsmanship to him. We don''t want any of your manuals!" Dorothy pouted her lips to drive her point home.


    "What?" Dorothy''s words left Wilfred flabbergasted.


    Monica''s body shook violently when she heard this.


    Although she was aware that Zen possessed quite the background, the Origin Swordsmanship was the most powerful skill ever achieved by the head of the Origin Mountain. This kind of theurgy was only reserved for those who were descendants of the direct line.


    ''It sounds like Zen had the chance to cultivate the Origin Swordsmanship, but was stopped by the Oneness Sky Palace. What happened?'' Monica thought.


    Not being able to find out the truth, she sought comfort in knowing that Zen''s background


    ally for the disciples of the Sword Light Palace, including Elgin and Beldene.


    In fact, one of the Flag Master''s responsibilities was to purchase swordsmanship manuals for their people. Most of them limited their selections to those on the first floor.


    Only Alliance Chiefs would be as generous as Zen.


    Once finished with his selections on the second floor, they made their way down to the first floor. It was abundant with free manuals which required only little talent to use. The massive number of manuals left Dorothy baffled with how many manuals the Oneness Sky Palace really contained. With this realization, she couldn''t offer any advice to Zen.


    On the contrary, Monica proved to be quite knowledgeable and skilled as she quickly recommended seventy to eighty manuals to Zen.


    Just as the trio was about to leave the Truth Library, they heard a strange voice. "Huh? Is that the Dragon City''s youngest Flag Master? He''s selecting swordsmanship manuals!"


    Zen raised his head towards the voice''s direction and realized it was Harden. He was accompanied by a row of disciples who were adorned in white robes. Galen gave Zen an evil smile.


    What was Harden doing in the Dragon City? He wasn''t a Flag Master. How did he manage to get in?


    Just as Zen was pondering on this, Harden gazed longingly at Dorothy. His eyes lit up and his heart rate began to pick up. "I''ve never seen such a beauty before on your team until now."


    Harden inched closer to the group. Letting out a little chuckle, he addressed Dorothy by saying, "I don''t think following this guy is such a good idea, beauty. His death is imminent. Let me introduce myself. Harden Zhao, future Flag Master. I''ll make you an offer you can''t refuse. Join me and your future will be set in stone as a bright, promising one!"

 Chapter 3057 Offend The Wrong Person

    Before Zen and Monica could say anything, Dorothy raised her exquisite eyebrows and said, "Join your team? Who do you think you are?"


    Harden leered at her with a lustful smile. "Master Galen is going to be promoted to an Alliance Chief soon, so once I reach the Other Shore Realm, I will take over his position and become the new Grand Flag Master. Don''t you think I am qualified?"


    Seeing Harden''s eyes sweep up and down Dorothy''s body, Zen clenched his jaw. "Let''s go," he said coldly.


    But before they could move, Harden stepped in front of Dorothy and blocked her way. With the lecherous smile still on his face, he said hurriedly, "If I become a Grand Flag Master, I can help you become a Flag Master too. This is a chance you don''t want to pass up."


    Dorothy''s gaze grew colder when she heard his words. "Get out of my way!" she snapped.


    Knowing that his fellow disciples were watching him get scolded by this beauty, Harden felt humiliated. He immediately replied in a threatening voice, "Just appreciate my kindness. One can''t fight in the Dragon City, but outside the Dragon City¡ª"


    Before he could finish speaking, however, Dorothy suddenly raised her hand.


    Harden''s eyes widened in surprise when a sharp sword radiance flashed in the air. He hadn''t even noticed Dorothy drawing her sword.


    The sword radiance was fused with the Truth of Godly Way, and it flew so quickly that even Galen, who was standing behind Harden, didn''t see it coming. The sword radiance grazed the left side of Harden''s body.


    "Aaaaahhh!"


    The next moment, Harden''s left arm fell to the ground.


    ''How fast!'' Zen exclaimed inwardly in shock.


    He hadn''t seen Dorothy''s true strength on the Sea of Truth. Most of the time, she had relied on the Necklace of Mystic Soul hanging on her chest, so he hadn''t expected that she would have cultivated her theurgy to such a high level. Her sword radiance was so sharp that even Zen wouldn''t be able to go up against her.


    Galen''s face, on the other hand, contorted in a mixture of shock and anger.


    Dragon City had its own laws. Even though Galen hated Zen to the core, he could not kill him in the Dragon City. Otherwise, he would find himself in great trouble.


    That was why he intended to lead Zen into the Tower of Life and Death and end his life there.


    However, this gi


    pointed at Dorothy. "It''s her! She broke one of my disciple''s arms."


    Fisher Zuo turned to Dorothy. "Is that true?"


    "Yes, it is," Dorothy replied proudly. "So what if I broke his arm? So what if I kill him?"


    "You..." Fisher Zuo said, his face darkening.


    He was a powerful and respected man. Even the Alliance Chiefs wouldn''t dare to speak to him like this impudent girl had just done.


    Just when he was about to launch an attack at her, a voice from the Truth Library rang in his ears through life vitality.


    Then, his expression suddenly changed. He looked at Dorothy with a hint of reverence.


    "What are you going to do?" Dorothy asked.


    "Nothing... You can leave now," said Fisher Zuo respectfully.


    Seeing the change in Fisher Zuo''s tone and expression, Dorothy glanced at the Truth Library and made a face. Then, she said to Zen, "Let''s go!"


    Galen, on the other hand, was confused and anxious after seeing the sudden change in Fisher Zuo''s attitude. He hurriedly said, "Master Fisher, why did you let them go?"


    Fisher Zuo completely ignored Galen''s question. It was only after Dorothy and the others were out of sight that he patted Galen''s shoulder. "For the sake of Alliance Chief Ioan, I''m going to give you some advice. There are some people whom you should never provoke. If this girl asked me to kill you, I''m afraid I would have to follow her order. Take care of yourself."


    Then, Fisher Zuo walked away with his men. Galen stood there with a shocked expression on his face, wondering what Fisher Zuo''s words meant.

 Chapter 3058 Distribute The Swordsmanship Manuals

    Dorothy''s mood wasn''t affected too much due to the fight.


    She rarely descended the mountain, so she was enjoying walking around the Dragon City with great interest.


    Monica acted as a temporary but excellent guide. She gave Zen a thorough understanding about the Dragon City.


    "That is the Tower of Life and Death. In case of an unsolved conflict, people can decide there, through a battle," Monica said, while pointing at a white tower, not far away.


    Zen could feel a strong malicious aura resonating from the white tower. Obviously, after every battle, the tower was always sanitized. However, it still bore some marks of bloodstains.


    There were all kinds of people who entered and resided at the Dragon City. Many of them came from large and powerful clans. It was therefore conspicuous that there would be conflicts among them to appease their own vested interests. Hence, the Dragon City built the Tower of Life and Death and adopted such a barbaric method to solve these contradictions.


    "That''s the Blood Purification Hall." Monica said, as she pointed to another triangular white building. "It is said that when one becomes an Alliance Chief, they will be rewarded with a drop of the Divine Emperor Blood!" As Monica imparted this information, a look of yearning appeared on her face.


    "The Divine Emperor Blood?" Zen asked, stunned.


    Dorothy indifferently said, "It''s the Divine Emperor Blood of our Oneness Sky Palace."


    After Zen heard this, realization dawned on him.


    Since the Nine Li race had its own blood, the Oneness Sky Palace would definitely possess its own blood too.


    "So then Dora''s blood must be extraordinary, right?" Monica suddenly asked.


    She was curious about Dora''s identity. She knew that the strong masters'' descendants, at the top of the mountain, were most proud of their true blood, but less about their talent.


    Dorothy smiled faintly and chose to ignore her question.


    Only after the three of them arrived at the gate of Dragon City, did Dorothy decide to leave them.


    "Wow! A whole day passed by so quickly! All right then, let''s go and gather our people," said Monica.


    "Where are they now? Are they outside the Dragon City?" Zen inquired.


    He saw a vast expanse of plain outside the Dragon City, but no one on it. Numerous people were under each Flag Master''s command. It was impossible for so many people to stay put in a place, without doing anything.


    "You''ll know about it soon," said Monica with a smile.


    Soon she led Zen towards the northwest. After they travelled for more than three hundred miles, ma


    s eyes were filled with excitement as he kept hearing the different names of the swordsmanship manuals.


    Zen was surprised and asked curiously, "Have you all seen these swordsmanship manuals before?"


    There were probably hundreds of thousands of swordsmanship manuals on the first floor of the Truth Library. Those swordsmanship manuals chosen by Monica were merely a tiny lot.


    Beldene shook his head. "No. I am seeing them for the first time."


    "Then why do you all seem to be aware about them?" Zen asked curiously.


    Beldene responded with a smile, "True, we haven''t seen or read the manuals before. But we''ve all read the swordsmanship manual list before. These swordsmanship manuals are recorded on the list which divides the truth swordsmanship manuals into six levels. All of these, which you gathered for us, are at the fourth level. There are only seven fourth-level swordsmanship manuals in our Sword Light Palace, and the disciples were not qualified to cultivate them at all."


    The fourth-level swordsmanship manual was very rare in the Sword Light Palace. As for Beldene and Elgin, they could have the qualifications to cultivate such swordsmanship only after they reached the Other Shore Realm.


    "Oh, I see." Zen nodded.


    In fact, Beldene was equally interested about the truth swordsmanship manuals. He and Elgin impatiently waited as Kenelm distributed the swordsmanship manuals. However, after Kenelm finished handing out them, they realized they were still short of the manuals. They looked at each other in disappointment, and finally looked at Zen.


    "Here are the swordsmanship manuals for you," Zen said with a smile, as he conjured some more manuals. "But I don''t know which level they are at."

 Chapter 3059 Entering A Huge Whirlpool Again

    The swordsmanship manuals on the second floor of the Truth Library had requirements on compatibility degree of Truth of Godly Way, so Zen could only buy manuals for Beldene and some others who were outstandingly talented among the disciples of the Sword Light Palace.


    As to the grading system for the swordsmanship manuals on the list of the Sword Light Palace, Zen had no idea.


    Zen took out eight swordsmanship manuals under the eager eyes of Beldene and the others.


    As Beldene took them from Zen, his face shifted when he saw ''Buddhist Swordsmanship'' written on the cover of one of the swordsmanship manuals.


    Elgin and the others walked up to Beldene and grabbed a swordsmanship manual each from his hands. One of them looked his swordsmanship manual over and his eyes widened. He exclaimed, "Divine River Swordsmanship! This is the swordsmanship the former leader has cultivated!"


    Beldene nodded, his expression serious. "These are all sixth-level swordsmanship manuals. They belong to the top truth theurgies on the swordsmanship manual list. You must have paid a heavy price for these swordsmanship manuals!" he said to Zen.


    Zen waved a hand.


    He had earned 15 million divine crystals not long after he had entered the Source World. It might have been by luck, but he could use them for a long time. These eight swordsmanship manuals altogether had only cost him about three hundred thousand divine crystals.


    "Flag Master, can I practice this swordsmanship?" Elgin looked at Zen eagerly.


    The other disciples held on to their swordsmanship manuals, their hands trembling.


    To the disciples of the Sword Light Palace, these swordsmanship manuals only existed in legends. They weren''t allowed to practice these swordsmanship manuals even if they were direct descendants of the Qiu Clan and the Bai Clan.


    Only core members of the Sword Light Palace were qualified to practice them.


    "Take any you like. These swordsmanship manuals are yours," Zen said with a smile.


    The place suddenly fell silent as the disciples began to carefully read the swordsmanship manuals they were holding.


    Zen looked up at the sky. The sunset glow tinted the sky red. There was still an hour before it would get dark. So he found a corner, settled in, and opened the manual on the Godly Ways Blending Swordsmanship to study it.


    According to Beldene, the swordsmanship manual list had classified swordsmanship manuals all over the world into six grades.


    Since the Godly Ways Blending Swordsmanship in his hand was a supreme swordsmanship manual, he assumed it might not be included in the list.


    But the supreme swordsmanship manuals were probably not the top swordsmanship manuals. The s


    he disappear again?" the Ear Mouse squeaked again, anxious that Zen had left.


    Dorothy ignored the Ear Mouse and stayed put beside the huge whirlpool.


    Zen''s body was a must to unlock the huge whirlpool and his body was now still at the second line.


    Earlier in the day, Zen had learned from Monica that there was no secret practice room outside the Dragon City. So if he wanted to find a secret place, he needed to sneak underground. Many people went underground if they didn''t want to be disturbed.


    Zen exited the Sea of Truth, reached out a hand, and gently pressed it to the ground. A huge force spread downwards, a slight tremor shaking the ground. Moments later, a huge pit about a hundred feet deep appeared under his feet.


    He then set a barrier around this pit and hid himself inside it.


    The others were either immersing themselves in comprehending the truth theurgies, or wandering around the Sea of Truth. They wouldn''t care even if they noticed Zen''s actions. After all, it was none of their business.


    Zen ignited the flame and once again, landed on the Sea of Truth.


    It was much easier for him to use his body to cross the sea than to use his Soul of Light.


    There was resistance at the third and the fourth lines, but it didn''t affect Zen.


    He swam for four hours in the Sea of Truth before he saw the huge whirlpool. He could even faintly see the outlines of Dorothy and the Ear Mouse in the distance.


    The Ear Mouse only knew that Zen could unlock the huge whirlpool. But Zen didn''t want to expose his method of unlocking the huge whirlpool to it. So he decided to enter the whirlpool from its other end. The moment he made up his mind, his body was sucked into the bottom of the whirlpool.


    This time, Zen felt at ease since he was now familiar with the process.

 Chapter 3060 The Dark Region

    Pulled by the tug of the water tornado, Zen soon fell into the bottom of the sea.


    When he looked down on the seabed, he saw the candlelight flicker continuously.


    He had been through this before, but the only difference was that the candlelight was yellow. It could have been possible that the whirlpool had been dyed.


    ''I wonder if green bats surround this candle as well, '' Zen thought to himself as he stared at the candle from a distance.


    But as Zen approached the candle, he suddenly grew more cautious and serious.


    The green bats were known to be powerful souls but posed no threat to Zen. Even so, he still didn''t lower his guard for he didn''t know what dangers the green bats had in store for him.


    Zen reached his hand out to touch the candle. Out of nowhere, several rays of green light burst out of the space around him. Four green bats emerged from the darkness shrouding the candlelight!


    However, he knew better this time. Without hesitation, he ripped these soul creatures into pieces with his strong arms.


    Just like what he did last time, he reached out his hand and extinguished the candlelight. Afterwards, the tornado at the surface of the sea vanished in the blink of an eye.


    Anyone observing the surface of the sea would notice that the dyed sea water was no longer hindered by the big whirlpool. Instead, it now surged in all directions quickly, spreading out the color yellow in the water.


    Needless to say, the Ear Mouse managed to escape from the large whirlpool, too.


    Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!


    Overwhelmed with excitement, the Ear Mouse could not help but express its emotions in its own language as its small Truth Boat circled around Dorothy.


    After circling Dorothy for a few times, the Ear Mouse stopped moving. Staring at Dorothy, it asked, "Hey! Why are you not cooperating with me? Come on, this will be a profitable business! You see, a lot of people get trapped in the great whirlpools. If we work together and help them out, we can earn more than 15 million divine crystals!"


    The Ear Mouse race was rich because they were all good at finding ways on how to make money.


    However, Dorothy replied indifferently, "We''ve already helped you out. We have no business with you. You are free to go now."


    "Please reconsider! Think about it, this will be a great partnership between the Origin Mountain and us!" The Ear Mouse continued to persuade Dorothy despite her disinterest.


    With Ear Mouse''s persuasiveness, Dorothy was annoyed. She stared at the surface of the sea and began to feel anxious.


    She was sure that Zen would have given the candle to her if he had finished what he was doing. However, there was still no sign of him. ''Did he encounter any unexpected danger at the bottom of the sea?'' Dorothy thought.


    "I have no interest in cooperating with you. Get out of here! Scram!" Dorothy shouted as her aura slowly became cold and dangerous due to the anxiety that she felt. Sh


    he candles to you at once," the strange voice replied.


    Hearing this, the woman could not help but smile from ear to ear out of joy, "Yes, Master Snape!" She then added, "But Master Snape, in order to seal off the Sea of Truth, it would involve millions, or even over tens of millions of candles. As of now, the number is far from enough, and it even couldn''t cause them any trouble. In fact, those low-level creatures even learned to dye the great whirlpools!"


    A few moments ago, she noticed that most of the large whirlpools in the Sea of Truth were not in their usual color. Looking more closely at them, she found out that the big whirlpools had been intentionally dyed to warn people to stay away from them.


    "Ha-ha! Don''t mind them. These are all meaningless actions. Besides, we aren''t the only ones responsible for putting up the candles. Just do as you are told to and you will be alright," the voice said coldly.


    "Got it!" As they ended their conversation, the woman bowed to show her respect.


    Afterwards, the tentacle waved again, throwing the lit candle towards the woman and then slowly withdrew to the depths of the mud.


    The woman hurriedly rushed to catch the candle with her hands. As she caught it, she began to stare at the flickering light of the candle as if it were a priceless treasure.


    After all, the woman''s actions were not that odd for light was considered to be a luxury in the Dark Region.


    Meanwhile, the circle disappeared, meaning that the barrier was now gone. As a result, the soul creatures were drawn to the light again.


    However, the woman was known to be ruthless, unlike the good-tempered Master Snape. In fact, she was known to have killed several disgusting creatures who wanted to share the light.


    With the light at the palm of her hand, greed took over her. Waving her hand, gusts of wild wind surrounded her. At full speed, the heartless wind started to cut the poor soul creatures one by one into pieces.

 Chapter 3061 The Sword Tower

    The pressure in the Sea of Truth continued to increase from the fourth line.


    The chill that emanated from the sea water crept towards the Souls of Light. It gave people the illusion that their souls were frozen.


    Zen and Dorothy maintained their speed and made good progress.


    If they had enough soul pills, they could cross one line every day. Their speed was normal for them, but in reality they were whizzing past the others at a high speed.


    Zen got into trouble when he almost reached the end of the fourth section. The waves in the Sea of Truth became menacing near the fifth line threatening to capsize Zen''s Truth Boat, but he gritted his teeth and managed to cross the line.


    The next morning, the sun rose as usual.


    Zen opened his eyes, and the aura that he was emitting became stronger.


    Within two days after he came to the Dragon City, Zen had already crossed the fourth line and the fifth line. Monica was speechless when she saw Zen''s progress.


    Beldene and the others really admired Zen''s progress. After all, they were still approaching the first line.


    "If you keep moving at this speed, it won''t be long before you can overtake me." Monica sighed.


    Zen smiled at her. "Please help me to look after my people today. I want to go to the Dragon City again," he requested.


    "You don''t want my company?" A faint light flashed in Monica''s beautiful eyes.


    "No, it''s okay. I''m familiar with the basic rules of the Dragon City. It will be fine as long as I don''t need to enter the Tower of Life and Death. If I can''t make it back in a few days, I hope you will do me a favor and take care of my people," Zen uttered.


    There was no practicing room or cave for cultivation outside the Dragon City. If he just focused on cultivating the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent, then it would not cause any inconvenience. It was normal for the Oneness Sky Palace to make such an arrangement. After all, most of the warriors, who joined the Dragon City, needed to comprehend the Truth of Godly Way first in order to reach the Other Shore.


    However, Zen had the Godly Ways Blending Swordsmanship and the Nine-Flash Light-splitting Swordsmanship. He would have to put in a lot of time and energy into cultivating them, so naturally, he needed a suitable place for cultivation.


    Monica readily agreed to help Zen and she reminded him to be careful. After being reassured


    ong red swords were strewn about the cave like weeds. The tips of the swords were all positioned at Zen who sat in the middle. There was only one path in front of him, through which he could leave.


    "These swords..." Zen raised his eyebrows and immediately became alert.


    Although the swords were wedged onto the walls of the cave, Zen felt as if people were aiming their swords at him and ready to stab any time!


    He turned a little on the jade cushion and stretched out his hand.


    Whoosh!


    A long sword shot towards him from the top of the cave!


    Crack!


    The long sword moved surprisingly fast. It grazed his arm slightly while flying past him, leaving a faint blood mark.


    "Whoa! What a powerful strike!"


    The sword strike was formidable to be able to break Zen''s physical body. It was attacking him with the full force of a warrior at the Other Shore Realm. If someone else were to be attacked by the sword, their arm might have been cut off.


    These swords could pose a big threat to his life!


    Now Zen understood why the old man had warned him. He was right. The Sword Tower was not suitable for those who hadn''t reached the Other Shore Realm.


    If he couldn''t deflect the attacks, he would have to stay put on the jade cushion and just wait to be kicked out when the time was up.


    "Thirty days...! I just have to resist the attacks and go out at my own will, instead of being kicked out," he said to himself determinedly.


    Sitting on the jade cushion, he erased all the negative thoughts in his mind and took out the Godly Ways Blending Swordsmanship once more!

 Chapter 3062 The Power Of Three Annihilation Strike

    Silence reigned the walls of the cave the moment Zen began to focus on embracing the Godly Ways Blending Swordsmanship.


    "Huh?"


    Zen noticed something and turned his gaze up at the swords and blinked his eyes several times.


    The many swords on the roof looked like stalactites hanging from the cave. All of them pointed at him. The intertwined sword intents gave off an unusual calming vibe as Zen felt his mind relax underneath them.


    ''It turns out that these swords are not only a test, but they can also have a soothing effect by intertwining the sword intents!'' Zen thought to himself as he studied them from below.


    He could not figure out how this was happening, but he could surely feel himself relax under the influence.


    Feeling refreshed from the intertwined sword intents, Zen began focusing on cultivating the Godly Ways Blending Swordsmanship.


    The Godly Ways Blending Swordsmanship comprised of three moves, each more complex than the last. The first one, being the simplest of them all, was called the Three Annihilation Strike. The "three" mentioned in the technique did not mean blending three Godly Ways; it was far complicated than that. It meant combining three layers of the Ways-blending Energy when the move was being used.


    As he continued to focus and study the Three Annihilation Strike, his eyes flashed a bright color in response to his thoughts.


    The worth of the Godly Ways Blending Swordsmanship far surpassed any other supreme swordsmanship manuals.


    However, the Godly Ways Blending Swordsmanship had high barriers to entry¡ªone had to at least be able to blend five hundred Godly Ways. It took a lot of time to cultivate so many Godly Ways in the first place. The tough obstacles to master so many Godly Ways discouraged many warriors from cultivating it.


    But Zen was an exception. He had already mastered more than enough Godly Ways.


    As a result, he didn''t encounter difficulties in practicing the Godly Ways Blending Swordsmanship.


    One day passed.


    Three days passed.


    Ten days passed.


    Zen slowly stood up from the jade cushion. He reached his hand out and flicked his fingers. With his signal, a sword fell into his right hand and he clenched it tightly.


    As the Ways-blending Energy began to flow out profusely, Zen marched forward with determined eyes and left the jade cushion.


    Swoosh!


    The moment he took a few steps ahead of the jade cushion, one of the swords on the roof fell off and came crashing down towards him.


    Suddenly, Zen''s reflexes were activated as his gaze became sharp.


    He slowly lifted the sword in his hand. Soon as he did this, it reacted to his inner thoughts as a sword radiance emitted from its edges.


    Before, Zen relied on his unstable Ways-blending Energy to activate the Ways-blending Strike, which was a formidable technique. However, the Three Annihilation Strike was different.


    The sword radiance emitting from the sword


    or Taiyi himself could not reach that level.


    After learning the Three Annihilation Strike, Zen thought he was strong enough to beat these swords. However, there were so many swords in the cave, and even if he managed to use the Six Annihilation Strike, it would still be difficult for him to leave the cave.


    In the end, Zen''s attention was focused on learning the Nine-Flash Light-splitting Swordsmanship.


    Zen had his reasons to prefer the Nine-Flash Light-splitting Swordsmanship over the Sword Texture Technique. The Sword Texture Technique was so impactful that it was capable of killing the target in one shot. However, the user had to have a high level of cultivation to perfect it.


    Zen had already mastered the Ways-blending Strike; it was only natural he''d go for something else more challenging and valuable.


    After all, only the best things attracted his attention. Nothing else was worth his time and effort.


    In the next twenty days, Zen sat atop the jade cushion in the cave and worked on studying the Nine-Flash Light-splitting Swordsmanship. To him, the challenge of cultivating it far surpassed that of the Godly Ways Blending Swordsmanship. He was determined on emerging victorious from the cave after his thirty days ended. If he got confused over something, he''d morph himself into an avatar and practice in his inner world.


    Time flew, and thirty days had passed in the cave.


    Meanwhile, three days had passed outside the Sword Tower.


    The old man glanced at the rooms in the Sword Tower. He paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, thinking Zen would soon get kicked out of his room. The old man disliked most of the young people because they would not listen to his advice. Thinking about Zen getting thrown out, he decided to mock him over not listening to him.


    Suddenly, he heard a muffled voice. One of the rooms of the Sword Tower opened, and a warrior cultivating in the Sword Tower collapsed out of it.

 Chapter 3063 Report To The Superior

    The Sword Tower was famous for its difficulty. It was not rare to see warriors getting kicked out of the rooms of the tower.


    Some of its rooms were so hard that even Other Shore Realm warriors would find themselves defeated and ejected.


    The young man who was kicked out of his room quickly stood up and brushed himself off, looking self-conscious. He glanced towards the old man standing nearby. "Master Sellers! This is a bit embarrassing."


    "You''ve been here for six months, right? How many times have you been kicked out?" asked the old man, whose name was Sellers Wen.


    "This is the fourth time," the young man replied honestly.


    "Useless! You''re complete rubbish," Sellers Wen said coldly.


    Instead of getting offended, the young man grinned wryly. All the cultivators in Dragon City were familiar with Sellers Wen, and knew that he was very softhearted, despite his outward curtness and short temper.


    The young man, for example, couldn''t afford the room''s fee twice. He had only been able to enter the Sword Tower to cultivate because Sellers Wen was generous enough to lend him divine crystals.


    They heard the sound of a door being pushed open, and turned towards it. A man in a silk robe emerged. He had an extraordinary aura around him. Although he had just reached the Other Shore Realm, it was clear that he already possessed great strength and power.


    The man bowed to Sellers Wen, and then left without saying a word.


    "Look at him! Hale Lin''s cultivation base is similar to yours. He has been cultivating in the middle floor of the Sword Tower, yet he has managed to come out safely," said Sellers Wen, watching the man''s receding figure with satisfaction. "He is much better than you, and is likely to be chosen."


    "Really?" the young man asked. His eyes held a trace of envy.


    There were two ways to advance in Dragon City. The first one was to start as a Flag Master, become an Alliance Chief, and then rise to a Oneness Guard. It was a long and difficult process.


    The second road was more straightforward. To advance, you had to be chosen by the Oneness Sky Palace.


    This was a shortcut that many warriors in the Dragon City yearned to take.


    However, only those who had the most talent and strength were ever chosen by the Oneness Sky Palace. It was an option only given to a few geniuses. The vast majority of warriors could only advance one step at a time.


    Sellers Wen saw the disconsolate look on the young man''s face and patted him on the back. "You have just reached the Other Shore Realm. Keep working hard! You must try to have a good command of the Other Shore Token, and maybe you can even catch up with Hale. After all, while he is better than you,


    ruth and strengthen his shortcomings.


    But Sellers Wen had other plans. As soon as Zen left, the old man rushed to the Oneness Mountain.


    He had been tracking Hale Lin, monitoring him to see when he would be ready to be admitted to the Oneness Sky Palace. But he had to put that aside for the moment. Zen''s incredible performance did not require any further period of inspection. There was no need to delay and keep Zen in Dragon City. He was ready.


    When Sellers Wen was halfway up the mountain, he found himself in an illusory place.


    A colorful mist surrounded him. Just ahead, there was a bright, gleaming palace. He walked into the palace and went straight to the main hall.


    He said to the guards, "Excuse me, I''m Sellers Wen. May I meet with Master Calum?"


    A voice sounded behind him. "Master Calum won''t agree to see you. You should leave."


    Sellers Wen turned to see Athemar. Startled, he clasped his hands together and bowed. Athemar was one of the Oneness Governors, and Sellers Wen was bound to show him respect.


    "Master Athemar, did you say Master Calum wouldn''t agree to see me? Why not?" he asked.


    Athemar smiled. "Let me guess. You want to tell Master Calum about a man named Zen Luo, right?"


    "Yes, exactly! He just passed the test of the Sword Tower. Although it was on the first floor, he¡ª"


    Athemar interrupted him. "He did it even though he has not yet reached the Other Shore Realm, right?"


    "Do you already know of Zen, Master Athemar?" Sellers Wen asked, looking confused.


    "Yes. He is a disciple of the Sword Light Palace that I built. Besides, I was the one who introduced him to the Oneness Sky Palace," said Athemar. He wore a strange expression.


    The peace between the Oneness Mountain and the Origin Mountain had recently been disturbed because of Zen.

 Chapter 3064 Buying Swords

    Despite the years of shared history and roots between the Origin Mountain and the Oneness Mountain, a fierce rivalry had developed between the two over the years.


    The Origin Mountain authority swore that Dorothy had known Zen since a long time ago, and that he had been saved by Winchell. Obviously, they wanted Zen to come to their side.


    In the end, however, Athemar''s claim held the most weight. Zen was a disciple of the Sword Light Palace, which had been established by Athemar. They had sent someone to pick Zen up, but due to an accident, failed to do so.


    Athemar would still remain indebted to Winchell for saving Zen''s life, but there was no doubt that Zen would join the Oneness Sky Palace.


    When it became obvious that Athemar was not willing to give Zen up, the Origin Mountain finally yielded and agreed to a compromise.


    "Master Athemar," said Sellers, his expression one of confusion. "Since you introduced Zen to the Oneness Sky Palace, why did you let him remain in the Dragon City?" In Sellers'' mind, a talent like Zen should have been sent to the Oneness Sky Palace right away.


    "It is all part of my plan," Athemar replied absently, stroking his beard. "Oh, and if he asks to use your Sword Tower to cultivate, please let him."


    Sellers knew this was a cue to stop asking questions. He bowed his head in obedience, for the other party was a Oneness Governor.


    Meanwhile, in the Dragon City, the Flag Masters were all busy doing various things.


    For a Flag Master, the fastest way to become an Alliance Chief was either to recruit an enormous number of teammates in as little time as possible, or to succeed in numerous challenging tasks. In addition, they also needed time to cultivate, so most of the Flag Masters were incredibly busy.


    As for Zen, his greatest problem arose when he was in the cultivation room. It was his weapon.


    He had changed three swords in the cave.


    Those swords were among the best supreme primordial weapons of the divine land. One of them even had the ability to repair itself. However, they were not strong enough to withstand the force of even one divine megaton, which would blow them to smithereens.


    Even though Zen had confidence in the Soaring Snake Sword, which was stronger than the others, he was reluctant to use it as doing so could expose his identity.


    Before he knew for sure that the Oneness Sky Palace was not hostile to the Nine Li race, he could not risk blowing his cover by using the Soaring Snake Sword. Thus, his top priority was to find a temporary replacement for it.


    Fortunately, the harvest had been good this time, and he had enough divine crystals to spend for a while.


    Soon, he arrived in front of a large building.


    A large sign atop the doorway to the building said "Best


    suspicious look on the salesman''s face, Zen went ahead and extracted the divine crystals from his space ring. Soon, a hundred and twenty thousand divine crystals lay on the counter in a huge pile, glimmering with pure energy. It was a sight to behold.


    The salesman''s face changed from doubt to pure joy. Gant Su''s eyes widened in shock.


    As a member of the weapon refining clan, Gant Su had seen a large number of divine crystals in his lifetime. However, this time, he had come to the Dragon City against the Su Clan''s will, and thus had little money.


    Stunned, he watched as Zen bought over a hundred swords at once.


    "Now, do you have a sword of higher quality here by any chance?" Zen asked the salesman.


    Zen was obviously a special customer, and the salesman sensed an opportunity to sell even more weapons. "Sir, this way, please," he said instantly.


    Zen followed the salesman into the inner chamber of the shop, Gant Su in close pursuit.


    As soon as he entered the inner chamber, Gant Su froze. A man stood there, and Gant Su recognized him at once. Turning around on the spot, he made for the door.


    The man, however, beat him to it, and blocked his way. "I see you have no respect for your father''s wishes," said the man in a booming voice. "How long are you going to stay here in the Dragon City?"


    "Uncle Rankin, let me go! I will never leave the Dragon City," Gant Su pleaded.


    The Su Clan was a famous clan in the Bloom Divine Province and had a good relationship with the Oneness Sky Palace. Naturally, some of those people were serving in the Dragon City. This person was Rankin Su, one of Gant''s uncles.


    Of course, Zen didn''t have the time or interest to meddle in such petty conflicts within the Su Clan. Turning away from the uncle and his nephew, he looked at the salesman. "What are you going to show me?" he asked.

 Chapter 3065 Treasure Classification

    The salesman wanted to tell Rankin Su that Zen was rich and generous, but the words got stuck in his throat in his excitement.


    "Uncle Rankin! Uncle Rankin! There''s a rich man here! Nothing is more important than business, isn''t that right?" Gant begged for mercy as Rankin yelled to him non-stop. His ears could take no more of this badgering.


    There were very few actually qualified to enter this inner chamber of the shop, while those who did were usually very rich or very powerful beings.


    Zen''s cultivation was so low that Rankin did not take him seriously at first glance. But upon hearing he was in fact a rich man, Rankin''s view had changed and he now gave Zen all his attention. He looked him up and down and said, "The swords here were all built by the blood of our Su Clan. They are very precious, so if you don''t have at least one million divine crystals, there''s really no sense in us continuing this conversation."


    This sword store didn''t actually belong to the Dragon City. The Su Clan were the ones in charge here and thus traded with their customers directly.


    "Swords built by the blood?" Zen''s eyes narrowed in curiosity.


    Gant puffed with pride and exclaimed, "Yes! We have the blood of the Ore Shadow race, the most excellent bloodline for refining swords!"


    The Ore Shadow race was one of the ancient nonhuman races. Their skin was like brass, and their eyes like mercury. They grew out of the mining mountains, and all parts of their bodies were extremely valuable. It was because of this, that the members of the Ore Shadow race had been completely massacred a long time ago.


    Only the Su Clan inherited their blood.


    Had it not been for the protection of the Oneness Sky Palace, the Su Clan would have been slaughtered by the other races as well, such was the value of their bloodline. And for this protection, the Su Clan had been putting as much effort as they could towards the loyal servitude of the Oneness Sky Palace.


    "May I have a look?" Zen asked of the swords they did not believe he was worthy to behold.


    Seeing Zen''s confidence encouraged Rankin, who then walked to a side and performed a slight waving gesture.


    The wall caved in magically, revealing six long swords and their sharp edges, all evenly spaced from each other. They looked as if they stood as royal guards on duty, so regal and strong.


    The aura coming from them caused Zen to twitch his eyebrows at their power.


    "These six swords are all Profound Blood Treasures. Even the cheapest one, the Hovering Bird Sword, would cost you a million divine crystals," Rankin said in a clear and pro


    Profound Blood Treasure. It also just so happens to be the best sword in our store! Although this sword doesn''t have any Other Shore Tokens, it is comparable to some Other Shore Treasures. The price is eight million divine crystals!"


    Zen was a bit startled by the high price.


    However, he was quite fond of this sword, and the fake Soaring Snake Sword was not enough to cope with the enemies he would face. Zen began reasoning with himself on why he should get this sword. The biggest concern was that he still wanted to spend ten million divine crystals borrowing the yellow paper to study.


    If he bought this sword, he would likely have to find another way to earn even more divine crystals...


    Zen gritted his teeth and finally said, "I''ll take this one too."


    Rankin''s eyes widened. He never thought that Zen would actually buy it. This was turning into a great day for him.


    They sold between three to five such swords a year and here Zen had already bought two at once! Rankin''s heart fluttered with excitement and glee and a smile broke onto his face uncontrollably.


    "Great! That''s great!" shouted Rankin, who took down the Snow Sword excitedly.


    Zen took out the divine crystals and picked up the sword right away.


    Just as Zen held the sword and felt its weight, Gant asked, "Could I have a look at the sword?"


    "Gant! This sword has been sold. It no longer belongs to the Su Clan! Don''t cause any trouble!" Rankin scolded.


    Zen was touched by the gloom that began to fill Gant''s eyes. He felt he had no choice but to hand the sword to him for a moment.


    Gant took a deep breath and carefully held the sword in his arms. After a long while, he reluctantly returned the sword to Zen, at least a little satisfied.

 Chapter 3066 The Mass Production

    Judging from the look on Gant''s face, it was possible that this Snow Sword involved a sad story.


    However, Zen ignored his reaction since this was obviously the matter of the Su Clan.


    Carefully, he stowed the long sword. For some reason, Gant immediately followed when he went out of the Best Swords Shop.


    "How much longer are you going to keep following me?" Zen asked, getting a little annoyed.


    Gant seemed a bit troubled. But he answered almost immediately, "Okay, I have decided now!"


    "What have you decided about?" Zen inquired as he became intrigued.


    "I''ll go with you and join your crew!" Gant replied earnestly.


    "Huh? You want to join my crew?" Zen was a little bit shocked with Gant''s forwardness. "You are a Flag Master, right?"


    To this, Gant promptly responded, "Yes. Nonetheless, I don''t have any problem with giving it up. The Flag Master I followed and supported before has been promoted to an Alliance Chief. Naturally, I took up his post as the Flag Master. He is about to participate in the competition for becoming a Oneness Guard. Therefore, I am now free to do anything I want!"


    In accordance with the rules of the Dragon City, a person was allowed to relinquish the position of a Flag Master. However, cases like these were pretty uncommon.


    In addition to that, the cultivation base of Gant was even higher than Zen''s!


    "But if you surrender your post as the Flag Master, you will not be able to enter the Dragon City anymore. Am I right?" Even though Zen wanted his crew to grow even stronger, he was still having second thoughts about letting Gant join them.


    "It''s alright. You don''t have to worry about that. I have secret and special ways of getting in and out of the Dragon City," Gant replied with a sly smile.


    "One final question, why do you wish to follow me?" Zen queried.


    Gant''s face betrayed a subtle hint of shrewdness as he chuckled and told him, "Hey, I just wanted to follow and support a rich man."


    With that, Zen accepted Gant''s request to join him. After all, the Su Clan was known for their great skill in weapon refining for generations. Thus, Gant would be a good addition to their crew. In any case, Zen felt as though he wanted to join their crew for a much deeper reason. There was a high possibility that it was because of the sword he had just purchased.


    Needless to say, Gant gave up his flag the moment they stepped out of the Dragon City. He walked towards an old man and recorded his action.


    Later on, they headed down to the marketplace outside the Dragon City.


    The market here was a massive one. Since they had quite some time to spare, Zen began wandering around and checking the different commodities available here.


    Although it didn''t quite rival the Dragon City, there were lots of peculiar things being sold here. And strangely enough, they were very cheap. He even saw a vendor selling Latent Theurgies sealed with runes


    of your ability and strength still stays in the Dragon City."


    "You know what, I also ask myself the same question," replied Zen as he merely shrugged.


    From the Ear Mouse alone, Zen acquired fifteen million divine crystals. But since then, he had purchased many things. Now, he had not many divine crystals left.


    If he didn''t use the inheritance Chiyou left him, he would definitely be impoverished by now.


    Beldene''s suggestion would greatly improve their situation. Furthermore, they could earn more divine crystals.


    Having decided on that, they instantly bought two hundred small bottles of Heavenly Pure Liquid from the market. They would be able to sell each bottle of pure Sword-reading Liquid for twenty thousand divine crystals. Even if they only sold it for ten or fifteen thousand divine crystals, they could still earn about two to three million divine crystals. The cost on their end was quite insignificant compared to their profit.


    By the end of the day, Zen had already finished making the Sword-reading Liquid.


    Obviously, Zen would not peddle these himself. He requested Beldene and the others to sell them in his stead. The liquid could probably reach more people beyond the Sword Wall when they traded it in the market.


    As he gazed at the bottles of Sword-reading Liquid, Gant also saw the growing mound of divine crystals. He couldn''t stop himself from getting amazed. For generations, the Su Clan had poured their blood and sweat into refining divine weapons. They gave so much time and effort in refining a weapon, yet they were unable to earn as many divine crystals as Zen had for just one night.


    Gant felt a bit frustrated. It was difficult for the Su Clan and many other powerful clans in the entire Bloom Divine Province to produce an extraordinary warrior who had the perfect compatibility with the Truth of Godly Way.


    Subsequently, Zen started preparing for his voyage across the Sea of Truth again.

 Chapter 3067 Geoffreys Wrath

    The journey on the Sea of Truth became more difficult with each line crossed.


    Travelling on the Sea of Truth was a process that would cultivate one''s Soul of Light, which meant that the longer one stayed on the Sea of Truth, the stronger their Soul of Light would be.


    This process revealed the advantages of being a member of Dragon City.


    The silver swords entered Zen''s flagpole and were continuously infiltrating the souls of the crowd. The effects were similar to a slew of soul pills swallowed intermittently, only to a much weaker extent.


    Zen had stayed between the fifth and sixth lines for more than ten days, and his Soul of Light had grown stronger. He and Dorothy decided to try and cross the sixth line.


    It was a heart-stopping and spine-tingling process, but they finally made it.


    After they crossed the sixth line, Zen discovered that the Sea of Truth held an abundance of whirlpools.


    Three to five whirlpools spun and twisted around them every once in a while.


    No one knew how many people had been trapped in these whirlpools, and these people were unable to escape in their lives.


    When Zen and Dorothy passed by, they heard people call for help.


    Unfortunately for them, Zen was not everybody''s savior. He would help Winchell save his son, but he didn''t intend to take the fourth candle away. If he angered the creatures who put the candles in the sea, he would be in great trouble.


    Zen crossed the sixth line with his Soul of Light first, and then he used his physical body to cross the sixth line as well.


    The blazing red seawater had a specific effect on body refining, but it didn''t have much effect on him. He continued to swim, even as the water around him began to boil like magma.


    It was during this process that Zen clearly felt the presence of the Truth of Godly Way in his body, and at the back of his mind, he wondered if he could use the Truth of Godly Way in any theurgy.


    In the Source World, only Zen could swim in the Sea of Truth. And so, he couldn''t find any related theurgy, but perhaps in the future, he could figure some out himself.


    When both his soul and body passed the sixth line, Zen decided that he was ready to stop the great whirlpool and rescue Dorothy''s cousin.


    Dorothy had told Zen earlier that the Lin Clan of the Origin Mountain was looking forward to this. Her cousin, in particular, was as eager for this day as a beaver.


    After the Ear Mouse sent fifteen million divine crystals to Zen, the Lin Clan was completely convinced of Zen''s ability. Zen had lit up Evaristus'' eyes with a new hope.


    Zen had asked Beldene and others to sell the Sword-reading Liquid for him for fifteen thousand divine crystals a bottle.


    Zen thought that it was quite expensive, but Beldene and the others didn''t agree. After a


    . He had already defeated seven people from the Heavenly Annihilation Sect in a row.


    These seven people were all contemporary peerless masters in this era, but they were all defeated by Geoffrey''s single attack.


    "Heavenly Annihilation Demons! Get out!" Geoffrey shouted with his halberd pointed at the gate.


    Behind his conflict with the Heavenly Annihilation Sect was a gorgeous woman, the holy maiden of the Flower Dancing Sect.


    Different from his father, Geoffrey had only one lover, and he was furious at the Heavenly Annihilation Sect because they dared to antagonize the Flower Dancing Sect.


    As he spoke, a cold voice suddenly came from the Heavenly Annihilation Sect.


    "Humph! Do you think you can just insult everyone in our Heavenly Annihilation Sect? I will teach you to respect, boy!" It was an old man, and his hair flashed red against the sunlight, as he flew towards Geoffrey.


    "Good!" Geoffrey sneered at the old man and held his halberd at the ready. Red light blazed from his halberd, and his entire body emitted an extraordinary aura that dazzled those who were gathered around them.


    He was getting ready to attack when Zen suddenly flew out from nowhere and came to stand behind him.


    Geoffrey paused in surprise, but his face was quickly marred by a frown. He asked, "Dad, why are you here? I don''t need your help."


    Zen smiled in amusement at his reaction, then eyed the old man in front of them and said, "I''m not here to help you. Actually, there''s something that I need your help with."


    And Zen was telling the truth. He had come for the two Other Shore Keys, and he wasn''t about to fight his son''s battles for him.


    On the other hand, the red-haired old man, one of the Heavenly Annihilation Demons, was baffled. He could feel that Zen was only at the Life and Death Realm, so how could this person be Geoffrey''s father?

 Chapter 3068 Shadow On The Other Shore (Part One)

    Ten years ago, Geoffrey had made a name for himself in Zen''s inner world. However, without warning, he then disappeared for three years.


    For the years that he went missing, people living on the continent all thought that he had already passed away. But the truth was that during the times that he was away, he had returned to the floating island to cultivate.


    Three years had passed and when Geoffrey returned, his cultivation base had dramatically increased along with his strength that had become more formidable.


    When he showed up again, everyone was shocked to see his progress. Most of the people started to guess who and what force were behind Geoffrey''s improvement. To them, it was a mystery as to what kind of clan was able to cultivate such an amazing warrior.


    Now, the people didn''t need to gossip around anymore. Geoffrey shocked the people when he called the man in front of him "Dad". Did it mean that this man at the Life and Death Realm was the one responsible for his growth and training.


    Meanwhile, as he was about to challenge the Heavenly Annihilation Demons, Zen, his father, came out to stop him. Feeling dejected, Geoffrey could not help but frown at his father''s actions. This time, Zen had suppressed his own cultivation base to the Life and Death Realm.


    He had to do it because if he revealed his true identity, then the people of the Heavenly Annihilation Sect would surely fear him and kneel down before him immediately.


    "Heavenly Annihilation Demons! Wait and see! Be ready to fight when I come back!"


    After Geoffrey''s voice trailed off, he and Zen traveled to a desolate place using the Grand Teleportation technique.


    "What is so important? It had better be more important than the demo


    the key.


    Meanwhile, the Other Shore Key that the Ear Mouse gave him had the same reaction as soon as he poured the energy of the divine crystal into it.


    In an instant, two maps appeared along with two Sanskrit words that seemed like they were written in gold.


    Geoffrey could not contain his excitement upon seeing the golden words in person. However, right after he read both of the words, his excitement turned into confusion.


    "As far as I know, the Sanskrit word on this copper sheet can be translated into the words ''Stage One'' and some other strange sentences that I don''t seem to understand..." Geoffrey said as he pointed at the copper sheet that the Ear Mouse gave to him.


    "On the other hand, this copper sheet reads ''Stage Nineteen'' and another long unintelligible sentence... Why can''t I understand the whole of what''s written in these copper plates?" Geoffrey stated further.


    "What do you mean?" Zen furrowed his brows as he wanted to learn more.


    In a daze, Geoffrey shook his head and said, "I don''t know. I''ve never seen such strange Sanskrit words. This could only mean that they are gibberish and don''t contain any meanings."

 Chapter 3069 Shadow On The Other Shore (Part Two)

    Geoffrey was able to decode almost every Sanskrit word he met in the past. But today, even if he had decoded these two words, he still wasn''t able to understand the meanings of them.


    Zen thought for a while and asked, "Read those words to me. I''ll try to remember them."


    "Okay." Geoffrey proceeded to read the words written on the copper sheets.


    But as Geoffrey spoke every word, all Zen heard were a bunch of strange syllables that sounded bizarre. Just hearing them made Zen want to laugh out loud.


    Despite the humor and the strange words, Zen still managed to memorize them completely.


    "Okay, that''s it. I''m done." Geoffrey shrugged. It wasn''t only Zen who thought that the words were quite odd, for Geoffrey felt the same way. "Can I go back now?"


    "Yes, you can!" Zen gave his son''s head a soft pat and smiled. "I see that you have a good taste in women. If you really want to marry the woman you like, then you have to tell me first!"


    "Got it. But I don''t have time for that now. I''m busy." Geoffrey pursed his lips and his figure flashed, disappearing in front of his father as he used the Grand Teleportation technique.


    Meanwhile, Zen stood there with two Other Shore Keys in his hands as he tried to figure out what the Sanskrit words meant.


    "What the Ear Mouse gave me is an Other Shore Key of Stage One. It means..." Zen muttered to himself.


    The Other Shore Key of Stage Nineteen might be much more valuable than the one that he got from the Ear Mouse. Given this, he thought, ''That Ear Mouse from the Mice League is indeed cunning!''


    However, Zen had to endure climbing up one step


    tly endured the chill of the sea water in order to strengthen his Soul of Light.


    At that moment, his Soul of Light was not much stronger than that of the others. He wasn''t able to do much but cultivate. Fortunately, the water''s chill was enough to constantly help him in strengthening his Soul of Light.


    During the past three months, he had accomplished crossing the seventh and eighth lines together with Dorothy.


    Crossing the eighth line meant that he had almost reached the end of the Sea of Truth. There, he placed his gaze on the blue sea water and saw small crystals that floated in it. These crystals might seem pretty, but they were ruthless enough to erode the Truth Boats that they were in. Despite this strong obstacle, he remained calm as he knew that this was a test for his Soul of Light.


    After Zen crossed the ninth line, he would finally be on the Other Shore.


    Meanwhile, from a distance, he faintly saw a vague shadow on the Other Shore. Not being able to clearly see what it was, he became determined to rush over as fast as he could to investigate.

 Chapter 3070 A Huge Wave

    Between the first and the sixth lines, Zen hadn''t encountered very many Truth Boats.


    After the sixth line however, things began to change and there were an increasing number of boats floating out on the Sea of Truth. As they reached the ninth line, Zen had a hard time counting the boats because there were suddenly so many.


    "Why are there so many people here in the ninth line?" Of course, Zen couldn''t help but feel surprised at the sight of the numerous boats floating on the sea.


    Dorothy giggled and replied, "When compared to the ninth line, the first eight are nothing. Upon reaching here, most people will stop for quite some time and well-needed rest. Take a look at what they are doing."


    Zen stared out at the quietly floating Truth Boats with more intent this time, as well as the mediating Souls of Light.


    Obviously, they were doing exactly the same thing that Zen had planned to do¡ªthey were staying in the ninth line in order to be baptized by the Sea of Truth, making their Souls of Light stronger.


    "The Other Shore is a huge threshold for us, so we need to strengthen our souls to cross it. Certain people even stay in the ninth line for years just to get more practice," Dorothy added with a weary smile on her face.


    The crystals in the sea would erode the Truth Boats. Fortunately for them, if a Truth Boat left the Sea of Truth before completely dissipating, it could still re-condense once it returned.


    All Zen could see before him were the countless Truth Boats, continuously disappearing and condensing themselves.


    In other words, this location was just an enormous cultivating ground for souls.


    "Shall we begin as well, then?" Dorothy questioned Zen as a reminder, still smiling.


    Zen only nodded silently in agreement. Much like what the others had done, Zen adjusted the Truth Boat''s direction and let it withstand the sea''s erosion.


    In this respect, the members of Dragon City had some advantages.


    Throughout the process of cultivating the Souls of Light, certain people bought soul pills repeatedly.


    At first, Zen was very confused. Seeing as divine crystals couldn''t be brought to this place, how would they even manage to shake on a deal?


    After listening to Dorothy though, Zen ultimately understood the operation of the deal.


    One of the parties handed divine crystals over to the Mice League in order to guarantee the deal. Afterward, the soul pill was sold in the Sea of Truth, and the Mice League would pay the divine crystals to the other, acting as a third party.


    Without a doubt, throughout the entire process, the Mice League would get some divine crystals as commission.


    Moreover, this kind of deals were not limited to the Sea of Truth. In fact, even the deals that took place on the Other Shore relied on the Mice League''s guarantees. It was safe to say that every single day, these types of deals were taking place. They were far more common than anyone could imagine.


    As the guarantor, the Mice League itself earned great profit.


    Dorothy''s wor


    Truth Boats had been turned over and thrown into the sea.


    Once the Souls of Light on the boats had equally fallen into the sea, they disappeared, leaving no trace behind.


    As a witness to the entire frantic scene, Zen furrowed his brow and asked Dorothy from behind his shoulder, "Do many people die trying to break through to the Other Shore every time?"


    "Yes, and it''s better now than it''s been before. My grandma has told me many times that soul pills were a very rare find, a long time ago at least. Countless Souls of Light died in the ninth line back in her day. So much so, that she said the ninth line was actually called the Death''s door. In an enormous crowd of ten thousand people, only one would reach the Other Shore, and nine thousand people would die..." Dorothy replied, her voice cold.


    As soon as the first person died, more and more people got scared and began to retreat.


    Now, at least two thirds of the thousands of people had begun to retreat.


    The remaining over three thousand people, on their behalf, were all ready to fight tooth and nail. Even in the face of such a terrible environment, they had no intentions of retreating whatsoever!


    With another ten miles traveled, the waves once again doubled in force and climbed in height. They were now unbelievably ferocious.


    A wave swept over and raised Zen''s Truth Boat up a good thirty or forty feet in height.


    "Zen! Watch out!" Dorothy reminded him, always with her watchful eyes.


    She was quite confident of Zen''s adaptability, but despite that, she couldn''t shake the worried feeling she had.


    Zen stood at the boat''s head once again, sliding forward and defying the wave cleverly. As he reached the wave''s peak however, his face suddenly dropped.


    A wave of more than a hundred feet in height was actually just ten miles ahead... and it was heading toward them!


    The Truth Boat was less than four meters in length and no more than two meters in height. There was no way in hell it was ever getting over such a huge wave.

 Chapter 3071 Crimson Golden Sand

    "There is a huge wave coming at us from ahead!"


    Zen exclaimed as he pointed towards it, looking at Dorothy with a worried expression.


    Dorothy turned the Truth Boat slightly and skillfully avoided the wave in front of the boat. "How high is it?" she asked.


    "Over a hundred feet high," Zen answered as he furrowed his brows.


    Even Zen, with all his skills, could not avoid such a strong wave. If he and his boat came in contact with it, they would both perish.


    However, Dorothy remained calm and said, "Don''t worry. The people ahead will tell us the duration of the wave."


    "The duration? What do you mean?" Zen narrowed his eyes, looking puzzled.


    At the same time, a loud voice enunciated from a boat ahead of them.


    "The wave ahead is a hundred and thirty feet high! It will last for about twelve seconds!"


    "About twelve seconds! If you don''t want to die, get ready!"


    "About twelve seconds!"


    Dorothy shouted at the people in their boats behind her. They passed the information this way from one boat to the other. Soon every warrior in their respective Truth Boats was alerted about the wave.


    Dorothy then turned to Zen and instructed him, "The width of this wave is limited. When it rolls up in front of us, we can retreat. Then we can return to the sea after twelve seconds!"


    After listening to her, Zen heaved a sigh of relief as his tensed expression relaxed.


    If one retreated from the Sea of Truth temporarily, their boats would disappear with them. And when they returned to it, they would appear in the same place they left. It was like hiding in a different space to avoid the wave.


    "That''s a good idea," said Zen as he nodded approvingly.


    Dorothy smiled and said, "The creatures have thought of many ways in order to reach the Other Shore. This is the first wave, but it won''t be the last. You must be careful."


    Soon after, Zen saw the giant wave roll up towards the Truth Boats. The boats began to disappear one by one. It was obvious the warriors had left the Sea of Truth till the wave receded.


    Not long after, the giant wave raged forward towards Zen and Dorothy.


    "Don''t worry...


    Come closer!


    We can leave once the wave gets close enough,"


    Dorothy uttered as she stared at the giant wave in front of them in anticipation. Although avoiding the wave was not a difficult task, the timing was important.


    "Now! Let''s go!" Dorothy exclaimed in a crisp voice.


    Zen reacted to Dorothy and quickly activated the Illusion Breaking Rune. Just as the giant wave was about to crash onto him, he disappeared along with his boat.


    Under his flag, he slowly opened his eyes when he sensed no impact from the coming wave.


    A while ago, he was about to get hit by a strong wave that was capable of killing him. And now, he was at the outskirts of the Dragon Ci


    " Zen asked while staring at the beach.


    "Yes, we have!" Dorothy replied with a faint smile. She took a deep breath as she closed her eyes and stood there, soaking in her surroundings.


    "That wasn''t so hard..." Zen thought the journey would be filled with many obstacles that would make it difficult for him to reach the Other Shore. He never expected them to arrive unscathed after passing those huge waves.


    Dorothy tilted her head and thought for a moment before replying, "It''s not difficult, but during the process of moving to the Other Shore, if you misinterpret the timing and make a mistake, you''ll die!"


    The water of the Sea of Truth threatened the Souls of Light so much that no one dared make a mistake while attempting to cross it.


    Splash...


    Splash...


    The Truth Boats sailed to the beach one by one.


    One of the warriors aboard a Truth Boat jumped out excitedly, and his Soul of Light ran freely on the beach at full speed.


    Some even rolled on the golden beach to celebrate like it was the biggest achievement of their lives.


    Zen jumped off the Truth Boat and looked around. The beach was empty. Apart from the golden sand, there were only a few stones lying around.


    "Where are the Other Shore Tokens?" Zen asked curiously.


    Zen had imagined a huge pile of Other Shore Tokens lying around the beach. He thought anyone who crossed the Sea of Truth to reach the Other Shore could grab their Other Shore Tokens. Now he felt disappointed as he didn''t see any of them.


    "They are under your feet!" Dorothy said excitedly.


    Zen blinked at her in confusion. He focused on the sand underneath his feet and asked, "Do you mean... the sand is the Other Shore Token?"


    "Yes!" Dorothy nodded enthusiastically. "It is the most common Other Shore Token. It''s called Crimson Golden Sand," Dorothy said. She didn''t seem like she was joking about this.

 Chapter 3072 The Sacred Mallow Temple

    Bending downwards, Zen stretched his arms and picked up a handful of sand from the ground.


    The sand radiated a slight tinge of warmth. If examining carefully, one could definitely feel that the sand had a hint of energy from within.


    "No one fuses with the Crimson Golden Sand, because it is the weakest kind of Other Shore Tokens. It only contains the force of half a divine megaton," Dorothy explained. She lifted her hand and began to point at some bare stones not so far away from where they were and continued, "See those stones? Those are the Heavenly Cyan Stones. Whenever a warrior fuses with it, they automatically gain the force of a divine megaton!"


    "Heavenly Cyan Stone..."


    Zen''s eyes widened as soon as he saw the familiar stones.


    He recalled that he saw one when Monica had brought him into the Dragon City for the very first time. Someone had verified his strength using the red stone in the city. He had the force of two divine megatons, and his Other Shore Token was a Heavenly Cyan Stone.


    Taking a step forward, Zen carefully picked up a Heavenly Cyan Stone from the ground and observed it keenly. Scanning the stone very meticulously, he found that the power radiated by the stone was stronger than that of the Crimson Golden Sand.


    "So I guess that what they''re saying is true. It seems that the Other Shore is a place full of treasures. You can literally get one on every corner," Zen said, heaving a heavy sigh.


    He was not afraid of any True God. In fact, he was even able to deal with a warrior who had just reached the Other Shore Realm.


    Last time, he had used up all of his strength. However, the red stone only indicated that he merely had the force of one divine megaton. Frustrated by the result, he desired such a stone that could double his force. Now that he had found one, it would be easier for him to strengthen himself.


    "This is not our goal. Let''s go!" Dorothy reminded as she walked forward.


    Coming from a great background, she belittled such Other Shore Tokens as if they were useless.


    Even after the fusion, warriors could change their Other Shore Tokens. However, Dorothy was quite different from the rest as she was not in a hurry to do so.


    Upon arriving at the Other Shore, most people chose to walk forward and explore. On the contrary, there were also some who would rather stay in place and not move far away from where they were. With the goal of enhancing their strength, these people combined with the Heavenly Cyan Stones, hoping for a speedy improvement.


    The Other Shore was a powerful area. Everything around it radiated power ¡ª a grain of sand, a leaf, basically everything that anyone could get their hands on. In this area, warriors could basically integrate with anything they could touch! Meanwhile, Zen moved along the beach and felt the strong energy aura with every step he took.


    In fact, he really didn''t know what kind of place


    oup of the human race. Their leader was Hammer Di, the eldest brother, with siblings Harding Di and Hackett Di.


    In contrast to their big brother, both Harding and Hackett were very quiet and reserved.


    "So, which group of the human race do you belong to?" Hammer asked.


    "The Origin Mountain," Dorothy replied curtly.


    Hearing her answer, the three of them changed their attitudes and showed respect towards her. Hammer even made a bow and said, "Y...you are from the Oneness Sky Palace! I''ve always been admiring you guys!"


    Despite being in the same race, they still had a great desire and admiration for the top three forces of the human race.


    But Dorothy did not respond for she was extremely scornful about this kind of worship. In fact, before she met Zen, she had always been very pessimistic about her own identity. Most of the time, she even envied those ordinary people of the Dragon City as she wanted to live a life of simplicity.


    At least, they could struggle for their future and embrace the future that they worked hard for. In short, they could have a choice and run their lives the way they wanted to.


    Since she was born, everything had already been arranged for her, and everything had been the same. She lived a life of monotony.


    Meanwhile, Hammer continued to lead them through the plain based on the map shown by the Other Shore Key. After making a turn, they arrived at a curved canyon with a dilapidated temple leaned against its cracks.


    Apparently, this was the so-called "Sacred Mallow Temple" that Hammer was referring to.


    Despite the temple being old and dilapidated, its workmanship remained very advanced, along with its exquisite structure.


    Zen stared at the temple from a distance and started to think, ''Who could have built this on the Other Shore?''


    However, when Zen and the others got close to the Sacred Mallow Temple, they found that they weren''t the only ones wanting to enter it.

 Chapter 3073 The Heavenly Cobweb

    Seven people stood at the gate of the Sacred Mallow Temple, while another team gathered on the side of a cliff.


    They, however, seemed to be waiting for something, making no intentions of entering the temple.


    The group looked animated upon seeing Zen, Hammer and their group.


    Dorothy knew these people''s purpose immediately. She smiled faintly and murmured, "It seems like they want to take advantage of you."


    "Poor wretches..." Hammer grumbled to himself.


    The Other Shore Key of Stage One was precious for most people, despite being easy to obtain.


    Right now though, none of them had the Other Shore Key. All they could do was wait patiently outside the temple.


    As soon as the door opened, there followed a window of time in which it wouldn''t close. By then, only particularly powerful forces would be able to stop them.


    "After it opens, how long would it take before it closes?" Zen asked.


    "Every temple is different. The Sacred Mallow Temple, for example, will stay open for about an hour," Hammer replied.


    When the Souls of Light first came to the Other Shore, the first temple they encountered was the Sacred Mallow Temple, so it had been visited frequently, with most of the treasures inside already taken away.


    "Let''s go over there," Dorothy said, pointing towards the temple entrance.


    Over ten people on the cliff followed as they walked towards the temple. As they neared, the seven who blocked the entrance parted, making way.


    One of them chuckled and said, "I''ve been waiting here for half a month. Finally, you guys come to open the door."


    Hammer ignored the remark and walked straight to the temple''s gate.


    On the right side of the door was a small square that sported unusual patterns. As Hammer slapped it with his palm, the door frame began to glow faintly.


    "Ahahah..."


    The temple door gradually vanished as the light shone brighter.


    "The door''s open!"


    "Let''s go!"


    The group that was blocking the door earlier entered in a frenzy, completely oblivious of Hammer who stood still.


    Zen couldn''t see Hammer''s face, but he imagined a


    rrow corridor.


    "Who do you think you are?" one of the group sneered. "The temple is open for everyone. We grab the treasures by our abilities. What we find belongs to us!" Obviously, they didn''t plan to surrender.


    Countless visitors had taken many of the treasures inside the Sacred Mallow Temple. The Heavenly Cobweb was rare enough that no one wanted to give up easily.


    Splash!


    A tense atmosphere pervaded the temple as everyone released their soul auras. They glared at each other with hostility, signaling the start of a battle of the Souls of Light.


    Just then, the third team arrived and immediately saw the Heavenly Cobweb. Naturally, they knew of its rarity and wanted to grab it as well.


    Warriors fighting each other for Other Shore Tokens was a common occurrence.


    "Are we going to help them?" Zen asked.


    Hammer and his brothers had invited Zen and Dorothy to the temple, so it was only right that they helped.


    Dorothy hesitated. She said, "The Heavenly Cobweb is made by the Heavenly Spider. But the Heavenly Spider shouldn''t have appeared on the first floor."


    Just as she said this, a snow-white spider thread started falling near the temple''s entrance.


    It wound around the statues on both sides of the entrance. As the thread twisted them, the statues'' heads rotated left and right.


    Simultaneously, the eyes of all the statues inside the temple glowed white.

 Chapter 3074 Screams

    The eyes of the outermost statue glowed a bright white, emitting brilliant rays of flashing light.


    The rays pierced through someone''s Soul of Light.


    The person let out a shrill scream. It was a woman''s voice.


    Her Soul of Light twisted and thrashed, trying to break free from the rays of white light that had impaled her. Her efforts were in vain. The light held her in place, glowing brightly, as her screams began to dwindle.


    Finally, silence fell. The woman had melted in the light.


    Two more rays of radiant white light shot through the air, emitted by the glowing eyes of the second statue.


    The group knew something was wrong. They immediately rushed away from the second statue. No one was pierced by the rays, as they narrowly escaped the melted woman''s fate.


    But it wasn''t over. The eyes of every other statue began glowing and pulsing, all emitting rays of white light.


    The rays crisscrossed each other, forming an irregular web of luminous white light. The net was tight at first, and then expanded, filling the temple.


    The temple was full of statues. As more and more of the statues were activated, shooting out streaks of light from their eyes, the group inside the temple realized they were running out of space to dodge the deadly rays.


    As Dorothy and Zen moved quickly through the temple, trying to find a way to escape, they saw a group of maybe around seven people rushing in their direction. They were getting crowded, running out of room to evade the rays of light. Their hearts sank.


    "We have to go up!"


    Zen saw a stairwell ahead, and rushed into it without hesitation, dragging Dorothy behind him.


    Meanwhile, Hammer, Harding, Hackett and the other warriors were still struggling for the Heavenly Cobweb. But as they watched the glowing white web, which grew as more statues emitted rays of light from their eyes, their expressions changed.


    The web of light meant that this was now a matter of life-and-death. Their lives were more important than the Other Shore Token¡ªit would have to wait.


    They immediately gave up the battle and followed Zen and Dorothy up the stairwell to the next floor.


    The temple was more than ten floors high, each level connected to the next via a spiral staircase. As Zen and Dorothy rushed up the steps, they heard another scream from behind.


    Three of the people in the last group that entered the temple had been pierced by the rays of light, and found themselves trapped in the web.


    Someone stretched out a hand to a companion who had been caught in the web, trying to pull him free. But as soon as they touched, he found that he could no longer let go. He was tied to his companion''s Soul of Light, both of them trapped by the rays of light.


    More screams sounded as the four people died.


    Zen


    anged to surprise when someone spoke up beside the two of them. "Harding, Hackett! Where are you? Are you all right?"


    It was Hammer''s voice.


    He and some other people had seen the hollows in the wall when Dorothy pointed at them, and had rushed to take cover as well.


    They had seized at the possibility of survival. Like Zen and Dorothy, they were crouched down in their hollows, safe from the light for the moment.


    "I''m here! Yes, I''m fine," Harding whispered back. "But Hackett... Hackett didn''t make it."


    When Harding and Hackett had rushed towards the hollows, Hackett had moved just a bit slower, and had been shot through by a ray of light.


    Upon hearing the news, Hammer groaned bitterly.


    The three of them had been filled with such hope and anticipation when they first stepped together onto the Other Shore. Yet now, mere hours later, Hackett was dead.


    Dorothy and Zen felt Hammer''s sadness and shook their heads.


    Loss of life was not unexpected on the Other Shore. While the warriors who made it here were often extremely strong, and eager to gain even greater power in this place, it came with enormous risks.


    Indeed, in the Source World, many people would arrange their funeral affairs before they started to cultivate, wary of dying on the Other Shore and leaving a soulless body.


    Zen and Dorothy could hear Hammer making sounds of grief near them. They wondered how many of them had reached the hollows in the wall and survived the white light.


    As they waited, they heard something new. It was a clicking sound, like something tapping or climbing on the wall.


    Zen strained to make out what was causing the sound. Then, to his shock, he heard a shout from the hollow beside theirs.


    "What is this? Stop! Don''t move any closer! Ahhhh!"


    There was a shrill screech. Then, suddenly and ominously, the sound stopped.

 Chapter 3075 The Dreaded Eye Demons

    The warriors hiding in the hollows got disrupted when a grief-stricken cry reverberated across the temple, echoing off the bare walls. Presumably, someone got killed.


    But the Soul-melting Light''s deadly rays failed to penetrate the hollows on the walls, so how did this person get murdered?


    "Harding! What just happened?" Hammer bellowed.


    "I don''t know. It''s this guy settled next to me," Harding answered in a shaky voice.


    The man who screamed just now was the leader of the group who had confronted Hammer earlier.


    Before Harding''s voice fell to a whisper, he fumbled over his next few words. "Wh-what are these... m-monsters? Stay away!"


    "Harding! What''s happening to you there?" Hammer called at the top of his voice.


    "Ahhh!"


    Harding shrieked desperately; then his screams halted rather abruptly.


    "Answer me! Harding, please, I''m begging you..."


    No matter how much Hammer pleaded, his brother didn''t respond.


    With the Soul-melting Light outside the hollows, nothing could be done to help out his brother. He just roared, "No matter what monsters you are, come to me! Leave my brother alone! I''m going to tear you apart!"


    As she listened to Hammer howl, Dorothy''s face darkened. She never envisioned such a critical situation would befall her.


    The monsters, in particular, scared Dorothy out of her wits. She knew nothing about their origin and form, which made her more apprehensive.


    She squeezed in beside Zen despite the cramped space, soliciting for some comfort.


    The emotions of the Soul of Light could be easily sensed, and Zen sensed Dorothy''s fear. He pulled her closer and coaxed her softly, "Don''t be afraid."


    "But what could they be?" Dorothy sighed under her breath.


    "Whatever they are, they would reveal themselves soon," Zen assured with certainty.


    He already encountered several incidents similar to this before, so he consciously knew how to manage the situation better than Dorothy.


    Just then, they heard loud, grinding bursts of sound which reflected from the nearby wall. Hammer''s shaky voice came again, with a hint of anxiety and dread in it. "Go away! What the hell are you? Nooo..."


    Just like the previous confrontations, the sobbing stopped after a few seconds.


    This time, Zen''s brows knitted a pensive frown.


    Despite its mixed reputation, if expressed appropriately, anger led to many beneficial consequences. It made people act brave and forced them to be energized in dealing with conflicts. The situation Ha


    with her as she started to break down.


    "Nooo... Zen, they got me! They''re dragging me out! Please, help me..."


    No matter how frantic Dorothy called out, Zen acted as if he hadn''t heard it.


    But he still clasped Dorothy tightly in his arms, not yielding at all. They were stuck in the hollow, not dragged out by the Dreaded Eye Demons.


    ''The Dreaded Eye Demons seem weak, '' Zen contemplated.


    He figured that Hammer and his brothers weren''t killed by the Dreaded Eye Demons. Fear controlled them until they lost the ability to resist.


    Just like Dorothy.


    But Zen clutched Dorothy tightly, and the Dreaded Eye Demons failed to draw her out of the hollow. She survived because she wasn''t exposed to the Soul-melting Light.


    ''If that would be the case...''


    Zen concentrated once more and raised his hand gently.


    His fingers gradually changed into thorns and he poked the air before him with his fingers.


    In this process, Zen measured the distance thoroughly so his fingertips wouldn''t extend outside the hollow.


    He took extra precaution for his fingertips to remain within the domain of the hollow. His attempts would deem useless if he brushed upon the Soul-melting Light and perished.


    Zen tried a few times but failed to stab the Dreaded Eye Demons. He felt the force pulling Dorothy away had increased. Clearly, the Dreaded Eye Demons began to get agitated.


    Zen sneered, his lips slightly curled upward. He thrust at the air with his thorn-like fingers more aggressively.


    After he tried more than a hundred times, one of the thorns pierced through an eyeball.


    Snip!


    Ensuing a strange cry, the force yanking Dorothy eased.

 Chapter 3076 A Puppet

    The force that had been trying to drag Dorothy out dissipated gradually.


    But she still hugged Zen tightly, and it took her a long time to calm herself down.


    Just thinking of those black eyeballs, she couldn''t help but quiver in fear.


    "Zen, are the eyeballs gone?" Dorothy buried her face in Zen''s neck, her voice shaking.


    "Not yet." Zen sympathetically wrapped his arm around her waist, trying to calm her down.


    They could still hear something streaking across the stone wall.


    Click! Click! Clang!


    Just now, Zen had shut his eyes tight, jabbing his fingers aimlessly into the dark. Luckily, he managed to stab one of the Dreaded Eye Demons. The Dreaded Eye Demons had backed off momentarily.


    But Zen knew it was only a matter of seconds before they came back to attack them. The sound of them crawling on the wall seemed to come from all around them. ''They just don''t know when to give up, '' Zen thought as he gritted his teeth.


    As if reading his thoughts, Dorothy began to shiver violently, extremely fearful of what was to come.


    She never wanted to feel that horrible sense of dread again.


    Zen lowered his head and tried to concentrate as the sound seemed to close in on them. Although he didn''t fear them, he still needed to figure out how to slay them.


    "What Godly Way have you cultivated?" Zen suddenly asked.


    While the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent could not affect one''s mind, there were still some Godly Ways that could control one''s mind¡ªthey could even block out the feeling of fear.


    Zen''s eyes flashed as he considered his options. The Great Dominance Technique seemed most apt, as it could remove one''s consciousness, rendering the body a lifeless puppet.


    "Me? I''ve practiced the Five Elements Godly Way," Dorothy answered confusedly, obviously not following Zen''s train of thought.


    Most people in the Source World chose to practice the Five Elements Godly Way, as this was the quickest and most convenient one.


    "Don''t worry, Dora," Zen said in a soothing voice. "They are not scary at all. They can only manipulate your mind, making you think you''ve fallen into deep despair. If you can control your fear, you won''t feel the despair."


    "But how in the world do I control my fear?" Dorothy whined. Her body tensed as soon as she heard the sound of the monsters.


    Even though her eyes were closed, she could still vividly remember the fear inflicted on her at the sight of the Dreaded Eye Demons.


    "Here they come again!"


    This time, black liquid began to appear on the top and bottom walls of the hollow.


    When Zen saw the liq


    Look! They were killed by your necklace!"


    Zen grinned from ear to ear. Although he had known that Dorothy''s necklace was powerful, it still ended up exceeding his expectations.


    "Were they really killed?" As Dorothy observed the stains on the walls, she felt the spirit of fear leave her. "Wait, did you say Great Dominance Technique? Then, did you see...?"


    She knew that in order for Zen to have used her necklace, he''d have had to explore her Memory Flame. Her cheeks flushed a deep red. ''How embarrassing!''


    "Please, don''t worry. I just looked for the way to use the Necklace of Mystic Soul," Zen interrupted, flashing the most reassuring smile he could muster. He couldn''t mention that locked door.


    He also had many secrets; he didn''t want Dorothy to feel as though she''d been pried open and peeked into.


    "Okay." Dorothy sighed with relief.


    Zen''s expression grew grim once Dorothy turned away. He had had no choice but to lie to her, but that was the least of their worries.


    "However, there''s still something strange about it," Zen said and looked at the black stains. "The eyeballs spread like water on the walls. The sound they created when they were moving was not the same as what we heard before. There should be something else outside besides these eyeballs."


    Zen decided to omit the fact that the monsters were called the Dreaded Eye Demons, lest he would need to explain how he knew it.


    "There''s something else outside?" Dorothy asked nervously, the fear returning.


    "But, I think that thing can''t move anymore," he replied reassuringly. "At least, it hasn''t moved in a while..."


    Whatever was waiting for them outside had to wait. They couldn''t leave until the Soul-melting Light disappeared.

 Chapter 3077 Sacred Mallow Temples Secrets

    The Soul-melting Light continued for more than two hours. Afterward, its rays gradually became dimmer until it finally dissipated.


    The whole Sacred Mallow Temple remained quiet. The atmosphere was rather ominous.


    "Let''s get out of here," Zen said.


    "But..." Fear still lurked in Dorothy''s mind as she thought of those black eyeballs.


    "Don''t worry. Those creatures aren''t very powerful. They can only depend on the Soul-melting Light to kill people. Even if they were not dead, they still wouldn''t be a match for me," Zen persuaded with confidence.


    If the Dreaded Eye Demons were truly powerful, Zen and Dorothy would not be able to resist them at all.


    With vigilant eyes, Zen walked out of the hollow first. Behind him was Dorothy who carefully stuck out her head to peep at the external environment.


    There were black stains on the walls. Zen looked at the trace of the black stains to see where the Dreaded Eye Demons came from. With a sharp glare, he investigated the tracks left behind.


    On the other side of the thirteenth floor, a light golden object was lying on the balcony.


    Zen walked along the corridor to the balcony. With a curious expression, he examined the object and narrowed his eyes. "A spider?"


    A scared expression painted Dorothy''s face as she also followed after him. When she saw the golden object, her face lit up with joy. "It''s the Heavenly Spider! It finally made sense! That spider net on the first floor must be left behind by this spider!"


    Someone in the Oneness Sky Palace had the Heavenly Spider as his Other Shore Token. Dorothy had already seen his Heavenly Spider before. Thus, she immediately recognized it with a glance.


    "Maybe it''s the Heavenly Spider that attacked us just now," said Dorothy after she thought for a moment.


    "That doesn''t make sense. The Heavenly Spider is already dead." Zen fiddled with it but it stayed motionless on the floor. "I don''t think what happened just now is that simple."


    As he maintained his curious expression, Zen stretched out his hand and turned the Heavenly Spider over. Interestingly, he found a small hole between the spider''s head and abdomen. Additionally, around the hole were black dots.


    When Zen reached for the tiny hole, the Heavenly Spider, which was originally like a dead thing, suddenly contracted. A surprised expression painted both Zen''s and Dorothy''s faces as the spider turned over and climbed up along the wall rapidly.


    Click! Click! Click! Click!


    What piqued Zen''s interest was that the sound made by the Heavenly Spider while moving on the wall was exactly the same as to what they had heard before.


    Fear slowly crept deep inside Dorothy''s heart. A sharp ligh


    Light. For some ambitious people, it was a convenient way to improve the power of their Souls of Light.


    "Someone did it before. However, he lost his mind as a consequence," Dorothy said with a shrug. "Except for the Soul-melting Light, it is extremely difficult to purify the Soul of Light with other methods. If you absorb the Souls of Light of others, you will also absorb their Memory Flames. If you absorb hundreds of people''s memories, the result could only be chaotic."


    "Got it." Zen nodded.


    Although he already knew what the white ball was, he still had no idea what the two glazed eyeballs were.


    Even Dorothy, who was well-informed, didn''t know what they were. Zen had no other choice but to ask No. 9527 in his mind.


    No. 9527 chuckled. "Ha! Did you realize that? You were very lucky to survive this time."


    "Huh? What do you mean?" Zen asked as he knitted his eyebrows.


    "This is not the Sacred Mallow Temple at all. Such a stupid name was only given by your human race. This temple originally belonged to the Dreaded Eye Demons. As such there are countless Dreaded Eye Demon statues in here," lectured No. 9527. "However, the temple has been destroyed long ago. Additionally, the Dreaded Eye Demons have already gone to extinction. Perhaps some of them managed to come back to life. They must have manipulated a Heavenly Spider that had broken in accidentally. Afterward, they probably killed so many Souls of Light with the Soul-melting Light in order to rapidly reproduce and cultivate their own descendants."


    The soul crystal was prepared by the Dreaded Eye Demons for their descendants. If Zen and Dorothy hadn''t come, the race would have returned to life after a rather long rest.


    Unfortunately, the Dreaded Eye Demons eventually died in the hands of Zen and Dorothy.

 Chapter 3078 Demonic Eyes

    Although most of Zen''s questions had been explained briefly by No. 9527, he was still a little confused.


    "Did the Dreaded Eye Demons show up in the chaos once?" Zen asked, intrigued by this information.


    "Yes, you can say that. The Dreaded Eye Demons were a huge race that once occupied a region," No. 9527 answered him truthfully.


    "Can all kinds of races in the chaos establish temples here on the Other Shore? Are they considered as extraordinary creatures?" Zen asked again. He wanted to learn more about these creatures as much as he could.


    "As for the extraordinary creatures in your eyes..." No. 9527 paused for a second, making Zen do the guessing. "Strictly speaking, only those two demonic eyes of all the Dreaded Eye Demons could be described as extraordinary creatures, so what you encountered just now were only their descendants. What''s more, they were very weak. With your current strength, you can''t defeat a mature Dreaded Eye Demon yet."


    At that moment, Dorothy, who had been watching him, suddenly asked, "Zen, why are you standing there in a daze?"


    Dorothy didn''t have any idea that Zen was actually communicating with No. 9527, so she thought he was standing there daydreaming.


    When Zen was finally back to the present, he decided to absorb the soul crystal with Dorothy.


    They would have to stay on and explore the Other Shore for a long time. No one would give up the opportunity to strengthen their souls.


    The two of them sat in a corner and started concentrating. It didn''t take long before they both released their spiritual senses into the soul crystal.


    Absorbing the soul crystal gave them the same feeling as the fusion of souls. To a certain extent, they were devouring the Souls of Light of another group of people. It was just that these Souls of Light had already been purified and readied for them to use.


    As the two continued to absorb the soul crystal without pause, the white ball shrank at a visible speed.


    The auras that the two Souls of Light released were greatly enhanced.


    Three minutes had passed quickly.


    Dorothy had already withdrawn her spiritual sense. The soul crystal had already shrunk by half its original size.


    She and Zen had discovered the soul crystal together, so she was certainly qualified to share the soul crystal with him. However, in consideration that she still had other opportunities to strengthen her soul, she gave up the idea of continuing absorbing the soul crystal. For a moment, she just stared at Zen, who silently took in the remaining soul crystal.


    Ten minutes later, Zen fina


    ly went into Zen''s soul.


    "It''s the perfect match for the Truth of Cultivation Nature!" Dorothy blurted out in surprise.


    This was the advantage of cultivating two Truths of Godly Ways. Since the glazed eye did not accept one of the two Truths of Godly Ways, Zen could just use the other Truth of Godly Way.


    However, different people had different compatibility with each kind of Truth of Godly Way. Once a person had chosen one Truth of Godly Way to cultivate, they usually wouldn''t cultivate a second Truth of Godly Way.


    When Zen absorbed the glazed eye into his soul, he could clearly perceive its existence in it.


    When Zen tried to manipulate the glazed eye, it rose in his Soul of Light and slowly moved into one of his own eyes.


    Dorothy saw that a scarlet light flashed out of Zen''s blurred face.


    Just one glance, she let out a scream and retreated, extremely terrified.


    Zen closed his eyes, and the demonic red light disappeared just as quickly.


    "I''m sorry..."


    Zen apologized, he was only trying to use the glazed eye, but he didn''t expect Dorothy to have such a reaction.


    With the glazed eye, Zen could use the same skill that the Dreaded Eye Demons had used. It could be useful during crucial moments.


    Dorothy explained she didn''t mind, and said, "Wow, you can stir up the fear in one''s mind. It is very rare to see such an Other Shore Token in Stage One of the Other Shore. I wonder how many divine megatons the force unleashed by this eye can be."


    The special ability of the Other Shore Token was very important, but its own energy was just as significant. However, there was no way to test the glazed eye''s ability on the Other Shore. He had to return to the Dragon City first.

 Chapter 3079 Return From The Other Shore

    Dorothy was slightly upset.


    People who held a high status such as Dorothy never took the Sacred Mallow Temple seriously from the start. This was why Stage One and Stage Two of the Other Shore meant nothing to her.


    The Other Shore Tokens that were usually discovered in these two stages were inferior. Here at the Other Shore''s beginning stage, most people would just randomly choose Other Shore Tokens and immediately challenge the higher stages.


    However, there were always exceptions. Some of these included the Heavenly Spider and the Heavenly Cobweb which were rarely found in Stage One or Stage Two, but could be found in Stage Three.


    The situation they were currently in was quite bizarre. They were surprised to discover two glazed eyeballs within the dilapidated temple. Even Dorothy failed to confirm which Stage of the Other Shore that pair belonged to.


    She was saddened upon knowing that she couldn''t fuse with any of the glazed eyeballs.


    "You know, you can still take the demonic eye even if you can''t fuse with it," Zen assured her.


    Dorothy shook her head and replied, "Giving it to me would be useless. You could sell it in exchange for soul pills. I''ll fuse with the Heavenly Cobweb instead."


    The Heavenly Cobweb was a perfect fit for the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent.


    Dorothy practiced the Origin Swordsmanship. This was divided into three key areas and one of those displayed how to master the art of stalling opponents. Fusing with the Heavenly Cobweb would enhance this key area of her practice¡ªmaking it the perfect match.


    "I disagree," Zen interjected. "We explored the Sacred Mallow Temple together so it''s only fair that we split what we''ve discovered equally. Even if you can''t fuse with it, I insist you take it."


    But Dorothy wouldn''t budge. Instead, she smiled and replied, "It''s a pity that you''ve only practiced the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent other than the Truth of Cultivation Nature. If you''d cultivated another Truth of Godly Way, you could''ve fused with both the eyes."


    "A person can own two Other Shore Tokens at the same time?" Zen asked curiously.


    "Not just two. Some of the Oneness Sky Palace''s warriors can even possess three or four Other Shore Tokens. One more Truth of Godly Way, one more Other Shore Token," Dorothy explained.


    Most of the Source World''s top-level masters would often cultivate the Truths of Godly Ways according to their own needs, and they often possessed more than one Other Shore Toke


    Sea of Truth, she couldn''t help but sigh and wonder why she had been dealt with such an unfair fate.


    "Yes. I reached the Other Shore last night," Zen replied.


    "Our Flag Master has reached the Other Shore!"


    "Our Flag Master has finally become an Other Shore Realm warrior!"


    Faegan, Beldene, and the others also noticed the progress Zen had achieved.


    Although Other Shore Realm warriors weren''t rare, seeing Zen become one made them all excited and proud. In their eyes, he was truly special.


    "Not only did you make it to the Other Shore, but your Soul of Light seems to have undergone great changes as well," Monica pointed out to Zen as she stared at him.


    His soul force had steadily grown over the past few months at a normal rate. Anyone who stayed on the Sea of Truth every day would have been able to grow their Souls of Light unwaveringly.


    Zen''s Soul of Light, however, grew at an astonishing rate this time that made even Monica question her own power and think that he had surpassed her.


    ''He has just entered the Other Shore. How did he make it?'' she thought to herself.


    "Good luck was on my side," Zen replied in an indifferent tone as if talking about the weather. "I found something useful in Stage One."


    "Something useful?" Monica let his words hang on her tongue. What useful thing had provided Zen the chance to grow his Soul of Light at such a rate? That could only mean one thing¡ªhe had discovered the soul crystal.


    But why would such a precious crystal appear in Stage One of the Other Shore? And even if it did appear, the soul crystal wouldn''t have had much energy. Monica continued to ponder over this.

 Chapter 3080 Test

    In the Dragon City


    On this day, many stood before the red stone used for testing. Last night, more than ten warriors from outside the Dragon City had reached the Other Shore.


    After they had merged with their Other Shore Tokens for the first time, everyone was on edge, desperate to put their strength to the test.


    A woman with long hair approached the red stone. The crowd grew still, watching in anticipation.


    A small seed then appeared on her head.


    "It''s the Spiritual Fire Seed..."


    "She is so lucky to have gotten the Spiritual Fire Seed! It''s so difficult to dig and find one."


    "It''s highly likely that someone helped her to get it."


    Everyone gathered around had a comment to make and all were green with envy of the long haired woman.


    The woman held a short cyan sword in her hand.


    As she raised the short sword, the Spiritual Fire Seed began to glow. Just then, a flame ignited on her short sword.


    "Go!"


    The woman charged at the red stone with vigor and her short sword slashed out ahead of her.


    Bang!


    She struck the red stone with her sword, using all her strength, which was absorbed by the stone.


    Soon after the blow, the red stone flashed and a strange pattern began forming in the middle. The pattern was the word ''three''.


    The result had been revealed to an impressed and cheering crowd.


    "That''s what I expected..."


    "The force of the Spiritual Fire Seed is less than three divine megatons. But combined with the woman''s cultivation base, it is almost at that level."


    "It''s a good start for a warrior who has only just reached the Other Shore Realm." The crowd continued with their judgment from the sidelines.


    The woman was clearly satisfied with her result. She put away her short sword, took a step back, and stood in front of a tall man.


    The large flag he carried showed him to quite clearly be a Flag Master.


    Zen was not interested in her result, as he had seen what he needed to.


    This woman had just reached the Other Shore Realm. It was obvious that she was not a Flag Master, yet she was able to enter and leave Dragon City freely.


    It seemed the requirements for free entry and exit of the Dragon City were not as tough as he had imagined.


    He did not know how Gant went in and out without a flag. He thought he should ask him.


    Once the woman had gone, another man walked up to the stone, ready for his turn.


    The Other Shore Token the man had fused with was the most common one, the He


    left on the blade of the Snow Sword, being the evidence of the speed and power of the swing.


    When the red light had flashed, all those gathered around felt their minds shaken and they were even forced into taking a step back.


    "Well... I didn''t control that too well..." Zen mumbled to himself.


    He''d been very careful when he made use of the power of the Other Shore Token. However, he made a mistake when he used it for the first time. The red light was still released from the demonic eye.


    Everyone was blown away, standing still with their eyes glazing over in bewilderment when the red stone slowly revealed one large word.


    ''Nineteen''.


    Zen remained calm upon having his result revealed.


    He hadn''t even used his own strength or released the Ways-blending Energy.


    If Zen had used the Nine-Flash Light-splitting Swordsmanship as well as the Three Annihilation Strike, or even the Six Annihilation Strike, the result could have been much, much higher.


    But this time, he just wanted to test the power of the demonic eye and nothing else.


    Even then, he hadn''t used up all the strength of the demonic eye. He''d only used half and this was enough to leave everyone looking at the result in front of them in disbelief. They could not comprehend and accept it. How had someone pulled this off?


    Whether they could accept it or not, the result still remained on the red stone. It was the unmistakable proof of what just happened.


    "Nineteen divine megatons!"


    "It''s remarkable enough to be comparable to the Other Shore Token of Stage Three!"


    "What on earth is his Other Shore Token?" The crowd''s incredulity could not cease.

 Chapter 3081 Some Serious Injuries

    After a warrior reached the Other Shore, they would meet with the Stage One.


    Everything regarding Stage One had somewhat become general knowledge among the people.


    Everyone was aware of how many divine megaton of force contained in the Crimson Golden Sand, the Heavenly Cyan Stone, and basically, any Other Shore Token. One would be considered lucky if they were to stumble upon one of the rarer ones, like the Spiritual Fire Seed.


    However, there was a limit to the amount of force within these Other Shore Tokens, which ranged from one divine megaton to four.


    All things considered, the most highly regarded Other Shore Token in Stage One was the Magic Cloud Crystal they had witnessed just now. As this token was extremely rare, it was not normal to encounter it in Stage One.


    However, Zen''s sword strike had a power that surpassed warriors in even the third stage of the Other Shore Realm.


    All this information buzzed around the heads of all who witnessed this feat. Naturally, a sense of awe filled them. What Other Shore Token had this guy obtained?


    Just as Zen turned around to take his leave, the handsome man stopped him. "Hello, friend! You are also a beginner at the Other Shore Realm, right? What Other Shore Token have you obtained?"


    Normally, discussing Other Shore Tokens was taboo for most people. Unless one was willing to boast their tokens in front of others, it was considered indecent to ask someone about it so frankly.


    This etiquette was displayed when Monica kept quiet when she found out that Zen had already made it to the Other Shore Realm, not daring to ask him about his Other Shore Token.


    "This question should be hard for me to answer, shouldn''t it?" Zen gazed at the man coldly, smiling mirthlessly.


    The handsome man was taken aback for a moment, but the corners of his lips twitched upwards in a forced smile. "Allow me to introduce myself." He cleared his throat. "I am Normand of the Chu Clan from the West Vanity Lake. If you don''t mind, we can explore the Other Shore together!"


    The Chu Clan was popular in the West Vanity Lake. Normand smirked, thinking Zen would be shocked to find out his identity. However, Zen just smiled at him nonchalantly, replying, "If there is a chance, then, sure."


    Zen then abruptly turned around and left without waiting for a response.


    Normand was flabbergasted at Zen''s perfunctory response. Few people reacted this way whenever he revealed his identity. ''Either he comes from an even more prominent clan, or this guy is just reckless...'' Normand huffed in frustration.


    Watching Zen leave, Normand''s expression darkened.


    It only took Zen half a day to take the test before the red stone. Upon completing this, he headed for the Sword Tower.


    Zen found Sellers stati


    pills from his space ring. He gently fed the pills to the two severely injured people lying on the ground, and watched intently as the pills worked their magic.


    Suddenly, Beldene''s and Faegan''s wounds began to bubble as new flesh magically started to form. With a low hiss, muscle fibers began weaving together, healing their wounds quickly and producing new limbs.


    "How did this happen? Tell me the details," Zen barked.


    Gant then began to explain the sequence of events.


    Annually, newcomers flocked to the Dragon City in between winter and spring. Many would try to cross the Sword Wall at this time, thus, the demand for Sword-reading Liquid would skyrocket at this time of year.


    Usually, the price of the Sword-reading Liquid would increase by 30%, or even more.


    However, for some reason, the price didn''t rise this year ¡ª in fact, it even dropped. Now, it was only about ten thousand divine crystals per bottle!


    The old sellers scratched their heads at this predicament, and decided to investigate the matter. Not long after, they found out the reason: there was a new seller of Sword-reading Liquid right outside Dragon City!


    There was absolutely no way they would tolerate such a thing. Consequently, they recruited a team of hatchet men to cause trouble for this new seller.


    On the other side of the coin, Beldene and Faegan had concentrated on purchasing Heavenly Pure Liquid and selling Sword-reading Liquid, minding and running their own business.


    Although Beldene had taken measures to keep a low profile, the other sellers still managed to find him.


    Unprepared for the sudden attack launched by his competitors, he was no match for them at all.


    Fortunately, their enemies had decided to spare their lives, albeit barely. Even Gant, who had attempted to rescue them, had come out of it slightly injured.

 Chapter 3082 Revenge

    "Most importantly, they''ve destroyed more than forty bottles of the Sword-reading Liquid."


    As Gant said this, his distress showed all over his face.


    One bottle of the Sword-reading Liquid was worth 15, 000 divine crystals. Over 40 bottles could be sold more than 600, 000 divine crystals. This was a loss that was hard to swallow.


    But Zen cared little about the Sword-reading Liquid.


    As long as he could acquire the Heavenly Pure Liquid, he could make as much Sword-reading Liquid as he wanted.


    What bothered him was that Beldene and Faegan were beaten black and blue. He had to do something about this.


    "Who is this Fergus?" Zen asked coldly, filled with rage.


    Just as Gant was about to answer, another voice chimed in, "He''s an Alliance Chief in the Dragon City."


    It came from Monica.


    She rushed over as fast as she could when she heard about the accident.


    She swept through Beldene and Faegan with her spiritual sense while she answered Zen. When she found the two of them were not seriously injured, she breathed a huge sigh of relief.


    "An Alliance Chief?" An icy look flashed through Zen''s eyes.


    "Zen, just forget about it. He comes from a powerful lineage. It would be better to not provoke him," suggested Monica.


    If Fergus was only an ordinary Alliance Chief, Monica wouldn''t stop Zen, but that was not the case.


    Although those supporting Zen did not reveal all their strength, Monica knew that very few in the Dragon City could challenge Zen.


    Fergus was an Alliance Chief but he was not able to make the Sword-reading Liquid.


    He was just a glorified salesman, bringing it down from the Oneness Sky Palace to sell for its maker.


    Who was this from above capable of making the Sword-reading Liquid? Someone who was capable of Instant Enlightenment.


    Such a person would have a region under their control, a bright future ahead of them, be a true powerhouse. It would be unwise to offend them.


    "I don''t care," Zen sneered. He looked at Gant and asked, "Where do they sell the Sword-reading Liquid? Take me there. Now."


    All the Sword-reading Liquid was transported from the market to outside the Sword Wall. This was also Fergus'' mode of business.


    "Flag Master, are you really going to..." Gant stammered nervously, trying to stop Zen.


    "Take me there!" Zen ordered in a tone that allowed no response.


    Now that he was a Fla


    ood the danger they faced.


    Why had they come? Were they here to beg for mercy?


    "Hey, you..." Zen had already made his move as soon as the Flag Master opened his mouth. He didn''t even have time to finish his words.


    Rumble! Crash!


    Under the impact of the immense force, the shop which once covered an area of twenty to thirty feet collapsed from left to right with a monstrous bang, and turned into nothing more than a heap of debris.


    Everything inside was expensive, including over a hundred bottles of Sword-reading Liquid. The Sword-reading Liquid was worth many, many divine crystals.


    Fergus did not have the ability to make the Sword-reading Liquid as Zen did. He would have to pay for all those bottles.


    He had just lost over a million divine crystals with his shop''s collapse.


    The face of the Flag Master standing in the ruins turned pale. He hadn''t been prepared for Zen to actually take action, believing that Zen did not possess the strength to do it.


    Even now, he was still more afraid of how Fergus would react than of Zen.


    "You bastard, don''t blame me for what happens next!" The Flag Master gritted his teeth and grimaced as if he was going to eat Zen alive.


    Zen ignored him and turned back to ask, "Did he beat you today?"


    Kenelm nodded in confirmation.


    Zen turned around, with the Snow Sword in hand. At the same time, in a terrifying tone he said, "Today, you have only done one thing right. And it''s a cause for celebration."


    With that, the Snow Sword shone, and the icy white gleam spread, like thousands of snowflakes engulfing the world.

 Chapter 3083 Worry

    The Flag Master was preoccupied, wondering what Zen''s words meant, when suddenly a piercing bright light interrupted his thoughts.


    Instinctively, he instantly raised his hand, summoning a long sword to parry Zen''s attack.


    After all, he was a warrior at the second stage of the Other Shore Realm, and had been training in the Dragon City for a long time. Fergus entrusting him with guarding the store indicated he was a force to be reckoned with.


    "Ding, Ding, Ding...!"


    "Dragon-Snake Dancing Swordsmanship!"


    The long sword in the Flag Master''s hand writhed and coiled around his body, protecting him from the scattered sword radiance from Zen.


    The Flag Master''s expression grew serious. He had summoned his strongest swordsmanship, and yet, he could feel that it was only a matter of time before Zen''s fragmented sword radiance would pierce his defenses.


    He gritted his teeth, arms trembling with every blow.


    ''Why is he so powerful?'' He winced at another powerful blow. ''He has just reached the first stage of the Other Shore Realm!''


    "Will you be able to defend yourself?"


    Zen''s eyes flashed coldly, his sword radiance shooting towards the Flag Master unrelentingly.


    The Flag Master struggled to resist, beads of sweat streaming down his face. He knew he was at his limit. His eyes darted around, desperately looking for a solution to this mess.


    "Bang!" It was too late.


    The sword exploded into tiny fragments, scattered into the wind.


    "Puff! Puff!"


    The white sword radiance pierced his body. He barely had the time to react. Before he knew it, an arm and a leg were torn clean off his body.


    The Flag Master locked eyes with Zen in shocked awe before he collapsed to the ground. How could he, a Flag Master at the second stage of the Other Shore Realm, not even last five minutes in a battle with this Zen?


    The Flag Master bit back tears. ''I''m going to die here, '' he thought miserably, as Zen slowly approached his pitiful figure. However, to his surprise, Zen walked past him, as though he didn''t even notice the injured figure bleeding on the ground.


    ''Did he let me go?'' The Flag Master gasped, unable to keep the tears from streaming down his face.


    Only then did he remember what Zen had said.


    It was true that he didn''t kill the two men today. Zen had spared his life, although leaving him severely injured.


    When he pondered over this, he felt a sense of gratitude well up from within him.


    "How dare you!"


    "How dare you destroy our Master Furgus'' store? Brat, you''re courting death!"


    two other Flag Masters roared from the other side of the street, shaking their fists.


    Immediately, they drew their swords and charged towards Zen, their eyes red from rage.


    As he saw the two men approaching


    nce he left the Dragon City. This way, Galen could replace him and be appointed the new Alliance Chief.


    Galen, who was usually a sour-faced character, quickly smiled and held up his glass of wine. "I would appreciate your help in the future," he said modestly, toasting with the Alliance Chiefs.


    When it came to Fergus, Galen''s tone softened as he tried to emulate more humility. "I would greatly appreciate your help, Master Fergus."


    Galen could care less about the other Alliance Chiefs. Fergus, however, came from a prominent background. He was sure that befriending such an Alliance Chief would prove beneficial to him in the future.


    However, before their glasses could clink, a person came rushing over to Fergus. Out of breath and panting, the messenger could barely spit out the words, "Master Fergus... I have... news...!"


    "What happened? Why are you in such a hurry?" Fergus asked anxiously, his brows furrowing.


    "Master Fergus, someone smashed our store outside the Dragon City!" He gasped for breath. "He even destroyed about a hundred bottles of Sword-reading Liquid..." the man shuddered as though he were remembering something gruesome.


    "What? Who did it?" Fergus demanded.


    He felt a chill run down his spine, extending to his arms and flowing to his fingertips. The glass of wine he was holding frosted over, the wine turning into ice pellets.


    The women who had been singing and dancing suddenly stopped and shivered slightly.


    "His name," the messenger replied, eyes widening in fear, "is Zen Luo..." The Alliance Chiefs exchanged confused glances, wondering, ''Who is Zen Luo?''


    Fergus scratched his chin. He had never heard of this name before. Just as he was wondering why such a nobody would dare smash his store, Galen snorted. "I was wondering who would have the gall to oppose you. It''s Zen again!"

 Chapter 3084 Fuck Off

    Fergus swung his gaze to Galen, eyes narrowed as he asked, "Do you know this brat?"


    "Of course I do!" Galen said, his eyes becoming hard and cold. "He''s a new Flag Master. He had yet to even reach the Other Shore Realm when he passed the Sword Wall. He slaughtered my family under the Sword Wall." His voice had become a low growl.


    "Truly?"


    Fergus wasn''t sure if he felt the urge to laugh or cry at the news that Zen was just a mere Flag Master. "Usually, in cases such as this, a nobody like him would already be dead. Why then is he still living?"


    "Master Fergus, you don''t understand. I have tried to find the perfect opportunity to kill him, but that day he was accompanied by a woman. Where she comes from or who she is, I don''t know, but she seems to have some special background. The owner of the Truth Library even assisted her. On top of that, I was warned by the Dragon City''s lead guard," Galen groused, a scowl firmly in place.


    After that particular incident, he had decided not to take any action against Zen.


    He didn''t fear Zen, not at all, but he was wary of that woman. He knew better than to offend her in any way and risk her rage.


    "And what is so special about this woman?" Fergus questioned with a single brow raised.


    Galen felt his heart stutter in his chest, and he just barely refrained from rubbing it to help alleviate the discomfort.


    He might be afraid of the woman, but Fergus was different.


    The man had lived in the Dragon City for many years, and had refused the entrance test of Oneness Guards each time. He''d only been here to handle the Sword-reading Liquid business for someone in the Oneness Sky Palace.


    It was common knowledge of how powerful one had to be to craft the Sword-reading Liquid.


    No matter how powerful an Alliance Chief believed themselves to be, they wouldn''t dare to speak or act arrogantly in front of Fergus. Everyone within the Dragon City walked on eggshells around the man.


    Zen would not stand a chance against Fergus, Galen was sure.


    Galen spoke once more to Fergus. "No matter the woman''s identity and what she can do, she cannot compare to you, Master Fergus. This one called Zen is particularly hateful."


    Fergus glanced at Galen and said indifferently, "Do not try to woo your way into me dealing with the little cretin!"


    All the Alliance Chiefs were cunning and quick witted. It was easy for them to see the hidden intent behind Galen''s words. He wished to kill Zen with a borrowed blade.


    Galen huffed a laugh. "I apologize, Master Fergus. It''s just that I want this brat killed, but I am unable to do so." The others were surprised at his honesty.


    Fergus showed no reaction to the statement. "I''m in a terrible mood today, Ioan. Let us call it a day." He turned to walk away, but cast a q


    ut, horrified at the scene before them.


    As a Grand Flag Master, she was not weak. Monica proved her strength by struggling to her feet, panting through the pain.


    "How are you still alive?" Fergus was shocked that this woman could withstand his attack. His knuckles cracked as he clenched his fist, and swung towards her.


    The invisible force came barreling towards her again, and she knew her body might get pulverized into dust this time.


    Before the attack made contact with her, a figure stepped up to her side.


    There was a muffled clang that rang throughout the sky. It seemed as if Fergus'' attack had struck a steel wall.


    Zen couldn''t help the slight smirk that shook the corner of his lips. It was easy to block the attack.


    Galen cursed silently in his head before pointing out to Fergus that the man was in fact Zen.


    Fergus sized up his opponent, a moment of surprise flickering in his eyes. "You are Zen? Tell me, where did you get the Sword-reading Liquid?"


    Fergus wasn''t just here to kill Zen. He needed to know the origin of the Sword-reading Liquid they had.


    He had helped someone sell the Sword-reading Liquid. One would assume he was quite rich, but the fact of the matter was, ninety-nine percent of his income had fallen into that person''s pocket. If there was a cheaper way to obtain Sword-reading Liquid, he wanted to know.


    Zen ignored the question for now, bending closer to Monica to make sure she was okay. The blow had not been too powerful, but still caused a lot of damage. Her bones were broken and her elixir field was messed up. He was just glad she had survived.


    He gently put a pill into her mouth before turning to Fergus with a cold glare. "You want to know where I got the Sword-reading Liquid?" he scoffed. "If you roll along the ground and make it to the entrance of the Dragon City, I''ll tell you."

 Chapter 3085 Anger

    Zen''s words stunned everyone in the audience.


    When they heard Fergus ask Zen where he had gotten the Sword-reading Liquid, they thought that Fergus might let Zen go after knowing the answer.


    After all, it was not easy to get the Sword-reading Liquid. They guessed that maybe Zen was selling the Sword-reading Liquid for some big shot who had the perfect compatibility degree.


    If Fergus didn''t want to offend the big shot behind Zen, he might not do anything to him and might even spare his life. That way, Zen would be truly lucky!


    But in reality, Zen was so bloody arrogant to the extent that he even tried to provoke Fergus.


    ''Zen is digging his grave.''


    ''There''s no way Fergus would let him go.''


    ''There would have been a small chance Fergus would have let him live, had he knelt down and begged for mercy at the beginning. But now there is no hope at all. What could we say! Zen''s arrogance will lead to his death.''


    These were some of the thoughts of the people there, but they could never say them out loud given that there was a group of Alliance Chiefs floating in the air above them.


    All of a sudden, a gust of chilling air spread out slowly.


    Fergus'' slightly obese face turned as pale as a ghost. He used to be a short-tempered man, but the years he spent in the Dragon City had changed him a lot. He was so changed that he thought he was now an even-tempered man. However, he just realized that he was even-tempered because no one dared to anger him.


    A cold aura spread out, and even the several Alliance Chiefs retreated. They knew that Fergus was already furious, and they didn''t want any part in this.


    "What did you say?" Fergus asked and suppressed the anger in his heart.


    "Are you deaf or what? Anyways, I repeat. If you roll along the ground and make it to the entrance of the Dragon City, I''ll tell you. If you refuse, I will take that as a sign of not being sincere enough, so I''m not going to tell you," Zen said indifferently.


    "Hahaha..." Fergus broke out into an angry laugh. "There are many ways to seek death, but I''ve never met someone seeking death like you are doing!"


    "My pleasure. And I''ve never met a guy as arrogant as you," Zen said, shrugging his shoulders.


    At this moment, Galen approached Fergus and said, "Alliance Chief Fergus, I know this guy has a bitter tongue. Don''t bother yourself talking to him anymore, and let me handle him."


    "Fuck off!"


    With a loud smack, Fergus sent Galen flying backwards. Galen dropped to the ground heavily and landed into a Flag Master''s territory.


    After sending Galen away, Fergus couldn''t compose his anger any longer. He moved towards Zen like a lion heading to its prey.


    ''So he is using the Might Godly Way, '' Zen thought.


    His eyes


    expression, their hearts skipped a beat.


    The whole thing was awkwardly weird.


    Zen had just reached the first stage of the Other Shore Realm, and yet he had the force of twenty divine megatons. He had infinite potential. According to the rules of the Dragon City, he should have been sent to the Oneness Sky Palace already.


    In retrospect, it became obvious that Zen was sure to win against Fergus, or else he wouldn''t have acted so calm all this time.


    Walter and the other Alliance Chiefs exchanged looks and wanted to give Fergus a heads-up.


    From the looks of it, Zen had obviously provoked Fergus on purpose just now, which meant that he probably had some other purpose. But Fergus was so angry at this moment that he wouldn''t have listened to them.


    "How arrogant you are! I just underestimated you,"


    Fergus said. He was a proud man who had just been beaten by a mere Flag Master. This was sheer humiliation that he had to make up for.


    As he shouted, he stood up from the ground and stretched out his hands; a large white sword with broad blade appeared in front of him, out of the blue.


    "Wild Snow Sword!"


    As Gant saw the sword, his heart skipped a beat.


    This sword was also a premium Profound Blood Treasure. This sword and the Snow Sword that Zen had bought were forged by the person Gant knew. He had no idea that the sword was bought by Fergus.


    After thinking for a while, he found that it made sense. The sword price was about nine million divine crystals. Not every Alliance Chief could afford to buy such an expensive sword, and since Fergus was probably one of the richest Alliance Chiefs, this was a no-brainer.


    "So you are finally going to take this fight seriously, huh?"


    Zen taunted. When he sensed the constantly increasing aura from Fergus, his face revealed a trace of satisfaction.

 Chapter 3086 The Flow Strike

    After half a year cultivating in the Dragon City, Zen wanted to test his own strength.


    Fergus coming here to challenge him was the perfect opportunity.


    Fergus held the Wild Snow Sword as his incomparably intense truth aura soared. At that moment, Zen saw a beast ready to attack.


    The aura that soared out of him had so much power and presence that many Alliance Chiefs unconsciously trembled out of fear.


    "I can''t believe this. Fergus is actually getting serious." Ioan was taken aback as he felt the aura pervading from Fergus.


    Other Alliance Chiefs reacted with equal disbelief.


    Ioan had always boasted throughout the Dragon City that he was the number one Alliance Chief. He had, in addition, obtained the recognition of the other Alliance Chiefs.


    Walter and other Alliance Chiefs were inferior to him. This time, Ioan had successfully passed the examination and became a Oneness Guard, a title which everyone exclaimed he was worthy of. If he had failed, no one else could pass.


    Meanwhile, others regarded Fergus as the weakest among the Alliance Chiefs. Not many deemed him to be fearful enough.


    Only then did Ioan realize that he underestimated Fergus.


    "Fergus has hidden his strength so well."


    "Have you ever seen him fight before?"


    "Nobody in the Dragon City dares to offend him, so we never had the chance to see him at full strength."


    Plastered across the Alliance Chiefs'' faces were bitter smiles. Only now did they realize their mistake in underestimating Fergus.


    Zen looked grave as Fergus'' aura kept soaring.


    He didn''t know much about the Alliance Chiefs, but he thought their cultivation was similar to that of one-star Oneness Guards. The Oneness Sky Palace was a force as influential as the Bearing race, so Zen assumed that Fergus was on par with one-star Yellow Emperor Guards. In terms of strength, he would be just like Hamish and Zavier.


    The aura that he saw from Fergus now was beyond his expectations.


    "Since you are provoking me deliberately, then I''ll do what you want."


    Fergus was not as stupid as he looked. Of course, he was aware of what Zen was doing.


    However, he still couldn''t understand one thing. Why did Zen dare to challenge him? Even if he ha


    e quickly offset. He would attack like a puppet, striking repeatedly until he killed his opponent.


    After Zen''s Three Annihilation Strike sent him flying, he quickly turned around and made another chop. The strike was similar to the one before, and once again Zen could not dodge.


    Fergus struck with his sword for the second time before the light of the first Three Annihilation Strike even disappeared.


    Boom!


    Boom!


    Boom!


    Those who had retreated in the distance could only see enormous balls of light gleaming one after another on the plain. The sight made the deafening sounds seem like thunder.


    The people who stayed nearby, on the other hand, either lay on the ground or stared at the two in shock.


    They could barely distinguish the two faint shadows clashing against each other. They didn''t know how the fight was turning out.


    "Fergus is so powerful!"


    "Who said that he was an unqualified Alliance Chief? I think he is even more powerful than Ioan."


    "Hey, don''t forget his opponent."


    Upon admiring Fergus, they came to realize that they paid attention to the wrong person.


    Fighting Fergus in the white light balls was Zen, who had just reached the Other Shore Realm.


    Despite being merely in the first stage of the Other Shore Realm, he could already keep up with the powerful Fergus.


    As they witnessed the ongoing battle, the group felt ashamed. Unlike Zen, they felt that they had never progressed even years after reaching the first stage.

 Chapter 3087 Zens Eye

    Over ten enormous balls of light appeared in the air, flashing brightly. Suddenly they stopped.


    Fergus remained floating, the Wild Snow Sword by his side.


    Moments after he launched his fierce attacks, he had to stop, gasping for air. His physical body, overweight and weak, could not withstand the strain of his own attacks. He was fatigued.


    Zen stood across him, expressionless, a sword clasped in one hand. Tilting his head, he said, "Is that all you have?"


    "Who...who are you?" Fergus asked, still wheezing.


    He faced Zen and pretended to be unfazed, but a trace of fear had entered his heart.


    Not even the best and most extraordinary young men in the Oneness Sky Palace were as powerful as this man.


    "Why should I answer that?" Zen asked, shaking his head.


    Fergus ground his teeth, frustrated.


    Whatever else they might be accused of, the members of the Oneness Sky Palace were not foolish, and Dragon City was not just a tourist spot.


    The Dragon City had been carefully planned. Everything in that bewitched city was designed to attract the most talented humans, and the rules set in place were intended to develop their abilities and identify out the most worthy among them.


    Fergus knew all this very well, as he had been an inhabitant of the Dragon City for many years.


    And he knew that a man possessing even half of Zen''s strength would surely have been chosen by the Oneness Sky Palace immediately. It was impossible that such talent would go unnoticed for too long in the Dragon City.


    Fergus realized he might just be outmatched, but there was no way for him to retreat.


    Staring at Zen, he clenched his jaw and tapped the top of his own head. A white bone appeared above him.


    It was the unique Frosty Jade Bone on Stage Five of the Other Shore.


    As soon as the Other Shore Token appeared, gleaming white frost began forming on the Wild Snow Sword in Fergus''s hand.


    "You are quite strong, especially for someone who has just reached the Other Shore Realm. Warriors like you are rare even in the Oneness Sky Palace." Fergus'' voice was low and cold, with a tone that had caused many a young man to tremble with dread.


    "But you are not wise. Far from it." As he spoke, he raised his hand and pointed the Wild Snow Sword at Zen. He wore a strange, cruel expression. "You should have cultivated to develop your powers properly. Maybe in a year or so, you''ll be able to defeat me, but right now you can''t!"


    Fergus was not nearly as confident as he pretended to be, but he set his misgivings aside.


    He had already decided to keep fighting Zen. He had always enjoyed defeating and suppressing young talents.


    "Frigid Sword Prison!" he shouted.


    The Truths of Godly Ways and the swordsmanship manuals had


    aunch a final blow.


    This was his best and only plan. He had already exhausted all his strength in this attack, and he had to finish Zen off right now.


    ''This strike is strong, and troublesome for me, ''


    Zen thought. Even as he twisted and turned among the icy sword shadows, he kept an eye on the hundreds of fat figures reflected in the shards around him, wondering in which direction Fergus would attack.


    In terms of force alone, Zen believed that he was at least evenly matched with Fergus. But the nature of this attack was unusual, and difficult to overcome. He honestly couldn''t tell which one among the figures floating around him was the real Fergus.


    If he didn''t figure it out as soon as possible, Fergus would be able to kill him.


    Zen made a decision. As the shards closed in on him, the images of Fergus drew closer and closer. He narrowed his right eye. A ray of red light formed in his pupil, growing brighter and brighter.


    Fergus saw that Zen was squinting his right eye, and his heart skipped a beat. He did not understand what power this was, but he could sense the great threat hidden in the depths of that eye.


    However, there was no chance of backing down at this point. He had already deployed the Flow Strike.


    There was a loud bang.


    As Fergus drove forward, brandishing his Wild Snow Sword, the icy sword shadows splintered into shards.


    In the same instant, Zen fully opened his right eye, emitting a beam of vivid red light.


    Fergus saw the red light and he faltered in his lunge, his entire body trembling.


    Fergus was not the only one affected. Everyone present had seen the red light in Zen''s eye, and everyone was affected by it. They felt as though they had seen something dreadful and unbearable. Even the most courageous among them would be unable to look into Zen''s terrifying eye.

 Chapter 3088 Heart Slaughtering Strike

    Zen used the demonic eye, but he didn''t take this opportunity to kill Fergus. He just wanted to break the illusion created by the Frigid Sword Prison.


    As Fergus'' body stiffened, Zen found this window of opportunity to strike his enemy, yet he chose not to finish him off.


    Instead, he waited for Fergus to come to his senses.


    After Fergus maneuvered the Flow Strike, the mirage not only affected his opponent but changed himself as well.


    While Fergus functioned like a puppet, he was hardly affected by other things. Still, he couldn''t escape the red light in Zen''s eye.


    As soon as Fergus recovered from his immobile state, he quickly discovered that Zen did not take the opportunity to kill him. He thought he still had a chance!


    Both sides paused in mid-air to inhale quick, shallow breaths that lasted six seconds before the formidable sword of Fergus struck towards Zen.


    Zen raised his Snow Sword at the same time, and the Ways-blending Energy began to gather again.


    "Six Annihilation Strike!"


    The more layers of Ways-blending Energy merged, the more explosive power it brought. With the Six Annihilation Strike, he actually combined five layers of Ways-blending Energy.


    While he practiced the Godly Ways Blending Swordsmanship, Zen often sighed with admiration as he regarded Eastern Emperor Taiyi as a real genius.


    If he carried on and just cultivated the Godly Ways Blending Swordsmanship without going to the Other Shore, he could still fight against the top warriors in the Source World using the Thousand Annihilation Strike. He would be equipped to confront the toughest Other Shore Token.


    The Snow Sword and the Wild Snow Sword collided again.


    At first, Fergus was overjoyed that Zen gave him a break.


    However, the second their swords clashed, Fergus'' heart quickly sank to the bottom of his stomach.


    It was then he realized that his strength was not on the same level as his adversary''s.


    The power Zen unleashed was not something he could contend with!


    Bang!


    A mass of white light that was several times larger than before spread out and once again wrapped the two of them.


    The massive ball of white light covered the wilderness outside of the Dragon City as if it was covered with a thick blanket of snow.


    At the gate of Dragon City, the old man responsible for distributing the flags walked out of his room and looked up


    these people used their own unique skills and rushed towards the young man.


    But the moment they approached him, the young man suddenly raised his hand.


    On his palm was a cloud of air, as if he carried an invisible sword in his hand. But in fact, there was nothing.


    "Flow Strike, Heart Slaughtering Strike!"


    The young man waved his empty hand gently in the air.


    With different kinds of sounds, the warriors who had not even rushed up to him yet spewed blood from their chests, heads, abdomens, and backs.


    All thirteen people died in an instant.


    The invisible air actually infiltrated directly to their hearts, penetrating their elixir fields and souls.


    Clap! Clap! Clap!


    On one corner of the courtyard, a girl dressed in an orange garb stood straight, applauding softly with her slender hands.


    "When did you come, Kate? Why didn''t you tell me in advance? You could get hurt by accident," the young man smiled when he saw her.


    "Didn''t you know I''m here?" Kate sniffed, wrinkling her nose.


    The young man chuckled, "You always appear and disappear mysteriously. How could I know that?"


    Kate reached out her hand and rubbed the spot between his brows. Then she answered, "The income in the Dragon City has reduced by 50% in the past few months, and it reduced further by 90% in this month."


    "What happened? What did Fergus do?" The young man scowled, the creases on his forehead showing.


    He was in urgent need of divine crystals at this moment, and the income in the Dragon City was his only source of funds. Obviously, he attached great importance to it.

 Chapter 3089 The Man In A Coir Raincoat

    With Fergus'' strength, no one in the Dragon City dared to provoke him.


    The demand for Sword-reading Liquid exceeded the supply. Bottles of Sword-reading Liquid were sold out everywhere.


    It was definitely a lucrative business. The young man calculated that he could earn tens of millions of divine crystals each month from the robust sales of Sword-reading Liquid.


    Of course, the young man was not the only one in the Oneness Sky Palace capable of producing the Sword-reading Liquid.


    However, the others who could produce the liquid had their own reasons for not trying to compete with him. Some were simply not interested in the income, and others thought it shameful to get involved in such a business. This benefited the young man, who chose to stay in the Flow Sword Sect.


    "I heard that someone else was selling the Sword-reading Liquid at a lower price, to compete with Fergus," Kate said.


    The young man''s brows furrowed. "Someone else? Is it someone from the Oneness Sky Palace? But they''ve already said they wouldn''t get involved in the Sword-reading Liquid business."


    Kate spoke up. "No, it''s not from Oneness Sky Palace. I think the new seller is a Flag Master in Dragon City."


    The young man wore an expression of disbelief. "How can that be? No mere Flag Master could produce the Sword-reading Liquid," he said.


    Taking a look at the young man, Kate pursed her lips and said, "He has just stepped into the Other Shore Realm. But he defeated Fergus though the latter spared no effort in the battle."


    "What?" The young man continued to look skeptical. "You believe he''s actually able to produce the Sword-reading Liquid? That he is capable of Instant Enlightenment?"


    "Well, yes," Kate said.


    There were often huge differences in the level of strength among the Other Shore Realm warriors.


    Fergus, for example, had grown fat and complacent, and had been kicked out of the Flow Sword Sect. Yet he was still a force to be reckoned with. He had already reached the fifth stage of the Other Shore Realm, and he was in possession of a powerful Other Shore Token.


    "If I had just reached the Other Shore Realm, it would be very difficult for me to face and defeat Fergus in an all-out battle," the young man said slowly. He frowned, wondering how a Flag Master had managed to beat Fergus.


    "Come on, no need to be modest," Kate said. She had full confidence in the young man. "Milo, you are adept at the Emotion Closing Godly Way, and you have an innate capacity for the Flow Strike. Anyone affected by your Flow Strike finds it hard to resist. I believe that if you faced Fergus when you had just reached the Other Shore Realm, you might have been able to win against him too."


    The young man gave her a noncommittal smile. He then left the courtyard quickly.


    Kate followed him.


    le wandered into the Sword Tower.


    They were Alliance Chiefs. They were led by a man named Walter, who looked at Zen and gave him an ingratiating smile. "Zen, we admire your diligence. You have spent so much time here in the Sword Tower already. We know practice can get boring, and we are ashamed of ourselves that we have not yet invited you to one of our gatherings. Would you like to join us?"


    As soon as he saw Walter, Zen''s face darkened. "Thank you for the invitation, but I''m afraid I can''t accept it. I''m too humble to stand behind such a person as you," he said in a mocking tone.


    Zen had no conflict with these Alliance Chiefs, and it was in his interest to maintain a good relationship with them.


    But the very sight of Walter filled him with disdain. When he thought of Walter''s dubious morals, he couldn''t help but feel antagonism towards him.


    Monica, for one, had been a follower of Walter. That night, when she had tried to put in a good word for Zen, Fergus punched her so hard that she almost died, yet Walter stood by and did nothing. He was truly cold-blooded.


    Walter saw that Zen despised him, and forced a wry smile. He had some idea of why Zen disliked him so much. He thought he could explain. But before he could speak, Zen and Gant started to move towards the tower entrance.


    Walter looked in Sellers'' direction, hoping the old man would speak up and put in a good word for him. But Sellers kept his face expressionless. He did not say anything.


    As soon as Zen left the Sword Tower, he saw something that gave him a sudden and inexplicable sense of foreboding.


    A young man in a coir raincoat stood some distance away. He looked at Zen with gentle eyes.


    There was no hostility in his gaze, yet Zen felt as though he was being warned. The dread that rose in him was countless times stronger than what he had felt upon meeting Fergus.

 Chapter 3090 Disadvantage

    A beautiful woman stood beside the young man wearing the coir raincoat. The woman''s long dress was blindingly orange, and when it was ruffled by the wind, it seemed like she was engulfed in a dancing flame.


    Both of them were mediocre in their cultivation level, having reached no further than the third stage of the Other Shore Realm. However, the auras they emitted were surprisingly strong.


    Sparing the young man a short glance, Zen turned to Gant. "Let''s go," he urged.


    The two of them walked quickly along the street and passed by the young man.


    Just as they passed him, however, he spoke. "Please stop."


    Zen frowned, slightly annoyed. "What?" he asked with an exasperated sigh.


    "Was the Sword-reading Liquid made by you?" the young man asked.


    A realization hit Zen.


    This young man was the one behind Fergus.


    If not for his question about the Sword-reading Liquid, Zen would never have guessed this young man''s identity. He had expected the person behind Fergus to be exceptionally cultivated and old, not a gangly teenager.


    "So what if it is? Do you have a problem with that?" Zen retorted.


    The young man did not flinch. "If you didn''t make it, I''ll kill you," he said simply, his eyes innocent like a child''s. "If you did, I will consider sparing your life."


    The incongruence between his wiry, youthful appearance and his words was almost comical. Zen snorted with laughter and indignation. Beside him, Gant looked furious. "This is the Dragon City. Who do you think you are? How dare you commit murder here?" he said icily.


    Glancing at Gant, the young man clenched his fist.


    Zen reacted immediately. This was not just an arrogant teenager. This was a formidable opponent. With a slight gesture of his hand, the Snow Sword appeared in it.


    This sword exuded a ray of surging radiance that gushed towards the young man like a tsunami wave.


    At the entrance to the Sword Tower, the Alliance Chiefs looked on with confusion. They did not know what had sparked the conflict. All they had seen was that Zen and the young man started fighting after their short exchange of words.


    The young man looked completely harmless, a mere teen. Zen''s attack surprised them.


    However, the sword radiance of the Six Annihilation Strike only spread out eight inches from its source.


    After the air in the young man''s hand had dissipated, Zen stiffly withdrew the Six Annihilation Strike.


    The Ways-blending Energy was violent and difficult to control. Embarrassing as it was to admit it, Zen


    u will compensate me for this broken sword. And then, I will prove that you are wrong," said Zen, seething.


    Milo turned his head to look at Zen, raising his eyebrows disdainfully. He obviously didn''t take Zen seriously.


    "He hasn''t even answered your question yet," Kate whispered into his ear.


    "I already know the answer," he answered simply. "He did make the Sword-reading Liquid. Otherwise, he would have died after taking three steps back."


    "Three steps? But he retreated twenty steps!"


    "Damn it. I hate to admit it, but I''m impressed!" said Milo, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I expected him to collapse after ten steps at the most!"


    "It seems that you feel threatened. Hee hee!"


    Milo sighed, a little embarrassed for showing his anger. "Yeah. Those two fellows from the top of the Oneness Mountain are not weak. And this man came to the Dragon City on purpose to thwart me," he said, rubbing his temples.


    Zen and Gant stayed silent for a while.


    Then, Zen looked down at his broken Snow Sword. What a sad sight it was! Shaking his head, he smiled bitterly, and handed it to Gant. "What should I do?" he asked humbly.


    He had an affinity for the Snow Sword, and it had served him well. He hadn''t expected it to break so soon.


    "I can fix it, but it won''t be easy," Gant said with a worried face.


    Before the Snow Sword broke so suddenly, Gant had been confused about Zen''s fight with Milo. He had thought Zen was jesting.


    It was not until the Snow Sword was destroyed that he realized how much of a disadvantage Zen was at.


    In his eyes, Zen was a formidable warrior, rivaled by no one. Milo, however, had succeeded in overpowering him.

 Chapter 3091 Merit Points

    Standing in a corner of the Dragon City was a young man in a blue robe. As he leaned against the wall, he breathed a sigh of relief.


    Not only him, there were also several people in other concealed places feeling relieved.


    As Zen and Milo fought, they watched nervously and with full attention.


    If Milo had the slightest intention of killing Zen, they would stop him from doing so.


    Milo was strong, even if his cultivation base was not high. His Flow Strike, however, was at its peak. If he wanted to, he could easily end Zen''s life.


    Fortunately, Milo merely aimed for Zen''s sword, broke it in half, and left.


    "Milo is a lunatic, but it''s a good thing he knows when to stop," the man in blue remarked before he hid himself again.


    The fight between Zen and Milo got so heated that they destroyed a building in the Dragon City. Despite it, no Dragon City guard appeared. The Dragon City was very powerful in the Bloom Divine Province, but it still served as a screening place for the Oneness Sky Palace. The guards knew they couldn''t afford to offend those from the Oneness Sky Palace.


    In the middle of the night, the shimmering white stars turned into rain of swords and dropped towards the ground.


    Zen raised his head to look at the unattainable Oneness Mountain.


    His Snow Sword might be broken, but he was still smart enough to have reached an assessment of the situation.


    Since he had set foot in the Source World, he first went to the Sword Light Palace, and then came to the Dragon City. He had seldom met any peers who were on par with him.


    No one interested him the same way Dorothy did.


    Now he realized it wasn''t because the people in the Source World weren''t as talented as him. His position was too low for him to meet true geniuses.


    "Flow Sword Sect?"


    Milo''s swordsmanship was so peculiar. He was able to use anything as a sword.


    He clenched a cloud of air, yet he was able to use it as a weapon no less powerful than Zen''s Six Annihilation Strike.


    Zen had tried more than a hundred times to find a way to break Milo''s sword strike in his mind. But no matter what he did, he wasn''t able to do so.


    The only method he knew would work was if he could use the Imperial Sword Seal to activate the Soaring Snake Sword, but doing that would risk exposing his identity.


    "Flag Master, are you still thinking about what happened earlier?" Gant asked with a smile.


    "Ye


    aised his eyebrows.


    In Zen''s eyes, Eastern Emperor Taiyi was on the same level as his grandfather, Chiyou. He wondered how a master from the Sun Crow race could possess that much power.


    "Think carefully, please. The tasks from the Dragon City may not be as difficult as the Oneness Guards'', but you can never be too sure."


    In his mind, Zen knew Dorothy was right. But his mind was set and no amount of convincing would change it.


    From the moment he entered the Dragon City, Zen had made up his mind that he wouldn''t plead with Athemar or Winchell. So he didn''t bother to ask them to let him join the Oneness Sky Palace.


    Zen had relied on himself and would continue to do so. He was strong enough to move forward on his own and make it in the Oneness Sky Palace.


    "Don''t worry. I have considered this thoroughly," Zen reassured Dorothy.


    But this did not ease Dorothy. She knew that Zen was stubborn in his own ways. He was definitely going to do it, and she would not be able to stop him.


    Zen met with his followers and discussed the arrangements with them.


    Beldene and Elgin would take care of everything while Zen was away, and if there was any trouble, Monica would help them.


    The Alliance Chiefs were already intimidated by Zen. He could leave the Dragon City and they wouldn''t give Zen''s people a hard time.


    Then Zen and Gant went to the Dragon Shadow Pavilion of the Dragon City, where the tasks from the Dragon City were delegated.


    Initially, Zen wanted to go to the Mountain Viewing Province alone, but Gant had insisted on coming along. Zen had no choice but to let him.

 Chapter 3092 The Mountain Viewing Province

    The merit points of the warriors, who entered the Dragon City, would accumulate only once they reached the Other Shore Realm.


    The Flag Masters usually brought their subordinates to the Dragon Shadow Pavilion for tasks.


    The condition was that both the Flag Masters and their subordinates had to at least reach the Other Shore Realm. Those who didn''t meet this criterion had to practice in or near the Dragon City.


    Zen had been with the disciples of the Sword Light Palace in the Dragon City for a short time now.


    Even the most outstanding disciples among them, like Beldene and Elgin, were still lingering at the periphery of the Sea of Truth. Therefore, they, too, were not qualified.


    In the Dragon Shadow Pavilion, a lanky, middle-aged man looked Zen up and down for a while before placing a square board in front of him.


    There were notes on the board with the various corresponding merit points.


    "Twenty merit points for a one-star task.


    Sixty merit points for a two-star task.


    One hundred and eighty merit points for a three-star task.


    Nine hundred merit points for a five-star task!"


    Zen read out the instructions on the board and turned to Gant. "How many merit points do I need to become an Alliance Chief?"


    "Nine hundred," Gant replied flatly.


    "I''d like to start with a five-star task," Zen announced to the middle-aged man with a confident smile.


    "Ahem!"


    Gant and the middle-aged man coughed at the same time.


    Zen looked at the middle-aged man suspiciously. The middle-aged man realized that he had been rude so he quickly became serious. "A five-star task is very difficult. Usually, only the Alliance Chiefs can fulfill it."


    In order to undertake five-star tasks, one had to be as strong as the one-star Oneness Guards.


    "Are you saying that I am not allowed to undertake a five-star task as a Flag Master?" Zen inquired.


    "You can, but..." the middle-aged man responded reluctantly.


    "But what?" Zen stared at him anxiously.


    He was not a fool. He could sense that some people were trailing him in the Dragon City, but since they had hidden themselves well, he did not want them to affect his judgment.


    The middle-aged man was still hesitating but suddenly his expression became very strange. He smiled and said, "Forget it! You''re free to undertake whatever task you want. It''s just that the five-star tasks are very dangerous, and even the Alliance Chiefs get severely injured in the process. As a mere Flag Master, you need to evaluate the risks and think it


    ace.


    Now that the Mountain Viewing Province was in trouble, a large number of people had showed up as volunteers for help.


    When these guards saw the token in Zen''s hand, they were filled with envy.


    Zen was from the Dragon City; he wasn''t one of the Oneness Guards. People from there were the only ones qualified to become the Oneness Guards and represent the palace.


    "Thank you for the warning," Zen said as he took back the token. After the guard checked the tokens, the others followed Zen and boarded a giant flying ship, which would take them away from the space barrier.


    There were about a thousand people aboard the flying ship. Some were worried about their future, while others were very excited. As a result, there was a deafening din in the flying ship.


    Zen and Gant stood speechless in the back of the ship.


    Finally, an hour later, the flying ship passed through the space barrier.


    Before everyone could witness the scene in the Mountain Viewing Province, a small black dot came into view. It flew from the distance.


    Ripples appeared on the enchanted barrier of the flying ship as it got penetrated by the black dot.


    Click!


    The black dot landed right in the middle of the flying ship.


    Zen''s gaze landed at the black dot as he saw a three-legged black bird.


    The bird''s body was as black as night, and its three legs were as shiny as gold.


    Zen looked at the bird and sensed that the energy within its body was quite violent, very similar to when the Ways-blending Energy exploded. His expression changed suddenly and he shouted, "Watch out!"


    As he spoke, he grabbed Gant and retreated backwards to the tail of the giant flying ship.

 Chapter 3093 No Room For Retreat

    As the two men hurriedly retreated towards the stern, a ray of golden light suddenly shot out from the body of the three-legged bird.


    The light turned into powerful energy and devoured everything around it.


    The people closest to the three-legged bird immediately exploded and were dismantled. Their heads were instantly separated from their other body parts. Additionally, the entire huge flying ship was broken in two!


    "Now! Charge out!"


    Zen shouted at Gant who was still shocked.


    After the giant flying ship was destroyed, the enchanted barrier in the outer layer also immediately collapsed.


    The two jumped up and escaped outside.


    The others on the huge flying ship also fled. Their timely decision saved their lives.


    Those who dared to go to the Mountain Viewing Province at least reached the Other Shore Realm. As such, they were rather quick to react when faced with danger.


    "Hoo, hoo, hoo..."


    The broken flying ship fell down.


    More than one thousand people floated in the air and stared blankly at the flying ship.


    The guards of the transmission array had already warned them. Additionally, they were mentally prepared. However, the accident happened just when they''d arrived at the Mountain Viewing Province, which naturally took their group by surprise.


    "Quack!"


    At that moment, a strange bird''s cry echoed from the sky.


    As Zen raised his head, his pupils suddenly shrank with curiosity.


    In a higher space, a huge dark cloud floated over. If looking at it carefully, one could tell that it was not a cloud at all.


    Countless strange black birds were flying together!


    The power of a single black bird had already caused so much destruction. If every black strange bird in the flock above them unleashed such power, they would be in trouble.


    "Quick! Run!"


    "The Grand River Fortress of the Mountain Viewing Province is not far from here!"


    "We will definitely die if we are attacked by those monstrous birds!"


    Flashes of space fluctuations suddenly began to appear. The use of the Grand Teleportation technique was the quickest way to flee for them.


    However, just as they made use of the Grand Teleportation technique, several gold threads suddenly appeared. The golden threads seemed to have formed a huge net and immediately covered the whole Mountain Viewing Province.


    Those who had just entered the space channels quickly stumbled and fell out of the channels.


    At the sight of the gold threads in the distance, the warriors couldn''t help but tremble in surprise. A look of despair burdened their faces.


    "Is that the Cage of Heaven and Earth?"


    "What the hell? The Mountain Viewing Province is even enveloped in the Cage of Heaven and Earth!"


    "No! It''s all over!"


    The set-up for the Cage of Heaven and Earth was a rather complicated and advanced method in the eyes of the ordinary Other Shore Realm warriors.


    The Cage of Heaven and Earth could lock up the space of a province directly. No one would be able to leave even if they used the Grand Teleportation technique.


    Generally, when two different races we


    sword radiance immediately were killed. Their black feathers were flying in the air while their limbs splashed everywhere. Gruesome innards fell down like raindrops unstoppably.


    The outcome was the same as what Zen experienced after he cut the birds just now. After the strange birds were killed, they would not be able to explode. It must be because they needed a considerable amount of time to accumulate energy. As such, their threat was greatly weakened.


    Nonetheless, there were still too many strange birds.


    A large number of strange birds surged in front of the group. With their numerical advantage, the birds covered the warriors like the lid of a pan. They tried to besiege the warriors!


    "Bang!"


    Over ten black strange birds descended earlier and violently burst out their energy again. The spread of energy once again trapped more than ten people ahead.


    The energy force that was erupted from each black strange bird easily reached over a hundred divine megatons. Each explosion was about twice as powerful as the full force of Fergus. Any Other Shore Realm warrior that was engulfed by the black strange bird''s energy immediately died.


    Even Zen was shocked by the devastation made by the strange power!


    "Descend!"


    Zen gave the order with a confident voice. Immediately, he descended three hundred feet along with Gant.


    When the others heard Zen''s command, they immediately understood what he meant and descended with haste as well.


    They rapidly lowered their altitude and stalled for time for everyone. However, a few seconds later, their calamity continued. The black birds above their heads followed them and also descended!


    "Descend once again!"


    Zen said helplessly as he gritted his teeth.


    He led the crowd to move down a certain height. However, the countless black strange birds also descended.


    That was the only way for them to move forward. However, they were currently in the midair of more than three thousand feet. If they descended for about ten times, they would be left with no room for retreat.

 Chapter 3094 The Grand River Fortress

    Led by Zen, everyone flew down hard in a huge arc.


    They had done their best to avoid these strange black birds but they could not seem to shake them. They were getting closer and closer to the ground now and running out of space fast.


    A little over 2 minutes later and they were almost forced to the ground now, still with the black birds hovering above them like grim reapers awaiting their moment.


    "Dig into the ground!" someone suggested in a panic.


    "That''s suicide!" another yelled, shutting the idea down immediately.


    Not only would it be hard to move underground, any black bird could just come into the hole and kill whoever was down there. It was like digging one''s own grave.


    "We fight!"


    "We''ll kill all these bastard birds!"


    The warriors were beginning to lose their minds. They wielded their swords and swung them in the air viciously. Their sword radiance began interweaving and forming a thin net.


    This began to injure and kill some of the strange black birds. At least, they had mounted some sort of defense for the time being.


    But if one bird were to escape through the sword net, many would die from the explosion it would cause.


    In such a short time, so many of their group had died.


    Zen had an idea of his own. He flew close to the ground and kicked himself off a rock, shooting himself into the air. He swung his sword, radiating a tiny white light around himself.


    "Puff! Puff! Puff..."


    With just his one attack, it seemed hundreds of these menacing birds had been killed.


    But it was just a drop in the ocean.


    "What?" Zen exclaimed, disappointed at how little of a difference he had made.


    A black bird managed to escape and landed not far from Zen.


    Zen felt the power within the black bird and knew he was in trouble. He rushed to get away from it, jumping wildly and falling into multiple somersaults.


    "Bang!"


    A terrifying stream of energy exploded behind Zen, sending a huge shockwave to hit him square in the back.


    That was the power of over a hundred divine megatons.


    Zen successfully avoided the energy stream, but the shockwave still hit him at close range. It felt like having whole mountains crash into him.


    He was sent flying a thousand feet away, which sent a searing pain into his back and the taste of blood in his throat.


    His injuries might not have been too severe, but


    ck birds.


    "Wow!"


    The fainted black birds immediately caught fire. In the blink of an eye, hundreds of thousands of these birds had ignited into a sea of blazing inferno, burning to nothingness.


    "The Grand River Fortress is right up ahead. Come with us!"


    They left their words hanging as they turned and galloped, back to the boats with no intention of helping anyone else get there.


    Everyone followed closely behind the boats, struggling to hide their feeling of disrespect from their faces.


    They had flown thousands of miles to the Mountain Viewing Province and fought for the human race, but ended up in the clutches of these black birds. They didn''t even receive any words of comfort or reassurance that they were fine.


    Zen maintained a state of calm.


    No matter what, he was still alive, and that was good enough.


    But it seemed that the situation in the Mountain Viewing Province was far more complicated than he had expected.


    Gant too remained calm despite what had just happened. But he had survived. He lowered his head and thought about something else to keep his mind from the life-threatening situation he had been in just now.


    After flying for five hundred miles, a magnificent fortress appeared in front of everyone, greeted with many pairs of dazzled eyes.


    However, the most attractive thing was not the fortress itself, but the nine gigantic swords inserted at the back of it!


    Zen had seen such swords before. They were the same as the Lofty Sword in the Sword Light Palace. The difference was that there were nine swords here!

 Chapter 3095 Soul-depriving Sun Crows

    Serving as human race''s headquarters in the Mountain Viewing Province, the Grand River Fortress was heavily guarded.


    Following the arrival of more than five hundred people in the fortress, a dozen military guards intercepted them.


    Pointing at the assemblage, a high-ranking officer exclaimed in a brusque tone, "You, follow me!"


    Led by this guard, the group of over five hundred people entered a vast muster station.


    "You guys wait here. Once you cross the red line, you will be killed!" the guard barked in a stern voice.


    These people arrived at the Grand River Fortress after experiencing life and death conditions. They didn''t expect to receive such treatment, and their faces filled with anger.


    "Why?"


    "We work for the human race!" "Are you holding us as prisoners?"


    "This is sheer insult!"


    "You want to stop us with just a red line?"


    The crowd expressed their strong disgust.


    Zen, who was just another face in the crowd, looked at the red line with a strange feeling.


    It was indeed too much for the guard to treat the multitude this way.


    The guard didn''t care and continued to ignore them. He crossed the red line and left.


    His abrupt action made these people more agitated. Two of them ignored the guard''s words and marched across the red line.


    When the two just crossed the red line, the Lofty Sword placed in the distance suddenly flashed a faint light, and an invisible force came straight toward the two rebels.


    Everyone almost suffocated from the excessive force.


    The expression on Zen''s face changed. He automatically stepped back. But thinking of the warning earlier from the guard, he avoided passing the red line. He just approached its edge.


    Swoosh!


    Swoosh!


    The two who stepped out of the red line were cut into a few pieces by an invisible sword radiance.


    More strangely, although the two of them were slashed several times, not a single drop of blood flowed out.


    While the crowd looked stunned, something popped out from their heads. A couple of three-clawed black birds the size of a human fist darted out from their bodies. They flapped their wings and flew away.


    Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Without any suspense, the invisible force acted once again and chopped these two small black birds.


    "How did this happen?"


    "When did these birds get into their heads?"


    "I don''t want to be like that!"


    When everyone saw this scene, they suddenly appeared terrified. If birds were lik


    odded and asked, "Yes, what''s wrong?"


    "Nothing," the young man said with a grin. "You can wait over there. You will be tasked to help the Oneness Guards with the mission of guarding the Blue Cloud City. The Oneness Guards will take you there."


    The mission of guarding the Blue Cloud City relied mainly on the Oneness Guards, and every major assignment carried out by them was very dangerous. That was the reason why the young man thought it was uncommon for Zen, whose cultivation level was low, to take such a difficult task.


    Mountain Viewing Province was not Dragon City. Competitions in Dragon City were cruel but not as much compared to those in Mountain Viewing Province. The latter was dangerous, and people dying was nothing new. This young man could even imagine the scene with Zen and Gant feeling scared to death as they went to the Blue Cloud City.


    Besides Zen and Gant, eight more people were also waiting aside.


    The tasks from the Oneness Guards were not assigned to the Dragon City alone, but also the various forces under the Oneness Sky Palace. These eight people obviously accepted the same duty as Zen did.


    After they waited for an hour, a young man in military uniform rushed in.


    A token hung around his waist. Two words "Oneness Guard" were written on the token. He was a Oneness Guard, apparently.


    After taking a look at the crowd, the Oneness Guard fixed his eyes on Zen and Gant, and said disdainfully, "You two can leave now. You two are only in the first two stages of the Other Shore Realm. Why did you take this task? You are courting death. I don''t want you to put a heavy burden on me."

 Chapter 3096 Making Trouble

    Gant wasn''t listening to the man; instead, he was looking at Zen cautiously.


    He couldn''t care less about what the man was talking about because he knew he wasn''t strong enough anyway. He was just waiting for what Zen would say and how he would react.


    He had followed Zen to Blue Cloud City because he wanted to find someone and at least know how the person was doing. No matter what the result was, he was ready to accept it.


    But Zen was different; he came to Blue Cloud City to obtain merit points.


    All the Alliance Chiefs of Dragon City had the opportunity to become one-star Oneness Guards.


    With his full strength, Fergus was definitely on par with the Alliance Chiefs who had become Oneness Guards, and yet he was no match for Zen.


    Based on that alone, Zen could probably defeat one-star Oneness Guards.


    Gant narrowed his eyes, as he gave the Oneness Guard in front of them a searching look.


    He glanced at the Oneness Token hanging from his waist, where a single star was carved.


    In terms of strength, this guy was not necessarily Zen''s rival, but he was going to kick Zen and Gant out of his team because of their low cultivation levels. Gant wondered how Zen was going to deal with the situation.


    As soon as the Oneness Guard finished his words, he pointed at the other eight people and said, "You can go with me."


    He proceeded to ignore Zen and Gant and turned to leave. Zen raised an eyebrow and said to the Oneness Guard, "It''s not fair for you to judge us simply by our cultivation levels. Don''t you think so?"


    The Oneness Guard, who was about to leave, turned back in surprise when Zen said those words. He gave a mocking smile at Zen and asked, "Huh? You are only in the first stage of the Other Shore Realm. You are courting death by coming to the Mountain Viewing Province. I don''t think you''ll be of any help on the battlefield."


    In the eyes of the Oneness Guard, the warriors who came to the Mountain Viewing Province were all cannon fodder.


    Although these warriors were at the Other Shore Realm, most of them had poor Other Shore Tokens, and their actual combat experience was next to none.


    This particular Oneness Guard was in the fifth stage of the Other Shore Realm, but he was able to defeat people in the sixth stage or seventh stage of the Other Shore Realm.


    On the other hand, Zen had barely reached the first stage of the Other Shore Realm, and thus, he was hardly worth mentioning in the Oneness Guard''s eyes.


    He saw them as burden, and he didn''t want to bring them, lest they just pull the whole team down.


    He was aware that there were a few geniuses in the Oneness Sky Palace who were extremely powerful despite their low cultivation l


    apsed buildings lurked at every corner. Pillars of black smoke rose at the distance.


    Zen glanced subtly at Gant, who had stood up at the sight. A flash of excitement and grief crossed Gant''s face, just long enough for Zen to notice, and then it quickly disappeared.


    Zen had long figured out that Gant must have come to Blue Cloud City because of something personal, but he never probed. In his mind, he knew that Gant would tell him about it when he was ready and willing to talk.


    They both looked out when the flying ships descended lower and were met with the sounds of wailing and grief.


    When the flying ships finally landed on the ground, they saw numerous old women and children that loitered around. They were gathered together and were begging the Oneness Guards to bring them out of the city.


    Blue Cloud City, who had been flourishing years ago, was now a dangerous and ruined land. All its citizens were scrambling to leave at once.


    The Oneness Guards didn''t even deign to look at them, and they left with their own followers without even a backward glance.


    Not long after, Maxim brought Zen and the others to the southern corner of the city. He hurriedly commanded them to wait and then left.


    While they waited for the Oneness Guard to come back, they wandered on top of the city wall and looked outside. The sight of corpses piled high outside the city walls met them, and the smell of rotten flesh wafted from below.


    Quack! Quack!


    Five black Sun Crows were hovering like vultures over the dead bodies, and they dived periodically, pecked, and feasted on the bodies.


    The Sun Crows looked up intelligently at them, their weird glass-like eyes studied them, only to turn back and feed on the corpses. It felt like a provocation, as the crows stared at them and fed.

 Chapter 3097 Gants Cousin

    The people on the city wall withered under the cool dark stares of the black Sun Crows.


    One of the warriors grew furious. He drew his blade and a beam of sword radiance shot out towards the Sun Crows.


    The ray shot through the air, hitting one of the crows.


    A black Sun Crow was cut in half, drenched in blood. The other crows squawked and flew into the air. After circling for a while, they landed on the ground and began to eat the corpses again.


    The man who had just killed the Sun Crow glared at the other crows with hateful eyes. "These birds make me feel uncomfortable," he said coldly.


    "They are just intelligent enough to be formidable opponents, but not intelligent enough to communicate or negotiate with," said someone else. "That''s why it''s so uncomfortable to watch them watching us back."


    "How strange! Why would the Sun Crow race be able to fight well against humans, if they are not very intelligent?" Zen asked.


    Many of the people with Zen had cultivation levels higher than his. However, they were friendlier towards him than Maxim had been. The warrior who killed the Sun Crow laughed and said to Zen, "If they were as intelligent as us, we would have been utterly destroyed a long time ago."


    After all, the crows far outnumbered them, and they had more natural abilities too¡ªlike the ability to fly and attack with their beaks and claws¡ªeven without special training. The chief advantage of the human race in this war was their wisdom and the intelligence which they used to produce powerful weapons and learn fighting abilities.


    Even the weakest of mortal humans were often far more intelligent than the members of other powerful races.


    Most of the races that had some semblance of a civilization¡ªsuch as the Sun Crows, the Ear Mice, or any of the other strange races living in the Source World¡ªhad only a few select individuals that possessed real wisdom. The vast majority of their races relied on instinct to survive.


    "That makes sense, I suppose," Zen agreed.


    There were ten of them on the city wall, including Zen and Gant.


    The atmosphere had relaxed as soon as Maxim left, and the warriors took the opportunity to converse with each other, becoming more familiar with the lives and interests of their comrades.


    The man who had just killed a Sun Crow was named Rupert Lu. He came from a famous clan, and had already signed for the qualifying test of the Oneness Guards. He came to Mountain Viewing Province for training.


    Most of the Other Shore Realm warriors had their own personal reasons for choosing to come to Mountain Viewing Province despite the ongoing danger.


    "By the way, Zen, what''s your story? Since you''ve just entered the Other Shore Realm, you could have chosen to stabilize your cultivation in the Dragon City. Why come here at all, especially during these tumultuous times?" Rupert Lu asked.


    Everyone turned to look at Zen, for they shared Rupert Lu''s curiosity. Some had concluded that Zen was simply a daredevil courting death.


    "My goals are the same as yours, Rupert. I''m also here to gain training experience," said Zen with a smile.


    A midd


    d his head. "That''s quite interesting. I''ve never heard of that particular kind of magic item before."


    "It''s true. Consider this: A premium Other Shore Treasure, if refined by the Shade Stone, would be comparable to a primary Grand Nature Treasure. That''s why the Su Clan and even the Oneness Sky Palace attach such great value to the Shade Stone."


    Gant had learned most of this lore from his uncles.


    He had been close to his cousin Eira since they were both children. She was of the bloodline of the Ore Shadow race, and a person such as herself was only born once in a thousand years. She was not suited for cultivation, but she was uniquely suited to the refinement of weapons. Since her birth, the Su Clan had forced her to refine weapons for the clan continuously. They had supplied dozens of Other Shore Treasures forged by Eira to the Oneness Sky Palace. This state of affairs had led to a rapid improvement in the status of the Su Clan in the palace.


    Gant had heard that the Su Clan was here to use Eira to refine a premium Other Shore Treasure, which was second only to the Grand Nature Treasures. This had caused Gant great anxiety. He couldn''t help but think that the refinement of that kind of treasure would require the sacrifice of Eira''s life.


    To be fair, it was not unheard of for members of the Su Clan to sacrifice their lives in order to forge weapons of incredible power and quality. Those who willingly sacrificed themselves thought their lives would be a worthy exchange for a peerless weapon that would be the culmination of all their life''s work.


    But Eira was not among the willing ones. She was being forced to give her life for the clan''s ambitions.


    "It''s difficult for me to believe that a clan would sacrifice the life of one of its own members¡ªa young girl, at that¡ªjust to refine a weapon," Zen admitted.


    Gant drew his brows together, caught between a frown and a wry smile. Of course Zen was disbelieving. He himself still couldn''t believe that his clan would actually choose to kill their precious Eira. What a cruel world they lived in!

 Chapter 3098 Invasion

    Although the human race had Eastern Emperor Taiyi and Divine Farmer behind them, they had a strong sense of crisis whenever the other races launched attacks on them.


    Such sacrifices were common for the continuation of their race.


    "But what''s the use of you coming to the Blue Cloud City?" Zen asked.


    A tinge of sadness flashed across Gant''s eyes, but before Zen could ask again, he shook his head and said, "I know it''s useless. I just want to see her."


    Zen knew that he couldn''t change Gant''s mind, so he just sighed, "After this half of a month, I''ll go with you."


    In the next few days, Zen and the others stayed on the city wall in the southern part of the city.


    Maxim had mentioned that if the Sun Crow race attacked, their horns would sound, but several days passed, and they didn''t hear the sound of the horns. Gradually, they started to let their hair down and relax.


    Alfie volunteered to keep watch since it was relatively calm anyway, and honestly, quite boring. He could handle the watch duty on his own just fine.


    Meanwhile, the others sat cross-legged and went to the Other Shore, focused on their cultivation.


    Zen also found a corner, where he sat and set up an enchanted barrier. Once everything was ready, he entered the Sea of Truth with his body.


    His soul had reached the Other Shore, but his body stayed in the sixth line of the Sea of Truth.


    It was much easier for him to swim in the Sea of Truth than sail the Truth Boat. After he crossed the sixth line, the blood-red water began to boil, but he barely felt the heat.


    It took Zen''s soul half a year to travel to the Other Shore in Dragon City, but his body took significantly less time.


    It only took him six days to travel from the sixth line to the ninth line.


    The warm water enveloped his body as he swam, and as he looked up, numerous Truth Boats appeared in front of him, most of them moored in the ninth line. It appeared that his presence had started a commotion.


    "Someone is swimming in the sea!"


    "I''ve seen this before, but nobody believed me when I told them! Now, he has even reached the ninth line!"


    "Oh my God! He is not afraid of the seawater''s erosion. How powerful is he?"


    The Truth Boats that were closest to Zen started to come nearer in an attempt to befriend him.


    "Sir, I don''t know where you are from, but our sect wants to recruit you and offer you the best treatment."


    "I''m a disciple of a powerful


    speed.


    Phew!


    When the dark clouds were around thirty miles away from the city, Zen suddenly felt an irresistible aura behind him.


    Four huge light columns appeared in the city, and within the light columns, small white swords materialized. The swords soared into the sky, interlaced with each other, and then rushed in all directions.


    "Wow! It''s the Array of Innumerable Swords. The number of divine crystals used to shoot that amount of swords at the same time must be astronomical," Rupert exclaimed.


    As an orthodox sword sect, the Oneness Sky Palace had all sorts of powerful sword arrays. The Array of Innumerable Swords was one of them.


    The number of divine crystals that were spent on such a sword array was unimaginable. More than one hundred million divine crystals were probably spent per salvo.


    The swishing sound the swords made filled the quiet of the wee hours of morning.


    The still dark sky was tinged blacker than usual.


    Countless small white swords flew, and the light they emitted lit up the whole sky.


    The white swords swiftly rushed towards the Sun Crow race.


    The white swords painted the sky in the colors of daylight, only to disperse and mix with the darkness of the Sun Crows. It appeared like a black-and-white painting, a breathtaking view, as they entangled and engulfed each other.


    Soon, the dark crows lessened significantly. Countless black dots fell from the sky like raindrops, and the corpses of the Sun Crows piled up high on the ground.


    The vast wilderness outside the Blue Cloud City was overlaid with black, and the metallic smell of blood filled the air.

 Chapter 3099 The Sharp-winged Sun Crows

    Tens of millions of swords rained down on the Sun Crows, killing most of them.


    The rest of the Sun Crows had quickly dispersed to avoid the shower of swords. They screamed in anguish at their fallen kin, and dove towards the Blue Cloud City walls, claws poised to attack.


    "Here they come!" Rupert''s eyes sparkled and a hint of a smile played on his lips. He couldn''t conceal his excitement. Turning to Zen and Gant, he instructed, "Guys, be careful!


    If you can''t resist them, hide under the city wall!"


    With a long sword in his hand, Zen quietly inspected the invaders.


    Gant, on the other hand, shuffled from one foot to the other nervously. He was keenly aware that he wasn''t strong enough to fight such a fierce battle.


    "Ca-Caw!"


    The piercing screams of the Sun Crows filled the air. While most of the flock flew directly into the Blue Cloud City, a fraction of them circled over the people defending the city wall.


    Crack!


    Rupert pulled out a long sword with two blades. The blades glistened under the sun, reflecting the black of the Sun Crows that flew above.


    "What a good sword! This is an intermediate Profound Blood Treasure, right?" Alfie asked, unable to conceal his envy.


    Rupert nodded with a complacent expression.


    Actually, he had paid a grand price to get this sword, but he wasn''t going to tell Alfie that.


    "Maple leaves!"


    Rupert''s eyes flashed as he held his long sword up in front of him with both hands. Suddenly, dots of red light materialized around him, forming the shape of a maple leaf.


    As he swung his sword, bright red maple leaves arced in the air, slicing the Sun Crows cleanly.


    "Impressive!"


    Alfie raised an eyebrow, obviously impressed. Not wanting to be outdone, he wielded his sword.


    "Coiled Snake Strike!"


    As he spoke those words, a ray of snake-shaped radiance burst forth from his sword. The snake flew into the sky, piercing through multitudes of Sun Crows.


    "Wow, it seems you''ve mastered the Coiled Snake Swordsmanship! I''m really impressed!" Rupert praised with a look of surprise on his face.


    Not wanting to look weak, the others displayed their strength through their own sword skills. After all, they had dared to come to the Mountain Viewing Province.


    Gant, however, rolled his eyes at them praising each other nonstop.


    While his cultivation level was lower than that of the others, he knew he was their equal in terms of strength. ''I wonder if they could defend themselves against even one move from Zen, '' he thought.


    In contrast, Zen calmly kept to himself.


    He stood atop the city wall, p


    l!"


    Everyone started screaming as they scrambled to find a safe spot.


    The Sharp-winged Sun Crows recognized this as their chance, and shot down in golden streaks of light.


    Swish! Swish! Swish!


    Panic filled the air as one after another person was shot in the stomach with a ray of golden light. How could they fight back?


    Gritting their teeth, Alfie, Rupert and the others determinedly pointed their swords towards the sky. However, no matter how hard they tried, they couldn''t seem to stop or even weaken their opponents. The speedy Sharp-winged Sun Crows easily dodged all of their attacks.


    Just as everyone was losing hope, a white ray of sword radiance shot out into the sky.


    Clap!


    The sword radiance accurately hit a ray of golden light, completely swallowing it. When the radiance faded, the Sun Crow was nowhere to be found.


    Before Rupert and the others even had the time to react, a second white ray of sword radiance was shot out.


    Clap!


    Another golden light was engulfed by the sword radiance.


    Dazed and confused, the people looked around to see what was causing this white sword radiance, all except Gant. Gant smiled at the wielder of the long sword. Zen stood calmly behind the group, holding up his sword.


    The Sharp-winged Sun Crows let out piercing screams. Just then, another shot towards him at incredible speed.


    Zen didn''t even wince; he calmly flicked his wrist, summoning another white ray of sword radiance.


    Once again, the golden light was extinguished within the white ray. Suddenly, the Sharp-winged Sun Crows lined up to hit Zen''s sword radiance as if they were bewitched.


    "How can this be?" Rupert''s mouth fell open in shock.


    Only Gant knew what was going on.

 Chapter 3100 Nine Edges Weapon Refining Array

    Zen wasn''t really acting too quickly, from the perspective of Alfie, Rupert, and the others.


    In fact, the speed of him launching every strike was very slow as each strike took about three seconds.


    But Zen was focused on accuracy over speed. Not a single one of his strikes missed its intended target.


    His precision was almost inhuman in its mechanical perfection. Every strike was launched in the same way, with the same force, as if Zen was a robot programmed to repeat the exact same movement over and over again.


    Everyone was surprised, and very impressed, by Zen''s astonishing aim and efficiency.


    The Sharp-winged Sun Crows fell before his strikes, one after another, like dominoes.


    In less than half a minute, Zen had killed ten Sharp-winged Sun Crows.


    They were intelligent creatures, at least as smart as the average human being.


    The Sharp-winged Sun Crows couldn''t fail to notice that they were gaining no ground. The loss of ten companions scared the remaining crows.


    They communicated with each other in a series of furious quacks.


    Finally, they seemed to come to an agreement. Quacking, the rest of the Sharp-winged Sun Crows rose, turned, and fled the scene.


    The crowd watched the crows leave. They had been panicking when the Sharp-winged Sun Crows attacked them, but as soon as they were gone, they all turned to look at Zen as though he was a freak.


    Many stared at him with awe and shock, processing what he had just done.


    From atop the city wall, armed only with his sword, he had fended off the crows.


    Every movement had been carefully calculated. Not only had he hit every crow he aimed at, none of the bodies fell within the boundaries of the wall. Zen had killed each one before it could enter the city limits.


    "Zen, how did you do that?" Alfie asked, staring wonderingly at Zen.


    Zen spun his long sword a few times, then, with a flash of light, sheathed it in his space ring. He smiled. "The important thing is to keep your focus. They''re very fast, but they can be stopped if one acts with care as well as speed."


    Sure, that sounded simple enough. But no one believed what he had just said.


    Rupert''s eyes flashed at Zen. "Just focus? Your performance just now was reminiscent of the martial skill of the Flow Sword Sect!"


    "The Flow Sword Sect?" Zen raised his eyebrows, looking thoughtful.


    After his battle with the young man named Milo, he had done extensive research on the Flow Strike.


    He had found that the Flow Strike was similar in many ways to the Emotion Closing Godly Way. If he had the chance, he thought he would like to practice the Flow Strike too.


    Rupert glared at him. "Yes! It''s said that the martial skill of the Flow Sword Sect transforms the cultivators themselves, and anything they wield, into powerful swords. Each movement is skillful and instinctive, allowing warriors to enact feats of great power and stren


    major battle. Despite this, Rupert and the others decided not to leave the wall, and they sat in meditation to cultivate.


    Gant, meanwhile, had been heartened by the news that they could leave the wall temporarily. He went to Zen. "Flag Master, I want to go and see Eira."


    He knew there was a chance that Eira was already dead, but he had vowed not to give up until he saw her for himself.


    Zen patted him on the shoulder. "Okay, we''ll go together."


    They left the wall, and traveled through the southern districts of the city. Every area they saw was a mess, littered with rubble and corpses.


    Dead crows could be seen everywhere on the ground. Their feathers littered the roofs and streets. Some of the Sharp-winged Sun Crows were actually a vivid red in color, as large as an average man; and these strong and intelligent three-legged crows were perhaps the main fighting force of the Sun Crow race.


    Fortunately, these red crows did not attack the south of the city this morning.


    Despite this, the crows had still managed to do a lot of damage. The cries of women and children could be heard among the ruins. In their determination to reach the four large arrays, the Sun Crow race had wreaked great havoc in Blue Cloud City. Not only guards but civilians had died in the battle.


    As they passed through, seeing people grieving and suffering, Zen frowned.


    Wars between different races were somehow more brutal than wars among different groups of human beings. In this kind of war, there was no mercy, no communication or empathy. There were only battles that led to death and devastation.


    As Zen and Gant had made their way to the center of the city, something strange happened. Several beams of green light suddenly appeared ahead of them, emitting a strong aura of energy.


    Gant''s face was bathed in the green glow of the light. "It''s the Nine Edges Weapon Refining Array of our Su Clan," he said definitively.

 Chapter 3101 Raphael Su

    Ahead of Zen and Gant was the silhouette of a tall, imposing wall. It was over a hundred feet high.


    As they moved closer, they saw that the wall was being patrolled by grave-looking Oneness Guards in military attire.


    Zen and Gant continued walking. But they soon found their way blocked by a Oneness Guard.


    "This is a restricted area. You are not allowed to get any closer," he said stiffly.


    Gant had no choice but to leave with Zen.


    The two of them walked alongside the high wall, trying to find another entrance. However, they were forced to conclude that the area was entirely enclosed by the wall.


    Since they kept their distance, the Oneness Guards didn''t pay any attention to them. Gant came up with the idea of using his spiritual sense for exploration. He stood motionless outside the wall and allowed his spiritual sense to expand towards the wall. But as his spiritual sense probed the top of the wall, about to go inside, a yellow light curtain rose from the surface of the wall. It blocked his spiritual sense completely. A Oneness Guard noticed what he was doing and came over to reprimand him.


    "Fine, we''ll go somewhere else," Gant said with some frustration.


    Many of the buildings near the center of the Blue Cloud City had sustained some degree of damage. Soldiers had commandeered some of the structures for their temporary use.


    Meanwhile, enterprising locals set up makeshift booths and sold daily necessities and other items.


    Zen and Gant wandered around the impromptu marketplace, taking an interest in some of the things displayed. There were long swords, fragmented runes, and unknown ores for sale.


    Gant could identify most of the items, but they were of inferior quality, so he and Zen had no interest in buying anything.


    As they turned a corner, they heard a man shouting, "Swords from the Su Clan! Swords from the Su Clan are on sale. Come take a look!"


    In the next street, there was a middle-aged man with a unibrow perched behind a booth containing three swords. The swords caught Zen''s and Gant''s attention immediately. The surface of the blades emitted a faint green light, and each sword was embedded with a magnificent gem. At a glance, they seemed to be extraordinary, peerless weapons.


    Then Gant noticed the middle-aged man, and his eyes narrowed.


    Zen noticed his expression. "Do you know that man?" he asked.


    "Yes, yes, I know him. He is... Well... He is..." Gant hemmed and hawed for a moment, and Zen waited patiently. Finally Gant admitted, "He is one of my uncles."


    Zen smiled. "That''s good, right? Since he is your uncle, then we can ask him for some news. And as an elder of your clan, he must have knowledge."


    To Zen''s confusion, Gant looked even more awkward and unhappy at his words.


    Gant clenched his teeth. In a low voice he said, "My uncle is not a reliable man. Look at the swords he''s selling."


    Not all the members of the Su Clan had attained success. This uncle of Gant''s, for instance, had been born with good talent, but instead of developing his skill,


    phael, he swung the broken weapon across his body, and it was damaged even further, splintering into several pieces.


    The other guards chimed in to support their leader. "How dare you sell that kind of stuff here! It''s fraud!"


    "It''s very bold of you to trick Oneness Guards. Bold, and foolish!"


    The third-star Oneness Guard threw the broken sword in front of Raphael and sneered, "I know you are a member of the Su Clan, so I won''t put you on the spot. I paid you three hundred thousand divine crystals yesterday. Return them to me."


    All things considered, the demand for compensation was a very reasonable request. But it was a request Raphael could not accommodate. Looking somewhat ashamed, he admitted, "I have spent all of what you paid me. I don''t have any divine crystals to pay you back."


    The three-star Oneness Guard stared at Raphael. "What is your solution, then? How do you think we should solve this problem? Do you want me to go straight to your elders? Or can you find a way to return my divine crystals?"


    Raphael smiled bitterly. During his years in this city, he had become notorious among many of its inhabitants. He would not be able to borrow or obtain three hundred thousand divine crystals any time soon. Going to the Su Clan was not an option. They had bailed him out too many times before. They would not hesitate to punish him, and in fact might outright refuse to help him, if they discovered this latest misdeed.


    Under the hard stares of the Oneness Guards, Raphael fidgeted anxiously. He regretted ending up in this dilemma. He should have gone into hiding as soon as he sold that sword yesterday. He hadn''t expected them to discover it was a fake so quickly.


    Watching from the sidelines, Zen and Gant exchanged meaningful glances. They each knew what the other was thinking. Zen nodded at Gant to indicate he agreed.


    Gant stepped forward. To the guards he said, "This man is my uncle." Then he turned to Raphael. "Uncle, I can give you three hundred thousand divine crystals right now."

 Chapter 3102 The Shade Stones Sign

    Raphael was trying to figure out a way out of his dilemma, but there was simply no way he could get his hands on so many divine crystals so quickly.


    When Gant spoke up, Raphael was greatly surprised. He gave his nephew a strange glance. "First, why would you help me? And also, how did you get your hands on that amount of divine crystals?" he asked.


    As far as Raphael knew, Gant''s father had refused to provide his son with financial support after they fought over Gant''s plans to go to the Dragon City.


    Gant looked coldly at his uncle. "Where I got the divine crystals is none of your business. As for why I''ll help you, I have just one request. Tell me about Eira," he said bluntly. "And if you don''t, I''ll leave you to the dubious mercies of these Oneness Guards."


    The Oneness Guards, listening to Gant and Raphael, felt even more disdain for the fraudulent sword-seller. They wondered how such a man could be part of the Su Clan. At any rate, the Su Clan or not, they would make him suffer if he declined his nephew''s offer and failed to give them their divine crystals.


    Raphael was hesitant, but he knew he had no other choice. With some reluctance he agreed to Gant''s terms.


    He studied Gant with trepidation, wondering if he really had hundreds of thousands of divine crystals on hand.


    Gant turned to Zen. "Flag Master, please!"


    Zen extended his hand, turning up his palm. Light flashed from his space ring. In a moment, a pile of divine crystals appeared in his hand.


    The Oneness Guards collected them, gave Raphael a last mocking sneer, then turned and left them alone.


    As soon as the Oneness Guards were gone, color returned to Raphael''s deathly pale face. What a close call! He shuddered to think what would have happened if Gant hadn''t bailed him out.


    Gant had no time for further distractions. He asked, "Well? Where is Eira? Is she all right?"


    Raphael sighed and seemed to be deep in thought. "The truth is that she is very weak. She hasn''t been able to recover any strength and has been in a coma because too much of her blood has been drained..."


    "How could they do that?" Gant murmured. A vision of Eira''s pale, bloodless face came to him, and his own face darkened. His heart ached.


    "I''m afraid they won''t stop until they''ve squeezed everything they can out of Eira," said Raphael gloomily.


    The weapon refiners of the Su Clan, famous for their skills, were also notorious for being rather cold-blooded in exercising those skills. The refinement of legendary weapons often required a higher price than just effort and diligence. Raphael was one of the exceptions¡ªhe did not approve of the lengths to which the Su Clan


    can regard it as a timer. Think of it as a grain of sand falling from the sand clock... it is a sign of the degradation of order into chaos."


    "Can you be more specific?" Zen sounded a bit frustrated.


    "No."


    "Well, then..."


    Zen sighed. It wasn''t the first time that No. 9527 said something mysterious and indecipherable.


    He walked with Gant and Raphael past the stone, and around the huge Nine Edges Weapon Refining Array. Eventually, they reached a simple building.


    Raphael entered the building first. He emerged a short while later, waving for Zen and Gant to come closer. "Remember, you must leave as soon as you have seen Eira. If your father finds out about this, all of us will be in big trouble."


    Gant and Zen quietly slipped inside. Raphael led them to a room with a small blood-red array in one corner. A girl dressed in white lay at the center of the array.


    The young girl was quite pretty. But her lovely face was white as a sheet, and her breathing was slow and shallow. It was obvious that she had already lost too much blood.


    The red array flashed, and more drops of blood oozed out of the young girl''s body.


    "Eira!"


    The sight of Eira, so pale and weak, sent a pang of pain through Gant. He rushed forward as though to pull her to safety.


    Raphael seized him by the arm. "Stop it!" he hissed. "Are you insane?"


    Gant was furious. "They are the ones who are insane! Eira is dying, and still they drain her of more blood!" he shouted. He tried to shake his arm free, but Raphael maintained his grip.


    "You know there''s nothing I can do! If you want to save her, good luck persuading your father to do so! After all, you don''t have the ability to remove her from the array either... or do you?" Raphael asked. He met his nephew''s eyes.

 Chapter 3103 A Family Conflict

    Gant was baffled upon hearing Raphael''s words.


    Here, many Su Clan members and Oneness Guards heavily guarded the area by keeping their eyes and ears open.


    So what if he found Eira? He could barely say a word to her, let alone take her away.


    "After Eira was born, her parents died. I know she leads a miserable life and I feel sorry for her. But there''s nothing I can do." Raphael let out a sigh and said, "You''d better leave first. Yesterday you survived the Sun Crow race''s attack in Blue Cloud City. You ought to get as much rest as you can."


    As Gant''s father ascended to the position of the Su Clan master, he employed strict rules which demanded that all Su Clan members must prioritize the clan above all else with great sacrifice.


    However, the members were not in favor of Eira dying unless there was no other way. After all, she was born with the purest blood of the Su Clan.


    "But..."


    There was nothing left to do. Gant felt hopeless and couldn''t accept that this was the fate that awaited Eira.


    At that moment, the door was flung open.


    Three people walked in.


    They were dressed in white clothing that was adorned with the patterns of flame and sword on its shoulders¡ªthey were from the Su Clan.


    A middle-aged man led the group. His features included long eyebrows and big, brown eyes which he now used to glance around the room with a piercingly cold gaze.


    The three people were surprised to find out that they weren''t alone in the room. As soon as the middle-aged man caught a glimpse of Raphael, he called out to him, "Raphael? What are you doing here? I thought you..."


    Before he could finish his words, the middle-aged man noticed Gant beside Raphael. His eyes were momentarily full of confusion before being replaced by the fierceness. He shouted, "Gant! What are you doing here?"


    The middle-aged man was Cailen Su, Gant''s father.


    Previously, Gant was frightened whenever he had to be around his father.


    However, at this moment, he straightened his neck and exclaimed fearlessly, "I''m here to take Eira away! Father, there''s no need for her to sacrifice her own life for the Su Clan."


    Gant had been at odds with his father ever since he decided to go to the Dragon City. Cailen Su had decided to take Gant home and subject him to strict discipline after successfully refining the Shade Stone. He never expected Gant to come to the Blue Cloud City and defy him once more.


    "Hmmm... So you believ


    ''re a part of, you''re asking for death!"


    With that, scorching power emitted from his body. He had summoned his Other Shore Token¡ªthe Demonic Fire Dragon Scale of Stage Seven.


    As the sweltering power dispersed, everyone felt as though their faces had suffered severe burns.


    Gant''s two uncles, Ruben Su and Ableson Su, stepped back.


    The building was meant to be temporary and so its foundation wasn''t strong enough to withstand the heat.


    With a loud crackle, the building walls began to collapse.


    The Oneness Guards, who were outside the building, heard this. Deciding to investigate, they went in and saw what was happening.


    Zen stood still, his pupils slightly contracting.


    Cailen Su was in the seventh stage of the Other Shore Realm, which meant that even if Zen went all out, he''d just barely be able to survive.


    But Zen had no intention of going all out. This was never what he intended upon escorting Gant. Cailen Su was Gant''s father after all.


    Gant, who had already passed through the blood red array, turned around and stopped in front of Zen. "Father," he addressed Cailen Su, "if you wish to kill me, your insignificant son, then do it. But please, don''t attack my Flag Master!"


    Gant was thankful to Zen for taking care of him during their long journey towards the Blue Cloud City. Now, he wanted to return the favor by being the protector.


    Cailen''s eyes twitched as he stared at his son standing before him.


    He never intended on killing Gant, even if he never lived up to his standards.


    The room began to gradually cool down. Waving his hands furiously, Cailen Su shouted, "Get out!"

 Chapter 3104 A Hopeless Choice

    Bang!


    The door banged shut tightly.


    The Oneness Guards threw Zen, Gant, and Raphael out.


    "Why was I kicked out?" Raphael said, a bitter smile on his face.


    Gant stood still, looking desperate.


    "Gant, you don''t have to worry. They won''t be so cruel to Eira. Besides, her bloodline is so rare that they won''t want to lose her," Raphael said in an attempt to comfort Gant.


    Gant glared at Raphael before retorting, "Do you think my father is not heartless enough to Eira? Look at her! She looks like she''s dying!"


    Raphael frowned as he said, "Gant, I have to remind you that you and Eira are cousins. You can''t marry her."


    "What nonsense are you talking about?" Gant''s expression changed.


    "I was just reminding you," Raphael said, chuckling.


    Zen smiled and shook his head at their conversation. "We must consider everything carefully before making a decision. Besides, your uncle is right. Since Eira''s bloodline is so special and valuable, they won''t let her die."


    The array not only extracted Eira''s blood, but also kept replenishing her blood vitality. As long as her blood vitality was replenished in time, the array would not kill her.


    The Oneness Guards and the Su Clan had tried their best to detain her. So it was impossible for the three of them to take her away, especially since they didn''t have a proper excuse to do so.


    Gant believed Zen, but he didn''t think they were able to take his cousin away.


    Gant and Zen were just about to leave


    when a roar resounded from high above them.


    Zen looked up to see a faint shadow appear in the air above the Blue Cloud City.


    He frowned at the sight.


    The Cage of Heaven and Earth had covered the entirety of the Mountain Viewing Province. How could anyone in the Mountain Viewing Province use the Grand Teleportation?


    Zen noticed that the shadow was gradually condensing under his gaze. Two wings, each a hundred feet wide, spread out, revealing a half-naked woman at their center.


    The woman''s eyes were closed, as if she was not awake, and her body emitted a faint golden light.


    She flapped her wings gently and they wrapped up her entire body within them. The golden light then suddenly shot out in four directions.


    "The directions of the four golden lights!" Zen''s eyes widened.


    Even Cailen, who had just let Zen


    er, what should we do now?"


    "Let''s stay here and wait," Zen replied.


    Inside the Nine Edges Weapon Refining Array


    Everyone, including Cailen, saw the warriors gathering in the center of the city.


    "What should we do now?" asked a weapon refiner from the Oneness Sky Palace.


    "We are running out of time!" said Ruben as he looked at the Shade Stone.


    The Shade Stone was so solid, it couldn''t be destroyed no matter how many thousands or even tens of thousands of divine megatons of force hit it.


    But the blood of the Su Clan members could get into it. Only by using the blood as a guide and cooperating with the Nine Edges Weapon Refining Array could they mold the Shade Stone into whatever shape they wanted.


    They also needed time to mold the stone into a different shape, and right now, that was what they didn''t have.


    "There is only one way," said Cailen, his eyebrows furrowed.


    "What''s that?" Ableson asked.


    "The Shade Stone has now absorbed enough blood. Let''s try our best to activate the Nine Edges Weapon Refining Array to melt the stone and take it away from here," Cailen said.


    At this, Ruben frowned and said, "But in this case, the quality of the Shade Stone will decrease."


    "It''s better than the Sun Crow race taking the stone," retorted Cailen.


    This was their last resort, and they were not willing to do it unless there was no other option.


    Cailen had just made this decision when a dark cloud appeared a hundred miles from the Blue Cloud City. It was filled with countless red light dots.

 Chapter 3105 Back Against The Wall

    The enemies mobilized in the horizon as the sky darkened. It seemed as though a raging storm was preparing to rain terror upon the people below.


    The weapon refiners from the Su Clan and the Oneness Sky Palace looked on gloomily.


    The attack from the Sun Crow race left them no time to take a break.


    "Why? It is just a piece of Shade Stone! What the hell do they want it for?" A weapon refiner complained angrily.


    The Shade Stone was indeed a rare material for weapon refining in the Source World, since it only appeared once in a while.


    It was out of sheer luck that it chose to appear in the Blue Cloud City of Mountain Viewing Province this time.


    It was said that if any Other Shore Treasure was refined with a Shade Stone, the resulting power would be comparable to that of a primary Grand Nature Treasure. However, ultimately, it was still but an Other Shore Treasure.


    It was really hard to grasp why the Sun Crow race was going through extreme lengths to get it.


    "We mustn''t let them get what they want. If we hesitate, there will be nothing but trouble for us. Now is the time to melt the Shade Stone!" Cailen cried valiantly, determination written all over his face.


    While everyone glanced at each other uncertainly, they knew that the Sun Crow race gathering in the distance posed an overwhelming threat. Begrudgingly, they agreed to follow Cailen''s orders.


    "Well, at this point, it''s our only choice..."


    "I agree!"


    "Let''s do what Master Cailen says..."


    The weapon refiners of the Su Clan and those from the Oneness Sky Palace gradually came to an agreement.


    Having reached a conclusion, everyone returned to their posts.


    Then, shutting his eyes in concentration, Cailen activated the Nine Edges Weapon Refining Array. Suddenly, the Array started emitting a dazzling light.


    In order to melt the Shade Stone, they needed the blood power of Eira.


    The Shade Stone needed to be soaked in this blood power.


    The Shade Stone, which was originally square in shape, gradually transformed. The surface of the Shade Stone started to bubble, buckling under the influence of the blood power. Finally, it began to melt.


    The melting started from the edges of the cube. As the sharp corners began to ebb away, the Shade Stone had completely transformed into a perfect globe.


    Standing in the center of the Nine Edges Weapon Refining Array, Cailen finally opened his eyes to take a glance. "The blood power of Eira..." he said anxiously, "is not enough yet!"


    Upon hearing this, the people of the Su Clan all frowned slightly.


    At this point, Eir


    Following Maxim, Zen and Gant headed towards the right side of the city wall. There, they met Rupert, Alfie and others.


    Once their eyes met, they exchanged bitter smiles. Very soon, this place would be soaked in blood, and they knew it. It was a heaving rock resting on everyone''s stomach. Everyone felt this heavy burden weigh down on their backs.


    "I don''t know why the Sun Crow race is acting like this... But for us, the most important thing right now is to survive," said Maxim in a grave tone.


    Obviously, he was also under great pressure.


    Maxim turned to Zen and Gant, smiling wistfully. "If the Sun Crow race weren''t all over this place, I would let you go. But unfortunately... that isn''t the case."


    Hearing Maxim''s words, Alfie and Rupert exchanged funny looks. No one wanted to say it aloud in front of Zen, but they knew that even if everyone else died, he''d probably be the sole survivor.


    Meanwhile, the people of Blue Cloud City formed a circle around its center.


    The outermost layer of the circle consisted of the women, elderly, and children, who had gathered there out of survival instinct.


    The ones in the innermost part of the circle were the important Oneness Guards and weapon refiners.


    On the city wall stood the one-star and two-star Oneness Guards. Lastly, the recruited soldiers were stationed right outside the wall; among them was Zen.


    Everyone held their breath, anxious at what was to come. Then, all at once, the enemies launched their attack. Sun Crows flooded into the city from all directions.


    From afar, they looked like steadily approaching dots in the distance. Gritting their teeth and brandishing their swords, everyone was prepared to fight for their lives.

 Chapter 3106 Help

    The flocks of Sun Crows approached from all sides. They surrounded Blue Cloud City like a vast, dark colored tide.


    The few buildings in the city stood like rocks visible on the surface of the sea. They crumbled as the enemy flew over them, submerged in the tide of Sun Crows.


    "They are coming!"


    Zen said, holding his sword ready. Everyone was tense, waiting for the battle to start.


    The various Other Shore Tokens released all kinds of energy, which vibrated and hummed in the air.


    The first to fall to the Sun Crows were the people who stood in the outermost layer.


    Some among these people were True Gods and Other Shore Realm warriors. Yet their strength was below that of the soldiers in the inner circle, and they were soon outmatched by the sheer numbers of the Sun Crows. They put up only a brief resistance before they were overwhelmed.


    The sharp, acrid smell of blood filled the air. The sounds of screams, cries, and calls for help echoed all around them, punctuated by the quacks and squawks of the crows.


    Some of the soldiers were upset, and wanted to spread out to try to help the people under attack. But their orders were clear.


    "Everyone, stay put!"


    The strongest guards had already gathered in the central region and formed an array, their strongest line of resistance against the Sun Crows. If any soldier left without permission, the array would be broken.


    And so no one moved an inch, although their fists clenched and their hearts wept at the tragedy unfolding around them.


    These were battle-hardened soldiers. They were used to seeing death and destruction. Yet it was a terrible tragedy to see their own kind being torn into pieces by a different race.


    The crows were brutal and vicious in their attack. They slaughtered the people in their path by ripping them to shreds, and eating the torn pieces of their victims. Inexorably, the legions of crows drew closer and closer to the central region.


    When the crows were within striking range, a voice shouted from the high wall. "Attack!"


    There was a loud swish as soldiers swung their swords in unison.


    Countless rows of long swords shone, emitting waves of light and energy.


    It was finally time for the warriors to unleash their theurgies.


    The colorful radiance of the swords radiated brightly, spreading outwards towards the crows.


    The power emanating from everyone was incomparable. The huge gathering of people of the Other Shore Realm meant that all their various powers had been centralized into one massive, unstoppable force.


    As the light reached the first wave of Sun Crows, the crows were killed and torn apart. Every crow that rushed forward to take the place of the fallen met with the same fate.


    The sight of the dead crows


    e ground.


    Bright golden feathers fluttered in the air around him. Maxim almost fell to his knees. He was still in shock.


    He turned and found Zen stood there, holding a long sword, wearing a faint smile on his face.


    "Zen?" In his incredulity, Maxim forgot that there was still a fierce battle going on around him. He asked, "Zen, was that you? Did you kill the crows attacking me?"


    "You can''t fight them off alone. Better if we work together," Zen said.


    "That''s not what I mean. I mean..."


    Maxim trailed off, unsure of what to say. He simply couldn''t believe that a young man in the first stage of the Other Shore Realm had just managed to kill several Sharp-winged Sun Crows with seeming ease. Even Maxim himself had a hard time dealing with the crows right now.


    Unbidden, he recalled the strange events of yesterday.


    During the last attack of the Sun Crow army, many people and guards had been killed.


    But of the people he had brought here from the Grand River Fortress, none had died. He had considered that there might be one or two powerful people among that group.


    Until now, the possibility that it might be Zen had never occurred to Maxim. Zen had the lowest cultivation base. He couldn''t have developed such abilities in such a brief period of time.


    "Maybe you can ask your questions later," Zen said, interrupting Maxim''s thoughts. The two of them looked up at the endless flocks of crows still flooding into the sky over the city.


    Zen had been adjusting his style of attack to be more efficient against these unusual enemies. These Sun Crows were strong and fast, but they were also unarmored, and could be stopped by a well-aimed strike. So Zen compressed his powers and lowered the range of his attacks while increasing their strength and accuracy. He killed virtually every crow he targeted.

 Chapter 3107 Blood Sun Crows

    Even as he was preoccupied with killing the Sharp-winged Sun Crows, Maxim couldn''t help but observe Zen''s movements.


    The longer he watched Zen, the more astonished he became.


    Even though it looked like he was fighting casually, Zen''s attacks spared no target.


    Even more shocking was the fact that while Zen was dealing with his own opponents, he managed to look after Rupert, Alfie and some others as well! If any of them missed a target and a Sun Crow managed to break through the defense line, Zen would calmly strike it down before it was able to hurt anyone.


    To test his theory, Maxim intentionally let some Sun Crows break through. Just as the crows would make it past the defense line, in the blink of an eye, a sword radiance from Zen''s direction would instantly slash through them.


    ''I can''t believe this!'' Maxim shook his head in awe.


    He felt a wave of shame come crashing down on him, as he never expected a man in the first stage of the Other Shore Realm would render him, an esteemed Oneness Guard, inferior. He knew that the others would laugh their heads off if they knew how he felt, but that didn''t stop the inferiority complex from clawing at his heart.


    Despite of this, Maxim also had an overwhelming feeling of hope knowing Zen was on their side.


    With Zen, the others could focus on using their most powerful theurgies without having to worry about their own safety. Reassured of their safety, Maxim proceeded to concentrate on channeling his power to defeat the Sun Crow race.


    With this chemistry, the area they were guarding was practically invincible.


    However, the situation of the other areas wasn''t as good.


    The casualties began to pile up as more and more Sharp-winged Sun Crows flocked towards the city. Although more Oneness Guards showed up to join the fight, the situation was not in the human race''s favor.


    "Blood Sun Crows are coming!"


    "Retreat! Retreat!"


    "Let Oneness Guards deal with them!"


    Thousands of scarlet-colored crows filled the skies.


    The Blood Sun Crows were covered with flame-like feathers which were stronger than iron. There was no way ordinary warriors would be able to deal a force such as this!


    As the Blood Sun Crows circled the sky preparing to attack, all the Oneness Guards mobilized. Now was the real battle between the two parties'' elite warriors.


    Three strong Blood Su


    e feeling lingered in his heart. Suddenly, a dazzling white light exploded above his head, temporarily blinding him. The energy released by it left him dazed and confused.


    ''Who did it?


    One of my colleagues?


    A two-star Oneness Guard or a three-star one?'' Maxim thought to himself.


    When his vision and wits returned and the light faded, he realized that the Blood Sun Crow he was about to strike was headless, blood messily spurting out of its neck. The crow that once seemed so menacing now lay lifeless on the ground.


    Frightened, the other two Blood Sun Crows nervously flapped their wings backwards. Even nonhuman creatures such as them could feel fear.


    When Maxim whipped his head around to see who saved him, he was stunned. "What? It''s you again..."


    This marked the second time Zen had saved his life in such a short amount of time. Maxim wanted to thank him, yet was too embarrassed. He was at a loss for words.


    Having narrowly escaped death again, he didn''t know whether to laugh or cry, or both. Briefly, he reflected on how he had ordered Zen to leave that time he visited the Grand River Fortress to pick up his followers. If Zen had obeyed him back then, Maxim would have been dead by now.


    "You were willing to die with that animal? Tsk, tsk," Zen taunted playfully with a shake of his head.


    As he walked towards Maxim, layers upon layers of Ways-blending Energy flashed on the surface of the sword in his hand.


    Rupert, Alfie, and the others who witnessed Zen''s strike just now all dropped their jaws, flabbergasted at what just happened.

 Chapter 3108 Abandon The City

    The warriors hadn''t been so surprised even when they had witnessed Zen kill the Sharp-winged Sun Crows.


    The Sharp-winged Sun Crows didn''t possess strong defense abilities. Their strong suit was their fast movement and that they were difficult to track.


    Besides, Zen had the Flow Strike. Once he grasped a few methods, he had been able to kill the birds. The other warriors understood that.


    But now, Zen was facing the Blood Sun Crows.


    Even Other Shore Realm warriors could not break the defense of the Blood Sun Crows. Only Oneness Guards could take them head-on.


    Even Maxim was frustrated under the siege of the three Blood Sun Crows.


    However, Zen had just cut off a Blood Sun Crow''s head in one strike, which meant that he possessed as many divine megatons of force as a one-star Oneness Guard did. The other warriors suspected that Zen might be even stronger than a one-star Oneness Guard.


    ''Where did Dragon City get such a powerful warrior? Even a Flag Master is stronger than a one-star Oneness Guard. Has Dragon City become this powerful?'' they wondered.


    Gant was the only one among them who kept his calm.


    He knew that Zen wasn''t showing his full strength yet.


    He wasn''t sure how powerful Zen actually was. But the strike that Zen had let loose outside the Dragon City had impressed Gant.


    The remaining two Blood Sun Crows were cawing to each other, talking in their own language.


    Nobody knew what they were talking about.


    Their wings unfurled suddenly, the force they emitted surging wildly.


    Two identical Other Shore Tokens appeared on their heads. They were white feathers and gave them an aura of holiness.


    "Are those their Other Shore Tokens?" Zen was slightly stunned.


    "Yes, they are feathers from the Sunset Temple," Maxim said, nodding.


    "Why are their Other Shore Tokens exactly the same?" Zen noticed that a similar white feather had surfaced on the head of each Blood Sun Crow not far away.


    "Since they have occupied the Sunset Temple, they distributed all the Other Shore Tokens in the temple to their race,"


    Maxim patiently explained to Zen, surprised that Zen didn''t know such basic knowledge.


    "The Sunset Temple has been occupied by the Sun Crow race?"


    Upon learning this, Zen wanted to ask if the Oneness Sky Palace also had a temple.


    But the two Blood Sun Crows were in no mood to let him ask


    of the high wall and flew south.


    He recited loudly, "The spring sunshine is as bright as ever. We''re here to worship the Eastern Emperor. The host touches the jade on his sword. The jade pieces clink like a singer."


    He had used "Nine Songs," a poem extolling the virtues of Eastern Emperor Taiyi.


    All the Oneness Guards knew this poem.


    The other guards and soldiers, on hearing his recitation, swelled with pride and began to recite the poem, their voice firm and loud.


    "The spring sunshine is as bright as ever. We''re here to worship the Eastern Emperor. The host touches the jade on his sword. The jade pieces clink like a singer. The grass mattress has jade on its corners. The fragrance of the flowers makes everything sweeter."


    The people were like an arrow, moving south.


    It was risky to deploy the army when the two races were fighting so fiercely. One slip could lead to a heavy loss.


    Satchel Yan kept boosting the morale of the soldiers and at the same time, managed to artfully make the army retreat.


    Cailen was shocked at his performance, thinking that Satchel Yan had great talents as a leader.


    Maxim''s army base faced the south.


    Once Zen and Maxim worked together to get rid of the two Blood Sun Crows, they heard an order sounding from within the high wall. Zen glanced at Gant, and then they looked up at the same time.


    Following Satchel Yan''s lead, Sebert Yan and the weapon refiners also flew out of the city. Gant recognized his father and spotted Eira, who was now on Ableson''s back. But he was not sure if she was alive or dead.

 Chapter 3109 Blockers

    When Satchel burst out to lead the charge, the Sun Crow race responded with action of their own.


    The Sun Crows, which tried to surround them, now adjusted their strategy to flock even more to the south.


    An unstoppable amount of them, especially Blood Sun Crows formed an impenetrable wall to the south to hold them in, making certain they would not escape.


    Satchel''s eyes turned blood red as he saw this. He clapped his hands and yelled at the top of his lungs, "Sword!"


    A menacing dark thunder cloud appeared above his head. This was his Other Shore Token!


    "Crack..."


    Lightning flashed in brilliant white light and a thunderbolt exploded in sparks and flames in front of Satchel.


    When the light faded and the air had cleared, a thunderous sword stood before him in all its glory.


    "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."


    The sword began to spin wildly, whipping the air around it.


    As the gigantic sword spun wilder and wilder, the thunder cloud began to rage, spewing out strikes of lightning into it.


    Just then some of the Blood Sun Crows and Sharp-winged Sun Crows attempted to rush at Satchel and prevent him from activating his omnipotent skill.


    But they had no chance of getting near him. They were still several hundred feet away from Satchel when they were all burnt to ashes by violent bolts of lightning shot from the cloud above his head.


    "So powerful..."


    Zen muttered to himself, amazed by the scene.


    He saw that Satchel was a five-star Oneness Guard. According to the division of these super forces, Timotheus should be at the same level as Satchel, and Emily should be above them both.


    But now, it seemed the forces shown by Timotheus and Emily were nowhere near the power Satchel was displaying.


    As a sect master, Emily should be stronger than Satchel. However, she had been trapped at the bottom of the chaos for much too long and lacked divine crystals, this made it truly difficult for her to unleash the full potential of her Other Shore Token.


    "Go!"


    Satchel gently pushed the giant sword in his hand.


    "Crack..."


    The giant, viciously spinning sword, wrapped almost completely with thunderbolts, surged forward at blinding pace.


    As it flew, the thunderbolts held within shot out all over th


    growing within him.


    Zen didn''t know what to do. They could only continue on forward and see what fate had lined up for them.


    With Satchel clearing the Sun Crows above, everyone was able to advance much faster than before.


    Once the team had been stretched out, their speed only increased more. They could fly more freely and vigorously now.


    It was now the Sun Crows following up behind them, rather than the other way around as before.


    They had flown for about 2 hours when a mountain revealed itself in front of them.


    It was the junction between the Falling Fox Mountain and Blue Plain, known as the Falling Fox Ridge.


    A beam of pale golden light flashed up from the deep of the ridge as they approached.


    Seeing the peculiar nature of this, Satchel and Sebert frowned. Satchel yelled, "Stop!" He sensed something ominous ahead.


    The crowd was left confused by his command, as this was a great opportunity for them to escape in a flash. What was he thinking?


    Splash...


    The Sun Crows in the sky dispersed and formed a giant ring, surrounding the crowd.


    The golden light reflecting from the Falling Fox Ridge shone brighter and brighter. From the beaming golden light, several grey golden feathers fluttered with the wind.


    Three pairs of wide golden wings rose slowly from the Falling Fox Ridge.


    Between the wings were three beautiful women. They looked very much like the two-winged woman who had destroyed the Arrays of Innumerable Swords, but she wasn''t here...

 Chapter 3110 Rushing Out Of The Encirclement

    The three winged women flew over slowly with unusually sweet smiles plastered on their faces.


    The woman that led them was naked, covered only by dazzling golden light. If not for a pair of wings that were each more than 100 feet wide, she would be an extraordinary beauty.


    "Your trip has ended," she said.


    Her voice was like silk, sweet and mesmerizing.


    Satchel stood midair. He managed to maintain a calm composure despite his surprise. "I didn''t expect that powerful nonhuman creatures from the Divine Lair like you would come this time."


    "Surprised?" the woman smiled, not giving anything away.


    "Of course. Under normal circumstances, you wouldn''t give notice to a single Shade Stone, right? Master Elizabeth even used her Illusory Projection to destroy the Arrays of Innumerable Swords from thousands of miles away. May I ask why?" Satchel asked.


    The Oneness Sky Palace had the ability to fight against the Sun Crow race.


    The Mountain Viewing Province, which was not very important to them, only saw the Grand River Fortress erected to guard the place and train the Oneness Guards simultaneously.


    Although the Shade Stone had immeasurable value, it wasn''t enough to seriously interest the Sun Crow race.


    "The Shade Stone is one of a kind. We will stop at nothing to acquire it," the woman replied with a smile. "I don''t want to kill all these people. Hand over the Shade Stone, and I''ll let you leave."


    Everyone felt a surge of anxiety upon hearing her words.


    All they wanted was to survive and return to the Grand River Fortress.


    Moreover, even if the Shade Stone could be sent to the Grand River Fortress, it had nothing to do with the Oneness Guards and soldiers at the bottom of society.


    At most, they would get some merit points.


    If they didn''t hand over the Shade Stone, their lives would likely end here.


    Satchel, however, merely returned a smile and replied, "You know it''s futile to request such a thing. When we accept a task, we either complete it or die trying."


    "Ah, so it''s okay for these people to die with you?" th


    w, even demons that weren''t smart enough would feel fear begin to sink in.


    The Blood Sun Crows scrambled into a panic. By then, Zen had already thrust out his sword.


    "The Six Annihilation Strike!"


    From his sword blade shot out a ray of arc-shaped sword radiance.


    Zen''s calculation was accurate. The sword radiance struck the Blood Sun Crows'' heads, which exploded near instantaneously.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    The Six Annihilation Strike had completely destroyed not only the Blood Sun Crows'' heads but also their souls.


    The dazzling light and sudden horrifying momentum were enough to catch the Oneness Guards'' attention from a distance. They all looked at Zen in confusion.


    They could only wonder for so long, however, as Blood Sun Crows continued to ambush them.


    After killing several more, Zen and Gant successfully scared off the Blood Sun Crows. The two rushed out of the encirclement seamlessly as their previous attackers scurried away in fright.


    The moment they flew into the mountain, they heard a terrifying explosion.


    Up in the sky was a golden flame. As it descended, mountains and their trees and rocks were burned off. As the heat waves came closer to the ground, many people''s faces heated up.


    "Over there!"


    Sebert and a woman with wings battled in the sky.


    At the same time, another woman chased after Cailen and the weapon refiners.

 Chapter 3111 One Person Short

    Sebert and Satchel had higher cultivation bases compared to the weapon refiners from Su Clan and Oneness Sky Palace.


    The weapon refiners were as strong as a one-star or two-star Oneness Guard, while their enemy was a powerful nonhuman creature that came from the Divine Lair of the Sun Crow race, and she was more powerful than a five-star Oneness Guard!


    It was apparent that none of Cailen''s group was a match for the woman. It would be like a bunch of babies fighting against a full-grown woman.


    The woman''s body was enveloped with golden flames that burned all in their path but left her unharmed. Her wings quivered behind her and touched a weapon refiner, and almost immediately, the man burst into flames.


    Puff!


    The weapon refiner''s shrill screams of pain dissolved into groans until there was nothing left of him but ashes.


    The other members of the Su Clan were terrified and helpless, but Sebert and Satchel were entangled in other battles. How were they going to fight against this powerful woman by themselves?


    The woman sneered at their pitiful looks and said, "You are just weak weapon refiners. Do you want to run away from me? Dream on!"


    She watched them shiver in terror and grinned wider.


    "Hand the Shade Stone over, and I might still spare your lives.


    Otherwise, you will die a miserable death."


    Her voice sounded like the ringing of tiny bells, haunting and beautiful. "Gather around me! Form the array!"


    shouted Cailen with urgency, and his companions hurried to do as he said.


    He knew well that they wouldn''t be able to escape, so he gave up that option quickly.


    Every member of the Su Clan was a weapon refiner. Besides the Nine Edges Weapon Refining Array, they had also mastered another array ¡ª the Nine Edges Heaven Slaughtering Array.


    This array could maximize the power of the weapons, similar to the Imperial Sword Seal in some way. The power of the array depended on the weapons used by the people who were forming the array, and it was well-known that every weapon refiner possessed excellent weapons themselves, so the power of their array was nothing to be trifled with.


    Whoosh!


    Cailen turned his hand over, and an array plate emerged in his palm out of nowhere.


    He threw it into the air, and nine huge beams of light charged into the sky where countless densely arranged runes began to appear among the beams of light.


    "Take your positions! Draw your swords!"


    Cailen''s orders resounded on the battlefield like a beacon for his clanmates, who rallied around him.


    The weapon refiners of the Oneness Sky Palace had been in charge of the Nine Edges Weapon Refining Array before, which was similar to the Nine Edges Heaven Slaughtering Array. Each of them quickly entered a beam of light too and pulled out their swords. The beams of light immediately shone brilliantly, as they responded to the power of the swords, and the power of the array increased gre


    His reputation in the Su Clan was ruined, but he could still help now if he could just fill the gap for them. Unfortunately, they had lost track of him after they went out of Blue Cloud City.


    Cailen chose not to answer his men. Instead, he focused on the shield and abruptly flipped the array plate when they had defended for a while. As the green shield turned, numerous green swords emerged and shot towards the woman.


    But the great array they formed lacked one person, and thus, both its defenses and attacks were weaker.


    The woman seemed to know this as well, as she waited calmly for the attack that she didn''t even bother to dodge. She just wrapped her golden wings around her body, which were strong enough to block the green swords with ease.


    When the attack was over, she shook off her wings as if the attack just tickled her, and not even a single scratch graced her skin. Her wings were barely damaged as well.


    Zen and Gant had been hiding in a bush some distance away because the divine flames had burned almost all stones and trees that were near the place. A large area of black earth was left, and only the small patch of bush survived from the catastrophe.


    "The Nine Edges Heaven Slaughtering Array should be formed by nine people, but they are one person short. Its power is greatly weakened. Let me go and help them!"


    Gant pleaded.


    He knew that he was as weak as an ant in front of the powerful woman, but he was still a member of the Su Clan. He was familiar with this array, and he would be able to fill in the gap.


    If he could join them, the power of the array would be doubled!


    He knew Eira was still unconscious somewhere under the array, and his father and his uncles were also there.


    He and his father Cailen might be at odds at the moment, but they were still family. It was impossible for Gant not to worry about him, especially now, when his help could make the difference between life and death.

 Chapter 3112 The Fireball

    Zen could understand the reason behind Gant''s growing anxiety.


    Although the eight weapon refiners were formidable, they were still no match for the woman with wings.


    It was almost impossible for Gant and Zen to move past the woman and reach the array relying on their current strength.


    Analyzing the situation, Zen realized the Nine Edges Heaven Slaughtering Array would prove insufficient to kill the woman even if Gant joined the eight weapon refiners and combined their strength with his.


    "Flag Master, please..." Gant pleaded again.


    "If we go there, you might get killed along with them. Aren''t you afraid of death?" Zen asked as he narrowed his gaze.


    Gant stood his ground and said, "I''m not afraid of death. If I watch them die in front of me, then my life will be more painful than death itself."


    Upon hearing this, Zen raised his eyebrows slightly.


    He realized he would have made the same choice if their roles were reversed.


    "Okay, I''ll help you."


    Zen was capable of holding his own against the woman, and he even had a few methods up his sleeve on escaping.


    However, he was unable to take Gant with him then. Therefore, he wanted to make sure if Gant had the resolve to face the woman without fearing death.


    Observing Gant''s unwavering determination, Zen decided to help him. He reached for Gant''s shoulders with his hands and gripped them firmly.


    Before Gant could react, he felt a strong surge of power flowing from Zen''s hands. He looked down and watched the ground beneath his feet shrink as they ascended to the sky.


    Whoosh!


    The two of them flew across the sky like a flash of light and rushed towards the hillside.


    Meanwhile, the woman with wings and the eight weapon refiners were in a stalemate. Upon seeing the flash of light, both sides stood stunned and paused to stare at it to make out what that was.


    "Who is that?"


    "It''s Gant! What is he doing?"


    "He wants to come to us and enter the Nine Edges Heaven Slaughtering Array!"


    Gant''s uncles and other people reflected expressions of happiness on their faces upon seeing him.


    To reach its full potential, the Nine Edges Heaven Slaughtering Array required nine warriors. If Gant were to join them, the power of the array would increase substantially, and they would have a better chance of survival.


    Studying the situation, Cailen yelled desperately, "No! Turn back! Don''t come here!"


    The divine flame was overwhelming. If warriors were inflicted with it, they would surely die. Gant could never survive it. Now that the woman knew the Nine Edges Heaven Slaughtering A


    rged from his body.


    Zen''s mocking smile wiped the smirk off the woman''s face. Fuming with anger, she realized she had been tricked by him.


    Originating from the proud Sun Crow race, she could tolerate failure, but being fooled by a mere human who just entered the Other Shore Realm did not sit right with her.


    "Brat! You tricked me!" she snapped at him


    Zen shrugged his shoulders and said indifferently, "If I hadn''t done that, how could I have gotten into the array?"


    "You..." The feeling of getting duped fueled her anger. "You''re courting death! You think the array can protect you? We''ll see who gets the last laugh!"


    After she attempted to spite Zen, the golden aura surrounding her body began to flicker. Heat gushed out from her as she roared in rage.


    Meanwhile, Cailen and the other weapon refiners also eyed Zen up with astonishment. They were terrified of his abilities and thought he was some nonhuman creature.


    The weapon refiners were well-acquainted with the divine flames, which was how they were able to keep them from breaking into the Nine Edges Heaven Slaughtering Array.


    It would have been easier to break through the array if a master at the same cultivation level as the woman appeared and attacked with a different method and not the divine flames.


    The technique of the Sun Crow race, known as the divine flame, was well-known. Apart from its deadly use, it was also suitable for refining weapons. As a result, the weapon refiners from both the Su Clan and the Oneness Sky Palace were familiar with its foundations and could counter it.


    Zen had run all the way towards the array submerged in the divine flames before absorbing them completely. Just what was his body made up of?

 Chapter 3113 The Nine-Cube Black Armor

    "Flag Master! You''re alright!" Gant was so excited to see Zen safe and sound that he almost jumped out of his skin.


    Zen shrugged and replied, "Of course I''m fine."


    "But your body is golden all over," Gant said, looking at Zen''s corporeal body.


    These weapon refiners were very insightful and noticed the strangeness of Zen''s body right off the bat.


    When one refined a weapon using the Fire Quenching Method, the weapon needed to absorb all the flames surrounding it. Zen''s situation was similar to a weapon refined using the Fire Quenching Method.


    But there were also a few unique body refining methods in the Source World; merging one''s body with metal, for example. And these weapon refiners were speculating whether or not Zen had practiced this method.


    "Don''t worry. The golden light will dissipate," Zen said as he looked at the winged woman through the array. "Now that we are here in the array, it''s time to think about how to fight that woman."


    The woman continued to accumulate power, her entire body dazzling like sun.


    Cailen could feel the immense power radiating from the woman. He said to his son, "You are responsible for the last position of the array!"


    He had barely finished speaking when the array plate in his hand trembled and turned, a beam of green light enveloping Zen and Gant. Gant nodded and drew his sword.


    The other weapon refiners'' eyes widened as they saw the sword in Gant''s hand. They looked reproachfully at Cailen.


    The sword in Gant''s sword was too ordinary and couldn''t even be considered a primary Profound Blood Treasure.


    After all, he was the son of the Su Clan''s head. How could he be so poor?


    Cailen looked around awkwardly.


    The Su Clan was not poor. Cailen just wanted to teach his son a lesson, which was why he had taken away everything from Gant before the latter had left the clan. Cailen hadn''t left even a single piece of divine crystal to him.


    "Gant, take the sword!"


    Cailen waved a hand and a black sword shot towards Gant.


    The sword was a premium Profound Blood Treasure.


    "What?" Gant exclaimed, shocked. "Father, why are you giving me this sword?"


    This sword was called the Moon Chasing Sword. A premium Profound Blood Treasure was nothing to the Su Clan. The Moon Chasing Sword, however, was an


    ediately after the first one was repaired.


    Eight repairs later, the divine flames finally burned out. They had successfully blocked this round of attack from the woman.


    The woman frowned at this.


    The Scorching Sun Attack was one of her most powerful skills. But mere inconspicuous weapon refiners had managed to block it, something she hadn''t expected at all.


    "I''m dumbfounded that you''ve resisted my attack, given your current cultivation levels. But can you resist my second attack? How about the third one?"


    She stretched out her hands and gently stroked the air, causing another golden ball to form in midair.


    The weapon refiners had limited power. If they kept activating the array, it would consume all the Other Shore Power of their Other Shore Tokens, and would also consume all of their truth aura. In the end, the entire array would collapse.


    But they had no choice other than to take the woman''s full-blown attacks head-on.


    She threw the second ball, causing more and more cracks to appear on the turtle shell. She was right when she told them that the array would break if she attacked a few more times.


    Zen frowned.


    If this went on, all of them would eventually die in the woman''s hands.


    Cailen had used all his strength to protect the turtle shell from the woman''s second attack.


    It was difficult to hold on the third time. The woman, on the other hand, didn''t look tired at all. It looked like releasing the golden ball was a piece of cake for her. Zen felt he had to do something.

 Chapter 3114 Let Me Have A Try

    "Gant, is it difficult to control your position?" Zen asked.


    At this moment, Gant was trying his best to draw Other Shore Power from his Other Shore Token and pour it into the great array, no matter how small his contribution was.


    "It''s not difficult," Gant panted, beads of sweat streaming down his face. "But even if you take over my position, I''m afraid the array will still break soon!"


    The power of this array wasn''t dependent on how strong their Other Shore Tokens were. Even with Zen''s exceptionally powerful token, it wouldn''t make a big difference.


    "Let me have a try," Zen said determinedly.


    Gant hesitated for a moment. Even though he felt like it wouldn''t change the situation, he decided to let Zen take over. After all, Zen was no ordinary man.


    Although he had been following Zen for a while now, he had never felt that he had seen Zen''s full potential. Even up until now, he had no idea how powerful Zen truly was.


    So now that Zen wanted to have a try, Gant was willing to let him.


    "Father, I can''t hold on any longer," he said.


    Because he had used up the power of his Other Shore Token, it had become very dim. He knew it was in urgent need of divine crystals.


    Cailen, noticing Gant''s exhaustion, said without hesitation, "I''ll give you the divine crystals you''ll need."


    As this was a dire situation, now was not the time to be stingy with resources.


    "Let my Flag Master do this. He is stronger than me!" Gant cried.


    Upon hearing that, Cailen glanced at Zen dubiously.


    Cailen was well aware that Zen''s strength far surpassed Gant''s. However, even if Zen''s Other Shore Token was powerful, it''d be nothing more than a measly contribution to the array. What was the point?


    However, Cailen didn''t try to stop him. He was willing to try anything, given the desperate circumstances. "Alright. Gant, tell him what to do."


    Then Gant explained to Zen the method as to how to control the position in the array.


    The instructions weren''t difficult to grasp. After Gant''s brief explanation, Zen instantly understood what he needed to do.


    Seeing Zen''s mastery of the method, Gant then withdrew from the green light, letting Zen enter it in his stead.


    The instant Gant had withdrawn fully from the position, he hurried over to Eira''s side and cradled her in his arms. Although she was in a coma due to being seriously drained of blood power, she was still alive. Once she had broken off the blood array, some color returned to her face.


    As her face was no longer deathly pale, Gant let out a sigh of relief.


    Buzz!


    Stepping into the green light, Zen felt his hairs stand on the back of his neck. He knew h


    flames, rendering them useless!"


    "Really?" Mary frowned. She then turned to take a closer look at the Nine Edges Heaven Slaughtering Array. "Our sister''s battle hasn''t been settled yet. Let''s work together and kill these humans before going to help her."


    As the weapon refiners overheard the talk between the winged women, their hearts sank.


    Even Cailen, who never gave up, couldn''t see a way out of this.


    They could barely deal with one woman, let alone two.


    Cailen could feel the eyes of the other weapon refiners on him, as they expected him to come up with a solution. Just as he was about to buckle under the weight of this pressure, a voice interrupted his anxious thoughts. "Master Cailen, is this only a defense array?"


    Turning towards the voice, he replied, "Of course not. But..." A wry smile began to play at his lips.


    This array could turn into two forms. One was the Nine-Cube Black Armor, and the other was the Nine-Sword Strike.


    But when faced with this woman, they focused on its defensive function. They never thought to switch up the function of the array.


    Previously, they had been banking on Satchel and Sebert to come to the rescue. But with Sebert''s death, that definitely wasn''t happening.


    "Change the array," Zen said authoritatively. "Wouldn''t you rather die fighting, than stand around and wait for death?"


    A determined look flashed through Cailen''s eyes. Even the morale of the other weapon refiners was boosted.


    Cailen decided on the spot that he would hesitate no more. Focusing on the task at hand, he slightly twisted the array plate in his hand, returning the floating swords to their owners.


    Simultaneously, the columns of green light began to change shape. Almost instantly, the entire array transformed.

 Chapter 3115 Confusion

    As Mary and Bella saw this, disdain emerged in their gazes.


    In their eyes, this didn''t at all seem like a desperate fight put up by people struggling to survive.


    If their opponents were strong enough, they would take them seriously.


    But their opponents'' cultivation levels were so ridiculously low that they did not deserve their attention at all.


    "They have already given up on themselves. Let''s make our move." Bella stretched out her arm and gently waved it in the air. Another golden ball was formed out of nowhere.


    At the same time, golden flames rose from Mary''s wings and flew towards the array, leaving a curved fiery trail in the air, which was a sight to behold.


    "Everyone, let''s get started!"


    The green light columns narrowed, and then condensed on the group''s long swords.


    The moment the light started to condense on everyone''s swords, Zen quietly shook his hand. In no time, the fake Soaring Snake Sword in his hand was already replaced with the real one.


    This was the way he conjured his Soaring Snake Sword if he had to use it. He had spent two hours practicing it and even placed a small hidden array on the sword so that no one could see how he changed the sword.


    Once the Soaring Snake Sword in his hand was successfully changed, green light started to condense on the blade.


    At the same time, the truth aura in his body flowed into the Soaring Snake Sword in an unending stream and was continuously absorbed by the array.


    "Nine-Sword Strike! Go!"


    At this moment, Cailen had put down the array plate in his hand. He was determined to fight to the death, so there was no need to change the array anymore.


    While he shook his sword, everyone else also lifted theirs fiercely to the air.


    Sizzle!


    Nine green rays of sword radiance rose from the ground, gathered together, and formed a huge green sword.


    Everything went just as Cailen had expected.


    In the next second, however, something astonishing happened.


    Eight of the nine sword radiance rays within the giant green sword all had remarkable power. After all, weapon refiners'' swords were of high levels, and no one would be foolish enough to hide their strength when they were hovering between life and death.


    But the last one was thin and curvy. It was just like a little intelligent snake wiggling inside the green sword.


    "What''s


    little about this Grand Nature Treasure, and he had yet to talk to the Snake Spirit.


    "The weapon soul¡­ It was a snake!"


    "Is his sword really made by the Su Clan?"


    "Sir, could you please show us your sword?"


    It was impossible for a primary Profound Blood Treasure to release such a terrifying power, so the weapon refiners felt it was very strange.


    The confusion had even dissipated the joy of escaping death. Logically speaking, since the crisis had not been resolved, they should run away. However, everyone only thought about dispelling the doubt they had over this matter.


    "You mean this sword?"


    Zen raised the fake Soaring Snake Sword gently and handed it to Cailen.


    Cailen turned the sword over and over, spending a while observing it. When he spotted the mark on the hilt, he handed it to one of his younger brothers and said, "This sword was made by you. Take a look."


    His brother took the sword and examined it for a while. Baffled, he said, "It was indeed made by me, but it''s just a fake sword."


    "Was the weapon soul not formed by the sword?" a weapon refiner from the Oneness Sky Palace said with a puzzled face.


    Cailen shook his head and said, "Absolutely not."


    He returned the sword to Zen, glanced at him with an extremely complicated expression, and then said, "It seems that one of us has an amazing magic weapon. Whoever it is, since he doesn''t want to show it to us, we don''t have to ask further. However, we have to thank him for using the array to save our lives. Now, we''d better leave here as soon as possible."

 Chapter 3116 The Resurrection Eye

    The other weapon refiners were clearly baffled. However, Cailen had a vague idea of what had just happened.


    He was in charge of the Nine Edges Heaven Slaughtering Array. Thus, he knew the operation well like the palm of his hand. The extremely powerful sword radiance obviously came from Zen''s direction.


    In addition to that, the idea of changing the array was suggested by Zen himself. His look of complete confidence from before had further verified Cailen''s suspicion.


    Even so, Cailen kept thinking why the Soaring Snake Sword in his hand was only a replica.


    Either way, no one paid attention to Zen the moment the array began. It wouldn''t be difficult for him to switch swords.


    In any case, Cailen had no intention of telling them what he had in mind.


    Zen''s display of strength was truly extraordinary. Therefore, he thought that Zen probably came from a powerful lineage.


    Besides, they owed their lives to him. Considering that Zen was reluctant to reveal his trump card, it would be really thoughtless of him if he brought it up.


    Gant was very fortunate as he followed such a strong man.


    If everything worked out well, Gant would absolutely make a difference in the future.


    Cailen sighed deeply. They probably would have died today if he had actually stopped Gant that time.


    Now that Sebert was dead, Satchel and the rest of the Oneness Guards would only come to a bad end.


    Cailen shouldered a heavy responsibility. He had to leave with the Shade Stone. Thus, he couldn''t care about anything else.


    As a matter of fact, Cailen was not the only one who found out the truth.


    When the anomaly of the huge sword was discovered, Gant immediately thought of Zen.


    He remembered that Zen had asked his uncle about the grade of the Soaring Snake Sword when he bought the fake one in the Dragon City. He seemed very concerned about it.


    During that time, both Gant and his uncle thought Zen only asked out of sheer curiosity.


    He had no idea why Zen even bought the fake Soaring Snake Sword. But now, he finally understood that Zen wanted to use it to hide the truth.


    The other weapon refiners also had their own speculations.


    Some of their ideas were actually good. However, they failed to sense where the power came from because they didn''t operate the array themselves. They doubted Zen as well as each other.


    l disaster.


    "I said, hand it over!"


    Elizabeth bellowed. Her aura grew much stronger and gave the crowd an ominous and oppressive feeling.


    Gant''s soul was the weakest among all of them. His legs were trembling so much that he could barely stand.


    However, Elizabeth suffered a huge loss from the Illusory Projection.


    The last time she performed it, she destroyed four Arrays of Innumerable Swords. But now that she did it again, her strength was less than half as before.


    She had no idea who had the Shade Stone. In addition to that, her projection would not be able to take anything away. She was just projecting a mass of pure energy.


    So for now, she forced the group to relinquish the Shade Stone. After that, she would ask a Sun Crow to take it back.


    Since they were unwilling to give her the Shade Stone, she would just savagely kill everyone then let her race members take it.


    Cailen already predicted what Elizabeth was thinking. He was now frantically thinking of a way out.


    Seeing that Elizabeth had lost her patience, Cailen brought out a small bottle and raised it above his head. "The Shade Stone is in this bottle!"


    Elizabeth raised her eyebrows in response. Then, she stretched out her hand and the bottle floated toward her.


    While Elizabeth was momentarily distracted, Cailen immediately told the group through his life vitality, "That bottle is empty! Run for your lives!"


    Elizabeth would not let them go even if they handed over the Shade Stone to her. It would be best if they just took this opportunity to run away.

 Chapter 3117 Absorption

    The others were shocked at Cailen''s orders, but they knew they had no other options.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    They didn''t even have the time to think. If they stopped even for a second, death would come swiftly.


    Obeying Cailen''s orders, each warrior immediately summoned all their strength to flee in all directions.


    Click!


    Elizabeth caught the bottle eagerly.


    She squeezed it with her bare hand, her fingernails digging into the glass until it shattered. It was only then that she realized the bottle was empty!


    Immediately, she looked up, her brows creasing in fury. Yet, there was a strange beauty to her rage. "How dare you fool me," she said under her breath. Turning to look at the figures darting all over the land trying to escape, she cried, "You are all courting death!"


    Phew!


    She stretched out her massive wings, launching herself into the sky. With every flap, she seemed to shatter her surroundings, with cracks snaking their way around her.


    The whole province was caught inside the Cage of Heaven and Earth which immobilized the Grand Teleportation. However, Elizabeth was no ordinary person; she could easily break the cage if she wanted to.


    Since she was already using the Illusory Projection, she couldn''t use the Grand Teleportation. However, she still had the Truth of Void Destruction, which granted her inhuman speed.


    Crack!


    As Elizabeth flew forward, cracks seemed to shatter the sky, resembling a spider''s web. It was as though she were dancing on a fragile mirror, leaving hairline cracks wherever she touched.


    "She''s quick!"


    Hearing the cracking noise, Cailen whipped his head around to see where it was coming from. His face turned pale.


    Even though he had done his best, maximizing the power of his Other Shore Token in an attempt to flee, Elizabeth was gaining on him quickly. He knew she''d catch up to him in the blink of an eye.


    His expression darkened as he glanced around him, desperate for a solution.


    To his left, one of his younger brothers, Ruben Su, was speeding alongside him. To the right was Zen.


    Without hesitating, he conjured two more bottles. "Catch these!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.


    Using his remaining strength, he flung the bottles out towards the two.


    Meanwhile, Zen was fo


    y was, she knew he wouldn''t be able to resist the divine flames for long.


    Elizabeth flew towards Zen, observing him carefully.


    Zen might have been aflame, but that didn''t seem to slow him down.


    In fact, it seemed he was picking up speed!


    Elizabeth was dumbfounded. Not only was Zen unharmed by her divine flames, it was as though they were empowering him. In fact, when Bella found out about such an ability of his, she had been planning to capture him and take him to the Divine Lair for investigation.


    Elizabeth couldn''t help but smile faintly. This person had officially piqued her interest.


    Even without using the divine flames, she could still easily kill Zen. Her cultivation had greatly weakened the second time she used the Illusory Projection, but she could still release thousands of divine megatons of force and easily tear Zen into pieces.


    However, she wanted to see how Zen escaped. She knew he would definitely fail, but still she was curious.


    While she followed him, another strange thing happened.


    Zen''s determination to shake off the Shade Stone seemed to manifest as whirlpools emerged from his body, sucking in the divine flames like a vacuum.


    Because the Shade Stone had been burned by the Nine Edges Weapon Refining Array, it had become a sticky black mass. And now, under the influence of the divine flames, it melted into liquid on Zen''s back, eventually sucked into the whirlpools.


    When Zen collected his wits, he realized that the Shade Stone was nowhere to be found.

 Chapter 3118 The Third Illusory Projection

    "The Shade Stone has been absorbed?"


    Zen''s heart skipped a beat.


    He knew his body was capable of absorbing flames. It had happened many times before.


    But it had never swallowed any real objects!


    Potentially, the Shade Stone could be used to forge the Other Shore Treasure.


    Alas, Zen was at a loss. However, before he could think about the consequences, he heard a loud crack from behind him. Crack!


    The atmosphere seemed to be ripping, and from the cracks Elizabeth emerged. She was now not more than thirty feet away from him.


    "How... How long can you resist?" She was genuinely curious.


    The grade of the divine flames she had released was much higher than that of Bella''s and Mary''s. But even so, Zen seemed to remain unharmed, continuing to flee as he was on fire.


    "Let go of me, and I''ll tell you," Zen replied slyly.


    "Do you really think I''d do that?" Elizabeth smiled without a trace of malice. "If you are willing to follow me back to the Divine Lair, I promise I won''t kill you."


    "Do you really think I''d do that?" Zen threw the question back at her.


    While he knew that Elizabeth was actually speaking truthfully, if Elizabeth brought him back to the Divine Lair, then everything he had been trying to hide for so long would be exposed.


    If he leaked the secrets of the divine land, the consequences would be worse than being killed.


    "But it''s not up to you," Elizabeth answered indifferently.


    She gently stretched her hands towards him, and a golden ball materialized above Zen''s head.


    Zen''s expression darkened. He sensed something different about this golden orb. It felt more powerful than the others.


    It was the same one used to destroy the four Arrays of Innumerable Swords. The force within the golden ball wasn''t something he could take lightly.


    Would his journey to the Source World end now?


    Zen''s resolve remained the same. He would rather die than be taken away by this demon!


    With a slight nod, Zen knew what he had to do.


    Bang!


    He immediately extracted the power of the Other Shore Token. If he was going to die, he might as well put up a fight!


    With the power of the Other Shore Token, his aura strengthened tenfold.


    "You''re overestimating yourself," Elizabeth remarked nonchalantly.


    Little did she know that Zen was using not only the power of the Other Shore Token, but


    ountless Sun Crows flew in a formation that resembled rivers and valleys, circling the lair nonstop.


    Positioned at the very center of the Divine Lair, on a raised platform, was a massive golden throne. Sitting on the throne was a gloomy figure with large, golden wings.


    The winged figure''s eyes fluttered open and she frowned. Elizabeth had just withdrawn from the Illusory Projection.


    "Anna," she said in a serious tone to the woman who sat at the foot of the throne, "I''m going to perform the third Illusory Projection." Elizabeth couldn''t hide the frustration in her voice.


    Anna looked at Elizabeth in surprise.


    "Master Elizabeth," she said cautiously, "if you use the Illusory Projection for the third time so soon, your strength will decrease by half again!"


    The Illusory Projection was not limited by the distance or the space. It was usually a forbidden skill of the Truth of Void Destruction because it expended too much power to use.


    Anna was confused. If Elizabeth was facing a powerful enemy, it was useless to use the Illusory Projection for the third time.


    On the other hand, if she was dealing with a weak enemy, she should have just killed the enemy when she used the second Illusory Projection.


    "Do as I say," Elizabeth commanded coldly.


    There was no way she''d admit to Anna that some human boy who had just reached the Other Shore Realm had managed to escape from her.


    Fortunately, the moment the Wind Cloud Escape was activated, she had planted a mark on Zen''s body. With it, he shouldn''t be able to escape, not this time.

 Chapter 3119 Disrespect And Insult

    Elizabeth had felt Zen running at an unimaginable speed.


    He was moving as fast as she was when flying at full speed. This Latent Theurgy was truly amazing.


    Five minutes later, Elizabeth sensed that Zen had come to a stop.


    She then reached her slender fingers out and wrapped them gently around the armrest of the throne.


    A pattern of a bright star formed on the armrest, and the entire Divine Lair began to vibrate. The Sun Crows roosting around the lair jumped up all at once, causing a violent rumble. The space above Elizabeth''s head was torn apart again, and a glowing sheet of light covered her body.


    A shadow separated itself from Elizabeth and floated to enter the space crack above her.


    Meanwhile, in the Mountain Viewing Province, the terrain to the west was getting flatter and flatter.


    The cloud of mist looked as if it fell from the sky and continued to speed along the ground.


    All creatures dispersed and scurried away on seeing it moving on towards them.


    Eventually the mist stopped in a lush green grassland and drifted where the wind took it. Zen stood still and alone amongst it all.


    "These two Latent Theurgies are really incredible..." he said, heaving a long sigh of relief.


    The Latent Theurgies that the Nine Li race gave him were all quite extraordinary.


    In particular, the Exhausting Power could enable him to increase his own strength by five times. Unfortunately, it would still not be enough. If he was as strong as the five-star Oneness Guards, he might be able to destroy Elizabeth''s Illusory Projection with this added power.


    It pained Zen to have used up two Latent Theurgies, but they had helped him to escape. So perhaps it was a necessary sacrifice.


    But Gant''s father and uncle were not so lucky. Zen dreaded having to tell him they had been killed by Elizabeth. He worried if he''d be able to handle that kind of horrible news, but then again, who could?


    After calming himself, Zen remembered that he had to check his back. He wondered if the Shade Stone would have had any effect on him when he absorbed it into his body.


    Just then, No. 9527''s voice rang clear. "Zen, look up!"


    Zen raised his head and saw a shadow quietly taking shape above him.


    "Here she comes again," he muttered warily.


    His face darkened and his eyebrows creased.


    ''Elizabeth really is as annoying as a mosquito, '' Zen thought to himself


    d Illusory Projection, which meant that this woman had only a small portion of Elizabeth''s true strength. She was as powerful as the five-star Oneness Guards. Right now, how could she hope to be a match for Athemar?


    Athemar turned slightly and moved his right hand.


    He had drawn his sword so fast that even Zen, who stood right beside him, did not see how he had done it, just that it was now in his hand.


    A faint shadow of a sword swept up 45 degrees, and Elizabeth''s Illusory Projection was immediately shattered into pieces.


    The cracking Illusory Projection even triggered a response of the Cage of Heaven and Earth in the Mountain Viewing Province, which turned into many space cracks to swallow up the shattered Illusory Projection and her divine flames.


    "The mission to guard the Blue Cloud City should be very easy. But war is unpredictable. This time... It''s my negligence," said Athemar, looking up at the space cracks that slowly disappeared from the sky.


    Zen was confused and was about to ask for clarity when Athemar raised his hand and stopped him before he could speak.


    "Wait a minute!" he said, deeply focused on something else.


    He listened carefully with squinted eyes. He then stretched his left foot out and stomped down hard.


    "Boom!"


    The ground trembled all around them.


    "Bang! Bang! Bang!"


    Three explosions went off not far beneath them, unleashing three forces out of the ground leaving three large holes. At the mouth of each hole lay a massive demon mouse bleeding to death.


    It seemed that Athemar had forced them out and killed them.

 Chapter 3120 Choose His Way

    Zen frowned at the sight of the three demon mice. "The Ear Mice?"


    Athemar nodded and said, "They are everywhere, always hiding in the darkness."


    Shortly after Zen had entered the Source World, he had seen the power of the Mice League.


    They were everywhere in the Source World and could obtain most of the secrets of the Source World they infested. Because of this, the Mice League had made a lot of money.


    Almost all large races hated them.


    For instance, the first thing the human race and the Sun Crow race would do after occupying part of the Mountain Viewing Province was annihilate the Ear Mice in the province.


    Most of the demon mice in the Mountain Viewing Province had been killed, but there were always some that managed to escape.


    It was probably Zen''s Wind Cloud Escape that had caused a great change in the air and attracted the attention of the three mice. They had been hiding in the dark to spy on him.


    Zen was unaware of this and did not notice them. But it was impossible for them to escape a figure as powerful as Athemar.


    Athemar looked at the three fat demon mice and clicked his tongue twice. As he extended his hand, the corpses of the three mice floated towards him.


    He remained silent. He skinned the mice with consecutive flicks of his fingers.


    He then bent down and fiddled with something on the ground. When he stood up, a small fire array was burning, on which he placed the bloody corpses and grilled them.


    As the corpses burned in the fire, he took out several bottles.


    Zen didn''t know what was in the bottles, but they were probably condiments.


    "Oh, this man!"


    Zen muttered. His jaw had dropped at the matter-of-fact manner in which Athemar was behaving.


    Zen''s impression of Athemar was of an elder who had an extraordinary aura and put on solemn airs.


    But the Athemar before him was completely different from what he had imagined.


    He had molested Elizabeth when he fought with her. He was grilling the demon mice that he had captured and was about to heartily devour them. Zen couldn''t believe that he was actually the dignified Oneness Governor. How could the Oneness Sky Palace tolerate such a wicked man?


    Athemar noticed Zen''s amazed expression, laughed, and said, "I have three hobbies: eating, mating, and playing. All are bad hobbies, right? Don''t look at me like that."


    "You can do whatever you want, as long as you are happy," Zen said as he nodded.


    "Hey..." Athemar smiled at Zen''s questioning statement. He paused


    e Cloud City.


    But none of them had showed up or helped him when he was in danger.


    If it hadn''t been for the unexpected change in the battle that had attracted Elizabeth, Athemar wouldn''t have showed up in person.


    "It looks like you got what you wanted," Zen said somewhat unhappily. Who''d be happy to know that they had been spied on by someone in the dark? It didn''t matter that Athemar didn''t have any malicious intentions.


    "Don''t be angry." Athemar handed another cooked mouse to Zen, as if trying to please him. To his surprise, Zen pushed it away. Athemar shrugged and said, "Our Oneness Sky Palace never had any conflicts with the Nine Li race and we don''t have any hatred against each other. When we saw an orthodox force of human race being annihilated, we felt sorry too, but our Eastern Emperor did not choose his way at that time..."


    Zen was a little relieved at Athemar''s words.


    He had inquired about this when he had entered the Dragon City, and it was true that the Oneness Sky Palace had no conflicts with the Nine Li race.


    If the Oneness Sky Palace was standing opposite from the Nine Li race, Zen would have probably found an opportunity to leave a long time ago.


    "Choose his way? What way do you mean?" Zen asked.


    He had no idea what Athemar was referring to. Was it the Godly Way that he was saying, or anything else?


    Athemar studied Zen, a strange expression on his face. He thought Zen''s talent to be extraordinary and since Zen had the Soaring Snake Sword, he had assumed that Zen was a descendant of the Nine Li race. He then said, "It sounds like you don''t even know why Chiyou and the Yellow Thearch fought each other?"

 Chapter 3121 The Finale Way And The Purge Way

    Zen felt embarrassed and didn''t know how to respond to Athemar''s question.


    No one in the divine land had ever told him the reason.


    Timotheus had left the Source World long ago, so he was also clueless.


    When Leopold and Lorena left the Source World, their cultivation levels were still low, so neither of them knew why.


    Chiyou also didn''t mention anything about the fight when Zen met him.


    "Yes, I don''t really know," Zen replied frankly, cheeks still slightly burning out of embarrassment.


    Athemar glanced at Zen, then he nodded and said, "It''s understandable. Your cultivation level was still too low at that time, so it was kind of meaningless to tell you about it anyway. It is hard to explain things about the Other Shore if you haven''t reached it."


    "Why on earth did they fight?" Zen asked, his eyes gleaming with obvious curiosity.


    "To survive," Athemar sighed exasperatedly.


    Zen pursed his lips, and quietly glared at Athemar.


    Then he asked, "Have you heard of the Book of Changes?"


    Zen shook his head, and his curiosity was back again.


    Athemar continued, "The Great Ultimate generates two complementary forces, then those two complementary forces generate other four aggregates. Those four aggregates then generate the Eight Diagrams; lastly, the Eight Diagrams determine myriads of phenomena. What would it generate if it went on this way?"


    "What would it generate?" Zen asked, confused by the cycle.


    "The great rivers and mountains of the Mountain Viewing Province, the Source World and even the chaos came into being," Athemar answered as he stretched out his hands.


    The chaos could turn into anything and everything.


    There was no need for Athemar to explain further. That was exactly how Zen''s inner world had been created.


    Zen nodded with apprehension and said, "Got it."


    "No, you don''t understand," Athemar said with a sly smile. "Have you ever thought about what will happen after endless generation?"


    Zen was a little stunned, his brows furrowed. He had never thought about this.


    Athemar stretched out his arm. Then he moved his hand in the air like he was grabbing something. A huge stone flew fast towards him. When he grabbed hold of it, he slightly tightened his grip on the stone.


    Crack!


    The stone was instantly covered with cracks and fissures. A few short moments later


    e of human race is needless. Even if the other races are killed, the human race will just reproduce and expand in every corner of the Source World. The chaotic life will last. The ideal situation is that only about ten thousand people live, so that the world will not be chaotic," Athemar said.


    It was a crazy and risky plan.


    "In other words, the Bearing race planned to kill all the creatures in the chaos, but the Nine Li race was eliminated in advance?" Zen asked, perplexed by the new information.


    "The reasons for the feud between the two races are very complicated, but that is the main reason," Athemar replied with a nod.


    Zen stared at Athemar and said with a baffled expression on his face, "The tragedy of the Nine Li race was caused not only by the Bearing race, but also by the Divine Farmer. Does this mean that the Divine Farmer chose the same way as the Yellow Thearch?"


    "You''re right," Athemar agreed with Zen''s analogy. "It is impossible to fulfil such a great ambition with the Yellow Thearch alone. In addition to the Divine Farmer, there is someone more powerful behind him."


    Athemar had a faint sense of awe when he said this.


    Zen could guess that Athemar was talking about a Chaos Ancient God.


    However, he always heard No. 9527''s voice in his mind from time to time, so he didn''t think a Chaos Ancient God was so mysterious.


    Athemar had been waiting for Zen to ask about who the more powerful being was.


    But Zen was silent for a long time, taking his time. Athemar could no longer help but ask, "Aren''t you curious?"

 Chapter 3122 The Veiled Women

    "I''m not curious..." Zen shrugged as he said indifferently.


    Disappointed by his reaction, Athemar said, "That is a Chaos Ancient God living outside of the Source World. With the support of the Chaos Ancient God, the Bearing race continues to prosper over the years!


    They have already exterminated nine small races. Besides, thirteen other races have been forced to surrender to them. And Emperor Charm has also made his decision."


    Before Zen went to the Mountain Viewing Province, he learned that Emperor Charm was the leader of the Sun Crow race. Now that the Sun Crow race was engaged in a war against the Oneness Sky Palace, could that mean...


    "Master Athemar, are you implying that Emperor Charm has also chosen the Purge Way?" Zen asked in concern.


    Athemar nodded. He stared at Zen and smiled, "You have been hiding your origin all this time. If you are indeed from the Nine Li race, then you should understand the intentions of the Oneness Sky Palace by now. We have no conflict with the Nine Li race. As a matter of fact, we''re on the same side. We should be friends."


    The reason why he said so much was to dispel Zen''s doubts.


    A long silence lingered in the air before Zen spoke, "Master Athemar, that is a lot of information for me to process at once. May I have some time to think about it?"


    "Yes, sure!" Athemar said politely. "Even if you don''t trust the Oneness Sky Palace and insist on leaving, I will personally send you to any place of your choosing in the Source World."


    After he finished speaking, he nodded to Zen and waved his hand gently.


    In response to his hand gesture, a long sword sprang out from the sheath around his waist. It rotated around in the air for a few seconds and gradually grew in size. It appeared to be the Lofty Sword that Zen had seen before.


    However, this one was different in size from the ones he saw in the Grand River Fortress and the Sword Light Palace. The one in front of him was much smaller. It was only a few hundred feet long.


    "Come on! I''ll send you back to the Grand River Fortress," Athemar said while gesturing Zen towards the Lofty Sword.


    Zen hopped on to the Lofty Sword with Athemar. Then it carried their weights and flew in the southern direction.


    Immediately, Zen plopped down on the sword with his legs crossed, and his eyes shut as if to concentrate. Quietly, he asked in his mind, "No. 9527, is everything he said true?"


    Of course, No. 9527 was informed about matters such as this, but it had never mention


    else..." she said with low spirits.


    "Who picked him up?" the leading woman asked with her arms crossed.


    "Someone from the Sword Light Palace in the Seven-Star Province, and... The Sword Light Palace seems to have been destroyed and it''s being rebuilt." She now looked even more tensed.


    The woman in the lead put her arm around her and comforted her, "Everything should be fine. Since the Sword Light Palace is being rebuilt, we can go to the Seven-Star Province and find out his whereabouts."


    "Yes..."


    The two women nodded to each other, and they all went straight to the quay without looking back. All of them boarded the black flying ship and headed off to the Seven-Star Province.


    The women were from the Pear Hill.


    The day Emily and Zen separated, they had decided to meet at the Excellence City.


    But she was being chased by Sanjay and had to lose him before she could go look for Zen


    It would have been risky to go to the Excellence City while she was being watched, so she had to take Yan to the Pear Hill.


    Inside Emily''s inner world, Yan was oblivious to the outside world. When she was finally released and could not find Zen, she immediately turned to Emily to ask where he was.


    Not wanting to lie to her, Emily told her everything she knew about Zen.


    Hearing this, Yan suddenly became worried about her brother. His location was not known, and the Source World was dangerous.


    Even though the Pear Hill was peaceful and offered a favorable environment for cultivation, Yan had no plans on staying.


    Giving in to her wishes, Emily and Yan set out with strong warriors of the Pear Hill to the Gracious Province in search of Zen.

 Chapter 3123 The Situation Of Sword Light Palace

    One year ago, the Seven-Star City had been destroyed, with nothing more than rubble and ruins left. It had been a mess.


    Now, after more than a year of restoration, there were no signs that it had been destroyed the year prior.


    However, too many people had died. Even though many people had come here from other cities in the Seven-Star Province, one couldn''t shake off the feeling of desolation in this city.


    To recover the level of prosperity it was before would take at least a hundred years of peace.


    Laura pondered over this as she stood in front of the Lofty Sword, overlooking the mountains and rivers. A gloomy expression took over her face.


    A year ago, the Qiu Clan and the Yuebai Clan were still fighting for power.


    She thought the competition would be good for the Sword Light Palace. But she had not expected that Reynald''s choices would lead them to a dead end.


    "Time for a shift!"


    Ingram''s voice interrupted her thoughts.


    Most elites of the Sword Light Palace were dead. The only hope of their people was Ingram, Laura, and the Lofty Sword on the top of the mountain.


    The Lofty Sword used to be guarded by the officiant. Now, Ingram and Laura took shifts looking after it.


    "I can hold on... for several more days." Laura shook her head.


    "Don''t even try. Even the officiant would rest from time to time. This is exhausting," said Ingram concernedly.


    When the Sword Light Palace was at its prime, the sword was rarely used. Normally, high-level warriors could protect the place.


    But now, times were different. Every hour of the day, they needed to keep a close eye on it.


    "Alas..."


    As Laura let out a tired sigh, a black thing suddenly flashed in the sky in the distance.


    After what happened last year, Laura and the others had become highly vigilant. There was no way they were going to risk being lax.


    Before identifying who or what the black thing was, she immediately activated the Lofty Sword. Suddenly, the surface of its blade glowed in intricate patterns.


    "Buzz..."


    Countless beams of dense sword light shot out and intertwined around the palace, forming a huge net. This was the Sword Light Palace''s defense.


    "It''s a flying ship. Don''t be so nerv


    ened to my brother here in the Seven-Star Province?"


    Laura and Ingram happily shared with her what they knew of Zen''s experiences. After all, he had saved their lives. They felt indebted to him.


    Actually, without Zen, the Sword Light Palace wouldn''t have survived at all.


    After hearing all the details, Yan was relieved. She bade them goodbye and flew back to her boat with the veiled woman.


    Watching the black flying boat sail into the distance, Laura turned to Ingram. "This girl really cares about her brother..." she said quietly, with a faint smile. "How far is Pear Hill from here?"


    "I don''t care about that," said Ingram, who was also eyeing the boat. "If I''m not mistaken, Zen''s sister is also capable of Instant Enlightenment."


    "What makes you say that?" Laura pursed her lips.


    "The Pear Hill wants to send her to the Miracle Temple. But she hasn''t even reached the Other Shore Realm. Think about it," he said seriously. "How many people in the Source World can be treated such?"


    Although they lived in a remote area, they were well aware of the reputation of the Miracle Temple.


    Only elites cultivated by super forces could enter the Miracle Temple. This was how Ingram drew conclusions about Yan''s talent.


    "They are really special, aren''t they?" Laura sighed. "I wonder what the future holds for them." While she was the one who had brought Zen into the Sword Light Palace by instinct, she never could''ve expected how powerful he truly was.

 Chapter 3124 Return To The Dragon City

    The setting sun shone on the Grand River Fortress.


    The leaders of the Oneness Guards were surprised as they watched Athemar bring Zen back.


    Athemar seldom went to the Grand River Fortress, but he had placed the Lofty Swords in the fortress, one by one.


    Athemar planned to take Zen straight back to the Dragon City.


    But Zen insisted on waiting here for Gant.


    Gant managed to escape from Elizabeth, and as long as he was careful on his way back, there should be no big problem.


    When they were under attack in the Blue Cloud City, the Grand River Fortress had immediately sent reinforcements to help them.


    But the Sun Crow race had blocked the first group of reinforcements. They had then sent in the second group.


    The Oneness Guards who had fought the Sun Crow race out on the plain held on long enough and finally got help from the second group of reinforcements. But a majority of them were dead or wounded.


    Sebert had died, and Satchel had gotten seriously injured while fighting with another demon woman of the Divine Lair. But he succeeded in killing her.


    When the second group of reinforcements and the rest of the Oneness Guards were on the way back, they met Gant, who was carrying Eira on his back.


    So Gant followed the reinforcements back to the Grand River Fortress.


    For the past two days, Gant was worrying himself sick over Zen.


    In order to declare his loyalty to the Oneness Sky Palace, Gant''s father, Cailen, led the elders of the Su Clan to place their Rebirth Lands in the Oneness Sky Palace. Most pill refiners and weapon refiners who relied on super forces would do that.


    This way, they could be revived even if they died.


    But Zen hadn''t joined the Oneness Guards, and he didn''t have a Rebirth Land. How could he survive an attack from Elizabeth?


    Gant was depressed as they made their way to the Grand River Fortress.


    He didn''t expect that he would see Zen the moment he returned to the fortress.


    Gant''s eyes widened in surprise.


    "Flag Master! How did you survive?" Gant asked in disbelief.


    "Did you want me to die?" Zen asked, smiling.


    Gant shook his head vigorously as he said, "Of course not! I don''t want you to die!


    nue and expenditure of the past days. He was a responsible man and recorded the accounts clearly.


    It was the high season of recruitment in the Dragon City. The demand for Sword-reading Liquid was huge, and the income, abundant. More than 90% of the Sword-reading Liquid had been sold.


    The remaining bottles of Sword-reading Liquid had been kept until now because Beldene hadn''t wanted to sell them before. And right now, the current price of the Sword-reading Liquid could shoot up to 30, 000 divine crystals.


    Zen carried a lot of divine crystals with him and thought of the Truth Library.


    He had always been interested in the manual of the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent, but it was expensive; it cost about ten million divine crystals. The price was too high for Zen.


    Now that Zen had a stable income selling the Sword-reading Liquid, he could easily afford ten million divine crystals.


    Zen, upon entering Dragon City, went straight to the Sword Tower.


    Athemar hadn''t been interested in the Shade Stone. Zen was forced to think about it because it had been sucked into his physical body. However, he quelled his curiosity since it was inconvenient to check on it on the way.


    In the practicing room of the Sword Tower, Zen took off his clothes and released his spiritual sense to inspect the Shade Stone.


    The Shade Stone turned into a small black dot on his back. It began to spread and in only a few days, had covered half of his back.

 Chapter 3125 Tacit Understanding

    Staring at the black area on his back, Zen frowned.


    If it was only attached to his back, he would be fine with it.


    But that wasn''t the case. Judging from the situation, the black area was spreading. Sooner or later, his whole body would be covered. Zen''s frown deepened. If his whole body was covered in black, he would look weird and ugly!


    Zen gingerly poked the black area. It felt rough and hard to the touch, like stone.


    After some thought, he directed his power at the black skin.


    The muscles on his back bulged. He squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to will the Shade Stone out of his body.


    However, no matter how hard he tried, each time he opened his eyes to check, the black area hadn''t budged at all. It seemed that it had completely integrated into his body, becoming a part of him.


    After trying other methods, he threw his hands up in resignation.


    "No. 9527, what should I do with it?" Zen asked.


    It was completely an accident that the Shade Stone had been sucked into his body.


    Now, Zen had no way to take it out.


    "I don''t know either," No. 9527 answered disinterestedly. "Generally, the Shade Stone is used to refine weapons, and it could be considered a premium Other Shore Treasure. It''s capable of completely merging with an Other Shore Token, but I didn''t know it could merge with your body."


    The reason why the Other Shore Treasure was superior to the Profound Blood Treasure was that it had merged with the Other Shore Token.


    The more powerful the Other Shore Token was, the better materials it would require to refine weapons.


    If a Profound Blood Treasure were to merge with an Other Shore Token, it would collapse during the process. The Profound Blood Treasure itself couldn''t merge with the Other Shore Token.


    Primary Other Shore Treasures could merge with the Other Shore Tokens of Stages One to Ten, the intermediate Other Shore Treasures could merge with tokens of Stages Eleven to Twenty, and the premium ones merged with tokens of Stages Twenty-one to Thirty.


    But No. 9527 and Gant had failed to mention something.


    Most of the premium Other Shore Treasures could only merge with the Other Shore Tokens of Stage Thirty at most, which was


    I''m in trouble,"


    Zen said helplessly.


    But since that was the case, he had no choice but to keep burning.


    As he was burning, Zen felt a strange sensation. He felt that the Shade Stone was completely integrating with him. It was as though he had an additional layer of skin that he could manipulate. There seemed to be an unspoken agreement between him and the black mark.


    This sense of tacit understanding was very strange, as though he had grown another arm or a leg, not knowing where it came from. It felt the same as when he had three heads and six arms in the past. Although he was not used to this extra body part, it was there, and he could control it.


    ''Withdraw!''


    Zen ordered silently.


    The black thing immediately slipped somewhere deep within his body. His skin was fair again!


    No. 9527 was surprised at what it had just witnessed. After a while, it murmured, "It seems that you have a strange ability."


    Zen himself didn''t seem surprised at all.


    Along his journey, he had absorbed a lot of strange things. The Shade Stone just came by coincidence.


    As he shook his body, it instantly emerged again, covering his whole body in blackness.


    Then he got up and walked out of the jade cushion.


    As though sensing his movement, a long sword that was hovering on the roof of the cave suddenly shot towards him.


    However, Zen didn''t even flinch. He just stretched out his arms, as though to greet the blade that was flying towards him.

 Chapter 3126 Dreaded Eye Demon Race

    The Sword Tower was divided into three floors, and each floor symbolized the difficulty level, the third floor being the hardest. In most cases, only the Alliance Chiefs would enter the third floor.


    The first time Zen went to the Sword Tower, he cultivated on the first floor. Each ordinary long sword there held the power equivalent to a divine megaton of force.


    While every long sword on the second floor had four divine megatons of force. As for those on the third floor, each one was equal to ten divine megatons of force.


    Zen recalled his first visit to the Sword Tower. He was cultivating on the first floor and got hit by one of the long swords. It was so impactful that it left him wounded and scarred.


    After Zen acquired the Shade Stone, it had cloaked his entire body as if it were his own skin. Zen wanted to assess its resistance in the Sword Tower.


    "Whoosh!"


    A long sword rushed to Zen at a swift pace.


    "Crack!"


    A speck of golden light shot out from the collision.


    The robust sword, containing ten divine megatons of force, was deflected by the resistant black skin of Zen.


    "Good job..."


    A satisfied smile appeared on Zen''s black face.


    The Shade Stone he had absorbed accidentally was surprisingly effective.


    Feeling invincible, he began taking long strides as he advanced further down the path in front of him.


    The swords dancing above his head came loose and rained down on him one after the other at every step he took.


    "Bang! Bang! Bang! Whizzing..."


    Tiny spots of light sparkled at every collision of the swords with Zen''s skin but to no avail. Each long sword that aimed at him was deflected effortlessly by Zen''s body. None of them caused him the slightest harm. He continued moving forward unscathed.


    Sellers was guarding the Sword Tower. If he had witnessed this scene unravel, he would have been shocked to his very core.


    Soon as Zen approached the entrance of the practice room, huge swords above his head dangled loosely and aimed at him.


    These huge swords were more robust than the ones he had faced so far. Zen did not dare confront them when he was exploring the third floor of the Sword Tower last time.


    Doubts flooded his mind as he questioned whether he should go forth or not. But then, he fixed his posture looking determined and continued moving forward. Despite all the attacks, he wanted to test how durable the Shade Stone was, without caring about getting wounded in the process.


    "Bang!"


    "Bang!"


    "Bang!"


    Soon, a dozen powerful swords came swooping down on Zen, each of the


    hat flowed into his memories like a river, he saw the entire Dreaded Eye Demon race.


    In that dark world, the Dreaded Eye Demons appeared in various shapes and forms.


    As he read the information, he subconsciously raised his brows, feeling amazed.


    Generally, there wouldn''t be much difference in appearance between members in the same race.


    However, the Dreaded Eye Demon was all unique from each other from their size to features. Some of them looked like snakes, some were as big as cattle, and some were like birds, flying in the air.


    The only common feature was that each of them had one eye.


    "It''s not right..."


    As he continued looking through, he began to connect the pieces of the puzzle to make out what was going on.


    He concluded that they did not exist in various shapes and forms, but they were more of a parasite race. Furthermore, the different forms and bodies were not their own. In fact, it was the eye! The eye was their main and true body!


    In that dark world, the Dreaded Eye Demon race was a formidable race.


    Moreover, this race also seemed to believe in the Finale Way!


    "The biggest eye is embedded in a huge mountain. It is their leader, whose name is... Uday."


    Upon realizing this, Zen recalled how much No. 9527 used to look down upon this race. Yet, there was only one that gained its recognition. It was probably this "Uday", which was a real extraordinary creature.


    But how did Uday enter the Other Shore? Why did they build a temple for the Dreaded Eye Demons on the Other Shore?


    Zen hadn''t gotten the answers he needed from the information.


    After having a rough understanding of it, Zen controlled the demonic eye to move toward his elixir field.

 Chapter 3127 The Authentic Visual World

    Zen''s inner world trembled as the demonic eye fell.


    Almost all the creatures in the inner world raised their heads to look at the sky at the tremors.


    The power of the Godly Way was far greater than that of life vitality, and the Other Shore Power was far superior to that of the Godly Way. There were qualitative changes among the three kinds of powers.


    When he appeared before the red stone in the Dragon City for the first time, Zen had gathered most of his strength, but the test told him that his force only reached one divine megaton.


    However, the Other Shore Power that the demonic eye contained reached dozens of divine megatons.


    The demonic eye''s aura could shake the entire inner world.


    Splash...


    The great pressure forced the water of the chaotic sea to rush in all directions.


    The seawater surged to the edges of the inner world, but the invisible walls formed by the Thousand Sanskrit Land blocked it, causing it to rebound towards the continents in the form of a tsunami that was ten thousand feet high.


    There were thousands of villages and cities on the continents.


    The people of these villages and cities were frightened as they spotted the tsunami in the distance.


    Powerful warriors and True Gods began to escape, while ordinary mortals didn''t even have the chance to do so. Ordinary people were weak as ants in the face of natural disasters like this.


    The tsunami was about to make its way to every continent when Zen''s avatar raised an arm.


    He would not allow such a disaster to wreck his inner world.


    Air walls appeared from the coastlines of all the continents.


    Boom!


    Even though the tsunami was extremely powerful, it could not break through the air walls.


    "This must be a miracle!"


    "It is a miracle!"


    "Thank you for protecting us!"


    "The Creator is helping us."


    The mortals knelt on the ground, heads bowed and hands clasped in worship.


    Thanks to the Faith Energy they were sending out to him, Zen felt his internal momentum increase.


    In order to increase the Faith Energy of the creatures from their inner worlds, some True Gods would cause disasters on purpose and then save the creatures in their inner worlds. Only in this way could the creatures feel grateful and believe in their creators.


    Some powerful warriors and True Gods were staring solemnly at the sky.


    Their spiritual senses were extremely powerful. They sensed that an extremely powerful thing had come to this wo


    chains twined around the demonic eye, and then released gold light that illuminated the whole inner world so that it looked like it was daytime. Soon, all the chains disappeared, leaving the demonic eye floating in the air.


    The demonic eye, like a tamed beast, had been integrated with Zen''s inner world like the Nine Divine Stars. Even if it was extremely powerful, it wouldn''t exert pressure on the inner world and was now under Zen''s complete control.


    Zen tried to study the demonic eye again.


    He looked surprised after a while of studying it. He then left his inner world and opened his eyes.


    This demonic eye was known as the Eye of Will. In the long history of the Dreaded Eye Demon race, there were a total of nineteen Eyes of Will. Two of them had been kept in the Sacred Mallow Temple.


    The theurgy to arouse people''s fear was an innate theurgy of the Dreaded Eye Demon race, and any one of the Dreaded Eye Demons could use it.


    But the Eye of Will had another ability, which was the Authentic Visual World.


    Zen''s eyebrows shot up, a ray of white light shooting out of his right eye.


    An illusion of a huge cave sat in the practice room of the Sword Tower. The long swords, huge swords, and even the jade cushion beneath him didn''t actually exist. But Zen couldn''t see through them with his current strength.


    However, the illusion had disappeared in the vision of Zen''s right eye. He was sitting in a bare room.


    "This ability is amazing!"


    He remembered that there was a manual called Sword Texture Technique in the Truth Library. He could combine the Authentic Visual World and the Sword Texture Technique.

 Chapter 3128 The Yellow Paper

    When Zen visited the Truth Library for the first time, he was very interested in the Sword Texture Technique.


    However, back then, he hadn''t even reached the Other Shore Realm. Therefore, his cultivation level was too low for the technique, so he didn''t cultivate it.


    If the Sword Texture Technique was as formidable as they described it to be, then it would make an unfathomable combination with the Eye of Will.


    After practicing in seclusion for a few days, Zen was satisfied with what he had obtained from cultivation.


    Just as Zen was preparing to leave the Sword Tower, the guardian of the tower Sellers approached him with reluctant steps.


    Upon seeing him approach so timidly, Zen looked bewildered and asked, "Master Sellers, what''s the matter?"


    "Well, I just came here to remind you of something. No matter what you do, just don''t offend Milo," Sellers said with a concerned look.


    When Zen fought against Milo at Dragon City, Sellers had witnessed the fight from afar, and he had been looking for an opportunity to warn him.


    After that battle, Zen had left for the Mountain Viewing Province for a task and didn''t show up at Sword Tower.


    Meanwhile, Sellers remained at Sword Tower.


    He was one of the old-timers from the Oneness Sky Palace. In his eyes, Zen was a prodigy disciple with many talents. However, he also knew Milo was no ordinary disciple, at least not someone who should be underestimated. Milo was one of the extraordinarily talented disciples from the younger generation. According to Sellers, Zen could not compare to him in strength.


    Of course, if Sellers knew why Milo had sparred with Zen, he would never have warned him like that.


    "Thank you for your concern. I will be careful," Zen nodded and bowed to him respectfully.


    Zen was never the type to intentionally provoke others, but if someone tried instigating a fight with him, he was not someone to hold back either.


    However, Sellers had shown affection to him by warning him. Therefore, he chose to not embarrass him by telling him the truth.


    After leaving the Sword Tower, Zen went straight to the Truth Library. He showed no signs of reluctance and went straight up to the third floor.


    After he entered the illusion on the third floor, he heard a familiar voice of the man guarding there.


    "Have you come to buy some new swordsmanship manuals today?"


    The man sounded much friendlier than the last time Zen visited, maybe it was because of Zen''s acquaintance with Dorothy.


    It had not been long since Zen last came to buy two manuals.


    Normally, it would take a significant amount of time for people to finish learning a manual before they could come for another. But Zen was already here to purchase more. ''How is this possible? Did he really manage to learn the two manuals so quickly?'' the man wondered to himself.


    "Sir, can I still enjoy the last discount this


    the more difficult it was to decipher it.


    "The first six Sanskrit words seem to record the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent, and I already have their translation. Can you decipher the last two Sanskrit words for me?" Zen requested.


    "These two Sanskrit words are complicated..." Geoffrey looked even more closely at the yellow paper, and the solemn look on his face became more obvious than before. He said, "I''m afraid it will take me some time."


    Simple Sanskrit words were easy to decipher for him, and he could do it at first glance. However, the complicated ones were harder to comprehend and thus took more time.


    Zen nodded in reply. He didn''t expect Geoffrey to decipher them right off the bat either. However, the paper could only be borrowed for one day, and he had little time on his hands.


    With a gentle stroke of his palm, Zen summoned a stone tablet in his hand. He attempted to copy the Sanskrit words on the yellow paper, but the copied words had lost their might and charm.


    Glancing side-ways at the crooked Sanskrit words on the stone tablet, Geoffrey pouted mockingly and looked at his father with a strange expression.


    Suddenly, Zen thought of something and said, "Wait a minute."


    He had forgotten that the Sanskrit words couldn''t be copied freely, but he still had some duplicating stone tablets in his possession that he had got in the divine land.


    After Zen took out a duplicating stone tablet, he aimed it at the yellow paper and tried to copy the Sanskrit words again.


    But it was to no avail, as the Sanskrit words on the duplicating stone tablet were still blurry and crooked.


    "The Sanskrit words on the yellow paper cannot be copied," Zen concluded with a disappointed face.


    But then, Zen quickly reached out and sealed off the surrounding space, slowing down the time flow rate as much as possible to buy them some time. This was the only thing he could do to help Geoffrey.

 Chapter 3129 An Accident

    Zen didn''t speak for quite a while after slowing down the time flow rate.


    Geoffrey studied the two Sanskrit words in this quiet space.


    To him, each stroke of the Sanskrit words contained a wide meaning.


    The more complicated the word was, the more meaning it contained.


    There had been countless decipherers since ancient times to the present. Almost all of them had to rack their brains to exclude the wrong interpretations and determine the correct one.


    Besides, it was usually difficult to decipher a word when dozens of wrong interpretations were to be excluded.


    On the other hand, Geoffrey seemed to be born with a talent of easily excluding the Sanskrit word''s wrong interpretations. He could read simple Sanskrit words almost without thinking.


    But these two Sanskrit words were far more complicated than the others. Each pattern had more than a thousand interpretations.


    Rooting out the correct one from more than a thousand wrong interpretations was an impossible task for most decipherers.


    Even Eastern Emperor Taiyi hadn''t been able to decipher the Sanskrit words on the yellow paper.


    Geoffrey was a naughty man, but once he was immersed in something, he became serious in the blink of an eye.


    Two hours passed...


    Four hours passed...


    One day passed...


    Two days passed...


    For six consecutive days, Geoffrey remained unmoving. He stared at the Sanskrit words, his eyes bloodshot.


    His mind was working frantically, at a high speed, and this caused Geoffrey to consume a lot of soul power. In anticipation of this process, Zen had given him several pills that could increase his soul power.


    But for the past six days, he hadn''t deciphered a single word. Instead, he was trying to find out the rule behind the Sanskrit words.


    On the seventh day, Geoffrey''s tired, gloomy eyes suddenly lit up.


    Every pattern in a Sanskrit word had more than a thousand interpretations. Hundreds of patterns formed a Sanskrit word. As a result, there were tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of interpretations. Geoffrey had finally captured the rule within these countless interpretations!


    And then, combined with the other patterns, Geoffrey inferred the correct interpretation hidden in the Sanskrit words, little by little.


    "It should be like this!" G


    power of the Sea of Truth. But if one did not follow this rhythm, reciting the words would be pretty easy.


    "Come on! You almost lost your life!" Letitia admonished him.


    "So? It took me a lot of effort to decipher them!" Geoffrey had indeed put in a lot of thought and effort to decipher the Sanskrit words. It was obvious that he didn''t want to waste his efforts.


    He then dipped his brush into ink and began to write the words, one by one, looking back and forth at the Sanskrit words on the yellow paper.


    To be safe, he covered every word he wrote with a black cloth after he was done, in case he began to recite them subconsciously and release the sharp truth aura again.


    Two hours later, Geoffrey finished writing. The process was smooth.


    He carefully rolled up the paper and handed it to Zen. "Father, I don''t know what it is, but if you want to cultivate it, you have to be more cautious!"


    Zen was moved by his son''s words. He had grown up into a caring son after cultivating in his inner world for a while.


    "Geoffrey, you are so considerate. Don''t you want a reward this time?" Zen suddenly asked, smiling.


    "A reward?" Geoffrey blinked. He thought about it for a while before saying, "If Rosa and I become consummate True Gods, can we leave your inner world?"


    Rosa was the Holy Maiden of the Flower Dancing Sect.


    Geoffrey was the strongest warrior in Zen''s inner world.


    He had to leave Zen''s inner world if he wanted to improve his cultivation.


    Letitia''s face darkened at his words. "No way!"

 Chapter 3130 Passing The Position Of Alliance Chief

    As long as Geoffrey cultivated in Zen''s inner world, he would be safe, since everything was under Zen''s control.


    But, once he stepped out, there was no telling what dangers he might encounter. Naturally, Letitia began to worry.


    When she started to protest against this decision, Geoffrey retorted, "I didn''t ask you, Mom. I''m asking my father!"


    Since he was still a child, Letitia pampered him a lot but, she was also strict with him when it came to serious matters such as this one.


    He might be naughty in front of his father, but he always respected Letitia enough to be obedient to her.


    But, as he grew up, he developed a mind of his own.


    In the past, when Geoffrey returned to the fairy palace, he raised the same issue but was rejected. And now, he mentioned it again in front of Zen in hopes of a positive response.


    Letitia then directed her cold stare at Zen and waited to see what her husband had to say.


    Although Zen could sense the pressure from Letitia, he still smiled and nodded. "I agree."


    "Zen... You..."


    Hearing his decision, and watching the father and son rejoice made Letitia shake with anger. She clenched her fists tightly and glared at Zen.


    "Geoffrey has grown up. He is now a warrior at the True God Realm. It is inappropriate for him to be trapped in my inner world his entire life," Zen said, trying to reason with her.


    Of course, Letitia understood what Zen was trying to say, but as a mother, worrying about her son came as second nature to her.


    Just as she was about to refute, Zen added, "Moreover, Geoffrey has his pursuits in life. If you always protect him under your wings, it would hinder his growth."


    Letitia was a mother, and Zen understood her predicament. She would always want her son to be safe. However, he was old enough now, and they had to let him go so that he could explore the world by himself.


    Clap, clap, clap...


    "Dad, you are right!"


    Watching his father take a stand for him made Geoffrey clap his hands cheerily.


    Conflicting emotions welled up inside of Letitia. Now that Geoffrey looked so happy to leave, her eyes turned red as tears began to roll down her face.


    Geoffrey couldn''t help but feel a little flustered at the sight of his mother''s tears.


    "Geoffrey, you''d better go out first. Let me talk to your mother. You have my word for it. If you can reach the consummate True God Realm, I will let you out," Zen promised.


    Hearing this, Geoffrey nodded and immediately left the room.


    Zen approached Letitia with careful steps, and then he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her towards him to console her. Gently he rubbed her shoulders and told her the situation in the Oneness Sky Palace.


    With Geof


    "The flag of Alliance Chief?"


    Zen nodded in acknowledgment. "I have transferred the merit points to you. From now on, you are a new Alliance Chief of the Dragon City. And I entrust you with my followers."


    Hearing this, the warriors who just joined him not long ago felt fine and accepted Monica as their new leader.


    However, for the disciples of the Sword Light Palace like Beldene and Elgin, it was hard to digest.


    Specially Kenelm, he wasted no time and asked, "Flag Master Zen, are you leaving the Dragon City?"


    Zen nodded and said, "Yes."


    "Wow..."


    The disciples of the Sword Light Palace all began to debate among themselves.


    After all Zen had done for them in the past, it was hard for them to accept someone else in his stead. It was all because of Zen that they had entered the Dragon City and could cultivate in peace.


    How could they process the fact that Zen was leaving?


    Compared to the rest, Gant looked the calmest. When he saw Athemar come, he had already anticipated Zen would leave Dragon City to go up the mountain someday.


    In fact, it bothered him how Zen had stayed in the Dragon City for this long.


    "Since you are leaving Dragon City, are you going up the mountain?" Beldene asked.


    The disciples were all well-informed about the structure of the Oneness Sky Palace. They had stayed in the Dragon City for over a year and it was not difficult to get information about the Oneness Sky Palace.


    If one wanted to stand out in the Dragon City, there were only two ways: either go up the mountain or join the Oneness Guards.


    To become a Oneness Guard, one had to become an Alliance Chief first, and then take the test that was held annually. Now that Zen had directly passed the position of the Alliance Chief to Monica, it was obvious what his intentions were.

 Chapter 3131 Going Up The Mountain

    Zen nodded resolutely. "Yes, I am going up the mountain."


    Back in the Mountain Viewing Province, he had been chased by Elizabeth. She had been a great opponent, and Zen was forced to use every trick up his sleeve. As a result, Athemar realized his true identity.


    Once he had been exposed, Zen was left with only two choices¡ªeither to go up the mountain, or to leave the Oneness Sky Palace.


    Athemar was very explicit about this.


    The Oneness Sky Palace was one of the three orthodox forces of human race. In addition, it was traditionally a place for cultivating swordsmanship¡ªjust what Zen needed.


    More importantly, Zen learnt from Athemar that the path the Oneness Sky Palace had taken did not conflict with him and the Nine Li race.


    Thus, Zen ultimately chose to go up the mountain.


    Upon hearing Zen''s answer, the disciples of the Sword Light Palace fell into silence once more.


    They all knew what going up the mountain meant. However, they also were keenly aware of Zen''s capabilities; he was more than qualified for this quest.


    Although these disciples were unwilling to let Zen leave, it would''ve seemed selfish if they tried to stop him.


    Beldene regarded the silent crowd. "The Flag Master is a truly genius. You know, it''s a waste of his talent to remain in the Dragon City. He''s helped us enough. Now, he''s been chosen to go up the mountain. This means the Oneness Sky Palace is able to spot genius. We must give him our blessing!"


    "Beldene is right!" echoed Jago.


    "The Flag Master has already helped us a lot!"


    "If it weren''t for the Flag Master, we wouldn''t even be able to cross the Sword Wall..."


    "We should concentrate on our cultivation, so we can also go up the mountain in the future."


    The atmosphere gradually changed from regret to excitement and determination.


    Even though the disciples of the Sword Light Palace had only been in the Dragon City for a year, their mentality had changed a lot.


    Disciples like Beldene and Elgin were absolute geniuses back in the Sword Light Palace. However, in the Dragon City, many other bright disciples had gathered. This humbled them greatly, reminding them that there was always someone in this world that was stronger than them.


    Even the playboys of the Sword Light Palace, including Jago, had completely concentrated on cultivation, inspired to keep up with those geniuses'' pace.


    "If it weren''t for you, Flag Master, I wouldn''t even be able to enter the Sword Light Palace, let alone the Dragon City..." Kenelm sadly said under his breath.


    When Zen went to the Excellence City, Kenelm had asked him if he could be his helper. Kenelm had never thought that such a person would bring him from the Gracious Province to t


    s finally emerged, a middle-aged man in a white robe had joined him.


    This man was Calum Gu. He was responsible for checking on all the disciples who tried to climb up the mountain. Sellers was only meant to give his recommendation.


    After taking a look at Zen''s Sword Card, Calum Gu nodded. "It''s indeed the Sword Card from the Oneness Governor!"


    Then he pointed to the road snaking up the mountain. "Starting from here, you have to go up the mountain by yourself. If you encounter any trouble along the way, it is up to you to handle it. At the top of the mountain, there will be someone waiting for you."


    It was a difficult climb. Although Sellers had recommended numerous people before, only one out of ten ever made it.


    "With your strength, I have no doubt you will reach the top of the mountain." Sellers smiled. "Just be careful on the road."


    "Thank you for everything, Sir," Zen responded, bowing respectfully.


    Calum Gu looked at Sellers in surprise. "Sellers, why are you so confident in this man?" He asked curiously.


    Having Athemar''s Sword Card only meant that Athemar thought very highly of Zen. There had been many people trying to go up the mountain from ancient times, but who could guarantee that they would be able to make it?


    "He has Athemar''s recommendation, so he is by no means an ordinary person," Sellers replied, with a smile on his face. As Athemar had warned him before, he couldn''t reveal too much to Calum Gu.


    Calum Gu shook his head. "I don''t think so. Those Oneness Governors have all recommended some people, but many of them even fell from the mountain! They were not as good as those you recommended in the past..."


    As they discussed, they both watched Zen''s receding figure in the distance as he trekked on the road that snaked towards the mountaintop.

 Chapter 3132 Dragon Path

    Once Zen left, Calum turned to a servant and said, "Fetch me the Dragon Path Array Plate."


    The servant gave a short bow, went into the palace, and returned with an unadorned array plate in hand.


    The road from here to the mountain peak was named the Dragon Path and had existed ever since work on the palace had completed.


    This ancient path was covered by many major arrays that intended to protect the path by taking lives of intruders.


    Sword arrays like the Hacking Sword Array and the Fallen Sword Array provided fundamental protection for the Oneness Sky Palace.


    Calum wasn''t high-ranked enough to have his hands on all those sword arrays.


    The array plate he was holding controlled the Cloudy Mountain Array that was built to test climbers trying to scale the mountain.


    For a while at the beginning, the palace didn''t build the Dragon City.


    Anyone wanting to join the palace had to go straight up the mountain.


    Every day, there were countless people climbing the mountain. Hundreds and thousands of them would fail the Cloudy Mountain Array.


    Once the Dragon City was built, it became difficult even to become qualified to climb the mountain.


    "This person is at the first stage of the Other Shore Realm. The eighth-class difficulty will do," said Calum.


    "The eighth class¡­" Sellers was surprised.


    Calum glanced at Sellers and asked, "What''s wrong? You''re afraid it''s too difficult for him?"


    The array plate Calum was holding could adjust the difficulty of the Cloudy Mountain Array. The eighth class was the easiest of the lot.


    It was suitable for Zen''s cultivation level.


    Sellers chuckled and said, "If you set it at the eighth class, we might witness a new record today."


    Calum thought for a while and said, "If you think so highly of him, I''ll set it at the seventh class."


    Sellers didn''t say anything.


    It was no big deal for Zen to walk the Dragon Path. It was just one way to get him up the mountain.


    Sellers was thinking to himself that even though Zen was only at the first stage of the Other Shore Realm, he could easily handle a fifth or even a fourth-class Cloudy Mountain Array. The seventh or eighth class wouldn''t eve


    , and then turn it up to the second class. Milo had still made it to the mountain top.


    But Milo was a talent with Instant Enlightenment and the palace regarded him as a treasure.


    A talent like Milo didn''t have to be tested by the Dragon Path. The Flow Sword Sect had sent him here for fun and he had, in the process, set the highest record of all time.


    Would Calum compare Zen with Milo? That was impossible!


    The third-class difficulty did slow Zen down.


    He had ascended so fast because he had ignored the swords coming towards him.


    He wouldn''t get hurt no matter how the flying swords came after him.


    Zen had, by now, covered two-thirds of the path. The flying swords were gaining power now. He had to spare some strength to destroy them, and also occasionally dodge them.


    Zen came up with an idea so that he could ascend even faster.


    His arms turned black underneath the sleeves. He held his arms up to protect his head, and sped up once again.


    The flying swords were like raindrops, and the force contained within was several times stronger than that of the swords in Sword Tower. But they only numbed Zen''s arms, without leaving a mark.


    "Has he sped up again?" Calum exclaimed, his eyes wide in astonishment.


    This wasn''t what he had expected to see.


    Even Sellers was surprised now.


    He had always thought that there was quite a huge gap between Zen and Milo, but it now looked like the gap had diminished greatly.

 Chapter 3133 The Heavenly Magic Array

    Catching Calum looking at him, Sellers chuckled. "I don''t know much about Zen. He has already passed the third floor of the Sword Tower, and has fought with Milo once."


    "What was the result?" queried Calum.


    "Zen lost," Sellers said bluntly with a slight shrug.


    "Milo has been in the mountain for a long time, and his cultivation level is higher than Zen''s. It''s not surprising Zen lost. But it''s hard to tell this young man''s potential," Calum said, scratching his chin.


    Then, he raised the array plate again. "If he can climb the mountain under the second-class difficulty, he might be able to be compared with Milo''s past self."


    Although Sellers gave his recommendation for Zen to go up the mountain, to be clear, he just wanted to do Athemar a favor. One way or another, Zen was qualified to climb the mountain.


    However, in actuality, Sellers was also curious to see just how strong Zen truly was.


    "Please make the decision by yourself, Master Calum," said Sellers, bowing slightly.


    If Zen got hurt, Athemar would put the blame on him. Sellers didn''t want to be used as a scapegoat.


    Watching Zen gradually recover his speed, Calum gritted his teeth as he changed the array plate again.


    The difficulty of the Cloudy Mountain Array on the Dragon Path could only reach up to third class. However, a second class of difficulty was later added with the use of the Heavenly Magic Array.


    Therefore, once someone started the second-class difficulty, the Heavenly Magic Array was also activated. That was exactly what happened to Zen.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    The moment Zen took another step, flying swords shot towards him.


    The flying swords alone were nothing to him. He indifferently moved forward at an incredible speed.


    Then, some of the flying swords collided with his arms.


    Bang! Bang!


    The flying swords released clouds of smoke and suddenly transformed into chains that wrapped themselves around Zen''s arms. At the end of each chain was a large, cone-shaped weight.


    "Wow, the weights are heavy!


    Each of them probably contains one divine megaton of force."


    Zen grunted as he struggled to keep moving forward, despite the chains.


    He frowned as he realized that back when he first entered the Dragon City, he couldn''t even lift these heavy weights.


    The Heavenly Magic Array was changeable.


    n the third. Now climbing the mountain was like walking on the flat ground.


    "Zen''s speed..."


    In the Cloudy Mountain Palace, Calum and Sellers were flabbergasted.


    It took less than ten minutes for Zen to destroy the magic array after Calum activated the difficulty of the second class.


    The Heavenly Magic Array was not difficult for him at all.


    There was an essential difference between the Heavenly Magic Array and the Cloudy Mountain Array.


    The Cloudy Mountain Array was used for the assessment, but the Heavenly Magic Array was used to resist the enemy.


    Since the Oneness Sky Palace was built, very few people had managed to destroy the Heavenly Magic Array with their own strength. Zen was merely at the first stage of the Other Shore Realm, but he made it!


    "How did he make it?"


    "Can Zen also control the swords with his mind?"


    Calum and Sellers could only see his figure on the array plate and didn''t know how Zen did that.


    "Shall we activate the first-class difficulty?" Sellers asked with a mischievous smile.


    Calum shook his head immediately and clutched the plate tightly. Fearing he wouldn''t be able to resist the temptation, he said decisively, "No. The first-class difficulty will kill him. If anything bad happens to Zen on the Dragon Path, Master Athemar will have me killed!"


    "Relax, it was just a suggestion!" Sellers laughed.


    Together, they returned their focus towards Zen. Much to their surprise, Zen had already almost made it to the mountain''s peak. "That''s half the time it took Milo..." Calum murmured.

 Chapter 3134 Treatment

    When Zen emerged from the Dragon Path, a gate appeared before him.


    Zen stopped in his tracks, stunned at the sight of the gate.


    The gate was formed from two pieces of weathered dead wood standing upright a few feet away from each other, with a cracked board above them.


    Lack of maintenance over the years had caused all the inscriptions on the board to disappear. The board just hung there, nothing on it.


    Who would have thought that the famous Oneness Sky Palace had a gate that was in such a dilapidated condition?


    Zen passed through the gate and continued walking. The road forked in three paths ahead of him.


    These three paths were paved with stone bricks, each with a different variety.


    The path on the left was paved with thick, wide, cyan stone bricks engraved with landscape paintings. It looked grand and majestic.


    The path on the right was paved with black stone bricks. He had no idea what the stone bricks were made of, but they looked solid and gave off the aura of history and eternity.


    The path in the middle was paved with small red stones. They were light and dynamic, giving off a sharp aura.


    Looking at the paths in front of him, Zen hesitated.


    Hadn''t they said that someone would be here to receive him when he came up here? Why hadn''t he seen anyone?


    Zen looked at the three paths again as he thought. The answer came to him soon enough.


    The test wasn''t over.


    He had to make a choice, and there was no hint.


    Zen made a decision after a while. He chose the path with the red bricks.


    He took a step in that path and then began to climb up the stairs, accelerating as he climbed.


    He walked along the road for more than twenty miles, and then came to a ridge. He passed it, and came across a board.


    The board was inscribed with the words, "Flow Sword Sect".


    Zen''s eyebrows went up when he saw the board.


    He had made the right choice by following his heart.


    After his fight with Fergus, Zen had also become interested in the Flow Sword Sect.


    There were a few similarities between the Flow Strike and the Emotion Closing Godly Way that he had cultivated. This was a path that was suitable for him.


    He stood under the board for a while. He then saw two women in white saunter over to him from the other side of the board.


    One of them f


    rd on the table was ranked decently high. It was an intermediate Profound Blood Treasure. There were a million divine crystals in one of the space rings, but the two women seemed to be indifferent to it all, not even bothering to explain everything to him.


    They had only explained the entry tokens, making it look like they were very important.


    "The Flow Sword Sect is so generous. Do all the disciples who join the sect receive such treatment?" Zen asked.


    The woman smiled. "Those who can successfully go up the mountain are considered members of our Oneness Sky Palace. This treatment is only a small gift."


    Zen sighed as he looked out upon the exquisite courtyard.


    There was a stark difference in how he was treated here and how he was treated at the foot of the mountain.


    In the Dragon City, both the Flag Masters and the Alliance Chiefs didn''t even have a cave, let alone a building like this. Each of them only had a flag and everyone just lived and cultivated in the open air. The living conditions were poor.


    "Mr. Luo, you must be tired, having climbed all the way here. I''ll help you take a bath and change your clothes," the woman said and walked to the side of the building.


    The other woman went to gather up the clothes, shoes, and hats from the table.


    Zen was stunned. He looked at the two women curiously and asked, "You don''t need to do these things, do you?"


    The woman said, "You have now entered the house, and you are the master of this place. We are your maids. So of course we will serve you."

 Chapter 3135 Being Idle

    Zen was stunned when he heard the young woman in white call herself a maid. "Maids?"


    She smiled and nodded. "Yes. You can call me Trish."


    "I''m Carrie," the other woman in white said, introducing herself.


    Zen shook his head. "Why you two are maids."


    "This place has been given to you by the sword sect. Everything in it belongs to you, including us," said Trish.


    "Are the other disciples of the Flow Sword Sect also treated like this?" Zen asked, persistent in his questions.


    "Yes," Trish replied firmly, nodding her head.


    Zen hadn''t met any other disciples on his way to the Flow Sword Sect. He had only met several women dressed in white, like Trish and Carrie.


    He had been a little curious at the time, but it was only now that he realized that all of them were maids of the disciples of the Flow Sword Sect.


    "Can I just live here without a maid?" Zen asked.


    Since the Flow Sword Sect had given him such a large courtyard, Zen could even invite Letitia and the others to stay with him. He didn''t need anyone taking care of him.


    Trish was disappointed. "We are responsible for conveying the news of the sword sect and need to deal with a lot of things for you. I''m afraid you''ll find it difficult to adapt to this place without us."


    "Moreover, it''s our duty to serve you. If you don''t need us, we will be asked to leave the mountain," Carrie added.


    The disappointment on both their faces roused sympathy in Zen.


    He had just entered this place, which was why he hadn''t been able to adapt to it yet. And as Trish had said, there must be a reason why everyone had maids to take care of them.


    When in Rome, do as the Romans do. And it would be rude to drive them away.


    "If that''s the case, you can all stay here. But you don''t need to serve me when I take a bath," Zen said, shaking his head.


    Trish and Carrie looked at each other, nodding happily.


    Zen took the white clothes and shoes and went to the room in the courtyard.


    Once Zen had left, Carrie whispered to Trish, "Trish, Mr. Luo''s cultivation base seems to be low. I''ve noticed that the warriors that the other maids serve seem to be stronger than him."


    Trish shook her head and replied, "The Flow Sword Sect only cares about and appreciates his potential, but not his strength. Have you heard about Milo? His cultivation base was also at just the first stage of


    On his way back, he could hear the women laughing and whispering in the other courtyards. He knew what had happened without even looking inside.


    ''Oh my God! What the hell is this place?''


    Zen found this place to be even more mysterious and dangerous than all the places he had explored so far.


    His lips curled up in a curious yet wary smile as he made his way back alone.


    He wasn''t someone who could waste time while leading an idle life. He had even begun to miss his days in the Dragon City.


    No one was paying much attention to him. So he found a quiet corner in his own courtyard, set up a restriction array, and started to cultivate the Sword Texture Technique.


    He cultivated this way for half a month. Once he finished cultivating, he handed a space ring to Trish and asked her to give it to Monica, who was in the Dragon City.


    Within the ring sat the Sword-reading Liquid. Before going up the mountain, Zen had agreed that Monica could get 30% of the profit once the Sword-reading Liquid was sold, and he would take the rest of it. He would replenish the Sword-reading Liquid once every month.


    Trish was capable, and it only took her one day to take the ring back.


    Zen counted and found that there were nearly twenty million divine crystals in it.


    "Mr. Luo, what is in this space ring? It looks mysterious," Trish asked.


    "Nothing extraordinary," Zen said, shrugging his shoulders. He wasn''t going to tell anyone about the Sword-reading Liquid.


    He was about to put away his space ring when a resounding bell chime sounded from the distance.

 Chapter 3136 A Strange Test

    When he heard the sound of the bell echo across his ears, Zen felt excited.


    Finally...


    If it continued like this, he might give up and head back to Dragon City.


    "Did the bell ring to assemble the disciples?" Zen asked with curious eyes.


    Seeing his hopeful expression, Trish pursed her lips and shook her head. "No, Mr. Luo, it rings at the beginning of each month, by customary rule."


    "What does it mean?" Zen asked listening intently.


    "Nothing. It''s just a friendly reminder that a new month has begun," Trish replied.


    "¡­"


    Disappointed by her words, Zen sighed and closed the door without uttering a word.


    Observing Zen''s profile, Trish bit her tongue and turned to Carrie while giving her shoulders a shrug.


    Carrie raised her eyebrows slightly and said, "It seems Mr. Luo is very impatient."


    "According to them, I''m afraid that it''s difficult for Mr. Luo to achieve anything in the Flow Sword Sect," Trish said while shaking her head.


    "Forget about that. I think he is a good man. He is polite and gentle," said Carrie.


    Even after listening to Carrie speak highly of Zen, Trish still had a grim look on her face.


    The reason why she became a servant girl of the Flow Sword Sect was that she had missions to fulfill. What she loathed was being outshone by other maids. If Zen didn''t perform well, she would be disappointed.


    But, she did not have the privilege of choosing her master, so she could only suppress her disappointment in her heart.


    As the darkness of the night cloaked the sky, the stars that were shy to shine in the day flaunted their light.


    As if that was their cue, the doors to the courtyards opened, one by one.


    Servant girls in white appeared to step out of each gate before they walked along the alleys.


    Zen quickly spotted Trish stepping out of the door.


    Suddenly he was alerted, and he released a wisp of spiritual sense to follow after her.


    Like all the other girls, Trish walked in a single direction without uttering a word to anyone. As soon as they crossed the alleys, Zen felt a powerful force shatter his spiritual sense, breaking his connection with her.


    The girls in white quickly flocked into a palace and waited for someone to arrive.


    There were five golden pots scattered across the room. The girls stood in a row in front of them.


    After a short while,


    to see your master be rated as ''Poor'' again next time! Do you hear me?"


    Trish felt her soul leave her body when she saw the bamboo slip getting placed in the ''Poor'' pot.


    Mocking gazes from the other girls felt like swords stabbing her from all directions. Subconsciously she covered her face in shame and felt her cheeks burn.


    "You can leave now." The woman ordered someone to put away the pots, and gestured the girls to leave.


    After the woman went with her group, the girls followed and left the palace too.


    They quickly formed groups and began whispering and gossiping amongst each other.


    Trish walked like an outsider among the crowd with heavy steps and felt light-headed.


    One girl came up to her and said, "Fortunately, we don''t need to take an examination this month. There''s something wrong with the Flow Tower. After it is repaired, you have to be careful. If your master is expelled from the Flow Sword Sect, you will also be expelled as his maid."


    The girl''s words seemed to be caring, but actually, she was ridiculing Trish.


    "I know that,"


    Trish said with low spirits as she kept her head hung loose.


    She returned to Zen''s courtyard and met with Carrie. Standing there, Carrie read her expressions and guessed the result.


    "Good?


    Fair?


    Poor?! Oh my God!"


    After a long period of silence, Carrie asked in a concerned tone, "What should we do now?"


    "We have to figure out a way," said Trish sternly.


    "What way? Tell me, I''m all ears," Carrie asked.


    "A way to make Mr. Luo give up cultivation," said Trish.

 Chapter 3137 The Sword Texture Technique

    Trish had an idea of how persistent the warriors who had reached the Other Shore were.


    Maybe someone like Zen was not suitable to stay in the Flow Sword Sect.


    Similar to Zen, there were people in the past who made the wrong choice and were later dismissed.


    Even if Zen was asked to leave, he had other options to choose from. He could either move to the Killing Sword Sect or the Unique Array Sword Sect.


    Compared to him, Trish and Carrie would have to face grave consequences. They would be asked to leave the mountain, and wouldn''t be allowed to stay in the Flow Sword Sect.


    If other servant girls were in the same position as them, they might just give up their jobs and leave. However, Carrie only widened her eyes and asked, "So how do we stop Mr. Luo from cultivating? When he sets up an enchanted barrier, we won''t be able to enter his room..."


    "We should figure out a way," said Trish while nodding her head.


    The second day, it was a bright and sunny morning. White fluffy clouds that looked like cotton candy drifted across the sky.


    Inside one of the rooms on the upper floor of the building, there was a wooden slab cut out in the shape of a square, a stone brick, and a long sword in front of Zen.


    "The textures of everything in the world exist...


    One can''t see them all because they do not observe them carefully enough.


    Theoretically speaking, even I can find the textures on the whole Source World when I reach the top level of the Sword Texture Technique. I should be able to chop the Source World in half and destroy it with one sword strike...


    This..."


    In the past few days, Zen had developed a deep understanding of the Sword Texture Technique and gradually become familiar with it.


    However, he was at a loss for words when he read the postscript of the Sword Texture Technique. It was a bit of a stretch to describe that one could cut open the Source World in half with one sword strike.


    "I should disperse the truth aura, and hold my breath while I observe it..."


    Casually, Zen began to release his truth aura, and it slowly surrounded him from all sides.


    When the truth aura started dispersing to a certain extent, he gathered it by following the methods of the Sword Texture Technique and pushed it towards the square wood in front of him.


    Then he kept his eyes wide open and stared at the slab of wood.


    Soon, he witnessed a texture form on the surface of it.


    "Can I break it if I cut it along its texture?"


    Instinctively, Zen picked up the long sword and proceeded to cut along the texture on the surface of the wood.


    "Swish!"


    With a swift move, the slab got cut in half.


    Looking at the broken symmetrical pieces of the wood, Zen pursed his lips in disappointment.


    He could easily slice the w


    of soup now was on the ground with all its contents spilled over, making the fragrance of soup diffuse around the room.


    Looking at the soup jar, Zen just shook his head and said, "That''s fine. You don''t have to. I haven''t eaten food for many years."


    "But..."


    Before Trish could finish, Zen had already returned to his cultivation. With a wave of his hands, the enchanted barrier enveloped the room once more.


    Trish stomped her foot to the ground and left with a sullen expression on her face.


    "Trish, how did it go?" Carrie couldn''t help but ask, even though she had guessed what had happened upon seeing Trish''s expression.


    "He is such an aloof guy. Unfortunately, we can''t explain anything to him..." Trish said as she gritted her teeth.


    This was the rule of the Flow Sword Sect. The servant girls were not allowed to tell others about the secrets of the Flow Tower.


    "Once the Flow Tower is repaired, and Mr. Luo is unable to pass the test, I''m afraid we will immediately be asked to leave as well. We only have a month left," Carrie said with low spirits.


    "I will not give up!" Trish said while clenching her fists furiously.


    In the next few days, Trish and Carrie made several attempts to stop Zen from cultivating.


    One day, Carrie had carried her zither to the second floor where he was training. She was proficient in music. But when she played it, Zen had cast a sound-proof enchanted barrier to isolate the sound.


    Another day, when Zen came out of his room, Trish asked him to take a look at her painting and give her feedback. But Zen turned her down with the excuse that he was not an expert when it came to paintings.


    And one day...


    In the eyes of Trish and Carrie, Zen was a warrior who only focused on his cultivation and never cared for much else. He was not suitable to stay in the Flow Sword Sect.

 Chapter 3138 The Flow Tower

    Even though nagging was against Trish''s nature, she still felt frustrated that Zen wouldn''t give her any attention.


    After a few days, came the news about the restoration of the Flow Tower. As a result, Trish was in despair.


    The bell rang again, signaling the arrival of a new month.


    But this time, Zen was indifferent and didn''t pay much attention to it.


    Zen had no idea how the Flow Sword Sect operated. So he just decided to seize the chance to cultivate by himself.


    He planned on perfecting the Sword Texture Technique and then heading back to the Other Shore.


    However, as night struck, it was time for the assessment of the servant girls again.


    Like last time, Trish hung her head in defeat and went to the palace with the other girls.


    And just like before, she answered all her questions truthfully and then watched Zen''s bamboo slip get thrown into the ''Poor'' pot.


    "The Flow Tower has been repaired. The disciples of the Flow Sword Sect will go in there for their training tomorrow. When your master fails, you can leave by yourself." The gorgeous woman spoke to Trish with a stern look.


    The other girls all looked at Trish with sympathetic eyes as she kept her gaze fixated on the ground in shame.


    To be expelled from the Flow Sword Sect was probably the most humiliating thing for these servant girls.


    After those events, Trish returned to the building with a defeated expression on her face.


    Studying her gloomy profile, Carrie understood what had happened, and she even mentally prepared herself to leave soon.


    "Tell Mr. Luo that the Flow Tower will be open tomorrow," Trish said with low spirits.


    "Maybe it''s better for you to tell him in person..." Carrie suggested while rubbing her shoulders to console her.


    "I... I don''t want to talk to him!" Trish held Zen responsible for all the humiliation she had to face.


    Blinded by anger, Trish refused to interact with him. Understanding her predicament, Carrie sighed helplessly and went upstairs to pass the message to Zen instead.


    "Flow Tower..."


    Of course, Zen didn''t expect things to continue like this forever.


    They wouldn''t be giving out those entry tokens for nothing.


    However, he still wondered why the Flow Sword Sect would operate like this.


    On the next day, Trish was nowhere to be seen.


    "Please follow me." Carrie bowed slightly towards Zen.


    Trish was so depressed that she chose to not come out that day, so Carrie had to take over and escort him instead.


    Zen follo


    , he wouldn''t feel so uneasy over encountering him, even though he cared a lot about confronting Milo.


    After searching unsuccessfully for a while, Zen finally realized he was under the influence of the tower!


    ''I must have underestimated the tower, '' Zen thought to himself.


    As time passed by, about a dozen more disciples gathered outside the Flow Tower.


    The gorgeous woman waved her hand, and a row of golden lot pots emerged in front of her. "Every disciple of our sect will be given ten entry tokens every year. That gives everyone twenty hours in the tower each year. You can tell that every chance to enter the tower is extremely precious. I hope that you make the best use of it!"


    "For those newcomers entering the tower today, anyone who can''t make it through the second floor will be expelled immediately. The entry tokens will be divided by others. Anyone who could reach the seventh floor will be offered another building and an extra hundred entry tokens every year."


    She was obviously referring to people in a similar position as Zen.


    As she explained the rules, it became clear that the buildings surrounding the tower were for the use of the elite disciples.


    She finished speaking and drew a bamboo slip from the golden pot labeled as Excellent. "Damien Zhu, you may proceed into the tower."


    Hearing that, a young man with light-colored skin stretched himself and casually walked towards the Flow Tower.


    Then, she went on to draw another slip from the same pot and announced the name. The one who got called went inside the tower as well.


    One after the other, she sent ten people in, and then she stopped drawing the slips.

 Chapter 3139 The Last One

    Staying in the Flow Tower for less than two hours would still be considered two hours spent.


    Warriors who entered the tower would seize every minute, maximizing every second.


    Even if they couldn''t make it to the higher floors of the Flow Tower, they wouldn''t leave within two hours. After all, one could only stay in the tower for twenty hours a year!


    As the crowd waited in silence, Trish appeared suddenly.


    She frowned as she searched the crowd for Zen. She knew he had done poorly, but she had to see the result herself.


    When she finally spotted Zen and Carrie, she headed towards them dejectedly. "I''m sorry, Mr. Luo. You''ve been rated as ''Poor''. I''m afraid you will be the last one to enter the tower."


    Zen shrugged. They all turned towards the tower. Once the first batches of warriors entered, several golden dots lit up on the rough surface of the bricks and mortar that made up the tower walls.


    The golden dots seemed to hover on the first floor for a while, but soon they quickly climbed up to the second floor.


    "How fast they are!" cried someone from the crowd. "They are excellent," Trish sighed, eyeing the golden light dots. "But unfortunately I don''t have the luck to be their maid."


    The crowd eagerly watched as the golden dots moved along the walls of the tower. That way, they could follow the movements of the warriors inside.


    The first group of people were rated as ''Excellent''. They had been trained well, and they moved through the tower like a fish in water.


    The glamorous woman watched the moving dots of golden light with a satisfied look on her face.


    "The Flow Tower stopped working for two months. I''m pleased that this hasn''t hindered anyone, as all the disciples have still made great progress," a person beside the glamorous woman said expressionlessly. "I wonder if anyone will reach the seventh floor."


    "Damien reached the sixth floor last time. If he makes it to the seventh floor this time, he will be qualified to move," another person said excitedly.


    Everyone hoped that someone would move into one of the independent courtyard houses. However, in the past year, no one in the Flow Sword Sect had gotten far enough to be qualified.


    The golden dots darted aggressively along the wall of the Flow Tower. After a few seconds, around eight dots had jumped to the third floor. A voice chirped from the crowd, "Such incredible speed!"


    Minutes later, ten dots stopped on the fifth floor.


    "The fifth flo


    "Well, you are a new disciple, so it''s very likely that you won''t make it even to the second floor." She smiled mischievously, pausing for a dramatic effect. "That means you''ll be expelled from the Flow Sword Sect. Then, they will try to snatch your nine entry tokens."


    The more entry tokens they obtained, the more times they could enter the Flow Tower. No one wanted to miss this opportunity!


    "Oh, I see..."


    Zen shrugged as he realized that these people were just waiting for him to fail.


    Many more groups entered the Flow Tower, but the quality of the matches kept deteriorating.


    However, not a single one was trapped on the first floor. Even the new disciples, who had joined the Flow Sword Sect at the same time as Zen, had made it to the second floor. No one was expelled from the Flow Sword Sect.


    The disciples who had left the tower earlier threw dagger looks at no one in particular, as they were incredibly disappointed that no entry tokens were to be claimed. Everyone got up to prepare to leave.


    At this time, the glamorous woman cleared her throat. "There is one last warrior who has yet to enter the Flow Tower."


    Picking up the slip with Zen''s name from the ''Poor'' pot, she continued, "This disciple named Zen Luo has been rated as ''Poor'' for consecutive two months. This rarely happens. Now, it''s his turn to enter the Flow Tower."


    Usually, ten disciples entered the Flow Tower at the same time as a group. But in this case, Zen was the last one left.


    Hearing what the coquettish woman said, the disappointed disciples instantly cheered up. There was no way this warrior would make it past the first floor!

 Chapter 3140 The Flame Of Soul

    "No one has ever received a ''Poor'' evaluation for two consecutive months, right?"


    "A man with such a personality is not suitable to stay in the Flow Sword Sect..."


    "If he is expelled, I''ll have a chance of obtaining an entry token."


    Those who were about to leave turned around to watch what was going to happen to Zen.


    Since they didn''t know him, they began to inquire of their respective servant girls about him.


    "The master served by Trish and Carrie..."


    "I heard he had been cultivating in seclusion ever since he came to the Flow Sword Sect!"


    "Maybe he is too stubborn to know how to love a woman..."


    The women spoke without fear because they had the support of their masters. They continued to spite Zen with a look of disdain on their faces.


    It was not hard to relate to their emotions. As servants, their purpose was to serve and please their masters. But Zen had completely broken the rules and denied them of their mission, which rendered Carrie''s and Trish''s existences meaningless.


    Zen listened to all judgments that were being passed on him and continued to diffuse them.


    Then suddenly, a sharp voice from the back of the crowd resounded in the place. "What are you talking about? Mr. Luo is not the kind of person you are portraying him to be!"


    The crisp voice belonged to Trish.


    Although Zen was about to be expelled from the mountain along with her and Carrie, she felt the need to protect him against these allegations. In her eyes, he was a righteous man who did not deserve the heat from all the girls.


    "Well, well, well, you''re going to be kicked out soon, and you still argue for him. Trish, you really do stand up for your master, huh?"


    "Poor Trish! You tried your best, but all your efforts were in vain."


    "¡­¡­"


    The women continued to brutally taunt her with their barbed words.


    The disciples watched from the sidelines as they felt the women should sort their issues out among themselves.


    As for Zen, since he was new, they didn''t take him seriously.


    But now all their attention was directed at Zen since they anticipated his dismissal would happen soon. Getting a "Poor" evaluation for two months in a row meant there was a high probability of him being expelled.


    Preparing herself to retaliate, Trish bit her lip anxiously. But then Zen gestured her to stop and said, "Don''t mind them..."


    "But Mr. Luo..." Trish insisted.


    "I will promise you one thing: I won''t be expelled by the Flow Sword Sect, and you won''t have to leave the mountain either," Zen interrupt


    s as he was, he refused to give up. But every time he forced himself to progress, the pain grew gradually.


    Suddenly, Zen felt a sharp sting in his chest when a bright red flame began burning from within it!


    "The Flame of Soul can devour one''s heart and mind. Young man, the stronger your obsession is, the stronger the counterattack of the Flame of Soul is. If you can''t endure it, you can leave by yourself." The voice in the Flow Tower echoed again.


    "The Flame of Soul?"


    Her words made him stop in his tracks. Zen clenched his chest as he bore the pain.


    As he felt his chest where the fire was with his hand, the red flame did not burn it.


    The temperature of the fire was normal, but the pain he was experiencing was no illusion. It was real.


    ''If I could just climb up to the second floor...'' Zen raised his head in agony and looked up.


    Yet, there was no staircase up to the second floor in the Flow Tower. It appeared the only way was to leap towards it.


    Making his mind up, he stomped his feet on the ground and flew up.


    However, the moment Zen jumped up, the red Flame of Soul in his chest abruptly swelled up, like a giant silk cocoon, enwrapping him. The pain it caused was multiplied over a hundred times!


    The unbearable pain mixed with all the negative emotions made it hard for him to focus.


    When a myriad of negative emotions broke out, he sensed that he was orphaned and shunned by the world, making him feel more worthless than ever.


    "Plop..."


    He just jumped five feet high and then planted face-first on the ground.


    Outside the Flow Tower, everyone saw the golden light spot on the surface of the tower jump once and return to where it was.

 Chapter 3141 Theurgy Beyond Emotion Closing Godly Way

    The disciples waiting outside the Flow Tower watched the golden dot of light struggle, a satisfied smile playing at their lips.


    After all, Zen was a disciple of the same sect as them; it was improper for them to openly jeer at him. Naturally, they hoped Zen would fail. Seeing the wobbly golden dot hinted to failure excited them.


    On the other hand, those women in white had no scruples about speaking their mind.


    "He has been rated Poor for two consecutive months. He deserves it!"


    "Do you see how he''s struggling on the first floor? There''s no way he''ll last. Just you wait. He''ll come out when he can''t hold on any longer."


    "I''m betting it''ll take five minutes, at most!"


    They all shot hateful glances at Trish and Carrie as they spoke.


    "I''m afraid that Mr. Luo won''t make it," Carrie said, her voice trembling slightly.


    "As long as he tries his best, it doesn''t matter how this will end," Trish said reassuringly as she watched the golden dot on the wall of the tower. "What matters is he doesn''t give up; he''s still trying his best to jump onto the second floor."


    "Oh, Trish, you are so good at finding excuses to console yourself..." a woman in white beside Trish said haughtily. "Remember how he promised to you before he entered the tower? Look at him now, he''s so lame!" She threw her head back and laughed.


    Trish glared at the girl in white.


    The woman who was laughing was Winnie Su. She was good at making people feel bad. Usually Trish didn''t take things to heart. Nevertheless, Winnie Su insisted on creating drama.


    "Time is not up yet. Our master still has the chance to succeed," said Trish calmly.


    "Chance? Hahaha...!" Winnie Su could only laugh at Trish''s naivete.


    Anyone who watched keenly could tell that a weak warrior like Zen barely had the chance of turning the situation around.


    Trish was definitely aware of this, but she was reluctant to admit it. Zen was her master, after all.


    Time ticked by...


    These people had been by the tower for more than twenty hours, yet surprisingly, they waited patiently.


    Zen, on the other hand, was still at the bottom of the Flow Tower, motionless.


    "The Flame of Soul... It''s not a real flame. It should be a kind of energy..."


    As Zen grew stronger, he now had a better understanding of how this world worked.


    Any matter in the world was created with energy. The sea water of the Sea of Truth, the Other Shore Power, the internal momentum and life vitality... they were all different kinds of energy. And the self that formed in the soul was the ruler that controlled the energy.


    ''This kind of flame can affect people''s emotions. I feel pain because m


    Emotion Closing Godly Way, yet his method of using it was regarded as rough. Naturally, he couldn''t let this slide.


    However, reflecting upon how the Flame of Soul attacked him just now, he realized something.


    In the past, Zen just used the Emotion Closing Godly Way as a way of attack, and he hoped that it would become his most powerful swordsmanship.


    But, he needed to consider that the Source World was different. The Godly Ways had evolved here for a long time and the methods of using them were more diversified. For example, just now, Zen could have used the Emotion Closing Godly Way to avoid the Flame of Soul from attacking one point on him.


    As Zen pondered over this, he gathered his wits and sat cross-legged on the ground.


    The Emotion Closing Godly Way he learned did not teach him such a method, so he could only explore it by himself.


    There were so many theurgies beyond ways in the divine land, which were also figured out by those True Gods themselves, and Zen thought he could also explore and figure out a theurgy beyond Emotion Closing Godly Way himself.


    From outside the tower, the people counted the minutes. Five minutes had passed...


    Ten minutes had passed...


    Fifteen minutes had passed...


    Finally, an hour had passed quickly. The people began to grow restless.


    "He just tried twice, and failed twice. Now, he won''t even move. What a coward..."


    "He might be questioning the meaning of his life at the bottom of the tower!"


    "It doesn''t matter what he is doing. Time is almost up."


    As the women were whispering amongst themselves, the door of one of the courtyard houses behind the Flow Tower quietly creaked open.


    A young man in a coir raincoat, with a beautiful girl in his arms, slowly walked towards the tower.

 Chapter 3142 Moving Up The Flow Tower

    Everyone gradually got bored from staring at the motionless golden light dot in the Flow Tower.


    Thus the arrival of the young man in a coir raincoat and the girl in yellow drew their attention towards them.


    "That''s Milo..."


    "He came out today!"


    "He''s the most powerful warrior of the Flow Sword Sect. It is known that he is capable of Instant Enlightenment, and can produce the Sword-reading Liquid as much as he wants!"


    "The Sword-reading Liquid is exceedingly expensive. If he sells it, he could earn countless divine crystals."


    The girls in white were struck with awe as their gazes followed Milo.


    Geniuses were always treated with high regard by the girls.


    As for Damien and the other disciples of the Flow Sword Sect, they felt inferior to him in his presence.


    Those who resided in the separate courtyard houses were this sect''s elite disciples, and Milo was the best among them.


    Every year, the ordinary disciples were allowed to stay in the Flow Tower for twenty hours, while the elite were allowed two hundred hours. However, Milo was the only exception who could stay in the tower as long as he wished!


    That was the highest privilege given to anyone in the Flow Sword Sect.


    As for the girl walking alongside him, she had a respectful background in the Oneness Sky Palace.


    At the sight of Milo, the glamorous woman put on a seductive smile and asked, "What brings you here, Milo?"


    "It''s too boring in the house," Milo replied, shrugging his shoulders casually. Then, his gaze fell on the Flow Tower, and he stared at it with a baffled expression on his face. "Why is there only one person in the Flow Tower? And why is that person still on the first floor?"


    "This person has gotten Poor for two months in a row. What''s more, he is the last one of the newcomers. That''s why there is only him in the Flow Tower," the glamorous woman explained.


    "Is that so?" Milo murmured, as he stopped walking.


    The person in the tower seemed to have captured Milo''s interest.


    "Milo, there''s nothing interesting to watch here. Let''s just go..." the girl named Kate beside Milo grumbled in an annoyed voice.


    "Hold on for a bit, I just want to see how long he can hold on. Having gotten Poor in two consecutive months, he must be very agitated now. Entering the tower is bound to be a devastating experience for him..." Milo said, gesturing her to stop.


    "But..." Kate still urged him to leave with her.


    Watching this, the glamorous woman said, "He has stayed in the Flow Tower for more than an hour. I guess, within ten minutes, he will be kicked out."


    "Then we might as well wait until he comes out. We''re in no hurry anyway," Milo uttered as he grabbed Kate''s arm to signal her to stay


    ement!


    "I saw it," Trish replied in a solemn voice, staring at the round golden light dot. As long as Zen did not fall back to the first floor and walked out of the second-floor door, he wouldn''t be expelled.


    Naturally, Trish was a little worried, but suddenly, the golden light dot didn''t fall. Instead, it continued to proceed to the third floor!


    "That guy..."


    "He advanced to the third floor already in such a short time?!"


    "How did he get so fast?"


    The disciples of the Flow Sword Sect all discussed among themselves as they watched the spectacle dumbfounded.


    It seemed that watching Zen was worth the wait after all. They never expected they would get to see him change course so quickly.


    "Didn''t you just say this person got the Poor"? Advancing so quickly from the first to the third floor, he by no means is an ordinary man," Milo said while giving an appealing smile. It had nothing to do with him, but he just watched for his entertainment.


    The glamorous woman and her companions were just stunned at the scene.


    "He''s still moving up!" someone exclaimed while pointing in the tower''s direction.


    The golden light dot on the surface of the Flow Tower leaped up again and reached the fourth floor without a hitch.


    Before anyone had the window to react, the golden light dot danced again and ended up on the fifth floor.


    "The fifth floor? This guy is really something else..."


    The disciples of the Flow Sword Sect hung their heads in defeat. They realized that they wouldn''t be able to get Zen''s entry tokens, and it was still hard for them to accept the fact that he had jumped to the fifth floor at such a quick pace.


    Feeling defeated, they looked up to see the golden light dot had already made its way to the sixth floor and was now only one leap away from the seventh.

 Chapter 3143 Thats Him

    Every disciple of the Flow Sword Sect present held their breath as their pupils dilated at this sight.


    It was as if the cat got their tongues. None of them uttered a word, not even the servant girls. Instead, they all stared at the golden speck of light.


    Just how talented was he to reach the sixth floor on his first attempt?


    Trish and Carrie were rendered speechless.


    Excited, they had tears in their eyes. It made them look so radiant.


    Milo was watching intently as his face shifted. The expression of the girl standing next to him also switched.


    "He''s so obsessed with cultivation, yet he can still make it to the sixth floor. If I''m not wrong, then just like you, this man began with the Emotion Closing Godly Way," Kate whispered to Milo as she kept her gaze fixated on the Flow Tower.


    "I don''t think so. I''ve heard that if one can control themselves with the Soul Controlling Godly Way, they could also resist the Flame of Soul," Milo said curtly.


    The Soul Controlling Godly Way was known as the Great Dominance Technique in the divine land.


    To explain further, the users of the theurgy beyond the Soul Controlling Godly Way could create another consciousness. And thus, they were able to control themselves in mysterious ways.


    "Although he seems promising, I''m afraid it''s tough for him to break the record set by you," Kate said as the corners of her mouth curved into a smile.


    The spectacle of the man in the tower was stupefying. However, Milo still had the upper hand since he had jumped to the eighth floor when he first entered the tower.


    Both Milo and Kate were convinced that Zen was not up to par with Milo, at least not yet.


    However, as soon as Kate''s voice fell, Zen had rushed to the seventh floor!


    The sixth and seventh floors posed as the most intricate barriers for the disciples. They would end up getting trapped in there in most cases. Therefore, the Flow Sword Sect kept the ones who reached the seventh floor in high regard compared to others.


    Just when they began doubting whether Zen would advance any further, he had already reached the seventh floor.


    Meanwhile, in the Flow Tower, the Flame of Soul had turned into a shrieking blood-red color.


    The higher he moved, the more the Flame of Soul intensified.


    Even if he used the Emotion Closing Godly Way, it would still prove insufficient in trying to completely get rid of the negative emotions tha


    feeling from his mind. The magic was so strong that he felt pain from all those scenarios in his heart.


    "Holy shit! Chop!"


    Zen knew that if he persisted for a little longer, he would sink into these wild illusions forever.


    With every fiber of his leftover spiritual power, he clenched his teeth and rushed to the tenth floor, knocking down the door of the Flow Tower.


    Bang!


    The door to the tenth floor was smashed open, and a man drenched in his own sweat collapsed right in front of it.


    Zen was drained from all his energy, and his skin was soaked as if he just came out of the water.


    However, the moment he left the Flow Tower, the Flame of Soul diminished into thin air. Everything went back to normal as he fell to his knees, exhausted. His eyes that once reflected fear and regret were now clear of all emotions.


    As if alerted by the door being opened, Milo and Kate desperately glanced in the direction of the man to make out his identity.


    When their eyes fell on the figure of interest, they were shocked to their very cores.


    "Milo, that''s him!"


    Kate covered her mouth subconsciously as she gasped at the sight of Zen.


    Of all people, she should have been aware of his whereabouts. After all, she spent a lot of her time investigating Zen''s background.


    It was not normal for a cultivator in the first stage of the Other Shore Realm to defeat Fergus. However, Zen had disappeared for some time inexplicably after Milo had shamed him by cutting off his sword.


    Who would have thought that Zen would climb up the mountain in such a short period and join the Flow Sword Sect?

 Chapter 3144 Can I Bring My Wives Here

    With casual steps, Milo approached Zen with a faint smile.


    He presented himself as calmly as possible with all his emotions in check.


    "Nice to meet you again," he said, leaning forward with a smirk.


    Zen glanced at him with a sharp gaze. "You still haven''t compensated for my sword. You owe me eight million divine crystals."


    "Can''t you let it go? I haven''t sold any Sword-reading Liquid in the past few months. So you could earn lots of divine crystals," Milo said with his shoulders held back.


    Zen looked Milo directly in the eye and shrugged. "I relied on my own ability to earn them, not you."


    In the past, Milo had warned Zen. But when he returned to the Flow Sword Sect, someone also warned him.


    Only a handful of people from the palace were capable of making the Sword-reading Liquid. However, only Milo was given the privilege of selling there.


    Because of this opportunity, Milo had the chance to accumulate unbelievable amounts of divine crystals. But perhaps, it was now time for him to pass this privilege down to Zen, who had proven himself worthy of it.


    "I can give you millions of divine crystals," Milo continued with arched eyebrows. "But you will have to defeat me first. How long do you think that will take?" Milo raised his eyebrows slightly, provoking Zen clearly.


    None of the disciples of Flow Sword Sect could compete with Milo.


    In his many years residing in the Flow Sword Sect, no disciple came close to even being able to threaten him. They were worlds apart in strength. In fact, there were only two or three disciples of the same generation as him in the whole Oneness Sky Palace who had talents on par with his.


    And now, the count had increased by one more...


    "I''m in no such hurry, but I don''t think it will take long." Zen tilted his head and raised his eyebrows.


    After hearing what Zen said, Milo nodded his head and scoffed. "I''ll wait for it, but I hope it won''t... take forever."


    Then he reached for Kate''s hand and casually walked away.


    "Did you hear that? This guy called Zen seems to be in conflict with Milo?"


    "This is not the point. The point is that he can make Sword-reading Liquid!"


    "It turns out that he is a talent of Instant Enlightenment. No wonder... Talented people are extraordinary wherever they are!"


    The news from Milo came as more of a sho


    d isolation to cultivate in peace.


    A True God could build such a house in four to six hours in any scenic place they wished, but of course not at the top of Oneness Mountain.


    After exploring the courtyard house for a bit, Trish and Carrie followed close behind Zen.


    Since they had moved into a separate courtyard house and their wages had tripled, they were very grateful to Zen.


    For ordinary people, the reward of divine crystals was considerable enough.


    However, these women had other plans to show how grateful they were.


    Since Zen now understood the mechanism of Flow Tower and the importance of "releasing his emotions," he couldn''t squirm his way out of this if he wanted to master the Flow Strike.


    Naturally, having the company of such a talented man, young women like Trish and Carrie inevitably admired him.


    Just as they began to fantasize about him, Zen suddenly asked, "Now that I''m living alone in this courtyard house, can I bring my wives here?"


    Letitia, Margaret, and the others had been staying in his inner world for a long time. It was time for them to come out and breathe a little fresh air.


    "What? Your wives?"


    Trish and Carrie looked at each other with a confused expression. Trish answered, "The courtyard house is allocated to you by Flow Sword Sect. The sect won''t interfere, but... You have been married?"


    For them, Zen was quite young. They had never expected him to have been married. The news came as a shock to them.


    "Yes, of course. If so, I''ll invite them out," Zen said as he looked around.

 Chapter 3145 Dispute

    In the blink of an eye, Zen turned into an incarnation and appeared in the fairy palace.


    As soon as the wives heard the news, their moods transformed instantly.


    Letitia''s eyes flashed with excitement, her face filled with anticipation. Margaret started humming under her breath, unable to contain her joy and eagerness to accompany Zen.


    On the other hand, Aura remained calm. She was grateful Zen would come back to the fairy palace every now and then.


    As for Lavender, although she didn''t say a word, she stopped her cultivation. Biting her lip, she was also curious about the legendary Source World.


    In a flash of white light, they teleported to a courtyard, their faces eager and full of curiosity.


    Lavender stretched out her hand as though trying to touch the atmosphere. Sniffing, she said calmly, "There doesn''t seem to be much of a difference between this place and the divine land."


    "Indeed, there is not much difference," Zen echoed with a curt nod.


    There was a huge gap between the universe and the divine land. After all, the universe was only an inner world, and it was essentially different from the real world with regards to rules. The divine land was created by Chiyou, but it wasn''t any different from the Source World.


    Margaret strolled around the courtyard, her eyes wandering. These courtyard houses were constructed for the elite disciples of the Flow Sword Sect. The pavilions and terraces were beautifully built. ''This wouldn''t be a bad place to live, '' she thought to herself.


    However, she saw something that made her eyes narrow. Hurrying to Zen''s side, Margaret pointed at the two women who stood nearby. Trish and Carrie exchanged uneasy glances, as Margaret said in a forced tone, "These two beautiful girls must be your new girlfriends, right, dear?"


    Zen knew that this would happen if he released Margaret. However, if he were to allow Letitia and the rest to come out without her, he knew she''d feel terrible.


    Just as he was about to explain, Carrie bowed humbly towards Margaret. "My Lady, we are Mr. Luo''s maids."


    Margaret blinked in confusion. Even Letitia, Lavender, and the other girls felt this was a bit peculiar.


    Given Zen''s character, he certainly didn''t


    de of the corridor, effectively blocking Trish''s way.


    "This is something secret that the Flow Sword Sect has sent to Mr. Luo. I need to give it to him in person," said Trish through gritted teeth.


    The past few days, everyone had been having a good time, but Trish and Margaret still had some disputes.


    "I''ll hand it over to my husband by myself. You cannot step into his room," Margaret said haughtily.


    "You have no right to touch such a precious thing!" Trish could no longer contain her anger.


    "You!" Margaret turned red. There was no way she would tolerate this. When she raised her hand to slap Trish on the face, someone suddenly coughed.


    The two women whipped their heads in the direction of the sound.


    Much to their surprise, there was a handsome, middle-aged man with a long beard standing in the courtyard.


    When Margaret sensed the aura of this middle-aged man, there was a trace of fear in her eyes. Even though she always went far in bullying others, she knew that this man''s strength was formidable.


    "Let me personally send the manual on the Flow Swordsmanship in. I have something to say to Zen," Athemar said calmly.


    Then he came up to Trish, took the box in her hands, and walked directly into the room on the second floor. He placed the box in front of Zen, and then said with a smile, "You knew I came, but you didn''t go out to welcome me, so I had to come to you in person. The new talent of the Flow Sword Sect is truly conceited, huh?"

 Chapter 3146 The Horrible Man

    After their last encounter, Zen was sure that Athemar tended to do things according to what his heart dictated.


    With a smile, he asked, "How were you so sure that I''d choose the Flow Sword Sect?"


    "Because I was waiting for you on the mountain. If you chose to join the Killing Sword Sect or the Unique Array Sword Sect, I would just have nudged you to choose otherwise." Athemar shrugged as though it was no big deal.


    Such a blunt reply left Zen speechless. Finally, he said, "That means you are indeed from the Flow Sword Sect, right?"


    "That''s right." Athemar nodded, and then pushed the brocade box towards Zen. "You have chosen three truth swordsmanship manuals. I believe you have achieved something on all of them. But I hope you can focus on the Flow Strike."


    "Why is that?" asked Zen curiously.


    He knew he had a lot to learn.


    The Thousand Annihilation Strike from the Godly Ways Blending Swordsmanship required constant training before any progress could be made. Now that Zen had the Eye of Will, he was looking forward to feeling the power of Sword Texture Technique. Although he had almost learnt all there was to it, he still needed time to master it.


    Also, he wanted to further study the two Sanskrit words Geoffrey helped translate for him...


    "Because we''re running out of time," Athemar said in a suddenly serious tone. "You have to improve your cultivation base as soon as possible."


    Improving one''s cultivation base meant that one had to travel to the Other Shore. But what did cultivating have to do with this?


    Observing Zen''s confused face, Athemar continued, "To be precise, the Flow Strike is not a theurgy of sword skill, but a theurgy of mind cultivation. The most powerful thing about it doesn''t lie in this world."


    "You mean it is on the Other Shore?" asked Zen incredulously.


    The Flow Strike was said to be training for the heart, but that was just an expression. In the past, people hadn''t studied the secret of the soul thoroughly. They thought the soul was located in the heart, but in actuality, the soul was in the brain.


    In essence, the test Zen received in the Flow Tower was a test on his soul.


    "That''s right," Athemar nodded in satisfaction.


    "But why are we running out of time?" Zen asked.


    "You are still in the first stage of the Other Shore Realm, so you have no idea yet..." Athemar paused, deep in thought. "First," he continued, "master the Flow Strike, then go to the O


    p to this man! Everyone else was cooped up in their caves, hoping the worst was over.


    The Nineteenth Cave Humans initially didn''t want to get involved either...


    However, this horrible man was a human!


    Thinking that he might stop if they tried talking to him, they had sent two Nineteenth Cave Humans to the third cave. They had barely stepped inside the cave when a white light flashed, and their heads rolled out onto the soil.


    Horrified by this scene, the Nineteenth Cave Humans decided to stay out of this fight.


    The reason of this whole slaughter was the death of a Bull Lion.


    The horrible man had tied his tamed Bull Lion by the road. The bat race, living solely on blood, couldn''t resist the temptation of the tied up Bull Lion! Bull Lion blood was extremely delicious, after all!


    But it turned out that they totally messed with the wrong Bull Lion.


    The bat race was getting slaughtered. If no one stepped in soon, they''d be completely annihilated. With a sigh, the head of the Nineteenth Cave Humans decided he couldn''t just sit and let that happen.


    Once he reached the entrance of the third cave, he took a deep breath, and tried to take a cautious peek inside.


    Just as he caught sight of the man, he was instantly knocked down by a tremendous force. When he finally realized what had happened, the man was already stepping on his chest, an evil smile plastered on his face. "I''ve been in this world for so long. There are all kinds of demons and monsters everywhere. I never thought I''d run into someone from the same race here! But! How dare you speak for those lowly creatures? You deserve to die!"

 Chapter 3147 The Mysterious Woman In A Black Dress

    The face of the leader of the Nineteenth Cave Humans turned pale as his knees trembled out of fear. Desperate as he was, he begged for mercy in a pitiful state, "Please spare my life! I don''t mean to speak for them."


    "Then what did you mean? Tell me!" As the horrible man stomped his foot on the leader''s chest with rage, the force under his feet surged and formed ripples far and wide.


    Crack! Crack!


    The crackling sound of breaking ribs filled the air as the leader spat out blood from his mouth from his internal injuries. Just the simple act of the man''s foot coming in contact with his chest had caused so much damage. Had he used more force, the leader''s body would have been reduced to shreds.


    "The... the bat race sucked your Bull Lion''s blood, and they deserve to be killed!" the leader said as he coughed out blood from his mouth.


    It was apparent he was only saying those things so the man could spare his life.


    "Humph! How nice of you. If only these nonhuman creatures would stop testing my patience. Since they refuse to, they are doomed. Not only will I end the bats, but I might as well kill every nonhuman creature in this mountain!" The man sneered as he knocked his fists together to assert dominance.


    "Why? Why would you do such a thing..." The leader lowered his gaze to the ground in disbelief as he did not expect the man would be so unforgiving.


    When the nonhuman creatures witnessed the spectacle of his strength from afar, they did not dare to reveal themselves. The last thing they wanted was to face the same fate as the bat race and the Cyan Spirit race, so they all hid in their caves and refused to come out.


    However, just as they heard the man''s intentions towards them, their expressions changed considerably.


    "We have never even provoked him. Why does he want to annihilate us?"


    "In a situation like this, we don''t have much choice but to fend for our lives!"


    "He might not be that strong since he just entered the Other Shore Realm. We can all work together to attack him. Maybe he won''t be able to handle all of us at once and will eventually die of exhaustion."


    These nonhuman creatures used their own languages to communicate among themselves.


    One by one, the enchanted barriers of the caves were removed, and the nonhuman creatures big or small, powerful or weak, all emerged from their caves in what seemed like a swarm and dashed towards the man.


    Some of these creatures were large in terms of size and they looked strong. And some of them had tiny bodies covered with deadly toxins...


    Like moths to a flame, a mass of diverse nonhuman creatures from different races headed towards the man.


    Still with his foot on the leader''s chest, the man applied pressure onto it to hear his groans and said, "You ask why? Hahaha... Because those who don''t belong to our kin cannot be trusted."


    Just as he finished his words, he turned his head to find the overwh


    o pole" shook his head indifferently. "But don''t cause trouble to delay the captain''s business."


    At his approval, the woman flapped her black dress behind her as she turned to descend to the ground. She emitted strong death aura high in the sky and fell straight towards the Nether Mountain like a comet falling out of the sky that would bring death to any being that came in contact with it.


    Meanwhile, the foot of the Nether Mountain had become a cemetery of blood and limbs that scattered everywhere.


    The only race in the thirty-three caves that had survived was the human race.


    "Nether Mountain has beautiful scenery, and it''s a good place for cultivation. I''ve killed all the other races. If you submit to me, I''ll forgive you, spare your lives and protect you," the horrible man said dominantly to the leader of the Nineteenth Cave Humans.


    ''Forgive us? What crimes have we committed to ask for your forgiveness?''


    The leader suppressed his thoughts in his mind and didn''t dare to say them out loud. With the man''s current temperament, the slightest of things could trigger him, and he would kill him immediately.


    As the leader nodded desperately, a heavy death aura emanated above their heads


    The flesh and broken limbs on the ground seemed to have regained vitality the moment they were touched by the death aura.


    "Sizz, sizz..."


    Blood began to flow into the broken limbs splayed out on the ground.


    Various ranges of blood from red, black, blue all followed suit as they came back to life.


    Countless broken limbs began to connect with the others. Among them were heads, arms, mouthparts, bones, so on and so forth.


    As they continued to combine, they turned into a huge monster.


    This monster''s appearance was ghastly and hostile. One glance at it would make one want to throw up.


    As the vicious monster got up to stand on its two feet, a stunning woman in a black dress quietly appeared on top of its head.

 Chapter 3148 The Chaotic Source Reinforcement

    The woman in the black dress was as beautiful as one could imagine, yet something about her made people uneasy in her presence. Perhaps it was pure intimidation.


    The man sensed her power, which certainly caught his attention. He grinned darkly and asked, "Who are you?"


    "You wish to know my name?" The woman smiled an evilly playful smile and offered a challenge, "Kill it, and you will find out."


    As the words rolled off her tongue, the monster beneath her feet began to stir.


    Dozens of broken arms and legs of all kinds crawled across the ground and rushed towards the man in a crazed hunger to tear him apart.


    The man snorted at the advancing monster and the Ways-blending Energy surged out in a torrent of waves. It then transformed into crescents and crashed into the monster.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Powerful Ways-blending Energy flew everywhere, some striking the woman.


    But it didn''t bother her tender white skin in the slightest. It barely even shook her bangs, which hung still and heavy on her forehead.


    She did not care whether the monster could defeat the man. She merely used it as a means to observe the operation of the Ways-blending Energy.


    ''There are indeed twelve layers.


    In the past, there were seven methods of using the Ways-blending Energy. One of the perfect ones was the Godly Ways Blending Swordsmanship. People who created the seven methods were of the same generation as the captain, but this person''s method does not belong to any of the seven.


    Did a peerless master create this method? That can''t be the case. The blending of Godly Ways has proven to be fruitless. No one would attempt it again. Is it possible he created it himself?''


    The woman was staggered at the very idea of this.


    While she pondered these things, the monster under her feet had already suffered to the point that a large hole gaped in its body. If the man were to attack just a few more times, it would be shattered to pieces once more.


    "Show me your real strength," the woman in black said as she lightly tapped her toe on the ground.


    The black deathly energy flowed within the broken limbs and swirled around the monster.


    the man''s ears, his soul sank and he wished he could disappear forever.


    He was highly talented.


    But it was a pity that he had been trapped in an inner world and knew too little about this place.


    The woman spoke of things beyond his imagination and comprehension.


    Even so, he had absolutely no intention of begging for mercy. He stared at the woman with an icy look, though he knew he was helpless now. He had just used all his strength and couldn''t leave so much as a dent on the woman. What options did he have now?


    The woman twisted her body gruesomely and unnaturally. She slowly wrapped her arm around the man.


    Her seemingly soft body contained an immense amount of power, too much for him to fight against.


    It did not take long for her to push the man to the ground. She smiled down at the man full of glee and pity. "You are quite bold. But you are far from qualified to be my husband. How about my disciple instead?"


    The man didn''t expect such a request. If it were someone else, they would have agreed immediately. But now, the man laughed grimly. "Since I, the Evil God, was born, I''ve been self-taught. No one in this world can be my master! I''d rather you kill me!"


    "Oh? Your name is Evil God? Interesting!"


    The woman could not hold back her laughter on hearing such an arrogant name. "Do you really think I can''t kill you because you have a Rebirth Land?" she asked, giggling and shaming the man.

 Chapter 3149 Shera

    Terror flashed across the Evil God''s face as the woman in black dress exposed his secret.


    The existence of the Rebirth Land was a fetter and a form of protection to the Evil God at the same time.


    But if the Rebirth Land could be so easily destroyed, this protection would become a white elephant.


    "Just try and kill me if you can!" the Evil God sneered.


    He was a formidable man, aloof to the thought of life and death. After all, he had few things to worry about.


    The woman sized up the Evil God, a beginner in the Other Shore Realm, with a wide smile on her face.


    "If that''s the case, I will satisfy you," the woman said, still smiling.


    She brought up her fingertips to his face, gently touching his forehead.


    "Wait," the Evil God stopped her.


    "Afraid of death?" she said scornfully.


    She had seen many people act like this. They appeared impassioned, even cocky, before death came. But once it came, they got cold feet. This man before her might also be a wimp.


    The Evil God snorted. "I''ve already killed that monster. Can I have your name?"


    The woman was stunned. But she recovered soon enough and said, a smile growing on her lips, "My name is Shera.".


    The Evil God closed his eyes at the name. He didn''t look terrified even though he was about to face death.


    A ghastly-looking death aura then sprawled from her fingertips. It wasn''t long before the Evil God stiffened and fell into a daze.


    He was an amazing talent, full of an irascible perversity. He should belong to the Black Ship.


    She wouldn''t kill him, obviously.


    She lifted the Evil God while she stared at the leader of the Nineteenth Cave Humans some distance away with her striking eyes.


    The leader''s heart skipped a beat when he met her gaze.


    But she merely began walking, and then gained speed before she galloped upwards.


    The leader heaved a long sigh of relief once she left with the Evil God.


    If the horrible man was an existence that they could not provoke, then the woman was an existence they dared not have eye contact with.


    How could their little Nether Mountain encounter such an existence and survive?


    Almost all the races of the other 32 caves had died.


    But fortunately, the humans were fine.


    Although the horrible man was ferocious, he did care about people who were from the same race


    sion.


    This time, Zen entered the Other Shore with his physical body after burning himself with fire.


    The last time around, he had wanted to explore the Sacred Mallow Temple thoroughly, but had been interrupted by the Sun Crow race''s intrusion into the Blue Cloud City. He could now explore it. Fully and at his will.


    Zen was now on a beach with golden sand.


    It wasn''t a good time yet to break through to the Other Shore, so there was no Soul of Light on this beach.


    He looked around as he walked on.


    The topography of Stage One of the Other Shore was pretty simple. Zen could easily find his way to the Sacred Mallow Temple based on his memory.


    On his way, Zen remembered the Shade Stone that was inside his body.


    Since the Shade Stone had been melted into one with him, and his body had already entered the Other Shore, had this stone been brought here too?


    As far as Zen knew, it was difficult to bring external objects out of the Source World into the Other Shore. Only two kinds of things could be taken into the Other Shore. One was the soul pill, and the other was the Other Shore Key.


    Thinking of this, Zen tried to manifest the Shade Stone on his arm.


    "No reaction," he murmured, shaking his head and smiling.


    He had underestimated the Other Shore.


    If it really was so simple, so many creatures in the Source World wouldn''t have had to risk so much to cross the Sea of Truth.


    Zen decided to leave this attempt behind and resumed his journey. It was not long before the Sacred Mallow Temple came into view.

 Chapter 3150 Complicated Deals

    The last time Zen came to the Sacred Mallow Temple, there were three groups of people waiting there.


    The disciples of the small forces had managed to reach the Other Shore with a few soul pills to their names. However, the real obstacle standing in their way was the Other Shore Keys. Even those of Stage One were hard to get, so they would often try their luck at the entrances of the temples.


    It was common for them to wait there for ten or fifteen days, sometimes even two months.


    Compared to the last time, Zen was shocked to see over a hundred people were waiting outside of the temple.


    As soon as he appeared on the scene, everyone directed their attention towards him.


    It was a rare sight to see a physical body appear on the Other Shore, and they began to whisper among themselves while staring at his profile.


    As Zen made his way towards the gate of the Sacred Mallow Temple, the people saw a glimmer of hope and followed close behind him.


    When he looked back to see the swarm of people crowding up towards him, he couldn''t help but frown.


    Although the thing in the crack at the top of the temple couldn''t be taken away by anyone else, he still didn''t want anyone to see it.


    "Sir, can you open the door of the temple?" a middle-aged man asked politely, bowing to Zen.


    The group of Souls of Light knew their place in contrast to Zen. They were inferior in power, so they showed him respect.


    Upon hearing his question, Zen turned around to look at the people surrounding him with hopeful eyes.


    Once he opened the door for them, they would all flock inside.


    "Yes, I can," Zen replied with a slight nod.


    At this answer, their eyes lit up with joy, and their faces relaxed.


    They had been waiting for days. Finally meeting someone owning a key to the gate made them disregard everything. Amid their happiness, they even forgot about how Zen had entered the Other Shore with his physical body intact.


    "That would be great, haha!" The middle-aged man laughed heartily, and everyone else got ready to head inside.


    "But I will enter the Sacred Mallow Temple by myself. Please don''t follow me," Zen requested equally respectfully.


    The rejection hit them hard as their smiles were wiped clean off their faces.


    "But, the Sacred Mallow Temple is so big. We can go in together. I promise we won''t get in your way."


    "Yeah, it''s a waste for you to go inside all by yourself after using one Other Shore Key."


    "Sir, we are all from the same human race. I beg you to reconsider. We should help each other."


    Some people began to beg him with desperate eyes to allow them in with him.


    But, nothing was going to move Zen into changing his decision. He was firm on going in alone.


    While he s


    hought for a moment before he stopped knocking the bricks. Then he put more than two thousand soul pills at the gate of the Sacred Mallow Temple and called out to the people, "Those who haven''t obtained the bricks yet are going to guard these pills for me till I''m back."


    These people were waiting for the bricks impatiently. Although over two thousand soul pills was not a small amount, they were more interested in the bricks. They didn''t want to offend Zen by stealing his pills, especially since he was the only one who could get them what they wanted.


    After Zen exited the Other Shore, he took out the Other Shore Key and recited the Sanskrit words that Geoffrey deciphered for him. Tiny lines continuously orbited his palm.


    Upon activating the Other Shore Key, Zen once again appeared in front of the Sacred Mallow Temple.


    Calmly, he closed his eyes, put his hand on the door of the temple and opened it. Then he moved all the soul pills to a hidden corner of the temple and continued to knock the bricks.


    Before long, most of these one hundred people received their respective square bricks.


    Now, they had to keep their end of the deal and help Zen guard the entrance of the Sacred Mallow Temple.


    Zen walked into the temple and left the Other Shore again.


    Before he entered, he activated the Truth of Godly Way and went to the Other Shore with his Soul of Light.


    The people outside had no clue that Zen''s body had left, so they still guarded the door. He could only be able to take the soul pills if he entered the temple with his Soul of Light.


    However, just as Zen''s Soul of Light had stepped foot on the Other Shore, he encountered Dorothy''s Soul of Light.


    Zen looked at Dorothy, with his head tilted to the side dumbfounded. He never expected her to still be where they left last time.

 Chapter 3151 Metal Flower Branch

    "Don''t tell me you''ve done nothing but wait here."


    Although he had just said that, Zen sensed a big difference in Dorothy''s Soul of Light.


    The power hidden within was several times stronger than before!


    "Of course not, I have already entered Stage Four!" Dorothy replied, displeased.


    She waited for Zen here, but he left for the Blue Cloud City without notifying her. If it weren''t for the fact that someone didn''t allow her to leave the Bloom Divine Province, she might have gone after him.


    "Hold on. Stage Four? So soon?" Zen took a few steps back as he stared at her completely awestruck.


    However, Dorothy was casual about her achievement. "I have absorbed the soul crystal. You should have been more amazed if I hadn''t reached Stage Four. I would have progressed even further if I wasn''t waiting for you."


    To be fair, the Other Shore was vast. It wasn''t so accurate to divide the different cultivation bases by stages of the Other Shore.


    Dorothy stood with her arms crossed and an agitated vein protruded from her forehead as she was displeased with Zen. Affectionately, he lightly patted her on the head and ruffled her hair. "Alright, alright. I won''t do that again. Come on, let''s go. We have some soul pills to collect. There are too many, and I don''t know what to do with them."


    "Too many soul pills? Where did you get them from?" Dorothy tilted her head in confusion and followed Zen obediently.


    "Just come with me, and you''ll see," Zen said with a smile.


    Following Zen, Dorothy found herself back at the entrance of the Sacred Mallow Temple.


    As they approached it, the hundred people Zen left behind to guard the gate for him were keeping their end of the deal and stood firm blocking it.


    When the people saw two strangers approach the entrance, they were immediately alerted and straightened themselves up nervously.


    Both Zen and Dorothy had absorbed the soul crystal. Moreover, Dorothy was already at the fourth stage of the Other Shore Realm, and she had been cultivating the Grand Fighting Soul Formula. Her mere presence was overwhelming and imposed pressure on those people.


    Regardless of the situation, one of the men guarding the entrance stepped up, and walked over to them. "You are not allowed to go any further. Someone powerful is in there!"


    They knew that they didn''t stand a chance against these two. Their best bet was to intimidate them with Zen instead.


    "Why should I listen to you?"


    Dorothy


    couldn''t break it with the Soul of Light. This time, it would be different."


    He pointed towards the crack, while closing his distance.


    As he was a few feet away from it, he focused his power onto his fist and jabbed at the crack.


    "Bang!"


    The temple wasn''t strong enough to resist his punch.


    As a result, the crack expanded when his fist came in contact with it.


    After a few more of his blows, the wall caved in and collapsed.


    "I knew it!"


    As Zen expected, there was a secret room behind the crack.


    When they peered into the place, it was pitch-black and desolate. However, as they examined more intently, the view of a floating silhouette made their eyes glisten under the dark setting of the room.


    It was in the shape of a flower branch glimmering in the dark, and it was intricately carved with metal. The shiny flower branch rotated slowly in the air, graciously providing the mysterious room with its light.


    "It does not have any Other Shore Power!" Dorothy exclaimed, keeping her eyes fixated on the metal branch.


    Almost everything on the Other Shore contained Other Shore Power, from a grain of sand to an entire temple. The only deciding factor was how much Other Shore Power they had.


    This flower branch was quite rare since they couldn''t sense any Other Shore Power emanating from it.


    "How come something like this exists in the temple of the Dreaded Eye Demons?" Zen had expected something more.


    He had hoped that there would be some Other Shore Token more powerful than the Eye of Will in this secret room, but this flower branch didn''t seem to have any energy, and thus couldn''t be fused.

 Chapter 3152 Going To Stage Four

    Somehow, they could tell the branch was something rare.


    Dorothy took it from Zen to take a closer look. However she didn''t know what it was either.


    "Whatever it is," she murmured, "keep it safe. It might be useful one day." She stored the branch into her space ring.


    After that, she and Zen headed back, leaving the Sacred Mallow Temple behind them.


    After Zen retreated his body from the temple, he allowed the people at the gate to leave.


    Each of those warriors had merged with half a square brick, and most of them felt satisfied. Such Other Shore Tokens were enough to make them the top warriors in Stage One of the Other Shore.


    But there was still a small portion of them who tried to enter the temple.


    Zen and Dorothy had taken away all the valuable treasures that used to be stored there, so he was lax with letting warriors enter the temple.


    Thus, everyone rushed in together in excitement.


    Meanwhile, Zen pondered over quickly enhancing his cultivation base on the Other Shore.


    Dorothy had already been to Stage Four on the Other Shore. With her leading the way, the journey ahead would be much easier.


    After leaving the Sacred Mallow Temple, they trudged through the valley and ended up on a green grassland.


    Half a day later, Zen saw something in the distance. A building loomed at the edge of the grassland.


    "The Other Shore Key to this temple is the least valuable. It is said that there is nothing inside, and no one visits it now," Dorothy explained.


    Ignoring the grassland temple, they continued until they came across a wide road.


    There were some other Souls of Light following the road. It seemed they were heading for the same destination as Zen and Dorothy.


    After four hours'' journey, Zen saw the third temple in the distance.


    "The Other Shore Key to this temple is extremely rare," Dorothy said, following Zen''s gaze. "I''ve never seen or heard of anyone entering it."


    With his physical strength, Zen might be able to smash the door and enter by force. But he decided not to entertain the idea, as there might have been strong races behind those doors.


    Moreover, his main goal this time was to grow rapidly stronger on the Other Shore. It was useless for him to linger in Stage One. He needed to progress to the next s


    . Let''s continue," Zen said resolutely.


    True enough, he felt rejuvenated after passing on to Stage Two so easily from Stage One.


    Now he knew how Dorothy had made it to Stage Four in such a short period of time. With a powerful Soul of Light, she could easily cross from stage to stage!


    However, in case of any accident, Zen swallowed a few more soul pills before they walked towards the star ring again.


    Just like earlier, Zen felt his spiritual sense was sealed again. In the blink of an eye, more ribbons of light coiled around him and sent him flying again.


    In no time at all, they made it to Stage Three.


    Very few warriors could make it to Stage Three from Stage One in so short a time. But the first stronghold of the Oneness Sky Palace was located in Stage Four which was where Zen needed to go, so the two moved forward without hesitation.


    However, the aura of the white star light in Stage Three felt threatening to Zen. His eyes narrowing, he decided not to go into it so recklessly.


    Dorothy had rested for half a month before she went to Stage Four for the first time.


    But Zen rested only for two days. They swallowed dozens of soul pills, and then stepped into the star ring which led them to Stage Four, the Mysterious Root Stage.


    As soon as he regained his spiritual sense, he saw four enormous buildings standing not far away. They were similar to the temples he had seen before, but they were not locked. The gates were wide open, and many Souls of Light were streaming in and out.

 Chapter 3153 Trust

    As Zen looked around, he realized that the architectural styles of the temples here were different from what he''d seen before.


    Come to think of it, the temples Zen had seen on Stage One each had different styles, too. It seemed they were built in different eras.


    After all, every race had their own unique aesthetic, so it only made sense that the styles of buildings varied.


    However, the four temples that loomed before him were different from each other, but all were of the human style.


    "These temples... were built by humans?" Zen asked incredulously.


    "Yes." Dorothy nodded. "Most of the mighty races build their temples on Stage Four. Some weaker forces can only build their temples on Stage Two or Stage Three, and the weakest nonhuman races are limited to Stage One..."


    Because there were many races in the Source World, establishing a temple on Stage Four was a way to assert their power.


    "So, are you saying, Stage Four is the liveliest place?" Zen asked.


    "Of course it is. Just follow me, you''ll know soon enough," Dorothy smiled.


    Following closely behind Dorothy, Zen continued to examine the four temples, three of which represented the three orthodox human forces. But what about the fourth temple?


    "There are three orthodox forces in human race and each one has a temple here. Then who owns the fourth one?" Zen voiced his thoughts.


    "You should have guessed it by now," Dorothy said nonchalantly. "It''s the one that is always on your mind."


    ''The Nine Li race...'' Zen thought in his mind.


    There once had been four orthodox forces in human race, but only three of them remained.


    By taking advantage of the Sun Crow race''s invasion, Athemar had found out Zen''s background, but those of the Origin Mountain didn''t know it. However, this didn''t stop Dorothy and the others from guessing. After all, they were able to piece things together from things Zen said, intentionally or unintentionally.


    "Oh, guessed what?" Zen suddenly laughed.


    "Are you still playing dumb?" Dorothy pouted. "Am I so untrustworthy?"


    Even though they had been through many life and death situations together, Zen had never revealed his origin to her. For some reason, this upset Dorothy.


    Zen hesitated. Since Athemar already knew his background, and since the Oneness Sky Palace wasn''t exactly the enemy of the Nine Li race, there was no need to hide it from Dorothy.


    Sometimes, if one was too cautious and secretive, they were bound to lose the trust of the others. Even Zen himself would be on guar


    mple had been destroyed. Only two legs remained.


    Even if he had never been here before, he knew without a doubt that it was Chiyou''s statue--with three heads and three pairs of arms. Now, it had been destroyed and was barely discernible. Zen sighed sadly.


    But what piqued his interest was the huge ruler that stood in front of the temple of the Divine Farmer race.


    It was so detailed, almost lifelike. It actually looked similar to his Infinity Ruler.


    "What is the story of that?" Zen asked, pointing at the statue of the ruler.


    "It''s the Divine Farmer Ruler," Dorothy replied instantly. This was just common knowledge. But since Zen was a newcomer in the Source World, she had already gotten used to his ignorance.


    ''What''s the connection between the Divine Farmer Ruler and the Infinity Ruler?'' Zen wondered in his mind. But on second thought, since the members of the Divine Farmer race had made a statue of Divine Farmer Ruler as a token to worship, it must have an extraordinary origin. It might be ridiculous to try to draw a connection between the two.


    When the two finally arrived at the gate of the Oneness Sky Palace''s temple, two guards blocked their way. "If your are disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace, we need to confirm your identity!"


    Dorothy calmly raised her arm, and the square space ring in her hand flashed with bright light.


    One of them stepped aside and said politely, "You may enter." Then, turning to Zen, he said, "We also have to verify your identity."


    Everyone on the Other Shore couldn''t see each other''s appearance, and they could only identify each other by their scent. Thus, it was only natural they couldn''t tell who Zen was.

 Chapter 3154 Presents From The Oneness Sky Palace

    A sudden thought occurred to Dorothy and she smiled before saying, "We were climbing so fast that I forgot to mention something. Since you''ve joined the Flow Sword Sect, you need to get the soul mark of the Oneness Sky Palace."


    "How do I get it?" Zen asked.


    "The Flow Sword Sect has sent two beautiful maids to serve you, hasn''t it? You can go and ask them for it. I''ll wait for you here," Dorothy said, still smiling. But her voice had taken on a strange inflection at the mention of the maids.


    "Okay," Zen said, preparing to leave the Other Shore.


    "Wait," Dorothy called out to stop him. When he turned around, she asked him with a playful smile, "I forgot to ask. How are you doing in the Flow Sword Sect?"


    "I''m happy," Zen said, almost too immediately.


    But he quickly understood what Dorothy was trying to ask him.


    There were only three sword sects in the Oneness Mountain, of which the Flow Sword Sect had the most unique cultivation method. Dorothy must have heard about it before, which was probably why her words were dripping with jealousy.


    But she hadn''t expected Zen''s wives to be living in the courtyard house along with the two maids.


    Zen chuckled awkwardly before his Soul of Light left, leaving Dorothy gritting her teeth and glaring at him.


    When Zen returned to the courtyard house, he asked Trish to get the soul mark.


    Trish was a capable girl. She came back just an hour later and handed a small dark green token to Zen.


    "The soul mark is used in the same way as the Other Shore Key. The required syllables are engraved on the token," Trish explained.


    Once Trish left, Zen began to recite the syllables on the small token, the same way as he had used the Other Shore Key. Several lines appeared in his palm.


    But the lines weren''t as complex as those of the Other Shore Key.


    More lines had appeared on his palm by the time he returned to the temple. It was the soul mark unique to the Oneness Sky Palace.


    The guards checked the lines on Zen''s palm before they let him in.


    Dorothy waited patiently by the entrance. She didn''t ask him about the maids once she saw him enter the temple, a fact that filled Zen with relief.


    There were many Souls of Light i


    a strong Truth of Void Destruction.


    "That''s a Thunder Beast. Go. It''ll make a space ring for you," Dorothy said, pushing Zen towards the beast.


    Not all races were enemies with the human race. Some of them were small in number, but they had certain kinds of unique talents. They would seek protection from some big races, and this Thunder beast was one of them.


    As Zen approached the Thunder Beast, he heard a strange voice saying, "Stretch out your middle finger."


    As instructed, Zen stretched out his middle finger and the Thunder Beast lowered its head, two sharp tentacles extending from it and curling around Zen''s finger.


    Soon, a bright square appeared on Zen''s fingertip.


    This square was the same as Dorothy''s. It was a space ring used on the Other Shore. Zen had been using space rings for many years, and was soon familiar with the new space ring and its way of usage.


    Once they exited the room, Dorothy transferred the soul pills and the metal branch that she had obtained from the Sacred Mallow Temple into Zen''s space ring.


    "No wonder so many people want to join the Oneness Sky Palace. I can get so many treasures in Stage Four," Zen exclaimed as he looked wonderingly at the square on his fingertip.


    Dorothy didn''t find these treasures amazing. She replied calmly, "The Oneness Sky Palace is always generous, but these are just appetizers. What''s waiting for us ahead is more important. I haven''t gotten it yet. Let''s go get it together."

 Chapter 3155 Choosing Tokens

    Zen was stunned at Dorothy''s words. What was so important?


    But he figured it out soon enough. "You mean the Other Shore Token?" he asked.


    "Yes," Dorothy replied.


    "Does the palace distribute Other Shore Tokens?" Zen asked again. He had once thought that all the Other Shore Tokens could only be obtained by people through their own strength.


    "It''s a good thing for us to obtain a few rare Other Shore Tokens by ourselves in temples. The palace will, however, also help its disciples get some," said Dorothy.


    Some large sects would distribute things like magic weapons to their disciples. But such free weapons were quite ordinary.


    Her words brought Zen''s expectations down. The Other Shore Tokens allocated to disciples in the palace were probably not that strong, after all.


    Dorothy guessed what he was thinking and added, "These Other Shore Tokens were collected from different places by strong warriors in the palace. Some of them are from Stage Four and some from even higher stages. But whether you can hold them depends on your own ability."


    "Really?" Zen''s eyes lit up.


    They continued chatting till they reached the temple''s inner area.


    More than thirty people were waiting in front of a wide door that had been tightly shut. These Souls of Light were sitting on the ground, silently indicating that they had been waiting for a long time.


    Dorothy walked up to them and asked, "When will the Seclusion Door open?"


    One of them opened his eyes and answered, "It should be today."


    "Thank you." Dorothy stepped back with Zen and waited by the wall.


    Most disciples of the palace didn''t explore temples after they entered the Other Shore. They were so dangerous, they could die if they weren''t careful enough. What was more, the hard earned Other Shore Tokens were probably inferior to those allocated by the palace.


    Laser focused on cultivation to strengthen their Souls of Light, these disciples would then quickly enter the Mysterious Root Stage to get Other Shore Tokens here.


    But these palace disciples


    that you can collect here is Stage Thirteen."


    "I see," Zen said, nodding in comprehension. He really knew very little about the Other Shore.


    One of the three Souls of Light waved his hand and the concealed cases beneath the outermost ring of the plate began to roll up, taking the Other Shore Tokens on the plate along with them.


    These Other Shore Tokens were strange. Some were like a ram''s horns, some like delicious fruits, and some like messy hair.


    But the Other Shore Tokens in the outermost circle were from Stage One, which was why they didn''t contain strong Other Shore Power. Zen guessed they had about two or three divine megatons of force and that the strongest one contained no more than five divine megatons of force.


    "Why do they need Other Shore Tokens from Stage One now that they have reached the fourth stage of the Other Shore Realm?" Zen asked again.


    "Because the strength of an Other Shore Token doesn''t solely depend on how much Other Shore Power it contains," Dorothy said, shrugging. "Some special Other Shore Tokens with unique abilities often have unexpected effects. You''ve practiced a few Truths of Godly Ways. You need to be careful while choosing the Other Shore Tokens."


    The concealed cases in the circles were still being rolled up. Other Shore Tokens in the second, third, and fourth circles were all revealed.

 Chapter 3156 Four Types

    Zen agreed with Dorothy''s explanation.


    It was important to consider how many divine megatons of force the Other Shore Tokens could unleash. But their abilities were more important.


    For example, the force the Eye of Will could unleash wasn''t great. It only had a few dozen divine megatons of Other Shore Power. But it had two abilities that were extremely useful.


    When all the cases on the plate had turned over, all the Other Shore Tokens were revealed to everyone.


    Everyone''s eyes were fixed on the Other Shore Tokens. They were secretly selecting the Other Shore Tokens for themselves. If they saw any Other Shore Token they would like to have, they would go straight to it when the selection began.


    One of the purple Souls of Light walked up to the plate and said, "Most of you have been on the Other Shore for a long time, and I believe you are all very familiar with Other Shore Tokens, right?"


    "Of course we are. I''ve changed six Other Shore Tokens already!"


    "I was on Stage Three for more than ten years!"


    "But the Other Shore Tokens I integrated before are nothing compared to the ones before my eyes right now."


    Everyone had erupted at once. They thought they knew the Other Shore Tokens very well.


    "In that case, I don''t have to give you the routine introduction," the purple Soul of Light said with a smile. He was pleased to have been saved the trouble of explaining everything to them.


    "You don''t have to introduce anything."


    "People who can enter Stage Four know pretty well about the Other Shore!".


    They answered confidently.


    Zen was stunned and felt discouraged. All of these people had been on the Other Shore for a long time. They probably didn''t need to learn anything about the place. He, on the other hand, was still a new comer here!


    "I think you should go on with the introduction," Dorothy said suddenly, raising a hand.


    "Isn''t it too troublesome, given that everyone knows about it?"


    "What do you want to know? After we pick the Other Shore Tokens, I will tell you. What do you think?"


    "These two are so ignorant. I noticed them just now. I wonder which mountain they are from!"


    The disciples from the Oneness Sky Palace had already locked their sights on the Other Shore Tokens that they wanted. They were afraid that someone else would take away the Other Shore Tokens they had chosen for themselves. They were anxious and in no mood to tolerate anyone who was bent on wasting time on unnecessary introduc


    oul of Light walked to the middle of the plate and picked up a small sword in his hand. He then said, "The third type is the descending type. The Other Shore Tokens of this type can be used to defend the enemy. Every one of them can be considered as an Other Shore Token and a lifeblood treasure as well."


    Zen had seen Other Shore Tokens of this type several times before.


    For example, the Mysterious Meteor Tripod at the bottom of the divine land and the colorful ring Emily had used had been Other Shore Tokens that could be thrown out to resist the enemy.


    "What about the last type?" someone in the crowd couldn''t help but ask.


    Strengthening type, auxiliary type, and descending type - these three types were common knowledge. But many people didn''t know that there was a fourth type.


    "The mysterious type," the purple Soul of Light replied. "The Other Shore Tokens of this type are most rare of all. They usually possess a special ability and can''t be categorized into any type. Some can even grow on their own."


    "Grow?" Zen then thought of the corpse of the Heavenly Spider in the Sacred Mallow Temple. "Dorothy, if one merges with a living Heavenly Spider on the Other Shore, can the Heavenly Spider also grow? If so, it belongs to..."


    "The mysterious type," Dorothy replied affirmatively. "It is extremely difficult to merge with living creatures on the Other Shore. But there are many benefits to merging with any of them. The living creature one merges with is practically a form of contractual beast. Moreover, the creatures they merge with on the Other Shore can grow further, which is why they are of the mysterious type."

 Chapter 3157 Earth Sanskrit Plate

    After listening intently to Dorothy''s explanation, Zen''s mind wandered off towards thinking what type of Other Shore Token the Eye of Will was.


    Up until now, he never imagined the Eye of Will could get any stronger.


    But, knowing the Dreaded Eye Demons were one of the largest races that ever existed in history, and they had only produced nineteen Eyes of Will, he felt there might be something he had overlooked in this Other Shore Token.


    Suddenly, someone asked a question that disrupted Zen''s flow of thoughts. "Are there any Other Shore Tokens of the mysterious type for us?"


    The words of the purple Soul of Light might have ignited their interest.


    The purple Soul of Light shook his head and said, "Other Shore Tokens of the mysterious type are not easy to find in the Lust World. We managed to acquire some of them, but none of them are stored in the temple."


    "Even if there is, it can''t be fused by ordinary people. If you want to carry an Other Shore Token of the mysterious type, then at the very least, you need to have a Hundred Sanskrit Land!" another purple Soul of Light standing outside the plate stepped up and added to his statement.


    Most of these people were capable of only opening a Ten Sanskrit Land, thus they could not merge with a powerful Other Shore Token.


    "But if you want, there is a chance for you to witness an Other Shore Token of the mysterious type," the person standing on the plate said with a smile. "Bro, didn''t you happen to possess one such Other Shore Token?" he turned to his companion and asked sincerely.


    The last and most silent-natured of the three purple Souls of Light gave an acknowledging nod and said, "Since there is no outsider here, I can make an exception and show it to you."


    As he spoke, he slightly raised his hand and a bright glimmer flashed in his soul. Following that, a delicate fish scale appeared on top of his head.


    "This scale was obtained from a lake at Stage Twelve. I can double my strength if I use it," the man explained while flaunting the scale.


    Upon hearing his explanation, the atmosphere inside the Seclusion Door suddenly became lively, and the people started discussing among themselves. Everyone''s eyes were fixated on the fish scale, and their expressions revealed hints of envy and greed.


    A single fish scale with the ability to double one''s power made them feel excited.


    However, Zen remained calm. He wasn''t moved at all.


    Something like this would never surprise him since he already had seen Other Shore Tokens similar in value in the past.


    When Zen was being chased by Elizabeth in the Mountain Viewing Province, he had been forced to use two Latent Theurgies, one of which was the Exhausting Power and was similar to this scale.


    lternative for them.


    A handful of them were prominent warriors with a steady Sanskrit Land. When they leaped on the Earth Sanskrit Plate, they managed to light up eight, or even nine green circles. These people could naturally choose a stronger Other Shore Token compared to the rest.


    After a long wait, it was finally Zen''s turn to pick.


    The atmosphere suddenly became hostile, and several glares filled with disdain followed him as he made his way to the plate. They inaugurated a debate among themselves, to guess the potential of his strength.


    "This guy has a remarkably powerful soul, but his inner world might be an ordinary one!"


    "Hmm, a guy who has to rely on a woman can''t be that strong!"


    "I bet only two circles will react to his power. Haha!"


    Zen paid no heed to their remarks and gently leaped on the Earth Sanskrit Plate.


    As if reacting to his presence, circles of green light began to spread beneath his feet. One, two... Nine, ten...


    Soon, the green light spread to the center till it covered all thirteen circles, which meant that he could carry every Other Shore Token on the Earth Sanskrit Plate.


    Suddenly, silence raided the walls of the entire room, and the hostile remarks were cut off by Zen''s impressive show of power. Even the purple Souls of Light were caught off guard.


    If it was done by Dorothy, they might not be so overwhelmed. They all knew that the owner of the Necklace of Mystic Soul was the granddaughter of the prominent figure on the Origin Mountain. In fact, they would feel strange if she couldn''t bear an Other Shore Token from the first thirteen stages.


    However, Zen was unfamiliar to them and his strength far surpassed their expectations. The three purple Souls of Light began to guess his identity among themselves, wondering who this astounding guy could be.

 Chapter 3158 Strength God Totem

    Zen was not surprised at this result.


    He had learned about how it worked for the Other Shore Tokens while fusing with the Eye of Will.


    Not many people in the Source World had the Thousand Sanskrit Land. Zen''s inner world was strong enough to absorb all kinds of Other Shore Tokens across the thirteen stages.


    He could probably even absorb Other Shore Tokens from higher stages. On the flip side, he had just found out that the Soul of Light could move around freely within the thirteen stages, but couldn''t easily enter the next world, which was why Other Shore Tokens from other worlds hadn''t shown up in the temple.


    Dorothy was relieved to see that the Earth Sanskrit Plate was fully lit. But she didn''t know what was going on in Zen''s inner world.


    She stepped onto the Earth Sanskrit Plate too.


    The Earth Sanskrit Plate didn''t usually allow two people at the same time. But the purple Soul of Light didn''t stop Dorothy as she stepped on to it.


    Zen passed the green rings of light and made for the center of the Earth Sanskrit Plate.


    The thirteenth loop was the innermost circle of the Earth Sanskrit Plate. The three Other Shore Tokens that had been placed there were from Stage Thirteen.


    A black stone, a golden wine glass, and a small totem.


    As Dorothy looked at the three Other Shore Tokens, she asked the purple Soul of Light, "Could you please introduce them to us?"


    No one else held such a privilege of asking for and getting the tokens introduced to them. Everyone else had to explore the tokens by themselves after fusing with them.


    The purple Soul of Light nodded and replied, "This black stone was obtained from the Dark Fog Forest of Stage Thirteen. It has about 300 divine megatons of Other Shore Power stored in it. The dark mist derived from it can turn into a large quantity of poisonous miasma, which can greatly impact souls and inner worlds. That is why it is a handy auxiliary type of Other Shore Token."


    An Other Shore Token that had a strength of 300 divine megatons was way too powerful for the lower stages, but not for Stage Thirteen. It seemed that the most powerful part of this stone was the poisonous miasma.


    Zen asked rather too eagerly, "Is it possible to fuse this stone with the Tru


    Light had to enter the Desire World. Only then had one truly entered the Chaotic Source Realm.


    "One must enter the Chaotic Source Realm to choose this Strength God Totem? Does it mean that no one from the first thirteen stages can use it?" Zen asked.


    "Some races with extremely powerful bodies can handle it. But there are also some talented people in the palace whose physical bodies are naturally much stronger than ordinary people. They can use up to 80% to 90% of its power," the purple Soul of Light answered him, subconsciously excluding Zen from the extreme cases.


    Even if there was someone who could fuse with the power from the totem, that someone couldn''t be Zen. He was barely at Stage Four.


    "Let''s look at some other options," Dorothy said.


    There were six Other Shore Tokens from Stage Twelve. There must be something suitable for them that they could find!


    But Zen had made up his mind. "I''m going with the Strength God Totem," he said.


    Zen already had the Eye of Will that was being carried by the Truth of Goodwill and Malice. He had two more Other Shore Tokens to fuse since he still had the Truth of Cultivation Nature and the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent.


    Using a token of strengthening type to strengthen his power would be a wise choice.


    Zen didn''t know how strong a physical body would be after the Chaotic Source Reinforcement. But his body, with the support of the Shade Stone, should be able to use half the power that the Strength God Totem contained.

 Chapter 3159 A Threat

    Dorothy and the purple Soul of Light were stunned at the firmness in Zen''s tone.


    "The Other Shore Token of the strengthening type can increase your power, but power doesn''t mean everything," Dorothy said, trying to persuade Zen.


    "I know," Zen said, nodding.


    "Are you still going to choose this Other Shore Token then?" the purple Soul of Light asked again.


    He didn''t care what Other Shore Token Zen would select. All he cared about was being nice to Dorothy.


    "Yes. I''ll still choose this one," Zen replied decisively.


    He then picked up the Strength God Totem off the Earth Sanskrit Plate.


    Dorothy knew that once Zen decided to do something, nobody could persuade him to change his mind. And moreover, now that the Other Shore Token of the strengthening type was a trend among warriors, this Other Shore Token wasn''t going to be weak.


    "Okay, it''s my turn to choose," Dorothy said with a smile. She bent down over the Earth Sanskrit Plate in search of an Other Shore Token she wanted.


    She had already laid eyes on an Other Shore Token that was sitting on the right side of the twelfth circle. This token was the Twin Blossoms and it contained force of 150 divine megatons. It was an Other Shore Token of the auxiliary type and had a special power¡ªit could help the user clone themselves.


    The Origin Swordsmanship that she had cultivated was extremely powerful and she had had to work with another warrior to bring out one of its theurgies. If she could work with her other self, she could launch this theurgy to a greater effect, given that there would be a better connection between them. It was obvious that the Twin Blossoms was the best choice for her.


    "I''ll take this Other Shore Token," Dorothy said as she reached out to pick up the blossoms.


    She hadn''t yet passed the test of the Earth Sanskrit Plate, but she was confident that she could bear it, so she was now daring to take the Other Shore Token of Stage Twelve, which was why the purple Soul of Light remained silent.


    Once Dorothy and Zen obtained their own Other Shore Tokens, the next step they needed to take was to infuse the tokens into their souls and hold them in their own bodies. But before they could do this, two people suddenly walked in through the Seclusion Door.


    One of them had been waiting ins


    ice.


    The soul pressure was like an invisible hand, exerting more and more strength on Zen''s Soul of Light.


    "Stop! Or I will have to kill you!"


    Dorothy threatened, her voice cold and determined. The Necklace of Mystic Soul against her chest suddenly erupted with a powerful soul pressure.


    A small soul sword appeared over Dorothy''s head.


    It was not the first time that Zen had seen the sword. But it had never been so solid, and the purple light emanating from the surface of the soul sword was flowing everywhere.


    Marco Xu''s eyes widened as he felt the pressure of the soul sword. There was no more doubt that Dorothy would kill him with this sword.


    Sensing that things were getting out of hand, the three purple Souls of Light who were in charge of the place rushed over to them.


    "You''re all from the Oneness Sky Palace! Don''t fight over a trifle!"


    "For God''s sake, Marco, please forget it!"


    "How about meeting each other halfway?"


    Marco Xu was already regretting his actions at Dorothy''s threat. He had never imagined that she would protect this brat, someone who had appeared out of nowhere it felt like.


    Marco Xu backtracked under the persuasion of the three Souls of Light, finding an opportunity to make right the awkward position he had put himself in. He smiled as he said, "You are right. I don''t need to fight with a nobody."


    He then gathered all the pressure he had just released back into his body.


    But the small soul sword that was hovering over Dorothy''s head shot suddenly towards him.

 Chapter 3160 Try

    As the soul sword navigated its way towards Marco at lightning-fast speed, his face began to lose all color and turned as white as a sheet.


    After all, he was the son of the master of Vastness Mountain, and if he were to be killed by Dorothy, there would be severe consequences.


    "You... you wouldn''t dare!" Marco roared in frustration, his veins protruding from his neck. Instinctively he closed his eyes shut bracing himself for impact as he had no time to dodge.


    When the distance between the soul sword''s pointing end and Marco''s forehead was only half a foot long, it stopped in its tracks. Slowly he opened his eyes to see the soul sword had manifested itself into a cloud of soul aura and retreated into Dorothy''s Necklace of Mystic Soul.


    Dorothy glared at his frightened pale face to spite him. "Next time, I won''t be so forgiving."


    As she finished speaking, she casually turned around and began walking away with Zen, leaving a shocked and silent crowd behind the Seclusion Door.


    Marco stood still, with a dark shadow hovering over his face. He clenched his fists and kept his gaze lowered to the ground. Although they couldn''t see his face, they could sense his Soul of Light was brimming with anger and hatred.


    Scared from the possibility of Marco losing his temper on them, they didn''t dare approach him to calm his restless breathing down.


    Silence lingered in the walls of the room before Marco finally spoke. "Which mountain does the guy with Dorothy belong to?"


    "We don''t know anything about him. We only heard Dorothy refer to him as Zen," the person standing behind Marco explained.


    "Zen, huh? I want you to go and look into it. I don''t care how long it takes. Find out everything there is to know about him!" Marco demanded with rage. His tone reflected how much he loathed Zen.


    In the temple of Oneness Sky Palace, there were specific rooms built for the sake of cultivating one''s Soul of Light.


    To make one''s soul stronger, one had to integrate their soul with rare soul crystals, or constantly harden their soul. However, the latter was far more difficult.


    Even so, soul crystals were not easy to obtain, they were rare even within the Other Shore.


    There was only a small amount of them stored in the temple. Yet, Zen managed to retrieve a fist-sized soul crystal. It was quite fortunate of him since there had been no more than fifty people in the Oneness Sky Palace who were that lucky.


    Throughout the way, Dorothy remained silent, which spoke volumes about how disturbed she was from what had happened. When they finally arrived at the rooms, she turned to Zen and lowered her gaze. "I''m sorry to have gotten you involved in such trouble."


    In response, Zen gave her a warm smile and said, "Don''t worry about it. Although, that guy seemed to have some bad blood with the Origin Mountain, is that right?"


    "I''m afraid so," Dorothy sighed as she nodded lightly.


    In the past, Dorothy''s grandmother took part in a battle where she almost lost her life. Luckily, she was rescued by


    ything, but in the end, they still failed.


    ''Why did such a strong race fail to exist?'' Zen wondered feeling confused, as he attempted to interpret each message.


    Both the Dreaded Eye Demon race and the Giant Force Believer race were superior to the human race. And now, they ceased to exist with only their temples on the Other Shore and had both disappeared in the Source World and the chaos. How was this possible?


    In all the books Zen had read from the Oneness Sky Palace, none of them even mentioned these races. He was baffled.


    Even the messages provided to him by the Strength God Totem were not enough to answer his questions.


    After he removed the avatar in his body, Zen opened his eyes.


    Carefully, he sat up from his current position and stretched his one arm forward to activate the totem.


    The purple Soul of Light and Dorothy both had doubts about his choice of the Strength God Totem. They were afraid that he wouldn''t be able to withstand such a powerful force.


    But still, he wanted to give it a try and see for himself.


    As he provoked the totem, a series of overwhelming aura rushed towards him.


    ''Force of one hundred divine megatons!''


    When the force was concentrated on his arm, a dent formed in the space around his arm.


    Zen was still able to resist such power.


    ''Force of two hundred divine megatons!''


    He continued to test his limits and doubled the pressure.


    This time, Zen roughly felt his bones were strained as if a million mountains were pressing down on his arm, squeezing it in between. The muscles became extremely stiff, and the veins in the arm were as tough as steel.


    ''Force of four hundred divine megatons!'' Once again, Zen doubled the pressure.


    Unexpectedly a crackling sound filled the room as his arm suddenly caved in under pressure. A stream of his blood spurted out, like a fountain. It sprayed up in all directions uncontrollably. It broke through the enchanted barrier he set up, the ceiling of the house, and left behind a ten-foot-wide crack!

 Chapter 3161 An Invitation

    Zen was stunned at the power surging within him.


    "What strong power!"


    Zen''s body was so strong that he rarely felt any pressure under any amount of force.


    He had hardly been able to bear the Ways-blending Energy earlier. He felt that the Other Shore Power he had obtained from the Strength God Totem was going to leave him feeling the same way.


    Two sharp knocks sounded at the door.


    "Darling, what''s going on?"


    Margaret''s voice sounded, muffled from across the door.


    Zen was in seclusion and no one was allowed to enter the room. But the people outside had become worried at the loud noise.


    "Just a small accident," Zen called back.


    There was silence for a few seconds before Margaret spoke, her voice full of concern. "Please be careful," she said. She waited for an answer but when he didn''t respond, she turned and left.


    It was difficult for Margaret to understand the kind of cultivation method or power that Zen had acquired and whether or not he would spiral into madness.


    Zen raised his hand and a ray of green light gathered around his arm, instantly healing the injury.


    "Four hundred divine megatons is my limit?"


    Zen murmured as he stretched his arm out again.


    The black spot on his arm began to expand and had soon covered his whole arm, turning it into one smooth black expanse.


    The Shade Stone could strengthen his corporeal body, but he was still not sure of the limits it would give him.


    "Four hundred divine megatons!"


    This time, Zen released four hundred divine megatons of force in one go.


    Under the horrifying force, his arm was still strong as before.


    "Five hundred divine megatons!"


    He felt a sharp pain searing his arm, but he told himself he could bear it.


    "Six hundred divine megatons!"


    "Seven hundred divine megatons!"


    It was under the seven hundred divine megatons that a crisp crack rang out from his arm.


    The bones of his arm had broken under the pressure.


    Zen withdrew his strength, frowning.


    There was no doubt that the Shade Stone could greatly strengthen his body. But it was not enough.


    The body was made up of internal organs, flesh, muscles, and bones, and the Shade Stone could only protect some parts of his body. He wished he could get his hands on a few more Shade Stones, because if he did and his body absorbed them, it would improve his physical strength multi-


    own the mountain, climbed over the Sword Wall, and entrusted them to Monica.


    Monica''s eyes widened when she saw them. It was obvious that she wanted to say something, but words failed her.


    Zen spent some time with the disciples in the Dragon City and then went up the mountain again.


    He returned to his courtyard house and was surprised to find that Imran had come to visit him. Imran had reached the seventh floor of the Flow Tower and had become qualified to live in an independent courtyard house as well.


    "Zen," Imran greeted Zen, saluting respectfully.


    Ever since Zen had made it to the tenth floor of the Flow Tower in one go, his name had become well known across the Flow Sword Sect.


    The disciples of the Flow Sword Sect, both those who owned the independent courtyard houses and the ordinary ones, had almost achieved nothing of late.


    Rumor was that it was because of Zen.


    After all, mind cultivating was a significant characteristic of the Flow Sword Sect. On the day of Zen''s performance, they had been so shocked that his performance had been so good.


    "Hey, Imran! What can I do for you?" Zen asked.


    "The elite disciples of the Flow Sword Sect have a gathering today. They have sent me to invite you. May I have the honor?" Imran said, bowing slightly.


    Those who lived in the separate courtyard houses had formed a new clique. More than twenty disciples in this area were the future hope of the Flow Sword Sect, and they often got together.


    But Zen had focused on his cultivation and had never visited his neighbors ever since he had moved in.

 Chapter 3162 Senior Disciples

    As they made their way to the back of the Flow Tower, they went down a long path silently. Not long after they moved a certain distance, Zen looked up to see a large bell hanging over his head.


    It immediately hit him that this bell alone was responsible for alerting the entire Flow Sword Sect of the passing of a month.


    He stared at it in wonder till they passed it and went further along the road and stopped once they reached the end of the cliff.


    It was perfect to just stand and overlook the scenery as there were no clouds that could block the view. Nature''s beauty was laid bare to them.


    On the other end of the cliff, there was an exquisite terrace with railings etched with intricate designs.


    Imran continued to lead Zen till they arrived on the patio. They weren''t the only ones there. Instead, there were more than twenty people gathered there already.


    At first, these people seemed slothful, but an unusual light in their eyes vouched for their excellence.


    "Greetings my brothers. I have brought Zen here." Imran respectfully bowed and cupped his hands towards them.


    Back at the Flow Tower, when Zen had entered for the first time, only Milo was present among the elite members. Therefore, no one here knew his face.


    "Oh, you''re here! I''ve heard a lot about you!"


    "Zen, please sit here!"


    "¡­¡­"


    Suddenly, the atmosphere in the terrace had changed with them walking over to Zen, putting their arm around him, greeting him and escorting him to the seat of honor. It was as if Zen was a noble figure to be treated with such respect.


    Witnessing this, Imran shook his head at their reactions.


    The treatment he had received from these same senior disciples was worlds apart from what Zen had got.


    This was the core circle of the Flow Sword Sect. Ninety percent of the resources of the sword sect had been poured into them, and the strength and seniority were seen as very important.


    Not that long ago, Imran had joined this very circle, but compared to Zen, he was treated more like a servant. Watching all this unfold at a distance, he couldn''t help but feel slightly discredited.


    Of course, Imran wasn''t jealous of Zen, and he had no right to be. After all, Zen deserved this treatment for performing so well.


    Milo was hailed to be the core of the Flow Sword Sect, and his talents were unmatched. Since Zen had surpassed Milo, who was the most powerful disciple, Zen deserved every bit of this treatment and more.


    After being carefully escorted, Zen took his seat. One by one, each senior disciple stood before him and gave their proper introduction.


    Most of these elite disciples enjoyed a high social status, and more than half of them were descendants of the leaders in the Oneness Sky Palace. It was overwhelming how none of them came from humble origins.


    It was common. If one wished to enter the vicinity of Dragon City, they had


    I only got a finger-sized one..."


    "My soul crystal was just a bit bigger than yours..."


    "I heard that Milo had got a three-fingerbreadth one," someone whispered in the distance.


    Once everyone told their experiences, they all eyed Zen up patiently to hear his answer.


    These elites were well-respected by the Oneness Sky Palace, yet they were given a fingerbreadth of crystal on average...


    Zen rubbed his forehead and said, "I''ve got a fist-sized soul crystal in the temple..."


    He made it apparent by a gesture with his fist.


    Suddenly, the lively atmosphere faded away as the crowd went into pin-drop silence. After inhaling a few deep breathes, they began eyeing up Zen as though he wasn''t human.


    The rareness of soul crystal was such that the quantity of stored soul crystals in the temple was probably only the size of a few fists. How could Zen get a fist of it alone for himself?


    After a while, Konnor broke the silence and glanced at Zen with narrowed eyes. "They said you were of humble origin. I don''t believe it..."


    If Konnor were not an elite disciple of the Oneness Sky Palace and did dare to be disrespectful to Eastern Emperor Taiyi, he would have presumed Zen to be the illegitimate son of the emperor.


    Seeing their reaction, Zen began to construct thoughts of his own. ''No wonder Dorothy said that I was well treated by the Flow Sword Sect. But now, it seems that I could obtain a big soul crystal not because of my own performance, but because Athemar was looking out for me secretly.''


    Even though Athemar seldom showed up at any event, it was apparent he was helping Zen out secretly.


    While everyone was still in a daze at their different fates, Konnor quickly changed the topic. "There is only one chance to take the soul crystal. It''s also extremely difficult for elites like us to get more of them. But this time, there is another chance. I wonder if you are interested in it, Zen."

 Chapter 3163 The Seven Mountains Meeting

    The soul crystal was so precious, and one had to pay a huge price to get their hands on one.


    Zen didn''t answer the question. Instead, he asked, "What kind of an opportunity are you talking about?"


    Konnor smiled as he said, "The Seven Mountains Meeting."


    "The Seven Mountains Meeting?"


    "Yes," said Konnor. "The Seven Mountains Meeting is held every three years. The elites of the seven mountains: the Oneness Mountain, Vastness Mountain, Bright Mountain, Azure Mountain, Ivory Mountain, Origin Mountain, and the Golden Mountain, will gather together in the event."


    After the Oneness Sky Palace had been established, there had been the famous "Seven Mountains Assembly" that had laid the foundation for the Oneness Sky Palace.


    As the Oneness Sky Palace prospered, the elite disciples of the seven mountains began to imitate their predecessors and held a Seven Mountains Meeting. The meeting was originally meant for the most outstanding talents of the Oneness Sky Palace to gather together and communicate with each other.


    But as time passed, the content of the meetings became more diversified. The Seven Mountains Meeting later became an occasion for the outstanding talents to compete with each other.


    It was slowly but steadily garnering more and more attention from the leaders of the Oneness Sky Palace, who began to fully support the event every time it was held. The rewards were substantial.


    The Oneness Sky Palace also took the Seven Mountains Meeting as an opportunity to distribute resources since a competition of this level could motivate the elites of each mountain.


    ''They said so much just to persuade me to take part in the competition?'' Zen thought.


    "You have already reached the eighth or ninth stage of the Other Shore Realm and are stronger than me. I''m afraid I won''t be able to help if I participate in the Seven Mountains Meeting," Zen said. He was sure that speaking his mind would be for the best.


    Zen didn''t have a low opinion of himself, but there were indeed some powerful warriors among these elites.


    "Zen, listen to me. You don''t know that event. The Seven Mountains Meeting is not a competition that''s based merely on physical strength. It''s a carefully designed game. If one wants to win, what''s most important is one''s mastery of the Truth of Godly Way," Konnor said.


    "The mastery of the Truth of Godly Way?" Zen said, his eye


    mined to get the Shade Phoenix Sword!''


    But the Oneness Sky Palace was not a place that the small Sword Light Palace could compare to.


    A powerful warrior like Milo existed in a sect like the Flow Sword Sect. Zen was afraid that the other mountains had warriors who were superior to Milo.


    At this thought, Zen waved his hands and condensed a layer of enchanted barrier. He then opened his palms and a piece of paper spread out before him.


    On the paper was the content that had been deciphered from the Sanskrit words on the yellow paper.


    He hadn''t studied it after Geoffrey had deciphered the two Sanskrit words. On the one hand, he had been focused on practicing Flow Strike, and on the other hand, the content was too difficult to comprehend.


    Zen must be prepared, since he was determined to get the Shade Phoenix Sword.


    His gaze was focused on the paper before he started to recite according to the rule he found within the paper''s content.


    Similar to what Geoffrey had encountered when he had recited the words, Zen felt a beam of sharp sword radiance forming in his mind when he began to recite. The sword radiance surged up and rushed to penetrate his soul and skull.


    But Zen''s Soul of Light was many times stronger than Geoffrey''s.


    He managed to suppress the sharp sword radiance in his mind.


    "Did this sword radiance appear because of the thought in my mind?"


    When he studied the content that had been deciphered from the Sanskrit words, Zen suddenly found that it was similar to the Heart Slaughtering Strike that was recorded in the Flow Swordsmanship.

 Chapter 3164 The Special Cyclone

    When Zen cultivated the Flow Strike a few days ago, he came across a strange problem which left him puzzled.


    The Flow Swordsmanship was very different from the other supreme swordsmanship manuals. It was a method used to train the mind, and it contained several extremely powerful killing skills, all without any specific cultivation method.


    According to the records, if one remained in the Flow Tower long enough, they would be capable of mastering the skills on their own. Zen had been cultivating for a very long time, yet he still could not master any theurgy.


    However, the translation of Sanskrit words that Zen had just read could transform his thoughts to a sword. It was somewhat similar to the Heart Slaughtering Strike in the Flow Swordsmanship. But Zen just could not figure out what it had to do with the Heart Slaughtering Strike.


    The translation written by Geoffrey was about 1, 000 words long.


    Zen kept the fine sword radiance forming in his mind in check and read on.


    Despite his best efforts, the sword radiance continued to accumulate, growing stronger and stronger against his will.


    After reading 50 words, the sword radiance had grown so powerful that Zen could no longer contain it. It felt as if it could erupt like a violent volcano at any moment.


    If this sword radiance was released, it would most likely cause more damage than the sword radiance which had cut Geoffrey''s soul open.


    Zen frowned, still trying to hold on, but he had to pull himself away for a second. The sword radiance gradually dissipated as he stopped reading and waited.


    When he had cultivated the Truth of Cultivation Nature and the Truth of Goodwill and Malice, though the pressure was great, it was not fatal and he had managed to make progress little by little.


    But this was very different. Trying to understand the Sanskrit words was proving to be quite dangerous. Had he misunderstood something?


    ''Even the True Gods, who aren''t perfectly compatible with the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent, don''t encounter such great resistance when they cultivate for the first time. Did I do something wrong at the beginning of the cultivation?


    These two Sanskrit words were arranged behind the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent, so should I recite the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent before reciting and comprehending them?''


    The thought sparked a flame in Zen''s mind.


    He then recited the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent...


    He could now do it quite quickly, uttering the last wo


    irit this year! Konnor!"


    "I don''t see Milo. Is he too much of a coward to attend the competition?


    If he doesn''t come, it''s probably best for your Flow Sword Sect to give up!"


    The men on the two flying ships burst into laughter.


    Hearing the taunts, the elite members of the Flow Sword Sect were displeased. Konnor even steered the ship to descend slightly and avoid the other two ships.


    The men on the two ships required no introduction. Zen could quite easily guess they were from the Unique Array Sword Sect and the Killing Sword Sect.


    "Konnor, if they''re also from the Oneness Mountain, why are they hostile to the Flow Sword Sect?" Zen asked curiously.


    Konnor pulled a long face after hearing Zen''s words. Finally he said with a smile, "The Oneness Mountain is the dominant mountain of the Oneness Sky Palace. The three sword sects are just competing for their own interests. This keeps the balance in the mountain. If the three sword sects join hands, no other mountains could compete with them. Thus the three sword sects also compete with each other."


    This was not the whole truth, but Konnor did not reveal that to Zen.


    In fact, the Flow Sword Sect was the weakest among the three sword sects. Some time ago there was even word that the Flow Sword Sect would be eliminated.


    The Killing Sword Sect and the Unique Array Sword Sect were always disdainful of the Flow Sword Sect. It was not until the appearance of Milo that the Flow Sword Sect''s reputation had been rescued.


    However, Milo had no intention of taking part in the Seven Mountains Meeting. That was why Konnor hastily searched for Zen to participate in this competition.

 Chapter 3165 Elvinia

    The center of the Bloom Divine Province was circled by massive mountains with razor sharp peaks. As one approached the Vastness Mountain''s location, the long and narrow mountain range sloped down sharply.


    To the side of the Origin Mountain lay the Dragon City. Its name was derived from how, from a bird''s eye view, the mountain range resembled a coiled dragon, poised to strike.


    "Konner." Zen cleared his throat. "Since the various super forces all seem to be short on soul crystals, how is it possible that the Oneness Sky Palace would offer crystals as rewards at the Seven Mountains Meeting? They even take out a premium Other Shore Treasure as a reward for the champion!"


    The Seven Mountains Meeting was held every three years. Even if the Oneness Sky Palace was wealthy, it entailed huge expenditure to offer such extravagant rewards.


    Konnor smiled. "Because, Zen, there isn''t much time left."


    "Here we go again..."


    Zen rolled his eyes. It wasn''t the first time he encountered such a remark.


    "Zen, what do you think of the situation of this world?" Konnor asked Zen seriously.


    "The world is peaceful," replied Zen with a shrug.


    It was true that there was unrest in six provinces under the Oneness Sky Palace''s rule. Aside from the problem of Mountain Viewing Province, which was quite troublesome to deal with, the skirmishes in the other provinces were not much of a threat. He got such conclusion based on what he had observed along the way when he went to the Mountain Viewing Province.


    "Indeed. Not only our Oneness Sky Palace, but also the several major nonhuman races, who were fighting fiercely in the Source World before, have calmed down now. It can be said that in the past hundred years, we are witnessing the most peaceful era in the Source World," Konnor agreed.


    "However," he continued in a grave tone, "the situation might appear peaceful on the surface. But in reality, there is great turbulence. While there might be a balance between the super forces now, it is very fragile. The slightest tipping of the scale, and all hell will break loose in the Source World. When the war breaks out, the Oneness Sky Palace could not stay out of it."


    Konnor was, after all, a descendant of a noble clan. And since he held a high position, he was aware of the delicate political climate.


    "So, with every Seven Mountains Meeting, the rewards grow more and more valuable. This encourages us to grow stronger," Konnor finished with a smile.


    "I see..." Zen nodded.


    Although Konnor had not explicitly said so, Zen figured that the disputes among the super forces were due to the different ways they chose to take.


    Zen rec


    rranged in a fan-shaped formation. However, the seats in the front row were empty.


    With his curiosity piqued, Zen turned to Konnor and asked, "All the elites of the seven mountains have already arrived. Why there are still empty seats?"


    "Those''re the seats for the direct descendants of each mountain," Konnor replied.


    The direct descendants of the Oneness Sky Palace were the direct descendants of the masters of each mountain. They didn''t join any sword sect, and simply enjoyed a high status.


    ''Direct descendants... Is Dorothy a direct descendant of the Origin Mountain?'' Zen pondered silently.


    When Zen and Dorothy were bargaining with Wilfred in the Truth Library, she had mentioned her grandmother and the Origin Swordsmanship. If he guessed right, Dorothy might be the direct descendant of the Origin Mountain! Zen quietly wondered whether she would show up today.


    Just then, he felt a chill coming from the gate.


    Just as he turned to look where the chill was coming from, an elegant woman in a long dress slowly walked in, flanked by ten guards. She looked extraordinarily stunning; but her face was cold as ice, as though she did not know how to smile.


    As she walked, cold air surged, causing the ribbons on her dress to dance and flit. The moment she entered, a hush fell over the hall. Everyone turned to look at her in silent awe.


    Konnor leaned subtly to Zen and said in a low voice, "That is Elvinia, the youngest daughter of Eastern Emperor Taiyi. It is said that she was brought back from the Divine Lair."


    The Oneness Sky Palace had seven branches, which were the seven mountains, but Eastern Emperor Taiyi was the head of the Oneness Sky Palace. Since Elvinia was the daughter of Eastern Emperor Taiyi, she served as the legitimate heir!

 Chapter 3166 The Vastness Mountain

    Konnor''s words registered. Zen, taken aback, asked, "Doesn''t the Divine Lair belong to the Sun Crow race? How could the girl have been brought back from the Divine Lair?"


    "You might not know this, but Eastern Emperor Taiyi was once a good friend of Emperor Charm. They only became enemies later in life," explained Konnor, shaking his head.


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi and Emperor Charm used to be on good terms. Because they had chosen different paths, their differences ended up destroying their friendship.


    "The Seven Mountains Meeting is to be held today. Let''s not talk about this," whispered Konnor. "Among the descendants of all the mountains of the Oneness Sky Palace, Elvinia is one of the two beautiful ones."


    "Who is the other one?" Zen asked curiously.


    "Her name is Dorothy from Origin Mountain. She is the opposite of Elvinia¡ªlively and enthusiastic. She is very cute, as opposed to Elvinia''s cold demeanor," Konnor said with a chuckle.


    Zen raised his eyebrows in surprise. He didn''t know Konnor thought so highly of Dorothy.


    As Elvinia slowly made her way to her seat, the elites of the mountains stood up and saluted to her.


    "Your Highness!"


    "Greetings!"


    Elvinia remained cold and expressionless, as though she hadn''t heard them.


    Ignoring everyone, she took the seat of honor on the front row.


    After Elvinia took her seat, some other people arrived. It was three direct descendants of the Azure Mountain. The three young men curtly greeted their acquaintances and then took their seats.


    Other people followed. These were the direct descendants of Ivory Mountain and Golden Mountain.


    Once everyone had been seated, a voice suddenly chirped excitedly. "Dorothy! Long time no see!"


    Another voice followed suit. "Dorothy, I haven''t seen you in two years! Your cultivation base has improved greatly!"


    Zen turned around just in time to see Dorothy enter. She was wearing a dainty pink dress, which complemented her perfectly.


    She looked both vivacious and intelligent.


    She was not as arrogant as Elvinia. She treated her friends the same and was popular in the Oneness Sky Palace, and even the elite warriors were fond of her.


    If anyone dared to talk to Elvinia in this chummy way, they would be


    or bowed to him. "Marco, what can I do for you?"


    "It''s none of your business. Get lost," said Marco coldly.


    Heads swiveled as everyone turned to watch the drama unfold.


    Recently, the Vastness Mountain had proposed an arranged marriage with the Origin Mountain. The latter had declined. This resulted in great tension between the two mountains. While they tried to keep this issue hush, everyone in the room knew about this matter.


    Even Elvinia, who had been aloof this whole time, turned her head towards the commotion, her eyes narrowing in curiosity.


    "Today is the Seven Mountains Meeting. I don''t want to see you here. Get out of here!" Marco said to Zen in a boisterous and haughty tone.


    Dorothy rushed to Zen''s defense. "Marco, how dare y¡ª"


    "What if I don''t want to get out of here?" Zen, remaining seated, calmly interrupted Dorothy.


    "You are in no position to say no!" A grim smile flickered across Marco''s face, making him even more arrogant.


    When the others saw his expression, they all knew that the matter wouldn''t end up well.


    Konnor, Mekhi and others exchanged glances anxiously.


    There were more than twenty of them from the Flow Sword Sect. Among them, Konnor, being in the thirteenth stage of the Other Shore Realm, was the strongest. Most of the others were in the eighth or ninth stage of the Other Shore Realm. Mekhi had reached the eleventh stage.


    But even Konnor didn''t have the guts to offend Marco, the son of the master of the Vastness Mountain.

 Chapter 3167 Throw Him Out

    Zen was a disciple of the Flow Sword Sect. Konnor and the other Flow Sword Sect disciples had invited him to attend the Seven Mountains Meeting.


    Eventually, Konnor bit the bullet and said, "Young Master Marco, Zen is an elite disciple of the Flow Sword Sect. He is here to take part in the Seven Mountains Meeting. You have no right to chase him out like this."


    "Cut the crap!"


    Marco did not care to hear any of Konnor''s words; he had no time for them.


    He would not only chase Zen out, but also find a chance to beat him up.


    It might have seemed a rash decision, but Marco was a smart and calculated man.


    Dorothy was destined to find a husband, and although the Oneness Sky Palace was large and filled with talented disciples, all those worthy of pursuing her were all gathered here.


    Marco was determined to stake his claim today. He would have it known that anyone who dared to woo Dorothy would be crossing not only him but the Vastness Mountain too.


    And when his father put pressure on the Origin Mountain again, they would have no choice but to let Dorothy marry him.


    "If you had just left yourself, you would not lose face. But since you refused, do not blame me for what happens next."


    The aura gathered within his body suddenly burst forth. His arms reached out with his hands closing in fast on either side of Zen.


    His Soul of Light had reached Stage Thirteen of the Lust World. He had also absorbed a powerful Other Shore Token. The force his hands unleashed reached two hundred divine megatons.


    Marco intended to crush Zen''s arms and toss him down the mountain. The building might not have been on the edge of the mountain, but it wouldn''t be difficult for Marco to throw him many miles away.


    "Marco is going to throw that man out!"


    "That guy is probably going to die."


    "He is only in the fourth stage of the Other Shore Realm and not even close to Marco''s level. Why is he being so stubborn? He should have just admitted his mistake and left peacefully. How stupid is he?"


    "Zen, be careful! Jermain, help him!" Dorothy yelled, distress in her tone.


    As the second largest mountain of the Oneness Sky Palace, the Origin Mountain naturally had many outstanding disciples. Dorothy had called for Jermain Song''s help. He too w


    ne. I will deal with him on my own. You need not confront him."


    With that, he walked past Konnor and Jermain Song and stood in the open space in the hall.


    "Zen..."


    Dorothy''s eyes were slightly red. She saw Zen as too confident in himself. Marco was a direct descendant of the Vastness Mountain''s head, and his talent and strength were both incredibly formidable. He was a tough opponent that could not be underestimated.


    But Zen was confident and felt he did not need any protection. Dorothy didn''t dare to force him. She knew there was no changing his mind now.


    Many people shook their heads when they saw that Zen intended to face Marco alone.


    "Marco was careless; that''s the only reason he was caught off guard and thrown out."


    "Does this bloke really think he has the ability to stand up to Marco?"


    "If Marco takes this seriously, this guy will pay with his life."


    Before long, a horrifying aura emerged from outside the building.


    Marco appeared at the gate. He was covered in dust and rubble, looking a real mess. But the expression in his eyes was sharp and murderous and filled with fury.


    He was thrown out by a nobody in public.


    As the son of the leader of the Vastness Mountain, he was humiliated. This could not stand.


    Swoosh!


    With a crisp sound, Marco drew his sword.


    The green sword shone coldly. Three dots of light began floating out of his head like ghosts. They circled gently several times, like little butterflies, before landing and merging into his sword.

 Chapter 3168 Inside The Mountain

    "That Other Shore Token... It appears to be a mysterious type, Spirits Trinity! "


    "Isn''t Marco''s Other Shore Token that blood hand?"


    "He accidentally obtained this Other Shore Token in the Seclusion Temple last year!"


    Among all the Other Shore Tokens, the mysterious type was the most special.


    Many Other Shore Tokens of the mysterious type possessed incredible abilities. If used properly, they''d be pretty much invincible!


    Zen acted swiftly when seeing Marco''s three-colored long sword. He waved his hand and grasped Snow Sword at once, ready for anything.


    The Other Shore contained thirty-three stages, and was divided into three different worlds. All of them belonged to the first world, the Lust World.


    Marco had entered the thirteenth stage of the Other Shore Realm, but Zen had fused with an Other Shore Token from Stage Thirteen. Zen''s soul was not as strong as Marco''s, but he still stood a chance here.


    Moreover, Zen had his own trump card.


    As the fierce battle brewed, no one else present wanted to stop them.


    Those on Marco''s side hoped that Marco would strike Zen down with a single blow. None of the bystanders wanted to pass up this opportunity for a good show.


    Zen had insisted to Dorothy and those from the Flow Sword Sect that this was his battle alone, so they would not get in the way.


    "Sizzle..."


    Marco gently lifted his three-colored long sword and three colored shadows formed a strange pattern. Just as he was about to launch an attack, a thread suddenly came from behind him.


    It lightly wrapped itself around the three-colored long sword, dimming the sword radiance in an instant. It had come from a young woman with a ponytail.


    She was accompanied by a few others as well.


    "The Seven Mountains Meeting is supposed to be a joyous occasion. It is not appropriate to fight here." The young woman waved her hand calmly, and dragged by the thread, Marco''s long sword flew from his hand and into hers with ease.


    At the same time, Zen felt himself losing control of his own hand and soon Snow Sword flew from his hand to hers too.


    The young woman walked up to Marco, clasping the sword hilt and tip of the b


    extended downward, far beyond what Zen thought was possible. There seemed to be quite a huge construction built in the mountain.


    "Konnor, you said that the Seven Mountains Meeting is not a battle ring, but a game carefully designed. Did they build all this for this game?" Zen asked, astounded by the work that had been put in.


    Before Konnor could reply, Dorothy answered, "Of course not. This mountain was once a training place of the Oneness Sky Palace. They re-purposed it once it was abandoned."


    The senior leaders of the Oneness Sky Palace had taken advantage of the situation, rearranging the magic array, setting up the rules and taking measures to improve it.


    After a five-minute walk down, Zen left the corridor and stepped into a massive cave over ten thousand feet high. In the middle, there stood a mountain around five to six thousand feet high.


    It didn''t look as though this mountain had been formed naturally because its surface shone with a metallic luster. No one knew what it had been used for.


    "Everyone to the position of your sword sect," Tacy ordered.


    As a descendant of the direct line of Origin Mountain, Dorothy could not stay with Zen. She said goodbye and went to the right with Jermain and the others.


    There were a dozen huge stones of similar size at the bottom of the cave.


    Zen, led by Konnor, climbed up one on the right as the elite disciples of other mountains climbed up their own huge stones.

 Chapter 3169 Rules Of The Game

    Zen ran his eyes like daggers scouting the place while standing on the smooth giant stone. There were a total of ten giant stones, and on each, there were twenty people perched atop.


    Six stones were occupied by disciples from Origin Mountain, Vastness Mountain, and the other four mountains respectively.


    Each of three sword sects of the Oneness Mountain possessed a stone, and the disciples led by Elvinia took up the tenth stone.


    It was the first time for Zen and Imran to participate in the Seven Mountains Meeting amongst the twenty people from the Flow Sword Sect.


    As they took their time to adjust to the situation, Konnor turned towards both of them and said, "Have you two been proficient in employing the Other Shore Power?"


    "I''d say I''m decent with it," Imran answered in all seriousness.


    "You don''t have to worry, I have too," Zen said as he nodded in response.


    Of course, a person who was able to be recognized as an elite disciple by the Flow Sword Sect was by no means ordinary.


    "This stone we''re standing on is very heavy. We have to work together to use a hundred divine megatons of force to lift it up later. At that time, it will depend on everyone''s efforts." Konnor briefed them on what they had to do.


    "Wait, what? We have to lift it up?" Imran blinked aggressively and stared at Konnor in shock.


    They had to use a hundred divine megatons of force to lift the stone up!


    Going under it to raise it up together would be no problem, but how could they lift it while standing on top of it, knowing the surface was smooth?


    "Okay, here''s the plan. All of us need to work together to fix ourselves on the stone and then ascend in the air with all our might." Konnor paused for a moment to process it in his thoughts, and then he added, "It would be better if you have cultivated the Might Godly Way. In that case, you can easily control your strength."


    "The Might Godly Way..." Zen blinked with curious eyes while listening to the briefing. "Why do we have to lift this stone up?"


    Hearing Zen''s question, Konnor pointed to the small metal mountain in the distance and said, "The rule is actually very simple. Do you see the top of that mountain?"


    Zen and Imran glanced in the direction of Konnor''s hand in unison. There were three small plates on the top of the metal mountain. Each of them differed in heights.


    "We have to put this stone on the top place to win first plate. If we place it on the second plate, we''ll end up in second place, and the same goes for the third one." Explaining the rules made Konnor remember the events of the last time they competed. He chuckled and said, "Three years ago, Milo just entered the Other Shore Realm. His stren


    his companions and said, "Everyone, stay alert! The game has started. Let''s work together and win this!"


    The rune he was standing on functioned as the navigator of the giant stone.


    At his command, Zen, Imran, and the other people of the Flow Sword Sect all drew out the Other Shore Power and firmly rooted themselves onto the giant stone.


    It proved difficult to lift it up at first even with the combined strength of all the disciples.


    "Phew!"


    The giant stone slowly lifted itself up in the air responding to the combined efforts of the crowd.


    Then, Konnor focused and released the truth aura from his body. The truth aura spread around the stone under his feet and formed a connection with it. Suddenly, the stone turned around and was about to rush towards the metal mountain in the middle of the cave.


    Their primary goal was to get the weight rune in the floating array in the first layer. Konnor had planned this all in his head to stay one step ahead of the others.


    However, just as he started to move the stone, he heard a burst of loud laughter coming from the left. One of the voices referred to them in a provoking tone, "Konnor, do you honestly think you could just rush over like that? Don''t you think you''re being a bit naive?"


    The blunt voice belonged to Hare Sang of the Killing Sword Sect.


    Three years ago, as soon as the stone of the Killing Sword Sect had obtained the first weight rune, Milo''s stone had dashed against theirs, and Hare Sang had fallen to the ground with his men. He had been biding his time since then for this opportunity to avenge himself!


    As soon as the game began, Hare Sang, who was leading the members of Killing Sword Sect, drove their stone to rush towards Konnor. They wanted to eliminate the Flow Sword Sect now to get even with them.

 Chapter 3170 Besieged

    Konnor saw the Killing Sword Sect disciples approaching fast and fierce, and his face changed. "Everyone, stand firm!" he ordered.


    He stamped his foot gently and the giant stone under his feet rolled abruptly. The bottom of the stone pointed at the stone of the Killing Sword Sect.


    The two huge stones slammed into each other, crashing together in a crisp clatter.


    The Flow Sword Sect''s stone began to fall upon being hit.


    They were plummeting down, everyone''s head facing the ground. If they didn''t do anything, they would not only be eliminated but also get seriously injured.


    It was certainly no picnic being smashed by a stone that contained a hundred divine megatons of force.


    Konnor bit down hard and released the truth aura once more.


    The giant stone was only about five feet from the ground, everyone''s head only half a foot away from crashing into the ground. They all flinched to protect their heads from being crushed like watermelons.


    "Rise!"


    Konnor bellowed.


    The stone turned back over, the bottom almost touching the ground itself!


    "Whoa, that was really close!"


    "We were almost knocked out just then!"


    Everyone heaved a deep sigh of relief.


    It would have been a shame to have been eliminated right at the start of the game.


    Zen stood on the stone with a calm expression.


    Now that he was participating in the Seven Mountains Meeting, he was determined to obtain the premium Other Shore Treasure forged by the Shade Stone. He would have to compete for first place to obtain this prize.


    The beginning of the competition was filled with danger, and Zen was a little anxious at the start.


    After all, it was the first time that he had attended the game. Konnor was much more experienced, so Zen had to let him control the stone.


    The Flow Sword Sect was not the only one engaging in a fight with another sect.


    Bang!


    Clap!


    Boom!


    The collisions of the stones echoed like rolling thunder throughout the cave.


    No matter who rushed toward the metal mountain, they could be certain there were other sects'' stones to block their way. Even the stone Elvinia stood on was challenged by another sect.


    However, the competition had just begun and everyone was still showing a fair bit of restraint.


    As the collisions continued, the giant stones that were originally scattered around the cave were now c


    ia''s belonged to the Ivory Mountain. They had foiled her efforts to retrieve the first weight rune.


    After receiving the first weight rune, one was able to reach the second layer of the metal mountain, and from there, it wasn''t far to the final goal. Everyone hoped to be on top, so stopping others was all part of the game plan.


    "Let''s move forward too!"


    At Konnor''s command, the stone circled in the air in an odd angle around the metal mountain. Suddenly, the stones of the Killing Sword Sect and the Unique Array Sword Sect came from either side at the same time.


    Just as Konnor was about to hurry Mekhi to speed up again, a third stone appeared in front of them. It was Marco of the Vastness Mountain who stood at the front of the stone, proud and menacing.


    Marco had failed to drive Zen out of the game, and for this, he had declared the Flow Sword Sect his number one enemy.


    The disciples'' spirits sank as they realized the situation they were in.


    They had expected to be targeted for sure, and were prepared for it too, but they were not expecting to be attacked by so many sects all at once. It seemed no one would rest until the Flow Sword Sect disciples were out of the competition.


    "Konnor, do you need my help?" Zen asked, his voice brimming with courage and determination.


    "No, not yet. I can handle it for now," Konnor answered, concentrating on dealing with the crisis at hand.


    They hadn''t reached the white-hot phase yet. Zen was the Flow Sword Sect''s secret weapon. If they let him fight now, it would only cost them more in the later stages.

 Chapter 3171 The Most Critical Moment

    Konnor had overestimated himself and underestimated the other sects'' determination to target Flow Sword Sect.


    The giant stones of the Killing Sword Sect and the Unique Array Sword Sect had suddenly begun to accelerate. Their third runes were already occupied. The moment they released the Truth of Godly Way, enchanted barriers emerged from the surfaces of the two giant stones and wrapped them within.


    The Seven Mountains Meeting was not a competition between the sects of Oneness Sky Palace. It was in fact a big event.


    The three runes on the giant stones had three functions: to control, speed up, and cast an enchanted barrier. This was meant to prevent the disciples from fighting each other as much as possible.


    Now that these two stones were on either side of them, trying to intercept their way, Mekhi couldn''t accelerate as required.


    "Jax!"


    Konnor called out desperately.


    Jax Gong stepped on the third rune, and the moment he released the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent, the enchanted barrier on the giant stone began to glow.


    Judging from the thickness of the enchanted barrier, Jax Gong''s compatibility with the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent was nothing compared to that of the disciples from the Killing Sword Sect and the Unique Array Sword Sect. But he had no other choice now.


    The moment the enchanted barrier formed, the two giant stones on either side of them collided with the giant stone of the Flow Sword Sect.


    The three stones were well protected by enchanted barriers, which reduced the impact of the collision so it wasn''t too destructive.


    Having been squeezed on both sides, the enchanted barrier was now stuck in the middle and couldn''t move. Konnor''s efforts to break away were in vain.


    Moments later, the giant stone of the Vastness Mountain that Marco was operating shot towards them.


    It flew up some distance and then came crashing down. It looked like it was about to knock the Flow Sword Sect''s giant stone to the ground.


    "Quit, you idiots!" Marco said tauntingly.


    He looked down at the people of the Flow Sword Sect, his eyes finally landing on Zen. At Zen''s clenched fists, his eyes filled with mocking.


    ''You have no idea what I''m cap


    ''re counting on you now, Zen."


    Everyone was surprised at Konnor''s actions.


    "Konnor is quite tough and stubborn!"


    "His Other Shore Token has great potential and can be further developed. It can be of huge help if fully used!"


    "But there''s no use, him struggling like this. His sect has only seven people left on the stone. They can''t make such a giant stone move in the air, right?"


    The crowd began to panic when the giant stone tilted in the air.


    It was losing direction, without Konnor''s control.


    Even though everyone had gone all out to bring it back on track, the stone kept swaying to its side.


    "You are so stubborn! Let me give you a ride to hell!"


    Marco controlled the giant stone of his sect, bringing it smashing down on the Flow Sword Sect''s stone again with a menacing momentum.


    The Flow Sword Sect''s stone would probably fall down even without the influence of any external force. Marco''s attack would only make the fall quicker.


    Zen waved a hand.


    The invisible force turned into two chains, circling around him, and then enveloping the entirety of the giant stone.


    This was the advantage of being proficient in the Might Godly Way. Zen was now fixed on the giant stone.


    He slid on the stone until he came to the control rune, where Konnor had been.


    He activated the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent and the Strength God Totem, releasing both the powerful Other Shore Power and the truth aura.


    "Rise!"


    Zen commanded.

 Chapter 3172 Surrounded

    Before they could fathom what was going on, Marco had come dangerously close to the stone of the Flow Sword Sect.


    At this moment, Zen was maneuvering the boulder with finesse. However, when the gaze of the onlookers fell on Marco charging fiercely at them, they doubted Zen would be able to dodge such an attack.


    They expected Zen to be out of the competition once Marco''s stone made contact with theirs, judging by his aggression and the height Zen was at with his boulder.


    Additionally, only seven disciples remained on the Flow Sword Sect''s stone. Their combined strength was already insufficient to pull it up, not to mention they had to bear the attack of an approaching stone.


    However, under the watchful gazes of the exceedingly anxious spectators, the giant boulder of the Flow Sword Sect suddenly changed its course.


    The flexibility with which it maneuvered its way away from Marco''s attack was far beyond anyone''s conjecture.


    Swish!


    Swiftly, Zen had controlled his giant stone to ascend above Marco''s boulder. It rolled over as it escaped from harm''s way.


    The two stones grazed against each other, and the shrieking noise caused by the friction reverberated in everyone''s ears.


    Since he planned on going above Marco, it was evident Zen didn''t intend on just evading, he wanted to counterattack.


    Now that Marco''s boulder was underneath Zen''s, it was the perfect opportunity.


    "Now! Go down!"


    Zen pointed towards Marco''s stone and yelled to command the giant boulder. He focused his energy and unleashed the Strength God Totem once more.


    As the Other Shore Power erupted below his feet, Zen''s stone crashed down on to Marco''s like a comet freefalling from space.


    Already on the verge of falling from attempting to attack Zen, Marco''s boulder accelerated further down after Zen''s action to tackle him head-on!


    Before his giant stone could touch the ground and eliminate him from the competition, Marco turned to one of his companions and shouted, "Jabril! Speed up!"


    The giant boulder of the Vastness Mountain suddenly rushed away from Zen''s crushing stone and shot up with a strong force. In their attempt to escape the fierce attack, four disciples of the Vastness Mountain fell off their positions and were eliminated.


    So close to being out of the competition made Marco break out in a cold sweat as he composed himself.


    "Awesome move, Zen!"


    Dorothy clapped her hands subconsciously after witnessing the fierce battle of the two from afar.


    Like everyone else, Dorothy was sure Zen was screwed when Marco was preparing to launch his attack. She felt proud as he maneuvered himself out of it and turned the tables the other way around.


    "Dorothy..."


    Jermain feebly reminded her to stay focused as he operated the giant stone of Origin Mountain.


    After all, Dorothy was the direct descendant of Origin Mountain, and Zen was her opponent in this competition. Her concern for him would affect the morale and performance of their mountain.


    ''Unbelievable, Zen i


    with a frown. "Mekhi, get out of the way. Let me deal with this!"


    All the elite disciples respected Konnor and trusted him to keep them out of harm''s way. Since he left, they all relied on Zen with the same amount of faith. Upon hearing Zen''s orders, Mekhi nodded and obediently moved away.


    Swiftly, Zen placed one foot on the controlling rune and the other on the speed-up rune.


    It wasn''t easy for him to turn the tables around by evading three attacks simultaneously at once alone.


    However, Zen remembered the time when Konnor had mentioned the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent would help him a lot during this competition.


    The higher level of understanding of the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent, the easier it would get to control a giant stone. That was why the enchanted barrier of Vastness Mountain was thicker than that of the Flow Sword Sect.


    Jax from the Flow Sword Sect was weak when it came to the understanding of the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent, which affected the strength of their enchanted barrier.


    But Zen was a much stronger warrior than Jax. He had the capability of Instant Enlightenment. Thus, he faced no trouble operating the controlling rune. It explained how their stone was much more flexible in terms of maneuvering compared to the others.


    Since the three runes on the boulder were similar to the Imperial Sword Seal, was it possible for them to absorb the latter part of the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent?


    After all, those two Sanskrit words were linked to the previous ones. Zen had grasped more than a hundred words of the translation, but since he couldn''t control the white energy cyclone, he had never tried to understand the rest using the Imperial Sword Seal.


    Once he had processed all the possibilities in his mind, it was time to execute them. He began to unleash the truth aura again while reciting the follow-up of the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent.


    In response to his recitation, the cyclone made out of white energy spiraled violently in his mind again.

 Chapter 3173 Power Beyond Imagination

    Surrounded by three other sects'' stones, the Flow Sword Sect knew they were in grave danger of being knocked out soon.


    Dorothy''s eyes darted from the helpless disciples to the giant rock Elvinia was controlling as she watched on her own. She sighed in frustration, knowing she couldn''t do anything to help.


    If Elvinia weren''t there, she might have been able to persuade Jermain to help the Flow Sword Sect out. But Elvinia was aggressively attacking their rock; those from the Origin Mountain had been too preoccupied.


    Among the chaos, Dorothy still focused most of her attention on Zen.


    She felt a small surge of hope as she recalled how Zen had miraculously managed to solve the Flow Sword Sect''s crisis some moments earlier. ''Perhaps the situation isn''t so bad?'' she thought to herself.


    On the other side, Zen had recited over ten words and a cyclone had appeared in his mind.


    He was standing on top of the two runes, continuously emanating his truth aura.


    The cyclone began to swirl more violently as it started to change his truth aura.


    Buzz!


    The controlling rune beneath his left foot and the accelerating rune beneath his right began to shine a bright yellow light. Suddenly, the patterns on the rock glowed the same bright yellow.


    "This is..."


    Zen whispered, slightly surprised.


    When he first set foot on the controlling rune, he had noticed that it was almost the same as the Imperial Sword Seal. As long as he released his truth aura, the rune would absorb it all.


    When he had summoned the cyclone, the two runes he stood upon suddenly began to absorb the truth aura more quickly!


    On top of the cave, Athemar suddenly stood up urgently from his seat when he saw what Zen was doing ¡ª he barely even flinched when he knocked over a cup of hot tea. He trained his eyes on the runes beneath Zen''s feet.


    Goran, Winchell and the old man responsible for distributing the flags were surprised at his reaction. Following Athemar''s gaze, they too noticed the strange bright yellow light emanating from Zen''s runes and the big rock.


    The weight runes and the rules were designed by Goran. As for the three runes on the giant rocks, they were made by Athemar himself.


    This game was not one to test combat skills or mere strength ¡ª otherwise, it might as well have been a martial arts contest. This was a game of teamwork. They were testing the camaraderie among these elite disciples.


    The three runes set by Athemar were actually variants of the Imperial Sword Seal. They were meant to


    top of the cave.


    She knew that Goran and the rest had been watching the game from above. If someone had cheated, she knew they would know.


    As soon as she looked up, she heard Goran''s calm voice echoing in her ear, "No one cheated. Let them continue."


    Tacy nodded and made a gesture of "No" to Hare and the rest. "They didn''t cheat. You were knocked out, fair and square."


    "Then how will you explain their incredible speed?" Hare said, with suspicion on his face.


    "I agree! That''s not normal at all!"


    "Even a disciple capable of Instant Enlightenment can''t make it! We strongly demand the game to start again!"


    The disciples of the two sects couldn''t accept the fact that they had been kicked out of the game by Zen in an instant. Some of them even walked towards the giant rocks on the ground. They really wanted to return to the game.


    Seeing this scene, Tacy''s eyes narrowed slightly. As she crossed her thumb and her little finger, countless invisible threads immediately appeared around those disciples.


    Hiss! Hiss!


    In the blink of an eye, these disciples were tied firmly with threads and were yanked and dragged onto the metal mountain, till they hung upside down in front of Tacy.


    "How dare you question my announcement? All of you, get out of here now!" Tacy spat angrily as she spoke. With a flick of her finger, she tossed the disciples onto the wall of the cave.


    All people who had entered the Land of Sword Grief obviously had a very bad temper.


    When the other eliminated disciples saw this, they didn''t dare to argue anymore and could only retreat dejectedly to the edge of the cave to join those who had already been kicked out of the game.

 Chapter 3174 Give Up

    From where Konnor and the other elites from the Flow Sword Sect sat, they were able to spot the embarrassed faces of Hare and the others. The sight made them chuckle among themselves.


    The Killing Sword Sect and the Unique Array Sword Sect belonged to the Oneness Mountain. However, these two always acted against the Flow Sword Sect as if they didn''t take it as part of the Oneness Mountain.


    Just now, Zen had performed so well in front of them that Konnor and his friends felt extremely proud to be on the same side as him.


    "Konnor! Why are you laughing?" Hare asked Konnor who had a goofy smile on his face. However, unlike Konnor, Hare had a deep frown on his face.


    Konnor shrugged his shoulders and said, "I just find it funny that some people were victimized by their own explosives."


    "Do you want to die?" Hare furrowed his brows deeper and anger clouded his vision.


    Konnor sighed calmly. "If you want to fight, now''s not a good time. Let''s arrange it for next time."


    It was obvious that Konnor was not at all afraid of the people in front of him.


    His cultivation base and the Other Shore Token were considered to be remarkable among the disciples across all three sword sects. He was only inferior to Zen and Milo in terms of potential.


    Konnor''s impressive performance earlier pushed Hare into resignation. He snorted and leaned against the mountain wall as he cursed Konnor in his heart.


    In the previous Seven Mountains Meeting, Milo ranked first against the others. Without Milo, Hare thought they finally had the chance to bully the Flow Sword Sect into defeat. Then, Zen appeared and ruined his ambitions. He was even more powerful than Milo.


    The disciples'' faces perked up in unison. They all watched as the giant stone of the Flow Sword Sect rushed towards that of the Vastness Mountain.


    "This looks like trouble!"


    "Marco might reach a bad end as well!"


    As soon as Zen finished with the Killing Sword Sect and the Unique Array Sword Sect, the giant stone suddenly pivoted and moved in reverse at full speed.


    Marco had troubled Zen too many times already. Zen didn''t want to let him go.


    Zen didn''t plan on exposing the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent''s follow-up words, but he felt that Athemar already knew that he borrowed the yellow paper in the Truth Library.


    Now that action had been


    e eliminated, and only the first and the second places were occupied. There was no third place at all.


    The Ivory Mountain''s members decided to simply stand by the corners and watch others fight each other. That way, they had higher chances of snagging at least the third place.


    As Zen fought Marco, the giant stone of the Ivory Mountain moved to the side of the metal mountain and started to absorb the weight rune.


    However, as soon as the stone absorbed half the rune, Zen started hovering over them. Seeing this, the Ivory Mountain''s members quietly slipped away.


    Other warriors in the audience saw this and laughed in mockery.


    "How cunning Whitlock is!"


    "As long as one more team is eliminated, they can secure third place without even doing anything!"


    "I wish we did the same!"


    Aside from Marco, Hare and some others who looked morose, most of the people who were eliminated were in a good mood. Although they had lost the opportunity to win the reward, there was not a life and death battle in the Seven Mountains Meeting.


    Zen leaned his stone against the side of the metal mountain. He began to fuse the weight rune with the stone. Sounds erupted above him. He looked up and frowned slightly.


    Elvinia was sitting on the stone. Her pretty face looked aloof. She looked calm and still as the stone collided with the Origin Mountain''s stone.


    Behind her, 19 people stood. However, only 12 members of the Origin Mountain remained. They were at a disadvantage. Elvinia relentlessly collided her stone with the Origin Mountain''s stone.

 Chapter 3175 Pursuit

    After Zen had absorbed that weight rune, he felt the giant stone suddenly double in weight to two hundred divine megatons.


    The increase of the stone''s weight obviously would have an effect on the flexibility. But the boulder of the Origin Mountain and that of Elvinia were also of the same weight; they could hit at the same starting point.


    From the corner of his eye, Zen could see Elvinia on the other side, cornering the stone of the Origin Mountain by using aggressive attacks.


    No matter how hard Jermain tried, he couldn''t break Elvinia''s suppression.


    Dorothy and the others from the Origin Mountain also watched anxiously. At this point, only four sword sects remained. If they were kicked out of the game now, it would be a very disappointing loss indeed.


    Dorothy looked towards the metal mountain. She could see that Zen was far away from them, preoccupied. He didn''t seem to have the slightest intention of helping them. Dorothy squinted, trying to see what Zen was doing. She gasped. He was actually rushing towards the second layer of the metal mountain!


    "That guy... he only cares about himself!" Dorothy pouted.


    Hearing her words, Jermain followed her gaze. His eyes gleamed and he chuckled. "He''s not being selfish. He wants to save us!"


    "What do you mean?" Dorothy was still confused.


    Jermain gestured at Elvinia, who was rushing towards him, and pointed to the metal mountain.


    Elvinia had always been arrogantly competitive. Once she was in the game, she would stop at nothing to reach first place. The Origin Mountain used to be the only thing standing in her way.


    But now Zen was heading for the second layer, too. If this guy got the second weight rune, he would be able to reach the top of the metal mountain. There was no way Elvinia would allow that!


    As soon as Elvinia realized what was happening, she frowned deeply. With a flick of her wrist, she instantly turned the giant stone around and rushed towards the metal mountain. She was determined to stop Zen from getting the second weight rune.


    Dorothy blinked confusedly. "Is Zen really trying to save us?" Her eyes narrowed. "Or does he want to seize the chance to win the first place?"


    Jermain sighed exasperatedly. "My lady, does it matter? The most important thing is that we are still in the game!"


    Dorothy stood on t


    .


    As Elvinia and Zen chased after each other, the Origin Mountain grabbed this opportunity to stealthily make their way to the metal mountain.


    Although Zen had just helped them, Jermain still had his eyes on the prize-- even if it meant leaving Zen to deal with Elvinia.


    "Jermain, is it wrong to do this?" Dorothy asked hesitatingly.


    "There''s nothing wrong with it. It''s just a game, after all. The enemy of an enemy is a friend, but right now, they are both our enemies," said Jermain with a smile.


    "But..."


    Dorothy was about to refute when a gust of wind suddenly pushed her.


    Bang!


    The giant stone of Origin Mountain was smashed off its trail, flinging three people off it.


    Jermain whipped his head around to see what happened, and his expression fell. "Whitlock?"


    Whitlock, from the Ivory Mountain, grinned at him from above. Their boulder had violently crashed into that of the Origin Mountain. He had been hoping to garner third or second place, But now that there was a glimmer of hope for him to get first place, he immediately grabbed this opportunity.


    Therefore, Ivory Mountain, which had been lurking in the shadows for most of the game, finally took action.


    "If you have a chance to win the first place and still don''t fight for it, doesn''t that make you a fool?" Whitlock laughed heartily.


    Because the Ivory Mountain was not as strong as the Origin Mountain, they kept a low profile all the time. Thanks to this strategy, there were eighteen disciples on their boulder, while only nine on Origin Mountain''s.

 Chapter 3176 Sudden Change

    Jermain snorted arrogantly on seeing Whitlock''s smug face. "An opportunist such as yourself actually believes he can win this. Are you out of your mind, Whitlock?" Jermain said teasingly.


    He then pushed down on his feet and smashed his stone onto that of the Ivory Mountain without a second thought.


    The battle between the Origin Mountain and Ivory Mountain was fierce, but almost everyone else had their focus pinned on Elvinia and Zen.


    The intense and dramatic chase between them had eventually led them to the edge of the cave.


    Mekhi and the others who sat on the huge stone of the Flow Sword Sect, felt dizzy and nauseas under the violent shakes Zen used to dodge Elvinia.


    Fortunately, Zen now had full control of the stone, and all they had to do was share the weight with him.


    When Mekhi noticed the huge stone of the Origin mountain was getting quite close to the metal mountain, he cried out to Elvinia to tell her this in hope she would give up her chase of them to go deal with the Origin Mountain.


    But this revelation didn''t seem to bother her in the slightest. She was determined to remove the Flow Sword Sect from the competition.


    As Elvinia edged even closer, the two huge stones flew inches from the walls of the cave as well.


    The tiniest mistake here would cost them everything, even touching a little bump on the cave walls would wipe them out.


    "Whoosh!"


    Zen had planned to stay away from the wall but Elvinia and her huge stone had swerved and blocked his way, forcing him to turn the opposite direction to dodge it.


    The dodge had caused him to enter a long, narrow crack on the north side of the cave.


    Cheers sounded from those supporting Elvinia.


    "Your Highness, you win!"


    "Finish him!"


    "This guy moves so fast!"


    Victory was within her grasp and yet there was no trace of it on her face. She did not appear excited but disappointed instead.


    Everyone else was too weak for her and the only one she had found a bit challenging had fled into the crack.


    "Whoosh!"


    Suddenly, she had an idea, and steered the huge stone to rush into the crack.


    Now Zen would have practically no room to dodge any attacks. The crack only allowed two stones at a time to move within. If either one of them lost focus for a second, they would crash hard on the walls of the cave.


    "Zen has nowhere to go."


    "It seems the Flow Sword Sect loses in the end..."


    ople who watched the fight from the sidelines were stunned. They could not comprehend what was taking place between Zen and Elvinia.


    It was not only them, even Winchell, Goran and the other powerful figures also seemed puzzled. First, Zen maneuvered the huge stone of the Flowing Sword Sect with a mysterious method, and then Elvinia suddenly displayed the same ability. What was going on?


    So Goran, Winchell and the old man all looked at Athemar. However, when they saw Athemar''s dumbfounded expression, they didn''t bother to ask him. Perhaps he was as lost as they were.


    Whoosh!


    The wind whistled past the ears of those on the Flow Sword Sect''s stone. They gritted their teeth and held on tight, trying desperately not to be thrown from the rock. But they were flying too fast and would soon collide with the other side of the cave.


    Zen used the Might Godly Way to fix himself to the giant stone, so he didn''t have to worry about being flung off. He slid on the stone and came to the enchanted barrier rune as well.


    "Buzz!"


    The huge stone of the Flow Sword Sect spread a powerful and thick enchanted barrier as well. As soon as it opened out, the stone bumped into the wall in the front and bounced back, slowly stabilizing.


    Elvinia stood at the front of her huge stone, slowly and calmly emerging from the swollen crack. Her indifferent smile now got wilder. She opened her mouth and spread her ethereal voice in the air, "Efrain did not come, neither did Chaim. And even Milo is absent. I had thought that the Seven Mountains Meeting would be boring and without any challenges this time..."

 Chapter 3177 The Truth Enlightenment

    Elvinia stepped onto the accelerating rune as she spoke.


    The huge stone she was on, which had been floating calmly, turned to a beam of light and quickly shot at Zen. It sped up so suddenly that two people were thrown off Elvinia''s stone.


    Swish!


    The people of the Origin Mountain and the Ivory Mountain were in a heated battle, but even they could not resist the spectacle unfolding here.


    "What a fast speed!" Jermain murmured unconsciously.


    "The stone flies so fast. Is it weightless?" Dorothy''s jaw dropped as she watched.


    Whitlock''s face was filled with fear as he watched the giant stone streak across the sky.


    After Elvinia found Zen was a strong and worthy opponent, nothing else mattered to her, not the first place, not the fight between the Origin Mountain and the Ivory Mountain, nothing. Only her battle with Zen meant something.


    Seeing Elvinia rushing towards him, Zen exercised an unusual amount of caution for him.


    Someone in the Oneness Sky Palace must have deciphered the two Sanskrit words on the yellow paper, but it was not yet clear just how much had been deciphered.


    Zen recited to himself, and the white cyclone in his mind began to swirl again.


    He could recite one hundred words at most now, and the white cyclone was formed by around 10 words. He kept reciting and the cyclone in his mind grew larger and larger.


    Buzz!


    The light of the giant stone under his feet shone brighter and brighter.


    Seeing Elvinia coming at him at an unstoppable speed, Zen put his feet on the control rune and the accelerating rune once more.


    Swish!


    His stone erupted with an equally incredible speed, allowing him to avoid the attack without breaking a sweat.


    Swish! Swish! Swish!


    Though she missed, this did not deter Elvinia. She turned decisively and dashed off towards Zen again.


    The speed these two were now moving at was beyond comprehension. It was not about two giant stones chasing each other; it was like two warriors at the Other Shore Realm flying.


    "Konnor, are those stones weightless?" a disciple of the Flow Sword Sect asked as he raised his head, disbelieving his eyes.


    "Maybe..." Konnor replied. He couldn''t


    ''It seems that my guess is right. Eastern Emperor Taiyi himself has deciphered part of the two Sanskrit words, '' Zen thought to himself.


    "I don''t know why my father taught you this. But if you want to win, you will have to give it everything you have. No holding back." Elvinia''s face turned red and vicious.


    Buzz!


    The giant stone under her feet began to tremble.


    As soon as he felt Elvinia''s aura had changed, Zen shouted to those behind him, "Get off the giant stone."


    "What?"


    "Why should we leave?"


    "We will fight with you!"


    Mekhi and the others could not understand why Zen would ask them to abandon him. They couldn''t bring themselves to do it, right when their help mattered the most.


    "Listen to me! I have a plan!" Zen urged in a tone that allowed no retorts.


    Frowning in consideration, Mekhi clenched his jaw and waved his hand, leaving the giant stone together with the rest of his companions.


    Zen was left alone on the giant stone. It sank a little as he now had to bear all two hundred divine megatons on his own.


    He began to recite the Truth Enlightenment. The white cyclone in his mind began to expand again.


    Swish!


    Elvinia stepped on her huge stone which immediately shot upwards, almost to the roof of the cave. After a beat, she began plummeting towards Zen like a comet poised to destroy him.


    Zen didn''t flinch. He rushed up with his giant stone to meet her. This battle would finally end now.

 Chapter 3178 The First Place

    At that moment, no one cared who would win first place in the Seven Mountains Meeting.


    They all stared upward, only wanting to know who would win the fight¡ªZen or Elvinia.


    Each of the giant stones could only be lifted by the force of two hundred divine megatons, and they were moving at such speed. Anyone on those stones would surely be severely injured after that collision.


    Even Tacy and the others from the Land of Sword Grief were shocked by what was occurring.


    "I feel quite small now after seeing their performance."


    "I too participated in the Seven Mountains Meeting once, but I was far inferior to them!" Everyone chimed in their words of praise and amazement.


    Bang!


    The two huge stones collided head on in the air. The elite warriors behind Elvinia were thrown off and hit the distant mountain wall, all of them seriously injured on impact.


    When they saw this, Mekhi and the others from the Flow Sword Sect understood why Zen had asked them to leave. He had saved them from devastating pain.


    Only Zen and Elvinia remained fixed to their stones.


    As the huge stones bounced back, they both moved to stand on the runes that would activate the enchanted barrier. They had both realized that after a collision like that, the best thing to do was activate the enchanted barrier.


    Rumble...


    In the blink of an eye, the stones wrapped by enchanted barriers had crashed into the walls of the cave, leaving two massive craters.


    The cave walls shook, causing rubble to crumble down and leave a layer of dust floating and obscuring everyone''s view.


    They looked up and around, trying to see something, but no giant stone flew out. No movement could be seen at all.


    Tacy then released her spiritual sense to pass through the dust.


    Her eyes brightened and she raised her hand and said, "Princess Elvinia is out!"


    "Wow..."


    A round of heated discussion broke out among the spectators.


    Elvinia had performed so well that she seemed to be invincible, and yet she was out in the end!


    Konnor and the others from the Flow Sword Sect looked at Tacy with nervous and hopeful eyes.


    If Tacy were to announce that the Flow Sword Sect was out as well, then everything Zen had done would be in vain.


    Dorothy studied the side of the mountain too, just as worried as Konnor and the others.


    ''Would Zen be able to withstand such a violent collision?'' she thought to herself.


    Jermain and Whitlock waited with bated breath. If Zen was out, all their competition


    hrew the giant stone onto the top plate, and raised his arms in triumph.


    "Woo hoo!"


    Konnor and the other elite members of the Flow Sword Sect raised their hands and roared, filled with pride and excitement.


    Others also began to applaud as the air of joy and amazement continued to flow around everyone.


    Jermain cast a challenging glance at Whitlock and asked, "Do we still need to compete for the second place?"


    The biggest prize was for the number one in the Seven Mountains Meeting. The gap between the prizes for second and third places was small enough to not even matter. Whitlock was a cunning man. Even if he had a half chance to win second place, it was not worth the risk of getting eliminated. He''d rather win the third place than neither.


    "Jermain, after you," said Whitlock, cupping his hands.


    Jermain fused the stone with the second weight rune and put the Origin Mountain''s stone onto the second plate on the metal mountain. The Ivory Mountain did the same for third place.


    No one left, and they all looked up to the top of the cave.


    After a while, the four figures including Athemar, Winchell and Goran floated out from the top of the cave and slowly landed beside Zen.


    "Nice to meet you all!" Zen said, bowing with cupped hands. He had already met them all before.


    The only thing that surprised him was that the old man who was responsible for distributing the flags in the Dragon City was here as well.


    "Ha-ha! Athemar didn''t believe you would win first place. Zen, you''d better quit the Flow Sword Sect and join the Origin Mountain. We are a hundred times more confident in you!" Winchell joked, grinning widely.

 Chapter 3179 The Prizes

    Even before Zen joined in the Oneness Sky Palace, Winchell had competed with Athemar to win him over to the Origin Mountain.


    Although Winchell was joking now, he felt regretful on the inside. After watching Zen''s impeccable performance at the Seven Mountains Meeting, he realized the Origin Mountain shouldn''t have compromised on it back then.


    "It''s not that I had no faith in Zen, but be honest, did you ever anticipate such a performance out of them in the beginning?" Athemar retorted in a defensive tone.


    The methods Zen and Elvinia had used at the Seven Mountains Meeting had never been witnessed before. Therefore, it rendered forecasting the result based on past experiences useless.


    No one, including Athemar, Goran and Winchell, had imagined Elvinia and Zen would control the runes in such a new way. But it was inappropriate to express their doubts on them now.


    As for Zen, since he had used the Truth Enlightenment that Elvinia had mentioned, he had already made mental preparations. If Athemar really was going to ask him about it, he would know how to respond.


    Since they were surrounded by many disciples at this moment, it was not the right time to inquire about such things. Suddenly, Goran''s loud voice echoed in everyone''s ears as he announced, "The Flow Sword Sect has taken the top rank at this year''s Seven Mountains Meeting. The Origin Mountain finished second and the Ivory Mountain third. You may come to me and receive your prizes now."


    As soon as the announcement of the victors was made, the elite disciples of the Flow Sword Sect, Origin Mountain, and Ivory Mountain, who had been thrown off their respective stones, flew up towards the top of the metal mountain.


    "Ivory Mountain disciples, come forth and take your prizes first!" Goran announced.


    One after the other, the twenty Ivory Mountain disciples assembled by the side of Goran and reached out their palms towards him.


    Goran began to move his lips as he chanted words under his breath; then he reached out to clap their palms with his.


    Every time Goran repeated this gesture, some simple lines would be seen as an effect on a disciple''s palm.


    When Zen noticed these lines, his eyes instantly widened. "Are these soul marks?" he asked.


    "Yes, they are. With the soul mark I give you, you can go to the temple within three days and get a soul crystal," Goran answered as he chuckled at Zen''s expressive astonishment.


    The soul mark Zen got from the Flow Sword Sect was a small token that recorded syllables, which required him to recite for it to work. Never did he expect Goran was able to give the soul marks to the disciples with a simple gesture of slapping their palms.


    Something as ordinary as a sou


    hade Phoenix Sword gently, Athemar was a little surprised. It was common for others to think so highly of an Other Shore Treasure. However, Zen was different; he owned a Grand Nature Treasure himself. Athemar didn''t expect him to have attached such great importance to the sword.


    After the rewards ceremony was over, Goran asked the disciples to leave the cave. On top of the mountain, a feast was prepared for them, which was supervised by Tacy and her companions.


    Just as everyone began to walk back the same way they came from, Goran asked Zen and Elvinia to stay behind.


    Elvinia frowned bitterly at this gesture. With her status, if she wanted to leave, Goran and the others wouldn''t be able to stop her. Besides, she knew the reason why she was asked to stay.


    However, she was also curious about how Zen had managed to master the Truth Enlightenment. Moreover, he seemed to have grasped the technique better than her, so she stayed in the cave.


    After the disciples left one after the other, only six people remained in the cave.


    Athemar raised his hand and made some gestures. Those giant stones began to fly up from all directions of the cave. At the same time, all the runes on the stones started to glow, and soon the stones gathered around the metal mountain.


    "The runes on the stones were made by me with the help of the Imperial Sword Seal. But even I cannot compete with the two of you in making use of them. I''m really curious. Has your father made any breakthrough, Princess Elvinia?" Athemar asked as he leaned in closer.


    Zen nodded secretly when he heard what Athemar had to say, which was similar to his thoughts.


    "I don''t know. I haven''t seen my father in a long time." As she said this, she lowered her gaze to the ground as a hint of depression appeared on her calm face.

 Chapter 3180 Zens Decision

    "Princess Elvinia, even you haven''t seen Eastern Emperor Taiyi all these years?!" Athemar''s jaw dropped in shock.


    It had been a long time since the last time Eastern Emperor Taiyi emerged from his seclusion.


    It was common for mighty warriors to cultivate in seclusion for hundreds, or maybe even thousands, of years. However, with the delicate state of the world, they needed him now more than ever.


    The leaders of many great forces were busy making their preparations. However, Eastern Emperor Taiyi had chosen to use this time to cultivate in seclusion, which some found strange.


    "If that is the case, how did you control the huge stone just now?" Athemar asked once more.


    Elvinia shrugged. She wasn''t afraid to tell them the truth. "Well, when I was cultivating in my palace, my maid sent me a piece of paper. There were 63 words on that paper. It was the Truth Enlightenment of the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent!"


    Everyone in the cave gasped.


    "The Truth Enlightenment!"


    "Really? Eastern Emperor Taiyi has made a breakthrough! He was able to decipher 63 words!"


    Elvinia was never one to shy away from uncomfortable discussions. Surveying the surprised faces surrounding her, she asked bluntly, "Do you also want to cultivate the Truth Enlightenment?"


    Athemar, Goran and other two saluted immediately, but said, "We dare not."


    The Truth Enlightenment was the fruit of Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s painstaking efforts, and they were all his subordinates. Without his permission, even if Elvinia gave them the Truth Enlightenment, they did not dare to try learning it.


    "Alright. So what exactly is the point of me staying here? If you truly want to learn the Truth Enlightenment, just go to my father," Elvinia said, a tinge of annoyance in her tone. She was always difficult to speak with.


    With her blunt words hanging in the air, a silence fell over the people as they shuffled around in embarrassment. They had been well-known masters in the Oneness Sky Palace for a while now, and yet this young girl was accusing them of coveting the Truth Enlightenment.


    However, Zen couldn''t stand her arrogance. "These masters just wanted to know how you controlled the huge stone. What makes you think they want to practice the Truth Enlightenment? You are insulting them! You''re being too arrogant."


    Since Elvinia was being rudely straightforward, Zen lashed her mercilessly with harsh words.


    "Humph," Elvinia huffed indignantly. "The Truth of Eternal Sword Intent is a power releasing theurgy, and the Truth Enlightenment can make up for all its shortcomings. If you can comprehend all of the Truth Enlightenment, you can reach a whole new level of cultivation. The Truth Enlightenment is a supreme technique, a


    words. Do you really think that only Eastern Emperor Taiyi is capable of deciphering the two Sanskrit words in this world?"


    Elvinia''s mouth hung agape but no words were uttered. Zen left her speechless.


    Unable to contain her fury, she suddenly darted forward and yanked the white rice paper from Zen''s hands. With a haughty glare aimed at him, she tore the paper to shreds, and then abruptly turned to leave.


    Athemar and the others didn''t even try to stop her.


    The elders had silently internalized all the words Zen had written down. It didn''t matter that the paper was torn into pieces.


    Watching Elvinia''s receding figure, Athemar let out a hearty laugh. "Zen, you''ve spent most of your time practicing after you joined the Flow Sword Sect; you are indeed strong-willed. However, you can''t just openly offend Princess Elvinia. After all, she''s Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s daughter."


    "Don''t worry. Eastern Emperor Taiyi is an understanding man! Plus, she isn''t the only daughter he has, so he won''t mind." Goran waved his hand nonchalantly.


    There was a twinkle in his eyes. He was not only comforting Zen, but also reassuring him he had his support. The Oneness Governor''s status in the Oneness Sky Palace was far greater than that of Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s children. It didn''t really matter that Zen had offended one of them.


    "Zen, I wonder how you have deciphered those Sanskrit words. Are there more words that you''ve deciphered?" Athemar asked curiously.


    Zen was not surprised to hear the question from Athemar. He had already prepared for it. The Truth Enlightenment was so important to the Oneness Sky Palace, that it was impossible for him to present all the words his son had deciphered in one go. Today, he was willing to offer the one hundred words only because he wanted to see their reactions.

 Chapter 3181 Make A Request

    While the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent was the foundation of the Oneness Sky Palace, it had a great influence on this orthodox human force.


    There was no way Athemar, Goran and the others were not interested in the Truth Enlightenment, the subsequent chapter of the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent.


    Zen was very generous to offer 100 words for free. But this only made them hungry for more. They could only hope that Zen could actually write down all the words of the Truth Enlightenment.


    Currently, Zen had understood the stand of the Oneness Sky Palace¡ªthey were on Nine Li race''s side. He was willing to stay here and even become a member of this human force. After all, the Nine Li race had no longer existed. Though he really wanted to rebuild the Nine Li race, not only was his strength not enough, but his influence was also very small.


    The Truth Enlightenment was an opportunity to garner the support he needed.


    "Masters, I''ve more than a hundred words," Zen said confidently.


    His answer immediately gave the four of them a surge of hope. If the Truth Enlightenment was completely deciphered, they would gain an excellent power releasing theurgy.


    "How many words do you have?" Athemar asked, his eyes shining eagerly.


    Zen smiled. "150 words. The rest hasn''t been deciphered yet."


    "There are one hundred and fifty words already!"


    "Did you decipher them yourself?"


    "Or did someone else decipher them?"


    They bombarded Zen with questions, unable to contain their excitement.


    With their status in the Oneness Sky Palace, it was rare for them to be so openly modest. After all, the Truth Enlightenment was valuable; it might even tip the scales in favor of the Oneness Sky Palace.


    "I have deciphered them by myself, but the deciphering of the current 150 words is my limit. The other patterns of the Sanskrit words are too complicated. I have yet to decipher them," Zen replied calmly.


    He had already thought about this explanation.


    The Truth Enlightenment originally belonged to the Oneness Sky Palace, and the palace treated Zen well. Sooner or later, he would hand over the complete deciphered version to the palace. However, before then, he needed to maximize this opportunity to benefit from it first.


    Of course, Zen couldn''t possibly admit to them that it was actually his son, Geoffrey, who had deciphered the words. Otherwise, they might pester him all day, and might even try to use some


    , but it was very strange indeed to use the Shade Stones in his cultivation.


    "I know of an Other Shore Treasure made of the Shade Stone," said the old man who was responsible for distributing flags in the Dragon city. "It''s in the Bloom Divine Province."


    Zen''s eyes lit up. He cupped his hands with a bow. "Master, please tell me more."


    "That Shade Stone has been passed down for generations in a nonhuman race. It was forged into a hammer, but their forging process was poor. While a Shade Stone can definitely be forged into a premium Other Shore Treasure, this hammer is only a primary Other Shore Treasure. I can help you with this request!" the old man said with certainty.


    "Master, thank you very much!" Zen thanked him sincerely. "I had been in the Dragon City for a while, and we have met so many times, yet I still don''t know your name..."


    When he was in the Dragon City, Zen had already noticed that the old man''s cultivation base was extraordinary. He had asked Monica and the others about him, but they had no idea who he was.


    If this person was able to chat and joke around with the likes of Athemar, he couldn''t be a nobody.


    Athemar smiled and said, "It''s not appropriate to tell you his name, but you can call him Master Hai."


    After expressing his thanks again, Zen left contentedly.


    Although Goran said Zen could make a request to each of them, Zen knew he had to watch out for his limitations.


    If Master Hai could really get his hands on the hammer, then his body would be able to fuse with the third Shade Stone. The strength of his body might be able to reach a whole new level!

 Chapter 3182 Milos Desire

    After leaving the cave, Zen returned to the hall.


    The elite disciples who hadn''t received any rewards had already left.


    Only the disciples from the Origin Mountain, the Ivory Mountain and the Flow Sword Sect remained.


    As soon as Zen showed up, Dorothy approached him eagerly. "It seems like there''s something that you''ve been hiding from me," she said, batting her eyelashes.


    She had thought that she was the one who knew Zen the most in the Oneness Sky Palace, but now it seemed that she didn''t know him at all.


    Athemar and the masters could discover that there was something not right with Zen and Elvinia. These elite disciples were no fools and could detect that as well.


    The runes on the giant stones were made from the Imperial Sword Seals, so the problem must be related to the Truth of Godly Way.


    Both Zen and Elvinia had utilized a power that was far beyond that of the Instant Enlightenment. They must have known something the others didn''t.


    Zen smiled at Dorothy. "When the right time comes, I will let you know."


    Although Dorothy was a strong-willed girl, she was not unreasonable. "How did you offend Princess Elvinia?"


    "I offended her?" Zen asked nonchalantly.


    Dorothy nodded. "She looked very livid when she came out. Someone mentioned your name and she hit him. Hard."


    She pointed at a place not far from the hall. There was an outline of scorch marks on the side of the pillar, obvious traces of a fight.


    Among the elite disciples, someone guessed that Zen''s victory irritated Elvinia. Dorothy, however, thought otherwise.


    "Maybe there is some misunderstanding between us," Zen said carefully. He then recalled how revealing part of the Truth Enlightenment enraged Elvinia.


    Even so, he didn''t think he did anything wrong.


    The part of Truth Enlightenment he had shared was deciphered by his son, Geoffrey. Zen believed he could share it with anyone he wanted.


    "Well, whatever happened between you guys, be careful. After all, she holds a much higher position, Zen," Dorothy whispered. She was worried that Elvinia would find a way to get back at Zen.


    While Elvinia was not the only daughter of Eastern Emperor Taiyi, she was the most talented one. Because of this, she held a very special position in the Oneness Sky Palace.


    Since they had won the first place in the Seven Mountains Me


    her father, but what about Zen? How did he get it?"


    Zen had been staying at the Flow Sword Sect, so it was impossible for him to have had a chance to meet Eastern Emperor Taiyi.


    "I''m not so sure. But as far as I know, Zen has mastered more than Elvinia. That''s how he was able to defeat her at the Seven Mountains Meeting," Kate answered.


    Milo could not sit still any longer. He suddenly thought about the time he had to choose among the three sword sects. He knew the Flow Sword Sect was the weakest of the three. However, he also knew that, if he could make a big achievement in the Flow Sword Sect, he could grow stronger than the disciples of the Killing Sword Sect and the Unique Array Sword Sect. That was why he ended up choosing the Flow Sword Sect.


    He had always been in search of the most powerful swordsmanship, and had never disappointed others. The subsequent chapter of the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent was like a shining beacon that attracted Milo.


    "It''s said that after the Seven Mountains Meeting, Zen and Elvinia had a secret talk with the elders, including Goran and Athemar. They probably tried to get to the bottom of the matter. I wonder if Eastern Emperor Taiyi will expose it to the public."


    If the subsequent chapter was deciphered thoroughly, it would have a great impact on the Oneness Sky Palace. It would be impossible for Eastern Emperor Taiyi to hide it from the others.


    "I don''t care if Eastern Emperor Taiyi will share it with the public," Milo said, his eyes flashing with passion. "I just want to learn it now."

 Chapter 3183 A Foolish Provocation

    Kate seemed unfazed by Milo''s willfulness. She even smiled at him. "Zen is right next door. If you want to know, you can ask him yourself."


    There were only a few independent houses in the Flow Sword Sect, and all of them were located in the same area. Milo''s house was only a few steps away from Zen''s.


    Milo hesitated, and then made up his mind. "All right. I''ll go and visit Zen."


    The Truth of Eternal Sword Intent was essentially the soul of any swordsman¡ªit was crucial to release and maximize one''s power. The subsequent chapter was even more important. Milo was thus desperate to learn and master it.


    "What? I was only kidding.


    You''re not exactly on good terms since you threatened him before.


    What if he does not welcome you? What if he drives you away?


    Not to mention, these rumors are just speculation. The fact might be that he and Elvinia used another method to drive the giant stones,"


    Kate said quickly. But she was talking to his back. Milo was already walking towards the door of his house, intending to pay a visit to Zen.


    Since the Seven Mountains Meeting, Zen had felt that his life had become less peaceful, more bothersome and chaotic.


    The elders of the Flow Sword Sect had showered him with rewards. Moreover, Konnor and Mekhi invited him to come over almost every day. Zen found their persistence annoying.


    But he had kept refusing, and finally, the invitations stopped. After two days of blessed peace and quiet, however, there was a commotion in Zen''s courtyard. He rushed out to see what was going on. A huge hammer was smashed onto the ground in the middle of the yard.


    "Master Hai! How did you find the hammer so quickly? You must have spent a fortune on this. Don''t worry, I will pay you back," Zen assured him, his eyes widening at the sight of the enormous hammer, its head embedded in the ground.


    It had been a long time since the hammer last appeared in the world. Zen knew it must have required plenty of efforts and resources for Master Hai to find the hammer, especially since he only had the clue in his memory.


    "I don''t need divine crystals. The one hundred and fifty words will do," Master Hai replied with a smile.


    Zen shook his head, grinning back at Master Hai. He was such a big shot. Zen couldn''t figure him out. Still, if Master Hai said he didn''t care about divine crystals, then Zen would take him at his word. Zen immediately went to fetch a piece of rice paper, which he handed to Master Hai.


    He and Master Hai thanked each other, then the latter took his leave. As soon as Master Hai had gone, Zen went to the hammer, examining it closely. He picked it up, pleased with its hefty weight, and returned inside the room.


    He placed the hammer down beside the Shade Phoenix Sword.


    Although the two weapons looked nothing alike, they had at least two similarities. Both were completely dark in color. And both were made o


    . It was Milo.


    Marco''s face changed. "Milo, walk away now. This has nothing to do with you," he said coldly.


    "Zen and I are both disciples of the Flow Sword Sect. We share with each other any honor or disgrace that befalls the sect. How can you say that this is none of my business? If you want the honor of fighting Zen, you must win against me first," Milo said calmly.


    He lightly pinched his fingers in the air. A lovely butterfly, glimmering with its own gentle light, appeared in the air behind his head.


    The moment he saw the butterfly, Marco''s pupils dilated, and he took an involuntary step backwards. He recognized the tiny, beautiful creature as a fearsome and deadly threat.


    Marco wore the expression of someone who had a sword pressed to his neck, not knowing if his attacker would slice his throat or pull away.


    "Leave now. I don''t want to see you again in the Flow Sword Sect," Milo told him. He wore a look of utmost contempt. He did not respect Marco at all, regardless of his status as the son of the head of the Vastness Mountain.


    "What? You would dare to kill me?"


    Marco spluttered. Thinking of the strange killing methods of the Flow Sword Sect disciples, he broke out in a cold sweat. But he held his ground and shook his head at Milo. Marco would not leave. He still had his position as the son of the Vastness Mountain''s head to protect him¡ªor so he thought.


    There was a glint of light as a weapon swung rapidly towards Marco.


    Marco''s mouth fell open as blood spurted out from a wound in his chest.


    Milo had stabbed him through the heart without a moment''s hesitation.


    "Young Master Marco!"


    "Young Master Marco!"


    "Stop the bleeding first!"


    The bodyguards, a second too late, swarmed around Marco and tried to staunch the blood flowing from his chest. They were absolutely stunned. Like their young master, they had believed that Milo wouldn''t dare to actually kill Marco.

 Chapter 3184 A Lesson

    Although the cultivation bases of the guards Marco brought with him were not that high, most of them were former Oneness Guards, and in some sense, they were also the Xu Clan''s family guards.


    They were a little relieved when they saw that Marco didn''t have other wounds besides his pierced chest.


    If Milo really had wanted to kill Marco, he would not have gone straight for the chest. The wound was serious to be sure, but if properly treated Marco would be just fine.


    The guards began approaching Marco when suddenly and vigorously blood spurted out of his chest.


    His blood transformed into blood swords and slashed at the guards!


    The guards hadn''t seen this coming. Many of them managed to get out of the way, but two of them were struck by the blood swords.


    Marco was understandably startled on seeing the blood shooting out of his chest like a fountain. It was true he was as good a warrior as Milo, but he had never faced a life-and-death situation before and had no idea how to handle it.


    The guards were unable to get close to Marco. But if they didn''t, he would surely bleed out and die.


    "My friend, Young Master Marco is the son of the master of Vastness Mountain. If he dies here, I''m afraid you will have a hard time explaining this to our master," the leader of the guards said sternly.


    Milo didn''t respond and stood stone-faced. Instead, Kate jumped in, "Your master has two hundred and thirty sons, and Marco isn''t one of the good ones. Trust me, we can afford the consequences of him dying."


    "What?" The guard''s expression turned grim. "Then we will feel no remorse for what happens next!"


    He wasn''t sure if Flow Sword Sect really could take the consequences of Marco''s death, but he knew for sure he and the other guards could not. It seemed to him the only way to prevent any trouble for himself was to stop Milo.


    These guards were all former three-star and four-star Oneness Guards, every one of them possessing remarkable strength.


    Milo probably could not take on more than ten people at once. Kate, who stood beside Milo, scoffed and drew a small sword.


    As she did so, they heard someone shouting from a corner.


    "Who the hell are you? How dare you behave like this in our sect?"


    "We may not be a large an


    ly high. With Milo joining, the status of Flow Sword Sect had gradually risen. After all, a warrior capable of Instant Enlightenment was invaluable throughout the palace.


    When Milo had decided to join Flow Sword Sect, Unique Array Sword Sect and Killing Sword Sect were unhappy with his decision. They even tried to ask Flow Sword Sect to give Milo to them. But, of course, Flow Sword Sect did not agree. More importantly, the choice was Milo''s in the end.


    Now that Zen had joined them as well and their sect ranked first twice in the Seven Mountains Meeting, there was no doubt that Flow Sword Sect would be increasingly more prosperous.


    Since the commotion had been settled, Zen cupped his hands to the others and was about to return to his house.


    Milo jogged over to him and asked in a light tone, "Do you have a moment, Zen?"


    Zen looked curiously at him, wondering why this proud and haughty man had suddenly become so courteous.


    He contained his curiosity and asked, "What''s the matter, Milo?"


    It was very difficult for Milo to ask for someone else for a favor, but he pushed through his natural instincts and managed a smile as he asked, "Can we go in and talk about it?"


    Zen blinked and gestured. "Please."


    Milo was overjoyed. "Thank you very much, Zen," he added.


    He then brought Kate into Zen''s house.


    Konnor, Mekhi and the others were puzzled at what they saw. They wondered why Milo, who was always aloof and arrogant, was so well-mannered and polite all of a sudden.

 Chapter 3185 One Request

    Since Trish knew that Milo was a distinguished guest, she and Carrie had almost immediately busied themselves with the preparations.


    Once everything was ready, Zen asked Milo and Kate to take their seats.


    Zen was confused and had no idea what Milo was up to.


    Milo looked anxious as he sat there, fiddling with the green porcelain teacup in his hand.


    Zen''s confusion increased at the hesitation he could read on Milo''s face. Trish and Carrie also glanced at each other, wondering what this young talent wanted to do.


    It was Kate who broke the deadlock. She knew that Milo was a proud man and it would be hard for him to even ask something of others.


    "We heard you won the first place at the Seven Mountains Meeting. We''re here to congratulate you," she said, smiling.


    "Oh," Zen said, surprised. But he recovered soon enough and said, "Thank you."


    "Besides, there is a rumor that you and Elvinia have mastered the subsequent chapter of the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent," Milo said, his voice solemn yet anxious. "May I have a look at it?"


    Even when seniors like Athemar and Winchell asked Zen for the Truth Enlightenment, they offered something big in return. The Truth Enlightenment was too important to be given away lightly.


    But Milo was asking Zen for the chapter as if he had a right to it.


    "Well..." Zen hesitated for a moment, and then said, "The rumors are baseless. Just wild guesses. As to the subsequent chapter of the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent, I..."


    Zen paused, wanting to refuse Milo''s request.


    He had already sent out the first one hundred and fifty words. After Athemar and Winchell received them, the announcement would sooner or later be made in the Flow Sword Sect and the Origin Mountain. And then, Milo, who was the most outstanding disciple of the Flow Sword Sect, could get his hands on it immediately.


    But Zen had barely finished talking when Milo interrupted him, his voice gravelly with emotion, "Please! Please give it to me! I will give you whatever you ask for! Whatever request you make! I know I broke your sword, but I can help you fix it. I''m willing to apologize if I offended you in any way!"


    Trish and Carrie had to cover thei


    help."


    "What is it?" Gant asked, curious as to what could have brought Zen down the mountain to ask for his help.


    "After the battle in the Blue Cloud City, how have your family been recently?" Zen asked.


    Gant nodded. "They''re fine. I have met my father," he said.


    "Could they activate the Nine Edges Weapon Refining Array again?" Zen asked, hope lacing his words this time.


    "The Nine Edges Weapon Refining Array is a skill unique to our clan. We can activate it again because we can''t and won''t abandon it ever," Gant said with certainty.


    "I need their help in refining something, and I''ll pay all their costs," said Zen.


    ''What does he want to refine? Why does he need the Nine Edges Weapon Refining Array?'' Gant thought, confused. But he could not refuse Zen''s request.


    The Su Clan would not activate the Nine Edges Weapon Refining Array easily, but Zen was rich enough to be able to pay them, which was why Gant had so readily agreed to it.


    Once they were ready, they headed straight for the giant transmission array at the northern corner of the Dragon City.


    When Zen and Gant had previously gone to the Mountain Viewing Province for their mission, they had used the transmission array for free. But this time, Zen had to pay for the use of the transmission array because this was private travel.


    Once the guards were ready with the array, a column of light flashed, and Zen, Trish, and Gant disappeared from the transmission array.

 Chapter 3186 Suspicion

    The Bloom Divine Province was where the Oneness Sky Palace was based. It was also one of the biggest gatherings of the human race. Almost all sorts of forces, clans, and commercial alliances tried to grab a place in the Bloom Divine Province.


    The most prosperous area in the province was the city cluster around the seven mountains of the Oneness Sky Palace. The Clear Lake at the north was a close second.


    The Clear Lake was so huge. It had over a hundred large cities within it. Most clans in the Bloom Divine Province were born from this place, prospered, and finally chose to join the Oneness Sky Palace.


    The clans that ruled the Vastness Mountain, the Ivory Mountain, the Golden Mountain, the Azure Mountain, and the Origin Mountain, were all from the Clear Lake. All these mountains belonged to the Oneness Sky Palace.


    "Everything is all well and good in the Oneness Sky Palace, except for the view. The Clear Lake has far better scenes to take in," Gant sighed, taking in the view before him as he stood at the edge of the Clear Lake.


    The Clear Lake was more than ten million miles wide, like a huge ocean. One could not see the other end of the lake.


    A sweet, moist breeze blew over the lake, causing the water to ripple and intoxicating the people standing near it.


    "The best view of the Clear Lake is the Ripple Pavilion in the southwest. It''s paradise in a good season," Trish said from behind Zen.


    "You''ve been to the Ripple Pavilion as well?" Gant turned to ask her, astonished.


    "Yes." Trish nodded but didn''t offer to say anything more.


    "Is it strange for someone to have been to the Ripple Pavilion?" Zen asked curiously.


    "I''ve been there several times. It''s nothing strange or even extraordinary. It''s just that ordinary people can''t go there. But my question is: How can someone who has the ability to visit the Ripple Pavilion work as a maid in the Flow Sword Sect?" asked Gant, staring at Trish.


    Trish was embarrassed. She forced a smile and said, "That''s all history now. Let bygones be bygones."


    Gant took one long look at her but didn''t pursue the topic any further. He said after a pause, "We can go to the Goose City and rent a flying ship before it gets dark. This way, the time we spend on travel will be greatly shortened."


    Gant''s idea came through and before dark, the three of them had rented a flying ship and were flying along the edge of the Clear Lake. Eight ho


    to ask of you."


    "Please tell me. If there is anything our Su Clan can do to help, we will do everything in our power to do so," Cailen said.


    "I want to use the Su Clan''s Nine Edges Weapon Refining Array," Zen said.


    Cailen froze. If Zen had asked anything else, he would have tried his best to satisfy him. But setting up the Nine Edges Weapon Refining Array once would cost a lot. Moreover, refining an ordinary treasure didn''t even need this array.


    Zen watched Cailen hesitate for a while before he said, "I will cover the cost of setting up the array. The price will not disappoint you."


    Zen had a lot of divine crystals at hand.


    Merging with the Shade Stone was too important to him. He would use the heritage of the Nine Li race if necessary.


    "It''s not a matter of price. Could you tell me why you want to use this array?" asked Cailen.


    Gant stared at Zen. The whole way here, he had been very curious about what Zen had obtained to warrant the use of the Nine Edges Weapon Refining Array.


    Zen flicked a hand and a long sword appeared in it - the Shade Phoenix Sword that Goran had awarded him.


    Cailen''s eyes flashed with confusion at the sight of the Shade Phoenix Sword.


    Cailen had personally made the Shade Phoenix Sword for Goran''s use. How had it appeared in Zen''s hand? Was Zen a close relative of Goran?


    Even if he was, it was impossible for Goran to have given him a premium Other Shore Treasure. Had he stolen it from Goran?


    Cailen was frightened at the thought and he became instantly vigilant. But outwardly, he was calm as he asked, "Where did you get the sword?"

 Chapter 3187 A Strange Request

    Cailen couldn''t hide the nervousness in his face. Noticing his expression, Zen gave him a slight, soothing smile. "This is a reward from Master Goran," he said lightly.


    "A¡ªa reward?"


    Cailen stammered. Instead of being reassured, his doubts intensified. Even Gant looked disbelieving.


    Although the Seven Mountains Meeting had been a heated and intense event, only warriors of the mountains belonging to the Oneness Sky Palace were allowed to attend. Most of the people in Dragon City simply weren''t qualified to know anything about the meeting.


    So while Gant and Cailen had both heard of the Seven Mountains Meeting, neither of them was familiar with what happened during the event. They didn''t know who won first place.


    Naturally, they didn''t believe that Goran would just give Zen a premium Other Shore Treasure.


    "A premium Other Shore Treasure is precious, even to someone like Master Goran. Why should he give it to you?" asked Cailen in a bewildered tone.


    Dozens of ideas crossed his mind one after the other.


    The Shade Stone was solid and all but indestructible. Indeed, across the entire Bloom Divine Province, no one but the Su Clan had the ability to melt the stone and remake it into a weapon. If Zen had gotten this sword in an unethical way, he could only ask the Su Clan for help.


    Cailen could help Zen. But if his suspicion was true and Goran knew about it, how could the Su Clan be able to survive the consequences?


    Zen could tell from their anxious expressions what they were worried about. He smiled again and said, "I won the championship during the Seven Mountains Meeting. This sword is the reward given to me by Goran for my victory. Do you doubt my word?"


    "You won first place at Seven Mountains Meeting?" Cailen said incredulously, his eyes opening wide.


    Gant opened and closed his mouth like a fish, looking astonished. "Flag Master, you participated in the Seven Mountains Meeting? And won?"


    Some members of the Su Clan were also disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace, but none of them had been qualified to participate in the Seven Mountains Meeting.


    Cailen and Gant were amazed. Zen had been a disciple of the palace for a much shorter period of time compared to the Su Clan members, but now he had been invited to the Seven Mountains Meeting, and he had even won first place! It was incredible.


    "My master was well qualified not only to attend the Seven Mountains Meeting, but to win first place against everyone else. Why are you so surprised?" Trish interjected, grinning.


    Cailen coughed to cover his awkwardness.


    He gazed at Zen and felt that he had to revise his entire opinion of him.


    However, he could not quell the last tiny shred of doubt in his mind. He believed Zen was much more powerful than himself, but these claims were all just based on Zen''s words. He could have planned an elaborate lie in advance.


    However, Zen''s n


    ng, ''That''s true, I didn''t think of that...''


    The next day, Cailen went to Zen and asked him if he could wait for a little while. Cailen told him he needed a few days to prepare the Nine Edges Weapon Refining Array.


    Zen agreed. He could afford to be patient, and he knew that melting the Shade Stone would be a long and slow process.


    While Zen waited, Gant took him and Trish to see the best places in Su City. They enjoyed their impromptu tour very much, although they were also eager to get updates from Cailen.


    Three days later, the transmission array located in the northern area of the Dragon City became very busy.


    During the first days of May, every year, the disciples of the great clans in the Bloom Divine Province returned home.


    So would the disciples of the seven mountains.


    Marco knew his arrival in the Clear Lake would be unexpected. Though some members of Marco''s clan were still in Clear Lake, their main line had its roots in the Oneness Sky Palace. Those who remained in Clear Lake were from the insignificant branches of the clan.


    Marco had only visited Clear Lake once, when he was young. When he came to visit this time, all the Xu Clan''s branches in the city gathered to give him a proper greeting.


    It was a grand scene, but Marco did not seem to be enjoying the attention. His face was cold as frost. His three gloomy guards were equally stone-faced.


    He wasn''t here for the Ripple Pavilion competition.


    In the wake of his humiliating defeat in the Flow Sword Sect, Marco began regretting the impulse that had driven him there. Of course, Zen was a member of the Flow Sword Sect now and they would stand united against outsiders. It had been very foolish of him to go to that sect to make trouble for Zen.


    Yet, upon discovering that Zen was also at Clear Lake, all the old resentment flared up again. He realized that fate had given him another opportunity, one he couldn''t pass up.

 Chapter 3188 The Return

    After they arrived at the stone gate to the city, the leader of the Xu Clan, along with his followers, stood to welcome them, and all of them respectfully bowed to Marco.


    "Welcome, Young Master. We are greatly humbled and honored by your presence!" the head of the Xu Clan in Clear Lake said with the utmost respect.


    In fact, the entire clan had confused expressions plastered across their faces.


    The main line of the Xu Clan had been in charge of Vastness Mountain for a long time. The Xu Clan in Clear Lake was their ancestral land, but in fact, it was slowly declining as the collateral branch.


    They were confused as to why an exalted personality like Marco would degrade himself to attend the Ripple Pavilion competition.


    "Hmm," Marco responded indifferently without giving them a second glance. He walked past them. Then he led his three guards inside the city without waiting for them to escort him.


    The people of the Xu Clan who stood with their heads bowed felt their cheeks burn in embarrassment. They thought they had displeased Marco by not giving him the reception he deserved. The head of their clan gestured his men with his eyes to go after Marco, and they quickly followed up under his orders.


    As he stomped his way inside the city, Marco turned to the three guards and ordered them blatantly, "Grayson, Drystan, I''m holding you two in charge of locating that brat! I heard he met someone from the Su Clan at Dragon City. I''d advise you two to start from the Su City."


    Taking caution to his surroundings, Grayson whispered in a low tone, "If we find this person, should we kill him on the spot?"


    "No." Marco''s eyes reflected lust for Zen''s blood on his hands. "I will do it myself." He tightened his jaw.


    Concerned for his master, one of the guards named Lazlo spoke up, to reason with him. "Young Master, please, I beg you to reconsider. Maybe it''s wiser to let Grayson and Drystan kill him. Zen Luo is an elite member of the Flow Sword Sect. It is said that he has a close relationship with Athemar. If others find out you kill him, it will ruin your father''s plan."


    The three trusted guards that accompanied Marco were all members of Vastness Mountain''s intelligence agency. They were powerful and were exceedingly loyal to the Xu Clan. Even if they were discovered after the killing, it would be difficult to find evidence solid enough to locate them. On the other hand, Marco was a man with a strong background. He could be easily traced. The situation would be different if he did it.


    "Who would know?" Marco glared at all three of his accomplices and sneered at them with bloodshot eyes, "Do you honestly think I would travel all the way to Clear Lake personally for nothing? I did not ask for your opinions. I will be the one who kills him with my own hands."


    Hearing Marco''s persistent wish, Lazlo went silent. He knew there was no point in reasoning with him since he had the reputation of a bad temper.


    Receiving their orders, Grayson and Drystan nodded to Marco and left to carry out their mission and disappeared in the shadows.


    Meanwhile, in the Clear Lake, many children of great clans were being welcomed


    Guards. The test is quite tough. Besides, a Oneness Guard has to fight on the front lines. It''s too dangerous for you. Gant, you''d better stay in the Su Clan if you know what''s good for you," Irving Su suggested with a ridiculing smile.


    Although their words sounded considerate, the tone they took to emphasize them was of scolding and taunting him in an obvious way.


    Gant frowned slightly. If it were in the past, he might have had a fallout with his cousins, but after he had been to the Mountain Viewing Province with Zen and encountered a life-and-death experience, he suddenly felt that these cousins of his were so naive and had such limited vision.


    At that moment, a loud and clear voice resounded in the hall from the back. "Becoming a Oneness Guard is not the only choice in Dragon City. Gant is only one step away from being admitted by Oneness Mountain this year. The Oneness Mountain is much stricter than the other mountains. If it were Ivory Mountain or Azure Mountain, he would have made it by now."


    Hearing what the voice had to say, the three young men frowned in unison.


    After all, that person was right. Oneness Mountain''s test was stricter compared to the others, but those words of wisdom still cut through them like daggers because it made them look inferior in front of Gant.


    "And I guarantee that it will only take Gant one year to be ranked among the elite disciples," the voice continued to boost Gant''s esteem.


    Not able to take it anymore, Osrid Su retaliated, "One year? Give me a break! Such a person doesn''t exist in the entire Oneness Sky Palace!"


    "I wouldn''t be so sure. It only took my Flag Master two months. It doesn''t seem all that difficult," Gant said with a smirk recalling Zen''s heroics in his mind.


    "Your Flag Master?"


    "A guy from Dragon City became an elite disciple in just two months?"


    "Gant, stop uttering such nonsense! That is not possible!"


    The three young men refused to believe a single word Gant said. They had never come across such a person.


    As the endless quarreling refused to end, Cailen stepped with Zen into the hall.

 Chapter 3189 Spying On Zen

    To err on the side of caution, the elders of the Su Clan decided to find out whether what Zen said was true or not.


    Nevyn, Irving and Osrid had all gone up the mountains, so if Zen''s words were true, they should know about it.


    Of course, Cailen couldn''t tell Zen that they were dubious. He figured that, once Zen was invited over, the elders'' doubts would be erased.


    "Majority of the losers who enter the Dragon City aren''t even qualified to go up the mountain." Nevyn sneered. "And yet, you claimed someone managed to become an elite warrior in the span of only two months? Please." He shook his head in disbelief.


    "This is the funniest thing I''ve heard all year! Right, Osrid?" Irving jeered. Turning to his brother, he noticed something strange about him. "What''s wrong with you... Osrid?"


    Osrid had also wanted to join in teasing Gant, but now he stood motionless, his mouth wide open. It was as though he had seen a ghost.


    "Osrid, what''s up?" Reid asked with a concerned expression.


    Osrid didn''t respond. He stood frozen for a few more moments before regaining composure. He suddenly bowed clumsily towards the intimidating figure looming before him. "I''m Osrid Su from the Elite Unit. Nice to meet you, Zen."


    Irving glanced at Osrid confusedly. In his eyes, it seemed like Zen''s cultivation base was about the same as theirs. Why was Osrid, a member of the Elite Unit, so dumbstruck by this person?


    Initially, Nevyn shared the same reaction as Irving. However, at the mention of Zen''s name, he suddenly remembered who this guy truly was.


    Although he was unable to attend the Seven Mountains Meeting, word spread fast. Finally, it dawned on them who Zen was.


    Zen bowed back politely. "I''ve mentioned how Gant will become an elite in a year. I''m willing to bet on this."


    "No, no, no... There''s no need to do that," Osrid refused, shaking his hands. "We dare not question your judgment, Zen."


    In Osrid''s eyes, Zen was as powerful as Elvinia¡ªmaybe even more so.


    Surely, it''d be easy to promote Gant to elite discipleship in the Flow Sword Sect. If he actually made a bet with Zen, Osrid had no chance of winning.


    The elders of the Su Clan, including Cailen and Ruben, exchanged knowing smiles as they watched the scene unfold before them.


    They had achieved their goal to verify


    ed this mission. However, if they alerted Zen, causing him to leave, then they''d be in big trouble.


    "That''s impossible!" Grayson said defensively.


    "My Spying Mirror can do it without anyone''s noticing. He must be having some..."


    Drystan clapped his hands around Grayson''s head, yanking it to face Zen''s direction. "Open your eyes! He''s almost upon us!"


    They could see a figure in the distance, running towards them at an incredible speed, jumping from rooftop to rooftop of the Su Clan buildings.


    Luckily for them, the Su Clan had an extremely large house; if not, Zen would have already covered the distance and discovered them.


    "Go!"


    Without any further hesitation, Drystan and Grayson hurriedly returned to the dark path they had come from.


    Just as they jumped down from the treetops, a ray of blazing sword radiance sliced at the spot they were just at. Momentarily stunned by the sudden bright light, Grayson and Drystan clumsily tried to dodge the sword radiance.


    "Puff!"


    Grayson, disoriented, suddenly twisted his body towards the sword radiance.


    Thankfully, the sword radiance didn''t explode. Instead, they heard a muffled sound, as though a sharp blade had cut through a piece of worn leather. Hastily, the two decided not to think too hard about it, and disappeared into the darkness.


    Zen stood on the wall enclosing the Su Clan''s compound, with a stern look on his face. His eyes vigilantly searched the trees.


    These two men were much stronger than he had imagined. Why did they want to spy on him?

 Chapter 3190 The Blood Upgrading Pill

    The Su Clan was alarmed by Zen''s actions.


    Cailen stood on the wall, watching the surrounding area with narrowed eyes. Several others flew out from the house of the Su Clan, heightening the tension among the members of the clan.


    "Who are they? Why are they hiding outside our house?" Cailen asked.


    Zen shook his head. "I don''t know. It could be that they are spying on me. But it''s equally likely that they''re spying on the Su Clan, or on some specific person in the clan."


    Zen couldn''t be sure. All he knew for certain was that the Su Clan''s house was being spied on, as discovered by No. 9527.


    "It takes a lot of nerve to spy on a clan like ours,"


    Cailen said, a serious expression on his face.


    The Su Clan had amassed a lot of power throughout the years. As the rulers of the Su City, they had enemies within and outside the city, so news of spying definitely warranted a thorough investigation.


    Cailen looked up to address a man on the roof. "Listen up. The guards have to patrol more frequently this month. You will report any suspicious activity to me as soon as possible," he ordered.


    "It will be done,"


    the man answered promptly, hurrying off to disseminate Cailen''s orders.


    Cailen turned back to Zen and grinned at him wryly. "We are grateful for your warning, Zen. You should get some rest in your room. Rest assured, we will look closely into this threat, although I''m quite certain no one would dare to harm my clan in our own city."


    Zen nodded, looking thoughtful. He bid goodbye to Cailen and flew back to his courtyard.


    The next day, under Cailen''s lead, the group left the Su Clan''s house together. They headed for the refining place within the heart of the Su City.


    The site of the Su City was not an accident. The Su Clan had chosen to build their city in this location for several important reasons.


    The water of the Clear Lake was generally ice-cold. But there was an area in the western region of the lake where the water temperature was much higher. Even during winter, a person who dipped his hand into the lake would instantly feel the warmth of the water. Regardless of how long winter lasted or how cold it got, the lake never froze over.


    The Su Clan''s ancestors were intrigued by this phenomenon and decided to explore why the lake was warm in that area. They discovered that a broad, powerful channel of the underground fire vein ran under that section of the lake.


    The underground fire vein was deep. It was also long and large, running under the lake all the way to a different province. The Su Clan saw its potential immediately. With great joy, they decided to settle right there.


    They spent years digging near the lake. Eventually, they struck gold¡ªthey


    help of the Other Shore Token.


    "Hey, No. 9527, do you hear that?" Zen shouted inwardly. "That''s the ability of the head of the Origin Mountain. Maybe the Blood Upgrading Pill could work!"


    "No way," No. 9527 replied curtly.


    No. 9527 clearly thought it was impossible, but Zen was still excited.


    The head of the Origin Mountain was second only to Eastern Emperor Taiyi. The Other Shore Token she had must be extraordinary. Maybe she really could make a true Blood Upgrading Pill.


    Zen decided that the first opportunity he got, he would ask Dorothy about it.


    Zen followed Cailen and the others as they walked, going deeper and deeper into the refining place. The temperature became burning hot, stinging his skin. From time to time, rays of multicolored light burst out from the black ground around him.


    After they moved forward, they saw several iron fences in front of them.


    The Nine Edges Weapon Refining Array of the Su Clan was set up within the fences.


    Cailen walked through the fences and gestured for everyone to follow. Once they were all in, he turned to Zen and said solemnly, "Please put the two weapons in the center of the array."


    Zen took out the Shade Phoenix Sword and the hammer, placing them where Cailen had directed.


    The Shade Phoenix Sword was a top-grade weapon, but Zen had never used it. It was a huge waste to melt it directly. However, in order to strengthen his body, he had no choice.


    Gant''s uncles spread out, each taking a position in the array.


    Beams of glowing green light rose from the array. As the beams lengthened, they began to intersect with each other, forming a massive column of green light that encompassed the two weapons in the center. The Shade Phoenix Sword and the hammer slowly rose up as they were lifted into the air by the light column.

 Chapter 3191 Melting

    If it were an ordinary metal, it would have been burnt to a crisp by the green light.


    But these two weapons were forged by Shade Stones, which made them more durable than ordinary Other Shore Treasures.


    They remained unscathed despite being exposed to the green light.


    The Nine Edges Weapon Refining Array was not stable when it had just been activated. With the passing of an hour, the green light gradually stabilized. The surface of the hammer looked as though it were coated with a layer of sugar, and the blade of the Shade Phoenix Sword also seemed different.


    "Amazing. The speed is actually fast now," Zen said as he examined both weapons.


    Cailen withdrew from the position he was in charge of and walked up to stand beside Zen. "What have been melted now are just impurities in the weapons. We still need to remove the rest of the impurities one by one. This process is very complicated and slow, and it takes at least three days. Are you going to wait here all the time?"


    If one wanted to forge weapons with Shade Stone, the method involved adding other materials. The removal of these materials required the melting process.


    "Yes, I don''t mind waiting here." Zen nodded, still staring at the two weapons, and his hands clasped behind his back.


    It was not that he didn''t trust the Su Clan. He wanted to stay and supervise the process because the Shade Stone liquid was of great importance to him.


    After four hours, Eira was escorted there.


    Next to the Nine Edges Weapon Refining Array, there was an array in intense blood-red color. This scene reminded Zen of what he saw at Blue Cloud City.


    This time, Eira was much more spirited than before. After she took the Blood Upgrading Pill, the concentration of her blood increased substantially. Gant held her hand and escorted her into the blood array, offering comfort.


    As she stood inside, wisps of blood power of the Ore Shadow race emanated from her body and entered the two weapons.


    Sizz, sizz...


    The Shade Phoenix Sword quickly reacted, and a thin silver thread was extracted from it, which manifested itself into a small silver metal ball.


    "This is the Sword Hard Steel, which is a very precious material. I melted it into the Shade Stone back then. I never thought I would have to extract it out one day," Cailen said as he sighed in disappointment.


    The Shade Phoenix Sword was his creation. His heart resisted at the thought of having to melt it with the same hands that forged it. But since that was what Zen wanted, he had no other choice but to go along with it.


    Sizz...


    Sometime after, the Shade Phoenix Sword let out a golden thread, it was the Golden Silkworm Gold, which held high value.


    Sizz, sizz...


    As the process continued, various materials were extracted from the Shade Phoenix Sword, which eventually turned into tiny balls and floated around Cailen.


    Just then, the hammer beside the swor


    such a small favor?"


    Persistent, Zen kept on insisting Cailen accept them, and he would repeatedly refuse. This went on for a while before Cailen spoke, "Oh, right! The Ripple Pavilion rally will take place soon. We Su Clan can''t take these twenty million divine crystals, but there is something else you can do in return. Zen, how would you feel about assisting us in the battle ring?"


    "Battle ring?" Zen asked, suddenly baffled by such a request.


    "Yes. The Ripple Pavilion rally is a big day for the clans around the Clear Lake. At that time, the younger generation will go into the battle ring to compete. Since you are an elite disciple of the Oneness Palace, you must be quite strong. It would really help us to win." Cailen appealed to Zen with hopeful eyes.


    Zen only came to Clear Lake to obtain the Shade Stone liquid, and he had no interest in any battle ring competition. In fact, he didn''t mind paying a huge amount of divine crystals. He was more inclined towards covering the costs and going about his day.


    Eavesdropping on their conversation, Gant suddenly joined in and approached Zen with long strides. "Yes, Flag Master! You should join us! It''ll be a lot of fun with you in the Ripple Pavilion rally! After all, it is the biggest festival here at Clear Lake. You can''t miss it."


    With their unwavering insistence, Zen waved his hands in the air as a sign of surrender and accepted their invitation.


    He was excited about the Shade Stone liquid and wanted to test it as soon as possible.


    Upon returning to the backyard of the Su Clan, he plopped to the ground with his legs crossed and set up an enchanted barrier. Then, he took off his shirt.


    Quickly, he uncorked the bottle. At this action, wisps of Shade Stone liquid emanated from the head of the container.


    The size of each Shade Stone was fixed, so the amount of the Shade Stone liquid was naturally twice as much as what he had obtained last time.

 Chapter 3192 The Ripple Pavilion

    Sitting quietly in his room, Zen reflected on what had happened in the Mountain Viewing Province.


    Back then, he had accidentally absorbed the Shade Stone.


    While trying to escape Elizabeth, his body had been burned by the Sun Crow race''s divine flames. While absorbing the divine flames, he also ended up absorbing the Shade Stone.


    This time, Zen wanted to replicate the scene.


    Silently, he reached out his hand to his chest, stroking it lightly. Suddenly, a flame rose from his chest.


    Gradually, the flames climbed over to his arms, then legs, till his whole body was consumed in flames.


    In the past, every time Zen absorbed some sort of flame, his body strength would grow. However, as his body continued to strengthen, he''d been unable to forge himself further with only fire.


    Besides, ordinary flames wouldn''t do him any good, anyway.


    Sizzle!


    Zen was now at the consummation of the Elementary Fire Godly Way, but he would still cultivate it occasionally.


    Although the flames he materialized were not as strong as those of the warriors who specialized in flames, they weren''t considered weak. In fact, they were quite powerful.


    Under Zen''s constant activation, his body burned a bright, hot red.


    Finally, as the flames rose higher and higher, Zen''s body began to glow a golden light.


    The golden light was generated from the Truth of Godly Way hidden within his body. If the golden light kept blazing, he would soon enter the Other Shore.


    The first time he had done this, he was in the divine land.


    Although he was not exactly sure as to what the Truth of Godly Way was, he stopped it before it took effect on his body.


    Therefore, before the flames burned too hotly, he would restrain them, so as to avoid being sent to the Other Shore.


    As the golden light was suppressed, circles of golden Sanskrit words hovered around him. One by one, they turned into little whirlpools, absorbing the flames on his body.


    While the flames were burning his body, Zen gently pointed at the Shade Stone liquid. It leapt into the air, landing on his shoulder.


    Whirl!


    The Shade Stone liquid started climbing down his arm. Some part of it had been sucked into the whirlpools.


    Last time, Zen wasn''t aware that he had absorbed the Shade Stone. This time, his eyes widened in amazement as he observed the process attentively.


    of the city followed.


    The people of the Su Clan stood in flying carriages, flying along with the crowd below them.


    The frontmost carriage had the character "Su" engraved on it, and it carried Cailen. Zen and Gant sat behind him, followed by several uncles of Gant.


    "Who is the man behind the master of the Su Clan?"


    "What did he do to deserve a seat there?"


    "I can''t believe that Gant has come back!"


    The Su Clan was the most prominent clan in the Su City. The seats on the first flying carriage carried certain prestige. Zen must have been considered a distinguished guest if he was made to sit right behind Cailen. Naturally, the people were very curious about him.


    The parade headed for the Clear Lake.


    Zen drank in the scene before him. On one side of the Clear Lake, many willows lined the water, making a picturesque, peaceful scene.


    Along the way to the Clear Lake, people from the other surrounding cities also gathered, each with their own large drums.


    The drummers of the other cities beat their drums furiously; it seemed like they were competing to see who could beat it the hardest. The people cheered, making the scene very lively.


    Around two hours later, Zen saw a black line emerge in the Clear Lake. As he got closer, he found that it was a small, narrow island on the lake. The sole building on the island was a beautiful pavilion.


    "Is this the Ripple Pavilion?"


    Zen blinked his eyes in disappointment. Originally, he thought the Ripple Pavilion would be a magnificent building, but it turned out to be so ordinary.

 Chapter 3193 Marcos Strategy

    The Ripple Pavilion looked ordinary, but it was regarded as the faith in the large clans around the Clear Lake.


    "Yes. That is the Ripple Pavilion," Gant replied with a smile. "Don''t be fooled by its ordinary appearance. It''s a very special and mysterious pavilion."


    "Really? Why so?" Zen asked curiously.


    Gant was silent, keeping Zen in suspense. "Help us defeat them," he finally said. "You''ll know what''s inside."


    The giant drums were hurled straight into the lake to form a massive platform.


    Dozens of people from various clans jumped on the platform. As they stepped on the drums, the lake water would burst out from the cracks in between, forming water curtains. For an onlooker, the scene looked quite magnificent.


    Soon, hundreds of thousands of people were gathered by the Clear Lake, applauding the water curtains.


    Other performers followed the drummers.


    Singing and dancing filled the air and entertained the audience.


    Zen was starting to feel impatient, but he knew he was invited by the Su Clan and so he tried to relax.


    As he watched the performance, Zen suddenly felt like someone was staring at him from afar.


    He looked around, but didn''t find anyone among the thick crowd.


    On the other side, an exquisite room stood on the large flying carriage of the Xu Clan.


    Inside it, Marco was standing by the window staring at Zen. "He really did come," he snorted.


    "Since he''s here now, I assume he''ll also attend the competition. It might be a bad idea to kill him in front of such a big crowd," Lazlo advised.


    They had spied on Zen and made sure he was in the Su Clan''s residence, and then they proceeded to discuss the plan to kill him.


    The simplest way was to follow Zen. As soon as he was alone, they could sneak up on him and let Marco slay him.


    Marco didn''t like this plan.


    The Oneness Sky Palace was full of curious and smart onlookers. Even if they sneaked up on him, someone could still easily uncover the truth.


    "The younger generations of the clans fight against each other at the rally. The members of the Su Clan are just weak weapon refiners. If we suppress the Su Clan, the Su Clan will have no choice but to seek help from Z


    very single opponent I encounter from start to finish to make sure he fights no one!'' Morgan thought.


    The Su Clan that was selected as the Xu Clan''s opponent for the first round was in deep thought as to who to fight. After all, they were going to compete with the most powerful person in the Xu Clan.


    "Uncle! Please allow me to fight!"


    "Uncle! Please allow me to fight!"


    "Uncle! Please allow me to fight!"


    Irving, Osrid and Nevyn, the most powerful warriors in the younger generation of the Su Clan, approached Cailen.


    Cailen gave it a thought. He looked at Osrid and decided, "Osrid, go fight with Morgan."


    Osrid was a strong disciple of the Oneness Sky Palace. Among the three, he was the strongest.


    Osrid shook his head and said, "Uncle, let me be the second combatant."


    He wanted to fight, but not as the first combatant. He felt that he should be the second one to fight.


    "Go," insisted Cailen.


    Many years had passed since the Su Clan last won the gathering. In recent years, the Su Clan only acted as a foil.


    This time, they had invited Zen and had sought his help. They had to make good use of him.


    Osrid couldn''t disobey Cailen''s order. With sinking shoulders, he walked towards the platform.


    Morgan laughed at the sight of Osrid. For him, he looked pathetic. "I don''t know why my father chose the Su Clan as our first opponent, but I can tell your clan is very weak. Why else would they send you to fight with me?"

 Chapter 3194 Xu Clans Plan

    Osrid''s face turned pale upon hearing those words.


    He had fought with Morgan three years ago but was defeated with only a single strike.


    Morgan had called him a loser and kicked him into the lake.


    Osrid had never been so humiliated in his life.


    But he had been working hard these last three years and that motivated him to become an elite disciple.


    "You''d be wise not to look down upon me. Things change. People change," Osrid said, brimming with pride in himself. He recognized this was an opportunity to redeem himself and put his shame behind him.


    The smirk on Morgan''s face widened. "I know you have become the elite of the Azure Mountain. But as you progress, so do I, and I do it much faster! Before me, you will always be a loser!"


    Morgan waved his hand.


    Six rays of icy light burst out from behind his back, circling around him at high speed.


    He stamped his feet down, sinking the huge drum he stood on in the water as he rushed towards Osrid.


    The look in Osrid''s eyes intensified when he faced Morgan''s attack. A purple sword showed up in his hand.


    As a member of the Su Clan, he owned a treasure of high grade. It was an Other Shore Treasure.


    As the sword was drawn, the purple light turned into countless faint snake shadows, sweeping toward Morgan.


    Everyone present stood in shock as the scene unfolded.


    On the one hand, they were surprised at Osrid''s progress. On the other hand, this was only the first match and it was so fierce. This was a rare occurrence at the Ripple Pavilion competition.


    The purple snake shadows stretched their large mouths open to swallow Morgan whole.


    But as they got close, the icy light surrounding Morgan charged at him.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh


    The six icy rays shone with dazzling brilliance and slashed the fierce purple snake shadows with deft ease.


    "Too weak!"


    Morgan sneered. The six rays of ice radiance picked up the pace now, and like a whipping wind, struck at Osrid.


    ''Did the Phantom Snake Strike lose just like that?


    I can''t believe my eyes.


    How can this be possible?'' Osrid thought disheartened.


    He hadn''t expected his sword skill, which he had cultivated so hard and with such care, to be defeated by Morgan with a single stri


    Zen wins and he doesn''t challenge the Xu Clan?" Drystan suddenly asked.


    Marco, Lazlo and Grayson stopped dead on hearing this. They hadn''t quite considered that.


    It was the rule of the Ripple Pavilion competition that only the winner could challenge others.


    "Don''t worry! It''s the head of the Su Clan who issues a challenge. We''ll force him to challenge us," Marco said snickering with schemes filling his mind.


    Morgan stood on the huge drum, looking at Zen and feeling very proud of himself. "You are not a member of the Su clan, are you?" asked Morgan.


    "No," replied Zen blankly.


    Morgan pointed at the bank of the Clear Lake and continued, "Since you are an outsider in this, I advise you not to get involved. Just admit defeat and leave. It''s not too late."


    Morgan was also an elite of Vastness Mountain. The people who participated in the Seven Mountains Meeting were selected by Marco. Morgan was not one of those invited and so had never seen Zen in action.


    Zen calmly pulled out his Snow Sword, and replied nonchalantly, "I have no intention to leave. I owe the Su Clan a favor. I have promised to help them and I will keep that promise."


    "Then you''ll definitely regret this," said Morgan, shaking his head, not taking Zen seriously at all.


    In an instant the six icy rays behind him burst out and turned into little stars. Under the spread of the cold air, a thin layer of ice formed on the lake!


    Whoosh!


    In the blink of an eye, he was in front of Zen.

 Chapter 3195 Painstaking Efforts

    It was Morgan''s goal to challenge and face all the clans present by himself.


    He had realized too late that he had treated Osrid a bit leniently.


    To intimidate his opponents, he planned to utilize fierce skills and render them too afraid to face him in combat.


    The best way to do this was by unleashing his best moves.


    "Snow Track Strike!"


    He rushed towards Zen; he had already activated his Other Shore Token before he launched his attack.


    Six rays of icy light, together with Morgan''s long sword, simultaneously shot towards Zen at a tremendous speed. He estimated his strike to contain at least two hundred divine megatons of force.


    Morgan felt confident that both his skill and power would allow him to overwhelmingly defeat Zen.


    Whoosh!


    But as he got closer and closer to Zen, he suddenly noticed something strange.


    Zen''s stoic expression had not changed at all. His eyes were as serene as the surface of a bottomless lake. Morgan felt that Zen had not considered his attack as a serious threat.


    Where was Zen''s confidence coming from?


    Quick as a flash, a strange thought invaded Morgan''s mind.


    The next moment, he saw that Zen had lifted his long sword in a very slight motion. The Snow Sword collided with his sword, and deflected his sword gently to the side.


    He directly crashed onto Zen''s shoulder.


    Bang!


    The force of his impact would have cracked a mountain had he crashed onto one. But when he came into contact with Zen, it was as if he had been slammed onto a tough stone. He was unable to even scratch Zen!


    As if that wasn''t perplexing enough, the rebound force from Zen''s shoulder hit Morgan back.


    He was sent flying backward, and the six rays of icy light had dispersed.


    Dong! Dong! Dong!


    Morgan bounced on the surfaces of the giant drums, one after the other. He tried to rush to the water''s surface but the water only splashed. It was futile; he ended up falling into the water himself.


    "Such amazing power!"


    All the masters and outstanding members of the Liu Clan, the Chen Clan, and the Li Clan were shockingly impressed by this exhibition of power.


    The onlookers had no idea why the Xu Clan wanted to prove that they were more powerful than the Su Clan. They inferred that the Su Clan might have done something that offended the Xu Clan.


    When Zen emerged into the arena, all of them thought that the Su Clan had no chance to win at tha


    r clans still haven''t shown their trump cards yet!"


    Just as Cailen was searching for another opponent for Zen, the Xu Clan''s master stood up and challenged him. "Hey, Cailen, why not choose my clan?"


    All the clan masters were confused when they heard this. Even Cailen couldn''t stop a frown from forming on his face.


    Cailen was wary of the master of the Xu Clan. Who knew what trick he might play on them? He didn''t want to respond to him, so he just turned away. Just as Cailen was about to declare the next opponent, the master of the Xu Clan couldn''t help but leap from his seat and rush towards him. "Cailen," he appealed impudently, "we helped your clan when you were in big trouble a hundred years ago. Could you do this for us this time?"


    His words sounded an alarm in Cailen''s mind and made him even more puzzled.


    But in the end, Cailen decided to indulge the Xu Clan''s master and said, "We choose the Xu Clan as our opponent!"


    The master of the Xu Clan breathed a heavy sigh of relief and thanked Cailen with clasped hands before returning to his own seat.


    From a luxurious room on the Xu Clan''s flying carriage, a blue-robed Marco flew out as a sharp arrow. In the blink of an eye, he had already stood upon the huge drum. A smile of triumph played on his lips as he glared at Zen.


    The moment he set eyes on Marco, Zen knew Marco was behind everything that had happened so far.


    Marco wanted to face Zen so badly in the battle ring that he had orchestrated such painstaking efforts. But in Zen''s eyes, Marco was an idiot who would regret everything later even after all of this.

 Chapter 3196 The Spirits Trinity

    The Sus and the Xus all had their mouths wide open as they saw Marco stand on the huge drum.


    Clueless young men from the Xu Clan were especially excited at the sight of Marco.


    "It''s our young master! He is fighting Zen!"


    "Why is he fighting on our behalf?"


    This question was met with silence.


    For the Xu Clan members, Marco was a legendary figure. The Ripple Pavilion seemed too little for him to still fight for it.


    People from the Su Clan overheard the Xus'' discussion and finally gained clarity.


    Cailen frowned and rubbed his chin. "The Xu Clan isn''t after us. They''re after Zen."


    Gant nodded in agreement. "The Xu Clan has figured out that we will ask Flag Master for help," he said.


    "The Xu Clan head doesn''t look like he''s fully onboard. Perhaps he was forced to do this. Maybe Zen had offended Marco?" Ruben assessed.


    "This is not good. As a direct descendant of Vastness Mountain, Marco''s strength is extraordinary," Reid lamented.


    It was obvious that Marco intentionally arranged everything to trick Zen into fighting him. There was something going on between them. He couldn''t possibly just want to teach Zen a lesson.


    "I''ll tell the Flag Master just to admit defeat!" said Gant.


    However, Cailen stopped him. He shook his head helplessly and said, "This is already out of our hands now. It''s too late for Zen to find a safe exit."


    Members of the other clans felt the tension as well.


    Since their first encounter, Marco had the urge to kill Zen. If Dorothy hadn''t been around to stop him, he would have already done it.


    Since then, he had made sure to give Zen a hard time.


    Zen thought that, after being hit by Milo, Marco would have been less motivated to go on full offensive. Yet he followed him all the way to Clear Lake.


    "You really are persistent," muttered Zen coldly.


    "There''s only


    is..."


    Zen''s eyes widened as he drew his sword away.


    "Nine-Flash Light-splitting Swordsmanship!"


    Rays of white light dashed quickly towards Marco again in full speed.


    He was trying to force Marco to back away.


    However, Marco stood his ground unfazed. He was determined to maintain his proximity with Zen.


    Zen''s sword radiance was quick, but Marco''s long sword acted as a shield.


    All of Zen''s attacks were effectively blocked.


    Apart from that, the long sword also weakened Zen''s Other Shore Power. Every time their swords touched, Zen''s sword weakened.


    "Young Master is using Absorption Spirit!"


    "It can directly absorb the Other Shore Power of the opponent."


    "Doesn''t that make him invincible?"


    People in the audience began to speculate.


    The Spirits Trinity was one of the best Other Shore Tokens in the Lust World. It was also one of the rarest. Zen was definitely on the losing end.


    A round of intense attacks did not break Marco''s defenses. Instead, Zen''s Other Shower Power had weakened immensely. In desperation, Zen flew away. He wanted to be as far away from Marco as possible.


    However, Marco remained strong and motivated. He was definitely not going to let Zen escape that easily.

 Chapter 3197 Offer Your Life To My Sword

    "Don''t even think of leaving!"


    Marco had started running after Zen had, but he soon appeared before Zen, sword held aloft in his hand.


    If Zen tried to dodge him, he''d probably be struck down into two halves by the sword.


    He frowned and looked around. He bent down, bunching his body into as small a ball as possible, and managed to escape from the narrow sliver of space he had been left, just barely avoiding the sword.


    But Marco landed a kick to his abdomen just as he had thought he had dodged it. .


    Zen let out a loud "Oof!" as he landed on the huge drum, bouncing several times and making it rumble.


    The members of the Xu Clan began to cheer loudly. They had no idea what had happened before, nor did they care. All they knew was that Marco represented them and their Xu Clan.


    In an exquisite room in the flying carriage of Xu Clan...


    Lazlo, Grayson, and Drystan watched the battle on the huge drums, rendered unmoving by the intensity of their interest.


    "Young master Marco is better than we thought."


    "He was never bad. He''s using the Spirits Trinity, which makes him much more powerful than others from the same stage as him."


    "I just don''t understand why he had to travel all this way to kill this guy. He could have just assigned this task to the intelligence agency. It would have been a piece of cake for us."


    The three of them had been concerned about Marco, but watching him fight had filled them with relief.


    Zen got back to his feet, but Marco had launched another sword attack before he could steady himself. .


    Zen raised his sword to defend himself but his power was absorbed by Marco''s sword attack. Again.


    As all the strength left Zen''s arm, Marco brought his sword down on Zen''s neck.


    But Zen, sensing the danger, swiftly leaned backwards and avoided the power of the sword''s slash. .


    Like before, just as Zen dodged the sword attack, Marco forcefully elbowed him off. Zen landed some distance away on the drum with a loud thud.


    Zen seemed quite defenseless against Marco.


    "What happened to the guy from the Seven Mountains Meeting?" Marco mocked Zen.


    Zen got to his feet again. He stretched out his arms, raised two fingers, and said, "200 divine megatons."


    "What?" Marco was confused at Zen''s reaction.


    "There''s a li


    Xu Clan.


    They hadn''t done anything so far because they had thought Marco had it under control. None of them had seen this coming.


    They shot out of the room like bullets, shredding the room into pieces. They were still halfway to where Zen and Marco were fighting, when a loud bang sounded from the giant drums.


    Zen bobbed in the air, the huge drum under his feet having been turned to dust.


    Marco crashed into the Clear Lake, causing a wave of more than a thousand feet high to rise.


    "Is he still alive?" Zen''s eyes narrowed since he hadn''t yet seen Marco''s body.


    His sword slash had been partly shielded by a yellow diamond-shaped light curtain derived from Marco''s Latent Theurgy.


    Zen was determined to kill Marco. He wasn''t about to ever let him go.


    He shot towards the lake, moving so fast, it looked like he had just disappeared from where he had hovered over the drums. But Lazlo caught up with him.


    "How dare you attack our young master? You''re courting death!"


    A deadly energy rose from Lazlo''s hand as he charged towards Zen.


    As a powerful warrior who had surpassed the Lust World, Lazlo saw Zen as a little boy who could be easily taken care of.


    However, Lazlo was silently cursing Marco. He could have sent someone for Zen. But he had insisted on killing Zen himself and was now in serious trouble. If anything happened to him, the three of them would be buried alongside him.


    Lazlo had thought dispatching Zen was an easy task, but a sudden, inexplicable sense of fear struck him.

 Chapter 3198 An Unexpected Attack

    The Oneness Sky Palace was unique among the forces. It was different from groups such as the Nine Li race and the Bearing race.


    The Nine Li race and the Bearing race were comprised of people descended from the same bloodlines, sharing a common genetic ancestry.


    In contrast, the Oneness Sky Palace included people that came from different backgrounds. At any given moment, the Oneness Sky Palace had a mixed group of members from all around the world.


    Thus the Oneness Mountain, the Origin Mountain, and the Vastness Mountain each had their own elite and diverse forces.


    The Vastness Mountain had secretly established its own intelligence agency. The covert organization was notorious among the few who had heard of it for its cruel rules and rigid practices.


    As a member of the Vastness Mountain''s intelligence agency, Lazlo was always dealing with various problems. Just now, he was intensely worried about the consequences of Marco''s death.


    Lazlo feared that he was about to face one of the most cruel punishments in the history of the intelligence agency. He had once seen a fellow agent receive an extreme penalty, and even now the image of his colleague''s punishment lingered in his consciousness, haunting his thoughts.


    He couldn''t stop thinking about it.


    If Marco was dead, Lazlo knew he would be taken to the agency''s infamous penalty room.


    He could just imagine what would be waiting for him there. He envisioned a teeming, countless horde of purple-brown soul-devouring bugs swarming towards him in every direction, until he was surrounded.


    Lazlo was overcome with terror.


    Meanwhile, Zen''s mind was flooded with a rush of ideas, coming to him one after another.


    These three warriors all had a much stronger aura than Marco. They might be strong martial artists who had surpassed the Lust World.


    Zen realized that he had no chance of winning a head-to-head battle.


    Therefore, he had to launch a sneak attack. He had to take him by surprise. Without further ado, Zen immediately summoned the demonic eye.


    There was a wave of energy as Zen waved his arm.


    He had released a messy, powerful truth aura that rushed headlong towards Lazlo.


    The Sword Texture Technique was lethal, but it was a bit troublesome to use compared to other theurgies, because the user had to envelop the target completely within their truth aura.


    But no opponent would be foolish enough to stand passively within an aura without trying to escape.


    Fortunately, Zen''s demonic eye could serve as a temporary distraction, capturing the attention of his opponent.


    Once Lazlo was entirely cocooned within the truth aura, Zen leaned forward, searching for an opportunity. But as he looked at Lazlo, Zen''s expression changed.


    "Is his body flawless?"


    Zen murmured to himself, frowning. In his field of vision, Lazlo''s body was smooth and unlined, an integral whole. How was this possible?


    Zen had repeatedly tested the Sword Texture Technique, so he knew that nothing was fully perfect. Everything had at least a couple of flaws, no matter how minor.


    But there was no time to dw


    In the span of just a few months, Zen had somehow gained the power and ability to defeat a person who was on the verge of entering the Chaotic Source Realm.


    Cailen kept in close touch with many contacts at the Oneness Sky Palace, so he was familiar with stories of the outstanding talents there. Yet he had never heard of a warrior who had reached such heights as Zen.


    "Father, did you know about this? My Flag Master is so powerful! He has not stayed long at the mountain, but he has already made great progress!" Gant whispered excitedly. All around, people were recovering from their initial astonishment, and beginning to murmur and whisper to each other.


    Cailen said nothing. He was frowning, unable to conceal his worries.


    He had allowed Gant to follow Zen because he thought highly of him. If Zen continued to succeed, Gant would also reap the benefits.


    He realized now that Zen''s talent was far beyond his greatest expectations. Warriors like Zen attracted enemies and rivals. Moreover, Zen had already offended the Xu Clan on the Vastness Mountain.


    However, Cailen decided not to share his concerns with his son. After all, Zen had been a helpful ally to his own clan. He just hoped his son wouldn''t be endangered by his continued association with a warrior as powerful as Zen.


    "Lazlo!"


    "Oh no!"


    When Lazlo, Grayson, and Drystan had rushed out, Lazlo had confronted Zen while Grayson and Drystan rushed to check on Marco.


    It turned out that Marco had survived Zen''s sword strike. Somehow, despite his severe injuries, he was still breathing. He was saved by the Latent Theurgy.


    But before they could even give voice to their relief, Grayson and Drystan had turned to see Lazlo being killed by Zen. As they watched, Lazlo lost his head, and his body fell into the Clear Lake. A spreading pool of crimson blood marked the spot where Lazlo had fallen.


    They instantly forgot about their relief at Marco''s survival. Instead, a sudden and fierce rage rose inside them. They focused on Zen, Lazlo''s killer, their faces flushed with anger.

 Chapter 3199 Sun Fiend Wheel

    Grayson rubbed his eyes hard in disbelief, his heart seeming to have stopped.


    He couldn''t move. He stared in shock at the blood spreading across the water. It was true; this was reality. Lazlo, his elder brother, who had been talking happily with him and Drystan a moment ago, was now dead.


    "W-what''s wrong?"


    Marco asked in a weak voice, floating on the surface of the water. He was trembling terribly.


    "Lazlo is dead. He was killed by that guy!" Grayson said furiously, his face menacing.


    Marco was stunned for a second. He couldn''t believe what he just heard. "It''s impossible..."


    "I will avenge my brother!"


    Drystan jumped out of the water surface, and an impossibly huge wheel appeared on his back. The wheel started emitting a dazzling light, so bright it was almost impossible to look directly at it.


    At the same time, a golden copper stick suddenly appeared in his hand!


    "Sun Fiend Wheel! Spin!"


    Under Drystan''s command, the wheel rapidly spun on its own.


    After a while, it finally stopped.


    The wheel had six different patterns. A totem like a fiend statue stopped above Drystan''s head when it was done spinning.


    In the blink of an eye, the aura enveloping his entire body changed immensely.


    It was like he was possessed by a fiend, slowly becoming evil and powerful.


    The Sun Fiend Wheel was a special kind of Other Shore Token within Stage Fourteen of the Other Shore. It had a total of six different forms. Every time it was activated, the chosen form would possess the warrior''s body.


    Some forms were powerful enough to make the warrior become indestructible, while others were only supportive.


    Whether the opponent would encounter a powerful form or a weak one from the wheel, it was entirely up to their luck.


    "You are unlucky. Perhaps my brother''s still protecting me. This is my most powerful form!"


    Three sharp horns suddenly appeared on Drystan''s head, growing slowly to their full lengths. Then blood vessels in his entire body started becoming visible, emitting a bright red light!


    Zen stood unmoving on the surface of the water, his eyes narrowed slightly, assessing the situation. He released his truth aura quietly and unnoticed.


    Even though he had already killed Lazlo, he couldn''t let his guard down even for just a second.


    Zen had been able to kill Lazlo because he caught him off guard. On the other hand, Drystan and Grayson had already surpassed the Lust World, and their strength shouldn''t be underestimated.


    As Drystan swung


    as stared at directly like this by Zen, he actually felt a little scared!


    "Shadowless Broken Sticks!"


    "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."


    The endless stick shadows surrounded Zen, and almost each of them charged at his vital parts at the same time, making it harder to dodge.


    At this time, the white light in Zen''s eye flashed more dangerously, and Drystan trembled.


    When people were angry, they could overcome fear and rise more powerful than before.


    The death of Lazlo infuriated Drystan greatly. The effect of the demonic eye on him was reduced significantly.


    But life and death could be decided in a second in a fight between powerhouses.


    Drystan was caught in fright for only the blink of an eye. But that was long enough for Zen, who had been watching him intently, to find his weakness.


    ''Finally, I can see it clearly. It''s in his chest...''


    With only his target in mind, Zen swung his sword with minimal power.


    He didn''t have to use much strength.


    That attack carried only a force of fifty to sixty divine megatons.


    If the sword had stabbed other parts of Drystan''s body, it wouldn''t even be able to break the protection of his fiend form.


    But Zen saw it. Two inches to the right corner of his chest was Drystan''s biggest weakness.


    Three cracks started spreading down his chest, two downwards and another upward. Slowly, as the cracks extended throughout his body, Drystan''s whole form turned into tiny little pieces like a broken porcelain.


    As Zen raised his hand gently, the sword radiance rushed out and charged at Drystan. When his body was successfully broken, his soul was destroyed by the sword radiance with a final strike.

 Chapter 3200 Serious Trouble

    Warriors from the Su City and Xu City gradually felt the gravity of the situation. Horror filled their minds.


    The Su Clan was the weakest among all clans around the Clear Lake. They only majored in weapon refining, which had no high requirement in terms of cultivation base.


    But the heads of the Xu Clan, Li Clan, Zhao Clan and others were all at the peak of Lust World. Some of them had even crossed the Lust World and reached the threshold of the Chaotic Source Realm.


    They knew exactly how powerful warriors at the Chaotic Source Realm were! The realm was the first limit that many of them would physically encounter.


    Lazlo was a mere half-step from the Chaotic Source Realm, while Drystan was also close to the realm.


    But just within a few minutes, Zen had killed both of them.


    This was an unthinkable turn of events for many of them.


    The head of the Xu Clan was at first motivated to stop Zen. He was even willing to kill him if he had to.


    But this motivation was replaced by fear as soon as he saw Drystan get killed. He halted in mid-air and slowly backed away from Zen.


    He knew he was no match for Zen, but he also knew that he shouldn''t just let Marco die at the hands of Zen. He was in a dilemma: should he try to counter Zen''s attacks or flee to safety?


    As soon as he killed Drystan, Zen no longer had any hesitation in him.


    He flew swiftly like a big hawk and went straight to Marco.


    Marco only had Grayson for a guard.


    And Grayson was the weakest among the three.


    It was a good thing that he had his Other Shore Token, the Spying Mirror, with him. With it, he was able to detect his opponents in secret.


    "You brat! I''ll fight you to death!"


    Grayson''s eyes opened wide with fury. A small mirror appeared above his head.


    A beam of radiance shot out of the mirror''s surface. It went straight towards Zen.


    Phew!


    Zen was able to dodge it at the last second. He focused on reaching Grayson all while avoiding the light. The long sword in his hand left a long trail in the air.


    Crack!


    Zen couldn''t even be bothered to use the Sword Texture Technique as well as the demonic eye.


    Instead, a silver light beamed in the air and pierced right through Grayson. It sliced him from top to bottom and cut him in half. Finally, the all of the three were gone.


    With Grayson out o


    ly happening. All they cared about was that Marco was a member of the Xu Clan. They would not allow Zen to escape their sight.


    Zen was strong, but the members of the Xu Clan outnumbered him. They were confident they''d win against a single person.


    Zen narrowed his eyes and placed his long sword horizontally across his chest. "Anyone who stands in my way will die," he warned.


    As he spoke, a white light flashed across his right eye.


    The warriors floating above the Clear Lake felt shivers go down their spines. With fearful gazes, they stared at Zen.


    "Let him go," said the head of the Xu Clan in an exhausted voice.


    He knew that Zen could easily escape their hands. He didn''t want to risk any more lives just to stop him from leaving.


    He wanted to act smarter.


    Zen returned to the Su Clan''s crowd. The blank faces of Ruben, Reid, and all the others welcomed him.


    The Su Clan knew they were in big trouble if they were to be implicated.


    Only Gant stepped forward with a look of admiration on his face. "Flag Master, you truly are formidable!" he praised.


    Zen patted his shoulder. "I killed Marco. Aren''t you afraid of being implicated?"


    Cailen and all the others were cursing Gant in their minds. All they wanted was to disassociate from Zen.


    "Afraid of being implicated?" Gant raised his brows. "There must be several thousand direct descendants in the seven mountains, but there are only a dozen of disciples capable of Instant Enlightenment as you are. I highly doubt they''d do anything against you, Flag Master!"

 Chapter 3201 Slaps

    An uncomfortable silence hung in the air after Gant said those words to Zen.


    Zen was a talented warrior who was capable of Instant Enlightenment. Moreover, he had Athemar''s support. That being said, this made it difficult for the people of the Vastness Mountain to get back at Zen.


    Of course, Gant was aware that his clan was trying to be cautious. After all, the Su Clan was but a weapon refining clan; they bore little to no importance to the Oneness Sky Palace. They couldn''t afford to provoke the people of the Vastness Mountain.


    Gant surveyed the elders before him. They, as well as the other people of the Su Clan, all looked quite surprised.


    The people started to whisper amongst themselves. "Zen is capable of Instant Enlightenment?"


    "Only fourteen people could do that in the history of the Oneness Sky Palace!"


    "No wonder Zen was so confident and did not hesitate to kill Marco."


    "Fine," Zen said quietly. He knew Gant was constantly trying to please him. "Now, do we still need to continue fighting?"


    Zen took a look at his surroundings. His battle with Marco dealt a lot of damage to the battle ring. Huge cracks dotted the drums.


    The other clans like the Li Clan and the Zhao Clan were also quiet. They were unwilling to fight because they knew very well that none of their young warriors could match Zen''s strength.


    Also, the battle that just took place was truly gruesome. None of the clans was in the mood to compete with each other.


    All the clan masters gathered together to discuss. Finally, they decided that the Su Clan should take control of the Ripple Pavilion.


    And with that, the gathering at the Ripple Pavilion came to an end. Despite everything that happened, Zen ended up helping the Su Clan reach their goal; he owed them nothing.


    Zen packed up and left with Gant.


    Cailen watched their receding figures. He was a little worried about Gant, but he dared not say anything in front of Zen.


    After leaving the Su City, Zen and Gant decided to walk westward, along the Clear Lake.


    Although much had happened in the competition this year, the gathering at the Ripple Pavilion pushed through, unaffected.


    Throngs of people talked excitedly amongst themselves by the banks of the Clear Lake.


    Many couldn''t get over Zen''s heroic stunt today. In their eyes, the battles between Zen and Marco, Zen and the three brothers were the highlight, despite many other battles not even having taken place yet.


    "Flag Master, Trish is your maid,


    fford to offend him. If..."


    "Trish!" her stepmother sneered. "Do you really want to be a maid for the rest of your life?"


    Lachlan frowned scornfully. "Your master is just a disciple from the Oneness Sky Palace. Do you really think he can beat my clansmen? Even if he were to visit me in my house, I wouldn''t be afraid of him!"


    He waved his hand with disdain and said, "Tie her up and take her back. I will teach her a lesson once we get back."


    The servants gave a curt nod and then walked towards Trish.


    Trish''s eyes darted back and forth between the servants approaching her. In her desperation, she took a few steps back and leaned against the wall. Suddenly, she felt her hand grow warm.


    It felt as though a force was controlling her arm; as the first servant finally reached her, the next thing she knew was her hand suddenly flailed forward.


    Slap!


    The servant in the front flew more than a hundred feet away at the impact of Trish''s slap.


    When the others saw this, they froze. Lachlan was also stunned. "Are you all cowards? Get her!"


    The servants summoned up courage and rushed at Trish again, this time more fiercely determined.


    Trish felt like a god was helping her. She lunged forward suddenly, her hands flailing uncontrollably. Yet, she managed to hit the servants square in the face, sending them flying.


    Slap! Slap! Slap!


    Crisp slaps were heard one after another. After a while, all the servants lay unconscious on the ground.


    Trish looked at her hands in shock.


    Lachlan narrowed his eyes. He felt something strange, like an invisible force was running around the courtyard. "Who is it? Who is there? Get out!"

 Chapter 3202 Making Trouble

    No one responded to Lachlan.


    Trish and her stepmother also looked around the courtyard with puzzled looks.


    "Who are you? How dare you cause me trouble in the Yan-Zhao City?" Lachlan continued, raising his voice. "You must have a death wish!"


    The whole Yan-Zhao City was under the rule of the Zhao Clan. Everyone, no matter how influential they were, had to show their respect to the Zhao Clan if they passed by the city. This would explain why Lachlan was so indignant.


    "Show your..." Before he could finish his words, Trish let out a panicked scream.


    Lachlan whipped his head around in time to see her rushing towards him at an inhuman speed. It was as though her entire body was enveloped in some invisible force. Before he had the time to react, Trish raised her hand and slapped him full in the face.


    "How dare you!"


    Slap!


    Slap!


    Slap!


    Trish couldn''t stop her hands from slapping Lachlan''s face.


    With a grunt, her final slap sent him flying, crashing into a small room in the courtyard.


    "Trish, are you crazy?!" her stepmother shouted hysterically.


    Trish turned to face her. She raised her hand, about to slap her stepmother. Her stepmother''s eyes widened in fear and she immediately covered her face with her hands. She dared not say another word.


    At this moment, two figures emerged.


    Gingerly, they touched the enchanted barrier set up by the Zhao Clan. Immediately, a ray of blood light shot at them.


    Crack!


    With a flick of his hand, a light flashed from one of the figures, slicing through the blood light. In doing so, the barrier broke apart.


    "Who, who are you? How dare you break into our house without permission?" Trish''s stepmother said in a shaky voice, unable to contain her horror.


    Lachlan climbed out of the ruins and his face changed when he saw the two people in the air.


    Trish''s face was full of joy and surprise as she walked up and bowed to Zen. "Mr. Luo, I''m so sorry. I failed to return to the Su Clan today, because..."


    "I know." Zen gently raised his hand to stop Trish from speaking any further. Turning to face her stepmother, Zen said coldly, "Trish is my maid, and I am taking her away today. Do you dare to defy this?"


    Trish''s stepmother was aware that she served a disciple from the Flow Sword Sect. Back when the Yan Clan was still influential, t


    defeated notable warriors earlier that day; if he stirred conflict now, it might ruin the reputation of the Zhao Clan.


    Moreover, he also knew his third son well. He knew that Lachlan was in the wrong without having to ask what happened.


    Zen cast a cold glance at the master of the Zhao Clan. "I don''t want to get involved in the affairs between the Yan Clan and the Zhao Clan. This is your son''s fault; he should never have offended Trish."


    "Lachlan!" the master cried angrily. "Come here! Kneel down!"


    Lachlan turned livid with rage. His father had never been so strict with him. He walked over reluctantly, but refused to kneel. Mumbling, he said, "She''s just a maid! A maid..."


    "I said kneel down!" The master of the Zhao Clan raised his voice.


    Lachlan finally flopped down on his knees in front of Zen. The master of the Zhao Clan said, "Mr. Luo, my good-for-nothing son is at your disposal!"


    Zen waved his hand indifferently. "Break his legs and arms. Don''t treat him in a year."


    Without any hesitation, the master of the Zhao Clan flicked his wrist violently. Instantly, invisible forces rushed at Lachlan.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    With a terrible shriek, Lachlan collapsed to the floor, his arms and legs horribly disfigured.


    "Let''s go," Zen said expressionlessly. Before he turned to leave with Trish and Gant, he suddenly said, "Trish is my maid." Narrowing his eyes, he continued ominously, "I don''t want her family to decline."


    The master of the Zhao Clan broke out in a cold sweat, a chill running down his spine.

 Chapter 3203 Invitation To The Mountain

    The Yan Clan''s decline had something to do with the Zhao Clan.


    The master of the Zhao Clan knew full well.


    If Zen looked any further into it, it would probably only cause more trouble.


    Fortunately, Trish was just his maid, and he said he didn''t want to get involved in this.


    When the master of the Zhao Clan finally calmed himself down, he heard Lachlan scream, "Father! Some pills for my wounds! It really hurts! Who is that guy? Is he the son of the head of the Oneness Sky Palace? Father, why were you so respectful towards him?"


    Lachlan lay on the ground in pain.


    He knew he had offended someone he shouldn''t have; his father was just putting on a show and trying to prove a point.


    His arms and legs being broken was no big deal. The pills of the Zhao Clan would heal him up in an instant.


    But his father still refused him the pills, and only continued to drive his foot into him again and again.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    The kicks almost killed him. His father yelled furiously, "You bastard! You almost got us all killed! You want the pills? Forget it! You will stay on the ground this year! If anyone dares to heal you, I''ll break their arms and legs as well!"


    The master of the Zhao Clan left with his people in tow.


    Trish''s stepmother was trembling in a corner. Until now, she still didn''t understand what had happened, but she vaguely knew that Trish''s master was a somebody, and that ''somebody'' had made a statement that the Zhao Clan could no longer make life hard for the Yan Clan.


    On the flying ship, Zen sat upright at the front end.


    Trish contemplated a while before finding the courage to walk up to Zen. She walked up silently and unassumingly, and bowed to him.


    "There''s no need to be so courteous," Zen said with a friendly smile.


    "I''m just your maid, yet you care so much for me," Trish said meekly.


    The fate of the Yan Clan had always been controlled by the Zhao Clan.


    If things went on like this, ''Yan'' would be removed from the city name sooner or later, and the city would be renamed the Zhao City.


    But Zen''s warning was surely enough to scare off the master of the Zhao Clan.


    "It''s no big deal. Don''t think on it too much," Zen said, smiling tenderly.


    Trish smi


    yone hurt his family...


    At the thought of this, Zen''s face darkened.


    "They have gone up the mountain," Monica said. "Elder Sellers from the Dragon City said the Oneness Sky Palace had sent out an invitation. They said that the three of them had outstanding talent and they wanted to meet them."


    "I know them. They would not agree to something like that," Zen said affirmatively.


    Laquisha and Lavender would definitely ask for Zen''s opinion if they wanted to join a sword sect on the mountain.


    They wouldn''t go up the mountain without telling him.


    "You''re right. They didn''t agree, but someone from the mountain took them away. Someone forced them. I''m sorry..." Monica said full of remorse.


    Zen trusted Monica and felt safe leaving his three wives with her. Her heart was filled with great sorrow and guilt as she had failed him. The last few days had been hell for her trying to figure out how she would break it to him.


    "Don''t blame yourself. It''s not your fault," Zen comforted Monica.


    No matter how strong Monica was, she was only an Alliance Chief of the Dragon City. The people on the mountain didn''t even take the Oneness Guards seriously. It was simply impossible for Monica to have stopped them.


    After staying outside the Dragon City for a while, Zen ordered Trish to go up the mountain by herself. Then, he went into the Dragon City and headed straight to the Sword Tower.


    Now that Sellers was involved, he seemed to know exactly what was going on.

 Chapter 3204 The Phoenix Palace

    In the Sword Tower, Sellers saw Zen rush in. The mask he had on was only barely concealing the helpless smile underneath.


    "Master Sellers! I just came back to Dragon City. I heard that Nelly, Laquisha and Lavender had been taken away. Which sect did they join?" Zen asked.


    Usually, the warriors in the Dragon City who had gone up the mountain would join the Flow Sword Sect, the Killing Sword Sect or the Unique Array Sword Sect.


    But sometimes, the other six mountains would choose the disciples in the Dragon City too.


    "They didn''t join any," Sellers said with a light shake of his head.


    "What do you mean?" Zen frowned. He figured they must have been under house arrest instead.


    Was it the Vastness Mountain disciples who had taken them away?


    Zen''s brows furrowed deeper. Suddenly, he felt the urge to kill flow through his veins.


    "Someone from the Phoenix Palace took them away," Sellers said. "Did you do anything to offend them?"


    The Phoenix Palace was the core of the Oneness Mountain.


    The palace only trained and recruited disciples who were in the direct line of Eastern Emperor Taiyi.


    Lavender, Nelly, and Laquisha were talented, but none of them were qualified to enter the Phoenix Palace.


    Their sudden kidnapping to the Phoenix Palace was odd. Sellers figured that Zen must have had something to do with it.


    "Me? Offend the Phoenix Palace?" Zen rubbed his chin as he tried to recall. Then, a trace of cold light flashed through his eyes. "Elvinia!" he exclaimed.


    Sellers gasped. "What did you do to offend her?" he asked.


    Not every descendant of Eastern Emperor Taiyi held a high status, but Elvinia was highly favored.


    Sellers tried to stop the Phoenix Palace from taking away Zen''s women, but he was threatened by a powerful warrior from the palace. He wondered whom Zen had offended to lead to this.


    Finally, Sellers gained clarity.


    "Humph!" Zen snorted. "It was nothing. We just had some conflict in the Seven Mountains Meeting."


    Whatever happened between them, Zen found it


    o far away.


    Zen''s guess was correct.


    To protect the Phoenix Palace, Eastern Emperor Taiyi had arranged the Primitive Illusion.


    It was designed with the eighteen pillars passed down from the Primitive Temple. The pillars were almost invincible. No normal method worked against them.


    Gratefully, they were free of wars and major conflicts now, and so the Primitive Illusion wasn''t fully activated.


    Servants, maids and guards needed to go up and down the mountain. They carried with them a special token that allowed them to see the pillars and go as they pleased.


    Zen didn''t need the special token to see the pillars. He was able to see them with his demonic eye.


    He continued to follow the pillars upwards. Finally, he saw a huge palace gate with a plaque that said, "Phoenix Palace."


    "Here it is!"


    Without any hesitation, Zen went up and knocked on the palace gate.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Obviously, the Phoenix Palace did not receive plenty of visitors. The few distinguished guests usually had their own ushers.


    No one in recent history had done what Zen did. No one just climbed up the mountain, navigated the fog, and knocked at the palace gate.


    So, when they heard the loud banging on the gate, the golden-armored guards of the Phoenix Palace were taken aback. They looked among themselves, wondering who it could be.

 Chapter 3205 Lady Flamine

    From atop the wall, the golden-armored guards watched Zen knocking at the gate. Exchanging dubious glances, they started whispering amongst themselves in wonder.


    "This man isn''t a servant of the Phoenix Palace. How could he have walked out of the Primitive Illusion?"


    Finally, the leading guard called Zen''s attention. "Who are you?" he shouted with a frown. "Why do you knock on the gate?"


    Zen, looking up to face the guard, answered clearly, "I''m Zen Luo, a disciple of the Flow Sword Sect. I''m looking for Elvinia."


    "A disciples of the Flow Sword Sect?"


    The guards exchanged puzzled glances.


    Their leader continued to speak to Zen harshly. "I don''t care which sect you are from. You are not welcome here. Get out!"


    The Phoenix Palace was where the direct descendants of East Emperor Taiyi lived. Additionally, it was the core area of the Oneness Mountain. It was impossible for ordinary people to enter.


    Zen''s expression darkened as his patience ran thin. He leapt forward, and ricocheted off the wall, launching himself into the air. With a determined look on his face, he decided right then and there that he was going to break through the gate.


    Once the leading guard realized what he was up to, he sneered haughtily, "Never in my years here have I witnessed anyone attempt to break into the Phoenix Palace. Sir, you are courting death; don''t blame me for killing you."


    Bang!


    Eyes flashing menacingly, he then channeled his aura to summon a large golden shield, which smashed towards Zen.


    The leader had been a five-star Oneness Guard. Due to his excellence, he was transferred to guard the Phoenix Palace.


    While the technique he used was relatively simple, the sheer force of the shield attack reached eight hundred divine megatons.


    Zen''s eyes narrowed as he observed the approaching shield. With gritted teeth, he summoned the strength from the Strength God Totem, while simultaneously gathering the Shade Stone''s liquid into his right hand.


    Bang!


    The other guards covered their ears in anguish at the deafening sound, lights flashing everywhere, which blinded them. When they finally regained their senses, they were stunned.


    Their leader had been flung off the wall, and had fallen into the square of the Phoenix Palace. The impact was so great that a crater was formed where he landed.


    Zen, on the oth


    word Sect disciple''s punch.


    "Let him stay. I need to talk to him," said Flamine firmly.


    "Yes, Lady Flamine!"


    The guards could do nothing but bow humbly to the woman and take their leave.


    If Zen was just an ordinary disciple of the Oneness Sky Palace, Flamine would have let the guards take him away.


    However, she could sense Zen''s extraordinary power. This definitely piqued her interest.


    Swoosh!


    Flamine withdrew her ribbons, freeing Zen from his shackles.


    "Why did you break into the Phoenix Palace, young man?" Flamine asked, eyes sparkling with curiosity.


    Rubbing his hands and neck, he answered calmly, "I''m looking for Elvinia."


    "Elvinia?" Flamine raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Why are you looking for her?"


    "She took my people away," Zen answered bluntly.


    Scratching her chin delicately, she asked, "Why did she take your people away?"


    "God knows what that stupid woman was thinking!" he cried exasperatedly. "Maybe since she lost to me in the Seven Mountains Meeting, she has been holding a grudge towards me." Zen shook his head in frustration.


    When Flamine heard Zen cursing Elvinia, her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. "I can take you to see her."


    "You can help me find her?" Zen''s eyes lit up at her offer.


    "Of course. If what you say is true, I must make her apologize. After all, I''m her mother." She smiled cunningly.


    Zen was stunned. He recalled how Konnor told him that Elvinia had been brought back from the Divine Lair. Did this mean Flamine was also a nonhuman creature from the Divine Lair?

 Chapter 3206 The Stone Statue

    The demon women from the Divine Lair of the Sun Crow race all had a pair of huge sprawling wings.


    Flamine and Elvinia were as beautiful as those demon women, but they didn''t have wings.


    This sudden encounter with Elvinia''s mother had made Zen uncomfortable and was creating a little trouble for him.


    Looking at a stunned Zen, Flamine calmly instructed, "Follow me. I''ll take you there."


    She entered through the palace gate as she spoke, gliding with graceful steps and dragging purple ribbons behind her.


    Zen hesitated a moment before deciding to follow her in.


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi had many children, and the Phoenix Palace was quite large and magnificent.


    They came across very few people as they walked. Any guards and maids they saw knelt and saluted Flamine respectfully.


    They walked along a tall red wall for some minutes when Zen turned and was faced with a gigantic palace gate. Just before it stood a triangular bronze furnace. In it, flames flickered and jet out in spurts and a faint golden light glowed from within.


    "This is the divine flame of the Sun Crow race," Zen pointed out in surprise, raising his eyebrows slightly.


    Flamine walked just ahead of Zen, but she was stunned when she heard him and turned back to look at him. "You know the flame?"


    "I have been to the Mountain Viewing Province. There I saw... I saw the demon women and such flames," Zen said.


    He had intended to tell her he had seen Elizabeth then. But after considering the link between Flamine and Elvinia and the Divine Lair, he changed his mind, afraid that Flamine would ask many questions.


    Flamine pointed lightly at the bronze furnace. A divine flame flew from the furnace, turning into a small fire bird and rushing to Flamine. It then stopped when it reached her and settled itself on her sleeve.


    Zen didn''t know what material her beautiful purple dress was made of but she clearly was not afraid of the burning of the divine flame.


    The fire bird stayed in her hand for a short while and then snapped into a wisp of flame. It hissed and entered her mouth horrifyingly. Flamine had swallowed the divine flame!


    She spoke as she swallowed, "The Sun Crow race was born in the divine flames, and their blood power is hidden in them. Even the demon women born in the Divine Lair can''t live without the divine flames."


    She had just a


    She realized immediately that she had got it all wrong.


    It seemed as if Zen''s right hand was made of fine steel, and the power that he unleashed was beyond her imagination. He grabbed her, swung his arm over his head, and slammed her into the ground behind him.


    Bang!


    The floor was cracked and near destroyed from the impact.


    Elvinia appeared almost buried.


    If it were Marco who had been thrown, he would have been seriously hurt if not dead. However, there were indistinct fire textures on the surface of Elvinia''s body, and she appeared unharmed.


    "Tell me! Where are they?"


    Zen snarled mercilessly.


    If Elvinia didn''t tell him the whereabouts of his wives, he would kill her right in front of her mother.


    Lying on the ground, Elvinia opened her eyes wide as she looked at Zen. She could not believe how Zen treated her. She had never been treated this way in her life.


    She snapped back to reality and her irritation returned with her.


    She raised her head and sniggered, "As I said, if you want to know their whereabouts, defeat me first."


    As she finished speaking, two golden lights suddenly materialized in her hands.


    A golden sun appeared in her right hand, and a golden moon appeared in her left.


    She closed her eyes and slapped both hands into the ground firmly.


    Buzz!


    A huge stone statue had appeared before Zen.


    The stone statue had a strange shape. It had sixteen arms in total, and fifteen of them were on its left side. There was only one on the right.


    The moment it appeared, it thrust its only right arm at Zen.

 Chapter 3207 Warrior Of The Stone Hill

    The stone statue''s right hand was so frighteningly powerful that the space in front of Zen bent out of shape.


    "Bang!" Zen was knocked back for dozens of feet from the massive force.


    Splash!


    It looked as though he was wiping the ground with his entire body as he continued to be swept away from the impact, leaving a ditch in front of him before he finally crashed into a huge building.


    The building was called the Sword Bearing Hall. It was a dwelling built explicitly for the direct descendants of the Phoenix Palace to cultivate sword skills.


    The unfortunate events caused an imperfection in the form of a large hole on the wall of the Sword Bearing Hall!


    "What just happened?"


    "Who dares to fight in the Heavenly Cultivation Palace?"


    "I think it''s Elvinia."


    Apparently, the commotion happening outside had distracted the direct descendants from practicing in the Heavenly Cultivation Palace.


    Most of them paused their practice to come out and make sense of what they just heard. As a result, their jaws dropped to the floor when their eyes fell on the broken wall, and the tiles piled up on the ground.


    Elvinia scoffed at the ruins and rolled her eyes indifferently. She had full faith Zen wouldn''t get back up from that attack. If anything, she thought he was dead.


    Not wanting to say a word till she saw it for herself, Lady Flamine remained quiet and kept her gaze fixed at the ruins. A few seconds after, she noticed something that made her gasp.


    "Boom!"


    Minor turbulence could be seen coming from the pile of tiles as they shook noticeably. A huge boulder about ten feet wide was flipped over by a black hand as a black figure emerged from the ruins.


    Curious at the sudden appearance of a man cloaked with black substance around his body, Elvinia squinted her eyes to focus on his direction. She was shocked to see it was Zen, who now wiped the debris off his shoulders and cracked his knuckles as if unfazed by her move.


    The Other Shore Token she possessed was called the Warrior of the Stone Hill.


    The Stone Hill race had deep ancient roots.


    Similar to the legendary "Stone God," they would grow in the form of rocks. When they''d reach the age they matured in, they would emerge from the rocks.


    The strong warriors from that race were called the Warriors of the Stone Hill.


    In search of this Other Shore Token, the Oneness Sky Palace had dug out an entire mountain in Stage Thirteen. It took them several decades to do so.


    It was a descending type of Other Shore Token, which was extremely powerful because it had the potential to evolve further. The "Warrior of the Stone Hill" could further upgrade itself to the "Saint of the Stone Hill." The day it happened, the power of it would multiply by dozens!


    To attain that ascension in power, Elvinia had to get to the Stone Hill Temple on Stage Twenty-two. However, she


    ound.


    These direct descendants from the Oneness Mountain received a better education than the ordinary people, and they had had their fair share of experiences. However, nothing compared to what they were observing just now.


    Was that body covered in black substance still human?


    Elvinia kept at her attempts on retreating, but Zen was faster.


    He finally caught up to her and managed to pass through the sword curtain!


    With a determined look on her face, she raised her right hand. As if to mimic her gestures, the Warrior of the Stone Hill raised its right hand as well and aimed for Zen.


    Even if Zen was resilient enough to withstand the sword curtain, Elvinia was sure he couldn''t survive the Warrior of the Stone Hill!


    "Phew!"


    With quick action, the Warrior of the Stone Hill launched its attack on Zen with its right hand. It wanted to smash Zen like a bothersome insect.


    The strength held by the enormous palm apparently reached a specific limit. Anything that came under it would be reduced to little silver dust.


    "Look at that! It''s unbelievable!"


    At the sight of the large palm, Zen prepared himself. He tightened his jaw and twisted his face while he drew massive power from his Strength God Totem.


    "What is he doing?"


    "The power of the Warrior of the Stone Hill reaches the limit of the Lust World! He doesn''t stand a chance!"


    "The ultimate force should exceed 1, 000 divine megatons! This is suicide! Is he going to get smashed under it?"


    The direct descendants of the Phoenix Palace shared pitiful looks as they found out that Zen refused to move from his spot and wanted to take the Warrior of the Stone Hill head-on. To them, he was already a dead man.


    Zen stood straight as he composed himself. The Other Shore Power he had gathered from the Strength God Totem was ready. With a determined look on his face, he dashed to hit the gigantic palm falling down on him.

 Chapter 3208 Unexpected Fear

    The Warrior of the Stone Hill was ten times bigger than an ordinary person, which was why it had such a large palm.


    The huge palm pressed down, distinctly contrasting with Zen''s black fist.


    Zen gave his all to extract his strength to the fullest.


    He channeled most of the Shade Stone liquid into his right arm, leaving only a small part to converge in his spine.


    He was afraid that his spine wouldn''t be able to bear such a strong impact and crash.


    Flamine''s eyes were sparkling with a golden brilliance, the radiance of the divine flames of the Sun Crow race.


    Logic dictated that she should stop the fight right this moment.


    She rarely left the Phoenix Palace and she didn''t know Zen, but her keen eyes allowed her to minutely observe Zen''s potential.


    She assumed that such talent might be greatly valued in the Flow Sword Sect.


    If he died in the Phoenix Palace, the Phoenix Palace could never explain themselves to the Flow Sword Sect.


    But as she looked at Zen''s powerful momentum, Flamine had a premonition that Zen would probably not be defeated by this blow.


    The premonition got the better of her and as a result, she did nothing to stop the fight.


    Bam!


    The entirety of the Heavenly Cultivation Palace shook violently as the palm met Zen''s fist.


    Even the concubines, who were always in the depths of the Phoenix Palace, felt the tremor.


    A crackling sound ripped through the air.


    The Warrior of the Stone Hill retracted its right hand, a crack spreading along it all the way to its shoulder.


    "Ah?"


    Elvinia looked at her Other Shore Token in disbelief.


    It was unbelievable that the right hand of the Warrior of the Stone Hill had cracked!


    There were many kinds of Other Shore Tokens with different abilities on the Other Shore. The Warrior of the Stone Hill was ranked among the top five Other Shore Tokens of the descending type in the Lust World.


    Its strength and defensive power were considered the best in the Lust World. Elvinia had the ability to fight against the masters at the Chaotic Source Realm with the help of this Other Shore Token.


    And now, Zen had broken its arm with just one punch!


    The direct descendants of the Phoenix Palace looked on in shock at the po


    aw of the flame textures and Elvinia''s flaw overlapped.


    Elvinia was sure to die if he were to attack that spot.


    "Go to hell!"


    As Zen brought his sword down, a flash of fear entered Elvinia''s heart.


    She had assumed that under the protection of the flame textures, Zen would not be able to kill her. But she now had a premonition that this sword strike was going to shatter her into pieces.


    Red light flashed in Zen''s eyes, magnifying the fear within her.


    She saw a faint illusion in which her body shattered to the ground like porcelain. Now that her emotions were all over the face, the apathetic defense that she had put up, collapsed.


    "Ah! Please don''t kill me!"


    Elvinia cried, her body straightening up and her hands curling reflexively. Her tears evaporated into steam the moment they formed, thanks to the golden flames.


    She had never been so afraid of death in her life.


    "No, please!"


    Flamine was horrified at what was transpiring before her.


    The Snow Sword stopped abruptly, humming in midair, the tip pointing at Elvinia''s chest.


    "Release them, and I will not kill you," Zen said.


    Killing Elvinia would be his last resort now.


    But this evil woman was stubborn. She''d never make a concession unless her life was threatened.


    "Please don''t kill me! Please!"


    Elvinia seemed not to hear Zen as she continued to beg.


    Zen had already withdrawn the demonic eye but she was still seized with fear, unable to emerge from the panic it caused.

 Chapter 3209 An Outsider

    A sharp, snapping sound cracked through the air.


    A purple ribbon lashed out at Zen, sending him flying with the force of the blow.


    Flamine rushed up to Elvinia and held her in her arms, looking worried.


    Zen steadied himself midair and landed cleanly on the ground. He stood up unharmed, giving Elvinia a strange look.


    In theory, as soon as the demonic eye stopped releasing the power of fear, then the imposed fears of the opponent would vanish.


    Zen had released the power of his demonic eye to frighten her, but even now that he had stopped, Elvinia remained in a state of deep fear. She seemed unable to shake off her terror.


    The divine flames of the Sun Crow race were gradually burning themselves out. Soon they extinguished, surrounded by the black, charred remnants of everything burned by the flames.


    In the arms of Flamine, Elvinia still trembled and shuddered with fear.


    Flamine raised her hand and gently touched the spot between Elvinia''s brows. A soothing aura passed through her fingers and flowed into Elvinia''s body, until she began to calm down.


    Flamine turned to Zen. "Did you use some trick to cause her such fear?" she demanded.


    The Truth of Goodwill and Malice was a rather unpopular Truth of Godly Way in the Oneness Sky Palace, but Flamine still recognized it immediately. What she didn''t know was that Zen had used the power of the demonic eye.


    "Yes," said Zen.


    Flamine sighed. Instead of blaming Zen, she said guiltily, "It''s my fault... After she was born, she was put through a series of very cruel tests in the Divine Lair. Your trick has brought back those terrible experiences to her."


    Many people imagined that a demon woman of the Divine Lair would grow up in an environment of love and care just like humans. In truth, it was nothing like that.


    Elvinia, for instance, had been considered a front-runner in the quest for the Divine Lair''s next leader from the moment she was born.


    To establish her right to become the leader, she had been forced to compete from a very early age with other demon women of the Divine Lair in fights to the death. Countless young girls like her died at her hands, while she herself sustained various injuries and traumas. She grew up exposed to cruelty, death, and suffering. When Elvinia was six years old, Eastern Emperor Taiyi fought his way into the Divine Lair and took her under his care. If not for his intervention, Elvinia would have become the leader already.


    Although Elvinia spent the next several years in the relative safety of the Phoenix Palace, the memory of her childhood was indelible. Flamine had needed to use a special method to seal Elvinia''s traumatic memories in the depths of her soul.


    However, there were some theurgi


    t had landed outside Dragon City. And yet, the aura here was far stronger than either of those. Indeed, the aura here was at least ten times stronger than that of the soul pills or the starlight.


    There were three people seated cross-legged in the center of the hall. Lavender, Nelly, and Laquisha sat beneath several red-hot chains. There were small swirls of flame burning under each chain, and these seemed to be the source of the powerful soul aura.


    It was the first time Zen had seen a soul cultivated in such a manner. He was surprised and interested.


    "Is this the Soul Fire Swirl?" he asked.


    "Well, what else would it be?" Elvinia snapped, still angry with Zen.


    Zen looked mildly embarrassed. "Ah, I thought it was a kind of torture for a moment..."


    Elvinia''s indifference was giving way to anger as she stared fiercely at Zen. At that moment, Nelly opened her eyes, and the flame swirling over her head immediately dissipated along the chain above her. Nelly saw Elvinia and grinned. "Little Master, I feel my aura has improved again! Eh? Zen?"


    Zen, watching Nelly, was puzzled by her reaction.


    He had not expected her to treat Elvinia as though she was an intimate, and he was surprised to feel like somewhat of an outsider.


    Laquisha and Lavender also opened their eyes. When Laquisha saw Zen, she showed no sign of distress or worry. She only smiled sweetly and said, "You finally found us here!"


    "Little Master said that you probably wouldn''t be able to enter the Phoenix Palace," Lavender said, also favoring Zen with a smile.


    Zen was nonplussed. He had fought so hard to find these three, but now they were acting as though they hadn''t been in danger at all. He realized that they had not been imprisoned. They were never in any kind of peril, and they had not been worried about anything.

 Chapter 3210 Strangers

    Zen stood there uncertainly and frowned. "You called her Little Master?"


    Lavender, Nelly and Laquisha exchanged knowing glances, then they all turned to face Zen. "We have all become Elvinia''s disciples!" Nelly beamed. "Since Elvinia is still quite young, we address her as ''Little Master''."


    Zen shot a glance at Elvinia, who stared back at him unflinchingly.


    "But since you are fine, let''s go back already," Zen said.


    He figured it wasn''t appropriate for his wives to stay in the Phoenix Palace. He couldn''t fathom why they needed to become disciples of Elvinia.


    However, to his surprise, both Nelly and Laquisha shook their heads. Even Lavender smiled wistfully without saying a word.


    Zen knew Lavender wouldn''t ever go against his wishes, but he could tell from her reaction that she also thought the Phoenix Palace would be an excellent place to cultivate.


    He scratched his head, trying to figure out what to do.


    Initially, the girls had been against the idea. However, since Elvinia didn''t cause them trouble and instead treated them as those direct descendants sincerely, they warmed up to the idea of training under her.


    They considered their options. The Phoenix Palace was definitely superior compared to the environment outside the Dragon City. Even the Flow Sword Sect couldn''t come close to it. After all, it was built by Eastern Emperor Taiyi; of course its resources were of the best quality.


    Besides, Elvinia did give them advice from time to time. No one could deny her talent. With her input and their good understandings, they made notable progress more rapidly than before.


    As a result, the three girls started calling her Little Master...


    Seeing Zen''s upset expression, Laquisha came forward and held his hand in hers. "It''s safe here." She batted her eyelashes at him. "If we were in the Dragon City, we might not be able to reach the Other Shore in decades. We can save a lot of time here!"


    There were many challenges on the way to the Other Shore, such as the nine lines and the huge whirlpools on the Sea of Truth, which posed a great risk. No one knew how many people were lost to the whirlpools or died on the nine lines. However, this risk could be greatly reduced if they could train in the Phoenix Palace.


    Zen sighed. He knew this was true.


    Even if he had earned a lot of divine crystals by virtue of his Instant Enlightenment, h


    " said Zen as he politely nodded his head.


    Flamine suddenly stretched out her hand and pressed a green jade token onto his palm. "This is the token of the Phoenix Palace. You must take it the next time you come here." Her eyes flashed seriously. "You were lucky to have entered the Primitive Illusion and emerged from it in one piece, but the next time, you won''t be so lucky..."


    Zen knew the guards would up their defense the next time he came here. If he were to visit the Phoenix Palace again, he knew that what Flamine said was true.


    Zen gratefully took the token and held it up to his eyes to observe it closely. Without a word, he stuffed it into his space ring.


    As Zen finally took his leave, Flamine called to him softly, "If you have the time, you should come here more often..."


    She smiled mischievously. Zen waved, but couldn''t help but feel a bit uneasy.


    He knew he was definitely going to come back sometime in the future, since the girls were cultivating here. But what did that have to do with Flamine?


    When Zen exited the gates of the Phoenix Palace, the dense, white mist of the Primitive Illusion ebbed away, giving him a path. The road before him seemed to be made of mist, soft as cotton.


    After flying along the road for a while, Zen arrived at the Cloudy Mountain Palace on the hillside.


    Zen was surprised to be met by three figures by a big stone that marked the front of the Cloudy Mountain Palace -- an old man in black flanked by two young men. While Zen had passed by the Cloudy Mountain Palace several times before, he''d never seen them before.

 Chapter 3211 Invitation To Vastness Mountain

    Zen headed straight towards the Dragon Path, ignoring the group of strangers.


    He was walking past the old man in black when one of the young men called out to him. "Pardon me, but are you Zen Luo?"


    Zen stopped, instantly alert. But he believed it was relatively safe here on Oneness Mountain, so he nodded. "Yes, I am."


    The young man smiled coldly at him. "Zen Luo, we''d like to extend you an invitation. Come with us to Vastness Mountain."


    At the mention of Vastness Mountain, Zen''s eyes narrowed slightly. He said, matching the young man''s cold tone, "No. I have no interest in going there."


    After he had killed Marco at Clear Lake, Zen had known that there would be retribution from Vastness Mountain.


    But despite what had happened between him and Marco, Zen was a disciple of the Oneness Sky Palace and an elite disciple of the Flow Sword Sect. The Vastness Mountain would not dare to go openly against him. To get their revenge, they would have to operate in secrecy. He had not expected representatives of Vastness Mountain to be so bold as to wait for him at this place, in broad daylight. They must have known he would refuse their invitation.


    Zen had absolutely no intention of agreeing to go with them to Vastness Mountain. He decided not to engage these strangers any further. He turned away from the young man and started to walk away.


    The young man and his companion quickly moved forward, blocking his way. He faced Zen and said, still in that icy tone, "I''m afraid it''s not up to you."


    "Do you plan to try and force me? Do you want to fight me right now?" Zen said incredulously, speaking as loudly as possible. The Cloudy Mountain Palace was nearby and he wanted the palace to hear the trouble taking place. He believed Calum would not just stand by and watch.


    The old man in black heaved a sigh, and Zen turned back to look at him. The old man stared at Zen and said, "It seems you truly don''t realize the gravity of what you did. We have every reason to kill you where you stand, without even engaging you in a fair fight. But as you can see, we are not here to kill you. We are only obeying orders."


    As he spoke, he released a strand of his aura, which quickly reached Zen.


    The aura did not seem particularly strong, so at first Zen was not worried. But as he perceived the aura and tried to resist it, he realized he couldn''t.


    ''This man is more powerful than I am!''


    Zen thought, his eyes widening with astonishment. He decided his best course of action was to flee and take stock of the situation. But before he could choose between going to the Cloudy Mountain Palace or taking the Dragon Path, a gleaming circle of silvery light suddenly opened beneath his feet. There was a dark, ominous space in the depths of the silver circle.


    Zen instantly knew that something was wrong. As his one foot slipped into the hole, he attempted to push


    fell. It felt like he was trapped forever in the abyss.


    Zen wondered with some despair if it would ever end. Then abruptly, after about an hour had passed, a silver light flashed in his vision, and he felt a surge of relief. A circle of silvery light appeared once more below his feet.


    He slipped cleanly through the silver circle.


    There was a crashing sound as he landed somewhere.


    The dark space vanished behind Zen as he rolled onto a cold floor.


    He tried to get up. He could move again! Instantly he jumped up and glanced around him.


    He was in an unfamiliar, gloomy hall.


    The room was dark, and several people were already there, apparently waiting for him. Men in black robes flanked a woman who sat facing him. She was very beautiful, dressed all in red, but she was looking at Zen with deep hatred.


    Zen studied the woman. She had a red dot in the center of her eyebrows. Her eyes were full of bitterness and resentment as she stared back at Zen.


    Zen did not move or speak. Finally the woman broke the silence. "Was it you who killed my son?" she demanded, gnashing her teeth.


    Zen realized that this beautiful woman was Marco''s mother.


    The Vastness Mountain knew that Zen had killed Marco almost as soon as it had happened. They immediately sent people to Clear Lake to capture Zen, but he was no longer there when they arrived. Zen himself had not stayed any longer at Clear Lake once he had killed Marco. He returned as soon as possible to Dragon City with Trish and Gant.


    The agents of Vastness Mountain had failed to intercept Marco''s killer, but they quickly identified the killer as Zen. To abduct him, the Vastness Mountain sent Holden to wait for Zen on the only way into Oneness Mountain¡ªright before the Dragon Path.


    As soon as he understood what this was all about, Zen calmed down. He collected his thoughts and met the eyes of the beautiful woman in red. "Yes, it was me."

 Chapter 3212 The Soul Searching Hand

    Zen thought admitting he had killed her son would make her furious.


    Surprisingly, however, any resentment she did have seemed to disappear in the blink of an eye and she was calm again.


    The expression of the beautiful woman in red made Zen restless and uneasy.


    Something didn''t feel right when he was captured by the old man in black.


    If the old man really wanted to kill him to avenge Marco''s death, he could have done it on the Oneness Mountain and Zen would not have been able to fight back. If there really were people secretly protecting Zen, even they would not have been able to get to him in time.


    But the old man had brought him here. The people of the Vastness Mountain had to be up to something.


    "Marco was my favorite son. You have to give me an explanation for his death," the woman said coolly.


    "An explanation?" Zen retorted, his eyebrows raised and his voice rife with derision. "He tried to kill me on several occasions. This time, at the Ripple Pavilion competition, he lured me into the arena and tried to kill me again. If he wasn''t so weak, I''d be dead. And now you want an explanation? Are you kidding me?"


    "Even if what you say is true, it''s not you who died, but my son," she replied indifferently.


    It sounded somewhat reasonable.


    Marco had lost his life, while Zen stood here safe and sound. Relatively.


    It seemed rational enough that his mother had him brought here, wanting an explanation.


    "Enough beating around the bush. What is that you want?" Zen asked impatiently.


    The woman stood up and strolled gracefully to Zen''s side. Her gaze was so sharp that it seemed as if she could see through him. Finally, she revealed her true intention. "I heard that you stood out in the Seven Mountains Meeting and showed extraordinary strength. It seems that your victory had something to do with the Truth of Godly Way, right?"


    Zen stood still and silent.


    "The runes that Athemar created are all made of the Imperial Sword Seals. Even if you are a genius capable of Instant Enlightenment, you should not have performed as you did. What did you rely on?" she asked with a smile.


    Now Zen finally understood her purpose¡ªshe wanted the Truth Enlightenment.


    He sighed inwardly at her quick change in attitude.


    She didn''t appear sad at all. It seemed that Marco''s life or death didn''t really mea


    I can write them down," Zen added.


    Since the one hundred and fifty words had already been released, sooner or later, they would be passed down like the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent to the entire Oneness Sky Palace disciples, and even to all the humans. He didn''t mind writing them down again.


    "That''s not enough," the woman said, staring intently at Zen with a devilish smile. "I want the complete version."


    Zen shrugged his shoulders, embarrassed. "That''s not possible. I haven''t deciphered the complete chapter myself. How can I give it to you?"


    The woman shook her head and said, "I don''t believe you. There are only two ways for you to get out of this. Either you write down the complete version yourself, or..."


    She flicked a glance at the men in black robes.


    One of the men stepped out of the line. A shadow appeared above his head, green mist rose and a green arm faintly materialized from it.


    "It is an Other Shore Token from Stage Seventeen of the Other Shore. It''s called the Soul Searching Hand. He won''t hurt your soul. However, he is able to shuffle through your memories, bit by bit, with the Soul Searching Hand," she said with a grimace.


    The Godly Ways such as the Great Dominance Technique had little effect on the powerful Other Shore Realm warriors. As long as Zen resisted, it would be difficult to search his soul.


    However, there were some Other Shore Tokens that were able to deal with warriors'' souls, and one of them was the Soul Searching Hand.


    In the face of the green Soul Searching Hand, Zen''s face darkened.

 Chapter 3213 A Little Trick

    Zen could trace hints of doubts in the faces of Athemar, Goran and others when he told them about the Truth Enlightenment.


    They also wanted to acquire all of the Truth Enlightenment, but they didn''t want to force Zen by using the method of soul searching.


    Since Zen said he only had one hundred and fifty words, they believed what he said.


    But the Vastness Mountain people were different. The woman in red insisted on the complete version, and they didn''t believe Zen when he said he had only deciphered one hundred and fifty words.


    She had been preparing even before Zen''s arrival.


    "Have you made up your mind? Do you want to write the complete chapter down yourself or do you need us to use force?" She stared at Zen with ice cold eyes.


    Zen''s brows furrowed as he remarked, "I only have one hundred and fifty words. It will take me years before I could decipher the whole thing. Even if I do, I will only give it to Eastern Emperor Taiyi and he will be the one to share it with the whole Oneness Sky Palace. You don''t think he won''t give it to the Vastness Mountain, do you?"


    He wondered why the woman was in such a hurry.


    The woman ignored Zen. She swiftly turned to the man in black. "Arjun, do it!" she ordered.


    The man ran straight to Zen, and the green hand above his head charged towards him too.


    How could Zen agree?


    He had plenty of secrets, not just the Truth Enlightenment.


    His secrets included the Chaos Ancient God, the divine land, Geoffrey''s talent in deciphering the Sanskrit words, the Nine Li race and so on.


    He would bring these secrets with him to his grave.


    Bang!


    Zen kicked the floor and abruptly flew backward.


    When he moved less than ten feet, the woman waved her hand gently. Suddenly, Zen was back where he had been.


    Bang!


    Zen attempted to flee again.


    The trick repeated itself. Zen would barely reach ten feet before he found himself back on the floor.


    Zen felt like there was an invisible force aroun


    assed out and collapsed to the floor.


    Zen recovered to his normal state. When he saw Arjun lying on the floor, he let out a genuine gasp. "No. 9527, what did you do?" he asked in his mind.


    Arjun''s soul was much stronger than Zen''s. Even if No. 9527 was a wisp of Chaos Ancient God''s soul, it would take a whole lot of effort to cause Arjun to suffer that much.


    "I didn''t do anything special. He likes searching people''s souls, right? So I simply overwhelmed him with countless memories. His soul wasn''t able to handle so many," No. 9527 said with a chuckle.


    At first, it resembled the Chaos Ancient God in character. Now, since it had been with Zen for a long time, its own self-consciousness had evolved. It started to gain unique character traits. The Chaos Ancient God himself would never use such a little trick.


    The memory fragments were a trap arranged by No. 9527 on purpose. It wanted to fool Arjun into thinking there was important information in the fragments.


    The memory fragments covered a long timeline. No. 9527 made sure to include memories of the birth of chaos. Apart from the overwhelming quantity, the memories were also useless for humans as they did not have the ability to interpret them anyway.


    A human''s feeble attempt to interpret them would cause immense pain to their soul.

 Chapter 3214 Emperor Gethin

    As the saying went, "A man whose heart is not content is like a snake that tries to swallow an elephant." Arjun had absorbed all the memory fragments into his mind and interpreted them.


    It wasn''t an elephant that he had swallowed. It was much larger than that. A whale.


    A massive amount of memories poured out, raging at Arjun''s soul. He fainted, unable to bear the weight of the memories.


    The woman in red glared at Zen and shouted, "What did you do to him?"


    Zen spread his arms out and shrugged, indicating that he hadn''t done anything.


    The woman waved her hand, causing a loud "bang" to reverberate through the air.


    Zen felt like he had been hit by a heavy hammer. His body flew backward and crashed into the palace wall.


    Even through the pain, he wondered what material this palace was made of.


    The wall had only bent a little under such great force.


    Zen leaned against the wall, blood flowing from the corner of his mouth.


    The woman was so strong, she had managed to injure him a little despite the protection of the Shade Stone liquid.


    She looked coldly at him, although she was a little surprised as well.


    She had thought she could beat Zen into unconsciousness, but the blow had hardly made a difference, much to her surprise.


    "Lock him up!"


    she ordered before turning around and leaving.


    Two men in black walked up to Zen and dragged him to the back of the palace. One of them stomped his feet, causing the floor of the palace to crack open. A large square hole appeared, and they threw Zen in.


    Zen didn''t resist during the whole process.


    These people were much more powerful than him and he knew that it would be useless to resist. If he did, there would be serious consequences and he could get seriously hurt.


    Zen was unusually calm as he sat up cross legged in the cave and began to heal himself.


    On one hand, the Vastness Mountain feared the Oneness Sky Palace. On the other hand, they also wanted to obtain the Truth Enlightenment. Going by this logic, Zen knew he was safe for the time being, but wasn''t sure what they would do to deal with him next.


    He had managed to get through it this time with No. 9527''s help. But he might not make it the next time.


    "I wonder


    When Arjun recalled what he had read in Zen''s memories, his features convulsed back into shock.


    "That bloke is not human at all!" he said, his eyes widening.


    How could a person have so many memories?


    There were too many memories in the fragments. One of the memories was watching the sun rise and fall for ten billion years until the sun self-destructed.


    Zen was only over a hundred years old. How could he have watched the sun rise and fall for ten billion years? How could someone of this world do such a boring thing for so many years?


    Even the members of the Stone race, which had a long history, and the members of the Turtle race, which moved extremely slow, would not do such a thing.


    At Arjun''s words, Gethin, Natasha, and even the two leaders of the intelligence agency in the shadows were astonished. How could there be such bizarre memories in this world?


    "He has probably fused with a special Other Shore Token. Maybe these weird memories belong to that token," Gethin said hopefully, after thinking for a while. Most Other Shore Tokens held a certain number of memories.


    And despite the hope with which he was talking, Gethin had never heard of an Other Shore Token possessing such a massive amount of memories.


    "The question is how we can make Zen speak?" Natasha sighed.


    One of the two leaders of the intelligence agency suggested, "There are many ways of making people talk, like using brutal corporal punishment. I don''t think he can bear it."

 Chapter 3215 Searching The Mountain

    The intelligence agency had plenty of tried and tested torture methods under their sleeves. They did not think that someone like Zen could withstand them.


    Natasha, however, disagreed. "We already broke the rules when we took Zen to the Vastness Mountain," she said with a light shake of the head. "If he gets tortured under our watch, I''m sure it would be a big deal."


    Just as Zen guessed, the people of the Vastness Mountain could only capture him, but they wouldn''t dare to hurt him.


    Gethin waved his hand and said, "We need to be careful. We can''t just torture him. I think we should leave him to Barnaby."


    The Vastness Mountain was one of the top three among the seven mountains. They were known as a force full of great talents.


    Barnaby was among them. He was a powerful man who worked for Gethin, and his Other Shore Token possessed great power. It could penetrate an opponent''s soul and send them into deep confusion. Compared to Arjun, Barnaby was much better. They would have better luck if they sought his help.


    "But Barnaby is..." Natasha muttered with a surprised look on her face.


    "Alright, invite him back," said Gethin with a glimmer in his eyes. "We don''t have much time left. This is a rare opportunity."


    Then, the tension in the room was disrupted by a muffled sound outside the Vastness Mountain.


    Bang!


    A loud noise similar to the sound of thunder erupted.


    Gethin and Natasha tensed at the sound of the muffled thud.


    A black armed guard rushed inside the Mighty Sword Hall. "Emperor Gethin," he started as he knelt down in front of Gethin. "Two Oneness Governors are trying to destroy our mountain protecting array!"


    "It must be Athemar and Goran. Are they out of their minds?" Natasha frowned.


    From the shadows, the voice of a man sneered, "Is it because we''ve been too modest recently? Are they really willing to go this far? How dare they break into the Vastness Mountain?!"


    Gethin''s face darkened. His gaze turned stone cold. "We must have underestimated Zen''s importance to them. Natasha, quickly ask Barnaby for help."


    "Yes!" Natasha nodded as she ran out of


    .


    Athemar didn''t buy his reactions as well. "Well, I didn''t come here for niceties as well. We know Zen is here and we merely want to rescue him. Your mountain protecting array was obviously in the way so I did what I had to do. We hope you could forgive us."


    Athemar could tell that Gethin was merely stalling for time.


    "Forgive you? Why would I forgive you so easily?" Gethin sneered.


    Athemar remained unfazed. "I don''t care whether you forgive me or not," he remarked. "Just hand over Zen today. Let''s deal with the damages next time."


    Gethin was sensing just how significant Zen was to them. He knew they wouldn''t give up without a fight. He just didn''t expect Athemar to be so rude.


    With a straight face, Gethin said, "Zen is not here. You must have come to the wrong place."


    "Don''t lie. I know he''s here. If we search the mountain, I''m sure we can find Zen," Athemar insisted.


    "Search the mountain?" Gethin''s face grew red with fury. A terrifying aura filled the Mighty Sword Hall. He said in a sinister tone, "The Vastness Mountain is as old as the Oneness Sky Palace. I''ve lived far longer than Eastern Emperor Taiyi in the Bloom Divine Province! No one dares to threaten me like that! No one is allowed to search my territory!"


    Goran tried to keep a straight face, but Gethin''s strong aura was starting to suffocate him.


    "Well," Athemar sneered, "I guess today''s an exception."

 Chapter 3216 Unexpected Guests

    Zen sat in the dark cave. The lid above opened once again, allowing a ray of light to pierce through from above.


    "Come up!"


    a strange voice whispered from the entrance of the cave.


    Zen, who sat cross legged, turned a deaf ear to the voice.


    Phew!


    An invisible force drew Zen up from the bottom of the cave and he fell into the palace with a thud.


    Pushing himself to his feet, he found Natasha standing not far off. He smiled at her and said, "We meet again."


    Zen''s fearlessness upset Natasha to her core.


    Athemar and Goran had arrived at the Vastness Mountain too soon. Time was running out.


    Barnaby had been practicing on the Other Shore. Natasha had forced him to leave it for now to join her.


    "Barnaby, we need your help. But don''t kill him," Natasha called out.


    A tall, thick man appeared from behind Natasha.


    He was dressed in a white robe, with eyes drawn on it. The eyes seemed embedded in the robe and were unnervingly real.


    "Don''t worry, Lady Natasha. He is just a young man in the Lust World," Barnaby said with a slight smirk.


    She wanted to remind him of what had happened to Arjun, but given his cultivation base and strength, she thought he should have no difficulty in dealing with Zen.


    Zen tensed up with caution when he saw Barnaby.


    Arjun, one of the best warriors at the Chaotic Source Realm, had been very powerful in Zen''s eyes. But he was unable to figure out Barnaby''s real strength. He figured Barnaby was probably as strong as Athemar.


    Barnaby smiled nicely as he walked up to Zen, which was very disconcerting. "Once a creature is born, it will have its memory. But it''s only a dream. Just relax. This can be very easy."


    As he spoke, seven eyes on his white robe snapped open. They didn''t look like eyes on a robe anymore; they looked real.


    Zen looked into them and a trance immediately overtook him.


    "Oh no! Don''t look into the eyes!"


    Zen''s heart seized as he closed his eyes as fast as he could.


    When they were closed,


    y Sword Hall.


    He had a pair of bright piercing eyes. It was none other than Winchell of the Origin Mountain.


    Gathin laughed grimly when he saw Winchell. "Oh? The Origin Mountain wants to get involved too?" he asked, sniggering.


    Winchell cupped his hands to Gethin and said, "Goran is my best friend. I have to stand by his side and help if I am needed."


    "It''s not enough. It''s far from enough for the three of you to do anything here," said Gethin, shaking his head.


    Although Winchell was not a Oneness Governor, he was almost as strong as Athemar and Goran. But they were far from being able to contend with Gethin, even if they worked together. Moreover, there were countless masters in the Vastness Mountain. The two leaders of the intelligence agency, for example, were not weak.


    "Is it enough if I join them?"


    an old voice asked.


    A stooping old woman came in from the door of the Mighty Sword Hall, clutching a thin walking stick.


    "Grandma, slow down," Dorothy said, holding the old woman by her arm as she walked her in slowly.


    When Gethin saw the old woman, the corners of his eyes twitched.


    Gethin had decided that nothing and no one would stand in his way of getting the Truth Enlightenment. However, the old woman''s arrival had startled him to be sure. This was going to be a tough situation.

 Chapter 3217 Madam Yasamin

    Both Athemar and Goran were surprised to see the old lady. Their eyes lit up with delight.


    As soon as Calum informed Athemar that Zen had been abducted, and by whom, Athemar had gone to Goran to ask him to accompany him to the Vastness Mountain.


    Goran immediately agreed. Before leaving, he went to Winchell to tell him of Zen''s abduction too.


    What happened next was completely unexpected. To the astonishment of Goran and Athemar, Winchell didn''t come alone. He had brought the head of the Origin Mountain with him.


    The Origin Mountain was headed by Yasamin, whose power was second only to that of Eastern Emperor Taiyi, the great leader of the Oneness Sky Palace. Yasamin herself held an important position in the Oneness Sky Palace as well.


    It was generally known that the stature and glory of the Oneness Sky Palace could be attributed, in part, to the efforts of Yasamin. Indeed, many said at least half of the credit for all the achievements of the Oneness Sky Palace should go to Yasamin.


    "I didn''t expect that Madam Yasamin would take an interest in a disciple of the Flow Sword Sect," Gethin said, stepping down from the golden throne. He went to Yasamin and reached out a hand to support her.


    The old lady grunted, ignoring Gethin''s help. "No need," Yasamin said, making her way towards the throne.


    Gethin cursed her inwardly, but he forced a smile and followed behind Yasamin.


    After a few moments, Dorothy helped Yasmin to take her seat on the golden throne.


    Yasamin sat, exhaling heavily. Then she bent and used her long, thin stick to poke the golden engravings around the throne. Cracks formed on the ground where her stick touched it. "Don''t hide now, you two little assholes! Come out!"


    There was a puffing sound.


    Two people staggered out of the shadows where they had been hiding, falling to the ground. They were two leaders of the intelligence agency.


    As soon as th


    could command all seven mountains except Eastern Emperor Taiyi, who was the leader of the alliance.


    Although Yasamin had incredible strength and could probably go head-to-head with Eastern Emperor Taiyi in terms of ability, she still had no power to violate the rules of the alliance. She was overstepping her authority. What would the heads of the other mountains think when they heard what Yasamin had done in the Vastness Mountain?


    At Gethin''s words, a slight look of hesitation appeared in Yasamin''s wrinkled face.


    Dorothy pursed her lips. She thought, ''Gethin is truly cunning. What he said is true, and that will make it harder for grandma to deal with him. But we can''t give up on Zen...'' She wore a look of anxiety as she wondered where exactly Zen was and what had happened to him.


    Athemar and Goran also understood the import of Gethin''s words and felt worried. They hadn''t expected him to have the nerve to stand up to Yasamin like that.


    There was a sudden blast of sound.


    Two people appeared in front of the Mighty Sword Hall, moving too quickly to be identified by the naked eye.


    Gethin and the two leaders of the intelligence agency felt a surge of tension, worried about who were coming. They wished no more people would get involved in this.

 Chapter 3218 The Edict Of Eastern Emperor Taiyi

    Since Athemar''s arrival, more and more people had been coming to Vastness Mountain to look for Zen.


    All who came were strong, respected warriors of high ranks. Gethin stared at the newcomers, wondering who they were. Gethin scowled inwardly. Had he known that so many would be coming, he would have ordered the activation of the mountain-protecting array.


    As the two people came to a stop at the gate, he took a deep breath, fortifying himself.


    Like Gethin, everyone was watching the newcomers at the gate of the hall. One of them was none other than Master Hai, who was in charge of distributing the flags in Dragon City.


    Master Hai didn''t intimidate Gethin, but unfortunately, he was not alone. Next to Master Hai stood a beautiful lady wearing a purple dress and a disarming smile. It was Flamine.


    By now, Gethin was totally confused. Who was Zen? Why was he so significant? Wasn''t he just a disciple of the Flow Sword Sect?


    Both the Origin Mountain and Eastern Emperor Taiyi had sent representatives for him, which Gethin found deeply unsettling.


    Why? What made Zen so special?


    Flamine, still smiling, floated in the air, her ribbon fluttering in the wind. She looked like a lovely fairy from a classic painting.


    She flew towards them, saying lightly, "That young man is always involved in some kind of trouble, isn''t he? What has he done to Vastness Mountain? Why did you take him?"


    As she entered, everyone present greeted her, includi


    her all about Zen and her experience with him.


    Meanwhile, Zen had gone on to save Winchell''s son, and then he had made it to the Other Shore. His successful exploits delighted Dorothy and she loved talking with her grandmother about him.


    But when Yasamin asked Dorothy directly whether she had a crush on Zen, Dorothy would either blush and stammer and evade the topic, or get bothered and deny it outright.


    Still, Yasamin was wise and experienced, and she couldn''t help but know how Dorothy felt about Zen.


    Dorothy''s stories had captured her attention and made her interested in getting to know Zen, but Zen hadn''t gone to Origin Mountain. Instead, he''d joined in the Flow Sword Sect.


    Now, seeing her granddaughter''s unhappiness at Flamine''s declaration, Yasamin was upset. She shot Flamine a dark look and said, "It''s not advisable to marry someone with nonhuman blood! We can''t deny that the purity of one''s blood is important. My Dora''s blood is the purest!"

 Chapter 3219 Argue

    The Oneness Sky Palace was a place where human forces from all over the world gathered. Each mountain had its own bloodline.


    But Elvinia''s bloodline was different. Her blood mostly belonged to the Sun Crow race.


    It was taboo to talk about Elvinia''s bloodline in the Phoenix Palace. Even Flamine took great care not to mention any of it in her daily life.


    Flamine had become furious when Yasamin had mocked Elvinia''s bloodline to her face. And when Yasamin had mentioned Dorothy, Flamine searched Dorothy''s face, trying to understand something from it. "The Sun Crow race are blessed by the sun and are favored by fate. Elvinia''s talent is the best among all the women. She has a bright future. How could she be compared to a bumpkin?"


    Elvinia and Dorothy were both beautiful in their own way. One was noble and lofty while the other was passionate. But it was obvious that Elvinia was superior to Dorothy in terms of talent.


    Yasamin knocked her cane on the ground, causing the Mighty Sword Hall to tremble.


    "It''s just Instant Enlightenment. But my Dora is-"


    Yasamin broke off.


    A huge secret was sealed within Dorothy''s soul that was limiting her talent. The seal would be removed only when her soul crossed the Lust World, stepped into the Desire World, and then reached the Chaotic Source Realm.


    But she could not reveal this secret now.


    "But what?" Flamine smiled smugly and said, "The Instant Enlightenment is not easy to achieve. There are only fourteen war


    hing that gladdened Athemar. He sneered as he said, "It''s not that difficult to find Zen."


    Athemar, in order to protect Zen, had cast a Latent Theurgy on Zen when he had given him the Flow Swordsmanship.


    This Latent Theurgy was called the Nirvana Strike. Zen could use this strike to save himself in desperate situations.


    Athemar could feel the Latent Theurgy he had cast on Zen as long as they were close to each other, which was why he had proposed to search the mountain in the beginning. With his ability, it wouldn''t have taken him long to find Zen.


    But things had gotten rough when Gethin stopped him.


    Athemar flew into the sky.


    He transformed into a light and hovered around the Vastness Mountain.


    He circled the mountain, beginning from the top and towards the bottom.


    Athemar''s eyes lit up. He had sensed the Latent Theurgy on the other side of the Vastness Mountain.


    "There he is!"


    Once he had locked on the position, he began to make his way to Zen.

 Chapter 3220 Lose

    In the dark palace, Zen was caught in illusions.


    He had shattered Barnaby''s first attack with his Authentic Visual World, so for his second offensive, Barnaby had used sixty percent of his strength.


    Before Zen could even activate the demonic eye, he had been completely trapped within the illusions again.


    He could no longer tell the difference between what was real and what wasn''t. Such was Barnaby''s strength.


    Being under Barnaby''s control, Zen suddenly felt a sharp pain in his soul.


    It made him tremble and get rid of the illusions.


    "There is another soul in his mind!" Barnaby exclaimed in shock.


    The one causing the pain was No. 9527.


    No. 9527 was left with no choice on seeing Zen trapped in the illusions. It had to give his soul a ferocious blow, even at the risk of exposing itself.


    The attack, though not very powerful, was effective. It had at least brought Zen back to his senses.


    "What happened?" Natasha asked impatiently.


    She couldn''t fathom why a young man of the Lust World would cause Barnaby so much trouble.


    Barnaby''s face darkened.


    He had tried to deal with Zen but his methods didn''t work. He felt terribly ashamed by his failure.


    He realized he couldn''t afford to underestimate Zen in any way.


    He was in no mood to analyze the soul hiding within Zen''s body, as he abruptly shook his white robe.


    A big black and white eye emerged on the top of his head, like a human''s. This was his Other Shore Token; the Illusory Eye.


    "Lady Natasha, take a


    owards them.


    A touch of sword radiance turned into thousands of waves and rushed at Barnaby to stop him in his tracks.


    Seeing this, Natasha gently stretched her body.


    The space in the palace began to twist. The waves of the sword radiance released by Athemar were cut into several pieces, swishing about madly.


    "Even your Emperor Gethin has given up but you still choose to struggle. Do you really want to die?"


    Athemar was truly infuriated.


    He stamped his foot down hard, and a circle of sword marks appeared around him.


    In a flash, countless mysterious textures spread throughout the palace. The bodies of the men in black robes, Natasha, and even Barnaby and Zen were engulfed in the strange textures.


    Splash!


    The palace was quite sturdy. Athemar had struck it twice in order to enter earlier.


    Now, the palace collapsed in an instant, turning to a mess of tiny shards. The shards were the same as the textures that Athemar had set, their edges as sharp and smooth as knives.

 Chapter 3221 An Explanation

    Nearly all of the palace had disintegrated. Only Zen, Barnaby, Natasha, and the men in black remained intact.


    From the looks if it, Athemar only needed to activate a simple command to dissolve them into pieces as well.


    Everyone stood frozen, careful not to make even the smallest movement.


    Barnaby wasn''t incredibly inferior to Athemar, but his special ability, the Illusory Eye was almost useless during a face-to-face battle. If he really fought with Athemar head-on, he''d probably lose to him.


    Natasha was definitely powerful, but not as powerful as Athemar.


    The men in black were the backbone of the intelligence agency. They were warriors at the Chaotic Source Realm and they were unable to challenge Athemar.


    Since Athemar had told them that Gethin had already given up, none of them could resist. They would easily die if they did.


    "Buzz..."


    Barnaby withdrew his Illusory Eye.


    The illusion went away and Zen reverted back to normal.


    He finally saw Athemar who was standing not far away. "Master Athemar!" he greeted enthusiastically.


    "Are you all right?" Athemar asked with concern.


    Zen shook his head and smiled. "I''ll be alright


    y needed an explanation from Gethin.


    Despite the pressures, Gethin maintained his calm.


    He kept silent and fixed his eyes on the exit of the hall.


    Natasha came rushing in. She went straight towards Gethin and knelt down in front of him.


    "What''s going on, Natasha?" Gethin asked, pretending that he knew nothing.


    "This is all my fault," Natasha cried. "I shouldn''t have kidnapped Zen and taken him to the Vastness Mountain. I only did it to avenge Marco''s death. I''m so sorry to have caused you trouble!"


    Tears poured down her face.


    "Marco''s death? What happened to Marco?" Gethin asked in shock.


    Natasha wiped her tears as she got up on her feet. "He killed him." She pointed at Zen and went on to tell his husband how their son had died a tragic death.

 Chapter 3222 The Chaotic Source World

    Yasamin and Flamine were poker-faced.


    Everyone present knew that Natasha and Gethin were putting on a show. Only those who didn''t know the truth might be deceived by their act.


    And whatever the reason, Zen had killed Marco.


    But Marco''s death wasn''t a loss to Gethin.


    Dorothy couldn''t stand it any longer. She interrupted Natasha and said, "Marco brought trouble upon himself. He deserved it. Some time ago on the Other Shore, Zen didn''t want any enmity with him, but Marco attacked Zen with the intention of killing him. This time, Zen must have had no choice but to fight back and kill him."


    Zen knew what Natasha was driving at. If he didn''t fight back, others would think he was in the wrong.


    "Marco followed me all the way to the Clear Lake to try and kill me. He even lured me into the battle ring. Lady Natasha, it was fine you didn''t stop your son from killing others, but no one was allowed to fight back? How is it reasonable?" Zen asked.


    Natasha''s eyes flashed. She was trying to cover up the Vastness Mountain''s guilt and Zen''s cutting reply was exactly what she wanted. "No matter what Marco did, he was my son. Isn''t it reasonable for me to take revenge for his death? I had no other choice but to bring you here. I wasn''t expecting so many people to blame me!"


    Zen cursed inwardly, ''You don''t care about your son''s life. All you want is the Truth Enlightenment.''


    Natasha''s words did make sense.


    As a mother, she was furious but all she could do was bringing Zen to the Vastness Mountain. And she was justified in doing so.


    Athemar, Flamine, and Yasamin were finding it difficult to find reasons for making a fuss about it.


    "Tit for tat. Marco wanted to kill Zen but Zen killed him instead. It is justified that Lady Natasha created problems for Zen as a way of revenge. But since Zen is fine at the moment, I think it would be better for us to let it go for now," Flamine said, in an attempt to make the final judgment.


    Everyone present was intelligent and she knew that she couldn''t get a satisfactory answer for Zen.


    ivation Method.


    Long long ago, when the creatures of the Source World had entered the Other Shore, they had, with time, gradually discovered many powerful Other Shore Tokens. They had thus greatly increased their power of control.


    But their strength reached a limit, which was about 1, 000 divine megatons, and caused their physical bodies to be limited as well.


    Only a small number of powerful nonhuman creatures could exceed this limit while creatures of most races came to a halt.


    No creature since the middle ages had been able to break through this limit.


    Some masters had stepped into higher stages of the Other Shore. The power of their Other Shore Tokens could reach thousands or even tens of thousands of divine megatons. But they could only use up to a thousand divine megatons of Other Shore Power when they fought.


    That was why the Other Shore Tokens of descending type were their best options. They didn''t need the warriors'' bodies to bear their power and so, the Other Shore Power that the warriors released would be far beyond the limit of their bodies.


    However, the Other Shore Tokens of the strengthening type, auxiliary type, and mysterious type were excellent. It was a great waste to just put them aside.


    The Snake Goddess had later discovered a special method on the Other Shore that could greatly increase the strength of the body.

 Chapter 3223 The Origin Of Chaotic Source Reinforcement

    The method the Snake Goddess had discovered to exceedingly increase one''s physical strength was called the Chaotic Source Reinforcement.


    When the body refining in the Wild God System no longer worked to enable warriors to cross the Sea of Truth and reach the Other Shore, it slowly declined in the Source World.


    However, some barbarian races still preferred that technique. But it could only give them limited power, which in most cases, was incomparable to the Other Shore Power.


    Both the Snake Goddess, and the other super forces in the Source World faced difficulties in tackling this issue. They had spent a long time trying and finding a way to strengthen their bodies.


    At that time, the Snake Goddess had successfully reached Stage Twenty-Two. Over there, she came across an unusual Other Shore Token, and it was called the Chaotic Source Spirit.


    It was an auxiliary type of Other Shore Token.


    Its mechanisms were simple: when one activated it, it would become one with the cultivator''s body and merge with it. By doing so, it would assist them and increase their physical strength by a fair amount.


    The Chaotic Source Spirit was no extraordinary Other Shore Token. In fact, it was quite common to be found on Stage Twenty-two. The Other Shore Power contained in it was about average, and it didn''t give the warriors who used it much of a power boost. Therefore, it wasn''t an invaluable find.


    However, the Snake Goddess had stumbled upon a distinctive property of the Chaotic Source Spirit and tapped into its hidden power.


    It turned out that the Chaotic Source Spirit was actually a living being!


    Coming across living creatures on the Other Shore was rather rare. However, it was nothing impressive for someone like the Snake Goddess, who had already reached a high level of cultivation.


    Even so, the Chaotic Source Spirit had some distinctive properties to its name that set it apart from other living beings. Although it was an auxiliary type of Other Shore Token, it also shared the qualities with descending type of Other Shore Tokens.


    Having learned such a thing, the Snake Goddess planned on testing her new theory out.


    Without wasting a second, she asked Fuxi to catch one Chaotic Source Spirit on the Other Shore and then summon it at the same time when she did.


    Once they were activated, the two Chaotic Source Spirits familiarized themselves with each other and began communicating in their own language. It was discovered that they were interdependent creatures and were capable of reproducing, which explained how descending type of Other Shore Tokens remained in the Source World for that long.


    Once they began to reproduce, the Snake Goddess observed an inconceivable phenomenon.


    The new Chaotic Source Spirits made from their breeding did not return to the Other Shore but remained in the Source World.


    What was more interesting was the fact that they were born owner-less!


    Both the Snake Goddess and Fuxi stood dumbfounded at this sight. They couldn''t figure out the mystery


    ese in one go, it seemed like the unthinkable!


    Feeling frustrated, Yasamin poked her cane into the ground as she hissed at Flamine with enraged eyes. "What''s the use of having many tickets?"


    Flamine didn''t bother to argue with her. She barely gave her a second glance. Instead, she smiled sweetly at Zen and gestured with kind words. "Since the Flow Sword Sect is very close to our Phoenix Palace and I''ve given you the token of our palace, you must come to visit us someday."


    With that, she turned around without looking at anyone else and made her way out.


    Watching her receding figure Yasamine spat in her direction dejectedly then walked away towards the gate of the Mighty Sword Hall.


    Dorothy switched her gaze between her grandmother and Zen to read their expressions. After a long pause, she spoke to break the silence, "Zen, why did you go to the Phoenix Palace?"


    Flamine''s attitude differed from that of usual. It made Dorothy suspicious of whether something had happened between Zen and Elvinia.


    "I offended Elvinia at the Seven Mountains Meeting last time," Zen said in an indifferent tone.


    Dorothy crossed her arms and nodded as she recalled the events. "Oh, I remember that I reminded you to be cautious of Elvinia''s revenge because she was very angry at that time."


    Zen shrugged his shoulders and said, "She did take her revenge. She kidnapped my families to Phoenix Palace. I had no choice but to go there and have a battle with her."


    Athemar, Goran, Winchell, and Master Hai were treading along slowly behind Yasamin. They were all famous strong warriors, but they were also interested to know a lot of things. Overhearing what Zen had to say, they couldn''t help but wonder to themselves.


    How did Zen manage to gain such favor from Flamine after just a fight with Elvinia? It seemed too good to be true.


    "If you really battled with Elvinia, why was Flamine so nice to you just now?" Dorothy asked innocently while blinking her big beautiful eyes that were filled with curiosity.

 Chapter 3224 Backer

    Zen had not been present in the Mighty Sword Hall during the argument between Yasamine and Flamine.


    It thus puzzled him to see Yasamin''s hostile attitude towards Flamine. He assumed they must have some longstanding grudge against each other.


    As for the tickets to the Chaotic Source World, Zen didn''t know their value, so he did not see it as a big deal when Flamine offered to give him many tickets. He was more curious as to why Yasamin and Flamine were fighting over him. He wondered what that was all about.


    "What do you mean?" he asked Dorothy, hoping to make sense of everything.


    She smiled at him playfully. "She wants you to be her son-in-law!"


    "What?"


    Zen asked incredulously. His jaw dropped.


    He had only met Flamine one time. It had been a memorable encounter, and she had been very friendly towards him, but to marry her daughter? What the hell was this?


    "Are you tempted?" Dorothy teased. She could see his reaction and deliberately sought to provoke him further.


    Zen could see what Dorothy was doing, so he modulated his response. He put on a helpless smile and said, "I don''t know Elvinia all that well, and we don''t really have anything to do with each other. If Lady Flamine said that, perhaps she was just joking."


    Was he serious? Did he really believe Flamine was just kidding around?


    Dorothy stared at Zen, her eyes wide with disbelief.


    She was very young and naturally shy, so although she wanted to press him, she decided to stop asking further questions. She was worried that others would think she was jealous.


    After they left the Mighty Sword Hall, Athemar took out a massive sword, motioning for everyone to come closer. They all stepped on the sword and it lifted them into the air. They flew quickly away from Vastness Mountain, eager to be done with the whole ordeal.


    Back in the Mighty Sword Hall, Gethin walked to the golden throne and sat back down.


    Natasha clapped her hands. Green light curtains covered the entire hall.


    Gethin''s gentle manner had changed completely. His sharp eyes became ferocious, like those of a furious beast.


    "How many words did you get from him?" he roared.


    Natasha and the two leaders of the intelligence agency looked tense. Their efforts with Zen had been cut short by the arrival of representatives from Origin Mountain and Oneness Mountain, which was a great shame. It explained why Gethin was so angry.


    "About a hundred words¡ª" Natasha began.


    She was cut short by an energy that lashed out at her with a sharp, cracking sound.


    She let out a croak of pain.


    An invisible hand reached out and grabbed Natasha by the throat, strangling her. She was dragged b


    Source World had carved out their own exclusive territory. It was rare to see different races living together on the same land.


    "We''ve already arrived at Black Mountain Guild..."


    Shera murmured to herself. She put one hand on the rail while she dragged something with the other hand.


    There was a whoosh, and a man was pulled out of the Black Ship. He slammed onto the deck with a muffled thud.


    The Evil God stood up from the deck, his face full of displeasure. "I was cultivating! You interrupted me when you dragged me here."


    Shera was not bothered by his irritation. "There is a more suitable place for you to cultivate," she said, pointing downwards.


    The Evil God looked down. There was a strange, eerie aura emanating from the mountain below them. He could sense that this was not a good place.


    "Below us is the Black Mountain Guild, which is comprised of over 800 races. The competition among the people of that sect is very fierce. It''s almost impossible for someone to succeed without a backer. You must be constantly on your guard, even among people of your own race. Not every human can be trusted," Shera said in a clinical, analytic tone, as she gazed down at the mountain.


    "Backer?" The Evil God looked disdainful. "I don''t need anyone to back me up. I''m my own backer!"


    By now, Shera was used to the arrogant manner of the Evil God. This man''s talent had surprised her again and again. Still, he had just reached the Other Shore Realm, so she thought his arrogance in this instance was unfounded and a bit annoying.


    She curled her lips at him. "Fine. You may go down there now."


    A bang sounded.


    The Evil God suddenly fell, as though a heavy and irresistible weight had been strapped to his body. He dropped from the sky like a stone.

 Chapter 3225 Black Mountain Guild

    As the pressure of gravity that was exerted on the Evil God increased, he was rendered powerless and couldn''t escape the situation he was in.


    If he continued freefalling at such a rapid pace, it wouldn''t be long before he smashed into the ground forcefully. Even he wouldn''t be able to bear the repercussions.


    When the distance between him and the ground decreased to less than two hundred feet, he shut his eyes bracing for impact. A trace of ruthlessness was smeared across his face.


    Suddenly, a wild stream of energy rushed out!


    Bang!


    It was like something as big and bright as the sun had exploded and sent ripples surging across the ground. A massive crater thumped to the surface with the Evil God lying inside.


    "That damned woman..."


    he cursed under his breath, his voice barely audible from the pressure of the air.


    After that, his head smashed against a weighty object as he finally collapsed on the ground.


    It almost made him faint, but he resisted the concussion.


    Attempting to get a hold of his senses, he shook his head several times and held it firmly. After he blinked several times, he noticed a black token lying near his feet. He picked it up carefully and flicked it to study it from all sides. It had a strange pattern carved into it. Other than that, there was nothing else worth looking at.


    As the Evil God got back up on his feet, he put away the token safely. Looking around his surroundings, he cursed Shera again, blaming her for his ordeal before climbing out of his self-made pit.


    The moment he climbed out, his ears alerted him to rustling sounds coming from a distance. As he looked in the direction of the noise, two wolves that were the size of humans lurking nearby enveloped his view.


    When their eyes fell on the Evil God, they gleamed under the dark as they spotted their prey.


    ''You want to eat me now, huh?''


    A cold smile stretched across the face of the Evil God as he fearlessly continued walking in the direction of the Black Mountain Guild.


    Just as he turned around casually, the two wolves took advantage of the moment and pounced on him aggressively.


    Suddenly, two balls of light filled with massive energy erupted from behind the Evil God''s back.


    The wolves whimpered in pain as they got crushed by the Ways-blending Energy.


    "It seems beasts will always be beasts..."


    The Evil God glanced back at the broken limbs splayed on the ground of the two black wolves and shook his head.


    When he turned his head back to look ahead, he frowned.


    He rolled his eyes as he examined the sunken ravine straight ahead. Strange creatures of all shapes and sizes made themselves known as they appeared before him from it. Some as big as a leopard, some as small as mice, but each of them was powerful. Other creatures of unfamiliar forms were among them too.


    "So, Shera has thrown me into the lair of beasts!" Pleased by how it all turned out for him, the Evil God laughed violently. He could feel the killing intent buried deep within him reignite as he glared back at the creatures.


    At this momen


    t only produced the most ruthless warriors.


    It wasn''t just a place for cultivation, but to test your survival instincts as well.


    The Evil God continued to rush his way away from the creatures for tens of miles without stopping and entered a ravine.


    Just as he walked inside, the beasts stopped chasing after him and stopped.


    "What should we do now? He has reached the gate of the Black Mountain Guild!"


    "We have no Black Mountain Token. Anyone who dares to step in there without a Black Mountain Token will surely die."


    "Let''s just go. That human brat got lucky. But I know he won''t be able to survive half a day inside the Black Mountain Guild!"


    As those creatures slowly dispersed and disappeared into the dark, the Evil God watched as his face declared a hint of viciousness.


    He had always been the one who would try to kill others, how could he swallow the insult of being the one hunted instead?


    At that point, he decided and wrote it on his flesh, once he made some achievements in the Black Mountain Guild, he would come back and annihilate all of them!


    When he thought of this, he felt a faint trace of cold air tickle his neck. Just then, he sensed an unsettling presence approach him from behind. A miserable voice echoed in his ears and caused him to turn around. "Human, do you have a Black Mountain Token?"


    He glanced in the direction of the sound and saw pieces of ragged cloth drifting in the air, beneath which was a skeleton. It was unknown to what creature it had belonged before, and on the back of the skeleton was a pair of folded wing bones.


    Witnessing a live structure of bones, the pupils in his eyes shrank as he handed over the token obediently.


    "All warriors of our Black Mountain Guild who have survived to get out of here are formidable. But I hope you can live to see that day. Hahaha... Follow me!"


    The skeleton let out a horrific laugh and turned around while gesturing him to follow after. The Evil God walked behind it with determined eyes, letting the darkness devour his existence.

 Chapter 3226 Milos Way Of Returning The Favor

    The second Zen showed up in his house in the Flow Sword Sect, Margaret rushed to him, eager to ask him some questions.


    When Zen had gone to the Clear Lake, he had taken his leave without saying goodbye.


    The fact Trish had returned alone, without Zen, had left Margaret and the other women very worried about him.


    Now, seeing their beloved Zen back home safe and sound, they felt so relieved.


    The women demanded an explanation. Zen shrugged apologetically. He decided to tell them about his adventures at the Clear Lake, but he completely omitted his journey to the Phoenix Palace and Vastness Mountain.


    Trish eyed him carefully. She knew that Zen was keeping something from them, but she kept quiet. As a servant, she couldn''t meddle with how her master chose to deal with these things.


    Barely a day had passed when someone knocked at the door of their house.


    When Trish opened the door, she was surprised to be greeted by a very excited Milo.


    "I heard that your master Zen is back?" Milo asked eagerly.


    He was becoming more and more polite with Zen. In the beginning, he didn''t even have interest in knowing Zen''s name.


    "My master just came back..."


    she answered hesitantly. Trish wondered how Milo knew so soon. Could he have hired someone to keep an eye on their courtyard house?


    It turned out her suspicions were correct.


    After Milo had gotten a part of the Truth Enlightenment, he started to study it at once and found a huge secret.


    Unable to contain his excitement, he had rushed to Zen''s dwelling to share the news, only to find out Zen wasn''t there. He had no choice but to wait for him to come back.


    Thus, he resorted to hiring someone to watch Zen''s house. He needed to be notified the moment Zen returned.


    "I have something to tell him," explained Milo, his eyes twinkling excitedly.


    Trish couldn''t see how she could refuse. With a meek nod, she went off to fetch her master.


    Zen saw how Milo was practically giddy with excitement. His curiosity was piqued. ''Is he here for more words of Truth Enlightenment?'' he wondered.


    "It''s been a long time since you joined in the Flow Sword Sect, Zen," Milo said with a curt bow. "I wonder what level of cultivation you''re on with the truth swordsmanship manual..."


    Zen raised his eyebrow in surprise.


    It had indeed been a while since he joined in the Flow Sword Sect, but he had obtained the Flow Swordsmanship only recently. Additionally, since he had been busy wi


    hile Zen knew he could''ve discovered this too on his own through cultivation, Milo''s input could speed up the process.


    Zen had already read through the Flow Swordsmanship, but there were some points he didn''t understand. Now, with Milo''s guidance, he was able to comprehend it all. His hands twitched, as he was itching to verify Milo''s theory.


    Once Milo left, Zen turned to Trish and asked her to help him apply for the Flow Tower.


    Ordinary disciples of the Flow Sword Sect could only enter the pagoda once a month, two hours at a time.


    But for elites like Zen, there was no limit to the number of times he could enter in a month. However, there was still a limit to the time he could stay inside the Flow Tower.


    Even elite disciples couldn''t stay inside for over four hours at a time. If they stayed longer than that, the Flame of Soul would consume them completely.


    Among all the elites, only Zen and Milo were able to stay for a long period of time inside the tower. This was because, not only were they capable of Instant Enlightenment, but both of them also practiced the Emotion Closing Godly Way.


    Zen''s personal record in the Flow Tower was a whole day and night. Needless to say, the Flow Tower was a perfect place for comprehending Flow Swordsmanship.


    "Turn your mind into a sword.


    Use your mind to kill hearts..." Zen chanted softly from the tenth floor of the Flow Tower.


    The white cyclone in his mind began to whirl faster and faster.


    With a gentle flick of his fingers, he seemed to slice the very flames around him. To his satisfaction, in his hand was an invisible long sword, with a power unimaginable.

 Chapter 3227 Turning Into Indigo Soul

    Milo had once fought with Zen in the Dragon City.


    At that time, Milo held a dense mass of air in his hand, yet it was indestructible. It even broke the Snow Sword!


    That mass of air was actually a sword formed by Milo''s thoughts.


    "Milo didn''t use all of his strength back then. Otherwise, I''m afraid that I would have failed to resist..." Zen muttered to himself as he stared at the invisible long sword.


    The way the invisible long sword was formed was completely different from the Power Shaping of the Might Godly Way.


    The sword was created by a warrior''s mind, and could directly hit one''s soul once it struck. The killing power that sword contained could easily destroy Zen''s Soul of Light back then.


    Now Zen had already mastered the way to form a sword with his mind, and through the help of the Truth Enlightenment, his sword was probably more powerful than Milo''s. And the only way to prove it was through a sword fight.


    Zen, of course, would not challenge Milo right now, he couldn''t afford to waste his time. Zen had promised Yasamin that he''d go to the Other Shore as soon as he could, and now it was time.


    He immediately left the Flow Tower and returned to his own courtyard house quickly. Then he chose to cultivate in seclusion again.


    It only took a few moments for Zen to enter the Other Shore with his physical body.


    His Soul of Light had stepped into Stage Four, while his body still stayed in Stage One.


    Luckily, Dorothy had shown him the way before, so it wasn''t too difficult for his physical body to climb up to Stage Four.


    As usual, he had attracted many surprised gazes on the way.


    It took Zen more than ten hours to reach Stage Four. Then his physical body safely retreated, and his soul returned to the Other Shore.


    Last time, Zen had retreated from the practice room of the temple, and now he went back to the same room.


    When Zen pushed the door open, another room''s door was also opening.


    Although he hadn''t seen the face, Zen was sure that the person from the other room was Dorothy. He had learned to identify her by her aura, which he had grown familiar with.


    "I''ve been waiting for you for a long time!" Dorothy complained, but it was evident that she was glad to see him.


    Yasamin always kept her words. She held the high position only inferior to Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s in the Oneness Sky Palace. If she really wanted to give a soul crystal to Zen, she could do it the way she wanted.


    However, after Zen returned to the Flow Sword Sect, he didn''t visit the temple first, and that made Dorothy upset.


    Despite that, she couldn''t shake h


    e last piece of the soul crystal had merged with Zen''s Soul of Light, which was glowing brightly with purple light.


    In that narrow space, Zen flapped his arms around, stretching, and got a test of his current stronger power. He threw a punch against the wall closest to him, and his fist collided with the wall with a strong force. His Soul of Light had changed completely. It was an entity on its own now. He felt like it was his own physical body that was on the Other Shore, instead of his soul!


    Dorothy had already climbed out of the narrow space a few moments ago, but she waited for Zen at the door. Her soul also emitted a stronger purple light now. After only an hour of absorbing the soul crystals, their aura had become much more powerful and imposing.


    For ordinary disciples, this would have been an unimaginable feat.


    Most of the disciples could only get the rare soul crystals when they had attained a great achievement or if they were willing to explore the temples that only a few people had set foot in.


    When Dorothy saw Zen exit the room, she came up to him before he could even greet her, and pinched his arm. After turning into Indigo Soul, she sensed her touch felt more real, and even her face became clearer.


    Although he couldn''t see her clearly, Zen could feel that the edge of her soul had become sharper.


    "I feel like I''ve changed my soul entirely. It feels kind of strange," Dorothy said, frowning.


    "I''m still not used to it either," Zen answered with a smile, encouraging her.


    They then walked out of that place together, feeling more powerful and confident. But just as they had reached the entrance of the temple, throngs of Souls of Light started rushing in, and they were all screaming.

 Chapter 3228 Soul Snakes

    Dorothy stopped one of them and asked, "What happened?"


    "The Bearing race is coming to take revenge," the man answered. "They released the snakes!"


    "Snakes? What snakes?" Zen looked aghast.


    "The Soul Snakes raised by the Bearing race," Dorothy answered with a frown. "How dare they use snakes to attack us! Let''s go out and have a look!"


    They rushed out of the temple, but black creatures suddenly blocked their path.


    Zen stared at the creatures closely. They were black snakes, but he couldn''t see any other details on them.


    In fact, they could only see the appearance and details of the aboriginal inhabitants clearly on the Other Shore. The Souls of Light and even Zen''s body were outsiders to the Other Shore, and others could only trace out the outlines of them. The snakes were brought to the Other Shore by the Bearing race, so he naturally couldn''t see them clearly.


    "The snakes are coming!"


    "Return to the temple quickly!"


    "Damn it! Does the Bearing race want to attack the Oneness Sky Palace''s temple?"


    Resentment filled the voices of the Oneness Sky Palace disciples.


    Swish! Swish! Swish!


    Suddenly, many Soul Snakes were cut in half.


    These disciples were in a panic. Some of them fled, while the others pulled out their swords and began to deal with the snakes.


    The Oneness Sky Palace disciples were all powerful. The Souls of Light glowed purple light; this meant they were in the ninth or tenth stage of the Other Shore Realm and soon would become Indigo Souls.


    But still, they were weaker than the group of Soul Snakes in front of them. They kept on cutting and cutting but, in the end, they had to retreat to the entrance of the temple.


    "Are these Soul Snakes planning to break into our temple?" Zen wondered out loud.


    Dorothy shook her head calmly. "I don''t think so," she replied.


    Despite the small conflicts between the Bearing race and the Oneness Sky Palace throughout the years, they never launched an all-out attack. If the Bearing race decided to break into the temple, then that would signal an all-out war between the two races.


    "Help!"


    A sharp scream was heard not too far away.


    Zen and Dor


    eness Sky Palace. This is the rule signed by all the races in the Source World," Dorothy explained.


    All of the great powers had established their own temples within the Other Shore. The Source World was already filled with wars; no one wanted the same for the Other Shore. Thus, everyone agreed that none of them were allowed to attack each other''s temple.


    No race would cross boundaries unless they had the intention of wiping out the other.


    In the past, the Bearing race invaded the Nine Li race''s temple. This triggered a great war between the two races. Soon, the Nine Li race was exterminated.


    "We can''t just let the Soul Snakes block our path," Zen remarked.


    The Soul Snakes swarmed the entrance of the temple. They even covered the sculpture in front of it. The Oneness Sky Palace disciples trembled in fear.


    Hiss! Hiss!


    The Soul Snakes seemed agitated. Suddenly, they cleared a path and made way for three warriors.


    The warriors strolled over and stopped in front of the temple.


    "What''s going on? Is the Bearing race planning to start a war?" Dorothy asked the warriors arrogantly.


    The Bearing race had plenty of powerful warriors among them, but the Oneness Sky Palace was far from an inferior race.


    If war erupted between them, the Oneness Sky Palace could summon back all the warriors in Stage Thirteen of Lust World. It would be a great fight and it would be difficult to predict who the winner would be.

 Chapter 3229 The Cause Of The Whole Thing

    The three men from the Bearing race paid Dorothy no heed.


    Their leader gently raised his hand. The Soul Snakes raised their heads attentively, their threadlike tongues darting in and out.


    Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!


    Dorothy trembled slightly.


    Then, the man said, "Call Milo Mo from your Oneness Sky Palace over to receive his death!"


    Hearing this, the Oneness Sky Palace disciples exchanged confused glances.


    "Milo?!" a disciple cried in surprise.


    "He came to the temple a few days ago, but we haven''t seen him in a while," someone chirped.


    "Several days ago, he challenged some disciples from the Bearing race," another added. "Did he cause any trouble?"


    Dorothy''s brows knitted. She was puzzled. No one had expected this predicament had anything to do with Milo. "Zen, isn''t Milo also a member of the Flow Sword Sect? Have you seen him recently?" she asked in a low voice.


    "I did see him," Zen admitted.


    "Then what happened?" Dorothy asked curiously.


    Zen shook his head. "I don''t know exactly what happened, but I guess he might have hurt someone important from the Bearing race, and now they''re trying to take revenge."


    Although Zen had no idea what had happened exactly, Milo had disclosed to him about a great breakthrough in the Flow Swordsmanship. He had eagerly practiced what he discovered on some unfortunate souls on the Other Shore.


    After all, the best place to practice the Flow Swordsmanship without holding back was on the Other Shore.


    Milo had also specifically said that he had beaten many rivals and even the Bearing race was afraid of him. Zen was afraid that Milo might have bullied the Bearing race on the Other Shore. So the disciples from the Bearing race were going to seek revenge today.


    Nevertheless, Zen and Milo were both from the Flow Sword Sect. He took a step forward. "Milo is my fellow disciple. May I ask what he''s done to offend you?"


    "Yesterday he almost killed my younger brother in the Soul Arena. My brother is still in a coma today. I would like to face the man who did this!" the man said in a cold voice.


    The Soul Arena was an open field that stood in the middle of the three temples of the human race. Souls of Light would go here to compete against one another, to determine the strength of their souls.


    "Oh, this is so trivial," Dorothy said in an annoyed tone. "A soul battle is likely to cause accidents. Since your brother chose to enter the Soul Arena, he should''ve been awa


    ble of Instant Enlightenment," a disciple whispered. "No wonder he is a rare genius in the Oneness Sky Palace. He doesn''t seem to be nervous at all!"


    "Unfortunately his soul is a little weaker," another one said wistfully.


    "Really? I don''t think so. A few days ago, he defeated three Indigo Souls from the Bearing race all by himself."


    The man who had summoned back the Soul Snakes put away the pot and gestured towards the arena.


    Without a word, Milo followed them.


    Although they had been filled with fear just minutes prior, curiosity overcame the disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace. They too wordlessly followed Milo and the men to the arena.


    By now, the news had spread so quickly, permeating the depths of the Oneness Sky Palace.


    The normal disciples, elite disciples, and the direct descendants of the various mountain heads visited the Other Shore, streaming out of the temple gate. It seemed the interest of the entire Oneness Sky Palace was piqued.


    "Let''s go and have a look too," Dorothy said excitedly.


    It was not a trivial matter anymore. While many disciples of the Bearing race had died in the Soul Arena, no one had dared to block the entrance of the Oneness Sky Palace''s temple before. To a certain extent, this somewhat represented the true attitude of the Bearing race.


    Zen had just become an Indigo Soul. Originally, he had wanted to go to Stage Thirteen of the Other Shore with Dorothy, and perhaps he could find an Other Shore Token that was suitable for the Truth of Cultivation Nature. He didn''t expect such a thing to happen before he could do so. With a sigh, he followed after Dorothy.

 Chapter 3230 An Unexpected Bet

    Zen and Dorothy followed the crowd, heading for the back of the Oneness Sky Palace''s temple.


    A square platform was situated at the intersection of three temples. This was known as the Soul Arena.


    The surface of the arena was covered all over with a layer of pale blue powder, which was made of the same material as the Soul Binding Thread.


    The powder was used to enforce an important rule. A fighter in the Soul Arena was not allowed to leave the Other Shore. Otherwise, when one was losing, they could simply leave the battle. The powder ensured that warriors who participated in the fight could not just escape.


    "Why are there so many people here?" Zen asked, glancing at the crowd of warriors around the arena.


    A large number of people were gathered around the Soul Arena, and all of them were strong Souls of Light. Many shone with vivid purple light, indicating that they were Indigo Souls.


    "The situation is getting more and more strange," Dorothy said with a frown.


    Most people came to the Other Shore primarily to search for suitable Other Shore Tokens. Many were not even interested in the soul battles.


    Although the Soul Arena had been established here for a long time, it simply wasn''t very popular among warriors.


    Now, however, the arena was surrounded with warriors. The people of the Bearing race were present, and the members of the Divine Farmer race were also in the crowd.


    When there were still four great human forces, it was the time when humans had forged the strongest unity.


    The Bearing race couldn''t have wiped out the Nine Li race on their own. They succeeded because they allied with the Divine Farmer race to deal with the people of the Nine Li race.


    The cooperation between the Bearing race and the Divine Farmer race had long been a source of some concern to the Oneness Sky Palace. But because the Bearing race and the Oneness Sky Palace were quite distant from each other geographically, the palace was placated, and generally existed in harmony with both the Bearing race and Divine Farmer race.


    Yet Athemar''s prediction held true. The Oneness Sky Palace would eventually clash with the Bearing race, and the two races would turn against each other.


    Seamus Ji, the man who had previously driven the surge of snakes, stepped onto the Soul Arena. The crowd quieted as they focused their attention on him. He waited until everyone was listening, and then said in a loud voice, "Yesterday, ten men of the Bearing race were defeated one after another. My younger brother was one of those men. He sustained soul damage in the fight, a


    i. "No one else will get the chance to fight. I can beat all three of you alone."


    Seamus Ji sneered at him, and then walked out of the Soul Arena. He motioned for one of his men to step up. "Deon, you will be the first to fight Milo!"


    Without hesitation, Deon Ji leaped into the Soul Arena.


    There was a hiss of sound, and


    six purple Soul Rings appeared above his head.


    His cold, powerful Indigo Soul sent out a strong aura across the Soul Arena, and weaker Souls of Light trembled at its force.


    Milo smiled faintly. His own Soul of Light emanated in the arena wisps of white light that swept out and formed a small whirlpool which emitted a bold, sharp intent.


    "What a strong truth aura!" Dorothy exclaimed, gazing at the shining white whirlpool of light.


    Zen smiled. "Can''t you figure out the origin of the white light?"


    Dorothy thought for a moment and then responded, "That''s the Truth Enlightenment! How could he combine it with his soul theurgy so soon?"


    She had practiced the first one hundred and fifty words of the Truth Enlightenment, and thus was able to recognize the origin of the white vortex.


    "It is," Zen nodded. "I''m not sure yet either."


    Maybe Milo had mastered it in such a short period of time because the first hundred-odd words of the Truth Enlightenment were a perfect match of the Flow Strike.


    In contrast, the Origin Swordsmanship practiced by Dorothy was not a soul theurgy, and she hadn''t gone deep into this aspect. It was not easy to combine the two¡ªperhaps it would have to be done by her grandmother.


    Swoosh!


    In an instant, the white light released by Milo had vanished, and in its place, an invisible sharp sword appeared, rushing rapidly towards Deon Ji.

 Chapter 3231 Purpose

    The Ji Clan was one of the two large clans of the Bearing race. The Soul Rings that Deon practiced were tough indeed.


    Thanks to his Soul Rings, he was able to do as he pleased on Stage Thirteen.


    However, that didn''t stop Milo from trying. He shot out his Mind Sword, slashing through the three Soul Rings on the outer layer.


    Deon''s face fell.


    Seamus had warned him not to underestimate Milo, yet he was still surprised.


    Deon was ranked part of the top ten among the younger generation of the Ji Clan. He had inherited some of the unique skills of the clan. The audiences were stunned. Would he be defeated in one strike?


    With a snarl, he reactivated his soul force, summoning more Soul Rings to spread out and protect him.


    When Milo''s second Mind Sword attacked him again, he leapt to the side, dodging the blade by a hair.


    Milo still remained calm.


    Since he had mastered the Truth Enlightenment, he was confident in the power of the Heart Slaughtering Strike.


    With this power, he might even be able to kill a warrior at the Chaotic Source Realm.


    Of course, this would only be possible if the warrior of the Chaotic Source Realm had just cultivated their soul to the Indigo Soul level. After all, after one had the Indigo Soul, they could improve further with enough soul crystal.


    Whoosh!


    An idea flashed through his mind and the invisible Mind Sword began to hover in the air. With a slight smile, he controlled the sword to slash at Deon again.


    Deon didn''t dare face him head on, and he swiveled to the side to dodge the slash. Moving as flexibly as a snake, he pounced from side to side, narrowly dodging Milo''s strikes.


    However, the space of the Soul Arena was limited. After several dodges, he was trapped in a corner. Milo slowly headed towards him, taking his sweet time.


    Milo continued slashing at him with his invisible Mind Sword, his eyes flashing in anticipation. Finally, all the Soul Rings were shattered into thousands of pieces. Milo pointed his sword at Deon''s soul. Deon immediately raised his hand in surrender.


    Milo knew when to stop. Withdrawing his Mind Sword, he walked away from the trembling Deon.


    "Milo is truly amazing," Dorothy praised, nodding in approval.


    Although her Soul of Light had improved a lot, she knew that if she were to fight Deon in the Soul Arena, it wouldn''t be so easy for her to win.


    Zen nodded in agreement.


    Somehow, even though Milo''s soul strength was nowhere near as strong as Deon, he had managed to destroy him without breaking a sweat.


    If Milo''s soul succeeded in t


    Seamus''s face broke into an even wider smile. Anyway, people on the Other Shore couldn''t see each other''s expressions. He said, "Go back on my words? The petty soul crystal is nothing compared to the lives of more than half of the elite disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace!" He threw his head back and laughed maniacally.


    Almost all the elite disciples on Stage Four had come to the Other Shore. Only a small part who were exploring on Stage Twelve and Stage Thirteen were still on the way here. But Seamus thought the number of warriors that had gathered here was enough.


    Milo''s expression changed. "What do you mean?"


    Dorothy and Zen exchanged anxious glances.


    They felt that something was wrong from the beginning, and only now did they finally realize what was going on: it was all an elaborate trap! Seamus only wanted to gather the elite disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace in one place and kill them off!


    Dorothy gasped. Was Seamus crazy?


    "Retreat!"


    Zen shouted as he grabbed Dorothy and flew backwards.


    Although he didn''t know what tricks Seamus had under his sleeve, he didn''t want to wait to find out. All the disciples who had come to watch were unprepared for an ambush. Anxious cries rose from the crowd.


    Seamus continued to laugh hysterically. He and his men had been plotting this for a long time; they were ready for any type of response.


    "Buzz!"


    Seamus raised his hands higher. Out of nowhere, Soul Binding Threads burst forth from the ground in a ten thousand-foot radius around the Soul Arena, coiling around the ankles of each and every Soul of Light present. While this didn''t restrict their movement, they were tied to the Other Shore and could not leave there.

 Chapter 3232 Champion Fish And Smoke Wall

    It was said that a soul was as light as a feather. It drifted anywhere, wherever the wind went.


    However, the same rule did not apply in the Other Shore. Souls of Light were heavy. They didn''t have the ability to float and fly. Warriors needed a boat to simply cross the Sea of Truth.


    When the Soul Binding Threads spread all over an area, it meant that people would move very slowly in that area.


    The disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace eagerly wanted to return to the temple to wait for the effect of the Soul Binding Threads to disappear and then they could leave the Other Shore.


    Zen and Dorothy were moving swiftly through the crowd, unaffected by the Soul Binding Threads at their feet.


    Despite his seeming confidence, Zen was wary that something bad was going to happen.


    The Bearing race was making bold moves. They even used soul crystal as bait. Seamus wouldn''t let go of them easily.


    By the time Zen and Dorothy, leading the crowd, had rushed three to four thousand feet, shadows of altars appeared in the distance.


    The altars had steps. They were roughly the size of a house and looked a little unsophisticated.


    Zen squinted his eyes to investigate the altars better. He was clueless as to what those altars were for.


    Fortunately, the elite disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace knew better. They all muttered a gasp of recognition.


    "Champion Fish! These are the Champion Fish Altars!"


    "Where did they get so many Champion Fish Altars?"


    "There are at most ten-odd of them in the Stage Twelve of Other Shore. But here, there must be over a hundred of them!"


    Altars nearly encircled every inch of the arena.


    "What is Champion Fish Altar?" Zen asked with a frown.


    Although Dorothy had an Indigo Soul, she also had a similarly limited experience as Zen when it came to the Other Shore.


    Luckily, she had heard of Champion Fish. "The Champion Fish is a common creature living in the Other Shore. They like gathering inside altars."


    A huge sea of sand covered Stage Twelve. Within its vicinity, temples of more than ten greatest races stood.


    Almost all of these temples required


    at? You''ll still end up dead today," Seamus sneered. He then ordered his men, "Ask the Divine Farmer race to kill them. Nobody will be spared!"


    Plenty of people from the Divine Farmer race stood as part of the audience. Their presence had long been part of the plan.


    After Seamus had given the orders, pink seeds emerged from the edge of the area covered by the Soul Binding Threads. Slowly, the seeds sprouted. Soon, they were going to bear fruits.


    As soon as that happened, the fruits withered and started to smoke.


    The Divine Farmer race were good at making pills and poison. But the smoke wasn''t poison; the smoke curtains created a special enchanted barrier.


    When the curtains of smoke reached a few hundred feet above ground, members from the Divine Farmer race said in unison, "Condense!"


    The smoke did as ordered. It condensed into a solid round wall that entrapped the disciples within it.


    On the other side, Zen was occupied battling the Champion Fish. Together with Dorothy, they had killed at least forty of those fish.


    They were surprised to see the weird wall block their way as they reached the altars.


    "Shatter!"


    Zen''s mind activated. His Mind Sword stabbed the wall of smoke.


    The Mind Sword successfully pierced it but, to Zen''s dismay, it wasn''t able to fully penetrate it. There was something strange with the wall. No matter how hard Zen tried, he could not break it.

 Chapter 3233 Predicament

    As Zen tried to destroy the smoke wall, several Champion Fish rushed towards him secretly.


    They had begun to open their mouths, ready to bite into Zen''s body when a small sword pierced through them, cutting all of them into pieces.


    "Be careful, Zen," Dorothy warned, concerned.


    Dorothy was keeping an eye on Zen''s surroundings while he concentrated on destroying the wall.


    "This wall is too strong. It''s too difficult to destroy," Zen said, frowning.


    They could neither break through the wall, nor leave the Other Shore. A constant stream of Champion Fish kept emerging from the altars. This was a dead end for the disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace.


    The Champion Fish could not hurt Zen but the other disciples were in great trouble.


    The Champion Fish shot out of the altars from all directions and charged at the disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace. The Bearing race and the Divine Farmer race seemed to have used some special method that caused the Champion Fish to ignore them.


    One of the weaker disciples was slower than the others in his escape and soon found himself surrounded by a large group of Champion Fish. Before he could react, the malicious creatures had torn his Soul of Light apart. He screamed in pain, desperate for relief, as his soul was mercilessly ripped into shreds. But his scream only lasted three seconds before the Champion Fish ate up his soul.


    As more and more disciples met the same fate, their pathetic screams echoed across the place from time to time. It was like witnessing the worst kind of hell on earth as the Champion Fish devoured the Souls of Light of the poor disciples.


    Quite a few elites of the Oneness Sky Palace were present and all of them, including Milo, could protect only themselves.


    "There''s no point in going on like this," Zen muttered, as the number of Champion Fish swelled. He climbed onto an altar and roared, raising his voice through his soul power, "All disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace! Please stay close to me!"


    The disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace heeded his words and began to move towards him.


    Zen had been charging forward at the front, the rest following him in a loose formation. At his summons, the elite disciples gathered together tightly, trying to keep as close to him as possible.


    The weaker disciples were at the center, surrounded and protected by the others, while the Indigo Souls who were capable of fighting the Champion Fish remained in the outer circle.


    They stayed close to each other, their backs against the edges of the altars.


    The Champion Fish kept coming at them with a ferocity that was unmatched. But the moment they made it near the crowd, the d


    estroy the altars instead?" someone piped up suddenly.


    The altars that the Bearing race had summoned had fully materialized by now. Dorothy and a few others stepped gingerly onto some of them. If any Champion Fish were to fly out of the altars, they could immediately kill them from where they stood.


    There were over a hundred altars here. If they could destroy all of them, they might still have a chance of surviving.


    "I don''t think it''s that easy," Dorothy said skeptically.


    The Necklace of Mystic Soul hanging on her chest flashed and a soul sword that had been floating beside, shot fiercely towards an altar.


    Ding!


    But the small sword merely bounced away with a clanging sound.


    These altars were almost as strong as the temples, which was why they were unable to break them.


    A few other disciples tried to have a go after Dorothy, but ended up with the same result.


    Zen frowned at this disappointing sight, wondering what else they could do.


    If his Soul of Light could get out of the Other Shore and he then returned with his physical body, he believed that he could destroy these altars.


    But if he could get out of the Other Shore, it meant that the others could do just the same. This would no longer be a predicament to them.


    Splash!


    The Champion Fish in the distance were swirling and spiraling upwards into the air, forming a protecting layer around a Soul of Light. Seamus.


    "You''re still under the illusion that you have a chance of survival, aren''t you?" Seamus said, smiling. "Let me break the illusion for you and turn you into feed for these Champion Fish!"


    He had barely finished talking when a faint golden light flashed across the mirrors on all the altars. The Champion Fish emerging from the mirrors grew several times in size.

 Chapter 3234 Impulse

    Studying the Champion Fish whose size was exceedingly bigger than before, all the disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace lost their ability to speak.


    Never having encountered such a situation, they stood with their feet rooted to the ground.


    "I''ll go kill him!"


    Milo blurted out abruptly, breaking the deathlike silence.


    Even though everyone knew they were caught in a trap carefully designed by the Bearing race and the Divine Farmer race, the fact that Milo had blindly facilitated their plan could not be denied.


    The overwhelming pressure and guilt weighing down on his shoulders kept him silent from the beginning. He only had one thing on his mind, and it was to kill those Champion Fish to redeem himself.


    Witnessing Seamus act more and more rashly, Milo could not just stand by and watch anymore.


    Seamus was the source of all problems. He was obviously the one who was controlling the altars and the Champion Fish like some puppeteer.


    Apart from destroying the altars and breaking the wall to escape, killing Seamus could be an alternative way. However, it would still pose a challenge due to him being guarded by several layers of Champion Fish.


    "Don''t be impulsive, Milo! You''ll jeopardize everything!"


    "Seamus must have taken all necessary preventive measures against us today!"


    "¡­¡­"


    Konnor and the others tried to calm him down by reasoning with him.


    But it was to no avail. Milo shook off all their pleas as he clenched his fists, a cold aura beginning to emit from his Soul of Light.


    Even though Milo was arrogant, he was still a levelheaded person. Ever since he went up the mountain, not once did he lose his cool over anything. But now, it seemed Seamus had stepped over his last nerve and driven him off the edge of sanity.


    Swish!


    Milo''s figure flashed at the speed of light as they all watched him charge towards Seamus without any hint of hesitation.


    "No! Milo, stop!"


    "He''s heading to his death! Somebody stop him!"


    "Who can get him back?"


    The disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace erupted in frustration as they all screamed in unison.


    No matter how strong Milo was, there was no way he could survive the besiege laid by the countless Champion Fish.


    Whoosh!


    Someone else was seen heading in the same direction as Milo from the crowd.


    While the person rushed forward, he left a series of purple flames behind from his steps!


    "Efrain?"


    "Efrain! What are you doing?"


    Judging from his speed and determination, it did not seem like he went on a rescue mission to get Milo back. But, he was going to assist Milo in his attempt to kill


    logical plan spiraling in his mind now was to retreat!


    Phew!


    However, he could never escape in time as Milo''s speed far surpassed his. Soon, the distance between them had closed significantly.


    Zen, Efrain, and the other two warriors quickly rushed over to watch the scene more closely. A glimmer of hope flashed through their hearts. ''Can he really do it? Can Milo kill Seamus and end it once and for all?'' they started to wonder to themselves.


    "Mind Sword!"


    Milo roared in aggravation as he unleashed a sharper aura than before. An invisible Mind Sword began to take its form in front of him.


    As the sword was about to kill Seamus, the ground beneath Milo''s feet cracked open.


    Bang!


    A vine full of sharp teeth extended from the open ground and wrapped itself around Milo, restraining him!


    Meanwhile, Seamus, who was retreating, stopped in his tracks and began to laugh viciously. "Surprised? Don''t forget, I didn''t come here alone!"


    This trap was carefully planned. It was a joint work from the elite disciples of the Bearing race and Divine Farmer race. Seamus'' job was only to control the Champion Fish.


    "In remembrance to your bravery, I''ll grant you a quick and painless death!" Seamus gloated while waving his hands gently once more.


    Upon his command, the huge Champion Fish gathered from all directions and charged at Milo with an intent to kill. In the blink of an eye, Milo was surrounded with no place to retreat.


    "No! Milo!"


    "No way! Milo!"


    "Somebody, please go save him!"


    The expressions of Efrain, Zen, and the others switched immensely. If he fell into the mouth of these Champion Fish, his Soul of Light would be devoured within a split second. Milo might not be able to survive this.

 Chapter 3235 A Chance Of Surviving

    Efrain was the first to rush over to where the huge Champion Fish were tangled together, knitted into a huge fish column. Zen followed closely behind.


    Milo was trapped in the middle of the column.


    "Burn!" Efrain shouted.


    A sizzling noise rent the air.


    Purple soul flame had begun to burn intensely.


    Efrain''s soul flame was powerful. The huge Champion Fish had thick, rough skin, but under the soul flame''s intensity, their twisting bodies were scorched black.


    Efrain removed the charred corpses of the fish from the outer layer. But there were still a lot of fish inside. No one knew how many layers of fish had wrapped themselves around Milo.


    Zen was also working hard and trying his best to save Milo, but to no avail so far.


    Killing these fish was much more difficult than they had imagined. These were several times stronger than the smaller ones they had dealt with before.


    Even with his sharp Mind Sword, Zen had managed to kill only six of them.


    They looked at each other, their hearts sinking. It looked like Milo was going to die this time.


    They needed to be careful of the Champion Fish sneaking up on them while they tried to save Milo. What was more, they had to be cautious of the creepy vines that sprang suddenly out of the ground.


    Seamus had, in fact, intended to finish off Zen and the other four warriors who had come to attack him. He had sent only half the number of Champion Fish to attack the disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace. The other half kept gathering together, forming a huge circle.


    To Seamus, the guys who were rushing towards him were already dead.


    Zen suddenly felt a chill emanating from the column that the Champion Fish had formed.


    Efrain was burning the Champion Fish with his soul flame. But it was extinguished the moment the chill began to spread outwards.


    "It''s so cold!"


    This chill was a hundred times more horrifying than that of the Sea of Truth. Even Zen and Efrain who had Indigo Souls had to beat a retreat.


    The Champion Fish that formed the column wriggled madly, and only stopped moving when the chillness spread over them. It wasn''t long before the entire column froze and became a solid, unmoving column.


    Crack!


    Crack!


    Crack!


    Cracks began to appear on the surface of the column, and those huge Champion Fish brok


    as just about to give up when a sudden chill went through him.


    "What''s that?"


    A sword mark could be seen on the smoke wall. It was the mark left by Milo''s strike. Cold blue air rose around the mark.


    The strike that Milo had launched with all his strength hadn''t hit Seamus. Instead, it brushed past his arm and had traveled several thousand feet to hit the wall.


    "The wall is frozen!" Zen exclaimed, his eyes flashing.


    Zen had no idea how things worked on the Other Shore, but in reality, anything that was frozen would become crisp.


    Now Zen was in a desperate situation, and as the idea crossed his mind, he rushed along the smoke wall and headed towards the sword mark on the wall.


    Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...


    Thousands of Champion Fish were still chasing Zen, leaving hardly any space for Zen to move.


    Crack!


    A Champion Fish caught up with him and bit him on the shoulder.


    Zen''s soul force burst out at the immense pain.


    "Mind Sword!"


    In a flash of white, three Mind Swords shot out simultaneously and circled around Zen, killing a lot of Champion Fish and clearing some space for him.


    He continued along the space and finally closed in on the sword mark. His body ached from all the wounds that the Champion Fish had inflicted on him.


    "Break!"


    Zen was finally relieved. Uncaring about everything else, he activated his Mind Sword to hit the wall.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    The wall that had been tough before became so crisp that it cracked under Zen''s blow. A large round hole appeared on the wall.

 Chapter 3236 Leaving The Other Shore

    For a moment, Zen stared at the enormous, gaping hole in the wall in surprise. The impact of Milo''s sword strike was stronger than he''d thought.


    Quickly, he moved forward and passed through the hole in the wall.


    Once he got outside, Zen paused, observing the scene around him. A lot of disciples from the Bearing race and the Divine Farmer race were clustered around the hole on the outer side of the wall, goggling at him. When the wall had first appeared, trapping the disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace inside, they hadn''t been able to do anything. They could only wait anxiously outside.


    So it came as a shock to everyone when a hole was suddenly blown in the wall, and a man emerged, seemingly unscathed.


    "Didn''t they say that the wall was impenetrable?"


    "How could someone manage to break through the wall and escape?"


    "Damn it! Stop him!"


    shouted Seamus. His goal was to take down all the elites of the Oneness Sky Palace, and he was determined not to allow anyone to escape from inside the wall.


    "You want to stop me? You are courting death!"


    Zen said coldly, glaring at Seamus.


    The cultivation base of those guarding the outside of the wall was much, much weaker than Zen''s.


    Zen had the ability to kill Indigo Souls; there was no doubt that he would find it easy to defeat these Souls of Light who had not yet become Indigo Souls.


    Within the wall, Zen and the other disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace had suffered from the torment of the Champion Fish. This cruelty had roused his anger. Now, when he saw several Souls of Light moving to obey Seamus'' command and attack him, Zen struck back without mercy. A white cyclone appeared on the surface of his soul.


    "Mind Sword!"


    The sharp Mind Sword formed between Zen''s eyebrows and shot forward.


    The invisible sword radiance slashed through the air and instantly killed the six people in front of Zen. Three of the dead had been close to becoming Indigo Souls.


    The disciples of the Bearing race looked at the bodies of the dead with wide eyes, struck with terror. Who was the young man who had emerged from the hole in the wall? He had just killed six powerful people in a single blow. They instantly realized that even if they attacked him together, they would probably be no match for him.


    "Back off!"


    "Get out of the Other Shore!"


    "Don''t fight this guy head on!"


    These disciples called out frantic instructions to each other as they retreated. Some left the Other Shore.


    Zen let them go. He had no way of trapping them, so if they left the Other Shore, there was nothing he could do.


    More importantly, Dorothy and the other disciples were still trapped within the wall. The huge Champion Fish summoned by Seamus were very difficult to defeat, so Zen needed to return immediately to help his companions. If he did not rescue them soon, they might get killed


    body, completely covering him from head to toe. Then his body returned to the Other Shore.


    As soon as he entered the Other Shore, he flew without hesitation towards the three temples.


    On the way, he saw a tall statue standing at the entrance of the Bearing race''s temple. He flew headlong towards the statue.


    There was a loud crash as he collided with the statue.


    It was completely destroyed, crumbling to the ground in shards. The statue had been a valuable one. It had stood proudly in its place of honor for countless years.


    Shouts sounded from inside the temple when they saw the destruction. "Hey! Who are you?"


    "How dare you destroy the statue of our race!"


    "You are dead!"


    Several Souls of Light rushed out of the temple to confront the man who had demolished their treasure.


    Zen ignored them. As he moved past the remnants of the statue, he kicked at the rubble, sending several stones flying like arrows towards the gate of the temple.


    His body strength far exceeded his soul strength. A casual kick from his body was far greater than the power of his Indigo Soul. He knew that the stones he had kicked would turn pillars into dust and instantly eliminate any Souls of Light they hit.


    Zen wasn''t normally so bloodthirsty, but these were unusual circumstances. It had been treacherous for the disciples of the Bearing race to lure the Oneness Sky Palace disciples into their trap to kill them all. Had it not been for Milo''s astonishing sword attack that hit the wall, Zen himself would also be dead, eaten by the Champion Fish.


    To be kind to his enemy was to be cruel to himself and his companions. Right now, he had no time for lengthy combat. He needed to dispense with any distractions quickly and with finality so that he could hurry back to the wall and save the other Oneness Sky Palace disciples. Otherwise, he would directly tear down the temple of the Bearing race.

 Chapter 3237 The Real Strength

    Seamus scratched his chin in surprise. He didn''t expect anyone would be able to escape.


    Then again, he didn''t expect that Milo''s sword strike would freeze the wall and Zen would create a hole big enough for himself to get through.


    With a shrug, Seamus waved the thought away. He didn''t care about Zen''s escape; after all, he was just one out of the many disciples gathered here. Right after his escape, disciples of the Divine Farmer race blocked the hole.


    What truly bothered Seamus was that the disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace still fought fiercely despite being overpowered by the Champion Fish.


    When Zen was trapped by the Champion Fish, Efrain carried the severely injured Milo on his back.


    As Zen took care of majority of the Champion Fish, Efrain and the others grabbed the opportunity to escape. However, as they were rushing out, they saw Zen cornered by a group of massive Champion Fish. They felt their hearts sink, knowing they failed to turn the tables and even lost Zen.


    Once Efrain and Milo were safely on the other side, the other disciples pressed their backs against the wall, fighting tooth and nail to defend themselves.


    "Did Zen really get swallowed by the Champion Fish?" Unable to believe the news, Konnor grabbed Efrain by the arm, gripping him tightly.


    The other elite disciples exchanged uneasy glances.


    "He was too impulsive..."


    "Alas, I don''t think we''ll be able to escape either. He isn''t the only fallen disciple." Low morale permeated the atmosphere, as the disciples mourned the loss of their companions.


    "Look!" someone suddenly cried out. "The Champion Fish are coming!"


    Out of the five who had broken out of the encirclement and tried to kill Seamus, one had lost his life. However, they had managed to almost kill Seamus. While this lifted their spirits momentarily, they had been unable to turn the tables in their favor, dampening their spirits just as quickly.


    The disciples banded together, ready to fight for their lives with everything they got.


    However, upon a closer look, these Champion Fish looked different. They were bigger in size, on a higher defense level. It was extremely difficult to kill them off with only soul strength.


    As swarms of Champion Fish surged forward to close in on their prey, the Oneness Sky Palace disciples gritted their teeth. Soon, the disciples dwindled in numbers as one by one, the Champion Fish killed or injured them. With every lost disciple, their morale sank lower and lower.


    "We are done for."


    "I never expected I''d die like this."


    "I''m not giving up!"


    Dorothy declared as h


    d towards the direction of the sound. Much to her surprise, a large crack appeared on the wall not too far from her.


    A pair of hands reached in from the other side of the wall, ripping open the crack. From the hole in the wall, a person stepped inside.


    The disciples whipped their heads around to face the new presence. They could sense this person was not a Soul of Light, but a physical body.


    "Who is he?"


    "How did a physical body get here?"


    "Haven''t there been rumors about him? Someone has entered the Sea of Truth with his body. Is he the one?"


    Although everyone was confused, they still had their guard up. After all, they didn''t know if he was friend or foe.


    The Oneness Sky Palace disciples had lost the will to fight, and froze in place, unsure of what to do. Even Seamus hesitated, unsure as to how to deal with this newcomer. But before he found the words to say, the figure stepped onto an altar.


    Bang!


    With just a stomp, the Champion Fish Altar was smashed into thousands of pieces.


    All the Champion Fish that were born from that altar suddenly exploded into thin air.


    "What are you doing? Stop!" Seamus shouted at the figure in shocked anger.


    The Bearing race had paid a price to get these altars that could produce Champion Fish. Each of the altars was extremely precious. Seamus didn''t expect that someone could destroy the altars.


    Zen ignored Seamus and proceeded to jump onto another altar, crushing it beneath his feet.


    Bang!


    The second altar was smashed to pieces, and again, many Champion Fish vanished.


    With every step he took, Zen trampled a Champion Fish Altar. Before Seamus even had the time to react, more than ten altars were destroyed, with nothing left but shards.

 Chapter 3238 Pulverize

    Seamus stared at the broken altars. He clenched his fist as he felt his heart slowly breaking into pieces.


    He had gone to such great lengths to take the altars here in advance. They weren''t Souls of Light that could be withdrawn from the Other Shore instantly. If he wanted to move them back, it wouldn''t be easy work.


    The Bearing race did so much to acquire the altars. They were like treasures to them that would help them suppress other super forces in the Lust World of the Other Shore.


    "Stop him!" shouted Seamus.


    The warriors of the Divine Farmer race started to make their moves. From the ground, seeds suddenly sprouted with vines that rapidly moved towards Zen.


    The power of the vines was not weak. As soon as the Souls of Light were restrained by the vines, it would be difficult for them to break free.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Soon enough, Zen was also tightly wrapped by green vines.


    Moments ago, when the disciples from the Oneness Sky Palace saw how the man displayed his mighty strength, they had their hopes pinned on him. Now they started to feel worry when they saw that the man was entangled.


    Crack!


    Within three seconds, Zen was able to break free from the vines.


    He jumped up and trampled on another altar.


    "Bang!"


    "Bang!"


    "Boom!"


    Zen trampled on each altar and broke them one by one.


    He walked half circle along the wall and broke each Champion Fish Altar he walked past. He must have broken more than fifty.


    No longer attempting to focus on killing the elite disciples from the Oneness Sky Palace, Seamus simply ordered the remaining Champion Fish to attack Zen all at once.


    "Tear him up!" Seamus was seething with anger.


    Everything was going according to plan until the physical body''s sudden appearance. He had no idea how this had happened.


    Those Champion Fish indeed posed a great threat to Souls of Light. Even Zen''s Soul of Light was unable to withstand the biting of the Champion Fish, but it was a different case when his physical body was involved. He was unthreatened by the Champion Fish as his body remained unfazed. He saw them to be low-level beasts.


    Zen screamed so hard that his body trembled slightly. As his body vibrated, anything that came in contact with him sh


    aining Sand!"


    Like the Soul Binding Thread, the Soul Restraining Sand could prevent Souls of Light from leaving the Other Shore. It was what the Oneness Sky Palace used to trap people, while the Soul Binding Thread was more favored by the Bearing race. They both had their own advantages.


    The surface of Seamus''s soul was tainted with the Soul Restraining Sand. He emitted a faint blue glow. Suddenly, his Soul of Light became visible again.


    He shivered in fear. Under his breath, he was chanting the Illusion Breaking Rune in an attempt to break through the illusory Other Shore.


    However, the grains of the Soul Restraining Sand firmly nailed him to the Other Shore. Every time he recited the Illusion Breaking Rune, the light emitted from the Soul Restraining Sand intensified.


    "Chant all you want. You''re stuck here." Efrain had a sinister smile on his face when he walked over.


    Realizing that he couldn''t leave the Other Shore, Seamus turned around and, with full speed, rushed towards the temple of the Bearing race.


    But of course, Zen was not going to let him go.


    He caught up with Seamus and gently lifted him up.


    Seamus tried to counterattack. His soul force burst forth all of a sudden, forming two gray crescent-shaped energy waves that came at Zen like scissors. Still, with Zen''s physical body, it was impossible that an Indigo Soul could hurt him.


    Crack! Crack!


    Suddenly, there were two crisp sounds but Seamus''s attack failed to even leave a mark on Zen''s neck.

 Chapter 3239 Begging For Pardon

    A look of despair appeared on Seamus'' face when he saw that Zen was unharmed. Seamus couldn''t believe that after he had unleashed an all-out strike, he didn''t cause even a little damage to Zen.


    Zen released a small portion of his strength, staring coldly at Seamus as he prepared to crush his soul. But Efrain suddenly shouted, "Don''t kill him!"


    Seamus had started this entire incident because he wanted to get revenge on Milo who injured his younger brother.


    However, it was obvious the people of the Bearing race had used that as an excuse to attack and kill as many Oneness Sky Palace disciples as they could.


    This event would leave a lasting impact. It would cause a dispute between the Oneness Sky Palace and the Bearing race that would linger for a long time. But Efrain realized that as long as Seamus was alive, they could use him to gather evidence against the Bearing race.


    At Efrain''s words, Zen paused, halting his attack.


    To Zen''s astonishment, at the precise moment that he stopped his strike, Seamus'' Soul of Light began twisting and contorting. Seamus let out a series of strange, piteous screams.


    There was an awful ripping sound.


    Seamus'' Soul of Light was torn into pieces in front of Zen.


    Zen was dumbfounded. "I didn''t kill him!"


    Efrain frowned. "He was killed. Someone else killed him."


    As they entered the Other Shore with their Souls of Light, their bodies still remained somewhere in the Source World. Efrain was suggesting that someone near Seamus'' body in the Source World had been responsible for his death.


    The failure of their trick had brought many members of the Bearing race back to the Source World. Now that Seamus was unable to go back, there must be something wrong with him.


    Some powerful warriors could know from the souls of their juniors what happened in the Other Shore. When some masters of the Bearing race found that Seamus had been captured, they killed him immediately.


    "Damn it," swore Zen, gritting his teeth.


    "Wait, why does your voice sound familiar?" Efrain asked, glancing at Zen in confusion.


    Except for Dorothy, the others didn''t know Zen''s real identity. He had consciously lowered his voice so they wouldn''t recognize him.


    But in the heat of the moment, Zen had forgotten to alter his voice, so he caught Efrain''s attention.


    Fortunately, Efrain was not expecting Zen to be here. Zen cleared his throat and lowered his voice again, ignoring Efrain''s question. "I just didn''t expect the Bearing race to be so decisive."


    Cupping his hands toward Zen, E


    t had been sent back was discouraging.


    Some who replied were evasive and dishonest. Some outright ignored them. There were even a few who accused the masters of allowing their disciple to hurt the people of the Bearing race.


    All this filled the masters of the seven mountains with righteous indignation. Some of the masters, including Yasamin, were furious enough to suggest directly confronting the Bearing race. Yasamin was indignant because her beloved granddaughter was involved in the conflict.


    They were discussing countermeasures when a new report arrived.


    "Report! According to the message from disciples in the temple, most of the elite disciples of our palace have managed to get to safety!"


    This news was quite welcome. The masters were initially surprised, then their shock gave way to joy.


    The information they had previously collected had seemed to suggest that their elites probably wouldn''t be able to survive. The risk of this terrible outcome had prompted them to beg for a pardon for their elites from the Bearing race.


    "It seems that the Bearing race has given in."


    "Good news."


    "We must verify that they are truly safe as soon as possible."


    As they celebrated, another news arrived. This time, the report came from the Bearing race.


    "Report! Message from the Bearing race!"


    "What is it?"'' asked the head of the Golden Mountain quickly. "Tell us the news."


    The man reporting the news replied, "They beg us to pardon them. They want us to stop tearing down their temple."


    The mountain heads and the warriors who were present looked at each other in confusion, unsure as to what this was about. Who was destroying the temple of the Bearing race?

 Chapter 3240 Destruction

    Even the person who had brought them the message looked puzzled, unable to decipher the meaning of the message.


    Destroying the temple? Were they serious?


    It was widely known that it wasn''t easy to build a temple at the Other Shore. It was as difficult as destroying one.


    He couldn''t believe that someone belonging to the Oneness Sky Palace had really been able to destroy the temple of the Bearing race.


    The heads of the mountains and many other masters of the Oneness Sky Palace present were just as bewildered as he was.


    They couldn''t understand the rapid change in the attitude of the Bearing race as a whole. And what did they mean by begging them for pardon?


    "Who brought the message to you?" Athemar asked.


    "The Fire Emissary of the Bearing race," the person replied.


    The Five-element Emissaries were the five famous warriors of the Bearing race who shared a high status in the great race.


    "What does he mean? Is he serious?"


    "Is someone really tearing down their temple?"


    "That''s something I''d like to know too!"


    "There are many restrictions imposed on the temples. They can''t be destroyed by ordinary people."


    The heads of the various mountains erupted into discussion, each one of them secretly happy about the development.


    This was because the Bearing race had earlier attempted to kill the elite disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace. Now that they were getting their retribution, it was a huge relief to the people of the Oneness Sky Palace.


    Athemar thought for a moment before turning to the messenger and saying, "This is our response to the Bearing race: we don''t know who is tearing down their temple. We will conduct our own investigation before we give them another reply."


    "Yes, master!"


    the messenger said, bowing with respect. He then turned around and quickly exited the meeting hall.


    After Seamus''s failure, the remainder of the Bearing race and the Divine Farmer race had either left the Other Shore or retreated to their temples.


    They still thought their temples were safe places where they could hide in peace.


    It was not easy to take down a temple.


    After the Nine Li race had been defeated by the Bearing race in the war back then, they had escaped and gone into hiding. Only a small number of them had stayed on to guard their temple. Even so, the Bearing race and the Divine Farmer race had continued to attack their temple for a long time before finally taking it down.


    And now, the Bearing race was full of powerful warriors. Once other races began to attack their temple,


    rought us no benefits and is showing us this horrific day!"


    "And now they even dare destroy our temple. What a shame!"


    "Fire Emissary, did the Oneness Sky Palace respond to our plea?"


    Fire Emissary folded his hands before his companions and said, "I have received their reply. They have declared that they knew nothing about the temple-destroyer and that they would send people to investigate this matter."


    "Pooh! Don''t believe a word of it!" Metal Emissary sneered disdainfully before continuing, "Tell them that if they don''t stop tearing down our temple, we''ll go and invade their base!"


    "Are you serious?" Fire Emissary said, rolling his eyes at him. "Do you think the people of the Oneness Sky Palace will believe that?"


    The conflict at the Stage Four of the Other Shore was quite a common one. Even if both sides were furious at their losses, they would restrain themselves in public and only seek retribution in secrecy. If the two great forces were to start a full-scale war, the whole world would be thrown into a state of chaos. Invading the Oneness Sky Palace would just be a joke.


    "But what should we do now?" Water Emissary asked anxiously.


    The temple at Stage Four was the first station for their warriors on the Other Shore. Even if they reached Stage Thirteen, they usually needed to return to the temple for one reason or the other. It would be a great loss to the Bearing race if their temple was completely destroyed.


    More importantly, there was a considerable amount of soul crystal stored in the temple. The soul crystal was left behind for the descendants of the race. But once their temple was destroyed, this important resource would fall into enemy hands.

 Chapter 3241 Make A Concession

    While the Five-element Emissaries from Bearing race remained anxious, Zen had already entered the central hall of the temple through the entrance.


    On one side of the central hall, there was a wall on which a big bear statue was engraved as decoration. The carvings and delicate details on the statue were exquisitely sophisticated.


    After Zen looked around in all directions, he approached the wall and placed his hand on it.


    He had intended to destroy it to have a look at what was on the other side. Just as he began to break it down, a man showed up behind him and shouted, "You cannot destroy that wall!"


    The man that suddenly appeared was an Indigo Soul. Zen immediately concluded him to be a member of the Bearing race.


    "You think you can stop me?" Zen turned his face towards him and sneered meaningfully.


    "Yes, I do!"


    After saying this, the man abruptly made a move and pounced on Zen.


    Immediately, Zen spurned this mere Indigo Soul and disposed of him like a bothersome gnat. As Zen waved his hand, the man was effortlessly thrown back for a few feet before he crashed into a wall.


    He went easy on him this time. If he had added more strength in his blow, the man''s Soul of Light would have been shattered.


    With no more hindrances in his way, Zen approached the wall a second time. Wasting no time, he pressed hard on the wall with his right hand and applied a little pressure. ''Now then, let''s see what we could find.''


    "Crack!"


    Not long after, the wall couldn''t bear any more pressure, and it collapsed inwards.


    He watched intently as the wall cracked up and revealed hidden compartments within it.


    These secret compartments were in thirteen rows. And in each of them, there lay a piece of Other Shore Token!


    Among the many Other Shore Tokens that now lay bare to him, three distinct ones in the thirteenth row caught his attention. A golden sculpture carved in the shape of a bull, a rhombus-shaped green gem, and a pair of curved feet of a monster.


    He ran his eyes across them as if to scan these tokens and counted them in his heart. There were more than a hundred Other Shore Tokens in total from Stage One to Stage Thirteen of the Other Shore.


    "You can''t touch those Other Shore Tokens! They belong to our Bearing race!" Two more people appeared on the scene and shouted while pointing at the Other Shore Tokens.


    Similar to the Oneness Sky Palace, the Bearing race also collected various Other Shore Tokens and kept them inside the wall for the members of their own race to use. However, they had never imagined someone like Zen would infiltrate their temple and attempt to steal them before they moved them away.


    "Not anymore, they belong to me now," Zen chuckled in amus


    ed for him to wake up and bring the news of Zen''s response.


    "I doubt that guy would listen to Athemar..."


    "Now that his physical body has entered the Other Shore, he must be unstoppable. Alas, I hope he can show some mercy!"


    "I didn''t expect the Bearing race would make such a huge concession!"


    Several masters hung their heads with a hint of worry on their faces.


    Just then, another news came from the Bearing race, offering a compromise. They had proposed to order the Sun Crow race to withdraw from the Mountain Viewing Province.


    The dispute between the Sun Crow race and the Oneness Sky Palace in the Mountain Viewing Province had lasted for many years. It was always a headache to the Oneness Sky Palace.


    Back then, when the Sun Crow race had a conflict with the humans of the Oneness Sky Palace, the Bearing race played a huge part in adding fuel to the fire. If they could end their war with the Sun Crow race by stopping Zen from destroying the temple, it could be beneficial for both parties.


    But they didn''t think that mysterious guy would obey Athemar''s instructions.


    Among all the masters present, only Athemar, Madam Yasamin, Winchell, and Goran knew Zen was that guy. When Athemar asked someone to take a message to Zen, Yasamin glanced at him with meaningful eyes.


    After a while, the disciple opened his eyes and awakened, he returned the hopeful gazes of the masters and said, "That guy has agreed to not destroy their temple, but he still wants to go inside."


    "Why does he want to go to the temple?" the master of Ivory Mountain spoke up in curiosity.


    "The Bearing race has accumulated countless treasures over the years. He wants to gather the things he wants from them." "I really have no idea where this greedy guy came from!" laughed the master of the Golden Mountain.

 Chapter 3242 Plunder

    Zen was a lot calmer when he stepped into the temple of the Bearing race again. He no longer continued to destroy the temple.


    He started looking around the temple. Thankfully, its structure was simple. He walked through the rest half of the temple as the warriors of the Bearing race stood, watching. Their Souls of Light glowed a nervous sheen.


    Suddenly, the faces of the Bearing race warriors dimmed with the sudden realization of what Zen was looking for.


    Two things were of great value in the temple: the Other Shore Tokens and the soul crystal.


    He already took the Other Shore Tokens, which meant he was aiming for the soul crystal.


    Zen took a glance at the scene before him. There were several forks ahead and each fork had warriors guarding them, but the road right in front of him had the largest number of warriors.


    His lips curled into a smile. The Bearing race basically gave away the route leading to the soul crystal.


    As Zen approached, Souls of Light stood firmly and blocked his way. They had no intentions of making way for him.


    "You can''t go in," said one of the warriors. "This is an important part of our temple."


    Zen shook his head. "Try and stop me," he dared.


    He had already destroyed half of the temple. The warriors here weren''t in the position to reason with him.


    Despite this, they stood their ground.


    Zen stepped forward. He bumped them and caused everyone to stagger away.


    Some of them tried to approach Zen to grab him, but as they neared him, Zen simply flicked his wrist and threw them out. Once all of them were out of his way, he continued on his path to the depths of the temple.


    "Alas!"


    "This is our fault. We shouldn''t have set up a trap for the disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace. We are taking the consequences of our own deeds."


    "I haven''t received my soul crystal yet. It seems that I won''t have any chance to get it."


    "¡­¡­"


    The Bearing race collectively sighed. A heavy air rose as depression dawned on them.


    It was extremely difficult for ordinary warriors to improve their souls on the Other Shore.


    The only luck they could count on was if they were able to acquire some soul crystal fro


    .


    Since Dorothy was so determined not to take any, Zen didn''t insist. He just decided to generously share it with her in the future should she need it.


    Zen had been itching to go to higher stages of the Other Shore since he had the Indigo Soul. But considering what happened that day, his plan would be delayed.


    "I wanted to go to Stage Thirteen with you, but it looks like I wouldn''t be able to do that," Zen said.


    Hearing this, Dorothy blushed and giggled. "Let''s go back first. I''m sure the Oneness Sky Palace and Bearing race are in chaotic states now!"


    Zen then retreated from the Other Shore. With the space twisting a bit, he was sitting in his room again.


    When he removed the enchanted barrier and opened the door, he saw three guests in the courtyard.


    Goran, Winchell, and Athemar stood in the middle of the courtyard while Trish and Carrie served them tea. It looked like they were there to visit Zen. Trish and Carrie looked worried.


    Letitia stood on the second floor just as worried as Trish and Carrie. They wondered what Zen had done wrong.


    Although she couldn''t see through the real strength of these men, for some reason unknown to her, the aura the men exuded made her tremble.


    Letitia couldn''t figure out why such figures came to visit Zen and were willing to wait quietly in the courtyard. She wanted to call Zen out, but before she could, the three men stopped her as if they were afraid of disturbing him.

 Chapter 3243 Failing To Get The Sumeru Space

    The moment Zen pushed the door open, Letitia hurriedly told him, "Zen, these guests have already been waiting here for a long time."


    Zen noticed that Letitia was a little nervous, so he comforted her first. After that, he escorted her down from the second floor.


    "Welcome, masters!"


    As Zen reached downstairs, he promptly bowed to the three people before him.


    Athemar asked, "Who is she?"


    "This is my principal wife. Tia, greet these masters," Zen responded honestly.


    As Zen finished his words, Letitia bowed to them then respectfully retreated to the side.


    The three of them regarded Zen with meaningful expressions.


    They thought back on what happened in the Vastness Mountain not long ago. They were surprised that Zen had been married. They also wondered if he already had a child and if Yasamin and Flamine knew about this.


    But of course, it was none of their business. They came here to discuss what happened on the Other Shore.


    To keep the absolute confidentiality of this topic, Athemar set up an invisible enchanted barrier with a wave of his hand.


    In this way, he could prevent Letitia, Trish, and Carrie from hearing their conversation.


    Letitia perfectly knew that they came here to discuss something important with Zen. Since she was not interested in intruding in their affairs, she quietly stood aside.


    "You were truly amazing today! You destroyed half a temple of the Bearing race. You probably have lots of harvests, right?" Athemar said as he laughed, as if he actually saw Zen rob the temple.


    Zen cupped his hands and said, "I took all their Other Shore Tokens and soul crystal inside. I could just hand them over if the Oneness Sky Palace wouldn''t be able to endure their anger."


    Because he destroyed the temple of the Bearing race, the Oneness Sky Palace must be under a lot of pressure. Zen didn''t want to cause any more troubles for the palace.


    "You are quite gracious," Winchell said as he looked at Zen with admiration. If it was him in this position, he probably wouldn''t be willing to hand them over.


    Hearing this, Goran snorted. He said, "For many years, the Oneness Sky Palace was bullied by the Bearing race. This time, you subdued them with your own power. What can they do to us next? You got them with your efforts so naturally, they now belong to you!"


    "But I''m worried that the Bearing race would seek revenge against the palace..." Zen seemed hesitant.


    "For the past years, people have fought repeatedly for profit in the Source World," Athemar said after he took a sip of his


    hunder Beast.


    For many years, that Thunder Beast stayed in the Oneness Sky Palace''s temple. It was a bit apprehensive of Zen as it might be its first time to see a human body.


    Nonetheless, the Thunder Beast lowered its head and stretched out its tentacles when Zen extended his hand toward it. It proceeded to make a carving around Zen''s fingers.


    Gradually, a shining square formed at Zen''s fingertips. Just as it was about to be completely formed, it suddenly broke like a glazed tile with a sound of "bang".


    "Woo?"


    For a moment, the Thunder Beast appeared stunned. It never expected this to happen.


    Zen was also shocked as he stared at his fingertips. He had never thought that the Thunder Beast could fail.


    "Please do it again," Zen implored.


    The Thunder Beast complied. It repeated the process for the second time but as soon as the space ring was almost formed, it broke again.


    "Woo..."


    The Thunder Beast shook its head and now refused to make a space ring for Zen the third time.


    Zen''s face was filled with disappointment. He turned his head and spoke to Dorothy, "It seems like the physical body is unable to get a space ring here."


    Dorothy seemed relieved as she smiled and said, "Your body is invincible on the Other Shore. If you have a Sumeru Space, I''m afraid all of the good things here would be collected by you alone."


    In reality, Dorothy was happy about this.


    She was the only one who knew Zen''s secret on the Other Shore. Zen needed her help in order to transfer those things he got on the Other Shore to his Soul of Light.


    So if Zen had gotten the space ring successfully, he would not need her help anymore. Hence, she would be useless to him.

 Chapter 3244 Ancestral Glory Stage

    Zen naturally failed to decipher what was going on in Dorothy''s mind.


    After he switched his form from his physical body to his Soul of Light to enter the Other Shore, he left the temple with Dorothy and headed for that square not far away.


    On that square, there was a star ring. It continued to emit coldness that was chilling to the bone.


    Around the star ring, many people sat with their legs crossed. They wanted to attempt at increasing their resistance against the cold.


    There were many ways to improve cultivation. The privileged super forces had reserves of soul crystal, and they would absorb it to increase their cultivation of Soul of Light faster compared to others.


    But the common folk in the Source World had no qualifications to enter the temples, let alone to get any soul crystal.


    So they had to make use of other ways to improve cultivation that were less effective, such as enduring the brutal cold exuded by the star ring.


    Since Dorothy and Zen both had Indigo Souls, they inevitably attracted a lot of attention as they approached the scene.


    The Indigo Soul was invincible in Stage Four since it could reach Stage Thirteen of the Other Shore directly. As a result, Zen and Dorothy were much more compelling than the others present there.


    "Let''s go!"


    Dorothy gestured Zen to follow after her, and then she stepped into the star ring without any hesitation.


    As the star ring began to spin around her, her Soul of Light stretched up vertically and turned into a ray of light. With a swift movement, it shot up towards the sky, like a rising comet.


    After Dorothy ascended, it was Zen''s turn. He entered the star ring to follow after her.


    Recalling back to when he first entered Stage Four, he remembered how hard it was for him to bear the pressure exerted by the same star ring. However, that was a while ago, and his Soul of Light had made substantial progress since then. The coldness contained in the star ring could not harm him anymore.


    "Whoosh!"


    Within a split second, Zen had also successfully left Stage Four.


    Just as they left Stage Four, a Soul of Light slowly condensed and formed in the square where they once stood.


    It was the first time this soul had reached Stage Four. Naturally, he was curious about exploring his surroundings.


    He glanced around to see if he could find anything worth his interest, and then he walked over to the side of the star ring. Upon noticing a warrior, he approached him and asked curiously, "Hey man, what are you guys doing here?"


    The cultivator looked annoyed by his question. He glanced at him and answered impatiently, "Are you blind!? We are cultivating here!"


    "What? Really?"


    The man turned around and scanned the star ring with a baffled ex


    Shore Tokens of Stage Five were not much different from those in Stage Four. Moreover, those from major forces managed to obtain Other Shore Tokens from higher stages in their temples, so there was no point in exploring Stage Five.


    The same could be said about Stages Six and Seven.


    Zen and Dorothy didn''t stay there for long. They entered another star ring and continued to ascend to the next stage.


    Stage Six, the Seven-brilliance Stage, was a little dangerous and had a complex landscape. It was covered with giant rocks painted in a bright red color.


    On the other hand, Stage Seven, the Nothingness Stage, was occupied by pink fern. It proved refreshing in contrast to the previous stages.


    Stage Eight, the Great Ultimate Stage, seemed more like a world of only ice and snow.


    Stage Nine, the Red Sun Stage, like its name, was similar to that of a blazing sun with high temperatures.


    Stage Ten was called the Mysterious Light Stage...


    The pair kept stepping into star rings of the stages and flying upward.


    As they ascended, they felt the pressure of the star rings increase gradually.


    For an ordinary person with an average Soul of Light, it would take a few years or even longer in the ascension.


    However, they were Indigo Souls. They could resist the pressure with ease. They kept progressing without a hitch.


    Finally, they reached Stage Eleven, the Ancestral Glory Stage!


    Dozens of giant Souls of Light appeared not far from them once they showed up in Stage Eleven. These blurry Souls of Light looked terrifying, judging from the aura they emitted.


    Behind Zen, there were countless star rings. No one could tell exactly how many they were.


    "Humans, come this way!"


    A tall and seemingly powerful Soul of Light walked up to Zen and Dorothy and pointed to the right while giving the order.

 Chapter 3245 Rip Off

    Zen''s eyes filled with confusion, his gaze switching from the star rings to the non-human creatures stationed there.


    The origin of the star ring was unknown to him. All he knew was that it served as a key item for a warrior''s ascension to the upper stages.


    According to what he had observed, one star ring was shared among all creatures of a particular race.


    For instance, despite the existence of a large number of star rings in Stage One, the human race could only rely on one to ascend to the next stage.


    This was the case for all the following stages. All the humans used the same rings to ascend.


    All races had their own star rings, and the star ring that belonged to the human race would normally be surrounded by humans while those that belonged to the non-human races would likewise be surrounded by non-human creatures.


    However, the scene in front of him right now was entirely different from what he initially thought.


    For one, there were countless star rings piled high before him, and two, he was being ordered around by these non-human creatures as if they owned the place!


    Dorothy pulled his sleeve and whispered to him. "Just do as they say."


    She knew significantly more about the Other Shore so Zen chose to follow her advice, albeit with a noticeable frown on his face.


    He returned his gaze onto the star rings. They had been arranged in an orderly fashion. Meanwhile, hundreds of Souls of Light gathered nearby and were lining up in two, neat queues.


    "The road on your left will lead you towards the upper stage while the one on your right will lead you to the temples. Choose one and line up!" a tall, non-human creature announced in a loud voice.


    A collection of various creatures immediately followed: small Ear Mice, giant beasts, and others, all lined up to form orderly queues.


    "What''s going on?" Zen asked Dorothy in a low voice after they joined a long line. This Stage Eleven feels different from the previous stages."


    "It''s because the Ancestral Glory Stage is controlled by the Separate Abyss race," she explained.


    The Separate Abyss race was considered one of the strongest powerhouses in the Source World. Superior in terms of both soul and strength levels, they proved to be a force that the human race found difficulty in contending with.


    Zen''s eyes widened in shock upon hearing this piece of information. "A race can control an entire stage?"


    "This is a special case. The Separate Abyss race is closely related to a race on the Other Shore so they got a bit of help from them in taking over this stage. Any super force that comes here would have to follow their rules," Dorothy told him.


    "What are the rules?" Zen asked.


    "Well, anyone who wants to pass through this Ancestral Glory Stage and reach Stage Twelve has to pay ten thousand soul


    s at this time that Zen decided to step out of his spot in line. He went towards her and nodded to the Separate Abyss guard up front. "It''s only two thousand soul pills. I''ll pay for her."


    His words shocked the human girl. She couldn''t believe some stranger would be kind enough to help her out of this hopeless situation. It was a miracle! "Thank you! When I reach Stage Twelve, I promise I''ll pay you back!"


    Zen, however, shook his head. "No need."


    He took out two thousand soul pills from his space ring and was about to give them to the guard. However, the guard merely laughed at Zen. "Boy, if you really want to help her then it''ll cost you more than two thousand!"


    Zen frowned. "How much would it cost?"


    "One hundred thousand soul pills!" the guard declared.


    Zen''s face immediately darkened. These Separate Abyss members were truly determined to rip him off.


    True, he had managed to acquire a lot of soul crystal from the Bearing race which made him very rich. A finger-size chunk of soul crystal could be sold for a massive amount of soul pills and a mere one hundred thousand wasn''t going to cause a dent in his fortune.


    What he didn''t like though, was how thick-skinned the Separate Abyss race were in their dealings.


    "Isn''t it that everyone only has to pay ten thousand soul pills?" Zen asked in a clipped tone.


    "Haha!" the guard laughed, clearly mocking Zen. "This is our place and you have to give whatever amount we ask! You want to stand up for your fellow human, then I say that both of you now have to pay one hundred thousand soul pills!"


    The bystanders waiting in line could only shake their heads. This was the exact reason why nobody was willing to help the human girl earlier. Dealing with the domineering Separate Abyss race was incredibly complicated and could end up biting them in the ass if they ever so much as offended them.

 Chapter 3246 Too Greedy

    The exorbitant price required by the Separate Abyss race depressed the human girl as she could not afford it.


    She was afraid that she couldn''t leave this stage today.


    Most people minded their business and would not meddle in others'' affairs. She was, thus, grateful that Zen was willing to help her. Nevertheless, two hundred thousand soul pills were simply too much.


    "Fine," the girl gritted her teeth as she muttered, "I''ll work for you."


    Although she knew it was dangerous, she had no other choice.


    At this time, Zen said, "I will pay two hundred thousand soul pills!"


    The Separate Abyss race always charged at will. What was worse, they increased the price randomly. Before the guards could change their minds, Zen nodded at Dorothy.


    Dorothy had been watching silently. When Zen nodded at her, she took ten hundred thousand soul pills out of her space ring and offered it to the guards of the Separate Abyss race.


    The human girl''s eyes opened wide. Even though they didn''t know each other, Zen paid such a significant sum to get her out of trouble. She was surprised and extremely grateful.


    The Separate Abyss race, on the other hand, had been cunning as always. When Zen had stepped in to help the girl, they had increased the price tenfold and asked for two hundred thousand soul pills. Nevertheless, Zen still paid that amount.


    The Separate Abyss guards hadn''t expected Zen to take out two hundred thousand soul pills. If they were to make things difficult for them now, it would ruin their race''s reputation. Therefore, the leader of them waved his hand and said, "You can go!"


    The human girl walked up to Zen and said, "I''ll wait for you in Stage Twelve. Thank you for your help. I will find a way to repay you!"


    Two hundred thousand soul pills were not a significant amount for any Souls of Light who could enter Stage Twelve or Stage Thirteen.


    But it was an exorbitant amount for the girl as her clan had declined. As she wasn''t sure whether she could acquire two hundred thousand soul pills, she was hesitant to make the promise.


    "Never mind all that. You can fly upward now," Zen said with a smile.


    As she was a stranger who he had met by chance on the Other Shore, Zen didn''t think he would see her again in Stage Twelve. Even though he knew that she couldn''t return the soul pills, Zen had still helped her.


    The human girl nodded and walked toward the star ring.


    Zen and Dorothy waited in line for a


    left the Other Shore.


    Dorothy''s plea to stay safe and be careful echoed in the space as Zen''s figure had already disappeared.


    She shook her head slightly. Had the Separate Abyss race accepted two hundred thousand soul pills only, this would never have happened. But they had been unreasonable when they demanded a million soul pills. If she didn''t have the soul crystal, she would have been left in Stage Eleven.


    When the human girl saw Zen disappear, she was at a loss for what to do. She stood silently for a while before she asked Dorothy, "Miss, where has he gone?"


    Dorothy replied, "He''ll be back soon."


    She knew that it wouldn''t take Zen long to turn Stage Eleven upside down.


    "Oh." The human girl shuffled her feet. "Then, I''ll wait for him here."


    "Why are you waiting for him?" Dorothy asked as curiosity coursed through her.


    "I want to know his name. I will return the soul pills to him," the girl explained.


    Dorothy smiled at the girl. "You don''t need to do that."


    For her and Zen, two hundred thousand soul pills were not a significant amount. She did pay a higher price of a finger-size chunk of soul crystal as demanded by the Separate Abyss race, but that had nothing to do with this young human girl.


    As Dorothy was generous and open-minded, she didn''t blame the little girl.


    "No! I must return them to him!" The girl was surprisingly persistent.


    Since Dorothy''s patience had waned, she said slowly, "I gave the soul pills on his behalf. Now, I''m telling you that I don''t need you to pay me back. You can leave!"


    Dorothy''s words upset the human girl, and she walked away reluctantly.

 Chapter 3247 A Hundredfold

    As soon as Zen arrived¡ªin his corporeal form¡ªat the Oneness Sky Palace''s temple, he saw a group of disciples stationed at the entrance of the temple. They all had grim expressions on their faces.


    Zen quickly deduced that they were guarding against a strong enemy.


    "What''s the matter?"


    he demanded, going straight up to one of the disciples.


    Although they didn''t know who he was, they knew he had helped them before.


    "Before you came, something serious happened!" said the disciple, sounding frantic.


    "Tell me quickly. Did the Bearing race come to make trouble again?" Zen asked, looking around him for signs of danger.


    The great loss suffered by the Bearing race should have taught them not to go against the Oneness Sky Palace. Could they have dared to make trouble again so soon after their recent failure? Or was this the work of another race?


    The disciple shook his head. "There was a man, but he didn''t belong to the Bearing race... We don''t know where he came from. He can devour the souls of others!"


    "A man who devours souls?" Zen repeated, startled.


    "Yes!" The disciple sounded extremely upset. "He wanted soul crystal, and when we refused¡ªhe swallowed one of our members! We had to retreat to the temple."


    The temple was protected by a variety of powerful restrictions. Apart from Zen, who could come and go as he pleased, even the strongest souls would be burnt to ashes.


    "Then he left?" Zen asked.


    "He went to the Bearing race. We think he went there for soul crystal too," the disciple answered.


    Soul crystal was very difficult to obtain.


    At the moment, there were a lot of elite disciples of the Bearing race here, but they were busy rebuilding their destroyed temple. This meant that no restrictions were yet in place to protect them. And so the man attacked them, eating at least seven souls before the rest of the members of the Bearing race fled from the Other Shore completely.


    Once they were gone, the man went through the ruins of the Bearing race''s temple.


    However, he had come too late. The temple had already been plundered by Zen, and whatever valuables remained had also been taken away by the Bearing race. He wasn''t able to find anything useful.


    He refused to give up. He went next to the temple of the Divine Farmer race.


    But by then, word had reached them of the danger on the Other Shore, and the temple was heavily guarded. Indeed, in the battle that ensued, the disciples of the Divine Farmer race managed to lure him inside the temple and almost succeeded in killing him. The man managed to escape the temple.


    After hearing the story, Zen asked, "So where is this person now?"


    "He has probably left the Other Shore. His power to devour souls is terrifying, but apart from that one ability his soul does not seem very strong.


    uare didn''t have a high position in the Separate Abyss race. They had made a mistake in extorting Zen. Should the leader and elders of the Separate Abyss race ever learn that they had been foolish enough to offend a person capable of coming to the Other Shore in corporeal form, they would be severely punished.


    They decided it would be best to avoid further trouble and just return everything to Zen.


    The Souls of Light waiting in line couldn''t hide their pleasure at seeing the Separate Abyss race humbled.


    They who had always been so tough, who had always acted so superior, had finally met their match!


    Zen gave the members of the Separate Abyss race a cool glance. "No. One hundred million soul pills, or a hundred finger-size chunks of soul crystal."


    The leader''s face changed, and his companions looked worried.


    The Souls of Light who were watching couldn''t help but feel uneasy too. What would happen if the Separate Abyss race couldn''t meet the stranger''s demands? They felt that something big was about to happen.


    The leader squared his shoulders and glared at Zen. "Are you joking? It''s enough that we will return everything to you. Alberto, hand it over."


    Alberto stepped forward and gave the soul crystal to Zen. Zen grasped it in his hand, and squeezed hard.


    The soul crystal burst into pieces and splattered around. Some of the fragments shot into the Souls of Light in line, and they were extremely satisfied with this unexpected development.


    Without the space ring, Zen could not store soul crystal. And he did not intend to take this finger-size chunk of soul crystal.


    At the waste of the soul crystal, the members of the Separate Abyss race groaned.


    Zen stared coldly at them. "Send one hundred million soul pills to Stage Twelve. If there is even a single pill missing, I will raze the Separate Abyss race to the ground."

 Chapter 3248 The Abyss Spirit Race

    Zen''s statements had left everyone speechless.


    Most nonhuman creatures had pinned him to be crazy. They thought he had lost his mind.


    It was already a ridiculous thing for Zen to come over and blatantly demand a hundred million soul pills from the Separate Abyss race. And now he continued to assert his dominance by stating he would raze the territory of the Separate Abyss race to the ground.


    Among the nonhuman creatures, there was a human. He originated from the Divine Farmer race.


    This man had gone all the way from Stage Four to Stage Thirteen. However, he had only been on the Other Shore for a short while. Therefore, he hadn''t witnessed the scene of Zen destroying the temple of the Bearing race before he came here.


    But he did hear from his clansmen about everything that had happened in Stage Four, including the fact that Zen could enter the Other Shore with his physical body.


    "I didn''t expect this brat to suddenly come to Stage Eleven. From the looks of it, the Separate Abyss race has offended him as well. Does he really plan to cause a scene in the Separate Abyss race?"


    The Separate Abyss race was formidable. Their strength was not something to be underestimated. Even the Bearing race hesitated to provoke them.


    Anyone who stood and watched began to anticipate the likelihood of something interesting to happen.


    Upon hearing Zen''s arrogant words, the leader of the guards laughed mockingly. "What did you say? You want to destroy our territory? Hahaha! What a joke!"


    Initially, the Separate Abyss race wanted to come to a compromise with Zen on the issue at hand. After all, Zen was the only one who had arrived at the Other Shore with his physical body. They didn''t want to offend him and cause too much trouble for either of them.


    If this matter escalated without coming to a conclusion, a rumor would spread that the Separate Abyss race had demanded an exorbitant price. This would result in a severe blow to their reputation.


    Now that the situation was getting out of hand, they realized the problem couldn''t be solved peacefully. Therefore, they changed their attitudes.


    "It''s true that it''s a remarkable thing to have a physical body on the Other Shore. Other races might be intimidated by you, but, we''re not afraid of you!"


    "I''d suggest that you move to Stage Twelve if you know what''s good for you!"


    "We share the same origin with the Abyss Spirit race of the Ancestral Glory Stage. Your physical body is no threat to us!"


    There were many creatures of different kinds living on the Other Shore.


    The strength and durability of beings increased with a higher stage. Naturally, the ones that lived on Stage One to Stage Four were not much strong in comparison.


    Some creatures would even occupy restricted areas wh


    r observing the panicked looks on the faces of other races, he turned to them and said, "Find your own star rings and leave this place."


    Without the obstruction of the Separate Abyss race, they were able to leave Stage Eleven through the star rings. And they wouldn''t have to pay the heavy fee of ten thousand soul pills.


    All the other races were grateful to Zen. He had helped them save ten thousand soul pills. And more importantly, he had taught the arrogant members of the Separate Abyss race a good lesson.


    The Separate Abyss race had kept their dominance over small and powerless races in Stage Eleven and the Source World. It was about time someone showed up and put them in their place.


    "Thank you, sir. We are grateful to you for helping us. But you have to be careful with the Abyss Spirit race!"


    "Those living creatures on the Other Shore can also present themselves with their physical bodies."


    "They are very powerful."


    Some people who knew a little about Zen''s approaching enemy gave him all the information they had so he could prepare himself.


    Zen carefully listened to them and nodded. Then he made his way forward and scanned his surroundings.


    The Separate Abyss race had built an entire city on the Other Shore, not just a temple. The city wall alone stood over a thousand feet high, and the buildings within were at an astounding height of ten thousand feet.


    With careful steps, he walked over to the wall and gently pressed his hands against it.


    As he exerted a little pressure, the wall which was one thousand feet high and one hundred feet wide collapsed with a loud sound that reverberated far and wide. A noticeable gap was formed.


    The members of the Separate Abyss race, who stood behind the wall, were oblivious to the scenario that took place on the other side. They eyed Zen up in astonishment.

 Chapter 3249 The Past Scare

    "What happened?"


    "Did the city wall collapse?"


    "Who was strong enough to destroy the wall?" "Was it the Ghost Sneaking Beast?"


    Creatures in Stage Twelve of the Other Shore were not limited to those from the Abyss Spirit race and the Separate Abyss race.


    It was also home to unique and powerful beasts, one of which was the Ghost Sneaking Beast.


    The Souls of Light in the eleventh stage of the Other Shore Realm were not strong enough to destroy the city wall, but the Ghost Sneaking Beast could.


    As usual, Zen, too, was an exception. He could easily destroy the city wall, which was why the Separate Abyss race was astounded by his power.


    "What''s that?"


    "He seems to be a simple human."


    "He''s not in soul form. Unbelievable!"


    Upon seeing Zen, members of the Separate Abyss race gasped.


    They could not believe what they were seeing.


    Zen squinted as he walked. He remained completely unbothered by their reactions.


    He walked calmly and on his toes towards a huge building. Then he crashed into the pillars of the building.


    As he moved forward, the pillars broke into pieces.


    Members of the Separate Abyss race hastily tried to approach Zen without considering the risks.


    "No matter which race you come from! You are courting death!"


    "No one has ever dared to go against us, especially not a mere human like you!"


    "Are you from the Bearing race?"


    Zen didn''t want to waste any more time on them.


    For those who approached him boldly, Zen simply flicked his arm to smash their Souls of Light.


    He had killed several of their members and the Separate Abyss race was quickly realizing how much of a threat he really was.


    But they did not give up. They did not leave the Other Shore. Despite Zen''s display of strength, they gathered behind him and cursed him. They wanted to stop him but did not dare approach him.


    Then, they heard the sound of a rumble.


    Zen had passed through another huge building a moment before its collapse.


    He walked towards the center of the city, triggering the collapse of every building he passed by.


    Nothing could stop him.


    More and more members of the Separate Abyss race followed behind Zen. Each time a building collapsed, their heart


    ar, Zen pushed it out with his hand.


    The bone spear lashed in the air. It emitted a whistling sound as it landed directly on the chest of an Abyss Spirit knight.


    "Bang!"


    Blood spewed out of the body of the Abyss Spirit knight. He lost his balance and fell from the back of the eagle. His bleeding body lay crumpled on the ground. The eagle, disoriented from what happened, followed suit. It flapped its wings to carry itself up but failed.


    Zen grabbed another spear and threw it towards another Abyss Spirit knight rushing towards him.


    "Bang! Bang! Bang!"


    Zen kept on throwing spears, each time hitting an Abyss Spirit knight right on the chest. Bodies fell from the sky and crushed on the ground.


    The Abyss Spirit race was indeed stronger than the Souls of Light, but they were only creatures of Stage Eleven. This meant that Zen was still miles stronger in terms of pure physical strength.


    A total of eight Abyss Spirit knights lay on the ground. The others panicked behind Zen, trying to force the eagles into flight.


    Suddenly, a look of terror dawned on the faces of the Abyss Spirit knights.


    "Does he cultivate Wild God Power?"


    "Are we dealing with a Wild God once more?"


    "No way! Rules have been changed. No Wild God could enter the Other Shore. It has been like that for the past tens of millions of years!"


    The Abyss Spirit knights exchanged frightened murmurs as they shared the memories of the time when they were dominated by Wild Gods.

 Chapter 3250 The Past

    In ancient times, the warriors of the Source World mainly cultivated the Wild God system, and they used the Ancient God Cultivation Method to enter the Other Shore.


    At that time, it was much easier to travel on the Other Shore.


    A Wild God could become tens of thousands of feet tall. As the corporeal body was far stronger than the soul, warriors of the Source World were immensely powerful when they entered the Other Shore with their real bodies. At that time, the creatures on the Other Shore, who were at a significant disadvantage, were easily slaughtered by the Wild Gods.


    A race like them could only hide in a corner of the Ancestral Glory Stage.


    Every time the Wild Gods plundered the Other Shore, it was disastrous for the whole Abyss Spirit race.


    At one point, the Wild Gods had almost annihilated the Abyss Spirit race!


    Everything happened at that time was like a nightmare. This was indeed a dark period for the Abyss Spirit race.


    After the decline of the cultivation method of the Wild Gods and changes in the truth rules, the creatures on the Other Shore earned a gradual respite. This reprieve allowed struggling races, like the Abyss Spirit race, to pull through. Eventually, these creatures turned the tables and took the lead.


    Those who entered the Other Shore later were weak Souls of Light. Without their corporeal bodies, how could they possibly be a match for the creatures on the Other Shore?


    As a result, the races on the Other Shore took furious revenge for what they had endured!


    At that time, stages above Stage Four were death land for the powerful warriors of the Other Shore Realm. They were extremely dangerous places, and any Other Shore Realm warrior that entered would die because none could resist the attack of the races on the Other Shore.


    This was also the reason why most races had built their temples on Stage Four. Although there were also Other Shore creatures that lived on Stage One to Stage Four, they hadn''t formed any groups, and they wouldn''t target the Souls of Light.


    Over time, the hatred the Other Shore creatures harbored for the Source World warriors gradually subsided. No one knew why.


    From the middle ages until now, the Other Shore creatures and the Souls of Light had managed to co-exist peacefully. Some of the large races even chose to form alliances with the races on the Other Shore.


    The Abyss Spirit race and the Separate Abyss race, for example, were connected by blood, and thus, naturally associated.


    After the few Separat


    byss race, they never expected that he would use such an incredible way...


    Currently, the temple only reached Zen''s calf. It seemed as though he could trample an entire temple just by lifting his leg. While the thought terrified everyone, only Zen knew that he wasn''t capable of such damage.


    Although he had absorbed a large number of wild bones, the limit his body could grow into was far more than ten thousand feet high.


    However, the Wild God Power was incomparable to the Other Shore Power. After all, the Wild Gods corresponded to True Gods, and when Zen was just a consummate True God, the force he could unleash with his full strength was only one divine megaton.


    As the ancient Wild Gods, who had used the Ancient God Cultivation Method to enter the Other Shore, cultivated Truth of Powerful Holy Body, they were able to merge with Other Shore Tokens.


    However, Zen was special as he hadn''t cultivated the Truth of Powerful Holy Body. And so, he didn''t know whether his body could merge with Other Shore Tokens, or if it could, how he should go about it.


    Just then, three more eagles flew toward Zen from outside the city.


    Three elders of the Abyss Spirit race were on the backs of these flying eagles. They had lived for a very long time, as evident from their shrunken sizes. They were pygmies when compared with the Abyss Spirit knights.


    The three old men hovered in front of Zen. The white-haired old man at the helm asked, "Human boy, why do you destroy our city and temple for no reason?"


    Zen sneered, "Ask the Separate Abyss race. They forced a human to pay one million soul pills to pass Stage Eleven. How could you say that I have no reason?"

 Chapter 3251 Reach An Compromise

    Zen''s thunderous voice shook the Souls of Light to the core.


    His words shocked everyone, especially the three old men from the Abyss Spirit race


    The three did not show it but what just happened made them worry greatly.


    If Zen came here to make trouble for no reason, then they would be in great trouble. However, if he had some reason to do what he did, things would be different because that meant that they had a chance of negotiating with him.


    The leader of the three old men bowed respectfully to Zen. "My friend, please calm down and wait a moment. I shall go and ask the Separate Abyss race regarding this matter."


    With this, the eagle beneath his feet let out a shrill cry before descending towards the temple.


    There was a bit of a five-minute wait before the old man returned, still atop the eagle, and faced Zen. "I apologize for what the members of the Separate Abyss race did. They were the ones who broke the rules and inconvenienced you. As compensation, we will be giving you a hundred million soul pills."


    That amount might seem like a terrible loss at first, but they could easily earn it back. One hundred million soul pills was just the toll fee of ten thousand creatures after all.


    Zen''s rampage in the city cost no less than a hundred million soul pills, but it was important to placate him now, or they would risk paying a bigger price if he continued his destructive ways.


    What the old man was worried about was the possibility of Zen going back on his word.


    "Send one hundred finger-size chunks of soul crystal instead of one hundred million soul pills to the human race''s star ring in Stage Twelve," Zen ordered.


    Given his reasonable demand, the three old men of the Abyss Spirit race raised no more objections against him.


    Once an agreement had been reached, Zen finally shrank back to his normal size.


    With this problem taken care of, the young man turned away to take his leave. The old man of the Abyss Spirit race, however, stopped him. "My friend..."


    Zen turned around, an eyebrow raised in suspicion. "What is it?"


    The old man hesitated for a brief moment but went ahead to ask his question. "As far as I know, the body refining skill of the ancient gods has long since lost its effect and no real body could enter the Other Shore. Just how were you able to enter with that body of yours?"


    Truth ruled the whole chaos. It was greater than everything and the old man believed that it was also unbreakable. Zen''s existence right now was an enigma. How exactly did this young man do it? The only explanation


    dangerous it was. Six or seven native races lived in this stage along with other strong and dangerous creatures that still hadn''t formed their own tribe. It was easily the most perilous stage in the entire Lust World.


    Several great forces had made numerous attempts to control the Ethereal Glorious Stage, much like how the Separate Abyss race managed to gain control of Stage Eleven. However, all of them failed. The natives of this stage fought with each other quite violently so there was no way the Souls of Light from the Source World could come in and take control.


    When Zen reached Stage Thirteen, he was a bit taken aback to how different it was from what he initially imagined. "I thought Stage Thirteen would be desolate. I didn''t expect it to be quite a busy place."


    Star rings from all races were strewn about here and there. What was most peculiar was the fact that despite the co-existence of all sorts of creatures, they got along rather harmoniously.


    Souls of Light who had the ability to step into Stage Thirteen were usually Indigo Souls or one step away from that realm.


    "Elite disciples of all races from the Source World gather here in Stage Thirteen. There are naturally more Indigo Souls here," Dorothy told him.


    Unlike Zen, she didn''t seem that surprised at the scene before them despite the fact that this was her first time here.


    The two of them went past the randomly strewn star rings and headed south where they stumbled upon a one-floor building.


    Dorothy sighed with relief. "It''s here!"


    No race ever built a temple in Stage Thirteen, instead, they constructed simple strongholds and the one in front of them was built by none other than the Oneness Sky Palace.

 Chapter 3252 The Growing Dark Region

    As Zen and Dorothy cautiously approached the stronghold, they noticed it wasn''t as guarded as the temples.


    Even by the entrance, there wasn''t a guard in sight. Zen and Dorothy exchanged uncertain glances, but proceeded anyway. There, they were greeted by a lone figure.


    "Dorothy, so glad to meet you," the figure bowed to Dorothy. Then, turning to Zen, he cupped his hands courteously. "Nice to meet you as well, Zen."


    Dorothy and Jermain had arranged to meet by the entrance beforehand. He had been waiting for them there expectantly.


    Immediately recognizing the man''s voice, Zen smiled. "Nice to meet you, too, Jermain."


    Back in the Seven Mountains Meeting, Jermain had also performed well and eventually led the Origin Mountain in winning second place.


    Zen secretly thought Jermain''s talent was slightly inferior to that of Elvinia and Milo.


    Nevertheless, even he agreed that Jermain must have something extraordinary about him; after all, he was a leader of the disciples of the Origin Mountain.


    Zen squinted. He could sense that Jermain had a unique Soul of Light, which was also an Indigo Soul, thus his aura glowed a deep purple. However, what piqued Zen''s curiosity was the three palm-sized souls that hovered behind Jermain. Upon a closer look, Zen noticed that the three little souls looked exactly like Jermain.


    Meanwhile, Jermain felt Zen''s curious stare. Then, the three souls approached Zen, flitting about him almost playfully.


    "Zen, are you curious about us?" one palm-sized soul asked.


    "We are separate fractal souls," another explained.


    "Each of us is a separate individual," the third continued.


    The three souls circled Zen as they explained. Each one sounded exactly like Jermain, which made Zen feel somewhat unsettled.


    "Jermain," Dorothy giggled, "your separate souls are so funny!"


    She had known prior that Jermain had separated three souls from his main soul, but this was the first time she had met them.


    "Why did you split your soul?" Zen asked curiously.


    Before Jermain could even open his mouth to respond, Dorothy answered for him. "Because his Other Shore Token is ''four in one'', and belongs to the descending type."


    The Other Shore Token Dorothy was talking about was Jermain''s four clay figurines. Each one could transform into any shape in the Source Wor


    y were in the Lust Word. Only after reaching the Chaotic Source Realm would they choose to cultivate the second Truth of Godly Way for greater power.


    Zen smiled. He didn''t tell Jermain that he was cultivating three ways, not two only.


    "You can try exploring the temples," Jermain suggested. "Or, buy one in the rats'' auction."


    "The rats'' auction?" Zen asked. "Are you referring to the Ear Mouse race?"


    "Yes," Jermain replied.


    The Ear Mice were notoriously greedy. Even though they already held great power and dominated the trade on the Other Shore, other races still despised them as rats.


    Zen had heard before that the Ear Mouse race monopolized trade on the Other Shore. But he had yet to come across them, since he had chosen to explore only temples in the previous stages.


    Jermain''s words piqued his interest.


    Zen reflected on his assets. He had obtained 100 finger-size chunks of soul crystal that were worth a hundred million soul pills from the Separate Abyss race. Additionally, he had a considerable amount of loot from the Bearing race.


    If the Ear Mouse race auctioned some extremely precious Other Shore Tokens, then he''d definitely opt to just buy one, rather than waste time and energy exploring.


    "Please take us to the auction," Dorothy spoke his thoughts.


    Jermain sighed at Dorothy''s enthusiasm for Zen. She was, after all, considered a brilliant talent in the Oneness Sky Palace-- many disciples of the Origin Mountain sought her attention. Anyone who saw how devoted she was to Zen would feel heartbroken.

 Chapter 3253 Selling Other Shore Tokens

    The three of them traveled north for a while under Jermain''s guidance before they spotted a low-rise building.


    Many people were gathered in front of the building and seemed to be waiting for something.


    Jermain went to make an inquiry. Before long, he returned to them and said to Zen, "There are two hours left before the auction starts. Looks like we''ll have to wait here."


    "Since the Ear Mice are in charge of the auction, they will also have to purchase the Other Shore Tokens. You can sell the tokens to them," Dorothy reminded Zen.


    At her words, Zen remembered that he had a large number of Other Shore Tokens stashed away.


    All these Other Shore Tokens were precious treasures of the Bearing race and were of great value.


    Zen had studied each of them with precise concentration. They were good, but none was particularly suited to him.


    He had now merged with two Other Shore Tokens, the Strength God Totem and the Eye of Will, both of which had their own uses. But he must now be very careful when he merged with the last Other Shore Token.


    Selling the extra Other Shore Tokens was the best option he had at the moment.


    "The Ear Mice will buy the Other Shore Tokens, but they are very picky. They don''t like ordinary Other Shore Tokens. I''ll take you there," Jermain said.


    This was Zen''s first time in Stage Thirteen. Zen hadn''t upgraded his soul to the Indigo Soul during the Seven Mountains Meeting and could stay in Stage Four at most. That was why in Jermain''s eyes, Zen shouldn''t have obtained any quality Other Shore Tokens in such a short period of time.


    But Jermain didn''t know that Zen had plundered a number of Other Shore Tokens from the Bearing race''s temple.


    "Don''t bother. Zen can go by himself," Dorothy said.


    Jermain had probably heard all about the commotion in Stage Four and would eventually figure out his true identity if Zen were to take out over a hundred Other Shore Tokens.


    And although Dorothy trusted Jermain, she didn''t want to expose Zen''s identity.


    Jermain was curious but didn''t say anything. He merely showed Zen the directions he had to follow.


    Zen followed Jermain''s instructions and walked around the small building until he found another entrance.


    A shrill voice sounded b


    g of substance with him. But now that he was pulling more Other Shore Tokens out of his space ring, they were shocked. One of them asked, "How many Other Shore Tokens do you want to sell? Can you take them out in one go? We have been doing business on the Other Shore for many years. We have a good reputation, and we won''t cheat you."


    Zen looked at each of the three Ear Mice before taking out the Other Shore Tokens from his space ring under their eager gaze.


    The Ear Mice hadn''t taken Zen''s Other Shore Tokens seriously in the beginning. But they soon found something unusual with his tokens. The worst of the Other Shore Tokens in Zen''s space ring belonged to the fourth grade. He even had a couple of fifth-grade tokens among them!


    They remained calm even when Zen took out a dozen Other Shore Tokens.


    But as the pile grew, as many as sixty Other Shore Tokens in it, the three Ear Mice looked at Zen with shock.


    "He doesn''t even know the grading system. Where did he get so many Other Shore Tokens?"


    ''They are from different stages. Did this guy rob a temple of some super force?''


    ''I can''t believe this! I''ve been buying Other Shore Tokens for so many years, but I''ve never seen anyone sell tokens like this!''


    The Ear Mice thought to themselves as they looked suspiciously at the pile of Other Shore Tokens before them.


    Most Souls of Light would explore a certain stage and collect the Other Shore Tokens over there. It wasn''t necessary for them to explore every single stage.

 Chapter 3254 The Loot

    As more and more Other Shore Tokens emerged from Zen''s space ring, the Ear Mice''s eyes grew wider and wider.


    "It''s of the fifth grade! I can''t believe it!"


    "There are three Other Shore Tokens from Stage Thirteen. Two are fourth-grade, and one is fifth-grade!"


    The three Ear Mice had Indigo Souls. Although they weren''t powerful fighters, they knew their trade.


    Even though they were in shock, they still managed to gather their wits.


    With briefly exchanged glances, one of the three quietly left the room through the back door.


    Although Zen was preoccupied with taking the Other Shore Tokens out of his space ring, out of the corner of his eye, he observed the Ear Mice.


    Seeing one of them leave, Zen inadvertently smiled.


    The Ear Mouse had probably gone to find out the origin of these Other Shore Tokens.


    The other two Ear Mice began to busy themselves, assessing the values of each of Zen''s Other Shore Tokens.


    As expected, the value of the fourth-grade Other Shore Tokens from Stage Thirteen was higher than that of those from Stage Twelve.


    The fourth-grade ox skull from Stage Five was sold for only one hundred thousand soul pills, but a fourth-grade Other Shore Token from Stage Thirteen was worth two million and five hundred thousand. And a fifth-grade one from Stage Thirteen was worth nearly twenty-two million!


    "This is a fourth-grade Other Shore Token from Stage Three," one of them squeaked. "We usually don''t buy such things. It''s worth fifty thousand soul pills. But we will make an exception for now."


    "Eight thousand soul pills for a fourth-grade Other Shore Token from Stage One," the other added.


    The two Ear Mice assessed the Other Shore Tokens, commenting on each of them.


    Zen was well aware that they were just stalling, but he wasn''t worried. He wasn''t in a hurry, anyway.


    Since the Ear Mice were so intelligent, Zen knew it would only be a matter of time before they''d find out what happened to the Bearing race.


    Just as Zen thought about this, the Ear Mouse that had quietly left earlier finally returned. It looked directly at Zen. "I have something to discuss with them," it squeaked, gesturing at its colleagues. "May we have a moment?"


    "Okay." Zen nodded and sat there quietly.


    Then, the three Ear Mice left the room to confide in each other.


    "I''ve asked around already," the Ear Mouse said. "A f


    sixty million soul pills, which was equivalent to sixty finger-size chunks of soul crystal.


    Even though these Other Shore Tokens were useless to him, he was hoping they''d amount to much more than that.


    "Fine, you can exchange the soul pills for soul crystal and pay me," Zen said.


    "Exchange for soul crystal?"


    The three Ear Mice shook their heads in unison.


    "Aren''t one million soul pills equivalent to one finger-size chunk of soul crystal?" Zen asked, knitting his eyebrows.


    One of the Ear Mice laughed squeakily. "The soul crystal is too rare. It is priceless, so we usually don''t exchange the soul pills for it."


    The soul crystal was extremely scarce on the Other Shore. The super forces needed to support their members, and they didn''t have much. Thus, the price of the soul crystal soared, and now, one finger-size chunk of soul crystal could be exchanged for one million soul pills.


    But even then, the supply fell short of the demand.


    Most races wouldn''t be foolish enough to exchange the soul crystal for soul pills.


    Therefore, it was not because those Other Shore Tokens were not valuable. Over sixty million soul pills were a huge amount of money, but soul crystal was just too precious.


    At that time, the Separate Abyss race had no choice but to obey Zen''s orders. That was why they took out a hundred finger-size chunks of soul crystal.


    This time, however, Zen didn''t force the Ear Mice to pay him soul crystal. After all, they were businessmen, not fallen warriors.


    Although they were annoying, they could be useful in some situations.

 Chapter 3255 Grand Sky Temple

    Zen put away the soul pills and was just about to leave when one of the Ear Mice politely called out, "Sir, please wait a minute."


    Zen stopped and turned around. His gaze landed at the Ear Mouse and he asked, "Yeah, what''s up?"


    "It''s nothing really. But I was wondering if you could tell me something. What is the relationship between you and that physical body on the Other Shore?" the Ear Mouse asked.


    After a thorough investigation of the matter, the Ear Mice seemed much more polite now.


    The change in their attitude made Zen realize that they already knew something about his secret. The only thing was, he had never expected that they would ask him about it directly.


    Nevertheless, he smiled gently and told them, "I am his spokesperson."


    An interesting property of the Other Shore was that nobody could identify anyone with their blurred appearance. This might also be considered an advantage. As long as Zen did not admit it personally, it was almost impossible for others to be sure that he was exactly the person appearing on the Other Shore in physical form.


    When Zen had invaded the Bearing race''s temple, Dorothy had also been present with him.


    Because of that, the Bearing race knew that the temple-destroyer had some connections with the Oneness Sky Palace. However, since the Oneness Sky Palace insisted that the Bearing race were wrong and they had nothing to do with the invasion, there was no way to know. There was no way for the Bearing race to confirm their suspicions.


    After leaving the room, Zen circled around the low building.


    Dorothy and Jermain were waiting for him at the gate.


    "Zen''s coming!" Dorothy saw Zen coming from the distance; she waved at him and said, "Come on. The auction has already begun. Let''s hurry up!"


    Zen nodded and the three of them entered the auction house together. Coming there felt like coming to a different place altogether.


    Compared to the low-lying building behind them, the auction house was built lavishly and reeked of wealth.


    Most of the other super forces would only build a small stronghold at Stage Thirteen. In comparison, the Ear Mouse race possessed a large area of land, and that was apparent.


    The wide hall had efficient seating arrangements, which had been well thought out, keeping guests of different sizes in consideration. After all, their guests were from various races and would be of various sizes. Some chairs were a few inches tall and some were several feet long.


    When they entered the hall, the auction had already been going on for some time.


    Inside, an Ear Mouse was zealously introducing a fourth-grade Other Shore Token. It was standing right at the center, and explaining how the token had been obtained from Stage Nine. The base price was set at two hundred thousand soul pills.


    But Zen himself had just sold a large number of fourth-grade Other Shore Tokens to the Ear Mice. Therefore


    was a legend and was considered one of the best warriors in the Land of Sword Grief.


    However, the time he was referring to was a long while back. In those days, Tyquan had obtained a sixth-grade Other Shore Token from the Grand Sky Temple. It was from Stage Thirteen and therefore, had guaranteed him powerful strength even in the Desire World.


    "Yes! You are right," Jermain replied, equally surprised. "I never expected that the Ear Mice would put the Other Shore Key to the Grand Sky Temple up for auction. This might be the grand finale for the auction!"


    As soon as the Ear Mouse had finished the introduction, it announced a base price of five million soul pills. The audience were stunned into silence when Dorothy quickly raised her hand and made the first bid, "Eight million soul pills!"


    Zen and Jermain both looked at Dorothy, taken aback by her bold bidding. Jermain audibly gasped. No matter how much interest she had in the Other Shore Key, they thought that such a high bid was a rather impulsive decision.


    "Dorothy..."


    Jermain tried to remind Dorothy that she shouldn''t be so generous, or more accurately, reckless with her wealth.


    However, his fears were allayed. "Don''t worry. I was bidding on his behalf," Dorothy said with a chuckle. "He will be the one paying for it anyway!"


    "Hey! Really! That''s a great favor!"


    Zen sighed in resignation. It was true that he wanted to bid for this Other Shore Key, but such a high bid was obviously unwise. In any case, their discussion was put on hold when, "Sixteen million soul pills."


    Another voice rang out in the hall, doubling Dorothy''s bid immediately.


    Zen and Jermain were stunned into silence. They had witnessed all sorts of auctions, and had seen quite a few where fast and even ultra-fast bidding would take place, but they had never seen someone crazy enough to totally double the price, especially when it was already so high. Who was this guy?

 Chapter 3256 The Three Huts In The Dark Region

    Zen was surprised at the offer.


    On the other hand, Jermain looked as though he lost the ability to speak.


    The Grand Sky Temple was one of the three major temples in Stage Thirteen, and it was the most well-known among them.


    If one was fortunate enough to obtain a sixth-grade Other Shore Token from it, they would attain a massive boost in strength in a short period. The increase in power would be so immense that they would immediately become a top disciple in their force.


    However, the Grand Sky Temple was not easy to explore. It was full of risks, and sometimes they would end up with nothing.


    According to the market price, the value of the Other Shore Key to the Grand Sky Temple was eight to nine million soul pills. But this man had blatantly blurted out sixteen million soul pills as the bid. There must be some hidden information to this that they might have overlooked.


    Just as Jermain was in the middle of processing his thoughts, a creature screamed and raised the price even further.


    "Nineteen million soul pills!"


    The one who gave this offer was from the Celestial Wolf race. The Celestial Wolf race was not a super force. However, its members were proud owners of massive strength. Due to them existing in a small population, they were not very prominent in the Source World.


    Just as the member of the Celestial Wolf race announced the bid, someone from another race raised it up again. "Twenty million soul pills!"


    The price was only increased by a million soul pills.


    Both Dorothy and Zen were clueless about the market, so they turned to Jermain with questioning eyes as if to ask what to do next.


    Since Zen had put in a lot of effort to reach Stage Thirteen, he did not intend to leave empty-handed. Exploring the temples was his first priority.


    Jermain waved his hands and said, "The Other Shore Key to the Grand Sky Temple is indeed precious, but it''s worth no more than ten million soul pills."


    A pheasant-shaped Soul of Light overheard him and sneered in a sharp voice, "You might have been able to buy it with ten million soul pills three days ago. But now things have changed."


    Hearing what the "pheasant" said, Jermain suddenly got curious and attempted to inquire more. "Excuse me... Mr. Pheasant..."


    In addition to those super forces, there were countless small races in the Source World. He had no idea what race this Soul of Light belonged to, so Jermain addressed it based on its appearance.


    However, that "pheasant" felt offended and retaliated as it yelled, "I''m not a pheasant! I am a nine-eyed peacock!"


    The voice of the nine-eyed peacock was so sharp that it turned everyone''s attention towards the commoti


    fee instead of freeloading. In this way, they would both benefit, the door opener would earn a profit of soul pills in exchange for their service.


    "I don''t know either." The nine-eyed peacock shook its head.


    It was not just the nine-eyed peacock, but other races present in the auction hall were equally confused.


    The Ear Mice could still be trusted in the trade. Since they were willing to auction the Other Shore Key, they were sure to hand it over to the winner if they were willing to pay the price.


    Since the opportunity came, many creatures bade their price up one after the other. They doubled the price to scare off potential competitors for the Other Shore Key.


    Although the light that shone in the Dark Region revealed itself only three days ago, most races had already found out about it. Hence, the competition for the highest bid was crazy.


    While they were immersed in conversation, the price had already been raised to fifty million soul pills!


    "The price just sky-rocketed! We''d better not join now, we can''t afford it," Jermain said as he shook his head.


    Fifty million soul pills was too high a price even for the Indigo Souls.


    Without the contribution of great forces, they would not be able to afford such a huge sum.


    If Jermain would have heard the news earlier, he could have asked the Origin Mountain for assistance. But obviously, it was too late to do that now.


    Suddenly, Zen raised his hand and said out loud, "Sixty million soul pills."


    "You..."


    Jermain''s eyes widened after listening to Zen''s offer. He almost wanted to cover Zen''s mouth.


    Did Zen really own such a large sum of soul pills?


    The auction hall of the Ear Mice had concrete rules. Those who failed to pay what they offered would have to face severe consequences

 Chapter 3257 Ninety-percent Discount

    Jermain was exasperated. Meanwhile, Zen seemed calm and relaxed.


    The moment he got the first candle, Zen became aware of the Dark Region''s existence.


    He had always been interested in the Dark Region. Naturally, he wouldn''t let go of this opportunity.


    "This human friend right here offered sixty million soul pills.


    If no one else is willing to bid, the key to the Grand Sky Temple will be his!" said the Ear Mouse.


    For some reason, the Ear Mouse spoke more quickly after Zen placed his bid. It was as though it was eager to get the deal done.


    This made Jermain more anxious. He was scared that Zen wouldn''t be able to afford the sixty million soul pills. And so, he hoped someone else would raise the price.


    Just as the Ear Mouse was about to announce that the deal was done, another voice came from the crowd. "Sixty-four million..."


    The Soul of Light who raised the price was as tall as a thin tree. It was obviously a member of the Heavenly Pine race in the Source World.


    As Jermain heard the voice, he let out a sigh of relief. Now that this guy''s bid was higher than Zen''s, he need not worry about Zen anymore.


    In the meantime, a bunch of Ear Mice in the back stage of the auction house clutched their chests in dismay.


    "He is so stupid!"


    "Why didn''t he just announce the deal was closed? What was he waiting for?"


    "I heard that the name of the corporeal body''s spokesperson is Zen Luo!"


    "Damn the Heavenly Pine race! They ruined our plan!"


    The Ear Mouse seemed a little disappointed as it announced miserably, "This friend of the Heavenly Pine race offers sixty-four million soul pills."


    With this, the Heavenly Pine member who offered the price grew angry at the Ear Mouse''s reaction. "What''s the matter? Do you not want me to bid for the key? Could it be that the soul pills of the human race are more valuable than those of our Heavenly Pine race?"


    Zen, Jermain, Dorothy, and the others present all felt like there was something wrong.


    The Ear Mouse seemed to be desperate to sell the Other Shore key to Zen.


    "Zen, please don''t bid anymore. How would we afford that amount of soul pills if no one else tops your bid?" Jermain hurriedly warned Zen.


    Zen was not planning to bid again. He just looked at the Ear Mouse on stage and smiled. It was not that he didn''t want to add more soul pills. He simply wanted to find out what tricks the Ear Mice were playing.


    But then, something strange happened.


    As Zen didn''t bid anymore, the Ear Mouse


    er, Zen suddenly said, "The price of the Other Shore Key is too high."


    The Ear Mouse didn''t expect to hear Zen say that. So it told him, "Sir, you were the one who bid it."


    "How about a ninety-percent discount? I''ll pay you six million soul pills and I''ll only take one person with me. You can decide the others who can enter the Grand Sky Temple," Zen added.


    Upon hearing this, Jermain thought that Zen must have gone crazy.


    He had bought it with more than sixty million soul pills himself. And now he was bargaining for a ninety-percent discount? Jermain thought the Ear Mouse would be enraged.


    However, things didn''t turn out as Jermain expected. "I can''t make the decision for what you just offered. Wait here just a minute," said the Ear Mouse before it turned around and left.


    With a bitter smile Jermain said, "I think we''d better get out of here."


    Zen didn''t pay attention to Jermain. When the Ear Mouse returned, it told Zen, "If you don''t need the Other Shore Key and let us keep it, you need not pay any soul pills. We will take you and your companion to the Grand Sky Temple."


    "What?!" Jermain exclaimed. He could hardly believe what he heard.


    This didn''t come as a surprise to Zen, though. He stood up and said, "Thank you for your kindness. I wonder when you plan on going to the Grand Sky Temple."


    "We will open the gate to the Grand Sky Temple tomorrow," replied the Ear Mouse.


    "Then I''ll see you at the gate of the Grand Sky Temple." Zen shrugged and left the auction hall with Dorothy.


    Jermain was still following them in amazement. He felt like he had attended a false auction and had no idea what just happened.

 Chapter 3258 Journey

    As Zen and Dorothy left the auction house, Jermain suddenly stood in front of them and blocked their way.


    "Zen, do you have something on the Ear Mouse race?" Jermain asked. The young man was truly curious as to why the Ear Mouse had been so kind to Zen.


    Although the Ear Mouse race did not give Zen the Other Shore Key, he was given permission to enter the Grand Sky Temple for free and even bring one person along.


    This free pass was no simple arrangement. The Ear Mouse race was overly cautious especially given what happened at the Grand Sky Temple recently. Their set entry fee would be steep and only rose as time went on.


    Zen shrugged. "I don''t know much about the Ear Mouse race."


    "Then...why did they let you enter the Grand Sky Temple for free?" Jermain asked.


    "Maybe they need something from me?" Zen answered. He didn''t show it on his face but his tone made it obvious that he found the conversation quite dull.


    "What would they want from you?" Jermain continued, not willing to back down with his questions.


    "I don''t know," Zen repeated with a shake of his head.


    The Ear Mouse race''s invitation was really directed to Zen''s corporeal body.


    But he didn''t know why they needed his corporeal body. He was telling Jermain the truth.


    Nevertheless, he agreed to the invitation and even requested that he be allowed to bring a companion with him.


    The Ear Mouse race thought that Zen''s companion was the corporeal body they so wanted to see, so they allowed it.


    They had no idea that Zen was actually going to use his corporeal body to enter the Grand Sky Temple and the companion he would be bringing with him was Dorothy.


    This arrangement was rife with misunderstanding, but the results were set to be the same.


    Seeing that Zen was truly clueless, Jermain had to back down. He still had one more thing to ask, though. "You can take one more person with you, right? Who are you going to take? If you don''t have anyone, can you bring me with you?" he requested.


    "I already have a suitable candidate," Zen replied, turning his gaze to Dorothy.


    Jermain''s brows furrowed. "Is the person you''re referring to Dorothy?"


    His tone was incredibly serious and before Zen could reply, Dorothy opened her mouth. "Why? Is there a problem? Do you think I''m unsuitable to go to the Grand Sky Temple?"


    "Of course you''re not suitable!" Jermain exclaimed, no


    .


    Like Zen and Dorothy, they too must be headed to the Grand Sky Temple.


    The two of them travelled for quite some time. After covering over a hundred miles, Dorothy suddenly pointed southwest. "Zen, look! It''s so dark!"


    Zen turned and found a huge, black ball in the distance.


    It seemed to be devouring the land, casting eternal night on the Other Shore.


    "That''s the Dark Region," Zen remarked as he stared at the absolute darkness.


    As they went on, the area shrouded by the Dark Region grew. The road they ventured on was reasonably wide, but they felt great pressure upon them as they walked.


    As a kind of experiment, Zen decided to release a bit of his spiritual sense and tried injecting it into the Dark Region.


    However, the moment his spiritual sense touched the border, it immediately disappeared. Zen didn''t bother doing it a second time.


    It took the two of them almost half a day to complete the journey. To their relief though, they soon saw the Grand Sky Temple in the distance.


    The temple was located at the very edge of the Dark Region. This put it in danger of being devoured fully by the darkness if it ever decided to expand again, but for now, its unique location made it serve as a passageway to the Dark Region.


    Dorothy pouted her lips as they approached the Grand Sky Temple. "Why are there so many creatures here?"


    "All the Souls of Light we saw on the way were heading towards the temple," Zen said.


    True enough, thousands of Souls of Light waited by the gate, densely packed and eager to rush in as soon as the temple opened its gate.

 Chapter 3259 Demand An Exorbitant Price

    Even though the Dark Region was extremely dangerous, the mystery about it made it all the more fascinating.


    Since ancient times, no one had ever stepped into the Dark Region.


    The Souls of Light that had entered Stage Thirteen of the Other Shore were all elite disciples of the younger generation in each race. Perhaps it was their youthful spirit that tempted them to further explore the Other Shore.


    However, it was rather difficult to enter the Grand Sky Temple, as there was a very limited number of Other Shore Keys. One usually waited several years, or even decades, before the Grand Sky Temple opened.


    But there were still some keys despite the small number.


    In fact, a few of the creatures possessed the Other Shore Keys to the Grand Sky Temple.


    There was news that was spreading rapidly that there was a path from the temple that led to the Dark Region. It was most likely that those who did possess the keys had caught wind of the news by now; it was only a matter of time before someone opened the gate to enter the temple.


    All the Souls of Light that gathered at the gate were determined. No matter the cost, they absolutely had to break into the Grand Sky Temple.


    It was possible that the one who possessed a key would be willing to let them pass in exchange for soul pills. But it was also likely that they would need to fight for it.


    "Did you hear? Just today, the Ear Mouse race auctioned an Other Shore Key to the Grand Sky Temple!" a nonhuman creature among the crowd suddenly announced.


    These Souls of Light had been waiting here for a long time now. As soon as they heard that news, they began to whisper amongst themselves excitedly.


    "Really? I didn''t even know the Ear Mouse race had an Other Shore Key!"


    "I''ve told you so! I told you that they definitely had the key."


    "But why would they be stupid enough to sell the key? They could have just charged soul pills as entrance fees; that way, they could''ve earned so much more!"


    Thousands of Souls of Light were present, and each of them had hundreds of thousands of soul pills they were willing to trade to enter the temple.


    Moreover, more Souls of Light kept arriving. The Ear Mouse race had always been known to be intelligent. How could they have missed such an opportunity?


    "I don''t know. A member of the Heavenly Pine race offered over sixty million soul pills, but the Ear Mouse race refused. They wanted to sell it to a human."


    Many creatures had witnessed what happened at the auction, and felt a bit unsettled at how the event


    After all, they were the ones who possessed the Other Shore Key. Immediately, the Souls of Light backed off quietly.


    "Mouse, do you really have the Other Shore Key to the Grand Sky Temple?" the member of the Separate Abyss race asked.


    "Yes, we do," the Ear Mouse said nonchalantly.


    Upon hearing the answer, the rest of the Souls of Light cheered. Entering the Grand Sky Temple seemed so possible now.


    "Why don''t you open the gate to the Grand Sky Temple now?" urged the member of the Separate Abyss race.


    "It''s not the time yet," the Ear Mouse squeaked. "We still have to wait a few hours. We are waiting for an important guest."


    "What important guest?"


    "Quit wasting our time! Just open the gate!"


    "Perhaps the light in the Dark Region would vanish soon."


    The nonhuman creatures at present tried to convince the Ear Mouse to open the gate to the temple.


    The Ear Mouse said unhurriedly, "If you want to enter the temple, you have to follow our rules. We won''t open the gate until our important guest comes." With a sly smile, he continued, "You''d better pay the soul pills first to share the cost of the Other Shore Key."


    "How many soul pills does it cost?" a nonhuman creature asked eagerly.


    "One million soul pills per Soul of Light," the Ear Mouse announced with a flourish.


    Instantly, the faces of the creatures that had gathered there fell.


    There were probably around two thousand Souls of Light gathered.


    If each Soul of Light needed to pay a million soul pills, it''d amount to roughly two billion in total! How could this be? The price of the Other Shore Key to the Grand Sky Temple was usually only a few million.


    This was way too expensive!

 Chapter 3260 All Sorts Of Races

    While the ultimate goal of the Ear Mouse race wasn''t to earn money, they couldn''t pass this opportunity to earn a large sum of soul pills.


    They were well aware of how the elite disciples from all races were eager to explore the three huts in the Dark Region. Truly, it was quite a big price to pay, but all the creatures present had no choice.


    The Other Shore Key to the Grand Sky Temple was just too elusive. Not knowing when the temple would open again, they were willing to pay a hefty sum just to enter the gate.


    "The Ear Mice are too greedy!" complained a member of the Separate Abyss race.


    The Ear Mouse remained calm. "I''m afraid out of everyone here, you are in the worst position to call us greedy."


    The complainant was taken aback. But it was true; the past years, the Separate Abyss race had controlled Stage Eleven. Whoever wanted to reach Stage Twelve needed to pay a large sum of soul pills to the Separate Abyss race. No one knew how many soul pills they had accumulated all these years. This was practically robbery!


    The Ear Mouse just shrugged. It knew its race was just conducting business.


    "Before opening the gate, we''ll set a restraining force in front of the Grand Sky Temple. Everyone can use soul pills to exchange for a soul mark. Those with soul marks can go through the restraining force," the Ear Mouse announced.


    Although the Souls of Light were extremely dissatisfied, they knew they had no other choice.


    The members of the Separate Abyss race all seethed with rage. Ultimately, however, they ended up paying their entry in soul pills and each obtained a soul mark.


    The rest of the Souls of Light who could afford it also paid the price and received their soul marks.


    Those who couldn''t afford it all looked gloomy. They had only brought 200, 000 to 300, 000 soul pills, which would''ve been more than enough according to the normal market price. They didn''t expect the Ear Mouse race would skyrocket its price.


    Others left the Other Shore to ask for help from the members of their race. The opportunity to enter the Grand Sky Temple was just too great, they couldn''t bear to let it pass.


    At a corner of the gathered souls stood six Souls of Light from the human race.


    The girl at the leftmost was the most petite. Judging from her silhouette, she was obviously a young lady.


    "Brother, we may not be able to get in the temple," the human girl said in disappointment.


    "A million soul pills per Soul of Light?! We would have to pay six million! These damned mice!" the tallest of the six said through gritted teeth.


    "We must think of a way to raise some soul pills!" anot


    r around her Soul of Light.


    "The divine flames of the Sun Crow race?"


    "How could this Oneness Sky Palace member use the divine flames of the Sun Crow race?"


    "Weird. Are these people from the Oneness Sky Palace or not?"


    From a distance, members of the Sun Crow race flapped their wings in confusion, discussing amongst themselves in low voices at the sight of the golden flames.


    "It is her!"


    "It is said that only two people in the Oneness Sky Palace have the blood of the Sun Crow race."


    "The mother couldn''t possibly be in the Lust World, so this must be the daughter."


    The conflict between the Sun Crow race and the Oneness Sky Palace had been going on for quite some time now. They were quickly able to perceive that the woman wielding their divine flames was Elvinia.


    In the Source World, there were various bloodline theurgies. Some of them could be used on the Other Shore, and the divine flame of the Sun Crow race was one of them. Although using the divine flames by one''s Soul of Light on the Other Shore was different from using it in the Source World and its power could be diminished, it was also an extremely powerful bloodline theurgy.


    But the Oneness Sky Palace was still outnumbered, eight to twenty. So the Bearing race just threw their heads back and laughed.


    "Hey, little girl, do you really want to fight all of us?"


    "The Oneness Sky Palace disciples truly are so stupid. How dare you be so arrogant!"


    "You must be courting death, young lady!"


    The people from the Bearing race sneered at Elvinia and her companions.


    Other races had gathered around the commotion. The Sun Crow race, as well as the Divine Farmer race, all thought Elvinia was simply bluffing. Little did they know, she never bluffed.

 Chapter 3261 A Threat

    "Princess Elvinia!"


    "Let''s not argue with them!"


    There was a chorus of pleas from the people surrounding Elvinia. They could feel her rage, and sought valiantly to calm her down.


    They were familiar with how stubborn Elvinia could be.


    But to fight the Bearing race here and now was reckless. She was asking for trouble! But the pleas of Elvinia''s companions fell on deaf ears.


    Without hesitation, Elvinia launched an attack. The golden light on the surface of her soul shimmered and trembled, and instantly, the divine flames of the Sun Crow race lashed forward like a golden whip.


    The energy struck out at the two members of the Bearing race who stood nearest to Elvinia.


    They were struck forcefully by the golden whip, a crackle of energy sounding as it hit them.


    A bright golden light spread outward across their souls from the point of impact.


    If not taking measures, their souls would be completely burnt to ashes by the golden light.


    "Bitch!"


    "How dare she!"


    Feeling the burning in their souls from the divine flames of the Sun Crow race, the two persons who had been struck withdrew in a hurry from the Other Shore.


    Anger rose up in the soul auras of the other members of the Bearing race, and they rushed towards Elvinia, intent on avenging their comrades.


    "Princess Elvinia, we''d better leave the Other Shore now!"


    "They outnumber us. I''m afraid we''re no match for them!"


    "Princess Elvinia, please withdraw from the Other Shore now!"


    The people around Elvinia clamored to leave immediately, pale with fear. None dared to voice their thoughts, but inwardly they were not pleased with her. Over the years Elvinia had always gotten them into trouble every time they accompanied her to the Other Shore.


    These guards were elite members of the Oneness Sky Palace. As such, they were quite strong enough to deal with the forces of small races. The problem now was that they were severely overwhelmed by the sheer number of the people from the Bearing race.


    Elvinia ignored them.


    There was a sharp, buzzing sound.


    Elvinia''s body suddenly sent out tendrils of golden light, soaring high into the air as the divine flames of the Sun Crow race turned into twelve whips all lashing forward.


    It was a bold, powerful move. However, these Souls of Light at Stage Thirteen wouldn''t be defeated so easily.


    The Bearing race had already lost two of their members from the Other Shore because of Elvinia''s first attack, so they were more prepared for this one.


    As the twelve whips swooped and slashed through the air, the members of the Bearing race jumped back from the golden strands, evading Elvinia''s attack.


    None of those in her line of sight could get close to her. They were focused entirely on defending themselves.


    But while the members of the Bearing race in front of Elvinia captured her whole attention, their companions flanked Elvinia, slowly surrounding her on both sides.


    The several men with Elvinia quickly stood with their backs to her, forming a protective circle around her. They activated their soul theurgies to prevent the Bearing race from coming closer to Elvinia.


    Despite this defensive stance, the people from the Bearing race still had the upper hand.


    On the sidelines, the members of


    r.


    "Ah, more people from the Oneness Sky Palace, I see," said Haider in a bored voice. He was clearly not afraid of the newcomers.


    Chaim let the others block the way of those who had Elvinia. Correctly identifying Haider as the leader of the Bearing race contingent, Chaim walked up to him and said, "Sir, Princess Elvinia is the favorite daughter of Eastern Emperor Taiyi. You are inviting trouble by trying to take her away like this."


    That caught Haider''s interest. But his arrogant expression remained. Sneering, he said, "So that''s the reason everyone says she''s important. I have miscalculated. If she''s the daughter of Eastern Emperor Taiyi, then I should ask for an even greater ransom!"


    Haider had been born into one of the most influential clans in the Bearing race, and was himself a relative of Yellow Thearch. He was completely unimpressed by Elvinia''s status as Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s daughter.


    "Don''t you think it''s a shame for the Bearing race to kidnap Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s daughter for ransom?" Chaim asked.


    Haider''s face turned cold. "Don''t you think it''s wrong for this girl to provoke us, start a fight, and almost kill two of us? You should be glad her only punishment is to be held for ransom. She will not be harmed. And if you doubt my story, there are people here from races apart from the Bearing race who witnessed the whole thing."


    Chaim paused. He did agree that Elvinia was in the wrong. It would not work to try and make Haider feel guilty or ashamed. Being a clever man, Chaim quickly switched tactics.


    "So you are definitely not going to let her go?" Chaim asked.


    "She stays with us," said Haider, in a tone that brooked no argument.


    Chaim tilted his head, giving him a thoughtful look. "Like everyone else here, you came for the Grand Sky Temple, didn''t you? Wouldn''t it be prudent to make sure no one gets in your way after the gate to the temple is opened?


    After all, your ultimate goal here is the Grand Sky Temple. If we try to make things difficult for you, it would put a wrench in your plans. Don''t you agree?"


    This time, Chaim''s veiled threat worked. Haider''s face darkened, and his aura became ice cold.

 Chapter 3262 The Soul Fighting Skill

    Chaim was smart. He knew that the Bearing race was more powerful and that the people from the Oneness Sky Palace were no match for them.


    If a conflict erupted with the Bearing race now, the other races that followed the Bearing race wouldn''t stand by idly.


    But after they entered the Grand Sky Temple, the situation would change.


    Considering the many dangers and risks in the temple, it would be difficult for the Bearing race to deal with the people from the Oneness Sky Palace if they made trouble.


    Chaim''s threat left Haider quite restless.


    He clenched his fists and said, "It seems that it''s necessary to kill all of you here now."


    Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!


    The soul auras of all members of the Bearing race rose in an instant. The tension was so thick, and people were so on edge that even the smallest offense would spark a big fight here.


    Unlike the others, Chaim was not nervous at all. Instead, he grinned and said, "So the mission of exploring the Grand Sky Temple isn''t important to you. Our Oneness Sky Palace may not be your equal, but we can still kill at least half your people. Do you want to take that risk?"


    The disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace standing behind Chaim were on the alert as well. They were prepared to make a move as soon as Chaim gave them the signal.


    Haider hesitated when he heard Chaim''s statement.


    Their goal was the Dark Region.


    It was not wise to fight with the Oneness Sky Palace now. If too many members of the Bearing race were killed, Haider would be responsible for the loss.


    The Ear Mice, who were the gatekeepers, observed from the sidelines all this while.


    They didn''t care about the life or death of humans. They thought it was better for the Bearing race to die since they had paid the soul pills.


    After brief contemplation, a smile appeared on Haider''s face. He then shouted, "Members of the Sun Crow race, the Divine Farmer race, and the New Moon race, please help me kill this group of disciples from the Oneness Sky Palace!"


    The three races had been on the fence during this discussion between Chaim and Haider. After hearing Haider''s call, they stood, one after another.


    The number of people on Haider''s side was about


    the disciples could leave the Other Shore, Elvinia could not.


    Elvinia, who was still tied up, was shocked. Did the Bearing race really dare to kill her?


    After Haider gave the order, however, Chaim returned to the Other Shore.


    "It''s not a dirty trick. It''s a soul fighting skill." His cynical tone enraged Haider further.


    "Screw you!" Haider wanted to tear Chaim apart.


    "The first rule of the soul fighting skill is that once a soul leaves the Other Shore, the soul fragments will also disappear. However, if the soul returns in a short time, the soul fragments will not integrate with it. Instead, they will reappear at the same place from where they disappeared earlier," explained Chaim with a smile.


    At his words, the soul swords that had disappeared with his exit reappeared.


    The people of the Bearing race had left their earlier positions to carry out Haider''s order. Now, the soul swords were flying toward them from behind.


    Puff! Puff! Puff!


    Unable to defend themselves, the Souls of Light of several members of the Bearing race were pierced by the swords.


    A long sword cut Haider as well. He screamed as his Soul of Light emitted a burning pain.


    Although this kind of attack was not fatal, it had a significant impact on their Souls of Light.


    The other races that witnessed this battle from a safe distance, marveled at Chaim''s superb abilities and his knowledge of the rules of the Other Shore. It was truly worth their respect.

 Chapter 3263 Failure

    "The guy from the Oneness Sky Palace is so powerful..."


    "He single-handedly dealt with a group of warriors from the Bearing race!"


    "If I were him, I probably would run away."


    The warriors from other races discussed among themselves while stealing glances at the scene.


    The nine members of the Snake Goddess race stood quietly observing from afar.


    "The Bearing race are trying to kill the members of the Oneness Sky Palace, should we make a move?" A clear voice reverberated in the ears of the other members.


    "No... Don''t forget our purpose," another woman said while shaking her head in disapproval.


    If the Source World was divided into three large groups, the Snake Goddess race and the Oneness Sky Palace belonged to the same one. However, the alliance between them wasn''t out in the open yet. The Snake Goddess race preferred not to cause too much trouble, so they chose to stand by and watch.


    Meanwhile, Chaim continued his attempts to retreat.


    After he successfully launched a sneak attack, the eight swords under his manipulation were scattered in all directions after breaking down in many pieces. At the same time, some of those pieces bore the weight of Chaim, retreating from the Other Shore.


    "Damn it! He did it again!"


    "Keep your eyes on the pieces!"


    "What if he returns to the Other Shore? The pieces are hard to deal with!"


    The members of the Bearing race felt helpless and gnashed their teeth in frustration.


    This time, Chaim had broken down the eight swords and spread them around the area.


    If the Bearing race wished to go after him, they would have to be on a constant lookout for the location of those pieces at any given moment. This way, the warriors would be restricted from moving at will.


    "Nobody has ever dared to fool me like this!"


    From Haider''s point of view, Chaim''s attacks were equivalent to cheap little tricks.


    He completely disregarded the debris lying around and charged towards the direction where Chaim had left.


    Haider stretched out his hand while in pursuit. A sharp streak of purple flashed in his hand. Shortly after, a thin blade appeared as he clenched it tightly.


    He wanted to wait here for Chaim to return to the Other Shore so he could kill him!


    The disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace escaped with Elvinia under their protection. The other races kept a close watch on the movements of the Bearing race. While the rest of the disciples from the Bearing race stood in place, Haider waited in silence with full attention.


    Three seconds passed...


    Nine seconds...


    Thirty seconds...


    "Come out! You bastard!"


    Haider shouted on top of his lungs in frustration, his veins protruding from his neck.


    It was slowly becomin


    der''s web, counting the time before death consumed him.


    Even in the face of such an intense situation, he kept himself composed. Tenacious as he was, he refused to give up. The eight long swords flew around him and vigorously fought back a fraction of the Bearing race members.


    However, Haider moved past all the long swords and swiftly made his way to strike Chaim with his slender blade.


    Chaim''s hands were occupied as they''d changed into swords. Without his arms, how could he be able to fight off someone as powerful as Haider?


    He could only use his feet to dodge and retreat.


    Observing his movements, Haider finally caught up to him and used the opportunity. The thin blade in his hand suddenly emitted a blood-red light and attempted to chop down Chaim''s head.


    Although Chaim was unaware of what the blood light contained in the thin blade was, he did know if he got cut by it, his Soul of Light would get destroyed.


    Some of the other races spectating from afar sympathized with Chaim. They had already predicted his tragic fate in their hearts.


    Suddenly, a sharp light shot towards Haider''s thin blade.


    "Ding!"


    With a crisp sound, a small soul sword circled in the air and made its way back to the chest of a human girl.


    It was Dorothy who swung the soul sword to protect Chaim.


    After Jermain had left the Other Shore, he had told Winchell what she was about to do and caused a lot of trouble for her.


    However, there was nothing that could change her mind to return to the Other Shore.


    She didn''t expect to see the disciples from the Oneness Sky Palace fighting against the Bearing race as soon as she entered the Other Shore.


    Watching Chaim''s life hanging by a thread as he was faced by a ruthless Haider, how could she hold back? Finally, she decided to make her move.

 Chapter 3264 A Single Palm Strike

    After Dorothy''s Soul of Light grew to the Indigo Soul, her attack''s intensity increased as well.


    Her irresistible soul force was so mighty that the thin blade in Haider''s hand was sent flying. Even Haider was forced to take a few steps backward.


    If ordinary people were saved at a crucial life and death moment, their first thought would be to escape.


    However, Chaim was by no means an ordinary man.


    When he saw Haider staggering backward, he didn''t stop to see who had saved him. Instead, he believed this to be the perfect opportunity to attack Haider. And so, he slammed his feet against the ground and somersaulted through the air.


    When he felt considerable pressure descending on him, Haider panicked and glanced up.


    Unable to protect himself, Haider fell to the ground after Chaim trampled his head.


    "Withdraw!"


    Chaim ordered.


    The eight soul swords flew toward Chaim. Just as they were about to pierce through Haider''s body, Haider returned to his senses. Upon detecting the threat, he released a strong soul force, and a bear shadow flashed faintly on his back.


    At this moment, his soul force increased manifold. As a result, Chaim could not hold on and was flung into the air.


    ''What a pity, ''


    Chaim sighed in his heart.


    His ultimate goal was to kill Haider with his soul swords.


    The Oneness Sky Palace wasn''t a match for so many super forces, and yet, he had nearly reached his goal just now. The disappointment he felt was palpable.


    After the bear shadow appeared behind Haider, he resembled an angry lion. "Members of the Divine Farmer race and the Sun Crow race, what are you waiting for? Kill him!"


    Now that the other two races were attacking Chaim, Haider turned his attention to Dorothy.


    "Whoever dares to stand in my way is doomed to die!"


    Haider moved so quickly and his aura was so overwhelming that it was a thrill to watch him.


    "Is that the Bear Soul Shadow of the Bearing race?"


    "It''s so powerful! But it is said that he has to pay a heavy price for it."


    "The human woman who attacked Haider is not weak."


    Panic flashed across Dorothy''s face when she saw that Haider was heading straight for her.


    Dorothy lacked experience in soul battles and didn''t know how to escape this dilemma.


    Buzz!


    As her Necklace of Mystic Soul flashed, a soul swo


    they had seen.


    Zen relaxed his arms and placed Dorothy on the ground. After a brief pause, Dorothy glared at him and said, "You were late."


    "Why did you get involved in a fight?" Zen asked with a frown.


    Before he continued his journey with his physical body, he had asked Dorothy to leave the Other Shore to ensure her safety.


    Zen didn''t expect that as soon as he arrived, he would see that Haider was chasing Dorothy. So his tone was reproachful.


    Dorothy pouted and said, "I don''t know. As soon as I returned to the Other Shore, I saw that the disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace were fighting with the Bearing race. Chaim was almost killed before I went to help them."


    When she entered the Other Shore, she saw Chaim risking his life. As for why the disciples fought with the Bearing race, she did not know.


    Chaim was being attacked by the Sun Crow race and the Divine Farmer race. Although he was flexible and had several schemes, the combined strength of the two races was beyond what he could handle.


    But after Zen''s appearance, the other races stopped their attacks.


    The Sun Crow race and the Divine Farmer race didn''t want to get involved in this battle in the first place. It was only on Haider''s insistence that they obliged.


    The Sun Crow race might not have seen Zen''s body before, but the Divine Farmer race had witnessed how Zen had destroyed the temple of the Bearing race. Even if some of them hadn''t seen Zen, they had already heard about him.


    They knew that they could not fight against such a monster.

 Chapter 3265 Saving Elvinia

    Chaim''s Soul of Light had taken a lot of damage from his bout with the Sun Crow race and the Divine Farmer race.


    But he had no regrets; in fact, he was still optimistic. He took out some soul pills and swallowed them before turning his head to yell to Zen, "Princess Elvinia is still being pursued by the Bearing race. Go after her!"


    Chaim didn''t know who Zen was, but he knew he was on the side of the Oneness Sky Palace, and that was all that mattered.


    While Chaim was being chased down by Haider, he had seen some people of the Bearing race going after the Oneness Sky Palace disciples. He wondered what had happened to them.


    "Elvinia?"


    "Why is she here?"


    Both Zen and Dorothy were stunned.


    A strange feeling took over Dorothy''s heart. Her mind couldn''t help but wander to what happened in the Vastness Mountain and what Flamine had said.


    "I''ll save her,"


    Zen said, taking off in the direction Chaim had pointed.


    Dorothy pursed her lips, saying nothing.


    Zen darted forward and before long, he caught sight of a dozen people fighting in the distance.


    A woman lay on the ground, wrapped by a little snake and unable to move.


    This was the first time that Zen had seen Elvinia on the Other Shore, but he could still recognize her by her silhouette.


    Elvinia, constricted by the Dragon Snake Trap, was so anxious that she was about to spit blood.


    She was more dissatisfied than she had ever been. She had never suffered any great losses on the Other Shore and so certainly didn''t expect to end up in this situation.


    The Oneness Sky Palace disciples were at a disadvantage. When they felt they had no chance of winning, they had opted to retreat from the Other Shore for the time being. However, the members of the Bearing race were fearless and soon there were only five disciples left to struggle through the battle.


    "I''m sorry, Princess Elvinia. I... I can''t stand it anymore!" The Soul of Light of a disciple had suffered greatly. He was left with no choice but to leave the Other Shore.


    Another two had no time to escape. The Bearing race killed them and they let out a piercing shriek as their Souls of Light collapsed.


    The last two di


    head without uttering a sound.


    He would not reveal the secret of his physical body to others unless it was absolutely essential.


    In the Sword Light Palace, he was left with no other choice and had to reveal the truth to Dorothy. If not for this, he would have joined the Oneness Sky Palace as an unknown disciple instead of letting Winchell bring him back.


    Elvinia was disappointed by his rejection. But Zen had saved her life; she couldn''t force him to show himself. More to it, she really didn''t have the ability.


    Many other races still waited at the entrance of the Grand Sky Temple. Many of them were already growing impatient.


    "Ear Mice! We have given you the soul pills as you requested. When will you open the Grand Sky Temple?"


    "Were you lying? Do you even have the Other Shore Key?"


    "What are you waiting for?"


    The Ear Mice, of course, were waiting for Zen.


    Without Zen''s presence, they could not open the door easily.


    Although they had investigated Zen''s body through various channels, they were still surprised to see that he had shattered Haider''s Soul of Light with a single blow. This kind of power made the Ear Mice overjoyed.


    Dorothy stood beside Chaim, waiting for any sign of Zen.


    She looked around and saw Zen in the distance, carrying a Soul of Light on his back. She frowned and mumbled unhappily, "Why doesn''t Elvinia walk by herself?"


    Chaim laughed on the inside. He knew Dorothy was just jealous.

 Chapter 3266 Argument

    Everyone stared at Zen. Regardless of which race they belonged to, all of them had fear in their eyes.


    The only exception was the Ear Mouse race, whose members let out sighs of relief. It seemed that the Soul of Light named Zen was right. He was this corporeal body''s spokesperson.


    One of the mice squeaked. "You are finally here!"


    Three Ear Mice came up to Zen with an air of great respect and deference. It was their first time to see Zen''s physical body.


    Zen, of course, knew that they had been waiting for him, but he didn''t want to talk about opening the door right now. "We''ll discuss this later," he said.


    He walked past the mice and towards the disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace. Grimly he asked them, "Which races attacked you just now?"


    At Zen''s words, many warriors in the crowd looked shocked and nervous.


    "The Bearing race, the Divine Farmer race, the Sun Crow race and the New Moon race," answered Chaim in a cautious tone.


    Zen nodded and turned to the crowd. His eyes swept over the warriors and landed on a flock of bird-shaped Souls of Light, belonging to the Sun Crow race. Coldly he said to them, "Don''t even think about exploring the Grand Sky Temple. I give you a choice. Leave the Other Shore now, or I will kill you."


    At Zen''s ultimatum, the Sun Crows shrank back and drew closer to each other.


    While they felt fear at Zen''s words, they were hesitant to leave right away. They wanted to see how the situation would develop. Even if the worst happened, they believed that they could escape from the Other Shore at any time.


    The members of the Bearing race were thinking along similar lines. They stood a safe distance from Zen, observing him as he spoke, and they refused to give up on the chance that they might still find a way to explore the Grand Sky Temple. After all, they had already handed in their soul pills.


    It was different if the Ear Mice were on Zen''s side.


    After they entered the Grand Sky Temple, they wouldn''t be able to leave the Other Shore. By then, they would have no choice but to let their souls be slaughtered by him.


    A warrior of the Divine Farmer race spoke up. "Are you willing to listen to the reason? The Bearing race asked us to help, and our only choice was to fight with them. Incidentally, not a single disciple from the Oneness Sky Palace was killed by us. Will you deny our entry just because we fought alongside our allies?"


    "It was not your only choice. You could have refused to fight," Zen said, sneering at the warrior. "Since you chose to follow the Bearing race, you must pay the price. That''s not the first time you''ve played such a trick. You also allied with each other to kill the Nine Li race. There are consequences for your actions."


    The destruction of a superpower was a matter of great importance even in the Source World. All the races present were familiar with the history of the Bearing race and the Divine Farmer race. Their coordinated efforts had led to t


    Farmer race, the Sun Crow race and the New Moon race are forbidden to enter. So are those who have not handed out their soul pills and gotten their soul marks. Everyone else, please gather in front of the Grand Sky Temple," said an Ear Mouse in a high-pitched voice.


    A group of ten Ear Mice stood nearby, holding watering cans. They sprayed out thin, pale blue liquid that spread out and covered the ground completely.


    The blue liquid was the Soul Interdicting Water. Like the Soul Restraining Sand of the Oneness Sky Palace and the Soul Binding Thread of the Bearing race, it was intended to prevent Souls of Light from leaving the Other Shore.


    After the ground had been covered with the Soul Interdicting Water, the Ear Mice continued to put some restrictions on it. The whole Grand Sky Temple was now a temporary impasse, and no Souls of Light would dare to enter without permission.


    One of the members of the New Moon race stepped up to the Ear Mice. "Hey! If you won''t let us enter the Grand Sky Temple, then return our soul pills to us. We''ve already paid and we want them back," he said forcefully.


    The Ear Mice squeaked, looking upset. The soul pills were already in their possession and it was very difficult to think of returning them.


    But they couldn''t renege on their debt in front of so many races, human and non-human.


    The Ear Mice gathered and chattered, looking for a loophole. Finally an Ear Mouse turned to the man who had asked for their soul pills. "The members of the four races who have paid soul pills are free to try and enter the temple. But remember! We are not responsible for the consequences!"


    The Ear Mouse rolled its eyes meaningfully towards Zen, who stood at the gate of the Grand Sky Temple, emanating an intimidating and powerful aura.


    Because they stood a safe distance from Zen, the four races barred from entering the temple dared to argue with the Ear Mice. But none of them dared to move closer to the Grand Sky Temple.

 Chapter 3267 The Ear Mices Real Purpose

    "Ha-ha..."


    Elvinia, who was being carried by Zen, laughed. She knew that the Ear Mice were shrewd, but this was too shameless.


    At this moment, Dorothy suddenly said, "It''s time for you to get off. It''s indecent for you to lie on a man''s back for so long."


    She was unable to contain her jealousy any longer.


    Offended by Dorothy''s rebuke, Elvinia glared at her before slowly asking, "Who the hell are you? What does any of this have to do with you?"


    As Elvinia couldn''t see Dorothy''s face, she didn''t recognize her. She thought Dorothy was a disciple from the Oneness Sky Palace. Few disciples from the Oneness Sky Palace dared to catch her attention.


    "You!" Dorothy raised her eyebrows as outrage coursed through her. She was about to call to Zen but stopped when she remembered that she couldn''t reveal his identity. Instead, she held back and pinched Zen''s arm. "Hey! Put her down!"


    Zen wasn''t focusing on the two women as he didn''t expect them to argue over such a trivial thing.


    He glanced at both women as he tried to figure out what was going on. Chaim chuckled before responding, "We''re family. Princess Elvinia, this is Dorothy. She helped us earlier."


    "Oh, it''s you." Elvinia was stunned.


    "So what?" Dorothy seemed as imposing as Elvinia.


    Elvinia was unwilling to back down. She leaned her head against Zen''s shoulder and deliberately said, "My soul force has been drained. As I have no strength left, I can''t come down!"


    Elvinia was taking soul pills the entire time that Zen carried her. Although she had lost a considerable amount of soul force, she had now replenished most of it.


    Dorothy knew that Elvinia would be dishonest about her soul force.


    With a smile, Dorothy said, "The Grand Sky Temple is going to open soon. Since you lack soul energy, you should leave the Other Shore and rest. You must take care of yourself. The temple is a very dangerous place."


    As soon as Dorothy finished speaking, Elvinia jumped off Zen''s back. She was so fast that everyone was astounded. Even from her Soul of Light, one could tell that she was flexible. She replied coldly, "Thank you for your concern. I can replenish my soul force."


    As she spoke, she took out a few more soul pil


    body, you must have some extraordinary talents. I wonder if you can destroy the Grand Sky Temple."


    "You want me to destroy the Grand Sky Temple?"


    Zen had no trouble breaking the Sacred Mallow Temple on Stage One. The Bearing race''s temple on Stage Four and the buildings on Stage Eleven were not a challenge either.


    However, he was unsure if he could destroy the Grand Sky Temple on Stage Thirteen.


    Zen turned to study the building. The temple glowed with a faint metallic luster as though it had been infused with a special metal during its construction.


    He walked to the door, pressed his hand against the wall, and slowly released his strength.


    Sizzle!


    The wall was apparently more solid than Zen had expected. Even though he employed fifty percent of his strength, only a fingermark was left on the wall''s surface.


    "As the wall is five feet thick, it will be difficult to destroy," Zen surmised.


    When the Ear Mice saw this, ecstasy appeared on their faces.


    "Unbelievable! You left a fingermark on the wall!" one Ear Mouse praised.


    "What do you mean?" Zen was puzzled.


    "The way to the Dark Region is blocked by a wall. It is not as solid as this one. Since you have such strength, you will be able to destroy it easily," the Ear Mouse explained.


    The reason why the Ear Mice were not in a hurry was that they knew that no Soul of Light could destroy that wall.


    They had completed their preparations before entering the Grand Sky Temple.

 Chapter 3268 Ruling Forces

    Compared to the other great races, the Ear Mice had an unparalleled advantage in this aspect.


    After all, they were involved in most of the deals on the Other Shore. They knew the whereabouts of the Other Shore Keys as well as the Other Shore Tokens.


    For the past ten years, the Other Shore Key to the Grand Sky Temple was rarely encountered. Only three were ever sold. However, when the anomaly appeared behind the Grand Sky Temple, the Ear Mice immediately located a creature that possessed the key and bought the key for a steep price.


    As they reached the end of the Grand Sky Temple, they found a wall blocking their way. Seeing this, they felt disheartened.


    The Souls of Light were not able to cross the wall.


    Later on, the Ear Mice quickly came up with another plan. They began to spread the news. Soon enough, all the major forces in the Source World found out about the anomaly of the Grand Sky Temple.


    Their goal was to earn more soul pills. Because there was no Soul of Light that could break the wall down, they wouldn''t be able to enter the Dark Region.


    But a few days ago, they heard news from Stage Four and Stage Eleven. This allowed the Ear Mice to change their strategy once more.


    The man in front of them gave them hope that the wall could be torn down.


    The Grand Sky Temple was enormous. It was a hundred times larger than the Sacred Mallow Temple.


    Zen and Dorothy followed the Ear Mice into the hall. There they saw a huge statue in front of them.


    The statue was sixty feet tall. It had an eagle head and a bear body. It emanated an extraordinary aura.


    "Is this the race that built the Grand Sky Temple?" Zen inquired.


    One of the Ear Mice nodded and said, "The Grand Sky race was a powerful race. They could be considered as a ruling force."


    "A ruling force?" Zen blinked in wonderment.


    "Yes. Any powerful race that has ruled the entire chaos can be called a ruling force," the Ear Mouse laughed. "The current super powers in the Source World are simply too weak compared to them."


    Although the Source World was relatively peaceful now, there were various forces that struggled for supremacy. There had never been a ruling force.


    There were many super powers that existed.


    These included the Separate Abyss race, the Pear Hill, the Beari


    as leading the way. Thus, they would have the chance to find some high-grade Other Shore Tokens as well.


    "Well then, let''s go." The Ear Mice believed in Zen''s strength. They agreed without much hesitation.


    Zen walked in the front followed by Dorothy and the Ear Mice.


    There was a long and narrow semi-circular passageway behind the arch. The ceiling of the passageway was bumpy and uneven. It was covered with lines that resembled the blood vessels of a human body. The faint red light emitted by the lines was flickering. Sometimes it was bright and sometimes dim. It was just like the rhythm of breathing.


    As Zen entered the passageway, he didn''t feel anything uncomfortable. Dorothy who was behind him, however, suddenly felt very unwell.


    "Well..."


    Dorothy couldn''t help but wrap her arms around herself. She leaned against Zen''s back.


    "What''s wrong?" Zen turned his head and asked in concern.


    He didn''t worry about his own safety but he had to protect Dorothy.


    "I feel like my soul force is fading away," Dorothy answered.


    Zen looked at the Ear Mice and one of them said, "After we enter the Grand Sky Temple, our soul force will constantly drain. This is the rule of this temple. Before we enter the passageway, it drains very slowly. But now, it is depleted faster. You can take soul pills to replenish it."


    Dorothy nodded and took out some soul pills. She took them to replenish her soul force.


    She brought a lot of soul pills with her so the lost soul force was not a problem for her at all.

 Chapter 3269 The Faces On The Walls

    "What is going on here?"


    Zen muttered in curiosity as he pressed a hand against the rough wall.


    Despite its roughness, his hand could press and make a slight indentation on it. It wasn''t rock but more of fleshy material, almost like the internal cavity of an animal.


    "We don''t really know. According to rumors, the 19 passageways within the Grand Sky Temple are, in fact, living creatures, and we are walking in their bellies," an Ear Mouse answered.


    The Other Shore was filled with infinite mysteries, some stranger than the last. There was no way to investigate, much less prove, all of them.


    The party continued forward and every thousand feet, the Ear Mice and Dorothy would have to absorb soul pills in order to replenish their soul force.


    Blood red luster radiated from the walls, becoming brighter as they ventured deeper into the passageway. There were times when sections of the path were illuminated entirely by the red light but there were also times when it simply stretched on in darkness.


    Despite having Zen lead the way, the Ear Mice and Dorothy still felt the pressure and were definitely on high alert.


    "ARGH!"


    Sounds of screaming could be heard up front, catching them by surprise.


    "What was that?!"


    "That must be the creatures that entered the passageway first!"


    "What did they encounter for them to scream like that?"


    Numerous creatures from various races had also entered the temple that day.


    Some knew of the slim chances the 19th passageway offered in terms of survival but there were others that had no idea and chose it without knowing the possible horrors that awaited them.


    "I''ll go look," Zen told them determinedly.


    He darted forward the passageway, leaving the party behind.


    It was after two thousand feet when he came upon a strange sight: faces, all of them with their eyes closed, lined both sides of the path.


    The faces had variety and belonged to all kinds of races. Zen could identify a few human ones among them. What was unsettling about these faces though, was the fact that all of them sported abnormally painful expressions.


    "The scream didn''t come from these faces," Zen muttered to himself.


    He continued to take a few more steps forward and entered the corner where he saw eight Souls of Light being pulled into the walls by random hands coming out of the walls.


    There were still a few faces in this area and some of them had their eye


    "Mind both sides of the path!"


    She heard Zen answer from beyond.


    "What? Why? What''s wrong with the walls?"


    "Wait! Look, some masks are flying along the walls!"


    "These are faces! Look, I can even see some of our race! Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!"


    The Ear Mice began to panic, quite scared of what was happening.


    The reason they dared venture into the Grand Sky Temple was that they held a lot of information, more so than the other races. Moreover, they had Zen to protect them.


    However, their current situation proved to be quite precarious.


    As the faces reached their area, white, three-fingered hands began to shoot out of the walls and charged at them!


    An unfortunate Ear Mouse that had been standing close to the wall was the first casualty. It was suddenly grabbed by a hand and dragged into the wall before it could even scream.


    "Stay away from the walls!"


    "Don''t allow yourself to get caught!"


    "Soul Protection Shield!" one of the Ear Mice cried out, summoning a shield from its claw.


    There was a flash of light as a small, round shield surrounded the Ear Mice and Dorothy, protecting them from harm.


    The Soul Protection Shield was a powerful soul weapon and was only a bit weaker than Dorothy''s Necklace of Mystic Soul.


    Relieved due to the fact that there was now a shield to protect them, the Ear Mice and Dorothy began to relax. Surely the hands wouldn''t be able to reach them now. Unfortunately, they were very wrong. Numerous, ghastly, white hands scratched at the shield and one managed to break through. It grabbed hold of Dorothy and began to drag her towards the wall.

 Chapter 3270 The Hearts Of Accomplice

    These hands were nothing for Zen. However, the Souls of Light simply found them totally vulnerable to their attacks.


    Even though Dorothy had an Indigo Soul, it was still difficult for her to defend herself.


    More importantly, she had just seen an Ear Mouse being dragged into the wall. The mouse had instantly lost its life. Therefore, she understood what was at stake if the hand won.


    Faced with such a desperate and impossible struggle, the Necklace of Mystic Soul on her chest began to shine. Then, the soul sword shot out and slashed at the hand.


    Crack!


    Dorothy let out a gasp. The almost invincible soul sword had only left a shallow mark on that hand!


    And after her first attack failed, the hand reacted so fast that there was no chance for her to launch another one. She was directly dragged towards the wall.


    Just as her body was about to be squeezed into the wall, Zen rushed over, grabbed the hand with one fist and squeezed. "Crack!" There was a loud snapping sound, and the bones inside the hand were instantly broken to pieces.


    "Yargh!"


    A face on the wall let out a shrill cry of anguish and rushed back into the wall.


    However, more faces appeared on both sides of the passageway and more hands began to come out on both of the walls. It was as if there was an army of attackers around them.


    Zen wrapped his arms around Dorothy and pulled her towards the center of the passageway. He then called out, "Follow me, all of you!"


    When the Ear Mice saw that even the Soul Protection Shield could not protect them against this unknown foe, their faces turned deathly pale.


    Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!


    Squeaking shrill cries of fear, they rushed and nestled around Zen, wishing to enter his body for protection.


    A demonic laughter rang out.


    More hands began to creep out of the walls and the entire passageway was almost filled with the creepy sight.


    Zen, who was standing in the center and was therefore at a distance from them, didn''t seem to care. However, if any of the hands tried to reach out and grab the Ear Mice or Dorothy, he would instantly cut them one by one with his bare hand.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    More and more broken pieces of deathly white bones began to pile up on the ground. They were already almost as high as Zen''s knees.


    "Squeak! Squeak! Come here, Thad!"


    "Help! Help!"


    "Cut it out!"


    The Ear Mice were all panicking badly. Their temperament and grace were gone. They seemed completely different from what they used


    that they didn''t want Zen and Dorothy to know. Otherwise, why would they start discussing among themselves in their tongue?


    Zen had seen with his own eyes how shrewd and clever the Ear Mice were.


    He didn''t know what they were plotting, but since they didn''t want him and Dorothy to know about it, something was definitely up.


    Zen''s face darkened and he said, "Alright then. Since you guys don''t want me to know what you are up to, you can go ahead by yourselves. Dorothy and I are going to leave the Grand Sky Temple."


    He was being clever now. The group was still exploring the 19th passageway. Without Zen, the Ear Mice wouldn''t be able to leave the passageway alive, let alone explore the Dark Region.


    These three hearts were quite a significant discovery. The truth was, they wanted to obtain the maximum benefits for their own selves, so they were discussing whether to tell Zen and Dorothy the truth or not.


    While they were chatting non-stop, they suddenly became anxious when they heard Zen''s words. If he really did leave, they were gone!


    "Squeak! That''s not what we meant!"


    "Squeak! Alright, listen. These are the Hearts of Accomplice. They are one, or rather, three of a kind!"


    "We''ve only seen one of those in the Source World. And even that was a long time ago. But now, there are three of them in front of us, which is quite a surprise! The Grand Sky Temple is truly a miraculous place!"


    The Ear Mice explained at once. Obviously, they were very excited about this discovery, but also frightened of him leaving.


    Despite their disorganized and incoherent speech, Zen and Dorothy still understood what they were trying to say.

 Chapter 3271 Terrifying Ability

    The Other Shore had always been a magical place.


    It was home to the Other Shore Tokens that did not just have Other Shore Power, but had various special abilities as well.


    The Other Shore Tokens of the strengthening type always possessed strong Other Shore Power. For example, the Strength God Totem had more Other Shore Power than others in Stage Thirteen, however it was no longer popular among the warriors.


    For one, the bodies of the warriors in the Lust World were restricted, so they couldn''t exert the full strength of it. Besides, only strength was not enough.


    But Zen''s body was able to handle the Strength God Totem, and so he chose it without hesitation.


    Among the Other Shore Tokens, the mysterious and descending types were the most popular.


    They were known to have rare abilities.


    "The Heart of Accomplice is a mysterious Other Shore Token. It was once possessed by a member of the Celestial Wolf race," the Ear Mouse explained.


    The Celestial Wolf race were extremely powerful. However, they were small in numbers. This had prohibited them from going against super forces.


    In the early days, the Celestial Wolf race dwelled mostly in the Star Wolf Province. They rarely participated in the disputes outside.


    However, that changed when the Dog Barbarian race, a super force, invaded the Star Wolf Province some ten thousand years ago.


    The Celestial Wolf race fought with all their might, but they were weak and powerless against the Dog Barbarian race.


    The leader of the Dog Barbarian race, Lord Shaw, was one of the top warriors in the entire Source World. No one in the Celestial Wolf race was at par with him. Lord Shaw easily annihilated the Celestial Wolf race, including their leader. The Celestial Wolf race neared extinction.


    Fortunately for them, Lord Shaw was killed by someone from the Celestial Wolf race at the last minute. The Dog Barbarian race had to flee the Star Wolf Province. Surprisingly, that killer was only at the primary level of the Chaotic Source Realm.


    "The primary l


    r that man died, his accomplice must die as well," the Ear Mouse said.


    "It sounds like the life contract of the Life Godly Way," Zen said.


    The life contract also required contracted lives to be connected. If one died, the other would as well.


    "No, not really. The life of contract can''t compare to the Heart of Accomplice!" The Ear Mouse sneered.


    Zen nodded in understanding.


    The Godly Way''s energy level was much lower. It made the life contract vulnerable. It was already difficult to work against ordinary warriors, let alone a warrior as strong as Lord Shaw.


    The Heart of Accomplice could actually cause the death of a top master in the Source World. That made it absolutely terrifying.


    "We investigated it for a long time. We even looked into the past of the attacker, but we could not find the origin of the Heart of Accomplice. It became regarded as a unique Other Shore Token in the Source World. But perhaps that isn''t true anymore," the Ear Mouse elaborated.


    There were now three Hearts of Accomplice. It was no longer considered unique.


    "If what you said is true, then that makes the Other Shore Token truly terrifying," Dorothy said with a cautious look on her face.


    With the Heart of Accomplice, an ordinary warrior could sacrifice their own life to kill a top warrior in the Source World. It was a very worthy deal.

 Chapter 3272 Bloody Hands

    Whether or not the Heart of Accomplice was unique, its ability was undeniably terrifying.


    The three Hearts of Accomplice could take the place of any three peerless masters.


    It could be a remarkable killing weapon for any super force.


    At this point, Zen, Dorothy, and the Ear Mice could feel the excitement bubbling up within.


    The Ear Mice, in particular, were more excited wondering how many Hearts of Accomplice Zen would give them. A single one or all the three? Was there any way to fight for more?


    Just as Zen took another step forward, moving closer to the hearts, an enormous face suddenly appeared atop the wide passageway.


    It was a hideous face¡ªsomething like a piece of a dirty rag. Two dark holes served as its eyes.


    "Aha!"


    The ugly face whimpered as the blood vessels¡ªwhat were formerly attached to the ceiling of the passageway¡ªrolled up and down like spiraling vines, forming exactly eight bloody vortexes.


    Well aware of how dangerous the nineteenth passageway was, Dorothy and the Ear Mice knew to be more vigilant once they sensed any foreign movement within the vicinity.


    Upon seeing the bloody whirlpools, they all backed away while Zen stood unmoving, staring at them.


    Splash!


    Eight enormous bloody hands reached out from the spinning whirlpools, moving towards Zen.


    Even Zen felt the onset of a crisis as he sensed the bloody hands'' aura.


    While his body was undoubtedly strong on the Other Shore, he knew that he was by no means invincible.


    A warrior''s physical body couldn''t simply enter the Other Shore since the banning of the Ancient God Cultivation Method. Where had the Wild Gods all gone? Those who had entered the Other Shore with their physical bodies?


    A Wild God had limitless longevity.


    At the time, there were as many Wild Gods as there were True Gods now, spreading across the entire Source World. But now, not a single Wild God could be found. Neither on the Other Shore nor in the Source World had anyone even seen a glimpse of a Wild God. It was indeed unreasonable.


    Zen reckoned that some methods existed on the Other Shore that could suppress the Wild Gods.


    In a flash, a bloody hand shot at Zen right before he


    g inside.


    So now, the Strength God Totem''s power was abundant enough¡ªZen had no hesitation when drawing out the Other Shore Power.


    "Bang!"


    "Bang!"


    "Boom!"


    He was going rapidly back and forth now, dodging every bloody hand and striking a great force from his every body part. His elbows and fists struck right through the bloody hands, breaking their wrists with every hit.


    The face atop the passage couldn''t stop shrieking in pain.


    "Ahahah..."


    Soon enough, Zen had broken the eight bloody hands.


    Six of them were drawn into the blood vortexes, while two had been cut off cleanly, wriggling on the ground like a lizard''s tail. Gradually, they lost all vitality.


    "Done!"


    Zen called in triumph as he turned back to Dorothy.


    The Ear Mice then came out of hiding, squeaking as they flittered to Zen.


    "Squeak! Squeak! Take back the two bloody hands too!" one of the Ear Mice said as it pulled out its space ring.


    "Wait," Zen called out suddenly, "I cut those hands, so I will take them."


    When the Ear Mice had collected those broken bones earlier, neither Zen nor Dorothy felt the need to say anything about it. The two weren''t there to collect bones, after all. They cared nothing about the soul pills or divine crystals that the Ear Mice were crazy about.


    Although Zen decided to turn a blind eye to the bones the Ear Mice had picked up, the two bloody hands were both rare and precious¡ªZen couldn''t simply hand them over.

 Chapter 3273 The Pattern

    It was extremely difficult for the Ear Mice to defeat the bloody hands alone. Zen could claim credit for the success, so it was reasonable that he took the hands away.


    "Dorothy," Zen called out.


    He did not need to explain further, for Dorothy understood what he wanted. She nodded and walked over to the bloody hands, using the space ring to absorb them.


    The Ear Mice wisely stayed silent, deciding it would be best not to say anything more.


    After Dorothy had taken care of the bloody hands, they turned their focus back to the three hearts at the top of the passageway.


    "I wonder how the Hearts of Accomplice should be distributed," said one of the Ear Mice.


    "Thad, you don''t need the Hearts of Accomplice. If you use it, you''d have to sacrifice yourself," another Ear Mouse squeaked. "How about we keep the three hearts, and after the auction, we give half of the soul pills to you?"


    Only the Ear Mice had the cheek to speak so shamelessly.


    "Shame on you!" Dorothy said, shaking her head.


    Zen was firm. "Dorothy and I will each get one, and the third one belongs to you."


    It was a statement of fact, not a proposal. He did not need the approval of the Ear Mice to take as many of the hearts as he wanted.


    His cooperation with the Ear Mice had mainly been about breaking down the wall. Beyond that, they were each on their own. What the Ear Mice would be able to obtain from the Grand Sky Temple depended on their own abilities.


    Without Zen, the Ear Mice wouldn''t have even made it through the 19th passageway, let alone reached these three Hearts of Accomplice.


    The Separate Abyss race, for instance, was far stronger than the Ear Mouse race¡ªbut they had been trapped in the walls of the passageway, never to be reborn.


    The Ear Mice squeaked reluctantly in agreement with Zen''s words.


    After all, they had no choice but to accept it.


    Zen braced himself and leaped into the air, wrapping his arms around one of the hearts.


    He gathered his strength and dragged the heart down, slowly but steadily disconnecting it from the blood vessels above it.


    There was a beating, pulsing sound as the vessels of the heart strained with Zen''s efforts.


    Once Zen had succeeded in pulling the heart down, it still kept beating and bleeding. Zen and the others stood in the passageway and observed as the heart began to heal itself rapidly, until eventually the blood


    he top of the passageway.


    Everyone began speaking at once. "Watch out!"


    "Be careful of the centipedes!" "The centipedes are poisonous!"


    "Look! The skeletons have opened their mouths!"


    Indeed, every single skeleton along the passageway had let their jaws fall open, and many centipedes swarmed out. They crawled along the walls and the ground towards the Souls of Light that had invaded the passageway.


    The fate of the bitten disciple had left everyone terrified.


    "Follow me," said Elvinia decisively.


    She leaped forward, waving her hands and flinging out whips of golden light that lashed mercilessly at the centipedes. The swarming, crawling mass of centipedes turned to ashes. Chaim and the other disciples pressed close to her back, following her as she moved forward.


    In the 7th passageway, a human girl carefully walked forward. She was under the protection of her companions.


    Because there were only a few of them in the group, and their collective strength was relatively weak, they had chosen the seventh passageway which was said to be the easiest one.


    In fact, the vast majority of the other races had also chosen this passageway. Since they had passed through first, they had already cleared out the obstacles along the way. So this group, coming through last, no longer faced any danger.


    Every hundred feet or so, one of them would squat in a corner and draw a pattern on the wall using his or her soul force.


    "How many patterns have we drawn by now?" one of them asked.


    "437. We''re only about halfway through," answered the man who drew the pattern.

 Chapter 3274 The Courtyard

    "That clue should be right. Come on!" one of the human Souls of Light called out.


    "But if it is, that''ll prove the Ear Mice are wrong, won''t it?" said the human girl.


    Her brother nodded. "Yes. The Ear Mice want to use that corporeal body to destroy the wall, but it''ll be a disaster¡ªyou can''t even imagine."


    "Will they all die? But what about the corporeal body?" the girl then eagerly asked.


    "He will die too," said the little girl''s brother without so much as a change in tone.


    At that, the human girl''s face sank.


    When she heard the man mention the Nine Li race, something pinched her heart¡ªshe had a feeling he had something to do with them.


    It was a pity to realize he would die in the Grand Sky Temple.


    "Should I warn him?" she suggested.


    But her brother only sneered. "Would he even believe our words? How are we going to explain where this clue came from? Tell him we''re descendants of the Nine Li race and expose all our identities?"


    That shut her up.


    After the Nine Li race suffered the massacre, they all went into hiding.


    Although they had finally settled down after all those years, they still had to live with great caution.


    On the Other Shore, it was relatively easy for them to keep their identities secret, allowing them to cultivate without worry. But once one of them was exposed, they would all be put in danger.


    As the group advanced, they drew peculiar patterns along the passageway.


    Although some of the monsters there had been eliminated by the warriors ahead, they were still moving all too slowly. It was a while before a faint cyan light appeared before them.


    Several fist-sized ghosts then emerged from both sides of the passageway.


    As they were in the seventh passageway, which was considered the simplest one, the cyan ghosts were not to be trifled with.


    Many other Souls of Light had been extinguished by these cyan ghosts in that particular passageway. The survivors had to fight for their lives just to get through.


    "Crack..."


    A group of bees flew right at those Nine


    h the door and took out the three jade stones. With that, the gate closed with a cracking sound as it sunk into the wall, leaving no trace.


    After leaving the 19th passageway, Zen and Dorothy found themselves walking down a row of stairs.


    At this point, they had reached the middle of the Grand Sky Temple. An open, wide courtyard came into view, where a variety of Other Shore plants were growing. A huge willow in the middle of it drew their attention instantly.


    "What are they doing?" Zen examined the willow and asked curiously.


    Hundreds of branches hung from the willow¡ªat the end of each was a non-human Soul of Light, greedily sucking on it.


    "They are sucking on the essence of the holy willow," whispered an Ear Mouse.


    Before something went wrong in the Dark Region, one of the reason why the Souls of Light on the Other Shore came to the Grand Sky Temple was for the willow.


    The effect of the holy willow''s essence was similar to that of the soul crystal, probably even better.


    The Souls of Light from different races rushed through the passageways just to claim a branch to gain the essence from¡ªit was a limited resource.


    All the Souls of Light that failed to take up a branch were wandering around in the courtyard instead. Certain rare plants could make for special Other Shore Tokens¡ªif they were lucky, they could nab something.

 Chapter 3275 The Thin Wall

    Zen had already obtained a great deal of soul crystal, so the willow did not interest him at all.


    They went down the steps and crossed the path through the middle of the courtyard.


    There were other Souls of Light sucking the willow essence and looking for the Other Shore Tokens in the courtyard. They all focused their eyes on Zen as he walked by.


    They had spent one million soul pills to enter the Grand Sky Temple.


    For that price, just a little walk in the courtyard was definitely not enough.


    Most Souls of Light were waiting here, although some had already crossed the courtyard to look for the way leading to the Dark Region themselves.


    The further end of the temple was incredibly dangerous. They''d be dancing with death if they attempted to explore it blindly, without any assistance.


    The Ear Mice had opened the door to the Grand Sky Temple and it seemed as though Zen had some sort of deal with them. Believing they must have concocted some great plan, most of them had stayed back to follow behind them.


    And so, when they passed through the courtyard, everyone sucking the willow essence and searching for Other Shore Tokens stopped what they were doing and shuffled closer to Zen.


    Zen paid them no mind and let them follow on, but the Ear Mice were quite displeased.


    "Squeak! Squeak!"


    "Squeak! Squeak!"


    The Ear Mice did not want to go along with these Souls of Light of other races, so they had opted to enter the Grand Sky Temple last.


    They hadn''t expected the Souls of Light to be so lazy and incompetent. They had no plan to search for the treasures themselves. All they wanted was to follow them and reap the rewards of their labor.


    One of the Ear Mice turned and yelled back at the Souls of Light with annoyance, "Squeak!


    Don''t follow us!"


    Outside the Grand Sky Temple, the Ear Mice had the final say.


    After all, they had opened the door and set powerful restrictions.


    But inside the temple, the other races gave them no respect.


    "Hey, mice, you need to remember one thing; we have paid the soul pills!"


    "The temple is not


    uckus coming from behind him.


    The underground passageway was not long, only over a thousand feet. At the end of it was a basement where a row of large oddly shaped stones were placed.


    The stones were all very smooth, except for some oval hollows in the center. It seemed as though something had once been embedded in the sunken parts, but they were no longer here.


    Zen and his group arrived at the basement, followed shortly after by over one thousand Souls of Light of the other races.


    The basement would have been spacious were it not for the more than a thousand creatures crowding it.


    One of the Ear Mice said to Zen, "Squeak! It is this wall! If you break this wall, we can enter the Dark Region!"


    Hearing ''the Dark Region'' excited everyone. This was what they had come for.


    "It is this wall," Zen repeated.


    He walked up to the wall and gently scratched the surface. The wall began to glow with a metallic luster.


    The material of the wall was similar to that of the Grand Sky Temple. That would mean it should be made of some sort of mixed metal.


    Zen tapped the wall lightly and a crisp echo rang throughout the basement. From that sound it was clear the Ear Mice had not lied; the wall was indeed very thin.


    Phew!


    Facing the wall, Zen took a step back and gathered power within his hand. He clenched it into a fist and unleashed a heavy blow to the wall.

 Chapter 3276 Terrifying Armors

    "Bang!"


    Zen''s punch to the wall resulted in a dull sound. But unlike an ordinary stone wall, it didn''t break into pieces.


    The metal wall was unusually tenacious¡ªZen''s punch only made an impression on the surface.


    "It didn''t break!"


    "Not enough!"


    "But that punch was strong! He''ll break it after a few more."


    The over a thousand Souls of Light felt nerves seeping in, especially the Ear Mice.


    When they last explored the place, they had tried all sorts of methods, using even taboo power. But their souls were simply too weak, resulting in failure. They could only turn back in the end.


    But with just a punch, Zen had dented the wall. The Ear Mice weren''t disappointed.


    ''It''s tougher than I thought¡­'' Zen thought to himself.


    Without much hesitation, Zen darted forward, his legs bending. Once again, he threw a punch to the wall.


    "Bang!"


    And with another dull sound, the dent sank further inward by two inches.


    "Come on!"


    "Bang!"


    "Bang!"


    Every hit made the entire tower vibrate from the shock.


    Above the basement stood several Nine Li people who could clearly feel the tremors from below.


    "Brother, he''s really smashing the wall in," remarked the human girl.


    "Let''s wait and see. We can''t go down there until they''re all dead," her brother responded.


    The girl was left conflicted.


    Though she was still a little worried about the physical body''s safety, she couldn''t go down and stop the man in the current situation.


    The Ear Mice wouldn''t just let her go down, let alone a thousand Souls of Light of alien races.


    "We''d better retreat. We don''t want to get caught up in the mess," one of them suggested.


    And so the human girl could only follow them out the passageway.


    "Bang!"


    "Bang!"


    "Bang!"


    The metal wall had sunk deeper and deeper until thumb-sized cracks began appearing on its surface.


    The other side of the wall was engraved with circular patterns¡ªthe strange markings spread across the wall all the way to the platforms on both sides where two livid armors stood.


    They w


    e same boat, rushing toward the free path.


    Because he led the way with his physical body, the Souls of Light posed no hindrance.


    Within a mere six seconds, he and Dorothy had arrived at the entrance. But just as Zen took another step forward, something broke the surface above them.


    "Boom!"


    The entire passageway collapsed without a sign, cutting off everyone''s one chance of surviving.


    ''Is it really a trap? Or did the Ear Mice just get something wrong?'' A thought flashed through Zen''s mind.


    "The passageway is broken!"


    "Ahhh! Help!"


    "It''s going to kill me!"


    The lost path put all the Souls of Light in despair.


    It wasn''t a wide basement, after all, and they were all crammed in the space. The two armors holding the rusty sabers merely spun and killed off anything in close proximity. They seemed to glide from left to right like a metal storm.


    Any Soul of Light caught in the calamity was killed instantly.


    "Zen... I''m scared!"


    Dorothy gripped his hand extremely tightly as her eyes filled with fear.


    Mere seconds had passed since the armors broke through the wall, but only half of the Souls of Light were left.


    Because they were in the temple, they had no way to leave the Other Shore¡ªthey were in an even more dangerous situation than in the Sea of Truth. At this point, it seemed as though they truly had nowhere to escape.

 Chapter 3277 Climb Up

    Just as Zen was about to open his mouth and say something to comfort Dorothy, one of the armors suddenly began making its way towards them.


    Zen immediately grabbed Dorothy and threw her to a corner where he knew she''d be safe against the oncoming enemy.


    Puff! Puff! Puff!


    The armor was fast and the unfortunate Souls of Light that stood in its way were practically ripped to shreds. In a blink of an eye, it was already in front of Zen.


    "Stop!" Zen screamed.


    He bent down and pounced towards the floor, avoiding the two, rusty, rotating sabers and slamming himself onto one of the armor''s feet.


    Zen spared no force from his attack, imparting five to six hundred divine megatons of force as he collided with the armor.


    Despite the strength and equivalent danger this armor posed, Zen wasn''t too worried about it since he figured that he was in equal footing with the enemy.


    The collision should''ve shaken its center of balance, making it fall to the ground. It should give him an advantage and let him obliterate this armor.


    Unfortunately, what he expected to happen, did not happen.


    Bang!


    The impact from hitting the armor rebounded towards Zen and he felt a sharp sting of pain on his shoulder before it went numb. Contrary to his former expectations, this armor was actually far stronger than his own body.


    There was no way he could use the Shade Stone to strengthen his body here on the Other Shore.


    How in the world were there such strong armors here in Stage Thirteen?


    With his shoulder numb, the regret of underestimating his opponent only began to settle in his bones. However, before he could fully immerse himself in his misery, a buzzing sound from above reminded him that he was still in the middle of a fight as a rusty saber headed towards him, ready to chop his head off.


    Zen swiftly rolled out of the way and, instead of his head, the saber slashed at the floor and created a long, deep crack.


    The floor was of a faint metallic color and Zen knew that the material it was made of wasn''t something he could destroy even if he exerted his full strength. Seeing that the rusty saber easily destroyed a part of it let him know that he had greatly underestimated the power of his armor opponent.


    Buzz!


    The two red spots inside the armor''s head flickered. The rusty sabers in its hands continued to come at Zen, getting faster and faster with each slash!


    Cre-ka-rack!


    It came at him with six to seven strikes in a row and Zen had no other choice but to avoid it by continuously rolling on the floor.


    In the end, however, he was still too slow. He felt a sudden, stinging pain on his back as one of the sabers caught up with him, creating a horrible gash.


    Buzz!


    Despite having


    medic to a degree as they watched the two armors smack their bodies onto the wall in an attempt to reach them.


    There were two loud thuds as the armors jumped.


    However, both fell rather quickly.


    Even if they contained great power, these two armors were quite heavy.


    They couldn''t even manage to lift themselves an inch above the ground, let alone reach Zen and Dorothy from such a high place.


    Dorothy, who had previously been scared witless for their lives, found herself laughing. "Ha! They can''t catch us!"


    Zen nodded in relief. "Yes. They can''t touch us now."


    The two armors tried to jump a few more times but to no avail. After realizing that they were not going to be able to reach their prey, they finally chose to give up.


    A large number of Souls of Light remained in the basement. The two armors'' attention had been focused on Zen earlier, giving the souls some time to relax and take a breather. However, Zen was now unreachable and the two armors turned towards them again.


    Five minutes passed.


    The basement, once filled to the brim with Souls of Light, stood empty.


    Dorothy and Zen were the only survivors.


    Granted that was mostly because they hung a hundred feet high, away from the dreadful place that was the bottom of the basement.


    "Will they leave?" Dorothy asked, looking down at the armors that remained below.


    "They will since they won''t be able to reach us," Zen assured her with confidence.


    However, as soon as he said that, the two armors approached the wall once again.


    This time though, instead of trying to jump, they stabbed their sabers onto the wall.


    The two armors were attempting to climb up to finally get rid of the remaining survivors.


    "Ah, it seems they''re more persistent than I thought," Zen said, shaking his head and revealing a wry smile.

 Chapter 3278 Benefactor

    Clank!


    Clank!


    Clank!


    Zen and Dorothy hung suspended against a wall over a hundred feet above ground. Below them, two armors rapidly followed them. They had already climbed eighty to ninety feet in the twinkling of an eye.


    Dorothy was clinging onto Zen''s body, her mind sifting through their options.


    She suddenly remembered her Necklace of Mystic Soul. It flashed and a soul sword shot down.


    Clank! Clank! Clank!


    The soul sword worked incredibly against the Souls of Light, but it was incapable of harming the armors. It merely clanked and fell.


    The armors were getting closer. Dorothy was beginning to panic. "It''s useless," she remarked while looking at the soul sword. "They are too powerful."


    Zen stared at the armors and then looked up.


    There was a passageway leading to the exit. Unfortunately, most of it had collapsed. There was, however, a small hole that remained uncovered. When Zen saw it, he turned to look at Dorothy. "Don''t be discouraged," he said. "We don''t need to defeat them. Let''s escape."


    "How?" Dorothy asked.


    "You can count on me," Zen said with a smile.


    Clank! Clank! Clank!


    Before they could escape, the armors had caught up and were nearing Zen''s feet.


    Their two hands made them look like human beings. Since they thrust their rusty sabers into the wall, they wouldn''t be able to launch an attack.


    Unlike humans, they were unable to make wise decisions.


    When they were five feet below Zen, Zen said, "Hold tight!"


    Dorothy wrapped her arms around Zen''s neck, feeling that she was falling.


    Zen stepped on the shoulders of an armor with full might and jumped up.


    Whoosh!


    He jumped more than a hundred feet and was able to stab his hand into the wall again.


    Dorothy''s heart was pounding against her chest. When they were finally safely hanging against the wall again, she heaved a long sigh of relief.


    The two armors were slow to respond. When they reali


    familiar to Dorothy and Zen.


    Zen recognized they were humans. He dragged Dorothy and made her stand firmly beside him.


    Dorothy stared coldly at the girl. "I saved you in Stage Eleven when you were having troubles with the Separate Abyss race," she snarled. "And now you''re planning to return the gesture with ingratitude?"


    The girl was speechless. She wasn''t able to see Dorothy''s face, but she knew exactly what the voice was talking about. Dorothy was the one who had helped her pay two hundred thousand soul pills in Stage Eleven.


    "Is it you? Were you the one who saved me?" the girl asked in a daze.


    When she was still in Stage Twelve, the girl had looked for them. She wanted to give back the two hundred thousand soul pills, but Dorothy was nowhere to be found.


    She asked around but the Other Shore was too vast. Finding another person without even knowing their name was a very difficult task.


    Dorothy''s sudden appearance was completely unexpected for her.


    That incident was known to the girl''s companions too. When the girl''s brother realized what they were talking about, he cupped his hands. "Thank you so much for saving my sister," he said sincerely. "I was just trying to know the situation in the basement. I''m sorry for attacking you. Please forgive me!"

 Chapter 3279 The Truth

    It looked like the man was telling the truth. He wasn''t able to see who Zen was. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have dared to attack Zen.


    After all, no ordinary Souls of Light could cause Zen any real damage. Attacking him was like courting death.


    "It''s okay," Zen said, finally relaxing.


    Crack! Crack!


    The two armors were nearly catching up. Any moment, they would be climbing out of the basement.


    Zen wanted to run away right away. He was already exhausted from trying to lose them during the climb.


    "These two armors are strong. We have to go," Zen announced as he dragged Dorothy''s arm.


    The members of the Nine Li race looked at each other and hesitated.


    They knew that the two armors could not leave the basement.


    The basement was, as a matter of fact, a trap. As soon as the thin wall was destroyed, the two armors would be activated, resulting in the collapse of the underground passage. All the Souls of Light inside would die.


    The armors weren''t supposed to be capable of climbing out of the basement.


    The Nine Li people exchanged looks of hesitation.


    The girl''s brother reacted out of haste. "We have to get out of here right now! The armors are too powerful! Let''s go! Hurry up!"


    The others reacted the same way. They pretended to be scared.


    As they were about to leave, Dorothy halted in her tracks. "Wait," she said, grabbing Zen''s arm.


    She felt that something was wrong.


    She looked at the crowd. They were acting strangely.


    After the door of the basement was opened by the Ear Mice, all the Souls of Light of the other races had entered, but they stayed outside.


    There might be two reasons.


    First, they only came after the armors entered the basement. Perhaps they didn''t want to enter it when they saw how bad it was.


    Second, they might have stayed outside because they knew that something bad was going to happen in the basement.


    At first, Doro


    ill anyone in sight easily in the Grand Sky Temple. There was no place for them to run to.


    Perhaps the humans thought that Zen would spare them. They did not know that he wouldn''t hesitate resorting to violence if necessary.


    "We can''t force the back door of the Grand Sky Temple open. If we do that, everyone will die," the girl''s brother explained.


    It was no use to continue tricking Zen. He had to tell the truth.


    "Is there a way to open it?" Zen asked.


    Everyone was silent again.


    If they revealed the clue, they risked exposing their identities.


    It would be as good as surrendering their lives to Zen.


    "Say it," Zen ordered.


    Dorothy tilted her head slightly.


    "I heard you talk about the Nine Li race outside the temple," the girl chirped. "You don''t intend to harm the Nine Li race, do you?"


    "Sally!"


    "What the hell are you talking about?"


    She then kept silent, not wanting to disappoint her companions.


    She knew she asked a foolish question.


    It wasn''t a good time to ask such things.


    At that moment, Zen had the upper hand. She was but a powerless being compared to him.


    She nearly told Zen that they were from the Nine Li race.


    Everyone else stood tense and worried as Zen and Dorothy exchanged a meaningful look.

 Chapter 3280 The Background

    Although Athemar knew part of Zen''s background, he didn''t disclose it to the people of the Origin Mountain.


    But Dorothy had already speculated that Zen was from the Nine Li race.


    The issue of his identity was too sensitive. She figured that since he didn''t mention the topic himself, she should avoid the topic entirely.


    But she never would have guessed that the Nine Li race still had direct descendants.


    "You''re from the Nine Li race?" Zen asked, taking a step forward.


    The other people of the Nine Li race grew anxious. "She''s talking nonsense," Sally''s brother said. "You don''t have to take it so seriously. If you have nothing else to say, we must take our leave now!"


    They could explore the Grand Sky Temple next time.


    Though it was a pity to have to give up now, revealing their identity was the last thing they wanted to do.


    If Zen somehow left something on their Souls of Light to track them down, he could end up killing all the remaining descendants.


    To ensure everyone''s safety, they opted to give up. Someone else would open up the Grand Sky Temple some other day.


    "Wait," Zen called out and stepped forward, blocking the entrance.


    The Nine Li people''s faces suddenly sank.


    If Zen truly wanted to keep them there, it would be all too easy for him.


    "Sir, we have no enmity with you. You don''t need to be too hard on us," Sally''s brother pleaded with his hands clasped together.


    But Zen merely ignored him and pointed to Sally. "You, come over here!"


    Sally blinked.


    In spite of her companions'' anxiety about the situation, she felt oddly relaxed.


    Somehow, she knew that the person before her posed absolutely no danger to them, but that was merely naivety in her companions'' eyes.


    "Sir, please leave my sister alone," Sally''s brother said, now sounding bitter.


    The others didn''t like it either. She was young and inexperienced¡ªthey thought she''d end up revealing their true identity.


    But Zen wasn''t interested in these people at all. He went ahead and pulled Sally to the other side.


    Seeing that Zen paid them no mind, Sally''s brother called out through gritted teeth, "I tried to b


    ong the Nine Li people, she was known as Lorena.


    The destruction of the Nine Li race had already passed when these people were born.


    While they didn''t live in that time, they had grown up hearing many of the legends¡ªthey were well aware of who Lorena was.


    "You..."


    "You are from the royal family!"


    "How do I know I can even believe you?"


    Everyone, even Sally, was wide-eyed and stunned, looking at Zen in confusion.


    Sally''s brother shuddered and took a step forward, ready to kneel down before Zen.


    The latter gently helped him up and shook his head with a smile. "There''s no need to be so courteous. I might be lying to you,"


    Zen joked kindly.


    However, materializing three heads and six arms required a great amount of power and his blood of the Nine Li race was nothing to take lightly.


    Amidst the confusion, Dorothy looked just as conflicted.


    Although she had already guessed that Zen had come from the Nine Li race, she certainly didn''t expect him to be a member of the royal family.


    If the Nine Li race was flourishing, that meant his status would be as high as Elvinia''s.


    In truth, his status could even be much higher than hers.


    The Oneness Sky Palace was the union of the seven mountains, each of which had a respective emperor.


    The Nine Li race had nine tribes, but Chiyou was the supreme ruler. The royal members held a greater status than the direct descendants of the palace.

 Chapter 3281 Uninvited Followers

    The Nine Li members chose to believe Zen, irrespective of whether Zen was joking or not.


    Zen had proved himself to be a member of the Nine Li race. They couldn''t test his blood lineage on the Other Shore, let alone test his blood purity. But the best proof lay in the fact that he had three heads and six arms.


    "Thad, you belong to the royal family. How did you become a member of the Oneness Sky Palace?" Sally''s brother asked again.


    Their curiosity about Zen had surpassed that about the Dark Region.


    The Ear Mice had addressed Zen ''Thad'' at the entrance of the Grand Sky Temple. Thus, those Nine Li members thought that that was his real name.


    "It''s a long story," Zen said cautiously. "I hope you will ask the elders of Nine Li race to come to the Oneness Sky Palace someday. I want to meet them if possible."


    Both sides had tried to trust each other but were still far from reaching a place where they could share everything.


    Sally''s brother would not disclose the location of the remaining members of the Nine Li race, nor would Zen tell them where the divine land was.


    "I will report this to the elders of our race," Sally''s brother said.


    If Zen was really Lorena''s son and possessed such amazing abilities, the remaining members of the Nine Li race would fall over themselves to meet him in the Oneness Sky Palace.


    The Nine Li race and the Oneness Sky Palace had never been enemies. The beliefs that they had chosen to follow were the same, which meant that the Oneness Sky Palace could still ensure their safety and peace.


    These people then introduced themselves to Zen.


    "My name is Hutton," Sally''s brother said.


    "My name is Sally. It''s so nice to meet you, Thad," the girl said with a smile.


    Once all the members had introduced themselves to Zen, Hutton said to him, "Thad, you can''t break the wall with just brute force. Forcing it open will only lead you into fatal trouble."


    Both Zen and Dorothy had been through what Hutton was describing.


    Even Zen''s corporeal body was unable to resist the two armors. A Soul of Light would definitely suffer grave consequences if fighting against the armors.


    "Do you know how to get inside?" Zen asked Hutton.


    "Yes," Hutton re


    ay, Chaim questioned Zen about the whereabouts of the Ear Mice. Zen sighed and said, "They''re all dead."


    "The Ear Mice... All dead?" Chaim froze.


    He couldn''t believe what he was hearing. All the Ear Mice were cunning. Many of them had entered the Grand Sky Temple, but now they were all dead. How was that possible?


    "Not only them. More than a thousand non-human Souls of Light also died in this basement," Zen said, and then proceeded to tell them what had happened in the basement.


    Elvinia, Chaim, and the disciples stopped short, shocked at Zen''s revelations.


    If this basement was that dangerous, did it mean that anyone who entered it would be courting death?


    "You don''t have to follow us if you are afraid," Dorothy said as she turned to look at Elvinia. Her voice had a provoking bite to it.


    Elvinia couldn''t stand ridicule. She merely snorted and continued on her way.


    Zen laughed. "Don''t be nervous, Chaim. We are safe in the basement, because they''ve a solution," he said.


    "The solution..." Chaim looked doubtfully at Hutton''s group and asked, "Which force of the human race do these people belong to?"


    Both the Bearing race and the Divine Farmer race had been expelled. All the other human forces were small ones. If these people really knew the way to the Dark Region, it was impossible that they were from those small forces.


    Zen said with an easy smile, "Don''t ask improper questions if you want to follow us to explore the Dark Region."

 Chapter 3282 Moving The Wall

    Chaim laughed lightheartedly as he realized their delicate identities. Then he said, "They are all human beings. It really doesn''t matter where they come from."


    The Nine Li people, including Hutton, who stopped in their tracks, felt thoroughly relieved.


    The entire basement had now been fully restored. There wasn''t even a single indication of the previous mess. It seemed like nothing happened.


    "Squeak... Squeak! Squeak..."


    "Squeak! Squeak! Squeak..."


    They heard squeaking noises from the corner of the wall while they walked along the passageway.


    "What do you think that was?"


    "They''re mouse-shaped souls?"


    "Indeed. They do appear like the souls of the Ear Mice! They look so weak and fragile!"


    The disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace looked at the souls. A curious look registered upon their faces.


    Those who entered Stage Thirteen of the Other Shore were probably either Indigo Souls or Souls of Light that were about to become Indigo Souls. However, the souls at the corner were almost invisible. They seemed like candles in the wind that would go out at any time!


    The souls were back in their fundamental form. It was probably difficult for them to leave their bodies, let alone cross the Sea of Truth to reach the Other Shore.


    "I think they really are... the souls of the Ear Mice," Zen murmured while staring at the faint souls.


    Hutton nodded in agreement. He said, "They have been reverted to their initial form because of the hourglass."


    The Ear Mice had found the basement behind the Grand Sky Temple even without any clue. It was highly likely that they had big plans for the Dark Region.


    And for this mission, they had been prepared and had carefully worked out a plan.


    As a matter of fact, they did an excellent job. They invited Zen to come with them and he had successfully broken the wall down by force.


    However, they were not fully aware that breaking the wall would come at a great price.


    When the two armors appeared, even Zen wasn''t able to stop them. But then, the Ear Mice made a seemingly smart decision. They hid in a corner of the wall using a soul weapon.


    The way in which they hid was extremely brilliant. The two armors, the Souls of Light of alien races, and even Zen did not notice them in the chaos that ensued.


    Unfortunately, the Ear Mice didn''t expect that everything would be restored in the basement after the armors left!


    As the fog rose slowly, the Ear Mice immediately noticed that some


    ll standing motionlessly on the platforms.


    "Unbelievable! It worked!"


    "Finally, we can get out of here!"


    "The clues are completely right!"


    A smile crept across the Nine Li people''s faces.


    Before they entered the Grand Sky Temple, they were very nervous. But now that they had moved the wall, they became quite excited.


    Zen went out and walked around. His eyes fell upon the two armors. After he got another look at the patterns on the wall, he suddenly became enlightened. The mechanical device was designed to prevent someone from forcefully smashing down the wall!


    "Are these armors really that powerful?" the disciples asked a bit skeptically.


    "About a thousand Souls of Light of alien races were slaughtered. Tsk, tsk..."


    "If only I could take the armor as my Other Shore Token," someone remarked regrettably.


    A few disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace reached out their hands and tried to touch the armors. Chaim hurriedly warned them, "Don''t just touch them randomly. If they come to life again, I doubt that any of you will survive!"


    Those disciples quickly withdrew their hands as if they had been burned.


    After these warriors passed by the two armors, they saw a wooden bridge ahead. The bridge was long and narrow. It seemed like it would only fit two people. It also extended all the way forward into the vast distance. They could vaguely see the three wooden huts in the darkness.


    It was a little strange that there was no change in the wooden huts they saw in front of the temple and at the back of it. They should have been near the huts now, yet the huts still hung gloomily in the distant Dark Region.

 Chapter 3283 The Wooden Bridge

    As far as most creatures knew, no one was allowed to enter the Dark Region.


    Anyone who entered would be swallowed up by endless darkness.


    What happened in there was shrouded in mystery. No one knew how and why the Souls of Light disappeared in the depths of the Dark Region.


    People who entered died suddenly and silently. Their Souls of Light were lost and their bodies were left empty, like ships without a rudder.


    Everyone carried a deep and abiding fear of the Dark Region. It was terrible to lose your own soul. And so the Souls of Light wandering Stage Thirteen would be careful to stay far away from the Dark Region.


    Chaim paused, analyzing the situation. "The bridge should be within the Dark Region," he said.


    The two Dark Regions in Stage Thirteen formed two semicircles, the ends of two arcs connected behind the Grand Sky Temple.


    At Chaim''s words, those from the Oneness Sky Palace stopped in their tracks. They even took several steps back, as though retreating from some horrible monster awaiting them on the bridge.


    However, the Nine Li people stepped confidently onto the wooden bridge. Hutton said, "It''s true that the bridge is located within the Dark Region, but we''re safe in the place with light."


    Zen followed Hutton forward onto the bridge. He looked around, his curiosity increasing at the sight of the mysterious light. "Where does the light come from? It''s so strange."


    According to No. 9527, only those candles could light up the Dark Region.


    When Zen had first reached the entrance of the Grand Sky Temple, he''d been able to see the wooden bridge from a distance. He had wondered to himself if there were candles on the bridge. He couldn''t see any candles now, which made him feel uneasy.


    Where was the light coming from?


    "The light comes from something we can''t see," Hutton replied calmly.


    They knew little about the Dark Region, and they had accepted that they would never unravel most of its secrets.


    Zen nodded, still observing the light. He knew that the candles could light up the Dark Region. But What were they made of? What else was in here?


    Dorothy followed behind Zen, and in turn she was followed by Chaim, Elvinia and the other disciples.


    The disciples were very scared, but they had finally come to the Dark Region which had never been explored before. If they could find a unique Other Shore Token, their status would be greatly improved in the Oneness Sky Palace in the future.


    And so, dreaming of the possibilities, they cautiously stepped onto the wooden bridge.


    There was a creaking sound, followed by anoth


    t scare me!" Sally said, her voice trembling.


    The environment of the Nine Li race had made its people strong, but after all Sally was still quite young.


    "The noise only comes when I move," Zen said softly.


    He took a step forward.


    The bridge creaked, and beneath that creak was the distinct sound of something unfamiliar.


    This time, everyone on the bridge heard it clearly.


    "It seems that there is something under the wooden bridge!"


    "What the hell is that? Is something following us?"


    "Oh my God! It must be a monster of the Dark Region!"


    The disciples spoke in hushed, panicked voices, looking around them fearfully at the darkness.


    Dorothy couldn''t help but lean towards Zen. Although Elvinia was scared, she still looked around the wooden bridge, squinting her eyes.


    "It''s down there," said Zen. "Something is following us."


    He held on to the railing of the wooden bridge and looked down over the side, into the black chasm below.


    The planks of the wooden bridge were wider than the railings on each side. This made it impossible to probe what was under the bridge simply by leaning over the edge. The underside of the bridge was shrouded entirely in impenetrable darkness. Nobody could explore it just by using their spiritual sense.


    Everyone was anxious and afraid. All of a sudden, Hutton, who was in the lead, spoke in a low and urgent voice, "Thad, look behind us."


    Zen, Dorothy, Sally, and Elvinia turned their heads. To their horror, a black tail was visible on one side of the wooden bridge.


    The tail was as slender as a rope, and tapered to a sharp hook at the tip.


    Without making any sound, the tail flicked and moved towards a disciple who stood in the rear of the group.

 Chapter 3284 Human-Monkey Monsters

    Evidently, the one who stood on the far end of the line had no idea about what was going on.


    Naturally, when everyone turned to look at him, he became cautious. Suddenly baffled by the unwanted attention, he began to eye himself up. As he glanced sideways, his gaze fell on the black tail, which caused him to stiffen up.


    Although he had no clue what it was, there was a high probability it came from under the wooden bridge. If so, then it must have been a creature from the Dark Region!


    Even though he tried his best to remain calm, the situation at hand required a lot of wits to do so. His Soul of Light couldn''t help but have a strong fluctuation out of fear.


    "Help! Someone, please help me!"


    he shouted but in a low voice for a few people near him to hear.


    When the other disciples close to him noticed the tail, they were too scared to approach him and help.


    Now that they didn''t want to alarm the creature, they had to walk on the wooden bridge with careful steps.


    When he realized his calls were all for naught and no one would come to his aid, the disciple paced anxiously to get as further away from the tail as possible.


    But just as he moved, the tail with a hook shot up in the sky. It began to spiral in the air before it aimed itself towards the disciple.


    "All of you get down now!"


    Zen shouted on top of his lungs. Then, he dashed towards the tail while jumping over the heads of the disciples.


    These Souls of Light were powerful. However, they were not strong enough to fight against the monsters that resided on the Other Shore. What was more frightening was the fact that this creature was from the Dark Region. No one but Zen could handle a situation such as this.


    When Zen''s words rang in the ears of the disciple, he instinctively ducked in time for the tail to miss its target.


    But now, Zen had only managed to pass over Elvinia''s head. He was still far away from the reach of that disciple. The tail, on the other hand, was much more flexible in its movements than anyone could have imagined.


    Although it missed, the tail did not seem to retreat. Instead, it went around the bridge. The disciple who had been lying on the bridge had no space left to go. He was surrounded. The teammates of the disciple watched in horror as the creature from the Dark Region pierced his Soul of Light and moved out of the bridge.


    In an attempt to rescue him, Zen jumped up in the air and reached his hand out to grab ahold of the disciple.


    But the tail seemed to have eyes of its own and had seen Zen approach it swiftly. Suddenly, it swept right to lead Zen in the wrong direction and bypassed him. With quick movements, the creature shrank into the darkness under the bridge with the disciple still in its grasp.


    Desperate shouts of help were heard from the disciple when his


    the behind.


    Not too far behind them, a thick red python was covering most of the wooden bridge. It twisted and turned its body to move forward. Sometimes, it would move towards the darkness to camouflage itself, and occasionally it would show up on the bridge. In front of the python were a few monsters. From their appearance, they seemed to be half-human and half-monkey. As the python slithered its way towards them, they galloped wildly to get away from it.


    Their tails were exactly the same as the one that pulled the disciple into the darkness. It was apparent that they were the monsters that hid under the bridge.


    Splash!


    Of course, these human-monkey monsters'' movements were remarkably agile, but it was still hard for them to escape the clutches of the python. Every time the red python looked up and clenched its teeth towards them, a human-monkey monster would be swallowed whole into its stomach.


    After gobbling up several human-monkey monsters, the red python raised its head to scout its next prey. Its huge tongue slithered out of its mouth when it discovered Zen and the others. "Hiss..."


    Without wasting a moment, the red python went around the wooden bridge and crawled forward at an incredibly fast speed.


    "Hurry, let''s go now!"


    At this point, they could all agree on one thing: to run and escape as further away as possible from this creature.


    However, the power of the Souls of Light had their limitations. In terms of speed, they couldn''t compare with a physical body.


    Zen felt anxiety build up in his body as he noticed the Souls of Light would struggle to keep up with him. At this rate, the red python would catch up to them in seconds and devour them one by one.


    Under such circumstances, he suddenly thought of a plan and shouted towards them, "Quick! All of you grab onto each other! I will drag all of you with me as I run!"

 Chapter 3285 To Cross The Bridge

    Zen knew that the Souls of Light weighed almost nothing.


    As the width of the bridge could only allow two people walk on it side by side, the people of the Nine Li race and the Oneness Sky Palace had been marching in two rows, moving forward along the bridge.


    Now they each grabbed onto whoever was in front of them, so that the whole group was connected.


    Zen moved to the front of the line and grabbed the hands of Hutton and Sally.


    There was a whooshing sound.


    Everyone felt like a vise had gripped them by the arms and pulled them up forcefully. The Souls of Light were lifted into the air.


    "Hang on!" Zen shouted.


    As they held on tightly to him and to each other, Zen stomped on the ground and increased the power beneath his feet.


    Earlier, he had been controlling his steps, trying to tread as lightly as possible, because he feared the bridge would not bear his power. However, as the red python glided by, he realized the bridge was not as fragile as it seemed.


    As he stomped down, the wooden planks under Zen started to sink. But the bridge did not break.


    Instead, the bridge bent down, then snapped back into place.


    Like a tight bowstring, the bridge bounced Zen away. The Souls of Light flew into the air but kept a tight grip on each other, forming a glowing line in the darkness. From a distance, it looked like Zen was flying a kite.


    The Souls of Light were disoriented at being tossed into the air. Some of them called out to each other, trying to fight their dizziness. "We''re moving so fast!"


    "Where are we now?"


    "Careful, we might fall into the Dark Region!"


    They could feel cool, dry winds sweeping through their souls in the air.


    The bridge creaked and groaned as Zen landed on it.


    As soon as he found his footing on the bridge, Zen rushed forward again.


    The red python seemed to have been caught by surprise at how fast these people were moving. It hissed loudly. The scales on its head crested, like a threatening cockscomb.


    The python slithered forward on the cramped bridge, increasing its own speed and gaining on Zen and the others.


    In the air, the disciples could see the snake catching up. They felt chills of fear at the terrible sounds made by the red python behind them.


    The speed of Zen''s movement left the disciples behind him floating in a line that trailed upwards. The disciples at the furthest end of the line were at least fifty feet in the air.


    The disciples had fought to keep their grip o


    Thad''s thrown the red python off the bridge!"


    "I thought we were doomed!"


    "Damn, we lost six more disciples!"


    They paused, remembering the six who had been killed by the python. Those who survived were grateful to Zen for saving them. If he had hesitated for even a moment, more of them would have died.


    "I don''t know how deep the darkness goes. The python comes from the Dark Region, so it may not be killed simply by falling into the darkness. We should cross the bridge as soon as possible," Zen said.


    Everyone sobered up at Zen''s warning.


    The two kinds of creatures they had met in the Dark Region were stronger than they had ever imagined, so it would not be wise to underestimate the place.


    Without Zen, even Hutton and his people would have given up already. They were not afraid of taking risks. But they would not court death in the face of impossible odds.


    "Let''s keep going!"


    They resumed walking forward on the bridge, trying to move as quickly as they could.


    They kept a sharp lookout for further threats, but it looked like the python might have scared those human-monkey monsters away. They did not show up again. Indeed, compared to the tribulations of the first half, the second half of their journey across the bridge went very smoothly.


    After an hour, Zen saw the end of the bridge.


    The bridge led to a path on the ground, which was lit by a dim yellow light.


    Zen squinted. He saw that the path eventually became forked. There was a hut at the end of each of the three forks. Three lit candles had been placed in front of the huts.


    The candle at the furthest hut was too dim to light up the fork.

 Chapter 3286 The Strange Road

    With the sudden appearance of three mysterious wooden huts in the Dark Region, many great races in the Source World itched to explore them.


    While, up to this point, they had different theories as to what the huts hid. Zen and his group stood apprehensively before the huts now.


    Everyone held their breath in excitement. Finally, the huts were but a stone''s throw away!


    However, considering the dangers they had just faced prior to getting here, no one dared approach the huts. Instead, they all looked towards Zen for guidance.


    It seemed everything was up to him now.


    "Everyone, follow me," Zen ordered as he cautiously stepped off the wooden bridge.


    The candles in front of the huts lit the bridge and the forks only.


    It meant there was no other way to go but straight towards the wooden huts.


    Without hesitating, Zen set foot on the narrow road at the foot of the bridge. Slowly but steadily, he approached the nearest hut.


    At first glance, the hut looked quite ordinary. People wouldn''t have paid it any heed if it were in any other place, but they were in the Dark Region, a forbidden place.


    Zen gently knocked on the door.


    Knock, knock.


    Unsurprisingly, there was no response.


    "This hut seems to be unoccupied," Elvinia said, breaking the silence. "We don''t know what creatures are living in the Dark Region."


    Chaim nodded. "Open the door," he urged.


    If ever there was a creature within, there was no telling they''d be able to understand what it was.


    Zen hesitated. But, they had come all this way to find out what was in the huts.


    Pressing his hand against the door, he pushed it open.


    "Wow!" Sally, who was standing behind them, gasped. "It''s so beautiful!"


    A light had suddenly burst forth from the doorway once Zen pushed the door open. When their eyes finally adjusted, they were at a loss for words at what lay before them.


    Elvinia and Dorothy both dropped their jaws, unable to conceal their awe.


    On a massive shelf standing against the wall of the hut were some strange crystals. Each one seemed to emit different colored lights that danced off the wall, creating a stunning effect.


    Zen reached out and took one of the crystals, inspec


    naught.


    Seeing how everyone wouldn''t budge on the crystals, Zen shook his head in frustration. "Fine. But we have to leave now. Let''s go back to the wooden bridge."


    Zen was worried about their safety.


    He had experienced a lot in his life, so he knew he could take care of himself. But he could only hope to protect the others.


    Survival was the only thing that mattered in places like the Dark Region. It wasn''t worth it to lose a life over some shiny, new objects.


    Despite him not gaining anything new from this journey, he wasn''t frustrated. More than anything right now, he just wanted to get out of here before the owner of the three wooden huts came back.


    With Zen''s strained tone, it finally dawned on the others that danger was heading their way. They quickly followed Zen out of the wooden hut and headed down the road.


    The road wasn''t long, and they should''ve reached the foot of the bridge in no time.


    However, once they reached the intersection of the three roads, to their surprise, the door to the wooden hut stood before them.


    "What happened?" Chaim frowned.


    The others looked at each other, confused.


    "Keep going!"


    Zen also frowned. No. 9527 was right. The creature that dared to make candles here was by no means ordinary.


    The group dashed towards the road again under the guidance of Zen. However, just as Zen stepped on the intersection, they somehow kept ending up at the entrance to the wooden hut again and again.

 Chapter 3287 Fear

    As the disciples and the Nine Li people repeatedly showed up at the entrance to the hut, they felt a surge of panic.


    Exchanging anxious glances at each other, they turned to Zen in the hopes that he''d have an answer to this madness.


    "Is it a magic array?" Dorothy guessed in a low voice.


    Hutton shook his head. "Impossible. If it was a magic array, we would have detected some energy fluctuations."


    Souls on the Other Shore usually were much more perceptive of energy fluctuations than if they were in their corporeal bodies. However, no one could sense anything of the sort here.


    "Then why can''t we leave?" Elvinia demanded.


    "Is it possible that this is a magic array designed extremely skillfully in the dark?" Chaim suggested.


    Chaim''s words made some sense. However, this brought more anxiety than comfort.


    The Dark Region was secluded from everything, and seemed to be impervious to light, sound, and energy. Aside from what was lit by the candles, everything else was shrouded in darkness.


    If a magic array had truly been arranged in the darkness, they would not have been able to perceive it.


    "Let me try again."


    Elvinia went down along the road again. But after a dozen or so steps, when she reached the intersection, she found herself in front of the entrance to the hut again.


    "We can''t get out of here," Elvinia said resignedly.


    Zen frowned. Suddenly, the crystals came to mind.


    As No. 9527 had said, the candles were precious in the Dark Region. So, it made sense that there would be countermeasures laid out to protect the crystals used to make them.


    "Return all the crystals," Zen suddenly said.


    Previously, Zen had already asked them to return the crystals. But since everyone protested, Zen decided not to push it.


    Now that they were stuck there, it seemed they had changed their minds about the crystals.


    After all, getting out of there alive was more important than harboring some crystals of unknown use.


    So, they all obeyed Zen this time. They all went back inside the hut and returned the crystals. Once all was returned, they stepped outside the hut o


    ashed by the snake''s tail, Zen quickly removed the Wild God Power. His huge body instantly shrank, having dodged the tail by a hair''s width.


    "Puff!"


    Zen, who had landed on the ground, immediately ran to the fork leading to the hut.


    The red python threw its head back and hissed in fury, its forked tongue dancing ominously. It had been waiting under the bridge for so long, yet it had failed to devour anyone thus far. In its anger, it rushed straight towards Zen and the others.


    Zen and the others ran frantically. They had nowhere to hide. Clumsily, they made their way back to the hut.


    However, when Zen turned to look back at the red python, something strange happened.


    Just as the snake had slithered to the intersection of the three forks, it stopped abruptly.


    "Whoosh..."


    If Zen wasn''t mistaken, there seemed to be a trace of fear hidden in the massive python''s narrow eyes. Slowly, the red python backed up slightly.


    "The python doesn''t dare to come up!"


    "It is scared! Haha!"


    "A coward!"


    Several disciples from the Oneness Sky Palace sneered at the python on the fork when they saw that it had stopped.


    After everything they''d been through, they were relieved to see the snake back off.


    "The red python dares not come up because it fears the owner of the huts," Chaim cautioned. "But what should we do if it just waits there until the owner of the huts comes back?"

 Chapter 3288 Blue Twin Stars

    At this point, the only option to exit was this creaky, wooden bridge. However, the python remained at the intersection of forks. There was nothing they could do.


    Silence took over the disciples as they heard what Chaim just said.


    "What should we do now?" Sally whispered hastily.


    "What else can we do? Honestly, I guess it''s all just up to fate right now," one of the Nine Li members said, shaking his head anxiously.


    To make matters worse, the python was unpredictable. Even if it did disappear, they did not dare to go onto the wooden bridge. Who knew when the python would return? The way back to the temple was so long, and the chances of returning safely were too small.


    Standing beside Zen, Dorothy was not as depressed as the others. As long as Zen stood by her, she was unafraid. There was no reason to fear.


    "What if I draw it away?" Zen asked the bunch.


    Dorothy thought about it quickly and then shook her head in disagreement. "You''re no match for this python. Moreover, even if you can lure it away, how far can you go? You couldn''t go into the dark, right? Then after it finishes you, it will come back for us. We would die as well."


    "I can lead it into the Dark Region," Zen said.


    "I know." Dorothy nodded, thinking of the candles in her space ring. She already had a rough idea what was the use of these candles. "But your speed can''t compare with the python''s, and there are so much more threats in the Dark Region. The result will be the same."


    Of course, she didn''t want Zen to sacrifice for nothing.


    Facing the python, everyone began brainstorming. Some people even tried to recite the Illusion Breaking Rune, but it was just wishful thinking to want to leave here by such an easy way.


    "Hoo..."


    Just then, the red python began to wriggle. When it opened its mouth, its long tongue made a strange sound.


    "You fool! Go back!"


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    In desperation, these disciples even tried to use words to drive the python away.


    Of course, that ide


    hey would be at the middle or at the end. But it was known that the Blue Twin Stars would only appear in the southern Dark Region; never the northern one.


    Every time the Blue Twin Stars appeared, there would be a violent shock, which was known as the Other Shore Earthquake.


    Because of that, almost every race took the Blue Twin Stars as the sign of an earthquake. The sign worked every time, making the wise warriors in those powerful races feel confused.


    Now the answer was unveiled.


    In this distance, they could finally see what was behind the Blue Twin Stars very clearly.


    Those were not stars. They were the eyes of a huge ape!


    The ape''s body was too huge, which was why there was a dramatic quake every time it moved.


    This mystery had lasted for thousands of year. Zen believed he still had a little chance to resist the red python. However, he knew that he was no match for the huge ape.


    The once arrogant python was sent into the ape''s mouth and chewed.


    Because of the darkness between them, they could hardly hear the chewing sound. However, the picture the python was chewed into pieces frightened them to the core.


    Some of them began to regret.


    If they had known this was going to happen, they wouldn''t have joined the exploration in the first place. This was no place for ordinary beings.

 Chapter 3289 A Three-eyed Boy

    After swallowing the red python, the huge ape closed its eyes.


    That was the last they saw of it as its face naturally blended into the darkness and disappeared.


    None of them knew what happened in the Dark Region. Was this huge ape perhaps reaching out its hand to them? Or was it actually preparing to smash them all into bits?


    Dorothy grabbed Zen''s hand in fear while Elvinia continued to look around nervously.


    Suddenly, the giant, hairy hand appeared in front of them again! This time, it was curled up like a fist.


    Its sudden appearance stressed out everyone present. Some warriors of the Oneness Sky Palace and the Nine Li race even trembled in fear.


    Zen himself felt the domineering pressure that emanated from this giant fist.


    To their surprise, however, the giant fist did not slam down to smash their fragile souls. Instead, it slowly descended, like it was dragging something in its hold.


    They watched the fist unfurl and reveal to them a boy.


    He looked like any other eight-year-old human boy, save for one unique feature.


    A third eye, right in the middle of his forehead.


    Zen couldn''t help but stare.


    The little boy was injured. Zen could see that both his shoulders were broken and the left side of his face was bleeding. However, he didn''t seem to be in any pain.


    "I was fighting with those black monkeys when I found that I caught the fish. You''re such a bummer!" the three-eyed boy whined, stomping his foot and shaking his head.


    "Fish?"


    Zen''s and Chaim''s hearts both trembled in fear.


    The light from the three huts had felt like a trap.


    It was just so convenient: a shining road, a stable-looking bridge, and three lit huts.


    There were times when clarity was only granted after experiencing a disaster. This situation right now seemed to be a fair example. None of them really knew anything about the Dark Region, after all.


    "Excuse me. What do you mean by fish?" Hutton asked, respectfully cupping his hands to the boy.


    A powerful ape was under this three-


    d of the day, you will still have to serve me," the boy said with a shrug as another person''s Soul of Light shrank and was sucked into the green light.


    "You kill one more person and Elvinia and I will kill ourselves rather than serve you," Zen demanded, meeting eyes with Dorothy who stood not far away.


    Dorothy stared blankly at Zen. His words touched her heart.


    One more soul and it would be her turn to get sucked into the green light. Dorothy didn''t really feel any fear in dying but she still appreciated his gesture. "Zen..."


    Elvinia didn''t really want to give up her life but she couldn''t refute Thad''s words. Hearing what Dorothy called him though stunned her.


    "Zen?"


    Elvinia repeated, staring at Thad with suspicion.


    The three-eyed boy did not care for these Souls of Light which was why he was making quick work of exterminating all of them. That elaborate trap he had set up took a lot of time along with waiting for actual victims to show up. Now that he managed to fish up Zen and Elvinia, there was no way he was willing to let go of them. He had no way of knowing when the next group of creatures would break into the Grand Sky Temple and he might have to wait for another long while. Most importantly, Zen''s body was extremely rare and valuable.


    It was at that moment that the three-eyed boy finally hesitated.

 Chapter 3290 Hint

    The three-eyed boy hesitated for barely a second, but Zen caught it immediately.


    ''He poured all efforts into arranging the three huts and this wooden bridge¡ªclearly, he didn''t want to get nothing.''


    "If you let them go, Elvinia and I will work for you! No complaints! I promise they won''t dare tell anyone what they''ve seen here." Zen looked at the boy in earnest, showing his sincerity.


    To that, Dorothy stared at Zen blankly.


    She had stayed by Zen''s side for a long time on the Other Shore. He had always managed to get rid of the obstacles before him and marched forward as an invincible soldier. But when he did meet someone he knew he couldn''t defeat, he chose to sacrifice himself to make a feasible compromise. It was something that never would''ve even occurred to Dorothy.


    The three-eyed boy gave it a thought for a moment before sneering. "I don''t care if they tell anyone else. So long as you two stay!"


    With that, the eye on his forehead closed shut, making the green light that strung the Souls of Light together disappear. Everyone was then released from the hold of manipulation.


    "Get out of here!" He pointed toward the wooden bridge.


    With him and the giant ape there, no other creatures of the Dark Region dared to approach the wooden bridge. It was a safe route for them to return to the Grand Sky Temple.


    "Dorothy," Zen suddenly started, "I''m afraid it will be difficult for you to meet Elvinia¡­your best friend¡­ again."


    This statement had Elvinia feeling confused. Dorothy was by no means her best friend. She had no clue as to what Zen was planning.


    But Dorothy, clever as she was, understood the situation immediately. She turned around and gave Elvinia a hug. "Elvinia, my dear, I''m sorry that you must stay behind. If you get the chance to leave someday, I swear we will meet again!"


    As she spoke lovingly, she grabbed Elvinia''s right hand and entwined it with hers behind the latter''s back. Simultaneously, Dorothy activated her space ring.


    Elvinia could tell that both Zen and Dorothy were implyi


    e light appeared in the darkness again.


    "Boom... Boom... Boom..."


    The giant ape''s heavy steps had the entire Dark Region shaking, as well as the wooden bridge and even the Grand Sky Temple.


    "He''s gone!" Now filled with excitement, Dorothy started, "I¡­ I want to go back!"


    But Chaim shook his head firmly. "Dorothy, quit daydreaming. Our survival is already a great blessing. Even Thad would scold you for being stupid enough to return to that place!"


    They couldn''t quite perceive what special restriction was arranged by the powerful boy in the Dark Region. Going back there meant courting death.


    "But..." She was still filled with reluctance.


    "Fate will bless Thad. If anyone can get through this, it would be him," Hutton reassured her.


    While the Nine Li people failed to gain much from their journey to the Grand Sky Temple, they had obtained something else¡ªthe strong man with a physical body just so happened to be of their royal bloodline.


    At this point, everyone was concerned about Zen''s life. They knew they had to report this to the race elders the moment they returned to the Source World.


    Still gathered outside the temple were many Souls of Light. They had no chance of entering the temple, let alone knowing what had happened in the Dark Region. Instead, they pointed to the Blue Twin Stars and discussed amongst themselves.

 Chapter 3291 Boiling

    When the three-eyed boy left them be, Elvinia turned to Zen with a grim expression.


    A thought struck her about the man''s real identity.


    Some moments earlier, in the face of death, Dorothy had called out Zen''s name, which was bewildering.


    When appearing on the Other Shore with his physical body, Zen assumed a different name, changing his voice along with it. This made it impossible for anyone to recognize him.


    But after hearing how Dorothy called after him, Elvinia noticed something ¡ª studying ''Thad'' in front of her, she couldn''t help but compare him to Zen''s image in her mind. Their silhouettes seemed to be almost identical.


    While she now bore many great doubts in her mind, she didn''t feel it right to voice them out just yet.


    Standing at the door, she asked, "Now what do we do?"


    Zen merely shrugged and pointed inside. "What else is there to do? We just have to do as he ordered."


    "But Dorothy¡­" As she spoke, Elvinia raised her hand.


    As Zen realized that Elvinia was about to activate her space ring, something in his expression changed.


    He couldn''t tell if the three-eyed boy was still hiding in the darkness around him. It would be bad for them if Elvinia exposed what she had in her space ring.


    "What did Dorothy say to you?" Zen asked abruptly, cutting off her attempt to reveal the candles.


    She frowned but understood that he meant to keep the candles concealed. Well aware that she wasn''t a good liar, Elvinia just pouted and said stiffly, "Nothing."


    "Let''s go inside and have a look," Zen said before entering the hut.


    It was much wider than the other two below. The shelves on either side were filled with colorful Burning Crystals, while several narrow vessels of various lengths were placed on the shelves that faced the door.


    Behind the vessels were a few white, cotton threads, used as candle wicks.


    Seeing all the mundane resources in the hut, Elvinia felt the onset of a headache.


    Did she really need to do such menial work as candle-making?


    In the Phoenix Palace, it was common to see Glint Pearls as large as a house. The ingenious craftsmen would carve the pearls into various shapes, dotting the palace corners.


    There, candles, used only by mortals, were such a rare matter.


    "Are we really going


    topic was unexpected, but Zen smiled and said, "Well, your soul fire is powerful enough on the Other Shore. Even Efrain''s soul fire is far less powerful than yours."


    "I know someone with flames much more powerful than mine. If she employs her preternatural fire on the Other Shore, I bet it would have power much greater than the divine flames of the Sun Crow race," Elvinia explained calmly.


    "Really? Is there someone in the Source World with flames more powerful than yours?" Zen was doubtful about it ¡ª the divine flame of the Sun Crow race was the most powerful flame he had ever witnessed in the entire Source World.


    "Of course, there is," Elvinia laughed. "My disciple''s preternatural fire is both unique and miraculous. When my mother activated it with her secret skill, the fire nearly burned up the entire Phoenix Palace. It''s incredibly powerful. My disciple suffered from her own fire''s counterattack and almost..."


    As Zen listened to Elvinia''s words, he stared intently at the Burning Crystals in the pot. They gradually showed signs of melting.


    But his brow shot up at the mention of Elvinia''s disciple.


    ''Elvinia is still so young herself.


    When on earth did she accept a disciple?'' he wondered to himself.


    But on second thought, he recalled once hearing Laquisha, Lavender, and Nelly addressing her as ''Little Master'' during his visit to the Phoenix Palace.


    ''A disciple who possesses powerful flame¡­ isn''t she talking about Laquisha?'' he was taken aback by the sudden revelation.

 Chapter 3292 The Legendary Fire Crow

    Laquisha''s preternatural fire had always been considered to be one of the mysteries in the divine land.


    In the early days, even Samuel didn''t know about why it existed.


    Since Laquisha left the divine land, her cultivation base had improved greatly. She was able to hone her preternatural fire even if she did not know where it came from.


    It soon dawned on Zen just how serious things were. "The counterattack of the fire?" he asked with his heart beating rapidly in his chest. "What happened to her?"


    Elvinia heard the anxiety in Zen''s voice. She was actually skeptical about Zen''s identity, and his reaction confirmed her guess. "This has nothing to do with you, right?" she replied with a cold smile.


    "Tell me! What happened to her?" Zen clenched his fist and stepped closer. His aura grew boldly.


    He left the girls with Elvinia because he thought that the Phoenix Palace was a safe place as it was the core of the whole Oneness Sky Palace.


    He didn''t expect anything bad to happen. Now he was worried.


    Zen''s reaction surprised Elvinia. He was standing directly in front of her with the veins of his neck bulging in anger. Elvinia summoned a golden whip and charged it at Zen''s face.


    Zen snickered. The divine flames of the Sun Crow race had already failed to harm his physical body while he was in the Source World. It was much less of a threat to him right then.


    He reached for the divine flames and broke the golden whip into pieces. With the other hand, he grabbed Elvinia by the collar and shouted, "Tell me!"


    "She...she''s fine!" Elvinia stammered. "Why are you so angry?" she added with a trembling voice.


    A huge wave of relief swept over Zen. For a moment, he was calm. And then he quickly realized Elvinia''s real purpose. It was obvious that she was testing him.


    Elvinia calmed down and sneered. "You are indeed a disciple of our Oneness Sky Palace, Thad. Or should I call you Zen?"


    Zen''s eyes widened. His identity was finally revealed. He could no longer deceive Elvinia. What she had just said meant she''d been suspicious of him for a while. Zen sighed. "Is Laquisha really okay?" he asked once more.


    "My


    the few items in this hut. Once the wax solidifies, then it''s done," Zen explained.


    "Can we try to light up the candles we made?" Elvinia asked.


    "Let''s try." Zen nodded.


    In no time, the wax was already dried up and densely packed together, turning into white candles.


    Elvinia pointed at a candle, and a golden flame rushed towards it. However, no matter how many times the flame got in contact with the wick, the candle wouldn''t light up.


    "There must be a specific way," Zen said nonchalantly as though he had already expected the result.


    Elvinia sighed. "So how can we leave?" she asked in a hesitating voice.


    Zen rubbed his chin to think. "Maybe if we could finish the task in advance, the three-eyed boy would let us go," he said.


    No matter what they had to do, he couldn''t let her take out the candles in her space ring within a short time. He didn''t even bring up this option.


    After comforting Elvinia, he put more Burning Crystals in the big pot and spread the green powder on them. She continued to heat them up.


    Then he held the vessels in his hand and pulled out the embedded candles one by one.


    They continued to work in harmony for at least ten hours. Soon after, they had more than forty candles.


    After using up all the Burning Crystals, Zen and Elvinia finally had the time to rest. They leaned on a wall of the wooden house, and rested as they waited for the three-eyed boy to return.

 Chapter 3293 Stealthy Communication

    The mysterious black was deep and all around, blocking all eyes from seeing anything. Nothing but loneliness was left in the Dark Region.


    Previously, the other disciples had been there with them, but even then, they had found it hard to resist this lonely and gloomy feeling. Now that Zen and Elvinia were left alone, the uncomfortable feeling overwhelmed them even further.


    The huts had seemed mysterious and fascinating when they had seen them from the Other Shore. But once they were inside them, they knew they were nothing but candle workshops. This disappointing fact added to their depression, especially after they found that their freedom had been taken from them.


    "The other disciples will return to the Oneness Sky Palace and report our situation to my mother... She is going to be so worried..." Elvinia murmured, staring at the flickering candlelight that was casting ghostly shadows around them.


    "You are right, but her worries won''t take us out of here," Zen remarked, shaking his head and heaving a sigh.


    They had no way of leaving the Other Shore. The Illusion Breaking Rune had been rendered useless, and they couldn''t be forcibly woken up by friends in the outside world, either.


    And no matter how powerful Flamine was, she couldn''t descend from the upper stages of the Other Shore to come to their rescue. In fact, even Eastern Emperor Taiyi and Yasamin couldn''t find a way to help them at this point.


    The Other Shore was a special type of place. Most of the time, it could be considered safer than most other places in the Source World. Almost all kinds of predicaments could be faced using the Illusion Breaking Rune only. However, if someone were unable to get out, then the Other Shore would become the most dangerous place.


    "What if the three-eyed boy refuses to let us go?" Elvinia asked.


    "Right now, I don''t know," Zen replied briefly with a shrug.


    If they continued with this topic, it was highly likely that Elvinia would mention the candles hidden in her space ring. Therefore, Zen decisively stopped the conversation.


    They waited in front of the hut for another two hours.


    Suddenly, the Blue Twin Stars emerged in the dark sky above them, and the ground beneath them began to shake.


    "The giant ape is back now..." Zen muttered, his eyes flashing into alertness.


    The first time they had seen the three-eyed boy, he and the giant ape had appeared together.


    Going by that, the giant ape''s return could be considered a sign of the three-eyed boy''s return. Still, Zen was worried that the three-eyed boy would merely hide himself in the darkness around them, choosing to observe them without being noticed.


    Several loud thuds resounded in the darkness as the ground continued to shake.


    Before long, the sound ceased abruptly somewhere close to the hut.


    A giant hairy hand stretched out from the darkness and spread


    ndles Dorothy had handed over to her secretly. Elvinia had attempted to inquire about them, but had been interrupted by Zen every time. She understood that he wanted to conceal them from the three-eyed boy, and therefore, decided to ask about them cleverly.


    Zen instantly understood the undertone of her words and replied, "Yes, I suppose so. We may give it a shot after the work is done. But there''s no hurry for now. In any case, the three-eyed boy doesn''t seem that bad. Maybe he''ll let us go at the right time after we make enough candles for him."


    "I agree," Elvinia nodded.


    She was smart enough to get Zen''s real meaning: the three candles from Dorothy could be lit up, but right now wasn''t the time. They would light up the candles and escape only when the time was ripe.


    Some distance away in the Dark Region, the three-eyed boy was sitting in the giant ape''s palm and healing himself.


    Beside him, a round black curtain was floating in the air gracefully. If creatures from outside the Dark Region looked into this curtain, they would see nothing. The curtain would just be that for them; a curtain. However, through this black curtain, the three-eye boy could see every movement of Zen and Elvinia, as well as hear their conversation.


    "Let you go? Huh, in your dreams!" The three-eyed boy sneered and waved his hand. The round black curtain disappeared immediately.


    The Burning Crystal mine had been taken over by the black monkeys. They were very strong creatures, and successfully plundering the Burning Crystals from them was no small achievement. The three-eyed boy had recently obtained a large amount of those Burning Crystals, but the price was that he had suffered a lot of injuries.


    Fortunately, his candle workshop had already been on. The drudges he had found ¡ª a human male and a female ¡ª were quite efficient, therefore, he had decided on working hard to plunder more crystals now.

 Chapter 3294 Wounded

    Every single time the three-eyed boy returned, he would carry along with him some Burning Crystals.


    If there happened to be too many Burning Crystals, he would stuff them into the huts below. But if there were not many Burning Crystals, he would toss them directly to Zen.


    At the beginning, the three-eyed boy was indifferent to Zen and Elvinia. But eventually, after they got to see each other more often, he grew more comfortable and friendly with them.


    Once, the three-eyed boy even brought back a small mountain of Burning Crystals and took out a small black toad. As the toad was revealed to light, its body began to emit traces of black light.


    He handed this toad to Elvinia as a gift.


    With a nasty glimpse at the dark strange creature, Elvinia, of course, was in no way going to accept this.


    Just then, the three-eyed boy directly threw the toad to her. The moment it came into contact with her, it seeped into her soul. Then, Elvinia felt that her soul force began to surge. It turned out that the black toad was actually more effective than soul crystal itself.


    Elvinia was in shock. The three-eyed boy scoffed coldly and walked away.


    Meanwhile, Zen continued to study the properties of the Dark Region.


    Every time the mission of making candles was completed, Zen squatted outside the hut and sat at the junction of candle light and darkness, trying to understand the properties of the Dark Region.


    He took down some pieces of wood from the corner of the hut, carefully placing them in and out of the darkness.


    For some reason, the wood sticks remained unchanged.


    In addition to this experiment, Zen also poked candles into the darkness. Still, when he took them back, the candles didn''t alter in any way.


    "It should be because of the energy!" he gasped.


    Like candles, the wood sticks from the hut didn''t possess any energy fluctuation. The materials that didn''t contain energy fluctuation or the Other Shore Power could freely go in and out of the Dark Region.


    Sands, stones, the Souls of Light, and corporeal bodies on the Other Shore all contained some level of energy. If these things fell into the Dark Region, something would definitely occur to them.


    "Elvinia!" Zen called out, excited.


    Elvinia walked over with an unwilling expression on her face, but she still took out an Other Shore To


    night on the Other Shore. But Zen thought ahead, and he made sure to keep an accurate record of it from the very beginning.


    He and Elvinia had been in the candle workshop for three months, and they had made about a thousand candles.


    In desperation, Elvinia repeatedly hinted towards Zen that after the three-eyed boy and the giant ape had left, they would just light candles and escape.


    However, Zen had been a bit hesitant about this idea. If the three-eyed boy had been monitoring them or had set traps in the surroundings, they would be in trouble.


    There was only one chance for them to escape, and Zen must remain extremely cautious to ever succeed.


    It was the first week of the fourth month, and


    Zen and Elvinia were hard at work to make wax.


    Just then, they began to feel the ground shake. With a quick glance at each other, they wondered why the boy had returned so soon.


    As they approached the door, they were met once again with the huge hairy hand stretching out from the darkness. Dark red blood began falling from it, like a red rain. Because the blood belonged to the Dark Region, it released energy and quickly disappeared when the light from the candle met with it.


    "Whose blood is it?" Zen frowned slightly.


    "Bang!"


    The giant ape''s hand unfurled after landing on the ground, and Zen and Elvinia let out a large gasp. The three-eyed boy was lying in the palm of its hand, drenched in goopy blood. His skin was bitten by probably numerous monsters. Zen and Elvinia had no idea whether he was dead or alive at this point.

 Chapter 3295 A Strange Black-and-White Tree

    The Blue Twin Stars floating in the darkness continued its descent. Then, the giant face of the ape appeared in the candlelight.


    Seeing the face of the ape up close, Elvinia felt a little scared. She took a few steps back and hid behind Zen.


    "Don''t be afraid." Zen reassured her.


    The ape''s face slowly came near Zen. Afterwards, a huge gap appeared in it as it opened its mouth to speak. The voice that came out of it was a bit muffled.


    "Save... Him!"


    The words of the giant ape were quite unclear. It seemed like it wasn''t used to speaking the language of humans. However, Zen and Elvinia heard it clearly.


    "You want us to save him?" Zen looked a bit hesitant.


    He only had limited treatment methods on the Other Shore. Furthermore, the three-eyed boy was from the Dark Region. Basically, his structure was very different from theirs.


    "Swoosh... Swoosh..."


    The giant ape covered the top of the hut with its enormous hands. It did a pressing-down motion meaning that it would crush the hut down. At the same time, its mouth opened and said, "If he dies, you''ll die too!"


    If it did crush the hut with its hands, Elvinia and Zen would absolutely die. They wouldn''t have any chance to escape.


    Zen had no other choice now but to save the three-eyed boy.


    "How will we be able to save him?" Elvinia asked in despair.


    Zen carried plenty of soul pills, soul crystal, and even some special soul treasures inside his space ring. Unfortunately, these secret treasures could only save the Souls of Light, not the flesh body from the Dark Region. Besides, his space ring wasn''t with him.


    "I can give it a shot," Zen replied but he wasn''t entirely confident.


    Even though his body was unable to use Shade Stone on the Other Shore, it could still activate the cinnabar field. Thus, he might still be able to utilize the power of the Other Shore Tokens.


    The same thing could also be applied to the Godly Ways.


    Despite the fact that it sounded crazy to use a Godly Way to treat the creatures from the Dark Region, Zen had run out of options.


    The huge ape did not seem smart but there was no doubt that it would do what it said. Simply put, if they managed to save the three-eyed boy''s life, they would live. But if he died, they would die as well.


    Zen squatted down, getting close to have a careful examination on the three-eyed boy.


    The boy''s eyes were closed as he was lying motionless on the ground.


    Zen stretched out his hand and pressed his fingers against the boy''s neck. As his skin


    ring for a while, Zen told Elvinia, "The wooden bridge is very long. The giant ape might be returning already before we can pass through the bridge. We will still be caught by it."


    Elvinia searched Zen''s face and looked at him with a conflicted expression on her eyes.


    There were actually a lot of opportunities for escape they could have seized these past few months. But, Elvinia noticed that Zen was reluctant to leave.


    In any event, Zen could have escaped from the area of the hut as long as he lit candles. He could just run along the wooden bridge to leave here.


    She was aware of what Zen was thinking. Despite that, she didn''t say anything.


    For some unknown reason, she was not in a hurry to leave as well. Even if she was scared most of the time within the candlelight, she felt secured and calm somehow. She wasn''t too anxious to run away.


    But it didn''t matter if she wanted to leave now or not. The opportunity had already slipped through their fingers.


    Merely three minutes later, the giant ape had returned swiftly with its footsteps still causing the ground to tremble.


    Clatter!


    Without warning, the giant ape inserted a large tree into the area shone by the candlelight.


    They estimated the height of the tree to be about ten feet. It had a normal shape but its colors were very peculiar.


    They noticed that the branches, leaves and fruits on the left side were jet black while those on the right side were snow-white. It was unbelievable that a tree produced leaves and fruits with two completely different colors.


    "Eat, not afraid of..." the ape said as it gestured towards the black fruit and touched it with its fingertip. "Light..."

 Chapter 3296 Treat The Boy

    Zen gave the strange black-and-white tree an astonished look.


    This plant in front of him was incredibly strange and new, something he had never seen before.


    The giant ape''s words were vague but he heard them clearly. He was now certain that his speculations were completely right.


    There was indeed something here in the Dark Region that could make those creatures immune to candlelight, something not that rare that even the red python and human-monkey monsters could get.


    The two kinds of fruits of this tree right in front of him!


    Zen pointed at a white fruit. "What about that one?"


    The giant ape also pointed at the fruit. "Eat... Not afraid of darkness..."


    This white fruit was useless to the creatures of the Dark Region since they were born in the darkness, but it was a different story for those that came from outside the region.


    Elvinia and Zen looked at each other, exchanging a hopeful realization between them.


    If they ate this white fruit, would it perhaps be possible for them to walk freely in the darkness?


    The giant ape continued to point to the fruit. "You... Eat it."


    It had been inspired by Zen.


    Zen was not a living creature in the Dark Region so the internal momentum of his Life Godly Way had the ability to hurt the three-eyed boy. However, what if Zen merged with the Dark Region?


    It was with this curious thought that the ape found the tree, uprooted it, and carried it all the way back to the young man.


    "Whatever..."


    Zen shrugged. He had already eaten a lot of strange foods so he had no problem taking a bite out of this white fruit.


    He grabbed one off the tree and casually put the entire thing in his mouth.


    As soon as he swallowed, Zen felt a soft energy spread from his stomach to his entire body.


    It was powerful and it didn''t stop, even going as far as seeping into his cinnabar field.


    As he let this strange energy flow through him, Zen began to notice a few changes.


    The Dark Region had previously been dark. The only light in this place came from the candles and the giant ape''s eyes. However, upon eating the fruit, Zen found himself slowly being able to make out the shapes of things around him.


    He saw the blurry shadows of the mountains, various trees, and paths - Zen could now see the Dark R


    ng guardian.


    In the Grand Sky Temple, many people stood and stared idly in the distance.


    They could see the three huts, the Blue Twin Stars, but none of them could tell what had possibly occurred.


    Dorothy''s Soul of Light manifested on a hillside, looking at the distance as she murmured a prayer.


    "I know that you are lucky and will be blessed to overcome any misfortune, so..."


    Before she finished her words, her Soul of Light dissipated and she retreated from the Other Shore.


    Her consciousness had returned to the second floor of Zen''s house in the Flow Sword Sect, located in the Oneness Mountain of the Oneness Sky Palace, in the Bloom Divine Province of the Source World.


    She sat straight up in front of Zen and gazed at his handsome face.


    He looked troubled and Dorothy couldn''t help but wonder if he met with some kind of trouble.


    She stretched her hand and rubbed the wrinkles between his brows. "So... You will wake up!"


    Outside the door, Letitia sat all gloomy and worried. She had been sitting there for days, silent and brooding.


    Margaret wasn''t as quiet, knocking on the door constantly and shouting at Dorothy to get out.


    Dorothy''s guards could only glare at Margaret''s insolence. Insulting the princess was a grave offense and if it wasn''t for Dorothy''s orders, they would''ve taken away this madwoman long ago.


    Trish and Carrie were busy serving. They had no idea what was happening but they knew Zen was in danger. To say they were worried about Zen was an understatement.

 Chapter 3297 Suspicion

    One week later, the three-eyed boy''s wounds almost healed. He was still constantly infiltrated with the internal momentum of the Life Godly Way.


    Since the giant ape had been with Zen and Elvinia over the past several days, it had developed quite a bit of trust in them. Now, it would sometimes leave the three-eyed boy alone with them.


    Just now, it had left the hut and was picking up some rare herbs from the Dark Region.


    It was true that it didn''t know much about medicine making, but being a long-time resident of the Dark Region, it had a fairly good idea of what effect those herbs had.


    After returning to the hut, the ape gave the herbs to Zen and tried to inform him of their effect. Zen had finally developed a rough understanding of its words and understood what it was trying to say. He processed the juice of the herbs and fed it to the three-eyed boy.


    Ten days later, either due to those herbs, or the Life Godly Way, the three-eyed boy finally opened his eyes.


    Shaking his head to remove any grogginess, he got up from the ground and looked around vigilantly. He then remarked in surprise, "I''m fine?"


    Before falling unconscious, he had thought that he was doomed.


    "Hmm."


    The ape grunted in response, shaking its huge head with a joyful smile on its face.


    The three-eyed boy stared at the giant ape and asked, "You brought me back and cured me?"


    "Woo?"


    The honest ape shook its head at once.


    It was true that it had brought the three-eyed boy back from the mine. Some time ago, the three-eyed boy had broken into the area of the Burning Crystal mine, but had been surrounded by several black monkeys. This was not the first time he had dealt with them, so he had not taken them seriously at first.


    However, this time, hundreds of black monkeys had rushed out in full force. The three-eyed boy did not realize that he was outmatched until it was too late.


    He had only gotten through the siege by spending the last ounce of his strength.


    Although he had managed to finally rush out of the mine, the black monkeys had chased closely after him, biting his flesh and draining his blood all the way. In the end, he just wasn''t able to resist anymore. He had fallen to the ground in the pool of blood. At that critical moment, the giant ape had str


    t ten million steps he had taken, he would have been dead.


    After going through such a long and cruel experience, he had lost the ability to trust anyone.


    To him, Zen and Elvinia should have been ungrateful and angry since they were locked up by him.


    But even then, at the time of his death, they hadn''t run away. Instead, they had saved him. There must be a plot!


    "I wanted to explore the Dark Region not only to obtain the Other Shore Tokens, but also to satisfy my curiosity about it," Zen explained. "In the beginning, we did plan to run away. In fact, we were well prepared for that. But I have a feeling you aren''t that bad. You''re definitely worth making friends with. I naturally chose to save you."


    Worth making friends with?


    The three-eyed boy''s face changed when he heard Zen''s words. Some deep and small part of his heart was touched by this sentence.


    ''If this guy really thinks so, something must be wrong with his brain, '' the three-eyed boy thought.


    But somehow, he didn''t hate this kind of thinking.


    His originally stiff and cold face softened a little. The third eye on his forehead blinked softly, and the green light disappeared. Freed of the flash, Zen fell down to the ground with a thump.


    The three-eyed boy then took some white fruits from the black-and-white trees and handed them to Zen. "As long as you are willing to help me make more candles, I am willing to give you more freedom," he promised.


    These Darkness Fruits would enable Zen to walk freely in the Dark Region.

 Chapter 3298 Black Monkeys

    While the three-eyed boy was asleep, Zen had managed to hide several Darkness Fruits.


    He hadn''t expected the boy to give them to him on his own prerogative.


    "Aren''t you worried about us running away?" Zen asked, staring at the boy.


    Surprisingly, the latter smiled coldly. "If you wanted to escape, you should have left by now. I think you''re right. Somehow, the resources in the Dark Region attract you. We can work together."


    "As friends?" Zen asked with a friendly smile.


    The boy glared at him viciously in response before walking down to the hut below.


    Because of his serious injuries, he couldn''t keep all the Burning Crystals he had robbed from the black monkeys. The hut below was the only place with some reserve.


    Making the candles remained the most important task at hand, after all.


    After taking all the Burning Crystals to the top hut, the three-eye boy turned and stared at Zen and Elvinia. "You said that you wanted the Other Shore Token?"


    The two glanced at each other questioningly.


    In the time they spent there, the Dark Region had shown itself to be much more powerful than they could have ever imagined.


    While they surely yearned for Other Shore Tokens of the Dark Region, those were things unreachable.


    Even Elvinia, who was normally proud and arrogant, realized how great of a chance it was.


    The Other Shore Token she had was also highly precious. Although there was a chance for it to grow, she was willing to change it into something from the Dark Region.


    "Of course, who wouldn''t want it?" Zen replied matter-of-factly.


    "Your energy and that of the Dark Region repel each other," explained the boy. "I''m afraid it will be difficult for you to fuse with the Other Shore Token here."


    Indeed, Zen had ignored the fact. He scratched his head in embarrassment.


    Over the past ten days, he had been constantly observing the phenomenon of repulsion.


    The Other Shore Tokens of the Dark Region weren''t to be integrated with the creatures outside the Dark Region.


    Noticing Zen''s expression, the boy continued, "It is indeed very difficult to fuse the tokens, but i


    ooked tail.


    But Zen was not as weak as the Souls of Light the human-monkey monsters had attacked before.


    While he might not have been able to resist a red python''s attacks, Zen had no trouble dealing the human-monkey monsters behind him.


    Bowing his head slightly, Zen extended his hands as fast as lightning, twisting the human-monkey monster''s tail. There was a sudden wave before the monster could only scream and hit another one.


    "Bang!"


    Two human-monkey monsters were knocked straight to the ground as the rest moved in to surround Zen.


    He climbed up the slope, as the human-monkey monsters continued coming after him. He simply pulled one up to throw it at the others. Some fell right into the mountain stream.


    In almost no time, Zen arrived at the peak of the hillside.


    About a hundred feet away from the huts, he settled his pace and calmed down.


    Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!


    More and more human-monkey monsters were gathering under the hillside¡ªtheir numbers going up into the hundreds. But none of them was climbing the hillside. Instead, they sat in rows as though they were welcoming something with respect.


    Curious, Zen stayed in his spot to watch.


    From a distance, the jungle was in a state of turmoil. A road appeared in the middle where many ten-foot-tall monkeys emerged.


    Even from where he stood, Zen could tell that the tall, strong monkeys were all completely black.

 Chapter 3299 The Bridge Was Broken

    "Black... monkeys."


    Zen raised his eyebrows in slight curiosity.


    Though the three-eyed boy rarely spoke to them, Zen recalled him mentioning that these black monkeys were the creatures responsible for guarding the Burning Crystals.


    Since the three-eyed boy was almost killed by them, Zen figured they were strong.


    But what were they doing here? A bad feeling began to churn in Zen''s stomach.


    Chatter! Chatter! Chatter...


    As these black monkeys showed up one after another, the human-monkey monsters'' voices grew louder. The atmosphere around them was tense.


    Just then, this group of monkeys slowly walked towards the hillside.


    Zen bowed his body on the hillside and motioned backward. Soon enough, he was within range of the candlelight and made his way towards the little hut.


    "Bang!"


    Elvinia was so focused on making the wax that she hadn''t noticed Zen''s footsteps outside the hut.


    Having made so many candles, she grew to become more and more skilled. She was even able to discover the best temperature to make wax.


    The sound rang for another time, which finally got her attention. She looked up from her spot and was surprised to see Zen rushing in like a vanguard.


    Zen never rushed this way. He was always calm and collected.


    "What''s wrong?" Elvinia asked lightly.


    Although the human-monkey monsters beneath the hillside were extraordinarily noisy, Elvinia couldn''t hear their voices as sounds could not pass through the darkness.


    Without hesitation, Zen handed a Darkness Fruit to her. "Eat it!" he urged.


    Elvinia stared at him and furrowed her brows in confusion, "Why? What happened?"


    "We don''t have time to talk. We need to leave right now or we''ll die!" Zen replied hastily.


    Looking at Zen''s serious look, Elvinia didn''t hesitate and swallowed the Darkness Fruit in one gulp.


    The Light Fruits and Darkness Fruits had very special features. The moment Elvinia swallowed the Darkness Fruit, traces of black clouds spread from her purple soul. In the blink of an eye, the clouds spread throughout her entire soul.


    Zen grabbed her wrist. "Let''s go!"


    The two rushed out.


    "But those Burning Crystals..."


    Elvinia couldn''t help but look back at the wax she had to stop working on, but there were other things t


    ds, Zen felt the bridge under his feet begin to quake and tilt. Just as he was wondering, the entire bridge grew steeper and steeper. In a flash, instead of running forward, he was running upward!


    Caught off guard, Zen and Elvinia fell towards the ravine.


    "What happened? Is the bridge broken?" Zen asked as they were falling.


    Elvinia answered with an impassive face. "That''s what I was trying to tell you!"


    Zen was struck dumb with the news.


    As they were falling towards the darkness, he felt a twinge of regret.


    They had no idea how deep the ravine was, so Zen observed their fall carefully as they descended.


    After eating the Darkness Fruits, he and Elvinia had become accustomed to the Dark Region. They could see the outline of the things beneath them.


    About half a minute later, Zen used all his might to curl his legs and drag Elvinia into his arms. The next moment, he was hurled directly into the nearby bushes.


    "Boom!"


    It was all right for Zen''s body to fall from such a high altitude.


    But the Soul of Light was much weaker than the physical body. Zen fell to the ground with Elvinia in his arms, and he made sure to hold her closely to him so that he could take most of the impact. If Zen wasn''t careful enough, she might just die.


    "Are you all right?" Zen asked with concern, feeling her head and arms for any signs of injury.


    "I''m... I''m okay." Elvinia answered in a stammer.


    She freed herself from Zen''s embrace, feeling some sort of warmth deep within her heart.

 Chapter 3300 Physical Overdraft

    Zen looked up and said, "We''d better leave as soon as possible."


    The black monkeys had broken the bridge and were sure to come crashing down into the ravine.


    "Okay. Whatever you say," Elvinia agreed with a nod.


    She felt Zen tug violently on her hand as he moved forward.


    As she followed Zen, a strange thought crossed her mind. She realized that she had changed drastically.


    She held a high status in the Source World, causing her peers to feel inferior to her. Even Efrain and Chaim felt she outshone them.


    But this time, she had endured a number of setbacks before and after entering the Grand Sky Temple. This had greatly weakened her confidence.


    Staying in the wooden hut had been bad for her nerves and she had gradually begun to follow Zen as meek as a lamb.


    "Okay. Whatever you say."


    She had never said words like this before.


    Zen had no idea what Elvinia was thinking about as all he wanted was to get rid of the black monkeys.


    As he ran wildly along the ravine, gigantic pincers emerged from the mud on the river and stretched towards him.


    ''How dare these crabs attack me?''


    Zen thought, frowning.


    Zen wasn''t taking the crabs seriously even though these were also creatures from the Dark Region.


    He quickly grabbed one of the pincers, pulled out the body that had been hidden in the mud, and smashed it repeatedly to the ground.


    It was a washbasin-sized crab with a strange white pattern on its shell.


    The crab struggled against Zen''s grip but before it could raise its pincers, Zen stepped on its shell and it shattered into pieces.


    Plop! Plop!


    Dong!


    Some sudden sounds from the ravine behind him startled him. He turned just in time to see the black monkeys jumping off the cliff, some falling to the ground and some into the river.


    The black moneys obviously had strong bodies, brimming with energy as they jumped off the cliff.


    They lived in the Dark Region all year round and had


    ore.


    But he couldn''t do that after entering the Grand Sky Temple.


    He had always used the Other Shore Power over the past few days. And since he was now running at full speed, the Other Shore Power was being consumed at a faster rate. Once the Other Shore Power of the Strength God Totem was exhausted, he would no longer be able to fight the black monkeys.


    After more than ten miles, the ravine, which was originally over a thousand feet wide, began to narrow with each mile they crossed.


    When the ravine was no longer than ten feet wide, Zen and Elvinia looked at each other, worried. It felt like the mountain was moving in on them.


    And then, something weird happened.


    The black monkeys that had been chasing after Zen and Elvinia stopped abruptly. They didn''t dare to enter the narrow ravine. They stood at the border, chattering and shouting.


    "Zen, they aren''t coming in," said Elvinia.


    "That''s good, isn''t it?" Zen said.


    "What are they afraid of? I''m scared something bad is about to happen," Elvinia said worriedly.


    "I know," Zen said, shrugging and gently lowering Elvinia to the ground.


    "You knew that and still came running here? You are going to..."


    Elvinia was reproaching Zen, but suddenly his body began to convulse before he collapsed to the ground.

 Chapter 3301 Dangerous Ravine

    Zen had been consuming the Other Shore Power all the way. At this point, his power was almost completely exhausted.


    Even in the last part of his journey, Zen continuously exploited the Strength God Totem, as well as the Other Shore Power of the Eye of Will. After finally exhausting both, he began exploiting the power of his own physical body.


    In the end, he ended up exhausting his physical strength. His body was like an empty bottle when he fell to the ground.


    Before she was able to finish her words, Elvinia was startled by Zen''s fall.


    "Zen, what''s wrong?" she asked, her anxiety rising.


    Rarely, perhaps even never, had Zen seen himself in such a weak situation.


    While his strength was waning, his mind was still as sharp as always. "I''m fine¡­just exhausted."


    "Exhausted?" Elvinia certainly wasn''t expecting that. "How can this be?"


    In theory, after reaching the True God Realm, a warrior would never deplete their strength.


    When the Other Shore Power was used up, the Godly Ways'' internal momentum could be used. Once this was used up, life vitality could take its place. But what happened once life vitality was used up as well? One''s inner world would probably collapse.


    Zen''s situation was unique¡ªafter the Other Shore Power of both his Other Shore Tokens was exhausted, they were now absorbing Zen''s own energy.


    Two enormous whirlpools stood by the exit of his inner world, preventing Zen from utilizing the internal momentum and power of life vitality.


    At this point, Zen found it difficult to even open his mouth¡ªhe gave up explaining things further to Elvinia.


    The black monkeys that were hiding in the distance saw Zen fall clearly with their own eyes.


    It was a dangerous area in the depths of the narrow ravine¡ªeven the black monkeys didn''t dare to rush in mindlessly.


    But Zen was right on the verge of it.


    Originally, the monkeys were already planning to give up. But now that Zen was lying on the ground, barely able to m


    e. Only the best of superpowers could withstand it.


    But in these black monkeys'' eyes, such an attack was nothing¡ªeven if they were defenseless, Elvinia couldn''t hurt them at all.


    But right before her golden whips slashed them, they began screaming, as though the whips somehow scared them. Their faces grew full of fear before they turned back and ran away.


    "What''s going on?"


    She wasn''t expecting them to run away so quickly. Did the divine flame of the Sun Crow race somehow repel them?


    But before she could figure it out, black, brown, and gray tentacles emerged from behind her, one after another. In an instant, there were hundreds of them, covering up almost the entire space in the ravine.


    Splash!


    The creeping tentacles looked like running black water as they went around Elvinia and rushed toward the black monkeys.


    While they were running at great speed, the tentacles were faster.


    "Cluck!"


    "Squeak..."


    "Quack..."


    Soon, they were entangled in the tentacles and dragged into the depths of the ravine, leaving behind only sharp roars that echoed in the space.


    When it went quiet, Elvinia was still standing in her spot, petrified.


    The touch of the tentacles skimming over her soul surface made her Soul of Light tremble in fear. But why did they leave her and Zen behind?

 Chapter 3302 The Light

    A cool breeze swept over the ravine, brushing Elvinia''s cheeks. She shivered violently.


    Leaning against Zen, her Soul of Light trembled slightly as she gazed into the depths of the ravine. "Zen... What were those just now?"


    "They must''ve been the tentacles of some monster," Zen replied.


    "Then, why didn''t they take us away?" she asked weakly.


    Her voice shook as she spoke. Zen felt somewhat bad for her; even when she was in danger on the wooden bridge, Elvinia never showed emotion. Now, it seemed she was truly scared, like a small child trembling beside him.


    "I don''t know," Zen said carefully. "Maybe they didn''t like us."


    Zen had stared danger in the face countless times before, so he was able to stay calm despite the circumstances. Elvinia, on the other hand, was obviously overwhelmed.


    "Let''s get out of here," pleaded Elvinia. "I can''t stay here any longer!"


    "What about the black monkeys outside? Are they gone already?" Zen asked.


    Elvinia turned to look, and then shook her head in disappointment. "No, they''re still there."


    "We can''t leave then."


    Zen struggled to get on his feet.


    After having rested for a bit, he felt a little stronger. At the very least, he could stand up.


    "Have you recovered already?" Elvinia asked in surprise.


    Having seen Zen fall, she had been at a loss. Now that Zen was trying to get up, she felt a glimmer of hope.


    While Elvinia might''ve come off as cold and independent, secretly, she was the opposite. She had just chosen to never show such weakness back in the Oneness Sky Palace.


    "Can... Can you help me up?" Zen asked helplessly.


    Elvinia hurried to help him up.


    Zen eyed the ravine. Then, he staggered to the mountainside and leaned against it.


    The situation wasn''t as bad as it could have been. It was good news that whatever was lurking in the depths of the ravine wasn''t attacking them.


    Their most pressing problem was those black monkeys, persistently waiting for them.


    Around eight hours later, Zen noticed the surrounding area gradually turning darker. "The effect of the Darkness Fruit is weakening," he muttered under his breath.


    He had tested the Darkness Fruit before; while the ti


    could adapt to the environment of the Dark Region only by absorbing the energy of the Darkness Fruits.


    The tentacles must have sensed something, but couldn''t confirm what it was.


    Zen patted Elvinia''s shoulder, encouraging her to keep moving forward. As long as they didn''t make a sound, they should be safe.


    After inching a bit further along the ravine, Zen noticed there were more triangular caves.


    It seemed, every five to six hundred feet, there was a triangular cave. From each cave, countless black tentacles hung lazily. Other than the tentacles, it didn''t look as though anything else lurked here.


    As Zen carefully observed the walls, Elvinia suddenly pointed towards the front.


    Turning to where she was pointing, he saw there was a round valley on the other side.


    There were also huge Sanskrit words engraved on the wall of the valley. The wall was covered with densely packed triangular caves as well, and again, huge tentacles hung from the cave entrances.


    However, Zen''s gaze was fixed on the center of the valley, where the darkness had disappeared


    A gentle ray of light pierced through the darkness like a sharp blade. The ring of light covered a range of no more than ten feet. At the center of the ring was a tombstone, basking in the ray of light.


    Although Zen didn''t know where the light was coming from and why it appeared in the Dark Region, he was sure that the space it illuminated didn''t belong to the Dark Region.

 Chapter 3303 Shelter

    The past few days, Zen and Elvinia had been living under the candlelight.


    Compared to the absolute darkness of the Dark Region, the candlelight seemed extremely bright -- but still, it was nothing compared to actual sunlight outside the Dark Region.


    When they started taking the Darkness Fruits, they adapted to the darkness, being able to see their surroundings.


    They had grown accustomed to living in the darkness, so once they saw the dazzling bright light streaming into the Dark Region, they were stunned.


    Elvinia''s eyes widened. Leaning on Zen''s shoulder, she whispered, "That place covered by the light... it doesn''t belong to the Dark Region, right?"


    Anyone who was in the Dark Region and the temples would be unable to leave the Other Shore. But in other places, they''d be able to leave the Other Shore and return to their bodies normally.


    Elvinia had grown tired of the Dark Region, having been trapped here for a long time. She wanted to leave as soon as possible.


    But when she considered leaving, she sighed in resignation.


    According to the rules of the Other Shore, they could only enter it from the place they left last time. So, if she tried leaving now, she would only return here the next time she entered the Other Shore.


    The tentacles that hung from the mouths of the triangular caves were extremely sensitive. They had no eyes, but they could easily sense their prey by following their energy. While Zen and Elvinia had energy within them, because they weren''t creatures born in the Dark Region, the tentacles couldn''t seem to sense them.


    But as Elvinia whispered, the tentacles suddenly tensed.


    Whoosh...


    Thousands of tentacles whirled into action, filling the air around the valley with a black indiscernible mass. It was as though a dark windstorm formed.


    Seeing this, Elvinia immediately shut up.


    Zen, on the other hand, remained calm. As long as he was beginning to comprehend how the creatures of the dark worked, they wouldn''t be as scary.


    Gently and quietly, he pulled Elvinia to the side.


    The black whirlwind shot towards the spot where Elvinia had been standing only a moment later. After finding nothing there, the black tentacles retreated to their respective triangular caves.


    "Isn''t this fun?" Zen said to Elvinia with a sly smile.


    Elvinia, however, just shuddered. The mere sight of those menacing tentacles made her uncomfortabl


    ed Elvinia into the column of light as well. He rolled in behind her, looking desperate to take shelter from the attacks.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh...


    Ear-piercing shrieks suddenly burst from behind Zen as he landed within the column of light.


    The tentacles whirled into the column of light like crazy. As they were creatures of the Dark Region, they''d die as soon as they came into contact with the light. But still, they continued to charge after Zen. Once they touched the light, they became nothing but ash. The air was filled with the pungent scent of thousands of scorched pigs.


    Besides the tentacles, the black spears shot by the pig-faced monsters also disintegrated once they came into contact with the light.


    Elvinia sat inside the light column, her body trembling. She wasn''t used to a life of narrowly escaping death.


    Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...


    Some tentacles were stubborn and still attempted to reach for Zen, charging fearlessly into the column of light.


    Some thick tentacles weren''t burned completely after they rushed into the light column. They fell on the ground and on Zen''s body, still jumping like mad. They quickly turned into a hapless, seared mess. The smell of char filled Zen''s nostrils.


    The pig-faced monsters stood right before the light. They roared, cursed, and even stabbed their black spears into the light column in fury.


    "Come out!"


    "Why are you hiding in there? You cowards!"


    "I will make you die a graveless death!"


    However, Zen just heaved a sigh of relief. He knew they only cursed at him because there was nothing more they could do.

 Chapter 3304 Return

    The tentacles lashed around wildly for quite a long time before finally settling.


    Light could swallow up all the creatures of the Dark Region.


    Even though the tentacles could regenerate, they still couldn''t afford to lose that much energy.


    "The creatures of the Dark Region... They''re more fragile than I thought," Zen remarked.


    The fruits of the black and white tree proved extremely beneficial. After eating the Darkness Fruits, both he and Elvinia were granted the ability of adapting to the Dark Region''s environment.


    On the other hand, if Dark Region creatures ate the Light Fruits, then they would be able to adapt to the outside world.


    However, the three-eyed boy and the huge ape could only adapt to the candlelight and were unable to leave.


    "If the creatures of the Dark Region weren''t afraid of light, then they would have ruled the Other Shore," Elvinia said.


    Zen could only nod in agreement. "I can''t refute that."


    The creatures of the Other Shore were much stronger than the Souls of Light, but the creatures here in the Dark Region were far stronger than those on the Other Shore. If the Dark Region''s inhabitants had the ability to walk freely in the light, then they would be an unstoppable force.


    "I wonder where the light is coming from?" Zen muttered to himself as he looked directly up to the sky.


    Darkness was everywhere save for that one strange hole above them where light filtered through, bathing them with illuminated safety.


    He would''ve never believed such a place existed if he hadn''t seen it with his own eyes.


    "I just want to know if we can get out of here," Elvinia told him. She too couldn''t help but gaze at that strange light that shone above them.


    With a weary sigh, Elvinia then began to recite the Illusion Breaking Rune.


    Buzz!


    As soon as the Illusion Breaking Rune broke through the illusions, Elvinia''s Soul of Light began to dissipate. She flashed Zen a cold smile, no longer sad and weary, just before fully fading in the wind.


    "She really left," Zen remarked.


    Standing there alone, he felt the weak power of his Other Shore Tokens in his body. He figured that perhaps it would be best if he also left the Other Shore and replenished his power.


    However, as soon as he made that decision,


    Princess Elvinia! Our combined soul power might be too strong and she might not be able to withstand it!" another old man said with a pleading voice.


    If they did as Flamine said, then they might accidentally tear Elvinia''s soul apart.


    "We won''t know unless we try! She''s so weak. She might die on the Other Shore at any moment!" Flamine raged.


    As soon as the disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace returned, they immediately headed to Flamine and gave her a full report of the situation. She was well aware of the dangers they had faced and there was no way she was letting her daughter stay one more minute in that place.


    Under Flamine''s strict orders, the three old men had no choice but to obey. The magic array was reactivated and Flamine released the divine flames of the Sun Crow race to control it.


    However, at that exact moment, Elvinia suddenly opened her eyes!


    "Mother?" she exclaimed in surprise, seeing Flamine and the three old men before her.


    All concentration Flamine had flew right out of the window the moment she heard her daughter''s voice. With a trembling lip, she ran towards the magic array and swooped down to take Elvinia in her arms.


    "I''m sorry, Mother," Elvinia murmured.


    This apology sparked something in Flamine''s heart.


    The mother and daughter pair did not really get along well with each other. Elvinia always showed indifference and sometimes even hostility to her mother.


    Flamine never expected her to apologize like this after returning from the Dark Region.

 Chapter 3305 Wake Up

    "Never mind. I''m just glad you''re okay," said Flamine softly, cradling her daughter in her arms.


    What was important was her daughter had finally come back safely.


    Elvinia''s eyelashes fluttered as she tried to keep her eyes open. Forcing a smile, she murmured, "It''s not that simple."


    "What do you mean?" Not understanding what Elvinia meant, Flamine anxiously held Elvinia''s hands and looked her up and down carefully. Afraid that her daughter''s soul had been hurt, she breathed a sigh of relief when she found that Elvinia was perfectly fine.


    "I''m still in the Dark Region," Elvinia replied.


    When the three old men heard her words, they exchanged worried glances. One of them cut in, "If you are still in the Dark Region, how did you leave?"


    There were special ways to enter the Dark Region. They were rarely ever used, but some masters in the Oneness Sky Palace, like Flamine, knew about them.


    Flamine''s eyes widened in shock. She couldn''t imagine how her daughter managed to escape from the Other Shore if she was in the Dark Region.


    Elvinia glanced apprehensively at the three old men. "Uncles, would you mind leaving me and my mother alone?"


    Even though the three men were from Phoenix Palace, there were some things Elvinia only wanted to disclose to her mother.


    "Princess Elvinia, you have just returned from the Other Shore. Please rest well," one of them said meekly.


    "If you have any problem, you can approach me anytime," another one added.


    The third uncle nodded wordlessly.


    Once the three old men left, only Elvinia and Flamine were left in the huge palace.


    Then, Elvinia turned to her mother seriously and explained what happened in the Dark Region.


    Flamine had already heard of what happened in the Grand Sky Temple and the wooden hut. The disciples of the Phoenix Palace had already reported to her in detail. But she knew nothing about what happened after Dorothy, Chaim and the others left.


    "Has that corporeal body been protecting you the whole time you were in the Dark Region?" Flamine asked.


    Zen''s face flashed in Elvinia''s mind, albeit a bit vaguely. After all, she had only physically met Zen twice in the Oneness Sky Palace, even though they had spent a long time on the Other Shore togeth


    f Light and the corporeal bodies would be swallowed up by darkness. One could only imagine the consequences.


    Dorothy hurriedly withdrew from the Other Shore and rushed to find Letitia.


    The two of them both bolted to the second floor to check up on Zen. To their relief, they found that he was still sitting there, breathing evenly.


    Although they did not know what had happened in the Dark Region, it was still good news that Zen was still alive.


    This time, when Dorothy arrived, Margaret didn''t taunt her.


    Zen had been trapped for so long. She was getting more and more anxious.


    These days, she had been sitting in silence at the end of the corridor on the second floor, looking into the room from time to time, hoping that Zen would wake up.


    "I didn''t expect the cultivation on the Other Shore would be so dangerous," Letitia said with a sigh.


    In her mind, cultivation methods and theurgies might make one mad, but compared to the Other Shore, these were nothing!


    "Strictly speaking, entering the Other Shore isn''t a kind of cultivation. It''s simply an adventure," Dorothy explained. "Countless talents have died on the Other Shore since ancient times."


    Letitia shuddered at the word "die". With an indignant huff, she said, "My husband has good luck. I believe he will return safely."


    Suddenly, a deep voice interrupted them. "Oh? How are you so confident in your husband?"


    The women turned to look. To their surprise and delight, Zen smiled at them from where he sat.

 Chapter 3306 Promise

    Ever since Dorothy had explained Zen''s predicament, Letitia and Margaret had been sick with worry.


    Sometimes, Letitia found herself envying Laquisha, Nelly and Lavender, since they were blissfully ignorant, cultivating within the Phoenix Palace walls.


    At times, she even regretted leaving Zen''s inner world. If she had stayed in the fairy palace, she wouldn''t have had any clue as to what was happening in the outside.


    But, all of a sudden, these worries disappeared the second she heard her lover''s voice.


    "Whoosh!"


    From the end of the corridor, Margaret had transformed into a purple shadow that flew towards Zen.


    Letitia also threw herself into Zen''s arms.


    "Plop..."


    Zen, who had been physically exhausted when he rushed into the light column, felt little to no strength now.


    So when the two women pounced on him, Zen fell backwards under their weight.


    Surprised that he was so weak, Letitia hurriedly asked, "Darling, is there something wrong with you?"


    "I''m fine," Zen answered with a smile. He fondly stroked Letitia''s hair.


    "Are you hungry? Do you have no strength left?" Margaret asked with concern, laying her hand gently on Zen''s arm.


    "You''re half right," Zen replied with a chuckle.


    "So..."


    The two women lovingly gushed at Zen, and he patiently replied to all their queries with a serene expression on his face.


    Dorothy sat opposite to Zen, but she felt like an outsider.


    While Zen was still trapped on the Other Shore, she had often visited them. Here, she learned that Zen had several lovers, and that there were even three more cultivating in the Phoenix Palace.


    Although Dorothy maintained her composure, internally, she cursed at Zen.


    She never expected Zen was like this...


    However, she too was relieved that Zen had finally woken up. She smiled slightly. She knew nothing could trap Zen Luo, not even the Dark Region!


    After he answered all their questions, Zen gently flicked his hand. His space ring appeared, and he took a considerable amount of divine crystals. Then, he crushed them and threw them into his cinnabar


    to happen to her." Her eyes narrowed. "Promise me, Zen."


    Zen frowned slightly, and even Letitia and Margaret watched uneasily.


    As a formidable woman, Flamine keenly sensed their emotions. It was out of character for her to be unusually stern. "As long as Elvinia can leave the Dark Region and get out of the Other Shore safely, I will reward you graciously."


    If it were anyone else who talked to him like this, Zen would probably have sent the guest out immediately.


    However, when Zen broke into the Phoenix Palace, it was Flamine who had showed him the way. Besides, she had also helped him in the Vastness Mountain.


    Zen could understand that Flamine''s unreasonable demand was out of her love and worry for her beloved daughter.


    Zen bowed to her again. "Don''t worry, Lady Flamine. The Dark Region is not as dangerous as you think. We are not in a desperate situation."


    At least, in the meantime, they were safe within the column of light.


    What was more, those pig-faced monsters were not that intelligent. With these cards, they still had a chance to escape.


    Zen''s sincere expression made Flamine calm down a little. The most fearful thing for her was that Zen would leave her daughter behind. All the way from the Phoenix Palace, she had been trying to figure out how she would talk to Zen.


    In order to get the answer she wanted, she risked being a bit rude to Zen.

 Chapter 3307 The Purified Being

    Flamine lowered her eyes. Softly she said, "I have been to the Dark Region. I know how dangerous it is. Maybe it''s too much to ask you to protect Elvinia, but I hope you will do your best."


    "You''ve been to the Dark Region?" Zen said, raising his eyebrows.


    Flamine smiled. "It''s not the Dark Region of Stage Thirteen, but the one of Stage Twenty."


    As one reached higher and higher stages on the Other Shore, the likelihood increased of encountering the Dark Region.


    Powerful warriors like Flamine, however, had extremely powerful Souls of Light, and were equal to the challenges of the Dark Region. Flamine, for instance, would have no trouble overpowering the creatures on the Other Shore and in the Dark Region that Zen and his companions had faced in Stage Thirteen.


    "Have you ever heard of the light column in the Dark Region?" Zen asked.


    At the mention of the light column, Flamine''s eyes flashed. Elvinia noticed and shot her mother a questioning look.


    Earlier, when Elvinia had told her mother about the light column in the Phoenix Palace, Flamine had also reacted strangely. What did she know about the valley?


    "I''ve already heard about it from Elvinia," Flamine said solemnly. "The appearance of a light column in the Dark Region, well, generally suggests the presence of a purified being."


    "What do you mean by a purified being?" Zen said, looking interested.


    "Some creatures can break through the restrictions of the Dark Region and become the strongest. We call them purified beings, and no one can match them in the Dark Region," Flamine explained. "Of course, they are also extremely powerful even outside the Dark Region."


    Many years ago, Flamine had witnessed the birth of a purified being.


    She had been in the Dark Region of Stage Twenty. She clearly saw a white light shoot up into the sky, pierce through the darkness, and freely fly within the Dark Region.


    In response, the powerful creatures in the Dark Region had surrounded the light and launched an attack on the purified being. Even the other creatures outside the Dark Region had tried to stop the purified being from leaving the confines of the Dark Region. Some powerful Souls of Light had also joined the battle.


    But no one could defeat the purified being. Within its light, it was impervious to the attacks of creatures in the Dark Region. The other creatures outside the Dark Region also failed to defeat the purified being.


    At that time, Flamine recalled, the most powerful group in Stage Twenty was the Heavenly Element race. They had ruled over at least seventy percent of the territory of Stage Twenty. However, the purified being had engaged them in battle. Alone against the strongest members of the Heavenly Element race, the purified being had driven them into a small corner of Stage Twenty.


    e of the fruits to Zen.


    They each bit into their fruits. As Zen swallowed the Darkness Fruit, he felt energy spreading throughout his body, and the darkness that obscured his vision seemed to lighten. He looked around him at their surroundings and instantly felt stunned.


    To his shock, he and Elvinia were surrounded by several pig-faced monsters standing just outside the edge of the circle of light. Their ferocious fangs were bared. They were staring at Zen and Elvinia, and looked ready to fight.


    Elvinia let out a small cry of astonishment as she saw the monsters around them.


    She stepped closer to Zen, feeling uneasy and afraid.


    "Don''t worry. They can''t come into the light," Zen said calmly.


    The pig-faced monsters leaned forward and roared, taking care to stay in the darkness.


    "Get out of here, you filthy humans!"


    "You are trampling the holy tomb!"


    The pig-faced monsters roared and threatened them, but they couldn''t step into the circle of light to attack the humans.


    Zen smiled, shaking his head. "You know, if I were them, I would be kind and gentle instead of loud and threatening. I would try to lure us out of the light and into the darkness, where we could be slaughtered like fish on the chopping block."


    Elvinia scowled. "Luckily, they don''t have someone who thinks like you. Be quiet. Don''t give them any ideas."


    Zen shrugged. "My point is that these pig-faced monsters do not seem to be very intelligent. The black monkeys are smarter. So I don''t understand why one of their own would become a purified being."


    As he spoke, he bent and carefully studied the holy tomb of the pig-faced monsters.


    According to Flamine, there was a purified being buried within.


    Zen placed a hand carefully on the tomb. He glanced around him at the pig-faced monsters and asked them, "Is one of your clansmen buried inside this tomb?"

 Chapter 3308 White Shadow

    The pig-faced monsters shuddered at the mere thought of the thing they dreaded the most: Zen would aim at the holy tomb.


    His question rang repeatedly in their heads, which made them tremble profusely in fear.


    Despite that, they still had the gall to curse fiercely at Zen.


    "Move your dirty hand away!"


    "How dare you, a dirty human, touch Master Teague''s holy tomb!"


    "Go to hell!" they all shouted.


    Meanwhile, their noises caused the other pig-faced monsters to come out of the caves as well.


    Elvinia looked at Zen solemnly. "Those pig-faced monsters are besieging us again," she reminded him.


    "Leave them alone," Zen replied expressionlessly.


    They could leave the Other Shore at any time anyway. Moreover, the creatures from the Dark Region couldn''t get inside, which meant that he could try anything he liked.


    He turned a deaf ear to the pig-faced monsters'' cries and carelessly walked around the holy tomb. Finally, he stopped in front of it and bowed down.


    This action surprised Elvinia as she didn''t know what Zen meant. Still, the act had now excited those pig-faced monsters.


    "He''s finally enlightened. He''s going to submit to our Master Teague!"


    "Even if you kneel down and beg for forgiveness, we can only let you die-- but it is not so painful!"


    "Since you have thought through this, you can step out now!"


    After Zen was done bowing, he stood up and smiled at the pig-faced monsters. He then suddenly jumped up to the tomb and dug it out with his hands!


    He knew that the only way to leave the place was to look for the answer that lay inside the tomb.


    He bowed to the tomb because of his moral. Whether the purified being was dead or not, it was indeed disrespectful to dig a tomb.


    Those ferocious pig-faced monsters were dumbfounded.


    They never thought that Zen would actually be so bold to dig the tomb!


    "Stop!"


    "Please!"


    "No¡­ we are so sorry, Master Teague¡­"


    The pig-faced monsters could only cry out in despair when they realized that threatening Zen didn''t work. In fact, it just irritated him. Thus, some of them began to plead with him to stop.


    However, Zen knew that the pig-faced monsters were never to be trusted, so he completely ignored them.


    "Swish..."


    He tossed away the mass


    violent storm. Yet, the divine flames of the Sun Crow race still wasn''t enough to render considerable damage to them.


    "Right after we got back here... We are in danger¡­"


    Despair racked Elvinia''s body, and she was close to giving up¡­


    Suddenly, a beam of light glittered brightly once again.


    Even if the giant stone did temporarily block the light, the light also tarnished it because it was an object of the Dark Region. In just a few seconds, the light had pierced through the giant stone.


    "Buzz..."


    The bright light shone on Elvinia again.


    Before the pig-faced monsters around her could scream, the light beam had melted their bodies away, filling the air with a pungent smell.


    The light won a little bit of time for Elvinia to breath. Her face however, changed dramatically when she saw the tentacles lift a number of giant stones.


    She would never have a chance to escape once the stones completely covered the light!


    Without hesitation, she quickly jumped into the cave beneath the tomb.


    The situation outside the cave was extremely critical, and the same could be said for inside of it.


    A small white shadow floated in front of Zen. It didn''t contain very strong energy, but it seemed that it posed a great threat to him.


    It turned out that this white shadow was the force that pulled him down just now!


    At that point, his face twisted in horror when he realized that the white shadow had targeted Elvinia.


    "Watch out!" he screamed when seeing Elvinia jumping down.

 Chapter 3309 Cutting

    There was no time for Elvinia to check the cave before jumping inside.


    But when she heard Zen warn her from above, she resisted on instinct, releasing golden whips from her Soul of Light and lashing at the white shadow that appeared before her.


    Swish!


    When she used her divine flames of the Sun Crow race on the Other Shore, they were like a soul theurgy. The power of the flames imposed on physical bodies was rather ordinary, but if the opponent was in soul form, their power was not to be scoffed at.


    And the white shadow was in just soul form.


    As the divine flames almost hit the figure, Elvinia felt a sudden strange force.


    The force sent her flying horizontally without warning¡ªthe golden whips deviated from the attack as she lost control.


    Bang!


    She hit the wall hard.


    Her Soul of Light was, of course, incomparable to Zen''s. After the collision, she passed out immediately.


    The force exerted on her wasn''t dissipating¡ªit kept her nailed firmly to the wall.


    Whoosh!


    The white shadow didn''t seem to have any intention of killing her, though. After knocking her unconscious, it flew in closer.


    "No way!"


    Zen had no idea what it was planning, but from its actions, he could vaguely guess what it was up to, so he didn''t want it anywhere near Elvinia.


    The power of the Strength God Totem emanated from his body as he got ready to leap into the air.


    Over the past three days, he had replenished his power with a considerable amount of divine crystals. His two Other Shore Tokens were in their best state.


    But just as he was about to jump, he felt his feet sink into the ground.


    ''What?''


    Zen felt his heart skip a beat as he carefully examined the situation¡ªhis eyes went wide.


    The moment he entered the cave, the ground felt soft¡ªhe figured it was just the soil.


    But now that his feet were stuck, he realized that he was stepping on huge lumps of meat.


    In fact, the entire floor was covered


    ow did the tentacles cut through the monkeys'' bones?


    No matter how strong they were, tentacles were soft in nature. At most, they could only tear the bodies into pieces like one would tear paper. But Zen could see that the pieces of bone were cleanly cut and extremely smooth. Apparently, they were cut by some sharp weapons.


    While he pondered, two more tentacles extended from within the cave.


    They were slightly thinner than the others, but each had a row of sharp teeth on one side¡ªZen''s questions about the bones were answered.


    "Phew!"


    The soft tentacles held Zen''s body in place as the other two rushed toward him.


    Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack...


    As the two tentacles moved backward and forward around Zen''s shoulders, their rows of teeth were like saws as they cut into Zen''s body.


    As the cutting began, a burning pain shot through Zen''s arms and his shoulders were covered in blood. The tentacles'' strength was beyond anything Zen could have ever imagined.


    If the sawing went on, he''d be left in pieces soon. His brows furrowed tightly as he thought of his predicament.


    Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack...


    The tentacles continued the torturous motion.


    In the second round of cutting, they had reached his flesh and muscles¡ªthe white of his bones was already visible.

 Chapter 3310 Soul Stealing And Counterattack

    The desperate situation had Zen thinking long and hard about how to escape.


    There weren''t many abilities he could use on the Other Shore. Because of its nature, the Strength God Totem could only increase Zen''s strength ¡ª it wasn''t nearly enough to force himself out of the tentacles'' range.


    The Eye of Will''s power was indeed excellent, but for it to be truly effective, it had to be combined with great swordsmanship skills. In this situation, it was practically useless.


    Currently, two tentacles began the third round of cutting.


    This time, Zen gritted his teeth and leaped on full strength. In the little window of opportunity, he managed to evade the tentacles and start running out of the cave.


    But the enclosure was already densely crowded with tentacles. Before he could take any more steps forward, another one hit his legs.


    Slap!


    The whip-like hit made Zen lose his balance. Before he fell to the ground, several tentacles wrapped around him, dragging him deeper into the cave.


    Their severe grip left him with no chance of escape.


    When someone entered the Other Shore, it was normally difficult for others to tell if their Souls of Light were trapped or injured. The only way to understand one''s condition was to examine one''s mind.


    But because Zen entered the Other Shore with his physical body, his case was another story.


    Any injuries he suffered on the Other Shore affected his real body in the Source World.


    "Zen is injured! Is he in a fight?"


    "What''s happening on the Other Shore?"


    "I hope he''s okay¡­"


    Zen''s body in the Source World sat on the second floor of his courtyard house. His eyes were shut tightly as he cringed like he was in pain. Wounds began appearing on his body abruptly ¡ª blood even started gushing out.


    His condition put Letitia and Margaret in a panic. Dorothy rushed to his side and tried to help treat the fresh wounds.


    After sending Elvinia''s body to the Flow Sword Sect, Flamine stayed with them.


    While she couldn''t see what was going on at Stage Thirteen of the Other Shore, she knew that Elvinia was in a critical situation ¡ª she couldn''t just leave protecting Elvinia up to Zen alone.


    At the sight of Zen''s terrible wounds, Flamine felt a sense of foreboding.


    What about Elvinia? Was she with him? Was she


    nsed approaching danger and swayed gently within the depths of her soul like a helpless little girl in the face of a hungry wolf.


    Once her Memory Flame was devoured, her true consciousness would vanish into thin air ¡ª something akin to death.


    "I''ve already found you. Where do you think you can escape?" Teague''s soul smiled maliciously as he mocked her. He could almost smell the flame''s fragrance.


    The white shadow flashed gently as it grabbed the vulnerable Memory Flame in its hand ¡ª it trembled violently and swayed in Teague''s palm. Indeed, there was no way to escape.


    But just as he raised the flame to his mouth, ready to swallow it, something unexpected began unfolding.


    A sudden flash of scarlet-golden flame appeared, proceeded by beams of golden light that started spreading within her soul.


    "Wha-what''s going on?!" Teague''s eyes were wide as they darted around, wondering what the scene before him was.


    Suddenly, he began groaning in pain.


    A burning sensation came over his palm. Before he could react, Elvinia''s Memory Flame began scorching him, forcing him to throw it away.


    Realizing that something was going terribly wrong, he chose to flee.


    Teague was a purified being ¡ª he was at the beginning of a new life where a bright future awaited him. He couldn''t afford to perish just yet.


    But the golden flames were spreading rapidly, far beyond his imagination.


    In the blink of an eye, the flames had formed a cage around him, making him a prisoner within the depths of Elvinia''s soul.

 Chapter 3311 An Accident

    It was extremely difficult for the people in the Source World to influence or affect the events on the Other Shore.


    They could only offer soul pills to strengthen the soul auras of those on the Other Shore.


    The people outside Dragon City, for instance, were able to cultivate on the Other Shore with the help of the starlight in Dragon City despite it being an external force.


    Flamine couldn''t intervene and help Elvinia fight the creatures on the Other Shore. Nor could she greatly improve her daughter''s cultivation base while Elvinia was on the Other Shore. However, she could kill anyone who tried to snatch Elvinia''s soul.


    In a sense, one''s Soul of Light was both in the Source World and on the Other Shore. Thus, after Teague entered the depths of Elvinia''s Soul of Light, he was still on the Other Shore, yet he was also on the second floor of Zen''s house in the Flow Sword Sect in the Source World.


    This presented Flamine with an opportunity to help her daughter.


    Teague had not become a purified being yet, so his soul was still quite weak. Moreover, as a creature from Stage Thirteen of the Dark Region, he was inferior to the creatures in the upper stages of the Other Shore.


    Huge flames burned and flickered around Teague.


    He darted from left to right in a cage made of golden flames. Every time he tried to escape, the scorching heat forced him back inside.


    "I''m a purified being! You can''t kill me!" Teague yelled in despair.


    Outside the cage, a faint shadow emerged. It was Flamine''s soul. Elvinia''s Memory Flame rested on her shoulder.


    "You certainly have the aura of a purified being," said Flamine, looking at Teague cautiously.


    There were many powerful creatures in the Dark Region, and the purified beings were the best of them. Once they were born, they were virtually impossible to defeat.


    However, it remained a great mystery how and why purified beings were born.


    "You can''t kill me! If you kill me, the Blood Assembly will never let you go!" Teague roared at Flamine.


    "But you want to kill my daughter!" said Flamine, whose face darkened.


    Threatened by Teague, she was more determined to kill him now.


    She waved her hand, and the golden cage shrank, closing in on Teague. The bars of golden flames pressed in on Teague''s soul. He screamed in agony at the scorching pain.


    Several seconds passed as Teague writhed and screamed. Eventually, he collapsed and fell silent. Flamine exhaled, thinking it was over at last. However, something strange happened.


    Teague''s white soul began


    " And it laughed, its beady eyes lit with malice.


    For a moment, the other pig-faced monsters were quiet, thinking about the proposal. Then they joined the dark blue pig-faced monster in its laughter.


    "Good idea!"


    "That is a fitting consequence for the one who breaks into the holy tomb!"


    "He will suffer greatly!"


    The black pool was a forbidden area for the pig-faced monsters. Any creature sent as bait to the black pool would meet a dreadful end.


    Zen was apprehensive. He had no idea what the black pool was, but he could tell from the reactions of the pig-faced monsters that it would not be a good idea to enter that place.


    The tentacles seemed to do the bidding of the pig-faced monsters. They took out two thick bronze iron plates, obtained from the valley, which were about the size of a human being. There was a hole punched into the center of each iron plate. The tentacles lifted Zen down onto the ground. They slid Zen''s neck and hands into the holes in the iron plates, and then secured the plates with two ropes.


    Zen struggled but he was very weak from his injuries. When he released his Other Shore Power, strange patterns flashed on the plates, but they stayed firmly in place.


    "Give it up. No one can escape from the bronze seal," a pig-faced monster sneered.


    Zen ignored the monster, silently trying to break free. After several unsuccessful attempts, he finally gave up, deciding he was wasting his energy. He sat, trapped by the bronze seal, and stared morosely at the light column in the middle of the valley.


    Elvinia was still buried within the dark cave of the tomb. Her Soul of Light would have been entirely swallowed by the white shadow by now.

 Chapter 3312 Black Pool

    A white cocoon of light floated in the darkness of the tomb.


    This cocoon wrapped around Elvinia.


    Every a few seconds, the cocoon could be seen beating with the naked eye.


    Dong! Dong!


    The movement of the cocoon caused tremors to pass through the dark cave.


    The blood vessels and the flesh on the wall and the ground bulged as if they were sentient living beings, and gathered around the cocoon.


    Dong! Dong!


    The cocoon had beaten over a hundred times before some of the blood vessels attached themselves to it, the flesh following close behind. The entire process was long and slow, but they continued to gradually gather together into a shape.


    Zen didn''t know that such a strange change was taking place in the dark cave.


    He waited for a few hours before he began to feel that the light was dimming. The pig-faced monsters that had been near him had gradually fallen into the darkness. The effect of the Darkness Fruit was about to disappear.


    "Are you going to use me as bait?" Zen asked the pig-faced monster that was guarding him.


    "Right," the pig-faced monster snickered.


    "I''m afraid I''m going to disappear from the Dark Region before that because the Darkness Fruit is about to lose effect," Zen said.


    The pig-faced monster looked surprised.


    They had forgotten that Zen was not from the Dark Region. When the effect of the Darkness Fruit wore off, the Dark Region would erase his body.


    The pig-faced monster reported this to its superiors. Soon, several pig-faced monsters had left the valley.


    Zen felt it getting darker and darker, the voices of the pig-faced monsters becoming fainter by the minute. He felt pain as the Dark Region continued to corrode him.


    Fortunately, there were a number of Darkness Fruits in the Dark Region. About an hour later, the pig-faced monsters returned and shoved a Darkness Fruit into Zen''s mouth.


    As the power of the


    into the depths of the pool.


    He could see nothing in the black quagmire, and could do nothing but let himself sink.


    Minutes later, Zen felt something tug at his back. The rope had tightened and was stopping Zen from sinking even further. He was alone in the black pool, hanging onto the rope and his luck.


    Plop! Plop!


    Bubbles began to float. Zen frowned, sensing that something was coming his way.


    As more bubbles began to appear, he felt a stabbing pain in his feet, as if something was stuck to them. He struggled to escape it but his body was being held down by the bronze iron plates. Thanks to the absence of enough space, he couldn''t get rid of it.


    The more he struggled, the more things he attracted to himself. It was not long before these things spread out all over his body.


    "What the hell?"


    Zen couldn''t see anything. All he could do was grit his teeth and endure the pain. He finally understood what the pig-faced monster had meant.


    The monster had been right when it had said that being put in the black pool and sucked at by these unknown objects was worse than dying.


    Dorothy and the others were witnessing something horrifying happen to Zen. Countless tiny holes appeared on Zen''s body, ringed with black traces of erosion.

 Chapter 3313 New Body After Rebirth

    "These are from severe poison," Dorothy said after looking at the corrosion marks.


    The wounds one sustained from the Other Shore carried over to the Source World. Thus, Zen sported the dark, corrosion marks on his skin. However, any objects from the Other Shore could not appear in the Source World, so there was no venom around his wounds.


    Letitia was immediately relieved upon hearing Dorothy''s diagnosis. "Zen is immune to poison."


    "It appears so," Dorothy replied upon observation.


    The things in the black pool were extremely poisonous. Most of the creatures from the Dark Region could barely come out alive if getting bit after being thrown into that pond.


    Death came slowly with this type of poison. After being injected into the bloodstream, it would make the victim hallucinate while his body deteriorated. Pus would slowly fester on his skin, his organs, down to his very bones until he became nothing more than a flesh bag of bodily fluids. This type of death was horrible and incredibly painful.


    That was from only one bite. Zen was currently being attacked by more than a hundred of these unknown things!


    Fortunately, his body was immune to any type of poison and all he really had to worry about was the blood loss.


    However, just the mere thought of his body being covered by many bugs sent a shiver down his spine.


    An hour later, he felt the two ropes on the bronze-iron plates tighten, slowly raising him up from the black pool.


    ''Finally. I''m leaving this hell now?'' Zen''s heart filled with joy.


    He really thought it was going to be his death after the pig-faced monsters made such a huge deal of the black pond. It turned out not as bad as they said.


    As soon as he left the pond, he looked down at his body.


    He had already mentally prepared himself but the sight shocked him all the same.


    The bugs were not a pretty sight - dark cyan, with huge abdomens like cyan gems. A fine needle protruded from each bug''s head and penetrated every square inch of his body.


    Despite being lifted from the pond, the bugs remained latched onto hi


    topuses left the caves, and entangled with each other to form a rope thousands of feet long. They took Zen with them and threw him right back into the pond.


    He was left soaking there for more than an hour to make sure that his entire body would be covered by the Regal Jade Bugs.


    He was used as bait for four straight days.


    While Zen was subject to such misery, something else was beginning to take place in the dark cave of the tomb.


    Flesh and blood piled up, wrapping up a cocoon completely. Gradually, a body started to form.


    When its facial features began shaping, a pig face appeared, looking exactly like a pig-faced monster. This was the purified being called Teague.


    However, as soon as the pig face formed, it immediately crumbled and morphed into the face of a human girl.


    She had a gentle and charming appearance, especially with her eyes closed in peaceful slumber.


    On the fifth day, the human girl suddenly opened her eyes, confused.


    ''Where am I?


    Who am I?''


    Her heart was filled with doubt as she carefully observed her own body. It was the body of a pig-faced monster. It was big and fleshy as well as ugly. This was an appearance that she could never accept.


    "Phew! Phew!"


    As she thought, there were cracks on her big body, and blood spilled. The flesh was constantly peeling off. A pair of slender hands pulled out from her bloated arms.

 Chapter 3314 The Regal Jade Beast

    The human girl shook the blood away from her hands, the red streams painting the ground. Then, she checked them under the light, and a satisfied grin stretched on her lips.


    Next, she jerked her fat legs, which caused the skin to crack. The flesh began to roll upwards to reveal a pair of slender legs.


    Her shoulders, chest, and waist followed suit. Her thick limbs were stripped from her original body as a tangy, bloody scent filled the dark cave.


    Soon after, a perfectly shaped body emerged from the pile of flesh.


    Although she was still quite confused, she seemed to be in a better mood as her snow-white feet moved across the dark and bloody cave.


    As she moved, the light column that came from the valley also moved with her.


    The properties of the tombstone and the soil around it had changed with the birth of the purified being. They did not belong to the Dark Region anymore, so the light couldn''t damage them.


    The materials outside the light column, however, were different: as long as they touched the light, their energy and the light column''s energy would attempt to eliminate each other.


    As the light column started to move, numerous ditches appeared in the ground because of the erosion. The light column almost hit some of the pig-faced monsters that were in the middle of worshipping. The ground trembled as all of them scampered to the edge of the valley to hide, and then proceeded to watch the scene with caution.


    "What happened?"


    "Has the light column moved?"


    "It''s Master Teague! Has Master Teague turned into a purified being?"


    All the pig-faced monsters that knew about the situation were aware that the light column did not illuminate the tomb, nor the tombstone, but Master Teague.


    Once Master Teague became a purified being, the light column would follow him wherever he went!


    Since the light column shifted around, it was obvious that Master Teague was awake.


    All of them saw how the brightness followed him as he walked in the dark cave.


    "If Master Teague has succeeded, why won''t he leave the dark cave?" The dark blue pig-faced monster scowled. "Maybe he needs to get everything ready," the pig-faced monster next to it replied and burst into giggles.


    "It is said that a purified being can give us the ability to leave the darkness, right?" another pig-faced monster asked, its tone full of expectation. The dark bl


    named the Regal Jade Beast.


    "Grrr..."


    The Regal Jade Beast lowered its head and roared.


    Things quickly took an unexpected turn when instead of targeting Zen, it flew towards the nearest octopus.


    The octopuses shrieked in horror when they realized that they were no match for the gigantic beast. Thus, they quickly withdrew their tentacles and ran towards the valley.


    Even though they moved in high speeds, the beast had caught up to the last octopus and crushed it. Then, it began to bite the creature''s body until it was torn into pieces.


    Zen had been hanging from the tentacles of the last octopus. Now that it was nothing but chunks of meat, it couldn''t take him back to the valley.


    The Regal Jade Beast chewed some more until it swallowed the whole octopus in a few gulps, and then it turned to look at Zen.


    The beast''s terrifying stare sent chills down Zen''s spine. In a moment of desperation, he gathered all his strength and rolled down the mountain with the bronze iron plates. The mountain was steep, so he was able to roll down rather quickly. Although the bumpy ride injured him along the way, it was still better than being eaten by the beast!


    When the beast saw that its target had escaped, a fierce light flashed in its eyes. It wasted no time and followed Zen all the way down!


    The pig-faced monsters were still kneeling before their purified being. Suddenly, they heard a loud noise from above and saw that the octopuses had fled back to the triangular caves. It was as if they were escaping from something, which astonished the pig-faced monsters.

 Chapter 3315 Emerge

    The octopuses had no natural enemies on Stage Thirteen.


    In fact, their only shortcoming was that they couldn''t leave the triangular caves where they hid, limiting their range of motion.


    ''What kind of creature chased after them, making them flee like mad?'' the pig-faced monsters wondered.


    Clatter¡­ clatter¡­ clatter¡­


    The octopuses were followed closely by Zen as he rolled down the mountain, still locked in the bronze plates.


    The plates bumping along the way made a deafening sound.


    Bang!


    Finally, Zen smashed into the valley. More than half his body was embedded underground.


    The two pig-faced monsters nearest Zen paled in shock. If they were caught in Zen''s fall, they''d have definitely been crushed.


    "What happened?"


    "Look! What''s that?"


    "That seems to be a Regal Jade Beast¡­"


    Having lived around the black pool for years, the pig-faced monsters knew a little about it.


    Creatures in the pool were considered very special¡ªthe Regal Jade Bugs being just one kind of them, and at the lowest level.


    The bodies of these bugs were nothing like that of common bugs with flesh and blood. They seemed to be carved out of jade, making their bodies extremely tough.


    Many strange life forms populated the black pool.


    It was said that some pig-faced monsters had even seen giant beasts emerge from the water. The Regal Jade Beasts were cyan all over, and like the Regal Jade Bugs, their bodies seemed carved from jade. But in all the time the pig-faced monsters had been there, the beasts had only appeared once or twice. Many no longer believed in their existence.


    No concrete evidence was available to prove whether or not the Regal Jade Beasts really existed in the black pool.


    Still, no one explored the black pool and lived. The pig-faced monsters had no idea how deep the water was, nor what creatures lurked down there.


    But this time, they encountered the strange Zen. He was probably the only ''bait'' who could be re-used after being bitten by the Regal Jade Bugs.


    What was most surprising, though, was how he had managed to attract the giant R


    e strength of her physical body was beyond impressive.


    Bang!


    The fresh soil that covered the tomb burst from the girl''s strength as she rushed out.


    The moment she came into contact with the light, it changed significantly.


    Originally, the beam of light was in the shape of a circular column, but the moment it touched the young girl''s body, the light concentrated right on her, illuminating her entire figure. Only a bright silhouette remained.


    "The light... it makes me comfortable¡­"


    Bathed in light, the girl looked rather relaxed.


    She could still feel the countless little spirits contained within the light, subject to her orders.


    In a single thought, rays of light were woven into a shiny dress, that fit her perfectly.


    Everyone else in the valley was wide-eyed and dumbfounded.


    After being madly slaughtered by the Regal Jade Beast, the pig-faced monsters were left in desperate fear. When the tomb exploded, they fled in all directions. Now they felt saved, thinking that Master Teague finally appeared.


    But what rushed out from under the tomb was a mere human girl.


    Even Zen was just as shocked.


    Only a few steps away from him was the Regal Jade Beast, and one of its cyan claws was already pressing onto his head¡ªhe was sure he was doomed. But when the human girl came into his view, his surprise almost made him forget the dire situation he was in.

 Chapter 3316 Elvinias Impaired Memory

    "Elvinia?"


    Elvinia now possessed a body on the Other Shore. Zen could recognize her at a glance by her thick black hair and her eyes that were as deep as ancient pools.


    When the woman heard the name ''Elvinia'', she fell into a trance as her mind began searching for an answer to the meaning of this name.


    The name seemed to be hers, but she couldn''t recall if it was.


    The man in front of her was familiar and intimate as well, but who was he?


    She was enraged on seeing the Regal Jade Beast had caught hold of the man. "Beast! Stay away from him!" she screeched terrifyingly.


    Roar!


    The Regal Jade Beast felt threatened by the woman and unleashed a great roar. It did not want to provoke her, but it wouldn''t let go of Zen either.


    It grabbed Zen with a front paw and scaled the mountain wall at the back of the valley. It might have been enormous, but it moved as agile as a kitten.


    The woman remained deep in thought. She felt overbearingly uneasy as she watched the man being taken by the Regal Jade Beast but she didn''t know why.


    Driven by pure instinct, her arm raised up slowly and a ball of light began gathering in her hand.


    Buzz!


    The light rays began swirling and dancing around. Then, a white light shot at the Regal Jade Beast.


    No matter how fast and nimble it was, it could not escape the light.


    Hiss!


    A puff of black smoke rose from the body of the Regal Jade Beast as the light hit it. Its once smooth skin now became mottled and dotted with holes all over.


    "Woo!"


    The Regal Jade Beast let out a miserable cry and slid down from the mountain.


    "Kill that gigantic beast!"


    "Come on, Master Teague!"


    "That beast slaughtered more than half of our race!"


    The pig-faced monsters lucky enough to survive shouted while hiding in the corner of the valley.


    They didn''t know who this woman was, but they figured she must be the purified being if she was able to control the light as she did. Some of them regarded her as Teague.


    Just as the Regal Jade


    a light flashed in front of him. Elvinia had appeared.


    "What did you call me just now?" she asked curiously.


    "Elvinia," Zen replied with a frown.


    She tilted her head, looked at Zen innocently and asked, "What''s your name?"


    Zen sighed in his heart at Elvinia''s question.


    When he was grabbed by the tentacles, the white shadow had already rushed to Elvinia''s Soul of Light. There was nothing Zen could do back then. He imagined Elvinia''s Soul of Light would probably be devoured by the white shadow.


    But things had not gone that way at all.


    Perhaps something unexpected happened when the white shadow had tried to devour Elvinia''s soul; it failed and Elvinia''s Memory Flame prevailed over it.


    Elvinia''s Soul of Light and memory were both damaged.


    "My name is Zen Luo," Zen answered.


    "Zen Luo..." Elvinia repeated in a soft voice.


    Zen nodded and asked, "Do you remember?"


    Elvinia nodded and said seriously, "Yes."


    Zen looked at her strangely and asked, "What do you remember?"


    Suddenly, Elvinia pounced on Zen, embracing him and looking into his eyes tenderly. She would never have acted like this or even looked at him like this before.


    "I remember that I seem to like you very much," she said sweetly.


    Zen was frozen.


    He knew her memory was a mess but that was the last thing he had expected.

 Chapter 3317 No Choice

    Elvinia had always been a cold woman. So Zen was not used to her current tenderness and affection. That was not who she was.


    However, at the sight of her exquisite face so close to his, Zen felt his heart racing. She could easily crush any other woman in the Oneness Sky Palace with her radiant beauty. Save one¡ªonly Dorothy''s lovely visage could hold a candle to hers.


    Zen said with a smile, "You must have made a mistake." He then gently pushed Elvinia away.


    "Really?"


    Elvinia''s eyes were filled with confusion. She rummaged through her memories and found another clue among her random fragments of recollection.


    A trace of anger suddenly appeared in her eyes. "How dare you intrude into my place!"


    "What? Your place?!"


    Zen froze for a moment. As quick as a flash, Elvinia shoved her palm into his chest. He had no time to stop her.


    "Puff!"


    Living creatures of the Dark Region were extremely powerful. Even the pig-faced monsters and human-monkey monsters were far stronger than other creatures living outside, not to mention the black monkeys and the three-eyed boy.


    The body of a purified being was refined in a special way. Even though it had just been formed, it still contained terrifying power.


    Elvinia''s light slap contained far more than a thousand divine megatons of force. Zen felt his chest collapse and he was sent flying nearly a mile away.


    "Ahem!"


    Slowly, painfully, Zen got to his feet, and promptly coughed up two mouthfuls of blood.


    ''What''s wrong with Elvinia? She was gentle and sweet a minute ago, but then she hit me?


    There was some serious power in that blow. I think she really intended to kill me!''


    "Whoosh..."


    Seeing Zen get up from the ground, Elvinia suddenly raised her eyebrows in dissatisfaction. She tapped the tip of her toe on the ground and flew straight up into the air. Like the lithest acrobat, she made a perfect arc in midair, and swooped down towards Zen, feet first.


    If she hit him this time, she would probably stomp him into the ground!


    Taking a deep breath, Zen rolled sideways and dodged her attack in a rather awkward posture.


    "Bang!"


    Elvinia hit the ground


    the attention of the more powerful races.


    Whoosh...


    Three black monkeys bounded through the mountains.


    They were man-sized, as opposed to the ten-foot tall giant monkeys.


    Their bodies were covered with palm-sized yellow pieces of paper, which emulated the appearance of armor, even if it were made of paper.


    Each piece of yellow paper had runes inscribed upon it. As they jumped from rock to tree making their way up the mountain, the yellow paper flapped in the wind, making all kinds of racket.


    These black monkeys were far stronger and faster than the rest of their brethren. That''s why they were chosen for this mission.


    Before long, they ascended the mountain. As they looked down from the peak, they were all shocked.


    From their vantage point at the top of the mountain, they could see a circular area. Everything in this area had disappeared. No trees, no rocks, nothing. It looked something had exploded, and taken everything with it.


    "Is that... Is that the power of the light?"


    "A purified being is stronger than that."


    "That''s frightening! If the Blood Assembly gets their grubby paws on it. I''m afraid we can''t keep the vein."


    The two black monkeys grew gloomy.


    The black monkey standing at the end of the line said in confusion, "The pig-faced monsters lived here, right? If that purified being is Teague, he wouldn''t kill every member of his race and ruin their land. Something''s wrong."

 Chapter 3318 Important Memory

    When the black monkey finished its words, the other two also wore cautious expressions on their faces.


    No matter how ruthless the purified being was, he wouldn''t have killed his own race. It made no sense and caused an uneasy feeling in their hearts.


    "Perhaps the purified being... is not a pig-faced monster after all..." another black monkey spoke and voiced its speculations out loud.


    "I can''t say for sure though," the black monkey shook its head in an attempt to diffuse the suspicions.


    "It seems we were right to come here to have a look for ourselves!"


    Just as the three black monkeys were immersed in their discussion, several thousand feet away from them, a few red dots of light appeared. Several one-eyed monsters perched atop another mountain scanned the area ahead of them.


    "Buzz, buzz..."


    Obviously, the several one-eyed creatures had noticed the presence of the black monkeys as well. Their eyes gleamed with a particular frequency that indicated friendliness.


    These one-eyed creatures belonged to a different force and had never encountered the black monkeys before. Apparently, they were also enchanted by the frightening light column.


    As a sign of friendship, the black monkeys waved gently at the one-eyed monsters. Then, they moved down from the peak of the mountain.


    Besides the black monkeys and the one-eyed monsters, other creatures were lurking nearby in the Dark Region. They were all sneaking up to the area inhabited by the pig-faced monsters.


    Even though the entire valley now stood destroyed, Zen was still able to tell the right direction.


    As long as they followed the mountain stream, they should be able to retrace their steps. They had to climb the back wall of the Grand Sky Temple at the end of the stream to leave the Dark Region safely.


    Now with Elvinia''s strength, those black monkeys wouldn''t dare to make trouble for them.


    "Before we leave the Dark Region, I''ll store this in your space ring." Zen glanced at Elvinia as he pointed at the small Regal Jade Beast.


    "Space ring? I don''t understand what you mean..." Elvinia asked while peering over at Zen with curious eyes.


    Due to the fact that her memory had almost been wiped clean, she had aged back a few years mentally. She now resembled a child at the age of seven. It made her look innocent and adorable.


    "Try to remember what it is yourself," Zen said impatiently.


    Elvinia thought long and hard as she blinked at him. Then, she raised her hand and asked, "Is this what you are talking about?"


    Buzz!


    As a white square formed in response to her g


    was not to be underestimated, it still wouldn''t be able to withstand the poison of the Regal Jade Bugs. Left with no other choice, Zen dived in the black pool to follow after her.


    After Zen jumped, he struggled to make sense of his surroundings. The mud was so thick that it became hard for him to move further down.


    In a moment of desperation, he grabbed onto Elvinia''s feet and was dragged down by her.


    One hundred feet....


    Three hundred feet...


    One thousand feet...


    Previously when the octopuses threw Zen into the black pool, he had only covered a distance of a few hundred feet. At that time, Zen was convinced he had reached the bottom of the black pool.


    But now, dragged by Elvinia, he had gone further down, and she still didn''t stop. It seemed the black pool was much deeper than he had thought.


    Along the way, Zen had been worried that they would encounter the Regal Jade Bugs or the Regal Jade Beasts. But none of them showed up.


    After diving for more than ten thousand feet, Elvinia suddenly stopped. Zen reached out his hand to touch the bottom of the black pool. The bottom was abnormally chilling and smooth. The feeling resembled when he felt the Regal Jade Beast.


    "What the hell is this? Damn it, I can''t see anything..."


    Just as Zen tried to figure it out, a ball of white blinding light appeared beside him. The moment the light shone, it completely wiped off the black mud stationed at the bottom.


    However, when the black mud at the bottom of the pool had vanished, the residue floating above naturally settled back down. Since Elvinia had relied on her ability to continuously release rays of light, she forcefully created a temporary space at the bottom of the black pool.

 Chapter 3319 The Civilization Artifact

    In the light that Elvinia had released, Zen finally saw what was going on around him, surprised.


    They were now stepping onto the floor that was made of a huge piece of jade.


    "Is this whole floor paved with a single piece of cyan jade?" Zen muttered.


    Elvinia seemed to know this and didn''t react to Zen''s question.


    The jade floor at the bottom of the black pool was lined. Elvinia lowered her head to look closely at it. She walked along the patterns, as if she was looking for something.


    The jade itself could not resist the light that Elvinia had released. Wherever the light passed through, the surface of the jade floor became corroded.


    They walked for a dozen steps at the bottom of the pool when the jade under their feet lightened in color. It started to become transparent, allowing them to easily see through it.


    "This is..."


    Zen had previously noticed random lines on the jade floor. But as he looked more carefully, he found they weren''t lines but Regal Jade Bugs that were embedded in the floor.


    Did the Regal Jade Bugs in the black pool grow out of this?


    A strange thought came to Zen''s mind.


    This place was full of wonders. Wilder guesses wouldn''t feel wrong in this situation.


    What he saw next proved him right. The Regal Jade Bugs under the jade floor moved suddenly and began to fly around within the jade, probably having been disturbed by Elvinia''s light.


    The hard jade was like water to the Regal Jade Bugs. They wandered freely within it.


    These bugs would be safe as long as they didn''t come out because the jade floor had blocked the light that was capable of eliminating them.


    But it looked like they were courting death as they emerged from the floor and began to fly around.


    They pointed the cyan needles that were in their mouth upward, and for some time, it looked like the floor was covered with needles.


    "Watch out!"


    Zen was not sure if Elvinia had the ability to resist the Regal J


    floor?


    He was proved right when he spotted the huge bird head some distance away.


    Elvinia didn''t stop running until after she had passed the bird''s head.


    Underneath the surface of the jade floor was a spiky ball in the shape of a diamond.


    Elvinia looked at it for a while before kneeling down on the ground beside it.


    She placed her hand on the floor above the diamond shaped spiky ball and released a bright light from her palm.


    The jade floor melted quickly under the strong light, leaving a gaping hole in its wake and exposing the diamond-shaped spiky ball.


    He didn''t know what the ball was made of. The surface of the ball darkened under the strong light but it showed no signs of melting.


    "What''s this?" Zen asked.


    "I don''t know," Elvinia answered.


    She had come here driven by her memory to find the diamond shaped spiky ball. She didn''t know what exactly it was or what it could be used for.


    Zen was speechless. It was a long time later that he helplessly said, "You have looked for it for so long. And now you''ve found it and you''re saying you don''t know what it is!"


    "Let me think," Elvinia said. She searched her memory, head tilted and eyes narrowed at the ball. A few minutes later, she burst out, "Got it! It seems to be called the Civilization Artifact!"

 Chapter 3320 The Regal Jade Civilization

    "The Civilization Artifact?" It was hard for Zen to figure out exactly what the item was just based on its name. "What is it used for?"


    "I''m not sure. If I could just remember..."


    Elvinia continued to search her memories for information about the artifact.


    But as she thought about it, she felt something tear deep in her soul, as if a memory was about to break through. All of a sudden, she covered her head with both hands and squatted down. "Oww! It hurts..."


    "Clatter!"


    As soon as she released her hand, the Civilization Artifact fell to the ground.


    "I really can''t remember. My head hurts!" Elvinia complained.


    Apparently, she couldn''t think too much of this. Trying to dig too deeply into her memories was quite painful. Zen stretched out his hand and gently rubbed her forehead. Then he asked her to take out dozens of soul pills and swallow them.


    Elvinia''s physical body was different from Zen''s.


    Zen''s body was projected onto the Other Shore from the Source World, and the projected body seemed just like his real one. But only Elvinia''s soul entered the Other Shore, and the body she inhabited here was like the armor. What form she would take after she left here, only the gods knew.


    But at least she could still absorb the soul pills. That was the silver lining.


    After taking the soul pills, Elvinia looked better. She didn''t seem quite so pale, and she seemed more energetic. She pursed her lips and put her arms around her knees, unwilling to dredge up her memories again. She said, "I don''t know what it is. Here you go! Take it if you want."


    Hearing her complaint, Zen could only comfort her, "Alright. I''ll study it and figure out what it is..."


    Then, Zen bent down to pick up the Civilization Artifact and placed it in his palm, observing it closely.


    The item was extremely delicate. It was a diamond-like gem inlaid with over ten sharp thorns.


    Zen touched the sharp thorns and twisted one of them as an experiment.


    "Crack!"


    The thorns could twist!


    Zen was slightly shocked. This should have done something, and maybe he triggered some mechanism.


    ivilization Artifact on the platform, the speck of light shot towards it.


    "Buzz..."


    Soon after, a green light shot out from the Civilization Artifact and enveloped Zen and Elvinia in its rays.


    Zen felt the sky and earth spinning. The Regal Jade City disappeared and was replaced by a void. Brown clouds floated in that void.


    Elvinia walked into the void and asked nonchalantly, "Where are we?"


    Zen had already deduced that the scenery of the void was the chaos. Just as he was about to answer Elvinia, a loud voice rang out from the void. "This is the chaos."


    Elvinia blinked and asked, "Then who are you?"


    "I am the Regal Jade Spirit and the only member of the Regal Jade race who is still awake. The rest of them have slept for hundreds of millions of years," the clear voice answered.


    "Then where did the city go? Is it an illusion?" Zen asked.


    Following Elvinia''s memories, they had taken great pains to obtain the Civilization Artifact. Surely it wasn''t showing them only the pretty scenery, was it?


    "The Civilization Artifact has recorded the development of the 749th chaos. You can see the birth, the beginning, the growth and the destruction of the entire Regal Jade Civilization..." the voice answered.


    "The 749th chaos?" Zen was slightly stunned.


    "Yes, we are the 749th civilization to rule the chaos." A trace of pride could be heard in that disembodied voice.

 Chapter 3321 The Battle Between Civilizations

    In the old days, many ruling civilizations existed in the chaos.


    The Dreaded Eye Demons and the Grand Sky race were two of those ruling civilizations that reigned over the entire chaos.


    "There are seven hundred forty nine ruling civilizations?" Zen smiled as he was told about this incredible piece of information. "It seems that the number of ruling civilizations is a lot more than I originally thought," he said.


    "Indeed. There are many ruling civilizations," the voice replied confidently. "However, only some of them are strong. At the very least, our Regal Jade Civilization is among the top ten."


    Zen didn''t respond to this bold statement. Meanwhile, No. 9527 seemed unconvinced. "Really? The top ten?" asked the silent spectator.


    "Why? What''s wrong?" Zen asked curiously.


    "Humph, the Regal Jade Spirit is only exaggerating," No. 9527 sneered.


    The moment the Regal Jade Bugs and Regal Jade Beasts appeared, No. 9527 already distinguished them as the civilization that once existed in the chaos.


    As a matter of fact, the history of every civilization and creature that ever lived on the Other Shore could be traced. Their movements could be located in the past chaos. As such, No. 9527 didn''t find much importance in the Regal Jade Civilization.


    "What are you trying to say?" Zen seemed a little bit intrigued.


    "The top ten civilizations have all been recorded. Nonetheless, there isn''t any record of the Regal Jade Civilization being one of them. They remain in Stage Thirteen, which shows that they are not that strong. If they are really one of the top ten, then they should be within Stage Thirty Two, at least!" answered No. 9527 with much skepticism.


    After listening to what No. 9527 said, Zen questioned the Regal Jade Spirit, "Well, since you claim to be one of the top ten ruling civilizations, why do you stay in Stage Thirteen?"


    The voice kept silent for a while. There was no point in keeping secrets about the Regal Jade Civilization anymore. With that, it replied, "It''s because the 748th civilization is hunting us down."


    "Hmm, the 748th civilization? What kind of civilization is it?" Zen asked. Once more, his curiosity was piqued.


    Hearing this, No. 9527 was baffled. Even though it had a significant portion of its master''s memory, it didn''t have much information about the Other Shore.


    "It''s the Nihility race. They are the ru


    of the super forces were of no match for the Wing King. These warriors included those from the Snake Goddess race, the Divine Farmer race, the Bearing race, and the Separate Abyss race.


    In an instant, the Wing King grew before Zen''s eyes. From the size of a fist, it transformed into a gigantic bird. Simultaneously, the entire jade world became even larger and more prosperous.


    The birth, beginning, resurgence, and destruction of the Regal Jade Civilization were all recorded in the Civilization Artifact, just as the Regal Jade Spirit said.


    In spite of this, a rebellion broke out during the most prosperous stage of the Regal Jade Civilization.


    The entire jade world split into two groups. It started to collapse into the chaos of the battle that lasted for several years.


    "The rebels were controlled by the people of the Nihility race on the Other Shore. They were the ones who truly incited the rebellion. The Regal Jade Civilization almost fell into ruin," revealed the Regal Jade Spirit despairingly.


    "Hence, the Wing King also chose the Finale Way but failed?" Zen asked inquisitively.


    "Yes, he failed." The Regal Jade Spirit sounded a little regretful. "He had been successful in finding the clues left behind by the first ruling civilization. He had also been able to find the way to realize the Godly Ways Great Unity. Ultimately, He still failed."


    "Hmm, the way to realize the Godly Ways Great Unity?" pondered Zen. As soon as he heard this, Zen became interested even more. The final solution to the Finale Way turned out to be the Godly Ways Great Unity.

 Chapter 3322 The Instant Civilization

    The Godly Ways Great Unity was the power source of the whole chaos.


    Everything in the chaos was formed by the Ways-blending Energy.


    When the chaos was created, the Ways-blending Energy was divided into 3, 000 kinds of power, which were known as the 3, 000 Godly Ways.


    A lot of powerhouses had mastered the 3, 000 Godly Ways, but up until now, no one had been able to fuse them all to form the Godly Ways Great Unity.


    Even so, Zen did not give up the Ways-blending Energy. However, in recent years, he had spent most of his time on the Other Shore and was too busy to attempt to fuse the Godly Ways.


    "This nonsense again? The 3, 000 Godly Ways have never been fused perfectly. I don''t think they''ll ever be fused!" No. 9527 told Zen firmly.


    Zen questioned the Regal Jade Spirit, "As far as I know, many people in the Source World practice the 3, 000 Godly Ways, but no one has succeeded in merging them into one. Even the Chaos Ancient Gods who had observed the Godly Ways Great Unity and mastered the truths couldn''t do it."


    "The Chaos Ancient Gods who had mastered the truths? Do you mean the Sons of Truth?" The Regal Jade Spirit smiled faintly. "The Sons of Truth were just some housekeepers after the chaos was created. The truths that they had mastered were defective."


    "The truths were defective? How is that possible?" Surprise was written all over Zen''s face.


    "No way! Nonsense! The truths are the most powerful forces in the chaos. How can there be flaws? Impossible!" No. 9527 shouted defensively from within Zen, unconvinced.


    The reason why the Chaos Ancient Gods were supreme in the chaos was that they each mastered an insurmountable truth that was above all the power. However, the Regal Jade Spirit actually said that the truths were defective. Naturally, it was difficult for No. 9527 to accept.


    The Regal Jade Spirit sneered, "I was a Son of Truth before; I had also mastered a truth. How could I speak nonsense?"


    "You had mastered a truth before?" Zen''s eyes widened in shock.


    "Yes, in the era when the 750th civilization, also known as the Grand Sky race, ruled the chaos, I was a Son of Truth, or what


    nt role.


    Although he was just being presented with an illusion, Zen could still feel its massive power.


    "So this is the perfect Ways-blending Energy? Is this the Godly Ways Great Unity?" Zen asked.


    He thought he knew the answer, but to his surprise, the Regal Jade Spirit continued, "We once thought that the Wing King had grasped the perfect Ways-blending Energy, but after the Regal Jade Civilization was destroyed, we realized that it was not perfect."


    If the Wing King had grasped the perfect Ways-blending Energy, the 749th chaos ruled by the Regal Jade Civilization would''ve lived on. It would not be punctured by that needle, and the Finale Way would have been realized.


    "It was still not perfect?" Zen exclaimed, at a total loss.


    "No. The Wing King made up for one flaw of the Ways-blending Energy. But there are still two flaws in it," the Regal Jade Spirit said. "So, we have been waiting for the right person to make up for the two flaws."


    "And who is the right person?" Zen asked curiously.


    "The one who has our Civilization Artifact," the Regal Jade Spirit answered bluntly.


    Zen glanced at Elvinia, who stood next to him. Her big eyes were bright and full of curiosity as she eagerly watched the colorful pictures that constantly changed in front of her.


    "You mean Elvinia?" Zen raised an eyebrow.


    "She..." the Regal Jade Spirit trailed off in hesitation. Then it said, "She can''t do it."

 Chapter 3323 Identification

    The Regal Jade Spirit quietly observed the two humans that stood before it.


    Although the Regal Jade race was vastly different from the human race, it could tell that Elvinia was not suitable to take charge of the Civilization Artifact.


    "We have been waiting for too long. It''s not the first time that creatures have come to visit us over the years," the Regal Jade Spirit sighed. "The one most suitable to control the Civilization Artifact is not a purified being, but someone who cultivates the Ways-blending Energy. You are not suitable for the role. So, please leave."


    The warriors at the Other Shore Realm in the thirteen stages of the Lust World were far from reaching the Chaotic Source Realm, so it was impossible for them to take the time to cultivate the Ways-blending Energy.


    Even in the Source World, only top-level masters of the super powers, like Fuxi and Chiyou, could master the 3, 000 Godly Ways.


    The members of the Regal Jade Civilization had been hiding in the Lust World, so it was impossible for them to find a suitable person.


    However, because they lived inside the Regal Jade City, they were immortal.


    It didn''t matter whether the chaos was destroyed or created; the Other Shore would not be affected.


    Hence, they were in no rush to select the person they wanted.


    Buzz!


    The moment the Regal Jade Spirit had finished speaking, Zen gathered the internal momentum in his inner world. A blazing white light shot out in front of the Regal Jade Spirit.


    "Is this the Ways-blending Energy you were talking about?" Zen asked with a smile.


    The Regal Jade Spirit was taken aback. At a glance, it made an accurate judgment. "2, 994 Godly Ways! You fused them?!"


    "Yes, you could say that," replied Zen calmly.


    Zen had been continuously fusing the Godly Ways in the divine land. However, the more progress he made, the more difficult it became. Moreover, he had been busy lately, so he had failed to make further progress.


    However, the Evil God had helped Zen a lot. It was easy for him to cultivate the Godly Ways that the Evil God had fused, so he was quickly able to fuse 2, 994 Godly Ways.


    "Interesting!" The Regal Jade Spirit eyed Zen from head to toe. "You are not a purified being. You stay in the Dark Region by eating Darkness Fruits, r


    de City.


    While the Regal Jade Civilization was very little known, by instinct, they could tell that this was something extraordinary. Thus, they decided to wait and lurk in the darkness.


    As soon as the Regal Jade Spirit lifted the illusion, the black monkeys rushed into the Regal Jade City and headed straight for the tower.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    The golden Sanskrit words shone on the yellow paper plastered on the bodies of three black monkeys.


    With the reinforcement of the light, each black monkey moved with astonishing power and speed.


    The black monkey in the lead launched itself directly onto Zen, trying to yank the Civilization Artifact out of his hand. Elvinia, who was standing next to Zen, bared her teeth angrily.


    She hated the pig-faced monsters and the black monkeys instinctively. She remembered previously, those monkeys had chased them all the way to the valley.


    "Go to hell!"


    she screamed with a murderous look.


    As she raised her hand, a bright light shot out towards the black monkeys.


    Whack!


    She managed to strike one of the black monkeys. The yellow paper on its body burst into flames.


    Unexpectedly, the yellow paper had blocked the light for a moment. The black monkey rushed to Zen with flames.


    Bang! Bang!


    The Civilization Artifact was knocked out of Zen''s hand. It plunged down from the tower.


    "It falls!"


    "We must get it!"


    The other two monkeys ignored their companion and immediately leapt off the tower to chase after the Civilization Artifact.

 Chapter 3324 How Dare You

    The Civilization Artifact plunged down from the top of the tower, followed by the two black monkeys chasing after it. Then, a hairy hand suddenly caught it.


    The owner of this large hand was a one-eyed monster, from another powerful force in the Dark Region.


    "Hey, hey..."


    The one-eyed monsters lurked in the dark, just like the black monkeys did. They had been observing everything that happened in the Regal Jade City. When they watched the black monkeys rush into the scene, they too rushed over anxiously.


    They didn''t expect that as soon as they entered the Regal Jade City, they saw something, flickering green light, falling down. It was a sheer coincidence that one of their members caught the mysterious falling object.


    This one-eyed monster was overjoyed. In its excitement, it didn''t even take the time to study the object up close. Instead, it just cried, "I''ve got it! Let''s go!"


    The rest of the monsters cheered and then followed closely behind. In no time, they dashed towards the outside of the Regal Jade City.


    "Stop there! One-eyed guy! How dare you!"


    Watching the one-eyed monsters recede in the distance, the two black monkeys cursed in fury.


    The three black monkeys were the elites stationed in the Stage Thirteen of the Other Shore. They had fostered a good working relationship with each other. But now, one of them had lost its life, only for their prize to be stolen by a herd of savage one-eyed monsters! How could they possibly be willing to accept that?


    "Phew!"


    Golden light flashed on the pieces of yellow paper on the two black monkeys. Jumping down from the tower like two shooting stars, they let fury fill their beady eyes as they chased after the one-eyed monsters.


    Zen, too, was furious. It had taken him a great deal to get his hands on that Civilization Artifact. But now, it had been taken away by others.


    "Elvinia! We must go after them!"


    Dragging Elvinia by the arm, he leapt off the tower.


    Elvinia had little interest in the Civilization Artifact. She didn''t even know what that thing meant. However, seeing Zen go after it like a madman, she felt like she wanted whatever Zen wanted.


    Meanwhile, the two black monkeys were steadily closing in on the one-eyed monsters. On a normal basis, the two group were of the same strength. However, with the Sanskrit words written on the yellow pape


    dators within the Stage Thirteen.


    But now, hundreds of thousands of them suddenly emerged.


    In the blink of an eye, the two black monkeys and the one-eyed monsters were devoured by the swarm of jade creatures.


    Even Zen felt fear as he watched the city suddenly come to life with formidable beasts. Elvinia, on the other hand, watched fearlessly.


    After all, no matter how many jade creatures came for her, she could destroy them all with just a single beam of light.


    After finishing off the creatures from the Dark Region, those jade creatures glanced at Zen indifferently, and then melted back into the Regal Jade City, as though nothing happened.


    As soon as they had settled back into their original places, Zen approached the Civilization Artifact and picked it up. "Didn''t you say that all the members of your race have fallen into a deep sleep?"


    "Hump... They are not qualified to be regarded as my members," the Regal Jade Spirit said indifferently.


    The Regal Jade Spirit, after all, was once the Son of Truth---a Chaos Ancient God! Those it regarded as members of its race must have been masters of the chaos.


    Zen once again tucked away the Civilization Artifact into Elvinia''s space ring, and together, they headed out. The two of them were walking along the road to the outside of the Regal Jade City, when suddenly, the ground beneath their feet began to tremble.


    "Rumble..."


    The huge Regal Jade City began to sink, and the black soil started flowing towards the center. Meanwhile, the black mud flowed back, forming a large, black pool.

 Chapter 3325 Expecting

    The creatures of the Dark Region were all in a cold sweat after seeing how the black monkeys and one-eyed monsters ended up.


    They had planned to risk everything to rush into the Regal Jade City.


    But these creatures were not as powerful as the black monkeys or the one-eyed monsters. They couldn''t just head inside, knowing how defenseless they were. All they could do now was to watch Zen and Elvinia leave.


    A single purified being was enough to defeat them, so they didn''t dare chase after the two.


    The Dark Region covered most of the Stage Thirteen area, with the extremely vast inner space.


    Initially, Zen thought about heading back along the mountain stream.


    But when Zen and Elvinia were chased by the black monkeys, they ran in a panic. After Elvinia destroyed a part of the mountain stream, they couldn''t find the path they followed earlier.


    As a purified being, Elvinia could travel through the Dark Region safely. So long as she moved in one direction throughout, she would find her way out of there.


    After climbing over a small hill, Zen felt the darkness around him growing heavier. The Darkness Fruit''s effect was about to wear off.


    "Elvinia, give me a Darkness Fruit," Zen called out to her.


    Instead of doing so, Elvinia waved her hand, making a ray of light envelop his head. With a smile, she said, "You won''t need any more of that fruit with this."


    The area the light covered was equal to the outside of the Dark Region. As it turned out, it was true that he didn''t need to take the Darkness Fruit.


    "Is it convenient?" Zen asked.


    To be on the safe side, it was still better to take the Darkness Fruit.


    But Elvinia snorted and uttered, "If you don''t want it, just leave by yourself!"


    He gave her a helpless look in response to her childish outburst.


    Although Elvinia was clearly a little mad, she was still less aloof than she used to be. She was even rather cute.


    The two rays of light slowly moved in the Dark Region. Wherever they went, they enveloped anything under them, looking like sharp knives forcefully digging ditches into the ground.


    The plants in the Dark Region disappeared instantly


    Bearing race, the latter lost several elites. They also lost the qualifications to enter the Grand Sky Temple. In the end, it turned out they escaped the dangers along with the Sun Crow race, the Divine Farmer race and the New Moon race.


    Now, it was time for them to stage a comeback.


    "Apart from the Souls of Light of the Bearing race, the Divine Farmer race, the New Moon race and the Sun Crow race, everyone must leave, now! Hurry up!" one of the members of the Bearing race shouted. Dozens of people laid the Soul Binding Threads on the ground nearby.


    The Soul Binding Threads covered the ground, looking like shiny blue grass.


    This time, there weren''t many super forces taking part in the opening of the Grand Sky Temple. The Separate Abyss race suffered great losses along with other powerful forces last time. Even though the ferocious Grand Sky Temple was tempting, not just anyone could explore it.


    Most of those gathered at the main gate of the Grand Sky Temple were the Souls of Light from small races.


    On the hillside opposite the Grand Sky Temple sat Dorothy, looking at the gate.


    She had waited like this for a long time.


    There were moments she saw Zen emerging from the temple, but she knew she was only imagining it as the door remained closed.


    This time, the Bearing race managed to obtain the Other Shore Key of the Grand Sky Temple. If they opened the door, would Zen jump out from the temple?

 Chapter 3326 She Was Spotted

    Although Dorothy knew that her wish was unrealistic and that there was a great possibility that she was waiting for nothing, she still chose to wait.


    Meanwhile, members of the Bearing race continuously arranged the Soul Binding Threads, and soon they reached the hillside.


    One of them glanced at Dorothy and remarked, "You have no business here! You should leave right now. If you get stuck to the Soul Binding Threads, we won''t help you!"


    Dorothy looked up at him and faintly replied, "It''s just to open the door of the Grand Sky Temple. What''s the big deal? Even the Ear Mice didn''t take precautions like that."


    Previously, when the Ear Mouse race opened the Grand Sky Temple''s door, they only sprayed some Soul Interdicting Water and then arranged a few restrictions. But now, the Bearing race was making a mountain out of a molehill.


    "Humph! Enough nonsense! Leave now, or we won''t be so kind!" A man from the Bearing race warned her moodily.


    It would be troublesome too if she got stuck to the Soul Binding Threads, as that would make it difficult for her to leave the Other Shore.


    At that moment, Dorothy''s heart was filled with resentment, but she couldn''t do anything because they outnumbered her. She was too wise to confront them where she would obviously lose, so she reluctantly stood up and prepared to leave.


    This time, Dorothy chose to make a concession. Usually, Souls of Light would go their ways and would avoid interfering with others. After all, it was difficult to identify Souls of Light on the Other Shore, as they were all blurred in appearances.


    But one man from the Bearing race had been observing Dorothy from head to toe. And when their eyes met, a glimmer of light flashed across his eyes.


    The day that the Ear Mice opened the door of the Grand Sky Temple, that man had also been present. He had seen Dorothy, as she fought with Haider and spent most of her time with Zen.


    Although he hadn''t seen Dorothy''s appearance before, he was sure that it was her, as she had the same figure, soul aura, and voice!


    In the battle outside the Grand Sky Temple, the Bearing race had fought with the Oneness Sky Palace, and even before that, they had already fought against each other several times on the Other Shore.


    When the Bearing race noticed the strong corporeal body of Zen, they began to make plans to end his life.


    They were confident that although Zen''s body seemed invincible, and even if he had an upper hand against the Souls of Light, they could still find a way to deal with him.


    However, Zen never came back after he entered the Dark Region. And so, the Bearing race had no choice but to sit tight and wait for their chance.


    Of cours


    These Souls of Light had all reached the thirteenth stage of the Other Shore Realm, so their cultivation was not much inferior to Dorothy''s. They chased after her wherever she went, without the slightest intention of giving up.


    Dorothy cursed once again in her mind. At this rate, she would be caught sooner or later.


    "It doesn''t matter who you are, just surrender! Don''t waste our time!"


    "We just want the body! If you help us catch the guy, we will let you go!"


    "You know you can''t escape. Why don''t you make this easier for yourself and surrender?"


    Dorothy snorted at all the voices, then she taunted them confidently, "Let''s see if you can catch me!"


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Three small soul swords shot out from her Necklace of Mystic Soul, and they flew towards the Souls of Light at an incredible speed, leaving white trails in the air.


    The two Souls of Light of the Bearing race who had been talking to her were right on her toes. And because they were so close, they had no time to dodge the soul swords. Before they could scream, the small soul swords pierced them, and they were severely injured.


    "She is so strong!"


    "Be careful!"


    The scene shocked the other members of the Bearing race so greatly that some of them couldn''t even talk.


    Instead, soundless gasps escaped their mouths, as they witnessed their members getting hurt.


    They were right to be surprised, as Dorothy''s Soul of Light had already surpassed her peers. She had been able to compete with the top Souls of Light in the thirteenth stage with the help of the Necklace of Mystic Soul.


    But although they were frightened by her power, none of them retreated. They stood their ground, confident that they were stronger because they outnumbered her. Thus, they persevered and trailed her.

 Chapter 3327 Into The Dark Region

    Dorothy continuously activated the Necklace of Mystic Soul, forcing it to its maximum power, as she retreated.


    She was heading towards the opposite direction from the entrance of the Grand Sky Temple. Up ahead, the Dark Region waited for her.


    Even though she knew she would die once she reached the Dark Region, right now, she had no choice but to keep running.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    She heard the little soul swords slashing from behind her. Suddenly, a clanging noise wrung through the air.


    Dorothy, startled at the noise, turned to look over her shoulder.


    To her surprise, a shining golden hand firmly held the blade of one of the soul swords.


    "The Golden Body race?" Dorothy felt her heart sink.


    While there were many native races in these thirteen stages on the Other Shore, the Golden Body race was one of the most powerful.


    The Golden Body race looked very similar to the human race in both figure and height.


    However, the main difference was that their bodies were made of pure, luminescent gold. Consequently, they were much more powerful than other ordinary creatures on the Other Shore.


    To Dorothy''s despair, the man from the Golden Body race had actually stopped her soul sword with his bare hand.


    Clap!


    With little effort, the man of gold crushed the soul sword. Then, in a strange, tinny voice, he said, "Young human girl, you''d better stop resisting. I don''t want to make things difficult for you, but we have agreed to help the Bearing race."


    From behind the man, Dorothy could see dozens more of the Golden Body race standing calmly.


    Dorothy''s mind whirled. She was alone. Even all the Souls of Light from the Oneness Sky Palace in Stage Thirteen couldn''t defeat so many creatures on the Other Shore.


    Even now, Dorothy was not concerned about her own safety. Desperately, she summoned another soul sword from the Necklace of Mystic Soul.


    She had reached her limit at this point.


    "Why did you agree to help the Bearing race?" Dorothy asked coldly, trying to buy some time.


    To persuade an entire race from the Other Shore to help another race, the reward must


    '' Dorothy turned around, facing her chasers.


    Ever since she met Zen, she had encountered many dangers on the Other Shore. However, each time, Zen had saved her. This time, now that he wasn''t by her side, she knew she didn''t stand a chance.


    "Young girl, don''t step back. You''d die," said Ajay. "Don''t worry. You won''t die at our hands!"


    After all, their goal was only to hold Dorothy as hostage till Zen showed up. They needed her alive.


    "But I''m afraid that I''ll suffer bitterly," Dorothy retorted, shaking her head.


    As she spoke, she took another step backward, toward the Dark Region.


    "Are you sure about that?"


    Ajay laughed. While Dorothy had been lost in her thoughts, he suddenly closed the distance and grabbed her by the arm. Dorothy snapped back to reality. ''Huh? Wasn''t he still a few steps away from me?''


    Dorothy panicked. How could she have been so stupid!


    Suddenly, a white light flashed from the Dark Region. A hand reached out from the light and grabbed Dorothy, yanking her into the Dark Region.


    Phew!


    Ajay jumped back in surprise, letting go of Dorothy. He broke out a cold sweat.


    "Damn it!" he cursed.


    The others behind him shook their heads in disappointment. They never expected that this young woman from the Oneness Sky Palace would be so fiercely determined. They couldn''t believe she was willing to run into the Dark Region just to escape their clutches.

 Chapter 3328 Leaving The Dark Region

    "What was that white light just now?" a Soul of Light from the Bearing race inquired in visible confusion.


    When Dorothy fell into the Dark Region, they had all witnessed a strong flash of light appear before their eyes. It was rather unusual to experience such a light in the Dark Region.


    Even though Ajay was from the Other Shore, he didn''t know the answer to this question. They didn''t know much more about the Dark Region than the Souls of Light.


    "I have no clue," Ajay replied as he laughed spitefully. "Since that little girl is dead, all we can do is wait. If that physical body is still alive, it will appear sooner or later!"


    Ajay said as he clenched his fists with a vicious fighting spirit fuming in his eyes.


    The Bearing race was willing to offer such a high reward that even the Golden Body race was unable to refuse. On the other hand, the description they gave of that strong body piqued Ajay''s interest. The Golden Body race was easily tempted by the thought of battling different mighty warriors, and Ajay was no exception.


    Enveloped in the white light, Dorothy sat stunned on the ground. She was convinced she had not survived the fall.


    She didn''t even understand how she was dragged into the Dark Region. Recalling back to what had just happened to her, she remembered taking a step back before she was wrapped in the rays of white light.


    Staring at the pure white light, Dorothy kept herself composed. "Why didn''t I feel any pain when I died..."


    As she looked more closely, she noticed a person emerge from the white light. It was hard to make out the appearance under the influence of the overwhelming light. Even so, in a single glance, she had recognized him to be Zen. Accompanying Zen on the Other Shore for such a long time, she had kept his image in her mind. She could never mistake him to be someone else!


    But she kept her emotions in check even at the sight of Zen. She had heard that people would often hallucinate things that didn''t exist in reality after they died. Maybe she missed Zen too much for her to see him in front of her like this.


    "Still in a daze, huh?" Zen chuckled as he walked up to Dorothy, with a sweet smile smeared across his face. He waved his hands in front of her jokingly.


    "What?" Dorothy was muddled. At this moment, she noticed Elvinia standing beside Zen.


    Instinctively her brows arched up in confusion.


    Why would she hallucinate Elvinia, even though she only had Zen on her mind?


    Moreover, she was able to see Elvinia''s face as clear as day.


    She wasn''t on good terms with Elvinia, then why was it that she hallucinated her of all people?


    "Zen, is she stupid?" Elvinia asked as she giggled while glancing at Dorothy''s puzzle


    felt like a dream to her.


    Since Zen was capable of moving freely in the Dark Region, he could leave it when he wished too.


    Even after all her attempts to persuade him to stay, they were to no avail. Zen looked back at her and sneered confidently. "I''d like to witness this power for myself."


    As he finished his words, he took a step out of the Dark Region. Just like before, a ray of white light flashed through the darkness, and Zen had already made his way out of the Dark Region.


    Outside, Ajay had no interest to stay and study the white light. He turned to the members of his race and asked them to leave with him. Meanwhile, the Souls of Light of the Bearing race and the Divine Farmer race were engrossed in a heated discussion on what the light indicated.


    The white light didn''t disappear. They were still able to make out a faintly visible white shadow through the darkness, but they failed to figure out what it was supposed to be.


    At this moment, the white light became brighter and brighter with time. Suddenly, they all saw a person emerging from it.


    The human Souls of Light that stood fascinated by the view, were left shocked. They yelled in confusion and started to retreat frantically.


    With confident steps, the person approached them and said with a smirk across his face, "I heard that you were waiting for me in front of the Grand Sky Temple?"


    Ajay, who was preparing to leave, turned his head when he heard the voice from behind. As soon as his gaze fell on Zen''s physical body, he was unable to take his eyes off of him. He tilted his head and began to study it carefully.


    Human...


    Blurry face...


    An aura that was different from that of the Souls of Light...


    Ajay immediately believed this person to be the corporeal body the Bearing race had told him about!

 Chapter 3329 The Limit Of The Light Region

    "It''s him!"


    "He''s actually escaped the Dark Region!"


    "Back off!"


    Zen''s physical power was no secret to the members of the Bearing race.


    He''d even bested the mighty Haider. Zen smashed the man into dust when he hit him. His foe was not strong enough to defend himself.


    The Souls of Light were like ants to Zen. He could squash them underfoot without half a thought. They were too weak to stand a chance against him.


    The Souls of Light retreated one after another, while the members of the Golden Body race, led by Ajay, came forward.


    "Not them," said Ajay, looking at the fleeing Souls of Light in disdain. "It''s me that was waiting for you."


    Zen looked at Ajay. The Golden Body race was truly worthy of its reputation. Ajay''s body was made of gold, and it was obviously extremely strong.


    "I have no quarrel with you. If this is about the Bearing race, you might want to rethink this. You can''t defeat me," Zen said in a low growl.


    "Hahaha..." Ajay rested his chin in his hand, and his grin became even wider. "So arrogant. I''m from the Other Shore, and outsiders aren''t even worth mentioning in my eyes. You''re doomed!"


    With that, he suddenly stretched out his arms, and the muscles rippled under the pure gold. A powerful aura emanated from the figure.


    When the other members of the Golden Body race saw this, as one they all let out a deafening cheer.


    They were going to hang back. Ajay could defeat Zen all on his own. He didn''t need their help.


    Sensing Ajay''s strong aura, Zen soothed his soul and remained calm. He smiled and said, "Actually, I have a question."


    Ajay stared at Zen and asked, "Oh really? And what might that be?"


    "If you are willing to become an Other Shore Token, how much Other Shore Power can you release?" Zen asked.


    A living creature could also become an Other Shore Token. No doubt, they were much stronger than ordinary Other Shore Tokens. But those tokens would lose their freedom. They had to work for their owners. That was absolutely humiliating.


    When the Wild Gods found the Other Shore, they often enslaved the inhabitants, like the Golden Body race, and made them into Other Shore Tokens. But the denizens of the Other Shore had become more powerful since then, so


    usand feet, as Zen kept retreating.


    "Roar! Roar! Roar!"


    "Why do you keep avoiding him? Retreat is not an option for a warrior!"


    "Coward!"


    The members of the Golden Body race cheered Ajay and mocked Zen. They thought if Ajay hit Zen, his terrifying power would mash him into a puddle of goo. But Zen was so quick that Ajay couldn''t harm a hair on his head.


    "Hey, guys! Why don''t you gang up on him?"


    "You promised our race, don''t you remember?"


    "¡­"


    Watching the battle, the people of the Bearing race grew quite anxious. They felt that it was too difficult for Ajay to take down Zen alone, so there was no need for a fair fight. They''d have their pound of flesh, even if they had to be considered shameful.


    However, the members of the Golden Body race were all about integrity and honor, so they didn''t care about what the Bearing race suggested.


    When there were few places left to stand, Ajay was finally exhausted. He''d cloven away most of the solid ground. He stood and gasped.


    Zen grinned and said, "Now it''s my turn."


    Before Ajay could react, Zen had transformed into a gust of wind and rushed toward him.


    Zen was weak in the Dark Region, but in the Light Region, he feared no one.


    Bang!


    Zen flew straight at Ajay. At the last minute, he led with his elbow and struck the warrior full in the chest.


    The blow seemed weak, but it was actually massively powerful. Before Ajay could react, he felt a dull pain in his chest and had been flung backward.

 Chapter 3330 The Light

    While Ajay flew backward, Zen followed him, and timed his next punch just right.


    Ajay tried to regain his footing, so he could stop himself after being knocked back. But Zen''s punch stopped him from doing that. He tried to catch Zen''s fist, but Zen altered his fist''s trajectory and hit him in the face.


    If it were any other creature, this punch would have shattered its skull.


    However, Ajay''s bone structure was dense. He was fairly powerful, so Zen kept hammering away with his fists.


    "Dong!"


    "Dong!"


    "Dong!"


    With three strong punches, Zen smashed Ajay into the big pit at the precipice of the Dark Region.


    But the Golden Body race was indeed tough. Even though he''d taken a lot of damage, Ajay''s breath control was unaffected. But, no matter. They knew who had won this time. Ajay said dejectedly, "I admit defeat."


    Zen looked down at him in the pit and said, "You''re not worth the trouble it would take to slay you¡ªI''ll spare your life, this time."


    A serious look suddenly appeared on Ajay''s face. He said, "You are a brave man to defeat me. Makes me sorry I have to do this. I respect you, but I promised the Bearing race you would die."


    As soon as he finished speaking, a golden bone appeared in his hand. It looked like a rib. Then, without another word, he plunged it into his chest.


    "Howl!" A dazzling golden light burst from Ajay''s eyes, and his momentum soared once more!


    So engrossed in what was going on, the members of the Golden Body race took a bit to notice something strange. The six members also held golden bones. They stabbed these bones into their chests and roared. Their momentum went sky high as well.


    The Golden Body race was one of the strongest races of Stage Thirteen. Not only did they have the golden hammer, they also had 22 Golden Battle Bones.


    Before the chaos where they lived was destroyed, the hammer transformed them, so they all possessed a golden body. The hammer was certain it couldn''t escape the disaster, so it disintegrated its body. After that, it sent its arm and leg bones and ribs to the Other Shore.


    Once the Golden Body race stabbed themselves with the Golden Battle Bone, it would give them great power almost instantly, but only for


    man.


    "Who is she?"


    "Is she from the Other Shore? Or the Dark Region? She''s a human!"


    "What a stunning woman! She''s the hottest girl I''ve ever seen!"


    Elvinia was clad in clothes woven of light, her long legs bare. Her delicate features had a touch of innocence. Everyone could feel her aura, an aura of a unique and extraordinary charm.


    She drew everyone''s gaze. From the Bearing race to the Divine Farmer race. But she was about to stun everyone with what she said next.


    Her voice was loud and clear as she addressed Zen. "I''m here to help you!"


    When the warriors who were busy surrounding Zen saw Elvinia, their faces darkened. Was this woman a denizen of the Other Shore? Or did she come from the Dark Region? None of those combatants were happy.


    Then, everyone saw Elvinia gently wave her finger, and an ethereal voice rang in their ears, saying, "Great Sanskrit Light!"


    "Buzz..."


    A thin light column spread to engulf everything, and the environment turned incandescent. Everyone was blinded by this. Their surroundings, and everything in their vision was a bright white.


    When the light dissipated, their vision returned to normal.


    The Souls of Light from the Bearing race, the Divine Farmer race and the Sun Crow race were still shivering, while those from the Golden Body race looked confused.


    The bright light was indeed astonishing, but it did not harm anyone.


    That woman shone her light on others.


    What kind of theurgy was she using?

 Chapter 3331 The Power Of The Purified Being

    The Souls of Light of the Bearing race, the Divine Farmer race, and other races


    eyed each other up from all directions to find that they were not injured by the strike!


    Although the light gave off an intimidating vibe, it lacked the required potential to cause significant harm.


    In a state of confusion, Elvinia stared hard at her palms to make sense of the situation.


    "This isn''t the Dark Region!" Zen reminded her with a morose expression etched across his face.


    The light released by Elvinia was a form of energy. Instead of harming the creatures of the Light Region, it was aimed at the Dark Region. As a result, the beings of the Light Region remained unharmed.


    Unfortunately, when Elvinia unleashed her light, Dorothy and the Dark Region were unlucky enough to be caught in the crossfire.


    The light made its way behind Elvinia and caused a mountain in the Dark Region to be reduced to dust. Even though Dorothy was under the protection of the light, the mountain below her feet crumpled to the ground and caused her to fall.


    Fortunately, the beam of light quickly responded to her predicament. It enveloped her vertically and protected her.


    "Is this woman serious, or is she joking with us?"


    "Does she really believe she could kill people with her insignificant light? It''s laughable."


    "Such a waste of a pretty face. She''s practically brainless¡­"


    Once they realized Elvinia''s attack was powerless against them, they regained their lost vitality and began to taunt her.


    Not wanting to give Zen enough time to concoct a strategy, Ajay and the others attempted to launch another attack towards him.


    Overhearing all the mockery directed to her, Elvinia tilted her head and asked indifferently, "Brainless?"


    As she said this, she made her way towards Zen with a dark shadow hovering over her face. When she was only a few feet away from him, she gently tapped her snow-white feet on the ground. As a result, the ground was unable to withstand her strength and cracked under pressure. At the same time, the speed at which she flew in his direction increased considerably!


    "Whoosh!"


    She became so agile that it was difficult for anyone to read her movements. Within a split second, she had caught up with the members of the Golden Body race. In an infuriated state, she reached out her hand and grabbed ahold of one of them.


    The adrenaline rushed through the body of the Golden Body member due to the stimulation of his Golden Battle Bone, which made him launch numerous frantic attacks at Zen. Suddenly, he felt a bone-chilling touch on his shoulder. As he turned to look, he saw it was Elvinia''s hand.


    Before he could react, he felt a frightening force coming from her hand. It was so powerful that he couldn''t resist it with his Golden Battle Bone. He began to lose consciousness and was directly thrown into the Dark Region.


    "Sizz, sizz..."


    The creatures of the Light Region were restricted to enter t


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    with fear.


    When Zen destroyed the temple of the Bearing race last time, they had suffered an incalculable loss.


    The warriors of the Bearing race were given strict orders to kill Zen at first sight in Stage Thirteen. Even so, they secretly hoped they didn''t get a chance to encounter him. They had pinned their hopes on Zen leaving the Lust World, upon passing Stage Thirteen.


    As long as Zen stayed in the Lust World, the Bearing race would not be able to turn the tables in their favor.


    "Humph! If you even think of touching our temple, we will tear down the Oneness Sky Palace." A man from the Bearing race mustered up the courage to throw the threat back at Zen.


    "Yes! If the Oneness Sky Palace were destroyed, your life would become the living example of a stray dog!" a member of the Sun Crow race said.


    "You can only act as tough as you do on the Other Shore," a man from the Divine Farmer race uttered.


    The Oneness Sky Palace had never pronounced Zen officially as their disciple. They also expressed their unfamiliarity with him on many occasions.


    However, all of this had proven the fact that the relationship between Zen and the Oneness Sky Palace was special.


    If the situation were to get out of hand, the Bearing race would attack the Oneness Sky Palace.


    "None of you gets to decide when the Bearing race would attack the Oneness Sky Palace." As Zen spoke, he shook his head disapprovingly. He tossed a stone upwards with his toe and reached out to catch it. With a gentle force, he crushed it into minuscule particles in front of them. "So don''t talk nonsense right at my face. Now, get out of here before I change my mind."


    With Zen''s strength, if he were to throw these particles at the Souls of Light, he could crush them in an instant.


    Witnessing a tiny spectacle of Zen''s power, the Souls of Light were stunned. They didn''t dare stay a minute longer and rushed away all at once after reciting the Illusion Breaking Rune.

 Chapter 3332 Fusing

    It was known that without certain things like the Soul Binding Thread, it was difficult to kill the Souls of Light.


    Luckily, the Souls of Light who threatened Zen weren''t anyone truly important, so he naturally didn''t bother to waste his time on dealing with them. He had more important things to do.


    After the Souls of Light disappeared, Elvinia came out of the Dark Region with Dorothy in tow. Then, the three of them walked towards the entrance of the Grand Sky Temple.


    The Bearing race were almost finished with all the preparation work in front of the Grand Sky Temple. Today, they would open the temple if everything went according to the plan.


    However, the most recent thing that had just happened was a shock to all the members of various races. The Souls of Light of the Bearing race, Sun Crow race, and Divine Farmer race all had left. Only the Souls of Light from some small races decided to stay and watch what would happen next.


    "These people escaped fast," Zen said with a shake of his head.


    After Zen had walked around the Grand Sky Temple once, he asked Dorothy and Elvinia to wait for a while. He wanted to return to the Other Shore with his Soul of Light. When the two ladies had settled down, his physical body disappeared from the Other Shore.


    "Where is Zen? Is he gone?" Elvinia asked in confusion.


    Dorothy looked at Elvinia helplessly and replied, "He has left the Other Shore."


    "Left the Other Shore?" Elvinia thought for a while and seemed to understand what had happened. "Will he come back then?"


    "Of course he will," Dorothy said firmly.


    Zen''s body and soul were separated on the Other Shore. Sometimes, he needed to switch between the two forms.


    Before he had entered the Grand Sky Temple, he had left his Soul of Light at the Grand Sky Temple''s entrance. Right now, he was probably planning to return to the Other Shore with his Soul of Light.


    A few moments later, he had finally gotten out of the Other Shore. His eyelids fluttered slightly before fully opening, after which he saw a scene in the room on the second floor.


    Not far away was Dorothy who sat with her legs crossed, and Elvinia.


    Sadness hung like a thick cloud over Margaret and Letitia, who stood in the corner of the room. Letitia in particular looked much thinner than before, as they had been worrying about Zen every day and night.


    He couldn''t help but feel the stab of pain in his heart as he watched them quietly.


    Fortunately, he already came out of the Dark Region and would return soon. He couldn''t let Dorothy and Elvinia wait too long now.


    As Zen thought of it, he activated the Truth of Godly Way and returned to the Other Shore with his Soul of Light.


    "Eh?" Letitia mumbled.


    She felt the truth aura that emanated from Zen, but it was quite faint.


    A soft sigh escape


    In the end, the Souls of Light just retreated and watched them from afar instead.


    Meanwhile, Zen had successfully entered the Dark Region. His eyes cautiously scanned his new surroundings.


    The creatures in the Dark Region were afraid of the Light Region, and had no desire to approach it. Fortunately, the edges of the area were already desolate, so he didn''t need to worry about being attacked by the creatures of the Dark Region. Even if he did get attacked, he still could escape to the Light Region with the candle.


    After Zen had placed the candle on the ground and got ready, he asked Elvinia to hand over the Civilization Artifact to him.


    It was important for him to remember that the Regal Jade Spirit had also warned him to prevent exposing the Civilization Artifact to the Light Region.


    Even if the Civilization Artifact was extremely solid, it would still be hard for it to withstand the light from the Light Region because the light could extinguish it in a short amount of time.


    On the other hand, the light of the candle could also corrode the Civilization Artifact, but the candlelight''s energy wasn''t that strong, so the Civilization Artifact could still withstand it.


    After Zen had taken over the Civilization Artifact, his Soul of Light activated the Truth of Cultivation Nature, then slowly fused the Civilization Artifact with his Soul of Light.


    Before, he was a little worried and afraid that the Truth of Cultivation Nature and the Civilization Artifact would clash with each other. Now that he was proven wrong and the Civilization Artifact was successfully fused into his body, he realized that his anxiety was totally unnecessary.


    Yet, merging with it was only the first step. The next step was to make his inner world carry the Civilization Artifact, and only then would he be considered to have truly possessed this Other Shore Token.

 Chapter 3333 Mess

    After merging with the Civilization Artifact, Zen headed for the other end of the Other Shore with Elvinia and Dorothy.


    Dorothy had been confused, but she decided it was better not to ask questions. Instead, she meekly followed Zen''s lead.


    Once they made it to the other end of the Other Shore, Zen went straight to the auction house of the Ear Mice.


    There, he found them moping desolately; they had even stopped the auction. They took a hard blow when they opened the Grand Sky Temple for exploration last time, which lowered their morale considerably.


    When Dorothy emerged from the Grand Sky Temple, she had returned the Souls of Light of the Ear Mice to them. Nobody knew how the latter would help the said Souls of Light withdraw from the Other Shore.


    Upon seeing Zen and Dorothy approaching, the Ear Mice perked up a little.


    However, when they saw Elvinia with them, they were all surprised. Their whiskers wiggled in curiosity.


    Eager to know more about this elegant lady''s background, they pestered Zen with countless questions about her. But Zen refused to answer, and Elvinia herself ignored them as well.


    Then, Zen had cut to the chase. He told them why they were really there: to remove the Soul Binding Thread from Dorothy. To his pleasant surprise, the Ear Mice cooperated enthusiastically.


    While the Soul Binding Thread was quite troublesome, there were multiple ways to remove it. The Ear Mice took out a mysterious liquid and sprinkled some on Dorothy. After they waited for around an hour, the Soul Binding Thread gradually disappeared.


    Zen tried to pay the Ear Mice with soul pills, but they firmly refused.


    Although they had failed in the exploration of the Grand Sky Temple, the Ear Mice thought it would be good if they made friends with Zen.


    In their eyes, Zen was the spokesperson of Thad. Whether they were one and the same person, it didn''t matter. What was important was that the Ear Mice could communicate with Thad through Zen.


    The Ear Mice gently reminded Zen that when the Bearing race tried to buy information from them about Zen''s body, they had refused.


    While the reputation of the Ear Mice wasn''t great, Zen believed them.


    After all, he knew they were only after communication with Thad. To the Ear Mice, the benefits that Thad


    .


    Dorothy had also woken up at this point. Opening her eyes to this scene, she felt a little awkward.


    She had stayed in the Flow Sword Sect for a while, so she knew about Zen''s wives. However, even then, she felt a little depressed watching him coddle them.


    "Hey, why are you hugging him?" Elvinia''s cold voice cut through the air.


    Her memory was still jumbled up; she didn''t remember anything about the Oneness Sky Palace. In fact, Zen was the only thing she was sure of.


    Seeing Letitia and Margaret in Zen''s arms, Elvinia narrowed her eyes in irritation.


    Letitia gave her a funny look, but didn''t answer.


    On the other hand, Margaret glared at Elvinia in disgust. In her eyes, this was the woman who had put Zen through all that trouble on the Other Shore. Actually, he had almost died there! How dare Elvinia question her haughtily?


    "So, what if I hug him? Zen is my husband!" Margaret said indignantly.


    Elvinia blinked slowly, as if ruminating the meaning of the word "husband". Then, as though it suddenly dawned on her, her eyes flashed and she suddenly yanked Zen towards her. "From now on, he is my husband. You are not allowed to touch him."


    Margaret''s jaw dropped dumbfoundedly. She looked at Elvinia as though she was an idiot.


    On the other hand, Letitia was very perceptive. She sensed something was off with Elvinia. Turning to Zen with inquisitive eyes, she silently asked him for an explanation.


    Dorothy buried her face in her hands and sighed helplessly. This truly was such a mess.

 Chapter 3334 Token Bearing

    Without wasting any time, Flamine rushed over from the Phoenix Palace. When she saw Elvinia had already woken up, she broke into tears of joy.


    She immediately walked towards Elvinia and embraced her. At this point, Elvinia spoke. In a cold voice she asked, "Who are you? Why are you hugging me? Do I know you?"


    Flamine was stunned by this reaction. She looked at Elvinia and with a questioning look upon her face, she turned to Zen.


    A little while ago, Zen had already explained what happened to Letitia and the others. Now, he had to recount the events for Flamine''s sake.


    "While we were in the Dark Region, a purified being occupied Elvinia''s soul," Zen instantly told Flamine.


    Surprisingly, Flamine responded to this very calmly. "I am aware of it," she said.


    "You know about it?" Zen asked. He was thoroughly intrigued.


    Flamine nodded. "The purified being in the Dark Region actually wanted to take Elvinia''s soul away. However, I was able to kill him."


    After hearing that, Zen finally saw the whole picture. He now understood what had truly happened.


    Previously, he had been wondering about why Teague had failed to take Elvinia''s soul, since his soul was so much stronger than hers.


    Zen thought that Elvinia would die when she fell into the tomb. Much to his surprise, she became a purified being instead!


    "What happened after that?" Flamine asked. She was obviously still confused as she brought her gaze back to Elvinia.


    "Elvinia emerged as she is right now. She has become a purified being and has obtained a new body on the Other Shore. She is now very powerful," Zen replied while staring at Elvinia as well.


    With that, a hint of surprise streaked across Flamine''s face. She was aware that this would be too troublesome because there was a huge disturbance in Elvinia''s soul. Moreover, she didn''t know what would happen next. No one had ever experienced something like this before.


    "Do you know how strong she is now? Is she stronger than you?" Flamine asked curiously and looked at Zen.


    "She''s a lot stronger and powerful than my body. There is no one in Stage Thirteen that can defeat her. In addition to that, she is able to kill any creature in the Dark Region in an instant," Zen admitted as he stared back at her.


    Elvinia''s physical body on the Other Shore was already far stronger than Zen''s. He didn''t know whether she could stand against the three-eyed boy and the giant ape. But even if they were stronger than Elvinia, she had the ability to activate the Great Sanskrit Light. The creatures in the Dark Region had no power to fight back under the light.


    "Will she be able to leave Stage Thirteen?" Flamine continued to ask once more.


    A purified being was a creature from the Other Shore. They usually inhabit


    is was the effect of that terrifying Other Shore Power.


    Compared to that, it was much quieter when he merged with the Civilization Artifact.


    It also looked as though the Civilization Artifact was just an ordinary diamond-shaped handicraft.


    Nevertheless, the entire Thousand Sanskrit Land trembled the moment it appeared.


    Buzz!


    The Sanskrit words were bathed in golden light as they began to flash.


    A hundred and four Sanskrit words lit up all over the Thousand Sanskrit Land when the Truth of Goodwill and Malice merged with the Eye of Will.


    And then, a hundred and forty Sanskrit words lit up during the time that the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent merged with the Strength God Totem.


    This time, however, a total of three hundred and sixty-six Sanskrit words lit up when the Truth of Cultivation Nature merged with the Civilization Artifact!


    Swish!


    With each Sanskrit word that shone, a chain would stretch out.


    And so, three hundred and sixty-six chains shot out. Afterwards, these chains had wrapped around the Civilization Artifact.


    "Hmm. It''s possible that the Civilization Artifact is not considered as an Other Shore Token from the Lust World," Zen murmured as he looked at the Civilization Artifact nearby.


    In principle, the Other Shore Tokens found in the Lust World could be applied to the Hundred Sanskrit Land regardless of how powerful they were. Take the Strength God Totem for example. It was an Other Shore Token from Stage Thirteen that only needed a hundred and forty Sanskrit words to bear it.


    "Haha..." Zen suddenly heard a soft laughter.


    It was the Regal Jade Spirit that laughed. The sound came from the Civilization Artifact. It said, "This is the result of us hiding in Stage Thirteen and being suppressed by the rules. Otherwise, even the Thousand Sanskrit Land might fail to bear it."

 Chapter 3335 The Blood Essence Godly Way

    In fact, it was possible for creatures in upper stages on the Other Shore to enter lower stages.


    However, they had to pay a high price for this and their strength would be limited by the rules of the stages.


    The Regal Jade Civilization was superior to many other civilizations. Naturally, its members were by no means weak.


    If its members were allowed to use their powers untethered, Zen wouldn''t stand a chance. Just the power of a Regal Jade Bug alone could kill Zen instantly without using any poison.


    Zen gritted his teeth. He felt the chains straining.


    Just as he thought he would make it, he suddenly heard a loud crack. One of the chains had snapped!


    Crack!


    Crack!


    Crack!


    Just as the first chain broke, the others followed suit. In the blink of an eye, eight chains had snapped.


    Zen knitted his brows in frustration. Previously, it had been extremely smooth for him to merge with the Eye of Will and the Strength God Totem. He hadn''t expected that merging with the Civilization Artifact would have any hitches.


    Once the chains broke, the Sanskrit words on the other side dimmed slightly.


    "What''s going on?" Zen frowned.


    "Your Thousand Sanskrit Land is not solid enough," the Regal Jade Spirit explained.


    "What? It''s not solid enough?" Zen echoed in shock.


    He remembered that ever since he built the Thousand Sanskrit Land, almost everyone who encountered it had thought it was solid.


    If his Thousand Sanskrit Land wasn''t solid enough, the ones built by the people with the same cultivation base as him might even be worse.


    "Let me help you," the Regal Jade Spirit said graciously.


    It used to be the Son of Truth. Moreover, the Civilization Artifact itself was very special and needed to be handled with care.


    Even if Zen managed to successfully merge with it, he wouldn''t be able to control it fully. The Regal Jade Spirit was bound to the Civilization Artifact, and could also control it.


    Whoosh!


    The Civilization Artifact floating in the air suddenly flashed a cyan light. In a flash, the light transformed into cyan chains. The chains coiled around the Civilization Artifact and then extended to the edge of Zen''s inner world, effectively merging with the Sanskrit words.


    The golden chains created by Sanskrit words conti


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    flaws, and the Blood Essence Godly Way is one of them. Are the other two flaws also Godly Ways?" Zen guessed.


    The Regal Jade Spirit just smiled. "If it were that simple, the Godly Ways Great Unity would have been perfected a long time ago. Although I don''t know what the other two flaws are, they most probably aren''t Essence Powers, or what you''d call, Godly Ways."


    Zen pursed his lips, realizing his mistake.


    The members of the Regal Jade Civilization had done everything in their power to try to find the other two flaws. How could he have been so bold to think he could figure it out on his own?


    After a moment of silence, another thought crossed Zen''s mind. "What kind of Other Shore Token is the Civilization Artifact? The descending type? The strengthening type? Or the mysterious type?"


    Realizing the Regal Jade Spirit''s evident confusion, Zen briefly explained the types. Finally, the Regal Jade Spirit replied, "The Civilization Artifact has all the qualities you just listed. Here, I will teach you how to use it."


    Meanwhile, as Zen and the Regal Jade Spirit talked, Geoffrey was standing on top of a palace, his gaze turned towards the sky.


    The moment the Civilization Artifact appeared in Zen''s inner world, Geoffrey knew that his father brought back something strange.


    After the chains disappeared, the huge blood red Sanskrit word appearing in the sky immediately caught Geoffrey''s attention. With curiosity, he studied it, trying to figure out the meaning of this mysterious Sanskrit word.

 Chapter 3336 The Disintegrated Sanskrit Word

    The last time Geoffrey deciphered two Sanskrit words of the Truth Enlightenment, he had suffered a lot. So, he understood not all Sanskrit words could be deciphered easily.


    However, when he saw this unique blood-red Sanskrit word floating in the sky, he still could not suppress his curiosity.


    As he was trying to interpret it, the Sanskrit word suddenly began to tremble, and the blood red energy suddenly dispersed into the air like a vapor.


    Zen and the Regal Jade Spirit were deep in discussion, so they didn''t expect the Sanskrit word to act up like this.


    "Eh?" The Regal Jade Spirit grunted confusedly. "Someone is interpreting this Sanskrit word. Is there a decipherer in your inner world?"


    There were some creatures in the Regal Jade Civilization responsible for interpreting Sanskrit words, called "decipherers".


    In Zen''s inner world, the sole person who could decipher Sanskrit words was Geoffrey.


    Zen scanned his inner world from the skies. Suddenly, his eyes locked onto Geoffrey, who was looking up at the sky with a confused look.


    "It''s my son," Zen answered.


    "How can he decipher a Sanskrit word at such a level?" the Regal Jade Spirit asked in surprise.


    Zen already knew how difficult it was to decipher Sanskrit words, but he also knew his son had a knack for it. Even Eastern Emperor Taiyi found it difficult to decipher the Truth Enlightenment of the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent, but Geoffrey had been able to do it.


    "Has he... deciphered it?" Zen asked curiously.


    Minutes earlier, the Regal Jade Spirit had said that it was impossible to decipher the blood red Sanskrit word. It had been telling Zen that the only thing he needed to do was to fuse with the energy of the Blood Essence Godly Way, nothing more. However, much to Zen''s surprise, it seemed that Geoffrey could decipher it.


    Zen waved his hand, summoning a space door.


    He reached into the space door and gently pulled Geoffrey out.


    "Father..." Geoffrey cried in surprise.


    "Did you just decipher that Sanskrit word?" Zen pointed at the blood red energy floating in the sky.


    Geoffrey nodded sheepishly. "I was just curious." His eyes lit up excitedly. "It seems to be intelligent, Father! It dispersed while I was deciphering it!"


    "Then, can you decipher the Sanskrit word?" The voice of the Regal Jade Spirit echoed in the air.


    "What was that sound?" Geoffrey''s head whipped around in confusion.


    "This is Master Regal Jade," Zen answered.


    In Geoffrey''s eyes, his father was invincible. However, upon hearing the authoritative


    iphered, the value of their translated version was immeasurable.


    However, whenever Zen asked Geoffrey for help, he was never rewarded.


    "What will you gain?" The Regal Jade Spirit hesitated for a moment, as it thought about it carefully. "If you are able to disciple it, I will accept you as my disciple."


    There was a great civilization that supported the Regal Jade Spirit, known as the Regal Jade Civilization. This civilization was considered one of the strongest and most prosperous among countless civilizations on the Other Shore. As a result, a lot of special theurgies and methods were born here. Moreover, the Regal Jade Spirit itself was once a Son of Truth¡ªotherwise known as, a Chaos Ancient God.


    This was a splendid opportunity. Zen was secretly proud of his son at merely being offered such a trade.


    However, to his surprise, Geoffrey''s face was full of disdain. "Father, is the Regal Jade Spirit powerful? How powerful is it, exactly? Is it as powerful as Master Estelle?"


    Estelle had stayed in the fairy palace for a long time. Geoffrey, having only been exposed to things within Zen''s inner world, had thought that Estelle was the most powerful being.


    "Um..." Zen gave him a funny expression.


    Although Estelle was indeed a powerful warrior in the divine land, she was nowhere near as powerful as the Regal Jade Spirit.


    Zen patiently explained the strength of the Chaos Ancient God to his son. Geoffrey''s expression changed from disdain to one of delight, while he was listening to Zen with keen interest.


    After he finally understood the power of a Chaos Ancient God, he spoke to the Regal Jade Spirit. "Then, it''s settled! I''ll decipher the Sanskrit word for you!"

 Chapter 3337 Spokespersons

    Geoffrey was greatly interested in the vast Source World. Zen had promised him that once he became a consummate True God, he would allow him to leave.


    The powerful warriors he would encounter in the outside world were unmatched compared to those he met in Zen''s inner world. He needed more strength to go further into the Source World.


    His father had told him that the Regal Jade Spirit was one of the strongest warriors in the chaos, piquing his interest.


    "We have a deal," replied the Regal Jade Spirit.


    Soon after, the dispersed Blood Essence Power slowly gathered and formed the Sanskrit word once again.


    Geoffrey wasn''t eager to decipher it¡ªhe did it after Zen had already copied it on the paper.


    But something unusual happened¡ªthe word formed by the Blood Essence Power dissipated once he began deciphering the copied word on the paper.


    "What''s going on?" Zen asked with furrowed brows.


    Geoffrey was deciphering the Sanskrit word on paper¡ªwhy was the one formed by Blood Essence Power still dissipating?


    "Quite an interesting reaction," said the Regal Jade Spirit, seemingly unbothered. "No matter when and where you decipher a copy of this word, the Blood Essence Power will dissipate rapidly, even if it''s half a chaos away."


    To decipher it, the Regal Jade Civilization had gone through painstaking efforts. But it was all in vain apart from how they gained a thorough understanding of its nature.


    Gripping the copy firmly in his hands, Geoffrey levitated, deep in thought.


    The two Sanskrit words of the Truth Enlightenment were known to be highly complex, but this one seemed to be the extreme opposite¡ªit was almost too simple.


    When it came to these words, though, the simpler they were, the more difficult it was to judge and decipher¡ªthere were countless possible meanings behind a simple word.


    For most decipherers, such a situation meant a dead end. But Geoffrey was rather exceptional.


    After five minutes passed, Geoffrey rolled the paper in his hands as his lips curled up into a smile.


    "Did you pick up any clues?" Zen asked, his brows raised at the other''s expression.


    "Even better¡ªI''ve deciphered it," he responded proudly.


    Both Zen and the Regal Ja


    Ancient Gods had relied on the civilizations from the Other Shore¡­it was truly inconceivable.


    "Did you really say that the top-level masters in the Source World are their spokespersons?" Zen asked again in disbelief.


    "Yes," the Regal Jade Spirit affirmed. "The chaos has experienced many rounds of destruction and rebirth¡ªthe powerful civilizations have long since been skilled at the game. As soon as the chaos was born, they began planning."


    According to what the Regal Jade Spirit said, Eastern Emperor Taiyi also had a civilization behind him for support? And to think that the Snake Goddess and Fuxi were the same¡­


    While Zen was lost in thought, the Regal Jade Spirit smiled and said, "Don''t forget, you are now the spokesperson of our Regal Jade Civilization."


    The Regal Jade Civilization was once a powerful civilization that ranked among the top ten. But because they were hidden at Stage Thirteen, they didn''t get much attention.


    "I see," Zen nodded slightly. "So, to find the so-called sacred fire, I must find this Element Spirit Civilization?"


    "Yes, but you''re not strong enough to do so right now¡­" The Regal Jade Spirit sighed and continued, "Even if it was Wing King who led us, it would be impossible for us to wage a war against the Element Spiritual race. The top three civilizations on the Other Shore are all as solid as rock in their positions. They have advantages, so the other civilizations couldn''t possibly contend against them."

 Chapter 3338 Primitive Land

    Zen couldn''t help but sigh. After all, he still knew too little about the Other Shore.


    In the beginning, he had entered the Other Shore only to obtain the Other Shore Tokens so that he could gain control of stronger powers.


    He didn''t expect that the forces on the Other Shore were far more complicated than he had imagined.


    He was still communicating with the Regal Jade Spirit when Geoffrey, who stood beside him, had started to grow impatient.


    "Hey! You said you would take me as your disciple!" Geoffrey reminded the Regal Jade Spirit a bit harshly. "Don''t be rude, Geoffrey," Zen shushed him.


    The Regal Jade Spirit was known to be quite kind.


    Not only that, but it always did what it had promised.


    "Buzz..."


    A green light flashed in the Civilization Artifact, and turned into a green square that was as tall as a person. The whole square looked like a piece of high quality jade.


    "Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!"


    Crisp crackles filled the air as the jade''s surface trembled. Some green colored debris fell off from it, then the jade finally turned into a middle-aged man who looked like an exquisite sculpture.


    "This is you..." Geoffrey''s eyes were as wide as saucers as he gawked at the figure.


    A smile dawned upon the Regal Jade Spirit''s lips. He then turned to Zen and said, "Would you mind if I make a body and manifest myself in the human image while I stay in your inner world?"


    Zen cupped his hands towards the Regal Jade Spirit and said, "You are being too polite. Of course I won''t mind."


    The Regal Jade Spirit looked around. When he saw the brown chaotic sea, a trace of doubt appeared on his face. "The sea of this world..."


    His sentence, however, was left unfinished. "What do you want to say?" Zen asked in confusion.


    The Regal Jade Spirit flew down from high in the air and went straight into the chaotic sea. He stretched out his hand and took a handful of the sea water and said, "Is this the sea water transformed from chaotic energy?"


    "Yes. What''s wrong?" Zen asked curiously.


    The brown sea water boiled in the hand of the Regal Jade Spirit. It wasn''t long before it turned into a trace of chaotic energy and dissipated. It made the Regal Jade Spirit even more surprised. "How exactly was your inner world formed?" he asked.


    The reason Zen''s inner world acted like such was all because of the Primal Chaos Technique his master Bromley had given him. He had directly replaced the life vitality in his inner world with chaotic energy.


    "I cultivated a secret technique back then and that''s why it has become like this," Zen replied frankly. After all, there was no need to keep it a secret anymore.


    The Regal Jade Spirit''s face became even more unreadable. "You cultivated a secret techn


    sperson of our Regal Jade Civilization and you were even not qualified--but now, things seem to be getting more and more interesting," he continued.


    The Regal Jade Civilization had been hiding in Stage Thirteen for a long time, and the Regal Jade Spirit also felt that there wasn''t much time left. Choosing Zen to be their spokesperson was just a makeshift plan, but as the Regal Jade Spirit got to know more about him, he discovered that Zen was not as simple as he seemed.


    While Zen discussed things with the Regal Jade Spirit, the divine land on the other side of the chaos had already traveled through the boundless chaos for a long time.


    The divine land was like a bright gem that traversed through one chaos cloud after another. It was impressive considering that those chaos clouds were unimaginably large, and it usually took several months for the divine land to pass through a chaos cloud at its normal speed.


    Before Zen left the divine land, he had handed the Sun-resisting Umbrella over to Mike. However, it was Timotheus who actually controlled which direction the divine land would go.


    Timotheus stood in the sun, his hands controlling the four rings as his consciousness floated to the outside of the divine land. His eyes paid close attention to the surroundings of the divine land.


    It was actually boring to control this divine land. There were no sceneries in the boundless chaos, but Timotheus was extremely responsible in doing his job. He hadn''t even blinked in the past few months and maintained the same posture all the time.


    Suddenly, he sensed something strange. "What''s that?" he muttered. His eyes quickly widened when he realized what it was.


    When the divine land passed through a chaos cloud, a huge tombstone emerged from behind it. The tombstone was as large as the entire divine land!

 Chapter 3339 The Graveyard

    The divine land itself was extremely huge and had taken Chiyou a lot of effort and time to build.


    The tombstone was about the same size as the divine land, a fact that shocked Timotheus greatly.


    He thought back to a rumor.


    The chaos was vast and empty but many secrets and forbidden areas lay hidden within it. Those who entered dangerous sections of it, like the Ruin Graveyard, had no chance of returning.


    Rumor had it that if you saw a huge tombstone, it meant that you had stepped into the Ruin Graveyard and there would be no way back.


    Timotheus never believed in rumors like this. He only believed what he saw.


    But now that he was looking at this huge tombstone, he was finally on high alert.


    He waved his hands around, causing his body to spin 180 degrees to his right.


    The fast-moving divine land turned abruptly and sped on towards the other side.


    This time, Timotheus did not drive the ship into the chaos cloud because he couldn''t see properly up there. He had to make sure he stayed away from the tombstone.


    He had controlled the divine land to fly for a while along the cloud when the sight of the tombstone looming in front of him again caused him to pale.


    "Damn it!"


    A sense of foreboding rose from the bottom of his heart.


    Once he had accepted the captain''s position, the entirety of the divine land had come under his control.


    He would be in big trouble if he entered the Ruin Graveyard. How would he ever face Grand Chieftain Chiyou if the divine land were to fall to ruin?


    Timotheus decided to change direction. He drove the ship to fly straight up. But it was not long before the same thing happened. The huge tombstone was waiting for him.


    "We can''t go out."


    Timotheus muttered, gritting his teeth. He drove the ship in the direction of the tombstone.


    He passed by it and the moment he did, he saw another huge tombstone up ahead.


    These tombstones, each of which was the same size as the divine land, were everywhere. But they looked dilapidated,


    w the huge tombstone.


    "The tombstone is so huge. I wonder who is buried underneath?" a Holy Being exclaimed.


    "There is no tomb, just the tombstone. This place is strange," said Sword Chen.


    Ramzi stared at the tombstone before cautiously saying, "There are many inconceivable things in the chaos. We must be more careful."


    "Everyone, follow me," said Mike as he leapt up and traveled through the chaos.


    The others followed him closely.


    Though it seemed the divine land stopped not far from a tombstone, it would still take a lot of time for a Holy Being to reach it.


    A day and a half later, the Holy Beings finally arrived at the tombstone.


    The dark tombstone floated in the air. This lonely, lifeless object emitted a strange aura, and its huge shape exerted an inexplicably great pressure on the Holy Beings.


    One side of the tombstone was covered with cracks, each as deep as an abyss.


    One of the Holy Beings approached a crack.


    The moment he got close, a huge tongue stretched out from within the crack.


    A number of hooks jutted out of the surface of the tongue, each glinting dangerously.


    The tongue caught the Holy Being, the hooks piercing his body as it sucked him into the crack of the tombstone.


    It was at this moment that a sudden vibration rocked the divine land. A universe had just collapsed.

 Chapter 3340 The Men In Carapace Armor

    It had never occurred to Mike and the others that such a vicious thing was hiding in the cracks of the tombstone.


    They turned pale with fright and stepped back.


    "The Holy Being of the Fang Clan has been sucked into the crack!"


    "I''m afraid he''s been killed!"


    "Don''t get too close to the tombstone, everyone!"


    the Holy Beings reminded one another.


    The Holy Beings took solace in the thought that death was not the end for them. They could be resurrected.


    Just then, a rune emerged beside Ramzi. He gently pressed it with his finger. Timotheus'' voice rang out. "The universe of the Holy Being of the Fang Clan has collapsed."


    The group''s noise died down immediately as they registered the news in shock.


    "How come his universe collapsed?"


    "Then is he dead for good?"


    "How could that be?!"


    The Holy Beings could not believe what had happened. Their universes were their talismans. How could a talisman just be obliterated like that?


    "The Ruin Graveyard has its own rules. And it''s not so difficult to cut off the connection to the Rebirth Land. Be careful, everyone," Ramzi reminded.


    Most of the true masters in the Source World would not rely on their Rebirth Lands. On the one hand, the Rebirth Land was a place of restraint. On the other hand, it was not so safe.


    As the Holy Beings fretted, a head appeared from a dark crack.


    It was a black toad over 200 feet long. A ghastly face was embedded on its back.


    "What kind of monster is this?"


    "What a disgusting face!"


    "So the Holy Being of the Fang Clan was swallowed by this monster?"


    The Holy Beings had seen many abominable creatures in the divine land. When the toad showed itself, everyone was somehow relieved because it didn''t seem as bad.


    The strength of so many Holy Beings couldn''t be underestimated. Moreover, Ramzi was a powerhouse at the Other Shore Realm. They were confident they could deal with the toad.


    But after the first toad appeared, many other toads appeared from the cracks.


    The tombstone was as large as the divine land. The cracks seemed n


    zi, who was usually composed, was surprised.


    The Ruin Graveyard was famous for its dangers, and various vicious races were lurking within it. Who would have thought that humans would be among them?


    The men in carapace armor approached, crossed the toads'' encirclement, and put the flutes down. "You, follow us!" their leader barked out.


    "Where are we going?" asked Mike.


    "You don''t have the right to ask questions," the leader replied stiffly. He put his flute to his mouth and started playing a gentle tune.


    "Hoo..."


    The toads started to stir. It was clear if the armored men kept playing their flutes, the toads would pounce on the group without hesitation.


    These men disregarded Ramzi''s array completely. The Holy Beings knew then it wouldn''t protect them.


    "Do as they say and don''t resist," Mike said to the Holy Beings.


    Any wrong move and they would get killed.


    Now that Mike had given the order, the other Holy Beings decided to cooperate.


    The armored men led the way, while the toads surrounded the Holy Beings layer by layer. Together, they flew toward the cracks in the upper right corner of the tombstone.


    In the divine land, Timotheus returned to the internal region of the sun and tied the four rings to his body.


    He had the sharpest and broadest vision in the entire divine land. He had thus witnessed the events at the tombstone.

 Chapter 3341 An Old Friend

    With the toads as their escorts, Mike and the other Holy Beings entered a great crack in the tombstone.


    Inside was a whole other world, dark and wet.


    Big black toads, one thousand-foot-wide beetles, and ten thousand-foot-long centipedes crawled along the rock walls.


    The Holy Beings'' faces fell at the sight of their environment. What the hell was that place?


    The men in carapace armor said nothing and merely took the lead.


    After the Holy Beings entered the crack, their escorts scattered and returned to their respective lairs. They did not worry about the Holy Beings escaping, anyway.


    "Mike, what the hell is this place?"


    "I''m afraid that we''re done for... We can''t get out of this place..."


    Now, even the Holy Beings were afraid of death.


    When Zen ruled the divine land, some of the Holy Beings died, and some were reincarnated. A new era had begun in the divine land; its rules were more just.


    The descendants of the large clans all began developing, growing more and more powerful. The last thing they wanted was to perish in this time of the new era.


    "If they really wanted to kill us, they could''ve done it outside the tombstone. Why did they bother taking us here?" Mike pondered calmly.


    He made sense, but that didn''t alleviate their uneasiness in the grim environment.


    After flying over a hundred miles in the crack, they found a wide jungle. The trees there stood over ten thousand feet high, which made some of them think that they had arrived at the Swirl Forest. The scenery was similar, but it somehow seemed much darker and more mysterious.


    In the depths of the jungle, Mike and the rest eventually found some normal buildings on a great tree.


    When they entered a building, those dressed in carapace armor asked them to wait there.


    After about five minutes, a man stepped into the building.


    Everyone, including Ramzi who had already reached the Other Shore, felt the pressure from the man''s arrival.


    ''How powerful... I''m afraid he has already reached the Chaotic Source Realm...'' Ramzi thought to himself.


    In the face of such a strong master, Ramzi knew that even if he went all out, he w


    ed the Murphy Universe in the war, and how he had grown increasingly powerful in the divine land.


    For as long as they knew him, the Holy Beings merely assumed that Zen just had too much luck. Never did they expect to find so many twists and turns in his story. They just grew more in awe of him as they heard his story.


    Admiration flashed in Bromley''s eyes as he listened to Mike''s narration. Shaking his head, he said, "Well, according to you, I''m not the one who makes the biggest contribution. As it turns out, it''s your good son."


    "He''s also your good disciple, haha!" Mike burst out in laughter.


    Although Bromley was Zen''s master, they had never met personally. It was a strange thing.


    After briefly telling Bromley what had happened in the divine land, Mike asked, "Do you know what kind of place the Ruin Graveyard is? Do you really think we have no way of leaving this place?"


    Bromley''s eyes gleamed with a sense of serenity as he said, "The Ruin Graveyard is extremely dangerous in the eyes of outsiders. It''s another primitive land of chaos, but it''s not as terrible as you probably think. There''s a way to leave, but now''s not the right time."


    "I''d like to hear more," Mike urged, cupping his hands.


    The Holy Beings left the divine land just to explore the Ruin Graveyard. It was just their luck to have bumped into Bromley there.


    And so Bromley told the Holy Beings of what he knew in great detail.

 Chapter 3342 The Return Of The Master

    Only one primitive land was usually formed in each round of chaos.


    Each round of chaos had only one Source World in the early stages.


    But as the Other Shore was created, more and more races entered it before the chaos could be destroyed. As the gathered powers on the Other Shore became more and more complicated, so did the chaos.


    The chaos often had several primitive lands in the later stages.


    The Source World and the Ruin Graveyard were among these primitive lands.


    Only, the Ruin Graveyard was far smaller in size when compared with the huge Source World.


    All the tombstones that Mike and the others had come across had been as large as the divine land. In all, there were a total of eighty-seven tombstones of this size in the Ruin Graveyard.


    Therefore, the Ruin Graveyard had already been large enough in the eyes of those from the divine land.


    These eighty-seven tombstones were home to different races, among which humans had the largest influence.


    At Bromley''s explanation, one of the Holy Beings remarked proudly, "Humans are the spirit of all gods. It''s no surprise that they are the strongest!"


    Chiyou, himself a human, had created the divine land. All other creatures within it, whether intelligent or not, were inferior to humans. These Holy Beings had never left the divine land, which was why they were under the impression that this was the case everywhere.


    Bromley shook his head in disagreement at the Holy Being''s words. "No, it''s not like that."


    Ramzi nodded and said, "Humans aren''t top forces in the Source World, but they have improved a lot these past few years. Some races are born strong, and humans aren''t as powerful as them."


    Bromley looked carefully at Ramzi and then asked, "Are you from the Source World?"


    "Yes, I am," Ramzi replied, folding his hands and bowing to Bromley.


    "Ramzi is a Nine Li Guard. The divine land can be safe thanks to them," Mike said as way of introducing him to Bromley.


    Ramzi and Bromley nodded to each other. Ramzi then asked, "Who created this primitive land?"


    "Another force of the human race," Bromley replied.


    "What?" Ramzi was surprised at this answer. He stiffened, his renewed vigilance visible in his stance.


    These Holy Beings were born in the divine land but they couldn''t claim to be descendants of the Nine Li race. Things would become complicated if the human force that B


    cause of her extra-strong personality.


    Bromley had had no choice in the past but he knew he still cared about her.


    "When I went to the Soul Wilderness and begged her to help me, she asked me to find you. And I think I''ve fulfilled my promise now. I made it!" Holy Jay said, a meaningful smile on his face.


    Bromley''s eyes lit up at Holy Jay''s words. "I''ll go back to the divine land with you!" he said excitedly.


    He led the way and the other Holy Beings followed close behind.


    They emerged from the crack and headed straight for the divine land.


    Bromley was born in the divine land, so he wouldn''t be blocked by the divine land''s Heavenly Mirror Shield. The moment he entered the divine land, he activated his Grand Teleportation and rushed to the Floating Islands above the Time Sea.


    It looked like a significant change had taken place on the Floating Islands. Only a few Floating Islands of great clans like the Gu Clan and the Luo Clan remained above the Time Sea. The huge central Floating Island stood still.


    When the divine land had accidentally entered the Ruin Graveyard, all the warriors of the divine land had been utterly shocked.


    They were waiting nervously for latest news on the central Floating Island. Among them were Harold, Hallet, Augustus and Estelle.


    One universe of the divine land had collapsed not long after the Holy Beings had left. It was proof that the Ruin Graveyard was evil.


    As these warriors waited, a middle-aged man appeared in the sky above the central Floating Island. Hallet and Augustus were dumbfounded when they saw who he was.

 Chapter 3343 Asking For A Meeting

    As he entered the divine land, Bromley had swiftly removed his carapace armor off his body, and sported a classic green robe. This robe was his signature look, something that he wore very often in the past.


    Bromley was always regarded as handsome, most especially when he was young. Now that he had improved his cultivation base greatly, he was even more attractive. The strong aura carried him with elegance everywhere he went.


    Even Mike and Holy Jay were hardly able to recognize him at first glance, not to mention Hallet and Augustus.


    "He looks so familiar... Who might this be?" Augustus wondered as his eyes grew wide.


    "It''s Master," Hallet responded.


    Though he was one hundred percent sure that it was Bromley, neither of them dared to approach him.


    The strongest warriors they had ever met in their lives were Timotheus and Emily. They had great energies and cultivation bases, making it so intimidating to merely look at them.


    But Bromley''s aura was even stronger than that of them.


    Everyone was aware that the limit of cultivation in the divine land was the consummation of True God Realm. It was extremely difficult to become a Holy Being, much more to reach the Other Shore Realm.


    So far, there hadn''t been any Holy Being who had broken through. Bromley''s cultivation base had improved so much that he was much more powerful than the Holy Beings of the divine land.


    Eventually, Bromley found himself landing on the Floating Island and gazed at his two disciples. He smiled gently as he acknowledged them, "Hallet, Augustus."


    The two looked at each other in relief, finally sure that this powerful man was indeed, their master.


    "Master!"


    In his excitement, Augustus rushed towards Bromley and fell to his knees.


    Hallet, on the other hand, tried to keep his calm. He walked solemnly towards his master and knelt down right beside Augustus.


    "It is Holy Bromley!"


    "It is! It is indeed Bromley!"


    "It seems that his training has done him well! He looks so powerful!"


    People were murmuring, right as Bromley''s identity was confirmed. All were full of shock and excitement.


    "Rise," Bromley said with a smile, holding out his hand towards Hallet and Augustus to help them up.


    "Master, we have missed you. We''ve fulfilled all the tasks you assigned to us..."


    Augustus stood up, talking with passion to his master.


    "Do us a favor and please stop speaking," Hallet blurted out. He was always fed up with Augustus'' verbose expressions.


    "I haven''t seen him in years!" Augustus said, "Just let me have my moment!" His face was flustered and annoyed.


    These two bickering before him was not a surprise to Brom


    r that place, so that no one could disturb them.


    After coming out of the inner world, Athemar waited at the courtyard for what seemed like forever.


    Tension and worry filled Athemar and the others when Zen was trapped on the Other Shore, and they could only wait for his return.


    "I apologize for causing so much worry while I remained on the Other Shore," Zen said solemnly to Athemar, cupping his hands towards him.


    His decision to enter the Dark Region with Dorothy had been made hastily. He hadn''t discussed it with anyone, so it caused much anxiousness among the group.


    In fact, Athemar had heard about the situation from Flamine. He spoke, "The Other Shore is full of risks and dangers. I can''t believe you entered the Dark Region and got out, but I am glad that you are safe. You are one lucky bastard!"


    "Thank you for praising me," Zen said with a laugh.


    Athemar rolled his eyes at Zen. "I am not praising you. Not at all," he spoke with a sudden seriousness. "You are indeed, lucky. If not, you would be dead. Once you enter the Desire World, please talk to us before making any decisions. After all, we are quite experienced with things like these."


    "I''ll make sure to keep that in mind," responded Zen. He knew that Athemar was right, and that he should probably not cause too much trouble anymore.


    "Anyway, there is something else I wanted to talk to you about," Athemar uttered, bringing back his serious expression.


    "What''s the matter?" Zen asked.


    "A man named Leopold is looking for you," replied Athemar.


    If one was only an Other Shore Realm warrior, it was impossible for them to come into contact with someone like Athemar when they arrived at the Oneness Sky Palace. However, this time, Leopold came with some other people.

 Chapter 3344 Ambrose Li

    Leopold came back to the Source World for two reasons. One was to escort Zen, and the other was to look for the members of the Nine Li race.


    In fact, Timotheus didn''t give Leopold anything specific to do.


    They had been away from the Source World for too long. After suffering bitterly at the bottom of chaos, they only wanted a peaceful life.


    If Leopold was willing to follow Emily to the Pear Hill, he could happily spend the rest of his life with the Snake Goddess race.


    But he didn''t do that. Instead he went to the Pearl Islet. He was trying to find signs the Nine Li race left.


    His hard work paid off. He found some leads.


    He followed the trail of clues and actually found the last surviving members of the Nine Li race.


    Zen''s face changed at the mention of Leopold. He asked, "Master Athemar, where is Leopold?"


    Sensing Zen''s eagerness, Athemar smiled and simply replied, "Follow me."


    Zen walked up to Athemar''s huge sword and flew away from the Flow Sword Sect. They soared over Oneness Mountain, flew to the northern slope, and finally landed.


    His landing point was the Splendid Palace, where the people of the Oneness Mountain received their distinguished guests.


    Zen hurried into the Splendid Palace and saw more than ten people sitting inside, and Leopold was among them.


    "Leopold!"


    "Zen!"


    Leopold traveled to the Source World with Emily. After he was separated from Zen, he had lost all hope. His expression was one of surprised delight as he saw Zen again.


    At first, he didn''t know where Zen was. Yan talked to the people of Pear Hill and organized a search party to look for Zen. That was when he discovered the young man was in the Oneness Sky Palace.


    The Oneness Sky Palace was an orthodox human force. If Zen could get his foot in the door, he might be able to turn them into powerful allies.


    After finding the remnants of the Nine Li race, Leopold told Ambrose Li about Zen. But they couldn''t find a good time to go to the Oneness Sky Palace.


    After hearing of what had happened in the Grand Sky Temple, they finally decided to risk a journey to the Oneness Sky Palace.


    "It hasn''t been that long since we last saw each other, but your cultivation base h


    as Thad''s, so she wasn''t sure whether this man really was him.


    After she heard Zen''s voice, she was one hundred percent sure, and a bright smile appeared on her face.


    "I asked you to find me, but I didn''t expect it would be so soon," Zen said with a smile. "You''re not outsiders. You don''t have to call me Thad. My name is Zen."


    Hutton bowed to Zen. "After we said goodbye in the Dark Region, I thought we''d never see you again. But you left the Other Shore safely. I am glad to see you here."


    Sally and Hutton were very interested in what happened to Zen after they parted. Zen couldn''t tell them much. His experiences involved Elvinia and the purified being, and those were secrets of the Oneness Sky Palace.


    This reunion proved what the last members of the Nine Li race had theorized. Thad was Zen, and Zen was from the divine land.


    And Zen had his questions answered. He knew what was going on with the Nine Li race.


    Only Ambrose stayed with the Nine Li race. The other chieftains had been dead or missing.


    To complicate matters further, the Bearing race had been secretly hunting down the remnants of the Nine Li race. Any descendants were killed on the spot, so every time the Nine Li people ventured forth, they were putting their lives at risk.


    When he heard what the Bearing race had done, Zen furrowed his eyebrows. He shouldn''t have been merciful to them.


    At last, Ambrose suddenly asked, "Are you willing to live among the Nine Li race?"

 Chapter 3345 Promise

    A knowing look flashed across Zen''s eyes. Ambrose''s request did not come as a surprise to him.


    After all, he had brought a massive amount of divine crystals from the divine land with him, which were originally resources that belonged to the Nine Li race.


    Most importantly, Chiyou had entrusted Zen with some arrangements, although it was No. 9527 who received the task.


    The remaining members of the Nine Li race had lost all hope, but that changed when Zen arrived.


    Meanwhile, Athemar''s eyes gleamed and his face became unreadable.


    To be honest, the Oneness Sky Palace didn''t invest many resources in Zen''s cultivation.


    Zen was able to climb up the mountain in the Oneness Sky Palace because of his own efforts.


    In addition, he brought many benefits to the palace.


    If Zen ever chose to leave, Athemar knew that he had no reason to stop him. So before Zen could speak, he quickly cupped his hands towards Ambrose and said, "Master Ambrose, may I say something?"


    Ambrose glanced at him and answered, "Please, go ahead."


    Back then, Ambrose was a hero of indomitable spirit in the Source World. He enjoyed a status that was equal to those of the heads of the seven mountains of the Oneness Sky Palace. At that time, Athemar was much inferior to him.


    The times, however, had changed. The Nine Li race had declined and was long past their prime. Moreover, both Ambrose''s body and soul had been badly damaged, and he hadn''t been able to recover since. He was no longer as strong as he used to be.


    "Zen has made rapid progress ever since he joined the Oneness Sky Palace. I have heard from him many times about his determination and eagerness to rebuild the Nine Li race. The Nine Li race is truly lucky to have such a descendant. I have no doubt that he will be a man of great power in the future," said Athemar. He paused for a bit and then continued, "But Master Ambrose, you should be more aware of the current situation of the Nine Li race than I am. Zen can return to you if he wants, but how can you cultivate him right now? Apart from anything else, if the Chaotic Source World opens, do you have a ticket for him? Can you bring him there safely?"


    It was known that the Nine Li race used to be a large, dominant force. They couldn''t be underestimated despite their downfall. Furthermore, there was more than o


    had once surrendered to the Nine Li race launched counterattacks.


    "In reality, we have long lost hope. Leopold found us after a great deal of effort, but I scolded him. Chiyou sent the divine land away after he went through many hardships. Why should we bring it back? Leopold shouldn''t have brought you back to the Source World," said Ambrose regretfully. "I didn''t expect that Lorena would have such an excellent son. It''s a pity that I can do nothing to help you."


    Sally and Hutton had previously told Ambrose what Zen had done on the Other Shore, and in that moment, he felt hopeful. Now that he had confirmed Zen''s identity, he felt as if victory was in sight.


    As soon as he finished his words, he bowed and said goodbye to Athemar. He stood up and beckoned his companions to leave. Athemar saw them off.


    As for Zen, he just stood there and balled his fists. He had seen the statues of the nine chieftains in the divine land. All of them were strong and powerful. Today, however, Ambrose was quite different from the statue in the divine land.


    Although Zen had already known that the Nine Li race had declined, he couldn''t help but feel sad. He cried out, "Grandpa Ambrose."


    Ambrose and the others paused. They turned around and smiled at Zen.


    "I will rebuild the Nine Li race in your lifetime," Zen said seriously.


    A wild laugh escaped from Ambrose''s lips. Then he croaked, "I have been cursed, and I''m dying. I hope you can fulfill this promise!"


    Then he, Leopold, and the others left the Splendid Palace without another word.

 Chapter 3346 Arrangement

    Only Sally, Hutton, and a few other young members of the Nine Li race were left in the Splendid Palace.


    Although it was the first time they had personally met, Zen could feel a sense of kinship with them, coming from the same race.


    Ambrose had entrusted them to him. He was sure to take good care of them.


    "Zen, can you really do it? Can you rebuild the Nine Li race?" Sally asked, blinking her wide, innocent eyes.


    Growing up, she had heard about the past glory of the Nine Li race.


    Back then, there was no need for their people to find different places to hide. Every time worship day arrived, over ten thousand other races came to worship.


    If Chiyou was angered, the entire Source World would tremble.


    But this glory mostly existed only in Sally''s imagination. If only Zen could really make it become a reality.


    She was the youngest and most naive of them, after all.


    But Hutton and the others didn''t think so.


    It wasn''t that they doubted Zen''s strength and talent, but they felt that such a great promise just could not be fulfilled.


    Chiyou was truly formidable.


    But in the end, he fell into defeat by the hands of the Bearing race.


    The Bearing race and the Divine Farmer race were no weaker than the Nine Li race in their prime. Even the Oneness Sky Palace didn''t dare to act rashly against them. It could only be wishful thinking to consider Zen fighting them all alone.


    "Sally, don''t take it too seriously. You''re daydreaming if you really expect the Nine Li race to rise like it did back then. These are different times," said a young man beside her.


    "Umar!" Hutton called him out with a frown.


    Umar was one of the best members of the Nine Li race that Ambrose had brought here.


    "Am I wrong? The Grand Chieftain was once so powerful. But the Yellow Emperor defeated him too easily! Sure, Zen is powerful, but only within our generation. Is he capable of leading our entire race up the ranks? There''s no way!" The atmosphere grew grim. Pausing for a moment, Umar continued, "He''s just lucky to have outshone us on the Other Shore!"


    "Shut up! Don''t forget who Zen is!" Hutton''s face darkened.


    On their way here, Leopold had told them that Zen''s blood was much purer than theirs.


    If the Nine Li race hadn''t declined, he would have gone up higher than them in status


    either the elders nor the younger generation were courageous enough. They ended up giving themselves away gradually.


    During his time in the Oneness Sky Palace, Zen did not forget where he came from. He was confident by nature. The others could sense his genuine pride and suddenly felt ashamed of themselves.


    "Zen can make it happen. I choose to believe it!" Sally chimed in eagerly.


    "I believe it too," Hutton agreed.


    "Soon, our Nine Li race will rise again!" And with that, the rest of them echoed with them.


    After sending Ambrose away, Athemar turned back to Zen and the rest. "I''ll send you up the Oneness Mountain first. Please follow me."


    It was the first time that the youth of the Nine Li race had left their elders. It was rather nerve-wracking to follow behind Athemar in silence.


    Standing on Athemar''s huge sword, they looked curiously down at the Dragon City and the great mountains in the distance.


    Ever since they could remember, they had nestled in such a small world. Never had they really explored the vast Source World. It was their first time stepping outside and witnessing first-hand the size of a super force.


    Once they returned to the Flow Sword Sect, Athemar had applied for an independent courtyard house where he had the six members of the Nine Li race settle down.


    Even then, their background was sensitive. Although the Flow Sword Sect was the Oneness Sky Palace''s core area, Athemar had especially warned them to keep their identity hidden. If they needed anything, they had to turn to Zen.

 Chapter 3347 Treatment

    It was a good thing that the several members of the Nine Li race didn''t need to cultivate the Flow Strike, so there was no need for them to go out.


    For most of the time, they would put their Souls of Light on the Other Shore and cultivated there.


    When Zen had first met with Sally, the girl had been upset about how she could get two thousand soul pills.


    That meant the remaining members of the Nine Li race lacked money and therefore, it wasn''t easy for them to improve their Souls of Light to reach Stage Thirteen.


    After the six members of the Nine Li race had settled down, Zen ordered them to enter the Other Shore the next day.


    The order confused Sally and Hutton a little. They wondered what Zen wanted to do.


    "You are the members of my race, so you may take all of this as a gift from me," Zen spoke.


    Then, he took out 30 finger-size chunks of soul crystal from the Sumeru Space. When divided, each of the six of them could naturally get five finger-size chunks of soul crystal.


    A chill ran down Sally''s, Hutton''s, and Umar''s spines as soon as they sensed the pure aura that emanated from the soul crystal.


    They knew that Zen''s physical body was so powerful that he could do anything he liked on the Other Shore, and that it wasn''t difficult for him to obtain some Other Shore Tokens and soul crystal. Even then, it still shocked them to see him casually take out 30 finger-size chunks of soul crystal and just give them to them.


    Last time, they had entered the Grand Sky Temple and offered those soul pills which had been raised by the elders of their race after they had sold an Other Shore Token to the Ear Mouse race.


    Now, the 30 finger-size chunks of soul crystal were worth 30 million soul pills, and it was absolutely impossible to buy so many chunks of soul crystal with even 30 million soul pills!


    "Young master... The gift is too precious," Hutton muttered, his eyes glued to the soul crystal.


    He had indeed thought of refusing, but any Soul of Light that cultivated on the Other Shore couldn''t resist such a temptation. After all, the soul crystal was almost the same as cultivation of the Soul of Light. Their soul cultivation could improve according to the amount of the soul crystal they absorbed.


    "When I first entered the Source World, I also wanted to search for the members of the Nine Li race, but the Source World is too large. At that time, my cultivation base was low and I could not find anyone. After that, I have stayed in the Oneness Sky Palace to cultivate until now. I have made some achievements. I am glad to meet you all and give you the gift. If the rest members of the Nin


    mine, she left the palace for a moment and came back with three old men.


    The three old men quietly took their respective positions, and then a big array on the ground began to flash.


    The appearance of the light horrified Elvinia, who had just calmed down. "Zen, they want to kill me again! Kill them for me!"


    Of course, Zen knew that such a kind of fear was out of instinct, but the pleading look on her face made him sympathize with her.


    Zen sat up straight in front of Elvinia and asked, "Who are you?"


    "I''m Elvinia!" she exclaimed. Zen shook his head.


    "You are not Elvinia. If you are, you won''t be afraid," he said.


    "I''m not Elvinia?" She was a little confused by Zen''s words. "Then who am I?"


    "You are Teague, a creature from the Dark Region. I have destroyed your race! I am the one who killed all of the pig-faced monsters," Zen gravely said.


    Teague''s memories only occupied a small part of Elvinia''s memories. If Zen hadn''t mentioned such things, Elvinia wouldn''t have remembered them. He had verified it in the Dark Region.


    So when Zen mentioned that one memory, some of Teague''s memories flashed through Elvinia''s mind. It wouldn''t be so easy for Teague to forget the fact that his race had been destroyed, nor could he simply set aside his resentment for Zen.


    Elvinia''s pretty face suddenly turned ferocious, as if she wanted to swallow him. "How dare you destroy my race! I''ll kill you!" she roared.


    At that point, Zen quickly said to Flamine, "Lady Flamine, it''s the time!"


    Delight filled Flamine''s eyes. How could she be willing to miss this opportunity?


    She winked at the three old men, and the array in the palace was fully activated. Then, Flamine''s hand transformed into a claw and covered Elvinia''s head.

 Chapter 3348 Counterattack

    It wouldn''t have been wise to make Elvinia angry were they on the Other Shore.


    But they were in the Phoenix Palace now. Here, no holds were barred.


    With Zen''s stimulation, Teague''s memories, hidden in the depths of Elvinia''s mind and body, were drawn out in a steady stream.


    "Puny humans! The Blood Assembly will grind you into minced meat soon enough! I..."


    Elvinia''s voice changed. The blood power in her body started to burn, wisps of golden flames threatening to flare out. The fact that her inner world was emitting energy like this was a dangerous signal.


    "Lady Flamine, be careful. Her inner world may explode!" Zen reminded.


    If Elvinia''s inner world exploded, Zen and Flamine wouldn''t be hurt, but Elvinia would die.


    Flamine only scoffed.


    She seemed to have been prepared for this. She touched Elvinia''s belly with her hand. The energy that was gathering in Elvinia''s belly faded away instantly.


    Then she flicked Elvinia''s head several times. Rays of light shot out from her fingers and drilled into Elvinia''s black hair.


    Elvinia held her head and screamed as the agony grew more intense.


    "It''s time. Now!" Flamine barked out.


    The three old men closed their eyes, and the array became more powerful. Flamine then dragged out some wisps of white light from Elvinia''s head.


    Whoosh!


    Dragging the white light, Flamine stepped back into the center of the array and pressed her hand on the ground.


    The wisps of white light interwove together, turning into a milky white flame.


    Zen stared at the white flame, his eyebrows raised. "It''s the Memory Flame."


    The white flame was very dim, but still emitted a fierce aura. It was clearly the Memory Flame Teague had left in Elvinia''s soul. Flamine had extracted it using a technique Zen had never encountered before.


    "Hurry up! Seal the Memory Flame!" Flamine ordered.


    She knew that with Teague being a purified being, his Memory Flame must contain some very precious memories. Memories about the Blood Assembly alone would be very valuable. So she wanted to leave them to Eastern Emperor Taiyi.


    However, just then, the flame started to blur and turn into Teague''s


    the Phoenix Palace.


    Under the protection of Elvinia, Laquisha, Nelly and Lavender received more resources than many direct descendants of the Phoenix Palace, even more so after Laquisha was given a palace to herself.


    This apparent special treatment made the direct descendants of the Phoenix Palace jealous and resentful.


    Everything would have been fine if Elvinia had been at the Phoenix Palace. She was the most outstanding among the young generation in the Oneness Mountain, and enjoyed Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s love. No one could outshine her.


    But Elvinia had been away for quite some time now. The news that she was trapped on the Other Shore spread throughout the Phoenix Palace. Many people thought she wouldn''t come back.


    As time passed, the direct descendants started coming up with some evil ideas.


    And so Ahmad was sent to anger the three women.


    Lavender knew what the direct descendants were up to. She had quite the temper, and she was now starting to lose control of it. Although they were trying hard not to engage, the direct descendants kept provoking them deliberately. They had no choice but to fight back.


    Lavender''s strength was inferior to Ahmad''s, so she had been at a disadvantage since the fight began.


    But she was much more experienced in battle. She noticed that Ahmad was avoiding anything life-threatening, so she fought back with deadly moves. Before long, she had taken the upper hand.

 Chapter 3349 Get Into Trouble

    Ahmad grew increasingly flustered when he faced the deadly momentum of Lavender''s sword strikes.


    When two powerful warriors confronted each other in a neck and neck battle, it was hard to decide which one would overpower the other. But now, it seemed it was hard for him to turn the tables in his favor since his momentum wavered compared to his opponent.


    Ahmad should have easily defeated Lavender had it not been for her fierce attack.


    "What''s going on? Ahmad''s strength far surpasses that of the woman, but how come he is no match for her?"


    "We''ll make a fool of ourselves today!"


    "This woman is crazy. She has no regard for her life. She''s cheating!"


    exclaimed the frustrated direct descendants of the Phoenix Palace.


    Nelly and Lavender shared the same personality traits, so it wasn''t hard for her to understand Lavender''s actions.


    Overhearing the disrespectful comments of these direct descendants, Nelly retorted curtly, "Every warrior fights with their life on the line in every battle they take part in. If you have never experienced it, you have no right to say she is cheating. It''s ridiculous!"


    Only after the direct descendants of the Phoenix Palace had entered the Other Shore would they experience this world in all its cruelty.


    Even in the early stages of the Other Shore, they probably couldn''t understand it. After all, they would be under the protection of the Oneness Sky Palace''s temple after reaching Stage Four.


    Among the many obvious examples was Elvinia. She managed to pass twelve stages and reach Stage Thirteen without a hitch. Only until she stepped foot in the Dark Region, did she realize what it felt like to have a near-death experience.


    "Whoosh!"


    Under the heat of Lavender''s relentless attacks, Ahmad flinched constantly. After a while, he stabilized his steps and gained back his lost control. He reached out for his long sword and gave it a swift flick. In response to his gesture, it produced nine sword shadows in front of him.


    "Nine-world Mantra Sword!"


    The Nine-world Mantra Sword was a supreme swordsmanship manual. It was exclusively taught to the direct descendants of the Phoenix Palace. Even the disciples who had just entered the Other Shore could flaunt tremendous power by using it.


    Although Lavender had also practiced swordsmanship in her youth, she had been more used to using a long spear as a weapon before she entered the Source World, which was why she had to start from scratch when she came to the Phoenix Palace.


    If she didn''t defeat Ahmad now, she might never get another opportunity to do so!


    "Broken World!


    Original World!


    Orchid World!"


    Ahmad stood his ground and kept advancing towards her effortlessly. He showed no signs of backing down; his movements were flawless.


    Even though Lavender tried her best to land an effective sword strike, each of her attacks was easily deflected by Ahmad. Due to countless failed attempts, she was forced to take a step back each time. She was unable to lay a single scratch on him.


    Watching Ahmad regain his strong position in the battle, the direct descendants began to cheer him on.


    "That''s it, Ahmad! Hang in there!"


    "If you win over this woman, they will be forced to leave!"


    "Woman, with talents like yours, you don''t deserve what the Phoenix Palace offers!"


    Hearing them encourage Ahmad and mock her in the background only made Lavender feel more inferior to him. Her expre


    at this very moment. Ahmad had already informed him of the situation through a communication token. It would only be a matter of time before Chance made his appearance on the scene. And of course, he was coming to avenge the insult his little brother had to face because of Zen.


    Ahmad was less than twenty years old. In Zen''s eyes, he was no better than a naive child. How could he pay any heed to the empty claims of a child?


    Just as Zen grabbed Lavender''s hand and prepared to leave, another person appeared at the entrance of the Heavenly Cultivation Palace.


    This man had a dark skin tone, and his arms were long and significantly bulky. His eyes gave the sharpened vibe of a viper as he stared in Zen''s direction.


    He stepped into the Heavenly Cultivation Palace and stationed himself in front of Zen to block his path. There were traces of disdain smeared across his charred-black face as he glared at him. "Which one of these people crushed your sword, Ahmad?"


    The man who stood before them was Chance, Ahmad''s big brother.


    "It''s him! He crushed my sword! And he''s not a member of the Phoenix Palace either!"


    Ahmad blurted out as he pointed at Zen. He peered over at Zen''s face to observe his reaction to the situation.


    He had expected Zen''s face to turn as white as a sheet when faced with his big brother. After all, Chance had entered the Land of Sword Grief and was a cultivator of the Chaotic Source Realm.


    However, Zen''s reaction had disappointed him. He showed no signs of shock as his expression remained unchanged. To address the matter maturely, Zen spoke in a calm tone, "While it''s good to spar with each other sometimes, you should not encourage your brother''s behavior when it''s wrong. Your brother was about to kill Lavender. I had no other choice but to stop him."


    A warrior of the Chaotic Source Realm was naturally stronger than Zen. His cultivation base and restraint were not to be underestimated.


    However, Chance shook off Zen''s attempts to dissolve the issue between them. The corners of his mouth turned into a sinister smile as he said, "The woman you defended is not a direct descendant of the Phoenix Palace, so it doesn''t matter if she''s dead. As an outsider, how dare you stop my brother and break his sword? You must have a death wish."

 Chapter 3350 A Head-To-Head Battle

    The blood of Eastern Emperor Taiyi ran through all the direct descendants of the Phoenix Palace.


    Their status rested on a combination of blood, talent, and strength.


    Chance was slightly inferior to Elvinia in terms of talent, but he had been strong enough to reach the Chaotic Source Realm.


    Those who had entered the Land of Sword Grief didn''t take the ordinary disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace seriously. Moreover, Lavender, Laquisha, and Nelly weren''t from the direct line of the Phoenix Palace, so Chance thought it wouldn''t really matter if he killed them.


    As for Zen, Chance only knew that he was the core disciple of a certain mountain.


    But whichever mountain Zen was from, Chance decided it didn''t matter. He wasn''t afraid of Zen at all.


    Chance was unaware of the degree to which Zen had refrained from showing his true power in the Phoenix Palace. Zen had restrained himself because he didn''t want to make trouble. Although Ahmad had almost killed Lavender, Zen didn''t take revenge.


    However, when Zen heard Chance''s words, anger flashed in his eyes.


    The direct descendants of Eastern Emperor Taiyi looked proud and scornful.


    They thought it was unforgivably bold for an outsider like Zen to interfere in the affairs of the Phoenix Palace.


    Regardless of how powerful Zen was, he was no match for him. He had crushed Ahmad''s sword, but now that Chance was here, he was about to be defeated.


    Ahmed became more arrogant with his brother''s support. He said to Zen, "You are a mere disciple of the Oneness Sky Palace. How dare you come here to flaunt your prowess. Is it because the Phoenix Palace has always kept a low profile?"


    The other disciples nodded vigorously, agreeing with Ahmed. "Indeed! What a display of rudeness and arrogance!"


    "No one is allowed to come to the Phoenix Palace without permission."


    The direct descendants present had felt more secure since Chance arrived. They felt that with Chance, they were superior to Zen.


    A few of them recognized Zen from his fight with Elvinia in the Heavenly Cultivation Palace. But since Elvinia had not yet reached the Chaotic Source Realm, they believed she was much weaker than Chance.


    Lavender, Laquisha, and Nelly looked upset. Nelly tugged at Zen''s sleeve and said, "Let''s go."


    Zen didn''t move. He knew that even if he had been inclined to leave, the disciples of the Phoenix Palace wouldn''t let him go without a fight. So he gently removed Nelly''s hand and turned to Chance. Calmly he said, "You''re right. I do have a death wish. Let''s fight."


    Chance lifted a long black eyebrow in surprise.


    Given Zen''s cultivation base, he should have understood the importance of reaching the Chaotic Source Realm, as Chance had done. Moreover, the Chaotic Source


    releasing his fist. Chance staggered several steps backwards, still looking stunned.


    His astonishment was mirrored in the faces of the direct descendants of Phoenix Palace, who had fully expected Zen to be killed by the full force of Chance''s blow. The disciples realized that they and Chance had underestimated Zen.


    Chance couldn''t believe what had just happened. He had used over nine hundred divine megatons of the Other Shore Power in his punch. There was no way an inferior like Zen could have resisted that. But somehow, Zen had not only blocked the punch, but had also done so with seeming ease.


    Chance would never have admitted it, but he felt a small tremor of fear. He had landed a killing blow but Zen had not been injured in the slightest. He realized that although Zen hadn''t been through the Chaotic Source Reinforcement, he also had extraordinary physical strength and must be taken seriously.


    But Chance did not let any of his thoughts show on his face. "Draw my sword? No need!"


    he said grandly. He chuckled and rushed towards Zen again.


    The Other Shore Power flowed continuously from his cinnabar field. This time, he used over a thousand divine megatons of force. This was the limit of the physical body below the Chaotic Source Realm. Chance himself wouldn''t be able to withstand such an attack, and neither would Zen.


    There was a series of booming sounds as he landed one punch after another. Again, the onlookers protected their eyes and ears.


    Chance summoned all his raging power, and each blow had the power to split mountains and part seas.


    Zen remained deadly calm. He raised both arms to meet Chance''s fists. He matched him in speed and strength, managing to deflect every single blow.


    In seconds, Chance had thrown at least ten punches, and Zen blocked every single one without flinching.

 Chapter 3351 The Weightless Mountain

    After giving some time to adapt, Zen''s ability to control the Shade Stone liquid only grew stronger.


    It could be absorbed into his viscera, bones, or skin. When he resisted his enemies, he could shift the impact to the position where the Shade Stone liquid was placed. With the liquid, he attempted to take every strike from Chance.


    Even though Chance released a thousand divine megatons of force, Zen blocked all his attacks with ease.


    "I told you to take the fight more seriously. Show me what you''ve got!" Zen called out as he looked at Chance with calm eyes.


    Chance knew Zen was a disciple of the Oneness Sky Palace who hadn''t reached the Chaotic Source Realm, but Zen appeared so calm as though Chance was an ordinary warrior.


    It was completely beyond his expectations. Zen''s leisurely attitude hurt his pride ¡ª he began growing restless.


    Chance refused to yield or heed Zen''s words. Instead, he gently slid his feet, moving particularly elegantly as he charged at Zen.


    No matter how strong the disciple was, everyone had a limit. Chance refused to believe that Zen could continue resisting his attacks for long.


    But under Chance''s rain of punches, Zen showed no sign of panic.


    Not only could he block Chance''s fists, but he also managed to launch his counterattack from time to time.


    In terms of force alone, Zen was incredibly strong when he used the Strength God Totem. Each and every punch he threw at his opponent contained over a thousand divine megatons of force. Besides, the Shade Stone liquid strengthened his body dramatically. His counterattacks weren''t to be underestimated.


    But Chance was a powerful warrior of the Chaotic Source Realm. His body was far stronger than any opponent Zen had faced before.


    Ordinary warriors of the Other Shore Realm would have been torn to shreds if they took one of Zen''s hits. But Chance''s body was like iron. Zen couldn''t even make a dent.


    Loud thuds resounded every time their punches met. From the noises they made, anyone could easily assume that two giants were brawling. The exchange of blows continued as they moved across the area.


    The other disciples knew it was good to distance themselves from the intense fight.


    Every time the two collided, the impact caused something like a violent explosion. Anyone standing too close could easily be caught in the impact and get injured. Several disciples already had cheeks that were bulging out because of the blast wave.


    As they watched the fierce combat, all of them wer


    e of the Weightless Mountain, Chance''s aura strengthened drastically. When he took a heavy step forward, his red sword slashed at Zen as he approached.


    Swish!


    His sword left a long, red trail in the air. It seemed to carry the power to cut through anything in the world.


    In the face of Chance''s ferocity, Zen''s face turned grim.


    The realization hit him: he couldn''t take the strike head-on.


    Withdrawing his body, Zen leaped high into the air and evaded Chance''s sharp hit.


    But now that Chance had displayed his Other Shore Token, he surely wasn''t going to give Zen any chance to run away.


    "Nine-world Mantra!


    Binding him!"


    Chance gently shook his sword''s blade, making its radiance twist and shoot at Zen aggressively like a nimble gecko.


    The Nine-world Mantra Sword was a supreme swordsmanship manual unique to the Phoenix Palace. With Chance''s formidable strength, the power of his skill was thousands of times greater than when Ahmad had used it ¡ª Zen couldn''t find a single flaw in his attack.


    As Zen retreated, he continued moving and dodging, but failed to get out of the binding force''s range.


    It was an unavoidable technique, even for Zen, because the skill reached a wider area instead of a single point.


    There was so much going on that Zen could barely process the situation. But because he couldn''t keep dodging, his right eye suddenly flashed with a red light.


    Initially, Chance had planned to completely eliminate Zen in a single attack. But as soon as he spotted the red light, his heart skipped a beat, and his attack waned.


    Zen seized the opportunity to twist his body abruptly and distance himself from his opponent.

 Chapter 3352 The Growing Sculptures

    As he helplessly watched Zen escape from his binding force, Chance''s face was shadowed with a small trace of anger.


    He had no idea about the red light in Zen''s right eye, but he had felt the horror brought by it, even though it had lasted for one tiny, ephemeral moment.


    "Crooked way!"


    Chance bellowed, trying to settle the fear he felt inside. He waved his blood-red sword into the air again, and hundreds of beams of sword radiance shot out!


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Seeing how aggressive the sword radiances were getting now, Zen was sure that he would be defeated sooner or later if he kept on dodging. He had to put an end to this fight.


    Seeing the sword radiance rush toward him, Zen waved his Snow Sword, hacking at nine different points.


    "Nine-Flash Light-splitting Swordsmanship!" he roared.


    Swish! Swish! Swish!


    Nine rays of bright and pearly white colored sword radiance chopped the air and rushed toward Chance''s sword radiance at an incredible speed.


    But Chance''s sword radiance was much more stable and strong since it contained greater Other Shore Power than Zen''s. The latter''s was remarkably fast, but regretfully, lacked quite a bit in power. When the two sword radiances collided, Zen''s nine rays were smashed into nothingness as if they were made of paper or dry weeds.


    Apparently, Zen couldn''t block the sword radiance Chance was throwing at him. All he could do was to retreat and dodge again and again. He was in a precarious situation now.


    "Huh! Now you see it! It''s not that easy to make up for such a huge gap between cultivation levels," Chance remarked casually, staring at Zen with a scornful gaze. He began to approach Zen impassively with his sword in hand.


    The direct descendants of the palace nodded subconsciously when they heard this. Chance''s words made sense. How could Zen confront such a strong warrior at the Chaotic Source Realm, especially when he was comparatively much weaker?


    However, unknown to them, Chance was still a bit puzzled by the red light in Zen''s right eye.


    He didn''t know what it was, but could sense that it was quite a rare Other Shore Token since it could disturb even his mind. He guessed it could be a mysterious type and would not contain much Other Shore Power.


    Even the mysterious Other Shore Tokens of Stage Fourteen could unleash no more than 300 divine megatons of force.


    But Zen had unleashed almost a thousand divine megatons of force just now. Was it possible that he had two Other Shore Tokens?


    Pondering over the possibilities, Chances waved his blood-red sword.


    "Annihilation World!"


    The sword radiance that rushed out this time contained an overwhelming intent of annihilation. Even if someone was just grazed by it, they would sustain


    as it possible that they were wrong?


    Was it because this particular Other Shore Token wasn''t a descending type?


    What was the use of the Regal Jade Beast he had summoned then?


    Chance was getting a little impatient now. He didn''t know what Zen was playing at. He flew up, raised his blood-red sword with his left hand, and hit the second sculpture directly.


    "Bang!"


    The second sculpture was smashed into pieces by a single strike this time.


    As soon as he smashed this sculpture, Chance began to chase after Zen once again.


    He didn''t care what the use of these Regal Jade sculptures was. All he wanted was to kill Zen!


    With Chance in hot pursuit, Zen acted very calmly.


    Since he was unable to fight against Chance head-on, he merely kept dodging and retreating. And while retreating, he kept on releasing Regal Jade Beast sculptures one after another.


    Chance was hot headed. But if he had been cautious enough, then he would have instantly noticed that these sculptures were gradually growing in size. Each one was bigger and taller than the previous one!


    Chance finally noticed this after smashing a few of them.


    ''There''s something strange about his sculptures.''


    Out of fighting instinct, Chance didn''t let go of any sculpture even after realizing that. He cut through all the tokens that Zen was releasing into pieces along the way.


    Forced to repeatedly destroy these sculptures, Chance had to slow down. They were proving to be quite a nuisance.


    Just as Chance cut the tenth sculpture, he was faced with yet another problem.


    The Regal Jade Beast sculpture had now grown as tall as a man. Previously, he had been able to stab through the sculptures in a single strike, but now, he could only leave a few cracks on it with one strike. These Regal Jade sculptures were becoming bigger and stronger.

 Chapter 3353 There Is Always More

    Now, Chance had to hit the sculpture over ten times to destroy it.


    Deafening, clanging sounds echoed as his sword strikes collided with the sculpture.


    He cut the sculpture a dozen times before it finally broke into pieces.


    However, as soon as the sculpture crumbled, a new one appeared before him. Zen had summoned another statue.


    It was even burlier and larger than the last one!


    "The sculptures will just keep coming!" Chance said to himself, getting frustrated.


    He realized that it was a mistake to waste his energy on the statues. He should have dodged them and directly attacked Zen instead.


    He sidestepped the latest statue and prepared to rush towards Zen. In that instant, a chessboard appeared in Zen''s hand.


    Like the statues, it was made of Regal Jade.


    Nine vertical and nine horizontal lines were laid out on the chessboard, forming a total of eighty-one intersections.


    There was a single cyan chessman on the board.


    Zen delicately placed a finger on the cyan chessman, and pushed it a step forward.


    The statue sprang to life. It lunged forward and grabbed Chance.


    Chance was caught by surprise when the statue took hold of him. He had thought the statues were only used to make the array, and that they couldn''t move.


    "Go to hell!"


    Chance shouted. At this point he was more irritated than afraid.


    He had stopped not because he was afraid but trying to save his time and strength.


    If he wanted, he would be able to destroy them one after another.


    As the statue dragged him, Chance turned, wielding his sword. The light of his sword circled as he swung at the statue.


    There was a crashing sound as it cracked and crumbled.


    He had broken the statue into pieces with his sword.


    The disciples of the Phoenix Palace cheered, "Chance is awesome!"


    "I''ve never seen anything like that strange Other Shore Token, but it won''t be enough to beat Chance!"


    While the disciples were proclaiming their support for Chance, one of them suddenly pointed at Zen and gasped, "Look!"


    Zen was holding the Regal Jade chessboard with one hand. He raised his other hand, and immediately another statue of Regal Jade Beast appeared beside him. It was huge and forbidding. It was definitely taller and fiercer than any of the previous statues.


    They could see traces of green energy surrounding the Regal Jade Beast statue.


    Zen smiled


    hore Tokens can be extremely powerful, but they have to be reasonable. Remember, that guy has only reached the thirteenth stage of the Other Shore Realm. There''s no way he could have gotten his hands on an invincible Other Shore Token."


    Of course, the power of the Other Shore Tokens did not always strictly correspond to their stage. There were powerful tokens in Stage One, and there were tokens from Stage Thirteen that could be stronger than tokens from Stage Fourteen. But the variance in their level of power would not be too great.


    There were some Other Shore Tokens that had the power to overturn the Oneness Sky Palace, but there was no way they would be found in Stage Thirteen on the Other Shore.


    "Damn it!"


    Chance shouted furiously. His hair stood on end with his exertions.


    A primitive and unique force began forming inside his body.


    At the same time, a melodious bell sounded.


    "His blood!" cried the disciples.


    "Chance''s blood is pure.


    He has just summoned the Bell of Eastern Emperor!"


    Chance raised his sword slightly and said, "Suppress." He swept his sword across the two statues, and shadows appeared over each of them. Two huge bells were falling from the sky.


    There was a clanging sound


    as the bells landed.


    The two statues were broken into pieces in the blink of an eye.


    "Ha!" said Chance triumphantly.


    He looked at Zen, intending to gloat, but instead he saw something terrifying


    Zen still wore that faint smile. Next to him stood three statues. Each was taller and stronger than the two statues Chance had just destroyed.

 Chapter 3354 Chances Mother

    There was a gentle tapping sound as Zen put his fingers on three pieces on the chessboard once again.


    He instantly activated the 15th, 16th, and 17th Regal Jade Beast statues, which ran towards Chance.


    Every time one more Regal Jade Beast was summoned and appeared, its strength and body grew significantly.


    Generally speaking, the power of the three Regal Jade Beasts was comparable to that of the ordinary Chaotic Source Realm warrior, but they were slightly weaker when it came to physical strength.


    Although Chance was a powerful warrior of the Chaotic Source Realm, it was difficult for him to fight against them. After all, he was outnumbered.


    He bit his teeth and extracted the blood of his body. The blood red sword which seemed to contain endless amounts of power turned into a big bell, and then moved towards the Regal Jade Beasts to attack them.


    "Bang!"


    "Bang!"


    "Bang!"


    Chance had easily killed the 15th Regal Jade Beast.


    The 16th Regal Jade Beast, however, actually managed to withstand the Bell of Eastern Emperor''s attack, but countless cracks burst on the surface of its body. The beast didn''t break into pieces until Chance attacked it for the second time.


    The 17th Regal Jade Beast was an exception. When the 17th Regal Jade Beast was hit by the Bell of Eastern Emperor, only one crack appeared on its body. It seemed that its physical body was terribly strong!


    The guards who watched the battle from the distance all gasped at the scene.


    "How terrifying this jade statue is!"


    "Even though Chance has made use of the Other Shore Token and the bloodline theurgy, he still can''t destroy it..."


    "Can that man really make these jade statues become stronger and stronger?"


    Speculations filled the air as such a crazy method was unheard of and totally out of the others'' imaginations.


    Even the disciples of the Phoenix Palace were amazed. Their faces darkened as they watched the shocking scene.


    For them, Chance had always been invincible, but now he couldn''t even touch Zen''s sleeve and was completely tired of dealing with the statues. This result was completely beyond their expectation, and it made them upset.


    As for Chance, all the color was drained from his face and he became speechless.


    He was also confused.


    How could an Other Shore Realm warrior be so powerful to deal with?


    There was no doubt that he''d become everyone''s laughing stock if Zen defeated him today.


    Outraged, Chance madly squeezed his Other Shore Token and blood power. After he used the Bells of Eastern Emperor to attack the 17th Regal Jade


    s body, he still couldn''t resist the violent attacks from the two Regal Jade Beasts!


    At this moment, Chance began to groan inwardly.


    Chance''s physical body, though fortified by the Chaotic Source Reinforcement, was now extremely fatigued. If he suffered a few more attacks, his physical body''s strength would decline greatly and the Regal Jade Beasts would end up smashing him into a bloody pulp!


    But what could he do? Give up? Beg for mercy?


    As a direct descendant of the Phoenix Palace and the talent of the Land of Sword Grief, would he admit defeat to a disciple from the Oneness Sky Palace?


    Driven by his strong self-esteem, Chance wasn''t willing to do that.


    While Chance was in despair, two ice crystals suddenly appeared beside him.


    As soon as the two ice crystals emerged, they pummeled into the bodies of the two Regal Jade Beasts.


    As a result, the emerald Regal Jade Beasts turned into two stiff, icy sculptures.


    After that, a woman in a white gauze dress quietly appeared beside Chance. The moment she showed up, the temperature in the entire Phoenix Palace dropped by several degrees.


    She stretched out her slender white fingers and gently stroked the two ice sculptures.


    "Crash!"


    The two ice sculptures shattered into pieces on the ground.


    Chance groaned in pain, and then slowly adjusted his body. "Mother..." he called out and looked at the woman.


    A few seconds later, another shout ripped through the cold air. "Mother!" Ahmad yelled and ran over from the distance.


    "Who are you from? How dare you act wildly and atrociously in our Phoenix Palace?" the woman hissed.


    She had quite an aloof face. She glared at Zen who stood not far away, her voice filled with rage.

 Chapter 3355 More Important

    The woman dressed in white was Lady Jean. She enjoyed a high position in the Phoenix Palace and was not shy about showing it.


    When Chance was in the middle of a battle at the Heavenly Cultivation Palace, some maids saw it and immediately rushed off to tell Jean what was going on.


    She rushed over, infuriated to see her son being beaten by two Regal Jade Beasts.


    The guards saw Jean, exchanged a quick look and quietly slid away.


    Other concubines could be reasoned with and spoken to easily, but Jean was cold and loved to let her anger out on others around her.


    The guards had looked on when Chance was being beaten by the Regal Jade Beasts.


    They were too weak to stop it, but if Jean were to turn to them in anger and ask questions, they''d have no way of defending themselves, and so they opted to run away from the situation.


    Hearing Jean''s words, Zen was helpless.


    Like mother, like son. Chance and his mother were very much alike in character. Jean didn''t even know what was going on and had immediately decided to criticize and blame Zen.


    "Your son and I are sparring with each other. Why are you making such a fuss?" Zen retorted.


    "Mother, he crumbled my sword right when he got here. Obviously he is here to cause trouble. Punish him!" Ahmad said whining.


    Jean looked daggers at Zen and said, "As I said, you''re acting wildly and atrociously. There''s no way for you to deny it!"


    She snorted in derision as pieces of ice crystals floated from her fingertips towards Zen.


    The crystals were so icy cold that they would have shattered the jade statues into a million pieces if they so much as touched them.


    The direct descendants all bubbled with excitement on seeing the ice crystals flying at Zen.


    Most of them were proud and arrogant, always looking down upon the disciples outside of the Phoenix Palace. This attributed to the fact they all shared a bit of the blood of Eastern Emperor Taiyi.


    Zen had beaten Chance in their territory and this was unacceptable to them.


    They had taken it as not only a defeat to Chance, but to all the direct de


    go back to your place and rest," said Flamine.


    "Lady Flamine! Are you really going to protect these lowly outsiders?" Jean snapped. Her pretty face twisted in anger.


    The Phoenix Palace might have seemed peaceful and serene, but the concubines were always in disagreements with one another.


    Jean and Flamine had never been on good terms. And now, Ahmad and Chance were beat and Flamine sided with the outsiders? Jean could not make sense of this.


    "Lowly outsiders?" A smile of mockery crossed Flamine''s face. "Firstly, they are the disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace, not lowly outsiders. Secondly, they are friends of my daughter."


    "Friends?" Jean smiled disdainfully and was about to respond, but Flamine interrupted her.


    "Thirdly, compared to us, Zen is much more important to the Oneness Sky Palace!"


    Zen was the only one capable of deciphering the Truth Enlightenment.


    Based on that, Zen was indeed more important to the Oneness Sky Palace than the concubines of the Phoenix Palace.


    Jean''s heart skipped a beat at Flamine''s words. Zen? More important than them?


    What made him so important?


    This was a hard pill to swallow and she thought Flamine was probably lying to her anyway.


    "I don''t care what you say. I won''t let this matter go to rest unless you hand them over!" Jean said coldly.


    "So you want to fight me?" asked Flamine with a menacing smile.

 Chapter 3356 Be Summoned

    Jean''s eyes glinted dangerously as she began to assess the weight of the situation.


    Even though her strength was comparable to Flamine''s, it was unwise to fight Flamine openly within the Phoenix Palace.


    In any case, she was cautious enough not to do anything foolish. Moreover, Flamine said that Zen held a greater importance in the Oneness Sky Palace than they did.


    If Zen was truly significant to the palace, she wouldn''t want to further complicate things. Otherwise, her position in the Phoenix Palace would be at stake. Once Eastern Emperor Taiyi punished her, she would be demoted from her current position.


    Meanwhile, Flamine merely stood there waiting calmly, with a charming smile etched on her face.


    In actuality, she had set this trap up. The only thing she had to do now was wait for Jean to take the bait and walk into it.


    The tension in the area was almost palpable. Even the direct descendants felt their hearts pounding against their ribs.


    It was not that big of a deal for the disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace to fight in the Phoenix Palace.


    However, it would be a serious matter if the two wives of the emperor fought there. Moreover, both of them held high positions.


    Zen and the others remained quiet while assessing the current scenario. He surmised that Flamine was confident enough to challenge Jean on the spot.


    Boom!


    All of a sudden, they heard a melodious chime coming from the depths of the Phoenix Palace. It rang all throughout the entire palace.


    Flamine, Jean, and the direct descendants turned their heads toward the direction of the chime.


    Afterwards, they heard a loud booming voice. It was such a magnificent sound that resonated from the depths of the Phoenix Palace.


    "Zen, come here and meet Eastern Emperor Taiyi."


    The entirety of the Phoenix Palace heard the voice clearly.


    "He is awake!" Flamine wasn''t able to hide her surprise.


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi had been cultivating in solitude for such a long time. This worried the other people in the Phoenix Palace.


    Jean also showed a flash of surprise on her face. Eastern Emperor Taiyi finally woke up. But instead of summoning someone from their palace, the first person he wanted to see was Zen?


    "With all due respect, Lady Flamine, who do you mean?" Zen asked courteously.


    Flamine responded with a smile and said, "It''s Eastern Emperor Taiyi. Make haste. He already summoned you. I''ll escort you there."


    "You''ll be showing me the way?" Zen exchanged looks with Nelly, Lavender and Laquisha. One thing was for certain. They were all dumbfounded.


    Jean was extremely narrow-minded. What would happen if she got mad at the girls after he left with Flamine? After all, they wouldn''t be able to resist clashing with a strong warrior like her.


    Nonetheless, Flamine perfectly understood what worried Zen. She casually said, "There is no need to worry. This is the Phoenix Palace. Even though some of the people here might be unreasonab


    theless, some of Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s wives, specifically Jean, had tried many times to compete for the empress throne. However, she was rejected by Eastern Emperor Taiyi every time.


    Flamine continued to explain this to Zen while they walked into the depths of the Phoenix Palace.


    As soon as they stopped walking, an exquisite three-story pavilion came into sight. Compared to the magnificent halls he saw while walking inside the Phoenix Palace, this seemed a bit simpler.


    "You can go inside now, Zen." Flamine stopped walking as soon as they reached the pavilion. Her escort duty to Zen had been fulfilled.


    "I''m going in alone?" Zen was taken aback. He thought Flamine would accompany him inside as well.


    Flamine nodded in response. "He only summoned you. Hence, you have to enter by yourself."


    Zen looked at the simple door of the pavilion. Promptly, he stepped forward.


    The pavilion was indeed small but the interior design was very elegant. As soon as he stepped inside it, a faint fragrance greeted his nose. He couldn''t quite place what the fragrance was. Nevertheless, it somehow made him feel peaceful.


    A thin veil covered the main hall of the pavilion. It was such a delicate fabric yet it concealed whatever it had behind it.


    As Zen walked closer to it, the veil curtains automatically opened and moved toward the sides.


    He saw a simple yet ancient-looking screen bearing an illustration of an exquisitely huge bell standing in the middle of the main hall. This bell looked exactly the same as the Bell of Eastern Emperor that Chance had activated with his blood.


    "Zen?"


    A middle-aged man clothed in a grey robe came out from the side of the screen.


    This man wore a purple and gold crown upon his head. He had a square face, his eyes looked as sharp as hawk''s, and his facial expression was serious. It commanded a magnificent presence. He was the great Eastern Emperor Taiyi.


    "Yes." Zen cupped his hands together and bowed to him.

 Chapter 3357 Zens Request

    Eastern Emperor Taiyi stared at Zen, a smile cracking through his serious face.


    He was always a gravely serious man; Zen didn''t know how rare this smile was.


    He stretched a finger towards Zen as he smiled.


    The finger released the powerful, sharp radiance like a sword. This was a technique that could be performed by any ordinary swordsman.


    Naturally, however, as it was Eastern Emperor Taiyi employing the finger strike, it was incredibly powerful.


    Zen felt that the finger strike contained the aura of the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent''s Truth Enlightenment.


    Seeing the finger strike heading straight for him, Zen too stretched out a finger. A white spiral burst from his finger''s radiance and he began making use of the Truth Enlightenment as well.


    "Phew!"


    "Whoosh!"


    "Swish..."


    Zen launched an attack with his finger and Eastern Emperor Taiyi moved slightly and avoided it, responding with a horizontal chop of his own.


    Zen reacted by gently moving his finger upward, and with a flip of his hand, he instantly stopped the chop coming at him.


    In the blink of an eye, they had exchanged more than ten moves.


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi restrained his strength to a very low level, only fighting Zen with the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent.


    Zen had comprehended more content of the Truth Enlightenment than he had. His finger radiance was sharper and more formidable than Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s, suppressing Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s every attack and forcing him to give up over and over.


    "I was on the Other Shore for quite a while this time, leaving only a soul fragment here. When anything important happened in the Oneness Sky Palace, Athemar and the others would report it to my soul fragment. After I came back and fused with the soul fragment, I was very surprised by you," said Eastern Emperor Taiyi.


    Zen pretended not to understand and asked innocently, "Why? What is it that has shocked you?"


    "I have been studying the Truth Enlightenment for many years, too many. I once contemplated giving it up. Altogether I''ve only deciphered about 100 words. But you, only around 100 years old, have already surpassed me in deciphering the Sanskrit words. That is what has me shocked," Eastern Emperor Taiyi said earnestly.


    He was the man responsible for the construction of the orthodox human force. His goal was to achieve the ultimate level in all respects, such as deciphering the Sanskrit words, and cultivating the swordsmanship.


    The Truth Enlightenment had hindered him for too long. He hadn''t achieved anything until only recently.


    However, after comprehend


    astern Emperor Taiyi, Zen stood silently.


    "What do you want?" Eastern Emperor Taiyi suddenly asked.


    All swordsmen could benefit greatly from the Truth Enlightenment.


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi did not think Zen would give over the translation without asking for something in return.


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi had also just alluded to the Nine Li race, which must mean he had seen through Zen''s thoughts and known what was coming.


    Since Eastern Emperor Taiyi had asked him directly, Zen answered him directly, "I want to rebuild the Nine Li race and I wish for the Oneness Sky Palace to assist me."


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi was not surprised at all. He waved his hand and said, "I can help you. The whole Oneness Sky Palace will help you, but not yet."


    "Then, when will you help me?" Zen asked.


    "When the war between them fully begins," answered Eastern Emperor Taiyi.


    Most people would probably not know who "them" referred to.


    However, Zen had explored the Dark Region and he had inherited the Civilization Artifact. He also understood that those super forces in the Source World were basically the spokespersons of certain civilizations.


    "Does ''them'' you just talked about refer to the previous civilizations?" Zen asked.


    "You know of this?" Eastern Emperor Taiyi was truly taken aback this time.


    He thought Zen, who had just reached Stage Thirteen, didn''t even know the layout of the Other Shore. How could he know the existence of those civilizations?


    Several Oneness Governors would from time to time report important information to Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s soul fragment.


    But he still had no knowledge of the fact that Zen had stepped into the Dark Region, and that Elvinia had become a purified being.

 Chapter 3358 Leaving

    "Yes, I''ve heard of them," Zen responded along with a nod.


    In fact, he was not merely aware of them.


    He had the full support of the Regal Jade Civilization, one of the top ten civilizations.


    With Zen''s improvements on the Other Shore, the Regal Jade Civilization would have a far-reaching advantage if they were to join the games again.


    Meanwhile, Eastern Emperor Taiyi gazed deeply at Zen, as if deep in thought.


    Ever since the establishment of the Oneness Sky Palace, he had seen a number of young people with extraordinary strengths and talents.


    However, no one had ever come close to Zen''s excellence.


    After their short discussion, Eastern Emperor Taiyi found that Zen kept many secrets, which made him feel that he could not see him through.


    "You know much, but your cultivation is still too low," Eastern Emperor Taiyi muttered. "But as you know, the Chaotic Source World will be opened soon. For the Other Shore Realm warriors, the Chaotic Source Reinforcement is an important threshold they must cross. You must seize this opportunity."


    "I have been fully prepared," replied Zen, bowing his head.


    He had said this but in actuality, he was a little confused.


    Based on Chance''s performance, the corporeal body of the Chaotic Source Realm proved to be very strong.


    However, if Zen absorbed a few more Shade Stones and used them to protect his body, he would surely have the physical strength as strong as those who went through the Chaotic Source Reinforcement, maybe even stronger than them.


    Was it even necessary for the warriors at the Other Shore Realm to undergo the Chaotic Source Reinforcement?


    After a few minutes, Zen left Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s place.


    Their meeting didn''t last long, and Eastern Emperor Taiyi hadn''t actually given Zen anything. But at the end of the day, Zen had gotten exactly what he wanted, namely Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s promise.


    There had to be countless rare treasures and theurgies in the Oneness Sky Palace, but Zen wanted nothing to do with them. Moreover, he was not interested in garnering a bubble reputation.


    After Zen left, a person emerged from a corner in Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s pavilion. The long cerise dress outlined her slim figure. It was Flamine.


    "Your Majesty, why didn''t you summon me but Zen after you woke up?" said Flamine, flustered and frustrated. Before Eastern Emperor Taiyi, she was a very gentle woman


    recovered?" Zen asked with a genuine smile.


    Elvinia''s posture was tall, and her expression was as cold as ice. She wore a long blue dress, looking quite elegant and sophisticated.


    It was hard to read her, especially with coldness in her blue eyes.


    The Memory Flame recorded everything. After Teague''s memory was removed, her memory had been completely restored. This made everything clear to her, especially the incident in the Dark Region.


    Recalling that she had followed Zen like a little puppy, she blushed in embarrassment.


    "Little Master!"


    "Little Master, you''ve finally recovered!"


    Nelly, Laquisha and Lavender were happy to see Elvinia healthy and well, most especially because of Elvinia''s kindness towards them all.


    "It seems that you''re heading somewhere." Elvinia blinked, looking at all the bags they carried. "Are you leaving?"


    "Yes," Laquisha responded. "Thanks to you in these days, our cultivation base has improved by leaps and bounds. But we seem to have offended Lady Jean, and we don''t want to cause more trouble by staying in the Phoenix Palace."


    "Lady Jean? What happened?" Elvinia frowned. She was unaware of this.


    "When you were gone, they..." Nelly told Elvinia what had happened recently.


    After hearing Nelly''s explanation, Elvinia felt a chill come over her. "Chance? Ahmad? They are quite bold!" she sneered.


    No descendants of the Phoenix Palace ever dared to offend Elvinia.


    Even a Chaotic Source Realm cultivator like Chance would make a detour if he ever came across her.


    Little did she know that they started a fight when she was gone.

 Chapter 3359 The Ticket

    Elvinia accepted them as disciples just on a whim, not formally.


    But after some time, they developed quite a good relationship.


    Now, when Elvinia saw that Nelly and the other two were going to leave soon, sadness overcame her. "There''s no need for you to leave," she said, like an afterthought.


    "But..." Nelly gave Zen a look.


    Before the latter could say anything, Elvinia walked up to take Nelly''s hand and stood before Lavender and Laquisha. She glared at Zen coldly and said, "Although I can''t call myself their master, we''ve been getting along well these days. You can''t just take them with you."


    Elvinia''s behavior both angered and amused Zen in return. He knew that at the beginning, she took them to the Phoenix Palace with an ulterior motive.


    "I''ve offended Lady Jean. If they stay in the Phoenix Palace, I can''t guarantee their safety," Zen said calmly.


    The narrow-minded Jean carried much resentment in her heart. Since she couldn''t take it out on Zen, she was likely to cause Nelly, Lavender, and Laquisha some trouble. Zen didn''t want to allow that to happen.


    "I promise I''ll keep them safe and sound at the palace," Elvinia assured him.


    "How? When the Chaotic Source World opens, won''t you also leave the Oneness Sky Palace? How will you protect them then?" Zen questioned skeptically.


    "I will leave them to my mother, and I won''t let anything happen to them," Elvinia said firmly. Turning to Lavender and the other two, she said softly, "Please stay in the Phoenix Palace."


    Elvinia''s determination piqued Zen''s curiosity.


    It seemed the damage to her Memory Flame somehow affected her personality as well.


    When Laquisha, Nelly, and Lavender heard Elvinia''s request, they exchanged uncertain glances. "Zen," Nelly then uttered, "we''d better stay at the Phoenix Palace for now..."


    Seeing Elvinia''s sincerity, the three felt unwilling to leave. Pursing his lips, Zen merely shrugged and agreed.


    Although he could give them good cultivation resources, he knew that they could learn a lot more at the Phoenix Palace than with him. If Elvinia was that certain she could take care of them, then Zen would let them have that opportunity.


    After he returned to the Flow Sword Sect, Zen began sorting out the Other Shore Tokens he had obtained in the Dark Region.


    In addition to the Civilization A


    lling to accept the fact.


    So long as it killed the human being in front of it, it could gain the ticket to the Chaotic Source World.


    Another step and it could succeed.


    The Evil God watched the approaching fierce ape with a wicked smile.


    When he pointed at it gently, his soul aura burst from his body.


    It was extraordinarily strong. It flowed and rushed toward the fierce ape.


    The moment the creature was enveloped by the aura, it almost lost itself.


    "Why is his Soul of Light... so powerful?"


    In the ape''s confusion, it felt a sharp pain at the back of its head. Its consciousness was then smashed in an instant. Its huge and strong head fell to pieces.


    The Evil God merely stepped on the ape''s corpse and continued up to the peak of the mountain.


    Now, he alone stood proudly on the Black Mountain.


    The monsters and beasts of the Black Mountain Guild all looked up at him from afar.


    "It''s too easy," said the Evil God as he stood atop the mountain. He then took out the token of the Black Mountain Guild and crushed it in his hand with pride. Looking up to the sky, he mumbled, "Will you be late?"


    The Black Ship was approaching him from the sky.


    It was moving rapidly, almost ominously.


    When it stopped right by the Black Mountain, Shera, clad in a long black dress, descended from it and stopped right above the Evil God.


    "Don''t stand above me," growled the Evil God.


    "Cut the crap. Take it and come with us."


    Without another word, she threw a black card at him. It was a ticket to the Chaotic Source World.

 Chapter 3360 Arrival

    The ticket to the Chaotic Source World was actually a slice of divine crystal which was cut in a very clever manner.


    Four small runes that were drawn on the ticket absorbed the internal divine crystal energy and spread it around. If any of its corners was damaged, the entire ticket would be broken into pieces.


    It was safe to say that since the ticket to the Chaotic Source World was too precious, many creatures had dared to make copies of it.


    That was why the tickets were made in such a clever way, to prevent plagiarism.


    The Evil God held the ticket close to his face, then looked at it with a critical eye.


    He had suffered a lot during his time in the Black Mountain Guild, especially when he was a newcomer. Some warriors at the Other Shore Realm had even subdued him too much with their Other Shore Tokens.


    Yet, he never yielded. In fact, he had even made rapid progress in just a short amount of time. Eventually, he had gotten to either defeat or kill those who had once repressed him.


    He had gone through so much for just this little ticket.


    He casually tucked it into the space ring and said, "Is there any way to get me a space ring on the Other Shore? I got so many Other Shore Tokens but I can''t take them away. What a pity!"


    It was actually easy to create Sumeru Space on the Other Shore. The super powers usually raised Thunder Beasts in their temples and they all had their own unique technology to make space rings.


    The only thing was Evil God had always acted on his own and had no contact with the others on the Other Shore. Who would make a space ring for him?


    He had wanted to rush into the temples and force them to carve a space ring for him. But to his disappointment, they had set up restriction against the outsiders in their temples. No matter how strong his Soul of Light was, there was nothing he could do.


    Therefore, he had no choice but to throw away many tokens he''d obtained on the Other Shore, save for some extremely valuable ones that were hidden in his Soul of Light. That was really a great pity for him.


    When Shera heard his words, she glanced contemptuously at him and said, "The Other Shore Tokens obtained in the Lust World are just rubbish. It''s not a waste to throw them away. Besides, we don''t have any allies in the Lust World."


    The Black Ship had a very small population, but each of its members was a peerless master. They wouldn''t have gone to the Lust World if it weren''t for some special reasons.


    "No! You are rubbish!" Evil God spat back.


    He


    s as they slowly rose up. Soon enough, they had left the Oneness Sky Palace and flew westward.


    The seven flying ships belonged to the seven mountains of the Oneness Sky Palace, and the one that led them belonged to the Oneness Mountain. Of course, disciples from the Phoenix Palace and the three sword sects were in it.


    To get to the Chaotic Source World, they had to cross over a hundred provinces. Even if the flying ships could penetrate space, they still had to pass through the walls between provinces when they reached the boundaries. Since they had to pause for a moment, it was clearly impossible for them to travel too fast.


    Inside the huge flying ships were hundreds of cubicles that were arranged neatly.


    Even though the disciples from the Oneness Sky Palace were on the journey, they still continued to cultivate themselves tirelessly.


    At the end of the day, the competition in the Chaotic Source World was also extremely fierce. Not everyone who entered it could get through the Chaotic Source Reinforcement. Disciples from the Oneness Sky Palace either cultivated their Souls of Light on the Other Shore, consolidated their own sword theurgy, or practiced the use of their newly fused Other Shore Tokens.


    Half a month later, the seven flying ships of the Oneness Sky Palace came out of the space barrier, and entered a snow-filled world.


    Once they reached the cold place, all the disciples from the Oneness Mountain went up to the deck to have a bird''s eye view of the area covered with snow and ice.


    Zen leaned on the rail as the chilly air caressed his face.


    They had now arrived at the Icy Snow Province, where the Chaotic Source World was located.

 Chapter 3361 A Huge Black Egg

    The Icy Snow Province belonged to the Pear Hill.


    Eleven provinces were under its jurisdiction, all of them lined up.


    Among the eleven provinces, the Icy Snow Province was the farthest from the Pear Hill.


    Back then, the super forces had allied and forced the Pear Hill to hand over the Chaotic Source Spirits. The Pear Hill couldn''t bear the pressure and chose to compromise instead.


    The super forces also required placing the Chaotic Source World in the center of the Source World. But the Pear Hill firmly refused. After several rounds of discussion, they finally gave up the Icy Snow Province, turning it into a public area where the Chaotic Source World was placed.


    Some super forces knew it was a long way to go, so half a year ago, they already set off.


    The Oneness Sky Palace was relatively close to the Icy Snow Province, so it had only taken half a month to arrive.


    The temperature in the Icy Snow Province was extremely low. An ordinary mortal could turn into an ice sculpture in mere seconds.


    But for powerful warriors at the Other Shore Realm, the temperature remained normal.


    Even under such harsh conditions, many big cities were built in the Icy Snow Province.


    As they approached the destination, many disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace grew excited.


    They gathered in pairs and trios to chat away and exchange information about the Chaotic Source World.


    Although this was their first time to enter the Chaotic Source World, some elders of the Oneness Sky Palace had offered them some tips.


    Although they all belonged to the Oneness Mountain, the four factions were greatly different from each other.


    The direct descendants of the Phoenix Palace were the most arrogant. They occupied the very front of the flying ship. One of them even announced, "All of us from the Phoenix Palace must unite as one in the Chaotic Source World!"


    "But my elder brother said that those Chaotic Source Spirits are scattered. I''m afraid it''ll be difficult to capture them if we hold together," another disciple retorted.


    "It depends. Some other races are pretty violent. They''ll start killing us mindlessly the moment we enter."


    ned over three million miles. From afar, it resembled a huge black egg.


    It was none other than the Chaotic Source World.


    There were over a thousand huge stone pillars standing in front of the Chaotic Source World. Each one was engraved with the name of a super force. The flying ship of the Oneness Mountain flew toward its pillar and stopped right by it.


    The flying ships of the other six mountains, including the Origin Mountain, the Golden Mountain, and the Bright Mountain also stopped by the pillar one after another.


    Many flying ships parked beside the pillars. Some were covered in snow. It seemed like they had been there for a long time.


    The disciples of the seven mountains of the Oneness Sky Palace came down from the flying ships one after another before gathering.


    The six Nine Li people followed closely behind Zen.


    Seeing them, Konnor and the others thought it was rather strange. They didn''t belong to the Flow Sword Sect. How did they get there by the flying ship?


    Curious as they were, no one bothered asking questions.


    For each team, a powerful figure was appointed to lead them.


    Athemar was appointed for the Oneness Mountain, while Winchell was chosen for the Origin Mountain.


    After flying past the many stone pillars under Athemar''s leadership, they saw a huge, open area in front of them. The snow had been cleared out and the creatures of many races had occupied their respective corners.

 Chapter 3362 Large Races Gathered

    Zen''s gaze swept around the spacious square, and landed at some giant figures standing on the left side of the area.


    "They are the Separate Abyss race," he muttered.


    He had previously seen the Separate Abyss race on the Other Shore several times.


    Although he wasn''t able to see clearly how they looked back then on the Other Shore, the silhouettes of their Souls of Light showed the outline of their figures. Thus, he had recognized them in one glance.


    The members of the Separate Abyss race were all seventy to eighty feet tall, which made them look like small mountains when they stood there.


    Every single one of them wore a special layer of golden armor. Their big eyes emitted a strong malicious aura, that they even looked down on everything quite condescendingly as they gazed around.


    They were born with huge size and strong bodies. They were indeed superior to other races in terms of physical strength, which was why they were extremely arrogant.


    Not far from them were the Ear Mice who sat up straight on the ground.


    All of them wore masks and kept silent. They were much more low-key.


    Everyone else thought that the Ear Mice weren''t that strong when it came to combat strength, but that was because they rarely had conflicts with other races. They preferred to use divine crystals and soul pills to solve everything.


    Furthermore, Zen''s observation of them on the Other Shore indicated that their combat strength shouldn''t actually be underestimated.


    After all, all the best Other Shore Tokens were traded through their dealings--so the Other Shore Tokens they had merged with naturally couldn''t be bad.


    Aside from those two races, there were also the Rain race, the Celestial Wolf race, the Purple Ape race, and so on.


    Generally speaking, one could tell the strength of a certain race from the number of creatures they had.


    The stronger a race was, the higher authority they had, and the more tickets they could get.


    For example, there were more than five hundred warriors of the Separate Abyss race. They currently had the largest number of warriors present. Thus, they obviously obtained the highest number of tickets to the Chaotic Source World.


    On the other hand, the small races like the Celestial Wolf race and the Purple Ape race with about only twenty to thirty members, had a relatively weak overall strength.


    The average super forces could get more than two hundred tickets, but this time, only a total of more than one hundred and eighty warriors from the seven mountains of the Oneness Sky Palace had come. It meant that as of now, they were disadvantaged when it came to the distribution of tickets.


    Once A


    beth, I wonder what you came here for."


    Elizabeth''s gaze landed on Elvinia, and with a smile she spoke, "Nothing. I just want to see the traitor of our Sun Crow race. She will actually accept the Chaotic Source Reinforcement today. How time flies."


    Elvinia''s face darkened upon hearing those words. She stood up and hissed, "Dare you say it again!"


    The years Elvinia had spent in the Divine Lair were nightmares that she would never want to look back all her life, but Elizabeth actually took the initiative to provoke her. Naturally, she was furious.


    "Elizabeth, watch your mouth!" Athemar warned. He too, was displeased.


    All of them gathered for one purpose: to enter the Chaotic Source World, and not to stir up trouble.


    Still, Elizabeth ignored him and continued, "I didn''t say anything wrong. Your mother is a traitor, and you are a traitor as well. It''s fine if you continue to hide in the Oneness Sky Palace like your mother. Since you dared to come to the Chaotic Source World, you must be mentally prepared for the fact that you might not be able to come back."


    The light in Elvinia''s eyes dimmed further. Just as she was about to retort, Zen suddenly stopped her and said, "There is no need to be so worked up on these birds."


    Elizabeth hadn''t noticed Zen at first. As soon as she saw Zen, she remembered that moment in the Mountain Viewing Province. Her face suddenly turned sour. "It''s you?!"


    She had performed the Illusory Projection several times to kill Zen but he had successfully escaped each time, so he left a deep impression on her.


    At that time, however, Zen had only recently stepped onto the Other Shore. Therefore, she was surprised that he would now be able to accept Chaotic Source Reinforcement after just a short amount of time.

 Chapter 3363 Target

    At that moment, Elvinia''s anger turned into confusion. She was curious as to how Elizabeth knew Zen.


    "Yes, it''s me," Zen replied with a faint smile.


    Since he had promised Flamine to protect Elvinia, he had to take some of the pressure off of her.


    Besides, Elizabeth immediately targeted the Oneness Sky Palace the moment she arrived. It was indeed too much.


    Back then, Zen had taken the Shade Stone which caused Elizabeth to hold a grudge against him ever since.


    It would''ve been more acceptable if it was a master like Athemar who had done such a thing, but the person who had snatched the Shade Stone away was a young man, a nobody--and Elizabeth felt greatly ashamed.


    Moreover, he didn''t even avoid her at all when he had faced her today. Instead, he even had the guts to stand up for Elvinia and call her a bird. He was too bold!


    "Do you really think¡­


    that because someone is protecting you, you can be safe all the time?" she snarled murderously as a scorching soul aura spread from her being.


    In turn, the disciples sitting on the ground stepped back when they sensed her strong aura.


    She was so arrogant and domineering that she completely ignored the leaders of the seven mountains.


    Even the usually calm Athemar looked visibly angry now. He released a sharp soul aura, which turned into a wall in front of the disciples as a response. Then, he declared, "Elizabeth, if you want to make a move, our Oneness Sky Palace is ready for a fight!"


    At that point, Winchell and the elders of the other five mountains started to gather their strength. More and more powerful auras filled the space.


    "Oh?" Elizabeth''s lips stretched into a thin smile. "We''re more than happy to see that the Oneness Sky Palace is ready to fight. Should we find a place then?"


    As soon as she finished speaking, the old leader of the Bearing race, a few leaders of the Divine Farmer race and the New Moon race all stepped out and stood beside Elizabeth.


    The Chaotic Source World hadn''t even opened yet, but the atmosphere already became too tense.


    Unfortunately, anyone with a keen eye could see that the Oneness Sky Palace was at a disadvantage.


    In fact, Eastern Emperor Taiyi had already expected this to happen.


    It became worse especially because Zen had anonymously destroyed the temple of the Bearing race. Thus, the Bearing race had every reason to hate him to the core and desire to eliminate him as soon as possible.


    Moreover, they had already known that Elvinia had a physical body on the Other Shore.


    Now, the truth was they had already discussed their


    ther Shore and that his Soul of Light had become more powerful and sensitive, Fuxi still gave him the feeling that his strength was incomparably unfathomable.


    "Yes, what a coincidence!" Zen replied calmly.


    "Humph! Coincidence? I''ve been waiting for you all this time, but you are too late. You haven''t accepted the Chaotic Source Reinforcement yet. How long are you going to let me wait?"


    Fuxi''s question puzzled Zen. "Why are you waiting for me?" Zen asked back.


    "Of course, to kill you and replace you when the right time comes," said Fuxi with a grin.


    Despite the smile on Fuxi''s face and his drunken state, there was a hint of seriousness in his glassy eyes. Zen''s heart skipped a beat. This fellow didn''t seem to be joking.


    Of course, he didn''t know Fuxi''s long-cherished wish.


    After Fuxi had figured out the Chaos Ancient God''s intentions, he began to take Zen seriously as his target.


    Though Zen had grown at a very outrageous speed, he was still too slow in Fuxi''s eyes.


    The others who were present were dumbfounded, as they had no idea what Fuxi was talking about.


    His strength could definitely allow him to kill Zen with just one finger, so why would he wait until Zen had grown really strong?


    Furthermore, even if Zen would really grow with his power, could he become as powerful as a man like Fuxi in the future?


    Elizabeth and those who stood around her were also baffled. Fuxi appeared so suddenly and unexpectedly, and they didn''t know what to do next.


    At that moment, Fuxi turned towards Elizabeth and the others, then said, "Remember, I don''t care about what you do in the Chaotic Source World, but if anyone dares to fight in the Icy Snow Province, I won''t show any mercy."

 Chapter 3364 Threat

    Fuxi was not shouting but his words were audible enough for everyone to hear clearly. Then, there was a moment of dead silence.


    The Icy Snow Province used to be a part of the Pear Hill, so it was close to it.


    Meanwhile, the strongest warriors of the super forces, such as the Sun Crow race, the Bearing race, and the Separate Abyss race didn''t come.


    Everyone was anxious as they knew the price of disobedience.


    Even Elizabeth couldn''t contain her anger.


    Her goal was to give the Oneness Sky Palace a fatal head-on blow to weaken their morale.


    The news that arrived from the Other Shore frustrated the members of the Sun Crow race and the Bearing race. The man named Thad had attacked these several super forces relentlessly but they could do nothing to him.


    However, Elizabeth didn''t expect that Fuxi himself would show up personally.


    "Human Sovereign, does this mean that we can fight outside the Icy Snow Province?" Elizabeth asked as she gnashed her teeth.


    She thought that if Emperor Charm of the Sun Crow race, the Yellow Thearch of the Bearing race, and the Divine Farmer were here, they might not succumb in fear to Fuxi.


    Nonetheless, they were in Fuxi''s territory now, so they had no choice but to yield for the time being.


    "Yeah, that''s right." Fuxi shrugged, with a fierce glint in his eyes. He stared at Elizabeth and continued, "But I have to warn you about one thing. If anyone dares to lay a finger on this young man, death will be the consequence."


    Zen was the one chosen by the Chaos Ancient God, so Fuxi certainly wouldn''t let anyone else kill him.


    Of course, Fuxi knew that it wouldn''t be easy to bring Zen down. He just deliberately advised Elizabeth and the others not to use any underhanded tricks on his watch.


    As they heard Fuxi''s threat, everyone was taken aback. Elizabeth''s face changed, just as the leaders of the other races.


    The younger generation who were present also became confused.


    "What''s so amazing about him? Why does the Human Sovereign protect him to that degree?"


    "Didn''t you hear? It''s because Fuxi regards him as his rival. Of course he won''t let anyone else lay a finger on him."


    "What? How could he be a rival of the Human Sovereign? That''s insane!"


    Those who were about to enter the Chaotic So


    are talk nonsense to my brother, you''re going to get it," Yan said with a stern face as she waved her fist in front of him.


    Everyone was stunned as they didn''t know what was going on.


    The title of the Human Sovereign was a symbol of strength and status.


    As one of the most powerful masters in the Source World, Fuxi exuded an aura of unmatched authority. However, none of those seemed to matter as he stood passively in front of Yan.


    Athemar and the others were extremely shocked.


    They couldn''t stop thinking of what could have possibly happened between them.


    They observed that Yan enjoyed a high status in the Snake Goddess race. She was surrounded by a crowd of the Pear Hill members as she got off the flying ship.


    However, that wasn''t an enough explanation for what was happening.


    How could Yan scold the Human Sovereign in this way, and why didn''t he dare to retort?


    It was a scene that nobody would believe if they didn''t see it with their own eyes and hear with their ears.


    Being threatened by Yan in public, Fuxi felt a bit humiliated. Thus, he tried to make an escape. He said, "Well, I don''t need to keep the order here. Members of the Pear Hill, please go to your place."


    After saying that, he no longer gave Yan any chance to speak. His figure swiftly distorted and flashed away in front of everyone.


    "Damn it! I can''t believe he just ran away like that!"


    From Yan''s expression, it seemed that she wasn''t really finished yet, and had no intention of letting Fuxi go at all.

 Chapter 3365 The Black Ship Came

    Elizabeth and the others returned to their places too.


    Yan''s behavior left them speechless.


    The pieces of the puzzle finally clicked in her mind. It finally dawned on her why Zen had so many powerful Latent Theurgies, why he showed incredible ability even when he was at an early stage of the Other Shore Realm and why he wasn''t afraid of the burning of the divine flames of the Sun Crow race.


    He must have an amazing background!


    But now, Elizabeth had a new question.


    With Zen''s sister daring to act so rudely in front of Fuxi, she couldn''t help but wonder exactly who their parents were.


    Most of the creatures present were beginning to ask the same question. No one in the Source World could make Fuxi react like this. What kind of background did Zen and Yan have?


    All the disciples of the Flow Sword Sect, the Unique Array Sword Sect and the Killing Sword Sect were shocked by what had happened.


    "Konnor, that disciple of your Flow Sword Sect seems to have a strong background!" a disciple of the Killing Sword Sect exclaimed.


    "Isn''t he the one who won first place in the Seven Mountains Meeting? He doesn''t have a powerful background, does he?" a disciple of the Unique Array Sword Sect asked in a hushed tone.


    Konnor and Milo from the Flow Sword Sect didn''t know what to say.


    In Konnor''s eyes, Zen was just like Milo, who had worked his way up the Oneness Sky Palace on his own merits.


    How would he know if there were some hidden truths behind it?


    Meanwhile, Chaim and Efrain, the two top talents from the Oneness Sky Palace, shot each other a meaningful look.


    Zen''s talent had made the two of them feel a little discouraged before, but knowing better now, they were at peace with it. There was a reason why Zen was so outstanding. His background was much stronger than theirs.


    "Brother, after the Chaotic Source World opens, you have to follow my lead, okay?" Yan said to Zen with a smile, before walking away and standing in a corner with the other members of the Pear Hill.


    Zen nodded with a smile on his face.


    In the divine land, there was a time when Yan''s strength had also increased greatly


    e must be a supreme master in the Source World to become one of them.


    Occasionally, the Black Ship would also train new members.


    But the people it chose tended to be monstrously powerful.


    The Black Ship had never come to the Chaotic Source World in recent years, which was why their presence now was so unexpected.


    As the ship flew over everyone''s head, a woman in a black dress jumped down and landed firmly on the ground.


    The woman''s skin was as white as paper, her face as adorable as a doll''s, and her big eyes alluring. However, if you were sensitive enough, you could sense a deadly aura from her.


    She was Shera.


    Fear gripped Elizabeth, Athemar and the leaders of the other large races.


    The strength of Shera was much stronger than that of Athemar and his peers. She was as strong as the heads of the seven mountains and the Five-element Emissaries of the Bearing race. According to practice, such a strong warrior wasn''t allowed to enter the Icy Snow Province.


    The moment Shera appeared, Fuxi who had disappeared, came back.


    "I can smell the odor of corpses from you far away. What are you doing here? Get out of here!" Fuxi said, glaring at her with contempt.


    When Shera saw Fuxi, she flashed an innocent smile. She swept back the hem of her dress as she bowed to him, responding sweetly, "You are being too harsh. You know, the most beautiful fragrance in the world is the smell of death."

 Chapter 3366 The Soul Devouring Demon

    It was understandable for Fuxi to act with hostility towards the Black Ship. After all, it was against the rules for Shera to enter the Icy Snow Province without consent.


    "This is the final warning. If you don''t turn your ship back now, don''t blame me for what happens next." Fuxi threatened her with his utmost resolve.


    The Icy Snow Province was open to the public, but it was still under the direct control of the Pear Hill. As long as the Pear Hill remained fair with the resource distribution in the Chaotic Source World, the other super forces were content with it.


    Instead of feeling intimidated by Fuxi''s threat, Shera gave him a sweet smile and spoke calmly, "Don''t fret yourself, Human Sovereign. I''m only here to send a young disciple to the Chaotic Source World. He has a ticket."


    Then she shifted her gaze upwards to the ship and said, "You can get off now."


    Those who were cultivated by the Black Ship were expected to grow more powerful in the future.


    Shera invited everyone''s attention through her mention of the disciple. They all awaited his arrival with impatient eyes as they kept them fixated on the ship.


    "This woman seems to be really strong. What kind of force is the Black Ship?" Zen whispered in a low tone as he asked Dorothy.


    "The people of the Black Ship are a group of bandits that run amuck everywhere in the Source World. It is said that there are only about a dozen of them, but each of them is a supreme master. We consider them to be one of the super forces," Dorothy explained to him.


    "There are only a dozen of them. And yet, they are considered to be a super force? Why is that so?" Zen''s pupils dilated in astonishment.


    According to his understanding, a super force had to have a long history and boast countless talents. For instance, the Oneness Sky Palace housed all human talents in the Source World other than the Bearing race, the Divine Farmer race, and the Nine Li race.


    Dorothy''s words had shocked Zen as they contradicted his knowledge.


    "Why not? By now, you should know that strength decides everything. It is said that the leader of the Separate Abyss race has to show respect to the head of the Black Ship. The super forces inferior in power can''t touch the Black Ship," Elvinia further explained to dissolve his confusion.


    Initially, Dorothy wanted to make it clear to Zen, but Elvinia had beat her to it. A trace of anger flashed on Dorothy''s face as she bit her lip.


    Elvinia noticed Dorothy''s expression and gave her a mischievous smirk.


    Under Shera''s command, a young man dressed in black jumped down from the ship. When he landed on the ground, his sheer force had created a ditch on the fla


    y caught their attention.


    After the Evil God gave them a taste of his intimidating aura, he gave a smug smile and said, "Back on the Other Shore, all of you were running scared out of fear of being devoured by me. So, you took refuge inside the temples. I''d watch out if I were you since there are no temples for you to hide in the Chaotic Source World!"


    "What? Devoured by you?"


    Everyone in the crowd shared expressions of puzzlement on their faces before they realized who this man was.


    "Ah! No wonder his soul aura seems familiar!"


    "It''s him! There''s no mistake! He is the Soul Devouring Demon! It must be him!"


    "His voice sounds the same. I remember now!"


    Suddenly, the expressions of all the young men of the large races switched drastically.


    It was said another man had made trouble in Stage Four after Zen destroyed the temple of the Bearing race.


    No one could tell what soul theurgy this man used. They only knew he was capable of sucking all the Souls of Light into his body.


    It was apparent the cultivation of his Soul of Light improved significantly due to that. And yet he still retained his control over himself and didn''t go mad at all.


    The three orthodox forces of the human race, as well as several other large races, had suffered irreversible damage by this man.


    The more Souls of Light he absorbed, the more his cultivation base improved. He was able to run amuck in the entire Stage Four and walked out unscathed.


    Since they were unaware of his origins, they had given him the title of the Soul Devouring Demon.


    The name of the Soul Devouring Demon soon caught the attention of many people. Each time they heard of it, the people would tremble in fear. However, never did they expect this man in black was the Soul Devouring Demon.

 Chapter 3367 Teach Him A Lesson

    The Soul Devouring Demon should keep a low profile now, on account of how wild and ruthless he had behaved on the Other Shore.


    No one had thought he would ever be so arrogant.


    He was so fearless; he had offended almost all the super forces and then still had the audacity to admit to his evil deeds. It was no wonder the Black Ship chose him!


    On the other hand, Shera seemed to have no intention to restrain the young man in black and showed zero care for his safety.


    Zen was inquiring of the origin of the Black Ship when the young man in black appeared suddenly before him. Zen stood up with eyebrows raised and his eyes glazed over in disbelief.


    "What''s wrong?" Elvinia asked in confusion.


    "Zen, do you know him?" Dorothy was confused as well.


    Both Dorothy and Elvinia were totally confounded. Not only did Zen have something to do with the Pear Hill, but he also seemed to know this man from the Black Ship.


    However, Zen had just asked of the origin of the Black Ship; it might be possible he knew nothing about it.


    "Yes, I know him," Zen answered with a bitter smile. "He is a secondary creature from my inner world."


    "What?"


    "A creature in your inner world?"


    Elvinia and Dorothy were both flabbergasted.


    Athemar stood at the front and turned his head in shock on hearing Zen''s words. "Are you sure?" he asked.


    "Yes," Zen replied sourly. "I released him when I entered the Source World. I didn''t expect him to get so powerful in such a short period of time."


    When he had released the Evil God, he felt he owed him something because of the Ways-blending Energy.


    Although he was aware the Evil God had an incomparable talent, he never thought he would be capable of growing and improving his cultivation base at such speed, and join a force like the Black Ship!


    Zen had taken precautionary measure though. He had built him a Rebirth Land.


    He could sense the Evil God''s general position if he was near him, but Zen hadn''t known until the Evil God jumped from the Black Ship.


    How had he avoided the restraint of the Rebirth Land?


    Zen knew the Rebirth Land was not omnipotent, but he never imagined the Evil God w


    hera was shocked at this scene. "Human Sovereign, how dare you ..."


    "Bang!"


    Fuxi, not far away, stretched out his finger and pressed it downwards slightly and an invisible force shoved the Evil God to the ground.


    Before Shera even realized what had happened, Fuxi stretched his hand out and pulled the Evil God over to him, grabbing him by the neck.


    Such was Fuxi''s power that even just one of his fingers was capable of releasing this incredible strength.


    The Evil God had sustained serious injuries. Blood flowed like a river as he was unable to move in Fuxi''s grip.


    Shera''s lovely face darkened and morphed strangely. Her dark pupils were completely vacant and the whites in her eyes, terrifyingly, had disappeared.


    She was now in a fighting state which she would only get into when faced with a powerful opponent such as Fuxi.


    Fuxi paid no attention to Shera. He gripped the Evil God''s neck tightly and yelled in his face, "I don''t care where you''re from. I''ve said it before and I''ll say it again. If anyone dares attack Zen outside the Chaotic Source World, I''ll kill them!"


    Blood trickled down from the Evil God''s forehead, a violent force flowed through his body and one of his eyes began glowing with hatred.


    He had never suffered such a loss.


    But Fuxi was so incredibly powerful...


    He was a mere ant to Fuxi, a little creature with no strength to fight back, just as he had been with Zen in the past.

 Chapter 3368 Inner-world Generating Avatar

    Swish!


    Fuxi dragged the Evil God like a soiled piece of rag that left a bloody trail on the ground.


    He pointed at Shera with a glare. "You and your ship get out of the Icy Snow Province. Now!"


    His harsh, unfriendly tone served as a warning to Shera that if she didn''t heed his words, a fierce battle was bound to ensue.


    Shera willed herself to calm down, her eyes returning to normal as she relaxed. Fuxi, with his formidable strength, could''ve easily killed the Evil God with the tip of his finger but chose to only teach him a lesson instead. Shera knew he was going to be fine despite his dismal state.


    ''Well, this isn''t so bad, '' she thought to herself as she looked down at her beaten disciple.


    She was a soft-hearted woman who accepted the Evil God and his arrogant personality.


    However, his arrogance could get extreme at times and would only grow in the future. Shera hoped that Fuxi''s lesson would serve to temper his insolence and strengthen his character.


    She walked towards the Evil God and threw a golden pill towards him. "Get up. We''ll wait for you outside the Icy Snow Province."


    Then, she lifted the hem of her black dress and gave Fuxi a respectful bow. "It''ll be hard for us to explain to our boss if there''s anything wrong with him. Please hold yourself back, Human Sovereign."


    There was an edge to her tone, an evident warning. If the Evil God died in the Chaotic Source World then he would only have himself to blame. However, dying outside the Chaotic Source World was another thing entirely. Whoever attacked him would earn the wrath of the Black Ship.


    After saying her piece, Shera departed by vanishing on the spot. At the same time, the Black Ship began to sail away serenely like a graceful spectre.


    Fuxi snorted, watching the Black Ship''s departure with a frown. He lingered for a few moments before he too employed the Grand Teleportation technique and disappeared.


    At the next moment, he suddenly appeared on top of a snowy mountain where he could see the entirety of the Chaotic Source World. He picked up a wine jar from somewhere and took a healthy swig.


    Fuxi hated trouble. The only reason he stood with Pear Hill and maintained order in the Icy Snow Province was to beg for someone''s forgiveness.


    The Evil God remained curled up on w


    d even taking them out of their inner worlds, then they could turn them into their avatars.


    "But these avatars have their own consciousness. They''re their own person, right?" Zen asked.


    Athemar nodded. "That''s true. In fact, the Inner-world Generating Avatar is regarded as an evil skill. The Rebirth Land is used as a method to better cultivate and control an Inner-world Generating Avatar."


    Zen pondered his words for a bit. "I don''t think many people create their avatars nowadays though. Why is that?"


    Athemar did mention that this skill was popular a long time ago but not anymore. That meant there was something probably wrong with it that rendered it unacceptable.


    "Because it''s very difficult to control the avatars through the Rebirth Lands. Many secondary creatures betrayed their creators after leaving their inner worlds. They never gave their creators a chance to annihilate their consciousness at all," Athemar explained.


    There were two steps in the creation of Inner-world Generating Avatars. The first would be to select the target creatures and build Rebirth Lands for them. The second would be to take them out of the inner world for training. After a certain amount of time, when the creatures were deemed ready, the creators would then erase their consciousness and turn them into avatars.


    Since they were born in their inner worlds, the creators would find no rejection at all when entering their avatars. They would feel like their own bodies. Avatars created this way were deemed the strongest.

 Chapter 3369 At A Random Order

    Zen was shocked to hear of such a method for cultivating an avatar.


    It was not fair to the avatar, who was not really the warrior, just a substitute. The avatar had its own consciousness and its own life.


    But it seemed that during those days, the powerful masters did not let too many worries or scruples get in the way of their activities.


    In some of the larger forces, the warriors whose strength ranked second to fifth, were all puppet avatars of their leaders.


    Nowadays, it was extremely rare to see creatures that cultivated the Inner-world Generating Avatar.


    On one hand, it was easy to get rid of the Rebirth Land. On the other hand, the level of strength pursued by the living beings in the Source World was getting higher and higher.


    When the Other Shore had first opened, creatures from the warriors'' inner worlds would enter the Other Shore and fuse with the Other Shore Tokens in Stage Three or Stage Four. Then the creators would erase the memories of those creatures and transform them into their avatars.


    For warriors as strong as Athemar, they needed to let the creatures from their inner worlds enter Stage Twenty, or a higher stage.


    It took time to train an avatar. The longer the training, the greater the chance that the creatures would discover the truth of the Source World, and then they would try to get rid of the control of the Rebirth Land. No creature wanted to be an avatar.


    When a creature whose memories had been erased was transformed into an avatar, it lost its soul. It could no longer enter the Other Shore, and its cultivation base could not increase.


    Thus, while Athemar was easily able to cultivate a few avatars in the third or fourth stage of the Other Shore Realm, these avatars were too weak and useless for him.


    "Then..." Zen said slowly, looking at the Evil God standing nearby.


    "He was created by you. If you have the chance, you can turn him into your avatar in the future," Athemar said flatly.


    "Of course, you must ensure you are stronger than him," Dorothy cautioned. "Otherwise, he will defeat you sooner or later. He might even be able to transform you into an avatar! It sounds impossible, but it is recorded that such a thing has happened before."


    Zen nodded, deep in thought.


    The Evil God was too sinister. If there was a chance, Zen must try his best to punish and control him.


    Inner-world Generating Avatar was indeed a good choice in this case.


    However, as Dorothy had warned, it was crucial to be at the proper level of strength. If Zen tried to take on the Evil God without being strong enough, it was entirely possible that he would be the one to end up getting kille


    d.


    "Mine says 7, 000," said Elvinia, showing her petal to Zen.


    "I have 18, 060," said Dorothy.


    Zen lightly placed the petal on his palm. "So this is the sequence in which we''ll enter the Chaotic Source World? Is it always like this? Warriors enter in an entirely random order?"


    Zen had assumed that the members of the same race could enter the Chaotic Source World together. As allies, they could watch out for each other and cooperate in order to get further. But this random sequence made that impossible now.


    "In the past, members of the same race were allowed to enter together, but they just ended up fighting in groups almost as soon as they entered the Chaotic Source World. So the rule was changed," Elvinia explained.


    Many large races and super forces had long histories with each other, which often involved some degree of enmity and animosity. When groups of warriors entered the Chaotic Source World and began fighting each other, this caused enormous losses to many races. To minimize the needless deaths, the Pear Hill had decided that participants would enter the Chaotic Source World individually, and that the order of entrance would be determined randomly.


    Sally, Hutton, and the others held their own petals in their hands. They also looked surprised at this unexpected twist. This rule had only been in place for a few decades, and they had not yet heard of it.


    They had all been operating under the assumption that they would enter together, and they were at a loss at this development.


    "Don''t worry. I will wait for you at the entrance," Zen said to Sally with a smile.


    Unexpectedly, Sally curled her lips at Zen, shaking her head. She morosely showed him her petal. "You''ll be waiting a long time. Look, I got number 39, 000!"

 Chapter 3370 The Wind

    Under normal circumstances, those who entered the Chaotic Source World needed to fend for themselves. But if they banded together, they would have a greater chance of succeeding.


    Therefore, the six Nine Li people were willing to follow Zen.


    Sally, however, felt a bit disheartened since her number on the petal was so big.


    Zen glanced at the number and smiled faintly. "Don''t worry. Even if we get separated, we will still be able to locate each other, thanks to the soul marks."


    When they were still on the flying ship, Zen had marked the bodies of the Nine Li people, Elvinia, and Dorothy.


    "Okay!" Sally nodded meekly.


    Meanwhile, the members of the super forces studied the numbers on their petals.


    Comparing the numbers between them, some obviously felt a little depressed over the gaps. In low voices, they discussed amongst themselves how they''d meet in the Chaotic Source World.


    Others glanced at the petals and then decidedly ignored them.


    Milo, the burly young man and the curly haired woman from the Divine Farmer race were among those who ignored the numbers.


    These were the sort of people who were fully confident in their strength and talent, so they frowned upon the idea of working with others.


    Once the woman standing in front of the stone gate had distributed all the petals, she cleared her throat. "Everyone, take your tickets and enter the Chaotic Source World according to your numbers. Now, the first one."


    As soon as she finished her words, a young man from the Bearing race stepped forward.


    Smiling confidently, he rushed towards the stone gate, waving his ticket in the air.


    The number on his petal was "one", so he was the first to enter the Chaotic Source World. He felt extremely lucky.


    After showing his petal at the stone gate, he then pressed his ticket onto the runes by the side of the gate. Once the runes smashed his ticket, he flew in.


    Immediately after, a werewolf with silvery hair from the Celestial Wolf race came forward. The number on its petal was "two". After having its ticket checked, it quickly followe


    his explosive power.


    Even so, Zen knew it was only fair that the Chaotic Source World had this restriction aimed at everyone.


    After flying a bit towards the right, Zen had seen only rusty-looking stones. There was no sign of Yan.


    "Where is she?" Zen frowned.


    Yan was a woman of her word. She had promised she''d meet him there, so where was she?


    Zen''s frown deepened. If she wasn''t here, she could be in trouble.


    He couldn''t help but feel a bit worried.


    Unfortunately, he hadn''t left a soul mark on her body, so there was no way of finding her.


    After wandering around for a while, he tried locating Elvinia. His expression changed abruptly once he found her.


    Elvinia had entered the Chaotic Source World only shortly before him, yet she was forty thousand miles away from him!


    If they were in the outside world, Zen wouldn''t have been so shocked. After all, they could use the Grand Teleportation.


    However, teleporting was forbidden in the Chaotic Source World. With this smog constricting movement, how could she possibly be that far ahead?


    While Zen was busy pondering over this, he failed to notice a wind was steadily rising in the Chaotic Source World.


    Whir...


    Suddenly, he felt something pushing him fiercely.


    The force of the wind was incredibly powerful. Before Zen had the time to react, he was violently swept up into the air by the wind.

 Chapter 3371 Sea Dragon Race

    Each speck of dust was a small individual that contributed to the black smog area in the Chaotic Source World. The area had the diameter of millions of miles.


    The smog was so dense and heavy that it was difficult for all living beings to move, let alone the wind.


    Naturally, the wind of the Chaotic Source World required more strength than they could have imagined.


    As Zen found himself being carried by the wind, he now understood how Elvinia travelled tens of thousands of miles into the Chaotic Source World in such a short amount of time.


    Elvinia did not make it on her own! She rode along the strong wind to get there.


    But if that was the case, then perhaps Yan had also been transported by the wind.


    "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."


    Zen moved in the air at an increasingly high speed.


    ''Before I came to the Chaotic Source World, I had never heard of such a strong wind. Has the Chaotic Source World changed?'' he thought.


    Besides, the woman from the Snake Goddess race had dropped a hint that Yan was waiting for him there.


    It seemed the woman was unaware of any change that had occurred.


    Five minutes had passed and the strong wind finally began to subside.


    As the wind calmed down, Zen steadily descended and landed on a firm, brown rock.


    Using the soul mark, he found that Elvinia was now around sixty thousand miles away from him.


    It was a far distance, and he knew he couldn''t get there so quickly.


    However, Zen was not in a hurry. After all, everyone had just arrived at the Chaotic Source World. It would take them time to adjust and get used to the place, so there shouldn''t be any threats soon.


    He stood on the tall rock and looked around. The place was lifeless, quiet, and deserted. He didn''t even spot greenery from where he was standing.


    The black smog might have just been too heavy, making the environment too harsh for ordinary beings. Perhaps nothing could thrive here except for the Chaotic Source Spirits.


    ''Before we set out, Dorothy mentioned that the Chaotic Source Spirits like hiding underground and in the rocks, '' Zen thought to himself. ''Maybe I can search for them in the rocks.''


    He then lifted his foot and stomped down hard against the rock he stood on.


    "Clatter..."


    With a crisp sound, cracks began to appear across the


    with a thick layer of scales. They had long, thick tails behind them, which only meant one thing¡ªthey were from the Sea Dragon race.


    "Wow! I didn''t expect to find a Chaotic Source Spirit minutes after entering the Chaotic Source World!" One of them was overjoyed to find the Chaotic Source Spirit, holding it firmly in his hand as it struggled to get out.


    He couldn''t let it out of his sight. After all, there were only 200, 000 Chaotic Source Spirits. So many people fought over them because they were so rare.


    Thanks to Zen, this particular man was happy to have found one so easily.


    However, Zen was not too happy about this. His face darkened slightly. "I found this Chaotic Source Spirit from the rock and dug it out myself." He looked at them fiercely and added, "Could you please return it to me?"


    The three had no clue that Zen was there in the first place, so they were shocked to see him.


    They knew that Zen''s identity was unusual, but the Chaotic Source World was different from the outside world.


    This was a rule set by the Snake Goddess, who they feared and respected very much. If they really killed Zen, no one would punish them, so perhaps now was a good moment to kill Zen.


    "Hey, are you out of your mind?" one of the Sea Dragon members uttered. "No one owns a Chaotic Source Spirit until they get a hold of it." The man smiled, taunting Zen.


    The group of three were not afraid of Zen, because no matter how powerful he was, Zen stood alone against three.


    To them, Zen was on a losing end.

 Chapter 3372 Pursue And Attack

    The Sea Dragon race couldn''t be considered a super force in the Source World. Naturally, their resources couldn''t compare to those of the Oneness Sky Palace.


    However, they made up for it with their extraordinarily strong bodies. Their dragon scales were considered treasures and served as natural armor.


    The three brothers, named Yasin, Musa, and Amir, were quite lucky. The gap in their respective numbers was within a hundred. Additionally, even though a strong wind had begun to rise as soon as they entered the Chaotic Source World, they were able to find each other and team up.


    Musa and Amir had sinister expressions, both smiling viciously at Zen.


    "So, you are unwilling to let go of the Chaotic Source Spirit." Zen narrowed his eyes at them.


    Yasin quickly stowed away the Chaotic Source Spirit into his space ring. Then, he turned to wink at his two brothers.


    Musa and Amir immediately took the hint. In the blink of an eye, Zen was surrounded.


    Yasin laughed. "When we were outside, you seemed to have a powerful background. However..." His eye twinkled mischievously. "I didn''t expect you to be such an idiot! The moment you saw us, you had a chance to escape. But now, I am afraid you''re done for. Musa, Amir, get him!"


    Yasin shook his head. He thought Zen would be smart, but apparently, he was just a dumb fool.


    They would spare him no mercy.


    With a brisk flick of the wrist, Musa and Amir summoned two long sabers. The Other Shore Power flowed throughout their bodies. Their scales began to glow a blue light, which was the Sea Dragon race''s body language for excitement.


    "You think I''m stupid because I didn''t run away?"


    Zen asked slowly, a smile creeping on his face.


    There were many creatures in the Chaotic Source World. Almost all the large races and super forces had come today.


    However, out of all the creatures present, only seven or eight were worthy of catching Zen''s attention. These buffoons from the Sea Dragon race were not one of them.


    "Chop him!"


    "Take this!"


    The long sabers cut through the black smog. With eight hundred divine megatons of force, they could almost crack both the heaven and the earth.


    Both Musa and Amir were confident


    obviously faster.


    Within a few seconds, Zen was only a few feet away from Yasin. As Zen closed the gap, he threw a punch at Yasin''s back.


    "Dragon Scales for Body Protection!"


    Yasin sensed Zen''s strike from behind, and immediately activated the natural armor of the Sea Dragon race. Instantly, the edges of his dragon scales were covered by honeycomb-shaped patterns, hardening his skin tenfold.


    Dong!


    Zen''s fist struck Yasin''s back with a dull sound.


    Yasin buckled a bit under the force of Zen''s blow, but he recovered quickly and continued to run as fast as he could.


    ''The bodies of the Sea Dragon race are truly solid, '' Zen thought to himself. ''If any ordinary human took a punch, they''d be dead by now.''


    Little did he know that Yasin was under a great deal of pain.


    The strength of Zen''s punch was enough to cause some serious internal bleeding. He spat out blood as he ran, cursing under his breath. There was no way he could take another punch like that.


    Sensing that Zen was closing in on him once more, Yasin made a split second decision. Gritting his teeth in frustration, he pulled off his space ring and threw it as far as he could in the opposite direction.


    Even though the black smog posed some resistance, the space ring flew over a hundred feet away.


    Zen hesitated. The Chaotic Source Spirit was stored in the space ring. In that moment, Zen chose to give up the chase and turned towards the direction the space ring landed.

 Chapter 3373 Getting Excited

    Zen had no interest in hunting down and killing the member of the Sea Dragon race, as the Chaotic Source Spirit was his real goal.


    If the members of the Sea Dragon race yielded and gave him what he wanted, Zen wouldn''t have to kill them.


    Just as he rushed toward the space ring, the black smog started stirring from above him again.


    "Phew!"


    The strong hurricane came.


    Zen''s face fell when he felt the great gust of wind.


    If the hurricane reached him, he knew it would send him far away. By then, he wouldn''t be able to find the ring easily again.


    And so with even more determination, he pounced on the ring.


    It was much lighter than Zen. As the hurricane blew, the ring rose into the air.


    The moment Zen landed, he leaped into the air, tailing the space ring closely.


    Whoosh!


    With his right hand, he grabbed the ring at lightning speed.


    "Well, that was close..."


    He sighed in relief.


    As he knew he had to hunt for more than one Chaotic Source Spirit, he needed to know about them as soon as possible.


    With the hurricane whirling, he was sent tens of thousands of miles away.


    Before the gate of the Chaotic Source World, many creatures of the large races continued entering one after another.


    The moment Dorothy entered the Chaotic Source World, she couldn''t avoid the hurricane. It lifted her up a few hundred feet high, carrying her further into the black smog.


    Without the Other Shore Power, she couldn''t move.


    In a panic, she checked on Zen''s soul mark, only to find that he was also moving forward, carried along by the hurricane.


    She figured he was also just as stuck as she was.


    But why in the world was there even such a strong hurricane in the Chaotic Source World?


    No such thing was recorded in the classics.


    But it wasn''t the time to be thinking about that. First, she had to find Zen.


    Having entered the Chaotic Source World ahead of Zen, Elvinia was extremely morose at this point.


    While she had originally planned to wait for him, the hurricane blew her away out of nowhere.


    Even when it stopped, she didn''t get lucky. Instead, she encountered several members of the Sun Crow race, two of which were demon women born in the Divine Lair.


    Because of Elizabeth''s influence and support, the members of the Sun Crow race regarded Elvinia as a traitor.


    After ge


    tain distance, he turned his head to find the Evil God''s figure at the gate.


    ''Is he planning to follow me?'' The thought made Garrett''s brows shoot up in shock.


    He had no enmity with the Evil God, so he figured the latter wouldn''t bother getting involved with him.


    But as it turned out, he was wrong.


    There were people in the world who simply enjoyed killing others.


    After staying in the Black Mountain Guild for a long time, the Evil God was rather tired of killing.


    When he stayed in Zen''s inner world, the Evil God rarely killed because the warriors of the entire inner world were not that powerful¡ªthey didn''t even deserve to receive his attacks. The Evil God felt no desire to spar with them.


    And of course, there was the fact that he would have faced Zen''s punishment if he did kill others.


    Back on the Black Ship, Shera told the Evil God that he couldn''t take anyone so lightly. The creatures who entered the Chaotic Source World were easily the most outstanding beings of the young generation in the entire Source World.


    Instead of feeling the pressure of having to face them, the Evil God felt excitement build up inside him at the thought.


    To him, it was a feast of killing people to his heart''s content.


    So as soon as he appeared, he didn''t hesitate to grab people''s attention by revealing his identity as the Soul Devouring Demon.


    The eyes of hatred on him were intoxicating to him, like inhaling fine wine. After discovering Zen, he was nothing but more excited. He didn''t dream of stopping until he was hit by Fuxi.

 Chapter 3374 Protection

    As soon as the Evil God entered the stone gate, he felt the weight of the black smog. He paused slightly.


    He shivered a bit, but soon adapted to it.


    The black smog obscured the light, but after adjusting to the darkness, his eyes soon caught sight of Garrett sprinting away.


    "Humph," the Evil God snorted.


    With a small hop, he launched himself straight at Garrett, hurtling through the air like a bird of prey.


    Garrett had seen him all this while, looking back as he moved forward.


    His face fell as soon as he spotted the Evil God in the Chaotic Source World.


    Garrett was sure he could take on the Evil God, but he had no intention of confronting him now.


    But who would be happy with a lunatic hunting them for no reason?


    "Toad Pace!"


    At this, Garrett accelerated.


    His steps now followed a special rule. He could still move forward at high speed even with the black smog in his way.


    "So, you choose to flee?"


    A cold light flashed in the Evil God''s eyes. He picked up his speed behind Garrett. It seemed like he would soon overtake him.


    The distance between them began to close quickly.


    Seeing this, Garrett panicked.


    "How could he be so fast?!"


    The black smog should have had the same effect on the Evil God as on him. The former hadn''t gone into the higher stage of the Other Shore Realm, so he shouldn''t be much stronger than him.


    Realizing he could not get rid of the Evil God, Garrett stopped in his tracks with a new resolve.


    He waved his hands, pulled out two machetes from his belt, and faced the oncoming threat head-on. "I have no enmity with you! Why are you chasing me?"


    The Evil God halted, excitement dancing in his eyes. He let out a sinister laugh. "You know the answer!"


    At his words, Garrett''s face darkened. With a flash, a snake shadow appeared and crawled along the surface of each machete.


    It was an Other Shore Treasure, and there was a fourth-grade Other Shore Token from Stage Thirteen merged with it.


    "You want to fight me?" Garrett spat out, a deadly warning in h


    hand is the Ways-blending Energy, and that he has integrated many..." Mya slightly curled her hair with a finger. "Having fused the Godly Ways to such a degree, this guy is by no means weak..."


    "It''s just a fusion of different Godly Ways. What''s the big deal?" Mount raised his hand, radiating a colorful glow from his fingertips, which contained at least two thousand different Godly Ways that had been blended.


    As Mya looked at the beautiful Ways-blending Energy, a smile played at the corners of her mouth. She sighed, "Uncle Mount, you really are omnipotent..."


    "Blending Godly Ways is not as difficult as you think. As long as you have enough time, you can make it, too. But it''s difficult to activate its power. I just don''t know where this young man learned the method to get more than a hundred layers of Ways-blending Energy, making it as powerful as an Other Shore Token," Mount mused somberly.


    As they watched, the Evil God moved to embed a diamond-shaped fragment into the back of Garrett''s head.


    The Evil God was certain that Garrett would die, but just then, a brown ball appeared at the top of his head. As the ball cracked, a layer of transparent enamel covered Garrett''s body.


    The enamel firmly armored Garrett. It appeared as delicate as porcelain.


    But the Evil God soon learned it was not. He could not break through it at all!

 Chapter 3375 An Amber Crystal

    Some races in the Black Mountain Guild were superior in terms of strength.


    However, all creatures who joined the Black Mountain Guild were violent and vicious.


    They were raised to be independent creatures. Without the support or protection of other powerful warriors, they had to rely on their own strength for survival.


    The winners would advance further, while the losers had to pay the penalty of death.


    The Evil God knew about the Latent Theurgy.


    But the members of the Black Mountain Guild didn''t have any of them.


    The Evil God attempted to remove the enamel that enwrapped Garrett with his Ways-blending Energy. After several failed tries, he realized it was to no avail.


    Tenacious as he was, he refused to give up. Just as he was about to pull out his Other Shore Token, he heard mocking laughter coming from near him.


    He immediately turned his head to find two human beings from the Divine Farmer race.


    These two had been standing at a safe distance of a thousand feet away from the Evil God. He was so engrossed that he didn''t notice their presence. After they made themselves known, he was instantly alerted.


    "What''s so funny?" the Evil God sneered as he narrowed his eyes to glare at Mya.


    It was obvious Mya was trying to get on his nerves. He was always ready to fight off anyone who dared to annoy him.


    While Mount carried Mya''s body, he gathered strength secretly. Although both of them displayed relaxed expressions, they knew they shouldn''t underestimate the man in black. All the strong warriors had one attribute in common. They were confident in their skills, but they weren''t conceited.


    Mya smirked and raised her arm upwards. She pointed at the black smog and said, "You can''t touch him. It''s a Latent Theurgy made from an Other Shore Token from Stage Thirty-One. You cannot break it!"


    "Oh? Really?" The Evil God arched one brow upwards and scoffed. The corners of his mouth turned into a sly smile. He didn''t seem to take her words seriously.


    Since he was unsuccessful in breaking the Latent Theurgy, he decided to let it go for the moment. Mya and Mount remained where they stood and didn''t run away. He looked at them with vicious intents as though they were his next prey.


    With quick steps, he began to make his way towards them.


    Mya shook her head disapprovingly and said, "You don''t have time to fight with us now."


    "And why is that?" The Evil God shook off her words as he continued to gather his strength while he walked.


    "Because the hurricane is coming once again. You''ll be swept up before you even get here," Mya said as she smirked while pointing in the distance.


    The Evil God stopped in his tracks with a trace of doubt shadowing his face. At this moment, the black smog of the Chaotic Source World began to


    the crystal.


    No. 9527 nodded as it replied, "Yes, it is."


    "If I keep this little creature in my inner world, will it produce another crystal after some time?" Zen inquired again.


    "I''m afraid not. Just forget about it."


    Once the Chaotic Source Spirit was extracted from the body of the creature, it went through some physical changes. Its brown hair turned grayish-white, but its black olive eyes remained bright. It seemed this method had not caused it any harm.


    There were a total of two hundred thousand Chaotic Source Spirits in the Chaotic Source World. Once the Chaotic Source Spirit was extracted from the carrier, the carrier would become an ordinary creature. Like every living being, it would gradually age and then die. So it would never produce any new Chaotic Source Spirits.


    Zen kept the little creature in his inner world. After all, it was the right thing to do after he had extracted the Chaotic Source Spirit from it. He had to give it a safe place to live out the rest of its life.


    He took the crystal from his inner world and studied it from all sides before storing it safely into his space ring.


    Now it was not the right time to undergo the Chaotic Source Reinforcement. He had to double his search and look for more Chaotic Source Spirits.


    As he stood in the small col, he remembered the habitual nature of these little creatures. Studying the landscape of the area, he realized it was probable that some Chaotic Source Spirits hid underneath the rocks.


    He had to hurry before the hurricane rose again. Quickly, Zen crushed over a thousand divine crystals and replenished the energy of the Strength God Totem. Keeping his eyes glued to the rocks at his feet, he activated the Other Shore Power once more. Then, he balled his hands into fists and gathered massive power before he smashed the rocks below his feet.

 Chapter 3376 The Stone Pillar In The Cave

    Earlier, Zen had smashed around thirty rocks but only found one Chaotic Source Spirit among them.


    There were probably thousands of rocks piled up there. Zen smashed them one by one, almost razing the area to the ground.


    And yet, he couldn''t find another Chaotic Source Spirit...


    Surveying the multitudes of broken stones on the ground, Zen sighed helplessly.


    Two hundred thousand Chaotic Source Spirits were scattered within an area with the diameter of millions of miles, most of which lived in groups. It was not easy to find one that appeared alone.


    However, Zen refused to give up. The Chaotic Source World would stay open for one month; he still had time.


    If it was difficult for him to find Chaotic Source Spirits, how much more for the others?


    Zen took a break from smashing stones to check on the soul marks.


    The hurricanes kept on pushing everyone further away from each other.


    The distance between him and Elvinia wasn''t any closer than before. In fact, it seemed she had drifted even farther. The same went for Dorothy.


    On the other hand, to Zen''s relief, he noted that the six people of the Nine Li race were much closer to him. Hutton and the three other Nine Li people were gathered as a group, while Sally was dozens of miles to his left.


    "Eh?"


    Zen grunted, as he pondered over this.


    Sally had left a soul mark on him, as well. If she sensed his existence, she should have definitely headed in his direction.


    But now, Sally stayed put, wherever she was.


    The hurricane would blow every five minutes, and it was coming again soon. God knew where Zen would be blown to next.


    So, he wasted no time and headed to the left, to where Sally was. Soon, he encountered a mountain range -- or what was left of it.


    Apparently, someone had also destroyed the mountains. They were almost completely leveled, with shards of shattered rocks everywhere.


    "There are still three miles left..."


    Once again, Zen checked on Sally''s location. After confirming she hadn''t moved, he leapt into the air and flew through the flattened mountain range.


    When he arrived at the area where Sally was supposed to be, he found no one there.


    Puzzled, Zen surveyed the area with vigilance. The soul mark couldn''t lie, but he couldn''t see Sally anywhere.


    "She must be down there..."


    There was only one possibility: Sally was within the mountains. There must have been an entrance somewhere.


    Just as Zen was deep


    here was actually a huge cave, with shimmering stone walls.


    In the middle of the cave, there was a thick stone pillar with countless small holes on its surface. Fiery red eyes flickered from inside the holes.


    "Zen!" A voice cried as soon as they entered the cave.


    "Chaim!" Zen grinned widely.


    Chaim was on par with Milo in terms of both status and strength in the Oneness Sky Palace.


    Moreover, he was very smart and flexible, which had left a deep impression on Zen on the Other Shore.


    Besides Chaim, there were other warriors present: two werewolves of the Celestial Wolf race, three members of the Moon Spirit race, and another nonhuman creature.


    If they were members of the super forces, they would never have been able to tolerate each other, and would have probably already taken action against each other. However, since they were all from smaller races, they were able to get along quite harmoniously.


    With Zen there, Chaim was filled with joy. "Zen, you came at the right time. This stone pillar is so dangerous. We don''t know how to deal with it. I was wondering if you can break the pillar."


    Zen, of course, knew that since they stayed in this cave, these warriors had to be up to something.


    He glanced at the stone pillar. "Are there Chaotic Source Spirits in the pillar?"


    "Yes, and actually, there are a lot of them," answered Chaim with certainty. "But besides the Chaotic Source Spirits, there are also other ferocious beasts inside, which are very troublesome to deal with."


    As he spoke, he summoned a fishing rod, casting the line. Then the hook with the bait flew towards the pillar.

 Chapter 3377 Fierce Ants

    The hook with bait shot past the warriors and went directly towards the stone pillar. Afterwards, Chaim slightly shook his hand to simulate movement of the bait.


    Almost instantly, a series of red lights flashed within the small holes of the stone pillar. Around six or seven creatures rushed out of the holes and ripped the bait off the hook. They immediately withdrew back into the pillar. Their movements were as quick as lightning.


    In spite of their speed, Zen had no difficulty in seeing them clearly. He realized what the creatures were almost at once.


    "Those creatures are ants?" Zen couldn''t believe his eyes. But he could not be mistaken.


    Those ants had half of an arm''s length. Their tentacles were shining with a bright scarlet light. They also had big jaws that glinted dangerously. Upon observation, it was obvious that they were poisonous.


    Chaim nodded as he confirmed what Zen had surmised. With a frown, he said, "They must be the kind of wild and ferocious ants unique to the Chaotic Source World. They are highly poisonous. There is no doubt that we must not approach them."


    Having said this, he pointed to an area not that far away from them.


    Zen looked towards the direction he pointed. There, a member of the Celestial Wolf race lay lifeless on the ground. He had a black mass all over his body. Clearly, he died due to the poison that spread in his system.


    Zen turned his head back at the stone pillar. He pondered for a while and then said, "It seems like these ants do not intend to leave their nests. Is it possible to attack them with the Other Shore Tokens?"


    "My Other Shore Token is of the descending type, Zen. Watch this," Sally said as she wanted to demonstrate something to Zen.


    A little round ball materialized from Sally''s hand. It seemed really heavy and compact. Its surface was covered with a rainbow-like luster.


    This Other Shore Token was known as the Iridescent Stone unique to Stage Thirteen that contained astonishing Other Shore Power. Upon throwing it, the user would be able to control its movement to hit the target accurately.


    Sally launched the Iridescent Stone towards the stone pillar. It soared towards the target with such accuracy.


    Pew! Boom!


    The incredible power of the Iridescent Stone caused ripples in the space as it flew in the air. It heavily crashed upon the stone pillar.


    The blow must have unleashed over a thousand divine megatons of force. It was truly remarkable.


    Even strong warriors like Chaim would not be able to take that kind of hit head on. It was a force that could probably cause a mountain to collapse upon impact.


    Sally might seem like a delicate beauty. However, her strength should not be underestimated.


    Dong!


    No matter how strong the attack was, it only crashed upon its target with a dull thud. The pillar only trembled a littl


    t towards Zen.


    Chaim, Sally, and the others were over a thousand feet away. But as soon as they saw the poisonous ants flying in the sky, they were all forced to retreat.


    If the ants chased after them, they would escape from the cave without a second thought.


    "Their speed is astounding!"


    As the ants flew fast and circled around Zen, they appeared like solid black lines. The speed of their flight was way beyond Zen''s expectation.


    Whoosh!


    The ants circled Zen a few more times before they opened their mouths and charged towards Zen. Their huge clicking jaws looked absolutely menacing.


    Zen moved his feet slightly and levitated in the air. With slight twists and turns, he perfectly avoided the attacks of the ants.


    At the same time, he grabbed a fierce ant by its abdomen and forcefully smashed it on the ground.


    However, the ant just turned its body in an incredibly unusual angle and sank its huge jaws into Zen''s arm.


    Puff! Puff!


    Both its left and right jaws were able to puncture Zen''s skin.


    "What? Unbelievable!"


    Zen was absolutely startled.


    He realized that he clearly underestimated the strength of these ferocious ants. He didn''t activate the Shade Stone liquid to protect his body. Thus, the ant was able to pierce his skin directly.


    This was why even strong warriors like Chaim were incapable of dealing with these ants.


    "Zen!" Sally screamed as she saw Zen getting bitten by the poisonous ant.


    "Zen!" Chaim yelled together with Sally. This was not a good sight to behold.


    Chaim was thoroughly shocked at how reckless Zen was. He did not expect this at all.


    A look of disdain appeared upon the faces of the others who witnessed this. Zen seemed like a highly important figure. However, he turned out to be a foolishly reckless man who underestimated his enemy. Now, he''d gotten himself killed because of his carelessness and impatience.

 Chapter 3378 A Silver Haired Young Man

    Zen was a powerful warrior at the Other Shore Realm. Even if he was poisoned, he could cut off his arm for survival.


    But the deadly poison of the fierce ant could take all the lives in the blink of an eye.


    A member of the Celestial Wolf race was bitten by one of those ants. He died instantly. There was no chance to treat the wound or slow the poison.


    When Chaim and the others saw that, they were scared out of their wits. None of them was willing to risk death to rescue Zen. He was done for.


    But while everyone watched, Zen wrenched the jaws of the giant ant away from his arm. Then, he shifted his grip and grabbed the creature''s head.


    But Zen''s squeeze wasn''t enough to crack its hard shell. It could withstand three hundred divine megatons of force.


    "Hey..."


    Zen smiled helplessly, and squeezed harder with five hundred divine megatons of force.


    Crack!


    The young warrior managed to crush the ant.


    As Zen smashed his foe to smithereens, the other ants hovering around the scene became even more manic. They dived at Zen at breakneck speed.


    Chaim, Sally, and the members of the other races all stared at Zen.


    Some of them were silently counting down the seconds, making bets on how long Zen would last. He''d been bitten, after all.


    But Zen didn''t seem to be suffering any ill effects. It almost like he hadn''t been poisoned by that bite.


    His figure was still as ethereal as usual, shuttling freely to and fro, fending off the siege of those fierce flying ants.


    Seizing the moment, Zen stretched out his arms and caught an ant. He shredded it and watched the pieces drop to his feet.


    "Is, is he really poisoned?"


    "Did we make a mistake just now?"


    "He doesn''t seem to be any weaker."


    The warriors stared at Zen intently, as if they wanted to see the venom coursing through Zen''s body.


    "Maybe our eyes were playing tricks on us." Chaim smiled wryly.


    "We''ll see in a minute. Look!" Sally said, pointing at Zen''s back.


    The swarm of ants circled around Zen like a cyclone. One of them landed on Zen, and sunk its poisonous mandibles into his back.


    Zen merely slapped at the ant.


    The vermin was crushed to pieces by several hundred divine megatons of force.


    Seeing that Zen was still alive, Chaim, Sally and the others finally realized that Zen was not afraid of the poison at all. He might even be immune. That was why he dared to charge fearlessly


    list. That was Zen, the guy in front of the stone pillar.


    While everyone was gobsmacked at Zen''s immunity to the poison, the non-human stranger quietly crushed a rune.


    The members of the Bearing race could communicate with each other with the help of the Yellow Emperor Magatama, but this non-human stranger was not important enough to have one.


    However, the Bearing race had been well prepared when they issued that list.


    On the list, next to those names were runes with different colors. The non-human stranger crushed the rune next to Zen''s name.


    When he crumbled the rune, the soul marks of certain races tingled. The Bearing race, the Sun Crow race, the Divine Farmer race, and the New Moon race all felt it.


    Atop a mountain, a silver haired young man stabbed a spear into the ground and stood still.


    The hurricane kept blowing around him.


    It was almost unthinkable, but the hurricane with several thousand divine megatons of force was unable to blow him away!


    Of course he could not resist such a powerful hurricane. If you looked carefully, you could see tiny currents surging and circulating around him. He had made himself one with the wind.


    By doing this, he made the hurricane forget him. This was his way of cultivation.


    He wouldn''t miss this opportunity to strengthen himself.


    At this moment, he suddenly opened his eyes, looking off in the distance. "That didn''t take long," he muttered. "They found the man named Zen. But he''s too far away from me. I''ll spare his life for now."


    Then he closed his eyes again. He stood still in the wind like an iron tower.

 Chapter 3379 Pouring Out

    The hurricane swirled, the black smog within it looking dangerous as it went.


    In the hurricane, two Divine Lair women spread out their wings and began to fly downwind.


    They couldn''t ignore the power of this hurricane, but they could sometimes control their direction and the distance they covered as they flew downwind.


    The first woman''s eyes flashed before she turned to the other and said, "Brylee, Did you feel that?"


    "Yes." Brylee nodded. "If my memory serves me right, it should be a member of the Lofty Mountain race who sent out the signal."


    "Your memory is good, Brylee," Lesly said with a smile. "The key is that Zen guy is right there."


    Her voice had turned cold with hatred at the mention of Zen''s name.


    Elizabeth wasn''t the strongest among the warriors in the Sun Crow race but every woman in the Divine Lair had the utmost respect for her.


    And Zen had committed the unforgivable sin of offending Elizabeth.


    The Bearing race had included Zen in the kill list. They would kill every warrior they thought might be Thad. So irrespective of whether or not Zen was Thad, they would kill him in the Chaotic Source World.


    The Sun Crow race hated Zen even more because they respected Elizabeth greatly.


    "Should we go there?" Brylee asked.


    "Of course! He''s not that far away. Also, someone else will be joining us," Lesly replied. She paused before continuing, "The hurricane is still blowing, and many people can''t move in this situation. But once the hurricane stops, a lot of people will approach him. The target will probably take shelter somewhere or hide in some cave."


    Saying thus, Lesly spread out her golden wings and took off, closely followed by Brylee.


    Inside the cave...


    Zen had finally managed to kill all the ants that had emerged from the pillar.


    But Chaim and the others were still scared of approaching the pillar.


    Zen had only managed to kill a small number of the ants. There were more where they had emerged from. And no one wanted to risk their lives before the ants were cleared out.


    The ants, that had emitted red light from the holes of the pillar, were now hiding so that the people standing outside couldn''t see them.


    "They are not coming out?"


    ant as they saw the red light that the ferocious ants were releasing. Chaim said, "Everyone! Be careful. Run!"


    Chaim had barely finished warning everyone when the ants came pouring out of the stone pillar, flying in all directions. There were probably thousands of them.


    Most of the ants came to surround Zen, taking him as their first target, since he was nearest the pillar.


    But several hundred ants had scattered and they went flying towards Chaim and the other warriors. Chaim retreated abruptly, trying to escape the cave.


    They weren''t like Zen, who could stand there and resist being bitten by the ants.


    They''d be doomed if the fierce ants were to bite them.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh...


    The warriors of the Celestial Wolf race and several other nonhuman creatures began to run towards the entrance of the cave alongside Sally.


    They might not be as afraid of these ants in the open space outside.


    But as Chaim walked along the rugged path in the cave, the howling of the wind stirred a bad premonition within him.


    The moment he arrived at the entrance of the cave, the hurricane poured in, blowing him aside and smashing him into the wall.


    It was now blocking the cave''s exit.


    With their strength, it would be next to impossible for them to go up against the wind.


    The warriors'' hearts sank at this sight.


    Behind them, the wings of the ants vibrated and hummed. If they couldn''t get out of the cave, all of them would die here today.

 Chapter 3380 The Living Puppet Chains

    "Ah! Ah!"


    "An ant is biting me!"


    "Back off!"


    Two members of the Moon Spirit race and one of the Celestial Wolf race shrieked miserably as the fearsome jaws of the ants clamped down on them.


    But they then froze and flopped to the ground as they died, their bodies rotting immediately.


    This surprised the others.


    The one from the Lofty Mountain race and the other from the Celestial Wolf race launched a frenzied counterattack on the ants.


    They could certainly kill a few ants with their strength, but it would be far from enough.


    The member of the Lofty Mountain race was seriously disheartened and disappointed. If he had known this would happen, he would have found an excuse to avoid all this and hide outside before the hurricane showed up.


    His longing for the Chaotic Source Spirits had put him here however, and now he was caught in his own trap with no chance of escape.


    It would be a pity to die like that.


    Chaim and Sally stood at the entrance to the cave, their faces grim as their situation seemed to be getting bleaker.


    As the ants got closer and closer, Chaim cleared his thoughts and made his mind up.


    He stood shielding Sally, knowing what he had to do.


    He was one of the best disciples in the Oneness Sky Palace. His strength could not be underestimated.


    He cared little for the lives of the other races, but he could see at a glance that Sally and Zen shared an unusual relationship and so he would do whatever was necessary to protect her.


    Without hesitation, he raised his hand and activated his Other Shore Token.


    Dozens of chains spread out along his left hand, each with thin, sharp spikes on the end.


    The chains slithered out and suddenly darted towards Chaim''s own body.


    Phew! Phew! Phew!


    The chains pierced deep into his chest, cinnabar field, arms, legs, and even forehead.


    Once his entire body had been punctured, the chains began spreading throughout his veins, bones and internal organs, covering his whole


    crush them to absorb their energy, but with his strength dwindling, he could not do it.


    Sally saw this and assisted him.


    The few remaining fierce ants flew over, but they were no threat to the group.


    They might have been fast, but there were not many of them now. The other races were on high alert and could take care of them quite easily.


    "I want to go down and have a look," Sally said after she helped Chaim absorb several hundred divine crystals.


    Although Zen was not afraid of the ants'' poison, Sally was still concerned.


    The members of the Lofty Mountain race, the Celestial Wolf race, and the Moon Spirit race all nodded. Of course, it was not Zen they were worried about. They cared only for the Chaos Source Spirits in the stone pillar.


    If Zen killed those ants and did whatever was necessary to open the pillar, he would take the Chaotic Source Spirits for himself.


    "Let''s go down together," Chaim said.


    He could move freely now that he had absorbed the divine crystals, but his strength had still not yet been fully restored.


    The three members of the other races, Sally and Chaim began making their way down. Before they entered the cave below, they heard the clangs of Zen''s sword.


    There Zen stood. The bodies of ants piled up beside him and only a few ants were left in the air.

 Chapter 3381 The Queen Ant

    Zen''s perception was sensitive and accurate. As he saw Sally and Chaim come down from his peripheral view, he finally felt relieved.


    A moment earlier, he saw several hundred vicious ants chasing after Sally. He knew that it wasn''t easy to deal with those creatures, so he was worried about her safety.


    However, he couldn''t offer her any help since he already turned himself as bait in order to attract more ants into attacking him. The moment he followed her, all the ants would also follow him, leading to a much worse situation.


    Fortunately, Sally had Chaim protecting her and his capabilities had lived up to Zen''s expectations.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Zen withdrew his gaze from Sally and Chaim and composed himself into facing the ants in front of him. As he focused, several rays of sword radiance spiraled out.


    The rest of the wild ants were swallowed by his sword radiance. In an instant, numerous dead bodies of ants filled the cave.


    "Zen has slaughtered all the ants!" Sally exclaimed as she clapped her hands.


    The members of the Lofty Mountain race, the Moon Spirit race, and the Celestial Wolf race were all overjoyed and sighed with great relief.


    Furthermore, it was a splendid moment for the one from the Lofty Mountain race. He was able to survive the ants'' siege and it seemed he was also able to acquire some Chaotic Source Spirits. All he needed to do now was wait for the large races to come over and kill Zen.


    Now, there was just the stone pillar left since all the ants had been slain. With their combined skills and efforts, it should not be a problem to destroy it easily.


    However, as they started approaching the pillar, Zen suddenly felt a strong surge of force from within it.


    Immediately after, red ants quickly came out of the small holes on the pillar. Zen sensed an enormous amount of energy stored within their bodies as they rushed towards him.


    "More ants are coming!"


    "Be careful! Each ant contains an astonishing amount of energy."


    "Move back! Hurry up and step back!"


    The three members of the other races who had just come down hurriedly retreated back to the upward passage.


    A few dozens of red ants came to sight.


    They were much lesser in number compared to the horde of wild ants that Zen had slaughtered earlier, but he knew that he needed to be cautious as they were far stronger than the previous bunch.


    As one of the red ants that approached Zen was only a few steps away from him, the bright red pigment on its body surface began to boil. In the b


    d still possess tremendous strength comparable to the warriors at the Chaotic Source Realm," Chaim noted with a bitter smile as he shook his head. "Zen, we don''t stand a chance. Let''s just escape while we can."


    No one here knew better than Chaim if it came to the strength of the warriors at the Chaotic Source Realm.


    He, together with the outstanding disciples in the Oneness Sky Palace like Efrain, had stayed at the Land of Sword Grief for quite some time.


    Not everyone in the Land of Sword Grief was strong. Most of them had just reached the Chaotic Source Realm, meaning that they weren''t strong enough to be the backbone of the Oneness Sky Palace.


    Efrain had once battled with those who had just reached the Chaotic Source Realm, but he didn''t even hurt them a little bit. Although the cultivation level of Efrain''s opponents was above his, Chaim was greatly shocked to observe the huge gap in strength. He firmly believed that he wouldn''t be able to defeat warriors at the Chaotic Source Realm unless he underwent the Chaotic Source Reinforcement as well.


    However, last time, Zen had proved this to be wrong. With the help of the Civilization Artifact, he easily took down Chance in the Phoenix Palace. Nonetheless, due to Jean''s intervention, the matter was only known to a few people of the Phoenix Palace. They didn''t let the other disciples know about it.


    "It''s not at the Chaotic Source Realm, trust me." Zen stared at the queen ant and continued, "And even if it is, there must be a way to defeat it."


    Considering the number of Chaotic Source Spirits that were in the possession of the queen ant, Zen was unwilling to leave and just let go of the opportunity.

 Chapter 3382 The Sturdy Body

    The tensed faces of the three people from the other races relaxed as they sensed Zen''s unwavering confidence.


    Even if they got ahold of only a few of the many Chaotic Source Spirits, they would be satisfied.


    Chaim still harbored doubts, and he didn''t want to let his guard down. He felt worried since he would be of no help, at least not for a short while. Because Chaim had just used the Living Puppet Chains, he needed time before he could offer assistance.


    Just when Chaim was about to voice his fears, the queen ant finally began to move.


    Even though the queen ant appeared to be overweight, it was still quite agile in its ability to move. It maneuvered itself in an arc on the ground before it headed directly towards Zen.


    It might have sensed Zen to be the biggest threat in the cave, so eliminating him first became its primary goal.


    "Whoosh!"


    Watching the queen ant approach him with malicious intents, Zen prepared himself by drawing out his long sword. His eyes flashed with a wild fighting spirit flaring up as he studied its movements.


    Even though he braced for the upcoming attack, Zen couldn''t help but feel a little worried and confused by the situation.


    However, his worries were not tied to Chaotic Source Spirits.


    Even if these Chaotic Source Spirits collectively contributed to strengthening the body of the queen ant, they could only make it more durable. It would have the resistance of a punching bag, resilient and solid, but not intimidating.


    The real issue was to figure out the source of the power of those fierce ants that attacked them earlier.


    Each of those poisonous ants contained the power of dozens of divine megatons.


    The only way to obtain such power in the Source World was to enter the Other Shore and fuse oneself with an Other Shore Token. Other than that, it was close to impossible for one''s physical body to contain the strength of dozens of divine megatons. Even someone like Zen would be unable to do so without entering the Other Shore.


    However, these ants didn''t have a mind of their own. Their strings of control were in the hands of the queen ant. They would follow every order from it blindly without question. Even the orders to lay siege to the intruders were from the queen ant.


    Compared to them, the queen ant was quite intelligent. Zen could tell its soul was not to be underestimated when he sensed the aura it emitted. It must have entered the Other Shore through the Truth of Cultivation Nature and later fused with an Other Shore Token...


    The Other Shore Token in its possession could provide each of the several thousand ants with dozens of divine megatons of force. Gathering all that power together would further add up to tens of thousands of divine megatons under the queen ant''s control.


    As the queen ant closed the distance between it and Zen, it was time for him to make his move. Zen jumped back and stationed himself on the wall of the cave. He used it as a boost and turned over to fall backwards towards the queen ant. His body dropped at an alarmingly high speed.


    Zen kept his long sword grasped tightly in his hands as he directed himself towards


    to launch his attack. His hair stood on end, and his fingers morphed into sharp claws that he used to jab at the queen ant.


    The strength of the claw radiance wasn''t weak when faced with a normal opponent. However, when it struck the queen ant''s body, it failed to break through its defensive shell.


    The weakest offensive strike was that of the Lofty Mountain member. Since he was scared half to death from the queen ant, he was cautious enough to not approach it. Instead, he decided to find some big rocks on the ground and hurl them at it while maintaining a safe distance. Compared to the sturdy body of the queen ant, those rocks were as fragile as tofu. They were quickly reduced to dust upon collision.


    Not only did he fail to contribute to causing significant damage to the queen ant, but he also slowed the others down by blocking their view. Sally gave out an exasperated sigh and yelled angrily, "Stop throwing the rocks! They''re not helping!"


    The man from the Lofty Mountain race cast a sideways glance at Sally and cursed in his heart. He believed when his reinforcements arrived, they would take away all the Chaotic Source Spirits and kill the others.


    Although Sally and the others continued their efforts to bring the queen ant down, they failed to distract its attention from Zen. It didn''t bother with them at all.


    Even though the queen ant could not speak, there was no denying the fact that it was intelligent. It had a sound judgment of the situation. The only person in the cave capable of threatening it was the young man it kept its gaze on. As long as it killed him, the other creatures wouldn''t take up much effort.


    Fixated on its target, the queen ant kept chasing after Zen without fail. Zen continuously moved around it to dodge its advances.


    ''This ant has devoured the Chaotic Soul Spirits. However, it hasn''t undergone the Chaotic Source Reinforcement yet. That means its body still has weaknesses. I just need to find them...''


    At the thought of this, Zen narrowed his eyes slightly. He began to study its body as a white light appeared in his right eye.

 Chapter 3383 The Queen Ants Flaw

    In theory, no such thing as perfect exists in the world.


    Even the most powerful warriors at the Chaotic Source Realm were also flawed.


    Zen, however, still couldn''t figure out those powerful warriors'' flaws with his current abilities.


    He had used the Eye of Will to disturb Chance''s mind back in the Phoenix Palace, but he had never truly used it to detect his flaws.


    Chance had already undergone the Chaotic Source Reinforcement, so it was not easy to find a flaw in his body.


    But the queen ant in front of Zen was different from Chance.


    "Sword Texture Technique!"


    "Eye of Will!"


    A bright beam of white light flashed, and then a remarkably clear world materialized around Zen. It was known as the Authentic Visual World.


    In this world, everything was covered by lines.


    Sally and Chaim were no exception.


    The lines enabled Zen to see everyone''s level of strength.


    For instance, Chaim''s fighting ability had dropped sharply, but his body was an integral whole. He was protecting his flaws, although it was unknown if he did it intentionally or unintentionally.


    He didn''t practice the Sword Texture Technique. He had his instincts which he gained from his rich experience in battle.


    Meanwhile, the flaws of Sally and the members of the other races were almost the same.


    The queen ant was a whole in the Authentic Visual World, just like what Zen had seen before.


    "The queen ant has no flaws?


    It''s impossible!"


    He couldn''t possibly believe such a thing. Since the queen ant hadn''t completed the Chaotic Source Reinforcement, he believed that he could find a flaw.


    As its white jaws came for him again, Zen bowed and then jumped up, his long sword in one hand. He didn''t attack the queen ant, but simply stared at it.


    "What? What is he doing?" Chaim asked, confused.


    "He has stopped attacking. Is he going to give up?" the member of the Moon Spirit race said with a frown.


    The queen ant had the Chaotic Source Spirits in its belly, which made it invincible, but Zen''s current abilities made it easy for him to escape.


    The only thing was he wouldn''t be able to get any Chaotic Source Spirit if he did so. Naturally, the others were slightly upset because of it.


    Of course, they still didn''t dare to say anything because after all, Zen was the one fighting and not them.


    "Zen will not give up," said Sally firmly. Yet, there was a trace of doubt on her face. What on earth was Zen doing? It seemed like he was observing the queen ant. However, what was the poin


    ally threw out her Iridescent Stone again!


    Bang!


    The Iridescent Stone hit the queen ant''s belly hard and its belly crumpled on itself.


    Sally''s eyes were filled with delight! "The queen ant is dying!" she exclaimed excitedly.


    Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!


    The queen ant was in a great deal of pain. Its two tentacles collided against each other as it let out a strange, roar-like sound.


    Soon enough, the other races joined the fight. The queen ant had lost the protection of the Chaotic Source Spirits, and couldn''t defend itself anymore. In the blink of an eye, bruises were scattered all over its body.


    Despite having drained its Chaotic Source Spirits, the queen ant still had its powerful Other Shore Token.


    Splash!


    Alas, the queen ant couldn''t release enough strength after its Chaotic Source Spirits were spent, and its body became much weaker.


    It unleashed its Other Shore Power for the last time and then rushed to the stone pillar like a galloping rhinoceros.


    In fact, the stone pillar was not the queen ant''s lair. Its actual shelter was a huge maze that connected to the bottom of the cave, stretching thousands of feet.


    The queen ant had only appeared because Zen had slaughtered all of its offspring.


    The queen ant was full of regret. If it had known such a thing would happen, it would''ve hidden in its lair instead, and wouldn''t have ended up in misery.


    It didn''t expect that this young human man could find its only flaw!


    Puff!


    The moment the queen ant was about to go into the cave under the pillar, Zen threw his long sword.


    The sharp silver sword went directly through the queen ant''s head, and pinned it to the ground.

 Chapter 3384 Collapse

    After the Chaotic Source Spirits lost their power, the queen ant''s defensive power dropped significantly.


    However, even without that added defense, the queen ant remained resilient. It continued to struggle in futility for its life, fighting to stand despite the sword that was deeply lodged through the side of its head.


    The three warriors from the Lofty Mountain race, the Moon Spirit race, and the Celestial Wolf race were overjoyed at the scene! Not willing to waste such a wonderful opportunity, the three of them quickly rushed towards the dying queen ant.


    Sally and Chaim were left in the dust as the three ran. The Lofty Mountain warrior even reached out in an attempt to tear the ant''s belly.


    "What?"


    Zen snorted as an unpleasant aura surrounded him.


    He was the one who killed the queen ant and there was no way he was going to let these three warriors get his spoils.


    The aura he released reached the three warriors and all of them quickly froze in their tracks. How could they continue on when Zen had obviously already staked his claim?


    If the young man had been able to kill the queen ant that was at the same level of strength as a Chaotic Source Realm warrior, what chance did the three of them have?


    Zen swooped down and pulled his long sword out of the queen ant''s head while the three warriors quickly jumped to the side.


    "Phew!"


    A rather gruesome sound was heard as Zen lifted his sword and slashed the ant''s belly open, revealing all the Chaotic Source Spirits and numerous ant eggs.


    The Chaotic Source Spirits escaped out of the split belly and into his hand one by one.


    The three warriors could only look on in longing as they counted the amount of Chaotic Source Spirits Zen gathered from this amazing feat.


    They knew the level they stood in wasn''t very high and that they would have to make do with whatever amount Zen was willing to give them. Their only hope was that Zen harvested a lot of Chaotic Source Spirits, so the three of them could also expect a bit more for their share.


    After the ant''s belly had been emptied out of all Chaotic Source Spirits, Zen found that he was able to get more than three hundred in total.


    There was only a limited amount of Chaotic Source Spirits one could refine. An ordinary creature would need about two hundred to undergo the complete Chaotic Source Reinforcement, whic


    her towards the corner and Sally found herself falling on her butt beside Chaim. Their spot was relatively secure and no flaming sword would be able to get them there.


    The three warriors, however, were a different story.


    All they wanted was their share of the Chaotic Source Spirits. Why did such a disaster suddenly happen? Where the heck did all these flaming swords come from?


    They all scurried about, trying desperately to avoid the swords that would no doubt burn them to ash on the spot.


    "Puff!"


    A sharp sword had pierced through the Celestial Wolf race''s member, killing him immediately. It hit him on the head, setting his hair alight. The flames spread all over his body until he was nothing but burnt dust.


    It was at that moment that the one from the Lofty Mountain race started regretting his actions.


    He knew where these swords had come from since he was the one who summoned those two demon women here.


    In his defense though, he never knew they would do such a thing! He never thought that those women would be cruel enough and regard his life as expendable.


    The man tried his best to avoid this rain of flaming swords but, in the end, failed to cheat death. He was pierced through by three golden swords and burnt to a crisp much like the Celestial Wolf member.


    On the other hand, the man from the Moon Spirit race was clever and used his Other Shore Token to create a transparent light film around him.


    When the flaming swords penetrated through the light film, they would slow down, allowing him to easily avoid any that came near him.

 Chapter 3385 Fighting

    Metallic clangs filled the air as the sharp, golden swords continued to fall down and erode the rocks above the cave.


    There was a dull crack when the rocks had been eroded to a certain extent. Eventually, the whole rock layer collapsed to the bottom of the cave and covered its surface.


    "Bang!"


    In turn, Zen, Sally, Chaim, and the Moon Spirit man all retreated to the edge of the cave to avoid being hit by the collapsed rocks.


    If they did get hit by the rocks, they wouldn''t get hurt because of their strengths. If they exposed themselves, however, it would not end well.


    After all the rocks of the cave collapsed, a big pit was formed.


    Lesly and Brylee slowly descended.


    Their wings, which contained the divine flames of the Sun Crow race, flapped and fanned the fire around them. Hot air surged around the pit.


    "What... are you doing?" the man from the Moon Spirit race said in a shaky voice.


    He instinctively leaned to the side, his face full of fear.


    Although he had avoided the disaster just now, the deaths of the two men from the Celestial Wolf race and the Lofty Mountain race still shook him to the core.


    Then again, the fights in the Chaotic Source World had always been quite cruel.


    Tens of thousands of warriors fought for the two hundred thousand Chaotic Source Spirits. If they continued to kill each other mercilessly, there would be less and less competitors in no time.


    According to the records, members of the same race who entered the Chaotic Source World would gather together as soon as possible and kill everyone else from the other races.


    The majority of the people who survived were the members and disciples of the super forces. Meanwhile, many elites who were trained by many small races usually died from unknown reasons.


    Although it was bloody and chaotic, it was a great test for the small races'' members to succeed in undergoing the Chaotic Source Reinforcement. The risks they had to take were far greater than those of the members of the super forces.


    It was obvious that the Moon Spirit warrior was eager to get the Chaotic Source Spirits. Now, his hopes were crushed when he ended up in such a terrible situation.


    Lesly glanced at him and didn''t show any changes in her expression.


    In her eyes, the man from the Moon Spirit race would become a hindrance to her if he stayed there¡­


    She gently pointed to the Moon Spirit warrior with her index finger. A golden strip of light burst from her fingertip and transformed into numerous golden fire birds, which charged straight towards the man.


    The man from the Moon Spirit race quickly turned around and jumped up when he saw the bird


    nsed golden flame at the tip of the spear burned so hot that it could almost melt everything.


    Just as Brylee rushed downwards, she heard an unmistakable roar.


    Her heart pounded in her ribcage. That seemingly powerful sound frightened her.


    She instinctively lowered her head, but the Iridescent Stone, which had just returned, passed by and smashed her ear, making it bleed!


    "Swish!"


    "Click!"


    The Iridescent Stone finally flew back to the hand of Sally, who looked at Brylee with a serious face. "Don''t get closer to me... Otherwise I will attack you!" she warned.


    Chaim had witnessed the whole thing from a distance. He looked at Sally and said encouragingly, "Well done, Sally!"


    The Iridescent Stone seemed to be quite an ordinary descending type of Other Shore Token, but it was mysterious and useful, with many functions.


    The Iridescent Stone was extremely flexible and was under Sally''s complete control. Whenever she threw it away, it always returned to her. Furthermore, she could even activate the Other Shore Power within the stone, which could enhance its speed and release more power.


    Once the stone was triggered, its impact force could easily reach one thousand divine megatons. The only catch was that she could only activate the Iridescent Stone for three times within a day. After that, the Iridescent Stone could not be used again.


    Before, Brylee had noticed that Chaim looked weak and Sally didn''t seem powerful at all, so she had always looked down on them.


    Her mindset caused her to treat them with such contempt and because she was too confident, she hadn''t been careful enough, which almost cost her life.


    Had the power of one thousand megatons landed squarely on her head, it would have surely smashed it into pieces.

 Chapter 3386 The Heavenly South Bow

    Brylee was furious. Her eyes were burning with anger and humiliation at her mistake.


    A spurt of killing intent gushed out from her body. She was about to rush to Sally when the golden flame behind her exploded with a deafening bang.


    She quickly turned around. Panic appeared on her face, Lesly was sent flying onto the wall of the cave. Zen floated in the air, surrounded by the divine flames of the Sun Crow race. The fire that burned around him left him completely unharmed.


    "He''s very powerful," Brylee murmured to herself.


    She and Lesly would not make the mistake of underestimating Zen.


    After the two of them had broken into the cave, Lesly went to attack Zen while Brylee fought the others.


    They had thought that after Brylee killed Sally and Chaim, they would surely be able to defeat Zen.


    But their plan fell apart immediately, because Lesly couldn''t withstand even a single blow from Zen.


    Lesly was stuck in a big rock, and her eyes, usually so bright and charming, were now dark with fear and anger. Under the burning of her wings, the rock slowly melted into scorching lava.


    "I don''t care if you attack me, but you will pay if you try to kill my friends," Zen said coldly, glaring at the two demon women.


    He had wanted to get a sense of their intentions before hitting them with any strong attacks, but one of them had gone directly for Sally and Chaim. As a result, Zen was forced to immediately deal a heavy blow against Lesly.


    Zen moved forward. The rock beneath his feet cracked as he rushed at Brylee with lightning speed.


    Lesly shouted out a warning, "Brylee! Run! He is not afraid of fire!" Lesly had just suffered a crippling loss and she feared Brylee was about to meet the same fate.


    Brylee''s divine flames were quite fierce, and far strong than those of the other demon women of the Sun Crow race. At Lesly''s words, she withdrew the divine flames she had been about to blast at Zen. Instead, she spread her wings and flew upwards.


    By then, Lesly had freed herself from the rock. She had not been seriously hurt by Zen''s punch, and she unfurled her wings and rose in the air. She called to Brylee, "Let''s go! We must retreat for now!"


    The divine flame was the most powerful weapon of the Sun Crow race, and they had expected to use it to defeat Zen. But since Zen was not at all threatened by the flames, they had no chance of winning this battle, so they had to retreat and figure out a different plan.


    "You''re already here! Why don''t you stay a bit longer?" Zen taunted.


    He accelerated as he flew into the air, chasing Brylee.


    Zen


    uldn''t absorb power, and it wouldn''t get tired.


    As long as the Shade Stone liquid was on Zen''s back, it didn''t matter how many times he was hit by the heavenly crystal spears. They wouldn''t be able to pierce through his body.


    However, each time a heavenly crystal spear shattered into pieces on Zen''s back, he felt the force of the blow, like a powerful punch. It made his body tremble, and his vital energy quivered violently.


    Moreover, Zen didn''t have enough Shade Stone liquid to protect any other part of his body except his back. He was managing to angle himself so that the spears always hit his back, but eventually he would get tired and a heavenly crystal spear might pierce through his limb, or through the front of his torso. He had to figure out a way to counterattack.


    Brylee, also flying nearby, waved her hand and brought out an Other Shore Token.


    She held a long, graceful bow that shone with a soft blue light. She raised the weapon and plucked at the bowstring, and a watery blue arrow appeared.


    "Heavenly South Bow!"


    This long bow was a sixth-grade Other Shore Token. It was the sacred item of a ruling civilization. The bow was the only one of its kind.


    The Heavenly South Bow was well-known on the Other Shore. It had been used by the last head of the Divine Lair and cherished by its people for a long time. When Brylee came along, the last head of the Divine Lair gave her the bow. Many had coveted the Heavenly South Bow, but she was the one chosen to wield this Other Shore Token.


    "To the south!"


    Brylee released the bowstring. A sharp, penetrating blue light shot out from the Heavenly South Bow.


    As soon as the blue light burst out, Zen felt its sharpness. His face darkened.

 Chapter 3387 An Area Insulated From Wind

    Zen gritted his teeth. He knew the Shade Stone liquid wasn''t indestructible, but at this point, he had no choice.


    The Shade Stone liquid covered his back, like a thin sheet. If he was attacked with something that had high penetrating strength, it was possible it''d be able to pierce through it.


    Suddenly, a blue light shot at Zen. Eyes narrowed, he desperately searched for a solution.


    Because he was trapped in the hurricane, his control over his bodily movement was extremely limited. At this rate, he wouldn''t be able to dodge the blue light at all.


    "Shade Stone liquid, condensing!"


    Since he couldn''t avoid the light, his last resort was to face it head-on.


    The Shade Stone liquid, which was scattered all over his back, suddenly gathered in one spot on his back.


    After the Shade Stone liquid condensed, its defensive power doubled as well.


    ''She''s targeting the center of my back!''


    Zen gathered the condensed Shade Stone liquid at the center of his back.


    "Bang!"


    As soon as the arrow hit him, Zen was enveloped in a dazzling blue light.


    Both Lesly and Brylee smiled. In their eyes, Zen wasn''t strong enough to withstand an attack from the Heavenly South Bow.


    However, to their surprise, after the blue light dissipated, Zen was still alive!


    They froze in shock. Exchanging stunned glances, they were at a loss at what to do next.


    "W-what?!"


    Brylee stuttered, unable to conceal her shock.


    The Heavenly South Bow was her most powerful weapon.


    Moreover, it cost a lot just to use such a powerful Other Shore Token. If they had known any other way to deal with Zen, Brylee wouldn''t have considered using the Heavenly South Bow.


    And yet, Zen had managed to survive Brylee''s supposed trump card.


    "Ahem!"


    Zen coughed. With a frown, he spat out the golden blood.


    The blood dispersed in the whirling air quickly.


    In the end, the condensed Shade Stone liquid did save his life, but it didn''t spare him from some internal injuries.


    Fortunately, his injuries weren''t too bad. He knew he''d recover in no time.


    However, the hurricane kept on blowing, rendering him helpless. After all, the two women still targeted him. If they shot a few more arrows at him, he''d be done for.


    Meanwhile, Lesly and Brylee also considered their options.


    "How could the Oneness Sky Palace have such a superhuman warrior?" Lesly muttered in a low voice.


    After Brylee re


    rose with the wind, easily dodging the two blue rays. Suddenly, he froze in the air, and locked eyes with the two demon women.


    Indeed, Brylee and Lesly could fly in this hurricane, but they could only fly downwind. They couldn''t even stop in the wind. After all, the hurricane''s power reached thousands of divine megatons!


    As Zen suddenly stopped in the air, the two demon women, who were flying with the wind, were headed straight at him with incredible speed.


    There was no time for them to react or even try to change their direction. As they closed in on Zen, the two women''s fear-filled eyes were reflected in Zen''s long sword light.


    Zen slowly raised his sword, and swung it to the left and then right in a flash.


    The two demon women passed by Zen, as though nothing happened.


    In a matter of seconds, Lesly and Brylee had flown past Zen around three miles. They flew with the wind, motionless, shock still seared on their faces.


    "Puff!"


    On each of their delicate necks, a line of blood appeared, and then slowly, their heads were peeled off their bodies.


    As the hurricane continued to blow, their heads flew farther and farther away from their beheaded bodies, fear still engraved in their lifeless eyes.


    "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."


    The hurricane still blew like mad, as though unaffected by the fact that a gruesome battle had just taken place.


    Zen stood still, letting the powerful hurricane blow towards him.


    But now, Zen''s body was covered with an invisible thin film. As the hurricane blew black smog to him, it just whizzed past, with Zen remaining unaffected.

 Chapter 3388 Flying Against The Hurricane

    At the gate of the Chaotic Source World, Elizabeth sat in a corner, meditating with eyes closed. After she sensed Lesly''s and Brylee''s deaths, her eyes shot open.


    In her fury, she emanated wave after wave of malicious aura. Everyone around her could tangibly feel her anger.


    Beside her sat three other demon women. They too were shocked when they found out about the deaths of their kin.


    "Lesly and Brylee were killed at the same time?"


    "That''s impossible!"


    "How could that happen?"


    The demon women communicated with each other using life vitality, their faces full of disbelief.


    Elizabeth''s expression darkened.


    The demon women from the Divine Lair were connected by blood. No matter how far they were from each other, they could sense each other''s deaths.


    They could also sense it if Elvinia and Flamine died.


    "What''s wrong, Elizabeth?" a leader of the Divine Farmer race asked through his life vitality.


    "Lesly and Brylee are dead," Elizabeth answered bluntly.


    "No way!" the leader exclaimed in astonishment.


    The leaders of the Bearing race and the New Moon race frowned collectively.


    "As of right now, no one has entered the core area. The chances of them dying outside are slim," the old man from the Bearing race said.


    When everyone had entered the Chaotic Source World, a huge magic array appeared in front of the leaders. The array produced a huge mirror which reflected the core area of the Chaotic Source World.


    However, anything outside the core area wasn''t covered; they couldn''t monitor what was happening outside.


    According to the old man from the Bearing race, no one had stepped into the core area yet. That meant everyone was wandering around the periphery of the Chaotic Source World.


    The periphery was vast. It was unlikely the two demon women would encounter strong enemies there. That was why everyone was shocked at their sudden deaths.


    Since they got killed at the same time, the only possibility was that they encountered a strong opponent.


    Elizabeth did not respond to the leader of the Bearing race.


    Instead, she spread out her hands before her. Golden lines flowed along her arms, like veins pumping gold.


    As the head of the Divin


    rk.


    At first, Zen had quickly flown away. But at some point, he suddenly stopped.


    Sally froze for a moment. She thought the hurricane had stopped, but when she looked up, she found that it was still whistling. It had only been a few minutes. The hurricane wouldn''t stop so soon.


    ''I wonder if Zen rushes into another cave to take shelter, '' Sally pondered worriedly.


    Later, Zen was actually flying towards them amidst the hurricane.


    Feeling the soul mark vibrate, Sally covered her mouth in shock.


    "Sally, what''s wrong with you?" Chaim, noticing her strange behavior, looked at her curiously.


    "It''s Zen!" she exclaimed, her face full of disbelief. "He''s coming to us!"


    "Impossible." Chaim shook his head. "Unless he''s flying in the underground..."


    "Absolutely not! How could he move so quickly in the underground? He must be flying in the sky!" Sally said with certainty.


    "Don''t be silly, Sally. No one can resist this hurricane. Even the omnipotent Zen can''t do it," said Chaim with a smile.


    The warriors at the Chaotic Source Realm possessed thousands of divine megatons of force, so they could resist the hurricane. Even though Chaim didn''t believe Sally, her expression was so resolute that even he faltered.


    "He''ll be here soon," Sally said confidently. She knew that Zen was closing in on them.


    In no time, they saw Zen freely flying in the hurricane like a lithe bird in the springtime. Steadily, he landed in the middle of the cave.

 Chapter 3389 Stench Of Blood

    Chaim stared right at Zen, unable to utter a single word.


    Zen really did fly in the air, against the hurricane!


    The power of the hurricane was too strong, there was no way Zen could have survived even with the protection of the cave. Chaim knew that if the roles were reversed, he would have been swept away already.


    But from the looks of it, Zen didn''t seem to be affected at all.


    Sally, on the other hand, was hardly surprised. All along, she believed that Zen flew against the hurricane. She didn''t even bother thinking about how Zen did it; what mattered was that he was successful.


    After moments of wondering, Chaim decided it was best to just ask Zen. "Zen... How in the world did you make it?"


    "I used an Other Shore Token," Zen replied frankly.


    "An Other Shore Token..."


    Chaim was in awe. What kind of Other Shore Token could be so powerful as to resist a full-blown hurricane like that?


    Even the sixth-grade Other Shore Tokens at Stage Thirteen of the Lust World still wouldn''t be able to demonstrate such resilience.


    Though Chaim still had many questions, he chose not to ask anything more.


    Usually, Other Shore Realm warriors made sure to keep their Other Shore Tokens in secret. Although there were many people in the Source World who had classified the Other Shore Tokens, many Other Shore Tokens were still mysteries and unknown to people other than the holder. Once those Other Shore Tokens were used, they would have miraculous effects.


    "Zen," Sally asked as her eyes widened, "where are the two demon women? Were they blown away by the hurricane?"


    "No," Zen shook his head, "I killed them."


    The casual tone in Zen''s voice made Chaim''s eyelids twitch ever so slightly.


    By the fact that Zen''s strength was not inferior to that of the two demon women and he could fly unharmed in the hurricane, they probably had had nothing against him.


    "Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"


    Eventually, the hurricane gradually subsided and disappeared into the air.


    Chaim and Sally got out of the crack.


    They patted down the bodies of the several nonhuman creatures and checked their belongings. Afterwards, the treasures in their space rings were divided between the two.


    Sally had taken a large portion of the treasures. Though she had no personal interest in the weapons, she figured that her brothers might need them considering that their weapons were too common. Zen, being the all mighty and gracious, didn''t take anything.


    Once all the treasures were settled, Zen took out the Chaotic Source Spirits and began to distribute them.


    Originally, he had planned to give a number of Chaotic Source Spirits to the several warriors of the other three ra


    atures were scattered across the ground. Their corpses were dismembered and incomplete.


    Chaim tried his best to absorb the horror before him. He looked over the scene, but something caused him to do a double take. He glanced at a body and gasped, "That''s Guillermo!" he said, pointing at the body. "Guillermo from the Bright Mountain!"


    He rushed towards the edge of the cave where a corpse was embedded in a crack on the wall. Half of his body had been damaged by explosion, but his features were still recognizable.


    Because Chaim came from Bright Mountain, he knew Guillermo Wang very well, who was one of the best disciples. Seeing his tragic death had brought Chaim to tears.


    "I wonder who did this," he sighed. "It''s too cruel." Zen, on the other hand, had something else in mind. He observed all the corpses and noticed something about them: All the corpses'' space rings were missing.


    Whoever did this didn''t only kill people, but also looted their belongings.


    Killing all these people took outstanding strength. But on the other hand, outstanding creatures who had the ability to do this were all arrogant and they despised such an act.


    With a motive to take space rings, this murder was out of Zen''s comprehension. How could someone do this?


    The image of the Evil God appeared in Zen''s mind. He might be the one responsible for this scene as Zen could think of no one else that had such a way of doing things.


    As Zen continued to think, he heard a gnawing groan close by.


    He rushed to the direction where the sound came from. Then he saw a huge body of someone from the Separate Abyss race.


    The bodies of Separate Abyss race were known to be extremely tough and resilient. To Zen''s surprise, the warrior who groaned was severely injured, but he was still alive.

 Chapter 3390 Being Chased

    The wounds on the Separate Abyss warrior''s body had stopped bleeding. But there were still black snakes the length of a forefinger slithering on the wounds¡ªthese little creatures were supposedly transformed by energy.


    When he heard Zen''s footsteps approaching, his eyes widened like that of a frightened bird.


    When Zen''s image grew clearer, a look of horror filled the warrior''s eyes¡ªhis body unconsciously curled up in defense.


    The Separate Abyss race was a powerful force¡ªa near-perfect race indeed. They had the Abyss Spirit race to protect them on the Other Shore, after all. Their power assured them of the potential to eventually become a ruling civilization among the many superpowers.


    They looked down upon the other races with great pride and arrogance.


    But the moment the warrior spotted Zen, fear wiped away any hint of arrogance on his face¡ªhe trembled in fear like prey that had spotted its hunter.


    "What happened here?" Zen asked, examining the area.


    While the warrior was sure Zen had come to take his life, the latter''s question made him realize that Zen held no animosity towards him. For a moment, he paused and looked at Zen strangely before saying, "That guy¡­ The one who calls himself the Evil God¡­ when he entered this place, he began slaughtering everyone in his path!"


    Indeed, such was the work of the Evil God.


    Zen''s guess was proven, then.


    It was known that many races killed each other off in the Chaotic Source World.


    But with everyone scattered, most warriors were vigilant in meeting strange opponents. So long as the two races didn''t carry deep grudges, they were even willing to cooperate.


    The cave was far larger than the one Chaim and the others had first discovered. More creatures of different races were also there to explore.


    It was impossible for an ordinary warrior to slaughter so many people at a time.


    "The Evil God may be powerful, but he couldn''t have killed so many people at once. Couldn''t you have just run away?" Zen asked.


    Even with the hurricane blowing, the warriors there should have been able to flee.


    Getting blown away by the hurricane was preferable to getting slaughtered by the Evil God, anyway.


    But the fear grew on the warrior''s face upon hearing Zen''s question. "His¡­his Other Shore Token is strange¡­ It''s an entire world! He controlled the world, and we had no chance of escaping. If it wasn''t for my Other Shore Token¡ªthe


    yone had absolute control over their inner world and Zen was no exception.


    "Of course, I was aware of it. He even plotted to kill me," Zen said with a playful smile.


    The casual statement made Sally''s and Chaim''s eyes widen in astonishment. The Evil God was bold indeed¡ªthey found themselves lucky to not have such a creature in their inner worlds.


    "But he did help me stabilize my inner world quite a bit. He actually helped me a lot," Zen admitted. "I merely fulfilled my promise and released him."


    From the start, Zen hadn''t expected the Evil God''s nature to remain the same. Worse, he became more reckless after leaving his inner world. It was all fate''s doing, Zen believed.


    Chaim asked no further.


    He found it strange how powerful the Evil God was¡ªit probably had something to do with Zen''s inner world.


    But if he continued asking, he was afraid to accidentally touch upon some of Zen''s secrets that would make the latter uncomfortable.


    Once they left the cave, the three continued travelling toward the core area. After they moved forward for a while, they dug a hole to use as a shelter and waited for the hurricane to pass.


    When it passed, they continued with their journey.


    But when they stepped out of the hole, Sally and Zen felt something simultaneously and exchanged glances.


    The two happened to perceive that Elvinia and Hutton were five hundred miles south of them, running fast.


    Even when the hurricane stopped, they were moving at such a high speed. Either they were chasing someone or were being chased¡ªZen and Sally were both inclined to believe it was the latter.

 Chapter 3391 Dangerous Situation

    Hutton and Elvinia''s current state was far worse than what Zen and Sally had first imagined.


    Things were initially going great for Elvinia after entering the Chaotic Source World.


    The hurricane changed things though. She had tried to resist getting swept up in order to go to Zen but it proved futile. In the end, the hurricane carried her farther and farther away from him.


    She travelled for over a million miles, almost reaching the other end of the Chaotic Source World.


    Left with no other choice, Elvinia was forced to explore the world alone.


    The prospect didn''t worry her that much though. As the Phoenix Palace''s number one disciple, Elvinia was by no means weak.


    Halfway through her journey, she had already encountered several dangerous situations along with a fight with a demon woman from the Sun Crow race.


    Elvinia was one out of the two people that remained on top of the Bearing race''s hit list so that fight with the demon woman wasn''t so strange.


    Fortunately, with her current strength, Elvinia managed to kill her pursuer with the tiniest bit of effort.


    With that taken care of, she went on to explore the Chaotic Source World for several hours and even obtained three Chaotic Source Spirits.


    She would''ve normally advanced towards the core area at that point.


    The core area was smaller than the periphery and all members of the large races would gather there eventually, so Zen was no exception.


    However, since she was so desperate to find him, she made a bold choice and went along with the hurricane.


    Each time it appeared, it would carry her at least sixty to seventy thousand miles. Elvinia would activate her bodily movement skill during this time to speed up further.


    It was by doing this that Elvinia managed to go around the entire Chaotic Source World.


    Hutton went for a much more normal course of action. When the hurricane came, he dug a hole in the ground and hid.


    He was worried about Sally and wanted to join her as soon as possible but, after knowing the fact that she was with Zen through her soul mark, he quickly relaxed. He knew she would be safe and sound under his protection.


    Not long after that, Hutton bumped into Efrain and other disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace.


    Efrain didn''t really know where Hutton was from but considered him as a disciple of the Oneness Mountain since he had come with Zen.


    This group of Oneness Sky Palace disciples Efrain led moved as a unit that gradually grew in number as more and more people joined them.


    Most warriors preferred to travel alone so


    nia controlled the Warrior of the Stone Hill that floated above her head and slapped down!


    As an Other Shore Token of the descending type, the power of the Warrior of the Stone Hill wasn''t something that should be underestimated and Adonis knew this.


    He knew that he wouldn''t be able to take the blow head-on.


    He quickly jumped back onto the paper boat and avoided Elvinia''s attack.


    He was like lightning, evading the slap and aiming another attack towards Elvinia.


    Fortunately, Elvinia was alerted by his movements and backed off abruptly, barely dodging the slash that he had intended for her neck. She kept her head but ended up losing her balance.


    There was no way Adonis was going to let this opportunity go!


    Hutton saw Elvinia in a sticky situation and tried to help her, however, the four elite members after them had already caught up and surrounded him. There was no way he could lend a helping hand when he was too busy trying to defend himself.


    Swish! Swish! Swish!


    It was like a dance against death''s sharp claws as Elvinia dodged Adonis''s sabers, contorting into awkward stances due to her precarious position.


    Her breath hitched each time the sabers were too close to her.


    It was a game of defense and offense. Elvinia kept her guard up for a while but eventually, she showed an opening. Adonis seized this chance and hacked down.


    If he landed this strike then he would be able to cut her in half and end this fight.


    At such a critical moment, a beam of colorful light suddenly shot towards him and hit his blade.


    Bang!


    There was a deafening crashing sound as the light hit his saber, knocking it away. That powerful force had come from the Iridescent Stone.

 Chapter 3392 Being Overbearing

    As his hand clutched, Adonis grasped at the flying saber.


    Putting an invisible force on the weapon, his grip tightened.


    But Elvinia took advantage of the opportunity and moved away, quickly putting distance between herself and Adonis.


    When Elvinia saw Zen, her eyes turned glassy as she practically pounced on him.


    She thought she was done for.


    In the Oneness Sky Palace, she hadn''t suffered any setbacks. It was in the Dark Region where she had first undergone a truly terrible thing¡ªher Memory Flame was disturbed. But after she recovered, her struggles were all in the past and she managed to calm down as she digested her memories once again.


    Such memories were truly unforgettable.


    After entering the Chaotic Source World, she wanted to find Zen immediately and stay with him. In all the time she had been there, she traveled across the Chaotic Source World.


    But she had almost died...


    While it wasn''t Zen''s fault, she couldn''t help but put some blame on him in her heart.


    Elvinia''s reaction even shocked Zen.


    But it was natural, as she was in a critical situation mere seconds ago. If he had arrived even a little later, Elvinia would have already been cut into pieces.


    Enveloping Elvinia in an embrace, Zen patted her back gently.


    Adonis held two sabers in his hands, wearing a nasty sneer on his face when he saw Zen. "A hero came to save the beauty just in time!" he shouted mockingly.


    Zen pushed Elvinia behind him and uttered coldly, "This is the second time..."


    For a moment, Adonis and the rest had no clue what he was talking about.


    "This is the second time you people have offended me," Zen continued. "First, I was previously attacked by Brylee and Lesly from the Sun Crow race. Now, you intend to challenge me as well."


    Unable to hide it, Adonis frowned at Zen''s words.


    As the two strongest demon women among their peers in the Sun Crow race, Brylee and Lesly were highly difficult to deal with in battle.


    If Zen had encountered them before, he should have already been dead.


    How could he be standing before them, safe and sound?


    "Are you saying you have encountered Brylee and Lesly? Why would they let you off?" Adonis asked coldly. For some reason, there was a bad feeling in


    he battle would come to an end.


    A hint of a grin flashed across Adonis'' face as he said, "It seems that this battle will have to be postponed. We can then fight in the core area of the Chaotic Source World..."


    Indeed, the wind would soon be too strong for anyone to fight.


    When they arrived at the core area of the Chaotic Source World, Khalid and his other companions were also there. With them, it didn''t matter how strong Zen was. He was no match for all of them.


    Adonis sighed in relief.


    The several disciples of the Divine Farmer race and the Bearing race were in the same boat.


    But suddenly, Zen turned his head and ordered, "Chaim, Elvinia, start digging a hole. Wait for me..."


    Elvinia and Hutton were at a loss. Zen was showing no sign of giving up.


    But the hurricane was soon approaching. What was he planning?


    Sally and Chaim got a clue instantly.


    Because Zen could freely travel through the hurricane, he would gain the advantage over those idiots and kill them easily.


    Without any more hesitation, Chaim made a huge hole in the ground.


    "Zen," Elvinia said worriedly, "the wind is too strong. You''ll be blown away again. I don''t think it''s a good idea..."


    It wasn''t easy for her to see him, so of course, she didn''t want him to leave just like that.


    "Don''t worry," Chaim interjected. "Zen will be back." Then, he took the lead and jumped right into the hole, flashing a sinister smile at Adonis and the rest as though he was looking upon dead men.

 Chapter 3393 Begging For Mercy

    Despite her confusion, Elvinia still jumped into the crater along with Chaim and the others.


    It bewildered Adonis to see Zen remain standing outside the crater.


    ''What does he want to do?


    Is he planning to hunt me in the hurricane?''


    He started to feel nervous at the sight of Chaim''s smiling face.


    There was no way for ordinary warriors to fight in the hurricane. Why was Zen so calm? Did he have any special method?


    The other elites were as baffled as Adonis.


    As the black smog surged violently, the hurricane finally rolled in again.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    As expected, Adonis and his companions were all pulled up into the air by the hurricane.


    At that point, Zen jumped up lightly and followed the hurricane.


    The hurricane was heading north, but Zen was moving to the west. He was not affected at all by it!


    Seeing that, Adonis''s eyes narrowed into slits.


    How could this be?


    Elites from the Bearing race and the Divine Farmer race felt their hearts sink.


    This hurricane was as strong as three to four thousand divine megatons of force. It was so strong that nobody who had entered the Chaotic Source World previously could resist it.


    They either found a cave, or made a crater in the ground to hide themselves in. Otherwise, they would be swept away by the hurricane. And there had been no exception, until now.


    Only a few winged creatures could ride the wind, such as the Sun Crow race, but even for them, it was impossible to go against the wind!


    "What is he doing?"


    "Is he chasing after us?"


    "But he can''t catch up. It''s impossible!"


    They took solace in the fact the hurricane blew at a very fast speed, pulling them several miles away in the blink of an eye.


    As Zen was not pushed by the hurricane, it would naturally slow him down, they thought.


    But they forgot Zen could control his movements freely.


    After he rushed westward for a distance, he was right behind them. As the feather on his head flashed a cyan light, a huge shadow of cyan wings sprouted on his back.


    "Phew!"


    Zen was now moving with the hurricane.


    Bolstered by the hurricane, he moved at a faster speed.


    After abo


    d gasped in shock at what he saw.


    Zen even didn''t block the blades with his sword. He directly resisted them with his own body and smashed through them!


    What was his body made of?! How could it be so strong? Even a powerful warrior of the Separate Abyss race wouldn''t be able to do that!


    "Go to hell!"


    Adonis spun faster and threw more blades toward Zen.


    The attack proved futile in slowing down Zen in any way. He blocked all the blades easily.


    Zen quickly rushed over until he was hovering above Adonis. He held his long sword and looked down at Adonis.


    No matter how fierce the hurricane was, the hair on his head kept still. The feather of Wing King was shielding him from the wind''s effects completely.


    "Spare me! I can''t die!" Adonis pleaded, shouting to be heard above the din of the hurricane.


    He had been cornered. He had no choice now but to beg Zen for mercy.


    He felt so ashamed and helpless.


    If it weren''t for the hurricane, he would have been able to take Zen on instead of being completely under his mercy like this.


    "It''s too late for regrets," Zen said coolly.


    He swung his long sword, bearing down with the wind and slashing at Adonis.


    Puff!


    Blood blossomed around the sword radiance as Adonis''s body was swept away by the wind.


    Zen, who was hovering at great speed, paused mysteriously. He remained floating in the wind for a few moments before turning back where he came from.

 Chapter 3394 The Main Peak

    Elvinia was still worried.


    She had never seen Zen stand upright in the wind before. What if he couldn''t return?


    Luckily, she, Hutton, and Sally were able to check his soul mark and sense his position.


    In the beginning, Zen had moved in sync with the wind.


    But before long, he began to fly backward against the wind.


    "How?" Elvinia said, covering her mouth in astonishment as she turned to Hutton and Sally while leaning against the corner of the crater.


    But Hutton was as shocked as Elvinia.


    Even those who had just reached the Chaotic Source Realm found it hard to stand firm for long in such a heavy wind, let alone to go against it.


    How did Zen make it?


    But she knew his soul mark would never lie to her. Zen was really approaching them.


    "I''m afraid Zen has already killed them. He didn''t turn around until now," said Sally, chuckling and looking at her brother and Elvinia.


    Sally and Chaim had experienced a similar event before, so she understood Elvinia''s shock pretty well.


    It was not long before Zen floated towards them above the crater and slowly descended into it.


    Elvinia''s eyebrows rose as she took in his countenance. "What happened to those people?" she asked.


    "I''ve killed them," Zen replied flatly.


    The hurricane had been of great help to him.


    And once the hurricane had come along, there had been no match for him.


    It had only taken Zen less than three minutes since the hurricane showed up. He had left to hunt, killed them off one by one, and returned - all of it in such a short period of time. .


    What was more, Adonis was as powerful as Chaim and Elvinia.


    Elvinia and Hutton looked at Zen with new respect in their eyes.


    They had previously thought that Zen was powerful but on the same level as Chaim and Efrain. They had regarded him to be just a little stronger than them.


    But now, Zen had, in such a casual, easy way, killed a talent at this level. He had matched up to those at the Chaotic Source Realm!


    But everyone knew that Zen hadn''t reached the Chaotic Source Realm.


    Chaim sighed and smiled, feeling lucky that he was not Zen''s enemy.


    Fortunately, Zen was on the side of the Oneness Sky Palace. He would have been a terribly formidable enemy if he were from the Bearing race or the


    e.


    In fact, every time the Chaotic Source World opened, only about one hundred thousand Chaotic Source Spirits would be swallowed. This number shrank gradually with each time.


    However, the fewer the Chaotic Source Spirits devoured, the faster they could be recovered, up to two hundred thousand of them. In the early days, the Chaotic Source World opened once every 15 years only because too many Chaotic Source Spirits were being devoured, and they took a long time to recover.


    Zen glanced at the towering main peak through the black smog. Since Chaim and Elvinia had filled him in about it, he would, at least for now, not aim at it.


    In addition to the main peak, there were also four peaks in four directions around it. They walked west, encountering the easternmost peak first.


    "Okay! Our goal is the eastern peak!" said Sally, stretching out an arm and pointing at the destination.


    She and Hutton were confident enough to step into the Chaotic Source Realm. After all, they had Zen with them.


    People smiled and nodded before heading for the eastern peak.


    They chose to take a radian route, walking northward before going west.


    Zen had noticed that Dorothy was moving at the beginning, but was later fixed in the northwest after having remained unmoving for several hours. She should have been hiding and waiting for him. Zen appreciated her smart move. He wasn''t about to leave her behind and enter the core area alone.


    But the situation was shades different from what Zen had imagined.

 Chapter 3395 Provocation

    The group made their way north and with the help of the soul mark, they had found Dorothy.


    To their surprise, she was in a naturally formed cave with an underground stream, not a large pit as they had thought.


    A strange look crossed Zen''s face as they neared the entrance to the cave.


    Dorothy should have been able to sense Zen''s presence through the soul mark. If she had, she needn''t have stayed in the cave any longer. There was no hurricane, no danger at all. She should have come out to meet him by now.


    But the soul mark showed that Dorothy still remained motionless in the cave. How very unusual.


    Zen had a bad feeling about this and charged into the cave as his body tingled in concern.


    As he entered, an unmistakably strong scent of blood rushed to his nose.


    He raised his eyebrows as his concern mounted higher and sped up in his pace through the cave.


    The underground stream ran red with blood and broken limbs, some belonging to humans, some not.


    The stomachs of Chaim and the others following behind Zen turned at the sight of this wretched scene.


    They had entered into a similar cave before, with a similar scene. Back then, all but one member of the Separate Abyss race were dead.


    The only good news right now was that Dorothy''s soul mark still existed. She was alive, but how or where she was was still to be discovered.


    Whoosh!


    Zen, like a bat flying in the night, dashed through the incredibly complicated cave with speed and ease.


    ''Dorothy, please be safe, ''


    Zen prayed sincerely from the depths of his heart.


    When he had gotten about ten thousand feet deep into the cave, what he saw shocked him even more than before.


    The bodies of more than a dozen disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace and over a hundred nonhuman creatures piled up in a large gruesome mound before him.


    "Konnor..."


    Zen saw Konnor, with his eyes open wide, lying on the edge of the pile of corpses.


    His body was stiff and the fear on his face was obvious. He had died miserably.


    "Efrain!"


    Following closely behind Zen, Chaim had found Efrain''s body, lying there lifeless.


    Before Zen had


    the Separate Abyss race had escaped disaster, it was with his own strength and ability, not because the Evil God had shown him mercy.


    Dorothy was confused too.


    She had gone all out in her fight with the Evil God. She had used her Other Shore Token, the Twin Blossoms, and given all she had with the Origin Swordsmanship, but she was still no match for him.


    She never thought she''d make it out alive.


    "It''s a provocation," Zen said as he stared at Dorothy. "He did it on purpose to send a message."


    The Evil God had seen Dorothy standing beside Zen at the gate of the Chaotic Source World.


    Perhaps this was why he did not kill her and only sealed her beneath the corpses.


    Such an act was nothing but a provocation.


    "He is a freak," said Elvinia, frowning in disgust.


    The killing intent in the depths of Zen''s eyes grew stronger and stronger. He silently helped Dorothy rub off the blood stains from her body.


    Although he said nothing, all around him felt his intense killing intent.


    In the Chaotic Source World, Zen and the Evil God were bound to clash.


    But the strength of the Evil God had them all deeply concerned.


    Once the blood stains had been removed, Chaim stored the bodies of Efrain and the other Oneness Sky Palace disciples in his space ring. It was an undeserved fate to come face to face with the terrible and unreasonable Evil God.


    With that, the group left the cave.

 Chapter 3396 The Clanging Sound

    After the other four members of the Nine Li race sensed that Zen, Hutton and Sally had banded together, they set out for the eastern peak at a breakneck pace.


    Luckily, they had safely crossed the periphery of the Chaotic Source World, and were close to the core area. Umar was the furthest away. He was near the western peak, but was moving towards them now.


    Right now, all the super forces that had entered the Chaotic Source World were gathering together.


    The Bearing race, the Divine Farmer race and the Sun Crow race gathered on the western peak, the Separate Abyss race on the northern peak, and some minor races on the southern peak.


    When Zen, Dorothy, Elvinia and the others approached the eastern peak, more than ten Ear Mice suddenly emerged from a large hole near them.


    All of the Ear Mice were half as tall as a person. Each of them had a strong aura, and their black soybean-sized eyes reflected shrewdness.


    "Master Zen, I''m Darth. I''ve waited a long time." The long-haired Ear Mouse in the lead walked over to Zen and raised its paws to salute him.


    Zen glanced at the Ear Mice. It seemed that they wanted something from him. He asked, "You were waiting for me here?"


    "Yes," replied Darth.


    "How did you know where I was?" Zen asked curiously.


    No one knew where they would be after the hurricane came and stopped. Zen was naturally suspicious.


    "Well..." Darth put its paw to its mouth and blew, creating a strangely-pitched whistle. Not far away, tiny mice emerged from fist-sized caves. Darth laughed and said, "The Chaotic Source World is teeming with lives. The Rock Mice serve us."


    The Ear Mice weren''t that powerful compared to the other races, but they were unparalleled when it came to spying.


    The Rock Mice of the Chaotic Source World also worked for them.


    "I see." A look of relief appeared on Zen''s face as he asked, "What do you want from me?"


    Zen had once allied himself with the Ear Mice on the Other Shore. Although the Ear Mice had failed to explore the Grand Sky Temple, and had even been drained of strength, it was not Zen''s fault. Moreover, Zen sent back the souls of t


    oot of the northern peak, blood ran like a stream through the gap in the rock.


    The men and women of the Separate Abyss race were over 100 feet tall, like giants. After more than a dozen of them were torn apart, blood continued to seep out and flowed like a river.


    On the hillside, four members of that race still stood. They were the strongest, the best of the best. They were the top talents in theurgy, body and Other Shore Tokens.


    They stared at the Evil God hovering in the air. Their leader coldly asked, "We have nothing against you. Why kill us like this?"


    "Why?" An aura of malice surrounded the Evil God as he smiled. "I want to hear the clanging sound. That sound is pleasing to the ear and gets me all excited."


    The clanging sound? What was that?


    The four members of the Separate Abyss race looked at each other, puzzled. They couldn''t understand what the Evil God meant.


    "That sound is a special one. It tolls when one gains a reward. It means I''m growing stronger. Hahaha..." As the Evil God spoke, he suddenly waved his hands and a black void materialized, enveloping the four members of the Separate Abyss race.


    The four members were very powerful. They couldn''t be dealt with by normal means, so the Evil God had to show his trump card.


    When the black void descended, the voice of the Evil God came again. "Don''t fight it. You''re too weak to comprehend what''s happening. Go to hell!"

 Chapter 3397 Gaining Nothing

    The mountains at the foot of the eastern peak formed a natural, flat path.


    There, Zen had the members of his team stop for some time.


    Through the soul marks, he could sense the four members of the Nine Li race, including Umar, were approaching him.


    About 15 minutes later, three joined his team. The last one, however, didn''t get close. He seemed to have been blown by the hurricane about a hundred thousand miles away.


    "There''s no need to wait for Oswald. Let''s go," Hutton said decisively.


    In the Chaotic Source World, everyone could reach the Chaotic Source Realm by virtue of their own strength. There was no way so many of them could just stop and wait for a single person.


    Meanwhile, Darth raised its paws and whistled, causing hundreds of Rock Mice to crawl out from both sides of the mountain path. They scurried into the cave below the eastern peak at its command.


    As the Rock Mice led the way, they could detect not only the danger in front of them but also the general direction of the Chaotic Source Spirits. It was indeed convenient.


    That was why all the large races preferred traveling with the Ear Mice. But this time, the Ear Mouse race found Zen of their own accord and joined him.


    The cave in the eastern peak was wide open with a flat passageway that spiraled upward.


    Zen walked to the front and spread his spiritual sense.


    In the face of some protruding rocks and pillars, Zen and his people hit them with all their strength.


    Boom! Boom!


    After several tries, they found it rather easy to break the rocks and pillars into pieces. As it turned out, there was no Chaotic Source Spirit at this place.


    Squeak¡­ "Master Zen, these Rock Mice look weak, but they can bite and break common rocks. The Chaotic Source Spirits exist in the rocks that they can''t break," Darth reminded.


    When Zen scanned the nearby rocks, he found tiny teeth prints left by the Rock Mice.


    Clearly, Zen hadn''t completely believed what the Ear Mouse had just told him.


    If they discovered any Chaotic Source Spirits, they could simply hide them from the public and come back to take them away later.


    "Isn''t it said that most of the Chaotic Source Spirits gather in the five peaks?" Zen asked curiously.


    Even Darth was puzzled. "That is indeed the case. There should be many Chaotic Source Spirits even at the


    oke up.


    Apart from the Pear Hill, only the Ear Mouse race knew the Chaotic Source World as clearly. They always had their own special channels of obtaining information.


    "Black Ship..."


    "Is Shera still in the Icy Snow Province?"


    "I will look for her and try to negotiate."


    "Since our members have perished, what''s the use of negotiating? When that brat comes out, I''ll tear him to pieces!" The leader of the Separate Abyss race uttered curses with his eyes wide open in rage. He wanted to crush the Evil God to dust.


    Suddenly, a voice resounded.


    "The more people that perish, the more benefits the survivors gain. You can only hope that the rest of your races can survive and even reach the Chaotic Source Realm." Fuxi''s figure appeared once again in the middle of the open space.


    "Human Sovereign, what do you mean?" the old man of the Bearing race asked.


    Adonis'' death pained them. While the members of the Ear Mouse race knew that he had fallen to death by Zen''s hands, they wanted to side with Zen and put all the blame on the Evil God.


    "You can ask Yellow Thearch about it when you go back," Fuxi replied plainly. "It should be the last time the Chaotic Source World opens."


    The various alliances in the Source World were growing increasingly clear in the chaotic condition.


    Even the civilizations on the Other Shore were itching for some action. After the Chaos Ancient Gods had brewed for billions of years, they understood their positions.


    The spokespersons had already been well prepared for the fierce battle to come.

 Chapter 3398 The Arrays For Shielding

    Hearing Fuxi''s words, the leaders of the large races let out gasps and sighs. They were taken aback by the horrific news.


    These people, despite being the backbone of their races, were not spokespersons.


    And although they were aware of the situation in the Source World, they had no idea it would come so soon.


    Didn''t they still have at least ten years left?


    To their utmost disgrace, the Shade Stones fell faster and faster from the hourglass. Elizabeth and the others had already looked into it, and they thought they still had at least ten years left.


    It had slipped their minds that some things could accelerate without warning.


    Once things hit a critical point, they would erupt.


    That was exactly what had happened on the Other Shore.


    Still, Elizabeth and the rest were puzzled. Before they set out, Emperor Charm of the Sun Crow race and the Yellow Thearch of the Bearing race had not yet returned from the Other Shore. They had no clue what took place in the upper stages.


    However, Fuxi was under no obligation to make their doubts disappear. After all, many races still stood tall on the opposite side of the Pear Hill.


    Instead, he just ignored them and vanished before everyone''s eyes.


    In the same moment, one of the leaders pointed at the center of the array. "Some people have entered the core area. They come from the Pear Hill!"


    At the center of the ring-like mountain range was a wide, open area that was perfect for large gatherings. In addition to the main peak in the middle, there were a hundred circular arrays resting there.


    If a person wanted to refine their Chaotic Source Spirits, they would have to enter a circular array. These were arranged by the powerhouses of the Nine Li race, with the help of other super forces. Luckily, the arrays were safe and could protect anyone who stayed inside them.


    In the past, after obtaining enough Chaotic Source Spirits, creatures would rush towards the arrays.


    This would allow them to reach the Chaotic Source Realm.


    However, entering an array was not as easy as it seemed. Many strong warriors failed to obtain enough Chaotic Source Spirits, so they had to be creative to gain more. Often, warriors would wait around the arrays and attack incoming warriors. This meant that many battles would happen before anyone successfully arrived at an array.


    Some races even came together to guard the arrays. Although this was discouraged, this tactic did not break any rules.


    Compared to everyone else, the Pear Hill was the most


    nd carried a long, mighty spear. It was no other than the most outstanding talent of the Bearing race, Khalid.


    The large group made it through the plain without any delay. They found a cave at the foot of the main peak and entered.


    Meanwhile, Zen''s group had failed their exploration at the eastern peak. Because of this, they moved down from the top of the eastern peak along with the Ear Mice. All together, they passed through the plain and headed for the main peak.


    When they passed through the circular arrays along the plain, Zen paused and turned towards the Ear Mice. He asked, "Are these large arrays used to refine Chaotic Source Spirits?"


    "Yes! They have the ability to refine Chaotic Source Spirits, and do very well as temporary shields," an Ear Mouse responded.


    Once a cultivator entered an array, they''d be safe from outside forces. However, each array had a limited capacity to hold only ten-odd cultivators at a time.


    "Zen, maybe you should just refine the Chaotic Source Spirits here," Sally suggested, her eyes lighting up at what the Ear Mouse had said.


    The Chaotic Source Spirits they obtained from the cave was enough for one person to reach the Chaotic Source Realm. Sally was more than willing to give her Chaotic Source Spirits to Zen.


    Sally was thinking that if Zen could reach the Chaotic Source Realm, his strength would have improved a hundred fold. Afterwards, he wouldn''t be afraid of the young man in black anymore.


    "It''s a good idea," said Chaim. "But if Zen reaches the Chaotic Source Realm, he will be sent out of the Chaotic Source World for good." He had a deep intensity in his eyes. "Are you sure you want Zen to leave?"

 Chapter 3399 Stalagmites

    These arrays worked in three different ways. Aside from helping refine the Chaotic Source Spirits, they could protect weaker creatures as well. Moreover, they also functioned as transmission arrays.


    The warriors at the Chaotic Source Realm were much stronger than those who were not able to reach this realm.


    Those who were able to finish the Chaotic Source Reinforcement and had reached the Chaotic Source Realm would be directly sent outside. This was done to prevent them from killing others.


    Darth already knew that Zen had gathered enough Chaotic Source Spirits. However, it chose not to say anything about it. It was perfectly clear that Zen''s departure would be completely up to him.


    "No way," Zen said as he shook his head.


    Zen was the core of the group. He was the glue holding these people together. If he chose to leave, Chaim would have to lead the group to explore the main peak.


    That would be too risky. He couldn''t just let them continue on their own.


    Elvinia and Dorothy exchanged looks. They understood what this meant. They knew Zen well enough that there was no way he would just leave these people behind.


    Zen and the others continued on their journey and arrived at the foot of the main peak before the next round of hurricane came.


    Observed in the distance, the main peak was tall and slender. But actually, the mountain base was not that small. On the east side of it, there were two caves. One of them went upwards while the other one went downwards.


    When they arrived at the east side, Zen took a quick look at the two caves. Afterwards, he chose the one that went upwards.


    The Ear Mice had always been cautious, and Darth was no exception. Before they even set foot on the main peak, Darth had already ordered those Rock Mice to go inside it first and scout the area.


    Upon entering, they found that the cave was very narrow. However, it suddenly became wider after they walked for over a hundred feet. The inner space was actually bigger than they had previously imagined.


    Some of them felt quite uneasy and nervous at this sudden change in terrain so they released their spiritual senses to scan the cave.


    Nonetheless, they found no living energy inside the cave. It seemed like this place was desolated and uninhabited.


    "It doesn''t seem like there is any difference between the main peak and the eastern one," Hutton pointed out. He seemed dejected.


    He walked towards several rocks and began smashing them. In the end, however, he got nothing.


    The expression on the others'' faces also darkened. If they couldn''t find any Chaotic Source Spirit on the main peak, where else would they be able to find one?


    They began to feel hopeless. Did they come for nothing this time?


    Dense rock spikes began to grow all over the surfaces of the cave. They covered the entire ground. Zen and others had to fly as swiftly as they could because there was not a patch of ground in which they could stand anymore.


    "The cave ahead is narrow! Watch out!" Chaim reminded the others.


    Over ten sharp stalagmites half a foot in length had already grown out. It wouldn''t be long before they completely covered the cave from ceiling to ground. They had to rush over before the stalagmites closed the entire cave up!


    "Whoosh!"


    Elvinia, Chaim, and Dorothy were the first ones to pass through them. They were followed by Zen, Darth and others.


    Meanwhile, Sally, Hutton, and Umar moved a bit slower. Naturally, they fell behind.


    As Zen reached the narrow area, he frowned as he saw the others were still running behind. He smashed the sharp stalagmites with his hands and feet. He unleashed a massive force that actually blocked their further extension!


    "Hurry up! I can''t hold on for much longer!"


    The stalagmites sprang out from the stone walls and emitted a tremendous force. Zen could only delay their extensions for a short while.


    "Whoosh! Swoosh!"


    Sally and Hutton had now passed under Zen''s arms and looked back simultaneously. "Umar, hurry up!"


    Umar was the farthest one behind. He gritted his teeth and it seemed like he activated some kind of secret method. He turned into a sharp golden sword and passed right under Zen''s armpit. However, his body had been cut by the tip of a stalagmite and blood flowed out of the wound.


    Right after Umar reached them, Zen couldn''t hold on any further. He released his hands and went through the narrow area as well.


    The place he had been holding on to had now been filled with stalagmites, which blocked the way of the remaining five Ear Mice.

 Chapter 3400 Rock Giants

    The intersecting stalagmites pressed heavily from all directions. The five Ear Mice squeaked as the passageway closed.


    One of the Ear Mice took out its Other Shore Token, an iron house.


    "Everyone, get in the house! Hurry up! Take cover!"


    Such tokens of descending type were rare and unpopular on the Other Shore. This token could be used to imprison opponents. It could also be used as a defensive shield due to its durability.


    Without hesitation, the other four Ear Mice sought refuge.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    The stalagmites extended rapidly until they were pushing at the surface of the iron house.


    Clank! Clank! Clank!


    Under the great pressure, the iron house made a grating sound.


    "The iron house can resist three thousand divine megatons of force. The stalagmites are heavy, but they are not enough to break it! Don''t worry!" the first Ear Mouse said.


    "Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!"


    "Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!"


    The other four Ear Mice echoed.


    In terms of cultivation methods and theurgies, the Ear Mice were weaker than the other super forces, but their Other Shore Tokens had always been the strongest.


    But the relief didn''t last long. After a few seconds, the foundations of the iron house couldn''t bear the load any longer. It was crushed by the great force.


    Bang!


    The five Ear Mice in the iron house were crushed into minced meat in the blink of an eye.


    The stalagmites in the cave continued to grow rapidly. Even though the group had passed through the narrow place, they still couldn''t afford to stop running.


    "Speed up! You can''t resist these stalagmites," Zen reminded.


    Zen had tried to prevent the growth of those stalagmites, but even he couldn''t restrain the power contained within them.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    They all silently rushed onward.


    The stalagmites grew faster and faster. From time to time, some even shot out from the flanks. Any carelessness would cause death.


    T


    ligent, they must have already thought of this. The only reason why they didn''t push through it is they have other ways to deal with us, and they are confident that they can capture us."


    With these words, Zen pointed forward.


    Rocks in the distance started to move. They separated from the walls and turned into rock giants.


    An ordinary rock giant wouldn''t have been a threat. But those possessed by the Chaotic Source Spirits were indestructible.


    Dong! Dong! Dong!


    Huge rock giants emerged from all directions and charged toward the group.


    Seeing this, Dorothy, Elvinia, Chaim, and the Ear Mice scrambled to take out their Other Shore Tokens.


    A flower spun above Dorothy and took her shape. This was the unique Twin Blossoms. The two Dorothies, hearts connected, both carried a sword. The power of Dorothy''s Origin Swordsmanship would thus be twice as strong.


    The Warrior of the Stone Hill floated in the air beside Elvinia, with a sword in one hand and a thousand swords in the other.


    Chaim also deployed his Other Shore Token.


    Strong warriors like them were not afraid of fighting head-on. What they feared most were ambush attacks in the dark. But now that the Chaotic Source Spirits had decided to confront them face-to-face, they would definitely fight to the end.

 Chapter 3401 Huge Eye

    Even though the ground shook as a rock giant rushed quickly towards Zen, he still remained composed and nonchalant.


    The rock giant balled its huge fists and then smashed them towards Zen, but he disappeared in a flash from the spot!


    The next moment, he reappeared behind the rock giant.


    With a crisp sound, he slashed his sword across the giant''s body, but it failed to damage even the surface of the rock.


    Still, Zen wasn''t disappointed.


    In fact, he was surprised ¡ª it just proved that there really was a Chaotic Source Spirit that hid inside the rock giant and strengthened its body.


    Of course, he did not forget that their trip''s main objective was to obtain the Chaotic Source Spirits!


    "Clang!"


    There was a deafening crash when the rock giant stretched its arms and fell on its back.


    The way it moved wasn''t particularly slow, but it still couldn''t touch Zen at all.


    Meanwhile, Zen moved as swiftly as a light feather that glided in the wind, that even a small force could blow him away, but not damage him.


    He ducked to avoid the rock giant''s attack, then squinted his right eye which flashed a white beam of light.


    "Authentic Visual World!"


    As he employed the skill, the whole world became unusually clear in his vision. It didn''t take him much effort to find several cracks on the surface of the rock giant.


    "Sword Texture Technique! Break it!"


    Next, he raised his sword and pointed it at the junction of two cracks found on the giant''s waist.


    The queen ant he had fought before had absorbed many Chaotic Source Spirits over a long period of time, so its body had only one flaw.


    On the other hand, the rock giant had many flaws since it was only a temporary product.


    The next events all went by in a blur.


    As soon as Zen''s sword touched the rock giant''s weak spot, its body exploded into smithereens.


    Yet, Zen didn''t lower his guard even when the rock giant was now crushed into pieces.


    That was because he suspected that the Chaotic Source Spirits must have been plotting something because they gathered in the main peak. Since they hadn''t assassinated him with the stalagmites, he expected them to use more powerful means against him. The rock giants, however, were much weaker than he had imagined.


    The thought quickly flashed in his mind ¡ª but no matter what the truth was, he believed that they must be able to obtain some Chaotic Source Spirits from the rock giants.


    Just as the stone fragments collapsed on the ground, a small red creature emerged out of them. Compared to the ordinary Chaotic Source Spirits that Zen had seen before, this one was in a strange red colo


    le crash was heard when the rock giants fell apart before her.


    "Freeze!"


    Yan opened her mouth once again, and an invisible power instantly restrained the Chaotic Source Spirits inside the rock giants.


    When the little creatures were exposed, they just stared at her with hatred before they detonated themselves.


    Several explosions later, all of them had turned into shreds.


    There was a trace of pity and sadness in Yan''s eyes as she looked at them, even though she didn''t directly kill them.


    She had already had a thorough understanding of these miserable creatures.


    All warriors in the Other Shore Realm needed to capture the Chaotic Source Spirits in order to obtain greater power.


    Although she could choose not to kill these creatures straight, they would still die at some point after the crystals had been taken out of their bodies. A moment of mercy wouldn''t change the inevitable.


    The Chaotic Source Spirits had a life that entailed the constant tragedy of being nurtured and slaughtered. Perhaps no other creatures could have a more miserable fate than them.


    That was why the sight of hostility in their eyes made Yan uncomfortable and guilty.


    In any case, that same form of slaughter had been taking place in the other passages as well.


    The warriors had all reaped their first harvest in the main peak, but a dozen Chaotic Source Spirits were far from enough for them.


    Meanwhile, a huge eye that resided in the main peak had been observing everything that had happened below it through the thick layers of rocks.


    This huge eye was ten feet wide. Half of it flashed with a white light, and the other half with a red light. It obviously didn''t belong to the Chaotic Source World, because it was an Other Shore Token.

 Chapter 3402 The Eligible Targets

    It had been a while since the huge eye was silently observing the events below it, to embed every living creature in the main peak to its vision.


    A huge ball rested under this eye, which was actually a big and powerful Chaotic Source Spirit. It measured more than a hundred feet in size, different from an ordinary one of its kind. This large ball was clearly the mother of all the Chaotic Source Spirits.


    The voice of the mother of Chaotic Source Spirits broke the silence in the air. "Have you found the eligible targets?"


    The huge eye flashed and sent out a part of its consciousness in response.


    The eye had no organs to speak, so it could only send messages through its consciousness.


    "I have many qualified targets in mind now," said the huge eye.


    "Let me see!" the mother demanded. Red and white lights inside the huge eye descended in front of the mother and drew a graceful figure.


    It was Yan, who wore a long dress.


    The light figure showed that she was climbing up the cave, leading the members of the Snake Goddess race.


    "This is a human girl who cultivates the Truth of Holy Words. She has the blood of the Snake Goddess," the huge eye explained.


    The mother nodded, then started to count, "One."


    Buzz¡­


    The red and white lights flashed again and revealed another figure.


    This time, it was a white-haired young man. It was none other than Khalid from the Bearing race.


    "A man of the Bearing race, who cultivates the Truth of Five Orientations, owns the Five-Orientation Body, and is one of the inheritors of the Yellow Thearch."


    "Two," the mother said with a blank expression.


    "Buzz..."


    The lights flashed some more and showed the top masters of the minor races, and the huge eye had been targeting all of them.


    "There are eleven in total. What about the targets for yourself?" asked the mother.


    The eye smiled. "Me? Well... I am interested in this guy."


    "Buzz..."


    The huge eye flashed and Zen''s figure appeared, which was outlined by red and white lights.


    "Is he also one of the human race? Why did you choose him?" the mother asked and looked at Zen in curiosity.


    "This man is very interesting. He has merged with something of my kind," said the giant eye with its consciousness.


    The mother was visibly shocked at this news, "You mean he has merged with an Eye of Will?"


    "Yes. If I''m not mistaken, he must have assimilated an Eye of Will when he was in the Sacred Mallow Temple!" the huge eye answered affirmatively.


    The mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits, however, was not interested in the giant eye''s chosen target. Instead she asked, "Are you sure that we can escape safely after we possess th


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    had to retreat.


    It was the first time that the Evil God couldn''t defeat warriors who were at the same level as him!


    Still, the Evil God didn''t care about it at all. After all, he had already killed a large number of people in the Chaotic Source World and obtained so much. What he only had to do now was to reach the Chaotic Source Realm.


    Meanwhile, there were rock giants that blocked Zen and his group''s path along their journey.


    The rock giants didn''t hinder Zen and his companions, but the warriors didn''t get many Chaotic Source Spirits from them, either.


    They had soon climbed a distance of twenty thousand feet up the cave, but only got a little more than ninety Chaotic Source Spirits. It was not enough for any of them when the gain was to be shared.


    Yet, Zen wasn''t discouraged at all.


    The remaining hundreds of thousands of Chaotic Source Spirits must be hiding somewhere on the main peak, waiting for them to harvest.


    After they climbed more than thirty thousand feet, they were almost in the middle of the main peak.


    The Chaotic Source Spirits seemed to have hollowed out the center of the main peak, as there was a huge hole formed in the middle. As soon as they stepped into the huge cave, they all stopped walking.


    There were all kinds of patterns that were engraved on the cave''s walls, which made Zen and his companions feel as if they were in a huge palace.


    "Look at them... What do the patterns stand for?" Sally looked around, her eyes blinking in curiosity. "I''ve seen these patterns before," said Chaim.


    He continued, "When I was in the first stage of the Other Shore Realm..."


    "They are the sculptures in the Sacred Mallow Temple." Dorothy glanced at Zen and nodded, "Me and Zen explored that temple together. I''m sure of it!"

 Chapter 3403 Sculptures

    As Zen paced around the cave, he walked towards a corner and observed the sculptures on the walls.


    The sculptures varied in forms, figures, and creatures. From cattle, to snakes, to birds. The sculptures were unique in their own ways.


    Sadly, none of the sculptures was the Dreaded Eye Demon. Zen knew what he was looking for, especially since the Dreaded Eye Demon was hard to miss as it was only an eyeball. Zen had prior knowledge to them when he integrated with the Eye of Will.


    "These sculptures are exactly the same as those in the Sacred Mallow Temple," Zen pointed out, nodding his head in approval.


    The members and disciples of powerful forces never settled at the Stage One for long. As for Zen, he only entered the temple because some humans had invited him.


    Chaim was also an exception to this. He had just entered the Other Shore, and grew curious about the place. Once, he entered the Sacred Mallow Temple, too.


    "But why are all these sculptures here?" Dorothy asked, curious to know more.


    She had been through a lot in the past. The first time she entered the Sacred Mallow Temple, she had struggled and was nearly killed inside.


    "The risky thing in the Sacred Mallow Temple was the Soul Purifying Light, which could kill all the Souls of Light," Zen comforted her. "Good thing we don''t have that here." He paused and looked back at Dorothy. "What I don''t understand is how the Chaotic Source Spirits have something to do with the Dreaded Eye Demons..."


    This bothered Zen, especially because these were two completely different races.


    Because he didn''t have enough information, he couldn''t understand. More so for the others, who had no clue about anything.


    The group had made it to the end of the cave. Though there were eight other pathways around the cave, they only motioned downwards. It meant that these passages were probably connected to the other eight entrances at the bottom of the main peak.


    "The Chaotic Source Spirits must be hiding up here." Elvinia nudged above. "I''m sure that we''ll find our way out if we break the cave ceiling."


    The Chaotic Source Spirits had the ability to cut the rocks and moved in and out as they pleased. If it wasn''t difficult for spirits, it should be possible for the group to do the same.


    As Zen, Chaim and the others thought of more plans, another group of people came through another passage.


    They were from the Bearing race and the Sun Crow race.


    When they met eyes with Zen and his companions, their eyes widened in surprise. The silver haired young man in the lead, Khalid, was c


    a spiky ball.


    To add, the unique aura of Regal Jade Civilization gave out in full bloom, which added to the artifact''s extraordinary impression.


    "You arrogant bastard!"


    "You just want to die!"


    "We won''t hesitate to kill you!"


    The members of all four races, the Bearing race and the Sun Crow race included, roared in anger.


    In an instant, Khalid, Mount, Mya were smiling no longer.


    They realized that they had just underestimated Zen.


    After all, the young man in black who they had feared the most, was a creation of Zen''s inner world.


    But these people weren''t going to back down now. They had been through hell and back, so they had no reason to retreat now.


    Besides, they still outnumbered Zen and his companions by a large number, so they still stood with great leverage.


    "Phew!"


    The tension in the atmosphere thickened as a battle was just around the corner.


    But just as everyone took their battle stances, footsteps echoed throughout the cave.


    One more group came through another passage.


    "Brother!"


    The group that emerged was the Snake Goddess race, led by Yan.


    They would have been the first to enter, but Yan spent too much time catching Chaotic Source Spirits, making them the last to arrive.


    Seeing that Zen was safe and unharmed, Yan was more than delighted. She was relieved as she strode forward to give him a hug.


    The Pear Hill had the most members, so they had the advantage of calling the shots. Though they were hit by the hurricane, they could easily gather quickly and continue moving.


    Members of the Snake Goddess race and the Oneness Sky Palace gathered together, impressively outnumbering the Bearing race and the other three races altogether.

 Chapter 3404 Unexpected Attack

    Acting on instinct, six women of the Snake Goddess race stationed themselves before Yan. They had their eyes fixated on the people of the Bearing race, and the Divine Farmer race.


    The scales on the bodies of these women flickered with a pinch of dark gold light. Their radiant faces reflected hints of vigilance as if they were on guard against them.


    Their formation was not just a coincidence, but was intentional. Their positions formed the Six Snake Shadows Array of the Pear Hill. They were exactly the Six Snake Shadows.


    The Six Snake Shadows had made a name for themselves in the Source World. The Pear Hill would handpick only the most exceptional talents from each generation of the Snake Goddess race and recruit them. They would then offer them rigorous training to become a part of the Six Snake Shadows.


    Accompanying Yan, the Six Snake Shadows were given two missions to carry out in the Chaotic Source World: they were to reach the Chaotic Source Realm, and they had to protect Yan at all costs. Even though Yan''s strength was on par with the geniuses from other super forces, they still didn''t want to take any chances. For Pear Hill, Yan was an invaluable treasure.


    Yan turned back. Her face was robbed of all emotions, as she glared at those of the Bearing race and the Divine Farmer race with piercing eyes.


    "How dare you!" She asked Khalid.


    "Who are you to stop us? If it bothers you so much, why don''t you join him too?" Khalid retorted while furrowing his brows.


    The sudden appearance of the warriors from Pear Hill forced the people of the Bearing race and the Divine Farmer race to stay on guard. Even with their empowering presence, it wasn''t enough to make them retreat. However, the situation would now become extremely troublesome.


    Mount watched all this unravel from a distance and frowned.


    Normally he would not back away from a fight against the people from Pear Hill or the Oneness Sky Palace, but the situation demanded otherwise. Mount didn''t agree with the timing and place of this issue. Moreover, he had a hunch that something was wrong with this place.


    The sculptures inside the cave gave off an eerie vibe. Furthermore, the location of the Chaotic Source Spirits was still unknown. Even if they somehow defeated the enemy in time, there would always be a chance of someone taking advantage of their preoccupation and stealing the Chaotic Source Spirits for themselves.


    Yan kept her unfaltering gaze at Khalid. Her lusciously long black hair fluttered in the air as a trace of red light enveloped her, responding to her rage. "This place isn''t ideal for a fight. But, if you''re asking for it, we won''t hold back."


    As if to solidify her statement, the bodies of the Six Snake Shadows began to glow with cyan


    en so sure that he wouldn''t miss his target.


    However, with a single twist of his body, Zen had made a mockery out of it.


    Before he could retrieve his spear to defend himself, Zen had already approached him.


    Judging by the situation Khalid was in, it wouldn''t be wise to retreat. He decided to take the risk and remain where he stood. The skull in his right hand began to rattle in response to his ordeal. At the same time, a solid beam of brown light swirled around the tip of the spear.


    He was planning to retaliate with a more powerful strike than before!


    Watching Zen close the distance between himself and them, Mount and Mya took caution to the situation and became serious.


    They blamed Khalid in their hearts for provoking an avoidable scenario because of his impulse. Even so, they had to do something to stop Zen.


    If Khalid were to die, the Bearing race would suffer an incalculable loss. They couldn''t just stand by and let this happen.


    "Boom!"


    Mount''s body underwent violent tremors, and then a layer of gold light surged out of his tanned skin. The outburst of energy from his body resembled that of a sturdy mountain.


    On the other hand, Mya ascended to the sky and stationed herself behind Mount. A loud cracking sound of bones resounded in the air around her as her right hand broke itself.


    From the joint of her elbow, a small puppet emerged as it floated above it. It was her Other Shore Token. The puppet appeared to have been connected to her body with her forearm. Its appearance was nothing short of creepy.


    Zen showed no signs of hesitation even though he knew he would have to take on all three of them at once. He was determined to tear Khalid into pieces no matter the circumstances.


    Before the both sides could confront each other, the eyes of the sculptures in the cave suddenly opened.

 Chapter 3405 The Purpose

    The moment those huge eyes opened, everyone in the cave felt as if their hearts were clenched in an icy grip. They quavered in fear.


    Some of them could feel a sharp sword pointed at their foreheads. If the sword were to be thrust one inch closer, it would pierce their skulls and they would die.


    Some of the people in the cave could see they were surrounded by skeletons. This was frightening. Had they arrived in the death world, where no living being existed? Were they doomed to become like the skeletons?


    Most of them covered their heads with their hands, horrified. Naturally, they thought they were going to die.


    Although most of them had been through many dangers, now, they were terror-stricken. Each of them felt like they were at death''s door, knocking loudly.


    Even Zen and Khalid, possessing the powerful Souls of Light, were not immune to this fear. Zen had to retreat after he landed, and at the same time fight against the fear of the Dreaded Eye Demon with his strong will.


    Zen had gone through something like this before in the Sacred Mallow Temple. At that time, after No. 9527 prompted him, he was able to shut it out using the Emotion Closing Godly Way.


    However, the fear which descended on him now was many times stronger than what he encountered in the Sacred Mallow Temple. The Emotion Closing Godly Way was unable to banish the fright.


    "Flow Strike!"


    Desperate for a solution, Zen pulled out another one of his skills¡ªthe Flow Swordsmanship.


    The Flow Strike was regarded as an extension of the Emotion Closing Godly Way, with a meditation component. It was a more effective way of cultivating the heart.


    While staying in the Flow Sword Sect, Zen had come a long way as far as his training went.


    But the mind method of the Flow Swordsmanship had little effect on that fear. He was unable to completely erase it.


    The others were even worse.


    Most of them prostrated themselves on the ground. Some of them were looking ashen, some were trembling and the rest were crying bitterly.


    Yan stood still with a confused look, as if she were also using some kind of mental method to filter out the fear.


    At the top of the main peak, the dark and red lights continued to flicker on the surface of the giant eye.


    The giant eye was the source of the fear, naturally emanating it and affecting everyone.


    Both Zen and Khalid were targets chosen by the eye and the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits. It did not want anything


    nother passageway, dozens of tall figures entered. They were from the Separate Abyss race.


    The members of this race gathered and formed three teams in the Chaotic Source World. One of the teams encountered the Evil God, while the other two teams banded together and climbed up the main peak.


    This time, the trip to the Chaotic Source World was not easy for them, and they were much more cautious as a result. Many Separate Abyss warriors, over a hundred feet tall, looked at the sculptures on the walls and gathered off to one side.


    More and more members of different races came into the cave through the passageways around it.


    Most were in groups, but there were some warriors who came there alone.


    For example, Milo from the Oneness Sky Palace explored the main peak all by himself. He remained in the Chaotic Source World for a long time, and now he finally threw in his lot with Zen and his companions.


    "The Chaotic Source Spirits must be hiding in the upper part of the cave!"


    "Let''s just make our way up and dig them out!"


    "Yes, there is no place to hide except the upper part of the main peak!"


    When there were more warriors in the cave, it became quite noisy inside. They talked about the best way to climb the mountain.


    As for the members of the Separate Abyss race, they were impetuous. Two of them flew up and shot toward the upper part of the cave with their huge bodies as large as the hills.


    However, when the two Separate Abyss warriors just approached the top, they suddenly let out a scream, and fell down, holding their heads in their hands. They formed a huge crater when they smashed into the ground.

 Chapter 3406 One Last Chance

    Everyone directed their gazes to the upper part of the cave. Two eyes-- the Dreaded Eye Demons flickered with red light.


    They lingered for a long while before disappearing.


    "What''s going on?"


    "Is that the Malicious Stare?"


    "How could it be so powerful?"


    The other races that entered the cave later hadn''t experienced the soul-crushing fear. When they saw what happened to the two members of the Separate Abyss race, they were all shocked.


    "Those are sculptures of the Dreaded Eye Demons!"


    "The Malicious Stare is way too powerful. Is there a strong Dreaded Eye Demon in the main peak?"


    "Then how can we climb the mountain?"


    These people were experienced and knowledgeable. They not only recognized the sculptures on the walls, but also guessed that the main peak was guarded by a Dreaded Eye Demon.


    At a loss for what to do, everyone turned to the Snake Goddess race.


    Although the Icy Snow Province was open to the public, it was still under the control of the Pear Hill. The other super forces might not know what had happened in the Chaotic Source World, but the people of the Pear Hill must know something.


    "What happened in the Chaotic Source World?"


    "You should have let us know!"


    "Please tell us!"


    "If you keep silent, don''t blame us for being rude!"


    They had been in the Chaotic Source World for such a long time and explored the periphery and the four peaks, but couldn''t find many Chaotic Source Spirits. Naturally, they were angry.


    Questioned by so many members of the myriad races, the people of the Pear Hill were under a lot of pressure.


    No matter how strong they were, they couldn''t afford to anger that many people.


    At this time, Yan walked out at a casual pace and swept her gaze across the faces of those assembling there. "The Chaotic Source Sea and the Chaotic Source Spirits are already out of control," she said.


    Hearing Yan''s words, many of the other races had surprise written all over their faces.


    Some didn''t understand what Yan was talking about, while some let thoughts flash across their minds.


    "What do you mean?" someone asked.


    "This is the last time the Chaotic Source World opens and the only chance for us


    bered, the people assembling in the cave were not afraid of him.


    They were all elites of the major races. They didn''t believe that the Evil God could resist all of them alone.


    There was an indifferent smile on the Evil God''s face. The Ways-blending Energy gathered slowly in his right hand and coalesced into a diamond-shaped gem, which glinted evilly. Even facing so many strong warriors, he remained calm.


    Some of the creatures looking at him were very nervous. What was he playing at?


    Seeing the restless members of the Separate Abyss race about to rush forward, Khalid of the Bearing race reminded them, "Hamzah! If we fight here, we will risk activating the Malicious Stare!"


    Hamzah was one of the strongest of the Separate Abyss race.


    Although he didn''t want to fight the Evil God, the Separate Abyss race had been humiliated. So he had to fight.


    "Really?" Hearing Khalid''s words, Hamzah frowned.


    "We''ve already been through this." Khalid cupped his hands and told Hamzah what happened just now.


    The members of the Separate Abyss race were arrogant. They didn''t hang out with the Bearing race.


    However, Khalid still hoped they could form an alliance with the Separate Abyss race. He warned them kindly because he wanted them on his side.


    After thinking it over, Hamzah stared ferociously at the Evil God and led his clansmen to the side.


    Everyone could see a fight between the Separate Abyss race and the Evil God was brewing.

 Chapter 3407 Shut Up

    The Evil God emerged from the passageway, greeting Zen with a smug smile.


    Zen faced this creation of his with a look of indifference.


    The Evil God was a creature born from his inner world so it was only a given that Zen knew everything about him.


    From his birth to his growth, Zen knew every single detail.


    All the information would gather together in his mind with only a single thought.


    "You''ve made a big mistake," Zen hissed.


    His creation merely continued smiling at him. "What is it?"


    "You should''ve never used Dorothy to provoke me!" Zen snarled with white-hot rage.


    Dorothy couldn''t help but purse her lips.


    She had fought with this creation of Zen''s before and knew very well how terrifying he was.


    The Evil God had chosen to spare her life at the last moment and Dorothy caught on pretty quickly as to why: he wanted to use her to provoke Zen.


    She trusted Zen''s strength wholeheartedly, but she didn''t want him to get into this potentially dangerous fight just because of her. Moreover, the current situation was skewed to the Evil God''s favor.


    If Zen was defeated by the Evil God, he would only end in death.


    It was nice to be saved by Zen but she wasn''t as relieved as she should be. In fact, she was very worried.


    Zen was wholly determined to fight for her and would not back down from this fight with the Evil God.


    It warmed her heart but it was quickly overtaken with worry for Zen''s life.


    "Tsk, tsk, tsk..." The Evil God shook his head with a smile. "You seem really eager to destroy me."


    "You never should''ve existed in the first place," Zen countered.


    This creation of his was a freak and Zen was still at a loss as to how such a vile creature appeared in his inner world. Other people didn''t seem to have this problem. Why him?


    Did it have anything to do with the primitive land?


    The Evil God let out a maniacal laugh. "My existence wasn''t decided by you. Not even this round of chaos can decide my birth. I am destined to transcend everything while you..."


    He paused to glare at Zen with his two evil eyes. "You are merely destined to be my stepping stone."


    His daring insults caused the various races to frown.


    There was truly no limit to the Evil God''s arrogance.


    Destined to transcend everything? Even if he came from the Black Ship, he was not qualified to say something like


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    vine Farmer race, the Pear Hill, and others. Even so, it proved to be extremely difficult even with the use of the Flow Swordsmanship.


    Only a dozen sculptures were activated this time but it should be noted that the Evil God was taking it all by himself. This proved the incredible strength of his soul force.


    Zen was definitely not going to let him do whatever he wanted outside the Chaotic Source World.


    In fact, he was even more determined to put him right back into his inner world where he belonged.


    They weren''t the only ones astonished by this display of resilience. Even the giant eye on top of the cave was shocked. "Interesting! Interesting... Here comes another incredible talent, someone who can resist my power of fear!"


    "Resist your power of fear?" the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits asked. "If you can''t subdue him then wouldn''t that mean trouble for us?"


    For the past ten years, the Chaotic Source Spirits had been growing in power by devouring each other, as intended by the mother.


    However, they all relied on the giant eye.


    If it turned out that not even the giant eye could suppress the Evil God, then that was definitely going to be bad for them, which made the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits quite concerned.


    "Humph!" the giant eye snorted in disdain through consciousness as the red light shone brighter.


    More and more sculptures were activated, releasing waves upon waves of power of fear. All of it was directed at the Evil God, and even the people who were very close to the Evil God were not affected at all.

 Chapter 3408 Break The Main Peak

    Boom!


    The force of fear swept like tidal waves over the Evil God.


    As the Evil God struggled, bombarded by the full force of fear, his face twisted with pain and terror.


    The force of fear was a special form of soul attack. Even the strongest souls had flawed hearts, and the force inevitably found the flaw and used it to release all the fear in their hearts.


    Despite the rapid increase in the force of fear that attacked him, the Evil God managed to hold on for several seconds before he collapsed onto the ground.


    The relationship between the races in the cave was a little complicated, but they all had one thing in common. Everyone hated the Evil God to the core.


    Thus, the sight of the Evil God falling to the ground should have made them clap their hands and cheer. On the contrary, however, everyone was silent. Some looked solemn, while others wore expressions of deep wariness.


    The Evil God had a powerful soul, but he couldn''t resist the force of fear. How could they reach the upper part of the main peak?


    After a while, the red light vanished.


    Being punished by the force of fear, the Evil God finally calmed down after managing to stand up.


    He said nothing, but his face was etched with grimness. He looked around him with eyes filled with suspicion and doubt.


    The Evil God had seldom been beaten since he entered the Source World. He did not know who had employed the force of fear, but he vowed that he would find out and take his revenge.


    "The force of fear is so strong. We are no match for whoever employed it. How can we continue to climb up?" someone asked in a worried tone.


    Mount replied, "Even if we manage to climb up, we will find it difficult to defeat those Chaotic Source Spirits if we are suppressed by the force of fear."


    The main peak was very dangerous to climb, even without taking any other factors into considerations. They also had the Chaotic Source Spirits to contend with. After these spirits swallowed each other, their strength increased significantly, and they posed a huge risk for anyone who dared to climb the main peak.


    "We can''t return empty-handed," someone said gloomily.


    Everyone fell silent, wondering what would be the best course of action.


    Yan had said that if they missed this opportunity, it would be impossible for any of them to reach the Chaotic Source Realm in the future.


    No one was willing to turn back at this point without anything to show for it.


    As they discussed the matter, they were interrupted by a sharp, cracking sound.


    They looked up. The sound was coming from the top of the cave.


    The sculptures on the roof of the cave seemed to have gotten loose, and cracks had appeared on the surface. Three staircases extended down fro


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    do as he said. But... I wonder if there is a hurricane outside now?"


    He thought breaking the main peak was an excellent plan, but he worried that everyone would just be swept away by the hurricane if they did that.


    "Some of my clansmen keep watch outside," said a nonhuman creature covered in something green. "The hurricane will stop at any moment."


    Seeing that everyone was eager for action, the Evil God smirked. "Then let''s get started. Remember, we only have one chance to do this right."


    The Evil God and the others had all been conversing through their life vitality, so the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits and the giant eye at the top couldn''t hear them.


    The giant eye was narrowed in doubt. Through its consciousness, it said, "What are they waiting for? Why don''t they go up the stairs?"


    "They are cowards," said the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits contemptuously. Firmly she added, "But they won''t give up this opportunity."


    At that moment, the pupil of the giant eye suddenly shrank.


    "Oh no!"


    The scarlet force of fear spiraled in the pupil. However, before it could be released, a violent roar came from below.


    The crowd eager to get to the top was comprised of a powerful and diverse group of warriors. Their combined power could not be underestimated.


    Most of them could control a level of strength up to one thousand divine megatons. Some could easily control an even greater level of strength, especially those from the Separate Abyss race. By virtue of their perfect bodies, even if they did not reach the Chaotic Source Realm, the strength they exerted was comparable to that of the said realm.


    A rumbling sound echoed as the main peak trembled.


    A second later, the middle part of the main peak suddenly shook violently, as though it was being torn by an earthquake.

 Chapter 3409 Joining Hands For The Moment

    In the middle of the ring-shaped mountain range, some creatures had gathered in the arrays surrounding the main peak.


    Not wanting to risk their lives, they didn''t dare step outside of the arrays.


    At least within the arrays, they could seek some shelter from the terrible hurricane.


    Rumble!


    Suddenly, the center of the main peak exploded in a cloud of smoke and dust.


    The creatures huddled in the arrays widened their eyes in shock.


    "What happened in the main peak?"


    "Such strength!"


    "It cracks! It cracks! The main peak is about to collapse!"


    When the dust cleared, they saw a huge crack in the middle of the main peak, and it was growing rapidly.


    The entire ring-shaped mountain range quaked as the cracks crawled towards its edges.


    The main peak, which was up to a million feet high, slowly began to tilt to one side. The tip of the peak suddenly broke off, crashing into the east side of the ring-shaped mountain range, destroying that as well.


    The creatures who were gathered in the arrays stood motionless before the scene that was unfolding, dumbfounded.


    Only the other half of the main peak was left, rendering the once towering mountain now an almost flattened plain!


    Naturally, the bystanders were stunned.


    The Chaotic Source Spirits lurking in the upper part of the main peak began to stir as they sensed this change.


    While they didn''t know what was going on exactly, they couldn''t calm down until the mother comforted them.


    "Is this your plan?" the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits asked pointedly.


    The giant eye floating inside the main peak began to emanate a depressed aura. It had just wanted the foolish young talents to take the bait. It had never expected that the creatures would not climb up the stairs-- instead, they had sliced off the main peak!


    "Don''t panic! They have to come inside if they want to take the Chaotic Source Spirits!" The giant eye reassured the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits through its consciousness.


    After the collapse of the main peak, the force of fear that restrained people also disappeared.


    All the races grew even more cautious. Besides, they couldn''t lower their guard against the Evil God.


    Zen stood in front of the disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace and the members of the Snake Goddess race. In his inner world, the Eye of Will, the Strength God Totem and that Civilization Artifact quietly floated.


    On the


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    "Didn''t you say they would come in anyway?" the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits complained.


    "Let the Chaotic Source Spirits fight against them for a bit," the giant eye advised.


    "I''ve already sent them there. Although we can hold them off for a while, we will eventually be exhausted..." the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirit said dejectedly.


    The half peak that had fallen to the ground was like a dead giant, suffering the attacks of the crowd.


    Each stream of energy ruthlessly ripped open a piece of flesh of the giant.


    However, as the Chaotic Source Spirits cruised inside the body of the peak, suddenly the entire main peak solidified into a smooth, shiny surface with no imperfections-- not even a hairline crack.


    "It''s the Chaotic Source Spirits!"


    "They are in the rocks!"


    "Dig them out!"


    People cried out excitedly. They had all dug out several Chaotic Source Spirits before, so this was like a beacon of hope to them. Together, they attacked the rocks more fiercely.


    Bang!


    Bang! Bang!


    Splash!


    With so many people joining hands, an extremely terrifying amount of force was unleashed onto the peak.


    Having been attacked mercilessly, the Chaotic Source Spirits lurking in the mountain quickly fell into a state of exhaustion. The originally solid mountain body began to buckle and crack again.


    Yan was the quickest of them to notice. The moment she discovered a crack, she channeled the red threads of energy from the arms of the shadow of Snake Goddess to get into the crack. With a flick of her wrist, she pulled out more than a hundred Chaotic Source Spirits!

 Chapter 3410 The Mother Emerged

    At that moment, the various races broke into gasps when they saw the Chaotic Source Spirits.


    After all, they had roamed across the Chaotic Source World for a really long time, but harvested very little. There were some lucky ones who were able to get dozens of Chaotic Source Spirits, but the others got nothing.


    To their surprise, Yan actually drew out a hundred Chaotic Source Spirits. Of course, it made everyone excited!


    "Everyone, come on!"


    "As long as the mountain wall is broken, we can dig out Chaotic Source Spirits!"


    "Bang!"


    Generally speaking, the Chaotic Source Spirits reinforced anything they had been integrated with to a great extent.


    If they were continuously battered, however, they quickly became exhausted.


    It was known that there was a large amount of the Chaotic Source Spirits in the mountain.


    "Crack..."


    Just then, a new crack appeared on the mountain wall.


    This time, Mya, the genius of the Divine Farmer race was quick to act. In a blink of an eye, her long curly hair extended up into the crack and with a slight twist, her hair had killed the Chaotic Source Spirits hiding inside the crack. After they were stripped of their blood and flesh, her hair had pulled out dozens of amber crystals.


    "Sure enough!"


    "All the Chaotic Source Spirits are in there!"


    "Everybody, charge up!"


    Even the warriors who hesitated to move couldn''t sit still anymore.


    They all descended and stood on the mountain wall of the main peak, then smashed and punched the wall like mad.


    All they needed was for the Chaotic Source Spirits inside the mountain to get tired, then the warriors simply had to reach through the cracks and pull the Chaotic Source Spirits out. After the warriors killed them, they stripped the amber colored crystals from their bodies and put the crystals into their space rings.


    The Chaotic Source Spirits were a kind of living beings, and they also referred to the crystals in their bodies.


    "How savage are these warriors¡­" Zen said and shook his head. Then again, Yan''s method, which consisted of inserting her energy threads in the crack then instantly evaporating the blood, flesh, and bones of the Chaotic Source Spirits was no different.


    Her method of killing them was also bloody.


    There was nothing the Chaotic Source Spirits could do to ease their tragic fate.


    The warriors outside the mountain continued to dig happily, while the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits and the huge eye who were hiding inside were in deep agony.


    "These damn creatures! They have gone too far this year..." Resentment filled the black eyes of the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits.


    Trapped in the Chaotic Source Wo


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    ody mouth swallowed their whole bodies.


    In the blink of an eye, every race had lost several members who were devoured by the large bloody mouths.


    "Retreat!"


    "The Chaotic Source Spirits are coming out!"


    "I told you not to approach the mountain wall!"


    Most people were still very cautious. Zen, Yan, Dorothy, and some others kept a distance from the mountain wall while they smashed it. When the Chaotic Source Spirits emerged from the mountain wall, they lightly lifted their bodies and instantly distanced themselves from them.


    "They finally came out," Zen said.


    He had warned the disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace, the Pear Hill, and the Ear Mice not to get too close through chaotic energy.


    If too many Chaotic Source Spirits were lost, the rest of them would definitely rush out and fight for their lives.


    Now, his prediction was right. Therefore, none of the members of the Oneness Sky Palace, the Pear Hill, or even the Ear Mice got injured.


    "Crack..."


    "Crack..."


    On the mountain wall, the large-sized Chaotic Source Spirits finally got out of the cracks. In addition to their size, they also exuded a malicious aura.


    Yet, they didn''t attack immediately. They remained attached to the mountain wall and just leered at the creatures above them with hatred.


    "Crack!"


    Suddenly, a bigger crack ruptured and split the top of the main peak in half. It immediately caught the attention of all the creatures around.


    The moment the broken mountain top fell, a huge eyeball emerged, and beside it was an enormous Chaotic Source Spirit that measured ten thousand feet high.


    Everyone''s eyes were transfixed on the huge Chaotic Source Spirit. At the same time, they all thought of the same thing: It must be the mother of all the Chaotic Source Spirits.

 Chapter 3411 A Bloody Eye

    Everyone was on their guard; they were wary not only of the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits, but also of the huge eye.


    As they had felt the force of fear in the cave that contained many sculptures before, they assumed that it would be waiting for them in the main peak.


    They had been well-prepared and already known what to expect, but they were still dumbfounded when the huge eye came into their view.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Every creature from all of the races retreated at the sight that greeted them.


    The warriors that had hidden in the arrays before had been disheartened at their own weakness. The moment they saw the mother of Chaotic Source Spirits, they immediately fled for their lives.


    They turned back to the direction they came from and flew directly towards the nearest magic arrays.


    "Now that you have forced us out, you can''t turn your backs on us!"


    A flash of red light came from the huge eye, and suddenly, a circle of blood lines radiated out from it at an incredible speed.


    When everyone felt the blood lines sweep over their skin, their hearts skipped a beat.


    The blood lines had already spread out over an area with a radius of a hundred thousand feet in the time it took them to blink.


    The magic array closest to them was right outside the perimeter of the blood lines. A few individuals braced themselves and rushed towards the magic array.


    This particular array was set up by several powerful masters. They believed that as long as they hid within it, it would protect them.


    But even a slight contact of their fingers with the blood lines sent a sensation similar to an electric shock through their bodies.


    They felt the force of fear spike within their hearts, triggering their psychological flaws. Those with weak constitutions lost their minds; some cried out helplessly in an attempt to vent their emotions. In the end, they had no choice but to leave the blood lines.


    When Zen''s group saw the blood lines, their eyes narrowed.


    They realized that the huge eye had limited everyone''s movement, and essentially trapped all of them.


    It was obvious that the Chaotic Source Spirits and the giant eye were very complacent regarding their own strength, and they had no doubt that they would be able to kill everyone.


    After the main peak had collapsed, the Evil God had been wandering around as if he didn''t have a care in the world.


    When the huge eye and the mother of Chaotic Source Spirits showed up, his interest was piqued greatly.


    The problem was, he was far away from them. The blood lines had not been able to reach his location, so he approached the very edge of the blood lines'' territory.


    "The gia


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    aders of the super forces weren''t able to do anything either. They could only place their best hopes on their clansmen, praying that they could survive their encounter with the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits and complete the Chaotic Source Reinforcement.


    On the top of the snowy mountain, Fuxi was settled on the snow, giving no mind to the interior of the Chaotic Source World.


    He gazed far into the distance, skimming over the Chaotic Source World, and stopped at the boundary of the Icy Snow Province.


    A thin space crack was slowly enlarging there.


    Several sharp claws insidiously extended from inside the space crack. A small bloody eye was on top of them.


    The creature inside the space crack was very good at hiding itself. Even if the space had been torn apart, its aura was undetectable, as if it could perfectly merge with the space.


    "Such a hiding theurgy is truly extraordinary. If I hadn''t used the Eight Diagrams disk for calculation, I wouldn''t have detected this," Fuxi muttered silently. "Let me see what your intentions are."


    The Pear Hill had not been able to see the changes within the Chaotic Source World in the beginning.


    It was not until what had happened in the Chaotic Source Sea that Fuxi had used the Eight Diagrams disk for his calculations and found out the truth. He had also incidentally discovered the Eye of Will in the main peak of the Chaotic Source World.


    The Eye of Will was an Other Shore Token, and as such, people of the Pear Hill knew that it should not have existed in the Source World without a carrier.


    If it was true that the Other Shore Tokens could exist in the chaos without carriers, it would mean trouble for the entire Source World. It seemed that the situation in the chaos was about to change phenomenally.

 Chapter 3412 Cyan Silk Cloth

    After the giant eye released blood lines that enveloped everyone who was present, it released a message through its consciousness.


    "Why don''t you take action?" the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits roared angrily after receiving the message.


    Meanwhile, the other huge Chaotic Source Spirits that had been staying on the main peak leapt up and flew towards all the warriors.


    Although many races had temporarily allied themselves with other races, no one wanted to sacrifice themselves. That was why they all retreated to the edge of the blood lines.


    The only thing was that the area that the blood lines covered had the radius of only a hundred thousand feet. With the Chaotic Source Spirits moving at such a high speed, they could surely arrive in just a blink of an eye!


    At that point, Hamzah shouted, "The members of the Separate Abyss race! Listen to me!"


    He knew that things wouldn''t end well for them if they retreated constantly. Right now, what they could do was to fight those powerful Chaotic Source Spirits to the end.


    Under Hamzah''s command, all the members of the Separate Abyss race took out their Other Shore Tokens and pulled out their weapons. The Chaotic Source Spirits were flying fast, and they would come any minute now.


    "Buzz!"


    Two Separate Abyss men pulled out their huge hammers. One of them jumped up while the other lay prone on the ground.


    Two strange cones floated above their heads. The cones were a pair that were used together. Once the two Separate Abyss men carried the cones simultaneously and cooperated with each other, the cones increased the Other Shore Power they released by multiple times.


    "Swoosh! Swoosh!"


    Both sides were formidable opponents. The blood red Chaotic Source Spirit in front of them had a very large size, while the two members of the Separate Abyss race were also tall and strong.


    The two big hammers launched an attack together and unleashed an unimaginable amount of power!


    Just as the two men from the Separate Abyss race were about to hit the Chaotic Source Spirit, a red light from somewhere not too far away shot towards them and hit their heads.


    "Buzz..."


    At that moment, the two men began feel afraid. Their faces paled and their hearts pounded erratically in their chests.


    "Quack!"


    As the two of them were trapped by the power of fear, the Chaotic Source Spirit opened its bloody mouth wide.


    "Crack! Crack!"


    It all happened so fast that there was only a mere snapping sound, and the heads of the two men were gone.


    "No!" Hamzah screamed.


    He quickly ran towards them to help his companions, but it was obviously too late for him to do that now.


    In a fit of rage, he activated his power. His skin turned red, as if numerous para


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    that was one thousand feet wide.


    Nevertheless, the huge, ten thousand-foot-tall mother kept moving and attacking within the limited area. Everyone began to feel anxious and stressed.


    The warriors who were in fierce battles with the other Chaotic Source Spirits ran away when the attacks were near.


    Still, the power of fear descended from time to time and trapped two or three men. Those unlucky warriors were either eaten or crushed by the mother.


    Some members of the Oneness Sky Palace, the Snake Goddess race, the Ear Mouse race, the Bearing race, and even the Sun Crow race got attacked as well. Within less than thirty seconds, about thirty warriors had died.


    On the other hand, the giant eye was still floating in the sky. It kept on accumulating the red light and releasing it from its pupil.


    If the huge eye continued its strikes at such a speed, then it and the mother would be able to kill everyone without much effort.


    Of course, they would not kill those most important people.


    Just then, the giant eye suddenly sensed two puffs of aura that came from behind it.


    With a slight roll, its pupil had moved to the back and was greeted with the sight of Zen and Yan.


    "How dare you attack me?!" the giant eye shrieked. It began to release its power of fear, but then a cyan silk cloth appeared in Yan''s hand.


    The silk cloth looked very exquisite, and had strange patterns on its surface.


    As soon as the huge eye released the red light, Yan lightly shook the silk cloth.


    The cloth deftly wiped away the power of fear that was shot towards them.


    The members of the Pear Hill were already aware of the Dreaded Eye Demon''s existence before, so they naturally gave the countermeasure to Yan. It was just that it was not appropriate for her to show this item before, so she only brought it out now.

 Chapter 3413 The Braveness Rain

    The giant eye''s pupil shrank in horror upon seeing the cyan light from the silk cloth.


    "Buzz!"


    The blood red force of fear formed a helix, shooting toward Zen and Yan.


    Such force of fear was enough to push ordinary Souls of Light into endless fear until they died in the throes of madness.


    Yan, however, showed no fear. She gently waved the cyan silk cloth, which promptly extended up to ten feet in the wind.


    As the silk cloth unfurled, it began to spin in front of Yan, forming circles of cyan light.


    Splash!


    The force of fear came into contact with the cyan light. But it evaporated instantly, like snowflakes in the blazing sun.


    "The force of fear is indeed strong in some aspects. No matter how strong a man''s will is, after all, there would always be something that they are afraid of. However, attacks like that are easy enough to shatter," Yan said calmly.


    Some evil and sinister methods were very horrible. But these methods were difficult to use, not because they were not of the right origin.


    In such a big world, there were always so many people who wanted to be stronger.


    However, those who resorted to vicious means, though powerful, had their limits. To become truly strong warriors, people must find the right way forward.


    "Braveness Rain!"


    Yan shouted. The cyan light emanating from the silk cloth transformed into cyan raindrops which poured down from the sky, heading straight for the giant eye.


    At the sight of the cyan raindrops, the giant eye released panic consciousness again.


    Its two abilities, however, wouldn''t work this time.


    One of them was the Authentic Visual World, which was an auxiliary ability to help it distinguish the enemy''s weakness more clearly and see through the illusions of magic arrays. But this ability couldn''t help it block the enemy''s attacks directly.


    The other was the force of fear, which was easily parried by the silk cloth.


    This seemingly unremarkable silk cloth was, in fact, a treasure of the Other Shore obtained by the Pear Hill.


    True to its name, the silk cloth could summon rain.


    There was a rain forest in Stage Twenty-one of the Other S


    o resist.


    But he could fix that problem with this silk cloth.


    He was determined to rob it from Yan on the spot.


    As soon as the Evil God tried to grab the silk cloth, a sword shot out from behind Yan''s body. A sharp sword radiance extended and stabbed into the Evil God''s palm.


    The smirk was wiped off the Evil God''s face as the sword light went through his hand. His face darkened.


    A ray of colorful light gathered on his palm. It was the Ways-blending Energy!


    The diamond-shaped Ways-blending Energy had been piled up to more than one hundred and twenty layers by the Evil God. It was extremely powerful and could overpower the Other Shore Tokens from Stage Thirteen.


    The Ways-blending Energy, condensed to the extreme, burst instantly when it made contact with the sword radiance. The overwhelming power spread in all directions like a scorching sun, attracting the eyes of many people and even the Chaotic Source Spirits.


    Other people would probably be immediately swallowed up by such power.


    But Zen was also very familiar with the Ways-blending Energy!


    The sword attack he had launched was to force the Evil God to retreat.


    The instant the Ways-blending Energy burst out, Zen had grabbed one of Yan''s hands. Yan, still clutching the silk cloth, was pulled backward to a safer distance.


    This would be the first time Zen fought with the Evil God since he released the latter out of his inner world.

 Chapter 3414 The Second Flaw

    The bright scorching sun shone high up in the sky. All of a sudden, it disappeared.


    The light that was shining upon Zen a moment ago vanished in an instant. With that, a strange expression flickered in his eyes.


    The Evil God raised his hand gently. The diamond-shaped pieces created from the Ways-blending Energy assembled together and danced upon his palm.


    The light of the pieces shimmered. It was a beautiful and splendid thing to behold. However, it was also extremely dangerous.


    "I have to thank you for your help. You have given me an opportunity to practice the Ways-blending Energy to this extent," said the Evil God with a wry smile. "As far as I know, there are not a lot of Godly Ways found within common people''s inner worlds."


    Zen remained silent for a while.


    He did not care about the Evil God''s words. He was most interested in the Ways-blending Energy instead.


    Three thousand was not always the exact number. Different masters had different methods of summarizing Godly Ways.


    The three thousand Godly Ways Zen and the Evil God had practiced was summarized by Chiyou.


    Both Zen and the Evil God were quite accustomed to using these three thousand Godly Ways.


    However, Zen found something unique in the Ways-blending Energy now. There was a gleam of faint white arc light among the pieces.


    But because the white arc light only occupied one three-thousandth of the Ways-blending Energy, Zen could not clearly make sense what it was.


    What did the Evil God put into the Ways-blending Energy?


    The Evil God noticed that Zen was gazing at the Ways-blending Energy. Seeing this, he broke into an even bigger smile. "Are you wondering why my Ways-blending Energy is so powerful?"


    "Yes," Zen replied with all honesty. He was really intrigued by what he saw.


    "It''s because the three thousand Godly Ways you pride yourself in are flawed. Hahaha..." The Evil God laughed wildly and continued, "Today I will show you something completely extraordinary, so that you may know what the perfect Ways-blending Energy truly is!"


    He spread out both of his hands and the diamond-shaped Ways-blending Energy spread like the wings. This display of power was remarkable.


    The structure of the Ways-blending Energy was extremely complicated. Its current state was very unpredictable and unstable but it seemed rather mutable. Moreover, the power contained within it was awfully terrifying.


    "Yan, retreat!" Zen ordered at once. There was no time to waste.


    Yan held the silk cloth with one hand while she made a gesture with the other.


    The power of the Ways-blending Energy was indeed terrifying but Yan believed she had the power to withstand it.


    Nevertheless, Zen''s tone was very serious. Yan pursed her lips but chose to


    stion is, where did this guy get this energy?"


    Fuxi was absolutely stumped.


    Many years ago, people thought that the Ways-blending Energy was the original energy. Once the energy of three thousand Godly Ways was fully merged, even the truth theurgies wouldn''t be able to match it.


    Lots of supreme masters took severe painstaking efforts for countless years to perfect this. Yet, they still failed to merge the energy of three thousand Godly Ways. Finally, Fuxi, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, and the others concluded that the Ways-blending Energy was impossible to complete.


    The Evil God''s gaze was fixed on Zen. He kept watching him as he launched his attack.


    He wanted to see the look of astonishment and disbelief on Zen''s face.


    However, he was completely disappointed. Zen''s expression remained impassive. After a while, Zen finally opened his mouth to speak. "If I were you, I would not make this energy public," he said in a calm manner.


    "Do you think I''m as cowardly as you are? Don''t make me laugh," the Evil God mocked Zen.


    "After all, you are not able to complete the Ways-blending Energy either," Zen continued as he shook his head. "But because you have exposed this energy now, people will only covet it."


    "Haha! I can''t complete the Ways-blending Energy?" The Evil God''s face broke into a proud smile. "I have already merged two thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine Godly Ways, including this one. I only need the Thunderstorm Godly Way now. I am one step away from completion!"


    As the Evil God spoke, he stared arrogantly at Zen. However, there wasn''t any sign of admiration or surprise on Zen''s face.


    Zen retained his calm demeanor. He replied, "Clearly, you have done a great job. Nevertheless, you will never be able to take that final step because the Ways-blending Energy has more than one flaw."

 Chapter 3415 The Flaws Of The Chaos

    It was true that the Evil God had merged more Godly Ways than Zen ever had.


    He only needed one more Godly Way to completely finish the cause. It was unbelievable for him to achieve this with his current cultivation base.


    If this happened before, Zen probably would have waited before doing anything, just to see what the Godly Ways Great Unity could produce.


    However, with the help of the Regal Jade Spirit, Zen had already grasped that the chaos was imperfect.


    Among the three flaws, Zen obtained one through the Regal Jade Civilization. He was able to claim the Blood Essence Godly Way, but the remaining two were still a mystery to him.


    After his son, Geoffrey, deciphered and interpreted the Sanskrit word formed by blood vitality, he gathered some clues for his search. The Regal Jade Spirit had guessed that one of the flaws stood close to the Element Spirit race, otherwise known as the second cultivation. But the exact existence was still unknown.


    Little did he know that the Evil God had already gotten a flaw!


    He also didn''t know if the power within the arc light was a gift from the Black Ship to the Evil God or he obtained it from the Other Shore.


    The Evil God was a proud, arrogant being, who was very keen on showing the unique energy he had obtained.


    For him, Godly Ways Great Unity was just round the corner.


    The only thing that bothered him was that his energy had a way of clashing with the Thunderstorm Godly Way.


    He attempted over a million times, with no success whatsoever.


    He removed the Thunderstorm Godly Way and placed the arc light together with the other Godly Ways. In this way, the three thousand Godly Ways stabilized to his advantage.


    The reverse of this also worked wonders. However, the moment the two forces were added to the Godly Ways at the same time, the Ways-blending Energy would collapse.


    The arc light proved to be a form of thunder, one that was violent and difficult to control. That was what made it so incompatible with the Thunderstorm Godly Way.


    All things considered, the Evil God had tried all methods only to meet failure.


    He even attempted to use the Other Shore Power in order to suppress and force the two thunder energies to merge. However, like all of his trials, this fail


    ss, you fools!" As the Evil God chuckled, he swung his huge sword across the air, leaving a trail of colors before waving it towards Zen''s head.


    Just then, a red circle of light spread out, and the force of fear from it began to attack the Evil God.


    The highly condensed Ways-blending Energy was extremely unstable. Affected by the force of fear, the Evil God couldn''t control the Ways-blending Energy. Just like that, it exploded, resembling a huge, blazing sun.


    With the amount of energy that had been released, even the Evil God himself would have to suffer if attacked by it. At the expense of his energy, he tried to suppress the fear and flew backward, giving him a chance to dodge.


    Yan, with the silk cloth in one hand, gently sprinkled the Braveness Rain across Zen''s body to remove the force of fear. "I didn''t ask my brother to watch out for you," she mumbled.


    The Evil God calmed himself down as much as he could before turning his head.


    The eye was restrained by the silk cloth in Yan''s hand. He couldn''t defeat the eye alone.


    He stood no chance against Zen and the force of fear of the eye.


    Clenching his teeth, he turned around and dashed to the side of the main peak without another word.


    "Brother, must we chase after him?" asked Yan, staring at the black figure that grew smaller the farther it went.


    "Do you honestly think that eye will help us?" Zen shot a question back at her, smiling.


    "No." Yan shook her head.


    "Then we take that eye down first," Zen said.

 Chapter 3416 The Seal

    Facing the Evil God in a chaotic war was definitely not the wisest choice.


    He was able to slaughter his way across the Chaotic Source World after all, and not just because he depended on the Ways-blending Energy


    According to the man from the Separate Abyss race, the Evil God had the ability to descend a world but hadn''t used such a powerful trump card yet.


    The giant eye released its overwhelming power of fear, which was a threat to everyone. Eliminating this threat was the most urgent at the moment.


    Meanwhile, Zen was determined to get the arc light in the Evil God''s hand.


    The giant eye felt extremely depressed.


    It let out the force of fear in order to help the Chaotic Source Spirits. On the other hand, this, coupled with the giant sword created from the Evil God''s Ways-blending Energy, would no doubt help in getting rid of Zen.


    Since there was no way it could take their physical bodies, the giant eye focused on self-preservation instead.


    Yan''s alertness and willingness to protect Zen came as a complete shock along with the explosion of Evil God''s sword strike. Just what in the world was going on?


    Without any idea what to do and with its hope running out fast, the giant eye turned around and entered the main peak.


    Seeing this, Zen promptly changed his direction and threw a punch towards the outer wall of the main peak, creating a big hole from which he and Yan entered.


    The place where the giant eye and Zen entered was in the upper part of the main peak.


    Multiple traps had been set here previously by the giant eye, along with the engraved sculptures that littered the walls.


    As soon as Zen and Yan entered, all of the sculptures'' eyes flashed dark red and the giant eye''s force of fear surged, enveloping them almost instantly.


    Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...


    All around them were glinting, dark red eyes that threatened to subdue them.


    "Go mad!"


    Zen understood the giant eye''s actions. It was no doubt getting desperate.


    When the force of fear was amped up to maximum, it had the ability to drown its opponent''s mind and disorder their Memory Flame. It could wash away all memories and leave behind a singular emotion: fear. A man who only knew fe


    more hope to its situation.


    Just as the eye began to burn, the cyan silk cloth from Yan flew and wrapped itself tightly around it.


    Zen didn''t notice Yan arrive beside him. She picked up the cyan silk cloth and flicked her fingers. "Seal!" With her command, the cyan silk cloth completely sealed the troublesome giant eye.


    "I''ll give this to the Pear Hill," she told Zen who nodded in understanding.


    Yan stretched out a dainty finger and tapped her space ring, sucking the sealed giant eye into it.


    One of her established tasks had been to deal with the Dreaded Eye Demon and she had now accomplished it.


    The Pear Hill was greatly interested in the eye and Yan will be delivering it to Fuxi.


    Had it been anyone else, Zen would never allow them to take this giant eye, but Yan was different. He couldn''t refuse her.


    With the eye dealt with, they turned their attention back to the deafening roars from outside. The two of them exchanged a nod. "Let''s go!"


    The bloody lines the giant eye had drawn were now completely gone and everyone could move freely.


    Some Chaotic Source Spirits relentlessly hunted down the Ear Mice who, when they could no longer defend themselves, sought refuge in the arrays. The Chaotic Source Spirits could do nothing as the Ear Mice hid from them.


    Several large Chaotic Source Spirits had also broken down, bursting in piles of amber-colored crystals that were immediately grabbed by multiple hands from various races.

 Chapter 3417 Snatch

    In the chaotic situation, another Chaotic Source Spirit fell. As the Chaotic Source Spirits swallowed each other, the one that devoured the others strengthened itself each time.


    But they weren''t moving all that quickly despite their amazing defensive power. So they could only be moving targets in the face of the outstanding warriors and talents of various races.


    A member of the Moon Spirit race was covered with a faint curtain of light.


    The light curtain twisted the light, allowing the warrior to hide herself completely.


    With that, it was difficult to detect her existence without using spiritual sense.


    When she saw the Chaotic Source Spirit fall, she flew across the air sharply and quickly. Then, she reached out and stuffed a bunch of amber-colored crystals into her space ring.


    Over 300 crystals were in her possession now, according to her count. With so many crystals, it was enough for her to reach the Chaotic Source Realm.


    Her brother was still inside an array. It was too dangerous outside, after all. This time, she could give him over a hundred Chaotic Source Spirits.


    Overjoyed, the member of the Moon Spirit race rushed toward the nearby array.


    Entering it meant absolute safety. Moreover, no one had sensed her existence in the chaos.


    When the array was only about a hundred feet away, a great black shadow enveloped her.


    Sensing that something was wrong, she raised her head on instinct.


    A huge member of the Separate Abyss race descended from the sky. The large brown hammer in his hand then released the formidable Other Shore Power as he struck.


    Bang!


    The Moon Spirit warrior''s body was smashed into pieces. The Separate Abyss man reached out and grabbed her space ring. Then he threw all its contents on the floor, and collected all the crystals before stepping into the array.


    Hiding in the array, the Moon Spirit warrior''s brother was wide-eyed in shock at the scene.


    The Separate Abyss man glared at the boy with disdain as he scolded, "We''re the ones who killed the Chaotic Source Spirit! How dare you snatch them from us!"


    If it weren''t for the array''s protection, the Separate Abyss man would have killed the boy without hesitation.


    In the presence of the super forces, the small races were weaker


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    omething like a cage with an astonishing ray of sword radiance. It mixed with the divine flames of the Sun Crow race. With its glowing aura, it attacked the three brothers head-on.


    Elvinia wasn''t alone¡ªDorothy, employing the Origin swordsmanship, Hutton, Sally, the other Nine Li warriors, and even some disciples from the Oneness Sky Palace also attacked the trio.


    The three were known to be powerful in the Divine Farmer race. While they might not have been as strong as Mount and Mya, they were still second to them.


    With the confidence they had in their skills, they were daring enough to snatch the Chaotic Source Spirits right in front of the Oneness Sky Palace''s people.


    "Shadow Realm!"


    The leader of the three brothers patted his head lightly, making a dark gem pop and rotate out of it.


    As the gem spun, their bodies turned somewhat vague.


    "The Dark Realm Stone?" Chaim raised his brows at the reveal.


    The stone was a mysterious type of Other Shore Token. Once it was activated, it could allow itself and the people around it to enter a unique state where all attacks were rendered useless.


    "Clatter..."


    Countless rays of sword radiance pierced through their bodies and shot out. After a slight wobble, the three brothers were completely unharmed.


    The sight had the disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace wide-eyed in shock.


    All of the three men from the Divine Farmer race had smug smiles on their faces. "Let''s go!" said their leader. "We''ll be safe once we enter the array!"

 Chapter 3418 The Energy Levels

    If the three brothers from the Divine Farmer race entered the magic array, it would be all the Oneness Sky Palace disciples could do to watch them helplessly.


    There, they could safely refine the Chaotic Source Spirits and even give the extras to other people of their race.


    In the state of the Shadow Realm, the brothers moved very slowly.


    But no matter how much the Oneness Sky Palace people attacked them, they remained unaffected. It was only a matter of time before they entered the array.


    Dorothy, Elvinia, and the others used a number of methods to attack them, but to no avail. Everyone''s faces fell.


    "It''s no use!" The tallest of the brothers burst into laughter as he boasted.


    "Your energy levels are not nearly high enough to deflate the Shadow Realm," murmured Chaim, who remained relatively calm.


    "What energy levels?" Elvinia asked with a long face.


    For a moment, Chaim examined the brothers before continuing, "All the forces in the chaos can be regarded as the flow of energy. But the energy itself can vary from high to low."


    Although Chaim wasn''t an expert, he knew the different energy levels.


    Life vitality was the lowest level of energy. All warriors in the Source World and creatures in the inner worlds could easily use it.


    When condensed to its extreme, life vitality became the Godly Way. Its internal momentum then turned into the second level of energy, flowing much faster than the first.


    The power of the Other Shore Tokens belonged to the third level of energy¡ªthe most popular one among masters in the Source World.


    But the Other Shore Tokens had all sorts of strange abilities. Those of mysterious type, most especially, could reach higher energy levels. The Shadow Realm wasn''t particularly difficult to deflate so long as one could touch or even just affect it. If anyone managed to do so, the realm would perish instantly.


    Some Other Shore Tokens could boast about unique abilities, including deflating the Shadow Realm.


    Unfortunately, the Oneness Sky Palace disciples present carried no such power. All they could do was watch as the three brothers slowly drifted away.


    Now,


    any more Truth Crystals. As a result, the pure power of the Falling Star Palm wasn''t quite enough.


    The trio had no idea about this Truth Crystal, but they didn''t perceive any special kind of power from it. It didn''t faze them in the least.


    As Zen lowered his hand, a green vortex appeared above their heads.


    It continued swirling until a ray of green starlight fell over them.


    Seeing the power of the Falling Star Palm, Zen smiled bitterly within. Indeed, it was too weak with the use of only one Truth Crystal.


    When the others saw the starlight, they didn''t take it seriously either. It was far weaker than their own strength.


    But when the warriors at the gate of the Chaotic Source World saw the green energy, their expressions hardened.


    "This is¡­"


    "The energy of truth level?"


    "It''s weak, but it''s genuine."


    Most of the leaders had figured out the energy level of the Falling Star Palm.


    When Athemar saw it, his jaw slacked a bit in shock. Subconsciously, he looked over at Winchell.


    They definitely hadn''t expected Zen to be carrying such a trick under his sleeve.


    What did Zen have to do with the Chaos Ancient God?


    Standing atop the snowy mountain, Fuxi kept his expression calm when he saw the green light from the Falling Star Palm. He had already known about it since he was at the bottom of the chaos.


    It wasn''t a surprise to see Zen use such a move to get rid of the Shadow Realm.

 Chapter 3419 Return

    The figures of the three brothers from the Divine Farmer race were blurred, which made them look like ghosts floating in the air.


    The techniques the disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace had used before just passed through their bodies without affecting them.


    The Shadow Realm, however, had a big flaw. They needed to maintain a subtle balance with the help of the Dark Realm Stone. The balance could get broken if they weren''t careful, which was why they moved carefully and at an incredibly slow pace.


    Like a mere pebble thrown into a lake, the green starlight was so weak that it could not cause any real harm to the warriors at the Other Shore Realm.


    However, it did not pass through their bodies like other people''s attacks. Instead, it hit the three brothers.


    "Boom!"


    The second the starlight bloomed, the three figures were shattered like broken glass. The surface of their bodies broke into numerous cracks and fragments.


    After the fragments fell from the surface of their bodies, they stumbled out of the Shadow Realm.


    The three of them obviously didn''t expect that a bit of ordinary looking starlight could cause such an effect.


    Even Elvinia, Dorothy, and the others were speechless in shock. After all, the Falling Star Palm''s power was so weak that nobody really paid attention to it. It was unbelievable that it could deflate the Shadow Realm so easily.


    "It is about the energy level," whispered Chaim. Truthfully, he was more confused than anyone else.


    He didn''t feel any Other Shore Power when Zen had released the starlight, but he saw Zen summon a green cubic crystal.


    That crystal was not the internal momentum of the Godly Way, nor was it visualized with life vitality. The only possible answer was that it was Zen''s blood power.


    Yet, the blood power could only reach level three. Some weak blood power was at the same energy level as the internal momentum of the Godly Way. Zen''s was different, so what kind of blood did he have?


    That was only Chaim''s guess by instinct, but it was very close to the truth.


    But if his memory served him right, it was impossible for many super forces to have such a high level of blood power.


    The three brothers were also dumbfounded.


    They were


    ogant once again.


    The Divine Farmer race wasn''t afraid of the Oneness Sky Palace. Moreover, they had the full support of the Bearing race, the Sun Crow race and more. If these disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace dared to coerce them, they would only bring about their own destruction.


    Yet when Ismail, the eldest of the three brothers, was about to taunt Elvinia, Mount asked them to return the Chaotic Source Spirits.


    "Why? We are not afraid of them!" Ismail refused, defiance written all over his face. Zen, Yan, Elvinia, Dorothy, and the others looked at them grimly.


    A murderous look flashed across their eyes. It seemed that it was useless to talk to these men.


    "Just do what I say! Stop talking nonsense!" an enraged Mount suddenly yelled.


    The younger generation of the Divine Farmer race was very afraid of Mount, but he was very gentle in manner. No one had ever seen him lose his temper before.


    The three brothers felt their hearts sink when they felt Mount''s anger. They quickly poured out the Chaotic Source Spirits from their space rings.


    Ismail was reluctant to return the Chaotic Source Spirits, but he dared not disobey Mount.


    Just as Mount was about to leave with the three brothers, Zen coldly said, "That''s all? Do you think this thing is settled after you''ve returned the Chaotic Source Spirits?"


    In turn, Mount stared at Zen blankly while the three brothers angrily said, "We have given back the Chaotic Source Spirits. What else do you want?"

 Chapter 3420 Ganging Up

    Ever since the disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace had entered the Chaotic Source World, several large races like the Bearing race, Divine Farmer race, and the Sun Crow race had been constantly hostile towards them.


    These races had offended Zen many times, but now they just wanted to end the matter so easily.


    "What do you want?" Mount stared at him and calmly asked. "Leave the lives of these three to us.


    Or, take out an equivalent amount of Chaotic Source Spirits," Zen answered.


    After the huge Chaotic Source Spirit had been killed, they gained a total of more than two thousand Chaotic Source Spirits--which was enough for ten people to receive Chaotic Source Reinforcement.


    What Zen had meant was to ask the Divine Farmer race to take out another more than two thousand Chaotic Source Spirits.


    The three warriors were baffled upon hearing Zen''s request. Paying an extra amount of more than two thousand Chaotic Source Spirits was even more painful than killing them!


    "This is way too much!"


    "You want us to pay so many Chaotic Source Spirits as a compensation?


    Isn''t this robbery?"


    "No way!" the three warriors said indignantly.


    Even Mount, who was calm before, now scowled at Zen.


    The warriors of the Divine Farmer race had previously worked together to kill a Chaotic Source Spirit, and it was true that they obtained more than two thousand crystals from it. All of the crystals were in Mount''s hands. He indeed had the ability to pay the compensation Zen asked.


    The Divine Farmer race, however, also had many members. If he gave their Chaotic Source Spirits to Zen, then there would be ten people in their race who would lose the chance to receive Chaotic Source Reinforcement. It was a big loss for them.


    Still, Zen''s expression did not change at all.


    Everyone was currently seizing the chance to kill the Chaotic Source Spirits, and no one would want to waste time.


    Then again, what had been said was like water that had been spilled. If the Divine Farmer race didn''t want to pay, then Zen would show no mercy.


    Although Yan didn''t say anything, she stood beside Zen.


    Her brother''s enemy would also be her enemy, and she represented the Snake Goddess race.


    If Mount fought here, then the Pear Hill would also be automatically involved.


    Mount was not an indecisive person. Within about ten seconds, he had already weighed the pros and cons and knew what to do.


    Since it wasn''t the right time to think about the matter too much, he made a decision on the spot. With a flip of his hand, the light of his space ring flashed, and the Chaotic Source Spirits in the space ring spilled out and piled up on the ground.


    , Sun Crow race, Divine Farmer race, Snake Goddess race, and so on were all fighting with this mother.


    The Sun Crows turned into golden flames and circled around the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits. From time to time, golden sparks flashed on the mother''s body.


    Yet even though so many warriors surrounded and attacked the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits, she didn''t show any signs of fatigue. In fact, she was still ferocious as ever!


    After all, she had rested for many years and thus, her strength had grown into a terrifying level.


    "All of you! Go to hell!"


    Her eyes were full of hatred. How she wished she could swallow all these damn creatures!


    Although these creatures were weak and very small in size, they were cunning as mosquitoes as they flew around. The mother chased after them relentlessly, but the warriors flexibly dodged all of her attacks.


    After Zen had led the Oneness Sky Palace disciples to kill two Chaotic Source Spirits in a row, he shifted his attention to the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits.


    Of course, they were determined to get a share of the crystals inside the body of the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits.


    Just then, the dark smog in the sky loomed over them once more. "The hurricane is coming again?" Zen muttered, and his gaze froze.


    Everyone else were also filled with dread when they saw the surging black smog.


    No one knew where they would be blown to when the hurricane came.


    Meanwhile, the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits was not afraid of the hurricane.


    As for the warriors, they would definitely die if they hid underground.


    Someone still kept a level head and shouted, "Hide in the arrays!"


    Like a trail of disturbed ants, everyone scattered and scurried towards the arrays.

 Chapter 3421 No Way Out

    The moment they stepped into the arrays, as if triggering a sensor, the runes carved in the ground glowed with golden light. As a result, a protective oval-shaped light barrier enveloped everyone to safeguard them.


    The disciples from the various races had the right to walk in and out of the light barrier. However, everything in the Chaotic Source World that remained outside would be blocked from entering it. That included hurricanes and the Chaotic Source Spirits.


    "Phew!"


    When most people made their way safely inside the arrays, the hurricane in the Chaotic Source World rose once more with destructive intentions.


    Unfortunately, some people had failed to seek refuge in the arrays in time to avoid the approaching calamity. As a result, they were carried away by the hurricane for tens of thousands of miles without pause.


    Still, in an infuriated state, the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits broke her way through the hurricane and advanced forward.


    The plan of the giant eye was so ridiculous that it had cost the lives of almost all of her kind. It failed so horribly that she was the sole survivor among the members of her race.


    The only thing on her mind now was to exact revenge by killing as many people as she saw fit.


    But those people were like troublesome mice. As soon as the hurricane raged their way, they fled into the arrays to protect them against it.


    The Chaotic Source Spirits had little to no knowledge about the arrays. Over the years, they had made numerous attempts to destroy them, but they were all for naught as the arrays were carved in the void.


    Once the arrays were triggered to activate, the following light barrier that formed was able to withstand heavy amounts of force.


    The mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits had also tried to tear down the light barrier, but it was unsuccessful every time.


    However, the scenario had changed later. Over the past ten years, the mother had fused with many other Chaotic Source Spirits, and her strength had far surpassed her previous limitations.


    With wide strides and the intentions to kill, she made her way towards the nearest array.


    "The mother of Chaotic Source Spirits is coming!"


    "She''s headed our way!"


    "Don''t panic! These arrays are the work of powerful masters in the Source World. They are practically indestructible!"


    The people stationed inside the array under threat were the members of the River Spirit race. They inhabited the area by the riverside. Similar to the Snake Goddess race, their body was a hybrid of a human and a snake. However, they had scales for feet and tentacles on their faces; their bodies overflowed with energy.


    The River Spirit race had high hopes attached to the array. They believed in it to be able to withstand heavy amounts of damage without a hitch.


    When the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits reached the array that was closest to her, she stationed herself directly behind it. With anger fuming from every breath she took, she raised her strong foot and stomped hard on the array with malicious intents.


    Watching this unfold, the members of the River


    y believe those arrays could protect you from me!? I will show you what despair feels like!"


    "Bang Bang Bang..."


    With large steps, she paced towards the next array.


    This array was occupied by members from small races.


    As they witnessed the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits approach them, their faces turned as white as a sheet as they held their breaths.


    They were smart enough to not repeat the same mistake the River Spirit race made. Before the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits could destroy the barrier, they had planned to move out of it.


    Soon, the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits ran for a few steps before she leaped in the air and landed directly on the array.


    At the same time, the people inside the array rushed out before they were crushed.


    "Bang!"


    This light barrier also perished under the strength of the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits.


    Fortunately, their quick thinking helped the members of the small races to avoid being stepped on by her.


    However, the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits was sharp-witted. She had foreseen their intentions to escape the array. Once they stepped out, they would be carried away by the hurricane.


    Adjusting to the circumstances, the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits slapped her hand in the direction of the hurricane. The pressure of the hurricane had made it hard for the warriors to resist and move freely. With pitiful eyes and helpless bodies, they watched the huge palm cover them up and slam them hard on the ground.


    "Bang Bang Bang..."


    With a series of dull thuds, more than a dozen bloodied bodies fell lifelessly on the ground. The desolate ground was painted a wild red with their blood spraying over from all directions.


    The traumatizing sight of these people made the survivors in the remaining arrays hyperventilate. They began to huddle up and discuss strategies to escape unscathed.


    However, the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits was not prepared to allow them the luxury of time. She turned around frantically and rushed towards the third array.

 Chapter 3422 Lure Away

    The moment they saw the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits rush over, all creatures in the third array began to scramble and scatter.


    At that moment, all that mattered was leaving as fast as they could, or they would risk dying in that place.


    All of them crowded the exit, trying to rush out of the array. They used their bodily movement skills to fly with the wind, all in a desperate attempt to run away from the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits.


    When the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits reached the magic array, she crushed the array with her body, making sure to destroy it completely.


    Several large races were forced to calculate their current positions, trying to guess what the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits would do next.


    The core area''s arrays were arranged densely. When the hurricane rose, everyone found a random array where they stayed to protect themselves.


    The Ear Mice, the Bearing race, and the Sun Crow race were among the lucky ones as they were in arrays that were quite far from the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits. The disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace and the Nine Li people weren''t as lucky.


    However, within five minutes, the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits could destroy all the arrays.


    Everyone was on the edge. Even the leaders outside of the Chaotic Source World were growing restless.


    "Why isn''t the Pear Hill doing anything?"


    "The arrays used to refine the Chaotic Source Spirits are ruined! This is too much!"


    "If they stay there, they will all die!"


    The leaders argued amongst themselves, despairing at the current state of their disciples while the Pear Hill kept silent. Making a move on the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits was never in their plan.


    In no time at all, the fourth, fifth, and sixth arrays were destroyed.


    Having witnessed the unfortunate fate of the River Spirit race, the others were desperate to leave and find another safe hiding spot.


    At the same time, the super forces in the rear became more anxious about their situation.


    The arrays themselves weren''t such a huge loss. The mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits could destroy all of them.


    What made them so nervous was the fact that they used the arrays as shelter.


    It was extremely nerve-wracking, waiting for one''s possible doom.


    The disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace and the people of the Nine Li race were desolate


    Everyone watched in amazement as Zen flew upward, unaffected by the hurricane at all, and rushed headfirst towards the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits. Meanwhile, the blade of his Snow Sword flashed sharply in his hand.


    Crack!


    This sword radiance from his blade hit the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits.


    It did not hurt the creature but it was very successful in diverting her attention.


    Dong! Dong!


    There was a large quake as the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits turned from the array and towards Zen.


    She was very, very confused.


    To the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits, all of them were pesky annoying ants unable to even withstand the force of the hurricane. How in the world was this ant able to travel freely?


    Not only that, he even dared to come at her with a sword?


    "Human ant!" the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits boomed. "Go to hell!"


    She turned around, swinging her two huge palms in order to slap Zen''s head.


    Zen, despite being regarded as a mere ant, was very nimble and could easily dodge the strike.


    He was like a mosquito, flitting here and there in order to avoid this larger creature''s slap. Wasting no time at all, Zen drew his sword and slashed at her head!


    Those watching below could only gasp in shock as they witnessed this scene.


    Who would''ve ever guessed that Zen would employ this method in order to lure the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits away?


    Mount, Khalid, and Mya sported unprecedentedly solemn looks on their faces.


    "Uncle Mount, how the hell did he make it?" Mya asked in disbelief and confusion.

 Chapter 3423 Driving Them Away

    Under everyone''s gaze, Zen seemed to glide as though his body was a piece of light paper.


    While the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits had great strength, she was too clumsy to capture even the creatures of small races, let alone Zen who moved that fast.


    Dorothy''s eyes flashed with satisfaction.


    It was crucial for Zen to make such a move. The Oneness Sky Palace would probably lose their chance completely otherwise.


    Even the leaders outside the Chaotic Source World were attracted by Zen''s figure.


    They never had been through such a strong hurricane and had no clue how terrifying it actually was.


    But even the Divine Lair''s demon women and the races that could fly well kept away from it¡ªclearly, the hurricane was something no one wanted to get caught up in.


    But Zen seemed so free in the winds. It should be because he relied on the jade-like feather. However, no one there knew where the feather had come from.


    Whoosh!


    As Zen fought the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits, a voice message with life vitality resounded in his ear¡ªit was from Chaim.


    "Zen, lead her to the Bearing race," he suggested.


    The Bearing race, along with the three other major races, had exerted their strength in attacking the Oneness Sky Palace''s disciples, including Milo. Almost all the disciples that remained had been attacked by these four races. In spite of the great number of disciples they eliminated, they left no evidence behind.


    It was the perfect opportunity to get their revenge¡ªhow could they just let it pass?


    "That''s exactly what I was thinking!"


    In the hurricane, Zen turned around and flew straight toward the members of the Bearing race.


    They, along with the New Moon race, shared the same array, while the Sun Crow race and the Divine Farmer race occupied one array each.


    Seeing Zen heading toward them, Khalid and the rest understood his intent immediately.


    He wanted to take advantage of the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits to drive them away!


    "You brat! How dare you!"


    "If you dare come any closer, I will kill you!"


    "Do you want to die?"


    The members of the Bearing race and the Divine Farmer race cursed at the sight of Zen''s move.


    Nearby, the Separate Abyss people were mocking them¡ªthey were pleased t


    race darkened. They spread their wings and flew away along with the hurricane.


    Suddenly, Zen''s figure stopped midair as he looked to the left. Now, only the Divine Farmer race remained in the array.


    The leaders of the Bearing race, the Sun Crow race, and the Divine Farmer race all twisted their faces in anger.


    They had curated an entire plan, even sending out the hit list in the hopes of killing Zen and Elvinia. But it was to no avail¡ªthey even suffered many losses because of Zen.


    Elizabeth, in particular, was staring intently at Zen as though she was ready to swallow him alive.


    In the array, Mount stood still. When he saw Zen fly over, he shut his eyes and steadily said, "All of you, get out."


    The rest of the Divine Farmer race nodded before heading out of the array.


    "Uncle Mount, what about me?" Mya took a seat to the side and asked.


    "Just help me," Mount replied.


    Mya''s eyes glittered at that.


    She knew that sooner or later, Mount would be fighting Zen and the man called Evil God.


    Mount was a sedate man who often looked at the bigger picture. Before gaining the confidence to win, he first chose to dodge.


    But now, he couldn''t bear it.


    "Okay!" With a mischievous smile, Mya caressed her curly locks and raised them up.


    When Zen stepped out of the array with the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits following him, Mya''s curly hair extended outside the array and transformed into thin, steel needles. They shot right at the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits.

 Chapter 3424 The Folded Space

    The curly strands of hair were like steel needles wrapping instantaneously around the body of the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits.


    Previously, Mya had used such a method to entangle her.


    The hair was extremely tough and unbreakable by force.


    The mother didn''t pay any bit of attention to Mya or Mount¡ªher sole desire was to crush Zen.


    "I''m done!"


    As Mya''s hair tied up the mother''s body, some hair also wrapped around Mount''s figure.


    "Let''s head out."


    Carrying Mya on his shoulder, Mount then walked out of the light.


    Whoosh!


    In an instant, the hurricane blew the two into the air.


    Her hair straightened up under the force of the wind.


    Strong inertia pushed them to circle the mother once before rushing directly to Zen.


    As they approached him, a golden light flashed in Mount''s eyes as a strong aura burst from his figure.


    "Uha!"


    A black spiral emerged above his head as he shouted.


    "Dark Space World!"


    As it spun, a strange gravitational force was formed from the motion.


    While it wasn''t a particularly powerful force, the rules within it began folding the surrounding space.


    Any means related to space was prohibited within the Chaotic Source World. No one could make use of Grand Teleportation or any other space-related methods.


    But Mount had violated this very rule.


    Bang!


    All the space within a ten-foot radius of the black spiral collapsed into it.


    The surrounding space was also quickly influenced as it got sucked in.


    About a hundred feet away from the spiral, the space squeezed inward for ten feet, along with the entire core area. The whole Chaotic Source World seemed to shift ten feet with the black spiral in its center.


    The entire Source World and chaos shifted along with it.


    But ten feet was such a short distance that it could easily go unnoticed by both the Chaotic Source World and the Source World.


    Within the entire Icy Snow Province, only Fuxi, sitting atop the snow mountain, noticed the newly folded space.


    He stared at Mount with great contempt.


    "He got serious too soon, didn


    e creature, it went unnoticed by anyone else in the array.


    It was none other than the Evil God.


    His eyes narrowed as he examined the black spiral.


    Before that very moment, apart from Zen, no one in the Chaotic Source World was worth a second of his attention¡ªnot even Yan, Zen''s sister.


    Now, his expression hardened at the sight of Mount''s move.


    But that lasted only a moment before his serious eyes were replaced by a look of interest like he had just locked onto his next prey.


    "Swish, swish, swish..."


    It took a mere moment for the black spiral to fold the space.


    It only spun for a few seconds until it disappeared. The black spiral, half of the mother''s hand, and Zen had all disappeared without a trace, as though they had never existed.


    "Aoo... Woo!"


    The mother of Chaotic Source Spirits roared, covering the half of her hand that remained on her body. Never did she think anyone could ever hurt her.


    In her pain, she shifted her anger toward Mount and Mya.


    "Retreat,"


    Mount spat out harshly.


    The hair on Mya''s head faintly glowed. Still tied to the body of the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits, it began extending rapidly.


    From afar, it looked as though the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits was flying a kite, with Mya''s hair serving as the kite''s thread. The two people on the other end of it flew higher and higher in the wind.

 Chapter 3425 Deletion

    The strong hurricane beat against Mount and Maya harshly, but they continued to fly high.


    The mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits attempted to pull the two down, but every time she pulled Mya''s hair, her hair grew even longer.


    Therefore, it was impossible for the mother to exert any more strength, and naturally she couldn''t pull the two down.


    "Hoo, hoo, Hoo..."


    "Uncle Mount, is that guy dead?" Mya asked curiously in the hurricane.


    "Theoretically, he is dead," Mount answered flatly.


    Mya was a bit confused. "Theoretically? What do you mean?"


    "When that part of the space was folded, I exiled him," Mount replied.


    Mya pursed her lips and asked again, "It''s not difficult to exile someone in the space, and such a method is not fatal, right? Can you kill him?"


    Overall, the space in the Source World was stable--the True Gods who cultivated the Space Godly Way could not tear the space apart, and it was also hard for them to exile their opponents. On the other hand, it was easy for the Other Shore Realm warriors who cultivated the Truth of Void Destruction to do the same thing.


    Such powerful warriors were also not afraid of being banished from the space. As long as they released enough strength, they could easily destroy the space that imprisoned them and get out of it.


    "That''s not what I meant," Mount explained patiently. "After I folded the space, it completely disappeared. In fact, that area with the radius of ten feet has been removed entirely from the chaos. Do you understand?"


    After a normal space theurgy had torn a part of a space apart, there was still a void left in the space, and the space itself did not disappear.


    Besides, the space had a high ductility. It would not take long for the surrounding space to squeeze into the void, and then the space would be repaired gradually.


    Sometimes the space was just like water, as it flowed without a stop.


    This time, however, Mount directly deleted a piece of space which involved very complicated rules. It was truly difficult for Mya to understand such a matter.


    "I don''t understand," said Mya with a shrug. As she was still confused, she asked, "He won''t come back, right?"


    "It''s hard to say," Mount responded.


    Once again, Mya was speechless in confusion. Of course, she knew how powerful Mount was.


    He could kill any opponent in one attack.


    he mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits was the last treasure for them to fight for.


    If they were in single combat, no one in the core area could defeat the mother, and it would be harder to consume the amber-colored crystals in her body.


    Yet, that could change if they attacked her together.


    Some of them could grab a hold of the mother and restrict her flexibility, some could hinder her speed, and some could weaken her strength. Those numerous methods when combined together made the mother not so terrifying anymore.


    Meanwhile, Khalid took out his long spear as well and charged straight towards the mother.


    Although Mount had made Zen disappear, there were still many competitors for him. The Ear Mouse race, the Separate Abyss race, and the other super forces were formidable opponents as well.


    The worst thing was the fact that the hurricane had swept away all the members of the Bearing race. It would take them a long time to come back from tens of thousands of miles away.


    Just as Khalid was rushing towards the mother, a petite figure blocked his way.


    It was Yan. Her long hair fluttered in the wind and a layer of crimson energy floated around her black locks. Her small face was devoid of any emotion.


    "Hey, little girl..." Khalid mocked. He did not take Yan seriously at all.


    The moment he finished speaking, however, Yan shouted angrily, "Scram!"


    The word was like a hammer that pounded hard on Khalid''s chest.


    The impact sent Khalid flying tens of thousands of feet away, until he fell heavily on the ground and coughed up blood.

 Chapter 3426 Be Prepared To Die

    The Pear Hill was a formidable group, and no one ever underestimated them. Yet it still shocked many when Yan was able to blow Khalid away in a single move.


    After all, Khalid was the best talent of the Bearing race. Perhaps he had been careless because he underestimated Yan. But it was still difficult to comprehend how easily she had overpowered him.


    Yan didn''t miss a beat. Immediately after repelling Khalid, she flipped and shot up into the air, heading in the direction where Mya and Mount had landed.


    "What a woman..."


    A wicked smile formed on Mya''s face. Her curly hair seemed to expand, framing her face like a dark cloud as it enveloped Yan.


    Her beautiful curls looked soft and glossy, but they contained a terrible killing intent.


    Once Yan got entangled in her curls, she would have at least a hundred ways to tear Yan into pieces.


    Yan, however, had no fear in her expression as she confronted Mya''s black cloud of hair. She counterattacked boldly and directly.


    "The Truth of Holy Words!"


    "Break!"


    "Split!"


    "Slash!"


    As soon as Yan uttered the word "break," Mya''s hair was cut into pieces flying haphazardly in all directions.


    Would it be this easy to break Mya''s hair?


    With a flash in mind, Mya seemed to infuse her broken hairs with a kind of spirit. They began flying back towards each other, forming another cloud-like mass. They were about to return to Mya when Yan said, "Split!" Her command shattered the spirit animating the hairs, and the broken strands fell apart, no longer connected.


    When Yan spoke the word "slash", Mya began to tremble with fear. She could feel a sharp slashing force coming from the void. If it hit her, she would be killed undoubtedly.


    Before the blow landed, she felt someone grab her and jerk her backwards. It was Mount. "You''re no match for her. Let me help you," he said.


    Mount quickly stood in front of Mya as the invisible slashing force slashed at him.


    Mount stayed calm. He stood still, his body glowing with a ray of khaki light, as he punched the air at a strange angle.


    Boom!


    When Yan heard the booming sound, she realized that her "slash" command had failed. Mount had easily fended off the slashing attack.


    "You''re no match for me. Don''t waste your time," Mount said, looking down at Yan.


    In the Chaotic Source World, the struggles were fierce between various races, but almost everyone made an effort to avoid facing Mount.


    But after all, the Chaotic Source World was created by the


    e and the Pear Hill could defeat this man.


    The Evil God was not sure how he himself would fare against Mount.


    But he had been hiding in the dark for a long period of time. If he seized this opportunity, he might have a chance...


    Mount looked around at the assembled warriors. He shook his head and said to Yan, "It''s not that I don''t want to let him go. It''s just that¡ªwell, he has completely disappeared."


    Yan heard only his refusal. "So you won''t release Zen?" she asked, squinting. A ray of dangerous light shone from her eyes.


    Mount pressed his lips together. "As I said, I can''t release him because he''s gone."


    "Since you can''t release him, you''d better be prepared to die," said Elvinia icily, her cold nature on full display. If Mount was telling the truth, and Zen was gone, it would be something she was not prepared to accept.


    Auras burst out all around Mount as the others released their energy. Many disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace as well as members of the Snake Goddess race activated their Other Shore Tokens.


    The negotiation had failed, and it was time to go into battle.


    Mount had an impenetrable poker face, and his expression did not change as everyone around him prepared to attack. He looked around coolly at the people surrounding him. "If you attack me, then you will die. It''s really very simple. I will kill everyone except her," he said, pointing a finger at Yan.


    His words sounded like a warning, but there was a hidden message embedded in them


    The message was not intended for the warriors surrounding him in the Chaotic Source World, nor was it for the leaders waiting outside. Instead, it was for Fuxi.

 Chapter 3427 Formidable Opponent

    Fuxi, standing atop a snow mountain, only snorted when he heard Mount''s words.


    He had no plans to take action.


    He didn''t even make a move when Zen, who Fuxi held in great importance, had been sealed by Mount. It would have been too late, anyway.


    But if Mount were to attack Yan, Fuxi would surely charge into the Chaotic Source World to rescue her without hesitation.


    Even Mount, who had spent all this time in the Chaotic Source World, could tell as much.


    "Oh, cut the crap!"


    As a successor of Eastern Emperor Taiyi and one of the best warriors of the Phoenix Palace, Elvinia remained unfazed.


    A dangerous golden light flashed in her eyes.


    Divine flames of the Sun Crow race burst out from her hair, while the Warrior of the Stone Hill emerged above her. Tens of thousands of rays of sword radiance shot toward Mount, leaving no place for him to dodge.


    At the same time, Yan stretched out her hands and a crimson energy began to spread around her. The shadow of Snake Goddess appeared behind her, growing quickly in size.


    Chaim, Milo, Dorothy and Sally all launched their attacks at the same moment!


    "Stay back, Mya!" Mount shouted.


    Mya, however, was finding it fun tagging along with her Uncle Mount.


    She didn''t want to miss out on anything at all.


    She could tell he was being serious, however. It was obvious he was unsure whether he could defeat these enemies from the Oneness Sky Palace and the Pear Hill. He had asked her to leave to spare her from danger before he went all out in this fight.


    "I won''t..."


    Before Mya could finish protesting, she suddenly felt dizzy. Before she knew it, she was already on a mountain top.


    She looked around and soon realized that she was on the northern peak of the core area.


    She hadn''t even sensed the aura of the space theurgy her uncle used to send her away!


    She stomped angrily before flying toward the main peak.


    Once Mya was safely out of the way, Mount wasted no time. He pushed his hands forward and with one hop, disappeared from everyone''s sight.


    The next moment, he was behind Yan. He made a quick motion with his hands.


    A huge cube, measuri


    ir attacks seemed off. It looked less like they were fighting an enemy and more like they were casually training.


    But Mount reacted in perfect coordination with their movements. He changed his position and reappeared beneath Milo''s sword.


    Milo''s sword attack was a unique skill of the Flow Strike. Although it was not very powerful, it could cause the opponent to feel like he was in real trouble.


    Mount''s moving theurgy was great, but his soul was at the same level as those at the thirteenth stage of the Other Shore Realm. In the face of the Heart Stab, he was alarmed and was forced to use spatial transference once again.


    This time, he appeared behind Chaim, who abruptly stabbed his sword backward and hit Mount precisely!


    Click!


    Unexpectedly, the stab was so weak it could not even pierce Mount''s skin.


    But after landing the hit, Chaim retreated quickly but calmly, distancing himself from Mount. Milo followed suit and fell back.


    It was known that all space theurgies were rendered useless in the Chaotic Source World, but Mount was able to violate this rule.


    Knowing this, Chaim and Milo estimated that even if all of them took Mount on at the same time, there was a chance they still wouldn''t be able to defeat him.


    This was why they had not been in a hurry to attack.


    As it turned out, while Dorothy and Elvinia had been fighting Mount, Chaim and Milo were trying to come up with a solution.

 Chapter 3428 The Gold Abacus

    Chaim had told Milo that there was only one way to defeat Mount, and that was to stab the latter with his sword.


    However, it was extremely difficult to do so since Mount constantly performed the Grand Teleportation technique.


    Despite that, Milo immediately decided that he would handle this matter.


    After all, no one else had a better understanding of the Flow Strike than Milo did.


    The very second he launched the attack against Mount, he quickly entered the flow state and was always on guard for Mount''s possible attacks.


    Yet, such a prediction was not completely accurate. After all, Milo was not Mount himself, so he could not know what his opponent was thinking.


    Still, it could bring guidance to him and pressure to the opponent''s thoughts.


    Chaim launched an attack before Milo did; then Chaim attacked Mount again. Milo''s prediction changed three times before he directed Chaim to stab Mount in the chest.


    But Milo was disappointed at the power of his attack.


    If it was Milo who had stabbed Mount, Mount''s skin would have been cut, even if the sword had not pierced his body.


    On the contrary, Chaim''s strike was just like a tickle!


    In addition, his proud expression confused Milo. "What are you happy about? Is your sword poisoned? He didn''t even bleed...so even if there is poison in your sword, it is useless, isn''t it?" Milo berated.


    In turn, Chaim simply pointed to Mount in the distance and said, "Look!"


    A speck of golden light appeared beside Mount, which soon turned into a gold abacus.


    "What the hell is that?" Milo asked in bewilderment. There were millions of mortals, but the immortal-like disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace weren''t one of them.


    It was normal that Milo had not seen abacuses before.


    "It''s just an abacus," answered Chaim with a quick glance at Milo, and thought that the latter was a little ignorant.


    "An abacus... What does it do?" Milo asked. He was still confused.


    It wasn''t only him, however. The disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace, and the members of the Snake Goddess race who surrounded Mount, all stared at the shiny object with perplexed looks.


    Even Mount was observing the small thing.


    Then, he stretched out one of his finge


    . If the Emerald Light Mirror had not blocked his attack, I might have died already!'' Chaim thought with lingering fear.


    Now, Mount also looked at the gold abacus beside him and quickly read the number on it. "2, 400 divine megatons of force¡­the function of this abacus is more than just counting, isn''t it?"


    "Of course not. Your first attack has reached your limit, and your next attack will have only half the power of the previous one," Chaim calmly explained. He had relied on the Latent Theurgy to avoid his opponent''s deadliest blow. Now that his gold abacus had already started to work, he was no longer that afraid of Mount.


    While Mount stared at the numbers on the abacus, he asked, "So, you mean that I can only exert 1, 200 divine megatons of force for my next attack?"


    "Yes," said Chaim with a nod.


    The moment he nodded his head, Mount appeared in front of him and was about to throw a punch to his face.


    This time, Mount was so fast that Milo had no time to alert Chaim. Without any warning, Chaim reflexively raised his hands to resist the punch.


    "Crack, crack, crack..."


    How could Chaim''s body resist Mount''s attack? The bones in his arms and his chest broke into pieces at once. Blood gushed out from his mouth, and then he fell from the sky.


    "It really was only half as powerful as the last punch." Mount looked at his fist and muttered.


    "Crack, crack, crack..."


    At that moment, the beads of the abacus beside him began to move again.

 Chapter 3429 A Black Figure

    The abacus''s beads moved up and down for a while until they settled down and showed the number, one thousand and two hundred.


    When Mount saw it, he knew it meant he could only exert six hundred divine megatons of force in the next attack.


    Such an amount of force was no longer powerful enough to defeat the talents of the young generation.


    Most of these people who stayed in the core area could easily exert a thousand divine megatons of force. Some Other Shore Tokens of the descending type could even exert more than that amount of power.


    As Mount mulled this development over, Chaim, seriously injured, collapsed to the ground, blood gurgling out of his mouth.


    When the disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace saw this, they all descended from the sky and surrounded him protectively.


    "Chaim, are you okay?" Sally walked to Chaim''s side and helped him to stand up.


    Elvinia took out a golden pill, pushed it into Chaim''s mouth and pronounced with certainty, "He won''t die."


    After swallowing the pill with great difficulty, Chaim glanced up at Mount in the sky. "You can attack him now. His strength has been greatly reduced. His next attack will have only six hundred divine megatons of force, and his fourth attack will be further reduced by half," he told his companions.


    Chaim had merged with two Other Shore Tokens. Previously, he had used the Living Puppet Chains several times to transform himself into the puppet of the first Other Shore Token. It allowed his strength to increase exponentially in a short period of time, but the side effect was quite serious.


    The second Other Shore Token was the golden abacus.


    The origin of the abacus was very bizarre. Chaim once had an adventure in a temple on Stage Nine. Inside the temple, he even found a human!


    This human was not in the form of the Soul of Light, but existed as a creature of the Other Shore.


    Chaim had never heard of human beings living on the Other Shore, so he found it strange.


    At the time, the human had been captured by a golden line and would have died from it, had Chaim not undone the hexes in the temple, releasing him. Chaim simply did so because he was saving someone of his kind.


    The human being had been deeply grateful to Chaim. Before he left, he gave Chaim the Other Shore Token, a golden abacus.


    At first, he paid the Other Shore Token no mind. His goal was to step in


    with a loud thud.


    Fortunately, he was still able to block the strike with his long sword at the last minute. Otherwise, it really would have been fatal.


    After that first strike, the gold abacus beside Mount started rattling again. This time, the number it showed was down to six hundred.


    "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"


    The Six Snake Shadows formed a huge and mysterious array as they launched themselves at Mount.


    Mount flickered out of his original spot again before his fist landed on a member of the Snake Goddess race, knocking her away. The golden abacus jostled again and reduced the number it showed to three hundred.


    As Mount continued on his attacks, the Other Shore Power he could release was getting weaker and weaker.


    One hundred and fifty...Seventy five...


    Thirty two...


    Sixteen...


    Eight...


    When his force was reduced to eight divine megatons, his attack no longer posed any threat.


    Even the weakest disciples in the Oneness Sky Palace were now much stronger than him.


    Even so, there was no sign of panic on the face of Mount. Just as Chaim had said, the most important thing Mount relied on was his space theurgy, which was a bloodline theurgy. The golden abacus couldn''t deal with his bloodline theurgy at all.


    But Mount was still trying to find out the limits of the abacus. He knew the abacus couldn''t possibly be without any limitations.


    As Mount made his way through the disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace and the members of the Snake Goddess race, a black figure suddenly appeared behind him. The figure burst out in strange laughter.

 Chapter 3430 The Change Of The World

    Not only did Mount have a remarkable space theurgy, but also had enough strength to make the Evil God fear him.


    However, the Evil God did not hesitate. In fact, the more threatening something was, the more he wanted to go for it.


    Originally, he wanted to give Zen the fatal blow while waiting in the shadows.


    But at this point, he had no idea where Zen was sent away. Luckily, Mount had the special space ability, which made him a fine target.


    If the Evil God could somehow obtain a similar mystical space theurgy, he would be powerful beyond imagination.


    As Mount''s power was restrained by Chaim''s abacus, the Evil God saw this as the perfect opportunity.


    Cautiously, he snuck around behind a disciple of the Oneness Sky Palace, which allowed him to appear right behind Mount after he used teleportation.


    Accompanied by a heinous laugh, a ray of black light shone in the Evil God''s eyes.


    "Splash..."


    Just like that, the black light in his eyes began to extend, forming slender four-legged snakes. The creatures began to twist and intertwine themselves around Mount, keeping him captive.


    Mount showed no panic, but his face did express a sense of irritation.


    He tried to wave his arms around, flailing them just to get rid of the snakes. But they were strong and securely wrapped around him, so there was nothing he could do.


    It came to a point where his Other Shore Power had come close to none. His physical strength only reached dozens of divine megatons, making it nearly impossible to break free from the snakes.


    "Buzz..."


    After thinking hard, he realized he could not use power in this situation. He had to come up with another means of escape.


    Within seconds, Mount''s figure began to slowly disappear, as he used the Grand Teleportation technique to escape.


    But he failed as the snakes had a unique energy attribute. They had the ability to attach themselves so firmly onto his body that he couldn''t even move into the space!


    "You can''t escape..." The Evil God chuckled, enjoying as he watched Mount struggle.


    Though the Evil God taunted, Mount paid no attention to him. Suddenly, a cube began to emerge from the pupil of his eye, growing until it enveloped him, the snakes and the Evil God into a dimension.


    "Buzz..."


    Mount was able to move away now, but he took the Evil God with him!


    The next moment, both of them were up in the air at ten thousand feet, descending rapidly.


    The E


    e, don''t you?" The Evil God smirked. "You can even see that a civilization is behind me!"


    In fact, there were still many civilizations remaining on the Other Shore. At this point, every ruling civilization had come to an agreement: only the chosen spokesperson of the civilization had the ability to descend a world.


    And the rules in this kind of world would be redefined.


    However, some civilizations were stronger than others. This meant that some worlds that descended were also stronger than others.


    For example, the blood-red world brought by the Bright Mountain''s leader was not powerful, because the civilization behind him could not be considered a ruling one.


    "Even if you let a new world descend, you would not be able to do anything to me!" As soon as the words left his mouth, Mount enclosed himself and the Evil God in a cube once again.


    This time, he made sure to use the space theurgy accurately, moving towards the edge of the foot of the mother. He hovered the Evil God right under the foot, threatening him with a sudden death. Should the foot step on the cube, the Evil God would not be able to dodge it.


    However, when the Evil God was thrown in, he flashed his body, employing the Grand Teleportation technique to move away from the cube and into the air. He looked down at Mount and grinned. "It is indeed a wonderful thing, your space theurgy." He chuckled. "Quite convenient. I can''t wait to have it..."


    After the Evil God finished speaking, his arms trembled and crimson energy radiated form his body. It formed an outline, a huge figure of energy, which was the shadow of Snake Goddess!

 Chapter 3431 Copying All The Bloodline Theurgies

    The shadow of Snake Goddess was a unique bloodline theurgy of the Snake Goddess race.


    Most of the members had the capability of exerting this theurgy, but the power levels varied depending on the purity of their blood. The purer the blood, the more powerful the skill.


    Yan''s shadow of Snake Goddess, for example, was at the highest level owing to her purer blood while Natalie''s was lower in level.


    So when the Evil God used the shadow of Snake Goddess, it immediately attracted everybody''s attention.


    "That can''t be! Is that the shadow of Snake Goddess?"


    "That''s our unique bloodline theurgy? How is he able to use it? He''s not one of our kind!"


    "What kind of ability is this?"


    Yan could only stare at the Evil God, not quite comprehending what was currently happening.


    While everyone was still in a state of shock, the Evil God''s body began to change again.


    Everyone watched as his body trembled and his bones morphed into something else. Two heads sprouted out of his shoulders while four arms grew on his back.


    "Three heads and six arms?"


    "Is that the bloodline theurgy of the Nine Li race?"


    "What''s going on here?"


    Sally''s face paled when she witnessed the three heads and the six arms of the Evil God. "How did he do that? He''s not a member of the Nine Li race," she murmured in disbelief.


    "He seems to have the ability to acquire other people''s bloodline theurgy," Chaim told her, having figured it out a little bit. "I think he got this ability after making this strange world descend. Since the Evil God copied Mount''s skill and also used the Grand Teleportation, that means Mount could freely ignore the spatial restrictions of the Chaotic Source World because of his bloodline theurgy."


    Chaim''s explanations made sense and Sally couldn''t help but be impressed with how observant he had been.


    However, he was also clever enough to figure out another secret.


    "If he was able to have three heads and six arms, then that means there are members of the Nine Li race with us in this space," Chaim continued.


    Sally couldn''t help but frown at Chaim''s words.


    Since he was able to see it, those outside the Chaotic Source World might also come up with this conclusion.


    There was no way to hide their identity as members of the Nine Li race anymore.


    As the Evil God finished his transformation, the six fists he had clenched tightly and let


    nfortunate that they''re only temporary. So disappointing..." The Evil God shook his head regretfully. "Therefore, I will let you all sleep forever in this world so that I can have these bloodline theurgies forever!"


    He let out a roaring laugh before disappearing from where he stood.


    When he disappeared, Mount also vanished in his spot, making the Evil God miss his target.


    The two continued to dodge each other''s attacks, disappearing and reappearing here and there as their fight continued.


    Truth be told, Mount did most of the dodging. The Evil God was so good at throwing his offensive attacks that Mount had no time to throw one of his own.


    "Such power! I don''t think he''ll ever be suppressed by anyone at this point, not even Zen..." Chaim murmured.


    The Evil God had made himself clear.


    Whatever unique bloodline theurgy it was, the Evil God could copy it so long as anyone with that theurgy was in this world.


    However, if the owner of the theurgy was killed, then it would become his permanently.


    Having obtained the acute sensibility of the Ear Mouse race, the Evil God even foresaw Mount''s planned moves and attacks.


    As he dodged the continuous attacks from his formidable opponent, Mount suddenly thought of a solution that could turn the tides.


    His eyes fell on Yan.


    He knew he could only rely on that person''s strength now.


    Yan was a very important person for the Pear Hill, so Mount trapped her in the cage so that she would be safe.


    If he released her from that cage and put her in the line of danger, then that person would surely take action.

 Chapter 3432 An Angered Mount

    Mount used his spatial transference again and appeared behind Yan.


    The space cage was thirty feet high, and as his fingers made contact with its surface, it began to crack in a million different directions before splitting into pieces.


    Yan didn''t understand why Mount would release her now. Just as she had begun questioning all this, another figure appeared on the other side. It was the Evil God!


    Yan had regarded Mount as the enemy after he banished Zen, but her hatred for the Evil God was far stronger!


    Swish!


    Without hesitation, countless energy beams materialized from the shadow of Snake Goddess behind her and slashed at the Evil God.


    The energy beams were so incredibly powerful that they would surely have killed the ordinary warriors at the Other Shore Realm.


    The Evil God sneered at the beams charging at him. "Don''t be a fool."


    As he spoke, the shadow of Snake Goddess behind him flew towards Yan. Countless blood red energy beams converged together, like octopuses entangled in battle.


    In the blink of an eye, a winner was decided.


    The Evil God''s energy beams had split Yan''s!


    "What?"


    Yan''s face was awash with confusion.


    Her shadow of Snake Goddess was the most powerful. No one in the same realm could surpass her in terms of blood, yet she was defeated. It didn''t make sense!


    "That''s impossible!"


    Natalie exclaimed, her eyes widened. This shocked other members of the Snake Goddess race as well.


    Even if the Evil God could replicate anyone''s blood, his bloodline theurgy still shouldn''t be as powerful as Yan''s. But now, it seemed he could quite easily surpass Yan.


    Mount stood behind Yan, calmly watching on.


    The fight between the shadows of Snake Goddess did not concern him.


    Fuxi would most certainly get involved, if the Evil God showed any intention to kill Yan.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    The Evil God manipulated his shadow of Snake Goddess to overwhelm Yan''s, crushing it before sweeping forward.


    Yan had resigned to retreat when suddenly, the energy beams disappeared.


    They had gone through the space Yan was in


    ople''s bloodline theurgies. Some bloodlines even enhanced the power of other bloodlines.


    This was why his shadow of Snake Goddess was stronger than Yan''s; he had mixed it with the bloodlines of the Moon Spirit race and another large race. It was possible, at that time, he was the only one to have mixed several bloodlines.


    Among all the bloodlines, Mount''s was the most mysterious.


    Till now, the Evil God could only call forth thirty percent of its power, but he was curious about what would happen if he pushed it to its limit.


    Everyone in the core area, including the disciples of the Pear Hill and the Oneness Sky Palace, all hoped that Mount was able to triumph over the Evil God.


    In another void, half a giant hand floated silently.


    Zen darted to the side of it.


    He reached out and gently removed some amber crystals from the smooth and neat crack on the giant hand.


    "Wow, it''s no wonder the body of the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits is so tough. There are more than one thousand crystals in this hand," Zen murmured to himself.


    After putting all the amber crystals into the space ring, he began surveying his surroundings.


    It was a dark place with a dreadfully silent environment.


    Vague shapes of objects could be seen in the distance, and even further than that, lines with a faint luster were visible.


    "Where am I?"


    Zen asked utterly perplexed.

 Chapter 3433 Outside The Chaos

    Zen was well-accustomed to the Space Law. He had a general understanding of its operation.


    Based on his first impression, Zen thought that he must be trapped in some kind of space or within the depths of the space crack.


    However, he doubted this as he watched the scene unfolding right in front of his eyes.


    Inside his mind, No. 9527 seemed to go blank for a while. Finally, it said, "It''s an unknown place."


    "Unknown? What do you mean?" There was a note of incredulity in Zen''s voice. This information had absolutely stunned Zen.


    "The power displayed by Mount was the unique theurgy of a Chaos Ancient God," responded No. 9527. There was no other way of explaining it.


    When Zen heard this, a sudden realization dawned upon him. "You mean to say that Mount has the blood of a Chaos Ancient God just like me? That explains so much."


    Any high-level energy could easily get rid of the restraint of a low-level energy.


    All the strong warriors who created the Chaotic Source World had highly exceptional abilities. Therefore, it was quite impossible for these young warriors to break the restrictions of the Chaotic Source World.


    However, Mount was able to do it effortlessly. This only meant that the level of his energy was extremely high.


    After careful judgment of his current situation, Zen finally settled on an answer. Mount could also use a truth-level theurgy much like him.


    "He is different from you, though," No. 9527 suddenly spoke and dismissed Zen''s conclusion.


    "Really? What''s the difference between the two of us?" Zen asked curiously.


    "He is a part of the Chaos Ancient God. He had been raised from infancy to adulthood with the blood of the Chaos Ancient God in him," replied No. 9527 in a low voice. It seemed that it was depressed.


    "You mean he is a Chaos Ancient God?!" Zen was absolutely taken aback. A look of pure astonishment registered upon his face. After taking a long time to digest this news, he asked, "Earlier, you said that this is an unknown place. What exactly does that mean?"


    No. 9527 thought for a moment and replied, "Mount''s theurgy is the space itself. He masters the bottom-layer space concept of the chaos. If we compare the chaos to a house, then what he did just now was to cut a corner and throw you and the half hand within this corner out of the house. In other words, he has deleted this space from the chaos."


    Zen blinked as he tried to absorb what No. 9527 just said.


    No. 9527 had give


    were dozens of corpses curled up inside the cup. Strangely enough, those corpses emitted a brass glow. Even after several years after their death, they still looked like they had just died.


    Zen pulled out a long sword and lightly tapped one of the corpses. A crisp sound rang as he did this.


    "Hmm. Just as I suspected, these corpses are made of metal," Zen murmured.


    Ever since he entered the Other Shore and merged with the Civilization Artifact, Zen had a deeper understanding that not every life had flesh and blood.


    For instance, the bodies of the members of the Regal Jade Civilization were made of jade. Their entire civilization was built from a flying jade. Essentially, they were different from the other creatures in the Source World.


    Therefore, it didn''t seem strange to Zen that the Metal Civilization existed in the chaos. It was perfectly plausible.


    "These are not the creatures of the current civilization," No. 9527 added.


    In the previous chaos, there were other Chaos Ancient Gods that existed. They controlled the bottom-layer space theurgy. Naturally, they would delete some unnecessary spaces and throw them out like Mount did.


    Zen nodded in agreement. In any case, he was not interested in these metal bodies. He stood at the edge of the metal cup and sighed, "Is there no other living being in this place?" He felt exasperated.


    At the very least, there seemed to be no danger within this void. For some creatures with an infinite lifespan, they should be able to survive for a long time.


    Zen couldn''t help but get a little disappointed. The deafening silence of this vast space was too depressing.

 Chapter 3434 Little Monsters And Their Trap

    Zen wasn''t able to find any valuable clues from the metal debris.


    The Metal Civilization had its own words that differed from the Sanskrit words. Because of this, it was impossible for Zen to understand them given the time constraint.


    After collecting a few special-looking metals, Zen crossed the area where the piles of debris were.


    The piles of debris were closely connected and floated through the air. Some of them had remarkable features, though Zen could just vaguely recognize the civilizations to which they belonged. Most of them were stones and fragments of buildings from ancient civilizations. Zen even found an entire mountain in the pile of debris.


    "This is a whole mountain."


    As he stood upon the top of the mountain, Zen unleashed his spiritual sense into it and examined its interior.


    Inside the mountain, some caves contained corpses of small animals. Judging from their appearances, it was hard to tell how long they had been dead in there.


    "It''s kind of strange," Zen noted as he furrowed his brows.


    "What''s the matter?" No. 9527 inquired.


    "How could the corpses of these small animals be well preserved?" Zen responded.


    It would be quite normal for the dead bodies made up of metal to not decay for countless years.


    However, the corpses were of common animals. Naturally, they would have decayed already after being dead for so long.


    This unnatural phenomenon raised Zen''s curiosity.


    "That''s not surprising at all," No. 9527 answered indifferently. "Time does not exist here. Even if they have been dead for millions or billions of years, their bodies will remain the same."


    There was no concept of time in the space they were in.


    Zen got a bit of a hard time believing that this phenomenon could exist.


    Just when he withdrew his spiritual sense, he suddenly perceived something moving on the other side of the mountain.


    He detected a silhouette but couldn''t catch a clear view of it. One thing was for sure¡ªit was a living being.


    "Whoosh!"


    Wasting no time, Zen sprinted towards the back of the mountain. When he looked around carefully, his eyes lit up. "Found you," he whispered.


    Eventually, a monster


    sly dodging, Zen finally got to erase the gap between him and the original little monster. As it was caught off guard, Zen quickly stretched out his arm and grabbed it.


    "Woo, woo, woo, woo..."


    Blue light shot out from the little monster''s eye as it struggled from being captured by Zen. The lights were powerful but the little monster itself was relatively weak as it couldn''t do anything to break free from Zen''s hands.


    Seeing that their companion had been caught, the other little monsters grew restless. The blue light that shot out from their eyes became denser, more energy being released, and the huge net was almost airtight.


    Everything was crushed as the piercing rays ran through the surrounding debris.


    Zen carried the little monster and moved up to a higher area. Just as his foot touched a piece of debris while escaping, the debris was suddenly pierced by the blue light and immediately turned to dust.


    At the same time, Zen noticed that a ray of blue light was reflected by a piece of metal plate about ten feet wide.


    ''That metal plate can block the light! I might be able to make use of it.''


    With this in mind, Zen quickly dashed towards the metal plate.


    However, the moment he got really close to the metal plate, an unexpected trap was actually waiting for him.


    Rays of blue light suddenly shot out from the metal plate, bounced back, and turned into fences. Soon, Zen found out that he was entrapped inside.

 Chapter 3435 Treated As A Treasure

    Zen sat on the metal plate, feeling uncharacteristically helpless. He tried to keep a poker face but he knew his expression showed his anxiety.


    The little monster in his hand was now making strange wheezing sounds, almost like laughter. To Zen, it was as though the monster was laughing at him for falling into their trap.


    It turned out that this metal plate had originally been a cage.


    There was nothing in the debris that could be used to block the blue light. But no matter who was attacked by these little monsters, they would try to find an object to use as a shield.


    Those little monsters had released a blue light which struck the metal plate, reminding Zen that it could deflect the blue light.


    So he jumped to the metal plate, and found himself locked in a cage.


    Zen stretched out a finger and tapped lightly on the metal plate. That small tap released eight hundred divine megatons of force.


    A deep sound burst out, like the striking of an enormous gong.


    The metal plate remained motionless. It had not even been dented.


    Zen realized that the metal plate was more solid than he had imagined. It would be impossible for him to break it.


    His eyes darted around him, searching for a way out. Then his gaze landed on the blue lights around the metal plate.


    He took out a khaki shield from his space ring. Someone from an alien race had accidentally dropped the shield in the Chaotic Source World, and Zen had grabbed it up. It was a valuable treasure. Taking a firm grip on the shield, he brushed it lightly against the fences of blue lights.


    To his disappointment, instead of deflecting the blue lights, the edge of the shield was cleanly sliced off.


    Zen was confident in his own toughness, but he didn''t dare try to breach the blue light barrier with his own body. He had a feeling he wouldn''t be able to withstand it.


    "Maybe spatial transference..." he murmured to himself, thinking rapidly.


    He closed his eyes and focused, trying to launch the Grand Teleportation technique so he could leave the metal plate.


    However, he failed to construct a space channel through which he could travel. His Space Law didn''t work here.


    Spatial transference was prohibited in the Chaotic Source World. The space had been confined by some mighty warriors, leading to ordinary space channel unable to break through the space imprisonment.


    However, it seemed that there was no Space Law in this place. It was impossible for him to carry out spatial transference.


    Zen racked his brain, but he couldn''t think of anything else he could try. Having exhausted all his options, he sighed and sat quietly on the metal plate, waiting to see what would happen next.


    The little monster in his grip was still making that strange laughing sound. Zen scow


    e cave had been looking for the bodies of small animals. It seemed fair to assume that the little monsters lived by eating meat.


    No. 9527 sensed his anxiety and turned serious. "Look at their expressions. You''re very important to them. It''s not likely that they''ll just slaughter and eat you, but they definitely have plans for you."


    Zen nodded absently, narrowing his eyes at the little monsters.


    He was just a human that had been deleted from the Source World. What possible value could he have for these little monsters that grew up in this abandoned space?


    Zen wondered what had happened after he was removed. He suspected he was the first person ever to be removed by deletion.


    He was tense and imprisoned, anticipating the different things that the little monsters could do to him. But for hours, nothing happened. Half a day passed in this manner. Then, all of a sudden, Zen was alerted to a commotion in the distance. The door to one of the city''s bigger structures was opening, and dozens of little monsters crawled out.


    These little monsters were actually not as little as the ones that had brought him to this city. The one in the center of the group wore a large and exquisite golden ring. It had an air of authority. It seemed to be the most powerful of the little monsters.


    The little monsters approached Zen''s cage.


    In a moment, they had leaped forward and surrounded Zen entirely, staring at him. He stared back.


    They began leaping up and down, especially the little monster with a golden ring. It looked at Zen intensely, but spoke in a gentle voice, as though it was trying not to make him frightened.


    Zen paid close attention to every sound and gesture, but it was useless. He couldn''t make out even a single word of what any of the little monsters were saying. He was unable to communicate with them at all.

 Chapter 3436 A Small Star

    Zen moved close to the blue lights. "Couldn''t you release me first?"


    As he said it, he motioned to the blue lights and then to the area outside.


    Since he couldn''t speak the monsters'' tongue, he could only rely on the sign language.


    He wasn''t sure if the little monster with a golden ring actually understood him, but after a while, it did take the other little monsters away. Zen was left in the cage, helpless. The little monster that had been accompanying him felt the same way.


    After about eight hours, some little monsters brought him food. They didn''t know he didn''t need to eat anything, so they thought that he had to eat just like they did.


    The raw meat appeared cut from carcasses. It didn''t appeal to Zen at all.


    He glanced at the meat, completely uninterested in eating it. Seeing the little monster beside him looking on eagerly, he threw the meat toward it.


    The little monster''s eye was filled with excitement and gratitude as it wolfed down the meat.


    ''The blue light these little monsters shoot out from their eyes is powerful enough to hurt me directly. This means the light has a very high level of energy. Why, then, do they need to eat all this meat?'' Zen thought, looking at the little monster.


    It was impossible for Zen to be hurt by the energy at the same level as the internal momentum of the Godly Ways unless it was the Ways-blending Energy.


    The creatures that acquired the internal momentum of the Godly Ways had already reached the True God Realm. To use that kind of theurgy, what they consumed was the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.


    Those at the Other Shore Realm, meanwhile, had to absorb divine crystals to replenish their Other Shore Power.


    The energy that meat could replenish was simply negligible and wasn''t worth much. It was the crudest and least effective way of acquiring energy. The little monsters couldn''t release the terrifying blue light just from eating meat alone.


    r him.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    The little monsters carried Zen through the ruins, while the double-headed flying snakes chased after them relentlessly, intent on taking their captive away.


    There were always numerous casualties in this kind of battle.


    But it seemed both parties were careful not to harm Zen in the crossfire. The bubbles from the double-headed flying snakes and the blue lights from the little monsters all avoided the cage in which Zen was imprisoned.


    The intense battle continued for a while. The little monsters carried Zen all throughout their retreat, fleeing into another ruin.


    As they arrived at one of the ruined structures, Zen''s eyes lit up at what he saw ahead.


    There was a small yellowish brown star floating at the edge.


    The star, measuring over ten thousand feet across, was valuable. Zen was surprised to see a huge statue of a human standing on top of it.


    Zen had thought he was the first human that had been exiled to this place. It seemed that he was wrong.


    It would appear that the human race had come here many years ago.


    However, judging from what remained in this place, many civilizations had gone by. When had this statue been built?


    While Zen puzzled over it, the little monsters carrying him jumped onto the small star.

 Chapter 3437 The Altar

    The little monsters continued to carry Zen like they were a parade, as they walked along the surface of the small star.


    It wasn''t long before they finally reached the huge statue.


    Zen raised his head and carefully peered at it. The human statue had a beard, a ragged face, and its eyes had a unique aura. The surface of the statue was covered with exquisite runes.


    The runes extended all the way from its body to the bottom, then they parted and formed two branches, which then continued to extend until they reached an altar.


    When Zen gazed at the altar, he felt his heart pound erratically in his chest. "Damn it! Are these monsters going to sacrifice me?"


    He was completely unfamiliar with the space they were currently in. Everything was bizarre and there were no rules to follow.


    From the way how these little monsters protected him, it was indeed like they were carefully safeguarding a sacrificial offering!


    As soon as Zen finished speaking, the little monsters carried him and stepped on the altar.


    There was a loud, metallic clang when they threw the metal plate on the altar. "Hey!" Zen shouted by the side of the fence that was made up of blue light.


    "Geo...geo... geo..." one of the little monsters spoke.


    It seemed like it tried to explain something to him, but what was the use of such an explanation when he couldn''t understand anything it said?


    After the little monster had finished, two unique triangle runes suddenly appeared on the human statue''s eyes. As the triangle runes flipped, the statue''s eyeballs began to roll. It looked Zen up and down in quite a strange way.


    In turn, Zen also stared back at the statue''s eyeballs with an unreadable expression.


    It didn''t take long until a bright, white light spread out from both of the eyeballs. The two light beams spread down from the eyes in a way that made them look like tears flowing down the statue''s face. The two rays of light continued to flow, until they quickly converged on the altar.


    "Buzz, buzz, buzz..."


    The entire altar flashed with strong light, then wrapped Zen together with the metal plate.


    When the light illuminated the altar, all the little monsters stepped


    er from the two humans.


    To his surprise, the two of them shook their heads at the same time "We are the aboriginals of this space, but our master is from the chaos. Our master said that according to the calculation in the chaos, he was born in the 77th chaotic era," the woman responded.


    While Zen still thought about the meaning of her answer, No. 9527 mentally reminded him, "The chaotic era should refer to the process from a round of the chaos'' birth, till its destruction. Their master might be from the 77th civilization."


    There were too many civilizations that had once appeared in the chaos, that it was impossible for even No. 9527 to cover all of them in the statistics. Some of them had either completely declined and disappeared on the Other Shore, or had hidden themselves.


    "Master?"


    Zen subconsciously looked at the huge statue and asked, "Is your master still in this space?"


    Once again, the man and woman both shook their heads at the same time. The woman went over and gently pulled Zen as she said, "Come with me!"


    The moment they pulled Zen into the gate, the little monsters below the altar made a loud noise. The man patted his head and said with a smile, "Oh, I almost forgot it."


    Next, he took out a small bag, from which thousands of brown beads rolled out.


    Those brown beads were highly important to the little monsters. Indeed, only after when he threw the beads did the little monsters stop making noises.

 Chapter 3438 Delete And Retrieve

    As soon as the little monsters calmed down, Zen couldn''t help but be amazed.


    After all, the little monsters imprisoned him, fought with those double-headed flying snakes, and then finally sent him to this place.


    Did that mean they wanted those brown beads all along?


    "These little monsters¡­ Are they the aboriginals of this space?" he asked.


    The handsome man casually nodded and said, "You can say that. They were originally a race in our master''s inner world.


    After our master took up this space, he released them."


    The little monsters were from the inner world of the man''s master?!


    Once again, Zen was utterly surprised. How powerful was their master, really?


    How could the creatures in his inner world be so strong? "How about those double-headed flying snakes then?" he asked again.


    "They also came from our master''s inner world," the handsome man answered with a nod.


    The man''s response, however, confused Zen. "But I saw them fight so fiercely with each other¡­" he muttered.


    "Our master made them fight on purpose," the handsome man explained. "He has kept three races in this space. At first, he only kept those double-headed flying snakes, but eventually, they were all over the space. So, he had no choice but to introduce the other two races. When the three races are under checks and balances, their numbers can be limited."


    In turn, Zen nodded and asked No. 9527 in his mind, "Didn''t you say that some Chaos Ancient God controlled this space?"


    He just realized that the man''s answer completely contradicted what No. 9527 had said before.


    No. 9527 was also confused. In the end, it could only say, "You can ask the Regal Jade Spirit. Maybe he knows about it."


    The Regal Jade Spirit represented the Regal Jade Civilization, and the Regal Jade Civilization had occupied almost the whole entirety of the chaos. He himself had once been a Chaos Ancient God.


    Furthermore, No. 9527 just said that the handsome man''master was from the 77th civilization, while the Regal Jade Civilization was the 749th civilization. Thus, it was more likely that the Regal Jade Civilization should have known some things about this space.


    Zen followed the handsome man into the door and they walked along a lengthy, narrowly spaced channel. He decided to take advantage


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    iled you is willing to let you go," the Regal Jade Spirit answered.


    Mount was the avatar of a Chaos Ancient God. With his current abilities, he could exile Zen, but he might not be able to bring him back. Moreover, Zen couldn''t possibly pin his hopes on his opponent.


    When the Regal Jade Spirit saw the faint disappointment on Zen''s face, he continued, "Although this space looks empty, I''d exiled countless creatures to this place before--including a few races that resisted the Regal Jade Civilization, some unpredictable threats, and the energy crystals that might explode at any time."


    "Empty?" Zen looked at the Regal Jade Spirit with an indecipherable look.


    The void was not empty. All kinds of dead bodies were interwoven in it together, like a huge garbage station.


    The Regal Jade Spirit also noticed the way Zen looked and asked, "Did I say anything wrong?"


    "Numerous dead bodies of creatures, rocks and soil, and other things are floating in the space," Zen replied. "No way!" the Regal Jade Spirit refuted him.


    The Regal Jade Spirit was very familiar with the empty space.


    "If things are exiled to this space, they will be deleted once and for all after some time. If they, both the living things and corpses, are not retrieved, they will completely disappear. How can it be like what you said? Take me there!" he declared.


    Upon seeing the Regal Jade Spirit''s reaction, Zen realized that the Regal Jade Spirit, who used to be the Son of Truth, probably did not know about the change in the space.

 Chapter 3439 Waiting

    The Chaos Ancient God that controlled the bottom-layer space rules held the right to delete spaces.


    But those deleted spaces could still be recovered.


    Within a certain grace period, they could recover a space they regretted deleting. After this time, though, absolutely nothing could be done.


    Having once been a Son of Truth in charge of space, the Regal Jade Spirit was well aware of this fact.


    So what Zen said about the strange scene was more surprising than the news that he had found the arc light energy.


    Once Zen dispersed the avatar, he took the Regal Jade Spirit out of his inner world and had him hide within his body.


    No. 9527 was a part of the Chaos Ancient Gods named Gerald. As the two Chaos Ancient Gods stayed together, they weren''t particularly uncomfortable. Now, they were both quietly observing their surroundings.


    The space passageway wasn''t that long, and it didn''t take too long for the three people to reach the end of it. Emerging from it, Zen saw an ancient door, identical to what he had seen before.


    When the handsome man pushed the door open, they were met with huge narrow bronze pillars¡ªthey were like snakes, strangely entangled with each other.


    Zen had noticed the bronze pillars when he was first exiled into the space. But from where he had been, he could only see dark-golden lines.


    Behind the pillars lay the end of the space.


    It was nothing like a wall, but something resembled black fur.


    "Eh? What happened to the Deleting Pillars? Why did they end up like this?! This¡­" Fear and doubt seeped into the Regal Jade Spirit''s voice.


    "Are you talking about these pillars?" Zen asked, confused.


    "Yes! The Deleting Pillars serve as the foundation of this space. It''s impossible to destroy them¡ªnot even the Sons of Truth can do so. In every period of time, these pillars would delete all the things in the space before turning it into a void. But everything seems to have changed, now!" the Regal Jade Spirit explained as he surveyed the void in the distance.


    Although the ancient door had sent Zen a great distance away, he could still see


    at the thought.


    While he was born in this round of chaos, he had never seen their master at all. Zen deeply doubted the couple''s words.


    With a hint of a sigh, the man continued, "Our master said that the chaos would come to its last round sooner or later. The human race dominating the chaos again will signal a critical time. You''re the first human we''ve ever found since then, and the news you''ve brought with you is in line with our master''s prediction."


    Creatures born in each round of chaos were completely different. There were great differences between the different civilizations themselves as well.


    Human beings appeared once in the 77th civilization¡ªnever again after that. To see a human appear in this round of chaos was truly a phenomenon.


    The human race in the Source World couldn''t exactly be considered a ruling force. But after the development over the past years, the various human forces had also developed into super forces¡ªsuch a development didn''t happen accidentally.


    "So why did your master ask you to wait for me?" Zen asked again.


    The man smiled and said, "Master has hidden in this space for countless years. He hopes the human race will thrive again, so he''s been diligently waiting for the right opportunity."


    Turning his head, he looked upon the statue¡ªit was exactly the same as the one on the small star. Engraved beneath it was the name ''King Manard.''

 Chapter 3440 A Passage Leading To The Outside

    Zen followed the handsome man''s gaze and read the name engraved below the statue.


    "Is King Manard your master?" Zen asked.


    "Yes!"


    Both the handsome and the charming nodded, their faces displaying awe and respect at the mention of their master.


    Just from the man''s words, Zen had obtained some valuable information.


    There was a time when the human race had prospered in the chaos. But like the other past civilizations, they had failed to complete the Finale Way. In the end, they had no choice but to hide on the Other Shore.


    The ancient humans of the Other Shore remained off the grid for countless years ¡ª Zen surmised that they had gone into hiding like the Regal Jade Civilization.


    From that, Zen suspected that the birth of the human race in this round of chaos was no coincidence. Perhaps, the human race on the Other Shore had used some kind of special method to revive the human civilization in the chaos through the flourishing of the Nine Li race, the Bearing race, the Divine Farmer race, and the Oneness Sky Palace.


    Zen was well aware that the man and woman had just been waiting for a human, not specifically him.


    His appearance signaled the beginning of the ancient human civilization''s plan.


    "Do you agree with my conjecture?" Through his consciousness, Zen asked No. 9527 and the Regal Jade Spirit.


    Both of them were figures of wisdom and insight, and they found Zen''s speculations to be convincing. But No. 9527 then added, "But humans are not united as they should be. If your speculations are right, all humans born in this round of chaos should be created by the ancient human civilization. The problem is, the Bearing race, the Oneness Sky Palace, and Fuxi from the Pear Hill are on bad terms."


    The thought bewildered Zen. If the ancient humans wanted to achieve a certain goal, the new human race they had created must unite toward a single mission. Why then did they split into several branches, holding different positions and following different paths?


    "Something unnatural must have happened," remarked the Regal Jade Spirit. "The creatures on the Other Shore can''t visit the chaos freely due to the Other Shore''s special nature. They have to choose spokespersons to fig


    rse. Master told us that if a human was exiled to this place, we could report it to him."


    At that, Zen''s eyes lit up. "Can you inform him right now?"


    After a moment of thought, the man nodded. "Alright. Follow me."


    An ancient gate lay behind the palace. Once they entered the gate with Zen, they arrived at the edge of this world ¡ª a wall covered with black fluff.


    The wall seemed to go on endlessly. They couldn''t see its end from either direction.


    All creatures, regardless of size, would feel powerless and insignificant in the face of this enormous wall.


    Nearby was a small round cave.


    "No words can be sent out in this place. We have to leave the place to inform Master. This is the passageway that leads outside," the man explained.


    Looking curiously at the cave, Zen asked, "Did your master dig this cave out?"


    "Yes. Master started to dig this even before we were born. He spent about eight million units of time before reaching the other end and outside the chaos. Master is a persistent man!"


    Eight million units of time¡­ that meant eighty billion years. ''That''s a terribly long time, '' Zen thought.


    "I can''t believe someone actually managed to dig through the chaos¡­" the Regal Jade Spirit muttered in astonishment in Zen''s mind.


    "I can''t believe it either¡­" remarked No. 9527.


    The two had a far greater understanding of the chaos than Zen did and yet even they agreed that digging all the way out of the chaos was something unheard of.

 Chapter 3441 The Abstruse Energy State

    No matter how prosperous the chaos was, it was impossible to avoid the needle.


    All the creatures would be annihilated.


    This wasn''t a disaster, something nobody had seen. It had, in fact, been predestined since the chaos was born.


    Only one thing could prevent this from happening: turning into creatures on the Other Shore and hiding there.


    In the long history of the chaos, each creature had the same fate.


    They either entered the Other Shore or they died. They could try to become the Sons of Truth but their chances were remote. Besides, they would still die after two rounds of chaos.


    A number of creatures and talents had tried all kinds of methods.


    Escaping from the chaos was the easiest and the most direct way.


    Countless civilizations had come into existence and declined, but no one had ever succeeded.


    And now, King Manard was hiding in this space to avoid death when the end arrived. He had even broken through the chaos. The shock that No. 9527 and the Regal Jade Spirit felt couldn''t be described in mere words.


    It didn''t matter if they believed it or not. It was an undeniable fact. They hoped Zen could explore the cave and find more.


    The handsome man and the enchanting woman entered the cave first, Zen following close behind.


    The wall of the cave was covered with a kind of dense brown material that was neither rock nor soil. Zen reached out, pressing gently on the wall and releasing the Other Shore Power within him.


    But there was no reaction. The material was so solid that it was almost impossible to separate it from the cave wall.


    The man noticed Zen''s move and smiled before saying, "It''s impossible to break this wall. Our master has said that no one can leave a single trace on it even if they are to use a million divine megatons of force."


    Zen''s jaw dropped.


    He remained speechless for a while before he found his voice. "How solid is this wall?" he asked.


    "It''s not a matter of solidity. O


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    lue star lights. As more and more parts of his head emerged, the star lights began to spread quickly.


    Zen hadn''t felt anything strange until this moment.


    As he craned his head, he felt everything go black. He couldn''t see anything anymore.


    Instead, he felt a different kind of feeling course through him.


    Zen had never experienced this feeling before. In this void, everything around him had merged into nothingness. He was the only star in it.


    The distance became infinitely long yet remained infinitely short. No matter how vast the space was, he could touch any end of it. And no matter how short the distance was, he could not reach it.


    Time instantly sped up with his thoughts. Billions of years passed with one thought, but the next moment, it seemed like only an instant had passed.


    Zen could not describe this feeling.


    Just as the man and the woman had said, he couldn''t see the chaos or find the cave in such a state. Even his physical sense had disappeared completely.


    If he was reckless and rushed in, he would probably be permanently lost in this state.


    Zen had lost all sense of time and felt like countless years had passed in the blink of an eye.


    As the star lights rotated, Zen was pulled back into the cave, familiar sights appearing back in front of his eyes.

 Chapter 3442 Rejecting The Other Races

    Zen returned to the cave in a daze.


    He was still adjusting after returning from the Abstruse Energy State.


    "How do you feel?" the handsome man asked with a smile.


    The enchanting woman was not surprised at Zen''s reaction. She had expected it.


    The first time they ventured into the outside of the chaos, they had the same reaction.


    It was a long time before Zen could respond.


    He looked at the void outside the chaos, his face inscrutable. "So, those light dots are actually the other things in the space?"


    The man nodded. "My master once said that all things scattered there. Maybe one of the light spots is a part of my master''s body."


    The light dots were spread outside the chaos, indistinct from each other.


    Zen only needed to experience it once to understand that it would be futile to judge the size and distance of the void.


    "Zen, let me see!"


    "I want to try it, too!"


    No. 9527 and the Regal Jade Spirit pleaded.


    When Zen had poked his head out, the two had been hiding in his body. They weren''t able to follow him out.


    So now they were also very curious about the void outside the chaos.


    Zen thought for a moment. He answered with his consciousness, "Hide yourselves in my right arm."


    After the consciousness of the Regal Jade Spirit and No. 9527 burrowed into Zen''s arm, he extended his right hand outside the cave.


    Just like before, his right hand turned into light dots and quickly spread out. This time, the consciousnesses of No. 9527 and the Regal Jade Spirit spread along with them.


    While letting the two observe the Abstruse Energy State, Zen turned to the man. "Since your master is out there, how can you pass the news to him and ask him to return?"


    The woman pointed to the edge of the cave where long and thin ropes were nailed. Complicated runes were painted on the surface of each rope.


    There were a total of thirteen ropes. Most parts


    curly beard. He looked exactly the same as the statue that Zen saw on the small star.


    "Master!"


    "Master!"


    The woman and the man respectfully bowed to King Manard.


    King Manard nodded and let his eyes settle upon Zen. He scrutinized Zen from head to toe, raising a brow.


    "Nice to meet you, sir!" Zen said, likewise bowing to King Manard.


    King Manard didn''t greet him in return. Instead, his eyes fell on Zen''s right hand. "There are two souls of other races in your body. Show yourselves! If you''re here to spy on me, don''t blame me for wiping out your consciousness!"


    The woman and the man grew nervous at their master''s words.


    They knew King Manard only acknowledged the human race, rejecting other races with extreme prejudice.


    Some of the creatures from other races that had been exiled to this space had been innocent. Many of them had fallen to their knees and begged to be spared.


    But King Manard showed no mercy to the alien creatures in this space. He left none of them alive. He had ordered his disciples to be as ruthless.


    And so it came to pass that the woman and the man killed countless creatures of different races, developing an instinctive repulsion for them. After all these years, Zen was the only one they had kept alive.

 Chapter 3443 Another Other Shore

    Zen''s expression changed. There was a troubled look on his face when he heard King Manard''s unfriendly tone.


    "Sir, they are both my friends..."


    He began trying to explain, but was interrupted when King Manard said, "Whoever they are, they need to show up. No one spies on me in secret! Show yourselves or you will force my hands!"


    If Zen hadn''t been concerned in this matter, King Manard would have slain No. 9527 and the Regal Jade Spirit without a moment''s hesitation.


    The only reason he was restraining himself was that Zen was a human. Even so, the fact that No. 9527 and the Regal Jade Spirit were spying on him in secret was an unbearably infuriating thought for him.


    Fortunately, No. 9527 and the Regal Jade Spirit immediately turned into two human shaped soul forms, one glowing with a cyan aura and the other one in brown. They put their hands together and bowed to King Manard.


    "We have been staying inside Zen''s body for a long time, and never showed ourselves to anyone till date. We didn''t mean to spy on you. Please forgive us," the Regal Jade Spirit humbly apologized.


    King Manard glanced at him and then suddenly smiled. "I''m familiar with your aura. You used to be in charge of this space. You were a Son of Truth of the Regal Jade Civilization. Have I got that right?"


    The Regal Jade Spirit nodded with a helpless smile. "You have supernatural power. I didn''t sense you hiding here!"


    "If you could detect my presence that easily, I wouldn''t be alive today," King Manard smiled with a satisfied expression.


    This space worked in a mysterious way. Every once in a while, everything in here was destroyed for good. This place was often regarded as the garden of the Son of Truth. And no human would ever be allowed to live here!


    The Regal Jade Spirit replied, "The theurgies you utilized to break through the walls of the chaos and explore the outside void are impressive. If you could reveal the secrets of this void, we, the Regal Jade Civilization, would be happy to get along with you. That being the case, why would we consider you our enemy?"


    However, King Manard''s expressions didn''t change. "You might see it that way, but your civilization would still take me as their enemy. They might not share your thoughts. Things on the Other Shore are extremely complicated. You, as a lone Son of Truth, couldn''t make that decision by yourself!"


    The Regal Jade Spirit didn''t know w


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    conflict was even heard of.


    They had always been united, to the very last possible moment.


    And from the way King Manard detested the other races, it was crystal clear how much he cared about the human race. He had never expected that the newborn human race in the chaos would fall into such a complicated situation. It was heartbreaking for him to hear such news.


    "With your great theurgies, you will be able to end the dispute if you return to the chaos," Zen suddenly said.


    "Return to the chaos?" King Manard shook his head in a disappointed manner.


    "Didn''t you tell us that you have taken complete control over this space and can retrieve everything from within it?" Zen asked.


    A trace of helplessness appeared on the face of King Manard. He pointed to No. 9527''s soul and said, "This one can return to the chaos, and so can you."


    Then he pointed to the Regal Jade Spirit and continued, "But can he return as well?"


    Although No. 9527 and the Regal Jade Spirit had turned into human souls, they were still quite different from each other.


    No. 9527 was a real strand of a soul, while the Regal Jade Spirit had appeared in the chaos after Zen had merged with the Civilization Artifact. In fact, his body was still on the Other Shore. He was in a descending state.


    "You mean..." Zen''s eyes narrowed.


    King Manard pointed at the ruins in the distance and said, "The chaos that belongs to us has already gone. We can''t return to the chaos. Even if we do return, we can only return in the form of an Other Shore Token. Or, to put it shortly, you can treat this space as another Other Shore."

 Chapter 3444 The Former Glory

    Once a round of chaos was destroyed, the rules of the new chaos would suppress everything from the last chaos.


    Creatures, objects, and even consciousness would be rejected.


    All creatures, except the Chaos Ancient Gods who had comprehended the truth, had to enter the Other Shore to save their lives. That was the only way.


    The space where King Manard lived was separated from the chaos. It was true that he could avoid the Deleting Pillars and control this space. But he could only hide in there, just like the creatures on the Other Shore.


    "Another Other Shore..." Zen muttered, his eyebrows rising.


    No. 9527 and the Regal Jade Spirit were taken aback. They had always only seen this space as a recycle bin. But this space could avoid being involved in the extinction of the chaos. It was indeed another Other Shore.


    A smile appeared on King Manard''s face as he said, "I actually plan to turn this place into another Other Shore that belongs only to the human race. Other races won''t be allowed to enter it!"


    The Other Shore was complicated. There were not only a number of Souls of Light, but also different kinds of creatures.


    How terrifying would it be if a race were able to occupy the Other Shore?


    What an ambitious man King Manard was!


    This news was good for the human race, of course. Zen thought for a moment before asking, "But how do the creatures in the chaos enter this space?"


    Mount and the Chaos Ancient God behind him controlled the entrance to this space. King Manard couldn''t make sure that the Chaos Ancient God was on his side.


    King Manard asked calmly, "How do the creatures in the chaos enter the Other Shore?"


    "By cultivating the Truth of Godly Way, of course," replied Zen without hesitation.


    No. 9527 and the Regal Jade Spirit exchanged a nervous glance. They had a premonition.


    A sudden thought occurred to Zen. "Is there a Truth of Godly Way that can bring the creatures here?"


    King Manard smiled meaningfully. He reached out a hand, and the red, yellow, and blue energies spiraled upwards. "I have devoted my life to this Truth of Godly Way. I name it the Truth of Three-energy Construction."


    "You created a Truth of Godly Way?" No. 95


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    e the emasculated parts of any other Truths of Godly Ways apart from the Truth Enlightenment been passed down?" King Manard asked.


    Zen shook his head. "I''ve never heard of it."


    King Manard looked at No. 9527. No. 9527 replied, "No."


    "The thirteen Truths of Godly Ways of the 749th civilization must have been incomplete as well," the Regal Jade Spirit replied.


    A thought crossed Zen''s mind and he said, "It''s not just that. We can''t practice the Truth of Powerful Holy Body now. It''s impossible to use the physical body to enter the Other Shore."


    "The Truth of Powerful Holy Body is prohibited?" At this news, King Manard was plunged deep in thought. It was a while before he smiled and said, "Those hiding on the Other Shore began to be afraid."


    The human race had never been weak. It was precisely to see this day that they had been hiding themselves for so many years.


    "But if you want to build this place into an Other Shore, where can we find the Other Shore Tokens? How can we obtain the Other Shore Power?" Zen asked again, confused.


    King Manard pointed to the void in the distance and said, "The Other Shore Tokens are over there."


    There were many remains floating in the air.


    "¡­"


    Zen, No. 9527, and the Regal Jade Spirit were rendered speechless.


    It was a strange sight, the remains floating in the air. It was stranger that King Manard believed that these remains were Other Shore Tokens. But they had to take him at his word.

 Chapter 3445 The Strongest Finale Way

    It wouldn''t have been difficult for King Manard to remove these remains with this place under his full control.


    But he left them here for the purpose of using them as Other Shore Tokens.


    "But these remains don''t have energy or Other Shore Power. They would have no complicated power," Zen pointed out.


    There were two factors to determine an Other Shore Token''s value.


    They were whether or not it had strong Other Shore Power, and whether or not it had a unique ability.


    The stronger the Other Shore Power was, the stronger its bearer would be.


    The power of Other Shore Tokens of the mysterious type tended to not be as strong, but they often had unusual abilities. For example, the Heart of Accomplice was able to forcibly end the lives of both the user and another powerful warrior. No other token could do this.


    King Manard ambled forward, his hands behind his back. He gazed out into the void. "It''s almost impossible for them to use the Other Shore Tokens to realize the Finale Way. The human race was trapped in this in the past."


    Neither Zen nor No. 9527 could understand, but the eyes of the Regal Jade Spirit flashed.


    After all, the Regal Jade Civilization had once been a ruling force and had also confronted the needle in hopes to realize the Finale Way.


    "You mean it''s impossible to realize the Finale Way by relying on the strength of the Other Shore?" the Regal Jade Spirit asked.


    King Manard shot the Regal Jade Spirit an unexpected admiring look. "Among so many civilizations, the human race came the closest. We very nearly achieved it."


    "You almost made it?" The Regal Jade Spirit''s eyes flashed strangely. "Our Wing King had merged with the Invisible Spirit Herb from Stage Thirty Three. He used the Trial Lamp to reflect about a thousand more Invisible Spirit Herbs and extracted the Other Shore Power within them. After that, he increased the Other Shore Power by thirty times with the help of the Withering Power and combined it with the Spectral Thunder Shield, but he still failed. He almost made it, too."


    As the strongest warrior in the Regal Jade Civilization, the Wing King was ch


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    and then...


    Alas, it was a pity we failed in the end. We were so close," King Manard said, regret written on his face.


    Perhaps feeling he had discouraged the Regal Jade Spirit too much, he added, "Actually, it was not your fault. After the human race almost completed the Finale Way, those hiding on the Other Shore grew scared. After that, they set the rules, and the Other Shore was designed by them in such a way that no civilization would ever complete the Finale Way. It became a pipe dream. I guess that after the 77th civilization was destroyed, the Heart of Limit and the Overdraft Stone were both hidden away. They might have even destroyed them."


    No. 9527 nodded in agreement. "We haven''t heard of these two tokens on the Other Shore."


    "By their rules, the Finale Way is destined to fail, and there is no possibility of success," King Manard said firmly. "So we can''t rely on that Other Shore. We must create our own force!"


    He glanced at Zen and continued, "The Other Shore Power is from outside of the chaos. We can also obtain it."


    As he spoke, he pointed at the debris on the ground. The broken statue of horse head returned to its original condition. But the new statue seemed a little different.


    "What do you see?" asked King Manard.


    Zen stared at the statue and observed it carefully. After a short while, he actually felt a slight energy on the statue. It was the Other Shore Power!

 Chapter 3446 The Wall Of Truth Of Godly Way

    The Other Shore Power hidden in the statue of the horse head wasn''t strong. It had less than one divine megaton of force, but it was still enough to be regarded as an Other Shore Token.


    "You can endow the statue with Other Shore Power?" Zen inquired.


    King Manard nodded and held the statue in his hand. "The Other Shore Power is not directly from me. It''s from the outside of the chaos and my hand is just acting as a medium," he explained.


    The Other Shore Power was an extremely special existence. However, no one had expected that the power did not come from the chaos itself, but outside of it.


    As King Manard gently waved his hand, the Other Shore Power that was hidden in the statue grew stronger and stronger, gradually surpassing one divine megaton.


    "If the Other Shore Power comes from somewhere outside of the chaos, then is it possible that there''s a way to exit the chaos from the Other Shore?" the Regal Jade Spirit asked as he stared closely at the statue.


    King Manard shook his head and said, "I''m not actually sure, but you''re probably right. It''s just that some of the secrets are hidden deep in Stage Thirty Three. Unfortunately, we weren''t able to uncover them even when we were at the height of power."


    The Other Shore Power in the statue finally stopped increasing after reaching thirty divine megatons. "I only acquired thirty divine megatons of force from the Abstruse Energy World. Luckily, I''ve found some secrets in that world. My disciples and I should be making a breakthrough but it will take some time."


    "It''s difficult to search outside the chaos, isn''t it?" Zen asked.


    King Manard nodded and said, "Yes, it is indeed difficult. We are creatures born in the chaos, so we are not allowed to enter the Abstruse Energy World. Now that I think of it, the only one who might be truly suitable for that world would be the first civilization, the Instant Civilization."


    In the Abstruse Energy World, time and space did not exist.


    It was said that the Instant Civilization only existed promptly. Time and space were meaningless to them.


    Then Zen remembered that the Regal Jade Spirit had once told him about the characteristics of the Instant Civilization. Upon contemplating, he realized that there might be a relationship between the two. "Is it possible that the Instant Civilization was from the Abstruse Energy World?" he blurted out.


    "You''re sharp. Y


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    ou seriously think that a proud human like him would agree to become someone else''s Other Shore Token?" the Regal Jade Spirit answered while shaking his head.


    Even the creatures on the Other Shore thought that it was shameful to become Other Shore Tokens. A powerful being like King Manard would naturally be unwilling to become one. Perhaps, he had another idea on how he could return to the chaos.


    "That makes more sense." No. 9527 nodded in agreement.


    These two Sons of Truth had seldom communicated before. Although No. 9527 was just a strand of soul, it represented a Chaos Ancient God. The Regal Jade Spirit was also a Chaos Ancient God in the past, but he represented a civilization on the Other Shore.


    Though they shared the same goal of realizing the Finale Way, they were still always on high alert.


    After they shared this communication, they became closer.


    At the same time, King Manard took his two disciples back to the other side of the palace.


    "Master, with my exceptional talent, I''ve still spent a year and a half to be completely well-versed in the Truth of Three-energy Construction. It will take dozens of years for Zen to achieve it, right?" the handsome man said arrogantly.


    The Truth of Three-energy Construction was much more difficult to grasp than the incomplete Truth of Eternal Sword Intent. It was said to be a complete Truth of Godly Way.


    The handsome man was a one-in-a-million talent that King Manard had personally selected. It was such a fascinating display of skill for him to master the Truth of Three-energy Construction in less than two years.

 Chapter 3447 The Speed Of Comprehension

    After she heard his words, the gorgeous woman retorted with a smile. "You always boast about being the best in terms of talent. Back then, it only took me a year and a half to comprehend it!"


    The handsome man seemed unbothered by her claims. Even though time didn''t hold any value in this space, he didn''t want to seem inferior to the pretty woman. "It''s only because your compatibility level is higher than that of mine. If we are on par with each other in terms of compatibility level, you would never be as good as me..."


    While the two were engrossed in a heated conversation, King Manard raised his hand and said, "I''ll take my leave now. I have to cultivate in seclusion during this period. Inform me after he finishes comprehending the Truth of Three-Energy Construction."


    "But Master, when will you take us to the Abstruse Energy World?" the handsome man suddenly asked.


    Since the handsome man and the pretty woman were tossed into this space, they were unable to join the other disciples. Naturally, they felt frustrated since they were the only ones left out.


    However, King Manard casually posed the question to him. "Have you deciphered the Sanskrit words I gave you?"


    Both of their faces reflected a hint of disappointment as they turned their gaze away without a response.


    The Abstruse Energy World had certain rules, and the rules were related to the Sanskrit words.


    Every light spot contained innumerable groups of words, and the form of expression was similar to the Sanskrit words.


    The Instant Civilization originated from the Abstruse Energy World. Since they were well acquainted with it, the Sanskrit words created by them were the replica of the words of the Abstruse Energy World.


    King Manard was highly skilled in deciphering the Sanskrit words, and his other twelve disciples could be said to be on the same level as him. They had studied the rules of the Abstruse Energy World through deciphering the Sanskrit words.


    If the handsome man and the pretty woman desired to enter the Abstruse Energy World, they had to have a sound understanding of the Sanskrit words, at least to a certain extent.


    However, in the present, they still had a ways to go before they could be able to do that.


    After the question, King Manard turned around and entered the inner hall alone.


    King Manard''s words of wisdom to Zen stated that everything could be dealt with easily. However, his words had contradicted with his reality. He, too, had to encounter many difficulties in his path before he could reach his goal.


    Back then, in the Abstruse Energy World, he had stumbled upon something that had the form of a mountain with his disciples. It was obvious the mountain was gathered by innumerable spots of light.


    The Other Shore Power was obtained from the mountain.


    Had it been a normal world, they would have easily split the entire mountain open to see what was inside.


    However, the rules of the Abstruse Energy World were differed from that of the other worlds, and even the cognitions were different. Eventually, King Manard and his disciples were forced to lower their curiosities. They could only wander on the surface of it and were denied entry to the inside. Alas, they only obtained a small amount of Other Shore Power from a corner of the mountain...


    Breaking through the mountain was a more difficult task than he had imagined it to be. This time, King Manard cultivated in seclusion to have a more clear understanding of the rules attached to the mountain.


    Meanwhile, the handsome man and the pretty woman both walked out of the palace while sulking under their breaths.


    "The Sanskrit words that Master passed down to us are too hard to decipher. He hasn''t even given us any hint on how to do it. It''s simply impossible for us to decipher them on our own," the handsome man complained, his arms crossed tightly near his chest.


    "He said it only took three years for his first disciple to decipher those Sanskrit words. I couldn''t believe it!" the pretty woman exclaimed with her fists clenched.


    The Sanskrit words were placed somewhere in the palace. Before Zen''s arrival, the handsome man and the pretty woman were occupied with managing the creatures of this space and comprehending the Sanskrit words. When their gaze fell upon Zen, they immediately left everything to focus on him instead, since they had fallen victim to their boredom due to the tedious routine.


    Instead of biding their time and deciphering the Sanskrit words, they turned all their attention towards Zen while he cultivated the Truth of Godly Way.


    Upon returning to the center of the palace, they overheard Zen reciting inside the wall.


    "Getting punished for creating things; heaven and earth should be destroyed¡­"


    The handsome man blinked slightly as if mesmerized, and his face turned a serious color. "He seems to have recited more than eight hundred words."


    "What? That''s impossible! You must have heard it wrong." As if shocked, the pretty woman paced to his side and pricked up her ears to eavesdrop.


    W


    hile she listened intently, her expression quickly switched.


    They had left for only a short while, and Zen had already progressed to almost one thousand words.


    Even though the handsome man excelled in talents, his compatibility level was low. He recalled when he read the Truth of Godly Way for the first time, he had only managed to recite a thousand words. Knowing Zen read out one thousand in one go without any difficulty made him shocked to his core.


    They remained rooted to their positions and kept listening from the other side. Zen recited in a low voice, almost like a whisper.


    Thirty seconds had passed, and Zen had already broken through to a thousand words.


    "It seems the boy''s comprehension far surpasses yours." The pretty woman giggled as she nudged him teasingly. "I think he can cultivate the Truth of Three-energy Construction within two years."


    The handsome man scoffed and rolled his eyes after he heard her claims. "Nonsense. I don''t think so!"


    As Zen continued to recite, he had reached two thousand words.


    Soon as she kept listening to Zen, the pretty woman''s radiant face lost its usual color. She always had the satisfaction of being superior to the handsome man in terms of cultivating the Truth of Godly Way. However, it now seemed that Zen was likely to beat her record of reciting two thousand words in her first try!


    Five minutes after, Zen had recited two thousand words without pause.


    But he didn''t stop there, and he reached three thousand words, four thousand words, and then five thousand words...


    It was Zen''s first attempt to cultivate the Truth of Three-energy Construction. He didn''t stop until he reached eight thousand words in one go.


    Zen, who sat inside the wall, heaved a long sigh of relief as he regained his breath.


    His compatibility level of the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent was perfect, and he had comprehended the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent through Instant Enlightenment.


    Now, it seemed his compatibility level of the Truth of Three-Energy Construction was also high. After all, he had managed to recite eight thousand words in one breath. It was much less complex than cultivating the Truth of Goodwill and Malice and the Truth of Cultivation Nature.


    But Zen was not satisfied with this progress. He didn''t feel complacent.


    After all, the Truth of Three-Energy Construction was a complete Truth of Godly Way. The first ten thousand words would pose as no challenge for him, but the last part that was similar to the Truth Enlightenment would be much severe in the level of difficulty it inculcated.


    Even for someone like Zen, comprehending the Truth Enlightenment of the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent was a task that required a lot of effort.


    However, the fruits it bore were worth it. The power of the Truth of Three-Energy Construction was boundless.


    The soul level of the three kinds of energy in it was exceedingly high. When those little monsters and double-headed snakes used it, their power had increased to a frightening level. If those three energies were to be combined, their strength would go beyond comprehension...


    According to King Manard''s words, the Truth of Three-Energy Construction was a product of his creation. However, Zen harbored doubts in his heart against that statement. He strongly felt that the Truth of Godly Way must have been obtained in the Abstruse Energy World. It was apparent his thoughts contradicted with the fact that King Manard had created it.


    Zen continued, oblivious to the fact that the pretty woman and the handsome man had their anticipating eyes glued to the wall. They wore expressions of bewilderment.


    He had recited eight thousand words on his first day, which was equivalent to sixty percent of the Truth of Three-Energy Construction. Did this guy really come from the chaos?


    According to what King Manard had told them, anyone who existed in the chaos lacked strength. They were practically worthless.


    Of course, King Manard knew full well not to underestimate the talents that resided in the chaos. Even though he handpicked the most outstanding talents from his inner world to be his disciples, the chaos was much bigger than his inner world and contained more talents. But to practice high morale and confidence in his disciples, he had to belittle the creatures in the chaos to make them feel superior.


    However, the appearance of Zen and the small spectacle of his talents had exposed King Manard''s white lie out in the open. Naturally, the handsome man and the pretty woman hung their heads in crippling depression as they had believed the lie to be true the entire time.


    If King Manard was not their master, they would have apprehended and interrogated him by now.


    The very next day, Zen had managed to comprehend over nine thousand and nine hundred words of the Truth of Three-energy Construction.


    On the third day, he broke through to ten thousand words.


    Just as Zen had concluded, after he reached ten thousand words, the difficulty of comprehension increased significantly.

 Chapter 3448 The Principle Of Construction

    During those times when Zen was staying in the Oneness Sky Palace, he didn''t spend much time understanding the Truth Enlightenment. In any case, his comprehension speed was not that fast.


    But right now, it was impossible for him to leave this place without thoroughly comprehending the Truth of Three-Energy Construction. Knowing that this was a crucial process, Zen calmed himself down and decided to complete this task as soon as possible.


    Days turned into a week while Zen was concentrating hard on his task.


    Before long, twenty one days had already passed.


    Zen poured his whole heart and soul into mastering the Truth of Three-Energy Construction. He tirelessly worked on it all day and all night.


    After six weeks, Zen was already able to recite more than 12, 000 words smoothly and effortlessly.


    The handsome man and the enchanting woman visited Zen every once in a while. They were surprised by his comprehension speed.


    Even though they were both talented, it took them much longer to comprehend the Truth of Three-Energy Construction. Properly speaking, the time they spent mastering it was one and a half years and two years, respectively.


    Meanwhile, Zen was already able to master ninety percent of it in just a month and a half. It was an incredible thing to witness.


    The Truth of Three-Energy Construction was composed of 14, 000 words. Based on Zen''s current speed, it wouldn''t take him three months to comprehend all of it.


    Ultimately, Zen''s comprehension speed was even faster than the two of them had ever imagined. This man was truly remarkable.


    On the morning of the eighty-third day, Zen had recited the last word. Finally, it was done!


    He clasped his hands together and a red light appeared in front of him. Then, he lightly tapped the air with his finger and a blue light materialized. He flipped his palm upwards and a yellow light emerged.


    Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!


    The three lights began to converge and formed a mass of black energy.


    He proceeded to release the energy. With a loud crash, the golden wall that surrounded him collapsed.


    With a clinking sound, the golden words carved into the wall had broken one after another.


    "The principle of the Truth of Three-Energy Construction is similar to that of the chaotic energy. It allows the user to construct things directly out of the void.


    Generally speaking, however, no one is able to use the chaotic energy for construction. At most, void construction can only be completed within their inner worlds.


    Nevertheless, the Truth of Three-Energy Construction has shattered this limit!


    Materialize!" Zen exclaimed as he watched the mass of energy in front of him.


    The surface of the black energy was constantly changing until it tr


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    ended the Truth of Three-Energy Construction.


    "It only took him two months and twenty-three days, to be exact," the handsome man informed King Manard with his life vitality. "Moreover, he is capable of void construction as soon as he has comprehended it!"


    King Manard''s eyes widened in surprise. This was completely unexpected to him as well.


    Zen was the first person that had broken into this space for a long, long time. In the eyes of King Manard, Zen was only a representative. He had hoped that Zen would find the humans on the Other Shore and tell them the news of this place.


    He did not take Zen''s talent seriously. Now, it was clear that Zen was actually much more powerful than he imagined.


    Concern was written all over his face. Together with his two disciples, he hurried over to where Zen was.


    Zen was still discussing the functions of the Truth of Three-Energy Construction with No. 9527 and the Regal Jade Spirit when King Manard arrived. He seemed a bit flustered.


    "Greetings, King Manard," said Zen as he bowed his head slightly.


    King Manard immediately noticed the broken dragon rod and stared at it. "Kindly show me your ability of void construction." He gestured to Zen imploringly.


    Zen nodded and held out his hand. The energies of three colors gathered once more and converged before changing into a dark color. Soon after, a long shimmering silver sword appeared in his hand.


    As King Manard examined the long sword, he could barely keep his astonishment from reflecting in his eyes. "There are three stages of void construction. The first stage is Looking Alike in Appearance. The things created in this stage look impressive; however, they lack real worth," he said carefully.


    "Yes, you''re right." Zen nodded. "This sword absolutely looks splendid but it is actually useless."

 Chapter 3449 Returning

    "The second stage is called ''Integrating Inner and Outer.'' Let me show you," said King Manard. He made a pinching motion above Zen''s head and took away the long sword in his hand.


    King Manard gripped the sword and emitted a steady flow of energy in three colors, which was transferred through the hilt into the blade. As the energy flowed, the sword glowed, becoming more and more dazzling. In this manner, he gave the sword the inner power in a short period of time.


    When he was done, he held up the sword, examining it.


    Then he threw it back to Zen. "Here, take a look."


    Zen caught the sword easily, his eyes gleaming as he studied it. "This sword is now as powerful as a primary Profound Blood Treasure!"


    King Manard was unfamiliar with the classification of weapons in this round of chaos. But he had confidence in the weapons he had forged.


    He nodded. "After I comprehended the Truth of Three-Energy Construction, it took me a long time to reach the stage of ''Looking Alike in Appearance.'' But you''ve reached it within a short period of time. You are a great genius. Do you have a master?"


    His words piqued the attention of the Regal Jade Spirit and No. 9527. It seemed that King Manard was interested in taking Zen on as his disciple.


    Zen nodded and replied, "Yes, I do."


    Zen had a master in the great world. One of his missions was to go to the Source World from the divine land to inquire into the whereabouts of his master Bromley.


    But up to now, Zen hadn''t been able to find him.


    From the day he became Bromley''s disciple, he had yet to see him, which was truly incredible.


    As soon as King Manard heard that Zen had a master, he dropped the subject, although he was slightly disappointed. He said, "All right, then. At least we are both human beings, and I need you to find the humans of the Other Shore. I used to be an extremely powerful king. However, my disciples and children had been gone with the passing of that round of chaos. The fourteen disciples I selected from the inner world are not able to inherit my cause..."


    The handsome man and the charming woman looked at each other. They both seemed a little embarrassed.


    "The third stage of the void construction is ''Constructing with One Thought.'' Even though you don''t know the structure of some things, you will be able to form them as soon as you think about them. What''s more, they''ll be real like those existing in reality," King Manard continued. "You can even create someone who is exactly the same to you."


    "Constructing with One Thought..." Zen m


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    At the end of that period, he comprehended around eighty percent of the Endless Restoring Method. King Manard was surprised and pleased. It usually took much longer to reach that level.


    Even in the 77th civilization, Zen still stood out among his peers because of his extraordinary talent.


    King Manard reflected that given the speed with which Zen had previously cultivated the Truth of Three-Energy Construction, he really should have expected Zen to excel in the Endless Restoring Method too. He had seen various extraordinary talents over the course of his life, and he was one of the powerful warriors who followed the great human ancestor.


    In the void, four people stood without moving.


    King Manard, the handsome man, the charming woman, and Zen had gathered together.


    Many little monsters surrounded them in the ruins.


    These little monsters obeyed the handsome man and the charming woman, but they worshiped King Manard. After all, it was King Manard who had created them.


    "You were deleted into this area. And I will send you back via this area now. Please remember my words," said King Manard solemnly.


    Zen nodded respectfully. "I will keep them in mind."


    Although King Manard was not Zen''s master, he had taught Zen a lot, and Zen would not forget his generosity.


    The handsome man and the enchanting woman had spent almost every day and night of the past three years with Zen, and there was a trace of reluctance on their faces as they prepared to send him off.


    "Good. I will find that time node for you," King Manard said. With that, he stretched out his hand and stirred the air. A colorful vortex appeared within his moving hand. In an instant, it sucked Zen in.

 Chapter 3450 Hypercube Imprisonment

    Zen had stayed in that void for three and a half years.


    However, since King Manard had absolute control over the void, he was able to find the right time node and send Zen away.


    Meanwhile, in the Chaotic Source World, the glimmering space fragments kept circling around Mount.


    The fragments were palm-sized at most but they were quite sharp and indestructible, extremely hard to resist.


    However, like Mount, the Evil God could also use Grand Teleportation to move around freely within the world.


    Mount had launched a series of supposedly deadly attacks but the Evil God had dodged every single one easily.


    Moreover, the Evil God had even counterattacked!


    These space fragments were Mount''s temporary protective shield as he tried to catch his breath.


    "Give up! Once I take your abilities, even your will shall follow me," the Evil God declared. He was flashing in midair and his voice boomed and echoed all around the space, seemingly coming from everywhere.


    Mount gritted his teeth in anger. "You''re not qualified!"


    "I''ll be qualified after I kill you."


    The Evil God''s words were whispered in Mount''s ear. He had appeared right beside Mount regardless of those space fragments!


    Clap! Clap! Clap!


    Mount quickly wielded the space fragments and directed them towards the Evil God.


    Any ordinary warrior at the Other Shore Realm would''ve been killed after getting hit by these space fragments.


    However, the Evil God was no ordinary warrior. His entire body had been reinforced by the Mighty Golden Body and all the space fragments could do was scratch him in multiple places.


    "Sizz..."


    The Evil God''s wounds healed in the blink of an eye, courtesy of a small race''s bloodline theurgy. So long as his elixir field and soul remained intact, his body would recover and he would never die!


    He was, in one word: invincible. The multiple bloodline theurgies he had absorbed ensured his protection. With a slight wave of his hand, the Evil God threw a fist towards Mount in spite of the bombardment of space fragments.


    Swish!


    It was at this point that Mount f


    rtation to escape obviously. But why did he choose to stay?


    "You can''t kill me, but I can kill you," Mount murmured despite all his wounds. Light flashed in his eyes as a cube formed in his pupil.


    The space fragments were still flying around them like a dangerous storm. In a flash, they seemed to be enlightened and began to array neatly around, wrapping the two warriors.


    "In your world, you can copy other people''s bloodlines but there are limits to this ability," Mount said in a calm, collected manner. "You can copy only around 30 to 40 percent of my bloodline power, hence you can make spatial transference but not activate the other theurgies hidden within."


    Before Mount could finish his words, the Evil God quickly paled and intended to leave via Grand Teleportation.


    However, just as he was about to use it, he realized that it didn''t seem to be working!


    Mount simply stared at him blankly. "This is the Hypercube Imprisonment. Its space restriction is even stronger than that of the Chaotic Source World. There is no way for you to get rid of it."


    Many powerful warriors had previously banded together to set up the Chaotic Source World''s space restrictions. To do that, they used the Truth of Void Destruction and the abilities of the Other Shore Tokens. Mount''s bloodline, however, was related to a truth, which meant that his imprisonment methods were far greater!

 Chapter 3451 Devil Soul-sucking Spear

    In his shock, the Evil God was about to move away.


    Just as Mount said, the surrounding space remained stationary as though the Space Law had no effect on it.


    "Go to hell!"


    The Evil God''s eyes flashed with the killing intent¡ªhe did not waste any time attacking Mount with all his strength.


    The Snake Goddess'' countless shadows formed energy beams that rushed straight toward Mount.


    But before they touched him, he managed to turn himself into a shadow and disappear before the Evil God''s eyes.


    With Mount''s current strength, it was a little difficult to make use of the Hypercube Imprisonment¡ªit was stronger than the cube in which Yan was imprisoned earlier, but it took some time to employ it.


    To pave the way for the prison, he peeled off the space fragments. It was unrealistic to use those fragments to kill the Evil God.


    After taking the Evil God''s first round of attack, Mount finally had a chance to fight back.


    Buzz¡­


    After Mount used the spatial transference, he appeared on the other side. Only a hundred feet away from the Evil God, Mount stared him down indifferently.


    Now that he was imprisoned, the Evil God''s face was twisted. He tried throwing a punch at his captor.


    Bang!


    The power from the punch was extremely terrifying.


    But his fist met a transparent wall.


    The energy beams stored within the shadows of Snake Goddess were scattered, forming an intense whirlpool of energy. It bounced back against the wall and surged everywhere. No energy could spread out from the cube. As it circulated, it outlined the entire cube.


    A red ferocity filled the Evil God''s eyes as he continued punching the barrier to no avail. The rampant energy scraped against his body but the cube remained motionless.


    Mount''s expression was steady-calm as he looked at the Evil God. His eyes were on the latter like he was merely watching a performance from a distance.


    The scene made the other races sigh in relief.


    The mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits remained their goal¡ªno one wanted to face the sudden appearance of the Evil God.


    Locking up the monster was beneficial.


    The Ear Mo


    od.


    Those who could take the spear as a weapon were no less powerful than dragons. They held great intention to kill their enemies in a single strike.


    Khalid''s Other Shore Token was a skull called the ''Heavenly Fiend Skull''. At all times, it was stored in the Heavenly Fiend Temple situated within Stage Thirteen.


    The Heavenly Fiend Temple was an extremely powerful one, and no one even knew how many creatures had died there.


    Every creature to perish there was absorbed by the Heavenly Fiend Skull.


    The Bearing race had paid a hefty price to get their hands on the token. In the end, it fell into Khalid''s hands.


    Khalid''s blow nearly exhausted all its power, and his physical body had also reached its limit.


    "Swish!"


    The moment the tip of the spear cut through air, countless shadows of skulls in the surging spear radiance began whining.


    Meanwhile, the black snakes continued flying over. They turned into figures of the Evil God, standing in a row as defense against the spear radiance.


    "Plop! Plop! Plop..."


    How could they resist Khalid''s attack?


    The very moment the spear radiance pierced these figures, they exploded.


    But the black energy didn''t disappear. Like a bunch of maggots, it continued gnawing at the spear radiance.


    As the spear radiance penetrated the Evil God''s figures, the bright white spear radiance grew dark, and even the spear''s sharp tip was contaminated.

 Chapter 3452 Remove The Abacus

    When the spear radiance reached the Evil God''s real body, the power was practically negligible¡ªhe remained unharmed.


    At the scene, Mount frowned. "Can you launch a second strike with your spear?"


    Khalid''s swollen body returned to its original shape, his face looking grim.


    His injuries were bad and he had exerted all his strength into launching the strike. How could he launch another in his current state?


    "It''s my turn now."


    From the cage formed by the Hypercube Imprisonment, the Evil God smirked. Once again, the black energy turned into four-legged snakes and rushed to him.


    Unable to penetrate the imprisonment, they clung to the surface and wrapped around it tightly, simultaneously gnawing at the barrier.


    Khalid''s eyes twitched as he watched the scene. "Can these snakes bite open the cage?"


    "Maybe," Mount replied.


    "Then I''d better run away¡­"


    Khalid didn''t want to die in the hands of the Evil God.


    In his hand, he already held over two hundred Chaotic Source Spirits¡ªenough for him to reach the Chaotic Source Realm once he fused with them. Then, he''d be sent out naturally.


    A small section of warriors had already merged with the crystals, and they were released from the Chaotic Source World afterwards.


    But there were still a large number of people who hadn''t gathered enough crystals¡ªthey could only expect to get a good share from the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits.


    Whoosh!


    In a flash, Khalid''s figure rushed toward the array.


    Watching Khalid run, Mount shook his head helplessly. What a good-for-nothing guy, he thought.


    But the Divine Farmer race and Bearing race were only allies¡ªMount had no right to stop him.


    He and Khalid were not on the same page.


    Mount was merely a passer-by in the Chaotic Source World, after all. He wanted to avoid making any enemies out of the people there.


    The Evil God''s cruel and violent deeds shouldn''t have had anything to do with Mount. But the former had killed Mya¡ªthat made it Mount''s business.


    Seeing that the Evil God was temporarily sealed, everyone turned to the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits.


    It was their only chance to kil


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    re walking up to the golden abacus beside Mount and said, "I hope you can keep your promise about asking the powerful being to release Zen."


    "I will." Mount nodded.


    "And..." Pointing a finger to the air, Chaim continued, "Beat him up!"


    "I will," said the other with an easy smile.


    Enemies and standpoints were ever-changing.


    The situation was shifting, along with the friends and foes.


    The moment Chaim took off the golden abacus, Mount flew backward, turning into an enormous roc. Once again, he was filled with vigorous energy as he emitted a strong, steady aura.


    When the Evil God broke out of the Hypercube Imprisonment, he saw how greatly Mount''s momentum increased. A strange look crossed his eyes, which was then replaced by a strong fighting spirit. Once the blood power was activated all over his body, the two started fighting fiercely again.


    The two fought in the air for a while, disappearing and fighting head-on at times.


    Leading the warriors and disciples, Chaim and Yan joined the group fighting the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits.


    By this time, the mother''s speed had been greatly reduced.


    She didn''t look hurt, but her energy coming from tens of thousands of crystals was nearly depleted.


    At the very least, two-thirds had been exhausted.


    She had no way to escape¡ªshe could only counterattack in vain and allow the powerful warriors to shower their attacks onto her huge body.

 Chapter 3453 A Tremendous Change

    With the Oneness Sky Palace and Pear Hill joining the attack, naturally, the Separate Abyss race and the other large races grew vigilant. However, they knew that this would also accelerate the process of exhausting the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits.


    Just as everyone was concentrated on fierce attacks, they suddenly heard the sound of something falling from the sky at a great velocity.


    As they turned to look at where the sound was coming from, a figure landed onto the ground, with an impact so great that a crater formed around him.


    To their horror, the figure lying motionless at the center of the crater was Mount.


    "Mount lost so quickly?!"


    "Is the Evil God really that powerful?"


    Everyone turned to look at the sky. The Evil God still floated there arrogantly, with the shadow of Snake Goddess behind him.


    Huge wounds covered his body. It seemed Mount had injured him seriously.


    Alas, that didn''t matter. Under the protection of several kinds of special bloodlines, the wounds started to heal instantly.


    Mount, on the other hand, was in a much worse condition. He was nearly split in half. On his face was a stunned expression, as he stared at the Evil God in the sky.


    He hadn''t expected that the Evil God had a strategy to defeat him.


    The Evil God looked down at Mount, gloating. Slowly, he descended from the air. "I''m satisfied with your bloodline, so just stay here in my world..."


    To the Evil God, Mount had been the biggest obstacle.


    If Mount died in his world, he could acquire Mount''s bloodline theurgy permanently.


    With it, killing the rest of the people would be a breeze.


    "This is bad..."


    Chaim watched uneasily.


    Although the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits was on the verge of death, the Evil God might not give them time to finish her now.


    Chaim wasn''t alone in his worry. The members of the other super forces and races were stunned and anxious as well. They were hoping to defeat the mother once and for all. However, it seemed the Evil God wouldn''t give them the chance.


    Just as the Evil God was slowly descending, a space in the atmosphere not far from him suddenly distorted and fluctuated. Suddenly, a figure stumbled out of the space wave.


    The moment Zen emerged from the space wave, he surveyed


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    of these people were employed at the same time, and that the bloodline theurgy of Mount was especially formidable.


    He gritted his teeth.


    Zen never would''ve expected that he would encounter such difficulty the moment he returned from the deleted space.


    Having failed to strike Zen, the Evil God vanished once more.


    Just then, Mount, who was lying motionless on the ground, suddenly came back to his senses. Gathering his wits, he teleported out of this strange world.


    As Mount moved outside of the world, the Evil God suddenly rushed out of the void. As they locked eyes, Mount smiled slyly at him.


    The Evil God furrowed his brows in fury. He could only acquire Mount''s power if he killed him in this world!


    The Evil God had killed Mya in order to enrage Mount to a point of recklessly attacking him without escaping even when he knew it was in vain.


    Everything was going according to plan, so he only needed to land one last blow and Mount would''ve died on the spot.


    He never expected Zen would return out of nowhere, and was momentarily distracted.


    With the help of the spatial transference, he thought it would be easy for him to launch a sneak attack on Zen.


    However, he didn''t think that Mount would escape as he shifted his focus on Zen.


    The bloodline theurgy of Mount also disappeared from the body of the Evil God, along with the ability to use the spatial transference. Consequently, the Evil God was restricted by the Chaotic Source World and was kicked out of the space channel.

 Chapter 3454 Absorb

    Zen was slightly taken aback when seeing the Evil God fall out from the space channel. Then, Chaim sent him a message using the life vitality. "Zen," he said, "he can use the blood theurgy of anyone in this world, but once a warrior leaves, he can no longer use the blood theurgy of that warrior!"


    Since Mount had moved outside of the world using spatial transference, Zen immediately understood everything.


    "It''s a pity that you lost a bloodline theurgy as soon as I appeared. Moreover, it is the truth-level theurgy of a Chaos Ancient God," Zen said with a smile.


    The Evil God''s eyes narrowed.


    So, it turned out Mount carried the blood of a Chaos Ancient God. No wonder his blood theurgy was so powerful!


    Shera had once introduced the many powerful masters of this world to him.


    Those Chaos Ancient Gods she told him were the founders of the entire chaos and they were the most powerful beings!


    No wonder Mount''s blood theurgy could easily break the restriction of the Chaotic Source World. Now that he lost such a priceless bloodline theurgy, he clenched his fists tightly with regret.


    "Indeed, it''s a pity," the Evil God sighed, then straightened up. "I''ll just redeem it with your life!"


    In the Evil God''s eyes, Zen kept countless secrets.


    After all, he was a creature born in Zen''s inner world. If he managed to control his own master, it''d be an incredible feat.


    Buzz...


    The shadow of Snake Goddess flashed behind the Evil God and he flew towards Zen at lightning speed.


    Zen promptly flew backward, in what looked like an attempt to evade the approaching Evil God.


    Even though the Evil God couldn''t use the spatial transference now, the bloodline theurgies he had now were still difficult to deal with! In the blink of an eye, the Evil God closed in on Zen.


    The blood red shadow of the Snake Goddess swept over Zen, poised to strike. However, to the Evil God''s surprise, Zen didn''t retreat this time. He passed through the energy streams and reached behind the Evil God with unimaginable agility. Then, Zen drew his long sword.


    Although Zen moved extremely fast, the Evil God reacted just as quickly. With three heads and six arms, he didn''t even need to turn around. The Evil God''s hands clenched into fists and swung at Zen.


    "Buzz..."


    Suddenly, Zen''s eyes flashed a menacing red. At the sight of this, a trace of fear welled up within the Evil God.


    The Evi


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    ld do any harm to them.


    However, these mosquitoes were quite unintelligent, and acted only on instinct. The White Myth race needed only to extend their hands to activate the whirlpools, then the mosquitoes would be sucked into their inner worlds.


    As they were the creators of their own inner worlds, they could do anything they wanted. In their inner world, it was a piece of cake for them to kill off the mosquitoes.


    However, there was a catch to the bloodline theurgy of the White Myth race, which had something to do with the weakness of their inner worlds. If they tried to suck in an intelligent creature, the creature needed to willingly accept in order for them to enter their inner world.


    For example, when Zen tried to suck No. 9527 into his inner world, it would only be successful if No. 9527 didn''t resist.


    If one showed the littlest bit of resistance, they would not be pulled into the inner world of the other party.


    As a result, this trick was only useful with unintelligent or even dead creatures; in actual combat, it was rendered useless.


    However, in the case of the Evil God and Zen, the situation was different.


    Since Zen and the Evil God came from the same origin, the two of them didn''t have the slightest rejection to each other.


    At the entrance to the Chaotic Source World, Dorothy had reminded Zen that the Evil God could be used as an Inner-world Generating Avatar for him, because there was no rejection between them.


    Consequently, this worked vice versa. If the Evil God was strong enough, he could easily refine Zen into an Inner-world Generating Avatar!

 Chapter 3455 The Endless Restoring Method

    Something infinitely more complicated was taking place.


    Using the bloodline theurgy of the White Myth race, the Evil God was now trying to pull Zen into his own inner world. Since he had previously belonged in Zen''s inner world, there would be no rejection between them. The Evil God would be able to pull Zen in with no problems.


    Theoretically speaking, the Evil God''s inner world also belonged to Zen but, since he avoided the restraint of the Rebirth Land, Zen could no longer sense nor control him.


    Once pulled into the Evil God''s inner world, Zen would then be at his mercy and might even get refined into an Inner-world Generating Avatar.


    Dorothy quickly sent him a message through life vitality. "Don''t let yourself get pulled into the vortex!" she pleaded. "That leads to his inner world! If you get sucked in... You''ll get trapped and end up in big trouble!"


    Her warning greatly alarmed Zen who now realized the true gravity of his situation. He immediately tried to distance himself from his opponent in order to avoid getting sucked into the vortex.


    Unfortunately for him, just as he was about to move, a transparent film of light appeared out of nowhere and enveloped him like a net.


    "It''s the Moon Spirit race''s bloodline theurgy!"


    The sight was quite a shock for members of the Moon Spirit race in the core area.


    As a small race, most viewed their bloodline theurgy as useless and without value. However, it worked extremely well when the Evil God used it in combination with his other skills.


    There was no escaping the light film, it was airtight and could not be destroyed through physical means. There was also no way for Zen to use the Wing King''s feather that he had been relying on to improve his bodily movement skill. Zen had no choice but to weakly struggle against the Evil God''s three arms that were quickly pulling him towards the vortex.


    "I need to help him!"


    Yan exclaimed, unable to stand by the sidelines any longer. She stamped her foot and flew towards her brother.


    It wasn''t just her. Dorothy and Elvinia, without the slightest hesitation, also jumped into the air and followed after Yan.


    They had chosen to not get involved during the battle between the Evil God and Mount. One, they knew how powerful the Evil God was and going against him recklessly would be unwise, and two, it didn''t really have anything to do with them. It was a different story now


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    the Chaotic Source World, also sported an equally bewildered look on his face.


    He felt that it was increasingly becoming difficult to see through Zen.


    "The Truths of Godly Ways are known to be the paths that lead to the Other Shore. After the Truth of Powerful Holy Body was banned, only twelve remained. Zen''s aura resembles a truth aura so much. Where exactly did he cultivate this new Truth of Godly Way? Or am I wrong?"


    He''d never witnessed such a strange phenomenon and thus didn''t know what to make of it.


    There was no way for Fuxi to know how Zen learned such a method. The young man was gone for less than five minutes after being exiled by Mount so how did he learn so much in just a short period of time?


    Fuxi was the Human Sovereign, second only to the Chaos Ancient Gods.


    However, not even he knew all the secrets of the chaos.


    Meanwhile, the battle between Zen and the Evil God continued on. Zen turned around and shot out a blue beam of light towards his opponent.


    Caught off-guard, the blue light pierced through the Evil God''s body, leaving a hole in his chest.


    Fortunately for him, the flesh around his injury wriggled and quickly closed the hole.


    Zen''s attack had been powerful but nowhere near enough to kill him.


    Of course, Zen never expected to eliminate his opponent with one hit. Having delivered his attack, Zen took advantage of the Evil God''s momentary shock and distanced himself from him.


    The golden opportunity for the Evil God to defeat his creator quickly slipped away. Zen had shown his trick and managed to turn the tables at the critical moment.

 Chapter 3456 Reinforcement

    The Evil God''s face became serious as the black energy surrounding him turned into a pair of large wings. With a flap of his wings, he rushed towards Zen at lightning speed.


    However, his wings were not a match compared to the Wing King''s feather.


    As a result, the Evil God was evident to be lower in level in terms of speed and bodily movement skills.


    Zen''s fingertips were surrounded by three different colored energies. As soon as the Evil God approached him, he would just calmly and smoothly dodge the attacks while shooting back the three energies from different angles.


    The Truth of Three-Energy Construction was a kind of theurgy used to create various things. Considering its pure energy, it was much stronger than the other Truths of Godly Ways. Its power could be proved through the fact that Zen was restrained by a group of little monsters as soon as he entered King Manard''s space.


    The Evil God continued chasing Zen in the air for a while. However, instead of catching Zen, the Evil God was just pierced through by the three energies from time to time.


    If not for his current special constitution that allowed his body to recover in an instant, he would have been crushed to pieces already.


    After realizing that chasing Zen would do him no good, the Evil God finally stopped. He landed on the ground and stared at Zen with disdain.


    ''It can''t go on like this. I will just exhaust myself and will accomplish nothing, '' he thought.


    "My creator, won''t you dare to fight me fair and square?" the Evil God asked as he gave a slight shudder.


    Then, the shadow of Snake Goddess vanished from his back, together with the heads and arms. Soon after, the Mighty Golden Body covering his entire body also disappeared.


    With this, he abandoned all his bloodline theurgies.


    Zen stayed in the air and took the cyan feather over his head with his hand. He lightly brushed it and replied, "What do you mean by fighting you fair and square? This is the ability that the Other Shore Token gave me. Is it my fault that I possess a mighty token?"


    The Evil God smiled coldly, and his voice suddenly changed. "In that case, let me show you the true horror of this world."


    Immediately, the energy flow of the world began to accelerate.


    The black energy turned into thick clouds and gathered above the Evil God''s head. It was as if a huge abyss was being created.


    Then the gathering energy turned into flashes of black lightning that lashed directl


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    and they just wanted to see for themselves who was stronger between Zen and the Evil God.


    On the other hand, the leaders from the Oneness Sky Palace, including Athemar and Winchell, were more nervous.


    They had known that Zen and the Evil God would engage in a fierce battle, but they never thought that it would escalate to this degree.


    The three women didn''t return after Mount sent them away from the center of the battlefield.


    Facing the Evil God reinforced by the black lightning, the Civilization Artifact within Zen''s inner world gradually emerged. As he held it in the air, a cyan-colored chessboard appeared in his hand.


    "Crack!"


    Zen reached out his hand and gently swept the board. A chess piece surfaced and a jade sculpture materialized beside him.


    "What is that strange sculpture? Is it an Other Shore Token of the descending type?"


    "I don''t think that sculpture contains that much power."


    "I agree with you. I''ll bet that it wouldn''t even withstand a single blow from me!"


    Everyone couldn''t help but shake their heads as they saw Zen released the jade sculpture.


    They wondered if Zen had no other powerful skill to summon.


    "His Strength God Totem is even stronger than this one. Why did he let this one descend?" Dorothy mumbled with a puzzled expression on her face.


    "What is he trying to do?" Yan asked curiously as she lightly scratched her head.


    When Elvinia saw the Regal Jade chessboard, her eyes widened. Among all the people that were currently present, only she knew about the true power of the chessboard.


    Every time a sculpture landed, its strength would increase little by little.

 Chapter 3457 The Inheritance Of World

    Back in the Phoenix Palace when Zen fought Chance who was at the Chaotic Source Realm, Zen had only used these sculptures to defeat him.


    Theoretically, these sculptures could also defeat the Evil God if they grew to become extremely powerful.


    But most people who were present didn''t know about this. They were puzzled.


    With one gentle stroke of Zen''s hand over the Regal Jade chessboard, the second Regal Jade sculpture also descended, followed by the third, the fourth, and the fifth.


    The force of every Regal Jade sculpture had increased by a hundred or so divine megatons compared to the previous one, its size and toughness also multiplying astronomically.


    In just a few seconds, Zen had more than a dozen Regal Jade sculptures around him.


    The increase in the power of the Regal Jade sculptures followed a regular pattern. The fourteenth jade statue already had a force of a thousand divine megatons, which was equivalent to the strength of the weakest Chaotic Source Realm warriors. But this statue wouldn''t suffice to fight against a Chaotic Source Realm warrior, and it was even no match for warriors like Dorothy or Elvinia.


    The whirlpool in the sky finally disappeared only after Zen had summoned twenty Regal Jade sculptures.


    The Evil God''s body was pitch black from head to toe, as if made of black steel.


    His body emanated a strong aura, and his height had more than doubled. A row of black spikes extended from his shoulders, like the fangs of a monster.


    "This is the first time I''ve used the Inheritance of World. You should feel honored," the Evil God said as he looked down at Zen.


    "What is the Inheritance of World?"


    "I don''t know. All I know is that the Other Shore Tokens that can summon a world to descend are all terrifying!"


    "With the Evil God''s current strength, he could kill many powerful warriors at the Chaotic Source Realm in an instant."


    Many warriors from various races gulped in terror as they watched the Evil God transform.


    They had had great hope of reaching the Chaotic Source Realm. But the Evil God had enough strength to defeat all the Chaotic Source Realm warriors at once. They had never felt so discouraged.


    Zen held up the Regal Jade chessboard in one hand, his other hand hovering over the chess pieces.


    He gave a gentle push and all the Regal Jade sculptures came to life. Without any hesitation, they made for the Evil God.


    Th


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    that using this way cost too many divine crystals.


    Summoning all these Regal Jade sculptures would cost an astronomical number of the divine crystals.


    The Evil God could see Zen''s intentions, but he didn''t care. Instead, he just satisfied him and showed him what he could do.


    He wanted Zen to understand that no matter how much he struggled, it was all pointless. He was destined to be absorbed by the Evil God and integrated with him. The Evil God meant to destroy Zen''s confidence first.


    The Evil God once again destroyed the Regal Jade sculptures that Zen had sent at him.


    But this time, it took the Evil God considerable effort to do it. He had to punch every sculpture to smash them into pieces. He sneered maliciously at Zen as he said, "It''s impressive but still not enough to hurt me!"


    Then came the fifth batch...


    The sixth batch...


    Each time, the sculptures came with increased strength. It would become more and more difficult for the Evil God to deal with them.


    When the seventh batch of sculptures came to attack him, the Evil God began to take caution.


    Bang!


    This time, the Evil God was unable to break the sculpture with his punch. Not even a crack appeared on its surface.


    "These sculptures could be my worthy opponents, if only in terms of force. But unfortunately..."


    He suddenly stretched out his hands, black bone blades extending from his arms. In a flash of movement, he rushed towards the first sculpture. Nobody knew what the bone blades were made of, but they cut through the tough Regal Jade sculpture as if cutting through a piece of tender flesh.

 Chapter 3458 The Difference In Strength

    "Crack! Crack! Crack"


    There were a few faint cracking sounds, before the statues were decapitated in just a few seconds.


    In turn, Mount had gotten even more perplexed at the sight of it.


    He couldn''t resist those Regal Jade statues even in his best condition. He would choose to exile them, if it were him fighting with Zen.


    Mount''s failure could be attributed to his Other Shore Tokens.


    Since his bloodline was strong, he didn''t have to rely on the Other Shore Tokens very much.


    The several Other Shore Tokens he possessed were of strengthening type, and he used them just for their Other Shore Power.


    However, the Other Shore had experienced countless rounds of chaos. As a result, the Other Shore had obtained too many resources, various kinds of methods, and incredible skills as time passed.


    So no matter how powerful Mount was, there was nothing he could do when he was bound by Chaim''s abacus.


    On the other hand, the Other Shore Token that the Evil God had merged with should represent a civilization. Otherwise, it was impossible for such a world to descend.


    "The Evil God was able to find a civilization to back him up, which was a great opportunity. Zen, just throw in the towel..." Mount murmured.


    After the Evil God had destroyed the seventh group of Regal Jade statues, there was only one statue left beside Zen. It was the eighty-first statue.


    The eightieth statue possessed 8, 000 divine megatons of power, and the eighty-first statue possessed 8, 100 divine megatons of power. There was just a very small difference between the two.


    A moment ago, the Evil God had destroyed ten statues at a time, and to deal with the last one would just be a piece of cake for him.


    The Evil God hovered in the air at a slow, leisurely pace. He was only over a hundred feet away from Zen. "Do you really just have such small, pathetic amount of power and such little tricks to fight me? I never take pity on the weak. If your remaining trump card is only this chessboard, I will not even be interested in merging with you..."


    he said and mentally sighed.


    Zen had once been the Creator to him, who was omnipotent. The Evil God used to kneel down before him and even look up to him.


    Unconsciously, he had completely surpassed him. As the Evil God looked down on Zen, he felt that Zen was incomparably weak and could not withstand a single blow.


    ow, the Evil God was not a powerful warrior of the Chaotic Source Realm; but there still wasn''t a flaw that could be found on him, which made no sense.


    ''Is he indestructible in this strangely-colored world?''


    "Swish! Swish! Swish!"


    The Evil God didn''t care what Zen thought, and attacked him again.


    When the black bone blades brushed past Zen once more, a layer of dark color suddenly emerged on his hand. It turned out that he protected his right hand with the Shade Stone liquid, and gently stroked the Evil God''s bone blades right after.


    "Endless Restoring Method!"


    What Zen did was that he tried to disintegrate the bone blades.


    When he made use of the theurgy of Truth of Three-Energy Construction, however, the black bone blades unexpectedly stayed unmoved!


    The Endless Restoring Method was not able to disintegrate all materials. Furthermore, Zen''s current ability only allowed him to break ordinary solid objects, and these black bone blades were clearly strong to a horrible extent. Zen could not shatter them.


    In return, the strong force eroded Zen''s right hand the moment he touched the bone blades. His right arm grew numb even under the protection of the Shade Stone liquid.


    While Zen was a little distracted, the Evil God quickly waved his hands and the bone blades rushed towards Zen''s head. The black light under the high-speed spinning movement almost turned into a black flower.


    The flower caged Zen. After he floated up and down inside it for a while, he was finally forced into a hopeless situation, and there was no room for him to dodge.

 Chapter 3459 So Do I

    "Bang!"


    The Evil God stomped right onto Zen''s chest.


    It was such a big blow that Zen fell down from the sky like a shooting star.


    Boom!


    He came crashing to the ground, marking the earth with a crater of around ten thousand feet in diameter.


    ''Zen is helpless too.''


    Mount took a look at Zen who was defeated on the ground. He had expected this to happen.


    On the other hand, Mount was shocked that Zen had returned after being exiled.


    However, the power that Zen had displayed proved to be insufficient to go against the Evil God.


    Meanwhile, the statues that descended from the Regal Jade chessboard were powerful, but they would just trouble Mount a bit and he could still deal with them, let alone the Evil God who was more powerful.


    Even most of the powerful warriors at the Chaotic Source Realm were no match for the Evil God now.


    At the sight of this, Yan couldn''t stand it anymore.


    As she was about to take a step forward and help Zen, a hand stretched from behind her and dragged her away.


    To her surprise, it was Dorothy.


    "You are no match for the Evil God," Dorothy said.


    Yan was displeased hearing this, "And you think you''re a match?!"


    "Neither am I," Dorothy responded, "but I can kill him."


    As she spoke, she released Yan and made her way towards Zen.


    Everyone who heard their words was in shock. How could Dorothy claim to be able to kill the Evil God, when Zen couldn''t?


    However, from the look on Dorothy''s face, they could tell that she was pretty convinced with herself.


    "Boring fight."


    Suddenly, the Evil God stretched out his black hand, and the bloodline power of the White Myth race returned to his body. Just then, the whirlpool in his hand opened for the second time.


    Although the Evil God mentioned that he had no interest in Zen, he wanted to know Zen''s secrets. Lucky for him, as they came from the same origin, he could just absorb Zen easily.


    As the Evil God descended gracefully down to the crater, Dorothy flew over from afar, shouting, "Stay away from Zen!"


    The Evil God heard it, but was not threatened one bit. The female talents were worthless in his eyes - they were too weak. With a flick of a


    ter. "Stop, Dorothy."


    Dorothy''s eyes flashed. It was Zen. Seeing Zen crawl up from the bottom of the crater, she fell into ecstasy, her gloomy eyes flashing with excitement and pleasure. "Zen! Are you okay?"


    "You didn''t give the Heart of Accomplice to the Origin Mountain, did you?" Zen asked, his face was serious and unmoving.


    Dorothy lowered her sight looking down on the ground. "Yeah." She had lied to Zen about this, and she couldn''t help but feel guilty for it.


    "This is not the Other Shore Token that you should bear," Zen scolded. "Withdraw the Heart of Accomplice and go back this instant!"


    "But you..." Dorothy spoke back very anxiously, refusing to give up on what she had just done.


    The Evil God only had a life. If he wanted to keep it, he would make sure to listen. She thought this was the best plan.


    "Don''t you want to sacrifice her to save everyone here?" the Evil God teased, not missing any opportunity to provoke Zen.


    Zen turned around and looked at him coldly. "It seems that the Heart of Accomplice frightens you, and though I would love to see you squirm, this isn''t worth it." Zen stared right at him. "We don''t need to sacrifice anyone to defeat you."


    As soon as he finished speaking, a bright ray of cyan light burst from the top of his head.


    The Civilization Artifact appeared above Zen''s head, spinning continuously.


    Zen''s voice spread out like wildfire. "You have the Inheritance of World, so do I!"

 Chapter 3460 The Inheritance Of The Regal Jade World

    The cyan light spread out from Zen and mixed in with the strangely-colored world summoned by the Evil God. Soon enough, the area started to change.


    The rough, brownish-yellow ground became extremely smooth, and it seemed that a layer of emerald green glaze covered its surface. The Regal Jade Crystals were like precious ores as they grew and formed jade flowers.


    The strangely-colored world was shone brightly by the cyan light, which made the space more strange and unique, and possess a peculiar clean feel to it.


    A second world had descended! The two different worlds merged together!


    Everyone present were stunned as they looked around with awe in their faces.


    "Another world?"


    "This is too crazy! Did Zen make this?"


    "Is Zen also the spokesperson of a civilization?"


    Even the leaders at the gate of the Chaotic Source World were also speechless and dumbfounded.


    After all, the current situation in the Chaotic Source World was completely beyond their imagination.


    Everyone should be able to exert their own abilities to dig out the Chaotic Source Spirits, and then reach the Chaotic Source Realm.


    Yet at that moment, everyone''s attention was not on the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits, but on Zen and the Evil God.


    When Winchell saw the cyan light shine brightly and the world descend, he felt slightly relieved.


    If Dorothy had really died in the Chaotic Source World, then a storm would arise on the Origin Mountain. Given Yasamin''s strong-headed attitude, it was very likely that she would hunt the Black Ship on her own.


    "What a surprise!" As soon as Fuxi saw the cyan light world as well, his lips stretched into a helpless smile. "It seems that in addition to Gerald, there is another civilization that has chosen you. I wonder where this civilization ranks," he murmured to himself.


    Generally speaking, there were a lot of civilizations that hid on the Other Shore. Some of them were strong, and some were weak. All of them were vastly different from each other.


    The civilizations ranked outside the top 100 were weaker, and those ranked far behind were quite frail. However, undoubtedly, the top 100 civilizations were quite powerful.


    The Regal Jade Civilization hadn''t left many footprints on the Other Shore, and even their Re


    as well.


    With the support of the Regal Jade World, Zen was indeed able to contend with the Evil God.


    To defeat the Evil God, however, he had to use the Inheritance of World.


    Now, Zen was unwilling to waste his time either.


    As the light circles converged, his body had undergone considerable changes.


    First, his eyebrows glittered with dark cyan crystals, then so did his hair, skin, and flesh.


    The Inheritance of World entailed changing oneself completely by the use of the power of the descended world.


    While Zen endured the baptism of cyan light circles, his entire body became thoroughly crystalized!


    Cyan feathers grew from his back one after another. He slightly opened his eyes, and diamond-shaped crystals also appeared in his pupils.


    At that moment, his aura had also undergone a tremendous change. Apart from his appearance that was still fifty percent similar to his original look, everything else was different. His voice, breath, and the characteristics that defined him all disappeared!


    Splash!


    He shook his body slightly, then the crystals wrapped around him shattered.


    His dark cyan feathers rose slightly, which made him glide freely in midair as if he had integrated himself with the space.


    The members of the Separate Abyss race, the Ear Mice, and disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace and the Pear Hill could only look up at him in silence.


    "Is he Yan''s brother?! The way Yan described his strength is an understatement!" exclaimed Natalie, whose jaw dropped in shock.

 Chapter 3461 Sealing Energy

    Natalie remembered Yan often talking about how powerful her brother was. But she figured that Yan was exaggerating as she bragged¡ªit was natural for young girls to admire their older brothers, after all. But once she met Zen herself, she realized how wrong she was. Among the Pear Hill warriors of the younger generation, Natalie couldn''t think of a single one who could dream of contending against Zen.


    Now, it seemed as though Yan was even being too modest when she described her brother.


    Forgetting about the younger generation¡­


    Even the seniors who had already reached the Chaotic Source Realm and the Desire World couldn''t fight against him.


    The Evil God gazed at the crystal Zen as he would gaze at a lover. "Very good¡­ I like it¡­"


    In the next moment, he had his hands crossed. Black spikes began spreading out of his figure until his entire body spiraled up into a black cyclone.


    Phew!


    The cyclone shook gently.


    It was as though an enormous hand had drawn a black line in the sky, sweeping right past Zen''s body.


    It was such a rapid movement that no one even caught the motion with their bare eyes.


    Zen didn''t move an inch, but his crystallized arm was broken in a second.


    A thousand feet behind Zen, the Evil God halted. He grabbed Zen''s severed hand and gnawed at it. The cyan crystal was hard and crisp, making crackling noises as the Evil God bored his teeth into it. Soon, he had swallowed it completely.


    "Tastes good," the Evil God clasped his hands in satisfaction, and the crystal fragments fell to the ground.


    For a second, Zen''s eyes widened in surprise. The Evil God''s speed suddenly erupted, indicating that he hadn''t been using his full strength earlier.


    "What an amazing speed¡­" As Zen muttered, he could feel his body tremble while a cyan arm grew out of his broken limb.


    "Thank you for your praise! Let me show you once again! This time, it''ll be your head."


    The Evil God mocked Zen menacingly before he turned into another black cyclone.


    Once again, a thin, black line swept across the sky and through Zen''s body.


    No one could see either of the opponents'' movements clearly. All they caught was Zen shaking slightly in the air. When the Evil God


    e the energy and use it again. But you can seal that energy," the Regal Jade Spirit explained.


    Zen''s eyes flashed with excitement¡ªhe now got to the crux of the matter.


    If he didn''t deal with the broken limbs of the Evil God, the latter could easily gain his energy back. That would have made the fight endless.


    When the Evil God tried attacking again, Zen merely ripped off one of his legs.


    This time, he threw the limb to the ground, where a Regal Jade Crystal suddenly sprouted. The crystal''s surface was like chalcedony, wrapping up the Evil God''s severed leg.


    The limb couldn''t dissipate¡ªit was now like an insect wrapped in amber, sealed forever.


    Seeing that, the Evil God frowned. Without giving it another thought, he charged at Zen once again.


    Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh¡­


    As their fight went on, Zen won more than he lost.


    Crystals were growing everywhere from the ground. Within them, there were the arms, legs and all other parts of the Evil God''s body.


    After a moment, over a hundred broken body parts were sealed in crystals. It was an extremely strange sight to behold.


    Energy from the severed body parts of the Evil God couldn''t be recycled.


    Initially, he was over ten feet high. But after using his energy to regenerate his body parts over and over again, his enormous body began shrinking foot by foot.


    There was no doubt that the Evil God was still extremely ferocious, but he had shrunk down to the size of an ordinary child.

 Chapter 3462 Eternal Annihilation

    "The Evil God''s body is getting smaller!"


    "Zen has sealed his limbs! He''s unable to take them back!"


    "Keep this up and the Evil God is bound to lose!"


    There was a faint smile even on Mount''s face. He was finally witnessing the defeat of the Evil God.


    Zen''s method was not ingenious, but was direct and effective.


    But the Evil God figured it out, too.


    The Evil God''s eyes flashed with a somber black light. As he once again charged toward Zen, his direction suddenly changed. He now bore down in a vertical downward arc, aiming straight for his severed limbs!


    By smashing those damn Regal Jade Crystals, he would be able to turn his limbs into energy that would evaporate into the surroundings and integrate into his own body.


    But Zen had already expected this move when he had sealed the limbs. He wasn''t about to let the Evil God have his way.


    Scratch! Scratch! Scratch!


    The Regal Jade Crystals rapidly rose from the ground like long and narrow tubes. The Evil God''s severed limbs and other body parts floated within them. In the blink of an eye, all the crystals and their contents were sent to the edge of the Regal Jade World, scattered equidistantly in all directions.


    The Evil God''s face darkened as he lunged for the arm closest to him.


    The Regal Jade Crystal that contained it flew rapidly, but the Evil God was faster.


    Clang!


    The Regal Jade Crystal shattered in the Evil God''s clutches. As his severed arm broke out, it turned into wisps of black energy and evaporated in the air. The Evil God''s body increased a little in size after.


    But as this happened, Zen appeared near him at an odd angle. Zen waved his hands covered with crystals, and tore off the Evil God''s legs again!


    As the legs were severed, two Regal Jade Crystals lunged like serpents, grabbing the limbs, and speeding away.


    "You!" Rage crossed the Evil God''s face, but it showed a faint hint of fear.


    "Let''s see how small you can get," Zen said with a smile.


    I have no choice but to show you eternal annihilation!"


    Rumble!


    The strangely-colored world began to shake, shattering a great number of the Regal Jade Crystals overlapping it. The destructive aura spread around the whole world, like doomsday had come.


    All this time, the various races had been focused on fighting the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits, ignoring the fight between Zen and the Evil God.


    However, the violent shaking finally caught everyone''s attention. Their expressions changed in an instant.


    Buzz!


    Countless black snakes crawled out from the rippled dark clouds in the sky. They coiled and lunged down, turning into huge meteorites falling down!


    Feeling the power of the meteorites, Zen slit his eyes. "How is that possible? I have consumed most of his energy. But the power of the meteorites is... So incredible!"


    It was impossible to estimate the meteorites'' strength. Zen felt fear shoot instinctively through him.


    What was more horrifying was that there were more than one huge four-legged black snake! More snakes appeared, turning into black meteorites.


    Once these meteorites struck, they were bound to destroy everything in the strangely-colored world.


    "Hahaha!" The Evil God''s laughter rang out across the strangely-colored world. "I like seeing you fear, Zen."

 Chapter 3463 The Burning World

    Just as Zen wondered about the origin of the Evil God''s energy, the Regal Jade Spirit''s voice resounded once again. "Burning an Other Shore Token will produce unimaginable power, and he''s burning the entire world¡­truly powerful."


    "He''s burning the world? He''s crazy!" Zen''s eyes were wide in shock.


    "You didn''t know? He''s a maniac. There''s nothing he can''t do," said the Regal Jade Spirit.


    Zen was well aware of how difficult it was to be the spokesperson of a civilization.


    Among the countless creatures in the Lust World, maybe only he and the Evil God were lucky enough to be such spokespersons.


    A civilization pinned everything on the Evil God but he chose to burn it all to win a fight?


    It was an insane idea!


    "Dorothy, Yan, Elvinia, Chaim¡­ You''d better run away from this world now! Everything will be destroyed!" Zen urgently reminded his companions.


    But he didn''t need to tell them for them to know something was terribly wrong.


    The mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits had even started running toward the edge of the strangely-colored world.


    At this point, the Separate Abyss race and the Ear Mouse race finally gave up their attack on the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits¡ªtheir lives held priority at this critical moment.


    As they approached the world''s edge, a mass of black energy burst like flames. The Regal Jade Crystals were instantly engulfed in the black fire, and a black thread appeared before them.


    "The world is divided?"


    Mount raised his hands to try to move the people from the Oneness Sky Palace and the Pear Hill out of the strangely-colored world.


    It wasn''t out of kindness¡ªhe never planned on changing his position. But Zen had defeated the Evil God, so he was merely returning the favor.


    But as soon as the space channel that was involved with the truth of space was established, it was blocked by a strict black divisive thread.


    Just as Mount gave it another try, another figure appeared nearby¡ªit was none other than Fuxi.


    "My respects, Human Sovereign." Mount bowed to Fuxi.


    The latter snorted in contempt. Mount was merely the avatar of a Chaos Ancient God.


    Fuxi ca


    t of their clansmen had been swept away by the hurricane. Even though they all hurried back, a good portion of them were still outside the core area. So the loss of their races wouldn''t be as great as others''.


    Khalid of the Bearing race, in particular, had already been sent out of the Chaotic Source World¡ªhe had the luxury of watching everything unfold from a distance, away from the chaos. But he also had a lingering fear at the sight of the world burning.


    "Haha!"


    "No one can leave!"


    "Come and taste the great fear of annihilation!"


    The Evil God''s voice echoed throughout the space.


    "Is there no way out?"


    At this point, Zen had grown anxious.


    The first black meteorite fell from the sky, headed for the disciples from Oneness Sky Palace.


    For a moment, the disciples watched the object fall, their faces having gone pale.


    They were all done for if the meteorite hit them.


    "Up!"


    Clenching his hand, Zen conjured up countless Regal Jade Crystals to shield the disciples from the meteorite.


    Although the crystals were extremely solid, they were easily smashed by the black energy of the meteorite, as though they were mere dry weeds on open land.


    With another wave of his hand, Zen made several more crystals grow from the ground, wrapping around the Oneness Sky Palace disciples and pulling them to the side.


    The moment the disciples slid out of range, the meteorite landed on the ground.

 Chapter 3464 Burning The Eye Of Will

    Boom!


    The black meteorite pummeled into the ground with a loud crashing sound. The collision caused the solid ground to spread out like water.


    In the area where the black meteorite fell, there was an array, in which there were some nonhuman creatures.


    They had long given up on fighting for the Chaotic Source Spirits. They just wanted to stay in the array and wait for the end of the activity in the Chaotic Source World. Then they would be sent out of here.


    They thought they were safe since they weren''t involved in the fights anymore. Yet, an undeserved catastrophe had unexpectedly hit them!


    The black meteorite''s fall shocked and smashed the light shield of the array into pieces. In the blink of an eye, the energy had vanished all of the creatures inside.


    Boom!


    It wasn''t long before the second meteorite fell down closely.


    This meteorite brushed past the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits, who had already reached her limit and exhausted ninety percent of the Chaotic Source Spirits in her body. But now all her remaining Chaotic Source Spirits were depleted, even though the meteorite just grazed the back side of her huge body.


    Since she had also lost the protection of the Chaotic Source Spirits, she became extremely fragile. Her feet burst instantly under the impact of the falling meteorite, and then thousands of Chaotic Source Spirits broke out from her wounds.


    If it had been another time, all the talents would probably scramble to grab the Chaotic Source Spirits.


    But now, the world was going to be destroyed. Everyone had to run for their lives. Even the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits was desperately trying to escape from it. Who would care about the Chaotic Source Spirits then?


    Unfortunately, they couldn''t escape from the world''s destruction.


    "What should I do?" Zen whispered.


    "There is only one way," the Regal Jade Spirit replied.


    "Tell me!" Zen urged.


    "Before the whole world is totally burnt, find where the Evil God is and kill him," the Regal Jade Spirit answered.


    "I don''t know where he is!" Naturally, Zen was as anxious as ants on a hot pan.


    "The world he summoned is almost perfect without any flaws. But, the Evil God himself has his own flaws," No. 9527 suddenly spoke. "Use your Sword Texture Technique and the Authentic Visual World, and give it a try."


    He


    intersections of the thin lines were five indistinct spots.


    "These spots are the flaws?"


    Still, Zen couldn''t think of anything else under such a difficult situation.


    Even if the Regal Jade Spirit could help him bear the price of burning the Eye of Will, Zen couldn''t burn it at will as it still had its limits. Moreover, there was a time limit.


    Just then, Zen turned into a beam of cyan light and ruthlessly bombarded the first white spot!


    "Bang!"


    White cracks ruptured from the white spot from the impact of his punch, then the two white lines that were connected to it also dimmed.


    "It worked!" his eyes lit up as he cried out.


    Quickly, he rushed towards another white spot again.


    Meanwhile, the Evil God who hid inside the world cackled wildly. His laughter continued to echo in the world that was being destroyed. Yet, he was also surprised that Zen had actually found the world''s flaws.


    When the Evil God came back to his senses, three black four-legged snakes appeared on the surface of the next white spot. The black snakes quickly turned into three overlapping black crystal shields, and completely covered the spot.


    "Smash!"


    Without a second thought, Zen directly bombarded those black crystal shields.


    "Bang!"


    He smashed the pile of three black crystal shields and destroyed the white spot. Then, he quickly dashed towards the next one!


    Zen didn''t even stop for a moment. In turn, the Evil God hastily gathered energy to protect the next spot. He ended up making six black crystal shields to cover the third white spot.

 Chapter 3465 The Calculation Civilization

    "Shatter!"


    Zen didn''t care how thick the black crystal shields were. He was only aware that time was running tight.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    After several punches, the black crystal shields and the white spot below shattered into pieces.


    "The last one!"


    Zen gritted his teeth. Looking down, he saw that the countless four-legged black snakes had coiled around one another to form an incredibly massive black crystal shield. The interior of this translucent crystal shield presented a complex pattern.


    Narrowing his eyes, he willed the wings on his back to launch himself towards the black crystal shield, arcing gracefully in the air.


    Bang!


    With a violent collision, cracks appeared on the Regal Jade Crystals on the surface of Zen''s body. However, the black crystal shield remained unscathed.


    "Again!"


    Zen jumped high and dashed down toward the black crystal shield once more.


    Bang!


    An ear-piercing crash sounded, but to Zen''s frustration, the black crystal shield still stood firm.


    By burning the world, the Evil God had gathered more energy than Zen did. The black crystal shield he had conjured was made from an unimaginable amount of energy, rendering it practically unbreakable.


    Zen took a deep breath. He knew that if he wanted to destroy this shield, he''d have to burn the Regal Jade World.


    But there was no way the Regal Jade Spirit would allow it, and even Zen wasn''t willing to do it. He was nowhere near as crazy as the Evil God, who burned an entire civilization that had supported him.


    Whoosh!


    Zen jumped high again and kept striking the black crystal shield, over and over again.


    As he crashed into the shield, huge black meteorites fell down, one after another.


    Fortunately, these black meteorites fell relatively slowly-- which gave enough time for those below to dodge. However, upon impact with the ground, they''d release a tidal wave of energy.


    If anyone was hit by the wave of energy, they would definitely be smashed into pieces.


    Screams pierced the air as unfortunate creatures were unable to avoid the waves of energy.


    As another meteorite crash landed, several members from the Separate Abyss race were caught in the wave of energy. Among them was Hamzah, a core


    always creatures who would painstakingly devote their entire lives to studying these things.


    Once, someone had even discovered a unique civilization on the Other Shore. It was known as the Calculation Civilization.


    This civilization could hardly be ranked in the top 1, 000 among all civilizations. It was only considered as a secondary ruling force. In that round of chaos where the Calculation Civilization emerged, there was also another powerful ruling force.


    The Calculation Civilization was actually considered extremely weak in terms of strength. Hence, not long after they had entered the Other Shore, they had grown extinct.


    However, it was this very civilization that had managed to almost complete the Finale Way!


    The methods they had used were quite different from other civilizations''. They didn''t focus all their energy on the Other Shore, and concluded that they wouldn''t be able to complete the Finale Way by merely relying on the Other Shore''s strength.


    In order to complete the Finale Way, one had to understand the nature of the whole chaos. Consequently, one needed to grasp the three essential natures of the chaos: space, time, and energy.


    This civilization had inferred that time and space were transformation forms of the energy in the flowing process, hence, the essence was energy. As long as the energy flow was affected on a higher level, it could rebuild or even destroy everything.


    And the key to achieve this was exactly the Energy Shaft.

 Chapter 3466 Construction And Soaring Snake

    The Calculation Civilization had left some documents alluding to the Energy Shaft. According to them, they had obtained a way to control the Energy Shaft.


    However, just as they were closing in on completing the Finale Way, another ruling force in the chaos attacked them. At last, they failed, ending with regrets.


    But their failure didn''t go unnoticed. The supreme masters from all super forces in the Source World caught wind of this civilization.


    Most of them didn''t take it seriously, thinking the Calculation Civilization was merely talking nonsense. They believed that there was no such thing as a magical Energy Shaft!


    Even so, some super forces took an interest in it, and even designated some manpower and resources to study about it further.


    However, even with countless efforts made, the research was fruitless.


    Nevertheless, the Chaos Ancient God behind Mount had been quite interested in the Energy Shaft. As he wielded the truth of space, he had a natural advantage in understanding space. In fact, at some point, he had even figured out what its prototype would be like.


    It was almost the same as the one that hovered in front of Yan''s forehead, which was why Mount could recognize it instantly. Yet, he was still uncertain. After all, no one had ever confirmed its existence before!


    Suddenly, Yan activated the Energy Shaft. It flashed a bright light, unleashing shreds of peculiar traction force.


    As the Energy Shaft released an intense gravitational pull, the energy of the black meteorites was easily sucked into it.


    While the Energy Shaft might have been weak in form, it could still release a powerful, special energy. With Yan controlling it, it could suck any energy in her surroundings.


    "Slow!"


    Yan spat out the word once more.


    The forces that the Energy Shaft had absorbed blasted out the instant she spoke.


    Buzz...


    The surrounding space seemed to stir, as though time and space were distorting.


    All of a sudden, the energy tides that were charging towards disciples from the Oneness Sky Palace and the Pear Hill became thick and viscous, slowing down.


    Witnessing this, the crowd''s eyes lit up with hope.


    "Let''s go!"


    As the three meteorites fell slowly, the disciples from the Pear Hill and the Oneness Sky Palace weaved their way through.


    However, even though they were putting some distance between them and the falling meteorites, they were still in dang


    ashed through his mind, he infused the Truth of Three-Energy Construction into the Imperial Sword Seal. To his relief, the seal accepted it!


    "Chop!"


    From a distance, Zen wielded his sword and slashed at the black crystal shield below.


    Countless snake shadows emerged, dashing down to the shield. These snakes weren''t entities of energy, but actual flesh and blood.


    "Are these snakes... real?!" Zen''s jaw dropped in shock.


    Because of the sensitive position of the Nine Li race, he didn''t know much about the Soaring Snake Sword, even in the Source World.


    Zen had never expected that the snake within the Soaring Snake Sword would come to life, with a real, physical body, after he infused it with the Truth of Three-Energy Construction!


    The countless snakes flew onto the surface of the black crystal shield and actually melted into the shield!


    After thousands of snakes melted into the black crystal shield, nothing happened for a while. The surface of the shield remained unscathed, and its interior pattern was flickering.


    "It didn''t work?


    Even the Soaring Snake Sword can''t smash open this black crystal shield?"


    The burning light in Zen''s right eye gradually extinguished, and he felt greatly disheartened. If this blow could not break the black crystal shield, he would have a slim chance to kill the Evil God and stop this catastrophe.


    Crack!


    Zen heard a slight sound coming from the black crystal shield. He whipped his head towards the sound.


    A crack appeared on the surface of the black crystal shield, and from it flowed black energy. He had finally penetrated the shield!

 Chapter 3467 The Ending Of The World

    "Has this black crystal shield been restored?"


    Shock was written all over Zen''s face, but it was soon replaced with ecstasy.


    The Truth of Three-Energy Construction was different from the other thirteen Truths of Godly Ways. Not only could it create things, but also restore things to their original forms. Now, it was totally a coincidence for Zen to have poured the Truth of Three-Energy Construction into the Imperial Sword Seal. He never expected for it to work to this extent.


    There were a few continuous sputters as more and more cracks appeared on the surface of the black crystal shield.


    Eventually, it was completely restored to black energy.


    Then, a white spot appeared in front of him.


    Without any hesitation, he slashed at the white spot with his sword.


    Zen felt the whole world tremble as the sword touched the white spot. The ground near him shook for a while before a big crack appeared, from which the Evil God''s real body was ejected out. He feebly lay on the ground as he could not move.


    Meanwhile, Zen observed the Evil God, then walked towards him with the Soaring Snake Sword in his hand. "Everything is really over now," he stated.


    The Evil God looked aghast upon hearing Zen''s words. The truth was punishing him in his inner world since he began to burn the world. There was no reason for him to feel good.


    Even then, he still had the audacity to smile. "You think that killing me is enough to stop the destruction of the world, but in fact nobody can stop it now. I can''t, and you can''t either. Hahaha..." he said lazily.


    "What?!" Zen''s face twisted in fury at what the Evil God said. He quickly decided to consult the Regal Jade Spirit in his mind and asked, "Is it true that the world cannot stop from burning?"


    "I don''t know," said the Regal Jade Spirit. "To be honest, a Civilization Artifact is different from all the other kinds of Other Shore Tokens. If I don''t allow you to burn it, you can''t burn the Civilization Artifact. As for me, I can stop the Regal Jade World from burning."


    The Civilization Artifact in the Evil God''s body also represented a civilization, and there must be a leader of such a civilization, like the Regal Jade Spirit. The Regal Jade Spirit, however, just couldn''t understand how the Evil God had successfully persuaded that leader to burn their Civilization Artifact.


    "So it seems like there is no solution..." Zen''s face darkened for a moment.


    The Regal Jade Spirit fell silent as well. It was i


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    e than half of the body of the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits split open, and she motionlessly lay on the ground.


    Densely packed Chaotic Source Spirits could be found at the side.


    Once the crisis was over, everyone''s eyes were focused on the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits. Some nonhuman creatures began to eye her with greedy looks again.


    Still, no one dared to take action.


    The Evil God''s strangely-colored world had disappeared, but the Regal Jade World still existed. Lastly, Zen still had a crystallized body.


    Even the immensely powerful Evil God was defeated because of Zen, so none of the people present dared to provoke him. Anyone who attempted to grab the Chaotic Source Spirits recklessly would be courting death.


    "Phew!"


    The wings behind Zen''s back flapped gently, then he flew towards the disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace and the Pear Hill.


    "Brother ..." His sister Yan flew up as well to meet him. She caressed her brother''s crystallized face and asked, "What happened to your eye..."


    One of Zen''s eyes was lost, and half of his face was broken. He did look terrible, indeed.


    "My eye? Nothing!" Zen said with a small smile. There were bits of crystal that had congealed on his face. The Regal Jade Crystals immediately replaced the cracks on his skin, so his face was quickly restored to its original state. The crystals didn''t belong to his body in the first place, so he was fine.


    But since the Eye of Will had been burned, he had lost a very useful Other Shore Token. Without the Eye of Will, his Sword Texture Technique would be less powerful as well. Naturally, he needed something to replace it.

 Chapter 3468 The One-eyed Bat

    Having comforted Yan, Zen looked down and was shocked at the sight that awaited him. Instead of two legs, his sister''s lower half had been replaced by a snake tail.


    "Yan, what happened to your legs?"


    His sister blushed in embarrassment, not really keen with her brother seeing this half-human, half-snake form of hers.


    She had taken back the Energy Shaft and there was no need for her to maintain this form.


    With a twist of her cyan tail, a burst of light enveloped her and the next thing Zen knew, was that her fair, flawless legs reappeared. "This is the bloodline theurgy of the Pear Hill," Yan explained.


    "Bloodline theurgy?" Zen repeated with curiosity. "It helps you transform?" He couldn''t help but think of Elvinia. She possessed the bloodline theurgy of the Sun Crow race but she didn''t have the power to transform herself into a real Sun Crow. How did Yan do it then? It seemed things were more complicated than she let on.


    Her explanation was vague at most as if she didn''t want him to ask too many questions.


    Despite his constant prodding, Yan remained mum about the topic. Left with no answer, Zen chose to give up and let his sister keep her secret. With that, he unfurled his wings and flew away. "The crystals of the Chaotic Source Spirits will be distributed to the disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace and Pear Hill first."


    His voice was deep and incredibly loud, resounding all throughout the entire Regal Jade World.


    Nobody objected, which Zen took as everyone''s silent agreement to his terms.


    Each person had a limit of accommodating only two hundred crystals. Moreover, each race suffered heavy losses in their numbers, so even if the Oneness Sky Palace and Pear Hill got first dibs, there would still be enough left over.


    Zen glided towards the body of the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits, while Chaim and Natalie led the disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace and Pear Hill respectively. With everyone present, the distribution of the crystals began.


    The moment Zen took the crystals out, he found a thick aura emanating from inside the body.


    Puzzled, he waved his hand, splitting the body open to reveal a ton of golden red crystals!


    "Are these als


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    nder and lightning flashing as it prepared to fly away.


    "Buzz!"


    Before it could leave, a black and white pattern of Eight Diagrams appeared above the bat. Fuxi had thrown his punch and was not going to let this monster go.


    "Bang!"


    Huge fragments exploded from the space and the bat took the blow hard. Its colossal body rolled over dozens of circles before landing directly outside the ring-shaped mountain range.


    The sudden attack flustered the monster and caught it off guard; nonetheless, the bat was fine.


    "Hand the things over!"


    Fuxi roared, his voice cutting through the air like thunder.


    Mount, who had been standing nearby Fuxi, covered his ears in pain. It wasn''t just him. Those who heard Fuxi''s shout let out a painful cry as blood shot out of their ears, deafened by his roar.


    Fuxi jumped, his body expanding and also becoming incomparably huge!


    Although his Truth of Powerful Holy Body remained confined, Fuxi was still one of the giants who emerged at the beginning of the chaos. He naturally cultivated the Wild God Power.


    "Buzz!"


    Another pattern of Eight Diagrams appeared over the bat. This time, when Fuxi slapped its body, the bat let out a shrill cry of pain. Its wings flapped helplessly as it summoned the power of thunder and lightning to confront its opponent''s palm attack.


    "Rumble..."


    As these two huge and indescribable forces collided, the space around them began to break down, revealing the black void.

 Chapter 3469 Thunder Dimorphodon

    The force blasted Fuxi tens of thousands of miles away. He crashed into the western peak in the core area, and it crumbled at the impact. Fuxi tumbled down into the rubble. Meanwhile, the one-eyed bat landed at the periphery of the Chaotic Source World.


    To those of the younger generations, such a battle was simply unimaginable. Even the slightest shock wave of it could kill them.


    However, except for Mount who was capable of traveling through spatial transference, the others had no choice but to stand still. There was no point in trying to hide themselves.


    The one-eyed bat rose up again, surrounded by a halo of bright white lightning. The flash of light swept across the landscape, revealing a huge space channel.


    It hadn''t come here to fight with Fuxi.


    Since it had gotten what it wanted, it clearly planned to leave.


    In an instant, the huge bat entered the spatial channel.


    It disappeared into the depths of the channel, moving at an incredible speed.


    But at that moment, a mark of Eight Diagrams appeared high in the sky above the channel again.


    Fuxi, who stood on the ground, lifted his fist and made a punching motion against the sky.


    There was a deafening boom.


    The mark of Eight Diagrams suddenly exploded in the sky.


    To everyone''s shock, the body of the giant one-eyed bat faltered, then fell out of the space channel.


    "It won''t be that easy for you to run away," shouted Fuxi at the bat, his face full of anger.


    The Chaotic Source Spirits could be fused by all the races to strengthen themselves in the Source World. And yet, there was a huge mystery attached to the Chaotic Source Spirits that still hadn''t been solved, even now.


    What was the exact nature of the Chaotic Source Spirits kept in both the Chaotic Source Sea and the Chaotic Source World?


    Were they the creatures of the Other Shore, or in reality? If the Chaotic Source Spirits could appear in the chaos by virtue of their own unique characteristics, then would it be possible for other powerful creatures on the Other Shore to return to the chaos by some means?


    These questions had piqued speculation among various races when the special characteristics of the Chaotic Source Spirits were discovered, but they had remained unsolved.


    But this time was different.


    A Dreaded Eye Demon suddenly appeared in the main peak of the Chaotic Source World, catching the attention of the Pear Hill.


    The appearance of the Dreaded Eye Demon was completely unexpected. It was known that the Chaotic Source Spirits were able to


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    e Black Ship floated in the air.


    Shera sat on the deck, wearing a long, flowing black dress. A small bottle had been placed in front of her. The bottle was shrouded in a cloud of black mist, with a blurry figure visible inside.


    She stared fixedly at the figure in the bottle. Her eyes were red and hooded in her snow white face. Frowning, she murmured to herself, "How could he fail? The captain had foretold that he would encounter a disaster, but he shouldn''t have died."


    A cold voice spoke up behind Shera. "The Evil God is indeed alive."


    The person who had spoken was exuding a brass light. He had a strange appearance, like he had been dipped and coated with molten brass. Even his voice had a metallic aura.


    "He lost and was collected by his former master. How is that any different from death?" Shera snapped furiously.


    If not for her fear of Fuxi, she would have entered the Icy Snow Province herself, to force Zen to hand the Evil God over.


    That brass man shook his head. "The captain said that Zen and the Evil God might be the same person..."


    Shera rolled her eyes. "Yes, of course, the creatures born in the inner world surely belong to the owner of that world. But after they leave the inner world, they will separate. Is there any need to remind me of this?"


    The inner world was formed by consciousness. Thus, the owner of the inner world was the ruler controlling everything within it.


    "No, you misunderstood it," said the man, shaking his head. "Do you still remember Usman?"


    As soon as the name Usman was mentioned, Shera''s face went blank, but her eyes darkened. It had all happened a very long time ago. Why was the brass man bringing him up now?

 Chapter 3470 The Incarnation Of The Evil Will

    The Black Ship advanced, without making any stops.


    It didn''t matter how many ships there were. Only thirteen people were qualified to join the Black Ship.


    Usman used to be a member of the Black Ship.


    His strength was ranked thirteenth when he joined the Black Ship.


    But he rose through the ranks in just a short period of time. Before long, he was ranked so high that the only person above him was the captain. He had become second best.


    The Black Ship had, at the time, seen its best days, until Usman betrayed them and killed six other members.


    The captain had chased Usman for a long time, even making a concession to let some super forces work together to kill him.


    But that was all history. And since it was related to the Black Ship, news about it hadn''t spread out.


    Shera had always felt regretful. If not for Usman''s madness that had infuriated the captain and led to his doom, he probably could have taken over the position of captain, and even become the strongest man in the Source World.


    Once Usman had been executed, Shera and the others realized that his birth wasn''t a coincidence.


    He was the embodiment of the resentment and hatred of the entire Source World. And because of this aura that he exuded, he was suitable to join the Black Ship. In addition to his astonishing talent and luck, he was also destructive. Chances were high that he would do something harmful to the Black Ship.


    "You mean the Evil God is also the embodiment of the resentment in a world?" Shera asked, surprised.


    In retrospect, there were many similarities between the Evil God and Usman. Their expressions, aura, style, and even madness were the same.


    But the Evil God was at a level lower than Usman.


    On second thought, Shera added, "But he''s from the inner world of a man called Zen, not the Source World!"


    This alone was enough to deny the captain''s conjecture.


    The brass man smiled and said, "What if Zen''s inner world is a primitive land?"


    Shera trembled, her red eyes wide. "Is that even possible?"


    The brass man didn''t want to waste time arguing with her. He just said, "It''s a pity that the Evil God has been collected by his creator. But to be honest, it''s


    diately surrounded by light.


    The arrays in the Chaotic Source World could catalyze the crystals of the Chaotic Source Spirits and completely merge them with the body.


    The fusion was permanent. The catalyzed crystals had become a part of the body, different from the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits and the queen ant that Zen had met.


    Therefore, even if a cultivator at the Chaotic Source Realm was killed, no one could take the crystals of Chaotic Source Spirits out from their body.


    Sally''s frown began to relax under the effect of the magical array. The crystals that had been planted in her body softened gradually and turned into soybean-sized light spots in her limbs and bones, becoming a part of her body.


    Sally had previously been able to only draw her Other Shore Power to the Iridescent Stone. The power of the Iridescent Stone could reach over a thousand divine megatons when it fully erupted, but she had been unable to draw such a large amount of power to her body.


    Similarly, even if Zen were to fully activate the power of the Strength God Totem before entering the Chaotic Source World, his physical body would not be able to bear it.


    But after fusing with the crystals of the Chaotic Source Spirits, they could control the Other Shore Power more easily.


    Many cultivation methods that needed to borrow the Other Shore Power could also be freely displayed, instead of just relying on the Other Shore Tokens of descending type.

 Chapter 3471 I Am The Reason

    After Sally successfully completed the fusion with the crystals of the Chaotic Source Spirits, the array shook drastically and space began to fluctuate.


    The array had sensed that Sally had reached the Chaotic Source Realm and then it opened the space channel.


    Carefully, Sally got up and took a step into the space channel. Suddenly, from the array, a ray of light shot into the sky and she was teleported out of the Chaotic Source World.


    Afterwards, it was her brother''s turn to do so.


    In another array, Zen sat cross legged with his eyes closed. He had entered a meditative state.


    He didn''t immediately merge with the crystals of the Chaotic Source Spirits even if he had the chance to. He knew that the battle between him and the Evil God was far from over.


    Phew!


    Gradually, an avatar formed in his inner world.


    After the avatar was formed, the Regal Jade Spirit and No. 9527 also transformed into humans, appearing on his two sides.


    "Let''s go."


    Just as Zen finished speaking, they leaped up and disappeared into the sky.


    Somewhere in his inner world, inside a mountain, sweet chimes echoed from the stream of clear water that went through a large cave.


    Meanwhile, the Evil God lay in the center of the cave with golden ropes restraining him from any form of movement.


    He kept his eyes and mouth shut, seemingly indifferent to the situation.


    When he heard Zen and the other two enter the cave, the Evil God opened his eyes, the corners of his mouth curved upward into a small smile. It was an arrogant move, as if he was mocking Zen, but it was actually more like a self-mocking smile.


    Zen took a good look at the Evil God and lifted his arm to point a finger at him.


    Crack!


    Just like that, the golden ropes on the Evil God broke, freeing him.


    As soon as the Evil God was released, he turned to Zen with a look of vengeance in his eyes. His body, which was once stiff, rushed towards Zen in a hurry. He flipped his hand and a black dragon-patterned broken blade appeared in his hand!


    Phew!


    Zen was shocked to see the black dragon-patterned broken blade in his hand, especially because it was a rare treasure. He ran and aimed directly towards Zen''s chest.


    Zen''s avatar was stabbed, and his body twitched upon the impact. Afterwards, his whole body became charred to a crisp, falling to the ground without any resistance.


    However, the Regal Jade Spirit and No. 9527 watching the avatar remained


    only a loser, who could only curl up in the cold cave and die with the woman he had loved.


    "I didn''t do anything wrong," the Evil God said slowly. "I just lost.


    I lost to the Creator..."


    Edna looked at him and instantly knew what had happened.


    She knew very well about her husband''s ambition and goals. He did mention a few times that if there was someone he wanted to defeat the most, it would be the Creator.


    When she heard the Evil God mention it for the first time, she covered his mouth and warned him never to mention it again.


    The Creator was omnipotent and he knew everything that occurred in his inner world. How could the Evil God possibly defeat him?


    But despite knowing all of this, the Evil God was stubborn to achieve his ambition. Edna could only obey him and help him carry out the plans to kill the Creator. In the end, he had failed and lost to the Creator.


    Fortunately, the Creator was so magnanimous that he forgave the Evil God without any hesitation.


    Edna tried hard to put the pieces together. Did that mean her husband attacked the Creator again after he left the inner world? If that was true, then by no means would the Creator forgive him this time, she thought.


    If it were any other woman, she probably would have begged Zen to spare her husband''s life. Edna didn''t do any of that. All she could think was her love for him. If her husband was punished to death, she would die with him, too.


    "I''ve said that I''ve changed my mind, remember?" Zen repeated. "I won''t kill you. After all, your leaving was also good for my inner world. I am the reason for all of this, after all."

 Chapter 3472 The Arc Light

    The Evil God narrowed his eyes a tad bit. He wanted to know what Zen was up to.


    "To a certain extent, you are me," Zen continued. "Or rather, you are all the evil thoughts and resentment I have projected onto this world."


    Zen was well aware that the world had its own will.


    Before the Evil God''s appearance, Zen''s inner world was a mess. Conflicts between various races erupted so often, and even the humans were constantly competing against each other. So long as Zen wasn''t interfering, many ambitious creatures caused much disturbance.


    All the disputes ended, however, with the appearance of the Evil God.


    For a time, Zen was grateful to him. His inner world had somehow returned to order after the Evil God came to be. No war was breaking out among the empires, and neither resentment nor loathing brewed between the races.


    At the time, Zen thought it was the Evil God''s contribution until the Regal Jade Spirit told him otherwise.


    In the end, he got the truth.


    The Evil God was a fusion of all evil thoughts and resentment¡ªhis appearance was a tribulation of the world, not a coincidence.


    Such a tribulation was rarely seen¡ªit could only appear in the primitive land. Coincidentally, Zen''s inner world was a small primitive land. After all the resentment and evil thoughts were gathered to form the Evil God, the living beings within the inner world existed in harmony.


    With her jaw slack, Edna looked at the Creator in disbelief. Never did she expect her husband to have such a background.


    But the Evil God didn''t seem to care. "So what?"


    "If I kill you, the inner world will fall back into turmoil. It won''t do me any good. But if I let you go, you''ll definitely get me into trouble," Zen said, smiling and touching Edna gently. The black dragon-pattern blade was then pulled out from Edna''s body. As soon as the blood on her white dress returned to the wound, it began healing rapidly.


    In truth, Zen probably couldn''t kill the Evil God.


    So long as there were creatures in the inner world, disputes, resentment, hatred, and conflicts would continue to exist.


    ed to find a clue about one of the flaws through the Sanskrit word of the Blood Essence Godly Way.


    He had always believed that Zen was destined to encounter the Regal Jade Civilization, but even he was surprised to find out that the creature Zen released from his inner world had found the second flaw.


    Perhaps Zen truly was the one who could complete the Ways-blending Energy.


    Even if he couldn''t do it right away, he still had the greatest chance.


    "How did you even find this gem?" Zen asked curiously.


    After completely unlocking the Rebirth Land, Zen could spy on the Evil God''s memory, but he chose not to do that.


    "On Stage Two of the Other Shore," answered the latter.


    "Stage Two..." That was rather surprising.


    Generally, the members and disciples of the super forces didn''t stay long on the first three stages.


    When Zen and Dorothy had just set foot on the Other Shore, Dorothy was willing to explore the Sacred Mallow Temple with Zen because he held the secret key. In fact, she had even intended to take him directly to Stage Four at the time.


    If they reached Stage Four, they''d be able to gain the support of their own race, after all. It was much more rewarding than exploring the Other Shore on their own.


    Normally the first three stages were desolate. Only someone who didn''t belong to any sect, like the Evil God, ever wandered aimlessly in these parts.

 Chapter 3473 Heavenly Obsession Civilization

    "I found a buried temple at the edge of Stage Two of the Other Shore¡ªthe Heavenly Obsession Temple. Perhaps it was because it had been buried that nobody had found it. It was already broken, so people could enter and exit at will. This gem with internal momentum of Godly Way was right in the center of the temple," the Evil God said honestly.


    "Heavenly Obsession Temple?" Zen paused for a thought.


    "I''ve never heard of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization," said the Regal Jade Spirit, shaking his head.


    A single round of chaos already took an extremely long time, and the Other Shore had experienced over a thousand chaotic eras.


    During these eras, apart from the ruling forces, various super forces, ordinary forces, and even many major races thrived. Too many secrets were hidden among these forces¡ªit wasn''t surprising that the Regal Jade Spirit hadn''t heard of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization.


    "After I obtained this gem, I found another clue," the Evil God continued. "It led to a secret land at Stage Ten of the Other Shore. There, I found an underground cave that stretched for thousands of miles across Stage Ten."


    The Evil God was already extremely powerful when he was headed for Stage Ten. At the time, his infamous nickname, the "Soul Devouring Demon", was already very well-known on the Other Shore. By then, he could enter Stage Thirteen of the Other Shore easily.


    Meanwhile, at the time, Zen had already reached the Grand Sky Temple to explore the temple.


    As the Evil God explored the underground cave, he found the second Heavenly Obsession Temple¡ªit was there where he had obtained the Civilization Artifact.


    "What a strange civilization¡­" Growing more and more confused, the Regal Jade Spirit sighed upon hearing the Evil God''s story. "A strong civilization can enter a higher stage of the Other Shore. If the Heavenly Obsession Civilization is hiding in the Lust World, they must be doing it to avoid getting hunted down by enemies, as we are."


    The spirit paused for a moment before continuing. "Even if they wanted to hide in the Lust World, they were supposed to go to the Dark Region. It would have been safer there, right? Why did they go to Stage Ten of the Other Shore?"


    Each time a creature on the Other Sh


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    logic so as to guide its spokesperson in the most suitable way.


    "What an interesting civilization," the Regal Jade Spirit remarked with a smile. "Now that the Rebirth Land has been unblocked, Zen, you can guide it into your own inner world and bear it yourself. But I wonder what Truth of Godly Way is to be used to bear this Civilization Artifact."


    Since the Evil God had been retrieved, so had the Rebirth Land.


    Earlier, the Evil God had begun burning the Civilization Artifact, but the Civilization Artifact simply stopped burning without punishing him. The Regal Jade Spirit came to the conclusion that the Civilization Artifact wouldn''t reject Zen.


    Zen turned to the Evil God questioningly.


    "The Truth of Goodwill and Malice," answered the latter.


    At that answer, No. 9527, the Regal Jade Spirit, and Zen showed a smile.


    Excluding the Truth of Godly Way that was vague on Zen''s physical body, Zen had already cultivated four Truths of Godly Ways in total. Among them, the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent was used to bear the Strength God Totem; the Truth of Cultivation Nature was used to bear the Civilization Artifact of the Regal Jade Civilization; and the Truth of Goodwill and Malice was used to bear the Eye of Will.


    Lastly, the Truth of Three-Energy Construction had been obtained from the space where King Manard was. According to him, it was used to bear the Other Shore Token in that world. It wasn''t known if it could bear any Other Shore Token on the first Other Shore.

 Chapter 3474 Fantasy

    After Zen had burned the Eye of Will, the Truth of Godly Way that carried it was now vacant, which was the Truth of Goodwill and Malice. It was just what Zen had wanted, and he felt fortunate that fate was even helping him.


    In addition, he also wanted to take away the Civilization Artifact of the Evil God. The Evil God didn''t seem to be upset about it, and at this point he just let Zen do whatever he wanted.


    In any case, Zen didn''t intend to ask for the Evil God''s consent anyway. He simply moved the Civilization Artifact on his own.


    "Buzz..."


    The cube vibrated for a short while when it was moved, then it flew straight out of the Rebirth Land. Aside from this object, he also took away the gem with the arc light from the top of the mountain.


    There should be a lot of good things in the Evil God''s hands. For instance, the black dragon-patterned broken blade was a treasure with an extraordinary origin.


    These things, however, were useless to Zen, so he didn''t bother to plunder the treasures from the Evil God.


    Once he had gotten the two most important items, the last thing that remained was how to deal with the Evil God.


    A shiver ran down Edna''s spine when she saw that Zen''s gaze fell on her husband. Although Zen had said that he would not kill him, who could stop him if he suddenly changed his mind?


    "Phew!"


    At that moment, Zen pointed towards a mountain below.


    The mountain rose from the ground like a fast growing tree and grew up to three hundred thousand feet high. It didn''t stop until the top of the mountain touched Zen''s feet.


    With a wave of his hand, the top of the mountain became flattened. Golden red pillars were formed out of thin air. They lined up in formation until they turned into a spacious prison.


    To refine the Evil God into an Inner-world Generating Avatar was a good choice, but in fact, the Evil God''s talent was his own and was innate to him.


    So, it would be a waste if he was refined into an avatar without any consciousness.


    In light of this, Zen would try to find a way to make the Evil God become an Inner-world Generating Avatar and at the same time, he would be able to keep his own consciousness.


    The Evil God, who was under his control, would be a great help to him. Zen wouldn''t take the risk to release him as he might kill anyone recklessly.


    The Evil God knew what he had to do. He went inside the prison, followed by Edna.


    Since her husband had made a mistake, she was willing to bear the consequence with him.


    The door of the prison clos


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    If Zen took these tasks, it would be exactly like courting death.


    Yet, after the tasks were issued, he could choose not to accept them. Therefore, he just listened quietly.


    From the way these tasks were issued, the Civilization Artifact should have been spying on the surrounding environment at all times. Then, it issued tasks according to the things that existed in the environment and offered the corresponding rewards.


    "I can also issue these tasks," the Regal Jade Spirit said in disbelief. "But where did it get those rewards? Can this thing really give the rewards it has promised?"


    Forget about whether Zen was able to kill Fuxi or not. It was absolutely impossible for him to defeat the Thunder Dimorphodon.


    Fuxi was the Human Sovereign. His control of the Dark and Light energies was far beyond an ordinary person''s imagination. It could be said that even among the strongest warriors, Fuxi was the most powerful in terms of the cultivation on the Dark and Light energies!


    If Zen was able to defeat Fuxi, this Civilization Artifact would give him the so-called "Innate Seal", which could be used to merge with Fuxi''s Dark and Light energies...


    It sounded truly unbelievable.


    And, it was the same with the Thunder Dimorphodon.


    Each of the top ten beasts of the chaos had their own missions and abilities. These beasts were not as powerful as the Chaos Ancient Gods, but they weren''t weaker than the strongest warriors either. As it happened, they were even stronger than some of those strongest warriors.


    It was hard to imagine that after such a powerful being was defeated, one just had to rely on an Eternal Chain to subdue it?


    What a crazy fantasy!

 Chapter 3475 Refinement

    "Is it possible," No. 9527 mused jokingly, "that the Civilization Artifact starts talking nonsense after being burnt by the Evil God?"


    "Just verify it," Zen responded bluntly. "It can issue a lot of tasks in one go."


    The heaven-level third-class task...


    The heaven-level fourth-class task...


    The earth-level first-class task...


    The earth-level second-class task...


    Gradually, Zen began to understand the rules.


    Once the cube issued tasks, it would start from the heaven-level ones, which were categorized into four classes. Next came the earth-level ones, which were also categorized into four classes. Among all, the human-level tasks were the simplest.


    Zen focused on the tasks being listed. At the end, he picked one task he felt suited for: a task at the fourth class of the human level.


    "The human-level fourth-class task," the voice boomed, "merge with the crystals of Chaotic Source Spirits to reach the Chaotic Source Realm. After you complete the task, your physical body will be strengthened."


    Zen nodded in a satisfied manner. Other tasks might have various restrictions or were not suitable for him to complete, but he was confident he''d be able to accomplish this task.


    "It''s not easy to reach the Chaotic Source Realm," he pondered. "Why is it a task at the fourth class of the human level?"


    The tasks were divided into twelve kinds. He didn''t expect that reaching the Chaotic Source Realm would be the easiest.


    The Regal Jade Spirit thought for a moment before replying. "The tasks should be ranked according to the current environment. You have already collected enough crystals of Chaotic Source Spirits, so reaching the Chaotic Source Realm is too easy."


    "It''s reasonable," Zen said, nodding. "I''ll accept this task."


    Strengthening his physical body was always a plus. Moreover, he wanted to confirm whether this Civilization Artifact was really magical or not.


    Splash!


    Zen''s body transformed into wisps of brown chaotic energy.


    The moment he removed the avatar in his body, he was fully awakened.


    In a magic array not far from him, a ray of light suddenly flashed. A non-human stranger who had reached


    ter Zen reached the Chaotic Source Realm, he felt a sudden fluctuation of the space in front of him, and the space channel was already shown.


    Zen didn''t plan to leave immediately. This time, he placed the golden red crystals into his inner world.


    After the distribution of the golden red crystals, Zen had reserved two hundred for himself.


    Just as he''d done before, he willed the golden red crystals to scatter in his limbs and bones. Then, he activated them.


    "Buzz..."


    The light of the magic array enveloped Zen once more. However, something was wrong.


    "What the...?"


    Zen frowned slightly. These golden red crystals didn''t melt easily, like the ordinary crystals of Chaotic Source Spirits had. They remained unharmed within his corporeal body, unresponsive to the energy from the magic array.


    The others around him exchanged confused glances as they noticed Zen had once again activated the magic array. Some, however, figured out what he was up to.


    "Why did he activate the magic array again?"


    "Have you forgotten what he gained from the mother of Chaotic Source Spirits?"


    "He has obtained some unique crystals. He''s probably trying to refine them, too."


    Then, those people nodded, as they began to envy Zen.


    To reach the Chaotic Source Realm was a great success. Moreover, Zen had obtained extra crystals. How could they not be envious, if not in awe?


    After a while, the light from the magic array went out.

 Chapter 3476 The Black Ships Interception

    "Refinement failed..."


    Zen pursed his lips, unable to hide his disappointment. He shook his head and willed all the crystals to gather into his inner world once again.


    It seemed this magic array only worked for ordinary crystals of Chaotic Source Spirits, not the golden red ones.


    Zen had to look for another way to refine them.


    He got to his feet. Without saying a word, he stepped into the space channel, immediately transformed into a stream of light and headed straight out of the Chaotic Source World.


    In the sky above the Icy Snow Province, thick, ominous clouds spat out thunderbolts angrily. The lightning twisted in the atmosphere like menacing dragons. Each bolt of lightning was extremely powerful, enough to destroy the heavens and the earth. Gathering all the thunderbolts would garner enough power to destroy the entire Icy Snow Province.


    There were a few human tribes in the Icy Snow Province. Seeing the menacing bolts of lightning in the sky above them, they trembled in fear. Some even knelt in the snow, praying that God would not punish them.


    After all the thunderbolts had gathered together, they suddenly shot out towards Fuxi at lightning speed.


    "Bang!"


    Fuxi calmly stretched out his hand.


    Black and white auras swirled in front of him, shrouding him in a bright light. Once the light died down, he remained standing, unscathed. The Eight Diagrams disk had protected him!


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    The thunderbolts kept striking the Eight Diagrams disk hundreds of times. Each time it was struck, the disk would rotate, effectively diffusing the thunderbolt.


    "It''s no use, Thunder Dimorphodon. You''re no match for me," said Fuxi gravely.


    His voice was like the waves of the sea, which could spread far away even amidst the rumbling thunder.


    In the entirety of the chaos, any strong warrior would tremble before Fuxi. He could even fight Chaos Ancient Gods.


    "I am indeed not your match, but there is nothing you can do about me," said the Thunder Dimorphodon in a low voice. This was the first sentence it had uttered since coming to the Icy Snow Province.


    The top ten fierce beasts were by no means ordinary. Every beast had a certain kind of omnipotent innate theurgy, although slightly weaker than truth-level


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    so an avatar?"


    Fuxi''s eyebrows twitched in annoyance.


    The avatars of the Thunder Dimorphodon were very unique. When the avatars appeared, each of them could be the true Thunder Dimorphodon. The Thunder Dimorphodon could choose any avatar to be its true body at any given time.


    Even though Fuxi had fixed his spiritual sense on the first Thunder Dimorphodon, the latter could''ve easily shifted to one of its avatars.


    Seeing that the Thunder Dimorphodon had gotten away, Fuxi became more sullen.


    Reaching out his hand, he tore the void. After ripping a hole in the space channel, he flew out.


    Phew!


    In another long space channel, the Thunder Dimorphodon flapped its wings agitatedly.


    Most of the time, the Thunder Dimorphodon looked like an annoying bat. But when lightning danced all over its body, it looked strangely beautiful.


    It wasn''t interested in the rings that were snatched from Zen. Someone had offered an irresistible price, so it decided to take a risk and went to the Icy Snow Province to give it a try.


    Fortunately, Fuxi had underestimated it. If it was trapped by Fuxi, it might have died in the Icy Snow Province!


    Phew! Phew!


    With its wings flapping in the air, it quickly advanced forward in the space channel, leaving the Icy Snow Province.


    As the Thunder Dimorphodon flew at high speed, it suddenly sensed something behind it. Turning its head to look, it was shocked to find a huge black ship ripping open the space channel, floating towards it like a ghost.

 Chapter 3477 A Deep Sense Of Crisis

    "The Black Ship?"


    The Thunder Dimorphodon was dumbfounded.


    Back when it was lurking in the Icy Snow Province, it had spotted the ship.


    However, before the Chaotic Source World opened, Fuxi had driven the ship out of the Icy Snow Province.


    While the Thunder Dimorphodon had nothing to do with anyone from the Black Ship, it didn''t expect the ship would come after it as soon as it lost Fuxi.


    Crack!


    It flapped its huge wings and sped up.


    Before long, however, it suddenly slowed down once more. To its surprise, another ship appeared from the other end of the space channel.


    The two ghost-like ships floated over quietly, blocking the Thunder Dimorphodon''s way from both sides.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    On the ship behind the Thunder Dimorphodon, Shera gathered her dress and jumped off the rail of the ship, quickly flying towards the Thunder Dimorphodon. The brass man followed closely behind her.


    On the ship ahead, a person covered in bandages, resembling a bamboo pole, also flew towards the Thunder Dimorphodon. Next to the "bamboo pole" was a large Ear Mouse. A deep, red scar covered its right eye, which gleamed with a sharp light. It was as though it had been slashed at with a blade in its past.


    This Ear Mouse was called Tomos. It used to be a capable assistant of Ieuan, the king of Ear Mice. Later, it rebelled against the Ear Mice and joined the Black Ship. To this day, the Ear Mice were still chasing it.


    Crack!


    A flash of lightning circled the Thunder Dimorphodon. Angrily, the Thunder Dimorphodon roared, "Members of the Black Ship, what do you want from me?"


    Shera floated quietly in the air. Holding up a small, bony finger, she smiled charmingly. "Give us half of what you''ve got."


    Squeak! "Only half! We are not greedy!" echoed Tomos.


    Of course, the Thunder Dimorphodon was keenly aware of how important the rings were. In order for the creatures on the Other Shore to return to the chaos, the rings were integral. It was said that they might affect the entire situation of the chaos.


    "Half? Truly, you are greedy," said the Thunder Dimorphodon coldly, narrowing its eyes.


    "You don''t have to hand them in," the brass man said with a shrug. "We will take everything anyway. And the rankings of the so-called top ten fierce beasts may change..."


    The top ten fierce beasts were universally acknowledged.


    However,


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    Evil God.


    How could the leaders explain what had happened to their clansmen after they went back?


    Buzz!


    There was a fluctuation of space in the magic array at the door. Then, Zen emerged.


    His appearance immediately attracted everyone''s attention.


    His battle with the Evil God in the core area went beyond everyone''s expectations.


    They hadn''t reached the Chaotic Source Realm, and their Souls of Light were still in the Lust World. Yet, their battle was much fiercer than that between any ordinary Chaotic Source Realm warriors.


    What was even more terrifying was that the Evil God had actually come out of Zen''s inner world!


    Among the many leaders, the expression in Elizabeth''s eyes was the most unreadable.


    She recalled the time when Zen escaped her clutches. He had used the Withering Power and the Wind Cloud Escape. These two methods were the theurgies possessed by the chieftains of the Nine Li race. However, she did not think much about it at the time.


    Now she knew that Zen had the Soaring Snake Sword, and the Evil God could copy three heads and six arms. She was certain that Zen was from the Nine Li race.


    He was also the spokesperson of a civilization, and he wielded the Soaring Snake Sword.


    Was Zen also the one who could enter the Other Shore with his physical body?


    ''How could the remaining members of the Nine Li race cultivate such a genius?'' she wondered angrily.


    Back then, when Zen was still young, Elizabeth hadn''t been able to kill him. Now, she didn''t even have a chance. Zen''s performance unsettled her to her very core.

 Chapter 3478 Ask For Death

    Despite the burning gazes that Zen felt on him the moment he came out, he walked towards the Oneness Sky Palace with a smile.


    Yet, before he could take a few steps forward, a leader of the Separate Abyss race suddenly stood up and shouted in a rough voice, "Zen!"


    Zen turned his head and looked at the leader.


    He had never made a move against the Separate Abyss race in the Chaotic Source World. What did their leader want from him?


    "Hand over that man called the Evil God! Since he killed many of our members, we''ll execute him for revenge," the leader said.


    The leader had to give a reasonable explanation for the death of Hamzah, and the best way to do it was to bring the Evil God back.


    He clearly saw that Zen had absorbed the Evil God into his inner world and did not kill him.


    When Zen heard the leader''s request, he looked slightly amused as he spoke, "The Evil God killed many people, including those from the Separate Abyss race, the Ear Mouse race, the Divine Farmer race, the Sun Crow race, the Moon Spirit race, the Celestial Wolf race¡­ He killed more than four thousand people in total. If all these races want to take revenge, how many pieces will the Evil God be chopped into?"


    The leader of the Separate Abyss race snorted, "I don''t care about the other races. Since the Evil God killed Hamzah, we want him dead!"


    He walked towards Zen, his huge body blocking the warrior''s path like a giant pillar.


    "The Evil God also killed many of our members. It seems that we should also take him back for punishment," Elizabeth said with a shallow smile.


    "The Evil God slaughtered the members of our race. He should be punished!" a leader of the Bearing race shouted. The Chaotic Source World was known for its cruelty. Ever since ancient times, there had been countless talents who died in its territory.


    It was true that the Evil God was bloodthirsty and liked to kill, but he didn''t violate the rules. Therefore, he shouldn''t be blamed.


    Of course, the super forces that suffered great losses in the Chaotic Source World naturally had plans in their minds.


    The truth was, they were all after the Civilization Artifact that the Evil God had merged with.


    Now that the Separate Abyss race had stood out first, the other super forces echoed the same request.


    The leaders of the Oneness Sky Palace hadn''t thought th


    would probably die without a complete corpse!


    "Well... Master Fuxi, you must have misunderstood! I just didn''t know how to explain to our emperor¡­ Please forgive me..."


    The emperor that the leader referred to was the current head of the Separate Abyss race, who was also one of the top masters in the Source World. The leader wanted to scare Fuxi by mentioning the emperor.


    While he pitifully explained himself, an invisible force suddenly enveloped him.


    Bang!


    With a muffled sound, a huge palm imprint appeared where the leader stood. His body had turned into minced meat and was embedded into the palm imprint in the blink of an eye.


    Then, the space was torn, and Fuxi walked out from it with a dark face.


    He was in a bad mood after the Thunder Dimorphodon had run away. When he flew back along the space channel and saw what was happening, he couldn''t restrain his anger anymore.


    "Do you think I will be afraid of your emperor?" he hissed with gritted teeth.


    "Before you entered the Chaotic Source World, I have reminded you that I won''t interfere in anything within it, but if you make a move outside, don''t blame me for being ruthless!"


    Silence hung like a thick curtain at the gate of the Chaotic Source World.


    The dead leader of the Separate Abyss race was ranked in the top five among the many leaders. Even then, he could not even survive Fuxi''s palm strike. He died miserably.


    Naturally, Elizabeth trembled with fear.


    It wasn''t only her, but the leaders of the Bearing race and the Divine Farmer race were all afraid as well.

 Chapter 3479 Grown Bearing Capacity (Part One)

    If Fuxi had come late for even a moment, they would have already attacked the members of the Oneness Sky Palace.


    If that were the case, they would have met with the same tragic fate as that of the Separate Abyss race''s leader.


    Fuxi nonchalantly scanned the remaining creatures, his eyes barren of all emotions.


    The Chaotic Source World came to existence because of the compromise made by Pear Hill with the other powerful forces years ago. Fuxi had always looked down upon this agreement and never agreed with it.


    With a solemn expression on his face, he took in a deep breath to gather all his strength and announced in a roaring voice, capable of reaching vast distances.


    "Effective today, the Chaotic Source World will remain closed forever. This won''t happen in the future. I hereby declare that Pear Hill will resume its control over the Icy Snow Province. Now, all of you, make yourselves scarce, and don''t make me repeat myself!"


    In the past, the Icy Snow Province was forced to separate from the Pear Hill in order to build the Chaotic Source World.


    As of present, some issues had surfaced in the Chaotic Source Sea. The Chaotic Source Spirits in the Source World had all been slaughtered, leaving nothing to vouch for their existence.


    The only thing that remained of the Chaotic Source World was a hollowed-out shell. With no concrete reason left to support the argument of the Chaotic Source World''s continued existence, the Icy Snow Province was returned to Pear Hill.


    Sensing the growing irritation in Fuxi''s voice, the leaders of the powerful forces didn''t waste their breaths to protest against it. Instead, they signaled their subordinates before they quietly turned around and left for their respective flying ships without looking back.


    Similarly, Mount followed the people of the Divine Farmer race and set out to head back. Before he left, he stole a quick glance at Ze


    They stared in the distance, with their faces revealing conflicting expressions of both shock and awe.


    Each of the mountains that stood dominantly in the Bloom Divine Province was frighteningly high. Their overwhelming size was the source of pride of the members of the Oneness Sky Palace. However, the scenery before their eyes made the ones from the Oneness Sky Palace pale in comparison.


    After all, Pear Hill was almost the same size as the province itself. Though it claimed itself a hill only, it actually had the largest mountain found in the Source World within its boundaries.


    Slowly yet gradually, seven flying ships of the Oneness Sky Palace dominated the skies as they entered the perimeters of the province. Following the arrangement of the Pear Hill, they berthed near the Sunset Ravine.


    The Sunset Ravine was decorated with various flower-strewn meadows and verdant trees, whose existence complimented the ravine''s beauty and made it appear like a fairyland. Beautiful palaces carved with intricate designs and careful crafting were placed in organized rows. Pear Hill had designed a place exquisitely to entertain the guests. And now, this was handed over to the people of the Oneness Sky Palace, to provide them with accommodations for a few days.

 Chapter 3480 Grown Bearing Capacity (Part Two)

    Many disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace had experienced fearsome battles of their own in the Chaotic Source World. Each of these fights came at a cost of their Other Shore Power being drained out. After they gained a moment of rest from all that turmoil, they settled down, and each chose an exclusive spot for them to cultivate in seclusion.


    After obtaining the Chaotic Source Spirits, they had to get accustomed to their newly acquired power of the Chaotic Source Realm. On the other hand, they also had to replenish their exhausted Other Shore Power to stabilize themselves.


    Compared to all the disciples, Zen had used up the largest amount of Other Shore Power.


    It cost him a great deal of Other Shore Power to summon the Regal Jade statues through the Regal Jade chessboard. Moreover, Zen had summoned the entire Regal Jade World shortly after, employing the Inheritance of World.


    Although the storage volume of the Civilization Artifact was by no means small, the Other Shore Power in it still wouldn''t be enough to support too many powerful skills.


    According to the Regal Jade Spirit, even if there were sufficient amounts of Other Shore Power, Zen could perform the Regal Jade World two times in one go without a hitch. After that, the entire Other Shore Power stored in the Civilization Artifact would be emptied completely.


    With a series of light thuds on the ground, one after the other, the divine crystals fell from Zen''s space ring and gathered in a pile.


    The number of crystals was so vast that they formed a small mountain of their own and occupied the entire room.


    With a flick of his fingers, streaks of invisible light as sharp as a sword slashed at the divine


    rystals than that of the Regal Jade Civilization.


    The entirety of Zen''s night was spent replenishing the cube to its maximum potential. The whole ordeal had cost him a large sum of forty million divine crystals.


    Moving onto the next step, Zen brought out the Strength God Totem.


    After recharging its power with the aid of divine crystals, Zen quickly activated the totem. Soon, violent streaks of Other Shore Power gushed out from the depths of his stomach. It navigated its way through the meridians of his body, flowing gracefully until it reached his right hand and gathered in one place.


    "1, 000 divine megatons!"


    "1, 100 divine megatons!"


    "1, 200 divine megatons!"


    Previously, Zen''s body was able to bear 1, 000 divine megatons of force at once. If he wanted to make his body resilient against more, he had to rely on the Regal Jade chessboard to summon forth the Regal Jade statues. An alternative way was to activate the Inheritance of World.


    But now, after absorbing the crystals of the Chaotic Source Spirits, his bearing capacity of Other Shore Power and his strength had grown by leaps and bounds.

 Chapter 3481 Become Fatigued After Nine Seconds

    Since the Strength God Totem was a strengthening type of Other Shore Token, it could only release 1, 200 divine megatons of force.


    Zen gathered this force in his right hand. To his satisfaction, he could feel that the light dots scattered within his body danced happily.


    Although the power was concentrated in his right hand, the light dots all over his body bore the power together. It was a wonderful feeling.


    ''These light dots have an innate affinity for power. They can completely absorb both the Other Shore Power from my body and the power created by the outside world, '' Zen thought with a smile.


    Only after absorbing the Chaotic Source Spirits did Zen truly understand the Chaotic Source Realm.


    The Wild God Power could make one''s own body grow infinitely, and the strength of the physical body could also constantly increase. On the other hand, the innate disadvantage of the Grand World Cultivation Method was that one couldn''t refine their physical body. Thus they had to choose to make use of the Chaotic Source Spirits for cultivation in the end.


    Even the 1, 200 megatons of power wasn''t Zen''s limit; simultaneously, he tried drawing more power from the Civilization Artifact.


    Gradually, as its power flowed into Zen''s body, he felt the pressure in his right hand continue to increase.


    "Buzz..."


    The light dots within his body practically buzzed with excitement. Zen felt a stream of burning power being released from them.


    1, 300 divine megatons...


    1, 500 divine megatons...


    1, 800 divine megatons...


    2, 000 divine megatons...


    When the power reached 2, 000 divine megatons, it seemed the dots of light had reached their limit.


    However, Zen didn''t stop there. When he continued to exert the Other Shore Power, the light dots dimmed rapidly.


    Three seconds passed...


    Six seconds...


    Nine seconds...


    After nine seconds, the radiance in the light dots were all gone, and the 2, 00 dots of light in his body were quickly exhausted.


    "Zen, spread out the Other Shore Power quickly. Otherwise, your body won''t be able to bear it, and will consequently collapse," No. 9527 cautioned.


    Zen''s body could be likened to a balloon filled with air. The dots of light helped the balloon''s material stay intact, but once the Chaotic Source Spirits were exhausted, the power would be o


    o low..." Zen frowned slightly.


    Having reached the Chaotic Source Realm meant that everyone was starting from the same level. However, many powerful warriors in the Source World had reached the Chaotic Source Realm thousands, or even millions, of years earlier than Zen.


    These thoughts raced through Zen''s mind as he attempted to extract the Other Shore Power again.


    This time, Zen had only infused the Other Shore Power of about 800 divine megatons. Most of the power was borne directly by his own physical body.


    When Zen''s physical body endured excessive Other Shore Power, it would glow a faint golden light. The aura that emanated from him was very similar to the Truth of Godly Way.


    No. 9527 and Regal Jade Spirit had not been able to figure out what kind of Truth of Godly Way it was. At the very least, they knew it was completely different from the real Truth of Powerful Holy Body.


    800 divine megatons...


    900 divine megatons...


    1, 000 divine megatons...


    Zen came to a halt upon reaching 1, 000 divine megatons of power.


    When Zen''s physical body was being refined, he could exert only a small amount of power.


    At the very beginning, when Zen''s physical body was refined, there would be warm currents appearing in his body. These warm currents could have effect on his body in the beginning, but now they were almost ineffective.


    However, the more Zen fought in battle, the stronger the aura of the Truth of Godly Way became.


    Although the aura was special, Zen still couldn''t figure out a way to make use of it.

 Chapter 3482 The Master Of Rose Sect

    When he was in the divine land, the golden light Zen radiated was strong enough to hurt his opponents.


    However, that kind of power was no longer enough when he reached the Source World. Zen was far more powerful than before. A casual blow from him now was a thousand times as powerful as what he used to be capable of when he fought with all his might.


    Just as Zen stopped, he let out a sharp curse under his breath. The aura of Truth of Godly Way was still as strong as it ever was, rather than disappeared. It was actually flowing along his meridians and converging into the spots of light all over his body.


    "Buzz!"


    The spots of light within Zen''s body glowed even more fiercely after absorbing the aura of Truth of Godly Way.


    "What''s wrong?" No. 9527 asked.


    "The Chaotic Source Spirits are absorbing my truth aura!" Zen replied in astonishment.


    "How could that happen?" No. 9527 replied doubtfully.


    The Chaotic Source Spirit was not like any Other Shore Token. In fact, it was an exception, just like the giant eye in the Chaotic Source World, though no one had yet figured out exactly how that worked.


    But one thing was certain. The Chaotic Source Spirit could not be borne as an Other Shore Token.


    That meant that there was no way to communicate with it through the Truth of Godly Way.


    Zen''s sudden findings confused No. 9527. It had never encountered a situation like this before.


    It had just said that the power of the Chaotic Source Spirits couldn''t grow rapidly. This frustrated Zen. How long would it take to reach the level of Athemar, or even Fuxi? He just didn''t know.


    But after the spots of light absorbed the truth aura, the Chaotic Source Spirits seemed to become somehow stronger. Zen felt like he had seen a shortcut appear out of nowhere. He was so excited that he activated the Regal Jade chessboard.


    Using the Other Shore Power to summon the truth aura from the corporeal body was quite inefficient.


    But using some object to do that was another matter entirely.


    As Zen''s fingers gently stroked the chessboard, Regal Jade sculptures appeared around him one by one.


    "Ten should be enough!"


    As Zen gently moved the chess pieces along the chessboard with a single finger, the sculptures sprang into action. The largest one held h


    eated like a VIP after she entered the Pear Hill.


    Yan didn''t have to be rigorously tested before she was promoted, unlike every other talent. The Snake Goddess even agreed to see her right away. She had a meteoric rise to stardom.


    Emily had known that Yan might be very important to the Pear Hill because of her bloodline, but she had never expected Yan to be that influential.


    Emily was given an unexpected reward only because she had escorted Yan there. Moreover, she was allowed to return to Rose Sect. What was more, she was given the soul crystal, so that her Soul of Light cultivation improved rapidly. In just a few years, she reached the twelfth stage of the Other Shore Realm.


    Unfortunately, however, the Chaotic Source World had opened before she could reach the thirteenth stage. So she had to give up on the opportunity.


    She had thought that Zen, who had entered the Oneness Sky Palace, would make slower progress. After all, he came from the Nine Li race. If someone from any other race joined the Oneness Sky Palace, it would be hard for him to achieve something unless he trained for a thousand years.


    That was why Emily was gobsmacked when Leopold told her Zen was going to enter the Chaotic Source World.


    After all, Emily had reached the Other Shore Realm many years ago, and Zen was still wandering the Sea of Truth when he entered the Source World. However, before Emily could reach the thirteenth stage of the Other Shore Realm, Zen was already qualified to enter the Chaotic Source World.

 Chapter 3483 Gift

    It had only been a few years, but Zen had become one of the top disciples in the Oneness Sky Palace. He wasn''t on Yan''s level, but he was still pretty amazing.


    However, after the Chaotic Source World was closed, the stories that had happened inside this world spread like wildfire in the Source World, and the Pear Hill was the first to know.


    After Emily learned what Zen did in the Chaotic Source World, she was also flabbergasted.


    She could not completely understand what Zen had gone through to reach this level in a handful of years.


    Today, when Emily saw Zen again, he was already a Chaotic Source Realm warrior. However, she knew that Zen was more powerful than anybody that had returned from the Chaotic Source World claimed. He was far stronger than those Chaotic Source Realm warriors.


    "You have greatly improved your cultivation. Truly impressive. You can probably cow Sanjay of the Sky Guard Pavilion now. He surely wouldn''t dare to fight you," Emily said, hands behind her back.


    Sanjay of the Sky Guard Pavilion had once chased them at the gate of the Source World, forcing Zen and Yan to split up to avoid him. Although Sanjay was a Chaotic Source Realm warrior in the Sky Guard Pavilion of the Bearing race, he wasn''t even among the top 3, 000.


    Zen could make the Regal Jade World descend, and Sanjay was indeed no match for him at the moment.


    "If I meet him one day, I guess I''ll have to thank him personally," Zen said with a smile. He had accidentally joined the Sword Light Palace before, and ended up becoming a disciple of the Oneness Sky Palace.


    "I''d buy tickets to see that..." Emily uttered.


    With the Inheritance of World activated, Zen was still not as powerful as Elizabeth or Athemar, but he would be able to instantly kill many Chaotic Source Realm warriors. His strength was considerable.


    Zen glanced at Emily, and said, "The Chaotic Source World has been permanently shut down. There''s no way to reach the Chaotic Source Realm now. What are you going to do?"


    This was a very serious problem, not only for Emily, but also for many warriors of the Other Shore Realm all across the Source World.


    The Chaotic Source World would never be opened again. They would never have a chance to reach the Chaotic Source Realm. If they missed it last


    exploring the Chaotic Source World, all the disciples from the Oneness Sky Palace were laid back, especially Chaim and Sally. Such exercise was relaxing to them, and kept them active and happy.


    After the banquet, a woman showed up. Her body was half-human and half-snake. She looked at Zen and announced, "Zen of the Oneness Sky Palace, the Snake Goddess demands to see you."


    Everyone looked at Zen. Some were in surprise, while some had more complex expressions.


    To the people of the Pear Hill, the Snake Goddess was not only a leader but also a spiritual symbol. She was the base of the Pear Hill.


    There weren''t many who had ever seen the Snake Goddess in person, even in the Pear Hill.


    Athemar nodded to Zen, and Zen stood and left the table. He followed the woman out of the room.


    After Zen had departed, the grand sect leader held a glass of wine and toasted Athemar. "Yan''s arrival has brought honor to our Pear Hill, but I didn''t expect her brother, the disciple of the Oneness Sky Palace, to be just as amazing."


    Athemar smiled and returned the toast. His grin was still there as he sipped from his glass.


    Initially, Athemar had brought Zen back to the Oneness Sky Palace because Zen was a talent capable of Instant Enlightenment. But now, Zen was already the spokesperson of a civilization, which was truly beyond what Athemar thought he could do. It had only been a handful of years, so such an achievement was rather spectacular.


    Maybe the Oneness Sky Palace should be grateful Zen joined them.

 Chapter 3484 The Snake Goddess

    The Pear Hill was intimidatingly high, as though it was touching the sky.


    However, the moment someone entered it, they would not be able to tell they were inside a hill.


    The hill itself was huge¡ªso huge that it sloped ever so gently.


    The people living on the Pear Hill sometimes felt as though they lived on a plain rather than on a hill.


    The woman of the Snake Goddess race was leading the way, with Zen at her heel.


    After passing through two transmission arrays on the way, he was suddenly shrouded in a thick mist.


    The mist blocked the flow of his spiritual sense, so he couldn''t see anything in front of him. Cautiously, he followed the woman on the climb all the way up into the clouds.


    There, he saw a huge jadeite platform floating in the air. Upon stepping onto the platform, the woman saluted to Zen curtly. "Please wait here."


    Standing on the jadeite platform, Zen could see the whole Pear Province before him.


    Although, it was a bit hazy, with the thick clouds blocking the view.


    Similar to the Oneness Sky Palace, the Pear Hill had a few mountain leaders who managed several grand sect leaders. There were more than one hundred sect leaders under the command of the grand sect leaders. Emily was the leader of the Rose Sect.


    After around five minutes of waiting, Zen sensed a space wave coming from behind him. As he turned to look, Yan popped out from a space channel.


    "Brother!"


    she cried gleefully, hopping forward to hug Zen.


    Just then, a beautiful woman emerged from the same space channel. Wearing a purple gown, she looked like royalty. Her eyes revealed a sense of wisdom and experience.


    The Snake Goddess had created many miracles in the Source World. Her two notably important contributions were the Grand World Cultivation Method and the Chaotic Source Spirits. It could be said that she single-handedly nudged the whole world towards progress.


    Staring at the elegant woman before him, Zen was slightly taken aback. Other than the powerful aura surrounding her, she looked like an ordinary human. She didn''t even have the snake tail, a characteristic of the Snake Goddess race.


    Zen glanced at his sister dubiously, wondering if this woman in purple was truly the Snake Goddess.


    "Brother, this is the Snake G


    wer is injected into my body, or I''m hit in battle, it will pop out..."


    Frowning slightly, the Snake Goddess seemed to be lost in thought.


    Just like Fuxi''s strength, the Snake Goddess''s wisdom was universally known.


    However, despite her intelligence, it was difficult for her to figure out the Truth of Godly Way on Zen''s body.


    "There are countless strange and confusing things about the chaos, but most of them are related to the Other Shore. The Truth of Godly Way is used for one to enter the Other Shore," she said carefully. "Yet, this kind of Truth of Godly Way you showed has nothing to do with the Other Shore. This is not the Truth of Godly Way from the chaos!" Her eyes shone bright with wisdom. "I heard from Fuxi that you have used another kind of Truth of Godly Way in the Chaotic Source World. It seemed that it was not included in the thirteen Truths of Godly Ways. It confused me." She paused, as though deep in thought.


    "Zen, could you show me that Truth of Godly Way?"


    Zen''s Truth of Three-Energy Construction had been used in public before. The others might not notice, but Fuxi noticed it immediately.


    Thus, the Snake Goddess wanted Zen to help her understand the situation.


    Zen stood motionless for a moment. After a while, he said, "Snake Goddess, since you asked, I will accept your request. However, I want to ask you a question before I do so."


    "Go ahead." The Snake Goddess nodded.


    "Snake Goddess, have you met any humans on the Other Shore?" Zen asked abruptly.

 Chapter 3485 The Designated Celestial Wolf Race

    Previously, King Manard had asked Zen to help him find the human race on the Other Shore.


    However, ever since Zen entered the Other Shore, he had never heard of the existence of any human. Even the Regal Jade Spirit, who had been in the upper stages of the Other Shore before, had not known the existence of any human there.


    According to King Manard, humans were not born in this round of chaos by chance. Instead, it was an inevitable phenomenon. It was the reason why he was very affirmative that Zen should be able to find them somewhere on the Other Shore.


    The human civilization was many, many years older than the Regal Jade Civilization, and anything could have happened in such a long period.


    If Zen really wanted to find an answer, he could only seek it from the supreme human warriors.


    He originally wanted to return to the Oneness Sky Palace to see Eastern Emperor Taiyi. But now that he had seen the Snake Goddess, he thought that he could bring up this matter to her.


    The moment Zen raised the question, the face of the Snake Goddess suddenly looked serious.


    Her smiling face turned quite pale and it was evident that she felt somewhat uncomfortable.


    "Why are you asking this question?" the Snake Goddess asked as she stared directly into Zen''s eyes.


    Yan couldn''t help but blink repeatedly in wonder.


    She had stayed with the Snake Goddess for quite a long time, and this was the first instance that she had seen her exhibit a mood swing.


    ''Is Zen''s question strange?'' she wondered inwardly.


    Since there were all sorts of races on the Other Shore, it might not be that uncommon if humans also dwelt there.


    "I just want to know," Zen said calmly.


    Before getting a certain answer from the Snake Goddess, Zen didn''t want to tell her his connection to King Manard.


    "It''s just out of curiosity? Or is there something else?" the Snake Goddess asked as she tried to fish for some secrets to be spilled.


    "Well, yes, there are other reasons. Some are related to the Truth of Godly Way that I''ll be showing." As Zen answered, he stretched out his hand and the red, yellow and blue energy beams began spiraling up above his palm.


    The energy beams were interwoven with each other and gradually formed a small sculpture of Yan.


    "That''s amazing! You created


    confused that it didn''t know this piece of information.


    "You can''t blame it. After all, it''s just a soul avatar. It can''t bear all of Gerald''s memories," the Snake Goddess explained.


    Zen looked at the Snake Goddess who was wearing a charming smile on her face. It was as gentle and innocent as that of a child and as shy and vivacious as that of a teenage girl. Moreover, she had the wisdom and the bearing of a goddess. Zen could just imagine a female''s entire lifespan by just looking at her.


    "You¡­ You are snooping on my soul," Zen uttered the words with an embarrassed expression.


    Both the Snake Goddess and King Manard didn''t like it when there were people stealthily eavesdropping on them. King Manard even forced No. 9527 and the Regal Jade Spirit out back then.


    "No, I am not. I just felt your consciousness fluctuation and read it," said the Snake Goddess softly.


    "The Snake Goddess can read one''s spiritual sense and messages conveyed through life vitality," Yan reminded her brother.


    The Snake Goddess could even read one''s memories if she wanted to, but she wouldn''t do that to Zen.


    "In the ancient times of this chaos, there was only one human force. Furthermore, the birth of this very human force was indeed related to me and my brother."


    The Snake Goddess''s eyes began to glow, as if she had returned to the memories of those savage days. Back then, the chaos was newly created and people didn''t know much about the primitive land.


    And the "brother" that she was referring to was Fuxi.

 Chapter 3486 The Past

    The thick clouds swirled and trembled even more violently when the Snake Goddess pointed her finger towards the void. Then, she spoke in an oddly mysterious voice, "I can show you the first scene of this round of chaos."


    As soon as she was finished, drops of sweet rain fell down.


    "Ticking! Ticking! Ticking..."


    In turn, Yan reached out to catch the raindrops, only to find that they were just illusions.


    Meanwhile, the clouds in the distance disappeared and were replaced by a brown ocean.


    The current Source World had expanded to an extremely large size.


    However, during the beginning of the chaos, the Source World was born as a primitive land, much like an inner world.


    The entire Source World was drowned in the sea and over the endless years, the seeds of life gradually sprouted. The most primitive creatures were born.


    That particular scene was quite similar to what happened with Zen''s inner world when it was first created.


    Just then, six light cocoons floated in the vast sky. The light cocoons were translucent, and the shapes of the creatures inside them could be seen easily through their diaphanous structure.


    "Are they Chaos Ancient Gods?" Zen asked as he raised his head. The Snake Goddess nodded. Indeed, they were the only living creatures in the last round of chaos.


    They had passed through the chaos'' empty and lonely stage and observed the Ways-blending Energy. Each of them had learned their own truths.


    "I see my master! He is the second on the left!" No. 9527 exclaimed.


    Zen looked at the light cocoon it mentioned. Inside the second light cocoon on the left was a shadow shaped like a scorpion.


    Zen had never seen Gerald''s appearance before.


    Gerald''s body was buried below the ground, and Zen couldn''t see that.


    He only knew that Gerald was very large in size, and a piece of his rib was as big as a towering mountain. He didn''t expect that Gerald was a scorpion with a large body.


    On the other hand, the figures who were in the other light cocoons were different. Their features couldn''t be recognized simply from their shapes.


    "Splash..."


    The rain in the illusion became heavier and heavier, accompanied by the loud thunder.


    Tens of millions of years, and even billions of years passed...


    It was said that time could easil


    on that could''ve happened at the greatest extent might be the Civilization Artifacts.


    It was different this time, however.


    At that point, they threw the members of their races into the real world.


    Then, seeds of life fell onto the ground, took root, and sprouted.


    There were Separate Abyss race, Moon Spirit race, Ear Mouse race, Sun Crow race, Cracked Earth race who were covered with poison and so on.


    "There has never been a chaos which contains so many races..." the Snake Goddess commented. Zen simply nodded in response.


    These races had had a brilliant history and had been a ruling civilization in the past.


    Overall, they almost had the same potentials as each other.


    But, it wasn''t until trillions of years of development that many of the super forces stood up to each other as equals.


    A small mountain slowly appeared in the illusion, and some white light dots fell upon it. One of the light dots gradually grew bigger and turned into a light cocoon of a few feet high. Afterwards, a naked woman with a snake tail walked out of the light cocoon.


    The woman with a snake tail looked exactly the same as the Snake Goddess, but she had no cultivation base at all. She was just an ordinary being. Her memories were blurry, which made her look puzzled.


    Naturally, both Zen and Yan felt a little embarrassed at the sight of this woman.


    The Snake Goddess told them in a calm voice, "I am the first member of the Snake Goddess race to be born in this round of chaos, and Fuxi is the first human being."

 Chapter 3487 The Enemy

    As soon as the Snake Goddess walked out of the cocoon, another cocoon broke open as well. Fuxi emerged and nimbly walked out of it.


    Now, he looked exactly like an ordinary human man.


    In Zen''s eyes, the Snake Goddess race was not a human race, and they were simply related to the humans.


    So, why did the Snake Goddess descend with those white spots?


    Zen thought that it might be too impolite of him if he asked her about it directly, so he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.


    "Fuxi and I had many memories after we came to this world. We knew how to make pottery ware, weave webs, catch fishes..." the Snake Goddess continued.


    In time, the humans began to flourish rapidly around that small mountain.


    The memories in their minds had made a crucial contribution to the fact that they could master these skills in a short time.


    "Have you thought of something? For example, the Lord of Weapons..." the Snake Goddess reminded. At that moment, Zen''s eyes flashed.


    Chiyou was known as the Lord of Weapons, because he invented the sword, spear, halberd, armor, crossbow¡­


    "These inventions..." said Zen hesitantly.


    "They are the memories given by the humans on the Other Shore," the Snake Goddess explained. What King Manard had said was verified with the evolution of illusions.


    Generally speaking, it was very difficult for the races that had entered the Other Shore to return to the chaos.


    If the humans had appeared in the chaos, it meant that the humans on the Other Shore had already begun to take action.


    The Snake Goddess, Fuxi and Chiyou were the seeds sowed by the humans on the Other Shore


    "So, you, the Human Sovereign, and even my grandfather represent the humans on the Other Shore. Are you their spokespersons?" Zen asked.


    "No. It''s not that simple," replied the Snake Goddess as she shook her head.


    The humans on the Other Shore were well prepared, as they had given all the memories that the humans in the chaos should know. The only thing was, the humans in the chaos didn''t know where they came from, what was their goal, or anything about the humans on the Other Shore.


    In any case, thanks to those memories, several human forces had advanced rapidly.


    For instance, the small Pear Hill which had descended in the very beginning


    Meanwhile, Yan stood by the side and quietly listened to her brother''s words, her eyes wide with surprise. Not even the Human Sovereign could make the Snake Goddess look like that!


    "Back when I was in the Chaotic Source World, I had fought against Mount. He exiled me to that space," said Zen.


    "That is Othniel''s truth-level theurgy. That space should belong to Othniel. How could it be another Other Shore?" the Snake Goddess asked again. The information Zen was giving still perplexed her.


    She had already heard that Mount had exiled Zen. She was originally a little curious as to how Zen had returned, because all things considered, it was impossible for him to return after he was exiled.


    "There is a human in that space who said his name was King Manard. He came from the 77th civilization, and he has been hiding there until now. He has completely controlled that space and transformed it into another Other Shore.


    He taught me the Truth of Three-Energy Construction," Zen stated.


    Upon hearing those words, the Snake Goddess couldn''t keep calm anymore.


    The 77th civilization had left a lot of traces in the Three Purities Stage on the Other Shore, but no one had ever met any of them.


    She never thought that Zen would''ve found a human from the 77th civilization in that way! "Even if King Manard can live in that space, how did he find the Truth of Three-Energy Construction?" the Snake Goddess asked.


    The answer Zen gave shocked her greatly once again. "He found it from outside of the chaos," he said.

 Chapter 3488 The Wrong Goal

    Zen''s voice was not loud, but what he said came as a shock to the Snake Goddess.


    It was too much for her.


    While Zen could probably fabricate a story about the second Other Shore, she believed the part about the void construction of the Truth of Three-Energy Construction.


    "Outside the chaos? What is outside the chaos?" The Snake Goddess stared at Zen intently, like a child hungry for knowledge.


    "Well..." Zen hesitated slightly.


    "Can''t you tell me?" Noticing Zen''s hesitation, the Snake Goddess couldn''t help but feel a little disappointed.


    "I can." Zen smiled. King Manard didn''t give Zen too many restrictions. His only request was to help him find the humans on the Other Shore. Moreover, Zen thought it wouldn''t hurt to inform the Snake Goddess. "The world outside the chaos is very unique. There, the shapes of all materials are different... It''s hard to describe..."


    Zen did his best to describe the scene engraved in his memory.


    Although the description was not, in his opinion, exactly accurate, the Snake Goddess still lapped up everything he said. Even Yan, who was standing next to her, listened attentively to her brother''s story.


    By the time Zen finished speaking, the Snake Goddess seemed to want to say something.


    However, a voice interrupted her. "Since you said that space is another Other Shore, can one go there with the Truth of Three-Energy Construction?"


    A burly figure appeared on the jadeite platform. It was Fuxi.


    "Ah, you were eavesdropping!" Yan said accusingly.


    "Eavesdropping? What do you mean by that?" Fuxi chuckled. "I''ve been here this whole time."


    It was clear that Fuxi had heard every word that had come out of Zen''s mouth just now. He too was curious about that space and the world outside the chaos, so he couldn''t help but reveal himself.


    Zen, contrary to his sister''s reaction, smiled calmly at Fuxi. "Yes. With the Truth of Three-Energy Construction, we can go there."


    "With the soul or body?" Fuxi asked, eyebrow raised.


    "I don''t know that either." Zen was baffled by this question.


    Since returning from that space, he had never tried going back to it.


    It was impossible to enter the Other Shore with the Truth of Powe


    a warm hug. Seeing Yan as her own daughter, she was fond of the girl. "There is hope, but your brother has mistaken the order."


    "What order?" Yan asked confusedly.


    "It''s meaningless to rebuild the Nine Li race if the Finale Way is not completed," the Snake Goddess answered. "The chaos will be destroyed. And all the humans, including those from the Pear Hill, the Oneness Sky Palace and the Bearing race, will perish." Turning to face Zen, she continued explaining to Yan, "But if your brother completes the Finale Way, it will be much easier to rebuild the Nine Li race, right?"


    Upon returning to Pear Hill, Fuxi had filled the Snake Goddess in on all the details about what happened at the bottom of the chaos. She was keenly aware that Zen was selected by Gerald.


    Contrary to the aggrieved Fuxi at the time, the Snake Goddess''s reaction was quite calm.


    She did not know why Zen was chosen by Gerald, but as one of the six Chaos Ancient Gods, Gerald undoubtedly should have unique insight. Perhaps Zen could really complete the Finale Way and become the supreme Finale Hero in the chaos.


    "Do you know your goal now?" Fuxi asked viciously.


    When he left that prison, Fuxi had felt so indignant. He thought Gerald was blind to have chosen Zen.


    However, when he met Zen again in the Chaotic Source World, Zen had completely changed. He had rapidly improved.


    At least, Zen''s performance had convinced Fuxi and made him certain of what he believed in.

 Chapter 3489 Peculiar Seeds

    The first time that Zen had heard of the Finale Hero, it was from Fuxi''s mouth.


    Fuxi had been in his lunatic phase at the time and Zen had had no idea what it had meant. No. 9527 hadn''t explained it to him either.


    It was not until Athemar had told him about the Finale Way while in the Mountain Viewing Province, that he had finally understood what it was about.


    But there were things in the world that he''d find difficult to take on as goals even if he understood what they were.


    There had been a number of civilizations that had pursued the Finale Way in the past. But it was a goal that even a whole civilization had failed to achieve despite summoning all their powers. Zen had never dreamed that his strength could be on par with that of a whole civilization.


    At this moment, a soul fluctuation emanated from the sclerite in Zen''s chest.


    No. 9527 had suddenly turned into a human figure and was now standing beside Zen.


    Fuxi and the Snake Goddess didn''t flinch when the human-shaped soul appeared so suddenly.


    The Snake Goddess had already sensed its existence, and Fuxi had communicated with No. 9527 at the bottom of the chaos.


    No. 9527 folded its hands in respect towards Fuxi and the Snake Goddess.


    No. 9527 was usually pretty casual when communicating with Zen. But it regarded the top masters in the Source World as its peers. It hadn''t cared about its manners even when it had met Chiyou in the divine land.


    "We meet again," said Fuxi as he returned No. 9527''s salute. "I didn''t expect you to still be in this man''s body."


    "I will accompany and assist him as he grows in his strength. I won''t leave until he becomes strong enough," No. 9527 answered.


    When a soul fragment was separated from the main soul for too long, the connection between it and its master grew more distant with time.


    In the beginning, No. 9527 had only assisted Zen when it thought it was necessary.


    But as they began to communicate more deeply with each other, No. 9527 gradually formed its own self-consciousness and began to have its own characters. It began to care more about Zen.


    "It looks like you''ve done a good job of assisting him," Fuxi said, voice dripping with jealousy. He had attributed Zen''s rapid progress in cultivation to No. 9527''s assistance.


    "My help didn''t really matter. Zen was able to achieve all of this with his own efforts," No. 9527 said, shaking its head. "I actually wanted


    y thirty million years. Another thirty million years later, the tree would bear a fruit. And another thirty million years later, the fruit would mature. This fruit would have a Six-Pattern Blood-storing Seed within it.


    To perfectly pass down bloodlines was just one of the functions of the Six-Pattern Blood-storing Seeds.


    What made the Six-Pattern Blood-storing Seeds really important were the things that were hidden inside them.


    The Snake Goddess had discovered the Grand World Cultivation Method from one of the Six-Pattern Blood-storing Seeds.


    The crystals produced by the Chaotic Source Spirits after they came to the Source World could help the warriors at the Other Shore Realm step into the Chaotic Source Realm. This secret had also been carried by a Six-Pattern Blood-storing Seed.


    The Snake Goddess believed that this Six-Pattern Blood-storing Tree was a method the human race on the Other Shore used to communicate with her. They sealed what they needed her to know into the tree and in this way, passed it to her.


    This was why the Six-Pattern Blood-storing Seeds were never given to outsiders.


    At the time, a Six-Pattern Blood-storing Seed that had been placed in Yan''s body had copied the bloodline of the Snake Goddess. And then an Energy Shaft formed in her body.


    "Don''t you know how many Six-Pattern Blood-storing Seeds we have devoured over the years?" Fuxi shook his head and said, "The information that some of the seeds contained is ridiculous. Apart from the one that Yan inherited, all others are basically useless. And you''re still expecting the last one to produce a miracle?"

 Chapter 3490 Deliver

    The Snake Goddess frowned. She had always placed her hopes on the Six-Pattern Blood-storing Tree.


    She was under the impression that the humans on the Other Shore would hide the information about them in the Six-Pattern Blood-storing Seeds. So she was hoping to find information from the seeds.


    But it just turned out to be a disappointment.


    Fuxi continued, "Perhaps we have to resign ourselves to fate. Zen found King Manard. Since he asked for it, we can give him the last seed."


    After a moment''s silence, the Snake Goddess nodded and waved her hand. The two of them returned to the jadeite platform again.


    Shooting a glance at Zen, she gestured towards him. "Follow me."


    It seemed that she had agreed.


    With a wave, No. 9527 returned to Zen''s body.


    The Snake Goddess waved her hand once more, and she and Zen had disappeared from the jadeite platform.


    The next thing he knew, Zen was in a cave.


    It was practically pitch black. He could, however, hear the sounds of dripping water off the walls.


    "This is the internal space of the Pear Hill?" Zen guessed.


    "It''s the innermost part of the Pear Hill," the Snake Goddess answered. She started walking.


    As she walked forward, dim lights would appear around the cave. It was some complex magic arrays that emitted the glow.


    Although these magic arrays had not been activated, they embodied terrifying abilities. Obviously, this was the most important place of the Pear Hill, since it was so heavily guarded.


    After walking more than two hundred feet, they reached the end of the cave.


    Zen glanced around. He noticed the soil here was white, and towards the end of the cave stood a tree as tall as a person.


    "Is this the Six-Pattern Blood-storing Tree?"


    Zen stared at the tree in surprise.


    The Six-Pattern Blood-storing Tree was invaluable to the Pear Hill. It was not necessarily as tall and intimidating as the divine trees in the divine land, but it should be full of vitality.


    However, to Zen''s surprise, it had signs of decaying from its roots, and its naked branches were almost completely devoid of leaves. The few leaves it did have had already turned yellow. If it weren''t for a single light green fruit on it, Zen would''ve thought it was a


    spot. The light had a strong penetrating power, and even the chaotic energy was unable to stop it.


    Two hours later, the Thunder Dimorphodon finally reached the light spot.


    Above the light spot stood a man in an embroidered robe, with an ordinary bamboo basket on his back. With the sleeves rolled up, he looked like a farmer who had been hidden in the mountains.


    This man was Divine Farmer, the leader of the Divine Farmer race.


    "You got them?" Divine Farmer asked with a smile.


    "Yes," said the Thunder Dimorphodon. "But there is a slight problem."


    Divine Farmer''s smile froze. He knew clearly that the Thunder Dimorphodon seldom encountered problems in its life. "What''s the problem?"


    "The Black Ship stopped me on the way and took away half of the rings," said the Thunder Dimorphodon. With its huge paw gently lifted, small rings of light floated in front of Divine Farmer.


    Divine Farmer''s expression fell. "The Black Ship? Why would they target you? As far as I know, they should not be interested in the Chaotic Source World."


    The Black Ship was also known as a super force, despite having only thirteen members. It seldom cultivated disciples and rarely went to the Chaotic Source World.


    "I don''t know why they went to the Chaotic Source World either. They had been there since the beginning. I didn''t expect to be intercepted by them after I got rid of Fuxi," said the Thunder Dimorphodon through gritted teeth. It was angry at the mention of the Black Ship.

 Chapter 3491 The Moon Fire Slave

    The Thunder Dimorphodon had very few encounters with the Black Ship, each mostly well out of the other''s way. This was why the Black Ship''s sudden attack had caught the Thunder Dimorphodon off guard.


    The Divine Farmer heaved a deep sigh. "I see. You are free to go now."


    "What about my payment?" the Thunder Dimorphodon asked.


    The Divine Farmer fixed a blank look at the Thunder Dimorphodon. "Of course I shall pay you. But since you only finished half the job, you also only get half the amount we agreed on."


    "You..." The Thunder Dimorphodon growled, its body crackling with lightning.


    "I''ll just use the other half to buy the rest of the rings from the Black Ship," the Divine Farmer added.


    There were twelve rings in total, each one an extremely precious treasure.


    The Divine Farmer just hoped the Black Ship wouldn''t know the use of these rings. He was willing to pay any price they asked to get all the remaining rings back.


    Shooting the Divine Farmer a dirty look, the Thunder Dimorphodon snorted and then took a step back, curling up its wings.


    The Divine Farmer took a ring in his hand and studied it carefully.


    The ring, in addition to its mysterious aura, didn''t look special at all. Could it really help a creature on the Other Shore to descend to the chaos?


    After examining it for a while, the Divine Farmer recited a quiet chant, a trace of Truth of Godly Way emanating from him.


    He closed his eyes and entered the Other Shore with his soul.


    Buzz!


    Arriving at the Other Shore, his soul emerged in a huge red hall.


    The hall was magnificent and extravagant. A colossal arch stretching tens of thousands of feet stood in the distance. Beneath the arch lay a huge disc with nine thrones lined along the edge, facing the center.


    The Divine Farmer walked straight to the center of the disc and stomped his foot lightly.


    Numerous red patterns surfaced on the huge disc. A small orb appeared on each of the surrounding thrones.


    "I''ve got the Descending Rings." The Divine Farmer raised his hand, displaying the ring he was holding.


    He managed to bring the ring into the Other Shore!


    At his pronouncement, the orbs on the thrones started to flash with light, thrilled at what they were seeing.


    "You brought it to the Other Shore successfully! This is a great development!"


    "It


    aint smile.


    He had indulged the Blood Assembly for many years. It had apparently made these Other Shore creatures more and more arrogant.


    "Maybe you should worry about surviving, first," the Divine Farmer pointed out.


    "Surviving? What do you mean?"


    the Moon Fire Slave asked, truly confused.


    He was a fire spirit, the most powerful form of fire creature.


    He was simply indestructible unless he was killed in a special way.


    Who could threaten his survival in the chaos?


    Just then, something unusual happened.


    The ring on his head flashed with a mysterious light. An invisible force suddenly came crashing down on him.


    The force was so strong that he could not put up any resistance at all. The Moon Fire Slave was caught and pushed against the air.


    It was as if an invisible wall existed in the space, and the mysterious force was now grabbing the giant and smashing him against it.


    Bang! With a horrible sound, the black rock covering the Moon Fire Slave''s body melted and was reduced to powder!


    The green flames spurting out from his body left many long green trails on the invisible wall.


    The force was relentless. The Moon Fire Slave was smashed against the wall again and again, until his body was completely destroyed, crushed into shreds.


    The Thunder Dimorphodon watched the incredible sight from the sidelines, its eye widening in shock.


    The unknown force was terrifying. If it were the Thunder Dimorphodon who had been tortured like that, it would have ended up in a worse state than the Moon Fire Slave!

 Chapter 3492 Miss Something

    Divine Farmer''s face was expressionless. He stretched out his hand. The ring that was floating in the air, some distance away, flew towards him. He closed his fingers around the ring as it came to rest on his palm. He shook his head and recited the Truth of Godly Way in order to return to the Other Shore.


    As soon as he arrived, he was greeted with a series of urgent questions. "What happened?"


    "How is the Moon Fire Slave?"


    "Did he make it?"


    asked the nine light orbs on the thrones. They were eager to get some answers from Divine Farmer.


    The Moon Fire Slave''s survival was the most important thing to them.


    Divine Farmer sighed. "No. He failed. He was killed by the truth," he said.


    The light orbs were aghast. "How could this be?"


    "But he succeeded in getting there in the first place!"


    "He wasn''t supposed to fail!"


    Divine Farmer could sense the fury in the light orbs.


    They had already succeeded before. How could they have failed at the most critical moment?


    "It''s not that easy to escape the truth," Divine Farmer explained. "It''s true that the Moon Fire Slave managed to enter the chaos, but he was quickly detected and killed by the truth rule."


    "But how about that huge eye? Why did it survive?" asked the light orb on the second chair from the left.


    This question baffled Divine Farmer.


    He thought for a while. Slowly he replied, "Maybe it''s because that Dreaded Eye Demon was not powerful enough..."


    Although the Moon Fire Slave was only a slave of the Element Spirit Civilization, his strength was at a very high level. Most warriors found his strength to be absolutely terrifying.


    In contrast, the Dreaded Eye Demon was much weaker.


    The light orbs considered Divine Farmer''s explanation. "All right, then... let''s try using a weak water spirit," said the light orb in the middle.


    A splash sounded as soon as the light orb had spoken.


    A wave of water rolled towards them. It halted abruptly in front of Divine Farmer, gathered itself into a human-shaped blue mass and stood up.


    It was a creature made of water. Its human shape changed further as it added armor over its body.


    Water spirits were at the lowest level of the Element Spirit Civilization. This creature''s strength would definitely be far inferior to that of the Dreaded Eye Demon.


    Divine Farmer was still holding the ring in one hand. He stepped closer to the water spirit and gently placed the ring on top of its head. Immediately, Divine Farmer and the water spirit disappeared from the Other Shore.


    The light orbs waited, saying nothing. In just a few seconds, Divine Farmer reappeared. He wore a disappointed look on his face. "Another failure. We must be missing somet


    e lights dancing along the lines of the magic array gathered on the surface of the golden red crystal.


    As the minutes passed, the lights dimmed, and then vanished.


    Fuxi examined the golden red crystal. It was exactly the same as it had been before refining.


    He was taken aback. "What the hell is this crystal?" he murmured to himself.


    The power of this magic array was immense. Even something a hundred times stronger than a crystal could be melted by this array. However, this golden red crystal had somehow remained intact.


    At that moment, the Snake Goddess appeared on the jadeite platform again. She saw him holding the golden red crystal and asked, "Have you refined it yet?"


    Fuxi studied the golden red crystal intently. "This crystal is very strange. It doesn''t seem very dense or solid. Yet it can withstand the power of this array in the process of refining. It simply refuses to melt."


    The Snake Goddess was intrigued. "Let me try," she requested, holding out her hand. Fuxi gave her the golden red crystal.


    Instead of using the magic array arranged by Fuxi, she directly activated the energy beams of her shadow. Crimson energy beams flowed out, twining around the golden red crystal and burrowing into its surface.


    Fuxi watched closely.


    The shadow of Snake Goddess had an astonishing energy. There was probably nothing in the Source World that could resist the direct impact of her energy beams.


    As before, the golden red crystal was entirely enveloped for several minutes in the glowing red light. But as the light dimmed, the golden red crystal was revealed to be intact and unchanged in the palm of the Snake Goddess.


    She raised an eyebrow, looking astonished. "This crystal seems to be immune to being melted by energy, no matter how powerful. What''s going on?"

 Chapter 3493 Rules Of The Land of Sword Grief

    The Snake Goddess gasped. She had never seen something like this happen before.


    If she used this golden red crystal to forge a body protection weapon, would this make her practically invincible?


    Her tender fingers gently caressed the crystal. Then, from her fingertips burst out five thousand divine megatons of force.


    "Click!"


    With a crisp sound, the crystal had broken into two halves.


    The Snake Goddess and Fuxi frowned. Both were evidently perplexed.


    "That''s weird. This crystal couldn''t take the power exerted on it, yet it can avoid the attack of energy... How is that helpful?" The Snake Goddess furrowed her brows, puzzled.


    Staring at the two pieces of the golden red crystal, Fuxi shook his head. "Maybe this is not for body refining."


    "You mean it has something to do with descending?" The Snake Goddess''s eyes flashed with understanding. "Yes, this is possible..."


    "Zen has a lot of these crystals. Do you want to take them back first?" Fuxi asked.


    The Snake Goddess shook her head. "Let him keep them first. Our most pressing issue is the loss of the Descending Rings to the Thunder Dimorphodon."


    At the mention of the Thunder Dimorphodon, Fuxi''s eyes flashed with a hint of killing intent.


    While the top ten ancient beasts were quite famous for their strength and prowess, Fuxi was confident he could kill the Thunder Dimorphodon, given the chance.


    Because the Thunder Dimorphodon had dared to steal the rings right under his nose, Fuxi vowed to never let it go unpunished.


    After staying at the Pear Hill for seven days, the flying ships of the Oneness Sky Palace finally left.


    In case of any emergency, the Pear Hill sent two masters to escort the flying ships back to the Bloom Divine Province.


    After the seven flying ships arrived at the Bloom Divine Province, Zen took the time to rest well at the Flow Sword Sect.


    Sally, Hutton and other members of the Nine Li race were also arranged to stay at the Flow Sword Sect as they waited for Ambrose.


    Happy her husband finally returned, Letitia pounced into his arms. She stayed by his side to hear him talk about what he''d just been through at the Chaotic Source World. When Zen got to the part about the fight with the Evil God, she felt her heart pump f


    ned in the Chaotic Source World.


    After all the disciples who just reached the Chaotic Source Realm made it to the bronze palace, three people emerged from its massive bronze gates. The leader of the group was the long-haired man, with a long sword strapped to his back. His eyes flashed fiercely.


    The long-haired man looked like a serious fellow. With a curt bow, he said, "Congratulations! All of you have made it to the Chaotic Source Realm, and are thus members of our Land of Sword Grief."


    The crowd all bowed respectfully to the man.


    "My name is Abdul Fang, from the Bright Mountain."


    "Nice to meet you, Abdul."


    "I have heard a lot about you..."


    ¡­


    The ones who whispered amongst themselves were actually from the Bright Mountain. Though Abdul Fang ranked at the bottom among the members from the Land of Sword Grief, he was quite famous back in the Bright Mountain.


    Abdul Fang just nodded slightly at them, remaining serious-faced. "However, you should know that before joining the Land of Sword Grief, each of you need to confirm your rankings."


    While most of the disciples from the Oneness Sky Palace were aware of the rules of the Land of Sword Grief, Zen blinked confusedly.


    "Sorry. What do you mean by that?" Zen asked innocently.


    Abdul Fang cast a cold glare at Zen, a trace of contempt born in his heart. Judging from Zen''s white clothes, he figured he must be from the Flow Sword Sect. ''How can this kid know nothing about the rules of our Land of Sword Grief?''

 Chapter 3494 You Are Not Qualified

    Although Abdul had a contempt for Zen, his expression did not show it. "It can be said that the Land of Sword Grief has gathered most of the resources of the Oneness Sky Palace," he explained patiently. "But these resources are not given to good-for-nothing warriors."


    He said ''good-for-nothing warriors'' emphatically as if his remarks were aimed at the hundred people in front of him.


    Many of them, including Elvinia, frowned after hearing him say this.


    Elvinia and Dorothy held high positions in the Oneness Sky Palace, and no one ever dared to speak to them with disrespect up until this moment. They were not pleased.


    On the other hand, Abdul didn''t care about what anyone thought and how they reacted. He turned around and pointed at the bronze palace. "There are more than 1, 100 people in the Land of Sword Grief." he said bluntly. "About 30 people on the third floor, 200 on the second floor, and then 900 on the first floor. Each of them possesses their own unique rankings."


    "Excuse us, Abdul," a Bright Mountain disciple spoke. "But when you last returned to the Bright Mountain, you were ranked 630th. I wonder how much you''ve managed to improve since then?" This man was furious, wanting so badly to embarrass him after everything he had said.


    Upon hearing this, Abdul smirked and responded proudly, "I worked up the ranking in last month''s challenge, and I am now ranked 570th."


    After Abdul bragged, warriors in the crowd began to chatter and whisper among themselves.


    "Ha-ha. I thought he is good especially because he speaks so arrogantly. He''s ranked only 570th, and he still stays on the first floor."


    "In any case, that means this guy must have stayed on the first floor for around 20 years, right?"


    "Yes! He stays on the first floor, yet he shows off like he''s from the third. What a guy."


    Among the new disciples, many of them were direct descendants of various mountains. Although they were new to the Land of Sword Grief, they knew the rules here all too well.


    Warriors were treated differently based on the floors they stood on. The disciples on different floors of the Land of Sword Grief also showed the gap in their strengths. Chance, who was also a Chaotic Source Realm warrior, ranked at the bottom on the first floor. He had been so harshly defeated by Zen before.


    Because Abdul was a resident of the first floor, the direct descendants naturally looked down upon him.


    Abdul couldn''t take the taunting and disrespect, a look of sudden anger flashing across his face.


    However, he managed to control his emotions and


    ts you to challenge me."


    Zen looked at Abdul with a calm, composed expression in his eyes. "I challenge you?" he said, pointing at himself and raising his eyebrows.


    "Dare you?" Abdul asked.


    "It''s not a matter of whether I dare or not." Zen smirked and put his hands behind his back. "You''re too weak. You''re not even qualified to fight me."


    Zen didn''t intend to join the Land of Sword Grief at all, but he was loyal to the Oneness Sky Palace and their rules.


    If Abdul hadn''t provoked Elvinia, Zen would have just kept silent.


    But because he was so insistent on challenging Elvinia, how could Zen possibly let this slide?


    After Abdul heard Zen''s response, his face went from arrogant to furious. Just then, a sharp light burst from his eyes like the sword radiance, and shot straight at Zen.


    The two men behind Abdul looked angry as well. How dare this newcomer speak with such disrespect!


    Likewise, the disciples in the bronze palace were surprised with Zen''s confidence.


    "Check this out! A troublemaker appears!"


    "I think I''ve seen that guy... He won first place in the Seven Mountains Meeting!"


    "So what? If one can''t even figure out their real strength, they are bound to suffer!"


    The disciples on the first floor were discussing and debating Zen and his arrogance towards Abdul.


    By contrast, the disciples on the second floor were much calmer.


    The first floor and the second floor were completely different. Those who were on the second floor usually had no business in the disputes in the Land of Sword Grief.


    Therefore, only 20 to 30 warriors on the second floor came out to welcome the new members today. However, at this moment, Zen''s words attracted their attention.

 Chapter 3495 Libby Li

    A white-faced man gazed at Zen with interest. He was on the second floor and was observing the young man. "It is said that the disciples of the Flow Sword Sect act at their sweet will. I find that to be true, Yusuf. That guy is just like the younger you."


    Next to him was a strong man named Yusuf Gu, also a member of the Flow Sword Sect.


    Yusuf glared at Zen coldly. "Don''t take me for a fool. He''s just joined the Land of Sword Grief but already has the audacity to challenge Abdul. He''s simply an idiot asking for trouble."


    It was a well-known fact that Abdul was a backbone of the Land of Sword Grief.


    He''d gotten lucky recently, finding an unparalleled Other Shore Token in Stage Sixteen. As his strength surged, his ranking also steadily improved.


    If he played it safe, then he was set to reach the top 200 in the next couple of years and go up to the second floor.


    The white-faced man laughed at Yusuf''s words. "I don''t think he''s that much of an idiot. He didn''t say he would challenge Abdul. That young man is actually quite shrewd in my opinion."


    In his eyes, Zen was a mere cunning newcomer who had no courage to issue a direct challenge to Abdul.


    "Still, it''s not wise to piss off someone like Abdul," Yusuf reasoned.


    Zen came from the Flow Sword Sect too and Yusuf had decided to stand up for him if he was bullied. Unfortunately, Zen''s words earlier had offended most of the disciples in the Land of Sword Grief. Yusuf didn''t think he''d be able to protect him because of that.


    Abdul was ranked around 500th. The things Zen just said insinuated that nearly half of the disciples were not qualified to challenge him.


    In all honesty, Abdul never expected Zen to answer him in such a way.


    His Soul of Light emitted a sharp aura and charged straight towards Zen.


    Despite the overwhelming pressure from Abdul''s soul power, Zen remained calm and collected, never showing any sort of fear.


    This placid reaction made Abdul feel strange. Was Zen truly not affected at all?


    ''Although he''s just reached the Chaotic Source Realm, his soul is no weaker than mine, '' he thought to himself as he charged. ''Does he have some sort of magic treasure that lets him withstand soul attacks?''


    Desp


    tter smile.


    Realizing that Zen was unwilling to challenge them, the veterans immediately turned hostile.


    A young man, short in stature, stepped forward. "It seems you don''t want to choose an opponent. Are you lacking guts? By a month, we''ll have the right to challenge you and you won''t be able to turn us down!"


    Abdul sneered. "This guy''s obviously playing with us. He doesn''t dare to challenge us at all! Let''s go. We''ll see how miserable he''ll be after a month."


    Zen couldn''t help but roll his eyes. "I can challenge you but first, I want to see the rankings of the Land of Sword Grief."


    Everyone''s eyes lit up. His request made sense. Maybe he wanted to play it smart and choose the people at the bottom of the rankings in hopes that it would increase his chances of victory.


    It didn''t matter though.


    To them, even the 1115th warrior could take care of Zen effortlessly.


    "This is the Ranking Stone!" someone in the crowd shouted. The disciples parted and allowed Zen a path towards the said stone.


    At the end of the hall was a black stone pillar.


    Someone rubbed his body against the magic array and names suddenly appeared like glowing carvings. There were 1, 116 names on it since Zen and the other newcomers hadn''t been added yet. Right now, they were ranked 1117th.


    These names were divided into three sections.


    There were a little over 30 names in the first section: those on the third floor with the top spot taken by someone called Libby Li.

 Chapter 3496 Cleon

    ''This Libby should be the strongest warrior in the Land of Sword Grief¡­'' Zen thought to himself.


    His gaze swept across the names on the Ranking Stone. "I have a question."


    "What is it?"


    "I can answer your question!"


    "Go ahead!"


    The veterans were entirely hospitable, each with their own axe to grind.


    "Can I challenge the warriors on the second floor?" Zen asked flatly.


    The several hundred people on the first floor were shocked silent upon hearing the question.


    ''What''s wrong with him?'' many of them wondered.


    How dare he challenge the warriors on the second floor?


    Over 1, 100 people resided the entire Land of Sword Grief, and there were only about 200 people on the second floor. The strength of those who had reached the second floor was leaps and bounds beyond that of the first-floor cultivators.


    "According to the rules, you''re not permitted to challenge anyone on the second floor," Abdul explained as he walked up to the Ranking Stone, pointing to a name on the list. "He is the only one qualified to do so."


    The name read Cleon. He was number one on the first floor.


    Excitement flashed across Elvinia''s eyes upon seeing Cleon''s name. He was Jean''s eldest son and Chance''s brother¡ªthe guy who had been utterly defeated by Zen as a cultivator at the Chaotic Source Realm.


    "I see." Zen nodded slowly, pointing to the first name on the second floor. "That is to say, if I want to challenge someone on the third floor, I''d have to defeat the number one warrior on the second floor, right?"


    Apart from the disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace who had just arrived along with Zen, everyone else fell silent.


    Most of them stared at Zen like he was an idiot.


    "Is he insane?"


    "How dare he even mention challenging someone on the third floor? Who does he think he is?"


    "I''ve been in the Land of Sword Grief for a long time. This is the first time I''ve seen a newcomer be this cocky."


    Completing the cultivation in the Chaotic Source Realm involved an extremely long process. The gap between the early, middle, and late stages of cultivation was undeniably wide¡ªthe three flo


    rankings. Rarely did anyone challenge veterans, even those of the lower ranks.


    "I believe so."


    Chance''s expression looked unreadable. "How stupid can a newcomer be to challenge you right off the bat?"


    Throwing a nonchalant glance at Chance, Cleon answered, "I don''t know if there is any such newcomer. I only know that a disciple from the Land of Sword Grief was defeated by a disciple of the Oneness Sky Palace who hadn''t reached the Chaotic Source Realm."


    What his brother said made Chance look grim. "That was an accident. That guy''s Other Shore Token¡­"


    "Don''t look down upon any enemy," Cleon interrupted him. "If I were you, I''d have been pulled down from the first place ages ago."


    Chance''s defeat by Zen''s hands still brought him great shame. Because Jean had covered up the fact, only a few people were aware of it.


    "Come on, let''s go back to the Land of Sword Grief," Cleon said, his eyes looking sharp and his mouth curling. "I''m rather curious about how talented this new guy is and why he dares to challenge me."


    Once they left the Dragon City, they headed straight for the Land of Sword Grief.


    For an hour, Zen had waited on the first floor. News of the newcomer challenging Cleon spread quickly. More and more onlookers gathered around.


    Some disciples who were already out rushed back, and even those practicing in seclusion wanted to see who the arrogant new arrival was.

 Chapter 3497 Three Thousand Divine Megatons

    The newcomers behind Zen were all nervous and fidgety.


    Although Zen''s strength was unquestionable, it was another matter for him to challenge the strongest warrior on the first floor.


    Meanwhile, the senior disciples in the Land of Sword Grief were merely waiting for a good show.


    Abdul observed Zen quietly from the sidelines.


    For some reason, he had a hunch that something was going to go wrong.


    A person who was able to survive the Chaotic Source World and reach the Chaotic Source Realm must be extremely outstanding. But that person shouldn''t have done such a stupid thing.


    Zen looked all too calm as though he was brimming with confidence.


    It didn''t seem like a mask.


    Even if he was pretending, the fight would expose his true strength.


    Did he do it for the sake of the new disciples?


    About an hour later, two figures appeared before the door of the bronze palace. Then, Cleon''s booming voice came through, "Who on earth wants to challenge me?"


    "Cleon is back!"


    The senior disciples'' eyes flickered in excitement.


    Abdul stepped forward and cupped one hand in the other, making obeisance to Cleon. Then, he pointed to Zen. "It''s him."


    Taking a casual glance at Zen, looking him up and down, Cleon didn''t find anything particularly special. But he heard Chance gasp loudly in surprise from beside him.


    "Chance, for heaven''s sake!" Cleon chastised.


    But how could Chance not react at all?


    Never did he expect to see Zen there, let alone find out he was the one who challenged his elder brother.


    Not long ago, he was defeated by this very man. Because of his failure, he was thoroughly reprimanded by his elder brother, and even mocked by his younger one¡ªAhmad.


    Now, Zen had just entered the Chaotic Source Realm. Chance had never thought he would be so bold as to challenge Cleon.


    "Brother¡­that''s Zen Luo," Chance muttered.


    The revelation had Cleon''s eyes slightly widen in surprise.


    In truth, he never understood how Chance could have been defeated by Zen. Zen''s Regal Jade chessboard, as described by Chance, sounded way too powerful to be real.


    Never had Cleon heard of such an Other Shore Token.


    But Cleon hadn''t


    idden, Zen would pose no threat to Cleon.


    "Not only the Other Shore Tokens of the descending type, but also those of the mysterious type and the auxiliary type are prohibited. If you attempt to use any of them, you will be rejected by the arrays and in turn, lose the battle," Cleon continued.


    "Got it." Zen nodded once.


    The standard for joining the Land of Sword Grief rested on reaching the Chaotic Source Realm.


    Disciples of this realm had to go to the extreme to increase the bearing capacity of their Chaotic Source Spirits.


    All sorts of incredible abilities were within the Other Shore Tokens. Once they were used, unforeseen consequences were likely to unfold. Naturally, they had been prohibited in the arena.


    "If you got it, then¡­ You will lose!" Cleon declared as a tremendous aura spread from his body.


    The Other Shore Power constantly surged out of his inner world, fueling his body. With all the Chaotic Source Spirits activated simultaneously, his aura grew wildly.


    "But it won''t really be a shame for you to lose to me. I am number one on the first floor, after all. But unfortunately, you have once humiliated my younger brother, Chance. I won''t be showing you any mercy. You''re going to suffer what you must."


    Then, as Cleon stretched out his hand to condense his power, his strike was already on its way to Zen''s head.


    "Wow!"


    The palm strike held over three thousand divine megatons of Other Shore Power.

 Chapter 3498 Taking The Palm Strike Head-on

    The moment the senior disciples in the Land of Sword Grief saw the large palm print, a small smile graced their lips.


    It appeared that Cleon was a nice man as he had patiently explained the rules to Zen, but when the fight began, he showed no mercy.


    Most disciples from the first floor couldn''t withstand the large palm print at all!


    Given that Zen had just reached the Chaotic Source Realm, this time, the palm print''s force could not only drain the Chaotic Source Spirits in his body, but also slap him half to death.


    Despite that, Elvinia, Dorothy, and Chaim weren''t so worried at that moment.


    They knew that what Zen had experienced in the Chaotic Source World was far worse than Cleon''s palm print.


    Even if he didn''t summon a world and activate the Inheritance of World, he would still be able to cope with it.


    Just as the large palm print was about to strike his head, he looked like he wouldn''t dodge it.


    These days, he had constantly summoned the Regal Jade sculptures to refine his body.


    He''d summoned from the first sculpture to the tenth to refine his body from the beginning, and the Truth of Godly Way in his physical body was enough to meet the needs of the Chaotic Source Spirits.


    But as their strength increased, so did their need for the Truth of Godly Way.


    Therefore, Zen could only summon stronger Regal Jade sculptures. Later, the Regal Jade sculptures that he used to refine his body were basically the sculptures from the tenth to the twentieth.


    Recently, he had activated the twentieth to the thirtieth sculptures!


    His Chaotic Source Spirits were so strong that even when under the siege of those ten sculptures, they could still hold on for a while. Indeed, the Chaotic Source Spirits in his body had improved by leaps and bounds.


    Therefore, how could a palm print with merely the force of three thousand divine megatons possibly hurt him?


    "Whoosh!"


    The huge palm print finally struck down on Zen''s head.


    When Cleon saw Zen simply raise his hands to cover his face, he smiled lazily and muttered, "How naive..."


    "Bang!"


    There was a loud thud when the huge palm print hit Zen''s skull hard.


    At that moment, the Chaotic Source Spirits in his body became extremely active. The light dots repeatedly jumped around and at the same time, a golden light circulated around the surface of Zen''s body once. Then it entered into his body.


    It was a fascinating sight, and everyone''s eyes were focused on him.


    Cleon also looked a


    in front of a monster and not a warrior.


    "Please, go on," said Zen, who stretched his hand and made the same gesture as Cleon''s.


    At that point, Cleon even suspected that Zen had used some special Other Shore Token which blocked the attack for him.


    However, there was no way to use the magical powers of any Other Shore Token in that arena. If Zen attempted to do so, it would activate the arrays around the arena and he would have been kicked out already.


    The arrays were not activated, which meant that Zen had relied on himself to take the attack.


    "Go on?" Cleon hissed. His eyes flashed coldly at his opponent.


    Cleon had held back a little of his strength. After all, it would be troublesome if he had accidentally killed Zen.


    Now, he decided to strike with his full power. He flipped his hands, and numerous large palm prints began to take shape and circle around Zen.


    The palm prints intertwined to form a dangerous killing trap!


    Experienced Other Shore Realm warriors knew that one should get out of those large palm prints immediately, but Zen did not intend to escape at all. Instead, he just let himself be trapped.


    "Smash him!"


    A killing intent flashed in Cleon''s eyes. He flipped his palm, and the many palm prints swept over Zen.


    Even if Zen had a special way that helped him to resist his palm strike just now, the Chaotic Source Spirits inside his body would eventually be exhausted. Now that he launched a continuous attack of his palm prints, Zen''s Chaotic Source Spirits would be worn out at a faster rate.


    He didn''t believe that Zen''s Chaotic Source Spirits were different, unlike anything he had ever seen!

 Chapter 3499 Ranking First On The First Floor

    The truth was that Zen''s Chaotic Source Spirits were indeed no different from the others''.


    What actually set him apart from the rest was the Truth of Godly Way contained in his physical body.


    It was known that the Chaotic Source Spirits of all the powerful Chaotic Source Realm warriors could not bear an infinite amount of power forever.


    Of course, Zen''s couldn''t as well.


    However, the Truth of Godly Way formed from his body could quickly nourish the Chaotic Source Spirits. Not only could it strengthen them, but it could also immediately stop them from being fatigued.


    "Bang!"


    "Bang!"


    "Bang!"


    Every time a large palm print exploded on Zen, the golden light around his body flashed, and the Chaotic Source Spirits absorbed the aura of the Truth of Godly Way.


    In the past month, Zen had endured such attacks day and night.


    The difference lay in the fact that using the Regal Jade statues'' attacks required a lot of divine crystals, while Cleon''s attacks were free.


    The palm strikes continued, and his body was tossed higher and higher.


    The palm prints formed one after another, attacked his body, and then dispersed.


    The audience''s eyes were fixed on Zen, who was flying up in the air.


    They hoped to see his body be torn into pieces and thoroughly disintegrated, but it never happened!


    "Haven''t his Chaotic Source Spirits been exhausted yet?" a man with a dark and sallow face uttered in astonishment. This sallow-faced man was ranked 19th on the first floor and could be considered as a top warrior in the Land of Sword Grief.


    According to his assessment, he estimated that four palm strikes from Cleon was enough to exhaust the Chaotic Source Spirits in his body.


    In other words, he could take the four palm attacks from Cleon head-on, but after that he would definitely be defeated.


    As of now, Cleon''s series of large palm prints had slapped Zen more than ten times, but the latter was still unharmed.


    ''Has this guy really just reached the Chaotic Source Realm?'' Cleon thought in confusion.


    "Bang! Bang! Bang..."


    Cleon''s eyes gleamed with amazement, even as he continued to rain a barrage of attacks on Zen.


    He had almost activated his strength to the limit!


    The Other Shore Token that Cleon fused with was from Stage Eighteen. It could unleash as much as 5, 000 divine megatons of force, but the bearing capacity of Cleon''s physical body was limited. If he activat


    after a few months just added salt to the wound. Did fate send this guy to torture them?


    On the other hand, the warriors who belonged to the first floor of the Land of Sword Grief still stood there in amazement.


    The way they looked at Zen had completely changed.


    The strength he had just shown didn''t seem like it was at its limit.


    Furthermore, he had endured Cleon''s attacks without making a move.


    How terrifying could he be if he fought back?


    With such a level of strength, he could break through to the second floor completely...


    "Buzz..."


    At that moment, the Ranking Stone''s light flashed, and the rankings had changed.


    Cleon''s name was forcefully pushed behind Zen''s, while Zen now ranked first on the first floor!


    "A new record was formed. On the first day of entering the Land of Sword Grief, that warrior has managed to make his ranking go up by 1, 116 places, and directly rank first on the first floor. His promotion is even faster than that of Libby..." a disciple muttered. He was absolutely floored when he saw the prompt beside Zen''s name.


    "I''ve heard that this guy has performed very well and made a splash at the Seven Mountains Meeting. I really didn''t expect..." another disciple muttered and looked at the Ranking Stone, completely dumbfounded.


    Everyone in the Land of Sword Grief paid close attention to the change in the Ranking Stone which was the evidence of their strength.


    When the disciples in the Land of Sword Grief saw the change in Zen''s ranking, many of them suddenly thought of Libby, who was the number one warrior in the entire Land of Sword Grief.

 Chapter 3500 The New Record

    As the Land of Sword Grief''s top warrior, Libby had also chosen a senior disciple to challenge when she first arrived. Her ranking had gone up to the 300th right after that battle.


    It used to be an unprecedented record.


    But today, this fact changed.


    Never did anyone imagine that Zen could easily break that record.


    Some disciples even believed that if it weren''t for the rules of the Land of Sword Grief, Zen could easily challenge a second-floor disciple right away and ascend to the second floor on his first day.


    After Zen left the arena, he quietly retreated to the side.


    All the newcomers had to challenge at least one opponent after reaching the Land of Sword Grief to gain new rankings.


    Many newcomers challenged each other as the rankings on the stone constantly shifted.


    Among these newcomers were some warriors who could fight against the low-ranking senior disciples.


    Dorothy, Elvinia, Milo, and Chaim were among such competent warriors.


    But to be cautious, they chose not to challenge any senior disciples just yet.


    Over a hundred people chose their own opponents and quickly carried out the one-on-one battles.


    The number of names on the Ranking Stone continued to grow.


    As expected, Chaim, Elvinia, and Dorothy ranked between the 1, 117th and 1, 125th.


    But these rankings were merely temporary.


    If one had extraordinary talent like Milo and Chaim, they could easily make rapid progress. Surpassing the Lust World, arriving at the Desire World and carrying the new Other Shore Tokens, most especially, promoted a quick rise in the rankings.


    About six hours later, all the new disciples'' rankings had been decided.


    And so the Land of Sword Grief assigned everyone to their respective training rooms based on the rankings.


    Once they entered the Land of Sword Grief, the warriors received their monthly salaries from the Oneness Sky Palace.


    They were no longer "disciples", but "officials" of the Oneness Sky Palace. So long as they made steady progress, they could become influential top warriors.


    As officials, they received proper compensation.


    Salaries were decid


    he''d have preferred to stay in his courtyard house of the Flow Sword Sect.


    But it wasn''t appropriate for him to leave so soon, as he had just arrived there, after all.


    After night fell, Zen pulled out the Regal Jade chessboard and let the Regal Jade statues descend for his training.


    The battle with Cleon did not turn out as easy as he thought it would.


    While the strength of his Chaotic Source Spirits already seemed overbearing, he was still at the primary stage of the Chaotic Source Realm. The gap between him and Cleon was undeniable.


    But Zen could still use his Truth of Godly Way to ease the fatigue of the Chaotic Source Spirits.


    The endless Truth of Godly Way and the Chaotic Source Spirits formed a unique closed loop, extending the lasting time of the Chaotic Source Spirits to a great extent and easing their fatigue. The two complemented each other, doubling the power that could be produced.


    The next morning, two stewards of the Land of Sword Grief knocked on the newcomers'' training rooms and told them to enter the Other Shore.


    After reaching the Chaotic Source Realm, one should be well-prepared to break through to the Desire World.


    As the stewards informed the disciples, they realized that there was one missing.


    When they felt confused, they discovered that this disciple was actually in the first room at the far right of the first floor, which surprised them so much.

 Chapter 3501 Get Ready

    After receiving the notice from the two stewards, Zen headed back to his cultivation room.


    In his room, he recited a Truth of Godly Way, and his Soul of Light immediately returned to the Other Shore.


    The newcomers in the other cultivation rooms also gathered themselves in Stage Thirteen of the Other Shore.


    But what Elvinia was going through was different from all the others.


    When her Soul of Light had left the Other Shore, her body remained in the stronghold of the Oneness Sky Palace.


    As she finally entered the Other Shore, her eyes began to flutter and open in the stronghold.


    She got up and carefully examined her body, trying to familiarize herself before walking outside.


    At this time of the day, many disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace had gathered together. Some gasped and others whispered when seeing Elvinia walking out.


    Few people knew that she had a physical body at the Other Shore. So they were much surprised seeing she walk out like a creature at this place.


    In fact, she had so many options to cover up her identity. For instance, she could wear a veil to hide her face.


    However, people from the Bearing race and other races had already seen her, so there was no point to hide.


    A lot of newcomers of the Land of Sword Grief had arrived. Surprisingly, even Sally, Hutton and other Nine Li warriors had gathered here too. But for some reason, Chaim was nowhere to be found.


    Yesterday, he had entered the Other Shore in advance after the intense fights in the Land of Sword Grief.


    On the Other Shore, he had descended from Stage Thirteen down to Stage Four to obtain some necessary resources for their breakthrough to Stage Fourteen.


    More than an hour had passed and people could finally spot Chaim heading towards them.


    "I''m sorry to have worried everyone," said Chaim with a smile. The space ring in his hand began to glimmer, from which dark gold wheels started to appear. "Although you have already reached the Chaotic Source Realm, you still need a matchable Other Shore Token to become a real Chaotic Source Realm warrior," he explained. "Once in Stage Fourteen, you should fuse with a new one. Only then will you have the real strength of the Chaotic Source Realm. If all of this is accomplished, you won''t have any more problems in challenging othe


    ing on to Hutton''s clothes tightly. Nothing frightened her more than being killed in Stage Thirteen.


    Noticing the fear in her, Chaim reassured them, "Don''t be afraid, everyone! The Dark Region is forbidden to us, as much as the Light Region is forbidden to the creatures in the Dark Region. If they come here, they will die for sure."


    "That''s right," Zen agreed. "We''ll be fine."


    However, just as Zen finished speaking, several tentacles suddenly squirmed from the Dark Region beside him. They began to make their way towards the light, and for some reason, were unharmed. These tentacles belonged to a plant, and its dark green skin could tolerate the Light Region for a short while!


    "Hiss hiss hiss."


    The tentacles had begun to melt gradually in the light. But before they could completely melt, they had already wrapped themselves around Zen''s neck and dragged him to the Dark Region.


    "Ah! Look!"


    "Zen!"


    "Watch out..."


    The others, who had just been reassured of their protection in the light, had no idea what to do.


    And even if they did have a plan, it might not have been enough to save Zen in time.


    "Go to hell!"


    Just then, Elvinia moved quickly and waved her hands at the sky, shedding bright light to the Dark Region.


    The demon plant screamed in agony, twisting and hissing madly from the effect of Elvinia''s light.


    Just like that, the plant had completely melted.


    Though Zen''s Soul of Light had been dragged into the Dark Region, the light led by Elvinia protected him from further damage.

 Chapter 3502 The Energy Vortex

    Though it was a false alarm, the disciples who witnessed what happened couldn''t help but feel frightened.


    They tried to huddle together in the very narrow path.


    But Zen remained calm.


    After all, he had stayed in the Dark Region for a period of time and already knew how dangerous it was.


    Moreover, they had Elvinia, who was a purified being, by their side. They could even roam the Dark Region freely if they wanted to.


    Zen stood up and returned to the path. When he felt the fear among the disciples, he smiled and said, "You see, the creatures in the Dark Region are no match for Princess Elvinia."


    "Everyone, please go first. I''ll protect you," Elvinia announced.


    The disciples just nodded and mentally sighed.


    Many talented warriors had come forth among this generation in the Oneness Sky Palace.


    There were so many talents that even a genius like Milo, who was capable of Instant Enlightenment, was not considered outstanding among them.


    As for Zen, he had been making miracles in both the Chaotic Source World and the Land of Sword Grief.


    On the other hand, Elvinia, who was considered as mediocre in the Source World, was quite invincible on the Other Shore. She was incredibly skilled in killing the creatures in the Dark Region so easily, which was unheard of.


    The disciples lined up in a straight line and continued to move forward on the narrow path, while Elvinia stayed behind to protect them.


    Perhaps, Elvinia''s ability shocked the creatures in the Dark Region.


    The roars that echoed in the Dark Region had completely died down. They didn''t encounter any attacks along their way anymore.


    After they walked along the narrow path for about ten minutes, the path finally became wide and a stone platform appeared in front of them. This stone platform was the edge of the Lust World.


    The sky in the distance seemed to be washed with various colors of water.


    It was quite a sight to behold.


    Among the many hues was a small black hole, where all the colors apparently came from.


    corporeal body was much stronger than his Soul of Light, it was quite dangerous for him to go through the narrow path. Elvinia was worried about him.


    "No, it''s not dangerous for me," Zen said confidently.


    Then, he disappeared on the Other Shore.


    When Zen was gone, Elvinia and Dorothy exchanged knowing looks.


    It was as if they could read each other''s minds. Their strained relations surfaced.


    "We can''t look down on Zen, can we?" Dorothy said.


    Elvinia blinked a few times. "Are you upset? Because you can''t help Zen?" she asked.


    A pink flush crept on Dorothy''s cheeks at Elvinia''s words. "No, I just don''t think Zen is that incompetent," she immediately explained.


    "Oh, I see," said Elvinia in an aloof voice. "You are jealous."


    "¡­"


    Dorothy didn''t know what to say.


    "I guessed it right," Elvinia said calmly, and then continued, "I heard that you knew Zen before he came to the Source World. He joined the Oneness Sky Palace with your help."


    Of course, there were many factors that caused Zen to join the Oneness Sky Palace, but the most important part was that Dorothy had acted as a go-between for him in the Sea of Truth.


    "But there''s one thing you need to understand. Zen doesn''t belong only to you," said Elvinia.


    It was true that Elvinia was a cold woman, but she was always straightforward and honest.

 Chapter 3503 Trust

    Following her sojourn into the Dark Region with Zen, Elvinia''s personality changed slightly, but not by much. She just became gentler toward Zen. She was still indifferent to everyone else, especially Dorothy when they were alone.


    "I never said Zen belonged to me," Dorothy retorted, feeling even more embarrassed.


    "But you were even willing to sacrifice your life for him. Why would you go that far if you don''t want him to be yours?" Elvinia spoke.


    In the Chaotic Source World, Dorothy had used the Heart of Accomplice regardless of the consequences. Elvinia had been floored by that. She never realized she had such a terrifying Other Shore Token.


    "I had no choice. The situation called for it," Dorothy pointed out, a little annoyed. Her patience was growing thin.


    Elvinia felt smug seeing Dorothy so flustered.


    She asked her the next question bluntly. "Do you like him?"


    Dorothy was once again rendered speechless. She paused before replying, "That is none of your business."


    Unexpectedly, Elvinia leaned forward and hissed in Dorothy''s ear. "Of course it''s my business. He belongs only to me."


    Dorothy was stunned. But being used to Elvinia''s straightforward manner, she responded just as frankly, "He already has a family."


    "So what?" Elvinia straightened up. She now possessed the body of a purified being created through imagination. It was even more perfect than her previous body in the chaos. It radiated a different charm.


    She looked up at the large vortex in the distance. "That is his past. I am talking about the future."


    Dorothy frowned at Elvinia''s apparent conviction.


    She didn''t know what Elvinia was thinking. But from what she knew of Zen, he would never just put his past behind him.


    "What makes you so sure of that?" Dorothy asked slowly.


    Elvinia ignored Dorothy and put on a cold face, as usual.


    At the very beginning, Elvinia did hate Zen.


    However, after their travel in the Dark Region and having regained her memory, she gradually became interested in him.


    In the Phoenix Palace, Elvinia was able to chat with her three "disciples", mostly about Zen''s past.


    Lavender, who was a woman of few words, had spent the


    e. It was like a huge island, with the Dark Region spreading from its flanks like dark clouds.


    Below Stage Thirteen''s lower edges, many thin lines extended down.


    Zen surmised all these lines must be connected to the Star Doors of Stage Twelve. But from this angle, Zen could not see where it was.


    Just then, Zen suddenly thought of the space where King Manard was.


    Although King Manard considered the space to be the second Other Shore, it was not that large. It was incomparable to the real Other Shore.


    To create the thirty-three stages in the chaos was truly a magnificent feat.


    "Zen, be careful," Dorothy reminded him.


    Just as Zen turned around to look, a colorful energy ribbon darted toward him. He gently turned over the Cloud Flying Wheel in his hand. As a puff of mist spread around, he easily dodged the ribbon.


    It was not difficult to enter the energy vortex. He could enter it as long as he was careful.


    All the disciples who ascended earlier had been sucked into the energy vortex successfully, but it was hard to say whether they were able to pass through it.


    When Zen and Dorothy got closer to the vortex, a strong gravitational force started to pull them in.


    The force was so strong that resistance was futile. The closer they got to the vortex, the greater the gravitational force became.


    "Swoosh! Swoosh!"


    Both of them were sped along faster and faster in the air until they were sucked into the vortex.

 Chapter 3504 Dorothys Affection

    There was a long and narrow channel inside the energy vortex, and the colored energy bands coiled around each other like pythons.


    The wind beat Zen''s and Dorothy''s faces as they moved and flew through the channel at an extremely fast speed.


    The Cloud Flying Wheels helped them adjust their direction, although it was a bit hard because of their highly swift pace.


    At that moment, several energy bands in the distance abruptly rolled up. They looked like several pythons jumping and curling around.


    "Be careful on your right. Follow me," Zen told Dorothy who was behind him.


    In turn, Dorothy tilted the Cloud Flying Wheel to the right, and both of them leaned towards the left of the channel.


    After both of them had adjusted their positions, they successfully brushed past the energy bands without colliding into them.


    "Left!" Zen shouted. The two of them quickly flew to the right.


    The mist clouds their Cloud Flying Wheels released formed long white lines in the energy channel.


    Since Zen had warned Dorothy in advance, they passed several dangerous spots safe and sound.


    Dorothy held on to the Cloud Flying Wheel tightly and quietly followed behind Zen.


    Her gaze swept across the brightly colorful energy bands around her as she lost herself in her thoughts.


    Ever since Elvinia had arrived in their group, she had never been with Zen alone like this.


    As soon as she realized it, she began to reminisce and miss the days she had spent in the Sea of Truth. ''I hope this is a very long channel...'' she thought to herself.


    Just then, a flurry of ripples showed up over the energy channel. Several thick energy bands came down.


    "Down!"


    Zen was also shocked when he saw these thick energy bands, but he didn''t think it would be a problem for them to use the Cloud Flying Wheels to dodge them.


    Just as he adjusted the Cloud Flying Wheel and began to fly downward, he suddenly felt that something was amiss behind him. Dorothy seemed to be absent-minded, as she was flying forward in a blank manner and did not descend like he did.


    "Dorothy!" he shouted as he immediately turned the Cloud Flying Wheel around.


    His entire body spiraled upwards, and the white mist spun around his body in circles.


    As soon he got close enough to Dorothy, he grabbed her with one hand and seized her Cloud Flying Wheel with the other.


    Mist sprayed out from the two Cloud Flying


    bout any ''but''..."


    She never had a relationship with any man yet, and just like Elvinia had said, she wasn''t brave enough to confess her feelings.


    When Elvinia goaded her, however, she began to worry about losing Zen, and then couldn''t hold back her affections any longer.


    Although she was a beloved one in the Origin Mountain, she was very young, and her mentality was not very different from that of any other young girl.


    As for Zen, he didn''t know how to respond to her words.


    Just then, dozens of energy bands rolled up like mad in the channel ahead of them. Energy flowed wildly and vented towards the channel in a deranged fashion.


    It turned out that they had reached the most dangerous part of the vortex.


    "Hold me tight!"


    Of course, Zen couldn''t afford to be distracted. As the two Cloud Flying Wheels turned slightly, he shuttled in multiple directions among the energy bands, like a swallow that flew in a thunderstorm.


    Fortunately, it was not a long journey. After no more than half a minute, they had successfully passed through, and there was no more dangerous part ahead.


    They flew in the peaceful vortex for about five minutes, then they finally saw the exit in front of them.


    When Zen was about to get close to it, he suddenly felt a strong force thrust upon him. Unlike what had happened when he had entered the energy vortex, this thrust directly pushed him and Dorothy out.


    Meanwhile, a purple light curtain flashed everywhere in the sky outside. The purple light curtain caused a trace of dreamy colors to wash over Stage Fourteen of the Other Shore.

 Chapter 3505 The Change In The Vortex

    The thirty-three stages on the Other Shore were distributed such that there were thirteen stages in the Lust World and nineteen stages in the Desire World.


    The Desire World gathered together the backbone power of the entire Source World.


    Most people who could enter this world were at the Chaotic Source Realm.


    But they could enter Stage Fourteen even if they hadn''t reached the Chaotic Source Realm. Only precursor was that their Souls of Light had turned into Indigo Souls.


    But from Stage Fourteen onward, the Other Shore Power of the Other Shore Tokens measured at least one thousand divine megatons. Creatures that hadn''t merged with the Chaotic Source Spirits wouldn''t be able to unleash their full power.


    One solution to this problem would be to fuse with an Other Shore Token of the descending type.


    But there was a huge gap between the physical strength of the Chaotic Source Realm warriors and that of those who were not at the Chaotic Source Realm.


    Beneath the energy vortex was a stone platform similar to the one located at Stage Thirteen in the Lust World. A few Souls of Light waited on this platform.


    These Souls of Light belonged to the disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace. Most of them were from the group that had ascended before Zen. But there were several Souls of Light that were imposing and serious. These belonged to the senior disciples of the Land of Sword Grief.


    As Zen circled in the air alongside Dorothy, he felt an invisible pressure bearing down on them from the curtain of purple light floating in the sky.


    But because Zen''s and Dorothy''s Souls of Light had long since become Indigo Souls, they could bear the pressure.


    He held Dorothy in his arms as he descended slowly. He stepped carefully onto the stone platform before gently putting her down.


    Dorothy blushed scarlet under the gaze of the crowd and retreated quickly to the side. Lucky for her, everyone was on the Other Shore and couldn''t see her flaming face. But the disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace had seen what had happened and were stunned.


    Passing through the energy vortex was dangerous. What the hell was this couple doing?


    A Soul of Light wit


    fter many disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace, including Sally, had ascended to the next stage, only Zen, Chaim, and Elvinia were left on the stone platform.


    "I''ll go first, guys," Chaim said. He then pulled out the Cloud Flying Wheel and flew towards the energy vortex in the distance.


    After Chaim had disappeared in the vortex, Zen said, "It''s our turn. I''ll lead the way since I have just passed through this vortex. You can follow me."


    He then activated the Cloud Flying Wheel once again and shot off into the distance, Elvinia following close behind.


    "Whoosh!"


    "Whoosh!"


    The two of them rose high into the air and flew towards the energy vortex.


    The energy bands didn''t react when Zen first approached the energy vortex. But when Elvinia approached it, the bands seemed to instantly become frenzied and restless.


    Elvinia frowned as she manipulated the Cloud Flying Wheel to pause in mid-air.


    The energy bands were restless, but they didn''t roll upwards. Zen observed them for a few seconds before saying, "It''s alright! Let''s speed up!"


    Elvinia pursed her lips at this.


    She told herself that she should believe Zen, and she let the doubt go.


    They waited for a while outside and then suddenly sped up, rushing into the energy vortex.


    But the moment they entered it, a weird change took place in the energy vortex. The energy bands in the outer layer rolled back in unison, tightly sealing their way to retreat.

 Chapter 3506 Form A Path

    It was clear that Elvinia was causing the turmoil of the energy vortex.


    The entrance was filled with energy¡ªit was impossible to head back.


    Inside the channel, the energy became manic. The colorful energy bands rose rapidly, filling every corner of the channel.


    Neither Zen nor Elvinia said a single word to each other before flying forward.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    The channel within the energy vortex only grew more and more manic as Elvinia continued further. The tumultuous energy bands flew around, forming a dense net with Elvinia and Zen as its targets.


    By now, Elvinia felt the panic set in. "What should we do? Can we get out of the Other Shore?"


    While the Cloud Flying Wheels could help them fly in the air, their pushing force was lackluster. Even with a corporeal body that was more flexible than a Soul of Light, neither of them could gain any momentum or speed. And because corporeal bodies were far heavier than Souls of Light, they looked rather clumsy as they navigated in the air.


    So how could they break through the net formed by the energy bands?


    The net before them was moving closer as the channel behind them continued narrowing.


    At this rate, a maximum of 20 seconds was enough for the vortex to completely eat them up. How could they escape merging with the vortex?


    "Don''t be afraid," Zen suddenly said.


    He held up the Cloud Flying Wheel in the opposite direction to retreat to Elvinia''s side and grabbed her arm.


    The act only stunned her¡ªshe had no clue what Zen was planning to do to break the siege under the circumstances.


    Just then, she witnessed a flash of lightning on Zen''s back¡ªfollowing the sound of a thunderbolt, a pair of great thunder wings suddenly grew from his back.


    "Thunder Materialization!"


    Although he couldn''t use the Shade Stone liquid on the Other Shore, the Godly Way''s internal momentum was still available. He could still draw some internal momentum out of his inner world. Back in the Dark Region, he managed to use the Life Godly Way to treat the three-eyed boy, after all.


    ds were of very high grade.


    Once the thunder and lightning the Thunderstorm Godly Way generated entered the area, they were constantly melted down by the energy bands, making it impossible to break through them.


    The wall of energy bands formed a vortex. Several energy bands shot right at Zen.


    He dodged them quite easily, but a thoughtful look appeared on his face.


    Seeing the energy bands coming at her from both sides, Elvinia grew even more anxious. "Zen, what are you waiting for? If it goes on like this¡­"


    In the middle of her thought, a lightning bolt flashed from Zen''s fingertip, aiming at a spot on the wall.


    Crack, crack...


    Every time he attacked the wall, several energy bands would roll out.


    Instead of returning to their original spots, they mixed in with other bands.


    One by one, the bands rolled out from the wall until they left a great hole.


    "You..." The sight had Elvinia too dumbfounded for words.


    Never did she expect Zen to form a path by taking advantage of the energy bands'' natural properties.


    "There isn''t only one way out." Zen was perfectly calm.


    More thunder and lightning bolts were released from his body, shooting through the hole. Skillfully dodging the bands, he brought Elvinia to the hole.


    The moment they entered the hole, the energy bands gathered in from the front and back, filling the entire channel.

 Chapter 3507 Iron Plate

    The changes within the energy channel also manifested externally.


    Chaim was the last to leave the vortex and enter Stage Fourteen, just before Zen and Elvinia.


    Upon exiting, he found that the previously stable energy vortex began to fluctuate with the energy bands constantly rolling around abnormally and blocking the exit.


    Chaim couldn''t help but gasp in astonishment. "This is..."


    After Elvinia became a purified being, Chaim learned a few bits of important information.


    From what he was able to gather, a purified being was the ruler of a stage, thus, in theory, they shouldn''t be able to leave that certain stage.


    If that was the case, then wouldn''t that mean Elvinia had to stay behind and would be unable to reach the Desire World? She was bound to encounter some problems at least.


    Looking at the energy channel, Chaim realized that the problem had just materialized itself. If the energy vortex was sealed then that meant Zen and Elvinia wouldn''t be able to pass through it at all.


    "What happened?!" "The passageway! It''s closed!"


    "Everyone from the Oneness Sky Palace got through, right?"


    "I think so! That was really close. It''s a good thing we were able to get through before it did that!"


    None of the disciples from the Oneness Sky Palace thought that the purified being had anything to do with it. To them, the vortex was simply strangely malfunctioning.


    "Wait. I think someone is missing!" someone remarked.


    "You''re right! Where''s Princess Elvinia? Was she unable to pass through? She is different from us anyway."


    "Is it because she has a corporeal body on the Other Shore?"


    The disciples began to whisper amongst themselves at this current development.


    Dorothy''s heart was erratic as she analyzed the situation.


    "Elvinia, Zen..."


    In an instant, she immediately dissipated her Soul of Light.


    The next time she opened her eyes, she was back in her cultivation room, worried sick about what was currently brewing.


    She didn''t really care about Elvinia''s safety, but Zen...he was an entirely different matter.


    "Crack..."


    Dorothy opened the door and headed straight to the No. 1 cultivation room in the far right where Zen was in.


    S


    ward bit by bit.


    She couldn''t help but sigh in relief.


    "Can we dig into the Desire World by continuously doing this?" she whispered to Zen.


    While focusing on releasing lightning, Zen said, "The direction should be right but it''s hard to say. Duck!"


    Zen warned just as an energy band flew right past his right arm.


    Fortunately, Elvinia heard his warning just in time and lowered her head.


    Whoosh...


    A wound appeared on Zen''s right arm. At the same time, all the light dots formed by the Chaotic Source Spirits in his body were extinguished, falling into a state of fatigue.


    He couldn''t bring the Shade Stone liquid with him to the Other Shore, but the Chaotic Source Spirits were different.


    Since Zen''s body had entered the Other Shore, the Chaotic Source Spirits, which were from there in the first place, could naturally work.


    "The energy is so powerful..." he muttered in shock.


    He initially thought he could count on the Chaotic Source Spirits to resist an energy band. But it seemed they couldn''t even bear the force when an energy band merely brushed past him.


    Zen found himself becoming more cautious as they moved forward.


    He tried to lure only one energy band into attacking them at a time which slowed down their speed significantly. He pulled out the energy bands one by one as if painstakingly reeling threads from a silk cocoon.


    Two hours later, Zen pulled out an energy band and found an iron plate in front of them.

 Chapter 3508 The Iron House

    Both of them were baffled by the sight of this iron plate.


    "What is this?" Elvinia asked, blinking.


    Zen squinted at it. "Let''s take a closer look."


    The thunder wings on his back flapped as the two of them approached the iron plate. Zen reached out to touch it, his fingers grazing the cold surface.


    Elvinia touched it curiously. "What is this made of? It isn''t eroded by all this energy at all."


    After a moment''s thought, Zen drew out a great amount of force from his inner world and directed it at the plate.


    "Bang!"


    The impact caused a loud sound, but the solid iron plate did not move at all.


    Zen frowned slightly.


    Whatever material this plate was made of, it seemed impossible for them to move it. They needed to get through this energy vortex, but this plate was proving to be an obstacle.


    "Let''s try going above it." Zen raised his head, fixing his gaze upwards.


    "Crack!"


    Another lightning bolt flashed toward the space above them. Zen pulled down another energy band.


    The two of them moved upwards little by little along the iron plate. After more than two hundred feet up, they had yet to see where it ended. This plate apparently went much higher than Zen had imagined.


    Elvinia blinked. "Let''s move to the left!"


    Zen nodded in agreement.


    They continued moving, but now to the left side. This time, they reached the end after a short distance of less than thirty feet. The iron plate bent at a sharp right angle in this area.


    When Zen saw this, his eyes lit up. "It''s not an iron plate! This looks like a..."


    "A house?" There was a confused look in Elvinia''s eyes.


    They obviously had the same thought in mind.


    Who would have thought that there would be an iron house in this energy vortex?


    Driven by curiosity, Zen moved forward, following the newly discovered side. The wall was still made of the same iron material along the way, but after more than a hundred feet, he finally saw a small door.


    The door was only two feet wide, about the same size as a f


    hrill scream rang out.


    The voice sounded extremely forlorn. When it reached their ears, it felt like countless needles had been stuck in their souls.


    Struggling through the pain, anger crossing her features, Elvinia raised her right hand and snapped, "Great Sanskrit Light!"


    "Swish!"


    A white light so bright one couldn''t stare at it directly shot toward the dark.


    As it did, Zen clearly saw a row of iron cages hanging along the walls in the dark. The cages contained strange types of monsters.


    The iron cage right in front of them contained a monster with a head like an owl''s and a body like a leopard''s, covered with dozens of thorny tentacles. As it screamed, it was enveloped in the Great Sanskrit Light. Under the glare of the snow-white light, its body quickly began to melt. First its fur, then its flesh, its blood, and finally its bones.


    Elvinia showed no mercy and didn''t stop the Great Sanskrit Light until the monster was completely melted.


    Her chest heaved up and down. It took her a while to calm down. Obviously, she had been frightened.


    "What the hell is this iron house?" Zen looked at the darkness and frowned slightly.


    "No matter what this is, we should probably kill all the monsters in the cages," Elvinia said coldly.


    She raised a finger. The bright light gathered around her hand once again.

 Chapter 3509 Guard

    Elvinia didn''t want to see these abominable monsters at all.


    There were more than one iron cage on the wall. As the ball of light on her fingertips exploded, another blazing white light shot forward and illuminated another iron cage.


    A snake-like creature was locked in the second cage. It had a terrifyingly strange face on its head.


    When the light shone on the cage, the snake screamed and ran around frantically in the cage. It made strange noises that sounded like sizzling screams. Then at last, it was completely annihilated under the inescapable blinding light.


    Seeing how the two creatures ended, the monsters in the other cages suddenly jumped up and down in the cages.


    They had been locked here in the cages for quite a long time. But even if that was the case, it was better to be a living dog than a dead lion. In the end, they didn''t want to be completely destroyed by the light.


    For a moment, all kinds of weird and horrifying shrieks could be heard from the iron cages.


    Elvinia didn''t show any signs of mercy at all. With a flash of light in her hand, she was about to eliminate the monsters in the iron cages one by one.


    At this time, Zen quickly reached out his hand and stopped her.


    "Listen to me, don''t kill them now," Zen said.


    "But they..." Elvinia frowned in confusion.


    "Only the first monster had attacked us. These other monsters are not attacking us, and they are locked in cages," Zen said seriously.


    These monsters weren''t hostile to them at all. Moreover, if they wanted to really know more about this iron house, then they would probably need to start with these monsters.


    Under Zen''s persuasion, Elvinia decided to stop what she was about to do.


    With her personality, she would never show mercy or listen to others.


    However, Zen''s words really persuaded her. She then showed a sweet and understanding smile and asked, "Then what should we do next?"


    "Let''s go inside first and have a look," Zen said.


    She didn''t know if these monsters were intelligent or not, but she thought it would be best if they could somehow communicate with her.


    She released two rays of light to cover the both of them, then they stepped into the darkness.


    Because of the Dark Region''s characteristics, even if he was very near something, he still c


    nd years. How could he possibly return now, at this exact moment?


    When he heard this, Zen quickly relaxed. He continued to ask, "What kind of place is this Bleak Center? What is it used for? And who is your master?"


    The "Zen" in the cage looked a little hesitant. It seemed to be very cowardly, especially after it saw the Dark Region creatures in the previous cages die under the blinding light. It was frightened by the two humans in front of it, especially by Elvinia who stood next to Zen.


    "Tell us at once!" Elvinia commanded fiercely and directly.


    The other "Zen" glanced at the light that was shining in Elvinia''s hand and said, "The Bleak Center is the place to build the passageway to the Desire World. My master is only a guard and he has been guarding here for many years. But in the last tens of thousands of years, he often went out and left us. This is all I know."


    The monsters in the cages were nothing more than pets that gave the master company and pleasure while he was guarding this place. Naturally, they didn''t know too much.


    However, Zen still got a piece of important information from its words. The passage to the Desire World was not formed naturally, but it was built by this iron house!


    In theory, it was the Instant Civilization that had created the Other Shore. Every stage and every passageway, including the energy vortex and the Star Doors, should be created by the Instant Civilization. Zen wondered if the master of the iron house was one of the members of the Instant Civilization.

 Chapter 3510 Clues

    As Zen thought things over, Elvinia directly asked the Shape-shifting Spirit, "Don''t you have the ability of shape shifting? Why don''t you transform into your master so we can have a look what your master looks like?"


    "Yes, that sounds like a good idea." Zen patted his head. The monster before them called itself Shape-shifting Spirit, so turning into the form of its master should be no problem for it.


    The "Zen" in the cage hesitated. It seemed to be terrified of its master.


    "Well, come on! Change!" Elvinia ordered, the impatience clear in her voice.


    Although the iron house slightly piqued her interest, Elvinia didn''t want to waste her time exploring it like what Zen and the Regal Jade Spirit wanted to do. In fact, Zen was the only reason she had enough patience to stay.


    "Buzz..."


    The ball of light Elvinia held in her palm began to twitch. What appeared as a harmless light source to Zen and Elvinia ended up being extremely dangerous to the Shape-shifting Spirit.


    "I¡­ Alright, I''ll do it!"


    The Shape-shifting Spirit finally compromised. Right then and there, its body, which was in Zen''s form began to soften and become pliable and sticky to the touch like clay before changing into a round sphere.


    It was translucent, and there were gently flickering flames burning within it. It possessed no eyes, ears, mouth, or nose.


    "This is what your master is like?" Zen asked curiously.


    "Yes. This is what he looks like," the Shape-shifting Spirit replied.


    Zen and Elvinia had a hard time confirming this since they had never seen its master before. But then, the Regal Jade Spirit that had been watching them secretly finally said in a serious tone, "This¡­ is a member of the Element Spirit Civilization. "


    "Element Spirit Civilization?" Zen was stunned.


    He had heard about this particular civilization before through the Regal Jade Spirit. The Instant Civilization was the first civilization to ever exist. It was also the civilization that had initiated all the civilizations in the entire chaos.


    For a long time, everyone doubted its existence because there was little to no proof of it. Therefore, everyone acknowledged the second civilization¡ªthe Element Spirit Civilization¡ªas the first one instead. What was more, the last flaw of the Ways-blending Energy should also be in their hands.


    "The Element Spirit Civilization has five big branches, which are metal spirits, wood spirits, water spirits, fire spirits and earth spirits," t


    hered.


    "So you''re saying¡­he really can decipher the words?" As the Shape-shifting Spirit stood still in disbelief, Zen reached out towards the Sanskrit words and began to press them.


    "Buzz buzz buzz buzz¡­"


    As Zen pressed a finger to each word, it began to glow. Soon, after he pressed ten times, a green light glowed on each word in the dark and the sound of metal grinding against each other could be heard. A metal staircase slowly began to descend from above.


    "You¡­you did it¡­"


    The Shape-shifting Spirit was left speechless.


    Ever since it was trapped here, no one had successfully managed to break into the iron house. Now here it was witnessing an individual with great ability doing exactly what its master could do.


    Where did he learn to decipher Sanskrit words so effortlessly?


    It had never seen such a thing happen before.


    As the staircase drew closer to Zen, Elvinia drew near him as well.


    Zen furrowed his brows as soon as he stepped on the stairs. He turned his head and stared at the Shape-shifting Spirit.


    "Zen, what''s wrong?" Elvinia asked.


    She worried that the Shape-shifting Spirit might''ve told a lie and would eventually lead them right into a trap.


    Zen quickly walked to the iron cage and asked, "You... have seen humans before?"


    The Shape-shifting Spirit was different from other creatures on the Other Shore. It could morph into various creatures. Zen was sure it was only the first time that it had morphed into him, yet it mimicked him perfectly, with the exact appearance, movement, and language. It meant this was by no means the first time that the Shape-shifting Spirit had become a human.

 Chapter 3511 Control The Energy Vortex

    Since the Shape-shifting Spirit felt that there was no room for it to bargain, it just told everything it knew.


    Generally speaking, the Element Spirit race especially liked to take the Shape-shifting Spirits as their pets.


    It was mainly because the Element Spirit race did not have a stable form.


    In fact, as one of the powerful civilizations, it was easy for the Element Spirit race to shape themselves into any form they wanted.


    When a civilization was born and developed, however, their own consciousness could not change. Therefore, they stubbornly maintained their original state while they admired the wonderful forms of civilizations after them.


    Overall, the entire race had the hobby of collecting pets and imprisoning slaves.


    As it happened, the extremely powerful elites of the Element Spirit race were qualified to detain beings from any race as slaves and pets.


    On the contrary, not all the members of the Element Spirit race on the Other Shore were considered as powerful, and some weak ones couldn''t collect enough slaves to entertain themselves.


    So, the easiest method available to them was to raise Shape-shifting Spirits.


    After the Shape-shifting Spirits were trained, they could be transformed into almost anything that the Element Spirit race needed.


    "Before I was sold to my master, I was locked up in a temple in Stage Twenty-five of the Other Shore like other Shape-shifting Spirits. There were many beings from civilized races held inside the temple, including two humans--a man and a woman," the Shape-shifting Spirit said.


    Basically, the Shape-shifting Spirits were treated like a kind of commodity, as the Element Spirit race traded them. To become a qualified "commodity", the Shape-shifting Spirits must first learn to change themselves into many forms before they could become useful to their future masters.


    Thus, the purpose of the many living creatures held in the temple was to serve as a guide for them to imitate. "Stage Twenty-five of the Other Shore?" Zen asked curiously.


    "It''s the Long Night Stage," Elvinia said.


    Zen nodded in response. The Long Night Stage was still within the Desire World, which meant that there were humans in the Desire World.


    "How long ago was the time when you were kept in the temple and met those human beings?" he asked again. If it was during the current chaotic era, then the news would be of low value.


    Human beings had set foot on the Other Shore since th


    x had no energy at all, or at least Zen could not feel any from it.


    Although it was a phantom, the energy vortex in front of them should be in harmony with the large vortex outside. Now, both ends of the channel were closed, just like what Zen and Elvinia had encountered outside.


    "The guard..."


    "Turning it on..."


    "Control it..."


    The information from the Shape-shifting Spirit and Geoffrey filled Zen''s mind and kept him thinking. A thought flashed in his brain, then he stretched his hand towards the vortex. The area he touched was soft as cotton.


    Just as he was about to pull it, the center of the small vortex twisted.


    Meanwhile, the center of the energy vortex outside began to twist from the middle.


    He thought more for a while, before he stretched his hands towards both ends of the small and long vortex, then curled it up.


    At the same time, the disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace, who were still waiting on the stone platform of the Desire World, screamed.


    "The energy vortex has changed again!"


    "The passageway is not only closed, it is also completely rolled up. What happened?"


    "Isn''t it still changing its shape? The energy vortex has turned into the shape of a human, right? Is it some trick of the eye?"


    The disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace could not understand what was happening.


    Even Dorothy also stared blankly at the energy vortex. She was confident that Zen was still alive, but she was still worried because Zen hadn''t reached the Desire World by now. It meant that he was still trapped.


    Was the change in the energy vortex related to anything that might be happening to Zen?

 Chapter 3512 Rummage Around

    The energy vortex swirled and constantly changed its shape in Zen''s hands.


    According to the information Geoffrey and the Shape-shifting Spirit had provided, the guard might be able to control the energy vortex freely through this way.


    Then again, that was only his guess. After all, he was in the iron house, so he couldn''t see the outside world.


    The sight of Zen rubbing the energy vortex''s phantom made Elvinia a little curious. "Go to the door and see if those energy bands disperse," he ordered.


    In turn, Elvinia nodded and went downstairs to the entrance of the iron house.


    When she looked out along the entryway, her face looked slightly surprised.


    The energy bands had besieged the iron house, but now the energy bands were far away.


    She immediately returned to the upper floor and told Zen, "Those energy bands are already far away."


    It looked like Zen had already guessed it, though. He pointed to the energy vortex in his hand and said, "The iron house is in this part of the energy vortex, and we''re out of the vortex now."


    "If that''s the case, can we step into the Desire World directly?" Elvinia asked. However, Zen shook his head and replied, "Maybe we can''t."


    The Other Shore seemed to be a complex multi-layer space.


    Moreover, the Desire World and the Lust World might not be in the same space. On the other hand, the energy vortex played a role in connecting the two worlds.


    Therefore, anyone who wanted to enter the Desire World had to go through the energy vortex.


    "Then what should we do?" Elvinia asked, her eyes blinking a few times. Despite her questions, Elvinia was also clever enough to figure it out on her own.


    As she stayed with Zen, however, it seemed that she didn''t think too much about it.


    "Since the energy vortex can be controlled, it''s easy for us to go through it," Zen said with a smile.


    At that moment, he reached out and grabbed the phantom of the energy vortex again. He gently fiddled with it, and then the energy vortex became elongated. Finally, he was able to expand the passageway in the middle.


    In Stage Fourteen, the disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace saw that the energy vortex wriggled a few times before it returned to its original state, but the energy channel, which was already restored to its original state, was still twisting. This energy vortex stretched


    use the Body-strengthening Jade to refine the body, which could quickly strengthen the body.


    It was also the good way for the cultivation of the Wild Gods!


    In the past, the warriors didn''t need any Chaotic Source Spirit.


    It was still a pity that the Truth of Powerful Holy Body was prohibited, and even the Body-strengthening Jade became rare. Many super forces sold them at cheap prices, after they discovered some Body-strengthening Jades.


    Now, the value of the Body-strengthening Jade was naturally much less than that of the soul crystal. "Since it can strengthen the body, why is it useless to me?" Zen asked.


    "The foundation for you to enter the Other Shore is not the Truth of Powerful Holy Body. You don''t need to use it, but you can try," the Regal Jade Spirit proposed.


    Zen had entered the Other Shore through the unique Truth of Godly Way. Even his physical body was no longer his body in its true sense, but rather a completely supernormal one that was created through body refining. Therefore, the Regal Jade Spirit was certain that the Body-strengthening Jade wouldn''t be useful to Zen.


    Regardless of whether he could use the thing or not, Zen took all the Body-strengthening Jades from the bottom of the iron case and placed them into Elvinia''s space ring.


    Then, he rummaged around the iron house once more. Before he was about to leave, his eyes fell on the metal token embedded in the iron table.


    Without too much hesitation, he reached out to light up the Sanskrit words around the token one by one, and then took the token out.

 Chapter 3513 Myriad Spirits City

    The use of the metal token was to control the energy vortex.


    Before Zen pulled it out, the Sanskrit words orbiting it emitted a red light.


    Zen immediately came to the conclusion that the red light indicated Elvinia''s existence as the purified being. When the token sensed the presence of a purified being stepping into the energy vortex, its mechanisms would be triggered to activate. The following reaction would be so vicious that it would cause the purified being to instantly perish inside the energy vortex.


    Although Zen had managed to extend the energy vortex to a considerable degree, there was still a chance of him facing an assault if he left the iron house to enter the channel.


    Because of that, it was in his best interest to pick it up and take it with him.


    Upon reaching the lower floor of the iron house, Zen prepared to move past the darkness to leave the house. Before he could make his way out, he heard a familiar voice call out to him from behind.


    "Wait, stop!" Elvinia demanded as she stopped in her tracks.


    "What''s wrong?" Zen asked, looking back, seemingly confused by her sudden change of mind.


    Her eyes were barren of all emotions, as they screamed of murderous intents. "The Element Spirit Civilization is too powerful. We can''t afford to offend them. They won''t let us go that easily, as we''ve taken too many things."


    As she spoke, her fingers glowed visibly as a light began to gather at her fingertips.


    The monsters behind the iron bars of the cages became aware of her intentions for them. They shrunk themselves to a corner as they trembled in fear.


    The Shape-shifting Spirit pleaded pitifully, "Please, I beg of you... Spare us! I''ve told you everything I know, just don''t kill us..."


    However, Elvinia stood with an unfaltering resolve. She showed no signs of going back on her decision.


    Just as the blazing white light slowly became more violent amidst the darkness, Zen quickly acted up and grabbed ahold of her arm. "Stop it, Elvinia. Let them go."


    Elvinia glanced at Zen with questioning eyes reflecting complicated emotions. She turned away and said in a low voice, "Don''t blame me for being cold-blooded. You know the consequences of letting them go."


    She was aware of Zen''s tendency to feel sympathetic towards others and treat them with leniency. However, she didn''t expect him to stop her in this situation.


    "No, you have my word. My lips are sealed. I won''t utter a word to anyone!" The Shape-shifting Spirit begged as it screamed with its voice filled with sincerity to gain Zen''s favor. It even went as far as to morph into a human girl and got on its knees to plead with both hands clasped near its chest.


    At this sight, Zen couldn''t help but let out a loud sigh. Even if the spirit kept its word and didn''t expose them, its master would still have various means of obtaining information from its memory.


    He turned his gaze towards the monsters and asked, "You have been confined for so long. Have you


    d or Elvinia, it was clear both of them would prove to be a great help to the Oneness Sky Palace.


    After all the disciples from the Oneness Sky Palace gathered, they were led out of the stone platform by the senior disciples of the Land of Sword Grief, and they headed towards the depths of Stage Fourteen.


    Although they were both situated on the Other Shore, the Lust World and the Desire World were notably different from one another.


    Stage Thirteen in the Lust World was capable of applying pressure on the Souls of Light, but that pressure was resistible. However, the purple light curtain hanging in the sky of the Desire World put even more intense pressure onto them.


    Some of the disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace were unable to resist it. Hence, they were forced to constantly consume soul pills after walking a certain distance to support themselves.


    After a short period of being led by the senior disciples, they passed through a mountain. Their gaze fell upon a huge city placed in front of them, with massive aura emanating from it.


    Zen had encountered cities before in the Lust World. He had visited the large city of the Abyss Spirit race.


    However, the number of creatures in the Lust World could not be compared with that of the Desire World. Even their strength was on a league of its own. The city of the Abyss Spirit race was simply not on par with the one in front.


    "Are there living creatures of the Other Shore in that city?" A new disciple asked while giving his shoulders a nervous rub.


    "Of course, this is the Myriad Spirits City. It obviously has creatures of the Other Shore inside it, and their numbers are immense. But don''t worry. As there are many powerful races in this stage, creatures have to follow the rules. As long as they don''t act recklessly, we''ll be safe," a senior disciple replied to calm the nerves of the anxious disciple.


    Even the senior disciples were nervous when they stepped into Stage Fourteen for the first time.

 Chapter 3514 Blackmail

    Two giant figures stood at the main entrance of the Myriad Spirits City.


    The giants were as tall as hills, but their heads were not much larger than a human''s.


    They would have made for a funny sight were it not for their threatening auras. The weapons in their hands were only ordinary-looking, thick wooden clubs, but light constantly flashed through the cracks on them.


    They were clearly not ordinary weapons.


    When the disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace arrived at the gate, one of the giants shifted the thick wooden club in his hand and blocked the way.


    The senior disciples of the Land of Sword Grief were used to this. One of them walked forward and talked to the two giants politely. He took out some soul pills from his space ring.


    The cost of entering the Myriad Spirits City was not high, but there were more than a hundred disciples, so in sum, it was a large expense. Fortunately, the Oneness Sky Palace would foot the bill.


    But even after the senior disciple paid the soul pills, the giant refused to open the door. He pointed at Zen and Elvinia with his wooden club. "Those two can''t enter!"


    Zen and Elvinia frowned.


    The giant didn''t seem to be highly intelligent and only knew souls. He apparently saw Zen and Elvinia as creatures on the Other Shore. Even if strictly speaking, they didn''t really belong to that classification.


    "Why?" the senior disciple asked, confused.


    "You have to pay tenfold soul pills for creatures on the Other Shore," the giant said.


    No one from the Oneness Sky Palace had ever come to the Myriad Spirits City with their corporeal bodies before, so even the senior disciples of the Land of Sword Grief had no idea about this rule.


    Tenfold soul pills were not a big amount. Moreover, the Oneness Sky Palace would compensate for the extra soul pills. The senior disciple paid them without hesitation, and even gave another twenty thousand soul pills to the two giants as a gift.


    After receiving the extra soul pills, the two giants grinned contentedly and turned to press their hands on the huge door.


    Creak! Creak!


    The huge door was pushed open by the two giants.


    ''The giants'' strength is about 1, 200 divine megatons, '' Zen thought to


    inated Stage Eleven and had all the super forces in the Source World under their command. The creatures in the Desire World were stronger and were in larger numbers. Naturally, the Souls of Light didn''t have as high a status as them.


    However, Zen still found it unbelievable just how low the Souls of Light''s status here was.


    As they approached, they saw several creatures walk through another path. These creatures walked upright with two feet, but their heads resembled that of insects, their arms as sharp as steel cones.


    They gathered around the doorway of the wooden building. "Come out and meet us!" one of them called out in a sharp voice.


    At this, several Souls of Light hurried out, led by Abdul. There were usually some disciples guarding the stronghold of the Oneness Sky Palace.


    Abdul was usually arrogant and fierce in front of disciples who had just reached the Chaotic Source Realm, but he was very subservient to the insect men. "My friends, what brings you here?"


    The leader of the insect men scoffed disdainfully, "You are merely Souls of Light. How dare you claim to be the Oneness Sky Palace? That''s hilarious! But no matter! When will you give us the thirty finger-size chunks of soul crystal and thirty jades?" the insect-looking leader demanded.


    The reason the weak Souls of Light had difficulty establishing a foothold in the Myriad Spirits City was that they were constantly blackmailed like this by these creatures on the Other Shore.

 Chapter 3515 Trade Your Life For The Jade

    The insect man''s request gave Abdul a terrible headache.


    Thirty finger-size chunks of soul crystal were equivalent to around 30 million soul pills. Even if the Body-strengthening Jade wasn''t considered useful for Souls of Light, it still wasn''t cheap and cost around 20 million soul pills.


    Normally, fifty million soul pills weren''t that high of a price for the Oneness Sky Palace; however, the costs added up considering they had paid five times over the course of six months to a different race each time!


    "My friends, don''t you think you''ve asked too much from us?" Abdul asked with a frown.


    The insect man smirked. Without any warning, he raised his right arm from which a pointed cone flew out, brushing past Abdul''s side and hitting the wooden building behind him. The round hole left behind by the cone was not a reassuring sight.


    "This is the price set by Master Ghost Scorpion. Surely you won''t dare disobey?"


    This Ghost Scorpion was very notorious in the Myriad Spirits City, often cited as one of the most powerful forces in it.


    "We''ve already paid a lot to the city guards this year..." Abdul countered.


    "I don''t know what you''re talking about. Those guards are entirely different from Master Ghost Scorpion. Bah! I''m wasting my time with you Souls of Light!" the insect man spat, raising the sharp cone in his hand.


    There were rules set in the Myriad Spirits City against fighting but the Oneness Sky Palace did not have a good foothold in terms of power and influence. It wouldn''t be seen as that big of a deal if the Tail Insect race killed a couple of Souls of Light.


    Realizing that he was left with no room for negotiation, Abdul was forced to retreat and return to the wooden building.


    He was able to survive Stage Seventeen with his strength.


    But there were not many people in the Land of Sword Grief, so the Oneness Sky Palace saw it fit to send some of them to guard this place every once in a while.


    It was an annoying job. Even though Abdul hated it, he had no choice but to obey what the Oneness Sky Palace told him to do.


    He collected the necessary amount of soul crystal and Body-strengthening Jade, reluctantly handing them over to the people of the Tail Insect race.


    Abdul couldn''t help but feel extremely depressed when he handed over those 30 finger-size chunks of soul crystal!


    That amount could''ve greatly strengthened his Soul of Light.


    It was understandable that he would be greatly unwilling to give them to other races.


    Abdul could o


    reat them seriously. The Other Shore was filled with creatures strange, powerful, and strong so this bit of weirdness wasn''t as concerning to them as one would think. "What are we supposed to be waiting for?"


    In contrast to the disinterested Tail Insect race, the new disciples, Abdul, and the senior disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace were practically beaming with hope at the sight of Elvinia.


    She had a body! Their only hope now was that she was strong enough to protect them. They still worried a great deal about her since they weren''t sure just how powerful she was. Angering a master in the Myriad Spirits City could potentially be bad news to the Oneness Sky Palace.


    "I have the pieces of jade," Zen said, taking out a few and showing them to the members of the Tail Insect race.


    Perhaps it was because the two had physical bodies that made the Tail Insect race slightly more courteous. "You should have taken them out a long time ago since you had them! Ha!" The insect man let out a hearty laugh and motioned to take the jade away from Zen''s hand.


    Abdul and the others heaved a sigh of relief. This should be enough to buy peace for some time.


    However, just as the insect man was about to take his earnings, Zen retracted his hand. "I didn''t say I was going to give them to you for free."


    He was obviously teasing and the insect man did not appreciate it one bit. "What do you mean?"


    Zen tilted his head and smirked. "If you want them, pay for them with your life."


    When he said this, a strong wave of killing intent suddenly burst out from Elvinia. Her entire body trembled with raw power as she grabbed the head of one of the insect men.

 Chapter 3516 A Patron

    Even though the members of the Tail Insect race could react quickly, Elvinia launched an attack too suddenly that they could not retaliate.


    Because of this, the member of the race had no time to react before his head was pulled away from his body by Elvinia.


    Getting a glimpse of the green blood about to gush from the headless body, Elvinia tossed it hundreds of feet away. It landed with a solid "boom" into the wall.


    She then tossed the head right to the ground like it was nothing. Her eyes were so dark, thirsty for murder. The other members of the Tail Insect race refused to even look her in the eye.


    "This... Princess Elvinia, this..."


    Abdul and the other senior disciples from the Land of Sword Grief could not believe their eyes.


    On the one hand, when they heard that Elvinia had a corporeal body, they immediately knew that she could be a great advantage for the Oneness Sky Palace. However, she had just reached the fourteenth stage of the Other Shore Realm. According to normal pace, her current strength was not supposed to be this powerful.


    On the other hand, they all agreed that she shouldn''t have gone out of her way to kill the member of the Tail Insect race.


    What Abdul feared was not the members of the Tail Insect race, but the force behind them.


    Her reckless move could just get them all into trouble.


    Abdul and others had no clue that Elvinia had been holding back for so long. Her sudden course of action might have taken them by surprise, but they were not aware of what went on with her.


    If she were being reckless, she would have torn all the members of the Tail Insect race to pieces by now. They had insulted and disrespected the Oneness Sky Palace before, which made her even more angry.


    She was never one to show mercy, especially to weak creatures she despised. The creatures in the Dark Region were a prime example, and the Tail Insect race would have been no exception.


    If Zen hadn''t warned her to restrain her emotions, there was no telling what she would have done already.


    It was not until they had gone too far that she finally stood her ground.


    "You... How dare you kill our clansman?!" the leader of the Tail Insect race hissed, disgusted by what she had just done.


    He was not expecting a measly human to actually show any signs of resistance¡ªespecially like this.


    Looking at Zen, Elvinia smirked, "I think I want to get rid of more insects..."


    "Alright." Zen nodded with a smile. "Just make sure you leave one alive."


    As soon as he gave the go signal, Elvinia dashed in their direction, leaving streaks of light trailing behind her.


    At Stage Thirteen of the Other Shore, there were no suitable clothes for her. Because of this, she was covered in clo


    e Other Shore. This placed the disciples of the Land of Sword Grief in a very compromising position, a position of disadvantage. Over the past years, they had just been giving in. It was through this persistent perseverance that they were able to find a place to reside in. This was the main reason why they were unwilling to stay in Stage Fourteen of the Other Shore.


    With a sternness in his expression, Abdul did not fail to mention the current situation of the Oneness Sky Palace to Zen. "What you are doing will make us unable to do anything on the Other Shore," he said harshly.


    "I wonder how major races, like the Bearing race and the Separate Abyss race, are treated in Stage Fourteen anyway," Zen replied calmly, facing the already agitated Abdul.


    "Their patrons are all strong in Stage Fourteen, so they definitely have no threats on the Other Shore," Abdul responded impatiently. This brought about a sense of dismay among the senior disciples from the Land of Sword Grief.


    After all, they were all notable and outstanding members of the Oneness Sky Palace. None of them was willing to be bullied on the Other Shore.


    After being in deep thought, Zen said with a smile, "If you always give in, the insects may only go further. And because we don''t have a powerful patron behind us, that should be our number one priority right now."


    "Easy for you to say! Who would we even find to be our patron? Would you do it? Would you be our patron?" one of the senior disciples asked.


    Zen turned his head and looked at Elvinia, who was sitting calmly by his side. Her corporeal body of purified being had been carved to perfection, as it was a product of imagination. On top of that, she was full of charm and zest. Then, Zen turned around and answered, "If we can''t find a patron, we''ll make one of our own."

 Chapter 3517 Entrusted

    Streaks of dark-red light flickered in the compound eyes of the insect man.


    He shuttled nimbly through the Myriad Spirits City, his heart filled with grief and indignation for his dead companions.


    Because the lowly Souls of Light managed to find a couple of corporeal bodies, they wanted to challenge Master Ghost Scorpion. They were merely courting death.


    Many ferns covered the northern part of the Myriad Spirits City.


    Strange races populated the Other Shore, all of them sorted into classes.


    The Tail Insect race lived up north, where several bug-like creatures resided.


    When the member of the Tail Insect race came to the northern part of the city, he headed straight into a deep cave. Various small pots hung within the cave walls, in which a variety of strange bugs were kept.


    When he reached the very bottom of the cave, a strange fragrance filled the space.


    It was the scent of the Fragrant Butterfly race. Master Ghost Scorpion was particularly fond of this fragrance. He always kept several female members of the race close by.


    Soon, the insect man reached the end of the path.


    A hoarse voice resounded. "Have you collected the Body-strengthening Jade and soul crystal as I asked?"


    From within the darkness, a black scorpion rested his tail on the ground. A small hook at the end of his tail reflected a harsh light, making the insect man swallow down his nerves hard.


    He had seen how Master Ghost Scorpion punished his subordinate before. The subordinate''s skin was merely scratched by the hook before his entire body turned black. He died in the blink of an eye.


    The member of the Tail Insect race was feeling anxious about the news he had to bring back. He knew he would undoubtedly piss the Ghost Scorpion off.


    "Yes," he replied nervously.


    "Haha! I didn''t expect the Oneness Sky Palace to endure it." The Ghost Scorpion laughed in the darkness before continuing, "Hand over the jade and soul crystal. I''ll have someone else collect them another day."


    The Ghost Scorpion hadn''t ever acted against the Oneness Sky Palace. The latter was under


    Palace belonged to Eastern Emperor Taiyi. Since Elvinia took Zen''s side, what else could they say?


    But Zen didn''t care much about Abdul''s attitude. He merely turned to the other disciples and said, "Everyone, you have reached Stage Fourteen. For safety''s sake, you can temporarily withdraw from the Other Shore. I will make further plans once Elvinia and I explore this place more thoroughly."


    The disciples there were rather discouraged. If they were involved in a fight, they might be trapped by something like the Soul Binding Thread, unable to escape.


    "Well then¡­ Zen, Princess Elvinia, be careful!"


    "We must leave now."


    "¡­"


    And so one after another, the disciples'' Souls of Light began to dissipate.


    Before withdrawing from the Other Shore, Abdul threw Zen a fierce glare. At last, only Zen, Elvinia, and Dorothy were left.


    "Dorothy?" Zen called out.


    "I''m here with you," she called back.


    "What?" Elvinia said with a frown.


    "I didn''t say that I wanted to stay with you. I am merely accompanying Zen," Dorothy explained flatly but firmly. Though she had been rather quiet for a while, she couldn''t help but throw back a retort.


    "You''re only risking your life by staying here. You''d better leave." Elvinia was still defiant.


    "Oh, really?" A mocking smile appeared on Dorothy''s face. "Do you really think you''re stronger than me with this corporeal body?"

 Chapter 3518 The Door

    Dorothy''s words surprised Zen and Elvinia.


    The difference between the Soul of Light and the physical body was obviously vast.


    Zen had no idea how powerful Eastern Emperor Taiyi and the Snake Goddess were on the Other Shore, but at least on Stage Fourteen, there was a world of difference between the Soul of Light and the physical body.


    Moreover, Elvinia''s purified being body was much stronger than that of a normal creature on the Other Shore.


    "I really don''t know how you could be so confident," Elvinia sneered, staring at Dorothy.


    "Oh, do you want to find out? I can show you," Dorothy snapped in response.


    From their tone of voice, it was obvious the two women were raring for a fight.


    Zen decided he could no longer just stay silent.


    He had never been good at dealing with relationship problems. Back then, the bickering between Margaret and Letitia had also troubled him a lot.


    Zen strode over and stood between the two. He faced Dorothy, speaking to her gently, "This place is too dangerous for you. You can come back after Elvinia and I deal with this matter."


    "I won''t be a burden!" Dorothy retorted stubbornly.


    She had always brimmed with confidence, being the renowned talent of the Origin Mountain.


    This had only gone unnoticed because she had always been content to just play backup to Zen, who tended to draw all the attention.


    She would never stand for being treated like a liability!


    "If you don''t want to get in the way, then get out of here," said Elvinia.


    "Elvinia!" Zen hissed, a warning in his low voice.


    Elvinia shrugged and took a step back, looking indifferent.


    Zen then turned back to Dorothy. "I have never seen you as a burden. Without your help, I wouldn''t have made it this far." He paused, before adding, "Besides, I''ve seen your door."


    While Dorothy and Elvinia were both top women talents in the Oneness Sky Palace, they were different on essential points.


    Elvinia was the biological daughter of Flamine and Eastern Emperor Taiyi. She had inherited their bloodline.


    On the other hand, it seemed that Dorothy didn''t inherit the bloodline of Yasamin. No one had ever mentioned t


    sed to prevent anything from leaving the Other Shore.


    Swish, swish, swish!


    The Tail Insects threw the grass balls through the open wooden doors.


    The balls exploded when they landed inside, diffusing a thick green smoke.


    Whoever was infected by this smoke would not be able to leave the Other Shore.


    Soon, a cloud of thick smoke had filled the wooden building. Just as the members of the Tail Insect race moved to raid the building, a voice came from behind them. "Are you looking for me?"


    The Tail Insects were stunned. The few who reacted quickly stomped their legs, causing their Other Shore Power to erupt. They waved the sharp cones in their hands and charged at Zen.


    "Too slow."


    Zen stood still, not making a move at all.


    As the cones came toward him, Zen just twisted slightly, evading them completely.


    His hands darted out.


    Biff, biff, biff!


    He plucked out the approaching creatures'' heads, as easily if he were simply picking vegetables.


    Every head he plucked off was sent flying in the air. After doing that nine times in a row, Zen stepped back. The bodies of the nine Tail Insects remained standing, even as their heads fell to the ground.


    "How disappointing. Are these useless creatures all Master Ghost Scorpion can send to a fight?" Zen shook his head.


    Having just witnessed the massacre of their peers, the compound eyes of the other members of the Tail Insect race gleamed with panic.

 Chapter 3519 Taking Action Personally

    The members of the Tail Insect race had received an order from the Ghost Scorpion asking them to kill everyone belonging to the Oneness Sky Palace.


    It never occurred to them that no Soul of Light from the Oneness Sky Palace remained on the Other Shore. Moreover, a powerful human being was now standing before them. How could they not be afraid?


    The remaining members of the Tail Insect race panicked and began to chuck the green grass balls at Zen.


    Before the balls could explode, another figure appeared behind them. It was none other than Elvinia.


    A long sword appeared in Elvinia''s hand.


    She did not want to touch these dirty bugs.


    When she had found a long sword in the stronghold of the Oneness Sky Palace, she had known that it would come in handy, even though it was ordinary.


    She slashed the sword at the creatures, drawing a long, uneven line that turned green almost instantly. Every member of the Tail Insect race, except the last one, dropped dead.


    Zen walked out of the billowing green smoke. Elvinia glanced at him and said, "You''re tainted with this smoke. What if you can''t get out of the Other Shore?"


    "I don''t intend to leave," Zen said with a smile.


    Elvinia pursed her lips. The Ghost Scorpion hadn''t shown up yet, and they didn''t know how powerful the Ghost Scorpion was. But Zen looked pretty confident.


    "You, you...," the last survivor uttered, his voice trembling.


    "Tell the Ghost Scorpion to come and meet us in person," Zen said, his voice sending chills through the survivor''s spine.


    Relieved, the Tail Insect quickly made his escape.


    News traveled fast among the races in the Myriad Spirits City.


    The news that a number of Tail Insects had died in close proximity to the Oneness Sky Palace''s stronghold spread like wildfire. The Tail Insect race followed the Ghost Scorpion, which meant that the Oneness Sky Palace would surely have pissed off the Ghost Scorpion this time.


    "The Oneness Sky Palace? Human beings can only enter the Other Shore with their souls, right?"


    "These souls have always been weak and easy to bully. They are courteous when they meet the members of our race. How dare they provoke the Ghost Scorpion?"


    "They are in serious trouble!"


    The ones who were curious moved towards the Oneness Sky Palace''s stronghold. Some hid behind the wall and some went into the living area to secret


    ll the story.


    "Sir, is it necessary for you to kill the two human beings?" a woman from the Fragrant Butterfly race asked.


    The Ghost Scorpion squinted and responded, "I will take personal action against them."


    The Ghost Scorpion rarely left his underground cave.


    He had lurked in the Myriad Spirits City for many years, and didn''t get on well with the City Guard House. But the City Guard House couldn''t do anything about him. Catching the Ghost Scorpion was a distant daydream for the City Guard House.


    "But will the City Guard House..." another woman from the Fragrant Butterfly race said worriedly.


    "Don''t worry. The City Guard House won''t create any disturbance," the Ghost Scorpion sneered.


    The Ghost Scorpion then led the women of the Fragrant Butterfly race onto the path. Soon, they spotted Zen and Elvinia in the distance.


    His six pairs of eyes glowed with a bright red light. And as he noticed the corpses of the three giant red scorpions, he filled with rage. How dare these insignificant human beings kill the members of the Red Scorpion Squad!


    Zen still sat there in silence, a calm expression on his face.


    The moment he saw the Ghost Scorpion''s sturdy black body, and his thin, long tail, he spoke, "You are finally here."


    "All of this will be over if we kill the Ghost Scorpion, won''t it?" Elvinia asked.


    "It''s hard to say," Zen said, shaking his head.


    After Zen and Elvinia had entered the Myriad Spirits City, these creatures had caused trouble for the Oneness Sky Palace, which was not coincidental. There must be a reason for it.

 Chapter 3520 Tell The Truth

    Zen''s identity had already been exposed in the Chaotic Source World.


    At least from the Soaring Snake Sword, they could easily tell where Zen came from.


    Perhaps the Bearing race wouldn''t attack the Oneness Sky Palace so soon, but that didn''t mean that they wouldn''t want to assault Zen on the Other Shore.


    It was known that the Oneness Sky Palace''s stronghold on Stage Fourteen was not difficult to find, and it was easy to observe the movements of their disciples.


    Thus, it would be effortless for the Bearing race to use the Other Shore creatures to attack him. "When will it end?" Elvinia asked.


    "When they are afraid," Zen said as the corner of his lips curved up. He slowly got up and announced, "You step back. I''ll fight this battle."


    After all, the sharp edge of the Ghost Scorpion''s tail contained a highly toxic poison, and he didn''t want Elvinia to take the risk.


    In reality, he had indeed guessed the truth.


    When he and the other members of the Oneness Sky Palace entered the Desire World, the Sun Crow race discovered them. Soon enough, the news quickly spread to the other races.


    The Oneness Sky Palace was weak on Stage Fourteen, a complete opposite to the powerful forces on Stage Fourteen like the Bearing race, the Divine Farmer race, and the Sun Crow race.


    There were a total of two cities on Stage Fourteen, namely, the Myriad Spirits City and the Sky Water City. There were a large number of Other Shore creatures in these two cities. The Star Falcon race, which came from the same origin as the Sun Crow race, was the leading force in the Sky Water City. The relationship between those two races was similar to that of the Separate Abyss race and the Abyss Spirit race.


    Although the Star Falcon race didn''t exactly hold great power in the Myriad Spirits City, they were still a powerful Other Shore race, and it was still easy for them to deal with the likes of the Oneness Sky Palace--which appeared on the Other Shore in the form of souls.


    Three thousand feet away from the wooden building of the Oneness Sky Palace was an oval-shaped building with a terrace on top. More than a dozen Souls of Light stood on the terrace, which turned out to be from the Bearing race, the Sun Crow race, and other two races.


    "At first, I was worried that if they directly retreated from the Other Shore, then we would have no way to deal with them," a Soul of Light said in a lazy voice.


    lied.


    "Master Ghost Scorpion..."


    Just as one Ear Mouse was still trying to persuade the Ghost Scorpion to change his mind, Zen interrupted them and said, "I appreciate your kindness, but I''ll take care of this."


    The Ear Mice who sat on the back of the giant mice looked at Zen in confusion.


    According to the information they had obtained before, Thad was powerful, but he might not be strong enough to fight against the Ghost Scorpion.


    "Did you hear that? This little guy doesn''t want you to intervene. Mice, you''d better get out of here," the Ghost Scorpion chuckled. He seemed to become more and more interested in Zen. Zen''s next words, however, suddenly made his body stiff.


    "Let''s continue our conversation about who ordered you to kill me. Now, tell me the truth, and I can give you a quick death," Zen said in a calm voice, as if he had already decided the fate of the Ghost Scorpion.


    The women of the Fragrant Butterfly race, who watched from behind, were all stunned.


    The Ear Mice beside them were also dumbfounded, and even the giant mice that they sat on stared at Zen with eyes wide open.


    Only Elvinia, who stood in front of the wooden building, looked rather indifferent.


    At that point, rays of light that were as thin as needles danced nimbly on her fingertips.


    Recently, she had gotten more and more proficient in using the Great Sanskrit Light. The light her fingers emitted looked ethereal, and could change into almost any shape according to her will. In addition to being able to turn it into clothes, she also wanted to try if she could turn it into a pair of wings.

 Chapter 3521 Dismemberment

    All the Other Shore creatures that lurked, peeped, and eavesdropped in the buildings on both sides of the road couldn''t believe their ears.


    "What did that young human say? Did I hear it wrong?"


    "He was threatening Master Ghost Scorpion!"


    "Oh, my God! He must be crazy!"


    The Ghost Scorpion might not be the strongest Other Shore creature in the Myriad Spirits City, but he was definitely a local powerhouse. He controlled almost the entire underground world in the north of the Myriad Spirits City by himself, and even the City Guard House couldn''t do anything to him.


    Whoever dared to provoke him would have a miserable ending. Usually, they seldom had the chance to see the sunrise on the next day.


    Yet, there was Zen, who unhesitatingly instigated such a being. The creatures on the Other Shore all thought something was wrong with him.


    The Souls of Light of the Bearing race, the Sun Crow race, and other races, who stayed on the terrace of the oval-shaped building three thousand feet away, were also shocked and confused at Zen''s words.


    "That guy''s reaction is a little unexpected..."


    "Humph! He is only trying to pretend and bluff when he is dying!"


    "Anyway, he knows he is going to die. Maybe he felt it was good to pretend to be a hero before he dies."


    In their opinion, it was still impossible for Zen to fight against the Ghost Scorpion even if he had a corporeal body. After all, it had cost them a lot of resources to hire the Ghost Scorpion.


    Meanwhile, the Ghost Scorpion went stiff for about a dozen seconds, before he finally let out a muffled wild laugh.


    "Hahaha!"


    As the Ghost Scorpion''s laughs rang out, the female members of the Fragrant Butterfly race behind him burst into giggles as well.


    "Humans are so interesting. I..."


    Before the Ghost Scorpion could finish his words, Zen took a step forward.


    That one step he took towards the Ghost Scorpion was over a hundred feet.


    He was able to do so because he used his heels to generate power and forcefully suppress the ground, thereby leaving a crater behind. At the same time, he stretched his hand towards the Ghost Scorpion and gently passed by his body. Then, he stood behind his opponent, at the side of the female members of the Fragrant Butterfly race.


    At that moment, his hand was holding the Ghost Scorpion''s right arm.


    "He didn''t tell the truth, so I have no choice but to let him die in pain. Take it," he said flatly.


    The female members of the Fragrant Butter


    ming.


    Just now, he had been thinking about how to deal with this arrogant and unruly human. But less than half a minute later, he had almost been dismembered by Zen. He could not help but doubt the facticity of all this.


    "I''ll give you one more chance to tell me whose orders you''re under," Zen asked.


    He thought he had guessed it correctly, but still he wanted to confirm his guess.


    Without even launching any powerful attack, the Ghost Scorpion had lost his arms, legs, and even his tail. It was not until then that he was finally filled with fear.


    He had accepted the commission without thinking too much. Now, it turned out that he had fallen into such a deep pit, which was way beyond what he had predicted.


    He felt a lot of remorse and hatred for the one who had asked him to do all this. "It''s the Star Falcon race! The damn Star Falcon race!" Ghost Scorpion shouted loudly.


    Zen had just arrived at the Myriad Spirits City and didn''t know much about the races on the Other Shore in the Desire World, so of course, he didn''t know anything about the Star Falcon race.


    An Ear Mouse who was not far away explained to him, "The Star Falcon race is a major race in Stage Fourteen of the Other Shore. They occupy another city, which is called Sky Water City. They have been supporting the Sun Crow race."


    The Ear Mice were well-informed, so they clearly knew about such information.


    "The Sun Crow race?" Zen pursed his lips.


    "Let me go..."


    Just as the Ghost Scorpion was about to beg for mercy, he saw that Zen had stretched his hand towards his head. When he realized what was about to happen, his head was already decapitated.

 Chapter 3522 Wealth

    Witnessing the death of the Ghost Scorpion, the members of the Fragrant Butterfly race took on a ghastly expression.


    They had relied on the Ghost Scorpion, king of the underground world in the northern part of the Myriad Spirits City. Massive change was bound to happen due to his sudden death.


    Overwhelmed with anxiety, they froze in place, unable to even consider fleeing.


    The Souls of Light on the terrace of the oval-shaped building were also dumbfounded.


    "The Ghost Scorpion is actually weak?"


    "That man is too powerful. The Ghost Scorpion was no match for him..."


    "Alas, I made a wrong judgment before. I have to go back to report this."


    These Souls of Light had stayed to watch Thad and Elvinia die. They had thought that their demise was certain, so the unexpected turn of events shocked them numb.


    "Buzz..."


    A demon woman disappeared from the terrace and returned to the Source World.


    The demon women were not staying in the Divine Lair all the time. Most of the time, they lived in golden divine trees. When the demon woman appeared in a golden divine tree, she spread out her wings and flew towards the Divine Lair.


    At the sight of the flying figure, the Sun Crows rose high into the air and squawked excitedly.


    Upon the arrival of the demon woman, she knelt before Elizabeth.


    "The Ghost Scorpion at Stage Fourteen was easily killed by the man named Thad?" Elizabeth clarified.


    "Yes, he had no power to fight back," the demon woman answered, head still bowed.


    Even though she had witnessed the whole thing with her own eyes, she still couldn''t believe it.


    "I see." Elizabeth nodded calmly. "The Ghost Scorpion is just an unimportant pawn, anyway. Don''t worry. Continue observing. Someone else will fight Thad."


    The creatures at Stage Fourteen were the weakest in the entire Desire World. It didn''t matter even if they failed.


    However, something bugged Elizabeth.


    It was very likely that Thad was actually Zen. Although Elizabeth hadn''t been able to confirm it, it didn''t matter. As long as she could get rid of Thad and Elvinia, she would be willing to pay the price.


    Spreading out her massive wings, she closed her eyes and transferred to the Other Shore


    r Mouse left quickly.


    Zen indifferently glanced at the women from the Fragrant Butterfly race not far away, who had tried to attack him with poison just now.


    However, he knew they were powerless against him, especially since the Ghost Scorpion was killed. He waved his hand at them and said, "You can go now."


    The women trembled slightly as Zen addressed them.


    They had been standing there, not daring to run away.


    To their surprise, Zen just asked them to leave like that.


    They couldn''t believe their ears.


    Once Zen finished his words, he immediately turned around and walked straight towards Elvinia. Unexpectedly, Elvinia cracked a smirk and joked, "Those women are beautiful. Take them back!"


    "What? Since when did you make jokes?" Zen raised an eyebrow amusedly.


    Elvinia''s cheeks flushed.


    It was true that she had become quite cheerful in the past six months.


    Sometimes, she''d just blurt out something without thinking first.


    It suddenly dawned on the women of the Fragrant Butterfly race that Zen truly didn''t have any intention to deal with them, so they heaved a sigh of relief. Fluttering their wings, they prepared to flee.


    Just as they took off, they heard something whistling through the air.


    Swish! Swish! Swish!


    All of a sudden, sharp green arrows rained from out of nowhere, piercing the women''s wings and bodies.


    In the blink of an eye, the several beautiful women had been shot ruthlessly by countless sharp arrows.

 Chapter 3523 Black Bear

    Creatures from the Other Shore resembling mole crickets, stood firm and held long bows. They pulled back on their bows and released a wave of sharp arrows.


    Zen heard the sound behind him and turned towards it. He frowned as he looked on.


    The arrows weren''t aimed at him and Elvinia, but at the women of the Fragrant Butterfly race instead, killing them all.


    Once all the arrows had been released, a 10-foot tall black bear emerged from behind the mole crickets. He stood tall, strong and unmistakably domineering with aggression glowing in his green eyes.


    "The people of City Guard House are here..."


    "Good timing!"


    "The City Guard House and the Ghost Scorpion have always been at odds. I doubt they would offer any help to the Ghost Scorpion now."


    All kinds of creatures from the Other Shore chimed in their speculations.


    On the round terrace, Souls of Light of the Bearing race and the Sun Crow race all smirked when they saw the black bear.


    If the Ghost Scorpion was not strong enough to kill Zen, the City Guard House should be able to do the trick!


    "The city guard!"


    "Squeak! Sir!"


    Several Ear Mice bowed respectfully at the sight of the black bear.


    The city guards were a special force in the Myriad Spirits City. Many races from the Other Shore lived here and were constantly engaged in conflicts with one another. Because of this, the city guards had created laws and acquired a considerable amount of strength in order to maintain the peace within the city.


    The Ear Mouse race might have been quite powerful in the south of the city, but they still required the City Guard House''s support and naturally had to show their respect to the black bear.


    The black bear strode past the bodies of the Fragrant Butterfly women, paying no attention to the Ear Mice. He glanced at the dead Ghost Scorpion lying on the ground and cursed inwardly, ''Useless!'' He then turned his glare towards Zen and asked, "Was it you who killed the Ghost Scorpion?"


    "Yes, it was," replied Zen indifferently.


    "Do you know what happens to those who commit murder in the Myriad Spirits City?" the black bear pressed further.


    Hearing this made the Ear Mice uneasy.


    One of the Ear Mice then raced up to him to explain, "Sir, it''s the Ghost Scorpion that..."


    "Fuck off!"


    the black bear yelled at it impatiently a


    e law of the Myriad Spirits City."


    "Sure! Catch!"


    Without a beat, Zen chucked the black bear with an Other Shore Power as strong as three thousand divine megatons.


    "Swish!"


    The black bear flew towards Elvinia.


    Zen was unable to bring the Shade Stone liquid onto the Other Shore when he was at Stage Thirteen. His physical strength was extremely limited, and the power that erupted from his body was less than a thousand divine megatons. It was enough to defeat weak creatures like warriors from the Separate Abyss race, but in the Dark Region of Stage Thirteen, such strength was far from enough.


    Even the Snake Goddess herself probably wouldn''t have guessed that the one who would gain the most from reaching the Chaotic Source Realm would be Zen!


    When Truth of Powerful Holy Body wasn''t prohibited, Wild Gods could enhance their bodies with the help of the Body-strengthening Jade.


    Truth of Powerful Holy Body was later banned and powerful warriors of the Source World could only rely on Chaotic Source Spirits to cultivate their bodies.


    However, Zen had accidentally brought the Chaotic Source Spirits back to the Other Shore, leading to his abrupt increase in strength at Stage Fourteen.


    Zen could now easily exert three thousand divine megatons of force after reaching the Chaotic Source Realm by relying on the Other Shore Power of Civilization Artifact.


    If Zen had had such strength in the Dark Region of Stage Thirteen, he wouldn''t have been that embarrassed, and he wouldn''t have needed Elvinia''s help to flee that place.

 Chapter 3524 Greet Respectfully

    Just then, the black bear was sent into the air, feeling as if the world was spinning around him.


    When he landed, he noticed that he was thrown near that delicate human girl. This excited the creature.


    Sure, the human man who''d just thrown him into the air was powerful - but there was no way this measly girl could match him. The perfect prey, he thought.


    What the black bear didn''t know, was that the girl in his sight was Elvinia, who was frighteningly powerful even when only relying on her physical strength. If Zen hadn''t relied on the Chaotic Source Spirits, he wouldn''t even be a contender against Elvinia on the Other Shore.


    A cold expression flashed in Elvinia''s eyes. All of a sudden, she waved the sword in her hand. The hemline of her dress, which was made of light, fluttered and emphasized her gracious figure.


    Her petite body burst out with immense power, and her skin appeared transparent enough to see the blueness in her veins.


    "Chop!"


    The treasures the Oneness Sky Palace had on Stage Fourteen were too weak, including the sword Elvinia was holding. How could it bear such a powerful strength?


    As Elvinia struck her sword, the blade broke into hundreds of fragments.


    Just then, the moon-shaped sword radiance had managed to form. It wrapped around the fragments, and came straight towards the black bear!


    At first, the black bear was planning to keep the girl hostage and run away. He had no idea that she actually had such immense power, power that proved to be a lot more intense than the man''s.


    At this point, the black bear was shocked and at the same time, confused about what was happening now.


    How did these two humans appear in the first place?


    Phew!


    In one swift movement, the sword radiance Elvinia slashed out hit the black bear''s chest with great precision, slicing him in half.


    After the job had been done, she lightly tapped the ground and her body retreated instantly, making sure to avoid the black bear''s body that was gushing out blood left and right.


    The area around the stronghold of the Oneness Sky Palace was usually rowdy and noisy.


    But at the sight of Elvinia''s battle with the bear, the Other Shore creatures all grew silent, as if they had reached an agreement with each other.


    On the circular terrace, the Souls of Light from the Bearing race, the Divine Farmer race, and the Sun Crow race stood motionless and speechless. They felt bitterness fill their hearts.


    "That Elvinia had entered the Chaotic Source World the same time as we did..."


    "How in the world did she become so powerful when she j


    was the lord of the Myriad Spirits City.


    The reason why the black bear was able to rule the City Guard House was because he relied mostly on his powerful strength and continuous support from upper stages on the Other Shore. Without these advantages, the Dark Bear race were nothing.


    As Zen and Elvinia headed towards the City Guard House, the forces in the Myriad Spirits City could hardly sit still.


    Meanwhile, the Ear Mice had completely taken over the underground cave in the northern area of the city.


    This was possible only through force. The Ear Mice got rid of all the creatures that tried to resist, like the Tail Insect race and the other scorpions.


    With the help of the giant mice and other mice that had very strong combat abilities in the Myriad Spirits City, they were able to successfully take over the place. Once the Ghost Scorpion died, his subordinates were just a group of weaklings.


    The stench of blood and rottenness filled the entire underground world in the north of the city. At this point, the Ear Mice had plundered all the savings of the Ghost Scorpion.


    When the Dark Bear race had learned that their leader was murdered, they quickly reacted. They even started to gather the strong warriors of their race to go against Zen and Elvinia. But before they could set out, they were killed by the joint attack of the Giants and the Guide Weasel race. Even the members of the Dark Bear race that guarded the City Guard House had been slaughtered.


    So when Zen and Elvinia arrived at the entrance of the City Guard House riding on the giant mice, the members of the Guide Weasel race were already there, all lined up to greet them respectfully. The stench of blood still permeated the air.

 Chapter 3525 The City Guard House

    The Myriad Spirits City was an ancient city rich in history which included several hundreds of chaotic eras.


    Whereas the City Guard House''s opulence wouldn''t be anything worth mentioning in the Source World, it was considered to be quite a rare sight on the Other Shore. Neither the Stage Four temples nor the Stage Thirteen strongholds could hold a candle to it.


    The Guide Weasel race was known for its intelligence. Once they confirmed that the former city lord was killed, they wasted no time in allying with the Giants to eradicate the Dark Bear race once and for all.


    However, they didn''t dare to steal any of the resources that were kept at the City Guard House upon successfully occupying it.


    They focused on their main goal ¡ª controlling the Myriad Spirits City. They knew that Zen and the Oneness Sky Palace he was representing wouldn''t remain in Stage Fourteen. Therefore, there was no need for offending them.


    That was why the Guide Weasel race was willing to surrender the City Guard House to Zen with utmost sincerity.


    "This dress...it won''t fit me."


    "Nor will this one..."


    "And this one..."


    Elvinia complained as she picked and chose from a pile of clothing. Ever since her trip to the Dark Region, she had always robed herself with light-formed attire that couldn''t exactly be considered material. She wasn''t like Zen whose vague shape could be barely recognized even if he was naked.


    Although she''d already become more skilled in controlling the Great Sanskrit Light and the garb she created for herself was enough to cover her decently, she always wanted to find a better solution.


    There were also some women of the Fragrant Butterfly race living in the City Guard House, and they had many clothes.


    The only problem was that they were too unsuitable and revealing for her taste. After taking her time going through her options, she finally gave up.


    "Don''t worry, Princess Elvinia! We''ll ask the servants to tailor dresses for you immediately. It''ll only take half a day!" a member of the Guide Weasel race offered before he hurriedly left to give orders.


    As she threw the revealing clothes onto the floor, Elvinia walked out of the room and headed towards the backyard.


    There, a myriad of weapons was lined up in an orderly fashion on the ground.


    As Zen scanned through them, disappointment clouded his eyes. "Theoretically," he began to speak, "some of the races


    f you have the guts, that is."


    Zen reached the top of the Ranking Stone on the first floor in only one day. None of these people would have the ability to challenge him. As for Elvinia, who would dare to confront her, considering her high status?


    "I just want to know how those two are doing," Abdul sighed.


    Previously, he had been angry with the two of them, but Zen and Elvinia were still members of the Oneness Sky Palace. Though they had physical bodies on the Other Shore, Abdul couldn''t help but wonder if they were strong enough to face the creatures of the Other Shore.


    Many of the new disciples stood aside and said nothing.


    Soon, the deep and heavy feeling in the room became too much to bear. Chaim finally gave in and exclaimed, "Stop worrying! Have some faith in Zen and Princess Elvinia, will you?"


    "That''s right. Princess Elvinia can also be considered an Other Shore creature, right? I''m sure defeating them will be no problem for her," Milo added in agreement with Chaim.


    Abdul sneered and said, "Before the Truth of Powerful Holy Body was banned, taking on the physical form while roaming the Other Shore was considered common. However, hardly anyone could defeat those Other Shore creatures as soon as they reached Stage Fourteen!"


    It was no easy feat to improve one''s physical form on the Other Shore. Therefore, it was never a wise decision for any new-comer in Stage Fourteen to become an enemy of the Other Shore creatures. It wasn''t difficult to kill an ordinary Tail Insect, but the consequences would be unimaginably terrible once the Ghost Scorpion was involved.

 Chapter 3526 Confused

    While the disciples of the Land of Sword Grief sulked, the door of one of the training rooms suddenly opened. Looking up, they saw Elvinia walk out with grace.


    Though Elvina was someone with special status, her room in the Land of Sword Grief was still in accordance with her ranking.


    "Princess Elvinia?"


    "She came out!"


    "Did she manage to escape?"


    For the senior disciples on the first floor, Elvinia was doomed the moment she agreed to face against the Ghost Scorpion. However, she could still escape since she wasn''t obstructed by the Soul Binding Thread. She could definitely run away at such a critical time.


    Abdul stepped forward and respectfully cupped his hands. "Princess Elvinia, how are things going in the Myriad Spirits City?"


    She gave him a cold glare. "Everything is fine. Zen just asked me to inform you all that it''s safe to go back to the stronghold now."


    "What?"


    "We can go back?"


    "How is the Ghost Scorpion?"


    Elvinia retained her aloofness and refused to answer any of their questions. The only person she was really nice to was Zen and that wasn''t going to change anytime soon.


    With her message delivered, Elvinia turned around and made her way back, making sure to slam the door in her wake.


    "Princess Elvinia!"


    "Just what on earth happened in the Myriad Spirits City?"


    The disciples continued to hurl their questions at her despite her departure.


    No matter how loud they shouted though, Elvinia did not answer them, preferring solitude in her training room.


    Now they were even more confused.


    "What should we do?" someone asked. Another disciple shrugged in noncommittal reply.


    Could they really trust Elvinia''s words? What if it turned out that the situation in Myriad Spirits City hadn''t been dealt with? Entering the Other Shore rashly could then lead to serious consequences. It would be like courting death!


    Chaim, however, had already been convinced. "Since Princess Elvinia said it''s been solved, then I guess we can go back now."


    Milo nodded in agreement. "I believe her too!"


    "Really? What if Zen was captured and tied by the Ghost Scorpion who then threatened Elvinia to lure us back to the Other Shore?" Abdul muttered in panic.


    It was a bit far-fetched but nobody refuted what he said.


    Everything was possib


    nd of Sword Grief followed, sitting cross-legged in order to enter the Other Shore.


    "Buzz..."


    More and more Souls of Light appeared within the Oneness Sky Palace''s stronghold as everyone arrived.


    Abdul was the first to walk out the stronghold and saw the Ear Mouse Chaim had mentioned earlier.


    The Ear Mouse let out a squeak as it regarded the new arrivals. "It seems everyone has arrived safely. Please come with me!"


    Abdul''s brows furrowed in confusion. "Come with you?" he repeated. "Where?" However, the Ear Mouse wasn''t going to give him a straight answer.


    "You''ll know when we get there."


    There wasn''t anything abnormal in front of the stronghold but Abdul and the senior disciples couldn''t help but remain uneasy with their surroundings.


    Then again, the moment Abdul decided to come back here, he had already decided to risk everything. Thus, he followed the Ear Mouse.


    If something bad burst out suddenly, then Abdul was ready to get out of the Other Shore and never venture into it ever again.


    The senior disciples followed Abdul''s lead, walking out of the small path and heading towards the wide road.


    Unbeknown to them, the shocking news of what had taken place in the Myriad Spirits City already spread like wildfire.


    The matter about the Oneness Sky Palace was made known to the many races of the Other Shore.


    As the human Souls of Light traversed the road, they were not met with the usual scorn or contempt. Instead, the races of the Other Shore treated them with a hint of reverence.

 Chapter 3527 Sitting On The Top

    "Abdul, what''s wrong with those Other Shore creatures? Why are they staring at us like that?" a senior disciple from the Land of Sword Grief asked in a low register, feeling uncomfortable under the gaze.


    But even Abdul was baffled.


    Normally, they had to be extra careful when going in and out of the Myriad Spirits City. The Other Shore creatures had always been arrogant, given their great strength. Usually, they only had contempt in their eyes upon seeing them.


    But today, their eyes were completely different¡ªit was as though there was even some kind of awe in them.


    Were they suddenly afraid of the Souls of Light?


    Abdul and his companions had yet to realize that it wasn''t the Souls of Light they were afraid of.


    They would soon find out that they acted like this because Zen and Elvinia had occupied the City Guard House.


    On the way there, everyone was feeling quite uneasy.


    Soon, they reached the end of the road at the gate of a magnificent building.


    "The City Guard House?"


    Abdul was rather stunned as he stood in front of the structure.


    "Has Zen provoked the members of the City Guard House? Were we brought here for them to kill?" A worried voice came from one of the senior disciples.


    For a moment, Abdul was about to agree to the thought, but on second thought, he realized that it wasn''t a very logical conclusion.


    The Oneness Sky Palace was known to always follow the rules. They even paid their tributes to the city guards every year¡ªit was highly unlikely for them to have provoked the people of the City Guard House. Besides, Zen was standing up against the Ghost Scorpion, who had always been at odds with the City Guard House, anyway.


    ''Could the City Guard House have saved Zen and Princess Elvinia?'' Abdul wondered after giving it a thought.


    After thinking it through, he shared the possibility with those around him.


    "That must be the case! The City Guard House has always wanted to kill the Ghost Scorpion, hasn''t it? But the creature has always been hiding in the underground in the north of the city. When he attacked Zen and alerted the City Guard House, they must have taken the chance to kill him!"


    "Zen is so lucky!"


    Unexpectedly, a warrior beside him suddenly chimed in, "But even if the City Guard House killed the Ghost Scorpion, why would they invite us here?"


    Now, Abdul was stumped.


    The City Guard House had real control of the Myriad Spirits City¡ªthe


    ior disciples of the Land of Sword Grief, however, still felt like they were in a dream.


    Just then, an Ear Mouse stepped into the main hall of the City Guard House and bowed to Zen, who remained sitting at the very top. "The savings of the Ghost Scorpion have all been recorded¡ªthere are five hundred finger-size chunks of soul crystal, five hundred and twenty Body-strengthening Jades and twenty thousand soul pills! Apart from that¡­"


    For so many years, the Ghost Scorpion had occupied the northern part of the city¡ªof course, he had accumulated many things. Once the Ghost Scorpion died, his subordinates took many things away from his lair when they fled, but a good portion of things was still left underground. The Ear Mice also moved quite fast¡ªwithin an hour after the Ghost Scorpion died, they had already made their way into the underground of the northern part of the city, plundering all the remaining treasures.


    The amount of savings reported by the Ear Mouse had everyone shocked, save for Zen, who merely waved his hand and said, "You don''t have to report every detail. All these things will be shared equally between your race and our Oneness Sky Palace."


    "Shared equally?!" Abdul exclaimed in shock. The Ghost Scorpion''s legacy was so great that half of it was already amazing. And to think that Zen easily gave that half to the Ear Mice, Abdul couldn''t help but stammer, "Z-zen¡­ since you are the one who killed the Ghost Scorpion, his legacy naturally belongs to you, as well as the Land of Sword Grief... It doesn''t make sense for you to share it with the Ear Mice like this¡­it''s beyond generous."

 Chapter 3528 Leaders Of The Two Major Races

    Naturally, Abdul didn''t want Zen to be too generous. According to the rules of the Land of Sword Grief, if one gained something on the Other Shore, part of the harvest was to be handed over to the Oneness Sky Palace''s stronghold as a reserve, after all.


    But Zen cast a cold glare at Abdul and sneered, "The Land of Sword Grief? I wonder what its disciples were doing when the Ghost Scorpion came."


    There was no denying it¡ªthe warriors of the Land of Sword Grief were mostly cowards, hiding in the Source World, never daring to even enter the Other Shore.


    "While all of you went into hiding, the Ear Mouse race tried to persuade the Ghost Scorpion not to make a move against me. Once I killed him, it was the Ear Mice, once again, that took the initiative to head underground. Don''t you think it''s only reasonable to share the harvest with them?" Zen sharply asked in return.


    The Ear Mice were filled with gratitude upon hearing Zen''s defense.


    Although they didn''t manage to stop the Ghost Scorpion, Zen was clearly grateful for their effort.


    It was all Abdul could do to clench his jaw and grit his teeth. "Well¡­ speaking of which, Princess Elvinia has also offered her help. She''s a member of our Oneness Sky Palace, so¡­"


    As the daughter of Eastern Emperor Taiyi, Elvinia had a share of responsibilities in such matters.


    But she blatantly ignored Abdul''s insistence.


    After taking her time to bite into a berry and savor the fruit, she looked indifferent as she said, "All the credit goes to Zen. I didn''t do anything."


    Out of excuses, Abdul finally retreated and bowed his head.


    On the other side, the Ear Mouse race handled the matters in the underground world of the northern part of the city. Just as they finished up, two other creatures, one tall and one short, entered the hall. The tall one happened to be the leader of the Giants, Raul, while the short one, Clyde, led the Guide Weasel race.


    This time, it was under the order of these two leaders that the two major races joined hands and destroyed the Dark Bear race.


    Not only had they dealt with members of the Dark Bear race in the City Guard House, but the entire base of the race in the south was also completely wiped out.


    In terms of strength, the Dark Bear race was inferior to the long-standing Giant race and Guide Weasel race. It was the head of the Dark Bear race that had managed to make rapid progress as an individual, suppressing the two older races and taking control of the City Guard House.


    As the two leaders gave their introductions politely, Abdul hid his shock. Even th


    dares to come, it would be for the best. Please rest assured, Masters, before I leave Stage Fourteen, I will wipe out the entire Star Falcon race."


    The moment Zen entered the Desire World, the Bearing race, the Sun Crow race, and the other races fought hard to suppress him¡ªhe wasn''t going to let them off so easily.


    "If you head for the Sky Water City, you can be sure that the Guide Weasel race will help you as much as we can!"


    "The Giant race would all be at your service as well!"


    If Zen attacked the Sky Water City and took control of it, both races would benefit greatly.


    Over the next few days, the resources left by the Dark Bear race and the Ghost Scorpion were continuously sent to the City Guard House.


    Abdul wanted to help Zen put them away because he believed he was responsible for all the resources in the Land of Sword Grief on Stage Fourteen. But Zen readily refused him, handing the important task to Chaim instead.


    Meanwhile, in the depth of the Phoenix Palace¡­


    Lady Flamine was resting by the side of Eastern Emperor Taiyi, in front of whom a soul jade slip was floating.


    Once he read the information on the slip, he felt torn between laughing and crying.


    "Your Majesty¡­ what is recorded on the soul jade slip? Why are you so upset?" asked Lady Flamine curiously.


    Taking the slip from the air and handing it to her, the emperor smiled, "Have a look for yourself. You''ll know why."


    Furrowing her brows, Flamine examined the slip and began immersing herself in the information written on it.


    A few moments later, Flamine''s eyes lit up. She smiled helplessly, just as Eastern Emperor Taiyi did. "So, Zen and Elvinia managed to occupy the Myriad Spirits City so easily?"

 Chapter 3529 The Sclerite

    The Myriad Spirits City was a place with a long, colorful history. After all, it had existed longer than the present round of chaos.


    Both Flamine and Eastern Emperor Taiyi had travelled across the Desire World and passed by the Myriad Spirits City.


    They were rather weak during that time. They faced much more powerful beings from the Other Shore and had to swallow all the insults and live in silence, just like other feeble creatures.


    Therefore, they had never thought that Zen and Elvinia would''ve occupied the Myriad Spirits City as soon as they entered the Desire World.


    "Those two youngsters are more ambitious than I was," Eastern Emperor Taiyi mused with a faint smile.


    Flamine blinked a few times before she anxiously said, "The Element Spirit race is currently the dominant race on the Other Shore, while many races from the Source World such as the Bearing race and the Sun Crow race control the different stages of the Other Shore, respectively. Since Elvinia and Zen did such big acts, I''m afraid those races would take revenge on them."


    "Hmph! Even if they didn''t commit such acts, they still might be attacked," Eastern Emperor Taiyi said coldly. "I''m only afraid that the ruler of Stage Fourteenth of the Other Shore would do something against Elvinia. I''m not afraid of anything else."


    Without a doubt, Elvinia''s successful rise into the Desire World was great news for the Oneness Sky Palace.


    After all, a purified being who could grow was terrifying.


    The Bearing race and the Sun Crow race would definitely regard her as a thorn in their flesh. With her strength as a purified being, however, she had no reason to be afraid of ordinary creatures on the Other Shore, or even powerful creatures in the Dark Region. She could easily melt all of them with her Great Sanskrit Light.


    Yet, there was a ruler in charge of the Dark Region in each stage, starting from Stage Fourteen of the Other Shore. It would be rather troublesome if Elvinia confronted such a ruler.


    "So, I''ll send a message to the two young ones and tell them to be careful," said Flamine with a nod.


    "Alright," Eastern Emperor Taiyi agreed as his eyes glimmered with deep light. "Now, it''s almost time to have a showdown. I hope that they can both grow up quickly and rise to a higher stage. In that case, maybe they can help the Oneness Sky Palace."


    A smile graced Flamine''s face. "They will definitely be able to help the Oneness Sky Palace. As of now, Elvinia has reached the suitable age for marriage. Your


    tion room, Zen held in his palm the seed that emitted blue light.


    "If I refine the Six-Pattern Blood-storing Seed, will Chiyou''s bloodline disappear completely?" he asked No. 9527 with a bit of hesitation. He simply wanted to obtain more blood of the Chaos Ancient God in order to become stronger, but he was still a member of the Nine Li race.


    If he eliminated all traces of his original bloodline, then he would no longer have any blood connection with the Nine Li race.


    "Hey, there''s nothing to worry about! The Six-Pattern Blood-storing Seed will not change your bloodline. It can only copy blood. When you have copied enough blood of my master, the sclerite on your chest will continue to grow. You can store the extra blood in the sclerite," No. 9527 answered.


    "The sclerite..."


    When Zen had merged with the Chaos Ancient God''s bloodline for the first time, a sclerite started to grow on his chest. No. 9527 had previously hid inside the sclerite, and the Truth Crystal had come out from it as well.


    Since then, he had never had the chance to procure any more blood of the Chaos Ancient God, so the sclerite didn''t grow.


    Now that it was unnecessary for him to worry about his original bloodline, he didn''t hesitate anymore.


    He gently tossed the Six-Pattern Blood-storing Seed and made it float in front of his chest. He then put his palms over his chest, which activated the Chaos Ancient God''s bloodline. Green light gathered around his hands, and a Truth Crystal gradually took shape.


    It wasn''t difficult for him to refine the Six-Pattern Blood-storing Seed. The Snake Goddess had simply given him some instructions, which he had always kept in mind.

 Chapter 3530 Transformation

    As the Truth Crystal turned solid, Zen waved his hand at it. It began to dissipate into a green eddy.


    Zen gently hooked one of his fingers, then it turned into a stream of energy and dashed toward the Six-Pattern Blood-storing Seed.


    There were six cracks on the surface of the seed, hence the name. The energy merged with the seed, slowly seeping through the cracks and flowing into the seed.


    The azure blue light of the seed gradually faded, replaced by a cyan green light. The seed now contained the bloodline of the Chaos Ancient God!


    "The power of the bloodline is so strong." Zen''s eyes showed a hint of surprise.


    It was no wonder the Six-Pattern Blood-storing Seed was extremely precious in the Source World. Any bloodline could be directly copied by the seed once it was absorbed. It was a truly amazing ability.


    "What a fascinating object!" exclaimed No. 9527.


    Zen reached out his hand and pointed at the seed. At this, the seed promptly darted straight into his open mouth.


    It felt strange to swallow the seed after the bloodline had fused into it. But Zen just followed what the Snake Goddess told him to do.


    At first, nothing happened after Zen swallowed the seed. But soon, he felt a sharp pain in his stomach.


    Zen could see that the seed had unfurled in his belly. In the middle of the seed, a green ball of light had started to glow. Each time a beam of light burst out, he felt a burst of sharp pain.


    The green light was the power of Gerald''s bloodline.


    The power of the bloodline soon seeped into Zen''s internal organs. It flowed, almost consciously, along the meridians in his body, gathering in his chest. A small sclerite began to grow out from the area.


    "The second sclerite!"


    As No. 9527 said this, more sclerites started to grow on Zen''s chest,


    ivation room, adjusting to his new body structure. Soon enough, he began to grow accustomed to it. He started to run and jump. He adapted very quickly. It wasn''t long before he was using those sclerites as if he was born with them.


    "The sclerites on both sides of the stomach protect the elixir field well."


    "Those on the legs bring greater support, boosting the legs'' power."


    "Interesting! These sclerites did not grow randomly, but in a way that perfectly enhanced my body."


    Zen stopped moving with a satisfied look on his face.


    "Of course! My master is perfect. Otherwise, he would not have made it from the last chaos to this one," No. 9527 pointed out, matter-of-factly.


    "I want to try the truth-level theurgy."


    Zen stretched his arms, and the eight hundred and sixty-one new sclerites inside his body responded accordingly.


    The power of a single Truth Crystal was indeed not enough. But Zen was now able to mobilize all the sclerites in his body. His entire body was filled with the bloodline from the Chaos Ancient God. He was no longer the same as before.


    "Wait!"


    Before No. 9257 could stop him, Zen already activated all the sclerites. A strange scene unfolded.

 Chapter 3531 The Other Shore Key

    All of the golden blood around Zen''s body started to circulate, and the sclerites continued to unfold. His hands instantly became much thicker and stronger. The sclerites on his back broke through his skin, turning into sharp thorns.


    Meanwhile, the sclerite at the end of his backbone spread out completely and extended into a strong tail.


    The tail was similar to that of the Ghost Scorpion on the Other Shore. There was even a black needle embedded on its end!


    "What happened to me? Why did I change into this?" he complained. He awkwardly stood there like a fool as he observed the changes in his body.


    On the other hand, No. 9527 and the Regal Jade Spirit were used to the change of form. After all, they knew that the physical body was just a vessel.


    Zen, however, was still unable to accept it at the moment. If he had three heads and six arms, at least he maintained the human shape, but now he was like a monster.


    "It''s normal to change into the form of the Chaos Ancient God. Don''t forget that my master, Gerald, is actually a huge scorpion. In the last round of chaos, he belonged to the Spiritual Scorpion Civilization," No. 9527 comforted him.


    Zen had previously seen Gerald''s initial appearance in the illusion created by the Snake Goddess, which was in the form of a huge scorpion. Still, he didn''t expect himself to turn into a scorpion.


    He thought for a while, and then a helpless smile graced his lips. "You are right. I will not show my strange appearance in front of others!" he declared.


    He unfolded his hands again, and the green vortex began to gather between his thick palms.


    Square Truth Crystals appeared between his hands and quickly accumulated in the vortex. As he placed his hands above his head, a bright green star was formed.


    Despite his efforts to suppress it, it was already a thousand times more powerful than the previous Falling Star Palm. If the star fell, the training room would probably be destroyed completely. Thus, he was careful not to drop it.


    The energy aura of truth level the vortex had released carried a strong penetrating power. The Land of Sword Grief''s training room could block most of the energy aura, but no one expected that som


    ed from the seeds. Of course, it made Fuxi and the Snake Goddess disappointed. After all, the last seed was hung on the tree as their beacon of hope. They had never picked it off, and at last they gave it to Zen.


    They didn''t expect that there was an Other Shore Key hidden in the last seed!


    Zen carefully protected the seed, and then sent it into his inner world to let Geoffrey decipher it.


    By now, Geoffrey was quite familiar with such things. After he had deciphered the Sanskrit word on the Other Shore Key, he said, "Stage Seventeen of the Other Shore..."


    Since Zen now had the map and also knew that the temple was located on Stage Seventeen of the Other Shore, it would be easy for him to accurately confirm its position. The other words Geoffrey had said seemed to be meaningless, but they were similar to the Truth of Godly Way. With those words, he could bring the Other Shore Key straight to the Other Shore.


    Fortunately, he had done something similar on Stage One of the Other Shore. "Stage Seventeen of the Other Shore?" he said as his eyes narrowed slightly.


    Stage Seventeen was not far from Stage Fourteen. His current abilities could allow him to dash there in a snap.


    But, why was an Other Shore Key of Stage Seventeen hidden in the Six-Pattern Blood-storing Seed? Who had put this key inside? What did it have to do with the Pear Hill?


    After Zen settled down in Stage Fourteen of the Other Shore, he decided to investigate this matter.

 Chapter 3532 Invitation

    In Stage Twenty-nine of the Other Shore, a giant golden-winged bird soared graciously in the air, spreading out the aura of ferocity.


    Such golden-winged birds named Garudas might as well be considered the number one predator of the food chain in this stage. Most creatures on the Other Shore and Souls of Light would flinch and dodge every time they came across one.


    The Garuda hovered over a cliff that had a sunken path.


    Though the path had existed for quite some time, no one knew how or when it was made.


    At the end of the path was a Soul of Light, who had a pair of wings spread out behind the back. They resembled the wings of the demon women in the Divine Lair, except they were larger and more powerful. It was Elizabeth - head of the Divine Lair.


    "Before these two had set foot into the Desire World, I had asked help from the Star Falcon race. I wanted them to use all their resources and facilities to kill them," she began explaining.


    "However, we failed and the Dark Bear race was wiped out."


    Previously, she had been too impatient in dealing with Zen in the Chaotic Source World, which had led to much downfall.


    After that experience, she knew not to act so rashly again. She had to remain calm in order to win.


    But her calmness did not mean surrendering. She had a plan, and she was going to push through with it no matter what.


    However, Zen had shown a great amount of strength the moment he entered the Desire World. He was sure to pose a great threat to her race and their allies.


    "Humph! We should not have relied on the Sun Crow race in the first place!" the person beside Elizabeth spewed out. This person was one of the Five-element Emissaries of the Bearing race, the Earth Emissary.


    Elizabeth''s face darkened at the sound of this. "How can you blame the Sun Crow race for this? The two humans are too powerful. One of them is a purified being!"


    The Earth Emissary gasped, "A purified being? How did this purified being even set foot into the Desire World? You might be dreaming." There was no way the Earth Emissary was going to buy it.


    When the word spread about Elvinia, they had already speculated that she was a purified being from the very beginning. She was the daughter of Eastern Emperor Taiyi, but she suddenly reappeared on the Other Shore with a clear appearance. Her being a purified being was the only reasonable explanation for this to happen.


    But her presence in the Desire World had confused everyone, including Elizabeth.


    It was of common knowledge that purified beings could not roam around all st


    dly Way had something in common with the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent.


    Zen felt great and happy that his strength had been improved. He didn''t plan to stop after refining that first Body-strengthening Jade.


    Breaking Zen''s solitude, Elvinia stepped in and spread out her arms, smiling at him. "What do you think?"


    She wore an ocean blue dress that had light green lace detailing at the hem. Her dress was exquisite, beautiful, and at the same time, emitted a tiny bit of energy.


    "You look extraordinary. Was it made by the Guide Weasel race?" Zen asked, appreciating the beauty in front of him.


    "Yes! I didn''t expect them to be so good with their hands," she said giddily. The dress was not only powerful, but it put her in a great mood.


    Zen nodded in agreement. Just then, he picked up another piece of Body-strengthening Jade and handed it to her. "You''re here just in time," he said. "Try and see if you can refine this jade."


    As a purified being, Elvinia was physically and mentally strong. However, she still had things to learn, like how to use her power wisely.


    Zen didn''t doubt that she could refine the jade. It seemed that the Other Shore creatures were able to do it, so it should be nothing to Elvinia.


    She blinked a couple times and then took the cool-to-touch jade in her hand. "Okay," she said and then turned around and took a seat right next to Zen.


    All of a sudden, the stone in her hand shone a brilliant light. "I forgot to tell you something," she said, looking at Zen intently.


    "What is it?" Zen asked.


    "I invited Letitia and Margaret to live in my Phoenix Palace for a while," she replied, trying not to look him in the eye.


    Zen was stunned upon hearing this.

 Chapter 3533 An Attack

    Back then, Zen had first met Elvinia at the Seven Mountains Meeting. Some time later, Zen returned home after obtaining the Shade Stone, only to find out that Lavender, Laquisha, and Nelly had been "invited" by Elvinia to the Phoenix Palace.


    Furious, he had stormed the Phoenix Palace to face Elvinia right then and there.


    To his surprise, the three women were actually quite content there, so Zen didn''t force them to come back. However, now, Elvinia had invited Letitia and Margaret. What was she up to?


    "Why didn''t you tell me in advance?" Zen frowned deeply.


    Elvinia smiled apologetically. "I thought they were bored in the Flow Sword Sect, so I invited them to the Phoenix Palace. Besides, you were busy practicing in seclusion the other day, so I didn''t get the chance to tell you."


    The Phoenix Palace was not a dangerous place after all, and to a certain extent, it was actually safer than the Flow Sword Sect. Still, it was a bit suspicious that Elvinia was being courteous to Letitia and Margaret.


    Zen shook his head. He couldn''t figure it out.


    He just said, "Forget it. Let''s just refine the Body-strengthening Jade."


    "Okay." Elvinia nodded meekly.


    Zen thought he saw a hint of amusement in her eyes, but it quickly disappeared. She then concentrated on crushing the Body-strengthening Jade for her body to absorb it.


    Just like Zen, refining the Body-strengthening Jade was easy for Elvinia.


    It was more efficient to strengthen the corporeal body than to enhance the Soul of Light.


    For Zen, strengthening his corporeal body meant he could use it outside the Other Shore. Elvinia, on the other hand, couldn''t bring her corporeal body outside the Other Shore, so it seemed a bit wasteful to strengthen it.


    However, after occupying the Myriad Spirits City, Zen had obtained a lot of resources. Even after he distributed some to the disciples of the Land of Sword Grief, there was still a lot of leftover.


    Just as Zen was about to continue refining the Body-strengthening Jade, a bright yellow shadow darted into his line of sight. When his eyes adjusted to the figure approaching him, he realized it was the leader of the Guide Weasel race, Clyde.


    "Sir, something is happening in the Sky Water City," Clyde reported anxiously.


    Zen and Elvinia exchange


    a strong body as a purified being, it was still risky for her to face the Star Falcon race.


    "Fine." Elvinia frowned slightly. She didn''t like to feel useless in times of trouble.


    "Thirty thousand feet!" Clyde announced.


    "Twenty thousand feet!"


    "Ten thousand feet!"


    Clyde narrowed his beady eyes at the flying figures closing in on them.


    "Eight thousand feet! Shoot!"


    he commanded the archers.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Like green rain, arrows whizzed through the air towards the Star Falcons.


    From the receiving end of the arrows, the largest Star Falcon at the forefront squinted at the city wall.


    It was the leader of the Star Falcon race, Hans.


    Thanks to their exceptional vision, the Star Falcons could see the figures on the wall of the Myriad Spirits City clearly.


    Finally, Hans'' eyes landed on what he was looking for. "Strange," Hans murmured. "The two targets are in plain sight."


    He didn''t care about the failures of the Ghost Scorpion and the Dark Bear race.


    The Star Falcon race was above all the races in the Light Region of Stage Fourteen; they were the rulers there.


    The second Hans received the request from the Sun Crow race, he had agreed with no hesitation. It seemed to be a good opportunity to invade the Myriad Spirits City.


    Unbothered by the volley of arrows coming straight for him, Hans simply flapped his wide wings.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    A strong wind blew from Hans'' incredible wings, sending the arrows backwards till they plummeted to the ground.

 Chapter 3534 Counterattack

    Witnessing their chief flick away the volley of arrows as though they were but toothpicks, the rest of the Star Falcon race cheered.


    "The Myriad Spirits City is still weak!"


    "They are too weak! This city should have been occupied by our Star Falcon race long ago!"


    "You know nothing! The best way is to control it through the Dark Bear race. There is no need for us to take over this city!"


    The members of the Star Falcon race cackled amongst themselves as they flew towards the city wall. The Star Falcon race thought very highly of themselves, and had always belittled the Myriad Spirits City.


    So it had piqued their curiosity when their chief decided to gather all their forces just to kill two human targets.


    This was unacceptable-- beneath them, really.


    Due to their relationship with the Sun Crow race, the Star Falcon race had always protected the Souls of Light of the Bearing race and the Divine Farmer race. And these two races also enjoyed a high status in the Sky Water City, but even so, the Star Falcon race still thought lowly of humans.


    In their eyes, the humans were weak. But their human targets had even bodies on the Other Shore!


    "Aoo!"


    All of a sudden, Hans let out a high pitched cry, commanding his troops to strike back.


    Obeying their chief, all the Star Falcons spread out their wings in unison. The diamond embedded in their chests glowed, emitting a trace of star radiance that formed a ring.


    This ring grew bigger and bigger, till it was as big as their massive bodies.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    From within the ring, thousands of long and thin light swords with star radiance shot out towards the city wall. These swords were several times more powerful than the green arrows shot by the mole crickets!


    Squeak! "Activate the array!" Clyde ordered promptly.


    In no time, several Guide Weasels hiding in the darkness activated the array that was arranged on the city wall.


    The Guide Weasel race had lived in the Myriad Spirits City since time immemorial. Over the years, they had planted arrays in the city. One, in particular, was the Heavenly Harmony Array at the front of the city. This array had been gifted to them a long time ago by an ancient civilization.


    "Buzz!"


    A thick, white fog rose from the ground, enshrouding the whole city wall.


    Once the Star Falcons'' swords pierced


    reature like Raul should''ve been able to respond quickly, since he regarded his weapon as important as his own life.


    But even if Raul had been quick enough to respond, in that moment, he had felt an incredible power from Elvinia''s slender arms. There was no way he could''ve resisted. The metal club was instantly taken away by Elvinia.


    Elvinia then raised the metal club towards the sky, and Zen jumped onto it.


    "Bang!"


    From Elvinia''s fingers erupted a powerful force, which was channeled through the club, shooting Zen thousands of feet into the air.


    If Zen''s body was any weaker, this strike would''ve destroyed his body.


    Raul was absolutely dumbfounded. Even the residual force from the smash hurt his face. But Zen was able to withstand it. How strong was this man?


    As Zen shot into the sky, a pair of thunder wings appeared on his back. Thanks to Elvinia''s little trick, Zen flew like a flash of lightning.


    Before the Star Falcons had the time to react, they heard a thunderous roar and then felt a heavy blow on their chests. Disgruntled, they lost their balance and plunged to the ground.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    Zen''s body had suddenly turned into a lightning arc in the air, hitting Star Falcons one after another without a break. Once his body arc hit a Star Falcon, it would plummet down, a black mark seared on the chest.


    In about ten seconds, more than twenty Star Falcons had already plunged to their deaths, most of which were elites!


    The rest of the Star Falcons were shocked. Hans, shaking his head, tried to gather his wits.

 Chapter 3535 Capture The Leader

    Of course, letting Zen kill them like that was out of the question.


    According to their intel, there was no record of Zen being able to fly. They imagined Zen would be struck down by the human woman''s club!


    Zen''s flexible figure was reflected in Hans'' eyes.


    "Aoo..."


    With a piercing cry from Hans, all the Star Falcons spread their wings and quickly distanced themselves from each other!


    This space between them made it difficult for Zen to kill them.


    Zen could not fly very fast as he was relying on the Thunderstorm Godly Way to fly.


    He had just been shot up into the air by Elvinia''s power, and as he rose he was able to strike down more than twenty Star Falcons in an instant with his great power. But now, he began to get slower and slower.


    "Crack!"


    He rushed at another Star Falcon, who suddenly tilted his wings and flew to the other side, dodging Zen''s attack with great agility.


    After Zen failed to hit anything, a huge Star Falcon dashed towards him.


    His name was Garth and he was Hans'' assistant, second only to Hans in terms of strength and status in the Star Falcon race.


    On the front end of his wings were many silver spangles.


    The surface of the spangles was engraved with an ancient array. Under the array, all the spangles were sharp as blades.


    This was the magic weapon created by the Riverside race.


    "Phew!"


    Garth raised his wings and charged at Zen at an astonishing speed, moving like a flying saber. In the blink of an eye, he slashed at Zen.


    Seeing the dazzling spangles on his wings, Zen abruptly somersaulted in the air and nimbly dodged the attack.


    But the Star Falcon race was a flying race after all, so every member could pretty much fly from birth. Naturally they were more experienced in aerial combat than human beings.


    Garth seemed to have predicted Zen''s movement and as he moved backwards, Garth screeched excitedly and flew in the same direction as he


    s huge body plummeted down.


    Zen darted like an arrow, at incredible speed once more, by using the counterforce.


    As the chief leader of the Star Falcon race, Hans was the smartest and most powerful of them all.


    He remained vigilant, his eyes focused intently as he approached Zen. He had seen how he handled Garth and this put him on guard.


    To Hans'' surprise, when he was still over 200 feet away, Zen had stamped on Garth and rushed to him by means of the counterforce!


    ''I''m his target?''


    An idea popped into Hans'' mind.


    "Illusory Transformation! Escape!"


    The bird''s innate alertness would probably save him, if Zen was not the one he was up against.


    Hans displayed a weird movement skill. His wings rolled and formed many golden shadows which spread in all directions like thousands of Star Falcons.


    "You hope to escape with just a little trick?"


    Zen''s gaze was fixed on Hans'' real figure and he stretched out towards him.


    But his hand went right through the figure like it was a cloud and it disappeared before his eyes.


    This bodily movement skill was somewhat similar to the Eight Smoky Melodies that Zen had cultivated and even the feather of Wing King. Unfortunately, using such a skill before Zen was a display of one''s meager ability to an expert.

 Chapter 3536 Die With Me

    Failing to capture Hans, Zen activated the Civilization Artifact in his body, and then a cyan feather suddenly sprouted from his body.


    He felt his body become extraordinarily light. He reached out his hand again and this time, successfully grabbed Hans'' tail though he moved swiftly via Illusory Transformation!


    "Aoo!"


    Hans howled in frustration. He flapped his wings wildly, stirring up strong winds that buffeted Zen.


    Now that he had been caught by Zen, how would he be able to escape?


    Elvinia who stood on the city wall, focused her eyes on the scene that had unfolded in midair. It was not exciting for her; she even felt a bit bored.


    On the other hand, Raul and Clyde gasped in shock as their eyes widened in awe.


    "Isn''t that Hans, the leader of the Star Falcon race? This is incredible!" Clyde exclaimed.


    As the leader of the Guide Weasel race, Clyde had already encountered Hans in the past.


    That powerful Star Falcon had shown true arrogance in front of the Guide Weasel race. Clyde was already the leader of the Guide Weasel race but he still felt inferior in front of Hans.


    It was hard to believe that Hans was seized by Zen so easily, and he looked extremely miserable, "I have wanted to smash that face myself for so long!" Raul grunted as he looked at his own metal club in Elvinia''s hand.


    Elvinia held it with one hand casually.


    The metal club was thick and extremely heavy. It took Raul a lot of effort to carry it. However, the thin human girl had been able to hold it easily in just one hand. Seeing her toughness and strength made Raul doubt the talents of the Giants.


    "If Zen really defeats Hans, that''s one less problem for us," Clyde mused with a chuckle.


    The Star Falcon race had taken advantage of their tremendous strength to put the Sky Water City under their control.


    When their strength waned and people noticed it, a rebellion would probably take place to overthrow their power in the Sky Water City.


    In the past, the Dark Bear race had used their strength to forcibly take over the City Guard House. Unexpectedly, it was not Zen who made the first move to control the City Guard House but the Guide Weasel race and the Giants. Zen''s role was only to kill the strongest one, and that was all they would have required of him.


    Hans tried his best to shake Zen off. He dragged Zen up and down while the other Star Falcons followed closely behind them. Fear and panic were visible in their eyes. They needed to think of a way to rescue their leader from Zen''s clutch


    a bow, heading directly east!


    Clyde and Raul followed closely on her heels.


    Raul''s body was immense, and every step he took would have spanned about three hundred feet. Clyde''s extreme speed was one of his advantages over other creatures. Both of them had not been able to catch up to Elvinia, but they weren''t far behind her.


    They could not help themselves from worrying.


    If Zen met his fateful end here, it wouldn''t end well for them, either!


    On the other hand, they wouldn''t achieve anything good by going there!


    No one was able to prevent Hans from bringing Zen with him into the Dark Region!


    Although Zen had been engulfed by the Star Stasis, dying had been far from his mind. He knew that with his current body, those starry swords would be harmless to him.


    But when Hans took Zen and leapt through two mountains, a dark area was revealed in front of their eyes!


    "The Dark Region!


    You want to drag me into the Dark Region?!" Zen''s expression rapidly changed into a dire one.


    Without the Darkness Fruits and candles, no one who had entered the Dark Region had ever survived. Zen didn''t think that he was an exception.


    He probably knew far more about the Dark Region than Hans, who had been a creature of the Light Region!


    "My starry gem has already begun to burn, and there is no chance for me to live. You should feel honored that I''m taking you to die with me!" Hans shrieked.


    The starry gem was a gemstone embedded in the chest of the Star Falcons. The Star Stasis with the greatest resistance could only be activated by burning the starry gem.


    Once the starry gem was fully consumed and burnt out, it would also be the end of Hans'' life.

 Chapter 3537 The Light From The Crack

    One could compare the Dark Region to a huge, black beast that spanned the eastern region of Stage Fourteen.


    The area Zen saw was part of the Dark Region''s far end, closest to the Myriad Spirits City.


    Hans had no intention of perishing together with Zen. He was the mighty leader of the Star Falcon race! He had a lot to live for.


    However, it seemed that death was the only way to go after he discovered Zen''s true power.


    Swoosh! Swoosh!


    There was a sharp sound as the wings outside the ball flapped and carried Zen towards the Dark Region.


    "Chief!" one of his followers called out. "There''s no need to perish with this human man!"


    "Chief, please! There must be another way!"


    The other Star Falcons continued to plead as they followed behind their leader.


    Only an hour had passed since their attack on the Myriad Spirits City but in that short time period, all elite members of their race had been eliminated. Garth, so mighty and strong, also died in Zen''s hands. The only solution Hans could think of in order to subdue Zen was to bring him into the Dark Region.


    The Star Falcons could only grovel at his feet to persuade him not to go.


    "Get out of the way!" Hans roared, his patience worn thin by his insistent followers.


    He had already made his decision and there was no way he was going to change his mind.


    His roar sent his followers scampering away. There was no stopping their leader anymore. All they could do was stay out of his way and let him head into the Dark Region.


    Meanwhile, Zen was struggling within the ball.


    The power released by the Star Stasis was strange. It was a type of sealing power that froze Zen''s entire body.


    He looked on as the ball took him closer to the Dark Region, his expression growing grimmer by the second.


    In between the Heavenly Dark Mountain and the Earthy Dark Mountain was a low mountain ridge.


    Elvinia rushed to the foot of the ridge and released her full strength, shooting forward like an arrow.


    It emitted a blazing white light that blinded anyone who dared look at it.


    The Star Falcons could do nothing but watch as their leader was swallowed in the darkness and disappeared from view.


    As soon as Hans entered the Dark Region, the energy within it began to erode his corporeal body.


    His hair, his flesh, and even his bones cracked instantly.


    Zen, who was wrapped in the Star Stasis, was able to resist.


    However, as creatures of the Light Region, it was only a matter of time before they got completely devoured by the darkness.


    Just when Hans thought he had achieved his goal, a crack suddenly appeared in the sky and bright light flooded the Dark Region.


    This bright light completely won over the darkness and illuminated an area with a radius of a hundred miles.


    "What the heck?!"


    Hans exclaimed in disbelief.


    They were in the Dark Region.


    Where in the world did this light come from?


    There was no way that was possible. Hans racked his brains but couldn''t figure out an explanation.


    The creatures of the Dark Region were the ones that bore the brunt of this light''s sudden appearance. The moment it touched them, they all burned to ashes and died.


    It was in this way that the dark demon plants, which stood ten thousand feet high, and the five-color earthly dragons perished.

 Chapter 3538 The Pear Hill Stronghold

    It was known that despite having turned into ashes, things in the Dark Region could not exist in the light.


    The white light had eroded them, and as a result their ashes had completely dissipated.


    Almost everything was swept away, to the point that the area within a hundred-mile radius was practically spotless and abnormally clean.


    As for the creature from the Star Falcon race, Hans, he was now on the verge of death.


    He had burned his starry gem, while the Dark Region had eroded his whole body.


    "How... How did you make it?" he couldn''t help but ask Zen when they fell down together. Apparently, he thought that Zen had created that beam of light.


    Zen looked at the Star Falcon in front of him, who was at the last moments of his life. "Because we have a purified being," he said with a smile.


    Back in Stage Thirteen of the Other Shore, he had witnessed how Elvinia had released such a terrifyingly powerful burst of light.


    Yet at that time, the Great Sanskrit Light, which had descended from the sky, was only sustained for a short period of time. Now, the Great Sanskrit Light that came from the space crack was almost too dazzling, as if it was going to change the entire Dark Region into the Light Region.


    It meant only one thing, and that was Elvinia''s abilities had improved.


    "A purified being?" Hans gasped.


    His originally enlarged eyes glinted with anxiety.


    Zen noticed it, and wondered what Hans was worried about. Before he could ask about it, Hans'' eyes closed shut and he fell straight down.


    Zen''s eyes narrowed into slits as he looked up at the huge crack in the sky. He suddenly felt curious. "How could the crack be filled with Great Sanskrit Light? What kind of world is inside?" he muttered.


    Even Elvinia couldn''t answer the question, and unfortunately it was also impossible for him to explore the crack now.


    He was still in the Dark Region and didn''t know how long the crack would be there. Once it closed, the Dark Region would probably be back again.


    Without Hans'' disturbance, the thunder wings on his back spread out once more. Zen sped up in the air and quickly left the Dark Region.


    The other members of the Star Falcon race had seen Zen and Hans enter the Dark Region, but they didn''t expect such a strange thing to happen. When they saw Zen fly back with the help of the thunder wings, all the Star Falcons immediately flew away in all directions.


    Zen didn''t plan on chasing and killing them anyway.


    the Sky Water City.


    Besides, he wasn''t in a hurry--but the Guide Weasel race and the Giant race were extremely anxious!


    Of course, he would leave Stage Fourteen sooner or later. By then, the two races would work together to control the Sky Water City and the Myriad Spirits City. That was what they had been dreaming of for so long. In the past, they could only fantasize about such a thing. Now that they already had a foundation to realize their dreams, what else could they do but pursue them?


    To wipe out the Star Falcon race, the Guide Weasel race had most likely instigated the Riverside race to seek help from Zen.


    "In this case, you can go there and fight," Zen said faintly.


    His words were like a king''s decree as Clyde and Raul quickly lit up with excitement. In a snap, they were gone along with the man from the Riverside race.


    It wasn''t long before the news about the defeat of the Star Falcon race and Hans'' death had spread throughout the Sky Water City. At that time, most of the members of the Star Falcon race tried to stabilize and comfort the other races of the Other Shore in the Sky Water City.


    When dusk came, six members of the Star Falcon race quietly left the Sky Water City and flew south.


    Many great races in the Source World had chosen to establish their strongholds in the Myriad Spirits City or the Sky Water City, but there were some exceptions.


    For example, the stronghold of Pear Hill wasn''t located in either of those cities, but at another area in Stage Fourteen. After a while of flying in the air, the six members of the Star Falcon race finally landed on top of the Pear Hill stronghold.

 Chapter 3539 Evil Plot

    It was true that not all of the strong races established their strongholds in either the Myriad Spirits City or the Sky Water City.


    In fact, many of them chose to open up a gathering place in the wilderness of the Other Shore, and founded their strongholds there. It was dangerous, but it gave them more freedom.


    For instance, the Pear Hill''s stronghold in Stage Fourteen was in the wilderness not far from the Dark Region.


    Since the Pear Hill had settled there, some relatively weak races and even some creatures from the Other Shore had also moved to the same place. After half a chaotic era had passed, their stronghold had grown to a certain size and formed a small town.


    The six Star Falcons soared up above the town, their huge bodies covered in the darkness. Only the starry gems shone brightly on their chests.


    If one didn''t look carefully, the bright dots in the sky looked just like equally-distanced stars, instead of the actual Star Falcons that were flying up above.


    In the town below, a white-haired ape was observing the six stars.


    The ape came from the White Ape race in Stage Fourteen. The White Ape race used to live in the Sky Water City, but later on they became an enemy of the Star Falcon race due to some conflicts. At last, they were even driven out from the city.


    In these years, the White Ape race had been working hard to return to the Sky Water City.


    The ape, however, didn''t exactly know about the chaos that had been happening in the Sky Water City over the past few days. He only knew that someone from the Star Falcon race had contacted him and asked for help. If he succeeded, then the whole White Ape race could return to the Sky Water City.


    It was truly a great opportunity for the White Ape race!


    This ape had been staying in the small town for a long time, so he had a good relationship with the Pear Hill. Moreover, he had helped some of the Souls of Light from the Pear Hill when they had been in trouble.


    When he was done gazing at the six stars in the sky, he looked at the stronghold of the Pear Hill and said, "The White Ape race has helped the Pear Hill a lot. Now, it''s time for you to repay us..."


    Afterwards, he walked straight into the Pear Hill''s stronghold.


    As the Pear Hill members were familiar with the White Ape race, none of them stopped the ape when they saw him.


    The ape entered the inner area, where he found a member of the Snake Goddess race from the Pear Hill. Her


    nt, including Naomi. Then she angrily hissed, "Whitehead, what are you doing?"


    It was known that on the Other Shore, the acts of throwing things like the Soul Restraining Sand, the Soul Interdicting Water, and the Soul Binding Thread to other beings were seen as a declaration of war. The White Ape race, however, were in good terms with the Pear Hill.


    Thus, Whitehead had no reason to specifically attack Yan and Natalie at all.


    "I''m sorry, I''m sorry..." Whitehead apologized as he retreated out of the stronghold. At the same time, he waved his long white arms in front of him.


    "Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"


    In the blink of an eye, the six huge Star Falcons came down and stood upright behind Whitehead. Their sharp eyes emitted a ferocious and cold aura.


    As for Whitehead, he just continued to apologize, "I''m sorry, guys. I have to do this for the sake of White Ape race. I have to obey them¡­"


    Some of the members of the Pear Hill reacted quickly. When the Star Falcons landed, many Souls of Light from the Pear Hill had left the Other Shore.


    The others retreated as they wanted, but the Soul Restraining Sand stopped Yan and Natalie.


    "The Star Falcon race! We, the Pear Hill, have no conflict with you! Don''t mess around! Otherwise... " Naomi shrieked. She could have left at her own will, but she stood in front of Yan and Natalie.


    "Phew!"


    Before she could finish her words, a starry sword pierced her Soul of Light, passing through the space between Yan and Natalie, then finally penetrating the wall of the stronghold.


    "No, Naomi!"


    Natalie and Yan screamed as they saw Naomi''s Soul of Light collapse.

 Chapter 3540 Sent To The Dark Region

    The stronghold of the Pear Hill was very safe, as far as Yan and Natalie knew.


    It had been a while since they entered the Desire World. Since they had no need to enter the Myriad Spirits City, they never got the chance to come into contact with any of the rather rebellious races on the Other Shore.


    All the races in the small town were relatively gentle and peace-keeping. They also treated the Souls of Light of the Pear Hill as equals.


    When Yan and Natalie saw the Star Falcons, they were a little worried about their aggressiveness, but never did they expect them to kill Naomi instantly.


    Their senior''s death was far too much for the two. Instead of feeling scared, they were terribly heartbroken.


    "Why?" Yan stared blankly at the dispersing Soul of Light, unable to do a thing.


    A Star Falcon dashed into the Pear Hill''s stronghold and examined the area, finding a few bold members of the Pear Hill standing in the corner.


    "We don''t wish to kill anyone," he said. "Yan Luo is all we want¡ªthis has nothing to do with the people of the Pear Hill. Where is she?"


    Still processing the situation, Yan was about to answer on instinct, but Natalie stepped forward before she could and claimed the name. "I am Yan Luo."


    Natalie didn''t want to take the risk.


    The Star Falcon gave no reason for wanting Yan, but she couldn''t let them take her away.


    Behind her, Yan was stunned speechless.


    Surprisingly, the Star Falcon took one look at Natalie and burst into booming laughter. "Take these two away!"


    Once the Star Falcon left the stronghold, two wings came in from the outside. Yan and Natalie were taken to the back of a Star Falcon.


    And so the six Star Falcons flew into the air and left the small town.


    Watching their figures receding in the distance, Whitehead from the White Ape race finally sighed deeply in relief.


    He still felt guilt, but he had always believed that what he did was for the sake of the White Ape race.


    By the time the Star Falcon race completed the plan, the White Ape race could return to the Sky Water City and restore their previous glory with the Star Fal


    ts City.


    Elvinia had been stuck in a coma for an entire day and night before she opened her eyes. She struggled to open her eyes, looking haggard.


    Naturally, it took great energy to activate the crack in the light. Even the most powerful purified beings couldn''t do it as they pleased.


    Just as Elvinia was struggling to get up, a pair of hands gently held her shoulders down before she heard Zen''s voice. "Don''t move. You just woke up. You''re exhausted. You have to have a proper rest."


    Elvinia''s lips quirked up as she heard the guilt in Zen''s voice.


    The moment was rather enjoyable on her end¡ªshe was hoping Zen could owe her even more in the future.


    Before Elvinia could say anything, a Guide Weasel burst in. "Sir, I have something to report!"


    Both Zen and Elvinia frowned at the news. "What is it?"


    "A Star Falcon has descended outside the City Guard House. He''s requesting to see you," replied the Guide Weasel.


    "A Star Falcon asked to see me?" Zen was stunned. Was the Star Falcon race ready to admit defeat?


    Since it had come to this, it was meaningless to admit defeat. Even if Zen wanted to merely let go of the Star Falcon race, the Guide Weasel race and the Giant race weren''t about to let them off so easily.


    But Zen went straight to the gate anyway.


    Standing at the gate was the Star Falcon. Seeing Zen, he said, "Your sister, Yan, has been sent to the Dark Region."

 Chapter 3541 Set Off

    What the Star Falcon had said pierced like a dagger into Zen''s chest.


    His eyes immediately widened, blazing with anger and a thirst for blood.


    And even though the man who had delivered the message already knew the possibility of death, he couldn''t help but tremble at the sight of Zen''s change in expression.


    Initially, Zen had a firm belief that the Pear Hill was a good place for Yan to be taken care of. After all, they had strength that surpassed the Oneness Sky Palace. Even the super forces, like the Sun Crow race, did not dare cross a line with them.


    However, Zen proved to be a little naive.


    Because Zen''s and Elvinia''s corporal bodies were growing to be more and more threatening, the four big races would do anything to get rid of them.


    Moreover, the connection between Yan and Zen had been revealed when they were in the Chaotic Source World.


    That gave the four races an advantage to lure Zen and Elvinia into the Dark Region.


    As planned, they attacked Yan even before they proved Thad''s identity to be Zen. Their rough, unethical tactics just proved that they were in a hurry to kill him.


    Several members of the Guide Weasel race grew worried as they had sensed Zen''s strong, powerful aura. They had so many questions; If Zen was a member of the Oneness Sky Palace, didn''t that mean his sibling was a member too? And if so, why was she captured by the Star Falcon race at such a critical time?


    "What do you want?" Zen asked firmly, but in a hushed tone.


    Because the Star Falcon race used Yan to threaten him, this probably meant that his sister was safe for the time being.


    In actuality, taking Yan as a hostage was not the idea of the Star Falcon race¡ªit was the Sun Crow race''s. That was a problem for Zen, who just wanted to know what it would take for them to release Yan safely.


    "Poor Zen," the Star Falcon scoffed, "you should probably ask the Guide Weasel race and the Giants to withdraw their troops first."


    The Guide Weasel race and the Giants, led by Clyde and Raul, were headed towards the Sky Water City. Because the Star Falcon race had weakened, they were in no place to suppress these races. If these two races stepped foot into the city, it would ultimately lead to the annihilation of the Star Falcon race.


    "If I do so, will you let go of Yan after they retreat?" Zen asked, making sure that it was not a trick.


    "If you want to save Yan, you''ll have to make your way to the Dark Region yourself," said the Star Falcon.


    Zen''s eyes narrowed. He sneered at the man before him. "Then why would I ask the Gui


    k Region.


    Zen was frustrated that he couldn''t grasp their plan. "Whatever." He shook it off. "Let''s just go to the Dark Region first. We need to find those black monkeys first!"


    Zen and Elvinia had already come into contact with the monkeys when they were at Stage Thirteen. They were chased and attacked by them, and almost died at the hands of those pig-faced monsters.


    At that time, Zen was weak. He did not have the power to put up a fight against them, but this time, he was different.


    They were more prepared than ever.


    About an hour had passed and they went through the ridge in between the Heavenly Dark Mountain and the Earthly Dark Mountain. Eventually, they arrived at the edge of the Dark Region.


    When Elvinia was just about to light up the Dark Region, Zen suddenly lifted his arm and stopped her.


    "We''re here to save my sister," he whispered. "Don''t make too much noise."


    Yan was in the hands of ruthless, unforgiving creatures. If they had found out that he was already in the Dark Region, they might kill her soon.


    They had to attack by surprise.


    Thus, each of them ate a Darkness Fruit before stepping into the Dark Region.


    They had to be stealthy and careful, especially based on their past experience. Elvinia had opened the crack of light before, and all the Dark Region''s creatures within a radius of a hundred miles were destroyed. This left the place deserted and burnt to a crisp; Zen had seen it with his own eyes that day.


    Elvinia was stunned to see her power, and the consequences of her actions.


    It was at that moment that an electric light shocked her mind, and opened a crack in the sky. She fainted when the crack opened, and that was the end of it.

 Chapter 3542 The Green-skinned Men

    They traveled dozens of miles in the Dark Region before the surrounding scenery gradually returned to normal.


    A number of dark plants formed a boundless jungle.


    Zen and Elvinia made to pass through the dense jungle when the branches of the plants began to shake.


    One single branch might not be strong, but thousands of branches could entangle even a strong prey to death.


    These branches were now considering Zen and Elvinia as potential preys and were preparing to attack them.


    Elvinia''s eyes flashed as she glared at the approaching branches. "You''re about to turn to ash. Excited, are you?" she asked, venom dripping her voice.


    These demonic plants were sentient and could think. Elvinia''s threat caused them to rapidly shrink away, like ants fleeing in all directions.


    The plants had formed a clump in the middle of the jungle, making it difficult to cross. But at Elvinia''s threat, they began to part, forming a convenient path as they fell to ground.


    "That''s more like it," Elvinia sneered and walked forward, her head held high.


    Zen smiled and shook his head at her back. It was obvious that these creatures in the Dark Region were terrified of Elvinia.


    Once they passed through the dense jungle, they saw dark, high mountains loom up ahead of them. The tops of the mountains seemed to graze the sky, but because of the darkness, they could not tell how high these mountains actually were.


    The first thing they had to do after entering the Dark Region was to find the black monkeys.


    But they were difficult to find since there was no intelligent creature around.


    Zen and Elvinia traveled for a distance along the mountains'' lengths when they spotted fire in the distance.


    The only thing apart from the Great Sanskrit Light of a purified being that could produce light in the Dark Region was a candle. The light that they could now see was probably produced by a candle.


    They approached the light cautiously and as they had expected, spotted a candle not far from them.


    The ignited candle sat in an open space, burning alone.


    The power of the candlelight could not be compared to that of the Great Sa


    es making their way to them on the grass nearby.


    Zen was not afraid of these poisonous insects, but the appearance of these strange insects caused Elvinia''s hair to stand on end.


    Had she not been afraid of alerting the enemy, she would have released massive amounts of Great Sanskrit Light to burn off all the poisonous insects in this area.


    Zen and Elvinia had no choice but to retreat from their hiding place. The moment they did so, two green-skinned men rushed out of the grass, moving nimbly as they did.


    They had dark red hair that looked like weeds and looked terrifying.


    The men had emerged, throwing loops of rope towards Zen and Elvinia.


    Zen and Elvinia looked at each other. A tacit understanding passed between them and they did not dodge the rope loops.


    The green-skinned men were overjoyed to see that their targets were easily trapped. But before they could tie up the ropes, they felt an irresistible force coming from the other end of the ropes. They were being dragged towards Zen and Elvinia.


    The two green-skinned men realized that something was amiss and were about to drop to the ground, intending to jump into the grass. But the moment they did so, they felt two tiny rays of white light flashing past the corners of their eyes. Sharp pain pinched at their feet. Looking downwards, they discovered that the light rays had pierced their feet and they were now firmly nailed to the ground.

 Chapter 3543 The Dark Nether Bugs

    The two light rays were condensed at high speed.


    To the creatures in the Light Region, they were almost harmless, but to the creatures in the Dark Region, they were lethal.


    The two green-skinned men stayed frozen to their spot, unable to move at all. If they attempted to flee, the light rays would slice them in half.


    Elvinia walked forward with a grim expression. She was about to ask why the two dared to attack them, but abruptly stopped in her tracks. Turning to smile at Zen, she said sweetly, "You ask."


    Zen nodded. Taking a step forward to face the two green-skinned men, he said, "We''re just passing by. Why did you attack us?"


    The two green-skinned men looked Zen up and down. Compared to Elvinia, this man didn''t look so scary.


    One of the green-skinned men opened his mouth and squeaked. He gestured with his hands, trying to explain himself. But Zen shook his head, unable to understand a word he said.


    "You don''t speak the human language?" Zen frowned.


    The human language was commonly used both on the Other Shore and in the Source World. It was quite rare for a creature to be unable to speak it.


    "If you don''t speak the human language, then you are of no value to us. Go to hell!" Elvinia spat, her eyes flashing coldly.


    While Elvinia was very conscious of her image around Zen, these two green-skinned hooligans were getting on her nerves.


    Buzz! Buzz!


    Countless light awls extended from Elvinia''s fingertips, like shining fingernails. Just as they were about to hit one of the green-skinned men, he hurriedly cried out, "Don''t kill me! Don''t kill me!"


    Elvinia stopped. Turning again to smile at Zen, she said sweetly, "You ask."


    Zen nodded, but he was secretly amused by Elvinia''s behavior. He could tell that Elvinia was trying to make a good impression on him.


    "So, you do speak the human language. Tell me. Why did you try to attack us secretly?" Zen asked once more.


    "We''re insect catchers," one of the green-skinned men answered. "We are trying to catch the


    two green-skinned men said anxiously.


    Because of this, the Dark Nether Bug that had been slowly crawling forward abruptly stopped. Raising its head to survey its surroundings, its beady eyes darted about vigilantly.


    After a while, it let its guard down and continued crawling slowly towards the candle.


    One of the two green-skinned men held a long and thin bamboo pole, and the other clutched a rope. Once the Dark Nether Bug crawled into the range of the candlelight, they were ready to catch it.


    Zen eyed Elvinia worriedly.


    She was still fixated on the Dark Nether Bug. The smell of blood emanating from the bug was a fatal attraction to her.


    If it weren''t for Zen, she might have pounced on the Dark Nether Bug by now.


    "It''s almost there! Get ready!" one of the green-skinned men hissed in a low voice.


    The other green-skinned man clutched the rope tightly in anticipation. Just as he was about to throw the rope at the bug, the forest trees swayed to the side once more. Three more Dark Nether Bugs emerged, each one twice as big as the first one and as tall as an adult human!


    When the two green-skinned men saw the three Dark Nether Bugs, their expressions fell.


    Their plan had been to catch only one Dark Nether Bug. But now, with the addition of three more, the situation suddenly became extremely complicated.

 Chapter 3544 The Enraged Bugs

    These Dark Nether Bugs were powerful.


    As trained insect catchers, the green-skinned men were very familiar with the habits of all kinds of insects in the Dark Region.


    Those Ghost-faced Centipedes and the Cold Earth Bugs might have looked ferocious and were highly toxic, but the insect catchers always had ways to deal with them.


    The Dark Nether Bugs were white and plump, and didn''t seem to be harmful. But looks can be deceiving; their strength alone was enough to be ranked first among all the insects in the Dark Region!


    It was difficult for an insect catcher to capture even one Dark Nether Bug, but now, faced with four bugs, they were at a loss.


    The two green-skinned men stood upright in the grass, with miserable expressions. It seemed they had no intention of making a move.


    "Why not take action?" Zen asked them through his chaotic energy.


    One of them faced Zen piteously and said, "The three other Dark Nether Bugs are adults. They are incredibly powerful. If we tried to catch that larva, we''d be killed for sure."


    The two green-skinned men had painstakingly gone to great lengths to prepare for this hunt. And now that they had managed to attract a Dark Nether Bug, they could do nothing about it. Naturally, they were upset.


    While they were busy feeling sorry for themselves, Elvinia suddenly cut in and said, "Just do what you need to do. I''ll take care of the other three Dark Nether Bugs for you."


    The two green-skinned men couldn''t believe their ears. This powerful being who, minutes prior, had almost killed them, was now going to help them!


    This woman was able to release dazzling light, which could penetrate the darkest corners of the Dark Region. If she could help them deal with the Dark Nether Bugs, they would be more than happy.


    Zen, on the other hand, frowned slightly. Ever since the Dark Nether Bugs appeared, Elvinia had been acting strangely. Her eyes clearly showed a strong desire for the Dark Nether Bugs.


    Previously, Zen also had a strange appetite for them, but the appetite soon disappeared after he restrained himself. Now, it seemed Elvinia couldn''t control her appetite.


    "But I have one request." Elvinia''s eyes flashed hungrily. "The three Dark Nether Bugs will belong to me."


    "Of course, you can have them!" one of the green-skinned creatures hastily replied.


    Their goal was only to catch one Dark Nether Bug. Even though capturing more Dark Nether Bugs would benefit them greatly, it was beyond their capacity and they were satisfied w


    e these white and fat Dark Nether Bugs were enraged, they were extremely powerful beings in the Dark Region.


    Just as Zen was about to rush into the battle, Elvinia held up her hand, indicating she was fine. Suddenly, she bent down and raised both her hands. White light beams shot out from her hands, forming two swords with blades hundreds of feet long. Clapping her hands together, the two swords of white light slashed at the three Dark Nether Bugs before her.


    With Elvinia''s strength, she could have easily destroyed these Dark Nether Bugs by simply using the Great Sanskrit Light.


    But she had concerns. On the one hand, she was determined to eat the Dark Nether Bugs. If the bugs melted and evaporated under the Great Sanskrit Light, she would have nothing to eat. On the other hand, the Great Sanskrit Light would spread far away in the Dark Region, which might alert other ferocious beasts.


    Phew! Phew!


    The white light swords were formless and they could extend or contract according to Elvinia''s will. The speed at which they slashed at the ground was astonishing.


    Before the three Dark Nether Bugs could react, their bodies were swept by the long white light swords. In the next moment, they lay on the ground lifeless.


    Upon a closer look, Zen could see a thin crack on their bodies. They had been sliced in half so cleanly.


    When the two green-skinned creatures saw that Zen wanted to rush up to help, they thought of seizing the opportunity to escape, but before they even had a chance to take one step forward, they witnessed Elvinia easily killing the three adult Dark Nether Bugs.


    Both of their jaws dropped to the ground. Who was this woman?

 Chapter 3545 The Food For Purified Beings

    The green-skinned men were the weakest creatures in the Dark Region. They had little understanding of how harmful the light rays were.


    As expected, light rays could erode their bodies easily.


    On the other hand, while the Dark Nether Bugs were very powerful creatures in the Dark Region, they were not very intelligent. The green-skinned men would lure the Dark Nether Bugs with candlelight and then capture them with overpowering drugs.


    Otherwise, they couldn''t even face the Dark Nether Bugs head on. They would have to retreat.


    But Elvinia had cut down three powerful Dark Nether Bugs in an instant! The two green-skinned men were astonished.


    Elvinia stepped into the range of the candlelight without hesitation after killing the Dark Nether Bugs.


    "Be careful! The candlelight!"


    "The light will erode you!"


    the two green-skinned men called out to Elvinia urgently.


    They had earlier wanted to run away, afraid they might get killed by the Dark Nether Bugs. But there was no need to retreat now that the threat had been extinguished. Now, they wanted to stay to get on Zen and Elvinia''s good graces.


    The green-skinned men had never seen creatures from the Light Region before. For them, everything from the Light Region was incomprehensible and untouchable.


    Both Elvinia and Zen were from the Light Region, so of course light did not harm them.


    The green-skinned men realized this as Elvinia stepped into the light.


    "What?"


    "She is unfazed by the candlelight! Has she eaten the Light Fruit?"


    They stared wide-eyed, marveling at Elvinia.


    Except for the Dark Nether Bugs, they knew no other creature who could remain unscathed by the candlelight. Even the ground itself would be corroded if the light shone long enough. But here came this woman, stepping into the light like it was nothing!


    Elvinia''s eyes were fixed at the dead bodies of the Dark Nether Bugs as she stepped into the illuminated area.


    The strong smell of blood filled her nose. The temptation grew even more irresistible. She strode toward one of the bodies, buried her hand into


    in your space ring first. Once we confirm they are safe to consume, I would let you."


    If the stage ruler constantly needed to consume the Dark Nether Bugs, it probably meant they were good for purified beings. But they had to be sure. Once they verified this, Zen himself would recommend Elvinia consume them.


    It took Elvinia a great deal of effort to suppress her instincts. She activated the space ring and waved it lightly over the bodies, which were immediately absorbed.


    The green-skinned men had never seen a space ring before. They were once again dumbfounded when the carcasses disappeared.


    Once the bodies were stored away, the smell of blood also gradually disappeared. Before long, Elvinia felt a little better, the impulse having subsided.


    Zen stared steadily at the green-skinned men. "Do you bring the captured Dark Nether Bug to the Royal Monkey race yourselves?"


    "No," one of the green-skinned men answered, shaking his head. "We''re not allowed to enter their territory."


    "The Royal Monkeys will come pick up the Dark Nether Bug tomorrow. That''s why our Insect Master race has deployed hundreds of insect catchers. We will be in great trouble if we can''t deliver," the other green-skinned man continued.


    For the Royal Monkeys, the Insect Master race''s lives had no value at all. All they were good for, they thought, was catching the Dark Nether Bugs.

 Chapter 3546 Royal Monkeys

    Since Zen found the clues regarding the black monkeys, he did everything he could to not let the opportunity slip through his fingers. Immediately, he proposed on accompanying the two green-skinned creatures.


    Unaware of the ongoing feud between Zen and the black monkeys, the two creatures happily agreed to his offer with gratitude.


    Because the creatures were familiar with the area, not a single dangerous encounter occurred throughout the journey with them leading the group. Zen even managed to learn more about the Insect Master race through them.


    The Insect Master race was a low-level race in the Dark Region. They lived by catching, raising, and taming insects.


    The two green-skinned creatures were insect catchers. Once they brought them back, they''d forward them to experts known as "insect raisers" that would be responsible for rearing them.


    After a certain period, they would then be relayed to the expert insect tamers.


    The insects that had previously attacked Zen and Elvinia were the ones that the Insect Masters had tamed.


    Mercer, the smaller green-skinned creature, and Miller, the taller one of the two, were brothers. They were elated knowing that they successfully and safely captured a Dark Nether Bug. Once they brought it back for their entire race to see, they''d be welcomed and hailed as heroes by the whole Insect Master race.


    After they advanced along the black mountain range for two hours, there was a huge crater in front of them. And in the crater, there were some messy steps.


    As they descended to the base of the rickety-looking staircase, they were met with densely-packed caves that flanked them on both sides.


    Numerous green-skinned creatures slipped in and out of the caves alongside numerous insects.


    These insects came in various, strange shapes and had vicious looks plastered on all their faces. Despite that, they were all obedient in this col.


    Once Miller and Mercer made their entrance, they lifted the bag they brought with pride and shouted in unison, "We''ve captured a Dark Nether Bug! We''ve caught one!"


    Instantly, all the green-skinned creatures dropped what they were doing and looked towards the duo''s direction.


    The col had been enveloped in a deep depression.


    The Royal Monkey race was looming over everyone''s heads like a guillotine ready to slaughter anyone who disobeyed. Over the past few days, the insect catchers failed to capture a Dark Nether Bug. If they still didn''t catch one tomorrow, they would have nothing worthy to offer the R


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    ugh. How come this time we have to hand in two?"


    "But we only caught one Dark Nether Bug!"


    The green-skinned creatures'' faces turned pale. It was useless trying to reason with these monkeys. Already, they were imagining in their minds the consequences that they would bestow on their race.


    "This time is different. Our stage ruler is ravenous. What? Can''t you offer another one?" A hint of coldness could be felt in the Royal Monkey''s voice now.


    The Royal Monkeys thought that these green-skinned creatures were useless now. Why keep them alive when they could easily reproduce hundreds or thousands more incompetent beings into this world?


    If they couldn''t hand in one more Dark Nether Bug, then that would give enough reason for them to kill these creatures off.


    An eerie silence fell over the green-skinned creatures, fearing that a single sound uttered would just enrage the Royal Monkey even further. No one dared to answer his question.


    Miller and Mercer also looked anxious. There were three Dark Nether Bugs in Elvinia''s hands, but the stage ruler only ate living Dark Nether Bugs and would not touch any dead ones.


    If only they''d known this would happen, they would''ve stopped Elvinia from killing all of them. Oh how they wished to turn the tables right then and there!


    Neither of them knew that even if they had two in their hands, the Royal Monkeys would still require them to offer a third one. As the old saying went, "He who has a mind to beat his dog will easily find his stick."


    Just as all of the green-skinned creatures were about to give up, Zen''s voice floated up from the bottom of the col. "I have what you want¡ªanother Dark Nether Bug."

 Chapter 3547 Punishment

    Cold sweats trickled down the foreheads of Miller and Mercer in response to their growing anxiety after they heard Zen''s words.


    Zen would have to pay the consequences with his life if he were to present the Royal Monkey race with the dead Dark Nether Bug.


    Giving in to his worries, Mercer nudged lightly at Zen''s shoulder and spoke in a hurried voice, "Friend, what they want is a living Dark Nether Bug, not a dead one."


    Zen smiled faintly and whispered back to him, "Don''t worry. I am talking about the living Dark Nether Bug."


    "Do you have a living Dark Nether Bug?" Mercer''s eyes widened as he took a step back. His gaze fell on Elvinia who smirked and gave her space ring a confident tap. Soon, a Dark Nether Bug the size of half a mortal fell from it and planted itself on the ground.


    Where on earth did she get ahold of the Dark Nether Bug?


    Mercer and Miller stood with their heads tilted to the side as they displayed conflicted expressions of shock and confusion.


    As far as they remembered, the three Dark Nether Bugs that were the size of an adult were killed.


    Moreover, they remembered that both Zen and Elvinia had no idea of what the Dark Nether Bug was. Then how were they able to catch one?


    There was something else that made them suspicious about the whole scenario.


    As they studied the Dark Nether Bug before them, they realized it was not drugged to remain as calm as it was. Normally, this would contradict with its usual irritable nature. Why was it displaying its utmost obedience now?


    "Don''t ask any questions. Just hand it over," Zen whispered in a low tone that was only audible to them.


    Despite their doubt reigning over their existence, Mercer and Miller obediently placed the Dark Nether Bug on the iron plate. Then they crawled out from the foot of the col and sent it on its way to the Royal Monkeys.


    Since Zen and Elvinia kept their appearances disguised, the Royal Monkeys were oblivious of their presence.


    With a quick scan, the head of the Royal Monkeys studied the Dark Nether Bug and pouted in disappointment. A Royal Monkey stationed beside him received the Dark Nether Bug with careful hands. With a cold snort, the head turned around and left with his subordinates.


    Demanding a second Dark Nether Bug was supposed to be an excuse for the Royal Monkey race to obliterate the Insect Master race. However, they never expected the Insect Master race to possess one. Since they couldn''t ask for a third one, they had no other option but to retreat.


    After the Royal Monkey had led his team for a certain distance, he suddenly looked around and shouted, "Zimba! Linus! Respond to my call!"


    "I''m right here!"


    "I''m here!"


    After hearing his command, two tall black monkeys riding on horseback appeared from both sides, each burly and strong in appearance.


    "Those Insect Masters have caught two Dark Nether Bugs, but they intended to hide one from us. It is unforgivable. As a form of punishment, I want you to dispose of half of them!" the Royal Monkey snarled in a cold voice devoid of all emotions.


    "Your wish


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    he would have other methods up his sleeve to persuade the Royal Monkeys to leave once more. Although deep down, they had a feeling it was just their wishful thinking.


    As if annoyed by the obvious question, Zen let out an exasperated sigh and spoke indifferently, "If you had left with the other Royal Monkeys, you would have lived long enough to see the next day. It''s a pity you chose to return only to seek your own death. Don''t blame me for that."


    The Dark Nether Bug Zen had offered to them wasn''t the real deal. In fact, it was the Shape-shifting Spirit.


    Back in the iron house, Zen had picked up the black box and allowed the Shape-shifting Spirit into it. Initially, he had planned to release it in the Dark Region.


    But now, Zen was growing impatient in pursuit of getting his sister back, so he was left with no other choice.


    Since the Royal Monkey race had demanded a second Dark Nether Bug, Zen materialized the Shape-shifting Spirit into a Dark Nether Bug to act as a replacement.


    In the beginning, the Shape-shifting Spirit was hesitant in going by the plan, but it didn''t have the strength to oppose Zen and thus caved under pressure. At the same time, as a preventive measure, Zen asked Elvinia to leave a soul mark on its body so they could later track its location and retrieve it.


    But like the Insect Master race, he didn''t expect the Royal Monkeys to return so soon.


    When Zimba, Linus, and the other Royal Monkeys heard Zen''s threat, their faces revealed a hint of mockery as they struggled to suppress their laughter.


    Only a few creatures dared to speak to them in this tone in the Dark Region of Stage Fourteen. They wouldn''t have believed it had they not heard it with their own ears.


    "What did you say? Seek our own death? Foolish human! It''s you who''s courting your own death!" With a fit of mocking laughter, a conniving smile stretched across Linus'' face as he jumped up using his powerful legs as a boost with the long stick in his hand.


    The long stick circled in midair and hacked down towards Zen''s head.

 Chapter 3548 Follow Zen

    Until now, the other Royal Monkeys remained seated on the horseback as their eyes cast playful looks below.


    At the top of their group was Linus. The impact of the blow was enough to pulverize Zen into bits of flesh.


    Meanwhile, the Insect Masters immediately felt frightened and scampered away in all directions when they saw Linus jump down. "Run! Right now!" the old insect raiser shouted at Zen.


    He ran towards Zen''s direction as he yelled, and then pushed the latter away in order to take the blow instead.


    Yet, all the Insect Masters were very clear that no matter what they did, Zen and Elvinia would definitely die.


    Still, Zen held on to the old insect raiser with one hand, and reached upward with the other.


    When Linus saw that Zen had tried to grab his long stick with his bare hand, he couldn''t help but laugh mockingly. Zen was a lunatic. Not only was this guy from nowhere so arrogant, but he was also stupid!


    ''This blow is enough to smash him into a pile of mud. How dare he take it with his hand?''


    While Linus thought about it, the long stick had already touched Zen''s hand.


    Zen grabbed and pulled the stick. Suddenly, his right arm released its strength and stopped the stick from falling.


    The other side of the stick endured Linus'' power. The entire stick curved like an arch bridge, but it didn''t break.


    "The stick is good," Zen praised.


    Linus stared dumbfoundedly at Zen, not knowing what just happened.


    Just then, the stick turned and Linus felt a burning pain in his hands. Zen had taken the stick away!


    A painful tremor hit Linus'' chest right after, and it turned out that the stick had pierced through his breastbone.


    The stick started to spin, and Linus'' burly body spun as well. A strong surge of Other Shore Power travelled along the stick and as it spun some more, Linus'' body collapsed.


    Zen grabbed, pulled, and turned the stick. In three simple movements, Linus ended up dead. The whole process took only a few seconds.


    To top it all off, Zen''s other hand was even holding the trembling insect raiser!


    The whole col was silent. After all, the I


    looked like a mass of black sand as they covered the corpses of the Royal Monkeys and the horses.


    They had eaten up the bodies in no time, and even the bloodstains on the ground were gone.


    "Even if we have cleaned this place up, I''m afraid the Royal Monkey race won''t let us go," said one of the Insect Masters with a bitter look on his face. "We will die in a couple of days," Mercer wailed miserably.


    More than a dozen Royal Monkeys had died. It was highly possible that the Royal Monkey race would vent their anger on the Insect Masters and kill all of them.


    "It won''t happen," Zen comforted.


    "Why not?" Mercer asked. "Because all of the black monkeys will die," Zen replied calmly. There were some things that he might concede to, but threats to him that involved Yan were not something he could allow.


    No matter what kind of force stood behind these black monkeys, he would never give in to them.


    Despite his words, the Insect Masters still looked uneasy.


    Although he and Elvinia had just killed more than a dozen Royal Monkeys, the Royal Monkey race had many other masters.


    At that point, Zen had already sensed the Shape-shifting Spirit''s direction, so there was no need for him to stay any longer. He and Elvinia decided to continue their pursuit.


    Just as the two of them were about to leave, Mercer and Miller plucked up the courage to ask Zen if they could follow along.

 Chapter 3549 The Ghost Wing Bird

    The two brothers¡ªMercer and Miller, were determined in following Zen.


    Now that the situation became worse, they believed that it was better to pin all their hopes on these two human beings than do nothing. Perhaps, they could really create a miracle.


    Luckily for Zen, he had the Shape-shifting Spirit''s guidance, so he didn''t really need the help of the Insect Master race that much.


    Nevertheless, the Insect Masters were more familiar with the Dark Region than he and Elvinia were, so it actually wasn''t bad that the two tagged along with them.


    After a while of thought, Zen nodded and said, "It''s a pity that Elvinia acted too ruthlessly just now, that none of the horses was left."


    "Those Demonic Blood Horses were the Royal Monkeys'' exclusive mounts. Even if they were still alive, they wouldn''t let us ride them anyway," said the old insect raiser as he climbed up the col. Then, he took out a small bamboo flute and handed it to Mercer.


    In turn, Mercer placed the bamboo flute''s mouthpiece by his lips, then gently played it. Soon enough, several black beetles emerged from the cave below the col.


    "Those are... Holy Beetles!" The moment Mercer saw the beetles, he got a little too excited.


    The Insect Master race raised all kinds of insects, snakes, and ants, and among all of them, the Holy Beetles were the most difficult to tame. Generally speaking, juniors like Mercer didn''t have the chance to control the Holy Beetles.


    "Our benefactors can ride these Holy Beetles. Mercer and Miller, you two should take good care of them," the old insect raiser ordered.


    Zen could fly even in the Dark Region, but the process was somewhat troublesome.


    That was because the Godly Way energy was in conflict with the Dark Region. If he condensed the Thunder Materialization, the darkness would probably damage his pair of thunder wings in an instant.


    But since the Insect Master race just gave them the flying mounts, he didn''t refuse the kindness.


    In a few moments, Zen, Elvinia, Miller, and Mercer each took a Holy Beetle to mount and rode on them. Then, Mercer played the bamboo flute gently, and the Holy Beetles carried them into the dark sky.


    As the Holy Beetles flew up to a higher altitude, the visibility in the Dark Region became less clear. The originally dim ground quickly became blurry.


    The dark sky was like an endless black hole. When Zen raised his head, he could faintly feel the pressure that the darkness emitted. It felt as if something was spying on him from the endless void.


    "Has your Insect Ma


    ist Elvinia in driving those birds away.


    "Buzz!"


    As soon as Zen finished speaking, Elvinia raised her hand. Light swords, which extended up to a thousand feet upward, swiftly shot up into the air.


    "Puff, puff, puff..."


    Just like shabby canvases, the nearest Ghost Wing Bird''s wings were mangled as the light swords instantly pierced through them and left numerous holes.


    Of course, Elvinia still wasn''t satisfied with the damage she had done. She gently flipped her palm, and the light swords dashed towards the junction between the wings and the torso of the Ghost Wing Bird. It was clear that she actually wanted to cut off the Ghost Wing Bird''s wings.


    The Ghost Wing Bird felt the sharp stab of pain and desperately wanted to escape.


    Elvinia''s light swords, however, were too fast for it to dodge. The second the light swords moved, the Ghost Wing Bird''s wings immediately fell off, and its enormous body fell heavily from the sky.


    Boom!


    When the other Ghost Wing Birds saw what had happened, they didn''t dare to stay any longer. They were afraid that the blazing white light swords might also decapitate their wings, so they flew up and away, then disappeared into the darkness.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Mercer and Miller sat stiffly on the backs of the Holy Beetles, before they finally sighed in relief and wiped the sweat off their foreheads.


    They had thought that they would be doomed to death this time, but to their surprise, the human woman''s white light swords had defeated the extremely powerful and influential Ghost Wing Birds of the Dark Region with ease.


    It almost seemed that these two humans were able to do whatever they wanted in the Dark Region.

 Chapter 3550 The Splendid Jade Pass

    To the west of the Dark Region was the Splendid Jade Mountain, and within it was a mountain pass.


    Behind the pass was the Royal Monkey race''s territory.


    It was naturally impossible for the Insect Masters to get through this smoothly.


    Ten miles away from the pass, Mercer ordered the Holy Beetles to land in a forest. He turned to the others with a serious expression on his face.


    "There should be Royal Monkeys stationed at the pass. I''ll send a spy bug to check it out," he said, opening his pocket where a bug flew out.


    This bug was the same size as a mosquito and was as light as dust, making it incredibly difficult to spot with the naked eye.


    Mercer and Miller were no good at fighting. This was the only way they could help Zen. Just as the bug was about to fly away though, Zen shook his head.


    "There''s no need." Mercer frowned. "Why not?"


    His question went unanswered as Zen turned his attention to Elvinia. "Follow me," he told her.


    The Shape-shifting Spirit had gone far. They both felt it, which meant that the Royal Monkeys'' destination was far away from the pass.


    They had to be extremely careful around these black monkeys. Yan was still in their hands after all.


    Unfortunately, they had to kill the group of black monkeys they encountered earlier, and it was only going to be a matter of time before the other monkeys found out. It was currently a race against time.


    ''So many Royal Monkeys...'' Mercer thought to himself.


    Then again he remembered how Elvinia had killed those Ghost Wing Birds before, so maybe a few monkeys weren''t going to be a problem.


    The pass was currently being guarded by patrolling Royal Monkeys.


    This was the only entrance to their race''s territory, and thus, the security here was top notch and extremely strict. What was more, there had been a rise in the number of Royal Monkeys sent here.


    It was already well-guarded but the number of additional patrolmen somehow made the leader of the pass a bit uneasy.


    There was no way more Royal Monkeys were sent here to guard the pass for no reason. He wasn''t dumb. Trouble was surely afoot for their race!


    Could it be the one-eyed creatures from before?


    A couple of years ago, these one-eyed creatures descended upon their


    reason but there was none.


    Terrified by what he had just witnessed, the monkey chief stood up and poised to run away.


    Unfortunately, Zen wasn''t going to let him go so easily. The only reason he was kept alive was to provide valuable information.


    Just as the monkey chief was about to run away, Zen pulled out the javelin he had been sitting on and flew towards his prey. The stick at the end of the javelin hit the chief, hard.


    "I want to know something," Zen muttered dangerously as he pinned the chief on the wall.


    "As far as I know, you kidnapped the Soul of Light of a human girl."


    The monkey chief''s eyes flashed knowingly. It was as he had thought. The human was here because of the two girls.


    "I-I just..." the monkey chief stuttered, still in a bit of a shock from the entire ordeal. Just as he spoke, dozens of thin light awls descended from above and nailed themselves on his feet, legs, shoulders, wrists, and chest.


    On the other side of the city wall was a human woman''s figure, the source of these thin light awls.


    "The light of the purified being came from this woman," the chief muttered. He was completely restrained by the awls and the slightest movements could end up with him getting cut into pieces.


    "You want to live? Then tell me what I want to know, or else you''ll end up like them," Zen threatened, nodding his head at the void.


    If the chief didn''t comply, he''d end up being obliterated by the Great Sanskrit Light, just like the rest of his race.

 Chapter 3551 An Empty City

    The monkey chief was in fright, as if he''d just come close to a ghost.


    At this point, the monkey had no other choice. No one had asked him to keep a secret anyway.


    In order to survive, the monkey didn''t hesitate for too long. "I can tell you. But you must let me go. Alive," he said.


    "I promise you." Zen nodded in agreement.


    "And how about... How about her?" the monkey asked, pointing at Elvinia.


    Elvinia saw this and nodded her head in approval, then the monkey let out a sigh before continuing to speak. "A few days ago, there were two human women passing here," he said very carefully. "But they were escorted by the Coldness Monkey Guards."


    "What is the Coldness Monkey Guard?" Zen questioned.


    "They are the elites of our race and guard the Chief Flag Monkey," the monkey continued. "The Chief Flag Monkey is the commander in chief of the Royal Monkey race in Stage Fourteen. At first, I, too, was curious as to why they brought two human Souls of Light back..."


    The monkey went on to tell Zen everything he knew. He even pointed out the location of the Coldness Monkey Guards after asking Zen to take out a map from his pocket.


    "Mercer," Zen called out. He had everything he needed.


    Mercer, who was riding on a Holy Beetle, gradually flew to Zen and cupped his hands towards him. "Kill him," Zen ordered, pointing at the monkey.


    The monkey''s eyes widened in shock. What just happened? "You...you promised me!" he screeched.


    "Yes, I did." Zen smiled. "But he didn''t promise you." After his last word, he jumped down from the pass with Elvinia following right behind him.


    Mercer, on the other hand, was stunned to have been given such an order. But because he was loyal to Zen, he was going to do it either way.


    The Royal Monkey had no escape. No matter how powerful he was, he was trapped by the light awls fixed on his limbs. Just like that, he was at the disposal of Mercer.


    After thinking for a moment, Mercer reached into his pocket. From here, he took out several black bugs, which struck terror into the monkey immediately. He knew exactly what they were.


    These bugs were known as the blood devouring bugs. Just as their name implied, they would drill themselves into the host''s body, multiply instantly, and suck every drop of bloo


    gh to go against anyone.


    Apparently, after getting beaten up by the Royal Monkeys, it was hung upside down and left behind there.


    "They didn''t kill me though," the spirit pointed out. "I''m supposedly the bait that would lure you here."


    Zen nodded, acknowledging this. After all, the needles were already an attempt to kill him. "But why are all the Royal Monkeys gone?"


    "The monkeys mentioned that they could not defeat you because you have a purified being," the spirit explained. "They also said that if you two are looking for the human woman''s Soul of Light, you''d find them there." It gestured out, pointing towards a corner in the building.


    Across the wall was a poorly drawn map. The place they had to go to was clearly marked.


    Analyzing the map, Zen let out a heavy sigh of relief. He then turned towards Elvinia and smiled. "A few days ago, your light had eroded an area of the Dark Region," he said. "I think you''ve frightened these monkeys! They retreated without us even doing anything!" Zen chuckled.


    This was true. In fact, Elvinia could easily kill the entire Royal Monkey race in a rage. At least now, they had gone before she could do anything.


    "So what? They can''t hide forever," said Elvinia expressionlessly.


    "True. But one creature from the Dark Region is not afraid of the Great Sanskrit Light," Zen added.


    Just then, everything clicked in Elvinia''s mind. Her face froze and her voice lowered. "Their goal is to lure us into facing the purified being of Stage Fourteen."

 Chapter 3552 The Black Marsh

    A vast black marsh stood at the foot of the mountain in the north of the Dark Region.


    While the pool was tranquil all year round, an occasional bubble would burst, emitting a deadly poisonous mist.


    If it could be avoided, no creature in the Dark Region would willingly approach the black marsh.


    Da! Da! Da!


    Over ten horses were galloping in the black marsh.


    Being able to move at that speed, they were clearly familiar with the area.


    It was the elite of the Royal Monkey race, the Coldness Monkey Guards, that rode the horses. In the lead was the Chief Flag Monkey, the race''s commander.


    Hiss! Hiss!


    As the group of monkeys marched forward, a small black snake rushed out from the marsh beside them, trying to bite the Chief Flag Monkey.


    Swish!


    The Chief Flag Monkey''s reaction was keen¡ªwith a casual wave of his hand, the little black snake had been cut into pieces.


    He grabbed the head in his hand and examined it before frowning. "It''s poisonous! Be careful!"


    The black marsh was known to be a highly toxic place. Any creature that could survive there was not to be underestimated.


    Once the Chief Flag Monkey gave his warning, he pulled his horse''s mane and led the group forward.


    In the middle of the group, the horse carried both Yan and Natalie on its back.


    With the strength of ordinary Souls of Light, they weren''t even matched against the ordinary creatures on the Other Shore. And those in the Dark Region were far stronger than those in the Light Region¡ªYan and Natalie didn''t stand a chance against them in battle.


    "All I know is that the Dark Region is boundless darkness. I didn''t expect there to be any complex forces within," Natalie commented, looking around the marsh.


    With a frown, Yan said, "I wonder why they bring us here from so far away."


    She had nothing to do with the Star Falcon race¡ªwhy did they suddenly decide to make a move?


    Along the way, Yan and Natalie tried prodding the black monkeys for answers, but they had no problem ignoring them completely.


    Quack!


    A strange, harsh scream suddenly broke the atmosphere.


    They all looked up into the sky to find the source.


    S


    ds. On the iron plates, Dark Nether Bugs were curling up.


    "Slow down!"


    "Don''t bear any hostility¡ªthe stage ruler is very sensitive!"


    "Slower!"


    The Chief Flag Monkey didn''t fail to remind his team members.


    And so the Royal Monkeys carried the iron plates, carefully moving step by step. If they moved even slightly too fast, they''d end up being the stage ruler''s food just as the Dark Nether Bugs.


    Although there were only a few miles ahead, the Royal Monkeys walked for ten whole minutes.


    When they reached the edge of a black marsh, the tongue shot out once again and swept over one of the monkeys¡ªalong with the Dark Nether Bug above his head, he was dragged into the darkness.


    The scene had all the other Royal Monkeys trembling in fear. But they were the Coldness Monkey Guards¡ªthey wouldn''t shy away from death. None of them had the slightest intention to throw away the Dark Nether Bugs and flee.


    "Stage ruler!"


    The Chief Flag Monkey hurried over to the edge of the marsh and bowed respectfully.


    Having already tasted the delicious Dark Nether Bug, the stage ruler wasn''t likely to attack again so soon.


    Plop! Plop! Plop!


    From the dark marsh emerged a head covered in spikes of flesh. A pair of orange eyes sat on the sides of the head, the pupils flickering back and forth so fast that they looked like lines. A hoarse voice then resounded. "You''re using the Dark Nether Bugs to please me again?"

 Chapter 3553 The Bait

    When Yan and Natalie saw the true face of the so-called stage ruler, they frowned. It was unsettling.


    There must be some sort of reason as to why these black monkeys brought them to their stage ruler.


    It was not for the first time that the Chief Flag Monkey had encountered the stage ruler. He knew that the Dark Nether Bugs were a kind of food that the stage ruler would not refuse, but it was a well-known fact that the Dark Nether Bugs were very difficult to capture.


    The candles that were used to capture Dark Nether Bugs by the Insect Master race, or any other race for that matter, were all supplied by the Royal Monkeys.


    He had been doing this for so many years, in order to make use of this stage ruler in case of a tricky situation.


    "Stage ruler, I have worked hard to collect these Dark Nether Bugs. Please accept them," the Chief Flag Monkey said, bowing deeply.


    "Well, tell me, what''s your purpose? And why did you bring two Souls of Light?" The stage ruler''s eyes fell on Natalie and Yan. As a purified being, he could instantly perceive that the two girls came from the Light Region.


    Glancing indifferently at the two girls, the Chief Flag Monkey answered, "These two are also an offering from the Royal Monkey race."


    The stage ruler sneered. "You want me to devour the Souls of Light? Well, it''s better than nothing..."


    When he finished speaking, he stuck his tongue out towards Yan and Natalie. The two girls shut their eyes tight, awaiting their deaths. They knew they were no match for such a powerful being.


    Just as the stage ruler was about to devour the two girls, the Chief Flag Monkey suddenly cried out, "Please wait!"


    "What?" A dangerous light flashed in the stage ruler''s eyes. It peeved him whenever anyone stopped him from eating his food. The only thing keeping this insolent monkey alive was the fact that he had offered him Dark Nether Bugs for many times in the past.


    "I offer these two Souls of Light to you, not for you to eat," the Chief Flag Monkey explained carefully.


    Looking at the monkey in confusion, the stage ruler asked, "Then, what do you want to do?"


    "These two are just bait. They will lure another purified being who is lurking around the Dark Region. I believe that you will be more interested in this purified being," the Chief Flag Monkey continued.


    "Another purified being..."


    Since he was one himself, the stage ruler of cour


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    faction.


    Both Natalie and Yan watched in horror, but there was nothing they could do since they were trapped in the array.


    In a matter of seconds, the stage ruler devoured all the Dark Nether Bugs. Seeing he had eaten all the food, he sat down on the side of the swamp, eyeing the two girls curiously. "The Darkness Fruits in your bodies could only last for around six hours." Then, he smiled mischievously. "It seems the monkeys were under the impression that the other purified being would come by then."


    "I don''t know about that," Natalie replied coldly.


    The stage ruler just smiled. No longer asking any other question, he waited patiently by the side of the swamp.


    Three hours passed by.


    The stage ruler''s eyes rolled around in a bored fashion, then suddenly, he sat up vigilantly. Looking towards the distance, he let a smile creep on his face.


    Without any warning, he opened his mouth and his tongue shot out into the darkness.


    Yan and Natalie craned their necks to turn around to look at where the stage ruler was sticking out his tongue, but they couldn''t see anything.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    The tongue stuck out then retracted, and once again stuck out, retracted...


    This went on for a while. However, it was fruitless. On the contrary, bloodstains appeared on his tongue, which had obviously been cut by a sharp weapon.


    Yan and Natalie exchanged confused glances.


    They wondered who the stage ruler was fighting with. The newcomer seemed so powerful that even the ruler of a stage of the Other Shore couldn''t seem to do anything about it, and was instead wounded!

 Chapter 3554 Confrontation

    The stage ruler''s several attacks failed. What was worse, his tongue was injured by the two people in the distance.


    His head that had been bobbing on the surface of the black marsh till just now suddenly rose as he climbed out of the marsh.


    Only then did Yan and Natalie realize how big this stage ruler actually was.


    "Those monkeys were right. They do have some skills." The stage ruler cocked his head to the side to look at the two trembling girls. "They''re trying to save you, aren''t they?"


    Yan tried to say something, but she was too struck with fear.


    Stretching out his huge claw, the stage ruler tried to reach for Yan and Natalie.


    The two thought that the stage ruler was going to kill them, so they shut their eyes tight. However, much to their surprise and relief, the claw grabbed the trap array and the soil under their feet. Carefully, the stage ruler tossed them onto his back.


    "He... He doesn''t plan to kill us?" Natalie cried incredulously.


    Yan''s eyes were trained on the two mysterious figures. "He''s not interested in us. He''s interested in the ones flying over there!"


    The two figures in the distance had suddenly launched themselves into the air, flying towards them at an incredible speed.


    Yan squinted. She couldn''t tell who the other one was but she recognized the woman. She was Elvinia from the Oneness Sky Palace!


    Yan and Natalie had seen her before in the Chaotic Source World.


    Back then, Elvinia didn''t perform well in the Chaotic Source World. Yet now she was able to have a physical body on the Other Shore, and even her appearance could be seen clearly.


    "Is she the purified being?" Natalie blurted out.


    "I suppose so. But who is the other person?" Yan pondered.


    Back in the Chaotic Source World, Elvinia had been following her brother the whole time. It was very likely her companion was no other than Zen.


    Narrowing her eyes at the indistinct figure, Yan realized the shape and movement were familiar. "Zen..." she said softly.


    "Hahaha..."


    As the two figures in the distance steadily approached, the stage


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    the marsh seemed to be drawn towards the colorful lights. Snakes that were more than ten thousand feet long, crocodiles lying in the depths of the marsh, bugs in the shadows... All the creatures rushed towards the lights for some reason, only to be gruesomely annihilated.


    Then, it dawned on Zen. The creatures were actually sacrificing themselves!


    "The stage ruler is really powerful..."


    Zen muttered, tightening his grip on the javelin he was holding.


    Not long after Elvinia became a purified being, her strength far surpassed that of any ordinary creature on the Other Shore. Even the creatures in the Dark Region were no match for her.


    The stage ruler in front of him was an ancient monster that had lived for countless years. His understanding of himself, the Other Shore, and the Great Sanskrit Light was not something that Elvinia could compare with.


    The stage ruler threw his head back, unleashing a thunderous roar.


    Then, his sharp claw swung out to try to reach for Zen''s head.


    Zen saw this coming. Reflexively, he flew to the side like a ghost.


    Boom!


    After the claw smashed into the marsh, ripples quivered across its surface and spread out in all directions.


    Zen leaped high into the air to dodge the stage ruler''s blow. A sharp light flashed in his eyes, and he threw the javelin in his hand, aiming at the spot in between the stage ruler''s eyes.

 Chapter 3555 Cycle

    The javelin whistled through the air.


    Whoosh...


    The stage ruler was caught off guard, and the javelin sank into his forehead.


    Zen had thrown the javelin with a lot of force. If it had managed to pierce the stage ruler''s skull, it would''ve shattered his head.


    However, this was not the case. Such a powerful strike even failed to pierce through his skin. Only the tip of the javelin had hit him.


    "Swish!"


    Even though his forehead had been struck, the stage ruler fiercely swiped at Zen who was still floating in the air with a claw. Zen didn''t have the time to dodge.


    "Bang!"


    Zen was smashed into the marsh, ripples waving from where he had landed.


    Elvinia''s face fell as she saw what happened. Before she could take a step towards Zen, the stage ruler''s other claw was reaching for her. "I''ve stayed on Stage Fourteen for a long time," the stage ruler''s voice boomed. "I''ve tasted almost all the creatures here, but the most delicious is still the Dark Nether Bugs. But, I think you will taste just as good..."


    "Whoosh!"


    The huge claw encircled Elvinia in the blink of an eye.


    However, she was quick on her feet. Immediately, she somersaulted backwards, narrowly avoiding his clutches.


    Whoosh! Whoosh...


    The stage ruler''s sharp claw kept swiping towards Elvinia. She continued to move nimbly on the black marsh, dodging the claw like a dragonfly skimming on the surface of a pond.


    Actually, it had been extremely dangerous while she was retreating to evade his attacks.


    After she had become a purified being, she had made great progress relying on this physical body. Back when she was on Stage Thirteen, she could easily unleash a power of more than three thousand divine megatons, which surpassed even Zen''s strength.


    Now that she had entered Stage Fourteen, her physical body was definitely not considered weak, but her opponent was the ruler of Stage Fourteen who had numerous years of experience. The difference in strength was painfully obvious.


    Swish!


    Whoosh!


    Phew!


    As she retreated, her body kept transforming into different shapes to evade the claw which was only inches away from her.


    "Let me see how long you can keep this up!"


    The eyes of the stage ruler revealed a trace of excitement.


    As the ruler of Stage Fourteen, he had been standing at the top of this stage for too long.


    In the entire Stage F


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    he Chaotic Source Spirits...


    After being attacked by the stage ruler twice in a row, not only was Zen completely unharmed, the Chaotic Source Spirits were still full of vitality. A sly smile crept on his face.


    Recently, when Zen was testing the Chaotic Source Spirits within his body, he had come up with a theory.


    When the Chaotic Source Spirits'' power reached a certain level, the Truth of Godly Way of his body and the Chaotic Source Spirits could operate in a cycle, which could greatly slow down the speed of the Chaotic Source Spirits getting exhausted.


    As a result, the attack that the Chaotic Source Spirits inside Zen''s body could withstand was ten to twenty times more powerful than what others could bear...


    What if the Chaotic Source Spirits continued to grow in power?


    The Truth of Godly Way used the attacks Zen suffered to fuel the Chaotic Source Spirits. As long as Zen wasn''t killed in one blow, his physical body would be practically indestructible!


    What was happening right now was proving his theory correct.


    The power of the stage ruler was indeed very strong, but he was unable to destroy the Chaotic Source Spirits all at once, which meant that the Chaotic Source Spirits would never fall into exhaustion thanks to his Truth of Godly Way!


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    Every time the stage ruler landed another attack, the shock and disbelief in his eyes intensified.


    In all his years, he had never encountered such a strange thing before. At one point, he even began to doubt himself. Was he too weak, or was this human too strong?

 Chapter 3556 The Son Of Light

    The three girls'' hearts sank at the sight of what happened to Zen. However, the stage ruler had an unusual expression of shock on his face.


    Yan gazed at the black mud, but she couldn''t find any trace of Zen''s body.


    Under such devastating attacks, Zen might have been severely crushed into the mud.


    Elvinia was still stuck in the swamp, her whole body covered in dirt. She struggled to get up from the swamp, but her body was seriously injured that she had difficulty moving.


    Boom! Boom! Boom! Out of nowhere, the stage ruler struck out another ten powerful attacks to the area where Zen was previously standing.


    As Elvinia witnessed it, confusion appeared on her anxious face.


    She was wondering if it was even necessary to do that since Zen could not fight back anymore.


    Furthermore, she noticed the restless expression on the stage ruler''s face.


    Immediately after, the stage ruler unleashed another barrage of attacks. This time, he had struck out at least twenty strong ones. With this, the three girls realized that there must be something wrong.


    They didn''t know what exactly was happening, but they were sure that the behavior of the huge lizard was definitely odd.


    The stage ruler''s strength was limited. After releasing more than thirty rounds of attack using his full strength, he finally got exhausted. He took a step back, and heavy breaths came out from his nostrils.


    Elvinia, Yan, and Natalie all fixed their eyes on the location where Zen was previously standing. A huge pit was created in the area due to the relentless attacks of the stage ruler. The pit was then filled with black mud up to the surface.


    Soon after, the mud on the pit parted as Zen''s figure started to emerge out of the mud, completely unharmed.


    "Z-Zen is fine!" Yan exclaimed with a trembling voice.


    On the other hand, Natalie was rendered speechless as if she had seen a ghost. ''Is that even possible?!''


    In Natalie''s mind, it was already an incredible miracle that Zen was able to enter the Other Shore with his corporeal body. This time, though she had doubts, she remembered that Yan had always described her brother as omnipotent. For this reason, she was starting to accept that Zen could really be more amazing than she thought he was.


    Needless to say, Zen had proven himself for being unscathed after receiving about thirty unreserved attacks from the ruler of Stage Fourteen of the Other Shore.


    Natalie thought that this kind of thing could only happen in dreams, but she completely knew that this was real since her Soul of Light had already entered the Other Shore


    ared, the entire black swamp disappeared as well.


    Along with the swamp, tens of thousands of snakes, insects, and some Other Shore races also vanished.


    As creatures of the Light Region, Zen and the three girls weren''t affected by the Great Sanskrit Light.


    Since the whole swamp was eroded, the solid rocks beneath it all showed up.


    Standing on the two huge rocks, Zen and Elvinia stared at the stage ruler.


    A pair of light wings grew on the back of the stage ruler. White light twisted into lines that covered his entire body, illuminating the surrounding sky.


    "You don''t know much about the purified beings, do you? I will show you what power the son of light could possess!" the stage ruler uttered with a dull smile.


    As he finished speaking, the twisted lines gathered around his body to his chest, forming a spiral pattern.


    Boom!


    A white wave of light shot out from his chest, dashing directly towards Zen''s head.


    Crack, crack, crack.


    Just as the wave of light was about to hit Zen, the rocks around his feet already cracked due to the pressure being imposed by it.


    "I see. Your power became much stronger, huh!"


    Zen''s pupils slightly contracted as the thunder wings on his back surfaced.


    If Zen used the thunder wings in the Dark Region beforehand, the internal momentum of the Thunderstorm Godly Way would instantly be devoured by the darkness. However, now that the darkness had been completely expelled by the stage ruler, there was nothing to hinder Zen from using the thunder wings.


    Bang!


    As the thunder wings created a loud sound on Zen''s back, he turned into a flash of lightning and flew sideward. At the same time, he grabbed Elvinia, who was severely injured, in his arms.

 Chapter 3557 Scorpion Poison

    As the light fell from the air, a visible shock wave surged in all directions.


    The light penetrated everything that dared cross its path, forming a mighty column that pierced through the Dark Region.


    Just as the circle of shock wave spread out, Zen grabbed hold of Elvinia and quickly flew away from the site of destruction.


    Elvinia held on tight to Zen. "What kind of method is that? How can it be so powerful?" she exclaimed, eyes wide with shock.


    Both she and the stage ruler were purified beings but this method was completely unknown to her. True, she could control the Great Sanskrit Light at will but never to this extent.


    "How do you expect me to know if even you don''t know?" Zen laughed bitterly, making sure that his grip on her was tight so that she wouldn''t fall.


    The stage ruler snorted coldly when he failed to hit Zen. His light wings flashed behind him and he immediately flew towards Zen at top speed. As he flew, rays of light gathered and spread from his chest in a spiral pattern.


    Elvinia pointed to the sky in panic.


    "It''s coming!"


    As soon as she shouted her warning, the light wave from the stage ruler''s chest shot straight towards them!


    "Whoosh!"


    The earth trembled as the light wave descended.


    Zen felt the terrifying pressure without even turning his head. With gritted teeth, he willed himself to go even faster, the thunder wings on his back cracking as he accelerated.


    "Pop!"


    As the light wave descended, the shock wave spread along the Dark Region, completely annihilating everything in its path.


    Zen moved Elvinia in front of him and used his back to block the shock wave force while using it as a boost to go even faster.


    It was a high-speed chase between Zen''s thunder wings and the stage ruler''s imposing light wings.


    While this chase went on, the creatures of the Dark Region worried greatly for their lives.


    The shock wave from the light column would destroy everything in its path within a ten-mile radius. What made them even more terrified was the stage ruler''s wings that constantly released Great Sanskrit Light.


    Wherever Zen and the stage ruler went, destruction surely followed as sections of the Dark Region eroded in the presence of such imposing light. The stage ruler''s wings plowed out an ever growing ditch more than


    Soon after, a strange thing happened to the stage ruler''s body.


    Three rays of green light began to spread from his chest, his neck, and his abdomen.


    As the light spread, his black thick skin softened and disintegrated into green mud.


    "What is this? What kind of poison is this?" the stage ruler screamed.


    He knew his body was strong, so there was no way any ordinary poison would have this type of effect.


    In his desperation, the stage ruler activated the Great Sanskrit Light and set it to the maximum in order to try and refill his body with energy.


    Unfortunately, no matter how powerful his technique was, it proved ineffective in curing his poisoning.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    The stage ruler panicked and flew into the air, roaring in the sky.


    However, his struggle was futile. It only took about thirty seconds for him to exhaust himself and fall onto the cold, hard ground. The light wings on his back dimmed and his aura completely disappeared in a flash.


    When he fell, the darkness that had once been dispersed began to close in. Before the place was completely shrouded, Elvinia waved her hand and a ray of white light fell from the sky to illuminate the vicinity.


    She made her way towards the monster that now crawled on the ground. She stopped just a couple of paces away, careful not to startle it. "Zen?" she called out.


    This monster''s outline was blurry, so it might have entered the Other Shore with its physical body like Zen did. However, it was simply too different from Zen''s appearance.

 Chapter 3558 The Land Of Inheritance

    The monster that lay prostrate on the ground suddenly jumped up and stood upright. The hideous thing looked a bit like the Ghost Scorpion.


    Yet, its appearance was more ferocious and aggressive--especially its thick scorpion tail, which glowed with a dark green light. It looked like it was ready to kill anyone who approached it at any time.


    When Elvinia saw the monster get up, she instinctively took a few steps back.


    The monster''s figure looked a little blurry and it was hard to see it clearly, just like when Zen had entered the Other Shore with his physical body.


    Elvinia knew that this creature was most likely Zen, but she was still a little afraid and remained vigilant. "Is my appearance too horrible?" Zen suddenly piped in.


    Elvinia sighed in relief when she heard the familiar voice. "You should have spoken earlier. Why did you frighten me?" she complained.


    "This is the first time I have seen such an expression from you," Zen said with a smile.


    A red flush crept up Elvinia''s cheeks in embarrassment. "It''s also the first time I''ve seen you look like this!" she snorted.


    "Fortunately, we are on the Other Shore. If we were in the Oneness Sky Palace, I''m afraid I would''ve really scared you."


    Zen retracted the protruding bones as he spoke. The bone pieces folded into his body, then the tail, the spikes on his back, and the wide arms all disappeared and he returned to normal. Afterwards, he went straight to the stage ruler.


    The stage ruler''s life energy had been cut off and his entire body was covered in green mud.


    "Zen! Are you okay?" Yan shouted from her position in the array that trapped her. The array beneath her feet separated her from the outside world.


    Thus, both she and Natalie were not affected by the destruction.


    Zen nodded at his sister in response. The thunder wings on his back flashed and he swiftly flew towards the back of the stage ruler''s corpse. Then, he held the entire array in his arms and moved it down.


    "Step back," he said.


    In turn, Yan and Natalie went back to the other side of the array. Zen raised his hand and gently chopped the array, which caused it to explode and then collapse.


    Next, he stepped forward and took his sister in his arms. "I''m sorry. I got you involved for no reason..." he apologized.


    His sister di


    a purified being?"


    "Yes," confirmed Zen.


    "I see.


    This is the Land of Inheritance, the Land of Inheritance of the purified beings," the Regal Jade Spirit said. "The Land of Inheritance?" Zen asked in confusion.


    "Well, after a purified being dies, their killer will replace them and become the new stage ruler, which I''m certain of--but the Land of Inheritance is just what we, the Regal Jade Civilization call it. I haven''t been to this place before. As for how to inherit the title of stage ruler and what this white world is really called, I have no idea." the Regal Jade Spirit explained.


    "The new stage ruler?" asked Zen. Needless to say, he was shocked. "If I become a stage ruler, will I be bound to Stage Fourteen?" he asked again.


    Generally speaking, the stage rulers on the Other Shore were limited to the stages they had dominated.


    Among the numerous stage rulers, Elvinia was the only exception. She had only encountered problems when she crossed the energy vortex.


    The situation in the Lust World, however, was probably different from that in the Desire World. There was a reason Zen was worried.


    "It might be possible. At least, I''ve never seen a stage ruler like Elvinia, who could leave the stage she dominated," the Regal Jade Spirit answered honestly.


    Upon hearing those words, Zen immediately became wary.


    Becoming a purified being would enable him to travel freely in the Dark Region, but the price would be to stay on Stage Fourteen forever. For him, the loss simply wasn''t worth the gain.

 Chapter 3559 The Images On The Slates

    Since Zen didn''t know what to do yet, he wandered in the white world for a while. Apart from the pillars, he was still unable to distinguish anything else.


    He felt helpless and eventually, he just sat on the smooth floor. "I don''t think I need to worry about whether or not I would be bound to Stage Fourteen now. It''s a problem for me to even leave here," he said with a bitter smile.


    The Regal Jade Spirit and No. 9527 both remained silent. They observed the place really carefully, but they couldn''t even see the vague pillars. Thus, they couldn''t offer any help to Zen.


    There were a total of nineteen purified beings on the nineteen stages of the entire Desire World. Those purified beings rarely participated in the feuds among many great races, as they were either independent individuals or chose to live in a remote place and protect their own races, not paying any attention to the affairs that happened in the world. Now, even though the Regal Jade Civilization had once been one of the ten great civilizations, they still didn''t know much about the purified beings.


    Meanwhile in the Dark Region, Elvinia took care of Yan and Natalie so none of the creatures in the area would dare provoke or attack them.


    Truth be told, the stage ruler''s abnormal behavior had already caused a great uproar in the Dark Region. As a result, those creatures that hid in the Dark Region risked their lives and sent their forces to investigate the stage ruler''s whereabouts.


    However, they were extremely shocked to find out that the stage ruler was dead when they saw his corpse lying prostrate from afar.


    The creatures of the Dark Region naturally wanted to attack Elvinia, but when they saw her activate the Great Sanskrit Light, they didn''t even dare approach her anymore.


    As for Zen, he simply sat quietly in the vast, white world.


    Since the Regal Jade Spirit said that this was the Land of Inheritance, there must be a method to inherit the title of the stage ruler.


    He gently waved his hand in the air, but didn''t feel anything unusual. The Great Sanskrit Light should also be a kind of energy, and based on the light the giant lizard had unleashed before, the method of using such energy should also have different levels. Elvinia, however, couldn''t release that level of light wave like the lizard did.


    Moreover, the process of Elvinia becoming a purif


    There are a total of twenty slates here. Are there twenty purified beings in the entire Desire World?" he said.


    "No, there are only nineteen stages in the Desire World. Theoretically, there are nineteen purified beings," the Regal Jade Spirit told him.


    Although the Regal Jade Spirit couldn''t see those images, he could understand something from Zen''s mumblings. "But don''t forget that there appeared a purified being in the Lust World all of a sudden," he added.


    There was originally no purified being in the first thirteen stages, and Elvinia was the first one.


    Upon hearing the Regal Jade Spirit''s reminder, Zen looked up and saw a strange pig-faced monster drawn on the slate on the top. However, that image of the strange pig-faced monster was a little special. There was a woman''s head on his fat pig body.


    Of course, he couldn''t help but laugh when he saw it.


    Something wrong had happened when the pig-faced monster occupied Elvinia''s soul, so it affected the Land of Inheritance. That was why it had shown such a mixed image.


    After all, the purified being was originally a pig-faced monster, while Elvinia was just an occupant. He wondered what Elvinia would think if she saw this image.


    Once he had scanned all the "portraits" of the purified beings, he looked at the other side of the palace. His usual expression suddenly turned into surprise.


    On the other side was a huge slate with densely packed Sanskrit words drawn on it.


    There were so many Sanskrit words, to the point that the number had far exceeded anything that Zen had seen before!

 Chapter 3560 A Special Cultivation

    A single Sanskrit word normally recorded a great amount of information. Zen was quite taken aback when he found an abundance of Sanskrit words ¡ª what sort of things needed to be recorded with so many of them?


    Sensing Zen''s emotional fluctuation, the Regal Jade Spirit asked, "Zen, what do you see?"


    "So many Sanskrit words!" Zen exclaimed in excitement.


    "A great number?" Even the spirit was rather surprised.


    He was quite interested in the Land of Inheritance for the purified beings. It could involve higher-level secrets of the Instant Civilization, after all.


    "Yes," Zen''s gaze swept across the slate, giving him a rough estimate. "There are about three hundred to four hundred Sanskrit words in total ¡ª they all look strange to me. I should ask Geoffrey¡­"


    These days, Geoffrey was growing more and more proficient in deciphering Sanskrit words. Every time Zen spotted a new one, he''d think of him.


    But before Zen could finish his words, the fact that he was now on the Other Shore suddenly came to mind. It was impossible for him to bring Geoffrey there to decipher Sanskrit words. Even if he could, Geoffrey probably wouldn''t be able to see the words with his naked eyes because of the white light. Neither No. 9527 nor the Regal Jade Spirit could see them, after all.


    It was even more unrealistic to copy them with duplicating stone tablets as it was impossible for Zen to bring those to the Other Shore.


    While the Regal Jade Spirit tried figuring out what to do, Zen''s eyes were suddenly fixated on the slate. The first Sanskrit word seemed to have moved.


    The second one followed, and then the third, and the fourth, and so on. Rows of Sanskrit words began rolling like waves as they began flipping one after another. Zen''s gaze was completely pulled in by the movement.


    "I think you can try lending Geoffrey your eyesight in the place of his," said the Regal Jade Spirit. "Perhaps that will work." But Zen paid no mind to his words, let alone responded.


    "Zen? Zen, what do you think?"


    After calling his name a few times, the spirit finally realized Zen''s unusual state.


    He was standing as still as a statu


    request, Yan told them about Zen''s childhood, as well as his early adventure in the Eastern Region.


    Zen''s life stories sounded incredible to the two girls who had grown up in the Source World.


    While Elvinia wasn''t too astonished because she had already heard some stories from Lavender, Natalie''s face was full of disbelief.


    Everyone in the Source World was born with great power, after all. So long as they had adequate talent, becoming a True God wasn''t all that difficult.


    Zen, on the other hand, was born among the lowest level of beings in his father''s inner world. The fact that he had reached his present level coming from that situation was nothing short of miraculous, Natalie believed.


    A circle of light suddenly appeared beside them, from where Zen emerged.


    "He''s back!" Yan''s eyes lit up with absolute joy upon seeing her brother''s safe return.


    "What exactly is this circle of light? How did it take you away?" Elvinia asked curiously.


    "You can check it out for yourself if you want to, you know," Zen threw an easy smile in Elvinia''s direction. He wanted to send her into the palace of light. After she grasped the Sanskrit words on the slate, she would get the answer on her own.


    But surprisingly, the circle of light didn''t appear at his command. The three women stared at him curiously, wondering what he meant.


    Zen smiled wryly in mild embarrassment.


    "Well¡­ it seems that I failed¡­"

 Chapter 3561 A New Stage Ruler

    Purified beings couldn''t enter the palace of light at will. Otherwise, the giant lizard would have already hidden within the palace, when he found he stood no chance to defeat Zen.


    The latter had just mastered the Great Sanskrit Light, but he couldn''t create the circle of light¡ªnow, all he could do was wait for the next best opportunity.


    Now that Yan was safe, there was no need for him to stay in the Dark Region.


    When the four of them were ready to leave, some of the creatures hiding in the shadows surrounded Zen and knelt before him, kowtowing devoutly.


    Otherwise known as the stage rulers, the purified beings had absolute strength, recognized as a spiritual symbol by many creatures.


    Once the great lizard passed away, it meant new authority appeared in Stage Fourteen.


    For a moment, Zen and the others paused. If they continued moving forward, the white light would annihilate all these creatures from the Dark Region.


    "Get up, everyone. You can leave now," Zen simply said.


    His words had all the creatures standing up and bowing to him respectfully before retreating in all directions.


    But something returned to Zen''s mind¡ªhe pointed at a one-eyed monster that happened to be nearby.


    He had seen the one-eyed monsters in Stage Thirteen¡ªthey had even tried to snatch away the Civilization Artifact. They seemed to be widely distributed on the Other Shore, much like the Royal Monkey race.


    As it turned out, the one-eyed monster Zen pointed at was the leader of his race.


    The appearance of a new stage ruler wasn''t something that the races on the Other Shore would be pleased to hear about, but that wasn''t something for them to decide. They had to spend some time understanding the temper and preferences of the new stage ruler.


    But the last one was ruthless and tyrannical. Because the Royal Monkey race fawned over him for so long, the stage ruler tended to favor them.


    For the one-eyed monsters, at least, the shift in power was a good thing.


    The leader came forward and cupped his hands toward Zen. "What can I do for you?"


    "I have some friends in the Dark Region. Help me take care of them," Zen said flatly.


    "


    he stage ruler.


    "Challenging the stage ruler means courting death¡­" another respected Insect Master shook his head disapprovingly.


    "I''m afraid that the Royal Monkeys will blame our race soon after. We will¡­"


    Mercer and Miller''s news put an extremely grim atmosphere over the Insect Masters. They were now all imagining soon being slaughtered by the Royal Monkey race.


    Just as the Insect Masters seemed down, a set of noisy footsteps resounded from afar.


    Afraid that the Royal Monkey race was approaching, they stared nervously into the distance.


    From the darkness, over a dozen figures emerged in succession. They were the one-eyed monsters.


    These creatures could fight against the Royal Monkeys head-on. Naturally, the Insect Masters felt far inferior to them. As the two races were far from each other, they never had much interaction.


    "Are you Insect Masters?" a one-eyed monster suddenly asked in a low voice.


    "Yes!"


    several of them answered automatically.


    "You don''t have to be so courteous," said the monster in a friendly tone. "The new stage ruler asked us to take good care of you. This place is too close to the Royal Monkeys'' territory. Please follow us. We must lead you out."


    "The new stage ruler?"


    "We have a new stage ruler?"


    "Who is it?"


    All the Insect Masters were completely dumbfounded by the news.


    Even Mercer and Miller were stunned. They both had a good guess about who it was.

 Chapter 3562 Sky Water City

    It wasn''t difficult to verify their conjecture from the one-eyed monster.


    When the one-eyed monster told the Insect Master race that the new stage ruler was a human being, all the Insect Masters had become excited.


    Only then did Mercer and Miller understand why the arrogant one-eyed monsters were treating them so politely.


    That night, all of the Insect Masters packed up and drove all kinds of poisonous insects and ants to move with the one-eyed monsters.


    A different fate awaited them. As the Insect Master race wasn''t strong, they might not be able to achieve much in the Dark Region even if they were given more time. But under the protection of the one-eyed monsters, they wouldn''t be as miserable as before. They could even dare to hope a little.


    It was peaceful in the Light Region of Stage Fourteen of the Other Shore these days.


    The Sky Water City had previously been in chaos. It would collapse even without the attack of the Giants and the Guide Weasel race.


    However, the originally aggressive Giant race and Guide Weasel race had suddenly retreated to the Myriad Spirits City under Zen''s order. Many of the large races in the Sky Water City thought that the two races showed weakness and cowardice before the Star Falcon race.


    This naturally deepened the prestige that the Star Falcon race felt and they in turn intimidated many large races in the Sky Water City, which helped the Star Falcon race stabilize the situation.


    In the early hours of the morning, over one thousand White Apes had gathered outside the Sky Water City.


    The White Ape race used to be part of the Sky Water City, but they were later expelled by the Star Falcon race.


    This time, Whitehead, from the White Ape race, helped the Star Falcon race find Yan and lead Zen into the Dark Region.


    The Star Falcon race, pleased with their contribution, bestowed on the White Ape race the right to enter the Sky Water City again. They also gave them a large area within the city.


    The leader of the White Ape race walked ahead, Whitehead closely following him.


    Whitehead looked like a hero coming back with great honor as he walked with his head held high.


    It was all thanks to him that the White Ape race had achieved what it had.


    The leader had even chosen him as his successor. After they entered the Sky Water City, the lead


    just to return to the Sky Water City!


    Natalie and Yan soon left the Other Shore.


    A howling sounded through the skies.


    More than ten Star Falcons had spread their wings and were headed straight for Zen.


    These Star Falcons were the guards of the Sky Water City. They didn''t know why Zen and the others had come here and were treating them merely as ordinary intruders.


    Zen''s eyes narrowed at these Star Falcons. He stomped his feet and turned into a lightning arc, shooting towards the guards.


    "Crack! Crack! Crack..."


    The lightning arc continually cut through the group of Star Falcons. Before anybody could react, charred bodies of the guards began to rain down into the Sky Water City.


    With a crack, the lightning flashed in a huge arc in the air and struck the ground at Whitehead''s feet, emitting a burst of thunder and causing the members of the White Ape race to clap their hands over their ears that had begun to ring.


    Zen''s figure appeared in the lightning, his eyes cold. "You cooperated with the Star Falcon race and kidnapped my sister just to get a foothold in the Sky Water City. How could you be so reckless?"


    "I... I..." Whitehead was beginning to panic. He was beating a hasty retreat but looked up at the sky from time to time.


    "Are you counting on the Star Falcon race to save you?" Zen sneered, "I defeated the entire Star Falcon race on my own. Don''t you know? Hans and Garth didn''t even stand a chance to defeat me. The Star Falcon race asked you to take my sister away because there was no way out for them."

 Chapter 3563 Abandon The City

    Shocked at the words Zen just uttered, Whitehead kept his mouth wide open.


    Even the leader and elders of the White Ape race were dumbfounded.


    The White Ape race had left the Sky Water City too long ago, so naturally, they didn''t know much about the current situation in the city. It never crossed their minds that such a thing had happened before.


    "No, it''s impossible..." Whitehead shook his head in disbelief.


    "Why is it impossible? It''s not just the Sky Water City. Now, even the entire Stage Fourteen of the Other Shore belongs to him. He is now the ruler of Stage Fourteen," said Elvinia, who had come down from the city wall as well.


    However, as she was descending, she carried a small portion of the city wall on her shoulder. When she was finished speaking, she suddenly threw the piece of the city wall out.


    The piece smashed into a huge statue of a Star Falcon in the square nearby. This statue had stood there for countless years, yet now it was but a pile of rubble.


    "The ruler of..."


    "Is he the new stage ruler?"


    "So the one in the Dark Region..."


    The range of activities of purified beings was not limited to the Dark Region, so the creatures in the Light Region naturally knew about them. After all, they were the strongest in a certain stage of the Other Shore.


    "That one has already been killed." Elvinia dusted off her hands nonchalantly.


    Hanley and Tomas exchanged glances, each filled with disbelief.


    Finding Zen and Elvinia in the Sky Water City was the worst news for the Star Falcon race right now.


    This meant that the Royal Monkey race had failed.


    However, deep in their hearts, both Hanley and Tomas deduced that the Royal Monkey race hadn''t actually failed. Instead, the only logical explanation was the Royal Monkey race had been unable to ask the stage ruler to make a move. This was because if the stage ruler did make a move, there was no possible way these humans could have survived.


    If this was the case, the Star Falcon race still had hope!


    But according to Elvinia, they had actually killed and even replaced the stage ruler.


    "Is that human woman telling the truth?" Hanley asked, his voice trembling.


    "It can''t be true. She must be lying..." Tomas said, shaking his head.


    "Even if she''s lying, we can''t keep our place in the Sky Water City," Hanley murmured. "If it''s a


    rent glance at them, and then proceeded to walk out of the city with Elvinia and the others.


    The leaders of the three large races looked at each other. They were all quite perceptive, and instantly understood what Zen meant: he had already found a suitable candidate to manage the Sky Water City!


    "No matter who you choose, no one is more suitable than us. We are from the Sky Water City..." a leader tried to speak tactfully to Zen, in the hopes of changing his mind.


    Zen stopped abruptly. Slowly, he turned to face the leader. In a cold voice, he said, "You should consider yourself lucky that the Star Falcon race decided to flee. Otherwise, the Sky Water City would''ve been a slaughterhouse. You wouldn''t have been able to escape."


    The leader immediately shut up. Narrowing his eyes, Zen turned and proceeded to leave the city.


    Meanwhile, in the distance, dozens of Souls of Light had gathered on the rooftops of several buildings in the Sky Water City.


    These Souls of Light came from the Sun Crow race, the Bearing race, the Divine Farmer race and the New Moon race.


    As they watched Zen''s receding figure in the distance, their faces fell.


    "Oh my God! First the Myriad Spirits City, now the Sky Water City!"


    "What''s worse, we even can''t stay in Stage Fourteen of the Other Shore!"


    "How did things get this far?"


    The fact that the Star Falcon race was expelled meant that they lost the Sky Water City, and that their days of prosperity were coming to an end. There might be no place in Stage Fourteen of the Other Shore for them to stay.

 Chapter 3564 Challenge

    Before leaving the Myriad Spirits City, Zen had called back Clyde and Raul.


    Raul now waited anxiously, pacing back and forth at the City Guard House, carrying a thick metal club.


    No one dared approach him except for Clyde, the leader of the Guide Weasel race. The full force of Raul''s manic attack was enough to smash any living being.


    He and his team had been about to take over the Sky Water City when Zen''s order came a few days ago.


    Thinking of this made him restless. It left a bitter taste in his mouth.


    On the other hand, he really was worried about Zen''s and Elvinia''s safety.


    The Dark Region was much more dangerous than the Light Region. One couldn''t act too rashly lest they risk their chance of survival.


    At some point in the past few days, Raul had wanted to take the Giants to try to seize the Sky Water City again, but he had been stopped by Clyde.


    Clyde refused to act without Zen''s authorization. He was unconcerned about the remaining forces in the Sky Water City.


    As Raul grew more anxious, Zen and Elvinia finally returned to the Myriad Spirits City.


    As soon as Raul laid eyes on Zen, he rushed over to him, alight with excitement. "Sir, you''re back safe and sound!"


    Zen knew that Raul''s excitement was more about what his return implied for the Giant race, but the fact that an Other Shore creature was so concerned about his safety still touched him.


    Inside the City Guard House hall, the core figures of the Guide Weasel race and the Giant race now gathered.


    Clyde thought for a long time before posing his burning question to Zen. "When will you attack the Sky Water City, Sir?"


    The Other Shore creatures of the Myriad Spirits City apparently didn''t know that Zen had already been there. Zen told them this now.


    "What?" Clyde was surprised by this.


    "The Star Falcon race already fled the Sky Water City. You can bring your people to take it over. No one will put up any resistance," Zen continued.


    The Star Falcon race''s escape, of course, was futile. They were still on Stage Fourteen.


    After losing their base and suffering a heavy blow from Zen, they would not be able to recover immediately.


    The only small mercy for them was that Zen had no interest in hunting down their remaining members himself. He left it to the large races of the Sky Water City and the Myriad Spirits City.


    Three days later, the Giant race and the Guide Weasel race took control of the Sky Water City.


    Sure enough, just as Zen had said, no o


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    lm strike contained nearly three thousand divine megatons of force, and they overlapped with each other, magnifying their strength.


    Layton reached the Chaotic Source Realm a long time ago. With long-term cultivation, the Chaotic Source Spirits in his body had already made great progress. But even he couldn''t put up a resistance in time.


    The powerful palm force on his back slammed into his body. The Chaotic Source Spirits in his body started to lose energy. As the impact surged within him, he spat out a mouthful of blood.


    Chaim had won the match. He turned to Layton and straightened up, his hands cupped neatly in front of him. "I won," Chaim said, with a curt bow.


    Layton felt dejected. Losing to a newcomer was always humiliating. But he suddenly remembered Cleon, who had also lost to a newcomer. He started to feel a little better. He nodded civilly back to Chaim and left the arena.


    "Layton was defeated?"


    "We can''t underestimate Chaim. He has only been in the Land of Sword Grief for one and a half months, but he has already been able to defeat someone of a much higher rank!"


    "No matter how powerful he is, though, he is still no match for Zen."


    When Chaim overheard this, he smiled sheepishly to himself.


    The new Other Shore Token that he had merged with was a gift from the Ear Mouse race. And they only gave it to him because of Zen.


    After all, everyone in the whole Myriad Spirits City was trying to get on Zen''s good graces.


    Admittedly, before entering the Chaotic Source World, Chaim had once thought he might have a chance against Zen.


    By now, of course, he had realized how foolish it was to ever think that.

 Chapter 3565 The Imperial Edict

    Chaim came down from the arena and noticed Zen off stage. Smiling, he asked, "Zen, have you finished your cultivation as well?"


    Most of the disciples were watching the fight on the arena and only a few had seen Zen here, in front of it.


    Chaim''s words pricked the ears of all the disciples on the first floor, who suddenly turned towards Zen.


    Zen had turned the City Guard House of the Myriad Spirits City into the stronghold of the Oneness Sky Palace. However, lately he''d spent most of his time either travelling away or communicating with the races in the city. Getting an audience with him on the Other Shore was not easy.


    However, in the Land of Sword Grief, he was a junior disciple. The difference in status between them was slight, so naturally this made them more comfortable in making requests of him.


    "Hello, Zen! I seem to recall some race gifting you a rare golden turtle. Could I have it please?"


    "Zen, when will you distribute the soul crystal again?"


    "Zen, I have received two hundred thousand soul pills. May I keep them for myself?"


    The Oneness Sky Palace was not very rich on the Other Shore. Even in the Desire World, the soul crystal was rare.


    Neither finding the soul crystal nor obtaining soul pills was an easy task for the disciples of the Land of Sword Grief, but they still had to share what they got with the stronghold.


    The stronghold would take care of the disciples and distribute the resources according to their needs. However, several races in the Myriad Spirits City often blackmailed the Oneness Sky Palace before, forcing them to pay a large number of tributes every year. This imposed a heavy burden on the Oneness Sky Palace.


    But once Zen had arrived, they didn''t need to pay the tributes anymore. Instead, the Myriad Spirits City now paid tributes to them, and so did the Sky Water City.


    It seemed as though the resources of the entire Stage Fourteen rested in Zen''s hands. How could the Land of Sword Grief''s disciples not be jealous?


    Zen had already let Chaim and Dorothy distribute the resources once.


    And all the disciples on the first floor had benefited greatly.


    But the human beings'' desire knew no bounds. The Oneness Sky Palace had been quite


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    esources when he occupied the Myriad Spirits City.


    The resources in Stage Fourteen were too many for just him. As a member of the Oneness Sky Palace, he figured he should repay the palace. He was also willing to share some of the resources with the disciples of the Land of Sword Grief but he had never expected this reaction.


    Just then, from the back door of the bronze building, Elvinia walked out. In an icy tone she said, "Do not cut down the tree that gives you shade. You were bullied in the Myriad Spirits City for ages and said nothing. Now that Zen and I have taken it, you can''t seem to ask for enough."


    Elvinia had also contributed to the prosperity of the Oneness Sky Palace in Stage Fourteen. Her words left everyone dead silent.


    Some were still not satisfied. From the corner, Abdul suddenly spoke out, "According to the law of the Land of Sword Grief, the disciples should turn in half of the resources they have got and the remainder should then be distributed among the rest of us. We have followed this law before, so the requests we make..."


    Before he could finish, a golden scroll appeared in Elvinia''s hand. She sneered and opened the scroll. "The imperial edict of Eastern Emperor Taiyi says that all the resources Zen and I obtain belong to us. We don''t need to share them with the Land of Sword Grief. We can distribute them as we like. Read the edict carefully!" she growled.


    Elvinia would show no politeness towards these despicable ingrates.

 Chapter 3566 Rocco Zheng

    Upon saying those words, Elvinia threw the scroll she held behind her.


    Like an arrow being released from its bow, the golden scroll was nailed to the door. Its contents were revealed for all to see.


    Of course, the imperial edict on the scroll that Eastern Emperor Taiyi had personally issued was not as straight forward as what Elvinia had said. But they almost had the same meaning.


    While Zen was busy with his cultivation over the past few days, Elvinia spent that time staying in the Myriad Spirits City. This allowed her to get in contact more frequently and better with the disciples of the Land of Sword Grief.


    As for the problem regarding resource distribution, it was one that she had already expected.


    Despite Stage Fourteen being at the bottom of the Desire World, the rules it enforced were not to be ignored. Otherwise, everything would fall into utter chaos.


    Once Elvinia secretly made her return to the Phoenix Palace, she went straight to Eastern Emperor Taiyi to request that he issue an imperial edict.


    The jaws of the disciples on the first floor dropped once they saw the imperial edict.


    They were hoping for more. Elvinia''s move caught them all by surprise. No one could disobey Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s order.


    The noisy crowd fell silent.


    If what Elvinia said was true, they wouldn''t be able to secure the resources they wanted.


    "According to Eastern Emperor Taiyi, you''re able to distribute the resources as you like. I''m curious as to how you plan to do that?" someone asked in a low voice.


    Elvinia shrugged and then nodded towards Zen.


    The disciples were met with his indifferent glance.


    He had already tried his best to satisfy them before. But of course, as was human nature, they always longed for more. "As I''ve said before," Zen sneered, "Chaim will be distributing the resources on my behalf."


    In fact, the imperial edict that Elvinia took out served as a "stick"¡ªa part of the "carrot and stick". Once the reckless disciples recieved the "carrot" Zen gave them, they would thank him profusely.


    "If you have any requests, you can approach me. Now, line up!" Chaim announced with a smile.


    Now that the resource distribution problem was settled, no further complications would arise under Chaim''s supervision.


    Soon, a few disciples proceeded to j


    Who exactly was Rocco?


    He challenged someone from the third floor seven years ago. Once he failed, he had no intention of committing the same mistake ever again. All of the disciples on the second floor continued to challenge him, but none was successful in taking him down.


    While all two hundred and two disciples were on the same level, they knew that he''d always be one level higher¡ªfor now, at least.


    The faces of everyone on the second floor, including the fair-skinned man, Yusuf, and Ronnie, were incomprehensible. With the flick of his wrist, the fair-skinned man unraveled his folding fan before turning to Ronnie. "I''m afraid we guessed wrong. He doesn''t consider you a worthy opponent."


    "He doesn''t consider you as one, either," Ronnie retorted.


    "We''re all on the same boat, then," Yusuf voiced out with a chuckle.


    None of them expected Zen to skip them and go ahead for the all-powerful Rocco.


    Chaim, Milo, and Dorothy were just as dumbfounded as the others. Was Zen planning to activate the Inheritance of World here? If he wasn''t, then challenging Rocco would be asking for a death wish. The gap between their levels of power was too wide.


    "Rocco is somewhere else, at the moment. I''ll relay your challenge right now!" one of the bystanders announced.


    Many of those on the second floor started to mumble and buzz like bees in a hive, keeping themselves busy to fill in the awkward silence. They hoped that it wouldn''t be too difficult for the bystander to find Rocco. Then, the real challenge would begin.

 Chapter 3567 On The Arena

    The rightmost cultivation room of the second floor belonged to Rocco.


    Everyone knew that disturbing another''s cultivation in seclusion was prohibited. However, in the Land of Sword Grief, the right of challenge could be exercised on the first day of each month.


    And unless the person being challenged was stranded on the Other Shore, they had no choice but to take up the challenge.


    Rocco had just returned from the Other Shore several days ago, where he had found clues about a temple. Based on his findings, he was very likely to discover a temple that had been hidden for a long time.


    Today, he sorted out all the clues he''d gathered and planned to go out. However, he had to decipher three Sanskrit words among the clues before moving forward.


    Aside from Eastern Emperor Taiyi, there were a few others who could decipher Sanskrit words in the Oneness Sky Palace. But he knew that if he sought out help from these people, he would have to shell out too much. Plus, it might take a while for them to decipher the words, but he did not have any time to waste.


    Even so, Rocco didn''t have many choices. He considered even consulting the people by Clear Lake who could also decipher Sanskrit words, but he learned that they worked even slower than those in the Oneness Sky Palace to begin with.


    "Tap-tap..."


    Just then, someone knocked on the door.


    The sound of the knock brought him an overwhelming sensation of annoyance.


    It reminded him that today was the first day of the month, meaning that it was the challenge day in the Land of Sword Grief.


    All the disciples on the second floor wanted Rocco to be pulled down from his position. Over the years, he had been challenged many times, but people had always failed to knock him down.


    Around four months ago, Rocco grew tired of the endless challenges that he injured one challenger badly. As a result, the other disciples grew afraid and stopped challenging him.


    After that fight, Rocco had lived a peaceful life. Having grown used to the silence, he did not expect to be challenged so soon.


    ''Maybe I did not injure the last guy enough, '' he thought.


    Rocco opened the door to see a man standing befo


    he second floor and onto the arena. "I don''t have time to play games with you," he said. "I know you have the right to challenge me, but you should just give up now while you have the chance. There are many others who are on your level."


    Rocco pointed to the second floor.


    At this point, disciples on the second floor left their cultivation rooms and stood by the windows to get a glimpse of the fun.


    After spending so much time alone, Rocco was surprisingly patient.


    If this were happening four months ago, he wouldn''t have even warned Zen.


    But now that he had given Zen an opportunity to surrender, Rocco thought that Zen would have done it by now.


    To his surprise, Zen was unmoved by the gesture. "I''m not interested in you," Zen spat back. "The reason why I wanted to challenge you is because you hold first place on the second floor. I can''t challenge the third floor unless I defeat you first. So, naturally, I have to get rid of you first." Zen spoke so confidently that it surprised people who didn''t know him.


    However, those who did know him were not surprised at all. This was the typical Zen.


    After all, Zen''s performance had already surpassed Libby''s. It was only a matter of time before he stepped onto the third floor.


    But still, those who had no idea who Zen was couldn''t help but gasp.


    "What happened while I was cultivating in seclusion?" a random disciple whispered. "Where does this arrogant guy come from?"

 Chapter 3568 Confusion

    To the second-floor disciples who didn''t know Zen, it looked as if Rocco had tolerated Zen and was even considerate enough to not put him in an awkward situation.


    Zen''s insistence in challenging him only showed his ungrateful and reckless nature.


    Yusuf shook his head and smiled. "He came out of nowhere. He''s a new disciple and has only been in the Land of Sword Grief for less than two months."


    "Maybe two months weren''t enough for him to know the Land of Sword Grief''s situation..." The disciple''s words faltered when he realized something. "Wait!"


    This guy was ranked first on the first floor but he had only been here for two months. Did that mean it only took him two months to nab the top spot?


    "Two months? Are you serious, Yusuf?" he asked. The disbelief was clearly obvious on his face.


    Those on the second floor all had been on the first floor too. Becoming the number one fighter on the first floor was incredibly difficult, but Zen was able to do it in two months? That was impossible! None of the disciples on the second floor could believe this.


    "Not in two months," Yusuf clarified.


    The disciples relaxed hearing this. They thought perhaps there was a misunderstanding, so they waited for Yusuf''s explanation. However, what he said next shocked them even more. "On his first day entering the Land of Sword Grief, he defeated Cleon and became number one."


    Not two months, but only a day! Yusuf squinted at the scene below. "It doesn''t really matter though. The fact remains that he wants to challenge Rocco after less than two months."


    A genius at Zen''s level was rare, even in the Oneness Sky Palace. He was very confident too since he dared to challenge Rocco in just a short amount of time.


    Where exactly did his confidence come from?


    Even Rocco himself was confused at Zen''s brashness. Did he have some sort of secret technique? A magical ace up his sleeves?


    "Rocco!" another disciple shouted from above. "Don''t underestimate this guy! He ranked first on the first floor on his first day of entering the Land of Sword Grief!"


    This piece of informati


    ond floor lied to him?


    It didn''t really matter though.


    Zen was going to lose this fight after this punch.


    Would he die? That depended on his luck. Rocco didn''t really have the time to dally with these first-floor fighters since he had to deal with the Sanskrit words. His only choice was to go all out and finish the fight as fast as possible without any heed for the consequences.


    "Bang!"


    Just as he expected, Zen had been unable to block his punch with his hands. As a result, Rocco''s fist directly collided with his chest.


    "Whoosh!"


    The force was enough to send Zen all the way to the edge of the arena. He would''ve fallen, had he not stopped himself at the last moment.


    Any other ordinary warrior would''ve been pleased by this result.


    However, there was nothing but a serious frown on Rocco''s face because he expected more.


    That punch should''ve pierced through Zen''s chest and made his internal organs collapse! However, Rocco had failed to tire out Zen''s Chaotic Source Spirits.


    Did that mean Zen had already cultivated the Chaotic Source Spirits to the middle stage?


    Once the disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace reached the Chaotic Source Realm, they would immediately get recruited in the Land of Sword Grief. Did Zen also just reach the Chaotic Source Realm?


    Rocco looked at Zen in confusion. "How long have you been in the Chaotic Source Realm?" he asked.

 Chapter 3569 Overwhelming Force

    Generally speaking, the three floors of the Land of Sword Grief represented the three stages of the Chaotic Source Realm.


    At that moment, Rocco did not use his full strength--but the power he had just unleashed was impossible for someone who had just entered the Chaotic Source Realm to resist.


    They said that Zen had just entered the Land of Sword Grief less than two months ago, so he also entered the Chaotic Source Realm not long ago?


    It should be impossible...


    His Chaotic Source Spirits weren''t exhausted yet after they took his punch. It was true that Zen was at the middle stage of the Chaotic Source Realm, but how did he reach this stage in just two months?


    There was only one possibility. Many years ago, Zen had already stepped into the Chaotic Source Realm, but the Land of Sword Grief had just recently received him.


    Meanwhile, Rocco joined the Land of Sword Grief long after he had entered the Chaotic Source Realm. Although his case was rare, it still existed.


    "How long?" Zen didn''t expect for Rocco to ask about such a thing. He lowered his head and thought for a while, then he said, "About three months."


    Upon hearing his words, Rocco''s face darkened. "Do you think I''m a fool? It''s impossible for you to get to the middle stage of the Chaotic Source Realm in around three months!" he bellowed.


    He refused to believe Zen''s words at all!


    The new disciples around the arena began to speak and assure him that Zen was correct.


    "Just only three months. Zen is one of us!"


    "How could it be wrong as we all entered the Chaotic Source World together?"


    "Yes. Exactly speaking, it''s three months and nine days!"


    At the sight of those disciples'' affirmative looks, Rocco was completely confused.


    Just then, Yusuf who was on the second floor said loudly, "Rocco, Zen is a disciple of our Flow Sword Sect! He is indeed one of those disciples who have just entered the Chaotic Source Realm."


    Since Rocco knew Yusuf, he knew that the man wouldn''t lie to him.


    After Yusuf''s confirmation, Rocco was even more confused. He stared curiously at Zen and asked, "Then how did you do it?"


    He wasn''t the only one who was dumbfounded. Some people with insight even guessed that Zen had made rapid progress ever since he had obtained the Chaotic Source Spirits. T


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    of the Chaotic Source Spirits swelled up one by one and bulged on his skin.


    The Chaotic Source Spirits were almost on the edge of exhaustion, but at the same time, he infused them with the Truth of Godly Way to maintain their original state.


    "Eight thousand divine megatons of force!"


    At that point, he directed his punch straight to Rocco''s foot sole!


    Yet, Rocco didn''t take Zen''s attack seriously. The truth was, he wanted to cripple Zen, then find the secret of rapid progress from him. If he could really know this secret, he would have a chance to get a place on the third floor and perhaps even defeat Libby, an unrivaled talent and the strongest warrior on that floor.


    The moment he stepped down, however, he felt a strong force come from his right foot. He could tell that the force was stronger than his own!


    "How is that possible?" Rocco exclaimed in utter shock. "Click! Click! Click!"


    The Chaotic Source Spirits that glimmered in Rocco''s body were immediately extinguished.


    In the blink of an eye, the force had rapidly spread from his right leg to his whole body!


    "Crack! Crack! Crack!"


    In the next second, the power that hadn''t been offset by his Chaotic Source Spirits started to invade his whole being.


    Specifically, the force that went up along his right leg travelled to his right arm and the right side of his body, then broke them with a crisp sound.


    Almost without any resistance, he miserably fell out of the arena with a soft thud.


    Nothing but silence filled the whole land.

 Chapter 3570 The Second Imperial Edict

    Everyone present couldn''t say anything, and they were all stunned in silence.


    The disciples on the second floor just stared blankly at Zen on the arena.


    At first, they simply wanted to have fun and let Rocco, the number one warrior on the second floor, teach him a lesson. Therefore, someone took the initiative to call Rocco over.


    Even though Zen was extraordinarily talented, he had just reached the Chaotic Source Realm.


    It was already a great miracle that he had defeated Cleon, and they believed he couldn''t possibly fight Rocco back.


    However, he still fought head on. He didn''t rely on his strong body alone but instead, he used both his body and strength to defeat Rocco in a face-to-face combat.


    After he had won that round, he jumped from being the number one on the first floor to the number one on the second floor, and subsequently passed all the disciples on the second floor.


    The deathly silence lasted for a long time. Finally, Yusuf who was on the second floor opened his mouth and said, "This is too crazy..." "He has directly become the number one on the second floor. My God!" Ronnie exclaimed with eyes as wide as saucers.


    "I''ve been on the second floor for several hundred years, but I haven''t even made it to the top one hundred!" another disciple commented. "What''s more is that he is only in the fourteenth stage of the Other Shore Realm," the fair-skinned man muttered.


    Overall, the competition on the second floor was much fiercer than it was on the first floor. There were only two hundred and three people competing, but it was extremely difficult to advance even just one place.


    Many people on the second floor had stayed there for countless years, and their names had remained in the same places on the Ranking Stone.


    It was certainly not an easy thing for them to improve their rankings.


    Chaim, who was watching under the arena, was also taken aback.


    As a new comer like Zen, he naturally paid attention to Zen''s strength.


    Zen had unleashed more than eight thousand divine megatons of force in the Chaotic Source World, but that terrifying amount of power was way beyond what he could endure.


    If one wanted to use seven or eight thousand divine megatons of force without the help of the Inheritance of World, they would have to practice in the Chaotic Source Realm for many years. However, Zen had done such a thing so easily


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    asked in surprise.


    "My father wants to see you. Now follow me to the Phoenix Palace," she told him.


    ''Eastern Emperor Taiyi wants to see me?'' Zen thought, surprised.


    His mind subconsciously thought about the Truth Enlightenment.


    Fortunately, his son had deciphered the Truth Enlightenment, but he hadn''t completely comprehended it.


    If Eastern Emperor Taiyi urged him, he would only offer five hundred words at most.


    "Why does Eastern Emperor Taiyi want to see me?" In reality, he actually wanted to hesitate.


    "You''ll know when you meet him."


    Elvinia grabbed Zen''s arm and pulled him away, leaving Dorothy stunned as she watched the two of them leave.


    As for Chaim, he was in deep thought. "Is Eastern Emperor Taiyi going to grant Zen a marriage?" he asked out of the blue.


    "What?" Obviously, Dorothy was shocked!


    When Chaim saw how Dorothy looked, he immediately realized that he had said something wrong. "It''s not necessarily true. It''s probably because of what happened within Stage Fourteen," he said hastily.


    Although Chaim tried to explain, Dorothy was already at a loss.


    Elvinia had already fallen in love with Zen, and Zen had made a name for himself. Eastern Emperor Taiyi might really grant him a marriage.


    Dorothy was too reserved when it came to relationships. Now, she felt a greater sense of anxiety.


    Her lips curved into a deep frown and she swam in her thoughts for a long time. After a while, it seemed that she had finally made a difficult decision. She left the Land of Sword Grief alone and headed straight for the Origin Mountain.

 Chapter 3571 Writing It Down

    In the very center of the Phoenix Palace was the magnificent Supreme Dragon Hall.


    If there was an important guest, or any important event to be held, this was where Eastern Emperor Taiyi would be.


    In front of the hall, two rows of warriors clad in golden armor stood straight, looking steadily forward, and exuding some kind of solemnity.


    Standing before the hall, Zen felt the solemn aura and put a grave expression on his face.


    The last time he met Eastern Emperor Taiyi was in his resting place¡ªthat couldn''t be regarded as an official meeting.


    But to think that he was summoned to such a great hall¡ªwhat were they planning? Elvinia had also kept everything to herself.


    Suddenly, a loud voice resounded from within. "Princess of Spirit Peace, Zen Luo, enter the hall!"


    "Princess of Spirit Peace?" Zen blinked in confusion.


    "It''s my title," Elvinia merely said. "Let''s go inside!"


    With a nod, Zen entered the hall alongside Elvinia.


    Over twenty people were standing on either side.


    The golden armored warriors outside were merely Oneness Guards, but the people inside were different¡ªalmost every one of them emitted an outstandingly strong aura. Zen even spotted Athemar and Goran standing among them.


    "These people..."


    Zen observed his periphery and was rather shocked at what he found.


    The people were arranged from front to back according to their strength levels.


    As Oneness Governors, both Athemar and Goran could only be ranked at about the tenth place. The two in the back emitted a deep, unpredictable aura, not much weaker than that of Eastern Emperor Taiyi.


    These were probably the pillars of the Oneness Mountain or even the Oneness Sky Palace.


    Quietly, Zen observed them from the corner of his eyes¡ªthey were staring at Zen with a burning gaze.


    All of them had heard of Zen, but apart from Athemar and some others, it was the first time they had met him in person. Legends of Zen on the Other Shore piqued their curiosity.


    After walking along the hall, Zen bowed before Eastern Emperor Taiyi.


    The latter smiled and asked, "Zen, you''ve been in the Land of Sword Grief for almost two months. You must have made rapid progress. I heard that you are ranked first on the first floor now?"


    Hearing the emperor''s words had all the strong warriors on both sides of the hall widen their


    down here and they can observe as they like."


    "Okay."


    Nodding in agreement, Zen gently pressed the space ring on his finger. A single sheet of paper appeared in the air, along with a brush, which he promptly grabbed.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    "For warriors and soldiers, they build their bodies with clarity of mind and comprehension of the heart¡­"


    Zen''s words vigorously appeared on the sheet of paper.


    Meanwhile, the high-ranking officials stared hard at the sheet, afraid of missing a single detail.


    But after a while of staring, they all felt dizziness come over them. A middle-aged man of lower strength even fainted.


    That had Zen pause for a moment. "Masters, comprehending this Truth Enlightenment cannot be accomplished overnight. If you cultivate it forcefully, I''m afraid it will hurt your souls."


    Cultivating the Truth Enlightenment was much more difficult than cultivating the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent. Even for both Zen and Eastern Emperor Taiyi, it was difficult to speed up their cultivation. In fact, it was also difficult for them to read it.


    The high-ranking officials were all well aware of this, even more so than Zen, but they didn''t want to waste a single moment of this opportunity. As they tried to comprehend it rapidly, their Souls of Light naturally took some damage.


    Fortunately, all the high-ranking officials were powerful people. After a few seconds, the man who had just fainted woke right back up. He got up from the ground on his own, bowed before Eastern Emperor Taiyi, and retreated to the side.

 Chapter 3572 A Gracious Reward

    It wasn''t long before five hundred words were already put on the paper.


    Zen gently placed the brush down and stored it in his space ring. He turned to Eastern Emperor Taiyi. "I have written down all that I have deciphered, Your Majesty."


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi beamed happily as he gazed at the output.


    He still hadn''t figured out how Zen could decipher Sanskrit words. He thought it was blind guessing, at first. However, Eastern Emperor Taiyi himself was proficient in deciphering Sanskrit words, and he knew one couldn''t get this far just by guessing.


    He had no doubt that with Zen''s help, they would soon decipher the full text of the Truth Enlightenment. Eastern Emperor Taiyi was thrilled at the thought.


    "If we can decipher the Truth Enlightenment completely, it will be a great boon to the Oneness Sky Palace," Eastern Emperor Taiyi said, a bright smile on his face.


    The Oneness Governors and other high-ranking officials nodded their heads in agreement, proud and excited of this development. None more so than Athemar.


    He thought of how fortunate they were that Zen had joined the Sword Light Palace. Athemar had never imagined he would make such great contributions to the Oneness Sky Palace.


    Given Zen''s talent, he would probably prove even more valuable in the future. Athemar looked forward to seeing him accomplish more as time went by.


    "It is my honor, Your Majesty," Zen responded, modestly.


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi turned his smile on Zen. "But there is another reason why I called you here today."


    At these words, Elvinia, who had been standing beside Zen, stared at the ground and began to blush shyly, a rare sight to see.


    "How else may I help you, Your Majesty?" Zen asked, confused.


    He had noticed that this occasion seemed unusually grand, but the thought had left his mind as he concentrated on his earlier task.


    At this moment, a pleasant voice rang out, "Do you remember that I promised I would reward you graciously?"


    Flamine walked out from the back of the palace.


    She was dressed in fiery red silk, with fire phoenixes hanging at her cuffs and waist. She looked utterly regal and glamorous.


    "Reward me graciously?"


    Zen had to rack his brains before realizing what Flamine was talking about. He had forgotten all abou


    , would she?


    On the other hand, Zen thought, she could very easily manipulate others into thinking what she wanted.


    Elvinia almost looked pitiful by Zen''s side, her wide eyes gazing at him hopefully.


    She desperately wished he wouldn''t let her down now. Today, her father had summoned all the high-ranking officials to the palace, supposedly for the deciphering of the Truth Enlightenment. However, his real purpose was to seal the marriage, in front of witnesses.


    "You are overthinking this, Zen. This is a wonderful thing," Athemar told him, gently.


    "That''s right! You seem to love each other. What else is there to consider?" another high-ranking official chimed in.


    Zen barely glanced at them before responding to Flamine, "My apologies. I just cannot decide without consulting Letitia myself. Please excuse my leave."


    He turned around and walked out.


    The high-ranking officials in the Phoenix Palace grew abuzz, turning to each other in astonishment and confusion.


    The old man beside Eastern Emperor Taiyi, in particular, was seething. He had gone to countless life-and-death battles with Eastern Emperor Taiyi. The two of them were like brothers.


    It angered him to see Zen daring to humiliate Eastern Emperor Taiyi like this.


    "Stop, you brat!" the old man roared furiously.


    A terrifying aura rushed from inside the hall, seemingly chasing after Zen. The guards in golden armor posted outside the hall trembled.


    Zen continued to stride out purposefully even as this threat hounded him.

 Chapter 3573 I Also Want To Know The Answer

    Seeing Zen so unaffected, the old man''s rage only flared up further.


    With a hot temper, he would never let Zen get away easily!


    ROAR!


    The old man moved to grab Zen, his clawed hand launching a huge blue wolf head straight at him.


    But just as the snarling phantom was about to snap at its target, Eastern Emperor Taiyi raised his hand, making it disappear in thin air.


    The old man turned to look at Eastern Emperor Taiyi, surprised at the interruption.


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi shook his head. "Pearce, calm down. Zen is stubborn. It would do no good to force him to stay."


    "Humph! He was offered a rare chance only so few are blessed with over generations! Yet, he showed no gratitude and even walked out arrogantly! How can I just stand for it?" Pearce ranted angrily.


    A hint of helplessness dimmed Flamine''s beautiful eyes. "It''s all my fault. I just arranged everything without considering Zen''s feelings," she said guiltily.


    Naturally, Flamine deemed her daughter the best girl in the world. It never occurred to her any man would refuse her.


    Flamine never expected Zen would react so defensively to keep his principal wife.


    Flamine turned to look at Elvinia apologetically. She felt sorry for her daughter the most.


    Elvinia had changed so much around Zen, her character growing for the better. It had made Flamine so happy.


    Elvinia must feel devastated right about now.


    But to Flamine''s surprise, Elvinia''s expression remained neutral. Elvinia returned her mother''s stare. "He''s probably headed for the Heavenly Cultivation Palace. I''ll go and have a look."


    With these words, Elvinia strode out the Supreme Dragon Hall and headed for the Heavenly Cultivation Palace.


    In the Fire Bearing Hall of the Heavenly Cultivation Palace, Letitia, Margaret, Lavender, Nelly, and Laquisha sat cross-legged on the floor. A burning red chain hung above their heads, emitting waves of scorching heat. This was the Soul Fire Swirl, a unique cultivation method in the Heavenly Cultivation Palace.


    Lavender, Nelly and Laquisha had made great progress with their cultivation.


    with Letitia three times. She had been upfront about her purpose and had patiently explained the situation in detail.


    Letitia was smart enough to recognize Flamine''s painstaking efforts.


    She also admired Flamine''s honesty.


    If Zen became the husband of the Oneness Sky Palace''s princess, it would be of great benefit to him. That was why Letitia gave her consent to Flamine.


    "I just knew it." Zen sighed. Even before talking to Letitia, he had already guessed she would say something like this.


    "So, did you agree to the marriage?" Letitia asked, staring at Zen.


    The practical side of her thought was Zen should seize the opportunity. But a part of her was grieving at the thought.


    Zen shook his head. "No."


    "Why?"


    Hearing Zen''s answer, Letitia felt relieved and dismayed at the same time. Honestly, she couldn''t understand herself, at times.


    "There are just some things that can''t and shouldn''t be changed," Zen said firmly.


    A faint smile appeared on Letitia''s face. At this moment, she exuded a kind of quiet charm. A split second later, however, she gave Zen a sly look. "Do you like Elvinia?"


    Letitia didn''t know Elvinia that much, unlike Lavender, Laquisha, and Nelly who constantly interacted with Elvinia and even regarded her as their master.


    "I also want to know the answer."


    A faint voice came from the entrance of the Fire Bearing Hall. It was Elvinia.

 Chapter 3574 A Conspiracy

    Letitia fixed Zen with a look.


    Margaret looked up at the newly arrived Elvinia as she placed a hand instinctively on her belly.


    The old Margaret would have already shown some hostility to Elvinia, jealous of any woman who got close to Zen.


    But now she was pregnant, she kept a level head. It hadn''t been easy to bear this child. She didn''t want her emotions to fluctuate too much and endanger the pregnancy.


    Elvinia''s face was surprisingly calm, but there was stubbornness in her delicate eyes.


    Zen''s reaction at the Supreme Dragon Hall to their proposed marriage had subjected Elvinia to embarrassment, but she didn''t care. The only thing she wanted to know now was how Zen really felt about her.


    Elvinia''s lips trembled as she struggled to keep her chin up. She admitted she had a rough relationship with Zen in the beginning, but since their journey to the Dark Region, she had been infatuated with the sense of security she had when she was with him.


    She also knew that Zen trusted Dorothy more than her, so she had to be aggressive in making her feelings known.


    Zen turned to Elvinia. "Even if I like you, it doesn''t mean that you can do this to Tia, manipulating her into doing what you want."


    This caused a small smile to play on Letitia''s lips. Despite it all, she had still hoped she was the most special one in Zen''s heart.


    Meanwhile, Margaret pursed her lips. That was just like Zen to say that. This was why she had spent almost a lifetime at odds with Letitia.


    Elvinia, meanwhile, was just happy she finally got her answer. The nervous look in her eyes was replaced almost immediately by relief. "Alright then. It will not happen again."


    Smiling to herself, she swept out of the Fire Bearing Hall.


    As Zen puzzled over Elvinia''s reaction, Letitia, who was next to him, beamed up at him. "That was amazing diplomacy, darling! You made Princess Elvinia compromise."


    "Compromise?" Zen blinked in confusion.


    "She got the answer she wanted. The least she could do is compromise," Margaret muttered.


    Zen walked over to Margaret and gently crouched beside her. "Now, don''t be like that. Be mindful of your condition. Anyway, the Fire Bearing Hall is not suitable for you. We need to get you out of here as soon as possible."


    Zen turned to look at Letitia. "I know you want me to use the Oneness Sky Palace to revive the Nine Li race, but the situation in the Source World has become extremely complicated."


    After his visit to the Pear


    "Zen," Gethin replied.


    It was true that Zen was a talented warrior, but he held no threat to the Bearing race.


    "Do you want us to kill him?" A trace of excitement lit up Natasha''s face. Things didn''t end well the last time they kidnapped Zen and took him to the Vastness Mountain. All the trouble hadn''t been worth it. What was worse, the Vastness Mountain actually didn''t dare do anything to him.


    "We need to capture him alive. Zen seems quite important to them." Even Gethin seemed torn about this. Everyone knew Zen was an outstanding talent, but what was the point of keeping him alive?


    "That''s good enough," Natasha sneered, a glint of malice in her eyes.


    On the Origin Mountain, a forest of emerald-green trees surrounded a small lake.


    Countless arrays had been engraved around these trees.


    All together, they formed the Spirit-shaking Array, which protected the small lake and its immediate surroundings.


    It was also fully activated whenever Yasamin entered the Other Shore. It was risky, after all, for a powerful being like her to just leave her physical body behind, which was vulnerable to any attack.


    Anyone who crossed the Spirit-shaking Array when it was activated would immediately be killed, except for a select few of the Origin Mountain who were allowed to enter it.


    Presently, Dorothy stood outside the forest. She paused for a moment before smoothly entering the threshold.


    The Spirit-shaking Array released a rune to cover the surface of Dorothy''s body. The surrounding trees flashed with a red light.


    The light died down as the rune apparently verified Dorothy''s identity and allowed her through.

 Chapter 3575 Something Unforeseen In The Origin Mountain

    Dorothy passed through the forest and walked halfway around the lake before she arrived at the pavilion.


    She pushed the door of the pavilion open, only to find a wholly different space greeting her from within.


    Countless rays of sword light floated in the air, circling around like a big whirlpool. This was the famous Origin Sword Light.


    Among all the disciples in the Origin Mountain, few had the chance to be taught by Yasamin herself. And among these few, Dorothy was the only one who had the right to cultivate the Origin Swordsmanship in this space.


    Dorothy went up to the whirlpool formed by the sword light.


    Yasamin was floating in the center of this whirlpool. She seemed to be adventuring on the Other Shore.


    The moment Dorothy approached, a ray of sword light flew towards her.


    She stretched out a hand and gently played with the sword light. A long, melodious sound was immediately transmitted into the big whirlpool. Yasamin was able to sense this on the Other Shore.


    If someone else were to play the sword light in an attempt to wake Yasamin, she would have become furious. She would then just ignore the sound and stay on the Other Shore.


    But every time Dorothy played the sword light, Yasamin retreated from the Other Shore as soon as possible.


    Dorothy played the sword light for a while before she sat down, arms around her knees and waiting for her grandmother to wake up. She was also mentally preparing herself to talk to her grandmother, trying to decide what to say to her.


    Her grandmother had figured out her affection towards Zen a long time ago and wanted to help her fulfill her wish. That was why Yasamin had had the conflict with Flamine in the Vastness Mountain.


    But though Dorothy was passionate, she was extremely reserved when it came to relationships between man and woman. And though Yasamin was anxious for her granddaughter, she could do nothing about it.


    At the time, Dorothy had liked traveling with Zen on the Other Shore. She hadn''t thought that Elvinia would appear suddenly.


    Chaim had reminded her of her love in the Land of Sword Grief. Only then had Dorothy realized that she should strive for her love, just like Elvinia had.


    But the question of how to speak euphemistically to her grandmother still remained.


    She fought an internal battle for quite a while. When she came to her senses, sh


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    even mountains under the Oneness Sky Palace were closely connected to each other, like siblings. And especially the Oneness Mountain and the Origin Mountain. Now that something terrible was happening to Yasamin, they had to inform Eastern Emperor Taiyi as soon as possible.


    With gloom dangling over them, Felicity, Dorothy, and the other powerful warriors of the Origin Mountain watched Winchell leave.


    In the Flow Sword Sect...


    Margaret had been very satisfied over the past few days. Zen had been with her all the time, and even Letitia had taken good care of her. The atmosphere in the independent courtyard house had never been so harmonious.


    Letitia had once suggested that Margaret enter Zen''s inner world. If the time flow rate rose, she would be able to give birth to the baby sooner. But Margaret refused because she didn''t want her pregnancy to pass quickly.


    "A Fetus Nourishing Pill, worth two million divine crystals, can nourish the innate spirit!"


    "An Earth Longevity Pill, worth five hundred thousand divine crystals, can help you live for a million years even if you don''t cultivate or become a True God!"


    "A Talent Upgrading Pill, worth five million divine crystals, can help you improve your cultivation talent greatly!"


    ...


    Trish displayed before Zen the pills that she had bought.


    Zen could not help but feel amazed after learning of the effects of these pills. It looked like the starting point in the Source World was much higher than in the divine land. And these pills had little to no side effects when used to nourish the fetus.

 Chapter 3576 Three Thousand And One Godly Ways

    With the current resources Zen possessed, the cost of tens of millions of divine crystals wouldn''t be an issue. He was capable of producing the Sword-reading Liquid, which was highly valuable. As such, he had made a batch before he returned to the Flow Sword Sect.


    As for the earnings, Zen had requested Monica to distribute the divine crystals to the Sword Light Palace disciples instead of keeping them for himself.


    After all, Zen had Stage Fourteen to back him. The place had a massive amount of wealth. The number of divine crystals he gave to these disciples was nothing to him.


    Margaret didn''t have the easiest time refining the nourishing pills that her baby needed. However, with Trish''s guidance, she showed exceptional tenacity and was able to focus a full week on refining all the pills using complicated methods.


    During the past few days, apart from taking care of Margaret and accompanying Letitia and Aura, Zen also visited the neighboring courtyard house.


    Hutton, Sally, and the other Nine Li members waited for Ambrose to pick them up after they returned to the Oneness Sky Palace. However, Ambrose never arrived. They never mentioned anything about leaving, either.


    The tiny kingdom belonging to the remaining members of the Nine Li race couldn''t hold a candle to the majesty of the Oneness Sky Palace. Luckily, Despite that they were unable to enter the Land of Sword Grief, Zen was able to provide them with the required resources in the Myriad Spirits City. Thanks to his help, they made rapid progress.


    If Sally could get into the Land of Sword Grief, she could attain a rank within the top nine hundred on the first floor.


    Soon after he returned to his own courtyard house after the visit, a strange sensation passed throughout Zen''s body. With a slight frown, he sat cross-legged on the floor. With a slight thought in his mind, an avatar had appeared within his inner world.


    Even with the removal of the Evil God''s Rebirth Land, everything within it remained.


    Ever since the Evil God was brought back to Zen''s inner world, he had been imprisoned together with his wife, Edna.


    She proved her loyalty well, choosing to stay at his side despite her imprisonment.


    This time, when the Evil God returned, Edna noticed he seemed depressed.


    He talked less than usual, barely uttering a single word to her. She also noticed how he was lost in thought as if thinking of something profound.


    All of this worried her.


    She knew that her husband would never compromise or give up. He was as stubborn as a bull, never wanting to give up a chance to turn the tables¡ªunless he was destroyed.


    The Creator of the world the Evil God and Edna were imprisoned in was an omnipotent being¡ªall that existed in his inner world was essentially


    nd and one Godly Ways were fused together, the Ways-blending Energy morphed once more into a bright, purple-tinged light.


    "Darling, the power seems to keep getting stronger!" Edna exclaimed as she drew near to her husband''s side.


    "Yes!"


    The Evil God nodded, a smile of satisfaction plastered on his face. With each gentle wave of his hands, the Ways-blending Energy continued to shift into the shape of diamond. Then it began to overlap itself.


    In the blink of an eye, the Evil God had made the diamond-shaped energy superimpose into nearly one hundred layers!


    "Go!"


    The Evil God flicked his fingers, and the diamond-shaped energy shot forward.


    Bang!


    Suddenly, the diamond shaped-energy exploded and emitted a blazing white light that shone as bright as the sun with hints of purple-tinged streams scattered throughout.


    Edna quickly covered her eyes and hid behind her husband. The Evil God, on the other hand, gazed at it head-on in excitement.


    The power of Evil God''s Ways-blending Energy had reached beyond ten thousand divine megatons. This surpassed his expectations.


    He knew that with his current limits, he could enable the Ways-blending Energy to have up to one hundred and ninety-three layers. If this was the power that one hundred layers could achieve, surely nothing could stop him once he reached his limit.


    Using all of his strength would enable the power to double itself!


    The light emitted by the Ways-blending Energy shot in all directions. Just as it was about to wreak havoc in Zen''s inner world, the light suddenly froze before shrinking back once more into its original diamond-shaped state. It was as if someone had forced the hands of the clock backward.


    Zen appeared beside the diamond-shaped energy and gently reached out to take the ball of energy in his hand, watching it thoughtfully.

 Chapter 3577 Reward

    Zen was thoroughly alarmed the moment the Evil God had succeeded in completely blending the Godly Ways.


    The power within the diamond-shaped energy greatly exceeded the expectations of the Evil God. It was also way beyond Zen could have ever imagined.


    As the diamond-shaped energy exploded, it released a huge amount of energy that transcended ten thousand divine megatons of force. Without a doubt, Zen thought he probably wouldn''t have been able to withstand this extreme amount of force if it had happened outside his inner world.


    Thankfully, this didn''t pose much of a problem inside Zen''s inner world. Here, he was an omnipotent being. He was the absolute ruler of this place and his power was unparalleled. Therefore, he could easily restore everything in their original forms.


    The Evil God had intended this enormous amount of energy to explode completely. He wanted to observe and ascertain its full might.


    However, Zen halted his experiment midway. He was annoyed and frowned at the sudden interruption.


    Zen didn''t have to raise his head and look at the Evil God for he knew that there was a change in his emotions. He felt the annoyance and bitterness the Evil God felt. "I''m afraid this huge amount of power would obliterate more than half of my inner world if it completely explodes. You have to understand why I stopped it," he explained.


    "Oh, is that it? So you also have something to be afraid of, huh?" The Evil God sneered at Zen''s remark. He still couldn''t keep the annoyance out of his tone.


    Zen held the diamond-shaped energy on his palm as he slowly flew over to where the Evil God was. "Well theoretically, there shouldn''t be anything that could make me afraid in my own inner world. However, your presence is an exception."


    Essentially, the creation of the Evil God took up some of Zen''s best talents. There were always pros and cons to his existence. If the Evil God stayed inside Zen''s inner world, then as a primitive land, it would go through many tribulations. These ordeals also served as great trials for Zen.


    Zen hovered in front of the golden fence and handed the diamond-shaped energy to the Evil God. "You did a great job." He faced the Evil God and praised him sincerely. He had to admit that he was impressed at this display of power.


    "It didn''t do me any good, though, did it?" The Evil God seemed dejected as he scowled at Zen.


    "Yes, it did. For that, I will give you a handsome reward," replied Zen.


    Nevertheless, the Evil God wasn''t surprised by Zen''s words. He also didn''t seem interested in it.


    Zen had once set the Evil God free after he helped him blend the many Godly Ways. However, he believed that Zen wouldn''t make the mistake of doing that again after his open betrayal of him. He desired nothing else but his freedom. Therefore, he showed absolutely no interest in Zen''s so-called reward.


    "Would you kindly repeat the process of blending the Godly Ways


    e, it was not allowed to be handed down to outsiders. However, Zen could lend it to the Evil God if he wanted.


    As he finished saying this, Zen suddenly raised his hand that held the sword.


    The sword slashed and pierced the air at the distance. The purple sword radiance contained almost twenty thousand divine megatons of force. As it erupted forth, the space in its path was shattered into pieces.


    But before the sword radiance had completely exploded, Zen created a huge black rift in space using his mind. It appeared in front of the sword radiance and swallowed it whole.


    He could not allow the sword radiance to explode inside his inner world. It was powerful enough to obliterate the entirety of this world.


    "What''s the point of learning this swordsmanship if I cannot leave your inner world? It will only be a waste of time and talent." The Evil God hung his head and replied sourly.


    Zen fixed his gaze at the Evil God. "Well, I agree. It will be such an awful waste to keep you imprisoned inside my inner world."


    As he heard these words, the Evil God instantly raised his head. He stared confusedly at Zen and wondered whether he was telling the truth.


    Zen reached out his hand toward the Evil God and offered him a handful of Chaotic Source Spirits. Then, he said, "Here''s two hundred Chaotic Source Spirits. These will be enough for you to reach the Chaotic Source Realm."


    The Evil God was fully aware of the Chaotic Source Spirit''s absolute importance because he had once been sent into the Chaotic Source World by the Black Ship. However, he had given up hope of ever reaching the Chaotic Source Realm after his rebellion against Zen failed. Never in his wildest dreams had he expected that Zen would freely hand him such a gift.


    Zen knew that the Evil God would plainly refuse any other kind of reward. However, if he offered him Chaotic Source Spirits...


    The Evil God took them from Zen without any second thoughts.

 Chapter 3578 Release

    In the future, the Chaotic Source World would no longer exist, and thus there would be no way to obtain the Chaotic Source Spirits. This was probably the last chance for the Evil God to step into the Chaotic Source Realm.


    "You need to arrange an array to refine the crystals of Chaotic Source Spirits. I''ll help you get the array arrangement method later," Zen added. His tone was steady, as if he was confident despite the worrying situation he was in.


    After the Chaotic Source Spirits had been successfully placed into his body, the Evil God needed a magic array to refine them.


    This place was too far away from the abandoned Chaotic Source World. It was impossible for Zen to let the Evil God go there to refine the Chaotic Source Spirits. Besides, Zen thought the array used to refine them shouldn''t be difficult to arrange. He would find an opportunity to inquire about it to make sure before he acted.


    "What do you mean by that?" the Evil God asked. Curiosity gleamed in his eyes as he spoke.


    Indeed, he was interested in the crystals of Chaotic Source Spirits. However, he was more interested in what Zen had just said.


    A smile appeared in Zen''s eyes.


    The Evil God was indeed unwilling to be trapped in his inner world.


    "I want to let you out," said Zen calmly.


    "Let me out?" The eyes of the Evil God flickered. His brows were crossed and his glare was steady. It was hard to believe what he had heard and he couldn''t hide the surprise and excitement he felt after hearing what Zen said.


    Ever since he was caught by Zen, the Evil God had been desperate and uneasy as he waited for Zen to devour him.


    Yet, unexpectedly, Zen didn''t do that. Instead, he just imprisoned him and let him study the Ways-blending Energy. However, with his intelligence, he knew just why Zen did this.


    Just as Zen had said before, if he really was the malice of this world, absorbing him would only bring greater trouble to Zen.


    Zen had let him go before, but at that time, he had used the Rebirth Land to bind him.


    However, Zen had already discovered the defects of the Rebirth Land, and because of this, he wouldn''t use it again.


    Just as the Evil God was thinking, Zen spoke, "There''s only one condition. You''ll have to become my Inner-world Generating Avatar."


    Before entering the Chaotic Source World, the Evil God had learned about the Inner-world Generating Avatar. It was a method of refining the creatures in one''s inner world into avatars.


    Previously, the Evil God also wanted to refine Zen into his own avatar. If he cou


    eone is coming out," Zen answered Margaret simply.


    At his words, Zen stood up and circled around. He stopped in an empty place and led his hands to the air from his abdomen. Then, Edna in white appeared in the courtyard.


    It was the first time for Edna to come to this world. She looked terrified and curious at the same time.


    "Creator, do you live in this place?" Edna asked.


    In her eyes, Zen was an all-powerful and invincible god. Although this independent courtyard house was truly exquisite, it was very ordinary and too low for Zen. This mundane environment confused her.


    "Zen, who is she?"


    A moment ago, Margaret was as docile as a sheep, but as Edna appeared, her face darkened, as if she was about to lose her temper.


    "She is from my inner world. I promised to release her," Zen explained.


    "Just because she is beautiful?" Margaret complained. Her brows were raised and her tone was probing. Margaret narrowed her eyes and gave Edna a look from her head to toe.


    Edna, as the Evil God''s wife, was exceedingly beautiful. Margaret felt a great sense of crisis in her heart. In fact, Letitia was looking down from the second floor. Not far away, Trish, Carrie and Aura were secretly sizing Edna up.


    "You''re thinking too much." Zen smiled and shook his head, dismissing the jealousy in Margaret''s tone. "Her husband hasn''t come out yet. I''ll arrange an array for him."


    Although Zen wasn''t really afraid of the Evil God escaping, he thought he should be well prepared and make sure everything was all right before releasing the Evil God.


    Seeing how Margaret acted aggressively in front of Zen, Edna widened her beautiful eyes in surprise. Her behavior took her aback.

 Chapter 3579 An Intelligent Puppet

    A frown couldn''t help but form on Edna''s face. ''Who is this woman? How dare she talk to the Creator like that?'' she thought.


    Although she had a lot of questions in her mind, she didn''t dare ask any of them in front of the "Creator".


    Since the Creator had said that he would set up an array, she immediately stepped away. She had left the Creator''s inner world as a free body, but it might not be easy for her husband to do so.


    Meanwhile, Margaret had also stepped back after she had heard Zen''s explanation. However, she remained vigilant.


    Zen then busied himself in arranging the array in the independent courtyard house.


    The array for creating an Inner-world Generating Avatar wasn''t difficult to master. It involved using a special method to refine the inner world creature into a "puppet." Of course, such a puppet was different from ordinary puppets.


    Now, the Evil God would have his own free will most of the time, but Zen could take over the Evil God''s body for as long as he wanted.


    It took an hour for Zen to set up the array. After it was done, he drew out the Evil God from his inner world once again.


    As soon as the Evil God emerged from Zen''s inner world, the array immediately trapped him and simultaneously released a white beam of light. The ray of white light pierced through Zen''s head, then went straight towards the Evil God''s forehead.


    Both of their consciousnesses were connected, and they could both feel each other''s existence.


    However, their statuses were different from each other: Zen was the primary, and the Evil God was the secondary.


    The array continued to flash for nearly an hour. When it slowly became dim, the Inner-world Generating Avatar was finally completed.


    "Honey!" Edna exclaimed.


    Just as she was about to approach the Evil God, her husband suddenly stretched out his hand and stopped her.


    Naturally, she was surprised. Although the man in front of her was indeed her husband, his behavior, expression, and aura were all completely different. At that moment, the Evil God had clearer eyes and wore an aloof expression, which was more similar to the "Creator."


    Indeed, Zen was the one who currently occupied the Evil God''s body. He had suppressed the Evil God''s own will and had absolute control over the avatar.


    As the Evil God''s eyes closed and opened again, Zen''s consciousness left his body. The Evil God''s own consciousness returned, from which a faint trace of evil aura had spread out. He stretched out his hand and held Edna, who stood not far away, into his arms.


    She knew that this was her husband now.


    The Evil God looked around and then asked, "Where am I?"


    "The Flow Sword Sect in the Oneness Mountain under the Oneness Sky Palace," Zen answered.


    The Evil God''s eyes wandered around the independent courtyard house.


    He had once struggled in


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    that the Evil God in front of them seemed to have become an Inner-world Generating Avatar.


    "Go find Abdul and ask him to arrange a secluded cultivation room for you," Zen said to the Evil God.


    The Evil God never liked it when others ordered him to do things. He seldom obeyed even the extremely powerful warriors in the Black Ship. Even Shera had to butter him up most of the time just to make him comply.


    So when he heard Zen''s order, he couldn''t help but frown, but he tried his best to suppress his inner impulse to resist.


    That was because he did not forget his identity. It was just that he was now a puppet, though he could think.


    In the end, he simply nodded and went away to look for Abdul as Zen had instructed.


    It wasn''t until Chaim saw the Evil God leave that he asked Zen, "Zen, did you know that many things have happened to the Oneness Sky Palace recently?"


    "What do you mean?" Zen asked curiously. He did not know of those things because he had been preoccupied with taking care of Margaret in the Flow Sword Sect.


    The disciples in the Land of Sword Grief were all elites from the seven mountains. Therefore, if anything happened to the Oneness Sky Palace, the news would spread to the Land of Sword Grief.


    Chaim then told Zen all of the current events one by one, including Yasamin being trapped on the Other Shore and the Sun Crow race causing trouble in the Mountain Viewing Province.


    With each piece of passing news that Chaim narrated, Zen''s brows furrowed more and more tightly.


    Somewhere else at the same time, Abdul and a few other senior disciples observed the Evil God with cautious eyes.


    Of course, they knew that the Evil God was a disciple who had just entered the Chaotic Source Realm while his Soul of Light was still on Stage Thirteen of the Other Shore.


    Therefore, they wondered why he joined the Land of Sword Grief at this time.

 Chapter 3580 Restrain

    "Hey! Newbie! Are you from the Flow Sword Sect of the Oneness Mountain?" Abdul squinted his eyes at the Evil God.


    A strong wave of evil energy emanated from him, which greatly displeased Abdul and the other senior disciples.


    The Evil God nodded. "Yes."


    "Why didn''t you join the Land of Sword Grief with the others?" Abdul asked.


    The Evil God replied with a shrug, "I don''t know."


    His less than elaborate reply was met with disapproval from Abdul and the others. "Forget it then. Just tell me your name so I can add it to the Ranking Stone."


    Since he came last, his name would be ranked at the lowest place.


    "My name is Evil God."


    Abdul was a bit taken aback and thought he had misheard.


    "What was that? Can you say that again?"


    "My name is Evil God," the newcomer repeated.


    "Haha!"


    His serious answer made the senior disciples burst into laughter.


    True Gods could lead long, amazing lives but none of them was cocky enough to call themselves ''Evil God.''


    This guy who dared to name himself ''Evil God'' was a joke!


    As Abdul and the other senior disciples laughed, the Evil God stewed with restrained anger.


    Had it been in the past, he would''ve already killed them all.


    However, Zen specifically instructed him to register with Abdul in order to get himself a cultivation room. The Evil God had no choice but to follow through with his creator''s command, so he powered through the ridicule.


    "Go and register his name," Abdul said to a disciple once they were done laughing.


    It was a fairly straightforward process and soon enough, the Evil God''s name had been added to the Ranking Stone.


    Abdul then proceeded to tell the Evil God the rules: he had the qualifications to challenge everyone on the first floor on his first day and only after he got a rank could he get his own cultivation room.


    "Including you?" the Evil God asked. Abdul couldn''t help but scoff in amusement, "Yes, including me but only if you dare!"


    "I see." The Evil God nodded in understanding before giving Abdul a determined look. "I''ll challenge you the


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    en had asked Chaim to help him deal with everything in the Myriad Spirits City, so the latter was extremely busy.


    Abdul had guarded the Myriad Spirits City on behalf of the Oneness Sky Palace and was very familiar with the races that resided in the city. Back when he eliminated the remaining members of the Dark Bear race, he was able to come upon a very unique Other Shore Token. This token was at least the fifth grade and he''d taken it for himself without telling anyone.


    He was able to break through to the top ten with the aid of the token.


    Today, since he was challenged by the Evil God, he figured it would be a good idea to bring it out.


    "Please come up." He gestured to his opponent.


    The Evil God stepped onto the arena wordlessly, only emanating a faint evil energy. Back then, his energy alone had been enough to send his opponents running but now, he had to restrain himself.


    Those new disciples watching with eagerness all became confused when they saw him step up onto the platform.


    "Why is he here?"


    "Wasn''t he supposed to be taken back into Zen''s inner world?"


    "Hasn''t he been defeated already? How was he able to reach the Chaotic Source Realm?"


    Seeing the Evil God in front of them was like a nightmare for these new disciples. Nobody really wanted to see him ever again.


    Yet here he stood in the Land of Sword Grief, unharmed and well.

 Chapter 3581 As Weak As An Ant

    The senior disciples of the Land of Sword Grief watched the arena with amusement.


    Zen had challenged Cleon as soon as he reached the Land of Sword Grief. But not everyone was as powerful as Zen.


    The Evil God had likewise challenged Abdul as soon as he reached the Land of Sword Grief. But judging from the aura of his Soul of Light, he hadn''t even reached Stage Fourteen. He appeared to be simply arrogant.


    "Since it''s your first time to step into the arena, I have to make some rules clear," Abdul told him, with a sneer. "You can''t use the abilities of the Other Shore Tokens here. The battle is about pure strength..."


    The Evil God wasn''t really listening to anything Abdul had to say. But he kept his temper in check and just stared at his opponent calmly.


    Battles usually excited the Evil God, but he had no interest in fighting a man like Abdul.


    "Did I make myself clear?" Abdul asked patronizingly, after running through the rules.


    "I have a question," the Evil God piped up.


    Abdul rolled his eyes. "Go ahead."


    "Can I use the Godly Ways here?" the Evil God asked.


    "Godly Ways?" Abdul was taken aback.


    The senior disciples were stunned into silence for a moment. They all burst out laughing in the next instant.


    "Does he even know what he''s talking about?"


    "Hey, do you know what his name is on the Ranking Stone? Evil God!"


    "Haha! What a pompous name!"


    The onlookers earlier just wanted to know how much Abdul had improved, especially those ranked before him, who had felt threatened. But now, the Evil God had caught everyone''s attention.


    Now, the audience was more interested in him.


    The new disciples watching, however, knew better than to consider the Evil God as just a mere oddity. They stared at him warily.


    They knew it was possible for him to kill Abdul instantly in a fit of anger. They wondered if he still had the same strength as before. Since Zen dared to release him, he must even be well-prepared.


    The Evil God turned a dea


    alked up to Zen. "You didn''t stop me, so I went ahead and taught him a lesson."


    The Evil God was actually clever.


    He knew that Zen wouldn''t stand for him killing someone.


    So the Evil God left Abdul alive. At least he was punished for his arrogance.


    "Well done!"


    Zen remarked.


    He had long disliked Abdul, actually. He had made such great contributions to the Land of Sword Grief, but Abdul still disliked him.


    Back then, his target on the first floor was Cleon, however. Abdul was not good enough to be his target.


    So the Evil God ended up teaching Abdul a hard lesson on his behalf.


    With Abdul''s defeat, the Evil God rose from past one thousand to only past five hundred on the Ranking Stone.


    But those who had seen the Evil God''s attack now understood that he was likely as powerful as Zen. He was completely qualified to defeat all the disciples on the first floor and even the second floor.


    He was a ferocious fighter. Everyone''s guard quietly went up. They decided to keep a low profile lest he challenge them next.


    After his victory, the Evil God chose to cultivate in seclusion in the cultivation room.


    He had just reached the Chaotic Source Realm, but his soul had yet to reach the Desire World. Only after he accomplished this could he be considered a real Chaotic Source Realm warrior.

 Chapter 3582 Secret Contact

    Even though Zen could take control, he didn''t interfere too much in the Evil God''s cultivation.


    After he heard what Chaim had said before, he felt an alarming sense of urgency. He also needed to improve himself immediately.


    The rising wind foreboded the coming storm, or so they said. It seemed that the peacefulness in the Source World wouldn''t last long.


    In Stage Thirteen of the Other Shore, a Soul of Light continued to condense until it quickly turned into a human figure.


    This human figure emitted a sinister and evil aura. It was the Evil God, the notorious Soul Devouring Demon in Stage Thirteen of the Lust World.


    Not far from the Evil God were several Souls of Light who came from different races and had different forms.


    Generally speaking, all the powerful and qualified creatures in Stage Thirteen had been to the Chaotic Source World. They had all left the Lust World and reached the Desire World, and only a few relatively weak Souls of Light who didn''t get the tickets were left behind.


    They gestured to each other when they sensed the Evil God''s powerful Soul of Light. Then, one of them walked towards the Evil God and said, "Human friend, we just got the key to a temple. Would you like to explore it with us?"


    The Evil God coldly glanced at them. He had only disappeared for a few months, but these creatures in the Lust World seemed to have forgotten him.


    "Leave me alone," he hissed.


    It took him a lot of effort to come to the Other Shore, and he had something more important to do.


    If it wasn''t for his current situation, he would''ve swallowed them all up alive.


    However, the creatures did not leave. One of them, who appeared to be their leader, suddenly brought out a handful of Soul Restraining Sand and scattered it on his body.


    The green sand enveloped his body and soon enough, he couldn''t escape from the Other Shore.


    "Let''s attack him together! He''s got a strong Soul of Light! We''ll gain a lot from this!" the creature cried out.


    Whoosh!


    At that moment, a rope went straight towards the Evil God and firmly bound his Soul of Light.


    Yet, the Evil God seemed unbothered. He simply asked in an icy voice, "What do you want?"


    The leader of the creatures was overjoyed to see that they had caught the Evil God quite easily.


    "You have such a powerful Soul of Light. We can refine a lot of soul crystal with it!" he exclaimed. "Refine soul crystal?" said the Evil God,


    "I''m in danger now," the Evil God said in a deep voice.


    "You are not one of us." The burly creature''s laugh filled the space.


    The Evil God stood still for a few seconds. He knew that it was unrealistic for him to expect these creatures to help him, but it would be great if they didn''t add insult to injury.


    He thought for a while, and then he proposed, "Whoever helps me contact the Black Ship will be awarded with ten finger-size chunks of soul crystal!"


    The Evil God himself didn''t need soul crystal. He only needed to continuously devour the Souls of Light.


    On the other hand, the Souls of Light in front of him were very hungry for soul crystal.


    The moment the Evil God offered his price, some of the creatures lit up in excitement. The burly creature realized that he couldn''t pass up such a good chance, so he agreed first. "Ten finger-size chunks of soul crystal, and I''ll help you contact the Black Ship now!" he declared.


    "I don''t need ten finger-size chunks. Nine is enough."


    "Give me six! I''ll activate the contact array!"


    It turned out that there was no unity among the creatures of the Black Mountain Guild. Since it wasn''t difficult to activate the contact array, the other creatures immediately chose to compete with the burly creature.


    The Evil God simply ignored them and turned to the burly creature. "You activate the contact array, and I''ll go find the soul crystal," he said.


    Afterwards he went straight out of the stronghold.


    The corner of his lips curved up into a small smirk. It was definitely an easy task for him to plunder ten finger-size chunks of soul crystal.

 Chapter 3583 Change

    In some province, the big Black Ship cut across the sky quick as a flash.


    Following behind the Black Ship were two huge golden Buddha statues being carried atop the shoulders of a ten-thousand-foot-tall bald giant.


    The bald giant''s eyes shone green and an immense string of Buddha beads hung around his neck and rested on his chest. His upper body was bare and his muscles bulged like massive hills.


    "Now that I am here, don''t even try to escape! Hand them over! It''s time we settle the score!"


    roared the bald giant.


    The words thundered from his mouth, sending out strong and powerful reverberating sound waves through the air.


    There just so happened to be a medium-sized country below the bald giant, with several types of creatures living there. Most of them were mortals with a lifespan of less than a hundred years.


    To them, the rumbles from the sky were like the end of the world.


    Many of them didn''t even have the chance to react before they were hit by the sound, turned into a cloud of blood mist and disappeared into thin air.


    The tall buildings, walls and streets were all blasted into powder, reducing the city to a dusty desert.


    There were many mortals in the Source World who lived like ants. Dying in an instant as powerful warriors fought was quite common for creatures like them.


    The bald giant had been referring to the Descending Rings the Black Ship had taken from the Thunder Dimorphodon when he spoke.


    Since they had snatched the Descending Rings, the Divine Farmer race and the Bearing race had been working together and attempted to lay siege to them many times in the Source World.


    But time and time again the Black Ship had disappeared without a trace. They had still not managed to destroy the Black Ship or even get hold of a single member of the crew thus far.


    At the end of the Black Ship hung a dinghy with two gold locks. When the Black Ship flew at high speed, the dinghy moved like a swing floating in the air.


    Sitting on the swinging dinghy was Shera.


    Hearing the giant''s roar, she replied with a smile on he


    She looked at the contact rune and a strange expression contorted her face. "The contact array of the Black Mountain Guild has been activated. Is someone planning an attack on them?"


    "Leave them alone," the "bamboo pole" huffed.


    The Black Mountain Guild was not under the direct control of the Black Ship. There was no obligation for them to protect the Black Mountain Guild.


    Shera blinked and the figure of the Evil God appeared in her mind.


    An odd feeling swirled in her gut and this prompted her to return to her room. Once there, she took out a small bottle, the blurry figure of the Evil God still outlined in it.


    Since the Evil God had been put into Zen''s inner world, this figure hadn''t moved. All it proved was that he was still alive but his current state was unknowable.


    Although Shera had already given up, she would still pull out this bottle and have a look at it from time to time.


    "Eh?"


    Shock and uneasiness filled Shera''s eyes. The blurry figure of the Evil God sat cross-legged in the bottle, as if he was cultivating.


    ''Has he regained his freedom?


    That''s impossible.''


    Shera threw this thought out immediately. If the Evil God had achieved freedom, he would have already tried to contact her.


    Had he obtained freedom but was under Zen''s control?


    That was probably the case.


    Shera had judged the situation accurately in a snap.

 Chapter 3584 The Colorless Soul

    In Stage Fourteen of the Other Shore, a row of transparent jars, each filled with soul crystal, sat in the inner hall of the City Guard House.


    Zen was sitting upright in the form of his Soul of Light, continuously absorbing the soul crystal.


    The situation in Stage Fourteen had been stable for a while now.


    The Guide Weasel race and the Giant race controlled the two large cities, and these two races were Zen''s subjects.


    Zen didn''t have to do anything. All the resources belonging to Stage Fourteen would be automatically, continuously sent to him.


    But it was impossible for Zen to stay in Stage Fourteen. He needed to climb up to the upper stages and for this purpose, he had to strengthen his Soul of Light.


    Zen''s soul was absorbing the soul crystal and slowly turning it into a part of his soul. From afar, his Indigo Soul looked to be a shade of deep purple.


    The purple light on the surface of Zen''s soul thickened as Zen absorbed more and more of the soul crystal.


    After all the soul crystal from the jars had been absorbed completely, Zen looked up and asked the Giants to bring him more soul crystal.


    Several Giants entered the inner hall, jars in their hands. They put them in a neat order and then retreated respectfully.


    Zen pointed to the jars, turning the soul crystal in them into a thin line, which then began to fuse with his body.


    Once Zen had absorbed the soul crystal from three jars, it felt to him like he had hit a wall. The purple light on the surface of his body seemed to have reached its limit.


    Zen frowned and tried harder to absorb the soul crystal. But a sense of rejection washed over him.


    "What is going on?" Zen muttered curiously.


    Warriors needed to continuously devour the soul crystal. As long as they got enough soul crystal, their soul cultivation would increase rapidly.


    Dorothy had told him this in Stage One when Zen had first laid eyes on the soul crystal.


    But now he was unable to absorb it. Why?


    Zen was still confused when No. 9527 said, "You have reached the ultimate level of the Indigo Soul. You can''t improve it any further."


    "The ultimate level of the Indigo Soul?"


    Zen stretched out a hand and looked at the surface of his palm, which was shining, bathed in a strong purple light.


    "Y


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    bodies?" The Regal Jade Spirit shook his head and smiled. "In the age of the Regal Jade Civilization, the Truth of Powerful Holy Body was not forbidden on the Other Shore. The Wing King boasted of a strong physical body at the time, but it had still been difficult for him to move even a single step in the Three Purities Stage."


    All creatures of the Regal Jade Civilization had extremely powerful physical bodies.


    "As far as I know, no one was able to even enter the Supreme Pure Realm before our era. The Jade Pure Realm, which is considered the core, remains a dream," the Regal Jade Spirit continued.


    Many civilizations had explored the Other Shore for many chaotic eras. But they had only wandered around the periphery of the Three Purities Stage for a long time.


    At the Regal Jade Spirit''s words, Zen''s eyes lit up. He was very obviously interested in the upper stages on the Other Shore.


    Since he had devoured enough soul crystal and reached the ultimate level of the Indigo Soul, he was going to break through to the upper stages.


    And although Zen was still quite some distance from the Constant Glory Stage, he had reached the ultimate level of the Indigo Soul and would probably traverse the distance with ease. But then again, he still had an Other Shore Key from Stage Seventeen in his hand.


    The Other Shore Key had been obtained from the Six-Pattern Blood-storing Seed. It was likely to be related to the secrets of the human race on the Other Shore. He had no choice but to investigate it.

 Chapter 3585 Preparations Before Leaving

    After making his decision, Zen ordered the Giants to put away the soul crystal.


    A considerable part of the soul crystal collected was distributed to the disciples on the first floor of the Land of Sword Grief. Even Cleon, who ranked first, received some. Almost all the disciples on the first floor retreated to Stage Fourteen.


    But Zen himself had also reserved a considerable amount of soul crystal, which he intended to give to Yan, Dorothy, Elvinia, and the Nine Li people.


    Once the soul crystal was removed, the Giants positioned a stack of Body-strengthening Jades. Simultaneously, Zen retreated from the Other Shore before reentering with his physical body.


    Many Body-strengthening Jades were crushed one after another, each one absorbed and refined by Zen.


    Now, Zen''s body drew strength from several aspects. First, the strength of his body itself was incomparable to any other''s even before he reached the Chaotic Source Realm.


    Second, he had the Chaotic Source Spirits.


    Through the Truth of Godly Way produced by his weapon body, Zen''s Chaotic Source Spirits had grown leaps and bounds ahead. Now that Zen had almost reached the later stage of the Chaotic Source Realm, the limit his physical body could bear was even greater.


    Third, after absorbing more blood of the Chaos Ancient God, his body structure had changed¡ªthe sclerites could greatly strengthen his body in a special kind of way.


    Lastly, he had the Shade Stone liquid. It was a pity that the stone was so rare¡ªhe had already asked the Ear Mouse race to help him find some. So long as they found any sort of treasure made of the Shade Stone, they could buy it for him at any price. Such a method of strengthening body was also rather unique.


    Apart from the Chaotic Source Spirits, Zen seemed to use rather unique strengthening techniques.


    It was the most common way to strengthen his body with the Body-strengthening Jades. But right now, only Zen and Elvinia could use such a method.


    After absorbing a few Body-strengthening Jades, Zen picked up another one and asked, "The soul''s limit is the ultimate level of the Indigo Soul, so does that mean that the body has a limit as well?"


    After a moment of silence, No. 9527 burst into laughter. "It''s a physical body¡ªof course there''s a limit."


    In ancient times, the Wild Gods had absorbed the Body-strengthening Jades to


    over to her father to offer him comfort.


    "We''ve refined all the Body-strengthening Jades in Stage Fourteen. If we want to collect more, we''ll have to ascend to higher stages," Zen said with a smile.


    "So we''re leaving this stage?" Elvinia''s eyes flashed with excitement.


    It was unrealistic to stay in Stage Fourteen, after all. She had long hoped to move on to higher stages alongside Zen.


    "There are two more things to see to before we leave," Zen said.


    The Dark Nether Bugs seemed to be strongly attractive to the purified beings. With that, Zen concluded that devouring the Dark Nether Bugs was a way to enhance the purified beings'' abilities.


    So during this time, he had ordered the Guide Weasel race to enter the Dark Region and communicate with the one-eyed monsters, in the hopes of capturing more Dark Nether Bugs.


    Devouring the bloody, fleshy Dark Nether Bugs with some grace wasn''t much of a problem¡ªthe attraction force of the Dark Nether Bugs came from their blood essence. Elvinia could absorb it after separating it from the bug body.


    Aside from the Dark Nether Bugs, he wanted to get his hands on another Other Shore Token.


    Zen''s Strength God Totem was an Other Shore Token of strengthening type from Stage Thirteen, containing 1, 200 divine megatons of force only. It wasn''t weak by any means in Stage Thirteen, but it couldn''t meet his requirements now that he was in Stage Fourteen. Besides, the Civilization Artifact in Zen''s body could provide much Other Shore Power. So, he had to replace the Strength God Totem if he got the chance.

 Chapter 3586 Three-eyed Dragon Sparrow

    After Zen had taken out the black box, he quickly began to deal with the bloody Dark Nether Bugs.


    It was just as he had guessed. The blood inside them was strongly attractive to living beings.


    That was why when he and Elvinia first saw the bugs, they felt a strange sensation.


    However, Zen restrained himself and dismissed such feelings. On the contrary, Elvinia couldn''t abandon the desire in her body, as she was a purified being.


    Since Zen had killed the stage ruler, he had also become a purified being and probably understood Elvinia''s impulses. When he had opened the black box, he was eager to swallow the mass of blood and flesh. It was very difficult for him to restrain himself with his willpower alone.


    "Since it''s because of the blood, the corpses can be disposed of..."


    He squeezed out all the blood from the Dark Nether Bugs, and then took out the broken corpses from the black box. The Light Region would completely devour the bug corpses once they arrived there.


    As for the blood in the dark box, he had tried to taste it, but he didn''t feel that much of a desire except for being able to tell it had a delicious taste.


    Once he had confirmed that it was completely fine, he let Elvinia have a few sips. A smile graced her small face.


    "I almost ate this disgusting bug in the Dark Region. I didn''t expect that I would drink its blood now..." she commented.


    Immediately after both of them shared the Dark Nether Bugs'' blood, Zen tried to release the Great Sanskrit Light and also let Elvinia try it.


    As Elvinia waved her hand, her body released a blazing white beam of light. The entire inner hall was filled with the white light for a while. "How do you feel now?" Zen asked.


    "Maybe it has grown a little bit..." Elvinia answered hesitantly. "The blood has only a little effect. It seems this kind of bug isn''t considered that precious.


    If you want to grow substantially, you might have to swallow a lot of bugs," Zen said with a grin.


    The ruler of Stage Fourteen of the Other Shore had stayed in the Dark Region for so many years, and he had devoured numerous Dark Nether Bugs. Yet, he still hadn''t become invincible, which meant that consuming only one or two Dark Nether Bugs would have little effect.


    Elvinia just stuck out her tongue childishly and sighe


    restrain their Other Shore Power, no matter how great it was.


    Such unique abilities were often beyond imagination.


    "If one could fuse with this Other Shore Token, does it mean that they can not be dead?" Elvinia asked. It appeared that she, too, was quite interested in the Other Shore Token.


    "Of course not. Every time the one who has fused with it dies, one eye of the Three-eyed Dragon Sparrow will be blind. Once it gets blind three times, it would be completely destroyed and cannot be used again.


    Even so, since this Other Shore Token is in the sixth grade, it is definitely not weak," the Ear Mouse answered. "If it can revive its master infinitely, I think it can completely surpass the sixth grade, right?" Zen asked again.


    Even the incomparable Other Shore Token like the Heart of Accomplice had quite a catch¡ªone had to sacrifice their own life while they utilized it, and it was a one-time use only.


    Then again, to fuse with the Three-eyed Dragon Sparrow meant being immortal, and it could even devour one''s opponent. It was simply too powerful that Zen felt it was truly incredible.


    Squeak! "It has limits. After you have activated it, it needs to devour the opponent to revive its master. Furthermore, it could only be used three times, and one eye will be blind every time you use it. Lastly, the Three-eyed Dragon Sparrow is not invincible. If your opponent has fled away after killing you, or if they are too powerful to be devoured, it clearly wouldn''t be able to resurrect you," the Ear Mouse replied.

 Chapter 3587 Stage Fifteen Of The Other Shore

    Even though the Ear Mouse had specified some flaws regarding the Other Shore Token, it was still undeniably powerful.


    This Other Shore Token was the most powerful treasure of the Star Falcon race. It could also be activated on the Other Shore and be turned into a powerful Three-eyed Dragon Sparrow.


    The Ear Mice had their eyes on the Other Shore Token for a long time. However, the Star Falcon race would not give in no matter how grand the price they were offered.


    Now that the Star Falcon race had been exterminated, their most powerful treasure fell into the hands of Zen.


    Although the Other Shore Token was extremely powerful, Zen wanted something else.


    As he noticed that Elvinia was actually interested in it, he asked, "What kind of Truth of Godly Way is needed to fuse with this Other Shore Token?"


    He thought that if the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent didn''t match the Other Shore Token, Elvinia might not be able to merge with it.


    "The Truth of Cultivation Nature," the Ear Mouse quickly replied.


    Zen stared at Elvinia''s face. As he was about to speak, Elvinia said, "I''ve already successfully cultivated the Truth of Cultivation Nature."


    She was indeed very talented. Even Flamine once said that Elvinia matched the Truth of Cultivation Nature to a high degree. It was just that her cultivation was restricted when she was young.


    However, as Elvinia had gone deeper and deeper in the Other Shore Realm, these restrictions were gradually lifted and ceased to exist.


    "Then that''s great. You can take this Other Shore Token and fuse with it," Zen added with a faint smile.


    Since she really wanted it, Elvinia didn''t decline the offer and gladly accepted the Other Shore Token.


    After that, Zen gazed across the table and looked at the other items present.


    The two Ear Mice were very considerate in answering all of Zen''s queries about the items. They had a deep understanding of every Other Shore Token, which impressed Zen very much.


    After some time of thorough inspection, he wasn''t able to find an Other Shore Token that would be suitable for him to fuse with. However, there was a long sword that caught his attention.


    The long sword turned out to be forged by the Riverside race. There were layers of cloud patterns on the sword, and the structure was very complicated and exquisite.


    "This sword is a precious one from the Riverside race. If it were assessed as an Other Shore Token, it would easily be considered as a fourth-grade one in Stage Fourteen of the Other Shore," an Ear Mouse explained.


    "Really? I want this one," Zen responded.


    "Do you want to fuse with it as an Other Shore Token?" the Ear Mouse asked.


    An Other Shore Token could be used as a weap


    I''ll go in first," Zen answered, nodding his head.


    To be on the safe side, he took the initiative to step into the star ring first.


    As the star ring released traces of white light, Zen felt like his body was being disintegrated.


    Whoosh!


    Outside, Elvinia saw that the star ring shot out rays of white light upwards.


    A nervous smile crept up at the corners of her mouth. "Everything is fine, isn''t it?"


    As Zen disappeared, she also stepped into the star ring and flew towards Stage Fifteen of the Other Shore.


    Both of them felt relieved as they realized that what they worried about didn''t happen. Both Zen and Elvinia smoothly reached Stage Fifteen of the Other Shore. Perhaps it was because they were not Other Shore creatures that the rule preventing the stage ruler from traversing to other stages of the Other Shore didn''t take effect.


    As soon as they reached the next stage, the anxiousness that they earlier felt dissipated.


    As Zen left the star ring, a dark world immediately emerged in front of him. He perceived that the Dark Region existed in all directions, and felt a strange sensation within him.


    "Stage Fifteen of the Other Shore¡­ is a complete Dark Region?" Zen couldn''t believe what he saw.


    "I''ve heard a long time ago that Stage Fifteen of the Other Shore had almost been completely eroded by the Dark Region, except for the center area. I didn''t expect that the Dark Region was still expanding up until now. It seems that even the center area is being devoured," Elvinia said softly behind Zen, also surprised at the gloomy sight.


    The entire Stage Fifteen of the Other Shore, except the area where the star rings were placed, was engulfed by the Dark Region. For ordinary people, there was no value in this and it would just be a waste of time to explore this stage.

 Chapter 3588 The Elephant Men

    Both Zen and Elvinia could freely explore the Dark Region with their abilities.


    However, Zen thought constantly about the Other Shore Key for Stage Seventeen. Thus he merely passed through Stage Fifteen and continued his ascent.


    The two of them made their way upwards.


    They did not stay too long in Stage Sixteen either and journeyed on.


    Finally, they arrived in Stage Seventeen and came out on top of a mountain.


    After they crossed three stages rapidly, the pressure on the Other Shore increased.


    This type of pressure would''ve been unbearable for others but the two of them managed. Elvinia had previously absorbed enough soul crystal and had already reached the ultimate level of the Indigo Soul. Zen also did not feel anything with his physical body.


    "We''re at Stage Seventeen. Do we continue to go up?" Elvinia asked him. In front of them lay only endless desert.


    The sight of emptiness on top of that huge mountain made Elvinia feel desolate. It would be better to go to the upper stages.


    Zen, however, shook his head. "No. We''ll stay here."


    "Is there anything important here?" she asked, throwing him a strange look.


    If it was about Other Shore Tokens, Zen could easily find better ones in the upper stages.


    "Yes. Just wait here for me," he told her, not divulging much information on what he was currently planning.


    Without a word, Zen withdrew from the Other Shore and activated the Other Shore Key from the Blood-storing Seed. He then began to recite the Sanskrit words deciphered by Geoffrey.


    "Sand ...bone...separate..."


    As he finished reciting the words, Zen reached out and gently pressed the Other Shore Key''s lines.


    When he returned to the Other Shore, his palm was covered with lustrous map lines.


    "An Other Shore Key?" Elvinia muttered, staring at his palm in wonder. Zen nodded as the map shimmered in his palm.


    "Yes."


    Despite his confirmation, a trace of doubt remained in Elvinia''s eyes.


    Other Shore Keys were valuable but why was Zen interested in Stage Seventeen''s? If he really wanted one, Elvinia could very wel


    were bipedal, gray-skinned and had elephant heads. They were the Elephant Men Elvinia had mentioned earlier!


    These Elephant Men chased after the bulls, which caused the ground to tremble.


    Zen and Elvinia were like two, pesky mosquitoes compared to these giants.


    The black bulls were heading towards the fences. Though tall, there was no way these fences would be able to withstand the impact from these beasts.


    However, just as the bulls were about to breach the barriers, one of the Elephant Men raised his horn.


    "Woo... Woo..."


    Textures appeared on the surfaces of the seemingly ordinary fences at the exact moment the horn was blown.


    "Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle..."


    Thick lightning gathered on the fences, forming into chains that wrapped around the bulls.


    Bound and restrained by the lightning chains, the bulls could only lie helplessly on the ground as their pursuers closed in on them.


    "These fences contain such a strong power of lightning," Zen murmured, admiration obvious on his face.


    "It''s made of lightning wood, which is a relatively rare Other Shore Token," Elvinia told him. "I never expected there to be so much in the Elephant Men''s territory."


    As they marveled at the lightning wood, the two of them failed to notice the huge shadow behind them. A dull and rough voice suddenly boomed, "Chief! Those damned mice have sent their spies again!"

 Chapter 3589 Belligerence

    A giant Elephant Man stood behind Zen and Elvinia.


    He seemed to be angry at their arrival. The moment he finished speaking, a huge hand slapped Zen and Elvinia around their heads.


    Bang!


    Zen turned to protect Elvinia and the slap landed on his body. The two of them crashed to the ground.


    The Elephant Man quickly located Zen and Elvinia through the grass, raised one huge foot and stomped hard down on them.


    Dong! Dong! Dong!


    The Elephant Man was huge, his explosive power naturally astonishing.


    He continued to stomp on them for a while before another Elephant Man stopped him. "Ramsay, you''ve trampled the spies into meat paste!"


    Ramsay snorted and walked towards the black bulls.


    It had been several days since the Elephant Men started to chase these bulls. They finally drove the bulls towards the fences made of lightning wood.


    They could easily knock the black bulls down using the lightning contained within the lightning wood. The black bulls could serve as their food for half a month.


    Ramsay had just turned when a rumble of thunder sounded across the skies. The sound wasn''t loud, but it was clear and audible.


    Crack! Crack!


    Ramsay was surprised when a tiny bolt of lightning flashed before his forehead and came to a stop a few feet from him. This mosquito-sized fellow hadn''t been crushed into meat paste after all!


    "Hey, foreign friend!" Zen said, an amused smile playing on his lips.


    He hadn''t come to the Elephant Men''s territory to cause trouble. He had only wanted to know more about Stage Seventeen''s terrain. And although Ramsay had thrashed him around like a rag doll, he managed to restrain his anger.


    "You are still alive!"


    Ramsay had no interest in communicating with Zen. He brought his huge fist smashing down towards Zen''s head again.


    Ramsay''s fist was about eight hundred feet wide and to Zen, it looked like a flying hill was coming for him.


    Zen fr


    anded suddenly.


    In the blink of an eye, his body had grown to become several hundred feet tall.


    His body continued to grow rapidly while blocking the stone spear. It had very quickly grown to a height of more than ten thousand feet. He then grabbed the tip of the stone spear with one hand and frowned at the two Elephant Men in front of him.


    The Elephant Men that were hunting the black bulls were stunned as they watched Zen''s body expand from the size of a mosquito to match their size.


    Their huge ears drooped as their jaws dropped in disbelief.


    "My friends, you should know that I will give my all if you insist on fighting with me!"


    Zen said, pulling the stone spear out of the hands of the Elephant Man. He waved it in the air before crushing it in his hand.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    With a resounding crack, Zen had crushed the stone spear, which was over ten thousand feet long.


    The stone spear was sturdy and was made of solid white stones. There weren''t many of it in the Elephant Man race.


    The Elephant Men gulped in fear at this display of Zen''s power.


    Their chieftain was quick to react. Realizing that they couldn''t afford to offend Zen, he hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Sir, there must be a misunderstanding. Please don''t get angry."

 Chapter 3590 Cross Reference

    Zen turned his head to glance coldly at the chieftain of the Elephant Man race. "You changed so quickly. Just now, you were intent on killing me, yet you say this is a ''misunderstanding''?"


    The chieftain nervously looked away from Zen. "Ramsay," he hissed, "apologize to him, quickly!"


    Ramsay dumbfoundedly looked at Zen, who had suddenly grown as large as a hill. He had never experienced the era of the Wild Gods, so naturally, he didn''t know it would take only a split second to enlarge a mosquito to the size as big as himself with a theurgy.


    However, Zen''s sudden transformation to a giant over ten thousand feet tall was shocking enough. Ramsay was fully convinced. Curling up his long trunk, Ramsay bowed and apologized sincerely.


    Zen watched indifferently. Bending down, he reached out and gently scooped Elvinia into his arms. Then, he placed her on his right shoulder carefully.


    Although Elvinia had heard of Wild Gods before, she hadn''t actually seen Zen use this skill. Thus, she too was stunned at the sudden appearance of a ten thousand-foot tall Zen.


    Sitting on Zen''s shoulder, she turned to look at his massive head, which was as tall as a building. Dazed, she shook her head, rendered speechless.


    Since the misunderstandings had been cleared out, the Elephant Men became polite to Zen.


    The other Elephant Men began to deal with the black bulls that were killed by the lightning wood, while the chieftain of the Elephant Man race formally introduced himself to Zen. "I''m the chieftain of the Elephant Man race, Richie. You are not from any Other Shore race, right? However, the woman on your shoulder seems to be a human... "


    The Elephant Man race usually isolated themselves, which meant they rarely ever communicated with the outside world. However, as its chieftain, Richie had stayed on Stage Seventeen for a long time; naturally, he knew much more than the ordinary Elephant Men.


    Richie had noticed the woman sitting on Zen''s shoulder. He could see her features clearly. Almost immediately, he had realized that she was a creature from the Other Shore.


    "You''re right," Zen answered. "She is a human from the Other Shore."


    As he spoke, Zen carefully observed the expression on the face of the chieftain.


    He firmly believed that there were clues about the human race on Stage Seventeen of the Other Shore. The creatures from here might know something about it, so Zen deliberately claimed that Elvinia was a human from the Other Shore and waited to see


    ell the original color of his skin.


    "This is our high priest Murkub." Richie gestured towards the painted Elephant Man.


    Obviously, the position of the high priest was even higher than that of the chieftain. Richie bowed deeply to the painted Elephant Man. "High priest, this is our friend from another race. He wants to see the map of the south."


    Murkub looked at Zen up and down a few times. Because he had managed the affairs of the tribe with Richie since time immemorial, Murkub trusted Richie''s judgment.


    Without uttering a word, the high priest nodded and proceeded to take out a board from a wooden box, no questions asked.


    Turning the board over, Zen saw it was an intricately carved map. Murkub then retreated to the side of the house to continue meditating.


    "This is the south part of Stage Seventeen, and we are here." Richie pointed at a location on the map, which was the center of the grassland.


    Zen studied the map closely. He realized that more than half of the grassland was barricaded by fences made from lightning wood. ''It must not have been easy to build these fences, '' he pondered quietly.


    It was unknown if they were built by the human race or by other creatures.


    Every stage had its own secrets. Even though Zen was very curious about the fence, he decided against asking the chieftain about it, since it was their business. Instead, he focused on his goal to find the location of the temple.


    With a flick of his hand, the map that was reflected by the Other Shore Key came into view. Zen proceeded to look for the temple on the map carved on the board while cross referencing with the map from the Other Shore Key.

 Chapter 3591 A Dangerous Place

    He studied the two maps carefully, cross-checking each area, one by one.


    The terrain of the grassland area in the south was relatively straightforward, so Zen didn''t pay much attention to it. The key was to compare the four corners on the board with the map in his palm.


    About five minutes later, Zen had finished comparing the two maps. His originally relaxed eyebrows were now furrowed tightly. His target was not on this map.


    Noticing Zen''s expression, Chieftain Richie asked, "You didn''t find it, did you?"


    This map only portrayed the south region of Stage Seventeen of the Other Shore, so it wouldn''t have been surprising if Zen couldn''t find what he was looking for. Zen nodded with a sigh. He had no choice but to look for it elsewhere.


    Just as Zen was about to bid Richie farewell, Elvinia piped up excitedly from his shoulder, "Wait a minute, Zen! Look at the rightmost area of the map."


    Zen frowned slightly, as though he didn''t understand her. Then, it dawned on Elvinia that he couldn''t hear her due to their massive difference in body size. Channeling her strength into her voice, she repeated it again loudly.


    Finally understanding what Elvinia was saying, Zen turned to look at where she was pointing.


    On the rightmost side of the map, the grassland area suddenly stopped and was replaced by what seemed to be a desert. On the carved map provided by the Elephant Man race, it was carved vaguely, which was why Zen hadn''t noticed it before.


    But even so, the junction of the grassland and the desert formed a triple-gourd shaped area.


    "Now look at the left side of the map on your palm. Is there a wavy line?" Elvinia continued excitedly.


    When Zen looked at the map formed by the Other Shore Key on his palm, his eyes lit up. This wavy line was just enough to match the lower part of the triple-gourd!


    He even pressed his palm down and observed the two maps more carefully. The more he studied it, the more he felt they were a match.


    "Thanks for your careful observation, Elvinia," Zen said with a smile.


    "Certainly." Elvinia smiled back sweetly.


    Then, Zen turned to face the chieftain. Richie looked back at him uneasily.


    Pointing his finger on the map, Zen asked, "Chieftain Richie, I think this area goes beyond the territory of the Elephant Man race. Do you know where this is?"


    "That place..." said Richie hesitantly.


    Zen studied Richie curiously. Was this place special?


    . "But I suspect that the Elephant Man race is related to those great civilizations, which means, the Elephant Men might have been left here on purpose by the other civilizations, in order to keep watch."


    Previously, Zen had suspected that the fences were not built by the Elephant Man race. Now, it seemed that the purpose of building those fences was probably to divide the territory and to confine the Elephant Man race to the grassland.


    "That''s just your speculation," spat Elvinia.


    "Whether I''m right or wrong, we''d better go to that place after bypassing the Elephant Man race. It will be much safer that way."


    "You''re right..."


    After the conversation, they started to head north, straight towards the area marked on the map.


    Meanwhile, in the house that stood in the center of the Elephant Men''s settlement, the high priest suddenly bolted upright, "Richie, hurry! Take down the Heavenly Spirit Bead!"


    Richie trembled slightly at the high priest''s sudden request.


    The Heavenly Spirit Bead was a sacred treasure of the Elephant Man race. It had always been placed on the top of the totem pole, where it was worshiped by all the members of the race.


    The bead had been sitting on the top of the totem pole since time immemorial. It had played an important role in providing the Elephant Man race with power.


    No one was allowed to touch this sacred treasure, not even the high priest himself. Yet now, the high priest was demanding he take it down right this instant!


    To his horror, Richie suddenly realized that the situation must have been much more grave than he could possibly imagine.

 Chapter 3592 Transmission

    In the Elephant Man race, no one knew the origin of the Heavenly Spirit Bead, except for the high priest.


    As for the actual use of the Heavenly Spirit Bead, no one knew either.


    But since the high priest had given the order, Richie didn''t dare refuse.


    Stepping outside, he headed straight for the totem pole and began to climb it.


    "Chief..."


    "You...!"


    "That''s our sacred treasure! How dare you!"


    The other Elephant Men had come out of their homes to see what their chieftain was doing. To their horror, they saw he was headed straight for their treasured Heavenly Spirit Bead.


    "It''s our mission to take down the sacred treasure," the high priest suddenly said, emerging from the massive house.


    In the Elephant Man race, the word of the high priest was considered the law. Most of the time, however, the high priest left the chieftain to manage everything.


    "Why?" an Elephant Man asked innocently.


    "Because the reason why the sacred treasure stays here," the high priest said seriously, "is to wait for some creatures to arrive. And now... They have arrived."


    "Your Holiness, are you referring to those two humans?" another Elephant Man asked.


    The high priest nodded.


    The high priest had been very clear since the beginning that the Elephant Man race was insignificant. They had but one mission, and before it was completed, they might have had some reason to exist.


    However, upon completion of this mission, they would become dispensable. The outcome could be imagined, but that didn''t matter; they only knew they needed to obey.


    Once the chieftain handed over the Heavenly Spirit Bead, Murkub set it on the ground.


    The Elephant Men stared at the Heavenly Spirit Bead, eyes gleaming. Only the high priest could activate the power of the Heavenly Spirit Bead. Everyone wondered what was going to happen.


    Just as everyone was guessing what sort of power the high priest was going to unleash, Murkub suddenly grabbed the stone spear that was strapped to Richie''s back.


    Whoosh!


    In the blink of an eye, he had swung the stone spearhead onto the Heavenly Spirit Bead.


    "Ah!"


    "Your Holiness!"


    "Stop!"


    At this moment, even Richie was stunned, but he dared not stop him. He could do nothing but watch as Murkub slammed the


    ay. Naturally, the water spirit was curious.


    Stage Seventeen...


    ''Could it be because of that dangerous place?''


    The blue light suddenly spread out from the body of the water spirit.


    This flashing blue light served as a signal, telling its companions that it had some news.


    The members of the Element Spirit race had the ability to fuse with each other. The moment they called out to their companions, their voices would automatically adjust to be heard.


    Therefore, in an instant, all the members of the Element Spirit race who could respond to the water spirit gathered in its body.


    Within the little orb of light, dazzling golden lights and blazing flames appeared.


    "What''s wrong?"


    "This seems to be news coming from a low stage..."


    "Humph! It''s only Stage Seventeen. Did you really need to call everyone here?"


    Naturally, the other members of the Element Spirit race grew impatient.


    The water spirit didn''t say anything. It let the metal array speak for itself.


    As the metal array continued to rotate, a blurry picture appeared in front of everyone. In the picture, it was the high priest of the Elephant Man race, Murkub.


    The transmission of information was very complicated on the Other Shore. Even the Element Spirit race who had a thorough understanding of the Other Shore could only pass through the transmission stage by stage.


    After having to go through so many stages, it was already amazing in itself that the array was able to show the picture of the Elephant Man.

 Chapter 3593 Descend

    At that moment, Murkub couldn''t see what was happening on the other side. What he saw was only a blurry white light ball that appeared above the array


    He clearly knew that the white light ball represented that certain powerful race.


    Furthermore, the reason the Elephant Man race had survived on Stage Seventeen until now was also because of that powerful race.


    It could be said that the light ball was like God who had saved the Elephant Man race.


    After a few moments, Murkub gestured and signaled all the Elephant Men to kneel down.


    In turn, all of them including Richie, knelt on the ground and devoutly bowed to the white light ball.


    Meanwhile, the water spirit, or the gathering of the many Element Spirits that were on Stage Thirty-two watched the scene rather impatiently.


    The Element Spirit race were known for being the purest creatures, as all of them were made up of the most basic elements.


    For them, all living creatures with flesh and blood were filthy and impure!


    Of course, the Elephant Man race were no exception.


    "What''s the matter?" the water spirit asked. Although the water spirit had convened its companions, it was still the owner of the body where everyone was gathered.


    Thus, out of politeness, it should be the one to speak first.


    "I saw the Other Shore Key! It''s the one to this place!" Murkub exclaimed. He placed the board in a vertical position and pointed to the right side of it, which was the area shaped like a triple-gourd.


    As soon as Murkub finished speaking, the consciousnesses inside the body of the water spirit began to fluctuate.


    "Is it the temple in the past?"


    "Has the key to the temple finally appeared?"


    "We had tried every way we had to enter it at that time--but those forces had fought for so many years, and no one ever succeeded in the end!"


    "Indeed... and now, we finally got this great opportunity!"


    The Element Spirit race quietly communicated with each other immediately through their consciousness. In just about three seconds, they had already talked about the past of Stage Seventeen.


    Back then, the Element Spirit race, along with two other forces, had all obtained the position of the ruler of Stage Seventeen. At that time, the Element Spirit race had also thought that only they could dig out the thing in that dangerous place, but in the end they just failed.


    However, the failure of the other two forces ma


    would the God bless them with graces?


    As they hoped and waited, a white and green beam of light was cast down.


    "Boom! Boom! Boom!"


    The second the white and green light shone down, it destroyed the entire array into pieces. The damage in the center of the array left a crater with a diameter of five thousand feet!


    If it had been in a normal world of humans, that crater would be unimaginably huge.


    However, the Elephant Man race were all over ten thousand feet tall. Thus, the huge crater was only the same size as the water tanks they used.


    Just then, three huge Moon Fire Slaves slowly crawled out of it.


    Once they had fully gotten out and saw the Elephant Men who were much bigger than them, they were rendered speechless.


    It was true that they had a towering height of about three hundred feet, but they were nothing compared to the Elephant Men who were over ten thousand feet tall.


    "Well, the repressive force of Stage Seventeen hasn''t come yet," said one of the Moon Fire Slaves.


    "How should we deal with these Elephant Men?"


    "How? They might already be dead..."


    When Stage Seventeen did not suppress the power of the Moon Fire Slaves, they were as strong as they had been on Stage Thirty-two. In fact, the shock waves of the flames their bodies released were enough to burn everything on Stage Seventeen.


    As for Richie, Murkub, and the Elephant Men who stood closest to the Moon Fire Slaves, they were oblivious to what had happened. They only felt that a heatwave had washed over them, until they completely lost consciousness and their bodies had turned into coke.

 Chapter 3594 Arrival

    The Elephant Men who were a bit far away from the Moon Fire Slaves were shocked by what they saw.


    The scorching hot aura had spread towards them, forcing them to retreat.


    "Chieftain..."


    "High priest..."


    the Elephant Men murmured as they retreated.


    They didn''t understand why these things that had come down would kill the high priest.


    Didn''t they appear because they felt their piety? But why would they kill the devout believers?


    "No. 12, what should we do with these Elephant Men?" asked one of the Moon Fire Slaves.


    The Moon Fire Slaves didn''t have their own names.


    In fact, it was not only them, but most of the members of the Element Spirit race that didn''t have names.


    A name was a noble symbol in the Element Spirit race. It represented a distinct individual and ordinary creatures were not qualified to have one.


    The names of the Moon Fire Slaves were a series of numbers. The closer the numbers were to number one, the stronger they were.


    The names of the three were No. 12, No. 13 and No. 14. They were incredibly powerful among the Moon Fire Slaves and No. 12 was the strongest among them. Naturally, he was the leader of the three.


    "They are useless. Get rid of them," No. 12 replied indifferently.


    No. 13 took a slow step forward and lightly pressed his foot to the ground. As he did, a ball of green flame spread from beneath his foot throughout the entire village.


    Some Elephant Men realized something was terribly wrong and rushed to escape the village.


    Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong...


    A chaotic rumble of footsteps sounded from the tribe as they rushed out, but no matter how fast they were, escaping the spreading green flames was impossible.


    The village continued to burn and the sprinting Elephant Men were turned to huge balls of fire. The low buildings, grass, totems, everything the tribe owned, were ignited and engulfed in dark green flames.


    As the Elephant Men were burned, three small balls appeared above the heads of the three Moon Fire Slaves and moved into their bodies, quickly suppre


    om the gobi was a vast desert.


    According to the map, once they crossed the grassland they should walk along the gobi.


    After confirming their direction, Zen and Elvinia continued on, following the map.


    They had only gone a short distance, when in the corner of the gobi, the heads of several mice stuck out of many little caves.


    "Squeak! There are outsiders coming this way again!"


    "Their objective seems clear, they should be heading for the dangerous place!"


    "If they wish to die, there is no need to stop them. They can''t even survive meeting the lamps. They will die for sure. Squeak! Squeak!"


    "Squeak! No one has visited the dangerous place for many years. We''d better be careful. We have to inform the others..."


    The mice quickly ducked back into their caves.


    After walking down more than two hundred miles, Zen and Elvinia finally caught sight of the end of the gobi. They could now see the desert and the grassland intertwined in the distance, the two areas forming a circle.


    "Here it is..."


    Zen opened his palm, stared at the map presented by the Other Shore Key, and said, "This circle should be the bottom part of the gourd-shaped area!"


    Finally finding the destination marked by the Other Shore Key had Zen brimming with excitement. After observing and taking it all in for a moment, he and Elvinia then flew towards the desert.

 Chapter 3595 Black Lamps

    As he hovered in the sky above the desert, Zen looked around but still failed to find anything special.


    He flew past the circular desert bordered by grassland without stopping. Soon, he came across another similarly shaped terrain.


    This time, the circular area was the grassland being surrounded by a desert.


    Without any hesitation, Zen flew past it as well and arrived at the end of a third circle.


    "I bet the temple must be around here!" Zen exclaimed.


    After going over the area, he was certain they were on the right track.


    Elvinia gave her surroundings a confused look. "Why would a temple be located here? There''s nothing but sand for miles," she complained.


    The third circular piece of land was a vast expanse of flat gobi, including the end of it. If the temple was here, they should''ve been able to spot it by now.


    Once they landed, Elvinia lowered her head to carefully tread across the ground they stood.


    "Huh?"


    Her eyes suddenly lit up in surprise. She pointed to the ground and yelled, "Zen! Come and have a look!"


    Directly beneath her feet was the long outline of what remained of some sort of foundation. Most of it was buried underground.


    Zen walked up and down the foundation''s remains, tediously observing it alongside Elvinia.


    An idea suddenly popped up in his mind. Swiftly, he flew towards the sky and hovered before looking down and narrowing his eyes.


    As expected, everything was much clearer from a bird''s eye view.


    He hadn''t paid any attention to the ground upon arriving.


    But now seeing it from up here, he could clearly see the frame of a huge temple beneath him!


    "Do you see anything?" Elvinia bellowed from below.


    Zen nodded as he made his slow descent from the sky. "Yes. The foundation of the temple is buried underneath the gobi," he replied.


    "Then that means¡­ the temple we''ve been searching for is right beneath our feet?" Elvinia asked.


    "It''s possible." Suddenly, Zen shook his head from left to right as he recalled something. "However, something''s still off here. This is the temple''s foundation. If we can see it from here, then that means the temple is erected at this spot and that we should''ve been inside its walls by now,"


    Zen raised his hand to point at their surroundings.


    "So you''re sayin


    hat¡­what the hell is this place?"


    "The only way to the temple entrance," Zen replied calmly, his voice free of any fear.


    The high priest from the Elephant Man race had warned them of the dangers this place held.


    In fact, three purified beings that possessed great power had met their end here. Zen never expected them to enter this place easily.


    "Wait here. I''ll go have a look first," Zen ordered her.


    The lamp stands were arranged in such a way that they were at equal distances apart from each other. All lamps had wicks long enough for the shadows to move in a hundred-foot radius around the stands ¡ª leaving no space to go around the shadows.


    Realizing that there was no shortcut, Zen had no choice but to break through the terrifying path before him.


    He slowly approached the nearest lamp stand to which the shadow of a dog was tied. It dozed off, snoring and lying motionless on the ground.


    Once Zen entered the area bathed in lamplight, however, the dog woke up and immediately pounced on him ferociously.


    Zen subconsciously dodged to the side, but the shadow''s speed was surprisingly fast.


    Realizing he couldn''t avoid the attack, Zen outstretched his hand to defend himself. The dog bit deep into his arm.


    However, something odd happened. Zen didn''t feel the slightest bit of pain from its teeth. His Chaotic Source Spirits received no damage. As it turned out, the shadow was just like a ghost that could easily pass through his body. All that it left was a vague bite mark on his arm.

 Chapter 3596 The Hidden Spirit Lamp And The Hidden Beast

    Suspicion grew within Zen as he stood still, analyzing the bite mark on his arm.


    It wasn''t painful or itchy. It just looked like a harmless gray tattoo.


    The dog landed and almost immediately rushed at him again with blinding speed.


    Zen leaned back and tried to dodge again, but failed and was bitten on the neck!


    There was now a bite mark on his neck as well, neither painful nor itchy.


    After being bitten twice, Zen unleashed a burst of strength from his legs and retreated to Elvinia''s side.


    The dog shadow pulled the black wick straight, roaring at Zen non-stop.


    "Zen, are you okay?"


    Elvinia grabbed Zen''s arm and looked at the gray bite mark.


    "It will probably be fine, but I''m afraid these bite marks are not that simple," Zen said with a frown.


    He had no fear of these vicious beasts tied to the lamp stands attacking him head on. With the suppressive force of Stage Seventeen present, the creatures in this stage wouldn''t be too powerful. He believed he would be able to withstand anything thrown at him.


    But these bite marks had given him cause for pause.


    "Then... it''d be better to not go in, right?" asked Elvinia.


    She didn''t know what was going on with the temple. She thought that if it was too dangerous, they should just give up.


    "No," Zen replied firmly.


    His determination left Elvinia not knowing what to say next.


    Zen stood motionless, surveying the lamp stands. As he did so, he asked, "No. 9527, Master Regal Jade, do you have any knowledge of what this is?"


    It was naturally much easier for him to know the world considering he had two wise people within his body.


    "I did not expect such a strange place to exist in Stage Seventeen. My master has never come into contact with this before," answered No. 9527.


    No. 9527 had some memories of Stage Seventeen from its master, but its master had never come here.


    The Regal Jade Spirit hesitated for a long while before replying, "This seems to be the Hidden Spirit Lamp. Although it has been a long time, and I''ve on


    it..."


    Elvinia looked at him, bewildered, and asked, "What the hell was going on?"


    Zen smiled and explained the story of the Hidden Spirit Lamp and the Hidden Beast. On hearing this she said, "So if you''re attacked too many times by those Hidden Beasts, they''ll leave more and more gray marks which will surely kill you when they finally explode."


    "Yes." Zen nodded.


    That was why the Regal Jade Spirit had asked him not to put the flame out yet. He wanted him to test the power of the dog''s bite and see if he could handle it now and understand it more.


    When Zen returned to the desert, the dog crawling stood up once more, trying to pounce on him.


    The corner of Zen''s mouth curled up slightly, and his legs suddenly jumped with unparalleled strength. He charged towards the lamp stand like a sharp darting arrow!


    "Wrrr!"


    The dog pounced at Zen as usual.


    But this time he had calculated the dog''s trajectory. As he rushed forward, he suddenly lowered his body and somersaulted on the ground. He hit the lamp stand with a bang.


    It was extremely solid and almost unshakable, but his intention was not to smash it down.


    He jumped up and reached out to pinch the black flame.


    Swish! Swish...


    The moment the black flame was out, the shadow of the dog froze in the air and remained motionless. Now it was an immovable shadow.

 Chapter 3597 Repeated Settlement

    Zen let out a sigh of relief as he looked at the motionless shadow.


    According to the Regal Jade Spirit, so long as the black flames on the lamp stands were extinguished, then the Hidden Beasts would remain motionless.


    After making sure that the dog wasn''t going to move anytime soon, Zen turned to Elvinia. "Follow me. I''ll extinguish the flames one by one, so we can pass through."


    Elvinia couldn''t help but look at the motionless dog. "Are you sure this Hidden Beast won''t move again?"


    She had understood just now that the Hidden Beasts killed warriors relying on delayed settlement and accumulation.


    If one got attacked by a Hidden Beast, the best course of action would be to leave the area to settle the damage. Consecutive, accumulated attacks were dangerous and could lead to a quick death.


    How could Zen not understand this?


    No matter how fast he moved, the Hidden Beasts would still land their attacks on him. If Zen could settle all their hits repeatedly, then it wouldn''t be that hard for him and Elvinia to pass through this area.


    He wanted to ask the Regal Jade Spirit for help but the latter was unable to give him any answers.


    "The situation was critical when we encountered the Hidden Spirit Lamp. When the Wing King extinguished the flame, he took us deeper. I don''t know if the Hidden Beast will move again," the Regal Jade Spirit told him.


    "Forget it then. Let''s just go inside," Zen said, giving Elvinia what he hoped was a reassuring smile.


    Before them were three lamps and each one had a Hidden Beast tied to its post. The shadows'' shapes told them these were wolves.


    Zen confirmed the direction just now. Since the path before him was the shortest, he chose to challenge the lamp post directly in front of him.


    As he stepped forward, the wolves began to get restless, dragging the wicks and trying their best to pounce.


    Zen merely ignored the wolves on the left and right sides. They couldn''t reach him and all he needed to focus


    dangerous and the following grassland and round gobi area would be even more so. Zen wasn''t going to put Elvinia in that sort of peril, so he grabbed her hand and prepared to take her away.


    However, she wrenched herself away from his grip. "My body may not be as strong as yours but I can still take a couple of injuries!" she told him. "I can help you extinguish the lamps!"


    So long as the damage they took was in the range of their endurance, then going through this area wasn''t going to be so terrifying.


    Elvinia had already made up her mind. If Zen was staying, then so was she.


    The man looked on to the path they still needed to traverse. "We''re going to have to be more careful from now on."


    A huge, grey bite mark was on Zen''s chest after he passed through two more lamp posts. The Hidden Beast that had bitten him was huge and had a mouth so big that it could swallow him in one gulp. One could only imagine how powerful this grey bite mark would be after it was settled.


    As he pushed forward, Zen couldn''t help but look back at the lamp posts he had once extinguished but were now all lit up again.


    There was no settling this grey bite mark. All he could do was let it accumulate on his body.


    Just as he thought about this, three green flames suddenly appeared at the entrance in the distance.

 Chapter 3598 The Second Way For Settlement

    Although the green-colored flames were quite a distance away, Zen was still able to see them clearly.


    The flames took human shapes and wore sturdy armors. Green flames spurted out from all the parts that weren''t covered by their armors.


    Noticing Zen''s unusual behavior, Elvinia also turned and saw the three human-shaped flames. Her face turned pale in an instant as she caught sight of them.


    They weren''t certain about the origins of the human-shaped flames, but even with their distance, they could still feel the tremendous power emanating from these creatures. Elvinia couldn''t help but take a few steps back because of fear.


    "Grrr!"


    A dragon-shaped Hidden Beast roared somewhere behind them.


    Extremely surprised, Elvinia lost her balance as she tried to quickly turn. Before she fell, Zen immediately held her waist and helped her regain her balance. "Don''t be afraid," Zen said softly as he tried to calm her.


    Elvinia nodded, though it was obvious that she was still in a state of shock.


    She actually had complete trust in Zen, but she just couldn''t shake off her fear and anxiousness of being trapped between the Hidden Spirit Lamps and the three unknown creatures.


    After calming Elvinia, Zen asked the Regal Jade Spirit and No. 9527 about the origin of the human-shaped flames.


    This time, both of them seemed to know the answer. They had enough knowledge about the human-shaped flames.


    "These creatures are born in the flames. They belong to the Element Spirit race," the Regal Jade Spirit answered.


    "They are called the Moon Fire Slaves. Among the members of the Element Spirit race, these creatures are very powerful warriors," No. 9527 added.


    "What''s strange is that they usually appear in the higher stages. What are they doing here in Stage Seventeen?"


    After listening to No. 9527 and the Regal Jade Spirit, Zen concluded, "There''s only one thing that could explain this: the Element Spirit race must have been informed of our arrival."


    "You''re right. It was the Elephant Man race," No. 9527 replied.


    Back on the grassland, Zen surmised that the Elephant Man race was probably a group of spies for some large race. It seemed that his guess was indeed correct.


    "Fortunately, though the Moon Fire Slaves are very powerful, their strength has been greatly suppressed after they entered this stage. However¡­" No. 9527 paused abruptly.


    "What is it?" Zen quickly asked.


    "Their strength migh


    apsed and his flames were extinguished. The broken armor scattered all over the ground.


    "Is he dead?" Zen was a little confused and stunned.


    As the scorching waves disappeared, Elvinia was finally able to breathe properly. There was a sigh of relief as she fixed her charred hair. "How could he die all of a sudden?" Elvinia asked as she caught her breath.


    "His injuries must have been settled!" Zen''s face brightened up as he realized what happened.


    According to the Regal Jade Spirit, if they were attacked by the Hidden Beasts, the injuries accumulated would only be settled after they retreated a certain distance.


    However, it seemed that there was more than one way for the injuries to be settled.


    No. 14''s framework was huge and he didn''t bother dodging any attack made by the Hidden Beasts.


    As he rushed to Zen''s location, several attacks from the Hidden Beasts accumulated on his body.


    "I guess when the power of the Hidden Beasts'' attacks reaches a fatal limit, it will be automatically settled," Zen told the Regal Jade Spirit.


    "That should be it."


    "I agree!"


    No. 9527 and the Regal Jade Spirit affirmed Zen''s deduction.


    In the distance, No. 12 and No. 13 were standing still. Their angry faces were outlined by the flames in their helmets.


    "Really? Only half the distance, and No. 14 was killed," No. 12 uttered in surprise.


    "We can''t take any more chances. We need to extinguish the lamps first before we chase them," No. 13 urged.


    It was true that the Moon Fire Slaves were tough creatures. For now, No. 14 had died, but they still had a way to bring him back to life later.

 Chapter 3599 Stop

    No. 12 watched the two human beings in the distance. After thinking for a while, he finally said, "Let''s put out the lamps!"


    The Element Spirit race had initially sent out the Moon Fire Slaves in order to snatch the Other Shore Key from the two of them.


    It wasn''t the Moon Fire Slaves'' job to explore this dangerous place, or the temple in it.


    They figured it would be for the best if they stayed out of this dangerous place. However, now that they chased after them, it was inevitable that they had to enter that place.


    Having a large body, No. 13 made a big stride forward and reached out to touch the first lamp stand easily. After all, each Hidden Beast''s movement could only cover an area with the diameter of two hundred feet.


    He pinched the black flame on the wick, extinguishing it instantly.


    However, being large in size also had its disadvantages. When No. 13 stretched out his hands to extinguish the black fire, the surrounding Hidden Beasts attacked him. His arms were then covered in grey marks from this.


    "No. 12. What should we do now?" No. 13 turned around and held his arms up in front of No. 12.


    To extinguish one Hidden Spirit Lamp, No. 13 had to be attacked so many times. If he put out the flames of a few more lamps, the attacks that he would suffer would probably not be less than that of No. 14!


    After surveying his surroundings, No. 12 said, "It seems that the design of this place only allows creatures under ten feet high to pass through. We need to shrink."


    The Moon Fire Slave was a kind of fire spirit. They could become large or small in size, even their armor adjusted to their size.


    No. 13 nodded. Immediately, the bodies of the two Moon Fire Slaves shrank. Their armor melted into a silver liquid. Finally, once the two had condensed to a height of roughly ten feet, their armors solidified, fitting them snugly.


    Now that they were small, they were able to move more nimbly.


    No. 13 then took a step forward, his momentum causing a gust of hot wind. He was headed straight for the second lamp stand...


    "They are going to catch up," said Elvinia, pursing her lips anxiously.


    There was no way she''d want them to get close again. She had already suffered enough from the first Moon Fire Slave.


    "They won''t be


    nted his body, he felt anxious. They were like ominous blades that hung over his head, ready to fall at any moment.


    "According to the situation of that Moon Fire Slave, the Cyan Grasshopper should have died on the spot, not after a while," said Zen slowly.


    "Yes!" The Regal Jade Spirit added, "The rules of the settlement are somewhat different from what I thought."


    "However, the result is the same..." Zen responded faintly.


    Although the Moon Fire Slaves'' strength was suppressed by Stage Seventeen of the Other Shore, Zen doubted he was stronger than them.


    "But think about it," the Regal Jade Spirit pressed. "What if a person is seriously injured, and stays in this area the whole time?"


    Zen''s eyes lit up. Was it the third method of settlement?


    "Are you saying the injuries will be settled when the time is up?" Zen asked slowly.


    "It''s very likely." The Regal Jade Spirit nodded confidently.


    "If so..."


    Zen whipped his head around to look at the Moon Fire Slaves in the distance.


    They seemed to be in a worse predicament than him.


    Pondering over this for a bit, Zen decided to stop moving forward. If what the Regal Jade Spirit had said was true, he would have to try staying put for a while.


    Seeing that Zen had stopped pressing forward, No. 13 was overjoyed. This gave him renewed strength, and he proceeded to extinguish the Hidden Spirit Lamps as fast as he could.


    He was getting close. But suddenly, studying the gray scars on his body, he hesitated to move forward.

 Chapter 3600 The Third Force

    Although Elvinia agreed that she and Zen should stop, she was still highly concerned about the Moon Fire Slaves'' movements.


    Seeing that they stopped as well, she finally sighed in relief. "They''ve stopped too. They can only withstand a limited amount of power."


    Zen found some relief in that as well. It didn''t look like the Moon Fire Slaves were about to catch up.


    But a few seconds later, they began moving forward once again.


    After No. 13 halted, No. 12 continued on.


    This strategy gave them a great advantage.


    "Now it''s my turn!" Elvinia called out without turning to Zen.


    While she couldn''t use the Chaotic Source Spirits in her current form, her corporeal body had refined a great number of Body-strengthening Jades. By no means was she weak.


    Before Zen could say a word, Elvinia frowned. "I''m not useless!"


    She knew Zen didn''t want her to help because he was worried about her safety, but she couldn''t let him take on everything by himself. He needed her, and Elvinia was well aware of it.


    Swish!


    Elvinia flew over first.


    The centipede had been on guard against Zen, so Elvinia managed to find a good spot from far away. Even as the centipede reacted quickly, Elvinia managed to extinguish the black flame first.


    Then, she turned to Zen and said, "What do you think?"


    "Very good!" He gave her a thumbs up.


    "I will go on then!"


    Without pausing, Elvinia took a moment to observe the scene before rushing on to the next lamp post.


    Both of the two groups moved along the posts at the same speed, maintaining a constant distance between them.


    After some time, Zen felt a sudden vibration from the gray marks on his body¡ªall the wounds he had gotten exploded simultaneously.


    He had absorbed a massive amount of Body-strengthening Jades, and the Chaotic Source Spirits had almost reached the late stage. His physical strength far exceeded that of his peers. But when the gray marks on his body exploded, even he couldn''t suppress the muffled groan coming out of him as he spat out a mouthful of blood.


    The power of settlement had


    he entrance to the circular desert.


    Seeing their masters enter the desert, the Extremity Mice all squeaked¡ªhundreds and thousands of them then surged out of the caves They gathered around the two red balls of light like tidewater, and followed the masters into the desert.


    Whoosh!


    Zen''s figure was more like a bolt of lightning than a person as he flew to the side of the lamp post and extinguished yet another black flame.


    When he looked up to the front, he finally felt a sense of relief.


    The desert''s exit wasn''t too far away¡ªhe only needed to deal with three more lamp posts.


    Only two gray marks covered his body. The larger the size of the Hidden Beasts, the stronger their strength. But even they couldn''t keep up with him, so passing was no big deal to him.


    The two Moon Fire Slaves had already passed through the middle of the desert. When they reached the ''disassembled'' Moon Fire Slave, they stuffed No. 14''s armor and spiritual core into their pockets.


    It was the spiritual core that served as the Moon Fire Slaves'' foundation. So long as it was intact, they would never fall to their death.


    Continuing forward, they saw the entrance of the desert suddenly flash with a crimson light, from which two blood-red balls of light appeared.


    The objects carried a special aura. From the moment they entered the desert from the gobi, Zen was drawn to them.

 Chapter 3601 The White Mist

    Fortunately, Zen''s judgment was quick. As soon as he saw the red balls of light, he immediately deduced that they weren''t weak compared to the Moon Fire Slaves.


    At the same time, he felt that the Regal Jade Spirit''s emotions had fluctuated wildly. He sensed that there was some kind of uncontrollable anger.


    "That''s the Nihility race," said the Regal Jade Spirit.


    The Regal Jade Civilization was known for their intimidating aura, back when they first set foot on the Other Shore. In a short period of time, they had become one of the top ten civilizations, and the Wing King had become a highly important and powerful existence on the Other Shore. However, due to the conflict with the Nihility race, they had no choice but to hide under the black pool of the Dark Region at Stage Thirteen.


    From that scenario, one could imagine the opposition between the Regal Jade Civilization and the Nihility race.


    "They are of the Nihility race? Why do they look like the Element Spirit race?" asked Zen. He continued to study the red balls in the distance.


    Inside the iron house in the energy vortex, the Shape-shifting Spirit had once transformed into a circular ball, which was the form of an Element Spirit.


    The Moon Fire Slaves descended from the Element Spirit race, but the two red balls looked more like the Element Spirit race than the Moon Fire Slaves.


    "Humph! The Nihility race is not a civilization. They are a group of creatures that believe in the Nihility Way.


    Or rather, they are the traitors from different races," the Regal Jade Spirit sneered.


    There was a clear and obvious resentment in the Regal Jade Spirit''s voice at the mention of the Nihility race. "I see..." Zen simply nodded.


    He never expected that breaking into this place with the Other Shore Key would alert all those powerful beings from the upper stages, one after another.


    Meanwhile, the two Moon Fire Slaves also noticed the two red balls at the entrance.


    "Two Nihility Spirits. They are traitors," No. 12 said coldly.


    "Are we going to get rid of them?" No. 13 asked. Naturally, the Element Spirit race did not tolerate traitors.


    If they ever came across any betrayers from their race, they would fight them to the death.


    "Forget it. It''s more important to get the Other Shore Key. Go wake up No. 14. Use my star dust to recover his strength," No. 12 commanded.


    Their original plan was to return home after they had obtained the Other Shore Key, and then awaken No. 14.


    But now that the Nihility race wa


    s, it would only take a few seconds for him to cover this distance.


    "Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"


    At that point, the thick, milky white mist blocked the two people''s eyesight.


    Now, Zen had traveled forward for dozens of seconds already. At his speed, he was able to fly back and forth about four times within the area, but he still couldn''t pass through the white mist. "What''s going on?" Elvinia asked in confusion.


    "There''s something wrong. We are not moving forward," Zen said with a frown.


    "I''m afraid it''s not that easy to pass through this area," Elvinia answered and shook her head.


    Overall, Elvinia had been an invincible being on the Other Shore ever since she got the body of the purified being. Even the creatures in the Dark Region couldn''t do anything to her.


    Despite that, the first area of the temple had been so dangerous, let alone the second one.


    As a result, she became more curious about the temple.


    What kind of civilization had set up such a space and built the temple? What exactly was hidden inside the temple?


    As for Zen, what he currently thought about was how to pass through the area they were in. He flew forward for a distance, and then descended from the white mist.


    He had flown so close to the grass that was a few hundred feet tall. Thus, he should be able to leave the mist very soon if he descended like the way he did now. However, after he came down vertically from a height of over ten thousand feet, the place below him was still covered in white mist. He couldn''t get to the bottom.


    Of course, Elvinia also realized that there was an endless void below them, and she couldn''t help but hold onto Zen more tightly.

 Chapter 3602 Help

    In reality, the white mist was only a huge illusion.


    At that point, Zen began to long for the Eye of Will. After all, even if the Eye of Will''s power wasn''t that strong, the theurgy it had was very useful.


    The Authentic Visual World could help him see through almost all illusions, but unfortunately it was burnt when Zen had fought the Evil God.


    The second he stopped moving, the white mist behind him surged forward.


    The white mist swirled until it formed the shape of a human being. The human-like mist held a large saber in one hand, and hacked towards Zen''s head!


    "Swoosh..."


    The white mist had appeared so suddenly that when Zen realized what happened, the saber was already way too close to him.


    In a moment of desperation, he subconsciously reached out his hand to protect himself.


    "Bang!"


    The saber''s power formed from the white mist was quite sharp. He felt the Chaotic Source Spirits in his body shake violently when it struck his arm, and the impact had caused half of his Chaotic Source Spirits to be consumed!


    "So powerful!" he exclaimed.


    In turn, he flew backwards with his arms around Elvinia and kicked the human-shaped mist.


    He thought that since the human-shaped mist could execute such a strong saber strike, it must be extraordinarily powerful. He didn''t expect that his light kick would cause the human-shaped mist to disperse.


    ''This is bad!'' he thought.


    His thunder wings flapped once more, and then he flew half a foot upward.


    The human-shaped mist attacked from the other side this time. Luckily, Zen was quick to react, managing to dodge. If the saber hit him again, the Chaotic Source Spirits would most likely get exhausted once more.


    When he avoided the second strike, Elvinia also seized the opportunity and quickly grabbed the human-shaped white mist.


    At that moment, the human-shaped white mist was destroyed.


    The moment the human-shaped mist dissipated, Elvinia immediately yelled, "Zen, up there!"


    Since Zen had no time to analyze the situation, he just blindly grabbed above him and crushed the mist once again. But just as the mist dispersed, it escaped from behind!


    "Clatter, clatter, clatter..."


    The human-shaped white mist with the saber repeatedly appeared and disappeared, but Zen and Elvinia didn''t stop at all even though they could not communicate.


    About five minutes later, the white mist finally


    one, he had repeatedly killed it for about five minutes before it disappeared forever.


    After a while, the white mists that had dispersed reappeared in a second and charged towards him.


    "Plop! Plop! Plop! Plop..."


    Another nine red fist marks popped up on the chests of the human-shaped mists, and then they were crushed again.


    The human-shaped white mists ceaselessly reappeared, and the red fist marks destroyed them over and over again...


    Zen and Elvinia looked around in surprise. Of course, they wanted to know who helped them.


    However, the white mist was too thick to dissolve. Even if the helper was very close, they still couldn''t see them!


    After each of the nine human-shaped white mists was killed a dozen times, they were finally gone for good.


    Despite that, Zen and Elvinia didn''t feel relieved. After all, both of them saw a red light in the white mist, which became brighter and brighter. Finally, it emerged out of the white mist and appeared in front of them.


    It turned out, that it was one of the two Nihility Spirits of the Nihility race.


    "How dare you enter this dangerous place if you can''t defeat the fog spirits? You two are quite bold..." soft female voice came from the red ball.


    Zen simply frowned and did not refute, as what the Nihility Spirit said was reasonable.


    Relying on his powerful physical body and the methods of the purified being, he thought that he could act recklessly in the Dark Region. He explored such a dangerous place without any knowledge. Overall, he was indeed a bit rash.


    But, why did the Nihility Spirit save him?

 Chapter 3603 The Light

    Zen and Elvinia stood vigilant, facing the approaching Nihility Spirit.


    The Nihility Way they followed was strange and made them difficult to predict.


    The red ball floated towards Zen and slowly came to a stop. Seeing it this close up, he saw that it was filled with bright red blood.


    A shadow in the shape of human became visible in the blood, and it slowly began floating out, stretching an arm through first.


    Zen and Elvinia looked closer to find a piece of white bone.


    As the bone left the ball, the blood in it seemed to boil and gather on the bone, turning into meridians and flesh.


    One moment the flesh was red and the next it turned white and tender.


    Then the skull, neck, chest and ribs emerged from the red ball as well. The blood began turning into the internal organs, eyes, ears, nose and mouth. In no time at all, a woman no less beautiful than Elvinia had materialized.


    "I admire your courage very much. You were actually capable of luring the Moon Fire Slaves here. Do you have the Other Shore Key to the temple?"


    asked the newly formed human woman. As she spoke, her gaze shifted to Zen''s hands. Noticing the lines on his right hand, her eyes flashed as she reached out to grab it.


    Zen withdrew his hand lightning fast, remaining wary of this thing before him.


    The woman didn''t seem bothered. She smiled and said, "There is no need for such caution. We are of the same race."


    "We are not of the same race as you!" Elvinia retorted angrily. "You grew from bones!"


    The woman froze at these words. She then smiled again and replied, "I may have grown from bones, but I''m still more human than a pig-faced monster."


    "You little..." Elvinia burned with rage; she had gained her body from a pig-faced monster.


    The human woman ignored Elvinia and got right to the point. "I''ll give you two choices. The first is to submit to us and j


    w, their resources on the Other Shore were very limited.


    "This is not the Dark Region. Your advantages as purified beings are completely useless against us. If you fall into the hands of the Moon Fire Slaves, your end will be much more miserable."


    The woman''s voice came through the mist.


    ''The light!''


    A thought flashed through Elvinia''s mind. Quickly, she said, "Light is straight. We can go along the light!"


    This area was not large. If they found the right direction, they''d be able to pass through in the blink of an eye.


    As Elvinia finished speaking, she pinched her hand and flicked forward. A slender and long beam of light shot forward. Even in the vast white mist, the white light was a dazzling substance.


    Zen blinked his eyes, a hint of joy on his face. "I didn''t think of that. It''s worth a try!"


    Crack!


    He flapped the thunder wings on his back, turning into a flash of lightning and flying along the straight light.


    Not far away, the light was reflected in space, and a part of it deflected and shot in another direction.


    It seemed clear that Zen had gotten lost because something was wrong with this space.


    But this time he wouldn''t follow the deflected light and instead flew forward in a straight line.

 Chapter 3604 No Route Of Retreat

    Previously, the world around Zen went by in a blur as he flew for a long time and lost his sense of direction.


    Now, he found the light that Elvinia had shot did not lead them to the exit of the circular area, but the right side of the said area instead.


    As soon as they arrived at the right side, they immediately calculated the direction. As Elvinia gently rubbed her thumb against her forefinger, another ray of light extended into the distance.


    This time, Zen flew fast along the ray of light. After a dozen seconds, the pervading white fog no longer surrounded them. It was clear that they had finally passed through.


    However, the woman in the red ball didn''t expect that Zen would be able to get rid of the Mist Killing Array so soon, so she continued to persuade him.


    Of course, Zen did not respond to her. Instead, he left with Elvinia through the exit on one side of the circular ring, then they entered the last area¡ªthe flat gobi.


    The moment they entered the gobi, Elvinia pointed to the distance and exclaimed, "Zen, look!"


    On the other side of the gobi was a huge temple.


    In addition, the location of the temple was exactly the same as Zen had predicted before.


    As he gazed into the distance, his eyes quickly fell on a statue in front of the temple.


    The statue looked tall and sturdy, and was dressed in luxurious clothing. Its face seemed to look confident. Zen had no idea who that was.


    "Let''s go!"


    Because the Nihility Spirits were quite familiar with the area, it wouldn''t be difficult for them to pass through the Mist Killing Array. Naturally, it would be troublesome if those Nihility Spirits caught up with them.


    Judging from how tough it was to pass through the first two areas, Zen was afraid that the gobi area at the end would give them a hard time, too.


    Since they had been drawn to the white fog while they flew, Zen and Elvinia decided that it would be best to walk through the gobi.


    "Da! Da! Da!"


    The sounds of their footsteps echoed loudly in the empty gobi as they walked forward.


    Despite having traveled on foot, they moved quite fast. It was only after a blink of an eye when they arrived at the center of the gobi.


    Just as Zen had silently rejoiced about not being in danger anymore, he suddenly felt that the ground beneath him shook.


    "Boom!"


    A huge footprint suddenly appeared on the ground not far away.


    "Bo


    ou without mercy!" the woman in the red ball declared.


    Right after the woman finished speaking, the blood in the red ball circulated, and two masses of blood floated towards Zen and Elvinia.


    Even though Zen didn''t know what those masses were, he had a rough guess of what could happen if he absorbed them.


    He took a deep breath. There was no way he would submit to the Nihility race, so he would have to fight a hard battle today.


    "Kill us without mercy? Are you sure you''re even qualified to speak to me in that way when your strength has been suppressed by Stage Seventeen?" Zen shot back. His body emanated a domineering aura as he spoke intimidatingly.


    He knew that it was difficult to deal with Moon Fire Slaves and Nihility Spirits, so he had tried to dodge them when he could. However, things were different when he had no route of retreat.


    "It''s a pity to kill such a talent..." the woman in the red ball sighed when she felt Zen''s aura.


    At that point, she said to the Nihility Spirit by her side, "Go ahead. Capture the man alive, while the woman could be killed."


    Immediately after, the surface of the two red balls began to fluctuate in circles.


    The minute they were about to take action, the Moon Fire Slaves suddenly appeared behind the Nihility Spirits. As soon as No. 13 arrived at the gobi, his huge body suddenly turned around and crushed a Nihility Spirit under his feet.


    Boom!


    The conflict between the Nihility race and the Element Spirit race was unresolvable. They were mortal enemies. Of course, they would not hold back in each other''s presence.

 Chapter 3605 Negotiation

    The second No. 13 stepped on the Nihility Spirit, the green flames within his body streamed downward along his legs until they flowed onto the Nihility Spirit beneath his feet.


    "Splash..."


    The green flames covered the surface of the red ball, effectively corroding it.


    The Moon Fire Slaves were created by the fire spirits of the Element Spirit race. The green flames that formed the Moon Fire Slaves'' bodies were called the "Magical Star Flame". The fire spirits of the Element Spirit race had a great control over the flames, and the Magical Star Flame could be considered to be the embodiment of the fire spirits'' greatest achievement.


    Although the power of the Moon Fire Slaves was suppressed in Stage Seventeen, the power of the Magical Star Flame could not be underestimated.


    "Burn it to ashes. Ha-ha..." No. 13 pressed his heel down firmly on the red ball, and the green flames continued to pour forth.


    Although the surface of the red ball sizzled and sputtered under the heat of the Magical Star Flames, its inside remained intact.


    "Buzz..."


    "Buzz..."


    "Buzz..."


    Everyone present exchanged confused glances at the sound of three buzzes from within the red ball.


    "Splash!"


    A column of blood shot out from the red ball. The blood spurted out violently, and it formed the shape of a huge, bloody hand. Grabbing No. 13, it raised him high and smashed him downwards so hard that the ground shook.


    Boom! Boom!


    Every time No. 13 was smashed into the ground, pieces of his armor fell off one by one. Gradually, the green flames within his body began to sputter out.


    No. 14, who was following closely behind, rushed towards the red ball as he screamed at the top of his lungs.


    However, before No. 14 could even get close, another column of blood shot out from the red ball, also forming a giant hand. The hand grabbed No. 14 before he even had the time to think. He too was being smashed violently into the ground.


    The two Moon Fire Slaves collided in a heaping mess of destroyed armor and deformed green flames.


    Even though the Moon Fire Slaves couldn''t be hurt so easily, the energy of their spiritual cores was being exhausted


    g for a while, he said, "Since everyone''s goal is to get to the temple, why not we join forces for now? We can put our prior disagreements aside for the time being, and open the temple first."


    The three forces had spent a lot of time and energy in trying to open up this temple. Finally, the Other Shore Key was within reach, so how could they possibly let go of this opportunity?


    "That''s right. Just get that guy''s hand first," No. 14 chipped in.


    Just minutes ago, No. 13 and No. 14 had been badly beaten by the human woman. By now, they had replenished some star dust, enough for them to recover. The green flames that were sputtering out were now much more dense and lively.


    "Of course we will get that hand," another Nihility Spirit said.


    "Humph! Whoever gets it can possess it!"


    No. 14 was the closest to Zen.


    As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly strode towards Zen.


    "Knock, knock, knock..."


    Zen had been listening to their conversation. Hearing them discuss as though he were already dead made him furious. As No. 14 headed towards him, a trace of killing intent flashed in Zen''s eyes.


    The chances of him winning against two powerful races were incredibly slim.


    However, it just so happened that these two races were mortal enemies. He could use this against them and fight them with all his might.


    Just as No. 14 was a few steps away from him, the Wild God Power within Zen''s body suddenly erupted.

 Chapter 3606 A Safe Path

    Previously, the Moon Fire Slaves had to make their bodies smaller and compact in order for them to pass through the first area.


    As soon as they arrived at the second area, their height of several hundred feet was quickly restored.


    No. 14 had a very simple and straightforward idea. He had planned on defeating Zen using sheer and brute strength. Afterwards, he would cut off Zen''s arm that recorded the Other Shore Key.


    The Moon Fire Slaves were known as the Element Spirit race''s slaves. Despite that fact, they still disdained and belittled the ants in the lower stages.


    However, things took an unexpected turn as soon as No. 14 sped toward Zen. He noticed that Zen''s body started to expand. Out of nowhere, one of his hands grabbed the Moon Fire Slave by his shoulder and threw a punch toward his chest with the other.


    "Unbelievable! His hand..."


    At this point, No. 14 had forgotten to defend himself. He was utterly dumbfounded as he stared at Zen''s hand in disbelief.


    The armor of No. 14 became instantly disjointed around the shoulder area. As Zen extended his hand further, it sank even deeper into the Moon Fire Slave''s shoulder. It was entirely enveloped by the Magical Star Flames emanating from within his body.


    Everything would be reduced to ashes as soon as it came into contact with the Magical Star Flames within his body.


    However, Zen''s hand remained safe and intact! He couldn''t quite understand how Zen managed to touch his body without getting burned.


    While No. 14 was still completely bewildered, Zen had thrown another powerful punch toward his chest.


    Boom!


    The punch landed with a sickening crunch. The armor on No. 14''s back completely fell apart and got blown off. Upon impact with Zen''s fist, the Magical Star Flames inside No. 14''s body turned into a column of fire that spurted out from his back. At the same time, his spiritual core also shot out.


    It was almost impossible to break the spiritual core with brute force. This showed how much strength there was behind Zen''s attack.


    Once the spiritual core left the Moon Fire Slave''s body, the body would ultimately collapse.


    Splash!


    No. 14''s armor had scattered all over the ground. There were flames flowing everywhere. All that was left of his existence were bits of shattered armor pieces, flames, and his spiritual core.


    He had already collapsed before in the annular desert area wherein a large amount of stardust was consumed before he had recovered. And now, he had collapsed once more under the might of Zen''s blow.


    The Magical Star Flames flooded the ground and were gush


    a certain area, the space in front of her became distorted. Instantaneously, an invisible force left a huge footprint in the middle of the gobi.


    Boom!


    The footprint appeared right in front of her. It was only a few inches away from where she stood.


    "The energy soul of heaven and earth is very powerful. Once it is formed, it will be indestructible for a very long time. Many of the temples found in Stage Thirty-one are guarded by it," explained the woman.


    It seemed like she was saying this to Zen.


    "However, it also has a huge flaw. Anyone who enters it will be attacked indiscriminately," added the woman as she slowly opened her hand and gently blew on it. As she did this, a blood red mist gradually dispersed from her palm.


    The mist contained a faint energy. As soon as the mist drifted forward to the distorted space, a strange scene occurred.


    Huge invisible feet stomped down from above and began attacking the blood mist.


    However, the blood mist was formless. Therefore, the huge feet weren''t able to damage it all.


    "This area is heavily guarded by the energy soul of heaven and earth. In any case, there should be a path around here that would allow us to safely pass through it. The path avoids all the attacks of the energy soul. Normally, it can''t be seen clearly by the naked eye. But while the energy soul is attacking the blood mist, we will be able to see it," she continued.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    As the attacks continued, the blood mist was able to outline the countless footprints that appeared beneath it.


    Among these seemingly messy footprints, a winding path was exposed. There were no giant footprints along this path. Obviously, this was what the woman had mentioned earlier.

 Chapter 3607 Meeting Chiyous Statue Again

    Zen couldn''t help the burst of admiration that flooded his heart as he stared at the path flanked by countless footprints.


    If the red mist hadn''t lured out all these footprints, he would''ve never seen it.


    The human woman whispered something to another red ball and Zen watched it zoom straight onto the path.


    "This way please," she said to him with a smile.


    The path was winding and zigzag. If she entered first, Zen might flee behind her. There was also the possibility of the Moon Fire Slaves abducting him.


    Zen and Elvinia looked at each other with alert, but they still stepped on the path in silence.


    The human woman originally wanted to walk behind Zen and Elvinia but No. 12 beat her to it, shrinking his body and situating himself behind them.


    The fight had ceased on the three sides but they still remained on guard against each other.


    Since it didn''t really matter, the human woman chose to just let it be and settled herself at the very back.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    Thunderous footsteps echoed around them as invisible feet stomped on both sides of the path, trampling the gobi into pieces and only leaving the path they were walking on intact.


    This winding path wasn''t long and with the red ball leading them, they were able to pass through in just about three minutes.


    As the human woman walked out of the path, she drilled out the red ball, placed her palm on her lips, and sucked in the air.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh


    All the red fog got sucked into her mouth!


    When it disappeared, the energy soul stopped attacking and the messy gobi resumed its original form as if nothing happened at all.


    "You can open the temple now," the woman said to Zen indifferently.


    Zen nodded and walked towards the temple gates.


    The temple wasn''t small by any means. Zen considered it very large in comparison to the ones he''d seen.


    As he stared at the gates, he couldn''t help but gasp in shock.


    A huge part of the gates had been charred!


    Not only that, but there were also numerous scratches and irreparable da


    ates let out a dull sound.


    Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!


    As the gates opened, the Moon Fire Slaves and that human woman took a step back.


    That step back had been necessary because of the heavy wave of killing intent that suddenly washed over them. Although Zen had used the Other Shore Key to open the gates, they remained on high alert.


    Zen, on the other hand, felt no fear. He didn''t even bother assessing the situation before grabbing Elvinia and heading straight inside.


    The temple was dark but the moment they stepped inside, golden dots of light appeared like fireflies and illuminated their way.


    As these dots of light appeared, numerous candles also lit up and illuminated the entire hall.


    Around forty statues stood in front of them, most were human-shaped but a few were of strange forms. Zen''s eyes were immediately fixed on the sixth statue from the left.


    This statue had a human body and a snake tail. It was a member of the Snake Goddess race.


    It wasn''t surprising to find this statue in a human race''s temple since both races were related by blood.


    However, the statue in front of them looked exactly like the Snake Goddess Zen had met in the Pear Hill.


    Seeing the Snake Goddess''s statue here was one thing but the one next to it confused Zen even more. There, in full-glory with three heads and six arms, stood Chiyou''s statue.

 Chapter 3608 A Powerful Statue

    Although Zen had seen Chiyou''s statue for many times, he had only seen Chiyou once.


    The Chiyou statue in front of him now was no different from those he had already seen before.


    ''Now that both the Snake Goddess'' and Chiyou''s statues are here, does that mean Fuxi''s and the Eastern Emperor''s will be here as well?''


    As Zen thought about this, Elvinia gently tugged at his sleeve. Her eyes never left the statues, but it seemed as if she was focused on one of them¡ªthe statue that half knelt on the ground, with a sword in hand that pierced the ground. It was a statue of Eastern Emperor Taiyi.


    "Why...Why is Father''s statue here?" Elvinia asked in a hushed tone.


    Zen squinted his eyes as he scanned through the statues before him. For everything to make sense, the Divine Farmer''s and the Yellow Thearch''s statues should have been present too. However, Zen had never seen them in person, so he could only wonder if their statues were here.


    "I''m afraid that the statue is not of Eastern Emperor Taiyi himself," Zen told Elvinia.


    "It''s not Father?" Elvinia asked, unconvinced that the statue was not her father.


    "Right." Zen nodded.


    Since the Snake Goddess was willing to give Zen the Six-Pattern Blood-storing Seed, she did not know of the Other Shore Key in the seed, which also meant that she had no clue about the existence of this temple either.


    It was likely that the temple had stood there for such a long time, that it had survived through a thousand chaotic eras.


    Naturally, it was impossible for Eastern Emperor Taiyi, Chiyou, Fuxi, or even the Snake Goddess, to set up their statues here inside this particular temple.


    "If this is not Father, who could it possibly be?" Elvinia questioned, "What on earth is up with this temple?"


    She did not understand the origin of this round of chaos, leaving her pretty much in the dark to what was happening.


    On the contrary, Zen had learned a handful about the Other Shore and the chaotic eras from No. 9527 and the Regal Jade Spirit. Aside from this, he had also studied the origin of human beings from the Snake Goddess.


    In fact, the human beings in the current round of the chaotic era, should not have existed at all. The fact was that they had been secretly and strategically placed there by the human beings from the Other Shore.


    When the Snake Goddess


    n No. 12 lifted his hand to slap the statue, the statue smiled. It then stretched out its finger and lightly tapped in the air.


    "Pop!"


    Just like that, a cracking noise echoed from inside the hall.


    No. 12''s tall and sturdy body stiffened in fright.


    A spiritual core rolled out from his right shoulder, which turned into powder as it rolled down.


    "Splash..."


    The spiritual core was broken, which meant that the Moon Fire Slave was completely destroyed.


    His flaming body evaporated, leaving his armor clamoring as it fell to the ground.


    "The spiritual core? The spiritual core is broken?" No. 13 that was watching their exchange couldn''t help but be frightened.


    Historically, it was very difficult to kill a Moon Fire Slave.


    This was because their spiritual cores could not be destroyed just by ordinary means.


    The perfect example of this would be No. 14, who had "died" twice yet could revive himself with star dust.


    It was notable that the statue killed No. 12 so easily.


    But the statue didn''t stop the killing after getting rid of No. 12. "Alien races are not allowed to enter the temple," it muttered.


    Whoosh!


    Whoosh!


    Suddenly, two invisible beams of light emerged from its fingers.


    As much as No. 13 wanted to run away, he did not have enough time to do so. The light pierced through his body and shattered the spiritual core inside. The Magical Star Flame that formed his body immediately extinguished.


    At the same time, another beam of light shot right into the body of a Nihility Spirit that was close by.

 Chapter 3609 Test

    Aside from the Nihility Spirit being actually strong, the red ball that was wrapped around their body was also extremely powerful.


    However, that ray of light which possessed an immense penetrating power, had actually pierced through it without any problems!


    "Phew!"


    Once the ray of light punctured the red ball, the red ball broke like a water tank and its shattered pieces flew in all directions.


    Bright red blood gushed out next, and inside the red ball floated a strangely shaped skeleton. The skeleton clearly was not in the human form.


    "Jazlene!" the human woman screamed.


    She was utterly shocked when she saw that her companion was killed so suddenly.


    Based from what the statue said, Zen understood that only humans were allowed to enter the temple. In addition, the statue was highly goal-oriented and clearly knew its targets. At first it killed No. 12, and then No. 13, and finally that Nihility Spirit.


    As for this human woman, she was probably related to the human race. Specifically, she was most likely a member of the Snake Goddess race, so the statue did not attack her.


    Despite that, she remained frozen at her spot and didn''t dare to move at all.


    Even Zen and Elvinia were stunned when the statue''s fingers released those rays of light. They thought that the statue that stood in the middle of the hall was a real one made of stone. How could it be a sentient being with such great power?


    The stone statue raised its head to look at Zen, Elvinia, and the human woman. "I thought it was the inheritors of the thirty-nine heroes who came, but I didn''t expect that none of you are any of them," the statue said in an aloof voice.


    At the words "thirty-nine heroes," the human woman''s vision darkened slightly, while Elvinia was confused, and Zen''s eyes flashed.


    Zen had counted all the statues and there were exactly thirty-nine of them.


    "Master!" he exclaimed. Then, he quickly cupped his hands towards the statue.


    "Don''t call me master," the statue shook its head. "I''m just a soul puppet who can only follow the orders of my former master," he added.


    Generally speaking, such a puppet only had a small memory of its former master. In addition, it was considered inferior to a soul fragment like No. 9527.


    Its eyes stared at the human woman as it continued, "That is why even I know that she is a traitor, I can''t do anything to her."


    The human woman had been very nervous. She originally came from the human race, but she betrayed them and joined the Nihility race. Naturally, she was afraid that the statue


    er than what Zen and the Regal Jade Spirit had imagined.


    In the same way, the power of the Nihility race was no longer what it used to be. It had become one of the few big races that could fight against the Element Spirit race.


    The statue just listened nonchalantly to the conversation between the human woman and Zen.


    Once the human woman was finished speaking, it said, "Of course I know of the heroes'' whereabouts, but if you want to know, I will tell you when you pass through there."


    Then, it pointed towards the ground not far away.


    A starry pattern appeared on the ground. There was a faint space fluctuation in the pattern, as if it was another world. "Is this a test?" Zen asked.


    "Yes," the statue said with a smile. "The human race had built the Creation Myth Temple with all their might and resources. Those who have betrayed our race may not be able to pass the test so easily," it explained.


    Up until now, Zen didn''t know why the human race had hidden the Other Shore Key in the Six-Pattern Blood-storing Seed, but they might have their own plans.


    It would be too simple and laid-back if the temple recognized any human who appeared in this place.


    Therefore, he wasn''t surprised that there would be a test.


    "Let''s go!"


    He obviously wasn''t afraid of the test the Creation Myth Temple had given. Meanwhile, Elvinia followed him without hesitation.


    On the other hand, the woman from the Nihility race only looked at the starry pattern not far away, her eyes filled with doubt.


    She wasn''t sure if the statue said that to threaten her or just to frighten her. It was easy for her to enter recklessly, but if she wanted to leave safely, perhaps it wouldn''t be that easy.

 Chapter 3610 The Orexis Test

    The human woman only hesitated for a moment before she finally made her decision.


    This temple was the last fortress of the human race. It had stood on Stage Seventeen of the Other Shore for so many years, and was never once explored. Naturally, she would never let go of such a rare opportunity!


    She gently nudged forward from inside of the red ball. Her snake tail swayed as she followed closely behind Zen and Elvinia.


    Now, Zen was the first one to step on the starry pattern.


    The pattern appeared to be made of some kind of thick mercury. When he stepped on it, the pattern suddenly flashed a beam of starlight, which immediately consumed him.


    "Zen!" Elvinia shouted.


    Without thinking twice, she quickly followed him and jumped into the starry pattern. Like Zen, she also disappeared inside the mysterious starlight.


    The last who went in was the woman, the human betrayer.


    After the starlight had swallowed Zen, he looked around and found himself in a totally different space.


    Countless dots of light continuously fell down on him.


    A seemingly infinite number of stars illuminated the sky and formed a silver stream of light.


    Back then, he had once marveled at the beautiful starlight in his father''s universe. However, the stars in his father''s inner world paled in comparison to the current scenery in front of him. The number of stars above him was way beyond anyone could count.


    Stars fell from the sky, flew past the corner of his eye, then began to disappear from his view.


    It wasn''t until he heard the whistle of the wind that he realized what was really going on. The stars weren''t actually flying away from him, but rather, he was falling down fast.


    Below him was a huge continent that was shrouded in the darkness. It was originally as small as a hand in his eyes, but as he kept falling down, it rapidly expanded and the expanse of its territory became increasingly clear to him. Soon enough, a vast land appeared beneath him.


    Suddenly, he remembered that he was getting closer and closer to the ground.


    "I need to brace for impact!" he exclaimed.


    Almost subconsciously, he attempted to fly up into the air.


    "Rise!"


    "Thunder Materialization!"


    "Wind ..."


    He used several methods in a row, but none of them worked to slow down his speed.


    It seemed that his theurgies were useless in this space.


    Just as he was about to hit the ground, an invisible force cushioned him from behind, then slowly and gently eased him down.


    Once he had landed, he got up from the ground and examined the state of his


    ally completely exhausted. He felt his throat burn as thirst and hunger began to cloud his mind.


    ''I need to eat and drink...''


    As soon as the thought came to his mind, a gust of wind suddenly carried a delicate bouquet of wine to him.


    The wine''s fragrance rushed into his nostrils, until it reached all the way into the depths of his soul.


    He shivered as he was deeply dazed and exhausted. Still, he managed to look up and saw some brilliant lights in front of him.


    There was a big table laden with various kinds of fruits, while fragrant wines of different colors filled the glasses and emitted an intoxicating scent.


    There were people who sat around the table, who all stood up and bowed respectfully to Zen.


    "Please help yourself to the wines and fruits," they said.


    ''They didn''t stop me from eating and drinking!'' he happily thought to himself. "But, you should know, they are all poisonous!" someone suddenly warned.


    "What''s wrong with you?" Zen grumbled.


    He glared sullenly at the people around him. He felt that he was about to go crazy!


    After he was demoted to an ordinary mortal, all of his emotions and desires felt authentic. Therefore, it was difficult for him to resist his instinct for eating.


    Finally, he couldn''t help but satisfy his desire for food. Even though he had a very strong will, he now gave in to his orexis.


    As he stumbled helplessly towards the wines and fruits, he suddenly heard a voice in his mind that said, "If you die here, your previous efforts will be wasted!"


    It was true that he had gone on a hard path before entering the temple. Of course, there was no way that he would resign himself to the prospect of losing right then and there.

 Chapter 3611 Six Desires

    No proper introduction was given regarding the rules of this world or how to pass the test.


    However, those people had already given Zen a clear hint.


    If he ate all the food, he would certainly die. His death would mean he''d surely be kicked out of the game.


    This round of the game would test his self-discipline and willpower.


    Although Zen''s tremendous amount of experience had made his soul powerful beyond measure, it did not affect his decisiveness and willpower whatsoever.


    Besides, when one''s willpower had increased to a certain extent, it would be difficult for it to advance further.


    Normally, Zen would''ve dealt with similar situations by utilizing the Emotion Closing Godly Way. Now that he had lost all his abilities and theurgies, it would be impossible for him to use it.


    A familiar scent wafted through his nose and made him swallow. It was wine. With a newfound determination, he turned around and left.


    In the wilderness, he was still alone.


    His body was exhausted from being pushed to its limit¡ªa constant reminder of his hunger and thirst. It was so bad that he felt his throat was dry and burning with each exhale.


    This worsened once he saw light appear before him again.


    Beneath it was laid a bevy of delicious food. What would''ve normally been pure pleasure turned into pure torture at that moment.


    The light illuminated a mouthwatering and tempting array of food and wine, which suppressed Zen''s waning restraint.


    He thought to himself a few times that this wasn''t just merely a test but an act of torture as well!


    Eight hours passed...


    Ten hours passed...


    Twenty hours passed...


    This mortal body he possessed, although strong, could only take so much. If it reached its limit, then he would die too.


    ''If I push this body too much, then I''ll never be able to pass the test, ''


    he thought to himself as he walked onwards like a living corpse.


    When he was lost in his thoughts, everything before him faded into black as his eyes fell shut and his body fell to the ground with a thud.


    It took a while before he gradually regained his consciousness.


    He immediately and quickly took a look at his surroundings as he came out of his slumber.


    He should''ve been back at the temple if he failed.


    To his surprise, he wasn''t in the wilderness nor the temple. Now he sat on a throne within the walls of a golden palace, his body covered in an imperial robe. At the bottom of the steps leading to the throne stood the civil and military ministers.


    "I''m not eliminated. Have I passed the first test?" he asked as he still sat on the thr


    ile others were more affectionate.


    "A test of...sexual desire?" Zen raised his eyebrows.


    The third test was considerably easier for Zen. Although he was a mortal now, he had already experienced love. The gorgeous women surrounding him were unsuccessful in tempting him any further.


    While they possessed the most pleasant and seductive voices and smelled of the most enticing perfumes, Zen was able to restrain himself. Slowly but surely, he passed the third test.


    The fourth test passed...


    The fifth test passed...


    Finally, the sixth test passed...


    Originally, Zen was lagging behind the other two competitors, in last place to pass the tests. But now that both women were stuck in the test of same desire, he was miraculously in the first place.


    "Now that I''ve passed the tests of six desires, does this mean that I''ve passed the entire test?"


    If this was what the starry illusion would always be like, then it should be a piece of cake for Zen. After all, he only had difficulty in the second test.


    But Zen remained in this world of illusions. He remained among the stars.


    As if sensing his confusion, the stars began to cover and spin around him once more.


    As a result, the spinning began to project spectacular scenes before his very eyes.


    The grand desolated land, the sea, the mountains...


    As the vision continued, he began to see the entire world before him from a great distance.


    What he initially thought he was staring at was the Source World. However, he later confirmed that this was an entirely different world.


    Whereas the Source World was shaped like a huge egg with numerous provinces within its shell, the world Zen saw before him at that moment was made up of countless stars.

 Chapter 3612 The God Of Fire

    Zen traveled through the stars.


    A huge star swept past his head, and as he gazed at it, all the knowledge of it drilled itself into his mind.


    Its name was Mysterious Earth, and eighty hundred million humans lived on it.


    "There are so many humans on this star, and none of them are secondary creatures from the inner worlds," Zen murmured to himself, amazed and deep in thought.


    He whizzed past three more stars and once again, their names jumped into his mind.


    There were thirty billion humans living on them. This number was truly impressive.


    He then saw many more stars up ahead.


    Perhaps being in this illusion for too long had slowed him mentally, for it was only now that he suddenly realized that this was the human race''s chaotic era, also known as the 77th chaotic era.


    Zen had seen the chaotic eras of the Dreaded Eye Demons and the Regal Jade Civilization once.


    But whether it was the view shown to him by the Eye of Will or displayed through the Civilization Artifact by the Regal Jade Spirit, they both paled in comparison to what he saw now.


    The sheer amount of stars was ridiculous and each star housed hundreds of thousands of humans.


    If he was not aware he had been in an illusion, he would have treated this place as another Source World.


    Swoosh!


    The stars sped up rapidly, zooming in at him and flying by in an instant.


    They varied in size; the small ones were thousands of miles in diameter, while the big ones were tens of millions of miles in diameter.


    "Buzz..."


    After passing through millions of them, finally, Zen looked upon a gigantic star before him. It was probably over a hundred billion miles in diameter. Its entire body burned a fiery red, its surface a sea of hellfire. Blazing fire dragons spiraled up from the surface, spurting flames towards the sky.


    ''Wow, that''s incredibly hot...''


    Zen thought, feeling the heat as he a


    gy soul, he had set some limitations on it, so he was prevented from asking anything.


    "You may leave now," replied Zhurong briefly.


    Zen then left the palace and took off at blistering speed, quickly leaving this unimaginably huge star behind him.


    It was as Zhurong said that this area was known as the Fire Region and was once under his control.


    Once Zen had left the Fire Region, many icy blue stars floated towards him from the distance. They were terrifyingly large, their bodies crystal clear. Obviously, they were pure.


    Soon, a pure white star came straight at Zen.


    The strong stream of air on the outermost side of the star mixed with the snowstorm, capable of tearing through anything in its path.


    Zen entered the interior of the star, only to find it white and strangely quiet.


    A huge ice palace emerged in front of him, a thin man sitting alone inside it. His body was a translucent blue with ripples of water flowing across its surface.


    Before Zen could open his mouth to ask, the man introduced himself, "I am Gonggong, the God of Water. Please have a seat."


    After Zen met the God of Fire, the sudden appearance of the God of Water did not surprise him. ''Will all thirty-nine statues test me in turn?'' he muttered in his heart.

 Chapter 3613 The Buddha Region

    Water suddenly gushed out and filled the surroundings of the palace.


    The temperature gradually reached an extremely low point but the water continuously flowed without being frozen.


    However, as the water eventually made contact with Zen, a sudden unimaginable chill seeped into the deepest parts of his soul. He instantly lost focus and was flabbergasted by the uncontrollable piercing sensation brought about by the cold water.


    "It''s so cold..." Every part of his body was already trembling.


    The water rose quickly, almost submerging four-fifths of their bodies. Gonggong then said to Zen, "If you''re able to hold on for five minutes, you pass. If not, then you fail."


    Soon, the rising water filled the whole palace, fully submerging both Zen and Gonggong.


    Zen''s body heat quickly dissipated and his entire body grew stiff. It was a very dangerous situation as he couldn''t even move an inch.


    ''I can''t take this anymore...''


    Previously, during the test by Zhurong, the God of Fire, Zen easily aced it as his body couldn''t be harmed by fire. However, as he faced Gonggong, his weakness was exposed as he had so much difficulty in dealing with the low temperature that was overwhelming his body.


    Crack!


    Under the supreme pressure brought about by the numbing cold water, cracks began to appear on the surface of Zen''s body. His flesh was gradually being torn apart.


    What scared him more was that as his body started to rip, he didn''t feel any pain.


    ''How did all my strength leave my body? Is it because of the very low temperature?'' Zen thought as his mind went hazier by the minute.


    When his body started to crack, even the Chaotic Source Spirits couldn''t be activated. This was the first time that Zen had experienced being subjected to such a low temperature.


    ''I need heat to restore my strength!''


    He remembered that energy could bring heat into one''s body as it swirled inside.


    In the moment of desperation, Zen madly extracted a lot of divine megatons of force.


    As the force surged through his body, his stiff bones and muscles gradually recovered. Heat quickly gathered and spread throughout his body.


    At the same time, Gonggong was looking at Zen indifferently from a distance. He was quite disappointed with his performance.


    ''He should have been smarter than this and done something right away when he came into contact with the cold water. Now it might be too late for him.''


    Zen had been frozen for a while and G


    hadn''t developed.


    When Zen had read through the ancient books in the Source World, he also found out the origin of Zhurong, the God of Fire. He discovered that he belonged to a human force that had fought with the Sky Rending Rhinoceros before. But since the said force didn''t develop, they also disappeared in the Source World.


    Dong!


    A loud and melodious bell rang out in front of Zen.


    Immediately after, a ray of golden light bloomed out before Zen as a huge Buddha statue appeared from the blinding lights.


    His hands took the mudra of teaching. Then he looked at Zen with an amiable gaze.


    Just when Zen was about to speak, the Buddha suddenly closed his eyes.


    Suddenly, Zen felt that his chest became unusually heavy. His eyes were also forced to close. Everything turned dark and inaudible.


    However, for Zen, whose six senses were sealed, did not fall into the darkness.


    In his innermost being, the golden light bloomed once again. He faced the Buddha with his consciousness. He saw that the Buddha was still staring at him with the mudra of teaching. With this, his innermost being was also sealed and he sank to the innermost being of his innermost being.


    Just as Zen was about to face the Buddha again using the innermost being of his innermost being, the same thing happened that forced him into the third layer of his innermost being.


    As Zen kept on being sealed repeatedly, he had lost count of which layer of his innermost being he had reached.


    He only felt that the change of time was extremely slow, and every time that he would open his eyes, he could always see the calm face of the golden Buddha.

 Chapter 3614 An Easy Test

    Once light and dark ceased to replace each other, the sealing finally concluded.


    "Is this to test one''s state of mind?" Zen asked. The Buddha nodded in affirmation.


    "Yes."


    Zen tilted his head in curiosity. "Am I supposed to break the seal in five minutes?"


    The Buddha nodded once again. "If that is what you wish."


    "Alright then."


    Zen prepared himself by taking a deep breath before he began to concentrate his mind and energy on the task at hand.


    He was literally trapped in his own mind and everything was happening in his head, but that did not mean that the world around him was not real.


    A benefit of his current situation, however, was being able to do whatever he wanted.


    "Mind Sword!" he called from within him. "Break!"


    As Zen''s mind shouted his command, long swords suddenly materialized beside him.


    Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack


    His swords, borne from his own will, flew out and shattered the Buddha statues that once covered the land. With the statues gone, the world around him began to crumble.


    Like a huge illusory curtain, Zen''s swords had split the world open, tearing it apart in order to reveal another, newer world underneath.


    "The swordsmanship that is used to mainly cultivate the state of mind was inherited from the Starry Sword Region," the Buddha told him in a calm, enlightened voice. Zen raised an eyebrow at the mention of the technique''s origin.


    "The Starry Sword Region?" he repeated. He then remembered the Oneness Sky Palace and its ruler. "Is that region ruled by Eastern Emperor Taiyi?"


    "The one and only," the Buddha confirmed. "However, I''m afraid it''s going to be too difficult to break the mental prison with just this cultivation method. Though your state of mind is sharp, it is not enough."


    Zen couldn''t help but scoff in amusement. "Really? I don''t find it difficult to destroy this world though."


    Boom!


    As soon as he said that, a loud explosion reverberated all around them as the long swords from before shot out and shattered everything. When the old world fell, another took its place.


    Boom!


    Boom!


    Boom!


    It was a constant state of creation and destruction as Zen continued to shatter the thirteen worlds that surrounded his mind.


    At this rate, five minutes would be more than enough for him to pass the Buddha''s test.


    On the fourteenth world,


    lf a star. Zen landed on it and saw a man with incredibly delicate and graceful features. He was so handsome that he could even be considered more beautiful than most women.


    "Who are you?" Zen asked. The handsome man gave him a shining smile.


    "I''m Emperor Charm."


    Zen''s eyes immediately widened. "Emperor Charm?!" The emperor nodded and waved his hand dismissively.


    "You can go. I don''t have any test for you."


    His nonchalance took Zen aback. "You don''t have any test for me?"


    Wasn''t the whole point of being here to let these human heroes test and recognize him?


    Zen did not immediately do as he said. He merely stood there and stared at the emperor of the Sun Crow race before opening his mouth. "Emperor Charm, did all of you have the same goal back then?"


    Emperor Charm tilted his head in curiosity. "What goal?"


    "Changing the fate of the chaos and realizing the Finale Way," Zen replied.


    Emperor Charm let out a charming laugh that sounded like light, chiming bells on a sunny day. "Of course we had the same goal!"


    "It''s a pity that the Emperor Charm in the current round of chaos has chosen the opposite way."


    The laughter died on Emperor Charm''s throat after he heard what Zen just said.


    The Emperor Charm in the current round of chaos had inherited everything of him: talent, personality, bloodline, and even theurgies. However, at the end of the day, he remained his own person and even the real Emperor Charm had no power over him.


    "I see."


    Emperor Charm waved his hand, summoning a gust of wind that blew Zen away.

 Chapter 3615 The Past

    Many regions of stars enveloped Zen endlessly, where he met each powerhouse of the human race one by one.


    Among these people were Houtu, Queen of the Earth, in charge of everything that revolved around nature, Houyi, who shot the suns with a bow... (*TN: Most of these heroes are deities from Chinese mythology and folktales.)


    Though they presented themselves as humans in front of Zen, most of them were not pure human beings.


    For example, Emperor Charm had demonic blood going through his veins because he was a Sun Crow in nature.


    There was also the Snake Goddess who was half human and half snake, while Wukong was actually a monkey with extraordinary combat effectiveness.


    However, because these beings were all born in the 77th civilization, they all agreed with the human civilization.


    When Zen saw the Snake Goddess again, he felt strange.


    He knew the two Snake Goddesses were not the same person, but they could almost be considered one. They both possessed the power to read people''s minds.


    "I thought I would be the one to open the temple with the Other Shore Key," the Snake Goddess said to Zen. "How come it ended up being you?"


    She was referring to the Snake Goddess in the Source World.


    "Is this a test?" Zen responded, smiling at the Snake Goddess.


    "Sort of." She shrugged.


    In fact, except Zhurong and Gonggong, other powerhouses didn''t really test Zen.


    Zen didn''t hide anything; to him, there was nothing worth hiding.


    Very calmly, he told the Snake Goddess how he obtained the last Six-Pattern Blood-storing Seed, and how he had discovered the Other Shore Key.


    Once he finished explaining, the Snake Goddess was baffled, "I did not realize I''d not have the patience to obtain the last Six-Pattern Blood-storing Seed. It''s fate. You..."


    The Snake Goddess hesitated and did not finish her sentence.


    After leaving the starry region the Snake Goddess was in, Zen made his way to enter another starry region, where he met Fuxi.


    Surprisingly, the Fuxi before him seemed to be the same as the one in the Source World.


    "Hey man," Fuxi called out. "Am I powerful in the Source World?"


    "Yes, you are," Zen responded lightly.


    In terms of pure strength, most powerful warriors in the Source World were inferio


    golden star. Green jade slips floated in the air, and the words on the slips were never ending.


    Among the slips stood a statue-like being, which turned out to be a real person who faced Zen.


    "Young man, you can sit down," the man said, gesturing towards the chair right in front of Zen.


    "Thank you, sir," Zen said, following the man''s instruction. It was only then that he''d realized this person was the most important figure among the thirty-nine heroes.


    The man smiled at Zen, positioned a few jade slips before him, and asked, "You are a human, aren''t you? Are you interested in the history of the human race?"


    "You mean the human race in the 77th chaos?" Zen shot back with a question.


    "Yes," the man nodded. "All about the 77th civilization."


    Zen had no idea this was what he was getting into. "Yes, I am more than interested."


    Hearing this, the man gently knocked on the jade slips that were resting on the table, and green threads suddenly floated out of them. These threads attached themselves to Zen''s temples, flashing the entire history of the human race into his mind.


    It seemed that even back then, the human race already had many disputes and conflicts.


    Overall, even in the early stages, the 77th chaos had gone through three massive tribulations: the battle of ancestral sorcerers, the battle for becoming gods, and the battle of Taoism and Buddhism.


    It seemed that every tribulation caused much destruction, and Zen couldn''t help but flinch at the sight of these.

 Chapter 3616 The Book

    In the 77th civilization, there were three major sects above the many regions of stars. They were the Human Sect, the Interception Sect, and the Enlightenment Sect.


    The person in front of Zen now was the leader of the Enlightenment Sect, the Primeval Lord of Heaven.


    "I have a general understanding of the history of the human race, sir," Zen offered.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven nodded. "Do you know why we sowed human seeds in this round of chaos?"


    Zen lowered his head, thinking for a moment. "It is said that this round of chaos is the last chance to complete the Finale Way," he replied.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven nodded once again. "Right. You know enough. The human race already failed once. We had to retreat to the Other Shore after the failure, but we have never feared anyone!


    The human race was born in the 77th civilization. Before that, the 76 ruling civilizations had already established their foothold on the Other Shore. It was not easy for the human race to fight for a place, but our master led us all the way up."


    "Your master?" Zen looked confused.


    The jade slips didn''t record who the Primeval Lord of Heaven''s master was. However, it seemed that the leaders of the three major sects had had the same master.


    The strength of the Primeval Lord of Heaven might have surpassed that of the Wing King of the Regal Jade Civilization. The strength of the three leaders'' master must have been even greater.


    "The records about my master have been erased by me. The memories related to him can''t appear in the mind of any creature on the Other Shore. Even I can no longer recall what he even looked like," the Primeval Lord of Heaven admitted.


    "That explains it! That''s why only nine people were recorded to have attempted completion of the Finale Way, when there should have been ten," Zen exclaimed.


    From the memories, he had seen the human race embark on the Finale Way and fight against that needle.


    King Manard had once mentioned that the human race was well-prepared with a variety of methods to complete the Finale Way. Compared to them, the solution of the Wing King of the Regal Jade Civilization actually only ranked eighth.


    . "When I was reading your memories, I did note that King Manard was not there. But I encountered him when I was exiled to the Land of Ashes myself. It was he who asked me to look for you."


    Zen began to detail all he had experienced and learned in the Land of Ashes.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven didn''t seem surprised hearing about the Abstruse Energy World. It seemed he was already aware of it.


    His eyes shone brightly after Zen finished retelling his encounter with King Manard. "So, he actually wants to create another Other Shore! Haha!"


    "Unfortunately, because of the limitations of the rules, King Manard can''t enter the chaos, nor can he enter the Other Shore. I can, however. If you want to send him a message, I can relay it for you," said Zen.


    "No need to hurry," the Primeval Lord of Heaven said. With this, he waved his hand.


    Their surroundings dissolved in an instant. The stars and the world turned into nothingness. Zen was left feeling like he was just awakening from a dream.


    He was back in the center of the temple hall. Elvinia and the human woman were nowhere to be found.


    "Young man, come here," called a voice from the statue in the center.


    It was the statue of the Primeval Lord of Heaven, whom Zen had just met in the illusion. He began to realize the other statues around him must be sentient as well.


    Zen walked up to the statue of the Primeval Lord of Heaven, the hand of which now held up a book.

 Chapter 3617 How Many Do You Have

    Upon entry to the Creation Myth Temple, the Moon Fire Slaves wanted to grab the book.


    However, that plan was cut short when the Primeval Lord of Heaven killed the Moon Fire Slaves with a single finger.


    Of course, Zen knew that the book was probably one of a kind. "You seem to have cultivated several Truths of Godly Ways, right?" the Primeval Lord of Heaven asked.


    "Yes, there are three Truths of Godly Ways in total," Zen answered with a nod.


    In reality, he had cultivated five Truths of Godly Ways.


    The only thing was that the Truth of Three-Energy Construction and his physical body''s Truth of Godly Way could not carry the Other Shore Tokens.


    Now, he had already guessed that the Primeval Lord of Heaven intended to ask him to fuse with that book.


    "This book is the Civilization Artifact of our human race. You can fuse with it by means of the Truth of Cultivation Nature," the Primeval Lord of Heaven stated.


    "Well, it..." At that moment, Zen began to hesitate.


    "I''m afraid it''s not appropriate." "Why? Do you know the meaning of the Civilization Artifact?" the Primeval Lord of Heaven questioned with a smile.


    Not many races could leave Civilization Artifacts behind on the Other Shore. That was why the Primeval Lord of Heaven thought that Zen didn''t know the meaning of the Civilization Artifact.


    "I know," Zen answered.


    Aside from being an authoritative figure, the Primeval Lord of Heaven also had a vast knowledge and abundant experience.


    Thus, his understanding of the Other Shore and the chaos should be far better than that of the Regal Jade Spirit and No. 9527.


    Not to mention the function of the human race''s Civilization Artifact, it would already be a good thing for him if he could have the Primeval Lord of Heaven''s guidance! "Then why is it not appropriate?" the Primeval Lord of Heaven asked curiously.


    "Because my Truth of Cultivation Nature has already carried another Civilization Artifact," Zen replied.


    After the Primeval Lord of Heaven heard those words, the eyebrows of his lifelike statue slightly shot up.


    Truth be told, the test of the Creation Myth Temple wasn''t very strict because only one Other Shore Key was given out, and there was only one chance to choose a suitable person.


    Therefore, many of the powerful warriors in the civilization met with Zen. Most of them followed the same rule to do so, and some of them even took the opportunity to teach him a theurgy.


    It could also be said that they subconsciously did not take Zen''s strength seriously.


    After all, the human civili


    ss filled her heart, and she walked out of the Creation Myth Temple.


    Meanwhile, Zen was also dumbfounded.


    The junior fellow disciple of the Primeval Lord of Heaven?


    Based on the memories that the Primeval Lord of Heaven had given him, he knew that he had a senior fellow disciple and a junior fellow disciple. His senior fellow disciple was the leader of the Human Sect, and his junior fellow disciple was the leader of the Interception Sect, Grandmaster of Heaven.


    ''Did the Grandmaster of Heaven betray the human race on the Other Shore and become a member of the Nihility race?'' Zen guessed.


    As his thoughts flooded his mind, the human woman was already gone.


    Then, the Primeval Lord of Heaven held the blue book in his hand and gently raised it towards the sky.


    "Boom! Boom! Boom..."


    There was a deep rumbling sound as the entire temple began to shake.


    The strategy the human race had chosen was quite similar to that of the Regal Jade Civilization, but there was also an essential difference between them.


    The Regal Jade Civilization hid in the lower stage.


    The human race was even stronger, so they stood on Stage Seventeen. In fact, those large races still didn''t have an effective way to deal with the temple of the human race!


    On the other hand, Elvinia felt quite tense when she saw what happened around her. Her lips quivered nervously as she walked towards Zen.


    She had passed the tests of six desires as well, and also saw Emperor Charm afterwards.


    He was the man who shared the same bloodline as her. As always, his handsome face was pleasant and enchanting.


    Even though Elvinia had the bloodline of the Sun Crow race, she resented and loathed them very much.

 Chapter 3618 Leaving

    Fortunately for Emperor Charm, he had already heard some news from Zen and guessed the reason for Elvinia''s disgust towards them.


    Therefore, he asked her who she would like to see.


    Among the thirty-nine statues, the only person that Elvinia was willing to see was the statue of his father¡ªEastern Emperor Taiyi.


    In turn, Emperor Charm transferred her to the Starry Sword Region, where she had met her "father." After that, Eastern Emperor Taiyi had even taught her a theurgy of swordsmanship before she left.


    But after she had departed from the starry illusion, she was still in a trance.


    This "Eastern Emperor Taiyi" had a better understanding of swordsmanship than her father. She didn''t know if he knew about it, so she was determined to tell him about it when she could leave the Other Shore this time.


    Thud, thud, thud¡­


    Meanwhile, the temple continued to rumble, and everything inside it began to peel off and crack!


    Bang!


    A stone pillar in the corner of the hall exploded, but a space floated within it. Inside the space were towns and mountains, as if it had formed a world of its own. In addition, there were also people from the 77th civilization.


    It turned out that after the humans had decreased most of their forces, the majority of the humans on the Other Shore entered hidden spaces.


    Whoosh!


    At that moment, the space flew to the book.


    Boom!


    Another stone pillar shattered, and the space hidden inside it rushed into the book too.


    After eighteen stone pillars were destroyed in a row, eighteen spaces showed up. It seemed the world of the human civilization was bigger than that of the Regal Jade Civilization.


    When the eighteen spaces rushed into the book, the statues also broke, and all the energy souls quickly rushed into the book as well!


    The Civilization Artifact of the humans was similar to that of the Regal Jade Civilization, but there were some key differences between them.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven, the Snake Goddess, Fuxi and all the other powerful masters had their real bodies in Stage Thirty-three of the Other Shore. Their presence now was just in the form of their energy souls, which was a bit like the form of No. 9527.


    Besides that group of thirty-nine people, the book had also absorbed most of the 77th civilization''s possessions!


    On the contrary, such was not the case with the Regal Jade Civilization.


    The Regal Jade City was still located in the Dark Region o


    eral thousand feet, the path in front of them eventually widened.


    Something appeared in front of her. It was a shiny golden snake!


    The Nihility race had originally placed the golden snake there. After the Extremity Mice had seen Zen and the Moon Fire Slaves earlier, they had relied on this golden snake to pass on the news for them.


    Just then, the woman reached out her hand and gently stroked the golden snake''s head.


    The golden snake, which appeared to be carved out of gold, suddenly opened its eyes and stick out its tongue.


    Hiss, hiss¡­


    After the golden snake confirmed the woman''s identity, it circled around her body.


    Aside from being used to convey information, the golden snake could also tell if the person who had sent the information was lying.


    When the snake was done circling around the woman, its head approached her and said in a strange voice, "Has the temple opened?" "It''s opened..." the woman replied.


    "Did you see them?" the strange voice from the snake''s mouth asked rather excitedly. "Yes, I did, but I was driven out," the woman answered in a low voice.


    A heavy silence filled the air.


    This time, not only did she lose a Nihility Spirit, but she also absolutely failed her mission.


    Hiss!


    The golden snake that was wrapping around the woman suddenly shrunk and let out an ear-piercing sound.


    Even though this woman came from a high stage, it was hard for her to resist such a tight force, especially when her strength was subdued by this stage. At that moment, her body emitted several cracking sounds.


    Of course, the sound came from her bones that broke inside her body.

 Chapter 3619 Carrying The Book

    The woman''s face was contorted in agony. Still, she made no sound.


    This was a punishment she was willing to bear.


    There were surely more severe punishments waiting for her in the higher stage.


    The golden snake tightened its grip on her. "You don''t have to return for the time being."


    "Why?" the woman had to ask, through the pain.


    She had been convinced the golden snake would ask her to get that Civilization Artifact back.


    Not that she could. She would be facing the two strongest fighters in Stage Seventeen whom she was no match for. That man must have already gotten the Civilization Artifact. How could she snatch it from him?


    "Go to the lower stages and find a human called the Evil God. He is a Soul of Light," the golden snake said.


    The woman gritted her teeth at this. Her strength diminished with every lower stage she would cross. It was a slow torture.


    The pain she felt now would only be heightened in the lower stages.


    Every fiber of her being screamed in refusal, but she knew she had no choice. "What do you need a Soul of Light for?"


    She had nothing but scorn for her fellow humans in the Source World. In her eyes, they were just failed clones of the 77th civilization.


    "Lead him into the Chilling Bone Land," the golden snake instructed.


    "What?"


    The woman was taken aback.


    Every civilization and every large race had secrets hidden on the Other Shore.


    The Element Spirit race, the Nihility race, and even the human race all had their secrets. The Chilling Bone Land was one of those.


    "A Soul of Light in the Chilling Bone Land?" the woman asked, hesitantly.


    Even she was not qualified to cultivate in the Chilling Bone Land. How would some unknown human be able to enter it so easily?


    "Do as I said. Find him as soon as possible. Failure is not an option. Otherwise, you know what awaits you!"


    The woman''s blood froze at the golden snake''s threat.


    With those words, the golden light in the snake''s eyes dimmed. It loosened its grip on the woman''s body.


    Finally able to catch her breath, the woman frowned as she mulled over the latest orders given to her. She took one last look at the Extremity


    be no match for him, but he was still much weaker than the powerful warriors at the Other Shore Realm.


    Geoffrey had chanced upon the cubic object floating in the sky one day, and discovered that it had been issuing tasks nonstop.


    Some of the tasks sounded inconceivable, far beyond what Geoffrey could do.


    Some tasks, however, were simple and could be completed in the inner world. Geoffrey had accepted one of the tasks and completed it. To his amazement, the cubic object actually improved the power of his physical body as a reward!


    Geoffrey took advantage of this easy method to improve.


    All this time, he had been receiving the tasks released by the Civilization Artifact almost every day and night. With the completion of each task, his physical body and strength became more and more powerful. He now could release 30 divine megatons of force.


    This amount of power was just normal for Zen, of course.


    But it was enough to qualify Geoffrey to become a Flag Master in the Dragon City.


    Geoffrey hadn''t even stepped into the Sea of Truth yet.


    As Zen was lost in his thoughts, the Primeval Lord of Heaven and the other energy souls sized up the other two Civilization Artifacts.


    Every Civilization Artifact represented the civilization behind it. The Primeval Lord of Heaven had been raring to meet the Regal Jade Spirit.


    But they soon found they couldn''t communicate with the Heavenly Obsession Civilization at all.

 Chapter 3620 Confusions

    The Regal Jade Spirit was glad to see the human beings arrive.


    He had learned about powerful human warriors from King Manard. They were a race that had almost disappeared on the Other Shore, and were once powerful enough to contend with the Element Spirit Civilization.


    Most importantly, they shared the same interests as the Regal Jade Spirit.


    After speaking with him, the Primeval Lord of Heaven asked Zen to release the people from within the Civilization Artifact.


    There were a total of eighteen independent spaces in the Creation Myth Temple and hundreds of thousands of people in each space. A considerable amount of them were born on the Other Shore, but nearly half of them came from the 77th civilization.


    These were not the most powerful humans at the time, yet they still held high positions.


    Zen obliged the Primeval Lord of Heaven. However, since so many humans would be added to his body, he required a new space.


    With a flash of his mind, in the distance, the chaotic sea began trembling. From beneath the water''s surface, a gigantic mound of some sorts broke through, splashing water in all directions as it emerged. Just like that, a new continent came into being.


    "Primeval Lord of Heaven, please place the spaces there, on that new continent," requested Zen.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven waved his hand gently and the pages of the book began flipping over. The eighteen spaces descended from the sky onto the continent. Humans began walking out in small groups, looking around the new world with varying reactions.


    Energy souls, such as Fuxi, Chiyou and Gonggong, flew down and guided their respective clansmen.


    Now that they had been assigned to this continent by Zen, naturally, they would rebuild their homeland here.


    These people had been hiding in the temple for too long. Since the humans lost, most of the weaker ones had been hiding in the spaces in the Creation Myth Temple. After countless years, they were finally able to see the light of day again, so it was only natural to have mixed feelings about it.


    Looking at the humans brought up some questions for Zen.


    "Primeval Lord of Heaven, as far as I know, my inner world is a primitive land. So these humans should be viewed as returning from the Other Shore to the chaos, right


    ld strengthen himself by simply devouring souls, so it was not an urgent need. Besides, he did not want to owe Zen a favor.


    But if he left on his own without receiving the soul crystal, he feared that Zen would be suspicious.


    As Zen''s Inner-world Generating Avatar, any of his mistakes would destroy him.


    The Evil God absorbed the soul crystal and left the Myriad Spirits City.


    Exploring Stage Fourteen of the Other Shore was common for a Soul of Light and so drew no suspicion.


    He arrived at the foot of the Heavenly River Mountain and waited there patiently.


    He had always been very confident, but this time he wasn''t sure if he could escape Zen''s control.


    "Rumble..."


    He had been waiting a while when he heard furious rumblings of beasts'' hooves thundering from the mountain, as if thousands of horses ran wild.


    He raised his head to see a group of unicorns galloping down the mountain road not far away.


    His soul was powerful to be sure, but it was still difficult for him to face the fierce beasts on the Other Shore head on.


    Escape was the only thought on his mind.


    Just as he was about to take a step forward, he felt as if his feet were nailed to the ground and he was unable to move.


    "Illusion Breaking Rune!"


    Recognizing something was wrong, the Evil God immediately chanted the Illusion Breaking Rune in an attempt to leave the Other Shore.


    But just as he opened his mouth, a green thread wrapped around his Soul of Light. That was an exceptionally thin Soul Binding Thread.

 Chapter 3621 Fake Memories

    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    Hundreds of unicorns rushed towards the Evil God. If he were to be trapped underneath their stomping hooves, he would surely die.


    "Illusion Breaking Rune!"


    Signaled by his loud chant, his Soul of Light flashed brightly and tried to escape from the Other Shore.


    However, the green thread firmly bound his Soul of Light to the Other Shore. As powerful as the Evil God was, he couldn''t break the thread''s hold.


    Once the Evil God saw the herd of unicorns draw closer with each gallop, various thoughts raced through his mind.


    Amid his despair, something unexpected happened¡ªthe herd rushed towards either side of the Evil God to avoid trampling him. It was almost as if they were frightened by something.


    "This..."


    The Evil God stared dumbfounded at the scene playing out before him. He had no idea what was happening.


    "The souls wandering on the Other Shore are too fragile. Haha..."


    A scornful voice mocked.


    A woman suddenly appeared not too far away from him, half of her body wrapped within a red ball.


    "Who are you?" the Evil God asked, his voice severe.


    He had always gone on a rampage on the Other Shore. Apart from showing restraint on Stage Eleven, he portrayed even more aggressive than Zen.


    But the woman in front of him gave him the feeling that she was probably the most threatening person he had met here!


    "Who am I? You don''t have to know," she replied coldly.


    As soon as she finished speaking, a powerful aura burst out of the Evil God''s Soul of Light. The aura held a force that brought about an intent to kill, like a sword that eagerly waited to slash and slaughter.


    This aura would be enough to easily injure any opponent with an ordinary Soul of Light.


    This woman before him, on the other hand, was anything but ordinary. He made sure not to make a fool out of himself and proceeded with every interaction with her cautiously.


    He decided that he couldn''t afford to provoke an opponent he knew nothing about and risk too much. The aura burst for a split second before dissipating as if it had never existed.


    This left the mysterious woman shocked.


    No ordinary person would have enough power to burst out such a killing intent.


    All who were qualified to enter the Chilling Bone Land possessed exceptional talents.


    This man had the power that qualified him to enter the Chilling Bone Land with the mere form of Soul of Light, perhaps he had immeasurable value, the woman thought.


    Remembering her leader''s words, she sighed inwardly and finally replied, "You m


    array in front of each cultivation room.


    Once activated, they woke up the people that resided within each secret cultivation room.


    The disciples who were cultivating in seclusion or just roaming the Other Shore were all awakened.


    Save for a few disciples who were within the temples and were unable to part from the Other Shore, those other disciples on the first to the third floor walked out of their cultivation rooms upon hearing the horns.


    Zen had long retreated from the Other Shore and had been studying the Civilization Artifact of the human race.


    At the sound of the blaring horns, he raised his eyebrows and then proceeded to open the door to his cultivation room. He witnessed many of the second-floor disciples gathering in the corridor with worried faces.


    "What happened?"


    "Are they gathering all the people in the Land of Sword Grief?"


    "I''m afraid it''s not that simple..."


    The Land of Sword Grief''s disciples were powerful forces in the Oneness Sky Palace. This meant that they could enjoy a quite relaxed environment for cultivation here.


    As long as they could finish the challenge at the beginning of the month, they were free to come and go whenever they pleased. So to see them all gathered in one place was an unusual sight.


    In the cultivation rooms on the third floor, the doors were opened.


    There were only a dozen disciples on the third floor. Even outside the Oneness Sky Palace, these people were fully capable of fighting and defending themselves.


    Even they appeared concerned upon hearing the horns.


    "Click..."


    To the far right of the third floor, the door to the No.1 cultivation room opened. A woman donning a plain robe walked out

 Chapter 3622 The Guts To Challenge

    As soon as the woman got out of her room, every disciple on the third floor turned their heads and focused their eyes on her. It was like a royalty suddenly appeared and graced them with her presence.


    There were a total of thirteen disciples on the third floor, twelve of whom were all men. She was the only woman, and she was regarded as the top disciple.


    Her attainments in martial arts surpassed each of the male disciples with a large margin.


    It was said that she was a one in a million talent that no one in the past had ever surpassed, nor would anyone in the future.


    Her name was Libby, the number one disciple of the Land of Sword Grief.


    In terms of gender, she didn''t really have a special advantage in cultivation. However, when considering her age, she was the youngest amongst every disciple. On top of it, every disciple on the third floor was inferior to her in terms of strength.


    "Oh Libby, have you finished your cultivation?" A handsome man quickly approached her. He was Gabriel Liu, the eldest son of the Bright Mountain''s leader, and he ranked seventh among the disciples on the third floor.


    "Where have you gone during your long secluded cultivation? I''ve been waiting for you in the Soul City but you never showed up," another man with a long hair asked as he tried to get her attention.


    This person was Ahern Ming, the son of the Ivory Mountain''s leader.


    As soon as they saw Libby, these men flocked and circled her just to see her gallant face.


    "I didn''t go to the Other Shore during my cultivation," Libby answered perfunctorily in a cold tone.


    "Then, did you make progress in your theurgy?" Gabriel inquired, trying to somehow change the awkward mood.


    Libby shook her head as her eyes diverted to the outside of the building. "We have to go now. Master Goran has arrived."


    Immediately after she finished speaking, she took a gentle step forward.


    In a flash, she had descended from the third floor to the front of the building, making it seem like the distance between the two spots was just a couple of steps away.


    "Glad to see you again, Master Goran," Libby greeted politely.


    "I''m happy to see you too, Libby," Goran replied with a broad smile across his face.


    Libby was actually recommended by Goran to the Oneness Sky Palace, and since then, they considered her as a gift from heaven.


    It wouldn''t take much of her time to reach an equivalent status to that of Goran.


    But with all her achievements, she had always treated Goran with the same utmost respect and politeness as in the older times.


    As they continued in talking, the rest of the disciples from the third floor also jumped down from the windows and landed to where Libby and Goran were.


    They approached Goran and greeted him while bowing down respectfully.


    Soon after, the disciples from the second floor also came down.


    Zen, who was among them, didn''t exactly know what was happening, and just decided to follow his fellow disciples. As he saw who the reason for the commotion was, he hurriedly walked towards Goran with cupped hands and g


    uld grant various abilities into the book according to his needs.


    In that book, there were the energy souls of the thirty-nine human heroes.


    Although the energy souls were not as strong as their real presences, they had fully inherited their theurgies. Just imagining that all these abilities could be utilized through the book, any opponent during combat would surely tremble.


    However, it was such a pity that Zen wasn''t able to test the book''s prowess on the arena in the Land of Sword Grief. However, Zen had also absorbed a large amount of Body-strengthening Jades. Though his physical body had not yet reached its limits, it wouldn''t be long before he could have a breakthrough and reach the Wild God Body Realm.


    ''This will be a good chance to test the increase of power in my physical body.'' This was the thought inside Zen''s mind as he answered Libby''s question with a straight face.


    When it came to the competition to recognize the first place in the Land of Sword Grief, Zen didn''t really pay much attention to it. He had a deeper goal in mind that was of more significance.


    Unfortunately, his answer was obviously wrongly perceived by the disciples on the third floor. All they heard was a response from someone full of himself.


    "Hey, did you hear that? He actually has the guts to challenge Libby!"


    "I admit that he is a rare genius, but is he thinking that he could just really be on par with someone from the third floor? This guy is mocking us!"


    "On top of that, of all the third floor disciples, he wanted to challenge Libby! What a sick joke!"


    The male disciples from the third floor hurled out insults in response to Zen''s misplaced confidence.


    Their words reached Zen''s ears, but he didn''t seem to mind them in the slightest. "It''s kind of funny because the disciples from the first and second floor said the exact same thing when I challenged Cleon and Rocco, and you knew what happened next. I wonder if you would still wear those smug faces, once I make you eat your words," Zen fired back with a subtle smirk.

 Chapter 3623 The War

    Ahern snorted coldly as soon as Zen finished speaking. "Cleon and Rocco aren''t powerful. How can those two good-for-nothings compare to Libby?"


    His words weren''t lost on Rocco and Cleon who were standing within earshot.


    Both men''s faces paled when they heard Ahern''s words.


    The two of them were famous in the Land of Sword Grief but here was Ahern, who readily sneered at them and easily branded them as ''good-for-nothings''.


    Cleon had an extraordinary background but it was nothing compared to Ahern who was a disciple on the third floor and was set to be a Oneness Governor in the future, hence why the latter did not take him seriously.


    Zen''s confidence also surprised Goran.


    Did his cultivation increase in such a short period of time?


    Goran fixed his eyes on Zen and Libby. "I''m also looking forward to this challenge but I don''t think today is the right time, as I have something important to announce."


    Around ninety percent of the Land of Sword Grief''s disciples were gathered in front of Goran.


    What he was about to tell them was definitely no small matter since he gathered almost all of them here.


    Once the chattering quieted down, everyone waited to hear what Goran had to say.


    "The Mountain Viewing Province has been attacked and conquered," he announced.


    This sudden news threw everyone in an uproar.


    "Has the Grand River Fortress been captured?!"


    "Impossible!"


    "If the Mountain Viewing Province has been conquered, then does that mean..."


    Multiple passes surrounded the province and though it wasn''t as important on its own, it definitely provided the gateway to conquering other, bigger provinces. The Sun Crow race must know this when they chose to lay siege on the Mountain Viewing Province.


    The shock was evident on Zen''s face.


    He had gone to the Mountain Viewing Province not long after entering the Dragon City. The Lofty Swords in the Grand River Fortress left a deep impression on him. He didn''t think it was going to be conquered so easily.


    "After the Sun Crow race took control of the Mountain Viewing Province, they quickly mobilized and conquered several nearby provinces. Right now, it seems they''ve arrived at the North Unicorn Province," Goran continued, further adding to everyone''s distress.


    "What?!"


    "That f


    the Evil God had on the Other Shore started to flood his consciousness.


    He saw the Evil God explore Stage Thirteen of the Other Shore...


    cross the energy vortex...


    receive the soul crystal in the Myriad Spirits City...


    come upon an Other Shore Key and explore the temple...


    The Evil God had built a completely nonexistent world within the Kaleidoscopic Golden Dipper.


    These memories were all the things the Evil God had imagined.


    However, the Evil God himself was convinced that these were real since his true memories had been taken away.


    This was how the Inner-world Generating Avatars worked. If they wanted to deceive their masters, then they had to deceive themselves first.


    However, the Evil God felt strange, since training obediently on the Other Shore wasn''t his thing.


    Zen felt this strangeness but couldn''t figure out just what was wrong.


    He then chose to hand over the golden sword to the Evil God, instructing him to prepare before leaving.


    After he returned to his training room, Zen took out a piece of paper and unfolded it before him. There was a moment of hesitation, but he began to write something down: the Truth Enlightenment.


    He had previously hoped that the Oneness Sky Palace could help him revive his race in exchange for the Truth Enlightenment.


    However, Zen now understood that the human race existed as a whole and could no longer hide the Truth Enlightenment from them anymore. He planned to take this piece of paper and hand it over to Eastern Emperor Taiyi.

 Chapter 3624 The North Mysterious City

    Zen carefully folded the paper. He had completed writing down the Truth Enlightenment.


    He went to the first floor and handed the paper to Elvinia.


    "What''s this?" she asked.


    "It''s the complete version of the Truth Enlightenment," Zen said simply.


    Elvinia blinked, caught unaware. Sure enough, Zen had been able to decipher the whole Truth Enlightenment!


    Elvinia would have been more shocked in the past.


    But she had spent enough time with him now to know amazing feats like this were just a matter of course to him.


    "The Oneness Sky Palace owns the Truth Enlightenment. I just translated it. So it should be your father who passes it down to the swordsmen in the world," said Zen.


    Elvinia carefully stowed the Truth Enlightenment away, pursing her lips as she realized she could not accompany Zen to where he headed next.


    She was the daughter of Eastern Emperor Taiyi. Now that the Oneness Sky Palace was in danger, she couldn''t just hide. But she had to go back to the Phoenix Palace before heading to the North Unicorn Province.


    Having handed over the Truth Enlightenment to Elvinia, Zen set off for the Dragon City with the Evil God.


    For a long time, the Dragon City had been a lively place.


    But in recent times, it had fallen into desolation.


    This was true both inside and outside the city.


    Most of the Oneness Guards had been gathered in the Grand River Fortress when the Sun Crows attacked it. They fought with all their might, but still suffered heavy casualties in the end.


    The Flag Masters and the Alliance Chiefs posted outside the Dragon City had actually gone through numerous tests to become Oneness Guards.


    But the rules were suddenly changed just a few days ago.


    People would be automatically qualified for the Oneness Guards as long as they had participated in a certain amount of battles!


    This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for a vast majority. All the Alliance Chiefs and Flag Masters led their men to head in droves to the battlefield in hopes of meeting the qualifications.


    Thus, only a few remained posted outside the Dragon City.


    That was why when Zen arrived, he found, to his surprise, that his companions from the Sword Light Palace had been taken away.


    Even the weaker subordinates wer


    and even some on the second floor couldn''t bear it any longer.


    "We came to the North Unicorn Province in response to Master Goran''s call. We could be killing Sun Crows by now! Why have we been left here?"


    "I heard the war in the North Unicorn Province was raging, but if they''re too busy to take our help, maybe we should just leave them at it, on their own!"


    "¡­"


    Several disciples were shouting now.


    Just then, a burly man entered the pavilion accompanied by several five-star Oneness Guards.


    He was obviously a fighter, with his crew cut and his eyebrows arched like arrows. He gave off a murderous aura developed, clearly, from actual experience. The disciples from the Land of Sword Grief were powerful but they rarely killed, so even they didn''t have this kind of aura.


    Zen had been through a lot of deadly battles, though, so it didn''t faze him. He looked the man up and down calmly.


    "Disciples from the Land of Sword Grief," the man said as he bowed to the crowd, "you are the top figures of the Oneness Sky Palace, the treasures of the seven mountains, and the future hope of the Oneness Sky Palace!"


    The disciples who had grown impatient were somewhat appeased by the praise. They smiled smugly. This only lasted a moment.


    The man continued, "But no matter how valued you are and how strong you are, in my eyes, you are still useless. If you want to live, stop being so goddamned proud."


    The disciples'' smiles froze on their faces. They glared daggers at this impudent man.

 Chapter 3625 Seven Arrays And Twelve Passes

    The disciples the man was talking to were all from the Land of Sword Grief, meaning they had all reached the Chaotic Source Realm. Even those from the first floor could be considered powerful masters in the Source World.


    There was no way they were going to tolerate this man''s insult.


    Raising his eyebrows, a disciple on the second floor called out, "Sir, you might be a Oneness General, but it is very rude of you to say we are ''useless''."


    "Like every one of us, you yourself must''ve come from the Land of Sword Grief. Are you useless too?" a disciple on the first floor retorted haughtily.


    Oneness Generals were put in charge of the Oneness Guards, so they were considered the commanders of the Oneness Sky Palace''s army.


    The status of these Oneness Generals was one level lower than that of the Oneness Governors. In fact, a few disciples on the second floor of the Land of Sword Grief were training in the army. Once they''d gained enough experience, they''d be considered for the title of Oneness General.


    Although Oneness Generals were known to be extraordinarily strong, there was no way the disciples from the Land of Sword Grief were going to back down from his insult.


    Chaos erupted among the disciples as they indignantly tried to defend their honors. However, the man remained calm. "You," he suddenly said, a crafty smile creeping onto his face. "You, you, you... And you."


    Lastly, he pointed at Zen. Each time he pointed at someone, their golden swords would suddenly glow. The same went for Zen.


    The situation in the North Unicorn Province was extremely critical, so they sorely needed skilled fighters.


    Upon catching word that the disciples from the Land of Sword Grief had come, many of the Oneness Generals had returned to the North Mysterious City. According to the rules made by the leaders, each of them could choose five assistants.


    The man with a crew cut was Sinclair Su, and he was the first Oneness General to arrive at the North Mysterious City.


    Sinclair was no stranger to the battlefield. He knew it was bloody and cruel. Because of this, he knew he wanted to choose disciples with a calm mind. This would explain why, the moment he showed up, he riled the disciples. He wanted to see which ones responded calmly.


    Just now, Zen and the other four disciples Sinclair had chosen had remained stoic in the face of being insulted. In Sinclair''s eyes, these were the ones most fit to be his assis


    r Fortress.


    As Sinclair recounted this, Zen noticed a hint of sadness in his eyes.


    After occupying several big provinces, the Sun Crows had finally stopped in the North Unicorn Province.


    Now the task of the Oneness Guards was to stop the Sun Crows at all costs in the North Unicorn Province.


    "From the North Mysterious City to the northwest, seven arrays and twelve passes have been set up. I''m responsible for guarding the Mountain Sea Pass, which is the most dangerous one." That sly smile crept on his face once more. "You must be careful when we get there."


    The disciples exchanged wary glances upon hearing Sinclair''s last few words.


    The situation was already very dangerous, yet they had to guard the most dangerous area of all. Such bad luck!


    Sinclair seemed to sense what was going on in their heads. "Don''t worry," he said in an attempt to comfort them. "The Mountain Sea Pass might be the most dangerous, but it''s also the most heavily guarded. Even if the Sun Crows manage to invade the Mountain Sea Pass, the others will come to our aid."


    Guzman nodded. "The North Unicorn Province is the last pass of the Oneness Sky Palace. The Oneness Sky Palace will definitely block the Sun Crows here. Many elders from the seven mountains have also come. We shouldn''t be pessimistic."


    "Right. The elders of the seven mountains are in charge of the seven arrays. Not far behind the Mountain Sea Pass is the Vastness Array, which is defended by the strongest warriors of the Vastness Mountain," added Sinclair confidently.


    "The Vastness Mountain?"


    Zen raised his eyebrows at the mention of this name.

 Chapter 3626 Using Humans As Bait

    Zen frowned. The conflict between Zen and the Vastness Mountain ran pretty deep.


    Back then, if it hadn''t been for Yasamin and Flamine, he probably wouldn''t have been able to leave the Vastness Mountain.


    To Zen, the news that people from the Vastness Mountain were in command here was definitely bad news.


    But given the current situation, he doubted the Vastness Mountain would do anything rash to take revenge on him.


    Sinclair didn''t notice Zen''s crestfallen expression. Pointing downwards, he said excitedly, "Look! That''s the Vastness Array!"


    Zen looked in the direction he pointed and saw that the ground below them had been excavated.


    A huge sword-shaped array was carved on the ground, and in the very center was a high tower. It was obviously newly built, its stone walls practically shining.


    Just as Zen was studying the high tower, someone was looking up from a small window in the tower. It was Natasha, who was dressed in red.


    "The disciples in the Land of Sword Grief have gathered in the North Mysterious City one after another," Natasha said in a low voice. "The first group has already arrived at the front line."


    Behind her sat an old man in black. He had a hooked nose and drooping eyes, as though he loathed everything in existence. It was Holden, the one who had forcefully taken Zen away from the Dragon Path.


    "I think Zen will also go to the North Mysterious City," Holden said in a hoarse voice.


    "I''ve sent someone to check it out," Natasha said, the corners of her mouth curving upward gracefully. "This is the best time to take action. Everything''s so chaotic in the North Unicorn Province. He''ll never see it coming!"


    Ever since Zen got on the wrong foot with the Vastness Mountain, he had never left the Oneness Sky Palace.


    Even when he went to the Chaotic Source World, there were powerful warriors protecting him all the time.


    Now that all the disciples in the Land of Sword Grief were coming out, the Vastness Mountain was presented with an excellent opportunity.


    After passing by the Vastness Array, Zen and the others continued moving forward. In the distance, they could see a temporary pass¡ªthe Mountain Sea Pass.


    Even though it was just temporary, the pass was quite large in scale. After all, building a bunch of houses was a very simple task for warriors of the Other Shore Realm.


    In front of those buildings was a slender array.


    It stretched as far as the eye could see.


    "Is this the Sky Net?" asked Guzman as he stared at the slender array in the distance. "Woah. They resorted to this to prevent the Sun Crow race from infiltrating..." He whistled in awe.


    The


    in them.


    Originally, Jago had been just a playboy in the Sword Light Palace, and had never really experienced any hardship. Even in the Dragon City, he was protected by Zen. After Zen left, Monica had become an Alliance Chief and took good care of the disciples of the Sword Light Palace.


    But not long ago, ever since they were recruited by the Oneness Sky Palace to serve in the North Unicorn Province, the disciples of the Sword Light Palace had been scattered. The past few days alone, Jago had suffered a lot and had stared death in the face more often than he''d have liked.


    "Flag Master, Faegan was already eaten by the Sun Crows. They gobbled him whole, without leaving a single bone! As for the others, they have been guarding the Heavenly Wind Pass under the leadership of Alliance Chief Monica. But I''m afraid they don''t have much time left..." At this point, a single tear streamed down his face. "The Oneness Guards don''t give a crap about us! They use us as bait!"


    The troops that guarded the North Unicorn Province could be divided into three categories. The strongest ones were the Oneness Generals, such as Sinclair and Zen, who were with high-end fighting power. The second group was the Oneness Guards. The major sword sects in the seven mountains also sent their disciples here, who would become the Oneness Guards automatically once they joined the troops.


    The last group was the large number of warriors from outside the Dragon City.


    These people were weak, and were definitely not equipped to fight against the Sun Crows. Yet, someone had decided that they would be the ones to venture outside the Sky Net to lure the Sun Crows in.


    Using living people as bait worked well, for everyone except the people used as bait, of course.

 Chapter 3627 Attack

    A deeper frown appeared on Zen''s face when he heard Jago''s complaint.


    Although only a small number of people outside the Dragon City could join the Oneness Guards and very few of them joined the major sword sects, they were still members of the Oneness Sky Palace.


    However, these people were sent to the North Unicorn Province, where they were used as bait.


    When Zen learned of this matter, he too was enraged! "What if you don''t obey their orders?" Zen asked again.


    "Those who disobey the military orders won''t be able to escape death," Jago replied with a bitter smile.


    Back then, Jago thought that he was lucky to enter the Dragon City.


    Therefore, he had cultivated so hard in the Dragon City and had stepped into the Other Shore Realm in the past few years. Now, he was in the second stage of the Other Shore Realm.


    If he stayed in the Sword Light Palace, he wouldn''t be able to make it even after thousands of years...


    However, he ended up in his current state after he became an Other Shore Realm warrior. If he stayed in the Sword Light Palace all the time, he might not be able to achieve anything in the future, but it would be a good thing to be a socialite or a playboy of the Yuebai Clan.


    Of course, Jago didn''t mean to blame Zen. They had looked forward to entering the Dragon City before, after all.


    Furthermore, the Sword Light Palace would have already been destroyed if Zen had not come.


    A mischievous grin graced Zen''s face, and then he said, "Go up with me!"


    "Go up..." Jago''s eyes glinted.


    Just as Zen invited him, the Other Shore Realm warriors on the lower tier immediately caused a ruckus.


    Those Other Shore Realm warriors and Jago shared the same fate. All of them would be sacrificed as bait, but to be fair, who was willing to accept that?


    "General, please take me with you!"


    "General, how about letting me be promoted to a Oneness Guard?"


    "Master Zen, I''ve met you in the Dragon City. I..."


    At that moment, the Other Shore Realm warriors began to swarm Zen.


    However, they were interrupted when several five-star Oneness Guards from the upper tier came down.


    "Go back right now!" one of the guards shouted.


    That particular Oneness Guard had a Soul of Light that was in Stage Twelve of the Other Shore and could soon turn into the Indigo Soul.


    The aura he emanated felt like a gentle breeze to


    sensed a thing quite fast, but he kept calm. Instead, he couldn''t help but feel taunted.


    It seemed that he had underestimated the Vastness Mountain. The Vastness Mountain would not give up the opportunity to make moves...


    However, the current Zen was no longer what he used to be. Even a warrior as powerful as Natasha would fail to defeat him.


    Besides, the Vastness Mountain didn''t dare to make a scene.


    On the fourth day, the white mist in the distance gradually dissipated, and some black dots floated within it.


    "There are enemies coming!" one of the Oneness Guards shouted when he realized what was happening.


    "The Sun Crows are coming!"


    "Hurry up and inform everyone!"


    "Open the Sky Net!"


    "Buzz..."


    The array that stretched thousands of miles released a beam of light, and then a huge net suddenly appeared. It was the Sky Net Array, which blocked the Sun Crows.


    At that point, Sinclair and the other sixteen Oneness Generals stood at the top of the Mountain Sea Pass.


    More and more black dots materialized in the distance. The densely packed Sun Crows gathered together and formed a huge dark cloud, which spread towards the Mountain Sea Pass. They looked like they moved slowly, but it was actually the opposite.


    "This will be another fierce battle," said Sinclair.


    "This time, their number is even bigger than before. I wonder if there are demon women of the Divine Lair there," Basil Zhu commented.


    To a Oneness General, the ordinary Sun Crows were nothing, and it was the demon women of the Divine Lair who posed a great threat.

 Chapter 3628 The Nine Positions

    There was a large gap in strength between the demon women in the Divine Lair.


    Zen had fought several of them in the Mountain Viewing Province. Sure, they hadn''t reached the Chaotic Source Realm, but Zen also had a natural advantage against the divine flames of the Sun Crow race.


    But there were more powerful demon women in the Divine Lair, some as powerful as Elizabeth.


    "All we need to do is guard the Mountain Sea Pass and activate the array!"


    Sinclair roared and nine circles appeared in front of the Mountain Sea Pass, distributed on the outside of the Sky Net. If the Sun Crows showed up, the nine important positions of the array would be the first line of defense.


    "I''ll man the first position in the center, and you guard the other eight in pairs," ordered Sinclair.


    "Why are the nine positions set outside the Sky Net? Isn''t that too dangerous?" Guzman asked, staring at them.


    "The setting of the nine positions has been carefully calculated. Together they form a circular array. They are not flawed; the real flaw is inside the Mountain Sea Pass. We just need to take down as many Sun Crows as we can in our positions," said Sinclair with a faint smile of pride.


    As long as the Sun Crows didn''t break the Sky Net, they couldn''t hurt the people in the nine positions. In this way, those in the positions were invincible.


    "I see. This array is amazing!" Guzman exclaimed.


    "But if they discover that they can''t hurt us, they''ll begin attacking the Sky Net. Once the Sky Net is broken, then we''ll be in danger. So I hope you will give it your all, not only for the Oneness Sky Palace, but for all of us!" Sinclair said.


    "Buzz, buzz, buzz..."


    Just then, a wave of space fluctuation appeared in the nine circles. Nine space channels that distorted the surrounding light extended before Zen and the others.


    "Let''s go!"


    Sinclair stepped into one of the space channels and appeared in the first position.


    Guzman and another Oneness General then


    Hey, are all the disciples in the Land of Sword Grief practicing these useless methods now?" a Oneness General asked with a condescending smile.


    Guzman stood aside and said nothing, but sneered within himself.


    ''Useless?


    Zen has become the number one disciple on the second floor in just two months with his true strength. How could the Oneness General call his method useless?'' he thought.


    Seventeen people in the nine positions of the array were ready as the Sun Crows got closer and closer.


    "Quack, quack, quack..."


    Countless Sun Crows cawed queerly. The sounds felt like sandpaper grating against their ears, leaving them in pain.


    Swish! Swish! Swish!


    The first group of Sun Crows approached, turning into sharp black swords releasing golden light, shooting straight for the nine positions of the array.


    "They''re Sharp-winged Sun Crows," Zen said, raising his eyebrows.


    "Kill them and don''t let them get any closer!" Sinclair bellowed.


    The seventeen people in the array stretched out their hands and transparent swords flew upward one by one.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Under the control of the crowd, the swords moved all over the place with ease. Some slashed out sword radiance, some quickly strangled the Sharp-winged Sun Crows and some stabbed out thousands of lines to kill them.

 Chapter 3629 Being A Backbone

    The penetrating power of the Sharp-winged Sun Crows was indeed amazing. If they went for a head-on collision with the important positions of the array, they would definitely cause a tremendous impact on the Mountain Sea Pass.


    With that, everyone was trying their very best to stop the Sharp-winged Sun Crows from coming down and approaching the array.


    "Take this! Straight Strike!" Sinclair shouted mightily.


    The long sword that was floating outside began exerting fierce momentum. Then it started dashing through the targets while faint cracking sounds echoed through space. Due to the intense and impressive sword momentum, some of the Sharp-winged Sun Crows had already been slashed to pieces even before the sword actually touched them.


    Judging from the theurgy he just used, everybody could notice the big difference in strength between Oneness Generals and the disciples of the Land of Sword Grief.


    Most theurgies that Oneness Generals exerted were straightforward but powerful. They had no fancy moves but focused on annihilating the target through intense power. The only shortcoming that one could observe was the lack of agility.


    On the other hand, the disciples from the Land of Sword Grief used different swordsmanship theurgies that had one thing in common. Their theurgies were skillful and full of elegance but were noticeably insufficient in power.


    However, these Sharp-winged Sun Crows weren''t that strong enough. Thus, even the swordsmanship theurgies of the disciples from the Land of Sword Grief were enough to kill them.


    In fact, the disciples from the Land of Sword Grief had killed more Sharp-winged Sun Crows.


    "There''s only one key to killing these Sharp-winged Sun Crows¡ªexert quick and full-powered attack towards your target. Remember that, Zen. This way, you can be more efficient in dealing with your enemies." The swordsmanship theurgy that Basil was using was similar to that of Sinclair. He wanted to show and teach Zen that their way of dealing with the enemies was more effective and efficient.


    "Did you just say efficient?"


    After looking at the surroundings for a while, Zen''s eyes narrowed. He gently raised his hand and shouted, "Rise!"


    Swish! Swish! Swish!


    One hundred and twenty-eight long swords suddenly turned into a sword stream and shot up into the sky.


    As Basil saw this, he only knew that Zen had easily created these long swords out of the array with his Power Shaping skill. What he didn''t know was the method of controlling the long swords was what Zen learned from the Grand Purple Aura Technique.


    Splat!


    One of the long swords pierced through a Sharp-winged Sun Crow which immediately turned into a puddle of blood.


    The transparent swords contained some divine megatons of force and a part of the Mountain Sea Pass. As long as the Mountain Sea Pass remained undamaged, these swords could stay pretty invincible.


    With a wave of Zen''s hand, the swords scattered in various direction


    ll didn''t expect him to reach this far in such a short time!"


    There were mixed emotions as they looked at Zen standing still and stained in red, matching the color of the blood mist that he created in the sky. Some were in awe, while others shivered. But one thing was for sure, Zen''s current strength was enough to serve as a backbone of the Oneness Sky Palace.


    There were about two to three million Sharp-winged Sun Crows in the first dark cloud.


    Previously, even with the twelve Oneness Generals going all out to subdue the enemies, a considerable number of Sharp-winged Sun Crows were still able to crash into the important positions of the array. These kamikaze attacks were enough to destroy the array in the Mountain Sea Pass.


    Therefore, there were hundreds of warriors stationed in the Mountain Sea Pass on standby. Their purpose was to pour divine crystals into the array to continuously repair it. Once it couldn''t be repaired, the Mountain Sea Pass would collapse.


    However, this time around, not a single Sharp-winged Sun Crow was able to lay a hand on the array. More than half of their total number was wiped out and fell victim to Zen''s swords. Even if there were a few occasional ones who escaped, they were quickly hunted down by the other Oneness Generals.


    After killing the Sharp-winged Sun Crows, Zen slowly retracted his hands. The one hundred and twenty-eight long swords withdrew and returned into the ground.


    Basil had always shown Zen the respect he deserved, but on the inside, he didn''t take him seriously.


    He used to be a Oneness Guard. After he became a five-star one, he entered the Chaotic Source World, and then he joined the Land of Sword Grief to cultivate further.


    However, he wasn''t able to get to the second floor so he returned to be a Oneness Guard. As a Oneness General now, he had the tendency of looking down upon the warriors from the Land of Sword Grief.


    But at this moment, he stared at Zen, rendered speechless.

 Chapter 3630 The Invisibility Curtain

    Basil''s strange emotion went unnoticed by Zen.


    He looked up to the sky and said, "These Sharp-winged Sun Crows should only a test, right?"


    Coming back to his senses, Basil replied, "Yes, yes. It''s just a test."


    Still, even if it was a mere test, it was far too easy to deal with their attack.


    Standing in the front was Sinclair, holding two transparent swords in his hands, giving Zen an emotionless glance.


    Zen used a method that could completely defeat a great number of Sharp-winged Sun Crows, but they did not make up the main force or the real threat.


    After millions of Sharp-winged Sun Crows in the dark cloud perished, the second dark cloud glided toward the nine positions of the array.


    In the center was a woman sitting upright in the air with one hand on her waist, looking down at the Mountain Sea Pass in front of her.


    "A mere pass won''t stop us. I''ll take you through it." With that, the woman gently picked an Other Shore Token from above her head¡ªit was a colorful curtain.


    Swoosh!


    Giving it a shake, she made the curtain grow larger and larger. As the pigment bloomed, it turned all the Sun Crows invisible.


    It was none other than the Invisibility Curtain, an Other Shore Token of the mysterious type, as well as a sixth-grade Other Shore Token in the Divine Lair.


    In the northeast corner of Stage Nineteen was a cave in the most dangerous mountain. There lived a special kind of spider the size of an ant¡ªthe five-colored spider.


    Given its size, it didn''t attract much attention¡ªit had no attacking power, nor did it hold any poison.


    But it could weave the most beautiful webs, entwined with magnificent colors.


    When the web was first discovered, it was thought to be rather strange¡ªhow could such a colorful web capture its prey? No creature, no matter how stupid, would fall for such an eye-catching web.


    As the man examined the web, he found that it ha


    un Crows outside.


    Their faces grim, Sinclair and the rest hacked the invisible Sun Crows to vent their anger, but only a few were killed.


    On the other hand, Guzman and the other disciples of the Land of Sword Grief chose to forfeit. Staring into the light from the explosion with wide eyes, they thought about how to escape once the Mountain Sea Pass fell.


    Zen already had his eyes shut and ears covered.


    "Puff, puff, puff..."


    The one hundred and twenty-eight long swords were still flying in the air. The weapons were swinging randomly, but they could still easily kill the many Sun Crows present.


    But Zen noticed something unusual as the long swords flew across.


    Two of them suddenly lost their aim as they shot forward, as though some force caused them to deviate from their path.


    While the Self-exploding Sun Crows were surely larger than ordinary Sun Crows, they couldn''t affect the long swords that flew at high speed.


    At this moment, Zen grew extremely sensitive. In an instant, the other transparent swords had already shot in that direction.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    As the swords shrank like a net, about eight of them were suddenly sent away.


    "Caught you..."


    The corner of Zen''s lips curled up into a sly smile when he noticed it.

 Chapter 3631 Repelling

    The moment the Sun Crows disappeared, Zen immediately noticed a problem.


    There was a limited number of theurgies in the Source World and even if a theurgy was created using more than ten Truths of Godly Ways, it would still be impossible to make so many Sun Crows invisible just like that.


    This effect could only be achieved through the use of an Other Shore Token.


    These Sun Crows had been hidden right before launching an attack, which meant the cloaking technique could only last for a short period of time. Otherwise, they could just hide the Sun Crows when they were still far away and let them explode right above the nine positions of the array, which would be a disaster for the Mountain Sea Pass!


    Since the Sun Crows remained hidden during the charge, that meant the person who used the cloaking theurgy was within the group. Zen had a hunch that it was most likely a demon woman from the Divine Lair.


    He summoned more than a hundred long swords to slash at the enemies around him. He wanted to kill as many Sun Crows as possible while searching for the possible demon woman.


    More than a hundred swords hacked and slashed all around, trying to find Zen''s true target. Finally, two swords were able to pinpoint this elusive demon woman. She thought the swords were mere ordinary blades, so she casually pushed them away.


    Unfortunately for her, her action attracted Zen''s attention, and he shot all the other swords towards her.


    She was just about to break out of the encirclement and sent several swords flying, but the rest of the swords immediately rushed towards her at top speed!


    "Draw more divine megatons of force!"


    There was no way Zen was going to let go of this opportunity. He immediately let the power within his body erupt all at once!


    The transparent swords were originally infused with ten divine megatons of power, but Zen''s sudden burst of energy made three of the swords each contain four thousand divine megatons of power!


    "Bang, bang, bang..."


    Loud explosions followed after the barrage of these swords upon the demon woman. However, she simply used the Invisibility Curtain in her hand to block the attacks.


    "Using t


    ess Generals couldn''t help but shudder at the sight.


    This demon woman''s eyes were filled with hatred.


    She had finally discovered the person who was controlling all those swords. It was Zen who sat in a position of the array with his eyes closed!


    "Explode!" she ordered as she saw the long sword fly back towards her.


    "Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom..."


    Over a million Self-exploding Sun Crows floated in the air, but at this moment, all of them swarmed towards her and consecutively exploded.


    They wouldn''t be able to stop Zen but they could at least make him miss his target. This strategy proved effective as Zen''s sword narrowly missed her by inches.


    With a wave of her hand, the demon woman once again covered herself with the Invisibility Curtain and disappeared from sight.


    The moment she disappeared, Zen wasted no time and once again gathered over a hundred long swords in an effort to scout her out. This time though, the demon woman was prepared and hid herself very well.


    However, she left in such a hurry that she failed to take the Self-exploding Sun Crows with her.


    Her last command had been for them to explode and so they did, sacrificing themselves like fireworks in the sky.


    When the last Self-exploding crow detonated, Sinclair and those surrounding the main array finally heaved a sigh of relief.


    They were fortunate to have arrived at this outcome since they didn''t have that many divine crystals on hand.

 Chapter 3632 Corpse Spirit Sun Crows

    After the demon woman of the Divine Lair floated backwards for several thousand feet, she removed the Invisibility Curtain from her.


    "Drip, drip, drip..."


    A big hole in her chest flowed with blood as a result from Zen''s sword.


    But though she seemed seriously injured, it was not fatal to her at all.


    As she flapped her wings profusely, her voice echoed majestically into the nine positions. "I thought I could capture the Mountain Sea Pass in one go, but I had no idea that you people had skill," she snickered.


    If the Self-exploding Sun Crows kept bursting and if Zen hadn''t forced her to show up, the array of the Mountain Sea Pass would have collapsed. The divine crystals stored in the pass wouldn''t be able to hold on for too long.


    "Bitch, stop talking nonsense!" a Oneness General scolded. "Don''t run away!"


    As the woman heard this, her pale face still perked up to a smirk. "I''ve been here the whole damn time," she said sweetly. "I don''t intend to run away."


    "Oh yeah? Then let''s see if you really have what it takes!" the other Oneness General in the same position shouted.


    Just as he stopped speaking, both of them darted towards the woman at the same pace.


    As they moved, the position that shielded them followed.


    This was a defensive tactic, because as long as they were in the position, they were safe. To them, it would be no problem to chase the woman because of her injury. Luckily for them, Sinclair had no intention of stopping them. They were going to return anyway.


    Zen gradually retracted the more than one hundred swords and activated his hearing sense. The soft, sweet voice of the woman rang in his ears, and his heart began to beat quickly. However, once he saw the two Oneness Generals going after the woman, his face suddenly changed. "General Sinclair!" Zen called out. "Please ask them to come back quickly. Something is wrong! They''re being enchanted by the woman!"


    Originally, the seventeen Oneness Generals, including Zen, had already been nervous.


    But because Zen repelled the demon woman from the Divine Lair, they had more hope.


    The woman should have escaped, but after she distanced herself from them, she showed up and used her voice to enchant the two Oneness Generals.


    "Kemp!


    come restless and uneasy.


    "Corpse Spirit Sun Crows!"


    Queenie was surprised to see the Sun Crows descending, especially because they were so strong.


    The Corpse Spirit Sun Crows were personally nurtured by Emperor Charm, which made them the strongest of the Sun Crow race. They had been hidden underground, only to appear when the Divine Lair was attacked.


    In other words, the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows could only be used if the Sun Crow race was ever in danger.


    Elizabeth appeared, standing steadily on the last Corpse Spirit Sun Crow that appeared. She looked down at the Sky Net in the distance with a dignified expression.


    "Master Elizabeth..."


    Before Queenie could finish her sentence, Elizabeth raised her hand and stopped her.


    "Our Sun Crow race has no choice but to go all out," Elizabeth said. "We might suffer our biggest loss in battle with the Oneness Sky Palace. Worst-case scenario, we will disappear from the world for good." Elizabeth let out a huge sigh, saddened by the thought of their defeat.


    She knew for a fact that the entire Source World, as well as the chaos, would undergo a great reformation eventually.


    The battle between the Sun Crow race and the Oneness Sky Palace marked the beginning of that change.


    But as the leader of the Divine Lair, Elizabeth couldn''t help but feel sorry for her people. "I only hope that you find a way to escape this calamity and be among the lucky ones who survive," she said solemnly. "Only then can you live forever."

 Chapter 3633 General Offensive

    Negative thoughts began to flood Elizabeth''s mind. After all, she couldn''t help but feel doubtful when she heard the plan from Emperor Charm for the first time.


    If the Purge Way was carried out according to the way Emperor Charm had said, then less than ten thousand people were qualified to live. She couldn''t imagine the consequences of such a thing.


    Although she was highly uncertain, she did not show it.


    Since Emperor Charm was the king of the whole Sun Crow race, Elizabeth still believed his decisions unconditionally, even if she herself was the commander in chief of the Divine Lair.


    After the great change in the Source World, however, no one knew how many people could survive safely. Furthermore, it was rather dull to live in a world with less than ten thousand creatures.


    In the end, Elizabeth only sighed and gently waved her hand forward. All the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows flapped their wings, and many demon women from the Divine Lair stood behind the Sun Crows.


    Numerous Sun Crows turned into dark clouds once again and enveloped the whole atmosphere. After that, it became impossible to see everything inside the dark cloud enclosure from the outside.


    Meanwhile, Sinclair did not look pleased in the Mountain Sea Pass.


    Many people had died from the moment he had guarded the Mountain Sea Pass, but all of them were insignificant Other Shore Realm warriors. Only a few Oneness Guards were killed.


    Besides, the twelve Oneness Generals who had fought against the Sun Crows in the positions of the array were completely unharmed.


    This time, it wasn''t easy for Sinclair to invite five disciples from the Land of Sword Grief to offer help. It was like adding five Oneness Generals to the array, but in the blink of an eye, they lost two Oneness Generals already! More importantly, those two who died were Kemp and Hargrove, his right-hand men!


    "It''s indeed a pity that Kemp and Hargrove died, but the Mountain Sea Pass is still fine. If it weren''t for Zen, the Mountain Sea Pass would have been captured," Basil, who was beside him, comforted.


    A few seconds had passed, and Sinclair finally calmed down a bit and nodded. "It was really close. I went to check the main array, and they don''t have many divine crystals left.


    The array of the Mountain Sea Pass withstood this round of attack, but at the price of a hundred million divine crystals..." he said.


    If Zen hadn''t killed a large number of Self-exploding Sun Crows, the Mountain Sea Pass would have been besieged. "Since there are not many divine crystals left, won''t the array of the Mountain Sea Pass be unable to work?" Guzman asked.


    "The Vastness Mountain is sending two hundred million divine crystals he


    The middle-aged man with long hair was the leader of the Azure Mountain, Jonathan Su.


    Numerous Oneness Generals guarded the twelve passes, while the leaders of the seven mountains watched over the seven arrays. However, not all of the leaders came.


    In the Origin Array


    Countless rays of sword light twisted, rotated, and surged in the array like water ripples.


    Beside the Origin Array stood Winchell and the other masters of the Origin Mountain. All of them looked serious and solemn.


    If it was a battle of life and death, the Oneness Sky Palace might not be afraid of the Sun Crow race.


    However, the seven arrays were currently in their greatest crisis, and that was the absence of Eastern Emperor Taiyi and Yasamin.


    Without those two, the strength of the Oneness Sky Palace had decreased by more than fifty percent!


    Moreover, the outsiders still did not know the news. Then again, if all the soldiers knew it, they would probably suffer from low morale before the battle began.


    As the beautiful woman who sat in the center of the Origin Array looked at the sullen faces of Winchell and the others, she suddenly said, "Don''t worry, everyone. Madam Yasamin has already nurtured six million Deity Sword Souls. Although my cultivation base is far inferior to that of Madam Yasamin and I can only use one move of the Origin Deity Attack, we are not that far from each other when it comes to our strength."


    The beautiful woman was called Felicity, and she had a close relationship with Dorothy. She was also Winchell''s sister-in-law.


    Although Yasamin had always regarded Dorothy as her successor, the war was about to begin and Dorothy''s cultivation base was still low even though she had mastered the Origin Swordsmanship. Therefore, it was Felicity who had to go into battle.

 Chapter 3634 Rebellion

    The powerful warriors on the Origin Mountain were able to come up with this replacement method, but that was not the case for Oneness Mountain.


    In the Land of Sword Grief, Zen had written down the complete Truth Enlightenment and handed it to Elvinia.


    As soon as that was done, Elvinia eagerly went straight to the Phoenix Palace.


    There were two reasons for her excitement: first, she wanted to personally hand it over to her father; second, she wanted to tell her father what she had seen in the Creation Myth Temple.


    Soon enough, she arrived at the Phoenix Palace. She was told that her father was in the Supreme Dragon Hall.


    She quickly went to the Supreme Dragon Hall, but the gate was heavily guarded and she couldn''t see her father. Later on, she visited her mother, Flamine, instead. That was when she knew that her father was trapped on the Other Shore, and the Oneness Sky Palace was under a great crisis.


    She thought of Goran recruiting soldiers in the Land of Sword Grief before, and finally realized that the Oneness Sky Palace was really in great trouble this time.


    At this time, huge swords surrounded the Oneness Array.


    On top of the swords'' hilts stood Athemar, Goran, and the other Oneness Governors.


    Then, two old men with grey hair stood on the two swords at the forefront of the Oneness Array.


    The man on the left was Pearce Gan, who had been following Eastern Emperor Taiyi.


    The man on the right was called Auden Ning.


    Many important officials of the Oneness Sky Palace were gathered on the Oneness Mountain. They were the group with the most number of members and also the strongest, but their respective leader was not there.


    Everyone present had extraordinary auras, but none of them was confident.


    "Based on the movement of the Sun Crows, they still intend to break the Vastness Array and capture the Mountain Sea Pass. It seems easy, but in reality it is very dangerous for them," said Pearce. He took out a small golden gourd as he spoke, pulled the cork, and took a sip of the wine.


    Auden''s wrinkly face convulsed. The man was dressed in a cloth gown and he looked like an ordinary woodcutter. On his right hand was a rusty sword.


    Despite his plain appearance, all of the Oneness Governors in the gathering highly respected him.


    He and Pearce were known as Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s very capable assistants. Both of them were slightly stronger than the Oneness Governors and were


    ddenly, purple lights glowed from behind the Mountain Sea Pass.


    "Whoosh!"


    "Whoosh!"


    "Whoosh!"


    "Whoosh!"


    Those lights transformed into swords that were tens of millions of feet long, and anyone who saw the lights felt their power and strength. Then, the sharp lights pierced through the air. It looked like they could penetrate through everything.


    "The Vastness Array is activated! Everyone, don''t be discouraged. With the Vastness Array''s support, we will not lose this battle!" Sinclair finally shouted to boost their army''s morale.


    The shining sword radiance truly did make them feel more confident. The Oneness Guards, and the ordinary warriors at the Other Shore Realm finally felt resolute.


    At the source of the lights, an extraordinary aura emanated from Gethin as he sat cross-legged, his gaze fixed on the northeast.


    "Sinclair in the Mountain Sea Pass ahead is encouraging his soldiers," Natasha said in an enchanting voice from beside Gethin.


    "I''m wondering what expression he will have if he knows the truth. Ha-ha..." a leader of the intelligence agency sneered.


    Gethin snorted. "Those old men are smart and cunning. I''m afraid they have already figured out the truth seeing the Sun Crows'' movements," he commented.


    A detached smile graced Natasha''s lips. "So what? You didn''t play any dirty tricks. What else can they do?" she remarked.


    The Vastness Mountain''s rebellion wasn''t actually a secret conspiracy, considering that the Oneness Sky Palace was already in danger. In fact, Gethin was open about it because he was sure that the Oneness Sky Palace couldn''t do anything to him.

 Chapter 3635 Powerful Defense

    The countless Sun Crows formed a black ocean as they raced towards the Sky Net.


    When the mass of crows were within twenty miles of the Sky Net, they broke their original formation and swarmed together to move in one direction. Towards the Mountain Sea Pass!


    The moment they did so though, the Sky Net also began to shift and change.


    It had originally been traversing across the southwest, but now it had begun to fold and roll away from the Mountain Sea Pass to advance on the mass of Sun Crows. It looked to be attempting to encircle them!


    As it began to roll inwards on either side, the generals and soldiers of the Battle Rage Pass on the left, and those of the Heaven Wind Pass on the right, began to converge on the Mountain Sea Pass.


    Other generals and soldiers from the six arrays and eleven passes, excluding those in the Vastness Array and the Mountain Sea Pass, advanced forward along the sides of the Sky Net.


    Splash!


    As the battalion of Sun Crows grew closer, they scattered, putting more and more distance between each of them.


    In their reformation, they could now see a smaller group of Corpse Spirit Sun Crows amongst them.


    At the sight of about 100 Corpse Spirit Sun Crows, the warriors of the seven arrays of the Oneness Sky Palace emerged grim-faced.


    "The Sun Crow race... They are absolutely insane!"


    "I can''t believe Emperor Charm has released the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows..."


    "They are the basis of their race. They truly plan to wage a mighty battle against the Oneness Sky Palace."


    In the past, the two factions had a peaceful relationship. They had allied themselves, and their leaders had known one another quite well.


    There was no doubt at all that the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows were incredibly powerful, but they rarely ever fought unless their race found themselves faced with the crisis of possible extinction. So the others were boggled as to why they showed up now. They were determined to destroy the Oneness Sky Palace!


    Elizabeth''s lips stretched into a charming smile as she sat at the top.


    There were countless humans gathering like ants behind the Sky Net.


    As far as Elizabeth was concerned, apart from the masters of the Oneness Sky Palace, the soldiers at the Other Shore Realm were the same as these brainless Sun Crows. They were all meaningless and just numbers to her.


    Their numbers would dwindle and disappear, their bodies turning to cheap dust and being swept away with the wind into the sky, forever lost.


    Such was the terrible, pathetic lives of the weak.


    "Begin the first wave of attacks."


    Elizabeth stretched her hands out slightly in fron


    he swords were starting to merge, and as they combined they could contain more and more strength.


    "Five thousand divine megatons of force!" Zen called.


    One of the swords finally pierced through the false void.


    Unfortunately, there was another harsh, metallic clang.


    The sword had met yet another barrier, and spun away from the void.


    There was a brief flicker of surprise on Zen''s face. The defensive power of the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows far exceeded his expectations.


    "Eight thousand divine megatons of force!" he snarled.


    The spiraling sword corrected itself, and once more zipped towards the void at alarming speed.


    Another sharp clang.


    The sound echoed in his ears as the sword spun away erratically.


    "Fifteen thousand divine megatons of force!" he yelled, his voice shaking.


    Zen stopped releasing power to a majority of flying swords, and then forced all the power into a long sword and sent it towards the void once more.


    A crack was heard.


    The sword had finally pierced through an object in the void, but it seemed to have only made it half a foot.


    Although he was elated that the sword had gotten through, he was still shocked to learn it didn''t go any farther. With a clenched fist, he released the power within the sword. "How troublesome..." he grumbled to himself.


    The power of the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows was far beyond his expectations.


    "How troublesome is it, exactly?" Basil asked in confusion. He had heard Zen''s softly spoken words.


    Zen pointed ahead and said, "Take a look."


    The three Corpse Spirit Sun Crows that had been hiding were now slowly descending as the Invisibility Curtain was taken away by Queenie. The mouths of the now visible massive creatures were alight with blue flames.

 Chapter 3636 The Power Of The Flames

    The strong azure flames burned brightly as they gave off a striking aura.


    Even so, Zen had already expected such a thing when he had attacked the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows.


    The moment he saw that the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows were about to spit flames, he immediately shouted, "Everyone, get out of here!"


    Then, he quickly rushed to the far right side of the position.


    Fortunately, Basil was also quick to react. As soon as Zen finished speaking, he sped up and moved to the right as well.


    The other Oneness Generals also followed suit and dodged to the side in pairs.


    However, two Oneness Generals in a position behind Sinclair panicked and dashed towards the opposite directions.


    As a result, their position didn''t move with either of them.


    When one of them realized what happened, he ran to the other side and three Corpse Spirit Sun Crows spat out fire in return.


    "Hiss, hiss, hiss..."


    In the blink of an eye, three blue flames with mysterious sparks were shot forward and swallowed the position in an instant.


    The two Oneness Generals stood in the position and as they looked at the blue flames that were heading towards them, they thought of leaving things to chance.


    Perhaps the blue flames from the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows were not that powerful.


    Unfortunately, they would soon realize that they were very wrong.


    Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!


    At that moment, the array of the Mountain Sea Pass, the positions that protected Zen, Sinclair, and the others, and the transparent long swords they had formed all shattered into pieces.


    What was worse was that the people who guarded the main array had no time to stabilize it with more divine crystals.


    Furthermore, the two Oneness Generals who faced the blue flames were burnt to ashes and vanished without a trace when their position was broken.


    Meanwhile, the blue flames continued to fly forward, but they did not hit the Mountain Sea Pass.


    That was because the Sky Net had appeared and blocked the flames when they were about to approach the Mountain Sea Pass.


    Although the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows were powerful, they couldn''t tear the Sky Net apart with only a few flames from their mouths.


    "Sisters, I''ll leave the rest to you. I''ll deal with that guy!" Queenie said as a coquettish red light flashed in her eyes.


    Sun Crow spat out was also a kind of divine flame of the Sun Crow race. The Sun Crow race classified their flames, and one of the deadliest flames among them was the Corpse Spirit Sun Crow''s, which was only inferior to Emperor Charm''s.


    As an Oneness General, Zen was quick to react, but he would die as the flames had hit him.


    The whole battlefield was in chaos, but the light of the blue flames still attracted some people''s attention.


    Even Sinclair, who was busy killing the Sun Crows, froze when he saw the scene. He sighed a little and looked away.


    Of course, he thought that Zen was an outstanding young man. After all, Zen had just left the Land of Sword Grief, yet he had displayed such strength. It was rare to see a talent like him, so it was a pity that he died like that.


    Basil, Guzman, and the others were also shocked, but they couldn''t think too much as they were in the middle of a fight.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    The blue flames continued to burn Zen''s body for over thirty seconds, but he simply stood still. After a while, golden spirals materialized on his body and absorbed the flames.


    The situation wasn''t new to him as he intentionally or even unintentionally let various kinds of flames burn him all the time. Most of the time, however, those flames did not have much effect on him.


    He had taken the test of the God of Fire, known as Zhurong, back in the Creation Myth Temple, but sadly that was only an illusion the Primeval Lord of Heaven had made. Thus, it didn''t benefit his physical body at all.

 Chapter 3637 Control The Corpse Spirit Sun Crow

    Although at first intimidated by the blue flame''s strength, Zen didn''t think that it could harm him in any way.


    Just as the Corpse Spirit Sun Crow stopped spewing out flames, Zen abruptly jumped up to rush towards Queenie.


    Queenie, who thought that Zen died, had shifted and fixed her gaze on another Oneness General.


    Just as she flapped her wings to return to and mount the Corpse Spirit Sun Crow, Zen had unexpectedly pounced on her.


    Queenie was caught off guard. She never expected Zen to return safely from the blue flames!


    The look of astonishment on her face froze as Zen''s long sword pierced right through her chest. At that point, her Chaotic Source Spirits had managed to restore to just thirty percent of their original power after Zen had consumed it earlier.


    That meant his sword was only met with slight resistance before it successfully pierced her through the chest.


    "I thought¡­the fire¡­killed you¡­" Queenie stuttered in confusion with whatever remaining strength she had.


    "Well, you thought wrong," Zen replied.


    Whoosh!


    Upon finishing his sentence, he suddenly withdrew his long sword from her chest before wielding and slashing it to split her into two.


    Now that he had successfully slaughtered Queenie, Zen returned his gaze to the Corpse Spirit Sun Crow.


    Because it no longer had a master to order it around, the beast appeared lost and clueless as to what its next move should be.


    The Corpse Spirit Sun Crow was like a puppet, useless without a master controlling it.


    As Zen thought it through, he suddenly remembered the human race''s Civilization Artifact. Apart from the Primeval Lord of Heaven''s energy soul, there was also Emperor Charm''s energy soul in that Civilization Artifact.


    Although these energy souls weren''t their real bodies, they still possessed and retained their memories and auras.


    As he was casually wiping out dozens of approaching Sun Crows, another thought flashed through Zen''s inner world and called out to the Primeval Lord of Heaven.


    His inner world had undergone tremendous change ever since carrying the human race''s Civilization Artifact. All of this was caused by the Primeval Lord of Heaven and other energy souls that had been carrying out experiments on his inner world.


    The successful integration of the Civilization Artifac


    He had no chance of fighting these vicious beasts at all.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    The whistle of the Sharp-winged Sun Crows slicing the air was followed by the deaths of dozens of people¡ªmany of them with their stomachs sliced wide open.


    Hot blood splashed onto Jago''s face.


    More than half of the 300 people who made up the group were slaughtered in this single attack alone.


    "I''ll slaughter them even if it means death!"


    One terrified man exclaimed as he prepared to activate his Other Shore Token.


    Unfortunately, Other Shore Tokens that originated from Stage Two or Stage Three couldn''t work in this kind of battles at all. Using it against the swift Sharp-winged Sun Crows would be useless.


    Before that man could activate his Other Shore Token, one of the Sharp-winged Sun Crows swooped down and slashed his neck. He was beheaded before he even got the chance to cry out.


    Jago felt nothing but utter hopelessness as he witnessed his comrades drop dead all around him.


    ''How can Flag Master¡­ survive this?''


    Jago''s mind went blank as he realized he''d be unable to protect himself now. But he still clung to the hope that Zen would be able to save him. Although at this point, it seemed quite impossible¡­


    Swoosh!


    A sudden wave of heat passed over his face.


    All he saw above him was a brilliant blue flame before an enormous Sun Crow landed beside him.


    "Come on up!" Zen beckoned from the back of a Corpse Spirit Sun Crow.


    Blinking his eyes, Jago could hardly understand what was happening in front of him.

 Chapter 3638 Grabbing

    Jago had been staring at Zen with his eyes wide open for a few seconds. After a while, he was jolted back to his senses by his desire to live.


    As soon as he had lifted himself off the ground, he bolted straight towards the Corpse Spirit Sun Crow and jumped on its back.


    "Flag Master, forgive my ignorance. But why are you able to command the Sun Crow?" Jago looked thoroughly awestruck as he asked Zen.


    It went without saying that he knew how terrifying a Corpse Spirit Sun Crow was. It seemed incredulous that Zen was able to control it.


    The Corpse Spirit Sun Crows were enormous. Moreover, they were aggressively assaulting the Sky Net above. The warriors of the Other Shore Realm as well as the Oneness Guards were not even qualified to be the opponents of these magnificent and powerful Corpse Spirit Sun Crows.


    Zen remained standing straight on the back of the Corpse Spirit Sun Crow. He was controlling it to spew out blue flames constantly. As he heard Jago''s question, he seemed amused. "You can do the same," he replied calmly.


    "What? That can''t be right!"


    Jago was utterly bewildered at Zen''s answer. Meanwhile, the Corpse Spirit Sun Crow flapped its massive wings splendidly and swiftly soared forward.


    Most of the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows had already gathered above. They charged fearlessly towards the Sky Net as commanded by Elizabeth. There were only a few Corpse Spirit Sun Crows left to deal with the Oneness Generals inside the Mountain Sea Pass.


    "Wow! That looks terrifying," Jago exclaimed as he observed their movements.


    All of a sudden, a stream of blue flame hurtled down from the sky. It narrowly missed Sinclair as he rolled on the ground to dodge it. However, the heat of the flames had singed his hair.


    He had the protection of the Chaotic Source Spirits to thank. Without it, his body would have been badly burned by that attack.


    As he was dodging the flames from above and on the ground, Sinclair brandished his long sword and slashed three times towards the direction of the sky.


    "Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!"


    "Three Consecutive Punishment Slashes!" Sinclair shouted at the top of his lungs.


    Three rays of sword radiance broke through the air. They dragged the traces of countless space cracks and slashed at the Corpse Spirit Sun Crow above.


    Surprisingly, the Corpse Spirit Sun Crow didn''t dodge his attack at all. It seemed like it wasn''t taking Sinclair''s three slashes seriously.


    "Puff! Puff! Puff!"


    The theurgy of swordsmanship that Sinclair cultivated was an extremely offensive technique. However, the sword radiance didn''t even damage the feather of the Corpse Spirit Sun Crow as his attack landed.


    "Unbelievable. These Corpse Spirit Sun Crows really are too strong. I can''t stand against them..."


    As Sinclair admitted this, a look of complete disappointment registered on his face


    When he was guarding the Mountain Sea Pass, he was very much aware of the fact that he would have to fight to the death.


    There were so many of his companions that had met their demise in


    er of the Sky Net Array should not be underestimated. It was highly regarded as one of the most powerful skills of the Oneness Sky Palace. No matter how wildly the blue flame burned, the Sky Net remained unmoved and unharmed.


    The blue light of the flames shone on Elizabeth''s face. Her beautiful eyes were full of confident calmness.


    She believed that no matter how tough the Sky Net was, it would eventually collapse. If they continued to burn it like this, it would only be a matter of time before they broke through it.


    Once the Sky Net Array was broken, the Sun Crow race would charge forward. Then, they would launch an all-out attack.


    Elizabeth thought that as long as she attacked the Sky Net, all the powerful warriors in the seven mountains would be drawn out.


    She had commanded the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows to burn the Sky Net for quite a while now. However, the strong warriors in the seven mountains still did not take any action. It was only the Oneness Guards and the Oneness Generals stationed in the twelve passes that rushed out of the Sky Net and fought with the Sun Crows.


    After the blue flames had continued burning the Sky Net for five minutes, streaks of sword light shot into the sky from behind it.


    "Well, well. So you finally lose your cool?" Elizabeth''s mouth curled into a taunting smile.


    "Impressive!" she remarked as she observed the streaks of sword light.


    A hundred thousand feet long ray of sword radiance unfolded from afar. It seemed to be able to cut the sky in halves as it passed through the Sky Net without resistance. Moreover, it accurately slashed toward Elizabeth''s direction.


    Elizabeth remained sitting upright on the back of a Corpse Spirit Sun Crow. It was as though she was merely sitting on a small boat that was moving with the tide. She gently swayed to the side to avoid the sword radiance.


    Just like Elizabeth, the other Corpse Spirit Sun Crows hovering in front of her easily avoided the sword radiance. It seemed like they were not in the same space at all.

 Chapter 3639 My Words Carry No Weight

    It was the leader of the Golden Mountain.


    When the sword radiance missed completely, the look on the leader''s face did not flinch or change a bit.


    Instead, he raised his golden sword horizontally, and the roaring noises of dragons and tigers echoed from the blade of the sword.


    With his other hand, he pinched the sword and suddenly slashed out the golden sword. There were flames of fury behind his eyes.


    Swish! Swish!


    Just then, the huge sword radiance roared away once again.


    Meanwhile, the leaders of the other six mountains waited patiently for orders from the Oneness Mountain. They made sure to never leave the arrays that they were guarding.


    Though the attack was powerful, it remained a challenge to hurt Elizabeth or any of the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    After the leader of the Golden Mountain finally made his move, a violent wind rushed out from the other side. Apparently, countless swords were hidden in the wind, and this same wind swept away taking the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows and Elizabeth with it.


    "Destroy!"


    The Azure Mountain''s leader declared.


    Crack! Crack!


    The forceful gusts of wind released bolts of lightning that exploded in all directions.


    Elizabeth sat firmly and calmly on the back of a Corpse Spirit Sun Crow. The corners of her mouth lifted up into a smile. "It seems that these old men don''t even dare to come out. Are they just going to test it like this?"


    As soon as she finished speaking, snake-shaped sword shadows began to approach her.


    These shadows created gray marks in the air, and multiplied dramatically over time. This was the move from the Bright Mountain, and it could cross spaces in order to hit its targets.


    Because Elizabeth relied on a spatial magic treasure, she and the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows could easily avoid the attacks aimed at them. The leader of the Bright Mountain only hoped that the snake-shaped sword shadows would be able to hit her.


    However, though the shadows continued to spread out, they could not get to Elizabeth.


    Swish!


    Right before Elizabeth, an intense purple light shot up from the ground and pierced the sky. Afterwards, it descended and landed right above her head. It was a very long purple sword!


    Boom!


    When the purple sword landed, it did not cause any pain to Elizabeth. Rather, it brought out a purple glow that


    Taiyi led the battle, no mountain could disobey him.


    There would be no reason for them to refuse to spearhead the attack.


    Although Pearce and Auden were the elders of the Oneness Sky Palace, they were no match for Eastern Emperor Taiyi. The mountain leaders would not be driven by Pearce, who was weaker and less important than them.


    "Elder Pearce, I''ll go up with Goran!" Athemar volunteered enthusiastically.


    Goran also cupped his hands in agreement, his eyes flashing with a fierce determination to get it done.


    "I''m afraid you two are not enough," Pearce said. "If you go up like this, you''d die," Pearce said, shaking his head.


    "Then I''m in!" said Master Hai, who hadn''t spoken a word the whole time.


    "I''ve lived long enough. Count me in," Auden added, smiling.


    "And me..."


    "Elder Pearce, me..."


    Seeing all the willingness of them, Pearce couldn''t help but smile. "Among the seven arrays guarded by seven mountains, the Oneness Array is the most important," he announced. "If you all go up, that would leave me to preside over this array alone."


    Everyone grew silent, and Goran gritted his teeth hearing this.


    The Sun Crows'' orderly advance really placed the Oneness Sky Palace in a dilemma that left them close to hopeless.


    Suddenly, Athemar looked into the distance and spotted something odd. "Look, what''s that?"


    Oddly enough, more than 100 Corpse Spirit Sun Crows soared gracefully in the air, but there seemed to be three Corpse Spirit Sun Crows circling below them. These three crows spewed out blue flames at their own members!

 Chapter 3640 Robber

    Zen originally made the Corpse Spirit Sun Crow under his feet fly close to the ground. But after grabbing the third one, he had risen to a higher altitude.


    Sinclair and Jago controlled the other two.


    While Jago had a rather low cultivation level, he was superior to Sinclair when it came to controlling the Corpse Spirit Sun Crow.


    Upon Athemar''s reminder, everyone on the Lofty Swords turned to the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows.


    Pearce''s pupils contracted until a triangular mirror appeared in their depths. Even if the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows were over a hundred miles away, he could see every detail on them as clear as day.


    His wrinkled face was dumbfounded at what he saw.


    And he wasn''t the only one stunned frozen.


    Auden was struck with astonishment when he saw Zen flying atop the back of a Corpse Spirit Sun Crow as it spat out blue flames.


    Meanwhile, Athemar, Goran, and the rest used their own methods to observe¡ªsome used their spiritual senses, while others used their eyesight, but all of them wore bewildered expressions.


    The sight had them shocked, speechless, and confused.


    "Those three men snatched away the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows?" Eventually, Pearce couldn''t stop himself from asking.


    "It seems so." Goran nodded.


    "How is this possible? The Corpse Spirit Sun Crows were nurtured by Emperor Charm with great effort. How could he have the qualifications to attack the North Unicorn Province if they could be taken away so easily?" said one of the Oneness Governors, shaking his head.


    Even if he had seen it with his own two eyes, he couldn''t believe it.


    If the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows could be snatched away so easily, Emperor Charm had no power to fight with the Oneness Sky Palace.


    He must have set many restrictions on the powerful puppets.


    Zen and Sinclair were merely Oneness Generals.


    Even if Eastern Emperor Taiyi came in person, he could only crush the crows to dust¡ªhe wouldn''t have been able to snatch them away.


    "Who took the three crows? Was it Sinclair?" asked another Oneness Governor.


    Among the Oneness Generals, Sinclair was considered a vet


    st lost all the demon women because of him.


    In their third encounter on the Other Shore, her loss was even more miserable¡ªshe had to give up Stage Fourteen to Zen.


    This time, he even managed to snatch the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows.


    Now, Zen''s innocent face terrified Elizabeth. His calm demeanor was more like the calm before a storm¡ªit was like a nightmare to Elizabeth as she felt all her power shrink to nothing. The man who was supposed to be not worth even mentioning could crush her to death effortlessly.


    "Master Elizabeth!"


    "Master Elizabeth, how did a human snatch the Corpse Spirit Sun Crow?"


    "He''s approaching with one!"


    Many of the demon women riding the crows had also noticed Zen''s arrival.


    "All of you, go catch him!" Elizabeth ordered urgently, gritting her teeth.


    If it was anyone else, she would''ve killed him immediately.


    But Zen was important¡ªhe had to be caught alive.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    The demon women then dashed downward.


    In the distance, Athemar, Pearce, and the rest closely watched the front.


    Seeing the demon women descend one after another, Athemar couldn''t help but say, "It''s too dangerous. What does Zen want to do?"


    "Should we do something?" Goran asked.


    But Pearce reached out his hand to stop him.


    Although he was also worried, he had the instinct to take the risks. "Hold on! He must be rushing up like this for a reason!"

 Chapter 3641 Rushing Into The Flames

    Over a hundred Corpse Spirit Sun Crows were scattered above Zen.


    "Is it okay, Emperor Charm?" Zen asked just as he was about a thousand feet away from the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows at the bottom.


    Emperor Charm nodded. "Yes."


    Green light flashed in the emperor''s slender eyes and Zen began to feel something press onto his mind.


    "Buzz..."


    Seven or eight Corpse Spirit Sun Crows at the bottom looked down as a trace of green light also flashed in their eyes. Zen felt the existence of these Corpse Spirit Sun Crows within his mind just as the connection was made.


    Zen''s eyes widened in wonder! "It''s done!"


    He continued to fly towards the higher layer where there were more than ten Corpse Spirit Sun Crows waiting. Zen noticed how they had to maintain a certain amount of distance between them owing to their incredibly huge sizes.


    This time, before he even started to make a request to Emperor Charm, the eyes of these Corpse Spirit Sun Crows flashed green and their consciousness connected with his mind.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh...


    At that moment, sharp, whistling sounds came from high above.


    More than twenty Divine Lair women were quickly descending on the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows and their target was obvious: Zen.


    It wasn''t a problem for him to kill one or two Divine Lair women given his strength, but it was a rather different story if there were more than twenty of them.


    "Descend."


    Zen heard Emperor Charm''s voice echo in his head.


    Even without this reminder, Zen wasn''t willing to continue his ascent.


    As he descended, Zen noticed that the Sun Crows commanded by Emperor Charm remained in the air in their original positions. They even continued spitting out their blue flames.


    The Divine Lair women who were hot at his tail were none the wiser and simply ignored these Corpse Spirit Sun Crows. They did not notice any abnormality whatsoever and continued to chase solely after Zen.


    "Catch him!"


    "Don''t let him escape back to the Sky Net!"


    "You think we''ll let you go this time?" "We''ll definitely catch you!"


    These demon women that chased after Zen were all elites in the Divine Lair. Their individual strength could easily suppress an outstanding Oneness Sky Palace warrior.


    There was really no need to send so many people after s


    th manipulated all the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows to spit their blue flames towards Zen.


    Facing the barrage of so many blue flames, even the mightiest warriors would choose to dodge.


    All eyes were on Zen at that moment.


    "Zen, run!"


    "You''ve already stolen twenty Corpse Spirit Sun Crows! That''s enough..."


    "It''s too early for you to fight against Elizabeth!"


    "It should be easy for him to dodge while controlling his mount!"


    Even the warriors of the Azure Mountain, the Bright Mountain, and the Ivory Mountain were paying close attention to him once they realized that he could determine the trend of this entire war.


    The Sky Net had almost reached its limit and would not be able to withstand any more power. However, when the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows stopped releasing fire, it began to repair itself.


    As he faced the oncoming flames, Zen suddenly had a bold idea. "How would you react if I took away all the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows?!"


    He did not command his mount to carry him to safety. Instead, he made it rush headfirst into the flames.


    In just a few moments, he, along with the Corpse Spirit Sun Crow, disappeared into the blue flames...


    Everyone was stunned into silence.


    Save for a small number of people who knew the truth about Zen, most people viewed his actions as suicide!


    "What is he doing?!"


    "Is he asking for death?!"


    "He has no reason to do so!"


    All the leaders of the seven mountains along with all the powerful warriors in the seven arrays could only look on in confusion.

 Chapter 3642 Run Away

    Pearce and Auden had set a high expectation for Zen.


    Such an unrealistic expectation became the key to breaking the dilemma.


    However, things suddenly turned to a direction that the two of them found hard to accept. Did Zen really rush into the raging flames and commit suicide?


    There was nothing Pearce could do or say, except for the shocked twitch of his face.


    Naturally, Auden was very much taken aback as well.


    Both of them didn''t know much about Zen. They had met Zen for the first time in the Supreme Dragon Hall, and their impressions of him weren''t so great. They thought that Zen was extremely arrogant and even dared to refuse the marriage that Eastern Emperor Taiyi had arranged for him.


    On the other hand, Athemar and Goran knew Zen much better.


    For instance, Athemar knew that Zen wasn''t afraid of the unearthly fire, but even Athemar himself didn''t dare to touch the flames that the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows spat out. If that was the case, would Zen truly be safe?


    But of course, Zen was not a brainless person. Perhaps he was quite confident in his abilities, which was why he charged straight like that.


    "Splash..."


    Zen and his Corpse Spirit Sun Crow were bathed together in the blue flames, and as time passed, the distance between them and the other crows became closer.


    At that moment, a consciousness floated in Zen''s mind. "Emperor Charm!


    Is it okay?"


    Emperor Charm''s shadow nodded in response and then his eyes flashed a ray of green light.


    To take control of the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows was a piece of cake for him.


    A few seconds later, the connections with the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows kept appearing in Zen''s mind!


    On the contrary, Elizabeth was agitated.


    The remaining Corpse Spirit Sun Crows were originally under her control, but now they quickly disappeared from her mind one after another!


    "He is still alive!" she shouted angrily in despair.


    After a while, all the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows were finally under Zen''s control except for the one she sat on.


    "Splash..."


    With just a thought, Zen made the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows stop spurting blue flames. His pure golden body came into everyone''s sight once again.


    Below them was Sinclair, who looked up dumbfoundedly at the scene in the sk


    her back flapped, and then she dashed forward together with the Corpse Spirit Sun Crow. Her speed was more than twice as high as Zen''s!


    As long as she could successfully catch him, she could intercept these Corpse Spirit Sun Crows.


    That was the only thought that ran through her mind.


    As soon as she got closer to him, she jumped up from the back of the Corpse Spirit Sun Crow. The tip of the flaming spear in her hand spun at high speed and let out an ear-piercing sound.


    The spear contained a terrifying number of divine megatons of power. It was so intense that under its immense pressure, the space that touched the tip of the spear formed a dark dot.


    "This spear strike would definitely kill you!"


    Elizabeth had channeled all her grief and remorse into her spear strike, so much that she had completely forgotten about the order to capture Zen alive.


    Yet, she saw that Zen only looked back at her with scornful eyes.


    It could be that she was afraid of him mocking her, so when she met his gaze, she felt an inexplicable rush of panic.


    ''Why does he look at me like that?


    Did I miss anything?!


    Whatever!''


    She discarded all her thoughts, and proceeded to throw the spear of flames in her hand.


    However, at this moment, the eyes of the last Corpse Spirit Sun Crow that Zen did not take away lit up like emeralds.


    Its torso flipped in the air. Then it fiercely flapped its wings and hit Elizabeth''s body.


    "Bang!"


    The wings slammed her hard, and she fell from the sky.

 Chapter 3643 A Cognitive Space

    If those Corpse Spirit Sun Crows had owners present, it would be impossible for Emperor Charm to steal them.


    Previously, when Zen stole the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows, he had to drive the demon women of the Divine Lair away from them or directly burn them to death with blue flames.


    Since Elizabeth sat firmly on the last Corpse Spirit Sun Crow''s back, Zen couldn''t take it away.


    However, she suddenly left the Corpse Spirit Sun Crow in the last minute. Fortunately, it wasn''t that far, so Zen had a chance to steal it.


    "Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"


    While Elizabeth fell from the sky, Zen immediately entered the Sky Net with all the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows.


    At that point, he had taken away all the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows led by Elizabeth.


    Of course, the Corpse Spirit Sun Crow''s wings were quite strong. As a result, she didn''t manage to stabilize herself in the air until she had dropped down sharply for a certain distance.


    Once she was back to her senses, she looked closely at Zen and saw that he had already fled to the inside of the Sky Net with all the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows.


    Now, Zen didn''t leave right after he had entered the Sky Net. Instead, he flashed her a smile and shouted across the Sky Net, "To be honest, I''m interested in fighting with you."


    Although he hadn''t climbed up to a higher stage of the Other Shore Realm yet, there wasn''t a big difference between him and powerful warriors like Elizabeth and Athemar when it came to the Soul of Light, corporeal body, and the Other Shore Token.


    "Now," Elizabeth said seriously.


    Her eyes were full of hatred, as if she wanted to eat Zen alive.


    "Not now," Zen answered with a grin.


    He clearly wasn''t like Athemar or Pearce, who had more access to information because of their higher positions.


    But even without thinking, he could tell that the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows were by no means the only weapon of the Sun Crow race.


    Since Elizabeth and her army alone were able to make the seven mountains remain inside the Sky Net, the leaders of the seven mountains, the Oneness Governors, and other powerful warriors must be afraid of something¡ªthough he didn''t have the chance to know what that was yet.


    Still, he inadvertently got involved as he controlled nearly a hundred Corpse Spirit Sun Crows.


    Meanwhile, Elizabeth''s pupils continuously dilated as she stared at Zen. Blue wisps of fire appeared on her crimson golden wings. The original


    he Dream Blood Theurgy," replied Emperor Charm.


    "She will have a desperate fight," he added. "A desperate fight? Can she tear the Sky Net apart?" Zen asked.


    "I don''t think she''ll be able to tear it apart," Emperor Charm glanced at the Sky Net and answered.


    The Dream Blood Theurgy was a theurgy that only Emperor Charm himself could bestow upon someone, and it could greatly stimulate one''s own potential.


    In the 77th chaos, he had only granted it to no more than a hundred demon women.


    Then again, the Sky Net could endure the continuous attacks of more than a hundred Corpse Spirit Sun Crows. Even if Elizabeth''s strength increased by ten times, it still wasn''t enough to tear such a powerful array apart.


    Zen had planned to run away, but he changed his mind after he heard the answer from Emperor Charm.


    Although Elizabeth had activated the Dream Blood Theurgy, it was true that she wasn''t in a hurry to attack him.


    After all, she knew that it was in vain, and she only did such a thing to release her emotions.


    She did it for the people behind her to see. "Is this your strategy, Springer? It''s so ridiculous..." she said through life vitality.


    As she spoke, her voice echoed in a space behind her.


    That particular space was quite strange that it fell in the category of cognitive zones.


    To be precise, the space existed, but it did not exist.


    Because she believed that the space existed, it floated behind her.


    As for the others like Zen, Pearce, Athemar, the Oneness Generals, and the Oneness Guards, they didn''t know the existence of that space. Thus, for them, it did not exist.

 Chapter 3644 Flipping The Sky Net

    Pearce, Auden and the leaders of the seven mountains all had very sharp insights.


    Because of this, ordinary hiding skills could never deceive them.


    However, the method the Sun Crow race used was one they had never seen coming.


    It was for this reason that they failed to see through the Sun Crow race, even if they did everything in their power. This was also why Pearce didn''t dare to act rashly.


    Just then, a cocky voice rang through space. It was no other than Springer.


    "Humph, are you blaming me? What a damn shame! Over a hundred Corpse Spirit Sun Crows were gifted to your Divine Lair, but they were all taken away while the Sky Net is still there intact. What a joke," Springer said sarcastically.


    Even if he was rude, he was right. And as a super force, the Sun Crow race had several branches to use for their advantage.


    Found in these branches and the Divine Lair, were the royal guards of Emperor Charm. Among these guards was Springer, who was given a status and strength that was on a par with Elizabeth''s.


    Any race would know that a hundred Corpse Spirit Sun Crows would be a great advantage and weapon of destruction. The Sun Crow race could not tolerate such a loss. While it was Springer who came up with the plan, he''d want to put the blame on Elizabeth.


    "Yes, Elizabeth, your Divine Lair is too lame," another voice spoke out. "Over a hundred Corpse Spirit Sun Crows are more than enough to annihilate an ordinary great force!"


    Elizabeth pursed her lips. "If it were you, what would you have done? You saw how Zen stole the Sun Crows away. Who could have stopped him?"


    Springer suddenly said, "I will kill him before he gets close."


    However, not many agreed with this. One voice expressed this very clearly, "I don''t agree with you on this, Springer. It is easy to be wise after the event. Could you foresee he was able to take away the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows just like that?" The voice was shrill, almost anxious and angry at the same time.


    There seemed to be many powerful people gathered in the space.


    "You''re right. It''s not Elizabeth''s fault! The human boy is to blame," another voice cried out. "I''m still puzzled by him and how he''d managed to take away the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows."


    As they continued to argue, it came to a common conclusion. What happened was so strange, that it could have only been possible if Emperor Charm had intervened.


    Elizabeth''s eyes narro


    re the Sun Crows of lower intelligence.


    Meanwhile, Elizabeth concentrated on deploying the forces as she planned to summon more Sun Crows from the North Unicorn Province.


    An hour had passed and she found a large group of Sun Crows that remained in a place eight hundred miles behind her. Puzzled by what she saw, she released her spiritual sense and her face changed slightly. "The Sky Net..." she said, "is trapping us in it!"


    As soon as Elizabeth finished speaking, the surface of the once translucent net emitted a bright red glow. Just then, the surging killing intent spread along with the glow, as if it could kill anything that approached it. The Sky Net was now one big killing machine.


    At this time, the voice of Pearce rang out.


    "Shrink!"


    The Sky Net which had turned into a huge circle began to shrink inch by inch!


    As the Sky Net shrank, the distance between the seven mountains and the twelve passes grew closer. Eventually, it would trap the Sun Crow race, and seven mountains would also attack together. With the Sun Crow race trapped in the center, they would all have great advantages to win.


    "What a smart move!"


    Gethin praised from the Vastness Array.


    "And throughout the execution, not once was the Vastness Mountain needed. I have underestimated that Pearce!" Natasha said coldly.


    The entire Sky Net began to fold right from the Vastness Array and the Mountain Sea Pass. This also meant that there was no need for the Vastness Mountain to move. Since the Vastness Mountain already had plans of rebelling, this move fueled their suspicion that they might have been exposed.

 Chapter 3645 The Shrinking Sky Net

    Gethin did plan to join the Sun Crow race''s attacks on the Oneness Sky Palace eventually, but at a critical moment to deliver the fatal blow.


    While the Sky Net remained in place, the Vastness Mountain wouldn''t dare make a move.


    They couldn''t risk revealing their hand in the conspiracy too early. For now, he had to continue pretending to be on the side of the other six mountains.


    He had to wait for the right moment to strike and make his rebellion known.


    Meanwhile, Zen remained on guard near the Sky Net even after seizing control of the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows.


    The Sun Crow race still hadn''t made a move, even as the Sky Net continued shrinking. It was clear a storm was brewing.


    A voice suddenly piped up in Zen''s head. "General Zen, please come to the Oneness Array."


    Zen quickly recognized the voice. It was Pearce, the master who had once scolded him in the Supreme Dragon Hall.


    Not that it mattered to Zen now. It was but a distant memory in this time of war.


    With his mind, he directed the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows to fly to the Oneness Array. They headed out in a neat formation.


    They soon arrived at a magnificent array of Lofty Swords.


    Each one was occupied by a master from the Oneness Mountain.


    Zen cupped his hands in front of him and bowed to them respectfully.


    The masters eyed the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows, which all emanated such gloomy and powerful auras they subconsciously made anyone observing them keep their guard up.


    The Oneness Array was consisted of Lofty Swords arranged in a wedge-shaped formation: One in front, then others widening to the back on both sides.


    Libby, who occupied a Lofty Sword at one end of the array, craned her neck to finally catch a glimpse of this Zen people kept talking about.


    The disciples on the first and second floors of the Land of Sword Grief were in different arrays of the twelve passes, while the disciples on the third floor were in the arrays of the seven mountains.


    This was because the disciples on the first and second floors were closest to Oneness Generals in terms of strength, while the disciples on the third floor were most similar to Oneness Governors.


    This didn''t explain, however, why the powerful Libby was placed at the end of the array.


    She was definitely not weaker than the mast


    ness Sky Palace planned to deal with it.


    Pearce trained his eyes on the shrinking Sky Net. "If I''m guessing right, there should be a great array behind Elizabeth. After the Sky Net shrinks to a certain extent, the Sun Crow race will launch their full attack."


    As the other six arrays and eleven passes continued to move, the circular Sky Net kept contracting toward its center.


    Strong as Elizabeth was, she had no choice for now but to fall back in the face of the Sky Net.


    Nothing could be seen in the space behind her.


    With a series of caws, the Sun Crows swooped in from all corners of the sky to gather in the area behind Elizabeth. They all disappeared in groups as soon as they reached that spot.


    The Sky Net shrunk to only 800 miles across.


    500 miles.


    200 miles.


    50 miles.


    As the span of the Sky Net continued to shrink, the distance between the twelve passes and the seven arrays also decreased.


    The mountain chiefs all guarded their large arrays as they observed the Sky Net warily.


    No one would let their guard down, not even if the Sun Crow race were successfully caught in the Sky Net.


    The Sky Net shrunk further.


    It was only 25 miles wide now!


    The Sun Crow race was now only one step closer to the Oneness Sky Palace.


    Up in the sky, all the other Sun Crows had seemingly disappeared, save for Elizabeth.


    Elizabeth exhaled and moved her hands. Six dots of light emerged behind her, flickered, and quickly expanded into six hexagonal seals. Together, they formed an immense array.

 Chapter 3646 Collapse

    The array was engraved with six fire-shaped seals emanating ferocious energy.


    Pearce recognized the seal on sight.


    "This is the Six-flame Array!"


    "It''s extremely deadly!


    "Everyone, be careful!"


    Terror washed over the mountain leaders as the warning reached them.


    The array must be a sure killer if no less than Pearce was spooked.


    Buzz!


    Figures started to become visible within the array.


    There were over a hundred people within the Six-flame Array, and most of them were Emperor Charm''s royal guards. Though the Divine Lair was the main force of the Sun Crow race, these guards matched Elizabeth in strength and status.


    Elizabeth flapped her wings, positioning herself in the center of the array.


    Springer hovered beside her, beating his black wings. He glared at the Oneness Array. "You''ve forced our hand, so here we are," he called out menacingly.


    He turned to the Sun Crow race, booming out in a voice that reverberated in everyone''s ears. "Destroy the Sky Net!"


    At these words, the energy in the six fire-shaped seals burst out in six flames of different colors!


    The Heavenly Canopy Flame!


    The World Exterminating Flame!


    The Spiritual Karma Flame!


    The six kinds of flames shot out simultaneously. They had all been created by Emperor Charm with the divine flames of the Sun Crow race. Each flame was stored in the seal and nurtured for tens of millions of years. When the flames emerged, they looked less like fire and more like six sharp sabers. As the Six-flame Array began to rotate, the six sabers slashed at the Sky Net!


    Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!


    The entire Sky Net Array began to shake violently.


    The sight horrified the Oneness Generals of the twelve passes.


    "What kind of array is that?"


    "It''s powerful enough to destroy anything!"


    "The Sky Net Array can''t withstand it at all!"


    The Sky Net had been able to survive the fiery power of over a hundred Corpse Spirit Sun Crows. But now, after only a few cuts from the Six-flame Array, it was about ready to collapse!


    Pearce, however, remained steadfast in his fait


    the six seals of the Six-flame Array also collapsed into a crystal clear powder.


    "Go!"


    Zen was the first to react.


    The Corpse Spirit Sun Crows emitted light beams from their mouths, straight at the center of the collapsing Six-flame Array.


    Whoosh!


    Whoosh!


    Whoosh!


    The powerful warriors positioned in the Oneness Array started rising from the ground, pulling out the huge Lofty Swords they had been occupying.


    It came quite naturally to Pearce, Athemar and some of the other warriors.


    Libby, however, struggled a little with her Lofty Sword, her fair face betraying a hint of fatigue. She gritted her teeth and eventually managed to keep pace with the other masters.


    The Bright Array, the Golden Array, the Ivory Array, and all the other arrays also began to move. Everyone was ready to give their all in this battle.


    Just then, a purple light shot into the sky. It came from the Vastness Array.


    But instead of targeting the Six-flame Array, the purple light separated into six rays, turning into six huge purple swords. Each one hurtled straight for the other six arrays!


    A cold smirk played on Gethin''s lips. He had chosen this critical moment to bring the rebellion out in the open.


    Gethin knew Pearce and the others had been on guard against him for a long time. It was too bad that they were too busy to be on the lookout now. It was a fatal mistake.

 Chapter 3647 One-on-one Battle

    The purple long swords that came down from the sky suddenly charged straight towards the six arrays. The sudden sword attacks greatly shocked the mountain leaders.


    "What is the Vastness Mountain doing?"


    "Gethin is really rebelling!"


    "True, but he was really good at hiding from us!"


    The seven mountains had been accumulating their strength to try to fight against the Sun Crows in the Six-flame Array, but the Vastness Array just used their accumulated strength on their peers!


    "Don''t be distracted. I''ll do it!" Auden shouted.


    Then, he flew upwards as the Lofty Sword beneath him glowed a bright golden light.


    Splash!


    Just then, the Lofty Sword''s blade flipped and flew straight into the sky.


    Although Gethin was powerful and so was the Vastness Array, his attack ended up being divided into six parts. If Auden used all his strength, he might be able to take the impact.


    The Golden Mountain and the Ivory Mountain could also resist the attack, but they would have to be distracted because of this attack.


    Suddenly, a strong spatial fluctuation burst out from the Six-flame Array when it exploded. In turn, the people inside the array all used the Grand Teleportation technique and quickly disappeared.


    As a result, the blue flames from the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows and the fierce skills the other mountains released had all missed their targets!


    The Cage of Heaven and Earth had been set since the beginning of the battle in the North Unicorn Province.


    However, people like Elizabeth, Athemar, and Pearce were still able to break free from the Cage of Heaven and Earth.


    As the battle continued to advance south, however, the range of the Cage of Heaven and Earth became smaller and smaller.


    It was known that the smaller the area the cage covered, the stronger its power would be.


    That was why if the entire cage shrunk to a radius of ten thousand miles, even a powerful being like Pearce wouldn''t be able to use the Grand Teleportation technique there.


    Despite all those conditions, there were still some theurgies in the Sun Crow race that could resist the Cage of Heaven and Earth!


    Such a case was also Springer''s second conspiracy.


    Buzz!


    At that point, Springer and another eight people appeared in the Ivory Array.


    Their sudden appearance stunned all the powerful warriors in the Ivory Array.


    After all, they had been on their guard the moment they saw all


    e World. She was sure that he was still at the early stage of the Chaotic Source Realm!


    Not to mention that fifteen thousand divine megatons of force, even half of it might be enough to exhaust his Chaotic Source Spirits and disintegrate his body into pieces.


    But this was Zen, and with him, something unexpected happened a lot.


    Cling!


    Finally, Elizabeth''s spear stabbed into Zen''s body, but it only made a crisp sound.


    It turned out that the Chaotic Source Spirits in his body withstood the spear. Then they began to weaken, but his mysterious Truth of Godly Way rapidly fluctuated and pooled within each Chaotic Source Spirit, thus quickly restoring their strength!


    "How?" Elizabeth exclaimed in disbelief.


    She couldn''t believe what she saw, and Zen even had the guts to smile at her.


    "Go to hell!"


    Nevertheless, she released all the power within her body. Her flaming spear released a terrible force of twenty-five thousand divine megatons, which was close to her limit.


    She didn''t know how Zen had blocked her first spear, nor did she want to figure it out. She paid it no mind and proceeded to release more force!


    Whoosh!


    The immensely strong force pushed the flaming spear even more, then it let out a sharp whistling sound and went straight towards Zen''s head.


    Even in the face of such a powerful spear strike, Zen just faintly smiled.


    Could he still withstand this spear''s attack?


    Just as Elizabeth thought about it, she felt a burning aura around her. The aura did not come from her flaming spear, but from the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows that were flying everywhere.

 Chapter 3648 Summoning Worlds

    The Corpse Spirit Sun Crows now followed Zen''s every command.


    When Zen was fighting with Elizabeth, all the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows scattered around had closed in on them.


    Before the beasts had the chance to burn them with their blue flames, Elizabeth quickly moved towards Zen and thrust her spear into him.


    Unfortunately, her attack failed to kill him and the blue flames burst from the beasts'' beaks and swept over them.


    It would be impossible for her to survive the attack even with her exceptional ability to control fire.


    Zen, on the other hand, could easily withstand the flames.


    As she flapped her wings, Elizabeth''s extremely slim body began to float back in the air. It was as if she was as weightless as a piece of paper. She passed safely through one of the gaps in the blue flames while Zen accepted the baptism of fire with ease.


    Elizabeth originally planned to find another way of taking him down once she was at a safe distance away from the roaring blaze.


    However, it was obvious that Zen had no intention of letting her escape so easily!


    Just as she passed through the hot inferno, three Corpse Spirit Sun Crows had already surrounded her. Their wings were similar to sharp blades.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Their wings sang as they sliced through the air.


    A casual strike from one of these crows contained twenty thousand divine megatons of force. It would be difficult for Elizabeth to defend herself from such powerful strikes. Her body still floated in the air and her wings flapped constantly to dodge the attacks.


    Just as she managed to escape the three Corpse Spirit Sun Crows, a dozen more Corpse Spirit Sun Crows rushed towards her!


    Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!


    Aside from those Corpse Spirit Sun Crows that attacked her in close combat, more Corpse Spirit Sun Crows also began to spew blue flames in her direction.


    Just as Elizabeth spun over the back of one of these crows, several more of the vicious beasts began to claw at her head.


    Now, over a hundred of them took their turns to try and attack Elizabeth!


    "Get away!"


    From her delicate and tender outstretched hands burst an unexpected and unimaginable power. She grabbed two of the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows and began to swing them around.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    The two Corpse Spirit Sun Crows she spun around encircled her like a wi


    lood-red world can suppress all others'' bloodline powers to increase his own bloodline power!"


    "Whoosh!"


    With a long sword in his hand, the leader of the Bright Mountain turned into a ray of blood radiance and pierced through a member of the Sun Crow race.


    "You think you''re the only one who can summon a world?"


    In the distance, Springer let out a sinister laugh. He spread out his black wings and black feathers began to float in the air.


    These feathers spread out quickly, like drops of black ink on white paper.


    Soon, another world was summoned and it covered the blood-red world!


    Now, black masses floated everywhere. They were like ferocious ghosts that pounced in various directions.


    Whoosh!


    A Oneness Guard hardly had time to dodge when a black mass invaded his body and turned his flesh black almost instantly.


    He looked at his hands and feet. His face was full of fear.


    But this fear was short-lived.


    Black spikes began to jut out of his back one by one. His eyes sank into the sockets and his body began to broaden. He turned and twisted until he became an unrecognizable monster.


    "Come out, Fickle Demons! Ha-ha!" Springer laughed and commanded.


    The Civilization Artifact he carried was used to summon demons. Once it was used, everything in the world would become sacrificial offerings.


    The more sacrifices, the more powerful the Fickle Demons would become!


    If there were enough sacrificial offerings, they could even produce Fickle Demons that could surpass powerful masters like Emperor Charm and Eastern Emperor Taiyi.

 Chapter 3649 Planning On Escaping

    As the battle raged, many Oneness Guards and Oneness Generals in the twelve passes could only watch in awe.


    They wouldn''t dare get caught in a battle of this level.


    But they were snapped out of their stupor when the ink blobs appeared. Their blood ran cold at the sight.


    "Activate the array!"


    "Everyone, withdraw and head to the pass!"


    "We can''t fight that thing!"


    Countless Oneness Guards and warriors of the Other Shore Realm stampeded into the passes.


    Every time a world descended, the rules were changed.


    Fortunately, no other world had been unleashed but those by the leader of the Bright Mountain and by Springer.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Dozens of ink blobs appeared above the Heavenly Wind Pass, floating in the air. As one, they rushed downward, wrapping themselves around the five-star Oneness Guards before they could enter the protective array.


    As soon as the ink touched them, the Oneness Guards'' skin turned black and started to crack like charcoal. They became another manner of creature altogether. Now hollow-eyed monsters, they turned around and wildly pounced on their former colleagues.


    "Woo...woo..."


    one of the black monsters howled as it scrambled toward the Evil God.


    When the black monster was about two dozen feet away, light flashed in the Evil God''s hand. He tossed a diamond-shaped token formed by the Ways-blending Energy.


    Bang!


    The diamond-shaped token exploded on the black monster''s head, smashing it into pieces.


    The Evil God snorted, "You asked for it."


    Nothing could have survived that blast.


    However, the black monster somehow began to get up again, its head having reformed.


    "A monster created in this world becomes immortal in this world, huh?" the Evil God murmured to himself, thinking aloud.


    The blast drew the attention of more black monsters. They all began heading toward the Evil God.


    The Evil God glanced at the Heavenly Wind Pass not far away. He deliberated if he had enough time to make it there.


    Deciding he did, he was taken aback when he turned in that direction.


    It had taken


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Each token exploded on a black monster''s head.


    However, these creatures were indeed immortal. After exploding into pieces, they simply reconstructed and came back to life.


    To make matters worse, every time they recovered, the black monsters only seemed to grow in size and strength.


    The Evil God squinted at them.


    He had another idea brewing.


    He flipped his body in the air, flinging diamond-shaped tokens again and again at the black monsters.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    The black monsters exploded again and again, continuing to reform and reanimate. With each recovery, they became more and more powerful.


    Springer, who was watching events unfold from the core zone, began to get puzzled.


    These monsters came from the world he unleashed, which was called the Fickle World, so they were called Fickle Demons. He knew they were immortal, and that they grew stronger with every reanimation.


    It could go on endlessly.


    Most opponents would stop attacking the Fickle Demons as soon as they discovered this.


    But now, here was someone who still kept attacking despite clearly seeing this only made the Fickle Demons more powerful.


    Unbeknownst to Springer, the Evil God was doing this intentionally. Outwardly, he was only following Zen''s order to kill the monsters, after all. But once the situation reached a tipping point, he would make his escape.

 Chapter 3650 The Real Emperor Charm

    Whiz!


    All of a sudden, a sword radiance was aimed right at Elizabeth''s back.


    However, just as the sword slashed down, Elizabeth already prepared for the attack. She spun around and broke Zen''s long sword into two clean pieces. After that, she swung her spear right at Zen''s head.


    Looking at Elizabeth who grew more and more angry by the second, Zen was surprisingly calm.


    As if by chance, his head tilted enough and avoided the spear completely. Right after he recovered, he sat steadily on the back of the Corpse Spirit Sun Crow.


    Though Elizabeth wanted to chase after him, the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows piled up and blocked her way.


    These crows resembled a moving forest, so dense and hard to navigate through. This made Zen a hunter lurking, and Elizabeth, the beast.


    Zen would stab Elizabeth with his sword whenever he had the chance.


    A stab would not hurt Elizabeth, but it could consume a small amount of Chaotic Source Spirits.


    Hopefully a number of strikes could kill her, too.


    Elizabeth never would have guessed that she''d be on the losing end. It seemed that these Corpse Spirit Sun Crows were so agile that no matter which direction she fled to, they would follow right after her and block her way.


    She was always too proud to ask for help from the other members of her race, but this time was different.


    After being slashed several times, she felt a sense of urgency and desperation.


    If she didn''t escape, she would be as good as dead.


    On top of that, the fact that Zen was a junior frustrated her.


    Eventually, Elizabeth decided to summon for help. However, no one came to her rescue or even responded to her. It seemed that the other members of the Sun Crow race were all preoccupied, and no one could salvage her.


    Whoosh...


    Just as she dodged the attack from a Corpse Spirit Sun Crow''s wings, Elizabeth gritted her teeth and spread her wings wide. They flashed and glowed with a magic luster, prepared for her next move.


    "Hundred Phoenixes Dance!"


    Just like that, Elizabeth''s body emitted a blue light as her bloodline power was awakened. This made her incomparably agile now.


    She then flapped her wings so powerfully, that she turned into a hundred fierce phantoms.


    As long as a small gap was maintained before her, the phantoms could go out.


    Even from a distance, one could see many phantoms of Elizabeth, some big and some small!


    All she wanted to do was get rid of Zen. She had no choice but activate her bloodline power and use her bodily movement skill to save her life.


    It was notable, because thi


    rs, the Sun Crow race was a super force that was highly submissive to Emperor Charm. But according to this man, the Emperor Charm in the Source World was only his avatar?


    "I... I don''t believe it!" she gasped again, looking befuddled.


    She was the type of person to be firm in her belief, and that was what kept her always energetic and full of fight. Her belief was Emperor Charm who she obeyed unconditionally. But because of this man, her belief had been gone. To Elizabeth, this was worse than dying.


    "Zen," said Emperor Charm.


    Meanwhile, as he was watching the event unfold, Zen held the sword and struck it outwards into the air. The sharp Soaring Snake Sword burst out with a strong force that was aimed towards her shoulder.


    However, the toughness of Elizabeth''s body surprised Zen.


    Seeing that she was not affected with the strike, he struck her three times in a row.


    Eventually, Elizabeth''s Chaotic Source Spirits grew tired, and the sword finally pierced through her shoulder.


    As blood gushed out of her, Emperor Charm''s eyes flickered with a golden light, and just like that, Elizabeth''s blood floated into the air, forming a thin red line.


    "My avatar gave you the Dream Blood Theurgy, which can stimulate your potential. However, he indirectly controls you this way," Emperor Charm explained patiently. "I created the Dream Blood Theurgy when I was young. It had a flaw before, but I solved that later."


    Emperor Charm had lived through over 1000 chaotic eras on the Other Shore.


    Because of this, he had enough time to think and rethink cultivation methods, theurgies, and ideas that he had created before. This had allowed him to perfect each and every one of his creations.

 Chapter 3651 Bloodline Worship

    The thin line formed by the blood rotated under the control of Emperor Charm. It acted like a red silky ribbon tied on a stick, and Emperor Charm took control of that invisible stick. At the same time, dots of light were extracted.


    The light dots moved together and formed into a strange pattern in the air.


    Zen stared at the light dots bewilderedly. He followed their movements with his head and tried to understand it. He asked curiously, "What are these light dots?"


    "The bloodline power," replied Emperor Charm as his hands moved in the air, guiding the movement of the dots.


    Zen and Elizabeth were taken aback upon hearing Emperor Charm''s response. Both of them took a gasp and looked at each other with wide eyes.


    The bloodline power had been hidden in the blood, but both Zen and Elizabeth had never seen anyone ever extract it.


    It was the first time that they had seen the physical bloodline power. As this was something peculiar, Zen and Elizabeth watched avidly.


    After extracting the bloodline power, Emperor Charm began to adjust the light spots. He pushed some further and drew some others closer.


    Zen felt as if the light dots were a little familiar. They were very similar to those in the Abstruse Energy World.


    However, the distance between the light dots in the Abstruse Energy World was significantly large, and there were many of them. That was not like the few in front of him now.


    It took only a short while for Emperor Charm to properly adjust the light dots.


    "Buzz..."


    The light dots that maintained their positions merged into Elizabeth''s blood again.


    "Hiss..."


    The blood turned into a thin line which moved in a steady pace and went into Elizabeth''s wound.


    Her face revealed a painful expression during the process. Her hands were balled into a fist; she clenched her teeth and her eyes were shut closed.


    The bloodline power that had been adjusted by Emperor Charm was different from the original one. Thus, it was rejected by the bloodline power in Elizabeth''s body. Because the two kinds of bloodline repelled each other, there was an unbearable pain for Elizabeth to bear.


    With astonishing willpower, Elizabeth endured the pain silently.


    The bloodline power refined by Emperor Charm was more powerful. It continuously assimilated the remaining blood in Elizabeth''s body. In just a short span of time, the blood in her body had been completely transformed.


    The Corpse Spirit Sun Crows that had caught her also loosened their huge claws.


    Zen took a step back as his body''s reflex. His expression revealed a look of vigilance and his breaths gr


    ched out his wings and moved to dodge the Lofty Sword on the left, pouncing towards Libby.


    There was a flash of surprise in Libby''s bright wide eyes, and she waved her hands in an instant.


    Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!


    In just a few seconds, Libby had slashed over a hundred times.


    Because the power of these strikes was not that strong, they were still unable to exhaust Dugan''s Chaotic Source Spirits, so he was not hurt at all.


    "I''ve told you that you don''t have enough strength," Dugan said with a mischievous smile on his face.


    Libby frowned and leaned back. Like a swallow flying backwards, she tried to escape back to the Lofty Sword.


    But Dugan had already stopped Libby before she was even able to move. He spread his wide wings, and countless fire snakes flew out from them. They quickly formed a huge fire net, completely enveloping Libby.


    "It''s a pity that a talent like you would be killed like this." Dugan licked his lips with excitement on his face. With a gentle pull of his hand, the fire net began to shrink rapidly. His eyes were gleaming and the flames were reflecting on them. He couldn''t seem to wipe the smirk off his face.


    Unlike Zen, Libby couldn''t bear the burning of the flames.


    If the fire net continued to shrink and burn, it would not be difficult to imagine what would happen to her.


    Libby''s face turned pale. Just then, a Corpse Spirit Sun Crow flew down and pierced through the fire net to her side.


    She was terribly desperate at the moment. When she saw Zen rush in, she was utterly stunned. When she came to her senses, she asked, "Why are you here?"


    Zen didn''t answer her, but instead pointed to the sky. Elizabeth, riding another Corpse Spirit Sun Crow, landed beside Dugan.

 Chapter 3652 The Second One

    Elizabeth landed, followed by more than a dozen Corpse Spirit Sun Crows.


    Dugan saw them and scoffed disdainfully, "It took you so long to get just these few Corpse Spirit Sun Crows back?" He raised a brow in Zen''s direction. "You even kept that bastard alive."


    As far as Dugan was concerned, it was because of Elizabeth''s carelessness that the Sun Crow race lost the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows. The least she could do was to get them back.


    Dugan sneered. He had thought with her long departure, she would have managed to retake more of the beasts. But she even failed to kill Zen.


    "I tried my best," Elizabeth said weakly, avoiding meeting Dugan''s eyes.


    Dugan rolled his eyes and shifted them onto Zen and Libby. He smirked at Zen. "I don''t know why you threw yourself into the net, but feel free to go to hell together with that beautiful girl!"


    The fire net that had been broken by Zen was restored to its original state. It began to shrink at an alarming speed.


    Libby was still confused, but Zen hadn''t answered her question.


    She gritted her teeth. "I have no other choice..."


    Buzz!


    Three ice crystals emerged over Libby''s head. They were Snow Ice Crystals from Stage Twenty-nine of the Other Shore.


    As soon as the Snow Ice Crystals appeared, the temperature around Libby dropped sharply.


    A big ice cocoon enveloped her and Zen.


    The ice cocoon had amazing defensive effect. It could not be broken by even 20, 000 divine megatons of force.


    However, the Snow Ice Crystal could only serve as passive defense, and could not be used as a main Other Shore Token. Back then, Libby had merged with this Other Shore Token because she thought it might come in handy some time.


    Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!


    The surface of the ice cocoon pushed into the fire net. The blazing flames started to melt the firm ice, slowly but surely.


    "At this rate, the ice cocoon can only hold for half a minute at the most. Once it''s all melted, we''re still dead," Libby said with a trembling voice, desperate and helpless.


    She turned to look at Zen and was surprised to see that he looked quite calm, without the slightest trace of panic.


    She wondered angrily how he could be so unperturbed at a


    was some higher-caliber combat power.


    The strength of Emperor Charm''s royal guards alone could match that of the leaders and powerful warriors of the seven mountains.


    If Zen could infuse the blood into these guards, they would all be under his control and would serve their side instead.


    Elizabeth had been the first infusion. Dugan was the second.


    "Explain to me what the hell is going on. Right now!" Libby shouted, frustrated at not having been given a straight answer all this time.


    In response, Zen only said, "Please melt the ice cocoon."


    "Just answer my question, or I swear I''ll lock you in here for the rest of your life!" As she said this, the Snow Ice Crystals above her head flashed with light. The ice cocoon grew thicker.


    Zen gave Libby an exasperated look. He didn''t understand why she was so angry, but it seemed he had no choice but to explain. "I just had some means to make them defect. All you have to know is that they are now subject to my control."


    Having gotten a simple answer, Libby reluctantly opened the ice cocoon.


    She actually still didn''t understand exactly what Zen did, but it seemed he was telling the truth. After all, two prominent members of the Sun Crow race, Elizabeth and Dugan, were indeed obeying his orders.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    A group of Corpse Spirit Sun Crows arrived. Libby watched Zen stand on one and take to the sky. She was left in a daze, bracing against the updraft of their flight.

 Chapter 3653 Approaching

    Emperor Charm had more than eighty royal guards.


    They were divided into three ranks according to their strength.


    Dugan was a very strong warrior and was near the top of the second rank. Meanwhile, Elizabeth''s strength belonged in the first rank even though she was not a royal guard.


    Of course, as the leader of the Divine Lair, Elizabeth had an extraordinarily superior status in the Sun Crow race. Even the most powerful royal guards were not as good as her.


    Micah and Bagot were at the top of the first rank of the royal guards.


    But even though they were the highest in rank, they always kept a low profile. They guarded the Sun Crow race all the time and they rarely showed up in public.


    There was no hint of a doubt that they were absolutely loyal to Emperor Charm.


    The battle in which the Sun Crow race had gone all out was a huge test for their abilities. After all, the Oneness Sky Palace was heavily defended and by no means weak.


    At this moment, Micah flapped his wings so hard as he went upward.


    The one who was constantly retreating to the covers of the sky was none other than Auden from the Oneness Mountain.


    Whoosh!


    He kept flying and retreating in the air, with three evil eyes floating all around him.


    The three evil eyes constantly blinked. Every time they blinked, a flying sword with a sharp blade shot out quickly.


    These flying swords looked ordinary, but the power contained in them was truly terrifying.


    Even a powerful warrior like Micah would not be able to withstand a single stab from the flying sword. The flying sword was really deadly.


    Micah had already suffered from two strikes from trying to get close to Auden previously. As a result, the Chaotic Source Spirits in his body had been tremendously exhausted.


    After that, Micah was so careful in pursuing Auden that he did not dare to fight head on.


    So even though his speed was far faster than Auden''s, he still did not approach him.


    Swish! Swish! Swish!


    The flying swords continuously shot out viciously from the three evil eyes.


    There was a profoundly serious look on Auden''s old face.


    He could not remember how long it was since his last battle. At this critical moment, he had no choice but to go all out.


    With his wings flapping tirelessly, Micah moved gracefully in the air from left to right as he dodged the flying swords. With every flying sword he dodged, he closed the distance between him an


    t in time! They finally made it!"


    On the other hand, the faces of Pearce and Auden darkened.


    Previously, they had really hoped that these Corpse Spirit Sun Crows would be of help to the Oneness Sky Palace.


    But Elizabeth had taken them back sooner than they expected. They realized that Zen, the controller of the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows, might be in danger.


    Pearce and Auden looked at each other grimly, their eyes filled with regret. The speed at which the Oneness Sky Palace collapsed was way faster than they had imagined.


    Over a hundred Corpse Spirit Sun Crows emerged from below and formed a small island floating in the air. Elizabeth and Dugan stood side by side, while Micah and Bagot followed behind them.


    Micah and Bagot could sense if the Other Shore Tokens or other methods, such as the Inner-world Generating Avatar, were used to control people''s thoughts or souls.


    Never did they think that Elizabeth and Dugan would submit to another Emperor Charm.


    "Elder Auden, Elder Pearce, I''d like to give you one final chance," Micah continued. He really wanted to recruit the two of them to their side.


    However, they completely ignored him. They had long wanted to sacrifice themselves, and now was the time for them to fight desperately to the end.


    "Cut this crappy nonsense!" Pearce shouted coldly.


    The sword blades wildly vibrated, and his aura soared.


    Just as Auden and Pearce were about to fight desperately to their deaths, the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows, which originally spread out in the air, suddenly rolled up.


    Then, Zen showed up from under one of the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows.

 Chapter 3654 Getting More People To His Side

    The huge Corpse Spirit Sun Crows were controlled by Emperor Charm like vicious puppets.


    They intertwined with each other and formed a unique and gigantic maze that eventually trapped Elizabeth, Dugan, Micah, and Bagot.


    Leaning against a Corpse Spirit Sun Crow, Zen turned to Auden and Pearce who were a few meters away, and let out an intriguing smile.


    Whoosh!


    A huge Lofty Sword darted upwards. Sitting on the magnificent blade, Libby couldn''t help but purse her lips as she looked at the pile of Corpse Spirit Sun Crows, with doubt and caution.


    Pearce caught a glimpse of Libby and then stared back at Zen, bearing bewildered eyes.


    "Zen, what is going on?" Auden finally asked.


    It was really absurd from whatever angle it was looked upon. No matter how hard they guessed, there was no telling what was inside Zen''s head at that moment.


    "Elder Pearce, Elder Auden, just trust me. You''ll know later," Zen replied but didn''t disclose anything.


    At the same time, blue and green flames suddenly burst out from inside the maze formed by the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows. It turned out that Elizabeth and Dugan had taken the initiative to launch the first strike.


    As the flames swirled violently, Micah and Bagot were caught by surprise. They couldn''t figure out why the loyal Elizabeth would dare betray the Sun Crow race.


    The flames continued to sizzle from within the maze as Micah and Bagot roared, mightily deflecting the attacks thrown at them.


    Soon after, the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows also spurted out blue flames, boosting the attacks of Elizabeth and Dugan. The whole maze was blazing like a tremendous hellfire.


    Micah and Bagot were powerful warriors, only second to Emperor Charm in the whole Sun Crow race. Their strength was even comparable to that of the leaders of the seven mountains. Even if they were caught off guard by the sneak attack of Elizabeth and Dugan, they wouldn''t be defeated by them in one go.


    However, if it was Emperor Charm himself who dealt with Micah and Bagot, then they wouldn''t stand a chance, as he had supreme control over the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows.


    The fierce battle lasted for only about half a minute. Then, the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows forming the maze started to spread out again.


    Elizabeth and Dugan finally got out.


    Dugan was unscathed, while half of Elizabeth''s beautiful face was burnt due to the encounter.


    "Are you all right?" Zen asked worriedly.


    Elizabeth reached out her hand and gently brushed her face. The burned part of her face quickly began recovering. She shook her head and answered, "I''m fine. It was my fault that I was accidentally injured by the flames."


    She didn''t have any dissatisfaction since it was the method of Emperor Charm that had hurt her. Being killed in his hands would even be an honor for her, so there was no issue whatsoever for receiving a measly injury.


    As for Micah and B


    the second rank among the royal guards. He presumed that Athemar''s strength was far weaker than Pearce and Auden. With that, he thought that he could easily defeat Athemar in a one-on-one battle.


    However, it never occurred to him that Athemar was actually strong enough to be ranked first among the Oneness Governors.


    The Lofty Swords chased him down vehemently. Tyrese could only curse wildly as he continued to retreat.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    Under the persistent bombardment of the sword shadows, Tyrese''s Chaotic Source Spirits had already fallen into severe exhaustion. Fear started to crept all over his face as he hysterically thought on how to successfully escape.


    Athemar had a serious look on his face and didn''t have the slightest intention of letting him go alive.


    "Master Athemar, wait for a second!" Zen suddenly descended and tried to stop him from pursuing Tyrese.


    He threw a cold glance at Zen. "What do you think you''re doing?" He couldn''t think of any reason for Zen to stop him.


    Tyrese let out a deep sigh as he noticed that Athemar stopped for a while from pursuing him. As he was about to fly away and escape farther, Elizabeth appeared and landed beside him.


    "Elizabeth! Great timing! I was initially thinking of escaping, but now, I could use your help!" Tyrese let out a wicked smile as he told Elizabeth his plan. He didn''t need to run away anymore, and he could get even with Athemar for humiliating him in the earlier battle.


    "Let''s go together and kill that bastard!" Tyrese turned into the direction of Athemar and was already prepared to go back. However, Elizabeth ignored him and with a gentle flap of her wings, she had already approached Tyrese.


    As Tyrese''s Chaotic Source Spirits had suffered too much fatigue due to the earlier battle with Athemar, it saved her a lot of effort. A dark red light flashed from her fingertips and quickly pierced through Tyrese from his back.

 Chapter 3655 Gethin Taking Actions

    Elizabeth changed Tyrese''s blood under Athemar''s suspicious gaze.


    Pearce landed quietly beside Athemar and patted him on the shoulder.


    There was no need for words. Athemar could figure out what Pearce meant with that simple gesture.


    With Elizabeth''s help along with the Corpse Spirit Sun Crows, Zen was able to change the blood of all warriors of the Sun Crow race that attacked the Oneness Array.


    One of the members sensed something was wrong halfway and tried to escape. Unfortunately for him, Micah and Bagot forcefully recaptured him under Zen''s orders.


    The more members of the Sun Crow race in Zen''s team, the easier it would be for him to deal with his other remaining enemies.


    After dealing with the Sun Crow race in the Oneness Array, Zen turned his attention to the Azure Array.


    The seven great arrays were originally separated by several hundred miles. After the Sky Net was folded, the arrays drew closer to each other. The distance between the Azure Array and the Oneness Array was now only about two hundred miles which could be crossed in the blink of an eye.


    Azure Mountain was the best at defense among the seven mountains and the Azure Array was called the Shield and Sword Array as a result.


    After launching their attacks, the Sun Crow race still failed in destroying the array and ended up getting driven out by the people of the Azure Mountain.


    The Azure Mountain''s head joined his warriors to defend their array and keep it guarded at all times.


    Defense, however, was intrinsically passive. There was still the possibility of the array being destroyed if all the Azure Mountain people did was stay there on guard ? which was exactly what happened.


    The Shield and Sword Array was now on the verge of collapse under the relentless attacks of the Sun Crow race. All the strategic positions on the left side had been conquered leading to low morale among the Azure Mountain warriors.


    "Hold on, brothers! The Oneness Array is quite close. Once they defeat their enemies, they''ll surely come to our rescue!" the Azure Mountain''s head assured his warriors in a loud, determined voice even if his own resolve was already shaking.


    His assurance did the trick in lifting his brethren''s spirit. The beaten warriors looked a bit better with their faces now filled with anticipation. Things might not necessarily go their way but a sliver of hope remained.


    The Sun Crow race had an


    her Shore, causing quite a stir. Back then, the Bearing race couldn''t deal with him and had no choice but to negotiate with the Oneness Sky Palace.


    All of the mountain heads agreed that he was someone who had a promising future.


    It normally took hundreds or thousands of years for a young genius to become a real master.


    However, it had only been a couple of years and Zen was now the mastermind behind this reversal of fortune in the great war between two super forces.


    The Azure Mountain''s head could only sigh in disbelief. It didn''t matter to him just what sort of method Zen used in making the Sun Crows surrender to him, what mattered was that this war was now in their hands.


    When the array opened to let them in, a new group of people appeared in the distance.


    Rays of purple light emerged from their path as they arrived.


    Pearce''s face darkened angrily as he saw the arrival of this purple glow. "Gethin is coming!"


    Even the Azure Mountain''s head looked infuriated. "He must think that our Azure Mountain is the weakest among all the mountains so he chose to attack us first."


    Gethin''s betrayal of the other six mountains at such a critical moment greatly disappointed the other leaders.


    There was no way back for the Vastness Mountain now. This betrayal would forever stay with Gethin and he would have to eliminate the other six mountains to avoid any possible revenge.


    When the Sun Crow race launched their violent attacks among the six mountains, Gethin took his time and got his own people ready.


    Just as the Azure Mountain''s head predicted, they were his first target.

 Chapter 3656 Cooperation Of Two Races

    Gethin and Natasha seemed highly imposing when they arrived at the Azure Array so spectacularly.


    With the strength of the Vastness Mountain in cooperation with the Sun Crow race, bringing the Azure Mountain under their control was supposedly easy.


    But seeing Pearce and Auden came as a surprise to Gethin¡ªhe hadn''t ever expected the Oneness Mountain people all to be there.


    With these two as commanders, the Oneness Mountain was no push-over that could be bullied by just anyone.


    Frowning, Gethin turned his head to find many members of the Sun Crow race gathering outside the Azure Array. When Gethin saw Micah and Bagot, in particular, confidence came flooding back into him.


    While the two sides were equal in strength, the Vastness Mountain was enough to break the balance.


    "Gethin! Eastern Emperor Taiyi has treated you well, but how could you betray him when the Oneness Sky Palace is in trouble?! Do you even have a conscience?" Pearce couldn''t hold back his anger the moment he saw Gethin arrive.


    The seven mountains of the Oneness Sky Palace had always been related much like siblings, which served as the foundation on which the Oneness Sky Palace was founded. If it weren''t for Eastern Emperor Taiyi, neither the Vastness Mountain nor Gethin would have had it so easy.


    "A conscience?" Gethin merely sneered. "Eastern Emperor Taiyi is so willful that he has led all creatures of the world onto the wrong path. We, the Vastness Mountain, do nothing but seek the right path!"


    Gethin wanted those words to be heard by Elizabeth, Micah, and the rest of the Sun Crow race to show his sincerity.


    He had expected Micah, Elizabeth, and others to echo his words, but when he turned to them, all he found were cold eyes looking back at him. Something was wrong about the atmosphere, he thought.


    Nevertheless, Gethin couldn''t imagine what happened to them.


    Inwardly, Micah and Bagot agreed with Gethin''s choice, but they didn''t seem to express it.


    Meanwhile, Auden looked at Gethin with a forced smile and said in an aged voice, "This may be the most stupid choice you''ve ever made in your life."


    "What? Why do you think so?" Aggressively, Natasha asked in return.


    Zen looked at her and smiled faintly. "You''ll know


    ong as Gethin, but the gap between them wasn''t too great. When the two attacked Gethin along with Micah and Bagot, not even Gethin could contend with them.


    He was rather high spirited when he arrived, but the tables had turned on him. Gethin was enraged.


    For a moment, he even wondered if he was having a nightmare.


    Just as Gethin was struggling to fight, Natasha''s scream resounded from nearby.


    Among the many powerful warriors, Natasha wasn''t all that outstanding. She couldn''t hold on for mere seconds when she was attacked by a number of people simultaneously.


    At the sight of her tragic death, Gethin roared, furious. The purple light was surging then¡ªhe was determined to avenge Natasha.


    But as his aura surged, flying swords came rushing at his head one after another.


    They were strong, having emerged from the three evil eyes by Auden''s side. No one was willing to face them head-on.


    Gethin was ready to dodge them when an Other Shore Token appeared over Bagot''s head. It was a triangle with three sides as smooth as mirrors¡ªsomething very small and exquisite. No one had ever seen such a token before.


    "Freeze!"


    Bagot called out.


    With a flash of light on the token, Gethin was imprisoned in a triangular space, rendered unable to escape.


    "Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom..."


    Flying swords containing great power crashed toward his body as he was imprisoned.


    Even with a rare defensive Other Shore Treasure, he still couldn''t withstand such a relentless attack.

 Chapter 3657 Defeat The Vastness Mountain

    Soon enough, the Other Shore Treasure that protected Gethin''s body was shattered and he could only resist attacks with his physical body.


    He did have strong Chaotic Source Spirits inside his body, but the force he could bear was limited.


    In desperation, he intended to burn his Other Shore Token to attack, but given the current situation, he eventually gave up.


    Perhaps he could still put up a fight, but he still wouldn''t be able to evade death and had to bear the indescribable pain.


    He never actually thought that he would pass away during the war between the two great races, the Sun Crow race and the human race.


    Even if he didn''t burn the Other Shore Token, one of his subordinates did.


    The one who did so was Holden, the old man who took Zen away from the Oneness Mountain before. His own Other Shore Token was a golden monkey.


    It was known that anyone who burned the Other Shore Token would receive the punishment of the truth, which was extremely painful.


    Furthermore, it wasn''t only the violator of the rule who would suffer¡ªbut the Other Shore Token as well.


    It wouldn''t have been a problem if the Other Shore Token was lifeless, but Holden''s golden monkey was still alive.


    A loud, ear-splitting scream filled the air as the golden monkey burned hotly. A second later, its body grew to the size of a huge mountain and swallowed Holden in whole.


    That Other Shore Token had just killed its master!


    The furious golden monkey continued to burn and tried to tear everything around it apart.


    If there had been ordinary masters around the area, the golden monkey would''ve killed them.


    Luckily, those who were present were by no means ordinary.


    For instance, both Pearce and Micah were second only to those most powerful warriors.


    Although the golden monkey was quite powerful, it was still under the control of several people. In the end it burned to death and left only a smoky smell, and finally it disappeared in the sky.


    Swoosh! "This thing from the Other Shore is really horrible after it descends!" Pearce said after they got rid of the golden monkey.


    Zen, who was not far away, heard Pearce''s words and his heart skipped a beat. "Elder Pearce, the Other Shore Token has been burnt. Why did you say that it descended?" he asked.


    Pearce looked at him and explained, "


    in fighting forces.


    Beside the Ivory Array was Springer, who led about eight members of the Sun Crow race to fight.


    Yet, his plans were suddenly cut off when he saw Elizabeth and the other members of the Sun Crow race who stood on his opposite side. He couldn''t believe his eyes.


    Elizabeth stepped forward and persuaded him to surrender.


    Everyone in the Sun Crow race knew that Springer had always refused to obey Elizabeth.


    He refused to surrender from the start. No matter how many opponents he faced, he could hold on for a long time as long as he had the Inheritance of World.


    Therefore, Zen asked Emperor Charm to personally persuade him to surrender.


    Although Springer and the other members of the Sun Crow race hadn''t been injected with the blood yet, they began to doubt their own position as soon as they saw Emperor Charm. After all, eighty percent of their warriors, including Elizabeth, Bagot, and Micah, had already surrendered to him.


    After a few moments of hesitation, Springer let out a helpless sigh. He gathered the remaining clansmen to surrender and let Elizabeth infuse her blood into his body.


    Just when he was about to retrieve the world that he summoned, he looked towards the southeast with an unreadable expression.


    "Eh, these Fickle Demons..."


    The world that he summoned had a range of three million miles, and there were some Fickle Demons that loitered around in it.


    Most of the Fickle Demons were quite weak, and only a few of them in the east had grown to the size of a small mountain.

 Chapter 3658 Escape

    Zen''s heart hammered in his chest when Springer mentioned the east side. He realized that he had forgotten about one important thing.


    The Evil God!


    He immediately focused and tried to sense the Evil God''s location with a thought.


    The Evil God was now his own Inner-world Generating Avatar. Just like his hands and feet, Zen could control him as long as he could sense him. Furthermore, the Evil God could not refuse any order that Zen gave him.


    However, Zen couldn''t find the Evil God''s location. He was naturally shocked and something popped up in his mind.


    Before their current situation, he had already ordered the Evil God to return immediately after killing those Fickle Demons. Technically speaking, the Evil God would be unable to disobey the order or even escape.


    After he thought for a while, he suddenly looked up at Springer and asked, "Can those Fickle Demons be killed?"


    Now, Springer didn''t know why Zen had asked such a question, but since "Emperor Charm" said Zen was his master, he couldn''t refuse to answer him. Thus, he could only answer honestly, "The Fickle Demons can''t be killed, and they can grow bigger if someone keeps hunting them down and killing them. They would disappear only if the entire Fickle World is destroyed. I will withdraw the summoned world now!"


    There were still many Fickle Demons within the area. Most of the Oneness Guards hid in the twelve passes, but the Fickle Demons still continued to attack the twelve passes'' arrays like mad.


    "Wait a minute. Could you possibly check what the Fickle Demons see?" said Zen.


    "Of course I can," Springer replied, but he became even more confused. What did Zen want to do?


    "I want to find someone who is in that direction!" Zen exclaimed and pointed to the east. Upon hearing Zen''s words, Springer suddenly thought of the huge Fickle Demons.


    In the blink of an eye, he had entered the Fickle Demons'' minds.


    He couldn''t help but be stunned at what he saw.


    He caught sight of a human being, who was attacking the Fickle Demons like crazy.


    Those Fickle Demons did not die, but became stronger every time they were attacked. That human being should''ve realized that already.


    Despite that, he patiently continued to attack the Fickle Demons and seemed to m


    ies so he could deceive Zen. As a result, the Evil God right now didn''t know about that specific detail at all, which was why he was willing to take the risk and escape.


    As he continued to move east for another million miles, the Fickle World in that same area disappeared.


    Since he used to own a Civilization Artifact, he clearly knew the rules of the world that descended.


    If a world disappeared, it meant that either its owner withdrew it, or the owner had died.


    The Evil God refused to accept either of those outcomes, as it meant that the war would end.


    Furthermore, he wasn''t safe in the North Unicorn Province, so he wanted to leave as soon as possible.


    But the North Unicorn Province was extremely large. If one wanted to leave without the transmission array, it would probably take them over a month.


    A few moments later, he had an idea. He eventually found a river and jumped in with a splash. After he sank to the bottom, he dug out a cave and proceeded to drill downwards.


    Hiding deep underground should be the safest way.


    He dug a cave with a complicated pathway as he went along. He killed a few long snakes that lurked underground, and then finally opened up a small underground secret hideout.


    In the secret hideout, the Evil God sat cross-legged as he recited the Truth of Godly Way and went to the Other Shore.


    He didn''t know that he had already contacted the Black Ship because he had lost his memories, so he continued to think about how to get in touch with Shera.

 Chapter 3659 Nine-Sun World Destruction

    As the Evil God''s Soul of Light condensed on the Other Shore, from not far off, a red ball shot out of a diamond shaped array.


    Sienna emerged from the red ball, glaring at the Evil God impatiently.


    He stared back warily at this uninvited guest.


    "You made me wait too long," complained Sienna.


    She had no desire to stay in such a low stage of the Other Shore, especially with a pervading pressure in Stage Fourteen weighing down and making her uncomfortable.


    But she could not disobey her leader and was left with no choice but to wait patiently on the spot. How could she be expected to be in a good mood after that?


    "Wait for what?" The Evil God stared at the woman before him from top to bottom.


    Sienna ignored his question and waved her hand. The Kaleidoscopic Golden Dipper covered his head and the memories she had erased began pouring back into the Evil God''s mind.


    A short while later, she withdrew the Kaleidoscopic Golden Dipper.


    The Evil God stood motionless, digesting the memories. After a long while, he chuckled and said, "Interesting! It seems that my escape was unnecessary."


    "What are you talking about?" Sienna asked, confused.


    He then proceeded to tell her how he had escaped from Zen and the fight between the Oneness Sky Palace and the Sun Crow race.


    A rare trace of caution crept into her after she heard this tale.


    Although she was unable to return to the Source World, she knew its layout very well through the Black Ship.


    The fact that the Sun Crow race had launched a decisive attack against the Oneness Sky Palace was a clear signal that the Element Spirit race might be planning another major move. Sienna felt she had to report this to her master.


    Lofty Swords were inserted into the ground, emitting a different kind of imposing momentum.


    The warriors of the Other Shore Realm, the Oneness Guards, the disciples of various sword sects, and the Oneness Generals from the twelve passes all gathered in front of the Oneness Array.


    All from the Oneness Sky Palace had been quite pessimistic of their chances, sure that they would lose the battle.


    No one had expected an end like that.


    The warriors of the Other Shore Realm and the Oneness Guards all felt incredibly fortunate to have survived such a fierce battle.


    Yet they still feared the members of the Sun Crow race, who were now on the right side of the


    Emperor Charm did not show up. Pearce began thinking he might never come and that they had had a stroke of good luck.


    Furthermore, Zen had helped the Oneness Sky Palace get through this and buy them some time. Pearce hoped that Eastern Emperor Taiyi could manage to leave the Other Shore as soon as possible.


    However, just as they returned, what had appeared in the sky shattered Pearce''s hope.


    "Everyone, go to the transmission array!"


    "Retreat to the Bloom Divine Province!"


    "..."


    The entire North Mysterious City had broken out in an uproar and everyone rushed towards the transmission array.


    As they did, the nine suns grew bigger and bigger, as if they were falling to the ground.


    "Phew! Phew..."


    All the flowers, plants and trees in the North Unicorn Province roasted and burned as the temperature continued to climb.


    It was not so bad for the powerful warriors of the Chaotic Source Realm who could bear the scorching heat by way of their Chaotic Source Spirits.


    But for ordinary warriors of the Other Shore Realm, it was horrific.


    Some had their clothes ignited and instantly flashed into fire balls, screaming horrendously beneath the blazing infernos.


    The transmission array in the North Mysterious City was not very large. The warriors rushed towards it and gathered together, when the fire began rapidly spreading through them as well.


    "Wow!"


    Just then, a blue umbrella unfolded above the North Mysterious City, by a powerful warrior from the Bright Mountain.


    The city began to cool as the umbrella temporarily kept the heat at bay.

 Chapter 3660 Under The Scorching Suns

    The nine huge suns inflated like giant balloons of fire about to pop.


    As the suns grew, the flowers and trees were scorched to ashes, while rocks and stones exploded like popcorn.


    "Run!"


    "Quick! Get to the transmission array, or we''re dead!"


    "You go first..."


    Many Other Shore Realm warriors ran about like headless chickens in a panic.


    Everyone tried to head for the transmission array. However, the array was so small that it could fit only around three people at a time. Moreover, it''d take a while to transmit those people.


    The people huddled around the transmission array, anxious to get in.


    "Fuck off!"


    a five-star Oneness Guard roared.


    Fighting for survival, the more powerful warriors sneered as they shoved the weaker ones out of the way.


    The five-star Oneness Guard suddenly summoned his Other Shore Token, a huge white skull. It was the skull of the South Sky Rhinoceros in Stage Twelve of the Other Shore, the most powerful creature of that stage.


    The Other Shore Power contained in its skull was astonishingly formidable.


    He trudged through the crowd, ominously clutching the skull of the South Sky Rhinoceros.


    "Bang, bang, Bang..."


    Suddenly, a throng of people were flung into the air, clearing a path for that five-star Oneness Guard.


    Just as he was about to enter the transmission array, a beam of sword radiance as thin as thread wove its way through the crowd until it landed on the skull of the South Sky Rhinoceros.


    "Crack..."


    The five-star Oneness Guard abruptly stopped in his tracks, and his jaw dropped in shock. Then, his eyes rolled to the back of his head, and a wound as thin as a needle made its way from his forehead to his torso.


    "Plop! Plop..."


    In the blink of an eye, he had been split in half by the thin sword radiance.


    "If you wish to enter the transmission array, line up obediently. Anyone who dares disobey will end up like that man."


    A crisp voice cut through the air. The people turned towards the voice, only to find out it was none other than Libby.


    Goran had ordered her to maintain order. As she surveyed the chaos that erupted, she said nothing more. She hadn''t expected someone would use his Other Shore Token to hurt his companions! Her eyes narrowed as


    rds, blocking the light that streamed in from the crack.


    Kenelm''s eyes stung as he looked at Zen gratefully, unable to fight back the tears.


    He had met Zen back when he was in the Excellence City. At the time, he and Zen were both consummate True Gods, but now Zen was someone he looked up to. According to what Monica and Gant had said, Zen had even single-handedly reversed the situation of the war.


    What did this mean?


    Only the powerful masters like Eastern Emperor Taiyi could do something like that...


    Kenelm let out a sigh of relief. It was probably his greatest luck to have met Zen.


    However, the worst wasn''t over yet. More and more cracks formed on the umbrella. Zen continued to command other Corpse Spirit Sun Crows to rise. Each of them spread out their wings that spanned thousands of feet to block the rays of light.


    In a short while, over one hundred Corpse Spirit Sun Crows had flown up to cover the cracks.


    The powerful warrior of the Bright Mountain was still struggling to hold on. As he used up all his strength, his face grew paler and paler.


    "Buzz!"


    As the nine suns grew to an overbearing size, the warrior cried desperately, "I can''t hold on any longer!"


    More cracks pierced the icy blue umbrella... In just a few moments, it was going to shatter into pieces.


    "Let me do it!"


    Felicity of the Origin Mountain flew towards him. As she stretched out her hands, an enchanted barrier flowed onto the umbrella, covering the entire North Mysterious City.

 Chapter 3661 The Golden Bow

    There hadn''t been any time to set up the arrays since the powerful warriors of the six mountains had just arrived in the North Mysterious City.


    Now, they could do nothing but resist the nine suns in turns.


    However, as the nine suns continued to expand, the heat they released became even more unbearable for the warriors.


    Felicity was far stronger than the powerful warrior of the Bright Mountain, but even she faced difficulty in sustaining the enchanted barrier.


    Swish!


    The enchanted barrier that had just unfolded continued to twist and turn as it was brought to the brink of collapse.


    A warrior from the Ivory Mountain rushed forward.


    "Let me do it!" he declared before summoning a large, black, silk cloth.


    This silk cloth was so big and so dark that it seemed to cover the entire sky and block out all the light.


    However, he was only able to hold on for fifteen seconds before the cloth was set aflame.


    There was no shortage of warriors who awaited their turn, but they were quickly running out of time.


    Zen turned his attention to the transmission array. It hadn''t transmitted away many people yet with the Sword Light Palace disciples still waiting in line on the west side of the road.


    At this rate, only a third of the people in the North Mysterious City could be evacuated.


    Just a few moments ago, the Oneness Generals had been calm. Though the nine suns were powerful, they were confident that they''d be able to withstand them.


    Now, though, it was an entirely different story as even the Chaotic Source Realm warriors easily burnt to a crisp under the heat of these formidable nine suns.


    Retreat seemed to be the logical option and that was only possible through the transmission array.


    "Emperor Charm!" Zen called out in desperation. "Is there any way to solve the Nine-Sun World Destruction Theurgy?!"


    As the emperor of the Sun Crow race, Emperor Charm was bound to know the Nine-Sun World Destruction Theurgy best.


    His shadow appeared and stared up at the nine suns in the sky.


    A flash of nostalgia crossed his features. "Of course there''s a way," he told Zen. "But I''m afraid you can''t use it."


    "It''ll be okay if someone else can use it!" Zen assured him. If it was a matter of strength, then that wasn''t going to be a problem! There were multiple mountain leaders present as well as elite warriors like Pea


    e. "You''re not afraid of fire, are you, Zen?"


    "I''m not, but I''m wary since the Nine-Sun World Destruction Theurgy might be too powerful for me to bear," Zen replied.


    Houyi stretched out his hand and gave it a gentle wave. Zen felt the Civilization Artifact within his body fluctuate before a golden bow materialized before him. "It''s going to be a bit troublesome. My real body cannot come, but I can give you a theurgy. Your strength won''t be enough to extinguish the suns from here though. You''ll have to get close."


    "Get close to them..." Zen repeated.


    He was very confident in his corporeal body and had never been hurt by any flame. However, these nine suns were no ordinary globes of fire.


    These nine suns were Emperor Charm''s great theurgy and were entirely different from ordinary divine flame of the Sun Crow race.


    Any hesitation disappeared from Zen''s face as he strengthened his resolve. "I''ll go!" he declared with determination.


    "Swish!"


    He used the back of a Corpse Spirit Sun Crow as a boost and flew straight into the sky.


    The sight earned him puzzled looks from onlookers. "What are you doing, Zen?" Pearce asked.


    "I''m going to extinguish those suns," Zen casually replied.


    "You?"


    There were many powerful warriors from the mountains, yet here was Zen braving the heat and declaring that he was going to extinguish the nine suns that gave them so much trouble.


    They knew Zen wasn''t afraid of the Sun Crow race''s divine flame, but that didn''t mean he was invincible against the suns. This theurgy was Emperor Charm''s, after all.

 Chapter 3662 No Way Back

    Elizabeth along with the rest of the Sun Crow race stood by and watched Zen soar into the air, without a word.


    On the one hand, they hoped Zen would finally perish this way, but on the other, they still worried about him almost instinctively.


    The common contradicting feelings left them in an uncomfortable position.


    Swish!


    The moment Zen left the enchanted barrier, his physical body turned blazing white. He could barely open his eyes in the strong light.


    Buzz!


    Sanskrit words began appearing on his body, spinning ceaselessly and frantically absorbing the heat.


    Whoosh!


    The Corpse Spirit Sun Crow was normally immune to water and fire, but after it reached ten thousand feet outside the barrier, its feathers started burning.


    "How powerful these flames are!" Zen exclaimed in awe.


    He didn''t know what kind of method Emperor Charm used to create the crow beneath him. Its defensive power was extremely astonishing. Even if the members of the Sun Crow race were highly powerful, they couldn''t burn the Corpse Spirit Sun Crow, nor could they tear it apart by trapping it in fire.


    But as it approached ten thousand feet high in the air, its feathers were already burnt. Zen wondered how terrifying the suns'' temperature was.


    He wasn''t certain if he could withstand it himself.


    But at this point, there was no way back.


    On the back of the Corpse Spirit Sun Crow, Zen stood upright, his eyes flashing with determination as the crow then rapidly sped up.


    The nine suns were still in the midst of expanding, slowly moving south. They were no doubt about to pour all their heat into the North Mysterious City.


    As Zen continued to rise, the temperature rose along with him.


    Crack! Crack!


    The surface of the Corpse Spirit Sun Crow beneath Zen''s feet was crackling from burning.


    The bones of the Corpse Spirit Sun Crow turned to ashes.


    Once the bones of the wings exploded, the rest of the crow was completely destroyed.


    In another bursting sound, the creature collapsed, falling to the ground.


    On the other hand, Zen merely took a step and flew upward on his own.


    "Is this distance enough?" Zen asked.


    He had already risen to about eighty thousand feet in the air, with the nine suns like white mountains above his head. While they appeared close because of the sheer size, there was still a considerab


    in extreme pain, and the black shield turned into dark fragments, merging into his fist.


    With a sudden wave of his hand, he smashed his fist into the transmission array.


    The sight had Libby shocked. The Oneness General was by no means inferior to her in status, so she had no intention to kill him. All she did was to force him back¡ªnever did she expect him to go to such extremes and fight for his life.


    Once the Other Shore Token was burnt, the power of the punch was truly formidable. Even Libby, who was undoubtedly powerful, couldn''t withstand its force head-on.


    "Boom!"


    Along with a great rumble, the transmission array had been smashed into pieces, and the many Other Shore Realm warriors who were lining up were affected.


    Meanwhile, the masters of the mountains had their attention fixed on the suns in the sky. They were all racking their brains, trying to figure out a way to buy some time and open up enchanted barriers to allow the others to retreat. Even the Sun Crow race was helping them out.


    The loud rumble drew everyone''s attention. Even the mountain leaders were shocked upon witnessing the scene.


    A considerable distance stood between the North Mysterious City and the border of the North Unicorn Province. Even if a mountain leader used the Grand Teleportation technique, jumping back to the Bloom Divine Province in a single move was still impossible.


    The transmission array remained the only means to leave the North Unicorn Province. No one expected it to be destroyed so suddenly. Now they lost their only way to retreat.

 Chapter 3663 A Simple Shoot

    Naturally, Zen didn''t know that such a change had happened in the North Mysterious City. As he continued to fly upward, the closer he got to one of the suns.


    At that moment, the huge ball of light above his head formed a strange reverse vortex of flames, as if the flames spurted out from it.


    On the other hand, the situation in his body was different.


    All the vortexes spun around and continuously absorbed the flames that came to his body.


    Zen stared at the huge vortex before him and the small vortexes on his body, lost in thought. "Did those flames in the sun really come from Emperor Charm? Or did they come from somewhere else?" he asked.


    After all, he felt that the flames in the sun seemed to be from another space, while the vortexes in his body had pulled the flames into another space.


    Although neither his physical body nor the huge vortex in the sun had any spatial fluctuations, his sixth sense told him that it should be the case.


    Upon hearing Zen''s question, Houyi and Emperor Charm glanced at each other and silently exchanged surprised looks.


    "The Nine-Sun World Destruction is my bloodline theurgy. How could it come from somewhere else?" Emperor Charm said with a grin.


    The sun continued to expand as Zen looked at it in confusion. "It seems so, but it looks like the flames in the vortex are extracted from another place."


    "Don''t they come from the Other Shore?" Houyi asked jokingly. However, Zen shook his head.


    "I don''t think so. It doesn''t contain any Other Shore Power," he said.


    Zen''s answer pleased Emperor Charm, who praised, "What a keen intuition! I remember that it had taken the Primeval Lord of Heaven dozens of chaotic eras to realize this."


    "This? What do you mean by this?" Zen asked confusedly.


    "The energy in the chaos doesn''t come from it," answered Emperor Charm.


    "The energy in the chaos doesn''t come from it¡­" Zen muttered to himself.


    He still found it hard to understand. "How is that possible? Do you mean that all of our power comes from outside of the chaos?" he asked again.


    "Yes," Emperor Charm confirmed.


    "But I wasn''t able to see this before."


    "Because the level of energy is usually not high enough. If


    Sun Shooting Bow. Then, a golden arrow materialized in front of them.


    Afterwards, Zen drew the bow and the arrow was in place. He no longer hesitated.


    Pop!


    The Sun Extinguishing Arrow was shot towards the vortex!


    The Sun Extinguishing Arrow was completely different from what he had imagined. It didn''t have the power to destroy the heaven and earth.


    It was like a rather ordinary arrow, and its speed wasn''t even fast enough when he shot it. "Can the Sun Extinguishing Arrow really destroy the sun?" he asked doubtfully.


    Houyi looked at him smugly. Before he could answer, Emperor Charm interjected and said, "Of course it can. It doesn''t destroy the sun with greater power, but instead extinguishes it."


    According to the Primeval Lord of Heaven''s theory, the energy within the chaos did not come from the chaos, but from somewhere else.


    The suns'' energy was the same.


    Now, Houyi''s Sun Extinguishing Arrow was considered powerful because it severed the connection between two places and cut off the energy supply.


    As a result, Emperor Charm''s theurgy was restrained.


    Truth be told, Houyi''s strength back then was far inferior to Emperor Charm''s, but Emperor Charm couldn''t do anything to him.


    Whoosh!


    The Sun Extinguishing Arrow slowly flew to the center of the sun.


    Just then, a small black dot appeared.


    The small dot quickly spread out and spun within the vortex in the sun.


    A few moments later, the sun was extinguished.

 Chapter 3664 Witnessing

    With no loud sounds heralding its destruction, the sun simply and quietly disappeared from Zen''s field of vision.


    "Did I just shoot down a sun?" Zen asked in shock, dazedly holding the Sun Shooting Bow.


    Houyi chided him, "What''s the big deal? Should I set off some fireworks for celebration?"


    Zen looked at Houyi and rolled his eyes.


    It didn''t matter how it happened; what was clear was that the Sun Shooting Bow could definitely help destroy a sun.


    Zen couldn''t help thinking of the masters in the North Mysterious City and how long they could still hold on. His most important task right now was to shoot down and destroy the remaining suns.


    He put away the golden bow and directly flew towards the next nearest sun.


    A hundred provinces from where Zen had been located


    Smack dab in the center of that province, there was a huge abyss. At the bottom of this abyss, there stood several people.


    There was a huge crack in front of them.


    The crack looked very strange, as if it was embedded in the stone wall and parallel to the space.


    A burly man stood on the abyss floor beside the crack. It was Mount who had fought with Zen in the past.


    "I''ll go in now," Mount uttered, cupping his hands towards the other people.


    The man who stood closer to Mount smiled faintly. "Do you have any hesitation with integrating yourself with it like this?"


    Mount mastered his expression to stay calm. "We are from the same origin. After I merge with it, what you will see may be either me or it. I have nothing to lose, so why should I hesitate?"


    The man nodded and said, "Go ahead."


    Mount stepped towards the crack.


    In the blink of an eye, his entire body had been covered by countless mirror-like shards of space that turned him into many smaller pieces.


    The fragments did not really tear Mount apart, so they did not trigger the Chaotic Source Spirits within his body. Countless shards reflected back a complete image of Mount stepping into the crack.


    "Woo..."


    The moment that Mount''s fragments disappeared into the crack, a gigantic eye peered out of it.


    The crack was more than 40 million feet deep and 3 million feet wide; but when the eye appeared, only a small portion of it was visible.


    Those people who had been standing in front of the crack were all top masters in the Source World, but they still got nervous under the creepy gaze of the eye. They only breathed a sigh of relief when the eye disappeared.


    These people were top masters


    et the arrow loose.


    Whoosh!


    That arrow''s power seemed ridiculously feeble in Emperor Charm''s eyes.


    It flew towards the center of the sun, seemingly in slow motion, before it turned into a tiny black ball that expanded before dissipating.


    The huge sun also disappeared.


    ''What is it?''


    Emperor Charm''s eyes twitched as if he had witnessed the most unbelievable scenario he had ever seen in his life.


    "How did it go out, dude?"


    The interest of the two strongest warriors, Divine Farmer and the Yellow Thearch, were extremely piqued.


    With an irritated snort and a wave of two of his fingers in the air, Emperor Charm conjured a space in front of them that reflected Zen''s figure as he pulled the long bow taut.


    "Isn''t he the guy with the Soaring Snake Sword?" the Yellow Thearch asked.


    "It''s him," Divine Farmer confirmed.


    After the battle of the Chaotic Source World, Zen had attracted the attention of these beings.


    However, they had not seen Zen go to any significant place except wander around the Other Shore. A number of super forces had already hatched some plans to kill him, but no one could follow his tracks at all.


    They had planned to kill Zen and Elvinia on the Other Shore, but instead, it was their stage ruler who had been killed by them. Not a hair on their head had been harmed.


    "He isn''t afraid of the scorching suns?" Divine Farmer asked innocently. He thought this was what Emperor Charm wanted them to see.


    "No, he has destroyed my two suns," said Emperor Charm, a finger pointed accusingly at Zen''s figure.


    Right at that moment, Zen pulled his long bow again, already aiming at the third sun.

 Chapter 3665 The Hope

    Buzz!


    As a series of marks enveloped Zen, he pulled back the string of the Sun Shooting Bow once more.


    Aiming carefully, he released the string. The seemingly ordinary arrow slowly shot towards the center of the sun.


    In a flash of black light, the huge sun suddenly went out.


    Divine Farmer, Yellow Thearch, and other powerful warriors all watched quietly. Despite their calm expressions, there was a trace of shock in their eyes.


    It was not that they were surprised that an entire sun had been destroyed almost effortlessly. After all, with their experience, they had seen all kinds of things.


    Even if dozens of provinces were destroyed right in front of them, they wouldn''t have batted an eyelash.


    However, it was Zen''s method of shooting the sun that unsettled them.


    "Is it an Other Shore Token?" Divine Farmer asked, his eyes narrowing.


    "It must be," answered Emperor Charm.


    Yellow Thearch shook his head. "The Other Shore Token that can shoot the suns with arrows doesn''t exist below the Three Purities Stage. Moreover, he can''t possibly be carrying any Other Shore Token from the Three Purities Stage."


    Several masters behind Yellow Thearch nodded in agreement.


    While they all might have seen some extraordinary things in their time, there were indeed still many mysteries in this world.


    The powerhouses present, however, were at the top of the Source World and the Other Shore.


    There weren''t many things that could shock them, and yet...


    "Rumble..."


    Just as the many powerful warriors were deep in thought, suddenly, the eye appeared once more in the huge crack beside them.


    It seemed the eye was also taking in the scene that was transmitted by Emperor Charm.


    "Goo..."


    "He can do it. He can see it. It''s the space outside the space..."


    The voice thundered from the crack, ringing in everyone''s ears.


    As the Chaos Ancient God in charge of space, he boasted of the keenest sense of space in the entire Source World. Having watched this scene unfold right before him, he felt somewhat unsettled.


    "What''s the space outside the space?" Yellow Thearch asked.


    The huge eye in the crack paused for a moment before answerin


    that man?" Elizabeth said sarcastically.


    After saying this, she suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. It seemed her instincts were telling her to not speak ill of "that man".


    "You mean Zen?" Auden smiled bitterly. "While he has indeed created many miracles, he can''t solve every problem. It''d be wishful thinking to expect such a junior to deactivate Emperor Charm''s Nine-Sun World Destruction Theurgy..."


    However, before he was even able to finish speaking, the blazing white light in the sky suddenly dimmed.


    All the people in the North Mysterious City turned to look towards the sky.


    Although the sky was still blazing white, they noticed one out of the nine suns was missing.


    Elizabeth''s eyes widened. She scanned the atmosphere, thinking the ninth sun had probably shifted its position.


    Auden too stared at the sky. Just like Elizabeth, he had guessed that one sun had ended up blocking the other. Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined someone had shot it down.


    As they both scanned the sky intently, the sky darkened even more, and another sun disappeared.


    "The suns are being extinguished!"


    someone shouted. Auden pursed his lips dubiously.


    "Yes, two of them were extinguished!"


    "There is hope. We must hold on. The suns will definitely be extinguished!"


    "¡­"


    Two suns had disappeared. While they didn''t know how or why, finally, the people in the North Mysterious City felt a surge of hope.

 Chapter 3666 Distress Signal

    At that moment, everyone''s eyes were on the blazing sky.


    The strong light almost blinded their eyes, especially those of the weak Other Shore Realm warriors.


    However, none of them wanted to lower their heads. After all, whatever happened in the sky was their only hope of living.


    Everyone held their breaths as they carefully watched every movement in the sky, their instinct to survive fueling their attentiveness.


    After a while, the third sun was gone from everyone''s sight.


    "Wow..."


    The whole North Mysterious City was in an uproar again.


    "Maybe Emperor Charm let us off?"


    "It should be! But why did he do that?"


    "Because we''ve captured the Sun Crows?"


    The air was filled with chatter as many of them began to guess why.


    They didn''t know how Zen had managed to capture the members of the Sun Crow race, but the Sun Crows obeyed him. Thus, it was no surprise that they considered them as "prisoners".


    There were some people who thought that it was Emperor Charm who had shown mercy.


    On the other hand, some had different opinions.


    "Is it possible that Zen has done something to destroy the suns?"


    "I saw him leave the North Mysterious City and fly towards the suns..."


    "It is impossible! Zen is indeed powerful, but he''s only an ordinary Chaotic Source Realm warrior. He''s only on the same level as the Oneness Generals. If even the mountain leaders can''t do anything about those suns, then how could he destroy them?"


    Although many people had seen Zen fly towards the suns, most of them didn''t actually think that he could deal with them.


    Suddenly, Jago said, "I believe it is Flag Master who has destroyed the suns."


    "I believe the same too!" Kenelm agreed. Meanwhile, Monica looked up at the blazing white sky, her eyes filled with mixed emotions.


    "If there is really someone who could create such a miracle, then it must be Zen!" she whispered.


    "Buzz¡­"


    At that point, another sun had vanished from the sky. The one who had destroyed them had now eliminated the fourth sun.


    As the suns disappeared one by one, there was less pressure on the masters who used the enchanted barriers.


    Originally, after an enchanted barrier was built, it would only last for a few seconds. Now, it lasted more than a minute. The others took turns to maintain the barrier more easily, and therefore they had time to replenish some divin


    y. In other words, they had targeted the North Mysterious City.


    But now they were gone, and everything looked different from they used to be.


    The ground around the North Mysterious City was burned and had turned into layers of flowing magma. If one stood on the city wall of the North Mysterious City, they would see the vast ocean of magma around them and even feel the heat it emanated. It was like the North Mysterious City had turned into a lonely boat in the middle of the magma sea.


    After the catastrophe was over, the leaders of the mountains brought their men back to the Bloom Divine Province.


    The southwestern region of the North Unicorn Province had already become a sea of magma. It was unknown how many years it would take for the magma to solidify.


    Since the magma couldn''t trap them, everyone flew up in the air and left the destroyed North Mysterious City.


    Pearce, who flew in front of the others, thought about what the Sun Crow race would do next.


    Zen had almost taken away all the core members of the Sun Crow race. Once Emperor Charm learned the news, he would naturally be furious and would likely launch an aggressive attack in return.


    And since he was too powerful, no one in the Oneness Sky Palace could stop him.


    The mere thought of it made Pearce upset.


    In the next second, a golden sword on his waist glowed and transmitted a wisp of consciousness straight to his mind. It was the distress signal from the Oneness Mountain.


    The leaders of all the mountains also received the signal, and their hearts pounded loudly in their chests.

 Chapter 3667 The Dragon Cliff

    The Bloom Divine Province was the base of the Oneness Sky Palace.


    With the invasion of the Sun Crow race, Pearce chose to lead the soldiers to resist the enemy in the North Unicorn Province.


    He just didn''t want the Sun Crow race to wreak havoc in the Bloom Divine Province.


    However, when the Sun Crow race wantonly attacked, he didn''t expect that the Bearing race would assign another force to advance from the southeast.


    The southeast of the Bloom Divine Province had always been uninhabited. From time to time, races from the savage land would attempt to launch attacks from there.


    Later, the Oneness Sky Palace set up a pass in the southeast of the Bloom Divine Province. There, on the Dragon Cliff, they set up the Bloody Sword Array.


    For hundreds of years, powerful Oneness Governors had guarded the Dragon Cliff.


    Currently, the designated Oneness Governor was a man called Patton Lin.


    Just like Zen, Patton also had a perfect matching with the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent. As a direct descendant of the Lin Clan in the Origin Mountain, he was treated with the same respect as Dorothy was. However, a dispute in the Oneness Sky Palace involving him had broken out two hundred years ago, which led to the death of his wife.


    Since then, he had volunteered to come to the Dragon Cliff. For the past two hundred years, he had been the one guarding the cliff.


    In his time there, the savage alien races from the southwest rarely dared to invade. The few who did dare ended up being brutally annihilated...


    Ever since the Sun Crow race''s invasion from the northeast, the Oneness Sky Palace had been in a state of panic. Even the soldiers on the Dragon Cliff had been worried and engaged in lively discussions.


    "This time, the Sun Crow race has come with great power. I wonder if the seven mountains will be able to defeat them..."


    "They have to. They''ve retreated from the Mountain Viewing Province all the way to the North Unicorn Province. They must not let those birds get even the Bloom Divine Province!"


    "I have made an application to participate in the war in the North Unicorn Province, but I was rejected..."


    "There''s nothing we can do about that. Fighting against the Sun Crow race is very important, but guarding the Dragon Cliff is equally important. If we leave, what if the savage races seize this opportunity to stir up trouble?"


    built, not long after the Oneness Sky Palace was established. Since Eastern Emperor Taiyi himself eliminated the three major savage alien races, the Bloody Sword Array had never been activated again.


    Buzz...


    Streaks of blood-red light flashed around the entire Dragon Cliff.


    The huge cliff resembled a giant dragon stretching its neck to look at the sky. With the Bloody Sword Array activated, it was as though the dragon was coming to life.


    An immense aura soared into the sky, flowing forth from the Dragon Cliff. Patton stood atop it, gravely surveying the scene before him.


    As he expected, several figures soon appeared around thirty thousand feet away from the Dragon Cliff.


    Seeing those people clearly, Patton shut his eyes tightly and took a deep breath. A strong sense of frustration came to him.


    He figured that the people in the distance were either from the Bearing race or the Divine Farmer race. If this was so, it''d be impossible for his soldiers to defend the Dragon Cliff.


    "Everyone," he addressed his soldiers loudly, "get into the transmission array and return to the Oneness Sky Palace. Now!"


    At the sight of the enemy, the soldiers gasped in horror. However, despite their initial fear, they still felt there was a chance they could fight their enemy.


    Upon hearing Patton''s orders, everyone was stunned for a moment. When they finally came back to their senses, they broke into an uproar.


    "I won''t leave!"


    "You can leave if you want. But I am staying to fight!"


    "I''m willing to guard the Dragon Cliff, if it''s the last thing I do!"

 Chapter 470 Two Million Cubic Crystals

    Acalanatha''s virtual shadow pushed Patrick''s palm, and the result was equal to Tracy''s grip as she aimed at Zen.


    But obviously, Patrick''s strength was more powerful.


    His strength wasn''t due to bloodline heritage but from Acalanatha''s reincarnation.


    On the golden palm were rows of Sanskrit flowing and spreading golden light continuously.


    Feeling the power of the golden palm changed Rocher''s expression. He finally escaped from Patrick''s Samsara of Buddhism, but that meant suffering from the horrible pain.


    He wondered, ''Is this Patrick''s real strength?'' Staring at the huge palm while gritting his teeth, Rocher borrowed more vitality from heaven and earth, and additionally, some of heaven''s power. The sharper extreme thunder sword intent, from the bottom all the way up, tried to resist the palm.


    This move would decide the victor and loser.


    Rocher thought, ''If I win, it will be my pleasure; if I lose, it will be my destiny.''


    Bang!


    The loud sound was a result of the golden palm meeting the blue thunder light, and this dazzling glow made it difficult for people to open their eyes because it felt like a star exploding in the competition field.


    However, Zen, who was outside the competition field, was not one of them.


    The light spots reflected on his brown pupils as he watched every movement of the two people fighting.


    Shaking his head, Zen predicted, ''Rocher will be defeated.'' Earlier, Rocher said his chance of winning over Patrick was fifty percent now, and this would increase to ninety percent once he entered the Illuminating Soul Realm. Rocher had clearly underestimated his opponent.


    With his current strength, Rocher didn''t even have a ten percent chance of winning against Patrick.


    To be fair, Rocher had a fantastic breakthrough. He had comprehended the consummate sword intent and washed his blade in the Sword Washing Pool, the semi-sacred place.


    And this strength should be enough to cover the shortage of his lower level. In other words, Rocher thought that if he stepped into the Illuminating Soul Realm, he had a ninety percent chance of beating Patrick. But he was quite naive to think that.


    Acalanatha''s reincarnation of Patrick was too powerful.


    And this was quite disturbing.


    If Rocher had a next better chance and broke into the Illuminating Soul Realm, he would probably have the strength to compete with Patrick.


    The radiance on the competition field had disappeared. Rocher supported his shaky body with the Blood-corroding Sword. His lean, controlled face now had a sad look.


    A youth confident of becoming more powerful with every battle suffered defeat repeatedly. He now seemed frustrated.


    But frustration had a different effect for every individual.


    There are extremely arrogant people whose dedication to martial arts is limited. So, once defeated, this kind of person easily breaks. Eventually, he would stop training and even suffer from mental problems, making it difficult to make a comeback for the rest of his life.


    On the other hand, there are arrogant people with a stronger commitment to martial arts. Thus any setback only serves to develop their courage, and they practice harder for the future. These people seek


    ertainly have so many cubic crystals to pay you," Zen explained.


    With his current method, it would be so easy to make money.


    Fifty drops of Heavenly Essence could be sold for 250 thousand cubic crystals at an auction. He refined only a hundred mysterious weapons and got hundreds of drops of Heavenly Essence.


    Even if a large quantity of Heavenly Essence was on the market, and the price would go down, it was still not difficult to collect two million cubic crystals.


    Furthermore, Zen could seek Wurth''s assistance. It was believed that given Zen''s current performance, he could get enough favors from the Zhang Clan. It would not be a problem to borrow two million cubic crystals from the clan. After all, they were the wealthiest family in the Eastern Region, and even the top seven noble clans were poor compared to the Zhang Clan.


    Though Kenneth seldom showed up at Cloud Sect, he was very clear about the Eastern Region territory. If Zen was confident to take out two million cubic crystals, Kenneth could easily guess that it had something to do with the Zhang Clan. Otherwise, it would be impossible for the disciple to accumulate such a large fortune.


    With Zen''s current talent and strength, he had a very promising future and would be worth the investment of the Zhang Clan, Kenneth thought.


    Finally, Kenneth sighed, "Alas..."


    "No?"


    The young disciple was a jumble of nerves, but outwardly, he looked calm.


    Since entering Cloud Sect, Zen was clear about his purpose: to save his sister and get her away from Hell Mountain at the soonest possible time.


    If it was possible, Zen didn''t want Yan to stay at that mountain one minute longer.


    That was why he always strove for the one million points. Even if he had to spend some points in practicing cultivation methods, he only invested in himself when he had the confidence to earn more points.


    However...


    "No. Even if you pay two million cubic crystals, which are one million points, you can''t take her away," Kenneth said while shaking his head.


    "Why?" Zen implored.


    As he gritted his teeth, his heart raced faster and his eyes were slowly turning red.

 Chapter 3668 Reaching The Core Area (Part One)

    These soldiers had already understood that the intruders were extremely powerful, and that the Dragon Cliff could not resist them.


    Patton knew this well, which was why he had asked his men to leave first.


    They could guard the seven mountains if they remained alive.


    But none of the soldiers was willing to retreat. Patton ignored their determination. What had to be done, had to be done.


    "Please kill us if you don''t want us to stay!" the strapping man said firmly.


    Patton looked at them, stunned. After a long time, he said, "Walker, you need to go to destroy the transmission array. You can all leave through the transmission array before it is destroyed. I''m letting you go back because then you can guard the seven mountains. I''m not going to let you become deserters!"


    Everyone knew this, but no one wanted to leave. They didn''t have a way back if Walker destroyed the transmission array.


    Some distance away, an old man in white approached them, a black rod perched on his shoulder. He shouted, his voice hoarse, "I''ve heard that the person guarding the Dragon Cliff is Patton, a talent of the Origin Mountain. Are you Patton?"


    Patton unsheathed the three-foot-long sword in his hand. The red light on the Dragon Cliff flickered, and the sharp radiance of the Bloody Sword Array appeared. "Yes. What is it to you?"


    "We are humans. There is no need for us to fight each other. The Bearing race is in need of powerful warriors. If you are willing to pledge allegiance to our race, you can become immortal and own an eternal life!" the old man said.


    Patton understood what the Bearing race was after. Offering the eternal life was indeed a good incentive but nothing could persuade Patton to pledge allegiance to the Bearing race.


    He sneered, "Nonsense! Our Oneness Sky Palace is the most orthodox human force in the world. How can we join you?"


    The old man didn''t think he could persuade Patton. He sighed and looked at the Bloody Sword Array that was wrapped around the Dragon Cliff. Then he stretched out his finger, and tapped lightly on it. "Pass through the middle line. I can break the array easily."


    About fifteen minutes later, the old man came upon the broken transmission array that lay behind the Dragon Cliff.


    He frowned.


    "This is completely destr


    moves but many of the Oneness Guards had disintegrated into pieces.


    The death of these Oneness Guards alarmed more people.


    Sellers who guarded the Sword Tower, Calum who guarded the Dragon Path, and other powerful warriors stationed in the Dragon City swung into action.


    These warriors were much stronger than the Oneness Guards. But since the members from the Bearing race were as powerful as Athemar, they couldn''t take them seriously.


    In the next five minutes, many people in the whole Dragon City were massacred and the city was destroyed.


    The old man''s wrinkled face looked bored. He looked up at the Oneness Mountain. The mountain''s protecting arrays had already been activated.


    "I''d prefer to break the arrays as against killing," he said, carrying the fishing rod to the Dragon Path.


    Blazing flames shot up everywhere in the Dragon City.


    The Truth Library, the Best Swords Shop, and other places were all now burning.


    Those warriors of the Bearing race slaughtered people and burned the Dragon City before flying into the air and following the old man.


    The old man climbed up the mountain, breaking all the arrays on the way.


    Regardless of the extraordinary power of the various strange arrays on the Oneness Mountain, he could figure out their essence and easily break them.


    He climbed to the top of the Dragon Path in less than three hours.


    He led the crowd, but did not move towards the three sword sects. They had no interest in either the Flow Sword Sect or the Killing Sword Sect.

 Chapter 3669 Reaching The Core Area (Part Two)

    He made a detour from the side of the Dragon Path and went to the Phoenix Palace.


    News had been sent back to the seven mountains about the members of the Bearing race attacking the Dragon Cliff.


    The enchanted barriers of the arrays in the seven mountains had been opened, but the disciples of the major sword sects were still panicking.


    In the Flow Sword Sect


    Trish, dressed in white, flew along the road between the yards. She gently pushed the door of a house open and found Letitia walking up to her and asking with concern, "How''s it going?"


    The Sun Crow race had attacked suddenly. Zen had been afraid that Letitia and the others would be worried about him, which was why he hadn''t gone up the mountain when he had made his way to the North Unicorn Province from the Dragon City.


    It was quite a while before Letitia got the news that the Sun Crow race and the Oneness Sky Palace were fighting, and that Zen had joined the Oneness Guards to fight the Sun Crow race.


    Letitia was worried about Zen. But after having gone through so much with Zen, she knew that Zen was able to resolve the crisis. She believed that Zen would return safely.


    "The situation is not looking good," said Trish.


    "What happened?" Letitia asked, her heart sinking.


    Trish hesitated before saying, "Word is that Emperor Charm has employed the Nine-Sun World Destruction Theurgy in the North Unicorn Province and burned everything in the province to ashes."


    Those who had escaped through the transmission array had relayed this news. After the transmission array was destroyed, they had thought that the North Mysterious City had been burned to ashes and that the seven mountains'' powerful warriors had died in the process.


    "Nine-Sun World Destruction Theurgy?" Letitia''s eyes narrowed.


    Trish nodded and said, "That''s Emperor Charm''s theurgy. I''m afraid it''s very difficult for Mr. Luo..."


    On hearing the terrifying rumor, Trish thought that Zen might have died in the North Unicorn Province along with the other powerful warriors.


    Zen was powerful, but his growth and progress in such a short period of time was limited. Even the strong warriors like Athemar and Pearce had died in the North Unicorn Province. It was far-fetched, according to her, that could Zen escape.


    "Okay, I see," Letitia said, nodding.


    Trish noticed that Letitia was calm. She knew that Letitia had a deep, close relationship with Zen,


    friendly relationship, and treated each other as brothers. Some secrets weren''t secret to the two races, which gave Ware the confidence to break the array.


    Everyone in the Phoenix Palace was panicking.


    The lightning that had descended from the sky was enough to prove the strength of the opponent.


    Fortunately, it was not that easy to break the Primitive Illusion. The lightning had fallen outside the Phoenix Palace, but the palace itself was not damaged.


    But could the Primitive Illusion really block the powerful warriors?


    Most of them despaired.


    There were a lot of guards guarding the Supreme Dragon Hall.


    Over a thousand golden armored guards stood guard on the outermost layer.


    Most of these golden armored guards were only as powerful as the five-star Oneness Guards.


    Flamine stood before the palace gate, knowing that once the Phoenix Palace was destroyed, these golden armored guards would be nothing more than cannon fodder.


    She raised her head, her eyes easily piercing through the layers of white mist and falling on the strong warriors of the Bearing race.


    "They split into two groups. The first group went to capture the North Unicorn Province, while the second group came to attack the Bloom Divine Province..." Flamine sighed.


    This was not a complicated strategy.


    When the Oneness Sky Palace fell short of soldiers and generals, it would have no power to fight back against the joint attack of several large races.


    "What should we do if the powerful warriors come in? How about we move Eastern Emperor Taiyi away from here?" Jean paced back and forth in panic.

 Chapter 3670 Sacrifice Himself (Part One)

    Jean was always arrogant in the Phoenix Palace, holding her head high. She wasn''t afraid of anything other than Eastern Emperor Taiyi.


    But she shivered violently as she faced this real crisis, fearful of what was to come.


    "Mother!"


    Even Cleon, Chance, and Ahmad who were sitting on the stairs, couldn''t bear to see the timidity in her features.


    The three brothers were selfish but given that they were the sons of Eastern Emperor Taiyi, they remained calm in such a crucial life-and-death situation.


    They understood that they could hold high positions in the palace because Eastern Emperor Taiyi was their father. And now that their father was in danger of dying, they had obviously chosen to fight the invaders and protect him till the end of their lives.


    "I''m trying to find a way out," Jean said, glaring at her sons to conceal her panic and embarrassment.


    Cleon was calm as he tried to persuade her. "Those powerful people have already surrounded the Primitive Illusion. We can''t move Father even if we want to. We have no way out!"


    "If they break in, we should go all out!" added Chance.


    Those who sat on the stairs with him were all children and grandchildren of Eastern Emperor Taiyi.


    Elvinia also sat beside them, an elbow on her knee, and held a piece of thin paper that had been floating in the wind with the other hand. A number of words were scribbled on it.


    At Chance''s words, she merely looked indifferently at him.


    In such a critical situation, the three brothers became courageous and persistent, in sharp contrast to their mother. No wonder they were Elvinia''s half-brothers. They were much better than their mother.


    Elvinia regretted coming back. No matter how exquisite the Truth Enlightenment was, it was useless in this moment. Her father couldn''t even see it, and even if he did, what would be the use of it all in such a critical moment?


    Could the people around her defeat the powerful invaders above with it?


    She couldn''t send the Truth Enlightenment to her father. Moreover, she was blocked here and couldn''t go to the North Unicorn Province either.


    The news about the tragic battle in the North Unicorn Province was being brought to the Phoenix Palace and Elvinia had learned of it the first time it had come here. As a "demon woman" from the Divine Lair, she knew


    with a mocking smile, "I didn''t expect such a dignified existence as Eastern Emperor Taiyi would rely on his wife to protect him. The Three-Element Sword Array is indeed powerful, but it''s a pity that you meet me!"


    He then waved the fishing rod and barked an order, "Attack it! Hold the three swords and I''ll continue to break the array!"


    "Now that victory is in sight, why should you be bothered? Master Ware, let me destroy this palace!" A short man behind Ware said anxiously.


    "Illusory Mountain Press!"


    The shadow of a huge mountain emerged from nowhere, dashing swiftly towards the Phoenix Palace.


    This shadow was like an upside down mountain. Although it was virtual, the power contained within it was still terrifying.


    At the sight of the illusory mountain, Flamine''s expression shifted several times before she managed to calm herself.


    She waved the Heaven Sword lightly and said to the other two, "Three-Element Defense!"


    Bang!


    With the joint resistance of the three swords, the illusory mountain was halted outside the array.


    An area of about ten thousand feet around the Supreme Dragon Hall was now protected, but under the pressure of the mountain shadow, all other halls and pavilions of the Phoenix Palace turned to dust.


    "Again!"


    The short man stretched out his hands, and the huge mountain shadow solidified and became more powerful.


    Sizzle!


    The Three-Element Sword Array sizzled under the pressure, but it finally managed to block the attack.


    "I''m in!"


    "Let''s see how long you can hold on."

 Chapter 3671 Sacrifice Himself (Part Two)

    "It''s just a sword array, and it''s not good at defense. Why bother to hold on?"


    Some masters of the Bearing race looked down at those of the Phoenix Palace who were trying their best to support the sword array. They looked playful as they made their moves.


    Boom!


    Some of the Bearing race came from the Sky Guard Pavilion.


    The Sky Guard Pavilion was to the Bearing race what the Land of Sword Grief was to the Oneness Sky Palace, except for the fact that there were memorial tablets in the Sky Guard Pavilion.


    When the masters were strong enough to undertake tasks alone, they would obtain a memorial tablet representing high status. Their strength was almost the same as Flamine''s.


    These masters relied on the theurgies of various Other Shore Tokens, which were in different forms but all with terrifying power.


    Flamine and the other two masters wielded the swords in their hands calmly to resist the enemies.


    No matter how strong the theurgies these people poured out were, the Three-Element Sword Array was unbreakable and withstood consequent attacks!


    "Lavender, Nelly, Laquisha, hide behind the Supreme Dragon Hall," Elvinia said suddenly.


    "Why?" Lavender asked, confused.


    "Once this array is broken, you can take the opportunity to escape. Their target is my father. They won''t do anything to you," said Elvinia.


    As the daughter of Eastern Emperor Taiyi, Elvinia was determined to live and die with her father.


    But she didn''t want Lavender and the other two to die with her. After all, they still had Zen.


    "Little Master, let''s run away together. Please!" Laquisha said anxiously.


    In a battle of this level, Elvinia''s strength was insignificant. She could escape with them.


    Elvinia smiled bitterly and shook her head.


    People born in the Phoenix Palace could obtain more resources, and as a result, they''d have to take up more responsibilities.


    Elvinia and her half-brothers didn''t have the slightest intention of running away.


    "Let''s wait for a moment. We can''t leave the array now. Even if we leave, we might not remain alive," Lavender suddenly said.


    The powerful warriors in the sky sent out tens of thousands of divine megatons of force every time they attacked.


    The bricks and tiles of the Phoenix Pa


    casually, "A loser from hundreds of years ago. You haven''t died yet?"


    The Bearing race had had a hand in the curse on Master Heller. At the time, even Eastern Emperor Taiyi had suffered a great loss.


    "Are you disappointed?" Master Heller said with a relieved smile. "I''m going to die today!"


    Ware merely looked at him before saying, "Help him."


    At this order, those next to Ware made to move towards Heller but the loud sound of a heartbeat broke through the air.


    Bump! Bump! Bump!


    Breaking the array using the Sky Cloud Thread had demanded a great deal of effort and attention from Ware. What was more, Flamine was constantly changing the array to disturb him. And now, the sudden heartbeat was having a great impact on his mind while greatly confusing him. Where was this sound coming from?


    Master Heller continued to laugh loudly. "I''m going to die today, but I won''t die alone!"


    "What do you mean?" Ware finally realized that something was wrong. The sound of heartbeat grew louder and louder.


    Bump! Bump! Bump!


    Ware was also a man with vast knowledge. All of a sudden, he realized what could be wrong.


    Ware hurriedly stopped the men beside him from making a move and said, "Damn it! Stop! It''s the Heart of Accomplice! He actually has it!"


    Master Heller laughed a sinister laugh. "Stop? You think I can''t die just because you stop?"


    Swoosh!


    A shadow of a heart appeared above his head - the Heart of Accomplice. It then lit up; he had burned this Other Shore Token!

 Chapter 3672 Insist

    There were a few records stating that Lord Shaw was killed by the Heart of Accomplice, and no one had ever burned this heart.


    Splash!


    As the Heart of Accomplice began to burn, so did the entire body of Heller.


    This was a special reaction of energy, only possible with the heart.


    Aside from it being rare, it was also severe torture. Even Heller, a powerful warrior who had reached the ultimate level of the Indigo Soul, couldn''t find it in himself to endure it.


    However, though his face expressed pain, his eyes shone excitement.


    He was just happy that a loser like him could still help Eastern Emperor Taiyi before he died.


    Splash!


    As Heller''s body burned, a wave of fright struck Ware.


    Just then, a sharp pain pierced through his back that sent a burning sensation all over. Apparently, this was the consequence of Heller burning the Other Shore Token and violating the truth.


    "Help... Please help me..." Ware wailed in pain.


    The strong warriors surrounding him were stunned, their faces shifting from confident to serious.


    But no matter how much Ware cried out for help desperately, they didn''t help him. Instead, they kept retreating backwards.


    "Kill him!"


    "Kill that old man and we might be able to save Master Ware!"


    "Attack!"


    These people knew that it was all because of Heller. If they killed him, they could save Ware.


    Swish! Swish!


    All of a sudden, two men soared down from the air. The one on the left held a spear, while the one on the right held a halberd.


    "Don''t, don''t kill him..."


    Ware pleaded in agony. If Heller died, he would definitely die along with him.


    However, his voice was too weak for anyone to hear. Meanwhile, the two men were so determined to save his life that they didn''t hold back. A bright light flashed and the spear and halberd turned into two beams of lightning that pierced through Heller''s body.


    Puff! Puff!


    In one instant, Heller was sliced cleanly into two pieces, and so was Ware. However, as this happened, the burning did not ever cease.


    After a few moments, the two were burnt to ashes.


    In front of the Phoenix Palace, Flamine paused and looked up into the sky, her face filled with grief.


    The reason why Eastern Emperor Taiyi was


    the people in front of the Supreme Dragon Hall had begun to lose hope.


    Was this it? Was the Oneness Sky Palace going to be defeated?


    Sadly, Pearce and Auden, who led the masters of the seven mountain, died in the North Unicorn Province.


    They had no more reinforcements and no more miracles. They had hoped for a second that Eastern Emperor Taiyi would wake up, but he seemed nowhere close to consciousness.


    Meanwhile, Pearce led the group of warriors to open up a space channel. After they had traveled it for a while, they reached the wall between the provinces.


    As the group followed Pearce, they passed through the wall and arrived at a large city in the northeast of the Bloom Divine Province, the Tiger Peace City.


    Having heard the news of Nine-Sun World Destruction, people began to leave and move out of the city. After all, if the Sun Crow race advanced further, they knew that the city would be their first stop.


    Everyone seemed helpless and defeated.


    With the masters killed in the North Unicorn Province and the destruction of the Oneness Sky Palace, it seemed like everything was just falling apart.


    Even if the people living in the Tiger Peace City retreated, where would they go?


    After everything that had happened, the Clear Lake and the seven mountains could not put a stop to the Sun Crow race.


    But just as everyone was about to surrender and let their guards down, a voice rang through the crowd.


    "They are back! Thank God they''re still alive!"

 Chapter 3673 Destroying The Sword Array

    Under Pearce''s leadership, the powerful warriors of the six mountains, the Oneness Generals, the Oneness Guards, and the warriors of the Other Shore Realm of the twelve passes appeared in the sky.


    All the people in the Tiger Peace City looked up and found themselves cheering when they saw Pearce leading the troops.


    They couldn''t tell what exactly had happened during the battle, but at the very least, the powerful warriors had survived.


    Just as they arrived at the Tiger Peace City, someone appeared in the transmission array, looking agitated. He rushed out, and when he saw Pearce and the mountain leaders, he was dazed for a moment before coming to his senses and excitedly saying, "Masters, it''s so great to see you''re safe and sound!"


    The man came from the Origin Mountain.


    Since the Bearing race invaded the Phoenix Palace, once they dealt with Eastern Emperor Taiyi, their next target was likely Yasmin of the Origin Mountain.


    Even the Origin Mountain couldn''t escape the calamity.


    As the Oneness Sky Palace was stuck in such a situation, they were all in despair.


    The man had been sent to the Tiger Peace City to inquire about the situation of the battle in the North Unicorn Province.


    According to previous news, it was likely that the powerful warriors of the seven mountains in the province had already been killed. Little hope remained.


    But as soon as he arrived at the Tiger Peace City, he saw Pearce and the others descend.


    Over a hundred thousand Oneness Guards and Other Shore Realm warriors were also there.


    One couldn''t even tell that they had just come from a fierce battle against the Sun Crow race.


    It seemed they had even managed to completely dodge the Nine-Sun World Destruction.


    The man from the Origin Mountain was both excited and confused. But when he saw Zen bringing in with him many members of the Sun Crow race, his face changed color¡ªhe had no clue that the Sun Crow race had already surrendered to Zen.


    Knowing that it wasn''t the right time to satisfy his curiosity, he immediately rushed to Pearce. "Sir, the Bearing race is invading the Oneness Sky palace from the south!"


    "What did you say? They''ve broken through the Dragon Cliff?" The news made Pearce''s face turn cold.


    Athemar, Goran, and the mountain leaders turned grim as well.


    "Patton should be guarding the Dragon Cliff. Is it possible that he¡­" At


    eness Sky Palace to fall into such a desperate situation in a short time.


    "Gee..."


    "I haven''t seen such innocent cannon fodder in a long time."


    "I''m warning you! You''d better not get any blood on my clothes!"


    After quietly exchanging a few words with each other, the seven members of the Black Jade Clan rushed toward the Oneness Guards like eagles after their prey.


    The one in the lead twisted his body, transforming into a black cyclone.


    Regardless of where the cyclone passed, all sorts of broken limbs flew in the air, and blood splattered the area.


    Meanwhile, the other six launched their own fierce attacks. The five-star Oneness Guards couldn''t hold on for even half a round before the powerful warriors.


    Tick¡­tick¡­tick¡­


    Blood began falling like rain.


    Dripping onto the eaves of the Phoenix Palace, it slid down the stairs.


    People began screaming and running off.


    On the stairs sat Elvinia, indifferent to the blood splattering on her body. She examined the broken limbs and blood falling from the sky, her eyes full of gloom.


    "Why are you still here?" she asked.


    At her foot sat Lavender, Laquisha, and Nelly.


    "I''m afraid we can''t leave," Lavender answered, pointing to somewhere nearby.


    While she wasn''t exactly stronger than these people, her vision was still sharp.


    As early as the destruction of the sword array, some people began making use of the messy situation to escape. But soon after they rushed out, purple spear radiance descended, piercing through their bodies¡ªthe Bearing race intended to kill each and every one of them.

 Chapter 3674 Rescue

    It only took less than thirty seconds before over a thousand golden armored guards had been killed.


    At that point, there were only two to three hundred people left on the steps of the Supreme Dragon Hall. Most of them were the children of Eastern Emperor Taiyi. Moreover, there were also a few maids among them.


    Flamine had been controlling the Three-Element Sword Array for quite some time now. Undoubtedly, this had her feeling extremely exhausted. No matter how desperate it might seem, she had no choice but to keep on fighting.


    Splash!


    The Sun Crow race''s divine flames burned brightly upon her face. Slowly, she rose in the air and prepared for an attack. The divine flames turned into a flame phoenix. It spread its marvelous wings and soared towards the seven people.


    "Let''s go!"


    Without a second thought, Cleon and the others took out their Other Shore Tokens as well.


    Among the children of Eastern Emperor Taiyi, Elvinia, Cleon, Chance and another four were at the Chaotic Source Realm.


    Even though they had already accepted the fact that they were no match for those powerful beings, all they could do now was leap into the breach. In any case, there was no way out of it so they had to fight with all their might.


    "Buzz..."


    As Elvinia watched her mother''s back, her weary face was suddenly filled with burning determination. With that, she also jumped upwards and followed Flamine.


    At this point, all of the powerful concubines had taken out their own Other Shore Tokens. They were completely ready to fight for their lives.


    Jean was previously in a state of panic. But as soon as she saw her sons join the fray, all of her fears vanished. She no longer had any care in the world and was now prepared to risk everything. With that, she also joined the other warriors.


    The leader of those from the Black Jade Clan was clad in all black. To him, Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s family members merely seemed pathetic with their hopeless attempt to fight back. He sneered as he saw them charging towards him and his group. "Don''t show any mercy. Kill them all!" he ordered them with such apathy and arrogance.


    Whoosh!


    As soon as he said that, he stretched out his hands and soared towards Flamine.


    The divine flames of Flamine were extremely sharp. However, her energy had been severely depleted while she was controlling the Three-Element Sword Array. She had not regained much energy since then, so her face was still deathly pale. When she directed the fire phoenix to attack the man in black, the man''s eyes glinted with a bright green light. Almost simultaneously, he launched a soul attack towards Flamine.


    Flamine had already reached the ultimate level of the Indigo Soul. Therefore, her soul was extremely stable. Under normal circumstances, she would not be afraid of the soul attack at all. However, she was utterly exhausted now. So now, she could not withstand it.


    When the soul attack hit her, she instantl


    erful. However, they were not the strongest group of the Bearing race. And now, they were clearly outnumbered.


    Realizing this, they immediately felt desperate. The situation suddenly turned bleak and it seemed like the tide had turned against them.


    At that very moment, another group was fast approaching from the other side.


    As Hancock and the others took a closer look, they felt overjoyed. It looked like they had a chance after all because the members of the Sun Crow race were coming!


    In addition to that, they had also seen Micah and Bagot in the group.


    "Hooray! It''s the Sun Crow race!" shouted one of the members of the Bearing race.


    "Their timing is absolutely perfect!"


    "Whew! We are saved. As long as we join hands with the Sun Crow race, we will be able to defeat the Oneness Sky Palace!"


    However, they didn''t know that Gethin had the same thought before.


    "Micah, we..."


    Hancock looked at him admiringly. After all, the strength and status of Micah were far greater and higher than his. Even Ware, who led the team here this time, couldn''t quite compare to Micah''s might and prowess.


    But before Hancock could even finish his sentence, he noticed another figure standing in front of Micah. It was none other than Zen.


    Zen''s face was drained of color when he saw Elvinia lying motionlessly on the ground. He didn''t know whether she was alive or dead.


    He had initially thought that the Phoenix Palace was the safest place to go, so he let Lavender, Laquisha, and Nelly stay here. Clearly, he wasn''t expecting that Eastern Emperor Taiyi would be trapped and the Bearing race would launch a sneak attack on the Phoenix Palace.


    "Slaughter them all," Zen commanded mercilessly.


    "Yes, sir! Right away!"


    Micah, Bagot, and the others answered without any second thoughts.


    The longer the modified blood stayed in their bodies, the more loyal they became to Emperor Charm and Zen. This was the true power of bloodline worship.

 Chapter 3675 Starlight Witness

    Hancock and the other members of the Bearing race were frozen in shock upon hearing the Sun Crows'' answer to Zen''s order.


    Did they hear correctly?


    Were these Sun Crows fake? Were they merely disguised by humans who wore feathered wings on their backs?


    It was all extremely confusing.


    However, the auras Micah, Bagot, and Elizabeth exuded shattered all their speculations.


    These people were all genuine members of the Sun Crow race. There was no doubt about it!


    "Micah, you..."


    "Bagot, we''ve met each other before!"


    "¡­¡­"


    Hancock and the others continued to plead for their lives but the Sun Crows turned a deaf ear to their cries.


    How could the Bearing race hold on to their hopes when things had come to this?!


    "There''s no way we can win this right now. We''re outnumbered! Retreat!"


    "Run!"


    "It was all in vain!"


    Just as they were about to escape using the Grand Teleportation technique, a pale, white light flashed over the Oneness Mountain. The Cage of Heaven and Earth worked.


    Their only road out was now blocked.


    "No! Why can''t we leave..."


    "Block their attacks!"


    "Retreat! Retreat!"


    Hancock was declared leader upon Ware''s death but he failed to live up to the title.


    Though the Bearing race stood calm when bullying Flamine and others earlier, they were an utter mess when facing against these masters of the Oneness Sky Palace and the Sun Crow race.


    In the air, all kinds of powerful energy constantly surged.


    Despite its big size, the Oneness Mountain shook and trembled underneath their feet due to the attacks.


    Flamine descended from the sky. Her chest had been stabbed through and blood burst out from her body like a fountain, but she just flew downwards as if she didn''t feel any pain from her wound.


    It was far beyond Elvinia''s cultivation level to take that blow.


    As Elvinia fell down from the air, Lavender, Laquisha, and Nelly immediately surrounded her. She didn''t seem to be seriously injured but she was unconscious and that scared them.


    Flamine reached out and gently scratched Elvinia''s arm, leaving a small scar on Elvinia''s skin. She frowned and pressed her hand on Elvinia''s forehead, looking gloomier.


    "Lady Flamine, is she all right?" Nelly asked, her face marred with worry. To their dismay, Flamine shook her head.


    Elvinia''s body was able to withstan


    aura. All he needed to do was to look at those below him and they would freeze.


    He eventually withdrew his gaze to stretch out his white palm wherein a small cube appeared. There was a world within that cube and the scene within it revealed the fighting that went on in the Phoenix Palace.


    His royal guards were currently killing the members of the Bearing race alongside the Oneness Sky Palace.


    His face revealed a puzzled expression.


    ''Elizabeth, Micah, Bagot, why did you betray me?''


    He wasn''t angry. Truth be told, he felt more confused than angry.


    With the support of the bloodline worship, Emperor Charm was certain of Elizabeth''s and Micah''s absolute loyalty. There was no way they would ever betray him.


    There was definitely something more to this!


    This entire situation was confusing to him, including the fact that Zen had shot down his suns!


    Now that he personally came here to the Bloom Divine Province, he expected the truth to be revealed soon enough.


    As he held his square world on one hand, he summoned an Other Shore Token in the other. It was an azure spear, translucent from tip to body like crystal ice.


    This was his Starlight Tracking Spear, a unique Other Shore Token he dug out from Stage Thirty-three.


    "Starlight Witness,"


    Emperor Charm said.


    A few dots of starlight flashed above the Bloom Divine Province despite it being daytime. These dots of starlight promptly shot down and appeared above the heads of leaders of the Bright Mountain, the Ivory Mountain, the Azure Mountain, and the Golden Mountain.

 Chapter 3676 Wantonly Killing

    Bright, twinkling stars floated above the four mountain leaders'' heads, and they couldn''t help but look at them in astonishment.


    "What are these stars?"


    "They seem to come from some Other Shore Token. I can feel their aura!"


    "Why is an Other Shore Token here?"


    While the four mountain leaders were quite confused, Elizabeth, Micah, and Bagot all gazed at the stars with shock.


    "It''s the Starlight Witness," Elizabeth whispered. A warrior like Emperor Charm didn''t usually engage in battles even once for tens of thousands of years.


    That was why nobody knew about his Starlight Tracking Spear, although he had owned it for thousands of years already. Only the closest people to him knew about it, such as Elizabeth.


    Thus, they knew that Emperor Charm had already arrived in the Bloom Divine Province when the starlight appeared.


    After a while of being amazed at the starlight, the four mountain leaders quickly became cautious.


    They were all old warriors that had lived for many years, so their innate fighting instincts told them that those stars weren''t as simple as they seemed.


    Furthermore, lots of Other Shore Tokens had strange abilities, and any negligence on their part might lead to their doom.


    "No matter what they are, do protect yourselves!" the leader of the Azure Mountain declared as he beat his chest hard.


    Swoosh!


    A flurry of thunderstorms materialized and enveloped him entirely.


    The thunderstorms spread to a radius of a thousand feet around him and formed an absolute energy zone. It destroyed anything that passed through its area.


    The leader of the Ivory Mountain brandished his sword, and then sword shadows appeared continuously. Countless sword shadows grew rapidly like weeds and tightly wrapped around him.


    The leaders of the Bright Mountain and the Golden Mountain also followed suit and used their own methods to protect themselves.


    Because of the starlight, the masters who had been chasing the Bearing race stopped for the time being.


    The members of the Bearing race temporarily had a chance to breathe, but they were confused. They didn''t know why the Oneness Sky Palace suddenly stopped.


    st of them float in the air motionlessly.


    Micah, Bagot, and the other members of the Sun Crow race were silent. They didn''t betray Emperor Charm, but the one in front of them.


    When Emperor Charm received no answers, he didn''t force them.


    He raised his azure spear horizontally, and starlight spread throughout the sky once again.


    "Buzz, buzz, buzz..."


    This time, seven rays of starlight appeared above the heads of the seven powerful warriors of the Oneness Sky Palace.


    The people of the Oneness Sky Palace were still not over the deaths of the four mountain leaders.


    Naturally, they clearly knew that the starlight above their heads would kill them.


    Whoosh!


    When a member of the Ivory Mountain saw the starlight above his head, his face paled, and he impulsively ran away.


    The other six did the same. They either used a secret technique to strengthen themselves or chose to escape.


    While they were fleeing, Emperor Charm raised the heavy azure spear in his hand.


    Puff! Puff! Puff!


    Everyone saw the spear stab all seven of them at the same time.


    Such a killing method was powerful and overbearing, almost irresistible.


    The people of the Oneness Sky Palace felt desolate. They were like a group of helpless lambs, unable to do anything to Emperor Charm.


    Emperor Charm, who had killed the seven people, flew back up the sky once again. He held his azure spear indifferently and chose his next target.

 Chapter 3677 Fight Back

    In general, these warriors were powerful enough to dominate any province in the Source World.


    However, their lives were in Emperor Charm''s hands.


    "Buzz..."


    Another starlight descended and landed above the head of a bald man.


    The bald man was called Norbert Chen, a close friend of the Ivory Mountain''s leader.


    His eyes were still bloodshot as he hadn''t recovered from having watched Emperor Charm kill the mountain leader.


    Now that the starlight fell above his head, the veins in his temples popped out and he roared, "This winged demon is attacking our Oneness Sky Palace! I will try my best to fight him!"


    "Whoosh!"


    Then, he stomped his feet in the air, which distorted the space beneath him.


    His Other Shore Token appeared on his right hand. It was a tiger-shaped gauntlet.


    "Buzz!"


    He rushed towards Emperor Charm as the tiger''s eyes on his gauntlet turned red, and an immense power gathered within it.


    His Other Shore Token was of strengthening type, which came from Stage Thirty-two of the Other Shore.


    However, he had more than one Other Shore Token!


    Aside from his tiger-shaped gauntlet, he also had another Other Shore Token in the form of a palm-sized wooden compass. He released the compass, and its needle began to spin like mad.


    "Crack! Crack! Crack..."


    In turn, Emperor Charm arched his brows at the sight of the compass.


    Norbert Chen''s tiger-shaped gauntlet was an ordinary Other Shore Token. Although it came from Stage Thirty-two of the Other Shore, it could only release a power of fifty thousand divine megatons.


    On the other hand, the wooden compass was much more powerful!


    It was made of withered wood. Three compasses were discovered in Stage Thirty-two of the Other Shore, but nobody knew who made them. Someone had guessed that the Instant Civilization had deliberately left the compasses behind as a malicious joke for the next generations.


    The compass had three scales, and the first scale read ''one''. If the compass'' needle was pointed to one, the power the owner released wouldn''t change at all.


    The second scale was zero. If the needle was pointed to zero, the power would return to zero, no matter how strong it was.


    The third scale was three hundred!


    If the compass'' needle was turned to three hundred, the power the owner exerted would be multiplied by three hundred times!


    In other words, Norbert Chen could unleash a terrifying power of three million di


    e power was terrifying, Emperor Charm still had an indifferent expression on his face.


    "No matter how powerful his strength is, it is useless if he fails to hit the target."


    Just as the tiger-shaped fist shadow approached Emperor Charm, Emperor Charm''s body once again turned into fist-sized squares.


    The Sun Crow race was good at flames and space. This destructive punch was indeed unable to hit Emperor Charm.


    But just as Emperor Charm was about to leave, two more people appeared not far away from him.


    One of them grabbed a leaf.


    That leaf turned out to be the Grand Hidden Leaf!


    Under the leaf''s cover, even a powerful and agile man like Emperor Charm didn''t notice that the two of them had approached him.


    The other man had a small black snake in his hand.


    The little snake was a creature from Stage Thirty-one of the Other Shore. The man and the snake had been together for so many years, and they shared a very deep relationship. He had even found a woman''s body for the black snake, taught her to read and speak, and even married her.


    At this moment of life and death, he and the little snake chose to fight until their end.


    "Splash..."


    The little snake''s whole body burned hotly, and then it quickly bit Emperor Charm.


    Emperor Charm had planned to use the space theurgy to leave, but the little snake bit him, and the bite paralyzed his body. The space theurgy didn''t work anymore, and the blue squares disappeared one by one.


    Almost all the powerful warriors at present were top masters who had crossed Stage Thirty-two of the Other Shore. Thus, how could he kill them all at will?

 Chapter 3678 Duplicating Gemstone

    The tiger-shaped fist shadow zoomed and quickly rushed towards Emperor Charm. Because of the immense force, the surrounding space was constantly twisted and broken, forming a curved "bubble".


    As the "bubble" approached quickly, a worried expression finally took form in Emperor Charm''s face. He squinted his eyes and clenched his fists, as if anticipating the incoming danger.


    He knew if this punch hit him, he would surely be smashed to pieces!


    The light in his eyes flickered and he tried to forcibly teleport away. However, those small squares disappeared as soon as they appeared. After being bitten by the black snake, he had lost the ability to escape!


    This was how the battle between the strong was like.


    No matter how powerful a warrior was in the Source World, they would still have setbacks if they were to encounter some special abilities. And indeed, Emperor Charm was in the middle of this situation.


    If the "Heart of Accomplice" hadn''t been used to kill Ware before, Emperor Charm would have been dead by now.


    In the same way, Emperor Charm''s Starlight Tracking Spear was also a very special killing weapon. This spear could only kill the people who were targeted by the Starlight Witness, and anyone who was targeted would be killed in one strike. That was how the Starlight Tracking Spear had directly killed the leaders of the several mountains before they could even react!


    But now, ironically, Emperor Charm was facing the same problem. The two warriors from the Ivory Mountain got close to him in a strange way, as if sneaking up to him. And then, one of them used the little black snake to bite him. Emperor Charm couldn''t figure out the ability of the little black snake, so he couldn''t break free from it. In addition to his already difficult and painful situation, with the powerful punch from Norbert, he was bound to die.


    Pearce, Auden and the others of the Oneness Sky Palace looked expectant. Of course, it would be great if Emperor Charm would be killed by this blow! A smirk was visible on their faces and their eyes were gleaming and hopeful.


    A trace of anxiety appeared on Emperor Charm''s face. As he gritted his teeth, a small gemstone suddenly appeared from the spot between his eyebrows. This gemstone was also an Other Shore Token. After it appeared, it shot upwards.


    Just after the small gemstone left him, the tiger-shaped fist shadow had already approached him and hit his body head-on.


    Crack! Crack! Crack...


    The eighteen million divine megatons of force was by no means something a physical body could resist.


    Under the gaze of everyone around, Emperor Charm turned into a cloud of dust and quickly dissipated. The tiger-shaped fist shadow continued to fluctuate diagonally upwards, shooting into the distance.


    There were gasp


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    Theurgy.


    If it weren''t for the fact that he needed to help Divine Farmer and Yellow Thearch, he wouldn''t have used the Nine-Sun World Destruction Theurgy, nor would he encounter such a strange thing.


    However, Zen had successfully aroused his interest. Emperor Charm gave out a small smile and felt a bit excited.


    Of course, he didn''t want to kill Zen this easily. On the one hand, he wanted to know what Zen had relied on to shoot down his suns. On the other hand, the group of golden red Chaotic Source Spirits was still in Zen''s hands.


    Just as Emperor Charm was choosing the next group of targets to kill, Pearce moved his lips slightly and began to communicate with the powerful warriors of the Oneness Sky Palace through life vitality.


    Although Emperor Charm was undeniably powerful, he had his own weakness.


    Moreover, it was impossible, and of course, illogical for these people from the Oneness Sky Palace to wait to be slaughtered like lambs.


    After a short discussion, Pearce''s face suddenly looked determined. His expression was hard and his eyes were serious and sharp. He suddenly flew at Emperor Charm who was up in the air.


    Whoosh! The air blew as Pearce''s body ascended.


    Led by Pearce, the other powerful warriors of the Oneness Sky Palace also flew following him.


    If it was only one or two powerful warriors that came to fight him, Emperor Charm would not be afraid.


    But now that most of the people were rushing towards him, he naturally needed to act with caution.


    "A desperate struggle?"


    Disdain appeared on Emperor Charm''s face. Just as he was about to fight them, the members of the Sun Crow race also came flying straight for him.


    Zen couldn''t bear to see the strong warriors of the Oneness Sky Palace face Emperor Charm alone, so he gave the order to the members of the Sun Crow race to attack him together.

 Chapter 3679 Solution

    As Pearce rushed at Emperor Charm, he ordered his men to remove the Cage of Heaven and Earth.


    The cage was only capable of trapping the members of the Bearing race, and would be ineffective against Emperor Charm. In fact, it restricted the activities of their own people.


    It was Pearce''s first encounter with the Starlight Tracking Spear and although he did not know its origin, he kept guessing at it.


    No matter how powerful an Other Shore Token was, there was always a way to destroy it!


    The Starlight Tracking Spear was no doubt intimidating, but there should be some rules contained within it. If he could figure out the rules, he could definitely break the spear.


    Judging by the way Emperor Charm used it, it seemed he could only attack those whose heads were covered by the starlight.


    So if one could avoid the starlight, one would avoid Emperor Charm''s attack too.


    "Buzz..."


    With the sudden tremor of the space, the Cage of Heaven and Earth was removed.


    Pearce was well prepared, disappearing the second the cage was lifted. He then reappeared behind Emperor Charm, faster than the eye could see.


    Emperor Charm hadn''t expected the cage to be removed so suddenly. He was even more surprised at Pearce''s bold head-on attack!


    He had forgotten...


    that the powerful warriors following Eastern Emperor Taiyi were hardened from hundreds of battles. The fear of death didn''t even make them flinch.


    "Equinox Flower, bloom!"


    A huge red flower emerged above Pearce''s head in full bloom, shimmering beautifully!


    "Emperor Charm, this is where you''ll stay for the time being,"


    Pearce said as a space illusion enveloped Emperor Charm, trapping him inside.


    Playing a trick of space on Emperor Charm was like juggling before a king. He had little difficulty avoiding the Cage of Heaven and Earth, so this illusory space he was now in wouldn''t be tough to handle.


    Small squares appeared on the surface of his body, and he quickly shuttled through the illusory space.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh...


    There were lights and shadows of different colors all over. Red, white, black, yellow, green, blue and purple were spread throughout as if countless dye tanks had burst and spilled into space.


    He traveled through but could not find a way out!


    The powerful warriors in the sky gathered around Pearce when Emperor Charm had been trapped.


    They could not see E


    peared on the backs of Rigoberto, Atticus and four other warriors.


    Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff!


    The spear pierced through the six of them.


    Five of the six shadowy figures of Emperor Charm that stood behind them disappeared in the blink of an eye, save for the one behind Rigoberto. With a gentle flap of his wings, innumerable little squares appeared on his body and he disappeared instantaneously. The next moment, he appeared in the sky once more.


    He had used the power of the Starlight Tracking Spear to escape the Equinox Flower, hiding behind one of six warriors as protection from any attack. Naturally, he had escaped quite easily after that.


    He looked down at Pearce and said condescendingly, "What a childish and ridiculous game..."


    As he spoke, he noticed a strange look on Pearce''s face. Before he could finish his words, six threads suddenly emerged from his body with figures at the end of them, figures of the six he had just killed. They now looked cold and lifeless like zombies at the end of the strings.


    Earlier, Emperor Charm had exerted six rays of Starlight Witness on those including Rigoberto, Atticus and the other four warriors.


    Pearce had been thinking of a solution to counter his skill this whole time.


    Emperor Charm could come and go freely in the space. Even if he could trap him in the Equinox Flower, it could not imprison him permanently. It was almost impossible to seize him and attack.


    In the end, he was left with no choice but to try to make some headway in this fight through the sacrifice of Rigoberto, Atticus and the other four.

 Chapter 3680 Siege

    Pearce wasn''t familiar with the exact abilities of every powerful warrior from other six mountains.


    After all, some warriors chose to hide their Other Shore Tokens after they obtained them, so they could use them to take their opponents by surprise.


    Having asked everyone about it through life vitality, he ended up turning to Master Hai.


    Ever since Master Hai had fled to the Oneness Sky Palace and had been stationed in the Dragon City, he hadn''t been in a single fight.


    However, Master Hai had once fused with an Other Shore Token of Stage Thirty-two -- a thumb sized worm, which was known as the Corpse Weaver.


    This tiny worm''s ability was to creep into the body of a person who had just died, triggering a very unique effect: the corpse would come to life, in another form, and could attack the person who had just killed them.


    Corpse Weavers were suitable for creating Latent Theurgies. However, Master Hai hadn''t used this Other Shore Token ever since he fled to the Oneness Sky Palace.


    Nevertheless, given the current circumstances, Pearce decided Master Hai needed to take action.


    The ability of the Corpse Weaver could only be activated after someone died, which meant that someone among the warriors at present must be killed for them to catch Emperor Charm.


    As all those warriors were afraid of death, they could only hope that Emperor Charm would break through the last layer of the Equinox Flower in the way they had anticipated.


    However, Emperor Charm still ended up using the Starlight Tracking Spear to break out of the Equinox Flower, and at the time he was out, the six rays of Starlight Witness had already hung above the heads of six warriors.


    Their initial plan was then rendered useless and the Corpse Weaver was activated.


    Looking sadly at the six corpses before him, Master Hai shook his head slightly.


    In such a short period of time, dozens of warriors of the Oneness Sky Palace had been killed. Even the leaders of the four mountains had been killed by Emperor Charm. It was indeed heartbreaking.


    Although the six corpses moved a bit stiffly, they were incredibly fast.


    The second they came to life, they pounced on Emperor Charm.


    Emperor Charm glanced at them indifferently. As the corpses approached him, he abruptly twisted his body, his vast white wings as sharp as two blades.


    Crack, crack


    him!"


    The voice came from a young man in black from the Bright Mountain. As he spoke, a black cross appeared above his head. Brandishing two swords, he launched himself towards Emperor Charm.


    Swish! Swish!


    The two rays of sword radiance crisscrossed, aiming Emperor Charm at its center.


    "Puff! Puff!"


    When the two rays of sword radiance hit Emperor Charm, thin lines appeared on his pure, white wings. Then, blood seeped out from the lines.


    "He''s injured!" the young man in black cried out excitedly.


    Usually, it wasn''t a big deal for the powerful warriors of the Oneness Sky Palace or Emperor Charm to be slightly injured.


    However, if a warrior at the Chaotic Source Realm was injured, it usually meant that the Chaotic Source Spirits inside them were fatigued. And once the Chaotic Source Spirits did not work, the defensive power of Emperor Charm would greatly decrease!


    Just as the young man in black finished his attack, a golden arrow shot out from behind him, whizzing straight towards Emperor Charm.


    Boom!


    The arrow exploded, and rays of golden light shot out in all directions, piercing through Emperor Charm''s dazzling wings. The archer, a strong warrior from the Bright Mountain, smiled in satisfaction when he saw his attack had also injured Emperor Charm.


    "And me!"


    Another series of sword radiance slashed at him with a whistling sound.


    Emperor Charm had killed the leaders of the four mountains. The strong warriors of these mountains hated him to the core. Everyone wanted a chance to strike him, to avenge the fallen.

 Chapter 3681 Borrowing

    The warriors from the four mountains weren''t the only ones eager to strike Emperor Charm.


    Even Auden and the others launched their attacks simultaneously.


    Boom! Boom!


    The attacks kept coming nonstop. As powerful as he was, Emperor Charm couldn''t take these attacks head on.


    His body flashed as small squares appeared on its surface. He tried to teleport once more, dragging the six corpses along.


    However, he could never get far; the corpses were truly weighing him down. No matter where he tried to flee, the warriors of the Oneness Sky Palace found him and attacked.


    After circling the sky a few more times, Emperor Charm finally realized it''d be impossible for him to evade all these attacks, not with the six corpses he was dragging. His patience running thin, he suddenly roared furiously. Then, a crack appeared between his eyebrows.


    A blue eyeball peeked from beneath the crack. Obviously, this eyeball was some kind of Other Shore Token.


    For warriors at Emperor Charm''s level, they would only merge with the rarest and most precious Other Shore Tokens. The warriors who had been attacking him so fiercely just now hesitated slightly, not knowing what this Other Shore Token could do.


    Swish!


    The blue eyeball emerged from the crack and floated in front of Emperor Charm.


    "Lend me your Other Shore Token," said Emperor Charm.


    From millions of miles away, identical blue eyeballs appeared on the foreheads of the Divine Farmer, the Yellow Thearch, and Mahoney, the leader of the New Moon race.


    "I thought you said this''d be a piece of cake. Did I overestimate you?" Yellow Thearch teased.


    "Cut the crap," Emperor Charm snapped coldly.


    Indeed, he had thought that, with the help of the Starlight Tracking Spear, killing these people should''ve been easy. He never expected he''d fall into such an embarrassing situation.


    He had been so pushed into a corner that he was forced to use the Duplicating Gemstone, which could only be used once. To make things even worse, he had to ask for help from these fellows!


    "Whose Other Shore Token do you want? Divine Farmer''s or mine?" Yellow Thearch asked.


    "I want Mahoney''s!" Emperor Charm exclaimed impatiently.


    Yellow Thearch raised a brow in astonishment. "What on earth are you up against?"


    On the other hand, Mahoney responded calmly. Summoning her Other Shore Token, Mahoney reached out her hand and gently pressed her forehead.


    Both the eyeball on her forehead and the one in front of Emperor Charm flashed blue s


    ead slightly, a corpse was pulled backward. With a heavy crack, it smashed into the burly man''s back. Staggering forward, the burly man was thrown off balance. Emperor Charm dodged the sword with ease, and turned to kick the burly man on the back.


    "Go to hell!"


    Whoosh!


    The man fell from the sky like a meteor and smashed into the Supreme Dragon Hall.


    Emperor Charm''s kick had released tens of thousands of divine megatons of force.


    The Supreme Dragon Hall collapsed with a loud bang at the impact.


    In the center of the hall, Eastern Emperor Taiyi sat cross-legged with his eyes closed. He was still trapped on the Other Shore.


    Seeing that the Supreme Dragon Hall was destroyed, the expressions of the warriors of the Oneness Sky Palace all fell.


    "Go and protect Eastern Emperor Taiyi!"


    "We can''t let him approach the Supreme Dragon Hall anymore!"


    "Stop him!"


    Chaos erupted among the warriors of the Oneness Sky Palace while Emperor Charm looked down at them from the sky.


    He stared quietly at the figure of Eastern Emperor Taiyi.


    Once upon a time, they were like blood brothers. However, in the end, they turned against each other and went along different paths.


    And now, it was finally the time for him to end his life...


    Originally, Emperor Charm planned to kill all the remaining warriors of the Oneness Sky Palace before facing Eastern Emperor Taiyi. However, at this moment, he suddenly felt that there was no need to go about it the hard way.


    Whoosh!


    Taking a step forward, countless blue squares enveloped him, swallowing him into space.


    In the blink of an eye, Emperor Charm landed in front of the cross-legged figure.

 Chapter 3682 A Giant Bird

    How could so many powerful warriors of the Oneness Sky Palace let Emperor Charm approach Eastern Emperor Taiyi?


    The powerful warriors, who still had the strength to fight, instantly acted. Emperor Charm was shuttling through the space, and they couldn''t capture him, so they all shifted their target and immediately pounced on those corpses.


    Pearce and Auden also joined them.


    These powerful warriors grabbed the corpses and dragged them to the opposite direction. The Other Shore Power they emitted formed a joint force that couldn''t be underestimated.


    As a result, Emperor Charm''s attacking momentum was forcefully stopped.


    "Buzz..."


    Emperor Charm showed up from the void and looked back at the people holding the corpses behind him. There was a glint of killing intent in his eyes. He turned back swiftly and crashed into the nearest person.


    "Bang, bang, bang..."


    Relying on Mahoney''s Other Shore Token, Emperor Charm was practically able to go on the rampage in hand-to-hand combat. With his wild, violent fighting method, four people who were dragging a corpse were sent flying by his attack in an instant.


    Without any pause, Emperor Charm went straight to another corpse


    Despite the fact that she was treating Elvinia on the ground below, Flamine''s attention to the situation above never decreased. Seeing that Emperor Charm was gradually gaining the upper hand, she became more and more anxious.


    She had exerted a lot of energy in this battle, so she was practically at the end of her tether now¡ªshe could do nothing to help.


    In her anxiety, she looked around. When her sight fell on Zen, an idea suddenly popped out in her mind. She said, "Zen, go and carry Eastern Emperor Taiyi on your back. Let''s escape together!"


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi was the core essence of the Oneness Sky Palace. If Eastern Emperor Taiyi died, the Oneness Sky Palace would really be done for.


    "Okay," Zen answered, nodding his head.


    Previously, Zen had told the members of the Sun Crow race to fight against Emperor Charm together. However, the Bearing race was watching the scene from the other side. When they saw that Emperor Charm gained the upper hand, they seemed to want to join the battle and help Emperor Charm.


    Zen sent some members of the Sun Crow race to stop Emperor Charm, while the rest was arranged by him to guard against the members of the Bearing race. At the very least, this arrangement should deter the Bearing race from acting rashly.


    Zen''s gaze fell on Lavender, Laquisha and Nelly.


    The situation was critical now. Even though they met again, Zen didn''t talk much with them. The three girls were quite considerate¡ªthey stayed in a cor


    ''s face turned deathly pale. With Elvinia on her back, she pounced over and tried to headbutt Hancock.


    Hancock didn''t take her seriously. He casually kicked her away and stabbed the scarlet dagger towards Eastern Emperor Taiyi for the second time.


    "Ding!"


    A crisp sound once again rang. Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s Chaotic Source Spirits withstood this attack again.


    "As expected of Eastern Emperor Taiyi, you''ve managed to withstand my strikes twice only with the help of the Chaotic Source Spirits. Now, let me see if you can withstand my third strike!"


    As he spoke, Hancock raised his scarlet dagger again.


    At this moment, the weak Elvinia opened her eyes.


    Just now, Flamine had spent quite a while in treating Elvinia''s injuries so that her Soul of Light was gradually stabilized.


    The moment Elvinia opened her eyes, she saw Hancock holding a dagger and trying to stab Eastern Emperor Taiyi with it. Despite her being still a little dazed, an unknown power burst inside her, and she directly pounced on Hancock.


    When Hancock saw Elvinia rushed to him, his eyes glinted. Without thinking too much, he raised his dagger and swung it towards Elvinia.


    "Puff!"


    The dagger pierced into Elvinia''s neck. Blood spurted from her fair neck, and her head drooped to the side


    "Elvinia!"


    Flamine let out a shrill scream.


    On the other hand, Zen also appeared from the space channel. When he saw this scene, fury blazed in his eyes.


    However, Hancock nonchalantly threw Elvinia to the side. He raised his scarlet dagger, intending to stab Eastern Emperor Taiyi again.


    But right at this moment, the shadow of a giant bird suddenly appeared above Elvinia''s head.


    Along with the appearance of the shadow, a loud chirp that drew everyone''s attention echoed around.

 Chapter 3683 Kill With Poison

    When Zen saw the huge shadow of the bird, he was stunned for a brief moment, but then a look of ecstasy soon appeared on his face.


    "The Three-eyed Dragon Sparrow!"


    It was the highest level treasure of the Star Falcon race. Zen clearly remembered giving this Other Shore Token to Elvinia before.


    Flamine continued to grieve as she sat on the ground. A puzzled look was visible on her face as she witnessed the sudden appearance of the huge bird.


    Meanwhile, Hancock also looked surprised. ''Where did it come from? Am I the one who attracted it?'' he thought.


    They knew that it wasn''t just any ordinary sparrow. Its aura was extremely strong, which definitely meant that it wasn''t an ordinary Other Shore creature.


    Swoosh!


    Before Hancock could react, the Three-eyed Dragon Sparrow already flew towards him and tried to peck his head.


    The sparrow flew back and forth and attacked without ceasing.


    In its first few attacks, Hancock was easily protected by the Chaotic Source Spirits. However, with the sparrow''s last peck, the Chaotic Source Spirits were finally exhausted. The sparrow''s long beak was able to break through and inflict a deep gash on his chest, which eventually bled profusely.


    The Three-eyed Dragon Sparrow was such a savage creature that it treated Hancock like an earthworm. It was pretty determined to strike him until he became its meal.


    However, Hancock was a pretty strong warrior who had reached Stage Thirty-two. There was no way that he would just stand by and become the sparrow''s snack.


    After he came to his senses, his face was quickly filled with anger as he readied for a counterattack. When he drew close enough, he used his blood-red dagger to slash the neck of the Three-eyed Dragon Sparrow.


    Shing! Shing! Shing!


    Though his dagger was very sharp, the defenses of the huge sparrow were not to be underestimated. Ultimately, the dagger only left a few scratches on the sparrow''s body.


    "What the hell? Why can''t I kill it?" Hancock was so annoyed that the sparrow was giving him a hard time.


    He then changed his approach and attacked it with his fist.


    Crash!


    The Three-eyed Dragon Sparrow was knocked back by the impact of Hancock''s massive punch.


    The sparrow was a sixth-grade Other Shore Token from Stage Fourteen, but it didn''t contain an endless amount of power like the Civilization Artifact. As the top treasure of the Star Falcon race, it could easily deal with ordinary Chaotic Source Realm warriors. Unfortunately, its pro


    his chest with his arms.


    Boom!


    He took a direct hit from Hancock and was sent flying backward.


    When the power of tens of thousands of divine megatons smashed into his body, Zen felt his blood surge up that he almost suffocated.


    However, as he flew backward, a smile appeared at the corners of his lips.


    Noticing the weird smile on Zen''s face, Hancock couldn''t help but wonder inwardly, ''Is this guy insane? How could he still smile when he is getting a beating? Even if he isn''t killed by that strike, I''m sure that he will be at least half-dead.''


    However, there was one thing that Hancock didn''t put into consideration.


    He ignored the change in the structure of Zen''s body.


    When Zen executed his sneak attack earlier, he quickly placed his tail at Hancock''s nape. Before he was blasted off by Hancock, Zen''s tail managed to pierce through his nape.


    Much earlier, the Three-eyed Dragon Sparrow was able to exhaust all of Hancock''s Chaotic Source Spirits due to its ceaseless attacks. Therefore, without the safeguarding of the spirits, Zen was able to penetrate the back of Hancock''s neck.


    It was too late when Hancock noticed what Zen did.


    Immediately after, Hancock''s body trembled and his vision became blurry. He reached the back of his neck with his wobbly hand and felt a trace of a tiny bloodstain. He looked at Zen in disbelief as his body continued to lose balance.


    "What poison did you¡ª" Before he could finish his sentence, his body dropped to the ground with a flop.


    The same moment that he fell, the Three-eyed Dragon Sparrow hurriedly swooped down and swallowed him whole. It spread its wings and flew towards Elvinia.

 Chapter 3684 Possessing The Body

    The Three-eyed Dragon Sparrow flew over and tried to catch Elvinia in its mouth.


    The sight shocked Flamine but she chose to stand her ground and not do anything yet.


    Zen''s reminder echoed in her mind as she remembered the treasure held by the Star Falcon race of Stage Fourteen of the Other Shore.


    She was still a member of the Sun Crow race when she heard about the Three-eyed Dragon Sparrow. She had only heard of it back then but now, it was right in front of her.


    After it completely swallowed Elvinia, the Three-eyed Dragon Sparrow bent down low and crawled on the ground.


    In just a few short moments, it let out a long, shrill cry as it beat its wings wildly and leaped.


    A giant egg was left from where it once stood.


    "Crack! Crack! Crack..."


    There was a series of large cracks as the egg broke into pieces, revealing a very much alive Elvinia.


    With her appearance came the sharp roar of the Three-eyed Dragon Sparrow.


    "Pop!"


    One of its eyes had exploded, partially blinding the creature.


    From what Zen heard before, the Three-eyed Dragon Sparrow had the ability to save its master thrice. Each rescue would result in blinding one of its eyes.


    At the sight of the scene, Elvinia immediately understood what just happened. She died and used up one of the chances of salvation from the Three-eyed Dragon Sparrow.


    "Whoosh..."


    Now blinded on one eye, the Three-eyed Dragon Sparrow circled the air once before rushing down towards Elvinia and returning to the inner world that carried it.


    After Zen restored the sclerites in his body, he walked over towards Flamine who looked at him with a complicated expression.


    Hancock''s tolerance to poison was far beyond anyone''s imagination, but he instantly died after being stabbed by Zen''s ''tail''. Just what kind of horrifying poison did Zen carry?


    Flamine was about to ask when another violent fluctuation came from the sky.


    "Boom..."


    It was so loud, deafening even, and for a brief second, they thought the world had been shattered.


    Auden''s body came tumbling down from the sky and smashed onto the Oneness Mountain like a broken sandbag.


    "Rumble..."


    The impact caused the entire Oneness Mountain to shake violently.


    A crack appeared in the peak, running across the entire length of the mountain!


    The east side of the Oneness Mountain was relatively flat and faced the Dragon City, while t


    hysical body, then his strength could be used, right?" he asked.


    Both Houyi and the real Emperor Charm remained beside him and hadn''t yet returned to the Civilization Artifact. There was no way they were going to miss what was happening outside.


    Houyi was the first one to speak. "You want our souls to possess his body?"


    Emperor Charm shook his head. "As a supreme master, Eastern Emperor Taiyi surely has a powerful secret weapon to protect him. It won''t be easy for us to control him with the energy soul."


    Zen considered their inputs for a moment. "What about letting the real Eastern Emperor Taiyi try?" he asked.


    In theory, the two Eastern Emperor Taiyis were the same person. This one in front of them was only a replica projected to this round of chaos.


    Emperor Charm''s and Houyi''s eyes flashed upon hearing Zen''s suggestion.


    Nobody in history had ever done such a thing, so naturally they needed to try it for themselves.


    In no time at all, a third figure appeared above Zen''s head, none other than Eastern Emperor Taiyi!


    Flamine''s eyes widened upon the sight. This Eastern Emperor Taiyi felt so familiar yet also so strange to her.


    Elvinia had seen this person in the Creation Myth Temple but was still stunned for a brief moment. Her heart thumped upon the realization of what Zen intended to do.


    "Lady Flamine, do you mind letting us use Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s body for the time being?" Zen asked. Flamine gaped at Zen.


    She had no idea what the man intended to do.


    However, since they were already in such a tight situation, anything was worth trying.

 Chapter 3685 Eastern Emperor Taiyis Energy Soul

    Flamine and Elvinia saw the energy soul of Eastern Emperor Taiyi as it went straight to his head.


    "Eastern Emperor Taiyi owns a special soul pendant. This strand of soul..." said Flamine, but she trailed off in hesitation.


    With the protection of the soul pendant, no one could snatch Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s body shell. The energy soul released by Zen would probably be instantly recognized by the soul pendant and then annihilated.


    However, this energy soul was a strand of the soul of Eastern Emperor Taiyi himself, though it gave off a strange aura.


    While Flamine was worried, the energy soul entered Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s body without a hitch. Within a few seconds, his eyelids trembled and he opened his eyes.


    His eyes shone brightly, as if stars were within them.


    Flamine gave a hard look at Eastern Emperor Taiyi. She couldn''t stop blinking in disbelief that he had woken up.


    "Your Majesty..."


    Flamine couldn''t help but grab onto him, feeling him to make sure he was real and alive.


    Embarrassed on behalf of Flamine, Elvinia pulled her back and said, "Mother, that is not my father."


    From her experience on the Other Shore, she knew the truth.


    However, she had no clue whether the man before them was the real Eastern Emperor Taiyi or not. After all, both the soul and the body belonged to Eastern Emperor Taiyi, though one was real and the other was a clone. She couldn''t help but still be puzzled.


    "It''s impossible," said Flamine, shaking her head.


    If the body shell of Eastern Emperor Taiyi had really been snatched, his aura wouldn''t be as familiar as it was right now. Because of this, she stuck to her judgment and decided that Zen probably woke up Eastern Emperor Taiyi by some means.


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi took a look at Flamine and then turned towards Elvinia. He gave her a warm smile as he said, "We meet again. Is this your mother?"


    "Yes," Elvinia replied with a nod. "She seems to have mistaken you for my father."


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi nodded back and looked at Flamine. "I am indeed Eastern Emperor Taiyi, but not the one you knew. He was a seed I sowed in the chaos."


    "A seed?" Flamine gasped, not knowing what was going on.


    Seeing the confusion of her mother, Elvinia continued to explain, "The real Eastern Emperor Taiyi


    Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.


    To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.


    "As long as I''m alive, I''m still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."


    She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.


    Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.


    The Equinox Flowers were not as effective as the one that had trapped Emperor Charm before, but they were still capable of absorbing everything through the space theurgy. As the fire snakes spat out flames, the flowers absorbed them and they disappeared without a trace.


    "Haha..."


    Seeing the helpless thing Pearce did, Emperor Charm couldn''t help but let out a chuckle.


    As more flames were thrown at the flowers, they rose into flames and the inner spaces were burned through and through.


    Phew! Phew!


    All of a sudden, the blazing divine flames spread out and made their way towards one of the men, instantly burning him to ashes.


    Though Pearce was not one to give up, he had to act smartly. He finally let go of the corpse, and the others followed suit. Pearce continued to move, but shook his head in disbelief. They had failed.


    While the group retreated, the once indestructible corpses collapsed and were burnt to a crisp.


    Just then, Pearce descended from the sky and landed on a huge stone, kneeling and facing down.


    Crack!


    As soon as his kneel made contact with the stone, it disintegrated into powder.


    In fact, the direction to which he knelt was the Phoenix Palace.


    For countless years, he had been working for Eastern Emperor Taiyi with much loyalty and perseverance. He couldn''t help but be consumed by disappointment due to the fact that he wasn''t able to protect him.


    After kowtowing, he continued to ascend back into the sky. At this point, all he could do was fight with his life.

 Chapter 3686 The Fake Eastern Emperor Taiyi

    A gust of wind blew as Pearce jumped upwards. His hand shook violently, and the back of his palm up to his arm burst into cracks.


    "Puff!"


    Blood gushed from the cracks and spread out until it turned into a handful of blood mist.


    He gently brushed the blood mist in his hand, and then a long sword condensed from the mist.


    "God-detaining Sword!"


    The moment he pulled out his sword, the area around him shook again, and another handful of blood mist bloomed. He stretched out his hand, and a second sword was condensed from the blood mist.


    "Diabolic Sword!"


    "Crane Sword!"


    More blood mist spurted out from his arm and condensed another long sword. Afterwards, more than ten long swords floated beside him.


    "Unite!"


    As soon as Pearce uttered the word, all the swords piled up to form one sword and the aura of the sword became stronger.


    "Demon-annihilating Hand!"


    Just then, he brought out another Other Shore Token.


    It was a black ghost hand with jagged skin and sharp nails.


    The black ghost hand quickly replaced Pearce''s original hand and fitted itself over his forearm like a glove.


    Then, he grabbed the sword and disappeared in a flash.


    "Whoosh!"


    In the next second, he appeared behind Emperor Charm. He wasted no time and immediately swung his long sword, slashing towards Emperor Charm.


    "Crack!"


    As a descending type of Other Shore Token, the ghost hand had also released many divine megatons of power.


    Furthermore, the sword strike was especially forceful because Pearce forged his sword with the blood essence.


    But as soon as the sword slashed down, the corners of Emperor Charm''s mouth curved slightly. Suddenly, he grabbed one of the ghost hand''s fingers, lifted it, and sent Pearce rolling in the air.


    "Bang!"


    Pearce flew up high in the sky, and then landed on the ground not far away from Zen with a heavy thud.


    He had consumed too much of his blood essence already. He almost collapsed after he fell, but there wasn''t much blood that flowed from his wound. His face was even as white as a sheet.


    ''I... I''ve tried my best...''


    Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind.


    If there was still anything he could do to change the situation, that would be burning the Other Shore Token.


    However, burning the Other Shore Token was a taboo for many people in this world. Even if h


    licked the Purple Rainbow Sword.


    "Ding!"


    When the sound turned harsh, Emperor Charm felt as if his heart exploded. Then, he was in a trance.


    "Whoosh..."


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi swiftly took advantage of this opportunity. He raised his sword and stabbed Emperor Charm!


    By the time Emperor Charm had regained consciousness, the tip of the sword had almost reached his chest. However, his expression changed. He barely dodged the stab, turned into countless blue squares and quickly disappeared.


    Emperor Charm appeared not far away and stared at Eastern Emperor Taiyi with his cold eyes. "Where did you learn the small trick?" he asked.


    In turn, Eastern Emperor Taiyi held the Purple Rainbow Sword and said with a faint smile, "Someone almost died due to such a small trick..."


    Now, not only Emperor Charm but also Pearce who lay motionless on the ground, Auden, and the others, understood that this person was not the Eastern Emperor Taiyi they knew!


    After all, Eastern Emperor Taiyi regarded himself as a decent swordsman after he had founded the Oneness Sky Palace. He was honest and upright in his ways. He would never cultivate such a skill.


    As for how this person had easily possessed Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s body shell, they couldn''t understand either.


    Still, Eastern Emperor Taiyi didn''t care about the others'' stares at all.


    It wasn''t easy for him to attain his freedom. Besides, he just wanted to apply what he had deduced for so many years, especially because the Other Shore''s environment was still very different from the chaos.

 Chapter 3687 Golden Rune Swords

    Emperor Charm stared at Eastern Emperor Taiyi, his dark eyes expressing a strong killing intent.


    "Then I want to see what your little trick is capable of!"


    Swoosh!


    Emperor Charm stretched out his right hand, and the Starlight Tracking Spear appeared. He pointed his left hand at Eastern Emperor Taiyi, and then a beam of starlight fell and floated above the latter''s head.


    "Eastern Emperor Taiyi!"


    Pearce and the other powerful warriors of the Oneness Sky Palace immediately panicked at the sight of the starlight.


    They had witnessed how Emperor Charm had used the Starlight Tracking Spear to kill many powerful warriors of the Oneness Sky Palace. Of course, they didn''t want Eastern Emperor Taiyi to end up the same.


    However, they didn''t have time to warn him. The Starlight Tracking Spear had already marked him.


    Meanwhile, Emperor Charm lifted his spear and disappeared.


    At that moment, Eastern Emperor Taiyi seemed to be still looking at the starlight above his head and thinking of a solution.


    As soon as Emperor Charm vanished, Eastern Emperor Taiyi rushed towards the front of the mountain wall with the Starlight Witness.


    Buzz!


    Just then, Emperor Charm appeared again and stabbed forward with his spear.


    With his strength, Eastern Emperor Taiyi would never be able to avoid an attack launched behind him. Moreover, this Eastern Emperor Taiyi was just a fake one.


    Crack!


    ''Did I stab him?'' Emperor Charm thought.


    But he quickly felt that something was wrong. He didn''t feel like he had stabbed Eastern Emperor Taiyi. He looked into the distance and was shocked at what he saw.


    In front of him was a huge mountain wall, and his spear had bored a huge hole on its surface.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    There was already a crack on the Oneness Mountain that continuously expanded. Now that a spear had struck it again, the crack extended even more. There was a rumbling sound, which meant that the mountain could collapse.


    "How did he dodge my attack?"


    Emperor Charm pulled out the Starlight Tracking Spear and looked at Eastern Emperor Taiyi above in disbelief.


    Even the real Eastern Emperor Taiyi couldn''t avoid the attack of the Starlight Tracking Spear. How did this fake dodge it so quickly?


    "You..."


    The moment Emperor Charm opened his mouth, Eastern Emperor Taiyi shook his finger at him and said lightly, "The mark can be moved away. Your starlight is just a mark!"


    Emperor Charm stared at Eastern Emperor Taiyi with doubt. Suddenly, he raised the Starlight Tracking Spear and charged again.


    Crack!


    A second strike h


    six hundred and sixty thousand feet long, but after he forged it with a secret technique, he had shortened its length to six feet and six inches. Now, it had returned to its original size.


    At that point, Emperor Charm had completely lost his patience. His wings shook, and a scorching sun appeared behind him as he flew towards Eastern Emperor Taiyi.


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi slowly took a step back. The space around him quietly fluctuated, and he moved to a higher height.


    The war between the Wild Gods would easily hurt the innocent. He didn''t want to involve Zen in the battle.


    After Emperor Charm missed his target, numerous blue squares emerged from his huge body, and he began to chase Eastern Emperor Taiyi.


    Just as he caught up to his opponent, a huge golden sword shadow appeared in the sky.


    The shadow was so big that it almost covered the dome above the Bloom Divine Province.


    Buzz!


    The shadow spun to the side and turned into dozens of golden swords. Then, those swords blocked the sky above the Bloom Divine Province.


    The tens of millions of creatures in the Bloom Divine Province were bathed in the golden light.


    As for Flamine, Elvinia, and the others in the Phoenix Palace, they all covered their mouths when they saw the scene.


    It turned out that those were the Golden Rune Swords, which were activated by the bloodline power of Eastern Emperor Taiyi.


    In the past, when Eastern Emperor Taiyi had gone all out, he could only activate three Golden Rune Swords at most. Even then, such a move was still quite powerful, and the other powerful warriors in the Source World were very afraid of it.


    But now, the number of Golden Rune Swords in the sky was more than ten times bigger!

 Chapter 3688 One Chance

    Pearce, Auden and the others were shocked. They didn''t know what the truth was.


    Slowly, a smile crept on their faces as they watched the golden sword radiance light up the sky.


    "His Majesty has grown stronger on the Other Shore!"


    "Has His Majesty obtained an Other Shore Token that can strengthen the power of his bloodline?"


    "These are Golden Rune Swords... This hasn''t been used in ages, yet it''s still incredibly powerful. Unbelievable!"


    The Oneness Sky Palace was not a force made up of members from the same clan. Only those in the Phoenix Palace shared the same bloodline with Eastern Emperor Taiyi, which made his bloodline rare.


    Buzz...


    A huge vortex surrounded the Golden Rune Swords, as though energy was constantly being drawn towards its center.


    Zen watched the vortex as though in a trance. "Master Houyi, Emperor Charm," he suddenly said, "does that vortex connect somewhere outside the chaos?"


    Previously, Houyi and Emperor Charm had said that the energy in the chaos actually didn''t come from the chaos.


    However, the energy that was released was usually too little for people to find out this fact.


    In theory, if the energy was strong enough, a vortex would form, connecting to the outside of the chaos.


    Yet here it was, in the flesh. The power of the Golden Rune Swords was extremely terrifying.


    "Exactly!" Houyi answered excitedly.


    "Master Houyi, can your Sun Shooting Bow destroy these Golden Rune Swords?" Zen asked curiously.


    "Well..."


    Houyi hesitated. Just then, Emperor Charm smiled bitterly and answered for him. "Nonsense. He was just lucky enough in the past to have shot down my suns..."


    "Oh, I didn''t expect the vortex would be so different from those in the suns," Zen muttered.


    "It''s not like that," Emperor Charm said. "The energy has different types and comes from different sources. Thus, cutting off the different types of energy will require different methods."


    "In other words, there are ways similar to the Sun Shooting Bow that could be used to suppress the energy?" Zen raised his brow.


    Emperor Charm nodded. "Yes, among us, the one who has studied this the longest time is the Primeval Lord of Heaven. However, despite his wisdom and the countless years he has spent on the research in this field, he''s got nothing conclusive."


    "Exploring things outside the chaos from within the chaos is like trying to peep at a leopard using a pip


    y, Emperor Charm had no choice but to teleport again.


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi controlled the Golden Rune Swords easily with his mind.


    "If you were wise, you''d have escaped by now...


    But I know you won''t run away." Eastern Emperor Taiyi smiled wickedly.


    "You might''ve dodged my sword with the help of Grand Teleportation many times, but it''s only a matter of time before you tire yourself out."


    As Eastern Emperor Taiyi spoke, countless small squares suddenly materialized behind him.


    Emperor Charm''s eyes flashed with killing intent as he emerged, poised to land a sneak attack.


    However, Eastern Emperor Taiyi just laughed.


    A huge Golden Rune Sword dashed towards them from the sky, threatening to pierce straight through Emperor Charm''s head.


    Emperor Charm''s face fell. Flapping his wings desperately, he managed to narrowly dodge the golden light.


    But at that moment, another Golden Rune Sword came straight at him from behind!


    In a flash, Emperor Charm twisted his body to dodge that golden light by a hair.


    However, as soon as he recovered, another sword slashed towards him from the side.


    His expression darkened. There was no way he''d be able to dodge in time. He could only turn to protect his vital parts.


    Puff!


    Grunting, Emperor Charm realized the Golden Rune Sword cut off one of his arms and half of his wing.


    His arm was more than four hundred thousand feet long, and his wing was two million feet long. When they were cut off, they returned to their normal sizes and fell from the sky.


    Blood spurted from his wounds, raining all over the Bloom Divine Province.

 Chapter 3689 Traitor

    Emperor Charm''s body trembled as he stared at his wounds.


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi still stood with his hands behind his back, an indescribable sadness washing over him.


    He had read through all the memories of his clone after taking his body.


    The two emperors had once been as close as brothers, but had turned against each other in the end. The thought of it made Eastern Emperor Taiyi sigh.


    Splash! Splash!


    Blood dripped down from Emperor Charm''s body. Nobody dodged it, but instead looked up at the movements above them.


    "You are no match for me," Eastern Emperor Taiyi said calmly.


    If he was up against the real Emperor Charm, he might not come out on top, but compared to his clone, Eastern Emperor Taiyi was much more capable in terms of control of the blood and combat.


    The corners of Emperor Charm''s eyes twitched. He raised his hand and a huge flame began to condense into a long spear.


    He would not allow himself to fail, even if it cost him his life!


    But just as the enormous flame spear formed, a crack suddenly appeared between his eyebrows and an eyeball drilled through it.


    "Come back. You really are no match for him," said Yellow Thearch.


    The eyeball allowed them to not only share the Other Shore Tokens, but to observe and convey information to each other as well.


    When Emperor Charm and Eastern Emperor Taiyi fought, Yellow Thearch and Divine Farmer were watching.


    "Not only are you no match for him, but even I would meet the same fate as you if I faced him," said Divine Farmer.


    Their tones were rife with caution. It seemed they regarded Eastern Emperor Taiyi as quite a formidable foe.


    "Why?" Emperor Charm was not convinced. "He is not the real Eastern Emperor Taiyi. Why is he so powerful?"


    "He is indeed not the real Eastern Emperor Taiyi, but he might be another Eastern Emperor Taiyi," said Yellow Thearch.


    "Another Eastern Emperor Taiyi? What do you mean?" Emperor Charm asked as his heart sank.


    "Zen was able to deactivate your Nine-Sun Destruction Theurgy because someone called Houyi gave him a bow. There is another me, another Divine Farmer, and another Emperor Charm in this world."


    "What?" This news surprised Emperor Charm. "How could suc


    ct, we have sowed many seeds, but most of them haven''t survived. You are one of the lucky few, so are Yellow Thearch and Divine Farmer," the real Emperor Charm said with a smile. "I can ask their energy souls to show up."


    "No need." Emperor Charm waved his hand and continued, "But why are we on different paths? Why don''t we follow the same path as Eastern Emperor Taiyi, the Snake Goddess and Fuxi?"


    Emperor Charm felt wronged. Finding out he was a traitor hurt his heart and filled him with regret. But he had betrayed them unintentionally, so he blamed his real self for it.


    The real Emperor Charm sighed and said, "It didn''t all go according to plan. The Element Spirit race intervened, and we were trapped in Stage Thirty-three. We could do nothing to help. It was not until Zen opened the Creation Myth Temple and bore the Civilization Artifact that our energy souls were released."


    "Oh, I see. I took the wrong path," Emperor Charm said, lowering his eyes. "Then I can choose another path."


    While Emperor Charm asked these questions in the presence of Zen, Yellow Thearch and Divine Farmer listened intently in another area of the Source World. When they heard Emperor Charm say that he would choose another path, their demeanor shifted drastically.


    "Damn it!"


    The Element Spirit race had told them the truth because they were sure they would not dare to betray them.


    Betraying them now, at this critical moment, would lead to unimaginable consequences.

 Chapter 3690 Explosion

    Zen, Flamine, and the others were stunned.


    Emperor Charm was powerful and with this power came extreme determination and a strong will. Once he chose a path, he would doggedly stick to it even if he was wrong.


    But just a few words from the real Emperor Charm pushed him to change his mind.


    The real Emperor Charm was not surprised and remained calm as usual.


    Emperor Charm and the real Emperor Charm had similar personalities. The real Emperor Charm knew that his duplicate couldn''t accept deception and betrayal.


    Emperor Charm''s duplicate had once been the king of the Sun Crow race, and hadn''t considered his behaviors as betrayal. But things changed after the duplicate had discovered his identity.


    At the time, Emperor Charm''s duplicate had argued with Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s duplicate about which path they should choose. And now that he had finally proved his fault, he wasn''t about to accept anything else.


    "Of course, you can choose another path if you want," the real Emperor Charm said.


    Emperor Charm nodded.


    He was still interested in the bloodline power of the Sun Crow race.


    He also wanted to know what the human race and the real Emperor Charm were like in the past.


    But Emperor Charm had just nodded when the eyeball on his forehead suddenly flashed a triangular black light, and a strange cry rang out from it. "What''s the point if you''re willing to do that? You should also ask if we are willing to let you do it!"


    Emperor Charm looked worried at these words. "Who-who are you?" he stammered.


    The Element Spirit race had given this eyeball to Emperor Charm. But for a long time, Emperor Charm had always used it to communicate with the Yellow Thearch, the Divine Farmer and Mahoney, or to borrow Other Shore Tokens from them. But this scream was from none of them!


    "Who am I? Ha-ha!" The voice laughed but did not answer.


    "I know who you are."


    A figure appeared above Zen''s head once again. It was none other than the Primeval Lord of Heaven.


    When Zen had asked the energy souls of Emperor Charm, Houyi, and Eastern Emperor Taiyi for help, the Primeval Lord of Heaven had begun to pay attention to the outside world.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven had finally chosen to show up when the voice of the eyeball had sounded.


    omen of the Divine Lair.


    But her mood soured when she sensed Flamine''s sadness.


    It was truly pitiful for a leader of a super force to die in this way.


    The moment Emperor Charm died, everyone''s eyes fell back on Hancock and his companions.


    Hancock and his companions had wanted to escape in the beginning. But after Emperor Charm had launched an attack on the Bloom Divine Province, they had become unwilling to leave.


    When all the powerful warriors of the Oneness Sky Palace were killed, they would be able to search and snatch any treasures on the seven mountains. A super force had a very deep foundation and abundant resources after all.


    It never occurred to them that Emperor Charm could be no match for Eastern Emperor Taiyi.


    In this moment, they were thinking about whether Emperor Charm could run away along with them. With Emperor Charm''s strength and his control of the space theurgy, it would be easy for him to do it.


    But they hadn''t expected Emperor Charm to suddenly stop fighting and start a chat with them.


    Moments after, Emperor Charm even soared into the air and exploded.


    Hancock and the others were stunned and at this point, found it impossible to escape.


    The moment the eyeball on Emperor Charm''s forehead exploded, a violent vibration was transmitted to the foreheads of the Yellow Thearch, the Divine Farmer, and Mahoney in a different place in the Source World.


    They frantically tried to sense Emperor Charm''s eyeball, but the other side had fallen into darkness.

 Chapter 3691 The Minimum Spaces

    Yellow Thearch, Divine Farmer and Mahoney looked at each other in silence.


    They had expected the Element Spirit race to punish Emperor Charm, but they hadn''t expected it to be done by such violent means.


    He had only exhibited a smidgen of rebellion. He hadn''t even rebelled yet, and still they killed him without hesitation.


    They were a truly cruel race.


    There was also an eyeball buried into each of their foreheads.


    They had once thought that this Other Shore Token would bring endless possibilities. With more Other Shore Tokens, they would be able to enhance each other''s strength far beyond what was previously possible.


    But now, all it seemed to be was a fatal tool to be used against them.


    How could such powerful masters as Yellow Thearch and Divine Farmer allow someone else to have such control over their lives?


    Taking their lives at any moment? Even the superior Element Spirit race should not be allowed that power!


    As they stood silently, the eyeballs on their foreheads opened. A triangular black light appeared from the center of the eyeballs, and the voice could be heard again.


    "Have you seen the fate Emperor Charm has met?" the triangular black light asked.


    "Yes," replied Yellow Thearch.


    "Do you have any feelings about this?" the triangular black light continued.


    Yellow Thearch''s eyes grew stern as he said, "We have already chosen our own path, and we will not stray from it. Emperor Charm made his choice to rebel. We do not need such a foolish ally!"


    The triangular black light trembled for a moment before saying, "That''s right. Remember, this world will eventually prove that the path we have chosen is indeed the right one. The Purge Way is the only way to survive. I don''t want to see this happen again. You have seen his ending!"


    Once it had finished speaking, the triangular black light vanished immediately.


    Yellow Thearch, Mahoney and Divine Farmer all remained silent.


    The strong warriors following behind them were silent as well.


    Their leaders'' lives were in someone else''s hands. All it would take was an order to be given and they would be dead. This thought dragged their spirits down.


    But the


    ke the Source World react?" Fire Emissary asked, frowning intently as he appeared to try and work it out himself.


    Human nature was complicated.


    Fire Emissary was a ruthless figure in the Bearing race and countless people had died by his hands.


    But even burning the provinces and killing all the creatures like this gave him a reason for pause.


    "According to my calculations, we will have to burn down at least three hundred provinces," Divine Farmer replied flatly.


    Everyone fell silent again on hearing this.


    The fact that the Element Spirit race had killed Emperor Charm already aroused feelings of rebellion within them.


    The previous plans seemed logical until they carried them out. Then they felt like stopping and wanted to give up.


    "I''ll go first!"


    Mahoney said, taking the initiative while everyone else remained silent.


    Among the several super forces, the New Moon race was the smallest. In the past, they were not qualified to be ranked as a super force. They developed to this point with the support of the Bearing race and the Divine Farmer race.


    At this crucial moment, Mahoney felt obligated to do something.


    After the cyan flames that spread throughout the abyss disappeared, she flew up and stored the Minimum Spaces in her space ring. She then moved out of the abyss and Fire Emissary continued to compress the flames into the Minimum Spaces.


    The Vast Sea Province was on the other side of the abyss.

 Chapter 3692 Fast Destruction

    Soon after, Mahoney arrived above the Vast Sea Province and released a Minimum Space from her space ring.


    The Minimum Space was almost weightless and so small that to the eye and touch it was almost nothing. If an ordinary person were to touch it, it would pass straight through their bodies.


    Because of this, it was only through her space theurgies that Mahoney could move these Minimum Spaces.


    After she released one, it floated slowly in the air.


    With a gentle breeze, the Minimum Space, which was a million times smaller than dust, spiraled in the air and floated downwards.


    The sun shone in the Vast Sea Province, so it was definitely not as dark as the abyss.


    With the sunlight beaming, even if the Minimum Space emitted light, it was nowhere near as dazzling as the star and would be a little more inconspicuous.


    It continued floating down gently before making its way down to an island below.


    The Vast Sea Province was almost completely covered in water, with only a few large islands present on the surface.


    On the island below, there lived a small race called the Fox Fish race. Their race''s power was ranked high in the Vast Sea Province. But even if they were ranked in the top ten in the Vast Sea Province, it was still a very small and insignificant race when compared to the super powers in the Source World.


    Any master from the Bearing race or the Divine Farmer race would be capable of destroying such a puny race.


    However, as the Vast Sea Province was relatively remote, and there was no unique production, it had always been peaceful.


    Except for the two great races fighting underwater from time to time, peace was maintained. Such a harmonious state was rarely seen in the Source World.


    "Look over there. What''s that?"


    a member of the Fox Fish race said as he had noticed the dot of light falling from the sky.


    Many of the Fox Fish race then looked up curiously.


    "Is there a star falling?"


    "It''s daytime..."


    "Let''s go and have a look!"


    They had no idea of the impending doom and still chased after the dot of light.


    One of them was faster than the rest.


    He had reached the consummation of True God Realm. He constantly flashed his figure and got below the light first.


    "What


    ince finally regained some semblance of coolness.


    Only a minute number of creatures survived. Some of them were powerful warriors at the Other Shore Realm who had special Other Shore Tokens, and two were powerful warriors at the Chaotic Source Realm, sitting at the bottom of the sea.


    Not long ago, these two supreme elders had been the strongest warriors of two races in the Vast Sea Province. They had fought for a resource for tens of thousands of years, and the two of them had always been at the forefront of the battle.


    They hadn''t expected that they could lose everything they possessed so quickly. The sea water had been evaporated and their clansmen burnt to a crisp. They were left with nothing.


    The two of them looked at each other speechlessly, with awe, horror and hopelessness in their eyes.


    Even though they were powerful warriors at the Chaotic Source Realm, they could do nothing about that fire except protect themselves.


    Tens of billions of creatures died in fear and anger right in front of them, as they watched.


    Negative emotions could be infectious.


    One person''s negative emotions could be passed to a group, and that group could do the same to the world.


    The negative emotions of tens of billions of creatures were like an invisible hammer that slammed down and began to shake the entire Source World.


    Swoosh!


    Even Mahoney seemed to be affected by it. She took a deep breath before darting off towards the province next to the Vast Sea Province.

 Chapter 3693 Pushing The Mountain

    The dreary battle between the Oneness Sky Palace and the Sun Crow race had finally come to an end. Since the real Eastern Emperor Taiyi showed up, the remaining members of the Bearing race were either captured or killed in the battle.


    Strictly speaking, the Sun Crow race didn''t suffer a heavy loss. However, in exchange for that, they had lost Emperor Charm.


    Most of the elite warriors of the Sun Crow race, including most members of the Divine Lair and Emperor Charm''s royal guards, survived the battle.


    During the war, when Emperor Charm was still alive, Elizabeth, Micah, and their other colleagues had undergone fierce mental struggles. When Zen ordered them to attack their emperor, there were a lot of contradictory feelings that couldn''t be pushed aside.


    Likewise, because they were his loyal subordinates, Emperor Charm wasn''t able to fully harm them.


    Now that Emperor Charm was no more, it meant that the core of the Sun Crow race had disappeared, and they had no other choice but to follow Zen with all their hearts.


    Also, after defeating Emperor Charm, the energy soul of the real Eastern Emperor Taiyi gave up the body out of his own accord.


    By then, Flamine, Pearce, and the others had already realized that the Eastern Emperor Taiyi that they knew was still in slumber, and there was someone else who occupied his body. This person was none other than the real Eastern Emperor Taiyi that was inside Zen.


    "Considering the troubled times, I must say that the real Eastern Emperor Taiyi can still stay in his body since the current one hasn''t returned from the Other Shore yet," Pearce suggested


    In Pearce''s mind, the most important thing at present was to ensure the safety of the Oneness Sky Palace. If there came another being that was as powerful as Emperor Charm and attacked them at their chaotic state, he knew that they might not be able to last.


    In the meantime, the real Eastern Emperor Taiyi had already returned to Zen''s inner world and entered the Civilization Artifact. Zen served as a mediator to deliver him Pearce''s message.


    After a while, Zen received Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s response and a slight frown became visible on his face. "He refuses. He says that if the Oneness Sky Palace was in danger again, he would definitely help with all his might. However, he doesn''t want to stay in his body if it isn''t necessary."


    "Really? I heard that all the creatures on the Other Shore are reluctant to leave the chaos.


    Why would he refuse


    ck the Oneness Mountain!"


    As soon as they heard the order, the members of the Sun Crow race appeared on the side of the upper part of the Oneness Mountain in a flash.


    Crack!


    Crack!


    Crack!


    The combined strength unleashed by several powerful warriors of the Sun Crow race couldn''t be underestimated.


    Also, some of the powerful warriors of the Oneness Sky Palace that had already recovered rushed forward to help the members of the Sun Crow race.


    However, even with the combined efforts of the two groups, it wasn''t enough to stop the sliding of the upper part of the Oneness Mountain


    The mountain was just too huge.


    Compared to it, their bodies were like insects who were trying to push off an enormous boulder.


    When they exerted their forces and pushed the mountain wall, the soft surface of the mountain began to crumble. As a result, they sank into it.


    When the members of the Sun Crow race found this problem, they spread out their wings and tried to increase the surface area of their contact against the mountain. However, this tactic still failed and they also sank into it.


    In this kind of situation, it would be easier if the real Eastern Emperor Taiyi used his Wild God Power.


    However, since the real Eastern Emperor Taiyi had already returned into Zen''s inner world, it was not appropriate to call him right away.


    As Zen perceived that the situation was getting out of hand, he also dashed and appeared on the side of the mountain.


    ''There''s no other choice. Wild God Body!''


    In the blink of an eye, Zen turned into a colossal giant, and started pushing the falling part of the mountain with his entire body.

 Chapter 3694 Eternal Warriors

    Even though Zen was an extraordinarily powerful warrior, he couldn''t stop the mountain from sliding down.


    He could only slow it down a bit.


    Libby refused to sit back and watch this happen. Planting her feet firmly into the ground, she leapt and flew towards the sliding mountain in an attempt to block it. However, she ended up drilling right through it, failing even to slow it down.


    When she had burst out from the mountain, suddenly, an idea crossed her mind. "Master Athemar, use the Lofty Sword!"


    The Lofty Sword itself was massive. Athemar turned to look at her when she called him, and upon hearing her words, he nodded in understanding.


    Without hesitation, Athemar started to recite the spell. Then, multiple rings of light appeared in the air, and from the center of these huge rings, the Lofty Swords shot out.


    In a flash, the huge Lofty Swords planted themselves firmly onto the side of the mountain. Elizabeth, Libby, and the others pressed themselves against the Lofty Swords, trying to push the mountain backward.


    Athemar made sure to distribute the Lofty Swords around the mountain evenly, and wherever he looked, a strong warrior had gotten a hold of the Lofty Swords to push back the mountain.


    Thanks to this newfound strategy, the collapsing of the upper half of the mountain slowed to a halt!


    At this time, Pearce finally gathered enough strength to speak. "Auden, you take Athemar and the others to cast the arrays. First, we must fix the mountain body."


    Auden nodded and flew to Athemar to relay his orders. Immediately, they began to set up arrays in the area where the mountain initially broke.


    It was no easy task to build arrays that would fix such a massive mountain.


    Even though these arrays were just enough to make a temporary fix, it took them almost two hours.


    As they worked on the arrays, Elizabeth and the others kept on pushing the mountain to keep it from sliding. This exhausted a considerable amount of divine crystals, yet they knew they had no choice but to use the power of their Other Shore Tokens.


    Two hours later, the arrays were activated, finally stabilizing the mountain. At the sight of this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.


    When Zen saw that the mountain had settled down, he deactivated his Wild God Body and descended to join the others. Once he landed, Pearce stared at him strangely.


    It was no secret in the Oneness Sky Palace that Zen had cultivated the Wild God Body.


    Actually, even in this era, it wasn''t too out of the ordinary to cultivate the Wild God Body.


    While wild bones


    an go to Stage Thirty-three to save Eastern Emperor Taiyi..." he said softly.


    "If I''m qualified to become an Eternal Warrior just because my physical body can enter the Other Shore," Zen said, "what about Elvinia?" As he spoke, he looked at Elvinia, who was standing nearby.


    Elvinia''s situation was a little out of the ordinary.


    Her own physical body did not enter the Other Shore, but her purified being''s body did.


    Pearce smiled. "Maybe. After all, the test of the Eternal Scroll Painting is on the Other Shore. Theoretically, anyone who passes it can enter Stage Thirty-three, but I can''t be completely sure."


    Elvinia''s case was so different, even Eastern Emperor Taiyi could not be sure.


    "I will definitely be an Eternal Warrior," Elvinia suddenly said determinedly. "I want to save Father!"


    Pearce looked at her dotingly, his wrinkled face full of fondness. "I believe you will do it!"


    Elvinia cast a glance at Zen.


    She knew in her heart that the key to become the Eternal Warrior was still him.


    Under the gaze of Elvinia, Zen looked a little uneasy. He glanced at the Oneness Mountain that had been stabilized and suddenly said, "I need to go back to the Flow Sword Sect!"


    Although it was unlikely that the Bearing race would go to the three sword sects, Zen was worried. Now that the war in the Oneness Sky Palace had been settled, it was time for him to go back to check on his family.


    The moment he finished speaking, he stretched his arms and launched himself into the sky.


    During the battle, the Bearing race had destroyed the arrays that had been set up along the mountain. Because of this, Zen didn''t need to climb the mountain anymore, he just flew straight to the top.

 Chapter 3695 Taking Them Back To The Inner World

    The disciples in the Flow Sword Sect had also witnessed the groundbreaking scene.


    They watched as the two giant figures of Emperor Charm and Eastern Emperor Taiyi fought fiercely¡ªthe sun versus the Golden Rune Sword, respectively.


    Anxiously they rooted for their own leader, Eastern Emperor Taiyi. They hated to think about the consequences if he lost.


    Trish and Carrie kept on heading outside the courtyard house to inquire if there was any news.


    Letitia, however, decided to err on the side of caution and refused to leave the courtyard house.


    On the other hand, Margaret was surprisingly calm. She only asked about Zen a few times, concerned for her husband''s safety. She didn''t concern herself with other matters from the outside.


    The people in the courtyard continued to feel the earth quake as the battle raged on below. Initially, the ground trembled ever so slightly, but to their surprise, after a while, it felt like the whole mountain was sliding down!


    What would become of them if the huge mountain crashed?


    If it ever came to that, while the disciples of the three sects could easily flee by flying into the sky, they were still worried.


    To their relief, the sliding of the mountain lasted only for a short while, and then they felt the ground beneath their feet stabilize once more.


    Trish went out to inquire about the matter again and found out that the war in the Oneness Sky Palace had subsided. Relieved, she eagerly returned to relay the news to the others.


    Just then, Zen landed in the courtyard. When the women saw Zen, joy filled their faces as they rushed towards him.


    Although they believed that Zen would return to them in one piece, they had been worried since the Oneness Sky Palace was almost destroyed. When they knew their beloved husband was facing powerful warriors of the Sun Crow race, there was nothing they could do but silently pray for his safety.


    Thus, seeing him return to them unharmed was a huge relief.


    After Zen, Letitia, Margaret and the other girls had settled down, Edna quietly walked out from a corner and asked in a low voice, "Creator, is the Evil God safe?"


    Zen had corrected her several times before, telling her not to call him "Creator". It seemed, however, that she was incapable of c


    ful environment," Zen said, turning to face her.


    Margaret must''ve changed a lot while he was gone. She nodded meekly, with no objections.


    When they heard that Zen was going to take the women into his inner world, Trish and Carrie exchanged worried glances.


    In the past few years, Zen''s status in the Oneness Sky Palace climbed each day. Consequently, as his maids, Trish''s and Carrie''s status had also been elevated¡ªat least, among the rest of the maids of the Flow Sword Sect.


    Even the other disciples were courteous to them. They had never experienced such respect before Zen came into their lives.


    Moreover, the two of them had silently agreed that they would devote their lives to Zen.


    Now that Zen was gathering his family to move them back to his inner world, the two maids felt uneasy.


    "Mr. Luo, are you not coming back to the Flow Sword Sect?" Trish asked boldly.


    Zen glanced at Trish and realized shamefacedly that he had completely ignored the two maids.


    "The Oneness Sky Palace is not peaceful now," he said carefully. "If you two are willing to enter my inner world, you can also..."


    Zen was still a little hesitant. After all, the two maids were born in the Source World; he was afraid they wouldn''t be willing to live in a small inner world.


    Yet, to his surprise, before he could even finish speaking, Trish and Carrie shouted in unison, "That would be great!"


    Seeing that they couldn''t wait to enter his inner world, Zen realized that his hesitation was unnecessary.

 Chapter 3696 The Captain Of The Black Ship

    The following days were busy. The Oneness Sky Palace was focused on clearing up the battlefield.


    Emperor Charm and the Bearing race had only managed to destroy the Oneness Mountain and the Dragon City, and the Phoenix Palace had suffered the most damages.


    Majority of the palace was smashed to pieces. They had no other choice but to rebuild it.


    A few days had passed before the reinforcements from the Pear Hill finally arrived.


    Before the Sun Crow race even launched their general attack, the Oneness Sky Palace had already sensed the unrest and sent for the Pear Hill, asking them for help.


    However, the distance between the Pear Hill and the Bloom Divine Province was too long.


    Besides, the real problem didn''t lie in the distance. Just as the reinforcements of the Pear Hill were about to embark on the journey to the Bloom Divine Province, powerful warriors of the Divine Farmer race suddenly showed up in the north of their territory to wreak havoc.


    But once the warriors of the Pear Hill showed up to face the Divine Farmer race, they quickly retreated.


    It then became clear to them that the Divine Farmer race had just distracted them from helping the Oneness Sky Palace.


    But even then, they could do nothing about it.


    Fuxi had left the Source World because of something important, while the Snake Goddess was busy trying to rescue Eastern Emperor Taiyi from the Other Shore.


    The Divine Farmer race repeated the operation for several times. Their powerful warriors neither launched attacks nor fled away. They just dawdled along the north area, taunting the Pear Hill teasingly.


    Although there were also many powerful warriors in the Pear Hill, they couldn''t risk leaving it unguarded.


    It was not until the powerful warriors of the Divine Farmer race retreated that they dispatched over sixty people to the Oneness Sky Palace.


    However, the battle in the Oneness Sky Palace had already come to an end by the time they arrived. When they heard the news that Emperor Charm had been killed, the powerful warriors from the Pear Hill were shocked.


    In their opinion, if Emperor Charm came to the Bloom Divine Province in person, only the Snake Goddess and Fuxi themselves were strong enough to defeat him.


    To their surprise, however, it seemed that the Oneness Sky Palace had defeated Emperor Charm on their own.


    Pearce smiled at them hospitably, but he didn''t tell them all the details.


    In his mind, what had happened to Zen was


    forcibly taken from it by this Black Ship.


    After thinking for a while, Fuxi had decided it would be better to go after the Black Ship.


    After a moment of silence, the captain said slowly, "Human Sovereign, do you really think I can be trapped by just an Eight Diagrams Rope?"


    His Black Ship had crisscrossed the chaos and the Source World. Even though he had pissed off many super forces, he managed to get away each time. That was all because he had a terrifying ability to escape.


    "What if I told you I have a Ring of Prediction?" Fuxi asked coldly.


    Standing on the deck, the captain in the hooded cloak seemed to be lost in thought once more. After a long time, he sighed quietly. As he stretched out a hand, three Descending Rings appeared. "I can return three Descending Rings to you, but on one condition. If you agree, I will tell you some more valuable information."


    When Fuxi saw the three Descending Rings, he felt a little surprised.


    He had thought that he would have a fierce battle with the Black Ship. He hadn''t expected the captain would give up half of the Descending Rings so easily.


    "What condition?" asked Fuxi, eyebrow raised curiously.


    "I want those golden red Chaotic Source Spirits in exchange," said the captain bluntly.


    "Golden red Chaotic Source Spirits?"


    Fuxi was dazed for a few seconds. Then, it hit him.


    After the mother of the Chaotic Source Spirits was killed, Zen had dug out some special Chaotic Source Spirits.


    At the time, Yan had gifted one of them to Fuxi, so he could study it. Even though Fuxi had pondered over it for a long time, he still hadn''t found a way to refine it.

 Chapter 3697 Contract-restricting Twin-headed Snake

    Fuxi immediately understood what was behind the Black Ship captain''s words.


    Until then, he had been misinterpreting things ¡ª the golden red Chaotic Source Spirits weren''t used to strengthen one''s power. Instead, they were necessary when something needed to descend into the chaos.


    "And what if I refuse the exchange?" Fuxi then asked.


    Thirty golden red Chaotic Source Spirits remained in Yan''s hands. As far as he knew, Zen had obtained most of the remaining spirits.


    Regardless of whether or not the golden red Chaotic Source Spirits were of great use, Fuxi didn''t think it necessary to make the deal with the Black Ship''s captain.


    He was there to make him hand over the Descending Rings, not make a deal with the man.


    "If you don''t agree to my terms of exchange, you will never get the Descending Rings from me, believe it or not!" replied the captain of the Black Ship. "The chaos is vast," he added. "It will be easy for me to hide several Descending Rings from you."


    Fuxi''s face darkened, and a cruel glint flashed in his eyes. He began gathering his power as he threatened, "It seems you''re still unwilling to admit defeat."


    "Admit defeat?" The Black Ship''s captain only smiled faintly and said, "Human Sovereign, you truly have the power to be confident. But have you ever considered why it was so easy for you to find the Black Ship that comes and goes without a trace in the Source World?"


    Fuxi''s face seemed to turn cautious upon hearing this. Quietly, he took a look around and examined his surroundings.


    A black wisp of aura circled the place ¡ª something he had failed to detect because of the dark surroundings.


    The captain''s intent was clear ¡ª he knew that Fuxi was tracking the Black Ship, so he had purposely set a trap for Fuxi, giving himself a chance to negotiate with the latter about the golden red Chaotic Source Spirits.


    "I don''t have many spirits with me," Fuxi said, stretching out his hand.


    The only one he had received from Yan then appeared in his palm.


    Two golden beams of light flashed under the captain''s cloak. "How many more of them can you get," he asked, sounding excited.


    "About thirty," Fuxi answered.


    He reported only the number of Chaotic Source Spirits in Yan''s hand. While he could ask Zen for more, Fuxi didn''t want the Black Ship''s captain to get his hands on too many.


    "We want all of them," claimed the captain


    truth. I''ve tried several times ¡ª every creature that descends into the chaos ends up being eradicated by the truth."


    He promptly detailed the results of using the Descending Rings to Fuxi.


    As Fuxi listened to his explanations, he realized that if it were him, he''d attribute the problem to the lack of golden red Chaotic Source Spirits as well ¡ª he understood why the captain of the Black Ship wanted to obtain them.


    But a thought came to his mind just then, and his expression changed upon remembering it.


    It was no secret that Zen had obtained most of the Chaotic Source Spirits. Both the Bearing race and the Divine Farmer race must have known of it.


    If the Yellow Thearch along with the others also aimed at the golden red Chaotic Source Spirits, that meant Zen and the Oneness Sky Palace would also likely be in great trouble.


    "Please send your men to the Pear Hill. I will ask someone to hand over the golden red Chaotic Source Spirits to you. I need to leave now!" After cupping hands, Fuxi employed the Grand Teleportation technique to quickly travel through the chaos.


    "He is in such a hurry¡­looks like he figured it out, but it''s all too late," murmured the Black Ship''s captain once Fuxi left. "I bet the Oneness Sky Palace must have been conquered by now."


    As Fuxi chased after the Black Ship, it had kept a close eye on the Oneness Sky Palace.


    So he knew all there was to know about the war between the Oneness Sky Palace and the Sun Crow race.


    But the result hadn''t yet reached the Black Ship''s captain ¡ª he believed that the Oneness Sky Palace was doomed.

 Chapter 3698 The Land of Ashes

    Four days had passed since the Oneness Sky Palace stabilized, and Zen finally got into his inner world.


    The moment he transformed into his incarnation, he spotted a huge round leaf that hovered in the sky. This leaf floated and rotated in midair, and glowed with a light green hue.


    Zen''s eyes widened at the sight of the leaf. With a flash, he came to the side of the leaf.


    Right above the leaf were human beings who happened to be busy. They were carving strange arrays across the leaf.


    Apparently, they were from the human race''s Civilization Artifact, and they belonged to the human race of the 77th chaos.


    When Zen created a separate continent for them, they never stopped building in his inner world.


    "Excuse me, but what is this leaf?" Zen asked into the air, hoping one of them to answer.


    One of them looked up as he recognized Zen''s voice. After all, he was their ruler.


    However, though Zen was their ruler, they were a cocky race. Because they were not born and raised in Zen''s inner world, they did not revere him with respect and authority.


    "It''s the Divine Aura Leaf," one of them responded, without even looking up.


    "And what is its use?" Zen continued.


    "It has the ability to speed up cultivations of all the creatures in the world," the same man responded.


    After hearing this, Zen paced around to get a better look at the leaf. He didn''t realize that the Primeval Lord of Heaven would have these people cultivate such a useful feat in his inner world!


    He walked towards the edge of the leaf and small balls were floating a few feet away. "What are those?"


    "They are Transformation Balls," the man replied, and without hesitation, he continued to explain, "Any True God can enter the Transformation Ball to cultivate, strengthen their souls, and make necessary preparations to enter the Other Shore..."


    "And what are those storms in the distance?" Zen asked, pointing towards the dense grey clouds.


    Looking around, Zen did not expect the Primeval Lord of Heaven and the rest to build so many things while he was gone.


    Because he was gone for so long, Zen didn''t know that the Primeval Lord of Heaven gathered the vast majority of the elites in the 77th chaos. Back then, they had created the most suitable cultivation methods and the most convenient methods, too.


    After the Primeval Lord of Heaven confirmed Zen''s i


    t there and then, the energy souls of Fuxi, the Snake Goddess, Emperor Charm, Zhurong, Gonggong and the others appeared beside the Primeval Lord of Heaven.


    Each of them had a personal interest in King Manard, but mostly, they wanted to meet King Manard who created the second Other Shore in the Land of Ashes.


    Meanwhile, after dispersing his incarnation, Zen reappeared in his room, sitting cross-legged. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and began to silently activate the Truth of Three-Energy Construction.


    "Buzz..."


    After a few moments of silence, a mysterious Truth of Godly Way surrounded him and he appeared in another space. It was not someplace unfamiliar, because this was the space Mount had exiled him to before.


    He opened his eyes and looked around. In the distance, the ruins connected, and eventually formed a long, thin "trash belt".


    Not long after, the Primeval Lord of Heaven led his group and they all appeared right above Zen''s head. There were over 30 heads floating above him.


    Seeing so many heads, Zen couldn''t help but be a little tense.


    However, the Primeval Lord of Heaven and the others did not let petty worries bother them. Their eyes widened as they tried to familiarize themselves with the space.


    "Everything in the Land of Ashes should have been destroyed, but these things were preserved so well. This is incredible..." the Primeval Lord of Heaven spoke out, admiring this special space.


    "What''s more incredible is that King Manard has also transformed this world into an Other Shore," the Snake Goddess pointed out.

 Chapter 3699 Ziya Jiang

    After moving along the trash belt for some time, they saw the dim light of the Deleting Pillars in the distance.


    On his first time coming here, Zen had been disoriented and become a captive of those little monsters. This time, he was more level-headed and could appreciate the scenery.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    As they passed through the trash city, a few one-eyed monsters would crawl out of the remains and stare at them with wide-eyed awe.


    These monsters no longer had enmity with Zen but when he passed, they would constantly jump around to surround him.


    "These creatures all have very special auras," the Snake Goddess remarked.


    It was not every day that the Snake Goddess and the others found something special. They had lived through many chaotic eras and witnessed the births of countless creatures on the Other Shore.


    They''d seen the unique creatures of the Metal Civilization and the Regal Jade Civilization so their shock threshold was set quite high.


    Judging only from their appearance, these one-eyed little monsters looked ordinary but, just as the Snake Goddess said, the auras they exuded were special. In fact, they felt similar to the Truth of Three-Energy Construction Zen released.


    Zen opted to provide them with an explanation. "The Truth of Three-Energy Construction is composed of three kinds of energy which allows me to construct things out of the void at will. Three kinds of monsters reside here and it seems that King Manard distributed the three kinds of energy among them."


    Curiosity filled the Snake Goddess''s eyes. "Oh? Is that so?"


    Among all the heroes, she had always been the most curious, always inquisitive about what was happening in the world.


    This was the reason why the Snake Goddess in the Source World often went out to explore, desperate to search for the human race on the Other Shore.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven continued to size up his surroundings and contemplated their situation.


    As they passed through the remains, the small star suddenly appeared.


    On this planet was a huge statue.


    "This is the statue of King Manard," Zen told them.


    All eyes were fixed onto the statue, interested to know what he looked like and what kind of person he was.


    There was no way King Manar


    yone''s surprise, King Manard plopped down onto the floor and knelt in front of the Primeval Lord of Heaven.


    Even Zen wasn''t expecting this.


    "Master!" King Manard''s voice was full of excitement and adoration as he kowtowed.


    Even his two disciples were shocked. They had never seen him like this before.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven, whom King Manard was calling, was also confused.


    He had accepted twelve disciples in the past and only these twelve had the privilege of calling him ''master.'' After failing to complete the Finale Way, some died and a few others left. Nevertheless, he recalled every single one of their faces.


    Who the hell was this King Manard?


    Seeing the slight embarrassment on the Primeval Lord of Heaven''s face, King Manard quickly remembered the fact that he had changed his appearance years ago, over a thousand chaotic eras to be more precise.


    Even his own aura had undergone a tremendous change. Of course his old master wouldn''t be able to recognize him!


    King Manard quickly raised his hand and gently brushed his face, activating the Truth of Three-Energy Construction. His face began to morph until it returned to its original appearance.


    "Ziya Jiang?"


    "Ziya? Unbelievable!"


    "Ziya! You are still alive?!"(*TN: Jiang Ziya was an ancient Chinese military strategist, and also a main character in the popular novel Fengshen Bang written over 2, 500 years after his lifetime.)


    Everyone immediately recognized him once he revealed his true appearance.

 Chapter 3700 Forging Bodies

    The Snake Goddess, Fuxi, and the others regarded Ziya as a junior.


    The ancient human civilization had miserably ended because they failed to complete the Finale Way. It was so tragic that even when the human ancestor sacrificed himself, it still didn''t stop the disaster.


    At that time, Ziya had a great reputation among the human race, but he wasn''t the central figure in the battle of the Finale Way.


    In other words, no one in the chaos had noticed him.


    Who would''ve thought that he would be banished to the Land of Ashes, also known as the Deleting Space?


    Then, over a thousand chaotic eras had passed, and he met his master, the Primeval Lord of Heaven, again. Of course, he was quite excited.


    "Ziya..."


    It was safe to say that a being like the Primeval Lord of Heaven had seen through the vanity of life. He, however, was enthusiastic to see his beloved disciple.


    Meanwhile, Zen pursed his lips.


    He didn''t expect King Manard to be the disciple of the Primeval Lord of Heaven. "How did you get exiled to the Land of Ashes?" the Primeval Lord of Heaven asked.


    Ziya was lost in thought. It was a long time ago, so he found it hard to recall the details of the past. After a while, he began to tell the Primeval Lord of Heaven about how he got exiled and what had happened in this space.


    Zen listened quietly and he found that he had heard about some of those things before, but this time, Ziya had everything spelled out.


    Although Ziya was the Primeval Lord of Heaven''s disciple, he wasn''t weak compared to the Eternal Warriors such as the Snake Goddess and Houyi. In fact, he had led many powerful warriors to step into the Eternal Realm and become the Eternal Warriors during the 77th chaos.


    Among the twelve disciples of the Primeval Lord of Heaven, Ziya was the most important.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven let out a long sigh after Ziya had explained what happened in the past, including the events in the Deleting Space. "Back then, we had absorbed the quintessence of the elders and made ten plans, but in the end, we failed. Since then, the Element Spirit race has suppressed us. I didn''t expect that you still got a chance to find such a place


    er masters, elders, and powerhouses have reappeared in front of him.


    It was just like he had returned to the 77th chaos, the world of starry regions humans had dominated.


    Once the heroes had adapted to their new bodies, he led them to the cave.


    It was hard to dig this cave, and the cave itself was quite small, so everyone entered one by one.


    Ziya, the Primeval Lord of Heaven, and the Snake Goddess walked in the front. Zen had been in there once, so he was the last one to enter.


    While Zen waited for his turn, he heard the Regal Jade Spirit''s voice from his inner world that said, "Zen, Geoffrey wants to see the Abstruse Energy World. Can you let him go there to have a look?"


    "Geoffrey?" he asked in disbelief. Needless to say, he was stunned.


    After he entrusted Geoffrey to the Regal Jade Spirit, he didn''t care much about him anymore.


    Now that the Oneness Sky Palace was under attack and in chaos, he didn''t plan to release Geoffrey from his inner world.


    Still, it was a good choice to settle him in the Deleting Space.


    Most importantly, Ziya had mentioned that anyone who had a powerful ability to decipher Sanskrit words would adapt much easier to the Abstruse Energy World.


    Geoffrey could decipher almost all Sanskrit words in a second, so Zen wondered if he could quickly adapt to the Abstruse Energy World.


    "Sure. Tell him that I''ll let him out after the human elders return," Zen told the Regal Jade Spirit.

 Chapter 3701 Go Further

    At that moment, King Manard pulled back the ropes that were tied to the side of the cave one by one, then tied up the Primeval Lord of Heaven, the Snake Goddess, and some others with these ropes.


    Once everything was in place, the Primeval Lord of Heaven and the others went straight towards the Abstruse Energy World.


    As soon as they arrived at the Abstruse Energy World, they turned into many light dots and scattered around. Their bodies and their energy souls stepped into the Abstruse Energy State.


    Since these human heroes lived as long as Ziya Jiang, they shared the same amount of knowledge as him.


    Right now, however, they were as excited as children as they ran around and kept rubbing their hands.


    "Monkey, can you move out of my way and let me have a look first?" Houyi, who stood a little behind, asked. The monkey with a furry face turned his head and gave Houyi a ferocious stare.


    In turn, Houyi immediately fell silent and didn''t press any further.


    The monkey was one of the strongest among the thirty-nine human heroes and his strength was on par with Fuxi''s. Though Houyi had a way to restrain Emperor Charm''s skill, he was relatively weak in terms of overall strength. After all, the monkey had taught him a hard lesson before.


    Meanwhile, the Snake Goddess, the Primeval Lord of Heaven and the others wandered around the Abstruse Energy World for a long time before they reluctantly left.


    "The information in the Abstruse Energy World is difficult to decipher," the Primeval Lord of Heaven said with an unreadable expression after their trip to the Abstruse Energy World.


    "I saw a mountain," said the Snake Goddess.


    It was known that the Snake Goddess understood Sanskrit words better than the Primeval Lord of Heaven.


    On the other hand, the Primeval Lord of Heaven''s strength was his analysis and deduction of many things.


    He wasn''t good at deciphering Sanskrit words. "Why didn''t I see it?" asked Fuxi.


    "I didn''t see it either¡­" Emperor Charm agreed as he shook his head. Only the Snake Goddess could see the mountain among the first group of warriors who entered the Abstruse Energy World.


    "You are brilliant, Snake Goddess," Ziya Jiang praised.


    "Although there is no concept of distance in the Abstruse Energy World, the mountain is the easiest to find. I didn''t recognize the mountain from the starlight until many


    about? It''s interesting!" he exclaimed. His gaze travelled to the floating light dots.


    Just then, Ziya handed the rope to Geoffrey and said, "This world is very wonderful. You''ll know when you get in."


    Geoffrey took the rope and after he had tied it to him, he jumped out of the cave.


    Buzz...


    He had turned into many light dots and quickly scattered into the distance.


    Those who entered the Abstruse Energy World for the first time couldn''t locate themselves at all.


    They didn''t know where they were but lost all senses of distance, direction, time, and vision. Everything had changed, and they also couldn''t find the cave where they could return to the chaos. Thus, they needed to tie ropes around their bodies.


    "Those light dots..."


    For Zen, those numerous light dots were meaningless.


    However, Geoffrey had already understood what they meant in a single glance.


    "These light dots are a mountain..."


    "It''s really interesting. I can land on this mountain!"


    The mountain itself was also made up of light dots, and the Snake Goddess also saw it clearly the first time she arrived. It was already quite an impressive talent to have, but Geoffrey went further and stood straight on the mountain.


    After Geoffrey had landed, he looked around again.


    It seemed that the light dots had a special meaning to each other.


    Some light dots clumped together and formed a large rock, while some turned into a swamp. Ziya Jiang had dug out the Nirvana Clay from the swamp before.


    Still, Geoffrey wasn''t interested in those things. He wanted to go further.

 Chapter 3702 Ball

    The dots of light that Geoffrey had turned into shuttled through a seemingly chaotic mass of light dots he found himself surrounded by.


    From one point of view, it seemed as though it was not Geoffrey that moved, but the mountain formed by the light dots moved.


    But in the Abstruse Energy World, perception and depth were not as ordinary people understood them. In this world, it was actually Geoffrey who was moving.


    He soon left the mountain.


    As he continued moving through, the light dots circled him like water, forming a sort of river as he saw it.


    It flowed past his body and circles of light dots then appeared in front of him.


    They now seemed very orderly, as if carefully arranged.


    He observed this phenomenon for a while and frowned, the dots of light representing his eyebrows drawing closer together.


    These arranged light dots looked like some sort of three-dimensional plain. He could understand it, and yet he could not describe it because he had never seen or heard of anything like it and thus had nothing to compare it to. This place was not the chaos after all.


    This plain attracted something deep inside him. He couldn''t help but walk towards it, like a moth to a flame.


    After only a few steps, he felt the rope he was tied to became taut.


    He shook his body slightly and the rope was untied.


    At the entrance to the cave, the rope began to shake and the runes on the surface began to flicker.


    Ziya saw the change in the runes and his expression shifted in turn.


    Zen had worried about sending Geoffrey into the Abstruse Energy World. He saw the expression on Ziya''s face and immediately asked, "What''s wrong?"


    "The other end of the rope has loosened!" said Ziya in a slight panic.


    "How could this be?" asked Zen.


    "There are only two possibilities. The first is that Geoffrey was attacked by something on the other side," Ziya revealed seriously.


    "Something on the other side?" Zen asked as his heart sank.


    Nobody knew what was in the Abstruse Energy Worl


    eye sent a pang of angst through him.


    Without hesitation, he grabbed the ball and ran back in the direction he had come, countless light dots dancing and intersecting as he did.


    He soon found the rope at the edge of the grassland and moved quickly along it, crossing the river and the mountains.


    Ziya searched a long while, but could still not find Geoffrey.


    He had no choice but to return to the cave.


    "Have you found my son?" Zen asked with concern when Ziya returned.


    He would never be able to forgive himself if something bad happened to Geoffrey. Besides, he wouldn''t know how to face Letitia.


    "Unfortunately..."


    Ziya sighed. He was about to speak when he caught a glimpse of the rope beside him. His eyes widened in disbelief as he said, "How is this possible? The rope seems to have recovered to the normal state again."


    "What do you mean?" Zen asked anxiously.


    "Your son is still on the other end of the rope. That''s impossible. Did he break free from the rope and tie himself back again?"


    Ziya was at a loss for words when many dots of light began gathering at the entrance of the cave.


    And the next moment, Geoffrey appeared in the cave.


    "Ah! It''s so hot!"


    Geoffrey entered, still holding the ball in his hand. He felt a scorching pain and instinctively reacted and threw the ball on the ground.

 Chapter 3703 The Heart of Limit

    "Click, click, click..." They were rooted to the spot as they heard a strange sound echoing inside the narrow cave.


    Soon after, they saw a ball rolling in circles on the ground. Finally, it stopped when it touched the wall of the cave.


    The ball''s surface was covered all over with bronze hollow patterns. There was a red dot of light inside. Somehow, it looked like it was beating.


    Plop! Plop! Plop! They heard a curious sound coming from it.


    It seemed as though the light dot was beating like an actual heart. It contracted and relaxed with each heartbeat.


    Ziya was absolutely stunned when he saw Geoffrey return all by himself.


    As his eyes settled upon the ball on the ground, his expression seemed blank.


    Meanwhile, the expressions of the Primeval Lord of Heaven, the Snake Goddess, and the others changed drastically. They were standing on the other side of the cave and were utterly bewildered when they saw the ball.


    "I-is that the Heart of Limit?" the Primeval Lord of Heaven asked tentatively.


    "No, it can''t be that Heart of Limit!" The Snake Goddess couldn''t believe it either.


    "The Element Spirit race has already destroyed that one, remember? Where does it come from?" The other beings whispered among each other.


    They couldn''t quite contain their excitement and it showed in their curious faces.


    The Heart of Limit was an Other Shore Token. It was well-known that the human race possessed this artifact before.


    Long ago, the human ancestor bore the Heart of Limit. Afterwards, he used it as his own heart.


    During that time, the most powerful Other Shore Tokens had been in the possession of the human race. It could even be said that the human race itself was the strongest weapon that existed in the chaos.


    Even though the human race had failed to complete the Finale Way, they were actually very close to attaining success.


    Unfortunately, the tremendous efforts of the human race had attracted the unwanted attention of the Element Spirit race. Later, both the Heart of Limit and the Overdraft Stone were destroyed.


    Judging from the reaction of the Element Spirit race, the Primeval Lord of Heaven deduced that the human race had made the right choice, but something was missing. Unfortunately, they didn''t find new substitutes after the Heart of Limit and the Overdraft Stone were destroyed.


    This meant that the once perfect plan of the human race could no longer be fulfilled. No one would be able to complete the Finale Way.


    But to everyone''s surprise, Geoffrey had successfully brought back a Heart of Limit from outside the chaos! Clearly, they weren''t expecting to see it once again.


    Even Zen expressed his concern as he gazed at the ba


    ing."


    Zen had anchored his great hope upon his son. After all, he knew that Geoffrey was highly talented in deciphering Sanskrit words.


    Nevertheless, he hadn''t anticipated that Geoffrey would be this outstanding. It was his first time to enter the Abstruse Energy World. And already, he was able to bring back a Heart of Limit!


    It was from Ziya that Zen heard about the origin of the Heart of Limit before. It was a very important Other Shore Token even in Stage Thirty-three.


    "Well, my son seems to..."


    Just as Zen was about to praise Geoffrey, a dense stream of radiant starlight suddenly surged towards them from the Abstruse Energy World outside the cave.


    Buzz! Buzz!


    With so much starlight pouring in, it meant that something was hurtling towards the cave.


    As Ziya saw the stream of dazzling starlight, his expression suddenly changed.


    As it poured in from the Abstruse Energy World, it immediately turned into grayish brown tentacles and directly swept towards the people inside the cave.


    "Let''s go! Now!"


    Ziya shouted as he lifted his hand instantaneously.


    A powerful airflow instantly exploded inside the narrow cave. The airflow pushed everyone backwards and into the Deleting Space.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The grayish brown tentacles kept on pursuing them and sweeping the area.


    As those tentacles broke through the cave, they rapidly expanded and extended. Then, they followed the people towards the Deleting Space.


    "Take this!"


    Ziya stretched out his fingers and made a cut in the air.


    There were invisible forces that intertwined constantly and pierced the space.


    It seemed like Ziya had summoned an invisible cutter.


    The invisible cutter continued to slice at the tentacles that were now frenziedly pouring out of the cave into pieces.

 Chapter 3704 An Invitation

    The tentacles quickly transformed after being cut into pieces.


    Each piece morphed into the shape of a five-pointed star. A crack then appeared in the center and an eye popped out of it.


    The pieces now looked like starfish.


    The starfish searched around for a second before locking onto the Primeval Lord of Heaven as their target. Their mission when they had entered the Deleting Space had been to retrieve the Heart of Limit that Geoffrey had taken.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    All the starfish swept towards the Primeval Lord of Heaven.


    Seeing them surging towards him didn''t scare him in the slightest. He flew upside down, dodging and weaving, leaving mere shadows behind him.


    Ziya''s face darkened further on seeing the starfish giving chase. Once more, he extended his arm out and cut through the air.


    Space cutters appeared one after the other behind the Primeval Lord of Heaven.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    The starfish passed through thousands of space cutters and were again cut into even smaller pieces.


    The starfish that were once the size of a fist were now no more than powder.


    But they remained tenacious and energetic, continuing to charge after the Primeval Lord of Heaven even after being turned into powder. They looked like dark brown poisonous smog as they stuck close behind him.


    Perhaps on realizing that individually they were too small to inflict any real damage, they had evolved toxins within the tiny organisms to make up for their size.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven circled the Deleting Pillars and then passed by Zhurong and said flatly, "Burn them."


    "Puff!"


    A scorching flame suddenly ignited, immediately burning the entire poisonous smog following behind the Primeval Lord of Heaven, leaving behind only the pungent smell of charred meat.


    Dealing with such a dilemma as this was a simple task for the Primeval Lord of Heaven and the others as they had experienced numerous battles. But the appearance of these monsters in the Abstruse Energy World put them slightly on edge.


    "Are there other creatures in the Abstruse Energy World?" the Primeval Lord of Heaven asked.


    "Yes." Ziya nodded.


    He had been here for a long time, and in that time other creatures


    ficult to fulfill by using the resources in the Deleting Space.


    "I can grant you all you wish," Ziya said without hesitation.


    Worry appeared on Zen''s face, who had been silent the entire time until he asked, "Although he can travel freely in the Abstruse Energy World, is it not dangerous for him?"


    The monsters in the Abstruse Energy World might even break into the Deleting Space. If Geoffrey encountered them in the Abstruse Energy World, the consequences would be unimaginable.


    "Dad!"


    Geoffrey''s eyebrows shot up like sharp swords.


    Leaving Zen''s inner world was not easy for him, how could he be willing to return there?


    Seeing Geoffrey''s determination reminded Zen of himself. He realized it might not be that easy to get his son to compromise. Zen sighed and said, "Your decision is fine with me, but as for your mother..."


    "Just don''t tell her. Isn''t the Deleting Space very safe?" Geoffrey asked in a hurry, trying to convince his father.


    "I''ll do my best to keep him safe. He''s truly very important," Ziya said enthusiastically, standing by their side.


    Ziya still had many questions and theories about the Abstruse Energy World.


    He even had a theory that there could be another cave just like theirs and another world too.


    Or, was there another civilization in the Abstruse Energy World, made up of another kind of light dots?


    Ziya was unable to solve and perfect these questions and theories, but now he could rely on Geoffrey for help.

 Chapter 3705 Birth Of The Evil

    Silence hung in the air as the Primeval Lord of Heaven, the Snake Goddess, Fuxi, and the others stared at Zen and waited for his decision.


    There were many reasons Geoffrey should stay and help Ziya, such as to help the human race and for the Finale Way.


    However, Geoffrey was still Zen''s son, and it was normal for a father to worry about his son''s safety.


    Finally, Zen came to a decision. "I will tell your mother that you are here to learn martial arts," he said.


    When Geoffrey heard those words, excitement quickly replaced his previously upset expression.


    Zen shook his head at the instant change in his son''s attitude, but he still reminded him, "Although I allow you to enter the Abstruse Energy World, you have to know that this is not my inner world.


    Only you can save yourself once you are in danger..."


    It wasn''t a problem for Geoffrey to turn the world upside down within his inner world, but of course, the real world was much harsher. "I know," Geoffrey said affectionately. He was touched as he felt his father''s deep love for him.


    But he was no longer young, and he had the burden of living under his father''s glory before. It was time for him to march alone.


    He had grown up listening to all the legends of Zen back when he was in the Cloud Hall. Later on, he went to the divine land and met many powerful warriors like Augustus, Joy and the others¡ªbut his father seemed to be far too stronger than them.


    Then, he arrived at the Source World and was kept in his father''s inner world for quite some time.


    During that time, it seemed that his father only contacted him when he needed to decipher Sanskrit words. It looked like Zen forgot about him most of the time.


    Still, he understood that his father had been very busy and hadn''t stopped a bit for over a hundred years.


    But the busier he was, the more Geoffrey wanted to prove that he was very useful!


    It was probably impossible to catch up with his father in terms of cultivation, but travelling in the Abstruse Energy World was his strong point.


    Besides, these great warriors who seemed to be mightier than his father all placed great importance on the Abstruse Energy World.


    Most importantly, he also liked the feeling of staying in the Abstruse Energy World. He wanted to continue exploring that world!


    A while later, Ziya invited Zen, the Primeval Lord of Heaven, and the others to move within the palace.


    He had already shown the Abstruse Energy World to everyone, bu


    ission," Divine Farmer answered briefly.


    "Can you let go of the White Seal Province?" the Gale Eagle asked again. "No," said Divine Farmer, a hint of pity in his eyes.


    "But you can lead the Gale Eagle race to leave," he added.


    The Gale Eagle was clearly disappointed. He shouted, "The White Seal Province is the ancestral home of our race, so how can we easily give it up? You''ll burn it over my dead body!"


    Since Divine Farmer was an Eternal Warrior, he was far stronger than the Gale Eagle. The Gale Eagle naturally knew that resistance was futile and he would be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. Thus, he was ready to die.


    "You once helped us before. Please don''t make things difficult for me," said Divine Farmer.


    However, the Gale Eagle turned a deaf ear to his plea. At that moment, an Other Shore Token spun above his head. Then, he spread his wings and attacked Divine Farmer.


    A few minutes later, the eagle with broken wings fell from the sky and plunged into the ground. Along with him was the Minimum Space with a dot of flame.


    Soon enough, the provinces burned to ashes one by one. Restlessness and misery hung like a thick blanket throughout the Source World.


    When there was a slight conflict between creatures and races, they would pull out their weapons and attack each other. It happened so much that there were endless conflicts amongst races!


    Not long after, the negativity in the Source World escalated to the extreme, then suddenly vanished without a trace.


    While all of those happened, a new creature was born in one corner of the Source World. This creature emitted an intense aura of evilness.

 Chapter 3706 The Reborn Usman

    This evil creature was born in a human tribe in the Jade Law Province.


    The Jade Law Province used to belong to the Nine Li race but after the race was destroyed, it fell under the control of the Bearing race.


    Ninety percent of the province''s population was comprised of humans.


    Shortly after their occupation of the Jade Law Province, the Bearing race conducted a ruthless purge within the province.


    Those who remained loyal to the Nine Li race were exterminated and any news about the Nine Li race was completely blocked and prohibited.


    In time, any trace of the Nine Li race was thoroughly erased and the people of the Jade Law Province completely shifted their loyalties to the Bearing race. Of course, the shifting of loyalties came after the realization that they had no choice but to accept the Bearing race as their new leaders.


    The past few days were literal hell as the temperature in the entire Jade Law Province constantly soared. The scorching sun seemed determined to evaporate every last drop of water in the land and the air was thick with heat and irritation over the entire province.


    Somewhere within Peace City was the city lord''s mansion and in it, a baby was born.


    This was a moment of great joy for city lord Paxton Zhou but the moment his child was birthed, he heard a shrill scream.


    Concerned about the safety of his wife and child, he hurriedly rushed into the delivery room.


    He was not prepared for the sight that awaited him.


    His wife lay dead in a pool of blood while several midwives were horrifyingly beheaded. On the floor was a naked baby.


    The appearance of his child stunned him.


    Judging from the baby''s initial appearance, it was undoubtedly human. However, the two short horns on his head made him look like a fiend.


    This fiendish baby giggled and waved his little, bloody hand towards Paxton Zhou as if to proudly tell him that yes, he was the one who killed all these people.


    Paxton Zhou felt a shiver run down his back at the sight of his supposed son''s evil smile.


    He shook his head in denial and tried to make sense of it all.


    "This is impossible!" he murmured under his breath. "My son wouldn''t do this! You are not my son!"


    He was an outstanding warrior in the Jade Law Province. At the young age of over thirty, he was able to reach the Other Shore Realm and become the city lord of Peace City, which was a very extraordinary feat.


    How could this terrible devastation happen to his wife and


    ow Thearch remained unyielding nor did he make any effort to fight back. In fact, there was a trace of tenderness in his eyes when he looked at the small infant.


    To the baby''s horror, Yellow Thearch bent down and picked him up in his arms.


    What could''ve been seen as a gentle act was actually anything but. Yellow Thearch''s hold contained an irresistible force.


    The baby was effectively restrained by the powerful being. "What''s your name?" Yellow Thearch asked.


    Nobody in their right mind would ask a baby a question and expect an answer, but then again this was no ordinary baby. Not only did Yellow Thearch expect an answer from him, but his tone also held a trace of authority that allowed no retorts.


    There was a momentary trace of hesitation on the baby''s face but Yellow Thearch insisted.


    "Tell me."


    Realizing that there was no dodging the powerful being''s query, the baby babbled for a few seconds before answering. "My name is Usman..."


    The corners of Yellow Thearch''s mouth curled up in a smile. "Very good." He was not surprised to hear that.


    The Usman that previously existed belonged to the Black Ship and was killed in the hands of Yellow Thearch and a few other people. However, someone like Usman, who was the incarnation of all negative emotions of the Source World, could not really die. So long as resentment and hate remained and accumulated to a certain level, he would be reborn infinitely.


    "From now on, you will be the boy of our Bearing race!" Yellow Thearch declared.


    As he said that, he tightened his grip onto the baby and walked into the void, leaving behind a dead city with headless corpses.

 Chapter 3707 Soul City

    After he finally understood the entire story, the Primeval Lord of Heaven didn''t order Ziya any further.


    What occurred in the Deleting Space was beyond what he''d imagined.


    He needed time to absorb what he''d seen, and at the same time, had to hand over the exploration of the Abstruse Energy World to Ziya and Geoffrey. After all, energy souls couldn''t give much help.


    As for the Heart of Limit, Zen tried to carry it.


    Since the Heart of Limit was taken to the Deleting Space from the Abstruse Energy World, he tried to use the Truth of Three-Energy Construction to carry it but failed.


    No matter how hard they analyzed, neither Zen nor Ziya could seem to understand the reason it didn''t work.


    But because Zen was the first person to carry the Other Shore Token in the Deleting Space, the problem could be in the Truth of Three-Energy Construction, Deleting Space, or the Heart of Limit itself. Still, they couldn''t pinpoint the right one.


    Ziya looked very disappointed. He wanted so bad to see the Deleting Space as another Other Shore.


    But Zen wasn''t bothered by it.


    With his current abilities, he still could not bring the three Civilization Artifacts to their limits. Even if he truly carried the Heart of Limit, there would be no guarantee that it would help him.


    At this point, his top priority was to achieve a higher level on the Other Shore. Nothing else mattered except this.


    A few days later, Zen left the Deleting Space.


    And since Zen left, so did the energy souls. Meanwhile, the bodies Ziya had created for the Primeval Lord of Heaven and the others remained like statues in the palace.


    Geoffrey, on the other hand, remained in the Deleting Space. He was not alone - he had the holy maiden of the Flower Dancing Sect as company. Zen''s promise to Geoffrey was finally fulfilled now.


    Even so, Zen was still uneasy with this action. He mentioned to Letitia that Geoffrey had been chosen by a human master and accepted as a disciple. This meant that he was to be secluded and isolated for a long stretch of time.


    If Letitia found out that Zen lied to her, would she still treat him as intimately as usual?


    Weeks went by and the Oneness Sky Palace was gradually restored to its original state.


    The once damaged Dragon City had been rebuilt, while the Phoenix Palace had been moved elsewhere.


    Because the Bearing race broke through the Dragon Cliff, the southeast of the Bloom Divine Province grew restless. It was for this reason that Goran r


    m.


    In Stage Nineteen, the hurricanes never ceased. As they scanned the area, they could only see boundless yellow sand.


    Fortunately, the star ring leading to Stage Twenty was not too far away. Elvinia led the way, and they found the star ring in less than five minutes.


    Near the star ring, some human Souls of Light sized up them. Their origins were unknown, but they seemed to be powerful. Not long after though, the Souls of Light retreated from the Other Shore after whispering among each other.


    Just as Zen and Elvinia were about to step into the star ring and enter Stage Twenty, Zen paused.


    He recalled that not long after he entered the Source World, he obtained an Other Shore Key from the tomb of the Sword Light Palace''s leader. That Other Shore Key could open up a temple in Stage Nineteen.


    But now, such a temple was no longer attractive to Zen. He wanted to give that Other Shore Token to Chaim and his companions for exploration.


    After a few moments, he continued and stepped into the star ring alongside Elvinia.


    They passed Stage Twenty, Stage Twenty-one, and Stage Twenty-two...


    And as they passed each stage, they saw every scene change drastically.


    If it were any other person, they would have stopped in each stage just to explore.


    However, Zen and Elvinia had one goal only. They moved up stages quickly, each and every time they found the star ring.


    It didn''t take long until they arrived in Stage Twenty-eight, the Eternal Prohibition Stage. The upper stage of it was the Constant Glory Stage, where the Soul City was located. Their journey was about to finish! However, they met some challenges in no time.

 Chapter 3708 Another Way

    Generally speaking, the forces in different stages of the Other Shore had different structures.


    For instance, the ruling civilizations were considered as the supreme forces in some stages, just like the Abyss Spirit race that dominated Stage Eleven of the Other Shore.


    In some stages, the native races on the Other Shore became the rulers.


    At the very beginning, the Element Spirit race had tried to rule the Other Shore. They also had a plan about the stage rulers, especially since the Dark Region had appeared. They wanted to occupy all the nineteen stages of the Desire World and make sure that they would control the ruler in each stage.


    It was a good plan. During their peak, nearly thirteen of the nineteen stage rulers belonged to the Element Spirit race.


    However, what the Element Spirit race did was an offense to everyone else.


    By the time the Dark Region had appeared, the Other Shore was already a very perfect world. Many of the ruling civilizations that escaped from the chaos were not easy to deal with.


    The high pressure on the Element Spirit race was what eventually broke them. At the same time, there were other races such as the Nihility race that attacked them. Now, only six stage rulers were completely under the Element Spirit race''s control.


    Stage Twenty-eight of the Other Shore, the Eternal Prohibition Stage, was under the control of the Element Spirit race. However, the higher the stage was, the more the larger races would restrain themselves.


    Although the stage ruler of the Eternal Prohibition Stage was from the Element Spirit race, in the past few years, the Element Spirit race had rarely interfered in the travel of other races on the Other Shore.


    After many races had resisted in their last attempt, the Element Spirit race realized that they could only control the Other Shore if they did it step by step. Hindering the development of the other ruling civilizations or completely destroying them would have adverse effects.


    Such a strategy conceptualized after reflection was effective. Under the continuous influence of the Element Spirit race, many races and ruling civilizations on the Other Shore were willing to or were forced to join them. Now, there were very few races that could oppose the Element Spirit race.


    Recently, there had been some changes in the Eternal Prohibition Stage. More and more Moon Fire Slaves descended from Stage Thirty-two of the Other Shore.


    As the strongest fighters of the Element Spirit race, the Moon Fire Slaves were undoubtedly a powerful force.


    Therefore the races of the Other Shore that lived in


    shook his head. He looked at Elvinia and continued, "Both of you came here with your physical bodies, and your face is clear, Princess Elvinia.


    You can''t pass through the star ring openly without alerting the Moon Fire Slaves!" "Then what should we do?" Elvinia asked as her beautiful eyes narrowed into slits.


    Zen also lowered his head in silence.


    If the star ring was really heavily guarded, there would be no other decent way except for breaking into the star ring as he did in Stage Eleven of the Other Shore.


    "But this time, there are creatures from other races that are willing to help," Doyle Zhuo said out of the blue.


    "Who are willing to help?" Elvinia asked curiously. "The Ear Mouse race," replied Doyle Zhuo with a smile.


    "Elder Pearce has spent a lot of soul pills on the cooperation with the Ear Mouse race. You can go to the star ring through the underground passageway outside the Forbidden Rain City," he explained.


    The mouse races on the Other Shore were always considered as strong and formidable beings, and most of them had a good relationship with the Ear Mouse race.


    Yet, Elvinia just rolled her eyes at Doyle Zhuo''s answer. Since he was already prepared, he could just come straight to the point. Why did he have to beat around the bush now?


    It was true that he came all the way from Stage Twenty-nine to meet with Elvinia, so she didn''t say much. There was only a slight hint of dissatisfaction in her voice as she said, "Then please lead the way!"


    After that, Zen and Elvinia, under Doyle Zhuo''s lead, traveled to the front of the mountain nearest to the Forbidden Rain City.


    On one side of the mountain was a naturally formed cave. Several huge mice guarded the cave''s entrance.

 Chapter 3709 A Trap

    These mice were gigantic. Their faces looked ferocious, and their bean-sized eyes were fixated on them.


    Upon seeing the unfriendly gazes of these giant mice, Zen said, "Doyle, I don''t think the Ear Mouse race is here."


    The Ear Mouse race had entered the Other Shore in the form of Souls of Light, and Zen had been on good terms with them.


    Now that he couldn''t see any Ear Mouse here, Zen felt something was amiss.


    "Most Souls of Light don''t stay in Stage Twenty-eight of the Other Shore. The Ear Mouse race will also choose to stay in the Constant Glory Stage to pass the test of the Soul City. If it weren''t for you and Princess Elvinia, I wouldn''t have come either," answered Doyle.


    "But these giant mice..." Zen said hesitantly.


    "Don''t worry, Zen. These are members of the Twilight Mouse race. They take orders from the Ear Mouse race, so there is no problem," said Doyle, who then took the lead and entered the cave ahead of Zen and Elvinia.


    Elvinia glanced at Zen and smiled faintly. "Don''t be suspicious. Let''s go in too!" she said.


    Zen stood still on the spot for a moment. It was as if he was communicating with someone. Before long, the deep creases in his brows smoothened, and he raised his legs and strode forward to catch up with Elvinia. His steps were now firm.


    Mice were good at digging holes underground. The Twilight Mouse race had been living in Stage Twenty-eight of the Other Shore for several chaotic eras.


    The underground world of Stage Twenty-eight of the Other Shore was even more complicated than the Forbidden Rain City, but the Twilight Mouse race had obviously become the hegemony here.


    After the three of them entered the cave, a Twilight Mouse reached out and gently pressed the wall of the cave.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    With a series of reverberating booming noises, a huge rock rolled down at a slow speed and fell right at the entrance, sealing the entrance tightly.


    The moment the entrance of the cave was sealed, the inside of the cave immediately darkened.


    Crack!


    As soon as the cave fell into darkness, several dots of flames appeared at their sights.


    Several Twilight Mice were holding torches in their hands, illuminating the surroundings with ease.


    "Princess Elvinia, Zen, please," said Doyle, stretching out his hand and making a "please gesture" towards the cave.


    The cave near the surface of


    ith a smirk, Doyle said, "Nothing serious. Someone wants to take your lives, and I just brought you here as required."


    As soon as he finished speaking, those Moon Fire Slaves entered the cave. The temperature in the whole cave continued to rise.


    "Are you really Doyle?" Zen asked.


    Zen''s calmness made Doyle somewhat flustered and even a little apprehensive. In an impatient tone, he said, "Whether I''m Doyle or not, what does it have to do with you?"


    "I''m just curious. Doyle''s still a member of the Oneness Sky Palace. If he betrays the Oneness Sky Palace, he won''t be able to survive. This being the case, you''re most likely not Doyle," Zen said in a flat tone.


    "Haha! I''m not him¡ªso?"


    The shape of Doyle''s Soul of Light gradually changed, and his voice also turned sharper. Although his face couldn''t be seen clearly, it was obvious that he had changed into another person.


    As it turned out, someone else''s Soul of Light had been disguising as Doyle.


    "If you''re Doyle, I can show you some mercy. But since you''re not, you''re doomed to death," Zen replied indifferently.


    "Really? Haha... Then you''d better see if you can survive first!" The man took a step back while pointing at Zen and Elvinia.


    The Moon Fire Slaves, who had been approaching them slowly, now rushed over from different directions.


    "Zen, we have no other choice but to fight!" Elvinia squinted and said.


    Just as she was about to rush towards one of the passages, Zen stretched his hand, grabbed her wrist, and pulled it gently. At the same time, a shadow appeared on his forehead.

 Chapter 3710 The Power Of Finger Light

    The shadow which had appeared was the Primeval Lord of Heaven himself. Even in the Eternal Scroll Painting, his ranking was quite high.


    In the past, it was he who led the human race to fight against the Element Spirit race face to face. Furthermore, he himself had killed many Moon Fire Slaves throughout his time.


    Although his real body was trapped and only his energy soul was left, it was not a problem for him to use the power left in the Creation Myth Temple to help Zen resist the Moon Fire Slaves.


    Whoosh! Vibrations could be felt in the air as the battle started.


    "Take this!"


    A finger light drew an arc and shot towards the Moon Fire Slave in the front. The Moon Fire Slave collapsed to the ground with a loud thump, which was almost impossible to hear amidst the surrounding din.


    Clap! The finger light''s force left thunder-like sounds.


    The power of the finger light could be considered extremely strong in Stage Seventeen. It was also at the top in Stage Twenty-eight, but it was no longer as terrifying as it was in Stage Seventeen.


    However, the Primeval Lord of Heaven had experienced many battles. His experience harnessed not only his instincts, but also his skills. The finger light that pierced through the armor of the Moon Fire Slaves accurately pierced into the flames and through their spiritual cores.


    "Crack, crack, crack..."


    The nine Moon Fire Slaves that surrounded them from all directions froze in place.


    After a few seconds, the flames that were emitted from the armor gradually shrank, disappeared, and extinguished.


    The Moon Fire Slaves were a kind of fire spirits, and the flames were their forms. Since their spiritual cores were broken and their flame bodies disappeared, the powerful armor on their bodies collapsed and fell to the ground.


    The Soul of Light and the several Twilight Mice that had deceived Zen into coming in were all stunned. Their eyes were in a sort of daze and confusion was evident on their faces.


    What had just happened was indeed unexpected, for they really looked up to the Moon Fire Slaves. In fact, in their eyes, the Moon Fire Slaves were invincible.


    No one in Stage Twenty-eight could resist them. Even the ruler of Stage Twenty-eight couldn''t resist the joint attack of several Moon Fire Slaves.


    It should have been a piece of cake for the nine Moon Fire Slaves to kill two human beings, who had mere physical bodies, in a confined space.


    But in a flash, the nine Moon Fire Slaves were killed! Their shock was unmatched. Amongst the crowd were gasps, dropped jaws, and pale faces.


    "Kill them! Kill them!" the Soul o


    the Twilight Mice. The Twilight Mice were shocked when they heard that all nine of the Moon Fire Slaves had been killed.


    Even as creatures of Stage Twenty-eight on the Other Shore, they were still not qualified to participate in a battle of this level. Moreover, the Element Spirit race did not give an order to let them attack Zen and Elvinia.


    Squeaks echoed and soon, the eyes glowing in the darkness disappeared one by one.


    After the Twilight Mice left, Zen continued to walk up with Elvinia. After they came out from a square well, they saw neatly arranged star rings.


    "The Soul of Light didn''t lie to us," Zen said, nodding his head slightly as he sized up the star rings.


    In the Lust World, there were many star rings on each stage. Almost every ruling civilization had a star ring.


    However, many civilizations were still not able to reach a high stage. Now that it was Stage Twenty-eight, the number of star rings had decreased significantly. There were only more than 100 star rings in front of them, which meant that only more than 100 ruling civilizations had once come here.


    After finding the human race''s star ring, Zen immediately threw himself into it. Elvinia immediately followed, imitating Zen''s posture. Then, the two of them turned into two white lights and flew into the sky.


    Stage Twenty-eight was under the rule of the Element Spirit race. If they knew that the Moon Fire Slaves had been killed, they would probably turn to the stage ruler. If that happened, there might be another fierce battle. Thus, the earlier they left, the better.


    In what seemed to be an instant, two beams of straight white light shuttled all the way and finally arrived at Stage Twenty-nine, where the Soul City was located.

 Chapter 3711 The Boiling Blood

    A peak in blood-red color stood towering into the cloud. This was where the star ring of the human race was located.


    The circle of light in the middle of the star ring quivered, and two figures suddenly appeared in its vicinity.


    Once Zen''s eyes adapted to the environment, he looked around and was instantly stunned.


    On that peak, there was a circular platform with about seven or eight star rings at its center. The ones ascending to this place weren''t limited to the human race; other races also ascended to this place. Dozens of Souls of Light crowded around the circular platform.


    These Souls of Light had different forms. They belonged to various races, but for some reason, none of them belonged to the human race.


    When they saw Zen''s and Elvinia''s corporeal bodies, their eyes lit up.


    "These two people... They have corporeal bodies?"


    "How do they do that?"


    "That human girl seems to be an Other Shore creature?"


    Since they could see Elvinia''s features clearly, they naturally took her as an Other Shore creature.


    Ignoring these Souls of Light, Zen walked to the edge of the round platform and looked around.


    There were many blood-red peaks in the Constant Glory Stage. They were quite far away from each other and were surrounded by abysses. A lava-like red liquid flowed at the depth of those abysses.


    "From Stage Twenty-nine to above, the Other Shore will be extremely dangerous," Elvinia, who stood beside him, spoke. "As you can see, the bottom of the Constant Glory Stage is filled with red liquid known as ''boiling blood'', Any creature that comes into contact with it will completely melt away."


    "But it isn''t dangerous, is it?" Zen''s gaze had already shifted from the bottom to the side of the peak. Paths that looked endless had been built among these peaks. As long as they didn''t seek death and jump into the boiling blood, they would naturally be able to pass through safely.


    Moreover, Zen could fly in the air, so it was naturally easier for him to pass through.


    "Human friend, the boiling blood at the bottom isn''t a big deal, but don''t forget that there are still those Garudas in the sky!" A Soul of Light almost thirty feet tall suddenly came towards them.


    "Garudas..."


    Zen looked up.


    Vaguely, shadows of giant birds could be seen flying about behind the clouds. However. Those birds seemed to do nothing else except circling around high in the sky.


    "According to the information I''ve checked, we indeed have to


    withdrew from the Other Shore.


    Right at this moment, the voice of the Primeval Lord of Heaven suddenly rang in Zen''s mind. "This is really strange. Has the Blood Fog Spell already gone extinct in the Constant Glory Stage?"


    "Blood Fog Spell? What is that?" Zen asked.


    "Well, it seems that the Element Spirit race have worked hard over the years to erase a lot of things," the Primeval Lord of Heaven said with a helpless smile. "The Garudas on the Constant Glory Stage are indeed powerful. Even the ruler of this stage is a Garuda. This is indeed a rare occurrence."


    Generally speaking, the creatures in the Dark Region were much more powerful than the creatures in the Light Region. However, it was indeed rare that both the Dark Region and the Light Region of the Constant Glory Stage were dominated by Garudas.


    Fortunately, the Garudas were very arrogant.


    No matter how hard the Element Spirit race tried, they had never been able to win them over. Although these birds were dangerous and cruel, they didn''t listen to the Element Spirit race.


    The Garudas that stood on the top of the Constant Glory Stage were most afraid of the boiling blood in the abyss. In fact, most of the Other Shore creatures on the Constant Glory Stage relied on the boiling blood to survive.


    After the Primeval Lord of Heaven told Zen the origins of the gigantic Garudas, he continued, "Long ago, someone had discovered that the blood fog could drive the Garudas away. Using the Blood Fog Spell to summon the boiling blood fog was practically the necessary means to pass through the Constant Glory Stage. I never expected that no one knows about it now."

 Chapter 3712 Before The Gate

    The Other Shore hadn''t always been the same. Since the Primeval Lord of Heaven and the others hadn''t returned to the high stages in a long time, they didn''t know that they had undergone earth-shattering changes.


    Zen was hesitant now. He wondered whether he should listen to Elvinia and leave when the blood fog appeared, or just barge through.


    It would be great if the Blood Fog Spell that the Primeval Lord of Heaven had mentioned really existed.


    "Primeval Lord of Heaven, does the Blood Fog Spell still have an effect?" Zen asked doubtfully.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven said, "You''ll know when you try."


    The Blood Fog Spell was similar to the Illusion Breaking Rune and was easy to master. Zen had mastered it in less than five minutes. He then walked to the edge of the round platform.


    Elvinia and the others were confused at Zen''s behavior and thought that he was about to tease the Garuda like the short Soul of Light.


    But they heard Zen vaguely chant something.


    While Zen had recited, the blood in the abyss at the foot of the mountain boiled even more fiercely, as if a fierce beast was emerging from it.


    A trace of bright red blood floated up into the air.


    Elvinia and the others gasped, their eyes widening in shock.


    "How has the blood fog appeared so soon?"


    "He can summon the blood fog?!"


    "I''ve never heard of such a method before!"


    The Blood Fog Spell was not a complicated method, but the Element Spirit race had erased it from history for a long time. There still remained a small number of people who had mastered this method, but no outsider knew of it.


    As they watched the blood fog spreading, the Souls of Light rushed cheerily into the path.


    But the blood fog seemed to consider Zen as the center and spread around him. It wouldn''t move if Zen didn''t move forward. This caused the Souls of Light to come to halt and wait for Zen to take the lead.


    "Let''s go," Zen said with a smile.


    Elvinia, who was standing behind Zen, whispered to him, "Did that senior master teach you this?"


    "Yeah," Zen said, nodding.


    After he had carried the book, he had owned a number of abilities within himself that he couldn''t explain. Elvinia knew the truth, and Zen also had


    ted.


    It took some time for Zen''s Soul of Light to arrive here from the lower stage. Without the protection of his physical body, Zen''s Soul of Light, which was at the ultimate level of the Indigo Soul, was relatively weak and he still had to pass through Stage Twenty-eight.


    Fortunately, the Element Spirit race paid most of their attention to his physical body, which was why they didn''t do a strict inspection of the Souls of Light. What was more, it wouldn''t be easy for them to recognize Zen''s Soul of Light.


    After safely crossing Stage Twenty-eight, Zen quickly came to Stage Twenty-nine, the Constant Glory Stage. He used the Blood Fog Spell to move forward. It took him more than half a day of non-stop journey to finally appear at the entrance of the Soul City and meet Elvinia.


    The two of them continued to wait at the gate of the Soul City. A day later, more and more Souls of Light appeared at the gate.


    They included members of the Separate Abyss race, the Azure Wolf race, the New Moon race, and the human race.


    Souls of Light of all races had emerged.


    The previously quiet square in front of the Soul City became noisy almost instantly.


    "To enter the Soul City, you need reach the ultimate level of the Indigo Soul. You will be courting death if you don''t. I still have the soul crystal that I''m selling at a low price. Only three million soul pills per finger-size trunk." an Ear Mouse exclaimed, seizing the opportunity to sell its soul crystal.

 Chapter 3713 The Soul Pillars

    A smile appeared on Zen''s face when he heard the voice of the Ear Mouse hawking its soul crystal.


    Normally, a finger-size chunk of soul crystal could be bought with one million soul pills. Now, however, these Ear Mice asked for three million. Their greed was really insatiable.


    Nevertheless, the Souls of Light crowding around the gate of the Soul City were in a hurry to pass the trial. If they really fell just a little short of the required level, they would most likely choose to pay three million soul pills. Besides, the strong warriors who had reached this level must have a high status in their respective races, so they could afford so many soul pills.


    After a while, the gate of the Soul City slowly opened.


    The moment the gate opened, numerous faces of the Souls of Light appeared on the gate and let out incessant wails.


    At the same time, a vast amount of soul auras flooded out of the city.


    Zen had seen the auras of the Souls of Light of Eternal Realm masters, such as Eastern Emperor Taiyi and Emperor Charm. However, even the auras of Eternal Warriors could not be compared to those in front of him.


    The Soul City was formed by trillions of souls after all.


    "The gate is open!"


    "I hope I can go further this time!"


    "Every time I came, I always failed to move forward. I''ve been stuck in that step for years."


    As soon as the gate was opened, it was immediately jammed with countless people trying to enter the city.


    "Let''s go in," said Zen.


    He and Elvinia immediately followed the other Souls of Light into the Soul City.


    The moment Zen set foot in the Soul City, he was immediately wrapped in the ubiquitous soul auras. Generally speaking, the soul aura could be seen as leaked consciousness, and consciousness itself could be said as one''s deepest thought or desire. For example, when someone''s desire to kill was strong, their soul aura would become extremely sharp, just like a sharpened knife.


    A weak soul exposed to a murderous aura would feel very uncomfortable. If it was too weak, it would even be annihilated directly.


    If it was a gentle aura, it could comfort the other party and even had the effect of repairing the soul.


    There were countless souls in the Soul City, and each had their own consciousness, so the soul auras contained within were incomparably complicated. They had a very cumbersome impact on Zen.


    He seemed to be able to listen


    em before, but she wasn''t too familiar with them. Now that they introduced themselves like this, she naturally knew who they were.


    Elvinia smiled and said, "What a coincidence. I guess I''ll make a breakthrough to the Holy Soul Realm along with you guys."


    Entering the Soul City and reaching the Holy Soul Realm was never an easy task.


    It was an extremely painful test for souls. Some people gave up after trying several times, unwilling to take this test again for the rest of their lives. Those who could come to the Soul City for hundreds or thousands of times were the persistent ones.


    It was the first time Elvinia had entered the Soul City. In the eyes of others, she was a mere newcomer.


    "Princess Elvinia, work hard," Gabriel encouraged.


    Upon introducing herself, Libby looked at the soul pillar next to Elvinia''s and asked, "Princess Elvinia, may I know who this man is?"


    In fact, she already knew the answer. After the battle in the Oneness Sky Palace, she knew that Elvinia had a close relationship with Zen. The man who came to Stage Twenty-nine with Elvinia must be that powerful Zen.


    "This is Zen," Elvinia replied curtly.


    While Zen didn''t return to the Land of Sword Grief after the battle with the Sun Crow race, the story of his deeds had undoubtedly spread to that place, turning him into a household name.


    Before Goran went to the Dragon Cliff, he said in the Land of Sword Grief, "If it wasn''t because our Oneness Sky Palace had Zen, the human race in the Bloom Divine Province would''ve been exterminated."


    The significance of Zen''s presence was self-evident.

 Chapter 3714 Reading The Sanskrit Words

    Together with the other disciples of the third floor, Gabriel observed Zen''s Soul of Light with utmost curiosity.


    Considering Zen''s Soul of Light alone, it might seem there was nothing absolutely remarkable about him.


    After all, anyone who was able to enter the Soul City was obviously at the ultimate level of the Indigo Soul. People like Gabriel and Carver had been staying at this level for a long time.


    Therefore, Zen and Elvinia who had just made it to Stage Twenty-nine were still considered as novices here.


    However, Zen was a famous disciple of the Oneness Sky Palace. Almost everyone had heard of his name before.


    Among the disciples in the entire Land of Sword Grief, Libby had seen the most of the battle against the Sun Crow race. Back then, she was a novice in the Oneness Array.


    On the other hand, Gabriel and Carver only had the option to join the twelve passes and become Oneness Generals.


    "It''s a pleasure to meet you, Zen!"


    "Nice to finally meet you!"


    Gabriel, Carver, and the other disciples of the third floor all came forward, cupped their hands and bowed slightly as they greeted Zen. They all seemed too enthused.


    With that, Zen also bowed slightly to them. "This is the very first time that Elvinia and I have entered the Soul City. Thus, we are very unfamiliar with this place. I hope you can lend us a hand," he said politely.


    "No problem! It is safe to say that with your strength, it won''t be that difficult to pass the test of the Soul City," replied Gabriel with a reassuring smile.


    "Is that so? Well, that is quite flattering." Zen humbly accepted the compliment with a wave of his hand.


    All of a sudden, his soul pillar flashed and began to vibrate slightly while he was still speaking.


    Carver noticed this as well. So he said, "The soul pillars are about to ascend. Come, let''s choose our own pillars!"


    There were lots of soul pillars all over the entire Soul City. Many of the ones located behind Zen were not occupied. With a gentle leap, Carver, Gabriel, and the other disciples skillfully boarded the soul pillars and sat down cross legged.


    The number on Libby''s soul pillar was seventeen. This meant that she had already come to the Soul City for the seventeenth time. Carver''s number was one hundred and ninety-eight, while Gabriel''s was two hundred and thirty. The two of them had been to the Soul City many times before.


    "With Zen''s strength, it''ll be very easy for him to pass the test of the Soul City, right?" Carver whispered to Gabriel.


    Gabriel merely snorted at this. "As far as I know, he did not gain those great achievements


    him and smiled. "Well, do you understand Sanskrit words?"


    Unfortunately, Zen couldn''t understand Sanskrit words either. He didn''t have the incredible ability to decipher the Sanskrit words instantly just like Geoffrey. If he truly wanted to decipher the Sanskrit words methodically, it would definitely take him a very long time.


    Coming out of his reverie, Zen had a sudden realization. "Do you mean to say that this song..." His voice trailed away as he waited for the answer.


    "Yes, these are their voices." The Primeval Lord of Heaven confirmed what Zen had on his mind.


    It was well-known that Sanskrit words were incomprehensible within the chaos.


    If people really wanted to read and understand them, they had to decipher them first. However, this method was time-consuming.


    Meanwhile, Geoffrey had merely translated the Sanskrit words without even knowing how to read them.


    In actuality, Sanskrit words could be read. However, there wasn''t a single person in the chaos who could read Sanskrit words instantly.


    "It turns out those Sanskrit words are read in such a strange and baffling way," Zen mused. He tilted his head to the side and listened carefully.


    Based on his observation, there were times when the sounds were rising and falling in cadence and then suddenly becoming delicate and subtle. To him, they seemed like a poem or a song. They were like people scolding each other in the marketplace. They could only be understood mentally. Therefore, they could not be described by mere words.


    After listening closely for a while, Zen smiled bitterly. "How will I be able to cultivate the Colorless Soul and reach the Holy Soul Realm with this? I can''t quite make sense of these chaotic and irregular sounds."

 Chapter 3715 One Thousand Feet To Pass The Test

    "Listen carefully," the Primeval Lord of Heaven muttered in an urgent tone. "Back then, I only entered Soul City three times before I was able to pass through. I was able to do that because of my comprehension of this song."


    Zen''s eyes widened in astonishment. "You were able to pass through after just three tries?"


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven beamed with pride. "Of course!"


    It was not difficult to pass the Soul City''s test, but that didn''t mean it was easy either. After all, only those who were able to reach Stage Twenty-nine of the Other Shore were able to enter the Soul City, which meant they had to have a certain level of talent and skill to be qualified.


    Every third-floor disciple of the Land of Sword Grief like Gabriel, Carver, or Libby would also be considered a favored talent had they been part of any other super force in the Source World.


    So long as they worked hard and tried their best, they would eventually pass the Soul City''s test. The only variation was the length of time it took for them to succeed.


    The fastest person in history to have passed through Soul City was the Grandmaster of Heaven, who was the Primeval Lord of Heaven''s junior fellow disciple.


    The two of them had entered the Soul City for the first time on the same day. The Primeval Lord of Heaven passed after three tries while the Grandmaster of Heaven was able to do it after two. This was the main reason why the Primeval Lord of Heaven always thought his fellow disciple was way more talented than him.


    Their records remained unbroken even now.


    The song lingered in Zen''s ears and he no longer cared whether he understood the lyrics or not. Instead, he chose to close his eyes and listened closely.


    Elvinia was also listening with a serene expression on her face as she sat cross-legged on another pillar.


    Whilst everyone listened, a soul pillar began to rise. On top of this pillar was a member of the Separate Abyss race.


    This Separate Abyss member had a big build and looked somewhat funny on top of the pillar because of it. He had to carefully maintain his balance in order not to fall off.


    Since he was the first to enter the soul cloud, everyone''s attention was on him.


    "That''s Toby from the Separate Abyss race!"


    "He is ascending so fast! Is he determined to pass the test this time?"


    "Of course he is! He''s alread


    began to drive their soul pillars up through the cloud. Others still eagerly listened to the song in hopes of an epiphany.


    "There''s no need to be nervous for your first try, Zen. Everyone fails the first time," Gabriel assured Zen.


    Carver echoed his sentiment. "Yes. There''s no need to be nervous. Besides, even if this is your first time I don''t doubt for a second that your performance will be extraordinary!"


    Being in the soul cloud wasn''t a walk in the park. If one was not well-prepared, then he or she could end up in a miserable state.


    Hearing their words, Elvinia, who had been listening attentively to the song, opened her eyes and gave them a frown.


    She was just about to refute what they said when a voice suddenly spoke. "Gabriel, Carver, what nonsense are you two spouting?!"


    It was Libby. She turned to Zen and began to give him tips and warnings. "Zen, the cloud is full of dangers. Don''t be careless. You can''t enter the soul cloud until you''ve comprehended the song to a certain degree. If you feel uncomfortable at any point, you can jump down. It won''t matter if you fail. Just don''t ever force yourself to hold on!"


    Libby''s scolding was effective in zipping Gabriel''s and Carver''s mouths into silence.


    Zen nodded in understanding at her warning and continued to listen to the song.


    At the same time, Libby''s soul pillar began to rise and send her up into the soul cloud.


    It was only her seventeenth time here in the Soul City but the speed at which she rose was remarkable owing to her outstanding ability of comprehension.

 Chapter 3716 The Holy Soul Imprint

    The last time she entered the Soul City, Libby had risen to a height of six hundred and twenty feet.


    It was only her sixteenth time entering the Soul City, so being able to reach such a height was a big deal in the city. There were very few people like her, at least in the Source World. Naturally, she attracted a lot of attention in the Soul City.


    Libby''s rising speed was far from Toby''s. She was careful the entire time, rising at a constant speed. Within five minutes, she had risen over a hundred feet.


    After a few minutes, she was at six hundred feet.


    Gabriel, Carver, and the rest paid close attention to Libby, nervously watching her soul pillar.


    "This time, she may rise to a height of over seven hundred feet!"


    "Maybe she can break the Oneness Sky Palace''s record!"


    "Look, she''s broken her last record!"


    After reaching the height of six hundred and twenty feet, Libby continued to rise. While she was somewhat slowing down, she still rose steadily and constantly.


    When the soul pillar reached a height of seven hundred feet, it finally came to a stop.


    Whoosh!


    A shadow descended from the soul cloud quickly, steadily landing on the ground.


    Just as Libby had said to Zen, she never forced herself in the soul cloud. It was only natural that she wasn''t as miserable as Toby when she landed.


    "Libby, you''ve reached a height of seven hundred feet at the seventeenth attempt. You truly are the pride of our Oneness Sky Palace!" praised Gabriel.


    "I''m flattered," Libby said flatly.


    After all, she never gave much importance to the records; otherwise, she could have pushed her abilities further.


    Just as the people of the Land of Sword Grief complimented her, an emotionless voice came from nearby. "The Oneness Sky Palace is proud of seven hundred feet? Interesting."


    Everyone turned to the source of the voice. Standing on the soul pillar was a human Soul of Light. The soul pillar displayed the number eleven.


    This indicated that the person had entered the Soul City eleven times.


    "It''s Dailey Ji from the Be


    y first met.


    "When one achieves the Colorless Soul, they will have a chance to try and reach a higher level. There is only one chance of this. If one misses it, there will be no second chance. But most of them choose to give up because moving forward proves to be too difficult," the Primeval Lord of Heaven said, looking at Dailey who was above the soul cloud. "He is an outstanding warrior of perception. He should be able to obtain a Holy Soul Imprint."


    "A Holy Soul Imprint?" Zen asked, raising his brows.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven nodded. "One imprint should be his limit."


    Having already reached a thousand feet, Dailey found it difficult to go further.


    The fact was now obvious to most.


    While Dailey was indeed extraordinary, it wasn''t easy for him to move upward in the light, let alone quickly.


    An hour later, he had risen up to eighty feet, with the soul pillar showing a thousand and eighty feet.


    Buzz!


    A golden imprint circled Dailey, attaching itself to the very surface of his soul. He then jumped down from the soul pillar and fell hard to the ground.


    Although the crowd couldn''t see Dailey''s face clearly, they could still feel his great joy.


    When he entered the Soul City for the eighth time, he already had the confidence to rise up to a thousand feet. For so long, he had prepared to reach his goal of the Holy Soul Imprint.

 Chapter 3717 Nine Holy Soul Imprints

    Everyone stopped whatever they were doing, stunned by what just happened to Dailey.


    Most of them were clueless of the Holy Soul Imprint to begin with.


    When ordinary people reached one thousand feet, they would have met the end of their ropes. At this height, they wouldn''t be able to hold on long, and their soul pillars wouldn''t rise any more.


    However, the world always had extraordinary warriors.


    In the past, people already discovered that one thousand feet was not the farthest they could go. Once this height was met, the soul pillar could still rise if one possessed enough strength.


    Meanwhile, there were a handful of creatures with extraordinary talents who attempted to push the envelope. Though one person would only have one chance, some of them finally obtained the Holy Soul Imprints.


    "I can''t believe that Dailey obtained a Holy Soul Imprint!"


    "He truly is so great!"


    "Wow, and it''s been so long since I saw someone do that last time..."


    People started chattering about Dailey''s success.


    Because those who were qualified to obtain a Holy Soul Imprint were so few, ordinary people forgot about it. Seeing Dailey do it, everyone was reminded about the imprint and in turn, shocked them.


    As Dailey studied the Holy Soul Imprint on his chest, the corners of his lips turned up for a small smile.


    "Congratulations, Dailey!"


    "Another member of the Bearing race successfully obtained a Holy Soul Imprint!"


    "Dailey, you surely have a bright future ahead of you!"


    Just then, the Soul of Lights from the Bearing race also came up to congratulate him.


    However, Libby stood a few meters away, looking not so pleased.


    In the Oneness Sky Palace, she was the apple of everyone''s eye, but in the Source World, she was not significant at all.


    It was for this reason that she knew Dailey was a lot stronger than her in everything.


    "Big deal."


    Gabriel snorted, annoyed with the situation. He sat on his soul pillar, which was found deep into the soul cloud. Behind him followed Carver, who rose into the cloud very gracefully.


    The two often came to the Soul City to test their strength, so they knew their limits quite well.


    Once he reached five hundred and sixty feet, Gabriel stood up and leaped off his soul pillar


    im by her side.


    Zen rested on his pillar and nodded at Elvinia. With one thought in his mind, his soul pillar began to rise slowly and took him to the sky.


    The minute he entered the soul cloud, he sensed tides rushing towards his Soul of Light. Meanwhile, ghost faces hid within the tides, all biting at Zen with ferocity.


    For some reason, Zen was unharmed by their bites. It came to a point that the ghost faces left without harming him.


    The longer he remained in the soul cloud, the more confused he got.


    In the past, Zen went through countless trials and tribulations that he was not shocked with them anymore. He''d suffered in all aspects, whether mentally or physically. In each test, he always came out stronger than ever.


    This was the first time all he had to do was sit. He had never been through such a peaceful test.


    Once the ghost faces stopped, Zen opened his eyes to see something odd - his soul pillar didn''t rise by even an inch!


    At this point, the Souls of Light under the soul cloud paid attention to him and began to giggle in mockery.


    "The poor guy didn''t comprehend even a little! That''s funny!"


    "Is he the kind of Soul of Light that can never turn into a Colorless Soul?"


    "I''ve heard that some Souls of Light can''t achieve the Colorless Soul, so they can''t advance even an inch in the soul cloud. That rarely happens though." People were laughing and confused at the same time.


    For some reason, the number on his pillar never advanced. How was this possible?

 Chapter 3718 Nine-Imprint Holy Soul

    Inside the quiet confines of the soul cloud was Zen, who was still quite confused.


    It wasn''t only him, however. Even the Primeval Lord of Heaven was baffled as well.


    The truth was that he had indeed planned to help Zen pass through the Soul City.


    Not only that, but he also wanted to help Zen obtain nine Holy Soul Imprints.


    Even though more than a thousand chaotic eras had passed, he still clearly remembered when he had obtained the seven Holy Soul Imprints, he had faintly seen that there seemed to be something else on top of the light column.


    He didn''t know what that was, but he guessed that it might have something to do with the Instant Civilization from the beginning.


    Everything about the Instant Civilization greatly piqued his interest.


    However, it was extremely difficult to obtain nine Holy Soul Imprints.


    Despite so many chaotic eras that had passed, the highest record was still eight Holy Soul Imprints.


    He thought that it was the first time that Zen had entered the soul cloud, so it would be better if he could take some time to adapt to the whole thing.


    Therefore, he planned to teach Zen about his experience after the latter returned from the soul cloud.


    Yet, Zen had remained motionless after he entered the soul cloud. That was why the Primeval Lord of Heaven was so confused. "Zen, what''s wrong with you?" the Primeval Lord of Heaven asked.


    "These things from the soul cloud don''t seem to affect me at all, and it looks like I can''t drive the soul pillar up either," said Zen.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven''s eyes slightly widened at Zen''s words. "It''s impossible¡­" he muttered.


    In general, one had to repeatedly replace the Soul of Light to achieve the Colorless Soul.


    The "colorless" indicated the world of materials. A person''s soul was born with seven emotions and six desires. Those seven emotions and six desires were constantly replaced when the "faces" in the soul cloud devoured one''s soul.


    For instance, Zen would constantly forget something but also obtain something during the whole process.


    Only after he had forgotten everything could his Soul of Light be reborn and become a real Colorless Soul. By then, his Soul of Light would be in the Holy Soul Realm.


    At that point, the Soul of Light that turned into a Colorless Soul would''ve undergone some drastic changes.


    he heard what the Primeval Lord of Heaven said, he thought for a moment and pulled the soul pillar upward once again.


    This time, the soul pillar finally moved.


    Swoosh...


    From the crowd''s point of view, those "faces" suddenly swarmed towards Zen and abruptly left in flocks. They were completely confused.


    Just then, the soul pillar began to rise rapidly.


    One hundred feet...


    Three hundred feet...


    Nine hundred feet...


    One thousand feet...


    "Buzz!"


    As the light column on top of the soul cloud rose, Zen''s figure also appeared.


    At that moment, he was still climbing up with the soul pillar under his feet.


    Once he had crossed a distance of one thousand and eighty feet, a golden Holy Soul Imprint was already engraved on his chest.


    As soon as the golden imprint appeared, however, Zen still continued to climb upwards.


    When he had crossed one thousand one hundred and sixty feet, he received the second Holy Soul Imprint.


    One thousand two hundred and forty feet...


    One thousand...


    The Holy Soul Imprints imprinted themselves on his body one after another.


    Meanwhile, Elvinia watched him from under the soul cloud with her hand over her mouth. She was speechless.


    Aside from Elvinia, all the others were similarly astonished and surprised as well.


    Dailey, in particular, trembled every time a Holy Soul Imprint appeared on the surface of Zen''s body.


    To obtain only one Holy Soul Imprint was considered the easiest, but only Dailey knew how much he had suffered just to get that one coveted Holy Soul Imprint.

 Chapter 3719 A Cabin With A Spire

    To reach the Colorless Soul was still a hard task for a Soul of Light who had reached the twenty-eighth stage of the Other Shore Realm.


    However, if given enough time, they still might be able to do it.


    Still, it usually took a huge deal of effort to obtain the Holy Soul Imprints.


    After all, every second inside the light column was no better than swimming in hot magma.


    It had already been a matter of life and death for Dailey to just hold on until the first imprint appeared. However, it seemed so easy for Zen to obtain those imprints! Of course, he found it hard to accept this.


    It wasn''t only Dailey who felt depressed, everyone present couldn''t keep calm as well.


    For instance, Gabriel had previously encouraged Zen in hopes of teaching him a lesson, but he never thought that Zen could cross the soul cloud and enter the light column above.


    "Blazing Fire Imprint!"


    "Myriad Lives Imprint!"


    "Lifeless Imprint!"


    "Myriad Ghosts Imprint!"


    "Myriad Ways Imprint!"


    "No Three Imprint!"


    "Earth Moving Imprint!"


    "Returning Sky Imprint!"


    The first eight Holy Soul Imprints hit the surface of Zen''s soul one by one.


    There was one on his chest, one on his elixir field, two on his shoulders, one on his forehead, and two on his waist.


    When Zen had obtained eight Holy Soul Imprints, the rising soul pillar under his feet suddenly stopped.


    Still confused, Zen asked, "What''s going on?"


    "I don''t know either," the Primeval Lord of Heaven answered with a shake of his head.


    It was known that the Primeval Lord of Heaven had a deep understanding of the Other Shore, and perhaps there were few people who knew some things he didn''t.


    However, Zen''s problem now was truly beyond his comprehension.


    He repeatedly tried to figure out what was wrong during the whole process.


    He also knew Zen''s origins quite well. After all, he had also created the Six-Pattern Blood-storing Tree, and the only variable in Zen''s growth was probably his special physical body and the Primal Chaos Technique. But even so, those two shouldn''t have much to do with the Soul City.


    Since the Primeval Lord of Heaven couldn''t figure out what the problem was, Zen didn''t bother to think about it.


    In any case, the soul pi


    e broken pieces fall, they swarmed towards them like a school of fish in the pond and desperately scrambled for those fragments.


    While the golden column continued to peel off, Zen''s Soul of Light slowly appeared, then the ninth Holy Soul Imprint fell on his head.


    "Power Guide Imprint!"


    Zen stood on the surface of the soul pillar, straightened his waist, and breathed slightly.


    The nine Holy Soul Imprints in his soul outlined golden meridians that were distributed the same way as his body''s meridians.


    As he exhaled, the golden meridians turned from light to dark, then from dark to light.


    Even though his soul had reached the Holy Soul Realm and had almost the same strength as his physical body, it was still a soul.


    At that moment, however, his soul underwent a qualitative change.


    The nine Holy Soul Imprints formed a large circulation, and made his soul a different life!


    "What''s this?" Zen asked when he saw a small copper ring float in front of him.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven looked at the copper ring with interest.


    He had seen it before when he obtained the seventh imprint.


    Zen stretched out his hand and gently pulled the copper ring, which caused the entire Soul City to shake.


    A huge gear wheel on the right side of the Soul City rolled slowly and continuously released the chain made of souls.


    A chain bridge, which was originally hidden inside the wall, descended slowly and extended towards Zen. The bridge led to that cabin with a spire!

 Chapter 3720 Chain Bridge

    Light streamed out from the window of the cabin.


    However, despite that the cabin was illuminated by the candlelight, one couldn''t see anything through the window with just their naked eyes.


    As the chain bridge came down from the opposite side of the soul pillars, the opportunity of exploring the secret in the cabin that remained unknown for over a thousand chaotic eras finally presented itself.


    "Go ahead, Zen," the Primeval Lord of Heaven coaxed. "Perhaps you have obtained a chance to face them."


    Staring at the chain bridge before him, Zen hesitated.


    To be honest, the only reason why he was exploring the Soul City was to reach the Holy Soul Realm. Now that he had achieved his goal, he had a chance to turn back.


    Yet, something tugged at him from the back of his mind. He carried the book of the human race, after all. He was the only hope of the human race.


    In a sense, he didn''t have the right to give up the opportunity to explore the secret.


    "Who are ''they''?" Zen asked.


    "The civilization that built the Soul City," the Primeval Lord of Heaven answered.


    Zen''s heart skipped a beat. "Is this the civilization that never existed?"


    "Never existed? Who told you that?" The Primeval Lord of Heaven raised his eyebrow slightly, feeling a bit stunned.


    "Snake Goddess," Zen replied. "Actually, to be precise, the avatar of her."


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven smiled faintly. "Snake Goddess thought too highly of herself. The Soul City, the Land of Bone Tribulation, and the Eternal Scroll Painting are the proofs of the existence of the Instant Civilization. No matter how powerful the Element Spirit race is, it''s impossible for them to create these things. In fact, they would try every way to destroy them first if they have the chance!"


    If the Soul City and the Land of Bone Tribulation were completely destroyed, no one else would be able to enter the Eternal Realm. As the forerunners, the Element Spirit race could have prevented others from becoming stronger than them by simply destroying the Soul City and the Land of Bone Tribulation. Obviously, they had every reason wanting to destroy them.


    Unfortunately, they hadn''t succeeded. Despite trying more than once, they couldn''t seem to completely destroy them. Helplessly, they had no choice but to watch as the Other Shore creatures and the Souls of Light came and went through the Soul City freely.


    "Then... Are you saying there are remnants of the Instant Civilization ins


    ime, space, truth, Godly Ways, and any laws--these were all designed by the Instant Civilization, a magical race that never made mistakes.


    Zen nodded. Then, he proceeded to cross the chain bridge with ease.


    The orange petals of light did no harm to Zen. On the contrary, they nourished his soul like a warm embrace. As Zen walked through the dense cloud of orange petals, he raised his arms to let his Soul of Light absorb them.


    The chain bridge was only a few thousand feet long. It wasn''t long before Zen arrived at the end of the bridge. Taking a deep breath, he stepped off the bridge and onto the path that led to the cabin with a spire.


    It was only then he realized that the buildings in the Soul City were built quite strangely. The entrances were quite narrow. If the creatures of the Instant Civilization had forms, they must''ve been very thin...


    However, after a few more steps, the path gradually widened.


    Carvings decorated the sides of the steps, but they were of neither beasts nor scenery. The carvings were quite abstract, showing only shapes from squares to circles to triangles, and so on.


    There seemed to be rich notes around these shapes. Upon a closer look, Zen realized these were fist-sized Sanskrit words that seemed to be explaining the connection between these shapes.


    Zen surveyed his surroundings. However, he couldn''t decipher the Sanskrit words. He was about to keep moving forward when the Primeval Lord of Heaven suddenly stopped him.


    "Zen, wait for a moment. I want to study these intricate carvings..." The Primeval Lord of Heaven was extremely interested in these carvings and Sanskrit words.

 Chapter 3721 The Door Closed

    Zen had made it here, so he was in no hurry. Since the Primeval Lord of Heaven now wished to observe and study, he would let him do so.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven had lived for over a thousand chaotic eras. Although he was not as skilled at deciphering Sanskrit words as Geoffrey, his attainments in Sanskrit words were still notable.


    As long as the words weren''t too complicated, he would have little trouble reading them.


    The carvings contained many secrets of the inner workings of the world and while he pondered over them, he seemed to have resolved many doubts he held in his heart.


    There were some things he didn''t know or couldn''t understand before, but he was able to find them on the carvings on both sides of the path.


    "I see...


    I did not expect that!"


    the Primeval Lord of Heaven exclaimed in a number of strange ways, while Zen slowly moved forward.


    As he moved further and the patterns on the walls turned more complex, the Primeval Lord of Heaven exclaimed less, simply because they were too complicated for him to understand.


    Eventually, the Primeval Lord of Heaven said, "Hurry up. I can''t understand any of them anymore."


    In this world, the unknown always outweighed the known.


    Zen nodded and sped up.


    Beneath the soul cloud, all the Souls of Light stretched their necks, watching Zen''s every move.


    What took place had nothing to do with them, but once they left the Soul City, they would most definitely report in great detail the events that transpired.


    "So many years have passed, and finally someone is able to enter that cabin!"


    "Will he be able to come back?"


    "Zen, be careful..."


    Some were jealous, some were envious, and some even cursed under their breath.


    Elvinia though, was a little worried.


    She had heard of the origin of the Soul City, but she had never thought that Zen would be able to reach its top.


    Zen took a few more steps and an e


    ushing at them.


    As for Elvinia, she had no trouble at all destroying those souls charging at her.


    Any souls that dared approach her were swiftly smashed to powder by her gentle palm strike.


    When they had rushed out of the wall, the door at the entrance of the Soul City had rumbled like an earthquake!


    "Is the door to the Soul City closing?"


    "What''s going on! Why is it closing so early?"


    "Get out of the Soul City right now!"


    All the Soul City''s terrible legends came to everyone''s mind.


    The front door to the Soul City was about to close and they were still a ways away from it.


    "Hoo, hoo..."


    Just then, countless souls rushed out of the soul cloud, their surfaces faintly coated in gold. The aura they emitted was quite obviously much stronger than that of the other souls.


    One of the members of the Separate Abyss race stood right below the soul cloud. He was swallowed by a large fish-shaped golden soul before he even had the time to react.


    His miserable screams echoed from the belly of the giant fish, but soon after disappeared...


    "Anson has been eaten by that big fish!" Toby roared.


    The others of the Separate Abyss race all cried in horror as well.


    It was then that the door to Soul City shut completely with a monstrous bang.

 Chapter 3722 Dreaded Eyes

    Each time the gates to the Soul City were closed, the souls imprisoned in the walls and the earth would emerge in a bloodthirsty haze.


    Because they had no consciousness, their only instinct was to constantly devour or be devoured. There were no winners here.


    Even the most powerful of souls would eventually exhaust its energy, and turn into a mindless zombie till it sank back into the earth and became a part of the Soul City.


    After a while, they would be born once more, and began to devour other souls to grow more powerful, until they sank back into the earth, and so on. The cycle was never ending.


    The Souls of Light from the Source World often waited outside the Soul City. From the gates, they could hear all kinds of howls and shrieks coming from within the Soul City.


    The Soul City was not home to Souls of Light nor the Other Shore creatures. It was home to these resentful souls.


    Now that the door was closed and all the Souls of Light were locked inside, it was not hard to imagine how things would turn out for them.


    "Everyone, huddle!"


    Libby reacted quickly and ordered with a trace of anxiety in her voice.


    In a situation this chaotic, if they tried to fight on their own, it was only a matter of time before they all died. Now, they needed to band closely together.


    Obediently, the other Souls of Light moved closer to her. Even Dailey from the Bearing race, who was initially hostile towards her, huddled towards the others.


    Just as everyone gathered around Libby, a dragon-shaped soul rushed towards them from the sky.


    "Soul-shattering Strike!" Libby cried.


    The moment she saw the dragon-shaped soul headed straight for them, she knew how powerful it was. Without hesitation, she launched her strongest soul attack.


    Raising her hand to the sky, countless soul swords shot upwards, one after the other.


    "Puff, puff, puff..."


    The Soul-shattering Strike was indeed powerful. If it was any other Soul of Light, it''d have been beaten to a pulp by now.


    However, when the swords hit the surface the dragon-shaped soul, the energy actually bounced off and disappeared into thin air.


    Libby''s face fell. Trembling slightly, she felt an incredible need to run away.


    However, the dragon-shaped soul was extremely fast. It bared its menacing


    doors to the Soul City would open.


    Then, 132 hours later, the flame of the golden pot would be extinguished, closing the gates to the Soul City.


    Now that the flame was extinguished by Zen, the door closed in advance!


    Just seconds after flame was extinguished, the Soul City was already in chaos. Zen needed to ignite the flame again somehow.


    "Flame..."


    When Zen was in the form of his physical body, he could use the Elementary Fire Godly Way to easily release flames.


    But in this situation, where could he possibly find a fire?


    Anxiously, he racked his brains trying to come up with a solution. Suddenly, his eyes lit up and he turned to the Primeval Lord of Heaven. "Is Master Zhurong able to..."


    Before he could even finish speaking, the Primeval Lord of Heaven replied. "If Zhurong can make a move, I can also release flames to help you ignite the golden pot. But you have forgotten what form you are in now."


    The Civilization Artifacts were borne by Zen''s inner world, turning into a strange form. When Zen entered the Other Shore with his physical body, he could release them from his inner world.


    However, when he was in the form of Soul of Light, he couldn''t use any Godly Way. Consequently, the Primeval Lord of Heaven and the others wouldn''t be able to help much.


    Zen''s frown deepened and he turned to stare outside the window again.


    Suddenly, a streak of golden lightning flashed across the soul cloud.


    "Crack!"


    Two huge dark blue eyes emerged from the depths of the soul cloud.

 Chapter 3723 The Second Hand

    Many soul hunters with strange shapes and peculiar figures had already emerged from the soul cloud.


    These hunters moved at an incredibly high speed all over the place. They moved on the ground, on the walls, and along the surface of the soul pillars. They were eager to find any chance to devour the Souls of Light as soon as possible.


    However, as soon as Elvinia and Dailey attacked them, the situation stabilized gradually.


    The two of them protected most of the Souls of Light, one on the left side and the other on the right side. As soon as the hunters jumped out of the ground, Elvinia and Dailey would immediately attack them and tear them apart into a million pieces.


    However, when two deep dark blue eyes suddenly appeared in the massive golden cloud, all the hunters seemed to be frightened for their lives. They quickly moved on the ground to hide in the buildings around the Soul City...


    At the same time, the soul cloud emitted an extremely powerful aura, which seemed to be astoundingly irresistible.


    Under the pressure of this aura, those Souls of Light, which had turned into the Indigo Souls at the ultimate level, immediately trembled. They were shaking so badly as if they were naked in a world with nothing but ice and snow.


    "What is that?"


    "What an intense soul pressure! I feel like I''m going to be torn apart!"


    "Oh my God! If the door doesn''t open soon, we will all die here!"


    Even Dailey, who had already turned into the Colorless Soul and reached the Holy Soul Realm, felt great pressure as he looked up at the two deep dark blue eyes. He clenched his teeth together so hard and his face turned as pale as a ghost.


    The aura of the soul alone was already very terrifying. If the monster within the soul cloud came out, how could he survive at all?


    Although Elvinia was already protected by her physical body and felt slightly better than the rest, the powerful and overbearing pressure also made her incredibly pale and shocked. She didn''t think she could resist that thing and survive with her physical body.


    When Zen saw the pair of deep dark blue eyes, the corners of his eyes also twitched crazily.


    He had encountered many dangerous experiences and resolved countless crises in his life, but the pair of deep dark blue eyes that he was facing now were undoubtedly the most dangerous type he had ever encountered!


    "Where can I find fire to light the pot? It''s simply..."


    Just as Zen was feelin


    o survive rose from the bottom of Dailey''s heart.


    His hands suddenly transformed into two long whips with sharp edges. With countless sharp whip shadows, they cut crazily and deeply on the huge arm.


    "Crack! Crack! Crack..."


    The bark-like skin of the arm was cut by the long whips. Bits and pieces of the skin were scattered everywhere.


    Dailey had reached the Holy Soul Realm and obtained a Holy Soul Imprint. Compared to the other Souls of Light, he could at least do some damage to the giant hand.


    "Dailey! We need you! Cut off this hand now!"


    "If the hand is cut off, it will automatically release Elvinia!"


    "Come on! Do it now!"


    Many Souls of Light encouraged Dailey''s spirit and gave him hope.


    However, this injury was nothing to the giant hand. It was not even a flesh injury. Instead, what Dailey did only enraged the monster within the soul cloud more.


    Just as Dailey was carefully cutting the hand, a black shadow suddenly appeared in the soul cloud. It was another hand!


    "Ah, damn it..."


    Dailey suddenly felt an ominous premonition in his heart.


    "Boom!"


    The hand quickly descended from the sky and slapped Dailey to the ground.


    The ground in the whole Soul City was trembling because of the impact. When the huge palm left the ground, Dailey had disappeared.


    Elvinia kept struggling to escape from the first hand, but she couldn''t move at all because the huge hand was around her waist.


    Just as she was about to be dragged into the soul cloud, the thought of the deep dark blue eyes staring at her sent a chill down her spine.


    In despair, she suddenly thought of her right hand!

 Chapter 3724 A Cold Civilization

    When they were in Stage Thirteen of the Other Shore, Elvinia had given all the things stored inside her Sumeru space back to Zen.


    Afterward, when they stepped into the Dark Region in Stage Fourteen of the Other Shore, Zen had returned two candles to her.


    In fact, by that time, Elvinia had become a purified being and already mastered the Great Sanskrit Light. She could easily maneuver her way through the Dark Region, rendering the need for the candles useless. Even so, Zen had asked her to bring them along as an added precaution had the need occurred. Not thinking much of it, she put them away with her.


    However, during their venture in the Dark Region in Stage Fourteen of the Other Shore, she never got to use them.


    Once that memory flashed in her mind, she instinctively raised her right hand. Suddenly, a blast of blue light took the shape of a square as a candle slipped out of the Sumeru space.


    "Puff!"


    When the flame that rested on her palm brushed across the tip of the candle, it caused it to ignite in response.


    A "Soul Candle" had unique characteristics that set it apart. Once it was lit, it would be impossible to extinguish its flames. Even if it was placed in the Sea of Truth, it would still be insufficient to put out its flares.


    As soon as the candle was lit up with compelling flames, Elvinia wasted no second and jerked her hand upwards to violently throw it in the air.


    The strength of Elvinia''s corporeal body was by no means weak. In fact, she was a force to be reckoned with. If she wanted, she could throw the candle at an unbelievable height of hundreds of thousands feet high, let alone a few thousand feet high.


    "Woo!"


    An eerie sound coming from the soul cloud filled the air as if to pierce through the nerve-wracking atmosphere. The giant hand that entrapped Elvinia suddenly began to close around her as it exerted strenuous pressure. The feeling of being crushed rang like a jolt of electricity on her bones as she faced the repercussions and let out a painful cry. She desperately held onto every last thread of life she had left in her.


    Fortunately for her, Zen had instructed her to refine a fair amount of Body Strengthening Jades for her safety. If not for that, her bones would have been reduced to dust, and her body crippled beyond repair.


    As she processed her thoughts, her eyes met the other giant hand stretching out from the soul cloud. When she followed its direction, she realized it was heading towards the candle at an incredible speed.


    "No!"


    One after another, Elvinia felt her spirits crumble in unison with every bone that cracked under pressure. Even though her corporeal body acted as an armor to protect her soul underneath, the sensation of her body slowly going frail felt real. It wasn''t hard to fathom the excruciating pain that came with having all bones broken as if they were nothing.


    Despite her situation, she kept her gaze fixated on the candle as her last beacon of hope.


    "Damn it!"


    Zen was quick


    he cause of Elvinia''s death?


    He stood inside the cabin with a spire and continued his search. With the golden pot still in his hands, he rotated it from all sides to observe it intently.


    The table and carpet inside the cabin had been reduced to dust. There was nothing worth a second glance other than the golden pot in his hands.


    "Is this golden pot the key to the gate of the Soul City?" Zen muttered to himself, his voice now low with disappointment.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven seemed very calm.


    Although he also entered the cabin with his expectations high, he knew this kind of disappointing result was common.


    In fact, the Primeval Lord of Heaven had explored a few similar relics before, such as the end of the Sky Cloud Water Road in Stage Thirty-two of the Other Shore, and the grey white house in Stage Thirty-three of the Other Shore. Those things couldn''t have been built by the Element Spirit race. The civilizations on the Other Shore weren''t gifted with such an ability. They could only have been left behind by the Instant Civilization.


    However, the Instant Civilization appeared to be devoid of all emotions or thoughts. They would not leave any trace or information in the relics, which was somewhat abnormal.


    Many civilizations that had entered the Other Shore would bear extreme disappointment towards the Other Shore after staying there for a period of time. They would end up killing away all the creatures of their civilization, which meant that they would commit mass suicide together.


    But before they wiped out all the creatures of the civilization off the surface of the map, they would build a temple and leave information and something else there to vouch for their existence.


    In contrast, the Instant Civilization hadn''t left any information whatsoever. The relics they had left behind all looked cold and empty. They appeared to scream with arrogance, "We once existed, but we don''t need your understanding. You are not qualified enough to find us."

 Chapter 3725 Starry Roc-fish

    The Snake Goddess, Fuxi and the others all agreed with the Primeval Lord of Heaven''s conclusion.


    The arrogant Instant Civilization was stingy with clues.


    As for why, the Primeval Lord of Heaven and the others had many ideas and speculations.


    The Snake Goddess believed the reason to be very simple. The Instant Civilization was so powerful that they took the other ruling civilizations as weak and pitiful tiny bugs.


    Why would they leave any clues to the bugs?


    The Snake Goddess'' deduction was simple and crude, so not many agreed with it.


    The others didn''t think it was that simple. If the Instant Civilization really looked down upon the later "bug"-like ruling civilizations that would come, they would not have made all kinds of complex rules on the Other Shore.


    For example, the suppressive power of every stage of the Other Shore was different. If this rule was removed, the Element Spirit Civilization that had set foot on the Other Shore first, would probably have dominated the entire Other Shore and anyone who came after wouldn''t have stood a chance.


    Not to mention the deliberate and careful arrangements such as the Soul City, the Land of Bone Tribulation and the Eternal Scroll Painting that were obviously for the promotion of the later generations.


    The Instant Civilization would not create such a meticulous and painstaking blueprint if they saw the future generations as bugs...


    The arguments about things they did not know were endless, plus the theories everyone put forward could not be proved. Thus, to this day, whether it was the human race, the Element Spirit race or the Nihility race, they had yet to understand the attitude of the Instant Civilization.


    "It makes sense for a key to the gates of the Soul City to be hung here," the Primeval Lord of Heaven said smiling.


    Zen stared at the golden pot, stretched his fingers out and extinguished the flame at the mouth of the pot.


    Rumble!


    The gates of the Soul City began closing once more.


    As it did, all the souls began floating around, as if a banquet was about to begin.


    "Ah, why is it closing again?"


    "Zen hasn''t come out yet!"


    "Luckily we g


    ent a great deal of time, using any means possible.


    However, there was no ceiling at the top of Stage Thirty-three. The bright dots of light above were the starry sky which was exactly the Abstruse Energy World!


    "Since there is no ceiling, why haven''t you gone there?" Zen pressed on. This was all new to him.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven had mentioned that there was also an entrance to the Abstruse Energy World in Stage Thirty-three. However, the entrance was under the control of the Element Spirit race, so there was no way for them to go that way.


    "Although the Abstruse Energy World is atop Stage Thirty-three, there is an invisible force field a million miles above us. The inner layer of this force field is not equal to its outer layer. When any material passes through, it will be torn to pieces as a result of this unequal pressure," the Primeval Lord of Heaven explained. "The force field was discovered by Fuxi, so it was named Fuxi Unequal Force Field. It covers the entire Stage Thirty-three..."


    "The only road to cross through the force field is controlled by the Element Spirit race," the Primeval Lord of Heaven added.


    "I see," Zen nodded while he stared at the wall.


    He noticed a thin, sharp horn on the head of the Starry Roc-fish, and a flame drawn on the horn.


    "Flame..."


    "Golden pot..."


    "Primeval Lord of Heaven, I think the golden pot is lit by the Starry Roc-fish," Zen said confidently.

 Chapter 3726 Return

    There was only one picture within the cabin. A wisp of flame was gracefully depicted on the Starry Roc-fish.


    Zen''s judgment was based on such simple logic after all, and it needed further evidence to prove it to be true.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven spoke quietly, "It''s highly likely. But how can you prove it?"


    "Prove it?" Zen looked out of the window as he considered the question.


    His gaze pierced through the thick soul cloud, and fell upon the city gate in the distance.


    The gate would open or close every 132 hours; open for 132 hours and then closed for 132 hours.


    He believed it would not be difficult to prove his theory. He simply needed to wait for another 132 hours.


    The souls wandering around outside the cabin could not enter it. Zen couldn''t help but worry that something unexpected would happen as he was waiting.


    He turned around to look at the Starry Roc-fish again. His expression became grave, and with little hesitation, he blew out the flames of the golden pot with a puff of air.


    A deep rumble shook the ground.


    His eyes shifted back to the window to watch the gate of the Soul City slowly swing closed.


    Zen had opened and closed the gate to the Soul City too frequently. Maybe that was why the Souls of Light paused at the sound before crawling from the walls and flooding the city streets.


    Meanwhile, outside the city gate...


    Libby, Elvinia, Gabriel and the others watching the gate from the outside were confused.


    "Zen can freely open and close the city gate..."


    "Why would he close it now, though?"


    "Do you think something is wrong?"


    Despite her look of worry, Elvinia was trying to remain as calm as she could.


    It seemed the souls could not enter the cabin, so Zen must have had his own reason for doing so. She decided to wait patiently here.


    They could still see light from within the cabin, but it looked to be just the candle that was shining.


    Zen kept a watchful eye on the candle. He needed to be able to protect it at a moment''s notice. If the light were extinguished, he would most likely lose the chance to leave.


    He watched as the souls within the walls and in the soul cloud began to move, one after the other.


    Zen knew there were many souls residing in the Soul City, but the longer he remained here and watched, the more souls he noticed. The city was practically swarming with souls.


    The souls hidden within the walls acted like water t


    the eyes of the Starry Roc-fish flashed with multicolored lights.


    It took a moment for it to comprehend his words before words started to spit from its mouth.


    "Fire..." The voice was small and raspy with disuse.


    "World..."


    "You, I..."


    The series of words didn''t make any sense until Zen''s eyes widened with surprise. "It, it seems to be..."


    "It is adapting to our language," the Primeval Lord of Heaven cut in.


    "But I only said one sentence..." The shock in Zen''s voice was obvious.


    "Some creatures have different methods than ours," the Primeval Lord of Heaven said. "Perhaps with a single word from you, it is able to learn our entire language. It must process information differently from us."


    After uttering what seemed like an endless stream of random words, the Starry Roc-fish finally spoke a full sentence. "You returned too late. You did not come while he was waiting. You returned too late..."


    Despite the fact he could now understand what was said, Zen still found himself confused. "What do you mean by that?"


    "He has been waiting for you to return!" the Starry Roc-fish repeated in a sharp tone.


    "Return..."


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven and Zen suddenly thought of something.


    When Zen had broken through the soul cloud and obtained the nine Holy Soul Imprints, he went about it a very different way than others did before him.


    He hadn''t suffered too much pressure to the point it had all seemed too easy. The feeling was just like going home, so the Primeval Lord of Heaven guessed that it might have something to do with the mysteries in Zen''s background and origin.

 Chapter 3727 Visitors

    These words made Zen rather perplexed.


    He never had any doubt about his background and origin¡ªthe blood running in his veins was undoubtedly inherited from his parents.


    Everything in Soul City was related to souls. One''s bloodline completely didn''t matter here.


    Therefore, when Zen heard what the Starry Roc-fish said, the first thought that appeared in his mind was that it had mistaken him for someone else.


    "Return? You mean this isn''t my first time to the Soul City?" Zen asked.


    The Starry Roc-fish blinked and made a slight nod.


    "Have I come here before?" Zen asked again.


    The Starry Roc-fish nodded again.


    "What makes you think so?" Zen became more and more bewildered.


    "You''re the only one who can get nine Holy Soul Imprints; nobody else can," the Starry Roc-fish said concisely.


    Upon hearing what the Starry Roc-fish said, the Primeval Lord of Heaven heaved a deep sigh and said, "I see."


    "What?" Zen asked in his mind.


    "I''ve told you before that I obtained seven Holy Soul Imprints back then and that it is already an extremely rare occurrence on the Other Shore, right?" the Primeval Lord of Heaven asked back.


    "Yes, but you also said that someone else managed to obtain eight Holy Soul Imprints," Zen answered.


    "That person was my junior fellow disciple. His talent has always been greater than mine," the Primeval Lord of Heaven said regretfully, "but after he obtained eight Holy Soul Imprints, he was always unhappy. He felt that with his talent, he ought to be able to obtain the ninth Holy Soul Imprint successfully. Moreover, his soul pillar had grown to 1, 710 feet tall. Unfortunately, when he was about to succeed, he was suddenly attacked by an unknown force and fell down."


    The junior fellow disciple of the Primeval Lord of Heaven was the Grandmaster of Heaven. At that time, he had yet to have a falling-out with the Primeval Lord of Heaven, and they still treated each other like brothers.


    "In other words, the ninth imprint..." Zen said hesitantly.


    "It is impossible to be obtained by anyone else but you," said the Primeval Lord of Heaven.


    Zen shrugged and smiled helplessly. "Apparently, I have to get acquainted with myself again..."


    The Starry Roc-fish swung its tail from side to side repeatedly, stuck its horn out, and started to sway around at the mouth of the golden pot. Before long, a wisp of flame suddenly burst


    all, it was very dangerous for a super force to have no Eternal Warrior watching over it.


    Although the Snake Goddess of the Pear Hill came to the Oneness Sky Palace only for a visit, her presence undoubtedly made many people feel much more relieved.


    The Snake Goddess and Fuxi were the most outstanding among the Eternal Warriors after all.


    "Okay, I see." Zen looked at Elvinia and said, "Come on! You should do your best too!"


    Elvinia wanted to step into Stage Thirty-two of the Other Shore with Zen, but Zen had already passed the trial in Soul City in one try. She, on the other hand, might have to spend a while stuck in here.


    Even though Elvinia was talented, it wouldn''t be easy for her to pass through the Soul City in a short time.


    She naturally understood this clearly.


    "Okay!"


    Elvinia nodded and then leaped onto the soul pillar.


    Right after Zen stepped out of the gate of Soul City, he chanted the Illusion Breaking Rune under his breath and left the Other Shore.


    After a period of reconstruction, the originally destroyed Phoenix Palace was almost completely reconstructed.


    However, the current Phoenix Palace was only good in terms of its external appearance. The powerful arrays protecting it, such as the Primitive Illusion and the Three-Element Sword Array, had already been destroyed.


    Pearce, Auden, Winchell, Athemar, and other important officials of the Oneness Sky Palace, were all waiting in the Supreme Dragon Hall.


    Fuxi and the Snake Goddess both sat on the seats of honor in the Supreme Dragon Hall. They were here naturally to wait for Zen.

 Chapter 3728 Strong Soul

    "The last time I was here, I saw the ingenuity of the Primitive Illusion, and praised it. But alas, I didn''t expect it to be destroyed in just a few short years..." the Snake Goddess trailed off, a trace of sadness appearing on her beautiful face.


    "It''s just an illusion array. I can set it up at any time. Since Zen hasn''t retreated from the Other Shore yet, I can set it up now," Fuxi said reassuringly, to comfort the Snake Goddess.


    Pearce''s eyes lit up at Fuxi''s words. He said gratefully, "Human Sovereign, if you are willing to set up an array for us, it will be a great honor for the Oneness Sky Palace."


    However, the Snake Goddess did not look impressed. She gave Fuxi a cool look and said, "The Oneness Sky Palace does not lack a powerful array. What it needs is warriors that can confront those in the Eternal Realm, and an array will be of no use for that."


    Fuxi saw the way the Snake Goddess was staring at him and felt embarrassed.


    The Snake Goddess was right. No matter how powerful the array was, it would be meaningless for the Oneness Sky Palace without protection of Eternal Warriors. At most, such arrays could only slow down the enemy''s attack.


    As they were speaking, a guard''s voice suddenly came from the front door of the Supreme Dragon Hall. "Here comes Zen Luo from the Oneness Mountain!"


    Zen swept into the hall, and the conversation stopped as everyone turned towards him.


    Strong masters like Athemar and Master Hai raised their eyebrows when they caught sight of Zen. It was immediately apparent that he had undergone some great trials, for there were fundamental changes in his aura.


    His eyes were bright with an incomparably strong aura. Indeed, just gazing into those brilliant eyes made everyone feel surprised. Only after his soul had made great progress could Zen produce that awe-inspiring effect on others.


    "Zen, have you passed the trial in the Soul City?" Athemar asked, already knowing the answer.


    He was familiar with Zen''s abilities, and had always predicted that Zen would be capable of stepping into the Land of Sword Grief in a few years.


    But now, Zen had exceeded even his high expectations. In an impossibly short period of time, he had faced and overcome the trial of the Soul City.


    It gave Athemar a jolt to realize that Zen''s cultivation level was now almost equal to his own.


    "Yes," Zen said simply.


    People burst into chatter, reacting to his astonishing announcement. "You managed that so fast!"


    "I''m sure that only a few days ago, you had only reached the eighteenth stage of the Other Shore Realm. And now you have reached the Holy Soul Realm?"


    "It all sounds unbelievable!"


    Pearce stared at Zen, unable to hide his shock. Mere days ago, he and Zen had discussed Stage Thirty-three. To have passed the trail of the Soul City since then was no


    ood on duty, unaware of what was happening inside. They all possessed great cultivation strength.


    But when Zen''s invisible soul pressure burst outside the bounds of the hall, it soared past them into the sky, enveloping them. The guards stiffened and looked around, feeling as though there was some ancient, powerful beast in the hall. A sensation of iciness washed over them and many of the guards fell to their knees as their legs trembled, unable to stand.


    The soul pressure lasted for a few seconds. Zen closed his eyes again, and retracted his aura. After a moment, he blinked, and his eyes returned to normal. But they still emitted a sense of contained power.


    "I''ve never seen anyone who has nine Holy Soul Imprints. Zen, you have not yet entered the Eternal Scroll Painting, but your soul is already so powerful. Once you have done so, your strength will only grow. I look forward to what you can accomplish," the Snake Goddess said, nodding to him to show her appreciation.


    Even Fuxi had no mocking words for Zen. A hint of gloominess was evident in his expression.


    Fuxi had never been convinced of Zen''s abilities the way so many others were.


    After all, there had once been a huge gap between Zen and himself. He had not expected nor imagined that it was possible for Zen to catch up with him so quickly.


    Would Zen really surpass him in a few days?


    Fuxi scowled. He would never accept that!


    "I hope to step onto Stage Thirty-two as soon as possible, and become an Eternal Warrior," Zen said.


    Murmurs rose from the crowd of people, and the Snake Goddess lifted an eyebrow. She said, "I heard that you had summoned Eastern Emperor Taiyi. Did you really find the human race on the Other Shore? Could I meet them?"


    Pearce had told her the truth about Eastern Emperor Taiyi defending against the enemy, so the Snake Goddess was extremely concerned about it.

 Chapter 3729 Deduction Of Descending

    The reason Zen found the Creation Myth Temple was because of the Six-Pattern Blood-storing Seed.


    At first, he obtained the seed in the hopes of increasing the blood of the Ancient Chaos God in his body.


    But since the Snake Goddess didn''t even ask about it, Zen decided it would be best to not report to her.


    "I did find them, and I also found you," Zen replied.


    The Snake Goddess''s eyes widened, surprised with his response.


    Pearce mentioned that the real Eastern Emperor Taiyi had appeared beside Zen, and this left her confused. If this was possible, could it be that there was another Snake Goddess? However, Pearce failed to explain clearly, so the Snake Goddess was just assuming based on a whim.


    Just then, Zen transmitted his voice into his inner world.


    Within a few moments, three faint figures floated right out of Zen''s head.


    The two figures on the left and right were the Snake Goddess and Fuxi respectively and the Primeval Lord of Heaven was in the middle.


    The Snake Goddess looked at her real self before her, studying each and every part. She brought her fingers to her mouth, shocked that her real self had the exact same aura, appearance, and expression as hers.


    Meanwhile, Fuxi frowned at the sight of his real self.


    At the same time, he couldn''t help but notice how free and easy his real self was.


    "You... You are me?" the Snake Goddess asked.


    The real Snake Goddess nodded politely with a soft smile, "Yes. I''ve heard that Pear Hill led the many seeds we sowed before. You''re quite extraordinary, if I do say so myself."


    "Are you praising yourself or praising me?" The Snake Goddess let out a small chuckle.


    "Both."


    The two Snake Goddesses got along so easily, as if they were the best of friends. The Fuxis, on the other hand, had not moved since their eyes met. Their eyes were wide and both of them appeared speechless, making it really awkward.


    After a few minutes, the Primeval Lord of Heaven introduced himself and explained the situation of the Other Shore to the Snake Goddess.


    When Fuxi heard that the Civilization Artifact was carried by Zen, a look of sadness washed over his face.


    It seemed that Zen was becoming more and more significant to the human race.


    "I actually had a gut feeling when I initially planted these seeds," the Primeval Lord of Heaven explained. "If it weren''t for the


    ter he''d seen the Moon Fire Slave descending through the memory of Thunder Dimorphodon.


    "Killed by the truth..." the Primeval Lord of Heaven murmured to himself, trying to understand what had happened. "This only means that the restrictions were never lifted."


    In fact, the biggest problem of the creatures on the Other Shore was not descending. The Primeval Lord of Heaven had taken several opportunities to make uses of the loophole to help the creatures descend.


    However, the consequence of being erased by the truth was the problem. No matter what descended, it would be erased by the truth. This kind of descending was meaningless.


    Eventually, when the Primeval Lord of Heaven discovered another loophole, his agenda was no longer to "descend". Instead, he sowed the seeds of the human race, which was how the greatest human forces emerged: the Pear Hill, the Oneness Sky Palace, the Bearing race, and the Divine Farmer race.


    "He was killed by the truth due to the lack of golden red Chaotic Source Spirits. Exactly the ones in Zen''s hand," Fuxi added. "If the Descending Rings could cooperate with the golden red Chaotic Source Spirits, the Other Shore creatures would dodge the truth and completely descend, unharmed."


    With a gentle wave of his hand, Zen held out his palm to expose the golden red Chaotic Source Spirits he kept. "I didn''t realize these Chaotic Source Spirits have such an effect."


    Fuxi stepped forward and grabbed one from Zen''s hand, and smiled. "Well, it''s just a really good deduction. Next thing we have to do is make sure I''m right."

 Chapter 3730 The Augury Dog

    Fuxi made sure he was well-prepared prior to coming to the Oneness Sky Palace.


    However, the one thing he still needed was the golden red Chaotic Source Spirits in Zen''s hand.


    Zen eyed him curiously. "What are you going to summon from the Other Shore?" he asked.


    Fuxi simply smiled. "You''ll know soon enough," he replied cryptically before tossing the golden red Chaotic Source Spirit in his hand as he sat cross-legged on the step.


    The steps on both sides of Eastern Emperor Taiyi were reserved for Pearce and Auden.


    Of course, since the Snake Goddess and Fuxi were here, the two naturally had to show their respect and let them sit on the steps.


    As Fuxi sat down, the real Fuxi above Zen''s head spoke. "Why do I feel like this duplicate is even more arrogant than me?"


    In the 77th civilization, Fuxi was known for being an unparalleled warrior but also an extremely arrogant man. His talent was incredibly remarkable and his strength was beyond compare.


    The real Snake Goddess and her duplicate smiled, knowing full-well Fuxi''s reputation and personality.


    Whilst everyone waited, Zen turned to the Snake Goddess. "How are Eastern Emperor Taiyi and Madam Yasamin on the Other Shore?"


    Everyone''s faces darkened at the mention of Eastern Emperor Taiyi.


    Shortly after arriving at the Supreme Dragon Hall, the Snake Goddess told everyone present Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s situation. She calmly repeated this to Zen. "I immediately got the news when Yasamin got trapped on the Other Shore. With Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s invitation, I followed him to save her with no hesitation. Unfortunately, in his haste to save Yasamin, Eastern Emperor Taiyi put himself in danger."


    In fact, she was so close to rescuing Eastern Emperor Taiyi some time ago, but her efforts were in vain.


    It wasn''t easy to get Yasamin and Eastern Emperor Taiyi out of harm''s way.


    The Snake Goddess and Fuxi came over not only because of the Descending Rings and the golden red Chaotic Source Spirits, but also to impart the news regarding Eastern Emperor Taiyi.


    The Pear Hill and some masters of the Oneness Sky Palace planned to move all members of the Oneness Sky Palace to the Pear Hill. Pearce, however, did not agree.


    If all th


    .


    Fuxi himself breathed a sigh of relief. "It''s done!"


    The real Snake Goddess, the real Fuxi, and the Primeval Lord of Heaven were also obviously pleased and excited at the result.


    The truth energy had descended and they knew better than anyone what this meant.


    "Primeval Lord of Heaven, if you could descend to the Source World, then you''d be able to preside over the situation. You''d be able to lead the human race towards prosperity!" The Snake Goddess rejoiced. "I just don''t know which realm of the Three Purities Stage you''re in. If I join hands with Fuxi, perhaps we can help you out..."


    He now had the means to descend, but, there was an even bigger problem.


    The outstanding human heroes had also been trapped there for a long time.


    So many chaotic eras had passed but all efforts the Primeval Lord of Heaven made were in vain.


    He sported a bitter smile on his face. "We are trapped in the Jade Pure Realm."


    Everyone''s hearts lurched at the mention of the words "Jade Pure Realm".


    The Three Purities Stage was divided into the Grand Pure Realm, the Supreme Pure Realm, and the Jade Pure Realm.


    The Augury Dog belonged to the outermost layer: the Grand Pure Realm.


    Those who could enter the Supreme Pure Realm were supernormal to the Augury Dog''s eyes. How could this old man in front of it reach the Jade Pure Realm?


    That place only existed in legends the Augury Dog had learned. Some people were able to enter this realm but none ever came out.

 Chapter 3731 Summon A Powerful Warrior From Other Shore

    It was known that before the human civilization came to life, the Element Spirit Civilization was relatively open.


    In fact, they even "helped" other civilizations that just arrived at the Other Shore back then.


    However, the price for their "help" was that those civilizations could not threaten the Element Spirit Civilization. Besides, as the second civilization, the Element Spirit Civilization had many advantages, thus they were much more powerful than the other civilizations.


    Meanwhile, the concept of the Finale Way had already existed in the first few chaotic eras. But the members of the Element Spirit Civilization internally agreed that it was a ridiculous idea.


    All the time, the whole Element Spirit Civilization only watched the other civilizations struggle on the Other Shore amusingly.


    It wasn''t until the birth of the human civilization that the Element Spirit Civilization felt a sense of trepidation.


    Most civilizations felt that to step into Stage Thirty-three was enough to prove their strength. After all, it wasn''t easy for even the Chaos Ancient Gods or the Wing King to explore that stage much deeper.


    Indeed, there were only about eight races that had reached the innermost part of the stage, the Jade Pure Realm, up until now. Those eight races were quite ancient and were considered legendary.


    That was also the reason why the Augury Dog was surprised.


    "I believed that our human race was extraordinary when I obtained the unique information from the Six-Pattern Blood-storing Tree. However, I didn''t expect that you would reach the Jade Pure Realm¡­" At that moment, the Snake Goddess'' eyes glinted.


    On the other hand, the Primeval Lord of Heaven looked calm. He shook his head and said, "Truth be told, it isn''t that none of those civilizations that came after us couldn''t surpass our human civilization¡ªit''s just that the Element Spirit Civilization never gave them a chance."


    The Snake Goddess nodded firmly and added, "If they finish the Purge Way as they planned, then there will be no chance for the entire chaos to survive in the end."


    A faint smile graced the Primeval Lord of Heaven''s face. "That''s not necessarily the case. The degree of chaos will always increase and never decrease. According to their plan on the Purge Way, it will only greatly delay the development of chaos..." he said.


    In


    he outcome of the battle was hard to predict. After all, both sides were on the same level.


    But if Yellow Thearch took control of the Source World, it would be as if he started a war on a higher level, wherein he would launch much deadlier attacks.


    "Although Usman is the incarnation of the negative emotions of the Source World, he is still just an incarnation. Whether or not he can shake the will of the Source World is only a guess, and nobody knows if he would succeed. Everyone, calm down," the Snake Goddess said and raised her hand to placate everyone present.


    The Source World was the primitive land of this round of chaos. Its will was superior and unfathomable.


    Yet, ever since Usman was born, many wise warriors had made assumptions, such as one might be able to control the Source World through its negative emotions.


    Before the current situation, everyone else thought that such an assumption was only a theory?¡ªbut now Yellow Thearch began to try it out.


    "It seems that things don''t look good," someone sighed.


    Many of the people''s faces dimmed at the comment.


    Zen, who had been quietly standing at the side, suddenly smiled and said, "The situation might be not as bad as you think.


    Now that we have Descending Rings, we will be able to summon a powerful warrior from the Other Shore!" "Which stage of the Other Shore does the warrior you said we could ask for help come from?" the Snake Goddess asked as she gazed at him with her beautiful eyes.


    "We can summon Ziya, who is King Manard I told you about last time," answered Zen.

 Chapter 3732 Have A Try

    The last time Zen was in Pear Hill, he had taught the Snake Goddess the Truth of Three-Energy Construction.


    Although the Snake Goddess and Fuxi were quick to comprehend the Truth of Godly Way, they still needed more time.


    Even if Zen had already found the human race on the Other Shore and had been to the Deleting Space again, the Snake Goddess still hadn''t completely mastered the Truth of Three-Energy Construction, so she naturally didn''t have the chance to meet King Manard.


    On the other hand, King Manard, namely Ziya Jiang, used to be a master at the Eternal Realm. Moreover, he had stayed in the Deleting Space for over a thousand chaotic eras, so he was strong surely.


    If he could descend, then he would undoubtedly become the strongest warrior in the Source World!


    "Yes¡­ King Manard can descend¡­" the Snake Goddess murmured.


    Fuxi''s eyes lit up upon hearing her words. "Is it that master who''s trapped in the Deleting Space?" he asked.


    Fuxi was known to be jealous of anyone who was stronger than him, but he was still an upright and kind-hearted man. He was definitely on the side of the human race.


    "We can try to let Ziya descend. I wonder if the Descending Ring is suitable for the Deleting Space..." the Primeval Lord of Heaven said with a nod.


    Zen smiled and walked straight towards Fuxi. He stretched out his hand and said, "We''ll know if it works or not after we try."


    With a flick of Fuxi''s finger, a Descending Ring floated in front of Zen.


    Under the crowd''s watchful eyes, Zen sat cross-legged and put the golden red Chaotic Source Spirit into the ring. Then, he began to recite the Truth of Three-Energy Construction and soon returned to the Deleting Space.


    These days, Ziya had been accompanying Geoffrey to explore the Abstruse Energy World.


    He had been shocked at Geoffrey''s performance when the latter had entered the Abstruse Energy World for the first time. After that, Geoffrey continued to surprise him as they continued to explore the world together.


    When Ziya had previously explored the mountain on his own, he felt like a blind man who entered a forest. Every step he took had been so difficult.


    He could only rely on his superior memory and analysis to make up for what he lacked.


    His explor


    ace could allow him to go to the chaos on his own.


    But something happened to him before. Many chaotic eras ago, he had tried to throw the things which were created in his inner world into the chaos. However, the second he did so, the things he threw triggered the truth and eventually disappeared. He had given up doing that since then.


    As soon as Zen noticed Ziya''s hesitation, he told him about the descent of the Augury Dog and took out the Descending Ring.


    When Ziya was still unsure, the Primeval Lord of Heaven appeared again. He smiled and said, "You have always been cautious, and cautiousness ensures safety. After all, the Deleting Space is still a bit different from the Other Shore..."


    Upon hearing those words, Ziya stretched out his hand and brought out a dark cyan toad from his inner world.


    Meanwhile, in the Supreme Dragon Hall, everyone silently waited for the master who was to descend from the Deleting Space.


    As Zen opened his eyes, a cyan toad appeared under the Descending Ring. Everyone''s expressions became more unreadable at that moment, and the entire hall became even quieter. Since they had met the Augury Dog, which descended from Stage Thirty-three once, many of them thought that the toad was that master they were waiting for.


    A violent wave came from the sky, but the toad avoided the punishment of the truth. Once Zen had confirmed that it was safe, he returned to the Deleting Space. A few seconds later, Ziya finally appeared in the Supreme Dragon Hall.

 Chapter 3733 Dorothys Situation

    Ziya had lived for a long time. It was only natural that he emitted a strong aura of vicissitudes when he descended into the Source World.


    His aura was completely different from that of the Primeval Lord of Heaven.


    While the latter gave people the impression that he was someone full of wisdom and knowledge, Ziya seemed like the aggressive sort.


    Back when the Primeval Lord of Heaven created the Enlightenment Sect, he had entrusted Ziya with an important post. In fact, these masters of the human race could successfully become Eternal Warriors and reach the Eternal Realm because of Ziya.


    When the many powerful warriors of the Oneness Sky Palace sensed the man''s aggressive aura, their expressions shifted.


    In terms of cultivation alone, Ziya was merely an Eternal Warrior. But his aura was far stronger than that of Eastern Emperor Taiyi, Fuxi, and the Snake Goddess. Was he the powerful master that had descended from the Deleting Space?


    "I really didn''t expect to come back after over a thousand chaotic eras¡­"


    Ziya strolled along the Supreme Dragon Hall before cupping his hands toward the Primeval Lord of Heaven above Zen''s head. "Master, may I have a look at this world?"


    "Of course," the Primeval Lord of Heaven nodded.


    Once Ziya took a single step forward, everyone was blinded by a white flash of light. They felt nearly no fluctuation in the space, but the man had completely disappeared from the hall.


    High up in the sky of the Bloom Divine Province, Ziya stood atop the clouds, overlooking the vast land.


    In the Deleting Space, Ziya had absolute freedom. But it was a mere recycle bin to the chaos. The Land of Ashes, which was its another name, was a place where garbage and ashes belonged.


    Whoosh!


    Once Ziya took a deep breath, the clouds within a hundred thousand-mile radius surged rapidly toward his stomach.


    Once the clouds dissipated, everything in the Bloom Divine Province came into view.


    When leveled roads and plains were all he could see, a strange look came over Ziya''s face. The shape of the world was far from what he had imagined.


    In the 77th chaos, the human civilization was established among vast starry regions, while the Source World was much like a giant egg. Every large province was about the size of a starry region.


    After taking some time to observe, Ziya returned to


    been recently?" Zen asked when he walked up to Winchell.


    "She''s not good," replied the latter slowly, wearing a heavy expression.


    "What''s wrong?" Zen frowned.


    Winchell smiled faintly and said, "If you want to know, I''m afraid you''ll have to personally pay a visit to the Origin Mountain and have a look. We don''t know what happened to her. If the Primeval Lord of Heaven could take a look at her, we''d be very grateful."


    The words ''very grateful'' lingered in Zen''s ears, sounding somewhat ironic.


    Part of the reason Zen joined the Oneness Sky Palace was because of his acquaintance with Dorothy, after all. Zen''s relationship with her only grew closer after that.


    In the eyes of the people of the Origin Mountain, Zen was now the most popular in the Oneness Sky Palace.


    It wasn''t right that he had completely forgotten about Dorothy, even if he was busy exploring the Soul City.


    "You''re being too polite, Master Winchell," Zen said anxiously. "Please allow me to go with you."


    And under Winchell''s lead, Zen headed to the Origin Mountain.


    In front of the emerald green palace atop the mountain, Felicity guarded the gate.


    Anger flashed across her eyes when she saw Winchell bringing Zen along. "Why did you bring this guy here? Take him away!"


    Winchell was a person who would pay attention to the interests of the whole Oneness Sky Palace. Objectively speaking, Zen owed nothing to the Origin Mountain. On the other hand, thanks to Zen, the entire Oneness Sky Palace avoided complete destruction.


    But Felicity thought differently.

 Chapter 3734 A Dangerous Door

    Felicity felt anger welling inside her.


    Seeing what was happening, Winchell felt a little embarrassed. In a low voice, he hissed at her. "Felicity!"


    Despite Winchell scolding her, Felicity just snorted, "Outsiders are not welcome here."


    With an embarrassed look on his face, Zen walked up to Felicity to try to reason with her. "Aunt Felicity, I''m sorry. I didn''t know that something happened to Dorothy. So please, let me see her first, okay?"


    Zen said sincerely.


    He and Dorothy had been through a lot together. Dorothy had accompanied him from the Sea of Truth all the way to Stage Thirteen of the Other Shore. Moreover, she had saved his life before.


    After glaring at Zen for a while, Felicity finally stood up. With a gloomy expression, she begrudgingly gestured for Zen to follow her.


    Then, she led Zen into the palace.


    The palace was not too big. After passing through a hallway, they arrived at the inner hall already.


    Upon entering the hall, Zen''s eyes fell on Dorothy, who was at the center of the hall. He gasped in shock once he saw her.


    On the surface of her body were tiny lines, which flashed with luster. It was as though beneath her chapped skin were glowing gems.


    The lines emitted faint red light, but the energy condensed within the red light was extremely terrifying.


    Zen was now a powerful warrior in the twenty-ninth stage of the Other Shore Realm. He had three Civilization Artifacts under control and had seen extremely powerful forces. However, almost none of the forces he had ever seen was comparable to what he was seeing now in Dorothy.


    "The energy in her body is so powerful..." Zen whispered. He was absolutely floored.


    Standing behind him, Winchell said, "Once the energy bursts out, it''ll be enough to raze the entire Bloom Divine Province."


    Zen''s heart skipped a beat. "It''s that powerful?!"


    "And the energy in her body continues to increase every day," Felicity added.


    Ever since Yasamin got trapped on the Other Shore, Dorothy had fallen into a depression.


    She no longer went to the Land of Sword Grief, but spent all her time by Yasamin''s side.


    Felicity recalled there was a time she came to visit Dorothy, but Dorothy was busy thinking about how to save her grandmother.


    Back then, Felicity thought that Dorothy was just wishfully thinking.


    After all, Dorothy was not able to pass through the Land of Bone Tribulation, let alone become an Eternal Warrior. T


    arted to draw very vividly a door with a strange shape.


    When the Primeval Lord of Heaven saw the door, his face suddenly changed color. "Zen, are you sure this is what you saw?"


    "Yes," said Zen firmly.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven couldn''t conceal his shock. "This is the door to another world, and also the most dangerous door in all the thirty-three stages of the Other Shore..."


    "The most dangerous door?"


    Zen echoed in a daze. The corner of his mouth twitched. He was so anxious that he didn''t even take notice of the first part of the sentence¡ª


    It was the door to another world.


    Dorothy had no idea what would happen if she opened this door.


    She had never tried opening it, since Yasamin had warned her not to. She was always obedient to her grandmother, and trusted every word she said.


    However, now that Yasamin was on the verge of death, Dorothy saw that she had no other option.


    As soon as she entered the Other Shore, she headed straight for the door without any hesitation.


    She was keenly aware that monsters were on the other side of that door.


    This she knew because more than once she had seen eerie, slender arms and demonic scarlet eyes from the hole on the door.


    The instant Dorothy opened the door, she saw a dark passage within it. Somehow, she felt drawn towards it, as though there was some source of power hidden in its depths.


    After a moment''s hesitation, Dorothy walked past the door''s threshold determinedly.


    The door was opened in the Myriad Spirits City in Stage Fourteen of the Other Shore. It appeared for only a moment before it quietly disappeared with Dorothy.

 Chapter 3735 The Monsters In The Passageway

    After Dorothy stepped into the door, the smell of sweet rust filled her nose, even before her eyes adjusted to the darkness.


    Frowning, she felt a sense of confusion.


    "How come I can smell at all?" she pondered aloud.


    She was just a Soul of Light which didn''t have a sense of smell...


    But to her surprise, when she looked herself up and down, she seemed no longer an ordinary Soul of Light.


    Her soul body was filled with red threads which glowed like a lustrous ruby.


    These red threads formed veins on her neck, arms, and legs, and even formed outlines of her internal organs, eyes, ears, mouth, and nose.


    "What... happened to me?"


    Dorothy took a few steps back in fear, instinctively bolting back to the door.


    However, at the thought of her grandmother, the fear in her heart dissolved like snow in the summer.


    No matter what kind of fate was waiting for her, she was willing to accept it.


    If Dorothy had been to the Soul City, she would have found that everything that was happening to her Soul of Light was very similar to stepping into the Holy Soul Realm.


    The only difference was that she didn''t need to enter the soul cloud; she only had to step through the door.


    Since her soul now had gained the five senses, she became more sensitive to the illusions around her. She could even see the dark passageway before her quite clearly.


    "Are these...prisons?" She frowned.


    On both sides of the passageway, countless rooms separated by menacing fences lined the path.


    The fences closest to the door were all broken. It seemed that someone or something had escaped the prison.


    Dorothy continued to move forward cautiously along the passageway, her gaze constantly sweeping across the rooms on both sides. She needed to be vigilant now.


    "All of them are empty...


    Have all the things locked in them run away?


    But I have seen those monsters before."


    In her eyes, those monsters represented fear.


    When she was young, she often woke up screaming from nightmares of these monsters...


    Yet, at the same time, these monsters also represented strength.


    She needed strength. She knew she was only going to get it through these monsters. Clenching her fist, she knew she wanted to face them.


    As she kept walking, she passed by more and more empty cages. She coul


    dignation. "This is not what we agreed on. You should have saved us!"


    The monster was extremely powerful. With a simple flick of its wrist, it could squeeze Dorothy to death.


    She felt as though she were a fragile porcelain doll in its hand.


    "Awoo... Awoo..."


    The voice of the monsters on both sides of the passageway gradually sounded the same.


    "Do you hear them?" The monster''s grating voice continued. "They said if you couldn''t do it, they would kill you... They have been in despair for too long. They don''t care about killing off their last bit of hope!"


    Dorothy trembled. She knew that this was not only a threat, but a bared truth.


    She had grown up blissfully, with a rather uneventful childhood. Never in her wildest dreams would she have imagined that this whole time, these monsters had been hoping for her to come.


    Even as she stepped through that door, she had known nothing about it.


    She sympathized with them. Desperately, she too wished she knew how to lift the curse.


    "Hoo... Hoo..."


    Just as everyone was clamoring, they suddenly heard a sharp voice from the depths of the darkness.


    The master of the voice seemed to be very authoritative. The instant it spoke, the passageway instantly grew silent.


    Biting her lips, Dorothy muttered apologetically, "I really don''t know..."


    "Purr... Hoo..."


    the voice in the distance continued grunting.


    The monster that held Dorothy in its hand listened for a while before dropping her onto the ground. Its tone slightly softened. "Follow me..."

 Chapter 3736 Two Doors

    Under this circumstance, Dorothy was left no other choice.


    All she could do was to follow this tall and strong monster.


    They walked through more than ten thousand feet of passageway with rooms on either side filled with monsters with long hair.


    At every room she passed, the monsters would rattle the bars in their excitement and anger.


    Suddenly, Dorothy felt deep inside her that she had a debt to pay them.


    Perhaps she owed them something in her previous life and now was the time to repay them for it...


    They walked ten thousand feet more when a faint voice came from a room on the left. It was the one who had given the order.


    Dorothy approached the cell and saw a long-haired monster whose hair had turned white. Its body was half the size of an ordinary long-haired monster, and it seemed weak and frail.


    But the white-haired monster appeared to be highly respected. At the very least, the others obeyed it.


    It observed Dorothy for a moment before asking, "Have you really forgotten everything?"


    Dorothy nodded and replied honestly, "I remember nothing but this door..."


    "Hoo..."


    The white-haired monster sighed. "That makes sense. If you remembered anything, you would have come here a long time ago. Coming here is your only way to get home."


    "Get home?" Dorothy''s eyes widened. "Was I born here?"


    The white-haired monster shook its head and pointed not far ahead where there was a fork in the passageway.


    At the fork was a door on the left and a door on the right.


    "The door on the left is your way home," the white-haired monster said.


    Dorothy blinked in uneasiness, her heartbeat quickening, and she asked, "What about the door on the right?"


    "That door leads to Stage Thirty-three of the Other Shore," the white-haired monster replied.


    Dorothy narrowed her eyes on hearing this.


    Upon learning her grandmother was in danger, she wanted little else other than to enter Stage Thirty-three of the Other Shore.


    But she knew this was impossible for her.


    She first had to become an Eternal Warrior and she might never even achieve that.


    All her hopes were now placed on that door.


    She did not expect there to actually be a path leading to Stage Thirty-three of the Other Shore.


    "If I want to step into Stage Thirty-three, I must become an Eternal W


    strong that some almost passed out.


    After they had entered, they saw a young man with black hair curl up in the corner of the palace.


    He was naked, covered in blood, and his eyes flashed with a fierce light.


    When the Other Shore Realm warriors saw him, they were instantly overtaken with a sense of foreboding.


    Some wished to retreat...


    Some wondered what was going on...


    Suddenly, the door closed behind them and the guards shouted, "If you kill that young man, you qualify to join the Yellow Emperor Guards!"


    "That young man doesn''t appear to have even reached the Other Shore Realm!"


    "He is at most a consummate True God. He can''t even possess the power of one divine megaton."


    "I will kill him!"


    It was obvious how big the gap between the Other Shore Realm warrior and the True God was.


    Such a large gap dispelled the fear in some hearts.


    Others still kept a cool and collected head, not getting ahead of themselves.


    If killing this man was easy, why were two hundred Other Shore Realm warriors sent here all at once?


    Those who recognized something was not quite as it seemed retreated to the corner, and some even looked for ways to escape...


    But with the means of the Ji Clan, how would the mere Other Shore Realm warriors be able to escape?


    The black-haired boy stood up and a sinister aura began filling every corner of the room. Then, like a wolf ravaging a flock of sheep, he pounced on the crowd!


    Streams of blood spurted and sprayed on every wall as the warriors were ruthlessly killed.

 Chapter 3737 Use Him

    It only took him five whole minutes to slaughter the two hundred warriors at the Other Shore Realm.


    If that was not impressive enough, he was able to kill one hundred and ninety-eight of them in two minutes.


    The rest were a bit difficult to get rid of because they resisted with their Other Shore Tokens. It came to a point that one of them transformed into a cloud of black fog, so naturally, his body couldn''t be torn to pieces.


    On the other hand, the remaining man used his Other Shore Token to open a box space and hid himself within.


    Though the methods of these two were unique and effective, they did not last long. Eventually, the boy still dealt with them and killed them without breaking a sweat.


    Pah! Pah! Pah!


    As soon as the boy was finished with the last man standing, a round of applause roared from the other end of the hall.


    It was a woman in a white fox-fur robe, looking beautiful, dignified, and powerful.


    "You''ve made rapid progress," that woman said.


    The black-haired boy squinted his eyes and a darkness flashed behind his eyes. Suddenly, he propped his hands to the ground as if he were a beast, and pounced on the woman without hesitation.


    Though it made him look primitive, the killing intent was definitely aggressive. There was no way the ordinary warriors at the Other Shore Realm could avoid this!


    The woman, however, just cocked her head and grabbed the boy by the arm, completely unthreatened.


    Whoosh!


    With one swing, she tossed him away as if with little effort. Her one move contained about eight thousand divine megatons of force!


    Bang!


    Just like that, the black-haired boy was sent into the sky and slammed right into the wall.


    The towering Supreme Memorial Tower let out a little shake in reaction to the impact.


    The woman scoffed, "But no matter how much you have progressed, you are still no match to me now."


    As she turned around to speak, the boy did not hesitate to pounce on her for the second time.


    This time, her eyebrows were raised, surprised to see how confident the boy was. Like the first time, she grabbed him by the hair and lifted him off the ground. Left and right, she smashed the boy with no mercy whatsoever.


    Boom!


    The force sent cracks into the arrays that protected the ground, and the boy was unmoving.


    Still holding him by the head, the woman dragged him to the other side of the r


    ards the side of the black-haired boy.


    Just then, Yellow Thearch reached out and gently put his palm against the boy''s forehead, then looked up into the sky.


    And though they were all underground, he saw through the ceiling almost immediately.


    Under the scorching sun, a space was violently reverberating. It was as if something powerful was going to emerge.


    This lasted for only a few seconds, until Yellow Thearch looked back down. The boy''s expression returned to normal as well.


    Meanwhile, the emperor''s face lit up as he scanned through the room and looked at the officials who were giving him expressions of worry.


    He smiled. "What are you all so worried about?"


    "Your Majesty, it''s just that this child is the same as Usman. He can''t be tamed. Are we..." The young man in brocade robe responded anxiously.


    But before the young man could even finish his words, Yellow Thearch let up a hand and asked him to stop. "While it is true that Usman can''t be tamed, I did not intend to treat him as a member in the first place."


    "Your Majesty, have you found a way to control him?" The young man asked again.


    But Yellow Thearch shook his head. "I just want to use him to control this world..."


    There was a great connection between Usman and the entire Source World. However, the connection remained hidden and undetectable despite the many efforts to find it.


    But the situation had changed now.


    With the guidance of the Element Spirit Civilization, he possessed a decent understanding of primitive land that could help them dig out useful information and resources.

 Chapter 3738 To The Blooming Jade Stage

    The raven-haired boy''s face remained dull and stiff for over an hour.


    During this time, the fluctuation within the Source World quietly disappeared.


    When the boy came back to his senses, he jumped off the stone¡ªhis instinct was to run away.


    But too many powerful warriors were currently in the underground hall¡ªany one of them could easily subdue him.


    Before he could even take another step forward, he was trapped in an invisible cage.


    Yellow Thearch walked briskly toward the raven-haired boy.


    He figured that the boy would quickly get all memories of Usman, but he was surprised to find otherwise.


    While the boy reacted to the mention of Usman, he didn''t remember much about him.


    Yellow Thearch felt a tremor between his brows before he could say something.


    His face seemed to shift in color before he turned to the woman in white fox-fur robe.


    "Take him back¡­"


    The latter merely nodded and dragged the boy away.


    Taking a step forward, Yellow Thearch disappeared from everyone''s view, entering a dark room.


    His forehead began to crack, from which an eyeball emerged. "Kill him!" a voice resounded from the eyeball. "Kill that brat!"


    Its voice was full of fury.


    The Element Spirit race had a deep foundation. Even Yellow Thearch couldn''t tell how powerful the second civilization was.


    In the face of everything in the Source World, the Element Spirit Civilization always seemed to remain calm.


    But this time, it looked rather exasperated. "Kill whom?"


    asked Yellow Thearch. "Zen!"


    the eyeball nearly yelled back.


    Even Emperor Charm had died because of Zen, so Yellow Thearch had figured he should pay attention to the man. Besides, the Descending Rings they had obtained couldn''t be used successfully. He highly suspected that the golden red Chaotic Source Spirits in Zen''s hand had something to do with it.


    "Why the hurry?" asked Yellow Thearch.


    "He has passed through the Soul City," the eyeball said.


    "The Soul City? He''s quite fast¡­" said Yellow Thearch plainly.


    "He passed through the Soul City in a single try and obtained nine Holy Soul Imprints."


    "What?"


    At that, Yellow Thearch couldn''t hide his shock.


    The very idea of passing through the Soul City in a single try was truly astonishing.


    What was even more bizarre was the fact that Zen could obtain nine Holy Soul Imprints¡ªsomething that had never before happened on the Other


    even provoked him. Now she felt rather bad having to ask him for help.


    But Zen just smiled faintly and said, "We''re both disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace, so we should help each other out on the Other Shore. If you need to go to a higher stage, I will help you, of course."


    Zen''s answer had Libby overjoyed with gratitude. "Thank you, Zen!"


    It was quite normal for disciples in the Land of Sword Grief to communicate with each other with open arms, but for Elvinia, it was especially hard to accept. She secretly made up her mind about passing through the test of the Soul City as soon as she possibly could.


    The Soul City was located at the very center of the Constant Glory Stage. Behind it lay a long and narrow plank road.


    At the end of it was a huge, round platform where densely distributed star rings led to the Blooming Jade Stage, Stage Thirty of the Other Shore.


    Once he said goodbye to Elvinia, Zen used the Blood Fog Spell to cover both himself and Libby as they moved along the plank road. The moment they arrived at the huge round platform on the opposite end, Zen saw a Soul of Light of the Holy Soul Realm waiting for him.


    The Soul of Light carried two wings on her back¡ªshe was a member of the Sun Crow race.


    "Elizabeth?" Zen asked in a low voice.


    While he couldn''t quite see her face clearly, he was already well familiar with her aura after fighting against her several times.


    Elizabeth''s presence had Libby rather nervous until she remembered that the Sun Crow race no longer existed. The remaining members were dependent on Zen, so Libby could feel at ease.

 Chapter 3739 Two Layers

    Under Zen''s arrangement, all the members of the Sun Crow race had to stay in the Oneness Mountain for cultivation.


    In reality, however, they were simply on standby.


    The reason for that was if the Oneness Sky Palace ever encountered external intruders again, they would do their best to defend against them upon Zen''s order.


    Still, the only person those Sun Crows followed was the real Emperor Charm. After they knew about the current situation, they thought that they would never betray him.


    Meanwhile, Elizabeth stared at Zen with an unreadable expression.


    Both of them were at the Holy Soul Realm, but the aura Zen emitted was much stronger.


    It made Elizabeth a little confused. "Zen, have you obtained the Holy Soul Imprint? How many did you get?" she asked.


    For her, it was almost inevitable for Zen to obtain the Holy Soul Imprint. However, she didn''t know how many Holy Soul Imprints he could get.


    Three or four?


    It might even be possible that he got five imprints.


    While Elizabeth pondered over the matter, Libby, who was beside her, answered first, "Zen has passed through the Soul City on his first try and obtained nine Holy Soul Imprints."


    Upon hearing those words, Elizabeth''s Soul of Light suddenly trembled.


    They even saw that the surface of her Soul of Light had fluctuated.


    "Nine Holy Soul Imprints? Then, what did you see or what can you do with them?" she asked in a shaky voice.


    Back then, she had gone to and returned from Stage Twenty-nine of the Other Shore so many times. Not even the Element Spirit race could unravel the secret about the Soul City.


    If Zen obtained nine Holy Soul Imprints, then he might have obtained different opportunities.


    "He can open and close the door of the Soul City freely," Libby said.


    On the other hand, Zen glanced at Libby. He was slightly thankful that she answered the questions for him.


    Now, Elizabeth asked such questions just out of curiosity.


    However, he refused to reveal the secret of the Starry Roc-fish in the Soul City.


    "Yes." He nodded, and then continued, "There is a switch to the door on top of the Soul City."


    Only then did Elizabeth realize that she had asked something she shouldn''t have asked.


    If she talked to another master or even Emperor Charm that way, she might get punished.


    Yet, Zen had only avoided the topic.


    As soon as she came back to her senses, she changed the subject and said, "Zen, you should stay in the Constant Glory Stage for now.


    Don''


    ed as their headquarters.


    "Swoosh..."


    The moment Zen left the star ring, the turbulent cold air blew over his body and made him stiff.


    When Libby walked out of the star ring, she also felt that her Soul of Light was about to solidify.


    She would''ve gotten injured if it wasn''t for her Colorless Soul.


    As for Elizabeth, she had already adapted to the low temperature in the Blooming Jade Stage, so she was well prepared.


    "What a vast ice field!" Zen exclaimed as he looked into the distance.


    The ice field was boundless, and it seemed that the entire Blooming Jade Stage was made of ice. There were even rays of icy light that shone down from the sky above the Blooming Jade Stage.


    Zen stared at the sky for a while and asked, "Is there another layer of ice above the Blooming Jade Stage?"


    He looked around carefully and found that the ice light above them did not refract from below. It looked like there was another layer of ice above their heads.


    "Yes, there are two layers on the Blooming Jade Stage. The upper layer is extremely cold and could freeze both Other Shore creatures and the Souls of Light.


    No one can cross the upper layer, so we can only pass through the lower layer of ice," Libby explained.


    In other words, all the living beings in the entire Blooming Jade Stage and the many temples and strongholds of various forces were all sandwiched between the two layers of ice. "I wonder what better way of passing through you have come up with, Elizabeth," Libby said and glanced at Elizabeth.


    A faint smile graced Elizabeth''s lips, and she said, "The better way I mentioned is to pass through the upper ice field."

 Chapter 3740 Penetrating Through The Ice

    Libby was stunned for a while when she heard Elizabeth''s suggestion. Then, she said, "What? Did you just suggest that we go through the upper ice field? Are you trying to kill us?"


    The upper ice field was a forbidden area in the Blooming Jade Stage!


    If there wasn''t a lower ice field, perhaps no one would''ve made their way to Stage Thirty-one.


    "Well, I have to admit that I am only interested in Zen''s life. As for yours¡­ I''m not interested in the slightest. You don''t have to come with me if you don''t want!" Elizabeth retorted.


    At that moment, Zen chimed in and asked, "But since the upper ice field is so dangerous, why did you choose that path?"


    "According to your current situation, it''s almost impossible for you to go through Stage Thirty in the normal way, unless you can overturn the entire Element Spirit Civilization with your strength," Elizabeth explained.


    Elizabeth had always analyzed things from a third-person point of view.


    For instance, she was well aware of both Zen''s ability and the strength of the Element Spirit Civilization.


    Now, the death of Emperor Charm wasn''t a big loss for the Element Spirit Civilization, but they might have paid greater attention to Zen.


    What was worse was that the news Zen had passed through the Soul City might have caused a stir.


    "If you don''t trust me, you can summon my emperor and he will prove my loyalty," Elizabeth pleaded with a serious look.


    "There''s no need. I believe you," Zen said with a nod.


    Based on the current situation, he knew that the powerful warriors of the Sun Crow race had no choice but to follow him. Furthermore, she could never deceive him due to the influence of the bloodline worship.


    Now that Zen had agreed, Elizabeth decided to stop arguing with Libby.


    With a gentle flick of her wings, she flew up into the air and said, "I know of a way that leads to the upper ice field. Follow me!"


    When Zen was about to activate the Thunder Materialization, he suddenly looked at Libby. An ordinary Soul of Light couldn''t fly, but he still didn''t know if a Holy Soul, which was also named Colorless Soul, was able to.


    To his surprise, several lines appeared on Libby''s back and glowed brightly, then she quickly floated upwards and rose into the air.


    ''So a Holy Soul could fly¡­'' he thought as a pair of thunder wings formed behind his back.


    The crack of thunder filled the


    f the real Zhurong, the fire lotus still possessed compelling powers.


    The ice melted quickly under the fire lotus'' flames, and clouds of white mist immediately enveloped the three of them.


    "The ice melts so fast!" Elizabeth exclaimed as she looked at the rising fire lotus with astonishment.


    The fire lotus created a cave that was more than two hundred feet long, before it gradually went out.


    "Let''s go!" Zen shouted.


    He rushed forward first, followed by Elizabeth and Libby.


    "Go!"


    When Zen reached the end of the cave, he summoned another fire lotus in his palm.


    He lightly tossed the fire lotus, then it moved forward and melted another two hundred feet of ice.


    They kept going up in this way. When Zen threw out the fifth fire lotus, the ice sheet above them suddenly cracked.


    Zzzztttt...


    In the next second, a strange and shrill sound came from above.


    The fire lotus had penetrated the ice sheet, then strong gales of cold wind howled from above.


    The cold winds were quite powerful. It caught Zen, Elizabeth, and Libby off guard as they dropped a certain distance. It was like a huge, invisible hand had slapped them.


    Among them, Zen dropped the shortest length, followed by Elizabeth, while Libby dropped the most.


    Fortunately, the cold winds only raged for three seconds before the broken ice sheet froze again. After the opening was blocked, the cold winds were gone.


    "Such strong winds¡­The upper ice field is truly worthy of its reputation," Zen remarked with a smile.


    He was fully covered in white frost, and so were Elizabeth and Libby.

 Chapter 3741 Cold Prisons

    Libby couldn''t help but sigh dejectedly. "If it''s already awfully cold at the entrance, how much colder will it be above? I can''t imagine what that''ll be like," she said while shivering slightly.


    However, Elizabeth merely shrugged indifferently. "To be honest, this is not the coldest place yet. You will know when you get up there!"


    "Really? But it''s already freezing cold in here. Is this really how we will get up there?" Zen looked at her questioningly.


    There was no doubt that if they climbed to the upper ice field without any preparation, even Zen would be frozen.


    Elizabeth shook her head. "What? Of course not!" She seemed like she had some sort of trick up her sleeve.


    She stretched out her arm for them to see. As they looked at it, a small ring instantly appeared on her wrist. Obviously, this ring was the Sumeru Space.


    "Buzz..." It began to vibrate slightly.


    As the ring emitted a flash of light, a circular shield appeared in her hand.


    "This is the Divine Fire Shield. It is a treasure forged by the fire spirit of the Element Spirit race. Under the protection of this shield, we can move safely around the area above," explained Elizabeth.


    Obviously, Emperor Charm had obtained a great deal of benefits from the Element Spirit race when he joined them.


    He didn''t seem to need this Divine Fire Shield. Therefore, he gave it to Elizabeth instead. It was a good thing he did because this would be a great help in crossing the upper ice field.


    Elizabeth began floating towards Zen. As soon as she passed by him, she had released the divine flames of the Sun Crow race on her fingertips.


    The divine flames started flowing upward and all over the Divine Fire Shield. The heat coming from the entirety of the shield radiated towards them and gave them warmth.


    The temperature of the Divine Fire Shield itself was not that high. However, it was able to control the temperature within a certain range.


    "Stay close to me. We''ll climb up quickly! Get ready. Here we go!" Elizabeth said.


    "Bang!"


    Under the protection of the Divine Fire Shield, the three of them dashed upward together.


    They broke through the ice-cold hole that was now starting to freeze over. After a while, the trio finally arrived at the upper ice field. They made it with almost no problem at all.


    Whoosh! Whoosh... Suddenly they heard a loud swishing sound.


    They encountered a fierce cold wind that blew over them. It was quite powerful and should not be taken lightly. It almost overturned the Divine Fire Shield.


    "Hold on!" Elizabeth''s facial expression changed.


    If the Divine Fire Shield was blown away by this monstrous wind, their fate would be sealed. They could already imagine getting frozen to death in this icy wasteland.


    Without second thought, Zen immediately clasped the Divine Fire Shield in his hands with lightning speed. He gripped it as tightly as he could. No matter how hard th


    t now is merely a mirage."


    Whenever something had reached an extreme level, it was usually enough to render some parts of the basic rules ineffective.


    As the coldness reached its absolute limit, the properties of many things would also change.


    "Sizzle!"


    After the flame arrow floated for a few seconds, it suddenly burned brightly.


    In a split second, the entire Cold Prison was filled with firelight.


    Nevertheless, the firelight just flashed quickly and disappeared without a trace.


    The moment the firelight illuminated the Cold Prison, Zen noticed some light dots with strange shapes that appeared inside it. Those light dots were randomly distributed and they looked very similar to the light dots in the Abstruse Energy World.


    "So those light dots are..."


    Just as Zen was about to ask, Elizabeth began to explain. "So far, we still don''t know what those light dots are. But I have heard from Emperor Charm that there are some things imprisoned here. That is why these areas on the ice field are called ''Cold Prisons''."


    Simply put, the Cold Prisons on Stage Thirty actually imprisoned the creatures from the Abstruse Energy World.


    It was too bad that Geoffrey had been left in the Deleting Space. If he was here, Zen would be able to ask him to tell what these light dots were.


    Driven by his absolute curiosity, Zen also flicked a few flames towards the Cold Prison. He observed them carefully just as he did earlier.


    As soon as the flames entered the Cold Prison, they all floated slowly like Elizabeth''s flame arrow. Then with a flash of firelight, they disappeared too.


    After trying several more times, Zen continued to move forward under the Divine Fire Shield.


    Soon enough, he discovered that there were Cold Prisons everywhere on the upper ice field.


    The densely packed Cold Prisons looked like they were holes that had been dug by worms. They had cut the originally sleek ice surface into many parts.

 Chapter 3742 The Core Of The Heavenly Obsession Civilization

    They had to step carefully since, according to Elizabeth, the Cold Prisons were horrible and dangerous.


    Fortunately, the prisons were special. The temperature inside was indeed extremely low, but it would not hurt them even if they got very close.


    "Did you say that the Cold Prisons are not the coldest, but the third coldest?" Zen asked questioning how that could be true.


    From what he had seen just now, it seemed the temperature inside was already low to the extreme. Under such a temperature, even time and space had undergone a qualitative change; he found it hard to imagine an environment that could be colder than that.


    "You will soon see the second coldest place," said Elizabeth. "But the place with the lowest temperature on the Other Shore is said to be on Stage Thirty-three. I have only heard of it, never seen it."


    "I''ll soon see the second coldest place..."


    Zen repeated to himself, trying to restrain his curiosity. He walked slowly on the path between the Cold Prisons, under the protection of the Divine Fire Shield.


    It took them about an hour to pass through the low-lying area filled with Cold Prisons and then, a huge frozen structure appeared before Zen.


    "A temple?" Zen wondered as he looked at it closely.


    "It could be, but no one can be sure," Elizabeth replied shrugging her shoulders.


    It looked like a frozen temple, but its style was very unique in that it looked more like a huge metal box than a traditional temple.


    "What civilization would construct a temple like this?" Libby asked shaking her head in confusion and astonishment.


    "Has anyone explored this temple before?" Zen asked.


    Elizabeth shook her head. "Look carefully at the ice on the outer layer."


    Zen stared at it for a while and then raised his eyebrows slightly at what he discovered.


    This layer of ice gave off a great deal of pressure, somewhat similar to that of the Cold Prisons.


    "This box has the second lowest temperature," Elizabeth said indifferently. "In a Cold Prison, it would take almost all the water in a sea to create a thumb-sized ice cube. Look over there..."


    Not far away, on the left, was a very special looking Cold Prison. The others were empty, but this Cold Prison held a small ice cube the size of a thumb in the center.


    for countless years.


    No one had even gotten close to it, let alone seen it move.


    The sudden change had startled her.


    "Crack!"


    The ice on the surface of the metal box cracked.


    If a thumb-sized ice cube would require the water of a sea to be condensed into it, one could only imagine the kind of power needed to break such thick ice.


    "Retreat! Hurry!"


    An ice block the size of a fist fell from above and crashed into the ice field.


    "Crack!"


    This highly condensed ice block held an amount of water equivalent to a huge sea the size of several provinces.


    The upper ice field was unable to support it at all. The ice block smashed right into it, penetrating the thick layer of ice, and smashing into the lower ice field.


    Luckily, this area on the lower ice field was unpopulated. The ice block had not fallen on any living creatures. The only damage caused was a small pit in the ground, left by the ice block before it disappeared without a trace...


    Many more ice blocks fell similarly.


    To be safe, Zen, Elizabeth and Libby had all retreated. A long while later, most of the blocks of ice at the front of the metal box had fallen off.


    A dark red light silently began glowing to reveal the outline of a door.


    "It has a door. Does that mean we can go inside?" Elizabeth was overtaken by excitement.


    She had passed by here many times and had always regarded this place as forbidden and not to be approached. Anyone who witnessed this sudden change would be as excited as she now was.

 Chapter 3743 Two Civilizations

    Elizabeth had always been careful ever since she set foot on the upper ice field, but now she was finally feeling a little bit radical.


    "Come on! Let''s go over there and have a look!" she excitedly said to the other two.


    At this moment, however, Zen became extremely cautious and wary. "Wait a moment. There are still some ice blocks that haven''t fallen off. It''s not a joke when you get hit by these ice blocks."


    As soon as he finished speaking, another large chunk of hard transparent ice fell from above. With a clash, it created a massive hole in the ice field.


    The three of them waited at a distance for some more time. They didn''t continue their slow approach until there was a clear sign that there would no longer be any solid ice falling.


    The door outlined by the light was still closed like before.


    Fearing that the metal box would be too cold to touch, Elizabeth immediately released a divine flame of the Sun Crow race.


    The divine flame was burning the surface of the metal box, but it did not extinguish quickly. It was like any ordinary flame, burning for a while before it quietly dwindled.


    "There is no problem with the metal box, but how can we get in?" Elizabeth asked as she shook her head.


    "Look! It seems that the center of the door is somewhat sunken," said Libby, who was by their side.


    Zen and Elizabeth shifted their eyes to the center of the door at the same time. It was not until Libby pointed out that they noticed that the center of the black metal door was indeed sunken.


    "I wonder, what can be put in this sunken area?" Elizabeth asked. She looked really confused.


    However, Zen''s heart skipped a beat at that same moment.


    Judging from the size and shape of the sunken area, it was completely the same with the size and shape of the Civilization Artifact of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization. It seemed that the movement of this huge metal box had something to do with the Civilization Artifact under his control.


    "I think I may know," Zen said with a smirk.


    Elizabeth and Libby curiously looked at Zen at the same time. Of course, the two girls hadn''t imagined that all of this had been caused by Zen.


    "Buzz..."


    It was still a little troublesome to take out an Other Shore Token that had already been carried before.


    After Zen prepared for a little while, a metal cubic box appeared in his hand.


    "This box..."


    "It seems to be just the right size!"


    Libby''s and Elizabeth''s eyes abruptly lit up with excitement.


    Zen pushed the Civilization Artifact into the sunken area. The Civilization Artifact perfectly fitted and matched with the sunken area.


    "Buzz!"


    re but a puppet?"


    "I am not a puppet either. Give me a moment to think about how I can explain it to you more clearly..."


    The light that formed the green figure flickered and then suddenly disappeared.


    All the rays of green light in front of them lined up, forming a protective green curtain.


    A moment later, the green curtain began to emit other colors. Then, a picture appeared in front of them. It was a picture of three people in another completely different world.


    When the three of them saw this scene, shock and disbelief appeared on their faces.


    "What is this? Isn''t this an illusion?" Elizabeth excitedly exclaimed in astonishment.


    "I am not sure but it seems to be a scene formed by scrolling pictures," Libby said.


    Zen nodded his head, then said, "All of the scenes are made up by constantly changing the light. I''ve never heard of this means before..."


    All kinds of illusions and magic arrays in chaos were very ordinary theurgies.


    Now, countless rays of light constantly changed to reflect complicated scenes. In the eyes of Zen, Elizabeth, and Libby, it was a difficult and thankless thing to see. Even if it could be done, it was meaningless to do so.


    "The means may seem very difficult for you to do, but it''s extremely simple for us," the green figure said.


    At this moment, a primitive land appeared on the curtain, and many small insects were born on that land. At the same time, the green figure spoke again with its eerie voice. "The Heavenly Obsession Civilization was actually the second chaotic era we have experienced. The experiences in that round of chaos have been annihilated in history. But I think you must have heard of the first chaotic era we have experienced. That was the Calculation Civilization."

 Chapter 3744 The Civilization Made Up Of Insects

    Zen had long since heard of the Calculation Civilization.


    They were the ones who advocated for another way to complete the Finale Way.


    Instead of relying on the Other Shore, the Calculation Civilization completely abandoned that strategy and used their own understanding of space, time, and energy to carry out the Finale Way.


    It was said that they almost succeeded but that claim was never confirmed since very little trace of their culture and history remained, which was why not a lot of civilizations believed they were able to almost complete the Finale Way.


    Despite that, however, the Primeval Lord of Heaven still acutely learned this. He put the information about the Energy Shaft into the Six-Pattern Blood-storing Tree.


    The Pear Hill finally chose to let Yan cultivate the Energy Shaft. In the Chaotic Source World, she had used it once.


    However, it was worth noting that the Energy Shaft she wielded was only rudimentary. The real Energy Shaft could alter time, space, and energy freely. Its power was unimaginably great.


    Elizabeth and Libby did not have much of a reaction towards the green figure.


    Libby had never heard of the Calculation Civilization or the Heavenly Obsession Civilization before. Elizabeth knew a bit about them but never really thought highly of them. She only felt curious, at most, as to how exactly such an unknown civilization lived in two rounds of chaos and built a temple here.


    Zen shared their thoughts. "A civilization can only go through one chaotic era. How could you be able to go through two?" he remarked in mild disbelief.


    It was the Primeval Lord of Heaven who made Zen ask the question.


    In order to sow the seeds of the human race, the Primeval Lord of Heaven paid a heavy price and it was only by taking advantage of the opportunity when the chaotic era moved onto the next one was he able to succeed.


    For the Heavenly Obsession Civilization to have served as a ruling civilization in two chaotic eras was unheard of!


    "Because we discovered the method of passing down our civilization," the green being answered.


    As it spoke, numerous insects hatched on the wall in front of Zen.


    These insects were life fireflies, emitting flickering lights that danced all around th


    rald''s mind. Each soul fragment had a mind of its own but combined, they formed a complete whole.


    "Soon enough, our Calculation Civilization became the ruling civilization in the chaos. Like other ruling civilizations, we also wanted to complete the Finale Way. We climbed towards the higher stages of the Other Shore step by step until we saw the starry sky..."


    This description was understood by both Zen and the Primeval Lord of Heaven.


    The green figure was no doubt talking about the Abstruse Energy World.


    Libby, however, was confused. "What starry sky?" It seemed the more she listened, the less she was actually able to learn since she couldn''t understand anything.


    "I think it''s the starry sky of Stage Thirty-three. The one that leads to a world outside the chaos," Zen explained.


    "Have you ever been there?" she asked. "How do you know about it? Wait, since you know about it, that means you have been there, right? Am I right?" she asked, throwing out a series of questions but did not give Zen the chance to answer any.


    A trace of helplessness appeared on his face. "I''ll tell you later."


    This exchange was ignored by the Primeval Lord of Heaven who had more questions for the green figure. "Can you also understand what is in that starry sky through calculation?" he asked.


    "So long as our calculation ability is powerful and advanced enough then we can understand everything in the starry sky. In fact, we almost achieved such a feat," the green figure answered.

 Chapter 3745 The Remarkable Calculation Ability

    An expression of surprise flashed across the Primeval Lord of Heaven''s face, "You have already made it?"


    "Buzz..."


    Just then, a light shadow appeared on the wall again. The figure formed by the light shadow seemed to be a complex, futuristic craft.


    "Although the size of our members is already small, we are still not small enough." The green figure continued to explain, "After we had processed the sand, we were able to display a stronger calculation ability. However, it took us more than half of the chaotic era to obtain this method..."


    The complicated craft slowly morphed into black boxes, quite similar to the Heavenly Obsession Civilization''s Civilization Artifact that Zen had fused with.


    "Such a powerful thing is actually made of sand..." The Primeval Lord of Heaven sighed.


    Meanwhile, the green figure was not concerned with the Primeval Lord of Heaven''s exclamation. It knew that their Calculation Civilization was such a unique existence.


    While the form on the wall transformed, a world of ice and snow appeared on its surface.


    "This is the Blooming Jade Stage," Libby finally voiced out.


    She knew what she was talking about, especially because she had passed through the Blooming Jade Stage just now.


    "Yes," the green figure responded. "If you came from the upper ice field, you would have noticed the light dots distributed in the Cold Prisons."


    Zen nodded in agreement. "That must be from the Abstruse Energy World."


    The scene on the wall quickly switched to a Cold Prison, and then the black boxes reappeared. As the green light on the boxes flashed, an illusory outline formed and glowed with green as well.


    It seemed that the light spots in the Cold Prison were confirmed by the extremely high-speed calculation.


    It was during the presenting process of the wall picture that the green figure murmured words about the calculation. These most probably would have to be the unique words of the Calculation Civilization.


    Though Zen and the Primeval Lord of Heaven could not decipher those words, they assumed the Calculation Civilization had the ability to restore the things in the Abstruse Energy World by means of quick calculations.


    All of a sudden, a deformed, odd monster cu


    d these insects developed a powerful civilization on their own.


    They calculated anything correctly.


    Just then, the Primeval Lord of Heaven recalled that before the human ancestor sacrificed himself, his voice echoed throughout the entire starry region.


    "Today, I will do my best to complete this. With the burning of all these tokens, I will unleash the terrifying power of nine million seven hundred and thirty thousand divine megatons..."


    The Calculation Civilization had never obtained these Other Shore Tokens before, but they could calculate the amount of power so accurately. The Primeval Lord of Heaven could not believe that.


    "The things left behind on the Other Shore seem mysterious, but they prove to be mere illusory traps which lure rounds of civilizations into them. They all assume that they could complete the Finale Way," the green figure said. "But no matter what you do, even your most perfect plan won''t get you through the Finale Way."


    Convinced, the Primeval Lord of Heaven nodded at the green figure with great reverence. However, his eyes gleamed with an ounce of hope, "So what method can be used to complete the Finale Way?"


    "The Energy Shaft," the figure responded. "Only the Energy Shaft can transform endless power."


    In the past, when the Calculation Civilization discovered they couldn''t complete the Finale Way relying on the Other Shore, they came up with different methods to do so. So far, the Energy Shaft was the most promising one.

 Chapter 3746 The Failure Of The Heavenly Obsession Civilization

    According to the Calculation Civilization''s assumption, the Energy Shaft''s transformation ability was virtually infinite.


    In theory, after mastering the completed Energy Shaft, one would then possess infinite power.


    Not to mention the power of about a hundred and sixty million divine megatons, even the power of a billion divine megatons could be transformed and released.


    "It''s such a pity that in the period of the Calculation Civilization, the end of the chaotic era arrived when plan of using Energy Shaft finalized. We couldn''t set it in motion at the time¡­" the green figure remarked.


    "So instead, you shared the method to obtain the Energy Shaft, right?" asked the Primeval Lord of Heaven.


    "Yes," replied the green figure. "Back then, we were in despair, so we placed our hope on other civilizations."


    Many other ruling civilizations on the Other Shore had the tendency to exclude other races.


    They believed that anyone not part of their own race would be disloyal. They were vigilant and always on guard against other races. And so after many ruling civilizations on the Other Shore set up their own temples, it grew difficult for them to advance to higher levels.


    Some of the rules and theurgies they grasped were hidden in the temples as treasures¡ªat the time, they weren''t willing to spread them out.


    However, the Calculation Civilization was very open-minded. They hoped that other civilizations could do what they failed to.


    Unfortunately, most of the later civilizations regarded the Energy Shaft as merely an untouchable thing. Many civilizations grew skeptical of it.


    In truth, the Primeval Lord of Heaven also felt that the Energy Shaft was an unreachable kind of fantasy. But the plan was feasible, in the end. And so he stuffed it into Six-Pattern Blood-storing Tree before passing it onto this chaotic era.


    "Unfortunately, not a single civilization believed in us. We could only rely on ourselves. And so we opened the second chaotic era¡ªthe Heavenly Obsession Civilization," said the green figure.


    "I want to know how you opened the second chaotic era," asked the Primeval Lord of Heaven.


    After all, the Heavenly Obsession Civilization owned the Civilization Artifact, so it should have also been a highly prosperous ruling civilizat


    matter when the Sons of Truth suppressed us. Although our Calculation Civilization was small, our absolute strength was powerful enough to fight against them. We already managed to control those Sons of Truth in the second chaotic era...


    Our real problem still lies on the Other Shore," continued the green figure. "The plan of Energy Shaft required the help of the Other Shore. But the Element Spirit race was too strong for us to fight against. The ones heading for Stage Thirty-three of the Other Shore were too weak, so in the end, even the core of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization was frozen."


    The Calculation Civilization was a race known to group together¡ªthey needed countless individuals to grow strong.


    Entering Stage Thirty-three of the Other Shore, one needed to enter the Eternal Scroll Painting. Not many individuals could enter it.


    In the entire Calculation Civilization, only about twenty had entered Stage Thirty-three of the Other Shore.


    But they were individuals barely as big as mosquitoes. What was their use?


    "At that time, you guys could cultivate to become the Wild Gods. Your body size shouldn''t be a problem, right?" Zen asked as he wondered.


    "We were used to cultivating and fighting together. Even if we turned into huge creatures hundreds of thousands of times bigger than before, we still couldn''t display our original strength," the green figure simply said.


    "So you were focused on the Energy Shaft at the time? What about the Ways-blending Energy?" Zen asked further.

 Chapter 3747 Connection

    If Zen''s knowledge served him right, the Ways-blending Energy also had great potential.


    However, it seemed that the Heavenly Obsession Civilization only focused on the Energy Shaft. It did not mention the Ways-blending Energy at all.


    "The Ways-blending Energy?" the green figure asked with a faint smile. "Our Calculation Civilization is best at blending Godly Ways. We even blended three thousand and one Godly Ways back then during the era of Calculation Civilization. But so what? That one missing Godly Way was never found!" the green figure exclaimed.


    The method the Calculation Civilization used to blend Godly Ways was naturally different from what the Evil God used.


    The Evil God used his impressive talent to blend Godly Ways, while the Calculation Civilization still relied on calculation to do so.


    It was possible to permute and combine the three thousand and one Godly Ways in countless ways.


    As long as there was enough time and with a powerful calculation ability, one could find the best blending method sooner or later.


    In terms of the sequence and operation method, the Calculation Civilization had summarized a total of six ways to blend Godly Ways. "You have blended three thousand and one Godly Ways?" Zen asked as the corners of his eye twitched.


    He knew that it was very likely that the Evil God had obtained the "arc light energy" in his hand from the Heavenly Obsession Civilization, but what about the Blood Essence Godly Way of the Regal Jade Civilization?


    "Yes, and the Element Spirit Civilization had hidden the last Godly Way," the green figure answered. "We got this information from a Sanskrit word. Maybe the Ways-blending Energy was the best method to complete the Finale Way, but we couldn''t resist against the Element Spirit Civilization. It was impossible."


    After it was done speaking, the Regal Jade Spirit slowly said, "I didn''t expect that someone else had gone further even before our Regal Jade Civilization¡­"


    The Regal Jade Spirit had always believed that only the Wing King had obtained the blood red Sanskrit word.


    He had never imagined that someone else had already acquired the Sanskrit word and deciphered the information inside it even before the Wing King could.


    Furthermore, the green figure''s statements matched exactly with the information Zen knew, so the green figure certainly did not talk nonsense.


    Therefore, Zen


    s of green light also flashed around the place.


    It wasn''t long before the green figure disappeared from the wall and in the next moment, reappeared on the Civilization Artifact.


    At the same time, it said, "It is impossible to destroy the core of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization, but because it was frozen, you cannot carry it. But, it can still help you since the core is now activated and connected to the Civilization Artifact."


    "What can it help me do?" Zen asked curiously.


    "Calculate," the green figure replied simply.


    Calculation was the foundation of the Calculation Civilization.


    While Zen was still confused, the Primeval Lord of Heaven gently reminded him, "With the help of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization, you can decipher Sanskrit words that you don''t understand¡ªand even the Abstruse Energy World."


    "I see!"


    Back then, he had to ask Geoffrey for help for him to read the Sanskrit words.


    Thus, it would be very convenient if the core of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization could directly decipher the Sanskrit words. "Can we see the creatures in the Cold Prisons then?" he asked.


    "Yes," the green figure confirmed.


    At that point, Zen put away the Civilization Artifact, then he and the two girls carried the Divine Fire Shield out of the core of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization.


    When they came across a Cold Prison, the Civilization Artifact released a ray of green light, which illuminated the white spots in the Cold Prison.


    Soon enough, the big core began to glow brightly. It meant that it had started to calculate at an insane speed.

 Chapter 3748 A Bald Giant

    After the core of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization performed more than half a minute of calculations, the Civilization Artifact released a green beam of light.


    The green light then formed a light curtain, which outlined the hideous monster in the Cold Prison.


    The monster had no head, only two round eyeballs. Its eyes blinked twice, which made it look frightening.


    Suddenly, a thought popped inside Zen''s mind. "Why can these monsters maintain their forms in the Abstruse Energy World?" he muttered.


    He remembered that those monsters from the Abstruse Energy World he met before turned into tentacles after they entered the Deleting Space.


    "It should be because of the extreme temperature. If the Cold Prisons were destroyed, then those light dots would return to their original forms," the green figure explained.


    "But why are they sealed off here?" Elizabeth asked.


    Her eyes were filled with curiosity as she observed them. She had passed by this place several times, and she felt awkward when she thought about how the monsters stared at her every time she was around.


    "I don''t know," the green figure said and shook its head. "The Cold Prisons already existed when we built the core of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization here, but at that time, there weren''t so many of them," it mumbled.


    Back then, there were only over a hundred Cold Prisons surrounding the core of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization. Now, there were potholes everywhere, and there were tens of thousands of Cold Prisons.


    "Maybe the Element Spirit Civilization captured and locked them here for study," said Libby, who stood beside them.


    "That''s possible," Zen agreed and nodded.


    When the Calculation Civilization had managed to see the original appearance of the monsters, they also tried to communicate with them.


    If the monsters were intelligent beings, then the Calculation Civilization could obtain information about the Abstruse Energy World from them.


    Therefore, they tried every way they could, but they had failed every time. In the end, they finally gave up.


    Zen also planned to communicate with them but did not bother anymore when he heard about the Calculation Civilization''s failed attempts.


    Despite that, he unexpectedly gained a wonderful skill after he followed Elizabeth''s advice to pass through the upper ice field and activated the core of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization.


    s much more complicated to calculate.


    It was not until about an hour later that the green light entered Zen''s eyes.


    "Buzz!"


    His jaw dropped as soon as he saw what was inside the Cold Prison. He couldn''t help but take two steps back and almost dropped the Divine Fire Shield.


    Luckily, Elizabeth was quick to react and immediately caught the Divine Fire Shield before it fell. At the same time, she asked, "What did you see?


    Why are you so excited?" "It''s a giant..." he murmured.


    It was a fat bald giant.


    The giant wore handcuffs and shackles.


    His bald head was down and his eyes were closed, as if he was asleep.


    This was the first human-shaped creature that Zen had seen, so he was naturally a little excited.


    Just as he was looking at the giant, the giant suddenly opened his eyes!


    "Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz..."


    The light spots in the Cold Prison fluctuated like mad. They were like countless sparks that rose when a bonfire was destroyed.


    The giant struggled madly in Zen''s sight. Then, the giant got up and grabbed at him who was outside the Cold Prison. This giant could move freely inside the big Cold Prison!


    "Hold the Divine Fire Shield tightly!" he warned.


    Without hesitation, he held the Divine Fire Shield and quickly retreated.


    In return, the giant''s large hands stretched out from the Cold Prison and grabbed at their heads!


    Whoosh!


    In the blink of an eye, Zen had retreated about four thousand feet with the protection of the Divine Fire Shield. Thankfully, there was no Cold Prison behind them. If there was, then the consequences were unimaginable.

 Chapter 3749 Unable To Communicate

    It all happened so suddenly that Elizabeth and Libby barely had any time to react.


    All they saw were light dots fluttering by like restless fireflies, and then a pair of giant hands reached out to grab their heads.


    Fortunately, Zen''s superior reactions came to their rescue.


    Over and over again, the giant hands were only inches from them. The girls felt incredibly unsafe and in serious danger.


    But it all happened as quick as a flash and their astonishment didn''t last long. When they had come to their senses, the giant hands had extended to their limit.


    Dark cyan chain was wrapped tightly around the wrists of the giant hands, tingling and clanging.


    At the same time, a rhythmic tune could be heard coming from the Cold Prison. It was as melodious and pleasant to the ears as singing, yet a hint of anger was clearly hidden within.


    "That sound is very similar to the one from the soul cloud in the Soul City!" Libby remarked.


    Zen nodded in agreement.


    It had been many years since Elizabeth had passed through the Soul City and so this had not occurred to her immediately.


    But Zen and Libby had just come from the Soul City and so it was still fresh in their minds.


    "Bang! Bang! Bang! "


    The pair of giant hands slapped down on the ice, sending waves of ice shards flying through the air with every slam.


    They shot in all directions and flew like invisible weapons, one of them hitting Elizabeth in the arm. Even though she had already stepped in the Holy Soul Realm, the ice fragment still pierced her skin, causing her to let out a muffled groan.


    "Get behind me!"


    Zen turned the Divine Fire Shield around and stood in front of the girls to block them from the ice fragments.


    The giant slapped the ground a dozen times before he finally tired himself out.


    Such a terribly cold environment affected the giant as well. Due to this, a layer of white frost had condensed on the surface of his skin. Clapping the ice violently had actually created about a dozen cracks across his arms.


    The pair of giant hands then slowly retracted into the Cold Prison.


    To Elizabeth''s and Libby''s eyes, the hands turned to a stack o


    once more, drawing a large arc as it slapped down towards the three of them.


    "Retreat!"


    Zen frowned and retreated under the cover of the Divine Fire Shield.


    "Bang!"


    The gigantic hand left a mark of five fingers on the solid ice surface. The bald giant snickered and slowly withdrew his hand.


    "Your song must be very unpleasant to the ears," Elizabeth said with a cheeky smile.


    Zen shrugged helplessly. "I suppose I don''t sing the right way."


    The giant''s way of speaking involved multiple syllables.


    Expressing it through a human''s way of speaking was incredibly difficult.


    It was possible that despite Zen singing for a long time, the bald giant didn''t understand a word.


    Zen tried a few more times, even asking the Primeval Lord of Heaven and the Snake Goddess to brain storm solutions, but all attempts failed.


    The bald giant maintained a furious frown, reacting violently to Zen''s every approach.


    Feeling helpless, Zen had to give up, for now.


    After bypassing the thirty-mile wide Cold Prison, they continued towards the other side of the upper ice field.


    The Cold Prisons were in the center of the whole ice field. Once they left this area, moving forward would be easy.


    Several hours later, they finally arrived at the other side of the upper ice field.


    Elizabeth chose a spot and melted a cave a thousand feet deep beneath the ice.


    Going down the cave, they reached the lower ice field.

 Chapter 3750 Magical Thunder Slave

    The lower ice field of the Blooming Jade Stage was still frozen solid and there were even snowflakes continuously falling from the sky.


    Still, the cold here was more bearable than that at the upper ice field.


    Even if they removed the Divine Fire Shield, the temperature remained pleasantly cool like they were in a breezy field in the middle of spring.


    A circular ice castle loomed in the distance. It looked fantastical given its smooth, azure surface, as if everything about the castle was carved entirely out of solid ice.


    The entirety of the Blooming Jade Stage was largely controlled by the Element Spirit race.


    There was a total of six ice castles in the lower ice field, five of which were distributed in the middle of the ice field. All star rings were placed in this last one.


    "Follow me!" Elizabeth said.


    After putting away the Divine Fire Shield, she took Zen and Libby with her to approach the side of the ice castle.


    Just as they were some distance away, she advised Zen and Libby to find a place to wait while she headed straight into the castle alone.


    Zen took her warning to heart and was instinctively on guard as Elizabeth''s figure disappeared.


    The Blooming Jade Stage was the most important gathering place for the Element Spirit race and there was no way they were simply going to let Zen pass through peacefully. The race''s defense must be at the maximum.


    In fact, Zen''s assumptions weren''t wrong. The Element Spirit race had indeed dispatched a lot of soldiers to guard the first few ice castles.


    However, they never expected Elizabeth to help him sneak into the last castle through the upper ice field.


    Despite their sneaky efforts, however, Elizabeth knew that this last ice castle was heavily guarded and she did not want Zen to break in by force. In order to avoid any untoward incidents, she wanted to scope out the area and check the situation by herself first.


    News of the Sun Crow race''s defeat had already spread.


    However, the matter that Elizabeth, Micah, and the other members of the Sun Crow race had switched sides remained a secret.


    The Element Spirit race was not aware of these members'' betrayal. All surviving members of the Sun Crow race told the same narrative: they survived the battle with the Oneness Sky Palace and then hid themselves after escaping from the Bloom Divine Province.


    It was difficult to verify their claims so, in the end, the Element Spirit race still regarded Elizabeth as someone who could be trusted.


    When she arrived at the gates, s


    ture formed by this ball of lightning was called the Magical Thunder Slave!


    Elizabeth was in trouble now. If the Chill Ice Slaves were already powerful, this Magical Thunder Slave was a few notches stronger!


    Crack! Crack!


    Before the deafening explosion could reach her ears, Elizabeth had used all her strength to roll forward.


    "Boom!"


    She felt a wave of power behind her as the explosion caused devastating ruin and created a deep hole on the ground. It was fortunate that she was able to get away.


    There was no time to see the extent of the damage. She was able to dodge once but she had to keep moving!


    "Kof, kof, kof..."


    Streaks of lightning revealed the slave''s face and his irregular smile.


    From behind her, the Magical Thunder Slave had transformed into a bolt of lightning that was determined to strike her down. The face formed by the lightning quickly twisted and finally turned into a straight line, hitting her body precisely.


    "Crack!"


    There was a sickeningly loud sound that echoed through Elizabeth''s ears as she was sent up into the sky by the lightning, rolling like a leaf in the wind.


    Fortunately, she had achieved the Holy Soul so her injuries weren''t so serious.


    Had she only been an Indigo Soul then she would''ve already been shattered.


    "Boom!"


    As Elizabeth fell from the sky, the Magical Thunder Slave rushed towards her.


    When she landed, she hit the ground hard and rolled thousands of feet before stopping.


    "Those who betray our Element Spirit race never have a good ending..."


    Elizabeth heard another thunderous roar as the Magical Thunder Slave''s body gathered terrifying lightning energy and became blindingly white.

 Chapter 3751 Imprisoning Lightning

    Elizabeth lay on the ground and stared at the gradually brightening Magical Thunder Slave. Her face darkened with despair.


    Not long ago, she had contacted the Element Spirit race, and conferred with Micah and the others in Stage Thirty-two.


    The Element Spirit race, still regarding the "losers" of the Sun Crow race as their allies, had not been on guard against them.


    How could her secret have been exposed as soon as she entered the ice castle?


    At this point, however, the reason hardly mattered.


    The fact was that Elizabeth was no match for the Magical Thunder Slave. Indeed, after fending off his first two attacks, she was already exhausted. She was certain that she couldn''t withstand the next one.


    At that moment, unbidden, the thought of Zen came into Elizabeth''s mind.


    Zen and Libby were hiding not far away, and she hoped dearly that the Magical Thunder Slave and the Chill Ice Slaves would not be able to find them.


    A crash of thunder was heard in the air.


    The Magical Thunder Slave rushed towards Elizabeth, launching his next attack. She waited helplessly for the onslaught.


    But as the lightning approached Elizabeth, a figure darted forward from the side.


    It was Zen.


    Elizabeth had led them competently and cautiously through the upper ice field.


    Moreover, she had been calm and confident as she entered the ice castle, so Zen had believed that she would pass through safely.


    To his surprise, not long after she entered the ice castle, she had been chased out.


    Zen and Libby were crouched together in an ice pit, concealing themselves. At the unmistakable sound of thunder and battle, Zen had warily poked his head out of the ice pit, determined to see what was happening. He''d seen and understood Elizabeth''s plight, and immediately jumped out of the pit to aid her.


    Libby tried to stop him, but Zen went anyway.


    Libby sighed. It was already a risk for them to sneak through the Blooming Jade Stage!


    Now that Zen had revealed himself, they wouldn''t be able to hide any longer.


    Zen moved with such speed that the air whistled past him.


    He reached out and tried to grasp the lightning as it struck at Elizabeth.


    To his astonishment, he found that it was the real body of the Magical Thunder Slave, which writhed like a lightning snake most of the time.


    "So, you dare to try and catch me!"


    The Magical Thunder Slave spoke in a sneering voice, but he was also caught by surprise at how Zen had seemingly rushed out of nowhere.


    Moreover, Zen had appeared with a physical body, and the Magical Thunder Slave wondered to which race he belonged. Who would dare to help Elizabeth in the Blooming Jade Stage?


    The Magical Thunder Slave hesitated for a moment before realizing that he


    7th civilization hadn''t been destroyed. All the human masters, including the Primeval Lord of Heaven, didn''t dare to return to the Other Shore.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven was forced into seclusion in the chaos for a long while before he finally created the Imprisoning Lightning and led the human masters back to the Other Shore.


    The Imprisoning Lightning was not intended to destroy thunder. Instead, it acted to infuse another unique energy into the electric force of thunder.


    When the Imprisoning Lightning merged with the thunder, the thunder would be converted into another form.


    After the Primeval Lord of Heaven released the purple light of the Imprisoning Lightning, the lightning that covered the entire plain turned into grayish brown objects that fell onto the ground. The Heavenly Thunder Plain, which had been rumbling for billions of years, became quiet for perhaps the first time in known history.


    Now, the Imprisoning Lightning that had silenced the lightning of the Heavenly Thunder Plain also had an astounding effect on the Magical Thunder Slave.


    The purple light was not released by the Civilization Artifact¡ªit was the Primeval Lord of Heaven''s own theurgy.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven in Zen''s body was just an energy soul, so he could only release the Imprisoning Lightning at a very close range. In this case, Zen had needed to get as close as possible to the Magical Thunder Slave to ensure the effectiveness of the attack.


    The purple light flashed as it was emitted from Zen''s hands, continuing to pass through the lightning body of the Magical Thunder Slave.


    To his horror, the Magical Thunder Slave realized that his range of movement was becoming more and more limited as his body turned into a solid grayish-brown substance. He felt stiff, almost as though he had been paralyzed.

 Chapter 3752 Fleeing Back

    The greyish-brown substances could be ground into powder, which was called the Solid Lightning Powder.


    It was a kind of material that was formed after lightning was solidified, but the lightning''s energy still remained in the powdered form.


    Back then, the Primeval Lord of Heaven asked some powerful human warriors to collect the brown substances on the Heavenly Thunder Plain, and later he ground them into Solid Lightning Powder.


    Generally speaking, a considerable amount of Solid Lightning Powder could release an extremely terrifying amount of power.


    For instance, there was a time when a Divine Retribution Beast hunted down humans on Stage Thirty-three. The human warriors suffered many casualties, but when their lives were finally at stake, the Primeval Lord of Heaven threw a large amount of Solid Lightning Powder into the giant mouth of the Divine Retribution Beast.


    After that came an explosion, then the lightning bolts that erupted formed a large circular ball of lightning!


    It unleashed such a powerful force that even the Primeval Lord of Heaven himself was shocked. After all, they did collect those lightning bolts on the Heavenly Thunder Plain for several days, so it surely had a strong effect. When the attack badly mutilated the Divine Retribution Beast''s head, the human warriors survived.


    Of course, Zen didn''t know where the Imprisoning Lightning came from, but he wouldn''t let the opportunity pass, especially when the Magical Thunder Slave had shown up with a form.


    "Crack! Crack! Crack!"


    As he kneaded the greyish-brown substances with both of his hands, they quickly pulverized into powder and scattered all over the ground.


    "No!"


    "You... You can''t do this!"


    "Stop!" the Magical Thunder Slave roared continuously from the last section of the lightning bolt.


    Generally speaking, the Moon Fire Slaves and the Chill Ice Slaves all had spiritual cores.


    Those spiritual cores were their life source, so they needed to conceal them well when they were in battle. If their spiritual cores were damaged, they would die.


    On the other hand, the Magical Thunder Slaves didn''t have spiritual cores, because they didn''t die easily with their special life forms.


    That was why the Magical Thunder Slave didn''t expect Zen knew the way to kill him!


    Despite that, he refused to give up even in his death. He struggled and roared, and his cries pounded in Zen''s ears lik


    taints both of you¡­ You''d better leave the Other Shore now¡­" Elizabeth croaked.


    She also knew the consequence if Zen retreated from the Other Shore, but at least he could save his life. Besides, there was no other choice.


    Zen suddenly looked up and said, "No, there''s another way..."


    Upon hearing his words, Elizabeth and Libby immediately realized what he was talking about.


    He meant to flee back to the upper ice field!


    The ice cave they had just dug wasn''t completely frozen yet, but there was a layer of ice pieces that had solidified. Nevertheless, they still had a chance to go up and escape.


    "Let''s go!"


    The second Zen made his decision, he pulled Libby, hoisted Elizabeth on his back, then flew upward!


    The two Chill Ice Slaves not far away saw that he wanted to escape, but they wouldn''t let him get away so easily.


    They flapped their wings and quickly followed them!


    "Humph!" Elizabeth snorted coldly.


    Her golden wings suddenly shook, then the blazing divine flames of the Sun Crow race swept down like fire clouds and forced the two Chill Ice Slaves back.


    "Whoosh!"


    In less than nine seconds, Zen finally entered the ice cave. As the golden flames burned inside it, the icicles all around it melted.


    Afterwards, he went through the ice sheet and climbed up to the upper ice field. At the same time, Elizabeth took out and ignited the Divine Fire Shield, which covered the top of their heads.


    While Zen held the Divine Fire Shield in one hand, pulled Libby with the other, and carried Elizabeth on his back, he swiftly ran on the intensely cold upper ice field.

 Chapter 3753 A Trap At The Dead End

    Not long after Zen and the two girls passed through the ice cave, the two Chill Ice Slaves caught up with them.


    The other kinds of Five-Element Slaves wouldn''t be able to cope under extremely low temperatures, but the Chill Ice Slaves'' body temperature was also quite low. Thus, it wasn''t hard for them to survive in such an environment.


    As soon as the Chill Ice Slaves, who were crystal clear, rushed to the upper ice field, white frost immediately covered the surface of their bodies. They were immensely flexible before, but now they were also a bit slow.


    "Follow them!"


    "Summon the other Five-Element Slaves to attack them!"


    The two Chill Ice Slaves hadn''t forgotten the miserable death of the Magical Thunder Slave, so they were smart enough not to make a move immediately, but instead, followed Zen and his companions behind.


    Meanwhile, Zen occasionally observed the movements behind him as he sped forward.


    "What do they mean by closely following us like this?" Libby asked. "That''s the most troublesome," Elizabeth said and shook her head.


    If Zen could get rid of them, then the three of them could find a place and wait for the Soul Restraining Sand on Elizabeth''s body to lose effect there.


    After that, they could silently leave the Other Shore to avoid any trouble and consider how to enter Stage Thirty-one of the Other Shore later.


    However, they couldn''t leave the Other Shore at all because the Chill Ice Slaves followed them everywhere.


    "We have to find a way to get rid of them!" Zen said with gritted teeth.


    The wind ran through his hair as he continued to rush forward at high speed.


    Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks.


    "Buzz¡ª"


    Once he steadied himself on the icy surface, he ran towards the two Chill Ice Slaves in the opposite direction.


    Of course, the two Chill Ice Slaves were also very vigilant.


    The moment Zen stopped moving forward, they stopped as well. When they saw him rush towards them, they flapped their wings and quickly retreated.


    They always kept a distance of about a thousand feet from Zen, which was neither near nor too far.


    On the other hand, Zen felt helpless when he realized that he couldn''t catch up with the Chill Ice Slaves.


    Thus, he had no choice but to turn back and move forward.


    At the same time, the ice in another area of the upper ice field broke. A cold wind blew through it, and a huge ice cave appeared.


    "Crack!"


    A giant fiery hand stretched out from the ice cave and pressed on its edge. Then, a huge body covered in green flames jum


    in.


    Since the Heavenly Obsession Civilization had already deciphered the light dots in the Cold Prison before, it was now more skilled in doing the task. Two rays of green light entered Zen''s pupils, and he quickly saw the inside of the Cold Prison.


    He was taken aback.


    The bald giant was already over the edge of the Cold Prison. His bell-like eyes were wide open; his body lunged forward; and overall he looked like he was ready to pounce at any time.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven was right about one thing: that this bald giant couldn''t hate the Element Spirit Civilization more. He always wanted to tear up the members of the Element Spirit race. Now that he saw the Five-Element Slaves, he even intended to swallow them alive.


    Of course, the Moon Fire Slaves didn''t understand the light spots in the Cold Prison, nor did they know that there was a powerful giant inside of it who had his eyes on them. They only knew that there was a dead-end behind Zen and that he couldn''t retreat.


    "Human boy, you cannot escape now. If you obediently follow us back, we can still keep you alive," the Moon Fire Slave in the front of their group said with a sinister smile.


    This Moon Fire Slave planned to drill an ice cave from their current spot and return to the lower ice field because he hated the low temperature of the upper field so much.


    However, Zen didn''t respond to him, and instead, continued to step back.


    The bald giant was bound in chains, so he could only attack within a range of three thousand feet around the Cold Prison.


    Now Zen was already within the three thousand feet range, but the bald giant still didn''t move. It seemed that he indeed did not target Zen.

 Chapter 3754 A Pair Of Giant Hands

    Both Libby and Elizabeth were also extremely nervous.


    While they couldn''t see the giant with their own eyes, they had already been attacked by his hands before.


    If his strike landed, they would both have already been dead.


    But they were left with no other choice.


    Covered by the Divine Fire Shield, Zen retreated step by step.


    Meanwhile, the Moon Fire Slaves moved forward at the same pace, with the Chill Ice Slaves and the Magical Thunder Slaves approaching from the other directions.


    Three thousand feet...


    Two thousand feet...


    When Zen retreated to within two thousand feet from the Cold Prison, the Five-Element Slaves entered the bald giant''s range of attack.


    As he retreated, Zen observed the creature when he could.


    The giant maintained his original posture, keeping his eyes wide open.


    ''The giant seems really calm, '' Zen thought to himself. ''Does he want to capture all these Five-Element Slaves in one go?''


    One thousand feet...


    Five hundred feet...


    Zen turned back frequently, which drew the Five-Element Slaves'' attention.


    The Moon Fire Slave leading the group chuckled, "Brat, why do you keep looking back? Can you see what''s in the Cold Prison??"


    The Moon Fire Slaves, the Chill Ice Slaves, and the Magical Thunder Slaves all knew of the bald giant trapped in the Cold Prison. To get him in there, the Element Spirit race had to pour in great effort¡ªas the slaves of this race, they had to do everything just to imprison the creature.


    But now that the bald giant was trapped, he could barely move, and was no longer as threatening as he had been before.


    Nevertheless, the Moon Fire Slave couldn''t help but feel a bit confused by Zen''s behavior.


    Zen should have only been seeing light dots in the Cold Prison, so what was he looking at?


    As Zen continued retreating, he smiled as he said, "Of course I can."


    "If you can see clearly, then can you tell me what lies in the Cold Prison?" from the left, a Magical Thunder Slave sneered.


    Naturally, none of them believed Zen could see within the prison.


    Zen''s eyes narrowed at the challenge.


    It was a critical moment.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven had correctly guessed the bald giant''s mental state.


    He had been intensely irritable since his imprisonment¡ªhe hated all creatures on the Other Shore.


    It was no wonder he lau


    ighting the Element Spirit race, so he knew that the flame creatures were driven by spiritual cores.


    By rolling his hands, he ground and crushed all the Moon Fire Slaves'' armors, along with their bodies'' spiritual cores.


    When the giant raised his hands, only armor debris remained on the ice, while the Moon Fire Slaves perished along with their spiritual cores.


    The Chill Ice Slaves and the Magical Thunder Slaves were all stunned by the sudden attack.


    All of them froze abruptly.


    Without anyone to give an order, they didn''t know how to deal with the situation¡ªthey were all hesitant and stuck in place.


    "Bang!"


    The giant''s hands moved decisively toward the Chill Ice Slaves at an incredible speed¡ªhe swatted at them as though they were mere mosquitoes in summer.


    The Chill Ice Slaves immediately changed their form once they saw the hands approaching.


    But just as the Moon Fire Slaves did, the Chill Ice Slaves'' lives depended on their spiritual cores. They only differed in that the Moon Fire Slaves had fire spiritual cores, while Chill Ice Slaves had water spiritual cores.


    As the giant hands continued rolling over the icy surface, the Chill Ice Slaves perished.


    And with that, the bald giant then targeted the Magical Thunder Slaves.


    As it turned out, the bald giant was much smarter than Zen had expected.


    The creature seemed to know that the Magical Thunder Slaves lacked spiritual cores, making them a more difficult kill. So his hands suddenly flew in the air, pushing the Magical Thunder Slaves into the Cold Prison.

 Chapter 3755 Singing Together

    Once the thunderbolts made their way into the Cold Prison, they would take another form.


    That form would allow the bald giant to kill the Magical Thunder Slaves quite easily.


    But they reacted surprisingly fast, moving quickly and nimbly like eels!


    "Crack!"


    With the thunderous bangs, the Magical Thunder Slaves slithered through the gaps between the giant''s hands and ran off in all directions.


    The giant stretched and grabbed over and over, attempting to catch them again, but they kept escaping before he even knew it.


    In less than thirty seconds, some of the Five-Element Slaves had died and some had successfully fled. Only Zen, Elizabeth and Libby were left beside the Cold Prison.


    "Should we... leave too?"


    Libby asked, her voice trembling.


    She knew escape was an almost unreasonable hope; that pair of hands would not allow them to leave so easily. But even now, she still held a glimmer of hope in her heart...


    When she looked at Zen, he was her rope hanging from above that she could climb to safety if things got too bad.


    "No," Zen said firmly, shaking his head.


    Elizabeth and Libby could not see it, but Zen saw clearly that the bald giant stared at him with a faint smile spreading across his face.


    He fixed his gaze on him like a tiger stalking its prey, ready to pounce and feast on him.


    From this distance, escape was impossible.


    The only sliver of hope he had was the previous hint!


    He and the bald giant had a common enemy, and they both stood on the same side of this.


    Fleeing now would only incite an attack from the bald giant.


    "Buzz..."


    The light dots in the Cold Prison grew restless once more. The bald giant lifted his hands and slapped at the three of them again.


    "Ah!"


    Libby''s long hair blew from the force of the slap and she couldn''t help but scream.


    She had had a lot of training experience on the Other Shore, but she hadn''t come face to face with any real serious difficulty or danger. She was thus left ill-prepared for the grave life and death situation they now found themselves in.


    In contrast, Zen and Elizabeth were much calmer.


    Elizabeth had become the leader of the Divine Lair after she had been through countless bloody battles and come out victorious. This was her strength. To this day, she regarded life and death as unimportan


    e on his face had disappeared entirely.


    Libby and Elizabeth looked at Zen simultaneously, hoping he would come up with a solution...


    Just then, more than thirty heads suddenly appeared above Zen''s head. The Snake Goddess, Fuxi, Houyi and the others uttered words as if they sang together. "Yes, the Element Spirit race is my enemy!"


    The bald giant obviously hadn''t expected Zen to answer in this way. After a moment of amazement, a smile returned to his face. "Is the Element Spirit race the ruler of this world?" he asked.


    Using the core of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization, the green figure deciphered the sentence and conveyed its meaning to Zen.


    "The ruler of this world? No. They are nothing but cowards in this world," Zen replied.


    In Zen''s eyes, the Element Spirit Civilization''s pursuit of the Purge Way was a helpless compromise to make the world peaceful. If one wanted to truly solve the crisis of chaos, they would have to rely on the Finale Way.


    Therefore, the pursuit of the Purge Way was a coward''s venture.


    After Zen finished speaking, the green figure once again translated the words into complex syllables, and then disassembled them for the Snake Goddess, Fuxi and the others to sing together and make the composite sound.


    Communicating in this way was very inconvenient, but at least it could help Zen communicate with the giant.


    However, Fuxi, Houyi and the others rolled their eyes as they sang this strange song. This task had clearly left them in a bad mood and they felt helpless in having to do it.

 Chapter 3756 The Magical Slipknot

    After the bald giant heard the human heroes sing, he couldn''t help but respond, "You are right! They are indeed a group of cowards. They set up a contemptible trap against me, and that was how they caught me!"


    Once he finished, he gritted his teeth in pure anger.


    "The Element Spirit race are quite cunning and despicable," Zen pointed out.


    As the core of Heavenly Obsession Civilization translated for him, the human heroes conveyed his words using song.


    "Exactly! What a group of deceitful bastards!" The bald giant agreed as he nodded.


    "Such a hateful race just brought shame to all of the civilizations in the chaos!" Zen continued to curse in disgust.


    Meanwhile, the human heroes furrowed their eyebrows in confusion while Zen cursed the Element Spirit Civilization so passionately.


    Just then, the Snake Goddess broke the tension. "Zen, what''s the point of cursing the Element Spirit Civilization this way?"


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven also looked up at Zen, revealing a look of doubt.


    They encouraged Zen to inquire about the bald man''s background before making any impulsive actions. It would have been helpful if they knew if he was a member of the Instant Civilization, or if he had any knowledge on what civilizations existed in the Abstruse Energy World, etc.


    However, instead of doing so, Zen cursed profusely at the Element Spirit Civilization, which surprised the rest of them.


    For them, it seemed like a meaningless bicker especially because they all cultivated to such a high level.


    All of a sudden, Zen winked at them. "I think we''d better go along with the giant first."


    Based on what the giant had done, Zen figured that he was an impulsive and wilful man.


    Though the giant spared their lives, there was no guarantee he wouldn''t return if Zen irritated him some more.


    This was the reason Zen echoed the giant''s curses on the Element Spirit Civilization. He wanted to gain his approval.


    On the other hand, this was an ordeal to the human heroes, though. While he was cursing, the heroes conveyed the translations with songs that they would not be able to understand.


    This process took a long while, and eventually gave time for the bald giant to cool off most of his anger. His violent aura had dissipated a lot over this time.


    He looked at Zen with what seemed like a look of friendliness. "You look similar to me, my friend," the giant said. "Are you also a member of the Colossus race? But why are yo


    change. "Just as I suspected. It''s a Magical Slipknot! Once an iron chain is painted with this kind of runes, a Magical Slipknot Array would form on the joints between every two rings. If one attempts to escape it, the chain would only tighten."


    "Do you know how we can break the array?" Zen asked impatiently.


    "Please." The Primeval Lord of Heaven brushed off his shoulder. "This is a piece of cake."


    It was true that the Magical Slipknot Array was not too difficult to deal with. The Element Spirit race never would have guessed that someone would have helped the giant solve it.


    After Zen told the bald giant that they could free him, his face lit up with pure excitement. In turn, he followed all their orders without another word. He obediently bent down, spread out hands, and placed them right before the Primeval Lord of Heaven.


    Extending his hands, the Primeval Lord of Heaven stroked one ring of the chain. Within seconds, a faint green light flashed from his palms.


    This light began to flow like a thick liquid as it made its way towards the Magical Slipknot Array.


    As the green light made contact with the Magical Slipknot Array, the array''s originally golden light died down.


    Just then, the Primeval Lord of Heaven retreated backward and merely nodded at the giant.


    With one stretch of his arms, the chain broke apart.


    Buzz!


    It was in this moment that Libby''s and Elizabeth''s visions saw the numerous light spots in the Cold Prison dance.


    Zen watched the bald giant intentionally. He noticed the giant did not expect it to be so easy, and his eyes widened at the knowledge that he was finally free.

 Chapter 3757 Uproar

    Once the Primeval Lord of Heaven unbolted the remaining two chains, the bald giant got to his feet and stepped out of the Cold Prison.


    The smooth ice field shone light on him, emitting a primitive, powerful aura.


    The bald giant squatted down and spread his hand towards Zen and said, "My friend, it''s time to settle accounts with those bastards!"


    The core of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization deciphered his words, causing Zen to smile.


    He then walked into the palm of the bald giant with Elizabeth and Libby.


    The ice shook as the bald giant walked on the upper ice field.


    The temperature here was low, but not as low as in the Cold Prison.


    The moment the frost condensed on the surface of the bald giant''s body, it sizzled, turned into hot air, and disappeared.


    The giant''s skin turned bright red, steaming heat gushing out of his body and resisting the low temperature of the ice field pretty easily.


    "This place is covered with ice! Where is the Element Spirit Civilization?"


    the bald giant asked after they had traversed some distance.


    Zen was not familiar with the Blooming Jade Stage either. But he had already walked through it once before and knew that as long as he walked in this direction to the very end, he could advance to Stage Thirty-one of the Other Shore.


    Zen was about to direct the giant in the right way when Elizabeth suddenly said, "Now that this bald giant wants to take revenge on the Element Spirit race, why don''t we let him enjoy himself?"


    "Enjoy himself?" Zen''s eyes narrowed.


    "Since the Element Spirit race controls the Blooming Jade Stage, it would be inconvenient for any other race to go up or down. Zen, your body has passed the Blooming Jade Stage, but your soul is still in Stage Twenty-nine of the Other Shore. If you want to go to Stage Thirty-two of the Other Shore, I''m afraid it will become troublesome by then. It also won''t be easy for your people from the Oneness Sky Palace to pass through the Blooming Jade Stage," Elizabeth reminded him.


    Zen''s eyes lit up at this and he asked to clarify, "What do you mean?"


    "Overturn Stage Thirty of the Other Shore," Elizabeth answered with a shrug.


    The Element Spirit race had Stage Thirty of the Other Shore under full control. As a result, other races, civilizations, or powerful individual creatures on the Other Shore had no choice but to bear with the Element Spirit race when they passed through the Blooming Jade St


    rld.


    But to his great surprise, Zen hadn''t escaped. He had, instead, come to him of his own accord. Hosea was overjoyed as he muttered, "I''d like to see what tricks he wants to play!"


    Saying thus, he floated away towards the city gate.


    All the Five-Element Slaves followed closely behind.


    Five minutes before this, pieces of solid ice had suddenly fallen from above the ice city.


    The guards of the ice city were confused. The ice was solid and looked unlikely to fall unless external force was applied to it.


    The guards were still pondering over this when a figure came smashing through the upper ice field from the cave and into the gate of the ice city.


    "Who are you?"


    "Tell us your name!"


    "..."


    These guards were from Other Shore races that were dependent on the Element Spirit Civilization.


    The strengths of the Other Shore races varied greatly which was proven by the fact that these guards were far weaker than the Five-Element Slaves.


    However, these Other Shore races flourished under the protection of the Element Spirit Civilization.


    Since Zen wasn''t answering their questions, several guards thrust their spears towards his head.


    Zen''s body flashed as he passed through the guards.


    The guards felt their eyes blur, and their hands become empty, the long spears that they had been holding appearing in Zen''s hands.


    Swoosh!


    Zen threw the spears towards the ice wall, each of them stabbing into it with a terrifying force.


    Zen jumped up to stand on top of the ice wall with the help of the spears. He looked into the distance and smiled as he said, "We should make it bigger."

 Chapter 3758 The Holy Souls Strength

    Back in Stage Four of the Other Shore, Zen destroyed the Bearing race''s temple all on his own.


    That time though, his physical body held a bit of an edge against everyone since his enemies were all Souls of Light that had limited strength to fight back.


    However, this was Stage Thirty of the Other Shore.


    Even the Other Shore creatures here held considerable power.


    Moreover, after upgrading to Holy Souls, these Souls of Light considerably increased their strength to the point that they could now contend with a physical body.


    Zen''s form on top of the ice wall immediately attracted a lot of attention.


    Nobody ever dared to act like this in the ice city! Zen was asking for trouble.


    "Where did this reckless human brat come from?"


    Not far away was a platform where numerous burly creatures, covered in silver scales and with huge heads of golden hair, stood.


    They were members of the Scale Lion race which used to be the ruling civilization during the 337th chaos.


    This race had a good relationship with the Element Spirit Civilization and paid direct allegiance with them after entering the Other Shore. They were extremely loyal among all of the Other Shore civilizations.


    Their hostility towards Zen was natural after the man made his invasion known.


    "Howl!"


    Accompanied by a burst of primitive roars, the members of the Scale Lion race suddenly jumped together and began to scale the ice wall, headed straight towards Zen!


    One thing about the Scale Lion race was that they did not rely on their theurgy to fight and instead cultivated a special fighting instinct that helped them deal fatal blows upon their opponents. They were mean fighting machines who knew how to strike and defend effectively.


    If an opponent was on par to their strength, then the Scale Lion race would be invincible. However, if the opponent was stronger, the increase of the Scale Lion race''s strength would be limited.


    Zen''s physical body was already at maximum power courtesy of the Body-strengthening Jades, and add to that the support of the Chaotic Source Spirits.


    There was no need to take these approaching creatures seriously given his current strength. The only ones he had to watch


    ak into the ice city, you''re as good as dead. The Element Spirit race will be very happy if I hand you over to them," Reed continued, stretching out a hand to lift Zen up.


    However, the moment Zen got to his feet, the strokes that restrained him suddenly broke free.


    Reed''s eyes widened in horror as he immediately let go of Zen and took a few steps back.


    "How is that possible!"


    Bang!


    There was no time to ponder over that, as Zen instantly threw him a punch square on the face.


    Though it had been a long time since he reached the Holy Soul Realm and the stability of his soul was comparable to that of a physical body, Reed still suffered greatly from the man''s attack.


    As his soul was smashed into the air, he found it best to retreat from the Other Shore.


    Puff!


    Somewhere in the Source World was a palace and in this palace sat the old man, Reed. The moment he opened his eyes, he spat out a mouthful of blood and suddenly fainted!


    He did not know that in the eyes of the Primeval Lord of Heaven, his unique sealing theurgy was a mere party trick.


    When he sealed Zen, the Primeval Lord of Heaven made quick work of negating the magic and reminded the man to launch a surprise attack once Reed approached.


    Zen shook his head. "This Holy Soul really is so strong. This is indeed unexpected."


    He thought his punch would''ve been enough to smash Reed''s Holy Soul to ashes, but the strength of the old man''s soul exceeded his expectations.

 Chapter 3759 Falling From The Sky

    Another human warrior at the Holy Soul Realm stood in an ice pavilion. It was Neal of the Divine Farmer race.


    Neal was the equal of Reed in terms of strength. When Neal saw Reed being forced out of the Other Shore by Zen''s punch, he was astonished, though he tried to conceal it.


    Obviously, Reed had wanted to capture Zen so that he could ask for rewards from the Element Spirit race.


    The Element Spirit race was known for the generosity of its rewards, which its members used as a means of controlling others and obtaining what they wanted.


    However, not only had Reed been unable to catch Zen, he had also sustained serious injuries. Reed''s failure convinced Neal that it would not be a good idea to go forward.


    He quietly retreated. His human-shaped Soul of Light disintegrated into a series of slender threads, which shivered in the air like visible wind spreading into the depths of the ice city.


    It would also be a great achievement to be the one to bring the news to the stage ruler, Hosea.


    "That human brat defeated the Scale Lion race? And he threw a Holy Soul out of the Other Shore?"


    "I know who he is! He is the one whom Master Hosea is hunting down. Many of the Five-Element Slaves have been killed while hunting him!"


    "He is too arrogant! How dare he come to the ice city? You must catch him!"


    The news of Zen''s feats spread to the strange-shaped creatures of the Other Shore, and it caught their attention immediately. They were intrigued and wanted to know more about Zen.


    They took an interest in Zen for the same reason as Reed. Since Zen was wanted by the Element Spirit race, his capture would lead to enormous rewards.


    "Come on, let''s go!"


    Several short-statured creatures, shaped like giant beetles, were gathered by the side of the city gate. In a moment, they spread their wings and rose into the air, gliding along the ice wall and heading straight towards Zen.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    As soon as they drew nearer to Zen, to their shock, the shadow of a fist had approached and smashed them down along the ice wall.


    But as soon as the giant beetles had been smashed down, dozens of birds appeared in the air, flying towards Zen. These birds were small, no larger than a human fist, but they had long beaks, at least three feet in length. They also flew much faster than the beetles. They zoomed like living arrows towards Zen. No ordinary creature could block such an attack by these deadly birds.


    However, Zen was in possession of the Chaotic Source Spirits, which made his body an impenetrable fortress. If the birds tried to pierce him with their beaks, he knew that the consequences would be terrible for them¡ªhis body was like rigid stone.


    Indeed


    ed. He chuckled and said, "Well, why don''t we see what strength I can summon?"


    Zen was clearly unafraid, and his words caused murmurs and looks of confusion in everyone around him, even Hosea. At that moment, there was a loud crackling sound in the air above them.


    Cracks were forming on the thick frost covering the upper ice field. In seconds, it splintered into shards that fell in heavy, razor-sharp shards onto the ground.


    They heard a deep boom.


    The huge ice piece shrouded an ice castle, which was also smashed into pieces. Some of the ice splinters landed on Other Shore creatures, killing them before they could react.


    To everyone''s shock, as the ice piece fell, a huge, hulking figure jumped down to stand beside Zen. There was a thud as his weight landed solidly on the ground. It was a bald giant.


    The thick ice wall couldn''t bear the force of his landing, and collapsed.


    Many Other Shore creatures stared at the strange giant in open-mouthed disbelief.


    A giant descending from the upper ice field?


    How had such a creature survived in a land of extreme chillness without the protection of the Divine Fire Shield?


    Just what kind of existence was this giant?


    To their further astonishment, the giant moved his lips and began emitting strange words.


    It seemed that the bald giant was singing without any recognizable tone or rhythm.


    Zen listened attentively. The core of Heavenly Obsession Civilization had sent out the contents it had deciphered. Zen gazed at Hosea and said evenly, "This guy of the Colossus race told you that he''d met you again!"


    Hosea''s eyes widened in recognition and shock. He was astonished that the bald giant had escaped from the Cold Prison. Yet he was even more stunned that Zen was capable of understanding what the bald giant said.

 Chapter 3760 Fight

    The Element Spirit Civilization had naturally thought of many ways to communicate with the creatures outside the chaos.


    Like most other civilizations, they wanted to gain rich experience so they could decipher Sanskrit words, the light dots, and even their voices.


    Sanskrit words were the text; the light dots were the form; and the voices were the verbal expression.


    Among the three of them, the words were the easiest to decipher. Every ruling civilization that had passed through the chaos had done profound studies on the Sanskrit words, and the Element Spirit Civilization was no exception.


    However, it was extremely difficult to decipher the form and the verbal expression. For instance, the creatures in the chaos weren''t capable of entering the Abstruse Energy World, which was their innate limitation.


    Nevertheless, it was possible to break such a limitation.


    For example, Ziya gradually adapted to the rules of the Abstruse Energy World after countless years of exploration.


    The only thing was, that way of adapting was quite inefficient, and that was why Ziya still couldn''t exit a mountain even after so many years.


    Then again, his explorations were only one individual''s efforts. As the oldest civilization, the Element Spirit Civilization had many talents in the Element Spirit race, who when they explored together, could surely find out more about the Abstruse Energy World than he did.


    Furthermore, the Element Spirit Civilization even knew how to fight and set traps.


    Over the years, they had captured a considerable number of creatures in the Abstruse Energy World just to understand how the civilizations there worked.


    All the creatures they had captured from the Abstruse Energy World were brought to the Other Shore and detained in the Cold Prisons.


    They built the Cold Prisons in such a way that their temperature was always at an immensely low level. Not only were the Cold Prisons very suitable for holding creatures from outside the chaos, but they also helped the Element Spirit race study them.


    Aside from that, they also made a series of detailed plans to capture those creatures, but they never got to carry out those plans smoothly.


    Many people from the Element Spirit Civilization died in the Abstruse Energy World during their first attempts.


    That was because the Element Spirit Civilization was not good at fighting in the Abstruse Energy World


    Buzz!"


    The cold air quickly spread to the bald giant''s torso, legs, neck, head.


    In the blink of an eye, the ice had frozen the bald giant on the spot and rendered him motionless.


    Hosea slipped out of the bald giant''s arm and stared coldly at Zen. "Tell me, how did you communicate with him?" he sneered.


    In turn, Zen was a little shocked at the sudden turn of events.


    If the bald giant really didn''t have any other ability, he probably shouldn''t have broken into the ice city.


    When Hosea saw that Zen didn''t say anything, he jumped up once again. He stretched both of his hands, which held two curved wing-like blades, then flew towards Zen.


    The moment he jumped, a shattering sound came from behind him. The giant hand once again grabbed him.


    "Crack!"


    A cracking sound came from the bald giant''s palm. Hosea''s body was crushed into pieces.


    However, Zen''s face didn''t relax when he heard the sound.


    It was because he knew that the Element Spirit race evolved from various elements, so it wasn''t easy to kill them.


    For instance, the Chill Ice Slaves and the Moon Fire Slaves had spiritual cores. If their spiritual cores were damaged, they would die. On the other hand, the Magical Thunder Slaves had no spiritual cores, and the bald giant couldn''t seem to kill them.


    Since Hosea was a water spirit among the spirits with five elements, it was impossible to kill him with just violence.


    In the next moment, Zen''s prediction became true.


    Wisps of white frost spread out from the bald giant''s palm once again, turned into thick ice, and tightly wrapped around his body.

 Chapter 3761 The Earth Wood Seal

    The solidified ice was more stable than the last one, and on it were blue patterns.


    Hosea came out of the ice and didn''t stop at all.


    In a split-second, he flew up high into the sky, and part of his limbs turned into an ice spear that was over ten thousand feet long!


    Suddenly, Hosea spun his body around and the ice spear shot to the bald giant!


    Crack!


    Although the ice spear was truly powerful, it failed to pierce through the bald giant''s body.


    Hosea frowned when he realized that he couldn''t injure the bald giant with his own strength. Thus, he floated up again and condensed a second ice spear.


    Crack!


    This time, the icy blue spear pierced through the bald giant''s armpit.


    Then, Hosea condensed more ice spears immediately after.


    Dozens of ice spears shuttled down from all directions and repeatedly punctured the bald giant until he was firmly fastened on the ground.


    Hosea then stopped when he felt that the bald giant was finally subdued.


    After he took a look at his work, his lips curved into a satisfied smile. Then, he slowly floated towards Zen.


    There was a big hole in the upper ice field, which would take some time to repair itself.


    A cold wind blew across the whole ice city, which made the whole place''s temperature drop sharply.


    At the same time, Libby and Elizabeth also felt their hearts drop.


    For their safety, the two women didn''t go down to the lower ice field with Zen and the bald giant. Besides, Elizabeth had previously spent a lot of effort melting the ice for the bald giant to go down.


    The Divine Fire Shield covered the two women as they observed the situation from the upper ice field.


    "Eh, the bald giant is lame..." Libby said. "You shouldn''t have let Zen make such a dangerous move!" She glared at Elizabeth.


    Elizabeth stayed silent for a moment before she said, "I did overestimate his strength..."


    Indeed, the bald giant was powerful when it came to strength and defense.


    Even the ice spears Hosea had thrown with all his might failed to cause even the slightest damage to the bald giant. So Hosea could only seal him.


    However, the bald giant didn''t know how to kill Hosea either.


    He couldn''t do anything to the ever-changing water spirit like Hosea.


    That was why when Zen sa


    ice!


    "Primeval Lord of Heaven, please give me the Earth Wood Seal!" Zen communicated to his inner world. Of course, the Primeval Lord of Heaven did not hesitate.


    He extended his hand and gently pointed at the triangle rune. The triangle rune spun a few times, then it turned into a golden beam of light and flew towards the sky!


    Buzz...


    Once the rune was out from his inner world, Zen held it in his hand.


    When he saw that Hosea had gotten a little impatient, he immediately said, "Because I''ve deciphered his language!"


    "Deciphered his language?" Hosea narrowed his eyes in doubt.


    The Element Spirit Civilization had also tried to do this before.


    However, the bald giant''s language was very complicated, and every enunciation could mean multiple things.


    The Element Spirit Civilization was not as good as the Calculation Civilization in calculation. It would probably take them a long time to decipher the language after taking so many possibilities into account.


    The Element Spirit Civilization was also aware of it. That was one of the reasons why they froze the core of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization!


    The green figure had previously told Zen that the Element Spirit Civilization couldn''t destroy the core of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization. But in fact, they could do this if they wanted.


    The truth was, the Element Spirit Civilization just wanted to control the core of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization at the right time, so they naturally didn''t want to destroy it.

 Chapter 3762 The Method Of Dodging

    Zen met Hosea''s eyes and made a gesture with his finger. "I simply used the Sanskrit deciphering method to understand his language..."


    He was, of course, spouting nonsense, but it wasn''t entirely baseless. There was bound to be some similarity between Sanskrit words and the bald giant''s language, but the latter was definitely far more difficult to understand.


    However, his claims attracted Hosea''s attention. "The Sanskrit deciphering method..." he repeated. Hosea''s eyes shone with intrigue as he looked at Zen. "Which civilization''s rules did you use? The human civilization?"


    There were numerous methods in deciphering Sanskrit and every civilization developed their own. The Element Spirit Civilization once consolidated and summarized all these methods.


    Since Zen was human, Hosea naturally thought that he used the human civilization''s rules.


    "Human civilization''s rules?" Zen repeated with a smile before he shook his head. "No, I found a lost Other Shore civilization in Stage Twenty-six of the Other Shore that summarized the method."


    Thus began Zen''s long, drawn-out tale of complete, utter nonsense.


    All sorts of secrets were hidden on the Other Shore and not even the Element Spirit Civilization knew everything. It was not difficult for Zen to fool Hosea with wild, elaborate, and vivid descriptions and the latter could only listen patiently.


    It didn''t matter whether Zen was lying or telling the truth.


    At the end of the day, Stage Thirty was Hosea''s territory. Everything was under his control here.


    As Zen continued his nonsensical tale, he noticed the bald giant''s eyes get redder and redder while his face got even more distorted.


    "Bang!"


    To his horror, the solid ice that encased the bald giant shattered with a loud bang.


    The bald giant''s skin turned blood-red as it expanded. Infinite power burst out from his body and the ice spears that trapped him snapped one by one.


    "Boom!"


    Once free from the ice seal, the bald giant stepped forward and the whole ice city began to shake.


    "Whoosh!"


    With stunning agility, the giant''s blood-red fist rushed towards Hosea''s head.


    Hosea merely responded with a mocking smile.


    Elizabeth was even more distraught. To her, Zen and Emperor Charm were already one and Zen was the only one she could follow. To see him die this way was an extremely difficult thing to accept.


    Meanwhile, Zen had quietly returned to the Other Shore and heard the bald giant''s sad song. He smiled and whistled low.


    When the bald giant saw Zen reappear, he immediately pounded on his chest in excitement.


    Both Elizabeth and Libby were also wide-eyed in shock. It seemed that Zen did not die but just withdrew in order to dodge that fatal blow.


    As for the Five-Element Slaves, they were, in one word, dumbfounded.


    "Master Hosea is still alive!"


    "The stage ruler just hid himself!"


    "He''s just waiting for a chance to give the bald giant a fatal blow!"


    They could not believe Hosea would die this way.


    It was a known fact that the Blooming Jade Stage was controlled by Hosea and he held absolute authority over it.


    At that moment, a circle of light rose from the ground and flew towards the bald giant''s head. With a slight fluctuation of light, the bald giant disappeared.


    When a stage ruler was killed, the one who killed him would be heralded as the new stage ruler.


    The appearance of the circle of light signified the bald giant''s new role as ruler of the Blooming Jade Stage.


    It was only then that Hosea''s death was confirmed to the Five-Element Slaves. The entire Blooming Jade Stage was now set for a lot of changes.

 Chapter 3763 Wipe Out

    The Other Shore creatures in the ice city hid in every corner of the ice castles. From there, they observed the battle without having to worry about getting hurt.


    When they realized that Hosea had died, everyone was washed over with a wave of sadness.


    Neal, the powerful Holy Soul Realm warrior of the Divine Farmer race, was no exception to this. He frowned and left quietly.


    Even if Hosea was not among the most powerful warriors of the Element Spirit race, he still held a special status. His death would mean the loss of the Blooming Jade Stage. Knowing this, Neal had to inform Divine Farmer as soon as possible.


    Aside from a small group of the Souls of Light, most of the Other Shore creatures were at a loss. They had no clue what would happen to the Blooming Jade Stage. Should they retreat or would it be smarter to stay in the ice city?


    "Master Hosea really died..."


    "That human brat! It is all his damn fault!"


    "He killed Master Hosea!"


    Within seconds, the Five-Element Slaves were in a rage. At this point, retreating was not an option anymore, and they charged madly at Zen.


    However, though the Five-Element Slaves were very powerful, they didn''t have any high positions in the Element Spirit race. After all, they were merely slaves created by the Element Spirit race in the first place.


    Seeing the Five-Element Slaves rush towards him, Zen remained calm and unmoved. Because he could not put up a fight, he decided it would be best to dodge.


    With a light tap of his toe against the ground, he glided backwards to create distance. As he saw the Magical Thunder Slave in the front aiming for his head, his figure faded away and he exited the Other Shore.


    "He ran away! What a coward!"


    "He retreated from the Other Shore again!"


    "What should we do now?"


    Since their main target disappeared, the Five-Element Slaves did not know what to do. After all, they were only capable of carrying out tasks. With their leader dead, they did not know how to continue.


    However, their confusion did not last long. Not long after, a ray of white light shone, revealing a huge figure.


    Before, it took Zen much effort to eventually become the ruler of Stage Fourteen of the Other Shore.


    However, the bald giant came from outside of the chaos. He had a skill for comprehending Sanskrit words, so understanding the theurgy on the slate was a piece


    fted from calm to anxious. Chaos struck, and everyone ended up shouting, dodging, and running as fast as they could.


    Within five minutes, the three ice castles were left to ruins.


    On the other hand, with the guidance of Elizabeth, the bald giant charged towards the next nearest gathering place.


    It was in these three days that the Blooming Jade Stage was far from peaceful.


    Over time, the ice castles built by the Element Spirit race were completely destroyed to dust, all by the bald giant.


    Meanwhile, the Five-Element Slaves and the Other Shore races who were obedient to the Element Spirit race suffered great losses. None of them had any good plans to deal with the giant, which led them to surrender. It was their only choice¡ªdeath or retreat.


    The races on the Other Shore appeared innocent, but neither Elizabeth nor Zen had any intentions of letting them off so easily.


    The fact that they joined the Element Spirit race meant that they had to stick to their stands. After all, if the Element Spirit race was ever in trouble, the creatures on the Other Shore would not hesitate to aid them.


    After three days passed and the chaos subsided, the bald giant carried Zen, Elizabeth, and Libby to the front of the ice castle found in the deepest area of the Blooming Jade Stage.


    It was only a few days ago when the three were blocked in front of the castle. Now, they had the giant to carry them.


    At this point, the castle was empty and all the Five-Element Slaves that once guarded it retreated to Stage Thirty-one of the Other Shore. It was a ghost town here.

 Chapter 3764 Arrangement

    "You can go to Stage Thirty-one of the Other Shore through the star rings in the ice castle, but the star rings have been provided for the creatures from the chaos. I don''t know if you can pass through one," Zen said to the bald giant.


    Each star ring corresponded to a race. Only members of a race could ascend from their star ring.


    It was unlikely that the Colossus race had an exclusive star ring. The members of the Element Spirit race had probably used some other means to bring the bald giant to where he was at the moment.


    In addition to this, the bald giant was also facing another problem. He had become the ruler of the Blooming Jade Stage. According to the rules of the Other Shore, once he became a stage ruler, he would forever be bound to this stage of the Other Shore.


    Elvinia and Zen had become stage rulers in succession, but they had not become bound to their respective stages of the Other Shore. This confused Zen, who wondered if the bald giant would be accorded such treatment.


    The bald giant nodded and took a step forward. He lifted the roof of the ice castle into the air, revealing the star rings neatly placed within.


    He grabbed at the star rings, spilling them all over the ice.


    "These things are so small. How can I get into them?" the bald giant said, frowning.


    "Just step into a star ring," said Zen.


    The star ring was similar to a transmission door. No matter how large an individual was, a star ring could accommodate them.


    Even the star rings for races with huge figures, such as the Abyss Spirit race, were about the same size as that for humans.


    The bald giant stared at a star ring before taking a deep breath and then stepping forward into it.


    Buzz...


    The star ring sucked him in with a whoosh, emitting white light as it did.


    "He seems to be going through the star ring for the Ear Mouse race. Is it possible?" Libby asked, worried.


    Zen shrugged and said, "I don''t know. He has to try it himself."


    Zen had communicated a lot with the bald giant on their way here.


    He had established a certain friendship with the giant after multiple rounds of battle. They had more to talk about with each other now and the Primeval Lord of Heaven also took the opportunity to tell Zen to as


    away, there was no doubt that the Element Spirit race would make a comeback once Pompeo left.


    But if Pompeo were to stay here, he would be able to help the humans gradually take control of the Blooming Jade Stage.


    Zen had come up with this idea before, but he wouldn''t keep Pompeo here if he could ascend.


    Now that Pompeo couldn''t leave by himself, Zen had to make good use of this situation. In return, he would help him find a way to ascend to the upper stages.


    Pompeo blinked his huge eyes and nodded, agreeing with Zen''s suggestion.


    The Colossus race was a primitive race, but Pompeo was not stupid. He knew that Zen would not help him for no reason. He himself had helped Zen because they had the same enemy and they could make use of each other.


    "Elizabeth, would you like to stay in the Blooming Jade Stage to assist Pompeo?" Zen turned to ask Elizabeth.


    By asking Elizabeth to assist Pompeo, he intended for Elizabeth to take charge instead since Pompeo would be fighting most of the time.


    Elizabeth didn''t refuse, but she was hesitant as she said, "But I can''t communicate with him."


    Now, the only person who could communicate with Pompeo was Zen.


    "It doesn''t matter. I''ll talk to him about everything in advance. He''ll follow your orders," Zen said.


    Pompeo needed to kill all the members of the Element Spirit race who entered the Blooming Jade Stage, or anyone that Elizabeth considered a threat. She only needed to give simple orders for him to do her bidding.

 Chapter 3765 Bone Cave

    Zen spoke with Pompeo a while longer and asked him to cooperate with Elizabeth.


    Pompeo wanted to return to his hometown and so demonstrated absolute willingness to do whatever was needed of him.


    Now that this problem was solved, Zen and Libby decided to head for Stage Thirty-one.


    Before they took their leave, Elizabeth stopped them, "Wait a moment."


    "What''s the matter?" Zen asked with curiosity, turning to look at Elizabeth.


    "The Land of Bone Tribulation is way more dangerous than the Soul City. I can''t go with you, but just... be careful..." Elizabeth said tenderly.


    Her original plan was to escort Zen all the way to Stage Thirty-two, after sneaking through the Blooming Jade Stage. He was inexperienced and having Elizabeth at his side would certainly help him in avoiding many dangers.


    However, she had never expected her plan to have such a huge flaw. As a result, she would actually have to stay in charge of the entire Blooming Jade Stage.


    The sudden change of the situation was difficult for her to adapt to and left her feeling somewhat overwhelmed.


    "Don''t worry about me, you still need to worry about the Element Spirit race''s retaliation. They won''t let you off easily," Zen warned.


    With Pompeo''s strength, he could defeat every enemy in Stage Thirty, but who knew what strange methods the Element Spirit race would use against him?


    Zen and Libby then walked straight through the star ring of the human race. As they crossed the threshold, they transformed into two rays of white light and shot upwards to the higher stage.


    The Sanskrit Light Stage, Stage Thirty-one of the Other Shore, was said to be the most mysterious of them all.


    Zen opened his eyes once they had entered the Sanskrit Light Stage and saw nothing but blank whiteness. He was soon surprised to discover he was in a narrow cave that was white in every direction he looked. It was certainly strange on the eyes, and there appeared to be a special aura around as well.


    An aura familiar to Zen. It reminded him of the bottom of the chaos. This feeling he got now was very similar to the aura in the prison created by the Chaos Ancient God.


    "What is this cave?" Zen asked looking around and taking a few steps forward.


    "It''s no ordinary cave. This is a bone cave," answered Libby. This might have been her first time here, but she had done her research beforehand an


    ce, especially the elites in the Land of Sword Grief.


    Not only was Libby a genius with extraordinary talent, but she worked hard to learn anything she could as well. She had already done her research about stages to come before entering the Soul City.


    Zen smiled awkwardly and said, "Apologies for my carelessness."


    "That''s all right. I''ll lead the way," Libby said walking to the front and entering into the second bone cave on the left.


    They walked along this path a while before coming to another bone cavity. Again, Libby didn''t hesitate in choosing the second cave on the left. She then turned to explain to Zen, "There''s actually more than one correct path leading to the Land of Bone Tribulation. This is the shortest recorded path..."


    As she spoke, they suddenly heard a rustling coming from the depths of the cave ahead of them.


    The caves were hollow so even the smallest sound would echo through and travel a long distance. They listened carefully and soon realized there were creatures running towards them.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Several figures emerged ahead. The one at the front yelled at them, "Run! Humans, run for your lives! There are Ghost-claw Worms coming!"


    "Is that an Ear Mouse?" Zen recognized the voice and then saw the shapes of five Ear Mice clearly.


    Libby''s joy fled at the creature''s warning. "Oh no, we should run now!" she exclaimed.


    Zen didn''t fully understand what was coming but he could tell that Ghost-claw Worms were formidable enemies from Libby''s reaction. He quickly turned and followed her out of the bone cave.

 Chapter 3766 Getting Involved

    They retreated from the cave hurriedly and the Ear Mice soon followed.


    For these Ear Mice to be in the Sanskrit Light Stage meant they too were powerful warriors of the Holy Soul Realm. However, their terror as they fled was clear. Zen realized the Ghost-claw Worms they spoke of should not be underestimated.


    Whoosh!


    As the Ear Mice escaped into the bone cavity, a dark black object suddenly came from behind them.


    It looked like a snake, but its front end split into three, like a three-fingered ghost claw!


    Crack!


    The three fingers of the ghost claw suddenly stretched and slammed down heavily on the head of an Ear Mouse, its fingertips penetrating right into the poor creature''s soul!


    "No!"


    The Ear Mouse let out a series of desperate screams as it was dragged back into the bone cave. Its distressing squeak could be heard a long while before it finally stopped. This must have meant that the Ear Mouse had been dragged a great distance away!


    The other four Ear Mice could do nothing but watch helplessly as their companion was hauled away. Without missing a beat, they then escaped into another bone cave, swiftly moving on.


    Zen and Libby followed the four Ear Mice into the bone cave.


    Behind them, many black Ghost-claw Worms were swarming over, chasing after them blisteringly fast, so fast it seemed as if they were flying!


    Zen glanced back as he ran and saw that they were not flying but crawling along the walls of the cave.


    There were countless tiny feet on the limbs of the Ghost-claw Worms, similar to those of a centipede. Their feet moved fast and flowed like waves, advancing them along the wall at high speed!


    "What the hell are these Ghost-claw Worms? Their heads look like a ghost claw, but their bodies are worms..." Zen asked sounding a little disgusted.


    "I don''t know. According to the documents, these creatures come from the outside world," answered Libby while she kept running hard.


    "The outside world?" Zen was stunned.


    "These bone caves are not completely closed off. Some parts of the bone joints are broken and creatures from the forbidden area outside break in," Libby revealed.


    The bone joints Zen had observed were closed tightly, but apparently not all were this way. This gave the Other Shore creatures outside the


    sword from her and strode out of the bone cave!


    Buzz!


    As the incredible power of the Civilization Artifact surged into his body, he slashed the sword forward. A beam of sword radiance containing tens of thousands of divine megatons of force gathered and shot out.


    Puff!


    The bodies of the Ghost-claw Worms were sliced like a bundle of hemp rope and left an opening for them to escape through.


    The heads of the Ghost-claw Worms behind the Ear Mice all hissed in pain. Even when their bodies were cut, their heads remained alive and even quickened their speed.


    Zen did not care what was happening behind him. He rushed forward with Libby, and the three Ear Mice followed closely behind them.


    "Human friend, thank you very much!"


    "Thank you for saving our lives!"


    "My friend, you are on the Other Shore in your physical form. Are you Zen Luo from the Oneness Sky Palace?"


    When the Ear Mice saw Zen offering his hand, they all made up their minds to follow closely behind him. In their eyes, he was the last life-saving straw they had. They were able to identify Zen quickly by his special form, as it was famous on the Other Shore.


    "What the hell did you do to provoke these Ghost-claw Worms? Why do they keep chasing you like this?"


    Libby asked, annoyed and impatient, before Zen could even answer their question.


    They had just reached the Sanskrit Light Stage and were now stuck being chased incessantly by these worms. It was all the Ear Mice''s fault and she made her indignation obvious to them.

 Chapter 3767 The Bottom Of The Sea

    "Squeak! There''s something wrong with the whole Sanskrit Light Stage!"


    the Ear Mouse in the lead said.


    This Ear Mouse was called Fidel. It was one of the nineteen elders of the Ear Mouse race and held a high position in the race.


    "Why is there something wrong with the Sanskrit Light Stage? What''s the problem?" Zen asked with a frown.


    Zen had passed through the Soul City quite smoothly. He had expected passing through the Land of Bone Tribulation to not be difficult either. But it didn''t look easy.


    "Many bone caves have been damaged! A number of things have come in!" Fidel squeaked, horrified.


    It was obvious that the Ghost-claw Worms had not been the only ones to drill into the bone caves from the outside.


    "You can leave the Other Shore, but why do you still choose to run like this?" Libby asked.


    The monsters outside the bone caves weren''t like the Element Spirit race which stayed in the ice city. If they had no way out, they would recite the Illusion Breaking Rune and retreat.


    Libby didn''t want to help the Ear Mice, but she also didn''t stop Zen when she noticed that he wanted to help them.


    If they really couldn''t find a way out, the worst that would happen was that she and Zen would temporarily have to leave the Other Shore.


    But even though the Ear Mice kept being chased by those monsters, they still did not retreat from the Other Shore. There had to be a reason for this!


    "Can''t you see our feet?" Fidel squeaked.


    Zen and Libby looked down to see that the footsteps of the Ear Mice were flashing with the pale blue light.


    "Soul Interdicting Water?" Zen''s gaze froze. "Do the Other Shore creatures of the Sanskrit Light Stage know how to use this thing?"


    "I think..."


    Libby was about to answer Zen''s question, but Fidel interrupted her and said, "Zen, don''t you have a good understanding of the Sanskrit Light Stage before entering it?"


    Today was the second time that he had been asked such a question and Zen''s face flamed in embarrassment. "Not really."


    "The entire Sanskrit Light Stage is soaked in the Soul Interdicting Water. The Soul Binding Thread, the Soul Interdicting Water, and the Soul Restraining Sand on the Other Shore are produced here," replied Fidel.


    The Soul Interdicting Water in the Sanskrit Light Stage brought ab


    s, which were also their necks.


    The beheaded Ghost-claw Worms fell to the ground one after another, wailing and rolling on the ground. They were no longer able to chase the Ear Mice.


    After he had figured out how to deal with the Ghost-claw Worms, Zen found that it was easy to handle them.


    There were a large number of Ghost-claw Worms behind him. But as long as there were worms that dared to stretch their heads out, Zen would use his long sword to chop, stab and behead them.


    In five minutes, Zen had killed more than thirty Ghost-claw Worms.


    An hour later, there were only a few Ghost-claw Worms scattered on the wall.


    Zen stopped and waved his long sword towards the sky. An arc-shaped sword light shot out of the sword and cut off the heads of the Ghost-claw Worms. They were now all struggling on the ground.


    The Ear Mice stopped running and breathed a collective sigh of relief when the Ghost-claw Worms were finally killed.


    "We got rid of them!"


    "Zen, we would have died if it weren''t for you!"


    "What a coincidence! You saved my son in the Chaotic Source World before. You hadn''t stepped into the Desire World at the time. I haven''t expected you to reach the Sanskrit Light Stage and save my life," one of the Ear Mice exclaimed.


    The three Ear Mice were expressing their gratitude when Libby suddenly asked, "But where are we now?"


    At her question, the Ear Mice began to panic. Caught up in the chase that the Ghost-claw Worms had given them, they had no idea which bone cave they were in now.

 Chapter 3768 Outside

    Libby''s question made Zen and the three Ear Mice realize this was a problem that needed to be addressed.


    The bone caves in the Sanskrit Light Stage formed the most complicated maze any of them had ever come across. Up until now, there was still no one who had completely worked out the entire maze.


    "Deviating too far from our original route would be disastrous, I''m afraid," Fidel said seriously.


    Zen considered their options for a while before finally saying, "Those Ghost-claw Worms always leave traces, and we can go back the same way we came by following those traces they''ve left."


    After that, he turned and began walking back.


    Zen had sliced the Ghost-claw Worms'' heads off at the neck and they still struggled on the ground. Even now they still stretched out three fingers in an attempt to grab Zen as he passed.


    "Whoosh!"


    The long sword in Zen''s hand shook, and with a flash of sword radiance, he had cut the wriggling heads in halves.


    Zen and the Ear Mice felt more comfortable with their plan after seeing these Ghost-claw Worms. Zen had killed many along the way so it''d be an easy trail to follow back...


    They followed the corpses, walking the wrong way on several occasions before they had finally found the original path they had taken here.


    The Ear Mice had come from a different bone cave and recorded a different path. Now they too, like Zen, were counting on Libby to lead the way.


    Fortunately, although it was Libby''s first time in the Sanskrit Light Stage, she was very smart and remembered the way to the Land of Bone Tribulation clearly.


    "There are eight bone caves in the bone cavity. We should take the seventh one..."


    "There are two roads here. We should take the left one..."


    "The first bone cave..."


    Under her guidance, they continued onward, slightly uphill.


    Just as Fidel had said, they were in fact still in the sea formed by the Soul Interdicting Water. If they broke through a wall of a bone cave, the Soul Interdicting Water would gush in.


    But many bones were in the water, looking like countless tubes.


    The route the Ear Mice had taken had been submerged by the Soul Interdicting Water, but everything was fine for the one the human race had recorded in their documents, and they continued smoothly along the way.


    The s


    Fidel is right, the Soul Interdicting Water has begun flooding and who knows what followed the water in," Zen pointed out shaking his head as he spoke.


    The Ghost-claw Worms alone were tough to deal with, not to mention there could be more than one kind of creature in the Soul Interdicting Water.


    Libby considered this a while and decided Zen made a lot of sense and so she agreed.


    Zen then jumped up straight to the first bone cave on the left and climbed up along the wall.


    It was over ten thousand feet long and very wide. He could still hear the echo of his footsteps when he walked. When he was halfway up, a black fog appeared around the cave.


    This gave him pause and he hesitated.


    But then, the Primeval Lord of Heaven, who had been observing Zen this whole time, reminded him, "Don''t worry. This black fog is only to scare off souls and can''t harm a physical body."


    Holy Souls were forbidden to step on this road, naturally there were some measures to stop them.


    These words of comfort swept Zen''s worries away and he continued climbing up.


    He was almost at the top when a ray of light shone in front of him, lighting the dim cave.


    "Does this bone cave lead outside?"


    Zen''s eyes glinted and he quickened his pace.


    When he finally reached the top, he saw what it was like outside the bone cave...


    He saw a boundless blue sea and slender bones in the water upside down, sticking out like bamboo growing in the sea. This was the forbidden area outside the bone caves that Libby had mentioned!

 Chapter 3769 Bone Slaves

    Once he was out of the bone cave, Zen saw a sprawling white beach in front of him.


    He bent down to grab the white sand and watched it fall in between his fingers. "This sand is also bones. Were countless bones truly crushed and gathered here?"


    "Ordinary crushed bones would have already been weathered. These bones were originally this small," the Primeval Lord of Heaven answered.


    Hearing this, Zen lifted the sand on his palm and looked at it more carefully. As the Primeval Lord of Heaven said, these bones were indeed whole and were just incredibly small.


    For such bones to be so small that they ended up covering an entire area and be mistaken for sand was both incredible and unsettling. "Are these from the tiny creatures of the Calculation Civilization?" Zen asked.


    The green figure on the Civilization Artifact shook its head. "It''s not us. We''re even way smaller than these bones."


    Too many civilizations and creatures had existed in the chaos.


    Over a thousand races had once become ruling civilizations and those underneath them, were even more numerous. Of course, there would always be creatures bigger or smaller than others.


    "If you walk a bit more, you''ll come upon some new discoveries," the Primeval Lord of Heaven said.


    Zen decided to walk further along the beach and, to his surprise, found the bones that littered the ground progressively get larger. At first, it had been the size of a grain of sand until it became the size of a pea, then the size of a fist...


    This somehow reminded him of the Immemorial Wilderness save for the fact that the bones there were randomly placed. Here on the beach, the bones were arranged in a certain orderly manner.


    As he ventured forward, Zen began to see more familiar bones, specifically, human bones!


    He bent down and picked up a random arm bone. "The bone beach records all creatures on the Other Shore?"


    "Yes," the Primeval Lord of Heaven confirmed.


    Zen turned the bone in his hand curiously. "What about the Regal Jade Civilization?" he asked.


    Some civilizations had special forms and the Regal Jade Civilization was one of them since they did not have any bones.


    "Look at the front left," the Regal Jade Spirit suddenly said, with a smile on his face.


    The Regal Jade Spirit had also stepped into the Land of Bone Tribulation before, so he knew some things.


    Zen did as he said. When he looked to the left, he saw variou


    ead. "What if a certain race enters this place for the first time?"


    "Before they enter, the bones of their race will have been created and placed here," the Primeval Lord of Heaven explained patiently.


    There were some special powers on the Other Shore. It should also be noted that the Soul City and the Land of Bone Tribulation were constructed by the Instant Civilization and were thus naturally different from other places.


    Zen raised yet another question. "These bones... they were created out of nowhere then?"


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven smiled, associating Zen''s question with the Truth of Three-Energy Construction. "It is indeed possible!"


    Ziya discovered the Truth of Three-Energy Construction outside the chaos, which meant the Instant Civilization also came from there.


    The reanimated skeletons came straight to Zen and the first skeleton that passed him by flipped a slightly larger bone. Zen watched as the bone landed on the surface of the Soul Interdicting Water and transformed itself into a boat.


    "Please get on," the skeleton said in a strange voice and gestured invitingly towards the boat.


    A trace of vigilance appeared on Zen''s face as he asked the Primeval Lord of Heaven''s opinion in his mind.


    "If you want to go to the Land of Bone Tribulation, then you naturally have to board this boat," the Primeval Lord of Heaven said, assuring Zen and comforting his nerves.


    With no more reservations, Zen jumped and landed in the middle of the boat.


    The other skeletons quickly got to work, scouring the ground for bones to be used as paddles and also getting on the boat.

 Chapter 3770 Bone Island

    The white bone boat floated on the blue ocean.


    It was rowed manually by the bone slaves, so it did not move too fast.


    Zen possessed the ability to fly and could do so across the ocean, or even help the bone slaves speed up if he wished.


    But the Primeval Lord of Heaven warned him not to break the rules of the Land of Bone Tribulation. They had entered the land in this way before. As per the advice he was given, Zen just watched on as the bone slaves paddled the boat forward slowly.


    Their intelligence was at the most basic level, and although they were able to communicate smoothly with Zen, they seemed to know very little. When he asked of theirs and the Land of Bone Tribulation''s origin, all they offered was dull, stiff answers.


    After asking a few more questions, Zen gave up this pursuit with them.


    Splash! Splash! Splash...


    The boat continued on slowly, bypassing bones jutting out of the sea one by one, before Zen finally caught sight of a white island.


    The island was made of thick bones piling up together and in the center was a huge skull, but Zen didn''t know what creature it belonged to.


    "Is this the Land of Bone Tribulation?" Zen asked.


    "Yes," a bone slave nodded.


    As the boat slowly approached the shore, Zen leaped casually into the air and landed on the island.


    He stood firm when suddenly, a handful of sea water splashed at his head!


    Being on the Other Shore for so long, Zen was very alert to Soul Interdicting Water and the like. The thunder wings on his back exploded violently as his body turned away, barely avoiding the Soul Interdicting Water!


    He stabilized in midair and now saw clearly that there were more than a dozen creatures on both sides of the island!


    They were of many different shapes and sizes; some were tiny, some were as big and burly as giants. But it was obvious they were Other Shore creatures.


    "Hasn''t it been a long time since anyone entered the Land of Bone Tribulation?" Zen asked in confusion.


    He thought he was the only one here. Seeing so many Other Shore creatures appear all of a sudden was certainly unexpected.


    "Creatures in the chaos can''t enter the Land of Bone Tribulation, but the Other Shore creatures can," the Primeval Lord of Heaven


    uickly explained in a panic, "He told us the news. He came here and told us that if we attacked you, the Element Spirit race would reward us, which would benefit our race!"


    The Sturdy Bull pointed at a cat-like creature not far off.


    The cat-like creature took two steps back when he was pointed out. His eyes narrowed and gazed dangerously, ready to deal with Zen''s attack at any moment.


    But Zen just glanced at him indifferently and said, "I came here to pass the Land of Bone Tribulation. As for the grudge between me and the Element Spirit race, you''d better stay out of it!"


    These Other Shore creatures were also outstanding warriors of their different races. They had thought Zen was a weak lamb they could bully, and naturally they wanted to rush forward to capture him.


    But Zen displayed such great power that they decided it was better to not risk their lives!


    "Yes, yes. I''m not a member of the Element Spirit race," the Sturdy Bull nodded.


    They immediately let out a sigh of relief and all the tension in the atmosphere relaxed when Zen showed restrained hostility.


    Zen looked into the depths of the island and asked, "Has the Land of Bone Tribulation opened yet?"


    On the bone boat, the Primeval Lord of Heaven had told him the basics rules of the Land of Bone Tribulation.


    Like the Soul City, the Land of Bone Tribulation also opened for a period of time and then closed for another period of time. But the periods were much longer than that of the Soul City.

 Chapter 3771 Myriad Tribulations Storm

    The skull that occupied three fourths of the island was in fact the entrance to the Land of Bone Tribulation.


    "The Land of Bone Tribulation opens every eight hundred hours. Six hundred and forty hours have now passed," the Sturdy Bull replied.


    "So it will open in seven days?" asked Zen.


    "Yes!" The Sturdy Bull answered.


    Seven days...


    Zen pondered this a while and decided not to leave the Other Shore.


    These Other Shore creatures were not reliable. If he left, there was no guarantee they wouldn''t set up arrays and wait for an opportunity to strike at him...


    He sat down cross-legged facing the skull, dead still in meditation, waiting for its opening.


    The Other Shore creatures stood behind him, sizing him up silently. They didn''t want to provoke him anymore and so waited with him.


    Seven days passed by quickly.


    Once it had been eight hundred hours, the huge skull trembled and began rising slowly.


    Zen sensed the change and opened his eyes, staring intently at the rising skull before him.


    He now realized it was a complete skull but the lower end of it had been buried in the island before.


    As it continued to rise, more and more was revealed and a cervical spine now became visible; it turned out to be a complete skeleton!


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    Once the skull had risen a fair bit, a strange sound echoed from between its jaws. Its mouth slowly opened, releasing, incredibly, a pathway.


    The Other Shore creatures itched to give it a go. When the Land of Bone Tribulation had opened before, they would swarm in.


    But this time, as Zen stood at the front, none of them dared to move first.


    Zen walked without hesitation, straight into the large mouth of the skull.


    The Other Shore creatures followed in as soon as he entered.


    Inside the skull were stairs made of thin bones. After walking down the bone stairs, they returned to the bottom of the sea. Then another wondrous scene was revealed to them.


    The Soul Interdicting Water with dark blue light was blocked by an invisible force, forming isolation walls.


    In the center were many floating white bone plates.


    This was Zen''s f


    and had no interest whatsoever in other matters. Even when the Element Spirit race had sent a message to attack Zen, he paid it no mind.


    As they spoke, an intense pressure overtook the entire space, suddenly expanding and contracting along with the violent rising and falling of the surrounding sea water. A storm had formed in the center!


    The storm rose and swept out the Soul Interdicting Water from the surrounding "walls".


    Drops of Soul Interdicting Water gathered in the center of the storm.


    Zen was inevitably hit by the Soul Interdicting Water as he sat on the bone plate.


    He tried to dodge, but the Soul Interdicting Water was too dense. He was hit and then gave up trying to dodge it. He had accepted that he was unable to leave the Other Shore.


    Buzz!


    The Soul Interdicting Water was completely submerged in the rising storm, forming a larger blue storm.


    ''Is this the Myriad Tribulations Storm?'' Frowning, Zen looked at the scene unfolding in front of him. At the same time, he felt confused as to whether he should refine his body with the Soul Interdicting Water.


    When he was still at a loss for what his next move should be, streaks of golden liquid suddenly rose from the bottom of the storm.


    Feeling the aura of the golden liquid shrank his pupils. Even the Primeval Lord of Heaven who was observing in his inner world seemed to remember something, which changed his face in an instant!

 Chapter 3772 The Tearing Force

    The golden liquid''s aura was quite similar to that of the Descending Rings.


    Not long ago, Fuxi and the Snake Goddess from the Source World personally asked Zen for the golden red Chaotic Source Spirits. When they were used together with the Descending Rings, they could directly summon anything from the Other Shore down to the chaos. It was a way equivalent to breaking the restrictions of truth!


    In fact, the Primeval Lord of Heaven also knew that there would be a blue-golden storm in the Land of Bone Tribulation.


    The blue was the Soul Interdicting Water, but so far, no one knew what the golden liquid was.


    However, it had been a long time since the Primeval Lord of Heaven was in the Land of Bone Tribulation, and he had long forgotten about the aura of this golden liquid.


    That was why he couldn''t connect them to the Land of Bone Tribulation at all when he saw Zen''s golden red Chaotic Source Spirits before.


    But now that Zen had entered the Land of Bone Tribulation, he and Zen naturally realized immediately what the golden liquid might be. "Primeval Lord of Heaven, why is this golden liquid''s aura in this storm the same as the aura of the Descending Rings?" asked Zen.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven was lost in thought. There was a somewhat strange connection between the two.


    The Myriad Tribulations Storm was a great test for warriors who entered it for training, and only those strong-willed enough could pass it.


    The mixture of the golden liquid and the Soul Interdicting Water could cause a violent stab of pain to anyone it hit.


    It was so painful that even the Primeval Lord of Heaven still clearly remembered how it felt when he experienced it over a thousand chaotic eras ago. "If the golden liquid is the same type of thing as the Descending Rings, then it is used to summon things from the Other Shore, while the Soul Interdicting Water works to prevent anything from descending..." Zen analyzed.


    Upon hearing Zen''s words, the Primeval Lord of Heaven broke free from his train of thought. He suddenly perked up and said, "I got it. It turns out that the Land of Bone Tribulation is so ingeniously designed.


    The Instant Civilization was smart to make use of the geographical advantages..." "What geographical advantages?" Zen asked curiously.


    "As you said, the Soul Interdicting Water prevents things from descending while the golden liquid works the same as the Descending Ring, which is used to summon things down. Their functions contrast each other. If they appear at the same time, then the Myriad Tribulations Storm, which could tear almost everything apart, is formed," the Primeval Lord of Heaven t


    hers'' bodies glowed with a golden light. While all of them changed in some way, there were no changes in Zen''s body at all.


    "Did that guy just withstand the water drops with his physical body?"


    "Will he really go to the second layer the first time he has entered the storm? He''s so aggressive!"


    "Just wait and see, he''ll surely suffer!"


    It was known that the water drops were immensely powerful despite their size. It was likely for one to lose their life if they weren''t careful in the Myriad Tribulations Storm.


    Some of the Other Shore creatures even began to think that if Zen was seriously injured, they wouldn''t mind killing him. They became more excited now that the Soul Interdicting Water had tainted Zen, since he would have no way to escape!


    But just as the crowd thought, Zen had already driven the bone plate thirty feet forward and stepped into the third layer.


    On the other side, his tribulation skeleton also sat upright on the bone plate. The water droplets continuously hit it, but there were only faint golden marks on its surface.


    "Even though these small water drops have a strong tearing force, it cannot affect my body on a large scale. Warriors at the Chaotic Source Realm are best at resisting such attacks," Zen said in a low voice.


    The Chaotic Source Spirits feared bearing too much power at once the most. However, the constant tearing of the water droplets hardly exhausted them.


    Zen looked ahead and the corner of his mouth slightly curled up. Then, he did something that surprised everyone around him.


    He leaned forward a little, then the bone plate quickly moved forward. In the blink of an eye, he was already a hundred feet into the storm and had landed at the side of the warrior from the Sturdy Bull race!

 Chapter 3773 Too Slow

    The member of the Sturdy Bull race still focused on resisting the water drops. His muscles flashed with a bronze glow.


    Every time he activated his bloodline theurgy, his blood vitality became more potent and greatly increased the toughness of his physical body.


    "I need to hold on for six hours!" he exclaimed.


    As long as he stayed within the tenth layer for six full hours, his tribulation skeleton would surely grow stronger.


    However, to do so was a huge challenge. After all, to continuously activate the bloodline power consumed a lot of his strength.


    Fortunately, the current round of Myriad Tribulations Storm had just started. He was still full of energy, so the task was a piece of cake.


    Just as he sat down and turned around to check how the human newcomer was doing, he suddenly realized that Zen was already at the spot beside him.


    His eyes widened to the size of saucers. He stared blankly at Zen for a long while before he came back to his senses.


    "How is this possible?"


    He was so shocked as if he had seen a monster and not a human. He couldn''t figure out how Zen had reached the spot beside him in such a short period!


    They were already a hundred feet into the Myriad Tribulations Storm at that point, and the water drops in the tenth layer were far more powerful. It was simply impossible, even if one''s physical body had absorbed enough Body-strengthening Jades and had cultivated to its limit!


    What made it more surprising was that it was Zen''s first time to experience such a trial, and his tribulation skeleton hardly even bore any damages!


    With a steady drip, the water drops kept hitting Zen''s body.


    Black cracks spread all over his skin, but it looked like he wasn''t in pain at all.


    Opposite him on the other side of the Myriad Tribulations Storm, the water droplets had quickly tempered his tribulation skeleton.


    The closer they got to the center of the storm, the faster the tribulation skeleton would be refined.


    The refinement speed at the tenth layer was a hundred times faster than that in the outermost layer!


    As the small drops of water poured continuously onto Zen''s tribulation skeleton, its golden color became increasingly clear.


    "This is..."


    Then, it glowed brighter while he felt his body become solid and stable as if an invisible power had enhanced it.


    "Is this feeling from my tribulation skeleton?" Zen muttered with raised brows. Of course, he was a bit surprised.


    He was different from t


    ed in the eleventh layer increased greatly, and at the same time, the pressure Zen felt also intensified by several degrees. Even so, the exhaustion of the Chaotic Source Spirits was still within his control.


    At that moment, all the remaining Other Shore creatures in the Myriad Tribulations Storm observed Zen and started to discuss among themselves.


    "How is this possible?"


    "Even if he cultivates some special theurgy, he won''t be able to hold on for long, right?"


    "You should know that his tribulation skeleton hasn''t grown so strong to protect his body!"


    Even the centipede that fully concentrated on his cultivation in the sixteenth layer turned his head, his eyes filled with bewilderment and uncertainty.


    The centipede had reached his current level through step-by-step improvement.


    His physical body was already strong enough to bear the water drops in the outer layers, so his tribulation skeleton could grow stronger much faster. In turn, his enhanced tribulation skeleton served as additional protection as he advanced further.


    However, Zen had rushed into the eleventh layer even though he hardly spent time in the outer layers. His tribulation skeleton was barely refined, so it couldn''t support him at all.


    If the centipede stayed in the eleventh layer without the protection of the tribulation skeleton, he wouldn''t be able to withstand the water drops!


    Most of the Other Shore creatures who bet that Zen wouldn''t be able to stay long in the eleventh layer were indeed right. It had only been five minutes since he had arrived there, but he already felt dissatisfied with the refining speed in the eleventh layer.

 Chapter 3774 Sudden Change

    With everyone looking on, Zen drove the bone plate forward once more.


    He passed the twelfth layer.


    The thirteenth layer...


    The fourteenth layer...


    The fifteenth layer...


    The sixteenth layer...


    He moved inwards for a hundred and sixty feet and finally arrived beside the centipede-like creature.


    Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!


    The small water drops within the sixteenth layer rained down hard on Zen like a violent storm.


    His whole body was wrapped in the black cracks that tore wildly at his body.


    The Chaotic Source Spirits in his body continued to absorb the battering he took, but they dimmed fast at the same time.


    As the Chaotic Source Spirits dimmed, the Truth of Godly Way continued to gush out. The warm current was like the water of an oasis in a desert, nourishing everything it flowed over.


    Before the Chaotic Source Spirits fell into absolute fatigue, the Truth of Godly Way had already restored them.


    ''I''ll stay here!'' Zen thought to himself, assessing the situation.


    This was a point of perfect balance for him.


    If he continued onward, his Chaotic Source Spirits might not be able to withstand the force. Once they were fatigued, Zen would not be able to hold on much longer.


    And on the sixteenth layer, he could not only refine his tribulation skeleton quickly, but he could also cultivate the Chaotic Source Spirits at the same time!


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    Countless small drops of water fell on the surface of his tribulation skeleton, and wisps of golden light swiftly covered it.


    Passing the trial of the Land of Bone Tribulation usually took a long time because the tribulation skeleton would only begin refining on the outermost layer. But as the refining effect was so unsatisfactory on the outer layers, it would take a long time surely to complete the trial.


    In fact, from the sixteenth layer onward, the speed of refining would increase greatly!


    "He... What the hell is he?"


    "He went straight to the sixteenth layer!"


    "If I were there, I''m afraid those little water drops would tear me apart!"


    They had just been thinking Zen wouldn''t last long on the eleventh layer, yet now he stood steadily on the sixteenth layer. Getting there would take most of them a great deal of time but he did it


    Chaotic Source Spirits in Zen''s body had experienced an unprecedented torture.


    At the same time being repaired by the Truth of Godly Way, the Chaotic Source Spirits didn''t take a break...


    Zen had often performed this kind of oppression after he came out of the Chaotic Source World. It was thanks to this method he was able to step into the later stage of the Chaotic Source Realm in such a short period of time!


    However, after staying in the Myriad Tribulations Storm for twenty-eight days, his Chaotic Source Spirits finally encountered some issues.


    They had integrated into his body and suddenly disappeared and changed into another form. This process caused them to no longer absorb energy for him!


    Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!


    When the tiny water drops struck the surface of his body, it immediately caused a terribly intense pain!


    "What''s going on?"


    The pain had shocked Zen.


    He had no choice but to protect his head with both hands and drive the bone plate to retreat.


    His body had originally been as sturdy as a weapon. Moreover, in the past nearly a month, the tribulation skeleton had been greatly enhanced to protect him.


    If not for this, the moment the Chaotic Source Spirits disappeared, the black cracks that the small water drops created would have torn him to pieces!


    After retreating to the outermost layer of the Myriad Tribulations Storm, Zen stopped.


    The surface of his body looked horrible and was covered in wounds caused by the black cracks that burst out.

 Chapter 3775 Division

    Zen appeared to be grievously injured, but in truth, the damage was only skin deep. The water drops did not hurt his muscles and bones.


    Circles of green light blossomed on Zen''s body, and the surface-level wounds began to heal rapidly.


    The Other Shore creatures saw what was happening, and they were dumbfounded at Zen''s quick recovery.


    Zen had persisted for almost a month, while most of the Other Shore creatures retreated again and again. Zen had been staying on the sixteenth layer to receive training, and the others all reluctantly agreed that Zen seemed to have gotten used to the sixteenth layer at this point.


    They didn''t expect that in the last few days, Zen would actually leave the Myriad Tribulations Storm, and he appeared to be injured.


    "Is there something wrong with his method of body protection?"


    "Perhaps..."


    "Hey. It''s clearly good enough for him to hold on for this long at the sixteenth layer. His tribulation skeleton has already surpassed many of ours!"


    Even if Zen left awkwardly right now, what he had already accomplished was enough for them to recognize him as an extraordinary warrior.


    After all, everyone relied on the method of body protection to stay within the Myriad Tribulations Storm. Although they couldn''t see what method Zen had used to protect his body, it was already quite astonishing that he had held on for almost a month.


    The green light shimmered and bloomed, spreading along the surface of Zen''s body. After about five minutes, Zen''s body returned to normal.


    Zen, for his part, was less concerned about his own bodily injuries than about the Chaotic Source Spirits.


    "There seems to be something wrong with the Chaotic Source Spirits," Zen murmured, frowning.


    "What''s wrong?" asked the Primeval Lord of Heaven.


    "I am unable to detect their existence," replied Zen. He sought to sound calm, but he was deeply concerned.


    Previously, he had been able to clearly sense the Chaotic Source Spirits scattered within his body. Now, however, it seemed that the Chaotic Source Spirits within him had vanished entirely. No matter how he probed, he could not sense them.


    "How could that happen?" the Primeval Lord of Heaven asked curiously.


    The Chaotic Source Spirits were special. They had been a subject of study for the Primeval Lord of Heaven, and the Snake Goddess had been able to use them through information hidden in the Six-Pattern Blood-storing Seed.


    However, despite his extensive study, even the Primeval Lord of Heaven hadn''t completely understood the Chaotic Source Spirits. The vast majority of people wouldn''t be able to advance when they reached the late stage of the Chaotic Source Realm.


    Even Athemar and Elizabet


    nated, in a nonstop cycle.


    Zen realized that he would have to go through the entire Chaotic Source Realm again.


    "I''ve already stepped into the late stage of the Chaotic Source Realm. Have I made use of these Chaotic Source Spirits to the limit?" Zen asked.


    "Of course not," the Primeval Lord of Heaven answered quickly.


    In the Source World, there were many powerful Chaotic Source Realm warriors, and each of them was countless times older than Zen. When these warriors cultivated to the late stage of the realm, they all stopped, unable to make any further progress. But they hadn''t encountered a situation similar to Zen''s.


    "Then there are two conditions," Zen said. "The warriors have to cultivate to the late stage of the Chaotic Source Realm. And they also need to receive the training of the Myriad Tribulations Storm. Right?"


    "That''s possible," the Primeval Lord of Heaven said.


    He thought that based on Zen''s experience, it seemed that the Chaotic Source Spirits had completed a round of division!


    After the fission, it looked like the number of Chaotic Source Spirits in Zen''s body had increased by a huge amount.


    If these Chaotic Source Spirits could grow stronger, and Zen entered the late stage of the Chaotic Source Realm again, would his physical body be able to bear much more divine megatons of force?


    "What if you cultivate to the late stage of the Chaotic Source Realm again, and let the Chaotic Source Spirits split up one more time?"


    suggested the Primeval Lord of Heaven. At his words, Zen''s eyes lit up.


    If the Chaotic Source Spirits continued to divide infinitely like this, his physical strength would probably increase to a terrifying level!


    It seemed that he would have to stay in the Myriad Tribulations Storm for longer than he had anticipated.

 Chapter 3776 Temporary Closure

    Once the Land of Bone Tribulation was opened, the warriors had a training time of eight hundred hours. That was nearly a month.


    But now that only fifty hours remained, Zen was no longer in a rush or held the same interest as before in refining the tribulation skeleton. In fact, he had been staying at the first layer on the very edge of the Myriad Tribulations Storm.


    Previously Zen had successfully refined his Chaotic Source Spirits by the method of "being beaten." The rate at which they grew was astoundingly fast. It didn''t take long before Zen made his way to the late stage of the Chaotic Source Realm.


    When he attempted to refine the Chaotic Source Spirits with the assistance of the blue-golden water drops in the Myriad Tribulation Storm, he was also "being beaten." But this method proved to be more effective.


    The tiny light dots that signified the Chaotic Source Spirits were going through the constant process of being rinsed and refined. They were as minuscule as a needle tip in size. Over and over, they extinguished and lit up, then extinguished and lit up in an endless loop. While this method kept on repeating itself, the tiny particles of light simultaneously grew.


    This sensation felt quite subtle. It resembled the feeling of countless seeds spreading and breaking through their roots inside his body, and slowly branching their way out. It was as if the Truth of Godly Way acted as an enzyme and sped up the process by infusing itself with them.


    In just half a day, the size of the light spots had more than doubled.


    Not only did they grow in size each passing minute, but their endurance to the power rose to a higher degree as well. With his newly acquired strength and resistance, Zen effortlessly took a step forward and made his way onto the second layer.


    With this action of his, he attracted various curious eyes towards him that belonged to the creatures on the Other Shore.


    After Zen''s month-long stay on the sixteenth layer, it could be said that the first and second layers didn''t prove fruitful enough for him, which was most of the reason why the Other Shore creatures failed to conclude his motives.


    Of course, Zen didn''t explain to them either. Instead, he chose to prioritize his refinement and kept all his focus on it alone. Slowly and gradually, as he moved forward, the light dots kept on growing in unison with his steps.


    When the light dots grew to a certain degree, Zen began to count them carefully. They appeared to have tripled in numbers as the once two hundred Chaotic Source Spirits had now increased to six hundred.


    "To conclude everything I know, the two hundred Chaotic Source Spirits can absorb about ten thousand divine megatons of force. When I cultivate to the late stage of the Chaotic Source Realm once more, I can resist the attack of more than thirty thousand divine megatons of force only by the help of Chaotic Source Spirits."


    Watching the Chaotic Source Spirits'' rapid growth, Zen couldn''t help but feel his heart flutter with joy.


    He had entered the Land of Bone Tribulation intending to cultiv


    Shore.


    Elizabeth had plans to summon her powerful clansmen of the Holy Soul Realm, from Stage Thirty-two of the Other Shore. She had debriefed the news to the Oneness Sky Palace. Pearce and the others felt themselves well up with joy upon hearing this from her. Stage Thirty of the Other Shore held significance in terms of its location. If humans were to gain control of this stage, the benefits would be incalculable.


    However, when the strong warriors of the Holy Soul Realm attempted to rush down from Stage Thirty-two to claim the area, they encountered the same issue as Libby. There was something strangely wrong with the bones in the Sanskrit Light Stage, which prevented them from passing through it.


    The Holy Souls residing in Stage Thirty-two were refused access to go down. Even so, the Holy Souls currently in Stage Twenty-nine and Twenty-eight of the Other Shore were able to move up to get there. Although the Holy Souls combined from both stages weren''t dominant in numbers, they were enough to lend Elizabeth a hand.


    During this period, the Element Spirit race had also dispatched Five-Element Slaves from the higher stage. Unfortunately for them, they were quickly obliterated by Pompeo, the bald giant.


    After successfully taking over the ice city, Elizabeth commanded all the Other Shore creatures in Stage Thirty to obediently submit under her rule.


    Elizabeth had been leading the Divine Lair in the Sun Crow race, so she was experienced on how to bring others under her control through either brute force or bribery. The Other Shore creatures residing in Stage Thirty had no other choice but to pick the easier option and surrender, or they would have been asked to leave.


    Within a short span of a month, the once rough Stage Thirty of the Other Shore was brought to strict order and became organized under the watchful rule of Elizabeth.


    Elizabeth had someone else send the message to Zen, while she herself had been staying on the Other Shore during this period of time. She was too preoccupied to leave the Other Shore.

 Chapter 3777 The Eighteenth Layer

    During the period he was unable to enter the Land of Bone Tribulation, aside from comprehending the Truth Enlightenment, he turned into the incarnation to enter his inner world.


    Meanwhile, the Primeval Lord of Heaven continuously transformed Zen''s inner world, which made more and more strange things appear.


    After he heard the related introduction, Zen made his way to the fairy palace.


    Over the several months of her pregnancy, Margaret''s belly grew day by day. She would give birth in four months'' time.


    Being cared in the fairy palace also meant that she was in good hands. They were so meticulous so there''d be no room for accidents and mistakes. It was during this month that Zen spent most of his time lounging around in the fairy palace.


    Days went by, and eventually, one month had passed.


    With his physical body, Zen entered the Other Shore and appeared on the bone island.


    The creatures on the Other Shore were basically the natives to the place. They were aware of the Source World below the Other Shore, but because of the Element Spirit race, they were hostile to the warriors from the Source World all the time.


    But since Zen showed up, they finally had the opportunity to understand him. After all, they still wanted to know more about him.


    "Buddy, can your body withstand all the suffering when you travel back?" the member of the Sturdy Bull race asked curiously.


    "I don''t return just by traveling," replied Zen.


    "Oh really? What method do you use?" another Other Shore creature asked.


    After thinking for a while, Zen answered, "Maybe I have created a new body."


    There were various debates on the relationship between the warrior''s form on the Other Shore and that in the Source World. However, there remained a common truth that the warrior created an identical avatar on the Other Shore.


    "You created a new body? Can your another body move?" The strange questions made Zen morose.


    After he answered them with a few perfunctory words, the Other Shore creatures stopped asking.


    A period of time later, the skull rose once again. Its jaws opened, which revealed a set of bone stairs.


    After they entered the wide space under the island, the Myriad Tribulations Storm began to spin once more. Everyone was cautious, and they stepped on the bone plates as they made their way into the Myriad Tribulations Storm.


    Zen entered the third layer of the Myriad Tribulations Storm in order to receive the baptism of the small water drops.


    Compared to everyone else, the member of the Sturdy Bull race was the most curious about Zen. He remained at Zen''s side and


    gain. Within a few minutes, Zen regained the balance point. He was ready to continue on.


    At the same time, the tribulation skeleton opposite Zen underwent an unprecedented refinement.


    This time, Zen was much more vigilant than last time!


    As he received training, Zen studied the Chaotic Source Spirits all the time.


    After all, the energy of the water drops in the eighteenth layer was several times stronger than that on the sixteenth layer. If the light dots of the Chaotic Source Spirits failed to work, his body would be shattered by the small water drops...


    On one hand, Zen made sure he paid attention to the Chaotic Source Spirits, always checking if they turned non-effective. Simultaneously, he expected they would split up again.


    If one Chaotic Source Spirit divided into three like before, this meant that the six hundred Chaotic Source Spirits in his body would be divided into a thousand and eight hundred. If this happened, the Chaotic Source Spirits could withstand around one hundred thousand divine megatons of force, which would help him a lot in his quest.


    A few minutes had passed and Zen observed the Chaotic Source Spirits continuously.


    Eventually, sixty hours had passed and he finally saw that the light dots of Chaotic Source Spirits in his body began to flash. Each of the light dots divided into three dots, dimming quickly throughout the process.


    "Get out!"


    Zen drove the bone plate and leaned backwards, after which he rushed out of the Myriad Tribulations Storm at high speed.


    But even though Zen reacted quickly, his physical body could not escape the water drops of the eighteenth layer. Within seconds, the long and thin black cracks created wounds across his back, chest, and legs.

 Chapter 3778 Reverse Vortex

    His left leg was the most injured. It was almost cut off by the black cracks, painting an incredibly terrifying sight.


    However, Zen did not care. Instead, his heart was filled with ecstasy.


    "Incredible. It seems the Chaotic Source Spirits can really split infinitely. My God..." The Primeval Lord of Heaven also took a deep breath.


    He knew just how powerful this characteristic was.


    After the second split, Zen would be able to withstand one hundred thousand divine megatons of force.


    However, the Primeval Lord of Heaven remained unable to clearly judge the true conditions for this current situation.


    Could it be that one would be able to split up the Chaotic Source Spirits so long as they merged with the Chaotic Source Spirits and entered the Myriad Tribulations Storm with their physical body? Or was the Truth of Godly Way in Zen''s body an indispensable part of this process?


    As the Primeval Lord of Heaven thought this through, Zen began to heal himself.


    The four wounds he sustained were incredibly serious and it would take him a significant amount of time to heal them.


    As soon as he was back to full health, Zen rushed into the Myriad Tribulations Storm with great interest.


    On the one hand, he wanted to go back and experience the late stage of the Chaotic Source Realm, but on the other, he couldn''t help but expect something more. Could the Chaotic Source Spirits split again?


    Thus, once he entered the Myriad Tribulations Storm, Zen repeated his cultivation way once more.


    Step by step, he was once again able to return to the eighteenth layer!


    This time, his progress was much faster owing to the fact that his tribulation skeleton had gotten even stronger. In just a little over 10 days, the one thousand eight hundred Chaotic Source Spirits in his body rapidly expanded and lit up, occupying almost every corner of his body.


    Every single Chaotic Source Spirit within him emitted light and completely turned his body into a pillar of luminescence.


    When Zen looked within, he suddenly found a strange phenomenon.


    He quickly called out for the Primeval Lord of Heaven for this unexplainable occurrence. "There seems to be a vortex in my body," Zen told him.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven inhaled sharply. "Vortex?!"


    Zen continued to stare at this abnormality with deep curiosity. "It seems to be similar to that vortex in the suns crea


    is tribulation skeleton at the other side.


    Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!


    Countless black cracks appeared and turned into tens of millions of black blades that cut Zen''s body and his tribulation skeleton at the other side.


    After Zen passed through the eighteenth layer, his tribulation skeleton turned completely golden and released a dignified aura. If this glowing, golden skeleton merged with him to make him obtain the Myriad Tribulations Body, then Zen would be able to release an amazing power with the help of the Civilization Artifacts. He had a lot of expectations for this.


    However, even as he entered the twentieth layer, Zen had to give his tribulation bones a bit more time to be refined. Thus, he could only sit on the bone plate and wait patiently.


    There was no sign of a third split for the Chaotic Source Spirits, which made him feel a bit disappointed.


    "Primeval Lord of Heaven," Zen called out, "I know the Myriad Tribulations Body is obtained on the twentieth layer, but how will I be able to obtain the Bone Tribulation Imprints?"


    The Holy Soul Imprints, along with the Bone Tribulation Imprints, were related to the Eternal Scroll Painting and deserved his attention.


    "You''ll get the chance when your tribulation skeleton reaches the level of the Myriad Tribulations Body. I don''t think it will be long..."


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven was sizing up the glittering gold tribulation skeleton on the other side but his words were cut off by the sudden luster it released. It was like a newborn sun that burned with bright flames and emitted a dazzling light!

 Chapter 3779 Celestial Stone

    The majority of people didn''t spend a long time on the twentieth layer.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven, for example, had merely spent a short while on that layer once he had successfully concluded his cultivation on the nineteenth layer. Within a short span of time, the refining of his tribulation skeleton had been completed, and he had achieved the Myriad Tribulations Body.


    However, Zen had spent little time on the first nineteen layers, so it stood to reason that he should require more time on the twentieth layer.


    But the Primeval Lord of Heaven had obviously underestimated the refining speed on the twentieth layer. After just a few minutes, Zen had successfully completed his refining.


    In other words, if someone could directly bear the power of the blue gold currents on the twentieth layer, then theoretically, they would only require one or two days, or even less, to achieve the Myriad Tribulations Body!


    ''I''ve already achieved the Myriad Tribulations Body?'' Zen studied his tribulation skeleton with a dazed expression.


    As the tribulation skeleton emitted a golden light, the bone plates beneath his feet and his tribulation skeleton began to rotate with the tornado. The distance between the two bone plates decreased continuously, and finally they overlapped with each other!


    ''Is this bone plate an illusion?''


    Zen was stunned when he saw the two bone plates intersect and fuse into each other.


    At this point, not only did the bone plates become phantasmal, but even the tribulation skeleton morphed into a phantom.


    When the two bone plates were completely overlapped, Zen and his tribulation skeleton followed suit.


    Once the tribulation skeleton had completely entered Zen''s body, the golden light became diffused and faded into nothing. But Zen felt as if his bones had been scorched by fire, and he felt a fiery agony in his skull, spine, arms, and legs...


    At this time, Zen was already within the eye of the tornado, sitting atop the bone plate while spinning crazily.


    "In two months, he has already achieved the Myriad Tribulations Body..." the Sturdy Bull murmured in disbelief.


    Even though he was clueless as to the shortest time to achieve the Myriad Tribulations Body, from his point of view, Zen''s cultivation speed was simply miraculous as he had got the Myriad Tribulations Body after the Land of Bone Tribulation opened only twice!


    "Achieving the Myriad Tribulations Body is


    er another and pulled him down from the light column!


    When the Other Shore creatures in the Myriad Tribulations Storm witnessed this sudden event, they were all dumbfounded.


    The many strange creatures in the sea had always appeared to be controlled by a law of some kind and never dared to rush into the Land of Bone Tribulation to attack warriors. Therefore, at the occasional sightings of the ghost hand creatures swimming along the sea walls, they were not overly concerned.


    But what happened now boggled their minds!


    "Zen was taken away from the light column?"


    "What kind of creature do those tentacles belong to?"


    "It wants to kill Zen!"


    "Look, there''s a spear wrapped in the tentacles over there!"


    Although the light at the bottom of the dark blue sea was very dim, these creatures had excellent vision, and they could still clearly view the events unfolding.


    Some of the tentacles had wrapped around Zen, while others were wrapped around a long spear!


    The spear was completely blue. Powerful energy was surging within it, and on the surface of the spear tip, a red light was pulsing mysteriously.


    "That spear!" The Primeval Lord of Heaven was shocked at seeing this.


    "What is it?" Zen asked. He also noticed the extraordinary qualities of the spear.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven cautiously explained, "The spear itself is insignificant, but the tip of it is made of a Celestial Stone, which can amplify power nine-fold. It''s a very rare and useful treasure in Stage Thirty-three. The only problem is that it can''t be combined with the Other Shore Tokens that can amplify force too."

 Chapter 3780 Demonic Murloc

    Below Zen, a great creature floated in the dark blue sea.


    While most of its body was shrouded in darkness, a huge outline could be recognized vaguely in the water. Its torso was akin to that of a human''s, but its limbs were tentacles several hundred to a thousand feet long.


    It was none other than a Demonic Murloc ¡ª a very mysterious race on the Other Shore.


    Very few members of this race existed, but each one was extremely powerful ¡ª they were the strongest creatures in this sea.


    The outside world knew little about these creatures apart from a record that the Demonic Murlocs had once broken the biggest bone cave a long time ago, attacking the creatures inside.


    Typically, they stayed in the deepest parts of the sea, rarely getting involved in the world outside.


    As the Element Spirit race tried gaining their support, the Nihility race and many other races did so as well ¡ª they all wanted to rule the Sanskrit Light Stage with the Demonic Murlocs'' help.


    But these creatures refused them all.


    Like the Garudas in Stage Twenty-nine, the Demonic Murlocs in Stage Thirty-one couldn''t resign themselves to the outside world''s power. Perhaps it was their creator''s deliberate arrangement, or maybe it was a mere coincidence. So in the end, these races had no choice but to forfeit.


    The Element Spirit race, however, saw a sliver of hope ¡ª even while the Demonic Murlocs remained at the top of the food chain, they weren''t free from disputes of power within the race.


    When the chance came, the Element Spirit race assisted a Demonic Murloc called Kendall to beat out his competitors and come to sit on the race''s throne.


    Even after Kendall became the Demonic Murlocs'' king, his subjects still rarely displayed any friendliness to the Element Spirit race. Fortunately, the king himself had made a promise to the Element Spirit race, offering them a helping hand at a critical moment.


    It was at this time that Kendall finally decided to fulfill his promise.


    The Celestial Spear was a gift from the Element Spirit race ¡ª it contained terrifying power, and when Kendall wielded it, he couldn''t help but be shocked by the sheer force.


    For a long time, Kendall waited beneath the Land of Bone Tribulation because he couldn''t attack the creatures within the land.


    But once Zen left, he could attac


    ring into the darkness, he asked, "Who are you?"


    Unsurprisingly, Kendall gave Zen no reply. Instead, he remained silent and tried to pull the spear back.


    But Zen''s physical body had been greatly strengthened ¡ª he could display a considerable amount of the Civilization Artifacts'' power as his physical body was already strong enough to withstand it.


    Whoosh!


    In an instant, he managed to snatch away the spear from the Demonic Murloc.


    Then, he stabbed down, hacking into the water.


    Over 50, 000 divine megatons of force erupted from his body before it turned the dark blue current into an intense tornado.


    Like an invincible saber, the long spear chopped down.


    Puff!


    As the tip of the spear swiftly slashed against the water''s surface, several tentacles were rapidly cut off before black blood spread widely into the seawater.


    While Zen wanted to chase after Kendall, the Demonic Murloc was more familiar with the water than he was. He fled into the sea at a surprisingly great speed. In the blink of an eye, he completely disappeared from Zen''s view ¡ª only darkness remained below.


    "I bet the Element Spirit race sent him," Zen muttered with a shrug before swimming back into the light pillar.


    Following the light pillar, he returned to the Land of Bone Tribulation. All the Other Shore creatures there gazed at him with wide eyes.


    The power Zen displayed on the bone island made them both astounded and cautious. The fact that Zen cut off the Demonic Murloc''s tentacles had everyone overwhelmed with fear and awe.

 Chapter 3781 Gains

    Of course, the Other Shore creatures that wandered in the Sanskrit Light Stage were well aware of the powerful strength of those monsters in the sea.


    Still, such a powerful monster fled in the presence of Zen.


    How mighty was he?


    Meanwhile, Zen drove the bone plate and floated out of the Myriad Tribulations Storm. The blue-gold raindrops still hit his body, but the black cracks on his skin no longer posed any threat to him.


    The Other Shore creatures gathered at the entrance continued to drive their bone plates to make way for him.


    At that moment, the centipede came forward and said, "Congratulations on your achieving the Myriad Tribulations Body!"


    The creatures of the Source World couldn''t enter the Land of Bone Tribulation, and in any case, it would take a long time for the Other Shore creatures to achieve the Myriad Tribulations Body.


    "Thank you," Zen answered with a nod.


    The centipede didn''t say anything else, then he retreated to the side with the other creatures.


    They didn''t dare to pry into the secrets of such a powerful warrior. They were afraid that if they behaved too attentively, they might annoy him.


    As for Zen, he walked out of the bone stairs and returned to the bone island again.


    If he wanted to leave the Other Shore, he had to wait until the effects of the Soul Interdicting Water disappeared.


    However, he didn''t intend to leave the Other Shore at all.


    Libby, who had failed to enter Stage Thirty-two, still waited for him in the bone cavity. He could go there now and meet her since he had obtained the Myriad Tribulations Body.


    By the edge of the bone island stood the bone slaves who waited for orders.


    Since the bone slaves were no different from the dead, they looked like soulless skeletons when they lowered their heads and stayed motionless.


    When Zen approached them, however, they suddenly seemed to have souls and began to move.


    They proceeded to look for the bone oars, and when they found them, they quickly jumped back to the bone boat.


    Once they finished, Zen leaped lightly and landed steadily on the bone boat.


    It would take some time to return to the beach, but he wasn''t in a hurry. He leaned firmly against the side of the boat and played with the long spear in his hand.


    "The Celestial Stone''s light seemed a little brighter," he said.


    When the Celestial Spear was pointed


    of Bone Tribulation?" she asked.


    "Pass the Land of Bone Tribulation?"


    "Does that mean that he has obtained the Myriad Tribulations Body?"


    "How is that possible?"


    The two members of the Separate Abyss race and that one of the Celestial Wolf race were stunned.


    One who had obtained the Myriad Tribulations Body could enter the Eternal Scroll Painting and reach the Eternal Realm.


    They subconsciously thought that it was impossible, but the name "Zen" was like a needle that pierced into their minds.


    Zen, who had brought his physical body to the Other Shore, was able to reach the Eternal Realm!


    "Squeak! It has only been three months, but he has already obtained the Myriad Tribulations Body.


    How could it be possible?"


    "It is too fast. Squeak!"


    The Ear Mice knew that he had entered the Land of Bone Tribulation, but they never thought that he would pass through the land so quickly!


    "Yes, I have passed the Land of Bone Tribulation," Zen said and nodded in response. "That''s great!" Libby praised.


    There were changes in the Sanskrit Light Stage, and the bone cave that led to Stage Thirty-two was blocked.


    And she couldn''t count on the Ear Mice or the members from the Separate Abyss race.


    They had been discussing in the bone cavity for a few days already, and all of them remained vigilant. They planned to leave the Other Shore as soon as there was any accident. Hence, she knew that she couldn''t pin her hopes on them.


    However, Zen must be able to solve the problem. For some ineffable reason, she was always strangely confident in him.

 Chapter 3782 Dragon Threads

    The fact that Zen had passed through the Land of Bone Tribulation was good news for Libby, as well as for the other Souls of Light.


    Holy Souls were already very powerful in a general sense, so it was possible for them to fight against ordinary Other Shore creatures.


    But a physical body which had achieved the Myriad Tribulations Body was undoubtedly even more powerful. "I wonder what has blocked the way to Stage Thirty-two," asked Zen.


    He had encountered so much trouble ever since he left the Soul City. The Element Spirit race had set up all sorts of obstacles along his way!


    In fact, the Element Spirit race caused most of those problems in the Sanskrit Light Stage.


    "Go there and look yourself, then you''ll know," Libby said.


    In turn, Zen walked towards the bone cave in the center of the bone cavity, then Libby and the other Souls of Light followed him.


    He had seen the view outside the bone caves before. It looked like many tall bamboos that reached to the sky.


    After they climbed in the cave for a while, something suddenly blocked their way.


    Zen got closer to inspect it and saw that it was another bone that was in their path.


    Someone had stabbed a piece of bone horizontally into the cave, which completely blocked the path. There were no gaps at all.


    He stepped forward to touch it and was amazed. "How did they make this? It would''ve required a lot of strength to stab this bone horizontally like this," he muttered.


    A warrior from the Separate Abyss race shook his head and said, "That bone is unbelievably heavy. We already tried to push it away together, but it wouldn''t budge."


    The members of the Separate Abyss race were known for their indomitable strength. After they reached the Holy Soul Realm and together with their blood theurgy, they could make their Holy Souls unleash unparalleled power.


    Yet, the bone that blocked the cave was too heavy. Even if they worked together, it still didn''t move¡ªso they had no choice but to go back to the large bone cavity.


    "Zen, let''s all work together to help you move the bone away," Libby, who stood beside him, suggested.


    As Zen stared at the bone, he said, "I don''t need your help. I''ll try it first!"


    The member from the Celestial Wolf race scoffed at his words. "Even if you have achieved the Myriad Tribulations Body, it''s only the toughness of your physical body that has increased. Your strength is still the same


    if there was an earthquake.


    The two silk threads converged precisely when they reached the Flow Sword Sect of the Oneness Mountain.


    Afterward, the silk threads swept Zen, who was meditating in the courtyard house, off the ground. The silk threads rose above the ground with him, and not long after, he was hung high above the Oneness Mountain!


    The noise from the two silk threads quickly alarmed the masters in the Oneness Sky Palace.


    All the powerful warriors at the Holy Soul Realm including Auden, Pearce, and the others, flew to the top of the Oneness Mountain at once.


    As soon as they saw the two crossed silk threads, they frowned.


    "Dragon Threads!"


    "Did someone attack Zen on the Other Shore?"


    "How impressive! Someone is actually willing to pay such a high price."


    Auden recognized the silk threads immediately.


    The Dragon Thread was also a considerably rare treasure on the Other Shore. It had a unique ability¡ªit could transfer the enemy to a strange place!


    That place could be considered the Other Shore, but not the Other Shore in another way.


    In addition, the body which the threads had transferred was the owner''s real body, but also not the real body in another way!


    It was very strange!


    To put it plainly, Zen in the Source World was up high in the air, while the Zen in the Sanskrit Light Stage was motionless and glued to the threads.


    In reality, however, Zen was dashing towards one direction with the Celestial Spear in his hand.


    Clouds and mist surrounded him so no one could tell where he was, and there was an irresistible force that forced him to run.

 Chapter 3783 The Blood Spirit Tortoise

    It was at this very moment that Zen grew confused and weary. The space turned out to be too strange for his understanding.


    Oddly enough, it was not created by his illusion because it actually existed.


    But how was he dragged here if he was just at the bone cave?


    "Primeval Lord of Heaven, do you know where this place is?" Zen asked.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven scanned the vicinity in an attempt to familiarize himself.


    "Did you touch two threads just now?"


    "Yeah." Zen nodded.


    "The two threads must be Dragon Threads," the Primeval Lord of Heaven explained.


    "Dragon Threads? What are they? What is their use?" Zen asked rapidly.


    Because the Other Shore Tokens of mysterious type were too complicated, it was notably impossible to guard against them.


    "Think of the Dragon Thread as a space treasure. Once it is activated, it can pull you into a special space," the Primeval Lord of Heaven answered.


    "It took me into a different space? So you''re saying that I''m no longer in the Sanskrit Light Stage?" Zen gasped.


    "You are there, but you are not," the Primeval Lord of Heaven responded calmly.


    "What do you mean?" Zen paced back and forth, trying to understand.


    "Let me ask you first. Where exactly were you when you were in the Sanskrit Light Stage? Were you specifically in the Bloom Divine Province or just the Sanskrit Light Stage?" the Primeval Lord of Heaven asked, looking at Zen with a suspicious expression.


    Just as Zen was about to speak, he hesitated. He then opened his mouth to speak again. "I...I believe I was in both of them..."


    During this time, Zen''s corporeal body actually existed in the Bloom Divine Province, while another body existed on the Other Shore.


    "So what if there exists a place within a place? For example, an Other Shore of the Other Shore?" The Primeval Lord of Heaven spoke slowly, making sure Zen absorbed each and every word.


    In fact, the Dragon Thread was connected to a special space, and this was merely demonstrated as an Other Shore within the Other Shore.


    When they first discovered the Dragon Thread and its properties, many powerful warriors of the Eternal Realm travelled far and wide to collect it, hoping to find its secrets within the space.


    To their surprise, the space was completely empty, which left them to assume that the Other Shore within the Other Shore was meaningless.


    Because the powerful warriors of the Eternal Realm were all geniuses, someone eventually discovered the use of the Dragon T


    reason the Blood Spirit Tortoise did not appear often. However, despite this, their strength could not be underestimated.


    "Look at this. Such losers of the Oneness Sky Palace..." the Blood Spirit Tortoise said. "From now on, the Bloom Divine Province is under my authority. If you don''t want to die, kneel down to save your damn lives!"


    Its voice echoed like thunder, and it spread throughout the entire Bloom Divine Province with a roaring vibration.


    The trillions of people in the Bloom Divine Province pointed at the sky, horrified and worried. Among them, the cowardly ones actually got down on their knees just as the tortoise ordered.


    Previously, the Sun Crow race failed to occupy the Oneness Sky Palace. Nonetheless, the Element Spirit race did not give up.


    However, both Yellow Thearch and Divine Farmer feared the strength of Eastern Emperor Taiyi. Though the Element Spirit race ordered them to take over the Bloom Divine Province and attack Zen, the Bearing race and the Divine Farmer race did not budge at all.


    It was through the death of Emperor Charm that they knew about the energy souls released by Zen.


    After he passed the test of the Soul City, Zen made his way to the Land of Bone Tribulation.


    This was the reason for the Element Spirit race and Yellow Thearch''s plan. They ordered the Blood Spirit Tortoise to place the Dragon Threads that would confine Zen at the Other Shore of the Other Shore.


    As long as the energy souls were not released, only the powerful warriors of the Holy Soul Realm were left in the Bloom Divine Province. These warriors were not enough to put up a battle against the warriors of the Eternal Realm.

 Chapter 3784 Intimidate

    After the battle against the Sun Crow race, the Oneness Sky Palace had immediately made plans and strategies in case other powerful races invaded them again.


    Pearce, Auden, and the other elders also knew that things destined to happen would happen sooner or later.


    Now, the core of all their plans was Zen.


    The plan was to use the real Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s energy soul inside Zen''s body, to control the physical body of Eastern Emperor Taiyi. That way, the resulting power would be much stronger than that of their Eastern Emperor Taiyi himself.


    Of course, the current Oneness Sky Palace didn''t rely on Eastern Emperor Taiyi alone.


    Not long ago, Fuxi and the Snake Goddess wanted to invite the powerful warriors of the Oneness Sky Palace to move to the Pear Hill temporarily when they visited the Oneness Sky Palace. Yet, Zen summoned Ziya, who had lived for over a thousand chaotic eras, to descend to the Source World. In turn, Ziya promised to guard the Oneness Sky Palace in time of danger.


    Therefore, the Oneness Sky Palace felt assured.


    In the eyes of Pearce and Auden, the Oneness Sky Palace was probably much stronger now that the real Eastern Emperor Taiyi and Ziya guarded the place, than when Yasamin and Eastern Emperor Taiyi were in charge.


    The only thing was, the presence of Ziya and the control of Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s body both needed Zen.


    But Zen was still trapped in the Dragon Threads. No one knew if he could leave the Other Shore inside the Other Shore alive, more so if he could release the energy soul or summon Ziya to descend.


    Pearce, Auden, and the other powerful warriors from the Oneness Sky Palace all shared dark looks.


    "Is it only the Blood Spirit Tortoise that invaded the Bloom Divine Province?" Auden asked. "Why do you ask that?" Pearce countered.


    "If the powerful warriors at the Eternal Realm from the Bearing race and the Divine Farmer race are here, then why did they have to use the Blood Spirit Tortoise to threaten us?" Auden asked again. The Blood Spirit Tortoise was considered one of the top ten ferocious beasts in the chaos and it was indeed very powerful.


    Compared to Emperor Charm, however, both of them had the same level of strength.


    If the Blood Spirit Tortoise didn''t have anything to hold it back and had already taken the other powerful warriors at the Eternal Realm to the Bloom Divine Province, they would''ve landed at the Oneness Mountain by now.


    However, the Blood Spirit Tortoise had hidden in some place that no one knew where.


    Furthermore, it projected its shadow for everyone to see


    only be the Blood Spirit Tortoise!


    "Hiss! Hiss¡­"


    Two Dragon Threads on the back of the Blood Spirit Tortoise rolled like mad.


    The Dragon Threads, which no one knew where they began and where they ended, turned out to be the two streams of force that pulled Zen forward.


    The Blood Spirit Tortoise stared at Zen, who was rapidly approaching and let out a strange laugh. "Are you the little guy who gave the Element Spirit race a headache? Let''s see if you''re worth fighting!"


    As soon as it finished speaking, streaks of blood light flashed on its back.


    The blood-red light spread from its shell and quickly gathered in its head. Then, its whole head turned crimson, and the mass of energy accumulated on its mouth.


    When it opened its mouth and spat out, copious streaks of blood-colored lightning flew towards Zen''s body and painted him red!


    "Crack! Crack¡­"


    As the torrent of blood-red lightning washed down on him, he looked like a small leaf in a hurricane as his body tumbled up and down.


    The mighty warriors of the Oneness Sky Palace watched the scene with horrified eyes. Every time the blood-red lightning exploded, their hearts pounded in their chests.


    "Zen has already achieved the Myriad Tribulations Body. He can surely withstand it..." Libby mumbled nervously and clenched her fists.


    Each streak of the blood-red lightning contained power as much as eighty thousand divine megatons.


    The Blood Spirit Tortoise thought that Zen was weak and couldn''t withstand even three strikes, although he had achieved the Myriad Tribulations Body.


    It didn''t expect that even though eighty thousand divine megatons of force was powerful, it wasn''t enough to break Zen''s Chaotic Source Spirits.

 Chapter 3785 Could Do Nothing To Him

    Every time the blood-red lightning struck Zen''s body, the Truth of Godly Way surged and flowed through his limbs and bones in waves.


    The Truth of Godly Way surged around his body and brought the weakened Chaotic Source Spirits back to life.


    Dozens of blood-red lightning bolts struck his body in a row and made him look immensely dangerous. When the Blood Spirit Tortoise looked at Zen, its huge blood red eyes widened in shock.


    "He''s¡­ completely unharmed? How is that possible?"


    The Blood Spirit Tortoise couldn''t believe what it saw!


    Since Zen had just obtained the Myriad Tribulations Body, he could only bear a limited power of about ninety thousand divine megatons. After he entered the Eternal Scroll Painting and reached the Eternal Realm, he could further increase his strength.


    Therefore, the blood-red lightning strike could still tear his body into pieces, even if it couldn''t kill him. Yet he was completely unscathed.


    The Blood Spirit Tortoise had seen such a strange occurrence before.


    The Holy Soul Realm masters, who had fused with the Chaotic Source Spirits, were the same with general injuries. The Chaotic Source Spirits in their bodies absorbed the power unleashed upon them, so their bodies remained unharmed.


    The Blood Spirit Tortoise had always loathed those powerful warriors at the Holy Soul Realm. They weren''t qualified to enter the Land of Bone Tribulation, nor were they exceptional or strong enough.


    Although they could use the Chaotic Source Spirits to make up for their physical bodies'' weaknesses and even create a realm called the "Chaotic Source Realm", all of those simply served to cover up their flaws.


    Even those masters at the late stage of the Chaotic Source Realm could only bear about twenty thousand divine megatons of force. They weren''t worth mentioning at all.


    "It''s impossible! It can''t be the Chaotic Source Spirits!"


    The maximum power that the Chaotic Source Spirits could bear was quite low, and they definitely couldn''t withstand about eighty thousand divine megatons of power.


    But why was Zen still uninjured after the blood-red lightning had hit him?


    "You can try again," Zen said with a smile.


    He noticed that the Blood Spirit Tortoise got a little impatient, so he deliberately provoked it.


    As long as the Blood Spirit Tortoise''s attacks didn''t exceed a force of one hundred thousand divine megatons, it wouldn''t cause him substantial damage.


    Even if its power did exceed one hundred thousand divine meg


    the Blood Spirit Tortoise can''t do anything to Zen, Zen can''t do anything to it either. I wonder if he can break free from it," Auden commented.


    As soon as he finished speaking, a bolt of blood-red lightning hit Zen hard and he bounced upwards.


    "A chance?"


    In turn, Zen quickly jumped up, turned into a meteor, and flew towards the Blood Spirit Tortoise.


    "You little human, how dare you fight back? Scram!" the Blood Spirit Tortoise hissed.


    It opened its huge mouth and spat out blood-red lightning again.


    The thick, blood-red lightning whipped and lashed at Zen several times and sent him flying more than ten thousand feet away.


    On the other hand, Zen stabilized his body, and with narrowed eyes, he retorted, "You are just a coward. You aren''t strong at all, but you have the gall to make such reckless remarks. It''s ridiculous!"


    In the eyes of the Blood Spirit Tortoise, Zen was just a nobody that the Element Spirit race ordered it to eliminate.


    Thus, it was enraged when an unimportant being like Zen mocked it. It immediately spewed out lightning to consume the unknown body protection theurgy on Zen''s body out of infuriation.


    However, its series of attacks did not affect Zen at all. Instead, he just laughed at it. How could it tolerate him?


    In the end, it lost its patience in anger. It suddenly opened its mouth, which revealed rows of fangs, with blood-red lightning bolts that surrounded them.


    "Do you really think I can''t do anything to you? I''m going to swallow you!"


    The moment the Blood Spirit Tortoise finished speaking, its head abruptly extended from its turtle shell and dashed towards Zen like a long dragon.

 Chapter 3786 The Might Of A Spear Strike

    Head to head with the Blood Spirit Tortoise''s huge mouth, Zen didn''t flinch at all.


    He was well aware that it would not be an easy task to kill the Blood Spirit Tortoise, but he could also tell it wasn''t good at attacking. It might''ve ranked first among the top ten ferocious beasts of the chaos, when it came to the defensive power.


    If Zen wanted to kill it with a single strike, he''d have to wait for the perfect opportunity.


    Combating the tortoise head on made his chances extremely slim, but Zen was never the type to back down in the face of adversity.


    Fortunately, Zen''s trick to mock the beast had successfully infuriated it, enticing the Blood Spirit Tortoise to devour him.


    Zen smiled wryly. Most of the time, an excellent opportunity could only be found in the midst of great danger!


    Zen pretended he was incapable of dodging, and allowed himself to be swallowed by the Blood Spirit Tortoise in one gulp without much of a fight.


    The eyes of the Blood Spirit Tortoise glowed red. Then, all the lightning flowing through its body streamed through its neck, until it was all gathered in its mouth.


    The beast was confident it could kill anyone, once it had them in its mouth ¡ª even if it were an Eternal Realm master.


    A silence fell over the Oneness Sky Palace as they witnessed Zen being swallowed alive.


    Just moments earlier, they had felt a sliver of hope. But now that he had just been devoured by the Blood Spirit Tortoise, everyone fell into the depths of despair.


    However, Libby was able to shake off her feelings of hopelessness and snapped back to reality. Pulling her gaze away from the illusion, her eyes landed on Zen''s real body. Hope surged within her once more.


    "Don''t worry! Zen is fine!" Libby reminded the others excitedly.


    If a warrior''s Soul of Light got injured on the Other Shore, their soul in the Source World would be injured similarly.


    However, if one''s Soul of Light was completely destroyed on the Other Shore, then this creature would lose soul in the Source World, rendering them a simpleton.


    Such instances weren''t rare.


    The same problem existed for those who entered the Other Shore in their physical forms. If their physical forms on the Other Shore were injured, their physical bodies in the Source World would suffer equally.


    As Libby had pointed out, Zen''s body in the Source World remained unscathed. This meant he was unharmed even from within the Blood Spirit Tortoise''s mouth!


    With rumbles of thunder, the red bolts of lightning exploded inside the mouth of the Blood Spirit Tortoise.


    The red lightning wrapped around Zen tightly, surrounding him with an unimaginable amount of energy.


    At this point, the power of the energy flow had already exceeded one hundred thousand divine megatons of force. Not even the Chaotic Source Spirits could withstand this much energy!


    y.


    The people below gasped. On the other hand, Athemar acted quickly and flew up to catch Zen. Gently, he placed him on his flying sword.


    As for the other powerful warriors of the Oneness Sky Palace, they were still too stunned to react.


    "So, the Blood Spirit Tortoise was killed by Zen... just like that?" Pearce asked, clearly still bewildered.


    "I suppose so... Killing it on the Other Shore is the same as killing it in the chaos," Auden nodded to confirm.


    "Then, that would make him the new Eternal Realm master of our Oneness Sky Palace!"


    "No, he hasn''t reached the Eternal Realm yet. But, he''s strong enough to kill one!"


    "Zen''s a legend!"


    The warriors of the Oneness Sky Palace all at once began to cheer loudly.


    Since ancient times, the Eternal Realm masters had been the most powerful beings in the chaos.


    Every time an Eternal Realm master in the chaos died, it meant one gone in the batch of limited number. However, it had been a well-known fact that only an Eternal Realm master could kill another at the said realm!


    Now, Zen had performed an impossible miracle!


    Many warriors of the Oneness Sky Palace surrounded Athemar''s sword, excitedly waiting for Zen to wake up.


    But even after a long while, Zen still showed no signs of consciousness.


    "Libby, go and have a look!" Athemar demanded. His brows furrowed, he was worried that Zen might''ve encountered more troubles on the Other Shore.


    Libby quickly sat cross-legged on Athemar''s huge sword as she activated her Truth of Godly Way and returned to the Other Shore. To her surprise, Zen was holding the Celestial Spear at the spot, with a trace of helplessness on his face.


    Since he was in his physical form, Zen had been unable to put away the Celestial Spear. He had been waiting helplessly for Libby to return to the Other Shore and leave the spear in her care before he could leave the Other Shore.

 Chapter 3787 Exit

    It was not until he left the Other Shore that Zen discovered the Blood Spirit Tortoise had projected an illusion of their fight into the Bloom Divine Province.


    When he awoke, Pearce and the others gathered around him. Some asked how it went, while others were more concerned about his injuries.


    When these powerful warriors of the Oneness Sky Palace had faced Zen in the past, they looked at him as elders looked at the younger generations. But now, there was a reverence within them that only appeared when they looked upon a powerful warrior of the Eternal Realm.


    Many disciples in the Land of Sword Grief had already flown over and landed in the Oneness Mountain.


    Milo, Chaim and the others were among them, all watching from afar.


    Those surrounding Zen were all core figures of the Oneness Sky Palace. The disciples of the Land of Sword Grief were not even permitted to approach him.


    "It hasn''t been long since Zen left Stage Fourteen of the Other Shore, has it?" Chaim asked as he sighed heartily. He had wondered when Zen would return to Stage Fourteen of the Other Shore, but it turned out he had already reached Stage Thirty-one.


    The corners of Milo''s mouth twitched slightly at Chaim''s words and


    his eyes unintentionally fell on Libby. After waking Zen from the Other Shore, Libby had taken a step back from the commotion.


    Right now, even a genius like her could do little more than retreat to the side.


    She had her back to Milo and her thick straight hair fell on her thin shoulders, looking a little dejected.


    Milo was still a junior, but he followed a similar path to Libby.


    If the Oneness Sky Palace continued to operate steadily, once Libby left the Land of Sword Grief, Milo would most likely be her replacement and the next promising talent in the land.


    But any light they shone was not worth mentioning with Zen around. They were like fireflies competing with the sun, and so Milo understood how Libby felt.


    To the southeast of the Dragon Cliff, the endless mountains and forests were shrouded in a poisonous miasma.


    Ordinary people, and even powerful warriors of the Other Shore Realm, had no choice but to take necessary precautions when entering the mountains.


    But the savage alien races that lived here had adapted to it and most of them were poisonous creatures themselves anyway.


    you are!"


    In the Oneness Sky Palace, she had already heard that Zen had managed to kill the Blood Spirit Tortoise, in large part due to the so-called Celestial Spear.


    With it, he had quadrupled his own strength, meaning he now possessed five to six hundred thousand divine megatons of force.


    This was an absolutely astronomical number for Libby.


    It meant Zen himself needed to release more than a hundred thousand divine megatons of force. Libby wondered how his body was able to withstand such a terrifying amount.


    "We have to fly through the star ring later. Please keep it for me for the time being," requested Zen.


    Libby nodded obediently and put the Celestial Spear back into her Sumeru Space.


    Before she came to the Other Shore, she had been told several times to try her best to assist Zen.


    Deep down, she was unsure of how to feel about this.


    She had once been the most promising prospect in the Oneness Sky Palace, and had become a powerful warrior of the Holy Soul Realm after passing through the Soul City. But now, she had become nothing more than Zen''s follower and companion, having to serve him and obey his every command.


    However, on second thought, she remembered that if it weren''t for Zen, she wouldn''t have been able to pass the Blooming Jade Stage, let alone the Sanskrit Light Stage.


    After climbing to the top of the bone cave, they arrived at the exit.


    Outside, on the huge round platform, were many neatly arranged star rings. Beside one of them, waited a powerful human warrior of the Holy Soul Realm.

 Chapter 3788 The First And Second Volumes

    Zen walked forward and respectfully folded his hands before the human Holy Soul. "Master Pearce."


    Zen couldn''t clearly see the Soul of Light clearly, but it was easy to distinguish Pearce''s aura. Libby also bowed to Pearce.


    "There''s no need for such courtesies," Pearce said, waving a hand. "You''ve already made it this far, so we can treat each other as equals from now on."


    In the Source World, seniority was based on strength. Pearce was treating them as peers with all honesty.


    The only reason he had come here was to lead Zen into Stage Thirty-two of the Other Shore.


    Zen had been able to fight powerful Eternal Realm creatures like the Blood Spirit Tortoise even before reaching the Eternal Realm. If he were to become an Eternal Warrior, wouldn''t his strength advance by leaps and bounds to a terrifying level?


    That was why Pearce could be unbothered by the others who entered Stage Thirty-two of the Other Shore, but when Zen arrived, he had a discussion with the masters of the Oneness Sky Palace before going to personally meet him.


    As the human''s star ring continued to spin, the three of them turned into white light and shot towards the sky.


    Buzz!


    After they emerged from the star ring, Zen looked around from force of habit.


    The scenery he saw in each stage of the Other Shore varied greatly and he was used to it. But what he now saw shocked him.


    When Zen looked into the distance, he saw a bronze plain.


    "Is this the Grand Plain Stage?" Zen asked, unable to conceal his surprise.


    It was not right to call this place a ''plain''. It was simply a huge, endless bronze iron plate, with nothing on it.


    "No wonder it''s called the Grand Plain Stage. It''s really as flat as a plain," Libby said with a smile.


    Zen noticed that the star ring had disappeared and turned around to ask, "Why did the star ring disappear?"


    They had just been transmitted up through the star ring of the Sanskrit Light Stage, but the star ring had disappeared the moment they arrived. This greatly confused Zen.


    Pearce had expected Zen''s confusion, but he was in no hurry to explain. So he merely pointed to the ground and said,


    tioned.


    If these creatures could really enter the painting to live in it, then everything on the painting should be moving around. But it seemed to him that the painting was a dead thing.


    "The painting changes from time to time," Pearce answered before something in the distance caught his eye and his expression shifted. "Looks like the change has come. What a coincidence."


    In the far distance, a white flashing light seemed to grow closer to them. It was fast and had reached the group in the blink of an eye.


    After this light had blown over it, the painting on the bronze ground seemed to change.


    The Cloud Pattern Horses, which had been frozen mid-run before, had now disappeared. The Corrosive Calamity Crabs had gathered together. Broken legs and heads of horses could be seen on their huge pincers.


    These Corrosive Calamity Crabs had obviously caught the Cloud Pattern Horses and eaten them.


    "The sculptures on the bronze ground change every hour," said Pearce.


    "I see," Zen said, finally understanding how it worked.


    As he walked behind Pearce, Zen saw sculptures of mountains, rivers, deserts, and even suns. All sorts of strange scenes greeted his eyes.


    They had moved for quite some distance before the sculpture of a huge temple appeared on the ground. A three-foot-long sword sat on top of the temple. This was the temple built in Stage Thirty-two of the Other Shore by the Oneness Sky Palace.

 Chapter 3789 Protection Rules

    "How can I enter the world contained in the second volume?"


    Zen asked after strolling around the temple.


    The temple really existed, but it was in the form of an exquisite image before Zen''s eye.


    Zen even saw three figures at the side of the temple. Perhaps because these three people were Souls of Light, their appearance was still indistinct.


    Pearce held out his hand, and a dazzling-white light appeared on his palm.


    He slapped his glowing palm hard on the bronze ground, and a bright white vortex burst forth from the ground.


    "This is the entrance," Pearce declared.


    "The light in your hand seems to be the same as that from the distance," Zen said. The mystery had piqued his interest.


    "Yes," Pearce nodded and said. "The light coming from afar is to lead people into the painting. Through the Light Stone, we can gather and wield this kind of light. If we need it, we can release this white vortex and gain entry into the second volume."


    Having explained, Pearce gently turned his ring and retrieved an oval stone from his Sumeru Space. It looked like a shiny cobblestone, and emanated brilliant snow-white light.


    Whoosh!


    Pearce gently tossed it at Zen and said, "All the most powerful warriors at the Holy Soul Realm who have entered Stage Thirty-two are required to journey to the temple and retrieve such a Light Stone. I have a spare. Here you go."


    Zen held the Light Stone in his hand and examined it closely. Then Pearce continued, "You can try to forge an entrance."


    "I see!" Zen nodded.


    As the white vortex Pearce had created gradually dissipated, Zen also grabbed the Light Stone and slammed it onto the ground.


    The light stored in the Light Stone immediately exploded from inside and struck the ground, creating a bright white vortex.


    "You can step inside now," said Pearce, smiling.


    As Zen entered the white vortex, the Grand Plain Stage seemed to have disappeared.


    He had been transported to the world contained in the second volume. The sight that greeted his eyes was the temple built by the Oneness Sky Palace in Stage Thirty-two!


    Pearce and Libby had also followed Zen into the vortex. They materialized in the world in the scroll painting instantaneously.


    "The world within this scroll painting is a real world," Zen said. "So, the first volume in the sky of the


    ve also constructed one here, right?"


    "Of course, we did," the Primeval Lord of Heaven said with a smile. "We had created a lot of temples. We must have left behind more than 20 temples¡­


    The human heroes like the Snake Goddess and Fuxi had been considered great forces within the 77th civilization. Upon reaching the Eternal Realm, they were naturally eager to build a temple for their own race. At that time, the human ancestor had also built a temple for the human race."


    "Are these temples still standing in the Grand Plain Stage?" Zen asked hopefully.


    "They''ve been destroyed," the Primeval Lord of Heaven said, a trace of regret in his voice.


    "Destroyed?" Zen was stunned. "If those temples were destroyed by the Element Spirit race, then why didn''t they demolish the temple of the Oneness Sky Palace?"


    At that time, the human race had been a powerful force. As a ruling force, it had been much stronger than the current super forces like the Oneness Sky Palace, the Bearing race, and the Pear Hill.


    Even the humans at that time were unable to remain in Stage Thirty-two, why did the Element Spirit race let go of the temple of the Oneness Sky Palace?


    "Because there exists a set of protection rules for the creatures currently in the chaos," the Primeval Lord of Heaven explained. "Before the end of this round of chaos, no powerful Other Shore race, no matter whether it is the Nihility race or the Element Spirit race, can attack the temple of the Oneness Sky Palace or those of the Ear Mouse race and the Separate Abyss race."

 Chapter 3790 The Heavy Stone

    It had always been difficult for a newcomer to gain a firm foothold in the Grand Plain Stage.


    The powerful masters that had built the Other Shore had considered this problem and as a solution, had provided a protection period of a chaotic era for the new creatures from the chaos.


    The new races were often able to gain a firm foothold after a chaotic era had passed.


    While this kind of protection only lasted for a chaotic era, this was enough for the new races to develop and grow.


    Even when facing the Element Spirit race and the Nihility race, a number of Other Shore races were able to protect themselves by using the many rules of the Grand Plain Stage that were in place to protect the weak.


    "I''ll choose this Chill Rope!"


    Libby jumped back and forth before she spotted a long, thin rope.


    Athemar smiled faintly as he remarked, "You have really good sight, Libby. This Chill Rope will be of great help to you if you can use it properly."


    Most Other Shore Tokens in the lower stages of the Other Shore were of the strengthening type and the auxiliary type. But the ones in the higher stages of the Other Shore were more of the mysterious type.


    All the Other Shore Tokens of the mysterious type functioned in weird, mysterious ways, which was probably what gave them their name.


    This didn''t mean that they were powerful. Some weird functions were of little value, but some others were extremely powerful, like the one Libby had chosen.


    Once used, the Chill Rope could automatically track the opponents and effectively trap them.


    This trap wouldn''t cause their opponents to become immobile. Instead, their locations would begin to be recorded.


    The most important detail was that if Libby were to inflict hurt on an opponent, the rope would triple the damage at the very least.


    This meant that if Libby were to attack the opponent with her sword that contained twenty thousand divine megatons of force, her opponent would have to bear an attack of sixty thousand divine megatons of force. In a battle between powerful warriors of the Holy Soul Realm, such a powerful sword strike was fatal.


    If Libby had been stronger, her sword strike could have contained close to one hundred thousand divine megatons of force, which was enough to contend with even a powerful warrior of the Eternal Realm.


    "Zen, are you really not going to choose an Other Shore Token?" Athemar looked questioningly at Zen, a small smile playing on his lips. "Or is it that


    the stone forest. And now, Winchell is trying to keep everyone sane enough to struggle to hold on!" Harland reported anxiously.


    "Why didn''t you seal the painting?" Auden asked reproachfully.


    "I know we were careless. There has been no conflict in Stage Thirty-two of the Other Shore for a long time and we didn''t expect them to make a move this time either," said Harland, shaking his head.


    The second volume of the Eternal Scroll Painting was divided into a number of regions, with no way to pass between them.


    For example, the temple of the Oneness Sky Palace was one region, and beside it was a region belonging to another race on the Other Shore. If one wanted to enter the region of that Other Shore race, they would first have to retreat from the region where the temple of the Oneness Sky Palace was located.


    After entering a region, one could temporarily seal the region.


    Once a region was sealed, no one could enter it by using a Light Stone to release the light. This operation was known as "sealing the painting".


    The price of sealing the painting was extremely high. Even though the Oneness Sky Palace had been operating in Stage Thirty-two of the Other Shore for so long, they would still hesitate to use this method.


    Winchell and the others had thought that it wouldn''t be difficult to get a Heavy Stone.


    But the moment they entered the stone forest, a number of ferocious beasts rushed at them in attack.


    "So many seniors are trapped. What should we do?" Libby exclaimed anxiously.


    Pearce frowned as he thought. He finally seemed to come to a temporary solution and said, "Let''s go to the stone forest first."

 Chapter 3791 Stone Forest

    The bronze ground in the Grand Plain Stage was quite vast.


    Pearce had taken Zen and Libby all the way to the temple of the Oneness Sky Palace after they stepped out of the star ring. But in fact, they just went through a corner of the Grand Plain Stage.


    After returning to the bronze ground again, they marched forward for a short distance and saw a vast sea carved on the ground ahead. The sea was dotted with various small islands. Looking closer, they could also see some huge Other Shore creatures swimming within.


    "This is the Sea of Sky Intent. As you can see, it''s very large," Pearce looked around and spoke.


    Pearce just briefly introduced the environment to Zen, because he was worried about Winchell and the others.


    ''The Sea of Sky Intent is indeed such a large area. Would it be divided into pieces like the temple of the Oneness Sky Palace?''


    Zen thought in his head. He felt confused and at the same, curious. All of a sudden, a white light flashed beside him.


    Murlocs with frog feet came out of the bronze ground one by one. These Murlocs curiously sized Zen and his companions up. Each of the Murlocs stretched out their hands and gently tapped the ground with a Light Stone, releasing a white vortex. Then they jumped into the vortexes and directly headed into the sea in another region.


    ''It is indeed divided, '' Zen thought to himself. The corner of Zen''s mouth curled up slightly as he realized this.


    These Murlocs had swum to the end of the sea. Hence, if they wanted to continue forward, they had to get out and jump into the other side with the help of the Light Stones.


    On their way north, Zen and the others encountered many Other Shore creatures.


    No fight was feasible in this area of the bronze ground, so these creatures behaved kindly. Some of them even greeted Zen and his companions as they passed by, as if they had met old acquaintances.


    The politeness and hospitality surprised Zen.


    After all, Stage thirty-two should be the highest stage below the Eternal Realm. The competition in this stage should be very intense. However, surprisingly, most of the creatures seemed to get along well with each other.


    Just as Zen thought about how the atmosphere was harmonious, two Other Shore creatures from different races appeared near where he was. One appeared to be a hybrid of human and bear. His body was huge and bulky. The other creature had a bull head but human body. In an instant, these two burly and strong Other Shore creatures started to break out into curses with each other.


    They couldn''t do anything on the bronze ground but provoke each other using only words. As they weren''t able to fight, they asked each other to ente


    wagged his finger at the ground in front of him.


    From inside the stone forest on the ground, it could be distinguished that there were eleven people retreating to a corner. These eleven people were the group of Winchell who helped Zen search for the Heavy Stones. The group of people seemed as though they were firmly guarding a corner, and in front of them, there appeared many huge Ghost Cicadas floating in the air.


    Pearce, Auden, and the others looked over. When they saw that Winchell was still holding on, their worries were slightly relieved. At least they were still alive. However, this was not the time to rejoice.


    The next moment, the white flash in the distance swept over again.


    When the white flash swept across the bronze ground, the relief sculptures on the ground were again refreshed.


    In the stone forest, the group of Winchell retreated again. But there were only six people left.


    Five people had already died in such a short period of time!


    Pearce''s and Auden''s faces were stricken with fear and horror. What was happening was beyond their imagination.


    During the battle between the Oneness Sky Palace and the Sun Crow race, many masters at the Holy Soul Realm of the palace had been killed. The leaders of five mountains had died. Because of that instance, now, the death of any Holy Soul would be an unacceptable loss to the Oneness Sky Palace.


    "The Crane Split race! The Ice lynx race! The Cyan Spirit race! Just kill all those Holy Souls!"


    Fire Emissary gave an order maliciously. He then stretched out his hand and flicked his fingers lightly. Three Light Stones in his hand shot out three white lights that quickly turned into three vortexes. The Other Shore creatures behind him rushed towards the white vortexes and entered the stone forest.

 Chapter 3792 Kill

    The creatures Fire Emissary had brought neither reached the Eternal Realm nor gained the Myriad Tribulations Bodies.


    However, as creatures from the Grand Plain Stage, they were not weak. At the least they could put a lot of pressure on the Holy Souls.


    The Ghost Cicadas that had been sent out earlier had already made Winchell''s group struggle hard. If these three Other Shore races joined forces with them, there was no doubt they would be crushed.


    These Other Shore creatures continued entering the white vortexes while Fire Emissary''s gaze fell on Zen.


    Obviously, he had come for Zen by the order of the Element Spirit race.


    What puzzled him was that they had only ordered the Crane Split race, the Ice Lynx race and the Cyan Spirit race to attack. These three races belonged to the second tier in Stage Thirty-two and possessed ordinary strength.


    If reports were true, Zen had killed the Blood Spirit Tortoise on the Other Shore and these three races would be far from enough to challenge him. This confused Fire Emissary. He had no idea what the Element Spirit race was up to.


    In fact, when Yellow Thearch gave him such an order in the Source World, he had outspoken his doubt. But the emperor did not explain and just ordered him to do as he was told.


    Pearce and Auden were very hesitant when they saw the Other Shore creatures constantly drilling into the painting.


    Zen was clearly the Fire Emissary''s target and not Winchell.


    If they entered the painting as well, they definitely wouldn''t be able to save Winchell. If Zen made a move, defeating these creatures would be no problem, but he would have to stay alert to their cunning tricks.


    In Pearce''s hesitation, Zen turned around and stretched a hand to Libby. "Give me the Celestial Spear," he said.


    Libby paused a moment and then with a gentle wave of her hand, a long spear burst from her Sumeru Space and landed firmly in Zen''s hand.


    "Zen, are you really going in?" Pearce thought about dissuading him, but he couldn''t stand aside and helplessly watch Winchell and the others being killed.


    "I can''t watch them die. Master Winchell was


    Winchell''s original size.


    With a flip of his hand, a round black stone appeared in his palm. It was a Heavy Stone.


    They had been very lucky this time and not long after entering the stone forest, he found this Heavy Stone.


    "What a pity..."


    He raised his hand and was about to throw the Heavy Stone when


    a wild clanging suddenly rang out from not far off.


    Behind the creatures rushing over, came the bang of heavy objects clashing. Then there were broken limbs floating in the air, blood splashing everywhere and gruesome howling could be heard throughout.


    Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!


    A Celestial Spear was spinning in Zen''s hand.


    To him, these Other Shore creatures were nothing.


    He had only released fifty thousand divine megatons of force, which was still far more than these creatures could take.


    The long spear spun around like a windmill, the slightest touch of it causing death or serious injury.


    Zen killed the creatures all along the path like this. When the last Other Shore creatures had been minced, he appeared before Winchell and the others. His body was soaked in blood of all sorts of colors, as if he had been painted on like he was a canvas.


    Winchell and the others stood not far away, staring blankly as they watched Zen rushing in and killing every creature in his path.


    They had been at the end of their rope and now couldn''t believe what they were witnessing!

 Chapter 3793 Claire

    Although Winchell guessed that it was Zen before them, he still stood his ground and dared not greet him.


    Zen then came forward with his hands respectfully cupped in front of him. "Master Winchell, sorry for being late."


    "It really is Zen!"


    "We''re out of danger now!"


    "I thought we were doomed!"


    The five Holy Soul Realm warriors breathed a sigh of relief.


    Winchell also smiled and bowed towards Zen. "It is fortunate that you were able to get here just in time. You''ve saved us all, Zen."


    Zen shook his head and hurriedly went to his side. "Master Winchell, you''ve risked so much to help me look for the Heavy Stone. I should be the one thanking you."


    Winchell shook his head. "The Oneness Sky Palace owes you so much, and the Origin Mountain even more. You''ve grown so powerful and there''s little we can do to help you. I am thankful that this was within our ability to do for you."


    When he finished speaking, he handed a round stone over to Zen.


    "A Heavy Stone?" Zen muttered, turning the stone over in his hand curiously.


    Winchell simply nodded as he took the stone from him.


    "With this stone, you''ll be able to enter the Eternal Scroll Painting when the time comes," he told Zen. "However, your Soul of Light needs to ascend to this stage first."


    In order to enter the Eternal Scroll Painting, one''s soul needed to be integrated with the physical form, and his Soul of Light remained at a lower stage.


    However, Zen had already cleared the path from the Blooming Jade Stage to the Grand Plain Stage so there wouldn''t be any problems for him to enter the latter.


    Meanwhile, Fire Emissary, Pearce, and the others simply waited on the bronze ground. Nobody talked and there was not a peep, not even a whisper amongst them. An hour later, the silence was broken by a few gasps as a streak of white light swept across the bronze ground. The relief sculptures immediately changed before their very eyes.


    When the current scene in the forest appeared, Pearce and the others all heaved sighs of relief.


    The figures of the Other Shore creatures couldn''t be seen that easily since the picture was so small but they could distinguish their broken limbs if they looked hard enough.


    Fire Emissary smiled when he saw this before he turned around and left.


    Pearce could only stare at Fire Emissary''s back, lost in thought.


    He initially thought that the Element Spirit race left behind some traps in the stone forest.


    To h


    mischievous.


    She merely floated within the orb and looked up at the top of the space.


    "Les, what did you call me for?"


    At the top of the space, directly above her, was a circular mirror and within it was another member of the Element Spirit race ¡ª a thunder spirit.


    Les, the thunder spirit, looked at the fire spirit with sharp, raging eyes. "I''ve just received the reports. What the hell did you do, Claire?!"


    Claire merely blinked and a small smile made its way to her lips. "Carrying out the task given to me by the great Eye Spirit!" she declared proudly.


    Les looked like he was on the brink of exploding. "Eye Spirit ordered you to kill that human brat!"


    There had been a lot of troubles at Stage Thirty-three recently and there was a need for the powerful Element Spirit race to deal with them carefully, thus, they handed the other, less significant matters over to Claire.


    When Les received a series of reports detailing Claire''s failed attempts at killing Zen, he was naturally furious. Claire obviously wasn''t taking her job seriously.


    They were bound to be a laughingstock if people found out that the almighty Element Spirit race couldn''t even deal with one human boy.


    "Eye Spirit doesn''t really want to kill the human," Claire muttered with a pout.


    "Cut the crap!" Les snapped. He was overcome with emotions and a terrifying aura engulfed his surroundings as bolts of lightning began to emanate from his orb.


    Claire huffed. "I''m serious! Nine Holy Soul Imprints and nine Bone Tribulation Imprints! This human is the first-ever creature to have received so many and he deserves our expectations."

 Chapter 3794 Three Purities Stone

    "What are you expecting? This guy to get to Stage Thirty-three?" Les asked furiously on the other side of the mirror.


    The Element Spirit race had once regarded Stage Thirty-two as their base camp too.


    The race occupied many regions in Stage Thirty-two. The Blood Assembly stood at the center while the Other Shore races within a radius of a hundred miles were considered to bend to it.


    For the Element Spirit race, they might not take even an Eternal Realm warrior seriously, because the Eternal Realm masters were only rare in the Source World.


    As a great number of Other Shore races had gathered in the thirty-two stages, these races could always produce one or two Eternal Realm warriors after many chaotic eras of reproduction.


    However, after reaching the Eternal Realm, many chose to move to Stage Thirty-three. Very few chose to stay in Stage Thirty-two.


    But Zen was special. He was the only one who had eighteen imprints, an indicator of the great potential he possessed.


    "I just have expectations for him," Claire smiled.


    "But don''t forget that he is on the opposite side. He is our enemy, not our friend!" Les snapped.


    Claire chuckled at this. "Sometimes the enemy''s enemy is also a friend, right?"


    Les looked startled but he finally came to his senses after a brief pause. "You mean our real enemy is the Nihility race?"


    "Yes," said Claire, nodding. "At the time, Eye Spirit''s wrong decision gave the Grandmaster of Heaven a chance to survive. Who would have thought that that same guy would gradually become so powerful? He''s now threatening the foundation of our Element Spirit race!"


    "Even so, do you expect the human race to stand with us? Is it even possible? Don''t forget that we still have the Primeval Lord of Heaven and his fellows in our custody," Les said. .


    The conflict between the Element Spirit race and the human race was so huge that it was practically irreconcilable.


    "We don''t need them to stand with us," Claire said with a mysterious smile. "Don''t forget that the conflict between the Nihility race and them is greater than what exists between them and us."


    The goal of the Element Spirit race was not to destroy the entire chaos, but to stabilize it into a normal stat


    and went into the white vortex produced by the stone.


    Everyone waited outside. When the white flash began to refresh the bronze ground, they saw Libby''s Soul of Light appear on one corner of the Three Purities Stone.


    Even after Libby emerged from the ground, they could still see her figure within the stone.


    "I''m done," said Libby with a smile.


    Placing the Souls of Light in the Three Purities Stones could increase the strength of the Holy Souls by more than 10%, a design loophole.


    "It''s your turn, Zen," said Pearce. "Since your Soul of Light hasn''t arrived yet, you can place your body in it today."


    Like Libby, Zen found a Three Purities Stone sculpture, slammed a Light Stone into the ground and went into the vortex produced.


    The Three Purities Stone sculpture looked like a palm-sized triangle from the outside.


    Upon entering it, Zen discovered that it was not that small.


    There was an empty seat in each of the three corners of the triangle. He randomly chose a seat and sat down on it.


    The moment he sat down, his entire body seemed to freeze and become one with the triangle. . ''How do I get off now?''


    Zen muttered, stunned.


    But on second thought, since even Libby''s Holy Soul had been able to leave, there was no reason for his body to be stuck here!


    Just a gentle flow of his strength would make it easy for him to escape from the seat he was on.


    But Zen was startled when he looked back. His physical body was still sitting on the seat!

 Chapter 3795 Three Eyes

    Zen even reached out to touch his body.


    The "statue" that sat upright was exactly the same as his own corporeal body, though it didn''t move of course.


    "Primeval Lord of Heaven, is this just a statue?" Zen asked, slightly hesitant and overtaken with curiosity.


    "No," replied the Primeval Lord of Heaven, shaking his head.


    "Then what is this? Is it my real body? How could that be?" Zen asked, even more taken by what he saw.


    "Not exactly," the Primeval Lord of Heaven said with a faint knowing smile.


    As the most wise and knowledgeable human being, he had a deep understanding of Stage Thirty-two of the Other Shore as well as of the Eternal Scroll Painting.


    "Think of it as an anchor," he said. "Let''s call it a sort of anchor body!"


    "An anchor you say?"


    Zen stared pensively.


    "Yes," the Primeval Lord of Heaven confirmed with a smile. "Think of us as a ship drifting. This anchor body fixes us here so we can receive power from external areas, namely, the power of the Eternal Realm..."


    "The power of the Eternal Realm?" Zen''s eyes glinted.


    Of course, he knew that Eternal Warriors of the Eternal Realm were very powerful, but he hadn''t understood why.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven recognized Zen''s confusion. Suddenly, he asked, "In your opinion, is there any difference between the bloodline of Sun Crows and the bloodlines of the ferocious beasts in the Source World?"


    "The bloodline of Sun Crows and the bloodlines of ferocious beasts..." Zen frowned and thought for a while. "I think the difference is probably in their strength. Although the ferocious beasts are also capable of inheriting bloodlines, theirs won''t increase their own strength very much, but the bloodline of Sun Crows is different."


    "Then have you ever thought about why their blood power is so strong?" the Primeval Lord of Heaven asked, smiling once more.


    Creatures in the Source World could summon such great power because they relied on the Other Shore Tokens on the Other Shore.


    However, this rule was broken by blood power.


    When Emperor Charm had used the Nine-Sun World Destruction Theurgy or Eastern Emperor Taiyi had used the golden sword, their power hadn''t come from any Other Shore Token, but their own bloodlines.


    "So how can they unleash such power without using any Other Shore Token?" With the Primeval Lord of Heaven''s hints, Zen now understood. "Primeval Lord of Heaven, you mean... the Eternal Scroll Painting? They have obtained t


    n their foreheads.


    The man who led them possessed an extremely powerful aura, no weaker than Eastern Emperor Taiyi or Yasamin. It was obvious he was a powerful warrior of the Eternal Realm.


    When Pearce and the others caught sight of them, they immediately walked up to them with smiles strewn across their faces. Bowing to the powerful warrior of the Eternal Realm, Pearce said, "Chief, seeing as you''re leading your clansmen here in person, it must mean the Three Eyes race is not lacking in young talents!"


    In Stage Thirty-two of the Other Shore, most races submitted to the Element Spirit race, while others were under the protection of the Nihility race. However, in addition to these two camps, there were also other races that maintained a neutral position.


    In fact, these neutral races all pretty much agreed with the Finale Way, and were thus potential allies of the Oneness Sky Palace and the Pear Hill. That was the reason for Pearce''s politeness.


    The chief nodded slightly, turned and waved his hand. "This time, there will be three members of our Three Eyes race entering the Eternal Scroll Painting. Of course I hope they can enter the Eternal Realm."


    His wave signaled the three members, who stood out from the rest of the group one at a time.


    The one walking in the front was the shortest and looked like a child.


    Zen stared at him for quite a while before he finally realized who he was. He was the three-eyed boy he had met in the Dark Region in Stage Thirteen of the Other Shore.


    But this was not the Dark Region. As a creature in the Dark Region, how could the three-eyed boy have entered the Light Region?

 Chapter 3796 Help

    When the three-eyed boy stepped forward, he saw Zen who stood at the side.


    Every human he met in the past were all in their soul forms on the Other Shore, except for the one he encountered when he had trained in Stage Thirteen.


    The three-eyed boy was well-respected in their race because, over recent years, he was the most promising talent to become an Eternal Realm master.


    Their race, known as the Three Eyes race, sent him to Stage Thirteen after they discovered a large number of Burning Crystal mines there. They both wanted him to fight for the mines and hoped that he would get more training in real combats.


    The competition in Stage Thirteen was exceptionally fierce. Both the Element Spirit race and the Nihility race had grabbed their shares of the pie, so the Three Eyes race would naturally have a hard time taking their cut.


    Fortunately, they had a good relationship with the giant ape in Stage Thirteen. Thus, they had more advantages over the other races with the giant ape''s help.


    In the end, the powerful combination of the three-eyed boy and the giant ape continuously defeated the forces arranged by the Element Spirit race and the Nihility race in the Dark Region. The black monkeys that was affiliated with the Nihility race suffered the most damage since the three-eyed boy and the giant ape slaughtered so many of their kind.


    As for the pig-faced monsters affiliated with the Element Spirit race, they pinned their hopes on something else instead ¡ª which was to produce a purified being.


    The purified being didn''t exist in the Dark Region of Stage Thirteen back then. The pig-faced monsters'' plan went smoothly until Elvinia had interrupted their leader Teague, and all their efforts went to waste.


    After that, Zen and Elvinia escaped from the Dark Region, and the three-eyed boy never saw them again.


    Now that the three-eyed boy saw Zen again in Stage Thirty-two, he realized that Zen was somehow familiar to him.


    But after Zen had passed through the Soul City and the Land of Bone Tribulation, his aura had changed tremendously. Therefore, it was difficult for the three-eyed boy to confirm his identity.


    At that moment, the leader of the Three Eyes race noticed the three-eyed boy''s curious gaze towards Zen, so he asked, "Egan, do you know this human?"


    Instead of answering the leader''s question, Egan turned to Zen and asked, "Have you ever been to the Dark Region in Stage Thirteen?"


    Zen smiled and calmly replied, "Of course I have been there."


    Silence hung in the air for a while, then Egan''s lips curved up into a smile. "


    own," he assured.


    "This young man from the Oneness Sky Palace has helped you a lot. After you have entered the Eternal Scroll Painting, you must help him in return," the leader nodded and said. "It will be my pleasure!" Egan exclaimed and smiled at Zen.


    "Thank you very much, Chief," Pearce said calmly and cupped his hands.


    At that point, the leader of the Three Eyes race cast a curious look at Pearce.


    The people of the Oneness Sky Palace were usually overjoyed if the Three Eyes race made them such a promise.


    However, Pearce was calm and composed when he expressed his gratitude. It seemed that his grandson''s help didn''t matter so much to him at all.


    ''Maybe I am just overthinking...'' he thought.


    He didn''t know that although his grandson was talented enough to obtain four Holy Soul Imprints and five Bone Tribulation Imprints, it was nothing compared to Zen''s achievements. They were not even on the same level.


    Once their discussion was over, Egan and the two other members of the Three Eyes race found a Three Purities Stone each. They used the Light Stones and entered the Three Purities Stones to put their bodies and Souls of Light into them.


    Generally speaking, the soul and body of the creatures on the Other Shore were always together.


    Two anchor bodies appeared on each of the Three Purities Stones after they came out. One was their physical body, and the other was their soul. If they reached the Eternal Realm, the third anchor body would appear there as well.


    Soon enough, many Other Shore races also showed up and followed suit. All of them wanted to put their bodies and souls into the Three Purities Stones before the first volume of the Eternal Scroll Painting opened.

 Chapter 3797 The Violet Cloud Race

    After all these races in Stage Thirty-two of the Other Shore had shown up, Zen realized there were a lot more here than he had originally thought.


    After all, the ruling civilizations usually built their own temples in Stage Thirty-two in the past.


    The Regal Jade Civilization had once developed and grown in Stage Thirty-two of the Other Shore, but they were unable to cope with the relentless chase and pestering of the Nihility race. They were left no choice but to enter a lower space and hide in the Dark Region of Stage Thirteen of the Other Shore.


    The humans had been in a similar situation. The human beings, led by the Primeval Lord of Heaven, were unable to contend with the Element Spirit race and were forced to flee into Stage Thirty-three of the Other Shore. As for the other humans, they hid in the Creation Myth Temple of Stage Seventeen of the Other Shore.


    Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...


    In the distance, black cubes glided along the bronze ground like flying carpets.


    From the black cubes jumped many creatures as slender as bamboo sticks. They were tall and strong, with skin of cyan-purple. Their faces were long, like that of horse, and they looked very arrogant. They lined up in a row and three more warriors stepped down from the black cubes.


    Their aura was extraordinary as they were all Eternal Realm masters.


    "What race are they? They actually have three warriors at the Eternal Realm..." Zen asked curiously and astounded.


    "That''s the Violet Cloud race. They used to be one of the top five ruling civilizations," Pearce said in a low voice. "But now they have pledged allegiance to the Element Spirit race."


    "Even one of the top five ruling civilizations has pledged loyalty to the Element Spirit race..." Zen said disgustedly, shaking his head.


    He had learned from the Primeval Lord of Heaven that in Stage Thirty-two, all the races, except for the Three Eyes race and few others that followed the Finale Way and remained neutral, had joined the Element Spirit race or the Nihility race. Even with this knowledge, he couldn''t help but sigh in disappointment when he saw it with his own eyes.


    "The entire Violet Cloud race is pitiful and ungrateful. They have joined the Element Spirit race but they aren''t in an important position. It''s been so many years and they still haven''t progressed their strength and development," said the Primeval Lord of Heaven, his voice rife with co


    s of the Three Eyes race feeling indignant, while Egan seemed understanding and even suggested, "Grandpa, we''d better remove our souls and bodies. We''d lose nothing by switching Three Purities Stones."


    Under Egan''s persuasion, their leader could only agree. Egan and the other two members of the Three Eyes race returned to the inner space of the second volume and took back the bodies hanging there.


    The Three Eyes race had chosen submission and the other small races couldn''t afford to offend the Violet Cloud race as well, and so obediently followed suit. Only Zen and Libby were left. One of them had placed the soul on the stone, and the other had put the body there.


    The Eternal Realm warrior of the Violet Cloud race glanced at the two Three Purities Stones and saw this. He turned around, stared at Pearce and ordered ferociously, "Why are the humans here? Remove them now!"


    Both Pearce and Auden were unsure how to deal with this. They didn''t want to offend these Other Shore races when Eastern Emperor Taiyi was not here.


    Zen on the other hand took the opportunity to stand up. "What if I don''t remove it?"


    The people of the Violet Cloud race had never imagined the weak human race would refuse, especially in this round of chaos where the humans couldn''t even enter the Other Shore with their physical bodies. All they could do was to put their souls into the stones. They were quite simply just unimportant characters.


    That was why when Zen spoke, it drew the eyes of all the Violet Cloud warriors. Several Eternal Realm warriors looked at Zen strangely when they noticed his physical body.

 Chapter 3798 No Longer Tolerant

    Zen had caused quite a stir in the lower stages of the Other Shore, but very little information had been transmitted to Stage Thirty-two of the Other Shore.


    Although the Element Spirit race knew a lot about Zen, they wouldn''t communicate any information about Zen with their subordinate races, which was why the members of the Violet Cloud race were all surprised to see his corporeal body.


    "Interesting," the powerful warrior of the Eternal Realm from the Violet Cloud race said, looking Zen up and down. "The Truth of Powerful Holy Body is forbidden in the current round of chaos, so your corporeal bodies should not have been able to enter here. How did you manage to do it, human?"


    "Why should I tell you?" Zen retorted.


    At this, several members of the Violet Cloud race rushed towards him, the one leading them looking menacing. "Human, it''s an honor to be asked a question by Elder Howe. You''d better answer his question honestly!"


    All the humans in the current round of chaos kept a low profile. Even a large number of Holy Soul Realm humans, including Pearce, in Stage Thirty-two of the Other Shore stayed out of the limelight. That was why the members of the Violet Cloud race weren''t taking Zen seriously.


    "Or what?" Zen smiled.


    "Or..." the member of the Violet Cloud race faltered, taken aback at Zen''s confidence. The Three Eyes race feared the Violet Cloud race because the members of the Violet Cloud race had a number of means of torturing them.


    But the humans from the Oneness Sky Palace were still under the protection in the Grand Plain Stage, and while this was so, the Violet Cloud race couldn''t do anything to harm them.


    "Your alternative is that after this round of chaos, I will make sure that your Oneness Sky Palace disappears from the Grand Plain Stage," Elder Howe of the Violet Cloud race said, his voice booming.


    This obvious threat drew the attention of all the remaining Other Shore creatures that were present.


    All the Other Shore creatures, including the members of the Three Eyes race, looked at Zen in surprise. They were also curious, wondering why a human of the Holy Soul Realm dared refute the Violet Cloud race, and thought that he was courting death.


    Pearce, who had been standing silently to the side for quite a while, suddenly burst into laughter.


    Pearce and Auden were the most powerful officials in the Oneness Sky Palace, second only to Eastern Emperor Taiyi and Yasamin. But they wer


    e could anchor his soul too, he would be able to enter the Eternal Scroll Painting.


    "Very good! Walden!"


    Walden, a member of the Violet Cloud race, walked out of the group.


    This time, the Violet Cloud race would send six members into the Eternal Scroll Painting. Walden was the strongest of the six. He had ten imprints in all: five Holy Soul Imprints and five Bone Tribulation Imprints. This elevated his status in Stage Thirty-two of the Other Shore.


    Walden''s eyes squinted as he smiled and said, "I''ll keep it in mind, now that you mention it. I hope you won''t disappoint me. Let me show you great mercy."


    Behind him stood the other five members of the Violet Cloud race, radiating unfriendliness. It was obvious that they were taking in everything about Zen, their common opponent.


    The members of the Three Eyes race were so astonished at what was happening, that they remained frozen in the places.


    "I understand that he once saved your life and that you want to repay him, Egan, but I think we should act within the limits of our abilities," the chief of the Three Eyes race whispered to Egan.


    "I know, Grandpa," Egan said helplessly.


    He knew that Zen must have extraordinary means, but he thought it was unwarranted on Zen''s part to fight against the Violet Cloud race before the first volume of the Eternal Scroll Painting was opened.


    Egan was more puzzled at the fact that the elders of the Oneness Sky Palace were doing the same thing as Zen had done.


    Though his grandfather had reminded him, because he was not ungrateful, he was still willing to give Zen a hand if his own safety could be assured.

 Chapter 3799 Samantha

    The opening of the Eternal Scroll Painting was an important event for all forces of Stage Thirty-two of the Other Shore.


    Therefore, all the races on the Other Shore arrived ahead of time. Then, the allied races planned to strategize and cooperate together in the scroll painting.


    In the past few days, more and more races on the Other Shore had gathered at the location of the Three Purities Stones.


    There was the Extermination race that was stronger than the Violet Cloud race, the Sickle race whose members had notably strange form, the Delicacy race, and other races.


    However, the majority of the races in the chaos did not come. Aside from the Oneness Sky Palace, only the Ear Mice showed up.


    Of course, the Ear Mouse race didn''t come for the Eternal Scroll Painting. There was a preparation period of ten days before the Eternal Scroll Painting opened, and a large number of Other Shore creatures gathered at that time. They went there to do business.


    Meanwhile, Zen had a small argument with the Violet Cloud race, and then his physical body retreated from the Other Shore.


    He had to hang his soul to the Three Purities Stone before the scroll painting opened. However, his soul was still in the Constant Glory Stage.


    Although his Soul of Light had nine Holy Soul Imprints, it was still nothing compared to his physical body. Thus, he needed to be careful.


    Before he went to the Blooming Jade Stage, he had sent someone to ask Elizabeth about the situation in the place.


    Once he confirmed that everything was fine, he headed for the Blooming Jade Stage from the Constant Glory Stage.


    The moment he arrived in the snowy and icy world, he saw that many Other Shore creatures neatly stood in front of him and bowed to him, while Elizabeth stood at the side as she quietly stared at him.


    The Other Shore creatures always looked down on the creatures that were in the form of souls on the Other Shore.


    During so many years, Zen''s soul was probably the only one that enjoyed a better treatment.


    "What are you doing?" Zen asked as he looked back at Elizabeth.


    "We are here to meet and welcome you," Elizabeth said with a chuckle.


    Zen frowned and groaned, "You don''t have to do this next time."


    "Okay," Elizabeth said nonchalantly with a shrug.


    She knew that he was quite tired of special treatments, but she only did so because of one thing.


    She wanted to show her ability and tell him


    ards the blood-red balls that slowly moved forward. "Would you tell me why you came over to visit us?" he asked.


    The Violet Cloud race relied on the Element Spirit race, and the Element Spirit race always supported them no matter what happened. Thus, Howe didn''t find any reason to be afraid.


    "Fuck off! Who visits your Violet Cloud race anyway?


    Is this your race''s territory?" a cold female voice inside one of the blood-red balls hissed.


    As soon as Howe heard the female voice, his jaw dropped.


    As an Eternal Realm master who had traveled around Stage Thirty-three of the Other Shore, he was very familiar with that voice. It belonged to Samantha of the Nihility race.


    The Nihility race had three famous women¡ªSamantha and her two sisters, Sienna and Stella. Samantha was the best among them in terms of strength and status.


    Now, Howe was a powerful figure in the Grand Plain Stage, so he felt slightly embarrassed when Samantha rudely mocked him.


    Still, he gritted his teeth and endured it for the sake of his race. Then, he led the members of the Violet Cloud race to retreat to the side.


    He felt perplexed while they walked back. It seemed that the members of the Nihility race did not target the Violet Cloud race, so who could it be?


    Only the Three Eyes race was in the area they were headed to, but this race was rather average. In what way were they qualified for Samantha to have personally taken action?


    Aside from Howe, many Other Shore creatures also stared at the blood-red balls as they slowly moved.


    To their surprise, the three blood-red balls all stopped in front of Zen.

 Chapter 3800 The Reborn Evil God

    Just now, the Three Eyes race was also shocked to see those blood-red balls rushing towards them.


    Except for the races that had submitted to the Nihility race, almost none of the other races on the Other Shore were willing to have anything to do with the Nihility race.


    The Three Eyes race had been thoroughly petrified, but they could do nothing aside from tensely watching the movements of the blood-red balls. When the blood-red balls stopped in front of Zen, the members of the Three Eyes race instinctively sighed with relief.


    Nevertheless, the confusion Egan and the leader of the Three Eyes race had in their hearts grew even heavier.


    Even though the opening of the Eternal Scroll Painting was a big day, the Element Spirit race and the Nihility race usually didn''t show up.


    Now, the Nihility race suddenly appeared, and they actually came for Zen?


    "Are you Zen?"


    Samantha''s cold voice came out of the blood-red ball before him. The silhouette of a graceful woman could be vaguely seen in the red ball.


    Zen frowned. "Yes, I am. Is something the matter?"


    The last time he was in the Creation Myth Temple, Zen suffered a lot in the hands of the Nihility race. The experience didn''t leave any good impression of them on his mind, so he naturally wouldn''t bother to be courteous with them.


    Because they had come straight to him, he knew that their question was just to confirm his identity. They already knew who he was and was just trying to be certain, so Zen just admitted his identity outright.


    "Someone wants to see you."


    After Samantha finished speaking, her blood-red ball floated to the side.


    The blood-red ball behind Samantha''s slowly floated forward and stopped in front of Zen. There was vaguely a human silhouette inside the red ball.


    Before long, a black-haired man came out of the blood-red ball.


    The black-haired man stood with a wicked smile on his face but soon laughed out loud. "Have you ever thought of seeing me here?"


    Upon getting a clear look, Zen found that the man was surprisingly the Evil God.


    The moment the Evil God appeared, many of the Oneness Sky Palace''s Holy Soul Realm warriors standing behind Zen looked like they got hacked by thunders.


    Most of them, like Athemar for example, had seen the Evil God before, so they naturally recognized him.


    This fellow had been swallowed by Zen, but why was he still alive? Furthermore, how could he become a member of the Nihility race?


    What baffled them the most was his form. The Evil God''s form was different from Zen''s when Zen entered the Other Shore with his physical body. His entire features and even the de


    e Evil God shrugged. "At least, I''m free from your control!"


    "Only for the time being," retorted Zen.


    "You... You are talking nonsense!"


    The blue veins on the Evil God''s forehead bulged and looked like they were going to explode.


    The memories of the past left too deep of an impact on the Evil God. Every time he fought against Zen, he always ended up defeated, something completely unacceptable for the extremely arrogant Evil God.


    Realizing that he was losing his composure, he quickly focused himself. He said calmly, "No one knows what will happen in the future. Maybe there will be a way for us to coexist someday!"


    Once again, surprise emerged in Zen''s gaze.


    During the time the Evil God spent with the Nihility race, his personality seemed to have undergone a great change. At least, he was no longer eager to kill Zen the moment he laid eyes on him like before.


    "So? What do you want to say to me? You can''t be coming all the way here just to tell me about your current situation, right?" Zen asked.


    "On behalf of the Nihility race, I want to invite you to join us," said the Evil God.


    The Evil God''s request caused an uproar among the crowd.


    On the one hand, these races of the Other Shore were afraid of the Nihility race. On the other hand, they envied the Other Shore creatures which were favored by the Nihility race.


    Since the Nihility race could become another great force that had the power to contend against the Element Spirit Civilization, they naturally had their own unique advantages. For example, they possessed the Chilling Bone Land, which could transform the creatures of the Source World to the Other Shore creatures at any time¡ªsomething that even the Element Spirit Civilization couldn''t achieve.

 Chapter 3801 Have Everything You Want

    The one who controlled the Chilling Bone Land had the privilege of choosing and recruiting talents in the chaos before anyone else.


    This privilege was only enjoyed by the Nihility race, though they were always known for being extremely picky.


    Those who were selected by the Nihility race were often outstanding warriors with terrifying and unique abilities, or their spokespersons in the chaos.


    Expressions of curiosity were plastered over the faces of the Other Shore creatures present.


    Who was this Evil God? He was a mere youth who hadn''t even reached the Eternal Realm yet. How was he recruited by the Nihility race?


    To think that he was also asking this other human youth from the Oneness Sky Palace to join the Nihility race!


    Of course, these things had nothing to do with the Other Shore creatures but they strained their ears to listen out of sheer curiosity.


    "From what you know of me, do you think I can be persuaded?" Zen asked as the corners of his mouth curled up into a smile.


    The Evil God was born from Zen''s inner world and he had been there for a long time so of course he knew him quite well.


    In fact, it could be said that he spent most of his life trying to figure out how Zen''s mind, as the God of Creation, worked.


    Given his extensive knowledge of Zen''s personality, the Evil God was quite sure that it was going to be impossible to convince him to join the Nihility race.


    Any sort of sweet-talking would only result in disappointment.


    The Evil God shook his head. "I know I may not be able to talk you into this, but I know someone who can."


    Zen raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued by this sudden ace that his creation held. "Pray tell, who is this person?"


    The Evil God smiled and took two steps back. As his toes lightly tapped on the bronze ground, he lay down on the blood-red ball and Zen watched as it slowly wrapped around his body and completely sucked him in.


    "Buzz..."


    After the blood-red ball which carried the Evil God left, the last of the three, blood-red balls slowly floated over.


    The first blood-red ball carried Samantha, the second carried the Evil God while the third...


    A trace of curiosity glinted in Zen''s eyes as he wondered who was within that third ball. Who exactly was this person the Evil God was so confident in?


    His questions would be answered soon enough. A black figure began to slowly emerge from the ball but when that person appeared, a strange aura permeated everyone''s hearts. It felt as if their thoughts were


    is own.


    He had already met with a lot of powerful human warriors these past few months so he wasn''t really that nervous in facing off against the Grandmaster of Heaven. Besides, contrary to his grand name, the Grandmaster of Heaven wasn''t imposing at all and looked quite approachable.


    "I wanted to invite you to our Nihility race. If you join us, you will have everything you could ever want," the Grandmaster of Heaven promised.


    "Everything?" Zen repeated skeptically. "Do you know what it is that I want?"


    Zen left the divine land for the sake of the Nine Li race.


    However, after his trip to the Pear Hill, he realized that there were some goals that were still far beyond his reach. The world wasn''t as simple as he had first thought and there was the existence of an Other Shore.


    It was just as the Snake Goddess said: the most urgent thing was not reviving the Nine Li race, but completing the Finale Way. Because if the chaos was destroyed, nothing could be done.


    "Of course I know," the Grandmaster of Heaven said, his deep eyes penetrating deep within Zen''s heart. "I can help you rebuild the Nine Li race and restore it to its glory. I can even make your grandfather Chiyou come back to life. I can make all that you want yours, so what do you think?"


    If ever the Grandmaster of Heaven followed his promise and revived Chiyou, the one he would revive was the Chiyou of this round of chaos.


    Such a feat was not easy, especially since the Nine Li race was a super force. It should also be taken into account that the Nihility race had to face pressure from the Element Spirit race. They truly wanted Zen to join them to have promised such things.

 Chapter 3802 Another Invitation

    If Zen had been promised this when he had just entered the Source World, he would have agreed without hesitation.


    Back then he had quite a shallow understanding of the entire chaos and reviving the Nine Li race was all there was on his mind.


    But now, his horizons had been broadened and his knowledge expanded, so naturally his goals had changed as well.


    "Revive our Nine Li race and bring my grandfather back to life?" Zen replied with a smile. "As far as I know, there isn''t much time left in the current round of chaos. So what would be the purpose of me reviving the Nine Li race? It will be destroyed with the ending of the chaos anyway."


    The ruling civilizations present all nodded in agreement. When a round of chaos was coming to an end, all within it became meaningless.


    All substances would disappear and turn into the most primitive energy of the Great Unity, and all that had happened in the past would be reset.


    "Don''t get too greedy," the Grandmaster of Heaven continued, trying to persuade him. "Even if the Nine Li race hadn''t been annihilated but had existed up to now, they''d eventually be wiped out as well. The arrival of the finale of the chaos is inevitable and irreversible. When it comes time for the finale of the current round of chaos, the countless creatures in this round of chaos will all be doomed."


    He was right. Since the moment the chaos had come into being, this process had been repeated without exception.


    "What if I can complete the Finale Way?" Zen asked calmly and confidently.


    This amused the Grandmaster of Heaven greatly and sent him into a burst of laughter.


    Even the members of the Violet Cloud race and other creatures on the Other Shore, burst into laughter from not far off.


    "Complete the Finale Way?"


    "He dares be so cocky? Even those of the Eternal Realm have all failed to complete the Finale Way."


    "Young people like you are always lost in the clouds, dreaming..."


    There were a considerable number of ruling civilizations within Stage Thirty-two of the Other Shore. They all had a great many talents and some of them existed as those who had obtained the luck and resources of the chaos.


    They had put a great deal of effort in and had much more experience than Zen in completing the Finale Way.


    And yet they had all failed without exception.


    Their disdain for Zen was understandable


    xcept for what happened in the Blooming Jade Stage, I arranged all the rest."


    When Elizabeth had led Zen into the Blooming Jade Stage, they hadn''t taken the usually used paths.


    If he had broken into the lower ice field in the Blooming Jade Stage, he would have surely gone through great difficulties before he finally stepped into Stage Thirty-one of the Other Shore.


    But instead, he passed by the upper ice field and released Pompeo, the bald giant. This caused the Element Spirit race to lose control of the Blooming Jade Stage.


    "What was the purpose of all this?" Zen asked, horrified.


    "My purpose is the same as the Grandmaster of Heaven''s," She said, grinning. "I had to observe you to determine if you''d be a valuable addition to our Element Spirit race."


    Claire of the Element Spirit race extended an invitation to Zen as well.


    When the Other Shore creatures present heard the news, they burst into an uproar once again.


    The Element Spirit race had control of almost the entire Other Shore. They hadn''t even seen the actual Eternal Realm talents as something special, let alone a talent who had not even entered the Eternal Realm yet.


    Then why did they try to recruit Zen so openly?


    Who was this human brat? How could two major races fight for him and dispatch their core figures to recruit him? All those present were utterly confused.


    Pearce, Auden and the others stood motionlessly not far away.


    They hadn''t expected things to pan out this way either and were now a little more nervous; they weren''t too sure if Zen would refuse both races.

 Chapter 3803 Zens Choice

    Zen''s mouth corners curved up slightly into a wry smile. "You''ve engaged in so much trickery. What conclusion have you reached from all your observations?"


    "The conclusion is plain as day." The smile on Claire''s face slid off her lips, and she became serious in her countenance. "Joining our Element Spirit race is the only path forward for you. I will ensure that you rank above the big ten in standing. Only six members have ever held this level of authority in our Element Spirit race."


    Claire''s offer shocked the Other Shore creatures present into silence.


    The Element Spirit race had always been an enigma, and their governing structures and divisions of power had always remained unknown to outsiders.


    Even the Primeval Lord of Heaven, who had led the human race against the Element Spirit race for many years, only knew that the leader of the Element Spirit race was called the Eye Spirit.


    However, the creatures of Stage Thirty-two were well aware of the big ten of the Element Spirit race. After all, all their dealings in the Grand Plain Stage were usually handled by the big ten.


    Would they really grant Zen a standing above the big ten if he were to join the Element Spirit race?


    This was an impossible thing to consider, and shock echoed in the hearts of many Other Shore creatures.


    Some of the weaker Other Shore races rarely had the opportunity to witness one of the big ten even if they joined the Element Spirit race.


    In local terms, only the Eternal Realm masters of the major forces were qualified to attend the Blood Assembly. It was not hard to envision the true power and status of the big ten then.


    ''Is she speaking nonsense?''


    ''What qualifies this human to be so valued?''


    ''She must be kidding...''


    Most of these Other Shore creatures were considering these and other thoughts in their minds.


    Although they disbelieved Claire''s offer, they only dared to think so and would not risk speaking it aloud.


    "After the Purge Way is successfully concluded, I will give you three hundred places among the survivors. If you desire more, you are welcome to ask for more," added Claire.


    It was the plan of the Element Spirit race to delay the end of this round of chaos indefinitely.


    However, the only way to delay the end was to restrict the expansion of the chaos.


    To put it plainly, the plan was to purge all but ten thousand living creatures from the chaos, while destroying the rest.


    Therefore, each of the ten thousand places for the survivo


    the Element Spirit race!


    However, if they were to unite under one banner, they would become such a powerful force that it could not be underestimated!


    Pearce and Auden were astounded by this sudden turn of events. They had never expected that Zen''s words would actually manage to illicit support from so many Other Shore races. This sort of thing was simply unfathomable to them.


    "All of you, shut up!"


    Claire abruptly roared in anger.


    Her voice was so loud that it almost flashed like lightning through the air of the entire Grand Plain Stage. The power contained within the sound wave spread out in all directions like a living entity, flowing uninterrupted as if it was water. Her formidable strength was obvious.


    "That''s a terrifying energy flow!"


    Zen''s expression changed slightly when he witnessed the surging energy.


    If not for the protection mechanism of the Grand Plain Stage, the roar alone would have crushed a vast majority of the creatures present into powder.


    The Other Shore creatures were all shocked by this display of energy, and they immediately tumbled into silence. However, despite this the Grandmaster of Heaven still appeared calm.


    Claire''s anger was momentary, and a smile quickly appeared on her face again as she turned back to Zen.


    She would stay on her determined course of action, and besides that, she had already reached consensus with the Eye Spirit.


    Zen''s refusal had humiliated her, but she still wouldn''t relent.


    "That''s fine," said Claire, taking two steps back with her hands behind her back. "I won''t try to twist your arm in persuasion, but, in the end, I believe you will change your mind."

 Chapter 3804 On The Eternal Scroll Painting

    With a loud sizzle, a terrifying flame suddenly rose from Claire''s slender body, burning her to ashes. .


    The scarlet flames floating in the white ball was her real body.


    The moment she turned into a ball of flames, a cold voice rang out yet again. "Grandmaster of Heaven, I advise you to give up."


    "Just a word from you and you expect me to give up?" The Grandmaster of Heaven remained stoic. "Even if the Eye Spirit came to me in person, he has no right to force me to give up."


    "If the Eye Spirit were to come to you in person, he wouldn''t stop until he killed you," Claire added.


    Over the years, the Element Spirit race and the Nihility race had fought quite fiercely both openly and secretly. The Nihility race hadn''t declined, but had instead become stronger with each passing day. But overall, the Element Spirit race still held an absolute advantage.


    If the Element Spirit race really wanted to fight the Nihility race to death, they would most likely find themselves in a situation similar to what the human race had been in back then.


    The human race had once grown so powerful that they had become a threat to the Element Spirit race. But although the Element Spirit race had suffered a heavy blow, they had finally won. They had eliminated most of the humans, and trapped the outstanding human heroes on Stage Thirty-three.


    Unfortunately, the Nihility race hadn''t existed at the time. If it had, the Element Spirit race wouldn''t have dared attack the human race at such great cost. After all, the fight between any of the two races would work as an advantage of the third one. No one would have dared do such a stupid thing.


    This situation was somewhat similar to that of the past. The sudden rise of the Nihility race had already threatened the status of the Element Spirit race. If the Element Spirit race fought despite the risk of suffering heavy blows, they might succeed in eliminating the Nihility race.


    There was no third great force that would profit from their fight. The Other Shore races that still stuck to the Finale Way weren''t a threat in any way.


    The Element Spirit race had a psychological advantage over the Nihility race.


    But the Grandmaster of Heaven was mighty.


    He had led the Nihility race from strength to strength.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven remained stoic in the face of the


    Zen saw a vortex, he could not help but think of the Abstruse Energy World.


    "Yes, it is connecting to some part of the Abstruse Energy World," the Primeval Lord of Heaven said, confirming his thoughts.


    As the vortex continued to fluctuate, the silhouettes that had shown up began to line up in an orderly fashion within the vortex.


    The vortex was made up of hundreds of circles of different sizes. The silhouette of the Other Shore creature that was in the innermost circle looked like a single ball.


    This ball was likely a member of the Nihility race or the Element Spirit race.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven had once mentioned that the Eye Spirit of the Element Spirit race was ranked first in the Eternal Scroll Painting. This ball was probably the Eye Spirit.


    A spider like creature was ranked second. The Primeval Lord of Heaven explained to Zen that it was a spider spirit from the Star Spider Civilization in the 96th round of chaos. Its silhouette had been left on the Eternal Scroll Painting, but its real body had already perished on Stage Thirty-three.


    "Can such a powerful existence that ranked second in the Eternal Scroll Painting die in Stage Thirty-three?" Zen was surprised.


    "The closer one is to the top ranks in the Eternal Scroll Painting, the more outstanding blood power one will be able to obtain. But these rankings don''t represent their full strength," the Primeval Lord of Heaven said. "The Grandmaster of Heaven never managed to enter the first four circles, but he still became the leader of the Nihility race."

 Chapter 3805 Pressed

    While there were many ways to determine the strength of an Eternal Realm master, the Eternal Scroll Painting was the most crucial aspect.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven was so powerful not only because he had obtained a unique bloodline power, but also because of what he obtained in Stage Thirty-three of the Other Shore.


    One could say that within the entire Other Shore, the thirty-two stages had many separate spaces, while Stage Thirty-three was a completely different world.


    That was the dome of the entire chaos, and it could even lead to the Abstruse Energy World.


    "The scroll painting has already been unfolded!"


    "Everyone, get ready!"


    "Put your Heavy Stones into the Three Purities Stones."


    The Other Shore creatures that had already put their souls and bodies into the Three Purities Stones all pulled out their Light Stones to create white vortexes on the ground. Through these, they entered their own worlds of Three Purities Stones.


    Zen followed suit, putting the Heavy Stone into the round hole at the center of the Three Purities Stone.


    After the Heavy Stone was positioned inside, magnificent, complex textures began appearing on the surface of the Three Purities Stone. The textures looked like the red-hot iron, converging toward the Heavy Stone in the middle.


    As the textures gathered, the Heavy Stone was ignited, turning into a bright red ball.


    With that, Zen sat at the last corner of the Three Purities Stone, waiting quietly for it to help him enter the Eternal Scroll Painting.


    While many other creatures were busy entering the Eternal Scroll Painting, the Swallow Victory race, the Three-eyed race, and the other small Other Shore races all sent people to gather around Pearce.


    "Sir, would you happen to be Elder Pearce from the Oneness Sky Palace? And is this Elder Auden?"


    "I''m Florian of the Swallow Victory race."


    "Can you tell me where Eastern Emperor Taiyi of the Oneness Sky Palace is?"


    In the past, the Other Shore races didn''t think much of the Souls of Light of Pearce and his companions, but now they managed to pay a visit together and treat him with some reverence.


    Both Pearce and Auden felt rather flattered.


    The purpose of their visit was simple¡ªthey wanted to know Zen''s identity. To do so, they even revealed their utmost willingness to support him.


    It


    from the Stage Thirty-three of the Other Shore and the cave in the Deleting Space, there was no other way to enter the Abstruse Energy World, let alone the transmission method.


    But if warriors obtained their own bloodline theurgy in the Eternal Scroll Painting, it indicated that they had already left the chaos. It might be a different means of transmission, but the warriors had to be pressed flat beforehand.


    Of course, the Instant Civilization wasn''t going to do anything meaningless¡ªthe Primeval Lord of Heaven''s conjecture was valid.


    After hearing the Primeval Lord of Heaven''s words, Zen attempted to nod when he realized he couldn''t complete the movement.


    It took a while to get used to it, and then he managed to move his hands and feet at the same time. He wasn''t moving too slowly, but as he crawled along the Eternal Scroll Painting, he saw something slender approaching him from the distance.


    It was like an arrow, rapidly sweeping past Zen.


    After it was out of sight, Zen realized it was a member of the Violet Cloud race.


    "That''s unfair!"


    Zen shouted.


    The Violet Cloud members'' bodies were suited to moving in this form, so they naturally ended up far faster than Zen.


    "You haven''t seen the members of the Element Spirit race. You''re going to find it even more unfair when you do," said the Primeval Lord of Heaven, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly.


    The bodies of the Element Spirits were ball-like. After being crushed, they remained in the same form, able to move freely within the Eternal Scroll Painting.

 Chapter 3806 The Beasts In The Eternal Scroll Painting

    There was never such a thing as fair in the world.


    Every creature had its unique form and its advantages in a specific environment. For example, a fish could swim freely in water, but it would die on land.


    Now, it was clear that humans didn''t have any advantages with their forms in the Eternal Scroll Painting.


    This was evident when Zen had no choice but to move awkwardly like a crab.


    From the outside, the Eternal Scroll Painting looked like a single piece of paper, but in fact, it was three pages.


    Furthermore, all the pages weren''t as blank as they seemed. In reality, there were many beasts inside them.


    There were many speculations about the origin of the beasts in the scroll painting. Some people said that the beasts in the scroll painting were creatures from the Abstruse Energy World, but the Eternal Scroll Painting turned out to be more habitable for them. Others said that the Instant Civilization created the beasts in the scroll painting.


    Nevertheless, they were all simply assumptions.


    It wasn''t long before Zen encountered a beast after he entered the Eternal Scroll Painting.


    The beast looked similar to the silhouette of an Other Shore creature. It wasn''t that big, and it looked like a small wolf that was no taller than a human''s leg.


    The second he saw the beast, it quickly pounced on him.


    The Other Shore creatures and Zen could only do limited things within the Eternal Scroll Painting. It truly felt like they were embedded in a painting, as their movements were restricted. On the other hand, the beasts in the scroll painting had more freedom.


    In turn, Zen chose to counterattack directly.


    However, the whole battle was simpler and more boring than he had imagined.


    Zen immediately swung down the second the beast approached him. Although the movement felt awkward, he was still able to grab its leg accurately. At the same time, he twisted his other hand and tore the leg in half.


    The whole process went by quietly as if a peaceful scene silently played out before his eyes.


    The mangled beast turned into wisps of black smoke and swiftly gathered towards his body, then completely fused with him.


    When all of the smoke had merged with him, his whole body trembled violently.


    At the same time, a wisp of black smoke flew out of the Eternal Scroll Painting and fell from the sky, then headed straight towards his Three Purities Stone.


    After that, a black mark appeared on the intricate pattern o


    urities Stone!


    "That human guy doesn''t seem to have any extraordinary abilities."


    "Over two hours have passed, but he has only killed a few beasts in the scroll painting?"


    "If he continues like that, he''ll soon be eliminated¡­"


    Some creatures chattered among themselves in low voices, but Pearce, Auden, and the others from the Oneness Sky Palace still heard them.


    "What is Zen doing?" Pearce asked. Auden shook his head.


    "Maybe luck is not on his side today. I heard that the beasts in the scroll painting appear at random," he said.


    All the warriors of the Oneness Sky Palace who were present were at the Holy Soul Realm, so they couldn''t enter the Eternal Scroll Painting and had no idea what might have happened inside.


    "Hiss, hiss, hiss..."


    Just then, wisps of black smoke emerged continuously from the Eternal Scroll Painting and quickly descended towards their direction.


    Pearce and the others immediately perked up when they saw the streaks of ink. ''Have they finally come?'' they asked in their hearts.


    A smile graced Auden''s face as well. He knew Zen would never let them down.


    But as the streaks of ink continued to fall, they went towards a Three Purities Stone nearby, which belonged to Walden of the Violet Cloud race.


    The members of the Violet Cloud race knew what the warriors of the Oneness Sky Palace were thinking, and they felt disdain because of it. One of them even sneered, "I was wondering what kind of extraordinary being he was, but he''s a loser after all. Now he wants to challenge our Violet Cloud race? Could he even enter the second page? Even if he did, he would only end up dead!"

 Chapter 3807 A Smiling Face And A Crying Face

    The members of the Three Eyes race and the Swallow Victory race who stood nearby also saw Zen''s Three Purities Stone.


    Their facial expressions changed subtly as well.


    They thought that Zen would amaze everyone with his outstanding performance in the Eternal Scroll Painting, and that was how things were supposed to go.


    To their great surprise, his performance was by no means outstanding. Instead, his journey in the Eternal Scroll Painting was fruitless until now.


    For instance, the Three Eyes race had a total of three members who entered the Eternal Scroll Painting this time. One of them was the three-eyed boy, Egan, who performed the best, while even the one who did the worst among the three of them? did much better than Zen.


    Still, they didn''t believe that the Grandmaster of Heaven would be wrong about his evaluation of Zen. They thought that the reason behind Zen''s poor performance was probably because it was his first time to enter the Eternal Scroll Painting.


    In any case, it wouldn''t be a big deal if Zen couldn''t get to enter the Eternal Realm this time anyway.


    Most of these Other Shore creatures in Stage Thirty-two of the Other Shore had failed several times. Even the mighty warriors who were already at the Eternal Realm had also entered the Eternal Scroll Painting multiple times, and some of them a dozen or even a hundred times before.


    But because of Claire''s and the Grandmaster of Heaven''s perception of Zen, everyone began to hold high expectations of him and believed that he would pass the Eternal Scroll Painting in one attempt. They had never imagined that he would''ve performed so clumsily.


    Meanwhile, Zen moved leisurely inside the painting.


    Although he didn''t know how the others fared, he knew that he had killed far too few beasts in more than two hours.


    However, it wasn''t his fault since only a few beasts had appeared around him.


    "Eh, that is..."


    Just then, he suddenly saw a dark thing rolling not far away. It wasn''t until he got closer to it that he realized it was quite a big beast.


    He felt slightly happy to see the beast. It seemed that he wasn''t that unlucky after all.


    The moment he quickly approached the beast, however, three Other Shore creatures from another direction rushed towards it.


    The three Other Shore creatures moved aggressively. Two of them pinned the beast down on both sides, while the other stabbed it.


    The dead beast turned into wisps of black smoke and quickly gathered around


    creatures on the first page was extremely fierce. Every time the Eternal Scroll Painting opened, only one-third of the creatures were allowed to enter the second page, so that every beast mattered.


    Four Other Shore creatures worked together and just killed a group of beasts in the upper left corner of the Eternal Scroll Painting. Just as they were about to hunt for more, a black shadow suddenly appeared nearby.


    They got excited as soon as they saw the black shadow and decided to capture it. However, one of them felt that something was wrong. A chill ran down his spine when he saw how the beast looked like.


    "That''s a Worm Tapir! Run!"


    The Other Shore creature who saw the beast had once been to the second page, where he saw a powerful Worm Tapir with his own eyes.


    He was confused, though. Why did a Worm Tapir appear on the first page?


    Of course, he had no time to know the answer.


    Once the Worm Tapir had targeted its prey, its body became erratic.


    Then, it appeared and disappeared from time to time.


    The Worm Tapir was also a picture, but unlike the Other Shore creatures who became pictures, it could leave the Eternal Scroll Painting for a short period.


    The second it jumped out of the Eternal Scroll Painting, it looked like it had disappeared when viewed from the painting.


    When the Worm Tapir fell back onto the Eternal Scroll Painting, it appeared again.


    While the scene played out repeatedly, the Worm Tapir tore the four Other Shore creatures into pieces. Black ink, which turned out to be those four Other Shore creatures'' blood, gushed out from their mutilated limbs and flowed across the white painting.

 Chapter 3808 Rain Of Blood

    When the four Other Shore creatures were killed, four blood dots simultaneously appeared within the Eternal Scroll Painting.


    The moment those dots formed, the Other Shore creatures standing under the painting felt a sense of cautiousness creep under their skin.


    They all knew that once a dot appeared, it could only mean that someone had died. However, they couldn''t discern who it was or which race it came from.


    With the forming of the dots came an uneasy sense of foreboding. It had been less than four hours since the warriors had entered the Eternal Scroll Painting, and a death rarely ever occurred on the first page.


    As everyone stared at the dots intently, a sudden ray of blood light erupted from each one.


    Woosh! Woosh! Woosh! Woosh!


    They all watched as the four beams of light headed to the north, illuminating four Three Purities Stones.


    Standing beside the stones were members of the Dull Blood race.


    The Dull Blood race was well known within Stage Thirty-two of the Other Shore. Their expressions darkened when they realized what the rays of blood light meant.


    Those warriors that had died were incredibly talented, all trained by the Dull Blood race. It was nearly incomprehensible that they had died in less than four hours after entering the Eternal Scroll Painting.


    "What on earth could have happened in the Eternal Scroll Painting?"


    "They should be on the first page. Why?"


    Their questions went unanswered.


    Those of the Dull Blood race were struggling with the feelings of sadness and puzzlement while the other races of the Other Shore felt a keen sense of relief. It didn''t matter what happened in the Eternal Scroll Painting as long as the dead were not of their own race.


    An overwhelming amount of Worm Tapirs had been released into the Eternal Scroll Painting though, so how could the other Other Shore creatures be spared the same fate?


    It was not long after the first four deaths that two more blood dots marred the surface of the Eternal Scroll Painting.


    As they watched the circles form, their hearts rose to their throats, choking them.


    "What is going on in there?"


    "Since when was the first page of the Eternal Scroll Painting this dangerous?"


    "I can''t believe it! Another two people have died..."


    They all watched with bated breath as the rays of light fell over another race on the Other Shore. Each face of the Other Shore race turned sullen.


    "It had to be an accident!"


    "Dying on the first page may be rare, but it has happened throughout hist


    d of Heaven, didn''t you say that there would be no danger on the first page?"


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven looked just as surprised as Zen was. He thought for a moment before speaking, "Perhaps it is an exceptional case. Some of the Other Shore creatures are quite weak."


    "Everyone here has achieved a Myriad Tribulations Body though. How could such an Other Shore creature lose to a beast in the scroll painting?" Zen questioned, doubting what had been said.


    Nodding his head, the Primeval Lord of Heaven couldn''t help but agree. "Perhaps some beasts that shouldn''t appear on the first page have appeared. It''s a very small chance that it happens, but still possible."


    If that were true, then Zen would need to be careful.


    While the Primeval Lord of Heaven and Zen were analyzing the situation, three Other Shore creatures suddenly rushed over from afar. They had been able to kill a beast before Zen earlier.


    Zen looked at them a little closer, and realized they were screaming for help as they ran from something.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven noticed what was chasing them before Zen did.


    "It''s a Worm Tapir! On the first page? Zen, run!" he called to Zen in warning.


    "A Worm Tapir?"


    Zen hesitated, but he could hear the urgency in the Primeval Lord of Heaven''s voice.


    He could see a black silhouette appear and disappear behind the Other Shore creatures, as if it were riding waves.


    It was moving incredibly fast, taking no time at all to reach the three Other Shore creatures.


    When the black silhouette crashed over the top of them, they were ripped apart at the middle. Their blood spurted out in all directions creating a grotesque, abstract image.

 Chapter 3809 Special Care

    "Hurry up!" the Primeval Lord of Heaven urged Zen. "What are you thinking about there?"


    Zen merely stood on the spot and the Primeval Lord of Heaven saw it fit to get him moving.


    There was no way to distinguish the corpses of the three Other Shore creatures from each other given that they were all covered with black ink.


    Hearing what the Primeval Lord of Heaven had said, Zen quickly mobilized and began to wildly run towards the opposite direction.


    Moving like a crab in the Eternal Scroll Painting made it extremely difficult for him to run but he was surprisingly fast since it was currently a life-and-death crisis.


    After killing the three Other Shore creatures, the Worm Tapir turned its attention to Zen who was trying to escape with his life. It straightened its body and only left four, black dots on the Eternal Scroll Painting. These dots were the projection of its four legs.


    Suddenly, the black dots disappeared! This was when the Worm Tapir jumped into the air and lunged forward.


    What it actually did was move to a higher space in order to get closer to its prey.


    Zen witnessed it disappear every now and then but every time he caught sight of it, it seemed to get closer and closer.


    A trace of helplessness appeared on his face. "It''s so fast!" he whined and the Primeval Lord of Heaven harrumphed in reply.


    "This is why I told you to leave in the beginning but no! You decided to stand there and watch it approach!"


    Zen was no stranger to crisis. Ever since he carried the human race''s Civilization Artifact, all he seemed to face was crisis, after crisis, after crisis. Through it all though, the Primeval Lord of Heaven was always his source of calm and clarity, however, this didn''t seem to be the case for their current situation.


    The reason he could be so calm back then was either because he had something up his sleeve or the trouble was so trivial that Zen would be able to deal with it by himself.


    This time, however, the Primeval Lord of Heaven was at a loss. The moment Zen entered the Eternal Scroll Painting, he was already a part of it and subject to its irregularities.


    It didn''t help that his current form was very inconvenient. There was no way to escape from whatever crisis the Eternal Scroll Painting was going to throw at them.


    The Eternal Scroll Painting could be entered but to leave it was a different story altogether.


    If some people remained trapped on the first page


    tte emerged from a distance. It was a member of the Violet Cloud race!


    Among all Other Shore creatures, the Violet Cloud race was the fastest. Despite their agility, however, they were still no match for the Worm Tapir.


    Since it was fast, the warrior of the Violet Cloud race managed to outrun the Worm Tapir but it also caught the attention of five to six more. These Worm Tapirs followed behind the poor warrior so closely that Zen was completely ignored.


    The massacre continued for about ten more minutes and the crying face above soon turned into the smiling one. "Ah, many of them have been cleared away..."


    It originally wanted to eliminate more than half of Other Shore creatures but a lot more perished during the disaster. If the Worm Tapirs didn''t stop killing, then it was only a matter of time before all of the creatures were annihilated.


    With a wave of the huge hand, all the Worm Tapirs ceased their murderous rampage.


    It was only then that the Other Shore creatures could breathe a sigh of relief.


    "What should we do next?" the smiling face asked. "Should we start guiding him now? Or should we get him out directly?" The crying face appeared and shook its head.


    "Don''t make it so obvious. Let him enter the second page first," it said.


    With that, the huge hand grabbed the brush and smeared it onto the Eternal Scroll Painting. Beasts began to materialize within the painting and gathered towards Zen.


    This large pack of beasts headed straight towards him was greatly unnerving but Zen soon found that they were of normal strength levels. He would be able to beat them with his abilities.

 Chapter 3810 The Second Page

    Although Zen didn''t feel comfortable with his current form, he could now make do with it as he had been like this for so long.


    The beasts that were rushing over him were much weaker than him.


    It didn''t matter if it was big or small. The moment he caught a creature, he tore it up like it was just a rotten piece of hemp rope.


    The dead beasts were like ink on paper, soaring towards Zen''s body and lingering around him.


    The ink dripped from the Eternal Scroll Painting and turned into wisps of black smoke, shooting straight into Zen''s Three Purities Stone.


    "He finally gets some black smoke," Libby said, happy at this development.


    Everyone from the Oneness Sky Palace knew that Zen was highly valued, and that his previous performance had been bad.


    The only thing that made them happy was that Zen seemed to have saved himself even though so many Other Shore creatures had died within the Eternal Scroll Painting that had clearly turned into a bloody field.


    They hadn''t expected Zen to finally begin hunting beasts in the scroll painting.


    Swish! Swish! Swish!


    Wisps of black smoke continued to gather, gaining speed with each passing minute.


    "Gosh, how many beasts did he kill in one go?" Pearce asked, panting, his eyes wide.


    He had never entered the Eternal Scroll Painting, but he still knew a few things, thanks to the ancient books. It wasn''t normal for Zen to collect the black smoke at such a fast speed.


    The Other Shore creatures that had originally held a keen interest in Zen had all chosen to give up because many people belonging to almost every Other Shore race had died. But now, the descending black smoke attracted their attention once again.


    "What''s going on with Zen?"


    "How is he so fast? Did he encounter a large group of beasts?"


    "So many people have died in the Eternal Scroll Painting. Does it have anything to do with him?"


    There was no doubt that there was something unusual about Zen''s performance, and the Eternal Scroll Painting that had killed so many people. No wonder people were beginning to connect the two together.


    But even Zen, who was in the painting, was


    they had previously understood, since the first page of the scroll painting was a process of absorbing the medium, the second page must technically be a transition between the Abstruse Energy World and the chaos. Seen this way, the third page was already in the Abstruse Energy World.


    The key to decide what one could get in the Abstruse Energy World was on the second page.


    Zen walked along the road for quite a while. The two lines curved out in the distance and opened out into an open platform on which a few Other Shore creatures were already standing.


    Zen was not the first one to enter the second page. When the Worm Tapirs had appeared, quite a number of creatures had already killed enough beasts. These creatures had been lucky to avoid the slaughter.


    The human-like figure standing on the left side of the platform was familiar to Zen. His forehead had an eye drawn on it. A three-eyed warrior!


    Zen was sure that this was none other than Egan from the Three Eyes race.


    "You''ve also entered the second page!" Egan exclaimed, noticing Zen.


    "What''s wrong?"


    Zen said, noticing that the moment he entered the platform, all the Other Shore creatures, including Egan, surrounded him.


    "Where are the other members of my Violet Cloud race? Why haven''t they entered the second page? Tell me if you don''t want to die!" a member of the Violet Cloud race commanded. ''This must be Walden, '' Zen thought.

 Chapter 3811 The Brush-wielder

    "The other members of the Violet Cloud race?"


    Zen repeated with a hint of hesitation.


    "Yes! Where are they now?"


    Anxiety seeped into Walden''s voice as he asked.


    "They should all be dead by now," was Zen''s indifferent response.


    "Nonsense!" snapped Walden.


    The Violet Cloud race''s fighting capacity wasn''t considered particularly outstanding among the many Other Shore races, but they held the advantage of moving freely within the Eternal Scroll Painting.


    Even if something wrong were to happen on the first page, the people of the Violet Cloud race weren''t likely to die so easily.


    "Zen, how could anyone possibly die on the first page?" Egan asked in disbelief.


    "That''s too questionable. I''ve never even heard of anyone dying on the first page," another Other Shore creature echoed from the side.


    Taking note of the suspicious gazes on him, Zen replied nonchalantly, "Since you don''t believe me, why bother asking?"


    "It seems you have yet to learn how to talk properly. Shall I teach you?" threatened Walden impatiently.


    On the bronze ground, the Violet Cloud race had confronted Zen. Neither Walden nor the other members had any intentions to befriend Zen.


    But Claire''s kindness toward him had dumbfounded the Eternal Realm masters of the Violet Cloud race.


    If the Violet Cloud race wanted to kill Zen in the Eternal Scroll Painting, they''d undoubtedly be subjected to Claire''s utmost wrath. So before Walden and the rest entered the Eternal Scroll Painting, Elder Howe had to remind them specifically not to attack Zen.


    As Zen had been so highly esteemed by the Element Spirit race, Walden was extremely envious of him. In spite of Howe''s warning, Walden decided to teach Zen a lesson.


    As Walden approached threateningly, Zen raised his hands in a stance of attack.


    While Zen had never intended to get along with the Violet Cloud race either, he hadn''t yet fully understood the Eternal Scroll Painting''s mechanism. He figured it would be wise to put aside any chance of conflict in the meantime.


    But if Walden launched a challenge, he wasn''t going to hesitate to fight back.


    Just then, another Other Shore creature appeared ¡ª it was none other than a member of the Three Eyes race.


    The guy was lucky enough to have survived the Worm Tapirs'' slaughter.


    "Egan, are you alright?"


    While the warrior from the Three Eyes race did survive, he had witnessed a terrible amount of dead bodies torn apart by the Worm Tapirs on the first page ¡ª i


    f the inner contradictions of a lonely brush-wielder.


    "If he dies halfway, all our previous efforts will be wasted," said the crying face with worry.


    "He obtained all the eighteen imprints. If he still fails, it means we''re destined to fail as well. No one else can be blamed for that," the smiling face said decisively.


    And so the brush continued to extend upward until it reached the very top of the Eternal Scroll Painting where a black vortex lay. From their point of view, there were numerous white dots of light flashing in the depths of the vortex.


    This black vortex was the so-called third page of the Eternal Scroll Painting ¡ª something people could see in the Grand Plain Stage. It was still white when they looked up at it from the stage, but the inside was actually black.


    Once the brush-wielder connected the lines to the black vortex, they seemed to get pulled into it. Then, the circular platform at the bottom began rotating slowly until the door opened with a tug.


    "The door is open..."


    "I don''t want to participate this time¡­"


    "Now that we''ve reached the second page, we must advance!"


    Naturally, the many casualties from the first page had some Other Shore creatures grow hesitant to proceed.


    The trip in the painting was far different from the previous ones. Some decided to merely wait on the platform. Once the event ended, they''d be able to leave the painting safely.


    Since the Other Shore creatures could pass through the Soul City and the Land of Bone Tribulation, they all possessed outstanding wills and talents ¡ª eventually, of course, most of them managed to conquer their fears and step into the door.

 Chapter 3812 The No-break Maze

    Behind the door, two straight lines extended upward, forming another long and narrow path.


    Walden of the Violet Cloud race no longer seemed to be in the mood to make trouble for Zen. He passed through the door and rushed to the forefront of the group.


    The other Other Shore creatures all trailed behind Walden, following close behind him.


    On this occasion, the Three Eyes race had sent three members into the Eternal Scroll Painting. One of the three had died, which they considered quite a good result.


    The creatures from the Other Shore entered the door one after another. Once most of them had passed through, Zen moved forward in a strange sideways manner, waving his hands and feet.


    Egan and Kirk were the last to enter the door. They had intentionally waited for Zen to advance before them. However, when the two members of the Three Eyes race saw the way Zen moved, they immediately burst into laughter.


    Egan said, grinning, "Zen, we have a better way of moving in this current form."


    He had found that Zen had been moving strangely since he entered the round platform.


    "What do you mean?" Zen asked.


    The members of the Three Eyes race were very similar in form and build to human beings. Zen thought that if Egan and his clansman knew a better style of movement, he would be able to imitate it.


    Egan stretched out his hands and raised his arms. In a single motion, he slashed his arms downwards, and the motion propelled his body into the air.


    "It looks almost like you''re swimming,"


    Zen observed, his brows furrowed.


    "Yes, this way is like swimming, and it should be the fastest way," said Egan. "Your way, on the other hand..."


    Zen stood with his arms outstretched, imitating Egan''s earlier pose. He slashed his hands downward, and his entire body was propelled a good distance forward. He smiled.


    Egan was right. It was much faster and easier to move forward using these motions.


    "Primeval Lord of Heaven," Zen muttered.


    Zen was slightly put out that the Primeval Lord of Heaven hadn''t told him about this way. He believed that the Primeval Lord of Heaven had to have known about it.


    "Well, I thought you were enjoying walking like a crab, so I didn''t mention it," replied the Primeval Lord of Heaven with a chuckle.


    Zen rolled his eyes.


    He continued to slash with his arms, moving his body forward along the path formed by the two thin lines.


    After he had covered a lengthy distance along the path, Zen stopped to take a look around him. The round platform at the bottom was no longer visible. He gazed at the top, but nothing could be seen.


    A question suddenly arose in his mind. ''The path is enclosed by the two lines. I wonder what will happen if anyone steps outside the boundary of the lines?'' he thought.


    He decided to ask Egan. In fact, Egan had been waiting for Zen to ask such a question since th


    said.


    But he was beginning to have second thoughts. He realized that he had been in the Eternal Scroll Painting for some time now, and it was not unlikely that some illusion had manifested in his vision when he first regained his original form.


    He glanced around, peering into the depths of the abyss, but this time he saw nothing but darkness. He sighed. With a shrug, he stepped out of the hexagram array.


    As soon as he left the array, he found himself prone on the ground again.


    The transformation between the two forms was not a painful process, but it was slightly uncomfortable. He felt awkward in this form.


    "So, did you see the abyss and the bridge?" Egan asked with a smile.


    "Yes, and it definitely seems like a bad idea to stray from the path," Zen replied.


    He decided not to mention the crying face to Egan and Kirk.


    The three of them lifted their arms and slashed downwards, resuming their forward motion. The hexagram arrays had been the midpoint of the journey, and they had made it through half of the remainder of the path when they came to a halt. To Zen''s astonishment, the two distinct lines of the road had branched out to form an enormous, complex pattern.


    It was the famous No-Break Maze of the Grand Plain Stage.


    Zen said nothing as he stared at the maze. He absorbed its vastness and complexity.


    In general, there was a real risk of getting lost in a maze, as anyone wandering through high-walled paths could easily lose their sense of direction and position.


    But that was not the case in this situation. The vantage point of Zen and the others was such that they looked down at the maze from the top of the Eternal Scroll Painting, so although they could only see a portion of the maze, they could clearly see all the paths and passages within. From their point of view, the maze was only a series of lines. What was the purpose of setting up such a maze here?

 Chapter 3813 Poisonous Leeches

    The other creatures from the Other Shore entered the No-break Maze without hesitation and Zen, Egan and Kirk followed in behind them.


    The maze itself was not complicated. Its purpose was not to trap and confuse creatures but to usher them through the tests the maze provided.


    If one was strong enough, he or she would be able to pass through and make their way to the third page to choose his or her bloodline.


    The weak, however, would be eliminated or die.


    The process of becoming a powerful warrior had always been this cruel.


    "Such a form does not allow us to exercise our true strength," Zen complained to the Primeval Lord of Heaven.


    He could not even move freely now that he was in the form of a picture, and so naturally his fighting ability was reduced.


    Zen was not the first to complain.


    Other methods could have been employed for the purpose of selecting Other Shore creatures to obtain the bloodline abilities. A competition in an area of the Grand Plain Stage could be held, or a trial could be set up in a place similar to the Soul City or the Land of Bone Tribulation.


    This would have been better as in their form in the Eternal Scroll Painting, it was impossible to show their strength.


    "Don''t worry, you will not be in this form forever," said the Primeval Lord of Heaven with a smile. "Remember the hexagram arrays?"


    "Sir, do you mean to say there are also hexagram arrays in the maze?" Zen asked, his eyes lighting up.


    Just a moment ago he had returned to his original form and he felt like a drowning man that had just climbed ashore. It was obvious he wished to fight in his standard form.


    "Yes, that is correct," the Primeval Lord of Heaven answered, nodding his head.


    The reason the Eternal Scroll Painting was designed this way was because of how difficult it was to build a passage from the chaos to the Other Shore.


    In the context of the vortex, even for that mysterious civilization, it was quite difficult to transport creatures one at a time. Perhaps it was the stubbornness of the Instant Civilization that had the trial still set in the passage to this day.


    It was because of this that, even though they were unhappy with it, every Other Shore creature that entered the passage would be compressed into a picture.


    It was true that when the


    in shock, "Egan, there''s something wrong with the eggs ahead of us!"


    Egan saw the eggs and his face lost all its color too.


    The eggs on both sides of the path were slightly black on the surface.


    The white eggs contained ordinary Poisonous Leeches, while the slightly black eggs contained Chill Poisonous Leeches. These were far stronger than the ordinary Poisonous Leeches.


    There had always been Chill Poisonous Leeches on this path, but before, there had only been one or two at the end of it.


    They were difficult to deal with but not that big a problem if one could run fast enough.


    But now, they had only traveled a little part of the journey and had already encountered quite a few Chill Poisonous Leeches. This was beyond Egan''s expectations.


    "All we can do now is to continue pushing forward!" said Egan, gritting his teeth.


    They were almost completely blocked off by the leeches behind them, making retreat impossible.


    They were left no choice but to rush out with all the strength they could muster.


    A rush of cold spread from the black eggs when they cracked open.


    Zen, Egan and Kirk immediately felt the drop in temperature. Black Chill Poisonous Leeches burst from the eggs and surrounded them.


    At the front, Egan and Kirk stretched their bodies out to avoid the group of Chill Poisonous Leeches.


    But behind them, Zen had been stopped by the leeches.


    He was unable to pass through and one concern grew within him: would his physical strength still be the same now that his form had changed?

 Chapter 3814 Eliminate

    Now that Zen was in a special form in the painting, it restrained many of his abilities. However, it was still his body.


    He was formerly immune to all poisons, but did that change when he was in this special form?


    He wasn''t sure about that, but he had no time to think about it now.


    As the Chill Poisonous Leeches continued to come at him, he waved his arms in defense. "Egan, the Chill Poisonous Leeches have surrounded the human!" Kirk warned.


    "But we can''t get back to him!" Egan said in frustration. The two of them continued to rush forward while the black eggs on both sides broke one after another.


    They couldn''t stop since if they halted for even a second, the ever-increasing swarm of Chill Poisonous Leeches would swallow them.


    They already had enough problems with fighting off the Poisonous Leeches alone.


    If they got infected with the venom, they were doomed. It was clear that the Chill Poisonous Leeches would be one of their worst nightmares if they fell under siege.


    Normally, they were supposed to encounter only several Chill Poisonous Leeches in the place, but the current number of Chill Poisonous Leeches had reached half of the whole swarm already. They realized that it wasn''t only the first page that changed, but the second page as well!


    In such a desperate situation, a moment of hesitation would naturally bring them to death. Besides, they weren''t powerful enough to save Zen anyway. They could only charge forward.


    With a heavy heart, Egan turned his head during escape and saw Zen''s figure had completely disappeared from his view. All he saw was a big ball of Poisonous Leeches, and Zen was inside. He supposed that Zen had died already.


    After the two members of the Three Eyes race ran for a certain distance, the ball of Poisonous Leeches suddenly moved. The worms continued to wriggle around it, then the ball slowly nudged forward.


    As the ball rolled along the path, it attracted more and more Poisonous Leeches to it.


    As a result, Zen couldn''t see his body, let alone Egan and Kirk.


    When he looked down from the top, he only saw an increasing amount of Poisonous Leeches that continued to pile on top of each other and crawl around him. Then, he felt something sticky around his body.


    Fortunately, he was still immune to poisons in the Eternal Scroll Painting. Even though the Poisonous Leeches repeatedly spat venom at him, he wasn''t injured at all.


    However, the venom of the Chill Poisonous Leeches made his body feel numb


    o the arrays would turn from a part of the painting back into living creatures, then they would be able to fight the monsters.


    However, this was probably the first time that someone had attracted so many Poisonous Leeches.


    In turn, Zen followed Egan''s instructions and continued to move slowly.


    After he turned around the corner, he indeed saw a separate room on the side. In the center of the room was a hexagram array.


    He dragged the Poisonous Leeches hard and moved towards the array. The second he stepped on it, his whole form underwent a drastic change.


    He regained his original appearance as a creature, and so did the Poisonous Leeches.


    When the Poisonous Leeches were just a painting, they didn''t look that disgusting. Now that they turned into real creatures, however, Zen instantly felt sick in the stomach at the sight of them.


    "Oh fuck! Go to hell!"


    He felt miserable at the thought of how long the disgusting creatures stuck to him. His body trembled in rage, and he released a tremendous amount of power.


    The great force sent the thousands of Poisonous Leeches wrapped around him flying in all directions. Then, his power formed numerous spirals that spread everywhere, and the Poisonous Leeches were sliced into pieces before they fell on the ground.


    Meanwhile, Egan and Kirk, who stood outside the room, watched in utter surprise.


    The path the Three Eyes race had chosen might seem easier than the others, but it was also full of dangers. A large number of the members of the Three Eyes race had died in the hands of the Poisonous Leeches. This time, though, it looked like the Poisonous Leeches had found their nemesis.

 Chapter 3815 Huge Snake

    After Zen had cleaned his body, he checked his surroundings.


    Except for the hexagram array in the center, there was nothing else in the room.


    An idea popped out of his mind. "Now that I''ve returned to normal, what if I walk out of this room?" he muttered.


    Driven by curiosity, he walked towards the door of the room.


    When he reached the door, however, something strange happened. The moment he stepped out, countless thin black threads suddenly appeared in the passage.


    The thin black threads formed a net that blocked his path.


    "Don''t try to challenge the rules they''ve set, lest you cause unnecessary trouble," the Primeval Lord of Heaven warned.


    Judging from the number of the hexagram arrays the Instant Civilization had arranged, it wasn''t easy to open a room of the hexagram array. Anyone who broke into the area outside the room by force would bring great pressure to the Eternal Scroll Painting. No one knew what would happen after that.


    Just as Zen was about to exert even more strength, he retreated when he heard the Primeval Lord of Heaven''s words.


    After he stepped into the hexagram array, he turned into a picture again.


    Egan and Kirk had been watching outside for a long time. When they saw Zen exit the room, both of them immediately went to him.


    "Zen, your body is immune to the poison! What a truly great advantage," Egan said with admiration.


    Members of various Other Shore races in the Grand Plain Stage had different body shapes, but only a few of them were truly unafraid of the poison.


    Moreover, the venom of the Poisonous Leech was quite special, and even the few creatures with the poison resistant physique found it hard to resist the Poisonous Leeches'' attack. "Aside from the Poisonous Leeches, are there any other creatures on this path?" Zen asked.


    At that moment, Egan became cautious. "It was easy to pass through this path before. In the past, everything went smoothly as long as one went through the corridor with Poisonous Leeches, but now, it''s hard to say in this special period," he said.


    When the Eternal Scroll Painting opened this time, there was something wrong on the first and second pages. Thus, how could the remaining path be so easy to pass?


    The three of them advanced into the depths of the No-break Maze once again. Then, several more forks appeared in front of them.


    Since Kirk was familiar with the forks, he chose the direction without hesitation.


    Some beasts in the scroll painting came from both of th


    his companions reacted very quickly. The moment they saw the big black snake come out from one side, they used almost all of their strength to retreat to the passageway.


    However, the three Other Shore creatures that were in front weren''t so lucky. They didn''t even have time to call for help before the black snake swallowed them.


    The big black snake was so strong that resistance was futile. That was why Walden and his group waited in their spot.


    When he saw Zen and the others arrive, he suddenly had a wishful thought. He hoped that Zen would risk his life to deal with the huge snake. He didn''t expect that Zen would turn a deaf ear to his words!


    Not long after, more and more Other Shore creatures came out from the different paths in the No-break Maze and gathered in the same area.


    "Why don''t you all move forward?"


    "I''m afraid the beast guarding the exit of the No-break Maze is not easy to deal with this time!"


    Of course, the Other Shore creatures had different personalities.


    Some of them were quite patient and chose to plan before they took action, while others were very irritable and rash.


    When no one wanted to go forward, a tall and burly member of the Earth Tremor race squeezed out of the crowd and stood in front of everyone. "It''s not a good idea for you to only wait here. Let me step forward and have a look," he announced.


    He quickly stepped forward after he spoke. As soon as he walked away, a large black shadow emerged from the other side of the passageway. It opened its big, black, bloody mouth and closed it right after. At the same time, the member of the Earth Tremor race disappeared from everyone''s sight.

 Chapter 3816 Another Snake

    The passageway erupted into an uproar after the warrior of the Earth Tremor race was swallowed by the black snake. The Other Shore creatures at the front even began backpedaling non-stop.


    "It''s the Evil Orochi!"


    "Could it really be?"


    "I know this time has not been ordinary, but why did an Evil Orochi have to appear?"


    They all fell deep into despair when they saw the black snake known as the Evil Orochi.


    Many Other Shore creatures had been studying the No-break Maze and the Eternal Scroll Painting diligently for many chaotic eras.


    Most were very clear on what beasts would appear in which part of the maze, the beasts'' strength and how to deal with them. It was well established that the road chosen by the Three Eyes race was abundant in Poisonous Leeches and the path the Violet Cloud race often took possessed a large number of Devil Shadow Butterflies.


    There were usually powerful beasts guarding the end of the maze.


    They were few in number, but they were seriously powerful.


    Among them was the beast known as Worm Tapir. It had appeared on the first page before but often appeared at the end of the maze.


    Although Worm Tapirs were powerful and their movements were erratic, there was usually only one of them guarding the end of the maze, so it likely would not cause any devastation like that on the first page.


    There were also other beasts of different shapes and sizes that had appeared at the end of the maze.


    All were extremely powerful but had their weaknesses.


    For instance, Worm Tapir, due to its shape, couldn''t enter the room with a hexagram array. The attack of another venomous beast was terrifying but it moved slowly...


    In addition to these common beasts, there were also some rare ones such as the Wall Ghost and Earth Monkey. If they came across these, all that could be done was pray for luck.


    The Wall Ghost and Earth Monkey were still not the most powerful beasts around though. Undoubtedly, the most powerful and the rarest, was this giant serpent before them, Evil Orochi!


    In recorded years, it had only appeared five times


    and when it did appear, none of the creatures had reached the Eternal Realm.


    When it ap


    tures.


    With this question hanging out there, everyone''s nerves rattled much more.


    They had not been told of any safe areas in the No-break Maze, but those who had been unwilling to rush forward would wait in this passageway, hoping it was safe enough.


    But was it really safe?


    "It... It should be safe here..." another creature replied, quivering in fear.


    "Well, generally, Other Shore creatures at the end of the maze won''t come in," said Kirk confidently.


    "But that Evil Orochi doesn''t come from the end," said Egan, frowning.


    Several abnormalities had occurred in the Eternal Scroll Painting this time and now the impossible seemed to be unfolding before them. Who was to say whether this passageway was safe or not?


    Egan''s words shrouded everyone''s hearts in an ominous dark cloud. "Shut up!" screamed Walden.


    Egan had long been displeased with the Violet Cloud race and replied coldly, "I was talking to my friends!"


    "You!"


    Just as Walden was about to retort, the Evil Orochi swept across again from below. This time, halfway through, it suddenly drilled into the passageway. Their greatest fear was being realized.


    They had remained vigilant in the passageway; still and cautious. So the moment they saw the Evil Orochi rush into the passageway, they all rushed upwards.


    If they stayed there, they would surely die. Rushing to the exit of the maze at least gave them a chance at survival, even if only a small one.

 Chapter 3817 Keep Making Turns

    The first to rush upwards were the three Other Shore creatures of the Wind Wave race.


    The Wind Wave race was one of the ancient races on the Other Shore. Although they had also submitted to the Element Spirit Civilization, their status was much higher than that of the Violet Cloud race. The Eternal Realm masters of the Wind Wave race even had a certain influence within the Element Spirit Civilization.


    This time, the Wind Wave race was quite lucky. Among the four members they sent into the Eternal Scroll Painting, only one died on the first page.


    The moment the second Evil Orochi appeared, the three members of the Wind Wave race guessed that it would likely rush up along the passage, so they quietly crept upward ahead of everyone.


    They were already in the lead, and when the Evil Orochi below really did rush up, they immediately took to their heels.


    "Rush out as fast as we can!"


    "We''ll be safe as long as we can come out of the maze!"


    "¡­¡­"


    The three members of the Wind Wave race also had a strong desire to survive.


    They didn''t know whether or not they could successfully break out of the maze. However, they knew that if they continued to stay where they were, they would definitely die.


    Although the chance of making it out alive was slim to none, they could only continue to fight for their survival!


    Nevertheless, what happened next just completely extinguished their hope. The huge black snake hiding at the end of the passage suddenly came out of its hiding spot and slithered towards them at a lightning speed. Its jaws were wide open. The last thing the three of them saw before they were swallowed was an endless, slimy, black hole inside the snake''s fanged mouth.


    Everything happened in a matter of seconds. The three disappeared without even leaving a tiny bit of scream, much less traces of blood on the scene. But it was actually such a quietly creeping death that planted an indescribable fear in the hearts of the others. Lives had disappeared before they even knew what was happening.


    Almost right after those three Other Shore creatures were swallowed, three streaks of bloody light fell on three of the Three Purities Stones in the Grand Plain Stage. The area where they fell was precisely the territory of the Wind Wave race. Upon seeing the bloody lights, the members of the Wind Wave race waiting outside immediately roared in anger.


    Each race had suffered heavy losses this time, except for the Wind Wave race, which only had one member dead. The Wind Wave race had been secretly rejoicing in their hearts because of this. How could they possibly think that they would lose the remaining three people at the same time?


    The surviving Other Shore creatures in the pa


    way from where they were hiding.


    "Let''s make a turn and move to another passage," Zen said calmly.


    As the passage where they were now was a horizontal one, he, Egan, and the others turned at one of the corners and entered a vertical one.


    As soon as the Evil Orochi entered the horizontal passage, it found that its prey had all fled to the vertical one. After a moment of surprise, it slowly turned its head and followed after them.


    However, a slow Evil Orochi wasn''t a threat to them.


    They continued to move back and forth between the horizontal and the vertical passages. Slowly but surely, they crept upward bit by bit.


    Their speed wasn''t fast either, but by moving this way, they were moving closer and closer towards the exit of the maze. As they continued to slowly make their way towards the exit, the rekindled hope in their hearts continued to grow brighter.


    "It seems¡­ the Evil Orochis aren''t as powerful as people said..." an Other Shore creature said with a trace of disdain.


    "What''s so terrifying about animals that can''t even turn at a corner?" another Other Shore creature replied with a laugh.


    Nevertheless, if it was so easy to deal with those snakes, how could so many Other Shore creatures become their victims before?


    Zen didn''t say anything. He always felt that something was wrong with this whole thing.


    If the Evil Orochis were really that easy to deal with, people wouldn''t have put the word "evil" in its name. After all, those who could enter the Eternal Scroll Painting were all supposed to reach the Eternal Realm. They were all smart and would never do something without a good cause.


    Just as they moved to another horizontal passage from a vertical one, a black shadow suddenly flew towards them from a distance at a high speed. It was the other Evil Orochi!

 Chapter 3818 A Dead End

    When the Other Shore creatures went through the horizontal and vertical passageways, they were so focused on the first Evil Orochi that they completely ignored the second one.


    Forgotten by them, the second Evil Orochi changed its direction in a farther distance. Just as the Other Shore creatures turned around the corner of the passageway, they happened to come face to face with the Evil Orochi.


    This sudden meeting stunned some of the creatures.


    "Charge!" Zen roared with a raised fist.


    He arched his back and used almost all of his strength to charge to the side.


    There was no going back now. The only choice they had was to dash forward.


    It wasn''t just Zen who did that. All the Other Shore creatures were also adamant in fighting their way forward. In the face of death, desperation often gave way to explosive power.


    As soon as they rushed forward, this Evil Orochi dashed towards them!


    It was a silent death attack from the black snake shadow.


    As the two parties were about to collide, the Other Shore creatures couldn''t help but look daggers at the Evil Orochi with the hopes that it would at least slow down.


    Egan and Kirk were in the middle of the oncoming group with Zen following closely after the latter.


    The next moment, Zen felt a terrifying force hit his body. He was not swallowed up by the Evil Orochi, but he was hit by it. The powerful wave of energy made him spin quickly like a spinning top. It took a long while for him to stop.


    When he stopped, Zen looked down at his body and was extremely shocked by what he saw.


    The surface of his own painting was covered with cracks, and pain emanated from every single part of his body. There was no denying just how extremely serious his injuries were.


    Because of the wounds he sustained, the Chaotic Source Spirits naturally fell into fatigue. The force of the impact actually exceeded one hundred thousand divine megatons.


    However, Zen was still lucky. The same could not be said for the Other Shore creatures behind him.


    Two Other Shore creatures had also been hit.


    These two also cultivated the Myriad Tribulations Body, but they couldn''t withstand the terrifying impact and their bodies shattered immediately. All that was left of them were broken limbs strewn all over th


    g something was wrong.


    "If we keep moving to the upper right, won''t we be led farther and farther away from the exit?"


    The exit was located in the middle of the No-break Maze''s end. If they kept heading towards the upper right, they would get farther and farther away.


    "How did you lead the way?"


    "Should we change directions?"


    "We should, right?"


    Just as everyone was blaming her, the fox stopped and laughed. "You only noticed now. You''re all truly too dull."


    Her words made Zen and the others frown.


    At that moment, the two Evil Orochis suddenly appeared and blocked their path from both sides. Having bypassed several crisscrossed roads, these two were able to trap the warriors.


    This fox deliberately led them to a dead end.


    Everyone''s eyes were heavy with anger as they stared at the fox. "Why did you do that?"


    "Why do you want to harm us?"


    "If you lead us to a dead end, you''ll die too!"


    Everyone''s faces paled as they stared at the two Evil Orochis that surrounded them. Their fear was also coupled with great puzzlement.


    Why did the fox bring everyone here when she was also an Other Shore creature?


    "In the Grand Plain Stage, is there an Other Shore race whose members are half-human and half-fox?" Zen asked out of the blue. Silence was the only reply he received.


    Though there were all sorts of Other Shore races in the Grand Plain Stage, there wasn''t really any sort of half-human and half-fox race. Could it be that this creature was not an Other Shore creature?

 Chapter 3819 Food

    The forms of the Other Shore creatures who entered the Eternal Scroll Painting had undergone a great change. Thus, as the "fox" traveled through the maze looking very similar to the others, they had taken her without doubt as one of their own.


    However, Zen''s words raised everyone''s suspicions.


    "Are you a beast of the scroll painting?" Zen asked.


    The fox stood nearby, and spoke in a disdainful tone. "That''s the name given by you stupid creatures."


    As an intelligent being, she was very dissatisfied about being named a beast.


    "Anyway, it doesn''t matter," said the fox, giving a short laugh. "You are no different from the thousands of idiots who came before you. Like them, you will surely die."


    As she spoke, she beckoned with her hand.


    The two Evil Orochis, which had been blocking the way out, slowly crawled in the passageway.


    Obviously, they were under her control.


    "Thousands... You''ve killed thousands of creatures?" Egan asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise.


    The fox smiled faintly. "Probably more, but I''ve forgotten the exact number."


    "Did you kill them with the help of the Evil Orochis? That''s impossible. The Evil Orochi had only appeared a few times," said Kirk.


    According to the records of the Grand Plain Stage, the Evil Orochi had only appeared five times in known history. At the first time, it had killed all the creatures; on the other four occasions, some Other Shore creatures had survived by directly choosing to quit.


    The fox snorted. "You think I really need the Evil Orochi to kill you idiots?" she said sarcastically. "Use your head and search your memories. You must remember that your people had been all killed several times in the Eternal Scroll Painting."


    The test in the Eternal Scroll Painting was notoriously difficult. Many people gave up when they realized they could not survive, but many others chose to keep going and attempt to pass the test.


    When the Eternal Scroll Painting opened, it was not unusual for around thirty to fifty percent of those who entered to perish in the test. There were also rare occasions when not a single creature survived¡ªall were killed for some unknown reason.


    The Other Shore creatures in the Grand Plain Stage were all afraid of the Evil Orochi and several other powerful beasts in the painting. But at least these beasts were known, because those who survived their encounters with them recorded their appearance and nature once they had left the Eternal Scroll Painting alive.


    his, which prevented them from finding a way out.


    As they crossed another horizontal passageway, following the fox, Zen suddenly paused briefly, his eyes fixed on something in the distance.


    Two hexagram arrays were placed symmetrically on the right corner.


    "Egan," Zen whispered.


    Egan immediately followed Zen''s gaze. Kirk and some other creatures also caught sight of the two arrays.


    In fact, there were a lot of hexagram arrays at the end of the maze. Two such arrays would appear after they passed through every three passages.


    Zen was thinking hard. The problem was that even if they managed to reach the arrays and regained their original forms, they still wouldn''t be a match for the Evil Orochis who guarded them. No one had bothered to use that strategy against the Evil Orochis because it was no different from courting death.


    But the situation was getting desperate.


    No one was willing to be torn apart by the dogs and eaten as food.


    If the result was death either way, then it was better to die fighting than to wait passively to be killed.


    Many of the Other Shore creatures had reached the same conclusion.


    When they moved past the next passageway, two groups of creatures rushed out on both sides.


    In the blink of an eye, several Other Shore creatures had stepped into the hexagram arrays. They finally returned to their original forms. Yet they wore grim expressions, for they knew that they were still outmatched by the formidable opponent.


    Still, they were also determined to put up a good fight. Regardless of the outcome, as long as they were in the arrays, they could at least fight with their real strength.

 Chapter 3820 The Fox Girl

    The fox girl stood at the upper right corner of the No-break Maze, sneering at the scramble taking place below.


    There were many rooms of hexagram arrays at the end of the maze; those unwilling to surrender would most likely attempt to escape into these rooms. She had expected them to follow this course of action.


    "Do you seriously think resuming your original form will help you fight me?


    Unfortunately, none who came before you got away from me. Do you think you''ll manage it?


    Hahaha..."


    Her laughter was as crisp and sweet as wind chimes stirred by a gentle breeze, but it was lined with menace which shook all the Other Shore creatures to their bones and made them shiver when they heard it.


    She then slowly turned away from the upper right corner.


    "She''s coming down!"


    "Does she plan to enter the hexagram arrays?"


    "She''s not going to let the Evil Orochis attack instead? She''s going to fight on her own?"


    Everyone trembled in fear.


    They might have returned to their original forms, but they were still not confident they could contend with the Evil Orochis.


    If she drove the giant serpents right into the rooms, they''d all be destroyed with ease. Even if they possessed some truly special skills, dealing with the Evil Orochis would still prove mightily difficult.


    But it seemed the fox intended to go in alone.


    She stopped in the center where the passages intersected. Zen, Egan, Kirk and some other Other Shore creatures were in the room of hexagon array on the left, while Walden and another group were in the room on the right.


    A short while later, she had made her choice and walked towards the room on the right.


    When the creatures, including Walden, saw her coming, their eyes widened and their hearts began beating vigorously.


    They had no way to effectively deal with the Evil Orochis but they believed they might stand a chance against the fox alone.


    They had appeared to be stuck in a dead end but it now seemed a favorable opportunity that they would all seize desperately.


    "Everyone, spread out!"


    "She controls the Evil Orochis, so if we captu


    ody, disappointed.


    She stretched her pink finger slowly and removed Walden from the wall, dragged him to the hexagram array and threw him from the room.


    The instant he was thrown, his body split into pieces. The broken pieces turned into pictures and scattered on the white scroll in a gruesome scene.


    The Iron Dogs in the upper right corner caught the smell of blood, crawled along the passage and began devouring Walden''s broken body.


    The Other Shore creatures still in the room trembled violently. They couldn''t help but be overtaken by the fear of being fed to the Iron Dogs.


    "What a strange and horrible skill!"


    "We''re going to die anyway, let''s at least go down fighting!"


    "¡­"


    They mustered the courage that remained in them and charged forward together.


    The fox girl''s face remained unchanged. She tapped her fingers lightly and her pink nails flicked out once more.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Waves of immense power pummeled into their chests. None of the Other Shore creatures, no matter their sizes, had any power capable of counterattacking. They were already on their last gasp when their bodies hit the wall.


    With another flick of her finger, they too turned into pictures and like Walden, were thrown into the passage to feed the dogs.


    After disposing of the last of them, she slowly turned towards the room across the corridor.


    It was time to clear the left room.

 Chapter 3821 Smash

    The doors of these two rooms with hexagram arrays were opposite each other.


    Zen and the others stayed in the room on the left and saw what happened in the other room. All of them blanched in fear at the scene.


    The fox girl''s lips curved into a smile as she knew the Other Shore creatures in the left room were watching her. "I''m coming," she said.


    Her tempting voice sounded like the final judgment of death, which sent a chill down everyone''s spine.


    "Retreat!"


    "We have no choice but to fight her!"


    "Fight? Even the Blessing Myriad Token had no effect on her. Do you have any better ideas than that?"


    The Other Shore creatures in the right room were by no means weak. They bravely fought back, but they still ended up dead!


    One of the most terrible things that could happen to anyone was to be unable to do anything in a desperate situation.


    They silently watched the fox girl step out of the hexagram array, turn into a beautiful painting, and slowly walk towards them while they couldn''t think of any solutions at all!


    "What kind of method did she use just now? It looked like she directly dissolved the energy in the Blessing Myriad Token," Egan said thoughtfully. He was one of the few people who could remain composed.


    Of course, Zen also thought hard about the same question.


    The Blessing Myriad Token Walden had summoned was indeed quite powerful. Even if they weren''t in the same room, Zen could sense its strength.


    However, the fox girl didn''t fight the Blessing Myriad Token directly. Instead, it seemed that she had used a special method to dissolve its energy.


    But how could she erase such an immense amount of energy in the Blessing Myriad Token without a trace?


    What kind of method was that?


    "I''ve never seen such a powerful method before. I didn''t even know that someone so strong was hiding within the Eternal Scroll Painting," the Primeval Lord of Heaven commented.


    If even the knowledgeable Primeval Lord of Heaven couldn''t understand what method she had used, then it was over. Zen''s heart sank in despair.


    Just then, Egan suddenly said, "I have a Soul-trapping Rope. If I can capture her with it, everything she will do will be useless!"


    "A Soul-trapping Rope?! Is that true?"


    At that moment, the miserable Other Shore creatures in the room quickly lit up with hope.


    These Other Shore creatures who had entered the Eternal Scroll Painting were outstanding elites and highly valued in their respective races. Sure enoug


    Crack! Crack!


    In return, Zen quickly twisted her slender arms and ruthlessly broke her bones in the process. That way, he prevented her from unleashing the strange law power from her fingertips.


    It was a critical moment, so Zen naturally didn''t show any mercy. After he broke her arms, he threw another punch to her chest. The strong force hit her chest so hard that it sent her petite body flying backward.


    Because the hexagram array was in her path, she turned back into a painting on the ground as she flew out of the room. Finally, she hit the wall opposite the room, and her mangled body was torn into pieces.


    The painting she turned into was no longer in a human shape but scattered on the ground like a broken sack.


    On the other hand, Egan still tightly held on to the other end of the Soul-trapping Rope.


    Half of the rope was in its normal form, while the other half was entangled with the broken pieces of the painting outside the room. "Is she dead?" Egan asked cautiously.


    Even if Zen''s attacks had mutilated the fox girl''s body, he didn''t dare retrieve the Soul-trapping Rope until he confirmed she was dead.


    "If she was a normal Other Shore creature, she should have died," Zen said with a frown.


    He had crushed her head and pierced her chest. Even an Eternal Realm master would''ve died from such serious injuries.


    Those Other Shore creatures who had given up also stared at her damaged body on the ground. Zen''s counterattack completely turned the tables, and they started to see the hope in survival.


    However, their optimism only lasted for several seconds. About ten seconds later, the broken limbs suddenly moved.

 Chapter 3822 Glazed Body

    Everyone''s hearts stopped when they saw the broken limbs on the ground suddenly move.


    Was she still alive?


    Creatures that had reached the True God Realm possessed immensely strong and persistent life energy. To lose hands, legs, and even internal organs wasn''t a big deal.


    However, even when warriors reached the Other Shore Realm, their two most important body parts, namely the soul and the cinnabar field, couldn''t sustain serious injuries. If their cinnabar field was destroyed, they would lose all their cultivation; if it was their soul, then they would die.


    None of the creatures Zen had encountered could break such a rule. Even the Blood Spirit Tortoise, one of the top ten ferocious beasts of the chaos, was no exception. It would die like the others if its Soul of Light was damaged.


    Just now, Zen showed no mercy at all to the fox girl, with the only desire to kill her.


    His powerful attack had crushed her into pieces¡ªbut she was still alive?


    "She... is fine?"


    "What kind of monster is she? Her soul was not hurt at all?"


    "This is impossible..."


    At first, everyone assumed that Zen and Egan had killed the fox girl. They felt ecstatic as they thought that they could finally escape death, but now, it didn''t seem like it.


    The maimed limbs on the ground moved slowly, and at the same time, the black clumps merged and reconstructed.


    By the time the pool of black clumps and body parts reached the door of the room, it already took the shape of the fox girl.


    "She''s back," Egan said bitterly.


    "Then let''s do it again," Zen answered indifferently.


    In any case, there was no other efficient way to deal with the fox girl now. If they could still tear her to pieces, then they would do it all over again. There was no way the fox could be reborn infinitely!


    Egan had already pulled back his Soul-trapping Rope. However, when the fox girl entered the hexagram array again, he quickly tossed the Soul-trapping Rope to bind her once more.


    At the same time, Zen suddenly unleashed his power and blasted it towards the fox girl.


    However, the fox girl''s body now shone with a glassy luster. Her snow-white skin became translucent, and her body became extraordinarily strong after her transformation.


    "Bang!"


    The moment she saw Zen''s fist coming


    and using the strange theurgy. She could still turn into her glazed form but was unable to use the theurgy.


    It was Zen''s idea. Earlier, when the fox girl had snatched the Soul-trapping Rope and threw it on the ground, he secretly asked Egan to pick it up through his chaotic energy.


    Even though he didn''t know what tricks and theurgies the fox girl had up her sleeves, he couldn''t withstand the strange power she released when she put her index finger and thumb together. With the help of the Soul-trapping Rope, he could at least prevent her from using that kind of theurgy.


    Just then, her skin turned into the glazed color again. At the same time, she stretched out her hand then tried to snatch the Soul-trapping Rope.


    Fortunately, Egan was very smart. He pulled back the Soul-trapping Rope in time and watched over the fox girl vigilantly.


    He knew that it was a life-and-death battle, so he was not afraid of offending her.


    "In that case, I''ll just kill you!"


    The fox girl didn''t want to play the seesaw game with Egan. Her face became filled with rage, and she immediately stabbed the head of the Other Shore creature beside her with her glazed hand.


    "Pop!"


    The head of the Other Shore creature exploded like a watermelon.


    In the next moment, her petite body, which didn''t reach Zen''s chest, crashed against him.


    "Boom!"


    As a result, Zen was thrown away and crashed against the wall on the other side.


    The fox girl was very confident in her glazed body, and that was exactly what he wanted.

 Chapter 3823 Breaking The Defense

    When Zen hit the wall, he turned over to give the fox girl a surprise attack.


    "Boom!"


    A loud rumble that came after almost deafened Zen.


    After slamming into the wall, the fox girl turned around expressionlessly. "Your reaction speed isn''t bad, but¡­ it''s not nearly impressive!"


    Zen''s face darkened before his body turned over once again.


    But the fox''s speed was far superior to Zen''s. Before he could move, a hand grabbed his arm.


    "Whoosh!"


    The fox lifted him up like nothing and threw him right back down to the ground.


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    The two had extremely tough bodies, carrying terrifying strength. Every time Zen smashed into the ground, an invisible shock wave would spread.


    Those Other Shore creatures also became smart. As long as the two of them had any tendency of getting near them, they would hide far away, afraid of being hurt from the impact.


    With such a terrifying power, anyone who was hit by the slightest shock wave would die or at least get crippled.


    Every time the fox girl threw Zen down, the Other Shore creatures trembled. While they feared the fox, they were all the more amazed by Zen.


    No wonder both the Nihility race and the Element Spirit race wanted him. The guy''s body was extremely strong indeed.


    Egan, on the other hand, seemed worried.


    While Zen''s physical body was undoubtedly strong, he couldn''t withstand the situation if it was prolonged. Regardless of what kind of theurgy Zen used to stabilize his body, the fox''s brute force was going to break it sooner or later.


    "Bang!"


    "Bang..."


    The Heavenly Gourd Robe Kirk released was highly unique. While it could withstand fifty thousand divine megatons of force, it carried an important feature¡ªit could be reborn infinitely.


    Each time the fox girl smashed Zen into the ground and the impact exceeded the fifty thousand divine megatons limit, the Heavenly Gourd Robe instantly shattered.


    But just when she lifted Zen up, the Heavenly Gourd Robe instantly wrapped around Zen''s entire body once again. In turn, the Heavenly Gourd Robe could actually be regarded as an enhanced version of the Chaotic Source Spirits.


    Naturally, the Heavenly Gourd Robe wasn''t comparable to the Chaotic Source Spirits in Zen''s body. Its only shortcoming was that there was a time limit to its use.


    When the Heavenly Gourd Robe and the Chaotic Source Spirits worked together to protect Zen''s body, the latter could withstand one hundred and fifty thousand divine megatons of force directly.


    The fox girl had used only a hundred thousand divine megatons


    of force. His face turned red as his blood and energy surged radically.


    "Your body protection theurgy can''t withstand it anymore, I see?" The fox girl looked condescendingly down upon Zen.


    The slight change in Zen''s body could easily go unnoticed by anyone else, but not the fox girl. "It seems your limit should be a hundred and fifty thousand divine megatons of force. The further we go, the more difficult you''ll find it to bear the power. I''d better send you to your death in one go!"


    "Two hundred thousand divine megatons of force!"


    In truth, Zen could actually bear exactly two hundred thousand divine megatons of force. But after the Chaotic Source Spirits grew completely tired, the limit was reduced by a hundred thousand divine megatons.


    When she increased her power to two hundred thousand divine megatons, she had every intention to kill him.


    The Chaotic Source Spirits in Zen''s body were still fatigued when the fox''s attack was falling¡ªhow could they dare to face it?


    And so Zen held his breath and shifted his body a foot away.


    "Puff!"


    The fox''s glazed hand stabbed into Zen''s chest, making blood spurt out like a sharp arrow.


    A long lost feeling of pain rose in him. After obtaining the Chaotic Source Spirits, no one had ever really managed to hurt him.


    The fox''s hand that pierced Zen''s body slashed down, heading for Zen''s cinnabar field¡ªshe intended to completely destroy his inner world. If she succeeded, he''d lose all contact with his Other Shore Tokens, cutting off his very source of strength.


    Fortunately, after Zen merged with a Chaos Ancient God''s blood, the bones in his body had undergone a great change. The thick layers of sclerites abruptly blocked her hand.

 Chapter 3824 One Opportunity

    Now that the sclerites were blocking her, the fox girl used her bloody hand to punch Zen in the stomach again.


    Zen had expected this and twisted his body to avoid the blow.


    A smile appeared at the corners of the fox girl''s mouth. She had thought that Zen''s struggle would be in vain. But this time, Zen also kicked at the ground, causing his whole body to be sent flying upwards.


    The moment he bounced upwards, the tired Chaotic Source Spirits in his body were instantly repaired.


    With a tell-tale swish, a cyan feather appeared above Zen''s head. The feather was from the Civilization Artifact of the Regal Jade Civilization.


    The moment this feather appeared, Zen''s agility increased by leaps and bounds.


    But this was far from enough.


    "Primeval Lord of Heaven!"


    The pages of the human race''s blue book began to flip through and then it suddenly stopped, causing the green light somewhere in Zen''s inner world to flash.


    This was a pool built in the sky called the Phoenix Pool.


    After the Primeval Lord of Heaven had occupied Zen''s inner world, he had assigned many tasks to the humans. The Phoenix Pool was one of these tasks.


    The energy souls of the Primeval Lord of Heaven and the real Snake Goddess that remained were very weak. They had to make use of the Civilization Artifact of the human race.


    The light of the book began to suddenly shimmer, green ripples appearing on the Phoenix Pool. Streaks of green light rushed out of Zen''s inner world, blooming from the surface of Zen''s body.


    With the support of the two Civilization Artifacts, Zen''s speed suddenly increased multi-fold.


    The fox girl still wasn''t taking Zen seriously. She wanted to grab him and dismember him, which, in her opinion, would take her less than fifteen seconds.


    But the moment she made to grasp him, Zen, like a slippery eel, slipped out of her way.


    Crack!


    He grabbed the fox girl from behind and threw her to the wall.


    Boom!


    The fox girl''s body was about to hit the wall when she bent her legs so that she ended up looking like she was striding across the wall. She stood there, horizontal and surprised, and said, "So your speed has increased! But it''s still of no use. You can''t hurt me with your strength. Your attack is just like a mere itch for me!"


    She kicked off the wall and turned her body upside down, aiming at Zen''s head.


    If this kick were to


    d use the Celestial Spear.


    When he had been in Stage Thirty-one of the Other Shore, Zen had let Libby keep the Celestial Spear that he had obtained. Before entering the Eternal Scroll Painting, Zen returned in the form of the Soul of Light and took it back from Libby.


    With the Three Purities Stone, he fused his soul with his body. He could thus also use the Sumeru Space owned by his Soul of Light.


    "Or do you think you have a trump card that will help you fight back and defeat me?"


    The fox girl was suddenly reluctant to kill Zen.


    She had hunted many low-level creatures in the Eternal Scroll Painting that were weak and vulnerable in her eyes.


    But the human being before her was the only one who had fought her for so long.


    He had probably been able to hold on for so long because they were fighting in the room of hexagram array.


    But he was still outstanding for holding his own while fighting her.


    Whoosh!


    "If you have any powerful skills, use them quickly, or you won''t stand a chance!"


    The fox girl jumped a hundred feet as she spoke, and then, with a sudden kick of her legs, swooped down on Zen.


    She used her own body as a weapon.


    She had used this method a number of times before and every time, her attack had been formidable and threatening. Zen had had no choice but to escape.


    But Zen stayed put this time. He merely took a step back before an azure square appeared in his hand. He had barely pulled the Celestial Spear from the square when a hysterical voice rang out from his throat and echoed across the room. "I''ll do what you want!"

 Chapter 3825 Walls

    By then, the Celestial Spear had returned to its peak, capable of increasing Zen''s strength ninefold.


    If Zen now went all out and unleashed two hundred thousand divine megatons of force, the blow would be as powerful as one million eight hundred thousand divine megatons of force; a truly terrifying figure.


    But he only had one shot at it and so had to be very precise.


    He exercised great patience when fighting the fox girl and now he waited for his final opening!


    "Buzz!"


    The power of two hundred thousand divine megatons surged along his arms like a vigorous tide.


    The Chaotic Source Spirits could now only bear one hundred thousand divine megatons of force, while Zen''s physical body would have to bear the remaining one hundred thousand divine megatons of force. Consequently, one hundred thousand divine megatons was actually his body''s limit.


    "Crack, crack, crack..."


    Faint cracking noises came from within him as he brandished the Celestial Spear.


    He was at his limit and his body was struggling to bear such great force and so thin cracks began appearing on his bones.


    If he remained in this extreme state for much longer, his body could collapse.


    But the Celestial Spear had already been drawn towards the fox girl.


    With two hundred thousand divine megatons of force contained in the attack, the Celestial Stone embedded in the tip of the spear emitted intense light and an indescribably heavy pressure was exerted on it.


    As Zen waved the spear around, its shaft was pressed into the shape of a full moon.


    "Whoosh!"


    The Other Shore creatures felt a strong wind whip and cut at their faces. They tried to dodge the intense pain but there was nowhere in the room to escape to.


    From the very beginning, the fox girl had never viewed Zen as her opponent, as capable of challenging her, and she certainly had never thought he would pull out a weapon such as this.


    The power she felt from the tip of the Celestial Spear changed everything and wiped a look of pure shock across her glazed face.


    She could not accurately deduce the Celestial Spear''s power, but she knew that if she was hit by a strike from it, she would most definitely die.


    Her body was in an incredibly powerful state. Under normal circu


    ould be able to kill the fox girl.


    At the critical moment, he stepped in and stopped the fight from continuing.


    "Why? Is he special?" inquired the fox girl curiously.


    "Yes," the smiling face replied.


    "Is it possible that he may enter the final room?" The fox girl''s attitude had now shifted.


    "At the least, he passed your test," said the smiling face, turning into a crying face but still with an unusually happy voice.


    The fox girl fell silent for a moment, feeling that the brush-wielder seemed to be acting reasonably.


    If she put aside his abnormal behavior of silently protecting Zen, she had to admit that the human had indeed defeated her and was even about to kill her.


    "All I know is that he is one we have waited for, but whether he is able to reach the end, I''m unsure," said the crying face slowly. "When all is said and done, he is the most likely to reach the end. So, according to our agreement, you will have to talk with him."


    "Got it, sir."


    The fox girl lay in the Eternal Scroll Painting and returned to the room.


    Zen and the others were unable to leave because of the several walls that had been put into place.


    They had no idea what was going on and were all worried about what would happen to them.


    They were lost in thought when the sound of something being erased scratched in all their ears and the walls quickly vanished before their eyes.


    The disappearance of the walls displeased them as the fox girl stood in front of them once more.

 Chapter 3826 The Origin-Level Bloodline

    The amount of twists and turns perplexed these Other Shore creatures to the point that they almost went numb from the nervousness.


    Nobody tried to escape. All they could do was stare at the fox girl with glazed, frozen eyes.


    It was as if they were no longer concerned with whether she would kill them or not. Their fate had been sealed the moment they entered this trap. All they could do was accept their death with dignity.


    The fox girl turned her gaze to Zen.


    This was her home turf so she had the upper hand but she still ended up defeated by this man. Was it a matter of luck, perhaps? Nevertheless, whether or not Zen got lucky, she was still defeated which meant the brush-wielder had chosen the right person.


    She nodded at him pointedly. "You, come to me."


    Zen had just recently restored the Chaotic Source Spirits in his body and was extremely on guard, however, her sudden command still caught him by surprise. "What do you mean?"


    "You''ve defeated me, so I will tell you something," she replied.


    Zen immediately shook his head. "I refuse!"


    He didn''t know what was up with this fox girl, however, he knew for a fact that once he left the room and changed into a painting then the strength gap between the two of them would grow significantly. He would completely be at her mercy.


    Seeing Zen''s vigilance, the fox girl was at a loss with how to persuade him. After a while, she decided to turn her attention towards the Other Shore creatures behind him. "You can leave the room now."


    Since Zen was not willing to come to her, then she would have to empty out the room to privately converse with him.


    "We''re not going anywhere..."


    "Those snakes are still guarding outside. If we go out, we''re as good as dead!"


    "Exactly! What he said!"


    It was only after looking at the determined expressions on their faces that the fox girl truly realized how much of a threat they viewed her as.


    Truth be told, she initially only planned to spare Zen''s life since he was the one who defeated her. However, she remembered the brush-wielder''s words and knew it would be meaningless for her to kill these creatures.


    "You will leave here safely. I shall remove the Evil Orochis and ensure a safe path for you all," she assured them.


    "Really?"


    "You''re truly going to let us go?"


    "You''re not messing with us, right?"


    Of course, despite her assurance, they still found her words a bit too hard to believe.


    Having noticed that their suspicions remained unabated, the fox girl decided to send out a command to the Evil Orochis that told them to retreat from the upper-right corner of t


    e fox girl just told him.


    Zen''s words immediately filled her eyes with disappointment. "If you came to the Eternal Scroll Painting only to obtain a root-level bloodline then I''ll just end your life right now!"


    The fox girl raised her hand. Her thumb and index fingers were clasped together and the moment she snapped, Zen would instantly die.


    She employed the use of a unique Law Power within this channel, a theurgy bestowed upon her by the brush-wielder.


    Zen couldn''t help but secretly roll his eyes at her dramatics. He truly hadn''t met a more unreasonable person but since he knew that she was serious about killing him, he had to submit. He immediately held up his hands in surrender. "Wait! I''ll try my best to meet your requirement. If you say that the root-level bloodline is not enough then what''s stronger than that?"


    "The origin-level bloodline," she told him, finally stretching out her hands. "There are four kinds of origin-level bloodline inside the room at the very end. You have to get one of them. If you can''t then I''ll kill you."


    The corners of Zen''s mouth twitched when he looked at her solemn expression. How did things come to this? Now he wasn''t even allowed to get an ordinary bloodline, no, he had to get one of those so-called origin-level bloodlines or risk death.


    Meanwhile, the Primeval Lord of Heaven was lost in thought.


    As far as he recalled, the bloodlines in the inner circles were the most powerful. So long as Zen obtained one of them then he would be qualified to establish a force in Stage Thirty-two or Thirty-three and guarantee the survival of their race.


    However, according to the fox girl, there were actually far stronger bloodlines. It was something he had never heard of before.

 Chapter 3827 The Void Sand

    Before stepping out of the room with hexagram array, the fox girl signaled Zen to stand still, and then she gently pressed her white fingers onto Zen''s forehead.


    Zen knew the power her hand possessed was very formidable. As he was about to retreat, two of the fox girl''s fingers had already touched his forehead, and a wisp of black gas instantly penetrated his head.


    Zen felt a chill seep into his forehead, but the chill immediately disappeared without a trace.


    "What did you do?" Zen asked with a frown.


    The fox girl shrugged her slender shoulders and explained, "I just did you a favor, and now you can move more smoothly in the big vortex."


    Zen suspiciously stared at the fox girl for a few seconds before he stepped into the hexagram array and turned into a flat picture.


    The moment Zen became a painting, a strange feeling stirred in him.


    Previously, after he had transformed into the painting, his angle of sight had been fixed, and he could only view the scenery within a limited range. However, at this moment, his angle of sight had slightly changed.


    What was happening now?


    Reflexively, Zen raised his head. He suddenly gazed straight ahead and discovered the end of the Eternal Scroll Painting. Only then did he realize that he was standing on the Eternal Scroll Painting!


    He was still a painting, but he had turned into a painting that had stood up.


    "This is a skill of the Worm Tapir!"


    Zen was momentarily stunned before he realized what had happened.


    Both the fox girl and the Worm Tapir could temporarily disappear from the Eternal Scroll Painting, which meant they could jump out of the painting.


    Right now, he had stepped on the No-break Maze. The wall that resembled a line didn''t seem to exist to him, and he could cross it with just one leap.


    If someone saw Zen in the No-break Maze, they wouldn''t be able to see his whole body, but only the soles of his feet.


    "No wonder the Worm Tapir is so powerful. Its ability is utterly remarkable." Zen immediately understood the creature''s ability.


    In his current form, it was a piece of cake for him to kill the other creatures of the Other Shore. Those Other Shore creatures were not in the same league as him at all. They would not even know who attacked them if he stepped on them.


    Zen no longer moved along the maze''s pathways. Instead, he moved to cross the walls and headed straight for the end of the No-break Maze.


    When he reached the gate at the end of the No-break


    a little excited.


    Before he had taken more than a few steps, a grain of Void Sand came hurtling at him from the distance and hit the back of his hand.


    Ba!


    The moment the grain of sand impacted with Zen''s body, it instantly vanished. A sharp and lancing pain instantly pierced him as if a needle had shot right into his Soul of Light.


    Although the pain lasted for a short while, it had a burning intensity. It seemed that there was nothing Zen could do to eliminate or avoid it.


    "Is that the Void Sand?"


    Earlier, the Primeval Lord of Heaven had instructed Zen that this large vortex was constructed from a massive amount of Void Sand, with each grain being able to devour the material it impacted with.


    If enough Void Sand were to hit someone, their physical body would be utterly dissolved by the sand.


    But it didn''t seem to faze Zen at all since he had the Chaotic Source Spirits.


    Zen gently stroked the area where the Void Sand had hit. With the protection of the Chaotic Source Spirits, his body remained intact and unscathed. "It doesn''t seem to have had any lingering effect."


    "The Chaotic Source Spirits are really able to block the Void Sand..." The Primeval Lord of Heaven also seemed a bit surprised. He then cautioned, "That''s indeed good news for you, but don''t become careless. The Void Sand can dissolve more than just your body."


    "Dissolve my soul." Zen frowned tightly.


    Although the Chaotic Source Spirits in his body could physically fend off the sand, he didn''t have an effective method to protect his soul. Without anything else to rely on, he would only have the protection of the nine Holy Soul Imprints.

 Chapter 3828 Imprint Transmission Tower

    "Da, Da, Da..."


    The Void Sand occasionally hit their bodies, and the pain felt like needles pricking their skin.


    What was worse was that it was both physical and mental pain.


    It was especially hard for the warrior of the Life race on the left since he was highly sensitive to pain. Every time a grain of sand hit him, he gritted his teeth and groaned in agony.


    It also hurt both Egan and Kirk, but they endured it a lot better. They only frowned and simply put up with it.


    In comparison, the sand wouldn''t quickly erode Zen''s body, but he couldn''t just get rid of the pain in his soul.


    After they moved forward for a certain distance, a square appeared on the scroll painting. There was a big hexagram array drawn at the entrance of the square.


    Their group of nine entered the hexagram array and returned to their normal state. At that moment, a circular tower appeared in the center of the square. The tower looked only like a simple circle on the scroll painting, but it looked magnificent and lofty in the square.


    "This is the Imprint Transmission Tower," said Egan as he turned to Zen. "This is the starting point that leads to the big vortex. If you got some imprints while you were in the Soul City and the Land of Bone Tribulation, you can get the corresponding protection from the Imprint Transmission Tower."


    Zen thought that it was nice of Egan to explain everything to him in detail, as Egan knew that it was his first time to enter the Eternal Scroll Painting. Although the Primeval Lord of Heaven had already told him about it, he still listened carefully, as Egan explained.


    In general, ordinary Other Shore creatures weren''t resistant to the Void Sand''s erosion. It was perfectly fine for them to be in the sixteen outer circles since there was not much Void Sand there. However, there was a massive amount of Void Sand in the deep part of the vortex, and those grains of sand could easily erode them. If they wanted to travel smoothly in the depths of the vortex, they had to rely on the Imprint Transmission Tower.


    In front of the tower was a member of the Jade Crown race who took the lead to step forward.


    "Buzz!"


    When the warrior approached the Imprint Transmission Tower, his chest, back, and head began to glow. In turn, seven imprints appeared on the tower.


    "Three Bone Tribulation Imprints and four Holy Soul Imprints, that''s not bad," said Egan.


    The three Bone Tribulation Imprints were exposed, so everyone saw them. The Holy Soul Imprints were on one''s soul, and they were invisi


    . After all, it was hard for him to surpass thirteen imprints.


    After the warrior of the Grasshopper race left the Imprint Transmission Power, Zen walked towards it.


    The moment he neared it, his chest, legs, back, arms, head¡­


    All of his body parts glowed with the imprints'' light, and so did the tower. Nine Bone Tribulation Imprints of different shapes and nine Holy Soul Imprints appeared on the tower at the same time.


    The ray of light was somewhat blinding, and the crowd in the square fell silent. It wasn''t until quite a while later that they began to roar.


    "How many imprints are there?"


    "One, two, three... Eighteen, eighteen imprints... "


    "Eighteen imprints? Has he achieved complete success in both the Soul City and the Land of Bone Tribulation?"


    The Other Shore creatures present grew up on the Grand Plain Stage, so they had watched the Eternal Scroll Painting unfold over and over again.


    They were familiar with all sorts of stories about talents, but they had never heard of anyone who had obtained eighteen imprints! "Zen, it this real?" Kirk asked in shock.


    He couldn''t believe his eyes!


    In turn, Zen just shrugged slightly at Kirk''s disbelief. "Zen, are you going to break through to the first circle?" Egan asked.


    "I''ll try my best," Zen answered.


    The bloodline power in the innermost circle was only at the root level. It naturally didn''t meet the requirements of the fox girl, so he could only try his best to explore the vortex and reach the end.


    "Buzz!"


    After the eighteen imprints disappeared, the protective light appeared on his body. The layer of protective light was as thick as real armor, and it tightly wrapped around him.

 Chapter 3829 Complete Erosion

    All the creatures present stood still in shock. They had never heard of anyone receiving eighteen imprints since the beginning of history, and the protective light that everyone else obtained wasn''t as dense as Zen''s.


    Even Zen himself felt that the protective light was too dazzling, and it took him quite a while to get used to it.


    Meanwhile, the others stared blankly at him for a long time, their eyes filled with envy.


    That level of protective light would enable him to easily enter the inner circles and even break through to the third or second circle.


    They all entered the Soul City and passed through the Land of Bone Tribulation, but why was there such a big difference?


    No wonder both the Element Spirit race and the Nihility race fought tooth and nail for Zen. That was probably the secret reason.


    On the other side of the square was another big hexagram array.


    After everyone had acquired protective light, they gathered in front of the hexagram array.


    From there, they could see the ethereal Void Sand that floated above the ground. "Are we going to rush out together?


    I can take the lead," Zen offered.


    However, the people behind him had mixed emotions regarding his suggestion.


    "Zen, you can''t do this," Egan said and shook his head.


    "Why not?" Naturally, Zen was puzzled.


    "The more people are gathered together, the more intense and severe the Void Sand''s attacks will be," Kirk answered.


    When the Eternal Scroll Painting was first designed, its designer had considered that some warriors might enter the inner circles in groups. After all, if someone powerful took the lead, then everyone behind him would benefit from it. Furthermore, it would be too easy for the weak ones to enter the inner circles.


    There were a few who had tried to do it before, but when multiple people attempted it, the Void Sand in the vortex gathered like mad and became harder to resist.


    From then on, everyone learned their lesson and entered the big vortex one by one.


    "But this protective light..."


    Zen felt that the protective light was quite powerful, but to maintain such a powerful state consumed a lot of energy. Thus, he was afraid that the protective light could only last for a limited time.


    "Don''t worry, Zen. As long as you


    circle, however, his protective light completely disappeared.


    Without the protective light, things would get very complicated and dangerous for him.


    "Lionel, please choose a bloodline already!"


    "Your protective light is gone!"


    the other members of the Life race shouted repeatedly, but they couldn''t transmit their voices from the Grand Plain Stage to the Eternal Scroll Painting. Besides, based on Lionel''s mentality, he wouldn''t stop even if he heard them.


    The Void Sand hit his arms, chest, belly, and legs, and left countless sand-sized pits. The intense pain was like thousands of needles that stabbed into his Soul of Light.


    If he had a weaker will, then he would''ve passed out from the pain by now. He continued to rush forward with gritted teeth as his arms covered his face.


    By the time he reached the seventh circle, the Void Sand had eroded more than half of the arm that covered his face. The bones inside it broke, then his arm completely fell off his shoulder.


    His legs were also damaged, so he could only limp forward.


    The members of the Life race kept shouting in the Grand Plain Stage. They saw that his picture in the Eternal Scroll Painting became increasingly smaller until it almost stumbled forward on the ground.


    Eventually, Lionel still managed to crawl into the seventh circle. As soon as he entered it, however, a swarm of Void Sand submerged him, and he disappeared into the depths of the great vortex. The Void Sand had devoured and eroded every tissue of his body.

 Chapter 3830 Results

    The light at the far end gradually disappeared and Egan said in thought, "The man from the Life race has failed."


    "Failed? What makes you say that?" asked Zen surprised.


    He didn''t know how Egan had come to this conclusion. When they were observing in the square, all they could see was a dot of light spinning in the distance before finally disappearing.


    "If he had entered a room and fused with the bloodline, a blazing light would have flashed. But now, the protective light has disappeared but there is still no blazing light shining, which means he hasn''t entered a room," Egan explained.


    "He was trying too hard," commented Kirk while shaking his head.


    In fact, the big vortex on the third page was relatively safe. As long as one''s body was not totally eroded, they would be able to take their pick of a nearby room to obtain the bloodline and reach the Eternal Realm smoothly.


    But some people got too greedy and chose to go further even without possessing the necessary strength.


    "Let me have a go!"


    The member of the Jade Crown race then came forward. He stepped into the hexagram array and quickly left the square, sprinting towards the depths of the big vortex.


    About ten minutes later, his protective light was falling dimmer and dimmer. Then, a blazing light shot into the sky; the member of the Jade Crown race had already chosen a room to enter. After fusing with the bloodline, he reached the Eternal Realm.


    "That was quite a rational decision. From what I see, he is probably in the ninth circle, matching the strength of the imprints he had obtained," Egan said, nodding to Kirk. It was Kirk''s turn to enter the vortex.


    Kirk had obtained seven imprints, just like the man of the Jade Crown race and he didn''t overextend himself either. After reaching the ninth circle, he simply chose and entered a room with a hexagram array.


    Several Other Shore creatures then followed suit. Perhaps the tragedy of the member of the Life race sucked away their will to gamble. They no longer dared grit their teeth and fight head-on. Most of them had each chosen a room with a hexagram array while the protecting light still shone.


    Egan was the third to last to enter the big vortex. The protective light released by the nine imprints guaranteed to take him further. In the end, he reached the expected sixth circle.


    In the Grand Plain Stage, the members of t


    with his every advancement.


    The gap between the Eternal Warriors was decided the moment they reached the Eternal Realm.


    The warriors in the outer circles were all at the ordinary Eternal Realm, while those who managed to make their way to the inner circles were capable of becoming the leaders of powerful races. Of course, they would most likely be recruited straight into the Element Spirit race or the Nihility race.


    As for those who entered the third or even second circle, they would be powerful forces in exploring Stage Thirty-three. By then, they could even dominate a territory.


    And the strongest would enter the innermost circle in the center of the vortex. These creatures had the potential to compete to be the strongest existence on the Other Shore!


    Now that Zen had effortlessly stepped into the second circle and still showed no signs of slowing down, it seemed that he would rush into the innermost circle.


    "It''s no wonder the two great races would fight for him..."


    "They already knew what he was capable of!"


    "He reaches the first circle. Up until now, there have only been eleven kinds of holy-level bloodlines. I wonder if he will obtain the twelfth."


    Some Other Shore races referred to the bloodlines provided in the innermost circle as the holy-level bloodlines. These were also regarded as the best.


    But this was a controversial view. After all, there were some incredibly powerful figures that did not rank high in the Eternal Scroll Painting. Thus it was believed that the difference in bloodlines from the four inner circles was not that great.

 Chapter 3831 Surpassing

    Under the Other Shore creatures'' gaze, Zen rushed right into the innermost circle.


    There, the Void Sand was dark purple, having stronger corrosivity than that in outer circles. As though it had its own intelligence, the sand flew all over the sky, swarming toward Zen like a cloud of bloodthirsty mosquitoes.


    Buzz!


    The once solid protective light then began swaying violently like candlelight flickering in strong gusts of wind. Now, it could be extinguished at any given moment.


    If it weren''t for the fox girl''s special requirement, Zen might have already chosen to stop at this point. A bloodline in the innermost circle had met his initial expectations, after all.


    To the left nearby Zen lay a hexagram array. Once he entered it, he''d be able to arrive safely at the room behind it, where a strange, flat pattern would be awaiting him ¡ª it likely had something to do with obtaining a bloodline.


    But the fox girl''s warning lingered in Zen''s ears. He had no choice but to obey her ¡ª if he wanted to pass through the innermost circle smoothly, he had to speed up.


    "I just have to charge without stopping!"


    While he attempted to quicken his pace, the Void Sand reacted even more intensely, preventing him from advancing altogether.


    Numerous clouds of Void Sand seemed to have materialized, forming a great monster that enveloped Zen, leaving no space for him to escape.


    Countless grains of this unique sand counteracted Zen''s protective light, corroding it in the field. Zen''s protective light merely continued to shrink and dim.


    "I can''t hold on for much longer¡­" Zen muttered with a frown.


    As he watched the sand dance along the surface of the painting, a thought suddenly sparked in his head ¡ª he then tried to lift his entire presence out of the Eternal Scroll Painting, leaving behind only his feet.


    "Eh?"


    "What happened?"


    "Did he just leave his feet behind? Is it possible that..."


    "Maybe the sand already eroded the rest of his body!"


    The Other Shore creatures observing him speculated and bemoaned regretfully.


    The members of the Three Eyes race glanced at the Oneness Sky Palace''s people pitifully.


    "What a shame. He should have chosen to integrate with a bloodline the moment he reached the innermost circle."


    "Alas, maybe the boy was just far too greedy for a good rank


    the wave of sand was just about to swallow him whole. His body sank downward as he once again returned to the painting.


    A deafening cheer erupted from the Grand Plain Stage the moment he returned. Pearce, Auden, and the rest could feel all their worries fade away at the sight of his arrival.


    Just as Libby had surmised, Zen wasn''t damaged at all. The Eternal Realm masters'' reaction told them that Zen had obtained an extraordinary ability to separate from the painting at will.


    The minute Zen returned to it, though, the Void Sand followed suit and continued swarming toward him.


    But the interval it provided when the Void Sand shifted between forms gave Zen a break.


    Without any hesitation, Zen lifted himself out of the painting once again before the Void Sand followed him out.


    And so Zen continued moving in and out of the painting continuously. The motion was somewhat like swimming ¡ª it was as though he was repeatedly diving into the water and bobbing up. The Void Sand was still on his tail. But with this strange means of movement, he managed to avoid getting eroded and getting his protective light broken down.


    Soon enough, Zen had already passed by the many hexagram arrays along the way that his predecessors had entered.


    Once Zen surpassed the record of the spider spirit from the Star Spider Civilization, the Element Spirit race''s Eye Spirit was the only one left who held a higher rank. For countless years, the Eye Spirit was in first place ¡ª he was known as one of the most powerful beings on the Other Shore.

 Chapter 3832 The Closure Of The Eternal Scroll Painting

    The room the Eye Spirit went in was a little far away from the one the spider spirit went in, as two rooms of hexagram arrays lay in between them.


    This meant that the Eye Spirit was much stronger than the spider spirit.


    However, such long distance of superiority was easily surpassed by Zen in less than half a minute.


    "He really surpassed him!"


    "I''ve never seen anyone who reached this level! He actually surpassed the Eye Spirit of the Element Spirit race!"


    "But isn''t the Eye Spirit already in the center of the innermost circle? If he surpassed the Eye Spirit, then will he have the chance to fuse with a bloodline?"


    In everyone''s mind, the Eye Spirit was the pinnacle of strength, the symbol of the final destination.


    Since ancient times, the Eye Spirit''s position remained unshakeable. Everyone thought that there might be a select few who could also reach the same destination but never surpass it.


    Yet now, Zen easily went past this pinnacle. That one step forward meant a lot to these Other Shore creatures.


    "There''s still a hexagram array ahead but I can''t see if there''s also a room. It might just be covered up by darkness..."


    Zen continued to jump in and out of the scroll painting. He did not have the luxury to observe and could only step onto the hexagram array.


    In the center of the huge vortex was a mass of black substance.


    This eldritch mass had already been repeatedly analyzed by numerous Other Shore creatures. Some believed it to be a form of Void Sand while others thought it was a passage.


    Nobody ever had the chance to verify these assumptions because none of them had ever been able to surpass the Eye Spirit.


    There were also a lot of arguments about the substance. Since the Eye Spirit stopped just before he reached it, people began to think that it was because he couldn''t resist the Void Sand or that he did not dare approach it because he too did not know what it was.


    Today, they finally had a chance to figure out just what this black mass was.


    In a corner of the Grand Plain Stage, a half-human, half-bull creature sat on the bronze ground, his big eyes transfixed on the Eternal Scroll Painting.


    This creature had made a bold guess: that the position of the Eye Spirit was not the destination and that the center of the huge vortex was, in fact, somewhere e


    e Other Shore race that received them.


    "Bang..."


    Kirk, Egan, and a talent of the Grasshopper race were the last to arrive. The last one managed to enter an inner circle.


    Save for the member of the Life race who died and Zen who mysteriously disappeared, everyone managed to return safely.


    The Souls of Light from the Oneness Sky Palace craned their necks in an effort to see if Zen made it.


    It wasn''t just them. The Three Eyes race, the Swallow Victory race, and even the other neutral races were also concerned about the situation. Since Zen supported the Finale Way and had shown his potential by surpassing the Eye Spirit, they all hoped he would be able to come back alive.


    However, there were quite a number of those who hoped for the opposite. Those affiliated with the Element Spirit race and the Nihility race, such as the Violet Cloud race, hoped for Zen''s death. There was no way they could stomach the rise of another force.


    "There''s no need to wait! That guy has no doubt been eroded to dust by the Void Sand."


    "It''s been so long. There''s no way he''s coming back!"


    "¡­"


    The ridicule from the Violet Cloud race was truly too much!


    Libby wanted to refute them and say something equally scathing, but Pearce stopped her. Arguing with them was useless in this situation.


    They continued to wait for an hour more before the black mass within the Eternal Scroll Painting fully dissipated.


    The huge vortex and the Other Shore creatures'' pictures disappeared, which signaled the closing of the Eternal Scroll Painting.

 Chapter 3833 Migration

    The fox girl was on the second page of the Eternal Scroll Painting. Her figure was still proportioned perfectly, even when outlined by the black ink.


    She was surrounded by black savage beasts, but they weren''t hostile, they scurried around her like her pets.


    Swoosh!


    A gust of cold wind blew from afar, dissipating some of the ink on the scroll painting rather quickly.


    "Master brush-wielder, is he there?" asked the fox girl somewhat desperately as she looked up.


    From where she stood, she couldn''t see Zen''s exact route.


    The brush-wielder appeared above. He was able to see everything from page one to three.


    "He''s in," answered the crying face.


    The fox girl breathed a huge sigh of relief but there was still a hint of worry visible on her face, "I do hope he succeeds..."


    Being so patient in waiting for this one chance was no mean feat. Zen could not fail. Fear overcame her as she waited hopefully. If he did manage to succeed, her race''s curse would probably be broken.


    But one chance was all there was. She had no choice but to pray vehemently in silence.


    Somewhere in Stage Thirty-three, in a huge metal mountain, a white ball slowly rose up.


    There was nothing in it, not even any of the five elements.


    The white ball floated above the metal and began rattling chaotically on the inside. A thin crack surfaced in the center, when it suddenly opened, a black eye appeared out of it.


    This was the strongest warrior of the Element Spirit race, Eye Spirit, who had been the number one warrior on the Eternal Scroll Painting for countless years.


    "Sizzle..."


    The big black eye opened and a red light glowed in front of it, a slender woman appearing from within it. "Chief, why have you summoned me?" she asked sweetly.


    "Claire, I''ve told you hundreds of times not to come before me in this human figure," reprimanded the Eye Spirit sternly.


    She didn''t seem to take it seriously and said, "I feel free in this form. I like it."


    She didn''t seem afraid of the Eye Spirit despite being a subordinate. She did, after all, hold


    r was already happening? The color drained from all their faces as they made their way to the Phoenix Palace.


    Soon all the masters were gathered in the hall, including the representatives of the Sun Crow race.


    "All the members of the Oneness Sky Palace are expected to migrate to the Pear Hill," announced Pearce.


    The hall erupted into an uproar.


    Pearce had wanted to move the Oneness Sky Palace to the Pear Hill when they had been invaded by the Sun Crow race. In this way, they could save their lives and energy before Eastern Emperor Taiyi awoke. However, Ziya and the real Eastern Emperor Taiyi had later given the Oneness Sky Palace the strength to put up a fight.


    Now that Zen was trapped in the Eternal Scroll Painting, whether he was safe or not, he could not protect the Oneness Sky Palace. This was why Pearce had announced the migration.


    "You must give me reason!" A master from the Bright Mountain demanded. He had been in charge of the Bright Mountain since the death of their leader.


    "I will not give you a reason. It''s simple. If you want to die, stay. You have one day to mobilize your people," Pearce replied briefly.


    The implication was clear. The Oneness Sky Palace was about to suffer a catastrophe. If they didn''t move, they would die.


    The masters of the mountains understood. Pearce''s attitude indicated that they indeed had no choice.

 Chapter 3834 The Last Room

    It was not easy for all of the members of the Oneness Sky Palace to relocate to another place. To do so in only one day was virtually impossible.


    Within this short period of time, only some of the core disciples and royal members could be removed.


    These core disciples were the hope of the Oneness Sky Palace for the future. After all, as long as they survived, hope still remained.


    Several huge flying ships had landed on the sword sects of the seven mountains, and the training rooms were opened by force one by one.


    Those disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace who were still cultivating on the Other Shore were rudely awakened by force. Some disciples who were still in the temple or unable to leave the Other Shore were unceremoniously moved to the flying ships and stacked in rows, like goods to be transported.


    In front of the Phoenix Palace, a huge flying ship had docked, and the disciples of the three sword sects quickly marched onto it, one after another.


    It was not compulsory for the Other Shore Realm disciples to join the migration, but the dire consequences of staying on in the Bloom Divine Province could be imagined. Once the Bearing race and the Divine Farmer race invaded the Bloom Divine Province, the chances of anyone surviving would be very small.


    Some of the more stubborn disciples chose to return to the clans of the Clear Lake, and the Oneness Sky Palace did not try to stop them.


    "Disciples of the Land of Sword Grief, step over here," Chaim called, guiding the disciples onto the flying ship.


    Behind Chaim, many disciples, including Elvinia, were sitting cross-legged.


    Elvinia was still receiving training in the Soul City, so he couldn''t force her to wake up. He had carried her onto the ship and placed her here.


    "I didn''t expect to be forced to depart the Oneness Sky Palace so soon..." A disciple of the Land of Sword Grief gazed with reluctant eyes at the river and mountains in the distance.


    The seven mountains were the bed-stone of the Oneness Sky Palace. The Oneness Sky Palace had stood here for countless centuries, but no one had expected they would have to leave it in such a hurried disarray.


    "We will return," another disciple from the Land of Sword Grief muttered. "We will return, rest assured."


    They were a part of the high-level reserve forces of the Oneness Sky Palace, and they had faced some real and hair raising situations. The current situation indeed didn''t bode well for the Oneness Sky Palace, but as long as they could survive this hard time, they would return sooner or lat


    the stone platform of a hexagram array.


    "Primeval Lord of Heaven, are all of the rooms in the big vortex similar to this?" Zen queried.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven instantly shook his head. "The other rooms are much smaller, but they are similar to what you would expect. Once you enter through the hexagram array, you will find it possible to merge with the bloodline."


    Zen had also come in through the hexagram array, but he seemed to have entered an unusual place.


    After observing the room from the stone platform of the hexagram array for a while, Zen finally jumped down.


    The ground was a kind of soft soil, and there was a faintly putrid smell to it. Every step he took left a one-inch-deep footprint on it.


    After Zen had taken a dozen steps forward, a figure only half his height suddenly appeared behind him. It appeared to be a human boy with bangs and a pale face, and he was covered with rotting wounds. He looked as lifeless as a corpse.


    Once he appeared, he walked forward on the footprints Zen had left. His movements were mechanical and strange. He appeared clumsy when moving his hands and legs. He didn''t seem to be human at all when walking and was like a kind of saprophagous animal.


    When Zen took a step forward, so did he. The two of them moved almost in unison.


    With Zen''s high cultivation base, his spiritual sense was constantly alert, but he couldn''t even sense the little boy''s movements.


    Zen walked over a thousand steps, but the small pale-faced boy walked the same amount without showing any strain.


    The little boy''s legs were short, but with every step he took, he would float into the air for a short distance, moving ever closer and closer to Zen.

 Chapter 3835 Infinite Reproduction

    As soon as the boy was only a step away from him, Zen finally felt that something was wrong, and turned his head in confusion.


    Yet, there was nothing behind him.


    He frowned as his confusion grew.


    "What''s wrong?" the Primeval Lord of Heaven asked.


    "It seems that something is following me," Zen answered. He sniffed and sensed a cold aura that floated around him.


    "This place is a bit strange. You must be careful," the Primeval Lord of Heaven reminded him.


    No one had ever entered this world until Zen. The Primeval Lord of Heaven was not sure what was ahead of them, so he could only remind Zen to be careful.


    Zen nodded. Just as he was about to take another step forward, the cold aura suddenly intensified.


    He quickly turned around and saw the little boy''s crumbling face. The little boy opened his bloody mouth, and the cracks at the corners of his mouth extended to his ears. His teeth were as sharp as a beast''s tusks. Black saliva, which smelled strongly of blood, dripped from them like threads.


    "Fuck off!" Zen roared.


    Such an ugly and disgusting face startled him so much that he subconsciously punched the little boy.


    Boom!


    Zen''s punch of about forty thousand divine megatons landed on the little boy and disfigured his face and mouth. The force also twisted his body so horribly that it looked like braided dough, then sent it flying several hundred feet away before it crashed on the ground.


    ''Why is there a monster in the form of little boy in this damned place?'' Zen wondered as he moved towards where the boy fell.


    The punch smashed the boy''s body into a pulp. Zen was sure that he was dead.


    Upon closer look at the pit, however, he was shocked.


    There was only a twisted piece of human skin left in the pit. It was the boy''s skin.


    "What''s going on?" Zen muttered with a frown.


    At that exact moment, he felt a gust of coldness behind him again. When he turned around, he saw many little boys who stood not far away, dispersed around.


    All of their mouths were cracked to their ears and revealed their sharp teeth. At the same time, their eyes glistened with a strange light.


    However, the light didn''t seem to be malicious, but more of mocking.


    ion Artifact.


    In Stage Thirty of the Other Shore, the Heavenly Obsession Civilization''s core began to operate. Soon enough, it deciphered the Sanskrit words on the left. It said: "The origin-level bloodline will reproduce to the limit, then it can be acquired."


    Zen was stunned when he heard those words. "Reproduce to the limit? What kind of bloodline is that?"


    "I see," the Primeval Lord of Heaven said after a moment of contemplation. When he thought about the little boys, he immediately realized what had happened. "The bloodline in this deserted world is this infinitely multiplied bloodline. It means that after a person with this bloodline dies, there will be even more of them. Those little boys'' words mean something," he explained.


    "Is this place suitable for you? Can you stay here? Come with me..."


    "Is this place suitable for you?


    Stay here..."


    Those little boys finally caught up and each of them spoke clearly. They were not the creatures of this world, but the bloodline itself.


    "After its death, it will still reproduce fast. It is an extremely powerful bloodline!" the Primeval Lord of Heaven exclaimed.


    At that moment, Zen''s eyes glinted. He didn''t describe such a bloodline as strong, but rather a dishonest method.


    He didn''t believe he could really "infinitely reproduce" if he inherited this bloodline. However, thinking about copies of him fighting by his side, he couldn''t doubt the power this bloodline would bring him.

 Chapter 3836 The Ultimate Cycle

    "I can obtain this bloodline when they reproduce to the limit?" Zen muttered.


    Then, he turned around and stared at the little boys who pounced on him. He finally understood what they meant.


    These little boys couldn''t reproduce infinitely. They would reach their limit if he continuously killed them.


    And when they did, then he would be able to obtain the bloodline.


    "Well then, let me try!"


    He violently kicked another boy who pounced on him to the ground. The moment the boy fell, dozens of more boys appeared.


    "It''s too slow..."


    He lifted his leg and rushed towards the little boys.


    He was like a shuttle as he flew and left only a long series of shadows behind. He killed nearly a hundred boys in an instant, who all immediately disappeared except for their skins.


    After that, thousands of more boys appeared in the deserted space.


    Just as Zen was about to speed up the slaughter to make the number of the little boys closer to the limit of their reproduction, the Civilization Artifact of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization said, "Pass through the crack and move forward, then you can find the next origin-level bloodline, which is named the ''Ultimate Cycle''."


    Upon hearing those words, Zen stiffened slightly and descended from the sky.


    "Boom!"


    He trampled dozens of little boys as he went down. "How did you know that?" he asked curiously.


    "Because I have deciphered the other Sanskrit word," answered the Heavenly Obsession Civilization.


    There was a Sanskrit word on each side of the crack in the middle of the bronze wall.


    What the Civilization Artifact said just now was the meaning of the other Sanskrit word. "Are you going there to have a look or stay here to merge with this bloodline?" the Primeval Lord of Heaven asked.


    After all, Zen himself should make the decision about the bloodline.


    "Whoosh!"


    Suddenly, he kicked back, and his body rotated dozens of times in the air before he landed steadily in front of the bronze wall. He looked at the light dots in the crack and said, "I want to go and have a look."


    There were four origin-level bloodlines, which should all be different. Thus, he wanted to understand them first before he merged with any of them.


    However, he still doubted if he could pass through the Abstruse Energy World or not.


    That was b


    h and Destruction'' is not hard to imagine. Can it control the birth and destruction of all kinds of energy? If we analyze it literally, it shows that the bloodline is even more powerful," he said in a serious voice.


    "Ha-ha, that''s impossible," the Primeval Lord of Heaven said with a smile. "If the bloodlines could be understood literally, you will be able to reproduce millions of you once you obtain the Infinite Reproduction bloodline. Although these are origin-level bloodlines, they can''t be that powerful."


    "You''re right." Zen nodded.


    "But you have already mastered the Ways-blending Energy. Will the Myriad Birth and Destruction be helpful to the Godly Ways Great Unity?" the Primeval Lord of Heaven reminded.


    Zen''s eyes lit up at those words. He immediately entered the crack.


    In less than a second, he passed through the Abstruse Energy World.


    He had first thought that the place of Myriad Birth and Destruction might have mixed with all sorts of complex energies.


    To his great surprise, the world in front of him was just a flat plain with some dead trees in the center. Purplish-black flowers continuously grew on the branches of the dead trees, and the new blossoms floated and disappeared in the wind.


    Zen floated over and stood in the center of the dead trees. Suddenly, a strange feeling filled his heart, and he said, "Things are constantly born and grow; things constantly die and disappear. Primeval Lord of Heaven, the Myriad Birth and Destruction bloodline doesn''t refer to energy, but all kinds of things."

 Chapter 3837 Something In Return

    Zen watched as the purplish-black flowers grew, then withered.


    Suddenly, he went still, his senses alert. He could feel an invisible force beneath him, penetrating into the soles of his feet.


    The force flowed into his body and his eyes widened as he felt a sharp pain in his feet.


    He realized that something was spreading throughout his body, spreading from his feet and up his legs.


    Startled, he tried to lift his feet and leap upwards, away from the source of the pain.


    However, Zen found himself firmly fixed onto the ground. The unknown force was holding fast to his feet.


    But he was unfazed. After all, he had not used his full strength yet. He was confident that if he did, he would be able to rise.


    He bent his knees, gathered his strength, and forcefully pushed off from the ground. This time he succeeded in soaring upwards. He looked downwards at the spot where he had been standing, and saw a green seedling sprouting in the soil.


    He wondered if this seedling had been the cause of the strange sensation of penetration in his feet.


    Even as Zen studied the seedling, it continued to grow. It was rapidly rising, growing thicker and larger before his eyes.


    ''What is this?'' Zen thought.


    His eyes narrowed in astonishment when the shape of the seedling finally emerged.


    The seedling seemed to have grown according to the structure of the meridians within Zen''s body. The branches extended and intertwined until they formed a complete human shape that resembled Zen''s own form.


    "If I hadn''t managed to escape, the seedling would have grown inside me, completely filling my meridians!" Zen muttered, frowning.


    "It''s possible," said the Primeval Lord of Heaven, sounding serious. "Look around you at the other trees in this place. They look remarkably familiar, don''t they?"


    Zen glanced around him. The Primeval Lord of Heaven was right.


    Zen had not closely observed the shapes of the trees, but he realized that each one formed an unusual shape, more like a creature than a standard tree.


    On his left, for instance, there was a tree whose branches sloped downwards in the shape of four crawling limbs. There was a cluster of leaves that could be recognized as a head. From a distance, it was shaped like a large beast. On his right, meanwhile, there was a tree which seemed to have two legs. It stood several hundred feet tall, towering over the other trees. It was the same size as Pompeo. Perhaps this was a member of the Colossus race?


    "Are they the forms of the creatures who have successfully fused with the Myriad Birth and Destruction?" Zen asked.


    "Perhaps," said the Primeval Lord of Heaven thoughtfully.


    "It seems that there are many creatures in the Abstruse Energy World who obtained this origin-level bloodline," Zen commented, looking around him at the surrounding trees. By his count, there were about seventy to eighty different forms of creatures in this forest.


    There was a strange sound.


    Zen immediately turned in the direction of


    no matter how he scanned the long row of cubes, he could no longer find it. The face had vanished.


    Zen was agitated. But as he returned to his spot, he reminded himself that there was only a finite number of cubes within this space, and all the cubes were lined up in a certain order. As long as Zen waited on the same spot, it would appear before him sooner or later.


    Patiently, he stood there, considering the idea of an even stronger bloodline. After a long while, the cube with the pale face finally appeared again. It sang the same song to Zen.


    "Do you want to get a stronger bloodline? One stronger than the four origin-level bloodlines?"


    "Yes, I do,"


    Zen called out in a determined tone. He moved forward to stay with the cube, not wanting to lose track of it again.


    However, he remembered that the face could not understand his language.


    "Primeval Lord of Heaven, I need your help..."


    When he was in Stage Thirty, Zen had communicated with Pompeo by interpreting his words into the language of the Abstruse Energy World. Back then, the energy souls of the Snake Goddess, Fuxi, and other human heroes had helped him convey his words by chorusing to Pompeo.


    Later, the Primeval Lord of Heaven had specially trained a group to deal with this sort of situation, but they had never come in handy. Until now. It was finally time for them to demonstrate their worth.


    With the group''s chorus, Zen conveyed his reply to the face. "I want the strongest of all bloodlines."


    "I''ll tell you what you want to know, but I will need something in return..."


    The pale face spoke in a hoarse, weak voice.


    "What is it?" Zen asked. He was prepared to do almost anything the face demanded.


    "You must kill me, please!"


    Zen was taken aback by this unexpected reply. His eyes narrowed as he gazed closely upon the face, noting the look of desperation etched on its features. He was stunned, understanding at last that he was speaking to a being that was imprisoned within the cube.

 Chapter 3838 The Eternal Divine Courtyard

    After a brief exchange with Zen, the human face in the cube let out a cry brimming with agony.


    The face switched colors between fiery red with frustration to pale white, and then again from pale white to red.


    "Pro...promise me..." He continued to sing, his voice soft and filled with grief. It was as if he was desperately holding on to every ounce of sincerity left within his existence through the painful song.


    Zen felt a strange empathy take over him as he felt his emotions scatter all over the place through the song. Only those who desperately awaited the sweet release of death would display such sentiments.


    "Alright, I promise." Zen gave a slight nod then looked up in his direction. "But you have to tell me the situation here first."


    The people who resided in the chaos were left in the dark when it came to the Abstruse Energy World; they knew little to nothing about it.


    However, it wasn''t as if they had no interest in exploring the world beyond their boundaries. For instance, Ziya and the members of the Element Spirit Civilization harbored an undying passion when it came to exploring the outside world. They had spent most of their lives traveling to discover what lay beyond their world.


    In fact, it was because they were bound by the constraints holding them down as creatures of the chaos that they were unable to go too far...


    Their scenario of entering the Abstruse Energy World could be equated to that of a blind man walking into a colorful world. Witnessing the whole world in all its contrasts and colors was always considered to be an ambitious thing to accomplish.


    "This is the Eternal Divine Courtyard, which has already been deserted. It was sealed by the Time Lock a long time ago. Logically speaking, no one can approach this place. I don''t know how you came in, but since you have come in, I''m assuming your goal must be for the origin-level bloodline, right?" the face asked.


    "Yes. That is correct." Zen nodded in response as he captured several words that the face had said.


    Eternal Divine Courtyard, Time Lock, deserted... All these things the face had said left Zen in a daze, his thoughts running amok in his head.


    Was it possible that the Eternal Scroll Painting was connected to a deserted land?


    "The Eternal Divine Courtyard is the land where they keep their bloodlines. The root-level bloodlines are hidden in the lower layer, and the origin-level bloodlines are hidden in the second layer. While that place..." The face took a short pause between his explanation to look upwards, before saying, "That''s where the ancestry-level bloodline is."


    "Ancestry-level?" Zen blinked several times, taken aback.


    "Yes, ancestry-level bloodline! That''s what provided them with a foundation to gain a firm foothold and also the foundation for them to fight other worlds..." The more he explained the mechanisms of the world, the more his expressions overflowed with overwhelming excitement. He grew red as if he had used all his strength to talk. "You should be grateful for the existence of the Time Lock. They thought no one could enter this deserted Eternal Divine Courtyard. Otherwise, you would have been long doome


    ith his fists. The loud rumbling sound of his fists making contact with the wall echoed throughout the vast space.


    "It''s hollow on the inside. Maybe I can break it open by force?"


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    "Boom!"


    Thirty thousand divine megatons of force...


    Fifty thousand divine megatons of force...


    One hundred thousand divine megatons of force...


    Even when Zen exerted the limit of the Chaotic Source Spirits and smashed with a force of one hundred thousand divine megatons, it bore no fruit. The bronze wall remained sturdy and stood tall without having moved an inch.


    However, Zen did not plan on giving up after coming this far. If one hundred thousand divine megatons of force couldn''t break it open, then he would have to wait until the Celestial Spear was fully restored. With the help of the Celestial Spear, he might be able to force it open.


    "You can''t open it. Without my guidance, you will never be able to get the ancestry-level bloodline..." The spider man in the cube below began to sing again after having witnessed Zen struggling to get past. "I can make a deal with you, as long as you..."


    "Heavenly Obsession Civilization, there''s no need to decipher his words," Zen said abruptly.


    Even if he could release this spider man without himself getting hurt, the latter would probably still kill him the first chance he''d get and later obtain the ancestry-level bloodline. There was no point in communicating with him anymore.


    After the core of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization stopped deciphering, the spider man''s voice was reduced to a rhythmic wail like that of ghosts and wolves to him.


    Crossing his arms, Zen stared hard at the bronze wall above his head and processed different ways he could use to get through it in his mind. Suddenly, he stumbled across a clear pattern etched over the bronze wall.


    The pattern had previously been covered by thick dust. As Zen launched constant blows without pause, the layer of dust was shaken off by the continuous tremors of the bronze wall. Naturally, the pattern that was once veiled by the dust was revealed out in the open.

 Chapter 3839 Four Creatures

    The pattern on the bronze wall was incredibly large. Zen was only able to see it in its entirety after descending a fair distance.


    "Bird, monkey, snake and human being?"


    The four patterns had been lengthened deliberately and weren''t totally accurate, but one could vaguely tell the types of creatures from the outlines.


    The bird''s feet arched back, the monkey''s tail was like a long stick and the snake was covered in spikes. Only the human being appeared relatively normal, but no one even knew if it was actually a human being.


    Among the four patterns was the pattern of a door.


    The door caught Zen''s attention and it filled his heart with joy. His body floated towards it, and although it was a painting, since it appeared here, there would be a way for him to pass through it.


    But as he approached, the door''s lines began emitting an ominous red light and at the same time a powerful repulsive force hit and pushed him down a distance.


    The force was not all that strong to Zen. He was frustrated and refused to give in, so he accelerated and rushed up, hoping to force his way through the door.


    But unexpectedly, as he sped up, the repulsive force increased by a thousand times and hit back!


    "Hoo!"


    The incredible force knocked him from the air and sent him smashing down hard into the ground.


    "Damn it!"


    On his way down, he was falling towards the cubes!


    The purpose of entering these cubes was to attempt to fuse with the bloodline known as the Infinite Time and Space. Zen was more interested in the ancestry-level bloodline the spider man had mentioned. On the other hand, he wasn''t absolutely confident in merging with that bloodline.


    If he failed and was trapped in the cube, he''d be in serious trouble...


    As he fell towards a cube, in a moment of desperation, he released a burst of strength and twisted his body violently, his upper and lower body shifting to an unnatural angle.


    He dodged, brushing one of the cubes as he passed by before finally smashing into the ground.


    "Humph. Why am I so unlucky!"


    The sp


    had been yearning for depressed him deeply.


    Zen moved through the short passage in the bronze wall and came out the other side.


    As he emerged, before him stood a wide bronze square with a huge dome above it, supported by four thick pillars with four statues mounted on them. The statues were of the bird, monkey, snake and human being that he had seen before.


    "It seems these four creatures are grouped together," Zen said.


    It seemed likely that these four races were born together, forming an extremely powerful civilization.


    "But what do these four races have to do with the Instant Civilization and the chaos?" the Primeval Lord of Heaven asked, frowning.


    "We''ll know by the end of all this," Zen replied, walking towards the center of the square. There appeared to be a cup as tall as a person, with something in it and patterns carved on it.


    As he stepped into the center of the square, the eyes of the four statues ignited in a red light at the same time.


    They all came to life, their bronze carved bodies peeling off from the pillars and smashing into the bronze square with a thunderous bang. The bronze snake with spikes all across its body was the first to speak, "How has a human being made it here?"


    "Anyone who enters the Eternal Divine Courtyard will be killed!"


    The bronze monkey was bad-tempered and rushed towards Zen aggressively.

 Chapter 3840 The Blood In The Cup

    When the bronze monkey was halfway to Zen, the bronze human on the other side caught hold of him and pulled him back.


    Boom! Boom! Boom...


    The footsteps thundered loudly on the bronze square.


    Incensed, the bronze monkey asked, "Why did you stop me?"


    "This era no longer belongs to us. This place has been abandoned since ages ago and there''s no need for us to guard it anymore," the bronze human said.


    The bronze bird and snake stopped short at these words. What was the point of them following the old rules?


    "I don''t care. All I know is that outsiders are not allowed to step in here!"


    The bronze monkey''s flexible body allowed him to shake off the bronze human''s grip and break free. He charged towards Zen but skidded to a halt at the bronze human''s next words.


    "What if he is not an outsider?


    This place is sealed by the Time Lock. It would be impossible for any outsider to enter the Eternal Divine Courtyard.


    Do you think he has the ability to break the Time Lock and force his way in?"


    "I''m not sure,"


    the bronze monkey said hesitantly.


    "We can first check if he is qualified. Even if he isn''t, we can let him try," the bronze human said.


    They knew that this place was abandoned but were still faithfully fulfilling their duties.


    A vast majority of the people who entered the Eternal Divine Courtyard could only obtain the source-level bloodlines that were at the bottom, while a few could obtain the root-level bloodlines. Very few could take away one of the four origin-level bloodlines.


    The warriors who could enter this bronze square were all top existences in their respective worlds.


    But even they often failed. It was considered lucky even if two out of ten people could succeed.


    There were hardly any people who could obtain the ancestry-level bloodline. People from these worlds were not qualified, which was why they took it for granted that this human who had suddenly appeared wasn''t qualified either.


    The bronze monkey hesitated for a moment and then gathered his wits before saying, "Are you out of your mind? Who else is qualified aside from them? Killing him is the right thing!"


    Zen''s attention snapped back into vigilance as the bronze monkey spoke.


    The Heaven


    rl had given him a unique ability, enabling him to walk freely within the Eternal Scroll Painting.


    But he did not have anything special to rely on here, especially since obtaining the ancestry-level bloodline was more than the fox girl had expected of him. He was unsure about whether or not he could succeed.


    Zen followed this path and came upon the huge cup.


    Buzz!


    As Zen approached the cup, the lights rose inch by inch and formed a staircase that finally reached the rim of the cup.


    Zen walked up the stairs and as he reached the peak, he saw everything that was in the cup.


    The cup was filled with a thick, crimson liquid that seemed to be in a constant state of motion.


    As the liquid flowed, deep cracks, irregular like the teeth of a monster, appeared from time to time.


    The liquid in this cup began to react the moment Zen stepped on the stairs. A chasm seemed to appear at the center of the liquid, expanding rapidly and turning into a monster with its large mouth wide open.


    Zen hesitated as he stood on the steps before walking forward into the big bloody mouth.


    The thick blood wrapped around Zen the moment it touched his body. From the outside, it looked like he was wearing a well-fitting blood robe. .


    A few seconds later, countless tiny bubbles appeared on the surface of the blood robe, making it look like the blood was boiling.


    The blood robe began to shrink rapidly, a large amount of thick blood beginning to merge with Zen in the process.

 Chapter 3841 Window

    The bronze statues on the four pillars silently watched all of this.


    Their eyes shifted, as if they were looking at a dead person.


    The ancestry-level bloodline was by no means something that ordinary people could touch. The bronze statues were sure that Zen was courting death.


    The word ''ancestry'' was very easy to understand. The mass of blood in the sacred cup was ancestral to all bloodlines.


    Only the strongest were qualified enough to tame the ancestry-level bloodline and find their own path that suited them.


    That was why the abilities that the ancestry-level bloodline could display weren''t fixed. Everyone who successfully fused with the ancestry-level bloodline would obtain a unique power.


    They stood together at the source of all bloodlines, and then chose a direction and opened up a path.


    Four of the directions were widely known. These were the four origin-level bloodlines in the lower layer. These bloodlines had been born from the ancestry-level bloodline.


    Buzz!


    A huge circle appeared around the cup and short light columns emerged from within, creating a symmetrical map.


    A grand ceremony was held when a warrior began fusing with the ancestry-level bloodline in the Eternal Divine Courtyard.


    Here, the strongest warriors in all the worlds would prostrate themselves around the square and become devout believers.


    This revelry was sometimes like a ceremony to be held before executions. And since most creatures entering the sacred cup couldn''t escape death, what followed the ceremony was usually death rather than success.


    "The map has appeared."


    The bronze human was looking at the circle of light outside the cup.


    When the people in the cup began to merge with the bloodline, light columns would rise from the bottom of the cup. There were a total of three hundred and seventy-three light columns, and each of them represented a possible ability of the ancestry-level bloodline. This was the bloodline map.


    The bloodline map formed by the three hundred and seventy-three light columns had a number of changes, extending to the infinite. This meant that the ancestry-level bloodline had an infinite number of abilities. Even the bronze statues hadn''t completely understood the bloodline map. They had roughly classified the abilities of the bloodline into four categories.


    If there were more light columns on the upper left, it meant that the ability of the fused ancestry-level bloodline would be more about creation. If there were more light columns on the upper right side, it would be about space and time. If there were more light columns on the lower left side, i


    ond kind of blood power was from a Chaos Ancient God. The six great bloodlines of the Chaos Ancient Gods were not at the source level, but were directly derived from the truth in the chaos. However, they were on par with the bloodlines at the root level. This was why there was one long and one short light columns with the life attribute extending from the bottom of the sacred cup.


    In this absolute darkness, Zen watched as specks of light appeared in the distance.


    Zen had lost his vision, and his five senses were numb. He didn''t know what form of existence he was now.


    But when he noticed these dots of light, he had a faint feeling that they were related to each other and formed the image of a mountain.


    He wanted to reach out, but couldn''t. He wanted to sense what they were, but there was no way he could use his senses.


    What were they showing him?


    The mystery of the Abstruse Energy World? Or was this some kind of a special test?


    In the Abstruse Energy World...


    Some light dots floated, the result of the combination showing that a creature was moving.


    This creature was none other than Geoffrey.


    There was a rope around Geoffrey''s waist, and behind him was Ziya, who held the other end of the rope.


    It looked like Geoffrey was dragging a blind person forward.


    Once they had entered the Abstruse Energy World, Geoffrey was unable to communicate with Ziya.


    This was not Geoffrey''s fault, because Ziya could neither hear the voice nor speak.


    In his last exploration, Geoffrey had already crossed the grassland and seen a mountain which was beyond description. He climbed up the mountain out of curiosity and surprisingly found a window, similar to the one that Ziya had broken through from within the chaos.

 Chapter 3842 The World Within The Window

    This window was much different from the one Ziya had opened. It was large enough in size to be considered as a door.


    Geoffrey had a strong sense of awareness about the limits of his strength. Even if he cultivated under the watchful guidance of Ziya, it was still too risky for him to explore the unknown Abstruse Energy World without the protection of the Chaotic Source Spirits and the support of the Other Shore Tokens.


    Geoffrey voluntarily decided to retreat. The fear of the unknown of what might lie on the other side of the window prevented him from crossing it.


    After Geoffrey returned to Ziya and debriefed him about what he discovered, it piqued his interest.


    In the past, Ziya had explored a small portion of the vast Abstruse Energy World. Based on all his findings, he had made a conclusion about it. He suspected the existence of other secondary worlds within the boundaries of the Abstruse Energy World.


    However, there was nowhere to prove Ziya''s statement right as he had only scratched the surface when he explored it. The range he could travel in was quite limited back then. He was only able to explore the nearby areas due to the fear of losing the lifeline that was tied to him. If it were to be cut off, the chances of him ever returning would be lost with it.


    But after he was joined by Geoffrey, the range of his activities expanded to a higher degree than before. The only remaining issue was encountering the tentacle monsters on the grassland.


    The tentacle monsters weren''t that strong, and they weren''t dominant in numbers either. If Ziya could move freely in the Abstruse Energy World, he would obliterate them without breaking a sweat. The only thing holding him back was the fact that he had no fighting ability when he stepped into the boundaries of the Abstruse Energy World.


    "I think we can capture those tentacle monsters in the cave if we fish them out," Geoffrey suggested after studying the situation.


    "Fishing? That''s a great idea!" Ziya exclaimed with excitement as he clasped his hands together.


    The days that followed, Geoffrey worked closely with Ziya to put their plan into action. They pulled long ropes into the grassland and tied live cattle and pigs at the ends to act as bait. Ziya created this livestock using the Truth of Three Energy Construction for the specific purpose of using them to reel in the monsters. They didn''t possess much intelligence and were rather docile since they didn''t even resist while being sent into the Abstruse Energy World.


    Soon after the traps were set, one after the other, the tentacle monsters were tempted by the livestock and ended up getting fished out and killed by Ziya. He was quite a talented fisherman.


    Even though they weren''t mighty creatures, the tentacle monsters were smart enough to quickly catch on with what was going on. When they noticed their kind disappearing one after the other, they stopped taking the bait. However, Ziya had other tricks up his sleeve. He quickly replaced the old livestock lure with a more tempting and delicious one, which made it hard to resist not taking a bite. It quickly worked as the tentacle monsters began to munch on it and were later captured.


    Watching the situation unfold, the last remaining tentacle monsters realized they were a


    d collapsed under pressure. After the passing of one or ten billion years, everything would eventually be reduced to nothing but soil.


    However, this place was quite different. Ziya had sensed life force coming from those volcano craters. He instantly pinned them to be living creatures.


    As soon as the two of them made their way to the ground, they noticed a fountain of yellow poisonous mist spurt out uncontrollably from a volcano crater within close proximity. As if on cue, brownish-yellow four-legged snakes slithered their way out of the mist and dashed towards them intending to kill.


    These four-legged snakes appeared to be quite hostile with a malicious aura surrounding them. Their backs were covered in dense yellow poison sacs. Their fearful appearance made Geoffrey feel intimidated by them as he subconsciously froze in place.


    With a click of his tongue, Ziya expressed his disappointment as he shook his head and said, "Don''t be scared. They''re low-level creatures who lack intelligence."


    As he spoke, he stretched out a hand and pressed it in the air. Long swords appeared out of nowhere and nailed these four-legged snakes down to the ground, killing them instantly.


    "I can''t believe there''s no intelligent creatures in this world. We need to keep looking for them!"


    Ziya fell in utter dismay as to what might have happened to this world.


    However, if there existed any Other Shore Realm or Eternal Realm masters, they might have left some traces in this world to vouch for their existence.


    Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!


    Ziya used the Grand Teleportation technique over and over again.


    After countless attempts, Geoffrey suddenly reminded him, "Master Ziya, if the Finale Way also existed in this world and it already failed, then no intelligent creatures would exist after that. Am I right?"


    Hearing Geoffrey''s words, Ziya stopped during the course of his action of using the Grand Teleportation technique and was stunned into silence.


    When every round of chaos came to an end, everything in the world would be eliminated, leaving no traces of lives whatsoever.


    Could it be that this world had been completely destroyed after the Finale Way failed?

 Chapter 3843 Investigation

    Geoffrey''s words put into the light the current situation of this world to Ziya.


    When a round of chaos ended, a destructive power would eliminate everything in the entire world.


    After that, if no new intelligent lives managed to be birthed, then the world would exist as nothing more than a shell.


    Ziya nodded. "You''re right. Maybe the Purge Way and the Nihility Way also existed in this world and the ones who believed in the latter dominated everyone and destroyed everything. Or maybe the Purge Way won. They limited the number of creatures in a very small range and hid themselves somewhere in these caves."


    This world was infinitely vast and trying to locate that small number of creatures was even more difficult than finding a needle in a haystack.


    Either way, they knew the Finale Way in this world had failed.


    "Is there also an Other Shore in this world?" Geoffrey asked. Ziya couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow at Geoffrey''s question.


    "It''s possible. Why not come with me to see if there is one!"


    Since the three thousand Godly Ways worked in this world then the Truths of Godly Ways must be the same since they were derived from the Instant Civilization, a far more superior civilization from the Abstruse Energy World.


    They should be more universal than the Ways-blending Energy.


    Geoffrey had completely mastered the Truth of Cultivation Nature under the Regal Jade Spirit''s guidance, however, Zen never allowed him to leave his inner world. He still hadn''t even gotten the chance to enter the Sea of Truth, yet here was Ziya inviting him to explore the Other Shore of this strange world.


    Buzz!


    In a flash, Ziya sat cross-legged in the air and clapped four consecutive times in all directions. Four palm shadows appeared around him that held faint sword shadows. These sword shadows slowly rotated around him and Geoffrey protectively.


    This world seemed devoid of all lives but it was never unwise to carry a bit of protection.


    The two of them then began to recite the Truths of Godly Ways and tried to enter the Other Shore.


    Slowly, the yellow, poisonous mist around the area headed towards them. Soon enough, the two of them were surrounded by it.


    A trace of curiosity appeared on Ziya''s face. "Can the Truths of Godly Ways attract the poisonous mist?"


    Back when they cultivated the Truths of Godly Ways in the chaos, they never attracted chaotic energy like this. Then again, this world was vastly different from the chaos.


    As the two of them continued to recite, the whole world began to spin around t


    e also stayed in the Deleting Space for a long time which led to the exponential growth of his power. He ranked at the very top when it came to strength. These currents would not harm him one bit.


    Whoosh!


    As they flew into the void, they got closer and closer towards the floating remnant the size of a small island.


    Soon enough, the two of them arrived.


    The sight that awaited them caught Geoffrey by surprise. "There are so many houses here!" he exclaimed.


    The buildings were small and low, only around the height of Geoffrey''s waist. These tiny buildings densely covered the island to the point that the two newcomers couldn''t figure out where to set their feet on.


    "Show yourselves!" Ziya suddenly shouted.


    He was no fool.


    The moment they landed, he was able to sense the existence of numerous Other Shore creatures that hid underneath these buildings.


    Their arrival had scared these creatures which led them to hide in the caves that were underneath each structure.


    Geoffrey couldn''t help but sigh helplessly. "Master Ziya, you shouldn''t scare them..."


    They were strangers and Ziya''s attitude wasn''t helping them gain these creatures'' trust.


    "Don''t worry, we don''t mean you any harm. We just want to investigate something and hope to communicate with you," Geoffrey explained in a calm, sincere tone.


    Perhaps his friendliness worked as a rustling sound came from one of the buildings. Soon enough, a short, furry creature emerged. He looked quite strange especially with that transparent poison sac filled with bright yellow venom on top of his head.


    It seemed that all the creatures in this world, whether intelligent or not, were related to poison in some way.

 Chapter 3844 The Four Spirits Sect

    The short creature walked towards Ziya in wobbly little steps. His fearful, vigilant gaze never strayed from the two of them.


    They could also sense many similar gazes falling on them from those buildings. Apparently, many similar creatures were watching them from the dark. But there was nothing strange about this. After all, they were strangers here and aliens to them.


    The short creatures could feel that Ziya was powerful. Their guts even told them that he could exterminate all the creatures on the island with just one finger if he desired it.


    "Gulu... Master... Welcome...What...What can I do for you?"


    This race had its own language, but when this short creature realized that neither Ziya nor Geoffrey could understand their language, he started to speak in human language.


    A trace of surprise appeared on Ziya''s eyes.


    He''d long known that the human language commonly used on the Other Shore wasn''t created by the 77th civilization. Nevertheless, this place was another world, and it was still unknown whether or not there were humans in this world.


    "Master, it''s been ages since I last spoke in the common language. Please forgive me if you can''t understand what I say..." said the short creature. He saw that Ziya was in a daze, so he thought that Ziya couldn''t understand what he said.


    "Where did you learn to speak the common language?" Ziya asked.


    "The common language... is a very old language. Once upon a time, all creatures in the Dream World spoke in this language," the short creature said. A longing expression emerged on his face as he recalled that prosperous era. "Now, I''m the only one in the tribe who knows it."


    The short creature''s hair was sparse, and his skin was crumpled. He had lived on the Other Shore for a rather long time.


    "The Dream World he referred to should be about the same as our Other Shore, right?" Geoffrey asked.


    "I think so." Ziya nodded and then asked, "What happened to the Dream World? Why did it become like this?"


    Ziya''s question made the originally gentle and cowardly short creature show an aggrieved, indignant expression on his face.


    This short-statured creature was of the Dark Fiend race, a race that had once occupied a dominant position in the Dream World.


    The Dream World was a very huge annular world with fifteen rings from the outside to the inside. The stronger a race was, the more qualified they were


    ausing the buildings on the island to shake from the noise.


    "There are many poisonous animals and plants in that world. Aren''t you guys afraid?" Geoffrey asked.


    The short creature turned around and faced them once more, saying proudly, "Those poisonous animals and plants are just creatures without any intelligence¡ªthe growth of their strength will always be limited. Besides, our Dark Fiend race isn''t a weak race."


    Thus, Ziya started to shuttle back and forth between the two islands. The pure energy flow between the islands wasn''t at all a trifle, so Ziya had to be extremely careful when he was escorting the Dark Fiend race to the other island.


    It took Ziya two whole days to send all the members of the Dark Fiend race over.


    At this moment, all members of the Dark Fiend race were going all-out in sucking the poisonous mist. Geoffrey could only shake his head to see their intoxicated looks.


    Now that he had fulfilled his promise, Ziya said to Geoffrey, "Let''s go. There''s nothing else here."


    A world of deathly stillness indeed wasn''t of much value¡ªat least, not according to Ziya.


    "Wait," the short creature called out. "There''s one more thing that I think you should know."


    "What''s the matter?" Ziya asked.


    "Before the Dream World was destroyed, the elders of our race secretly mentioned some things to us. I heard that the Dream World was built by the Four Spirits Sect, and the human spirit in the sect looked exactly like you," the short creature said.


    "The Four Spirits Sect..."


    Ziya and Geoffrey looked at each other. Shock once again swept over them.

 Chapter 3845 No Passing

    Most of the creatures from the chaos believed that the Instant Civilization created the chaos upon their existence.


    However, as it was always a mystery of the Instant Civilization''s existence, it left few clues behind.


    Even there was some, they had been completely concealed by the Element Spirit Civilization when they first appeared in the chaos.


    Upon hearing about the so-called Four Spirits Sect, Ziya was surprised, "What''s the story of the human spirit? Tell me. I want all the details."


    Ziya''s sudden intrigue startled the little creature. "I... I don''t know much, but I can say that the strongest Celestial Warriors in the Dream World would be favored by the Four Spirits Sect because they were quite outstanding and more than qualified to merge with stronger bloodlines..."


    "Stronger bloodlines..." Ziya murmured to himself as he thought for a moment. "Had the Celestial Warriors you mentioned entered the Eternal Scroll Painting too?"


    As he heard this, Geoffrey already understood that the Celestial Warrior should be corresponding to no other than the Eternal Warrior at the Eternal Realm.


    "Eternal Scroll Painting?" the creature said as he shook his head. "I''m not sure what that is, but in order to become a Celestial Warrior, one has to enter the Celestial Painting. Only the most powerful Celestial Warrior can meet those from the Four Spirits Sect through the Celestial Painting. If I''m not mistaken, the four spirits of the Four Spirits Sect are human spirit, monkey spirit, snake spirit and bird spirit."


    To become a Celestial Warrior had always been the creature''s dream, so he was very knowledgeable about these things from continuous research and dedication.


    "Master Ziya, the Four Spirits Sect is likely to be the Instant Civilization, right?" Geoffrey asked from where he stood.


    Ziya nodded in response. "Yes, but it seems that this world is a little different from our chaos. Why did the Four Spirits Sect choose to meet the creatures of this world but continuously hid themselves from the creatures of the chaos?"


    Geoffrey was very intelligent. Even if he had never been to the Other Shore, he could understand things through mere explanation. "There are two possibilities. It can be that the passage from the Abstruse Energy World to the chaos was broken, so the people of the Four Spirits Sect couldn''t come. It could also be that the world of poisonous mist existed much earlier than the chaos, and later the people of the Four Spirits Sect di


    they failed to go unnoticed due to their large size and fast speed. They produced a strong wind pressure, as if they had plowed the ground where they passed.


    "Master Pearce, would it be too cautious for us to make a detour?" one of the masters from the Oneness Mountain asked.


    They would reach the Pear Hill soon if they headed west directly. As long as they entered the Pear Hill, they would be safe there.


    In the Source World, it was known that if any super force attempted to hurt the Pear Hill, they had to be one hundred percent sure of the consequences.


    However, Pearce decided to change their route and make a detour, which prolonged their journey to the Pear Hill.


    "We have to be cautious," Pearce replied.


    During these days, Pearce had always been tense and restless.


    In fact, he had reacted very quickly. The moment the Eternal Scroll Painting closed, he summoned the masters of seven mountains to start the migration. He also remembered to inform the Pear Hill and make a detour on the way...


    For some unknown reasons, he couldn''t help but still be worried. His nerves had reached almost their limit.


    Whoosh!


    "Master Pearce, we have successfully arrived at the boundary wall of the Separate Amber Province," a member reported.


    There were always unshakeable boundary walls in between provinces. In order to enter them, one had to use the Sanskrit word that matched the one on the boundary wall to open the passageway.


    "Just pass it. Why are you even reporting this?" Pearce asked with a frown.


    "The Sanskrit words can''t match, so the passageway cannot be opened. We cannot pass through," the man responded hastily.

 Chapter 3846 The Boundary Wall

    The report had all the Oneness Sky Palace warriors confused.


    "Did you use the wrong Sanskrit word?" Auden asked.


    The man shook his head and affirmatively said, "It''s impossible. I''ve checked it carefully and confirmed that the Sanskrit word on the flying ship is correct."


    "Could it be that someone made a mistake when recording the Sanskrit word before?" Pearce guessed.


    "Buzz!"


    As the space fluctuated, Winchell''s figure appeared before everyone''s eyes. His face seemed serious as he said, "It''s impossible. Even if there is something wrong with the flying ship of the Oneness Mountain, there couldn''t be something wrong with the ship of the Origin Mountain at the same time. And even if something is wrong with both mountains, what about the flying ship of the Golden Mountain?"


    Both the Origin Mountain and the Golden Mountain had just made an attempt, but the two flying ships were blocked outside the boundary wall.


    "Why is this happening?" A strong warrior from the Oneness Sky Palace asked.


    "There''s only one possibility," Winchell said, raising his dashing eyebrows. "Someone modified the Sanskrit word on the boundary wall."


    "How is that possible?"


    "But that''s the boundary wall..."


    "I''ve never heard of anyone who can actually modify it!"


    The wall served as the dividing line between the two provinces¡ªa unique product of the Source World.


    The ordinary mortals and even many of the True Gods didn''t have the ability to cross through several provinces. But such a task was a piece of cake for the powerful warriors of various large races. A long time ago, they had already gathered all the Sanskrit words within all the boundary walls of the Source World.


    To visit a particular province, one only needed to show the corresponding Sanskrit word.


    "I''ll go and have a look!"


    As soon as Pearce finished speaking, his figure disappeared from where he stood. The next moment, he appeared before the boundary wall.


    Stretching out his hand, he gently punched it, releasing a Sanskrit word corresponding to the one that had already appeared on the boundary wall.


    "Buzz!"


    The two words failed to react to each other, and no passageway appeared on the boundary wall.


    Meanwhile, Auden, Athemar, Goran, and the rest also moved over. But Pearce''s failed attempt made all their faces fall grim.


    They believed that something must b


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi, Yasamin, and Zen.


    This area was heavily guarded. Under the enchanted barrier''s protection, not even a mosquito could get in and out.


    After leaving the Soul City, Elvinia found that her mother had taken her on the flying ship. Knowing that both Zen and the Oneness Sky Palace were in great danger, she wasn''t in the mood to receive any training in the Soul City, even though she wasn''t far from reaching the Holy Soul Realm.


    "If only Zen could wake up in advance..."


    Across the red crystal, Elvinia could see Zen''s peaceful face¡ªit was like he was merely asleep.


    "Why don''t you say if only your father could wake up?" Flamine said with a smile.


    After a moment of thought, Elvinia bluntly said, "Even if Father wakes up, he might not be able to protect the Oneness Sky Palace, but Zen can."


    As Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s daughter, she had gone too far by saying such words. After all, Eastern Emperor Taiyi was taking charge of the Oneness Sky Palace.


    But what she said was true¡ªwith how the situation was turning out, the Oneness Sky Palace couldn''t get out of trouble merely by relying on Yasamin and Eastern Emperor Taiyi.


    Flamine could see right through her daughter, but she just smiled helplessly in return. Before she could respond, she and Elvinia both felt a vast, strong aura from outside the flying ship.


    Concerned, Flamine stretched out her hand and hit the air. The scene outside the flying ship appeared on the surface of the crystal wall nearby.


    The moment they saw the Bearing race''s flying ship, their faces turned grim.

 Chapter 3847 Cut The Ship

    Atop the enormous flying ships stood all the mighty Holy Soul Realm warriors of the Oneness Sky Palace.


    They all felt desperate and miserable when they realized that Yellow Thearch had personally come.


    Pearce, Auden, and the others, in particular, were immensely shocked and upset.


    This time, three flying ships came over. The words "Bearing race" were engraved on the ship in the middle, the words "Divine Farmer race" were engraved on the ship at the left, and the words "New Moon race" were engraved on the ship at the right. It was likely that both Divine Farmer and Mahoney had come.


    At that moment, Yellow Thearch looked down at the flying ships below. He shook his long sleeve and said, "Go ahead. I know you can''t wait."


    A thin figure popped out from behind him. He was the black-haired teenager, Usman.


    A hint of madness flashed in his eyes. As soon as he jumped off, he rushed towards a gigantic flying ship like an arrow.


    "I''m going to tear this ship apart!"


    For some reason, he looked oddly excited, and his heart hammered in his chest.


    Although he could previously kill people at will, those he had fought before were people the Ji Clan had selected. Once they fought to a certain extent, they were forced to fall asleep, and Usman felt that it wasn''t exciting at all.


    Now, he finally had the chance to kill on his own accord.


    He flew directly towards the giant flying ship and sensed a large number of people''s breaths in it. To tear the flying ship apart was naturally the most efficient way to kill them.


    "How dare you!" Pearce screamed.


    His face darkened, and he froze as if the frost had enveloped him.


    Then, his right hand shook violently, and a handful of blood mist gushed out of his right arm. The blood mist condensed quickly and turned into a long sword.


    "God-detaining Sword! Go to hell!"


    "Buzz!"


    The sword moved so swiftly in zigzag motions, and then it slashed at Usman''s front.


    "Puff!"


    There seemed to be only the giant flying ship in Usman''s eyes. As Pearce went all-out with his sword attack, he did not dodge. Instead, he withstood the strike with his physical body.


    The powerful sword radiance left a mark on Usman''s body, but the mark only lasted for a few seconds before it disappeared.


    "This young man isn''t at the Chaotic Source Realm.


    But he can withstand my full blow!


    How is that possible?" said Pearce.


    He couldn''t believe his eyes!


    If Usman was at the Chaotic Source Realm, then it was understandable that he could blo


    one''s feet. The next moment, Usman appeared in the cabin.


    He stroked his chin and gazed at Libby with a playful smile. Then he mused, "I won''t kill you yet. I''ll tear down this ship first and then play with you..."


    "How dare you!"


    Even in the face of an invincible opponent, Libby wasn''t afraid at all. She had always focused on cultivating the sword skill as a diligent disciple of the Oneness Sky Palace. She had done her best to improve, and little by little became so powerful.


    After that, a long sword followed behind Usman like a shadow.


    "Clatter, clatter, clatter..."


    Libby''s sword radiance continuously struck Usman like flowing water.


    In turn, Usman withstood all her attacks with his physical body and kept retreating at the same time.


    As he retreated, however, he repeatedly flipped his hands and made all sorts of strange patterns. Every time he launched a palm strike, it left a weird print in the air.


    He retreated from the left side of the cabin to the right side, and Libby slashed him about forty times.


    She still used her full strength for each sword strike, but she couldn''t hurt Usman.


    "Have you finished attacking me? If you''re done doing that, get out of the way. This route is very dangerous!" Usman warned.


    He made a gesture and pointed towards the route where he had retreated.


    Once he finished speaking, he twisted his hands and formed a pattern. Then, the prints he left along the way lit up, and a large blade appeared.


    The blade the space had formed immediately spread out.


    "Crack!"


    Everything happened so quickly. It was as if an invisible blade moved past and cut the flying ship in two with a crisp sound.

 Chapter 3848 High In The Sky

    The invisible space blade, after cutting open the huge flying ship, continued to expand in all directions.


    High up in the sky, a group of tiger-headed wild geese were flying in a herringbone formation. The one in the middle suddenly let out an almighty screech before splitting into two.


    The other wild geese were confused as they roared and scattered in all directions.


    A straight, neat crack had appeared on the ground beneath the flying ship, extending all the way from north to south till it had reached the boundary walls on both sides of the Separate Amber Province.


    This space blade had cut through a great number of plants and creatures along the way.


    The bottom of the flying ship was made of one whole floating stone, which was why it didn''t fall even when it was cut into two.


    However, the three red crystals stored in the flying ship were now exposed.


    Elvinia, and Flamine were still beside the red crystals. Their faces darkened as they looked up at the flying ship. They had only heard a muffled sound before everything had changed.


    The dazzling light from the red crystals in the sun attracted Usman''s attention. He stared at the corporeal bodies in the red crystals, a contemptuous smile on his face.


    This had been too easy.


    The Oneness Sky Palace didn''t even have a member at the Eternal Realm. All of their members were good for nothing. How could it be called a super force?


    With such thoughts in his mind, he turned and shot an arm out at the red crystals.


    "Mom," Elvinia called worriedly.


    "Step back. I won''t let him pass," ordered Flamine.


    Traces of the divine fire of the Sun Crow race spread along her skin. She was about to take a fighting stance.


    "But can you stop him by yourself?" Elvinia didn''t think Flamine could stop the black haired young man.


    "She is not alone!"


    Dozens of figures began to float towards them from the end of the cabin. The voice belonged to Elizabeth, who was leading these members of the Sun Crow race. Their wings looked like flags rising up into the air.


    The members of the Holy Soul Realm of the Sun Crow race went along when the Oneness Sky Palace had begun to migrate.


    But the Sun Crow race preferred to stay out of the limelight. Th


    the red crystal.


    In the sky, at a height of about three million feet, several small black dots floated in the air.


    If one were to move closer, they would find that these black dots were actually black ships.


    When the Yellow Thearch had received the order of the Element Spirit race, he had known that this trip wouldn''t be easy.


    The dilapidated Oneness Sky Palace was not within the scope of his plan, and there had been no need for the Bearing race, the Divine Farmer race, and the New Moon race to dispatch all their powerful warriors to deal with it. But he knew that he had to face a more troublesome opponent.


    Twelve people stood on the black ships in the sky.


    There usually were exactly thirteen people in the Black Ship. But today, the last position was reserved for the Evil God. Now that he had been rebuilt and kept on the Other Shore, he wouldn''t be able to get out before he descended. Therefore, the thirteenth position was vacant.


    "I think the guy down there is Usman," Tomos, the Ear Mouse, remarked sharply.


    "He has come back to life too soon! I really want to go down and crush him into pieces. Captain, when can we take action?" The brass man had never liked Usman.


    The captain''s voice sounded from deep within his black cloak, "No hurry. Everyone hasn''t arrived yet. It''s too disadvantageous for us to fight now."


    "How long do we have to wait?" the brass man asked again.


    "Until Fuxi can''t restrain himself any longer," the captain replied.

 Chapter 3849 Fists

    Although the members of the Oneness Sky Palace were transported efficiently and swiftly, it was still a mammoth project.


    In fact, when the seven huge flying ships flew west, there were informants constantly cascading the information to the Black Ship and the Bearing race.


    The Bearing race and the Black Ship had received instructions from the Element Spirit race and the Nihility race respectively. Their goal was clear, and they intended to gain control over Zen at any cost.


    At the same time, in the Grand Plain Stage, Pearce also appealed to the Pear Hill for help.


    In fact, as the Oneness Sky Palace members arrived at the Prime North Province, the three forces, including the Pear Hill, the Bearing race, and the Black Ship, had all appeared, and they were intrigued by the discovery of each other''s existence.


    However, for the time being, the Pear Hill was not in a hurry, while Yellow Thearch and the captain of the Black Ship were both growing anxious.


    Of course, they didn''t intend for the flying ships of the Oneness Sky Palace to enter the safety of the Pear Hill''s territory. However, Yellow Thearch and the captain were both shrewd warriors, and neither of them were willing to make the initial move.


    Everyone wanted to win out and reach the top, but they didn''t want to take any action to do so.


    The captain was a man of calm demeanor. He trailed behind the flying ships, slowly following through the skies with the fleet of the Black Ship.


    However, the members of the Bearing race were the first to no longer be able to contain their anxiety.


    Yellow Thearch didn''t want to make the first move, so he released Usman to intercept them in the Separate Amber Province.


    As for Yellow Thearch, Divine Farmer, and Mahoney, they were on standby in their flying ships.


    If Usman kept launching successful attacks and killing many warriors like this, it would be the turn of the Pear Hill to get anxiety.


    Therefore, the captain was fairly confident that Fuxi would take action before him.


    "Shera, what is on your mind?" asked the captain.


    Shera was sitting by the railing of the ship, and her pair of smooth, white and long legs were hanging in the air. The black hemline of her dress fluttered in the breeze, and there was a tired look in her eyes.


    She kept a watchful eye on Usman, noting the blades moving from all directions and forming disorderly lines.


    "Are you still infatuated with Usman?" the "bamboo pole" wrapped with bandage asked. Everyone was aware at that time that Shera had a crush on Usman.


    Shera shrugged and said indifferently, "This Usman is merely an in


    f him. This man''s unique temperament and aura left Usman feeling a little uneasy.


    From the moment of his birth, Usman had never feared anyone. It could even be said that he had no knowledge of what fear was.


    Even in the face of Yellow Thearch, he remained unafraid.


    However, this black haired man before him filled him with trepidation.


    "Did you think no one can defeat you?" Fuxi glared balefully at Usman.


    "Just you..."


    However, as Usman was about to speak, a mark of Eight Diagrams appeared on his face.


    "Boom!"


    Even an Eternal Realm warrior would have faced death if this punch had landed on their face.


    However, since Usman was formed by the resentment of the Source World, he had been integrated into the world.


    Although he was still quite weak, he could easily control a province!


    The power of the blow had completely been transferred to the boundary wall by him...


    "Boom!" "Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack..."


    In the distance, another large hole appeared in the boundary wall, accompanied by a web of cracks. This was the damage inflicted by Fuxi''s punch.


    "Can you keep transferring the power infinitely?" Fuxi asked.


    "Humph!" Usman snorted in derision.


    "When I completely smash the boundary wall of the Separate Amber Province, I''ll see if you can still grin and hold on then," Fuxi threatened, clenching his fists again.


    At the same time, many Eight Diagrams patterns appeared all over Usman''s body, covering his face, chest, legs, abdomen...


    "What are you planning to do?" There was a hint of fear glimmering in Usman''s eyes.


    "Beat you!"


    As soon as Fuxi had spoken, his fists began swinging towards Usman, instantly creating countless fist shadows, all of which landed on Usman''s body.

 Chapter 3850 Challenge

    Usman hadn''t fully grown up yet, so he was still much weaker than his previous self in the past.


    Moreover, no one could tell how powerful a fully grown Usman would be.


    The leaders of the super forces concluded that he could control the entire Source World in the future. He had so much potential that once he had fully grown up, no one would be on a par with him.


    However, Usman''s betrayal of the Black Ship gave them a severe headache back then. On the contrary, the other super forces were pleased since the Black Ship was notorious all over the Source World.


    Still, Usman''s unrestrained growth worried them. Therefore, they finally helped the Black Ship kill Usman.


    The only thing was, Usman was already very strong even though he hadn''t fully grown up yet.


    Of course, Fuxi was much more powerful. He marked his opponent with the Eight Diagrams and left no space for him to dodge his punches.


    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!


    Thus, Usman got reduced to an immovable live target.


    Now that he couldn''t wield his invisible blade and kill, the disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace finally had a chance to breathe.


    Some of the disciples floated in the air, while the others stayed on the ground as they all watched Fuxi beat Usman with the countless fist shadows he created. Adrenaline rushed through their veins at the thrilling sight.


    They knew that Fuxi''s ferocious attacks could crush even an Eternal Realm master into muddy flesh.


    Yet, Usman remained unharmed. How was that possible?


    The young disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace didn''t understand it, but the powerful masters figured out why.


    As soon as Usman had arrived in the Separate Amber Province, his real presence fused with the whole land. Thus, all the damage he suffered went to the ground.


    For instance, every punch Fuxi threw at him created a large hole on the once indestructible boundary wall of the Separate Amber Province.


    That boundary wall surrounded the entire province. Although it was sturdy and extensive, it would collapse anytime soon because of the large holes that continually appeared on it.


    Yet, Usman still couldn''t transfer the damage he bore at his own will. After all, he was only an incarnation of resentment in the Source World. Once the boundary wall completely collapsed, he would undoubtedly die.


    That was how the last Usman died in the past.


    Back then, it was a large province twelve times bigger than the current province, but a powerful Other Shore Token had trapped the last Usman in the center of the pr


    demand the respect he enjoyed from all the humans.


    On the other hand, the Bearing race''s influence hugely increased over the years because they had allied with other races. Still, Yellow Thearch''s real strength was a secret to outsiders. There were even rumors that he was mightier than Fuxi.


    Yellow Thearch spread out his hand in the air, and a crack appeared in his palm. Blood gushed out from the crack and quickly formed a simple three-foot-long sword.


    It was his lifeblood treasure, the Yellow Thearch Sword, which came from his root-level bloodline.


    Even though Yellow Thearch and Fuxi belonged to different super forces, they had dealt with each other for countless years.


    Yellow Thearch knew what kind of person Fuxi was. He was the type that once he had chosen a path, he never showed mercy to anyone who dared hinder him.


    That was why Yellow Thearch would certainly fight him with all his strength.


    "I''ll hold Fuxi back. Mahoney, you should go and block the Black Ship. Divine Farmer, you''re responsible for taking Zen away," Yellow Thearch said through his life vitality.


    Before he set out, he had set other goals, including killing Eastern Emperor Taiyi and Yasamin.


    But since the three forces confronted each other now, the situation became too complicated.


    As a result, Yellow Thearch began to feel uncertain due to pressure from the battle. "What about the Snake Goddess?" Mahoney asked.


    Everyone was afraid of Fuxi''s formidable fighting ability, but what they feared more was the wisdom of the Snake Goddess.


    When they realized that the Snake Goddess still hadn''t shown herself, all the Eternal Realm warriors further increased their guard.

 Chapter 3851 Tomos

    A hint of fear could be seen in Yellow Thearch''s eyes.


    Before the Snake Goddess made a move, they wouldn''t know what the result would be.


    "If the Black Ship wants to mess things up, then everything will change. We need to take action according to the situation," said Yellow Thearch.


    He had hoped for things to be under control, but that was not what it was at the moment.


    "Go!"


    Yellow Thearch raised the sword in his hand, the golden light around it shining brightly.


    This sword light seemed to follow a holy path. This sword strike seemed invincible and looked like it could destroy everything in the world.


    "Will our choice be worth it?" Divine Farmer asked, worried. He was still uneasy about the developments


    and thought it wrong to go against the Pear Hill.


    "The gift of fate has already been marked with a price. Perhaps it''s time for us to pay back," Yellow Thearch said, jumping up.


    The golden light enveloped his sword. It looked like he was holding a torch and his own holy path.


    The Eternal Realm masters like Yellow Thearch, Divine Farmer and Mahoney were shocked at the death of Emperor Charm. They were now doubting the path they had chosen.


    But there was no point doubting themselves now. They were destined to not be able to get rid of the Element Spirit race. What was more, they had placed all their bets on the Element Spirit race a long time ago.


    The Element Spirit race didn''t extend their help and support for free, and it was now time for them to pay the price.


    Whoosh!


    The golden light soared into the sky and then began to pour down.


    It was as if someone had pierced through the sun with a sword and caused the flames to flow down the sun''s body.


    But that wasn''t a flame. It was the holy way, a comprehension exclusive to Yellow Thearch.


    "Good timing!"


    Fuxi exclaimed, his face lighting up.


    He trembled with excitement, not having met an opponent of this level in a long time.


    The golden holy path poured down, an inexplicable aura surrounding it.


    The weaker disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace bent down to kneel before the holy path.


    It took a lot of energy even for powerful and strong-minded warriors like Libby to resist the aura.


    Buzz!


    A mark of Eight Diagrams suddenly appeared on the golden holy path.


    Fuxi then threw a punch at this mark, a boom resounding through the people present.


    Fuxi''s punch smashed the invincible and overbearing-looking holy way into pi


    ivine Farmer Ruler and turned into a green, thumb-sized hummingbird.


    The hummingbird devoured the divine flames of the Sun Crow race on the surface of Divine Farmer''s body, and then charged towards Elizabeth.


    "Venomous Candle Hummingbird!" Elizabeth said knowingly.


    She was experienced and knowledgeable, and knew that this theurgy of Divine Farmer was formidable.


    If she didn''t retreat now, this little hummingbird would definitely kill her.


    Whoosh!


    Elizabeth loosened her grip and entered the space channel, simultaneously appearing at a spot thousands of feet away.


    Her eyebrows furrowed in indignation.


    The gap between her strength and Divine Farmer''s was too great.


    It was obvious that she was no match for him.


    Divine Farmer was about to move away with the red crystal when a cloud of black smoke suddenly appeared on the surface of the red crystal.


    The black smoke had a special characteristic that allowed it to drill into the red crystal.


    "Is that the Filthy Smoke?"


    Elizabeth was surprised to see the black smoke.


    Anything that was tainted with the Filthy Smoke couldn''t be transferred through space channels.


    Half of Divine Farmer''s body had already drilled into the space channel. He didn''t know what was happening outside. When he grabbed the red crystal and tried to stuff it into the channel, he discovered that he couldn''t do it.


    He had no choice but to drill out of the space channel. On inspection, he found that an Ear Mouse was holding a cigarette pipe and blowing out black smoke.


    It was none other than Tomos, the betrayer of the Ear Mouse race and a member of the Black Ship.

 Chapter 3852 Cooperation

    According to the Divine Farmer''s plan, he must leave with the red crystal as quickly as possible. He must do this without any delay.


    He thought that if the captain of the Black Ship tried to stop him, he would immediately release a space snake.


    It was known that the space snakes were almost extinct within the Three Purities Stage. They naturally lived in the void. However, there were only three of them left now, one of which was in the possession of the Divine Farmer.


    The space snake was given to the Divine Farmer as a gift. He received it from the Element Spirit race.


    The space snake had a rare and useful ability. It could temporarily change the shape of the space channel. This was extremely helpful in times when the user wanted to make sure that no one else could enter the space channel.


    The Divine Farmer figured that he would be able to escape with Zen as long as the captain of the Black Ship didn''t break his space channel.


    However, a problem occurred before he could even drag Zen into the space channel. The red crystal had already been contaminated by the Filthy Smoke. The expression on the Divine Farmer''s face was indescribable. It looked frightening.


    His strength was comparable to that of the Yellow Thearch. However, he preferred not getting into fights. He rarely fought whenever he was in the Source World.


    "How dare you stop me?" Anger began to show in the Divine Farmer''s eyes. He grabbed the red crystal with his left hand. Meanwhile, he held the Divine Farmer Ruler on his right. With that, he charged fearlessly towards Tomos.


    Even though it was now facing an Eternal Realm master, Tomos maintained its composure.


    As it saw the Divine Farmer approaching it at breakneck speed, Tomos immediately smoked its pipe.


    Bang! A loud noise echoed through the space.


    Before Tomos could blow the smoke out of its pipe, the Divine Farmer had already hacked at its head with the ruler.


    A direct attack from an Eternal Realm master was more than enough to kill a Holy Soul Realm warrior.


    As soon as the Divine Farmer slashed, he easily cracked and split Tomos'' skull wide open. Its body appeared as though it had been seared by the scorching sun. In addition to that, it had no shape. There was only some sort of gray smoke under its skin.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    As the gray smoke started to dissipate, it quickly formed a cage and effectively trapped the Divine Farmer inside it.


    "You are truly extraordinary as an Eternal Realm master. I must admit that I have always admired you. However, I may have to offend you today."


    The members of the Black Ship were a little different from other forces. It was in the sense that all of them were desperadoes. The moment they decided to join the Black Ship, they had already abandoned everything else. They didn''t care whether they lived or died.


    They didn''t care about how powerful their opponen


    remained lying on the ground and gasping for breath. At this very moment, a triangular frame suddenly appeared in his eyes. At once, his body seemed like it was being controlled by his eyes. His eyeballs bulged and lifted his upper body with force. At the same time, his head spun in a strange angle.


    Cracking sounds could be heard as his head spun around. Obviously, his neck was broken.


    However, he didn''t feel any pain. He closed his eyes and fell to the ground once more. He quickly had regained his consciousness.


    When he woke up, he had no idea what had happened. But the severe pain from his neck made him wince and curse.


    He looked around him and a strange and different sight was transmitted to the Divine Farmer''s mind.


    At that moment, he appeared as though he was looking down at the whole Separate Amber Province. He was able to see everything within the province very clearly. He continued to scan through the horizon. Soon enough, he noticed something a hundred miles away from him.


    He saw a space ship floating alone in the void. The members of the Black Ship were either sitting or leaning inside it. The red crystal that contained Zen was dragged by a bandage into the space ship.


    All these times, the Divine Farmer thought that his opponent must be the captain of the Black Ship.


    He wouldn''t be so angry if it was the captain of the Black Ship that was able to take Zen away. But now that he knew it was merely a group of warriors at the Holy Soul Realm who managed to easily abduct Zen, he was utterly infuriated.


    "You will pay for this with your lives!"


    All of a sudden, the Divine Farmer''s figure became huge. With this, the Divine Farmer Ruler also grew in length and size.


    He took a mere step forward and was able to cross a hundred miles. The Divine Farmer Ruler in his hand slashed towards the void.


    With the slash, the void collapsed. The space ship couldn''t remain intact.

 Chapter 3853 Trapping

    Just then, several people joined hands to take away Zen''s red crystal.


    After Tomos stopped the crystal from being taken away with the smoke, he and Shera respectively used the illusion skill and the controlling technique to confuse Divine Farmer''s judgment.


    And indeed, Divine Farmer misjudged.


    The ''bamboo pole'' untied his bandage to wrap around the red crystal. Meanwhile, another Black Ship member''s skill was used to replace the red crystal with the stone.


    It was the brass man who dragged the bandage, and he had a unique secret technique that allowed him to increase his strength threefold in a short period of time.


    Once he activated the technique, the brass man was powerful enough to fight against even an Eternal Realm master.


    In truth, if Divine Farmer was on full alert, even the Black Ship members could have a difficult time taking Zen away.


    But Divine Farmer had always been on guard against the Black Ship''s captain. Because he didn''t quite take these people seriously, they found their chance to take action.


    Now, in Divine Farmer''s towering rage, he swung his ruler, slashing it down. The broken space spread all the way toward the space flying ship.


    Inside, the members of the Black Ship had just brought in the red crystal, while Shera was leaning against the crystal to observe.


    Just then, a crack in the sky rapidly spread over, shocking everyone with the sight.


    "He found us out so soon." Tomo''s eyes were full of astonishment.


    "An Eternal Realm master naturally has the ability mysterious to anyone else. Edith, just transfer to another space." Shera turned around and gave the order.


    In the corner of the space ship sat a blue-skinned woman with long locks. Her Other Shore Token was passed to her by the Grandmaster of Heaven. It was the transparent flying ship docking in the void and happened to be the Invisible Ship in Stage Thirty-three of the Other Shore.


    Theoretically, even an Eternal Realm master would find it difficult to find this ship¡ªit wasn''t one that could be easily sniffed out.


    But the Black Ship people never expected Divine Farmer to make use of Usman''s ability. Since the latter took control of the entire Separate Amber Province, everything there was in his view.


    "Okay, Shera." Edith nodded.


    She had a rather pitiful backgrou


    ited to its name, Black Ship.


    Before the captain was the huge shadow of Snake Goddess floating in the air. It had already stretched out its arms to envelop the entire ship, along with the captain.


    And so the captain couldn''t take action being directly confronted by the Snake Goddess.


    "Snake Goddess, Divine Farmer has already attacked the Black Ship''s members. With the strength of Divine Farmer, sooner or later, he''ll be able to take Zen away. I don''t think it''s wise to fight me," the captain said.


    It was Divine Farmer and the Black Ship members that fought over Zen, after all.


    Regardless of who got the man, the result would be unacceptable to the Pear Hill.


    "The Black Ship members may be only a group of Holy Soul Realm warriors, but they are not ordinary ones. Not long ago, it took only four of them to stop the Thunder Dimorphodon. No matter how powerful Divine Farmer is, the outcome will not be determined in such a short period of time." The Snake Goddess was shaking her head, highly confident in her own judgment.


    "But what''s the point of trapping me?" asked the captain again.


    "It will be meaningful once Fuxi wins," responded the Snake Goddess calmly.


    If Fuxi defeated Yellow Thearch, he''d have enough time and energy to fight for Zen. Whether or not there were other variables involved, she had to act accordingly.


    In truth, at this point, the three forces were still testing each other¡ªboth the Snake Goddess and the captain were cautious, carefully trying to pick out each other''s trump card.

 Chapter 3854 Fuxis Great Strength

    A small shadow soared through the air and crashed into the side of an enormous stone mountain, well over ten thousand feet in height. It had stood there, solid and immovable, for thousands of years. As soon as the shadow hit the stones, the mountain collapsed as though it had never existed.


    Deep rumbling sounds echoed as the mountain crumbled from the force of the impact.


    The huge mountain had been destroyed in the blink of an eye.


    The stone shards of the mountain flew out in all directions. Many were sharp and deadly, and pierced through the nearby creatures like airborne weapons.


    Most of the stabbed creatures died immediately. For all who lived in the mountain area, this day was the end of their world.


    As the rumbles of the collapsing mountain began to fade, there was a strange buzzing noise.


    A mark of the Eight Diagrams had appeared on the ruins of the mountain. A closer inspection revealed that the outer layer of the mark was blurry, because it was actually formed by the overlapping of many marks.


    "Take this!"


    A boom sounded.


    For a moment, time seemed to stop and stand still.


    Fuxi''s arms were barely visible as he landed thousands of punches in very, very rapid succession. The speed and force of the punches released a great energy that flowed down from the ruins of the mountain.


    But the buzzing sound continued.


    The various noises merged with each other, each loud enough to obscure the original sounds, until only a continuous high-pitched note could be heard.


    The overlapping marks of the Eight Diagrams exploded simultaneously.


    The ground began to sink beneath the rubble of the mountain.


    One thousand feet, ten thousand feet, one hundred thousand feet, one million feet...


    The Source World was hollow, and almost all of its living beings lived in the inner layer. The outer layer was not thick. The thickest part was only sixty million feet at most, and the thinnest part was only a few million feet.


    The majority of the exit points from the Source World were located in the weak spots of the outer layer.


    The Separate Amber Province was itself located in a weak spot. The distance from its surface to the chaos outside was only more than ten million feet. Now, through sheer force, Fuxi had smashed it through.


    In the chaos, the Yellow Thearch Sword exuded a golden light, ensuring the protection of the Yellow Thearch.


    The golden light contained a holy way with the strongest defensive power.


    However, even with such protection, the Yellow Thearch was still in a sorry state.


    He had felt very confident since the defeat of the Nine Li race.


    With the help of the Element Spirit ra


    his energy into attacking Fuxi, wanting to tear him to pieces.


    The golden sword radiance slashed into Fuxi''s body.


    The net had shrunk and now completely enveloped Fuxi until he was no longer visible.


    In that moment, the sword radiance exploded, and it was so bright that even the sun looked dim in comparison.


    In the far distance, the powerful warriors of the Oneness Sky Palace, the Bearing race and the Divine Farmer race paused briefly amid their fighting to glance at the golden glow of sword radiance on the horizon.


    However, the Yellow Thearch was not Emperor Charm. The swordsmanship he cultivated was completely different from Emperor Charm''s Nine-Sun World Destruction Theurgy.


    Several moments passed before the golden light dissipated completely.


    Something unexpected had happened. When the Yellow Thearch saw the result of his attack, his eyes widened, and one eyelid began twitching with alarm.


    Fuxi stood there, entirely unharmed. He wore a slight, sardonic smile as he said, "Well, you said my fists are weak, but your sword seems even weaker!


    You have no true strength!


    You are weak."


    Fuxi''s eyes glinted as he repeated, "Weak!"


    With that final word, Fuxi vanished.


    The marks of the Eight Diagrams appeared and rushed towards the Yellow Thearch.


    Fuxi came into view, threw a punch, and disappeared again.


    The Yellow Thearch couldn''t follow Fuxi''s motions because he was moving at an unimaginable speed. Every time he caught a glimpse of Fuxi, he was in a different position. This made it difficult, if not impossible, for the Yellow Thearch to launch a counterattack.


    This put the Yellow Thearch at a severe disadvantage. He was forced to passively wait to see what Fuxi planned to do, without any chance to fight back.

 Chapter 3855 The Land Of Ancient Flesh

    The huge shadow of Snake Goddess stayed still up in the sky as its arms held the black ship.


    Snake Goddess and the captain of the Black Ship previously used their own methods to learn about the full situation, and they also watched the battle between Fuxi and the Yellow Thearch.


    Just now, the captain of the Black Ship thought that the Snake Goddess was too confident. After all, the Yellow Thearch was still quite powerful, and it wasn''t easy for Fuxi to take him down.


    When they fought, however, it was evident that they were far too different.


    Fuxi was much more powerful than everyone had expected. The captain quickly grew serious, and he said, "It seems that there is a reason for your confidence in the Human Sovereign."


    "Of course," the Snake Goddess said with a glint in her cat-like eyes.


    "But, are you confident enough to trap me here?" At that moment, the captain looked at the shadow of Snake Goddess above his head.


    If Fuxi had really killed the Yellow Thearch, then the members of the Black Ship and the Divine Farmer would fall into Fuxi''s hands no matter who won.


    The mere thought of it made the captain restless.


    "If you want to try, you can do it with Mahoney," the Snake Goddess calmly said as she looked towards the void on the left.


    The area exhibited a wave of space fluctuation, and Mahoney, who was hiding inside, appeared.


    "You are quite keen, Snake Goddess," she said.


    "Your whispers are too loud," the Snake Goddess replied.


    At first, Mahoney planned to attack the captain, but the captain asked his crew to fight, so things changed.


    She had been hiding in the dark and waiting for a good chance. She never thought that the Yellow Thearch would be disadvantaged, so she took the initiative to communicate with the captain.


    While all of that happened, the Snake Goddess had cleverly captured the wave of their consciousness. "I wonder who is stronger, you or the Human Sovereign?" the captain asked.


    In reality, Fuxi''s power scared the captain. He hadn''t seen the Snake Goddess fight for a long time. If she was as strong as Fuxi, then things would get tricky.


    The captain was first quite confident in himself. He thought that he was as strong as the Yellow Thearch, so when he saw that the Yellow Thearch got defeated all the time, he became not that confident.


    Confidence was the


    ing himself back to life, but there was no reason for him to let the Snake Goddess kill him once.


    "It seems that the rumor is true," said the Snake Goddess. She bit her lips, crossed her hands, and waved them.


    "I heard that the captain of the Black Ship doesn''t have a real body. These ships are your bodies!"


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    The moment she finished speaking, countless energy beams lashed towards the black ships like whips.


    Most people thought that the Black Ship was an intimidating force, but the real strong ones were its members. The ships were just ordinary flying ships.


    Without the help of those at the Eternal Realm, the ordinary warriors at the Holy Soul Realm or even the Chaotic Source Realm could destroy them.


    But when the Snake Goddess''s energy beams struck the ships, there was only a muffled sound, and the beams just bounced off the ships'' surfaces.


    The powerful energy beams had lost their desired effect. "In addition to the fact that my real bodies are the ships, I wonder what else you have found out?" the captain said from the ship.


    The Snake Goddess thought for a while before she asked hesitantly, "Have you integrated with the Land of Ancient Flesh?" The Land of Ancient Flesh was an immensely dangerous place.


    It was quite a small land in the far south of the Three Purities Stage, but it was frightening and forbidden.


    After all, its exterior was a large piece of flesh.


    It also had a distinct feature. Any power could only work there once. The second and succeeding times, they would be ineffective.

 Chapter 3856 In The Black Ship

    The Land of Ancient Flesh was a whole large chunk of flesh located in the far south of the Three Purities Stage.


    Though no one knew who explored the Land of Ancient Flesh first, it could be assumed that it was easy to break into the place in the beginning.


    However, after someone dug into the land once, no pure physical force could work on it anymore. Because of this, the very first mark on the ground could still be seen to this very day.


    After one used fire to melt the Land of Ancient Flesh, they found that it would only successfully melt off a small piece. Since then, the Land of Ancient Flesh grew immune to the fire, and no longer feared any flames.


    All of these failed attempts led to the conclusion that


    methods and attempts only worked once when used on the Land of Ancient Flesh.


    This large chunk of flesh seemed to have developed this rare evolutionary ability, which worked very well to its advantage.


    At this point, the Land of Ancient Flesh had endured so many attacks that it was basically unstoppable. The flesh feared nothing now.


    Many people had attempted to break it, including the Snake Goddess and Fuxi and others. However, they failed to cause even a dent in the Land of Ancient Flesh.


    Just now, the Snake Goddess used her shadow and corroded the body of the Black Ship''s captain. The captain didn''t dodge because he wanted to adapt to the energy beams from the shadow of Snake Goddess.


    After the captain experienced the power of the beams, the shadow of Snake Goddess became an ineffective attack to the black ships.


    It was in this moment that the Snake Goddess realized that this resistance possibly had something to do with the Land of Ancient Flesh.


    Because of the flesh''s extraordinary characteristic, many people attempted to obtain the land to use its powers. However, it was due to this evolutionary characteristic alone that no one succeeded.


    In theory, the Land of Ancient Flesh could not be sliced, separated, much less be merged with anyone. If this was so, how did the captain of the Black Ship merge himself with such an incredible Other Shore Token?


    "You are quite smart to have understood it so quickly," the captain smirked, "Please do aboard the ship and stay there for a while."


    As soon as the captain finished speaking, the black ship closest in proximity to the Snake Goddess suddenly swooped down in her direction.


    Just then, Snake Goddess tapped her toes in the air and flew backward rapidly, her long dress flowing gracefully in the air along with her.


    Normally, the Snake Goddess''s speed should have been enough for her to escape, but the black ship suddenly produced a space fluctuation. Withi


    an iron wall. Without asking for any help, he prepared to sacrifice himself.


    "Let''s attack together. Let Edith take the red crystal to leave first," another creature spoke from not too far away. He was Vance, half human and half deer and a longtime member of the Black Ship.


    "I agree." Shera nodded. "Even if we fight head on, we won''t necessarily lose."


    If the members of the Black Ship teamed up, they would have enough strength to put up against a warrior at the Eternal Realm. After all, it was not long ago that the Black Ship trapped the Thunder Dimorphodon with only four of them.


    However, the strength of warriors at the Eternal Realm also varied in amount and energy. A warrior like Divine Farmer was obviously among the more powerful ones at the Eternal Realm. No one on the Black Ship was willing to face such a powerful existence unless it was an utmost necessity.


    Left with absolutely no choice, they decided to fight Divine Farmer head-on and as a team.


    All of a sudden, the Invisible Ship moved through spatial transference again.


    As usual, Divine Farmer appeared behind it like a taunting shadow. Once he slashed down with the ruler, the brass man was already out of the Invisible Ship.


    A light emerged from the brass man''s body, and just like that, the aura of an Other Shore Token surged out from him.


    At the same time, a huge brass pillar appeared in his right hand as he charged towards the sky!


    "Crack!"


    With one attempt, the strike of Divine Farmer''s ruler hit the brass pillar precisely. The brass pillar cracked right at the middle, and as if it was made out of soft mud, the crack trickled down all the way to the bottom of the pillar.


    The Combat Dragon Pillar, which was the brass man''s prized weapon, was destroyed in an instant.

 Chapter 3857 Combat Dragon Absorb

    After Divine Farmer had destroyed the Combat Dragon Pillar with the ruler, he slashed at the brass man once more.


    Just as his second strike was about to land on the brass man, a bandage suddenly wrapped around his arm.


    At the other end of the bandage was the "bamboo pole".


    The "bamboo pole" glowed with colorful light after the bandage unwrapped. In the Black Ship, the "bamboo pole" was the most proficient in using poison. Back then, when the first Usman appeared, he also relied on his fast-spreading "Flash Insect Poison" to make thousands of the provinces in the Source World turn red.


    Whoosh!


    The "bamboo pole" then pulled the bandage and passed by the brass man and rushed towards Divine Farmer.


    His whole body shone brightly and had turned into a semi-liquid state. Under his skin was not flesh, but water.


    "Whoosh!"


    Meanwhile, the ruler slashed down and sank into the body of the "bamboo pole." In turn, the "bamboo pole" immediately softened and turned into a mass of sticky venom that spread out on Divine Farmer''s arms!


    "Sizzle..."


    As soon as the venom came into contact with Divine Farmer, his arms became pitch black. The black spread at an alarming speed, and in no time, it reached his forearms.


    "You used poison on me? How naive of you!"


    The Divine Farmer Ruler he held emitted a green light that rolled towards him. The light mildly surrounded his arms and turned them back to normal. Then, the remaining green light followed the spreading venom.


    In reality, the venom was the real body of the "bamboo pole". It was his trump card. It liquefied his form and turned it into a toxic liquid that he used to attack.


    Although the "bamboo pole" hadn''t reached the Eternal Realm, he was a much-experienced warrior in the Black Ship. He was ranked third on the Black Ship in terms of age.


    He had liquefied himself into poison three times in the past. It took him a long time to recover every time he was liquefied, and the recovery process was painful. However, he was always successful in killing opponents who were very difficult to deal with, including a warrior at the Eternal Realm.


    This time, however, his opponent was Divine Farmer!


    Furthermore, the ball of green light Divine Farmer used was fatal to him.


    He immediately felt chills when he saw the green light. He wanted to escape, but it was too late. The green light had already entangled with the venom, then the venom neutralized and disappeared.


    "Ba


    al. Then, he stretched both of his hands and put it on his shoulder.


    "Combat Dragon Absorb!"


    He roared, then his hands released a faint mist and fused him with the red crystal.


    It turned out that the Combat Dragon Pillar that Divine Farmer had just broken was not an Other Shore Token, but a weapon that the captain of the Black Ship had made for him.


    The brass man''s Other Shore Token could combine his weapon and his body into one. He had always used the Combat Dragon Pillar to fight, and now Divine Farmer had destroyed it. Of course, it was hard to find a suitable weapon in a short time. Suddenly, he thought of the red crystal. So he placed it on his shoulder and merged it with his body.


    Right after that, he left the Invisible Ship and rushed towards Divine Farmer!


    Now, the reason Divine Farmer had chased the Invisible Ship for so long was because of Zen.


    The second he saw the brass man rush towards him, his face became unreadable.


    The red crystal was undoubtedly a good material to use, but wouldn''t that be giving him what he wanted by using Zen as a weapon and coming to him?


    Therefore, he didn''t dodge and instead charged forward as well.


    Once again, he used the Divine Farmer Ruler to slash through the air and swung it at the red crystal!


    "Bang!"


    "Crack!"


    The first strike failed to shatter the red crystal, but the second strike finally broke it.


    "Combat Dragon Absorb!"


    White mist burst out from the brass man''s hands.


    Since the red crystal was damaged, he could no longer use it as a weapon. Thus, he made up his mind. He took Zen''s body inside the red crystal and merged with it.

 Chapter 3858 A Good Weapon

    There was no way the brass man could think of anything else during this critical moment.


    He knew that Zen was the crux of all these matters and was the reason for Divine Farmer''s chase.


    They wanted Zen for a specific purpose and until this purpose was fulfilled, there was no way they would harm him.


    It was fortunate that the brass man''s conjecture turned out to be true. Divine Farmer''s frown was very obvious when he decided to use Zen as a weapon.


    Divine Farmer, Yellow Thearch, and Mahoney all received the same order from the Element Spirit race: take advantage of Zen''s inability to leave the Other Shore and capture him!


    Seeing the brass man carry Zen on his shoulders as he rushed towards him, Divine Farmer had no choice but to tilt his Divine Farmer Ruler to hit the brass man''s head and avoid harming Zen.


    Given his rich experience in combat, the brass man easily saw through his opponent''s move. He ducked and swung Zen''s body forward to use him as a shield!


    Determined to protect himself, the brass man raised Zen''s body and smashed it towards the Divine Farmer.


    In fear of hurting Zen, Divine Farmer chose to withdraw his ruler. In his haste, he did not have enough time to dodge the swipe heading towards him and could only take the force of the attack head-on!


    Bang!


    Zen''s head directly slammed onto Divine Farmer''s chest with a loud thud.


    The impact was so strong and penetrated deep into Divine Farmer''s chest, through his heart, and onto his spine.


    This strong, penetrating force was the result of the brass man''s theurgy: the Combat Dragon Power.


    It did not just stop with the Divine Farmer''s body, in fact, the same power erupted on several thousand feet of ground behind him. The amount of destruction caused by this theurgy was terrifying and could very well play a decisive effect in normal combat.


    Divine Farmer''s body trembled and the sharp pain he felt in his chest confirmed his injuries.


    A murderous glint flashed through his eyes, furious that this brass man managed to deal such heavy damage to him. Divine Farmer quickly made a dash and came upon his opponent''s back.


    He raised his Divine Farmer Ruler and brought it down!


    Clatter!


    The surface of his weapon glowed an ominous dark green as numerous black carvings flowed through it.


    Divine Farmer was good at detoxification but he was also considered an expert at weaponizing poison.


    This Willow Green Poison, for example, was a unique concoction Divine Farmer himself created.


    It was so potent that not even an Eternal Realm master could hope to survive it.


    He did not normally use this on Holy Soul Realm opponents but the rage he felt from being hoodwinked by the brass man was enough to make him pull out all his cards.


    Unfortunately for him, the brass man was also set to go a


    ''s body and smashed it against Divine Farmer''s head.


    Left with no other choice, Divine Farmer slid his fingers across the Divine Farmer Ruler.


    Buzz...


    Green light flashed from the ruler and spread all throughout his body, like a blossoming willow.


    Just as the light began to shine, Zen''s head made contact with Divine Farmer''s body.


    Pop!


    Despite the harsh blow, Divine Farmer was unharmed.


    However, his once indestructible Divine Farmer Ruler twisted so suddenly.


    Pop!


    Determined to not give Divine Farmer any chance to recover, the brass man quickly smashed Zen down on him.


    This second attack twisted the Divine Farmer Ruler even more and completely distorted its shape.


    Pop!


    Upon the third smash, Divine Farmer fell back and smashed the space cage Edith trapped him in.


    His weapon was now greatly distorted but at least he managed to withstand three, incredibly fatal attacks!


    Of course, the state of his Divine Farmer Ruler made his heart ache. It would take a long time to nurture his lifeblood weapon back into shape.


    Still, Zen''s unharmed state concerned him more. How in the world was the young man completely intact after enduring intense bouts of power?


    A look of regret flashed through the brass man''s face when he realized that he had failed to subdue Divine Farmer. Just a few more smashes and he was certain to have ended him. It would take the brass man a few seconds to realize that the astonishment on Divine Farmer''s face wasn''t directed at him, but to Zen whom he wielded as a weapon.


    ''Well, I got to admit this boy''s physical body makes for a good weapon, '' the brass man thought to himself.


    Then he remembered that Zen withstood nearly three hundred thousand divine megatons of force but was barely injured.


    It wasn''t long before the brass man''s face was the exact mirror of astonishment on Divine Farmer''s.

 Chapter 3859 The Growing Light Column

    In the far northwest of the Source World, there was a unique copper tree.


    The roots of the tree reached deep into the ground. After growing for a long time, it was now able to extract a very special type of copper ore from the deep underground and absorb the ore into its core.


    This copper was very flexible, and its raw form, which was viscous liquid, gave it the name "water copper".


    The water copper could be cut with a knife easily.


    But once a huge force came into contact with it, it would automatically become solid and extremely hard in an instant. All in all, instead of a type of ore, it could also be described as a kind of liquid with magical properties.


    Based on these properties, the captain of the Black Ship finally built the Combat Dragon Pillar for the brass man.


    The brass man had wanted to test the effect of the Combat Dragon Pillar before, so he used the Power Transfer Lens and the Withering Power to exert a force of nearly three hundred thousand divine megatons on the pillar. The result was satisfying for him¡ªthe pillar could take on the force easily.


    Therefore, the stronger the force the Combat Dragon Pillar received, the stronger it''d become.


    Had the brass man possessed three hundred thousand divine megatons of force before, Divine Farmer wouldn''t have been able to cut the Combat Dragon Pillar.


    But at that time, the brass man had only relied on his own strength when he used the Combat Dragon Absorb, so the Combat Dragon Pillar was naturally destroyed by Divine Farmer with a casual strike of his ruler.


    Now, however, the brass man''s weapon wasn''t the "Combat Dragon Pillar"¡ªhis weapon now was a human''s body.


    Although Zen was basically an Eternal Realm warrior, a force of three hundred thousand divine megatons wasn''t a laughing matter. Even a warrior like Zen would still have his body crushed if his body was struck by such a force!


    Everything the brass man did just now was done on the spur of the moment and without any further consideration at all. Now that he calmed down, he realized that what happened didn''t at all make any sense.


    On Zen''s Three Purities Stone in the Grand Plain Stage, Zen''s anchor bodies changed.


    The force exerted on Zen''s real physical body had been transmitted to his anchor bodies.


    One''s anchor body was connected to the Eternal Scroll Painting, and the Eternal Scroll Painting was connected to the Eternal Divine Courtyard.


    When the force was transmitted to Zen''s anchor bodies, an imperceptible wave of energy was also transmitted to the sacred cup in the Eternal Divine Courtyard at an unimaginable speed.


    Pa!


    Zen''s body shook. Consequently, even the entire sacred cup shook.


    After the tiny ripples on the surface of the thick blood in the


    want to use his bloodline theurgy in handling the members of the Black Ship.


    Nevertheless, upon seeing the strange characteristics of Zen''s body, he felt the urgency to activate his blood theurgy.


    His body began to lengthen, and two horns grew on his head. His feet also turned into a pair of strong hooves...


    It was a mutant in the form of a goat monster... Divine Farmer''s consciousness was gradually fading.


    The goat monster was the most ferocious of his three mutant forms, but it was also the form that Divine Farmer hated the least.


    The only thing that Divine Farmer could do to control this goat monster was to plant a purpose in his mind¡ªhe must take Zen back.


    A second later, the consciousness in the goat monster''s eyes completely disappeared. After a moment of haziness, it let out a strange howl.


    The brass man standing not far away had been observing for a long time. Seeing that the goat monster was still a little confused, he immediately carried Zen and smashed at the monster with Zen''s body.


    "Boom!"


    The strike still contained a force of three hundred thousand divine megatons.


    While the goat monster was still howling, it was directly thrown down from the air, creating a huge crater in the ground.


    However, the almost indestructible goat monster suffered no injury at all. It turned over, ran a few steps on the ground with both hands and feet, and pounced on the brass man.


    "Boom!"


    With Zen on his shoulder, the brass man once again smashed Zen towards the ground. He didn''t believe that the mutant transformed from Divine Farmer wouldn''t really be killed.


    However, what the brass man didn''t know was that every time he carried Zen and smashed him, the third light column in the area symbolizing destruction under the sacred cup in the Eternal Divine Courtyard would grow taller.

 Chapter 3860 The Creation Quadrant

    The light pillar in the destruction quadrant continued to rise.


    Soon, it touched the ring of light at the very edge of the map.


    The four bronze statues all looked upon the cup.


    Now that there were three light pillars, Zen was supposedly ready to wake up.


    He obtained the ancestry-level bloodline so easily!


    Yet he remained lying motionless in the sacred cup.


    The bronze statues had no clue that Zen was also confused.


    As he lay in the darkness, he was positive that he was awake and not in a dream.


    But he couldn''t feel himself at all. At the very least, his sense of touch and smell had already left. He couldn''t even perceive if he had a corporeal body¡ªit seemed as though he was floating in the darkness as a mere lonely soul.


    Fortunately, the soul''s eyes and ears remained intact¡ªZen could see dots of light in the distance, as well as hear some sounds from his surroundings.


    Murmurs rang in his ears every now and then. Each time a sound came through, the dots of light would spread out like dancing flies.


    It seemed like there was someone chanting incantations¡­


    and the light dots were following the commands of said incantations.


    Why was such a thing in his mind, Zen wondered?


    How long would the state last?


    He received no answer.


    Meanwhile, in the Source World¡­


    something explosive resounded.


    A pit that could hold a great lake suddenly appeared¡ªthe brass man smashed into the ground.


    At the bottom of the pit, as soon as the goat monster''s body was exposed, it was thrown into the air and smacked back down by the brass man.


    "Boom!"


    Another great pit appeared as the goat monster was once again smashed into the ground. Behind them, there were already over twenty lake-sized huge pits.


    While the brass man''s series of attacks caused no substantial damage to the goat monster, the latter was at least sufficiently suppressed enough so it had no strength to fight back.


    But with each strike, the brass man released three hundred thousand divine megatons of force, enough that the other two Black Ship members could hardly bear it any longer.


    The Withering Power and the Power Transfer Lens were both Other Shore Tokens from Stage Thirty-three of the Other Shore, but they consumed divine crystals rapidly.


    At such a consumption rate, it was impractical to crumb divine crystals one after another to replenish the Other Shore Tokens. A single rep


    All of them were speechless as they gazed at the extending light pillar.


    The root-level bloodline that the Divine Farmer inherited was initially born from the creation quadrant.


    The very fact that he had turned himself into a goat monster was a form of creation.


    From its appearance, strength could be displayed in thousands of billions of forms, but in the map of the ancestry-level bloodline, strength would be simply divided into four great quadrants: destruction, creation, life, and space-time. Only small differences existed among the three hundred seventy-three light pillars that focused on various areas.


    The goat monster''s attacks directly helped Zen consummate a light pillar.


    Once it launched over ten attacks in a single shot, the two Black Ship members finally replenished enough divine crystal energy.


    When the Power Transfer Lens once again faced the brass man, his force surged once again.


    Just as the brass man was ready to go against the monster again, a great black shadow suddenly shrouded them from above their heads, swallowing the goat monster with a bang.


    It was a black ship that formed the great black shadow that descended¡ªthe captain''s real body.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    A series of roars emerged from within the ship, but it wasn''t broken. It was clear that the goat monster struggled to escape.


    "Captain!"


    The brass man only felt he had endless power to release.


    "You can''t kill it. It''s an immortal body. Since you''ve obtained Zen, don''t waste any time. Let''s leave as soon as possible," the captain said when he reappeared on the deck like a ghost.

 Chapter 3861 Unable To Leave

    This was the captain''s style of doing things. He always completed tasks at minimum cost.


    The other members of the Black Ship never doubted him. Even if the Divine Farmer killed a few of them, no one even thought of killing the Divine Farmer in revenge.


    The Black Ship always took revenge, but they needed better timing. They believed that their captain would take care of it.


    "But what about Usman?" Shera asked, her hair fluttering in the wind.


    The mission would be completed when they were able to take Zen away with them.


    But she hadn''t forgotten the captain''s another goal. If possible, he would summon the Evil God to swallow Usman.


    This way, the Evil God would become stronger and gain some authority in the Source World.


    "This is not the right time. We''ll find another chance," said the captain.


    Shera nodded wordlessly and entered Edith''s Invisible Ship along with the other members of the Black Ship. In a flash, the Invisible Ship had reached the sky.


    The captain''s three black ships had trapped Mahoney, the Divine Farmer, and the Snake Goddess.


    Each black ship was a part of the captain''s body, but they were parts that he could abandon.


    The remaining black ships flew into the distance alongside the Invisible Ship.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    The Snake Goddess flew among the houses in one of the black ships.


    The door of the cabin before her suddenly slammed shut and bumped violently into her.


    A red light flashed at her fingertips, turning into a sharp claw light before she unleashed it at the door.


    Crack!


    The door instantly cracked into pieces.


    Blood flowed from the cracks of the door.


    The black ship was made of flesh!


    "I don''t think you have completely inherited the ability of the Land of Ancient Flesh," said the Snake Goddess.


    The power she had used was still bloodline power. Her lethality had greatly increased after she had fused her shadow into her real body.


    She used the power of her shadow to open the door of the black ship.


    If the captain really had occupied the Land of Ancient Flesh, he would be invincible, and the shadow of Snake Goddess w


    return to the Separate Amber Province!"


    "¡­"


    The members of the Black Ship didn''t know what was happening.


    The captain in his black cloak thought hard. It was a moment before he said, "Someone has tampered with space. Even the Invisible Ship has gotten lost. We are trapped in here."


    The Snake Goddess had warned him, and now, they were encountering this. He knew exactly what was going on.


    "How can someone do this to the space across so many provinces? I mean, who can do that?" the brass man asked.


    He was still carrying Zen on his shoulder, unwilling to put down such a handy weapon.


    "Ordinary warriors at the Eternal Realm may find it difficult to do," the captain said, his eyes serious. "But what if it is Othniel who has mastered the truth-level theurgy?"


    Othniel was the Chaos Ancient God standing behind the Bearing race. If the Bearing race and the Divine Farmer race wanted to ensure that everything was all right, they might ask Othniel to help them.


    The Finale Way and the Purge Way both had Chaos Ancient Gods to support them, because there would always be a place for them to live no matter which way was completed.


    This was exactly the Black Ship''s disadvantage.


    Their ultimate goal was to completely destroy the chaos and cause the Chaos Ancient Gods who had mastered the truth-level theurgies to disappear. This was why no Chaos Ancient God was willing to be their ally.

 Chapter 3862 Gap Of Strength

    It was because of the Chaos Ancient Gods that the Black Ship had spent their days sailing endlessly, never settling down in the Source World.


    The Chaos Ancient Gods didn''t like the Black Ship, so they couldn''t establish a stronghold in the Source World.


    The six Chaos Ancient Gods had secretly been working behind the scenes.


    "How powerful will Othniel''s control over the space be?" Edith asked, eyes wide with astonishment.


    She had once been told by the captain of the Black Ship that she was probably the most talented person in the Source World in terms of manipulating space.


    However, even she paled in comparison to the Chaos Ancient God, who had mastered the space truth.


    "I''m afraid we''re about to find out," the captain said gravely.


    Under normal circumstances, the Black Ship never cowered away from battling other super forces.


    However, when faced with the Chaos Ancient Gods themselves, even the Black Ship knew this would be quite the challenge.


    They had been lucky enough to avoid the Chaos Ancient Gods in the past, but this time, it seemed there was no way out of this.


    "Should we summon him?" Shera suddenly asked.


    "Of course," said the captain, squinting. Apparently, he had been well prepared.


    Boom!


    A huge hole ripped through the bottom of a black ship, from which Mahoney emerged.


    Rage flashed in her eyes as she scanned her surroundings, searching for her prey. She had wanted to join hands with the captain of the Black Ship to fight against the Snake Goddess, yet he double-crossed her and imprisoned her on a black ship!


    While it had taken her a great deal of effort to get out, all she wanted to do now was seek revenge.


    Mahoney activated her spiritual sense, and soon she found another black ship nearby.


    Tearing through space once more, she teleported to the next black ship in a single breath. "Captain," she smiled. "Don''t blame me for what happens next!"


    Swoosh!


    A formidable energy wave emanated from Mahoney''s body. Immense divine megatons of force formed a ring around her as she threw a punch towards the black ship.


    Just as her fist connected with the hull of the ship, she heard a loud thud coming from within it.


    Boom!


    Apparently, this black ship also contained a prisoner ¡ª the goat monster that the Divine Farmer had transformed into.


    Even if it had more power than the Snake Goddess, it couldn''t match her intelligence. It hadn''t been able to escape the black ship till then.


    Now, as Mahoney and the goat monster smashed the hull from both inside and outside at the same time, the black ship broke into pieces under their joint efforts.


    Crash!


    As t


    tage. There were still a large number of areas that remained a mystery to them.


    Fuxi couldn''t count how many times he''d risked his life to explore new areas. However, he had grown stronger each time.


    It was because he had chosen to take the rougher path that he had grown stronger than the other masters at the Eternal Realm.


    Yellow Thearch stared at Fuxi wordlessly, unable to come up with a response.


    Admittedly, he was jealous of Fuxi''s great power. If he had known things would turn out like this, he might have made different choices.


    But it was too late for regrets. This was the path he had chosen.


    After a moment of silence, Yellow Thearch suddenly smiled. With a crazed look in his eyes, he threw his head back and laughed. "Do you really think you''ve won this war?"


    Fuxi clenched his fist. "At least... I''ve won against you."


    A mark of Eight Diagrams appeared on Yellow Thearch''s body, and Fuxi threw out another incredibly powerful punch.


    Boom!


    The earth-splitting power of the punch exploded on Yellow Thearch''s body.


    However, as the dust cleared, Yellow Thearch still leaned quietly against the boundary wall, unscathed. There was an invisible space in front of him which had blocked the blow completely.


    Fuxi''s eyes narrowed in realization. Angrily, he whipped his head upwards to look to the sky.


    There was only one person in the entire chaos who would be able to control space this way ¡ª Othniel, one of the Chaos Ancient Gods.


    Something in Fuxi''s eyes began to burn like crazy.


    There was a huge gap of strength between an Eternal Realm master and the Chaos Ancient Gods.


    Still, even when he was imprisoned at the bottom of the chaos, Fuxi had always wondered if he was capable of killing a Chaos Ancient God...

 Chapter 3863 A Huge Figure

    Back then, Fuxi had challenged Gerald, but he failed. In turn, Gerald had taught him a hard lesson.


    What made it more impressive for Gerald was that even though he was in a bad situation at that time, he was still able to defeat Fuxi.


    However, Fuxi had never accepted his fate. He went on to find ways to suppress the truth on the Other Shore since it was at a higher level than the chaos in some way.


    That was why when he felt the space truth''s suppressive power, an immensely strong fighting intent filled his heart.


    "You want to take all my powers by just folding the space?" he sneered. Then, his arm swelled up, and he released his strength once more.


    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!


    A mark of the Eight Diagrams and fist radiance exploded in front of Yellow Thearch, but it didn''t have any impact on him at all. It was as if they were in two separate worlds.


    Yellow Thearch leaned against the boundary wall with an arrogant smile and mocked Fuxi''s fruitless efforts.


    He calmly stood up and casually reached out his hand. The Yellow Thearch Sword suddenly appeared on his palm.


    Upon closer look, it appeared that the surrounding space was a little distorted as Yellow Thearch moved. It turned out that he was isolated in another space.


    Swish!


    Yellow Thearch gently waved his sword and leisurely walked towards Fuxi step by step.


    Buzz!


    With a slight buzzing sound, a holy way with intense killing intent slashed towards Fuxi''s head.


    In return, Fuxi punched the incoming attack.


    Swoosh!


    Surprisingly, he missed, and his punch went past the holy way. They were in separate spaces that did not intersect.


    Boom!


    On the contrary, Yellow Thearch''s sword attack hit Fuxi accurately!


    Fuxi had restrained Yellow Thearch before, but that didn''t mean that the latter was weak.


    There was a muffled sound, and then Fuxi fell to the ground.


    Yellow Thearch raised his sword, and he looked calm again. Suddenly, he launched another sword attack!


    His spiritual sense flowed through as he swung his sword again.


    Splash!


    A large cut immediately appeared on the ground, but Fuxi already dodged it using the Grand Teleportation technique.


    "How can you escape under Othniel''s gaze?" The voice of Yellow Thearch boomed from all directions.


    At that moment, he seemed to have heard something and waved


    d other hundreds of provinces, including the Bloom Divine Province and the Pear Hill.


    Many creatures raised their heads to look at the enormous scorpion, and all of them had mixed feelings: first was that they felt deeply attached to the scorpion, and second was they also feared it, as if it would destroy them right then and there.


    Gerald was the Chaos Ancient God who controlled the truth of life. In the early days of the Source World, Gerald could interfere with the cycle of life and even create creatures. Therefore, it was safe to say that all living creatures in the current chaos originated from him.


    Furthermore, he was the ruler of all living creatures. Not only could he create lives, but he could destroy them too.


    As soon as Gerald''s figure appeared, another enormous figure also emerged on the other side. It was a gigantic one-eyed monster with a strange stooping body.


    It was none other than Othniel, who had coated Yellow Thearch with a layer of space membrane.


    "Haven''t you figured it out yet?" Othniel''s voice echoed throughout the hundreds of provinces.


    The Chaos Ancient Gods also had their stands.


    From their perspective, the Purge Way was clearly in line with their interests. That was why Othniel was willing to help Yellow Thearch.


    Despite that, Othniel didn''t want to fight with Gerald. They both came from the last chaotic era, and although they belonged to different races, their races got along well with each other at that time.


    Therefore, he still tried to persuade Gerald to stand with him even now.

 Chapter 3864 Exile

    A hush fell over the skies. Suddenly, Gerald''s eyes lit up with a green light.


    Buzz!


    In the Invisible Ship, a small dot of green light flew out of Zen''s body. It was no other than No. 9527, a soul fragment of Gerald.


    Back then, Gerald had been optimistic about Zen. Now, he wanted to know if he had made the right choice.


    As the others of the Black Ship watched the green dot of light float out of the Invisible Ship, no one dared stop it.


    Although No. 9527 was just a weak soul fragment, the aura it emanated was the same as that of Gerald.


    Whoosh!


    The green light dot rose steadily, soaring through the sky until it shot into Gerald''s forehead.


    In Gerald''s mind, he was surrounded in the middle by many brain masters, like a human emperor, awaiting No. 9527''s arrival.


    When the green dot of light entered Gerald''s head, No. 9527 emerged and stood in front of its master. Suddenly, No. 9527 did a very human thing: it bowed towards its master.


    "You are me," the master said confusedly. "Why do you use such etiquette with your own self?" No. 9527 remained silent. Gerald thought for a moment, then finally said, "You''ve been gone for a long time. Have you grown attached to your own consciousness?"


    To some extent, the soul fragment was also an independent individual.


    After being with Zen for so long, No. 9527 had gradually developed its own personality.


    It even didn''t want to go back to its master. In its own way, it wanted to be a special No. 9527, not just a soul fragment.


    "Yes, Master," No. 9527 replied sincerely. "I... I want to leave you. For good."


    As soon as No. 9527 spoke this, the brain masters surrounding Gerald broke into indignant chaos.


    How dare a mere soul fragment ask to break away from its master''s consciousness?


    In the brain world, this was an absolutely outrageous act. It was impossible for brain masters and soul fragments to be this individualistic!


    "You have made a great contribution and successfully assisted Zen to the Eternal Realm. Spread yourself out before me," Gerald ordered. "Once I understand what has happened to you during this period of time, I can allow you to leave."


    Without any hesitation


    , but to Gerald, they were as fragile as glass. With ease, Gerald smashed each of them at a touch...


    Even though the space walls did no real damage to Gerald, it did slow him down momentarily.


    Before Gerald even had the chance to attack Othniel, Othniel''s eye had already gathered enough space power. Without hesitating, he shot a thick blue light onto Gerald''s body.


    Once the blue light disappeared, so did Gerald.


    "Ha-ha-ha..."


    Othniel''s laughter roared throughout the skies.


    Then, he shrank his body, from a huge god-like scale to that of a human. His appearance also transformed into that of Mount. This was the complete Mount.


    Next, Othniel appeared beside Yellow Thearch, and pulled at the air in front of him.


    Suddenly, space itself seemed to warp and distort all over the Separate Amber Province.


    He had pulled the important figures to his side.


    They included the Divine Farmer, who was currently a goat monster, Mahoney, the members of the Black Ship, and the Snake Goddess...


    They didn''t see this coming. As space itself seemed to fold before them, they hadn''t reacted before Othniel pulled them towards him.


    Then, Othniel stared at Zen as he saw through the Invisible Ship. He felt as though he had stumbled upon an invaluable treasure. Stretching out his hand, he wanted to pull Zen towards him, too.


    However, even under his pull, Zen remained unmoved.


    His invincible space truth had no effect at this moment!

 Chapter 3865 The Descending Man In Black

    The captain of the Black Ship, Shera, and the others also stared at the brass man, feeling quite confounded.


    The brass man shrugged his shoulders while carrying Zen to show that he had no understanding of the situation...


    The Chaos Ancient God was unable to retrieve someone from a Holy Soul Realm warrior. Even Othniel''s expression became quite unnatural.


    Othniel reached out his hand towards the brass man again, and the irregular power of space folded around Zen. However, when the power of space was applied to Zen, it vanished without a trace.


    Zen had become like a black hole in the shape of his body. He could absorb all forms of power.


    After failing twice in a row, Othniel finally relented and quit. His figure flashed, and he came to the Invisible Ship. He glanced at the captain and then reached out his hand to grab hold of Zen.


    The brass man looked at the captain in a mute appeal for help. Given the situation, if the captain did not make a move, the brass man would not take action either.


    As Othniel''s hand grabbed out, the white fog created by the brass man''s Combat Dragon Absorb began to thin and dissipate, and Zen was taken away by Othniel.


    Before leaving, Othniel glanced back at Edith and flippantly commented, "This space ship is very exquisite. It will make a fine tomb for you..."


    Once Othniel finished speaking, his figure disappeared, and he reappeared beside Yellow Thearch still holding onto Zen.


    After they had left, Edith suddenly sensed trouble brewing and exclaimed in a state of panic, "Captain, I can''t control the Invisible Ship..."


    The Invisible Ship was Edith''s Other Shore Token, but now it was no longer under her control.


    "Your Other Shore Token is out of control?" Shera arched her eyebrows.


    "Yes..."


    Edith stared at the transparent Invisible Ship in horror. "The Invisible Ship is shrinking!"


    The Invisible Ship, which was thousands of feet in size, had steadily begun shrinking. In less than nine seconds, it had already shrunk by half. The people of the Black Ship, who were in the cabin, would soon be squashed by the Invisible Ship.


    The members of the Black Ship used their Grand Teleportation technique at the same time, trying to teleport from the Invisible Ship.


    However, the instant they used this technique to escape, they were surprised, and their expressions filled with fear. There was no fluctuation in the space. It must be Othniel''s ploy to have trapped them here


    been able to recognize him.


    However, if the Nihility race could duel Othniel to the death, Fuxi and the others would celebrate seeing it.


    "Who are you?" asked Othniel.


    The man in black sniffed the air, revealing some enjoyment on his face. "I''ve been looking forward to this moment for a long time. Even though more than a thousand chaotic eras have passed, the scent of this world still hasn''t changed,"


    the man in black said without answering Othniel''s question. Othniel''s face darkened, and he asked in a low voice, "Tell me who you are!"


    As he spoke, he suddenly lashed out at the man in black, and a crescent-shaped space crack hurtled straight towards the man in black. The space crack that the Chaos Ancient God had so casually created was extremely lethal.


    Facing the space crack, the man in black smiled faintly and extended his palm to block the crack as if swatting a fly.


    Sizzle...


    When the man''s palm met the space crack, a grating noise sounded, and the space crack disintegrated.


    Then his lips formed a warm smile. "It doesn''t matter who I am. The most important thing is that man. You have to hand him over to me,"


    the man in black said, pointing at Zen, who was draped over Othniel''s shoulder.


    "Not in your wildest dreams," responded Othniel.


    If it weren''t for the fact that Zen was able to absorb all the energy and couldn''t be transported away, Othniel would have hidden Zen in a corner of the chaos as he had done to Gerald.


    If Othniel had done so, it wouldn''t matter how strong the man in black was.


    Finding a human in the vast chaos was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

 Chapter 3866 Blind Spots

    The eyes of the man in black clothes were devoid of emotions.


    When people looked at him, they got an impression of a tightened bow simmering with a surging power that could be released any time.


    His emotions were like deep water in a tranquil lake. He looked outwardly composed, as if he was merely taking a walk in his courtyard. But everyone could sense that there was great power concealed below the surface.


    No one could see through his real thoughts, not even Othniel.


    "I asked nicely but since it didn''t work, I''ll have to use my fists," the man in black said in a flat tone.


    It was as if declaring war on a Chaos Ancient God was quite common for him.


    Although Othniel considered him a strong enemy, he had no intention of backing down. He threw Zen into the void and pointed at him so that a space cage instantly formed around Zen.


    Even if Zen were to suddenly wake up and fight back, he would not be able to escape from the space cage. No one could help him break it from the outside either. It would be a difficult task even for the Eternal Realm masters present.


    But much to the shock of everyone watching, the moment Zen touched the bottom of the space cage, he completely absorbed the energy shaping the floor and his body was quickly dropped from the cage.


    Everyone was amused and was rendered speechless. Shera couldn''t help but snigger.


    Zen''s physical body had been in such a strange state that even Othniel had made mistakes dealing with it more than once.


    They had so far noticed that Zen would absorb all the power around him except for the brass man''s Combat Dragon Absorb. Perhaps it was a mere coincidence, or perhaps it was because of the inferior power of the Combat Dragon Absorb.


    For what it was worth, Shera''s conjecture was very close to the truth.


    Zen didn''t really absorb all sorts of power. The process only occurred according to the map on the square. It was true that the power of the Combat Dragon Absorb was not superior enough for Zen to absorb it.


    Othniel''s power on the other hand, was an excellent option. Every time Othniel used the power of space against Zen, Zen''s body immediately devoured it.


    This occurred multiple times before a new light column appeared in the space-time quadrant of the map, rising rapidly.


    Even when Zen fell from the sky, the


    torn off from the book. The space itself looked miraculous under Othniel''s formidable power.


    The structure of the space itself was completely destroyed. If the man in black was hiding himself in the space, he would split into countless pieces as well.


    But Othniel still couldn''t see any signs of the man.


    "Since what you''ve grasped is only a part of the space truth, you also have blind spots in space."


    The man''s voice echoed again. Othniel lifted the space saber but discovered that he couldn''t determine the direction of the voice this time. The man''s voice seemed to come from the depths of his mind. How was he doing that?


    Just as Othniel was looking around incredulously, a beam of cyan light suddenly shot out from behind him.


    It pierced through Othniel''s back and continued to shoot straight ahead, crossing several provinces, boundary walls, and thick earth along the way before it shot straight out of the Source World and into the chaos.


    Since the cyan light was only as thick as a little finger, it didn''t create a hole large enough for the chaotic energy from the outside to flow into the Source World. But it had killed innumerable innocent creatures on its way out.


    The small wound wasn''t much trouble for Othniel. He only felt a slight pain in his back, and he brought his saber down behind him a few more times.


    Large areas of space were destroyed, but the man in black seemed not to exist. Othniel''s strikes had nearly destroyed everything in the space behind him, but he still failed to touch the man in black.

 Chapter 3867 Direct Exile

    Generally speaking, the self-healing ability of the space in the Source World was quite strong.


    The space usually repaired itself quite quickly after it was damaged. To put it simply, the space cracks created by even the mighty warriors of the Other Shore Realm only lasted for a moment before they disappeared without a trace.


    However, Othniel''s impact on the space was too much. The dilapidated space was exposed and formed strange scenes.


    "You''re just a coward who is good at hiding!" He tried several times, but he failed to touch the man in black every time. Now he felt a little anxious.


    A powerful being like Othniel knew almost everything. There were few secrets that they couldn''t understand. Thus, he naturally felt uneasy when he faced an unsolvable problem.


    "Buzz!"


    At that moment, another ray of cyan light bloomed on his forehead.


    This time, he didn''t dodge. His eyes glowed blue, and the space in his head had changed. As soon as the cyan light entered his head, it refracted ninety degrees and ran through towards the other side.


    "Whoosh¡ª"


    The cyan light flew towards the direction where Fuxi and the Snake Goddess located. Although the Snake Goddess dodged very fast, blood flowed out from her strong, graceful leg.


    Still, she remained nonchalant, and she didn''t even frown. The injury was nothing to her.


    On the contrary, Fuxi''s eyebrows furrowed tightly.


    In turn, the Snake Goddess personally reassured Fuxi and told him to not get agitated, but to be patient.


    But it was not Fuxi''s style to hold back his emotions.


    "Now that this man in black is here, let''s take this chance to kill Othniel together!" Fuxi told the Snake Goddess through telepathy. The Snake Goddess slightly shook her head.


    "Even if we managed to kill Othniel by working together, how would we deal with the man in black from the Nihility race?" she asked.


    Fuxi''s eyes only darkened at her question, which was rather rare for him.


    He seldom felt discouraged, because except for the Three Purities Stage, there was no opponent he was afraid of on the Other Shore or in the Source World.


    But the man in black was stronger than anyone he had met before. Fuxi didn''t think he had any chance to win against him.


    "There will be a chance," said the Snake Goddess in a gentle voice with a smile in her wi


    erous situation. The sword radiance came and pierced through them from time to time, and they almost couldn''t dodge it.


    Only Yellow Thearch remained unharmed because he placed Zen above his head as a natural shield.


    Crack!


    Like the man in black had said, Othniel couldn''t be careful all the time.


    Although he could refract ninety-nine point nine percent of the cyan sword radiance away, there would always be a little cyan sword light left as time went by.


    Finally, one ray of cyan sword radiance dodged Othniel''s refraction and punctured his shoulder.


    "The second sword strike." The voice of the man in black came again.


    Othniel''s face darkened.


    The man in black had just said that he could kill him with three sword strikes.


    Based on the cyan light''s lethality, not even thirty or three hundred strikes could cause any substantial damage to him, let alone only three strikes.


    Yet, according to the man in black, there might be some other consequences if the cyan light hit him thrice. Or was it just a threat?


    The Three Purities Stage was a magical place with all kinds of strange abilities.


    At first, Othniel wanted to deal with the man in black slowly while he tried to come up with a solution¡ªbut after he felt that things had gotten much worse, he suddenly looked ferocious.


    His eyes suddenly turned into two weird blue energy entities and abruptly exploded. At the same time, a large block appeared covering dozens of miles around the man in black.


    Then the block disappeared, together with the man inside it.

 Chapter 3868 Uncle

    A space which was thirty miles wide, thirty miles high, and thirty miles long had been deleted from the chaos and exiled into the Deleting Space.


    On all sides, everything squeezed into the gap to fill in the disappeared space. The ground itself was pulled up. A majestic mountain, thirty miles high, appeared out of thin air.


    The last time, Zen had quickly returned after Mount exiled him. This attracted Othniel''s attention.


    The outside world thought that the Land of Ashes¡ªalso known as the Deleting Space¡ªwas controlled by Othniel. In fact, he couldn''t affect anything in the Deleting Space.


    The information left by the Sons of Truth on the Other Shore seemed to indicate that the Deleting Space was under the control of Othniel. But much had changed over the past few hundred chaotic eras. The Deleting Space had undergone a dramatic transformation, and Othniel had lost control of it.


    He didn''t know for certain what had happened inside.


    All he knew was that he had the ability to exile people and things into the Deleting Space. However, he had no power to delete the creatures and things within that space.


    Zen''s safe return from the Deleting Space had shaken Othniel. He immediately tried to invade the Deleting Space to reclaim his authority over it.


    None of Othniel''s attempts to regain control was successful.


    Othniel had always felt that something strange was in the Deleting Space, something that he could not track or detect. It was a sore spot in his heart.


    In this case, Othniel would not have chosen to delete the man in black unless he had no other choice. After all, it might prove ineffective.


    However, since the man in black had been deleted, Othniel seized this opportunity to take Zen away.


    The man in black frowned as he floated in the Deleting Space.


    He raised a hand to pat his head, muttering, "I was too careless. I forgot this trick."


    It was not a good thing for him to be exiled to this damned place.


    He had come with the help of the Descending Ring, but now the Descending Ring had grown dim. He had lost contact with the Other Shore.


    What if he was truly trapped in this cursed space, unable to find his way out? It would cause enormous problems for the Nihility race.


    As he floated, the man in black suddenly realized the strangeness of his situa


    mysterious and indescribable aura spread out from his body. He shouted back, "You have the cheek to call me uncle?"


    Again, a buzz signaled his impending attack.


    The black energy emanated by the Six Soul Flags suddenly flowed inward, gathering on the surface of the Cyan Misty Sword. The cyan glow of the sword intersected with the black energy, and the sword began to burn. Raising his sword, the man in black rushed towards Ziya.


    Ziya gently pushed Geoffrey, and an unseen force propelled Geoffrey away.


    In the face of such a powerful attack, he had no time to protect Geoffrey.


    "Let bygones be bygones. Why do you still keep the past in mind?" Ziya said, lifting his own golden whip once more.


    Ziya''s God Lashing Whip had been created by the Primeval Lord of Heaven with Ziya''s root-level bloodline. It was his most powerful weapon.


    "Your master has said the same thing many times," the man in black said coldly. "It is nonsense!"


    He was the Grandmaster of Heaven whom Zen had met.


    He and the Primeval Lord of Heaven had learned from the same master, so he was Ziya''s uncle.


    At first, Ziya had not known if he was still alive. After all, when the 77th chaos ended, Ziya had been exiled to the Deleting Space.


    Ziya didn''t know anything about what happened later on the Other Shore until Zen took him out from the Deleting Space.


    Although Ziya had grown much since those days, he still found it deeply unsettling that the mere sight of him had spurred the Grandmaster of Heaven to an immediate fight to the death.

 Chapter 3869 Passing The Ball

    Within the 77th chaos, there had been a great conflict between the Interception Sect, created by the Grandmaster of Heaven, and the Enlightenment Sect, created by the Primeval Lord of Heaven. The reason behind this conflict was also related to the Finale Way.


    At the end of the battle, the Grandmaster of Heaven had been defeated by Ziya, and the foundation of the Interception Sect had been destroyed beyond repair.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven had led the remaining people of their sect to the Other Shore in an attempt to escape, and there they had quickly disappeared. In the past hundreds of chaotic eras, no one had ever seen the Grandmaster of Heaven himself, or the members of the Interception Sect.


    It was not until the Nihility race appeared out of the blue that the Grandmaster of Heaven began to show his face once again.


    There was no known knowledge of what the Grandmaster of Heaven had gone through, or how he had become the leader of the Nihility race during that time.


    The moment Ziya had descended into the Bloom Divine Province, the Primeval Lord of Heaven had warned him of the Grandmaster of Heaven, and to be cautious if he were to ever come across him. The latter had not moved on from when the Interception Sect had been destroyed.


    Ziya hadn''t felt the need to take the words seriously at the time. He had thought that time would ease the pain, and erase the hatred in the Grandmaster of Heaven''s heart. However, when they had come across one another in the Deleting Space, fury and hatred had burned in the Grandmaster of Heaven''s eyes as he looked at Ziya, regarding him as if they were old enemies.


    A metallic ''whoosh'' had cut through the air.


    With the Cyan Misty Sword in hand, the Grandmaster of Heaven had rushed towards Ziya.


    The Six Soul Flags in the distance quivered, and the black fire licking along the blade burned with heavy violence.


    Ziya understood just how powerful the Six Soul Flags were. He also knew that the Grandmaster of Heaven had led the Nihility race to great power, and that they could easily stand up to the Elemental Spirit race as near equals. His strength had grown exponentially.


    "God Lashing Whip!"


    Ziya struck out hard with his whip as he retreated.


    The resounding cracks caused by the whip were ear-piercing.


    As shadows danced and shimmied along the whip, the void began to tremble. What looked to be ripples appeared in the air, warping and distorting everything within their sight.


    The movement of the God Lashing Whip was erratic, and had no pattern to follow as it sent golden shadows one after another int


    s thoughts.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven had regained his senses enough to utilize Grand Teleportation and reach Ziya instantly.


    He raised his hand and swung his sword!


    The black radiance along the edges of his sword was as bright as fire, and came barreling towards Ziya''s face.


    Ziya though was a little bit faster...


    Before the attack could plow into him, the Grandmaster of Heaven disappeared.


    Ziya turned quickly to look at the Deleting Pillars at the far end of the Deleting Space. He waved his hands before him, and a portion of the Deleting Pillars hummed to life with a bright light before quickly dimming.


    With that action, the rules of the Deleting Space had changed. There was a unique space node at the entrance of the Deleting Space, and it so happened to be controlled by Othniel. However, Ziya had long ago changed it to be one way, so people could enter but not leave.


    But now that particular rule had changed. People could neither enter nor leave.


    When the Grandmaster of Heaven had been sent out once more, Othniel immediately enveloped him with space and began to delete it.


    However, the space did not disappear, no matter how hard Othniel willed it to.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven remained where he had appeared, and stared at Othniel with a puzzled expression.


    Could a Chaos Ancient God even make a mistake?


    "What have you done?! I can''t sense the Deleting Space!" Othniel cried in shock.


    Losing the ability to delete meant losing a trump card, but usually Chaos Ancient Gods had many of those up their sleeves.


    The fact that the ability he had obtained from the space of truth was weakened or muted by another made him feel on edge, the horrible feeling creeping up his spine.

 Chapter 3870 The Heart-piercing Lock

    The Grandmaster of Heaven had already readied himself to enter the Deleting Space once more when Othniel said something strange to him. A visible frown appeared on his face as he stared back at Othniel.


    In the eyes of the Grandmaster of Heaven, his opponents on both sides needed to be personally dealt with.


    As he was expelled in the Deleting Space that was controlled by Ziya, he was surprised when he observed that the time node could be directly changed.


    When he was being transferred between the two places, all he thought about was how he could defeat Ziya.


    In his mind, if he could replace Ziya who was controlling the Deleting Space, then he could earn a lot from it. Most importantly, he could also return to the chaos through the time node.


    "I didn''t do anything. If you want, you can try again," the Grandmaster of Heaven responded with a straight face.


    While Othniel heard these words, a strange expression glimmered in his eyes. He took a few steps forward and sneered, "Are you mocking me?"


    "No. Of course not," the Grandmaster of Heaven quickly replied. "I''m just hoping that you can try sending me back into that space again."


    Seeing the sincere expression of the Grandmaster of Heaven, all of the Eternal Realm warriors that were currently present couldn''t help but look at each other with confused faces.


    Right now, the Grandmaster of Heaven had a rough estimate of Ziya''s abilities.


    It seemed that Othniel wasn''t pretending. Ziya had most probably shut down the Deleting Space.


    Now, the Grandmaster of Heaven was more interested in this magical place and yearned for it even more.


    However, Othniel couldn''t understand what the Grandmaster of Heaven was really thinking. He tried several times, but the space around the Grandmaster of Heaven was just constantly shaking and there was no way to send him in.


    With all that was happening, Othniel couldn''t help but ask him, "Tell me. What exactly happened in that space?"


    The Grandmaster of Heaven shrugged and said, "Ha, I can''t tell you that."


    Of course, he didn''t have the slightest intention of telling Othniel the matter about Ziya.


    "All right then. I''ll know after I kill you." Othniel''s voice suddenly became cold. He had a strong urge to figure out what had truly happened in the Deleting Space.


    Suddenly, the cubic space surrounding the Grandmaster of Heaven transformed into a solid cube.


    Othniel controlled the space truth. With it, he could define and manipulate most of the spaces in the chaos. This time, he controlled the space containing the Grandmaster of Heaven and transformed it into a solid state.


    Crash!


    With a wave of his hand, the whole cube instantly collapsed.


    If it was an or


    ster of Heaven gently raised his Cyan Misty Sword. Soon after, three thin threads quietly appeared and turned out to tightly wrap around Othniel''s body. Suddenly, the white thin threads grew larger and turned into white jade chains. The other ends of the chains were connected to a small yellow lock that was in the hand of the Grandmaster of Heaven. The lock was exceptionally exquisite, and there were undecipherable Sanskrit words on both sides. It was the Heart-piercing Lock, another powerful magic treasure of the Grandmaster of Heaven.


    Previously, the Grandmaster of Heaven had given a hint that three strikes were all it would take him to kill Othniel. These three sword strikes were what activated the Heart-piercing Lock that completely suppressed Othniel''s body. Now everything in Othniel''s body was locked up, meaning that all his theurgies were sealed. That was why there was no need for him to use the Wild God Power.


    On the outside, Othniel looked motionless. But the truth was he was currently in a fierce struggle within his body. He was trying to free himself, but the Heart-piercing Lock was absolutely powerful. He was extremely enraged with the fact that the dignified Chaos Ancient God like him would be defeated by the Grandmaster of Heaven in this way.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven knew about Othniel''s on-going efforts and struggling, but he didn''t pay much attention to it. He just slowly descended while dragging the white jade chains.


    Now that he was able to successfully trap Othniel, it was time for him to deal with the other warriors present.


    He knew these warriors'' high positions and standpoints in the Source World, but it didn''t matter to him. Since he couldn''t kill the real masters in the Three Purities Stage, he decided to annihilate first these duplicates of them.

 Chapter 3871 Backup Plan

    After the Grandmaster of Heaven descended, he couldn''t help but gaze at those down below.


    The Snake Goddess, Fuxi, Yellow Thearch, each one of them made his blood boil.


    He knew that the people that stood before him had different standpoints and were mere avatars devoid of memory, but it didn''t stop the inexplicable hatred that surged in his heart when his eyes swept over their faces.


    His negative feelings did not go unnoticed. Everyone felt the waves of anger that emanated from the Grandmaster of Heaven, including Snake Goddess, Fuxi, Yellow Thearch and Divine Farmer who had gradually recovered from the form of a goat monster.


    Mahoney, however, felt a bit lucky.


    This mysterious man in black had such a furious expression when he looked at the others but when it came to her, all he had was an expressionless gaze. She hoped she wouldn''t find trouble with her.


    Just as Mahoney silently rejoiced, the Grandmaster of Heaven turned towards her. "I shall kill this irrelevant person first.


    "Buzz!"


    The Heart-piercing Lock in his hand trembled just as a long, thin chain emerged and headed straight towards Mahoney. Instead of white jade, the chain was stark black, obviously of lower grade than the one that had trapped Othniel. But it was more than enough to trap Mahoney.


    After she heard the Grandmaster of Heaven''s words, Mahoney''s face quickly paled. She rolled backwards, just as the chain headed her way, and tried to get out of her now precarious situation.


    The space in front of the black chain distorted as it appeared right in front of Mahoney.


    "Puff!"


    Mahoney''s armor, a masterpiece that she was quite proud of, shattered underneath the piercing force of the black chain.


    With no defensive chestplate, the black chain sunk into her chest, and the moment it entered her body, the Spearhead Armor of Destruction on her body collapsed instantly while her life force rapidly faded away.


    In the blink of an eye, Mahoney''s life force dissipated entirely.


    An Eternal Realm warrior truly was no match against the Grandmaster of Heaven.


    As the chain retracted, Mahoney''s corpse snapped back and shot towards the black ship.


    "Deal with the corpse," the Grandmaster of Heaven muttered darkly.


    The sight of Mahoney''s corpse made Shera salivate.


    Her ghouls were weak and all she could really do was transform her own body.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven basically


    ys to descend!" he said in a girlish voice.


    "Phew!"


    Everyone was witness to how Yellow Thearch''s hair suddenly burned and the eyeball in the center of his forehead glowed with a golden light that emitted an aura similar to that of Descending Rings.


    They watched as his appearance, expression, and aura, all transformed into Claire''s image.


    Before the Grandmaster of Heaven could react, Claire had already stepped forward and swung Zen towards him, hard.


    "Buzz!"


    A burst of blue light flashed in the Grandmaster of Heaven''s eyes as he used the spatial distortion to dodge the blow.


    "Damn it!"


    "Grandmaster..."


    "That Zen can devour..."


    The people from the Black Ship all tried to warn him but it was already too late.


    The moment Zen touched the twisted space, he completely devoured the energy and returned the space to normal which meant he smashed onto the Grandmaster of Heaven with no hindrance whatsoever.


    "Puff!"


    Hit by such a formidable weapon, the Grandmaster of Heaven was sent flying into the air.


    Claire smirked in satisfaction at this temporary weapon of hers.


    "Fire!"


    Sizzle!


    She wanted to ignite a flame but forgot the characteristics of Zen''s body. The fire barely flickered as it was immediately absorbed by him.


    She made a face but did not really care. She took a step forward and reached the other side of the space. Again, she wielded Zen as a blunt weapon.


    "Bang!"


    As Zen''s body smashed onto the Grandmaster of Heaven the second time, Othniel, who was bound by the Heart-piercing Lock, was also dragged down and hit the ground hard.

 Chapter 3872 Swallow

    The Separate Amber Province looked like a rag. As the two fought, it began rolling, wrinkling, and tearing.


    Creatures that resided on the rag died miserably¡ªthey didn''t even have any clue what had happened. All they felt was how heaven and earth collapsed. Even the few people who were aware of what happened weren''t capable of resisting in a battle of this caliber.


    The boundary wall that could only be broken down by the Eternal Realm warriors'' full strength grew weak under the impact.


    Splash!


    Once the south of the Separate Amber Province sank, the ground was split into two¡ªa crack that extended millions of miles revealed the scene in the chaos.


    The negative pressure produced as a result then attracted the chaotic clouds nearby which then swarmed toward the crack.


    While the creatures of the Separate Amber Province could only sit still and wait for death, the Oneness Sky Palace''s members still held a glimmer of hope for life.


    The weakest disciples of the Oneness Sky Palace present were now at the Other Shore Realm, free from the threat of chaotic energy.


    But during the battle between Claire and the Grandmaster of Heaven, only a slight impact could cause them either death or injury.


    "Everyone, run to the west!"


    "If you get lost, head for the Pear Hill!"


    "To the west! Go through the boundary wall!"


    The initially indestructible boundary wall was now riddled with holes, no longer able to stop everyone from escaping.


    Libby, Pearce, and the rest quickly organized the Oneness Sky Palace''s disciples for smoother passage through it.


    In the meanwhile, the disciples of the Bearing race, the Divine Farmer race, and the New Moon race all returned to their respective flying ships.


    A battle of this level had already completely disrupted the initial plan, but so long as they made it to the Pear Hill, survival wasn''t impossible.


    All the while, Claire was occupying the Yellow Thearch''s body. The Divine Farmer had just been freed from a goat monster''s state, and Mahoney had died. They had no time to worry about the lives of the Holy Soul Realm warriors.


    Splash!


    Another crack appeared on the ground as thousands of clods were thrown into the sky¡ªeach clod was as huge as over a hundred mountains.


    In one of the clods, a two-winged earth dragon was curling up. Once it felt movement from outside, it quickly came out of the clod, on


    e the tension.


    "Come with me," said the captain, nodding at Edith.


    Once Edith stretched out her hands, an invisible space ship enveloped everyone. The next moment, it appeared in the west of the Separate Amber Province, where the Pear Hill and the Bearing race had first fought.


    As the Divine Farmer chased the Invisible Ship, he consumed far too much of Usman''s power, leaving the latter very weak.


    Fortunately, he was bound to the Separate Amber Province. So long as it wasn''t completely destroyed, he wouldn''t perish.


    Buzz!


    The Invisible Ship descended.


    All the members of the Black Ship, the Evil God, and Samantha appeared before Usman.


    As the latter raised his hand, his gaze fell upon Shera and the Evil God.


    From Shera, he could feel a specific kind of emotion that seemed to have something to do with him.


    Looking at the arrogant Evil God, he saw a bit of himself.


    "What do you want?"


    With the group approaching aggressively, he knew something bad was about to happen.


    But he didn''t seem to feel a sense of belonging to the Bearing race. He was like a drop of oil floating in the water, impossible for him to join any kind of force.


    If he was forced to join the Black Ship, though, he wasn''t going to refuse.


    "This is the incarnation of the Source World''s evil will. You will swallow him," said Shera firmly, pointing at Usman.


    At that, Usman was instantly shocked. He raised his head to look Shera square in the eye. He wasn''t afraid of anything, not even the warriors at the Eternal Realm, but now, a cold shiver just ran down his spine.

 Chapter 3873 Fusion

    Just when Usman was about to struggle, Samantha, who was standing next to him, waved her horsetail whisk gently on his body.


    As the whisk touched Usman''s face, he instantly felt his body become stiff all over.


    He was desperately trying to utter a word, but even his mouth was paralyzed, unable to say a word.


    "How to devour him? Do I just eat him up directly?" the Evil God said as he looked at Usman with a wicked grin.


    Although the Evil God would not devour the human flesh, he was pretty satisfied with Usman.


    The aura being emitted by Usman was almost exactly the same as his. That was why he thought that Usman was very suitable to be a part of him.


    "Don''t you have the ability to absorb one''s soul?" Samantha asked in confusion.


    "That''s right. You just need to devour his soul," Shera added.


    There was actually nothing wrong with devouring Usman''s physical body, but the most important thing was to fuse with his soul by consuming it.


    With that, Samantha reached out her hand towards Usman''s forehead, and a ray of cyan light was released from her palm.


    Unable to move an inch, Usman only felt a grueling gravitational force coming from Samantha''s hand. His eyes rolled and his body trembled violently. Soon, his soul was gradually dragged out of his body.


    Generally, one''s soul would look the same as their physical body, and there were only a very few exceptions.


    Usman''s soul was one of them. His soul was very unique. It sort of looked like a cat with its fur standing on end and covered with soul thorns. As Samantha dragged it out, it started struggling insanely in her hand.


    However, if his physical body wasn''t able to escape from Samantha, then his soul would be much more helpless.


    Whoosh!


    Samantha waved Usman''s soul and quickly placed it on the Evil God''s head, for it to be absorbed into his mind. In just a matter of seconds, Usman''s soul was successfully integrated into the Evil God''s mind.


    Unexpectedly, as soon as Usman''s soul fused with the Evil God, it struggled and even tried to take over.


    However, Samantha didn''t have any intention of helping the Evil God out. Instead, she asked him to deal with it by himself.


    "Will he be okay?" Shera asked curiously.


    "Well, it depends on him. But he better sort it out quickly." Samantha shrugged her shoulders and didn''t seem to care much about it.


    Upon seeing the indifferent expression on Samantha''s face, Shera also backed off.


    In fact, even the entire Nihility race treated the Evil God and Usman with the same attitude. As the incarnations of the evil wills, they weren''t destined to be faithful partners for their race.


    Besides, the Nihility race j


    lls at will. When that happened, even powerful Eternal Realm warriors would have a hard time dealing with him.


    Unfortunately, as he was about to reach the third stage, he had become the rebel and was killed.


    Eventually, the next Usman was cultivated by Yellow Thearch. But he was already devoured by the Evil God while he was still at the early level of the second stage.


    Logically speaking, even if the Evil God had fused with Usman''s soul, he would be able to reach the second stage at most. However, what they were seeing now defied logic and exceeded their expectations.


    Whoosh! Crash!


    At the same moment, a huge whistling sound came from the skies above.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven suddenly appeared and was smashed down towards the boundary wall by Claire.


    When the Evil God saw this, a pitch-black light flashed in his eyes and he stretched out his hand.


    In a matter of seconds, the boundary wall which was flowing like a fluid suddenly began to condense into a long spear.


    The boundary wall that was hundreds of miles wide was condensed into a nine-foot-nine-inch-long spear. He held it in his hand as it released a tremendous amount of power.


    As Claire viciously threw the Grandmaster of Heaven down, her figure flashed and she kept chasing after him.


    At her top speed, her body could flicker and her figure couldn''t be perceived by the naked eye. Even Samantha would find it difficult to capture her.


    However, now that the Evil God had devoured Usman, he also gained the connection to the Separate Amber Province. It meant that as long as any object was within the Separate Amber Province, he could easily tell its location in an instant. With that, he raised the long spear with his right hand, and forcefully threw it in a certain direction.

 Chapter 3874 Taking Advantage Of The Moment

    It never occurred to Claire that someone would dare to attack her.


    In her eyes, no one matched her in strength, other than the Grandmaster of Heaven and the Chaos Ancient Gods.


    She was moving to the left, as the Grandmaster of Heaven fell towards that direction.


    However, as soon as she emerged from the space channel, a long spear shot towards her unexpectedly.


    Boom!


    The spear itself was extremely sturdy, and the power contained within it was immensely great.


    The impact from the spear sent Claire flying back into the space channel.


    Unfortunately, she slammed into it so hard that the space channel was smashed into pieces. As she flew backwards, the space around her cracked and shattered.


    As the Evil God waved his hand, the spear moved according to his control, dancing in the air a few times.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Finally, he had adjusted the spear enough for it to point directly towards Claire. Without any hesitation, the Evil God launched another spear attack on her.


    Claire had been caught off guard. When she finally came to her senses and saw the spear shooting towards her, her eyes flashed with rage.


    Whoosh!


    She violently swung Zen, using him to parry the incoming spear.


    To her surprise, the spear didn''t shatter, but she did manage to deflect it. They stood no chance against her as long as she had her wits about her.


    However, just as Claire had deflected the spear, the Grandmaster of Heaven appeared from behind.


    Buzz!


    A ray of cyan light shot out like a delicate thread. Then, a thin chain was made out under the light. It was the Heart-piercing Lock.


    If he managed to cast three chains, the battle would finally come to an end.


    However, Claire''s speed and strength far exceeded the expectations of the Grandmaster of Heaven. In their last battle, he was left at a complete disadvantage.


    While the Grandmaster of Heaven tried to retreat quickly, the long spear suddenly flew to his aid.


    He stabbed Claire through the ribs with his sword. Just as he was about to use the first chain, Claire''s body suddenly transformed.


    Fire spurted out from every orifice on her head. Her body erupted in flames, too. The flames soon enveloped Zen, rapidly moving him to the side.


    This was Claire''s true form.


    The creatures of the Element Spirit race didn''t have a clear concept of life. From the moment they were born, they continued to grow in strength, devouring weaker members in the pro


    !


    Tiny fire snakes burst out from Claire''s hands one after another. These fire snakes had a mind of their own and rushed towards Fuxi in the space channel.


    At the same time, the Grandmaster of Heaven also summoned cyan sword radiance directed at Fuxi.


    Sensing their theurgies quickly closing in on him, Fuxi turned around, with Zen in front of him.


    Click! Click! Click!


    The extremely sharp sword radiance and the extremely fierce fire snakes all disappeared the instant they connected with Zen''s body. Fuxi smiled. He could now use Zen as a really handy protective treasure!


    The Grandmaster of Heaven and Claire didn''t give up the chase. However, after a while, they realized they couldn''t seem to catch up to Fuxi.


    In fact, it seemed as though he was getting farther and farther away!


    "How is he so fast?"


    "It seems that something is pulling him..."


    The Grandmaster of Heaven and Claire were puzzled. They both knew that despite Fuxi''s incredible strength, there was no way he could travel at that speed alone. They keenly sensed that something was yanking Fuxi forward.


    This was true. In the space channel, a thin energy beam was wrapped around Fuxi''s waist.


    The red energy beam was actually the shadow of Snake Goddess!


    The shadow of Snake Goddess could extend indefinitely. Now, the Snake Goddess, who was over a hundred miles away, was dragging Fuxi forward at high speed.


    In front of the Snake Goddess, there was a huge light sail. In order to reach this speed, the Snake Goddess was pouring most of her shadow into the light sail. The light sail then dragged her, Fuxi and Zen to quickly escape.

 Chapter 3875 Being Stopped

    This Cloud Light Sail was an auxiliary type of Other Shore Token from Stage Thirty-three.


    Theoretically, if enough energy was put into it, the Cloud Light Sail could become incredibly fast.


    This Other Shore Token wasn''t the most popular of Other Shore Tokens on Stage Thirty-three since it was helpful only during travel. But the Snake Goddess had still merged with it, and it was now coming in handy.


    The Cloud Light Sail was fast, but the amount of energy it consumed was astonishing. It wouldn''t last long even if the Snake Goddess had cast her shadow in it.


    Fortunately, even the range of perception the strong masters like Grandmaster of Heaven and Claire had by way of their spiritual sense was limited. The Snake Goddess assumed that if they were far away from their pursuers, they would be able to escape.


    They headed east, moving further and further away from the Grandmaster of Heaven and Claire. Fuxi was relieved.


    He had fought a good many head to head battles in the past few years, but the other Eternal Realm warriors in the Source World always gave in to him. And now, he was the one running away. It was hard for him to accept.


    Deep in his heart, Fuxi didn''t think he was incapable of fighting them. But the Snake Goddess had made a strategy and he had no choice but to follow her plan and escape.


    Once Fuxi''s spiritual sense could no longer perceive the existence of the Grandmaster of Heaven and Claire, he said to the Snake Goddess, "Have we shaken them off?"


    The Snake Goddess was ahead of Fuxi, but her spiritual sense could perceive much more than Fuxi could.


    "No, I''m afraid we can''t get rid of them just by relying on our speed," the Snake Goddess answered calmly.


    The distance between them was increasing but the Grandmaster of Heaven and Claire had extraordinary tracking abilities that no ordinary Eternal Realm warrior could compare to. It would be difficult to get rid of them when they were in the same big province.


    The Snake Goddess stretched out two thin fingers, several small creatures appearing at her fingertips.


    These creatures were like jellyfish, a mushroom crowning the top of their heads. The mushroom was cracked and two horns sat on top of it. Funnily enough, they looked like monsters that were making faces. Thin tentacles floated below the heads, emitting rays of light in perfect symmetry.


    "Ghost Jellyfish Mask, transform!"


    The Ghost Jellyfish Mask was a rare Other Shore Token on Stage Thirty-three. It could easily change into shapes of other creatures and was also an a


    ave a chance to escape once they flew out of the Separate Amber Province.


    The Snake Goddess and Fuxi were becoming more and more optimistic. If they could take Zen away like this, the risks they had taken to snatch Zen from Claire and the Grandmaster of Heaven would all be worth it.


    But they were just about to approach the boundary wall when a long spear suddenly shot out of the wall before them, taking them by surprise. .


    The Snake Goddess had been vigilant all along and had considered every possible obstruction ahead of them. But she had ignored the boundary wall. She had ignored the Evil God who could control the boundary wall and detect everything that happened within the Separate Amber Province.


    Boom!


    The spear shot through the space channel at a high speed and hit the Cloud Light Sail.


    The Cloud Light Sail was an excellent auxiliary type of Other Shore Token, but was also very fragile. It was shattered by the long spear, causing the Snake Goddess to roll to the side and come to an abrupt stop.


    Fuxi, who had been following behind, soon caught up with her. He stared at the boundary wall before asking, "What''s wrong now?"


    The existence that could stop the Snake Goddess had to be strong.


    "Over there." The Snake Goddess pointed.


    The amber liquid on the boundary wall flowed and turned into a reflection of the Evil God. The highly condensed long spear had returned to his hand.


    "Devouring one is not enough for me. He has to stay." The Evil God pointed at Zen who was on Fuxi''s shoulder.


    "You want to court death?"


    Fuxi said, his countenance turning cold. If it was only a young man controlling the boundary wall, the man would be no match for him.

 Chapter 3876 Real Strength

    Right now, the Evil God''s true body was with the members of the Black Ship hundreds of thousands of miles away.


    After he successfully absorbed Usman''s soul, he was constantly exploring his abilities.


    At present, he could sense the existence of the Source World, but the Source World was not responding to him. With his current strength, he couldn''t use the power of the Source World yet, so he could only control the province he was in.


    Despite this, his combat effectiveness had increased to a higher level.


    He could now accurately block the attacks of the Snake Goddess, and counterattack using his avatar on the boundary wall.


    "Ha! Aren''t you giving up? You can''t kill me!" the Evil God sneered.


    If it was any other human junior, even if they knew that they had quite an advantage, they wouldn''t dare to be so arrogant in front of Fuxi.


    However, the Evil God was different. He was afraid of no one.


    "Let''s see where your arrogance can take you!"


    Boom! Boom!


    Suddenly, the mark of the Eight Diagrams exploded on the surface of the Evil God''s body and caused it to tremble violently.


    At the same time, the remaining boundary wall of the Separate Amber Province also shook wildly. Fuxi immediately recognized that the impact of his attack was deflated.


    His face darkened. He was attacking the Evil God with all his might but the power of his strike was being transferred.


    Like Usman, the Evil God also gained the ability to use the boundary wall to block his attacks.


    Furthermore, compared to Usman, the Evil God''s technique and control were much better.


    Usman could only transfer the power that he received to a certain part of the boundary wall. With Fuxi''s massive punch, he could easily make a big hole in it.


    On the other hand, the Evil God was able to evenly distribute the power to every part of the boundary wall. That meant that it had a better chance of withstanding powerful attacks.


    Although the boundary wall had already been riddled with countless holes, there was still a huge part that remained intact.


    So far, the Evil God had been able to withstand even the strongest strikes that Fuxi threw at him.


    In Fuxi''s mind, he was indeed wondering how the Evil God suddenly appeared and acquired Usman''s power. But the greater problem was that the Evil God was more adept in using this power than Usman.


    "You know that it wouldn''t be easy to kill me. But I c


    . Besides, he hated it when people referred to him as a fake.


    "Fake, huh? Then let''s see how you''ll get crushed by the strength of a fake!"


    While Fuxi''s vicious eyes were fixed on the Grandmaster of Heaven, he stretched out his hand and grabbed the air. Immediately after, an Eight Diagrams disk appeared in his hand.


    He then threw the Eight Diagrams disk in the sky. It constantly grew as it absorbed the wind, turning into a huge Eight Diagrams disk that floated in the air.


    As the Eight Diagrams disk spun, Fuxi''s aura also drastically changed.


    Even when he was fighting with the Yellow Thearch, he didn''t use all his strength.


    But now, since they were facing two people who were much stronger than them, he had no choice but to go all out.


    Meanwhile, the shadow of Snake Goddess was also growing. Countless tentacle-like energy beams surged out and attacked the Grandmaster of Heaven and Claire at the same time.


    Although the energy of the shadow of Snake Goddess was extremely terrifying, its speed was subpar to that of the Grandmaster of Heaven and Claire. That was why both of them easily avoided her attack.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    The Grandmaster of Heaven and Claire rushed towards the Snake Goddess after they successfully avoided her energy beams.


    Just a bit earlier, these two powerful beings were fighting desperately against each other, but now they were temporarily working together.


    However, before they could approach the Snake Goddess, a huge shadow suddenly appeared from the sky above them. A gigantic tail with a poisonous needle emerged and shot fiercely at them.

 Chapter 3877 Element Destruction

    The huge tail appeared out of nowhere, and by the time Claire and the Grandmaster of Heaven realized what was happening, it was too late to try to dodge it.


    Boom!


    In a single blow, both of them were struck and smashed into the depths of the ground.


    The gigantic creature floating in the sky was no other than Gerald!


    Earlier, Othniel had sent him to a desolate place in the chaos. However, he exhausted all his means to rush to the Separate Amber Province. Upon his return, he immediately rushed to help Fuxi and the Snake Goddess.


    "You can go. I''ll deal with them."


    Gerald''s voice boomed loudly.


    "I''m afraid you can''t deal with them alone," replied Fuxi.


    "What do you mean?"


    Gerald looked at Fuxi confusedly. He didn''t know that Othniel had been caught by the Grandmaster of Heaven.


    The moment those words left his mouth, a violent pain shot up from his tail.


    Splash!


    Suddenly, a wisp of dark red flame erupted from the surface of Gerald''s tail. Before Gerald had the time to react, his entire tail was burnt to a crisp by the flame.


    At the same time, Claire''s body began to transform rapidly, growing until she became a massive giant of flames. Her beautiful face was no longer visible; instead, raging flames took its place. "I didn''t expect to meet such trouble when I descended the first time," she said in a muffled voice. "Well then, let''s finish this once and for all!"


    The arrival of the Grandmaster of Heaven had been part of the Black Ship''s plan all along, but Claire''s arrival was just an alternative plan for Yellow Thearch. Even the Yellow Thearch himself was strongly opposed to the way Claire occupied his body.


    However, as the situation changed, the Yellow Thearch was unable to resist the enemy and finally chose to compromise. Therefore, Claire rushed in hastily, not knowing what to expect. She never thought she''d encounter so much trouble.


    The series of unfortunate events finally exhausted her patience. In that moment, she decided she would get rid of all these problems, once and for all.


    Splash!


    A line of flames appeared in the distance and spread towards them at an incredible speed. It was almost as though the flames weren''t traveling through space!


    In the blink of


    However, before Gerald could even get close, the energy of Element Destruction swept towards him like a snowstorm, forcing him to take a few steps back.


    Meanwhile, the Grandmaster of Heaven had already summoned the Six Soul Flags. At the same time, he placed the Cyan Misty Sword in front of him with a pair of golden scissors in his hand.


    Flood dragons twined around the scissors, flashing a dazzlingly bright gold. It was another magic treasure of the Grandmaster of Heaven: the Golden Dragon Scissors.


    It could cut through almost anything, even energy.


    However, the power of the Element Destruction gradually increased. While the Grandmaster of Heaven was still able to resist it, he knew he had to do something drastic if he wanted to make it out of this alive.


    The Snake Goddess and Fuxi were at a disadvantage. Although the two of them were working together, their strength was relatively weak compared to the others. Their only advantage was Zen.


    Fuxi stood in front of the Snake Goddess and placed Zen in front of him. At the same time, the Snake Goddess used her shadow to form a circular enchanted barrier to protect them.


    Fuxi kept turning around, trying his best to use Zen as a shield to block the energy.


    However, the attacks came from all directions. There was no way he''d be able to block all of them.


    The slightest mistake could cause the Snake Goddess''s enchanted barrier to collapse, rendering them vulnerable to the attacks of the Element Destruction.

 Chapter 3878 Kill With Poison

    Faced with such a crisis, the Snake Goddess was also focusing her entire concentration on the fight. It wouldn''t have been possible to catch her off guard right now.


    As soon as the enchanted barrier was broken, she instantly activated another one. This blood red enchanted barrier was seemingly as fragile as an eggshell for now, but it was once known as the toughest enchanted barrier in the Source World.


    Unfortunately, things had changed! Just as the second enchanted barrier was activated, it was able to only slightly block the incoming flames before shattering to pieces again.


    Without hesitation, the Snake Goddess activated several more enchanted barriers.


    Six of them were out forward in a row to block the energy that was swarming over towards the team.


    The truth was, only a small portion of the energy was being blocked, while most of it was being absorbed by Zen.


    "Let''s move. We''ll try to get close to the edge of this area," the Snake Goddess suggested.


    Fuxi instantly understood what she meant. He grabbed her, flew to the side, and was almost instantly at the edge of the area.


    Once they got close to the edge, they placed Zen''s body in front of them.


    The power of Element Destruction could only surge from one direction, and with Zen''s body in front, it would naturally be completely absorbed by him. With his body, Fuxi and the Snake Goddess had created a small safe haven for themselves.


    Claire noticed this, but at the moment, her main opponents were not these two. Rather, she was facing the Grandmaster of Heaven and Gerald.


    "Now that you have shown your own abilities, let''s see how long you can hold out with those!" Claire roared.


    The power of Element Destruction was divided into seven levels, and at the moment, Claire was using the third level. Even then, it was incredibly powerful.


    So much so that apart from the Snake Goddess, Fuxi, Zen, Gerald, and the Grandmaster of Heaven, no other living being could be seen in this area. Every single part of space had been torn apart by the overwhelming elemental energy.


    "The fourth level!"


    Splash!


    With a burst of extraordinary power, a huge column of swirling wind began to spin in the center of the space, accompanied by intense lightning and flames. As the flames spun with the wind, it looked like they were creating a fiery localized cyclone that would devour everything in its path.


    When the flames swept over Gerald, layers upon layers of embedded carapaces began to grow on his body.


    They were a powerful defensive mechanism which could greatly lower the efficiency of


    ''s power. The moment Gerald was enveloped in the cube, he had appeared in Claire''s body. Without any hesitation, he pierced his tail through the cube and stabbed at Claire.


    Energy with two different colors, yellow and green, quickly spread through Claire''s body.


    The Poison of Decomposition had an extremely rapid and powerful effect on soul and energy based bodies, and was far less effective on creatures with physical bodies.


    As the Poison of Decomposition spread around quickly, Claire''s huge body quickly collapsed, and pretty soon, disappeared into nothingness.


    "You... You..."


    Claire had never expected that the Grandmaster of Heaven would be bold enough to send Gerald directly into her body, nor had she expected that the latter''s Poison of Decomposition would be so deadly.


    Within a short period of time, the Poison of Decomposition had spread throughout her entire body, and coursed through all her veins. In a moment, her body was completely decomposed.


    As the Poison of Decomposition spread over her head, Claire finally realized that she could do nothing to regain her winning position now. She raised her head, and a golden eyeball shot into the sky and disappeared.


    Far away, the golden eyeball appeared in front of the Divine Farmer. Then a tattered body formed near the eyeball and slowly took a misshapen shape. It was none other than the body of the Yellow Thearch which had been occupied by Claire for a long time. Nothing but a twisted form was left now.


    After the eyeball was gone, Claire''s huge body instantly dissipated, and the power of the Element Destruction never managed to reach the seventh level. It began to weaken and dissipate, and finally everything was calm once again.

 Chapter 3879 Half Of The Light Columns

    At that moment, Gerald quickly turned into an oval cocoon to protect himself from the Element Destruction.


    The Element Destruction then hit the cocoon, which became charred and carbonized.


    Soon enough, the Element Destruction stopped. The charred part of the cocoon cracked then a pinkish tender body came out of it. The body immediately stiffened and turned into a shiny black shell upon coming out.


    It looked like Gerald had recovered to normal, but in reality, he had exhausted all of his strength. He was already quite weak.


    On the contrary, the Grandmaster of Heaven, who was nearby, looked a lot better than Gerald. He was unharmed since he relied on a few magic treasures to protect himself, but he still had to maintain the Heart-piercing Lock to restrain Othniel.


    The amount of energy used by the Heart-piercing Lock was not significant, but the Grandmaster of Heaven had consumed a large amount of energy to resist the Element Destruction. Thus, it wasn''t easy to maintain the Heart-piercing Lock as it was before.


    Therefore, the Grandmaster of Heaven''s overall situation wasn''t actually much better than Gerald''s.


    Far away from them, after the Snake Goddess withdrew the blood-red enchanted barrier, she and Fuxi slowly appeared behind Zen.


    Fuxi took a deep breath, but his eyes still twitched.


    The energy he released when he used the marks of Eight Diagrams was the strongest kind of power in the Source World. Furthermore, he thought that since he had gone to numerous battles in the Three Purities Stage, there was nothing to fear.


    But he was utterly shocked when the Element Destruction happened.


    The Element Destruction didn''t affect a large area, and only half of the province got hit, but the force that struck the province was far beyond what he had imagined.


    Was that how powerful that member from the Element Spirit race was?


    "Let''s go!" the Snake Goddess shouted.


    She looked at the distance and quickly pulled Fuxi while she activated the Grand Teleportation. After she opened a space channel, the two of them went inside.


    A smile graced the Grandmaster of Heaven''s face when he saw them escape hurriedly. Then, he followed them.


    Claire, who was the most troublesome to deal with, was gone, and Gerald was already weak. The Snake Goddess and Fuxi were just like mice. Everything would be under his control.


    "Whoosh!"


    The


    ighty-six light columns that have lit up. Do you remember the legend that once spread in the Eternal Divine Courtyard?" the bronze bird asked the bronze monkey.


    "When the number of light columns that have lit up is more than half of the total number, the ancestry-level bloodline would automatically become complete?" "Yes, I remember!


    There was indeed such a legend! I just thought that such a thing couldn''t possibly happen at that time. I simply thought it was a story," the bronze human said excitedly. The other bronze statues also became ecstatic when the bronze bird asked the question.


    At that time, only a few creatures were qualified to enter the sacred cup.


    Furthermore, even fewer of them could light up a dozen light columns in the map.


    If half of the light columns or one hundred and eighty-seven light columns to be exact have lit up, then the remaining light columns would automatically rise to complete the bloodline map.


    Now with one more column to light up, the number would reach half.


    What if the legend was true?


    How strong would the ancestry-level bloodline be in its complete state?


    The four bronze statues all had the same thought. If they could see it with their own eyes, then it would be worth even if they would end up dead.


    At that point, Fuxi and the Snake Goddess were still running like mad in the space channel while they carried Zen.


    Although the Snake Goddess had condensed the Cloud Light Sail again, it took some time for the sail to speed up. During that period, the Grandmaster of Heaven had already caught up with them.

 Chapter 3880 The Purple Lightening Hammer

    The Cyan Misty Sword cut through space silently and sent a straight cyan light from the void which hit the Cloud Light Sail.


    Splash!


    With the Cloud Light Sail slashed, a large hole appeared in the center as it began to collapse from the inside out.


    Fuxi and the Snake Goddess had just sped up but now came to sudden dead stop.


    "Those two fakes are really quite powerful," remarked the Grandmaster of Heaven. "But that''s it. I''ve had enough!"


    He had once feared the real Fuxi.


    But since joining the Nihility race, he had improved his strength immensely and could now kill ordinary warriors at the Eternal Realm effortlessly.


    Now, even the real Fuxi was no match for him, let alone his avatar.


    But the two avatars'' tenacity exceeded the Grandmaster of Heaven''s expectations.


    He raised the Cyan Misty Sword and the sword radiance soared up into the sky. From his body burst an intense aura powerful enough to pierce through the heaven and earth.


    A mark of Eight Diagrams then covered him, just as he brandished his sword.


    Fuxi had quick fists and so the fist radiance would be released as soon as the mark of Eight Diagrams appeared.


    Before the Grandmaster of Heaven even knew what was going on, he had already been struck by Fuxi''s terrifying fist radiance.


    Boom!


    Caught off guard, the Grandmaster of Heaven was flung in the distance.


    "Seal!


    Limitless Power!"


    Whoosh!


    The Eight Diagrams disk above Fuxi''s head rotated and countless marks of Eight Diagrams, both small and large, condensed all over the Grandmaster of Heaven''s body.


    Fuxi was like a beast rushing at its prey; every muscle in his body swelled and his shoulder blades raised high like little wings.


    The Limitless Power was one of the Eight Diagrams disk''s unique techniques. He could use the Eight Diagrams disk to maximize his bloodline and summon triple his base power in a short period of time.


    The Snake Goddess interlocked her fingers and strands of crimson light flowed and flashed from her fingertips.


    "Faceless Phantom!"


    Sizzle!


    Suddenly, a dark faceless figur


    in his eye and refracting the cyan sword lights further to let them come at Fuxi from all directions.


    Fuxi spun Zen in his hands, rotating him like a wheel. He couldn''t quite come up with a way to deal with the Grandmaster of Heaven. But with Zen as an invincible shield, he could defend himself rather well.


    Da! Da! Da!


    No matter how many times the cyan sword lights were refracted and no matter which angle they came from, Zen took them all.


    "It seems that you''ve gotten ahead of yourself, Grandmaster of Heaven," Fuxi said, shrugging with a smile.


    They hadn''t confirmed the Grandmaster of Heaven''s identity until they had heard how Claire addressed him. They then had a rough idea of who he was.


    Even at an absolute disadvantage and on the defensive, Fuxi didn''t panic. Instead, there was a shrewd smile across his face.


    Obviously, the Grandmaster of Heaven was as powerful as the Chaos Ancient Gods. He had possibly even slightly surpassed them. If Fuxi hoped to defeat such an opponent, he would have to remain on the defensive and wait patiently to exploit his few flaws once they were exposed.


    When Fuxi had finished speaking, his smile slowly retreated and his intense seriousness returned.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven stretched out his hand and a big purple hammer materialized in it. It was another of his powerful magic treasures, the Purple Lightening Hammer.

 Chapter 3881 Completely Absorbing

    This was the most formidable magic treasure of the Grandmaster of Heaven. When he yielded the handle of the Purple Lightening Hammer securely in his grip, the lightning snake emitting extremely daunting aura coiled itself around it till it reached the surface of the hammer.


    Sizzle...


    The breathtakingly eminent aura radiating from the pure purple lightning made the onlookers gasp in awe.


    Fuxi and the Snake Goddess remained rooted to their spots, and their pupils shrank visibly at this sight. Apparently, they too felt intimidated by the daunting presence of the Purple Lightening Hammer.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven seemed unbothered and refused to hold back. He had attempted to catch the two for quite a long time without tasting the sweet nectar of success. Because of that, his patience had run out, and there was no longer any room for error.


    When the black fire was extinguished by Gerald, he would catch up again. The Grandmaster of Heaven feared if he didn''t act quickly, everything he worked so hard for would slip away from his hands once more.


    Boom!


    The Grandmaster of Heaven glared at the space ahead of him and raised his hammer before smashing it into thin air.


    Visually, there was nothing in front of him.


    But when he swung the hammer in the air, it seemed to have hit an obstruction that was indestructible. As a result, the collision sent down shockwaves as it experienced violent tremors. The repercussions were so severe that they pushed back the Grandmaster of Heaven a few steps.


    Amidst the wild outburst of the explosion, countless bolts of thin purple lightning gathered and morphed themselves into the shape of a thick lightning snake that charged towards Fuxi.


    Crack!


    Acting on his sharp reflexes, Fuxi took the initiative and lifted Zen up right in the nick of time.


    Buzz!


    The moment the lightning snake came in contact with Zen''s body, it switched its previous ferocious form and transformed into many purple lightning flowers. Within a flash, Zen had absorbed more than half of the energy of the purple lightning snake, causing its intensity to weaken.


    However, after the lightning snake jumped on Zen''s body once, the rest of it switched its course of direction to pounce at Fuxi and the Snake Goddess.


    Crack! Crack...


    It was one of the attributes of thunder and lightning. Once a bolt of lightning was released, it would jump several times before coming to a stop.


    Even though it was weakened by Zen absorbing more than half of its energy, the remaining energy of the purple lightning snake still posed as a severe threat to Fuxi and the Snake Goddess.


    When the lightning snake bounced off of him a third time, its energy was reduced substantially. Even so, when it struck the Snake Goddess, it sent her lightweight body flying high before she fell to the ground with a heavy thump.


    The moment Fuxi''s body was thrown off like a ragdoll, Zen''s physical body lost contact with him as he was forced to let go of his hand.


    Taking advantage of the circumstances, the Grandmaster of Heaven reached out to grab Zen. However, the energy formed due to the space fluctuation was consumed by Zen''s body before he cou


    e thick blood in the cup emptied itself at an alarming speed as if rushing to familiarize itself with his body.


    Ever since the ancestry-level bloodline existed in the Eternal Divine Courtyard, it had never decreased.


    Instead of saying that one fused with the ancestry-level bloodline within the sacred cup at will, it was more accurate to say that the ancestry-level bloodline gave the warrior who entered the sacred cup the powerful bloodline and unfathomable power...


    But this time was different.


    The ancestry-level bloodline actually drilled itself into Zen''s body willingly.


    The ancestry-level bloodline was as thick as glue. When it moved along Zen''s meridians, his meridians bulged out in such a way that it looked as if a little rat was frantically moving along them.


    Zen could endure the massive volume of blood pouring into him because of his astonishingly strong body. If his body fell short of the requirement and was weaker than it was, his meridians would probably burst open due to not being able to hold it all in.


    After a short while, all the blood that originally filled up the sacred cup had been emptied into Zen''s body.


    At this sight, the four bronze statues'' mouths fell to the ground with utter astonishment. Silence reigned the air before the bronze bird took the initiative and spoke, "Has the ancestry-level bloodline... been possessed by him?"


    Judging by the bronze bird''s growing grim expression, he seemed to be thirsting for the ancestry-level bloodline that was now possessed by Zen. The increasing desperation in his eyes felt like he was eager to cut open Zen''s belly to extract all of it for himself.


    The bronze snake beside him had a similar intention. Although they were happy to see Zen create such a miracle, it was difficult for them to digest the fact that he took away all of the ancestry-level bloodline.


    "Well, let him take it!"


    The bronze monkey, who had been very radical from the start, seemed to have thought of something. His eyes flashed in response to his emotions and reflected a different color, as if he was expecting something big to happen.

 Chapter 3882 Return

    In most cases, they say that eternity was nothing but a synonym for destruction.


    "Running water is never stale, and a door hinge never gets worm-eaten." Only something so dynamic could achieve genuine eternity.


    This was inside the thoughts of the bronze monkey.


    If there was not a single blood-receiver that could enter the Eternal Divine Courtyard, then the place would lose the purpose of its existence.


    After the Eternal Divine Courtyard was sealed by the Time Lock, it was regarded to be worthless and was just something that awaited its impending destruction.


    But in the end, this human unexpectedly broke in and soaked himself into the sacred cup without hesitation.


    With this, this human actually extended the lifespan of the Eternal Divine Courtyard. Now, changes that were never foreseen should be expected.


    The bronze human also had the same thought, so he immediately stopped the bronze bird and the bronze snake.


    After some time, the four bronze statues came to an agreement. In the meantime, they would quietly observe the sacred cup and see what would happen.


    Still shrouded in darkness, all of the light dots that appeared in front of Zen had been completely lit up. They were arranged in such a way that they formed four neat triangles together.


    At this time, the meanings contained within the light dots were all grasped by Zen.


    ''The meaning of power is completely beyond the limits of the chaos.'' Zen was immersed in this thought.


    The power of the three thousand Godly Ways was based on the most original power of the chaos, which was also the foundation of the entire chaos. On the other hand, the three hundred and seventy-three entities of power in the light dots were way more extensive and profound. They covered wider ranges and were formed based on rules of higher levels.


    They could even be called the origin of everything.


    Inside Zen''s mind, this information flashed like bolts of lightning. All of a sudden, he seemed to have a fair understanding of everything.


    Whoosh!


    All of the lights intensely brightened as Zen''s eyes snapped open.


    Eventually, he regained all of his six senses. He had a brief struggle to adapt as his consciousness gradually returned. It was like the sensation of being awakened from a very long dream.


    He was still lying quietly inside the sacred cup, staring blankly at the huge dome of the Eternal Divine Courtyard. He felt sort of light-headed as his consciousness was still somewhat in a blur.


    Then, he gently moved a finger, followed by his arms, legs, until he could already feel his whole body.


    Swoosh!


    With a quick somersault, Zen leaped from the cup and landed steadily on the ground. As he looked down, he noticed that there was a perfect bloodline map sketched on the square.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    The four bronze statues immediately jumped


    no clue that he was about to meet Zen again.


    Then, without any warning, Zen abruptly appeared in this space once more.


    The spider man''s eyes widened as soon as he saw him. He started speaking to him in his unique language, ignoring his disheveled hair.


    "Heavenly Obsession Civilization, translate it for me," Zen ordered.


    The Civilization Artifact of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization quickly activated its core and translated what the spider man was saying.


    "Young man, did you get the ancestry-level bloodline?" the spider man asked impatiently. However, he strongly believed that Zen wouldn''t be able to obtain it. He thought that Zen must have left the Eternal Divine Courtyard without gaining anything.


    "Well, what do you think?" Instead of answering directly, Zen just answered back with a faint smile.


    "if you didn''t get the ancestry-level bloodline, I can teach you the skill for merging the Infinite Time and Space. Even with just this, you will be strong enough!" The spider man offered eagerly. It was as if he had completely forgotten that he had attempted on attacking Zen the previous time they met.


    However, Zen pretended to be interested in what he was saying. He descended to the cube where the spider man was and asked, "What is this skill that you''re talking about?"


    "Give me a finger then! Hurry! I''ll demonstrate it for you!" The spider man''s eyes seemed to be unusually desperate. He forced a smile and thought that Zen was a fool.


    Zen went along and stretched out one of his fingers.


    As soon as his finger was stuck into the cube, the spider man grabbed it desperately, as if it was his last lifeline.


    He believed that if he could successfully pull Zen inside, everything would work out for him. He was thrilled and nervous at the same time.


    However, while he touched Zen''s finger, his movement suddenly stopped, and his expression changed drastically.

 Chapter 3883 Exploration

    The finger in the spider man''s hand seemed ordinary, but a strange flame lingered around it.


    Even though he was exceptionally strong, he instantly felt an unbearable pain when he touched it.


    He had been trapped in the cube for countless years and endured all kinds of torture.


    However, he couldn''t take the pain from the formless flame around Zen''s hand. He quickly withdrew his hand.


    But how could he give up such a great opportunity?


    As soon as he pulled out his hand, he spat out the green spider silk towards Zen''s hand.


    The spider silk was his race''s unique ability. His race lived between space layers and inside space cracks, so the spider silk also had a special space quality.


    No one else could break the spider silk they released.


    The spider silk quickly wrapped around Zen''s hand, and at the same time, the spider man''s eight legs stepped back. Then, he unleashed a powerful force that pulled Zen into the square space.


    If Zen didn''t use the Celestial Spear, he wouldn''t be as strong as the spider man in terms of strength alone.


    The spider man became extremely excited when he saw that Zen was pulled into the space by him.


    If he successfully pulled in a person, then he would be able to leave this damned place!


    Still, he wouldn''t kill Zen.


    He wanted to keep Zen alive, so Zen would also be tortured and suffer in living hell.


    Whoosh!


    He tried to rush out of the square space, but a loud "bang" sound followed after he came into contact with the space''s inner wall. He slammed into the wall, and the space still prevented him from leaving.


    "What happened?"


    Out of panic, he stretched out a long, thin leg and stabbed the inner wall.


    Boom!


    The wall also blocked his leg. He was very desperate now.


    "How could this be? This is impossible! It''s simply impossible..."


    He turned around and saw Zen, who calmly stood on the other side with a faint smile on his face. At that moment, he suddenly realized something.


    It must be Zen who played those tricks!


    Previously, Zen had been very cautious and didn''t even dare to approach the sq


    There was an Ouroboros carved on the bronze mountain in the second space. It was the space of the bloodline called Ultimate Cycle.


    Among the four origin-level bloodlines, the Infinite Reproduction, the Myriad Birth and Destruction, and the Infinite Time and Space had roughly visible outlines. However, the meaning of the Ultimate Cycle was unknown. Even its form was invisible.


    Now that he had the ancestry-level bloodline as his support, Zen became curious and naturally wanted to comprehend it.


    In a split second, he stood on the bronze mountain, just at the center of the Ouroboros.


    Swoosh...


    An invisible wave came from the Ouroboros. Then, the Ouroboros'' statue began to move, and it swallowed its tail bit by bit.


    Although the snake devoured itself, its tail also continued to grow. Such a process was an infinite cycle.


    When the Ouroboros began to rotate, Zen also felt that the ancestry-level bloodline in his body had started to react.


    A strange image surrounded him, and a world that developed in endless cycles appeared in front of him.


    Everything in that world grew and then died. Soon enough, a new world was born.


    "Is this the chaos?


    Or is it similar to the chaos?" he asked in confusion.


    Just then, several similar worlds appeared in front of him.


    Just like the previous world, those worlds were also destroyed and quickly revived, full of life.

 Chapter 3884 Conjecture

    "There is more than one chaos," Zen uttered in realization.


    This picture had just given him a piece of vital information.


    Within it, worlds were constantly rebuilt and destroyed and Zen found it best to look at them carefully.


    Soon, he was able to find something wrong.


    Even with the constant cycle of rebirth, the internal energy of the worlds remained constant though Zen felt the addition of new energy every time they died.


    For example, if a world was made up of ten units of energy, upon its death, it would create three more units of energy.


    Of course, it did not sound many on paper but when one thought about it, if every world was destroyed with 1/3 more energy, then wasn''t it actually terrifying?


    As the world died, this added energy would burst out and then also quietly disappear.


    This observation made Zen frown.


    "Where did this extra energy go?"


    Upon further investigation, he was able to discover something.


    At the moment of destruction, violent energy fluctuations would burst out and a spurt of strong energy would escape from the bottom as if sucked away by something.


    Zen could only make a rough judgment since all he could base his assumptions on was this virtual picture.


    However, he had a good source he could ask. "Primeval Lord of Heaven, what do you think is the significance of the chaos?"


    Every existence in this world had a purpose.


    The chaos was no exception. It was obviously built to serve some kind of purpose.


    "Maybe the Instant Civilization built it to expand their influence?" the Primeval Lord of Heaven suggested. He had sensed that Zen already had a conclusion so all he could offer was a baseless suggestion.


    "If they wanted to expand their influence, then they could''ve lived and multiplied within the chaos after they built it. The Element Spirit Civilization would''ve never risen in power and there wouldn''t have been various kinds of ruling civilizations," Zen muttered.


    This theory of Zen''s had long since been put fo


    vel theurgies.


    "It''s all my fault. I''m sorry," the Primeval Lord of Heaven said helplessly.


    The Snake Goddess merely ignored him. "If this is the case, then the Instant Civilization wouldn''t want to see the completion of the Finale Way."


    Once the chaos defeated that needle and completed the Finale Way, its constant cycle of destruction and rebirth would be no more. Extra energy would no longer circulate as the chaos would use it to expand outwards.


    "In other words, that needle was arranged by the Instant Civilization," she muttered in finality.


    Upon this conclusion, Zen''s and the Primeval Lord of Heaven''s eyes flashed. The truth had given them clarity.


    The destroyer was also the creator.


    The chaos was constantly built, developed, and destroyed.


    This Ultimate Cycle was probably not some kind of theurgy but a method of education engraved in the bloodline that told the descendants of the Instant Civilization how to survive.


    "But this is only a conjecture," the Primeval Lord of Heaven said.


    The Snake Goddess chose to remain silent. What he said was true. Though her words were reasonable, she had no concrete evidence to prove it.


    "There is a way to prove it," Zen told them with a smile. "So long as we find a world like chaos in the Abstruse Energy World, then we will be able to prove it!"

 Chapter 3885 Four Pillars

    In the Abstruse Energy World


    Some of the light dots froze in place, while some others continued to twirl and dance.


    It was surprisingly easy to express and illustrate some complicated things with light dots.


    For example, it only required less than forty light dots to construct the shape of a person.


    On the other hand, there were some simple shapes that required innumerable light dots to create. For example, a rope was actually built by three to four hundred light dots.


    In the beginning, Geoffrey had wanted to record a guide of rules to help Ziya and the other warriors learn faster and adapt to the Abstruse Energy World more easily.


    After some lengthy efforts proved unsuccessful, Geoffrey chose to give up.


    No matter how omniscient and capable Ziya was, once he entered the Abstruse Energy World, he became as a child, knowing nothing about the workings of that world.


    Even though he had such astonishing wisdom, he was now like a three-year-old child trying to figure out the complicated light dots.


    Last time, after crossing the grassland, Geoffrey and Ziya had found another world similar in nature to chaos. Ziya had been very interested in it as if he had discovered a new continent. He became even more enthusiastic about the Abstruse Energy World.


    Since there was this second world, there must be a third and a fourth one...


    There were endless living creatures and clues in these worlds.


    After sealing off the Deleting Space, Ziya had urged Geoffrey to continue exploring the Abstruse Energy World.


    After bypassing the mountain in the world of poisonous mist, Geoffrey had continued to move forward. A narrow mountain path led upwards, and the terrain in front of him became rugged and difficult, which had caused Geoffrey to hesitate for a moment.


    Although Ziya was powerful, it would be difficult to deal with some of the strange creatures in the Abstruse Energy World.


    But since he had come so far, Geoffrey didn''t want to retreat. He was also fascinated by this strangely familiar world.


    After ascending the mountain path with gritted determination, Geoffrey prepared to go up to the mountainside when he suddenly noticed a pair of red eyes not far away, burning in a face like an ape''s.


    The creature saw Geoffrey in the same instant, and it jumped out of the crevice that ran up the mountainside.


    This creature was tall and strong with slender but powerful arms. Gripping a big stick in its hands, it seemed to amble


    particle, or a blade of grass existed here. This was a completely empty world!


    The two of them tried to enter the Other Shore by way of the Truth of Godly Way, but this didn''t work either. The Other Shore didn''t exist at all...


    "It seems that this world is even worse off," said Ziya with a grim face.


    The previous world of poisonous mist had basically been destroyed. The fate of only one world didn''t signify anything, but the world they discovered now was in the same situation, and it was completely destroyed. All things had been destroyed here, which meant that there was massive trouble looming. The chaos would probably fall into the same situation in the end.


    "Maybe the next world didn''t suffer the same fate..." Geoffrey comforted.


    "I hope so. Geoffrey, please continue to lead the way," Ziya said with a grim smile. After being in the Deleting Space for so many years, Ziya had perfected the art of indifference, and he was not upset by much.


    After the two of them left the empty world, they continued to climb up the mountain path.


    After Geoffrey gripped the rope and dragged Ziya to climb over the rugged and endless mountains, he finally saw a strange scene.


    Standing in the distance, four huge black pillars had attracted Geoffrey''s attention. Everything in the Abstruse Energy World became the size of miniscule insects compared to these four black pillars, hardly worth mentioning.


    Everything was small in terms of size compared to these, and the black pillars'' aura was also massive in comparison.


    Geoffrey couldn''t find words for this feeling, but at first sight of the black pillars, he paused in shock.

 Chapter 3886 Return To The Scroll Painting

    As Geoffrey stood still, gazing into the distance, Ziya was confused. He couldn''t tell why Geoffrey remained motionless.


    The dots of light changing before him left him feeling suspicious.


    In the past, his activities in the Abstruse Energy World were limited to a low-lying area, where he could observe only a few things. Thus, he was unable to distinguish between heaven and earth.


    Now, the countless, densely-packed dots before him confused him greatly.


    It was completely beyond his comprehension.


    Whenever he tried to figure out what those dots of light were, he suddenly felt a splitting headache, as though someone had stabbed him in the head.


    Desperate to relieve himself of the pain, he tried to distract himself from the dots of light. Anyway, he knew it was futile to try to understand what they were.


    "In the center of the four giant pillars, there seem to be some buildings," Geoffrey pointed out.


    Looking far into the distance, he could faintly make out the outline of a huge palace, but it was too far away and hazy.


    After staring into the distance for a while, Geoffrey suddenly pulled Ziya, urging him to keep moving forward.


    Now that he had discovered something new, Geoffrey had no plans of retreating.


    On the way to the four giant pillars, Geoffrey kept Ziya''s instructions in mind, cautiously searching the whole way.


    Other than the chaos, they had already discovered two other worlds, including the one with poisonous mist. It was possible they''d stumble upon other worlds on their journey.


    In fact, after having stayed in the Abstruse Energy World for so long, Geoffrey was under the illusion that these weren''t real worlds. Rather, they were large caves or some sort of low-level spaces.


    In contrast, everything in the Abstruse Energy World lived in harmony.


    Everything contained energy. The energy in the low-level worlds, like the chaos and the world with poisonous mist, seemed to be hidden. For example, stones, water, and herbs all had energy hidden in their bodies, which needed to be activated by various methods.


    As for the things in the Abstruse Energy World, they appeared as dots of


    tted the boy on the shoulder, the bug landed on the boy''s body with ease.


    In the blink of an eye, the boy''s body began to swell like a balloon. Fist-sized bubbles dotted his skin, and he began to writhe violently.


    Then, he exploded into a pool of blood.


    Zen squatted down next to the pool and dipped his hand into it. "The origin-level bloodline named Infinite Reproduction has eleven types of power in the map. If this truly is the origin-level bloodline, then the bloodline I just created must also be regarded as the same."


    The small grey bug suddenly emerged from the pool of blood and crawled onto his hand once more. Apparently, Zen created it instinctively.


    Then, he turned around abruptly to return to the stone platform of the hexagram array.


    He had done this before, so he assumed he just needed to retrace his steps. However, when he stepped onto the stone platform, nothing happened.


    Puzzled, he looked down at the stone surface beneath his feet. He sensed that the rules of space and time of the stone platform had changed somewhat.


    Buzz!


    With a slight nod, he immediately figured out what to do. The ancestry-level bloodline in his body surged again, transforming accordingly to one with space-time attribute.


    Then, a stream of energy flowed down his arms, then legs, until it passed from his toes and onto the stone platform. Suddenly, the stone platform lit up, and Zen vanished into thin air.

 Chapter 3887 Meeting

    The moment Zen disappeared from the stone platform, he felt the ancestry-level bloodline in his body surging once more.


    At the same time, he finally understood the composition of energy in the hexagram array.


    The first time Zen was teleported in, he didn''t feel the power of the space fluctuation.


    However, that didn''t mean the power didn''t exist. It just meant that, at the time, Zen wasn''t able to understand it.


    Now that the ancestry-level bloodline surged within him, Zen instantly understood the power of space within the hexagram array. In fact, it was not one, but two kinds of power of space that were combined in such a way that they offset each other.


    Upon returning to the Eternal Scroll Painting, Zen was once again pressed into a picture. Then, a huge vortex appeared before him.


    "There are two more lines here,"


    Zen observed as he took a few steps forward.


    He had arrived at the very center of the huge vortex of the Eternal Scroll Painting. Since ancient times till the present, Zen was the sole being who had entered this place; who else could''ve left these two lines here?


    Zen walked forward cautiously, wrought with confusion. The instant he stepped between the two thin lines, they shot upwards until the two lines were floating above the huge vortex. Unwittingly, Zen had activated a path that stretched above the vortex, extending into the distance.


    Zen broke free from the plane and climbed to the top of the Eternal Scroll Painting. From there, he saw that the path headed straight to the second page of the Eternal Scroll Painting. "That is where the fox girl was," he muttered to himself.


    Generally speaking, someone who had obtained a bloodline from the Eternal Scroll Painting would return to the Grand Plain Stage through the vortex.


    Now that the Eternal Scroll Painting had been closed, it was impossible for Zen to return to the Other Shore through that normal way. He had no choice but to come up with another solution.


    Previously, the fox girl had insisted that he take an origin-level bloodline. If he didn''t, she would kill him.


    Now that he had managed to obtain the ancestry-level bloodline, he figured the fox girl wouldn''t make any attempt to kill him.


    Bearing that in mind, Zen relaxed a bit. He continued along the path towards the second page of the Eternal Scroll Painting with ease.


    The second Zen stepped foot onto the Eternal Scroll Painting, the


    y and returned to their normal forms.


    The fox girl''s flawless fair face exuded a cold aura. "You can prove it now."


    Zen studied her expression. It seemed she was willing to kill him on the spot if he failed to prove her wrong.


    "First of all, there is something you need to know," Zen said.


    "I want to see your bloodline theurgy. Now!"


    the fox girl said through gritted teeth, obviously running out of patience with every second that passed. She was under the impression he was stalling for time.


    "Behind the four origin-level bloodlines, there is a stronger bloodline, which is called the ancestry-level bloodline," Zen continued with a mischievous smile. "The ancestry-level bloodline in the Eternal Divine Courtyard is the origin of all bloodlines, and the four origin-level bloodlines also originate from the ancestry-level bloodline."


    The fox girl remained expressionless. Instead, the killing intent in her eyes intensified tenfold. "One last chance, Zen. Show me your bloodline theurgy right this instant!"


    Just as the fox girl was about to attack Zen, the astonished voice of the brush-wielder suddenly came from above, "How do you know the ancestry-level bloodline? And the Eternal Divine Courtyard? Were you able to enter that square?"


    Even the fox girl didn''t know about the ancestry-level bloodline, nor was she aware of the existence of the Eternal Divine Courtyard. She had been told that there were four origin-level bloodlines at the end of the Eternal Scroll Painting.


    Zen''s words stirred up a storm in the heart of the brush-wielder as he stared at him intently from above.

 Chapter 3888 Display Of Abilities

    The fox girl looked at Zen with confusion when she heard the panic in the brush-wielder''s voice.


    She had learned everything she knew about the Eternal Scroll Painting from the brush-wielder. He had said there were only four origin-level bloodlines in the center of the Eternal Scroll Painting and she believed him.


    That was why she now thought Zen spoke absolute nonsense.


    But the brush-wielder''s response perplexed her and filled her with doubt. Perhaps Zen was not lying.


    "Yes, I entered it," Zen replied honestly.


    Of course, he could have kept this to himself as the fox girl''s request only involved an origin-level bloodline and he was able to display an origin-level bloodline theurgy with ease.


    But his trip to the Eternal Scroll Painting had raised too many questions for him.


    It was obvious that the brush-wielder and the fox girl hoped he would grow stronger.


    And he wished to get more information from the brush-wielder, so he was willing to share some of his secrets.


    Zen''s answer caused the brush-wielder''s crying face to tremble suddenly and flip it to a smiling face instead. "Then you have given it a try?" inquired the smiling face.


    Obtaining an origin-level bloodline was very difficult and the brush-wielder had high hopes that Zen would be able to do so.


    As the ruler of the Eternal Scroll Painting, he not only guarded the passage in the chaos but also controlled the passages in other worlds.


    Because of this, he knew better than anyone else how difficult it was to obtain an origin-level bloodline.


    The creatures in these worlds were born with defects. If they obtained a root-level bloodline, they would be considered one of the top masters, but if they obtained an origin-level bloodline, they would be able to dominate a world.


    As for the ancestry-level bloodline, it was not meant for the creatures of these worlds. It was the foundation of the existence of the Four Spirits Sect and even their talents had great difficulty in getting the opportunity to enter the sacred cup.


    As far as the brush-wielder could remember, very few creatures were able to enter the Eternal Divine Courtyard, and even fewer had succeeded in merging with the ancestry-level bloodline.


    "I tried," Zen answered.


    lly and now looked uncharacteristically pitiful. He withdrew the sharp gray claw and comforted her, "To be honest, this thing only looks scary. It''s not actually all that terrifying."


    As he spoke, a green light, made up of three abilities of life attribute, flashed on his fingertip. It surrounded the fox girl in a warm energy. The cold feeling of falling into an icy cave disappeared and was replaced with a bathing of her heart in a spring wind.


    "You are able to use the abilities bestowed by the ancestry-level bloodline freely? How many? Twenty, thirty?" asked the brush-wielder, his voice trembling.


    The fox girl blinked her big eyes in surprise. The brush-wielder was not himself today. He seemed so agitated.


    Zen had just shown the abilities of the ancestry-level bloodline. The smile on his face now vanished as he barked angrily, "You required me to obtain an origin-level bloodline and I went beyond what you had expected. If you wish to know how many abilities I have obtained, answer my questions first!"


    Too much confusion had accumulated within him.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven had once been able to answer most of his questions, and the Heavenly Obsession Civilization had answered the rest.


    But it seemed this was always the way it went: the more he knew, the more ignorant he felt.


    The way ahead seemed carved out by riddles and the further he walked, the more questions he had.


    Even the Primeval Lord of Heaven was unable to explain much of what now took place.

 Chapter 3889 Threshold

    The brush-wielder didn''t experience what Zen had gone through, so he wondered why Zen had asked such a question.


    In any case, he now thought even more highly of Zen since the latter had obtained the ancestry-level bloodline.


    "Tell me, what do you want to know? I will tell you everything I know," he said.


    Zen looked up and asked, "What is the Four Spirits Sect? Are they the founders of the Instant Civilization?"


    It seemed that every secret was related to the Instant Civilization, which in turn was closely connected to the Four Spirits Sect. Thus, he wanted to know the connection between them.


    "Since you''ve already been to the Eternal Divine Courtyard, you should''ve known that it was the four holy spirits who formed the Four Spirits Sect. They are invincible beings in the outer world. They can create everything, as well as destroy everything. They are the creators, and the annihilators as well," said the brush-wielder.


    The four holy spirits were human spirit, monkey spirit, snake spirit, and bird spirit. In a broad sense, it was difficult to tell if the Four Spirits Sect was good or evil.


    "The Instant Civilization you referred to should be the creator of the chaos. They indeed belong to the Four Spirits Sect, but they are only a small branch," he continued.


    As the Four Spirits Sect developed and expanded, they were divided into many factions, and each of them had a clear division of work.


    For instance, some of them were pioneers, responsible for exploring new worlds; annihilators, responsible for killing other creatures; others were creators who built secondary worlds and many more.


    "The Instant Civilization you''ve mentioned should be the world builders of the Four Spirits Sect. Among them, human spirits have the largest population," he explained.


    In turn, Zen quietly lowered his head and thought deeply. The brush-wielder''s answer was quite close to his guess. Then, he asked, "The world builders have built more than one world of chaos, right?"


    "Yes," the brush-wielder nodded.


    "Did they build those worlds for the sole purpose of obtaining energy?" Zen recalled that it was what he had witnessed in the space of the Ultimate Cycle.


    "Yes," the brush-wielder nodded again. "The creatures in secondary worlds are quite weak, but they are in large number. After a new world is created, and once its time is accelerated, lots of extra energy will overflow. The Four Spir


    ormal and the Eternal Divine Courtyard hadn''t been abandoned yet, then Zen might have already joined the Four Spirits Sect by now.


    However, the Four Spirits Sect had undergone drastic changes, which gave him the chance to obtain the complete ancestry-level bloodline and come back safe and sound.


    All those happened by sheer luck.


    "So that is the real use of the Other Shore," he muttered.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven, the real Snake Goddess, and the rest were all lost in thought. After a while, the Snake Goddess remarked ironically, "Looks like we''re too weak to even meet the threshold of the Four Spirits Sect."


    All of the Eternal Realm warriors on the Other Shore were powerful enough to dominate a chaotic era. Especially during the chaotic era of the human race, where countless warriors in the Eternal Realm emerged like mushrooms after the rain.


    Yet, it still took them a lot of effort to obtain a root-level bloodline, not to mention the origin-level bloodline or even the ancestry-level bloodline in the Eternal Divine Courtyard.


    The Snake Goddess, the Primeval Lord of Heaven, and Fuxi were all arrogant. After all, they represented the human race, and each of them had dominated a great starry region before.


    They rarely encountered someone on par with them in the 77th chaos, or at any other time in over one thousand rounds of chaos.


    Despite that, they all felt disheartened upon hearing what the brush-wielder had said. It turned out that although they had reached the Eternal Realm, they still didn''t meet the threshold set by the Four Spirits Sect. Naturally, they felt dejected.

 Chapter 3890 The Destination Of The Key

    Zen was reminded by the Snake Goddess''s words.


    Then, he asked the brush-wielder, "There is still one thing that I don''t understand. According to what you said, the Four Spirits Sect will only recruit those who have entered the Eternal Divine Courtyard. But more than a thousand chaotic eras have passed, and it looks like I''m the only one who entered. Isn''t that too high a threshold?"


    In the current round of chaos, the only other person who had fused with the strongest bloodline was the Eye Spirit. Yet, even he had failed to reach the last room in the past.


    If the Other Shore was surely a mechanism built to select talents for the Four Spirits Sect, it was a bit absurd for it to be so strict.


    "The current Four Spirits Sect is no longer what it used to be. You should have known something about that in the Eternal Divine Courtyard," the brush-wielder said.


    Zen nodded thoughtfully.


    The Eternal Divine Courtyard was known as the main center of the Four Spirits Sect.


    If they had abandoned even such an important center, then it wasn''t hard to imagine what major crisis the Four Spirits Sect had undergone. He started to wonder if this force still existed.


    "I''ve already answered your question. Now you should tell me how many light columns appeared when you integrated with the ancestry-level bloodline," the brush-wielder said.


    After all, that was what the brush-wielder was most concerned about.


    "All of them," replied Zen.


    "What do you mean?" The brush-wielder was confused at Zen''s words for a moment.


    "All three hundred and seventy-three kinds. The bloodline map on the square was completely activated. I''ve fused with the complete ancestry-level bloodline," Zen explained nonchalantly.


    The truth was that even he didn''t get why he obtained the complete ancestry-level bloodline. He was no less curious and confused than the brush-wielder.


    He had discussed the problem with the Primeval Lord of Heaven on his way back to the Eternal Scroll Painting from the Eternal Divine Courtyard. He tried to figure it out, but he didn''t find any clues that could lead to the truth.


    As for the brush-wielder, he fell silent again after hearing Zen''s answer. The fox girl beside him blinked with confusion. She could sense the unusual emotions from the brush-wielder.


    "The complete bloodline map... As far as I know, no one in the Four Spirits Sect has ever managed to activate it. They couldn''t even activate a complete single quadrant," the brush-wielder murmured.


    There were a total of four quadrants on the bloodline map,


    Perhaps the Three Purities Stage wasn''t large, but every Other Shore Token that came from it was far more powerful than those in the first thirty-two stages. Naturally, it was more dangerous there as well.


    Now, even the Grand Pure Realm was much dangerous, let alone the Supreme Pure Realm.


    As for the Jade Pure Realm, very few people, including those from the ruling forces, entered that area throughout all chaotic eras.


    Even the Element Spirit Civilization, who was said to have occupied the Three Purities Stage, didn''t know much about the Jade Pure Realm.


    As for the center of the Jade Pure Realm, it meant the innermost part of the Three Purities Stage.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven didn''t know what was inside there, or what kind of danger awaited them in that place.


    "What will I find there? Is it a door that needs a key?" Zen asked with a smile. To his surprise, the brush-wielder nodded.


    "You''re right. It''s a door buried in the ground. You have to open it!" he exclaimed.


    "What''s inside it?" Zen asked curiously. "Someone will answer you after you open it," the brush-wielder replied.


    "But I don''t have to open it. Maybe it''s not necessarily a good thing for me.


    So, you have to tell me what''s in there," Zen shot back with a smile.


    Despite his threat, the brush-wielder did not seem to care at all. Then, he floated up in the air and said in an ethereal voice, "You will go there anyway. This world is the last pure land. You won''t just stand by and watch this pure land collapse. Since he has blessed you, you cannot escape this fate..."


    Soon enough, the brush-wielder disappeared from his view and left the fox girl behind, who still stared at him in disbelief.

 Chapter 3891 Explosion

    The fox girl stared up at Zen with a faint smile. "Actually, there is something that you don''t need to know so clearly."


    Zen scoffed. "Are you willing to just be a chess piece?" he asked her.


    The fox girl tutted but there was a trace of envy in her eyes as she looked at him.


    "Even so, you''re the most important chess piece," she told him.


    In fact, not many people were qualified to become chess pieces in the game in the first place.


    Zen, however, found no honor in this. "I don''t want to be a chess piece," he said. "I want to be the player." "The player," the fox girl repeated with a smile. "Those who played chess and those who watched by the sidelines have all died. There is no player now. Nobody can control you. It''s all up to you."


    She was able to get the knowledge of the Four Spirits Sect from the brush-wielder.


    "The chaos was never the main battlefield but just a lucky survivor of the fiercer wars that occurred outside it. The war within the Four Spirit Sect, however, will ultimately affect the chaos so it must continue in another way. You are the key figure on one side of this war," she explained.


    Zen had an idea which side it was. "The side of the Finale Way?"


    She nodded in confirmation. "Yes."


    Of course, even if she didn''t tell Zen, he and the Primeval Lord of Heaven would be able to reach the same conclusion through deduction.


    However, there was one more thing Zen wanted to know. "Who is the leader of the opposite side?"


    The fox girl merely shrugged. "I have no idea. The brush-wielder has hidden this information for his reasons. Don''t think about it too much. Anyway, I''ll be sending you out..."


    As they followed the path drawn by the brush-wielder, the fox girl and Zen eventually returned to the edge of the third page. Since the Eternal Scroll Painting had already closed, it meant that this passageway was now closed.


    However, since everything here was controlled by the brush-wielder, it wasn''t too difficult for him to open up a temporary exit.


    Since the closing of the Eternal Scroll Painting, the entire Grand Plain Stage had returned to its former peace though the aura of killing intent was heavy in the air.


    A piece of news floated about: the Nihility race and the Element Spirit race were finally able to grasp t


    ct with Fuxi''s overpowered palm.


    Of course, Fuxi knew one strike wasn''t going to defeat him. "Again!"


    He and the Snake Goddess quickly teleported and reappeared above the Grandmaster of Heaven''s body.


    Buzz!


    Another blood-red mark of Eight Diagrams appeared on his body. In such a passive position, the Grandmaster of Heaven reflexively raised Zen''s body on his shoulder.


    The mark of Eight Diagrams was then transferred to Zen''s body.


    Just as Fuxi was about to deal his attack, he stopped upon seeing the mark on Zen''s body. The Snake Goddess behind him frowned at the sight of this.


    Had Zen''s body undergone a new change? How did this happen?


    Zen''s body had previously been a black hole that sucked in any sort of energy laid on him. Since the mark of Eight Diagrams was also a type of energy, it should''ve been absorbed by him.


    How did it end up imprinted on his body? Could he no longer absorb energy?


    A trace of confusion also appeared in the Grandmaster of Heaven''s eyes.


    He had personally come for Zen and he wouldn''t want to see him die in Fuxi''s hands.


    As he thought about it for a while, the Grandmaster of Heaven decided to throw Zen into his Fishing Drum where he had also previously thrown the Chaos Ancient God named Othniel.


    This Fishing Drum was a spatial treasure filled with the power of space and Zen should have been able to absorb the power within it due to his special body.


    However, since he had lost this ability now, he would naturally be absorbed into the Fishing Drum.

 Chapter 3892 Break

    Being tricked and trapped in the Fishing Drum by the Grandmaster of Heaven filled Othniel with hatred and anger.


    In a rage, he activated his bloodline power in an attempt to break free from the Heart-piercing Lock.


    He was the master of the truth after all!


    Was this guy so powerful that he could defy even the truth?


    Othniel was unconvinced; he didn''t believe such a ridiculous freak existed in the chaos.


    He had been trapped for some time when something flashed in the distance and another figure flew in. It was Zen.


    He appeared to still be unconscious, floating aimlessly in the space.


    Othniel sighed helplessly as he looked on at this new trophy of the Grandmaster of Heaven. Even with no Chaos Ancient God to support them, the Nihility race had still come out of this battle totally victorious.


    As Othniel was growing more and more upset, Zen suddenly opened his eyes.


    Zen''s real body was still in the Oneness Sky Palace when he entered the Eternal Scroll Painting from the Grand Plain Stage. He had his concerns for the Oneness Sky Palace but assumed not too much could happen in a short period of time.


    However, he opened his eyes to find that he was not in the Flow Sword Sect, but in some strange space.


    If circumstances were normal, the people of the Oneness Sky Palace would not move him.


    If they were left with no choice but to move him, they must have suffered something catastrophic.


    These thoughts began racing through his mind when he felt there was someone behind him. He turned around and saw Othniel.


    "Mount?" Zen queried, raising his eyebrows.


    The Othniel in front of him was in human form and looked exactly the same as the Mount he had encountered before. Naturally, at a glance, Zen recognized him as Mount.


    "No, you''re not Mount. You''re much stronger. You are the Chaos Ancient God Othniel!"


    This person before him had an aura incomprehensibly stronger than Mount''s. It was impossible for him to have improved his strength to such a level, no matter how fast he worked. Zen knew the relationship between Mount and Othniel very well and so quickly surmised that this was in fact Othniel in front of him.


    "So what?" snorted Othniel.


    He treated Zen as simply the loot of the Grandm


    fore a king.


    This human brat knew who he was and still dared attempt this. He was too full of himself.


    "Don''t waste your energy. You can''t break the Fishing Drum," Othniel said disdainfully.


    But then, a ripple appeared in this strange space inside the Fishing Drum. The entire space sank in towards Zen''s fingertip and then spread out in all directions.


    "What?"


    Othniel''s eyes widened in disbelief.


    Ordinary beings would not have been able to understand what he had done, but Othniel was so sensitive to space that he immediately understood that he had changed the state of the space within the Fishing Drum in an instant!


    He was actually capable of controlling a top space treasure quickly and effortlessly.


    This was not something a human should be able to do!


    Even he could only break the Fishing Drum by force. Controlling the space treasure from the inner space would take ages!


    "Now do you believe that I can get you out?" Zen asked solemnly. "I can help you remove those chains as well, but you have to help me deal with the Grandmaster of Heaven once you''re out."


    "You can break the Heart-piercing Lock too?"


    Othniel was still in shock, and truthfully, a little confused by all this.


    Although he still did not believe it, this time he was not so highly skeptical as he was before.


    "It''ll be easy."


    With a blank face, Zen approached Othniel. The ancestry-level bloodline in his body began to surge and the three chains disintegrated at his fingertip.

 Chapter 3893 Trap Everyone

    Othniel stared at Zen in horror, as if he was looking straight at a monster.


    He was practically speechless.


    It was only then that he finally realized why Yellow Thearch was so eager to take Zen away and why the Element Spirit race was so determined to get him.


    Othniel swallowed thickly as he muttered a question to this horrifying freak in front of him. "How did you make it?"


    Zen shot him an indifferent glance. "Why should I tell you? You can go out now."


    Although he had fused with the ancestry-level bloodline, Zen''s use of the blood was still limited in the usage of the inter-restriction properties between energies.


    If worse came to worst and he had to fight head-on with beings like Othniel and Grandmaster of Heaven then he might not be able to make it.


    Since he did not know much about what was happening outside, he needed to use Othniel''s power.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven was too busy fighting with the Snake Goddess and Fuxi that he didn''t notice Zen sneakily changing the state of space in the Fishing Drum.


    This change of space cut off the connection between the Grandmaster of Heaven and the space treasure.


    However, the Heart-piercing Lock was a real thing connected to the Grandmaster of Heaven and the moment Zen broke the chains, the former''s expression changed.


    Fuxi took his opponent''s distraction to his advantage and placed another mark of Eight Diagrams on the Grandmaster of Heaven''s body.


    Boom! Being hit by Fuxi''s strike, the Grandmaster of Heaven was sent flying away. Despite the slight elevation in terms of advantage, both Fuxi and Snake Goddess felt a bit strange.


    This was a life and death battle that even a powerful warrior like the Grandmaster of Heaven had to go all out with his attacks. That momentary distraction was unlike him. Did he, perhaps, encounter some sort of trouble?


    No matter what sort of trouble it was, the fact remained that they were currently embroiled in a battle to the death so Fuxi and the Snake Goddess showed no mercy. Their bodies flashed as they chased after the Grandmaster of Heaven.


    With no time to deal with his oncoming opponents, the Grandmaster of Heaven quickly flew backward in retreat.


    He had been able to trap Othniel into the Fishing Drum effortlessly because he caught Othniel off guard. If Othniel really managed to escape, that would be the biggest trouble.


    Since Othniel was still in the Fishing Drum, the Grandmaster of Heaven figured that it would take him a long time to completely break out which meant that he still had a chance to stop him


    rnal Scroll Painting and managed to obtain a bloodline. He was now a warrior at the Eternal Realm!


    However, it would be difficult for him to unleash his newly obtained bloodline since he just reached the Eternal Realm. There was still no way he''d be able to contend with the Grandmaster of Heaven.


    Also, there was the matter of his and Othniel''s emergence from the Fishing Drum. How in the world were they able to do that?


    "I''ve helped you out, and now you have to hold up your side of the bargain," Zen told Othniel meaningfully.


    His words made Fuxi and the Snake Goddess look at each other in shock.


    Othniel was released by Zen?


    How?! What had happened to Zen?


    Othniel simply gave Zen a smile. "Of course! I''ll make my move but none of you can leave."


    As soon as he finished speaking, the fluctuation of space truth began to gush out from his body in waves.


    The bloodline theurgies of Chaos Ancient Gods were terrifying when they burst out. The only reason Othniel was imprisoned was because he had been caught off guard. It did not have anything to do with skill or power but pure, dumb luck on the Grandmaster of Heaven''s part. That was why Othniel was resentful at his capture.


    Now that Othniel was free, there was no way he was going to repeat his mistake.


    He was determined to kill the Grandmaster of Heaven and afterwards, capture Zen!


    "Buzz!"


    A huge, triangular pyramid appeared, spanning ten thousand miles. It was so big and stable that it formed a world on its own.


    Othniel had pushed the space truth to the limit. This theurgy had exceedingly surpassed the Grandmaster of Heaven''s Fishing Drum and made one thing clear: Othniel was not going to let anyone go!

 Chapter 3894 Restrain Everything

    At that moment, a burst of blue light shone from a side of the large triangular pyramid.


    Upon closer inspection, it appeared that some obscure words formed tiny dots of light.


    When the blue light lit up, so did the orange light on the second side of the triangular pyramid, then the purple light on the third side, and the grey light under everyone''s feet.


    Fuxi looked up at the triangular pyramid and frowned.


    The six Chaos Ancient Gods were undoubtedly strong, and they possessed extraordinary power of the truth-level theurgy, which relied on the chaos.


    Othniel gently raised his hand, and the four light rays quickly disappeared.


    Then, the blue light flashed again, and the space fluctuation immediately surrounded the triangular pyramid. In turn, the Grandmaster of Heaven, Zen, Fuxi, and the Snake Goddess all fell.


    It turned out that the space rule in the triangular pyramid had changed. Since the rule that they adapted to wasn''t applicable anymore, they could not stay in the air.


    However, they were aware of the space rule. As soon as the blue light flashed, they sensed that something was wrong. Therefore, they quickly adapted to the new space rule.


    Among them, the Snake Goddess was the fastest to adapt. After she fell for more than one hundred feet, she abruptly stopped mid-air.


    Meanwhile, Fuxi and the Grandmaster of Heaven managed to stop and float in the air almost simultaneously.


    The slowest one was Zen.


    The blood in his body flowed around when the space rule had changed. Moreover, he understood the essence of the triangular pyramid through the ancestry-level bloodline.


    He had obtained the method to break the triangular pyramid, but he still needed to adapt to the rule by himself.


    That was why he fell for over a thousand feet before he barely adapted to it.


    Othniel sneered when he saw that everyone had steadied themselves in just a short period. Then, the blue light dimmed, and the orange light flashed.


    The rule changed again!


    Everyone fell again, and they began to adapt to the new rule once more.


    But just as they had adapted to it, the orange light faded, and the purple light glowed.


    Othniel had set up a t


    Goddess, and Zen all flew at high speed.


    Although they were still in danger, Fuxi couldn''t wait to ask, "How did you do it? You shouldn''t be able to suppress or control both the Fishing Drum and the Grandmaster of Heaven."


    When Zen casually drew a circular mark just now, it looked simple, but Fuxi felt the unique energy from it. That energy was also a kind of space power, but it was very different from Othniel''s.


    Othniel''s space power came from the truth. And what kind of power did Zen use?


    The opposite truth?


    He felt amused by his guess, but that was his intuition.


    On the contrary, the Snake Goddess attentively listened as she didn''t have any baseless speculations.


    Since Zen had entered the deepest part of the Eternal Scroll Painting and successfully came back, he must''ve obtained a unique bloodline power, and at least it was stronger than that of the Eye Spirit.


    "I can find a way to restrain the opponents in a short period of time," Zen said.


    Fuxi narrowed his eyes and gently waved his hand at Zen. The mark of the Eight Diagrams appeared on his body. "Is there any way to restrain it?"


    He had never heard of a theurgy that could restrain the Grandmaster of Heaven and Othniel in a short period, so of course, he wanted to verify it in person.


    In turn, Zen got up and dusted his body. The mark of the Eight Diagrams just fell off him like dust.


    When Fuxi saw what happened, the corners of his eyes twitched.

 Chapter 3895 Encounter

    ''This guy is really...''


    Fuxi sighed silently with profound resignation.


    Initially, while he was at the bottom of the chaos, he was honestly not convinced that Gerald had chosen Zen. However, now it seemed that Gerald had a foresight.


    He then realized that Zen was indeed the person that they could rely on, and was also the most suitable person to complete the Finale Way in this round of chaos.


    The news that Claire and the Grandmaster of Heaven fought for Zen in the Grand Plain Stage had been spread to the Pear Hill. The two top masters on the Other Shore might have already expected this.


    Even so, Zen''s magical bloodline was still beyond everyone''s expectations.


    While Fuxi was lost in thought, the Snake Goddess''s eyes flashed. "Eh?"


    In that moment, she sensed a strong space fluctuation in the distance. She felt as though the fluctuation contained a familiar aura and full vitality.


    She then gracefully stretched out two fingers. From there, two strands of crimson energy rubbed against each other and produced a violent reaction. At the same time, the formed energy let out a sharp scream, which could be transmitted far away in the space channel.


    The fluctuation in the distance suddenly stopped and swiftly approached the Snake Goddess.


    Soon, an unexpected visitor appeared in the space channel. It was the Chaos Ancient God, Gerald.


    Previously, he was trapped by the strange black fire released by the Grandmaster of Heaven. The black fire could hardly be put out, so it took a lot of time for him to completely extinguish it.


    After successfully putting out the black fire, he hurriedly dashed forward to catch up.


    However, after the fierce battle between the Grandmaster of Heaven and Fuxi, the Snake Goddess, the group had already been far away from him. Gerald continued to travel through several large provinces and unexpectedly met the Snake Goddess and the other two here.


    "Are you all right?"


    After taking a look at the Snake Goddess and Fuxi, he turned to look at Zen. He was most concerned about Zen. The sincerity was reflected in his tone as he spoke.


    "Yeah," the Snake Goddess replied. "While the Grandmaster of Heaven was fighting with Othniel, we took the opportunity to escape."


    "What happened?" Gerald asked worriedly. What he just heard had him stunned.


    The Snake Goddess then told Gerald about the fact that Zen had released Othniel. The latter was so shocked upon hearing this revelation that he could not help but let out several cries in disbelief.


    "However, we can''t stay here for too long. If the two of them figure it out, I''m afraid they will stop fighting and start to head out for us," Gerald said quietly.


    In fact, the Grandmaster of Heaven, Othniel, and Claire fo


    ple in the sky. She was frowning and was confused. She didn''t expect the situation to change so fast.


    The day Zen was trapped in the Eternal Scroll Painting, all the people of the Oneness Sky Palace began to flee, but they were still unable to escape this chaos.


    If Eastern Emperor Taiyi died, the Oneness Sky Palace would completely disappear in the Source World.


    Thinking of this, Elvinia couldn''t fathom what was happening. It was as if she were dreaming.


    "Let us go? Huh. Do you think I''m a fool?" Pearce''s cold voice floated up along the crack. He scoffed as he finished his sentence.


    He had decided to fight until his last breath. There was no uncertainty in his tone or his expression.


    Besides, even if he retreated, he would surely die. It was then better to take this opportunity and fight head on.


    "Ha-ha! If you keep wasting time like this, you won''t be able to escape death in the end. Why don''t you just do as I say?"


    Realizing that they wouldn''t surrender, the Metal Emissary laughed wildly. Then, another Golden Toad Lightning as thick as a bucket smashed down powerfully.


    Boom! Boom! Explosive sounds covered the whole area once again.


    The surroundings were chaotic. Broken stones flew and dust filled the air, making it difficult to see.


    Pearce, Athemar and the others tried their best to defend themselves, but in the end, they still failed. Just as what the Metal Emissary said, they would die at the bottom of the crack sooner or later.


    "Let''s fight them to death!"


    "Lady Flamine, run away with Eastern Emperor Taiyi and Princess Elvinia. I''ll pin them down!"


    "Even if I die, I will die fighting and they shall die with me!"


    Determination was written all over the faces of Pearce, Athemar, and Goran. They still had a way to win, and that was to burn their Other Shore Tokens.

 Chapter 3896 Rescue

    The power of the three masters at the Holy Soul Realm burning their Other Shore Tokens would be quite intimidating.


    However, they had to pay the price of such power with their lives.


    "But..." Flamine hesitated. If they stayed, the reinforcements would come to aid them.


    She pitied the lives of these elders of the Oneness Sky Palace.


    "Don''t hesitate!" Pearce said seriously. "As soon as we go out, follow us," Athemar declared with determination in his eyes.


    When the three of them were about to go out and burn their Other Shore Tokens, they heard a voice from above.


    "Since you can''t escape death anyway, I can let you die a little faster," the voice said.


    Upon hearing the voice, Pearce and the others were shocked.


    Elvinia tilted her head and looked up at the sky. The owner of the familiar voice stood opposite the Five-Element Emissaries.


    Coincidentally the owner of the voice also looked down. Although he was a hundred thousand feet away, Elvinia felt that he was close, and a strange warm feeling filled her heart.


    Ordinary people would be overjoyed if they survived a disaster, but Elvinia wasn''t. The warm feeling overwhelmed her senses, and she was calm and happy.


    "Is that Zen?"


    "Is he awake?"


    "Has he made it to the Eternal Realm?"


    Even at such a critical moment, what they cared about was still whether Zen had reached the Eternal Realm or not.


    If he had reached the Eternal Realm, then it naturally meant that he was stronger and might be able to defeat the Five-Element Emissaries.


    Speaking of the Five-Element Emissaries, they were all stunned when they saw Zen, who appeared like a ghost.


    They weren''t concerned about the battles of the masters at the Eternal Realm. After all, those had nothing to do with them.


    Furthermore, the Pear Hill only had Fuxi and the Snake Goddess. They should be the weakest of the three parties, and they would surely be defeated.


    However, did it mean that the Pear Hill had won since Zen appeared safe and sound?


    While the Five-Element Emissaries had yet to recover from their shock, the leader, the Metal Emissary, coldly said, "He is all alone, and he has just reached the Eternal Realm. He''s no match for the five of us!"


    The Five-Element Emissaries were extremely powerful if they worked together. They could eve


    d, and then a huge scorpion tail struck the Tribulation Array of Five Elements.


    Gerald didn''t need to use his poison needles on the Five-Element Emissaries because they were too weak.


    His scorpion tail contained a potent amount of power, which was enough to break the Tribulation Array of Five Elements and crush the Five-Element Emissaries into meat paste.


    The lock that bound Zen quickly disappeared when the Tribulation Array of Five Elements got destroyed.


    "We don''t have much time. We need to finish the battle as soon as possible," Gerald said.


    Even though only his tail was exposed, Pearce, Goran, and the others were still shocked at his aura as a Chaos Ancient God.


    After all, they didn''t expect that Zen came with Gerald!


    Yet, it wasn''t the first time that the people from the Oneness Sky Palace had seen the world. When they realized that it was the Chaos Ancient God Gerald, they all cupped their hands towards him.


    Soon enough, Flamine arrived with Elvinia and Eastern Emperor Taiyi. Then everyone else jumped onto Gerald''s back and headed for the Pear Hill.


    While they traveled, Zen asked about Yasamin''s whereabouts. Winchell, Auden, and the other elders of the Oneness Sky Palace escorted her. If they were lucky enough, they would be able to enter the Pear Hill''s territory safely.


    However, when he asked about Dorothy, no one responded to him. According to Elvinia, Dorothy had been missing when Yasamin got trapped. When the people of the Oneness Sky Palace moved together, they still didn''t see her.

 Chapter 3897 Defending

    A frightening energy burst and flowed wildly throughout the huge triangular pyramid.


    The black flames occupied almost the entire space, as if they burned up from the most ferocious hell.


    And among it all, two gigantic creatures brawled like beasts in captive!


    The two powerful masters had used many theurgies and were now left with only their physical bodies to end this battle.


    Othniel might have had an absolute advantage in terms of spatial transference, but he still could not get the upper hand on the Grandmaster of Heaven, who was giving it all he had. In fact, he was in grave danger.


    "Can this space you''ve created really bear my hellfire all the time?" said the Grandmaster of Heaven, sneering.


    The relentless, unending black fire released from the Six Soul Flags continued burning the space, causing numerous cracks to form.


    If they continued to grow, eventually the entire space would collapse with an enormous bang.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven would then be free and Othniel would be no match for him.


    Whoosh!


    Dozens of ten million-foot-long space blades sliced at the Grandmaster of Heaven. He responded by raising his Cyan Misty Sword and waving it gently, collapsing the space blades as soon as they were touched by the cyan light that came off the sword.


    Othniel glanced at the cracks and a trace of worry crept into him, but he still allowed himself to say, "The space can withstand your flames for hundreds, even thousands of years!"


    His body shuddered as he spoke and the cracks in the triangular pyramid quickly closed and the space recovered!


    He was unable to defeat the Grandmaster of Heaven here. He had basically already lost. The man before him had surpassed the Chaos Ancient God.


    However, Othniel could delay this battle.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven looked at the rapidly healing triangular pyramid and inquired, "You wish to take Zen away, right?"


    "What do you mean?" Othniel asked, staring down his opponent.


    "This sort of battle is meaningless," said the Grandmaster of Heaven calmly. "They have already fled to the Pear Hill. At the very least, we should catch Zen and then we can resume this battle and find a winner!"


    "You wish to call for peace?" Othniel asked astounded.


    "I just think that it would allow us both to g


    they''d see that it seemed the largest mountain in the Source World had been covered in snow rather quickly.


    The layers of clouds spread like a waterfall, creating a wondrous and beautiful scene.


    The people in the Pear Hill, however, were not pleased but worried.


    This was the Cloud Cover Array, the most powerful array of the Pear Hill, which had not been opened for a great many years. Its activation meant the Pear Hill now faced an incredibly formidable enemy.


    Not long ago, When the Pear Hill was under constant provocation from the Bearing race, news arrived that the temporary peace in the Source World would probably not last much longer.


    The reality often came faster than rumors...


    After the Cloud Cover Array was set up, the whole Pear Hill was like a giant beast crawling across the ground.


    Under the jadeite platform atop the Pear Hill, the nine mountain leaders and more than two hundred grand sect leaders had already gathered and awaited orders.


    From the center of the platform, the Snake Goddess glanced at the mountain leaders and the grand sect leaders and said, "All the sects and mountains have to restrain their own disciples from going out. For the next several months, no one is allowed to leave."


    The mountain leaders and grand sect leaders raised their heads and looked at the Snake Goddess in astonishment, their faces filled with confusion.


    The Pear Hill was in danger. They had to pledge to fight to the death to defend it. Why had the Snake Goddess suddenly issued this ban?

 Chapter 3898 The Restriction Of The Energy Shaft

    The leader of a mountain stepped forward and bowed before the Snake Goddess. "Snake Goddess, why are we banned from leaving our places?"


    "If an enemy were to attack, all the elites of our Hot Mountain will go all out to fight. We will even be ready to give up our lives to protect our place!" Another mountain leader stepped forward, her lips set in a firm line.


    These leaders of the various mountains and sects were loyal to the Snake Goddess.


    The crisis of the Pear Hill was also their crisis.


    It would be a great insult to them if they couldn''t stand up for it in times of danger.


    The Snake Goddess looked at them in silence and then at the cloudy sky. She then said, "The battle we are going to face is not something you can participate in."


    "Why can''t we participate?"


    "We aren''t powerful enough, but we''d be pleased if we could do our bit!"


    "Not even an outstanding warrior at the Holy Soul Realm like the leader of the Hot Mountain can participate?"


    These mountain and sect leaders were also top-level masters at the Holy Soul Realm. If they couldn''t even participate in the battle, what kind of enemy would the Pear Hill have to meet this time?


    The Snake Goddess shook her head and said, "Even Fuxi and I can''t protect ourselves in the battle that is to come."


    The leaders froze at these words.


    The people of the Pear Hill had immense confidence in the Snake Goddess and Fuxi. The reason why the Pear Hill had stood there for so many years was because of these two people.


    The Bearing race and the Divine Farmer race were powerful, but if the Pear Hill could come together, these two races might not be able to defeat them.


    But the Snake Goddess was telling them that even she and Fuxi couldn''t be sure of the fate they were about to meet in the coming battle. This was truly inconceivable.


    "What kind of powerful existence in the Source World can make it difficult for you to protect yourself?" the leader of the Hot Mountain asked. .


    "Are they the Chaos Ancient Gods?" the leader of the Witching Mountain pitched in. .


    The Snake Goddess nodded. "Yes, but also creatures that are stronger than them."


    "Stronger than the Chaos Ancient Gods!"


    "How could such creatures exist in the chaos?"


    "..."


    The many leaders of the mountains and the sects were stunned as the Snake Goddess told them that Other Shore creatures could descend to the Source World.


    This was not a secret, and there was no need for her to hide it from her subordinates.


    The mountain leaders remained silent for a moment, shocked to hear that the Grandmaster of Heaven and Claire had descended to the Source World.


    The leader of the Witching Mountain said, "Even if we are really mos


    n it will be really powerful," Fuxi said, shrugging.


    It had been the Snake Goddess''s idea to cultivate the Energy Shaft, and Fuxi hadn''t thought highly of it. But what Yan had done had exceeded Fuxi''s imagination.


    "I don''t think I can do it yet. The maximum amount of energy I can transform is seven hundred thousand divine megatons. I can''t control the energy once it exceeds that amount," Yan said, shaking her head.


    "Is it because your body can''t bear a more powerful force?" Zen asked. .


    "No." Yan frowned. "The power doesn''t fall on me. It is the Energy Shaft that can''t bear too much power. And I don''t have a way of strengthening it!"


    No one could tell what kind of substance the Energy Shaft in Yan''s body was made of, making it impossible to strengthen it like the way she had done to the magic treasures.


    If the strength of the Energy Shaft couldn''t be increased, Yan''s limit would probably be stuck where it now was.


    A warrior who could control seven hundred thousand divine megatons of force could also be considered a powerful figure in the chaos. The ability had surpassed that of ordinary warriors at the Eternal Realm. The potential of the Energy Shaft was probably more than that.


    Yan looked at her brother who had a faint smile on his face, and said, frowning, "Zen, why are you smiling?"


    "It looks like there is a way to solve the Energy Shaft problem," Zen said, his smile broadening.


    Yan blinked, as Fuxi stared at Zen, gobsmacked.


    The information about the Energy Shaft had spread on the Other Shore for a while now. Now that Zen suddenly looked as if he was absolutely confident of solving the problem, they were naturally confused.


    It was at this moment that a green figure appeared above Zen''s head, and asked Yan, "Can you show me your Energy Shaft?"

 Chapter 3899 Salome

    Yan''s senses snapped alert at the appearance of the green figure transformed from the core of Heavenly Obsession Civilization.


    The Snake Goddess had repeatedly advised her not to show the Energy Shaft to anyone.


    Yan wouldn''t agree even if Fuxi wanted to take a look.


    This green figure had emerged from her brother''s body, but she wouldn''t show it the Energy Shaft without the Snake Goddess''s consent.


    "Are you confident enough to strengthen the Energy Shaft?"


    the Snake Goddess asked as she walked into the hall.


    The Energy Shaft was special, and she had tried every means to strengthen it.


    She had tried to use the ice crystals from extremely cold places in the depths of the chaos, the precious meteorite from the Source World, and all kinds of other special materials. But none of them had any effect on the Energy Shaft.


    The Energy Shaft was an independent object, barely reacting to the outside world.


    The Snake Goddess didn''t know who this green figure was. Why was it able to give Zen so much confidence about strengthening the Energy Shaft?


    Zen''s theurgies were undoubtedly powerful, but even he couldn''t strengthen the Energy Shaft.


    Even if he had absorbed the Civilization Artifacts, it would be impossible for him to do anything to the Energy Shaft, even with the help of the thirty-nine human heroes in his mind.


    The Snake Goddess posed this question to the green figure in disbelief.


    "Yes," the green figure replied. "If I''m not mistaken, you used the Quantity and Energy Method to refine the Energy Shaft. According to the energy reaction in her body, the Energy Shaft has now reached the fourth level. And you want to improve it to the fifth or even the sixth level. Am I right?"


    The Snake Goddess''s eyebrows shot up. "The Quantity and Energy Method is a method left behind by the Calculation Civilization. I''m not surprised that you know it. I know that there have been many civilizations interested in the Energy Shaft throughout the chaotic eras. But very few people are able enough to improve it to the fourth level, let alone the fifth and the sixth ones. I obviously want to, but I can''t do it now."


    The Snake Goddess meant that since she couldn''t do it, the green figure coul


    n to smile through her tears.


    Zen looked at the scroll, confused. On it was just one Sanskrit word. He was stunned.


    Knowing that Zen would be curious, Margaret explained, "Salome seems to be innately interested in Sanskrit words. Just like Geoffrey."


    When Salome had started to cry and kept at it one day back in the past, Margaret hurried to visit Letitia with the baby in her arms. At the time, Letitia had been cultivating in seclusion to comprehend the Truth of Godly Way. When Salome saw the Sanskrit words, she immediately stopped crying and became quiet and curious.


    From then on, Margaret had used Sanskrit words to coax and mollify her daughter and had been doing it for a few months.


    When Geoffrey deciphered the Sanskrit words, he didn''t try to form conjectures about them. He understood their meanings by instinct.


    At her young age, Salome couldn''t understand the meanings of the Sanskrit words, but the Sanskrit words she saw were different from those that ordinary people saw.


    The Sanskrit words meant more in her eyes.


    Zen was rendered speechless as he watched his daughter stare at the Sanskrit word with a smile on her face. It looked like she could also see the light dots of the Abstruse Energy World.


    It couldn''t be a coincidence that both Geoffrey and Salome were interested in the Sanskrit words.


    His children could easily travel through the Abstruse Energy World, but he couldn''t. The more he thought about it, the more confused he became.

 Chapter 3900 Judsons Test

    Salome''s blood vitality was extremely exuberant, thanks to the tonics that Zen had collected before she was born.


    With the abundant resources of the Source World, she was born much stronger compared to the children of ordinary warriors.


    It was safe to say that in terms of strength alone, she was as strong as the warriors at the Internal Elixir Realm in the Eastern Region. In the near future, she would definitely be an outstanding warrior in the Source World and would have a great chance to reach the True God Realm much faster than the others at her age.


    With her innate talent, she could obtain twice the expected result with just half the effort. Her cultivation would even be much faster than Geoffrey''s.


    While Zen was staying in the fairy palace, he told his wives what was happening outside. He knew that they might worry so he tried his best to describe and explain the situation with more optimism.


    Margaret, Lavender, and the others didn''t think much about it, and just believed whatever Zen told them. However, Letitia immediately sensed that there was something wrong going on.


    The Oneness Sky Palace, which was considered one of the most powerful forces in the entire Source World, had been destroyed. This would surely entail a drastic change. With this, Zen must be worried about the capability of the Pear Hill to survive the upcoming challenges.


    After leaving his inner world, Zen returned to the hall and there he saw his sister, Yan, sitting with legs crossed, with a triangular shaft floating in front of her.


    The green figure of the Calculation Civilization kept whispering in her ear as she did what it said.


    The Snake Goddess and Fuxi were also there on the sides, watching Yan with faces full of expectation.


    Since the green figure had already fully explained the principles, it would just be a matter of time for her to improve and take the Energy Shaft one level further.


    As the Snake Goddess saw Zen return to the hall, she whispered to him, "If Yan can bring the Energy Shaft to level five, it would be a great help to the Pear Hill. We need all the forces that we could acquire right now."


    Since the Pear Hill was in dire need of powerful warriors, Yan''s breakthrough would be perfect timing.


    Upon hearing this, Zen smiled and responded, "Actually, I have two other great warriors in mind that will be a great help for us. But that''s only possible if you and the Human Sovereign are willing to cooperate."


    "What do you mean?" The Snake Goddess''s eyes flashed with intrigue.


    lking about? I want to meet him," Judson said outright.


    Gerald mentioned Zen when he was trying to recruit Judson on their side. Since Judson didn''t know Zen, he found Gerald''s stories about him quite inconceivable.


    Eventually, Gerald called Zen over to meet Judson.


    As soon as Zen climbed to the pool, he saw a bradypod-like creature wave his hand at him. At the same moment, he felt a strange wave of spiritual energy rush towards him. In an instant, an illusory world surrounded and enveloped him.


    Inside the illusory world, there was no way to know if it was day or night. There were mazes everywhere and the atmosphere was disharmonious.


    ''A spiritual attack?''


    Zen suddenly became vigilant. He perceived that the world he was in was obviously a spiritual illusion.


    Although his soul had already reached the Holy Soul Realm, had nine Holy Soul Imprints and was much stronger than those of ordinary Eternal Realm warriors, it still wasn''t easy for him to break free from Judson''s truth-level theurgy using the strength of his Holy Soul alone.


    "Don''t you think you oversold this guy?" Judson said to Gerald as he shook his head in disappointment. With all that he heard about Zen, he thought that Zen should be able to easily break free from the illusion that he made.


    However, just seconds after, Judson felt unusual vitality burst out from Zen''s body. It was supposed to be a kind of soul aura, but he was sure that it came from Zen''s body.


    While Judson was still confused, he suddenly widened his eyes and felt that the illusion he had created began to collapse. Before he could understand what was going on, the illusory world was completely destroyed by Zen.

 Chapter 3901 The Black Pages

    The spiritual attack that Judson launched relied on the soul. It was energy in essence.


    The abilities of the spiritual level in the ancestry-level bloodline were mostly gathered in the area symbolizing life.


    The moment the illusory world enveloped Zen''s body, the ancestry-level bloodline started to react. Zen felt a chill rushing up from his back and integrating into his soul. In the blink of an eye, the huge world was broken.


    Judson stared at Zen with amazement. "The person you chose is really extraordinary, Gerald," he said just before blotting out the expression on his face.


    Gerald took a slight glance at Judson. A moment ago, Judson thought he oversold Zen, but now his attitude changed.


    Gerald floated out of the pool. "Zen, this is another Chaos Ancient God, Judson," he said.


    He motioned to Zen to come closer for an introduction.


    "Master Judson," Zen greeted Judson politely, cupping his hands towards him. It seemed that the spiritual attack Judson had launched was just a test for him.


    "You really are an exceptional young man," said Judson as he narrowed his eyes, appearing as if he expected highly of him. "The bloodline you have been infused must be the origin-level bloodline. It happens to be the bloodline that can resist the soul attack, right?"


    If the origin-level bloodline that Zen obtained could strengthen his soul, then it made sense that he was able to easily resist Judson''s attack.


    Gerald chuckled. "Judson, you can try another way," he suggested.


    Judson felt strange about Gerald''s request, but he did as he was told.


    He stretched out his claw towards Zen''s head, and an indefectible glazed goblet appeared out of nowhere. It flew towards Zen, trapping him with no escape.


    Strong energy engulfed the entirety of the goblet. It was obviously not an ordinary object.


    Whoosh!


    As the energy surged inside the goblet, Zen felt a great debilitating pressure running through his veins and across his body.


    If his cultivation base was lower than the Eternal Realm, the energy could have crushed him.


    Zen stretched out his finger and lightly tapped the transparent wall, digging a small hole.


    Whoosh!


    The great pressure in the goblet was unleashed from t


    rld.


    After a long and tiring journey, they reached a spot close to the four huge black pillars. A strange plain with big and small caves suddenly appeared in front of them.


    "Could those caves be worlds?" Geoffrey wondered as they walked towards them.


    He pulled Ziya into one of the caves. They explored the inside and found that he guessed right.


    The worlds were similar to the chaos. There were independent spaces within, which were not as vast as the worlds they knew. They were much smaller.


    Just as before, dead silence filled the caves. No living being thrived as there was no evidence of life.


    Geoffrey had given up exploring and moved towards the four giant pillars. At the end of the plain was the nearest black pillar.


    After passing through each round cave on the seemingly unending plain, Geoffrey finally saw the huge pillar in front of him.


    The pillar seemed to be formed by numerous pages of book. The thick and huge pages were placed in a spiral, forming an upward stair.


    Walking to the side of the pillar, Geoffrey reached out his hand and touched a black page. To his surprise, his hand felt that it was not made of paper, but of solid stone.


    He blinked his eyes in disbelief and proceeded to step on a stair.


    Buzz!


    The moment he stepped on the stair, a light orange thread appeared and flew into the distant sky.


    Geoffrey frowned and looked at the thread, confused.


    It seemed that the thread was headed to the direction of the chaos.

 Chapter 3902 Changing The Location

    Geoffrey took a good, long look at the thread but still couldn''t figure out its use.


    Just as he was about to reach for it in an attempt to pull it closer, a scene flashed in front of his eyes.


    He saw a golden beach, picturesque and beautiful, with the cold seawater that constantly surged at the edges.


    His pupils contracted as he took in the sight. "Is this the Sea of Truth?" he muttered to himself.


    He traced the length of the thread and discovered that it was connected to a grain of sand on the beach.


    He found himself filled with awe and confusion. "Could it be that such a long thread connects to a single grain of sand?"


    He then remembered Ziya told him that the energy of all Other Shore Tokens came from the Abstruse Energy World.


    Geoffrey asked him how exactly the energy was transmitted, but Ziya couldn''t answer. After all, it wasn''t a subject Ziya dabbled in.


    The concept of space in the Abstruse Energy World was completely different from that of the chaos. Now Geoffrey perceived this thread was very long, but in fact, it might not be necessarily true.


    "A grain of sand connects to a thread. If that is the case, then..."


    As he was thinking, he took a step forward and onto the second stair. He was now on the second page and suddenly, dozens of threads appeared.


    Geoffrey reached out for the threads and saw every single scene at the end of each one.


    "Sand, sand, sand, and sand..."


    It was as he had predicted. Each thread connected to a grain of sand on that golden beach. The threads grew in number but the scene stayed almost exactly the same.


    Upon the realization that the pages at the bottom might just contain endless sand, Geoffrey decided to draw Ziya and climb up the stairs.


    The spiral staircase formed out of the pages. The further he went, the greater the number of threads that appeared was.


    Each time he passed by a page, Geoffrey would reach out just to check and found each page was full of sand.


    Just as he thought that maybe there was nothing else to see, he finally came upon a new discovery. He had arrived on the tenth page and found that the thread connected to a grain of sand, much like the others, except this particular grain was fused with


    ght. The amount of power contained within the stone also rose by more than ten times!


    Two horse-faced creatures that resided in Stage Two sensed the powerful aura that was suddenly released from the distance.


    "What in the world happened over there?"


    These two were from the Triumph race, a very small group of horse-faced creatures in the Source World. They had no might nor any fame to their name.


    They had stayed in Stage Two of the Other Shore all this time because their Souls of Light were nowhere near strong enough to reach the higher stage.


    The two of them made the trek towards the Three-layer Stone and could not contain their amazement when they reached their destination.


    "Shouldn''t a Three-layer Stone normally contain only two or three divine megatons of power?"


    "Yeah, but why does this one seem to have dozens of divine megatons of power?!"


    "I can feel its scorching aura! It seems to contain some sort of special fire ability!"


    "It''s at the highest grade!"


    Their hearts boiled with excitement. The two of them had spent so many years here in Stage Two, but they suddenly came upon this strange Other Shore Token that could reverse their fortune!


    Nobody would believe a single word they said about this incident.


    Meanwhile, Geoffrey, who had seen all of this unfold, felt a strange feeling in his heart. It was when he raised his head to look at the endless black column that he realized it was the overwhelming feeling of omnipotence!

 Chapter 3903 Trigger

    The four massive pillars had some sort of a strict ruling in which every thread was not to be touched or moved.


    No one was allowed to change their positions without authorization.


    Anyone who broke the rule would have to face severe consequences.


    After Geoffrey moved one of the threads, at the end of the staircase, a statue suddenly came to life. Its eyes glowed a red light, and its body trembled slightly.


    "Anyone..."


    Fortunately for Geoffrey, this statue had been asleep for countless years and was practically a few steps away from disintegrating into a pile of dust. If this had taken place a while back, the statue would''ve leapt into action immediately, killing the intruders on the spot.


    However, it was way past its prime. Its stone body had practically melded into the ground it stood upon.


    Statues weren''t supposed to rot, but this one did. In comparison, the four statues of the Eternal Divine Courtyard were much luckier.


    Because of the existence of the Time Lock, they were destined to continue in pristine condition, unlike the statue that angrily flashed its red eyes at Geoffrey.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    The statue felt the energy fluctuations coming from the pillar, and desperately tried to free its legs from the ground.


    However, it didn''t take long before all its energy was used up, and its eyes quickly dimmed till it was lifeless once more.


    This whole time, Geoffrey didn''t know what was going on above. Upon climbing to the 500th stair, he found that the threads of light here were connected to much more Other Shore Tokens.


    Stretching out his hand, he lightly brushed some threads of light closest to him, and had visions pertaining to where the Other Shore Tokens were located.


    "This inner world is full of fish," he cried in amusement, as the Other Shore Tokens revealed to him many different inner worlds.


    "What a disgusting inner world! There is sticky blood everywhere.


    None of these looks enticing..."


    Finally, Geoffrey found an inner world full of humans.


    "This guy must be a human..."


    Geoffrey didn''t know whether the owner of this inner world was friend or foe, nor did he care. The only thing on his mind now was his insatiable curiosity with a hint of mischievousness.


    Without any hesitation, he dug out the square stone under the thread and inserted it into the first black pit on the inner side.


    Meanwhile, in the Rose Sect of Pear Hi


    ed Ziya on his right shoulder.


    All Ziya could see were the dense light dots in front of him. He knew that Geoffrey had climbed up the pillar.


    Without the slightest hesitation, he reached out to slap whatever was in front of him.


    Boom!


    Normally, creatures in the Abstruse Energy World wouldn''t stand a chance against Ziya''s palm attack.


    However, the statue on the pillar was by no means ordinary. Even a blow from Ziya just caused it to shake its head in a daze for a moment, but it quickly recovered.


    "Damn it!"


    When Geoffrey saw this scene, his eyes widened in fear. Ziya was probably no match for the statue, at least not in this form.


    In a rush, he grabbed Ziya''s hand and yanked him towards the edge of the stair. Together, they jumped off the pillar and plummeted to the ground.


    Boom!


    Upon landing on the ground, Geoffrey immediately jumped up and helped Ziya up as well.


    Ziya was confused. How did they fall? He didn''t recall feeling any sort of impact from the statue''s counterattack.


    However, when he stood up, he positioned his hands, ready to strike again. To his surprise, he felt Geoffrey yanking at the rope.


    No matter what happened, he had to follow Geoffrey, so he didn''t have the time to try attacking again and decided to follow Geoffrey.


    The statue was not going to let Geoffrey go. Muttering something under its breath, the statue quickly spiraled down the stairs.


    As they ran, Geoffrey kept one eye on the pillar behind him. Then, he narrowed his eyes ruthlessly.


    If he couldn''t deal with the statue here, he would have to lead it into the real world.

 Chapter 3904 The Strength Of The Statue

    The nearest cave on the plain was only a few hundred feet away. With a few strides, Geoffrey arrived in an instant and went in.


    The caves on the plain seemed to be empty, but each one had a very unique and terrifying interior.


    There was one which was filled with corrosive liquids, another containing poisonous gases floating within, and another one with a scorching hot interior as if a sun was stored in it.


    Closely behind, a statue was chasing after him at an incredible speed. Before he knew it, the statue was just about ten feet away from him.


    Without any hesitation, he jumped into the nearest cave, dragging Ziya along.


    Whoosh!


    The statue''s goal was to hunt down the intruders. Even after Geoffrey successfully left the pillar, the statue still chased after him and was determined to kill him.


    As Geoffrey and Ziya jumped in, the statue followed them.


    Buzz! Buzz!


    Thousands of light dots, like a torrential rain, drilled into the cave below.


    The two quickly turned into their normal forms, as they continued to fall into the cave.


    Ziya instantly analyzed their situation, quickly grabbed the rope around his waist, and pulled Geoffrey towards him.


    Just as he steadied himself, a whistling sound came from above. He saw that the statue stretched out its big hand and tried to grab his head.


    The statues on the pillars didn''t possess extraordinary abilities. However, their bodies were extremely sturdy, and their movements were incredibly fast. With just brute strength and speed to rely on, they still couldn''t be underestimated.


    Ziya knew that if the statue got a hold of his head, it would be crushed easily.


    Fortunately, he was a smart man. He never took his opponents lightly and was always alert at his surroundings.


    He instantly realized that the statue was not easy to deal with.


    With his quick reflexes, he drew his head back, and the statue missed.


    At the same time, he did not waste the opportunity for a counterattack. With a wave of his hand, a golden whip shadow shot towards the statue.


    Boom!


    The moment the God Lashing Whip touched the statue, a deafening explosion resounded.


    It was so loud that Geoffrey couldn''t help covering his ears as he shouted in pain. Blood started dripping to his fingers that were covering his ears.


    Ziya immediately saw Geoffrey''s condition so he reached out his hand, grabbed him, and stuffed him into the space channel. Now, he could focus on dealing with


    lure the other statues down."


    Ziya clearly knew about the function of the four pillars, so he didn''t want this opportunity to slip by.


    "You want me to lure them down? But what if I can''t escape?" Geoffrey said in a trembling voice.


    The first statue was shabby, and its intellect wasn''t so high. If Geoffrey encountered a statue that possessed a high level of intelligence, it might be difficult for him to escape.


    "Don''t worry. Just deal with them the same way as you did with the first one." Ziya stretched out his hand, and the Truth of Three-Energy Construction began to operate. The rope that tied him and Geoffrey continued to lengthen.


    The plan was Ziya would stay behind while Geoffrey returned to the pillars.


    If something unexpected should happen, he could tell Ziya immediately through the rope so that he could pull him back instantly.


    Meanwhile, on the Dark Haze Peak of the Pear Hill, a droplet of blood dripped from the wound on Zen''s fingertip.


    The droplet of extremely thick ancestry-level blood fell into a clear pool.


    As it splashed into the water, the blood continued to sink without dispersing.


    Suddenly, the droplet of blood stopped sinking, jumped out of the pool, and rushed back towards the wound on Zen''s finger.


    Like a small red bug, Zen flicked the droplet back into the pool.


    It splashed into the pool again. This time, it wandered around the pool and sank into the bottom.


    Immediately after, the temperature within the entire pool rapidly rose.


    Due to intense heat, a thick white mist began springing up.


    Soon after, the clear water in the pool had completely evaporated.

 Chapter 3905 The Problem Of The Ancestry-level Bloodline

    The Dark Haze Peak was a place of cultivation in the Pear Hill. The pool looked small, but was in fact ten thousand feet deep.


    A drop of the ancestry-level blood could instantly cause the water in the pool to evaporate. The heat emanating off of it was not to be underestimated.


    Whoosh!


    The blood at the bottom of the pool began to lengthen before Zen''s eyes. It was ten feet long before it stopped. It then drilled into the Dark Haze Peak.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    Cracks sounded from within the peak as the blood began to cut the peak.


    It had gone rogue just because Zen hadn''t accepted it. And at the rate it was going, it looked like it was threatening Zen by saying that it would destroy everything if he didn''t accept it.


    "Alas..."


    Zen was rendered speechless. He was no longer treating it as a drop of blood, but as a living being.


    A while later, a neat cut appeared on one side of the Dark Haze Peak.


    If given enough time, this drop of blood could hack the Dark Haze Peak to dust.


    Zen had no choice but to stretch out his right hand, in order to summon it back.


    He then felt a strange fluctuation of the ancestry-level bloodline in his body, as if it was releasing a signal to make that drop of blood return to him.


    That drop of blood seemed to have ears. At the summons from the bloodline in Zen''s body, it quickly rushed back and drilled into his finger.


    Zen had originally planned to accept this drop of blood, but his face darkened as he felt the difference of the ancestry-level bloodline in his body. He flicked his finger once again, sending the drop of blood flying outwards.


    How could he allow his blood to master his own body?


    He had already sensed back in the square that the process of his fusion with the bloodline was slightly different from that of others.


    According to the Primeval Lord of Heaven, once the bloodline was successfully absorbed, it would become a part of him.


    He might not be proficient in using the theurgy bestowed by the bloodline in the beginning. But he would become more and more skillful as time passed and with constant use.


    The bloodline was part of the body. It wouldn''t cause trouble without reaso


    level bloodline could dissolve any kind of energy, and Zen probably wouldn''t be able to refine it by himself. "It looks like we''ll have to turn to external forces."


    "External forces?" Zen repeated thoughtfully. "You mean Gerald''s power?"


    "Yes," the Primeval Lord of Heaven said, nodding.


    Gerald had mastered the life truth, while Judson had mastered the creation truth.


    Zen didn''t hesitate. Now that he was facing a formidable enemy, a war would break out at any time. And before that happened, he had to solve this hidden trouble in his body. Gerald was trustworthy.


    Zen went to visit Gerald and told him about the bloodline. Gerald was surprised at the weirdness of the story but thought it was understandable.


    The bloodline that Zen had obtained was too powerful.


    As the Son of Truth who was in charge of the life truth, Gerald was familiar with bloodlines. He thought for a while before turning towards Zen and taking action.


    He punctured Zen''s back. When the truth energy was injected into his body, it disappeared without a trace, just like the net array.


    Although Gerald knew the characteristics of Zen''s bloodline, he was still a little unconvinced. He didn''t believe that he couldn''t suppress the bloodline.


    The truth energy was again infused and dispersed into Zen''s body.


    Gerald became tired but the ancestry-level bloodline in Zen''s body remained the same.


    The bloodline remained unaffected, seemingly invincible.

 Chapter 3906 Gathering

    Despite having spent so much effort, Gerald had failed to suppress the bloodline within Zen''s body¡ªit was rather embarrassing.


    All he knew was that Zen had fused with a powerful bloodline, but he couldn''t tell the bloodline''s grade or rank in the Eternal Scroll Painting, and Zen hadn''t given him all the information.


    "The power of the bloodline is simply inconceivable." After a moment of being awestruck, Gerald insisted on giving it another go. "I''ll call Judson over to help!"


    From the looks of it, it seemed he wouldn''t stop until he managed to help Zen suppress his bloodline.


    After hearing what Gerald asked him to do, Judson also showed great interest.


    It was because of their special bloodlines that the Chaos Ancient Gods were all powerful. Naturally, they were highly concerned about other unique and powerful bloodlines as well.


    Once Judson came over, he discussed the matter with Gerald. The two then worked together to suppress Zen''s bloodline, but with disappointing results.


    The ancestry-level bloodline remained at the top in terms of energy level, and it could work out energy that restrained the enemy''s energy, accomplishing a great task with little effort by clever maneuvers.


    Although they tried both the internal and external forces, neither of them worked.


    This time around, even the Primeval Lord of Heaven didn''t know what to do with it.


    "When I first entered the Supreme Pure Realm, I encountered over a hundred crises. Sometimes, even after trying every single available means, I still couldn''t overcome certain obstacles," said the Primeval Lord of Heaven. "But at the time, I didn''t complain. It was my first time entering the Supreme Pure Realm. Everything was so strange...I needed to explore it all step by step, even fighting with my life..."


    Entering a strange domain meant coming across more unknown difficulties and dangers, but he also gained much from it.


    Zen''s ancestry-level bloodline was truly powerful.


    No one in even the Four Spirits Sect had obtained the complete ancestry-level bloodline.


    This ''unknown'' served as a great test for Zen, as well as a great opportunity.


    As for how to control the ancestry-level bloodline, all he could do was explore step by step.


    After returning to the Dark Haze Peak, Zen tried communicating with the ancestry-level bloodline to see if there was any turn of events.


    In the Victory Province beside the Pear Hill were many black ships i


    thniel would make a move.


    While waiting, Othniel also contacted the Divine Farmer to ask for the necessary support from the Element Spirit race. The latter delivered the Element Spirit race''s message, telling him that they would take action at the most critical moment.


    But Othniel could sense the bitterness in the Divine Farmer''s tone.


    While Claire had previously been killed by Gerald''s Poison of Decomposition, she hadn''t truly died. But it affected Yellow Thearch, nearly killing him.


    If the Element Spirit race still wanted to directly participate in the war, the Divine Farmer himself was going to be the next victim¡ªit was definitely not something the Divine Farmer was willing to see.


    But at this point, he had no choice.


    "Buzz..."


    A strangely-shaped cage suddenly appeared in the air above the Taoism Province.


    Its structure was truly exquisite, like a well-crafted artwork.


    A space fluctuation emerged from it before a great figure appeared¡ªit was none other than Herbert, one of the Chaos Ancient Gods.


    He had no intention to hide his arrival whatsoever. When his great body left the cage, his aura spread in all directions like an invisible storm, wandering throughout the entire Taoism Province.


    The aura contained a form of truth energy that could imprison everything¡ªall the living beings in the entire province were suppressed, left unable to breathe.


    "This day arrived earlier than I expected," Herbert said slowly.


    His stand was not as firm as Lamont''s or Othniel''s.


    For so long, he had Fuxi trapped, giving him the chance to persuade him to change side, but the latter failed.

 Chapter 3907 Yans Golden Dress

    Herbert was the most gentle among the six Chaos Ancient Gods.


    However, he had chosen the Purge Way because, on behalf of the Element Spirit race, the Yellow Thearch had promised him that the chaos would exist forever.


    Herbert didn''t care much for his own life, but the Yellow Thearch''s words piqued his interest.


    In the previous round of chaos, most of his clansmen had perished when the Finale Way was being executed. Even his one true love didn''t make it out alive. This was one of the main reasons why he wasn''t swayed by Fuxi.


    In Herbert''s eyes, Fuxi indeed had a great talent, but there was almost no possibility of him completing the Finale Way.


    "When the end comes, we won''t stand a chance," said Othniel gravely.


    Once the chaos reached a certain extent, the needle would emerge.


    The people who advocated the Purge Way now needed to eliminate anyone who was obsessed with the Finale Way, and then lastly, they needed to exterminate all the other creatures in the Source World.


    As a matter of fact, they had already started the process of extermination.


    Previously, Othniel played a big role in killing creatures in three hundred provinces.


    "Well, what''re we waiting for?" Herbert was already fully aware of the situation at hand, and had resigned himself to his fate. Thus, he saw no need to hesitate.


    Othniel nodded. Just then, a human flew towards them from the ground.


    He was a native of the Taoism Province. He had once been to the Pear Hill for further study, and now his cultivation base was at the ninth stage of the Other Shore Realm.


    Facing the huge figures before him, he surprisingly felt calm. Mustering up all his strength, he shouted at the two Chaos Ancient Gods, "Great Chaos Ancient Gods! The chaos created you for the completion of the Finale Way, not the other way around!"


    Most of the people who had acknowledged the Finale Way believed that the Chaos Ancient Gods should unite together.


    But in the end, things went awry. There was a great divide among the Chaos Ancient Gods.


    Othniel looked at the tiny human expressionlessly. A ray of light suddenly flashed in his huge eye, and the human found that he couldn''t move, frozen in the air.


    Splash!


    With a crisp sound, the miniscule human shattered into countless pieces.


    Every fragment floated aimlessly in the space.


    Herbert frowned at his fellow Chaos Ancient God. As he pointed at the fragment


    s and mortals were mostly at the foot of the Pear Hill.


    Upon hearing Yan''s voice, the disciples sat cross-legged and channeled their strength into the golden arrays before them.


    Each small golden magic array was a branch. The branches converged into the nine arteries, and the power of the nine arteries finally converged into Yan''s "golden dress".


    As the energy surged along the golden magic arrays, the white clouds that shrouded the Pear Hill rumbled with activity.


    "Woo..."


    The power contained in the "golden dress" became terrifyingly strong. After a few moments, it had collected all the complex energy of the disciples of the Pear Hill.


    It was impossible to harness this much energy without the help of the Energy Shaft.


    Seeing how everyone was doing their part and sending energy her way, Yan gently touched the magic array with her fingers. The second her fingers connected with the magic array, the energy burst upwards and shot towards the Energy Shaft.


    With the guidance of the Calculation Civilization, her Energy Shaft had been greatly improved in a short period of time.


    However, the Calculation Civilization had also told her that this was still not the complete version of the Energy Shaft. If the expected Energy Shaft was actualized, wars would be completely eradicated. Such an Energy Shaft would bring infinite power and infinite strength.


    Raising her right hand resolutely, Yan pointed towards the blue pillars in the distance.


    "Go!"


    she cried.


    Obediently, the Energy Shaft above her head shot out a pale golden light, which rushed towards the blue pillars.

 Chapter 3908 A Game Of Seesaw

    These blue pillars were enough to seal the whole Pear Hill. Once they were formed, it would be difficult to break even if Gerald and Judson joined forces to try.


    As such, Herbert was very confident it was foolproof.


    However, just as the blue pillars were rising into the sky, a faint golden light shot towards them like a streak of lightning.


    As soon as he saw the golden light beam, Herbert gasped. He could feel the immense power contained in it. Spreading out his hands instinctively, he released truth energy from his palms and directed it towards the blue pillars.


    Then, the blue pillars were coated in a light blue film, which stabilized them.


    "Boom!"


    As soon as the pale golden light hit the blue pillars, it exploded violently. The once stable blue pillars immediately shook like toothpicks, and many even collapsed.


    Even Othniel was shocked when he felt the power of the golden light.


    It was very easy to distinguish the truth energy. This golden light was obviously not a kind of truth energy from Gerald or Judson, nor could it be from the Snake Goddess or Fuxi. However, if that were the case, then who else in the Pear Hill was strong enough to release such energy?


    Quickly recovering from his initial shock, Herbert snorted, "It won''t be that easy to destroy my prison."


    Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!


    From the area where blue pillars collapsed, new ones sprung from the earth to quickly replace them, like a hydra.


    Herbert might have been the most quiet among the six Chaos Ancient Gods, but he was also the most determined. Once he decided to make a move, he would prepare solutions to deal with every possible situation he might face.


    In his eyes, it was futile for the Pear Hill to use powerful energy to stop the prison from forming. He knew that he''d be able to deal with whatever they threw his way.


    From the peak of the Pear Hill, Yan smiled as she watched the golden beam knock down multiple blue pillars.


    Tens of thousands of living beings of the Pear Hill were here, including her brother, the Snake Goddess and Fuxi...


    This was their last stronghold. No way in hell was she going to sit back and watch it be destroyed before her.


    "What the--"


    When Yan saw the new blue pillars emerging from the ground, the smile was wiped from her face, and her eyes flashed coldly. Through gritted teeth, she muttered, "Let''s see if you can grow pillars faster than I can chop them down."


    As soon as she finished speaking, she flicked her ten fingers.


    Instantly, the ener


    land on a sect in the Pear Hill, the entire sect would be destroyed, and the people inside would also be crushed to a pulp.


    Even the arrays set up on the mountains along the way were destroyed by the spikes.


    Seeing that his attack was working, Othniel continued. Three more round balls appeared in front of him, and at the same time, more spikes squeezed in.


    In a flash of blue light, more balls were sent into the Pear Hill.


    But by now, the Pear Hill knew what to expect.


    In a flash, Judson appeared in front of one of the balls, and a glazed goblet had appeared in his hand. It was the Heavenly Glazed Goblet.


    "Bang!"


    Judson threw it at the ball. The goblet swallowed it instantly.


    "Bang!"


    The round ball exploded inside the glazed goblet. The countless spikes were effectively blocked by the goblet''s shell.


    Meanwhile, the second ball was swallowed by Gerald, who had appeared just in time.


    The spikes might cause damage to Gerald''s body, but ordinary injuries were nothing to him.


    The Snake Goddess handled the last ball.


    While she might be inferior to Gerald and Judson in terms of strength, she was still extremely clever and wise. The instant the third ball appeared over the Pear Hill, she had tossed a thin rope towards it. The moment the rope looped around the ball, it was transported into the interior of the Pear Hill.


    The area in the center of the Pear Hill was incredibly vast. Even though the ball exploded inside the Pear Hill, the walls of the mountain were too incredibly thick that the spikes just buried themselves into the mountain after traveling tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of feet in the rock stratum.

 Chapter 3909 Compromise

    This round of attack was blocked, but Othniel sneered as he said, "Can you block the attack every time?"


    The attacks from Othniel and Herbert were mainly aimed at destroying the fragile creatures in the Pear Hill.


    It was a good idea and was working so far.


    The energy that Yan''s Energy Shaft had released was so powerful that even the Chaos Ancient Gods couldn''t bear it.


    Only if Othniel and Herbert killed a large number of disciples, sect leaders and mountain leaders in the Pear Hill would Yan''s foundation no longer exist.


    Buzz, buzz, buzz...


    Five more huge balls appeared before Othniel. Once a large number of space spikes were compressed in the five balls, Othniel gently raised his hand and sent the five balls to the Pear Hill.


    "Let me deal with this alone!"


    Judson''s huge figure flashed above the Pear Hill. He was moving so fast that it gave people whiplash.


    His figure split into five, each figure holding a Heavenly Glazed Goblet in their hands.


    Bang, bang, bang!


    With five cracking sounds, the Heavenly Glazed Goblets caught the balls pretty accurately.


    After the balls exploded, the spikes in the inner part of the balls could do nothing to the Heavenly Glazed Goblets. Judson had single-handedly blocked Othniel''s attack.


    When Othniel sensed this, he merely snorted but didn''t adjust his methods. He still compressed the spikes inside the spheres, and sent them into the Pear Hill.


    But no matter how many spheres Othniel sent in, Judson blocked every single one of them.


    In the Pear Hill, the Snake Goddess had returned to the jadeite platform, her eyes gloomy.


    The Pear Hill had resisted the attacks of the two Chaos Ancient Gods. But this was still way below the Snake Goddess''s expectations.


    "Othniel is so irritating! We keep defending the Pear Hill, but he is patient and just won''t break in!" the Snake Goddess said, frowning.


    The Pear Hill was powerful. The Snake Goddess had arranged a great counterattack method in the Pear Hill to deal with the Chaos Ancient Gods. She wanted to see which one of the Gods attacked first.


    Her intuition told her that Othniel would be the first to break in.


    But Othniel wasn''t stupid. He did what Herbert had done. He


    rits Sect were interested in the ancestry-level bloodline.


    "If you help me, they won''t catch me. I don''t know what will happen if you don''t help me," Zen said, threat evident in his voice.


    He had barely finished speaking when the blood beast roared again. Zen felt his body stiffen. His blood dragged his legs away, wanting to escape.


    He had just taken a step forward when Zen himself erupted with power.


    His legs were now tied together, and he fell to the ground.


    "How can I let you get what you want?" Zen said with a smile.


    He stood up from the ground as he spoke. Forced by the blood to run forward, he quietly exerted his strength and tripped himself again.


    The ancestry-level bloodline could only control Zen''s physical body through his blood. But Zen''s body still had bones and meridians.


    He still had the upper hand in the fight for the control of his body.


    Of course, this seemed only a temporary solution. The future was uncertain. Zen was obviously worried about it.


    Perhaps it had completely understood Zen''s words, or perhaps it had realized that it couldn''t change Zen''s mind for the time being. The little blood beast that was still outside Zen''s body groaned as if begging for mercy, and jumped onto Zen''s shoulder.


    It didn''t get in through the wound on Zen''s right arm, but waited for Zen''s permission.


    "Are you willing to compromise?" Zen said, smugly overjoyed. "You should at least let me get an origin-level bloodline theurgy."

 Chapter 3910 Black Snakes

    As Zen spoke his last word, the ancestry-level bloodline began boiling within him.


    He sensed that it had used six abilities of the life quadrant, as well as the ability of the space-time quadrant, which ranked a bit lower than eightieth in this quadrant. This was very rare.


    These seven abilities mixed together to form the bloodline.


    "Is this an origin-level bloodline?" Zen froze for a moment as he pondered.


    These three hundred and seventy-three abilities might have infinite combinations, but the origin-level bloodlines the Eternal Divine Courtyard had were those in the four spaces.


    Zen made an attempt to activate the bloodline ability and almost immediately felt a burning sensation within, as his body began transforming dramatically.


    Thin muscles bulged out and quickly morphed into a layer of thick and solid armor


    which quickly sank and embedded itself on the surface of his skin, tightly enveloping his entire body.


    The sight of his own body left Zen in a dismal state. "You didn''t provide me with an origin-level bloodline. You did this to prevent me from letting my blood out again!"


    The ancestry-level bloodline seemed unwilling to let Zen separate from it and now this disgusting armor had overtaken his body to prevent him from harming himself and allowing any of it to leave.


    "This is not enough to fight them.


    Aren''t you afraid of being found out by them?"


    Zen added a few more threatening remarks, but the ancestry-level bloodline just ignored him and didn''t move.


    Rumble...


    The Pear Hill still shook slightly.


    Yan''s proficiency in attacking with the Energy Shaft was improving greatly and the golden light blades were being released faster and faster. They had now almost dug up an entire moat around the Pear Hill.


    Herbert continued driving the growth of the blue pillars. However, as Yan sped up her actions, the blue pillars that surrounded the Pear Hill began weakening and a huge gap appeared among them.


    If it went on like this, Yan could possibly completely suppress Herbert.


    As for the balls Othniel had thrown in, Judson had grabbed them all one by one.


    The Pear Hill was humongous, but destroying a province was still an easy task for the Chaos Ancient Gods. The energy Othniel and Herbert had released was already enough to destroy the Pear Hill several times.


    Bu


    , the black snake had already bitten her on the neck and her body fell lifeless...


    "Master!"


    "Master..."


    The disciples of the Heavenly Shuttle Sect fell into a panic. Some stepped back, some tried to protect the sect leader and some attacked the black snake in vengeance.


    However, the black snake was incredibly quick and they could not track it with the spiritual sense.


    They stood no chance against it; almost all the Heavenly Shuttle Sect''s disciples were killed within 30 seconds. Only a few smart and shrewd disciples managed to escape using the Grand Teleportation technique.


    Such massacres were taking place all across the Pear Hill.


    The Snake Goddess, Fuxi and the others couldn''t locate the black snakes, but they sensed the hysteria, horror and fear among the commotion.


    The Snake Goddess and Fuxi were getting agitated as their numbers started dwindling.


    "All sect leaders and mountain leaders, please do whatever you can to kill those black snakes!"


    She issued the order and flashed to the Heavenly Shuttle Sect. Her heart sank and broke when she saw their members fall to the ground, one after the other.


    The black snake hunted for a while and now wished to hide in the mountain. But before it could drill into the ground, the Snake Goddess got hold of it!


    It struggled in her grip and black flames burst out from it, burning the Snake Goddess'' white fingers, contorting and charring them. But she seemed to feel no pain. She used the energy of the shadow of Snake Goddess to suppress the snake and smash it to pieces!

 Chapter 3911 Take The Initiative To Attack

    Blood splattered across the ground as the Snake Goddess killed a black snake, then she quickly moved to the next place.


    She wasn''t the only one who attacked. Upon hearing her call, Fuxi, the sect, and mountain leaders also jumped into action and cleared the black snakes in the Pear Hill.


    However, the area covered by their spiritual sense was much smaller than that of the Snake Goddess. Thus, they could only kill the black snakes near the central area of the Pear Hill. They couldn''t reach the black snakes beyond that area.


    Furthermore, the spiritual sense couldn''t be used to locate the three hundred black snakes, so it was quite hard to kill them.


    When they sensed that a warrior of the Pear Hill had died, that was only when they could go to the place and kill.


    The wild flames were intense, but the Grandmaster of Heaven had used them to create three hundred black snakes, so the power was divided. Warriors at the Holy Soul Realm could resist them, as long as they were careful.


    Although they killed the black snakes, the Pear Hill had suffered many casualties.


    Within five minutes, the entire Pear Hill was in a fix.


    The Snake Goddess surmised that after the group of snakes entered the Pear Hill, over seven hundred members of the Pear Hill had died, which included many elites.


    Although the Pear Hill had many members, all the warriors who died were her members. No one could blame her for feeling devastated.


    Soon enough, Yan felt the panic of the people of the Pear Hill.


    After all, those mountain and sect leaders contributed nearly half of the energy needed. When they left to kill the black snakes, the energy used for the Energy Shaft naturally became unstable.


    Fortunately, Yan was quite skilled. She restrained the blue pillars that grew like mad with constant adjustment.


    When the mountain and sect leaders returned to their positions, the supply of energy to the Energy Shaft became stable again.


    Zen, who was in the Dark Haze Peak, also saw the commotion, but he did not act rashly. Before the war, the Snake Goddess said that she was in command of everything.


    Elizabeth, Pearce, and some others were in another main peak and infused energy into the Cloud Cover Array as well, but they also did not participate directly in the battle.


    When they returned to the jadeite platform, Fuxi looked calm as usual, but the Snake Goddess was a little worried.


    "If everything continued like this, I''m afraid that the Pear Hill won''t be able to hold on," the Snake Goddess said.


    ms appeared under their feet, and the same happened to Grandmaster of Heaven, who was in the Victory Province.


    "This is..."


    Upon seeing the big mark, the Grandmaster of Heaven felt a chill run down his spine.


    In turn, he quickly grew up to ten million feet high. With a wave of his hand, he sucked the black ship into his long sleeve and suddenly teleported away.


    "Boom!"


    Powerful palm prints immediately fell from the top of the marks of Eight Diagrams, and a bottomless pit appeared on the ground.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven only took away one black ship. The other black ships swiftly turned into thousands of pieces as the palm prints covered them.


    Although these black ships could repair themselves, the captain of the Black Ship still felt crushed when he saw that the black ships were destroyed just like that.


    Still, the real Fuxi didn''t stop attacking, and his large hands continuously slapped the ground. As the palm prints kept coming down, the Grandmaster of Heaven, Othniel, and Herbert had no choice but to move and dodge.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven was confused when he dodged and retreated.


    He had never seen Fuxi become so powerful when he fought against him before. It seemed that he suddenly became a different person, which reminded the Grandmaster of Heaven of the Fuxi in the past.


    This was not a good omen.


    Just as Othniel and Herbert still dodged, the real Snake Goddess, the real Eastern Emperor Taiyi, Gerald, and Judson all rushed towards the Victory Province at the same time.


    The Snake Goddess planned that they would all charge forward to take down the Grandmaster of Heaven first, then deal with the Chaos Ancient Gods next.

 Chapter 3912 The Second Truth

    The marks of Eight Diagrams appeared one after another under the Grandmaster of Heaven''s feet while he dodged the palm prints that kept descending from the sky.


    The ground behind him was densely packed with palm prints, which formed a wide ditch.


    "Boom!"


    The moment he avoided another one palm print, he became shocked when he saw the Pear Hill.


    His spiritual sense always covered an area with a radius of over a hundred million miles. He saw that the Snake Goddess, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, Gerald, and Herbert were fast approaching!


    "Eastern Emperor Taiyi."


    Although it was his first time to descend into the chaos, the Black Ship was always the one that gathered the information from the Source World then sent it to him before.


    Of course, he knew that Eastern Emperor Taiyi had defeated Emperor Charm easily.


    He also knew that the real Eastern Emperor Taiyi had gotten trapped in Stage Thirty-three.


    It must be the case that someone had taken over his physical body, which greatly enhanced his strength.


    The truth behind it might be a puzzle for others, but the Grandmaster of Heaven easily figured out what had happened.


    Now, Fuxi had become much more powerful, and perhaps the Snake Goddess''s strength had also increased. They might have let the real Fuxi and the real Snake Goddess take over their bodies.


    Since the Grandmaster of Heaven faced them alone, the pressure he felt naturally increased.


    Had it been someone else, they probably would''ve run away by now. He could at least join the two Chaos Ancient Gods who were in the Taoism Province.


    Yet, he didn''t choose to escape.


    Instead of continuing to dodge the palm prints of Eight Diagrams, he suddenly stopped in midair!


    Boom! Boom! Boom...


    Fuxi continued to slap the ground in the Pear Hill, but the palm prints went through the Grandmaster of Heaven''s body.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven was like a ghost in the air, and he avoided all his attacks.


    That was the ability of the Chaos Ancient God Othniel¡ªthe Void Illusory World, which could create a unique separate space for him to stay.


    "Grandmaster of Heaven, long time no see!" the bright-eyed Snake Goddess exclaimed.


    Because it was the real Snake Goddess, she spoke in an unusually confident manner.


    "Hmph, it''s just as I thought. Even if you have a complete body to use, you still can''t bring your full strength into play," the Grandmaster of Heaven coldly shot back.


    At that moment, the Snake Goddess spread her fingers and gently lifted them.


    In turn, crimson energy filaments burst out from her snow-white skin.


    The en


    Every collision was powerfully destructive. If the creatures in the Victory Province looked up, the dazzling golden light would blind their eyes.


    After the Grandmaster of Heaven and the real Eastern Emperor Taiyi had exchanged dozens of sword strikes in an instant, the Grandmaster of Heaven suddenly stepped into the void. His big body was like a ghost as he flew south, which was the location of the Taoism Province. His goal was to get the other two Chaos Ancient Gods who were in the Taoism Province involved.


    "Go after him!"


    At that point, the Snake Goddess, Gerald, and the others followed him closely.


    At first, Othniel and Herbert, who were in the Taoism Province, were still panicking when they faced Fuxi''s attack.


    However, the attacks of the Eight Diagrams and the palm prints came a little delayed as they reached the Taoism Province. Furthermore, it wasn''t hard to avoid them with their abilities.


    At the same time, the two Chaos Ancient Gods also noticed that the Pear Hill took the initiative to attack the Grandmaster of Heaven!


    Othniel and the Grandmaster of Heaven were not on the same side. In reality, Othniel was afraid of the Grandmaster of Heaven when it came to strength. Since the Pear Hill had exhibited powerful capabilities, it would be a good thing for them if they took the opportunity to kill the Grandmaster of Heaven.


    After all, the Contract-restricting Twin-headed Snake didn''t require Othniel to help the Grandmaster of Heaven.


    It turned out that all this time, the two Chaos Ancient Gods chose to standby and not interfere. What they didn''t expect was that the Grandmaster of Heaven evaded the attacks launched by the people of Pear Hill, then charged straight towards them.

 Chapter 3913 A Sneak Attack

    Eternal Realm masters wouldn''t take long to cross an entire province.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven and the people chasing him were far stronger than ordinary Eternal Realm warriors, and as a result, were much faster.


    That was why Othniel and Herbert had to make a quick decision.


    "Should we avoid them or fight?" Herbert asked, puzzled.


    The goal that was Herbert''s priority was to subvert the Pear Hill and help the Element Spirit race complete the Purge Way.


    He didn''t have an opinion about Fuxi, the Snake Goddess, or even Zen. It was purely a matter of stance on the future.


    On the other hand, Othniel looked hesitant.


    Their previous attack against the Oneness Sky Palace had been a complete failure. The people belonging to all the forces involved, like the Divine Farmer race, the Bearing race, and the New Moon race had died or escaped during the war. Even Claire had been killed.


    Now, Fuxi''s and the Snake Goddess''s strength had greatly increased, and with the help of Eastern Emperor Taiyi and the other two Chaos Ancient Gods, Pear Hill had become an invincible force.


    If the Grandmaster of Heaven were to be defeated or even killed by them, what would await him and Herbert before the Pear Hill?


    These thoughts lingered in Othniel''s mind for a while before he made his decision. "We should fight!" he said eventually.


    He had barely finished saying this when blue dust appeared in his huge eye.


    If one looked carefully, they''d realize that the blue dust motes were numerous cubes the size of a fist. They only looked tiny like dust before Othniel''s huge form.


    The blue cubes disappeared from Othniel''s eye and appeared to the east of the Taoism Province, floating irregularly in the air.


    These cubes were insignificant to the powerful warriors who had activated the Wild God Bodies.


    Gerald warned the others as he noticed the sudden appearance of the blue dust. "Be careful! They''re inverse spaces released by Othniel!"


    The moment Gerald alerted his companions, Othniel activated the cubes.


    The blue spaces, originally the size of a fist, expanded rapidly to a width of about one million feet each. These inverse spaces instantly filled up the space at the south of the Taoism Province.


    These inverse spaces were a special type of space. There seemed to be nothing inside, but they were, in fact, filled with a special energy.


    Gerald, the Snake Goddess, and the others felt like they were running in water the moment they were trapped in these spaces. Their speed slowed down considerably.


    The Grandmaster of Heav


    of the Pear Hill had now been handed over to them.


    An intense fight was taking place in the Taoism Province, while the Pear Hill was strangely quiet in contrast, as if they weren''t involved in the war. The disciples and the other members on the Pear Hill were relieved for a moment.


    They couldn''t participate in the higher-level battle. All they could do was pray silently as they remained in the Pear Hill.


    It was then that a huge figure suddenly appeared in the sky above the Pear Hill. It was a creature with white hair all over the body.


    The appearance of this creature caused an invisible chill to quickly spread over them from above.


    The temperature dropped sharply, and silver white frosts began to spread down from the top of the Pear Hill, like a circular ice ring blooming around it.


    Both Zen and Yan raised their heads to try to get a clear look at the figure clearly. Their faces hardened, almost in unison.


    This was Lamont, the third Chaos Ancient God who had followed the Purge Way.


    Once he arrived at the Pear Hill, he decided to ignore the fight in the Taoism Province and attacked the Pear Hill first.


    He probably believed that since Fuxi had left, there was no one left to guard the Pear Hill, and that it would be an easy task to destroy the hill.


    The temperature was still dropping rapidly, many rocks in the Pear Hill freezing and shattering into pieces with a cracking burst.


    If the temperature continued to drop, all living creatures in the Pear Hill would freeze to death.


    Yan wouldn''t allow this to happen. She stretched out her hands, and under her control, the Cloud Cover Array worked to block the deadly cold air attacking the Pear Hill from outside.

 Chapter 3914 Activate The Array

    While isolating the freezing air from the Pear Hill, Yan also activated the energy flow of the Cloud Cover Array.


    Not only did the members and disciples of the Pear Hill live in the Pear Hill, there were also many mortals there who could not cultivate.


    The temperature did not drop all that low when the frigid air reached the edge of the Pear Hill.


    Even so, for those mortals, it would still be a fatal exposure.


    Sensing this, Yan frowned and aimed her energy at the huge creature above!


    The mission Yan had been given by the Snake Goddess was to amass the power of Pear Hill and do all that was needed to protect it.


    However, till now, she had been running a defensive movement only.


    After suffering fierce attacks for half a day, she finally had the chance to strike back. Naturally, Yan poured out masses of energy without any hesitation!


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh¡­


    Huge golden light blades formed and shot upwards.


    The energy contained within those golden light blades couldn''t be underestimated, not even by the Chaos Ancient God.


    Hiss...


    Lamont hovered in the sky and suddenly opened his mouth, taking a deep breath. His huge belly bulged even more.


    Swoosh...


    The air, which had been sucked into his stomach, suddenly spewed forth again.


    The cold air erupting out from the huge body was enough to create a freezing hurricane.


    However, the chill was not as fierce as the others had feared. Instead, it formed a gentle white zone of cold beneath him.


    When the golden blades entered this zone, they lost momentum, slowed down, and finally stopped. The golden light of the blades'' surface suddenly dimmed, and the blades completely melted away in this cold band.


    The golden blades possessed energy at a fiery temperature. Though they melted, they also reduced the cold air by several degrees.


    Yan''s face darkened slightly. She flicked her hands, and more golden light blades appeared, shooting outwards.


    No matter how powerful the strength of the Chaos Ancient God was, the truth power he possessed was limited. Given the massive divine crystals in the Pear Hill, Yan could naturally squander them at will!


    The golden light blades surged up like a kaleidoscope of butterflies, quickly melting through the cold area!


    After completely heating up the cold band, more golden light blades shot towards Lamont with a violent intent.


    Lamont merely looked down at Yan in


    t''s armor, something strange happened. As the golden light blades impacted on the armor, their lights flashed and disappeared!


    Other Chaos Ancient Gods might not dare to resist the golden light blades as Lamont did, but his armor was the nemesis of all pure energy.


    Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...


    Yan hurled out over a hundred golden light blades in quick succession, but they were all absorbed by Lamont''s solid ice armor.


    Seeing Lamont''s huge body dashing over, Yan had no choice but to employ the golden shield again.


    Bang!


    The golden shield vibrated, but it was still stable.


    Lamont didn''t show any mercy at all. He stretched out his fists, and even his fist shadows smashed at Yan from all directions!


    Bang, bang, Bang...


    As tens of thousands of punches landed against the golden shield, the shield trembled more violently.


    Yan''s face became pale, and panic could be seen flashing in her eyes.


    Each punch could obliterate her. If the golden shield was broken, she would definitely perish, and even her brother would not be able to survive.


    All of a sudden, Yan remembered the Divine Crystal Array...


    In a panic, she looked at Zen.


    It was not difficult for Zen to activate the entire Divine Crystal Array; however, the one who really controlled it was King Ieuan below.


    He sat cross-legged on the jadeite platform, with his hands on it. The green luster of the platform quickly gathered in his hands.


    The jadeite platform began to slowly rotate. The entire Divine Crystal Array became like a massive hungry beast that began to devour enormous amounts of divine crystals.

 Chapter 3915 The Primordial Energy Cat

    For such a large amount of divine crystals, it would take a long time to extract all the energies in them.


    However, it wasn''t a big deal for the Snake Goddess. She already had a plan in mind.


    As the jadeite platform spun, all the divine crystals would be crushed in a certain direction and then release the internal energy.


    The blue energy that gushed out from the divine crystals flowed towards the center like hundreds of small streams. As they gathered in the center of the platform, they formed an azure river of energy.


    The produced river of energy was actually very gentle. Even ordinary people wouldn''t get hurt if they came into contact with it. It wouldn''t be able to kill a Chaos Ancient God.


    However, when the river of energy rushed over, three Holy Soul Realm Ear Mice quickly took action.


    Three identical Other Shore Tokens appeared above their heads.


    Apparently, these tokens were all from Stage Thirty-three. However, because they were of the auxiliary-type, they were not very suitable for combat use.


    Nonetheless, the main purpose of the tokens was to compress the river of energy as they interacted with it.


    The river of energy was continuously compressed, and once again turned into crystals.


    The divine crystals were originally ores that contained a great amount of energy, but now, they were transformed into pure energy crystals.


    The energy contained in a piece of the compressed crystal was equivalent to that of seventy million divine crystals.


    In the past, the Snake Goddess also tried to condense all of the divine crystals to such an extent, so that it would be much easier to save and store them in the Pear Hill.


    However, after being fully compressed, the crystals became very unstable and weren''t able to maintain the condensed state for a long time.


    The river of energy continued to roll and surge, and the energy crystals that were condensed floated in front of King Ieuan.


    Above its head was a peculiar-looking Other Shore Token. It was actually a living Other Shore Token, the size of a palm, and looked exactly like a black cat.


    It was known as the Primordial Energy Cat, a magical creature that was found in Stage Thirty-three on the Other Shore.


    At first glance, it looked like a ferocious black cat, but it was actually an energy entity. Most times, it was in the form of an energy ball. Only when it was hunting would it turn into the form of a black cat.


    The Primordial Energy Cat had a very unique and extraordinary feature. For mos


    . The moment Lamont briefly stopped, a stone tablet instantly darted and made a clear hit.


    After the stone tablet attached to Lamont''s body, it quickly emitted black ripples. The other stone tablet, which was on Dempsey''s hand, reacted and emitted white ripples.


    When Dempsey saw that the black stone tablet had successfully attached itself to Lamont''s body, it threw the one it was holding to King Ieuan.


    Then, the Primordial Energy Cat on top of King Ieuan''s head leaped and swallowed the white stone tablet in one go.


    "Now!"


    Dempsey didn''t waste any time and activated the pair of stone tablets.


    The stone tablets were actually called the Interchange Stone Tablets. Their ability was that they could instantly reverse the positions of the things that they were attached to.


    In the blink of an eye, Lamont''s body, which was just outside the Pear Hill, suddenly disappeared and was brought into the belly of the Primordial Energy Cat.


    At the same time, the white stone tablet, which was swallowed by the Primordial Energy Cat, appeared midair outside the Pear Hill, where Lamont''s body originally was.


    Zen, who was not affected by the Heaven Shaking Gold, was dumbfounded as he witnessed everything that happened. The swapping ability of the stone tablets didn''t even produce space fluctuations. This kind of forcible interchange was very domineering.


    After swallowing Lamont whole, the Primordial Energy Cat meowed towards King Ieuan and lay on its shoulder.


    From the lazy expression of the Primordial Energy Cat, it was as if it just swallowed an insignificant rodent. In the world in its stomach, a whole bunch of terrifying energy was raging.

 Chapter 3916 See The Cold Prison Again

    Lamont didn''t expect that the Pear Hill would have prepared so thoroughly. Without any defense, he was dragged into the belly of the Primordial Energy Cat.


    In Pear Hill, Lamont only took the Snake Goddess and Fuxi seriously. The rest were close to nothing in his eyes.


    Little did he know that these nobodies didn''t rely on Pear Hill to hold on and struggle for life, but tried to find a chance to kill him.


    Swoosh...


    Lamont could not believe his eyes as he saw countless massive energy windstorms that rotated at high speed.


    When he felt the terrifying energy, the contempt in his eyes disappeared and was replaced with an expression of uncertainty and caution.


    "Where am I? This place exists in the Source World?" There happened to be many dangerous places in the Source World, but most were only considered dangerous for True Gods and the Other Shore Realm warriors.


    As for the powerful masters like Lamont, there was no place in the chaos that they couldn''t explore, nor was there any place dangerous enough to threaten their lives.


    However, today was a different story. This dangerous place was the last thing Lamont had expected.


    His initial reaction was to assume that he was merely hallucinating and that everything he saw was an illusion. However, with one simple distinction, he soon understood that this was real, and so was the roaring energy of this horrific place.


    Buzz!


    A strong space fluctuation burst out from the body of Lamont, who wanted nothing else but to leave the world.


    However, because the space was formed in the stomach of the Primordial Energy Cat, his theurgies were completely ineffective.


    "This is bad!"


    As he realized the gravity of his situation, Lamont had already seen a mass of energy windstorm rolling towards him.


    In the past, his solid ice armor could withstand Yan''s attack, because any energy that came into contact with it would soon be affected by the armor''s extremely low temperature.


    The stronger the energy was, the higher its temperature would be. This meant that when the temperature dropped, the energy would grow stagnant.


    In conclusion, the solid ice armor was also the standing nemesis of the energy windstorm!


    However, the strength of the energy windstorm was far from what Lamont had expected. In the beginning, the energy windstorms had been blocked by the solid ice armor, but after the energy windstorms swept across the armor, they managed to leave thin lines across the surface.


    At first, there were dozen


    "But..."


    Yan was in charge of the Cloud Cover Array, so she couldn''t just leave without consent.


    "If you don''t leave, you will die!"


    Zen''s tone was demanding and almost harsh.


    Yan hesitated for a moment and then pointed to a peak in the distance. "Let''s head there first!"


    It was the Panoramic View Peak, where the second center of the Cloud Cover Array existed. She then brought the golden dress-like array to the Panoramic View Peak so that she could simultaneously control the entire Cloud Cover Array.


    In sheer desperation, Zen hastily agreed.


    Just as he took his sister away, the body of the Primordial Energy Cat swelled up again. From fifty thousand feet in width, it rose to three million feet.


    The Primordial Energy Cat didn''t have the Wild God Body, so its physical ability could not withstand the pressure. Eventually, its round belly exploded with a loud bang.


    Lamont''s massive body finally escaped and he restored himself into a huge monster. The middle of the Pear Hill was completely overturned by him!


    Moreover, the strange energy radiated from Lamont''s body as a peculiar phenomenon appeared.


    The stones and trees that surrounded him seemed to have lost their weight as they hovered around him.


    After a moment, these stones and trees morphed into countless white dots of light that flashed dramatically and disappeared.


    Yan blinked her eyes as she saw this, surprised with what just happened. Zen was familiar with this as he had seen something similar in the Blooming Jade Stage. It was the Cold Prison.


    With this Cold Prison to protect Lamont, no matter how powerful the energy was, it proved to be no threat to him.

 Chapter 3917 Just So-so

    When any kind of material was trapped or came into contact with the Cold Prison, it would be instantly converted into a different form, and energy was no exception.


    No matter how strong the energy in the Primordial Energy Cat''s stomach was, it was rendered useless in the face of the Cold Prison.


    This turn of events was something that the Snake Goddess and King Ieuan never expected.


    They didn''t know the existence of the Cold Prison, nor did they see Lamont use such an ability before.


    If it was Othniel or Herbert, they were sure that the two would have perished in the Primordial Energy Cat''s stomach. Unfortunately, they had to deal with Lamont right now.


    Lamont looked down at a crushed stone in the Pear Hill. "King Ieuan, I''m disappointed at you. After colluding with the Pear Hill, this is all you can do?"


    King Ieuan stood on the stone and looked up at Lamont with a gloomy gaze.


    In the past, it once boasted as the richest creature in the Source World. However, the massive amount of divine crystals that it had didn''t bring any qualitative changes to its race. So, King Ieuan decided to make use of the divine crystals.


    With the help of the Snake Goddess and Fuxi, the Divine Crystal Array was flawlessly established. Everything went smoothly¡ªor so they thought.


    Then came Lamont. In an instant, the tide of the battle suddenly went against their favor.


    All the terrifying energy that swarmed at Lamont turned into mere dots of light that vanished immediately after. Witnessing all that, King Ieuan couldn''t begin to imagine how powerful Lamont really was.


    "Lucky for me, I have grasped the skill of creating the Cold Prison. If not, I might have died in your cat''s stomach. But unfortunately for you¡­"


    As he was still speaking, Lamont stretched out a finger and aimed at King Ieuan below. A white aura began circling on his fingertip. An extreme murderous intent was oozing in his eyes.


    Swoosh!


    A blast of cold air was condensed into a white arrow. It quickly darted off from Lamont''s finger and dashed towards King Ieuan.


    King Ieuan just stared at the approaching arrow, as if fear and helplessness crippled its entire body.


    "My king, get a hold of yourself!"


    "You need to run!"


    Oakley, Dempsey, and the three other Ear Mice rushed over to King Ieuan as fast as they could.


    The five Ear Mice were King Ieuan''s most trusted subordinates. Even in the most hopeless situation, their loyalty and passion to protect their king remained undaunted.


    "Divine Picture Shield!"


    Suddenly, a round purple shield appeared above Oakley''s head.


    Aside from the Heaven Shaking Gold, the Divine P


    became more intense.


    ''Come to think of it, is this the guy that Herbert mentioned?


    They said that they will be capturing him alive.


    Ha-ha, they can''t blame me. He''s the one who walks into his death, '' Lamont thought.


    Even Lamont couldn''t fully control the Cold Prison. Anything that came in contact with it would be ripped off its energy, and Lamont couldn''t restore them either. Trying to protect Yan, Zen rushed into the Cold Prison and approached Lamont''s fist by throwing his own massive punch. Lamont couldn''t help laughing in his mind because he knew that Zen already fell into the trap, and he would surely end up like the others who became victims of the Cold Prison.


    However, Lamont''s expression suddenly changed and his eyes widened.


    Crash!


    With a muffled sound, Zen''s fist collided with Lamont''s. Zen wasn''t stopped by the Cold Prison and his energy didn''t dissipate either.


    Due to the overwhelming force that Zen had put in his fist, Lamont was pushed back and had to take several steps backward.


    Lamont''s force was undoubtedly more powerful than Zen''s. However, he didn''t use his full strength just now because he didn''t expect that it would be necessary.


    As Lamont regained his balance, he stared at Zen with a visibly disorganized expression on his face. He was trying to understand what had just happened. He was thinking if Zen used a certain secret skill that he missed to notice.


    "This can''t be¡­ You! What the hell did you do?"


    Lamont knew very well how the Cold Prison worked, so he was flabbergasted at what just happened.


    "What? You''re wondering why the Cold Prison didn''t work on me?" Zen looked at his slightly stiff fist and brushed off the frost on its surface. "Well, your Cold Prison is only so-so."

 Chapter 3918 Strengthen

    The Cold Prisons in the Blooming Jade Stage were forbidden lands for any creature, and even Zen didn''t dare to enter.


    Only those who were as supernormal as Pompeo could stay in a Cold Prison.


    The Cold Prison had an extremely low temperature. What made it more terrible was that the creatures of the chaos seemed to slowly turn into light dots and then vanish into thin air inside it.


    Yet for the creatures of the Abstruse Energy World, the Cold Prison was not so dreadful. Even some relatively weak creatures of the Abstruse Energy World would only be temporarily frozen when they fell into it. Once they left the Cold Prison, they would recover from frozen state, and again return to being energized and vigorous.


    Zen had decided to take action because he was worried about Yan. Although the ancestry-level bloodline could defeat all the energy, the Cold Prison was very special. It could be possible that Zen himself might be destroyed in it.


    The moment he came into contact with the Cold Prison, the temperature began to rise unexpectedly. Zen felt it was easily breakable.


    "You know this is the Cold Prison? And you are able to break it?" Lamont finally uttered, after a moment of silence.


    "There are many Cold Prisons in the Blooming Jade Stage." Zen smiled. As to whether he could break it or not, he didn''t need to answer.


    Lamont carefully looked at Zen. He had been thinking about whether he should kill him earlier. "It seems that I thought too much. I''m afraid it will take me a lot of energy to defeat you!"


    Swoosh...


    Lamont tilted his huge body and pounced towards Zen.


    He was an old monster that had lived for countless years. His eyes were extremely sharp and he possessed great knowledge.


    Indeed, Zen had an incredible method to break the Cold Prison. Even Lamont was convinced that he was capable.


    However, he also sensed that Zen''s strength was not enough. Lamont''s physical body was an advantage; it was no doubt that he could overthrow Zen!


    When Lamont went to face Zen, a red light flashed from Yan''s eyes. Golden light blades appeared, moving in cutting motions towards his head.


    Lamont, having suffered from a loss once, drew a huge ice cover enclosing Yan''s head. He then grabbed Zen in midair, and ruthlessly smashed him towards the Pear Hil


    on?''


    Before Lamont could figure it out, something more strange happened. Zen began talking to himself.


    "Aren''t you afraid of being in another person''s hands?


    If I lose, your situation will become worse!


    I don''t think they will let you go. You''re wasting your only chance!"


    According to the information from the brush-wielder and the four statues, Zen was the only one who had fused with the complete ancestry-level bloodline and was able to take it away. No one had ever done that before.


    Zen''s communication with the ancestry-level bloodline distracted Lamont.


    Although he didn''t stop punching, the agitation in his eyes was evident. It grew stronger and stronger as Zen continued to talk.


    Who was he trying to persuade?


    Was he trying to convince someone who could finish Lamont?


    Zen''s chest suddenly cracked...


    Surprisingly, no blood flowed as his broken ribs were exposed, extending to both sides.


    The texture of the broken ribs quickly changed and the ribs like two rows of blades directed towards Lamont.


    The abrupt transformation broke off Lamont''s attack. He felt an instinctive threat.


    If he didn''t kill this brat, something unexpected would happen!


    "Go to hell!" he shouted.


    He used up all his strength and smashed towards Zen''s head.


    Zen''s eyes, mouth, and nose sank, revealing a horrifying appearance. His face was deformed.


    As Lamont hit hard, his fist sunk deep into Zen''s head with a sunken face.


    Out of instinct, Lamont tried to pull his fist back, but he failed.

 Chapter 3919 Helpless

    Zen''s head remained latched onto Lamont''s hand as if he was biting into it.


    Then, Lamont raised his arm and lifted Zen''s body with it.


    "Let go of me, you bastard!"


    Lamont swiftly swung his arm sideways in an attempt to throw Zen into the Pear Hill.


    However, Zen remained firmly latched onto his hand. Even though Lamont was knowledgeable and powerful, a strong sensation of anxiety and vexation was creeping beneath his skin.


    Since Zen wouldn''t let go, Lamont raised him high in the sky and smashed him down to the mountain.


    Unexpectedly, Lamont didn''t feel that Zen was loosening his grip, so he smashed him again and again.


    In just a few seconds, several craters appeared on the top area of Pear Hill where Lamont repeatedly smashed Zen''s body.


    However, even though Lamont felt that he almost used up all his strength, his hand was still unable to get rid of Zen.


    Yan grew worried and speechless as she saw her brother being beaten so furiously.


    Zen seemed to withstand all of Lamont''s attacks, but it wouldn''t be good for him to be continuously beaten like this.


    Crash! Crash! Crash!


    As Zen was still being rammed into the Pear Hill, a huge stone about ten feet wide flew towards the side and almost hit King Ieuan, who had just climbed out of the Pear Hill.


    Crack!


    Before the huge chunk of stone hit King Ieuan, its tail whipped the stone at high speed, splitting it into two halves.


    The other Ear Mice also followed King Ieuan and had a clear view of the brutal battle between Lamont and Zen. However, as they watched intently, there was a strange sensation that they couldn''t shake off.


    Zen was a dear friend of the Ear Mouse race. All of the members present, including King Ieuan, knew all of the miraculous things that he did in the past.


    They never even thought that Zen could already fight the Chaos Ancient God after he got out of the Eternal Scroll Painting.


    "I don''t understand what''s happening. Zen''s current state is pretty strange. He seems to be seriously injured now, but he can still latch onto Lamont," an Ear Mouse told its observation.


    King Ieuan nodded at the Ear Mouse''s statement and stared at Zen with its soybean-sized eyes. "His body has indeed become very strange. I don''t think he is injured. It''s as if his body voluntarily became like this..."


    "Does that mean that his bloodline affects his physical body this way?" one of the Ear Mice blurted as it was lost in thought. Actually, it was not that unusual for an Eternal Realm warrior to obtain some kind of b


    nd extended as if it had lost all of its bones. It patted the Sword Blade Peak and injected a stream of green energy into it.


    Sizzle!


    The Sword Blade Peak, which was frozen solid just seconds ago, instantly melted. Not only that, the surface of the mountain blossomed into what seemed to be a fairyland, full of various plants all around.


    Lamont''s jaw dropped while he was still in midair. Obviously, he was shocked at what just happened.


    Even the others who saw the scene were utterly surprised.


    "Zen, what is this?"


    Yan couldn''t believe her eyes. "Is this even a battle?"


    Zen, a superior human being, and Lamont, a powerful Chaos Ancient God, were two of the most powerful beings in the entire chaos because of their abilities and strength.


    But right now, the battle between these two mighty beings was not making any sense.


    Lamont stayed in midair for a few more seconds, and then decided to go back down at the Sword Blade Peak. He patted the peak again and infused the power of truth into it.


    After quite some time, Lamont noticed that the Sword Blade Peak wasn''t freezing.


    As he lowered his head, Lamont saw Zen''s slender and boneless hand was also touching the mountain, countering the effect of his power of truth.


    "Ha-ha! What the hell!"


    In the distance, Dwight Xu couldn''t help but burst out laughing.


    King Ieuan and the other Ear Mice on the other side of Pear Hill also laughed out loud.


    Even Yan temporarily forgot that her brother was in danger. She just couldn''t believe that a vicious battle would turn into a comedy show.


    "You bastard!"


    Lamont felt that he was going crazy. His angry roar echoed throughout the entire Pear Hill.

 Chapter 3920 Devour

    In a fit of rage, Lamont''s eyes flashed as he activated the full bloodline power in his body.


    An invisible yet tangible chill spread out.


    Although Yan tried to block the chill with the help of the Cloud Cover Array, it was much colder than before.


    The people on the edge of the Pear Hill were alright, but the disciples in the middle of the hill started to shiver from the cold. Many of them started releasing flames to prevent themselves from getting frostbite.


    Three blue spheres began to appear in the sky, one by one. They almost looked like blue suns, but the light they emitted was not warm at all. Everyone felt as though they had fallen into a cold hell.


    With the appearance of the three blue suns, the temperature in the Pear Hill dropped sharply.


    Whoosh!


    Raising his hand above his head, Lamont lifted Zen up as though he were some sort of a sacrificial offering.


    "Go to hell!


    Three Freezing Suns!"


    This had been Lamont''s most powerful theurgy before he figured out how to create the Cold Prison from the truth power.


    The three blue suns flashed an icy blue, and azure arrows made of ice started raining from them, shooting straight towards Zen.


    Lamont thought that Zen had some kind of bloodline that could withstand, or even restrain, the coldness. Zen didn''t seem to flinch in the face of the coldness, so Lamont was quite frustrated to have him as an opponent.


    However, Lamont believed there was a limit to Zen''s bloodline power.


    With his truth power as a Chaos Ancient God, Lamont was confident in his own strength.


    Now that all his bloodline had been activated, he was determined to defeat Zen.


    Clatter! Clatter! Clatter!


    Countless thick ice arrows shot down towards Zen. Anyone else would have been pierced to shreds in just a few seconds.


    However, there seemed to be an invisible energy film on the surface of Zen''s body. The ice arrows that touched this energy film bounced off him, leaving him unharmed.


    Lamont had already anticipated this, but he believed that the bloodline power within Zen''s body would be used up sooner or later. With the Three Freezing Suns, Zen would be exhausted to death.


    However, what Lamont did not know was that Gerald and Judson had already tried this method. The tw


    do, Lamont began to struggle desperately.


    But the more he tried, the deeper the barbs sank into his skin.


    No matter what Lamont tried, he couldn''t get rid of the barbs.


    He felt as if he was the prey of a spider web, and was slowly devoured by the monster in front of him. Exhausted, his body gradually paralyzed and finally sank into darkness.


    Even Yan and King Ieuan couldn''t help but show a trace of panic when they saw what Zen did.


    Was this truly the man they knew as Zen? Or was this some kind of monster?


    At the top of the Pear Hill, Zen lay on the side of a mountain.


    He had been conscious this whole time, but he had completely lost control of his body.


    After he swallowed Lamont, his body changed again.


    The wound on his chest gradually healed. A huge armor began to spread out from his chest, and many white hairs grew on his back.


    His arms became longer and stronger, resembling those of a gorilla.


    ''Am I assimilated after I swallowed Lamont? Or did the ancestry-level bloodline do it on purpose?'' Zen thought to himself.


    With what had happened just now, his bodily transformations didn''t surprise him anymore.


    The ancestry-level bloodline could completely change the shape of one''s body. Even if part of his body had been assimilated after he devoured Lamont, the ancestry-level bloodline should''ve been able to quickly repair it. However, it was possible there were other underlying reasons as to why his body took on some of Lamont''s physical characteristics.

 Chapter 3921 Reinforcements

    Yan floated over slowly and then gazed at the huge body in a vigilant manner.


    To be honest, it was a bit difficult for her to link this huge monster with her brother. It just didn''t seem possible.


    However, she had personally witnessed the entire fierce battle herself. There was no doubt about it. This was undoubtedly Zen.


    "Brother..."


    Yan called out.


    Hearing her voice, Zen raised his head slowly.


    When she saw Zen''s face, Yan took a deep breath and involuntarily retreated a few steps back.


    Rigid, round muscles had swollen to bulges around Zen''s face. These special muscles were as tough and indestructible as powerful and refined magical treasures.


    His eyes, nose and mouth were almost completely invisible due to those muscles. The sunken structure could now protect his eyes, ears, mouth and nose as much as possible.


    However, it was extremely horrible to watch. He looked uglier than a fiend.


    Forcing the disgust she was feeling deep inside her, Yan called out once again, "Brother, is that you?"


    Zen smiled and reached out his hand to her as if to say ''I am here, sis!''


    This gesture finally relieved Yan. She took Zen''s palm and pouted softly, "Brother, why have you become like this?"


    "I am sorry. This is something that I can''t control," Zen replied, shaking his head.


    After he had changed his form, his voice had also changed a lot.


    His voice didn''t seem to be coming from his throat anymore. Instead, it was a chesty growl. It was not only hoarse but also quite harsh.


    "His looks don''t matter. What we witnessed is that he killed a Chaos Ancient God by himself!" King Ieuan floated to Yan''s side. Its bean-sized eyes were full of appraisal for the half-man, half-beast in front of it. "This body may be ugly in your eyes, but it is remarkably strong. It is made for battle!"


    Zen had killed a Chaos Ancient God by himself.


    He was the first warrior to ever manage that feat in the entire Source World.


    Moreover, he had killed Lamont by devouring him, which meant that the killing process had actually made Zen stronger.


    This man had really lived up to everyone''s expectations.


    "Made for battle? Come on. It''s too ugly. It doesn''t even look human!" Yan said as she sniffed. She wanted the best for her brother.


    Looking at his sister''s reluctant expression, Zen smiled and tried to comfort her, "It''s okay! I might be able to change back after I dissipate the Wild God Power out of my system."


    Then his body began to shrink rapidly.


    When it reached about ten feet in height, the shrinking stopped, and Zen''s appearance didn''t come back either.


    As he looked at his fl


    nd his expectations. Eastern Emperor Taiyi, Fuxi and the Snake Goddess had already made several powerful strikes. Gerald and Judson were also on the opponents'' team.


    If it weren''t for the Grandmaster of Heaven, Othniel and Herbert would have already been defeated and the battle would have been over.


    While the Grandmaster of Heaven was busy fighting Gerald and Judson, Othniel had managed to find a chance to trap Eastern Emperor Taiyi.


    However, Eastern Emperor Taiyi didn''t seem too worried by the fact that he had been trapped.


    Buzz!


    A strong bloodline power darted out of his body, and a golden sword light surged, spreading across the entire visible space.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    The sword light bounced back and forth, like laser beams between mirrors in the space that had trapped Eastern Emperor Taiyi. However, the space seemed remarkably stable. It could not be destroyed so easily.


    "It''s useless to struggle. Our bloodlines determine the difference in our strength," Othniel sneered.


    With a flash of blue light that rushed out of his eye, several smaller spaces began to appear in a crisscross fashion across the space that had trapped Eastern Emperor Taiyi. Othniel seemed to want to use these small spaces to directly cut Eastern Emperor Taiyi into countless pieces.


    When the small spaces began to appear, they immediately targeted Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s body and locked on to him. Numerous large and small cuts appeared on the surface of his body. The cuts continued to deepen rapidly, and blood began to flow out.


    Just as Othniel was about to breathe a sigh of relief with the feeling that he had finally defeated at least one of the opponents, a small figure suddenly appeared at the top of the spaces he had created.

 Chapter 3922 Struggle

    Zen''s appearance hadn''t returned to normal; he was still a ten feet tall monster and in this form, his aura had also undergone a huge change.


    At a glance, Othniel could not recognize him. But under current circumstances, any creature daring to come down could not be ordinary.


    Swoosh...


    The blue light in Othniel''s only eye flickered and a space formed on either side of Zen.


    If these spaces could restrain him, he''d be able to cut him in half with ease.


    But as soon as they enveloped Zen''s body, they dissipated immediately!


    "What?"


    Othniel was dumbfounded and he quickly thought of Zen in his mind. Was this monster actually him?


    This thought lingered in his mind when Zen suddenly grew even more, to a monster more than eight million feet tall!


    When Zen had previously activated his Wild God Body, he was only capable of expanding to around four million feet high. Before he had activated it this time, he still believed that was his limit.


    He now realized, however, that his body had doubled in size!


    Was it because he had devoured Lamont?


    Othniel had a bad feeling about this.


    Zen had been able to break the Grandmaster of Heaven''s Fishing Drum, and the triangular world he had summoned, quite easily. If this horrific monster truly was Zen, he was now stuck in quite a terrible situation.


    Even more curious were Lamont''s features that this monster shared; such as his long, strong arms with the white hair on them.


    "Who are you?" Othniel asked brazenly, raising his head.


    All Zen offered was an ugly smile. He then raised his foot and stamped down lightly, creating a huge crater in the space that imprisoned the real Eastern Emperor Taiyi!


    "It really is him..."


    Othniel was now sure it was Zen; only he could break through his space barrier so quickly and easily.


    But why had he become this monstrosity...


    He was still lost in confusion when the real Eastern Emperor Taiyi had thrust his sword out, sending countless golden rays of sword radiance bursting out.


    Phew!


    The space already had a big hole in it and now the sword radiance obliterated it into pieces.


    "Swish, swish, swish..."


    The sharp


    wer made of sand. Every grain of sand within his body turned into a Minimum Space, which was the smallest matter in the chaos. Only then did Othniel finally rid himself of Zen''s control.


    An eight-foot tall person was made up of tens of billions of Minimum Spaces. Othniel''s massive body possessed way more than that.


    Innumerable Minimum Spaces, indistinguishable to the naked eye, moved to another spot where Othniel''s body gradually reformed. This process was, however, heavily draining for him.


    When he finally looked at Zen again, fear filled his eye as he realized that if he had not just put everything he had into escaping, he would probably have lost his life. What Zen said next proved him right.


    "Impressive. Your method is much smarter than Lamont''s, but that''s it." The voice that rang from his chest sounded very strange.


    Othniel suddenly widened his eye. "Lamont has descended to the Pear Hill? What happened to him?"


    In his heart he already knew the answer. The white hair and the pair of arms on Zen''s body told him all he needed to know but it was still hard to accept that a Chaos Ancient God had died at Zen''s hands.


    After all, for as long as one could recall, a human had never killed a Chaos Ancient God.


    As existences that controlled the truth in the chaos, the Chaos Ancient Gods were thought to be invincible.


    "He is dead," Zen said decisively, giving Othniel the answer he least wanted to hear.

 Chapter 3923 Lawless Cage

    It was true that there were many forces in the chaos, but it didn''t make things complicated.


    After the six Chaos Ancient Gods split into two factions, the division of powers in the Source World became quite stable.


    Fuxi was the one who wanted to complete the Finale Way the most. He tried his best to make himself stronger, enough to kill the Chaos Ancient Gods and break the balance.


    The only thing was that the Chaos Ancient Gods were invincible, and this was one of the truths in the chaos.


    He couldn''t break that truth, but Zen had surprisingly done it.


    Othniel looked at Zen again, but this time with a hint of fear and caution. After all, the Chaos Ancient Gods were not immortal. Anyone whose life was on the line, like him, would be on guard.


    Although he already believed what Zen said, he still countered, "Just you? Don''t brag about yourself!"


    Zen glanced at him indifferently and said, "You''ll know whether I''m bragging or not soon."


    As he spoke, he suddenly disappeared from where he stood.


    Moreover, his disappearance didn''t cause any space fluctuation, nor did he build a space channel.


    It was as if he had used another theurgy that never existed before to teleport!


    Naturally, Othniel was shocked when he saw that Zen had disappeared.


    After all, he was a Chaos Ancient God in charge of the space truth. What skillful method did Zen use to avoid his detection?


    "Buzz!"


    His eye glowed a bright blue then he released a mighty truth power. That was when he finally noticed something.


    There was an immensely thin line in the black void that moved like a worm as it swiftly approached him.


    When he got to see it more clearly, it was already quite close to him!


    "Go!"


    In turn, he used the Grand Teleportation without a second thought.


    Zen had already jumped out from the end of the line the moment Othniel disappeared, but it was too late. Othniel had already teleported far away.


    "He actually spotted me. If it was any other Chaos Ancient God, they probably couldn''t have done that." Zen shrugged.


    After the ancestry-level bloodline devoured Lamont, it naturally became more interested in consuming Chaos Ancient Gods.


    The ancestry-level bloodline also played an active role when Zen dealt with Othniel. For instance, the bloodline released this particular space theurgy that even Othniel found it hard to see through it. Zen almost succeeded in devouring him just now.


    of Heaven stood on one of the purple pillars and looked down at them. "I can give you a chance to join our Nihility race and surrender to me," he said with a cold smile.


    As Herbert, who had built the Lawless Cage, heard those words, his face instantly darkened.


    It was true that the Grandmaster of Heaven was powerful, but Herbert also contributed greatly in subduing the four warriors.


    Also, his stand was completely different from the Grandmaster of Heaven''s. The only reason they worked together was that they wanted to fight against the Pear Hill. After that, a battle would probably ensue between them.


    Now, the Grandmaster of Heaven wanted to make all the people of the Pear Hill surrender to him. How could he accept that?


    "Grandmaster of Heaven, you and I worked together in order to take down the Pear Hill. These people can''t be restrained; they can only be killed," he said bluntly.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven turned to look at him and sneered, "Why should I listen to you?"


    "I also did my part to take them down," he threatened. "If I remove the Lawless Cage, I''m afraid you''ll also be in trouble."


    No matter how strong the Grandmaster of Heaven was, it was hard for him to deal with the two Chaos Ancient Gods at the same time. What was more, the real Fuxi and the real Snake Goddess were there as well, so he was less likely to win the fight.


    "This Lawless Cage is indeed powerful, but I''m afraid you are not the only one who could control it," the Grandmaster of Heaven said nonchalantly and ignored the threat. Suddenly, four of the sixteen purple pillars rose and trapped Herbert.

 Chapter 3924 The Desperate End

    Back then, the Grandmaster of Heaven had made a contract with Othniel using the Contract-restricting Twin-headed Snake.


    According to the contract, he would not attack Othniel before taking down Pear Hill.


    However, the contract didn''t mention anything about Herbert.


    Now that he had taken advantage of Herbert to capture the people of Pear Hill and possessed the same abilities as the latter, Herbert no longer had any value to him. "What do you mean by doing so, Grandmaster of Heaven?" Herbert''s face darkened.


    He already felt that he had gotten quite weaker in the Lawless Cage.


    If he completely lost control of the Lawless Cage, then the Grandmaster of Heaven could do anything to him.


    "I''m eliminating my future enemies in advance. Is there anything wrong about that?" the Grandmaster of Heaven stated matter-of-factly.


    As the head of the Nihility race, the Grandmaster of Heaven was one of the Element Spirit Civilization''s mortal enemies. It was inevitable for him to confront Herbert.


    "You..."


    Herbert''s body began to glow brightly as he tried hard to activate his bloodline power.


    As the powerful energy surged in his body, the purple pillars also began to glow. It was clear that he was scrambling for control over the Lawless Cage.


    If he was still outside the Lawless Cage, he could''ve probably defeated the Grandmaster of Heaven with his excellent understanding of the truth power.


    But now, the Lawless Cage greatly limited his strength. His struggle only lasted for a few seconds before victory was declared.


    In the end, he had to admit defeat to the Grandmaster of Heaven. "As the leader of the Nihility race, you are shameful to be such a treacherous man!" Herbert snapped resentfully.


    "I never swore anything to you. What made me treacherous?" the Grandmaster of Heaven said with a shrug.


    "You..." At that point, Herbert was too angry to speak anymore.


    Unlike the other Chaos Ancient Gods, he rarely traveled around the mortal world. Thus, he didn''t know about such lies and deceit.


    "Hmph, the Nihility race and the Element Spirit Civilization are all the same. They only come to you when they need something from you, then they will kill you the moment you''re of no use to them. I tried to convince you before, but you ignored my words like nothing!" Fuxi suddenly shouted from the side.


    Fuxi had lent his body to the real Fuxi, but he still got detained in the end. Still, he didn''t blame it on the real Fuxi.


    After all, things might have ended up worse if he had personally fought in the battle


    unctured all of their chests, and black flames burned hotly in their wounds.


    Although such injuries weren''t enough to kill them, the black fire still felt like torture. Everyone''s faces twisted in pain.


    However, even though the black fire burned continuously, all of them in the Lawless Cage endured it silently without yielding.


    "I only want to recruit more men in the chaos who could be of use to me, but it looks like you are all strong-willed people. Since you refuse to join me, let me send you to hell."


    With a murderous glint, the Grandmaster of Heaven waved his hand, and the entire Lawless Cage began to shrink rapidly.


    The distance between the purple pillars continued to lessen, while the pressure inside the cage increased.


    Fuxi, the Snake Goddess, and the others still tried hard to resist the black fire, but they had quite a hard time now that the Lawless Cage was also shrinking.


    As they became increasingly powerless to resist, the black fire burned more and more wildly on their bodies and brought death closer to them.


    Buzz!


    Just then, a golden sword radiance crossed a vast distance and slashed squarely on the Lawless Cage.


    The mighty golden sword radiance was powerful enough to go against the Grandmaster of Heaven''s cyan sword radiance. Its attack rocked the entire Lawless Cage quite violently, which weakened the cage''s restraints. Therefore, the Snake Goddess and the others inside it had a chance to breathe.


    "Eastern Emperor Taiyi?"


    The Grandmaster of Heaven raised his head and looked at the figure in the far end of the horizon. He had thought that it would be Othniel who came out of the battleground victoriously, but that was not the case.

 Chapter 3925 Unexpected Appearance

    The real Eastern Emperor Taiyi was not weak by any means, but he was no match for Othniel.


    That was why it shocked the Grandmaster of Heaven a great deal to see him walking towards them.


    Fuxi, the real Snake Goddess, Gerald and Judson also sported expressions of surprise on their faces, while Herbert even bordered on desperation.


    In a flash, the real Eastern Emperor Taiyi spiraled into the air and brandished his golden sword radiance.


    Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz...


    His bloodline-activated swordsmanship was geared to the max as nineteen golden long swords were summoned by his side.


    These golden swords looked illusory and extended far into the distance. Some directly stabbed into the Source World, but did not really damage it. A few sensitive creatures felt their hearts palpitate but nothing more.


    The blades, however, were very solid and even the toughest magic treasure in the chaos could be slashed open by them easily.


    Buzz!


    With a shrill, ear-shattering whistle, the nineteen golden swords merged into one and immediately slashed down towards the Grandmaster of Heaven.


    At the moment before impact, the light emanated from the blade and formed a golden arc in the air. A terrifying force was released from the sword as the real Eastern Emperor Taiyi was going to break through the Lawless Cage and pierce through the Grandmaster of Heaven.


    Fuxi''s eyes sparkled in excitement. "Eastern Emperor Taiyi is so powerful!"


    In contrast, the real Snake Goddess was calm and the real Fuxi sighed slightly.


    The real Eastern Emperor Taiyi was by no means weak, but the gap between him and the Grandmaster of Heaven was way too big. Even if he pushed that physical body to the limit, his efforts would remain futile.


    They had no idea how the real Eastern Emperor Taiyi defeated Othniel, but it would be impossible for him to change the situation now.


    In the face of such a seemingly devastating attack, the Grandmaster of Heaven only snorted as he lifted his own Cyan Misty Sword to resist his oncoming opponent''s attack.


    His sword was fixed and stayed motionless atop his head.


    Bang!


    Upon the moment of impact with the Cyan Misty Sword, the real Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s golden sword trembled. However, the Cyan Misty Sword remained motion


    "Where in the world did this monster come from?"


    "Is fate smiling down on us and sending us help?"


    Everyone knew that their fortunes had just been reversed by the sudden appearance of this white-haired monster.


    Ever since the battle began, Fuxi and the others had no time to pay attention to Zen.


    They thought that even if Zen was able to fuse with the ancestry-level bloodline, he was still weak compared to the Chaos Ancient Gods and there was no way he''d be able to contend with them. That was the reason why they asked him to guard the Pear Hill with Yan.


    Who would''ve thought Zen would be their unlikely trump card in the form of this white-haired monster.


    As the Grandmaster of Heaven was trapped within Zen''s arms, he forcibly tried to struggle, just as Othniel had done.


    His figure constantly shifted between blurry and solid, yet he remained in Zen''s hold. Soon enough, he came up with the same escape method Othniel had used and turned himself into countless Minimum Spaces to escape.


    There was a sour expression on the Grandmaster of Heaven''s face as he shifted into countless Minimum Spaces, since it was, after all, Othniel''s ability that helped him escape.


    He glared hard at the monster. "Who are you?" he asked coldly.


    It wasn''t just him. Fuxi, the real Snake Goddess, Gerald, Judson, and even Herbert wanted to know who this monster was.


    There was no powerful beast that existed in the chaos like the one in front of them, save perhaps for the Chaos Ancient God, Lamont.

 Chapter 3926 Breaking The Lawless Cage

    Even before the battle began, Zen''s body had already started mutating, and the Snake Goddess had noticed it.


    When the huge monster suddenly appeared, she had a hunch but was still a little uncertain. The gap between the monster and Zen was just too great.


    For one, Zen''s Wild God Body was only a little over four million feet tall. However, this monster''s body was over ten million feet tall. It was more than twice of Zen''s size.


    "It''s a pity that you dodged it," Zen said with an unpleasant sound coming from his chest.


    The voice had a strong penetrating power that would send shivers on one''s spine, and there was also a bewitching power in it.


    Almost all living things would instinctively feel fear and disgust towards Zen when they heard his voice. Even those powerful Eternal Realm masters were of no exception.


    "Who the hell are you?" the Grandmaster of Heaven asked again. He instinctively felt that this monster would be difficult to deal with. If it was possible, he wouldn''t take the chance to fight it.


    "This is impossible. There is no such existence in the chaos!" The captain of the Black Ship was in denial as the monster didn''t give a direct answer.


    It was the Black Ship''s duty to gather news and information in the chaos for the Nihility race.


    If the captain missed accounting such a powerful existence, it would be a grave dereliction of his duty.


    The captain was so puzzled. If the monster was really from the chaos, there was no way that it would just appear out of nowhere. ''Is this creature from the Other Shore then?'' he thought.


    "Such a bother! What..."


    As the Grandmaster of Heaven was still conversing with the captain of the Black Ship, the monster secretly turned and gave a hint to Eastern Emperor Taiyi.


    With that, Eastern Emperor Taiyi condensed his golden sword again and took the opportunity to hack it towards the Grandmaster of Heaven''s head while his guard was down.


    However, the Grandmaster of Heaven was too strong to fall for a sneak attack. With just a flip of his Cyan Misty Sword, he deflected the incoming sword strike.


    But what he didn''t know was that it was just a diversion created by the white-haired monster. While the Grandmaster of Heaven was busy with the attacks from Eastern Emperor Taiyi, he didn''t notice that the monster had already disappeared. The next moment, it emerged inside the Lawless Cage, next to Fuxi and the Snake Goddess.


    Herbert was the one who created the Lawless Cage. It looked ordinary on the outside, but it was extremely powerful.


    Even Chaos Ancient Gods like Gerald, Judson, and Herbert himself, were completely suppressed by the Lawless Cage.


    With the sudden appearance of the white-haired monster, they thought that it might have the chance to defeat the Grandmaster of Heaven. E


    mn it! You are Zen!"


    Previously, Zen had used a similar ability, and only he possessed such an unusual and powerful skill in the entire chaos.


    Fuxi, who had just escaped from the Lawless Cage, glared at the white-haired monster when he heard the cry of the Grandmaster of Heaven. "Wait. Are you really Zen? What kind of ability is that? No offense, but you completely look like an ugly monster."


    The Snake Goddess was just calm. Gerald and Judson also had a hunch earlier. When they saw how the monster easily crushed the Lawless Cage, they instantly knew the identity of the white-haired monster.


    "Yes, it''s me. Ha-ha, you don''t have to emphasize the ugly part." Zen had no intention of hiding his identity.


    "Well, given your remarkable strength, your appearance doesn''t really matter," Fuxi said as he stared at Zen''s body with admiration. Although it was weird, every part of it was useful and suitable for killing and fighting.


    "Herbert, are you seeing this? As a zillion creatures have been born in these over a thousand chaotic eras, there are always some powerful beings that would appear no matter what. Now, do you still want to be part of the other side?" Gerald pointed out as he tried to persuade Herbert.


    Herbert chose to follow the Purge Way, though he was a little uncertain. The ancient and powerful Element Spirit Civilization made him think that it would be much easier to complete the Purge Way.


    However, after seeing what Zen did today, Herbert began to harbor doubts and have a little change of perspective. He thought that perhaps, it was destined that this round of chaos became different from the rest.


    Herbert kept quiet and didn''t reply. As a Chaos Ancient God, he didn''t have the luxury to easily change his mind. But for now, since he was released, the only certain thing was the Grandmaster of Heaven was his enemy.

 Chapter 3927 The Foundation

    The Grandmaster of Heaven had worked hard to come up with the situation. But only within a short period, it was ruined.


    The people who had been controlled had obtained their freedom, resulting in him facing seven opponents including Fuxi, the real Snake Goddess, Gerald, Judson, Zen, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, and Herbert!


    They were all top masters of the Eternal Realm, except for the three Chaos Ancient Gods¡ªJudson, Herbert and Gerald; and Zen was even more remarkable.


    As for the Grandmaster of Heaven, he only had one helper, the captain of the Black Ship.


    In the face of these powerful masters, the captain could not do anything to them. When it came to real strength, he would be at a disadvantage in the battle with Fuxi, far inferior to the real Fuxi.


    "I made the correct judgment when we were in the Grand Plain Stage," the Grandmaster of Heaven said, staring at Zen with confidence.


    He believed that Zen deserved the Nihility race''s great deal of effort to win him over, so he took action in person. Unfortunately, neither he nor Claire had succeeded.


    Claire and the Grandmaster of Heaven both had sharp intuition. They were determined that they had to get Zen. He could either be destroyed or become a huge hidden trouble if they couldn''t get him.


    Therefore, the only purpose that the Black Ship and the Bearing race attacked the Oneness Sky Palace after Zen entered the Eternal Scroll Painting was to take him.


    However, contrary to the wishes of the Black Ship and the Bearing race, the situation had developed to this point after the three forces took action. It was beyond the Grandmaster of Heaven''s expectations.


    It had only been a short while since Zen returned, but he was able to kill him.


    What kind of bloodline did Zen get?


    Even the origin-level bloodline shouldn''t be so powerful in a short time.


    "It doesn''t matter whether your judgment is right or wrong, because you can''t affect the situation," Zen responded, dismissing the Grandmaster of Heaven''s certainty.


    There were two choices for the Grandmaster of Heaven at the moment. He could either abandon the Descending Ring and escape back to the Other Shore, or stay where he was and fight to death.


    The Nihility race didn''t suffer too much loss. Returning to the Other Shore was the best choice for the Grandmaster of Heaven. He could wait for the next opportunity, and when the Element Spirit Civiliza


    Zen''s and the Primeval Lord of Heaven''s admiration.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven didn''t expect that the real Snake Goddess would know so much. The excitement on his face slowly faded into a darker emotion, but he still managed to mock her, "So what? My senior fellow disciple has persisted for such a long time, but he hasn''t even found out the truth. Now you still want to complete the Finale Way? It is just wishful thinking!"


    Hearing the Grandmaster of Heaven make such remarks of ridicule, the real Snake Goddess only shrugged it off with a smile. She knew that the brush-wielder gave Zen the hope, which meant that there was a chance to complete the Finale Way. The Grandmaster of Heaven was clueless about that.


    "Wait and see if it is just wishful thinking. What I know is you''re in a bad situation now!"


    Zen slightly leaned his body forward and disappeared after taking a step.


    He transformed into a thin thread, spreading towards the Grandmaster of Heaven at an extremely fast speed.


    After seeing Zen do his move, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, Fuxi, the real Snake Goddess, and the three Chaos Ancient Gods also took action!


    The powerful warriors each activated their strength at the same time. Even the huge chaos clouds on the side drifted away slowly as if wanting to keep distance from the battle.


    "There are some powers that are inappropriate for you," the Grandmaster of Heaven said with a domineering aura. "There are things that you don''t qualify to know, and there are also some powers that you cannot resist. In that case, let me show you the foundation of the Nihility race!"

 Chapter 3928 The Origin Of The Light Region

    Raising his Cyan Misty Sword high, the Grandmaster of Heaven had a white light column strike him.


    While the chaos wasn''t pitch-black, it was rather dim.


    The eye-catching white light column appeared abruptly¡ªit seemed to purify everything somehow.


    The moment it appeared, Zen raised his brows.


    "The Great Sanskrit Light?"


    Once Elvinia became a purified being, she mastered the Great Sanskrit Light. Soon after, Zen became a purified being himself and was highly familiar with the Great Sanskrit Light, so he could recognize it at a glance.


    Was the Grandmaster of Heaven also a purified being, then? Zen wondered because the man seemed to be able to release the Great Sanskrit Light at will.


    But the Great Sanskrit Light could only harm the creatures in the Dark Region¡ªit was completely useless against the creatures from the Light Region.


    The creatures in the chaos weren''t afraid of this light in the least. Was it somehow related to the "foundation" the Grandmaster of Heaven mentioned?


    While Zen had become a purified being, he still hadn''t been able to figure out the true relationship between the Dark Region and the Light Region. In Stage Fourteen, an Insect Master had told him that their race''s ancestor had gone to the dark sky¡ªsomething that couldn''t be found at Stage Fourteen.


    Once Zen climbed up to the Blooming Jade Stage, he learned that the Dark Region was under the Element Spirit Civilization''s control. So was the Light Region controlled by the Nihility race, Zen wondered?


    "I don''t care what kind of power you have. I''ll smash you to pieces!"


    Taking the lead, Fuxi waved his hand from where he stood.


    The Eight Diagrams marks weren''t imprinted on the Grandmaster of Heaven''s body, but on the surface of the column of the Great Sanskrit Light. And so Fuxi began waving his hands at top speed.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    In an instant, Fuxi unleashed countless palm prints that exploded along with the Eight Diagrams marks¡ªthe force they released was nothing short of terrifying. But the Great Sanskrit Light column wasn''t damaged in the least. It had managed to resist every single one of Fuxi''s attacks.


    "Well..."


    Fuxi seemed desperate at this point.


    He had always been proud to be the strongest warrior in the chaos. But just now, he utterly failed after pushing


    as infinite power gathered within it.


    "It''s useless. You can''t penetrate the power of the foundation," said the Grandmaster of Heaven proudly.


    Just then, Zen suddenly appeared beside the light column. He stared at it from nearby and said, "This seems to be the Great Sanskrit Light. I am a purified being as well, but as far as I know, the Great Sanskrit Light works only on creatures of the Dark Region."


    "You have no more than a superficial knowledge of light," snorted the other. It was clear that he didn''t take Zen seriously in spite of their shared status.


    "Really?" Zen paid no mind to the other''s attitude and asked further, "So the power of the foundation you mentioned is also based on the Great Sanskrit Light?"


    "Yes... So what?" Realizing that Zen was fishing for information, the Grandmaster of Heaven glared at him.


    The latter only smiled faintly. "If you don''t want to say it, then forget it. The light column is powerful, but can it block me?"


    As he spoke, he reached out, pushing at the column''s surface.


    While the Grandmaster of Heaven was highly confident in the foundation''s power, his heart couldn''t help but race in worry as he saw Zen''s palm push on it.


    ''This guy is just too strange¡­ I''m not sure if ...''


    he thought to himself. When Zen''s palm touched the light column, the bloodline in his body began fluctuating chaotically.


    The ancestry-level bloodline needed to change its very structure each time it restrained the external energy. But this time, the fluctuation was far more violent.

 Chapter 3929 Join Hands

    Theoretically, the four quadrants of the ancestry-level bloodline contained all the abilities.


    From the Abstruse Energy World to the secondary worlds, the abilities were always in the range of these four quadrants.


    The entire ancestry-level bloodline could restrain any energy perfectly. Zen firmly believed in this even though he couldn''t completely control the ancestry-level bloodline.


    After all, from the Eternal Divine Courtyard, the four origin-level bloodlines below the Eternal Divine Courtyard, and the passageway of the Eternal Scroll Painting to the chaos, this point had already been proven right anywhere.


    However, when faced with the Great Sanskrit Light, the ancestry-level bloodline proved ineffective for the first time.


    Under the violent fluctuations of the bloodline, Zen did not find any effective restraining ability. Soon after, he felt a storm within his body, and his organs violently trembled in reaction.


    Instantly, his arms changed again!


    The two arms that were covered in white hair began to contract. At the same time, the hair shed and the bones softened. Just as the two arms transformed into pure muscles, round holes appeared on the muscles'' surfaces, expanding and eventually turning into suckers.


    "Are these octopus tentacles?"


    Zen asked, shocked to see how his arms had changed.


    Although the transformation caused no pain and was an advantage, Zen still found it terrifying.


    Click, click, click...


    The two tentacles flailed around as they were completely out of Zen''s control. Then, they drooped across the light pillar and began to wiggle.


    Seeing Zen''s worry and helplessness, the Grandmaster of Heaven sighed in relief.


    Initially, when Zen broke the Fishing Drum, the Grandmaster of Heaven was confused profoundly. Not long after, he concluded that Zen must have obtained the ability by chance to restrain the space theurgy.


    That was why the triangular world of Othniel and his Fishing Drum couldn''t restrain him.


    However, just now, he saw with his own eyes that Zen broke the Lawless Cage of Herbert. This had never been done before, so he was bewildered again. Could this mean that Zen''s bloodline restrained different energies?


    If so, why couldn''t Zen restrain the Great Sanskrit Light?


    This relieved the Grandmaster of Heaven. Knowing that


    Realm warrior was fused with the shadow of Snake Goddess, they would have been eroded by the energy within it. The shadow of the real Snake Goddess had more power than that of the Snake Goddess in this chaotic era.


    However, the Grandmaster of Heaven had transformed into the Sanskrit Light Body, and the shadow of Snake Goddess was completely unable to corrode the white light.


    "Tie!"


    With no intention to kill the Grandmaster of Heaven, the Snake Goddess tried to temporarily trap him!


    "The Formless Snake Shackle!"


    Meanwhile, Herbert also activated his bloodline power to utilize the shackling method. Four indistinct shadows of snake-shaped shackles appeared on the hands and feet of the Grandmaster of Heaven, coiling around his wrists and ankles.


    Fuxi appeared in front of the Grandmaster of Heaven. He lifted his arm and launched a palm strike at the Grandmaster of Heaven.


    What seemed like an ordinary palm strike vibrated for over ten thousand times as it came into contact with the chest of the Grandmaster of Heaven.


    "Break the body!"


    Fuxi''s goal was not to kill the Grandmaster of Heaven but to weaken his defense of his Sanskrit Light Body as much as possible.


    Next, Gerald appeared. He waved his tail and stabbed right at the center of the Grandmaster of Heaven''s chest, exactly where Fuxi''s palm hit.


    Gerald''s strikes were so powerful that even Claire had been killed in his hands by the Poison of Decomposition. If the Grandmaster of Heaven was pierced deeply enough, he would die the same way Claire did.

 Chapter 3930 Press

    More than half of Gerald''s bright-colored tail needle was impaled into the Sanskrit Light Body of the Grandmaster of Heaven.


    The tail needle was about three hundred thousand feet long, and about two-thirds of the total length was drilled deep into the body.


    Ideally, it was already enough to break the Sanskrit Light Body.


    "Nice work, Gerald!"


    "There''s no way he could resist the Poison of Decomposition!"


    "Finish him!"


    Everyone yelled and was full of expectations.


    Technically, the Poison of Decomposition was not a poison, but a kind of energy that could destroy things at a molecular level. Supposedly, no one had a good way to withstand it.


    Just when everyone thought that they had finally succeeded, the expression on Gerald''s face gradually changed. "What is this? There is no¡ª"


    "Physical body?" the Grandmaster of Heaven sneered as he finished Gerald''s sentence.


    Everyone clearly witnessed how Gerald''s needle pierced into the Sanskrit Light Body of the Grandmaster of Heaven. However, the body was empty. It turned out that it was not a real physical body.


    "So what? That doesn''t matter!" Gerald retorted, trying to still sound confident.


    The Poison of Decomposition was supposed to destroy everything, including energies and souls. That was why Gerald was still confident that they could take the Grandmaster of Heaven down.


    Soon, a black mass leaked at the place where the needle stabbed the body. Like a thick dripping ink, it began to diffuse but soon stopped.


    In just a matter of seconds, the all-conquering Poison of Decomposition was subdued and lost its effect.


    "Are you done with your childish games?!"


    the Grandmaster of Heaven shouted contemptuously.


    Then, at his bidding, his long sword emerged, shrouded in pure bright lights.


    He waved his sword and a white sword arc instantly appeared in the void. The sword arc was lashing in the air at such an incredible speed.


    Upon seeing this, Gerald quickly pulled his tail and retrieved it from the body of the Grandmaster of Heaven. However, there was not enough time.


    Splat!


    Gerald''s tail was slashed, and a stream of green blood gushed out immediately.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven raised his sword and aimed at Gerald again. The sharp lights coming from it seemed to be able to illuminate the entire chaos.


    This time, as the Grandmaster of Heaven threw his second strike, Gerald''s reaction was quicker. He was able to use the Grand Teleportation in order to avoid the incoming attack.


    "Humph! What an annoying insect!"


    The Grandmaster of Heaven was going all out.


    Crash!


    Crack!


    Herbert''s bones began to break and his body was starting to collapse.


    The pressure continued to increase. Everyone just stood there, watching his agony as they also couldn''t do anything about the light column. At this point, Herbert couldn''t even struggle or make a sound anymore. His eyes revealed a look of total helplessness and misery.


    Splat! Hebert''s entire body exploded and was completely crushed.


    His huge body, which was millions of feet tall, was reduced into a puddle of blood. Everyone couldn''t believe that a dignified Chaos Ancient God could die in this miserable way.


    Gerald, Judson, Fuxi, and the Snake Goddess didn''t avert their eyes from the scene. Instead, their faces darkened and their eyes were filled with rage.


    At this time, the Grandmaster of Heaven had finally removed all the golden vines that were wrapped on his body. There was a smirk on his face, yet an extreme murderous intent was oozing from his eyes.


    He was getting impatient because his real enemy wasn''t there. Originally, he did not intend to use too much of his foundation power, but these people gave him a hard time. With that, he decided to handle them using a fiercer method.


    "Are you mad? Well, you ask for it! Now, I''ll kill you one by one!"


    Gerald became instantly aware when the Grandmaster of Heaven pointed at his direction. He knew immediately that something bad was about to happen. He quickly tried to flee, but the light column was already forming before he could even move from his position.


    "You''re the next one to die," the Grandmaster of Heaven said coldly.


    Then, the pressure inside the light column suddenly increased. Instantly, Gerald''s body was pressed at the bottom.

 Chapter 3931 Pressing Forward

    The miserable death which Herbert had suffered was still lingering on everyone''s mind. Trapped and unable to escape, Gerald was obviously about to end up the same.


    Fuxi, the Snake Goddess and Judson were becoming anxious now.


    "Come on! Let''s destroy this light column!"


    "How? It''s not going to be so easy to destroy it."


    "We have to try! I''m afraid that Gerald won''t be able to hold on for any more than thirty seconds."


    Although they knew that the light column was almost completely invulnerable, they still had to try. Therefore, they launched their attacks in unison, trying to destroy the light column that had trapped Gerald.


    Even under their attacks, the pressure in the light column increased sharply, and the hard shell on the surface of Gerald''s body began to emit cracking sounds. Countless cracks spread out, like lines of minuscule bugs crawling over his body.


    Gerald himself also knew how powerful the light column was. Trapped inside, he had to try and make an effort to save himself since no one else could do so.


    Buzz!


    A green colored light began to leak out from the cracks.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven felt the strong life energy that was contained within the light column with a look of contempt on his face.


    Gerald was a Chaos Ancient God who had mastered the truth of life. However, it was impossible for him to use that power to repair his body.


    "Huh! Don''t try to struggle. It is useless,"


    the Grandmaster of Heaven sneered. And as soon as his words finished, the squeezing force in the light column doubled suddenly.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    With a wispy, cracking sound, Gerald''s shell was suddenly broken completely. Under the irresistible pressure, the tissues in his body began to bleed profusely, and his huge and fragile compound eyes exploded outside.


    However, the truth power surrounding him did not try to repair his body. It could not. Instead, it was transforming his body.


    The truth was, even if it did try, it was useless to repair the broken shell. The shell was just a broken defense mechanism. It was not suitable for such a high pressure environment.


    The truth power was instead growing a thin layer of tissue over the hard shell. The tissue was flat and weirdly thin, as if it were made of countless pieces of paper.


    This was the only visible change on the surface of Gerald''s body. At the same time, several more changes were taking place inside him.


    The squeezed body tissue was quickly being transformed by the truth power. Gerald''s height was being reduced constantly. Finally, he became completely flat. In fact, that was what he wanted to do.


    In a short while, the originall


    lumn materialized and covered Zen.


    As Zen''s tentacles absorbed the wall of the light column for a while, the wall was broken down once again. The light column was able to hinder Zen for just a single second.


    However, the Grandmaster of Heaven didn''t have any other way to deal with Zen as of now. Therefore, as soon as the light column was broken, he summoned yet another one. The light columns kept on materializing one after another and this bought him some time.


    Splash! Splash! Splash!


    All the light columns were broken by Zen.


    If one observed carefully, the suckers on his tentacles were subtly changing shape during the whole process.


    In the beginning, the suckers had been circular, but now they had slowly evolved into a diamond-shaped structure. That way, they could absorb the Great Sanskrit Light much more efficiently. The speed at which they could break the light columns was increasing with every strike, which left the Grandmaster of Heaven flabbergasted.


    Gerald, who was quickly repairing his body, along with Judson, Fuxi, and the Snake Goddess quietly watched the scene unfold before their eyes, without any intention of interfering. They knew their presence wouldn''t make much of a difference in this battle.


    What confused the Grandmaster of Heaven was that after breaking the light columns, Zen could have just moved forward to attack him. If he were caught by Zen''s tentacles, he would definitely die.


    However, Zen was pressing forward very slowly. What was he up to?


    While the Grandmaster of Heaven was lost in thought and trying to understand what was going on, a thin line was floating in the void behind him.


    When he finally approached the thin line unwittingly, a mass of tentacles appeared out of nowhere and swallowed him.

 Chapter 3932 My Will

    These particular tentacles came from the one that had been cut off by the Grandmaster of Heaven.


    The ancestry-level bloodline refused to be divided, and even the ones that were divided were very eager to return.


    However, just this one time, the ancestry-level bloodline allowed this individual to stay apart, hide in space, and continue to reproduce on its own.


    As Zen broke the light columns one after another, the hidden tentacles gained his experience, and the suckers on their surfaces began adjusting.


    Just when the Grandmaster of Heaven, who had transformed into the Sanskrit Light Body, was close enough to the tentacles, they attempted to swallow him whole in one gulp. They were like a greedy serpent that wanted to devour its prey in one go.


    The suckers of the tentacles aggressively absorbed the Great Sanskrit Light while he was desperately struggling.


    Splat!


    The Grandmaster of Heaven managed to thrust his white sword into many tentacles. The sword pierced so deep that only half of the blade remained exposed.


    However, the lower half of the sword quickly turned black and was completely corroded. In an instant, the sword broke, and the exposed half was sucked into the tentacles.


    On the surface of the Grandmaster of Heaven''s body, there were hundreds of visible black dots.


    From there, the power of the foundation was gradually absorbed, and his strength grew weaker and weaker.


    In the beginning, he could still tear the tentacles at will, but as time passed by, he lost his strength to resist against them. His entire body was now wrapped around by the tentacles, and the Great Sanskrit Light contained within his body was being extinguished rapidly.


    However, the Grandmaster of Heaven was still showing tenacity and was unwilling to give up. He gathered all his remaining strength and rushed forward in an attempt to break free. When he realized that there was no chance to escape, he desperately stretched out his hand until a finger was exposed outside of the tentacles.


    Whoosh!


    A ray of light shot from his fingertip just before his body was completely devoured by the tentacles.


    Then, the light from the Grandmaster of Heaven''s finger condensed in the sky and transformed into his appearance.


    However, the avatar formed was so dim, like the light from a candle that was about to die. His body was almost transparent, and the energy in his body was so weak that it was almost negligible.


    Zen didn''t bother to kill the avatar because he knew that he would also disintegrate in no time. So, he just took the opportunity and asked, "Is this the power


    slowly crawled out of the hole, still wearing a smug look on his face. "What? Did I say something wrong? Ha-ha! Why would you even defend the reputation of someone who failed because of his weakness?" He wasn''t apologetic at all.


    As the brass man heard his impious laughter, his rage started contorting his face.


    Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!


    His heavy body ran wildly on the deck and rushed towards the Evil God. Holes and cracks were appearing as he passed by the deck.


    The Evil God''s laughter became more intense just before the brass man approached him.


    The other members of the Black Ship were also hopeful that the brass man would shut the Evil God''s mouth, and teach him a lesson. However, their hearts began throbbing when the Evil God shouted, "Kneel!"


    Swoosh!


    A strong will instantly descended from above.


    It wasn''t just any ordinary will. Its power was beyond words.


    Crash! Boom!


    Under the excessive pressure of the surging will, the aggressive brass man froze and knelt before the Evil God.


    "Evil God! Do you have a death wish?"


    "Dare to make one false move, and we''ll be sure that you regret it!"


    "Don''t be an idiot!"


    As soon as the members of the Black Ship saw that the brass man was being utterly humiliated, they started yelling with angry faces. With just a single order from their captain, they were ready to take the Evil God down.


    However, the captain stayed silent and looked up.


    From where he stood, he could see the enormous outer wall of the Source World above them, from where the tremendous will had just come.


    "Tell me, is that the will of the Source World?" the captain asked straightforwardly.


    "No," the Evil God replied with a confident sneer. "It''s my will."

 Chapter 3933 The New Captain

    The Evil God had tried to communicate with the Source World all this time.


    He could faintly sense the will of the Source World, but was unable to grasp it.


    The members of the Black Ship did not participate in the battle with the Pear Hill. The Evil God had studied his own abilities all the time.


    The opportunity had appeared after he had left the Source World. The will of the Source World, which had once tried to dodge the Evil God, seemed to want him to stay in the Source World.


    If the Source World were considered a living being or a person, it wouldn''t want its own evil will to leave. This was because Usman had originally been a part of the Source World and the Evil God had devoured him.


    The Evil God had also been a part of Zen before and Zen had had to think twice before letting the Evil God leave.


    When the Grandmaster of Heaven had fought the people of the Pear Hill outside the Source World, the Evil God seized this opportunity and quickly connected with the Source World.


    The Evil God felt that the Source World was a vast and powerful will. He saw it as a living being, born with the birth of one round of chaos.


    When the Evil God''s consciousness had merged with this vast will, he was like a tiger that had broken into a flock of sheep.


    There were millions and millions of sheep, but they were no match for the tiger.


    It was easy for the Evil God to pollute the will of the entire Source World and become its ruler.


    "How did you make it?" the captain of the Black Ship asked.


    Usman had lived for a longer time and had been stronger than the Evil God at the time. However, he hadn''t been able to fuse with the will of the Source World.


    The Black Ship had allowed the Evil God to merge with Usman, because they wanted him to replace Usman and control the Source World.


    This thought was, however, impractical. Some of the key steps were like mysteries that could not be solved. They needed the Nihility race to join hands with the Black Ship in order to slowly explore them.


    Everyone knew that it was impossible to achieve overnight. But the Evil God had completed the task pretty easily, after having devoured Usman a few days ago.


    "This is not the tone you should be talking to me in," the Evil God said rather arrogantly.


    He stood up a little taller, while


    will, he was born for destruction.


    This destruction came from his evil nature, which was different from the reasons behind the Nihility Way, but they had the same goal and that was enough.


    The captain then went back to his cabin, leaving the members standing on the deck.


    A crack passed through the Taoism Province. It was hundreds of millions of miles long and looked dangerous. The fatal chaotic energy had already deadened the Taoism Province.


    The boundary wall between the Taoism Province and the Pear Hill was damaged. A crack, hundreds of feet wide, now decorated the boundary wall, chaotic energy spreading slowly through it. All the creatures in a radius of dozens of miles around the crack had retreated to safety.


    This was quickly reported. Before the chaotic energy spread out completely, a mountain leader appeared, carrying a mountain, and placed it into the crack in the boundary wall.


    This was only temporary. The Pear Hill would find a way to repair the wall in the future.


    While the Pear Hill was coping with the aftermath of the disaster, Zen, Fuxi, the Snake Goddess, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, and the two Chaos Ancient Gods finally returned safely.


    When these huge masters appeared in the Pear Hill, it caused great excitement and cheer among the people there.


    They had won the final victory in the eyes of the members and disciples of the Pear Hill.


    But Zen, Fuxi, and the Snake Goddess knew that this war was only the beginning. The real test was still ahead and it was going to be anything but easy.

 Chapter 3934 Restored

    The battle of the Pear Hill had shocked the Source World.


    There was an old belief that the Other Shore always had an impact on the chaos. For instance, both the Nihility race and the Element Spirit race supported some powerful races in the chaos.


    However, their strategies were always subtle. The power of the Other Shore had never been directly exerted on the chaos.


    The chaos had always been governed by the lucky Chaos Ancient Gods and the ruling forces.


    But this time, the tables had turned¡ªthe rules had undergone a fundamental change.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven of the Nihility race had personally descended into the chaos, and Claire of the Element Spirit Civilization had also participated in the battle. They were existences that could not only defeat but also put the Chaos Ancient Gods to their death.


    The insurmountable wall between the Other Shore and the chaos had been torn down!


    Warriors at the Eternal Realm of superpowers and the top ten ferocious beasts of the chaos had once been considered powerhouses for dominating a part in the chaos. However, when compared to the powerful warriors of the Other Shore, they were no match. They had inferior strength incomparable to theirs.


    The attitude of some super forces such as the Separate Abyss race had always been ambiguous. They would not choose side until one of the Purge Way and the Finale Way clearly gained the upper hand.


    In the battle of the Pear Hill, Claire was defeated and the Chaos Ancient Gods, Herbert, and Lamont had unfortunately died. The Bearing race, which appeared to be extremely powerful, faced a crushing failure. The Pear Hill destroyed the two Chaos Ancient Gods, and on top of that, they had killed the Grandmaster of Heaven behind the Black Ship.


    Many of the ruling civilizations reacted quickly even as they were still in a state of shock...


    These Eternal Realm warriors were only opportunists, but as the main force that supported the Finale Way, the Pear Hill had to fight against the joined forces of the Element Spirit Civilization and the Nihility race. There was no point in refusing these super forces that willingly crossed over to their side.


    It was unrealistic to expect these forces to help them fight against the Nihility race and the Element Spirit Civilization, yet it was enough that they would not fight the Pear Hill.


    Not long after Zen and the others returned to the Pear Hill, Kendrick also arrived.


    He was the third Chaos Ancient God that supported the Finale Way. He was a creature that resembled a black turtle; his movements were considered slowest among the six Chaos Ancient


    ke Goddess, she immediately told him that someone wanted to see him.


    Zen rushed over and was surprised to see that there were already over three hundred people gathered in the hall. Sally and Hutton were among them. He squinted his eyes and recognized the old man in the lead¨Cit was Ambrose!


    Sally, Hutton, and several others of the Nine Li race had followed Zen and stayed in the Flow Sword Sect. The Oneness Sky Palace had moved to the west, and they also entered the Pear Hill with the disciples of the Flow Sword Sect.


    "Grandpa Amborse!" Zen''s eyes lit up with excitement as he approached.


    Ambrose nodded at Zen with a relieved smile on his wrinkled face. Beside Ambrose, a skinny middle-aged man stared at Zen with tearful eyes. "I didn''t expect that our Nine Li race would have a chance and that such a character belonged to us..."


    Hearing what this person said, Zen looked at him from head to toe. This person''s aura was extraordinary and he was at the Holy Soul Realm.


    Zen looked at Ambrose with confused eyes, as if asking who the unfamiliar man was. Ambrose cleared his throat and introduced, "This is Tucker, the little brother of Grand Chieftain and I. He is the only powerful warrior that remained in the Nine Li race..."


    Among the nine chiefs, Tucker Li was the only warrior at the Holy Soul Realm that had survived.


    There were several branches of the remaining members of the Nine Li race. The group led by Tucker Li and the one led by Ambrose didn''t know about each other''s existence. Not long ago, Tucker Li finally found this other branch.


    After knowing what had happened in the Oneness Sky Palace and the Pear Hill, Tucker Li decisively rushed to the Pear Hill with all the remaining members from his group.

 Chapter 3935 The Passage At The End

    "Grandpa Tucker," Zen bowed to Tucker respectfully.


    In turn, Tucker hurried forward and helped Zen get up. "You are the king of our Nine Li race now. You don''t have to salute me," he gently scolded.


    Generally speaking, Zen was currently more than strong enough to command the remaining members of the Nine Li race. Moreover, his origin alone entitled him to a high status in the Nine Li race.


    "This is to thank you for the Latent Theurgy you left for me back then," he said sincerely.


    "Latent Theurgy?" Tucker was bewildered.


    When Ambrose saw Tucker''s surprise, he explained, "It''s the Latent Theurgies we left behind in the divine land back then. The Grand Chieftain wanted to pass them on to the descendants of the Nine Li race, but it turned out Zen had gotten them..."


    At that time, Zen had relied on that Latent Theurgy to escape from Elizabeth''s hot pursuit.


    "Our Nine Li race is destined to be blessed. After all, everything is predestined. Our other brothers can finally rest in peace..." sighed Tucker.


    At that moment, the members of the Nine Li race welled up in tears. They were the survivors of the Nine Li race''s core members from before, and their blood was relatively pure.


    Ever since the destruction of their race, they had been moving on in difficulties. Now that they finally saw hope in Zen, how could they not be happy?


    The moment they came to the Pear Hill, they were determined to stand together with Zen.


    Zen''s appearance and his growth surprised all of them. If someone easily defeated him, then there would be no point for them to continue their existence in the world.


    It wasn''t just the remaining members of the Nine Li race who realized that, though. The super forces that crossed over to the Pear Hill''s side also understood that only a very few people were qualified to enter the Other Shore at the end of the chaotic era.


    If the Pear Hill failed, then everything would be over.


    After the survivors of the Nine Li race had settled down, the Snake Goddess asked Zen about the Deleting Space.


    The Deleting Space closed during the battle between Othniel and the Grandmaster of Heaven. The Snake Goddess speculated that Ziya had closed the entrance to the Deleting Space, but it hadn''t been opened yet.


    When she mentioned the matter to Zen, he tried to enter it again. However, he still couldn''t get in. It seemed that there was no better way but to wait.


    "Although we don''t know what the Nihility race and the Element Spirit Civilization will do next, you can enter t


    er warriors at the Holy Soul Realm couldn''t enter, so they only escorted Zen to the entrance.


    "I can see that," he said as he looked at the ground engraved with dots in the distance. "Is the temperature here lower than that on the upper ice field of the Blooming Jade Stage?" he asked.


    In reality, the space under the bronze ground was quite expansive. Since there were so many creatures from numerous chaotic eras in the Grand Plain Stage, there were many living species within it.


    He had seen all sorts of Other Shore creatures along his way here. The gathering places of the Other Shore forces stretched endlessly, and some kingdoms and worlds crowded the area. However, he saw no signs of life when he arrived here. It was like all the creatures became extinct.


    "I think so." Pearce, who stood next to him, nodded. "Although there is no Cold Prison here, life is still forbidden in this land. Even the Eternal Realm warriors would find it hard to survive here," he explained.


    While he spoke, Zen saw a great bronze circle appear in front of him. There were Sanskrit words engraved around it.


    To his surprise, it appeared that the Sanskrit words continually changed.


    Moreover, they changed from one to another in just a blink of an eye.


    "We''re finally here at the Stage End Passage," Pearce announced as he looked at the ring.


    It turned out that it was not a star ring that led to Stage Thirty-three, but this massive ring.


    Just as Zen and his group went towards the passage, a part of the bronze ground nearby suddenly glowed.


    Three white balls emerged from the world of ice and snow under the bronze ground. They were members of the Element Spirit race.

 Chapter 3936 Inside The Layer Of Earth

    Unlike Claire, these three members of the Element Spirit race didn''t have their own forms. They all maintained their original form as Element Spirits.


    "Buzz..."


    The one at their helm was a cross-shaped block of solid ice. Its surface shone with a bluish-white luster.


    Beside it was a ball of flames, then the last member''s body was made up of several different elements.


    Their bodies constantly changed, so it was hard to distinguish them, unlike Claire, who had a unique form.


    However, they emitted remarkably strong auras that were only slightly weaker than Claire''s.


    Pearce and the others found it quite easy to deduce that they were probably part of the big ten of the Grand Plain Stage. "Are you Zen?" the cross-shaped member of the Element Spirit race asked.


    "What''s the matter?" Zen said indifferently. Among the humans on the Other Shore, he was the only one in physical form.


    Thus, there was no need for him to hide his identity now.


    "Join us, we can give you three thousand places for survivors after the Purge Way is realized," said the cross-shaped ice.


    Previously, Claire had offered him three hundred places, but he rejected her.


    They increased the offer by ten times after the war with the Pear Hill, which meant that the Element Spirit Civilization''s sincerity also intensified by the same value.


    "It''s not about the number of places. I''ve already talked to Claire. Forget about three hundred or three thousand as I won''t agree even you offer thirty billion. That is my decision," Zen said with a smile.


    Once he had chosen a target, there was no way he would change it.


    The cross-shaped ice in the ball shook slightly then calmly replied, "This is your last chance. If you refuse, we will hunt you to no end in Stage Thirty-three."


    Since the Grand Plain Stage had rules, it could be a good place for many civilizations to live and work in peace and contentment.


    On the other hand, the only rule on the Three Purities Stage was strength, and the Element Spirit Civilization was undoubtedly the most powerful force in that place.


    "You have hunted me many times," Zen said with a shrug. He ignored the three members'' threat, then walked past them towards the large ring along with the masters at the Holy Soul Realm of the Oneness Sky Palace.


    The three members of the Element Spirit race stared at Ze


    the ancestry-level bloodline had transformed his body, it was easy for him to endure the pressure.


    The sensation lasted for five minutes before his speed finally slowed down. The once blurry surroundings slowly became clear, and everything in his vision was very dark. At the same time, an earthy scent filled his nostrils.


    "Am I in the soil?"


    As soon as he realized that, he immediately shut his mouth.


    Libby had also warned him that when he passed through the Stage End Passage, it might send him to some strange places, like inside a thick layer of earth. Still, he didn''t expect to end up in such an odd place when he first entered the Three Purities Stage. It was hard to get out of such a thick layer of soil!


    "It''s better to land inside the layer of earth than in the death lands. It would be quite troublesome if you ended up in the death lands," said the Primeval Lord of Heaven. "I''ve been inside the layer of earth twice before. Please light up this place and let me see how deep you are," he added.


    In turn, Zen tried hard to stretch his body and forcefully opened up space within the soil.


    As he raised his hand, a dull white light spread out from his palm and illuminated the small space.


    The soil around him was soft, and it seemed that it was soaked in blood as copious amounts of thick, red liquid kept seeping out. "Primeval Lord of Heaven, how deep am I now?" he asked.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven hesitated for a moment then said, "This is¡­ the Diabolic Earth. You should be in the underground of the Land of Diabolic Demons."

 Chapter 3937 Digging

    Although it was known that Stage One to Thirty-two on the Other Shore were also full of danger, it was only dangerous for the fragile Souls of Light.


    If one could enter the Other Shore in physical form, they were more likely able to deal with the troubles thrown at them. This was why Other Shore Realm warriors used to be tough enemies for Other Shore creatures in the past.


    Therefore, ever since Zen entered the Other Shore in his physical form, he had rarely encountered any unsolvable problems.


    In fact, Stage One to Thirty-two on the Other Shore could be seen as a huge training ground. The training started with Stage One, was complicated by the Soul City and the Land of Bone Tribulation, and ended in the Eternal Scroll Painting.


    But the Three Purities Stage was a completely different story.


    Horrible creatures lived here. To enter meant putting one''s life in danger.


    While it was true that the Three Purities Stage was extremely dangerous, the rewards it offered were extremely tantalizing.


    For instance, after Eastern Emperor Taiyi reached the Eternal Realm, he had taken back a batch of Other Shore Tokens from the outermost Grand Pure Realm. These alone were enough to greatly enhance the Holy Soul Realm masters of the entire Oneness Sky Palace to a higher level.


    Moreover, countless secrets were hidden in the Supreme Pure Realm and the Jade Pure Realm ¡ª secrets which, when discovered, were bound to enlighten and strengthen their finders.


    But even the outermost Grand Pure Realm was much more dangerous than the lower stages on the Other Shore.


    Although the Primeval Lord of Heaven had been to the Land of Diabolic Demons, he had never plunged into the Diabolic Earth. Thus, he decided to question the other human heroes to glean any information about it. Finally, he got the answer from Gonggong, the God of Water.


    There were a total of three death lands on the periphery of the Grand Pure Realm, and among them, the Land of Diabolic Demons was considered the most dangerous one.


    "If I am now under the Land of Diabolic Demons, then that''d mean..." Zen trailed off as he studied his surroundings. Suddenly, he looked up. "I would need to dig out a path upward to leave."


    It wasn''t difficult for Zen to dig out a passageway through hundreds of miles of normal soil.


    "Things are not that simple," the Primeval Lord of Heaven interrupted with a shake of his head. "The bodies of the Diabolic Demons are formed from the Diabolic Earth. This bloody Diabolic Earth is a part of their bodies."


    "You mean, this whole place


    is bloodline. I bet his bloodline is quite powerful..."


    There was a reason why the Three Purities Stage was dangerous even for Eternal Realm warriors.


    Devouring one made the aboriginals here stronger. While they couldn''t obtain the abilities of the bloodlines, the more Eternal Realm warriors they devoured, the stronger they became. Moreover, this kind of enhancement was permanent. Not only would the current generation grow stronger, but so would their children and the generations to come.


    The Diabolic Demons were notorious for their cruelty on the periphery of the Grand Pure Realm. There were a great number of Eternal Realm warriors who had died in the Land of Diabolic Demons. Even so, the Diabolic Demons were still not qualified to gain a foothold in the Supreme Pure Realm.


    The four leaders of the Diabolic Demons were eager to become stronger. They would never let potential prey slip through their fingers.


    "Then don''t hesitate. Let''s kill him," the fourth Diabolic Demon stood up immediately, raising his hands towards the outside of the huge petal.


    On the scarlet earth, thousands of Diabolic Demons rose at their leaders'' command. Then, they dove back into the earth, heading straight for Zen.


    The thick earth was as soft as water to the Diabolic Demons. Following their subordinates, the four leading Diabolic Demons also plunged into the earth.


    Zen, who was still deep in the Diabolic Earth, sped up his digging, but he was still unable to confirm where exactly he was underground.


    He didn''t know that he was digging towards the very center of the Land of Diabolic Demons, nor did he know that a large army of Diabolic Demons were closing in on him from every corner.

 Chapter 3938 Being Caught

    The bright silver sword radiance was unstoppable. All the Diabolic Demons that crossed its path were shredded into pieces and became lifeless blood red Diabolic Earth again.


    Zen didn''t feel guilty in the slightest over killing all these Diabolic Demons. In his eyes, they were soulless creatures.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Clang!


    Zen was stunned. To his surprise, his long sword had slashed at the arm of a Diabolic Demon, yet it just bounced off, leaving only a mark.


    It was his first time to encounter a Diabolic Demon that was able to resist his sword strike.


    "It''s a purple Diabolic Demon," Zen muttered as he looked the demon up and down.


    Then, he noticed he was rapidly being surrounded by this new type of Diabolic Demons. Their skin glowed a corpse-like purple, and he knew they were much stronger than the grey ones he had been dealing with till now.


    "Go to hell!"


    A bright light flashed in Zen''s eyes, and the power of his sword strike increased dramatically.


    Crack!


    The purple Diabolic Demon was instantly cut into two pieces.


    After Zen became an Eternal Realm warrior, his physical body was further strengthened. With a casual sword strike, he could release three to four hundred thousand divine megatons of force. Ordinary Eternal Realm warriors were no match for him.


    However, despite this, the purple Diabolic Demons were still hard to slay. Zen''s pace was slowed down considerably.


    "The purple Diabolic Demons are the backbone of the Land of Diabolic Demons. They are much stronger," the Primeval Lord of Heaven commented.


    "But I don''t think they are strong enough," Zen said with a sneer.


    Splash!


    The half-moon shaped sword radiance lashed out, and three purple Diabolic Demons were sliced in half.


    "Dark brown and black Diabolic Demons are the most powerful. The dark brown ones are the generals of their race, though there are not many of them. The black ones are their kings. It is said that there are only four kings in the whole Land of Diabolic Demons."


    While the Primeval Lord of Heaven was lecturing, a dark brown Diabolic Demon appeared.


    About seven dark brown claws suddenly stretched out from the cave wall above. They were not afraid of Zen''s sword blade. To his surprise, they grabbed onto his blade and started pulling at it.


    Under their joint effort, th


    ewy hand to wrap Zen''s neck in his sharp ebony claw.


    Zen was then pulled out of the dark brown claws.


    His neck was tethered, but his hands and feet were free.


    Clasping the king''s arm with one hand, he kicked forward violently.


    Bang!


    Zen gritted his teeth. His kick did nothing. The king barely even flinched.


    "You probably just reached the Eternal Realm. It''s not bad for you to have such power, but unfortunately, your bloodline is too weak." Once he finished speaking, the king threw Zen backwards like a rag doll.


    Another two kings grabbed Zen from the left and the right. The last one grabbed a piece of earth from the wall and smeared it all over his body.


    The Diabolic Earth was the mother of the Diabolic Demon race. It also was honored as their sacred place.


    It was fine the outsiders intruded into the surface of the Land of Diabolic Demons. As long as they were on the ground, they wouldn''t irritate the Diabolic Demons and had the chance to escape.


    However, any creature that dared enter the Diabolic Earth was doomed. It was considered grave desecration of their sacred place. Zen was in great trouble now, since he even dug a path spanning dozens of miles long.


    After Zen''s body was covered with the Diabolic Earth all over, two kings pulled him up and drilled upwards until they reached the surface. The strange thing was that, with his body covered with the Diabolic Earth, he could move freely in the earth without damaging it, just like the Diabolic Demons. It was as though he were water seeping through the mud...

 Chapter 3939 Intelligent Blood Vessels

    The Diabolic Earth flowed quickly along Zen''s body. It was as fluid as water, and as red as blood.


    The two kings of Diabolic Demons held on to Zen, dragging him all the way up. Soon they emerged from the ground.


    Zen quickly looked around him. Nearby, he caught sight of an object that looked like a triangular flower petal. The moment he confirmed his position, Zen''s lips curved in a bitter smile.


    He had managed to dig for dozens of miles underground¡ªbut he dug in the opposite direction. He was now right in the center of the Land of Diabolic Demons.


    "Drag him in," ordered the king of Diabolic Demons in the lead.


    The two kings who had Zen in their grasp dragged him towards the triangular petal.


    There was a series of sharp cracking sounds.


    As Zen came closer, he realized that the triangular petal was in actuality an enormous living creature. The triangle shape was the mouth of some kind of monster. It was ringed with huge spikes.


    The kings dragged Zen directly into the triangular petal, and tendrils as thick as fingers suddenly stretched out from the depths of the mouth. The tendrils snaked around Zen until they were wrapped tightly around his whole body.


    "Don''t try to struggle," one of them told Zen.


    "This is the most painless way to die," said the other king. "If you try to struggle and escape, we will ensure that you suffer a fate worse than death."


    Zen calmly listened to their warnings.


    Curiously he asked, "Aren''t you going to eat me?"


    The kings snorted with disgust. One of them snapped, "We don''t eat humans."


    With that, they checked to see that he was secure in the grip of the tendrils. Then they turned and walked away from the triangular petal.


    The four kings of Diabolic Demons stood in a circle around the petal and Zen. They stretched out their thin arms, waving their sharp claws as they communicated to each other in their own language. As Zen was held immobile, the kings were soon accompanied by other Diabolic Demons, and they all began to sing and dance.


    "If they''re not planning to eat me, then what? Is this petal-mouth going to swallow me?" Zen asked the Primeval Lord of Heaven.


    "Even if they devour you, they won''t be able to inherit your bloodline power. So naturally they won''t do such a thing," replied the Primeval Lord of Heaven. "The formation of these death lands isn''t a coincidence. The residents all have their own methods of sacrifice."


    "Sacrifice..." For a moment Zen was puzzled. Then he understood what the Primeval Lord of Heaven meant. "Swallowing Eternal Realm warriors?"


    "Yes," admitted the Primeval Lord of Heaven. He explained, "Sacrificing Eternal Realm warriors will increase the strength of their entire race, so every Eternal Realm warrior is the prey of all the Other Shore crea


    y were intelligent creatures who had anticipated each move of the thorns.


    Meanwhile, outside the triangle petal, there was a sense of uncertainty in the air.


    The four kings of Diabolic Demons and the others behind them were all kneeling in unison on the ground.


    Sacrificing was a significant and solemn act for Diabolic Demons, and they always kept absolutely quiet until the whole ceremony was completed.


    They knew the sacrifice was complete when they felt the power surging in their bodies. This would be strongest in the four kings, who stood to benefit the most from each sacrifice.


    Based on past experience, the sacrificial ceremony should end after around five minutes.


    But by now, at least twenty minutes had passed, and none of them felt any surge of power. It was still not done.


    On very rare occasions, the sacrifice took longer than five minutes. It happened only when the bloodline of the sacrificial object was very pure and of the highest quality. So at first, their anticipation rose at the delay, as they realized that this sacrifice would yield results that were better than usual.


    However, as time went by, the king of Diabolic Demons in the lead began to sense that something had gone wrong. Regardless of purity, the ceremony should not have lasted longer than fifteen or twenty minutes at the most. What had happened inside the petal?


    By the time thirty minutes had passed, every single Diabolic Demon present at the ceremony began to feel restless and uneasy. There was still absolute silence, but everyone began looking furtively at the petal, or exchanging wordless glances with each other.


    Finally, the most important of the kings of Diabolic Demons made up his mind. He stood up, and all the demons who still knelt were shocked. They watched as the king began making his way to the petal to see what was going on.

 Chapter 3940 Poison

    The altar formed by the triangular petal was a living being.


    As far as the kings of Diabolic Demons knew, none of the Eternal Realm warriors who were locked up in the altar had succeeded in breaking free.


    After all, they hadn''t been able to catch the powerful Eternal Realm warriors. The ones they had caught were weak.


    But unfortunately for them, they had encountered the strange phenomenon that was Zen.


    The hollow thorns kept stabbing Zen and piercing into his body, but they couldn''t get any blood. The altar seemed to sense the changes in Zen''s body. As a result, more tendrils with hollow thorns began to grow.


    The hollow thorns remained in Zen''s body once they pierced through it. More and more of them stung and pinched at him with every passing minute.


    It wasn''t long before Zen''s body became densely packed with thorns, making him look like a hedgehog.


    As the number of hollow thorns in Zen''s body increased, little room was left for his blood vessels to move.


    "There is no way out. Why don''t you fight back? Isn''t this enough?" Zen said through gritted teeth.


    Zen''s heart was divided into many parts, connected by a main meridian, to avoid the hollow thorns.


    "Who are you talking to? Why is your body so special?"


    The voice came from inside the living altar.


    "I''m talking to myself, obviously," Zen said with a wry smile. "My bloodline is special, or I would have torn you apart by now."


    "You alone?" the living altar sneered. "I don''t know how you''ve changed your blood vessels but I will stab more thorns into your body."


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    More hollow thorns appeared and shot towards Zen in unison.


    Zen smiled at this sight. Only by infuriating the living altar would the ancestry-level bloodline take the matter seriously.


    He would then suffer less.


    After the last wave of thorns got into Zen''s body, the twisted blood vessels could no longer escape them and were pierced in many places.


    "Since you''re locked up here, there''s no point in struggling," the living altar said as i


    The king walked towards Zen. He had only taken two steps when Zen discovered that with every step he took, a black footprint was stamped on the scarlet Diabolic Earth.


    "The color on your body is fading," Zen pointed out.


    The king looked down and his face froze.


    The black color on his body spread along his feet and into the Diabolic Earth, like a dye dripping into water.


    "Poison!"


    the king roared, jumping up into the air and trying to fly.


    But his body suddenly felt powerless and he fell to the ground once again, this time, merging into the Diabolic Earth.


    He could still be resurrected since the Diabolic Earth could help him through the process for an infinite number of times.


    The poison on Zen''s fingertips, however, hadn''t been aimed at the king, but at the Diabolic Earth.


    "Our Diabolic Earth has been poisoned!"


    "Dig away the black earth!"


    "Kill that brat first!"


    The other three kings screamed, flustered.


    Their greatest crisis was not that they were facing Zen, but the poison that had spread throughout the Diabolic Earth.


    The Diabolic Demons rushed to dig the black Diabolic Earth out. But the earth they dug out merely rose high into the air and fell to the ground again.


    What was worse was that the black poison had spread not only across the surface of the Diabolic Earth, but also deep underground.

 Chapter 3941 Determine The Location

    As the ordinary Diabolic Demons came into contact with the poisonous Diabolic Earth, they also turned black and quickly fell to the ground.


    Originally, these Diabolic Demons could be resurrected. However, as soon as they revived, they were poisoned to death again.


    Generally, ordinary Diabolic Demons could easily resurrect for up to three times. After that, they would have a really hard time recovering their bodies. The powerful ones could be revived more than thrice, but the Diabolic Earth that they used to revive themselves were tainted with a vicious poison. Thus, whenever they resurrected, they couldn''t escape the fate of dying again.


    Even the king wasn''t able to save himself when he came into contact with the Diabolic Earth.


    The other three kings were lucky to prevent themselves from making contact with the Diabolic Earth. As soon as they realized that it was severely poisoned, they immediately leaped and floated in the air.


    As the black spots spread at an incredible rate, their faces darkened and they were horrified at the scene.


    All of the Diabolic Demons were actually a whole, and their core was the Diabolic Earth below.


    No matter how powerful their enemies were, it was always difficult to invade the Land of Diabolic Demons. There was no way to conquer a land that was guarded by immortal beings. Furthermore, there were tens of thousands of Diabolic Demons that would welcome those who dared to enter their land.


    As long as the Diabolic Demons were given enough time to expand the Diabolic Earth, they would be able to join the Supreme Pure Realm in the near future.


    No one expected that the Diabolic Demons would encounter such a great crisis.


    Rumble! Rumble!


    The land that turned to black began vibrating. Then, the ground not far away from Zen swelled and bulged high until a blood-red monster finally drilled out from it. However, only half of its original form was seen. Immediately after, it also turned to black and disintegrated like the other Diabolic Demons.


    In reality, the Diabolic Earth itself was also a living creature. After it was severely poisoned, it started struggling so hard. The huge creature that got out from the ground and instantly disintegrated, was actually an incarnation of the Diabolic Earth.


    After about two hours, the black spots had already spread to the edge of the Land of Diabolic Demons, about hundreds of miles away from where Zen was.


    Near the Diabolic Earth''s edge, there were clusters of pale yellow plants growing on it.


    At the same time, there were also a few striped deer covetously keeping an eye on these yellow plants, which were their favorite food.


    However, the current situation of the Land of Diabolic Demons was extremely dangerous. An ominous atmosphere kept the animals from getti


    Realm. He decided to let the Snake Goddess and Fuxi know where he was.


    The people of the Oneness Sky Palace hoped that Zen could rescue Eastern Emperor Taiyi and Yasmin as soon as possible. To be able to do it, Zen needed to meet with the Snake Goddess and Fuxi first.


    The fact that Zen had entered the Three Purities Stage was a big deal for the Oneness Sky Palace and the Pear Hill.


    The Pear Hill, the Oneness Sky Palace, and even several Chaos Ancient Gods paid close attention to Zen''s journey.


    Normally, as long as one didn''t encounter any sort of trouble, they would choose to wake up as soon as they arrived at the Grand Pure Realm. However, Zen was delayed, which made the masters in the Pear Hill a little worried. They started to think that something must have gone wrong after he arrived at the Grand Pure Realm.


    Fortunately, Zen safely left the Other Shore and opened his eyes. He perceived that the Dark Haze Peak suddenly became noisy as he woke up.


    "Zen has finally woken up!"


    "Really? Then that means he''s safe!"


    "I told you that we need not worry." Fuxi was standing beside him and quickly asked, "Where have you been transmitted by the Stage End Passage? You were out for quite a long time."


    Zen looked around first and saw No. 9527, who was also beside him. He put on a helpless expression because of the number of people that were present. Zen was a very important figure now that even Chaos Ancient Gods visited him several times. All of these people even wanted to sleep there every day just to check up on him. There was no way that No. 9527 could stop them.


    After Zen answered Fuxi, there was a sudden silence in the entire Dark Haze Peak. They couldn''t believe what Zen had just said. All of their faces were immediately filled with horror as they heard its name.


    "Did he just say...the Land of Diabolic Demons?"

 Chapter 3942 The Heavenly Thunder Plain

    For the vast majority of Eternal Realm warriors, the Grand Pure Realm was equivalent to Stage Thirty-three because they would never be able to go to the Supreme Pure Realm.


    The Land of Diabolic Demons was the most dangerous place in the Grand Pure Realm where survival was nigh impossible.


    Each and every Eternal Realm warrior who dared pass through the Stage End Passage would have to risk their lives.


    This led to a lot of them refusing to explore the Three Purities Stage altogether. Instead, they chose to stay in the Grand Plain Stage where it was safe and they''d be able to stay long there.


    "Did you fall on the edge of the Land of Diabolic Demons and escape?" Fuxi asked.


    Zen had actually fallen into the inside of the Diabolic Earth, which should be the worst situation.


    But Zen just nodded. "I was able to escape. I''m opposite the Spirit Disappearing Peak and the Soul Dissipating Peak now. You and the Snake Goddess can go there and easily find me."


    "Opposite the Spirit Disappearing Peak and the Soul Dissipating Peak?" the Snake Goddess repeated. "You are not far away from the Land of Diabolic Demons. That place is still very dangerous."


    Zen merely shrugged. "They shouldn''t be able to find me."


    The entirety of the Land of Diabolic Demons had since turned into a dead area, which would make it difficult for the two remaining kings to find him.


    The Snake Goddess and Fuxi exchanged glances.


    It would be quite risky to venture so close to the Land of Diabolic Demons but since it was Zen, they definitely had to go.


    "Don''t go to the Other Shore for the time being," Fuxi told him. "You can go back after we arrive at the Spirit Disappearing Peak and the Soul Dissipating Peak."


    Soon enough, the Snake Goddess and Fuxi sat cross-legged, opposite Zen, and entered the Other Shore together.


    Zen sensed the fear in their hearts, yet he couldn''t help but admire their willingness to take the risk with no evident hesitation.


    The two had stayed in the Grand Pure Realm for a really long time so they were naturally very familiar with it.


    Fuxi''s Augury Dog was also of great help since he was able to foretell the dangers that hid in every corner. This ability surely came in handy to warn them in advance of any untoward incident heading their way.


    After half a day''s journey, Fuxi and the Snake Goddess arrived at the west side of the Land of Diabolic De


    ous place in the Grand Pure Realm.


    Even the Element Spirit Civilization and the Nihility race would be impressed if they heard this.


    "This matter must be kept secret," the Snake Goddess announced to those on the Dark Haze Peak.


    Zen was currently a thorn in the two forces'' side. If they knew what he did, then they would feel threatened and do something to the young man.


    After the Snake Goddess gave the order to keep things quiet, she and Fuxi returned to the Other Shore with Zen.


    Once inside the Other Shore, Fuxi looked back at the Land of Diabolic Demons and confirmed that there were indeed no more Diabolic Demons left. He sighed and took his companions to the place where Eastern Emperor Taiyi and Yasamin were trapped.


    After passing the Spirit Disappearing Peak and the Soul Dissipating Peak, they arrived at the southeast part of the Grand Pure Realm. Here, they soon heard deep, rumbling sounds.


    "The Heavenly Thunder Plain is right in front of us. It''s not safe. We should take a detour," Fuxi warned.


    "Crossing the plain will save us a lot of time though, but then again it might be too risky," the Snake Goddess agreed with a look of regret.


    Zen, however, thought differently. "The Heavenly Thunder Plain? We might be able to cross it."


    Back when he was in the Blooming Jade Stage, the Primeval Lord of Heaven''s Imprisoning Lightning left a deep impression on him. He knew that it could perfectly restrain the thunderbolts and lightning here and even help them obtain the powerful Solid Lightning Powder. They couldn''t just let this opportunity pass them by!

 Chapter 3943 The Monsters In The Door

    "Do you know how we can deal with the thunderbolts?" Fuxi asked as he pointed at the distance.


    Right as he pointed, a huge thunderbolt fell from the sky and hit the plain below.


    After endless hits from the thunderbolts, the entire Heavenly Thunder Plain was charred to a crisp.


    Just then, Zen raised his hand and a faint, purple glow radiated from his palm. The purple light grew more and more intense; it was the Imprisoning Lightning.


    "The Primeval Lord of Heaven of the human race once led all the human elites across the Heavenly Thunder Plain just by relying on this Imprisoning Lightning!"


    As he spoke, Zen floated forward and landed right in the center of the Heavenly Thunder Plain.


    The surface of the Heavenly Thunder Plain was very flat, so anything above its horizon was struck by lightning. Once Zen''s toes touched the ground, he quickly attracted the thunder.


    Boom!


    All of a sudden, a thunder dragon descended and headed straight for Zen''s right hand.


    However, Zen''s right hand flashed fiercely with the purple Imprisoning Lightning. The moment the dragon came into contact with his palm, it disintegrated into brown ashes and scattered under Zen''s feet.


    Fuxi''s and the Snake Goddess''s eyes widened and their jaws dropped. This was the first time they had ever witnessed this.


    "It seems that the light solidified the thunderbolt, right?" the Snake Goddess asked.


    As she was extremely sensitive to energy, she could sense it even if it happened within a second.


    Zen nodded as he carefully collected the Solid Lightning Powder and handed it to the Snake Goddess. "This is the Solid Lightning Powder. After the Primeval Lord of Heaven had accumulated enough Solid Lightning Powder, he used it to kill the Divine Retribution Beast."


    "The Divine Retribution Beast..."


    "The human race killed a Divine Retribution Beast?"


    Fuxi and the Snake Goddess couldn''t help but gasp in shock.


    Although they knew the human race was strong in the past and could even resist the Element Spirit Civilization, they did not expect that the Primeval Lord of Heaven had once killed the Divine Retribution Beast.


    As the Snake Goddess examined the Solid Lightning Powder in her hands, curiosity filled her thoughts. Suddenly, a shadow of Snake Goddess silently drilled into the Solid Lightning Powder.


    Sizzle...


    A streak of lightning flashed in her cupped hands.


    "Woof, woof, woof!" the Augury Dog behind Fuxi barked ferociously at the sight of the lightning.


    "Toss it out!" Zen shou


    nds of thunderbolts.


    Fuxi was still busy collecting the Solid Lightning Powder when he caught sight of the two monsters. The long-haired monsters grabbed him, about to drag him into the flashes of lightning.


    The intentions of the monsters were not their only worry now. The thunderbolts in the core area of the Heavenly Thunder Plain were already powerful enough that Fuxi wouldn''t last half a minute there.


    The moment Fuxi''s arms were pulled out of the range of the Imprisoning Lightning, his hair was even singed by the lightning!


    Seeing that Fuxi was about to be dragged out, the Snake Goddess and Zen grabbed Fuxi by his arms to drag him back into the range of the Imprisoning Lightning.


    Fuxi resembled a rope in a tug-of-war, being pulled on both ends.


    The Snake Goddess was not that strong, while Zen''s power was not like it used to be. With their combined efforts, Fuxi was motionless like a pillar.


    The two monsters also seemed surprised. Their intention was only to take one person and inquire about the situation of the Grand Pure Realm, but none among the three were weaker than them.


    Here, Fuxi suffered great pain. His bones were crushed, especially his backbone which was nearly broken. If the strength continuously increased, he''d be torn into two pieces.


    Suddenly, the Augury Dog pounced and emitted a faint bronze light from his mouth. He roared fiercely right at the two long-haired monsters!


    For some reason, the two long-haired monsters were extremely afraid of the Augury Dog''s roar. When they heard the dog''s barks, they quickly threw their hands up and retreated into the door.


    The moment the door was shut, the door disappeared.

 Chapter 3944 Flaming Maple Forest

    After Zen and the Snake Goddess pulled Fuxi back to the area covered by the Imprisoning Lightning, Fuxi lay flat on the ground, catching his breath.


    Lightning had burnt the muscles on his arms into gray powder. Surprisingly, he didn''t feel any pain at all.


    It was fortunate enough that only half of his arms stretched out from the Imprisoning Lightning. If he was pulled out a little more, his head would have also been struck by thunderbolts, and he would instantly be killed.


    The Snake Goddess held out her hand, revealing a branch in her palm.


    The energy of the shadow of Snake Goddess had been insinuated into the branch. The branch then sprouted to life, showing two beautiful emerald leaves.


    She picked the leaves and gently wrapped them around Fuxi''s arms. Fuxi''s charred arms began to recover, bright red flesh, healthy muscles and new skin growing there. In less than a minute, the wounds had been completely healed.


    After the Snake Goddess cured Fuxi, she saw Zen staring blankly at the distance. She asked curiously, "What''s wrong? Do you know those long-haired monsters?"


    The Snake Goddess was experienced and knowledgeable, but she had never seen such strange creatures before.


    They could block the thunderbolts and lightning only using their long hair and were also capable of opening a door at will. Was this a new force that appeared in the Three Purities Stage?


    "I don''t know those long-haired monsters." Zen shook his head. "But I know that door..." he continued.


    "The door... seems to be made of the space rule. Have you ever seen it before?" the Snake Goddess asked.


    Zen nodded. "Do you know the little girl beside Madam Yasamin?" he uttered again.


    "You mean Dorothy, right?" the Snake Goddess asked.


    Although Dorothy was only a disciple of the Origin Mountain, she was the apple of Yasamin''s eye. Since the Snake Goddess was gifted with a retentive memory, she couldn''t forget Dorothy.


    "Yes," Zen nodded. "After Madam Yasamin was trapped, Dorothy disappeared, and everyone in the Oneness Sky Palace couldn''t find her. Later, the Oneness Sky Palace moved to the Pear Hill, but she still hasn''t shown up."


    The Snake Goddess frowned, her eyebrows wrinkling slightly. She wondered why Zen mentioned Dorothy, and what she had to do with the long-haired monsters.


    "When I entered Stage One of the Other Shore along with Dorothy, I used the Great Domina


    hest. Beneath her hand, the wound started to heal. She turned to Zen and asked calmly, "Now, do you understand?"


    "They attack whoever fights here. Is that right?" Zen asked.


    "Yes," The Snake Goddess nodded. "Thus, it is also considered a shelter within the Three Purities Stage. Many Eternal Realm warriors enter the Flaming Maple Forest to seek protection after an adventure in the Grand Pure Realm. The Three Purities Stage has more than one shelter."


    "This is another reason why the latecomers were able to contend against the Element Spirit Civilization in the Three Purities Stage," the Primeval Lord of Heaven said in Zen''s mind.


    In the beginning, when the Primeval Lord of Heaven led the human race into the Three Purities Stage, he had also taken refuge in these shelters. The real Primeval Lord of Heaven and the others were now trapped in a similar shelter.


    "Don''t release any energy in the shelter, or you will suffer a great loss."


    After the Snake Goddess'' warning, the three of them continued to explore the Flaming Maple Forest.


    According to the Snake Goddess, many creatures were hidden in the vast forest.


    Some of them were Eternal Realm warriors from the Grand Plain Stage, while some were from the Grand Pure Realm.


    These creatures carefully maintained a distance from each other. When they saw the three of them arrive, the creatures quietly left, hiding in the depths of the forest.


    For everyone, passing through a safe place was a piece of cake. Zen was also relaxed, but the ancestry-level bloodline in his body did not seem to intend for him to relax.

 Chapter 3945 Fight Hand-To-Hand

    Not long after they entered the Flaming Maple Forest, Zen was shocked to feel a slight wave of energy that was coming from the ancestry-level bloodline.


    Even though the energy fluctuation was extremely slight, it was still enough to cause a reaction in the Flaming Maple Forest.


    Whoosh!


    In an instant, the entire Flaming Maple Forest, which covered an area of a few miles, began to sway violently. It seemed that the shining maple leaves might fly and attack them at any time.


    As Fuxi and the Snake Goddess saw the scene, their bodies froze and their faces turned pale.


    If the Flaming Maple Forest really started attacking them, there would be no escaping it, and they would die a horrible death.


    The Other Shore creatures that had been hiding behind the tree trunks somewhere in the forest thought that someone reckless had come. In fear that they would be caught in the trouble, they rapidly fled before the trees started attacking.


    But after a few seconds, the light on the maple leaves gradually dimmed, and the energy reaction of the Flaming Maple Forest subsided.


    When everything calmed down, Fuxi took a deep breath and yelled, "What do you think you''re doing?!"


    Earlier, the Snake Goddess had strictly warned Zen not to release any form of energy because that would awaken and disturb the Flaming Maple Forest. She knew that Zen wouldn''t deliberately do something stupid.


    "I''m sorry. The ancestry-level bloodline just got a little bit out of control that it caused an energy fluctuation," Zen explained with an apologetic face.


    Fortunately, the ancestry-level bloodline didn''t fluctuate further, or else they would have definitely died.


    After a while, the ancestry-level bloodline stayed calm and showed no sign of making any trouble. Then, the three of them continued to go deeper into the Flaming Maple Forest.


    "The Flaming Maple Forest is located in the western part of the Grand Pure Realm and extends all the way up to the Divine River. That''s where Madam Yasamin and Eastern Emperor Taiyi are trapped," the Snake Goddess told Zen.


    Previously, Zen didn''t have the qualifications to enter Stage Thirty-three, so they didn''t bother telling him the details about the situation of Yasamin and Eastern Emperor Taiyi.


    The Divine River was a mysterious body of water that ran through the Three Purities Stage. It was said that the source of the river was at the Jade Pure Realm. Then, it ran through the Supreme Pure Realm and extended to the Grand Pure Realm.


    Both Eternal Realm warriors and Other Shore creatures were extremely interested in the Divine River because of the things that they could find there. These precious items were often washed down from the Supreme Pure Realm or the Jade Pure Realm. Everyone had been fighting real hard for these treasures for the longest time.


    Of course, the river was al


    a stone table. On top of the table sat the piece of Gold and Silver Bone that she was referring to. It was most probably salvaged from the Divine River.


    It was known that if there was a conflict in the process of salvaging, they needed to solve the dispute through hand-to-hand combat.


    The one who won would have the right to claim the items at stake.


    "I see that, but that''s not my point. I mean, isn''t it forbidden to fight in the Flaming Maple Forest?" Zen was further confused.


    "It''s not forbidden to fight. What''s forbidden is the use of energy," Fuxi corrected him. "Likewise, we won''t be attacked by the maple leaves if we just run, jump, and even fight hand-to-hand," he continued.


    Thud! Splat!


    Just then, a muffled sound came from afar. One of the two gigantic creatures was seized by the throat. With a sudden mighty pull, his head was completely separated from his body. The more powerful creature smashed the opponent''s head to the ground and crushed it. Afterward, the winner raised his hand and roared in front of the rowdy crowd.


    "Yes! That''s it!"


    The crowd burst into loud cheers. They actually enjoyed this kind of scene.


    "Fighting hand-to-hand is allowed, huh?" Zen softly uttered as he raised his eyebrows.


    "Well, this rule has always been disadvantageous to the human race. There are only few humans who are strong enough to battle those kinds of strong creatures," Fuxi said indifferently, shrugging his shoulders.


    Even if the humans were lucky enough to spot a precious item in the Divine River, this would always be taken by the Other Shore creatures because they didn''t have the strength to fight them.


    On the other hand, the Yellow Thearch and the Divine Farmer were protected by the Element Spirit Civilization, so they had the advantage in this area. After all, a large number of Other Shore creatures followed the Element Spirit Civilization.

 Chapter 3946 The Misty River Race

    After killing his opponent, the winner stood in the forest glade without moving. He did not take the piece of Gold and Silver Bone away. Instead, he seemed to be waiting for someone.


    Zen watched curiously. After a few moments, there was a stir on the other end of the glade¡ªa huge creature had appeared.


    The new arrival was enormous, at least twenty feet tall, resembling a human in appearance but with three horns on his head. His body flashed with a bold bronze color. Everyone felt the ground trembling as the giant strode heavily towards the stone platform. He clearly had formidable physical strength.


    When the three-horned giant reached the stone platform, he bent down and stretched out his hand to grab the piece of Gold and Silver Bone. The giant stuffed the bone in his mouth, barely chewing before swallowing in large gulps.


    Gold and Silver Bone was a precious rarity in the Divine River. Its hardness was its most valuable characteristic¡ªreplacing one''s skeleton with Gold and Silver Bone led to a great enhancement of their physical strength. But now, this gigantic monster was devouring the bone as though it was no more than a snack.


    The cracking of the bone could be heard throughout the forest.


    However, as the monster chewed and swallowed, another sound echoed in the forest. It seemed to be the clash of colliding metal.


    The winner''s face turned pale as he witnessed this scene. But of course, he didn''t dare to show any displeasure in front of the giant, so the winner gave a forced, strained smile.


    "Have too many Gold and Silver Monsters in the Jade Pure Realm been slaughtered? This Gold and Silver Bone has no chewiness at all, and it tastes really terrible," the three-horned monster complained. He walked with booming steps towards the winner, lifting his arm while announcing, "Congratulations! You''re the winner of the duel, so you''re qualified to obtain the reward!"


    The giant then stuffed the remaining one-third of the Gold and Silver Bone into the winner''s hand. The winner gingerly held the mangled bone and almost grimaced before changing his expression into a smile. Finally, he turned and walked quietly away, teeth gritted with suppressed indignation.


    "Any more battle for today?" said the three-horned monster, turning to the other creatures in the forest.


    Silence fell over the forest clearing. Within the Flaming Maple Forest, this three-horned giant had absolute authority.


    The powerful Other Shore creatures, even the Element Spirit Civilization and the Nihility race were deferential to the three-horned monsters in this forest.


    The giants were all-powerful in this domain. They played the role of arbiters in every issue, and extorted every creature in the forest at whim.


    If the winner had dared to show any obvious discontent at the meager reward, he would have been killed ruthlessly.


    "Good. If you don''t have any more conflict today, don''t bother me anymore, or I''ll teach you all a good lesson!" shouted the three-horned monster, shaking a bronze fist. With that threat, the giant began lumbering away, back to the other end of the forest glade.


    As soon as the three-horned giant was gone, the atmosphere in the forest


    its to the Misty River race," replied King Ieuan.


    "What does that mean? Are the members of the Misty River race acting as hired fighters for the Element Spirit Civilization?" Zen asked, looking concerned.


    King Ieuan chuckled and said, "How can you think that the members of the Misty River race would be so easy to manipulate? Not to mention, the Element Spirit Civilization were involved in the killing of the last patriarch of the Misty River race. If indeed they asked the Misty River race to do something for them, they would ask a huge price in return, and still there would be no guarantee that the Misty River race would keep its word."


    As King Ieuan spoke, the surface of the Divine River began to ripple. Waves were forming on the water.


    Water splashed as the waves rose and fell on the river.


    There were fish swimming with the waves. Each fish was fist-sized, cutting quickly through the churning waters.


    "It''s the Golden Bites!"


    "Go ashore now!"


    "Leave the water or else you will become fish feed!"


    The air was filled with shouts as the creatures on the ground shouted warnings at the creatures submerged in the river.


    Those who were still in the Divine River wore expressions of panic as they tried to reach the shore.


    This section of Divine River was within the range of the Flaming Maple Forest. They didn''t dare use their theurgies, so they had no choice but to swim desperately towards the shores of the river, hoping to get to solid ground before the fish reached them.


    There were thuds and splashes as the first creatures reached the shore.


    The creatures tumbled out one after another in their haste to escape from the water.


    Unfortunately, not all the creatures in the Divine River reached the shores in time. A few remained trapped in the water when the Golden Bites swarmed around them.


    The Golden Bites, a shoal of fist-sized fish with shimmering golden scales, completely surrounded the creatures in the river. Within seconds, their prey sank deep into the water and disappeared without a trace, leaving only the flashing golden scales visible in the depths of the water.

 Chapter 3947 Outflank

    Within the blink of an eye, the golden fish swam across the Divine River with such finesse that they disappeared without a trace.


    But the blood from the bottom remained on the surface of the river for a fair amount of time.


    For the races on the shores, it seemed to be an experience they''d gotten used to over time. The creatures that had just crawled out of the water dived right back in without any visible reluctance.


    "Do they not fear the Golden Bites?" Zen asked with apparent confusion reflecting from his face as he looked at the creatures in the Divine River.


    The creatures residing in the Flaming Maple Forest were quite compelling, but the Golden Bites could easily tear them apart limb from limb. Their sheer brute strength was enough to send chills down their spines.


    As soon as the Golden Bites were out of sight, they crawled back into the Divine River. They were fearless.


    "Squeak! The Golden Bites won''t come back. They eat anything, but they will only go all the way to the lower reaches from the upper reaches in flocks. After a flock of Golden Bites leave, the Divine River will become much safer," King Ieuan explained while maintaining a steady eye contact with Zen.


    The creatures on the shores weren''t the only ones whose existence was threatened by the Golden Bites. The fierce beasts in the Divine River too were powerless against them, and would end up getting devoured. Therefore, every time they passed through the Divine River, it would be free of the usual threats. Many creatures would take this opportunity to find some treasures in the Divine River.


    "Why don''t we take this opportunity to save Eastern Emperor Taiyi and Madam Yasamin?" Zen said with determination oozing from his tone.


    The reason why he came to the Flaming Maple Forest was to rescue Eastern Emperor Taiyi and Yasamin. Since the two of them were trapped in the Divine River, and it was safe to enter it at this time, it was a favorable situation for him.


    After scanning its surroundings by running its gaze all around, King Ieuan squeaked, "Don''t be hasty. Let me go and check it out first."


    Upon saying that, it quietly walked up to the Divine River and dived into it.


    The speed at which it swam was insanely fast. It was hard to keep track of its movements. Within a flash, it reached the other end of the river. It was quickly out of sight after going down a distance along the other side.


    Stationed at the lower reaches of the Divine River were more than ten creatures to guard that place. They were given strict orders to arrest Eastern Emperor Taiyi and Yasamin on sight.


    At least, that was what the outsiders heard.


    At that time, the Sun Crow race bore ill intentions against the Oneness Sky Palace. Their biggest priority was to annihilate both Eastern Emperor Taiyi and Yasamin and erase their existence from the world.


    Killing two Eternal Realm warriors on the Other Shore was far less arduous compared to doing it in the chaos.


    To follow through with their plans, the Yellow Thearch requested the assistance of the Element Spirit Civilization. He had asked Mahoney to


    malicious smirk appeared on his face. "I forgot something. The guy from the Element Spirit race has told me that I would be rewarded handsomely if I were to catch you."


    Most of the good things in the Three Purities Stage had fallen into the hands of the Element Spirit Civilization, and they always fulfilled every promise they made. Although the Misty River race and the Element Spirit Civilization didn''t usually get along, they could still work together if it involved their mutual interest.


    "Retreat from the Other Shore! Hurry up!"


    King Ieuan shouted loudly again to remind them of the approaching calamity. However, the Snake Goddess, Fuxi, and Zen remained rooted in their respective spots as they were forced into a dead end.


    The three didn''t have any time to process their next move. In a moment of desperation, they chanted the Illusion Breaking Rune, and their bodies blurred as they withdrew from the Other Shore.


    The Illusion Breaking Rune was also a kind of energy. When the Flaming Maple Forest felt this energy, it immediately reacted to it in response. Countless maple leaves flashed and flew over, but the three of them had disappeared on the Other Shore before the maple leaves could explode, so they remained unharmed.


    Seeing the prey escape from the Other Shore right under his nose, Larkin became furious. "Catch that damn mouse!"


    Even after the three escaped, Norris remained calm and showed no signs of frustration. He secretly made a gesture to the creatures under his command, and behind him, three of them jumped into the Divine River to capture King Ieuan.


    Norris calmly walked over to the place where Zen, the Snake Goddess and Fuxi had disappeared. He wore a pensive expression on his face as he examined his surroundings.


    There was a way to forcefully drag the creatures on the Other Shore back to the Source World. In the past, Flamine had planned to drag Elvinia back, but she was unsuccessful in her attempt.


    Norris, on the other hand, had a way to forcefully drag the creatures from the chaos back to the Other Shore.

 Chapter 3948 Dragged In Forcibly

    On the Dark Haze Peak, Zen, the Snake Goddess, and Fuxi opened their eyes almost at the same time.


    No one spoke at first, the silence cutting through the air.


    They knew that they could truly escape from the crisis only if they found a secret place to retreat from the Other Shore.


    If they left the Other Shore under the watchful eyes of the public, they would probably never be able to return. The Element Spirit Civilization would most likely stay in the Flaming Maple Forest until the end of the world.


    But just now, they had no choice but to retreat.


    "King Ieuan is in the Divine River and can''t leave the Other Shore," the Snake Goddess whispered.


    "Go and have a look!" Fuxi stood up.


    Whoosh! Whoosh...


    The Snake Goddess and Fuxi turned into beams of light and flew away, Zen following them without hesitation.


    This time, they went to the Flaming Maple Forest under King Ieuan''s guidance. They hadn''t expected such a huge mess would be caused.


    On a different peak, Dempsey of the Ear Mouse race and several other Ear Mice stood guard. King Ieuan maintained its original posture, looking normal.


    Dempsey cupped its hands towards Fuxi and said, "Human Sovereign, King Ieuan is now cultivating on the Other Shore. Please..."


    "I know," said Fuxi, shaking his head. "We were together moments ago, but now, King Ieuan can''t leave the Other Shore."


    Dempsey and the other Ear Mice were shocked at these words.


    They had heard of how dangerous the Three Purities Stage was. Now that Fuxi and the Snake Goddess were forced to leave the Other Shore, King Ieuan might be in danger.


    "What happened to King Ieuan?"


    "Is something big happening in the Grand Pure Realm?"


    "Why can''t our king escape from the Other Shore?"


    The Ear Mice were worried as they shot question after question.


    The Snake Goddess looked at King Ieuan and said, "It''s not a big deal. King Ieuan might not be caught."


    Splash, splash...


    As it saw several members of alien races jumping into the Divine River, King Ieuan quickly turned around and swam towards the river''s side.


    It couldn''t leave the Other Shore at the moment, and there was no way for it to survive even if it swam to either side of the Divine River. It had thought of the same method as Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s


    soon found himself back on the Other Shore.


    Before Fuxi could react, Norris pulled him to his side.


    Splash!


    The nonhuman creatures beside him had already prepared the Soul Interdicting Water and immediately poured it on Fuxi.


    Some maple leaves began to float towards the broken left arm and one by one, attached themselves to it.


    Boom! Boom! Boom...


    And then, the maple leaves exploded, turning Norris''s left arm into dust.


    "Have I caught the wrong person? It doesn''t matter. I will catch you all!" Norris said, with a demented smile on his face.


    His shoulder shook slightly as a new arm grew out of the stump.


    Norris liked to strengthen his own body, but he had no choice in the Flaming Maple Forest but to use his left arm to grab Zen. This new left arm was much weaker than the previous one.


    In the Pear Hill, Zen and the Snake Goddess were confused, not having known what had happened. Fuxi had lost consciousness and fallen to the ground.


    It was not until the same handwriting as that on King Ieuan''s body appeared on Fuxi''s chest that they realized that Fuxi had been pulled back to the Other Shore.


    "You can''t escape. You''re next."


    Both the Snake Goddess and Zen panicked at these words.


    They had never heard of anyone who had such abilities. But Fuxi''s plight had them believing that someone could catch people in the chaos and pull them back to the Other Shore.


    The Snake Goddess didn''t panic for long. Like Fuxi, she closed her eyes and was also taken back to the Other Shore.

 Chapter 3949 The Consequence

    The Snake Goddess also got caught in the open space of the Flaming Maple Forest, where Norris stood and looked at her with a frown.


    Generally speaking, there were certain conditions to be met for him to capture the creatures from the chaos and drag them back to the Other Shore.


    It wouldn''t work if these creatures withdrew from the Other Shore more than three days ago. Because in that case, Norris couldn''t see the shadow they left behind on the Other Shore. Besides, he could only randomly grab someone from those who left the Other Shore in groups.


    Now, he aimed to get Zen, but he caught the wrong person twice.


    Sizzle...


    At that moment, a new arm began to grow from the wound on his left shoulder.


    The arm that broke before grew quite fast, but after he lost it twice in a row, the regeneration speed for the third arm became slower.


    But although Norris felt a little miserable, he wasn''t anxious. Zen was the last one, so he would catch him and take him back to the Other Shore next time. He still had enough time to complete the task.


    On the other hand, the Snake Goddess, Fuxi, and the Ear Mouse had gotten imprisoned. They exchanged worried looks while in silence.


    They survived the war against the Element Spirit Civilization and the Nihility race, only to get trapped in the Flaming Maple Forest!


    If Norris caught Zen and took him to the Other Shore, he would be like a fish on the chopping block.


    Speaking of Zen, he was now in the chaos with an unusually serious expression.


    "Master Zen, what should we do now?"


    "Were the Human Sovereign and the Snake Goddess really dragged back to the Other Shore?"


    "Zen, I''m afraid you''ll be the next one to be pulled to the Other Shore. You''d better find a way to escape as soon as possible. Squeak..."


    Dempsey and some Ear Mice, who were with him, couldn''t help but feel anxious.


    Zen just rolled his eyes and felt a little helpless. If only he could run, he would''ve run away.


    Although he didn''t know what method the opponent had used to pull Fuxi and the Snake Goddess in, the enemy had probably taken advantage of the place where they withdrew from the Other Shore. After all, he couldn''t change his position if he couldn''t enter the Other Shore.


    Therefore, it was most likely his turn to be dragged into the Other Shore.


    n Larkin of the Misty River race stared at Zen in trepidation, his bronze-colored face wrinkling by his frown.


    After the Element Spirit Civilization had paid a heavy price, the members of the Misty River race allowed them to act rashly in this place.


    However, this "human being" Norris had pulled into the Other Shore secretly threatened Larkin.


    He had not felt like that in a long time, so he was extremely upset about it.


    "I am Zen," Zen replied. "How did you... become like this?" Norris asked in disbelief.


    "You just need to know the consequence of provoking me," Zen said with a smile.


    "What consequence?"


    "Crack¡­"


    Before he could say anything else, Zen grabbed his shoulder with one hand and gripped his face with the other.


    Whoosh!


    Zen''s strong legs suddenly kicked on the ground and dug two big holes.


    Crack!


    At the next moment, everyone saw that he had pushed Norris against the biggest Flaming Maple Tree. His force also hit the tree, which caused many leaves to fall. However, the maple leaves didn''t shine or explode.


    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom...


    Next, they all saw that Zen''s hands had turned into countless fist shadows. Clouds of blood mist burst out as each fist shadow exploded upon Norris'' body.


    About thirty seconds later, Norris'' powerful body had turned into thin shreds that clung onto the Flaming Maple Tree. None of his body parts were still intact.


    Zen turned around and said, "The consequence is death."


    Of course, he didn''t say those words to Norris, who was already dead.

 Chapter 3950 Writing

    Norris was known as one of the most powerful cultivators in the Grand Pure Realm. Only a few could match his overwhelming physical strength.


    Even the weaker members of the Misty River race were no match for him.


    That was why everyone who was watching didn''t expect he would die in such a pathetic way. He died on the Flaming Maple Tree before he could even make a move.


    The creatures that followed Norris were left dumbfounded. Their eyes and mouths were wide open as they looked at the bloody scene on the Flaming Maple Tree.


    They trembled in fear as they realized that the warrior that they looked up to easily died in such a miserable way.


    As the creatures turned to look at Zen, their anger dissipated and was replaced by extreme horror. They couldn''t help thinking if this guy was just really a human.


    After killing Norris, Zen looked at King Ieuan, Fuxi, and the Snake Goddess, who were still being detained.


    The three creatures that were guarding them were still in shock. However, as they discovered that Zen was looking at their direction, they quickly regained their senses and felt like an electric shock was running beneath their skin. Fearing greatly for their lives, they jumped into the Divine River behind them without thinking twice.


    Splash! Splash! Splash!


    As their bodies fell into the water, they wasted no time and quickly fled downstream.


    At that moment, there were still other creatures in the open space of the forest. Most of them were neutral, while a few of them were closely related to the Nihility race.


    However, right now, it was a conflict between Zen and the Element Spirit Civilization, and these creatures were having fun watching the commotion.


    "Now this is interesting."


    "I wonder if this guy''s surprising strength is enough to challenge the members of the Misty River race."


    "Humph! That''s nothing. He may be able to deal with the ordinary members of the Misty River race, but if that man reveals himself, this human will be ravaged into pieces. Don''t even dream about it!"


    The creatures chatted and whispered among themselves.


    For a long time now, these creatures had lived beside the Divine River and were oppressed by the members of the Misty River race.


    They endured so many years, but they were just too weak to fight back. One could just imagine the grievance and agony in their hearts.


    With the sudden appearance of Zen, some creatures thought that he might be the glimmer of hope that they had been waiting. But when someone mentioned "that man", the rema


    his attempt failed because several creatures were guarding the shore," King Ieuan said. "Now that the creatures that were supposed to be guarding have already fled, they should be able to come out on their own. The only problem is how we could inform them."


    The eyes of Fuxi, the Snake Goddess, and Zen immediately lit up at its words. "Well, the two of them will have to suffer a little bit," the Snake Goddess said with a faint smile.


    After the Soul Interdicting Water on their bodies lost its effect, they quickly left the Other Shore and rushed to the residences of Eastern Emperor Taiyi and Yasamin.


    They saw that their bodies were still in good condition and their breath had not weakened. This meant that they were not hurt on the Other Shore.


    After releasing their bodies from the red crystals, the Snake Goddess stretched out two of her fingers, and her shadow turned into a thin energy needle. Then she wrote something carefully on the arms of Eastern Emperor Taiyi and Yasamin.


    There were caves of various sizes at the bottom of the Divine River. As the caves were connected with each other, complex undercurrents were formed.


    Inside one of the undercurrents, there was a long and narrow cave that only a single person could pass through. In the innermost layer of this cave, Eastern Emperor Taiyi and Yasamin sat there with legs crossed, soaked in the Soul Interdicting Water.


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, suddenly felt a piercing pain in his arm. He immediately opened his eyes and saw that some words were being written on it.


    Seeing this, he thought of the person who could be writing them.


    "Flamine?" he muttered.

 Chapter 3951 Giant Turbid Crocodiles

    Thin blood lines formed clear words on Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s arm.


    "Zen has driven away all the guards above. You are safe now," the words stated.


    The emperor''s eyes widened in disbelief when he saw the words on his arm.


    Had Zen entered Stage Thirty-three?


    It was truly unbelievable!


    He had met Zen twice in the Oneness Sky Palace, and he thought that the young warrior was exceptional back then.


    Moreover, Zen led the human race to occupy Stage Fourteen after he entered the Desire World.


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi had high expectations for Zen, and he even believed that Zen might reach the Eternal Realm.


    However, the news he received was a little too much.


    He didn''t expect that Zen had entered the Grand Pure Realm after just a short time!


    He cast his thoughts aside and stretched out his hand, then pushed Yasamin, who was nearby. When Yasamin opened her eyes and saw the words, she too was surprised.


    It felt uncomfortable to be soaked in the Soul Interdicting Water for such a long time, and the undercurrents were quite dangerous.


    Back then, when the enemies and three sturgeons hunted her down, she had no choice but to enter the undercurrents. If Eastern Emperor Taiyi hadn''t found the passage at the bottom of the undercurrents, she would have died a long time ago.


    The two of them waited at the bottom of the undercurrents for quite some time. Sometimes, Eastern Emperor Taiyi quietly went out and investigated the situation, but the enemies were extremely patient and did not give them a chance to escape.


    The last time he went to the river''s surface to check, he almost could not come back because the beasts from the undercurrents attacked him.


    Now, the two of them felt somewhat uneasy these days.


    How did the Oneness Sky Palace fare since its only two members at the Eternal Realm got trapped?


    It was very likely that before their opponents killed them on the Other Shore, they had died in the Source World.


    They didn''t know that both the Oneness Sky Palace and the Pear Hill underwent tremendous changes.


    Just then, Yasamin fished out a thin needle from her grey hair. Then, she rushed towards Eastern Emperor Taiyi to respond to the words on his arm.


    In turn, Eastern Emperor Taiyi glared at her, but he realized that the people in the Source World were watching him. Thus, he had no choice but to le


    a closer look, she saw more than ten monsters that stayed connected at the ends.


    "Giant Turbid Crocodiles!"


    The Giant Turbid Crocodiles rarely appeared alone. Every time they appeared, there would be at least a few or even dozens of them. Moreover, they swam close to each other end-to-end. That was why, from a distance, they looked like a big snake under the water.


    They were considered powerful predators in undercurrents. Their prey couldn''t escape their clutches, and they tore them to pieces and swallowed them up in only a few seconds.


    As soon as Yasamin snapped back to her senses, she quickly swam upward, but the Giant Turbid Crocodiles moved very fast. It wasn''t long before the Giant Turbid Crocodile in the front bit her.


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi, who had just returned for her, grabbed hold of her body and dragged her up the Divine River.


    It was a good thing that he could withstand the power of a Giant Turbid Crocodile, so he could bring Yasamin up to the surface.


    Unfortunately, all the other Giant Turbid Crocodiles bit on the tail of the Giant Turbid Crocodile in the front and dragged it down. As a result, Yasamin and Eastern Emperor Taiyi sank as well.


    The people on the shore didn''t know what had happened. Eastern Emperor Taiyi and Yasamin did not show up after a long time, but bubbles surged violently from where Eastern Emperor Taiyi dived in. The Snake Goddess began to look worried and said, "Oh no! Are they in trouble?"


    Before she could say anything else, Zen took a big step forward and quickly dived into the Divine River.

 Chapter 3952 Rescue

    As Zen rushed into the Divine River, his huge body went against the currents and stirred up hundreds of waves.


    Meanwhile, Eastern Emperor Taiyi struggled to pull Yasamin upwards.


    Just as the two of them continued to fight their way up, he suddenly heard a loud noise above them!


    Rumble!


    The sudden loud noise would''ve struck fear in anyone''s heart but Eastern Emperor Taiyi did not feel afraid when he saw it come from the creature that was with Fuxi. This huge creature must have come to help him!


    Yasamin''s leg was bitten and continued to bleed.


    Those beasts hiding in the depths of the Divine River no doubt smelled it and circled the waters.


    Round, black insects emerged from the muddy soil while a black Dragon Mastiff appeared in the distance.


    The Dragon Mastiff was alone but its strength far surpassed that of those Giant Turbid Crocodiles that often hunted in groups.


    On the left side of the river was a cave that suddenly opened to let out two palm-sized fish.


    Though small, these two seemingly harmless fish were in fact Spirit Sharks that ate ordinary fierce beasts for supper.


    When they appeared, the other beasts took it as a sign to retreat lest they make a mistake and provoke them.


    Since Eastern Emperor Taiyi couldn''t pull Yasamin up, he merely gestured and pointed at her leg which was still in the Giant Turbid Crocodile''s mouth.


    Yasamin knew what he meant. If she got dragged down into the depths. it would be her end.


    With gritted teeth, Yasamin unsheathed a dark-cyan saber from her sleeve, a weapon she often used on the Other Shore.


    It was a trusty saber that she often used to hack her opponents. She never thought there would come a day when she was forced to use it to hack her leg. With a determined look in her eyes, Yasamin swung her blade and cut off her own leg cleanly.


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi was able to pull her up but those Giant Turbid Crocodiles weren''t going to give up so easily.


    Spurred by her attempt to escape, the Giant Turbid Crocodiles broke out of formation.


    After swallowing up Yasamin''s dismembered leg, they quickly rushed towards the two again. It was at that moment that Zen arrived.


    Splash!


    With his big, fan-like hands, he clasped both Eastern Emperor Taiyi and Yasamin on the shoulder and pulled them up with all his might.


    The two were able to rise with his help but the same couldn''t be sa


    eyes widened in shock.


    "Zen?!" he cried out in disbelief as he stood up in a hurry. The wound that was recently bandaged burst open from his rash action.


    He would''ve never expected that strange creature to be Zen.


    His worries also intensified since he realized that the young man was now at the mercy of those Spirit Sharks.


    The Snake Goddess pressed a hand on Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s shoulder and pushed him to sit back down. "Don''t you worry now. He''ll be fine."


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi shook his head. "The Spirit Sharks! They''ll..."


    He wanted to tell them how formidable those two fish were, how scary their powers could be, and that they needed to get Zen out of there immediately. However, the calm look on their eyes stopped him. It was only then that he realized that the current Zen was now beyond his imagination.


    Yasamin smiled beside him. "Has he grown in power after reaching the Eternal Realm?"


    Splash!


    Just as she finished asking her question, a figure suddenly broke through the surface.


    Everyone turned around to find Zen holding two fish in his hands: the Spirit Sharks!


    These formerly terrifying predators struggled above the water but could not escape Zen''s hold.


    "Eastern Emperor Taiyi!" Zen greeted. "Madam Yasamin!"


    As he reached the shore, Zen respectfully bowed to both of them.


    "You really are Zen," Eastern Emperor Taiyi muttered in disbelief.


    It was quite a sight to see those two Spirit Sharks that had previously wounded him flail around in Zen''s hands as the young man looked at him with a visibly relaxed and unbothered face.

 Chapter 3953 The Secret Of The Long-haired Monsters

    It was easy for warriors with an extremely high cultivation base like Zen to change the shape of their bodies. However, Zen didn''t just change his body form.


    Previously, no one was willing to go into the depths of the Divine River to hunt down Eastern Emperor Taiyi and Yasamin, because its waters were inhabited by two ferocious Spirit Sharks.


    Anyone who got into the water instantly died upon encountering the two Spirit Sharks. No one was exempted!


    Back then, the members of the Misty River race plotted to kill these two demon-like Spirit Sharks. However, three of their members were put to death while the two Spirit Sharks remained unharmed. In the end, the Misty River race had no other choice but to give up.


    Fortunately, the two Spirit Sharks could only stay in the Divine River. The members of the Misty River race were then forbidden to enter this area of the river, keeping them safe.


    Many members of other races and Eternal Realm warriors in the Grand Pure Realm had been attacked by the two Spirit Sharks. They were trapped to no escape and swallowed whole.


    The hearts of the members of various races and the Eternal Realm warriors pounded hard at the mention of the two fish.


    However, why were these two fish at Zen''s mercy?


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi was astounded!


    He thought highly of Zen, yet he had never expected that he would become so powerful in only a short period.


    Crack! Crack!


    Zen threw the two Spirit Sharks on the ground while commanding, "Don''t move!"


    How could the two Spirit Sharks possibly behave?


    Although they were intelligent and able to understand the words of humans, they were brutal and murderous.


    The two Spirit Sharks slammed against the ground as they landed, and then their small bodies quickly blasted out an astonishing force as they jumped into the Divine River.


    Clap! Clap!


    At fast speed, Zen waved his hands, pulling the two little fish back to the ground.


    The Spirit Sharks landed on the ground again, this time changing strategies as they drilled into the ground.


    The soft soil was an advantage for the Spirit Sharks. They moved smoothly for a while, but Zen''s huge fist had already smashed the other side, stopping them.


    Bang!


    The ground caved in, and the two Spirit Sharks were stuck under the squeeze of the soil.


    "Don''t try to escape or I''ll smash you into pieces," Zen threatened them in a deep voice before pulling them out.


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi looked at the two Spirit Sharks and ask


    Mountain. Uncle Winchell and Aunt Felicity have searched the whole Origin Mountain, but they didn''t find her..." Zen replied.


    "So Dora isn''t in the Pear Hill. Is that what you''re saying?" Yasamin asked in a serious tone.


    "I''m afraid so..." Zen nodded before a long pause. "Maybe she is figuring out a way to rescue you."


    Yasamin stared at Zen angrily. She had asked Zen to take care of Dorothy before, so he had to find answers about Dorothy''s disappearance. However, when she saw the remorse on Zen''s face, she looked away and took a deep breath. "What way can Dora come up with?"


    "There is a door in Dorothy''s mind, right?" Zen suddenly asked.


    Yasamin had already associated the mystery of Dorothy''s disappearance with that door. When she heard Zen mention it, she shifted her eyes back to him. "You... you know that door?"


    "I''ve seen it before. I''ve seen it once when I entered Stage One of the Other Shore along with Dorothy," said Zen. "I''ve seen it for the second time after entering the Heavenly Thunder Plain."


    At that time, Fuxi and the Snake Goddess also saw the door suddenly appear.


    "What''s inside it?" Yasamin asked.


    Zen answered, "When the door opened, two long-haired monsters emerged. These monsters were unafraid of the lightning of the Heavenly Thunder Plain. They wanted to drag Human Sovereign into the door, but they failed."


    When Yasamin heard about the long-haired monsters, her face had an indifferent expression.


    When Dorothy was still a child, Yasamin had entered her mind several times to come into contact with the door. She had seen one monster with long hair, and she had even communicated with it once.

 Chapter 3954 An Offer

    The long-haired monster was cautious. All it asked was for Yasamin to be kind to Dorothy and raise her properly.


    Also, it had only revealed that their race was cursed. Though they possessed powerful strength, they still needed Dorothy''s help.


    As Dorothy grew up, Yasamin grew more and more disgusted with the door.


    She did not want Dorothy to be in danger, so she tried her best to keep the door a mystery and warned her to never open it.


    "As long as Dorothy doesn''t open that door, they won''t be able to come out. Dorothy must have already entered it," Yasamin said in all confidence.


    "But why did the door appear in the Heavenly Thunder Plain?" asked Eastern Emperor Taiyi.


    The Snake Goddess''s eyes shot up. "If Dorothy could really enter the door and order the monsters, what would she do?"


    As they heard what the Snake Goddess said, Zen, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, King Ieuan, and Fuxi all turned to Yasamin.


    Since Yasamin was the most important person to Dorothy, it would make sense that Dorothy would use any means to save her.


    This way, it would be easy to explain the door''s appearance in the Heavenly Thunder Plain. After all, the Heavenly Thunder Plain was right next to the Flaming Maple Forest, and the goal of the monsters would have been to save Yasamin.


    Although these were only speculations, Yasamin believed it one hundred percent. She shook her head as she believed Dorothy was a reckless girl.


    Within the Flaming Maple Forest, two creatures quietly observed Zen and his companions.


    Though they were afraid of Zen''s capabilities, they couldn''t run away just yet. Otherwise, the Element Spirit Civilization wouldn''t let them off so easily.


    Moreover, they still had the power to defend themselves if Zen ever attacked.


    After Zen eventually left the open space in the forest, the three members of the Misty River race hurriedly left as well. They were led by Larkin.


    Meanwhile, the other creatures and the Eternal Realm warriors discussed and chattered among themselves.


    "That guy''s got balls. He doesn''t show any respect to Larkin at all."


    "I have a bad feeling about this. Let''s just watch the show."


    "What''s wrong? If anything, Hawley will probably appear and kill that guy."


    Though Zen displayed unimaginable power, no one there thought highly of him because Hawley was invincible to them.


    a legend. It was because of his existence that the Misty River race in the Flaming Maple Forest was well respected.


    It was said that Hawley accidentally discovered a burnt arm in the Divine River. At that time, he was not so strong, so he tried his luck with the river. Not knowing where the arm came from, Hawley swallowed it.


    After that, Hawley''s strength increased dramatically. This was also the reason the Misty River race ruled over the Flaming Maple Forest.


    "The Eye Spirit wanting Hawley to make a move is stupid and arrogant," Wheeler said. He waved his hand to calm Larkin down. "What do we get in return?"


    Abner smiled, "The Eye Spirit will permit the Flaming Maple Forest to expand southwest by one hundred thousand miles."


    Bang!


    Just then, the big water tank that Wheeler was soaked in burst with a loud bang and water gushed out from the cracks. Larkin shot a look at Abner in surprise.


    "Really?" Wheeler asked.


    "The Eye Spirit always keeps his promises." Abner nodded.


    The Misty River race had only a handful of members and their strength was considered mediocre in the Grand Pure Realm. Everything they had achieved today relied on the Flaming Maple Forest.


    The expansion of the Flaming Maple Forest meant the expansion of their scope of influence.


    To expand one hundred thousand miles to the southwest would be a huge advantage. Then they would be able to reach the boundary of the second realm of Three Purities Stage, otherwise known as the Supreme Pure Realm.


    This was an offer the Misty River race could not refuse.

 Chapter 3955 Hawley

    Within the Flaming Maple Forest lay the Misty River race''s territory¡ªmany of the people in the Three Purities Stage believed so.


    As did the young men like Larkin from the Misty River race.


    But as the Misty River race''s leader, Wheeler was sure that this was false.


    After the former leader''s death, Hawley designated Wheeler to the open position, telling him that the real master of the Flaming Maple Forest was the motionless Flaming Maple Trees, not the actual members of the Misty River race.


    These people were merely creatures living in the Flaming Maple Forest and everything they had obtained was bestowed upon them by the forest.


    If he found any chance to expand the Flaming Maple Forest, Wheeler would seize it without question.


    But expanding the Flaming Maple Forest was an extremely difficult task. On its south side lay the Heavenly Thunder Plain. If the Flaming Maple Forest extended to that plain, it would only turn to ashes under the powerful thunderbolts. On its east side was the cold land, a place unsuitable for trees to grow.


    The southwest side remained the most suitable area, meaning that it could expand along the Divine River to its upper reaches.


    In the past, the Flaming Maple Forest had also expanded in such a way, but at a certain point, it was discovered by the Element Spirit Civilization.


    The latter then poisoned the southwest soil, making the land toxic across twenty miles. The poisonous land was an insurmountable natural chasm for the Flaming Maple Forest¡ªany seeds and roots instantly decayed once they drilled into the soil.


    When the Misty River race attempted to negotiate with the Element Spirit Civilization, they were refused. Since the last leader was killed, they figured that the latter would forbid the expansion of the Flaming Maple Forest.


    Now that the Element Spirit Civilization took the initiative to mention so, Wheeler had no choice but to accept.


    Having seen through Wheeler''s thoughts, Abner said nothing more and left.


    Standing up, Wheeler wiped his body dry and turned to Larkin. "I''m going to see Hawley."


    The Soul Interdicting Water on the bodies of Zen, Yasamin, and Eastern Emperor Taiyi dried up and its effect disappeared, allowing the people to withdraw from the Other Shore.


    Flamine, Pearce, Auden and the other masters of the Oneness Sky Palace were all aware that it was a moment of great importance, so they waited aside. Elvinia, who had been cultivating, also came over.


    After waiting for so long, there was no news from the Other Shore. Of course, everyone was gettin


    Element Spirit Civilization tell you to say that? They''ve said the same many times."


    Zen figured that the power he used to kill Norris was enough to intimidate the Misty River race.


    His provocation made it impossible for the Misty River race to attack.


    There was only one possibility remained¡ªthe Element Spirit Civilization asked the Misty River race to make a move by promising them great benefits.


    "What do you think?" Wheeler pressed again.


    "I''ve never compromised and I don''t intend to do so now," Zen said in return, shrugging his shoulders.


    Regret washed over Wheeler''s face. "Then you will never even get a chance to compromise. You''ll die and lie in the Flaming Maple Forest forever, and your flesh and blood will become nourishment for the forest."


    "Can you kill me by yourself?" Zen asked, his voice lowered.


    "That''s too easy for Master Wheeler!"


    "If you die here, no one will bother to bury your body!"


    "When Master Wheeler tears you to pieces, you''ll learn to not be so stubborn!"


    The crowd began clamoring upon witnessing Zen''s arrogance.


    But Wheeler merely shook his head and admitted, "I can''t defeat you."


    The words had the rest of the Misty River race swallow their words and go silent. Even the rest of the Eternal Realm warriors and the many races in the forest''s open space were rather surprised. It was a shock to hear Wheeler admit that he couldn''t defeat this human being.


    But then Wheeler took a step back, as if to make way for something. "But he should be able to do that for me."


    Boom! Boom! Boom...


    A great figure of over a hundred feet tall emerged from the forest. The man was dark all over, staring at Zen, his eyes gleaming with ferocity.

 Chapter 3956 The Confrontation Of Two Strong Warriors

    Suddenly, the open space in the forest had become very quiet, and everyone''s focus shifted towards the gigantic black body.


    "That''s not the leader of the Misty River race. Who is that guy?" someone asked in a soft voice.


    "I don''t know. I haven''t seen him before."


    "But how could this be? His aura is much stronger than Wheeler''s."


    Hawley hadn''t shown up in the Flaming Maple Forest for many years. That was why the newcomers had no idea who he was.


    However, when some of the long-time residents realized that it was him, they immediately knew that things were about to get extremely troublesome.


    "Hawley really came out?"


    "What condition did the Element Spirit Civilization offer to summon him? Are they that desperate?"


    "It''s been such a long time. Things are about to get rowdy."


    In the Misty River race, Hawley held a revered reputation. Since he had personally come out to deal with the situation, it meant that it really was a big deal.


    The creatures and Eternal Realm warriors that had been staying in the Flaming Maple Forest for a long time had sharp and experienced eyes. When they saw how Zen dealt with Norris with such ease, they discerned that he did have the qualifications to contend against Wheeler. However, Hawley was a different kind of beast. Even with the surprising strength that Zen had displayed, they still didn''t think that he had a chance against Hawley.


    On the other hand, they also didn''t expect that Wheeler would directly turn to Hawley without even fighting Zen.


    At the moment, Zen already felt a little uncomfortable being on the receiving end of Hawley''s hostile stares. He looked back with his own fierce gaze and slightly smiled. "What''s the matter? Aren''t you going to persuade me first?" Zen asked indifferently.


    "No," Hawley answered with a sneer. "I won''t do such a boring thing."


    His voice was so dry and hoarse, like the sound of breaking withered crisp leaves.


    "I like fighting," Hawley continued. "It''s just a pity that I''ve become too powerful that no one wanted to fight me anymore. But finally, a worthy opponent came." Hawley looked at Zen with a piercing gaze. "There''s no way I''ll let this opportunity pass."


    Hawley''s entire body was pitch black. However, his eyes shone brightly, like a pair of shimmering stars in the dark sky.


    As the words came out of his mouth, everyone could feel his aggressive fighting spirit spreading out.


    Anyone who made eye contact with him would feel the rapid circulation of their blood, the acceleration of their heartbeat, and the heat coming off from their eyes. This was the natural instinct of fearing for one''s own life.


    Even Zen felt his heart pounding. However, for him, it was more of a thrill than fear. There


    ed face.


    "Well, it''s over."


    "You still got to give the human some props. His body didn''t even explode after taking a direct hit from Hawley!"


    "Hawley''s just too powerful. End of discussion."


    With Hawley''s physical strength, there was no doubt that he would stand at the peak of the Grand Pure Realm.


    However, he was afraid that the Element Spirit Civilization and the Nihility race would join hands to kill him. Thus, walking out of the Flaming Maple Forest was not an option for him.


    Meanwhile, Fuxi, the Snake Goddess, and the others fell silent as they nervously stared at Zen''s current situation.


    There was no way that they could join a vicious battle of physical strength, so they were left with no choice but to place their hopes and trust on him.


    Just when Hawley turned away, Zen''s body, which was still embedded in the trunks of the trees, slightly moved. He coughed and spat a mouthful of blood. However, the blood quickly bounced from the ground and returned to his mouth.


    When the creatures watching saw this scene, they were shocked and confused at the same time. Soon after, Zen seemed to have regained his consciousness.


    "I apologize. You haven''t enjoyed yourself to the fullest yet. I should not fall down that quickly, right?" As Zen spoke, he slammed both his arms against the Flaming Maple Trees to push himself out. Then, like a ferocious shooting star, he struck his head on Hawley.


    Crash!


    Caught off guard by Zen''s sudden attack, Hawley was hit hard.


    However, his head was indestructible. If it was someone weaker than him, his head might have instantly exploded into pieces.


    While Hawley was still in a daze, Zen took advantage of the opportunity and launched his counterattack. With that, countless fist shadows emerged and poured on Hawley''s body like torrential rain.

 Chapter 3957 Nurture

    Zen''s body, strengthened by the ancestry-level bloodline, displayed an astonishing explosive power!


    As each punch landed on Hawley''s body, power waves burst in all directions while the Flaming Maple Trees that surrounded them swayed crazily.


    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom...


    The warriors from various races and the Eternal Realm warriors all hid behind the Flaming Maple Trees as they watched the battle. They were all shocked at the sight of the intense battle.


    "The power of this tall human is so terrifying!"


    "Yes, Wheeler was right in his judgment. This human is stronger than him."


    "But no matter how powerful this person is, he still cannot hurt Hawley..." they talked among themselves.


    During the long time that the Misty River race had controlled the Flaming Maple Forest, many races wanted to eradicate them and had devised various plans.


    The most powerful ones among them were naturally the Nihility race and the Element Spirit Civilization.


    Because of their unique form, the Element Spirit Civilization couldn''t enter the Flaming Maple Forest to fight. However, with a huge amount of resources of the Three Purities Stage in their hands, they were capable of using special methods.


    Once upon a time, the Element Spirit Civilization created a powerful Dark Blood Puppet. This puppet was personally created by the Eye Spirit consuming a lot of precious resources of the Element Spirit Civilization. Its strength exceeded that of any ordinary member of the Misty River race.


    However, Hawley had effortlessly smashed it into little pieces only in the first round of the fight.


    Since then, the Element Spirit Civilization realized that they should never try to attack the Misty River race in the Flaming Maple Forest ever again.


    The Nihility race had also made similar attempts. Because they knew Hawley was powerful and was the most difficult to deal with, they had targeted him from the very beginning.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven created a clone of himself and hid it in the Golden Body Pool of the Supreme Pure Realm. After a few years, the clone went to the Flaming Maple Forest alone to challenge Hawley.


    The Nihility race set up a more challenging contest with Hawley than the Element Spirit Civilization. The clone of the Grandmaster of Heaven relied on its excellent bodily movements and endured fighting for several rounds.


    However, even though the clone was extremely fast, its attacking method was inefficient to break through Hawley''s defense. In


    a large ball.


    The temperature in his huge belly increased rapidly, almost like that of a furnace...


    Even Eastern Emperor Taiyi, who was standing slightly further, could only retreat as the heat became unbearable. The Snake Goddess approached the Holy Soul Realm warriors around them. She quickly dispersed the warriors and led them out of the palace.


    Not long after they retreated, the palace walls collapsed because of the extreme temperature.


    A small dazzling sun rose from the ruins of the palace, and at the center of the sun was a black dot.


    "Is there... a freak in Zen''s belly?" Elvinia looked at the scene from a distance.


    "I don''t know what''s in there, but it must be something that can make him stronger..." Eastern Emperor Taiyi replied, also shocked by the odd sight.


    On the other hand, Fuxi and the Snake Goddess looked very serious.


    They had seen Zen strengthen his body many times. He had completely changed out of human form after several transformations, so they were calmer than the others upon witnessing such a scene.


    This time, it seemed difficult to deal with Hawley as Zen had made a greater move to strengthen his body.


    Swoosh...


    Floating in the air, Zen felt that the ancestry-level bloodline in his body was consistently flowing towards his stomach. He stared at the black dot in confusion. ''Is this a pill?'' he thought to himself.


    Zen faintly understood that Hawley was very powerful. If the ancestry-level bloodline wanted to continue strengthening his body, it was to use more complicated methods.


    However, the thought of nurturing a pill in his belly while everyone gazed still left Zen speechless.

 Chapter 3958 Beaten

    The light from the sun-like object glowed for an hour...


    As the light faded away, Zen''s round belly also gradually returned to normal.


    However, the pill was still in Zen''s stomach. Just as Zen wondered about what the ancestry-level bloodline would do with the pill, the pill suddenly melted into Zen''s body.


    Zen suddenly felt like there were thousands of needles wandering about his meridians at lightning speed. The pain made Zen''s face darken. It was so excruciating that he couldn''t help but let out a low growl.


    The pain gradually dissipated when the pill completely fused into Zen''s body, but at the same time, Zen also obtained a strange body!


    The skin covering his body had turned blue and translucent. His muscles, blood vessels, and even bones had turned into some kind of extremely solid crystals. Among all, the color of his bones was the darkest, while the color of his muscles was the second darkest...


    Zen raised his hand and examined it carefully. His dark blue fingernails were shining, and there was a strong, heavy force circulating around his limbs and bones...


    "How are you feeling now?" asked Fuxi.


    "Good¡ªit feels like I''ve opened up a new world," Zen replied with a smile.


    "Are you sure you can defeat Hawley?" the Snake Goddess could not help but ask. This was the most crucial issue after all.


    Zen shook his head. "I''m not sure."


    The theurgy and the power the ancestry-level bloodline gave to Zen were extremely unstable. Although they were very strong, it was difficult for Zen to gauge how strong they were, so he naturally could not be sure about whether or not he could defeat Hawley.


    Nevertheless, considering the nature of the ancestry-level bloodline which could practically construct everything, in case it intended to let Zen defeat an opponent, it would definitely provide him with enough strength to do so.


    "Then¡­ shall we go back to the Other Shore now?" Eastern Emperor Taiyi asked solemnly.


    "Yes, let''s go!"


    Zen replied affirmatively and then landed on the ruins of the palace. He then summoned the Truth of Godly Way and returned directly to the Other Shore.


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi, Yasamin, Fuxi, the Snake Goddess, and King Ieuan were all people who had experienced many battles. They all returned to the Other Shore with Zen without any hesitation in the slightest.


    In the Flaming Maple Forest, Hawley was still standing there like an iron tower, staring ahead motionlessly.


    The members of the various races, as well as the Eternal Realm warriors wait


    Now, Hawley just stood motionless in his original spot. That meant he had forcefully taken the power of Zen''s eight punches!


    However, there was nothing under his feet that could anchor him to the ground. It ought to be impossible for him to stand still and continue to receive Zen''s attack head-on...


    Was this a special theurgy his body possessed?


    Zen was baffled.


    "An impressive attack," Hawley praised after spitting out a mouthful of black blood.


    Hawley felt like there was another force that fixed him on the spot when Zen threw his punches. He was just like a target that could not move.


    Despite Hawley''s impressive strength, his body would inevitably be injured upon directly receiving those punches.


    Larkin, Wheeler, and the other members of the Misty River race were all watching this scene in horror.


    They almost could not believe their eyes. The undefeatable, almost invincible Hawley was actually being beaten by a human and got injured to the point he spat out blood!


    Right now, nothing could be more frightening than this in this world!


    The warriors from other races and the Eternal Realm warriors also gasped in astonishment.


    They were both shocked and ecstatic.


    It would be great news for them if this human kid could really kill Hawley!


    "How about taking a few more punches?"


    Zen did not hesitate. With a slight shake of his body, fierce fist radiance was shot towards Hawley from all directions.


    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!


    The punches created a series of dull thuds. If one looked carefully, they would see that after each punch hit Hawley, there was a slight tremor in his body. It was as if the space had been disrupted.

 Chapter 3959 The Second Form

    The space at Hawley''s front and back was misplaced, and he became caught in an invisible wall.


    He couldn''t retreat, neither could he advance, nor dodge. He was forced to bear the brunt of Zen''s fists head on!


    In the forest glade, some Eternal Realm warriors who had the sharpest eyes were able to see what was unfolding before them. The astonishment in their eyes intensified.


    "Did the human just utilize a space theurgy?" one of the creatures questioned in utter shock.


    The phenomenon of overlapped spaces was quite similar to that created by many of the space theurgies.


    However, they knew using space theurgy involved the facilitation of energy, which was forbidden in this area. If Zen had used a space theurgy, the maple leaves in the Flaming Maple Forest would already have launched their attack on him.


    It was common knowledge that these maple leaves possessed a miraculous feature. They would pursue their targets with a relentless speed to the very ends of the world.


    In the past, someone had used a theurgy at the edge of the Flaming Maple Forest and had triggered the attack of the maple leaves before fleeing at full speed. About thirty seconds later, though, the maple leaves had easily caught up with their target and exploded.


    Others had used the spatial transference at the edge of the Flaming Maple Forest to cross a great distance in a single breath. However, the maple leaves still had caught up with them within a mere thirty seconds. It appeared that the distance had no effect on the leaves'' pursuit time.


    Up till now, the only known way to avoid the maple leaves'' attack was to leave the Other Shore.


    It seemed that it was virtually impossible for the maple leaves to reach beyond the Other Shore.


    "It didn''t look like a space theurgy," another creature commented, shaking his head. "It was a unique wave of power. One so formidable that it was able to manipulate the space in an unexpected manner!"


    "I didn''t know the human race possessed someone of that genius!" another warrior shouted in utter shock.


    At this time, an Eternal Realm warrior who had just come here from the Grand Plain Stage said, "He must be the famous Zen. Both the Nihility race and the Element Spirit Civilization have offered tempting rewards to recruit him, but he refused them both."


    Zen was famous in the Grand Plain Stage. All the forces coveted his great potential and extraordinary talent.


    When the ensemble heard of Zen''s background, their eyes soon filled with envy.


    In addition to the indigenous races that inhabited in the Three Purities Stage, the Nihility race and the Element Spirit race were regarded as the strongest. With the protection of these two forces, many things would become greatly simplified.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Under Zen''s continuous assaul


    e been a truly powerful being. But who possessed the strength to cut an arm from such a formidable creature...


    The awe in Hawley''s mind grew every time he contemplated on it. Nonetheless, he was aware that the source of the secret lay at the uppermost reaches of the Divine River, which was in the Jade Pure Realm, in the deepest part of the Three Purities Stage!


    Just like the other races in Stage Thirty-three, Hawley had always held the entering of the Jade Pure Realm as his ultimate goal. Therefore, he never revealed his true strength, hoping to use it at a more critical moment. He would never have expected he would be forced to use it while fighting a human today.


    Whoosh!


    Having spoken, Hawley suddenly stretched forth one hand and grabbed Zen''s arm. With a flip, he hurled Zen to the ground, pinning him down. Then, the band of red light covering his body congregated near his right arm.


    Boom!


    He launched a massive punch.


    An immense wave of power pulsed forth from him, spreading through the ground. Even the densely interwoven roots of the Flaming Maple Trees failed to dampen the heavy vibrations.


    The creatures standing close to the Flaming Maple Trees could keep a semblance of balance, while those who stood on the open ground were all sent reeling to the earth. As waves of power spread, they found it virtually impossible to regain their footing.


    Boom!


    Hawley landed a second punch.


    A huge gaping crater appeared beneath Hawley and Zen, devouring them in a cloud of dust. Larger tremors of power radiated from them, rocking everyone with the force of an earthquake.


    Boom!


    A third punch!


    A massive area suffered severe tremors like rolling waves, and the Flaming Maple Trees nearest the epicenter were razed to the ground. Even the members of the Misty River race were cast aside by the earth-shattering vibrations.

 Chapter 3960 Going In Circles

    The shaking of the earth lasted for a while before it finally stopped. Then, everyone saw that a body was thrown out of the deep pit. It was none other than Zen.


    The blue transparent crystal on the surface of Zen''s body showed countless cracks that came in various sizes and extended inward. Even his dark blue bones also had cracks. As he received the full impacts of Hawley''s heavy punches, his body wasn''t able to withstand them anymore.


    The warriors of various races all fell silent as they witnessed the crushing impact of the extent of Hawley''s strength.


    Among the creatures that were spectating, there were actually some spies sent by the Nihility race and the Element Spirit Civilization. Earlier, they were planning to report that the Flaming Maple Forest might change its ruler. However, the sudden turn of events made the situation more complicated.


    Although it was a unanimous idea that Hawley would be unbeatable, seeing his true strength with their own eyes still rendered them speechless.


    It went beyond their wildest expectations.


    "Ha-ha! Finally." After walking out of the deep pit, Hawley approached Wheeler while gesturing something.


    Wheeler quickly understood what he meant, so he immediately took out a basin of Soul Interdicting Water from the Divine River and splashed it on Zen''s crumbling body. This way, even if Zen regained his consciousness, he would not be able to escape.


    After Wheeler was done with his job, Hawley walked over and stared down at Zen''s body, which was covered with countless cracks. "No one can challenge my physical strength. You may be an extraordinary warrior in the Three Purities Stage, but you''re still nothing in front of me!"


    Then, he raised his foot and stepped on Zen''s left leg. He continued to exert his force that instantly increased and enlarged the cracks on Zen''s leg.


    Crack! Crash!


    Zen''s leg exploded, turning into thousands of pieces that scattered on the ground.


    Seeing this scene, the Snake Goddess, Fuxi, and the others couldn''t help but twitch their eyes and bite their lips.


    After two rounds of strengthening, Zen''s body still failed to withstand and endure Hawley''s attacks.


    If he died here today, all of his efforts in his journey on the Other Shore would go to waste.


    "This is a mistake after all! Zen''s life is much more important than mine and the Oneness Sky Palace!" Eastern Emperor Taiyi regretted the fact that Zen needed to suffer just to save his life. He was deeply frustrated and couldn''t help but blame himself.


    Although Yasamin didn''t say anything, it was evident in her face that she had the same thoughts.


    For them, Zen seemed to be their last hope, and the only person that could possibly complete the Finale Way. Now that he fell because of going out of his way


    ds had already elapsed, but not even a little explosion was heard.


    On the contrary, what they saw was that Zen emerged in the air. This time, he was flying in the sky and not in the space channel, so they clearly saw more maple leaves that were chasing after him.


    A large number of maple leaves had accumulated behind him. However, the leaves weren''t cutting the gap. They did not stop chasing Zen, but they also couldn''t get close to him.


    Everyone''s eyes widened as they saw this scene. Hawley was the most shocked. He clenched his fists and yelled, "How the hell is that possible?!"


    Due to his overwhelming anger, a slight energy fluctuation was released from his shoulder. Although the fluctuation was very minimal, it didn''t escape from the sense of a maple leaf on a nearby tree. Immediately, it suddenly lit up and rushed towards him.


    Hawley came to his senses and quickly dodged the maple leaf. He struggled so hard just to get away from it.


    However, exactly after thirty seconds, the maple leaf successfully reached Hawley and exploded on his shoulder.


    Boom!


    Even though Hawley''s body had an astonishing defense, the explosion of a single maple leaf still created a crack on the surface of his body.


    "These maple leaves work just fine!" Hawley gritted his teeth in confusion. "What the heck did that human do?!"


    Zen continued circling around the forest, attracting more and more maple leaves in the process. So much time had now elapsed, but the maple leaves still weren''t even close to catching up with Zen.


    "What the hell! Did he really do something with the maple leaves?"


    "This is impossible. This has never happened since ancient times! The power of the maple leaves is absolute!"


    The members of various races and the Eternal Realm warriors were all flabbergasted.


    "What sort of miracle did he do this time?"

 Chapter 3961 Track

    At the start, everyone had anxiously counted down the time till Zen''s inevitable death, but when the time came, Zen was still alive and well!


    Fuxi, Eastern Emperor Taiyi and the others, who had been worried earlier, all heaved sighs of relief.


    "This guy..." Fuxi shook his head in awe.


    Even Eastern Emperor Taiyi was stunned. "We can''t rest easy just yet. Danger still looms."


    King Ieuan muttered under its breath, "How is it possible that the maple leaves can''t catch up to him? What method is he using?"


    The Snake Goddess carefully studied Zen''s movements. "The maple leaves in the Flaming Maple Forest do not move normally. The way these maple leaves pass through space is different from what we know; perhaps Zen moves in a similar manner..."


    "Does Zen move differently from us? Why can''t I figure this out?" Fuxi scratched his head.


    "As creatures in the chaos, we are born with limits. It''s only natural we can''t comprehend," the Snake Goddess replied wisely. "Zen''s body must''ve changed due to obtaining that bloodline..."


    While the Snake Goddess didn''t know exactly how the ancestry-level bloodline worked, she figured it had a lot to do with how Zen was moving now.


    After all, she observed his performance after he had reached the Eternal Realm. His bloodline''s strength might have reached a degree that ordinary people could not understand.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh...


    As Zen zoomed through the air, he suddenly sped up and continued to fly in circles. Then, he landed on the clearing in the forest and walked towards Hawley as though nothing had happened.


    His eyes flashed fiercely with killing intent. As he spoke, his voice rang across the forest. "Is this your strongest form? Will you be able to block them?"


    To the others, everything looked strange.


    Zen didn''t walk quickly¡ªin fact, he resembled an old man walking slowly. Yet, he seemed to be closing the gap between him and Hawley in seconds.


    When Hawley heard Zen''s threat, it suddenly dawned on him why Zen had aroused all those maple leaves.


    Immediately, he whipped around to retreat towards the depths of the Flaming Maple Forest at high speed, as though a venomous snake was at his heels. As he ran, he heard Zen laughing maniacally. "Do you wish to escape? I''ll give you thirty seconds...


    Thirty seconds!


    Twenty-seven seconds!


    Twenty-four seconds..."


    Everyone watched as Zen slowly took steps forward, like some old man struggling to ov


    rest, but many people were still left stunned.


    A few maple leaves were still whirling around in the air. Since their target had already perished, they circled a few more times, and one by one, exploded into flashes of light.


    Then, a hush fell over the Flaming Maple Forest.


    The members of the Misty River race stared at the blackened earth where Hawley had stood just moments ago. They were still unwilling to believe that Hawley, their strongest warrior, had died.


    As the leader of the Misty River race, Wheeler was livid.


    Although Hawley wasn''t the only strong member of the Misty River race, Wheeler had still relied on him to gain a firm foothold in the Flaming Maple Forest.


    Now, with Hawley gone, this was a huge setback.


    If the Nihility race and the Element Spirit Civilization wanted to defeat Wheeler in the Flaming Maple Forest, it wouldn''t be too difficult for them to do that. This meant that the status of the Misty River race was in great peril, and that they were in danger of being annihilated because of what they had done over the years.


    A piercing coldness crept throughout Wheeler''s body, as though he had been stabbed with a blade of ice. Overcome with anger, he was frozen to his spot.


    "Zen, how did you make it? That..." Even Fuxi was at a loss for words.


    The Snake Goddess stared intently at Zen and asked, "Is it your bloodline that gave you this ability?"


    Zen nodded. "I can sense another path which is very unique. It''s a different space, so it''s different from the space theurgy we comprehend."


    As he spoke, he reached out his hand towards a Flaming Maple Tree in the distance.

 Chapter 3962 Black Limbs

    The maple leaves had left the trees of the Flaming Maple Forest. However, it wasn''t long before new maple leaves started sprouting on the trees.


    Zen reached out his hand and gently picked one.


    He didn''t extend his arm, nor did he build a space channel, but he somehow was able to pick a single maple leaf.


    "Are you able to pick anything?" The Snake Goddess''s eyes lit up excitedly.


    If Zen was able to harness this mysterious ability, he would become extremely powerful and extremely useful.


    "No." Zen shook his head. "I can only pick the maple leaves."


    After he took the terrifying punches from Hawley, he was left almost in a coma. In an attempt to protect himself, he managed to activate the space theurgy to narrowly avoid Hawley, completely relying on the instinct of the ancestry-level bloodline. Upon activating the theurgy, the ancestry-level bloodline gifted him with this miraculous ability.


    The instant he gathered his wits, Zen was shocked to see so many maple leaves chasing after him. However, he noticed that the maple leaves flew very slowly. Moreover, it seemed as though the maple leaves followed a certain path. To his surprise, he too was on this same path.


    Once he realized this, everything became simple.


    Others thought it was incomprehensible, but to Zen, it was simple.


    Whenever someone released energy in the Flaming Maple Forest, the maple leaves would come to life and would build a specific path that led to them. No matter how fast the target was, no matter how far they ran, the maple leaves only needed to follow the path and hit the target.


    With Zen, however, he realized he could manipulate the path.


    This was why he circled the sky several times. He created a path that looped, which trapped the maple leaves in an infinite path. As long as he didn''t break the circle, the maple leaves were doomed to fly in a circle for eternity.


    He approached Hawley again and tapped him on the shoulder, creating a path that led straight to the latter.


    Because Zen now understood the nature of the Flaming Maple Forest, he no longer feared it. In fact, he used it to his advantage. He could let the maple leaves kill Hawley for him.


    Once the creatures and the Eternal Realm warriors recovered from their initial shock, they hurried to make plans.


    Three short members of the Magic Dwarf race stepped forward first. The one in the lead raised an intact Gold and Silver Skeleton above his head. "This Gold and Silver Skeleton is extremely rare


    engthen his body.


    Now that he saw an intact Gold and Silver Skeleton, he could hardly control his excitement.


    "Since you say it''s a good thing, please accept it," said Zen.


    The Gold and Silver Skeleton might not be useful for him, but it was extremely important to Eastern Emperor Taiyi, Fuxi, the Snake Goddess, and King Ieuan, who were all at the Eternal Realm.


    The gift that the Magic Dwarf race presented to Zen not only caused the dissatisfaction of the Misty River race, but caused a ripple effect among the other races that lived along the Divine River.


    They too scrambled to find worthy offerings. It was evident to all that Zen was an incredibly important, powerful man. If they could get on his good side, they could possibly benefit from it, or at the very least, they could avoid certain death.


    However, just as those races were about to line up to give Zen gifts, all the maple trees in the Flaming Maple Forest began to tremble.


    Splash!


    It was as if a gust of wind had swept through the Flaming Maple Forest, and all the maple leaves began to rustle at this moment. The Flaming Maple Trees suddenly came to life, communicating with each other in a unique way.


    Plop! Plop!


    Waves suddenly appeared in the Divine River.


    Countless thick roots suddenly emerged on the surface of the river. These were the roots of the Flaming Maple Trees!


    Curious, the crowd stopped in their tracks to watch the roots carry something out of the water.


    It seemed the roots entwined around two burnt, black limbs, and sent them to the shore. One of the burnt limbs was sent to the Wheeler, and the other was sent to the Magic Dwarf race.

 Chapter 3963 The Choice Of The Flaming Maple Forest

    One of the charred black limbs was a leg and the other was an arm.


    The members of various races and the Eternal Realm warriors were stunned, their breaths quickening, as these limbs appeared on the surface of the Divine River.


    Hawley devoured a scorched limb, which everyone in the Flaming Maple Forest knew about. Many warriors of various races maintained that this was the reason why Hawley was so powerful.


    When these warriors were looking for all sorts of strange treasures in the Divine River, they naturally hoped to get lucky enough to lay hands on the charred limbs one day.


    To everyone''s disappointment, no one had gotten a second charred limb across the years.


    Who would have thought that two black limbs were hidden in the Flaming Maple Forest!


    The roots of the Flaming Maple Trees were strong, and both sides of the Divine River were covered with these trees. Everything that happened in the Divine River would be under the control of the Flaming Maple Forest, so it was easy for the Flaming Maple Forest to obtain anything from the Divine River.


    "Once the black limb is devoured, one''s physical strength will increase by leaps and bounds!"


    "It can make me stronger than Hawley!"


    "This is our race''s sacred object!"


    The crowd was now extremely excited.


    One''s strength could increase to an unimaginable level after they obtained a black limb. This temptation was so strong that it astonished the Other Shore creatures.


    The Flaming Maple Forest had probably sensed that many warriors from various races were about to make a move. Branches covered in maple leaves surrounded the members of the Misty River race and the Magic Dwarf race, the maple leaves flashing the red light.


    This was a serious warning.


    Several warriors saw the red maple leaves and subconsciously came to a halt.


    They didn''t forget that they were in the Flaming Maple Forest, and knew what would happen if they were attacked by these maple leaves.


    But more warriors wished for good luck. They believed that as long as they didn''t use their energy, the Flaming Maple Forest wouldn''t attack them. And if they were lucky enough to grab the black limbs, the benefits would be obvious enough.


    Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...


    The warriors swarmed towards the members of the Misty River race and the Magic Dwarf race.


    "You''re courting death!"


    "How dare you rob us?"


    The faces of the members of


    Zen knew that these things were very valuable. And though they were not as valuable as the charred black limbs, they were still a huge fortune for the warriors of various races in the Grand Pure Realm.


    Everyone, including the Snake Goddess, Fuxi, and Eastern Emperor Taiyi, were interested in them.


    "This fortune is too much!" King Ieuan was good at calculating the value of items. With just a glance, it was able to roughly determine the value of this pile.


    Wheeler didn''t relax. He knew that although this pile was large, the combined value of these items was not as high as that of the black limbs. What if Zen didn''t give up on the black limbs?


    Perhaps the Flaming Maple Forest knew this, which was probably why one of the maple trees suddenly stretched out a branch and began to write on the ground. "The Eternal Realm warrior can''t absorb the charred corpse and will die after swallowing it. You can try if you don''t believe me."


    These words disappointed Fuxi, the Snake Goddess, and the others, forcing them to give up their fantasy.


    There was a clear distinction between the Eternal Realm warriors and the other creatures. The latter were Other Shore creatures born in the Three Purities Stage, while the Eternal Realm warriors had arrived there through the scroll painting.


    With a noncommittal look on his face, Zen asked, "What is the story behind the charred corpse?"


    One could strengthen their body to a terrifying extent by swallowing the black limbs. The charred corpse must have been extremely powerful when it was alive; even its backstory was probably extraordinary.

 Chapter 3964 Inquire

    Zen was not the only one who felt curious. The others¡ªincluding the Snake Goddess, Fuxi, and even the members of the Magic Dwarf and Misty River races¡ªall watched from a distance, eager to know the truth.


    Leaves swished and rustled


    as the branches danced on the ground again.


    "A long time ago, a fireball rushed down from the upper reaches. The fire was so fierce that the Divine River, which was overflowed with water, evaporated completely, leaving the riverbed dry. When the fire was finally extinguished, only these three limbs were left. It is not known who they belonged to."


    Everyone felt a slight tinge of disappointment at the answer given by the Flaming Maple Forest. After all, everyone wanted to explore the secrets of the Supreme Pure Realm and the Jade Pure Realm.


    Based on that story, however, it must have been an extremely long time since the fireball struck the river. In fact, these three black limbs had been preserved in the Flaming Maple Forest for many years. The black limb in Hawley''s hands was also a secret gift from the forest.


    "How do you know that the charred corpse is lethal to the Eternal Realm warriors?" Zen asked.


    The Flaming Maple Forest stretched out a branch and wrote more words on the ground. "See for yourself."


    "No need. I trust you," Zen said, shaking his head. He could try and test the truth of the claim, but there was no reason to doubt the forest.


    The air was filled with a rustling sound as the Flaming Maple Forest withdrew the branch.


    The members of the Misty River race and the Magic Dwarf race breathed a sigh of relief.


    The head of the Misty River race, Wheeler, was especially overjoyed.


    He had tried countless times, hoping to reach Wheeler''s level. But his efforts didn''t pay off.


    He was the successor to the previous ruler of the Misty River race, but it had always been very clear that he was just a nominal head.


    But now he had a chance to change that. If he devoured the black limb, he would be able to become as powerful as Hawley.


    Before the other members of the Misty River race had any idea what he planned, he quickly stuffed the black limb into his mouth and began gnawing at it.


    After all, the Flaming Maple Forest had given the black limb to the Misty River race, not to Wheeler specifically. If the other members of the Misty River race were unconvinced, the situation would be even more troublesome.


    Meanwhile, the members of the Magic Dwarf race also had the same thought.


    The population of the Magic Dwarf race was mu


    e rest of our lives. Sooner or later, they will know."


    These words helped to build the resolve of the long-haired monsters. Looking resolute, they moved the door out of the Flaming Maple Forest, as they had been ordered to do.


    When the door was opened, four of the monsters silently slipped into the forest. The door disappeared after them.


    The rest of them waited, not saying much, but anticipating new developments. Four hours later, the four long-haired monsters returned.


    They did this by knocking on the air, which caused the door to reappear. They quickly filed through the door, and when they had all passed, the door vanished once more.


    "Have you got any news?"


    Dorothy demanded, wearing a worried frown.


    "Yes," answered the monster in the lead. "Your grandma is still alive."


    Dorothy stood up immediately. A vibrant purple light emanated from her eyes, spreading out across her face and air. She was projecting a powerful, fierce aura.


    Even though the long-haired monsters present had their own astonishing strength, they were all suppressed by Dorothy''s incomparable aura. The one standing nearest to her made a harsh sound as it felt the force of her power, unable to speak.


    The affected monster started to cough. It reached up and grabbed its own throat.


    Only then did Dorothy realize what happened. She quickly restrained her aura and said, "I apologize..."


    She hadn''t been able to fully control her own strength.


    The long-haired monsters glanced at each other. When they were certain she had regained control, the one in the lead stepped forward. It took a few deep breaths before telling her what had happened in the Flaming Maple Forest.

 Chapter 3965 The Second Body

    There were many different races in the Grand Pure Realm, and the Flaming Maple Forest had just undergone drastic changes.


    This was why the long-haired monsters hadn''t had any trouble sneaking in and getting the information they desired. It was in fact, quite easy for them.


    Their report surprised Dorothy greatly. "A human, seventy to eighty feet high saved my grandmother? Are you sure?"


    "Yes, I am sure. This human is said to be incredibly powerful," answered the long-haired monster, an eagerness noticeably flickering in its eyes. All these monsters were powerful themselves and were interested in competing against the human mentioned.


    "But no human is seventy to eighty feet tall. Did he activate the Wild God Body?" Dorothy pressed further.


    "The Wild God Body cannot be used in the Flaming Maple Forest, so it can''t be that. No matter how, your grandmother is safe now. It is said the human defeated all the creatures in the Flaming Maple Forest!" The long-haired monster stared intensely at Dorothy after it spoke


    and the other monsters did the same.


    She had been putting off the matter they had pleaded her to resolve with the excuse of having to save her grandmother first. The long-haired monsters then made it their top priority to save Yasamin.


    Now that someone else had saved her, Dorothy had no excuses; it was time for her to fulfill her promise.


    "Your grandmother will be fine under the human''s protection."


    "It''s your turn to help us now!"


    "It wasn''t us who saved your grandmother, but we put a lot of time into it..."


    Dorothy looked around mischievously at their pleas. "Before I do that, could I first go see my grandmother?"


    The long passageway then fell into a gloomy state of disappointment.


    The long-haired monsters stared down Dorothy with daggers in their eyes.


    They had been waiting too long for this, patiently hoping she would remove their curse as soon as possible.


    It was now obvious she did not take their pleading seriously. They were so infuriated they almost felt like killing her on the spot!


    "I''m just kidding," Dorothy said, shrugging her shoulders nervously as she realized her humor was not being well received.


    The mood did however seem to ease a bit when she spoke up...


    A thick white fog flowed over the broad, low-lying area all year long.


    This fog had not cleared since this place ha


    ndered the Grandmaster of Heaven.


    "He was trying to save the replica of Eastern Emperor Taiyi," revealed Sienna.


    "Although the Misty River race only has a few members, Hawley is not someone he''d be able to defeat easily..."


    Just as he murmured thoughtfully, Sienna interrupted him, "The Eye Spirit sent Norris and some others to keep an eye on the Flaming Maple Forest but Zen left them all seriously injured. He even killed Hawley. It is said that even the Flaming Maple Forest bowed to his strength..."


    The three women spent most of their time gathering information for the Grandmaster of Heaven and so were naturally very well-informed.


    Sienna''s news stunned the Grandmaster of Heaven into silence.


    "We''ve been waiting for you to wake up. You''re the only one capable of capturing that young man," added Samantha.


    "Capture him?" The Grandmaster of Heaven pondered this for a moment before smiling and shaking his head. "Forget it," he said.


    "Why?"


    asked the three women curiously.


    "His next goal is probably to save the Primeval Lord of Heaven," the Grandmaster of Heaven replied. "Let the Eye Spirit deal with him first. Let''s just wait and see what happens."


    Since Zen carried the Civilization Artifact of the human race, it seemed likely he wanted to rescue all the human heroes. Because of this, he was bound to clash with the Element Spirit Civilization, and the Nihility race needed only to stand by and watch.


    Since Zen could defeat Hawley with ease, the Grandmaster of Heaven believed that he would be a severe headache for the Eye Spirit.

 Chapter 3966 Track

    Shoes roughly scraped off the ground, as Zen and his group continued to head north of the Flaming Maple Forest. The leaves of the Flaming Maple Trees on both sides glowed green along their way and emitted a soft, friendly aura.


    When they got out of the Flaming Maple Forest, the branches even waved goodbye to Zen even if there was no wind.


    "I''m sure you''re the first one to get this treatment," said King Ieuan beside him.


    It dragged a hill-like package behind it, wrapped up in a patched-up skin of a tamed cat. It was not convenient to use the space ring in the Flaming Maple Forest, so it had to use such a primitive method to carry their things.


    "I''m also sure that the Flaming Maple Forest never wants you to come back," Fuxi chimed in.


    In general, Zen was perhaps one of the few people who could safely walk out of the Flaming Maple Forest, even though he had used energy within it.


    There used to be some particularly special cases, but none of them was the same as his.


    He looked back at the Flaming Maple Forest and asked, "If we head west and go upwards along the Divine River, can we enter the Supreme Pure Realm and the Jade Pure Realm?"


    A smile graced King Ieuan''s lips at the question.


    "Of course not!" it answered. "Why?" Zen asked.


    Theoretically speaking, one could reach the Jade Pure Realm by walking along the Divine River since the source of the Divine River was in the Jade Pure Realm.


    King Ieuan pointed at the west and said, "It seems that this direction will lead us to the Supreme Pure Realm, but that is only true in theory. We speculated that the Three Purities Stage was originally made up of three independent worlds.


    However, these three worlds are connected through a precise dislocation of space." "Then, I suppose there are very few entrances, and they are similar to the star rings and the Stage End Passage?" Zen asked again. "No," the Snake Goddess answered.


    "On the contrary, there are many entrances, but very few can walk through them alive..." she explained.


    Most of the warriors at the Eternal Realm who entered Stage Thirty-three stayed in the Grand Pure Realm, which was in the outermost part of the Three Purities Stage. Very few of them had gone into the Supreme Pure Realm. Simply put, it was truly hard to enter the Supreme Pure Realm successfully.


    "But we already have a way to enter it. You don''t have to worry about that," said Fuxi as he untied t


    and the others agreed and jumped up.


    Once they were settled down on his shoulders, he rushed forward and headed north again.


    The two faint shadows in the sky had never disappeared. They seemed to be completely isolated from the world. Like the moon and sun, they always followed him at a steady speed.


    At that moment, the two Shadow Warriors projected the scenes that they saw on an ice piece.


    Meanwhile, three white balls floated on one side of the ice piece.


    Hot flames burned steadily in the center of one of the white balls. Not long after, a young girl''s head appeared. It was none other than Claire.


    The moment Claire took shape, thunder and lightning cracked inside the white ball beside her and outlined a burly human figure. It turned out to be Les, the second of the three backbones of the Element Spirit Civilization.


    "A human boy actually defeated the Grandmaster of Heaven! Ha-ha-ha!" Les laughed in a hoarse voice.


    "My instincts never fail me," Claire said seriously, "though it''s a pity that such a talent can''t work for us."


    "So, he could only die¡­"


    This delicate voice came from the last white ball, which contained a strange-looking life form.


    The creature looked like a cold armor but had a pair of long light wings on the back.


    He was the last one of the three backbones of the Element Spirit Race, Slade.


    Les and Claire were both pure Element Spirits, and they had quite simple forms.


    However, Slade was different. He was made up of countless members of the Element Spirit race, who formed a world of their own inside his body. They controlled everything he did.

 Chapter 3967 Mark And Offer A Reward

    The last time when Les wanted to kill Zen straight, Claire rejected him.


    Now that she knew that they could never win Zen over, she no longer tried to dissuade Les from doing what he wanted.


    "It''s a pity that I can''t leave now, or I would go to the Grand Pure Realm and burn this guy into ashes," Les muttered.


    A few thin lightning bolts clashed with each other as he spoke, which was why his voice seemed laced with the sizzling noise of electric currents. "We''re just watching, but doing nothing?" Claire deadpanned.


    As the three backbones of the Element Spirit race, the three of them occasionally received reinforcements.


    Those reinforcements also helped them improve their strengths over the years.


    They couldn''t leave on their own will as of now, and couldn''t go to kill Zen.


    "I can''t get in touch with the Eye Spirit recently. He should have entered the Jade Pure Realm again. It''s a bit tricky now..." Claire said with a frown.


    She had no hesitation in her the moment she decided to kill Zen. After all, she didn''t pity him, though she genuinely wanted him to be on their side.


    "Then let the warriors from other races on the Grand Pure Realm do something first," Slade suddenly suggested.


    "Warriors of other races?" Les asked. He didn''t understand what Slade was talking about.


    "Mark and offer a reward," Claire said with a nod.


    The two Shadow Warriors listened to Slade''s orders, while he formed good relationships with many warriors from various races on the Grand Pure Realm under the Eye Spirit''s instruction.


    Generally speaking, every race on the Three Purities Stage had their unique theurgies and powers.


    An ordinary Eternal Realm warrior who explored the Grand Pure Realm which was the outermost part of the Three Purities Stage was already like a person treading on immensely thin ice. Any warrior from the many races on the Grand Pure Realm was automatically their deadliest opponent.


    However, the Element Spirit Civilization had been in the Three Purities Stage for so many years. Although they couldn''t subdue all of the races on the Grand Pure Realm, they could still have good relationships with them, as well as exchange interests and make deals with them.


    Clatter, clatter, clatter...


    At that moment, Slade, who had an armor-like body, suddenly stretched out his hands, and then a white beam of light spread out. At the same time, diffe


    id things on a whim. Thus, he couldn''t control it or make it do what he wanted.


    Next to the ice piece in the Supreme Pure Realm stood Slade, who already planned to share the location of the Shadow Mark with the various races.


    When the mark disappeared at such a critical moment, he naturally felt enraged. "Shadow Warriors, what are you doing?" he snapped.


    "W...we... That Zen had devoured the Shadow Mark!" one of the Shadow Warriors stammered. Clearly, he was immensely afraid of Slade.


    "He did eat it..."


    "I saw it too."


    Claire and Les still watched the ice piece. When they saw the big gap on Zen''s back, they were also baffled.


    "We can mark the people around him!"


    "Yes, that''s a good idea!"


    Without waiting for Slade to give the order, the two Shadow Warriors once again summoned Shadow Marks.


    This time, they aimed at the Snake Goddess and Eastern Emperor Taiyi. Shadow Marks appeared on the two Eternal Realm warriors'' backs almost at once.


    When Zen saw that the Shadow Marks appeared again, he tried to remove them for the Snake Goddess and Eastern Emperor Taiyi, but the ancestry-level bloodline sensed that the marks were none of its business. It did not even fluctuate in the slightest, and entirely ignored them.


    As soon as the marks had formed completely, the white light in Slade''s hand began to spiral. At the same time, a circular white vortex also appeared on the ice piece.


    Several large non-human races in the Grand Pure Realm had a huge ice piece inside their places. At this moment, white vortexes also rolled in the center of these ice pieces.

 Chapter 3968 Brewing Storm

    The relationship between the many non-human races of the Grand Pure Realm and the Element Spirit Civilization was strained at best.


    The Element Spirit Civilization had been the first ones to be born in the chaos, and were the first to enter the Other Shore.


    They had a longer history than most of the other living creatures in the Three Purities Stage.


    The many non-human races of the Grand Pure Realm had once fought fiercely with the Element Spirit Civilization. Some powerful races were able to win and maintain their own, separate status. Some had lost and had to submit to the Element Spirit Civilization.


    As the Element Spirit Civilization grew stronger and stronger, they began to advance on to the Supreme Pure Realm and then the Jade Pure Realm. Because of this, many races in the Grand Pure Realm wanted to curry favor with the Element Spirit Civilization.


    The Flaming Maple Forest was strong, but the races in it were still hoping to be able to rely on the Element Spirit Civilization''s power to help them march onto the Supreme Pure Realm.


    Noticing the needs of these other races, the Element Spirit Civilization gave them many ice pieces. If they ever needed these races'' help, they would assign the tasks through them. If the tasks were completed, great rewards awaited them.


    Many times in the past, the tasks assigned by the Element Spirit Civilization were mainly targeted at those of the Nihility race.


    The Nihility race had grown exponentially in the recent years though. When the races first chased down the Nihility race, they had believed them to be weak. However, the Grandmaster of Heaven had easily slaughtered many of them during tasks.


    From that point on, everyone was beginning to realize that the Nihility race was as strong as the Element Spirit Civilization. Very few dared to attack them, and the Element Spirit Civilization rarely assigned tasks through the ice pieces anymore.


    A burly bull-headed monster lumbered towards the ice piece and stared at it for a long moment. Greed began to glint in his eyes as he exclaimed, "What? The Bone Fragments Secret Soul! I can''t believe it!"


    The Element Spirit Civilization had always been generous with their rewards, and the treasures they offered were always rare and precious. The Bone Fragments Secret Soul was just that, it was no ordinary item. With the Bone Fragments Secret Soul, they would be able to further strengthen and expand their race. They''d maybe even qualify to enter the Supreme Pure Realm.


    A second monster joined the f


    Ieuan answered. "They use unique arrows that can span across incredibly long distances. Normally, they must aim for the target by eyesight, but since our positions were marked by the Shadow Warriors, they only need to shoot in the direction of the marks."


    Zen realized King Ieuan was right. The arrows weren''t coming directly for him, they were heading for the Snake Goddess and Eastern Emperor Taiyi on his back. The Arrow Demons couldn''t actually see them.


    The arrows continued to whistle through the air non-stop. When they were struck, they were destroyed with a loud crack.


    Zen was avoiding as many of the arrows as he could, but when he couldn''t evade them, he would swing his arm and easily deflect them to the ground.


    The arrows seemed to have a mind of their own though. Whenever they would hit the ground, they''d ricochet off and continue their path to the Snake Goddess and Eastern Emperor Taiyi.


    It left Zen with no other choice but to reach out and snatch arrows to snap them.


    Both the Snake Goddess and Eastern Emperor Taiyi knew the arrows were coming for them, so they were using their theurgies to protect themselves. The Snake Goddess had wrapped herself in a thick crimson shadow, while Eastern Emperor Taiyi had summoned his golden sword to circle around him.


    The sword wouldn''t move swiftly until an arrow came too close, then it would snap out and cut the arrow in half.


    Despite the mass amount of arrows being rained down on them, very few actually made it near the Snake Goddess and Eastern Emperor Taiyi.


    Zen continued his flight, remaining low to the ground. In the face of all the sharp obstacles racing towards him, his speed did not falter.

 Chapter 3969 The Jade Bone Arrows

    About a hundred miles away from Zen, many creatures hung on the vines. Their bodies had strange shapes and they dangled from the vines entangling the trees.


    The lower part of their bodies was shaped like half a gourd. On the upper half were hard bones bending upwards, with golden manes falling from the end of the bones.


    The hard bones were bows, and the manes were bowstrings. These short creatures were called Arrow Demons.


    They took out many green arrows, and without any hesitation, started shooting them out.


    The vine next to the leader of the Arrow Demons had already borne a huge fruit. The fruit looked exactly like an eyeball, with the white sclera and a pupil in the middle. This vine with an eye-shaped fruit was called the Heavenly Eye Vine.


    The Heavenly Eye Vine bore a fruit that functioned much better than a normal human eye. It had good eyesight that could see ten thousand miles away.


    King Ieuan said that the Arrow Demons used the Shadow Marks to lock them, but its assumption was not completely right. The Arrow Demons also used the eyeball. After they found Zen and his group through the Shadow Marks, it was the eyeball that detected them.


    All the Arrow Demons attacked according to what their leader saw.


    The relationship between the Arrow Demons and the Heavenly Eye Vine was the same as that of the Misty River race and the Flaming Maple Forest. They relied on each other to live.


    "The Green Willow Arrows don''t work on him. He has a very powerful body; no wonder he was able to kill Hawley,"


    the leader of the Arrow Demons muttered. He saw Zen move so quickly even as arrows were shot one after another. They didn''t stop or slow him down.


    The leader''s face darkened as he issued an order, "Use the Jade Bone Arrows!"


    Hearing the leader''s order, the Arrow Demons felt their hearts sink, but they still turned around. They forcefully pulled out the black hard bones extending from their gourd-like bodies.


    The process of pulling out the hard bones was excruciating. Some of the Arrow Demons could not help but scream as blood spurted out.


    After they had drawn the hard bones from their bodies, black gas began to fume from the bones. They then placed the h


    the Feather Ghost attached to the arrow had bitten into his arm, leaving a small mark.


    Swoosh!


    The Feather Ghost''s head disappeared. Zen felt cold rushing through his body as if something had vanished together with the Feather Ghost''s head.


    Before long, he realized that his life energy was deteriorating.


    "Zen, are you okay?" The Snake Goddess keenly sensed that the arrow was not simple.


    "Yes, I''m fine."


    Zen was confident in his life energy and didn''t dwell on it too much.


    Facing the dense Jade Bone Arrows, he waved his arms that were thirty feet long and as wide as a wooden bucket.


    The Jade Bone Arrows had their own consciousness. They still targeted the Snake Goddess and Eastern Emperor Taiyi on Zen''s shoulders. However, when the arrows were damaged, the Feather Ghosts'' heads could only attack whoever was nearby.


    In a flash, Zen had destroyed dozens of bone arrows, resulting in more Feather Ghosts'' heads biting his arms.


    Every time a Feather Ghost''s head disappeared, he felt his body slowly turn cold, almost like a portion of his life energy was also being taken away.


    At first, there hadn''t been a noticeable change in his body, but as he shattered more and more bone arrows, his body finally revealed signs of decline.


    Wrinkles and black spots were gradually developing on his originally bright and powerful body surface.


    For only a short time, Zen had grown from a young man to a middle-aged man, and then to an old man.

 Chapter 3970 A Deal

    "Zen, what''s wrong with your body?"


    Yasamin was the first one to notice the changes in Zen''s body. It was weird and kind of creepy too.


    The lifespan of powerful masters like Yasamin and Eastern Emperor Taiyi was limitless. As long as they weren''t defeated by some extremely powerful entity, they were essentially immortal.


    With such impossible ages, they could change their appearance too. Yasamin had made herself look like an old person, and Eastern Emperor Taiyi always appeared as a middle-aged man. They had chosen these appearances just to be in charge of the Oneness Sky Palace.


    The strange changes in Zen''s body were occurring obviously because of those Jade Bone Arrows.


    "The bone arrows are taking his life... They are sucking his existence from within him!" The Snake Goddess frowned.


    Zen''s life energy was being crazily devoured, and his speed, strength, reaction capacity and so many other factors were all being reduced significantly.


    Whoosh!


    Four Jade Bone Arrows found a gap between Zen''s hands and shot straight towards Eastern Emperor Taiyi.


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi sat down cross-legged in a flash and gently pointed with his finger. His sword immediately spiraled over and slashed at the Jade Bone Arrows.


    Crack!


    The arrows were instantly slashed into two and fell down. However, the Feather Ghosts attached to them were not defeated. They dashed towards Eastern Emperor Taiyi and there was no way to dodge them.


    Before Eastern Emperor Taiyi had time to react, the Feather Ghosts bit him and disappeared. Immediately, Eastern Emperor Taiyi turned from a middle-aged man into a very old man with white hair and ragged breathing. From his condition, it seemed that he would be dead very soon.


    "Impossible!"


    "I didn''t know the Jade Bone Arrows were so powerful. How''s Zen doing that?"


    "He''s been hit by so many arrows and yet he lives..."


    Seeing that Zen had withstood about three hundred arrows till now, Fuxi, the Snake Goddess, and the others had come to the conclusion that although the Jade Bone Arrows were quite powerful, they were still not as terrifying as they had heard of them to be.


    Unexpectedly, Eastern Emperor Taiyi was already at his last gasp after being hit by just four arrows! And Zen was still fighting.


    Just how strong was the life energy of the latter?


    "Zen... Let''s leave the Other Shore first! Squeak!" King Leuan said anxiously.


    "There are too many bone arrows here. I''m afraid they will kill us all," the Snake Goddess also reminded him.


    Previously, they had all insisted on not retreating from the Other Shore because they had already been marked. Even if they left the Other Shore and hid somewhere temporarily, they would still be at the risk of being pulled back. As long as the enemy was waiting for them, retreating from the Other Shore was much more dangerous


    already caught the targets and can obtain the bounty, right?"


    "It is none of your business," the leader of the Arrow Demons replied coldly.


    Dozens of Jade Bone Arrows were still circling around in the sky, and below them was a thorny cage made of the Heavenly Eye Vine. The Arrow Demons were totally sure that they could catch Zen and his companions this time.


    "But you still have one last step left." The man of the Gear race made a gesture of grabbing something in the air. "They are outside the Other Shore. We''ll bring them back. In return, all we want is one third of the Bone Fragments Secret Soul."


    The leader of the Arrow Demons was not happy at all with this bargain. He replied in a cold voice, "Do you think only members of your Gear race can do this task? That''s too much to ask!"


    The member of the Gear race chuckled and replied, "You can ask help from the members of the Sickle race as well, but Zen is definitely not an ordinary Eternal Realm warrior. His physical body is astonishingly strong. Even some of the most powerful warriors of our Gear race won''t be able to hold on for a single round during a fight with him, and his life energy is too much to drain, which means his recovery speed is also astonishing. It won''t be long before he regains his life energy. Do you have the confidence to deal with him on your own?"


    The leader of the Arrow Demons fell silent at this question.


    He had spent so many Jade Bone Arrows already and had forced Zen to reach his limit, like a spent arrow. If what the member of the Gear race was saying was true, it would be a pity if he were to be stingy now.


    "One fifth," said the leader of the Arrow Demons firmly.


    "One-fourth," replied the member of the Gear race.


    "Alright! Deal!"


    As soon as the leader of the Arrow Demons finished speaking, the thorny vines that had formed the prison rolled around and created a path.

 Chapter 3971 Inexhaustible Life Energy

    From the top of the Heavenly Eye Vine, the leader of the Arrow Demons squinted at the three figures in the distance.


    The Jade Bone Arrows that spiraled in the air resembled vultures circling over their prey.


    The Arrow Demons were unwilling to give the Bone Fragments Secret Soul to the Gear race. The plan was once the members of the Gear race brought back the targets, they''d let the Jade Bone Arrows rain.


    The Jade Bone Arrows were deadly. There was no way the targets or the members of the Gear race would come out of this alive.


    The Arrow Demons had lived with the Heavenly Eye Vine for so long. They not only relied on their powerful archery skills for survival, but also their ruthlessness.


    However, the three members of the Gear race didn''t make a move after they entered the center. The one in the lead suddenly raised his head and announced, "We just swallowed the Exploding Fire Essence."


    Upon hearing this, the leader and the other Arrow Demons were all stunned.


    "Don''t worry. As long as we''re unhurt, they won''t explode," he added.


    The Arrow Demons and the Heavenly Eye Vine trembled in fear. They were most afraid of the Exploding Fire Essence. If they set off the explosion of the Exploding Fire Essence, they would be doomed.


    The three members of the Gear race eyed the Arrow Demons in the distance warily. When they were sure that they were in the clear, they began to look for Zen''s shadow.


    It was clear to them that although Eastern Emperor Taiyi and the Snake Goddess bore the marks of the Element Spirit Civilization, the main target was that giant human.


    Orange lights flashed in their palms. Together, they grabbed at Zen''s shadow which was projected on the Other Shore.


    Meanwhile, in the Pear Hill, Gerald was rapidly infusing life energy into Zen''s body.


    As the Chaos Ancient God in charge of the life truth, his life energy was the strongest. It was easy for him to extract it through his bloodline, providing a steady supply of life energy for Zen.


    However, it still cost Gerald quite a lot just to revive Zen.


    From an old man, Zen suddenly reverted to being middle aged, then gradually, he returned to his youthful self. Around ninety percent of his life


    s the vines fell to the ground, a volley of Jade Bone Arrows showered over him.


    The Arrow Demons were desperate. For some, giving up their last black jade bone meant death, yet they still offered it to their companions. They were willing to sacrifice themselves to kill Zen.


    With countless Jade Bone Arrows attacking Zen, it took a toll on his body. Zen began to age quickly.


    In the meantime, from the Pear Hill, everyone could see what was happening. Immediately, Gerald leaped into action and extended a pair of pincers, replenishing Zen''s life energy once more.


    More and more Arrow Demons fell as they offered their last arrows, while Gerald consumed the power of life truth.


    Under the rain of arrows, Zen flew up to the nearest vine and grabbed it. Clasping the vine in both hands, he shook it violently. The small Arrow Demons all fell to the ground. Swiftly, Zen squashed them all with just one finger.


    The Arrow Demons could only put up a fight from afar using their archery skills, as face-to-face combat proved fatal to them.


    Zen followed the thick Heavenly Eye Vine all the way to the top till he finally faced the leader of the Arrow Demons.


    "Why... Why is your life energy inexhaustible?" the leader asked in a trembling voice.


    Desperately, he looked at Zen with pleading yet disbelieving eyes. On his way up, Zen had already been pierced by around five hundred Jade Bone Arrows, yet he still glowed youthfully. Such a feat was inconceivable.

 Chapter 3972 The Whining Road

    Zen looked at the leader of the Arrow Demons indifferently. Then, he stretched out his right hand in a flash.


    Before the leader could even try to beg for mercy, he was smashed into a cloud of blood.


    The leader might''ve been dead, but the eye of the Heavenly Eye Vine still floated around.


    "Can you speak?" Zen asked, staring at the eye.


    The eye just stared back at him blankly, as though it were dead. The vines that had been attacking Zen now too were motionless.


    "If you are playing dead, then you can go to hell." Zen then clenched his fists, poised to strike.


    As the eye sensed that it was in grave danger, a purple vine as thick as a finger suddenly extended towards Zen. When it touched him, a strand of consciousness was transmitted to him. "Yes, I can speak. Please don''t hurt me."


    The voice sounded like a human woman''s. Moreover, it sounded very weak. Zen could sense that the Heavenly Eye Vine had a strong desire to live.


    "You were trying to kill us just now. What makes you think you deserve to live?" Zen asked harshly.


    The situation in the Three Purities Stage was extremely chaotic. Even the Element Spirit Civilization did not implement any rules here. Although the creatures of different races were intelligent, they followed the law of the jungle: kill, or be killed.


    "It''s those damned Arrow Demons that wanted to kill you. They enslaved me. I had no choice but to follow their orders," the Heavenly Eye Vine said to Zen, trying to disassociate itself from the killing.


    "I see... So, how to enslave you?" Zen asked curiously.


    The big eye of the Heavenly Eye Vine trembled. Of course, it didn''t want to be enslaved by Zen. It just wanted him to let it go.


    "Tell me," Zen urged.


    The Heavenly Eye Vine realized that it couldn''t fool Zen. A vine grew from its eye. The vine extended towards Zen to reveal a small tender sprout on its tip.


    "This sprout is my source of life," the Heavenly Eye Vine admitted.


    Although it was a plant, it was good at discerning people. It knew that if it refused to tell Zen, then Zen would kill it on the spot.


    In order to survive, how could it dare to hide anything?


    Zen reached out his hand to touch the source of life of the Heavenly Ey


    message to Zen, telling him and his group to hold onto it.


    Then the ground began to tremble, and the thick vine drilled into the ground and quickly moved north.


    However, despite the Heavenly Eye Vine''s speed, it was still unable to evade the watchers in the sky. Two Shadow Warriors flew in the air, following closely behind them.


    The three members of the Element Spirit race, Claire, Les and Slade, had all seen what had just happened.


    "It''s meaningless to have sent those good-for-nothings," Les sneered.


    "That''s not necessarily the case," said Claire, shaking her head. "The Arrow Demons are very powerful. If it weren''t for the Chaos Ancient God of the life truth, they would have already..."


    At first, she wanted to say that they would have a slim chance of survival, but on second thought, she felt it was inappropriate to say so.


    Zen''s bloodline was too strange. Every time he was pushed to the limit, something unexpected would happen.


    Staring at Zen in the ice silently, Slade suddenly said, "Since they keep heading north, they plan to enter the Supreme Pure Realm through the Whining Road."


    He pointed at the ice and a map appeared on it.


    "The Whining Road?"


    "Sounds reasonable."


    Both Les and Claire were very surprised. There were many roads leading to the Supreme Pure Realm, and the Element Spirit Civilization could easily pass through thirteen of them, excluding the Whining Road. It was known to all that this road was not easy to pass.

 Chapter 3973 Interceptor

    Every Eternal Realm warrior that could enter the Supreme Pure Realm had their own unique methods.


    So it wasn''t surprising that Fuxi and the Snake Goddess had grasped a secret that the Element Spirit Civilization had never mastered.


    Once again, Slade stretched out his hand and marked an area in the north of the Grand Pure Realm on the map, saying, "They will have to pass through here on their way to the Whining Road."


    Claire squinted at the map. "It''s the territory of the Mystical Void race."


    "What do you mean?" Les asked.


    "Send some people to frighten the creatures of the Mystical Void race, and this area will be completely sealed," said Slade unhurriedly. "Once the creatures of the Mystical Void race seal this space, they can only choose to pass the Purple Wind Gorge."


    Claire looked calculative at Slade''s words before asking, "The Purple Wind Gorge is about to get windy?"


    Slade said in an emotionless voice, "Yes. Ninety-nine days form one period, and after this period of time passes, the wind will start again."


    "If there is a gust of wind, they will be stuck in the Purple Wind Gorge. Zen is powerful, but he might not be able to survive in face of so many warriors from different races in the Grand Pure Realm laying siege around him!" Claire''s eyes lit up.


    "Hahaha..." Slade burst out into emotionless laughter.


    "You may be proud but please don''t laugh like a maniac!" Les muttered, irritated.


    Slade was not an individual. When the many members of the Element Spirit race expressed their feelings through him, it was like a torture to Les.


    There was a wide passage at the bottom of the Dual Topknot Mountain.


    This passage was in the north of the Grand Pure Realm and was called the Silent Path by the members of various races.


    The Silent Path was safe. As long as one followed the rules, they wouldn''t be attacked or be in danger.


    But as the name of the passage suggested, people had to keep absolutely silent while passing through the Silent Path and not make any sound.


    Silence was the biggest rule here.


    A few fist-sized creatures floated in the air along the Silent Path. These creatures were shaped like jellyfish, looked cottony, and were light as air. They floated in every corner of the Silent Path at all times of the day.


    These white flocculent creatures belonged to the Mystical Void race.


    The Mystical Void creatures were


    ed that it was impossible to not notice the space wall before them, given everyone''s powerful perceptions. But they were now caught off guard, crashing unceremoniously into it.


    It was not, however, a big deal for the Eternal Realm warriors present.


    Zen stood firm, frowning and slapping the space wall with his hands.


    Crack!


    The space wall broke with a resounding crack.


    He smashed the space wall, causing a phantom-like figure to charge at him. This was an Eternal Realm warrior who had come from the Grand Plain Stage.


    Zen didn''t hesitate and landed a blow on the man''s head.


    No one in the Grand Pure Realm could withstand his punch. Not even the Eternal Realm warriors.


    Zen hadn''t expected the opponent to not dodge his attack. Instead, the warrior launched a palm strike towards Zen.


    "You''re courting death," Zen warned.


    He could feel that something was wrong, but he still chose to fight back.


    The moment his fist and the opponent''s palm met, he felt the softness of his opponent''s palm, and could not find any area of the palm to apply his force.


    "Ha-ha-ha!"


    The man laughed, his entire body collapsing into spider threads and wrapping around Zen''s entire body.


    Zen wanted to struggle against the spider threads, but although they were thin and soft, they couldn''t be broken or pulled apart.


    It was then that two more people appeared on the ground. These were identical twins and were also at the Eternal Realm.


    They held hands face to face, and a black hole appeared between them. The hole erupted with great magnetic force and sucked Zen into it.

 Chapter 3974 Eternal Realm Hunters

    As soon as Zen was sucked into the black hole, the two Eternal Realm warriors let go of each other''s hands, and the black hole disappeared!


    They smiled as though they had won an incredible prize.


    Soon after, a thread as thin as silk appeared behind them, intertwining around itself until it formed a figure of a creature. It was the Eternal Realm warrior that had entangled Zen earlier!


    Fuxi, the Snake Goddess, Eastern Emperor Taiyi and the others who were knocked out finally regained their senses. When they saw the three Eternal Realm warriors grinning at them in a sinister fashion, their faces fell. Did Zen just disappear with the black hole?


    "Who are you?" Eastern Emperor Taiyi asked in a low voice.


    As though they had heard the most absurd question, the three Eternal Realm warriors burst into laughter.


    "''Who are we?" one of them echoed sarcastically.


    "How dare you ask us such a stupid question!"


    "Maybe it''s because we have stayed in the Supreme Pure Realm for a long time and the lowly creatures in the Grand Pure Realm have forgotten us," the third one sneered. "Well, it''s time to make a name for ourselves once more."


    The three Eternal Realm warriors looked very experienced.


    In their eyes, the Heavenly Eye Vine wasn''t worth taking seriously.


    Even the five warriors at the Eternal Realm before them weren''t worthy to them.


    They had only targeted Zen. Now that they had gotten rid of him, the others didn''t seem to pose a threat.


    "How arrogant you are!" Yasamin cried angrily.


    King Ieuan''s bean-sized eyes flickered with recognition. "I remember! They are the Eternal Realm Hunters!"


    Hearing this, Fuxi, the Snake Goddess and the others gasped.


    The Eternal Realm Hunters were known to be a team made up of the Eternal Realm warriors.


    Besides the Element Spirit Civilization and the Nihility race, the Eternal Realm Hunters had also gained a foothold in the Three Purities Stage.


    They never had a stand; they joined neither the Nihility race nor the Element Spirit Civilization.


    There used to be more than 20 Eternal Realm Hunters, all of whom were outstanding warriors at the Eternal Realm and were extremely good at combat. It was said that they had once fought with the Nihility race. Although they were defeated by the Grandmaster of Heaven, they still managed to escape from the Nihility race sa


    ely these three Eternal Realm Hunters.


    Only King Ieuan remained unmoving. Instead, it continued negotiating. "I know you are from the Knotting race, and your names are Sawyer and Thurston. Back then, the whole Knotting race was killed by the Element Spirit Civilization. You have a grudge against the Element Spirit Civilization, so why do you help them now?"


    The older brother of the twins was Sawyer, and the younger one was Thurston. The Eternal Realm Hunter behind them was Pearson. These names were given after they became the Eternal Realm Hunters.


    At the mention of the painful past, hatred flashed in the eyes of Sawyer and Thurston. Sawyer said, "We just want the Bone Fragments Secret Soul. We will never take the Element Spirit Civilization''s side. Sooner or later, we will avenge our clansmen!"


    King Ieuan had already expected this. It continued, "The Knotting race used to be a dominating civilization. It is said that in order to complete the Finale Way, tens of billions of its people offered their blood, but in the end, their efforts were all in vain. We really admire them. But now you help the Element Spirit Civilization hinder the completion of the Finale Way. You''re holding the candle to the devil!"


    "Cut the crap!"


    Pearson shook his hands, and the threads all over the sky were about to wrap up the crowd.


    Just then, Sawyer suddenly stretched out his hand and grabbed Pearson by the shoulder. With a faint smile on his face and a crazed look in his eyes, he asked, "The completion of the Finale Way? Do you think you can complete it?"

 Chapter 3975 The Black Sun

    Sawyer and Thurston had not been born on the Other Shore¡ªrather, they came from the chaos.


    The Knotting race was the ruling civilization of the 733rd chaos. Sawyer and Thurston were the most capable assistants of the strongest warrior in the Knotting race.


    As King Ieuan had said, the Knotting race was known for the courage of its members.


    In the quest to achieve the Finale Way, many members of the Knotting race had been killed as blood sacrifices. But it was all in vain. The strongest warrior had still failed, and could only lead the remaining members to the Other Shore.


    However, even on the Other Shore, the Knotting race still advocated the Finale Way. This put them at odds with the Element Spirit Civilization. Eventually, the strongest warrior of the Knotting race was killed by the Eye Spirit, along with almost all the other members of the race. Only Sawyer and his brother Thurston had survived.


    Like all the members of the Knotting race, the two brothers used to have a deep obsession with the Finale Way. But after they became Eternal Realm Hunters, they gradually began to give up on achieving it. Now, after long years of staying in the Three Purities Stage, they never mentioned the Finale Way anymore.


    King Ieuan suddenly said something that immediately caught their attention. It told them that they could realize the Finale Way. Sawyer looked at first shocked, then he smirked as though he''d heard a funny joke.


    "So, you are the creatures in the current chaos?" Thurston asked.


    "Yes," said King Ieuan.


    "This round of chaos is about to come to an end soon. I wonder whether you have been fully prepared, and how strong the strongest of you truly is," said Sawyer in a mocking tone.


    King Ieuan pondered this for a few moments. Then it shook its head. "I don''t know."


    Sawyer let out a sharp bark of laughter.


    "Since going to the Supreme Pure Realm, we have paid little attention to what is happening in the chaos, but we know clearly that there is no ruling force in this round," he said. "What makes you think you can realize the Finale Way?"


    There were many preparations needed in order to complete the Finale Way.


    A ruling civilization established its dominion and ensured that no other force in the chaos could resist it. This allowed the members of that civilization to focus on preparing for the completion of the Finale Way.


    Now, however, the various super forces in the chaos were fighting each other. How could anyone have the time to prepare for the Finale Way?


    Sawyer''s question left King Ieuan speechless.


    It quickly realized that Sawyer was right.


    So far, almost no preparations had been made for the Finale Way.


    How could they complete it?


    The Snake Goddess listened calmly from where she stood on the vine. Something f


    re Realm, killing countless creatures who crossed their paths. The Element Spirit Civilization and the Nihility race had been unable to deal with them, and instead evaded the Cyan Bone Ghosts when they encountered them.


    But when Sawyer and Thurston had encountered them, two Cyan Bone Ghosts had been devoured by the Black Sun. They were never seen again after that¡ªfor all intents and purposes, they were dead, killed by the Black Sun.


    Since even the Cyan Bone Ghosts couldn''t escape the Black Sun, how could Zen ever manage it?


    After Sawyer and Thurston sucked Zen into the Black Sun, they were absolutely certain that he was not only gone, but dead.


    They had never imagined that someone could survive after being devoured by the Black Sun. It was too strange to even consider.


    "What''s happening?" Pearson asked quickly, looking with concern at the brothers.


    "I¡ªI don''t know. I have never seen half of the Black Sun before¡ª"


    As Sawyer spoke, he was interrupted by movement within the black semicircle on his chest. He staggered backwards. Something was crawling out from within the dark depths.


    It was half a body. Everyone stared, mouths gaping, while the other half of the body also crawled out from the semicircle in Thurston''s chest.


    The movements of the two halves were coordinated. Obviously, they belonged to a single being, although an invisible space in the middle still separated them as they crawled out.


    The two halves of the Black Sun exerted an irresistible gravitational force upon each other. Independent of any action by Sawyer and Thurston, the two black semicircles drew closer and closer to each other, dragging the two brothers towards one another.


    Finally, the two halves met, and the Black Sun was formed. As the circle became whole, so did the two halves of the body, joining together to form a single human shape.

 Chapter 3976 Stand

    The man''s body was dark in color. Although the people around him could not see his appearance clearly, his eight-foot-tall figure gave away that he was Zen.


    "Cough, cough, cough..."


    At that moment, Zen coughed violently and spat out a black mass.


    He coughed up so much it took him a long time to recover.


    Meanwhile, Sawyer and Thurston still couldn''t believe and wondered how he had escaped.


    After all, such a thing never happened before.


    The only unexpected thing that happened was that the Cyan Bone Ghosts'' bodies were too powerful and remained intact for a long while in the Black Sun.


    Back then, the Cyan Bone Ghosts, who were still alive after being absorbed, wanted to escape, but Sawyer quickly put Thurston''s hand down, so they failed to get out.


    However, the situation was completely different this time.


    Usually, they controlled the Black Sun, but now it was the Black Sun that controlled them. The two brothers never imagined that such a thing would happen.


    "He got out of the Black Sun by force. What kind of strength does it need?" In shock, Thurston looked at Zen, who was coughing.


    The two brothers had controlled the Black Sun for a long time, and during that period, they thoroughly studied it.


    According to their study, someone unknown had created the Black Sun. It should be a remarkably perfect prison.


    Anyone who got locked up inside it could not get out unless both Sawyer and Thurston helped them.


    From the design point of view, the Black Sun was perfect.


    Yet, today, someone broke this perfect philosophy and got out of it.


    "What are you waiting for? Swallow him again! I don''t believe he can escape a second time!"


    Pearson quickly jumped up, and the spider threads swerved towards the opposite direction and shrouded Zen.


    In turn, Zen, who was still in a fit of violent coughs, suddenly stopped. Then in a bent position, he turned his head and stared at Pearson.


    His whole body was pitch black, but his eyeballs were a little white. His bright and sharp eyes were like arrows that were ready to leave the bowstring any time, which unnerved Pearson and slightly weakened his momentum.


    The moment Pearson paused for a bit, Zen fiercely pounced forward with his hands on the ground. Then, he ran like a cheetah for two steps


    ot fight Zen head-on.


    What was worse was that there were several Eternal Realm warriors with Zen.


    "Anyway, it''s true that the Element Spirit Civilization tries to kill them," Sawyer confirmed.


    If Pear Hill, which the Snake Goddess had mentioned, could deal with the Nihility race and the Element Spirit Civilization, then Sawyer and Thurston were willing to side with them unconditionally!


    Suddenly, a barrage of loud footsteps came from not far away.


    Da! Da! Da!


    A group of creatures, half human and half horse, charged towards them at an exceptionally fast speed. "It''s the Sacred Horse race!" Fuxi exclaimed.


    The Sacred Horse race might not be the best in the Grand Pure Realm, but they were the most challenging race to deal with.


    They moved too fast that no one could catch up with them or escape from them. They fought their opponents to death.


    Because the Eternal Realm Hunters had delayed Zen for such a long time, he and the others encountered the members of the Sacred Horse race.


    "I hope you two won''t get me into trouble!" Pearson snorted coldly.


    As he spoke, he turned around and flicked his finger. Then, he transformed into extraordinarily thin spider threads that quietly spread out on the ground.


    Da! Da! Da!


    The members of the Sacred Horse race continued to get closer. In a blink, they finally arrived.


    The leader of the group was thirty feet tall and carried a spear full of thorns on his shoulder. He shouted excitedly, "How cooperative of you! Do you wait for us here?"

 Chapter 3977 Heading North

    "Woo... Hoo... Hoo..."


    A large group of members from the Sacred Horse race shouted from behind the leader, and their loud voices filled the air.


    They liked to move fast when they got excited. People saw twisted shadows as they galloped. Their bodies traversed distances at speeds that the naked eye could not see.


    This group from the Sacred Horse race moved in insane ways. They were like beams of light that dazzled everyone around them.


    However, their excitement did not last long.


    Pearson merely lifted his arm a little, but the spider threads had already formed a large net, which trapped all the members of the Sacred Horse race inside it.


    After the spider web wrapped around the members of the Sacred Horse race, who originally moved insanely fast, their speed drastically dropped at once. They also discovered that their theurgies became entirely ineffective.


    "It''s your turn," Pearson said without looking back.


    Although he did not agree with Sawyer and Thurston''s ideas, the three of them, who were Eternal Realm Hunters, had wandered on the Three Purities Stage for so long that they were like brothers.


    Since Sawyer and Thurston were so stubborn, Pearson had no choice but stand with them and fight.


    Sawyer and Thurston held their hands together, and the Black Sun suddenly appeared between the two of them.


    Whoosh...


    The Black Sun spun rapidly and released an extraordinarily strong attraction force.


    Even Zen could not resist the force, let alone these members of the Sacred Horse race.


    "What is that?"


    "I''m trapped in these spider threads!"


    "Why can''t I use my bloodline power?"


    The members of the Sacred Horse race were in a mess. After all, how could they resist the terrifying power of the Black Sun?


    One by one, the Black Sun automatically sucked in the members of the Sacred Horse race. Some of the braver members of their race threw their spears before they got sucked in, but their efforts proved useless.


    Within nine seconds, the Black Sun sucked in all of the members of the Sacred Horse race.


    Meanwhile, Fuxi, the Snake Goddess, and the others quietly looked at each other.


    Indeed, the Eternal Realm Hunters deserved their reputation. They were formidable and mighty warriors.


    Afterwards, Sawyer and Thurston withdrew their hands, and the Black Sun disappeared. Then, its exit closed.


    The Black Sun would consume the members of the Sacred Horse race inside it. Since their physical bodies were not that strong, it would not take long to eat them awa


    e Eternal Realm Hunters wanted to follow them to death, then let them be," Slade said in a very calm voice.


    On the other hand, Les just laughed and said nothing.


    Along the way to the north, the Heavenly Eye Vine continuously traveled through the layer of soil.


    After it crossed a distance of about three thousand miles, they arrived at a range of bumpy hills.


    The hills were quite sturdy and could bear the pressure of over one hundred thousand divine megatons. Even the Heavenly Eye Vine found it hard to travel through them, so it just crawled along the hills'' terrain.


    "Quack, quack!"


    Just then, they heard a strange scream from the sky.


    It turned out that about eight peculiar birds lined up and spiraled downwards.


    The Snake Goddess released crimson shadows, which were like an octopus'' tentacles as they lashed at the sky. Her shadows did not aim at anything, but they forced the strange birds to gather together. Then, a mark of Eight Diagrams appeared on the birds'' bodies.


    "Boom!"


    Then came an intense explosion in the air which struck the strange birds to death. However, there were no corpses, but only some bird feathers that slowly fluttered in the air.


    Fuxi blew on his fist and said impassively, "How dare these strange birds attack us?"


    As they headed north, he killed some non-human creatures who were surprisingly fast along the way. He showed quite formidable methods and skills and slaughtered those non-human creatures in no time.


    Pearson quietly sized Fuxi up. These human warriors in the Eternal Realm didn''t seem to be as weak as he thought. At least, Fuxi was qualified to join the Eternal Realm Hunters if it was in the past.

 Chapter 3978 Golden Axe

    As they traveled north, the low hills continued to rise and eventually turned into lofty mountains.


    Fortunately, these mountains were close to one another, making it easier for the Heavenly Eye Vine to leap from mountaintop to mountaintop.


    After the Heavenly Eye Vine had crossed the biggest mountain, a path appeared that led northwest. This path extended to the horizon with no end at sight.


    On one side of the path rested a deep valley: the Purple Wind Gorge.


    Legend had it that this valley was formed by gusts of wind over the years.


    When Fuxi and the Snake Goddess saw the path, their expressions shifted. Eastern Emperor Taiyi, Yasamin, and King Ieuan''s faces darkened as well.


    "The path seems to be covered by white mist?" Zen pointed out in confusion.


    "This is not a white mist," Fuxi snapped back. "It''s the members of the Mystical Void race."


    "The Mystical Void race?" Zen raised an eyebrow in curiosity.


    He was not surprised, especially because he sensed a vibrant energy of life as they approached the area.


    At the time, it was an odd feeling, so he did not ask earlier.


    The Snake Goddess nodded and continued to explain, "This long, winding road is the Silent Path. Members of the Mystical Void race are scattered along the Silent Path. As we go through this path, we cannot make a sound or we will infuriate the members of the Mystical Void race." She then lifted her hand to point at the mist. "It seems that someone already bothered them. They took this form to block future travelers."


    Zen walked towards the path''s entrance and stretched out his hand to touch the mist, but his finger was blocked by an invisible space wall.


    "Now that the Element Spirit Civilization is tracking you, they might have already figured out where you were headed. They must''ve irritated the members of the Mystical Void race to stop you beforehand," Pearson said as he walked up and pressed a hand against the space wall.


    "All we have to do is eliminate the members of the Mystical Void race," responded Zen.


    "You can try," said Fuxi, shrugging his shoulders.


    Without any hesitation, Zen sent a punch into the space wall.


    His punch was anything but weak. With one strong hit of energy, the wall shattered and revealed a hole of sixty feet deep.


    However, the hole was only empty for a second.


    A strange whine echoed out and two white dots appeared behind the space wall above them. Such dots could reflect surrounding scenes and


    At the end of the seventh step rested the famous Purple Wind Gorge.


    Once the Heavenly Eye Vine lifted them onto the Sky Ladder Plateau, Fuxi used the heavenly eye to scout their surroundings. All of a sudden, his face turned stone cold. "It seems to be even worse on this way."


    "What''s wrong? More warriors are gathered there?" asked Eastern Emperor Taiyi. Fuxi shook his head, "No. They''re all gone. The creatures from other races have disappeared from my vision."


    As they heard this, the Snake Goddess, Yasamin, and the others exchanged looks of confusion. Sawyer asked from the side, "You mean you can''t see them through the heavenly eye?"


    It was not rare that warriors moved in concealment.


    However, the heavenly eye easily saw through most disguises and concealment methods. Now that they failed to see their enemies'' movements, this only meant that their concealment methods were far from ordinary.


    Fuxi shook his head and gave the vine extended from the heavenly eye to Sawyer. Sawyer took it and looked around through the eye, but saw nothing as well.


    Just as Sawyer opened his mouth to speak, they all sensed a formidable power of space from above them. All of a sudden, the clouds parted and a huge golden axe appeared from behind. It slashed down at them before anyone could even react.


    The axe was several hundred feet in size.


    Its edge was engraved with strange Sanskrit words across it, and it radiated circles of golden light that emitted an extremely strong aura.


    Crack!


    In a split second, the golden axe fell from the sky and chopped down towards the ground, slicing the thick Heavenly Eye Vine in half.

 Chapter 3979 Golden Flames

    The Heavenly Eye Vine''s only weakness was the heavenly eye.


    As a plant, any part cut off from its body could still grow and regenerate independently.


    Back when the Arrow Demons fought with the Lightning Ghosts, the latter utilized their ability to travel through space from thousands of miles away to catch their enemies off guard.


    In a flash, they were able to cut the Heavenly Eye Vine into dozens of pieces.


    Over time, these Heavenly Eye Vine cuttings took root independently and grew all over the place which became even more enemies of the Lightning Ghosts.


    However, this golden axe that appeared out of the blue was no ordinary weapon.


    When this golden axe was wielded, it cut through the vine and left behind a small circle of golden light. Upon closer inspection, this circle of light was actually golden flames that quickly spread along the length of the vine.


    If nothing was done to stop them, the golden flames would quickly swallow up the whole plant and reduce it into nothing but ash.


    Whoosh!


    A sharp golden ray of sword radiance slashed through the vine as Eastern Emperor Taiyi brandished his blade and cut off the part that already caught fire.


    From a once mighty vine, the sliced part fell to the ground and burned bright until there was nothing but ash and smoke.


    Yasamin sported an extremely serious look on her face. "Who in the world summoned the golden axe to attack us?"


    Fuxi scouted through the heavenly eye and also spread out his spiritual sense in an effort to find the target. "I don''t know. The power of space is so weird."


    After the huge axe appeared, it quickly shot up into the air and disappeared right before their very eyes. Not even Fuxi''s efforts were enough to find its location.


    "I recognized that golden axe. It''s the bull-headed monsters'' weapon," Thurston told them.


    Bull-headed monsters were one of the most dangerous races in the Grand Pure Realm as they had excellent combat ability. Fortunately, their weakness lay in their lackluster agility so one would generally be safe if they kept their distance.


    "Those creatures aren''t idiots. If you''re their common target then they would team-up and stop at nothing to subdue you. That''s an incredibly serious matter that we need to consider," Pearson grumbled.


    It wasn''t that difficult to fight against a single race. Each had their own strengths but also their own weaknesses.


    If one knew what these weaknesses were and how to exploit them, then it would be an easy fight.


    Known as the strongest melee fighters, the bull-headed monsters were a considerably powerful force and those targeted by the


    Everyone watched as this monstrous mouth that suddenly grew on his shoulder sucked and devoured the Life Devouring Flames, including those that burned on the axe blade.


    Once all of the flames had been eaten, the golden axe became nothing more than an ordinary chunk of sharp metal.


    All Zen needed to do was exert a bit of strength before he was able to snap the huge axe in half!


    Everyone who witnessed this scene almost had their eyes pop right out of their sockets in surprise.


    ''What is with that weird mouth that suddenly grew on his shoulder?


    How was that mouth able to devour the flames so easily?'' they all couldn''t help but wonder to themselves.


    Among the three Eternal Realm Hunters, Pearson was the most knowledgeable and also most scheming.


    When he saw what had happened, he surmised that Zen''s body was able to adjust itself to all sorts of predicaments.


    So did that mean that he had also sorts of method that could correspond to defeating other theurgies?


    If that was the case then wouldn''t that make him entirely omnipotent?


    It was merely a conjecture since Pearson had no way to prove it. Who knows? Maybe it was mere coincidence that Zen''s body had the ability to restrain the Life Devouring Flames.


    However, he remembered the fact that Zen was also able to escape from the Black Sun with a strange physical form. Was that also a coincidence then? There seemed to be too many coincidences in this world.


    Pearson thought it through but couldn''t come up with a sound hypothesis as of the moment. ''Maybe Sawyer and Thurston made the right choice to follow him?'' he thought to himself.


    All of a sudden, more power of space surged across the sky as multiple giant axes began to rain down upon them in succession!

 Chapter 3980 A Trick

    The Heavenly Eye Vine was a monster that had lived for countless years.


    It could feel the space fluctuation in the sky, and how strong the fluctuation was really struck it dumb.


    It would eventually die if it kept fleeing this way, so it could only place its hope on Zen now. After all, it was a fact that Zen managed to crush a huge golden axe with his bare hands¡ªhis strength was indisputable.


    Thus, while it dodged, it also used Zen as a shield to face those golden axes.


    In fact, considering the fact that Zen was still standing on it, Zen wouldn''t just stay still and watch on with folded arms. Even if the Heavenly Eye Vine didn''t do this, Zen would still take the initiative to fight off those golden axes.


    Every time a huge golden axe swung down on them, the big mouth on Zen''s shoulder would immediately open and suck down the Life Devouring Flames. The originally golden axe would immediately lose its luster and turn into an ordinary iron axe.


    Although the ordinary iron axe would still retain its slashing momentum, Zen could rip it into halves with just a little twisting movement, and it would end up being thrown aside casually by Zen.


    Bang!


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    Boom!


    Some of the axes were torn apart by Zen with bare hands, some cracked, while some others were riddled with holes.


    All in all, the fate of those golden axes, which had appeared out of nowhere, never strayed far from being destroyed into pieces by Zen.


    Something unexpected also occurred during the fight¡ªsomeone used the space theurgy and retrieved the broken giant axes. However, they soon realized that the destroyed giant axes were useless and stopped. Since no one took care of those broken axes, wherever the Heavenly Eye Vine passed, there would always be piles of iron scraps lying on the ground.


    When Zen first attacked, Fuxi, the Snake Goddess, and the others were quite worried, but upon seeing Zen becoming more and more proficient in dealing with the golden axes, their tight nerves gradually loosened.


    Right in front of them, at the end of the first stair of the Sky Ladder Plateau, there were over a hundred creatures with transparent wings hovering in the air. These creatures were only about half the height of an adult human. They had small builds, but their heads were big. The combinations of these made them look funny.


    Each one of them was covered in a layer of space membrane. It was precisely these layers of space membrane that changed the surrounding light rays and allowed them and the bull-headed men to hide well.


    Even if one''s spiritual sense swept over this area, their prese


    e blue-haired Space Manipulating Spirit created a winding space corridor in front of her.


    Buzz!


    The space fluctuated, and a second later, the blue-haired Space Manipulating Spirit already appeared above the Heavenly Eye Vine. She suddenly clapped her hands, and the space corridor immediately enveloped Zen. In the blink of an eye, Zen fell into the space corridor and vanished from everyone''s sight.


    Da! Da! Da!


    Unable to dodge the triangular fragments released by the Space Manipulating Spirits, the Heavenly Eye Vine''s huge body was instantly riddled with wounds and soon torn into pieces.


    The three Eternal Realm Hunters, as well as Fuxi, the Snake Goddess, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, King Ieuan, and Yasamin couldn''t withstand the bull-headed men''s huge axes. In a matter of seconds, all of them were killed. Blood gushed out of their wounds and flooded the area.


    Everything went on smoothly just like the Space Manipulating Spirits and the bull-headed men had planned.


    "Is it so simple?" The blue-haired Space Manipulating Spirit took a doubtful look at the corpses lying on the ground and then at Zen who was still trapped in the Endless Corridor.


    There was a powerful, constantly twisting spatial force within the Endless Corridor, but it shouldn''t have had much effect on Zen.


    However, the purpose of this Endless Corridor was just to trap Zen.


    The blue-haired Space Manipulating Spirit''s eyes widened suddenly. She saw that Zen''s body had already been badly twisted by space in the Endless Corridor.


    But his physical body was so powerful that he could even slay Hawley¡ªhow could it be twisted by mere spatial power?


    "It''s a trick!"


    the blue-haired Space Manipulating Spirit shouted as a realization hit her.

 Chapter 3981 The Skills Of The Hunters

    The bull-headed men and the Space Manipulating Spirits were already consumed with suspicions about the entire situation.


    After all, the Element Spirit Civilization was prepared to reward them handsomely if they were to capture Zen and his companions. The weakest of them were still at the Eternal Realm.


    Even if they attacked Zen and his group without a warning, they were capable enough to defend themselves. But surprisingly, they were quickly killed without putting up a decent fight.


    "What just happened?" The bull-headed man with golden horns asked, with his eyes overflowing with confusion.


    The blue-haired Space Manipulating Spirit shook the Endless Corridor in her palm slightly. At this action, a corpse in a twisted condition was thrown out of it. With her ocean-like eyes reflecting her determination, she spread her transparent wings evenly and prepared to take flight. Her body ascended to the air with the blue light in her eyes shining in contrast to her hair.


    As she flapped her wings, the immense power generating in the space around her spread around like an invisible tidal wave.


    The speed at which the power of space spread was not fast, but it had enough momentum to cover a significantly large area.


    Moreover, nothing within its scope could deceive it or remain hidden. It was much better than the spiritual sense when used for detecting.


    The time ticked away, one second followed by the other without any progress.


    As a result, the blue-haired Space Manipulating Spirit felt her nerves tense up in confusion. They were supposed to find the Heavenly Eye Vine on the first stair of the Sky Ladder Plateau, but it was nowhere to be seen. How could this be?


    "Stop looking for it. It has gone to the second stair," the golden horned bull-headed man said suddenly after noticing the intensity of her predicament.


    "How can you be so sure?" the blue-haired Space Manipulating Spirit questioned him. But as soon as she turned around to face him, she was left speechless.


    Her eyes instinctively fell on the ice piece in the hands of the golden horned bull-headed man. The ice piece was given by the Element Spirit Civilization. As of now, Zen and his companions were being closely pursued by the Shadow Warriors. They could easily track Zen and his group to know their whereabouts using the ice piece.


    The blue-haired Space Manipulating Spirit averted her eyes and lowered them to the ground to avoid contact as she felt flustered. She put too much faith in her talent for manipulating space. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine Zen and his group would play a trick on her right under her nose.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    After experiencing a setback, she kept spiraling up until she reached a height of more than ten thousand feet.


    Each stair of the Sky Ladder Plateau was over ten thousand feet high. At her height, she was able to see the second stair.


    up with Zen and his group for a full-blown confrontation.


    "The Space Manipulating Spirits are persistent when it comes to their cause. They will surely come after us and build a space channel." As Pearson spoke, he took out a handful of brown ash from his Sumeru Space.


    Simultaneously, a blue thin line made itself visible as it extended from the sky in the distance. The speed at which it approached them was so fast that it was hard to keep track of it with the naked eye.


    It was none other than the Endless Corridor released by the blue-haired Space Manipulating Spirit.


    Without wasting a moment, Pearson blew on the ash that rested on his palm.


    The ash then spread backwards.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Even though it was small in size, it still covered a massive area. The nature of the space in this area had shifted from its previous form. The large space seemed to have solidified, then it turned into thousands of fragments and collapsed.


    The blue-haired Space Manipulating Spirit had initially planned to drive the Endless Corridor right in front of Zen and the others to stop them in their tracks and later to teleport the bull-headed men and the other Space Manipulating Spirits there.


    The Endless Corridor was slightly different from the space channel. The space channel only closed the distance between two places, but the Endless Corridor had no limitations when it came to distance. It was lengthened or shortened at will by the blue-haired Space Manipulating Spirit. Therefore, regardless of the distance, they could cross it with something so simple as a single step.


    At this moment, the Endless Corridor drilled into the space created by the ash.


    If an ordinary space channel touched the ash, only the first part would solidify and then shatter.


    However, the moment the Endless Corridor touched the ash, it solidified as a whole. With a loud splash, all of it was shattered as though it were nothing.

 Chapter 3982 The Earthly Dragon Snakes

    The blue-haired spirit controlled the Endless Corridor, putting the bull-headed men and the other Space Manipulating Spirits into it.


    However, as soon as they stepped in, the Endless Corridor collapsed with a loud bang, and they all fell off!


    Each step in the Endless Corridor was equal to a great distance. Thus, upon entry alone, some of the bull-headed men and the Space Manipulating Spirits had already reached the second stair of the Sky Ladder Plateau, and others were now falling from over ten thousand feet high to the first stair of the plateau.


    The bull-headed men and the Space Manipulating Spirits now lay scattered all over the ground, though the height wasn''t enough to cause these warriors to be injured.


    The blue-haired spirit''s face fell at this development.


    "What happened? Can''t you keep it stable?" the bull-headed man with golden horns demanded.


    "It''s the Bone-coagulating Powder!" the blue-haired spirit responded dismally.


    The Bone-coagulating Powder rendered most space theurgies useless, and the Endless Corridor, apparently, was no exception.


    "These people are trickier than we expected," the bull-headed man with golden horns muttered, frowning.


    They fell right into their opponents'' trap.


    "It''s just a minor setback. We''re still more powerful! They can''t escape death forever!" A blue light flashed in the blue-haired spirit''s eyes. The killing intent was so strong it spread out along the space force, sending a chill down the Space Manipulating Spirits'' and the bull-headed men''s hearts.


    Each stair of the Sky Ladder Plateau had the same height, but the width differed.


    The width of each stair was a third shorter than that of the stair directly below it.


    Of course, the Heavenly Eye Vine knew how powerful the bull-headed men and the Space Manipulating Spirits were.


    They were the two most fearsome races in the Grand Pure Realm. If they ever caught up to them, they would undoubtedly be killed.


    The vine made use of almost all its skills as it made its way through the Sky Ladder Plateau. It wasn''t long before it passed through the second and third stairs of the plateau.


    As it moved up, each stair of the plateau became narrower and narrower, and the time it took to cross it became shorter and shorter.


    After the bull-headed men and the Space Manipulating Spirits finally converged on the fourth stair


    he races in the Grand Pure Realm were gathering towards them. Given the difficulty of killing the Earthly Dragon Snakes, taking them on would just give those races time to close in on them.


    "It won''t take us long!" Fuxi said, smiling. The Sumeru Space in his hand flashed with an azure light. A large amount of brown powder poured out from it.


    When Pearson saw the powder, he raised his eyebrows. "What kind of powder is this?"


    Even though the Eternal Realm Hunters were experienced and knowledgeable, they didn''t know how to use the Imprisoning Lightning, so they naturally didn''t recognize this kind of item.


    "The Solid Lightning Powder." Fuxi chuckled.


    He slightly shook his palm, and an invisible force arranged the powder and turned it into the shape of a palm, as tall as a person.


    In the Heavenly Thunder Plain, Zen had collected a massive amount of Solid Lightning Powder, just in case.


    Fuxi had just taken out half of it.


    "What does the Solid Lightning Powder do?" Sawyer asked curiously.


    Fuxi looked up at the sky. A mark of Eight Diagrams appeared in the void, which was also the central area where most of the Earthly Dragon Snakes gathered. "Have you heard of the Heavenly Thunder Plain?" he asked.


    "Of course," Sawyer replied, nodding.


    "It is the thunderbolts from there!"


    With that, Fuxi launched a palm strike upwards.


    In a flash, the palm formed by the Solid Lightning Powder suddenly disappeared and reappeared on the Eight Diagrams, striking at it.


    Pop!


    On impact, the Eight Diagrams broke in a flash of dazzling lightning.

 Chapter 3983 Desperate

    The Solid Lightning Powder was undoubtedly powerful. The Primeval Lord of Heaven had used it to kill the Divine Retribution Beast that had once hunted the human race.


    The terrifying lightning exploded, radiating in all directions like a supernova.


    Buzz!


    The explosion was so loud that it started sounding like a piercing shriek, leaving everyone''s ears ringing.


    For a moment, no one could see clearly. They could only see a white light. Everything was shrouded in the white light, including the earth and sky.


    After a long time, the white light dissipated, making everything visible again.


    The Earthly Dragon Snakes were gone. A large part of them were killed by the lightning released by the Solid Lightning Powder. The others fell to the ground: some killed by the shock waves, some just stunned unconscious.


    Without any hesitation, the Heavenly Eye Vine now rushed forward.


    The bull-headed men and the Space Manipulating Spirits had already arrived a little way ahead of Zen''s group. They had been about to attack when they were spooked still by the lightning in the sky.


    "What kind of skill was that?"


    "What horrible lightning!"


    "The color and power looked familiar. Did they bring the lightning from the Heavenly Thunder Plain?"


    Because of the lightning, the Space Manipulating Spirits and the bull-headed men had hesitated to approach Zen''s group. The Heavenly Eye Vine wasted no time taking advantage of the lull and climbed up to the fifth stair.


    "Should we stop them?" the blue-haired Space Manipulating Spirit asked.


    "What if they use that lightning skill again?" the bull-headed man with golden horns said with a frown.


    The blue-haired Space Manipulating Spirit thought for a moment. "Let''s just follow them for now. Let''s wait and see if other races will attack them."


    Most of the races in the Grand Pure Realm were chasing Zen''s group. If the races that didn''t know their true strength exhausted them, the Space Manipulating Spirits and the bull-headed men would be able to catch them easily. This was a much safer plan.


    "Good idea," the bull-headed man with golden horns agreed.


    The two races thus decided not to stop Zen and the others themselves. Instead, they maintained a certain distance from them and followed them al


    y clansmen, you brat! You''ll pay for that today!" One of the Diabolic Demons took two steps forward, looking like he could swallow Zen in one gulp.


    When the other creatures heard this, their expressions changed slightly.


    "The Diabolic Earth has been destroyed?" one of the giants asked carefully.


    The Diabolic Earth was now as quiet as death. No one dared to go and have a look, so only a few people knew about it.


    "Humph!" The Diabolic Demons didn''t answer.


    "Did they destroy it?" the giant pressed.


    "Yes! It''s that brat!" The king gritted his teeth and pointed at Zen.


    Hearing this, the creatures started to stir uncomfortably.


    The Diabolic Demons were among the top three most powerful races in the Grand Pure Realm. It was near impossible to kill them.


    All this time, they thought Zen, who had defeated Hawley, just had a powerful physique.


    It seemed that the information they got was completely inaccurate.


    Although surprised at this development, the creatures did not retreat. After all, they still had the advantage of numbers.


    However, they were all now waiting for another to take action first. Even the Diabolic Demons could only seethe in silence and glare at Zen.


    They were left in a stalemate.


    All the people on the Heavenly Eye Vine looked grave, while Zen remained composed.


    The stalemate was broken moments later, however, as Zen sensed something. He suddenly looked at the Purple Wind Gorge behind him. "Master Fuxi, please get the Solid Lightning Powder ready."

 Chapter 3984 The Stone Spirits

    Faced with such a dire situation, they had no way of retreating.


    Without hesitation, Fuxi brought out the Solid Lightning Powder.


    Splash!


    With just a slight shake of his hand, the scattered granules of the Solid Lightning Powder clumped together as if by an invisible force and turned into a huge palm.


    This palm was even bigger than the previous one.


    When the bull-headed man with golden horns and the blue-haired Space Manipulating Spirit saw the palm, their eyes narrowed slightly. Although they had never seen this before, but something about it attracted attention.


    The other bull-headed men subconsciously took a few steps back.


    They didn''t know how the Solid Lightning Powder could channel the lightning from the Heavenly Thunder Plain, but its power was still quite terrifying.


    Whoever took action first would be blasted into pieces by the lightning.


    The bull-headed men and the Space Manipulating Spirits were at an advantage now. They had seen the power of the Solid Lightning Powder before. And at the moment, they were waiting for those who had no idea about the power to charge forward.


    However, it was natural that the creatures that could survive in the harsh environment of the Three Purities Stage would not be so stupid.


    As soon as Fuxi brought out the powder, they immediately went on high alert.


    "What is that?" a giant asked.


    "I have no idea," another giant replied, shaking his head.


    "Everyone, be careful. Retreat slowly. We need to be careful!" The mouse shaped creatures began to retreat.


    The other creatures followed suit.


    "These people are just playing tricks on you. You all are incredibly powerful in the Grand Pure Realm. Why are you so scared of them?" the blue-haired Space Manipulating Spirit asked loudly.


    Let alone the giant creatures, even the small mouse-shaped creatures would not be easy to deal with.


    True to their shape, these creatures were known as the Terror Mice. The destructive power of their seemingly small bodies was easily about one fifth of what the bull-headed men were packing. Moreover, their number was much larger than that of the bull-headed men.


    "Why don''t you attack them first if you are so sure?" one of the Terror Mice asked.


    They weren''t the only ones who were displeased. Other creatures also cast unfriendly gazes at the blue-haired Space Manipulating Spirit. She was way too cunning for comfort.


    Time passed by. The two sides were at a stalemate.


    "They dare not attack us," Fuxi remarked from the middle of the vine. His hand was raised and he would have sent out the powder any time.


    "It''s not that they do not dare," the Snake Goddess shook her head in negation. "Rather, they are not of one mind. They each have their own plans about dealing with us and they can''t come to a single decision."


    "Yeah. The problem is, every si


    he middle of the Stone Spirits.


    "Let me fight first," Pearson said as he stepped forwards. He waved his hands gently and his arms turned into spider threads that swept towards the Stone Spirits. The Stone Spirits who were wrapped by the spider threads immediately stopped as if they had lost all of their strength and will power.


    Within a few seconds, Pearson''s entire body had turned into spider threads and wrapped up the Stone Spirits. The Stone Spirits were totally motionless now.


    Seeing that the Stone Spirits had been stopped, the other creatures began to make their moves now.


    The ones who were shrouded in the mist made the first move. As they stretched out their hands, waves of white mist began floating towards the bodies of the Stone Spirits. When the mist had completely enveloped the Stone Spirits, it turned purple.


    These creatures could control several forms of mist, and each of them had a different effect. The red blood mist had the power to confuse the enemy; the yellow poison mist was highly toxic; the green spiritual mist could generate white bones and muscles; the purple mist could corrode everything.


    It was undoubtedly not easy to corrode the Stone Spirits. Moreover, the mist creatures hadn''t launched a heavy attack this time. Their main goal was to corrode the spider threads wrapped around the Stone Spirits'' bodies.


    Pearson''s body, which was in the form of spider threads, would be corroded into nothingness very soon.


    However, as soon as the purple mist was formed, Pearson sensed the danger and immediately pulled back the spider threads to form his body.


    Even though his reaction had been extremely fast, the spider threads had broken down at several places. If he had moved just a little later, he would have been completely corroded by the purple mist.


    As soon as the spider threads were removed, the Stone Spirits began moving once again.

 Chapter 3985 The Green Wind

    After some of Pearson''s threads were corroded, he grew a little weak.


    Looking at the Stone Spirits with a pale face, he shook his head. "I''ve tried my best, but I can''t stop them."


    He wanted to take Sawyer and Thurston away but the two brothers'' serious demeanor made him hesitate.


    Thump! Thump! Thump!


    While the Stone Spirits seemed to be slow in movement, they were actually quickly rushing forward, making the ground tremble.


    In the distance, the creatures held their breaths. They were looking for an opportunity to make their move, but first, they had to carefully observe the humans'' skills.


    Fuxi narrowed his eyes at the sight of the Stone Spirits growing closer and closer. Finally, he couldn''t restrain himself any longer and stretched out his hand to make a smack.


    The palm condensed by the Solid Lightning Powder appeared among the Stone Spirits and collided with the Eight Diagrams mark, now emitting a snow-white light.


    Almost all the creatures were enveloped by the light¡ªthey had to shield their eyes with their hands.


    Following the flash of light, there was a dense and indistinct sound of thunder, like the piercing pitch of a sharp object tearing at a surface. The power that surged had all the mist creatures and Terror Mice quickly retreat. Some of them even jumped from the seventh stair to the sixth.


    After a while, the lightning finally dissipated.


    Once everyone recovered their sight, they saw the Stone Spirits in the center of the open space lying on the ground. Most of their bodies were completely charred, their hands and feet were chopped to pieces, and some figures were even smashed into powder.


    "How horrible¡­" a Terror Mouse remarked while climbing up from the sixth stair, getting a peek at the scene.


    "It was the Heavenly Thunder Plain''s lightning. How did he make it?" The mist creatures exchanged glances, confused.


    "It has something to do with the powder," shouted a giant.


    Then, the others began yelling as well, making the other creatures cast a cold glance at them.


    Anyone with a discerning eye could easily see that it had something to do with the powder in Fuxi''s hand¡ªthey wondered if he still had any with him.


    On the ground lay the Stone Spirits that could no longer get up. They gathered so densely that all of them were enveloped by the lightning. None of them managed to escape.


    The selected daredevils'' bodies trembled violently. If the palm exploded, they would undoubtedly die.


    "Are you courting death?"


    When Fuxi roared, the mark of the Eight Diagrams began rotating.


    Seeing that he was actually going to slap the palm, the daredevils who were determined to sacrifice themselves stopped simultaneously, some of them even stepping back.


    But Fuxi didn''t dare to use the palm.


    Otherwise, the creatures would find out it wasn''t the Solid Lightning Powder.


    Zen''s calm expression shifted, a trace of anxiety filling his eyes. While he had hidden it well, the Snake Goddess had sensed it.


    What he was waiting for hadn''t arrived.


    But a great battle could spark at any moment.


    "It''s fake!"


    "He wouldn''t dare to use the powder. This is their last life-saving straw. Attack them!"


    "We aren''t cowards!"


    At this point, the leaders began encouraging the daredevils.


    While the daredevils were unwilling, they continued to grit their teeth and rush forward.


    Regardless of what means Fuxi used, he couldn''t scare the daredevils away.


    Suddenly, Zen sensed something.


    At the far end of the Purple Wind Gorge, a purple wind mixed with a green wind, the latter rolling and dancing, approaching rapidly.


    "Master Fuxi, use the palm!" Zen suddenly called out.


    "Why?" Fuxi asked in return, stunned.


    "Do as I say!" Zen firmly ordered.


    While Fuxi didn''t appreciate Zen''s tone, he didn''t dare to ignore his command at the critical moment of life and death. And so he struck the giant palm made from the Bone-coagulating Powder.

 Chapter 3986 Giant Hawk

    The Bone-coagulating Powder and the Solid Lightning Powder were similar in appearance, but their properties were vastly different.


    After the palm formed by the Bone-coagulating Powder spread out, it exploded out into the air with a terrific roar.


    Normally, a small quantity of Bone-coagulating Powder could freeze the space channel and cause it to collapse, but a large amount of Bone-coagulating Powder could even affect ordinary space.


    The space around the group of daredevils suddenly became viscous. These daredevils now looked as if they were moving through heavy oil, and their movements slowed and became somewhat comical.


    At least, this was how it appeared to those who saw them, but to the daredevils trapped in the space, it didn''t feel funny at all.


    They felt that their surroundings had changed, and all their hopes were shattered¡­


    ''It''s all over. This is the end...''


    ''We are doomed!''


    ''Self-sacrifice for our race!''


    Every race had different values their members lived by, but each member had their own thoughts.


    However, this "viscous" feeling lasted for only six seconds and then it vanished.


    Everything returned to normal...


    They looked down at their bodies and hands, and there was an undisguised relief on their confused faces.


    "It''s fake!"


    "That''s the Bone-coagulating Powder! It''s known for destroying space!"


    "They don''t have any more of that powder which they used before!"


    The daredevils immediately reacted, and the eyes of the non-human creatures in the distance blazed with fury.


    Squeak! Squeak...


    The Terror Mice let out terrifing squeaks. While they had been standing randomly, they now suddenly lined up orderly. They piled together according to some unspoken rule, three to a group, or five, or seven, and then they charged forward¡­


    Thump! Thump! Thump...


    The giants also barged ahead.


    Although their movements were cumbersome, they could cover a huge distance with a single step. For them, a span of hundreds of thousands of feet was only a few steps.


    The mist creatures drifted forward...


    The blue haired spirit and the golden-horned bull-headed man also became anxious.


    They hadn''t even considered that the brown powder in their opponents'' hands could be fake!


    In particular, the blue-haired spirit wanted to slap herself a few times. After all, she had suffered the effects of the Bone-coagulating Powder before, and she should have considered this possibility in advance.


    urse, it couldn''t touch the Heavenly Eye Vine in his claws either.


    "Zen, you scared me! I didn''t expect you to possess such a trump card." Fuxi gasped for breath.


    The Snake Goddess, King Ieuan, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, Yasamin, and the others also felt intense relief. The Snake Goddess had believed that it would be the Primeval Lord of Heaven who would make a move, but she didn''t expect the Wing King of the Regal Jade Civilization would come.


    The top of the Heavenly Eye Vine was lifted high, and Pearson was standing at the top, speaking with the Wing King.


    Thurston and Sawyer had just allayed the crowd''s doubts.


    When the Regal Jade Civilization had explored the Grand Pure Realm back then, there had once been a Regal Jade Spirit who became lost.


    Later, the Wing King led their race to escape and hide in Stage Thirteen. The Regal Jade Spirit that went missing didn''t know about it, so he became a stray of the Regal Jade Civilization, wandering outside.


    By chance, this Regal Jade Spirit had become an Eternal Realm Hunter. He had a good relationship with Pearson, and they were as close to each other as brothers.


    Unfortunately, this Regal Jade Spirit died at the hands of the Nihility race. Before he died, he entrusted Pearson to help him find the Regal Jade Civilization.


    It had proven impossible for Pearson, who had continuously been exploring the Three Purities Stage, to find the Regal Jade Civilization that had been hiding on Stage Thirteen.


    However, Pearson hadn''t expected that he would meet the Wing King of the Regal Jade Civilization at this time. It was not difficult to imagine how excited he was.

 Chapter 3987 No Turning Back

    Pearson told the Wing King the story of the Regal Jade Spirit in detail.


    The Wing King was silent for a while before he sighed and said, "It looks like Dashawn had done a lot of things after we left. It''s my fault. We shouldn''t have left him behind."


    Dashawn enjoyed a status that was almost the same with the Regal Jade Spirit in Zen''s body. He was also the core figure of the Regal Jade Civilization and the Wing King''s right-hand man.


    "Dashawn didn''t regret anything or blame you. He just wanted me to tell you everything he had done," Pearson said.


    The Wing King nodded and said, "I see. I hope, one day, you can take me to the place where he died."


    "Yes, I will!" Pearson said, folding his hands in respect.


    He was also a man who valued friendship. He wouldn''t otherwise have risked his life to stay with Thurston and Sawyer. Zen and his group were chased all over by all the warriors from other races in the Grand Pure Realm. No other place in the Grand Pure Realm was more dangerous than where he was staying with them.


    But there was now something more important to do, which was why they couldn''t immediately visit Dashawn''s resting place to pay tribute to him.


    Whoosh...


    More gusts of purple wind swept over them.


    The purple wind had completely occupied the space in the middle of the Purple Wind Gorge.


    No one knew what kind of method the Wing King had used. He could always find space in the purple wind and dodge it. And no matter how close the purple wind was to him, it could never wrap itself around him.


    The Heavenly Eye Vine was also trembling in the Wing King''s claws. Thanks to their keen senses, Fuxi, the Snake Goddess, and the others could perceive that this trembling was actually a strange bodily movement technique, which was the secret method to avoid the purple wind.


    Zen didn''t care about these details. He stared at the purple wind and asked, "There is no purple wind on normal days. What''s it like at the bottom of the Purple Wind Gorge?"


    "There is a kind of shellfish that is very weak," answered the Wing King. "After taking root at the bottom of the Purple Wind Gorge, they can''t move for a lifetime, which is why they lack the means to find food. Fortunately, as creatures of Stage Thirty-three, these shellfish also have a strange theurgy."


    "Is the purple wind their bloodline theurgy?" Zen asked.


    "Yes," the Wing King continued. "These shellfish release the purple wind, but it''s not to seal off the Purple Wind Gorge


    way.


    There were two rows of inconspicuous fences.


    A simple entrance sat in between these two rows of fences.


    Zen frowned at this sight. The fences weren''t remarkable but Zen should have noticed them. The fact that they hadn''t struck him was strange.


    "If we had walked through the plain, the only road to the Supreme Pure Realm would be through the entrance between these two rows of fences." The Snake Goddess stretched out her slender fingers and drew a line in the air. "If you don''t walk through this road and try to pass through other places on both sides, you will be lost forever in this endless plain."


    "Is this illusion that powerful?" Zen raised his eyebrows.


    As the Snake Goddess nodded, the Primeval Lord of Heaven''s voice rang out in Zen''s mind. "This plain is not an illusion!"


    "If it weren''t an illusion, we could just come out of the plain by retracing our steps. Why would we be lost forever?" Zen asked in his mind.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven chuckled. "Those who enter the plain can no longer turn around. The thoughts of all of the people who enter the plain will change irreversibly and they will lose the ability of turning back."


    "Is turning back also a kind of ability?" Zen was speechless.


    "Yes, and changing your thoughts doesn''t mean modifying your memories. It''s by making you not realize you have this ability of turning around, so that you can only move forward permanently. You know something is wrong, but you will never be able to figure out what it is," the Primeval Lord of Heaven explained, shrugging. "This is indeed a miraculous plain. It can suppress the thoughts and logic of all living beings."

 Chapter 3988 Treacherous Beings

    Zen did not pursue the topic about the plain''s magic ability. He went to the entrance, which was two rows of fences, with the others.


    The fences seemed to have existed for a long time as they looked utterly decayed.


    There were exquisite carvings on the surface of the fences, and they were rotten as well.


    Upon closer look, Zen noticed that there was a complete carving on top of a post, but a film of dust covered a part of it. Just as he was about to brush it off, Fuxi looked at him in horror and said, "Zen, don''t touch this fence!"


    Zen''s fingers stopped one inch before the fence and he asked, "Why?"


    "There''s something ominous about the fences. Anyone who touches them can''t get out of the Whining Road," Fuxi said with certainty.


    Zen raised one brow. "Is that so?"


    He didn''t believe Fuxi, but everything was possible on the Other Shore. Perhaps, the fences did have something to do with the Whining Road.


    In the end, he did not touch the fence. At that moment, the Heavenly Eye Vine extended a thin branch and gently touched his forehead, then passed its thoughts to him. "I... I''ve already sent you here. Can I leave now?" it said.


    Zen had forced the Heavenly Eye Vine to come with them, and its life source was still in his hands.


    He glanced at the Heavenly Eye Vine''s large pupil and said, "As far as I know, you can only go through the Silent Path if you go back from here. Do you think those races will let you go?"


    The Heavenly Eye Vine was also a member of those races. The problem was that those warriors had thought that it had shifted to Zen''s side.


    Even in ordinary times, it was hard for it to survive alone without the Arrow Demons. Now, those races were already enraged at what it did, so the chances of them letting the Heavenly Eye Vine go were quite small.


    The vine thought for a while and answered, "No, they won''t..."


    "Then what''s your plan?" Zen asked again. "I...


    I''d better follow you... " In reality, the Heavenly Eye Vine didn''t want to follow Zen and his group.


    After all, the Whining Road was dangerous and full of strange things.


    Furthermore, it was hard for it to survive alone due to its current state, even if it did reach the Supreme Pure


    ?"


    "Don''t ask," the Snake Goddess stated again.


    King Ieuan''s soybean-like eyes flashed, but it couldn''t do anything but continue to move forward.


    When they passed by another neat row of thatched huts again, Pearson suddenly stopped. "You have to tell us what''s inside them before we decide to move forward or not," he demanded.


    It wasn''t that Pearson didn''t trust the Snake Goddess, but the Eternal Realm Hunters never pinned all their hopes on others.


    Therefore, it was better if they knew things in advance so they could deal with emergencies if there were any.


    The Snake Goddess''s eyes brimmed with regret. She should have told them the rules first before entering the road, but now it was too late.


    "It''s a kind of Treacherous Being," she replied.


    Upon hearing her answer, Pearson only frowned. He already had a rough guess of what was inside the huts, and when he forced an answer out of the Snake Goddess, he was not surprised.


    On the contrary, Sawyer and Thurston blanched in fear, and it was clear that they were afraid.


    Meanwhile, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, Yasamin, King Ieuan, and Zen didn''t have any reaction.


    Even in the Supreme Pure Realm, there weren''t many creatures who knew about the existence of "Treacherous Beings." Naturally, those warriors who explored the Grand Pure Realm had never heard of them.


    When they saw how Sawyer and Thurston looked, however, they immediately understood that those creatures would be a challenge.

 Chapter 3989 A Village

    Fuxi picked up the Augury Dog when they were passing by the neat row of thatched huts and held him in his arms.


    The Augury Dog was sensitive to all kinds of power. Now that they were on the Whining Road, the unpleasant aura around the place was beginning to overwhelm him. He looked sickly and weak.


    Every time Fuxi passed by a thatched hut with the dog in his arms, his glassy eyes glinted with obvious hostility.


    He probably understood that the things in the thatched huts were too strong for them, so he dared not bark wildly. Instead, he whimpered, trying not to let his voice be obvious.


    The Augury Dog continued to whimper as they walked past the first row of thatched huts.


    When they reached the end of the first row, Fuxi whispered to him, "Is there a thatched hut available for us?"


    The Augury Dog shook his head.


    Fuxi and the Snake Goddess exchanged a worried glance.


    When they had entered the Whining Road the last time, they had found a thatched hut in the front row pretty easily.


    Their luck seemed to have run out this time. All twenty-six thatched huts in the first row were occupied.


    "Let''s try the second row!"


    Fuxi knew there was no time for them to lose. He hurriedly went to the second row with the Augury Dog in his arms.


    There were a lot of thatched huts in the second row as well. As before, the Augury Dog sniffed at each thatched hut and tried to find a safe place for them to stay.


    But they combed through the second row and the Augury Dog still couldn''t find an unoccupied hut.


    The Snake Goddess blinked but didn''t say a word, while Fuxi''s face darkened. "The third row then!" he growled.


    The others following them remained silent, but they began to become more worried with every passing minute.


    It was true that Fuxi and the Snake Goddess had once made their way to the Supreme Pure Realm through this path. But their previous success now seemed to have stemmed out of sheer luck.


    And luck didn''t seem to be on their side this time.


    If they couldn''t find an available thatched hut this time, things would become hard for them ¡ª even harder than being under siege on the top of the Sky Ladder Plateau.


    There were seven rows of thatched huts in this area, like a large village in a savage land.


    Fuxi took the Augury Dog along to check on every thatched hut in the remaining five rows, but to no avail. His face looked


    t and had been staring at the pillar. At the Snake Goddess''s words, he looked around, his eyebrows raised, and said, "We only need to stay safe for three days?"


    The Snake Goddess nodded. "That''s all, yes. We''ll stay here for three days and after that, we''ll return the way we came. We''ll then be able to enter the Supreme Pure Realm."


    "I didn''t know the Whining Road is such an easy path!" Thurston was surprised at the rules. The Eternal Realm Hunters had their own way to reach the Supreme Pure Realm.


    In fact, they had more than one way.


    But no matter which path they took, they would have to expend full courage and strength.


    In contrast, the Whining Road seemed too easy.


    "It can''t be this simple," Sawyer said, shaking his head. "If this was the case, many more creatures and Eternal Realm warriors would''ve chosen this path and this path wouldn''t be called the strangest of all. Don''t forget that there are a bunch of Treacherous Beings outside."


    At the mention of the Treacherous Beings, it was as if the light was turned down, given how everyone''s faces paled, their hearts sinking within them.


    "What on earth is a Treacherous Being?" King Ieuan asked curiously.


    Except for Fuxi, the Snake Goddess, and the three Eternal Realm Hunters, no one else knew what their enemies on the Whining Road were or what a Treacherous Being was.


    "They have no specific form. They-" The Snake Goddess paused, trying to think up the correct word to describe them. After a while, she said, "It doesn''t matter. When it gets darker, you''ll be able to see them with your own eyes."

 Chapter 3990 Howls

    It was already dusk and the village was being engulfed by darkness little by little.


    Earlier, some rays of light were strongly shooting into the thatched hut. But as the sun went down, the small hut was also enveloped in darkness.


    Fortunately, everyone possessed good eyes that they could still use to see their surroundings clearly, even in the pitch darkness.


    "Waah! Waah!"


    Soon after, loud howls were heard outside.


    Just then, a ball of light was seen not far away. It was so bright that everyone could see it even through the thick thatches of the hut.


    "Cover your ears quickly!" Fuxi ordered urgently.


    Just after the ball of light appeared, piercing screams resounded. "Waah! Waah!"


    After a while, the screams stopped.


    "So, that''s a Treacherous Being?" Eastern Emperor Taiyi asked as he pointed at the ball of light seen roaming outside.


    When they looked through the thatches, they found that the ball of light had a rather irregular shape and that the piercing screams actually came from it.


    "That''s right. It seems that they have begun to move," the Snake Goddess replied with a nod.


    While they were still conversing, another Treacherous Being appeared from the distance.


    And like the first one, it also let out shrilling screams.


    As time passed by, more and more Treacherous Beings appeared.


    In the beginning, they were still able to bear the head-splitting howls, but as the Treacherous Beings grew larger in number, the howls seemed to be endless and it was as if their energies were being drained.


    Soon, their faces contorted badly and turned blue as they became distressed.


    "Is it going to continue for the whole night?" Zen asked in a low voice, holding his aching head.


    The Snake Goddess smiled bitterly and said, "One thing is for sure, it''s just the beginning. There is a division of labor among the Treacherous Beings. Every night, they will gather together and howl desperately. These deafening screams could actually be heard even from faraway places."


    The howls had been so terrifying. If ordinary people were on the receiving end, they would surely drive them crazy.


    This was because it wasn''t just a simple howl, but an aggressive spiritual attack.


    "I don''t think we can bear this for several hours. Is there something that we can do?" Yasamin asked with a livid face. Her heart was thumping so fast because of restlessness.


    "Destroy your hearing," Fuxi blurted out of nowhere. "We can still use our spiritual senses to communicate with each other. We just need to repair our hear


    t what happened. After knowing what happened, they were rendered speechless, and they looked at Zen with sympathy.


    After stabbing his own ears for over a hundred times, Zen finally chose to give up and just let the howls resound in his ears.


    Currently, the ancestry-level bloodline was still unable to replace him. Otherwise, it wouldn''t need such a troublesome method to make him suffer. However, there must be other reasons for it to do so.


    Zen gritted his teeth and sat with his legs crossed. He gathered his resolve and wore a serious face.


    Since he couldn''t avoid hearing the howls, he had no choice but to do his best to bear them.


    Neither Fuxi nor the Snake Goddess knew how devastating the Treacherous Beings'' howls could be. Every night, they would destroy their hearing before they experienced a much more intense level of the howls.


    An hour hadn''t even passed but the intense pain had already been unbearable for Zen. The entire night would last for twenty hours. That meant his suffering would be unimaginable.


    While everyone was staring at Zen with a worried face, they still maintained sharp vigilance.


    If the Treacherous Beings found out where they were hiding, it meant immediate death for them.


    They also had to keep watch on Zen. If the moment came that he wasn''t able to control himself and started wreaking havoc because of the pain, they would need to stop him at all costs.


    Fortunately, Zen''s pain and suffering only lasted for about four hours. As the painful expression on Zen''s face gradually disappeared, it was replaced by a suspicious look.


    He knew that there was something wrong going on. The howls had changed and turned into low chanting sounds.

 Chapter 3991 Calling

    Fuxi had been observing Zen closely the whole time.


    He was curious as to why Zen''s pained expression gradually calmed down. "Zen, have you sealed off your hearing?" he asked through his spiritual sense.


    Zen was still carefully distinguishing the low chanting sounds. When he heard Fuxi''s question, he shook his head and said, "No."


    "It seems that you''re not in pain anymore¡­" At that point, Fuxi was even more surprised.


    "The howls are gone. The Treacherous Beings you mentioned seem to be chanting something now," said Zen.


    Fuxi arched his brows at Zen''s words. "What are they chanting about?"


    Before they entered the Whining Road, he and the Snake Goddess prepared quite well.


    After all, they would die if they were not careful on their way to the Supreme Pure Realm.


    When they hid in the thatched hut before, they also destroyed their hearing. However, Fuxi brought out a mouse from his spirit beast bag every once in a while, so they knew what was going on outside.


    The howls on the Whining Road were very powerful. Fuxi''s mice also came from the Grand Pure Realm, and they were close relatives of the Terror Mice. Although they weren''t rare creatures, they were by no means weak.


    However, after the mouse was out for less than nine seconds, its eyes turned bloody red, then its head exploded as it struggled madly.


    Generally speaking, the Whining Road had twelve hours of daytime and twenty hours of nighttime.


    Fuxi released a mouse every two hours to test the situation.


    According to his experiment, the howls lasted twenty hours until dawn.


    It was not until daybreak when the mouse he had released returned unharmed, that he and the Snake Goddess dared to restore their hearing.


    Based on the mice''s reaction, the howls of the Treacherous Beings would last a whole night.


    However, Zen just said that the howls had stopped, which contradicted his early conclusion. He didn''t believe him at all.


    Yet, Zen''s reaction told him everything, as he didn''t show any pain at all.


    Did something happen to the Treacherous Beings on the Whining Road?


    Suddenly, an idea occurred to him. He gently touched his ears, as his palm glowed green. Then, his hearing returned to normal.


    He had trusted Zen''s reaction too much, but he forgot that Zen had a completely different type of life form after he had obtained a unique bloodline.


    Just as he recovered his hearing, the ear-piercing ho


    not know that Zen had such a skill.


    "I''m not sure if I can understand, but I can try," said Zen.


    What if perhaps the Treacherous Beings did not talk in Sanskrit? If so, the Heavenly Obsession Civilization naturally couldn''t decipher them.


    Still, he began to communicate with the Heavenly Obsession Civilization.


    However, he didn''t dare let the Heavenly Obsession Civilization listen directly to the wails. Instead, he transmitted the sound he heard into his inner world.


    Once the Civilization Artifact of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization was ready, it began to decipher the chants.


    At the same time, the core of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization on the upper ice field of the Blooming Jade Stage began to operate like mad.


    This time, it took longer to decipher the words. After quite a while, a voice came out from the Civilization Artifact.


    "They are indeed speaking Sanskrit," it stated. "Then what are they talking about?" Zen asked hurriedly.


    "Most of the sounds are meaningless. Perhaps they are scriptures used in a kind of ceremony, and they recite them over and over again," answered the Civilization Artifact.


    "Some scriptures..." In all honesty, he was a little disappointed.


    Just then, the Civilization Artifact added, "In addition to those meaningless scriptures, there is also a sentence within them."


    He immediately perked up upon hearing those words. "What is it?" he asked again.


    "They have been calling out ''come back quickly, '' as if one of them went missing. They continually repeat the words so the missing would return," the Civilization Artifact said.

 Chapter 3992 Revive

    Come back quickly...


    Since the Heavenly Obsession Civilization heard this sentence from the wails of the Treacherous Beings, it meant that they were indeed using Sanskrit.


    But who were they calling for?


    "How is it going? Do you understand what they are talking about?" the Snake Goddess asked while Zen was in deep concentration.


    "I can''t understand most of the sounds. They seem to be some kind of scripture," Zen paused, realizing everyone was looking at him.


    Of all the warriors present, only the Wing King, Fuxi, and the Snake Goddess believed that Zen could understand Sanskrit words.


    Fuxi and the Snake Goddess knew what happened in the Blooming Jade Stage; and since the Wing King and a Civilization Artifact in Zen''s body were bound together, he was also aware of it.


    Others remained skeptical, including Eastern Emperor Taiyi. He and Yasamin had just been rescued and did not have enough time to know about the current situation.


    "Are they reciting only scriptures?" Fuxi asked.


    "In addition to the scriptures, they also seem to be calling for a companion to return," Zen said admittedly.


    "Really? Are you sure you didn''t mishear?" Pearson chuckled beside him.


    The Eternal Realm Hunters didn''t believe Zen''s words at all. Looking at his seemingly serious expression, they assumed that Zen was talking nonsense.


    Zen dismissed Pearson''s sarcastic words. He shook his head and said, "No, I''m sure about what I heard."


    The core of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization didn''t decipher without any basis.


    There were only two results of the deciphering: either it was unable to decipher, or it deciphered every word accurately.


    Since the core of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization had deciphered it, the information should be correct.


    "You are so confident," Thurston said as his eyes glimmered.


    "That''s it. They indeed lost one companion, so they keep calling for their companion to return," the Snake Goddess suddenly concluded.


    Pearson questioned, "You don''t know much about the Treacherous Beings, and you just passed the Whining Road by luck. How could you be so certain?"


    Pearson could tell that Fuxi and the Snake Goddess were inexperienced in dealing with the Treacherous Beings. They had just hidden in the thatched hut in the past and snuck away after three days when the Treacherous Beings disappeared.


    In comparison, Pearson had personally witnessed the Treacherous Beings in the Supreme Pure Realm. He believed that he understood the Treacherous Beings better than everyone.


    The Snake Godde


    disappear from the world."


    The Treacherous Beings were the real indestructible existences in the Three Purities Stage.


    "What exactly did you hear again?" the Snake Goddess asked.


    "The Treacherous Beings exchanged a few words before they went into the thatched huts. Their companion is trapped outside the Whining Road, which seems to be the Supreme Pure Realm," Zen replied.


    "It might have been trapped there for many years." Fuxi nodded.


    "But the trapped Treacherous Being has been killed recently. They are trying to find a way to revive it, and they would do it tonight..." Zen continued.


    Everyone fell silent upon hearing his statement.


    The Snake Goddess stared at Zen nervously. "Are you sure?"


    "I''m afraid so," Zen agreed.


    King Ieuan interrupted, "If that Treacherous Being comes back to life, doesn''t that mean there won''t be any vacant thatched hut?"


    The Snake Goddess and Fuxi shared a dull aura, their faces darkening in fear.


    One more Treacherous Being meant that they would lose their hiding place.


    If the Treacherous Beings discovered them, they would definitely be attacked. Everyone could die!


    "Do we still have a chance to retreat?" Eastern Emperor Taiyi asked as his face turned into a frown.


    "If we quit the Whining Road before the duration of three days ends, we will not be able to enter the Supreme Pure Realm nor could we return to the Grand Pure Realm. We will only be lost in the plain where we can never turn back," the Snake Goddess said.


    "What should we do now?" Yasamin asked, her face flooded with worry.


    The Snake Goddess glanced at the thatched huts. "The only way now is to kill another Treacherous Being," she firmly declared.

 Chapter 3993 A Hard Choice

    Zen and his companions were in great trouble at that point. If the Treacherous Being came back to life and couldn''t find its thatched hut, it would hunt them down.


    It was most likely that two hundred Treacherous Beings would probably come for them.


    Furthermore, Treacherous Beings'' strengths only gave them a slim chance of survival.


    Had it been one Treacherous Being, perhaps they might still make it.


    The Snake Goddess''s idea might work.


    "Are you sure you want to fight a Treacherous Being?" Pearson sniffed. "Or what?


    Should we surrender to them instead?" Fuxi asked darkly. "I did not mean to look down on you," Pearson said indifferently. "There was once a race called the Primal Tiger race, in the Grand Pure Realm.


    They were so powerful that even the Element Spirit Civilization never dared to provoke them. We were lucky enough to befriend them¡­" he continued.


    Although the Eternal Realm Hunters usually traveled alone, they did have some friends in the Three Purities Stage.


    For instance, the Primal Tiger race was on friendly terms with the Eternal Realm Hunters.


    In the past, when dozens of members of the Primal Tiger race fell into a poisonous well, it was the Eternal Realm Hunters who had saved them.


    Due to immense gratitude, the Primal Tiger race had promised to protect the Eternal Realm Hunters forever.


    After that, the Eternal Realm Hunters turned to the Primal Tiger race whenever they were in peril. That was how they escaped their end several times.


    However, a single Treacherous Being slaughtered such a strong race that not even the Element Spirit Civilization dared to instigate!


    Back then, the Eternal Realm Hunters were also in the tribe of the Primal Tiger race. They didn''t take the Treacherous Being seriously at first since they thought that the mighty Primal Tiger race would deal with it.


    Even when the Eye Spirit had personally visited the Primal Tiger race to ask for the Eternal Realm Hunters, they just drove him away. Therefore, who else in the Three Purities Stage posed any threat to them?


    Soon enough, the Eternal Realm Hunters found that they were very wrong.


    Simply put, the Treacherous Being''s power was far beyond their imagination.


    At that time, the Eternal Realm Hunters had only gotten a glimpse of the Treacherous Being. It was a continually changing spirit.


    After the Treacherous Being broke into the tribe, it immediately exploded and unleashed blood-red flames that had spread in all directions.


    As a result, the vast majority of the Primal Tiger race did not have a chance to escape at all, and the red flames swallowed them.


    The Eternal Realm Hunters stayed on the edge of the tribe''s territory. When they saw the spread of red


    acherous Beings.


    "Get ready," Fuxi said to the three Eternal Realm Hunters.


    The three Eternal Realm Hunters had decided their divisions of labor. Pearson was responsible for subduing the Treacherous Being, while Thurston and Sawyer would pull it into the Black Sun.


    If everything went well, the whole ordeal would only take them a short while.


    Now, the others retreated to a safe distance and formed a circle to deal with emergencies.


    Finally, they shut off their hearing, then Thurston and Sawyer summoned the Black Sun.


    At that point, Pearson turned into a spider web and blocked the front of the thatched hut. "Who will open the thatched hut for us?" Sawyer asked.


    His question met silence. Everyone looked reluctant to do the dangerous task.


    "I''ll do it," Zen said in a resolute voice.


    He walked straight to the thatched hut, grabbed a corner of the flap, and slowly lifted it.


    The whole village in the vast, white mist was unusually quiet, to the point that everyone heard their heartbeats clearly.


    When Zen had lifted more than half of the flap, they all saw a strange thing that lay on the ground.


    It looked like a mass of white liquid, but it had limbs and a head.


    It also had two black hollows on its head. Everyone felt afraid when they looked into the holes.


    "So this is a Treacherous Being..."


    "Is it asleep?"


    "Its aura feels depressing..."


    Without the thatched hut as a barrier, they were now face to face with the Treacherous Being. The air around it felt so uncomfortable, and it overwhelmed them even more.


    It appeared that the Treacherous Being was the nemesis of all living beings. They couldn''t help but feel instinctively fearful in front of it.


    Zen took a few steps back and nodded at the Eternal Realm Hunters, which signaled them to get started.

 Chapter 3994 Possessed By The Treacherous Being

    The Treacherous Being was not on-guard at all and seemed to have fallen asleep.


    Very few people had ever dared to venture into the Whining Road since ancient times. Not many were brave enough to challenge the Treacherous Beings after all.


    Nobody ever came through here, thus the Treacherous Beings did not see the need to be so vigilant.


    "Hiss, hiss, hiss..."


    One by one, long, thin threads crept up towards the Treacherous Being.


    Extremely thin to the point of weightlessness, these spider threads felt no more than specks of dust upon the body of the Treacherous Being.


    Soon enough, these threads covered the creature in its entirety. Every single square inch was tightly wrapped by the spider threads!


    Swoosh...


    The Black Sun in front of Thurston and Sawyer began to spin just as a strong attraction force burst forth from it.


    As this strong attraction force came out, it headed straight towards the Treacherous Being and dragged it directly out of the thatched hut.


    Its body was soft, liquid, and had the consistency of water. It had since lost its shape and had turned into something that resembled a mass of sticky glue.


    "Whoosh!"


    With no struggle on the part of the Treacherous Being, it was quickly and flawlessly sucked into the Black Sun.


    It was only then that Thurston and Sawyer separated and the Black Sun promptly disappeared.


    If one thought about it, it was actually quite amazing. A horrible Treacherous Being was dealt with in such a short amount of time and with no sort of violent struggle whatsoever.


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi had to voice out his question through spiritual sense. "Has the Treacherous Being been sucked in?"


    Yasamin nodded. "I suppose."


    The Wing King then took his chance to slowly withdraw his wings.


    An open space was necessary to deal with a Treacherous Being. If it ever let out a howl to call out its companions, the Wing King would use the space to block off any sound, if it could block it at all.


    With their purpose served, the spider threads retreated and reformed into Pearson''s body.


    "You two should separate further," he ordered Sawyer and Thurston. The Black Sun had never failed them until Zen, of course.


    Even if the Treacherous Being was sucked into the Black Sun, it was best to be careful.


    What if it turned out that the Treacherous Being shared Zen''s ability? What if like the young man, it could also forcibly gather the separated Black Sun? If that was the case, then things would be very bad for all of them.


    Sawyer and Thurston did as Pearson ordered and walked further in the opposite direction of each other.


    However, Sawyer had only taken a few steps when a white mass suddenly emerged from his back.


    It was the sticky body of the Treacherous Being!


    Pearson was quick to point out this horrifying mass. "Sawyer!" he roared in warning. In a fit of desperation, he had forgotten that everyone had


    backed by Fuxi''s full strength, was broken by Sawyer so casually.


    Swish! Swish! Swish...


    The Snake Goddess also went on the offensive and stretched out her shadow''s densely-packed tentacles to wrap around Sawyer.


    Meanwhile, King Ieuan, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, and Yasamin got busy with using their own unique skills.


    Underneath this green space, the collection of powerful energy and the pressure it released was terrifying. Any ordinary creature would tremble in fear.


    Unfortunately, the thing that possessed Sawyer was far from ordinary. The Treacherous Being had an incredible ability that dissipated any sort of energy sent to harm it.


    When Zen saw Sawyer rush towards him, his eyes immediately flashed with determination. Instead of a retreat, he decided to face his opponent head-on.


    Eager to take on the offensive, Zen lowered his body and threw a solid punch towards Sawyer''s head! "Da!"


    Since his body had been transformed by the ancestry-level bloodline, it was a given that the power of his punch would be extremely terrifying.


    However, instead of the devastating results Zen expected, Sawyer merely stretched out his finger and pointed it to his fist.


    The moment their hands touched, Zen''s power completely dissipated.


    His pupils widened and he immediately jumped back in retreat.


    "What the...? No. Retreat! Retreat!"


    Unfortunately, that was no longer an option. Sawyer was fast and immediately grabbed hold of Zen''s fist. He didn''t seem to exert that much strength but Zen found himself unable to break free of his hold.


    "Rumble, rumble, rumble..."


    At that moment, a stream of white goo emerged from the orifices of Sawyer''s face. It was the Treacherous Being''s body!


    Soon enough, Zen found himself face to face with the Treacherous Being''s hollow eyes and its strange smile. It looked at him up and down before suddenly jumping onto his face and into his body the same way it entered Sawyer.

 Chapter 3995 The Soul Catching Lamp

    Thud!


    Sawyer''s unconscious body fell to the ground.


    At the same time, Zen lowered his head and stood still. Previously, when Sawyer was being possessed by the Treacherous Being, he wasn''t able to move either. This time, it seemed that it was trying to invade Zen''s body.


    "Brother!" Thurston quickly approached Sawyer''s body.


    He carefully carried Sawyer to one corner to look at his condition.


    The others didn''t pay much attention to Sawyer right now, for they were all focused on Zen.


    Everyone knew how important Zen was. If the Treacherous Being successfully invaded his body, there might be dire consequences.


    "What should we do now?" Eastern Emperor Taiyi asked in a panic.


    "We have to somehow find a way to drive the Treacherous Being out of his body!" King Ieuan said anxiously, also not knowing what exactly was needed to be done.


    Then, the Snake Goddess''s eyes narrowed as she walked towards Zen. She stretched out her hand, and a pink flower lamp immediately materialized.


    "The Soul Catching Lamp!"


    Everyone''s eyes lit up as they saw the lamp emerge from the Snake Goddess''s hand.


    The flower contained in the Soul Catching Lamp could forcefully drive the soul out of one''s body.


    Even if that person had reached the Holy Soul Realm, he would still find it difficult to resist its power.


    However, despite its power, its use was quite limited. This was because the lamp needed to be close to the target in order to be effective.


    Because of this, it had never been used in battles.


    But now that Zen''s body was still motionless, the Soul Catching Lamp came in handy.


    The only problem was that they weren''t sure if the Treacherous Being was a kind of soul or not. If it wasn''t, then the lamp would also be useless.


    The Snake Goddess didn''t have much time to think about it, so she just risked it.


    Soon after, the pink flower in the lamp began to glow. Wisps of pink smoke started floating out from it.


    Whoosh!


    The Snake Goddess forcefully blew the smoke.


    The pink smoke quickly rushed towards Zen''s face and entered into his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose.


    Then, the Snake Goddess monitored the movements of the Soul Catching Lamp.


    In just a matter of seconds, the pink light in the lamp grew brighter and brighter as the flower started blooming.


    However, as the flower reached its full bloom, the light suddenly dimmed, and the petals began to wither rapidly.


    With a flash in the Snake Goddess''s eyes, she yelled, "Now!"


    She started grabbing the Soul Catching Lamp and pulled it hard.


    She felt that the smoke inside Zen''s body latched onto something, so she was trying to pull it out from him.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Soon, wisps of pink smoke came out from Zen''s eyes, ears, mouth, and nose.


    of the Regal Jade Civilization, so I can sense his location. After we leave the Whining Road, we could go look for him," the Wing King suggested.


    "That''s good to know then," Fuxi said as he nodded his head.


    Just earlier, they were almost about to give up. But now that they knew that there was slight hope of finding Zen, they decided to give their all for this slim chance.


    Now, one more Treacherous Being had left the Whining Road. Even if a Treacherous Being really revived at night, there would still be an empty thatched hut here.


    After several hours, the sky started to dim again.


    The Whining Road was enveloped in darkness once more.


    Thanks to Fuxi''s treatment, most of the injuries of the Snake Goddess had already been healed.


    Then, everyone stabbed their ears again as they went into hiding inside the small hut.


    Through the thatches, they saw the Treacherous Beings flickering in bright white lights.


    The Snake Goddess''s eyes flashed as she concentrated on counting the Treacherous Beings roaming outside.


    She counted a few times just to make sure. The result was still the same, and there were a total of one hundred and ninety-eight of them. It meant that two were missing.


    The first one did not revive, and the other one was the one that possessed Zen''s body.


    Then, the night passed. As dawn drew near, all of the Treacherous Beings returned to the thatched huts.


    They confirmed that one of the missing Treacherous Beings did not come back to life last night.


    All of their faces seemed to be filled with regret.


    They thought that making the move was a complete mistake.


    However, no one knew what the result might be, so they needed to give it a try.


    After that night, there was only one remaining.


    Then, they could leave the following morning and enter the Supreme Pure Realm.

 Chapter 3996 The Blood Swamp

    For the first time in their lives, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, Yasamin, King Ieuan, and the Wing King could finally set foot in the Supreme Pure Realm. This was a momentous achievement for all of them.


    This was a huge deal especially for the Wing King. Because no matter how powerful he was, he had never entered the Supreme Pure Realm yet.


    Because this was their first time there, it would make sense for them to be full of expectations. They were supposed to enjoy and celebrate this wonderful accomplishment.


    However, Zen had been missing for quite a while now. So instead of being excited, everyone''s heart was heavy. This unfortunate occurrence had really dampened their spirits.


    They discussed at length Zen''s possible current whereabouts after he left the Whining Road. For the entire day, they only talked about where he could be and how they could possibly find him.


    They were well-aware that talking about it while they were in the village would yield nothing. Still, it was obvious that Zen was extremely important to them.


    Deep within the hearts of Fuxi and the Snake Goddess, they knew that Zen was the key to the completion of the Finale Way. He was their only hope. Even if it would cost them their lives, they definitely would not hesitate to save him.


    Twelve hours had passed by so quickly. Before they knew it, darkness had fallen once more.


    It was nighttime on the Whining Road again. Before long, they heard familiar noises in the distance.


    The Treacherous Beings were howling again. This had been happening for the past two nights already. They would appear as soon as the darkness had settled in.


    On the third night, the Snake Goddess merely continued counting the number of the Treacherous Beings out there in the dark.


    So far, she had counted one hundred ninety-eight of them.


    However, she suddenly discovered that some Treacherous Beings formed a strange shape on the Whining Road four hours later.


    She kept observing them and realized they were gathering within an area and were making a circle.


    All of a sudden, a strange and dazzling white light appeared at the center of the circle.


    The Treacherous Beings as well as the white light were blinding. It was almost as if there was a sun shining at night.


    The bright light illuminated the entire area so much that the people inside the thick thatched hut were able to see them clearly.


    "What is that white light? Where is it coming from?"


    "Look! It is getting bigger and bigger."


    As the group watched this scene unfold right before their eyes, they noticed a change in the white light. Seeing this, they instantly had a guess as to what it was.


    As the expanding white light began taking shape, it seemed clear to everyone what was really happening.


    That specific Treacherous Being was being revived.


    It became clear that Zen made the right decision.


    If they had made the other choice earlier, they could still spend the second night safely, but it would not be the case this night.


    The third night would be riddled with danger. They were quite sure about this.


    It was sure as day that


    nters were not surprised when they saw the Blood Swamp. The expressions on their faces remained impassive. "The Blood Swamp will expand every thirty years and it will also shrink in another thirty years. Right now it''s in the process of expanding. It''s normal for it to expand up to the exit of the Whining Road," Pearson chimed in nonchalantly.


    "It seems that the three of you have already come to the Blood Swamp before," Fuxi observed.


    Pearson smiled. His expression revealed a hint of excitement. "Yes, we have. Moreover, we actually hid here for quite a long time. That''s why we''re very familiar with it."


    "Well then, please show us the way," the Snake Goddess said as she cupped her hands and bowed slightly at Pearson.


    "Our absolute priority now is to find Zen," Sawyer said with pure conviction.


    Originally, the Eternal Realm Hunters'' goal was to hunt down Zen and his group.


    But now, they had chosen to join this group instead because of Zen.


    "Okay then. Let''s get moving. Wing King, you said earlier that you are able to sense the Civilization Artifact. Can you sense Zen now?" the Snake Goddess inquired enthusiastically.


    "Well, I''m going to try."


    The Wing King closed his eyes and a green light instantly rose above his head.


    It didn''t matter how far away he was. He could always communicate with the Civilization Artifact of the Regal Jade Civilization any time. His bond to it was quite special. It was almost as though it was a part of his body.


    Buzz! Buzz!


    "The Regal Jade Spirit." The Wing King''s voice reached the Civilization Artifact and sounded from it.


    "Wing King." The Regal Jade Spirit''s response was immediate.


    "Do you know where Zen is right now?" The Wing King promptly asked the question they had all been wanting to be answered.


    "After he left the Whining Road, he entered the Blood Swamp. He continues running wildly towards the north. He hasn''t stopped yet." The Wing King sensed a deep anxiety in the Regal Jade Spirit''s tone.


    It was now clear that Zen''s current situation was beyond their control.

 Chapter 3997 Running

    After the Treacherous Being drilled into him, Zen completely lost control of his body.


    Like flowing water, the Treacherous Being drilled into every bone in Zen''s body, assimilating itself into him.


    Fortunately, the Treacherous Being did not invade his soul.


    Helplessly, Zen watched as the Treacherous Being made him run haphazardly.


    At some point, he ended up in the Blood Swamp.


    Splash! Splash! Splash!


    In its low-lying land, the Blood Swamp lived up to its name. Blood spurted and splashed everywhere.


    As Zen ran uncontrollably, he tried communicating with his inner world.


    "Primeval Lord of Heaven, where are we? Why is there blood everywhere?" Zen asked.


    "This is the Blood Swamp," the Primeval Lord of Heaven answered. "It is very dangerous. If you are not careful, you will die here."


    For Eternal Realm Hunters who were familiar with the Blood Swamp, this place might not have been so terrifying.


    But to those who stumbled into it for the first time, the Blood Swamp was hell.


    Underneath the surface of the blood-red puddles, there lived bright red leeches. They camouflaged perfectly with the scarlet blood, and it was difficult even for the spiritual sense to detect them.


    Once they quietly latched themselves onto someone, they would release toxins that paralyzed their victims. Then, slowly, those bloodthirsty leeches would devour their victims'' souls.


    The most terrifying part was that, once they devoured the souls, they would occupy their victims'' bodies for a while.


    The Soul Leeches didn''t have a mind of their own, but they instinctively moved their victims to the Worm Lizards.


    The Blood Swamp also had a unique ecosystem.


    The Worm Lizard was massive. It was on top of the food chain in the Blood Swamp.


    Any creature that had the misfortune of stumbling across the nests of the Worm Lizards would be dragged into the darkness, never to see the light of day again.


    However, the Worm Lizards couldn''t leave their nests, so their range of movement was limited. Except for those who didn''t know much about the Blood Swamp, all the creatures knew to avoid the Worm Lizards'' nests. Therefore, they depended on the


    rds, protecting his soul from being devoured by the Soul Leeches.


    While the many human heroes took turns to attack, Zen''s body suddenly stepped into a large pond.


    To his surprise, he didn''t sink. At the pace he was running, it was a piece of cake for him to walk on the water.


    However, he had only taken a few strides forward when a massive head suddenly emerged from the water. It was a Worm Lizard''s head. The pond was its nest!


    Splash!


    The huge Worm Lizard opened its big mouth and swallowed Zen in one gulp.


    It was a creature in the Supreme Pure Realm, so it was far stronger than the creatures in the Grand Pure Realm.


    The Worm Lizard had sensed Zen''s presence long ago through those Soul Leeches, but it was very disappointed that Zen killed them off so easily.


    However, to its delight, Zen came straight to its nest. Such good luck!


    The Worm Lizard excitedly snapped its mouth shut and was sinking back into the pond when suddenly, cracks as thick as an arm appeared on the surface of its skull.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    The cracks rapidly spread, causing the Worm Lizard to feel a little uneasy.


    ''What''s going on here...'' it thought confusedly.


    When it finally realized that it was the human in its mouth that was causing the cracks, it was too late. Before it could even react, its head exploded into tiny pieces.


    Zen emerged, unscathed, and continued sprinting across the pond as though nothing happened.

 Chapter 3998 To The North

    All the creatures hiding throughout the Blood Swamp were shocked by the Worm Lizard''s death.


    Despite being the dominant creature of the Blood Swamp, the Worm Lizard had easily been shredded from the inside out. This was incomprehensible to the other creatures.


    However, these creatures were only momentarily stunned before they swarmed into the nest of the Worm Lizard.


    The Worm Lizard was ginormous, and its flesh and blood contained precious substances.


    After devouring them, these creatures would be greatly fortified.


    How could they miss out on such a rare opportunity?


    As the blood surged wildly in the pool, the dead Worm Lizard''s bones and flesh were rapidly devoured until nothing was left...


    Splatter...


    After vanquishing the Worm Lizard, Zen''s body kept charging at a huge velocity.


    "Alright, this Treacherous Being is extremely powerful. At least, I don''t have to worry about any threats to my body." Zen sighed.


    It seemed that the Treacherous Being possessed strange magical powers.


    It had displayed these powers on the Whining Road when it had managed to resist Fuxi''s and the Snake Goddess''s attacks.


    Now that the Treacherous Being had attached itself to Zen''s body, it had transferred the same strange power to his body. This was how it had destroyed the Worm Lizard.


    "When it leaves the Blood Swamp, we will be able to guess at its intended direction," the Primeval Lord of Heaven replied.


    Zen nodded. He had no other option except to wait and see.


    "Here''s something strange," the Primeval Lord of Heaven continued. "Why didn''t your bloodline conflict with the Treacherous Being in your body?"


    Although the ancestry-level bloodline Zen had been endowed with was beyond his control, it had often saved him at critical moments in the past.


    "Maybe the bloodline can''t act against the Treacherous Being..." Zen guessed.


    There could be no doubt that the ancestry-level bloodline had its own intentions. At the very least, it had displayed a reluctance to fall into the hands of the Nihility race and the Element Spirit Civilization.


    However, when the Treacherous Being invaded Zen''s body, the ancestry-level bloodline showed no reaction to it at all.


    "But that''s impossible!" The Primeval Lord of Heaven shook his head.


    The ancestry-level bloodline filled every cell of Zen''s body, and its presence had to have overlapped with that of the Treacherous Being.


    It was miraculous that there was no conflict between the two.


    "Then what else?" Zen appeared bewildered. He was stumped for any other theory to explain it.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven thought for a long while as he considered all possibilities. His eyes sudd


    After confirming Zen''s location, the Wing King and the others began to soar above the Blood Swamp, chasing after Zen.


    Once he had gotten rid of the black wolves, Zen''s body finally left the Blood Swamp and moved onto a barren hill.


    After directing his body to stand on top of the hill, the Treacherous Being suddenly seemed to have lost its way. It turned Zen''s body to look north, west, and then east by turns, as if trying to confirm where it was.


    "The west is the Soul-diffusing Highland, and the north is the Myriad Pagoda Mountains, while the east is the Freezing Wilderness. I am unsure of which direction the Treacherous Being will choose," the Primeval Lord of Heaven murmured.


    "Where are you being trapped?" Zen asked.


    "The north," the Primeval Lord of Heaven replied. "Beyond the Myriad Pagoda Mountains..."


    Had Zen''s body not been controlled by the Treacherous Being, he and the others would have successfully entered the Supreme Pure Realm together. Then, they would, of course, have gone north to rescue the real Primeval Lord of Heaven and his companions.


    But now, his first priority was to escape the Treacherous Being''s control.


    Suddenly, the hill beneath Zen''s feet began to violently tremble.


    With a great rumble, a gigantic turtle head suddenly popped out from the front of the hill, craning around to bite at Zen.


    This was no "hill," instead it seemed to be a huge turtle!


    Before the turtle could injure Zen, he stomped heavily on it, cracking its shell open instantly. In that moment, its head exploded into a spray of blood before it could clamp its jaws on Zen.


    Then the Treacherous Being steered Zen''s body to fly away. It seemed to finally have determined where to go. It was heading towards the Myriad Pagoda Mountains in the north.

 Chapter 3999 The Same Direction

    "It''s heading for the Myriad Pagoda Mountains in the north. What a great coincidence!" Zen exclaimed. "I wonder what it is going to do there." Just now, the Primeval Lord of Heaven had told him that the human heroes'' real bodies were trapped at the back of the Myriad Pagoda Mountains. Thus, it was surprising and fortunate that the Treacherous Being had also taken this path.


    However, the Primeval Lord of Heaven sort of thought otherwise. "This may not be a mere coincidence," he said. "I don''t think it chose this direction just on a whim. It may have a specific purpose to go there," he speculated.


    "A specific purpose? What would that be?" Zen asked out of curiosity.


    "To enter the Jade Pure Realm," the Primeval Lord of Heaven answered straightforwardly.


    The Jade Pure Realm was the core area among the Three Purities Stage, and also the most mysterious one.


    Like the Element Spirit Civilization, almost all civilizations also wanted to enter and explore what was inside the Jade Pure Realm. That being said, the human race was no exception.


    "Wait a minute. So you mean that the entrance to the Jade Pure Realm is in that direction?" Zen was utterly shocked.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven smiled bitterly. "Well, why do you think we''re trapped in here in the first place?"


    It turned out that all of the thirty-nine human heroes were trapped on their way to the Jade Pure Realm.


    The entrance to the Jade Pure Realm had been a tremendous secret for most of the civilizations.


    As the Primeval Lord of Heaven led the human race into the Three Purities Stage, the search for the way to the Jade Pure Realm had always been their top priority.


    The entrance to the Supreme Pure Realm was located at the center of the Grand Pure Realm. So, the assumption was that the entrance to the Jade Pure Realm might be also lying at the center of the Supreme Pure Realm.


    Based on this conjecture, the Primeval Lord of Heaven had managed to find some clues and ultimately discovered an underground passage at the back of the Myriad Pagoda Mountains.


    "Until now, I''m still not a hundred percent sure that the underground passage really leads to the Jade Pure Realm," the Primeval Lord of Heaven said in a disgruntled tone. "But ever since we discovered that passage, the Element Spirit Civilization had launched an all-out attack on us. If that passage was useless, then why were they desperately hindering us?"


    At that time, the 77th chaotic era dominated by humans had been destroyed, and the 78th chaotic era had already begun.


    Under the leadership of the Primeval Lord of Heaven, the human race began to rise rapidly on the Other Shore. For a very long time, they had been fiercely fighting against the Element Spirit Civilization.


    Back then, the Nihility race had yet to come into being, and the human race was the only force that could stand up as near equals to the Element Spirit Civilization.


    The Element Spirit Civilization had regarded the human race as


    on his face.


    Perceiving this, Zen couldn''t help but ask, "What''s the matter?" The Primeval Lord of Heaven''s reaction just made Zen more confused.


    "Listen. The underground passage at the back of the Myriad Pagoda Mountains is not easy to find. It took us nearly a third of the chaotic era just to figure out the way to open it. The direction to get to the passage is to go north for three thousand miles, go west for five thousand miles, and then overturn the largest mountain at sight!" the Primeval Lord of Heaven explained in detail.


    Since entering the Myriad Pagoda Mountains, the Primeval Lord of Heaven had paid special attention to the movements of Zen''s physical body because of his hunch.


    To his surprise, the Treacherous Being had gone north for exactly three thousand miles before it finally turned west.


    At the back of the Primeval Lord of Heaven''s mind, this didn''t seem to be a coincidence anymore.


    "Then, perhaps, the Treacherous Being is actually heading for the underground passage that leads to the Jade Pure Realm!" Zen exclaimed in excitement.


    ''If that''s the case, things would definitely work out, '' he thought to himself.


    Once they entered the underground passage and met the real selves of the human heroes, they might be able to figure out a way to resolve Zen''s current state.


    "Well, there''s nothing we could do now but hope for the best," the Primeval Lord of Heaven said.


    The Myriad Pagoda Mountains was indeed a peaceful area. They didn''t encounter any obstacles as Zen''s body trod all the way to the west.


    It wasn''t long before a round pagoda-shaped mountain finally appeared on their view.


    The mountain was several times broader than the rest, and it was also much higher.


    After arriving at the bottom of the huge mountain, the Treacherous Being paused for a moment before it manipulated Zen''s body to climb up the cliff.


    As Zen and the Primeval Lord of Heaven witnessed this, their minds were both filled with anticipation.

 Chapter 4000 An Ingenious Place

    The Treacherous Being controlling Zen''s physical body quickly climbed to the top of the pagoda mountain from the front and slid down from the back.


    Whoosh...


    It was on the mountainside when it stopped suddenly.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven''s eyes glittered with excitement, his voice rising an octave. "Yes, it is right here!"


    "But there is nothing here!" Zen said in confusion, looking around.


    But before Zen could finish speaking, the Treacherous Being controlling his body hefted a mighty slap at the pagoda mountain.


    Bang!


    Although these pagoda mountains were made of stone, they were covered with dust and soil as time went by.


    After the Treacherous Being had launched a palm strike, the thin layer of soil on the surface of the mountain shattered, revealing a huge red copper disk. The surface of the copper disk was engraved with intricate patterns.


    Buzz...


    The surface of the red copper disk glowed when a thick light film covered it.


    "What should we do next?" Zen asked in his mind. "Do we really need to push this pagoda mountain over?"


    "Of course," the Primeval Lord of Heaven said with a smile. "There are four pagoda mountains in all that need to be overturned. I had spent a lot of time and energy at the time to find these four mountains."


    As he spoke, the Treacherous Being maneuvered Zen''s body so that it slammed viciously into the red copper disk.


    The light film on the surface of the disk was solid. The power released in a collision could reach a million divine megatons, but it failed to break the light film.


    Boom!


    The collision between Zen''s body and the red copper disk produced a huge shock wave that rippled outwards and also affected the surrounding pagoda mountains.


    The surfaces of these pagoda mountains were covered in soil.


    The shock wave shattered the soil on the surface of each pagoda mountain, revealing what lay underneath. Each mountain was actually a tall pagoda made of red copper metal.


    "Are all these pagoda mountains made of metal?" Zen asked, surprised, as he looked around at the copper pagoda mountains.


    There was no doubt that the nature was ingenious, but it was impossible to cast so many smooth pagoda mountains with metal.


    "All the pagoda mountains are like this," the Primeval Lord of Heaven said, nodding. "These were man-made but we do not know who built them a


    east, in search of the third pagoda mountain.


    It had dealt with three pagoda mountains smoothly.


    The Myriad Pagoda Mountains looked desolate. There were no warriors from other races or beasts.


    The Wing King flew over the Blood Swamp, when the Treacherous Being was overturning these pagoda mountains.


    With the Wing King''s help, the Snake Goddess and others were not afraid of the Soul Leeches and Worm Lizards in the Blood Swamp.


    But he didn''t dare to fly too high!


    The three Eternal Realm Hunters were familiar with the Blood Swamp. There was a kind of evil bird that lived in the Blood Swamp, which, when it discovered a target, would emerge to attack it.


    The Wing King kept a low altitude and flew dangerously close to the Blood Swamp.


    He encountered several troubles along the way, but he managed to deftly dodge all of them.


    After leaving the Blood Swamp, the Wing King communicated with the Regal Jade Spirit through the Civilization Artifact again. After confirming Zen''s location, he went straight to the Myriad Pagoda Mountains.


    "The Myriad Pagoda Mountains should be the safest area in the Supreme Pure Realm. We have explored it before, but there are just huge copper mountains. There isn''t anything magical about it," said Fuxi.


    The Snake Goddess didn''t say anything. When she had last entered the Myriad Pagoda Mountains, she had felt this area to be unique, and her intuition had told her that there must be something underneath it all. She and Fuxi had also tried to break through a pagoda mountain, but hadn''t found anything unusual.

 Chapter 4001 The Six-headed Eagle

    This was the Wing King''s first time at the Supreme Pure Realm, so he was mostly just curious and kept silent.


    Pearson, the most knowledgeable among the Eternal Realm Hunters, smiled faintly and echoed challengingly, "There isn''t anything magical about the Myriad Pagoda Mountains? You are totally wrong."


    Fuxi frowned slightly. "Then, pray tell me what makes it so magical."


    Pearson pointed at the mountains. "These mountains are the keys."


    "Keys?" The Snake Goddess echoed in confusion.


    Pearson nodded and continued. "The so-called Myriad Pagoda Mountains are actually countless keys arranged together. If you turn the keys in an order within a certain period of time, you will be able to open a passage. And a different passage will be opened if you change the order."


    "For example...?"


    Just as the Snake Goddess was about to say something, Pearson cut in, "For example, the passage to the Jade Pure Realm is also controlled by these mountains."


    Everyone''s eyes lit up excitedly at his words.


    To them, this had been an ordinary mountain range. Who knew it carried such secrets?


    "But how can these mountains control the passages? Are there magic arrays inside them?" the Snake Goddess pressed inquisitively.


    "We once shattered the soil on the surface of a mountain," Fuxi added, his frown deepening, "and we found a circular array, but it only formed a shield."


    "That shield is used to push over the mountain." Pearson shrugged. "The way to open the passages is to push over the corresponding mountains."


    "But there are so many mountains here. How do we know which ones we should push?" asked Yasamin, brows furrowing.


    Thurston calmly began to explain, "The name Myriad Pagoda Mountains doesn''t suggest that there are myriad mountains, but that there are a myriad of ways to permute the mountains. It is really difficult to get the right coordinates. So far, only a few ways have been established, and even then, they''re in the hands of the Element Spirit Civilization and the Nihility race."


    Although the Eternal Realm Hunters knew the secrets of the Myriad Pagoda Mountains, they did not know the specific ways to open the passages.


    "Now the Trea


    hey resembled normal human beings. They were all clad in special, thick robes, as if they were extremely afraid of the sunlight. Not an inch of skin was exposed.


    "Dad, we''ve been looking for the eagles for half a month. Will we really find them?" a slightly childish voice whined.


    "I''m sure we will," a calm voice replied. "I''m not worried that we won''t find them, but if we can subdue them once we find them. Alas..."


    "Don''t worry, chief. Although those eagles are powerful, we are fully prepared this time. We will definitely succeed!"


    "Yes, we are determined to get what we want this time!"


    "We won''t fail!"


    Some subordinates pitched in to boost their morale.


    "I hope so," the leader said with a nod.


    This time, their race acted quickly yet quietly, since their lives depended on it.


    They had to succeed.


    At this moment, the group suddenly heard a loud chirp from the distance.


    "Aoo..."


    An eagle with six heads flew across the sky, its shadow dancing on the mountains.


    Hearing the scream of the six-headed eagle, everyone stood vigilantly against the mountain wall.


    Their thick robes changed color automatically, and they melted into the mountain wall, camouflaging into the mountainside perfectly.


    "Follow me!"


    the leader hissed.


    They moved against the mountain wall nimbly, like wolves stalking their prey. It was not difficult for them to quickly chase after the six-headed eagle along the mountainside.

 Chapter 4002 Lure

    Wind ran through the six-headed eagle''s feathery wings as it flew slowly.


    It almost had no real opponents in the Supreme Pure Realm, or perhaps no other creatures dared to challenge it.


    Furthermore, it also had no natural enemies, so there was no need for it to be too vigilant.


    The six-headed eagle''s nest was built on top of a mountain, where it housed three crystal-clear eggs.


    All the living beings in the Supreme Pure Realm highly treasured those glowing eggs. That was because the liquid inside the eggs had a magical corrosive ability¡ªand in theory, it could corrode everything, even space itself.


    That corrosive ability was the six-headed eagle''s talent. Some creatures hoped to have such an ability, so they tried to subdue, lure, or even force the six-headed eagle, but to no avail.


    After all, the six-headed eagle was the most irritable creature in the Supreme Pure Realm. Anyone who dared provoke it got corroded into a wisp of smoke.


    If they wanted to stay in the Supreme Pure Realm, however, they needed to rely on the six-headed eagle''s corrosive ability to break spaces.


    But since they couldn''t personally use its powers, they shifted their attention to its eggs. Besides, the corrosive power inside the eggs was much stronger than its own.


    Moreover, the six-headed eagle was not intelligent, nor did it live in groups. Thus, it gave the other creatures a chance to steal its eggs.


    At that moment, several people in thick robes came for the six-headed eagle''s eggs.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    As they advanced, the color of their thick robes steadily changed.


    Unfortunately, the six-headed eagle did not notice them along the way at all.


    After they followed the six-headed eagle for four hundred miles, they finally saw a massive nest.


    Thick green tree branches sprawled across the mountaintop and their seemingly irregular arrangement formed a typical nest. From afar, it looked like a green ring on top of the mountain.


    "Aoo! Aoo!"


    The six-headed eagle roared in the sky.


    Six heads popped out from the nest in response. It was another eagle.


    It turned out that the flying eagle was the male, which was responsible for hunting outside, while t


    usly fed it with the Phoenix Blood, which increased its speed for a few hours. The six-headed eagles would not catch up with it in just a short time.


    Thus, the two birds, one big and one small, quickly flew into the distance.


    Upon seeing what happened, the leader of the men in black robes waved his hand again. Then, another man nearby placed an iron cage on the ground. In a few seconds, a second Black Teeth Swallow came out of the cage.


    The female eagle did not usually leave the nest.


    However, it clearly could not resist the temptation of its favorite food.


    The female eagle in the nest also keenly discovered the Black Teeth Swallow that was quickly rising in the air. It let out an anxious squawk in an attempt to call the male eagle to catch the Black Teeth Swallow.


    The only thing was, the male eagle had left to chase after the first Black Teeth Swallow.


    The female eagle thought about its own situation. It thought that it would not take too long to hunt a Black Teeth Swallow. Therefore, for the first time, it left the nest and chased after the second Black Teeth Swallow.


    The men in robes had also fed the second Black Teeth Swallow with the Phoenix Blood. It flew at top speed and lured the female eagle to fly away quickly.


    "They are really stupid birds!" the leader sneered. "Hurry up! Now is the time!" he urged his companions.


    In turn, the other men in robes jumped and climbed towards the nest at the top of the mountain.

 Chapter 4003 Failure

    Since it would take some time for the six-headed eagles to catch up with the Black Teeth Swallows, the black-robed men decided to seize this opportunity and take their eggs away.


    The Black Teeth Swallows could fly really fast, which effectively bought some time for the black-robed men. In the end, however, escaping from the six-headed eagles would be futile.


    It wasn''t a question of if but a question of when the six-headed eagles would catch their prey. The amount of time it would take, however, depended purely on luck.


    Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...


    Since they were determined to not let the opportunity slide, the black-robed men climbed up the mountain as fast as they could.


    The rest of the black-robed men below held their breath and stared at the top of the pagoda mountain. This was a life and death matter for their race so it was understandable that everyone was nervous.


    The leader''s son craned his neck in the other direction, towards where the second Black Teeth Swallow had escaped. The female eagle chased after it. The two figures, one big and the other small, shuttled through the mountains!


    Puff!


    Perhaps the Black Teeth Swallow was nervous, or maybe it was excited after it swallowed the Phoenix Blood. The leader''s son couldn''t be too sure but those were the only explanations he could come up with as he watched the bird crash onto a pagoda mountain and die.


    With its prey dead, the female eagle swooped down and caught the Black Teeth Swallow in its mouth before it promptly turned back towards the direction of its nest.


    The leader''s son froze in shock when he saw this. "Father! The female eagle is coming back!"


    His father was well aware since he also heard the faint thump of the collision and witnessed the Black Teeth Swallow''s death. Things weren''t going so well since their subordinates were still on the process of climbing the mountain and reached only two-thirds of the height of the mountain.


    The situation just grew ten times more dangerous! "Shall we ask them to retreat?" the son asked.


    There was a grave look on the leader''s face but he shook his head. "If they retreat now, then we will lose our one and only chance."


    The Black Teeth Swallows were rare treasures in the Supreme Pure Realm and it took them a lot of effort to catch two of them.


    If they let this chance go, then they wouldn''t have enough time to capture another Black Teeth Swallow for their mission.


    The son frowned in worry as he stared at their subordinates who remained on the mountain. "If they don''t retreat then they''ll..."


    There weren''t many members of their race, but


    ed him.


    The six-headed eagle''s saliva was terribly powerful and could even corrode the space.


    Since there was a long distance between the top of the pagoda mountain and the foot of it, the saliva corroded the space along the way until none of it remained.


    Of course, the female eagle already knew this but it only did that to give Elroy a warning.


    The black-robed men below couldn''t help but feel dejected.


    Their plan had failed.


    After a moment of silence, the leader turned to his men. "Before we came here, I made it clear to all of you that we would risk our lives to complete our task. I know that it seems as if we have failed and all our efforts have been in vain, but I urge you all to find the strength to try again if you find even the slimmest of chances!"


    With their leader''s encouragement, all the black-robed men that hid nearby revealed themselves and began moving towards the mountain top.


    To go up and try to raid the eagles'' nest at that moment was to court death but they did not care. They were ready to risk their lives to complete their mission!


    As they approached the mountain top, a low sound suddenly came from the distance.


    It seemed someone currently ran at such a high speed that it caused the ground to tremble.


    When the black-robed men looked up, they saw Zen!


    "A human being?"


    "A human being in the Light Region?"


    "What is he doing?"


    All of them could only mutter in disbelief as they saw Zen rush towards them like a madman.


    Elroy decided to come forward and try to stop him in his tracks, maybe even ask him what caused him to run like this.


    However, it was like Zen did not see them. The man simply rushed towards the pagoda mountain and ran his way up the mountain.

 Chapter 4004 A Sudden Stroke of Good Fortune

    Everyone began shouting at once. "It''s dangerous there!"


    "There is a six-headed eagle!"


    "Get out of here right now!"


    yelled the son of the leader. His call was echoed by several other men in black behind him. They wanted to stop Zen from climbing up.


    However, Zen could not do as they said, even if he wanted to. The Treacherous Being had taken full control of his body. Although Zen''s soul remained intact in his own head, he had no way to communicate with the Treacherous Being, so it was even less likely that the Treacherous Being could listen to anyone else.


    Without hesitation, without getting distracted, Zen continued to climb up. Clearly, the Treacherous Being was targeting the pagoda mountain upon which the six-headed eagles had built their nest.


    The piercing cry of a bird echoed in the air.


    The female eagle stretched out its neck to issue a warning call to Zen, who was already halfway to his goal.


    The six-headed eagle was very sensitive to danger, and sensed that Zen possessed a strange and powerful aura. Wary of Zen, the eagle did not immediately spit out corrosive saliva at him.


    Yet Zen continued to climb, oblivious to the threat posed by the six-headed eagle.


    "Don''t go up! That eagle has deadly saliva that will melt you completely. It has warned you already!"


    "That is weird. The six-headed eagles are always ready to attack without warning."


    "Yes, that female eagle is reacting in a strange way..."


    The men wearing black robes had prepared well. Because they intended to steal the eggs of the six-headed eagles, they had thoroughly immersed themselves in the lore and habits of the eagles, investigating them to discover their patterns of behavior.


    These men had learned that the eagles were quick to attack any creature that dared to approach them, so negotiation was virtually impossible. They would spit on anyone before they could say a word. The men had never seen the eagles hesitate before attacking an intruder.


    So for a six-headed eagle to warn Zen was very unusual. If it had truly been a warning, then there was only one obvious explanation¡ªsomething about Zen must have caused the eagle to be afraid of attacking him directly.


    The black-robed men watched Zen closely. How powerful was this human youth?


    Everyone subconsciously rejected the idea that Zen could be very powerful. After all, no matter how strong he was, he was still only a human. It was impossible for a human to grow strong enough for a six-headed eagle to be afraid of him.


    The eagle let out another mournful cry. "Aooo!"


    It was obvious that the eagle was trying to warn Zen to go away, instead of engaging him in direct battle. What was going on? Was a six-headed eagle really afraid of a mere human?


    The people in black robes were confused at the unexpected behavior of the eagle, but there was also a glimmer of hope rising in their hearts.


    Could this human be capable of dealing with the six-headed eagles?


    The eagle got agitated after Zen ignored its second warning. It reared back and spat out a mouthful of deadly green s


    rritable, so others didn''t dare provoke them. They not only attacked immediately, they were vengeful creatures that plundered everywhere when they were enraged. A six-headed eagle would never forgive or forget a creature that had invaded its nest.


    The eagle sliced through the air as it swooped towards Zen.


    Quickly it rose back up, circling in the air once, then swooped down on Zen again.


    The only goal of the Treacherous Being was to overturn the pagoda mountain. If it hadn''t been provoked first, it wouldn''t have fought back.


    After driving away the female eagle, the Treacherous Being was ready to topple down the pagoda mountain.


    When the male eagle came about a hundred feet close to him, Zen immediately turned and jumped.


    He soared through the air and landed on the back of the outraged eagle, who had been completely unprepared for that move. No one had ever even imagined getting so close to a six-headed eagle before.


    Zen slashed his hand several times, creating an invisible force that was like a sharp sword cutting through the necks of the male eagle.


    Five of its six necks were cut off, leaving only the last one still attached.


    Zen had no intention of killing the eagle. Instead, as the eagle veered through the air, emitting cries of pain, he leaped from its back.


    He grabbed onto the top of the mountain and slid down. As he moved, he suddenly pushed it.


    There was a loud clicking sound, like a gear functioning, then the whole pagoda mountain swayed. Everyone stared as the mountain toppled sideways.


    As the pagoda mountain fell to the ground, three bird eggs rolled out of the nest.


    Although the eggs were thrown to the ground from tens of thousands of feet in the air, they were unharmed. Evidently, the eggs were very tough and resistant to damage.


    The eggs rolled on the ground and came to a stop near the leader of the men in black robes.


    The black-robed people were stunned by this sudden stroke of good fortune. They stood motionless, staring at the precious eggs, hardly daring to breathe.

 Chapter 4005 Les

    After five out of its six heads were all cut off, the male eagle was scared to death and tried to flee.


    It didn''t dare to attack Zen again and quickly flew high as it trembled.


    Howl!


    The female eagle, which was also badly injured, rendezvoused with the male eagle and retreated with it.


    As the pair of six-headed eagles battled with Zen, they had lost a total of nine heads.


    They were still lucky that they survived even though facing such a powerful opponent. All their aggressiveness vanished, and they just wanted to save themselves right now.


    As for the falling eggs, they didn''t even have the time to look back and care about them.


    Crash!


    As the six-headed eagles had already flown quite a distance, a bolt of dragon-shaped lightning suddenly surged down from the sky and assaulted them.


    The six-headed eagles instantly turned into ashes, drifting away in the wind, as the dazzling lightning struck them.


    When everyone saw the tremendous lightning, everyone on the mountain was taken aback. They knew that it wasn''t natural lightning and that someone was responsible for it.


    "Who the heck released such lightning of that caliber?" Eastern Emperor Taiyi asked with his brows furrowed.


    The lightning contained irregular crystals, and the energy it emitted was devastating.


    When Pearson saw the dragon-shaped lightning, his eyes widened and he felt that his throat became dry. There was a mixed emotion of fear and hatred written all over his face. "It must be Les, one of the three backbones of the Element Spirit Civilization."


    Les was such a formidable opponent. Back then, he led a team to surround and suppress a group of Eternal Realm Hunters, killing six of them in the process.


    "Although he''s a bit weaker than Claire, he enjoys the same status as her," the Snake Goddess explained.


    "Really? That guy''s absolutely powerful then." Eastern Emperor Taiyi''s expression changed a little as he realized the trouble that they were about to face.


    The other people at the back of the Wing King also looked sullen.


    Back when they were in the Source World, they managed to defeat Claire.


    This was because the people of the Pear Hill and the Chaos Ancient Gods could fully display their strength. On the other hand, Claire''s power was limited as she came with the Yellow Thearch''s body.


    Now that they were on the Other Shore, the situation was reversed. As a creature on the Other Shore, Les could readily use all of his strength, while the Eternal Realm masters would be the one with the handicap. Obviously, the gap betwee


    han twenty men from their group, he led them quickly in the direction where Zen had gone. The remaining members returned to their home, led by the leader''s son.


    Crash!


    Another dragon-shaped lightning struck down and made a huge crater on the ground.


    The Treacherous Being was still controlling Zen''s body. It continued to run fast without any intention of fighting Les. It just wanted to overturn the right mountain according to its original plan, but Les had been pestering it from behind all this time.


    Eventually, Les noticed that there was something strange with the seemingly ordinary way of Zen''s running. There was an odd bodily movement skill incorporated with it.


    When Les employed his theurgy, Zen was absolutely shrouded in his lightning. However, just the next moment, he dashed out unharmed, as if his body and the lightning were in two different dimensions.


    This made Les rather confused. He tried to think and come up with an explanation.


    However, he hadn''t seen this kind of theurgy from Zen before.


    Crash! Boom! Crash! Boom!


    Les released four immense lightning strikes in a row, but the result was still the same.


    He clearly saw that Zen''s figure had entered the field of lightning, but he wasn''t able to sense Zen''s existence at all.


    "What kind of strange ability is that?!" Les yelled in frustration. "Let''s see how you dodge this one!"


    In the blink of an eye, the transparent sphere of Les suddenly appeared above Zen''s head.


    Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!


    The surface of the transparent sphere began to flash with five-colored bolts of lightning. The red, green, purple, black, and blue bolts of lightning appeared like small serpents that tried to envelop Zen''s head.

 Chapter 4006 Thunder Array

    Buzz!


    Upon seeing that the colorful bolts of lightning were coming down to envelop him, Zen suddenly stopped on his tracks and evaded the lightning cage. Then, he leaped and landed on the transparent sphere.


    Through Zen''s eyes, the Treacherous Being intently looked inside the transparent sphere.


    Les, who was inside, clearly saw Zen''s face on the surface of the sphere.


    The sight was quite strange to him as he saw Zen stared at him with only the white of his eyes.


    It was kind of creepy since Zen''s face didn''t contain any shred of emotion as he stared and tried to pry inside Les''s mind.


    A sense of discomfort quickly rose from Les''s heart, which was caused by the unique aura of the Treacherous Being. However, at this moment, Les still didn''t know that Zen''s body was being possessed.


    "Fuck off, you creepy bastard!"


    Les immediately stretched out his hand and gathered his energy on the surface of the sphere.


    Crack!


    A bolt of lightning burst out from the spot where Zen was attached. The power of the lightning was enough to pierce through him and send him into the air.


    However, Zen''s body was extremely agile, like a nimble monkey. He easily dodged the lightning and leaped to the other side of the sphere. He landed and clung to the surface with both his hands and feet, and started staring at Les again with his white eyes.


    At this point, Zen knew that the Treacherous Being seemed to be very interested in Les.


    "I said fuck off!"


    Les stretched out his hand again and released another streak of lightning on the surface of the sphere.


    Zen still avoided his attack with ease and flew back.


    Crack! Boom!


    Les tried to drive Zen off several times, but he failed miserably.


    Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!


    Finally, he got totally impatient so he wrapped the entire transparent sphere with the colorful lightning. With this, Zen would have no choice but to separate himself from the sphere.


    However, the Treacherous Being still manipulated Zen''s body to cling onto the sphere.


    The moment Zen''s hands and feet landed on the sphere, the colorful lightning enveloping it immediately burned them.


    Zen''s current physical body had been strengthened by the ancestry-level bloodline, thus ordinary methods could not easily hurt him. However, Les''s skills were superb and couldn''t be underestimated.


    The Treacherous Being looked at the burnt hands and feet of Zen.


    As it realized that the body it was possessing was injured, it decided to use its own body to wrap around the injured parts.


    However, even before the Treacherous Being could make its move, round blisters suddenly appeared on the surface of Zen''s burnt hands and fe


    think that he would actually lose, let alone die.


    Boom! Boom!


    Zen had already thrown more than twenty massive punches in rapid succession. The cubic stone hanging beside Les had started dimming, and a thin crack appeared on its surface. Soon after, the transparent sphere burst into pieces with a loud bang.


    However, Les was just actually waiting for that exact moment to launch his counterattack.


    He suddenly stretched out his hand and grabbed Zen''s neck. "I must congratulate you for breaking through my protective shield. Now, have a taste of my true strength!


    Thunder Crack!"


    Crash! Boom!


    Suddenly, countless thunderbolts poured from the sky.


    Several bolts of lightning struck the top of the mountains, forming circles of lightning.


    Each pagoda mountain had a circle of lightning on the top and there were probably millions of them that were simultaneously formed in the Myriad Pagoda Mountains.


    Then, the circular lightning bolts connected to each other, forming a huge Thunder Array.


    Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!


    The Thunder Array continued to descend, destroying the surface of the mountains. Soon, the mountains revealed a kind of metallic color.


    "Watch out!"


    "Avoid the bolts of lightning!"


    "Stay away from the mountains!"


    The Wing King and the others on his back, together with the men in black robes closely behind, began to disperse and dodge the horrendous bolts of lightning surging down from the sky


    The two groups met again at such an unfavorable situation. They maintained a certain distance and closely watched at the developing scene.


    "Array Hold!" Les mightily roared as he soared in the sky.


    Right at that moment, all the bolts of lightning contained in the humongous Thunder Array began to gather in Les''s right hand.

 Chapter 4007 Hostility Level

    Les''s right hand flashed with bolts of lightning as he held onto Zen''s neck tightly.


    In the huge Thunder Array, whenever the countless flashes of lightning were squeezed together, they melted into a grey liquid.


    Anything thrown into the liquefied lightning would instantly melt and disappear without a trace.


    Under the attack of the liquid lightning, Zen''s body instantly reacted. Round blisters formed on his skin once more, oozing with a green viscous liquid. In defense, Zen''s skin formed a layer of metal to protect himself.


    This layer of metal completely isolated the lightning from the outside.


    "Humph!"


    Les snorted.


    Then, the energy in the whole Thunder Array intensified and whirled around faster.


    In the liquid lightning that gathered, there were many small triangles wrapped in it. These triangles ground and drilled on the surface of Zen''s body. Cracks began to appear on Zen''s skin which glowed with metallic luster. His skin was gradually broken.


    "Even the ancestry-level bloodline can''t resist them?" Zen cried in shock.


    After all, from the moment he obtained the ancestry-level bloodline, Zen saw infinite possibilities in it, and every possibility would be invincible.


    Zen was surprised, but so was Les.


    He had had no idea how Zen formed a layer of metal on his skin, neither did he know what exactly that metal was. He just knew that his lightning lost its effect on Zen the minute it appeared.


    In order to break Zen''s physical body, he had no choice but to use Thunder Crystal Fragments.


    A Thunder Crystal Fragment was the hardest material in the world. As they continued drilling on Zen''s skin, they finally breached past the metal layer and into Zen''s body. A smile crept on Les''s face when he saw his plan was working.


    With the help of the Thunder Crystal Fragments, he was able to grind Zen into powders.


    Just when Les thought he had the upper hand, a white mass suddenly oozed out of Zen''s wounds. It had a strange-looking mouth and hollow eyes, which stared into Les''s.


    "This is..." Les''s eyes widened slightly.


    It finally dawned on him why he had had such an unpleasant feeling.


    It was a Treacherous Being!


    This guy was possessed by a Treacherous Being!


    As one of members that held high position in the Element Spirit Civilization, Les knew much more


    ain and again, the energy in the stone was exhausted, and the transparent light ball that served as a shield naturally collapsed.


    Everything disappeared under the compression of the white form, except for the small cubic stone.


    "I get it," the Primeval Lord of Heaven suddenly said. "Previously, when the Treacherous Being had manipulated your body to cling onto the transparent ball of light, it wasn''t looking at Les but at the cubic stone beside him. It has taken a fancy to this thing..."


    "What''s the use of this stone?" Zen muttered.


    Of course, only something extraordinary would arouse the interest of a Treacherous Being.


    "Coo, coo, coo..."


    Whatever remained of the white film suddenly melted into a puddle of murky white water which flowed until it formed the shape of the Treacherous Being. Its unsettling face emerged once more. This time, its smile was even wider and creepier than ever.


    Then, it howled...


    These howls were so shrill, everyone who had the misfortune of being within earshot winced in severe pain.


    Unfortunately, the Wing King and the other warriors with him, as well as the men in black didn''t have the time to clamp their ears shut, so they all buckled under the sound of the Treacherous Being''s howls.


    Fortunately, this didn''t last long.


    After a while, the howls stopped. The part of the Treacherous Being that was outside Zen''s body slowly returned, along with the small, cubic stone.


    Because Zen had no control over his body, he didn''t feel a thing when the cubic stone entered his body.

 Chapter 4008 Go Deep Into The Freezing Wilderness

    After the cubic stone was stuffed into Zen''s body, the remaining white film left outside his body split open.


    A ray of blue light flashed from the white film. It was a bolt of lightning almost the size of a thumb.


    It was the real body of Les.


    Les'' figure had also shrunk. As the Treacherous Being had powerful strength, it wouldn''t take much effort to kill Les.


    However, it seemed that the Treacherous Being had no intent to kill Les. It started to place the remaining white film back onto Zen''s body and left.


    The thumb-sized Les paused for a moment in surprise¨Che didn''t expect that the Treacherous Being would let him go. He then realized that it was not a safe place.


    His strength had extremely weakened. Any Eternal Realm warrior could kill him now!


    Crack!


    Les flew fast; he quickly turned into a bolt of lightning and disappeared before everyone''s eyes.


    Zen''s and the Primeval Lord of Heaven''s eyes widened when they saw Les escape safely.


    The Treacherous Being was never a kind creature. Why would it let off Les?


    "The Treacherous Being strangely took action from the very beginning. Let''s wait for the Heavenly Obsession Civilization to decipher the words it has uttered," the Primeval Lord of Heaven said.


    When it obtained the cubic stone, the Treacherous Being let out a howl. The howl sounded like a low reciting voice to Zen''s ears. Zen never missed the Treacherous Being''s words. He quickly sent this recitation sound into his inner world, asking the Heavenly Obsession Civilization to decipher it.


    Perhaps because the Heavenly Obsession Civilization had been accustomed to the characteristics of the Treacherous Being''s language, or because the sentence was short, the Heavenly Obsession Civilization quickly answered, "It said the stone is called the Holy Stone."


    "Holy Stone?" the Primeval Lord of Heaven thought for a moment. "I''ve never heard of such a stone." He shook his head.


    After thinking for a while, Zen said, "The stones used to make the ground and pillars of the Eternal Divine Courtyard are closely similar to that cubic stone, but I can''t tell whether they''re related or not."


    Some things looked the same, but their actual uses were different. Zen could only tell them his guess.


    Nevertheless, what triggered the Treacherous Being must be something extraordinary.


    From its strange behavior at the beginnin


    the Night Being race. We bring no harm. We are here to help."


    "The Night Being race?" the Snake Goddess asked as she had never heard of this race.


    Pearson''s eyes flashed. "They are a race living in the Dark Region and they have a similar appearance to human beings. They have been staying in the Dark Region. Their bodies are pale and colorless, and their hair is as white as snow. They are considered a powerful race."


    Even without Pearson''s description, one could tell their figures according to their thick robes.


    "Why do you want to help us?" the Snake Goddess asked again.


    "The eggs of the six-headed eagles are of great importance to us. Previously, dozens of our members have died for them. Thanks to our benefactor, we obtained the eggs," the leader of the Night Being race replied.


    The Wing King and his group also saw the members of the Night Being race taking away the eggs. They didn''t expect these eggs to be of so much importance to this race.


    Of course, the Snake Goddess knew that the "benefactor" the leader mentioned was Zen.


    "There''s no need for help here. You can go back now," the Snake Goddess coldly said.


    The situation was complicated. She didn''t want such an unknown alien race to get involved. It was impossible to determine if they had evil intentions just by a few words.


    The leader of the Night Being race suddenly replied, "I know that our benefactor''s body is possessed by the Treacherous Being. Although the hostility-level Treacherous Being is very powerful, it lacks self-awareness. Thus, it is possible to get rid of it."

 Chapter 4009 A Place With No Turning Back

    As the Snake Goddess heard the words of the leader of the Night Being race, she gasped in shock.


    Seeing her reaction, everyone grew curious. What could the leader have said to make her react like this?


    "What did they say?" asked Fuxi.


    The Snake Goddess blinked a few times before she spoke, "They said they had a way to help Zen get rid of the Treacherous Being."


    "What?"


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi, Yasamin and King Ieuan were taken aback by her response.


    "Even if they could deal with the Treacherous Being, why would they do that?" Pearson asked.


    The creatures in the Three Purities Stage had their positions. However, no one knew what the Night Being race was up to. This made Pearson even more cautious with them.


    "He said that Zen helped them retrieve the six-headed eagles'' eggs, so he wanted to repay him," the Snake Goddess explained.


    Pearson shook his head. "They did take the eggs, and the eggs are rare, but this reason just sounds so far-fetched at this point."


    "I agree," King Ieuan echoed with a nod.


    Hearing their discussion, the Snake Goddess remained silent to think it through.


    Their problem was tricky. If they couldn''t drive the Treacherous Being out of Zen''s body, it would be meaningless to follow him. However, if they acted rashly, they''d only be faced with deaths.


    Everyone on the Wing King''s back grew silent and hesitant.


    "I''ll grow bigger and let them join us," suddenly said the Wing King. "We can choose to believe them."


    Pearson frowned. "Why do you believe them?"


    "Because we have no other choice," the Wing King said sternly.


    Compared to the three Eternal Realm Hunters, the ones present knew better Zen''s importance to the group.


    They could lose anyone, except Zen.


    "You''re right," Fuxi agreed.


    "Anyway, I''m afraid we have no point of retreat," said King Ieuan.


    The Snake Goddess smiled lightly at the leader of the Night Being race and said, "I believe you. You can come up."


    As soon as the leader received her message, the Wing King''s body flashed with a light and expanded drastically as he transformed into a huge Regal Jade eagle.


    Although the Night Being race could catch up with the Wing King


    ered, there''s no going back. We cannot go over this snow line," Pearson said as he pointed towards the line.


    Everyone''s expression shifted to worry once again.


    "Will the Treacherous Being manipulate Zen to go over there?" King Ieuan asked as its thin tail swung restlessly behind it.


    "Who knows?"


    At this point, Zen was only three miles away from the snow line.


    Splash! Splash!


    Just then, two Snow Scale Dragons emerged from the snow and rushed towards Zen.


    Under the Treacherous Being''s control, Zen flashed, rushed towards the snow line and stepped into the wilderness.


    The two Snow Scale Dragons tailed Zen, and they had already opened their big mouths. Seeing that Zen went beyond the snow line, they suddenly stopped and immediately retreated.


    Although the Snow Scale Dragons were not intelligent, they were not going to cross the line by all means.


    They looked at Zen with pity. This guy was dead meat.


    Everyone on the Wing King''s back sank into defeat once again.


    No one had expected this.


    "Beyond the snow line, one cannot turn back. I didn''t expect that the Treacherous Being would take him there," the leader of the Night Being race sighed.


    The Snake Goddess observed Zen''s receding figure. "It took the Treacherous Being so much effort to open up a path in the Myriad Pagoda Mountains. This path can''t just be a dead end."


    "What do you mean?" King Ieuan asked.


    "Follow him in," the Snake Goddess ordered.

 Chapter 4010 Holy Wings Armor

    "It''s too dangerous to enter the wilderness so recklessly," Pearson immediately remarked.


    Thurston and Sawyer nodded in agreement.


    It was far beyond dangerous.


    To enter the wilderness carelessly was to gamble one''s very life.


    While the three Eternal Realm Hunters were willing to follow Zen, that didn''t mean they were willing to risk their lives for him.


    Looking at Pearson with her eyes full of determination, the Snake Goddess said, "Of course, I won''t be forcing anyone here to come along. I will enter first."


    It was a place of no return. As the name suggested, after one crossed the snow line, it was impossible to look back, let alone retreat.


    If the Snake Goddess managed to remain safe and sound in her attempt, the others'' worries would be alleviated.


    "I''ll go with you," Fuxi said.


    "Okay." The Snake Goddess nodded.


    The two Pear Hill leaders had a clear understanding of the current situation. If they really failed, then everything would be destroyed. They would die anyway¡ªif they didn''t try now, they could only live a while longer.


    To the Eternal Realm warriors that had lived for countless years, the period was merely a fleeting moment. It didn''t mean much to them.


    "I''ll help you kill the two Snow Scale Dragons," said Pearson.


    They were hidden in the snow, revealing a pair of small eyes, greedily staring at the group of people above. If Fuxi and the Snake Goddess went down, they''d definitely fall under attack.


    Whoosh...


    Jumping off the Wing King''s back, Pearson rushed toward the two Snow Scale Dragons.


    When the two Snow Scale Dragons saw their prey approaching, their eyes flashed with greed as they rushed out of the snow with their jaws open wide.


    When Pearson reached the Snow Scale Dragons, his body suddenly transformed into thin threads that wrapped around them.


    "Buzz!"


    Simultaneously, Thurston and Sawyer summoned the Black Sun once again. Under its strong force of attraction, the two Snow Scale Dragons had no chance to resist¡ªthey were sucked into the Black Sun.


    "Hiss, hiss, hiss..."


    Pearson''s body was outlined with thin threads before returning to its original form.


    When the people in black robes saw how the three Eternal Realm Hunters cooperated with each other, they exclaimed in admiration. Truly, the cooperation between the three of them was perfect.


    Fuxi and the Snake Goddess didn''t hesitate about their plan¡ªthey didn''t e


    inside Slade''s body, each of them holding different opinions. Some believed that Zen and his group were hiding in the snow land, while others believed that they had broken into the Wilderness of No Return.


    After a few seconds of silence, the discussion among the members of the Element Spirit race in his body turned into a fierce argument. Eventually, it ended with most people believing that Zen and the others with him were all hiding in the snow land. Then, all members of the Element Spirit race of various forms emerged from the Holy Wings Armor.


    Following Claire''s orders, the members of the Element Spirit race began an inch-by-inch search across the snow land.


    Two dots of gray light flashed on the Holy Wings Armor helmet¡ªit was now being controlled by Gavyn alone.


    "Thank you, Claire," he said in a clearly joyful tone.


    She threw a casual glance at him before she said, "Les is seriously injured, but he refuses to die. If you really want to take control of the armor forever, you must perform well these days."


    The armor held an important position in the Element Spirit Civilization. Not only was it a great honor to control it, but a manifestation of one''s ability.


    "How well should I behave?" Gavyn asked.


    "Good enough that you can impress the Eye Spirit," Claire replied.


    "Of course, I will!" He nodded firmly.


    As the members of the Element Spirit race continued digging and turning over snow, some creatures were occasionally dug up, all of which were instantly killed.


    From the looks of it, they weren''t going to stop for anything until they found Zen and his companions.

 Chapter 4011 The Fish Hook

    The path in the Wilderness of No Return was not a straight line but a crooked one extending to the end of the wilderness.


    The Treacherous Being manipulated Zen''s body and walked slowly.


    Everyone maintained a distance of about dozens of feet from Zen and followed him closely.


    Dawn turned to dusk, and dusk turned to dawn, but Zen kept moving forward. He didn''t express an intent to stop.


    "How far have we moved?" the Snake Goddess asked.


    Fuxi had been counting the steps since they entered the wilderness. "About four hundred miles," he answered the Snake Goddess.


    Walking over a few hundred miles for dozens of hours took so much of everyone''s time.


    "So we have left the Supreme Pure Realm and are about four hundred miles away." Pearson sighed.


    No any scenery surrounded the wilderness. No matter how far they went, everything still looked the same.


    Although they knew they could return any time, a trace of panic lingered deep in their hearts.


    "Leaving the Supreme Pure Realm?" "That''s right." The leader of the men in black robes nodded in agreement.


    Although the Supreme Pure Realm was a large area, its extent was limited.


    The Wilderness of No Return surrounding the Supreme Pure Realm obviously didn''t belong to it.


    "I don''t know where we''ll end up if we keep going like this. Squeak," said King Ieuan.


    "The road doesn''t go on forever." Eastern Emperor Taiyi shrugged, smiling optimistically.


    The Snake Goddess suddenly pointed and said, "Everyone, look to the side."


    While everyone''s eyes were fixed upfront, the Snake Goddess peripherally saw a black line from the side.


    "What''s that?" Pearson''s eyes glared with curiosity.


    After walking in the wilderness for too long, anything they saw made them cautious.


    "I can''t see it."


    "The distance between it and us is too far..."


    "I can''t tell."


    Everyone squinted into the distance but the black line was too far to be distinguished. From their view, it looked like a thin black snake lying on the ground.


    "It''s a river," the Wing King suddenly said behind the crowd.


    "Can you see it clearly, Wing King? Squeak!" asked King Ieuan.


    "Good eyesight!" Pearson commended.


    They all thought the Wing King''s eyesight was the best among them, but he shook his head and said, "Zen told


    ded to follow closely.


    To their surprise, the cave was shallow. It took them only a hundred feet to reach its end.


    Many fish hooks hung down at the end of the cave.


    These fish hooks flickered conspicuously with light blue luster amid the darkness.


    The Treacherous Being was clever. It controlled Zen''s body to jump up and bite one of the fish hooks.


    Zen hung in the air, twisting while he pulled on the fish hook, like a fish biting onto a bait.


    Zen, the Primeval Lord of Heaven, and those in the cave were puzzled. Suddenly, a huge force came from above and dragged Zen to the darkness above the cave.


    It was as if a fisherman had caught a fish...


    "Zen has been caught!" King Ieuan exclaimed.


    "This cave is only one hundred feet deep. According to the slope, it should be only about ten feet high. Why does the space above seem to be so large?" Fuxi asked in confusion.


    "The space rules in the Three Purities Stage are chaotic. Let''s follow them and have a look," the Snake Goddess said as she went to observe the fish hooks.


    "Squeak, how do we get up there? Should we do the same as Zen did?" asked King Ieuan.


    "That''s the only way."


    As the Snake Goddess spoke, she jumped up and bit the fish hook that hung down from nowhere.


    Waiting for a few moments after biting the fish hook, the Snake Goddess wasn''t dragged upwards at all.


    She could only twist her slender body as Zen did. She frowned and got morose when she suddenly felt a huge force from her mouth and was instantly dragged up.

 Chapter 4012 The Large Pool

    After the Snake Goddess was dragged away, it was Fuxi''s turn.


    Fuxi walked towards the bottom of the fish hook and glanced at it. Then, he gingerly jumped up, held the fish hook in two fingers and then dragged it down a few times.


    Since he thought that he did not have to bite the fish hook, he wanted to give it a try.


    If the fish hook did not drag him up, then he would bite it.


    But as soon as he dragged the hook about four times, it suddenly pulled him up.


    At that moment, everyone realized that they only needed to grab the fish hook.


    Therefore, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, Yasamin, and King Ieuan followed suit and grabbed the fish hooks, which dragged them upwards.


    Naturally, the three Eternal Realm Hunters also did the same.


    By the time most of them had gone up, only the Wing King and the men in black robes remained.


    The leader of the men in black robes glanced at the Wing King and said, "Let''s go up too, but we have to leave eight people here to guard."


    "No, you all can go up together if you want. I will seal the cave," said the Wing King.


    The cave was the only place where they could retreat. Thus the Wing King had to make some arrangements.


    Although he believed in these members of the Night Being race, he still chose to rely on himself in critical situations.


    The leader of the men in black robes also knew that the Wing King and his group could not completely trust them. Thus, he just briskly said, "That''s good. I''ll go up with my race members!"


    Afterward, the men in black robes grabbed the fish hooks and swung for a while, before the hooks dragged them up one after another.


    After the fish hooks had pulled everyone up, the Wing King looked at the entrance of the cave and gently spread out his wings.


    "Splash!"


    Streams of emerald liquid washed across his wings, which looked like soft, flowing jade. It dripped along his back and quickly sealed the cave''s entire entrance.


    "Buzz!"


    When the cave''s entrance was completely sealed, the jade formed from the emerald liquid glowed green, and then froze.


    The Regal Jade was immensely sturdy. Without the Regal Jade Civilization''s unique methods, it was very difficult to break it.


    After the Wing King had finished, he stepped forward and bit the fish hook. He shook a few times and then the hook dragged him into the space above like the others.


    Above the cave was a vertical ascending passageway.


    The space around the passageway spiraled upwards, so people could not tell


    and stopped in front of a bronze statue at the corner of the pool.


    The bronze statue was a young man with curly hair. He rested on the ground and lazily held the fishing rod in his arms.


    When the Treacherous Being saw the bronze statue, its consciousness became a little level-headed. Then, it controlled Zen to touch the statue''s face, and at the same time, it let out a series of deep whines.


    This time, however, it wailed all of a sudden. Thus, the group of people who followed behind had no time to damage their hearing and had no choice but to listen to the sound.


    Yet, after the wails stopped, the Snake Goddess, Fuxi, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, and the others looked at each other in dismay.


    Although the Treacherous Being sounded as unpleasant as ever, it was completely within the range of their tolerance.


    Even the unpleasant aura that Zen''s body had emitted alleviated by multiple times.


    "Did the Treacherous Being become weak? I feel that the grinding howl did not make me very uncomfortable this time. Squeak!" said King Ieuan.


    "This Treacherous Being''s will has weakened. The statue that rests on the ground is either the Treacherous Being itself or someone highly important to it," the leader of the men in black robes said from behind.


    "Its will became weaker?" Fuxi asked. He paused deep in thought, and an idea popped in his head. "Can you drive it out of Zen''s body now?" he asked.


    "There''s no hurry," said the leader of the men in black robes. Then he added, "This is the Treacherous Being''s place of origin. Its will will only get weaker and weaker, and by that time, I will be more confident to help Zen get rid of it."

 Chapter 4013 Armor

    Though the Wing King had accepted the Night Being race by asking them to climb onto his back earlier, Fuxi, the Snake Goddess and the others were still dubious about them.


    After all, the Night Being race couldn''t even handle the six-headed eagles. What made them think they could deal with the more powerful Treacherous Being?


    However, the leader of the Night Being race did prove himself. Now, everyone looked to him expectantly.


    While the Treacherous Being was howling in front of the statue, Zen had already transmitted the words he had heard into his inner world.


    Soon, the Heavenly Obsession Civilization had deciphered them and announced the translation, "I remember...


    My name is Campbell.


    I want revenge!"


    When Zen and the Primeval Lord of Heaven heard these words, their hearts skipped a beat.


    These words revealed two pieces of information.


    Firstly, the Treacherous Being''s name was Campbell, and secondly, he had an enemy.


    The Treacherous Being was a soul from the Instant Civilization, so logically, his enemy could not be the Element Spirit Civilization or the Nihility race. This meant that his enemy must be from the Abstruse Energy World.


    "Who is his enemy?" Zen asked in a low voice.


    "Who do you think is qualified to be an enemy of a human spirit?" the Primeval Lord of Heaven asked back.


    "Given the strength of the Four Spirits Sect, no creature in the Abstruse Energy World could''ve been strong enough to fight them," Zen said, as he put two and two together. Then, his eyes lit up. "The enemy of the human spirit might be the other three spirits!"


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven nodded. "There must be some sort of conflict within the Four Spirits Sect. Otherwise, this would not have happened."


    The brush-wielder in the Eternal Scroll Painting was unwilling to reveal anything more, so Zen had to piece together the information he got by himself.


    From what the Treacherous Being said, Zen had gotten the gist.


    Da! Da! Da!


    The Treacherous Being stopped howling, but it continued to run like a wild animal.


    Beside the huge pool was a passageway paved with cyan stones. At the end of the passageway stood a door.


    After the Treacherous Being pushed the door open, a vast world suddenly appeared in front of Zen. In the blink of an eye, he was surrounded by a beautifully haunting sky full of


    they all seemed to be of the same style.


    "The Treacherous Beings must''ve used these things before they died," the Primeval Lord of Heaven posited.


    When Fuxi, the Snake Goddess, and King Ieuan saw the shining armors, their eyes lit up in excitement.


    If the human spirits were from the Instant Civilization, then these things belonged to the Instant Civilization. Their grades could not be defined in the chaos.


    The Treacherous Being walked to one of the stone pillars and put its hand into it.


    Buzz!


    The armor in the stone pillar let out a sharp sound and started to tremble.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Each piece of the armor flew out eagerly. As though they knew Zen was their master, they attached themselves to his shoulders, head, neck, chest, and legs.


    In the blink of an eye, Zen was fully clad in the armor, and then a silver spear appeared in his hand.


    The Treacherous Being lifted the silver spear.


    Buzz!


    A bright silver light was released from the armor and spear.


    At the same time, a terrifying aura of energy was also emitted.


    The moment everyone felt the energy, they all retreated quickly.


    They didn''t stop until they were several thousand feet away from Zen.


    "The energy contained in the armor is so terrifying!" The Snake Goddess said, trembling in fear.


    "Of course. It belongs to the Instant Civilization."


    King Ieuan rolled its eyes. It turned its attention to the armors stored within the pillars.


    They had gone through a lot of hardships to get here. How could they return home empty handed?

 Chapter 4014 The Big-head Monsters

    A flash of passion was quickly revealed in everyone''s eyes.


    However, they had just arrived at this completely strange place. They must be careful about possible powerful restrictions in the stone pillars. They couldn''t be rash, so they decided that it wasn''t the time to make drastic moves.


    After they sized the stone pillars up for a while, their gazes fell once again on Zen.


    He was still standing like a statue with a spear in his hand.


    At the same time, they perceived that the aura of the Treacherous Being in Zen''s body was gradually becoming weaker. It meant that the uncomfortable sensation that they were feeling was being slowly alleviated.


    "The Treacherous Being''s aura has weakened a lot. Can you drive it out from his body now?" The Snake Goddess turned and asked the leader of the black-robed men straightforwardly.


    "I also think that this is the perfect opportunity to do it," the leader affirmed.


    He then turned to his men, selected two from them, and quickly went to Zen''s location.


    The two black-robed men stood on Zen''s sides. Each of them took out a small black mirror and began chanting some indistinguishable words. Immediately after, black light shot out from both mirrors.


    When the Snake Goddess and the others saw the black light, they instantly raised their eyebrows, knowing that it was the Dark Region.


    It was known that nothing in the Dark Region could be brought into the Light Region. If they were brought and entered the Light Region, these things would quickly melt like ice sculptures placed under the scorching sun.


    Then, the leader of the black-robed men walked towards the black light. As the leader was completely enveloped with the light, he raised his left hand and gently patted his wrist with his other hand. At the same time, he whispered, "Come out, little fellow. Don''t be afraid. It''s safe here."


    Upon hearing this, a small gecko emerged from the sleeve of his robe.


    The gecko''s body was completely dark, but its eyes were brightly shining with a golden light. It stayed at the leader''s palm as it spat out a dark-red tongue.


    The two small mirrors reflected the Dark Region. People from outside the region wouldn''t be able to see the gecko''s body, but its two golden eyes would be perceived as two golden dots in the darkness.


    When all their preparations were ready, the leader of the black-robed men ordered, "Give him a Darkness Fruit."


    The gecko was a very fragile creature, and it was only suited for the Dark Region. Since it could only stay in the Dark Region, Zen had to be the one to enter it. Because of that, he needed a Darkness Fruit.


    However, when one of the black-robed men beside Zen was about to take out the Darkn


    Obsession Civilization deciphered the Treacherous Being''s words, Zen immediately asked the Regal Jade Spirit to deliver his message to the Wing King through the Civilization Artifact.


    "Then we have no choice. We have to go now," Peterson said with a frown.


    "So that means we have to leave Zen here alone?" the Snake Goddess asked, letting out a deep sigh.


    No one answered as they knew how the Snake Goddess felt about abandoning Zen in his current state.


    And while everyone was still hesitating to leave, a sound of bones crushing suddenly resounded from a distance.


    Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!


    Everyone looked at the direction where the disturbing sounds were coming from. Then, they saw a monster with a big head and a small body emerge from the darkness.


    Upon closer inspection, they saw that the monster was chewing something. A pair of legs hung from its mouth, and they were shocked to notice that the clothes of the person being chewed matched the clothes of the black-robed men.


    "W-what kind of monster is that?"


    "Is it eating one of our men?!"


    "There''s indeed someone missing!"


    The black-robed men were standing farther at the back, so they didn''t notice that one of them had been already missing.


    "Wait a minute. One more person is missing. Where is Brock?" a black-robed man said as he finished with the headcount.


    Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!


    On the other side of the crowd, another big-headed monster emerged from the dark. They also saw a man''s body hanging from its mouth, and he must be Brock.


    When the Night Being race''s special robes were broken, their bodies were quickly eroded in the Light Region. However, the speed at which their bodies were eroded was far slower than the rate at which the monsters chewed their prey.

 Chapter 4015 Teamwork

    All of the Eternal Realm warriors present were always on guard. They frequently released their spiritual senses to monitor their surroundings.


    Among all of them, the Wing King had the sharpest senses. Whether it was a mosquito or a fly, he immediately noticed everything.


    However, the two big-headed monsters quietly appeared and abducted the two men in black robes. It was very odd!


    "Crack, crack, crack..."


    "Help me..."


    One of the men in black robes named Brock was still conscious and cried faintly for help. Moreover, the sound of his bones being chewed also alerted everyone''s ears in the immensely quiet environment.


    The other men in black robes could not take it, so they tried to attack the big-headed monster to save Brock.


    "Stop!" the leader of the men in black robes shouted.


    "But Brock..." one man in black robes said anxiously.


    Brock was his best friend.


    How could he watch the monster chew him bit by bit?


    "I''ve made myself clear. Don''t go there," the leader of the black-robed men said firmly.


    He was the leader of the Night Being race, and he cared about all of his race''s members. The monster not far away was devouring one of his members, but he did not go there to save him. However, it wasn''t because he didn''t want to, but more of he couldn''t.


    The other men in black robes fell silent.


    Even though their faces weren''t that visible due to their thick robes, the others felt their helplessness.


    "What are these monsters?" Pearson asked in a low voice. His hands had already turned into thin spider threads, ready to fight at any time. At best, the Eternal Realm Hunters had only gone to the Supreme Pure Realm to explore. They didn''t know much about the Treacherous Beings or the Jade Pure Realm.


    "They are Treacherous Beings, too. They are hostility-level Treacherous Beings, and they belong to the killing type," the leader of the men in black robes answered.


    "Killing type... What do you mean?" Pearson asked again.


    "Most Treacherous Beings have their own goals. Take the one that possessed Zen, for example. When something blocked it from its goals, that''s the only time it attacked. But the killing type of Treacherous beings are different. Their goal is to kill, so we have to leave!" the leader of the men in black robes explained in a low voice.


    "Then let''s go!"


    Pearson agreed.


    Then, the three Eternal Realm Hunters quickly walked towards the door.


    On the other hand, the Sna


    .


    "Go back," Pearson suddenly said.


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi countered, "I''m afraid if we retreat, we won''t have a chance to survive. We can only go all out and charge. Everyone..." As he spoke, Pearson pointed at the door not far away. Dozens of big-headed monsters climbed up from the edge of the round tray, and slowly approached the door.


    If they forcefully rushed towards them, they would all die.


    "Retreat," said Fuxi.


    No one had expected that they would face such a crisis in a short time.


    This place was much more dangerous than the Whining Road!


    "These big-headed monsters are really odd. Don''t move too fast. Retreat slowly!" the Snake Goddess strongly reminded.


    "So what if we retreat? We will still die!" a man in black robes shouted hysterically.


    "Odin! Shut up!" the leader hissed.


    "It''s all your fault. You brought us into this desperate situation! If you want to retreat, you can retreat by yourselves. I''m sorry, but I won''t follow you!"


    Afterward, the man in black robes named Odin brought out a yellow stone and crushed it. A ball of yellow light burst out from the stone and quickly pooled around his legs.


    It was the Divine Walking Stone, which could greatly increase one''s speed in a short amount of time.


    Swish!


    Then, he turned into a beam of light and rushed towards the door.


    Even if his speed had increased by more than three times, seven big-headed monsters surrounded him even faster as he dashed towards the door.


    "Crack, crack, crack..."


    The seven monsters formed a circle, then chewing sounds filled the air. Then, they immediately divided Odin among themselves.

 Chapter 4016 The Seventh Time

    Odin''s miserable death was a lesson to the remaining men in black robes. They didn''t dare to act recklessly anymore.


    The Snake Goddess, Fuxi, and the three Eternal Realm Hunters, however remained calm.


    The Snake Goddess said, "I think the Treacherous Being that has possessed Zen knows what''s going on.


    Maybe it can protect us."


    Letting the Treacherous Being protect them seemed an inconceivable thought.


    But it had given them a kind warning before.


    Perhaps seeking its protection was the only choice that remained.


    They didn''t have much reason to hope but they still followed the Snake Goddess''s instructions and retreated, step by step.


    "Wing King, can you tell Zen about the situation we are in?" the Snake Goddess asked.


    The Wing King nodded and sent the news of the monsters with big heads to the Regal Jade Spirit through the Civilization Artifact.


    In Zen''s inner world, the Primeval Lord of Heaven had gathered dozens of people, ready to sing together.


    Now that the Treacherous Being had regained its consciousness, it was possible for them to communicate with it.


    Zen''s avatar floated on the sidelines and watched them prepare.


    They had undergone periods of training, thanks to which they became more and more skillful. They only needed to wait for the core of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization to transmit the syllables to them.


    Zen had previously tried to communicate with the Treacherous Being, but had failed since the latter didn''t have a mind of its own.


    The Regal Jade Spirit used the Grand Teleportation and appeared beside Zen before saying seriously, "Zen, the Wing King and the others haven''t left."


    "What? Why?" Zen exclaimed, taken aback.


    "A number of Treacherous Beings have appeared and blocked their way."


    Treacherous Beings?


    This meant even more trouble!


    According to what they had predicted before, the Treacherous Being named Campbell would leave Zen''s body after fulfilling his wish.


    But it now looked like things


    r. Both of us are from the human race. Can you protect my friends?" Zen pleaded.


    As he spoke, the Snake Goddess and the others moved to his side.


    The big-headed monsters were still following them closely.


    "I''m not human," Campbell said arrogantly.


    Human spirits were one of the most noble creatures in the main world, which was why they were proud of themselves.


    Campbell continued, "I can''t protect them. I don''t even know if I can survive."


    Zen and the Primeval Lord of Heaven were shocked. "You don''t know if you can survive these Treacherous Beings?"


    Campbell suddenly looked sad and weary. "Most likely not. We were no match for them, at least in the past many years.


    We wouldn''t have been trapped in that damned place otherwise."


    Campbell didn''t explain any further but Zen and the Primeval Lord of Heaven could tell that he was referring to the Whining Road.


    "We have tried many times. I myself have tried at least six times," Campbell said, shaking his head.


    Six stripes were engraved on the armor of his right arm.


    He then raised his long spear and used the tip of the spear to add another stripe on his right arm.


    This was his seventh time here.


    The Snake Goddess, Fuxi, and the others were confused as they watched this. They didn''t know why Campbell had added that extra stripe.

 Chapter 4017 The Power Of Silver Energy

    After adding that stripe, Campbell said, "I have tried this for six times already. And I have failed each and every time. It''s quite possible that I''ll fail once again."


    Nevertheless, Campbell remained calm and collected. His composure caused Zen and the Primeval Lord of Heaven sheer anxiety.


    The Treacherous Beings were practically invincible and immortal.


    If Campbell failed once again, he could merely return to the Whining Road and be resurrected.


    However, Zen and the others would be in big trouble. Therefore, this whole situation was extremely nerve-wracking.


    "If I live through this, your friends might survive as well. But if I fail, you can''t blame me..." After he warned Zen, Campbell pointed his silver spear towards the Snake Goddess'' feet.


    "Da!" He began channeling his energy.


    Swoosh...


    The bright silver energy poured down like mercury. Campbell dragged the long spear on the ground and began walking around the Snake Goddess and the others.


    After he walked around, a bright silver circle of light surrounded them. The circle was as thick as an arm.


    "Please tell your friends not to step outside the circle of light," Campbell told Zen.


    Zen was only vaguely aware of what was happening outside. He couldn''t quite see them clearly. Fortunately, the Heavenly Obsession Civilization''s Civilization Artifact was able to instantly decipher what Campbell said. When Zen understood this, he immediately asked the Wing King if they could see a silver circle of light around them.


    After receiving a positive answer from the Wing King, Zen told him what Campbell said. The Wing King conveyed Zen''s message to everyone at once. "The Treacherous Being said that this silver circle of light can protect us! We must not step out of it."


    As their group saw the numerous large-headed monsters, they were filled with shock. They were even more surprised when they heard what the Wing King just said. Their expressions showed utter confusion.


    They could not quite comprehend how a small silver circle of light could keep the large-headed Treacherous Beings at bay. These creatures were almost indestructible.


    However, they were quickly running out of options. Even if they were quite skeptical about it, all they could do now was to stay inside this circle of light.


    The large-headed monsters were slowly edging closer towards where they were standing. The nearest monster was only ten feet away from them.


    With that, Zen bellowed and then gently shook his spear. With a mighty leap, he rose towards the sky like an eagle.


    He soared upwards with such an astonishing speed. In a split second, he was hovering in the air like a silver ribbon.


    Meanwhile, the large-headed monsters that were moving so slowly on the ground rapidly jumped into the air as soon as Zen''s body soared upwards. They were like beasts that smelled blood and went into a frenzy. They turned into black shadows and instantly pounced towards Zen.


    Buzz...


    Zen clutched the long spear tightly in his right hand. Then, he held it out in front of him and it began to spin at such great speed. It almost looked like a spinning silver millstone.


    The first large-headed monster to reach his position charged directly at him. It opened its e


    hree more monsters pounced on him from behind as soon as he killed these eight monsters.


    The long silver spear in Zen''s hand appeared as though it had a soul. With just a light flick, it automatically stabbed three times behind him. If he could keep this up without any untoward incident, it would be really easy to kill those monsters.


    But at that very moment, the silver light on Zen''s armor and spear suddenly dimmed. The change in its glow was extremely noticeable.


    Poof! Poof!


    The first two strikes were still able to pierce through two of the monsters. Upon the third strike, however, the silver light on his armor and spear disappeared entirely.


    They noticed that the power of the third strike was far less than that of the previous ones. The monster blocked it with ease.


    The expression on Zen''s face slightly changed when he failed to pierce through the third monster with his spear.


    Bang!


    Zen smashed the large-headed monster into the ground forcefully with the shaft of the spear. He managed to do it in the speed of light.


    But without the massive support of the silver energy, Zen''s attack was unable to cause any substantial damage to the monster. As soon as the monster landed on the ground, it immediately bounced right up and charged towards Zen once more.


    As Zen watched this, he swiftly came down and landed beside the Snake Goddess and the others. Meanwhile, his spear was already pointed at the silver circle of light.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    The long spear appeared as though it was a vacuum that was sucking the light in. It absorbed all of the silver energy in the circle!


    Once again, the tip of the spear flashed with bright silver light. Meanwhile, the monster was already closing in on Zen. It opened its mouth wide and bared its sharp teeth as if it was determined to swallow Zen whole.


    Boom!


    A mark of Eight Diagrams exploded directly on the face of the monster. It forcefully pushed it dozens of feet away!


    It was Fuxi who launched the attack.


    Campbell, controlling Zen''s body, looked back at Fuxi and nodded with thanks. After that, he pointed his long spear at the monster and slaughtered it.

 Chapter 4018 Builders

    Most big-headed monsters were eliminated on the round tray, while three or four of them were still left wandering aimlessly in the distance.


    When Zen saw them, he immediately rushed over with the long spear in his hand.


    As soon as he approached the monsters, several silver spear lights emerged and all of them were instantly killed.


    After finishing the job, Zen returned and glanced at the crowd indifferently.


    Then, he suddenly tilted his head and opened his mouth.


    From Zen''s eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, the Treacherous Being''s body continuously flowed out until it formed a shape of a human.


    Previously, they saw him as an abstract human figure with an extremely odd face.


    However, when he went out of Zen''s body, his form became complete. Every detail on the body was outlined, and he actually possessed a good-looking face. He looked exactly the same as the bronze statue beside the pool.


    Soon after, Zen''s eyes opened, and the glisten in his eyes had finally returned.


    "Zen! You''re finally back!"


    "Are you okay now?"


    "Thank goodness!"


    After killing all of the monsters, they had been thinking about how they could communicate with the Treacherous Being to make him leave Zen''s body.


    But unexpectedly, he left on his own volition.


    "Don''t worry guys. I''m fine now. This is Master Campbell, and he''s actually a member of our race, so he has no intention of hurting me," Zen explained with a smile.


    "His name is Campbell?" the Snake Goddess asked as she raised her eyebrows.


    "Then where did he come from?" Fuxi asked too.


    "And why did he possess your body? Squeak!" King Ieuan inquired its own question.


    Indeed, there were a lot of questions that needed to be answered. Even Zen didn''t know all of them, and he desired the answers directly from Campbell himself.


    Zen just smiled at his companions and turned towards Campbell. A chorus immediately came from his inner world and translated the words. "Master Campbell, I actually have a lot of questions. Would you care to answer them?"


    Campbell just glanced at Zen with indifferent eyes and waved his hand. "What do you still need? I''ve already returned your body. You can leave now."


    After saying that, he softly pointed a finger at Zen. Then, the armor attached to Zen''s body was peeled off, and the long spear was also pulled from his hand.


    Campbell had completely awakened and regained his consciousness. He had been trying for countless of years, and he finally succeeded with the help of Zen''s body.


    Two hundred Treacherous Beings that were trapped on the Wh


    irit Sect.


    They were the ones who built all of the secondary worlds one after another.


    After building the chaos, they planned and decided to restart it, so that it could operate on its own.


    However, just a day before the plan to restart it, a deadly invisible poison floated out and spread from the Pure Sky Platform.


    They had never thought that they would be caught with the internal strife of the Four Spirits Sect.


    It was too late when they noticed the poison, and they were all instantly killed.


    After the creatures of the main world died in a secondary world, they turned into Treacherous Beings that would never die.


    They took the form of spiritual orbs that wandered aimlessly, using their remaining consciousness.


    Fortunately, they still possessed strong wills in their hearts. Once they achieved and completed their goals, their chance to return and wake up would be attained.


    The two hundred builders of the Human Spirit Sect lived in this Pure Sky Platform. While they were trapped in the Whining Road, they strove and struggled to return to this place. When they successfully did that, it was the time that they would completely awaken and regain their consciousness.


    After regaining their consciousness, the first thing they wanted to do was investigate what happened in the past.


    How were they killed in an instant?


    And who was really behind it?


    Unfortunately, as soon as they regained their consciousness, they were devoured by the big-headed monsters before they could even leave the place.


    Soon after, they would come back to life on the Whining Road in the form of Treacherous Beings.


    The miserable cycle went on, until Campbell was the first one to succeed.

 Chapter 4019 Hard To Accept

    Campbell''s words made Zen''s eyes widen in surprise.


    Based on his tone, it didn''t seem as if Campbell knew much about the Four Spirits Sect.


    Zen thought it best to raise another question. "Master Campbell, what do you plan to do now?"


    Campbell raised his head to look at the starry sky. "Now that I''m awake, I will naturally go back and look for answers on who poisoned us back then."


    The builders had a relatively high position in the Four Spirits Sect and enjoyed a certain level of prestige.


    They were, after all, the ones whom the Four Spirits Sect relied on to expand their territory.


    To poison such important members of the Four Spirits Sect was a serious crime. It was no doubt done by someone with both guts and power. There was a solemn look in Campbell''s eyes as he continued to stare at the sky. "I would like to know why they stopped us from awakening again, and again, and again..."


    As his words trailed off, he turned to look at Zen.


    He expected a look of enlightenment, an expression bright with realization, but all Campbell saw was Zen''s furrowed brows of worry.


    The young man''s expression made him frown. "What''s wrong?" Campbell asked. "Did I say anything wrong?"


    Zen licked his lips as he let out a heavy sigh. "Did you never come into contact with anyone from the main world after you were poisoned?" Zen asked.


    Campbell shook his head. "No. Neither me nor any of my companions have ever met with anyone from the main world." Every single time he came here led by his obsession, he would end up killed by those big-headed monsters which prevented him from waking up completely.


    "So you are unaware of the Four Spirit Sect''s current situation," Zen murmured, his eyes twinkling with a strange color.


    "Why? What is their current situation?" Campbell asked, half puzzled yet also half-apprehensive with the look on Zen''s face.


    "If the creatures in our chaos want to enter the Three Purities Stage, we would need to enter the Eternal Scroll Painting and become Eternal Realm warriors to do so," Zen began.


    "I built the passage. I know how it works," Campbell replied with a nod.


    "I entered the center of the Eternal Scroll Painting."


    Campbell''s brows rose at Zen''s revelation. "Then that means you''re quite talented and you inherited the origin-level bloodline. Congratulations. No wonder your physical strength is excellent."


    To be able to obtain the origin-level bloodline was a very outstanding feat for creatures from secondary worlds.


    Of course, as a member and a builder of the Four Spirits Sect, the origin-level bloodline wasn''t as big of a deal to Campbell. After all, those talented warriors


    oice was directly transmitted to his inner world. It was better this way since there was some information that couldn''t be revealed to everyone.


    All they knew was that there was a bit of singing and then Campbell suddenly became very upset so they naturally wanted to know what happened.


    "No!" Campbell declared. "I do not believe this. I will go there myself!"


    Denial was always the first stage in grief. No matter how rational Zen''s words had been, Campbell did not want to believe them.


    He wouldn''t believe unless he confirmed it with his own two eyes.


    Whoosh...


    He immediately stamped his feet on one side of the Pure Sky Platform.


    From there, a series of patterns flashed on the ground.


    Soon enough, a strangely-shaped collection of houses suddenly floated into the air.


    The house on the helm was incredibly small and only featured a door that could accommodate a single person at most. There were a total of five houses and each house was twice the size of the one that preceded it.


    "Master Campbell," Zen called out to Campbell. "Where are you going?!"


    "As a builder, I naturally have a path that could take me to the main world. There is no need to follow me. Creatures from secondary worlds would have difficulty traveling in the main world without undergoing transformation," Campbell answered just as he pushed the door open.


    "Crack! Boom!"


    He had just taken a step inside the threshold when a great force shook the door.


    Campbell tried to grab the door frame out of instinct but it only ended up with him thrown into the air and landing over ten miles away, with both his hands and feet also stretching for the same distance.


    Fortunately, Campbell was in the form of a Treacherous Being and was able to withstand the blow.

 Chapter 4020 The Black Head

    Campbell''s body had been stretched out, so it took some time for him to recover and turn back to his human shape.


    After he could move properly, he headed back for the door, but as he did, his expression darkened.


    The exit had been blasted into pieces; the entire passageway had been destroyed!


    "Is this some kind of trap set up a long time ago?" Campbell asked in a low voice.


    Only the Four Spirits Sect, or to be exact, only some members of the Human Spirit Sect knew about the secret passage to the main world.


    Someone had blatantly destroyed the secret passage. The traitor must be someone from the Four Spirits Sect, or to be exact, the Human Spirit Sect...


    This proved Zen right.


    "This place is so close to the Abstruse Energy World. Can you leave by going up?" Zen asked Campbell as he pointed at the sky.


    Looking up, he felt the Abstruse Energy World was so close, as though it was within his reach.


    Campbell glared at Zen. "Don''t be stupid. Take that path if you want to court death."


    The force field that lingered above the Jade Pure Realm had actually been set up by Campbell and his companions, so he knew the risks.


    "If that''s the case, then I''m afraid you have no choice but to pass through the road controlled by the Element Spirit Civilization," Zen said with a shrug.


    "Of course I know that," Campbell snapped impatiently.


    The path they were supposed to take, the one that had been destroyed, was actually a secret shortcut. The usual bridge between the chaos and the Abstruse Energy World was the road controlled by the Element Spirit Civilization.


    "But the Element Spirit Civilization won''t let you pass," Zen warned.


    "The Element Spirit Civilization? Are they powerful?" Campbell asked.


    At the mention of any of the creatures in the chaos, Campbell''s expression would change a little, from scornful to condescending.


    No matter how powerful the creatures in the chaos were, Campbell usually didn''t take them seriously.


    However, Zen was an exception. After all, Zen had been to the Eternal Divine Courtyard and passed the test of the ancestry-level bloodline.


    "It''s the strongest civilization on the Other Shore. They were the first civilization after the chaos was created," Zen explained patiently. "There''s no way we can defeat them in this condition, an


    out after accumulating to a certain extent.


    "Run!" Zen cried.


    When the crowd saw two rays of red light shooting towards them, they all dodged to the side.


    Swish!


    Fortunately, they were able to dodge in time. The red light swept over and past them.


    Campbell, too, was able to jump out of harm''s way.


    Only one man in the black robe was a split-second too slow. Before he could even scream, the red light flashed through him.


    At first, he stood perfectly still.


    Then, the man in the black robe collapsed into a pile of black soot.


    Everyone stared at the scene in horror. How could they not be seized with fear, knowing that one touch of the llight would burn them to dust?


    Having dodged the red light, Campbell stretched out his hand.


    The armor, which had been scattered on the ground, dashed straight for Zen. Even the spear pulsated with energy.


    Crack! Crack! Crack...


    In less than three seconds, the armor had been completely attached onto Zen''s body.


    "Kill him!" Campbell ordered Zen.


    Zen gripped the spear tightly and nodded. Raising his hand, he jabbed the spear towards the monster in the distance.


    A silver light shot out from the tip of the spear. The black head had no form of defenses whatsoever, so the Light of Annihilation pierced through it cleanly.


    However, once the silver light faded, there was but a small hole on the black head. Compared to its overall size, the piercing was but a mosquito bite.


    However, the Light of Annihilation on the spear in Zen''s hand had completely dimmed.

 Chapter 4021 A Smiling Man

    Zen held up the dim spear and then glanced at Campbell.


    With the help of the Light of Annihilation, the latter had killed many hostility-level Treacherous Beings just now.


    Now the Light of Annihilation had dimmed. The spear might be of extraordinary quality, but it was still nothing more than a piece of scrap metal in the face of the Treacherous Being.


    Everyone looked at the now blunt tip of the spear and then turned to look at Campbell.


    "That stone," Campbell suddenly said.


    "What?" A strange look appeared on Zen''s face.


    Campbell didn''t explain anything but gently pointed at Zen''s chest.


    A small bump appeared out of nowhere on his ribs. It was as if there was something extra there, something that didn''t belong. Then the bump moved along his esophagus and quickly reached his throat and then his mouth. Then it was involuntarily spat out. Only then everyone saw that it was a cubic stone with several cracks on its surface.


    As for Zen, as soon as the stone had moved in his body, he had started to recall that it had been taken out from Les'' body.


    At that time, Campbell had not awakened. He had merely said that this stone was called the Holy Stone, and then forcefully stored it inside Zen''s body.


    Neither Zen nor the Primeval Lord of Heaven knew why he had done so. Les had used this Holy Stone to unfold the protective sphere, but once the protective sphere was smashed, the energy contained within the stone should have been exhausted. From the way they saw, the stone was all its name suggested. A stone!


    "Can this stone be useful?" Zen asked.


    "As creatures of the secondary world, you naturally do not know the mysteries of this stone," Campbell remarked as he pointed at the Holy Stone.


    Buzz!


    To their immense surprise, the Light of Annihilation immediately burst forth from the Holy Stone like water from a fountain.


    When Zen saw this, his eyebrows rose. He quickly grabbed the stone in one hand and held the spear in the other.


    The spear was covered with several grooves like drainage paths. As soon as the Light of Annihilation gushed out of the Holy Stone, it quickly filled every single centimeter of those grooves.


    Perhaps the black head felt the threat of the Light of Annihilation when this began to happen because its reaction was rather fierce. The red lights in its eyes shone once more. Whoosh! Two beams crisscrossed against the ground and swept towards Zen''s head.


    Before anyone could warn him, Zen himself jumped and fell to the ground sideways. With the help of the silver spear, he then jumped high into the air like a nimble monkey and fell sharply once more, rolling over again and again to get out of the beams'' path.


    The fatal red lights followed him all the way, but he managed to dodge them every single time they reached near.


    The others merely stood in different corners and positions, afraid of being hit. They weren''t fast enough to dodge the beams.


    The red lights chased after Zen for two circles before they finally dimmed.


    However, the black head was not going to let go of Zen so easily. After all


    red lights naturally dissipated. This was a clever decision, but it was still not enough.


    Even losing both of its eyes did not seem to be a problem for it. The two holes quickly healed and became a pair of eyes once again. The head chuckled malevolently, and red lights began to brew within its eyes once again.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Zen raised his hand and stabbed the black head''s eyes with the light beams once again.


    "Agh..."


    The black head seemed pissed at this.


    The strongest trump card in its pocket, if it could have any, was the dazzling lights in its eyes.


    If Zen kept on poking it in the eyes, it wouldn''t have any way of fighting back. Although it didn''t hurt, it was still extremely inconvenient.


    Just as Zen had pinned down the black head, Campbell floated towards the door.


    As a builder of the world, Campbell was not too strong, but was very familiar with the chaos, the Other Shore, and everything else that mattered to the construction of this place. When everyone saw him, they all moved aside.


    Campbell reached out his hand and pressed it against the door. He rubbed it two times, as if to get a feel of it and then said something that shocked them all, "Something''s very wrong with this door."


    The Snake Goddess, Fuxi and the others couldn''t understand what he meant.


    Poking the black head with the spear light once again, Zen turned around and asked, "What do you mean?"


    "The door has been replaced," Campbell replied.


    "So many years have passed. Maybe the original door was rotten, so it had to be replaced," Zen suggested.


    However, Campbell shook his head. "No, it was just replaced. There..."


    He pointed to another Pure Sky Platform in the distance.


    A person was standing on that Pure Sky Platform, who looked somehow exactly like the black head.


    When the man felt the gazes of Campbell and Zen turn towards him from afar, the corners of his mouth curled up, revealing a strange smile.


    The black head also raised the corners of its mouth, revealing the same smile as the man''s. They were one!

 Chapter 4022 General

    Upon seeing Zen''s and Campbell''s gaze shift somewhere else, all the others followed and looked towards the Pure Sky Platform.


    When their eyes met the man on the Pure Sky Platform, they were shocked.


    "Someone is there!"


    "That person looks the same as the black head!"


    "Who is he?"


    Those who could stay in the Jade Pure Realm were by no means, ordinary people.


    "Do you know him, Master Campbell?" Zen asked.


    Campbell stared at the Pure Sky Platform as if he was searching his mind for memories of this person.


    On the other hand, the man on the Pure Sky Platform flashed a strange smile, and so did the black head. He stayed silent, allowing Campbell to think harder.


    As a world builder, Campbell focused on building one world after another, not caring about matters of the main world. When they encountered any trouble before building a world, they only needed to call the Ten Directions House.


    The powerful warriors sent by the Ten Directions House would tidy up the messes for them.


    Perhaps the ones that the world builders had the most contact with were the people of the Ten Directions House.


    After he traced back his memories, something suddenly crossed Campbell''s mind. He opened his eyes wide and pointed at the person opposite him. "I remember now. You are a member of the Ten Directions House. You are General Gianni!"


    Generals were powerful warriors in the Ten Directions House.


    There were many troubles in the main world, large or small¨C


    if the world builders occupied the territory of some races in building a world, or if they needed to destroy the gathering places of some barbaric races, they would need the Ten Directions House to help them.


    Under normal circumstances, they would not need generals to show up since the strength of ordinary warriors of the Ten Directions House was enough to solve these problems.


    Once, a group of two hundred of them encountered the attack of the Tail Butterfly race. The two hundred builders were trapped, and the Ten Directions House sent three groups of warriors in succession but they all returned in failure. In the end, the Ten Directions House had to send six generals.


    It was Campbell''s first time seeing a general of the Ten Directions House, and this Gianni was the leader of the


    o ask this guy!"


    Zen''s voice came from his inner world. His voice wasn''t loud, but Gianni had heard him through the black head.


    In Gianni''s eyes, the others were all irrelevant creatures except for the indestructible world builders.


    Although Zen had pierced through the eyes of the black head many times, Gianni thought it was only the Light of Annihilation which achieved such a feat, not Zen''s strength.


    "Hahaha! You think you can leave now?" Gianni asked teasingly.


    "You wouldn''t know unless we give it another try, right?" The silver light on Zen''s right hand began to radiate again.


    "A bug full of itself. I''ll let you have another try..."


    As Gianni spoke, he took two steps toward the edge of the Pure Sky Platform. Round balls began to bulge from the skin around his neck as if eggs were moving from within.


    At the same time, the big-head monsters began to shake below the black head. They started merging and fused into a large mass that spread in all directions¨Cgradually forming the body of a black giant!


    The black giant was over one hundred thousand feet tall and could cross the huge Pure Sky Platform in just ten steps.


    In the distance, Gianni also tore his clothes as he trembled slightly. One after another, cracks appeared on the surface of his body, giving rise to countless eyes opening all over his body.


    The black giant and Gianni moved in sync. Eyes also appeared on the surface of the black giant''s body, and as they opened, the blood-red light began to gather again.

 Chapter 4023 Seized

    The red light glinting in so many pairs of eyes instilled fear in everyone.


    This red light was fatal. Anyone exposed to it would immediately be reduced to a pile of dust.


    How could they escape a weapon that was being released and concentrated on them by so many eyes?


    "Back off!" Zen''s face darkened at the sight of these eyes.


    The Wing King, Fuxi, the Snake Goddess, the Eternal Realm Hunters, and the people in black robes quickly stayed away from the door and retreated towards the edge of the Pure Sky Platform.


    They were unable to escape the red light but there was still some room for them to dodge its attacks after they had distanced themselves from the black giant.


    Even Campbell retreated along with them.


    Zen was the only one to have moved forward instead of retreating.


    For the safety of the others, he had to lure the black giant to the other side of the Pure Sky Platform and finish it off.


    "Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz..."


    The presence of so many eyes took the black giant a longer time to accumulate the red light.


    And Zen had already seized this opportunity to launch an attack.


    "Break!" Zen shouted, jumping up.


    His spear spun once, and came at the black giant''s body.


    "Swish, swish, swish, swish..."


    Zen had earlier been afraid of using up the Light of Annihilation in the Holy Stone, which was why he had tried his best to launch as accurate an attack as possible. He didn''t dare waste any light.


    And now that he had burnt his bridges, Zen couldn''t care less about anything else.


    Rays of spear radiance whooshed through space and headed straight for the black giant.


    The black head moved at a snail''s pace in the beginning, an easy target for Zen. Now that it had a body, it was a complete entity, and under Gianni''s control, it was more agile than Zen had imagined it would be.


    The spear radiance that Zen had sent out was like a white glowing net, covering the vital parts of the black giant''s body. With this round of attack, Zen planned to pierce through at least twenty pairs of the black giant''s eyes.


    But the moment the spear radiance approached it, the black giant took a single step to the side.


    Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!


    The spear radiance pierced through the


    The human was quite fast, but that was just how the average person saw and understood it.


    Zen was able to launch a series of attacks around the black giant because Gianni hadn''t taken him seriously.


    "What an annoying bug!" Gianni exclaimed.


    And then, he suddenly raised his hand.


    The black giant wasn''t slower than Gianni just because of its huge size. In fact, the two of them moved almost in unison.


    Gianni looked at the void before him and remained silent for a few seconds. He then reached out in the air suddenly, grabbing at it like he was catching a fly.


    The black giant''s right hand was doing the same thing at an incredibly high speed.


    Zen concentrated on piercing through the eyes but he was also on guard against the black giant''s hand. But he was astonished, for he had never thought that the black giant, who he had assumed to be clumsy because of its huge size, could be so fast.


    By the time he realized that the giant''s hand was coming for him, it was too late. The black giant had already scooped him up in its hand.


    "It''s over now. You can go to hell."


    Gianni''s voice sounded from the black giant''s mouth.


    He was speaking the human language. Fuxi, who was still dodging the red light columns in the distance, heard him. And so did the Snake Goddess and the others. They began to panic when they saw that the black giant had seized Zen.


    Buzz!


    The black giant also had an eye in its palm, and before long, the red light in it burst out of it.

 Chapter 4024 A Human Shaped Coral

    As soon as Zen was caught in the palm of the black giant, he tried to break free using his long spear.


    However, the strength of the black giant was astonishing. No matter how hard Zen struggled, it didn''t budge even an inch. It continued gripping Zen''s body, rendering him motionless.


    Buzz! Buzz!


    The red light was activated again. This time, it was going to aim at Zen. Zen''s eyes widened as he saw the red light shining upon him. It instantly drowned and engulfed him before he could even react.


    "No! Zen!"


    "Damn it! It was too late!"


    "Zen, don''t die!"


    The red light that shot out from the black giant''s palm was so deadly that it could instantly turn almost everything into dust.


    When the Snake Goddess, Fuxi, and the others saw how the red light engulfed Zen, they were all terrified.


    Even Zen could be turned into dust with its power. Moreover, with the monstrous grip of the black giant, there was no way that he escaped.


    Even the three Eternal Realm Hunters fell silent as they saw the scene.


    There was no doubt that they thought so highly of Zen. He was the only reason why they got all the way here.


    That was why they didn''t expect that he would end up dying in this miserable way.


    As they realized that even Zen could fall this way, they thought that they might also meet their end pretty soon.


    The leader of the black-robed men stood there in a daze. He was obviously in a state of shock, but his thick robe prevented others from clearly seeing his expression.


    Soon after, the black giant slowly opened its palm.


    There, everyone saw the silver armor, the long spear, and some black ashes mixing with them.


    On the other Pure Sky Platform, Gianni sneered as he saw the scene. He then tilted his hand that was stretched out slightly.


    At the same time, the black giant that was under Gianni''s control also tilted its right hand. Then, the armor, spear, and the clump of black ashes slid down from its palm and fell to the ground.


    Seeing this, Campbell clenched his fist and bit his lip. He struggled so hard to complete his awakening, but now he was again on the verge of being killed without finding anything about the truth from the past.


    Thump! Thump!


    The black giant started walking, and its eyes were once again filled with the deadly red lights. At the same time, Gianni spoke in Sanskrit, "As I said earlier, it would have been less troublesome for you if you just killed yourself. Now, it''s too late for that. Since you wait for me to act, I won''t let you die so easily. Well, I can''t totally eliminate you, but I can change y


    Goddess took a deep breath and focused her eyes at the palm of the giant without blinking.


    Then, the red light gradually dissipated. At the same time, the human-shaped coral also disappeared on the ground.


    Soon after, everyone noticed that red corals were flickering on the surface of the black giant''s arm. It was like they formed several meridians extending from its wrist up to its shoulder.


    In addition to the red corals, there were also white bolts of lightning that flashed from time to time. It turned out that these were the Light of Annihilation.


    Immediately after, the red and white lights intertwined and spread along its entire arm. In just a flash, its humongous arm collapsed.


    Because Gianni was directly linked with the black giant, he instantly felt the pain in his right arm with the collapse of the giant''s arm. "Aaargh! What did he do?!" He let out a painful scream as his face contorted.


    Meanwhile, the red and white lights continued their assault and drilled into the body of the black giant this time. Gianni quickly held his chest as he felt like there was a piping hot iron stirring up his internal organs.


    Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!


    With the power of the red and white lights, the giant''s body collapsed and disappeared too.


    Finally, they aimed and drilled into its head.


    "No, no, no!"


    Gianni clearly saw what the lights were after this time. He screamed furiously as he started feeling a sharp and piercing sensation in his skull.


    Unfortunately for Gianni, he couldn''t just undo his link with the black giant. It was purposely made in complexity, so it would take time to break it.


    With that, he had no choice but to endure the severe pain brought by the red and white lights.

 Chapter 4025 Another Accident

    Gianni''s wail echoed for a few seconds. At last, the black giant had finally collapsed.


    Its huge body completely disappeared, and a human-shaped coral slowly descended from midair. When it reached the ground, its armor and spear fell off with a loud clatter.


    Everyone stared at the human-shaped coral uneasily.


    Could this be Zen?


    Not long after, strands of tissue and muscle started to grow on the human-shaped coral.


    They intertwined with each other to form muscles and bones, and then layers of flesh rapidly formed, till finally the human-shaped coral transformed back into Zen.


    When she realized it was indeed Zen, the Snake Goddess sighed in relief.


    Just now, she had been so nervous that she didn''t realize she was holding her breath. Now, she could rest easy.


    The three Eternal Realm Hunters'' jaws dropped in shock. They could not understand what was going on.


    They had seen many unique and magical creatures in their time, but they had never encountered such a powerful creature with such a strange form.


    Campbell was the first to step forward.


    Back then, on the Whining Road, he had instinctively chosen Zen''s physical body because he had a feeling that Zen was stronger than the people around him.


    After awakening, Campbell knew he made the right choice. After all, Zen was a talent who could be chosen to enter the Eternal Divine Courtyard.


    However, even now Campbell kept discovering that he constantly underestimated Zen.


    Zen''s bloodline power must''ve been far stronger than he ever imagined.


    "Your ability comes from the life quadrant of the ancestry-level bloodline, right? Such a powerful recovery ability may be the combination of several abilities in the life quadrant. You might even be a general of the Ten Directions House!" Campbell exclaimed excitedly.


    In his eyes, the generals of the Ten Directions House were invincible.


    And it was true. No matter what trouble the world builders encountered, as long as the Ten Directions House sent their generals out, there was no problem that couldn''t be solved.


    This was also the reason why Campbell was so respectful to Gianni.


    "The life quadrant?" Zen thought for a moment. "Maybe..."


    When he was


    not interested." With that, Zen summoned the long spear in his hand and pointed it at Gianni''s head.


    "Wait, wait!" Gianni said hurriedly. He didn''t expect Zen would suddenly turn hostile.


    However, Zen didn''t give him a chance to finish his words.


    The Light of Annihilation had pierced through the floating head and it burst into a cloud of smoke.


    The long spear then flashed and pointed straight at the opposite Pure Sky Platform. Zen smiled faintly.


    What he was interested in was Gianni''s background. Since Gianni didn''t want to tell him, there was no need for them to keep talking.


    Gianni''s eyes were filled with rage. He never thought Zen would attack him like that. This made him feel like he''d been fooled, and it was a lowly human who was fooling him!


    "Contact the people of the Joy House and ask them to help!" Gianni ordered in a low voice.


    A brown shadow appeared beside him. It was a kind of Treacherous Being that could transmit messages.


    The surface of the Treacherous Being flashed for a while, and then it said, "Master Gianni, the people of the Joy House said they can''t help right now. The Treasure Bottle Platform is being attacked."


    "How dare they attack the Treasure Bottle Platform?" Gianni shouted indignantly.


    "Even the Black House has rushed there, as the Joy House asked for help," said the Treacherous Being. "They are determined. They all want to obtain the energy that was extracted."


    Gianni''s expression darkened.

 Chapter 4026 Treasure Bottle Platform

    The Treasure Bottle Platform was also a Pure Sky Platform. At the center of this Pure Sky Platform, there was a treasure bottle as tall as a person, and this was how the platform had earned its name.


    One of the Godly Ways extracted from the Ways-blending Energy had been sealed up in the treasure bottle. Its purpose was to make sure no complete Ways-blending Energy was ever loosed in the chaos.


    Although the chance of completing the Ways-blending Energy was not significant, the feat was not impossible.


    Should someone master the complete Ways-blending Energy, it would release terrible consequences, hence, the Treasure Bottle Platform was heavily guarded, and it was virtually impossible for anyone to break in.


    More importantly, the secret key in the Myriad Pagoda Mountains was well-protected. It was in the possession of a few Treacherous Beings who had awakened, and it hadn''t been discovered for more than one thousand chaotic eras. How had it then come to the knowledge of someone now?


    Gianni sensed something unusual was afoot.


    By comparison, the world builder opposite him was insignificant...


    "You are lucky, but you will not be allowed to leave!" Gianni coldly said as he looked at Zen. Then he turned around and walked to the center of the Pure Sky Platform where he disappeared in the sudden flash of an orange light.


    Of course, Zen and the others witnessed Gianni''s departure.


    "I''m afraid Gianni won''t let this go," said Campbell worriedly.


    Zen nodded and said, "Let''s leave here for now."


    At this moment, everyone''s attention was once again locked on that door.


    According to Campbell, the door had been replaced without anyone noticing. This door prevented anyone who entered the Pure Sky Platform from escaping it. There would be no easy escape as it was unbreakable.


    "Let''s work together and try again. No matter what, this door is merely an object, a dead thing. I won''t believe that we can''t open it with our combined efforts!" Fuxi suggested.


    Previously, the situation had been dire, and everyone had tried to use brute force to open the door, but they had failed. Now that they had taken some time to consider it, everyone present was somewhat more optimistic.


    "Everyone, let''s use this." Thurston suddenly took out a small paper bag.


    After opening the paper bag, a small block of hardened oil appeared, which wafted with a strange fragrance.


    The Snake Goddess, Fuxi, and the others


    lden statue was even more precious.


    "What can we do now? If we can''t open the door, we will be trapped here, won''t we?" King Ieuan asked.


    "Master Campbell, is there no other way to leave here?" Zen asked.


    Studying the door for a long time, Campbell suddenly said, "Our last option is to destroy this Pure Sky Platform..."


    "Destroy the Pure Sky Platform?" Zen repeated, aghast.


    "Don''t forget what I can do," said Campbell confidently.


    Campbell''s strength might be limited when it came to physical combat, but he was a world builder. All of the chaos had been constructed by him, so he understood the mysteries and principles within the chaos.


    Previously, the only reason why Campbell hadn''t destroyed the Pure Sky Platform was because he cared for the other world builders.


    The other one hundred and ninety-nine builders in the Whining Road suffered the same malady as Campbell. Only once they returned here could they wake up.


    But now, in order to leave, he had to sacrifice those considerations.


    Facing the door, he swung about. Then he walked ten steps backwards, pointed at his feet and instructed, "Break open here."


    Following Campbell''s instruction, Zen wielded the long spear and stabbed where Campbell had pointed.


    The ground of the Pure Sky Platform should have been impenetrable as the earlier fighting had done no damage to it.


    "Crack!"


    Unexpectedly, as Zen smashed the ground with the sharpened end of his spear, the ground cracked, revealing a rune buried within the soil.


    Without so much as a glance at it, Campbell took another ten steps to the side and ordered, "Smash here."

 Chapter 4027 Unfold

    Zen followed and smashed down per Campbell''s instructions.


    Crack!


    This last smash was strong enough and revealed a unique rune below.


    Similar to the first rune, the second faced a different direction. They must be related to one another.


    However, Campbell left out an explanation. He continued to walk in another direction, pointing at different areas on the ground, which signaled Zen to smash them open.


    Crack, crack, crack, crack...


    Zen had created more than twenty holes in the huge Pure Sky Platform. In each hole, they found a different rune.


    When Zen formed the last hole, Campbell lightly pressed the rune inside. A ray of faint yellow light reflected out in response to Campbell''s touch.


    All of a sudden, the runes in the other holes lit up one after another. Once they were all glowing with yellow light, the ground trembled.


    Bang!


    A muffled sound echoed from the inside of the Pure Sky Platform as if something had just opened within it.


    Just then, the Pure Sky Platform slowly rotated. The stone pillars that held the armors rose one by one. At the same time, a noticeable crack appeared right at the center of the Pure Sky Platform that revealed the inside of the platform. Within the shell-like structure were patterns and complex structures.


    "The Pure Sky Platform is so ingenious," Fuxi praised.


    "Just like the mechanical devices below the Myriad Pagoda Mountains." The Snake Goddess nodded in appreciation and then looked at Campbell. "These things were probably crafted by the world builders."


    "Whatever! I''m more interested in the armors! Squeak!" King Ieuan squealed, mesmerized by the display of armors within the stone pillars.


    The first time they saw the armors and weapons, their interest was immediately piqued.


    However, Campbell warned that the armors and weapons were protected by powerful restrictions. Afterward, they lost interest and focused on the Treacherous Beings.


    Now that the entire Pure Sky Platform had unfolded, King Ieuan grew interested to obtain the armors and weapons.


    "Zen, can we take some armors and weapons with us? Squeak!" asked King Ieuan excitedly.


    If they utilized these weapons, they could also rely on the Light of Annihilation to get rid of the Treacherous Beings once and for all.


    After pausing to think, Zen responded, "Master Campbell, these are useless if th


    de the unfolded area. "It''s time to leave here. Just need to break the wall."


    Within a second, Zen flew forward and threw a heavy punch at the center of the wall.


    Boom!


    The wall immediately collapsed with a bang and revealed a small passageway. It was so short that the ceiling of the tunnel was the height of their hips.


    Zen bent down and drilled into the passageway. They all moved forward, but at around two hundred feet, they were met with another wall. Zen did not hesitate and threw another punch.


    Boom!


    Once the wall collapsed, they were met with a large, luxurious pool.


    They exited the passage one after another. When they saw the pool and the bronze statues again, they all took a breath of relief.


    After the battle, the Eternal Realm warriors and the Eternal Realm Hunters did not suffer much loss. They were quite lucky to have done so.


    However, more than half of the black-robed men were killed.


    These men in black robes had a grudge against their leader. They risked their lives to follow Zen but inherited no benefits. Besides, many of them ended up being injured or dead for no reason.


    However, the leader of the black-robed men comforted them, which allowed them to calm down eventually.


    With the help of Zen, they had obtained the six-headed eagles'' eggs, which meant that they saved the entire Night Being race. Because of this, they were indebted to Zen.


    Moreover, they all obtained a piece of Holy Stone that they treated like a treasure. If they were faced with the Treacherous Beings again, they were prepared this time.

 Chapter 4028 Reinforcement

    At the edge of the Freezing Wilderness, there were two crystal-like ice frogs sleeping more than a hundred feet deep underground.


    This certain species of ice frogs was very rare. As long as there was no external factor that would awaken them, they could continuously sleep for about a thousand years.


    Thus, they were considered as one of the most popular Other Shore Tokens that could be found in the Supreme Pure Realm.


    Crack!


    Suddenly, a powerful force was digging from above. The huge vibration caused by it awakened the ice frogs.


    Whoosh!


    A white mist was released from their bodies. This mist was of extremely low temperature. It could not only form a protective layer on their bodies, but also freeze the surrounding enemies to death.


    However, the digger from above, who was a fire spirit from the Element Spirit race, didn''t have a hint of fear for the deadly white mist.


    As the white mist surged up the hole that he was digging, the fire spirit just let out a mocking laugh. In an instant, his blazing flames dispersed all of the white mist.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    The ravaging flames from the fire spirit poured into the pit and mercilessly melted the ice frogs and their protective barriers.


    "Hmm. They''re not here. Maybe I''ll continue digging westward," the fire spirit informed.


    The snow that had been piled up for countess years near the snow line to the east of the Freezing Wilderness had completely disappeared, thanks to the fire spirit. It now revealed a layer of frozen black earth, which was also dug open.


    The members of the Element Spirit race continued to dig deeper.


    At the same time, Claire floated in the air and was overseeing the digging process. "Can''t you find them in such a large area?"


    The Holy Wings Armor that was floating beside Claire was actually controlled by Gavyn. He then looked into the black ground and asked, "Is it possible that they entered the Wilderness of No Return?"


    Hearing Gavyn''s question, Claire narrowed her eyes and there was a hint of caution on her face.


    It was true that the snow line had been erased before she arrived. Thus, she thought there was a possibility that Gavyn was correct.


    "It makes sense, but were they that stupid to really do it? They couldn''t come back if they entered that place. Weren''t they afraid of death?" Claire was still suspicious of the suggestion.


    "We don''t know that yet. There''s a possibility that they can find a special road in the Wilderness of No Return," Gavyn speculated. "I can at least give it a try."


    With that, he gently raised his hand and a door formed by blue lights immediately appeared above the palm of the Holy Wings A


    ve, they must be pretty confident.


    "Come back right now. We need reinforcements," the Eye Spirit ordered.


    Naturally, it was an urgent command that couldn''t be disobeyed.


    So, Gavyn raised his hand and ordered the thunder spirits to return to the Holy Wings Armor.


    Claire also informed the other members of the Element Spirit race that were looking for Zen and his companions in the Freezing Wilderness. After all of the members had gathered and returned to the Holy Wings Armor, an authoritative voice sounded. "Hand over the control of the Holy Wings Armor, Gavyn."


    The search for Zen and the others was just a special case. Since all the elders of the Element Spirit race had left, Gavyn was tasked to control the Holy Wings Armor.


    But now that all the members of the Element Spirit race had returned and merged into Slade again, they had to ask Gavyn to hand over the control of the Holy Wings Armor.


    "It''s not necessary right now. Didn''t you hear that the matter was urgent?" Gavyn replied.


    He was actually yearning to control the Holy Wings Armor for a long time now, so he wouldn''t just give it back so easily.


    The collective consciousness inside Slade answered, "Yes, the matter''s urgent. That''s why you need to obey the order. Claire, do you think¡ª"


    Gavyn let out a cold snort, and Slade''s voice suddenly stopped.


    The internal world of the Holy Wings Armor was now controlled by Gavyn, so it was just easy for him to block their voices.


    "I said it was not the time for that. Let''s go!"


    Whoosh!


    Gavyn spread out the wings of the Holy Wings Armor and quickly flew forward.


    Claire soared in the sky and looked at the back of the Holy Wings Armor. She kind of knew what Gavyn was thinking. Her eyes narrowed as she flew closely behind.

 Chapter 4029 Giants In The River

    Zen and his group returned to the pool and started to crawl along the long fishing rods.


    When they reached the end of the rods, they then clasped the hooks with their fingers, swinging themselves down.


    In the lead were Zen, Campbell, and Fuxi. Soon after, they returned to the cave.


    The moment they stepped inside, they were stunned to find a huge pile of green crystals that filled the entire cave.


    The abundance of crystals completely blocked the way in.


    "What the hell is that?!" King Ieuan exclaimed in its surprise.


    Taking a step forward, Fuxi gently tapped on them. Examining them cautiously, he commented, "This stuff is so dense. I''m afraid it won''t be easy to break¡ª"


    Before he could finish the statement, the Snake Goddess interrupted him. "These crystals must be the Regal Jades from the Wing King''s body. He was the last one to head up, so this must have been arranged by him to cover our rear."


    "I think so," Zen agreed with a smile.


    While the Wing King never mentioned it to him outright, Zen was rather familiar with these Regal Jades.


    Once the black-robed men and the Eternal Realm Hunters followed suit and swung down, the Wing King was the last to return.


    For the most part, he remained silent, bringing up the rear.


    Walking to the pile of Regal Jades, he stretched out his wings and flapped at them. With that, the solid green crystals quickly melted like wax before fire and flowed toward the Wing King''s body.


    It wasn''t long before he absorbed them all. Once he did, he stepped aside, remaining silent as usual.


    In the past, the Regal Jade Civilization suffered a miserable failure when they developed a festering feud with the Nihility race. Ever since they encountered Zen in the Dark Region of Stage Thirteen, the Wing King favored Zen''s superior talent, entrusting the hope of the entire Regal Jade Civilization to him.


    And never had he regretted the choice, not even now. Zen had never disappointed him ¡ª instead, he greatly exceeded each and every expectation the Wing King had for him. Naturally, the latter was willing to devote himself to the man.


    Once they left the cave, they returned along the path of the Wilderness of No Return.


    The cave''s exit stood close to the Divine River, only about thirty feet away.


    Previously, Eastern Emperor Taiyi had been rather confident that this path would intersect with the Divine River. If they managed to enter it, he would have liked to dig into the soil for tr


    ill. Failing to return to the river, it went straight into the depths of the Wilderness of No Return.


    The same thing happened to the rest of the crows. Once they left the range of the Divine River, all of them were affected by the mysterious power, reluctantly flying toward opposite directions.


    Everyone heaved a sigh of relief at the sight. Their nerves had been going wild because the one-eyed crows seemed to be highly powerful creatures of the Jade Pure Realm. Nobody knew what abilities they possessed nor did they have any idea how difficult it would be to deal with them.


    When Zen asked Campbell if he knew of these Other Shore creatures, the latter only shook his head in reply.


    While it was true that he was a world builder, he already left to find the next suitable spot once the previous world was completed. Because of this, he knew little of the later developments in the secondary worlds. Without having experienced much of the chaos'' development, he could only offer so much information.


    For a while longer, they lingered on the bank of the Divine River.


    In a short period of time, they witnessed six more dead giants flowing down along the river. With that, they concluded that the river must have turned red because of the great amount of blood from the giants.


    Whoever had killed them, though, remained an enigma to them.


    After taking the time to observe the area, they returned along the same path they had come. Encountering no obstacles in the wilderness, they found the journey back was rather smooth.


    But when they arrived at the snowline, much to their surprise, they found an area of bare brown earth.

 Chapter 4030 Divide Into Two Groups

    Eastern Emperor Taiyi gazed around him, frowning. "If memory serves me right, this should be a thick snow field," he muttered.


    The field was brown and completely devoid of any snow.


    All the ground within a radius of several miles was sunken to a depth of over a hundred feet.


    It seemed clear what had happened. The Element Spirit Civilization had dug far and wide into the depths of this former snow field.


    The Snake Goddess shrugged, looking unperturbed. She said, "The Shadow Marks can last for five days. Although the Shadow Warriors didn''t monitor us directly, it wouldn''t have been difficult to find this place using the marks."


    After entering that road in the Wilderness of No Return, the Snake Goddess had used her shadow to destroy the snow line.


    In hindsight, it seemed to have been a wise decision. Otherwise, they would be blocked halfway by the Element Spirit Civilization.


    They carefully observed their surroundings, keeping a sharp lookout for anyone from the Element Spirit Civilization. After they had ensured that they were alone, they crossed the snow line and returned to the Freezing Wilderness.


    Immediately, the body of the Wing King began to expand. His human-shaped figure transformed into the form of a giant hawk, with a wingspan at least several hundred feet wide. He spread his wings and the group of people clambered onto his back, whereupon he soared into the open sky above the Freezing Wilderness.


    When they were about a third of the way across the Freezing Wilderness, the leader of the black-robed men turned to Zen. He bid him goodbye and thanked him one last time.


    Previously, he had decided to follow Zen as far as he could in order to repay him. Moreover, although their race had always lived in the Dark Region, they had a great relationship with humans.


    While they had been able to offer some help during the fray, the leader was very clear that the true strength of the Night Being race could only be displayed in the Dark Region. Once they reached the Light Region, it would be difficult for them to fight against enemies. Indeed, they would only be a burden.


    Before leaving, the leader gave Zen a piece of black silk. He explained that it was a way for Zen to call upon them for assistance¡ªshould the silk be torn anywhere in the Dark Region, the Night Being race would instantly know his location. Zen acknowledged the gesture, and the black-robed man left with his remaining clansmen.


    After they departed, the Wing King spread his wings and rose once more over the vast Freezing Wilderness.


    Occasionally, they caught sight of a few creatures in the snow below them. The creatures watched and pointed at the group flying in the sky, their faces filled with malice, as though they would attack them if given


    take a long time to save the Treacherous Beings on the Whining Road now.


    When Fuxi finished speaking, something began flowing from the back of the Wing King. Dark green liquid oozed out from beneath the feathers. The green substance pooled together and rose to form a body, turning into a human-shaped Regal Jade statue.


    "Zen, ask if this Regal Jade statue can be used," the Wing King instructed.


    Zen asked in Sanskrit, "Master Campbell, will your companions possess this Regal Jade statue?"


    Campbell studied the Regal Jade statue, then nodded. His eyes brightened with satisfaction. "Yes, they will!"


    In fact, the Treacherous Beings on the Whining Road didn''t need to possess other creatures to awaken. The reason for possessing other creatures was their desire to use the Light of Annihilation to kill the Treacherous Beings with big heads. But now that all such Treacherous Beings had been killed, they could simply walk straight out of the Whining Road.


    However, they still wanted to realize their long-cherished wishes. The Regal Jade statues made by the Wing King would lead them out of the Whining Road and enable them to reach the Pure Sky Platform.


    "Well then, we can divide into two groups. I will go to the Whining Road to awaken those Treacherous Beings, and you go to open the underground passage to save the heroes of the human race," said the Wing King gravely.


    The Snake Goddess nodded. "I agree. It''s a good arrangement."


    There was an empty thatched hut since Campbell had left the Whining Road, and it would be safe for the Wing King to enter it alone.


    As soon as everyone had voiced their approval of the plan, the Wing King sent them to the Myriad Pagoda Mountains. Then he changed his route. Wings spread, casting an enormous shadow on the ground below, the giant hawk flew alone towards the Blood Swamp.

 Chapter 4031 On The Treasure Bottle Platform

    In the Jade Pure Realm, on the immense, hundred mile long and wide Pure Sky Platform, stood a huge treasure bottle in the shape of a gourd.


    It was crystal clear and beamed magnificent colors as light reflected off it and refracted through it.


    A wide river flowed beside the treasure bottle, appearing out of the void of the Jade Pure Realm and passing through the Treasure Bottle Platform.


    This was the famous Divine River.


    Many giants'' corpses lay on either side of the Divine River.


    Blood gurgled from their bodies and into the river through the drains, dying it a blood red.


    A fat monk stood beside the corpses, smiling relentlessly. He appeared kind and friendly by his face, but the blood soaked into his robe said otherwise.


    He grabbed a corpse and pushed it into the Divine River.


    Splash!


    The body drifted down with the current.


    On the opposite side of the river, a woman in a long robe was covered in blood as well, her once pure white robe now a deep red. Like the fat monk, she too was pushing corpses into the river.


    The fat man might have looked like a monk, but he was in fact a Taoist priest. His name was Darby and he was the eldest disciple of the Grandmaster of Heaven.


    The woman was Stella, the youngest of the Grandmaster of Heaven''s disciples.


    "I did not expect our master to kill so many giants in only three days. His strength must have increased significantly," sighed Darby.


    The giants in the Jade Pure Realm possessed terrifying strength.


    Facing so many was incomprehensible. If Darby came face to face with just one, he would be forced to retreat.


    Being the eldest disciple, not only did he have all kinds of treasures, but the bloodline he had obtained from the Eternal Scroll Painting was extremely magical too. He was definitely among the top figures of the many Eternal Realm warriors.


    A speck of worry appeared in Stella''s eyes. "Our master has indeed become stronger, but did you notice that he seemed almost entirely not himself during the battle?"


    "It''s understandable. He was so determined to kill his opponents that perhaps he forgot him


    on it, but none of them could find a way to break it.


    "What on earth is in the bottle that the Element Spirit Civilization has to protect it like this?" Ewing''s rough voice asked from one of the red spheres.


    "In addition to the numerous giants, there are also so many hostility-level Treacherous Beings. Whatever is in this bottle must be very valuable," Phelps speculated.


    "I didn''t expect us to not be able to open the bottle after we took the Treasure Bottle Platform. This is really embarrassing."


    As the four were deep in discussion, the Grandmaster of Heaven sauntered over.


    He wore a golden robe that fluttered even though there was no wind. He was a truly intimidating figure to behold.


    Swish!


    He stretched out a hand and drew a black dagger from his waist. It was not made of gold, copper or jade, but instead looked like the tooth of some kind of monster.


    "That''s the tooth of someone in the darkness! How did you get that?" Sloan, who looked like a cat and was the first on the left, asked.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven didn''t answer him. He leaped gracefully and nailed the black dagger firmly in the Sanskrit word, and the lines strewn across the bottle began glowing as he did.


    The light faded and the lines that had been used to sustain the bottle turned into cracks.


    A pale yellow energy emitted from the bottle, shocking the four powerful creatures when they saw it.

 Chapter 4032 Meows

    The four powerful creatures didn''t quite expect that the energy inside the bottle would be so feeble.


    "Huh. The aura of this energy is awfully weak."


    "Apparently, this is the aura of the Godly Way. But is it really a Godly Way?"


    "Indeed, the aura is extremely unusual. Upon closer inspection, it doesn''t belong to any of the three thousand Godly Ways. However, it does look like the aura of the Godly Way."


    And even if their cultivation of a Godly Way actually reached the peak level, they would merely acquire one divine megaton of force. Why on earth would they be interested in it?


    At any rate, they had been staying in the Supreme Pure Realm for such a long period of time. This meant that they weren''t aware of the news circulating in the Grand Plain Stage.


    In addition to that, the Grandmaster of Heaven had never divulged any information regarding the Evil God.


    "I assure you, this is indeed the Godly Way energy," the Grandmaster of Heaven stated frankly. He didn''t want to beat around the bush.


    The four red spheres were rotating simultaneously. When they heard the Grandmaster of Heaven''s confirmation, they exchanged meaningful glances.


    They paid a great price in order to capture the Treasure Bottle Platform. Despite that, all they got was the Godly Way energy. They couldn''t accept that this was it.


    They had a hard time wrapping their heads around it. Was the Grandmaster of Heaven insane? They all thought so. Why else would he choose to grab this?


    Nevertheless, the Grandmaster of Heaven always had the most accurate predictions. He even managed to help them escape from death countless times. Obviously, he would never do such a boring thing.


    "So what''s the use of the Godly Way energy anyway?" Phelps decided to go along with the Grandmaster of Heaven''s train of thought. He might as well learn what his purpose was.


    "You are from the Other Shore. Therefore, you have never set foot in the chaos before. Ewing, go ahead and tell him what the use of the Godly Way energy is," instructed the Grandmaster of Heaven.


    While Phelps was from the Other Shore, Ewing, on the other hand, was from a ruling civilization that existed in the chaos.


    When the Grandmaster of Heaven called his name, Ewing had an inscrutable expression on his face. "The Godly Way energy helps one reach the consummation of True God Realm and subsequently break through to the Other Shore Realm," he answered.


    When Phelps, Sloan, and Larson heard his answer, they merely broke into laughter.


    The Other Shore Realm was quite insignificant to them.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven slightly turned blue in the face as he restrained himself from reprimanding them. He turned around t


    r. As the sound faded away, everyone who heard it felt agonizing pain in their ears. It was almost as if they were actually getting clawed by a cat.


    "Ouch! That hurts!"


    Stella screamed and covered her ears with her hands.


    When he saw this, Darby turned his hand upward and a small golden bell appeared on his palm.


    He loved collecting treasures. He carried over a thousand of them with him all the time.


    He gently tossed it upwards. In the blink of an eye, the small bell turned into a big golden bell that covered him and Stella. At the same time, it kept chiming softly, which effectively alleviated the pain in their ears.


    Phelps, Larson, Ewing, and Sloan also used their own methods of protecting their ears from the shrill and piercing cries.


    On the other hand, the Grandmaster of Heaven remained standing still and made no effort to cover his ears. He merely stared toward the north.


    From the outside of the Treasure Bottle Platform, an enormous cat head slowly appeared. It had a white ball embedded on the top of it, which was filled with numerous eyeballs. They noticed that these were not illusory eyes, but real ones. Each and every one of them was connected by blood vessels in a very complex manner.


    This being was actually the leader of the Element Spirit Civilization, the Eye Spirit.


    All of a sudden, a booming voice came out of his body.


    "Do you really think you can easily get away with something that is not yours?" he asked them in an intimidating manner.


    "Shouldn''t the Treasure Bottle Platform be a trap? It could be just like what I did to those puny humans before?"


    "What do you think?"


    After the Eye Spirit finished talking, Phelps, Larson, Sloan, and Ewing felt ill at ease. Meanwhile, the Grandmaster of Heaven remained as calm as usual.

 Chapter 4033 Possession Of Treacherous Beings

    The Element Spirit Civilization had always regarded the Treasure Bottle Platform as a very important place for their race. It was heavily guarded by the Joy House.


    For the longest time, the members of the Nihility race had never even considered attacking the Treasure Bottle Platform.


    But this time, the Grandmaster of Heaven was able to lead them inside. They fought their way in and killed all of the members of the Joy House. The plan went too smoothly that it felt like a trap.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven looked around then sneered. "It has taken me some time before I managed to lure out and vanquish the ghosts of the Joy House. But now, it seems like they were just baits. Does it mean that this is some sort of bait as well? Or are you freely handing it over to me?"


    After saying this, the Grandmaster of Heaven faced towards the Eye Spirit and shook the pale yellow bottle in his hand.


    All of a sudden, one of the Eye Spirit''s eyes opened wide and fixed its stare at the bottle. It glared with such force that...


    Swoosh!


    The Grandmaster of Heaven''s arm was completely chopped off by the eye''s intense stare. The severed arm still held the bottle in its hand. Both had instantly disappeared and reappeared beside the Eye Spirit.


    "Grandmaster of Heaven! Your arm..." Phelps yelled in shock. He stared at it with a frown.


    Ewing, Sloan, and Larson exchanged nervous glances. They couldn''t believe what just happened.


    However, they thought the Grandmaster of Heaven wouldn''t have been so careless. Maybe he had a trick up his sleeve. Nevertheless, they were still a little worried when they saw his bloody arm.


    They needed not worry because at the next moment, the arm and the bottle that appeared beside the Eye Spirit suddenly exploded. They merely turned into a mass of colorful smoke.


    Seeing this, the Grandmaster of Heaven smiled and calmly took out a white silk cloth to cover his wound. Astonishingly, the broken arm had been recovered when he pulled the silk cloth off. The bottle was still in his hand. He continued to shake the bottle towards the Eye Spirit. "It was simply magic."


    All at once, each and every eyeball on the Eye Spirit''s body blinked. They looked at the Grandmaster of Heaven with disgust and pure loathing. "There is no way I''d let you have the Godly Way energy! You won''t be able to get out of here alive!"


    "Meow!"


    The huge cat under the Eye Spirit got up with its back arched. Its fur stood on its ends as it started to emit an extremely foul and repulsive aura. This was a resentment-level Treacherous Being. It was known to be exceptionally powerful among its kind.


    The revolting aura immediately began turning into visible black waves.


    Darby''s golden bell was a powerful defensive treasure. However, the surface of the bell was instantly riddled with holes as the black waves washed over it. Under the pressure of the black waves, Stella was about to collapse.


    "Darby, take Stella away from here," the Grandmaster of Heaven ordered at once.


    "Yes, Master! Right away!" Darby bowed obe


    s arm and dragged her forward. They needed to get out of here as soon as possible. Before long, another three bumps appeared in their path.


    Some monkeys jumped out of the bumps on either sides. Meanwhile, three black creatures emerged from the bump in the center. Their bodies were quite similar to those of humans. However, there were two pairs of bone blades where their hands and feet should be.


    It was obvious that they were from the Bone Blade race that supported the Element Spirit Civilization. They were quite strong.


    Stella narrowed her eyes slightly and the Light of Annihilation began to flow through her long sword once again. "Darby, you take care of the three members of the Bone Blade race. Meanwhile, I will eliminate the monkeys."


    Even though the three members of the Bone Blade race were strong, they were still no match for Darby.


    After so many years of patient cultivation, Darby was almost as strong as the Grandmaster of Heaven. Therefore, Stella had complete confidence in his abilities.


    But just as Stella finished speaking, the three members of the Bone Blade race had already charged towards them. They moved with such speed that they were only a few meters away front of them.


    "Stella, watch out!"


    Darby had obviously sensed something was wrong.


    He quickly pulled Stella back and an umbrella instantly appeared in his hand.


    The umbrella unfurled at once. It had an excellent defensive power. Therefore, it would be extremely difficult to destroy. It was one of Darby''s most prized and powerful defensive treasures.


    Yet, Stella heard a loud slashing sound. The umbrella had been easily torn apart like it was just a piece of paper. This was the work of the three members of the Bone Blade race. Moreover, Darby''s shoulder had also been severed off.


    Darby''s blood splattered onto Stella''s face. Her eyes full of shock and fear, she realized that these were not ordinary members of the Bone Blade race. The expressions in their eyes were exactly like that of her master when he went mad.

 Chapter 4034 Powerful Weapons

    Blood spurted out from Darby''s chest as if a rain of blood had fallen. His entire arm was torn apart, exposing a terrible wound.


    "Darby!" Stella''s voice trembled at the scene. She didn''t expect that the three members of the Bone Blade race would be this powerful. "Heal yourself quickly! I''ll guard you for as long as I can."


    Saying this, she drew out a second sword.


    She only used the first one to deal with the Treacherous Beings, while the second one was actually her personal weapon.


    Although she was determined to fight until death, she was still trembling in fear.


    Darby calmly said, "Don''t move."


    "What? What do you mean?" Stella was panicking so she could just ask in confusion.


    "Just do it! Hurry up and hide behind me! We don''t have much time!" Darby ordered loudly as he saw that Stella was out of it.


    Seeing Darby''s serious face, she immediately did as she was told, even though she didn''t understand what was going on.


    Darby immediately stretched out his hand. Suddenly, three items emerged on his palm.


    There were a green rune, a yellow rune, and a sheet of transparent glazed glass.


    Whoosh!


    Darby quickly threw the yellow rune at their feet. Then, as the rune spread out, butterfly-shaped shields emerged from it.


    Swoosh!


    The shields grew and covered them tightly.


    Crash! Bang!


    Just when they put up the shields, the members of the Bone Blade race launched another barrage of powerful attacks.


    Their speed and strength were completely terrifying. They would be in extreme danger if Darby hadn''t put up the shields in the nick of time.


    Even the umbrella from before couldn''t block their all-out attack. Fortunately, the densely-packed butterfly-shaped shields were able to resist them, buying Darby a few seconds to prepare for his next plan.


    The yellow rune was a life-saving treasure for Darby. He had over a thousand treasures with him, and this one would certainly belong to the top three in terms of value and capability. Though he was hesitant to use it at first, he had no other choice if he wanted to save their lives.


    Then, Darby used the green rune and attached it to his wound. With a flash of green light, the wound healed rapidly, and his torn arm regenerated.


    Now, their only problem was the powerful foes that were still attacking them.


    As he completely recovered, Darby raised the glass in his hand. Upon a closer look, the glass was divided into two layers, and there was a strange creature in it. The creature had an odd shape as if it had been crushed and turned into a specime


    two pieces of glazed glass. Then, immediately after, the Treacherous Being that was attached to his body got out from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, and returned to the glass.


    Right there and then, Stella was able to see the Treacherous Being''s form through the glass. From it, she could clearly see the claws and chain that Darby had used earlier.


    "Use the Treacherous Beings as weapons, huh?" Stella muttered to herself. It still seemed kind of unbelievable to her.


    But what frustrated her was the fact that her master and brothers had hidden this fact from her and her sisters.


    "Then, why did you hide it from me?" Stella asked Darby with disappointed eyes.


    "Our master didn''t tell us anything at the beginning either," Darby said as he shook his head. "After being able to kill a follower of the Element Spirit Civilization, Maynard got a hold of this secret from him. Then, Maynard approached our master and tried to confirm this matter."


    The Grandmaster of Heaven was famous for his bloodlust, but he favored his disciples very much. Maynard pestered him until he got his consent to use the Treacherous Beings.


    "What do you mean? Our master deliberately hid this secret from us? Why would he do that?" Stella asked as her brows furrowed.


    "Yes, he did," Darby replied as he stared at Stella seriously. "But he did it for our own sake. As I''ve said, not all Treacherous Beings will be willing to cooperate with you. If we control them for a long time, there would be consequences. Possessing others is their way to regain their consciousness. Therefore, our master didn''t really want us to resort to this method. He would rather pass this method to Phelps and Ewing than teach us."

 Chapter 4035 Cat And Saber

    Generally speaking, most Eternal Realm warriors and Other Shore creatures felt apprehensive at the mention of the Treacherous Beings.


    After all, most of them had only encountered the killing type and the attaching type, which were the most common types of Treacherous Beings.


    The various kinds of Treacherous Beings all had different personalities and obsessions. Some of them were naturally kind-hearted and helpful to others. This type of Treacherous Beings was called the friendly type.


    The friendly type was further divided into different kinds. Some of them readily helped others while they stuck to their principles, while others trusted unconditionally and were willing to do anything.


    The latter kind was the sort of Treacherous Beings that could be used as weapons.


    The Treacherous Being in Darby''s glazed glass was called the Three-clawed Beast. It was a hostility-level Treacherous Being with powerful attacks.


    After Darby got the Three-clawed Beast from his master, he was only allowed to practice with it a few times before he had to seal it in the glazed glass. Furthermore, his master warned that he should never use it unless absolutely necessary.


    However, the Light of Annihilation was not enough to defeat these Treacherous Beings of the attaching type. Left with no other choice, Darby finally was forced to use the Three-clawed Beast to deal with the three members of the Bone Blade race.


    The moment Darby finished his explanation, an ear-piercing scratching sound suddenly came from behind them.


    Crack!


    A giant cat, made up of countless eyeballs, appeared on the Pure Sky Platform!


    It seemed that something had hit it. Due to the strong impact, it almost slid off the Pure Sky Platform and fell into the space outside it.


    Fortunately, a few hundred feet away from the Pure Sky Platform was still a safe distance. However, the space further than that devoured energies and everything else into nothingness.


    The giant cat nailed itself to the ground with its claws, which created long and deep scratches on its way. It tried its best to slow down its descent.


    "Go to hell!"


    On the other side stood the Grandmaster of Heaven, whose tall figure closed in with a flash. He raised his palm and hacked down like a knife from the sky.


    In turn, the giant cat flipped and leaped into the air, then raised one paw to block the Grandmaster of Heaven''s palm strike.


    Just as it managed to resist the incoming palm attack, a translucent white giant saber suddenly emerged from the Grandmaster o


    If he successfully took it away, it would be troublesome.


    Meanwhile, the Eye Spirit had thought that the person inside the Holy Wings Armor was Slade, but it was Gavyn instead.


    For him, Gavyn was truly special among the members of the Element Spirit race. His talent and ability were on par with Claire''s, but he was just too complacent.


    Therefore, the Eye Spirit had imprisoned him in the Holy Wings Armor to become a part of Slade.


    Yet, he did not expect that after he sent Slade out, Gavyn had taken control of the Holy Wings Armor.


    Then again, they were in a critical moment where it was not the right time to hold Gavyn accountable. Thus, the Eye Spirit only suppressed his displeasure. He quickly repaired his body and also chased after the Grandmaster of Heaven.


    "Let''s get out of here!"


    the Grandmaster of Heaven shouted to Ewing, Phelps, and his other subordinates as he fled.


    It was not suitable to stay on the Treasure Bottle Platform any longer. The Grandmaster of Heaven had just planned to defeat the Eye Spirit once and for all, but he failed. Therefore, he fled without hesitation.


    Of course, the Eye Spirit knew what he had thought about.


    He decided to hold on until the Black House and General Gianni had arrived. By that time, he could easily kill the enemies.


    Although he couldn''t kill the Grandmaster of Heaven, heavily injuring his physical body was good enough. More importantly, he had to keep the Godly Way energy on the Treasure Bottle Platform.


    Clatter!


    As soon as the Grandmaster of Heaven and his subordinates fled to the edge of the platform, an enormous wall of flames suddenly appeared in front of them and blocked their way.

 Chapter 4036 Illusory Star

    A body that was almost perfect from head to toe slowly emerged from inside the wall of flames. It was no other than Claire.


    At the same time as her appearance, a white dragon rolled and swam in the wall of flames at an incredible speed.


    Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...


    The white dragon swiftly moved in a few circles, and then it entered Claire''s body.


    This white dragon was also a resentment-level Treacherous Being, which was known for its incredible speed.


    Together with her destructive power, she and the white dragon combined increased her strength by more than two times.


    "I don''t know how you found that there are two paths to the Treasure Bottle Platform, but here..." She gestured for them to stop then said, "No pass."


    Meanwhile, the Holy Wings Armor and the Eye Spirit, who had turned into a giant cat, also charged forward.


    Although there were only a few people of the Element Spirit Civilization present, it didn''t mean that they were at a disadvantage.


    Furthermore, they would surely win if they successfully delayed the battle and waited until the warriors of the Black House and General Gianni came.


    If that did happen, it would push the five members of the Nihility race into a desperate situation. However, the Grandmaster of Heaven, Ewing, Phelps, and the others did not look panicked at all.


    "Hand over the Godly Way energy, and I will leave your corpses intact," the Eye Spirit''s voice sounded from the giant cat. The giant cat''s eyes kept blinking calmly at them.


    The Eye Spirit and the Grandmaster of Heaven had fought with each other for a long time now.


    The Eye Spirit had once suffered a big loss from a fight with the Grandmaster of Heaven, but he later triumphed against the latter. This time, he was determined to deal a heavy blow to the Nihility race.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven could still be revived if he died, but the other warriors that followed him could not.


    If they won this battle, it would be a great blow to the warriors from other races that followed the Nihility race.


    "Ha-ha!" Ewing laughed manically.


    "Ha-ha!"


    "Ha-ha!"


    Phelps and the others burst into laughter as well, and it was a laughter of victory after they succeeded in fooling their opponents.


    Then, all of their figures became dimmer and dimmer, until they finally became illusions.


    At the same time, the Grandmaster of Heaven''s body began to curl up and turn into a mass of white objects. It turned out to be a Treacherous Being in the shape of a starfish, with dreamy-colored tentacles.


    Afterward, the group of people disappeared.


    "Illusory Star!"


    Claire hissed with he


    eryone else followed suit and descended to the bottom of the cave. At the same time, the Snake Goddess asked, "Zen, you have the human civilization''s Civilization Artifact. If those human heroes are in the cave-dwelling, you should be able to communicate with them and sense their location, right?"


    At the Snake Goddess''s reminder, Zen immediately understood what he should do.


    Back then, he had sensed the Wing King''s position through the Civilization Artifact of the Regal Jade Civilization. If those human heroes were in the cave-dwelling, the Civilization Artifact of human civilization should be able to sense them.


    "Primeval Lord of Heaven..." Just as he was about to speak, the Primeval Lord of Heaven cut him off.


    "No, they are not there. I''ve just used the Civilization Artifact to try to find them..." he immediately answered.


    It was the Primeval Lord of Heaven''s energy soul that controlled the Civilization Artifact, so he knew better what the Civilization Artifact could do.


    Furthermore, when he had flown into this area, he had tried to communicate with the human heroes, but no one answered from the cave-dwelling.


    "A long time has passed, and some things have definitely changed..." Zen muttered.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven nodded in agreement. "Maybe they have found a way to go to the Jade Pure Realm in the cave-dwelling," he said.


    In the end, Zen just told the Snake Goddess and the others about the disappointing result then everyone headed towards the depths of the cave-dwelling.


    The space inside the cave-dwelling was a bit spacious, and natural stone pillars scattered everywhere to support it. Just as everyone moved forward a bit, they heard the sounds of stones rolling down from both sides of the cave.

 Chapter 4037 Stone Men

    Clang! Clang!


    The rocks in the cave-dwelling were smooth and solid. The sounds of the stones colliding with each other as they rolled down were especially crisp.


    As they moved along, they saw several round and cuboid stones that were covered with densely-packed runes. Obviously, they weren''t any ordinary stones.


    "What are these things?" Thurston asked with furrowed brows.


    Sawyer took a close look and said, "These stones seem to be the earth spirits of the Element Spirit race."


    The earth spirits of the Element Spirit race could turn themselves into extremely sturdy stones. They could just be differentiated from ordinary ones because of their unique aura.


    "What? Why would they turn into these?" Eastern Emperor Taiyi asked in confusion as he also inspected the huge pile of stones.


    The Element Spirit race once trapped the human heroes in this cave-dwelling, so they might have been sent here to guard the place. But still, they were confused as to why they would turn to these inanimate objects.


    "Look! Something is coming out from the walls!" the Snake Goddess quickly warned as she pointed at a wall nearby.


    Then, they saw masses of white orb-like things emerged from within the walls.


    Judging from the form and the aura they emitted, there was no doubt that they were Treacherous Beings.


    "Treacherous Beings!"


    "Watch out for them!"


    "Be alert! Those who could use the Light of Annihilation, be prepared for their sudden attack!"


    After entering the Supreme Pure Realm, they had suffered a lot from the hands of the Treacherous Beings. Thus, they developed an instinctive vigilance whenever they faced them.


    From the aura that they were releasing, it was safe to assume that they were hostility-level ones. But as for what type of Treacherous Beings they were, they still couldn''t tell.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    There were a total of three Treacherous Beings that emerged from the walls. No one knew what their original form was. When they came out of the walls of the mountain, they were just like flowing water. Then suddenly, they rushed into the pile of stones.


    At this moment, they didn''t understand what the Treacherous Beings were trying to do. They began pulling several stones and pillars that gradually turned into three huge stone men.


    As Zen and his group saw this, that was when they realized the goal of the Treacherous Beings for rushing into the stones that were actually made up of earth spirits.


    "These hostility-level Treacherous Beings are vulnerable in the face of the Light of Annihilation, so the Element Spirit Civilization used the earth spirits to serve as their physical bodies," the Snake Goddess muttered.


    Everyone''s face immediately became serious as they faced the combined prowess of the Treacherous Beings a


    nside the stone man''s body.


    The spear enveloped with the Light of Annihilation pierced cleanly into the body of the hostility-level Treacherous Being. With the power of the Light of Annihilation, it was instantly killed.


    Whoosh!


    Zen rushed toward the body of the dead stone man and quickly pulled out the long spear. Before the other stone man that collided with the dead one could get up, he dashed over to its side.


    Crack!


    Before it could even react, the long spear impaled into the other stone man''s body. With a hissing sound, the second Treacherous Being was immediately killed.


    After quickly eliminating two of the three stone men, Zen looked at the other side of the cave-dwelling.


    The third one was blocked and was being taken care of by Sawyer, Thurston, and Eastern Emperor Taiyi.


    At the same time, the Snake Goddess and Fuxi were waiting patiently to launch their attack. Then, suddenly, Eastern Emperor Taiyi finally drove his golden sword into the sturdy body of the last stone man, leaving an opening on the surface of its body. Fuxi immediately took action and used the opportunity to attack the Treacherous Being inside.


    As he rushed towards the stone man, his palm showed a snow-white light which was actually the Light of Annihilation.


    Clap!


    With the impact of Fuxi''s palm enveloped by the Light of Annihilation, the Treacherous Being inside was instantly reduced to a pile of ashes.


    Fuxi waved his hand with a hint of pride in his eyes.


    Previously, during their first encounter with the Treacherous Beings, he thought that they were completely invincible.


    He still clearly remembered the fear they instilled in his heart as they passed the Whining Road for the first time.


    But now that he possessed the Light of Annihilation, he turned his fear into rage and determination and would kill them easily.

 Chapter 4038 The Broken Passageway

    Once all three Treacherous Beings were killed, the stones stopped moving.


    Though these stones were formed by the earth spirits, they remained as mere piles of dead things.


    Zen cut the stones carefully and took out the Holy Stones within. These Holy Stones were about the size of a grain of sand.


    He did not know just how many stones Element Spirit Civilization had but he considered them a rare treasure and they would be very useful if he encountered a large number of Treacherous Beings.


    After he put the stones away, Zen and the others continued to venture into the depths of the cave.


    The path was not complicated and all they needed to do was go down.


    As they went deeper, the path got wider and there was a continuous draft that blew above their heads.


    "It seems there is a hidden pool or river here in the cave," Eastern Emperor Taiyi told them.


    Zen nodded at his observation. "There is indeed a pool at the end of the cave. Your real selves are trapped beside that pool."


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi couldn''t help but flinch when he heard the word "real''.


    It wasn''t long ago after he was rescued from the Divine River that he found out there was a "real" version of himself so he still wasn''t that used to the concept.


    Fuxi and the Snake Goddess had long since accepted the fact that they were their creators'' avatars but it was going to take Eastern Emperor Taiyi a bit more time to do so.


    Realizing the slip of his tongue, Zen quickly tried to correct his mistake. "I''m sorry."


    "It''s fine," Eastern Emperor Taiyi assured him with a smile. "I''d actually like to see what the real Eastern Emperor Taiyi looks like!"


    Not long after, a pool appeared before them.


    The water was so clear that they could see the bottom of the pool.


    King Ieuan looked around. "I don''t see any of the human heroes..."


    "How can that be? This is a dead-end. There is no other way up ahead," the Snake Goddess seconded, walking around to search for the human heroes.


    Zen also circled around the pool once and released his spiritual sense in an effort to find something like a hidden passage. Unfortunately, he came up with nothing.


    Ever since the Primeval Lord of Heaven told him that he didn''t sense the existence of the real human heroes through the Civilization Artifact, Zen had begun to mentally prepare himself for this sort of result. It didn''t hurt any less, however, when he looked around and found nothing but an empty cave.


    form they were heading to.


    Nobody talked much, too focused on moving their limbs to swim their way up. They''d eventually reach their destination this way, right?


    Wrong.


    The group swam for quite a while but there was no indication that they were getting closer towards the Pure Sky Platform. Zen quickly surfaced and found himself in the middle of the passageway!


    Splash! Splash! Splash...


    Everyone looked around in confusion when they saw where they were.


    King Ieuan was the first to speak. "We''re still in the passageway?"


    "Look!" the Snake Goddess exclaimed as she pointed upwards.


    They originally swam upwards in an effort to reach the Pure Sky Platform.


    However, when they looked up, they saw that the passageway was cut in half. They were in the lower half and the other half of the passageway hung above their heads.


    "This passageway seems to have been intentionally destroyed by someone," Eastern Emperor Taiyi remarked in observation.


    "Who?" King Ieuan asked. Just who would do such a thing?


    "Maybe we''re right and the real human heroes did arrive at the Pure Sky Platform," the Snake Goddess said as she continued to look up.


    "Why do you think so?" Yasamin asked.


    "If those real human heroes found this passageway then they would safely arrive at Pure Sky Platform. However, the Element Spirit Civilization would still be hot at their heels," the Snake Goddess stated with a smile. "If they truly wanted to escape then they had to make sure they couldn''t be followed. Breaking the passageway was the best choice to make sure their pursuers would never be able to go the same way they did."

 Chapter 4039 The Possibility Of Repair

    According to Campbell, this place called the Night View Island was an independent Pure Sky Platform.


    There was no way to cross the Pure Sky Platforms. Once the passageway was destroyed, the pursuers could no longer chase the human heroes.


    The Snake Goddess judged reasonably.


    Both Zen and the Primeval Lord of Heaven in his inner world agreed.


    "Since the passageway is broken, can''t we fly there?" suggested Eastern Emperor Taiyi.


    The passageway hanging above was reachable that everyone could easily fly to it.


    "Let''s have a try."


    The Snake Goddess snapped her fingers and her shadow stretched out from behind her. It then turned into a blood-red bird and flew upward.


    At more than one hundred feet away, the shadow disappeared without a trace. It appeared to be swallowed by a monster in the void.


    The Snake Goddess narrowed her eyes, surprised. She shrugged at Zen and said, "It seems that this place also belongs to the Jade Pure Realm."


    The area beyond the Pure Sky Platforms in the Jade Pure Realm devoured all the energies and materials in it. It was dangerous to fly there.


    Zen looked at Campbell floating on the surface of the water and asked, "Master Campbell, can you find a way through this passageway?"


    Campbell didn''t answer. Instead, he swam to the edge of the water and stretched out his hand to explore outside the passageway. "We can''t pass through it," he said. "There''s so much Void Dust in this area."


    "Void Dust?" Zen asked with a puzzled look.


    Campbell replied, "The Jade Pure Realm is filled with dust that cannot be seen. You can imagine it as invisible dust, and anything that gets close to it will be devoured."


    The shadow that the Snake Goddess released was indeed devoured by the Void Dust.


    These people were subject to many restrictions since they were all from the chaos.


    The core of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization was already of great power in itself. Aside from helping Zen understand Sanskrit, it could even restore the white light dots in the Abstruse Energy World.


    However, the so-called Void Dust didn''t have a white light dot, so the core of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization was unable to decode it.


    The others attempted to access the area, f


    ower is the one that needs to be pruned. Have you seen one before?"


    On Zen''s right hand, an azure square appeared out of nowhere. He reached out his hand, gently pinched it, and took out a metal branch. "I wonder if this is the metal branch you mentioned," he said, showing it to Campbell.


    Not long after Zen entered the Other Shore, he obtained this metal branch in the Sacred Mallow Temple.


    He had once shown it to the Primeval Lord of Heaven and the others, but none of them knew what it was.


    Campbell glanced at the metal branch and took it from Zen''s hand. "At least two thousand Pure Sky Platforms hadn''t been completed at that time, and these two thousand Eternal Twilight Seeds must have all sprouted and grown into such branches."


    The metal branches were exquisite in appearance. They didn''t respond to any energy, so they couldn''t be used as Other Shore Tokens. It was believed that they had some magical characteristics yet to be discovered.


    However, they couldn''t grow into Pure Sky Platforms without the world builders.


    In addition, normal methods couldn''t destroy them. For more than a thousand chaotic eras, they had spread all over the Other Shore. Zen had encountered just one of them.


    The Dreaded Eye Demons obtained a metal branch by chance. Like many other races on the Other Shore, they studied it for a long time but didn''t find out how to use it. In the end, they hid it in the Sacred Mallow Temple as rubbish, only to be retrieved by Zen later.

 Chapter 4040 The Lake

    King Ieuan stared intently at the metal branch for a while. Finally, it couldn''t contain itself and blurted, "Zen, what''s the use of this thing?"


    Even Eastern Emperor Taiyi, the Snake Goddess, and the Eternal Realm Hunters were curious.


    After all, they couldn''t understand the conversation between Zen and Campbell.


    "This metal branch can be used to make a Pure Sky Platform," Zen answered. "It should also be able to repair this passageway."


    "Really?" Fuxi couldn''t conceal the excitement in his voice.


    "Every cloud has a silver lining," the Snake Goddess said with a gentle smile. She wasn''t surprised that Zen''s luck was taking a turn for the better.


    "I once sold two such branches," King Ieuan said wistfully. "Everyone thought that they were useless. They were so hard to sell!"


    Everyone glanced at King Ieuan speechlessly.


    Even Zen was a little surprised, but he quickly understood why.


    The metal branches had an extraordinary appearance. According to Campbell, two thousand Eternal Twilight Seeds grew into metal branches at that time, but they were not able to form Pure Sky Platforms.


    These metal branches were difficult to destroy, so it wasn''t unusual for them to show up on the Other Shore.


    If a creature obtained one, it was inevitable that they wouldn''t be able to unravel the mysteries within, so their best bet was to just sell the metal branch. It was not strange that King Ieuan came across one or two of these in the past.


    What was important now was there was hope to repair the Pure Sky Platform, but first, they needed to leave the passageway.


    Campbell took everyone back through the passageway. When they reached the bottom, they reached a dead end. The entrance was nowhere to be found!


    "Boil the water," Campbell ordered.


    From Zen''s inner world, Zhurong was about to make a move but then Pearson suddenly said, "Let me do it."


    As he spread out his hands, blood red flames blossomed around his body.


    Like magic, the entrance that had vanished now reappeared!


    Everyone shuffled through the entrance and stepped into the cave. The pool in the cave was connected to the passageway, so the water in the pool was also boiling.


    "Zen, take your companions out of the pool," Campbell barked.


    Zen nodded and took everyone to leave the pool.


    Once the last person


    speculated, "Maybe the end of this passageway is connected to a water source. When the new passageway was formed, the water naturally flowed down quickly to fill the entire passageway."


    King Ieuan was somewhat skeptical. When it swam to the end of the passageway with the crowd, it was surprised to find that they ended up in another pool of water.


    When they finally reached the surface of the water, they all came out with a splash. As they took in their surroundings, their eyes widened in surprise.


    It was just as the Snake Goddess said, they were in the center of a lake.


    The Night View Island was a very huge Pure Sky Platform. Although it was not as big as the main one, it was over a thousand times larger than the one Zen and the others had been to before. The lake in the center of the island occupied more than half of its area.


    The lake was surrounded by grayish mountains. In the night, these mountains were like demons and monsters lying on the ground, emitting a quiet and unsettling aura.


    Although this place was not the main Pure Sky Platform, it was still within the Jade Pure Realm.


    According to the information they had obtained so far, the Treacherous Beings should come from the Jade Pure Realm.


    So it wouldn''t have been surprising if they encountered powerful Treacherous Beings here in the Night View Island.


    After they left the surface of the water, they flew closely to the mirror like lake. Everyone, including Campbell, tried to move as quietly as possible, so as to not draw any attention to themselves.

 Chapter 4041 The Strange Pattern

    Zen flew ahead of the group. Just as he was about to reach the lake shore, he spread out his spiritual sense.


    The spiritual sense was a handy method of surveying one''s surroundings; it made studying things at a distance easier, and even the things hidden underground could be detected by it.


    However, just as Zen''s spiritual sense swept over the terrain beside the lake, a strange image suddenly appeared in his mind.


    It was a circle with ten animal teeth hanging around it!


    Crack!


    The circle spun violently, and the animal teeth began to flash ominously. Then, Zen suddenly felt a stabbing pain in his mind, which made him almost cry out.


    The Snake Goddess, Fuxi, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, and three Eternal Realm Hunters also released their spiritual senses, as Zen did. They also saw the circular pattern. In unison, they all started crying out in pain.


    "Ouch!"


    "What is that? It hurts!"


    "My spiritual sense is affected..."


    When Zen came to his senses, he glanced back at the Snake Goddess, Fuxi and the rest in dismay.


    "Do you see anything with your spiritual sense?" the Snake Goddess asked.


    "A ring with ten teeth embedded in it," Pearson replied concisely.


    "I saw it, too! Squeak! Squeak!" King Ieuan exclaimed with a pained expression.


    Fuxi studied the bank of the lake in the distance, his forehead creasing in fear.


    Under normal circumstances, one should be able to send out their spiritual sense unimpeded. However, some special things could block the spiritual sense.


    There were even more powerful things and creatures that could devour the spiritual sense, causing it to disappear without a trace.


    This time, their spiritual senses didn''t bounce back or disappear after moving around the area. However, what their spiritual senses revealed was the ring inlaid with teeth.


    This was very strange, as though someone had deliberately shown them this.


    Everyone discussed in low voices, but they couldn''t seem to come to a conclusion.


    Zen asked Campbell about it, but even Campbell was confused. "The Night View Island is a relatively large Pure Sky Platform, and we haven''t arranged anything on it," he said. "I''ve never heard of the ability of affecting the spiritual sense that you just mentioned..."


    As the builder of the world, Campbell was very familiar with the chaos and even the worlds outside it, but even his knowledge was limited here.


    "I''ll go ashore firs


    merald leaf.


    It turned out that these trees were not grey-white, but their surfaces were covered in a layer of ashes!


    "Is there any volcano on the Night View Island?" The Snake Goddess''s eyes narrowed.


    If there were any volcanoes on this island that erupted, it would explain why the entire place was covered in ashes.


    Fuxi shrugged as he reached out to pick a leaf. Cautiously, he sniffed at the dust on the leaf, and said, "This is not volcanic ash. There is no smell of sulfur."


    Zen also asked for confirmation from Campbell. Campbell said that there was no volcano set up on the island when the Night View Island was built.


    "There has to be some reason why there''s dust all over the island..." Sawyer scratched his chin, pondering aloud.


    "No." Pearson shook his head and pointed at a place not far away. "Look, the ashes are not evenly distributed. Only the flowers and trees have ashes, but there is no dust in other places..."


    After careful observation, Zen and the others found that what Pearson said was true.


    Except for the flowers and trees, there was no ash on the rocks and the ground.


    "This is very strange," the Snake Goddess said with a deep frown. "Either the ashes belong to the plants, or they have been sprinkled on them by someone..."


    Just as everyone was confused, Zen saw something from the corner of his eye. Turning to see what it was, he was surprised to see that a white claw stretched out from one of the trees with a handful of ashes, carefully sprinkling them on the leaves.


    The emerald leaves Zen just dusted were now covered in grey-white ashes once more.

 Chapter 4042 The Ghost Powder

    The white claw continued to scatter ashes.


    Soon, the emerald green leaves were covered with a layer of ashes again.


    Zen and the others stood still and carefully observed the movements of the claw.


    Even from afar, they were sure that it was a Treacherous Being.


    However, they noticed that the disgusting aura emanating from the creature was not as strong as those of the previous ones that they had faced.


    Although thick leaves were blocking their view, they could still make out its appearance. It was like a sluggish sloth that actually looked adorable.


    After the sloth-like Treacherous Being spread a layer of ashes on the plants, it jumped down from the branch and slowly approached Zen''s group.


    "What does it want to do now?" Fuxi asked as he stared at it warily.


    Seeing that the Treacherous Being started walking towards them, Sawyer and Thurston instinctively took out the sand-sized Holy Stones. Just before they activated the stones, Pearson stopped them and looked at them while shaking his head.


    The sloth was just a hostility-level Treacherous Being and didn''t impose any threat. Thus, Peterson deemed that it wasn''t necessary to activate the Light of Annihilation just to frighten it.


    Zen actually had the same thought in mind. He just stood still and watched the creature as it walked towards him.


    The creature suddenly stopped in front of Zen. Then, it started pointing at the sky, showing a frightened expression.


    "What is it trying to say?" Zen''s brows furrowed as he didn''t understand what it meant.


    "It''s pointing to the sky with a frightened expression. Is there something in the sky that makes it scared? Or does it want some kind of help?" King Ieuan tried to make a guess.


    The Snake Goddess looked around before looking up in the sky. "It might be saying that there is a threat in the sky, but I don''t think it wants any help."


    As a native of the place, the creature was much more familiar with the environment than them. Moreover, the fact that it was an immortal and had low intelligence meant that there should only be few things that could scare it.


    "If that''s not the case, then does it want to help us instead? But I don''t think that''s more plausible," Yasamin said coldly as her eyes were glued to the Treacherous Being.


    "Well, there are different kinds of Treacherous Beings. Some like to possess other creatures, while others like killing. We can''t rule out the possibility that there are types that are kind to others. For example, Campbell stands on our side after he fully awakened," the Snake Goddess explained with a smile.


    "I don''t know about that¡­ These monsters are just¡ª"


    host Powder. The three Eternal Realm Hunters exchanged glances with each other.


    The Snake Goddess tried to remain calm and continued asking, "These creatures that you''re pertaining, are they Treacherous Beings too?"


    "Yes, you''re correct. They are the powerful hatred-level Treacherous Beings," Decker said with a straight face.


    "Wait! Did you just say hatred-level Treacherous Beings?!" Eastern Emperor Taiyi wasn''t able to keep his composure.


    All of them were utterly shocked. No one could hide their surprise and anxiety as they heard what Decker said.


    In the last Pure Sky Platform, they happened to face a resentment-level Treacherous Being. If it weren''t for Zen''s explosive power at the most critical moment, they would have been dead already.


    It wasn''t an understatement to say that they just got lucky to surpass that hurdle. They were not even sure if they could successfully beat a resentment-level Treacherous Being next time. Now, if it was true that hatred-level Treacherous Beings would come and assault them, there probably was a zero chance of them surviving.


    Instinctively, King Ieuan, Yasamin, and the others took a few steps back.


    They were relatively close to the part of the forest where the sloth-like creature sprinkled the Ghost Powder. Knowing that it could attract the hatred-level Treacherous Beings, they had to make sure that they had absolutely no contact with it.


    "You said that the hatred-level Treacherous Beings only attack the living things that are sprinkled with the Ghost Powder. So, as long as we don''t come into contact with it, we should be fine then, right?" Zen asked after thinking about it for a while.


    Then, with an innocent smile on his face, Decker answered, "Hmm, no. You will still be in danger."

 Chapter 4043 Collecting

    "You are outsiders. Of course, you don''t know the cruelty of the Night View Island. Generally, outsiders are killed on the first night!" Decker''s face turned pale. "The Night View Island is full of Treacherous Beings. There are a lot of hostility-level Treacherous Beings which are the weakest ones. There are also some stronger resentment-level Treacherous Beings, not to mention the hatred-level Treacherous Beings which are the overlords of the island!"


    Thurston, Sawyer, and Pearson looked at each other hesitantly.


    Although the Night View Island was many times larger than the previous Pure Sky Platform, it was still small compared to the Supreme Pure Realm.


    The hostility-level Treacherous Beings and resentment-level Treacherous Beings, which appeared occasionally in the Supreme Pure Realm, could wreck everything there. Many Treacherous Beings inhabited such a small island, so one could only imagine how dangerous it was!


    Pearson was thinking of persuading the others to return to the Supreme Pure Realm. He had to leave along with Sawyer and Thurston even if they couldn''t retreat.


    After all, as long as a hatred-level Treacherous Being appeared, everyone would die. Staying there and continuing to explore was no different from courting death.


    "Almost all the Treacherous Beings are very dangerous. How did you survive?" The Snake Goddess stared straight at Decker as if attempting to read his mind.


    "The members of our Wooden Leaf race have fought with the Treacherous Beings for countless years. Countless members have sacrificed during the battles so we could live..." Decker sighed as he appeared to relive past events.


    "Is there any safe place in the Night View Island?" King Ieuan asked.


    "Yes." Decker nodded.


    "Where?" King Ieuan asked again, this time with eagerness.


    "Our race''s territory," Decker replied.


    "Squeak! Can we go there?" King Ieuan was almost hurrying to go.


    Decker smiled instantly and said, "Of course, our Wooden Leaf race like to help outsiders the most. There are often some who seek our protection. You can come with me!"


    "Okay!" King Ieuan answered with excitement.


    Decker then proceeded to lead the way.


    However, the Snake Goddess, Fuxi, Zen, and the Eternal Realm Hu


    broken hand of Pearson. With a flick of the hand, a blue ring appeared. It was Pearson''s Sumeru Space.


    The hand continued to shake the leaves. It caused the Ghost Powder to fall from the leaves and branches, collecting it into the Sumeru Space.


    The movement of the hand soon attracted a few sloths. They took out the Ghost Powder from their pockets again and went to sprinkle it to the hand. This was exactly what Pearson wanted, so he used his Sumeru Space to collect and store the Ghost Powder.


    Several sloths kept sprinkling the Ghost Powder, which was all absorbed by the Sumeru Space.


    Although they felt confused and wondered why the Ghost Powder couldn''t fully cover the hand, they continued doing so. They took out all the Ghost Powder from their pockets and sprinkled until the last bit. After they had none left, they turned around and left.


    Not long after, Pearson had collected almost all of the Ghost Powder. After that, the hand turned back into a single spider thread and drew back into Pearson''s body.


    Everything happened without anyone noticing.


    After a long walk, they arrived at the nearest mountain.


    One side of the mountain was rowed with circular caves. As Decker led Zen and the others towards it, many members of the Wooden Leaf race drilled out from the caves.


    These members didn''t come up to welcome Decker. They stood at the entrances of the caves, like zombies staring at Zen and the rest. Their eyes were filled with coldness, hatred, and greed.

 Chapter 4044 The Sacrificial Site

    As Zen and the others approached, the expressions of disgust and greed of the members of the Wooden Leaf race slowly faded.


    They were replaced with flattering, welcoming smiles.


    One of the members, who was wrinkly and older, walked up towards the group and bowed down. "Welcome, my friends. You have traveled far."


    "This is our patriarch, Graham," Decker introduced.


    Zen, the Snake Goddess, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, and the others nodded politely towards Graham.


    Graham and Decker then toured the group around the territory of the Wooden Leaf race.


    Their territory was made of densely packed caves that were in rows around the mountain.


    However, the caves were only half a person high, which was enough for a member of the Wooden Leaf race to merely enter and exit.


    For Zen, Fuxi and the other regular human beings, the caves resembled kennels. They had to get on their knees and squeeze themselves through the caves.


    "These caves are way too small for us," Eastern Emperor Taiyi complained.


    "Even I can''t get in easily!" King Ieuan squealed.


    Graham smiled and said, "These caves are for the short people like us to live in. Not to worry, there are larger caves above. Follow me."


    Zen and the rest did not want to stay here, but they were overwhelmed by the hospitality of Graham, so they followed him.


    After they climbed up about a thousand feet from one side of the mountain road, a large cave appeared at the mountainside.


    The sun shone brightly against the entrance, revealing the cozy, dry interior of the cave. It was well maintained. A faint fragrance lingered within the cave, making it an above average temporary residence.


    Fuxi looked around the cave and turned towards Graham. "Can this cave really resist hatred-level Treacherous Beings?"


    "The hatred-level Treacherous Beings?" Graham chuckled. "Though there is no place on the Night View Island that can absolutely resist hatred-level Treacherous Beings, our territory can guarantee your safety."


    Decker echoed, "Don''t worry! The Wooden Leaf race has lived peacefully on the Night View Island for countless years."


    Zen shot a look at Decker and said, "Well then, I assume this place will suffice."


    "Of course," Decker added with a nod.


    "Is th


    think we should stay put and figure out how to survive within the confines of this cave."


    Meanwhile, in a circular cave tucked away in the far right of their territory, Graham grunted in anger, "Why did you bring these people here? We have more than enough sacrifices! And besides, have you forgotten the miserable endings of the Thunder race and the White Bone race? Are you trying to get us all killed?"


    As the leader of the Wooden Leaf race, Graham was well-aware of that man''s strength and capabilities.


    "These humans have nothing to do with that man. They are not strong enough and know nothing. If anything, they are the best sacrifices we can offer." A trace of malice washed over Decker''s face.


    "If that man figures it out, our race will be wiped out," Graham said monotonously. He could already tell that this was going to be a mess they couldn''t clean up.


    Decker was unmoved and replied with all confidence, "They don''t know enough about the island, so they won''t be able to live through one night. They will die tonight, and that man will never know."


    "But..." Graham trailed off, hesitant.


    "Don''t forget about the Evil Tiger race from the north mountain. They will never let us go! We do this for the sake of our race''s continuity," Decker said calmly.


    Graham was finally convinced. His face relaxed as he let out a heavy sigh.


    If the sacrifice went smoothly, it would be a great harvest for the Wooden Leaf race. It was worth the risk, and there was no going back.

 Chapter 4045 The Eye

    The sky turned from vivid purple to deep blue as night fell on the Night View Island.


    When the light dimmed, the light spots in the Abstruse Energy World looked more like stars.


    Then, the members of the Wooden Leaf race all went back to their own caves.


    Inside one large cave above, Pearson brought out the grey Ghost Powder and divided it among the group.


    Although he had already distributed the Ghost Powder, they were not in a hurry to use it.


    King Ieuan stood at the entrance of the cave, where a large eye floated beside it. It was the Heavenly Eye Vine''s eye, which could separate from its body if necessary.


    The spiritual sense could not detect what happened in the distance, but the eye could.


    There was a vine from the eye on King Ieuan''s forehead, and it could see the top of the mountain when it stood on one side of the cave.


    An hour ago, Pearson had turned into a spider thread and quietly left the cave. He climbed to the top of the mountain, took out two Grass Bulls from his spirit beast bag, and put them there.


    Even though the Grass Bulls were from the Other Shore, they were not intelligent and did not have any theurgy. However, their flesh was very delicious. Pearson caught them for his meals.


    To prevent them from escaping, he rendered them unconscious first then fixed them on top of the mountain. Then, he evenly spread some Ghost Powder on one bull. When it became white, he quietly returned to the cave.


    Now, King Ieuan saw two motionless Grass Bulls on top of the mountain with the help of the eye. One was black, and the other was white.


    Swoosh!


    Once the light on the Night View Island was dim to a certain extent, it seemed that a door in one corner of the island had opened. An unpleasant aura rushed forth from the door and spread throughout the island.


    King Ieuan''s eyes lit up. "Squeak! It''s the Treacherous Being''s aura," it said.


    Everyone in the cave sat in meditation, but the moment the aura descended, they all opened their eyes.


    Fuxi somersaulted and walked towards the entrance of the cave.


    "Did you see anything?" he asked. King Ieuan shook its head, "Not yet. Squeak!"


    Even if it did not see the Treacherous Being, the truth was it still felt scared. A resentment-level Treacherous Being could not cover the en


    xploded into a pile of messy white hairs and gradually disappeared.


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi let out a sigh of relief. "They finally left."


    "Squeak! They won''t come back again," said King Ieuan.


    On the other hand, the Snake Goddess frowned in thought. "They rely on the life energy to find their prey, right? After we apply the Ghost Powder, we are like dead people," she stated.


    Generally speaking, the Eternal Realm warriors present had sharp senses.


    Today, however, they became too nervous because of the Treacherous Being. They had not realized that fact until the Snake Goddess reminded them.


    The Ghost Powder almost entirely blocked the life energy. In other words, if someone applied the Ghost Powder on their bodies and lay motionless on the ground, they would look like corpses.


    "I think so," Pearson said with a nod.


    The Snake Goddess thought for a while and said, "I''ll try again. Please don''t shake off the Ghost Powder on your bodies."


    "Don''t..." Before Pearson could stop her, she had already removed the Ghost Powder on the back of her hand, which revealed her white and delicate skin.


    Just then, white hairs slowly began to pile up not far away from the cave. Not long after, the white-haired monsters appeared again and rushed towards the Snake Goddess.


    Yet, she remained calm. She wasn''t even in a hurry to reapply the Ghost Powder. Instead, she raised her hand and retreated slowly, luring the white-haired monsters to follow her.


    ''What a crazy woman!'' Pearson thought helplessly.

 Chapter 4046 The Glazed Crystals

    The Snake Goddess had figured it out!


    "These creatures can''t see anything. They can only chase after the life energy..." As she spoke, she applied a layer of Ghost Powder on her hand.


    The white-haired monster that had been chasing her immediately stopped in its tracks. Confused, it began to sniff and search around.


    The Snake Goddess''s eyes flashed as her mind raced. "The races on the island all know how to use the Ghost Powder, which means the white-haired monsters should not be a threat to them. The Wooden Leaf race are willing to offer their prey to the white-haired monsters, so there must be some sort of exchange. What do they get out of this? How do they benefit?"


    "It''s hard to guess." Zen shook his head. "Maybe after offering their prey, they can go somewhere to receive the so-called ''benefits''."


    There were too many possibilities, and it was difficult to deduce with extremely limited clues.


    "Squeak! By the way, when I used the heavenly eye to observe the Grass Bulls, the white-haired monster swallowed a Grass Bull and left some transparent glazed crystals," King Ieuan suddenly reminded.


    Just now, it was busy applying the Ghost Powder, so it failed to share this.


    The Snake Goddess immediately looked at Pearson and asked, "Pearson, do you have any more Grass Bull in your spirit beast bag?"


    "Yes." Pearson nodded, understanding immediately. Without hesitation, he took out a Grass Bull from the spirit beast bag.


    Having been summoned into the world, the Grass Bull felt the strange aura from the white-haired monster. It was immediately frightened and wanted to run away.


    But before it could do so, Pearson pointed at its head. With a loud thud, the Grass Bull fell to the ground, in a deep coma.


    The white-haired monster was about to leave, but when it felt the life energy of the Grass Bull, it immediately turned around and pounced on it. In a few seconds, it had devoured almost all of the Grass Bull''s flesh. When it was done eating, it disintegrated into a pile of white hairs and disappeared.


    Ding, ding, ding...


    As the pile of white hairs disappeared, several glazed crystals fell to the ground with crisp sounds.


    These crystals were thin and long, like glass needles.


    The Snake Goddess stepped forward and picked up the crystals one by one. She placed them in her hands and looked a


    ngs fall into a coma if they came into contact with these crystals?


    "Maybe they can be used to trap the Treacherous Beings," Pearson said.


    The Snake Goddess nodded slightly, but her eyebrows still furrowed. She felt that these glazed crystals were more useful than they were letting on.


    "We don''t have to think too much. The mystery will solve itself at dawn," Sawyer suddenly said.


    When the Snake Goddess heard this, her mouth twitched upwards into a smile. "You''re right!"


    They weren''t ruthless and merciless, but the members of the Wooden Leaf race couldn''t blame them for anything they did, as they even dared to trap them and sacrifice their lives.


    The night of the Night View Island lasted for twenty hours.


    After they applied the Ghost Powder, no other white-haired monsters broke into the cave that night.


    King Ieuan once again took out the heavenly eye from the spirit beast bag and observed the situation outside.


    Occasionally, it heard the screams of some creatures. When it looked into the direction where the sound rang out, it could see the white-haired monsters devouring some unfortunate sacrifices.


    Twenty hours later, dawn broke, and the sky gradually lightened.


    As the sun rose, so did everyone''s downtrodden spirits.


    In a small cave at the bottom of the mountain, Decker came out and shook off the Ghost Powder on his body.


    The other members of the Wooden Leaf race also came out of their small ''houses'', including their leader, Graham.


    Decker and Graham locked eyes, excitement written all over their faces.

 Chapter 4047 The Arcanum

    The Night View Island was rather peculiarly named. Whoever didn''t apply the Ghost Powder on this island would die at night.


    As those strangers knew nothing, they would have been eaten by the white-haired monsters last night.


    "I''m wondering how many Arcana were left," Graham thought out loud with eyes shining with greed.


    Over the past few years, because of the appearance of the Evil Tiger race, the west path of the Wooden Leaf race had been cut off. As a result, hunting had become more and more difficult as time had passed. These strangers could not have come at a more fortunate time.


    Graham hadn''t slept a wink last night and had been hiding in his cave in fear. But now, it was time to harvest.


    "They are humans," Decker said with a strong desire in his eyes. "And what''s more, they are quite strong when you think about it. I think the white-haired monsters must have left a lot of Arcana!"


    The two of them called the other soldiers of the Wooden Leaf race and then climbed up the stairs at the side of the mountain.


    Although both Decker and Graham sincerely believed that Zen and his companions had been devoured completely, they still had to be prepared for any unexpected situations that might arise.


    The Wooden Leaf race was very good with bows and arrows. The soldiers held simply wooden bows in their hands, but the arrows were cyan black and poisonous. These arrows were known to be incredibly toxic. That was the sole reason the seemingly weak members of the Wooden Leaf race had survived so long.


    In the blink of an eye, they had climbed the mountainside and arrived at the cave.


    Decker signaled to the crowd. They held their breath and approached quietly.


    The soldiers were walking gingerly and slowly approached the side of the cave. Decker was the first to poke his head into the cave, and he was extremely careful in doing so. But there was nothing and no one in it.


    Chances were, those humans had been eaten up by the white-haired monsters. Decker had already expected this outcome. He felt more relieved and then looked to the ground.


    If those humans had been completely annihilated, then there would be a lot of things left behind there.


    Decker''s eyes swept over the ground, and his pupils suddenly shrank. He was staring at the center of the cave, where only four glazed crystals were sitting sadly.


    "So few?" Decker narrowed his eyes.


    "Not even half a dozen crystals?" Graham frowned.


    Decker walked in and picked


    g now. Pearson was gazing at them fiercely, but they did not even dare to look into his eyes.


    The man''s intention had been to catch Decker and torture him cruelly yesterday.


    Although the method that Zen and the others proposed could also achieve his goal and was more secure, it was too troublesome in his eyes.


    Graham and Decker had initially planned on struggling, but now, they completely gave up.


    Without further ado, Zen took out a glazed crystal and placed it in front of Decker. "What is this?" he asked.


    Decker rolled his eyes, but Pearson threatened, "Answer him now, or you will die."


    As soon as he finished speaking, the silver threads wrapped around Decker''s and Graham''s necks magically tightened themselves. The sharp threads cut into their flesh, and blood quickly seeped out.


    "It''s an Arcanum!"


    "It''s an Arcanum!"


    Decker and Graham cried out simultaneously.


    "Very good." Pearson waved at Zen and said, "Go on."


    Zen and the others were a little confused when they heard this strange name. Zen continued the interrogation, "What''s the use of this Arcanum?"


    "It gets its name from the fact that the Treacherous Beings like it very much. If we accumulate enough of this, we can easily subdue them by distracting them," Decker explained.


    "Is that all?" Zen asked.


    Decker hesitated, but trembled when his eyes met Pearson''s. He quickly replied, "No. If you refine it, you can coexist peacefully with several Treacherous Beings without having to worry about subduing them. You can also turn them into your own weapons and even a part of your body. Then you would be half human and half Treacherous Being."

 Chapter 4048 The Thorny Treacherous Being

    "Half Treacherous Being?"


    Everyone wore strange expressions of mingled shock, calculation, and curiosity.


    The literal meaning of the sentence was not difficult to understand.


    But the question was, which side would dominate? Would the body be ruled by the mind of the human, or the mind of the Treacherous Being?


    When Campbell had possessed Zen''s body, Zen had been unable to resist his will at all. Campbell completely dominated the human body. Thus, everyone was inclined to think that becoming half human and half Treacherous Being was the equivalent of suicide.


    "If one merges with a Treacherous Being, aren''t they afraid that the Treacherous Being will suppress their consciousness and rule over them?" the Snake Goddess asked, voicing everyone''s main concern.


    "Yes, that''s possible," Decker admitted. He explained, "When some Treacherous Beings of the friendly type wake up, some will snatch their hosts'' bodies, and others won''t. However, the Treacherous Beings'' power is very strong. It''s worth taking a risk."


    Decker''s words made some sense.


    Indeed, there were creatures who wouldn''t hesitate to sacrifice their very lives in order to obtain greater strength and power.


    The Snake Goddess nodded. She asked, "You mention a ''friendly type'' of Treacherous Beings. Could you explain what you mean by that?"


    "They are kindhearted Treacherous Beings, harmless to others," Decker replied. "These good Treacherous Beings are willing to help others, and this is their will. For example, the Treacherous Beings in the form of sloths in the forest are among the friendly-type ones."


    The sloths were tireless in applying the Ghost Powder on the surface of the trees, to prevent the trees from being devoured by the white-haired monsters.


    Moreover, after they saw Zen and the others in his group, they had also brought out the Ghost Powder to remind them to apply it.


    But Zen and his companions were still wary of the sloths, and found it difficult to trust them completely.


    Pearson''s eyes were blank. His face was expressionless as he lifted one hand, gently holding up the length of silver thread. The other end of the thread was tightly wrapped around the necks of Decker and Graham.


    Pearson wanted to kill one of them, so that the remaining one wouldn''t dare to lie to them.


    Decker was smart enough to see what Pearson intended, so he didn''t dare to hide anything from them. He told them everything he knew, but Pearson clearly still had doubts. "The white-haired monsters will also devour those plants. You can directly cut the trees and pick the flowers in exchange for the ''Arcana''," Pearson said flatly. A cold light flashed in his emotionless eyes. "Why did you deceive us into coming here?"


    "The white-haired monsters will indeed devour plants, but devouring plants won''t produce ''Arcanum''," answered Decker quickly.


    Pearson shrugged. Fuxi stepped forward and asked, "Have any of you merged with a Treacherous Bein


    they thought that given a similar weapon, they could probably do more damage than Graham had done.


    However, in the next instant, a crack spread out from the tiny hole, and began to spread out along the surface of the cave wall.


    Everyone became more vigilant as the walls began to rumble.


    It sounded as though something was moving within the depths of the mountain.


    Graham was very familiar with the power of the thorny Treacherous Being. He took a few steps back as the wall in front of him started to collapse. As the wall crashed, a large hole was revealed, and within it was the Treacherous Being in the shape of sea urchin.


    It had grown much larger. Its body had expanded at least a hundred times in size. Colorful thorns were embedded in the rock wall around the enormous sea urchin.


    This level of damage had been caused by shooting the Treacherous Being into the wall. If it had been shot into the body of a living being, they could only imagine the power of the resulting explosion.


    Zen looked sharply at Graham. "All the Treacherous Beings you merged with are of this same type?" he asked.


    Graham nodded. "This kind of Treacherous Beings is our first choice. After we get enough ''Arcana'', we each find such a Treacherous Being to merge with."


    When Pearson heard Graham''s answer, his mouth twitched slightly. The fighting capacity of the Wooden Leaf race was not as bad as he had imagined.


    If they had fought with the Wooden Leaf race yesterday, they might win, but there might be some casualties. It seemed that Zen and the Snake Goddess''s plan was the best plan.


    Meanwhile, Fuxi, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, and several others were more interested in merging with Treacherous Beings.


    After cultivating to the Eternal Realm, one''s bloodline power couldn''t change any more, and it became more difficult to find a stronger Other Shore Token. It looked like merging with Treacherous Beings was a shortcut to increase the level of one''s strength.

 Chapter 4049 A Trace Of Humans

    Fuxi, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, and the others raised several more questions.


    Once these questions were answered, they had a basic understanding of what the Night View Island was all about.


    A large number of different races ¡ª close to a thousand ¡ª lived in the annular mountain range around the Night View Island.


    It was weird but astonishing that so many races coexisted on such a small island.


    One or two races were present on almost every mountain here. These races were mainly divided into three tiers and the Wooden Leaf race was among the weakest ones.


    The Wooden Leaf race knew their limitations and rarely came into conflict with other races. That was how they had survived in such a complicated environment.


    "Did you capture your Treacherous Beings in the mountains?" Fuxi asked.


    The Snake Goddess and the others were concerned at Fuxi''s question, given that it was an important one. Why were there so many Treacherous Beings on the Night View Island?


    They had encountered a lot of sloth-shaped Treacherous Beings on their way to this mountain, which, according to Decker, was just the tip of the iceberg. The abundance of Treacherous Beings on the Night View Island was way beyond their imagination.


    Decker shook his head and said, "Most Treacherous Beings in the mountains are weak and the powerful ones are mainly the killing type. The killing type also likes Arcana and will kill you to plunder your Arcana. They''re not suitable for warriors to merge with. Our Treacherous Beings came from the Ghost Mountain."


    "Ghost Mountain?" Fuxi raised an eyebrow in interest.


    "There is a huge Ghost Mountain beyond the annular mountain range on the westernmost side of the Night View Island. There are a large number of friendly-type Treacherous Beings there. You''ll see every kind you can think of," explained Decker.


    Confused and curious, Fuxi asked, "Are you saying that you can freely enter the Ghost Mountain and choose a Treacherous Being?"


    Decker shook his head again and answered, "We can''t enter the Ghost Mountain at will. We need to accumulate enough Arcana to enter it."


    "Why didn''t we see such a mountain when we came out of the lake?" Zen asked.


    Decker said, understanding dawning in his eyes, "You can only see it after you cross the annular mountain range. You can''t see it from the center of the island."


    Zen was still doubtful. He turned around and asked, "Master Campbell, is the annular mountain range the only highland


    ave dared attack these strangers if he had known of this before.


    "Where is this man on the Night View Island now?" Zen asked.


    Decker shook his head again. "I don''t know. But I guess he''s somewhere in the Ghost Mountain. All truly powerful figures on the Night View Island are over there and this master is no exception."


    "In that case, it''s time for us to go," Eastern Emperor Taiyi suggested.


    The Snake Goddess''s eyes swept the outside of the cave. She flicked two of her fingers and two tiny shadows appeared at her fingertips. These were energy parasites transformed from the shadow of Snake Goddess.


    She stuffed them into Decker''s and Graham''s mouths and warned them, "Tell your people to behave themselves."


    The energy parasites would keep moving in their bodies. It would take at least three months for the energy to be depleted. During this time, the Snake Goddess could cause them to explode with just a thought if she thought Decker and Graham were out of line.


    The other members of the Wooden Leaf race had long since laid siege outside the cave. They had bows and arrows in their hands, strong auras of Treacherous Beings emanating from their arrows, and ready to launch their attacks.


    "Everyone! Please put down your weapons!" Decker shouted.


    But nobody heeded him. Decker''s prestige was not enough to order them around.


    Graham took a deep sigh and said, "Put down your weapons. They are not someone you can match. Don''t bring disaster upon our race."


    The leader of the Wooden Leaf race had realized that their whole race would not be a match for this group of humans. Decker should never have provoked them.

 Chapter 4050 Plunder

    Under the command of their leader, the members of the Wooden Leaf race retreated to both sides. Then, Zen and his group left and walked along the mountain road.


    Relief washed over Graham and Decker as they watched them depart.


    The fight between different races in Night View Island had been cruel. If Zen and his group were another race that fought against them, their Wooden Leaf race would probably face extinction.


    However, Zen and his group had only planted parasites in their bodies and even spared them.


    "These humans are quite merciful," Graham sighed.


    "They did let us go, but the Evil Tiger race is still watching us..." Decker muttered and shook his head.


    The Evil Tiger race expanded rapidly after they moved to the west of the mountain. Moreover, they also acquired the "Arcana" much faster than the Wooden Leaf race did, so they got to merge with stronger Treacherous Beings.


    With the current speed of their growth, it would not take long before the Evil Tiger race did something. The Wooden Leaf race surely could not fight against them, and it was easy to predict the outcome.


    Of course, Decker refused to accept such fate. That was also why he took the risk to lure the humans to this place.


    "It''s all fate," Graham sighed again. "Once, only five people remained in our Wooden Leaf race. Our race got slaughtered, but we managed to pull through anyway. If we can''t escape from this disaster, it means that our race is destined to end here," he said.


    "I don''t believe in fate," Decker said in a firm tone.


    Then, he took a step forward.


    "What are you going to do?" Graham asked nervously.


    Yet, Decker turned a deaf ear to him and quickly caught up with Zen and his group. At the same time, he shouted, "Masters, please wait for a moment!"


    Zen, the Snake Goddess, and the others turned around and looked at Decker strangely.


    Decker continued, "Masters, it''s not easy to go to the Ghost Mountain. I''m afraid you cannot enter the Ghost Mountain even if you reach it, especially if you have many people. You need to obtain a good amount of Arcana!"


    At that moment, his eyes flashed with excitement and he declared, "I can help you!"


    "We can find sacrifices by ourselves," the Snake Goddess said indifferently.


    Decker laughed and said, "Of course you can. But every creature from different races in Night View Island hunts for the prey to get more sacrifices. How many prey do you think are left on the isl


    Evil Tiger race shouted.


    "Hand over the Arcana and we will spare your life," Zen demanded.


    "No way!" the leader of the Evil Tiger race yelled with rage-filled eyes.


    The Arcana were the foundation of peace for the lives of the creatures from the various races like them, and also the only way for them to become stronger. Therefore, how could he be willing to hand them over?


    Furthermore, they had intruded the base of the Evil Tiger race. He felt that these people would not really dare to make a move.


    "Then go to hell..."


    A faint killing intent flashed in Zen''s eyes as if he was looking at a dead and cold corpse.


    When the leader of the Evil Tiger race realized that he would die, his expression suddenly changed. "The Arcana you want are here, here¡­ I''ll give them all to you!" he said hurriedly.


    Right after he spoke, a wooden box appeared in his hand. He opened it and revealed more than two hundred glazed crystals. It was a lot of Arcana!


    In return, Zen casually counted them, put them away for safekeeping, turned around, and left.


    The Snake Goddess stretched out her hand and guided the worm to swim around his chest. A small bulge moved visibly through his skin.


    "This worm won''t disappear for three months. I hope you won''t do anything within that time."


    At the same time, she patted the leader''s shoulder. Together with Pearson, and the others, they covered themselves with the Magic Camouflage Skin and quickly disappeared before the eyes of the leader of the Evil Tiger race.


    The group of people came and went like ghosts, then left the leader who stood numbly in the cave, still in a daze.

 Chapter 4051 Gained Little

    They snuck in and left the cave in under three minutes.


    The members of the Evil Tiger race were not alerted during the entire process.


    Decker had seen these people''s theurgies but the methods they used still shocked him.


    How were they able to take the Evil Tiger race''s Arcana so easily?


    It was all just a piece of cake for them!


    The series of events was inconceivable to Decker but the others simply went on as if everything was entirely normal.


    As an independent island, the Night View Island had no means to communicate with the outside world, so it didn''t have as many Other Shore Tokens. The combat strength was mainly increased through fusions with Treacherous Beings.


    However, even if these Treacherous Beings were powerful, they weren''t as good as Other Shore Tokens.


    Moreover, Zen and his companions still had the Holy Stones and the Light of Annihilation, which made it easy for them to deal with the hostility-level Treacherous Beings that might come their way. Of course, that was their trump card, so they wouldn''t use it unless it was truly necessary.


    After they left the Evil Tiger race''s territory, Zen and his group made their way towards another connected mountain.


    Decker was in a good mood. He had proved his value to Zen and robbed the Evil Tiger race in accordance with the Wooden Leaf race''s wishes.


    "The members of the Desert race are living at the foot of the mountain. They''re our allies," he told them.


    "Is robbing an ally frowned upon here?" Pearson asked. Decker hurriedly waved his hand.


    "I''m very familiar with the Desert race so it would be easier for us to take their Arcana, but they went to the Ghost Mountain not long ago and have consumed all their Arcana. It wouldn''t make much sense to go there since you won''t really get any."


    The races on the Night View Island were usually shrewd realists.


    Both the Wooden Leaf race and the Desert race acknowledged their weakness so they decided to forge an alliance with each other. Once one of them became a strong force, they would immediately turn friends into enemies.


    "Next," Zen said dismissively.


    It was entirely possible for Decker to have been lying. There was a high chance that he was taking advantage of Zen and his group in order to suppress the Wooden Leaf race''s opponents.


    Whether this possibility was true or not, Zen and his group did not really care.


    Soon enough, they arrived at the third mountain.


    Snake-shaped creatures gathered around and flitted here and there.


    These snake-shaped creatures could communicate through telepathy. If one of their members were attacked, the rest would know straight away.


    "I believe i


    and quietly watched the white-haired monsters trudge around.


    When they moved around the cave in a circle, the white-haired monsters suddenly reverted back into a pool of white hairs and gradually disappeared.


    Night soon passed.


    On the second day, Zen and his group set off to plunder more Arcana off the other races.


    Still, everything went smoothly.


    Their targets were not very strong and were at the second or third tier on the Night View Island.


    Under Zen''s leadership, the group launched several sneak attacks which gave no room for the races to resist.


    Unfortunately, the spoils of their labor weren''t as plentiful as they had hoped.


    The leaders of the races they plundered only held a few Arcana, and some had none at all.


    It would be the same for the oncoming days.


    The reason why these races only had a few Arcana to spare was finally revealed after they caught a race leader who spilled the fact that they had handed them all over to the Red Demon race.


    The Red Demon race was one of the top races on the Night View Island and they abused this position by forcing the other, smaller races to give them their Arcana.


    Since the Red Demon race had already robbed the other races, Zen finally understood why they got so little during their raids in the past few days.


    On their seventh night, Zen and his group applied the Ghost Powder on their bodies and rested in the cave.


    However, a shrill scream interrupted their slumber.


    It seemed to have come from a distance and didn''t seem to be the last scream they would hear that night. King Ieuan was the first one up. "What was that? Squeak!"


    Zen listened attentively and pointed out towards the distance. "Over there. Over the mountain. It''s not just one person, but an entire group."

 Chapter 4052 Sacrifice

    Decker''s eyes lit up. "Let''s go there!"


    "What''s happening?" the Snake Goddess asked.


    "There is an entire race to be sacrificed and there will be a lot of Arcana. I wonder whether you are interested in making a move or not," said Decker.


    The prey on the Night View Island was not enough. There would often be wars among the various races. The races that lost would become captives, and the only fate of being captured was to be sacrificed.


    All the people present had experienced a lot of fights. They understood the cruelty on the Night View Island.


    Since the members of a whole race were to be sacrificed, the number of Arcana to be produced was large.


    Zen and his group didn''t get many Arcana¨Cnow was their chance.


    "Let''s go and take a look," suggested Zen.


    Fuxi and the others nodded. That night, they quietly left the cave and headed south.


    Miserable screams echoed from two mountains away. The distance wasn''t far from them.


    When Zen and his group climbed over the first mountain, white hairs slowly flew towards them, coming from the mountain''s side.


    Although the Ghost Powder could hide the aura of life energy, they could still attract white-haired monsters as long as they moved.


    Everyone stopped moving and stood like statues. The white-haired monsters then disappeared, and they continued with their journey.


    Near a lake at the foot of the mountain, hundreds of creatures appeared trapped, bound by silver chains.


    They didn''t have Ghost Powder on their bodies and the silver chains disabled their every move.


    Out of nowhere, the white-haired monsters appeared like sharks that had smelled blood, devouring the poor creatures.


    The number of creatures that each white-haired monster swallowed was limited to ten. After that, the monsters turned into a pile of white hairs and gradually dissipated¨Cleaving behind many Arcana.


    The remaining creatures trembled as they saw their companions being swallowed little by little. Their chests were filled with fear as the blood of different colors splashed out from the horrible scene.


    Screams, pleas, and the sound of kowtows rang one after another, yet no one could save them...


    Flocks of bird-like creatures stood by the lake. Their wings were folded on their backs and they possessed sharp claws. Their bodies were similar to a human''s. Their claws each held a sharp wooden stick, with the end smeared with thick black poison.


    "Glede Demon race!" Decker exclaimed in surprise.


    "I feel that they are very strong,"


    and seemed dissatisfied. "Nearly five hundred captives afflicted, yet you only obtained a few Arcana. These are only two thousand. Why?"


    Several Glede Demons lowered their heads in silence.


    The number of Arcana produced after a captive was afflicted did not result in a fixed amount.


    Up until now, no one had figured out the rules.


    The number of Arcana produced was at random.


    In some cases, a lot of Arcana had appeared after small creatures were swallowed up, while there had only been a few Arcana with large creatures.


    Even after a pair of identical twins were killed, there was a huge difference in the number of Arcana from them.


    In other words, the amount of Arcana that appeared after the creatures were sacrificed was entirely based on the mood of the white-haired monsters.


    For ordinary races such as the Wooden Leaf race, two thousand Arcana was a rare great harvest.


    However, Bacchus was still unhappy with this number


    because the Glede Demon race paid a huge price to get these captives.


    "We... we have accumulated a lot of Arcana. Isn''t it enough?" one of the Glede Demons couldn''t help asking.


    Around this time, they had already slaughtered nearly more than forty races; there were even a few large races among them.


    They had already surrendered a lot of Arcana in the hands of the leader, but these Glede Demons couldn''t figure out the reason it was not enough.


    "It''s not enough," Bacchus answered coldly. "That''s all for tonight. Follow me to the West Shrine Mountain tomorrow!"


    When he was about to leave, he looked up at the mountain and said in a chilling voice, "You have hidden for so long. Why don''t you come out?"

 Chapter 4053 The Birdcage

    Zen and the others were covered by the Magic Camouflage Skin. This perfectly prevented them from being discovered by the Glede Demon race.


    Senses couldn''t be used on the Night View Island, so as long as they held their breath, no one could notice them.


    Even if someone walked past them, they wouldn''t find anything.


    "He found us. We''re so screwed!"


    Decker''s face quickly turned pale as his entire body trembled.


    "Calm down!" Pearson tried to pacify Decker.


    Zen and the others looked down from the mountain silently and remained motionless as they waited for situation to develop.


    A few moments later, another group of creatures emerged from the other side of the mountain.


    They had red skin and were covered with bright red fur. They carried big sticks on their hands and their ape-like faces looked ferocious.


    "They''re from the Red Demon race!"


    "Then, it means Bacchus hasn''t found us yet."


    "Oh, thank goodness! I thought it was going to be our end¡­"


    Decker breathed a sigh of relief as if he had barely escaped the jaws of death.


    Even the others were obviously relieved.


    They were also nervous but not panicking in an exaggerated way like Decker. At their current distance from the Glede Demon race and the Red Demon race, the possibility of blowing their disguise was very low.


    "Ha-ha! Bacchus, you''ve become dull!


    As far as I remember, it was one thousand and five hundred feet the last time. Now, I am able to enter the range of one thousand feet. Beware! Next time, if I make it within a range of five hundred feet, you''re dead!" The red-haired creature taking the lead laughed wildly.


    It was Tate, the leader of the Red Demon race.


    For the past generations, these two big races of the Night View Island had been in a constant dispute.


    Whenever there was an opportunity, the Red Demon race and the Glede Demon race would clash with each other.


    Dong! Dong! Dong!


    "Scrap that!" Tate hit his head with a big stick. "I''ve changed my mind. There''s not going to be a next time. Hand over all the Arcana, or you''ll die!"


    Bacchus was still standing at the top of the tree, holding the cloth bag in his hand which was filled with Arcana. His brows rose slightly as he listened to Tate''s threats.


    Without a doubt, the Red Demon race was extremely powerful.


    In the entire Night View Island, they were considered as one of the three most powerful races.


    However, the Glede Demon race was known to be stronger than them.


    Among the thousand races that inhabited the Night View Island, only three of them were ranked in the first tier. These were the Red Demon race, the Glede Demon race, and the Grand Mighty race.


    All of the other races bowed down and feared these three superior races.


    In fact, the other races even brought offerings to them just to be on their good side.


    However, they still needed to observe their limitations.


    If they went too far, the other races might start forming an alliance. If that happened, they might not actually lose, but several lives would be needlessly wasted.


    Moreover, it had b


    ork.


    There was still no dent or whatsoever on its surface.


    Buzz! Buzz!


    "I''m just getting started," Bacchus said as he wore a serious expression on his face.


    Immediately after, milky white lights appeared on Bacchus''s head and wings.


    Then, a pair of bigger white wings appeared and enveloped his original wings.


    He had merged with a powerful Treacherous Being.


    With this, he possessed stronger power and theurgies.


    Once Bacchus started focusing on a certain thing, he wouldn''t stop until he succeeded.


    This time, his only goal was to break the giant birdcage.


    Whoosh!


    He rushed and attacked the birdcage again using his white blade-like wings.


    "Take this!


    Vertical slash!"


    Crash!


    The strikes made on the birdcage produced an explosive sound. The birdcage shook and so did the mountain entrapped by it.


    However, even after Bacchus''s vicious attacks, the birdcage was still intact.


    He had to admit that the treasure was truly fascinating.


    Bacchus chose not to waste his energy and turned to Tate.


    "Is this even something from the Night View Island?" Bacchus asked, pointing to the unbreakable birdcage.


    Sensing Bacchus''s frustration, Tate grinned complacently. "You don''t need to know about that. But I''ll let you in on a secret¡­ All of the Glede Demons, including you, will die today!"


    "Really? Please. Don''t make me laugh." Bacchus let out a deep sigh and instantly calmed down. His arrogant eyes returned and stared down at Tate. "Just because you''ve trapped us inside this birdcage, you think that you''ve already won? Why are you so stupid?"


    Everyone knew that in a head-on battle, there was no way that the Glede Demon race would be inferior to the Red Demon race.


    Bacchus just tried to escape because he didn''t want a needless duel with the Red Demons at this moment.


    Otherwise, the other superior race, the Grand Mighty race, would just benefit from their losses.


    However, being trapped in the birdcage, Bacchus had no other choice but to remind the Red Demons whom they were facing.

 Chapter 4054 Holy Stones

    As soon as Bacchus finished speaking, the Glede Demons followed suit and spread their wings.


    White light flashed on their heads as pairs of white wings wrapped their bodies.


    They had merged with the Treacherous Beings named Wolf Owls.


    The hostility-level Treacherous Beings were also divided into varying grades¡ªthe Wolf Owls were the strongest among all.


    With their great size, they wrapped around the Glede Demons like armor, drastically improving their defensive power, strength, and speed.


    So long as the Treacherous Beings remained intact, one could say that killing a Glede Demon was nearly impossible.


    Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...


    The Glede Demons rushed into the air, floating closely behind Bacchus.


    As long as the latter gave an order, they would fall like sharp knives and cut the Red Demons to pieces.


    But much to their dismay, Bacchus remained silent.


    Never before had his intuition failed him.


    The Red Demons'' performance today was indeed strange.


    Tate, in particular, seemed especially strange.


    Relying merely on the birdcage wouldn''t have given him so much confidence.


    He was well aware of Bacchus'' strength.


    Even in a head-on fight, the Red Demons would also suffer a great loss.


    From the looks of it, the Red Demon race still had a backup plan available to them.


    "Leader! Let''s head down there and charge!" called out one of the Glede Demons.


    It was none other than Bacchus'' assistant, whose eyes were full of fighting spirit.


    "Let''s cut these Red Demons to pieces!"


    "How dare these guys be so arrogant¡­"


    "They''re courting death!"


    These Glede Demons had always thought themselves to be the noblest race on the Night View Island. It was only natural that they thought so low of the Red Demon race.


    Especially when the latter provoked them¡ªthe Glede Demon race had been fully prepared to fight to kill.


    But Bacchus seemed to remain rather hesitant.


    He looked at the faint smile on Tate''s face¡ªthe latter must have been scheming.


    But what sort of method could the Red Demons have that could allow them to defeat the other race so easily?


    No such method existed, as far as Bacchus knew.


    At the very least, he had never seen such a thing on the Night View Island.


    As Bacchus thought it through, his eyes grew colder and colder.


    Then, he spread out his wings.


    Under the white light, the wings were like sharp swords that covered him.


    The ordinary Glede Demons had merged with Wolf Owls which were hostility-level Treacherous Beings.


    Meanwhile, Bacchus had merged with a resentment-level Treacherous Being.


    It was the Wolf Owl King!


    Its white wings were enchantingly beautiful, decorated with un


    o pieces.


    Their wings, heads, and torsos were all completely separated.


    They died a truly miserable death.


    In the first round of charge, the five to six Glede Demons that had rushed to the front lost all protection from the Treacherous Beings and were easily torn to bits.


    Behind them, the other Glede Demons were stunned in shock before they suddenly surged high into the sky.


    Their speed was so incredible that they almost hit the ceiling of the birdcage in the sudden turn¡ªthey had to fly close to the cage walls for a time before they could properly distance themselves from the Red Demon race.


    But Bacchus followed closely behind them to charge.


    Tate, of course, was his target.


    His main goal remained to be the Ghost Mountain¡ªhe didn''t want to fight hand-to-hand with the Red Demon race.


    Once the leader was taken care of, dealing with the rest was a piece of cake. He was stronger than Tate, after all.


    After taking care of him, the Red Demons would disperse naturally.


    But just as he rushed toward Tate, the latter pulled out a small triangular stone.


    In the next moment, the Light of Annihilation struck Bacchus'' body with deadly precision.


    The Wolf Owl King was a resentment-level Treacherous Being, after all.


    It wasn''t like a mere hostility-level Treacherous Being that would shatter directly under the Light of Annihilation.


    But in an instant, Bacchus felt a heart-wrenching pain from the ''Wolf Owl King.'' The latter''s wings, feathers, head, and tail all drooped down as if it had lost all strength, slumping onto Bacchus'' body like a deflated balloon.


    In such a state, the Treacherous Being could no longer protect Bacchus. How could Tate let such an opportunity go to waste?


    Like iron pincers, his large hands grabbed at Bacchus'' head.

 Chapter 4055 Exposure

    Bacchus was after all not an ordinary Glede Demon.


    Therefore, he quickly reacted in just the blink of an eye.


    However, Tate had caught the soft Wolf Owl King, so Bacchus, who was wrapped by the Wolf Owl King''s body, naturally got dragged along as well.


    Now, all Tate had to do was to cut open the Wolf Owl King and crush Bacchus into pieces.


    He was sure that he would kill Bacchus, who had always defeated him, this time, and it would be glorious!


    Unfortunately for him, Bacchus'' reaction was faster.


    Bacchus did his best not to panic in such a critical moment, but he made a wise decision to take back the Treacherous Being.


    That Treacherous Being had a particularly unique form.


    When it was soft, it was as soft as feathers or even water.


    But when it was sturdy, it became similar to the most powerful Other Shore Token.


    When Bacchus thought of it, the Wolf Owl King turned into pieces of white gauze and shrank back into his body.


    Of course, Tate wanted to snatch it, but he could not. He could only stand and watch the white gauze slip away.


    "You want to run away?"


    he shouted as he headed straight for Bacchus.


    In turn, Bacchus'' wings unfurled, and he quickly rose into the sky.


    He sighed in relief, but it was short-lived. Right after he temporarily got away, something suddenly appeared in front of him. "What is that white light?" he said in shock.


    Still, no matter how powerful that thing was, he was not afraid.


    After all, he could defeat everything with the help of the Wolf Owl King.


    The Wolf Owl King was his most powerful magical weapon, and also his closest comrade in arms.


    After countless battles, he and the Wolf Owl King became one.


    Just now, the Wolf Owl King felt a sharp stab of pain, and Bacchus felt sorry for it.


    The white light of the Red Demons was so terrifying that it could directly injure Treacherous Beings.


    How did such a thing appear in the Night View Island?


    For so many years, the members of the Night View Island depended on the Treacherous Beings to fight their enemies.


    They were indeed powerful, but so were the many races.


    Currently, the white light in the hands of the Red Demons made the resentment-level Treacherous Being lose its strength and hostility-level Treacherous Beings collapse. It was terrifying to even think about it.


    It was like when a group of people fought using sticks, and suddenly, one of them got a knife. Of course, it was an unfair advantage.


    What made things worse was that every member of the Red Demon race possesse


    as strong, but it was a secret weapon. One could use its maximum power only during surprise attacks.


    In actuality, Tate wanted to eradicate both the Glede Demon race and the Grand Mighty race.


    "Come out!"


    He took out a bone spear from behind and threw it towards that space, which kept changing color.


    Whoosh!


    The bone spear flew towards the target at once.


    Just as it was about to hit the target, a hand stretched out from the space and firmly caught the bone spear.


    Naturally, Tate was surprised.


    The Red Demons were also stunned.


    There were very few creatures on the Night View Island that could catch the bone spear Tate had thrown.


    Also, all of those who could catch it relied on Treacherous Beings to do it for them.


    Zen who caught the bone spear lifted the Magic Camouflage Skin and smiled. "I just wanted to watch..." he said.


    When the Red Demons and the Glede Demons saw him and the other human beings, they were stunned again.


    Tate and Bacchus were the most surprised.


    How could they not, when they knew more about the Ghost Mountain than Decker did?


    Decker had only seen Zhurong, and that was because only Zhurong had occasionally appeared over the years.


    In the depths of the Ghost Mountain, however, there were still dozens of human beings!


    Moreover, the Ghost Mountain had recognized three humans as the Great Ghost Priests of the mountain.


    Both Bacchus and Tate dreamed of becoming the Great Ghost Priests, and that was why Bacchus collected the Arcana like mad.


    The truth behind it was if he became the Great Ghost Priest, he could fuse with a hatred-level Treacherous Being, and become an invincible entity on the Night View Island.

 Chapter 4056 Mess Up

    Naturally, Bacchus regarded the sudden appearance of these people as good news. This could probably change the course of things.


    Now that the Glede Demon race had been backed into a corner, he hoped against all hope that someone would arrive to make a difference.


    Meanwhile, Tate was not thoroughly pleased by this recent turn of event. This could ruin everything.


    He was shrinking the birdcage when all of a sudden, some humans appeared inside it. Why now?


    Where did these people even come from? He was utterly baffled.


    Was it possible that they were from somewhere outside the Night View Island? But where?


    Even though the Night View Island was an isolated place, the creatures in it still had a certain knowledge of the outside world.


    If one stood upon the mountains surrounding the Night View Island, they could easily see other Pure Sky Platforms. However, no one would be able to fly there.


    It was also known that there was a cave in the center of the lake. A long passageway was connected to it. Nevertheless, the passageway had long been broken. No one would be able to pass through it.


    Two days ago, Tate took his clansmen with him to search for Arcana from every house they encountered.


    Under normal circumstances, the Red Demon race wouldn''t raid other races. For one thing, the Night View Island housed too many races. If they took it too far, they would be the first one to suffer.


    However, the Ghost Mountain needed a new Great Ghost Priest. This might be a once-in-a-lifetime chance.


    Obviously, Tate would never let this amazing opportunity just pass him by. He was determined to seize it while it stood.


    The small races were also well-aware about the changes in the Ghost Mountain. Once every couple of years, the Red Demon race would come and the small races would obediently hand their Arcana over to them.


    They needed not surrender all of the Arcana they had. Nevertheless, they still had to give away most of them.


    While Tate was searching for the Arcana, he suddenly saw a few flames emerging from the center of the lake.


    The flames were moving closer to the lake shore at a very fast rate. They were heading straight towards Tate.


    All of a sudden, he realized that he was in grave danger. He immediately released his Treacherous Being. It took the form of a huge tortoise. It possessed the highest defensive power among all of the resentment-level Treacherous Beings.


    As the flames continued to surge towards his direction, a flash of white light shot out from the center of it.


    Tate didn''t take the flash of light seriously at first. He was quite confident it wouldn''t be able to reach him.


    He thought it was impossible for such an energy fluctuation to break through his strong defense. Tate had complete faith in his Treacherous Being.


    However, the supposedly indestructible tortoise suddenly appeared weakened soon after the white light hit its body. It even looked like it was suffering from an extremely horrific torture. It began thrashing around in agony.


    How could this be? This tortoise was a resentment-level Treacherous Being!


    Tate was utterly bewildered. He couldn''t believe his own eyes.


    The other members of the Red Demon race were also dumbfounded.


    They were well-aware of how powerful the tortoise was. How coul


    ey were terrified and retreated quickly.


    Seeing that they were severely disadvantaged, Tate thought about escaping as well. However, it didn''t seem like he would be able to do so.


    The three fire spirits turned into roaring flames and effectively surrounded Tate and his clansmen.


    "Answer all my questions, or no one will ever see you alive again!" Sanderson began intimidating them for information.


    Tate was absolutely terrified. As they were leaning at each other''s backs, he felt his companions quivering with fear.


    He actually felt like his race would be exterminated today. They would be killed on the spot if he didn''t cooperate.


    With all honesty, he told Sanderson what had happened on the Night View Island. He even explained everything in detail.


    He couldn''t stop thinking how this might be their ends.


    But after he finished speaking, he was surprised the three fire spirits didn''t attack them. It seemed like they had no intention of killing them now. He was even more astounded when they threw more than ten Holy Stones in front of him. They even taught him how to use the Light of Annihilation.


    "In three days'' time, I expect you to collect all of the Arcana available on the Night View Island," Sanderson ordered Tate.


    Before, this would have been an impossible task to accomplish.


    But with the help of the Holy Stones, nothing was impossible.


    If they used the Light of Annihilation like they were taught, the creatures on the Night View Island would be no match for the Red Demon race at all.


    The first ones Tate robbed of Arcana were the creatures on the territory of the Red Demon race. This was the best place he could start.


    After he took every single Arcanum from these creatures, he proceeded to rob those within the territory of the Glede Demon race.


    Now, Tate''s greatest goal was to annihilate the Glede Demon race as well as the Grand Mighty race using the power of the Holy Stones.


    Naturally, Bacchus couldn''t just stand and watch as Tate raided the areas on the border of the Glede Demon race. He brought his people with him to slaughter the creatures from the Red Demon race''s territory. The battle between the two races commenced tonight.

 Chapter 4057 Cooperation

    Sanderson, Townsend, and Chauncey all had a clear goal: to dominate the entirety of Night View Island as soon as possible.


    Thus, they decided to pour their combined efforts onto realizing this goal, so much so that they even lost interest in trying to track Zen''s whereabouts.


    With this goal realized, the Eye Spirit could enter the Ghost Mountain directly when he came here.


    This would make for great credit.


    If they used the credit they would gain from this, they could apply to the Eye Spirit to take back the control of the Holy Wings Armor.


    Previously, the Holy Wings Armor was controlled by Slade, which assured the peace of the Element Spirit race inside it.


    All factions had their own positions but the minority was always subordinate to the majority. Once all opinions were organized and consolidated, everyone was found to have sided with Slade.


    It was through this that everyone managed to live peacefully for many years.


    Factional disputes erupted every now and then within the Holy Wings Armor, the matter with Gavyn as quite the most significant example.


    It was forbidden for him to take the Holy Wings Armor away but, through Claire''s support, Gavyn was able to do it, which earned him the ire of the members of the Element Spirit race, the fire spirits in particular.


    Sanderson, Townsend, and Chauncey were three fire spirits who were the most dissatisfied with Gavyn.


    Normally, these three fire spirits should''ve already gone back since they found nobody in the cave and confirmed that the passageway had already been repaired. Anything else outside of their immediate tasks should''ve been ignored.


    However, in order to obtain the Holy Wings Armor, they had to make a great contribution that would qualify them to make a request to the Eye Spirit.


    Once they gained control of the Red Demon race, they would quickly make their way towards the Grand Mighty race''s territory on the southern tip of the Night View Island. So long as they were able to destroy one race and control the other two, then their mission would be complete.


    None of them expected Zen and the others to pop out of nowhere and get involved in the battle.


    "Dave! Kill them!"


    Tate ordered.


    To him, so long as he had the Holy Stones then he could control everything.


    Tate felt no fear against those Glede Demons, so what more these mere humans?


    The humans in the Ghost Mountain might be very powerful but there was no way they''d be on these people''s side since they rarely left the mountain.


    Dave quickly nodded in obeisance. "Yes, patriarch!"


    As a strong Red Demon, Dave was easily one of Tate''s most capable generals.


    He quickly led ten other Red Demons and let out a mighty, thunderous roar!


    As they let out their battle cry, their bodies glowed as every square inch was completely covered by the turtles.


    Armed and boosted, the Red Demons were ready for battle and quickly rushed towards the mountainside.


    Thump! Thump! Thump!


    Like boulders


    apon they once wielded to victory would someday be used against them.


    It was with this thought that a few Red Demons began to tremble.


    They were the apex predators in the Jade Pure Realm.


    They were the strongest, the deadliest, and the most formidable.


    Over the years, the Treacherous Beings they had absorbed merged with their bodies and gave them strength. Without the Treacherous Beings, it was as if they forgot how to fight entirely.


    Decker, who stood at the back of the crowd, was quite frightened by the spectacle.


    He knew that Zen and his group were powerful but not to this extent. He never expected that they''d suddenly take out the Holy Stones and utilize them so as to kill the Red Demons so quickly.


    He was practically speechless!


    Could the creatures outside the Night View Island truly be so powerful?


    It wasn''t just Decker. Tate, who also watched the entire scene unfold, could only stare at Zen in disbelief.


    Only then did he truly realize the gravity of his recklessness.


    He never should''ve made an enemy out of these humans. Could there still be a chance for him to correct his mistake?


    Those flame creatures were willing to cooperate with him. Maybe these humans would too?


    Tate forced a smile on his face and decided to take on the diplomatic route this time around. Those flame creatures came to the Night View Island to collect Arcana and he did not doubt that these humans came here for the exact same purpose.


    "It''s your first time visiting the Night View Island, correct? You must be here for the Ghost Mountain. Our race has actually collected quite a lot of Arcana. Perhaps we can settle this fight with a promise of cooperation?"


    He did not care who between the fire creatures and these humans would finally obtain the Arcana but it would be best if they fought with each other instead of against them.


    However, Zen merely ignored him and instead turned to Bacchus. "Hey! What do you say we kill these Red Demons together?"

 Chapter 4058 Allies

    At that moment, Tate and the Red Demons feared for their lives because of Zen''s words.


    On the other hand, the Glede Demons were overjoyed.


    In just a short time, the Glede Demon race turned the tables against the Red Demon race and gained the upper hand.


    Of course, Bacchus was very excited. "Of course! We are never on the same side with the Red Demon race!" he said in a trembling voice.


    All the Glede Demons flapped their wings, and the air became filled with vibrations. They were ready to rush down from the sky at any time.


    As of now, the Red Demons had to face the attacks from both groups.


    Most importantly, those humans still held the Holy Stones in their hands.


    They could not believe that they got reduced to a hopeless situation in a short time!


    Tate''s face darkened in anger.


    When he saw that the human race and the Glede Demon race were about to fight, he suddenly waved his hand, and an exit appeared at the side of the birdcage. "Let''s go!'' he shouted.


    The fire creatures had bestowed the birdcage to him, and he could control it at will.


    The Red Demons had been afraid for a long while, and now that their leader initiated their escape, they would undoubtedly follow.


    Under Tate''s command, the Red Demons rushed out of the birdcage.


    This time, he led over a hundred members of the Red Demon race out. When Dave and his team had attacked Zen''s group, more than ten of them died. Now, more than eighty people were still alive.


    Upon hearing those, Bacchus narrowed his eyes. "You want to leave? It won''t be easy!"


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh...


    Then, all the Glede Demons rushed towards the Red Demons below.


    In turn, the Red Demons used the black turtles to protect themselves from the Glede Demons'' attacks.


    The black turtles were a powerful defense weapon. The Glede Demons'' wings tried to slice them, but it was hard to break through such a defense in a short time.


    At that point, Fuxi, the Snake Goddess, King Ieuan, and the others came from the other side and launched an attack.


    However, they did not need to kill the Red Demons directly. What they did was to use the Light of Annihilation to remove the black turtles from Red Demons'' bodies.


    Streaks of the Light of Annihilation fired through the black turtles and dissipated them.


    Without the black turtles'' protection, the Red Demons were at a disadvantage. As soon as the Glede Demons swooped down again, their sharp wings hacked through the Red Demons'' bodies like large sabers.


    In a few seconds, the Glede Demons had killed more than twenty Red Demons!


    The other Red Demons did not dare to keep fight


    y reapplied the Ghost Powder and stayed still.


    These white-haired monsters wandered around the Glede Demons and Zen''s group, but because of the Ghost Powder''s protection, they could not see the humans and Glede Demons. Finally, they walked towards the corpses of the Red Demons.


    Those Red Demons just died, so their blood was still a bit fresh. Even their corpses emitted powerful life energy.


    The white-haired monsters devoured them. After they finished, they left some Arcana behind and disappeared.


    Because Bacchus and the others got delayed for a while, Tate and his group had already gone far. Now, Bacchus was no longer in a hurry.


    Meanwhile, the Snake Goddess and her group wanted to stall for more time.


    Therefore, they did not destroy the birdcage so quickly.


    Pearson''s hands turned into thin threads and pretended to coil them around the birdcage.


    Fuxi also condensed marks of Eight Diagrams in different sizes on the birdcage.


    After they pretended to be busy for some time, Sawyer and Thurston finally operated the Black Sun.


    The Black Sun''s strong gravitational force sucked a part of the birdcage into it. The originally square birdcage looked a little distorted, but it still maintained its entire shape.


    Then, Sawyer and Thurston separated their hands, and the Black Sun disappeared.


    Clatter!


    It destroyed the balance of space force inside the birdcage with a muffled sound, and then the space birdcage collapsed.


    The Glede Demons were surprised when they saw the broken birdcage.


    These extremely arrogant Glede Demons had never allied with anyone on the Night View Island.


    They had always been quite strong and did not need help from the other races, but now they needed help from these humans.

 Chapter 4059 Attack The Amber Cave

    To the west of the Supreme Pure Realm, the sky glowed an ominous red for several days.


    A huge fire cloud floated in the sky day and night, and could be seen clearly from thousands of miles away.


    Below this fire cloud was the Amber Cave. People trembled in fear at its name. Amber Cave was the base of the Nihility race.


    The Amber Cave was notorious in the Supreme Pure Realm. No one was willing to set foot near it.


    The Element Spirit Civilization never wanted to near it, either.


    The members of the Element Spirit race were composed of energy. If they came into contact with the white mist of the Amber Cave, their energy would be sucked into it till they were exhausted. Once all their energy was drained, they would die.


    For the members of the Element Spirit race, this was a tragic way to die.


    Legend said there was once a member of the Element Spirit race chasing after a member of the Nihility race. When the former neared the Amber Cave, the white mist gathered to form a huge hand that grabbed the warrior, and the warrior was never to be found since.


    Since then, the members of the Element Spirit race never dared approach the Amber Cave again.


    But today, the Element Spirit Civilization launched a massive attack on the Amber Cave.


    On the ground on one side of the Amber Cave, there was a huge rune. The Holy Wings Armor sat upright in the center of the rune.


    Flames were constantly erupting from the Holy Wings Armor.


    The flames followed the lines of the rune and gathered at the end, forming a huge swirl of flame, which spiraled towards the sky.


    This was how the huge fire cloud was formed.


    "Da! Da! Da!"


    The fire cloud in the sky shook violently.


    Drops of fire rained down from the fire cloud, falling into the white mist.


    The white mist could devour all kinds of energy....


    The fire rain had incredible destructive power, but it seemed as though the white mist just swallowed it up with no qualms.


    Standing nearby, the Eye Spirit stared at the spectacular scene, blinking occasionally.


    Sitting cross-legged beside him, Claire looked bored.


    After a while, she yawned. "After so long, the mist in the Amber Cave hasn''t weakened, even a bit..."


    "The Void Dust''s appetite is shocking. It''s not easy to satisfy it," replied the Eye Spirit calmly.


    It was speculated that a fire cloud that huge should have gathered all the power of all the fire spirits in the entire Element Spirit Civilization.


    After several consecutive days of burning, there didn''t seem to be any changes to the white mist.


    Like what


    ing closer and closer.


    Claire squinted at it and said, "It''s the avatar of Sanderson."


    After the three stone statues in the underground cave were destroyed, the Eye Spirit had sent three fire spirits there.


    Sizzle...


    Sanderson''s avatar came to the Eye Spirit''s side and reported to him, "The passageway to the Night View Island has been repaired."


    All the eyes of the Eye Spirit sparkled with excitement.


    Claire raised her eyebrows and smiled devilishly. "Your hunch is right," she said to the Eye Spirit.


    The Eye Spirit did not respond. He was awakening an eye on his body.


    A white film was attached to the surface of the eyeball. After the eye woke up, the white film began to quickly peel off, turning into a small white snake.


    The little white snake glanced at the Amber Cave and scolded the Eye Spirit, "Are you stupid or something? After all this time, you still haven''t taken down the Amber Cave! Our plan regarding the Ten Directions House has been delayed for several days!"


    Claire''s expression darkened and she trembled slightly.


    In the eyes of all the members of the Element Spirit race, the Eye Spirit was a supreme existence. Being scolded by this small white snake made Claire, who was loyal to the Eye Spirit, feel very uncomfortable.


    But she also knew that everything in the Element Spirit Civilization was bestowed by them.


    Whether it was the Holy Wings Armor, the Treacherous Beings they had merged with, or even the rise of the Element Spirit Civilization were all due to them.


    When the Eye Spirit told her that these snakes hiding in the depths of the Jade Pure Realm were the foundation of the Element Spirit Civilization, she was too shocked to even speak.

 Chapter 4060 Snake Master

    Most of the time, the members of the Element Spirit race had no concept of individuality.


    For the most part, they worked as a collective and were indistinct from each other.


    However, when an element''s life expanded to a certain extent, it inevitably formed a unique individual. Otherwise, their strength would become stagnant and stop growing.


    In the past, the Eye Spirit had informed Claire that he was actually composed of countless members of the Element Spirit race and was infused with an independent consciousness.


    The Eye Spirit had been created by those snakes on the Jade Pure Realm, while the subsequent members of the Element Spirit race had been formed directly or indirectly by the Eye Spirit.


    Therefore, the Eye Spirit formed the foundation of the Element Spirit Civilization, while the snakes were the foundation of the Eye Spirit!


    For a long time, even the Eye Spirit had been unaware of the existence of those snakes...


    Under the leadership of the Eye Spirit, the Element Spirit Civilization had flourished. They continued to explore the upper stages, the Three Purities Stage, and the Abstruse Energy World.


    They had earned the strongest Other Shore Tokens and even captured many creatures from beyond the Abstruse Energy World!


    The strange world made up of light dots had proven difficult to understand, but the mystery about it made it all the more fascinating.


    Unfortunately, the members of the Element Spirit race had natural inhibitions, so it was difficult for them to explore it to the furthest reaches.


    Over the past one thousand chaotic eras or more, warriors rose¡ªone after another¡ªto challenge them, and they were each eliminated by the Element Spirit Civilization. Except for the strongest of their opponents, the human race who had been forced to escape into the Night View Island, almost all other civilizations had been defeated by them.


    They had remained the absolute and dominating authority until the Nihility race had appeared.


    Before the appearance of the Nihility race, the Treacherous Beings had also begun making inroads into the Jade Pure Realm, and an unprecedented chaotic battle had even erupted within the Jade Pure Realm.


    In the Element Spirit race, none but the Eye Spirit had participated in the chaotic battle.


    Later, he returned to the Jade Pure Realm, together with the white snake, but the snake commanded a force more powerful than anyone could have imagined.


    Claire was confused when she heard the Eye Spirit''s revelation.


    How could such a powerful force have been hidden in the Jade Pure Realm for so many years without anyone noticing?


    She later discovered that this powerful forc


    instantly reflected on the surface of his pupils. Anyone who looked into his eyes could see the violent shock in his heart.


    Claire glanced at the Eye Spirit and was also surprised.


    Who was this Monkey Spirit King that the Snake Master was talking about¡­


    How could he have shocked the Eye Spirit so severely?


    The Snake Master had shared many secrets with the Eye Spirit, though he did not allow the Eye Spirit to share these. Even Claire, who was closest to him, remained uniformed concerning these secrets.


    Of course, she didn''t know what this Monkey Spirit King was...


    "These wolf teeth are his obsession. Relinquish them to him, and then I will appear," the Snake Master said.


    "Yes, sir!"


    Without any hesitation, the Eye Spirit ordered Gavyn to remove the rune.


    "Buzz!"


    As the Eye Spirit''s pupils slightly enlarged, the cubic space enveloping this area vanished.


    The ground marked off by the cubic space fell into the big hole eroded by the mist hand.


    The Holy Wings Armor, Claire, and Eye Spirit flew northeast, while the Snake Master remained behind.


    Hiss! Hiss¡­


    The Snake Master wriggled his white body and slithered to the entrance of the Amber Cave.


    The light in his eyes flashed slightly, and two rays of orange light beamed into the white mist formed by the Void Dust.


    The white mist could devour any substance and even energy, and by all logical sense, it should consume the orange rays of light.


    However, the orange rays of light remained unaffected. Instead, they stirred the white mist, which then roiled and suddenly burst forth with a series of obscure and rhythmic songs. It was Sanskrit.


    "You stupid birds proclaimed yourselves as destroyers. You are clueless to cause or effect, therefore, you will definitely lose!"

 Chapter 4061 The Obsession Of Birds

    "Purr..."


    The white mist billowed ominously.


    Suddenly, a humanoid figure emerged from the white mist.


    It had long curly hair and a handsome face. It was Maynard, one of the personal disciples of the Grandmaster of Heaven.


    "What are you talking about? I don''t understand," he said with a wild smile.


    The Snake Master sneered. In his eyes, the Element Spirit Civilization was like dregs. How much more these humans?


    "Go to hell!"


    Buzz!


    The little white snake''s eyes glowed a fierce green again.


    "So scary!"


    Maynard mocked as he ducked into the white mist.


    Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!


    A large amount of white mist that was formed from the Void Dust turned into green powder and fell into the Amber Cave.


    The green radiance the Snake Master could shoot from his eyes contained immeasurable power. It was able to destroy the Void Dust.


    Just then, the Grandmaster of Heaven emerged from the Void Dust.


    "You go to hell too!"


    The little white snake''s eyes glowed green once more, as he aimed at the head of the Grandmaster of Heaven.


    However, the Grandmaster of Heaven calmly raised one hand. Before the green radiance reached him, a hand emerged from the mist just in time to block the attack.


    "Calm down," the Grandmaster of Heaven said with a shake of his head. Then, he took out a thin, sharp tooth and abruptly sliced off one of his hands.


    Not a drop of blood was shed, even though he severed his arm!


    The broken part quickly healed, and the bones and skin of the hand began to morph. Soon, the broken hand transformed into the shape of a bird. Whoosh! The bird flapped his wings urgently as he flew towards the shore.


    As he flew, the bird let out a series of rhythmic chirps, speaking in Sanskrit.


    "Four hundred chaotic eras ago, you didn''t even pay us any heed. Now you threaten us?" the bird taunted.


    The Snake Master squinted at the bird in the sky. "You are the stupidest in the world!" he shouted angrily. "That stupid bird''s obsession is meaningless. Why do you still follow him?"


    Just like what the bird said, the Snake Masters didn''t take the birds seriously in the beginning.


    Over several hundred chaotic eras, they went about their own business as the birds evolved and grew in strength. Later, the birds chose to support the Nihility race, which was not weaker than the Element Spirit Civilization.


    The Snake Masters were still considered quite powerful in the Jade Pure Realm. In fact, they could even be considered the mainstay of the Four Spirits Sect. This was because, in addition to the Snake Spirit Sect, they also had


    However, things went much faster than the birds had expected. They wanted to give the Grandmaster of Heaven more power, so they had to destroy the second body and use the third one.


    "Then, let''s start now." The Grandmaster of Heaven nodded and gave a few orders to Maynard before taking action.


    While the plan was in motion, Maynard was tasked with guarding the Amber Cave.


    After giving instructions to Maynard, the Grandmaster of Heaven willingly submitted himself to the Void Dust.


    Sizzle!


    Once more, the sickening sizzling sound of melting flesh rang throughout the Amber Cave as the Grandmaster of Heaven''s body melted as the mist devoured his flesh.


    The Void Dust was actually a convenient tool to take one''s life, if need be. This was why both the Snake Master just now and the Grandmaster of Heaven submitted themselves to it.


    The bird then started to flap his wings and he flew through the white mist. He didn''t stop flying until he had reached the deepest part of the Amber Cave, where he landed on a huge egg.


    Standing on the egg, he bent over and gently pecked at the egg with his orange, fluffy beak.


    Tiny and complex hairline cracks began to appear on the surface of the egg, and a powerful aura of life began to emanate from it.


    As the egg began to hatch, the bird watched. There was a hint of helplessness in his small, beady eyes.


    He knew that the Nihility Way was a path of no return.


    But this was the only way, according to their sect leader.


    Every bird in the Bird Spirit Sect was extremely loyal and would never betray their sect, even if it meant flying straight to their death.


    In a sense, they were trying to realize their sect leader''s "last wish", but at what cost?

 Chapter 4062 The Mist City

    The white mist gradually spread throughout


    the Mist City


    on the main Pure Sky Platform, striking terror in the hearts of those who were there.


    A few of the more powerful beings took away a small part of the white mist through their own methods.


    More white mist turned into the streets, towers, walls, and grounds in this city.


    From the outside, nothing looked out of the ordinary. However, the streets, towers, walls, and even the grounds would turn into monsters that would devour the creatures at any time.


    On one of the broad streets within the city, a snow-white snake wriggled his body, slithering at an incredible speed.


    From the other side of the street, three birds spread their wings and launched themselves into the air.


    "Friends..."


    The snake sang wistfully.


    The song sounded like a cry of grief, a call to his companions.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    The snake''s singing caught the attention of the three birds, who then swerved in the air to fly towards the little white snake.


    Their beady eyes dilated in a craze as they ferociously pecked at the body of the white snake.


    As they attacked him, they released more and more intense energy, until their bodies turned red.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    The three birds had worked themselves up into such a frenzy that they exploded violently, one after the other. The explosion caused a terrible shock wave that rippled across the city.


    Everything in this city was made of white mist.


    As the shock wave shook everything, the structures momentarily lost their forms and turned into white mist.


    However, the hapless structures only lasted a while. After a few moments, they returned to their original shapes.


    Meanwhile, the white snake''s body was left in pieces by the explosion. As a Treacherous Being, he could have turned into various shapes, but the three birds released a considerable amount of Light of Annihilation when they exploded.


    The Light of Annihilation was fatal to the hostility-level Treacherous Beings.


    As for the resentment-level and hatred-level Treacherous Beings, their bodies would change dramatically if they were hit by the Light of Annihilation.


    The resentment-level Treacherous Beings would permanently lose the ability to change into different forms. As a result, their bodies would also become very fragile, making them easy targets.


    The white snake, with only half of his body left, could not return to his original shape. Coughing painfully, he leaned against a corner of the wall weakly.


    In the Mist City, one''s only hope to survive was by constantly walking.


    The white snake could no longer move. He could only sit back and watch as the wall behind him softened


    ers had retreated.


    The other black eagles scratched their heads, confused as to why the Snake Masters had given up even though they were so close to victory. Sheepishly, they all turned to their leader, who stood perched in the center.


    The leader''s eyes still couldn''t shake off the feeling of suspicion. Uneasy, he helplessly returned the gazes of his constituents. It was just too strange!


    If the Snake Masters ended up taking the Mist City, the leader would''ve felt less unsettled.


    But they had given up. This could only mean one thing: there was something more important to them than the Mist City.


    The leader frowned deeply as he pondered over this. If the Snake Masters captured the Mist City, they could take back the Wine Basin. What could possibly be more important than that?


    "I''m going to visit someone. I should be able to get an answer there."


    After saying that, the leader flapped his wings and flew away.


    Meanwhile, in the Source World, several black ships were floating in a clear lake in the Roaring Lake Province.


    The water of the lake was so clear that it was almost mirror-like.


    During the battle against the Pear Hill, the Black Ship suffered great losses, but not as heavy as those of the Bearing race and the Divine Farmer race.


    Most of their crew survived.


    But when the Evil God was appointed as the new captain, the crew was enraged.


    Since then, they made all kinds of excuses to try to escape from the Black Ship.


    According to the rules of the Black Ship, those who escaped would be regarded as traitors and would be chased down by the Black Ship.


    But the former captain had never treated them like this. The former captain let them leave if they wanted to. Now, the Black Ship didn''t carry any of the old traditions, just their name.

 Chapter 4063 Studying

    The Evil God had become the captain but he didn''t care about the members of the Black Ship departing.


    Finally, there were only two people left in the Black Ship.


    One was the former captain of the Black Ship, and the other was Shera.


    Shera opened the door of the cabin, her gaze falling on the Evil God, who was sitting at the stern. She walked over to him with a smile on her face.


    She wrapped her pale, slender arms around the Evil God''s neck. "I have brought you a gift from the Other Shore."


    "Let me have a look," said the Evil God.


    Shera began to take out the Other Shore Token, which was in the form of an exquisite pot.


    This was a good Other Shore Token, but it wasn''t suited to Shera.


    "What''s the use of this Other Shore Token?" the Evil God asked.


    Nobody could figure out the functions of many Other Shore Tokens in a single glance. But those with a rich experience could tell the functions according to the aura.


    A few Other Shore Tokens of the mysterious type had uniquely powerful abilities, while some Other Shore Tokens of the strengthening type emitted a formidable power.


    "It is used to store things," Shera replied.


    It was now the Evil God''s turn to be surprised.


    "Is it really just a pot?" the Evil God asked, his eyebrows raising.


    "Yes," said Shera, smiling in amusement.


    The pot was strictly a spatial Other Shore Token, but it wasn''t considered to be powerful.


    Shera had obtained and kept the pot just to help the Grandmaster of Heaven transmit what was within it. Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible for her to fuse with this Other Shore Token.


    "What''s in the pot?" the Evil God asked again.


    Shera opened the mouth of the pot, and a pale yellow energy emerged from it.


    The Evil God observed the pale yellow energy, his eyes widening with every second. "The Godly Way energy?" he exclaimed in disbelief.


    He was sensitive to the Godly Way energy and could, in a matter of seconds, tell that this pale yellow energy was the Godly Way energy.


    "Yes, it''s the energy of the Godly Way that was isolated from the others by the Element Spirit Civilization. It doesn''t have a name yet. You can give it one," Shera suggested.


    "I''m not interested."


    The Evil God''s eyes were fixed on the Godly Way energy that was floating in the air. He took a deep breath, causing the Godly Way energy to enter his body through his nose. H


    ke a judgment only after he observed this ball for a while.


    He knew he must do that!


    After he had extracted the Five Elements Godly Way, the 3, 000 Godly Ways were pushed into disorder, and a strong aura of energy began to spread out.


    Seeing that the Ways-blending Energy was about to explode, the Evil God reached out a hand and began to extract the energy. The Godly Way energy turned into thin threads and wove together continuously. In the end, the Evil God had forcefully covered the aura of the energy.


    The former captain watched the scene from the wall.


    He couldn''t help but sigh.


    This kind of talent and method of controlling energy was terrifyingly powerful. The experienced captain was forced to look on in admiration.


    Once the Evil God had stabilized the Ways-blending Energy, he put the Five Elements Godly Way back again.


    From its appearance, there was no change in the Ways-blending Energy, but the overall structure had, in fact, undergone a tremendous change.


    And now, there was a gap in the ball.


    This gap was left for the energy of the last Godly Way.


    Buzz!


    The Evil God once again released the Godly Way energy and slowly inserted it into the gap.


    The Godly Way energy and the Ways-blending Energy were now almost perfectly matched.


    The Evil God had just begun to smile when the Ways-blending Energy suddenly turned into a snow-white ball.


    The light ball covered the ship with the light in the blink of an eye and began to flash on the surface of the lake.


    The ball''s light was so brilliant that the whole world seemed dark as night before it.

 Chapter 4064 The Second Insurance

    In the north of the Jade Pure Realm, an enormous brown cubic rock stood on the ground.


    This cubic rock was 99, 000 feet long, 99, 000 feet wide, and 99, 000 feet high.


    On its surface, an exit opened for every thirty feet in the span of its entire height.


    Its inside was hollow, giving way to many intricate caves and passages.


    This place was called the Heavenly Square City, and it was one of the headquarters of the Four Spirits Sect.


    In a room on the upper left part of the Heavenly Square City was a wounded man dressed in cotton clothes.


    His hands and feet were tightly tied by four iron chains, pulling his limbs straight.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    A white whip thrashed violently in the air and lashed hard at the man, landing on his already frail body.


    Clap!


    As the white whip hit him, it emitted a beaming ray of silver-white light, which was the Light of Annihilation.


    The man in cotton clothes was a Treacherous Being.


    It was difficult for ordinary punishment methods to damage a Treacherous Being. However, if they were hit by the Light of Annihilation, they would feel pain as when ordinary mortals were stabbed by thorns.


    This was the case for only the resentment-level and hatred-level Treacherous Beings.


    Once the hostility-level Treacherous Beings came into contact with the Light of Annihilation, they would instantly turn into fine gray ashes.


    Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!


    The man''s clothes were torn and stained with blood as he had suffered many beatings for several days.


    The one who smacked the whip was a human woman. With each hit, she reprimanded the man solemnly, "Do you understand the gravity of your crime, Alphonse?"


    Clap!


    "Do you understand the gravity of your crime, Alphonse?"


    Clap!


    "Do you understand the gravity of your crime, Alphonse?!"


    The man''s name was Alphonse Shen. He was the chief of the Joy House, which was affiliated to the Human Spirit Sect.


    The woman, on the other hand, was a subordinate of the Joy House.


    Despite the stern expression on her face, she enjoyed no pleasure from the abuse. Her eyes revealed the pity she felt.


    The Joy House was responsible for guarding the Treasure Bottle Platform to protect the Godly Way energy.


    Things had been fine in the past chaotic eras. Unfortunately, the Godly Way energy was stolen by the Nihility race some days ago.


    As the chief of the Joy House, Alphonse had to take responsibility for an unforgivable mistake.


    Clap!


    The woman had whipped him day and night.


    She feared that


    chaos. But you don''t seem to be worried at all, do you?" he asked.


    "Well, once he merges the last Godly Way, the second insurance will be triggered. We only need to wait and see," Gianni said with complacency.


    Gianni, Alphonse, and the woman looked closely at the mirror, quietly observing the scene.


    Because the picture was too blurry, they could only recognize the distorted figures of black ships and the lake. The other details remained unknown to them.


    A few hours later...


    The black ship at the center shook violently on the water.


    It was as if an earthquake had started from beneath the lake, creating huge waves.


    After that, a sheet of white light had suddenly swallowed the black ship...


    "That power is extraordinary,"


    Gianni commented as he patted on Alphonse''s shoulder. He handed him the mirror and left the room.


    Holding the mirror in his hand, Alphonse watched until the white light dimmed gradually and disappeared.


    The black ship had been wrecked with its pieces scattered on the surface of the lake. Dark blood started gushing out from its ruins.


    The ship was a part of the captain''s body. Once it had been damaged too seriously, it wouldn''t recover quickly. It reflected that a large amount of blood had been shed from the captain.


    "They suspect that I deliberately allowed the Grandmaster of Heaven to steal the Godly Way energy from us," concluded Alphonse.


    The woman nodded and asked, "Did he send this mirror to you as a warning?"


    "It''s not a warning," said Alphonse. "It''s just a token of his contempt. He wants to tell me that whatever I want to do would just turn out pointless!" He crushed the mirror into pieces in his hand.

 Chapter 4065 Another Observer

    There were hundreds of thousands of lakes of different sizes in the Roaring Lake Province.


    The Clear Sky Lake in the middle was the largest. If one were to look down from the sky, it would look like a magnificent gem embedded on the horizon.


    A bright ball of light suddenly rose from the Roaring Lake Province, shocking all the creatures that were watching.


    They stared at the light ball in the sky, unable to grasp what had happened.


    A few seconds later, the terrifying shock wave reached them.


    Along with this shock wave, a water wave that was thousands of meters high, spread out towards them.


    With the Clear Sky Lake as the center, everything within tens of thousands of miles around was swept up by the wave.


    It took four hours for the lake to finally return to a peaceful state.


    The surface of the Clear Sky Lake had sunk more than eighty thousand feet, leaving only a pool of dirty water behind.


    The three black ships lay askew on this pool, their surfaces cracked and blood flowing out of ship decks from time to time.


    The sound of blood gurgling and the former captain''s pained groan sounded through the mayhem.


    The Black Ship had suffered a lot over the years, some ships even having been completely crushed and burnt.


    But the captain had been well prepared then.


    The destruction of one or two black ships was like cutting off an arm or a leg. Since the captain''s cultivation base was at the Eternal Realm, it wasn''t as big a problem.


    The black ships in the Roaring Lake Province were his only remaining body parts.


    These several black ships were seriously damaged, and the black ship carrying the Evil God was smashed to pieces.


    This was a huge blow to the captain.


    Shera and the Evil God were on the same ship when the explosions occurred.


    Fortunately, the captain had sensed that something was wrong and extracted Shera from the cabin in time.


    Even so, Shera had been sent smashing into the side of the black ship, thanks to the shock wave. Her body had become embedded in the deck, and many parts of her body were torn open.


    Crack, crack, crack...


    When Shera woke up, she could hear the sound of the black ships being reconstructed.


    The captain was trying his best to repair the black ships.


    If someone were to attack him now, the capta


    nel. What an alert and sharp fellow!"


    "He wants to destroy the channel," said Alphonse.


    Boom!


    It was then that they saw the Evil God''s punch coming their way.


    Nothing happened after this punch. The scene in the mirror was blurred, but it still existed.


    "Did he miss the target?" the human woman asked.


    Alphonse stared at the mirror, lost in thought. He then shook his head and said, "It doesn''t seem like he failed to hit the channel. He has broken another channel. I think there''s another one in addition to the Snake Masters'' observation channel."


    "Another observation channel? Are those birds also observing him?" the human woman asked.


    "That''s impossible," said Alphonse, shaking his head.


    The birds controlled the Nihility race, and the Nihility race controlled the Black Ship.


    Now that the Evil God and the Black Ship were a whole, it was easier to observe the Evil God. There was no need for the birds to observe him in this way.


    "But who else will observe him apart from us and the birds?" The human woman was curious.


    Was there a third force on the Other Shore?


    "I don''t know yet..."


    Alphonse had barely finished speaking when the Evil God''s fist swung upwards once again.


    An energy spiral soared into the sky and finally destroyed the Snake Masters'' observation channel.


    In the Heavenly Square City, the scenes in more than twenty mirrors of various sizes disappeared at the same time.


    Alphonse''s eyes seemed to brighten with an inexplicable joy as he looked at the blank mirror.

 Chapter 4066 The One Who Rang The Bell

    There were six great caves lying five thousand feet


    below the ground of the Jade Pure Realm''s northwest side.


    Each cave was about three thousand feet in diameter.


    Each cave''s outer layer was covered with meat in the state of constant shrinking, which made the entire cave look like a beating heart.


    While the cave was merely three thousand feet high, the inner space was far larger than this.


    Each and every cave had its own world.


    In the lowest cave stood the Mysterious Yellow Tower.


    At the very bottom of the tower was a man holding a bronze mirror in the shape of Eight Diagrams.


    He was clad in a cyan robe and looked rather wise and remarkable. His aura was impressive.


    "What a sharp insight!


    The channel has been broken!


    This person''s control over the Source World has risen to a new level..."


    Grabbing the bronze mirror, he flew up to the top of the tower.


    Carved on the surface at the top were densely packed scriptures, all of which were written in Sanskrit.


    "Cutting and sharpening..."


    the immortal-like old man muttered on top of the tower.


    Each time he chanted, a circle of golden light spread out from his body.


    The golden light swept right past the scriptures, making them rotate chaotically. An extremely solemn aura was emitted, making the old man''s aura grow noble and grand.


    Anyone who faced the suppression of the golden light couldn''t help but fall to their knees.


    But once the young man was swept by the light, he merely frowned and shouted, "Old man, the channel you''ve built so painstakingly has been destroyed! You deceived me again. Didn''t you tell me that the channel wouldn''t ever be discovered?"


    Then, he threw the bronze mirror right in front of the other man.


    The latter merely continued muttering.


    And the golden light continued circling the Sanskrit words.


    Before such a solemn scene, the young man''s behavior seemed rather inappropriate.


    A few minutes later, the old man''s eyes shot open.


    Buzz...


    The golden light completely dissipated, and the Sanskrit words stopped circling as well, returning to their original form.


    Hearing that the channel had been destroyed, the old man showed no sign of discontent on his face. Instead, he smiled and said, "As I expected, the young man wouldn''t die under the Maximized En


    e warrior made a breakthrough, they could obtain a physical body that carried the Other Shore Token from the higher floor. By then, they could ring the bell once again.


    The more they cultivated, the more difficult it was to strengthen their bodies, making it harder to ring the bell again.


    In the previous month, after the young man who carried a sword on his back rang the bell, he took away the Other Shore Token on the thirtieth floor.


    Again, reaching the thirty-first floor from the thirtieth floor was by no means an easy feat.


    For some, they could spend thousands of years trying to get there but to no avail.


    But only a month later, the man managed to ring the bell again¡ªin just a single month, his physical strength had increased drastically. It was completely astonishing.


    In the Ruin Graveyard


    At the very core of the Divine Bell City lay a huge bronze bell.


    It was considered the Ruin Graveyard''s most holy treasure¡ªthe object all the creatures there relied on.


    Each warrior who had reached the Other Shore Realm would visit to ring the bell and obtain their token.


    "Dong!"


    A long ringing resounded across the Divine Bell City.


    The entire place boiled with excitement.


    The sound of the bell belonged to the thirty-first floor. Very few people in the Ruin Graveyard could ever make it.


    Sitting cross-legged under the huge bell, Rocher had already entered the Mysterious Yellow Tower.


    According to the rules, he had to choose the most suitable Other Shore Token before the bell chime stopped.

 Chapter 4067 In The Mysterious Yellow Tower

    When Rocher entered the Mysterious Yellow Tower for the first time, the bell only rang for three seconds.


    He kept in mind what Bromley and the other elders had told him. He could grab whatever he liked in the tower, but he could just take one.


    However, as he only had a few seconds, he didn''t have enough time to choose properly. Thus, he just took an Other Shore Token randomly.


    When he realized that the token he got was not suitable for the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent, he felt so frustrated. All his efforts were put to waste.


    The second time he entered the Mysterious Yellow Tower, he could now stay for six seconds. The premise still held that he could only choose one of the Other Shore Tokens of his liking.


    Though he still didn''t have that much time, he, fortunately, obtained a suitable one this time.


    Seeing that he acquired a useful one the second time, he became more determined. He went in again and bet on his luck. As the bell stopped, he was kicked out by a strong force. According to the Ruin Graveyard, he was actually kicked out by a huge foot.


    However, not even a single Other Shore Token he obtained in the next three attempts he made could be useful to him. So for now, he had to make do with the one he acquired the second time he went in.


    Over time, Rocher improved the strength of his physical body. This made the bell ring for a longer period.


    When he already reached the thirtieth floor of the Mysterious Yellow Tower, the ringing of the bell could now last for five minutes.


    In his next attempt, he directly went to the thirty-first floor as soon as the bell rang.


    There he saw several Other Shore Tokens embedded on the walls of the Mysterious Yellow Tower. Occasionally, there would be a dazzling light emitting from them, containing incredible Other Shore Power.


    Rocher leaned against the wall and walked quickly along the corridor of the thirty-first floor. He analyzed each of the Other Shore Tokens in there so that he could pick the best one for him.


    "This one''s the Dead Skeleton."


    It was a mysterious-type Other Shore Token and Rocher was unsure of its ability. He thought that he should aim for something that he could readily use.


    "The Power of Mist¡­"


    It was a strengthening-type Other Shore Token. However, Rocher didn''t lack power, so he deemed to choose something that could boost his other attributes.


    "The Speed Boots."


    It should be a descending-type Other Shore Token that could greatly increase one''s speed.


    In the Ruin Graveyard, there were specially assigned beings to record, analyze, and evaluate the Other Shore Tokens which were situated on


    considered as a competition among many races.


    Originally, three non-human races had an absolute advantage in the entire Ruin Graveyard, while the other weaker races had several limitations.


    As for the human race, Bromley was the only one they could rely on.


    But as the divine land entered the Ruin Graveyard, its people accidentally discovered that the place was an excellent venue for cultivation.


    The Truths of Godly Ways began to spread quickly in the divine land. The True Gods from various powerful clans and ancestral lands began to cultivate the Truths of Godly Ways.


    The Ruin Graveyard formerly had a reputation of being a dangerous place in the chaos, but as they accepted the divine land, they eventually began following the rules.


    In return, the humans from the divine land also obtained a considerable amount of cultivation resources.


    Over recent years, some of the young talents from the divine land had reached the Other Shore Realm.


    And among them, Rocher was considered to be the most outstanding one.


    He had an extraordinary understanding of the Truth of Eternal Sword Intent. In fact, he had mastered it in just a few months after he was sent into the Ruin Graveyard.


    The first time he rang the bell of the Divine Bell City, he had successfully obtained a divine megaton of force.


    After he reached the Other Shore Realm, he had been cultivating in the Water Drop Cave.


    The Grand Drip Technique there could quickly enhance one''s physical strength. As he entered the Water Drop Cave, he was given special treatment. His rate of progress was just several times faster than that of any ordinary warrior.


    He was considered as a genius and a rising star that appeared in the Ruin Graveyard after all these years.

 Chapter 4068 The Water Drop Cave

    Sitting cross-legged underneath the enormous golden bell, Rocher slowly opened his eyes. Little by little, he began to take his surroundings in.


    A huge plaza was built around the bell. It was obvious that this bell held great importance.


    Dozens of people lined up on its right side. All of them were patiently waiting for their turn.


    Some of the people standing in line were consummate True Gods. They were hoping to enter the Mysterious Yellow Tower by ringing the bell.


    Others were warriors at the Other Shore Realm who wanted to reach higher floors in the Mysterious Yellow Tower.


    For these talented individuals of the divine land, accidentally falling into the Ruin Graveyard was actually a great opportunity for them.


    Long time ago, the numbers of the powerful clans above the Time Sea and the Holy Beings in the divine land were fixed. No matter what, they remained unchangeable.


    Unless they eliminated other powerful clans above the Time Sea, they would only remain as consummate True Gods their entire lives.


    Ever since the Luo Clan took control of the divine land, their chances became even slimmer than before.


    Fortunately, there were Truths of Godly Ways for them to cultivate as well as places to assist them in their cultivation in the Ruin Graveyard. Therefore, they would have a good chance of reaching the Other Shore Realm.


    According to the rules, all of the Other Shore Tokens obtained in the Mysterious Yellow Tower should be shown to everyone present.


    As soon as everyone saw Rocher regain consciousness, their eyes were instantly filled with anticipation and excitement. They couldn''t wait to see what Other Shore Token he got. He promptly stood up and stepped aside.


    "Hey Rocher! What did you get? Was it a good one?" the young man standing beside him asked. He couldn''t quite contain his curiosity anymore.


    This man was none other than Hallet.


    Hallet was able to obtain an Other Shore Token from the fifteenth floor. Even though he was not as outstanding as Rocher, he was still considered as one of the best.


    "Did you manage to get the Whirlwind Wings?" another young man piped as he looked at Rocher over Hallet''s shoulder.


    His name was Augustus. He had a much better luck and talent compared to Hallet''s. He was able to acquire an Other Shore Token from the nineteenth floor. Among all of the Other Shore Realm warriors in the divine land, he could easily be ranked as one of the top three.


    Rocher took out the Other Shore Token he got. "It''s the Monta Stone," he announced.


    When everyone saw the gray stone, the whole place was immediately filled with commotion.


    This stone was actually one of the best Other Shore Tokens that could be obtained from the thirty-first floor. However, Rocher did not find it suitable. He was hoping to get a different one.


    "But why the Monta Stone?" Hallet asked with unabated curiosity.


    Even if he didn''t manage to get the Whirlwind Wings or the Sacred Battle Sword, he should not have chosen the Monta Stone. It didn''t suit him at all.


    It seemed that Rocher was also puzzled by this. "When I got there, I wanted to take the Whirlwind Wings. However, they disappeare


    ured onto them, their bodies began to expand in just a short period of time.


    The Ruin Graveyard did not have the Chaotic Source World or Land of Bone Tribulation. Hence, they couldn''t find a solution to the problem regarding cultivation of physical strength. This became a problem for Bromley after he reached the Other Shore Realm. It became harder for him to improve his cultivation. His physical body was unable to match the corresponding Other Shore Token. Eventually, it became a burden to him.


    The change in the Water Drop Cave caused a commotion in the entire Ruin Graveyard. Everyone wanted to try cultivating there.


    During that time, fights even broke out in the Ruin Graveyard. People began challenging each other to determine who would be allowed to occupy positions in the Water Drop Cave.


    On behalf of the human race, Bromley had reserved a considerable number of seats for the people of the divine land.


    In just a short period of time, both the human and non-human races in the divine land were able to produce a group of strong warriors. Soon enough, they reached the Other Shore Realm. All of them owed it to the change in the Water Drop Cave.


    However, the Holy Beings of the divine land were unable to make much progress.


    Even though they also cultivated in the Water Drop Cave, their improvement was quite slow. They were quite baffled by it because they were highly talented individuals.


    It was absolutely unusual that no matter how hard they tried, their cultivation speed was utterly slower than those of the consummate True Gods.


    Aside from Bromley, the Holy Emperor of the Leng Clan, Jeremiah, and Joy, the Demi-holy Being of the Han Clan, were the fastest ones to improve their cultivation. In a short span of time, they had already managed to reach the fourteenth floor of the Mysterious Yellow Tower.


    Meanwhile, Mike, Zeke, Clark, Holy Jay, and other Holy Emperors had only reached the seventh or eighth floor.


    If they were on the real Other Shore, they would not even be able to leave the Lust World. They had to spend more time working on their physical strength.

 Chapter 4069 Worry

    Along the borders of the Ruin Graveyard, a flying ship slowly approached.


    As the space beyond the graveyard twisted, the flying ship drilled in without hesitation.


    Actually, the whole Ruin Graveyard was an isolated area from other spaces.


    The divine land lay at anchor at the entrance of the Ruin Graveyard. Once the flying ship entered, it came to a complete stop at the top layer of the divine land.


    From within the divine land, a space channel had been constructed. Seeing that they''d arrived, Mike came out of the channel to welcome the flying ship.


    A few people exited the flying ship in succession.


    Rosie and her sister, Lorena, were the last two to come out.


    After being reincarnated, Rosie was reinstated as a consummate True God again. After she comprehended the Truth of Godly Way, she eagerly explored the Sea of Truth.


    Overall, her main goal in breaking through in the Sea of Truth was to find a way to enter the real Other Shore.


    After the divine land entered the Ruin Graveyard, more warriors relied on the resources of the graveyard which allowed them to reach the Other Shore Realm.


    Lorena couldn''t care less about this; all she missed were her daughter and son.


    As the journey to the Source World would be difficult and dangerous, she wanted to enter the Other Shore to find them.


    Lorena had high hopes for this method. After all, only one Other Shore existed. However, when she asked about the Other Shore, Bromley said that entering through the Ruin Graveyard would lead them to the Mysterious Yellow Tower where there were all kinds of Other Shore Tokens.


    Still, they wouldn''t be able to go to Stage Thirty-three of the real Other Shore.


    This saddened Lorena. If the Other Shore Realm warriors in the Ruin Graveyard couldn''t go to the real Other Shore, then perhaps the people of the divine land would be able to do so.


    After Augustus had comprehended the Truth of Godly Way, Lorena instructed him that he must not ring the bell nor enter the Mysterious Yellow Tower. Once he fused with the Truth of Godly Way, she asked him to immediately enter the Sea of Truth.


    To her disappointment, this still didn''t work.


    After Augustus activated the Truth of Godly Way, he didn''t enter the Sea of Truth. As per Lorena''s instructions, he did not ring the bell nor enter the Mysterious Yellow Tower, but he fell into a desolate area of


    ing?" Mike broke the silence.


    The Ruin Graveyard was strange in many ways.


    It did not appear dangerous, but it was quite comparable to the Source World.


    From where they were, the one who''d built the Ruin Graveyard seemed ambitious.


    However, the person never appeared to them.


    Bromley and the races of the Ruin Graveyard had little knowledge on the origin of the Ruin Graveyard or who it belonged to. This was a big problem to the human beings in the divine land, and they spent years trying to learn all they could.


    "We shouldn''t worry! The Ruin Graveyard favors us," Rosie said. "I think the owner of the Ruin Graveyard bears no malice towards us!"


    "I sure hope so," Mike nodded.


    He was not optimistic about it.


    In fact, the Holy Beings in the divine land had the same worry.


    There had never been free resources in the world. On top of that, after the divine land entered the graveyard. many changes occurred.


    For example, every time the talents of the human race entered the Water Drop Cave, they obtained more water to drip into their bodies. In the Sword Graveyard, the human race obtained more light of comprehension for their swordsmanship compared to the others.


    All of this evoked jealousy of alien races around the graveyard. There was even a time when the alien races joined forces to expel the divine land.


    However, just as the alien races made their move, a bad omen washed over the Ruin Graveyard. The graveyard punished the alien races, sending them all to hiding. After that, no race ever dared to make an enemy of the human race again.

 Chapter 4070 Encounter

    The Night View Island was no longer peaceful these days.


    This was largely because the Glede Demon race had spread the news that the Red Demon race were sacrificing members of many races in exchange for the Arcana.


    This had caused so much panic among the weaker races that they had abandoned their own territories and formed alliances.


    Bacchus took advantage of the situation and extended an olive branch to these races. He won them over by claiming he could protect them. Then he asked them to gather in the land of the Glede Demon race to fight against the Red Demon race.


    Of course, his protection would not come for free. These races had to hand over all the Arcana they had.


    With this strategy, the Glede Demons accumulated a lot of Arcana in a short time, all while amassing the other races to their side.


    This would increase the chances of victory for the Glede Demons should the Red Demons launch an attack.


    Bacchus handed over all the Arcana he had plundered to Zen and escorted him and his group to the Ghost Mountain.


    He wanted three Holy Stones in return.


    The Holy Stones were great threats to the Treacherous Beings. Bacchus had to get them at all costs.


    Zen agreed to his request.


    Previously, he had killed three stone men in the underground cave and obtained three Holy Stones the size of beans. He gave them to the Snake Goddess, Fuxi and Eastern Emperor Taiyi, and their own three stones, the size of grains of sand, were given to Bacchus.


    Soon, daylight broke on the Night View Island.


    The dawn found Zen and his companions climbing one last mountain with the Glede Demons before arriving at the Ghost Mountain.


    As they neared the peak however, they noted something curious. Though there was nothing ahead to block their vision, they couldn''t see the Ghost Mountain anywhere in the distance.


    The empty expanse ahead left Zen and the others stumped. Both Decker and the Glede Demons said that the Ghost Mountain was here, however. They couldn''t possibly be mistaken.


    It was only when they crossed the peak line that a huge black shadow came into view.


    It was a huge triangular mountain!


    As Decker had said, the Ghost Mountain was protected by a special space rule. It could only be seen after they crossed the peak line.


    The Ghost Mountain was largely outside the Night View Island, save for a part of its foot, which was connected to the island. A wide and straight


    said."


    The Glede Demons relented and moved aside.


    Decker shot Zen a grateful look. He quickly took out his Arcana and exchanged them for a glazed sheet.


    After everyone had done this, they continued on to the entrance of the Ghost Mountain. They shortly arrived at a black wall with a stone door at the center of it.


    "Only one person can enter at a time. Just follow my lead."


    As he spoke, Bacchus pressed the glazed sheet against the stone door. As the stone door creaked, he disappeared from the spot.


    Fuxi, the Snake Goddess and the others followed suit.


    Zen took out his glazed sheet. He was about to enter the stone door when he suddenly felt an unusual aura. He paused.


    He turned around and saw another group of creatures reach the peak in the distance.


    They were the Red Demon race and the Grand Mighty race.


    The two races had long been at odds with each other, but here they were, miraculously working together.


    The reason for this newfound alliance, of course, was not that they had reconciled, but that they had no other choice, if they were to defeat a common enemy.


    Tate bowed and spoke respectfully to the eyeball floating in the light ball, "Master Eye Spirit, this is Ghost Mountain."


    "I see it,"


    the Eye Spirit said calmly.


    His attention landed on the young man in front of the door.


    His sharp eyes firmly fixed on Zen. Immediately, Zen felt rooted to the spot, as if suddenly bound by steel chains.


    Even Decker, Thurston and Sawyer were affected beside him. They felt only a tenth of the force binding Zen, but it already left them barely able to breathe.

 Chapter 4071 Break Free

    A hexagonal pattern appeared in the eyeball.


    The power transmitted from the eyeball became stronger and stronger as circles of golden light bloomed within the pattern.


    Decker''s face turned red after being pressed this way, his body creaking dangerously. Sawyer and Thurston were in similar situations. If his strength continued to increase, it would crush their bodies.


    Zen could bear a power ten times stronger than what Sawyer, Thurston, and Decker could bear.


    His physical body had been strengthened greatly, and it had far exceeded that of most creatures in the Three Purities Stage.


    He didn''t move even under the pressure of such a powerful force.


    "Master Eye Spirit, I''m going to kill him!"


    Gavyn said, seeing that the Eye Spirit had already controlled Zen.


    But the moment the six wings of the Holy Wings Armor were unfurled, Zen, who was at the foot of the Ghost Mountain, suddenly shook his body and stretched his hands to his sides.


    The steel cage that the Eye Spirit had made shattered.


    Crack!


    The hexagonal pattern in the Eye Spirit''s eyeball also dissipated.


    Zen then turned to the people around him and ordered, "You go in first".


    Sawyer, Thurston, and Decker broke free from the huge pressure, panting, their faces red.


    At Zen''s words, Sawyer was the first to put the glazed sheet on the stone door. The door spun quickly and pushed him into the Ghost Mountain.


    Thurston and Decker followed close behind.


    Zen glared at the Eye Spirit, and then put the glazed sheet on the stone door. And as the door revolved, he disappeared from before the door.


    "He runs so fast!" Claire said, smiling.


    "There is no other way out in the Ghost Mountain. He can''t escape," the Eye Spirit said calmly. "Moreover, the power of my eyeball that I just used has reached its limit."


    "You can force him to stay using your..." Gavyn cut in.


    The Eye Spirit cast a cold glance at Gavyn and said, "I don''t need your advice on what kind of theurgy I use!"


    Gavin immediately shut up, noticing the displeasure in the Eye Spirit.


    "Red Demons, lead the way!" the Eye Spirit ordered again.


    How dare Tate disobey him!


    He then led the members of his race to walk down the mountain and they finally arrived in front of the monkey statues.


    "Master Eye Spirit, I''ll help you exchange for the thing you need to ent


    , Zen and his group were very powerful. Even without the Holy Stones, their combat strength was still terrifying.


    "He is powerful enough to dominate the entire Three Purities Stage," said Zen.


    This answer silenced Bacchus. All these people from the outside were supernormal!


    "Let''s look for the human beings in the Ghost Mountain," Zen said. "This is probably the only way."


    Their journey to the Ghost Mountain had two goals.


    On the one hand, they intended to fuse with the Treacherous Beings as Treacherous Beings could greatly increase their strength. On the other hand, they planned to search for the Primeval Lord of Heaven and the other human beings.


    Time was pressing in on them now that the Eye Spirit was hot on their heels. Merging with the Treacherous Beings might have to be postponed.


    "I''ll take you there!"


    Bacchus said, turned around, and walked to the front, leading the way for the Glede Demons, Zen and his companions.


    The area before them began to close up after they had passed through this open space.


    The surroundings were pitch black but everyone could still clearly see that there were many Treacherous Beings floating on both sides of the road.


    These Treacherous Beings varied in shapes, but were very small.


    The biggest Treacherous Being was only half as tall as a person, and the smallest was the size of a palm.


    The aura they emitted was neither strong nor aggressive. All of them were of the friendly type.


    As Zen and the others passed by, they sensed the existence of the Arcana and surrounded them.

 Chapter 4072 Deduction

    King Ieuan, Eastern Emperor Taiyi and the others remained on the alert. They thought even the weaker Treacherous Beings couldn''t be taken lightly.


    The Glede Demons, however, were used to them.


    Even Campbell, an awakened Treacherous Being, couldn''t resist the temptation of the Arcana. How much more these unintelligent, friendly ones?


    More and more Treacherous Beings of grotesque shapes gathered around the group, almost completely blocking their way.


    "Drive them away," Bacchus ordered.


    The Glede Demons swung their blades and cut through the Treacherous Beings easily. The weaker ones were sliced into pieces. The friendly-type ones dodged and scampered in various directions.


    Although they couldn''t die, the creatures still instinctively evaded danger.


    After clearing the way, the group continued onward.


    The Ghost Mountain was already massive from the outside, almost as large as half of the Night View Island. Its inner space was even more spacious.


    Up ahead, a row of square prison cells came into view. Beside the cells were stone tablets engraved with figures of different creatures.


    "What are those creatures?" the Snake Goddess asked.


    "They are also Treacherous Beings," Bacchus explained. "But unlike those outside, the Treacherous Beings here can be fused. You can enter the cells after imprinting the glazed sheets on the stone tablets."


    Decker at the end of the line piped up, "The thorny Treacherous Beings our Wooden Leaf race have fused with are over there."


    He pointed to a cell not far away. There was a pattern of Treacherous Being with poisonous spines on the stone tablet beside the cell.


    "Only the weakest hostility-level Treacherous Beings are kept here," a Glede Demon pointed out disdainfully.


    Of course the Wooden Leaf race would choose such low-level Treacherous Beings. The Glede Demons scoffed at such weaklings.


    The gap in strength between the Treacherous Beings they preferred were quite large. Some top hostility-level Treacherous Beings were as strong as the resentment-level ones.


    Among these were the Wolf Owls that the Glede Demons fused with. They were the strongest among the hostility-level Treacherous Beings.


    "Now we go to the far right," Bacchus pointed out.


    Everyone followed behind Bacchus and entered the rightmost passage


    fused with.


    At the end of the row of cells, there was a stairway paved with black stones.


    The steps were several thousand feet high, leading up to the second floor of the Ghost Mountain.


    When they reached the second floor, more prison cells came into view.


    However, these cells were larger.


    The prison bars were quite thick, and through them, they could see the huge resentment-level Treacherous Beings.


    There was a giant elephant in the nearest cell.


    Its attention was drawn by the arrival of Zen and his group.


    Its long trunk stretched out from the space between the bars and slowly swept toward them. It looked friendly and kind.


    Friendly-type Treacherous Beings were not known to be aggressive, so Fuxi reached out his hand to touch the elephant''s trunk.


    But just as he did, the elephant suddenly emitted a disgusting aura!


    The auras released by friendly-type Treacherous Beings were not strong, and could even be negligible. But the killing-type and attaching-type Treacherous Beings emanated extremely disgusting auras.


    Fuxi reacted quickly. As soon as he felt the aura, he immediately jumped tens of feet back. Zen and the others likewise quickly distanced themselves from the cell where the giant elephant was imprisoned.


    The elephant continued to try to reach Fuxi with its trunk.


    But it was a moment too late. It failed to grab him.


    HOWL!


    The enraged elephant roared in its cell.


    "Didn''t you say the Treacherous Beings in the Ghost Mountain were all friendly-type?" Pearson asked gravely.

 Chapter 4073 Out Of Contact

    "It seems this giant elephant''s obsession was triggered by humans,"


    Bacchus remarked as he stared at the giant elephant in the cell.


    The erstwhile gentle giant had transformed completely into a killing machine, raging at the prison bars wildly.


    Fortunately, the prison was made of a special material. The thick bars remained steadfast even after relentlessly being struck by the massive creature.


    "By us? What do you mean?" the Snake Goddess asked.


    "It''s possible that humans killed the giant elephant, but it had forgotten this, so it wasn''t beset with hatred just a while ago. It appears it has been awakened upon seeing you, turning it into a killing type instantly," said Bacchus.


    "Humans killed it?" The Snake Goddess thought for a moment and then shook her head. "The Ghost Mountain must have come into being much earlier than the human race, unless..."


    The Snake Goddess tilted her head to look at Campbell.


    There were almost no differences between a human being and a human spirit. It was likely that the giant elephant''s obsession was triggered by human spirits.


    "Now I''m wondering if all the resentment-level Treacherous Beings are like this," Fuxi said worriedly.


    He had come to the Ghost Mountain because he had wanted to fuse with a powerful Treacherous Being.


    But if all the Treacherous Beings wanted to kill humans, then that would be impossible.


    This obviously also weighed heavily on everyone''s mind. "We can test it. I''m not a human. Let me try touching them," Pearson offered.


    "Good idea," Zen said with a nod.


    But the Snake Goddess suddenly whipped around. "It''s not the right time, though."


    Zen followed her gaze and saw about six small eyeballs floating up to the entrance of the second floor. As soon as they spotted Zen and the others, they started speeding toward them.


    "Right. Hold that thought," Zen said.


    "Run!" Thurston shouted.


    No one needed to be told twice. The group began to run.


    The second floor of the Ghost Mountain was quite spacious.


    The first floor was at the bottom of the Ghost Mountain, and it was larger than the second floor. More than a hundred thousand kinds of Treacherous Beings were imprisoned on the first floor, and there were over a hundred of each


    queak! It''s a good thing the spiritual sense can''t be used here, then."


    Danger averted, the group continued walking through the second floor of the Ghost Mountain.


    Meanwhile, on the first floor, the Eye Spirit was left suffering because of the ring-shaped pattern of the ten wolf teeth.


    This endeavor was causing him intense pain.


    The problem was that he had released over a hundred eyeballs.


    But when he tried to communicate with them, he found that all of them were out of contact.


    Over a hundred patterns of wolf teeth surfaced continuously, and the Eye Spirit endured over a hundred times of pain.


    This was causing their side much delay.


    "Can''t you communicate with the eyeballs?" Claire asked.


    Pain flashed in the Eye Spirit''s eyes. "No, I can''t. And the Ten Teeth Necklace is really punishing me."


    Claire didn''t say anything.


    She knew that the Ten Teeth Necklace was the Monkey Spirit King''s obsession, and the Eye Spirit was unable to put up any resistance.


    "There is only one path through the Ghost Mountain. Let''s just go straight to the Ghost Altar at the deepest part on the second floor. We will definitely be able to find them there," Tate suggested.


    He knew that Bacchus would be with Zen and the others. With the Element Spirit Civilization now on his side, however, he might be able to kill them all this time.


    "Right. They''re probably heading to the Ghost Altar," Murdock echoed.


    "Go ahead. Lead the way," the Eye Spirit hissed amid the pain.

 Chapter 4074 Selection

    The passageways in the second floor and the first floor of the Ghost Mountain ran in opposing directions.


    The Ghost Altar at the innermost side of the second floor was right above the entrance to the first floor.


    Because Zen and his group walked in a straight line on the second floor, the actual moving distance was several times shorter than the moving distance on the first floor. Their speed naturally increased greatly.


    It took them six hours to pass through the first floor and only one hour through the second floor.


    They passed through an area full of prisons which led to a high black wall.


    On the center of the black wall was a red arch covered with golden copper nails.


    "Here we are. Inside the copper gate is the Ghost Altar," said Bacchus.


    "We can see human beings in the Ghost Altar?" the Snake Goddess asked.


    "It''s possible. I''ve seen the human Great Ghost Priests two times recently," Bacchus replied.


    A total of twelve Great Ghost Priests took charge of the Ghost Altar and the several human Great Ghost Priests were likely to be chosen as one of the twelve.


    "Then we are rest assured," Fuxi nodded.


    Bacchus thought for a moment. "But there are also exceptions. There have been several times that no human beings have appeared," he continued.


    There were about sixty Great Ghost Priests in the Ghost Mountain, and four of them came from the human race. The probability of choosing human beings from the sixty Great Ghost Priests was one-fifteenth.


    Zen interrupted, "The probability of being selected as a Great Ghost Priest is low, right?"


    "Very. It''s lucky if we succeed after hundreds of attempts. We have participated in the event so many times, but we still haven''t figured out the rules. It seems that being chosen is completely determined by the preference of the twelve Great Ghost Priests and the hatred-level Treacherous Beings..." said Bacchus.


    "Then that''s no problem. Since it''s difficult to merge with a hatred-level Treacherous Being, let''s try a few more times before the human Great Ghost Priests get a chance to be chosen," Zen encouraged.


    he said while he walked forward.


    He stepped towards the red arch, stretched out his hands, and pushed the gate inward.


    "Clatter..."


    The gate opened noisily as pitch-black darkness revealed from the inside.


    The group went in and saw that the ground was painted with leaf-shaped glowing lines. The lines were dim, making them only slightly visible.


    However, when Zen leaned forward to touch the glowing lines, a ray of bright light transmitted along all the lines drawn on the ground. It was like a seed of fire that lit up the path it went.


    The light split into three parts which climbed u


    esn''t need to be complicated."


    "Then why don''t you let the members of our Wooden Leaf race have a try? Why did you say that only a creature that has fused with the resentment-level Treacherous Being could get a chance?" Decker asked gloomily.


    A Glede Demon beside Decker sneered, "If everyone wants to try on the second floor of the Ghost Mountain, won''t the status of our three races be easily affected?"


    The Grand Mighty race, the Red Demon race, and the Glede Demon race had always fiercely competed with each other.


    However, they cooperated very well in keeping the secret of the second floor of the Ghost Mountain.


    According to the normal process, the soldiers of the Red Demon race, the Glede Demon race and the Grand Mighty race stood guard in front of the Ghost Mountain. If members of other races entered the Ghost Mountain, they would be escorted by the members of these three races.


    Ordinary races could enter the first floor and the second floor.


    As long as they were able to merge with a hostility-level Treacherous Being or even a resentment-level Treacherous Being, they wouldn''t be stopped by the three races.


    However, the races weren''t allowed to enter the Ghost Altar. The three races had also declared that to become the Great Ghost Priest, one had to challenge a resentment-level or even a hatred-level Treacherous Being. If the warriors failed to be careful, they would be killed during the battle.


    The races of the Night View Island were skeptical of the process, but they didn''t dare challenge the three races.


    Bacchus saw that Decker was displeased. "Although luck is a big factor during the selection of the Great Ghost Priest, one''s strength also affects the Treacherous Being''s choice. Go ahead and try if you are not convinced," he said as he waved his wings.

 Chapter 4075 Cary

    This time, their reason for coming to the Ghost Altar had nothing to do with becoming Great Ghost Priests.


    It didn''t matter who went up to the Ghost Altar.


    Even a guy like Decker would do.


    As long as there was no human among the twelve Great Ghost Priests, it would always prove difficult for them to touch base with the human heroes.


    Besides, with Decker''s physique, even if the twelve Great Ghost Priests agreed, the hatred-level Treacherous Being that Decker would fuse with probably would not.


    Although Decker''s face showed a trace of indignation, he was actually thrilled deep inside.


    If he were to be honest, when he found out that the Great Ghost Priests were chosen simply by luck, he felt a sudden pang of resentment.


    Why were only members of the three great races allowed to enter the Ghost Altar all this time? Why were the other races disqualified from trying their luck?


    Then again, the Night View Island had always been that cruel.


    The weak races never had a say.


    It was just a matter of course for the Red Demon race, the Glede Demon race, and the Grand Mighty race to control the Ghost Mountain.


    However, now he had a chance.


    The chance was slim, of course, but he was still willing to give it a shot.


    Without any objection from Zen and the others, Decker hurriedly stepped into the center of the platform and pressed the glazed sheet in his hand against the stone ball.


    Splash!


    The stone ball began to rotate.


    Rays of blue light flashed at the twelve entrances above the Ghost Altar as another twelve Great Ghost Priests were selected.


    Zen''s gaze quickly swept across the twelve. His face fell in disappointment.


    There were all sorts of creatures in strange shapes, but there were still no humans.


    The twelve Great Ghost Priests looked down at Decker with disdain.


    There was actually no strict required strength to come up to the Ghost Altar.


    However, the Night View Island and the Ghost Mountain had followed the law of the jungle all this time, so only the strongest could go up to the Ghost Altar until now.


    Thus, the Great Ghost Priests all used to be among the best of Night View Island.


    Decker was much too weak in comparison.


    "I haven''t gone out for many years,


    ng to suck him back, his eyes flashed with a sharp light.


    His body rolled into a half circle, his nose never leaving Decker''s hand. He ejected a sharp spine from his back and toward the stone ball.


    Crack!


    The stone ball was penetrated.


    Countless cracks appeared on its surface.


    It was broken just like that!


    The Great Ghost Priests above the Ghost Altar were stunned at the sight.


    This white round stone ball was a sacred object in the Ghost Mountain.


    But the hedgehog destroyed it so easily!


    Though extremely frightened, Decker had realized something.


    This hedgehog liked the Arcana very much.


    This was the foundation to the fusion with Treacherous Beings!


    Decker had never fused with resentment-level and hatred-level Treacherous Beings before. He had only ever fused with a hostility-level one, which was the weakest level. But he gathered the fusion method should be the same.


    "Do you like this?" Decker asked the hedgehog, summoning up all his courage.


    Cary rubbed against the glazed sheet and nodded.


    "Then you can integrate yourself into it,"


    Decker encouraged.


    He offered the glazed sheet carefully, luring Cary into it.


    The Treacherous Beings were quite special.


    They could be solid enough to resist any attack, but they could also turn into the softest form in the world, compressing themselves into the size of a palm.


    Cary purred.


    He was quite obedient.


    His body turned liquid-like and quickly flowed into the glazed sheet.

 Chapter 4076 No Way Back

    "Wait. What just happened?"


    The Glede Demons standing on the edge of the Ghost Altar were utterly dumbfounded. They couldn''t believe their own eyes.


    Bacchus personally handpicked these Glede Demons to join the team. They were regarded as the elites of their race.


    Over the past couple of years, all of them had the opportunity of going onto the Ghost Altar. In fact, they had been there several times already. However, all attempts proved to be unsuccessful.


    Bacchus stood on the edge of the Ghost Altar with his eyes wide in shock. His entire body was trembling. This was unbelievable!


    He had a difficult time processing what he had just witnessed.


    It was absolutely surreal!


    All of the Great Ghost Priests had rejected Decker. Naturally, they didn''t quite expect that the hatred-level Treacherous Being would be willing to fuse with Decker''s Arcana.


    This was preposterous!


    Never in the history of Night View Island had this kind of thing occurred. They originally deemed it impossible.


    Bacchus was keenly observing the reactions of the Great Ghost Priests. He noticed that they were undeniably flabbergasted as well. The complication must have originated from the Treacherous Being.


    At that very moment, he felt a sudden desire to take this hatred-level Treacherous Being away.


    Based on his observation, the Treacherous Being had become attracted to only the Arcana. Surely, he wouldn''t be interested in a good-for-nothing like Decker.


    But in the end, Bacchus managed to suppress the strong urge to do so. He just kept monitoring the situation and stayed silent.


    He knew that if he enraged the Treacherous Being, he would probably die a horrific and miserable death. He didn''t dare to take the risk.


    In the meantime, all he could do was watch the large hedgehog as he merged with the glazed sheet. Soon after, Decker closed it.


    "Is that... Is that it? Is it done?" Fuxi asked aloud while staring wide-eyed at the glazed sheet.


    As a matter of fact, this was the actual way of fusing with resentment-level and hatred-level Treacherous Beings.


    The Arcana could easily be used to lure the Treacherous Beings. As long as one could do it, fusing with them would be possible.


    Needless to say, this would only be the first step.


    If they wanted the Treacherous Beings to have fighting power and stick with them through life and death, they first had to train these creatures for a long period of time.


    "Does this mean... Does this Treacherous Being belong to me now?" Decker looked around and sought answer from the ones present.


    However, no one answered him. The twelve Great Ghost Priests were still completely stunned.


    Out of the blue, one of the Great Ghost Priests shouted. He had a sudden recollection of something he saw before. "I remember now! I know I have seen that hedgehog somewhere before! That is the Ghost Master''s pet! Do you remember? Think hard!"


    "You''re right! It''s Cary! That hedgehog is Cary!"


    "That really is the G


    f they went back now, they would definitely encounter the Eye Spirit and his people. They would walk into a dead end.


    "Sirs, I implore you," Zen said in a loud voice while cupping his hands. "We have traveled long to look for the humans in the Ghost Mountain. Can you please help me notify them?"


    Almost simultaneously, all of the Great Ghost Priests focused their attention on Zen.


    In fact, they had already been secretly paying attention to him as soon as they appeared.


    They were instantly able to sense a strange and powerful aura from him.


    Each of them thought that if Zen were to stand on the Ghost Altar, they would be very happy to let him pass and become a Great Ghost Priest.


    However, Zen''s identity would be the biggest obstacle. He was a human.


    These Great Ghost Priests were on bad terms with the human race. They had poor relationships with them for a long time.


    Bainbridge sneered as he heard Zen''s plea, "Oh, those humans are so lofty and illustrious. There''s no way ordinary creatures like us can talk to them." It was apparent that his voice dripped with sarcasm.


    The other Great Ghost Priests laughed derisively. They obviously hated the human race very much.


    Just as the Great Ghost Priests were about to enter the space channels, the door was pushed open once more.


    The door was opened by a suit of armor.


    Floating right next to it was an eyeball and an extremely beautiful woman.


    The members of the Red Demon race and the Grand Mighty race were standing behind them.


    The woman was Claire. She looked enchantingly at Zen. "I have originally taken a liking to a resentment-level Treacherous Being. But since I knew you were waiting here, I came here first."


    As soon as Zen and his companions realized that it was Claire and the others, they quickly retreated to the other side of the Ghost Altar.


    He didn''t expect to be put into the most troublesome situation at the most inconvenient time. Nothing was certainly going as planned.

 Chapter 4077 Cyan Skin

    The Element Spirit Civilization''s sudden arrival only served to increase the tension on the Ghost Altar.


    Tate simply shot Bacchus a smug look.


    There was no need for word. A single look was all it took for him to say all that he needed to say.


    ''Since you chose the wrong side then this shall be your end...''


    Bacchus knew the possible consequences of his actions but that did not mean that he regretted it. He continued to look at Tate straight in the eye. If this was the end, then he would go down fighting.


    For him, he never chose the wrong side but just ran out of choices.


    Back when Sanderson, Townsend, and Chauncey came to the Night View Island, they immediately chose the Red Demon race as allies and instigated them to kill off the Glede Demon race.


    If it were not for Zen and his group, then the entire Glede Demon race would''ve been exterminated by now.


    Since their accidental saviours were forced into a dead end, the best way that the Glede Demon race could repay them was to stay and fight until the end.


    Claire''s eyes sparkled with excitement as she looked at the scene in front of her.


    "We chased all the way from the Grand Pure Realm and finally it came to an end..."


    She had no animosity with Zen and his group even if she suffered defeat by their hands.


    The reason why she was so excited was because she had failed so many times before yet now, victory was so close that she could almost taste it.


    Claire felt like a fisherman stuck out at sea but unable to catch the elusive fishes needed to come back to shore.


    But now, the fishes she so desperately sought for finally got tangled in her net. It was now time to haul them all in.


    As soon as she finished speaking, a crack suddenly appeared on her right shoulder.


    In the crack where her flesh should''ve been, there was only flames. It was like the cracked surface of a volcano where molten magma raged on.


    From within this fiery crack rose a small, white dragon.


    Despite looking so small and ordinary, this dragon actually contained a strange and powerful aura.


    "Grrr..."


    It circled Claire once before facing off against Zen and his group.


    Claire reached out to touch her dragon''s body and the formerly white scales promptly turned into red, set ablaze by her aura!


    She knew of the fact that Zen had Holy Stones and could use the Light of Annihilation so she quickly took the necessary measures. This little dragon with its red, scaled armor would now be able to face-off against these humans with no problems.


    "Kill them all," she ordered in a cold voice.


    Yes, she harbored them no hatred but she did remember how Zen refused her kind offer several times before. Perhaps there was a part within her that felt just a bit bitter about that.


    Since he was so ungrateful, then he could only meet his end this way.


    "Grrr!"


    The dragon roared and


    ke a cicada in cold weather after they had entered the Ghost Mountain. There was no way they would dare break any rules here.


    They didn''t even dare to speak loudly, let alone fight at the Ghost Altar.


    Of course, the validity of this rule was still in question.


    In truth, these Great Ghost Priests hated humans especially Fuxi, the Snake Goddess, and Eastern Emperor Taiyi since they had the same appearance as the humans in the Ghost Mountain.


    If anything, they would be very happy to see these troublemakers die.


    The reason why they did not leave was because they personally wanted to see these humans die by the hands of these other fellows and send the news to the humans in the Ghost Mountain.


    However, even if a huge chunk of Great Ghost Priests hated humans, a small portion was in favor of them.


    This cyan-skinned Great Ghost Priest was actually one of them.


    He was from the Jade Scale race and was a senior among the Great Ghost Priests.


    "Ha-ha..."


    Claire couldn''t believe that this Great Ghost Priest actually expected her to listen. Despite his warning, she simply redirected the little dragon so that it would be able to swallow Zen.


    It was quite a big mistake. "Boom!"


    The huge finger pressed itself onto the little dragon''s neck and nailed it onto the Ghost Altar.


    Claire simply looked on as the cyan-skinned Great Ghost Priest glared at her coldly.


    Throughout the Night View Island''s history, anybody who ever dared to go against a Great Ghost Priest ended up dead.


    As the finger held down the little dragon, it struggled desperately in the Ghost Altar and the fire scales that covered its body began to break under the immense pressure.


    There was no change in Claire''s expression, meanwhile, the Eye Spirit decided to move.


    "Sir, I think this would interest you very much."


    As soon as he finished speaking, a wolf tooth began to emerge from the eyeball.

 Chapter 4078 Deckers Courage

    The cyan-skinned Great Ghost Priest had already planned to kill Claire.


    However, a chill ran down his spine, and his body violently trembled when he saw the wolf tooth that the Eye Spirit showed him.


    Meanwhile, the other eleven Great Ghost Priests just watched everything for fun. However, they too got surprised when they saw the wolf tooth as well.


    The creatures in the Night View Island had seen the necklace of wolf teeth in their minds.


    There were very powerful fluctuations in the Night View Island every two hundred days and nights, even if they did not use their spiritual senses. On that day, no one could go out because the necklace of wolf teeth appeared in everyone''s mind. That day was a day full of pain for all the creatures in the Night View Island.


    Many legends about the wolf teeth had spread across the Night View Island.


    It was said that they were the teeth of the master of Ghost Mountain.


    Those ten teeth chewed up anyone who died into pieces.


    Some creatures saw them as totems and worshipped them. After they captured their prey, they pulled out all their teeth and fashioned them into the shape of wolf teeth, then embedded them on tall totems.


    As for the wolf teeth''s real origin story, the people outside the Ghost Mountain did not know about it, unlike the Great Ghost Priests in the Ghost Mountain.


    Their life''s significance rested on those ten wolf teeth. They were their tasks and the Ghost Master''s obsession.


    Now, the reason the Ghost Master hadn''t woken up yet was that he had lost these wolf teeth.


    His obsession was to find his greatest magic treasure, the Thirteen Teeth Necklace.


    As its name suggested, it was a necklace inlaid with thirteen wolf teeth.


    However, the Thirteen Teeth Necklace had long been missing, and now, only three real teeth remained in the Ghost Mountain.


    After the creatures in the Night View Island fused with the hatred-level Treacherous Beings, they were led into a special hall. In the center of the hall was a wolf tooth.


    The Great Ghost Priests had to remember the aura of this wolf tooth, then find the other teeth.


    It was an order from the Ghost Master.


    Of course, the Ghost Master hadn''t awakened and was still in a dead sleep.


    Yet, he instinctively began to collect the wolf teeth!


    And his strategy was correct.


    The Ghost Mountain was known for its richness in resources.


    With the Ghost Mountain''s support, the Great Ghost Priests who fused with the hatred-level Treacherous Beings could search the Three Purities Stage and


    st Mountain would decline.


    At that moment, the cyan-skinned Great Ghost Priest brought the wolf tooth back to the space channel.


    Five more Great Ghost Priests also entered the space channels, including Bainbridge, who had taken Decker away.


    The rest of the six Great Ghost Priests stayed above the Ghost Altar.


    The wolf teeth were highly valuable. Thus, they had to watch over these members of the Element Spirit Civilization.


    The space channels in the Ghost Mountain were not that long.


    Bainbridge carried Decker in his hand. After they passed through the space channel, he entered the third floor of the Ghost Mountain.


    There was a dark passage on the third floor.


    The other Great Ghost Priests moved forward at immensely fast speed while Bainbridge took Decker to another road.


    At that point, Decker regretted everything.


    He estimated that he might not be able to get out of the Ghost Mountain alive.


    However, the members of the Wooden Leaf race never dared to attempt or even imagine to fuse with a hatred-level Treacherous Being.


    As he thought of it, he suddenly felt a sense of satisfaction.


    It was worth dying this way. He felt grateful to Zen.


    Just as he further drowned in his thoughts, a figure flashed not far away.


    It was a human.


    A human Great Ghost Priest!


    He felt his heart get caught in his throat.


    He, who was timid by nature, suddenly dared to glance stealthily at Bainbridge.


    Bainbridge, who was unaware of what happened, continued to move forward.


    Without any hesitation, Decker shouted at the human Great Ghost Priest with all his might.


    "Human Great Ghost Priest, some humans are looking for you on the Ghost Altar!"

 Chapter 4079 The Human Great Ghost Priest

    Upon hearing Decker''s words, the human Great Ghost Priest abruptly stopped in his tracks.


    He was a bit confused.


    Some humans were looking for them on the Ghost Altar?


    Aside from him and his companions, there were no other human beings on the Night View Island. How could any appear on the Ghost Altar?


    On the other hand, Bainbridge did not expect that Decker would be so bold.


    "Shut up!"


    He suddenly gathered his strength and squeezed Decker''s neck. Decker choked and flushed a deep red, unable to say a word.


    "Wait a minute, Bainbridge." The human Great Ghost Priest followed up out of curiosity.


    In turn, Bainbridge''s face darkened when he saw the human Great Ghost Priest chase after him, and he quickened his pace.


    When the human Great Ghost Priest saw Bainbridge''s reaction, his suspicion deepened.


    He took a step forward.


    Then, his figure suddenly froze in place.


    Another copy of his figure appeared right in front of Bainbridge, and his first figure that he left behind slowly disappeared.


    "Bainbridge, why are you in such a hurry?" the human Great Ghost Priest asked.


    "It''s none of your business!" Bainbridge hissed. Meanwhile, Decker kept struggling out of his grip.


    "Mmmmph... uhh..."


    He desperately tried to make a sound.


    However, Bainbridge''s hand tightly gripped his neck like an iron clamp. Therefore, he could not speak at all.


    "But I heard him say that there are human beings on the Ghost Altar," said the human Great Ghost Priest.


    "You misheard him," Bainbridge answered gruffly.


    "It does not matter if I misheard him or not. I want to hear him say those words again," the human Great Ghost Priest said seriously.


    Bainbridge''s nostrils flared in anger. "Are you making things difficult for me?"


    "Yes, so what?" the Great Ghost Priest retorted.


    When Bainbridge heard those words, he became even more furious.


    Thanks to the Primeval Lord of Heaven, the human beings enjoyed a high status in the Ghost Mountain and received excellent treatment.


    The main point was that these humans were still quite powerful. Since Bainbridge couldn''t defeat them, he had to let go of Decker now.


    He hesitated for a moment with a long face, as if he had thought of something. Then, he threw Decker on the ground and said, "Let''s see how long you can act arrogantly!"


    The reason these humans had an extraordinary status in the Ghost Mountain was because the Monkey Spirit Sect pinned their hopes of awakening on them.


    But the Elemen


    Suddenly, a wisp of cyan smoke rose from one of the porcelain bottles, and a needle-like flame drilled out of the bottle''s mouth. Then, the porcelain bottle broke into pieces.


    "What?"


    He almost thought that he had misheard Emperor Charm.


    In return, Emperor Charm quickly repeated his words.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven was considerably shocked. After a few seconds, he said, "Ask Zhurong and Chiyou to go with us!"


    The four human warriors who served as Great Ghost Priests were Zhurong, Emperor Charm, the Primeval Lord of Heaven, and Chiyou.


    At that point, it was like a thick cloud of misery floated in the air.


    The Eye Spirit seemed to be asleep and stayed still.


    As for Claire, she glanced wickedly at Zen and said, "I''m not happy to let you live a little longer."


    "Even if you are unhappy, you have to endure it," Fuxi shot back coldly.


    After all, they were now in a pretty bad situation, so he and the others naturally felt anxious.


    A cold smile graced Claire''s face. Then she suddenly looked up at the Great Ghost Priests and asked, "May I kill a few people first?"


    "Go ahead." A Great Ghost Priest waved his hand.


    These people''s lives had nothing to do with the Great Ghost Priests. They only stayed to guard the Eye Spirit and his group.


    "Good!"


    With a cruel grin, Claire gently waved her hand, and the little white dragon that was inside her body came out again.


    A layer of flame scales coated its body as flames rose from its skin. Then, it moved towards Zen.


    At that moment, a voice came from the space channel.


    "Stop!"


    Finally, the four human Great Ghost Priests came out of the transmission channel.

 Chapter 4080 Disadvantage

    When Zen and the rest looked up, their eyes fell on the four human Great Ghost Priests.


    At this very moment, the Snake Goddess, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, and Fuxi were far more nervous than the others.


    While they had only seen the energy souls of their real selves in the past, at this moment, they had the chance to actually see their real selves in full.


    Had their real selves already merged with the hatred-level Treacherous Beings?


    Had they become Great Ghost Priests?


    Although they looked up with this anticipation, they were disappointed by what they saw.


    They saw Emperor Charm and Chiyou, but the real Fuxi, the real Snake Goddess, and the real Eastern Emperor Taiyi were all absent.


    Meanwhile, Zen had something different in mind.


    Cupping his hands, he greeted with respect, "Good to see you, Primeval Lord of Heaven!"


    The real Primeval Lord of Heaven merely nodded nonchalantly at Zen in return.


    While Zen and the others sized up the Great Ghost Priests, the latter observed them closely as well.


    Fuxi, the Snake Goddess, and Eastern Emperor Taiyi were all familiar faces to the Primeval Lord of Heaven ¡ª Zen was the only unfamiliar face.


    Initially, he surmised that the group before him must have reached this point to enter the Night View Island under Fuxi and the Snake Goddess'' leadership. He knew Fuxi had excellent talent and was a natural leader, while the Snake Goddess possessed extraordinary intelligence and could easily serve as a capable assistant.


    But looking everyone up and down, the Primeval Lord of Heaven could sense something unknown yet unique from Zen in particular.


    His body seemed to have a mixed aura of bloodlines.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven had spent countless years studying the bloodline powers, trying to merge them.


    His sensitivity to the bloodlines of Eternal Realm warriors had surpassed anyone else''s.


    Recognizing the mixed aura of bloodlines in Zen''s body, the Primeval Lord of Heaven quickly reached a conclusion. ''Perhaps this person fused with an origin-level bloodline?'' he thought.


    If such was the case¡­


    Then this person''s bloodline would be just enough to serve as one of the wolf teeth.


    "Are you Zen?" asked the Primeval Lord of Heaven.


    Earlier, when Decker reported to Emperor Charm, he had mentioned a new name to them.


    A total of five humans had arrived. Apart from Yasamin, the old lady with greying hair, and the three familiar faces who were replicas of their real selves, the young man must be Zen from the earlier report, the Primeval Lord of Heaven figured.


    "Yes, I am," Zen nodded.


    "Okay, come up to me now."


    He had been living in the Ghost Mountain for many years. While he wasn''t as superior as the monkeys, they still needed his help, and had to show utmost respect for h


    ey Masters manage to gather all the wolf teeth, I think the humans can finally stop their absurd attempts. They''ve tried for so long but to no avail. What a joke!"


    "Exactly!"


    As they taunted the humans, the six of them burst into laughter.


    Normally, they''d never have even dared to treat humans as such. But now, things were different. The passageway that led outside had finally been repaired, and the wolf teeth brought by the Eye Spirit were likely to be genuine.


    Even if the Eye Spirit''s wolf teeth were fake, they''d be able to go and search for the lost objects themselves.


    After all the time spent shamefully bowing before the humans, they could finally vent their discontent.


    "If we wake the Ghost Master now, we''ll take all humans'' lives. Would you agree to that?" Claire demanded, pointing at both Zen''s and the Primeval Lord of Heaven''s groups.


    "I believe that the Monkey Masters will agree to your small request," Washburn nodded with a smile.


    When the humans heard their conversation, their expressions instantly darkened.


    It was obvious that the Eye Spirit had been well prepared before he came to this place.


    While the Primeval Lord of Heaven had already fused with a hatred-level Treacherous Being, he still didn''t dare underestimate the Eye Spirit.


    Still, never did he expect the Eye Spirit to bring the wolf teeth to the Ghost Mountain.


    He was well aware that the situation was just as Washburn had said.


    The Monkey Masters bestowed a special status upon the humans in the hopes that the Primeval Lord of Heaven would manage to wake the Ghost Master, otherwise known as the Monkey Spirit King.


    But if the Eye Spirit awakened the Monkey Spirit King with the wolf teeth, the humans would undoubtedly become dispensable to the Monkey Masters.


    In such a case, the humans'' value to them would shrink to nothing.

 Chapter 4081 Verify

    "Small request?"


    The malicious aura emanating from Emperor Charm grew more intense.


    The Treacherous Beings could not be killed, but the creatures that fused with them could.


    Emperor Charm slowly raised his arms. Something slowly jutted out from them.


    They were two spikes formed by the Treacherous Being he fused with.


    "I also have a small request: disappear from the Ghost Mountain," Emperor Charm said with a snarl.


    Washburn felt his heart sink with dread. "You have the audacity?"


    If one wanted to stage a battle in the Ghost Mountain, they had to make a request to the Monkey Masters first.


    Anyone who broke such rules and acted without permission here would be punished.


    "Emperor Charm, if you attack in the Ghost Altar, the Monkey Masters will not let you go!"


    "You will receive the harshest punishment from the Ghost Mountain!"


    "Don''t you dare!"


    The other five Great Ghost Priests warned.


    Emperor Charm didn''t budge.


    His eyes were flashing like two golden suns now.


    The aura of the hatred-level Treacherous Being poured out of him in waves.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven finally stepped forward and placed his hand on Emperor Charm''s shoulder. "Stop."


    "Why? Are you scared of them?" Emperor Charm scoffed.


    For many years, the human race always had a say in the Ghost Mountain.


    The Great Ghost Priests of other races could only comply with their tails tucked between their legs.


    But now that the Element Spirit Civilization was here, they suddenly turned their noses up at humans. Emperor Charm couldn''t bear the disrespect.


    "Of course not. But if we act out of turn, we''d just be putting ourselves in trouble," the Primeval Lord of Heaven reminded gently.


    Human heroes held the Primeval Lord of Heaven in high esteem. His words carried weight.


    With his persuasion, Emperor Charm suppressed his anger and stepped aside.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven turned his attention on Washburn.


    Washburn and the Great Ghost Priests of other races actually mattered little to him.


    He appraised the Eye Spirit coolly. "Wonderful of you to bring the wolf teeth to the Night View Island. It seems you know a lot about the Ghost Mountain."


    The Eye Spirit remained silent.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven cont


    But when their eyes fell on the wolf tooth, they, too, were shocked awake and started chattering among themselves.


    "A wolf tooth?"


    "Where did you get it?"


    "Are there others?"


    The first Monkey Master turned back to the cyan-skinned Great Ghost Priest. "Where did this come from?"


    "Some people brought it here," the cyan-skinned Great Ghost Priest reported. "They come from the world outside the Night View Island."


    "They only have this one?" asked the Monkey Master.


    The cyan-skinned Great Ghost Priest thought for a moment. "There could be more. Based on what they''ve said so far, it seems they are in possession of others."


    The Eye Spirit, after all, seemed quite certain the Ghost Master could be awakened.


    Moreover, he handed over the wolf tooth readily, which implied it wasn''t his only one.


    The Monkey Masters on both sides of the passageway started buzzing in excitement.


    "I''ll verify if this is real first."


    The first Monkey Master brought the wolf tooth into the huge innermost door.


    Through the crack in the door, the cyan-skinned Great Ghost Priest spotted a huge foot. He surmised it must belong to the Ghost Master.


    The ordinary Great Ghost Priests had never seen the Ghost Master with their own eyes before.


    Among them, only the Primeval Lord of Heaven had.


    After a few moments, the Monkey Master came back, his face looking grave.


    In a trembling voice, he pronounced, "This wolf tooth is the real thing! Quickly! Take me to those who brought it!"

 Chapter 4082 Conditions

    "I''ll go with you!"


    "Me, too!"


    "Manuel, please take me with you!"


    The Monkey Masters were speaking over each other now, scrambling for the chance to accompany Manuel.


    Manuel was the leader of the Monkey Masters.


    Manuel''s eyes scanned the throng quickly. "Tearrag, Hagar, and Nereus. The three of you, come with me!"


    Now that some people had brought wolf teeth here to the Ghost Mountain, there was no need to worry about any of them escaping.


    The Monkey Masters were all indispensable core members of the Monkey Spirit Sect. Even if they became Treacherous Beings, they would be extremely powerful after they were awakened.


    As the cyan-skinned Great Ghost Priest led the way back to the Ghost Altar, he felt dread creep into his heart.


    He was a Great Ghost Priest on the side of the human race.


    He had been worried on his way to deliver the wolf tooth.


    If the wolf tooth was real, it wouldn''t be good for the humans at the Ghost Altar right now.


    Now that that was the case, those humans were definitely in danger.


    The cyan-skinned Great Ghost Priest and the four Monkey Masters arrived at the space channel shortly. With a small bow, the Great Ghost Priest gestured respectfully for the Monkey Masters to go through first. "After you."


    Manuel swaggered into the space channel.


    In an instant, he reappeared at an entrance above the Ghost Altar.


    "A Treacherous Being?"


    Zen and the others looked up and stared at Manuel as he stepped into view.


    Manuel wasn''t actively emanating any aura.


    But his mere presence inspired awe.


    Zen hadn''t experienced this feeling for a long time, not even with the Eye Spirit.


    Was this Treacherous Being a hatred-level one? How powerful was he?


    "Greetings, Master Manuel!"


    the Primeval Lord of Heaven spoke up, respectfully.


    Although the Ghost Mountain belonged to the Ghost Master, he hadn''t awoken yet.


    The Ghost Mountain was under the control of these Monkey Masters. Among them, Manuel enjoyed the highest status. He was thus, at that moment, the de facto controller of the Ghost Mountain.


    Manuel nodded to the Primeval Lord of Heaven in acknowledgement.


    He ignored the other Great Ghost Priests completely.


    The Great Ghost Priests were powerful and majestic beings in the eyes of Bacchus and the other warriors from many races.


    But in the eyes of the Monkey Masters, they were merely a group of slave


    on.


    It had always been the Monkey Masters'' sworn duty to awaken the Monkey Spirit King.


    Manuel was the one that the Monkey Spirit King trusted the most and his long-cherished wish was to wake up the Monkey Spirit King himself.


    As Manuel remained silent, the Eye Spirit continued. "Great Ape King, it''s our common goal to awaken the Monkey Spirit King. As long as he wakes up, everything will work out fine, wouldn''t it?"


    Manuel nodded. "Yes. You are correct."


    This meant that Manuel had accepted the Eye Spirit''s two conditions.


    "So the lives of these people are at our disposal now?" Claire said, sneering menacingly.


    The humans in the Ghost Mountain right now were facing imminent doom. Even if they had four Great Ghost Priests on their side, they stood no chance.


    Before Manuel could answer, the Primeval Lord of Heaven piped up. "Master Manuel, the necklace of wolf teeth may not necessarily be the Ghost Master''s obsession. Perhaps you should decide on this after the Ghost Master awakens."


    Manuel paused to think it over.


    "That''s right. Please wake up the Ghost Master first. Then you could do whatever you like with these humans," he told the Eye Spirit.


    Perhaps he could still use the Primeval Lord of Heaven, after all.


    If the Thirteen Teeth Necklace failed to work, at least the Primeval Lord of Heaven would still be there to help figure things out.


    If Manuel sent him to his death now, there was no undoing that.


    "Great Ape King..."


    Before Claire could argue, the Eye Spirit broke in, "That''s fine with us. Very well, then. Let''s do as you suggest."

 Chapter 4083 Return The Energy Souls

    Having dealt with the Snake Spirit Sect for so many years, the Eye Spirit knew very well the kind of temperament the Snake Masters had. And it was nothing good.


    These powerful warriors were known to be capricious and tyrannical.


    In front of any creatures of chaos, they always maintained an innate sense of superiority.


    It was not impossible to negotiate terms with them, but that happened only when they themselves needed something rather urgently.


    To be honest, even the monkeys were not much different from those snakes at this point...


    Even if they were determined to get the wolf teeth, that didn''t mean that the Element Spirit race could ask for anything in return, which was why the Eye Spirit had interrupted Claire.


    Manuel turned his head and glanced at the Primeval Lord of Heaven. He then commanded in a curt tone, "Take the humans on the Ghost Altar to the eastern region. All the humans will not be allowed to go out during this period of time!"


    The eastern region was the territory of the human race in the Ghost Mountain.


    The guy had basically imprisoned all the humans just with a single sentence.


    "Master Manuel..."


    Emperor Charm was about to say something, but the Primeval Lord of Heaven coughed and interrupted him. He agreed instantly, "Yes, sir!"


    Then he told Fuxi, the Snake Goddess and the others, "You guys, come on up!"


    Zen, the Snake Goddess, Fuxi, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, Yasmin, as well as Campbell, who was at the moment, in the form of a Treacherous Being, leaped up and stood beside the Primeval Lord of Heaven.


    And when King Ieuan, the three Eternal Realm Hunters flew up to follow them as well, a powerful force came crashing down on them.


    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Four muffled thuds were also heard after the large bang.


    The four of them had been smashed down hard on the Ghost Altar.


    And the smashing force was nothing small. After the dust had settled, King Ieuan tried to get up from the ground, but its legs seemed weak and it merely lay on the ground. Blood was gurgling out from the corner of its mouth.


    The three Eternal Realm Hunters were also in a similar situation.


    In fact, several of Thurston''s and Sawyer''s bones had been broken, and they could hardly even try to stand up. Only Pearson was in an okay-ish shape.


    Looking around, they discovered it was Manuel who had slapped them down.


    The he scolded with a harsh roar, "Just who the hell do you think you are? You are not even Great Ghost Priests, and you want to enter the third floor? I don''t think so!"


    In the eyes of the Monkey Masters, the Great Ghost Priests were nothing more than a group of slaves. Their sole job was to obey orders.


    As for warriors from the many races of the Other Shore, they were nothing but a group of walking corpses to the Monkey Masters.


    In retrospect, Manuel had spared their lives only because he didn''t care enough to kill them.


    Otherwise, if he had used just a little bit mo


    nd it was even more difficult to find a way into the Night View Island. In fact, the real Snake Goddess had always considered it to be impossible.


    The other human heroes also looked at them in surprise.


    At that time, Zen, who was standing next to the Primeval Lord of Heaven, spoke up, "It''s a long story. The answer lies in the memories of the energy souls that you placed in the Creation Myth Temple."


    After he finished speaking, energy souls of those human heroes emerged from the top of his head one after another.


    When they saw their energy souls, their jaws dropped in shock...


    The Snake Goddess was the first one to ask, "Did you go to the Creation Myth Temple? That book... "


    "I have already carried it," Zen piped in.


    Whoever carried the Civilization Artifact of the human race could be considered as their leader. This was a rule they had decided to follow since a long time ago and it was still binding.


    The real Snake Goddess nodded. She didn''t utter a word. Instead, she just waited for her energy soul to rush into her mind and began to merge with the memories of the energy soul...


    From Stage Seventeen till now, every single memory was drilled into the minds of the real human heroes.


    Through that assimilation process, they came to know Zen''s name, the situation of the Source World, the reason why the passageway to the Night View Island was repaired, and the unfathomable ancestry-level bloodline in Zen''s body!


    The moment the real Snake Goddess found out about the ancestry-level bloodline, she suddenly opened her eyes. She was so shocked that her face turned pale as her gaze turned towards the real Primeval Lord of Heaven.


    However, the latter didn''t say anything. Instead, he merely smiled at her in response.


    Just now, he had merged with the memories of his energy soul, and he had had the same expression as the real Snake Goddess. In fact, his expressions had been much more exaggerated than the real Snake Goddess''s.

 Chapter 4084 A Sign Of Awakening

    When they first reached the Eternal Realm, the Snake Goddess and the Primeval Lord of Heaven already speculated that


    aside from the bloodlines in the outer and inner circles of the Eternal Scroll Painting, there should be even more powerful bloodlines that existed.


    However, they did not know what kinds of bloodlines there were above the inner circles'' bloodlines. After all, no one had ever studied it.


    During their imprisonment in the Night View Island, four of them became the Great Ghost Priests and after they cleared many things with the Monkey Masters, they no longer felt that confused.


    After all, they now knew that the bloodlines in the inner circles were called the root-level bloodlines, and above the root-level bloodlines were the origin-level bloodlines, which were four blended bloodlines.


    In addition to the four bloodlines, the masters in the main world had also merged with many unique bloodlines.


    For instance, the Monkey Spirit King had fused with thirteen types of bloodlines and was one of the most prominent creatures.


    Since he had gotten to blend those bloodlines, then it meant that the Primeval Lord of Heaven could also do the same. Thus, he decided to give it a try, and only then did the human race have a safe place to settle down in the Ghost Mountain.


    Still, putting aside the difficulty to blend the bloodlines, he also knew well that the chances of awakening the Monkey Spirit King through such a method were very slim.


    There were many types of bloodlines in the Eternal Scroll Painting alone. According to the information from the Monkey Masters, there were also even more bloodlines in the main world.


    It was much harder to form the thirteen bloodlines that the Monkey Spirit King had, through the permutation and combination of numerous bloodlines.


    What made things worse was that the Primeval Lord of Heaven only had thirty-nine kinds of bloodlines in his hands. He could not use such a small number of bloodlines to create something that met the requirements of the Monkey Spirit King.


    To everyone''s surprise, though, he succeeded in blending the bloodlines for the first time, which slightly moved the sleeping Monkey Spirit King. Only then did the Monkey Masters allow him to keep trying out, and he finally felt a glimmer of hope.


    However, just after he fused with his energy soul, he learned the damning truth.


    In general, the ancestry-level bloodline had a total of four quadrants and three hundred and seventy-three abilities.


    When he read the energy soul''s memory, he became shocked and distressed.


    It turn


    way to the Night View Island, and he was the best gift given to the human race. Unfortunately, the Element Spirit Civilization was like a ghost that chased after them all the time, which always made them feel stressed and worried.


    Now, they could only wish that the Element Spirit Civilization would fail.


    Just then, Manuel pushed open the large door and led the Eye Spirit in.


    When the Eye Spirit entered, his eyeball contracted sharply.


    Behind the large door was a massive throne, where a mountain-like creature sat.


    It was the Monkey Spirit King, Orlando.


    He was one of the strongest sect leaders of the Four Spirits Sect.


    Even if there were hostility-level, resentment-level, and hatred-level Treacherous Beings, all the Monkey Masters were greater than all of them.


    And the Monkey Spirit King outranked them all.


    The Monkey Spirit King was also a Treacherous Being, but he looked like he did not have a lot of the Treacherous Being''s features. Instead, he looked like an immensely powerful physical body.


    The Monkey Spirit King sat on the enormous throne as if he had fallen asleep, with his big, ferocious head tilted to the side and his eyes tightly closed.


    The Eye Spirit could hardly imagine what kind of light and horrible pressure the Monkey Spirit King''s eyes would release when he woke up him.


    Manuel stretched out his hand.


    Four wolf teeth had appeared in his palm.


    There were already three wolf teeth in the Ghost Mountain, and plus the one that the Eye Spirit gave to the cyan-skinned Great Ghost Priest, there were four wolf teeth in total.


    As soon as Manuel displayed the four wolf teeth in front, Orlando slightly moved on the throne. It was a sign of his awakening.

 Chapter 4085 The Thirteen Teeth Necklace

    This kind of movement was not rare among Treacherous Beings.


    All of them¡ªeven hostility-level and resentment-level ones¡ªwere capable of acting strangely at certain times. This habit made them difficult to control.


    Manuel had come here several times to attempt to awaken the Monkey Spirit King with three wolf teeth. But after repeated failures, he had decided to give it up.


    Now, however, Manuel saw an opportunity. He looked eagerly at the Eye Spirit, hoping he would be able to take out the nine remaining wolf teeth.


    The Eye Spirit did not move. Four wolf teeth hovered in front of him, slowly rotating in midair, but he did not hand the rest over.


    Several moments passed. Finally, Manuel became anxious at the wait. He said urgently, "Where are the nine remaining wolf teeth?"


    "I can''t give them to you now," the Eye Spirit replied calmly.


    "Why not?" Manuel asked. His voice was very cold.


    He didn''t have the patience to wait any longer.


    After all, the Monkey Masters considered it humiliating to ask the help of the creatures from the chaos.


    "By the order of Master Sewell," answered the Eye Spirit. "He said that you must leave here before he hands over the remaining wolf teeth."


    Manuel scowled. So it was Sewell.


    He was one of the strongest Snake Masters in the Snake Spirit Sect.


    Indeed, he had a status similar to Manuel''s in the Snake Spirit Sect.


    Manuel was familiar with Sewell''s power and status.


    "Did that snake say that?" Manuel demanded.


    "I am not lying to you," said the Eye Spirit. "The fact is that I work for Master Sewell, and only he has the ability to take out the nine remaining wolf teeth."


    Manuel stared grimly at the Eye Spirit and asked, "Do you have his coordinates?"


    "Yes."


    "Contact him and tell him I want to see him," Manuel ordered, not bothering to be polite.


    The Eye Spirit was unmoved. "Master Sewell does not want to see you. That''s one of the necessary conditions to wake up the Monkey Spirit King."


    Although the Eye Spirit had seemed very weak before, he was acting aggressive now. Facing Manuel alone, he was stern and unyielding.


    Now that he had mentioned Sewell, it was clear he had no intention of giving way.


    A hint of cautious hesitation rose in Manuel''s eyes.


    Even if the Monkey Spirit King hadn''t awakened, he was not to be trifled with.


    If the Eye Spirit and his companions dared to play any tricks, they would be courting death.


    With thirteen wolf teeth, the Ghost Master would be resurrect


    ething out of his mouth.


    Three strands of venom shot out, long and gleaming, like sharp arrows.


    Each strand had a different color. One was dark red, another was pitch black, and the third was colored a vibrant green.


    The strands of venom were thick and dense. As soon as Sewell spat them out, they began solidifying into three slender ropes.


    The rope strands intertwined with one another, their pointed ends aimed towards the wolf teeth. As the braided strand drilled through the small holes in the wolf teeth, stringing them together, it formed a complete Thirteen Teeth Necklace.


    Sewell opened his jaws and took the Thirteen Teeth Necklace gently in his fangs. He slithered towards the Monkey Spirit King.


    In the normal course of things, no one dared to approach the Monkey Spirit King unless directly ordered to do so, or they would get trampled to death.


    Even before he had awoken, no one could avoid his kicks, and so they left him alone.


    However, the Monkey Spirit King was still slightly dazed and confused, and he allowed Sewell to approach unharmed.


    The Monkey Spirit King was not inclined to attack Sewell when he was holding the precious Thirteen Teeth Necklace in his mouth.


    The only sound in the space was of Sewell moving closer and closer.


    He reached the body of the Monkey Spirit King and began twining his snake form around him.


    Eventually he reached the shoulder of the Monkey Spirit King. He flicked his head and released the Thirteen Teeth Necklace, throwing it high into the air.


    The necklace rapidly expanded in midair. It soared upwards, increasing in size, then fell down around the neck of the Monkey Spirit King.

 Chapter 4086 A Dream

    The instant the Thirteen Teeth Necklace draped around his neck, the Monkey Spirit King, who had been restless, suddenly became serene.


    His originally cloudy eyes gradually turned clear, and they filled with great wisdom.


    Whoosh!


    Sewell quickly slid down from the shoulder of the Monkey Spirit King.


    "Master Sewell, does this mean the Monkey Spirit King has awakened now?" the Eye Spirit asked worriedly.


    Anyone, upon seeing the Monkey Spirit King''s crystal eyes, would suspect that he had awakened if they didn''t know the truth.


    "Not so fast," Sewell cautioned with a chuckle.


    Then he slithered and twisted his body.


    The Sanskrit words painted all over the snake began to flicker in a rapid succession.


    As Sewell continued to coil his body, the three-colored rope that had strung the thirteen wolf teeth together now began to jiggle around the Monkey Spirit King''s neck.


    A strand of rope separated from the cord and penetrated into the base of the Monkey Spirit King''s skull.


    If something else had penetrated the Monkey Spirit King''s body, he would''ve rejected it automatically. However, the Thirteen Teeth Necklace was the most cherished treasure to him, so he had no qualms at all about the three-colored rope extended into his brain!


    After the three-colored strand bored into the back of his head, it began to unravel inside.


    One single strand was subdivided into three, and then three into nine, followed by nine into eighty-one...


    In the blink of an eye, tens of thousands of three-colored strands unraveled inside the Monkey Spirit King''s head. These strands formed thin needles that pierced into his brain one by one.


    Swoosh!


    The Monkey Spirit King abruptly raised his head, and then he lifted and stamped his left foot.


    Boom!


    The entire hall shook violently, and even the Eye Spirit was startled by this unexpected action.


    "Don''t panic. That is merely a reflex reaction as the Three Resentments Poison infiltrates deeper into his brain..." Sewell explained. "Slowly, the Three Resentments Poison will assume control over his hands, feet, and then his entire body..."


    While he was explaining, the Monkey Spirit King lifted and stamped his right foot.


    Boom!


    The hall began reverberating with the shock.


    Once the Monkey Spirit King had stamped both his feet, he suddenly rose from his throne and took a stride forward!


    The Eye Spirit and Sewell were both within range of the Monkey Spirit King''s next footfall.


    "Fall back!"


    Seeing the huge sole of a raised foot coming towards them, Sewell had his expression changed slightly.


    He and the Eye Spirit quickly rushed out


    rteen different blended bloodlines he possessed.


    Besides, his descendants were now living in the chaos, and they couldn''t return to the main world.


    He waited in dismay for many more chaotic eras.


    Except for the occasional instance of a blended bloodline or two, he could no longer sense the presence of a new wolf tooth.


    Another thousand chaotic eras rolled away. Then, suddenly, the Monkey Spirit King sensed the fourth wolf tooth!


    His hope was rekindled after more than one thousand chaotic eras!


    The Monkey Spirit King was overcome with excitement.


    This dream resembled a prison, and it required thirteen keys to open it!


    Hope shone in the Monkey Spirit King''s mind again.


    He didn''t mind the long wait. As long as the number of wolf teeth multiplied, he would find new hope all the time.


    But after only a short span of time, the Monkey Spirit King was surprised to sense all nine remaining wolf teeth!


    All of the thirteen wolf teeth had been located!


    They had formed a circle, and floated together at the edge of the dreamland.


    "I am Orlando! King of all monkey spirits! I will return to you today!"


    the Monkey Spirit King roared with excitement, the echoes of his voice spreading throughout the dreamland.


    He expected the wolf teeth floating around the edge of the dreamland to come into focus in his mind.


    The power of these thirteen wolf teeth would penetrate into the dreamland, returning him to life.


    But soon, the Monkey Spirit King discovered something was amiss. The three-colored rope stringing the wolf teeth together was emitting a strange aura.


    More importantly, the wolf teeth didn''t come into focus in his eyes but remained blurry.


    A sense of ill-boding rose in the Monkey Spirit King''s mind.

 Chapter 4087 Turning Point

    The Monkey Spirit King knew that he was currently a Treacherous Being.


    The Four Spirits Sect had long found about the secret of the Treacherous Being, and they were able to study and research more about it.


    It was known that the main world and the secondary worlds had completely different natures.


    Indeed, the creatures born from the main world almost looked exactly the same as those from the secondary worlds in terms of appearance, physical attributes, soul, and inner world. However, that was just what it looked like.


    It was also a fact that creatures born from the main world had an attribute that those from the secondary worlds didn''t have.


    The interesting part was this attribute couldn''t be displayed in the main world.


    For example, if a certain creature of the main world was killed, then it would die. Its blood would be drained out, and its corpse would rot. Ultimately, it would return to dust.


    However, that wasn''t the case when this creature was brought to the secondary world.


    If it was killed in a secondary world, the corpse would also decay and turn to dust.


    But afterward, it would revive in the form of a Treacherous Being.


    It was said that the Treacherous Being body was a form of special protection for the creatures of the main world. It would be difficult for anyone to kill it, and even if someone did, it could still revive.


    Originally, the location where the Treacherous Being would revive was also the place where it formerly died, and it was intended to be immovable.


    These things were what the Monkey Spirit King knew about the Treacherous Being body.


    While possessing incredible power and being able to revive repeatedly were definite advantages, a Treacherous Being also had a major drawback¡ªthe process of its awakening.


    The stronger one''s strength originally was, the stronger obsession that person would need to complete their awakening.


    Thus it was very difficult to fulfil the Monkey Spirit King''s obsession and achieve his awakening.


    The Monkey Spirit King was badly hurt just before he died.


    The Thirteen Teeth Necklace had disintegrated, and it was nearly impossible to collect and gather all the wolf teeth back.


    Now that the wolf teeth had appeared today, the Monkey Spirit King had instantly felt that something wrong was going on.


    And when he saw the three-colored rope, his hunch grew stronger.


    He tried his best to remain calm and assess what was going on.


    Upon giving it a lot of thought, he discerned that the creatures outside were not his descendants.


    They were here to plot something against him.


    Although it was already clear for the Monkey Spirit King that the situation was very critical, he still didn''t understand much about the other party''s intention.


    The field of dream should be totally safe.


    It should block all kinds of danger and anything that was beyond his obsession.


    ''What''s going on? What''s with this three-colored rope?''


    Just as the Monkey Spirit King was still contemplating and inspecting the three-colored rope, it suddenly disentangled and divided into three parts¡ªred, black, and green strands. Then, in front of his eyes, the ro


    owerful master like the Monkey Spirit King. It was such a fearsome breakthrough.


    However, although the Snake Masters had carefully organized a thorough plan, they had missed a crucial point.


    According to Sewell''s arrangement, the three snakes formed by the Three Resentments Poison should have entered the dream world along with the thirteen wolf teeth.


    If the Monkey Spirit King wanted to leave the dream, he needed to get a hold of the Thirteen Teeth Necklace first. But once he obtained it, he would definitely be entangled by the Three Resentments Poison. In one way or another, the Monkey Spirit King should have no way to escape.


    However, the problem was that although the wolf teeth were already on the edge of the dream, they were still in a blurry state.


    This only meant that the wolf teeth didn''t actually enter the dream.


    Meanwhile, the three snakes continued to extend their bodies and chased the Monkey Spirit King down.


    The Monkey Spirit King kept running until he saw a dead end.


    A shiver ran down his spine, as he knew that he was in a complete bind. However, as he turned around and looked at the snakes chasing at him, he was stunned and confused at the same time.


    The snakes had straightened their bodies and were unable to move forward anymore.


    "Wait. What happened?"


    The Monkey Spirit King inspected the bodies of the snakes until his gaze went all the way to the thirteen wolf teeth at their end.


    As he noticed that the wolf teeth were still in a blurry state, a huge smile immediately emerged on his face. He instantly understood what was going on and the former terrified expression on his face was replaced with ecstasy.


    The three little snakes had come into the dream world, but the wolf teeth did not.


    The bodies of the snakes couldn''t extend indefinitely, as the wolf teeth prevented them and dragged them back outside of the dream.


    "But how did this happen?" While the Monkey Spirit King was overjoyed that he was now safe, he was also confused about what had just happened. "It could only mean one thing.


    The wolf teeth are not my obsession?"

 Chapter 4088 Escape

    It was quite obvious that the Monkey Spirit King was very much obsessed with the wolf teeth.


    The thirteen wolf teeth did appear at the edge of the dream and were, in fact, very real.


    However, the sight of the teeth seemed to have triggered something in his memory.


    The Monkey Spirit King''s eyes suddenly flashed!


    When the necklace broke, the thirteen wolf teeth that made it up also got damaged.


    The Monkey Spirit King wanted not just the teeth but also the bloodline theurgies they contained.


    These thirteen bloodlines once formed the foundation of his strength and were even stronger than the four origin-level bloodlines, especially when combined with his trillions of years of experience.


    When the wolf teeth broke, their bloodline power also disappeared, so they were unable to enter his dream.


    At that moment, the Monkey Spirit King felt both joy and regret.


    The loss of bloodline power in those wolf teeth had saved his life but he still felt immensely disappointed.


    To wake up, he needed the thirteen wolf teeth that were rich in bloodline power, which was highly unlikely to appear. There did not seem to be that much hope for him.


    Back in the hall, the Eye Spirit and Sewell continued to observe the Monkey Spirit King.


    They''d been waiting for an hour but the Monkey Spirit King had still yet to make any movements.


    Sewell''s anxiousness seeped into the air and the Eye Spirit easily sensed it but he did not say anything.


    After a while, Sewell''s patience ran out.


    "Something''s wrong."


    The Monkey Spirit King''s self-consciousness should have been removed by the Three Resentments Poison.


    It shouldn''t take such a long time.


    Whoosh!


    Unable to take it anymore, Sewell decided to crawl onto the Monkey Spirit King''s body.


    As he approached the Thirteen Teeth Necklace, he laid his long tail onto the three-colored rope.


    Through it, he was able to see something.


    It was quite blurry but to Sewell, the scene was clear enough to make him pale with fright.


    The wolf teeth couldn''t enter the Monkey Spirit King''s dream.


    What in the world should they do now?!


    Preparations for this day were incredibly extensive and meticulous. The Snake Masters planned it all to the dot. Nobody ever expected something like this to occur!


    Not even Sewell, resourceful as he might be, knew what to do.


    Knock! Knock!


    Just then, a knock on the door interrupted their thoughts. It was Manuel.


    It seemed that he couldn''t help himself a


    he entire Ghost Mountain apart!


    Right now, it would be appropriate to say that everything was a mess.


    Members of the Red Demon race, Grand Mighty race, and Glede Demon race continued to wait patiently on the Ghost Altar.


    Soon enough, light began to permeate the west wall.


    To their shock, the indestructible Ghost Mountain crumbled right before their very eyes!


    Decker had stayed in a separate room.


    Bainbridge had brought him there to meet the Monkey Masters.


    It was a fairly big deal to have fused with the Ghost Master''s pet so he definitely had to meet them.


    Unfortunately, the matter regarding the Eye Spirit and the wolf teeth took all of the Monkey Masters'' attention so they did not bother to respond to Bainbridge''s request at all.


    Thus, Bainbridge had no choice but to lock Decker in that room until such time that the Monkey Masters would be able to meet him.


    Despite his situation, Decker were not desperate.


    He held his glazed sheet carefully and took a look at Cary.


    Cary was a hatred-level Treacherous Being.


    Just having him by Decker''s side, even for a moment, was worth it.


    At that moment, however, the side of the room suddenly collapsed. The Ghost Mountain had split into two!


    As Decker held on and planted himself flat on the other wall, he saw a huge monkey leap out of the mountain.


    This monkey took a step on the Ghost Mountain before launching himself onto the Night View Island.


    Decker was, in a word, confused. Extremely confused.


    He felt a strong, treacherous aura from the huge monkey so he was surely a Treacherous Being.


    But could such a powerful Treacherous Being truly exist?

 Chapter 4089 Competition

    In the eastern region of the Ghost Mountain, the human heroes could also feel the earth quaking violently.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven looked a bit sullen, his eyes downcast in frustration.


    He knew that the only one who could cause such a ruckus was the Monkey Spirit King.


    This had happened before. When the Primeval Lord of Heaven showed the blended bloodline to the Monkey Spirit King, the earth trembled, similar to now.


    Such a violent reaction could only mean that the Monkey Spirit King reacted strongly to the wolf teeth, and that he was about to wake up.


    The real Snake Goddess, real Fuxi, Zhurong and Chiyou all knew what the quaking earth entailed.


    Everyone stood about anxiously, and the atmosphere darkened with worry.


    No one was willing to sit and wait for imminent death.


    "If the Monkey Spirit King really wakes up, will the Monkey Masters attack us?" a human hero asked.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven nodded affirmatively. "Yes."


    They were just vassals to the Monkey Masters in the Ghost Mountain.


    The Monkey Masters wouldn''t hesitate to abandon vassals.


    "Should we try to fight back?" asked Emperor Charm apprehensively.


    "Of course," answered Fuxi without hesitation.


    Even if death was imminent, there was no way they were going to die without putting up a fight.


    They all knew the consequence of their resistance.


    Even if they had the Light of Annihilation and the hatred-level Treacherous Beings on their side, they were still no match for the Monkey Masters.


    Moreover, the Monkey Spirit King was bound to wake up soon. When he did, the disparity in strength would be unfathomable.


    Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!


    The vibrations of the Ghost Mountain came one after another, becoming more and more intense with each one that passed.


    Zen frowned deeply as he observed the looks of uneasiness in his companions. "Is there any way to escape?"


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven shook his head sadly. "Not in this condition."


    At least, there was a chance for the Great Ghost Priests to leave.


    But they had to ask permission from the Monkey Masters first. Otherwise they could only leave if they were assigned tasks.


    Before, the Primeval Lord of Heaven had once devised a plan to repair the passageway of the Night View Island, and they wanted to give it a try. So, the Monkey Masters had allowed them to temporarily leave the Ghost Mountain.


    However, his plan had failed, and the passageway of the Night View Island remained broken.


    Now, the human race was practically under house arrest. The chances of them being allowed to l


    ut of the Ghost Mountain.


    Boom!


    Just as they arrived at the annular mountain range, they saw the Monkey Spirit King slam his huge body against a mountain like some lunatic.


    Each mountain in the annular mountain range was hundreds of thousands of feet high, but next to the massive Monkey Spirit King, they looked like small hills.


    Under the impact of the Monkey Spirit King''s body, the mountain immediately collapsed.


    There were two races living in that mountain. With their home being smashed into pieces, this was like the end of the world for them.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    Once the mountain had completely collapsed, the Monkey Spirit King jumped high into the air and landed with a loud crash.


    Boom!


    Under the impact, the whole Night View Island sank about thirty feet. The earth quaked outwards, like some violent ripple effect, causing a wild tsunami in the lake.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Boom!


    The Monkey Spirit King continued to wreak havoc haphazardly.


    Sometimes he walked normally, but then he would suddenly smash his ginormous hands into the ground.


    The creatures on the Night View Island were absolutely terrified. As the Monkey Spirit King, who was larger than their tallest mountain, ravaged the lands, they feared they would be smashed into a pulp.


    "What the hell is the Monkey Spirit King doing?" Chiyou asked in confusion, his brows furrowing deeply.


    The eyes of the Snake Goddess flickered with understanding. "He hasn''t awakened yet, but he can sense that the Element Spirit Civilization is trying to control his body, so he is desperately trying to resist!"


    "That makes sense." Fuxi nodded and continued, "It does seem like there are two forces fighting to control his body."

 Chapter 4090 Take A Risk

    As soon as the Monkey Spirit King realized what happened to him, he began to struggle like mad in the dream.


    He did not wake up, but it didn''t mean that he could not do anything.


    Then again, he always had a violent reaction every time a wolf tooth appeared, and there were thirteen wolf teeth in total this time.


    Unfortunately, his struggles happened in a chaotic state.


    He could not effectively control his body, so it only affected Sewell''s control.


    This also made his Treacherous Being body seem strange and contradictory.


    Many races on the Night View Island got affected.


    But as the commotion grew increasingly louder, more and more creatures noticed the mountain-like body. In a split second, they all left their territories and fled everywhere.


    As for Sewell, his brows knitted in seriousness.


    He tried his best to steer the Monkey Spirit King in the right direction as they stumbled towards the passageway of the Night View Island.


    The Monkey Spirit King''s struggle was only a hindrance, but he could still get subdued at any time.


    He moved bit by bit, as he rolled and jumped.


    And every time the Monkey Masters approached, Sewell always took advantage of his powers to slap them away one by one.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    At that moment, Claire and Gavyn, who had been waiting outside, quickly went near.


    The two of them didn''t expect such an accident to happen either. However, since the Eye Spirit had completed his task, they had to run away with him no matter what.


    As the Monkey Spirit King acted like a crazed demon, both of them did not dare approach him, but instead, they followed him from a nearby distance.


    Of course, Claire had also discovered Zen on the other side.


    There were dozens of people around him, including four Great Ghost Priests.


    They felt quite lucky since Zen did not make any trouble for them. Naturally, they did not do anything to provoke him.


    "The Monkey Spirit King is getting close to the exit in the middle of the lake," said Zhurong.


    "We can''t interfere. When they take the Monkey Spirit King away, we will also leave secretly," Emperor Charm said firmly.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven and the real Snake Goddess didn''t say anything.


    That was because they were thinking about a more pressing problem.


    It was also an issue that had existed from the 77th chaos, until now.


    It was the question of how to fight against the Element Spirit Civilization.


    Of course, the Nihility race, which was led by the Grandmaster of Heav


    iamonds, as their entire crystalline structure shone brightly.


    They were the Swift Bird''s wings.


    This kind of bird was from the Jade Pure Realm.


    It was known for flying so fast that no one could catch it. The moment anyone approached it, it quickly disappeared.


    It was also impossible to measure the timespan when the bird moved from one place to another. Thus, it disappeared so suddenly, and that was why it was called the Swift Bird.


    Theoretically speaking, the bird used a type of space traveling skill, but it had already made full use of space.


    Its only disadvantage was that it took a few days to recover once it had used its wings.


    To capture the Swift Bird, one had to force it to use its ability once, before they could catch it.


    "Why don''t you go by yourself?" Houyi glared at Emperor Charm. He had been silent all this time, and now he spoke up.


    "I''m afraid of death," Emperor Charm replied.


    "Send me there," the real Snake Goddess prompted.


    "No! Let me do it!" Chiyou interjected with wide eyes.


    "Stop arguing," said the real Fuxi, who stood in front of the crowd. Then he shouted, "Let me do it!"


    Just then, a pair of black scissors appeared in his hand.


    They were called the Sand Life Scissors.


    Although it was only an Other Shore Token from the Supreme Pure Realm, it could directly cut off space.


    "Don''t forget that I have a Resurrection Egg," he added.


    His Resurrection Egg was very rare and had a pretty simple ability. It could make the real Fuxi have two lives.


    But even though so many chaotic eras had passed, the real Fuxi never had the chance to use it. Now was the right time for him to take a risk.

 Chapter 4091 Tear Apart

    When the Monkey Spirit King stepped into the central lake, the water reached until his waist. With each step he took, a huge wave would ripple out.


    As the Monkey Spirit King got closer and closer to the edge of the passageway, Sewell and the Eye Spirit grew more and more cautious.


    The Monkey Masters cried out crazily and rushed towards them desperately.


    Killing a Treacherous Being was a bit complicated. The simplest way was to throw them into the Void Dust.


    This tactic was proving effective for the Monkey Masters, as three or four of their kind had already been devoured by the Void Dust. Desperately, they changed their strategy and attempted to approach the Monkey Spirit King from a low altitude.


    At least this way, even if they were knocked out by the Monkey Spirit King, they''d land in the lake and not the Void Dust.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Another three Monkey Masters closed in on the Monkey Spirit King''s side.


    However, the Monkey Spirit King twisted his body slightly and slapped at them.


    Plop! Plop! Plop!


    The three Monkey Masters smashed into the water violently. The impact was so strong that the water shot into the sky as high as ten thousand feet.


    As the Monkey Spirit King was steadying himself, Manual grabbed this opportunity and swooped in. Finally, he was able to land on his shoulder, face to face with Sewell.


    "I guess you won''t be able to leave," Manuel said coldly, as intricate golden patterns began to appear on his skin.


    Then, in a flash, a tremendous amount of force was released from his body and shot towards Sewell.


    "Annoying!"


    Sewell''s eyes narrowed, filled with killing intent. He nimbly dodged the blow, suddenly becoming incredibly fast.


    Just as Manuel rushed over to strike once more, Sewell pounced onto him with great agility. In a flash, Sewell had managed to wrap himself around Manuel''s body, gradually tightening his grip.


    The Snake Masters were all good killers. Any living being trapped in their grasp were bound to die.


    But now, Sewell was intertwined with the most powerful Great Ape King.


    Manuel looked at Sewell with condescending, pitiful eyes. "Really? You''re going to try to kill me this way? Don''t even think about it!"


    Sewell laughed sarcastically. "If I don''t show you my strength, you''ll never realize just how obsolete you are in this era. I''ll kill you now, but next time, I''ll erase your coordinates!"


    The second he f


    , who had been watching nearby, were stunned.


    While they had noticed that the humans escaped from the Ghost Mountain, they had been preoccupied with the Eye Spirit and Sewell.


    It never occurred to them that these humans would help them save the Monkey Spirit King!


    With the Thirteen Teeth Necklace broken, there was a glimmer of hope!


    Sewell didn''t have the time to chase after Fuxi. Instead, he quickly controlled the three colored rope to try to string the wolf teeth once more.


    Under his control, the three colored rope was like a nimble snake, chasing after the falling wolf teeth.


    The wolf teeth had only fallen a thousand feet before they were easily caught and strung up by the three colored rope.


    Everyone, from Fuxi, who had managed to retreat, to Zen and the Monkey Masters, felt despair when they saw this scene.


    The flicker of hope that they had just sparked was instantly extinguished.


    Zen held his breath as he watched the two ends of the rope were about to form a complete, closed loop.


    However, the Monkey Spirit King''s right hand suddenly reached up.


    Grabbing the Thirteen Teeth Necklace on his chest, the Monkey Spirit King ripped it off his neck fiercely.


    The Thirteen Teeth Necklace was destroyed!


    The three-colored rope that had drilled into the back of his head was also pulled out.


    After Fuxi cut the Thirteen Teeth Necklace, Sewell''s control over the Monkey Spirit King immediately weakened.


    The Monkey Spirit King, who was in the dream, immediately grabbed this opportunity. Using all his spirit power, he fought back against Sewell''s control over his body.

 Chapter 4092 Promise

    Once the Thirteen Teeth Necklace was pulled away, the Monkey Spirit King''s body would instantly regain its freedom.


    However, he was still in an unconscious state. His dream was firmly restricting his awakening.


    Now that the wolf teeth left his body, his control over himself was also greatly weakened.


    Because of this, his huge body was constantly moving and attacking the surrounding area.


    He was madly releasing his power. That was why no one could just freely approach him.


    He would roll, then dash here and there, and sometimes throw massive punches.


    At the same time, Sewell still attempted to retrieve the wolf teeth that had fallen into the lake.


    After all the efforts that he poured to make his plan work, he was not willing to fail just like this.


    However, he also knew how dangerous it was to approach the lake because of the Monkey Spirit King.


    With just his subconsciousness, he would attack any creature around him without exception.


    Sewell and the Eye Spirit had attempted several times to get in the lake, but they failed miserably. The unconscious body of the Monkey Spirit King didn''t give them any chance.


    Finally, realizing that the mission had completely failed, Sewell gritted his teeth and ordered, "Let''s go!"


    Swoosh!


    He turned into a huge white shadow and drilled into the middle of the lake.


    The Eye Spirit, Claire, and Gavyn quickly followed into the lake.


    As they dove into the middle of the lake, several Monkey Masters followed them behind.


    The Monkey Masters actually didn''t want to hunt Sewell down.


    They were more worried about the Monkey Spirit King. Moreover, because of the great changes that already happened to him, they had to keep watch all the more. Besides, even if they killed Sewell, he would just revive afterward.


    Right now, their goal was to just expel Sewell and his companions and prevent them from destroying the passageway.


    The passageway of the Night View Island was finally repaired after a long time. They wanted to do everything they could to prevent it from getting destroyed again.


    However, in the desperate situation just now, they had considered to voluntarily destroy the passageway, if it was the only way to ensure the safety of the Monkey Spirit King.


    They prepared themselves for this last resort if they had no other choice left.


    Splash! Splash!


    The Monkey Spirit King continued to struggle furiously.


    At the same time, he was releasing a tremendous power in the middle of the lake.


    Not even the Monkey Masters dared to approach him.


    The power of the Monkey Spirit King was almost inexhaustible. No one exactly knew how long would this situation ensue.


    Zen and his group just hovered over the lake and waited patiently and silently.


    Then, three Monkey Masters flew over to them.


    They were Tearrag, Hagar, and Nereus.


    In the Monkey Spirit Sect, they were just a rank below Manuel.


    "What can I do for you?" the Primeva


    uld die.


    However, the passageway to the island was tightly guarded by the Monkey Masters, and thus escaping was very impossible for them.


    In short, for the past few days, they accepted that they could just wait quietly for their impending death.


    On the other hand, the atmosphere in the Glede Demon race was much more relaxed.


    Although the Night View Island had undergone exceptional changes and all creatures would also probably face unforeseen changes in the future, the Glede Demon race had an advantage because they had chosen to follow the humans.


    At that time, Decker was originally guarded by Bainbridge.


    However, as soon as the Ghost Mountain collapsed, Bainbridge fled and left him alone. Seeing that he was freed, he left the mountain and returned to the Wooden Leaf race.


    This time, he entered the Ghost Mountain to try his luck. He thought that perhaps, he could fuse with a powerful hostility-level Treacherous Being.


    Though there might be resentment-level ones there, he didn''t dare to think of fusing with them.


    But unexpectedly, he had got a hatred-level Treacherous Being named Cary.


    Cary was still in his glazed sheet now.


    Decker didn''t try to fuse with him, but he still mustered his courage to communicate with him through his consciousness.


    Fortunately, Cary turned out to be a friendly-type Treacherous Being, so he didn''t repel Decker.


    After a few days of constant communication, they got along better.


    This made Decker totally excited.


    He was thinking what the patriarch would say and react once he saw him with Cary.


    Even if Decker didn''t fuse with the Treacherous Being, he would still have unparalleled combat power.


    Thinking of this, he went home briskly.


    However, as he returned to the territory of the Wooden Leaf race, his eyes widened as he clenched his fists. He saw that a group of warriors from the Evil Tiger race were besieging the hillside where the Wooden Leaf race peacefully dwelled.

 Chapter 4093 At A Loss

    The Evil Tiger race had always cast rather covetous eyes upon the Wooden Leaf race.


    While the Wooden Leaf race was weak, they were still capable of protecting themselves.


    Relying on the power of the thorny Treacherous Beings, in particular, they hid at the mountainside which was easy to hold but difficult to attack.


    But because the Wooden Leaf race wasn''t of much value, the Evil Tiger race was in no hurry to attack them.


    Graham and Decker had already sensed an oncoming crisis. There were so many races on the Night View Island. Many weak races had been eliminated.


    Such was why Decker took the risk of following Zen, wanting to grow stronger.


    Over the past few days, the situation on the Night View Island had undergone a drastic change.


    The Red Demon race and the Grand Mighty race were both destined to be exterminated¡ªthe races that followed them had fallen into chaos.


    But the drastic change was undoubtedly likely to bring great benefits to some races.


    Taking advantage of the chaos, the Evil Tiger race attacked the Wooden Leaf race.


    In the lead, Graham brought many of the soldiers up to the top to hide.


    Now, they were desperate.


    It wasn''t that the Evil Tiger race couldn''t defeat them.


    But the Wooden Leaf race had been well-prepared to fight to the death. If the Evil Tiger race forced their way up, they would definitely suffer heavy casualties.


    But since the Evil Tiger race had already made a move, they weren''t about to give up so easily.


    "Master Graham, can we try to parley with them?" asked one of the Wooden Leaf race''s soldiers.


    Graham''s smile was bitter. "What do you think?"


    The Evil Tiger race did not communicate with the Wooden Leaf race. They had slaughtered more than ten members of the Wooden Leaf race as soon as they came.


    And they were completely determined to exterminate the Wooden Leaf race.


    Slowly, the Evil Tiger race''s warriors approached the mountainside.


    At this point, they were ready to rush forward at any moment.


    The air was heavy.


    No one even wanted to blink.


    "If you attack us, you''ll lose over half of your men. By then, the Ghost Face race in the adjacent mountain will not let you go!" Graham suddenly shouted out.


    The Ghost Face race was a hard nut to crack.


    If the Evil Tiger race suffered several casualties, the Ghost Face race would undoubtedly take the opportunity to attack.


    But the Evil Tiger race''s leader chuckled. "You don''t need to


    ost Mountain.


    At their request, a grotto was created in the south of the Night View Island.


    There, the thirteen wolf teeth were neatly placed.


    To prevent the Monkey Masters from spying on them, the Primeval Lord of Heaven and the rest had set up several enchanted barriers.


    "The ancestry-level bloodline hates being separated from my body."


    "If you get it out of your body without its permission, you will suffer, indeed."


    They had tried several methods to use the ancestry-level bloodline''s power, but to no avail.


    "I''m sure it has intelligence," said the real Snake Goddess.


    "I tried communicating with it before I entered the Night View Island, but I also failed," Zen said, shrugging his shoulders.


    "But judging from what it did before, it must have a specific purpose," remarked the Primeval Lord of Heaven.


    The Snake Goddess nodded and said, "It only takes the initiative to make a move if it thinks the situation is in its favor. Otherwise, it will only protect Zen passively."


    "Since we can''t communicate with or persuade it, it''s almost impossible to ask its help," said Emperor Charm pessimistically.


    The entire grotto fell silent.


    Originally, the Primeval Lord of Heaven had been confident.


    But after several attempts, there was no breakthrough whatsoever.


    Just as everyone was left at a loss, Zen suddenly stood up and walked up to a wolf tooth.


    Crack!


    And then, he cut into his arm.


    Through the wound, the ancestry-level bloodline could be observed.


    But the ancestry-level bloodline was rather thick. When it shrank within the wound, not even a single drop of blood fell.

 Chapter 4094 The Energy Of A Drop Of Blood (Part One)

    Glowing before the Primeval Lord of Heaven and the other human heroes was the ancestry-level bloodline.


    They attempted to trace it with their eyes. Its very existence was unusual to them. Its aura was truly unlike any other aura they had ever felt from the blended bloodlines.


    The blended bloodlines of the thirteen wolf teeth had thirteen different auras, each with their own special quality.


    For instance, the wolf tooth on the furthest right held the power of fire, from which its scorching aura truly radiated. Its aura was so strong that even if the tooth had been damaged, it still emitted heat. If one inched towards it, they would feel a burning sensation seep into their flesh.


    The third wolf tooth from the right radiated a completely different aura. Unlike the previous one, this one was soft and quiet, comfortable even. If one laid their hands upon it, tension would disappear completely from their bodies, being replaced with serenity.


    There were other auras in the thirteen wolf teeth. Some complemented each other; some opposed each other. Either way, with all of the auras'' complexities, it was difficult to deny the teeth were extraordinary.


    The aura of the ancestry-level bloodline was also extraordinary but for a different reason.


    To Primeval Lord of Heaven and his companions, it was obvious the ancestry-level bloodline''s composition was unusual, but even so, they knew it was far from complex.


    It was the simplest thing. It was pure and perfect.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven sighed, putting a hand over his chest.


    None of them knew how the Four Spirits Sect was able to obtain such an excellent object.


    Out of all of them there, it was Zen who knew how truly powerful the ancestry-level bloodline was. Because of this, it was him who knew how to appreciate it the most for all it was.


    However, he also knew that despite how powerful it was, it was nothing unless he was able to make use of it.


    Moreover, the ancestry-level bloodline had a mind of its own. No one was able to control it.


    werful that its aura penetrated through the enchanted barriers of the cave. Even Tearrag, Hagar and Nereus, who remained outside of the cave to guard it from unwanted visitors, felt its aura.


    Truth be told, when they agreed to the Primeval Lord of Heaven''s request, they did not have much hope in their hearts that they would succeed. They did it out of their sheer loyalty to the Monkey Spirit King.


    Tearrag, having felt the revitalized aura of the wolf tooth, began to wear expressions of incredulity on his face.


    "These humans," he said, shaking his head in disbelief.


    "Have they really repaired the wolf tooth?


    Are they really able to fix them?" he continued.


    He felt the excitement rush through his veins. Before his mind could even think about it, his feet were already moving, rushing inside of the cave.


    Bang!


    He had just passed through one of the enchanted barriers outside the cave. There were several more ahead of him.


    With his exceptional strength, he knew he would be able to pass through all of them without a sweat.


    But then, he remembered the promise he had made to the Primeval Lord of Heaven. After they built the cave, the Primeval Lord of Heaven had made them promise that no matter what would happen, they would not enter the cave and pry into the process of awakening the Monkey Spirit King. And they agreed.

 Chapter 4095 The Energy Of A Drop Of Blood (Part Two)

    So Tearrag, despite his curiosity and excitement, resisted the urge to break through the enchanted barriers and see the wolf tooth for himself. Instead, he fell on his knees and offered a silent wish.


    He said, "Humans, I do not care what method you use. Please do your best to restore the rest of the wolf teeth."


    Little did Tearrag know that as he was doing this, the drop of blood, which entered into the first wolf tooth, moved into the second wolf tooth. The magic that happened with the first one also happened with the second one! Its dents were fixed. It gained its color, and it glowed even brighter!


    The drop of blood then rolled into the third wolf tooth, the fourth one, and then the fifth one! It went on and on!


    Tearrag was shocked to feel the waves of auras one after the other. The human heroes inside the cave felt the same way.


    Before this, none of them knew how many drops were needed from the ancestry-level bloodline in order to restore the thirteen wolf teeth. All of them suspected it would take a large amount to fix something so broken.


    But the reality was something they did not even consider.


    Only a single drop of blood was needed to restore all of the wolf teeth.


    Soon enough, it repaired all of them! The thirteen wolf teeth glowed, and their merged aura was more powerful than ever.


    As soon as the drop of blood restored all of the teeth, it climbed up Zen''s arm. It went directly towards his wound and entered it, sending off the same stream of energy it had given the wolf teeth to his arm. A few seconds later, the long wound on Zen''s arm was fading into clear and smooth skin. The drop of blood healed his wound so quickly. It was as if nothing ever happened to it!


    "This bloodline..." the real Chiyou trailed. "It is so amazing! I really have no words for it," he continued, his eyebrows still fu


    on the way." The Monkey Master nodded and went on his way.


    All of the Monkey Masters went to the sleeping Monkey Spirit King, making sure the Thirteen Teeth Necklace was safe and used by the one who needed it the most.


    When they arrived, none of them dared to be too close to the Monkey Spirit King. They all knew he had just undergone a traumatic crisis. He was only experiencing the world in his dreams, but his dreams convoluted his reality, making his actions unpredictable. They did not know how he would react to them, so they took caution.


    They knew the Monkey Spirit King might attack if he sensed there was something wrong.


    Swoosh!


    With a quick yet careful flick of a wrist, the Monkey Master carrying the Thirteen Teeth Necklace was able to drop it onto the Monkey Spirit King''s neck.


    Being asleep and deep in a restless dream, the Monkey Spirit King was not able to see what had been placed upon him, but he was able to feel it. He felt the additional weight that had been placed upon his neck, and it took up its own form in his dream.


    In the darkness of his sleep, he saw something glowing from the corner of his vision. It was the Thirteen Teeth Necklace, and it had just arrived in his world of dream.

 Chapter 4096 The Smart Monkey Spirit King

    The Monkey Spirit King had no idea what was happening in real life.


    But with his limited perception, he could still tell the good from the bad.


    Anyone would regret wanting to hurt him while trying to wake him up.


    The Thirteen Teeth Necklace floated through the dream smoothly. This time, the Monkey Spirit King didn''t dodge anymore. Instead, he walked towards it and let it rest around his neck.


    As it did, the dream started to break with cracks growing from its edges.


    It was like a huge mirror being smashed by a strong force.


    The dream that trapped the Monkey Spirit King for more than one thousand chaotic eras was finally destroyed.


    The Monkey Spirit King''s eyelids moved as he struggled to open them.


    The Monkey Masters noticed and rushed towards him one after another.


    They stood on the water and stared at him with excitement.


    The moment his eyes opened, Manuel had led all the Monkey Masters to kneel on the water.


    "Greetings, my king!" they shouted as they welcomed the Monkey Spirit King.


    Their voices echoed throughout the whole Night View Island.


    "You have fallen asleep for more than one thousand chaotic eras. I felt so sorry that I couldn''t wake you up," Manuel said.


    The Monkey Spirit King sat straight


    and looked around the central lake as if he didn''t hear what Manuel had said.


    For over a thousand chaotic eras, he had stayed motionless in the Ghost Mountain.


    Now he felt like a prisoner released from prison, curious about everything outside.


    Splash!


    He suddenly stood from the water, carrying his huge body. He then leaped towards the top of a mountain, which only appeared as a small hill for his size.


    Perhaps it was because he was too excited that he jumped high once more.


    The power of the Monkey Spirit King''s feet caused the small hill to crumble into thousands of pieces.


    "My king, stop doing that!" Manuel frighteningly warned as he saw the Monkey Spirit King flying into the air.


    The sky above the Night View Island was covered with Void Dust.


    If the Monkey Spirit King reached the Void Dust, he would be devoured.


    However, it was too late. The Monkey Spirit King had flown upward, causing his head to be eroded by the Void Dust.


    Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!


    The Void Dust quickly found its way to also devour his entire body.


    Surprised, the Mon


    looked at him with a grin across his face, while Manuel and the others were puzzled by what they saw.


    They knew that the one who had saved the Monkey Spirit King was Fuxi, and the one who had repaired the wolf teeth was the Primeval Lord of Heaven.


    It was none of Zen''s business.


    This young man did not come from the Ghost Mountain. He came from the outside not long ago.


    "Was it you who helped me wake up?" asked the Monkey Spirit King.


    Zen shook his head. "It wasn''t just me. We worked together to wake you up."


    The Monkey Spirit King stared at Zen with great interest. "But they don''t have the specific bloodline. What surprises me more is that it can only be kept in the sacred cup. Why could you use it? How did you do it?" he asked curiously.


    Manuel and the others all looked at Zen in disbelief as they heard the Monkey Spirit King''s words.


    The only bloodline that had to be kept in the sacred cup was the ancestry-level bloodline.


    According to the Monkey Spirit King, Zen had the ancestry-level bloodline in his body!


    They suspected that the Monkey Spirit King could have made a mistake. Maybe he just talked nonsense.


    After all, it was impossible to inherit the ancestry-level bloodline.


    Everyone in the Four Spirits Sect was informed of this fact.


    Some people speculated that the ancestry-level bloodline could be replenished and there was a slight possibility of inheriting it, but it was impossible for even half of the light columns to light up.


    That legend was never real in the long history of the main world.

 Chapter 4097 One Goal

    Now, the Monkey Masters saw the legend unfold in the chaos, and it made them uneasy.


    If the main world were compared to a huge world, the chaos would just be a small puddle.


    So a human who came from the puddle inherited the ancestry-level bloodline?


    It seemed like a joke.


    Meanwhile, the Monkey Spirit King waited patiently for Zen to speak.


    This was surprising, especially because among the four leaders of the Four Spirits Sect, he was the most impatient and innocent one.


    When the Four Spirits Sect attacked their enemies on the edge of the main world, he fought hundreds of battles and took thousands of lives.


    All of this was just to save a Monkey Master who was not even important to the Monkey Spirit Sect.


    Being imprisoned in the dream for more than a thousand chaotic eras, he reflected on everything he had done.


    If he were more cautious and less naive, would things have ended differently?


    He did not know how many times he had this thought.


    Was it a millions times? Or did it go over a hundred million times?


    When he realized that Zen had the ancestry-level bloodline in his body, he was shocked but did his best to maintain a calm expression.


    "I don''t know.


    The Eternal Divine Courtyard was already deserted by the time I arrived.


    When I entered the sacred cup, the light columns lit up,"


    Zen replied genuinely.


    The Eternal Divine Courtyard was built by the Four Spirits Sect.


    It seemed that the Monkey Spirit King knew more about the ancestry-level bloodline than Zen ever did.


    Zen could no longer hide from him, so he decided it was best to answer honestly.


    Moreover, it was a good step to get the Monkey Spirit King on his side.


    "Light columns? How many would you say lit up?" the Monkey Spirit King asked patiently.


    "If I recall correctly, it was all of them," replied Zen.


    The jaws of Manuel, Hagar, Tearrag and Nereus dropped down in awe.


    Though they wanted to react, all of them were speechless.


    Meanwhile, the expression of the Monkey Spirit King was hard to read. He mastered the art of keeping still, and could probably do so even if the whole world collapsed right in front of him.


    Even when the rest gasped, his expression never changed.


    "Why all?" asked the Monkey Spirit King.


    This didn''t make any sense. Mere talent was not a reason, either.


    Zen s


    tely, the Monkey Spirit King was on their side. Otherwise, they would never have exited the Night View Island.


    "Thank you so much!" Zen said and bowed before the Monkey Spirit King.


    The Monkey Spirit King smiled faintly. "Follow me."


    As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and motioned for Zen to stand on his palm.


    Once Zen stood securely, he flew towards the Ghost Mountain.


    As they approached, Zen could easily see that the Ghost Mountain was still under repair.


    The Monkey Spirit King had created a huge, gaping crack in the center of the mountain, one that would be difficult to repair in a short time.


    "I agree to this because we have the same goal," the Monkey Spirit King explained. "The Snake Spirit Sect is my enemy."


    "Is this because the Snake Masters want to take away your body?" Zen asked.


    "No." The Monkey Spirit King shook his head and pointed towards the Ghost Mountain. "Do you know why so many Treacherous Beings exist in the Ghost Mountain?"


    Zen nodded, having already discussed this with the others. "They were not actually Treacherous Beings, but living creatures from the main world," he noted.


    "Right. Back then, I stored creatures in the Ghost Mountain so that the myriad creatures of the main world had chances to survive."


    The Monkey Spirit King paused and sighed before continuing, "But Cornelius was just too scheming. Because of him, I have lost my physical body, and so have the monkey spirits. It came to a point that even the creatures in the Ghost Mountain have become Treacherous Beings themselves."

 Chapter 4098 Replenish (Part One)

    Upon hearing what the Monkey Spirit King said, Zen became a bit confused.


    He furrowed his brows in confusion. "I thought the Four Spirits Sect was invincible in the main world. If it were, why did you hide in the chaos?"


    According to the Monkey Spirit King''s words, Zen suspected that there might have been some sort of crisis in the main world.


    Before the said crisis came, the Monkey Spirit King realized he and his subordinates couldn''t survive it. This left him with no choice. He had to retreat with the Monkey Spirit Sect into another world until it was safe for them to come back.


    They did all they could before they went into hiding. One of the projects they did before leaving was the Ghost Mountain, which they built to thrust out all sorts of creatures from the main world.


    But who or what was threatening enough to cause the Four Spirits Sect to act in this manner? Who or what held that much power?


    The Monkey Spirit King let out a loud huff, almost as if he did not want to answer Zen''s question. "A disaster," he said, deciding to reveal the truth. "A great disaster happened."


    "What disaster?" Zen asked.


    Under his breath, the Monkey Spirit King


    replied to him with something in Sanskrit, his voice fluctuating in a rhythmic pattern.


    "It is..." the Monkey Spirit King paused, trying to find the accurate words to fit his description. "It is a type of calamity. At least that is how we refer to it in the main world. I do not know how to explain what it is in your language," he admitted.


    "Hmm," Zen said, lowering his head in careful thought. For a short while, he seemed to be meditating, and then he slowly raised his head to address the Monkey Spirit King. "The Sanskrit words you said mean the Space and Time Calamity, right? A calamity that crosses space and time?''


    ity has been wreaking its havoc upon the main world for a long time," the Monkey Spirit King said. He turned his eyes upon the "starry sky" and continued, "The space and time in the chaos are linear¡ªfrom near to distant, from past to future. But in the main world, they are completely different..."


    Zen knew what the Monkey Spirit King was talking about.


    He experienced the complexity of space and time himself when he entered the Abstruse Energy World for the first time.


    Similar to what the Monkey Spirit King mentioned, he was not able to determine how far he had been pacing or how long he had been staying within its domains.


    Space and time in the Abstruse Energy World were far different from the ones he had familiarized himself with.


    The Monkey Spirit King went on, "Most of the time, the sequence of space and time in the main world follows a rule; however, now and then, glitches will happen, eventually leading to disasters." He paused, trying to compose himself. "Those disasters are very strong, strong enough to devour anything that crosses their paths. Unfortunately, many members of the Four Spirits Sect were devoured. But the coverage of the disasters is actually very small."

 Chapter 4099 Replenish (Part Two)

    In the past, however, a particular Space and Time Calamity affected a large area, instilling a great deal of panic within the Four Spirits Sect.


    When the Snake Spirit King Cornelius heard of this, he made a judgment. He claimed the Space and Time Calamity would hover over the main world like a dark plague, annihilating those who inhabited it. This caused the Four Spirits Sect to worry even more.


    He also claimed the only way to avoid the destruction was to find solace in the secondary worlds.


    He explained this by mentioning the difference of space and time between the two kinds of worlds. He said that since space and time of the secondary worlds were different from the main world''s, then they would be safe from the latter''s disaster.


    However, as the Monkey Spirit King was telling this story, he began to feel his blood beginning to boil.


    "That particular Space and Time Calamity," Zen said, ''''did it ever happen?'''' Zen asked.


    The Monkey Spirit King simply laughed. He laughed not in a way that showed amusement but in a way that warned rage was coming. "No," he said, shaking his head. "It didn''t. That was how I knew it was all orchestrated by Cornelius. That vicious snake set up a trap in the chaos to destroy the Monkey Spirit Sect!" the Monkey Spirit King growled, his eyes fuming with anger.


    During the years he was trapped within his dream, he felt his hatred for Cornelius grow more fervent as the days went on.


    He couldn''t deny the fact that the four sects couldn''t stand each other. They couldn''t get along, but they still managed to respect each other enough as not to cause any major ten


    the ancestry-level bloodline with you. Tell me, can you replenish the nine wolf teeth?''''


    As soon as he said this, the Monkey Spirit King tapped the ground with his hand, as if he were asking it to do something.


    Soon enough, the ground answered, caving in to reveal the nine wolf teeth.


    This set of teeth could easily be paralleled to those on the necklace, but unlike the latter, these teeth had nothing inside of them.


    Not everything could bear the power of the ancestry-level bloodline. These nine wolf teeth once belonged to the most powerful wolf king in the main world.


    The wolf king was more than capable of fighting against all the leaders of the Four Spirits Sect.


    After the Monkey Spirit King had defeated the wolf king, he pulled out his teeth¡ªall twenty-two of them. With the ancestry-level bloodline, he was able to obtain thirteen bloodline powers.


    He had brought Zen into the Ghost Mountain because he hoped that Zen would be able to help him obtain new blended bloodlines from the ancestry-level bloodline and injecting them into the nine wolf teeth.

 Chapter 4100 The Origin Of The Ancestry-level Bloodline

    Zen didn''t expect that the Monkey Spirit King would bring him back to the Ghost Mountain because he needed help regarding the wolf teeth.


    The Monkey Spirit King had just awakened.


    The wolf teeth were very important to him. If there was only a chance to infuse the bloodline power into them, he would definitely do it.


    Seeing how Zen personally repaired the thirteen wolf teeth, he immediately realized that Zen would be the key.


    Now that he knew that Zen possessed the ancestry-level bloodline, there was no way that he would let this opportunity slip by.


    However, after being surprised by the Monkey Spirit King''s request, Zen let out a sigh as a slight frown emerged on his face.


    "I''m afraid I can''t do it," Zen finally said. "Why is that?" the Monkey Spirit King asked as his brows furrowed.


    "The ancestry-level bloodline is not really under my control," Zen tried to explain briefly.


    He was telling the truth. In fact, he even wanted to ask the Monkey Spirit King on how he could control and use the bloodline.


    As expected, the Monkey Spirit King didn''t believe him right away.


    "You know, I don''t like to force others. So, you can name a higher price. That won''t be a problem," the Monkey Spirit King insisted.


    "I apologize, but please believe me," Zen said with all sincerity. "I don''t know if it just chose me by pure coincidence or not, but right now, it''s living inside my body and I can''t really control it. About the wolf teeth, the bloodline repaired them on its own."


    The Monkey Spirit King didn''t really want to accept Zen''s explanation, but he didn''t find any reason for Zen to lie about it.


    "With that, I am actually hoping if you can give me some advice on how I can properly control the ancestry-level bloodline," Zen added.


    After all, the Monkey Spirit King was one of the heads of the Four Spirits Sect, and also its founder. Naturally Zen thought that the Monkey Spirit King should know more about the bloodline than him.


    "Really? How could this happen?" The Monkey Spirit King let out a deep sigh as an obviously disappointed expression revealed on his face. Zen already explained his side of the story.


    Now it was up to the Monkey Spirit King whether he would believe Zen or not.


    "Well, let me think about it first."


    The Monkey Spirit King raised his head and looked at the ceiling of the inner layer of the Ghost Mountain. He tried his best to search his memories regarding the ancestry-level bloodline.


    Zen just kept silent and waited patiently and expectantly.


    After a while, the Monkey Spirit King rubbed his chin and said, "Sheehan was the one who obtained the ancestry-level bloodline. Then, Kincaid studied its abilities, and Cornelius built the Eternal Divine Courtyard afterward. Damn it, I''m the only one who doesn''t have anything to do with the ancestry-level bloodline!"


    In the beginning, the four sect leaders divided their duties.


    Sheehan, the Bird Spirit King, was the one responsible for the exploration of different things. Kincaid, the Human Spirit King, was the smartest, so he was in charge of studying and making researches. Co


    odline theurgies of the Monkey Spirit Sect must have been recorded there.


    Although they were well organized, the Monkey Masters never bothered to take time to read them.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven and the Snake Goddess just nodded at Tearrag as their eyes focused on the stone tablets in front of them.


    They had stayed in the Ghost Mountain for a long time so they now had a good understanding of Sanskrit words.


    However, they recognized that it would still take them several hours to completely read all the words on the stone tablets. This would make their work both inefficient and inaccurate.


    This was an important task so the two stared at Zen after they looked at all the stone tablets.


    Zen quickly knew what they meant. He asked the core of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization to decipher the contents on the stone tablets for them.


    After they were translated, Zen told them the words.


    According to the records on the stone tablets, Sheehan managed to obtain the ancestry-level bloodline on one of his explorations.


    Back then, he had lost his way and went into a Time Vessel.


    However, the time and space in the main world were totally different from what Zen and the others knew.


    Therefore, they weren''t able to imagine what the Time Vessel was like. They could only guess that it was some kind of vessel that was related to time.


    Then, the records said that the ancestry-level bloodline was obtained in the Time Vessel.


    At that time, the Four Spirits Sect was already quite influential, but it was far from being able to dominate the main world.


    However, after they acquired the ancestry-level bloodline, everything changed. The human spirits, bird spirits, snake spirits, and monkey spirits were endowed with all sorts of abilities, and their strength increased at an incredible rate.


    Realizing that they could obtain more power, Kincaid and Cornelius became greedy and weren''t willing to stop at that point. They weren''t satisfied with what they had yet, knowing that the energy contained in the ancestry-level bloodline was infinite.

 Chapter 4101 Records

    According to the records, the four kings had been on good terms and trusted each other.


    Any creature in the Four Spirits Sect could have a try to obtain the abilities of the ancestry-level bloodline.


    After the strength of the Four Spirits Sect increased, they began to expand and enlarge their scale.


    Their demand for ancestry-level bloodline also grew in return.


    However, merging with the ancestry-level bloodline could only be done by a small number of the talents in the Four Spirits Sect.


    The vast majority of the members tried many times, but they all resulted in failure.


    However, there was one attempt that marked a turning point¡ªKincaid''s.


    He had divided the ancestry-level bloodline


    with a not very complicated method.


    For experiments, the human spirits captured a large number of snow-white mice with wings called Heron Mice. These mice were pinned down and forcibly injected with the ancestry-level blood.


    The energy contained in the ancestry-level bloodline was overwhelming, making it unbearable for the mice.


    The only consequence for them after absorbing the ancestry-level bloodline was to explode and die.


    The experiments yielded the same results repeatedly.


    Fortunately, tens of billions of Heron Mice thrived in the forest closest to the Four Spirits Sect.


    The monkey spirits in the Monkey Spirit Sect had the most important task of capturing the mice for decades.


    Nearly a million mice had died from all the experiments when, finally, one of them managed to survive.


    It wasn''t because the mouse was special, but because the ancestry-level bloodline had become "tired".


    In the beginning, both Cornelius and Sheehan believed the power of the ancestry-level bloodline to be inexhaustible, but Kincaid didn''t agree. He felt that everything had its limits.


    Orlando himself was not interested in the mystery of the ancestry-level bloodline. He was also unwilling to learn about it, so he blindly agreed with Kincaid.


    Only the Human Spirit Sect and the Monkey Spirit Sect supported the research on the ancestry-level bloodline. The Bird Spirit Sect and the Snake Spirit Sect showed no concern with it.


    When Kincaid injected the ancestry-level bloodline into the body of the Heron Mouse, he keenly sensed the slight change that occurred in the ancestry-level bloodline.


    The inexhaustible energy of the ancest


    ul source bloodlines, they had to use powerful creatures as well.


    The main world didn''t have many powerful creatures, leaving the Four Spirits Sect with few choices.


    They explored and hunted, which led them to several selected targets.


    Among these were numerous ants of several hundred feet in size and black midges.


    The Snake Spirit Sect and the Bird Spirit Sect agreed that capturing these creatures was difficult, but they appreciated the human spirits'' efforts and asked their members to join them in working.


    The division of labor in the Four Spirits Sect led to a great improvement in their efficiency.


    Soon after, the experiments were carried out with the powerful creatures.


    Everything went smoothly. After about one hundred thousand ants died, Kincaid once again obtained a much stronger source bloodline.


    It had possessed forty percent of a single ability of the ancestry-level bloodline.


    Kincaid named it root-level bloodline, and the previous one was named the source-level bloodline.


    With the popularity of the source-level and the root-level bloodlines in the Four Spirits Sect, their strength excelled once again.


    They were able to produce elites in batches which could only be resisted by very few races in the main world.


    Even so, Kincaid remained dissatisfied.


    He aspired to obtain a much stronger bloodline, or better, to figure out a method to directly fuse with the ancestry-level bloodline.


    However, he had not fulfilled this wish because of the absence of both an extremely powerful and populous race in the main world.

 Chapter 4102 Bold Conjecture House

    The general trend was that the stronger a certain race was, the smaller its number of members would be. The direct opposite also held true.


    This particular trend could be observed in both the main and secondary worlds.


    Although Kincaid failed to find a powerful race with enough individuals to serve as subjects for his experiment, he refused to give up.


    He had sacrificed the Heron Mice first, to be the specimens on testing the repelling power of the ancestry-level bloodline. When they were all depleted, he had started using different and stronger creatures to further the experiment.


    However, even with this, the experiment still failed in the end.


    The main reason was that the repelling power of the ancestry-level bloodline had strange judging criteria. It could only be utilized to a certain type of creature or race. If the experimental subject changed into a totally different one in the middle of the process, the repelling power would recover completely and all of the prior progress would be lost.


    This strange phenomenon was recorded in detail on the stone tablets.


    After the attempt of strengthening the root-level bloodlines had failed, Kincaid decided to take a new route and tried to merge different bloodlines this time.


    As Zen translated the words on the tablets at this point, the Primeval Lord of Heaven was greatly surprised. "Whoa. So, it turns out that the Human Spirit King has begun merging bloodlines so much earlier than I did," he said with a trembling smile.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven had also conducted countless experiments in the Ghost Mountain, and he knew how difficult it really was to merge bloodlines.


    Well technically, it was not difficult to simply combine two different kinds of bloodlines. However, soon after they were merged, the abilities of the paired bloodlines would start rejecting each other, causing the energy to be very unstable.


    Because of this, most blended bloodlines could only exist for a few seconds, while others could last for a couple of hours at most.


    After experimenting for quite a long time, the Primeval Lord of Heaven was successful to maintain several types of blended bloodlines up to a few months before they finally disintegrated.


    Such bloodlines would be unsuitable to be fused with warriors. However, since the sole purpose of his experiment was only to help awaken the Monkey Spirit King, this drawback could be ignored.


    When Kincaid was the one performing the experiments, he had much better conditions and resources than the Primeval Lord of Heaven.


    Most people around the Primeval Lord of Heaven had only obtained the source-level bloodlines, and only a very few ones had obtained the root-level bloodlines.


    On the other hand, after Kincaid did a lot of experiments, all kinds of source-level and root-level bloodlines could be found in the Four Spirits Sect.


    Therefore, the Human Spirit King had more options to select from compared to the Primeval Lord of Heaven.


    It should have been much easier for him to attain dramatic progress because of his resources.


    Furthermore, Kincaid didn''t carry out the experiments on his own. He should have many capable assistants in the Human Spirit Sect to help him out.


    After a series of co


    cestry-level bloodline itself. For him, it was the most perfect power in the world, and he wouldn''t settle for less until he got what he wanted.


    In his long years in the main world, Kincaid had almost tried all sorts of methods just to study it.


    He even tried to merge all of the three hundred and seventy-three source-level bloodlines in an attempt to create a new ancestry-level bloodline. But in the end, he failed.


    Zen continued reading the contents of the stone tablet which almost seemed like diary entries of someone from the Bold Conjecture House.


    "After countless trials, we discovered that the ancestry-level bloodline has a life of its own.


    We should have noticed that earlier. It''s alive and it has its own mind. But still, the real problem is how we could effectively communicate with it..."


    "The construction of the Eternal Divine Courtyard was already completed, and Master Cornelius required that the ancestry-level bloodline be stored in the sacred cup. Master Cornelius ordered that no one is allowed to get close to the ancestry-level bloodline if there is no important reason, not even Master Kincaid. Even the members of the Bold Conjecture House are prohibited from entering the Eternal Divine Courtyard. That''s just too much!"


    "Master Kincaid said that since we couldn''t find a better way to produce greater results, we have to use the simplest method. He said that we needed to refine a body that could withstand the overwhelming power of the ancestry-level bloodline.


    But that''s just impossible. I asked Master Kincaid what kind of body would be able to withstand the ancestry-level bloodline.


    He said that it must be a body that is as strong as the sacred cup.


    I didn''t really get it. Did he mean that we should refine a creature''s flesh into metal? At first, I thought that Master Kincaid must have gone crazy. However, the Bold Conjecture House really started achieving this requirement!"


    ''They did what?'' Zen''s mouth remained open after reading the contents of the stone tablet.


    As he raised his head and looked at the Primeval Lord of Heaven and the Snake Goddess, he saw the same astonishment on their faces.

 Chapter 4103 A Method

    The process Zen went through in order to inherit the ancestry-level bloodline was very abrupt and quite strange.


    Although he thought himself already quite talented, he knew there was a great gap between him and the human spirits.


    Judging from the reactions the four statues in the Eternal Divine Courtyard had when they saw Zen absorb the ancestry-level bloodline, they were also quite shocked. It was virtually impossible for such a freak like him to exist in this world.


    The Human Spirit King, the Monkey Spirit King, the Snake Spirit King, the Bird Spirit King, and all other geniuses had failed to do that, yet a human from a secondary world, had achieved such a feat.


    Coupled with surprise was also a bit of confusion on Zen''s part.


    Was it because his physical body was special? His body was essentially a weapon but then didn''t the Four Spirits Sect have skills that enabled them to create anything?


    Those people created the chaos from which even the Metal Civilization appeared.


    It shouldn''t be that difficult for them to have forged a body similar or even superior to Zen''s.


    So why in the world did the ancestry-level bloodline favor Zen?


    It was only when he looked through the human spirit''s diary that Zen was able to find some clues.


    "If that is the case, Zen, then I''m afraid your physical body becoming such a weapon is part of someone''s plan," the real Snake Goddess said with a frown.


    "I''m afraid that the Bold Conjecture House had found the solution. Go on and continue reading the diary," the Primeval Lord of Heaven urged.


    Zen decided it best to continue deciphering the contents on the stone tablet.


    "We tried thousands of containers but discovered that the ancestry-level bloodline repelled most of the materials.


    Even dead wood and soil were rejected.


    However, we''ve discovered that if the wood is burnt until it turns into charcoal or if the soil is heated until it becomes solid brick, then the repelling force would disappear!"


    "Alvaro went out to the Eternal Divine Courtyard again. He had a fight with the statues that were guarding it. Even if the human spirits, monkey spirits, snake spirits, and bird spirits each have a statue there, they actually follow the Snake Spirit Sect''s orders! These damned fellows!


    They did let him in eventually. Alvaro finally found the reason why we failed. His Infinite Eyes can see what is normally too far or too little to be seen. According to him, there are very small living creatures in the soil and wood which have gone unnoticed by ordinary people. These creatures are very weak and would promptly die if subjected to the smallest of flames.


    This way, it was made clear to us that


    id unhappy.


    However, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and agree. Nobody was exempt from the rules, not even the four kings.


    Unfortunately, despite all the ruckus he caused to touch the ancestry-level bloodline, Kincaid''s method ultimately failed.


    The ancestry-level bloodline showed no reaction at all.


    This result confused Kincaid since he was quite sure that his method would''ve been very effective.


    How could the ancestry-level bloodline show no reaction at all?


    Was it perhaps resistant to Kincaid? That seemed to be the only logical explanation. Since magical blood was sentient, it could reject external interference.


    Kincaid''s method was recorded on No. 17 stone tablet.


    Zen''s eyes lit up when he read this.


    "No. 17 stone tablet!" he cried out.


    He had deciphered sixteen stone tablets and No. 17 stone tablet was up next.


    This tablet contained Kincaid''s method and the real Primeval Lord of Heaven and Snake Goddess became extremely interested when they realized this.


    Soon enough, Zen picked up the tablet.


    This one was very different from the ones he held before.


    There were only four Sanskrit words on the tablet and they glowed a dull blue.


    Zen also noticed that the way these words were written was very strange with extremely thin lines twisted together.


    The core of Heavenly Obsession Civilization deciphered the tablet for him and the Primeval Lord of Heaven and Snake Goddess patiently waited for him to speak.


    After a minute or so, Zen pursed his lips. "They''re undecipherable..."


    The core of Heavenly Obsession Civilization relied on a large amount of calculation to decipher words. However, the problem was that these four Sanskrit words were in a form that it had never seen before so it had no idea how to calculate it.

 Chapter 4104 Coral Blood Sword

    Since the core of Heavenly Obsession Civilization couldn''t decipher the Sanskrit words on the seventeenth stone tablet, they had no choice but to leave it to the Monkey Masters.


    Although there was little hope, Zen still decided to take the stone tablet to them to ask.


    Upon receiving the stone tablet from Zen, Tearrag didn''t show any impatience. He looked it over for a bit before declaring, "These are not Sanskrit words."


    "Not Sanskrit words?" Zen echoed, raising his eyebrows slightly.


    Earlier, the records on the stone tablets Zen read were all written in Sanskrit. Could there possibly be another language in the Four Spirits Sect?


    Tearrag held up the stone tablet. "It''s a Blood-controlling Method," he said. "Look at these curved lines. Don''t you think they look like a monkey?"


    Zen, the real Primeval Lord of Heaven and the real Snake Goddess all turned their gazes to the stone tablet to study it once more.


    Now that Tearrag pointed it out, they could vaguely make out a figure.


    Although these lines were messy, they were actually very similar to the meridians in one''s body.


    "I think it looks more like a human..." the Primeval Lord of Heaven couldn''t help but speak up.


    "Monkey!" Tearrag snapped decisively, casting him a glare.


    One of the reasons why the Human Spirit Sect and the Monkey Spirit Sect were very close to each other was that their bodies were similar in form.


    Thus, if the human spirits could use the methods created by Kincaid, the monkey spirits wouldn''t have any problem performing the same. However, it was a different story for the bird and snake spirits.


    "How does one use this Blood-controlling Method?" Zen cleared his throat.


    "Just operate according to the meridians on the pattern. These four pictures are four small circulations, and they form one big circulation..." As Tearrag spoke, his fingers were tracing the lines on the stone tablet. Suddenly, his expression changed. "This operation method is so strange. Does this really have anything to do with the ancestry-level bloodline?"


    In fact, the Blood-controlling Method created by Kincaid was no secret in the Four Spirits Sect. However, the Monkey Masters had no interest in matters outside their sect. While they had great talent in cultivation, they only really cared about the methods they could make use of.


    If one couldn''t merge with the ancestry-level bloodline, the Blood-controlling Method was deemed useless to them, so the Monkey Masters didn''t concern themselves with it.


    However, what appeared to be a useless waste to the Monkey Masters turned out to be extremely important to Zen. Talk about one man''s trash being another one''s treasure!


    The real Snake Goddess suddenly spoke up. "Back then, when no one coul


    his hands trembled violently.


    "What''s wrong, Zen?" the real Snake Goddess asked with concern.


    "Are you all right?" the Primeval Lord of Heaven piped in.


    Meanwhile, Tearrag glanced at Zen indifferently.


    The Monkey Spirit King was very interested in the abilities of the ancestry-level bloodline, but these Monkey Masters thought differently.


    It was because of the ancestry-level bloodline that the Four Spirits Sect was reduced to this situation. In the eyes of the Monkey Masters, this thing was the source of their downfall, and would not bring any benefits to the Monkey Spirit Sect. Thus, they looked at it with disdain.


    "I''m fine..." Zen said shakily.


    Wincing slightly, he opened his right hand, palm facing up.


    His palm began to crack, and traces of bright red blood began to fill the palm.


    Raising his hand gently to study it, thin blood streaks painted his palm, like an intricate coral reef.


    Then, a thought crossed Zen''s mind. Like lightning, the streaks of blood responded immediately. In the blink of an eye, the blood streaks moved around to form the shape of a blood sword, which was exactly what Zen had been thinking!


    Because it was woven from threads of blood, the blood sword was filled with pulsating coral branches. It truly resembled an intricately-shaped coral.


    The moment Tearrag''s eyes landed on the coral blood sword, he immediately took a few steps back.


    The Monkey Masters had a strong fighting instinct, and Tearrag immediately sensed that this strange blood sword was dangerous.


    The real Primeval Lord of Heaven and the real Snake Goddess didn''t budge, but they recalled to mind that time Zen and the resentment-level Treacherous Being had fought back on the Pure Sky Platform.


    At the time, Zen''s body had been devoured; only coral-like streaks of blood were left of him.

 Chapter 4105 Reckless

    At that time, Zen had directly got into the body of the resentment-level Treacherous Being. He killed it instantly with the Light of Annihilation.


    If not for his quick action, Zen and his companions would probably have all been killed on the Pure Sky Platform.


    Now these coral-shaped blood streaks had reappeared, and they actually formed a sword at Zen''s will!


    "It''s a basic Blood-controlling Method. If used on any other bloodlines, it wouldn''t be very strong. I wonder how powerful the ancestry-level bloodline would be if this method is used on it?" Tearrag said, staring intently at the coral blood sword.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven was feeling somewhat confused. "Master Terrag, may I ask you something? After one merges with a bloodline, one will naturally be able to display its theurgy. What then is the use of this Blood-controlling Method?"


    Usually, after a warrior merged with a bloodline, its power would become the warrior''s basic talent.


    For Eternal Realm warriors, such a Blood-controlling Method seemed unnecessary.


    Tearrag was not interested in these theories of the Human Spirit Sect, but he knew a lot about secret skills and theurgies. He snorted at the Primeval Lord of Heaven''s question. Coldly, he said, "The Blood-controlling Method is the most basic use of the bloodlines, and it can also stimulate the bloodline to the limit. The Eternal Realm warriors in your system only make use of less than thirty percent of their bloodlines!"


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven was stunned, so was the Snake Goddess, whose bright eyes widened at Tearrag''s words.


    Was it true? The bloodline that they had always been proud of, which they had classified as the bloodline of the Eternal Realm, was only thirty percent activated?


    "Or maybe a bit more," Tearrag added.


    "But..." The Snake Goddess sounded unconvinced. "Why isn''t there any Blood-controlling Method in the chaos?" she asked, looking directly at Tearrag.


    This simple question stumped him. For a moment he was silent, at a loss for words.


    He knew the Blood-controlling Method, but he didn''t know how to build secondary worlds. He didn''t even know why there was the need to build secondary worlds. He only knew that they could obtain energy from the secondary worlds.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven spoke up. "Could it be that one can only learn the Blood-controlling Method by becoming a member of the Four Spirits Sect?" he suggested.


    Tearrag nodded. "Yes. If those monkeys in the secondary worlds are smart enough, after joining our Monkey Spirit Sect, we will naturally teach them the Blood-controlling Method. Those in the secondary worlds are not qualified to learn the skill."


    The real Snake Goddess and the Primeval Lord of Heaven sighed inwardly.


    They had only used thirty percent or less of the bloodline power they were proud of. The gap was bigger than they could have imagined.


    "Is the Blood-controlling Method only a skill of using bloodlines?" the Snake Goddess asked.


    Zen


    d with a net of fine red lines, and his body was growing stiffer and stiffer. He opened his mouth but was no longer able to speak, although his eyes remained wide open.


    There was an enormous boom.


    Tearrag''s body had exploded.


    His body, in the form of a Treacherous Being, cracked along the lines of the red net on his skin. Chunks of his body flew in all directions, splattering all across the hall.


    Fortunately, the Treacherous Being was not made of flesh and blood. If a normal body had disintegrated like this, the entire hall would be stained with gore.


    "Master Tearrag!"


    Zen, the real Primeval Lord of Heaven, and the real Snake Goddess gazed around them at the pieces of Tearrag''s body, wearing looks of helplessness and anxiety.


    "I''m going to find other Monkey Masters for help!" the Primeval Lord of Heaven said.


    These Monkey Masters were all elites in the Monkey Spirit Sect. They had to explain what had happened, so no one would think that a Monkey Master had been killed by Zen.


    They were startled when a familiar voice suddenly spoke.


    "No need for that," said Tearrag.


    The pieces scattered across the hall began to wriggle towards each other. In a few moments, they had all joined together to reform Tearrag''s body.


    Indeed, the Treacherous Beings were truly terrifying. Their bodies were flexible and virtually indestructible. Even a Treacherous Being who had been cut into thousands of pieces, like Tearrag, could regenerate almost immediately.


    Of course, if Zen had used the Light of Annihilation, the result might be different.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven heaved a deep sigh of relief upon seeing that Tearrag had completely recovered.


    Tearrag came up to Zen and studied his coral blood sword closely. There was a trace of envy in his eyes.


    So, the most basic Blood-controlling Method could actually achieve such power. How terrifying would it be if all the potential of the ancestry-level bloodline in Zen''s body was brought out fully?

 Chapter 4106 Request

    After Zen had completely mastered the Blood-controlling Method, he went to meet the Monkey Spirit King again.


    The latter was surprised to see Zen''s coral blood sword. It was an unusual thing.


    However, as a monkey, he knew no more about the ancestry-level bloodline than Tearrag did.


    Even if he knew nothing about it at all, it wouldn''t matter. All he cared about was whether Zen could grant him the blended bloodlines. He was not interested in the ancestry-level bloodline itself; not unless he could fuse with it.


    His past had been rather unfortunate. He was unable to fuse with the ancestry-level bloodline before his corporeal body got destroyed. He might have had a chance at that time. But now, he had become a Treacherous Being, which meant it was impossible for him to do so anymore.


    "Alas, I was under the impression that Kincaid had left the methods of merging bloodlines somewhere here," the Monkey Spirit King sighed. There was a look of regret and helplessness on his face.


    Zen cupped his hands towards him and said, "Don''t worry. I am sure we can still find a way."


    "Really? Is there something you can do?" the Monkey Spirit King asked disdainfully.


    He admired Kincaid from the bottom of his heart.


    In his eyes, only Kincaid could help him in this world. Zen was nothing to him and he was only paying the man any attention because there was a slight chance Zen could help him.


    Besides, Zen, the Primeval Lord of Heaven, and the Snake Goddess were all fake human spirits.


    The only reason the Monkey Spirit King hadn''t chased them away was that they had saved his life. In any case, it was preposterous to expect them to come up with a way to merge the bloodlines.


    Zen himself knew the Monkey Spirit King was rather arrogant. And to be honest, if he were the Monkey Spirit King, he would also have looked down upon the humans.


    However, he said in a tone that was neither humble nor pushy, "Although we are not human spirits, we still are sentient, intelligent beings. The Primeval Lord of Heaven managed to merge the source-level bloodlines even though there were only a few dozen of them. You should have noticed this before."


    Looking back, when the Monkey Spirit King had been trapped in the dream, he had felt the auras of the blended bloodlines, which had brought him a little glimmer of hope.


    "Is it true? Did you do that?" the Monkey Spirit King asked, staring at the Primeval Lord of Heaven.


    "Yes," the Primeval Lord of Heaven said.


    "Good job." The Monkey Spirit King suddenly complimented him with a laugh and then continued in a serious tone, "If you want me to give you some benefits, you can ask directly. Whatever you do, d


    ecision was always the right one.


    Thinking about that, the Monkey Spirit King felt relieved, and then put on a lazy look. "Tearrag, take them to fetch the Blood-controlling Methods. They can choose whatever Treacherous Beings they like in the Ghost Mountain."


    If he were to be honest, the Monkey Spirit King had a few measures he could use to control Zen. However, he had always trusted his instincts, and he was going to do the same today.


    Right now, he was treating these humans as members of the Human Spirit Sect, so he would not resort to those despicable methods.


    Very soon, Zen and the others left the Ghost Mountain and went to the grotto in the south of the Night View Island.


    As soon as Zen announced news of fusion with hatred-level Treacherous Beings, the humans in the grotto got excited.


    The Snake Goddess, Fuxi, Yasamin, King Ieuan and the three Eternal Realm Hunters looked at Zen with expectant eyes. They were wondering whether they could fuse with Treacherous Beings as well.


    After all, they had come from outside the Night View Island.


    Of course, Zen knew what they wanted. He smiled faintly and then set them at ease. "Everyone can choose a Treacherous Being and fuse with it. I also have another piece of good news."


    "What is it?" the Snake Goddess asked.


    "The Monkey Masters will give you the Blood-controlling Methods," Zen replied with a smile.


    "What are they?" Fuxi asked in a confused tone.


    "They are methods to activate the bloodlines of the Four Spirits Sect. They can improve your bloodline power," Zen explained.


    Chiyou asked curiously, "Really? How much improvement? I mean how much of a difference would it make?"


    "A lot! They can improve your bloodline power by about three times," Zen replied with another big smile.

 Chapter 4107 Eliminate Hidden Dangers

    "Three times?!"


    The crowd couldn''t help but exclaim and ask repeatedly if what they heard was correct.


    All of the Eternal Realm warriors that were present had already lived for countless years.


    In those years, they had already used their bloodlines to the fullest, especially the human heroes.


    And in the current civilization, the Snake Goddess, Fuxi, King Ieuan, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, Yasamin, and the Eternal Realm Hunters were in the same situation.


    It actually meant that there was almost no room for further development anymore.


    That was why it was very hard for them to imagine that a Blood-controlling Method could easily increase their blood power by three times.


    After being extremely surprised, expressions of joy instantly filled everyone''s faces.


    "Zen, can you really confirm that?" Eastern Emperor Taiyi asked in disbelief. "Yes. It should be true," Zen answered confidently.


    "Everyone''s bloodline comes from the Four Spirits Sect. Generally, only after one joins the Four Spirits Sect can he or she be taught with the Blood-controlling Method. However, this time, it is sort of a special exception," he continued.


    Currently, the Monkey Spirit King did not have much confidence to deal with the ferocious Snake Spirit Sect.


    And although the strength of these human beings was much inferior compared to the Monkey Masters, they became worthy of being favored by the Monkey Spirit Sect. Moreover, Zen possessed the precious ancestry-level bloodline, meaning that his potential was limitless.


    "I can''t believe that there are such methods in this world!"


    "It seems that there is still so much that we don''t know."


    "Well, the Blood-controlling Methods are from the main world outside the chaos. We should just be grateful that we can get a hold of this knowledge."


    Everyone talked about it. Even the usually calm ones couldn''t help but join the joyous conversations.


    There was a huge cave inside the Heavenly Square City.


    The cave extended from the left side of the Heavenly Square City to the right side. Then it winded its way west.


    It almost extended to every corners of the Heavenly Square City. However, none of the rooms of different sizes inside the city was connected to it.


    Cornelius, the Snake Spirit King, dwelled and was hidden in this cave. Beneath the Heavenly Square City, his body spread along the cave and to all the corners of the city.


    From the outside, it would look like an ordinary city, but its true face was a lair of Cornelius.


    Sewell entered from the top of the Heavenly Square City and climbed down to the center of the huge cave.


    This was where Cornelius''s head was located.


    His head was covered with dark red scales, and each of these scales had unique patterns with red-blood light flowing within them. From these scales, a devastating aura was being constantly emitted.


    On the head of the Snake Spirit King was a peculiar pair of cockscombs. Currently, his huge dreadful eyes were closed.


    As Sewell arrived in front of Cornelius, he slightly bit his lip before approaching.


    "My king..." Sewell whispered as he knelt in front of the Sn


    hurry," Sewell replied.


    Alston''s suspicion grew continuously. "But how come there are so many snake spirits here just to kill us? Are you afraid that we will resist?"


    As soon as Alston said this, the other monkey spirits had also become alert. They started to realize that there was something strange going on.


    They were willing to defy all difficulties and danger for the Monkey Spirit King, and they were also ready to be killed just so they could enter the Night View Island.


    It was quite abnormal for Sewell to arrange so many snake spirits that carried the Holy Stones.


    "Come on. You''re just thinking too much," Sewell said with a smile and still played it cool.


    "Then how about we go to the Night View Island by ourselves? No matter how troublesome those birds are, I don''t think we, the monkey spirits, would be defeated by them," Alston insisted.


    Sewell''s lips started to twitch as he became annoyed with the monkey spirits'' stubbornness. "You don''t need to do that..." He finally forced a smile as he lost his patience. "I''ve decided. All of you shall die here, right now!"


    As soon as he finished speaking, he wagged his tail and immediately ordered the snake spirits to attack them.


    Without the Holy Stones, the monkey spirits were unable to kill the snake spirits even with their monstrous strength. Even if they tore the bodies of the snake spirits into pieces, they would just recover immediately.


    On the other hand, once the monkey spirits were stabbed by the white bones infused with the Light of Annihilation, they would instantly die.


    It turned out to be a cruel massacre.


    The battle was fierce at first but the monkey spirits'' resistance was futile.


    The monkey spirits were able to battle it out against the snake spirits for an hour before they were all finally eliminated.


    "Go and erase their coordinates," Sewell said coldly after watching all of the monkey spirits dissipate after the vicious battle. "You brought this to yourselves. I was actually merciful enough to give you a quick death, but you asked for such a tragic one."

 Chapter 4108 The Red Stairs

    On the huge pillar, Geoffrey was climbing the steep staircase step by step.


    In actuality, climbing up the huge pillar was a very complicated thing.


    Every one thousand steps, there would be a statue blocking his way.


    When it came to the rotten and scrapped statues, he dealt with them with ease. He only needed to carefully pass them without making any contact.


    However, the intact and mobile ones were great trouble.


    Every time Geoffrey encountered a statue that could move, he would forcefully pull the rope that connected him and Ziya.


    Then, at the foot of the pillar, Ziya would pull Geoffrey down from the pillar.


    Ziya wasn''t able to clearly see what was happening on the pillar, so he was there as a support for Geoffrey.


    Fortunately, he could still control his physical strength very well.


    So whenever Geoffrey would be in danger, Ziya would immediately drag him down. And before he hit the ground, Ziya would firmly catch him.


    When the statues started chasing after them, they would run towards the nearest cave.


    However, the mobile statues were tenacious. Once they locked on their targets, they wouldn''t give up easily until they were destroyed.


    They circled down the stairs and chased after Geoffrey into the nearest world.


    After several attempts of repeating the same process, Ziya realized that they were up for a long-term battle. Thus, he decided to put up a big array at the entrance of the world.


    Geoffrey and Ziya entered the array first.


    When the statues chased after them and entered the array, the array was instantly activated.


    Streaks of golden lightning burst out from all directions and pierced into the weak parts of the statues.


    Crack! Crack!


    The statues were charred by the bolts of lightning, but they still weren''t completely destroyed. With that, Ziya took out his God Lashing Whip.


    He let out tens of thousands of golden whip shadows, lashing out the solid statues until they finally disintegrated.


    "Fortunately, the statues have been corroded over time, so they were quite easy to destroy," Ziya said after crushing the statues to pieces.


    The powers possessed by the statues in the past were absolutely greater compared to what they were experiencing now. Even Ziya couldn''t fully resist them.


    After destroying the most recent statue, Ziya noticed a frown on Geoffrey''s face. "What''s wrong?" he asked.


    "I''m just tired," Geoffrey answered as he let out a sigh.


    Personally, Geoffrey didn''t have a persistent attitude.


    Back then, he just came to explore the four pillars because he found them really interesting.


    At first, he was fascinated by what he found out about it.


    He could control other people''s Other Shore Tokens at will, and he could climb up the stairs. He wondered


    oke.


    ''This is bad. Should I go back?''


    However, as soon as this thought entered his mind, he shook his head and slapped his cheeks with both hands.


    Although he still felt tired, he realized how he had worked so hard to climb this height. It would all be in vain if he retreated now.


    He still had great confidence that there were no more statues that were going to chase him, so he convinced himself to climb all the way to the top and have a look at what was waiting for him there.


    Finally, Geoffrey made up his mind and continued climbing up the stairs without Ziya''s protection.


    In the upper half of the pillar, he noticed that the rays of light shining upon the stairs had gradually become scarce.


    Previously, the light was densely distributed to every step. But now, every stair only had about one or two rays of light on them.


    There were still extraordinary Other Shore Tokens at the end of the light, but Geoffrey just continued to move up.


    After climbing for a few more days, he was now very close to the top of the pillar. Then suddenly, he noticed that the color of the stairs beneath his feet had changed.


    The previously gray-colored stairs glowed bright red.


    Moreover, on these bright red-colored stairs, there was no more light shining on them.


    "The absence of light means that there are no Other Shore Tokens connected to them," Geoffrey muttered as he observed the stairs.


    On the side of each stair, there were still many small black stones, but none of them was emitting light anymore.


    As he continued to climb, the stairs that he had stepped on all became bright red in color, and there was still no light on them.


    But after about five or six stairs, he finally saw a ray of light from one of the stairs.


    The previous ones released an orange light, while this one emitted a bright red light.

 Chapter 4109 Im Human

    ''It seems that the higher I climb up, the stronger the Other Shore Tokens are at the other end of the light, '' Geoffrey thought.


    Then again, he had long confirmed such a theory.


    However, a distinct boundary between the steps formed by the pages did not previously exist. He only knew that the Other Shore Tokens were always better in the next page.


    Now that there was a distinct boundary, his interest naturally increased a lot.


    He squatted on the side of the page and pointed towards the red light.


    The moment he touched the red light, he saw a long, simple sword.


    A layer of white cloth wrapped around the hilt of the sword, and it appeared worn down.


    It also had a rough and dented blade with thin cracks.


    Despite the sword''s flaws, surprisingly, it emitted great energy all the time!


    "Where is this sword located? It appears to be inside a tower¡­"


    Then, he moved his fingers back and forth along the red light so he could adjust the angle of sight.


    The inside of the tower was quite empty, but many Other Shore Tokens were neatly hung up on the wall.


    "Is this a cultivation tower of some civilization?"


    He had noticed before that there were some Other Shore Tokens placed with the other tokens in an orderly fashion.


    Generally speaking, some civilizations and forces collected the Other Shore Tokens for their disciples to use.


    This tower was no exception.


    But compared to what he had observed before, there was more variety of Other Shore Tokens in this place.


    While he observed the tower, the old man at the top of the tower suddenly saw something strange. At that moment, he dashed and went inside the tower.


    Since he was connected to the Mysterious Yellow Tower, he could notice everything happening inside the tower as soon as it occurred.


    For instance, he sensed that someone was observing the situation inside the tower just now.


    The old man''s movement also caught the attention of the young man in cyan robes. In the blink of an eye, the young man in cyan also rushed to the old man''s side.


    "What''s wrong? Did anything happen?" the young man in cyan asked.


    The old man looked around and said in a grave voice, "Someone is observing the Mysterious Yellow Tower."


    The young man in cyan also followed the old man''s gaze and smiled, "Did you have an illusion? Today is not the day to ring the bell. Why... "


    "Shut up!" the old man scolded sternly.


    The old man was usually quite amiable, while the young man was rather rude in front of him. However, the


    nd so on," he explained.


    All the words in the world consisted of letters.


    The person on the other side could not speak, but he could control his gaze, which made it possible for them to communicate.


    When the old man heard his disciple''s idea, a faint smile graced his face. It was not unusual to spell words in letters to communicate, but his disciple had thought of it in a critical moment. Indeed, the young man was quite smart.


    "It''s your turn, old man," the young man in cyan said and waved his hand.


    The old man asked the first question, "Who are you?"


    On the other side, Geoffrey thought for a moment and gently moved his fingers on the red light.


    Soon enough, he finished.


    The letters spelled "human".


    When the old man saw his answer, his face changed dramatically.


    "Old man, has he given an answer already? That quickly?" the young man in cyan robes asked. Even then, he still looked impatient.


    "Human," the old man said.


    "Human!" The young man in cyan robes thought of this word in his mind, and he was also surprised. "It is a human spirit!" he declared.


    "It is impossible. The human spirits, monkey spirits, snake spirits, and bird spirits cannot return to the main world. It''s impossible to go back. It can''t be a human spirit!" The old man shook his head.


    On the opposite side, Geoffrey was also baffled.


    ''What is the human spirit they are talking about?


    I''m human!''


    Thus, he began to fiddle with the red light with his fingers.


    He wanted to add the word "race."


    His fingers moved the red light according to the way they agreed on.


    Before he even finished, however, the old man already had the word in his mind.

 Chapter 4110 Suspicion

    The old man was stunned. After a few moments, the young man in cyan robes next to him urged, "Old man, what did he or she say?"


    "Human race, he or she is from the human race," the old man replied.


    The young man''s eyes flashed as he stared at the Lone Sword.


    These two words contained so much information that both the old man and the young man tried to think harder.


    Human spirits were equivalent to the "humans" of the main world, but they never recognized themselves as human race.


    Many arrogant human spirits even insisted that they were completely different from the human race.


    This kind of situation was usual among the monkey spirits, the bird spirits, and the snake spirits. Some spirits in the Four Spirits Sect had a natural sense of superiority. They never agreed that the races from the secondary worlds were their kind.


    "Did you come from the chaos?" the old man asked a second question.


    The person at the other end of the light answered him in a slow and troublesome manner. The old man was afraid that problems might occur if he asked too many questions, so he only asked one by one.


    The gaze behind the Lone Sword began to flicker intermittently.


    After a while of observing the flicker, the old man got the answer. It was "yes".


    "Since you are from the chaos, how did you get out?" the old man continued.


    The young man in cyan robes came to a strong realization. The human outside was really his kind!


    The problem was, the chaos was a closed world.


    How in the world could one get a chance out of a closed world? ''That human probably met an unforeseen opportunity, '' the young man thought.


    As the gaze flickered some more, the old man once again received a brief answer.


    "I just crawled out."


    The old man could not hide his amazement precisely because he had been to the main world.


    He knew it was impossible to just crawl out of the chaos.


    It was already difficult to break the barrier between the Other Shore and the chaos, let alone the barrier between the chaos and the main world.


    The old man felt the other party might have been fooling him so he reminded himself to be vigilant.


    It might be someone who worked for the snake spirits.


    They might have found a way to return to the main world and get back to the four pillars. They were trying to confirm their location through Other


    le Rocher!


    Although he didn''t have much interaction with Rocher, they had spent some time in the Cloud Hall and the fairy palace.


    "Why is Uncle Rocher in this tower?"


    he almost cried out.


    This was the first acquaintance he had seen through the light.


    Rocher wandered around the Mysterious Yellow Tower for a while before he withdrew from the Other Shore.


    He was unaware and didn''t feel anything unusual.


    Geoffrey paused for a while, thinking whether he should say something or not. Finally, he made up his mind to move the red light again.


    "I know him! Rocher!"


    After getting this information through the flicker of the gaze, the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord was puzzled.


    What the hell...


    How could the guy behind the Lone Sword know Rocher?


    Geoffrey continued sending messages through the light as his emotions stirred.


    About a quarter of an hour later, the old man burst into laughter when Geoffrey finished.


    "That''s great! Really great!


    My nephew has actually done such a feat! I didn''t expect such a coincidence in the world!


    Hahaha..." he exclaimed while raising his fists just like he won something.


    The young man in cyan robes didn''t dare to interrupt and stayed silent.


    After a while, he could no longer help himself from asking. "What is it, old man? Who is the nephew you mentioned?"


    "Ziya!" The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord beamed with pride. It was as if he had never been so happy in the past tens of millions of years.


    "Ziya? He is still alive?" The young man in cyan robes blinked as he was also shocked.

 Chapter 4111 A Damaged Sword

    After revealing such confidential information, Geoffrey started becoming quite nervous.


    Most of the humans in the Source World and the divine land knew very little about the truth of the chaos, and they were blindly optimistic about the future.


    Their naive optimism sprang from their ignorance. Once the disaster finally befell them, they would not even have a chance to react before they were wiped out from the world.


    On the other hand, Geoffrey had acquired vast amounts of information from his father, so he was more aware of the impending crisis than most people.


    He was well aware that the chaos was not as stable as most people falsely believed. On the contrary, it was more like a candle flickering in a storm, and it could be snuffed out at any time.


    He couldn''t anticipate what the consequences would be now that he had revealed so much information to the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord. However, since the old man was someone Rocher could trust, he hoped he was someone worthy of his trust as well.


    But Geoffrey would never have known the old man was Ziya''s uncle.


    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord became excited for a while before he regained his composure and asked, "As far as I know, the space and time of the main world are vastly different from those of the chaos. Even if Ziya and you managed to leave the chaos, it would be difficult for you to move even a single step. Have you ever experienced the Red Jade Rite?"


    Within the entire human race, the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord was the only one who knew so much about the main world, and that was only due to his mysterious and unique past journeys.


    He knew that there was a special and secret method in the Four Spirits Sect that could transform creatures from the secondary worlds into creatures of the main world.


    However, this secret method hinged on the availability of some extremely rare materials from the main world. Moreover, those qualified to undergo the Red Jade Rite were usually the most important disciples of the Four Spirits Sect, and this was only performed in very rare cases.


    Most importantly, the current Four Spirits Sect might no longer have the ability to perform such a rite.


    ''What is the Red Jade Rite?'' Geoffrey mused. He had never heard of such a thing. After pondering, he then replied, "No, sir. Master Ziya can''t see anything in the main world, but I can. I''ve brought him all the way here..."


    "What?! You have sight in the main world? Is this true?" the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord demanded in shock.


    "Yes," Geoffrey simply stated.


    Although the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord had known it was impossible for Geoffrey to climb up the pillar if he couldn''t see within the main world, he was still awed when he received the confirmation.


    This should have been virtually impossible...


    "What''s your name?"


    that Margaret had given birth to his sister after his departure.


    "Then set this aside for the time being," the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord said. "Which stair have you reached on the pillar now?" he changed the topic.


    "I almost reach the top." Geoffrey''s eyes shone with joy. "Is there something I can do to help you? I can modify the ability of the Other Shore Tokens," he offered.


    "What?! Can you modify their abilities directly?!" The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord couldn''t help but exclaim in astonishment.


    The young cyan-robed man''s ears immediately perked up with curiosity.


    "Yes! If you don''t believe that, let me change this sword for you now!"


    As Geoffrey spoke, he extended his hand towards the end of the red light, where a small black stone was.


    "Please don''t!" The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord hastily interceded. "This Lone Sword is a powerful weapon. Even though many have carried it, none of them could unleash its power. We''ve been waiting for someone who can unravel the mysteries within it."


    The more mysterious things were, the more attractive they became.


    Even the omniscient Grand Supreme Elderly Lord clung to the same belief. He hoped that someone could discover the truth about this mysterious sword.


    Upon hearing this, Geoffrey let out a chuckle as he replied, "I know why nobody could unleash the power of this sword! It''s because a part of this page has been damaged..."


    As Geoffrey was about to remove the small black stone, he discovered a deep crack on the step.


    He didn''t know what had initially caused this crack, but he believed this was why the sword couldn''t unleash its power.


    After Geoffrey shared this information, the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord and the cyan-robed young man exchanged dismayed glances.


    It now appeared that this mysterious sword that they always cherished was actually a damaged Other Shore Token.

 Chapter 4112 Black

    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord had spent a lot of time working on the Lone Sword. He was a little depressed about this unsatisfactory result.


    After finishing speaking, Geoffrey pulled out the black stone from the page.


    The page also had a row of square holes embedded in it. Geoffrey found the innermost hole and integrated the black stone into it.


    Crack!


    As the two parts assembled, a ray of red light blazed from it, traveling a distance towards the Lone Sword.


    When the red light reached and established a link to it, a faint blue light suddenly flashed on its surface.


    The surface of the sword began to produce a chill.


    The chill spread at an incredible speed, and before the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord could react, a thick layer of ice had already covered the inner wall of the Mysterious Yellow Tower.


    Splash, splash, splash...


    Out of thin air, ice statues started to appear.


    The statues shook as they struggled to grow from the ice wall, and then they stood still, like soldiers on duty.


    Their stance radiated a very powerful aura.


    "The ability of the Lone Sword has changed..." the young man in the cyan robe said stiffly.


    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord also took a deep breath, as the cold aura also caused his body to chill.


    Regardless of the shivers down his spine, he stared at the Lone Sword and said, "The attribute of the Lone Sword has really been changed... How did you do it?"


    "It''s very simple. Just change the black stone''s position," Geoffrey replied.


    "Can it be moved to a higher page or even the top?" wondered the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord.


    "I can have a try," replied Geoffrey.


    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord seemed to have gotten the idea as his face lit up with excitement. His hands trembled slightly as he waited on Geoffrey''s move.


    The young man in the cyan robe observed his master and sighed with contentment. This old man had not acted like this for many years.


    The small black stone was portable and could be easily carried by Geoffrey. If he encountered something uncertain, he could place it into a page nearby. This way, he could ask the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord at any time. It was killing two birds with one stone.


    When Geoffrey pulled the small black stone away, the cold air from the Lone Sword immediately stopped blowing. The ice wall within the Mysterious Yellow Tower had also cracked quickly.


    However, the rows of ice statues in front did not disappear. They r


    creased. The power of the Other Shore Tokens on the highest pages of the pillars was even stronger than that of the origin-level bloodlines.


    Those who were qualified to merge with the Other Shore Tokens on the highest pages of the pillars were top masters from the Four Spirits Sect.


    The leaders of the four sects also controlled the Other Shore Tokens of the last ten stairs.


    "The holy pillar you are climbing belongs to the Snake Spirit Sect, and the strongest ten Other Shore Tokens are probably kept by the Snake Spirit King. It is said that these ten Other Shore Tokens control nearly one-third of the energy of the holy pillar," the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord spoke.


    "One-third..." Geoffrey''s eyes widened. "Then, isn''t the Snake Spirit King able to destroy the chaos in an instant?"


    He concluded that the energy in the holy pillar was too strong...


    The chaos was no match for the holy pillar.


    "No." The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord shook his head. "The energy pools are almost destroyed and the power of the Other Shore Tokens is much weaker than before. On the other hand, the chaos is a very special world¨Ca trap carefully set up by the Snake Spirit King. It is far stronger than the ordinary secondary worlds."


    In the main world, the Monkey Spirit King was almost invincible. The Snake Spirit King was nothing compared to him, and both the Human Spirit King and the Bird Spirit King appeared to have no advantage against him.


    However, the Snake Spirit King had surprisingly pulled the other three kings into a lower-level world. This was the reason why the Snake Spirit King had been able to kill them back then.

 Chapter 4113 Holy Item

    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord acquired all the necessary information about the Four Spirits Sect and the main world from the Other Shore.


    But regarding what he said about the Snake Spirit King''s strength, it was merely a rough estimate. The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord was not thoroughly certain about it.


    Moreover, he was not entirely sure if the Snake Spirit King still had all those ten Other Shore Tokens in his possession.


    If the Snake Spirit King was still able to use his full strength until now, he would have already managed to defeat the Bird Spirit King long ago.


    These two races had been warring with each other for over hundreds of chaotic eras. One could say that they were mortal enemies.


    "If that''s the case, then I will destroy all of his Other Shore Tokens..."


    Geoffrey had already acknowledged the Snake Spirit King as his father''s greatest enemy after the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord explained everything.


    He knew that these Other Shore Tokens could be destroyed. All he needed to do was to pull them out.


    Geoffrey had succeeded to do that lots of times before. He accomplished this while he was climbing the pillar.


    If the person who owned the Other Shore Token seemed wicked, he would immediately pull out the black stone and throw it away.


    He was also the one who threw away the black stones of those Other Shore Tokens belonging to the Element Spirit Civilization.


    However, he was eager to reach the top as soon as possible. He realized that there were too many black stones on the pillar. It would take him a couple of years to pull them all out. Therefore, he left it entirely up to his mood whether or not he would pull out certain stones.


    It meant that during this period of time, all sorts of strange things had been happening on the Other Shore. Every now and then, some people found that their Other Shore Tokens had suddenly stopped working.


    Even though Geoffrey''s proposal to pull out the Snake Spirit King''s Other Shore Tokens sounded a little childish, it was actually very straightforward and effective.


    It would be best if he succeeded in pulling them out and was able to destroy the ten Other Shore Tokens as well.


    "You are welcome to try but you have to be extremely careful," replied the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord. He was obviously concerned about Geoffrey''s safety.


    At this moment, he felt full of regret.


    He should have learned more about the Four Spirits Sect in the past. That way, he could have been of greater help to Geoffrey. Alas! He had already missed his chance.


    "Okay! Here I go!"


    Geoffrey said as soon as the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord expressed his agreement. Very carefully, he climbed onto the tenth step.


    Based on his previous experience, he pointed at the black light in the middle of the step.


    It was actually a risky move but he had no other choice now. Entering the Abstruse Energy World was a kind of adventure in its own way.


    Boom!


    As soon as Geoffrey''s fingertip came into contact with the black light, the scene he


    hen these grudges among the four sects would easily be solved..."


    Actually, Geoffrey''s flickering gaze had misled the woman. She thought there wasn''t someone observing her, but there was something wrong with the holy pillars.


    When Geoffrey realized the woman didn''t get it, he became a little anxious and plucked the black light faster.


    However, the woman still couldn''t understand what he wanted to say. Communicating with her this way proved to be rather pointless.


    After trying for a while, Geoffrey felt a sharp pain in his head. It was as though it had been split open. Finally, he gave up.


    The woman discovered that the gaze on the Evil Bead had disappeared. Once again, her expression became stiff and impassive. She remained motionless and assumed her previous state of being.


    The chaos cloud that enveloped her became a little thinner. Gradually, more parts of the wall that bound her were revealed. It appears that the wall extended out of the chaos cloud and stretched endlessly towards the far distance.


    After leaving the black light, Geoffrey headed back and returned to the eleventh step. He immediately told the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord what he had seen.


    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord frowned when he heard what he just said.


    He didn''t expect that there was a wall in the chaos. Moreover, there was a beautiful woman with snake eyes embedded in it.


    He couldn''t quite understand why such a bizarre thing existed in the chaos.


    Needless to say, Geoffrey didn''t get an answer from the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord. Then without saying anything, he stood on the ninth step and touched the black light.


    This time, Geoffrey''s gaze landed directly on the Heavenly Square City.


    There was an irregularly-shaped piece of metal floating in the middle of a small room.


    The moment Geoffrey laid his eyes on the metal piece, the whole Heavenly Square City trembled violently.


    The Snake Spirit King suddenly opened his eyes and growled, "My Holy Item! Who dares spy on my Holy Item?"

 Chapter 4114 The Danger (Part One)

    The ten strongest Other Shore Tokens stored on the top of a holy pillar were referred to by the Snake Spirit Sect as the Holy Items.


    The Snake Spirit King Cornelius had selected the ten items himself and strategically ordered them to be placed in this specific location for a very important reason.


    If someone was spying on him now through one of these items, it meant that they had climbed up the holy pillar.


    "My king, may I know what happened?" Sewell asked, trying to look and sound as respectful as he could be.


    He was the first one to come to the Snake Spirit King, and he did not want to try his patience.


    The Snake Spirit King granted his request, filling him on what was happening to the holy pillar. When Sewell heard what the Snake Spirit King said, his neutral expression became somber.


    "We have left the main world for too long, my king. After the slaughter, many creatures might have been born there. I guess that some of them accidentally climbed up the holy pillar," Sewell said, his voice sounding worried.


    This only confirmed what the Snake Spirit King refused to hear. The main world was not empty. It was not dead.


    It was simply not prospering the way it did before.


    Long ago, the Snake Spirit Sect had sent the members of the Element Spirit Civilization into the main world to have them gather as much information about it as they could.


    From this mission, they discovered that there were already small races forming in the main world. Even worse, some of them were strong.


    In terms of size and strength, however, they were not much in comparison to the Four Spirits Sect, but this did not mean they were to be discarded. After all, a threat was a threat.


    "To think that those losers had the audacity to approach our holy pillar. When I come back to the main world, I will tear them into a thousand pieces," the Sn


    his head. "From what I know, no matter how hard a person tries, the connection between the Holy Items and the holy pillar would be impossible to break off."


    "Unfortunately, that''s not true," the Snake Spirit King interjected. "Although the connection between the items and the holy pillar is supposedly unbreakable, if a person has enough time and the correct resources, he or she would be able to cut it all off," he continued, revealing a fit of growing anger in his expression. "After all, the Deep Space favors no one."


    "The Deep Space favors no one"¡ªthis was something the Human Spirit King Kincaid would always remind him. The Deep Space was never purposely on anyone''s side.


    The Deep Space meant a great lot to the main world. Both Sheehan and Kincaid believed it to be the origin of all that existed.


    However, despite the supposed greatness of the Deep Space, it was also mysterious and unpredictable, therefore making it dangerous. No one knew what to expect from it, not even the Four Spirits Sect did when it was at its peak!


    Most members of the Four Spirits Sect believed the reason why they would rule the main world was because it was a blessing from the Deep Space back then. But Kincaid had a different opinion.

 Chapter 4115 The Danger (Part Two)

    To him, the prosperity of the Four Spirits Sect had nothing to do with the Deep Space''s favor. It was all simply blind luck!


    This was why the Snake Spirit King decided to take matters into his own hands. He thought that if the Four Spirits Sect disappeared from the main world, more powerful races would rise and take their places.


    His plan was clear, thorough, and well-thought-out. He did what he could to achieve his vision, and all was going according to his plan.


    However, if there was anything he failed to take into consideration, it would be Sheehan''s personality.


    The way the Snake Spirit King saw it, Sheehan, the Bird Spirit King was the most restrained one among the four leaders of the Four Spirits Sect.


    However, he did not expect him to be so stubborn.


    When the Snake Spirit King put an end to the Four Spirits Sect, Sheehan decided to put an end to the Snake Spirit King''s plan.


    Thinking about this bothered him deeply, having to remember how someone planned to destroy something he had spent so much time and effort on.


    He simply could not understand why Sheehan was so stubborn, why he could not simply let things go according to the plan. He even resisted against him after he died.


    "Whatever happens, we cannot let those weaklings from the main world get in our way. We have to make our move," the Snake Spirit King said, his drive for succeeding in his plans becoming fiercer.


    "But it is not yet time to take action," Sewell worriedly reminded the Snake Spirit King.


    The Snake Spirit King disagreed. "There is no better time than now. Although Sheehan is not awake, those birds are incredibly intelligent. It will only be a matter of time before they recognize the direction of our plan. For n


    became more and more difficult to accomplish his mission. The black stair and the black stone were too difficult to deal with.


    After a few more tries, Geoffrey, in pure exhaustion, finally gave up.


    He rested his body after a long time of struggling, not daring to touch another ray of dark light.


    ''If the Snake Spirit King is around the Other Shore Tokens, I would be in serious trouble, especially if I make eye-contact with him. I can only imagine how harsh the punishment would be, '' he thought to himself.


    He decided to completely leave the dark rays of light alone and headed towards the top of the holy pillar.


    As he was climbing his way to the top, he couldn''t help but think of the Four Spirits Sect, how they built these gigantic pillars.


    His feet finally landed on the top of the holy pillar. When he was there, he discovered he was standing on a round platform, which measured about ten thousand feet wide! In the middle of the platform was a relief sculpture of a giant snake, which seemed almost life-like.


    He took a quick look at it, only to realize that he was face-to-face with the relief sculpture of the Snake Spirit King.

 Chapter 4116 The Sky

    Geoffrey took a few steps forward, carefully studying the relief sculpture on the platform.


    The relief of the Snake Spirit King was extremely intricate, but something caught Geoffrey''s eyes.


    It seemed some parts of the carving were smelted, as though someone had tried to burn them.


    Did someone climb to the top of the pillar to destroy the relief before?


    The pillar was undoubtedly very solid. Geoffrey wouldn''t have been able to damage it, even if he tried.


    Back when he was at the foot of the pillar, he had asked Ziya to give it a try, but even Ziya couldn''t leave a mark on the pillar.


    Except for these strangely burnt parts, there was nothing exquisite about the relief.


    Geoffrey frowned in disappointment.


    It hadn''t been easy for him to climb all this way, yet the journey seemed fruitless.


    At the very least, he had helped the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord connect the sword to the eleventh stair.


    An Other Shore Token on the eleventh stair was supposedly quite decent; however it was still connected to a red light beam like before. This meant it was surely inferior compared to the Other Shore Tokens on the last ten stairs.


    ''If I drill a square hole here and insert the black stone in it, will it work?"


    Geoffrey''s eyes flashed excitedly as he came up with this bold idea.


    But he dismissed the idea just as quickly as he hatched it.


    The pillar was too solid. There was no possible way he''d be able to dig a hole in it!


    ''What if I asked Ziya for help...''


    It had taken him several months to climb to the top of the pillar, which meant it''d take several more months to go down. Thus, it would take him nearly a year to make a round trip.


    As he pondered over this, he inadvertently walked to the center of the platform, where the Snake Spirit King''s eyes lay.


    Without even looking where he was going, Geoffrey accidentally stepped right on the Snake Spirit King''s eyes. Then, the sky began to stir, as though it was unsettled.


    Initially, the sky of the main world was as dark as a moonless night.


    Whenever he looked up, the sky was always pitch black.


    But the instant Geoffrey stepped on the Snake Spirit King''s eyes, he noticed a huge courtyard floating nearby.


    It was floating in the center of the four pillars.


    Upon a closer look, Geoffrey realized the courtyard was tethered by thick chains that glowed brightly. The glowing chains were connected to


    ll acutely sense things around him.


    Instantly he knew that the person approaching him was the Divine Farmer.


    "What''re you doing here?" the Yellow Thearch asked sourly.


    After the battle with the Pear Hill, the Divine Farmer had actually rescued him.


    But secretly, the Yellow Thearch loathed the Divine Farmer.


    It would''ve been better to die in battle than to continue living as a puppet.


    "The Eye Spirit has sent a message," said the Divine Farmer calmly.


    "The Eye Spirit" were the last three words that the Yellow Thearch wanted to hear, but he had no choice. With a sigh, he struggled to sit up.


    He knew that the Eye Spirit could be spying on them at any given time.


    "What did he say?" the Yellow Thearch asked tiredly.


    "Kill the Evil God," the Divine Farmer said bluntly.


    The Yellow Thearch laughed bitterly. "How are we supposed to do that, especially in this condition?"


    In the battle with the Pear Hill, two of the three Chaos Ancient Gods who advocated the Purge Way had perished. Othniel was the only survivor, but no one knew where he was now. How could they possibly kill the Evil God after they suffered such huge losses?


    "We have to do it. The Eye Spirit will help us." The Divine Farmer shrugged.


    "He will help us? How?"


    "We still have Othniel. The Element Spirit Civilization will support us, and the Eye Spirit said he will teach us a special method." There was a hint of excitement in the Divine Farmer''s voice.


    "What method?"


    "The Blood-controlling Method. It''s a method to activate the bloodline theurgies, developed from outside the chaos..."

 Chapter 4117 Everything Was Under Control

    Yellow Thearch was confused after he heard what Divine Farmer said.


    When one obtained a bloodline, it would fully belong to them.


    On top of that, the more one used their obtained bloodline, the more powerful their theurgy would be.


    That was how Yellow Thearch thought the bloodlines worked ever since he became an Eternal Realm warrior.


    The Eye Spirit even told him the same thing before.


    But now that he knew about the existence of the Blood-controlling Method, he thought everything he knew came into question.


    "Master Eye Spirit didn''t have the Blood-controlling Method before. It was given to him by a master," Divine Farmer told him.


    "A master..." Yellow Thearch''s eyes flashed with combined intrigue and surprise.


    It seemed that he was right in assuming that these Treacherous Beings were not as simple as they seemed.


    There was no way such powerful and terrible creatures came from within the chaos.


    Another matter to also consider was the relationship between the Element Spirit Civilization and the Treacherous Beings, but Yellow Thearch pushed this to the back of his mind for the time being.


    "Can a master truly activate a stronger bloodline theurgy with just a Blood-controlling Method?" he asked. Divine Farmer''s words still made him doubtful.


    Divine Farmer merely smiled in reply.


    Soon enough, the blood within his body began to boil.


    His blood power used to be extremely fierce and violent but now, it was incredibly gentle.


    In just a few moments, a figure sporting a goat head with huge horns took shape.


    Divine Farmer had just transformed into a goat monster! "What do you intend to do?"


    Yellow Thearch immediately became alert.


    In this form, Divine Farmer''s strength greatly increased but his consciousness was virtually non-existent. He essentially turned into a heartless goat monster.


    Was he perhaps planning to kill Yellow Thearch?


    A powerful aura emanated from Divine Farmer''s monster form, so powerful that it was enough to disrupt rubble on the ground.


    To Yellow Thearch''s surprise, Divine Farmer spoke, "I''m just trying to prove something to you."


    "Can you control your goat monster body?" Yellow Thearch asked in amazement.


    "Completely," Divine Farmer replied. "I can freely choose and control any of the three forms of transformation."


    Back then, Divine Farmer''s transformation forms came at random and, though they were powerful, there was always a risk that he did not get the one he wanted.


    "After cultivating the Blood-controlling Method, I was also able to obtain a fourth


    aotic Source Realm warrior''s heart, and his Other Shore Token, the Sacred Earth Armor, could only save a few people.


    "You dodged my storm," the Evil God remarked with indifference as he floated down. "Your strength is not too shabby."


    To everyone''s combined surprise and horror, the Evil God did not move his mouth. Rather his voice emanated from the earth itself.


    His words could be heard from within and across the Roaring Lake Province itself!


    It was like he suddenly became the land''s ruler.


    Anger erupted from the Chaotic Source Realm warrior''s eyes when he heard this.


    With the turtle shell on his head, he made a mad dash towards the Evil God and roared, "Why? Why did you destroy our Roaring Lake Province?"


    The Evil God simply raised his hand and the turtle shell atop the Chaotic Source Realm warrior''s head shattered with a bang!


    "I want to correct your words," the Evil God told him. "This is not your Roaring Lake Province, but mine."


    "I''ll kill you!"


    The Evil God''s insensitive words pushed the Chaotic Source Realm warrior to the limit.


    He was determined to burn his Other Shore Token just to fight against this malicious character.


    Unfortunately, he soon discovered that even if he maxed out his potential, he still couldn''t move.


    "It''s not just the Roaring Lake Province," the Evil God began, "but everything in the Source World. The flowers, the trees, the buildings and even your lives all belong to me now. Everything is under my control and I can do everything that I want."


    Clap!


    Despite his best efforts to burn through his Other Shore Token, the Chaotic Source Realm warrior still turned into blood mist and completely disappeared from the world.

 Chapter 4118 The Strongest Hatred

    A black ship slowly approached the Evil God.


    On the side of the ship sat Shera, who had yet to recover from her shock.


    The former captain of the ship sat beside her in silence, deep in thought.


    He had only helped the Evil God devour Usman because the Grandmaster of Heaven asked him to.


    However, the Evil God himself was like a Pandora''s box, full of uncertainty. No one knew how he would affect the future and what he would bring to it.


    "Is this the power of the Source World?" Shera asked.


    "My power," the Evil God answered with a pout.


    He had already considered himself the ruler of the entire world.


    "Your power is truly something else¡­ It''s on a par with that of the Chaos Ancient Gods," Shera continued.


    All the Eternal Realm warriors in this world could destroy a province, but it was a time-consuming task.


    On the other hand, the Evil God only moved for a bit, but he had wiped out the entire Roaring Lake Province in just an hour. Only the Chaos Ancient Gods could achieve such a feat!


    "The Chaos Ancient Gods?" There was a trace of contempt in the Evil God''s voice.


    Indeed, those Chaos Ancient Gods might have grasped the highest level of truths.


    However, there were some truths that might not work in his territory!


    The more compatible he was with the Source World, the stronger the power he would have.


    At that moment, he suddenly thought of something that deeply bothered him. It was an issue that was close to his heart.


    The image of a person filled his mind, and he immediately closed his eyes.


    Then, his spiritual sense flowed out like water and began to wash over the entire Roaring Lake Province.


    When Shera felt his spiritual sense, she asked curiously, "Who are you looking for?"


    "A person," said the Evil God.


    "A person? Who?" Shera asked again.


    "I don''t know, either." The Evil God closed his eyes and shook his head.


    After he had fused with the Source World, he became immensely sensitive to everything within it.


    That was why the Source World had sensed a concern in his heart and gave feedback to him.


    The problem was that he could not possibly care about anyone in the Source World. The feeling was quite strange and out of character for him.


    A few moments later, his spiritual sense appeared in the center of every large province in the Source World and quickly spread everywhere, until it covered all of the great provinces.


    It was probably the broadest spread of spiritual sense in history!


    Once all the spiritual sense had spread out, the Evil God saw everything in the Source World.


    Eventually, he caught sight of a woman.


    "Edna!"


    However, his lips curved into a slight frown.


    The concern he felt was for his wife.


    Furthermore, he did not expect that Zen had released her.


    Did Zen let her leave his inner world on purpose and leave her to perish by herself?


    No...


    He was not a narrow-minded


    of them looked good.


    However, Edna''s beauty had an indescribable aura to it, which made the prison guard feel a certain kind of impulse.


    Of course, she felt the prison guard''s unwavering gaze. "What do you want to do?" she asked cautiously.


    "Anyway, you are going to die. Why not have some fun in your last moment?" the prison guard said with a sinister laugh.


    "How dare you!" Edna felt utterly flustered when she realized what the prison guard meant.


    Then, the prison guard advanced towards her. Despite her struggles, he grabbed her hair and took her into another empty room.


    Just then, a strong spiritual sense spread out in the Blood Sea Province.


    The spiritual sense even reached the whole dungeon under the ground.


    As a great warrior at the Other Shore Realm, the prison guard also felt the strong spiritual sense right away. He looked up strangely and muttered, "Who dares to be so bold and release spiritual sense recklessly in the Moon Shield City?"


    Unbeknownst to him, the spiritual sense had already covered the entire Blood Sea Province.


    Edna looked up blankly, then her jaw dropped.


    She felt that this powerful spiritual sense was somewhat familiar. Then, she quickly realized that it came from the Evil God!


    "Dar... darling...


    Are you here to save me?" she croaked.


    Suddenly, she changed her mind and shouted, "Don''t come here! This is the Bearing race''s territory! They will kill you!"


    Even at her final moments, she still cared about the safety of the Evil God first. She did not want him to risk his life to save her.


    The Evil God, who was far away in the Roaring Lake Province, naturally saw this scene and also heard Edna''s cries.


    At that point, vicious killing intent surged from his body.


    His killing intent was also the strongest that was ever released in history, as it covered every corner of the Source World.


    After all, it was hatred that came from the Source World.

 Chapter 4119 Cut Ties

    Evil God always saw love as a ridiculous desire.


    The only thing he pursued passionately was strength.


    He would remove anything that attempted to keep him from this objective.


    Even when he realized he couldn''t defeat Zen in Zen''s inner world, Evil God refused to give up.


    Glory, wealth, and family didn''t mean much to him compared to his ultimate goal.


    But now he couldn''t contain his anger.


    It was until he felt hatred that he became aware of what he was doing.


    ''Why would I get so angry?


    What a worthless emotion!'' he thought to himself.


    He had also bid farewell to his past when he left Zen''s inner world.


    Edna was aware of his thoughts yet continued to support him without hesitation.


    Although the Evil God was able to think rationally, anger still overwhelmed him.


    "I still care about her..."


    he said as he quickly figured out the reason he was mad.


    There was no one to blame but his wife.


    Edna was a liability for him, and he would never let her hold him back.


    ''I can''t let her live, '' the Evil God decided.


    It was the second time that he had tried to take Edna''s life.


    He had stabbed Edna''s chest with a sharp broken knife and planned to also kill himself afterward. But Zen came to their rescue.


    Evil God closed his eyes as he began to sense Edna''s condition and emotions.


    He saw that Edna was worried about him and that she was relieved upon finding out that he was alive. Her temperature even rose that she slightly trembled with excitement.


    The guard of the dungeon was taken aback by how Edna reacted.


    "Are you saying the aura belongs to your husband?" the guard asked Edna.


    Judging by the powerful aura, he speculated that the visitor was at least a master at the Holy Soul Realm or Eternal Realm.


    No matter what the mysterious man was up to, the guard was certain that he could not afford to mess with the man. Soon after, another thought occurred to him.


    The guard let out a snort. "If your husband was this strong, you wouldn''t have ended up here. You are a terrible liar. Ha-ha!" he mocked before Edna could even answer his question.


    He reached out his hand, going towards Edna''s neck.


    Despite how powerful he appeared to be, the Moon Shield City was the territory of the Bearing race. No one could risk stirring up trouble here.


    As he clenched the fabric of E


    soil stroke her face with its hand.


    The man caressed her and said, "Wait for me here. I''ll come to get you."


    It kissed Edna gently and stepped back.


    Seeing Edna submit to her fate calmly, the Evil God didn''t have the heart to do it. He was taken over by guilt.


    He just couldn''t cut ties with her.


    Under his manipulation, the men of soil destroyed and turned the dungeon into a mess. They killed the warden and guards to keep Edna alive for the time being.


    In order not to arouse the suspicion of the Bearing race, the Evil God created lots of men of soil in other places under their jurisdiction. He controlled them to cause chaos in those areas.


    After that, the Evil God said to the Shera and the former captain, "I am going to drop by the Blood Sea Province."


    "Blood Sea Province..." Shera repeated. She arched her eyebrows as she thought for a while. "No, you can''t go there. That''s the place of the Bearing race!" she disagreed strongly.


    Although the Bearing race and Divine Farmer race both suffered a great casualty in the battle of the Pear Hill, Othniel was still alive and the Bearing race had the Element Spirit Civilization to support them.


    It was highly risky to break into the territory of the Bearing race.


    "I''m not asking for permission," the Evil God said indifferently. "Did you forget who I am?"


    He was the owner of the Black Ship.


    The former captain and Shera were his subordinates and they took orders from him.


    Soon, the black ship turned around and sailed towards the ancestral land of the Bearing race.

 Chapter 4120 Kill Them

    Everyone in the entire Source World was shocked by the recent events that just unfolded.


    From the super forces in the cities, to even the small races living in the remotest places, everyone discussed amongst themselves and tried to figure out who released that sudden stream of consciousness and resentment.


    Some of them guessed that it was Zen who had caused all this.


    What happened in the large provinces under the control of the Bearing race was even more bizarre.


    Men made of soil, of all shapes and sizes, appeared in droves and set out to burn, kill, and plunder everything in their path.


    These strange men of soil had varying levels of strength, but all ended up dying by the hands of the warriors of the Bearing race.


    The men of soil that attacked the Moon Shield City of the Blood Sea Province were of the largest number. The warden, a bunch of prison guards and prisoners died in the dungeon.


    Those prisoners who were lucky enough to survive were temporarily transferred and imprisoned in the north of the city.


    Edna and the other prisoners had finally left the dark dungeon only to get locked up in a huge, iron cage.


    Edna couldn''t help but lean against the bars of the cage and stare into the distance with unease.


    It seemed that the Evil God was able to obtain the power that was beyond her imagination.


    This was something that had been inevitable in her eyes. The Evil God was talented and she always knew it was only a matter of time before he truly became a force to be reckoned with.


    However, if he did come, he would have to face off against the entire Bearing race and directly fight against Yellow Thearch.


    "I heard Yellow Thearch is at the Eternal Realm.


    He''s inherited the most powerful bloodline.


    No one can step into the Eternal Realm in these years.


    With my husband''s strength, how could he be his match?"


    The other prisoners soon found out that Edna seemed to have lost her mind. She kept muttering under her breath all day long, just repeating those words every single day.


    "Can you not come over?


    Please..."


    Of course, the Evil God could hear her.


    However, her begging did not work whatsoever.


    The black ship continued to sail at an unprecedented high speed.


    A layer of invisible space membrane was wrapped around it so it seemed as if it swam through ordinary space. In truth, however, it was moving within an independent space where its speed increased tenfold.


    In just four days, the black ship was able to cross dozens of provinces and soon arrived at the edge of the Bearing race''s territory: the Black Gorge Province.


    Over the years, both the Bearing and the Divine Farmer races expanded their territories by occupying large provinces. Soon enough, the two races became neighbors.


    Compa


    d ground let out a roar, and stone pillars suddenly came out of nowhere. Each pillar stabbed through the warriors that guarded the outpost position.


    "Run away!"


    Having realized the hopelessness of their situation, the Chaotic Source Realm warrior gave the order and was about to use the Grand Teleportation.


    The other warriors thought the same thing and intended to escape as far away as possible.


    However, when they used the space theurgy, they found that the space had no reaction¡ªit had been sealed.


    This feat, sealing the space, was a piece of cake for the Evil God.


    Soon enough, the members of the Bearing race found themselves wrapped in endless stalagmites.


    These stalagmites were as powerful as those men of soil!


    A blow could shatter these stalagmites but it did not completely destroy them, as they reconstructed and their strength doubled.


    Not long after, the warriors found themselves impaled onto the stalagmites.


    The Chaotic Source Realm warrior soon exhausted his strength as he lay dying upon a stalagmite pillar. "I''m the direct descendant of the Ji Clan! You cannot kill me like this!" he roared.


    When he said those words, the stalagmites suddenly stopped and a glimmer of hope rose in his chest. It seemed that the Ji Clan''s reputation still terrified people.


    However, he soon found out that his assumption was wrong.


    "A member of the Ji Clan? Then it would be best if you die a slow, painful death."


    The stalagmites slowly rotated and caused the Chaotic Source Realm warrior intense pain as they drove deep within his flesh.


    Shera stared at the sight with a grimace. "Are you going to kill all of them like this?" she asked.


    The Evil God shrugged. "I guess so."


    The corners of Shera''s eyes twitched.


    This guy was truly crazy. She had no idea what he aimed to achieve with all this chaos.

 Chapter 4121 The Last Bit Of Obsession (Part One)

    The method the Evil God used to destroy cities and murder people required little to no effort from him.


    Every time the Black Ship passed by a big city, countless stalagmites would emerge from the ground.


    Because no one knew the exact locations where the stalagmites would emerge from, when they did, the city would collapse and it would cause great chaos on the land.


    With the stalagmites doing all the job, he didn''t even have to break a sweat in doing what he wished to do.


    The stalagmites also made it incredibly difficult for people of all kinds who wished to flee the land to do so. These included the True Gods, warriors at the Other Shore Realm, and even warriors at the Chaotic Source Realm. Even if they attempted to escape to the best of their abilities, the stalagmites would continue to emerge from nowhere, block their paths, or simply push them to the brink of exhaustion until they fully decided to give up.


    Some big cities were guarded by warriors at the Holy Soul Realm, who would charge towards the Black Ship to stop it from causing further damage.


    However, the Evil God steered the ship as if it were lightning.


    The ship was so fast that as soon as the warriors at the Holy Soul Realm arrived at the destination where the it was said to have been, the ship would already have left.


    The warriors, however, not being able to accept this, would make use of the spatial transference, only to discover that the space was sealed. As they looked back, they would realize that in the moments they spent in trying to use the spatial transference, their city had already been destroyed by the uncountable stalagmites.


    It was a scene that happened again and again, but no one seemed to learn much from it.


    Wherever the Black Ship passed, the place was left in ruins.


    After flying across and destroying several territories, the Black Ship neared the Blood Sea Province.


    In the Moon Shield City stood three powerful warriors at the Holy Soul Realm, all left with the duty of protecting the city.


    y enough, the Black Ship did not act as they expected. This situation was unlike they had ever heard of before, making the old man feel uneasy.


    From what they had heard in the past, the ship was always flying at an incredibly rapid speed.


    When the Black Ship passed through a city, the city would be destroyed. Nothing would be left of it. This was why the old man asked Octavio to stay put and guard the Moon Shield City. However, nothing was happening. It was all too strange.


    A few moments passed until they heard heavy footsteps on the deck. Walking out was the Evil God. His eyes scanned the surroundings, only to meet Jimena Ji''s.


    When this happened, an unidentifiable expression crossed Jimena Ji''s face.


    They sensed a familiar aura from each other, almost like they had met each other before. And in some way, they did.


    In the past, after Yellow Thearch brought Usman back to their race, it was Jimena Ji who was put in charge of training him.


    Later, the Evil God had devoured Usman together with the memories he held. Because of this, the Evil god recognized the woman, and oddly enough, felt a desire for her, a desire which stemmed from the young Usman.


    Usman grew strong fast under Jimena Ji''s borderline torturous training. She was incredibly tough with him, and her strength drove him mad. He longed for her so deeply.

 Chapter 4122 The Last Bit Of Obsession (Part Two)

    However, during the time, Usman was still too weak to defeat Jimena Ji. Every time he attempted to throw a punch, he would get a hit first. Every time he attempted to give her a kick, she would be able to dodge it with ease.


    He could not defeat her, and he could not stop thinking about her. As time went by, an obsession formed in his mind, and it was emerging at this very moment.


    Likewise, Jimena Ji was able to tell the identify of this man through Usman''s aura. "You must be the Evil God," she said to him.


    "Jimena," the Evil God responded, making it known that he knew who she was.


    As the Evil God confirmed her speculation of who he was, she smiled, thinking of ways she could use to her advantage. "Evil God, perhaps there is no reason for us to stand against each other. We can work together," she said and stared at him with her soft and beautiful eyes.


    The Evil God sneered at her suggestion. "Are you suggesting we cooperate with you? But how?"


    "Join us, and we can fight against the Pear Hill together." Jimena Ji replied slyly.


    "If you truly wish to cooperate with us, why don''t you join my Black Ship? We can fight against the Pear Hill then," the Evil God said smugly.


    He was not one that could be convinced so easily, but Jimena Ji refused to give up. She flashed him a seductive look, attempting to have him go more easily on her. "But I''m a member of the Ji Clan. If I join enemy forces by my own will, I would betray my clan. It truly is a pity I can''t do so."


    The Evil God scoffed. "It is easy. Just become my woman."


    She felt the Evil God''s longing for her. She smiled, believing she had the upper hand in the situation. "Can you give me at least two days to think about your offer?"


    Given the current situation of the Ji Clan, uniting with the Black Ship by marriage should be a good thing.


    The entire time, Shera, who was also


    ey all heard two muffled sounds coming from inside the conical containers.


    The entire scene was terrifying. The energy the Evil God used was enough to destroy more than half of the province, and he locked it all up in the conical containers, where none of the energy was able to leak out.


    Both the old man and Jimena Ji had completely disappeared.


    Octavio, who stood guard before Moon Shield City, was left paralyzed by what he saw. He did not know how to react.


    The old man and Jimena Ji were among the top five warriors from the Bearing race. They had fought and survived numerous battles. Had they just died like this? Was this the end of them? Octavio could not bear to think about it.


    As his mind began to weaken so did his body. He began to tremble, both out of fear and exhaustion. He lost all will to fight, fleeing from the scene and into the furthest end of Moon Shield City.


    The Evil God knew there was another warrior at the Holy Soul Realm on the run, but he had no interest in hunting him down. He already accomplished what he came here to do.


    Now that Jimena was done for, so was Usman''s obsession for her, his heart finally silencing its call. "Show''s over," he told his crew. They then left, heading north of the city.

 Chapter 4123 Absolute Trust

    The commotion over the Moon Shield City went practically unnoticed, even with the death of two cultivators at the Holy Soul Realm.


    The people didn''t stir, possibly because they didn''t even know that two cultivators had just been killed.


    Just then, the Evil God was slowly descending into the prison in the north of the city.


    The prison guards barked orders at each other while swarming out to rush towards him.


    In the eyes of the Evil God, these guards meant absolutely nothing to him. Barely even shooting them a glance, countless stalagmites as thick as wrists suddenly popped out from the ground and strung the guards together.


    Then, the prison''s walls and fences collapsed with a loud bang, frightening the prisoners inside.


    The prisoners didn''t dare to make a move, staring fearfully at the Evil God who was descending from the sky.


    With a smile on her face, Edna slowly walked towards the Evil God as he landed on the prison ground.


    She had been consumed with worry and had hoped that the Evil God wouldn''t come in person. However, now that he was here, she couldn''t help but be drawn towards him.


    Without uttering a word, she fell into the arms of her husband.


    "Let''s go," the Evil God whispered into her ear.


    Wrapping his arms around her waist tightly, he then launched themselves into the sky and flew to the deck of the black ship.


    As soon as she set foot on the deck, she felt a blazing gaze boring into the back of her head.


    Turning around, she saw Shera glaring at her with a hint of jealousy.


    Edna met Shera''s gaze calmly. "Nice to meet you."


    Shera was planning to say something first, but was immediately caught off guard by Edna''s courteous greeting. At a loss for words, she didn''t respond.


    However, seeing Edna leaning on the Evil God intimately, she felt her heart sink.


    The Evil God had come all the way to the Blood Sea Province to save Edna. What more could she say?


    However, Shera was a veteran in battle. Surely she could survive these trivial matters. Forcing a smile, she asked in a strained voice, "Who are you to him? What are you doing in the Blood Sea Province?"


    "She''s my wife, and she''s also from Zen''s inner world," the Evil God suddenly cut in, answering for her. "Not long ago, Zen let her go, but she was taken here by the Bearing race."


    "I see," Shera said through gritted teeth. "Since we''ve saved her already, can we go now?"


    She and the former captain had predicted that the Yellow Thearch would take action shortly after they entered the Bearing race''s territory. However, he hadn''t shown up since, which made Shera feel a bit uneasy.


    Since the Yellow Thearch didn''t show up, there was no need for the Black Ship to


    appeared in front of the Evil God.


    Othniel''s invitation was a thinly veiled challenge.


    "You are all famous masters in the chaos. It''s ridiculous for you to stoop so low as to face the Evil God together," Shera shouted to them. Then, turning to the Evil God, she pleaded, "Don''t fall into their trap, please!"


    The Evil God looked at the triangular door and pressed his hand against it cautiously. Closing his eyes, he tried to feel the space beyond it. Turning to his wife, he said abruptly, "Wait for me." Without further hesitation, he entered the door and disappeared in it.


    Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!


    The very next moment, the triangular door closed and vanished.


    The Yellow Thearch, the Divine Farmer, and Othniel also disappeared quickly.


    The people of the Moon Shield City were all relieved to see that the huge creature was gone. Naturally, they didn''t want to suffer from collateral damage.


    "The Evil God has gone in! What should we do now?" Shera cried anxiously.


    Without a word, the former captain sat down cross-legged and began to recite the Truth of Godly Way. He planned to enter the Other Shore again to communicate with the Grandmaster of Heaven.


    Seeing how flustered Shera was, Edna took her hand gently. "Don''t worry, my husband will be fine. He will win."


    "You know nothing!"


    Shera yanked her hand away, shooting Edna an indignant glare.


    How could a weak True God know how fierce the battle of top masters was?


    What Shera said stunned Edna, but she decidedly remained calm. "I don''t know who is stronger, but I know my husband. Since he asked me to wait for him, he will definitely come back."


    Edna''s eyes shone with an almost child-like innocence as she spoke. Shera turned away in disgust, secretly praying in her heart that what Edna was saying was true.

 Chapter 4124 Life And Death Holy Way

    The illusory space created by Othniel looked as though it was made up of countless huge spaces.


    It seemed like the illusory space extended infinitely. If one looked from afar, even Othniel''s massive body looked minuscule compared to the vastness of the space.


    "That guy is brave. He went straight in, no hesitation." Othniel''s voice echoed throughout the illusory space.


    "If I didn''t come on my own volition, you''d have dragged me in," the Evil God said calmly.


    "It''s good that you know that," Othniel smiled, shooting the Evil God an amused glance. "I''m sure you can tell what the outcome of this battle will be. Why not surrender now?"


    "The outcome of this battle?" the Evil God echoed, eyebrows shooting up angrily. His tone suddenly grew serious. "The only outcome I can see is of you being torn to pieces."


    "Hahaha..."


    Yellow Thearch, Divine Farmer, and Othniel all burst into laughter, as though they''d just heard the funniest joke in the world.


    Othniel continued, "This is an illusory space. There''s no way you''ll come close to even hurting me here. I appreciate your courage, though. Beg for mercy now, and I''ll grant you a swift death!"


    "Illusory space?"


    The Evil God raised his hand and closed his eyes to feel the space around him.


    He sensed that the rules which kept the space running were completely independent.


    "It''s true that you have created this independent illusory space, but this space is still within the Source World..." the Evil God suddenly said, opening his eyes to shoot Othniel a mischievous glance.


    "What do you mean?" asked Othniel, visibly confused.


    "Can you bear the external pressure?" the Evil God asked and smiled menacingly.


    "Boom!"


    Suddenly, the whole Source World shook.


    Then, it shrank slightly...


    While the Source World only shrank by a minuscule fraction, under the Evil God''s control, it seemed to affect the illusory space on a large scale.


    In other words, the illusory space was compressed by the Source World!


    "Crackle..."


    As the external pressure hounded on the illusory space, the seemingly infinite background that once looked like a giant net suddenly began to crack.


    "Othniel, what''s happening?" Yellow Thearch asked as he worriedly eyed the cracks forming all over the space.


    In terms of the use of the space theurgy, no one in the entire chaos could surpass Othniel. Now that the illusory space had actually been broken, Yellow Thearch and Divine Farmer were quite confused.


    "What did you do!? Why is there such a strong pressure?" Othniel couldn''t believe his eyes.


    "Do you want more pressure?" The Evil God''s eyes flashed crazily and he grinned like a madman. "I can deliver!"


    He seemed to be enjoying himself immensely.


    Truly, it was quite pleasurable, seeing these arrogant warriors'' confused expressions.


    "Sizzle, sizzle, Siz


    at he had obtained more incredible theurgies through the Blood-controlling Method, he felt confident his bloodline was stronger than that of any of the Eternal Realm warriors.


    "Is that so?


    Maybe it was true in the past, but not now!


    Let me show you the complete power of the holy ways!"


    Yellow Thearch grinned fiercely and pointed his sword towards the Evil God.


    A slender blood line, as thin as thread, suddenly enveloped the Evil God.


    More blood lines appeared and these blood lines formed indistinguishable paths.


    Through the cultivation of the Blood-controlling Method, Yellow Thearch had gained much insight.


    When the Evil God was busying himself in destroying the territory of the Bearing race, Yellow Thearch had seized this opportunity to cultivate the Blood-Controlling Method. This was why the Evil God met no obstacles on his journey to the Blood Sea Province.


    A powerful holy way didn''t necessarily have a physical form.


    All the kinds of holy ways that the Yellow Thearch had cultivated before were visible and had form.


    Even the powerful Emperor Holy Ways still belonged to the visible ways.


    However, Yellow Thearch later discovered that the strongest holy way was actually invisible.


    "Life and Death Holy Way!"


    This time, no holy way could be seen. Only a few, barely visible lines faintly glowed in the space.


    "Swish, swish, swish, swish..."


    Those thin lines instantly shot towards the Evil God like possessed silk threads.


    The second the threads of holy ways touched the Evil God, he felt his body tremble slightly, then he collapsed. All the life force in his eyes faded away, and his smirk was immediately wiped from his face.


    "Anyone who enters my Life and Death Holy Way are bound to meet their doom there. Feel free to take your time before you finish your journey..." A pitiful look flashed in Yellow Thearch''s eyes as he said this.

 Chapter 4125 An Indestructible Enemy

    Even Yellow Thearch himself was afraid of the power of the Life and Death Holy Way.


    The power of the Life and Death Holy Way was outrageous and overpowering. Whoever stepped into the way would voluntarily walk towards their doom.


    There wasn''t a trace of struggle nor hope...


    They all appeared to be willing to step into destruction and die on their own.


    It was more like a mysterious type of Other Shore Token than a kind of bloodline power.


    If Yellow Thearch himself accidentally stepped into it, he would be killed as well.


    Despite the danger it held, the Life and Death Holy Way was Yellow Thearch''s most powerful trump card.


    This time, he used this trump card to face the Evil God without hesitation.


    The Evil God walked slowly along the void like a lifeless puppet.


    His body quickly turned into wisps of black smoke and gradually dissolved.


    He deteriorated from the outside¨Cstarting from the locks of his hair down to his flesh and blood. After a short while, only his skeleton was left moving forward. In the end, the skeleton also vanished into a black line.


    "He really died just like that?" Divine Farmer said in surprise.


    "No one could survive once they step into the Life and Death Holy Way," said Yellow Thearch.


    "Could I resist it?" Othniel asked curiously.


    "With your physical body, you might be able to walk a little further along the way, but you still couldn''t escape death," Yellow Thearch replied with certainty.


    "It''s a pity that the Evil God died this way," Divine Farmer said regretfully.


    According to the Eye Spirit, it would have been best if they controlled the Evil God.


    But he didn''t expect Yellow Thearch''s Life and Death Holy Way to be so powerful that it could kill the Evil God so soon.


    On the black ship, the former captain and Shera stared blankly into space as their eyes were filled with horror.


    Had the Evil God been killed by Yellow Thearch?


    They bargained it was too early to draw such a conclusion.


    Previously, when the Evil God merged Godly Ways, he had avoided the explosion of the Maximized Energy. He had also appeared in front of them safe and sound.


    The problem was, this time, the Evil God walked the Life and Death Holy Way. They had clearly seen his body dissipate bit by bit.


    Edna was left speechless as she stood on the deck.


    She didn''t know what had happened, but she was more than sure that the Evil God was still alive!


    "Shall we leave?" Shera asked the captain in a low voice.


    The captain smiled hesitantly. "It''s too late to leave now.


    ch was excited to watch it happen all over again. He believed that his strongest skill could successfully kill the Evil God.


    He stood on the black ship and looked around, trying to see if the Evil God resurrected.


    Shera also inspected the surroundings as she was also curious. How could the Evil God come back to life?


    The captain smiled bitterly.


    He used to be one of the big shots in the chaos, but now he seemed to be excluded and ignored.


    Among these people, the weakest one was Edna. She leaned against the rail calmly and didn''t look worried at all.


    Not long after, another guard had a seizure on the city wall of the Moon Shield City. As his entire body twisted and turned, he transformed into the Evil God. He waved at the Black Ship above and shouted, "Hey, I''m here!"


    Yellow Thearch''s eyes flashed with anger as he was about to rush down. Divine Farmer took his place ahead of him. "Let me finish him!"


    As Divine Farmer swooped down, his bloodline was activated.


    In the blink of an eye, he turned into a monster with a goat''s head, a tiger''s body, and a bull''s hooves. A layer of dark black crystal covered his entire body.


    This was his fourth form! It was also his most powerful one!


    With his current physical strength, he was confident to fight anyone head-on.


    After reaching the city wall, he opened his mouth wide and snatched the Evil God. He chewed forcibly for a few times before swallowing his sudden meal.


    Just after Divine Farmer swallowed, another guard''s entire body twitched from a distance. A brand new Evil God was now looking slyly at Divine Farmer. With arms crossed, he tapped his fingertips rhythmically as if he was waiting for a next move.

 Chapter 4126 Outnumbered

    As soon as Divine Farmer devoured the Evil God, a new Evil God quickly materialized right in front of him. He was extremely dumbfounded at this strange phenomenon.


    He refused to believe that the Evil God had the ability to be reborn an infinite number of times. He indignantly took a step forward and once again grabbed the Evil God with his massive arms, stuffing him into his humongous mouth.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    After he had torn and ground the Evil God''s body with his sharp teeth, Divine Farmer quickly swallowed the mass of flesh and bones into his stomach.


    However, just as the second Evil God''s body had settled in his stomach, one of the guards transformed into a new Evil God, the same smug smile stamped on his face.


    ''What the hell just happened? How was he able to do that?'' Divine Farmer thought incredulously.


    Tendrils of fear slowly crept in his mind, but the shame of feeling this fear inside him infuriated him more. Once again, he charged towards the next incarnation of Evil God.


    The third, fourth, and fifth Evil Gods were quickly devoured by Divine Farmer, one after the other.


    This went on until the last guard on the city wall had been transformed, and subsequently, consumed. There was no Evil God in sight, and Divine Farmer thought he had seen the last of him.


    However, even before Divine Farmer had a moment to release a sigh of relief, a dozen more people emerged as they climbed up from the other side of the city wall.


    All of these people were just ordinary citizens from Moon Shield City, with no capability to even reach the True God Realm in their original state. But when they reached the top of the city wall after their ascent, their bodies twitched and transformed into more clones of the Evil God.


    "Did you turn them all into replicas of yourself?" Divine Farmer was starting to lose his mind.


    He believed that the real Evil God must be hiding somewhere nearby, controlling these replicas remotely.


    The only way he could win was if he found and killed the real Evil God!


    "Replicas?"


    The front-most Evil God slowly raised his hand, a mass of Ways-blending Energy slowly swirled in his palm. "You should have known by now that each of us is a real me."


    Divine Farmer was at a loss for words.


    He was proud of his sharp teeth that could tear almost everything in the world.


    Although the Evil God''s body was nowhere near as strong as Zen''s, its toughness was comparable to the bodies of Holy Soul Realm warriors.


    When Divine Farmer devoured what he thought were replicas, he had already sensed that each one of them was equivalent in strength to the Evil God himself!


    There wasn''t anyone else who had the ability to create such powerful replicas.


    "You can revive infinitely using other people''s bodies..." Divine Farmer couldn''t help but cry out this realization, his voice trembling uncontrollably.


    This realization meant that the Evil God was actually an opponent that could forever evade death. He only needed to constantly copy himself to be invincible.


    "You got that


    at hand, three Evil Gods appeared silently overhead.


    "Why do you want to leave so badly?" one of them asked him.


    With that, they released a massive amount of Ways-blending Energy from their bodies that exploded right above Othniel.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    The sky erupted with a blinding white light as if a blazing sun had exploded.


    The Chaos Ancient God''s body might be colossal in size but it wasn''t significantly stronger than Divine Farmer''s body.


    Luckily, and due to his quick reflexes, Othniel was able to duck swiftly when the Ways-blending Energy exploded, and avoid a huge rift that extended dozens of miles above him.


    "Humph! Who are you to stop me from leaving?" Othniel snapped angrily.


    Being the Chaos Ancient God who mastered the space truth gave him the ability to come and go as he wished in the entire chaos. He didn''t believe that the Evil God would be able to stop him.


    A significant amount of truth power radiated from his body.


    His gargantuan body started to flicker, as did Yellow Thearch and Divine Farmer.


    It went on for several seconds, but they surprisingly remained where they were instead of being teleported away.


    Othniel was paralyzed with shock.


    As a unique being in the chaos, this was the first time that he did not know what to do anymore.


    "What... What did you do?" he asked in a trembling and uneasy voice.


    The annoying smile never left Evil God''s face. "Did you really expect the Blood Sea Province to be somewhere you can come and go whenever you wanted to?" he snorted insultingly.


    As he finished speaking, they saw that multitudes of people throughout the entire Moon Shield City began to convulse before falling to the ground.


    Pavilions, prisons, streets... They were everywhere.


    When these people stood up, they saw that they were all turned into Evil Gods. They simultaneously used the teleportation technique to quickly reappear upon Othniel''s broad back.


    In a matter of seconds, more than ten thousand Evil Gods were now standing on Othniel''s back!

 Chapter 4127 The Fight Is Over

    Othniel was the most powerful among the six Chaos Ancient Gods.


    Only a few could be a match for Chaos Ancient Gods. Even if the Chaos Ancient Gods confronted those who were stronger than them, they could manage to run away unscathed.


    That was why Othniel successfully fled from the battle in the Pear Hill.


    This time, however, he encountered an unprecedented crisis.


    He activated the truth power in an attempt to teleport himself away.


    But even after releasing all his truth power, he couldn''t escape nor get rid of the space cage that enclosed him.


    Othniel was shocked that someone in the chaos could disable his space theurgy.


    He was fully aware that the Evil God couldn''t do that.


    ''This guy is using the power of the Source World.


    Had we been outside the Source World, he wouldn''t be able to trap me even if he was ten times stronger.


    But unfortunately, we are in the Source World.


    I was caught unaware.


    If I had known that he possessed such powers, I wouldn''t have come here.


    But it''s too late to regret now, '' Othniel pondered as he fumed with anger.


    Suddenly, the Ways-blending Energy that over ten thousand Evil Gods released blasted simultaneously.


    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!


    Each Ways-blending Energy exploded, producing a blazing golden light. It was understandable how thousands of Ways-blending Energy could be fatal.


    "You want to take my life? That''s not gonna happen!" Othniel shouted.


    Faint energy started to fluctuate on the surface of his body, spreading from his trunk and across the length of his limbs.


    The energy turned into a layer of azure space armor, quickly covering his huge body.


    Making the space armor almost cost Othniel all the truth power. The thick space armor protected him from any energy including the Ways-blending Energy.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    The space armor shielded Othniel from the outburst of thousands of Ways-blending Energy.


    After all the deadly explosions of the Ways-blending Energy, he remained uninjured.


    "Ha-ha! Little useless tricks! You really thought you can hurt me?" Othniel provoked triumphantly.


    The Evil Gods condescendingly looked at Othniel. One of them asked, "Have you always been this stupid?"


    Othniel was confused. Then he realized that there were still over ten thousand Evil Gods standing on his back.


    He almost forgot that he had to deal with so many opponents. This was the first time that he ha


    y, one needed to use the bloodline power to make it work. Once the bloodline power ran out, any theurgy couldn''t be unleashed anymore.


    One by one, the Evil Gods stepped into the holy way and gradually died. Meanwhile, Yellow Thearch''s bloodline power was quickly decreasing.


    His face turned pale as Yellow Thearch was running out of the bloodline power. His handsome face started to wrinkle and he had aged in the blink of an eye.


    He couldn''t hold on any longer and it hit him¨Che was already dying. He suddenly recited the Truth of Godly Way and went to the Other Shore.


    Yellow Thearch had married a woman from the Pure race on the Other Shore. Male members of this race looked like monsters while its female members resembled ordinary human women who gave off an unworldly aura.


    When he was depressed back then, he spent most of his time keeping this woman company on the Other Shore.


    Yellow Thearch knew that he was about to die, so he seized one last moment to enter the Other Shore to say goodbye to her.


    When he saw the woman, she almost ran to come and greet him. Her eyes glowed ecstatically the second she met him.


    As a creature on the Other Shore, she couldn''t go to the Source World to be with Yellow Thearch. She could only patiently wait for his return.


    "I''m sorry, honey..." Yellow Thearch said.


    The woman frowned as she asked curiously, "What happened? Are you alright?"


    "I..."


    Before he could finish his sentence, his body in the Source World had been shattered by the Ways-blending Energy.


    He vanished in front of the woman as soon as his entire flesh was destroyed.

 Chapter 4128 The Next Goal

    Blood oozed out of Othniel''s heavily wounded body, which lay on the vast plain.


    At that moment, the mountains collapsed, and the ground cracked. The land caved in as several cities and villages around his body crumbled.


    The remaining survivors looked at his large body in horror. They did not know what happened and thought that the end of the world had come.


    The faces of the Evil Gods who stood on Othniel''s body began to blur and shrink back to their original forms. Their minds, which the Evil God had occupied, also returned to their original states.


    They did not die; they didn''t know what happened. When they regained their senses, they just stared blankly at the body beneath them.


    "What kind of monster is this?"


    "It''s so big!"


    "It''s a Chaos Ancient God!"


    There were many knowledgeable men among the crowd.


    They recognized that the injured corpse belonged to the Chaos Ancient God, Othniel.


    Then, did that mean that the Chaos Ancient Gods would also be killed?


    Had the world gone mad?


    The matter confused them, but it did not last long. They quickly realized something and exchanged greedy glances.


    It was the corpse of a Chaos Ancient God! Both his flesh and bones were rare treasures!


    They immediately cut and scraped the body with their bare hands; some of them even fought for it. They were like a group of ants that swarmed a beast''s corpse.


    Meanwhile, the black ship still floated in the air, and an Evil God climbed onto the deck.


    He wore a black armor, which was the uniform of the guards in the Moon Shield City.


    When Shera sensed his presence, she became alert and cautiously asked, "Are you... the Evil God?"


    "Yes," the Evil God said with a cold smile.


    Of course he knew what Shera wanted to ask.


    The Evil God''s body already perished. Based on Shera''s reaction, the person in front of her was no longer the original Evil God.


    "But you don''t... This body is..." Shera said hesitantly.


    "From the Source World''s perspective, even you are me, and so is the former captain of the Black Ship," the Evil God said and pointed at the two of them. Lastly, he looked at Edna. "But she is not me," he continued.


    He represented the Source World.


    Therefore, everything that was born in the Source World belonged to him.


    However, Edna was not born in the Source World. She came from Zen''s inner world.


    "You are my husband. No one can replace you!" Edna cried as she went up to the Evil God and clutched his arm.


    She already knew that the Evil God had


    nique power fall into his hands? The Grandmaster of Heaven is so lucky," he lamented.


    "I think the Evil God was born rebellious, and even the Grandmaster of Heaven can''t control him. Furthermore, he and the Pear Hill will fight. Since he killed Yellow Thearch and Divine Farmer, he will surely invade the Pear Hill!" Claire exclaimed.


    "I hope so. Claire, You can leave now, I''ll report this to the Snake Master," the Eye Spirit sighed.


    Claire glanced helplessly at the Eye Spirit. Since such a thing had happened, the Snake Master would probably punish her leader again.


    After she left, a golden rune appeared in the Eye Spirit''s eyeball and immediately turned into three cross-shaped stars. The stars gathered together, and then Sewell''s coordinates were complete.


    Then, a small white snake came out from the coordinates.


    "Master Sewell," said the Eye Spirit.


    Sewell twirled around, and faced him. "Why did you summon me?" he asked.


    In return, the Eye Spirit briefly explained what had happened to the Evil God.


    "What?"


    Sewell was utterly shocked and speechless.


    The Element Spirit Civilization had always executed the Snake Masters'' control of the chaos for a long time. Their arrangement had been stable and rarely went out of control.


    When the Eye Spirit had reported that the Evil God had devoured Usman last time, Sewell did not take it seriously.


    An outsider could only use a small amount of power in the primitive land at most. They could not control the primitive land entirely, and such a thing had never happened before.


    However, the tables had turned over now. Everything related to what had happened exceeded Sewell''s expectations.

 Chapter 4129 The Black Phoenix Candle

    A stream of blood-like substance flowed down from the top of the Pear Hill just like a bloody waterfall.


    If one observed carefully, they would see that this "bloody waterfall" was actually a stream of pure energy.


    It flowed halfway down the mountain, thus dying the entire upper half of the mountain red.


    This was naturally a shocking sight for both the leaders and the disciples of the Pear Hill.


    "If I''m not mistaken, this is the bloodline theurgy of the Snake Goddess."


    "It''s very similar to the aura the shadow of Snake Goddess has."


    "But this is purer and stronger than that."


    After the Snake Goddess reached the Eternal Realm, her strength could be said to have reached its peak.


    In the past few years, she had changed her Other Shore Tokens to better ones, but her strength never really made any progress.


    Because of that, the power her shadow currently showed naturally amazed everyone. It was obvious to them that she had gained a lot on the Other Shore this time.


    Splash!


    The bloody waterfall suddenly converged, forming a huge shadow of Snake Goddess that floated above the Pear Hill.


    Whoosh!


    A split second later, the Snake Goddess on the jadeite platform had soared to the sky.


    When she hovered in the air, the strong air current blew her hair upright. Her gaze was extremely solemn.


    Upon mastering the Blood-controlling Method, the Snake Goddess had been itching to give it a try.


    Therefore, despite this being her first day returning to the Pear Hill, she already went all out in using her bloodline theurgy.


    "Kendrick, are you ready?" the Snake Goddess asked.


    Buzz!


    A formidable force surged out of the inside of the Pear Hill. This force was the power of truth.


    The moment the power of truth gushed out of the Pear Hill, a layer of cyan-colored shell suddenly enveloped the entire mountain.


    The Pear Hill was about the size of a large province. One could only imagine the size of this shell.


    "You can begin." Kendrick''s voice came from inside the mountain.


    Kendrick didn''t participate in the battle of the Pear Hill before because the battle was already over when he arrived.


    Nevertheless, after he went into the mountain, he still deployed his strongest defense moves to protect the mountain.


    Since the Snake Goddess wanted to test her strength, they decided to let her strength go against Kendrick''s shell and see how it went.


    "Be careful!" the Snake Goddess shouted. Her eyes were burning with excitement.


    Splash!


    The huge shadow bega


    It was a layer of ancient grey shell¡ªKendrick''s shell.


    "Stop! Stop the Snake Goddess! Anyone! If this goes on, both of us will only suffer!"


    Kendrick surely had the means to counterattack the Snake Goddess. His shell could bounce back most of the Black Phoenix Candle''s power.


    But if he did so, the Snake Goddess would most likely be killed in an instant, and he naturally didn''t want to see that.


    At this moment, a figure quietly appeared beside the Snake Goddess. It was Fuxi.


    Splash!


    The Snake Goddess didn''t even turn to look at Fuxi. She just waved her hand, sending the turbulent black flame towards him.


    The expression on Fuxi''s face didn''t change much. He opened and closed his arms, forming an invisible Eight Diagrams circle on his palms.


    Splash!


    A strange scene appeared in front of everyone. The destructive flame revolved along the Eight Diagrams circle in Fuxi''s hands like an obedient child.


    It was obviously unwilling to be imprisoned inside the Eight Diagrams circle, but it couldn''t break out of the cycle no matter how hard it tried.


    When Fuxi put his hand on the Snake Goddess''s shoulder, she trembled slightly and came to her senses. A second later, however, she fainted into Fuxi''s arms as she had exhausted all her power.


    Fuxi calmly took her back to the jadeite platform.


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi, King Ieuan, and Yasamin looked at the Snake Goddess with dread.


    That the Blood-controlling Method could greatly improve the strength of cultivators at the Eternal Realm was already known by them, but they never expected that the Snake Goddess would make such progress that she could fight against the Chaos Ancient God head-on.

 Chapter 4130 Bad News

    It took a long time for the Snake Goddess to recover. She slowly opened her eyes as she lay weakly in Fuxi''s arms.


    "Are you feeling better?" asked Fuxi.


    The Snake Goddess nodded and gently freed herself from his arms.


    She realized that she had almost been completely lost. Her consciousness was controlled by that destructive force.


    "Snake Goddess, was that the limit of your strength?" A turtle about ten feet long was crawling on the jadeite platform.


    On his right side was a sloth, and on his left was a scorpion.


    Gerald, Judson, and Kendrick had been hiding inside the Pear Hill. To conveniently communicate with the others, they each created an avatar.


    "Well..." The Snake Goddess paused as she thought for a while. She shook her head and denied, "No."


    Just now, she felt her power almost becoming limitless. It was because of this infinite destructive power that she was lost. The power seemed to give her everything.


    Kendrick smiled bitterly. "It appears that I can''t block your black flame."


    "You are strong indeed, but this power can make you lose your mind. You''d better not use it," Fuxi suggested worriedly.


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi said, "Maybe it''s because we don''t know much about the bloodline power. After we master the Blood-controlling Method, it will take us some time to adapt."


    After he, Yasamin, and King Ieuan mastered the Blood-controlling Method, their strength also increased greatly. It might be incomparable to the Snake Goddess''s or Fuxi''s level, but they were almost the same.


    In the Dark Haze Peak, Zen, Yan, and the others saw what happened in the sky.


    "The strength of the Snake Goddess is frightening!" Lavender couldn''t hide the surprise from her eyes.


    Yan smiled. "The strength of the Snake Goddess has improved so much. Zen, you should make more progress, too!"


    "My situation is a little special. I haven''t made much progress," Zen said as he looked to the ground.


    The Blood-controlling Method he cultivated was the most basic one. It could help him improve his strength, but the improvement wouldn''t be as great as those of other Eternal Realm cultivators. After all, he didn''t really control the ancestry-level bloodline.


    While he was lost in thought, a girl walked to him. She had hair put up in pigtails, a small round face, and a pair of eyes as pure as big black gemstones. She faintly resembled Margaret.


    "Fat


    of an eye, it was as if he had been present in the Moon Shield City. He witnessed how over ten thousand avatars of the Evil God killed Othniel.


    After that, Zen carefully threw the Memory-recording Crystal to Eastern Emperor Taiyi, who later passed it to Yasamin after his reading.


    Everyone fell into a deafening silence after they had read the Memory-recording Crystal.


    With their insight, they had a collective intuition of the strength of the Evil God. It was intimidating indeed!


    "Those who have something to do with you are all monsters, Zen," said Fuxi.


    Aside from Zen, his children also had special talents. Even the Evil God who popped out of his inner world could grow to such a terrifying level.


    The Snake Goddess interrupted, "But one thing is very strange about this."


    "What is it?" asked Fuxi.


    "The Evil God will definitely target the Pear Hill and Zen next," the Snake Goddess concluded. "However, if he wants to attack us, he shouldn''t have left so many survivors in the Moon Shield City. His ability could kill all its people and even those in the Blood Sea Province. Why would he let these people live and spread the news?"


    If the Evil God sneaked into the Pear Hill and used his exceptional power, the Pear Hill would be left defenseless and completely defeated.


    Everyone looked at Zen after hearing the Snake Goddess''s analysis. He was the one who knew the Evil God best.


    Zen answered instantly, "Because he''s certain of himself."


    In the eyes of the Evil God, this was a sure win. No matter how hard Zen resisted, he would never be able to escape.

 Chapter 4131 Unexpected

    "He''s certain of himself... You''re absolutely right!" Fuxi nodded. "He wasn''t afraid that we would know about his deeds and be alert given his arrogant character."


    The very first time Fuxi laid eyes on the Evil God, he already hated the guy.


    It was at the entrance of the Chaotic Source World where they first met and Fuxi wanted so much to kill him but couldn''t due to the overall situation.


    Zen nodded with a smile. "That''s right. This is not something he needs to think about."


    "How should we counterattack?" Eastern Emperor Taiyi had a worried look on his face.


    It was not easy for him to return from the Other Shore and he did not want to hide in the Pear Hill all his life.


    A few days ago, Eastern Emperor Taiyi gathered Pearce, Auden and a few other important officials to discuss the Oneness Sky Palace''s reconstruction.


    The disciples were able to return to the Bloom Divine Province with Eastern Emperor Taiyi and Yasamin''s leadership.


    He was extremely happy to have heard the news about Yellow Thearch''s and Divine Farmer''s death and he felt it even more reasonable for them to return to the Bloom Divine Province now that there was no more threat of powerful enemies.


    However, he soon found out that it wasn''t good news at all. There was a huge crisis behind it all!


    "How do we counterattack?"


    "This guy''s ability is really too strange and remarkable."


    "He seems to be able to possess other people''s bodies at will."


    Everyone saw via the Memory-recording Crystal just how the people of Moon Shield City suddenly turned into the Evil God with no warning at all whatsoever.


    If the Evil God entered the Pear Hill and took over the bodies of all Eternal Realm warriors, then the possibility of a counterattack would be null.


    "There must be some restrictions to his power," Judson muttered lazily. "If he can possess other people''s bodies at will, then he could''ve turned Yellow Thearch and Divine Farmer into him, but why didn''t he?"


    "You''re right." The Snake Goddess nodded. "Master Gerald, have you ever heard of such a method?"


    Gerald was lost in thought after watching the Memory-recording Crystal.


    He was more shocked than anyone else after having observed the Evil God''s methods.


    A green


    plattered in all directions.


    Thanks to Kendrick''s enchanted barriers, nobody got splashed by the man''s blood.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    At this time, a strong gust of wind began to blow from the top of the jadeite platform.


    Thousands of dust grains gathered from the force generated by the wind and soon formed a man in the air. This man had the same appearance and build as the Evil God''s.


    "No wonder you''re the Chaos Ancient God in charge of life truth. You can actually take the control away from me," the Evil God said to Gerald.


    A pair of compound eyes on Gerald''s head glared coldly at the Evil God. "You are nothing without the Source World''s power."


    It was true. Without the Source World''s power, the Evil God was just a Holy Soul Realm warrior who did not have much to offer at all.


    "Without the life truth, you''re even worse than a good-for-nothing! Hahaha..." The Evil God, instead of getting mad, laughed.


    Gerald hadn''t been at a disadvantage when he fought the Evil God for the man transformed from the peacock earlier.


    In fact, the Evil God failed several times in trying to gain the upper hand.


    So in a fit of rage, he decided to make the man explode.


    He was millions of miles away, but had he been in the same vicinity, then Gerald would not have won the fight.


    After laughing, the Evil God turned to Zen. "You''ve let me down even more," he said in a mocking tone. "You planned to run away before seeing me. I didn''t think you''d be such a coward."

 Chapter 4132 Irreconcilable

    Zen couldn''t care less about the Evil God''s ridicule. Instead, he asked, "Are you eavesdropping on us?"


    "There is nothing in the Source World that can escape my perception," the Evil God scoffed. "Everything here belongs to me and can be used by me. Why would I ever need to eavesdrop on you?"


    This was an exaggeration, because the Source World was not his inner world. He wasn''t all-knowing as he claimed.


    However, it was true that no one could surpass his control over the Source World.


    The Evil God continued, "If you submit to me, I will make you the ruler of the Source World. All the creatures and super forces of the provinces will submit to you. We can build the Source World together. What do you think?"


    As he said this, he waved his hand gently.


    Numerous emerald green vines quickly grew around the Pear Hill. Leaves ten feet wide uncurled and revealed strange flowers. The refreshing fragrance of flowers spread everywhere, and soon enough, the whole mountain was an emerald green sea.


    The Snake Goddess race and the human race that were in the Pear Hill at that time were shocked to see this unfold.


    "Whose method is this?"


    "With so much greenery covering the mountain, I''m afraid only the Chaos Ancient God who is in charge of the life truth can do it."


    "Why did he do that?"


    Because the people of the Pear Hill didn''t know the existence of the Evil God, they weren''t afraid at all.


    "I politely refuse," Zen said without hesitation.


    He was completely different from the Evil God, which meant there was no way he would cooperate.


    The Evil God was not surprised at Zen''s answer. With one wave of his hand, the plants swayed towards him as if they were bowing. "There are three hundred and twenty-three million nine hundred and seventy thousand creatures living in this huge mountain. Most of them are weak. If they absorb even a drop of poisonous fog, they''d be dead. It is quite pitiful to kill all of them at once."


    A low plant hidden away among the sea of plants was summoned by the Evil God; it was called the Poisonous Dust Grass. In the center of the grass lay a fist-sized fruit that held the deadliest poison.


    Pop!


    The Evil God pointed his finger at the fruit, and it cracked. Just then, a poisonous bright yellow mist burst out and began to spread.


    Whatever the poisonous mist enveloped withered and di


    sinister smiles plastered across their faces. "Interesting... Zen actually let you out. It''s too bad that you aren''t from the Source World. I can''t possess you."


    The Evil God could only control creatures from the Source World. Because Letitia, Lavender, and the rest were from the divine land, they were completely out of the loop.


    As they saw the Evil Gods approach them, Margaret raised her eyebrows. "What do you want to do?"


    Letitia, Lavender and the other women pulled out their weapons and held their fighting stances.


    "All I want is for your husband to cooperate with me. It would be best for you to be obedient too," the Evil Gods recited in chorus.


    Letitia frowned and considered her options. She looked up and said without fear, "Evil God, Zen has done nothing but treat you well. He even let go of your wife, Edna. It''s unreasonable of you to attack us."


    Seeing Letitia''s determination, the Evil Gods merely snorted at her.


    Nothing could ever restrain the Evil God. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have returned to Zen time to time.


    However, it seemed that what Letitia had said affected him. One of the Evil Gods hesitated for a moment then snapped his fingers. "Retreat!"


    The Evil Gods didn''t lay a finger on any of them and eventually, disappeared.


    Once they were gone, Margaret began to worry about Zen. "The Evil God has so many avatars. I fear Zen''s safety."


    Meanwhile, Letitia ran out of the hall and looked up to the sky. Her jaw dropped.


    The sky above the Pear Hill was packed with the Evil Gods that hovered and increased in number.

 Chapter 4133 Countermeasures

    The Eternal Realm warriors on the jadeite platform stood still, frozen in shock. They had just read the Memory-recording Crystal which had just revealed to them how the Evil God used over ten thousand avatars to kill Othniel.


    Their expressions were grim. The Evil God once again was proving himself to be an extremely formidable enemy.


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi put his hands behind his back, clutching a golden sword pointing at the sky. An overwhelming sword intent emanated from his body, spreading outwards infinitely.


    Yasamin held the long sword horizontally. She frowned deeply, her wrinkles accentuating her tiredness more than usual. Despite her old age, enemies would''ve quaked in fear at the incredible power she exuded.


    Any one at the Eternal Realm who had mastered the Blood-controlling Method could dominate the Source World.


    However, the number of Evil Gods kept on increasing. They almost completely covered the sky.


    The Snake Goddess was at a loss. Tears filled her eyes as she helplessly watched her disciples turn into Evil Gods.


    Although they were being possessed by the Evil God, these people were still her disciples.


    With every addition of an Evil God, the Pear Hill lost a disciple.


    The Snake Goddess didn''t have the heart to kill her own people.


    "Can you stop the Evil God?" the Snake Goddess pleaded to the three Chaos Ancient Gods through life vitality.


    Judson shook his head. "He directly possesses the creatures in the Source World. We can''t stop him."


    "I have an idea," piped up Gerald. "But I can only save dozens of people at most."


    He was thinking he could stop the Evil God''s body possession with the truth of life, but ultimately, it would''ve been futile since the number of Evil Gods was increasing rapidly.


    Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!


    Two streams of energy, one black, one white, flowed forth from beneath Fuxi''s feet, converging to form an illusory Eight Diagrams seal.


    "Spare no mercy," Fuxi said gravely. "They''re our enemies now. There''s nothing we can do about that."


    Swoosh!


    The Eight Diagrams seal formed an invisible force that started to revolve around Fuxi.


    In the past, Fuxi focused only on improving his own strength. Exerting his bloodline power to the extreme, he sought the fastest and strongest methods to destroy.


    After cultivating the Blood-controlling Method, he had gained a n


    masters.


    As the Evil God swung towards Zen, he gently opened his palm to reveal a thin thread of blood. The blood thread quickly converged to form a hollowed-out blood sword.


    Whoosh!


    Swish!


    The sword made of the Ways-blending Energy and another one made of bloodline connected with a deafening noise.


    Buzz!


    For a split second, no one knew what had happened.


    Then, in the next moment, the Evil God''s body collapsed into countless fragments that dissipated with the wind. Even the sword formed from the Ways-blending Energy disappeared.


    The other Evil Gods all showed shocked expressions.


    While the Evil God was well aware that he was no match for Zen alone, he had no idea that the disparity in strength was so great.


    The blood sword in Zen''s hand was too special. The Ways-blending Energy was extinguished the second it connected with the blood sword. What kind of bloodline power was this?


    The Evil God had never been to the Eternal Scroll Painting. He didn''t know much about the bloodline power, but he could instinctively sense that Zen''s bloodline was special.


    If he could devour Zen, then he would have his bloodline power.


    When this thought crossed his mind, the Evil God grew even more excited.


    "You deserve to be my creator! Again!"


    This time, two Evil Gods stepped out and attacked Zen left and right.


    As Zen kept the Evil God busy, the enchanted barrier underground that Kendrick had set up suddenly started to work.


    The Dragon Scale Defense, like a sharp knife, was trying to separate the Pear Hill from the Source World.

 Chapter 4134 Confronting

    Separating an entire province from the Source World was a fairly easy task for a Chaos Ancient God.


    Three enchanted barriers had covered the top of the Pear Hill. Now, Kendrick needed to draw the barriers into the underground.


    Around three minutes later, an enormous and deep circular trench appeared in an area outside the Source world!


    If they viewed the Source World as a large rounded fruit, the area where the Pear Hill stood had now been cleanly sliced off by the Dragon Scale Defense.


    The Pear Hill could be separated from the rest of the Source World with just a little push from the inside.


    Meanwhile, dozens of Evil Gods were still fighting against Zen above the Pear Hill. It seemed as though they were deliberately fighting him at such a leisurely pace.


    The Evil God had been thoroughly enjoying this way of fighting. He could probably do this the entire day without getting tired.


    He practically had an infinite amount of power. The power was like a noose that was gradually tightening around Zen''s neck.


    This was the only way he could force Zen into exhausting every bit of his power. Then, he would make Zen surrender miserably to him!


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Dozens of Evil Gods charged wildly towards Zen like a pack of hungry wolves. Each of them was carrying Ways-blending Energy.


    On the other hand, Zen stood his ground and remained oddly calm.


    He was well aware of the plan. Kendrick was trying to detach the Pear Hill from the rest of the Source World.


    This meant that the longer he could hold off the Evil God, the more advantageous it would be for the Pear Hill. A long delay was what they needed.


    Whoosh! He swiftly drew the blood sword and held it tightly in his hand.


    The blood sword slashed rapidly in every direction.


    In the blink of an eye, the blood sword underwent an esoteric transformation. It released several blood lines that pierced through the Evil Gods. After that, they formed an intricate yet chaotic pattern all throughout their bodies.


    As Zen made a pulling motion, the sharp patterns quickly streaked past the Evil Gods and chopped them to pieces.


    The scene looked absolutely gruesome as blood gushed out and splashed everywhere.


    Meanwhile, the Snake Goddess was trembling. Her heart ached terribly as she watched this grisly scene unfold.


    As the head of the Pear Hill, the Snake Goddess obviously had the inherent disposition of a true leader. She had always been courageous and resolute.


    She knew that there would always be sacrifices in any battle. However, it was extremely painful for her to watch as their members ended up as the sacrifice.


    The Evil God possessed the bodies of the people nearby. The Evil Gods battling with Zen were actually the elites of the Pear Hill.


    They had no knowledge of what happened and what they were doing. It meant that Zen had to kill them not because of their own actions, but of the Evil God''s. The Snake Goddess couldn''t express her pain and regret in mere words.


    Out of the blue, they heard someone shout. "I have done it! I have finished cutting the Pear Hill!"


    It was Kendrick''s voice that everyone heard in the midst of the battle.


    At that moment, the Snake Goddess, Fuxi, King Ieuan, Eastern Emper


    e been extremely difficult for the Snake Goddess, Fuxi, and other Eternal Realm warriors to scatter at the Pear Hill''s specific places.


    Buzz, buzz, buzz...


    Without warning, numerous blue space chains shot out from every Evil God''s body. These space chains were like hidden weapons. They had easily pierced through Kendrick''s enchanted barriers and were now drilling into the interior of the Pear Hill.


    These space chains were highly effective in penetrating and containing the entire mountain. They didn''t need to pierce through any of the pressure bearing points.


    Afterwards, the Evil Gods pulled the space chains and ascended into the sky.


    Originally, the Evil God had a much simpler plan to prevent the escape of the Pear Hill. He had already thought of just killing the Eternal Realm warriors and the Chaos Ancient Gods. However, he thought that it seemed more interesting to deal with the Pear Hill using the space chains.


    More than ten thousand Evil Gods were previously Holy Soul Realm masters. Therefore, the power that erupted simultaneously was utterly phenomenal!


    Together with the power of the space sealing in the Source World, the Pear Hill immediately stopped sinking!


    In addition to that, it also began to rise gradually!


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    The sound of enormous cogwheels clashing resounded through the whole place once more. Each time they heard a loud cracking sound, the Pear Hill rose by ten feet!


    In just a short span of time, the entire Pear Hill was lifted from the ground!


    It was quite unbelievable to watch as the enormous mountain floated in the air. This phenomenon was probably the first one to occur in the Source World!


    "If you like flying, then fly even higher!" The Evil God laughed wildly. Everything was going right according to his plan.


    Buzz, buzz, buzz...


    More Evil Gods began to appear at the top of the mountain. Each of them was holding on to a space chain.


    And then, ten thousand more Evil Gods appeared.


    Now, there were more than twenty thousand of them...


    Then thirty thousand...


    As the number of the Evil Gods increased, the Pear Hill was also being raised even higher!

 Chapter 4135 The Helper

    The current battle was like a tug of war between children and adults. There was just too big of a difference between both sides.


    Despite that, the Pear Hill still did not give up.


    "Go down!"


    Fuxi yelled and smashed his fist on the ground.


    Then, the black and white pattern of the Eight Diagrams shook violently and unleashed a massive force.


    Kendrick had constructed the spot where he stood, but it appeared that it was about to collapse.


    Meanwhile, the other Eternal Realm warriors followed suit.


    In the face of almost invincible power, they no longer held back.


    They released all their bloodline theurgies and Other Shore Tokens.


    As a result, the downward force increased explosively.


    The originally rising mountain began to descend slowly.


    However, tens of thousands of the Evil Gods continued to drag the chains upwards.


    One of them did not drag the chains. Instead, he folded his arms and looked down. "I appreciate your effort, but this is useless," he scoffed.


    After he finished speaking, he stretched out his hand and grabbed downwards into the air.


    Splash!


    At that moment, the whole Pear Hill trembled slightly.


    It wasn''t long before it stopped falling and slowly rose.


    The Evil God could move directly any space, including the vast land of Pear Hill.


    When he had lifted the Pear Hill with tens of thousands of avatars, it was just a trick.


    "Master Fuxi! Let the Primeval Lord of Heaven descend," Zen said to Fuxi telepathically.


    "I... I''ve already informed him of the situation here. He is still trying to figure out a way," Fuxi answered.


    Unfortunately, the Primeval Lord of Heaven was only at the Eternal Realm.


    He might be stronger than the Eternal Realm warriors of Pear Hill in terms of strength, but it was useless.


    One more Eternal Realm warrior could not reverse the situation.


    "Ask him to come now!" Zen urged.


    At that point, Fuxi''s mind was a mess. All he wanted to do now was maximize his strength for the fight. When Zen urged him, he activated the Descending Ring.


    Buzz!


    A beam of golden light flashed, then the Primeval Lord of Heaven descended upon the Pear Hill.


    Fuxi had informed him of the situation in the Pear Hill through the Descending Ring, so he roughly knew what had happened.


    As soon as he arrived, however, he was still shocked when he saw the enormous mountain rising upward. The situation was worse than he had imagined!


    "A helper from the Other Shore?"


    The Evil God''s voice rang throughout the sky. He saw how extraordinaril


    ocked space apart, while blue lightning kept shooting out from the area around the Pear Hill.


    Splash!


    A few seconds later, the Pear Hill finally sank to the ground, passed through the shallow earth, and fell out from the chaos.


    As for the Source World, its vast territory floated above everyone''s head. The people below it could not see its entirety from such an angle. They only saw a big, circular hole in the place where the Pear Hill was formerly located.


    When the Pear Hill fell out of the Source World, so did tens of thousands of Evil Gods.


    After they left the Source World, the space chains on the Evil Gods'' bodies immediately disappeared. At the same time, the effect of possession also faded away, and they returned to their original appearances.


    The only thing was that they had no idea that the Evil God had possessed them, nor did they know why they floated between the Pear Hill and the Source World. They felt confused.


    Buzz!


    They heard an odd sound, and fortunately, Kendrick responded fast.


    Before the chaotic energy swept towards these tens of thousands of people, an enchanted barrier had already enveloped them and immediately pulled them back to the Pear Hill.


    Only then did Zen and the others sigh in relief.


    Although the Pear Hill suffered many losses, they still managed to get out of the Source World.


    Just as they were about to settle down, they heard the Evil God''s roaring voice from the gap in the Source World. "You want to escape? No way!"


    Then, the gap in the Source World cracked until it formed a large mouth.


    The mouth, which spanned across about seven provinces, bit towards the Pear Hill like a shark preying on small fish.

 Chapter 4136 The Battle Of Consciousness

    Since the birth of the Source World as the primitive land, it had been quietly floating and never moved away.


    Under the Evil God''s control, the moving speed of the Source World became much faster than that of the Pear Hill.


    Zen, Fuxi, the Snake Goddess, and the others were dumbfounded as the Source World revealed a huge mouth.


    At this speed, the Pear Hill would quickly be devoured by the Source World again.


    "What should we do?"


    "The Pear Hill can''t speed up!"


    "If it continues to move at this speed, it will definitely be swallowed up!"


    Everyone was anxious, their hearts racing at the events that unfolded before their eyes.


    The Pear Hill was different from the divine land. The divine land was a large ship that Chiyou had planned for a long time before it set sail. He had accumulated a huge amount of divine crystals to drive the divine land.


    However, the plan to separate the Pear Hill from the Source World was a spur of the moment. There was no fuel to drive the Pear Hill.


    The Evil God stood in the middle of the mouth. The billowing chaotic energy blew past him, but he remained unmoved.


    "You can''t escape. What a waste that all your efforts will be in vain!"


    he declared with eyes full of excitement.


    His voice reverberated from the Source World and echoed throughout the empty chaos.


    As the Source World drew closer and closer to the Pear Hill, the Evil God''s body suddenly trembled as his face was struck with confusion.


    After a few moments, he felt something breaking into the consciousness of the Source World.


    The consciousness of the Source World had always been controllable. The Evil God entered it without any obstacle blocking his way.


    After continuously fusing with the consciousness of the Source World, the Evil God built a wall in the Land of Consciousness to prevent the entrance of external beings.


    Breaking into the consciousness of the Source World was difficult. The Evil God didn''t think anyone else in the Source World could do it.


    He built the wall just in case, but now something unexpected had really arrived!


    Controlling the movement of the Source World consumed a lot of the Evil God''s energy. If he wanted to resist external invasion, he could just give up chasing after the Pear Hill.


    The Evil God tried to make a choice decisively.


    Although it was important to take down the Pear Hill and Zen, the


    ape suddenly appeared, causing him confusion.


    Where did the giant ape come from?


    Was there such a powerful creature in the chaos?


    The giant ape was the one who saved the Pear Hill while an equally strong little snake appeared in the Land of Consciousness.


    Doubts began to flood the Evil God as he realized his flawed understanding of this world.


    "The primitive land doesn''t belong to you. You don''t deserve to have a hand in it," the little black snake hissed.


    The Evil God laughed. "How do you say it isn''t mine? Do you own it?"


    "Of course, it''s ours. We haven''t made a move because it isn''t time yet," the snake boasted. "You still have time to leave, just after you return all the contaminated consciousness," he ordered.


    Previously, when the Evil God absorbed Usman, it did not attract the Snake Masters'' attention.


    Usman represented the negative will. He could not invade the Land of Consciousness and it had never happened before.


    But the Evil God had done it, so the Snake Masters didn''t think twice of making a move.


    When the Evil God maximized the power of the Source World, his body also changed into its weakest. They seized the chance to take action at their obvious advantage.


    The little black snake had just contaminated seven snowballs. The Evil God had stayed here for a long time. Tens of thousands of red snowballs floated behind him.


    The Evil God sneered, "I guess it''s too late for you to leave now."


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    The red snowballs swarmed towards the little black snake, like a snow storm that coalesced to blanket him.

 Chapter 4137 Abnormal Phenomena

    It had been a small fight within the Land of Consciousness.


    Anyone at the Holy Soul Realm could deal with the Evil God, and the black snake here without any difficulty.


    However, because the Land of Consciousness was different, any powerful figures could not enter it. Even formidable beings such as the Evil God and the black snake could not unleash their full soul force within the land.


    The fight had caused great disaster in the Source World though.


    When the Evil God and the little black snake had contaminated the consciousness of the Source World, many dramatic changes began to take place in the provinces.


    When the creatures began to fight using their powerful minds, the consciousness of the Source World quickly fell into great chaos and disorder.


    Booming crashes echoed harshly.


    The crystal walls surrounding the Grey Fish Province shattered into pieces, and its fragments scattered in all directions. The jagged pieces rained down on the provinces nearby, wounding and piercing through countless creatures.


    The oceans of the Wood Province surged and rolled, the water evaporating to form a thick vapor that smothered the entire province.


    Within the Ice Province the ground had cracked to divide the land into many parts.


    Numerous kinds of strange phenomena were taking place all over the provinces. As a result, countless inhabitants in those places were either injured or dead.


    It was fortunate then that the phenomena did not last long.


    It had taken eight hours, but the Source World finally returned to a peaceful state.


    The Land of Consciousness though was in a mess.


    Despite the fact that the little black snake was a part of the Snake Spirit King''s soul, his time within the Land of Consciousness was too short compared to that of the Evil God.


    Nearly half of the Source World''s consciousness had been corrupted by the Evil God, while the black snake had only been able to pollute a small portion of it.


    The black snake might have been far stronger than the Evil God, but he still fell at the hand of the latter.


    The only reason the Evil God had won was his strategy to use the Source World''s own consciousness against the snake.


    Lost in thought, the Evil God stared down at the dead snake as he contemplated devouring his soul for his power.


    He of course had the ability to absorb souls, so it shouldn''t pose an issue.


    After another moment of short consideration, the Evil God controlled his greed and decided agains


    that has lasted hundreds of chaotic eras," he said.


    There was a flash of surprise in Sewell''s eyes. "Wouldn''t that be too rash, Your Majesty? Perhaps we should give it a little more thought, come up with a better idea," he tried.


    "This is not up for discussion! It is an order!" The Snake Spirit King spoke coldly, "If the Bird Masters know about the situation and react quickly, our plan that has lasted over a thousand chaotic eras would be ruined."


    The worst part of it all was not that the Evil God controlled the Source World. What scared the Snake Spirit King the most was the thought that the Bird Masters might learn how to utilize the Source World.


    Therefore, the Snake Spirit King had to destroy that possibility at any cost.


    The battle in the Jade Pure Realm had lasted hundreds of chaotic eras because the coordinates of either side were in their respective strongholds.


    Both parties had battled many times, but they had never suffered any losses and the coordinates were the reason for that.


    The Snake Spirit King had ordered the coordinates taken to the Mist City, and things were different now.


    While the Treacherous Beings on the side of the Snake Spirit Sect could come back to life within the Mist City, increasing the odds of the sect winning, it came with a massive risk.


    That way, if they were defeated, their coordinates would be erased by the Bird Masters and the people of the Snake Spirit Sect would be dead for good.


    Under normal circumstances, Cornelius would never think to adopt this terrible strategy for it was too much of a risk.


    But the intervention of the Evil God left him no other choice.

 Chapter 4138 Show Up

    Having received the Snake Spirit King''s orders, Sewell and the Snake Masters quickly mobilized and transmitted the commands to their subordinates.


    Soon enough, all major forces in the Heavenly Square City began to move out.


    Truth be told, the Treacherous Beings found this war kind of boring.


    They knew almost all the names of their opponents and some of them even recorded the times they''d killed each other.


    "I''ve killed that same guy forty-nine times. Just leave him to me! I''ll make my count reach fifty!"


    "I hope the Bird Masters won''t target me again."


    "I want to fight against my opponent alone!"


    These were the kinds of conversations that could be heard among the Treacherous Beings.


    Endless resurrection had rendered death insignificant and they felt no fear in the face of impending doom.


    This time, however, the Snake Masters informed them that their coordinates were to move out of Heavenly Square City and into Mist City.


    The Mist City was currently occupied by the Bird Masters.


    It seemed that the Snake Masters chose to put up a desperate fight to gain control.


    This caused the Treacherous Beings to doubt the operation and a few radical warriors even refused outright to go.


    However, their coordinates were in the hands of the Snake Masters so any sort of resistance was futile.


    News soon spread across the three human houses and the human spirits could only look at each other in understanding.


    They already knew something was up with the Snake Spirit Sect. The suspicion towards the sect was deeply set in their hearts the moment they awoke.


    The prospect of leaving crossed their minds but they knew it would be meaningless if they couldn''t take their coordinates with them.


    Now that the Snake Spirit King gave this order, they realized that this was potentially a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.


    Alphonse, the leader of the Joy House, was the most eager for this chance. He had long been aware of the Snake Spirit Sect''s hypocrisy and itched to take back what was his.


    "This time, the three houses of the Human Spirit Sect are under Gianni''s command!" a Snake Master announced. "Listen to him! If you don''t, I''ll erase your coordinates and kill you."


    Gianni was someone who had always


    pped him, or rather them since his form was a group of rats.


    In order to prevent any future damage to the Night View Island''s passageway, the Monkey Spirit Sect saw it fit to employ two powerful Monkey Masters to guard it.


    They had sharp eyes and were immediately alerted by the arrival of these rats.


    "Who are you?!" one of them barked. "Show your true self."


    With his demand, the rats began to pile up and soon morphed into Dale''s true form.


    He bowed to the Monkey Masters respectfully. "Monkey Masters, I have something important to report."


    It was a good thing that the Monkey Masters knew of the Primeval Lord of Heaven and Zen''s group so they did not dare to reject humans. They did not ask Dale any more questions and took him into the Night View Island.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven had just finished dealing with the Pear Hill''s matter since its separation from the Source World caused the human heroes a bit of considerable panic.


    So he was a bit curious when he was told that a human had requested to see him.


    The sight of Dale dumbfounded the human heroes. What was the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord''s eldest disciple doing here?


    "Dale?"


    "You''re not dead?!" "You''re alive!"


    Even the Primeval Lord of Heaven, who was always the epitome of calm, was stunned.


    Dale pouted sourly. "Did you guys expect me to die?"


    Fortunately, the Primeval Lord of Heaven simply brushed off his attitude. "How is the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord?" he asked. "Is he still alive?"

 Chapter 4139 Initiate Zen Into Cultivation

    The human heroes all looked at Dale with concern.


    "Yes," Dale replied with a nod. "He''s still alive."


    The human heroes were stunned at this revelation. The Primeval Lord of Heaven let out a sigh of relief.


    It was the answer he was hoping for. It was like a thorn was just pulled from him.


    This meant the human race in the seventy-seventh chaos did not really fall into decline!


    After all, the human heroes led by the Primeval Lord of Heaven survived to this day, and now, they had found that so had the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven was also doing fine, although he was now on the opposing side.


    The survival of the three fellow disciples was nothing short of a miracle.


    "So where is he? Why did he disappear after entering the Jade Pure Realm?" the Primeval Lord of Heaven pressed.


    "It''s a long story. After entering the Jade Pure Realm, we ran into some trouble..." Dale then launched into the story of what happened to their party a long time ago.


    "We had been hiding in the bubbles all this time to evade the Snake Spirit King. It was near-impossible to leave, but I took a huge risk to come here."


    "What was so urgent that you had to come here, then?" the Snake Goddess asked curiously.


    Dale''s gaze swept through the human heroes. Apparently not finding who he was looking for, he turned his attention back to the Snake Goddess. "I''m here for Zen."


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven, the Snake Goddess and the others all shot each other a knowing look.


    Dale didn''t need to say anything more. They were sharp enough to know what he came here for.


    Zen had displayed exceptional abilities since he had entered the Creation Myth Temple.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven and the Snake Goddess also knew from having entered Zen''s inner world as energy souls that it was a primitive land. From there, Zen had evolved more and more until he finally obtained the ancestry-level bloodline.


    This growth was extraordinary and could not be attributed to mere luck.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven and the Snake Goddess were thus able to deduce that Zen had an extremely powerful backer.


    But that only left them more confused.


    Even the Monkey Spirit King wouldn''t be able to orchestrate such a


    o your longstanding question of where the Grand Weapon Refining Method came from."


    Zen raised his eyebrows. At this moment, he spotted the stranger in a cyan robe not far away.


    Bromley had obtained the Grand Weapon Refining Method in the chaos, but even he had never been convinced it was entirely coincidental. After all, the probability of picking up a palm-sized golden page in that vast space was infinitesimally small.


    "Who are you?" Zen asked the stranger.


    "My name is Dale," Dale said, bowing slightly and cupping his hands in reverence. "I came here under orders of my master to initiate you into cultivation."


    "Initiate?" Zen repeated in confusion.


    He had been cultivating for many years, working so hard that he had finally reached the Eternal Realm. Wasn''t he long past the initiation stage?


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven and the others were likewise puzzled by Dale''s statement.


    But Dale held firm. "Yes, initiate. May I enter your inner world to have a look?"


    Zen glanced at the Primeval Lord of Heaven. He nodded encouragingly.


    Zen then created an avatar in his inner world, and also placed the souls of the Primeval Lord of Heaven, the Snake Goddess and Dale into his inner world.


    Zen''s inner world had developed quite well. Everything appeared to be running in an orderly manner, due in part to the efforts of the souls of the human heroes.


    But Dale took one look and let out a long sigh. "My master was right. This primitive land is just desolate."

 Chapter 4140 A Conjecture

    Dale''s words displeased the Primeval Lord of Heaven. He was annoyed at what the former thought.


    The human heroes'' energy souls had stayed inside Zen''s inner world before. Once there, they had spent a lot of time and energy in making it a better place.


    Compared to the inner worlds of other people, Zen''s inner world could easily be marked as one of the best.


    But Dale was saying that it was a desolate place, and the Primeval Lord of Heaven felt humiliated.


    "Ahem..." The Primeval Lord of Heaven tried to hide his anger with a cough and then asked, "Dale, this inner world is built according to the human race''s Heaven and Earth Separation Method. What''s more, the world runs remarkably well considering its complexity. Why are you saying that it is a desolate place?"


    Dale glanced at the Primeval Lord of Heaven and then explained with a smile, "It is true that the Heaven and Earth Separation Method is the best way to build the inner worlds of ordinary warriors. However, that is not valid here. This is the primitive land. Even if the world runs so well, it''s of no use here. It''s too small..."


    Once again, Zen''s inner world was not small, especially when compared to those of ordinary warriors. One could even say that it was remarkably larger than people usually thought possible.


    Dale, however, was coming up with these comments because he was judging that world by the standards of the primitive land.


    Compared to the Source World, Zen''s inner world was easily as tiny as a dust particle.


    This time, the Primeval Lord of Heaven did not refute his statement. Instead, he asked, "Do you know a way to expand his inner world?"


    After the Primeval Lord of Heaven''s soul fragment had entered Zen''s inner world, he had also tried his best to expand it, but had been unsuccessful.


    Theoretically, it had the potential to grow infinitely.


    In fact, when the Source World was born, it wasn''t as huge as its contemporary presence. It had slowly expanded over time by devouring the chaotic energy.


    But the Primeval Lord of Heaven had been unsuccessful because to be honest, he didn''t know much about the primitive land, and therefore, couldn''t find a way to expand it. In the end, he had been left with no choice but to treat the primitive land as an ordinary inner world.


    "Of course." Dale nodded. "I know a way, which is also the key to controlling the ancestry-level bloodline."


    Once warriors reached the Other Shore Realm, then the inner worlds became less important. The biggest function of these inner worlds was to carry the objects their owners had obtained from the Other Shore.


    In fact, the Chaotic Source Realm and the Holy Soul Realm were merely enhanced realms on the Other Shore Realm. The real change happened when one entered the Eternal Realm.


    At that point, their inner world became almost completely insignificant.


    It was true that the bloodline inherited from the E


    of the ancestry-level bloodline was forced into his inner world, it would definitely cause some backlash! He had to be ready for that.


    There were risks, but Zen also knew that often, a mere thought, word, or idea that ordinary people couldn''t even imagine coming up with, could work wonders.


    The moment the first drop of the ancestry-level bloodline was injected into his inner world, Zen''s body began to tremble violently.


    His entire body turned as white as paper all of a sudden, and all trace of blood vanished from every single part of his body. Even his eyes, ears, nose and mouth were drained of color.


    The ancestry-level bloodline couldn''t wait to leave Zen''s physical body and madly rushed into his inner world.


    Once Zen''s meridians were completely dried up, his life force quickly faded away, as if he was about to die.


    Out of the blue, Zen''s real body and his avatar in his inner world fell down with a flop. His body seemed cold now.


    When the Snake Goddess saw this scene, her expression changed. She quickly withdrew her soul fragment from Zen''s inner world. She couldn''t let Zen die.


    With a gentle wave of her hand, a green leaf appeared in the center of her palm. She grabbed Zen''s jaw and forcefully stuffed the leaf into his mouth.


    This leaf was known as the Heavenly Immortal Leaf and it contained an enormous amount of life energy. Once Zen had absorbed enough life energy, his face turned red once again, and the blood in his body began to flow once more. However, the blood flowing in his meridians was no longer the ancestry-level bloodline.


    The ancestry-level bloodline was now inside his inner world and floating around like a free child. It suddenly turned into a huge mass of blood mist and spread out in all directions at an astonishing rate, enveloping his entire inner world like radiation.


    A gust of wind blew, and a fishy and sweet smell spread throughout every corner of his inner world.

 Chapter 4141 A New Flesh World

    After the Evil God had left Zen, his inner world grew and prospered.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven implemented new rules to unite several human forces. All sorts of new forces flourished like sprouting bamboo shoots.


    For most of the inner worlds, the more people and races there were, the more wars they would inevitably have. However, the new forces in Zen''s inner world lived together in harmony, rarely entertaining any conflicts.


    Now blood mist spread across the sky as its stench filled the entire inner world. The people were once again alarmed.


    "This blood is a threatening sign!"


    "What''s happening to our world?"


    "Is a disaster approaching us?"


    As the people saw the blood mist covering the horizon, they were filled with indescribable agony.


    They were facing imminent danger, but where could they escape?


    Splash! Splash!


    The blood mist formed from the ancestry-level bloodline spread to the edge of the inner world. It flowed to a tide merging with the chaotic sea.


    From dark brown, the chaotic sea gradually changed into a bright red.


    "Master Dale, what does the ancestry-level bloodline want?" Zen asked worriedly.


    He knew that the ancestry-level bloodline had its consciousness and was never under his control. Even the Blood-controlling Method only allowed him to have an elementary control.


    Now the ancestry-level bloodline was like a wild runaway horse galloping through his inner world. This made him nervous.


    "How would I know?" answered Dale.


    Zen and the Primeval Lord of Heaven glared at him as if they wanted to swallow him alive.


    Dale couldn''t stand their ferocious stares and hurriedly said, "Didn''t I say a world of blood and flesh would be built?"


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven looked at the sea of blood and nodded. "The inner worlds are filled with all sorts of strange things, but I''m afraid that only Zen''s inner world has such a scene."


    After a few moments, Zen, the Primeval Lord of Heaven, and Dale fina


    hearts beating simultaneously at the same speed.


    The ancestry-level bloodline ceased taking further action as the inner world reached this point.


    "Is it over?"


    Zen''s avatar descended from the sky and stepped on one of the pieces of flesh.


    He had been omniscient within his inner world and there was nothing hidden from him.


    Yet he knew nothing about the flesh substances. When he tried to sense them, a resistance force radiated from them.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven and Dale also descended. "I don''t think so. The most critical thing hasn''t happened yet," Dale said.


    "Do you mean expansion?" the Primeval Lord of Heaven asked.


    "Yes," Dale replied with a nod.


    For a primitive land, expansion was the priority. Zen''s inner world was far too small.


    "Will the world expand relying on these flesh substances?" Zen questioned Dale.


    Dale didn''t answer. He didn''t know the answer either, but looking at the vast mass of flesh substances, he felt that the world ought to expand next.


    Thump! Thump! Thump!


    All the flesh substances began to beat faster. They appeared to be growing, squeezing unto each other more and more fiercely.


    Five minutes later, Zen suddenly felt a crushing intense pain. It throbbed non-stop as if giving him a signal of his cinnabar field close to shattering.

 Chapter 4142 Rebuilding

    The expansion of his cinnabar field caused some pain.


    When it expanded, so did his inner world.


    But naturally, the scale of their expansion differed.


    His cinnabar field had only expanded half a finger''s distance, while his inner world had expanded beyond a thousand miles.


    The next second, his cinnabar field began shrinking. But his inner world did not follow¡ªit only stopped expanding.


    Following that, while his cinnabar field continued to expand, his inner world expanded over a thousand miles.


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Zen''s body seemed to have entered a subtle state.


    With every second, his inner world was expanding a thousand miles.


    The Snake Goddess, who guarded Zen from outside, took notice of his wondrous state. She then transformed into a strand of soul and drilled into his inner world¡ªher clear eyes widened in surprise at the sight before her.


    Previously, the continents occupied nearly seventy percent of space within Zen''s inner world.


    But now, all the continents floated in the sky, occupying less than ten percent of the inner world.


    The primitive land had expanded so fast, the expansion not ceasing in the least.


    Each time Zen''s inner world expanded, some of the flesh substances at the bottom of the world disappeared, turning into blood-red meridians that extended toward the edge of the inner world.


    Both Dale and the Primeval Lord of Heaven had already understood that the expansion of Zen''s inner world was based on the flesh substances.


    "The expansion of about a thousand miles will consume over a hundred masses of flesh," remarked the Primeval Lord of Heaven.


    "To be exact, a hundred and three masses of flesh," Zen said in return. "And the expansion will extend for a thousand and two hundred miles, to be exact. There are a total of fourteen million masses of flesh in my inner world."


    At that number, the Snake Goddess'' eyes widened. "How vast will Zen''s inner world be?"


    "It will be an inner world with a diameter of over a hundred million miles. It must be countless times larger than it is now, but it''s still far smaller than the Source World," Dale answ


    ained the ancestry-level bloodline, he managed to analyze the nature of any kind of energy. Such an analytic ability was given by the ancestry-level bloodline. Later on, it took the ability back.


    But for some reason, in his inner world, Zen had regained the analytic ability.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Boundless white mist covered the world. It continued piling up and rising slowly, approaching Zen and the rest.


    As the white mist rose into the sky, it shifted into clouds. Once they were thick enough, they would form a heavy rain.


    Splash!


    It began to rain in the inner world. This time, a real sea was finally formed within Zen''s body, replacing the former chaotic sea.


    Crack! Crack!


    A bolt of lightning shot out from the blood mist, streaking through the sky and sinking right into the sea.


    "The lightning contains the sixteen abilities of the destruction quadrant," Zen remarked in astonishment.


    Rumble!


    High mountains in the sea rose continuously, containing two abilities of the creation quadrant.


    Suddenly, one of the mountains split apart, allowing lava to flow from it. The lava seemed to be emitting the aura of the bloodline power as well.


    Enlightenment then struck Zen at that moment.


    The power of the ancestry-level bloodline was everywhere in this newly constructed inner world.


    If the inner world was completed, wouldn''t it be easy for him to obtain the power within?

 Chapter 4143 The Only Shelter

    As things escalated to this point, realization dawned on the faces of Dale, the Snake Goddess, and the Primeval Lord of Heaven as well.


    It turned out that Zen had cultivated the Soul Sea Realm anew.


    Once a warrior had reached the Soul Sea Realm, their life vitality became liquefied and formed a Soul Sea. Afterward, the sea of life vitality in their inner world would regularly provide life vitality for the warrior.


    After all, even if one had mastered the Godly Ways, they still used the life vitality in essence.


    Currently, the power Zen had used to reconstruct his inner world directly came from the ancestry-level bloodline. The difference was self-evident.


    For instance, the world created by using life vitality was secondary in one''s body.


    On the other hand, the world created by using chaotic energy was chaos.


    Therefore, was the world created using the ancestry-level bloodline the Abstruse Energy World?


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven''s heart skipped a beat at the thought, and he quietly glanced at Dale beside him.


    Dale acted like he was only a messenger and didn''t know anything else, but was that really the case?


    However, the Primeval Lord of Heaven had no idea what time and space in the Abstruse Energy World were like. The creation of the world before his eyes was still fresh in his mind, which contradicted his assumption. Thus, he ignored his confusion and did not say anything.


    Meanwhile, Zen''s inner world evolved at an even faster speed.


    Earth continued to emerge from the sea, and volcanoes erupted destructive hot lava.


    The seawater extinguished the lava that came to destroy everything, then an area in the shape of a coiled snake was formed. Lastly, life began to take shape in the place.


    It was a kind of bright green seaweed, and everyone was sure those were just plants.


    Yet, the thumb-sized plants quickly grew wings that were as thin as a cicada''s and flew away.


    Then, hundreds of millions of those "seaweed creatures" flew up the sky towards the continents that Zen had created before.


    From afar, the mass of seaweed creatures looked like an enormous green hurricane.


    "What do they want to do?" the Snake Goddess said worriedly.


    "Let''s go and have a look!" Zen said seriously.


    Since he had lost the ability to know everything in his inner world, he could not move freely as before. He could not appear anywhere in his inner world with just a thought like he previously di


    the primitive land.


    There was a time when over a thousand Sanskrit words bounded his inner world, but those had disappeared and were replaced by "walls" woven from the meridians. If one looked closer, they would see the blood that rapidly flowed within the walls.


    "The chaos should be outside the wall," Dale confirmed.


    "Well, that''s a problem. How can we observe the outside world then?" the Snake Goddess asked.


    "Zen, try to communicate with the ancestry-level bloodline again and ask it to let us out..." the Primeval Lord of Heaven suggested.


    Before he could finish speaking, Zen snorted coldly and placed his palms on the wall. He felt the wall''s temperature.


    Then, without saying anything, he clawed at the wall and tore it down, which caused a huge crack!


    As a result, the chaotic energy surged and flowed straight into the crack.


    Upon seeing his reckless behavior, Dale, the Primeval Lord of Heaven, and the Snake Goddess all smiled helplessly.


    The primitive land and its master did not have a harmonious relationship.


    Most areas in the chaos were even empty and were devoid of life.


    Nevertheless, they went out through the crack and looked around.


    There was still nothing else in sight, except for the slowly drifting chaos clouds.


    "Zen, can you sense the location of the primitive land?" asked Dale.


    Zen shook his head, and replied, "No."


    When his inner world had just been built, he could sense its location¡ªbut after that, he could not locate it anymore.


    "You have to find a way to locate it. The primitive land will be your only shelter," Dale said in a deathly serious tone.

 Chapter 4144 Dales News

    The chaos was an immensely vast space, so it was naturally hard to find a specific target or location within it.


    The Snake Goddess tilted her head and thought for a while. After a few moments, she said, "Bring me to Pear Hill. I have an Other Shore Token that can determine the location."


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven looked at her curiously. He did not know that she had such an Other Shore Token.


    "I have a set of mother-child butterflies¡ªa mother and three children. They can determine each other''s positions, no matter how far they are from each other," she explained.


    She had obtained her set of mother-child butterflies quite a long time ago, so the Primeval Lord of Heaven had forgotten about it.


    "Thank you so much," said Zen.


    After he had dissolved his avatar, he woke up in the Night View Island. Meanwhile, the Primeval Lord of Heaven handed the Descending Ring over to the Snake Goddess.


    Then, he chanted the Illusion Breaking Rune. He asked Fuxi, who was in Pear Hill, to summon the real Snake Goddess.


    When the real Snake Goddess had descended, she looked at the vast expanse of Pear Hill with curiosity. After all, her avatar was the one who created this super force and was also the only fruit left by the many seeds they had sowed.


    As soon as she finished observing, she stretched out her hand and flicked gently. One large and three small butterflies appeared beside her.


    The four beautiful butterflies were all in cyan color, and they danced gingerly around her.


    "Zen, keep the mother butterfly and put it in Pear Hill. Put the other three small butterflies outside your primitive land. This way, they can sense each other," the real Snake Goddess ordered.


    In turn, Zen did as she directed. After he put the mother butterfly away, he placed the three small ones inside his inner world, and his avatar brought one of them to the edge of the primitive land.


    As for Dale and the Primeval Lord of Heaven, they still waited in the chaos.


    After Zen went out, he released one of the small butterflies. The small animal flew around for a bit, then it stopped on the outer wall of the primitive land, and stayed still.


    Dale looked at the butterfly and asked, "Zen, can you determine the location of the divine land?"


    "The location of the divine land? I don''t think I can." Zen shook his head.


    If the distance was close, then he could sense the location of the divine land.


    Unfortunately, he was too far from it. Furthermor


    so confused. Since the Deleting Space had closed, no one knew about Geoffrey''s and Ziya''s whereabouts until now.


    Did Dale really know where they were? Still, it seemed impossible.


    "Of course, he is not in the Ruin Graveyard. He is in the main world," said Dale.


    "I know he is in the main world, but how did you know?" Zen asked.


    Previously, Dale had answered "I don''t know" to every question, but now he seemed to know everything. There was such a glaring difference that everyone was confused.


    Then, Dale told Zen what had happened in the Mysterious Yellow Tower.


    Upon hearing that Geoffrey had climbed to the top of the four pillars, he quickly began to worry. He truly never expected that Geoffrey would reach that unimaginable place after he had explored the Abstruse Energy World.


    Nevertheless, now that he knew that his son was safe and sound, he could reassure Letitia.


    At that moment, he dissipated his avatar, and Dale and the Primeval Lord of Heaven retrieved their souls from his inner world.


    Then, the crack he had torn apart surged, and the ancestry-level bloodline quickly repaired it.


    "Your primitive land has opened up completely now. As to how to strengthen it and use the ancestry-level bloodline, you have to explore those by yourself. I have completed the task my master assigned to me. Now, it''s time to go back," Dale stated.


    Zen cupped his hands and said, "Master Dale, since you came from the Jade Pure Realm, do you know how to go to the center of the Jade Pure Realm?"


    "The center of the Jade Pure Realm?" Dale felt slightly taken aback. He did not know why Zen was interested in that place.

 Chapter 4145 The Sound Behind The Door

    A part of the Jade Pure Realm was occupied by the Snake Spirit Sect.


    Its entire northern area was the base of the Snake Spirit Sect, while the central area was the most critical.


    It was not easy to get there.


    "Why do you want to go to the center of the Jade Pure Realm?" Dale asked in confusion.


    For him, Zen should have focused on developing his primitive land instead of thinking about other things.


    "Someone asked me to," said Zen.


    "Who? The Monkey Spirit King?" asked Dale.


    Zen shook his head.


    The Monkey Spirit King didn''t know anything. He couldn''t even give any useful advice at all.


    "Master Dale, you have also entered the Eternal Scroll Painting, right? Do you know who built it?" Zen asked.


    "The brush-wielder," Dale answered quickly.


    It wasn''t long before he was introduced to this name. After his master traveled through the main world, he found out about all the passageways to the secondary worlds being controlled by the brush-wielders.


    The brush-wielders knew many secrets. Once, the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord had secretly supported a talented creature in Stage Thirty-two on the Other Shore. He helped him enter the Eternal Scroll Painting with a subtle motive¨Che wanted to contact the brush-wielder.


    The creature successfully passed through the Eternal Scroll Painting and reached the Eternal Realm, but he didn''t see the brush-wielder.


    When the creature failed, the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord decided to give up his plan.


    Dale was filled with excitement as Zen mentioned the brush-wielder. "How about you? Have you seen him before?" he wondered.


    "Yes." Zen nodded. "He is the one who asked me to go to the center of the Jade Pure Realm."


    After thinking for a while, Dale frowned. "That was all he said?" His tone changed as if he was expecting more.


    "Yes," Zen replied. "Should there be anything else?" he asked while scratching his head.


    The brush-wielder did not reveal too much information. Even the conflicts in the Four Spirits Sect were pieced together by Zen later.


    "Ha-ha!" Dale sneered. "It seems that the brush-wielder has no idea. We can''t enter the center area now. Our efforts will only be in vain even if we overcome many obstacles in entering it."


    "What do you mean?" the Primeval Lord of Heaven asked in confusion.


    "My master has been there," said Dale.


    During the long war between the Snake Spirit Sect and the Bird Spirit


    sy in the beginning. As long as the human spirits possessed other creatures, they could run to the Pure Sky Platform by themselves. The Wing King only needed to carefully follow them all the way and when they woke up, he would tell them the truth.


    But the problem was the human spirits'' wishes were different. The wishes of some of them were not on the Pure Sky Platform, so the Wing King and the awakened human spirits had to spend more time helping others wake up.


    For the past years, the two hundred human spirits had been living in a daze.


    They felt indescribable emotions as they met again in the Night View Island.


    After Campbell, the first human spirit to awaken, told them about the situation of the Four Spirits Sect and the chaos, they were furious and swore to avenge the Human Spirit Sect and Kincaid.


    Dozens of them were already positioned, preparing to rush out.


    "You think you''re stronger than the Monkey Spirit King? Even the Monkey Spirit King hasn''t taken any action. Are you really going to launch an attack now?" Zen stopped the human spirits with his voice resonating from his inner world.


    Although his inner world had transformed, the continents had been completely preserved.


    The core of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization remained, helping Zen communicate in Sanskrit.


    The human spirits were just hostility-level Treacherous Beings. They were proficient in building the secondary worlds, but they were weak.


    Dealing with them might be difficult because they wouldn''t die, but the Light of Annihilation emitted from a Holy Stone was enough to shatter their souls.

 Chapter 4146 Teeth

    The human spirits had calmed down after hearing the words directly from Zen.


    Plotting revenge against the Snake Spirit Sect was like digging their own graves. It was a useless and self-destructive plan.


    "We understand. But what else can we do?" one of the human spirits chimed in.


    This human spirit''s name was Powell. He was regarded as the leader of this group of world builders. Campbell and all the other human spirits were completely obedient and loyal to him.


    "Your understanding of the chaos is deeper than ours. We need your help if we ought to find out where the Human Spirit King is," Zen humbly replied.


    "And why should we believe in you human beings? How can we trust you?" Powell stared at Zen. There was a look of utter skepticism in his face.


    These world builders created the human beings. It was because of them that Zen and the others existed.


    Powell considered human beings like Zen and the Primeval Lord of Heaven as mere carvings of the human spirits. Therefore, how could the human beings of the secondary world be the ones to lead the human spirits of the main world? This was quite unthinkable to them.


    As a matter of fact, Campbell and the others had the exact same thoughts. They couldn''t quite accept that notion.


    Because they were their creators, it was normal for the human spirits to think that they were superior to human beings.


    Nevertheless, Zen didn''t care about Powell''s doubts and concerns. He just smiled gently and said, "Because the Monkey Spirit King trusts me."


    With that, Powell and the other human spirits fell silent. They could not argue with that.


    In actuality, the world builders didn''t have a good position in the Four Spirits Sect. They weren''t even permitted to enter the Ten Directions House.


    The Monkey Spirit King chose to put his trust on Zen. This proved to be the biggest support in Zen''s favor. After that conversation, the world builders had temporarily settled down on the Night View Island.


    In the past few days, Judson had tirelessly remolded the Pear Hill. He worked on it day and night.


    He had already dug out about one-third of the west side of the entire Pear Hill. The stones he unearthed had been turned into metals using the force of truth. In turn, these metals were placed in a certain pattern. They formed an enormous circular structure that was thousands of miles in length.


    Meanwhile, Kendrick had set up an array upon the huge structure.


    "The array has already been set up. It can be activated at any point in time," Kendrick said to Zen impassively.


    Zen nodded and took out the mother butterfly given to him by the real Snake Goddess. Slowly, he began to sense the location of the young butterflies.


    One of these young butterflies was attached to the primitive land. Therefore, he would be able to feel t


    it had turned into a lush grassland. The time flow rate was so fast that it made people feel suffocated.


    The inner world''s development trend in the past revealed that all sorts of creatures would appear after the plants. These creatures would slowly obtain intelligence and establish tribes. Afterwards, these tribes would turn into cities. These cities would transform into great forces, empires, and even civilizations.


    Zen was not allowed to interfere with the development of the primitive land. Therefore, he could only watch in silence as it evolved.


    Unfortunately, the situation did not develop as Zen imagined. There were so many things that didn''t go according to his plan.


    Some kind of bamboo shoot-shaped plants grew on these continents. After these plants were born, they began to devour other plants frenziedly. They started growing ceaselessly.


    Therefore, the other plants on the continents merely became food for the bamboo shoot-shaped plants.


    After a short amount of time, all of the plants on the continents were devoured by these predatory plants. These plants also quickly grew from dozens of feet to thousands of miles in height and extended all the way to the edge of the primitive land!


    Zen had seen some gigantic plants in the Source World. Some intelligent plants were even able to reach the Other Shore Realm. However, none of them could compare to these bamboo shoot-shaped plants.


    As these insatiable plants became thousands of miles tall and hundreds of miles in diameter, they intersected and gathered at the edge of the primitive land.


    Zen frowned as he observed them for a while. His pupils narrowed slightly, and one word popped into his mind.


    "Teeth?" This was what he imagined they were.


    If he imagined the primitive land as the head of a giant beast, then these bamboo shoot-shaped plants were the teeth of this beast.

 Chapter 4147 Downgrade

    As Zen arrived at the edge of the primitive land, he approached the huge plants which resembled bamboo shoots with great caution.


    When these plants reached their current size, their cyan color faded and was replaced by a golden sheen. They appeared very sturdy and strong.


    Just as Zen was about to move closer, the plants in the shape of bamboo shoots that had intertwined to resemble dog teeth suddenly separated and began to snap at Zen within a few seconds.


    Zen was not prepared and barely had any time to dodge. His whole body was bitten, ground, and chewed to pieces by the teeth.


    Luckily for him, it was just an avatar.


    "Buzz!"


    On the continent at the center of the primitive land, Zen''s avatar condensed again. He appeared angry and disgraced.


    In the past, he had always had complete control over his inner world though it was still quite small.


    Now that it had expanded, he couldn''t believe that he was bound to it instead of the other way around.


    "Do you want to fight with me?" Zen challenged, looking into the blood mist in the sky.


    Just then, a thick cloud of blood mist floated in the air above him like an animal taunting its prey.


    "Then come on!" Zen''s said coldly.


    All of a sudden, he had an idea.


    The continents floated in the sky had linked to one another.


    As long as he remained on these continents, Zen was omniscient. He had to use this to his advantage.


    "Crack, crack, crack..."


    As the continents connected, Zen stretched out his hand and grabbed in the air.


    The newly combined continent rose and eventually, reached the highest point of the primitive land.


    Before Zen knew it, the blood mist that came from the ancestry-level bloodline hovered right above his head.


    Zen slowly stretched out his hand and immersed it in the blood mist, "Seize it!"


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh...


    A powerful storm formed at the center of Zen''s hand.


    "Whoosh!"


    With one toss, the storm swept up and with astonishing speed, sucked the floating blood mist within seconds.


    "Hiss, hiss, hiss..."


    The ancestry-level bloodline wouldn''t go down without a fight.


    It morphed into blood red winged bugs in an attempt to escape the storm.


    However, a storm created by the all-powerful creator could not be resisted. This wa


    e was now, he wouldn''t have been able to do anything to the bloodline.


    "Ah, so you could talk even before? Why did you keep silent all the time?" Zen asked with smile.


    Spiritual creatures could gain extraordinary wisdom after they lived a long time. The ancestry-level bloodline was no exception to this.


    "Because I had to observe you well," the bloody man said, emotionless.


    "Observe me for what?" Zen raised an eyebrow.


    "To see if you are trustworthy," the bloody man nodded.


    After the ancestry-level bloodline was brought back by the Bird Spirit King Sheehan, it had been trapped in the Eternal Divine Courtyard. During those years, the Four Spirits Sect kept exploiting its power.


    It had no clue where it came from nor whom it belonged to. The bloodline spent its life aimlessly.


    When it decided Zen was an excellent host, it wasted no time and immediately integrated with him.


    As Zen carried the ancestry-level bloodline, the bloodline reconstructed Zen.


    "You have become a part of me. Don''t I deserve your trust?" Zen said welcomingly.


    The bloody man coldly glanced up at Zen and looked back down. "In a world that has been downgraded, no one could be trusted. Not even you..."


    "Downgraded?" Zen shook his head in confusion, "What do you mean?"


    The bloody man sighed and continued to explain, "If a creature in the main world becomes a creature in the chaos, it has been downgraded. After the Monkey Masters died, they became Treacherous Beings. That, is a kind of downgrade."

 Chapter 4148 The Origin Of The World

    Upon hearing the blood man''s explanation, Zen soon understood. He smiled and paraphrased, "So, all the creatures of the main world have been downgraded..."


    All members from the Four Spirits Sect had perished in the chaos, and they had all been transformed into Treacherous Beings. In theory, they had all been downgraded to creatures of the chaos.


    The blood man stared disdainfully at Zen as he continued to clarify, "It''s not just the creatures that have been downgraded, but also the entire main world."


    "What?!" Zen was almost dumbstruck. "The entire main world has been downgraded? How is that even possible?"


    "Why would it be impossible?" The blood man added in a nonchalant voice, "The chaos emerged from the downgrade of the main world. The so-called world builders knew the method of downgrade, and they unfolded a portion of the main world. That was how they created secondary worlds."


    "They unfolded a portion of the main world..." Zen''s eyes were like saucers with astonishment.


    Campbell had never made any mention of such things to him before.


    He was only aware that the world builders were responsible for constructing secondary worlds and extracting energies from the secondary worlds through the four pillars.


    "Unfortunately, they didn''t know that once the downgrade had begun, there would be no turning back. Sooner or later, the entire main world would be downgraded," the blood man explained.


    "Why are you so confident of these things?" Zen queried.


    Ziya had been in the Abstruse Energy World for a very long time, and Geoffrey could adapt to the environment of the main world. Moreover, Zen knew there were still creatures living within the main world, such as Pompeo''s kin.


    The blood man leaned closer to Zen and whispered with a smile, "Because the main world was also birthed from downgrade. The entire main world is an unfolded section from a higher-level world..."


    This unexpected information struck Zen silent.


    For a moment, he was utterly speechless.


    The main world was already vastly beyond his comprehension. What could a world at a higher level than the main world be? The gears in his mind were spinning as he tried to imagine this!


    The blood man had already anticipated Zen''s reaction. He rocked back in his chair and explained in a lazy voice, "In fact, you''ve already heard of that higher-level world. It''s known as the Deep Space among the Four Spirits Sect."


    "You came from the Deep Space."


    Zen exclaimed as realization flared in his mind.


    He had read about the Deep Space in the stone tablets of the Monkey Spirit Sect, and he memorized the most relevant information pretty well.


    Among the Four Spirits Sect, the Deep Spac


    n said resolutely.


    "However, the downgrade has already begun, and the entire Four Spirits Sect has become involved. I couldn''t tell who is really behind the downgrade, so I had to watch everything in silence.


    I couldn''t trust you then because you might also be the downgrader."


    The "Zen" transformed from the ancestry-level bloodline became pensive and gazed thoughtfully ahead. From where he stood, no one was trustworthy, including Zen.


    Strictly speaking, world builders like Campbell could be seen as enemies of the ancestry-level bloodline.


    "How could I be the downgrader?" Zen rolled his eyes at the blood man. "Believe me, it must be the Snake Spirit King. After all, he deceived the three other kings into entering the chaos and killed them all."


    "The Snake Spirit King is the most probable suspect, but the Bird Spirit King also holds a dubious distinction and so does the missing Human Spirit King..." The blood man''s face became grave as he said, "I can offer you all my help, but you have to assist me by finding and killing the downgrader, even if that person is Kincaid, the Human Spirit King."


    Zen hesitated for a brief moment, but the determination burned in his eyes.


    He didn''t know why the world had been downgraded, but he knew without any doubt that if it continued like this, everyone would be doomed.


    This would be much more terrifying than the collapse of the chaos.


    If there really was a downgrader, Zen would use all of his skills to kill that person. He wouldn''t hesitate, even if his opponent was Kincaid, the Human Spirit King.


    "I will find and kill the downgrader. I swear to you," Zen pledged solemnly.


    The blood man smiled, and then he was transformed into the original form of the ancestry-level bloodline. "Then, my power is now yours..."

 Chapter 4149 Following

    Zen did not restrain the ancestry-level bloodline, and as a result, it turned into a blood mist and evaporated in the air in the primitive land.


    In turn, the primitive land began to tremble again, and blood waterfalls flowed out from the blood mist on the dome.


    When the blood waterfalls had flowed down to the bottom, they condensed and formed blood pillars.


    There were a total of three hundred and seventy-three blood pillars, and each of them had a corresponding type of blood power of the ancestry-level bloodline.


    Buzz...


    Bright blood light suddenly appeared within the blood pillars, and then turned into long arrows that flew towards Zen.


    However, he did not dodge and allowed the arrows to hit him.


    Puff!


    As soon as the first blood arrow struck him, he felt something appear in his mind, and it turned out to be the blood power.


    That blood power was an ability in the creation quadrant.


    Before he could even test it out, more blood-red arrows shot towards him.


    Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff...


    Every time a blood-red arrow hit him, a specific kind of blood power appeared in his mind.


    More than thirty seconds had passed, and all the blood-red arrows had entered his body. Then, the full power of the ancestry-level bloodline started to appear in his mind.


    "The power of space..."


    At that moment, he stretched out his hand and pointed to the distance.


    Afterward, layers of square spaces appeared somewhere in the primitive land.


    The spaces were surprisingly stable and almost as good as the space Othniel had created with the truth power.


    "Destructive power! Explode!"


    Red flames filled the air as all the spaces exploded at the same time. The destructive power spread out, and fires engulfed the entire primitive land in the blazing heat.


    "Creation..."


    Just then, Zen spread out his hands in the air.


    When the energy in the creation quadrant fanned out, long swords appeared out of thin air from all directions.


    Naturally, none of the swords were ordinary weapons as they appeared out of nowhere. Thousands of them fell like rain and collided with each other, making crisp and pleasant sounds. Soon enough, they quickly piled up into a sword mountain.


    In general, the Chaos Ancient God, Judson, could create things out of thin air


    rd appeared by his side and pointed at the entrance of the bubble. Then, the entrance quickly vanished without a trace.


    As Dale watched the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord''s swift movement, he suddenly seemed to have realized something. "Old man, is someone following me?" he asked.


    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord nodded and solemnly said, "There is a trace of an aura that doesn''t belong to you. I''m afraid someone has targeted you..."


    "That''s impossible! I''ve never transformed into a human form," said Dale. Even if one used their spiritual sense to check the Other Shore creature he had formed, they could not tell if the creature was real or not. He was quite confident in his bloodline ability.


    Furthermore, the war between the Snake Spirit Sect and the Bird Spirit Sect was in full swing, so they could not possibly have the time to look for him.


    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord didn''t say anything. He just controlled the bubble to move deeper into the ground.


    In the past few years, others had discovered the bubble about two times, but it could freely move as it was not a fixed cave. When it got caught, it naturally hid in a more secluded place. Still, the Snake Spirit King thought that the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord was insignificant, just like a rat that hid underground.


    Right now, the Snake Spirit King was ready to kill everyone. Both the Bird Spirit King and the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord, who hid underground, had to be wiped out. Of course, they would receive even worse treatment than before.

 Chapter 4150 Lurk In The Dark

    When the bubble began to move, it alerted the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord''s other disciples.


    After all, this bubble had been underground and immobile for quite a long time.


    "Master, what''s happening?"


    "Master, are you doing that because we were detected?"


    the disciples asked the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord.


    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord had many disciples before, but only ten had followed him into the Jade Pure Realm.


    He lost four disciples in their explorations. Another two disciples tried to leave the bubble and ended up being killed by the people of the Snake Spirit Sect. Thus, there were only four left with him in the bubble. They were Dale, Arthur, Derrick and Austin. Dale could transform into anything.


    Arthur was a pot-bellied man who always wore a beatific smile on his face, like Buddha.


    Derrick was almost the opposite of Arthur with his lanky frame and an ever-serious unsmiling expression.


    Justin was tall and sturdy and carried a purple-golden furnace. His right arm was covered with many flame-shaped tattoos, which would turn into actual fire for the furnace. The fire in the furnace had never been put out in the past tens of millions of years. He took it with him wherever he went.


    Arthur, Derrick and Justin treated the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord with more reverence than Dale did.


    "Yes. We have been detected," the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord replied tersely, his face grim.


    He focused on keeping the bubble moving.


    The bubble confined and concealed the aura of the occupants. Moreover, it camouflaged itself such that it would look like part of its surroundings to an observer.


    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord concentrated on moving the bubble somewhere they would be safe.


    The bubble continued forward underground.


    Only the sound of crunching earth could be heard all throughout.


    The bubble made slow progress onward.


    The four disciples remained calm. They had been in similar situations before. They fixed all their attention on the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord.


    Suddenly, noises came from outside the bubble.


    Crack! Crack!


    They were spurred alert by the sound, immediately knowing what it was.


    "It''s a metal-devouring beast!" Arthur exclaimed.


    There were many mysterious creatures living underground in the Jade Pure Realm, and the metal-de


    . Hence, the Wine Basin was an important pass for the Bird Spirit Sect.


    The troops of the Snake Spirit Sect in the Mist City had recently been raiding the Wine Basin.


    The Treacherous Beings had already gathered outside the Wine Basin today.


    Sewell, the troops'' commander, was preparing to launch their twelfth attack on the Wine Basin.


    It was a short distance between the Mist City and the Wine Basin. When the Treacherous Beings got killed, they would come back to life in the Mist City and join the invasion on the Wine Basin again.


    The Treacherous Beings could be resurrected infinitely, but it took time. If a Treacherous Being got killed too many times in a short period, it would take him or her longer to come back.


    Sewell had a simple strategy.


    He would order his men to attack the Bird Masters and kill them again and again. That way, the speed of their resurrection would be slowed down and he could finally take the stronghold of the Bird Spirit Sect.


    Right before Sewell gave the order to execute the plan, a white snake came to his side, whispering, "The coordinates are in place."


    "Are they in the bubble now?" Sewell asked.


    The white snake nodded. "Yes. Abel and I had put our coordinates in a metal-devouring beast''s stomach. It had just been captured and brought into the bubble."


    "You two will not join the battle, then. If you get killed and come back to life, it might tip them off. But we will find them right after we take over the Bird Spirit Sect," Sewell said, steely determination in his voice.

 Chapter 4151 Erase Coordinates

    There were a total of four teams behind Sewell, the Divine Snake Department, the Black Snake Department, the Cyan Snake Department, and the Abdomen Poison Department.


    Sewell himself led the Divine Snake Department which consisted of the strongest elites of the Snake Spirit Sect.


    "The Black Snake Department, and the Cyan Snake Department, you attack from both sides!" Sewell commanded with authority.


    "The Cyan Snake Department got it!"


    "The Black Snake Department, attack!"


    the two Snake Masters standing respectively on the left and right teams responded, leading the teams to charge towards the Wine Basin...


    "Divine Snake Department, follow me to attack!"


    Sewell rushed into the Wine Basin first after his order.


    His body expanded rapidly the moment he rushed into the Wine Basin. The high water splashed on both sides.


    The elites of the Divine Snake Department followed his lead and also stepped in!


    The last one of the four teams, the Abdomen Poison Department, specialized at using poison. They usually wandered around when a battle was in full swing, but at this moment, they stayed put.


    "Da! Da! Da!"


    On the right side of the Wine Basin, a group of human spirits walked fast on the water. They skimmed like dragonflies across the water¨Cadvancing with naturally graceful movements.


    The three houses of the Human Spirit Sect were regrouped and joined the Cyan Snake Department. Together with the other members of the Cyan Snake Department, they hurried to the right side of the Wine Basin.


    The bird spirits had built many complicated bird nests in the Wine Basin. These nests were sturdy and huge, supported by complex internal structures.


    Since they couldn''t use spatial transference, the several teams could only break in by force relying on their bodies.


    "This time, we people of the three houses will try our best to take down the first three bird nests. If anyone slacks off, I will report them to the Cyan Snake Department and have their coordinates erased forever!" Gianni shouted, walking in front of the team.


    The human spirits of the Black House, the Broad House, and the Joy House had long been dissatisfied with the Snake Spirit Sect. Previously, they only guarded the various Pure Sky Platforms and did insignificant things. But now they were involved in a battle with the Bird Spirit Sect, the anger in them intensified.


    T


    oped the ice sculptures, it produced a magical effect. The Treacherous Beings melted like snow lying under the sun''s heat...


    As the other human spirits witnessed this, they all turned to look at Gianni. Death was not scary¨Cwhat was terrifying was the removal of their coordinates.


    "Three people died already?" asked Gianni with a wicked smile on his face. "It seems that five people is not enough. I will double the number. The ten people who die first will have their coordinates erased!"


    The human spirits shuddered. Overcome with resentment, they decided to proceed. They all used their best skills to counterattack.


    "Sword haze, destructive move!"


    Alphonse somersaulted and a bright long sword appeared in his hand.


    The long sword was made of Holy Stone. Countless rays of snow-white sword radiance mixing with the Light of Annihilation shone upwards.


    "Puff, puff, puff..."


    The Light of Annihilation instantly pierced through the Snow Birds, shattering them into pieces.


    Under Alphonse''s lead, the human spirits all launched a counterattack.


    Although the Snow Birds had a populous destructive tendency, their defense was extremely weak. They lost their fighting power after being hit by the Light of Annihilation.


    The human spirits of the three houses were not weak. They worked together forming a strong line of defense.


    Despise their large number, the Snow Birds fell one after another from only a hundred feet away. In less than three minutes, more than ten thousand Snow Birds had been eliminated, leaving no Snow Bird flying out from the nests again.

 Chapter 4152 Battle Of Attrition

    "Keep moving,"


    Gianni barked, after having dealt with the Snow Birds.


    Every round of attacks required all human spirits to die in battle.


    However, this time, all the human spirits stopped in their tracks.


    The three human spirits that were just killed would have their coordinates erased.


    It was said that seven more were to suffer the same fate.


    "General Gianni, all of us will die in a round of attack," Alphonse said with a hint of anxiety in his tone. "Do you mean the coordinates of ten people will definitely be erased after every round of attacks?"


    "General Gianni, we are all human spirits," Hamilton pitched in. "How could you be so cruel?"


    Both Alphonse and Hamilton were leaders of their respective houses, and were far stronger than ordinary human spirits. It was unlikely they were going to die first.


    However, the members of the three houses were of the same sect and race. They tended to look out for each other. When Gianni treated their lives like trash, they felt indignant yet helpless.


    Gianni stared at Alphonse with mock. "If you think ten is too many, then sacrifice yourselves. Once we reach the quota of ten, the remaining people will be safe."


    All the human spirits who overheard this felt anger stir in their hearts.


    Even the several human spirits of the Broad House that followed Gianni were furious. One of them, a burly man, cursed loudly. "Gianni! It was stupid of me to follow you this whole time!"


    "General Gianni, as a general of the Ten Directions House, you are so ruthless..."


    "General Gianni, go to hell..."


    The human spirits began to curse him, one after another.


    As Gianni heard these offensive and harsh reproaches, his disposition remained unchanged. With a bored expression, he said, "The monkey spirits in the Heavenly Square City have all been executed. Is that what you want?"


    The sole reason why the Snake Masters allowed the three houses to exist was because they still found them useful. The second they lost their value, the Snake Masters would exterminate them swiftly and mercilessly.


    A hush fell over the crowd. Exchanging nervous glances, no one dared utter another curse.


    Naturally, no one wanted to die here, in this small pond. Only by living on could they possibly see light at the other end of the tunnel.


    Through gritted teeth, Alphonse said, "Warriors of the three houses, charge!"


    Then, taking the lead, he rushed forth into the battlefield.


    Shooting ea


    was Duran, the second strongest Bird Master of the Bird Spirit Sect.


    With a snort, Duran narrowed his eyes at Balfour. "You''re going to die soon, I''m afraid this reunion will be cut short."


    As soon as he finished speaking, he spread his wings and launched himself towards Balfour. In the blink of an eye, he closed the distance between him and Balfour, talons poised to strike.


    Balfour immediately raised his coiled body, coming to meet Duran like a spiral blade.


    However, Duran was much faster than Balfour. He moved like lightning, flashing here and there and striking Balfour swiftly. Each time Duran swooped in, he left deep claw marks on Balfour''s back, head, and tail.


    Additionally, there were also Holy Stones embedded in Duran''s sharp claws. The Light of Annihilation penetrated through the claw marks into Balfour''s body, destroying his body little by little.


    Seeing he was at a disadvantage, Balfour tried to get out of this tricky situation.


    He flew upwards, trying to make his way around the complex bird nest, simultaneously trying to dodge Duran''s attacks.


    But obviously, Duran knew the bird nest better than Balfour. No matter where Balfour went, Duran followed.


    Balfour had nowhere to hide. He desperately rushed to the top of the nest and knocked open a big hole in its roof, flying into the open sky.


    However, just as he had flown a thousand feet, Duran swiftly closed the distance. A pair of sharp claws wrapped around the snake''s body firmly, despite the blades sticking out of Balfour''s body. Unable to fight back, Balfour could do nothing but watch helplessly as Duran dragged him back to the nest.

 Chapter 4153 Punishment

    Trampled under Duran''s feet, Balfour remained fearless. Instead, he smiled sinisterly and said, "I''m indeed no match for you, but since you showed up, this probably means that the Bird Spirit Sect cannot deal with our continuous attacks, right?"


    The Snake Spirit Sect launched eleven attacks before, but Duran did not participate in any.


    Duran''s presence only meant that the Bird Spirit Sect was worn out. They had no choice but to send their stronger Bird Masters to counter the attacks of the Snake Spirit Sect.


    "Shut up!"


    Vengeance appeared in his eyes. Balfour''s words struck the wrong cord.


    The battle between the Bird Spirit and Snake Spirit Sects in the Jade Pure Realm had been fierce. However, the two forces were not evenly-matched and the Bird Spirit Sect was always left at a disadvantage.


    However, it proved impossible for the Snake Spirit Sect to take down the Bird Spirit Sect.


    Though the Bird Spirit King Sheehan hadn''t awakened, he still had extraordinary strength. It was difficult for the Snake Spirit King to send the Bird Spirit Sect on their knees.


    Thus, this seemingly endless war continued for countless years. It never ceased.


    According to the will of Sheehan, the Bird Masters supported the Nihility race in a plot to destroy this chaos.


    With the help of the Bird Masters, the Nihility race grew in strength and number. The Bird Masters were notably impressed with the performance of the Grandmaster of Heaven, and they were pleased to see that in this round of chaos, the Evil God that joined the Nihility race had controlled the Source World for their advantage.


    Nothing like this had ever happened in the past.


    This was the Bird Masters'' opportunity.


    If they used the Source World to destroy the chaos, everything would easily return to zero.


    However, not long after the Evil God took control of the Source World, the Snake Spirit Sect launched another attack.


    They had even moved the coordinates to the Mist City - they were determined to win the battle.


    This Bird Spirit Sect had no choice but to resist and counterattack.


    The Treacherous Beings from the Snake Spirit Sect launched eleven attacks. The Bird Masters and spirits eventually grew exhausted. A few of the bird spirits were still being revived, which would take much time.


    Because some bird spirits hadn''t been revived


    person turned pale and trembled with fright.


    "General Gianni! Give me one more chance!" Yurem fell down to his knees and begged.


    "Master Balfour, I died only because I was careless this time. I did fight with all my strength..." Ezekiel attempted to persuade.


    "¡­¡­"


    As Gianni faced these people''s excuses and begging, his cold expression never changed. "Rules are rules. If these rules could be so easily changed, then no one would be working hard."


    He walked to the coordinates of the five with a golden hammer condensed in his hand. This weapon was given to him by Balfour, and was used to dispose of coordinates.


    With one swing, he lightly hit on one of the coordinates and it shattered to pieces.


    The human spirit named Yurem shrieked in agony. Then, his body lightened and lightened as it slowly turned into a transparent shadow that eventually disappeared.


    "How... How dare you really do this to us! I will fight you to death!"


    "Let''s fight together!"


    Ezekiel and Rishi nodded at each other and rushed towards Gianni, while the other human spirits didn''t react.


    Everyone, including Alphonse and Hamilton, was extremely angry, but none of them wanted to walk to their deaths.


    Before Ezekiel and Rishi could even get close to Gianni, Balfour curled his tail and swung it. Just like that, these Treacherous Beings dispersed.


    Gianni looked at them and scoffed, then continued to break the remaining coordinates one by one.


    Within a minute, the four human spirits lost the chance to revive forever and died in the secondary world.

 Chapter 4154 Release

    Silence hung thick in the air as the human spirits of the Broad House, Joy House, and Black House stayed quiet.


    They knew well that if they spoke out at this time, they would end up in the same miserable situation as those five people, and their coordinates would be shattered into pieces.


    On the other hand, Balfour was quite satisfied with Gianni''s deterrence.


    It seemed that it was a wise decision to hand over these human spirits to Gianni, who would rule over them.


    "Snake Master, our Human Spirit Sect is ready. When will we start the thirteenth round of attack?" Gianni asked, loyalty evident in his face.


    Balfour thought for a moment, and said, "We might have to wait two days before launching the thirteenth round of attack. Although our Cyan Snake Department performed well this time, the Bird Spirit Sect violently counterattacked the Black Snake Department and the Divine Snake Department, and some of the snake spirits haven''t gotten revived yet."


    The Snake Spirit Sect suffered huge losses, and the Bird Spirit Sect was even worse.


    Based on the current situation, the Bird Spirit Sect would have a hard time defending if they got attacked one or two more times.


    However, the revival speed of the snake spirits was too slow, and it was even a burden to the entire Snake Spirit Sect.


    "You human spirits resurrected quite fast. Sewell asked me to bring your coordinates into the battlefield of the Wine Basin," said Balfour. Then he added, "So after you die next time, you can resurrect quickly and launch the attack again¡­"


    Upon hearing his words, many of the human spirits felt scared once again.


    It was already very dangerous to put the coordinates in the Mist City. How could they bring those directly to the battlefield of the Wine Basin?


    If Balfour died, the Bird Masters would surely destroy all the human spirits'' coordinates.


    Of course, they would also die by then!


    Even the ever-loyal Gianni''s face darkened.


    "When I enter the Wine Basin, surely there will be powerful Bird Masters there who will target me. So, I want to hand over the coordinates of the human spirits to you. What do you think?" Balfour asked.


    Alphonse, Hamilton, and the rest all looked at Gianni, who was shocked. "That''s not applicable. If I''m in charge of the lives of the human spirits, I''m afraid I can''t take on this responsibility well," he stated.


    "It doesn''t matter. I trust you. You don''t have to fight personally. Y


    "If you haven''t treated me like that, how could I get the chance?" Gianni said.


    "But the Other Shore is so big. Even if we escape with the coordinates, I''m afraid it would be hard to find a place to hide," Alphonse mumbled anxiously.


    Gianni stared at Alphonse and asked, "Why did the Snake Spirit King suddenly want to kill the monkey spirits?"


    The monkey spirits in the Heavenly Square City were surely not weak, and they were even much more powerful than the three human houses. Moreover, they were quite loyal and obedient. They were good helpers of the Snake Spirit Sect.


    Despite that, the Snake Spirit King suddenly removed their coordinates and annihilated all of them. Something was not right.


    Alphonse only shook his head as he couldn''t figure out what was going on.


    "Monkey spirits are usually loyal to the Snake Spirit King, but what if the Monkey Spirit King woke up?" Gianni asked.


    "You mean..." There was silence as Alphonse stared wide-eyed at Gianni in disbelief.


    Gianni nodded and continued, "I''ve seen a few human beings on the Pure Sky Platform, and they saved the world builders. I don''t know if the awakening of the Monkey Spirit King has anything to do with those humans, but I suggest you go to the Night View Island!"


    It was not a secret that the Monkey Spirit King remained on the Night View Island. The human spirits also knew that the passageway to the Night View Island had gotten destroyed. Therefore, Gianni deduced that something had happened on the Night View Island based on the information he had learned.


    At that moment, the snake-shaped mark on his shoulder suddenly lit up.

 Chapter 4155 Sheehans Wish

    Gianni covered the snake-shaped mark with his hand and ordered, "Run!"


    "But¡­" Hamilton said reluctantly.


    "What are you waiting for? Go, now!" Gianni roared.


    Hearing this, Alphonse glanced at Gianni and also commanded, "All of you, take your own coordinates and leave with me! I won''t hear any excuse!"


    Whoosh!


    Alphonse took the lead and made a series of ripples on the surface of the water as he moved.


    The other human spirits also followed closely behind after putting away their coordinates.


    As Gianni saw that the images of the human spirits receded little by little in the distance, a grin gradually appeared on his face.


    He then removed his hand, exposing the snake-shaped mark. "Gianni! What are you doing? Why aren''t you attacking the bird nests?" Balfour asked in a loud voice.


    "In a minute," Gianni replied.


    "Why? What happened? Why did you even hesitate?" Balfour continued asking.


    "Some bird spirits blocked us halfway. It wasn''t a wise decision to recklessly attack them," Gianni lied with a straight face.


    "But you''re the only one left!" Through the snake-shaped mark, Balfour immediately found out that something wrong was going on.


    "Cut the crap and stop being nosy!" Gianni snapped back, losing his patience.


    He suddenly reached out his hand and tapped the snake-shaped mark which instantly trembled and broke into pieces.


    Balfour was taken aback when he was suddenly reprimanded by Gianni. He fell silent for a while before he was able to let out an angry roar.


    It was too late for him to confirm what had really happened.


    Everything could only be verified after the end of the attack. After all, the thirteenth round of attack had already begun, so it was far beyond the reach of his power.


    Taking advantage of the fierce battle between the Snake Spirit Sect and the Bird Spirit Sect, the human spirits of the three houses quickly left the battlefield situated in the Wine Basin.


    They bypassed the Mist City and the checkpoint of the Snake Spirit Sect, and took the opportunity to head straight into the center of the Jade Pure Realm.


    However, this didn''t go unnoticed in the eyes of the Snake Spirit King.


    When the thirteenth round of attack from the Snake Spirit Sect began, Cornelius, the Snake Spirit King, finally made his appearance in the Wine Basin.


    There was an amber-colored diamond-shaped gem embedded in Cornelius''s head, which was a Holy Item called the Limited Omnipotent Stone.


    With th


    d looked straight ahead in the direction of the Wine Basin. "He has appeared. He finally dares to come for me!" Sheehan''s expression changed drastically.


    He got so excited that there was a huge smile on his face while still emitting strong killing intent.


    The light purple gleam on his every feather began to shine brightly.


    Clatter! Clatter!


    He gradually raised his head and body.


    The hard diamond-shaped feathers collided with each other, producing a sound likened to a handful of shells banging together. It was both crisp and harsh.


    Although the golden nest was still quite far from the battlefield, his eyes were already focused on the image of the Snake Spirit King.


    Sheehan only had one wish.


    What he wanted the most was to kill Cornelius and then crush the whole world to ruin.


    One could only imagine how cruel and desperate he had been before he died.


    "My king! Please listen to us. You can''t act rashly!"


    "This is the Snake Spirit King''s ploy. He wants to lure you out!"


    "You mustn''t go out right now."


    The three Bird Masters were extremely anxious as they pleaded before their king.


    However, because Sheehan was still unconscious, he wasn''t able to think clearly. The words of the three Bird Masters fell into deaf ears.


    Clatter! Clatter!


    Sheehan had no intention to stop now.


    Streaks of purple light danced around his wings, and the surrounding space twisted and cooperated in his every move.


    Swoosh!


    In an instant, the three Bird Masters were left there as the Bird Spirit King disappeared. He only left streaks of purple lights that extended towards the battlefield in the Wine Basin.

 Chapter 4156 The Fastest Speed

    Among the four sect leaders, the Bird Spirit King Sheehan was the fastest. He also had the most profound understanding of space.


    To the creatures of the main world, the Deep Space was an obscure and incomprehensible area.


    Many of them, including those of the Four Spirits Sect, had entered and explored the Deep Space. However, only Sheehan could explore it easily and effortlessly.


    He had once reached the unreachable depths of the Deep Space, making him the only one who could bring back the ancestry-level bloodline.


    The Snake Spirit King observed Sheehan''s every move through the Limited Omnipotent Stone and he saw him flap his wings. "Sheehan is going to make a move," he warned.


    But Sheehan was too fast. Even if the Snake Spirit King watched his movement, he couldn''t do anything to stop him. There was always a way to deflate other theurgies, but the winner was defined by speed.


    After the Snake Spirit King''s alert, Sewell stood on guard. The next moment, they noticed wisps of purple light.


    Sewell felt a slight chill as a wisp of purple light swept past his body. He then saw a huge bird''s claw appear in front of him.


    The claw disappeared quickly before his eyes. Sewell blinked, uncertain whether it was a phantom or not.


    At the next minute, an unforeseen force pressed down on them.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    Three crevices of tens of thousands of feet long imprinted around Sewell. These were Sheehan''s claw print. Sewell was then crushed into the depths of the ground, breaking his body into several pieces.


    Despite the ghastly power of Sheehan''s claw, it couldn''t kill a Treacherous Being without the help of the Light of Annihilation. Sewell''s broken body parts wriggled like earthworms. They moved towards each other and slowly reconnected into a whole.


    Sewell couldn''t avoid Sheehan''s claw, neither could the Snake Spirit King beside him.


    After all, Sheehan''s target was the Snake Spirit King. The purple light wrapped the Snake Spirit King and a strong force clashed unto him¡ªit was Sheehan''s huge body.


    Clatter! Clatter! Clatter!


    Because of t


    him into the Void Dust so that he would be swallowed alive.


    Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!


    Even as a Treacherous Being, the Snake Spirit King couldn''t escape the devouring power of the Void Dust.


    The huge body of the Snake Spirit King squirmed desperately in the Void Dust, but after struggling for a while, he was consumed completely.


    After he was annihilated, Sheehan''s brutal stare weakened a little.


    The Snake Spirit King was his biggest enemy, but killing him was not enough to satisfy him.


    Sheehan flapped his wings and the purple light floated to the other side. Just as he was about to follow it, a ball suddenly appeared not far away. The ball rapidly expanded, producing a set of golden coordinates.


    The Snake Spirit King slowly broke out from the golden coordinates. The Limited Omnipotent Stone on his forehead remained intact. After he emerged, the ball engulfed the golden coordinates and disappeared.


    "You... You didn''t die?" Sheehan''s eyes widened with confusion.


    "Hiss!


    You are stupid because you haven''t awakened." The Snake Spirit King shook his head mockingly.


    To kill Treacherous Beings once and for all, their coordinates had to be destroyed. It was not a secret in the Jade Pure Realm, but Sheehan seemed to know nothing about it.


    "Well then, I''ll kill you over and over until you finally die!" Sheehan roared, once again overcome by killing intent.

 Chapter 4157 The Source Of Curse

    Sheehan''s plan was simple.


    His objective was to kill Cornelius, so from the very beginning, he focused on him alone, locking him as his target.


    Swoosh...


    Half of the sky was overlaid with the dispersed purple light.


    In the purple zone, Sheehan was nearly indestructible. This was his game. No one would be able to calculate his movements, what more to counter them.


    Just now, Sheehan did not fly over the long distance when he took the Snake Spirit King to the edge, nor did he open a space channel. He just disappeared from a place and reappeared at another place. To Sheehan, it was quite simple, but to the others, it was incomprehensible.


    With Sheehan''s unpredictable movements, there was no way for anyone to be able to locate where he was or to determine when to strike. Within the purple light, he was moving too fast.


    As soon as he finished speaking, Sheehan disappeared once again.


    Cornelius, the Snake Spirit King, felt his body tremble, and then, before he was able to react, he was lifted into the air and then thrown into the Void Dust again. It all happened too fast.


    Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...


    Just like that, Cornelius was completely devoured by the Void Dust, leaving nothing behind, Then the ball that wrapped around his coordinates appeared again.


    Unfortunately for Sheehan, the ball appeared outside of the purple light. He knew he had to get the ball, but if he were to step outside of the light, he would put himself in danger.


    As he extended his wings, the purple light extended as well, reaching for the ball.


    He treated the light as if it were a part of his body. If he were able to move it far enough to meet the ball, he would be able to claim it without breaking a sweat.


    However, as the light inched closer to the ball, something strange happened.


    The ball avoided the light. If the light flew towards the ball, the ball would fly even further from it. The two moved at the same speed, making it nearly impossible for the two to meet.


    After the nearly hundred-mile-chase, the Snake Spirit King emerged from the ball.


    As soon as this happened, Sheehan immediately began his attack, once again enveloping the Snake Spirit King with the light


    and throwing him into the Void Dust.


    However, this time, it was different. Even though the Snake Spirit King was still struggling, his beady, crescent-shaped eyes were telling a different story¡ªone of vengeance. Little did Sheehan know that a three-headed snake was crawling at his back.


    The Snake Spirit King was not stupid. From the very beginning, he knew that with Sheehan''s abilities, especially in terms of speed, he would not be able to compete.


    The Snake Spirit King had all the resources he needed, but he knew he didn''t need to exhaust all that to defeat Sheehan. A Holy Item could do it for him.


    The three-headed


    gh Sewell was trying to keep his composure, under the siege of the three Bird Masters, he could hardly hold on.


    All of a sudden, Lawler''s body was held frozen as if he forgot to breathe.


    "Lawler, what''s the matter with you?" Duran asked in confusion, worrying for his friend. He had been working with him for so long, but this was the first time he had seen him stunned into immovability.


    Lawler gently waved his right wing, revealing the golden coordinates.


    When Duran and Orval saw this, their expressions changed drastically, joining that of Lawler''s.


    "Our king..."


    "He has been killed!"


    "Has he lost the battle with the Snake Spirit King?"


    The three Bird Masters were all in a state of confusion and panic, their distressed voices overlapping each other''s questions.


    At this time, this was the last thing they wanted to happen.


    The Bird Spirit King''s strength was not less than the Snake Spirit King''s; in this aspect, they probably equaled each other. To think of Sheehan dying was unacceptable to them, but the result was not that shocking to them as he had not awakened and the Snake Spirit King possessed the Holy Items.


    What shocked them more was the short period wherein this happened.


    While the three Bird Masters were stirring in their sad air, Sewell, on the other hand, was overcome with joy. He had been continuously defeated, but seeing this was more than enough to provide him with great courage. His body suddenly sprung up into the sky, flying towards the coordinates on Lawler''s wing.


    If the coordinates were destroyed, the Bird Spirit King would completely perish. Because of this, Lawler, despite his extreme sadness, carried on, doing his best to protect it from Sewell.


    As Sewell went for his wing, Lawler withdrew it, soaring higher into the sky.


    However, as he was about to shoot higher up in the air, a huge shadow enveloped him.

 Chapter 4158 Bring A Message

    Although Lawler''s reaction was fast, he was still nowhere near the Snake Spirit King''s level.


    Before he could even think to dodge, the Snake Spirit King''s tail had already hit him square on the chest.


    Boom!


    A huge hole appeared on the Wine Basin as Lawler''s body was shattered into pieces and the set of golden coordinates hidden under his wing was exposed.


    Duran and Orval exchanged looks and quickly spread their wings to rush towards the golden coordinates.


    Their loyalty to their king was absolute and they would do everything to protect him.


    Bang! Bang!


    However, before the two Bird Masters could even get close, the Snake Spirit King had already lashed at them.


    Their hearts dropped to see the Snake Spirit King''s long tail snatch the set of golden coordinates from Lawler. To their horror, he immediately put it into his mouth.


    Ordinary people wouldn''t be able to destroy coordinates so easily and often needed a special space hammer to do so.


    However, the Snake Spirit King was no ordinary person. "My kindest and most honest friend," he muttered with the golden coordinates in his mouth, "goodbye."


    Just as he bit down, a black light suddenly flashed ten feet away from his tail.


    As this black light reached him, the Snake Spirit King instantly stiffened in fear.


    Buzz!


    To his absolute horror, the black light continued to spread and move along his body.


    Treacherous Beings did not have bones, neither did those at the Snake Spirit King''s level but this black light outlined his spine and skull clearly.


    "We can''t kill Sheehan," the Snake Spirit King suddenly declared.


    Sewell frowned in displeasure. "Why not?!"


    "Because he is still useful," the Snake Spirit King replied.


    "He''ll ruin our plans!" Sewell pointed out.


    "Just do as I say!"


    The Snake Spirit King spat out the golden coordinates he had previously put in his mouth and threw it towards Duran.


    Filled with great inertia, the golden coordinates smashed Duran to the ground.


    "I..."


    The Snake Spirit King was very unwilling to give up and wanted to rush towards the golden coordinates. However, just as he was about to step forward, his body stiffened. He turned around and promptly left the battlefield.


    This left Sewell, Duran, Orval, and Lawler gaping in astonishment. They absolutely had no idea what just happened.


    "My king! My king!"


    Sewell shouted as he followed after the Snake Spirit King.


    "Retreat."


    The Snake Spirit King''s order was concise and demanded to be followed.


    Sewell, however, was still unwilling and shook his head.


    "We can annihilate the whole Bird Spirit Sect at this point. We can''t stop now. We have to..."


    However, before he could finish his words, the Snake Spirit King shot him a cold glare and silenced him. "Do you dare disobey me?"


    As the second most important figure in their sect, Sewell was someone who served the Sn


    a of what had just happened when the jade pendant integrated itself onto the Lone Sword.


    Compared to the last time he saw it, the Lone Sword''s aura had changed and the energy that emanated from it was extremely astonishing. It was no longer the broken weapon that exuded no aura. It seemed like a proper, powerful weapon now.


    Rocher felt it but couldn''t figure out how it happened. However, he remained very interested in the Lone Sword.


    Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!


    The big bell in the Divine Bell City began to tremble intermittently. Time was almost up.


    With a smile on his face, Rocher reached out and grasped the Lone Sword. Once the sound stopped, he would automatically leave the Mysterious Yellow Tower.


    However, when he turned around, he found an old, sage-like man in front of him.


    His first instinct was to ask this man for identification. "Who are..." However, he changed his mind halfway. "Are you the owner of the Mysterious Yellow Tower?" Rocher asked.


    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord nodded.


    "Did you show up because I reached the top?" he asked. Rocher wasn''t that surprised at the owner''s appearance.


    In fact, he figured that it was only a matter of time before this happened.


    However, the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord shook his head. "I want you to deliver a message to Mike."


    Rocher''s eyes widened. "Bring a message to Holy Mike?"


    It wasn''t easy for him to reach the thirty-third floor yet when he got there, the owner of the tower suddenly appeared and asked him to deliver a message to Zen''s father. What exactly was going on?


    Rocher shook his head. He shouldn''t think about it too much right now. "What''s the message?" he asked.


    A small butterfly appeared upon the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord''s hand. He tossed it and Rocher watched it fly down and land on the eighth floor.


    "Let Mike ring the bell and enter the tower to bear this butterfly," the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord instructed.

 Chapter 4159 Something Arthur Shouldnt Eat

    Rocher was still in a daze, even as he left the Mysterious Yellow Tower.


    ''Reaching the top was no easy task... As the owner of the tower, shouldn''t he congratulate me or assign me some tasks?


    He could have at least revealed the truth of the Mysterious Yellow Tower, or the significance of the Ruin Graveyard.


    He didn''t even reward me somehow.


    Instead, he just asked me to deliver a message to Holy Mike. Why?'' Rocher pondered in silent misery.


    By the time he had come to his senses, he found himself under the big bell.


    Everyone in the Divine Bell City watched him expectantly.


    Rocher had never disappointed them before. He was outstanding in all he did in the Divine Bell City. This time, he''d reached the top. Everyone''s eyes were fixed on him.


    "Rocher, did you succeed?" Bromley, who was standing nearby, asked with concern.


    Rocher glanced at his inner world briefly then nodded. "The sword is already in my inner world."


    Splash!


    Although they had expected this, the crowd still burst into an uproar.


    "Finally, Rocher has reached the top!"


    "Rocher, did you try climbing outside of the tower to see what it''s like?"


    "¡­"


    Everyone bombarded him with questions, barely giving him room to respond.


    Bromley waved his hand, and everyone immediately shut up. "Go to cultivate in seclusion and bear the sword."


    Only after the Other Shore Token was carried in one''s inner world and a real link was established could one truly own it.


    Rocher nodded and stood up, eyeing Mike in the group.


    Even though Mike was a Holy Being in the divine land, he still had to line up to ring the bell in the Divine Bell City.


    "Holy Mike," Rocher greeted, bowing courteously.


    Mike bowed back politely. "What''s the matter?"


    "Are you going to challenge the ninth floor of the Mysterious Yellow Tower this time?" Rocher asked warily.


    Mike nodded. "Yes, I want to reach the ninth floor."


    Rocher was a creature born in Mike''s inner world, and later on, he was reborn. In a short period of time, he had become a consummate True God, and after entering the Ruin Graveyard, he had even reached the thirty-third floor of the Mysterious Yellow Tower.


    On the other hand, Mike was still at the eighth floor, which was equivalent to the eighth stage of the Other Shore Realm. As a Holy Being of the divine land, he was lagging behind.


    Of course, Mike wasn''t an isolated case. The other Holy Beings,


    ack to the Divine Bell City, a clear location showed up in Zen''s mind.


    Zen, who was still cultivating, suddenly opened his eyes and looked alert. "The west," he muttered.


    In the bubble, when he saw that Mike took the butterfly, the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord heaved a sigh of relief.


    The Lone Sword was the most powerful inheritance in the Mysterious Yellow Tower. That butterfly would lead Zen straight to the Ruin Graveyard!


    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord nodded in satisfaction. He had done what he could.


    "I wonder how the war between the Snake Spirit Sect and the Bird Spirit Sect is going," said Dale.


    Because the bubble''s location had been exposed before, the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord didn''t allow them to observe the war in secret anymore. After all, if they were not careful enough, they could be caught by the Snake Spirit King.


    "Since the Bird Spirit King hasn''t awakened, he definitely is no match for the Snake Spirit King," the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord concluded without thinking about it too much.


    "I just hope that the Bird Spirit Sect can hold on..." Arthur said. Rumble!


    Just then, Arthur''s huge stomach grumbled loudly.


    "Did you eat something strange?" Dale asked curiously, eyebrows raised.


    "You''re kidding. I can eat anything," Arthur said with a shrug.


    All of a sudden, the expression on Arthur''s face changed dramatically. His eyes rolled to the back of his head, and only the whites could be seen. "But not long ago, he ate something that he shouldn''t have eaten," Arthur said in a strange voice. "Do you remember that metal-devouring beast? Hahaha..."

 Chapter 4160 Invasion

    Arthur laughed manically. He was exuding a completely different aura. It was the aura of a Treacherous Being!


    Dale, Derrick, and Justin grew pale.


    "Who are you?"


    "Get out of Arthur''s body!"


    "How''d a Treacherous Being get in him?"


    They took all precautions when exploring the Jade Pure Realm, knowing full well how dangerous Treacherous Beings could be. They knew Arthur was in a dire situation.


    Amid this commotion, the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord assessed the situation calmly.


    He had been feeling uneasy the past few days, sensing something amiss. Now he knew why.


    The Treacherous Being in Arthur''s body had mentioned the metal-devouring beast that Arthur had swallowed. The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord deduced that coordinates had probably been planted in that creature.


    Arthur could devour everything but he couldn''t destroy the coordinates. They had stayed in his stomach.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord strode forward and slapped Arthur''s forehead with his hands. Arthur''s mouth flew wide open.


    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord then activated a pill-sized Holy Stone emitting the Light of Annihilation, popping it directly into Arthur''s open mouth before quickly snapping it shut.


    "Ouch!"


    A pained expression crossed Arthur''s face. He flailed around wildly, apparently struggling against something the others couldn''t see.


    The powerful Light of Annihilation was exploding within his body, causing him agony.


    The resentment-level and the hatred-level Treacherous Beings could tolerate the Light of Annihilation to some extent, but they were very sensitive to it.


    Purr!


    Unable to bear it any longer, white Treacherous Beings soon emerged from Arthur''s ears.


    They began to return to their original forms. They were two Snake Masters of the Snake Spirit Sect.


    One of them was Abel, ranked sixteenth among the Snake Masters. The other one was Holcomb, who ranked seventeenth. They could


    g in the air, as if controlled by a graceful artist. It outlined the figures of the two Snake Masters.


    Buzz!


    Two blue lights flashed, and Abel and Holcomb were suddenly pulled directly in front of Justin.


    Derrick, who was beside Justin, had been ready.


    He held two runes tightly in his hands. The runes were inlaid with Holy Stones. As soon as Abel and Holcomb appeared in front of them, Derrick wasted no time slapping the runes on them.


    Clap! Clap!


    The runes immediately released the Light of Annihilation on the two Snake Masters'' bodies. Their bodies began to tremble violently, as if they were being electrocuted.


    Abel and Holcomb struggled to get the runes off, but they were specially made to deal with Treacherous Beings. It wouldn''t be that easy.


    No matter how hard they struggled, the runes were attached firmly to them.


    However, they were hatred-level Treacherous Beings. The ordinary Light of Annihilation could suppress them, but it could not cause them substantial damage.


    Justin drew a few strokes on their bodies with the writing brush. The blue power of space turned into a rope, tying them up tightly.


    "Arthur, quickly! Find the coordinates in your belly!" Derrick said.


    Destroying the coordinates would kill the two Snake Masters once and for all.

 Chapter 4161 The Irreversible Downgrade

    Placing their coordinates in the body of the metal-devouring beast was a big risk for the Snake Masters. These coordinates were, after all, their lifelines.


    But Arthur wasn''t careful to check himself after swallowing the metal-devouring beast, which gave the two Snake Masters a chance.


    At Derrick''s warning, Arthur began to look inside his belly, holding it with both hands, trying to look for the two sets of coordinates within his body.


    "Master, how''s it going on the outside?" Dale asked the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord.


    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord had been lost in thought, but Dale''s question shook him out of his reverie.


    "It''s coming," he said seriously.


    "What is coming?" asked Dale.


    "The biggest trouble," the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord replied.


    The fact that the two Snake Masters had appeared in the bubble was causing them the most trouble. Their appearance meant that the bubble''s location had already been exposed to the Snake Spirit Sect.


    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord, trying to control the bubble and move it underground, had sensed that something was wrong.


    "The biggest trouble?" Dale said, the corners of his eyes twitching.


    This cat and mouse game had gone on in the Jade Pure Realm for many years and had now finally come to an end.


    Meanwhile, Arthur was still searching for the coordinates in his stomach, a space so large that it had formed a world of its own. It was difficult for any creature to get out of his stomach alive, the only exceptions being the Treacherous Beings.


    But before he could find the coordinates, he heard a muffled sound from above his head. The bubble had cracked open. Sewell and more than ten Snake Masters were making their way in through the crack.


    Dale, Derrick, Arthur, and Justin had pumped up, brimming with fighting spirit. They had been of the opinion that as long as they properly handled everything, they could still survive in the bubble.


    But their hearts sank at the sight of the Snake Masters.


    "Go inside!" the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord shouted at them.


    The Mysterious Yellow Tower was emitting a strong gravitational force, sucking the four disciples into it.


    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord had his hands pressed together


    e main world, but you dare talk a lot of nonsense! Do you think I believe you?" Sewell sneered again.


    "This fraud began when you planted the first Holy Stone and the first holy pillar began to grow. Did any of the secondary worlds you mentioned collapse? Were any of them restored to the main world? Even if the secondary worlds were destroyed completely, they would still exist. Am I right?" the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord continued.


    He had never been to the main world, but had a clear understanding of everything through Elder Xue''s dream.


    Sewell hesitated yet again, and this time, so did the Snake Spirit King.


    Back then, the Four Spirits Sect had built many secondary worlds, a number of which had collapsed. These worlds had been defective, but once they had been built, they would not disappear and would remain there forever.


    However, the main world was large. Who would care about these small caves?


    "They gave you the power to lead you to destruction. Someone from the Bold Conjecture House of the Human Spirit Sect had discovered this, but he was killed before he could send out this news. You, the Snake Spirit Sect, are the stupidest for being willing to be their lackeys!" the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord said, his voice rising.


    In the past, he had aimed for the completion of the Finale Way. But after he had entered Elder Xue''s dream, he discovered that the chaos was much more complicated than he had imagined, and that they needed more than the Finale Way.

 Chapter 4162 The Broken Bell

    During the days of the 77th chaotic era, the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord, the Primeval Lord of Heaven, and the other human heroes had made their judgment.


    According to them, it took more than nine million divine megatons of power to complete the Finale Way.


    That was what they had concluded under certain conditions.


    However, such a conclusion turned out to be so rash and childish.


    In the next chaotic eras, many ruling creatures still wanted to complete the Finale Way, and the amounts of power they calculated varied.


    Among them, the Heavenly Obsession Civilization had made an accurate calculation, and at the same time, they figured out that they needed one hundred and sixty million divine megatons of power to do that. The amount of power they calculated was far greater than what the human race had computed.


    Still, their result was not comprehensive nor was it the most precise one.


    Based on the information Elder Xue had provided, only ten million divine megatons of power was needed to complete the Finale Way.


    After all, the purpose of restarting the whole chaos and entering a cycle of reincarnation was to provide energy to the four pillars. The process of restarting shouldn''t consume too much energy.


    The only thing was that the chaos was different from all the other secondary worlds.


    The Snake Spirit Sect had once transformed the world, and it took a large amount of power to complete the Finale Way. Furthermore, Elder Xue had said that an exceptionally powerful being existed behind the Snake Spirit King, so the energy needed to complete the Finale Way would be equivalent to infinite.


    Halfway through Elder Xue''s dream, the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord already understood that perhaps the only way to stabilize the chaos'' situation was to kill the Snake Spirit King.


    That was a nearly desperate answer.


    After all, the Snake Spirit King had defeated even the Human Spirit King, the Monkey Spirit King, and the Bird Spirit King. How could the human race or the other races in the secondary world beat him?


    Those ruling forces that planned to complete the Finale Way didn''t know what kind of powerful opponents they were about to face. If only they knew, they surely would not fight at all!


    However, it was not until the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord finished passing through the dream when he realized that there was a turning point in this matter.


    Elder Xue had a way to bear the ancestry-level bloodline.


    After the disaster in the main world, all the creatures went extinct


    thing else," Augustus said and shook his head.


    The Ruin Graveyard had many speculations about the Mysterious Yellow Tower. One of those speculations, which Rocher had confirmed, was that the owner of the Mysterious Yellow Tower was most likely a human being, or at least supported the human race.


    It was evident when Bromley had received special care after he went to the Ruin Graveyard, and in the changes after the divine land entered the Ruin Graveyard.


    "According to Lorena, the human race is not a powerful force on the Other Shore. They will surely encounter strong enemies. I hope they can get through them safely," Bromley said anxiously.


    The Other Shore Realm warriors in the Ruin Graveyard relied on the Mysterious Yellow Tower. If the tower was gone, it would be hard for everyone to progress in their cultivation.


    "Let me go there and try," Hallet suggested.


    He suspected that Augustus had offended the people in the tower because he spoke too recklessly.


    Afterward, Hallet took out his fishing rod and swung it forcefully, about to ring the bell.


    But before he touched the big bell, it started to ring.


    "Dong!"


    The bell let out a strange chime, and even the people outside the Divine Bell City heard it clearly.


    In the end, however, the sound became high and sharp. It was so shrill that even the Other Shore Realm warriors couldn''t help but cover their ears.


    "Dong! Crack!"


    Suddenly, the sound stopped.


    A crack appeared in the middle of the big bell, and the bell''s surface abruptly curled up.


    If so many Other Shore Realm warriors hadn''t seen it with their own eyes, they would have thought that someone had destroyed the bell.

 Chapter 4163 The Burial Land

    As the Other Shore Realm warriors in the Divine Bell City saw that the big bell was broken, they were all stunned.


    They started thinking about who could have done it. It was such an important item for the whole city.


    The warriors fell silent, in disbelief of what just happened.


    Hallet was the first to speak. "It wasn''t me! I didn''t ring the bell!" he yelled with sincerity in his eyes.


    He knew how significant the big bell was to all the Other Shore Realm warriors.


    Thus, he didn''t want to be blamed for breaking it.


    "You don''t have to worry. I saw it. I don''t want to sound mean, but you don''t have the ability to do that either," Augustus said.


    "If no one deliberately destroyed it, then why did it break?"


    "What does this mean? Will our cultivation road be cut off?"


    "I still want to advance to the upper floors!"


    When the Other Shore Realm warriors realized what the consequences of this event entailed, they all went crazy.


    Bromley immediately stepped forward and inspected the bell with a serious look in his eyes.


    Back when Augustus entered the Mysterious Yellow Tower, he already discovered that something was wrong with it. Then, after he got out, they found out that the big bell was destroyed. It could mean that the Mysterious Yellow Tower was most likely in danger.


    "Let me see it."


    A nonhuman creature at the Other Shore Realm walked towards the bell and also inspected it.


    He was from one of the large races in the Ruin Graveyard.


    Not only the human race but also other races would definitely be affected by what happened to the big bell. So, all of them expressed concern and thought of a way to fix it.


    The creature stood in front of the bell with his hands hanging down and head raised. This was his way of cultivation.


    Buzz! Buzz!


    A burst of green light suddenly came out above his head. As he recited the Truth of Godly Way silently, he slammed his hands on the big bell.


    Bang!


    The bell made a deafening sound that reverberated throughout the city.


    Buzz! Buzz!


    The green light on the head of the creature began to dim. When it completely dissipated, he shook his head and said, "It''s no use. I couldn''t enter."


    "Then, it''s really broken?"


    "Is there no way to fix it?"


    "What should we do now?!"


    The Other Shore Realm warriors couldn''t help but complain loudly.


    After the creature attempted to enter the Mysterious Yellow Tower through the broken bell, several others also rushed and tried, but they too failed.


    Even so, the creatures in the Ruin Graveyard refused to give up.


    Several races began to gather human masters to try and find a way to repair the bell.


    They did the simplest and most direct method. The human race formed a group of skilled craftsmen from the divine land to str


    they planned to return to their lair.


    However, just when they were about to get back, thin claws suddenly clutched on their necks at lightning speed. In an instant, their heads were decapitated and their blood was squeezed out of their bodies.


    Splash!


    Streams of blood dripped from the sky.


    On the ground, there were creatures restlessly waiting with their huge mouths opened wide. They devoured all the blood that poured on them while roaring in excitement.


    This was a cruel and bloody world.


    However, even in this kind of chaotic land, a rule was still in place.


    All of these savage races could fight each other in a barbaric way, but no one should dare to provoke the snake-shaped statue that was located at the center of the Burial Land.


    Anyone who even just dared to approach the said statue would be instantly killed, and there had never been an exception in the countless years since its establishment.


    As time went by, the races living in the land deemed the area as a restricted one. No one ever tried to get close to it because it was already tested. What was the use of caring about the statue''s origin if one would already be killed immediately after?


    That was how the Burial Land went on. But today, the statue suddenly moved on its own.


    The black snake left its spot and writhed down on the ground like a living creature.


    "I have never interfered with this place since the moment it was created.


    But I didn''t expect it to be in such a chaotic state!"


    The Snake Spirit King swept his gaze across the area and was instantly vexed by the strong smell of blood throughout the land.


    He then controlled the black snake to soar into the sky. As it stopped in midair, a bright red light was released from its eyes. A powerful spiritual sense spread out through the red light that enveloped the entire Burial Land.

 Chapter 4164 The Black Lamp

    There were over a thousand savage races in the Burial Land yet none of them knew what had just happened.


    These barbaric races feared nothing yet that sudden burst of terrifying will had them trembling in their boots.


    Boom! Boom! Boom...


    With the arrival of thunder was a booming voice that spread across the land.


    Three streaks of white lightning appeared at the edge of the world and all creatures that were unfortunate enough to have been struck died instantly before they could even scream.


    At the same time, the Snake Spirit King''s voice spoke to the world.


    "Do you want strength?" he asked. His voice was encompassing and made even the strongest hearts tremble.


    Though these savage races were currently in panic, the sheer worship and devotion in their eyes were unmistakable. This black snake''s power was truly something divine.


    ''I also want that type of power....''


    ''We can control everything with such level of power!''


    ''This invincible force can make me strong!''


    The Snake Spirit King''s offer filled everyone with excitement and fighting spirit.


    "I want strength! I want power!"


    "Master! Grant upon us such power!"


    "I will pursue this path towards greatness no matter the cost..."


    Their enthusiastic response did not surprise the Snake Spirit King. In fact, he expected it.


    This world was devoid of morality and order and these savage races only knew slaughter. They would do anything if it meant more power.


    "Crack!"


    From the place where the three streaks of white lightning intersected formed a snake-shaped totem. It was so big and dazzling that it could be seen from across the entire Burial Land.


    "Go towards the totem!" the Snake Spirit King ordered.


    "It is there that you will obtain unprecedented power!"


    As the totem was put in place, the entire Burial Land began to change shape.


    A crack split open on each of the three sides of the Burial Land. The land began to morph into something that resembled a three-mouthed monster.


    With its job done with, the Snake Spirit King''s consciousness returned to the Jade Pure Realm. "The Burial Land is ready," he said to the black light.


    "Let us commence with our plan then," the black light replied. "Go and ask the Blood Snake Girl to light up the black lamp."


    The Snake Spirit King''s eyes flashed coldly at the mention of her name. "Bloo


    r.


    "Buzz..."


    The blood-red light circled around the oil lamp and gathered at its wick.


    "Phew!"


    From the darkness, a tiny, blood-red flame came alive.


    If the powerful warriors of the Four Spirits Sect saw what just happened, they would''ve been immobilized by fear.


    Back then, the Snake Spirit Sect lit up this very lamp and destroyed everything in the main world.


    In order to survive, the Human and Bird Spirit Sects were forced to escape and seek refuge in the chaos.


    Now, this harbinger of destruction, was once again alive.


    Countless crystals formed from within the oil lamp and began to spread out onto the chaos. These crystals contained the mysterious power of space.


    The chaos clouds grew restless when they met with these crystals.


    They usually floated quietly within the chaos and remained unchanging, unless they were absorbed by other things.


    Yet now, the presence of these crystals stirred something within these clouds as they began to rapidly absorb the chaotic energy.


    These chaos clouds that stretched out for trillions of miles were split into tens of thousands of pieces and began to take numerous shapes.


    By some weird power, the crystals morphed the chaos clouds into the many heads of strange beasts.


    These strange beasts had a bit of similarity to each other and the expressions they sported looked crazy.


    As the crystals continued to spread further into the chaos, the chaos clouds continued to transform and morph into these strange beast heads.


    They floated quietly in the chaos with their eyes closed.

 Chapter 4165 Devouring Each Other

    Unique creatures were living in the boundless chaos, and the Chaos Winged Beast was one of them.


    The Chaos Winged Beasts lived in groups and were ferocious. They launched violent attacks on any other creature approaching their lairs.


    The lairs floated like huge cages in the chaos.


    These lairs were also living creatures. They had extremely special sensitivity to creatures from afar.


    Once they did, they would emit a faint stench that guided the Chaos Winged Beasts to find their targets.


    If the sensed creatures were powerful, the lairs would emit a stronger stench. This served as a warning, reminding the Chaos Winged Beasts to avoid those creatures that inhabited the chaos.


    Swoosh!


    The falling crystals absorbed the chaotic energy, turning into huge heads floating in the chaos. A rotten smell started to fill the lairs as if a corpse had been decaying for days.


    The Chaos Winged Beasts that stayed inside the lairs felt nauseated from the stench and came out.


    The smell reminded the Chaos Winged Beasts that terrifying creatures had been surrounding them.


    When the Chaos Winged Beasts flapped their wings and soared from their lairs, the sight stupefied them.


    Many huge heads drifted around. A strong sense of crisis radiated from them even though they didn''t move.


    "Waah..."


    "Waah... Waah..."


    The Chaos Winged Beasts communicated with each other.


    Any creature had a way of living. If it didn''t, it could have already been extinct.


    The Chaos Winged Beasts didn''t choose to attack the heads rashly. They sent dozens of subordinates to check instead.


    The subordinates cautiously approached the heads and evaluated them.


    The heads did not emit any aura of life. They only closed their eyes tightly like huge static rocks that appeared to be dead.


    "Woo, woo..."


    One of the Chaos Winged Beasts shouted and drew closer to one of the heads. It stretched out its sharp claw, gently touching it.


    When the tip of its claw landed on the head''s surface, its eyes opened suddenly.


    A blinding light blazed from the pair of huge eyes. The head opened its monstrous mouth, attempting to swallow the Chaos Winged Beasts.


    The Chaos Winged Beasts were fast. As they discovered the danger, they instantly flapped their wings and turned into streaks of black light to escape. However, it was too late¡ªthe huge mouth had sucked them all.


    The Chaos Winged Beasts were barely


    urther strengthen his control over the Source World, but on the other, he needed to comprehend the truth power from the Ways-blending Energy.


    His control over the Source World gradually increased. It wasn''t difficult for him to completely control everything, but when he comprehended the Ways-blending Energy, he encountered unsolvable problems.


    In a short period, he had already understood the embryos of the truth power from the Ways-blending Energy.


    The six embryos corresponded to the abilities of the six Chaos Ancient Gods. However, other than the truth power, the Evil God had captured something unusual in the Ways-blending Energy.


    He was lost in thought for several days.


    Not far away, Edna walked down the ship and draped a black robe that she made over the Evil God.


    The Evil God stared at the Ways-blending Energy in front of him and muttered, "The power of the Ways-blending Energy is not just about the six kinds of truth power. It should have been thousands of times stronger now. Why is it so weak in my hands? This shouldn''t be..."


    Edna couldn''t help but shake her head at her husband''s situation.


    Her husband was already the ruler of the Source World. Even the leaders of the super forces had already surrendered to him, but he was still obsessed with strength. She pondered whether it was good or bad.


    Just as the Evil God was concentrating, he suddenly heard a strange sound from the Source World. He frowned as he directed his sight to the outer wall. His eyes reflected the heads that were frantically devouring it. He raised his eyebrows, puzzled.


    "What are they?"

 Chapter 4166 Difficult To Deal With

    The Heavenly Martial Province was located at the top of the Source World. It was the biggest exit from the Source World to the chaos.


    In the past, the exit of the Heavenly Martial Province had been very bustling and prosperous. The flying ships of trade groups from various races had passed through it to engage in commerce. After all, it was much faster to travel through the chaos than through the crystal walls of those provinces.


    However, after the Evil God took control of the Source World, he issued a ban that affected all those making a living in the area. No race in the Source World was allowed to go out without permission; otherwise, they would be killed.


    Because of this, most of the trade in the Source World stopped, and even if they were to trade, they could only take the routes within the Source World.


    At the huge exit of the Heavenly Martial Province, there were tens of thousands of merchant ships docking.


    The people in charge of the flying ships grew depressed. The longer they stayed, the more divine crystals they would lose. They could not do anything about their situation.


    "How long is the ban going to last?"


    "Who knows? According to our patriarch, the Source World is now being controlled by a human being named the Evil God. He can lift the ban whenever he wants."


    "Why? Have all the Eternal Realm masters in the Source World died? Why are they giving him so much power? How could a young man of the human race be so arrogant?"


    someone shouted, being very indignant.


    In their eyes, the Eternal Realm warriors were the top-level masters in the Source World, and the Evil God was at most at the Holy Soul Realm. How could someone of his stature control the Source World?


    "Shh!"


    one of the warriors said, making a gesture with his pointer finger. "Don''t talk nonsense. I have heard that the Evil God is lurking everywhere."


    "Bullshit! Even the Eternal Realm warriors can''t do that, let alone a Holy Soul Realm warrior. Do you think the Evil God is at the Eternal Realm? Do you really dare say he has surpassed those who are far greater than him?" one of the people in the area said, devoid of fear.


    Obviously enough, the man did not believe the Evil God could be so powerful.


    Ever since the Other Shore environment had changed, there had been no sign of an Eternal Realm warrior appearing in the world. The newcomers were destined not to reach the Eternal Realm. They couldn''t surpass the Eternal Realm warriors; therefore, that man thought that the Evil God being there was nothing but a rumor told to instill fear within the public.


    Just as he finished talking, the body of the warrior in front of him suddenly shook, and his face became blurry.


    As the warrior continued to shake, his body, appearance, and aura began to go a drastic change. None of them knew how this was happening.


    s-blending Energy. After a few moments, the Ways-blending Energy disappeared from the hands of the Evil Gods and appeared right in front of the two heads.


    These heads could not discern the matters of the outside world. They only had one purpose: eat!


    They would devour both energy and materials. If it were possible, they would surely even devour the void!


    Facing the sudden Ways-blending Energy, the heads swallowed it without hesitation.


    "Explode!"


    the two Evil Gods commanded at the same time.


    Bang! Bang!


    The Ways-blending Energy exploded. A blazing white light flashed from within the mouths of the heads, causing them to explode into countless pieces.


    Cheers came from the flying ships in the distance.


    "Amazing!"


    "Two huge heads have been killed just like that!"


    However, the Evil God''s face darkened.


    He had planned to kill all the heads with the explosion created by the Ways-blending Energy, but the strength of these heads greatly exceeded his expectations! He had underestimated them greatly.


    About two hundred heads were no threat to the Source World, but the Evil God knew there were more of them coming. There were probably millions of heads crazily biting on the outer wall of the Source World. Their number was increasing exponentially!


    He knew that if he did not stop the heads, the entire Source World would be bitten into pieces.


    As the Evil God thought of this, the two hundred or so people on the flying ships began to convulse, and their features began to disappear from their faces. After a few seconds, they all turned into about two hundred Evil Gods, raising their hands to release bursts of Ways-blending Energy.


    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!


    The Ways-blending Energy appeared in the mouths of about two hundred heads. This destroyed them in an instant, and shards from the rupture of the heads fell to the ground at a dramatic rate.

 Chapter 4167 The Trouble Of The Pear Hill

    Once he had taken over the Source World, the Evil God had grown complacent, seeing he was in a most advantageous position.


    However, he never expected that the chaos would undergo tremendous change so soon.


    The millions of heads that were nibbling at the Source World were like leeches that latched onto the Evil God''s body, sucking at his life force. If he didn''t get rid of these things soon, he would be in trouble.


    The only solution he could think of was to mobilize the major forces in the Source World to join forces with his tens of thousands of avatars. Together, they''d launch a massive attack.


    He wasn''t sure whether he''d be able to get rid of the heads this way, but at this point, he had no other choice.


    Wherever there were chaos clouds, the heads would appear.


    From the depths of the chaos, some of the weaker races and forces were devoured by these heads.


    Even the famous top ten beasts in the chaos were in grave danger.


    At first, they traveled about the chaos quickly, fighting off these crazy enemies.


    However, after a while, they started to grow desperate.


    No matter where they went, these strange heads loomed everywhere. It seemed they occupied the entire chaos!


    Why was this happening? How many heads were there?


    No one could answer these questions.


    Not long after the heads showed up, the Pear Hill, which was flying at a high speed, also encountered them.


    Kendrick was the first to sense the existence of the heads, because some of the heads had crashed into his enchanted barrier, immediately alerting him to their presence.


    Ordinary creatures would''ve instantly shattered into pieces at such a violent impact. After all, the entire Pear Hill was moving at an incredibly high speed.


    Not only did those heads emerge from the blow unscathed, they opened their wide mouths to reveal rows of sharp teeth and chomped down on the enchanted barrier.


    To Kendrick''s surprise, the heads seemed to be eating the enchanted barrier. This meant that these vicious heads were capable of devouring both substances and energies!


    "Judson, Gerald, some strange things have appeared in the chaos," Kendrick alerted them.


    "We see them," Gerald said calmly from the jadeite platform.


    Suddenly, the chaos clouds in the distance began to surge. Countless heads emerged from the chaos clouds, all rushing towards the flying Pear Hill.


    "Will it


    slightly. Even more heads had latched onto the enchanted barrier, their sharp teeth biting at it viciously.


    "Kill all of them!" The Snake Goddess''s face crumpled with rage, and a malicious aura emanated from her body.


    The Eternal Realm warriors and the Chaos Ancient Gods continued to launch attacks on the strange heads.


    However, Zen suddenly stopped. The voice of the ancestry-level bloodline from his inner world was trying to tell him something.


    "Zen, it''s useless for you to do this."


    Zen immediately stopped in his tracks. "Why?"


    "These things are all over the entire chaos, and there are trillions of them. How could you possibly kill them all? You will only be devoured by them, little by little, until your numbers dwindle," the ancestry-level bloodline said.


    "They''re all over the entire chaos?" Zen asked, his expression horrified.


    "In a sense, these heads are your food, so there is no need for you to kill them," the ancestry-level bloodline added.


    "My food?" Zen''s mind was whirling.


    The ancestry-level bloodline continued, "The downgrading has begun again. Their first step is to turn the chaos into their own world."


    "How?"


    "The more heads are devoured, the bigger the primitive land will become, until the primitive land fills the entire chaos. This is a game that only a primitive land can play," the ancestry-level bloodline said seriously.


    "Primitive land as big as the chaos..." A trace of fear appeared in Zen''s eyes, but at the same time, he was a little confused. "Why do they do this? What does this have to do with the downgrading?"

 Chapter 4168 Another Way

    Even the biggest Source World was but an island in the huge ocean that was the chaos.


    They were definitely not on the same level.


    What would it be like to expand the primitive land to such a massive size as the chaos?


    What kind of power would the ruler of this primitive land possess?


    "Previously, these secondary worlds could also be considered a type of downgrading, but they could not be considered perfect¡ªa kind of ''pseudo downgrading'', if you will," the ancestry-level bloodline explained. "Through complicated methods, the secondary worlds could be reversed and restored to the main world."


    "So it was possible to reverse secondary worlds..." Zen raised his eyebrows.


    "Yes," the ancestry-level bloodline said. "However, if the Snake Masters unify the whole chaos and complete the downgrade, then there will be no turning back for the main world. By then, the entire main world will collapse, and the chaos will be able to expand indefinitely, occupying all the space of the main world."


    "Sounds good," Zen said with a smile.


    As creatures living in the secondary world, the third-grade world was obviously more suitable for Zen and the others. He had been at a loss in the higher-level Abstruse Energy World.


    In other words, the creatures in the third-grade worlds and the four-grade worlds were against each other.


    "But the Snake Spirit King''s goal is to return to the main world, right? Is he really going to ruin his plan by doing this?" Zen asked suddenly.


    "From the very beginning, the Snake Spirit King was wrong. He will definitely pay for his stubbornness," the ancestry-level bloodline replied. "Now, you must devour as many of these heads as you can so that you may expand your primitive land. Only by seizing this opportunity can you defeat the other party in the competition."


    "How?"


    "I will help you."


    The edge of Zen''s primitive land suddenly cracked, forming a crack that was a thousand miles wide.


    As soon as the crack was formed, groups of heads started to chomp on it from the outside.


    But as soon as the heads started to bite down, countless bamboo shoots shot out from the crack and began to intertwine with each other.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    The bamboo shoots rammed into the heads, chewing down on them till th


    , ignoring him.


    At this point, they were out of ideas. Whether they liked it or not, they had no choice but to follow Zen.


    With a gentle wave of the Snake Goddess''s hand, the energy beams from her shadow became as thin as spider threads. In this way, her shadow could reach a farther distance.


    While multitudes of those strange heads kept chasing and intercepting the Pear Hill, there were countless more that hadn''t even woken up yet.


    The thread-like energy beams floated past the motionless heads, immediately waking them up. Using their keen intuition, those newly-awakened heads locked in on the Pear Hill as their target.


    Originally, there were about three hundred thousand heads chasing after the Pear Hill, but after the energy beams spread out like a beacon, there were now over a million heads chasing after them.


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi was horrified when he saw how densely-packed the heads were, chomping on the enchanted barrier. He couldn''t help but say, "Snake Goddess, your ability to lure them is so powerful..."


    The Snake Goddess glanced at Zen questioningly. Zen said, "Don''t stop. Lure in more of them."


    With a wave of the Snake Goddess''s hands, her shadow extended even farther. More heads awoke and started to chase after the Pear Hill.


    After a few hours, tens of millions of heads followed closely behind the Pear Hill.


    The Eternal Realm warriors and the three Chaos Ancient Gods present eyed them anxiously.


    If these heads caught up to the Pear Hill, they were done for.

 Chapter 4169 Feast On The Heads

    It was truly horrifying to see a massive army of heads follow behind the Pear Hill.


    Everyone in the Pear Hill, ranging from mountain leaders, sect leaders, Eternal Realm warriors, to ordinary citizens, all felt chills run down their spines.


    If there was even a slight mistake, the Pear Hill would meet its end right now.


    "I didn''t expect that the chaos would be so dangerous. Was it a wrong choice for the Pear Hill to have left the Source World?"


    "The chaos should be filled with chaotic energy. Where has the chaotic energy gone, and why are there so many horrible heads?"


    "Who knows? Maybe the Snake Goddess can answer your question... "


    The people on the roof of the gate tower and on the hillside couldn''t do anything but look up and pray.


    Swoosh...


    Until now, the Snake Goddess still did not stop luring the heads.


    Her shadow, which had condensed behind her, increasingly got smaller and dimmer. It had all turned into thin energy beams and floated farther away, to help Zen lure more heads.


    The entire Pear Hill was like a fishing boat that sailed in the deep sea, while the shadow of Snake Goddess was akin to a large fishing net that caught the heads one after another.


    "If it goes on like this, the number of heads would probably exceed a hundred million," the Snake Goddess said as she stared at Zen. "Zen, are you sure about your plan?" she asked.


    "I''m not sure.." Zen confessed.


    "¡­¡­"


    Fuxi, the Snake Goddess, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, and the others were speechless.


    A few hours later, Zen used the mother butterfly once again to locate the primitive land. It turned out that it was already quite close.


    "Is that the primitive land?" the Snake Goddess suddenly asked.


    Somewhere in front of Pear Hill was a small, brown oblate ball. Because everyone was still a bit far from it, the ball looked like it was as tiny as a pea to their eyes.


    "Yes." Zen nodded.


    Although his avatar in his inner world had been to the outside of the primitive land, he had not seen its entirety. It was also his first time to see what it was truly like.


    Blue stripes covered the brown oblate ball''s surface, and there was a crack on its side. From afar, the primitive land was like an oval clamshell.


    "Should I control the Pear Hill to go there directly?" Judson asked.


    Zen''s eyes narrowed into slits, and he thought for a moment. Then, he nodded and said, "Yes, but don''t bu


    devoured anything they saw. However, when they reached the primitive land, they quietly bypassed the other areas and went straight inside the primitive land''s big mouth. That was rather odd.


    "Those heads only know to devour everything, and they are quite stupid. Look at the blue lines outside the primitive land," the ancestry-level bloodline said.


    "These are..."


    "A net formed by the power of space. It can cover the whole primitive land," the ancestry-level bloodline explained.


    "A space net..." Zen murmured.


    At that moment, he thought of the Evil God and the Source World.


    Since the heads had spread all over the chaos, the Source World had probably encountered numerous attacks from them.


    He did not know if the Evil God had found a way to deal with them. If he did not, then the Source World would probably suffer a disaster, the tens of thousands of races and creatures that lived in it included.


    At that point, the Pear Hill had passed by the primitive land for the third time¡­


    The fourth time...


    The fifth time...


    Every time the two territories passed by each other, the primitive land''s size increased, and more of the heads that followed closely behind the Pear Hill were subsequently devoured by the primitive land.


    When the Pear Hill passed by the primitive land for the sixth time, the latter appeared to be half the size of Pear Hill, and had devoured nearly one-third of the heads already!


    The seventh time the Pear Hill passed by the primitive land, half of the heads remained behind the Pear Hill still, but the primitive land was slightly larger than it.

 Chapter 4170 Shadows

    Currently, Zen''s primitive land was already large enough to accommodate the entire Pear Hill.


    However, if they wanted to let the Pear Hill inside the primitive land, they had to slow it down first.


    The problem was that over forty million heads were chasing behind the Pear Hill. Once it slowed down, it would then be engulfed by the sea of heads.


    Therefore, they had no choice but to change its direction once again and flew past the primitive land for the eighth time.


    Whoosh!


    In an instant, they redirected the Pear Hill in the other direction.


    The huge mouth of the primitive land was still wide open.


    It could actually devour the entire Pear Hill and the millions of heads in one gulp.


    Buzz! Buzz!


    The heads chasing behind weren''t fast enough to change their trajectories, so they drilled directly into the mouth of the primitive land.


    After swallowing the heads, the primitive land expanded again at an incredible rate.


    In an instant, its size doubled again.


    Now, it was more than twice the size of the Pear Hill.


    But more importantly, the heads that were chasing after the Pear Hill were finally gone. There was not a single one to be seen in the void anymore.


    Without them chasing the Pear Hill, it could now begin to slow down.


    However, with such a huge mountain moving at a high speed, it would take much time and effort to slow it down.


    It took them an hour to finally decrease its speed to a thousand feet per three seconds. Then, they positioned the Pear Hill to fly directly towards the primitive land.


    When they were just dozens of miles away, the primitive land opened its big mouth, waiting for the Pear Hill to drill into it.


    Everything went quite well. Zen and the Eternal Realm warriors were finally relieved to see that they were going to be safe.


    However, what they didn''t expect was that the primitive land actually brought fear to the creatures of the Pear Hill. It was partly their fault because they didn''t explain to the residents of Pear Hill what the primitive land really was.


    "The heads were all gone?"


    "I think they were eaten by that huge monster!"


    "Wait! That monster increased its size again!" "Is it trying to devour the Pear Hill? We''re doomed!"


    Only Zen and the Eternal Realm warriors knew what the primitive land was. Thus, it was natural for the hundreds of millions of creatures residing in the Pear Hill to shiver in fear in the face of this "enormous monster".


    As the Pear Hill rushed steadily to the mouth of the primitive land, panic spread quickly.


    Several mountain leaders flew towards the Snake Goddess and asked why they weren''t changing the direction of the Pear Hill, and why it seemed like they were drilling into a huge clam monster''s body on purpose.


    "Did they just refer it as a clam m


    traordinary strength.


    "Really?!" Fuxi exclaimed.


    Although Fuxi''s strength had already increased dramatically, he instantly perceived that he wouldn''t be able to deal easily with even one of those avatars. Even if they didn''t use any theurgy, Zen''s avatars could kill Fuxi effortlessly. And to think that Zen could easily summon over a hundred of them, one could just imagine how strong Zen had finally become.


    "Well, it seems that we will become members of Zen''s inner world." Eastern Emperor Taiyi let out a deep sigh.


    "The battle in the chaos has far exceeded our imagination," the Snake Goddess said calmly. Zen stood beside her, listening intently to what she was saying with furrowed brows.


    "The Pear Hill is lucky to have this world to serve as its shelter.


    The Pear Hill is lucky to have this world to serve as its shelter.


    The Pear Hill is lucky to have this world to serve as its shelter."


    Zen was surprised when he heard that the Snake Goddess''s words repeated a few times.


    He felt a strange wave run through his head. He was holding his head as if he was experiencing a mild headache.


    "Zen, what happened? Are you alright?" The Snake Goddess instantly noticed that Zen was acting a little strange.


    Zen just shook his head and said, "Yes, I''m fine."


    He then waved his hand, making all his avatars disappear.


    With his current state, he shouldn''t have any auditory hallucinations. He thought that perhaps it was because he summoned too many avatars at the same time.


    However, just when he dispersed his avatars, he noticed that there were shadows all over the sky.


    As he looked at the Snake Goddess beside him, there were also more than a dozen shadows that surrounded her.


    He tried to look around and he saw that there were more than ten shadows of Pear Hill.


    ''What''s going on? Why is the world full of shadows?!''

 Chapter 4171 Variable Images

    These shadows appeared to be real and not mere hallucinations.


    Zen shook his head and stared at them. However, they all gathered back together instantly.


    Surely, they must have all come, somehow, from the people they resembled, and they were now like overflowing water, about to spread out at any time.


    The strange visions persisted for a few moments more before Zen finally broke out of his stupor.


    Fuxi, the Snake Goddess, Eastern Emperor Taiyi and the others all gathered around him, concern written across their faces.


    At Zen''s level of cultivation, he couldn''t possibly become this disoriented unless he was confronted with a powerful soul pressure.


    But who in Zen''s inner world was that powerful?


    "Zen, are you all right?" the Snake Goddess asked worriedly.


    As the visions faded away, Zen came to his senses. He looked around in a daze. "I saw numerous shadows just now."


    "Shadows? You must be mistaken. They were probably hallucinations," Fuxi replied, furrowing his brows. Zen must be so fatigued facing so much pressure that he was starting to see things.


    "Hallucinations?"


    Zen frowned. "They didn''t seem to be hallucinations, or afterimages. They seemed real."


    "What?"


    The Snake Goddess, Fuxi, and Eastern Emperor Taiyi stared at Zen, not comprehending.


    However, Zen became more and more convinced he was right. He pointed at the distance. "I saw twelve Snake Goddesses, ten Fuxis, eleven Pear Hills, and six Eastern Emperor Taiyis. They were really there."


    Fuxi gave Zen a blank look. Finally, he burst out, "Crazy! You''ve gone crazy!"


    "I haven''t," Zen said calmly. "There must be something wrong with this place, not me!"


    "Alright. Let''s say there''s an anomaly in this space. But why would there be twelve of me?" the Snake Goddess asked seriously.


    Compared to Fuxi, the Snake Goddess was more inclined to trust Zen.


    If Zen said that what he saw was real, then she chose to believe him.


    "I don''t know." Zen shook his head.


    The number of the visions of the people varied. The Snake Goddess had the largest number, and Eastern Emperor Taiyi had the least. Zen couldn''t figure out what the determining factors possibly could be.


    "The Variable Images. Zen, what you saw might have been the Variable Images..." Gerald''s voice suddenly floated over from the jadeite platform.


    Zen and the Snake Goddess turned to look at Gerald and approached him at the pl


    veyard could survive that.


    A grim air descended over Fuxi and the others.


    The Pear Hill had three Chaos Ancient Gods and several Eternal Realm warriors, but even they found it difficult to deal with those heads.


    The Ruin Graveyard probably didn''t even have any Eternal Realm warriors. What chance did they have against the attacks?


    "Master Kendrick, please make the Pear Hill turn around. We''ll set off right away," said Zen.


    Although the Pear Hill was located inside the primitive land, the primitive land could crack open just enough for it to drive the whole land forward. In addition to the Pear Hill''s power, the primitive land would also help, so its speed shouldn''t be slow.


    Meanwhile, on the northwest side of the chaos, the Ruin Graveyard, indeed, was currently in grave danger.


    Hundreds and thousands of heads were already launching attacks.


    These heads did not have any preferences. They would simply bite off and swallow anything or anyone they caught.


    The divine land was at the center of the Ruin Graveyard now, so it was not damaged yet. But the huge tombstones around the Ruin Graveyard had already been gnawed into pieces.


    The Ruin Graveyard occupants estimated that the tombstones were big enough to keep the heads at bay.


    In the meantime, they racked their minds, trying to think of a way out.


    However, after the heads devoured tombstones as big as they were, their size started to double!


    Several heads had become inconceivably huge in the next few days. At the rate they were growing, it wouldn''t be long before they could devour the entire Ruin Graveyard!

 Chapter 4172 Appearance

    There were several figures on the huge tombstones and all of them used the Grand Teleportation technique all of a sudden.


    Buzz...


    A number of space channels appeared and with them came Mike, Holy Jay, Bromley, Jeremiah and Joy.


    When they stopped, there was a head biting a tombstone before them.


    It had just made its way into the Ruin Graveyard and was twice its original size.


    "I''ll go first. Holy Jay, follow me," ordered Bromley.


    "What about me?" asked Mike.


    "You guard the rear," said Holy Jay chuckling.


    Mike sulked, feeling helpless.


    A Holy Being''s strength was similar to that of a warrior at the fifth or sixth stage of the Other Shore Realm. However, with a powerful Other Shore Token, the Holy Being''s strength would double.


    Mike had borne the butterfly as instructed by the owner of the Mysterious Yellow Tower. Shortly after, the Mysterious Yellow Tower had been destroyed and he now wouldn''t even have a chance to go change this Other Shore Token.


    What the hell was this! What was going on!


    Buzz...


    A huge seal appeared above Bromley''s head. It appeared to be carved with the ghost rock on Stage Seventeen of the Other Shore. It was a seal of extraordinary quality and was carved out by none other than the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord''s fourth disciple, Justin.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh...


    In a flash, Bromley appeared near the giant head.


    These heads would usually attack living creatures.


    But now, they seemed to gorge themselves on the tombstones, unable to pull themselves away and react to their surroundings.


    "The Punishment Seal!"


    Crack, crack, crack, crack...


    The seal continued to cover the head, creating marks all across its surface.


    "Let''s make our move, now!"


    Bromley roared once he''d placed the seal.


    Buzz...


    Joy, Holy Jay, Mike and Jeremiah then appeared around the head and attacked the marks at the same time.


    They didn''t exert so much strength, each of them only releasing one divine megaton of power.


    Yet in three seconds, they had already attacked the marks dozens of times.


    Such an amount of power might not cause any damage to the head, but it could trigger the Punishment Seal!


    Each time the Punishment Seal was triggered, a force pierced through the internal space and spread into the target''s body.


    that were a hundred times larger than ordinary heads. Hallet and Augustus couldn''t deal with them and had to rely on Rocher to kill them alone.


    Just as Rocher was about to leave, a voice suddenly came from the Lone Sword.


    "You are too slow. They will grow a thousand times or even ten thousand times larger than they are now, before you can kill them. With the power of this sword, you will not be able to kill them at all."


    The voice startled Rocher. "Who are you? Who is inside my sword?" he asked immediately.


    Bromley, Mike and the others were confused as well when they saw Rocher''s reaction.


    Buzz...


    Wisps of souls condensed on Rocher''s sword, and the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord and his four disciples appeared all at once.


    "You are the owner of the Mysterious Yellow Tower!" said Rocher utterly surprised.


    "The owner of the Mysterious Yellow Tower?"


    "Why is he hiding in the Lone Sword?"


    Not far away, Bromley, Holy Jay and the others were surprised and pleased by what they heard.


    If the old man really was the owner of the Mysterious Yellow Tower, then he must also be the owner of the Ruin Graveyard.


    "It''s me," the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord replied flatly.


    "Sir, do you have a way to save the Ruin Graveyard?" Rocher asked hurriedly.


    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord looked around the Ruin Graveyard. The huge heads in the distance were still madly devouring everything they could, growing rapidly. "When I designed this area, I knew this day would come. But I only have one chance at this."

 Chapter 4173 A One-time Array

    There were six extremely huge tombstones in the Ruin Graveyard, but two were missing to make room for the exit and entrance.


    Between the tombstones were several large spaces and behind them was a dull gray forest, known as the Rotten Tree Forest.


    The Rotten Tree Forest had been grim and lifeless for many years. The human race were not the only ones who did not like this place; even the native races of the Ruin Graveyard hated it.


    Rocher used the Grand Teleportation technique over and over again to rush towards the forest, several Holy Beings following closely behind.


    Although he had carried an Other Shore Token from the thirty-third floor, his achievements in space were not much better than those of the Holy Beings and so they were still able to catch up to him.


    Buzz!


    In the sky above the Rotten Tree Forest, Rocher and the several Holy Beings stepped out of the space channel one after another.


    Rocher held the long sword tight and placed it horizontally in front of him. The figure of the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord emerged once more. He looked down and said, "Clean up the rotten trees within a radius of ten miles, with the middle one as the center."


    The second he finished speaking, Joy smiled and said excitedly, "Let me do it!"


    She fell backwards and flew towards the Rotten Tree Forest.


    As she landed, a purple mist rose from a large area of the ground.


    It spread out quickly and formed a massive circle within the forest, enveloping a range of ten miles in radius, no more, no less.


    Swish!


    The surging sword intent then soared into the sky and


    every rotten tree within the range was pierced through by a purple sword.


    They then soared into the sky and went straight to Joy, finally gathering in her body.


    The spreading purple mist then thinned out and all the rotten trees had disappeared. The center of forest had been turned into a circular plain.


    "That''s quite a unique technique," remarked the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord as he looked at Joy.


    Joy smiled and had butterflies fluttering in her stomach. Being praised by the owner of the Mysterious Yellow Tower was a great compliment to her Grand Purple Aura Technique.


    The soul of the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord then jumped down and stood in the plain that had been created.


    He stamped his feet li


    ck-up, was no longer needed.


    If it weren''t for Zen''s success, the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord would have bet everything on the Ruin Graveyard.


    But he did not want to tell them this; it would be a huge blow to their confidence.


    He considered for a moment and then said, "The change in the plan was caused by a sudden attack on the Mysterious Yellow Tower, which has now been completely destroyed. My four disciples and I have all died, but I had a premonition and placed wisps of our souls into the Lone Sword so that part of us is still alive."


    What! The Mysterious Yellow Tower was destroyed and the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord was dead!


    Rocher and the Holy Beings were stunned.


    The powerhouse who had built the Ruin Graveyard and the Mysterious Yellow Tower had died. How terrifying was the opponent he had faced?


    "If that''s the case, how do we fight against these heads?" Bromley said gravely.


    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord had used the array to clean up all the heads here, but there were still more in the chaos.


    "You can''t deal with them," answered the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord.


    "Then all hope is lost," Mike murmured.


    The news that the Mysterious Yellow Tower had been destroyed devastated him. He had been looking forward to obtaining a better Other Shore Token. Now, however, he lost all hope. What was worse, from what the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord had said, he couldn''t even stay in the Ruin Graveyard.


    "No, there''s still hope," the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord said with a smile. "You are the hope."

 Chapter 4174 A Giant Clam

    Mike shook his head, confused by the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord''s words. "Sir, what hope? What do you mean?"


    Bromley was the first to react. "Is it because of the butterfly Mike carried?"


    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord nodded in response.


    "That butterfly... Does it have any secret?" Mike asked.


    "If he comes, I believe he will save the whole Ruin Graveyard," the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord answered with a smile.


    In fact, he no longer attached much importance to the Ruin Graveyard.


    He now placed all his hopes on Zen, so this place became dispensable to him.


    He and his disciples left their souls because they wondered how things could develop. Even if Zen did not arrive, it wouldn''t have mattered.


    Nonetheless, he was convinced that Zen would come.


    After all, both the divine land and his parents were here.


    "He? Who is it that you refer to?" Mike asked frantically.


    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord grinned and his body began to fluctuate. While he returned to Rocher''s Lone Sword, he spoke calmly, "Hold on. He should be coming any moment now."


    Then, he disappeared and everyone grew silent. They could not believe someone was going to save them.


    In terms of strength, Rocher reached the thirty-third floor of the Mysterious Yellow Tower and was already a master in the thirty-third stage of the Other Shore Realm. With this, he was well recognized as a top master in the chaos. If anything, Zen might not even stand a chance against him.


    Was the man who the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord mentioned even more powerful than Rocher?


    Though no one said it aloud, everyone doubted what he had said.


    He did not make a promise or reassure them. His words sounded more like encouragement so they could push through future difficulties.


    "No matter what, the Ruin Graveyard is the last place we will live in. Let''s hold on until reinforcements arrive," Bromley reassured.


    Outside the Ruin Graveyard, all the heads, big and small, were cleared up.


    However, a large number of heads still arrived from afar.


    After what happened in the Rotten Tree Forest, all the races from the Ruin Graveyard sent their clansmen and warriors to inquire.


    With full transparency, Bromley explained everything they knew and what the Grand Supreme Eld


    ess.


    "Sir, if I burn the Lone Sword, can I kill that head?" Rocher asked with a tinge of hope left.


    If the Other Shore Tokens were burned, great powers would be unleashed.


    On top of that, the power of the Lone Sword could be more unimaginable if it were burned.


    However, it would lead to the punishment of truth.


    Even the Memory Flame could not save him from this, which meant he wouldn''t have the possibility of rebirth, either.


    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord remained silent.


    If they ever burned the Other Shore Token, it would only mean that the Ruin Graveyard was completely hopeless.


    Rocher thought he couldn''t give up so easily.


    Even if he had to sacrifice himself, he wouldn''t think twice.


    He reached out his hand and gently stroked the sword. His eyes widened, but just as he was about to make a move, Bromley''s voice echoed from not too far away. "Something is coming."


    Rocher turned his head to see, but merely gazed into a blank distance.


    However, after a few moments, a bean-sized thing could be seen moving from the depths of the chaos.


    "Oh, look how fast it is!" Mike squirmed in delight.


    The bean-sized thing grew larger as it moved closer.


    Slowly, it was close enough to be recognized. It was a giant clam with a big mouth.


    "Is that the hope?" Mike asked in a disappointed tone.


    Joy shrugged her shoulders. "It looks more like a joke."


    As they looked at it, they saw that the clam with large teeth and an odd shape was not there to save them at all.

 Chapter 4175 Figure As Tiny As Dust

    A great distance stood between them and the giant clam, making it difficult for them to tell its actual size.


    However, as the giant clam approached them, it began to grow bigger and bigger. The astonishment in the eyes of the Holy Beings, and the warriors at the Other Shore Realm intensified.


    The divine land was massive enough. The Ruin Graveyard was already several times larger than the divine land, but this giant clam was several times larger than the Ruin Graveyard!


    The giant clam headed straight for the Ruin Graveyard without pausing or changing direction.


    Everyone looked at the heads, which were growing like crazy, and then back at the giant clam, which was approaching them at a rapid pace. Their hearts began to sink.


    The Ruin Graveyard would be doomed.


    When the huge clam was just hundreds of thousands of miles away from the Ruin Graveyard, its serrated crack had already opened.


    Then, it slowed down. It did in the same way a giant would slow down to crouch down and feed itself food.


    "Let''s stop fighting. It''s useless to struggle," Holy Jay said helplessly.


    Even if they killed the heads, they still wouldn''t be able to save the Ruin Graveyard. They were destined to be swallowed by the huge clam, and by the size of the clam''s mouth, it could surely do it in one gulp!


    No matter how hard they tried, they would die eventually.


    Even Rocher, who had been bravely fighting day and night without taking any breaks, drew back his Lone Sword. After distancing himself from the heads, he stood looking up at the sky. Despite the situation, he almost looked calm, but none of them could tell how he was actually feeling.


    Above the divine land stood another group of people who were watching them. Most of them were Consummate True Gods.


    One of them was Rachelle who had previously died but was revived because of Nelly''s pleading. She had become a Consummate True God again and had been wholeheartedly comprehending the Truth of Godly Way.


    With her talent, it wouldn''t be long before she mastered the Truth of Godly Way, allowing her to ring the bell and reach the Other Shore Realm.


    However, before she could finish cultivating the Truth of Godly Way, bad news struck. The bell had been broken.


    When Rachelle learned this, she fell into a depression. She didn''t expect to meet such a great disappointment. Now, the Ruin Graveyard was about to get destroyed, and there was nothing she could do to escape the divine land. She hit a dead end, and she didn''t know how to get out of it.


    Not far in front of Rachelle, there was a warrior in the sixth stage of the Other Shore Realm standing with his hands behind his back. This was Mike''s disciple¡ªHarold.


    Like Rachelle, Harold had been waiting to enter the seventh stage of the Other Shore Realm for a long time. To prepare


    ifty thousand times its original size!


    To their surprise, the gigantic head then gave up on the other tombstones and headed straight for the divine land!


    Harper was on guard against the giant head, but when he shifted his attention to the Pear Hill, he forgot about it.


    Seeing the head inching closer, he uttered a final goodbye in his heart.


    He wanted to control the divine land to escape, but sadly, it was too late. The head had already reached the rear of the divine land.


    Those who were outside the divine land could only stare as the gigantic head began to open its mouth. They wore the saddest expressions on their faces.


    The people inside the divine land were completely unaware of the impending crisis. They continued to live their lives and followed their routines.


    "The end of the divine land..."


    Rocher said in a detached manner.


    After all, it wouldn''t be long before everyone else died.


    The end result would still be the same, even if anyone died a little earlier or a little later.


    He was no longer desperate but instead, rather calm after accepting his fate.


    "No, it''s not." From the Lone Sword, the voice of the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord rang out again.


    When Rocher heard this voice, he didn''t feel anything anymore. No matter how powerful this old man had been, everything was already history.


    ''A remnant soul wouldn''t be able to save anyone, '' he thought. He felt that he had read the mind of the owner of the Mysterious Yellow Tower.


    But he still asked indifferently, "Why do you say that?"


    "Because that is the hope," said the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord.


    As soon as the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord finished speaking, Rocher saw a small, blurry figure appear on the top of the huge head.


    Compared to the head, the figure was but a speck of dust, but because of Rocher''s astonishing eyesight, he managed to see it.

 Chapter 4176 True Appearance

    Bromley, Mike, and those who were standing at the top of the divine land like Lorena and Harold, also saw the blurry figure in the distance.


    "Who is that man?"


    "Is he from our Ruin Graveyard?"


    "What does he want to do? Does he plan on facing that head alone? It''s impossible."


    In the eyes of these people, Rocher''s power was the strongest in the chaos. After all, there was no Other Shore Token that was stronger than one from the thirty-third stage.


    Lorena, Harper, and all the others recognized this as fact.


    And yet, even Rocher was unable to deal with the head, which had become fifty thousand times larger. Who else could possibly face it?


    However, there were powers other than those of Other Shore Tokens in the chaos. Take for example, the power that Zen was using was the omniscient power that every Soul Sea Realm warrior had.


    The catch was, he could only use this power in his inner world.


    The head either didn''t notice or completely ignored Zen''s small figure rushing towards it. Instead, it opened its large mouth to take a bite of the divine land.


    One bite was enough to swallow a third of the divine land. However, just then, the head abruptly stopped in its tracks. There seemed to be an invisible force between its upper and lower jaws, preventing it from closing its mouth. It suddenly couldn''t bite anymore!


    "Give me some strength," said Zen.


    "No problem," the ancestry-level bloodline responded.


    The blood mist in the sky flickered, as if blood-red lightning flashed within it.


    Zen stretched out a hand and grabbed at the air. Then, he flew up and arched through the air. "Up!" he roared.


    Swoosh!


    To everyone''s shock, the head was inching upwards, as though it was being dragged into the sky slowly.


    Rocher, Bromley, Mike, Lorena, Harold and Rachelle were all stunned to see this.


    That blurry figure might have had the courage to appear above the head, but never in their wildest dreams did they imagine that he would do such a thing.


    Yet, here was this mysterious figure, lifting the head up into the sky. Then, with incredible force, the blurry figure threw the head into oblivion.


    What did that


    ''s body began to fade, revealing his true appearance.


    This was his incarnation, so he didn''t have any special power. He was like a grass or a stone in the primitive land. He was insignificant.


    Rosie turned around and glared at Harold this time. What was wrong with him?


    But then, she suddenly sensed that something was wrong. As she turned to the figure before them, her body froze.


    Standing nearby, Rachelle also felt as if she had been struck by lightning.


    When she was reborn, she had grown up to perform excellently.


    But deep in her heart, she never stopped thinking about Zen.


    She knew that her sister went to Zen to beg him to spare her, and that Zen had gone to the distant Source World in order to grow stronger.


    All this time, she was hoping that if Zen returned one day, she would''ve surpassed him in power.


    Of course, she had never told anyone about this.


    When all the resources of the Ruin Graveyard were available and the strength of the consummate True Gods in the divine land had advanced by leaps and bounds, she felt hopeful.


    Even Rocher had managed to reach the thirty-third stage, and he was said to be the strongest warrior in the Source World.


    This whole time, she believed that as long as she mastered the Truth of Godly Way, it was possible for her to catch up with Zen.


    But now that she looked at Zen, she suddenly felt small and stupid. Her imagined opponent was far beyond her reach.

 Chapter 4177 Master And Disciple

    Mike, Rocher, and Bromley were on the tombstone at the periphery of the Ruin Graveyard.


    They couldn''t clearly see what was happening at the top of the divine land. But they did see the head which was fifty thousand times its original size thrown into the air and shattered into pieces.


    Bromley was stunned for a while. He could manage to mutter only two words. "A miracle!"


    "Irrespective of whether or not it''s a miracle, at least the divine land is safe now," Holy Jay said with a smile.


    "That blood man is standing at the top of the divine land! Let''s go and have a look!" Mike said, a space fluctuation rippling on the surface of his body. He got into the space channel and flew towards the divine land.


    "There are still heads that haven''t been dealt with," Rocher said. .


    He had hardly finished talking before he realized that the Holy Beings had already left.


    Rocher also wanted to go to the top of the divine land to see who that person was and how he could possess such an incredible theurgy.


    But the thought of the heads and how they had no one to take care of them made him suppress his curiosity and rush towards the nearest head, which had expanded to ten thousand times its original size.


    "Lone Sword!"


    The moment Rocher took out this Other Shore Token, a blood-red figure appeared on the head.


    This figure held a blood sword and then stabbed into the head, causing it to shatter into pieces before Rocher. .


    The figure then dispersed quickly.


    But before it dissipated, it turned to look at Rocher.


    Rocher was stunned.


    Although this man was wrapped in a thick layer of dark red blood so that Rocher couldn''t see his real appearance, Rocher felt that the outline of this face was somewhat familiar. It was precisely the shape of Zen''s face!.


    The bloody man disappeared from before Rocher.


    "I must be thinking too much. How could it be Zen?" Rocher muttered, shaking his head.


    His gaze then locked onto the next head. This head was now eight hundred times its original size. The bloody man appeared on this head as well.


    "Has he teleported to reach this head? Or... it is an avatar?"


    Rocher observed more heads and found a blood red figure on e


    But he hadn''t expected Zen''s inner world to become so huge!


    When Zen spotted Bromley, he took a few steps towards him and knelt before him. "Master, greetings!"


    Zen had seen Bromley when he''d been in the fairy palace, but that had only been an illusion that Bromley had left behind.


    This was the first time that Zen had met his master.


    "Please stand up." Bromley tried to help Zen up. "I accepted you as my disciple because your father asked me to. But actually, I never personally instructed you. Now that you have achieved such an unfathomable level of cultivation, being your master is more than what I deserve!"


    "You will always be my master, no matter how strong or weak I am. Besides, going by what you said, Hallet and Gus can no longer be your disciples, either." Zen knelt back on the ground, refusing to stand up.


    Hallet and Augustus had already surpassed Bromley in strength, but they still recognized Bromley as their master.


    "Bromley, that''s true. You still recognize Hallet and Augustus as your disciples. Why should Zen be any different?" Mike said from beside him.


    Bromley nodded as he said, "I was wrong. Having Zen as my disciple is probably the best thing I''ve done in my life!"


    As he spoke, he helped Zen to his feet.


    Rocher, Hallet, and Augustus emerged from the space channel, one after the other.


    At the sight of Zen, they all looked as if they had seen a ghost. Augustus''s eyes, in particular, were wide as saucers.

 Chapter 4178 The Vibration Of The Sword

    "Hallet, Gus!"


    Zen yelled when he saw them, bowing to both.


    Hallet responded immediately, "Zen, how have you been?"


    Zen and Augustus had had a very close relationship before.


    He leaned forward, took a good look at him, and stretched his head out to smell his scent. "Zen, which stage of the Other Shore Realm have you reached by now?" he asked.


    Zen said, "Huh. Which stage of the Other Shore Realm I''m at..."


    Zen had no idea how to answer this question.


    He''d been in Stage Thirty-three of the Other Shore, but he hadn''t fused with an Other Shore Token in that stage. The levels of the Other Shore Tokens he had with him weren''t very high.


    It might not be accurate to say that he was at the thirty-third stage of the Other Shore Realm, but it was a fact that he was at the Eternal Realm.


    "I''m at the twentieth stage of the Other Shore Realm!" Augustus said. "Since the Mysterious Yellow Tower was destroyed, I haven''t obtained the Other Shore Token yet, but much to my luck, I''ve fused with a holy armor from the nineteenth floor," he continued, seemingly proud of himself.


    He showed them the Other Shore Token as proof.


    It appeared on him, causing a blue light to radiate from his body. The aura released by the holy armor was quite captivating. It looked as if it held a strong, mysterious power.


    "It''s an Other Shore Token of the mysterious type, isn''t it?" Zen said, studying the token with his eyes.


    "Yes!" Augustus said confidently. It was obvious he was very proud of his possession. "Do you want to have a try? But you better watch yourself. Even if you have infinite power, you won''t be able to defeat me!" Augustus jested.


    "Augustus, Zen''s just returned. Give him a break," Bromley said, embarrassed at the behavior of his disciple. He always knew Augustus had something special in him, but sometimes, he did act like a complete idiot.


    Hallet also looked at Augustus with a disapproving gaze. ''He''s too haughty for his own good, '' he thought to himself.


    Augustus, however, paid no attention to their reminders and stares. He had been waiting to battle Zen once he returned for too long.


    Zen had the extremely formidable power, but Augustus wasn''t ready to give up his challenge just yet.


    "Augustus, if you so badly want to battle with me, then let your request be my command," Zen said, smiling smugly.


    "Zen, the armor Augustus is wearing is extremely powerful. Even Rocher wouldn''t be able to break from it if he were trapped by it. No matter how powerful you are,


    explained, "Your father, Mike, carries the small butterfly. I have told him before."


    Mike rolled his eyes. The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord was a man of few words and never told Mike that the butterfly would be so useful in leading his son back.


    "So I''m guessing you two know each other?" Rocher asked, hints of amusement and surprise present in his voice.


    Zen smiled faintly. "Actually, this is the first time I''ve met the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord! Although, I must say I''m sure that everything that''s happened to me since I was in the Evolutionary Universe has something to do with him."


    "Why do you say that?" Bromley asked in confusion.


    Although the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord was the owner of the Ruin Graveyard and the Mysterious Yellow Tower, no one knew if he had anything to do with the divine land.


    "The Grand Weapon Refining Method you gave me was not obtained by you accidentally but a special gift from the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord," Zen said with a smile.


    Bromley raised his eyebrows, silently doubting what he just heard.


    "It involves the entire chaos or maybe even a larger world. It''s too complicated," Zen said.


    At this moment, Rocher felt a slight vibration from the Lone Sword.


    The vibration was subtle, but it had a certain rhythm. Rocher didn''t know the reason for it, but the Grand Supreme Elderly answered his silent question for him. "It''s the other end of the Lone Sword. Zen, that should be your son, Geoffrey."


    "Geoffrey?"


    "Geoffrey? Is it Geoffrey on the other side of the Lone Sword? Where is he?"


    Not far away, Lorena and Rosie, who were listening to their conversation, felt excited at the mention of Geoffrey.

 Chapter 4179 Refuse To Obey

    Dale had told Zen of how they had communicated with Geoffrey before.


    Now that the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord mentioned it, Zen was naturally filled with a great deal of concern. He gestured to Lorena and Rosie to be silent.


    Everyone quieted down, their hearts filled with all sorts of strange feelings.


    How was it possible for Geoffrey to communicate with them through this sword?


    Was he trapped in it?


    Rocher carried the Other Shore Token and could now feel the power of the vibrations, but what did such intermittent vibrations mean?


    The sword vibrated for a while before the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord said with an odd expression, "He says that he has found another holy pillar, and he can connect the line of the Lone Sword there."


    "Does that mean the Lone Sword can get stronger?" asked Zen hopefully.


    "Yes," answered the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord, nodding. "Its ability may change as well."


    Rocher''s eyes lit up in surprise. "Sir, do you mean that Geoffrey is capable of modifying the Lone Sword''s ability?"


    With a faint hint of a smile, the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord said, "Geoffrey is on the pillar. He can modify the abilities of the Lone Sword and other Other Shore Tokens. He just happened to find the Lone Sword."


    "That''s unbelievable!" Rocher exclaimed in absolute shock.


    He had sensed a change in the sword''s ability before, but he could not understand how it had happened. His understanding of Other Shore Tokens was limited to the Other Shore after all. He had never even thought of the world outside the chaos.


    He hadn''t expected his Lone Sword''s change would have something to do with Geoffrey, and yet it was his modification that had given the sword such great power.


    Mike, Bromley, and Holy Jay were just as astonished.


    It was well known by all that


    the Other Shore Tokens were the source of power in the chaos.


    But to their surprise, Mike''s grandson could modify them at will. What kind of ability was this?


    Joy''s heart was filled with tenderness as she reminisced about the little boy who had once caused trouble in the fairy palace, who was now so incredibly powerful.


    "What line? What pillar? Zen, tell him to come out of the sword!" Lorena ordered grumpily.


    She too knew the significance of the Other Shore Tokens and how extraordinary Geoffrey''s ability was.


    But she couldn''t accept that Zen had let her grandson face the risk


    e nine chiefs had died, and those who remained of the Nine Li race were weak. It wasn''t difficult to imagine their current sadness.


    After assisting his mother and the others in settling down in the Pear Hill, Zen returned to the top of the divine land and described roughly what he had encountered on his travels to the Source World.


    He spoke of how he joined the Sword Light Palace and the Oneness Sky Palace and traveled to the Pear Hill, and how he then took the Pear Hill away from the Source World.


    Zen''s stories did not relieve Mike. Instead, he asked in surprise, "So the huge Source World has fallen into the hands of the Evil God, who was born in your inner world?"


    "Yes," Zen answered affirmatively.


    "It appears the situation is even more serious than I had thought." Bromley was overtaken by a gloomy seriousness.


    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord had been silent all this time but then suddenly said to Zen, "The Snake Spirit King must be very confident to dare to take this step. Even if the Evil God has controlled the Source World, he may not be able to handle him."


    Zen had the ancestry-level bloodline, and so knew from the very beginning how to deal with this. Moreover, his primitive land was small in size, making it easy for him to manage.


    But the Source World was different.


    It had developed over countless years. It had long since grown into a gigantic world and couldn''t fight against the heads given its huge form.


    It was just as the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord had guessed; the Source World was currently in the middle of an unprecedented era of suffering.

 Chapter 4180 The Crisis In The Source World

    Currently, the Source World attracted a large number of vicious heads because of its huge structure.


    When the heads first appeared in the Source World, the Evil God instantly realized that something wrong was going on. With this, he immediately summoned numerous avatars of himself and mobilized all the forces.


    Meanwhile, in the Bloom Divine Province, the place had been plagued by earthquakes for almost a month now.


    Along with this, a terrible rumor had been spreading among the citizens.


    "Did you know? There are countless humongous and horrifying heads underground. These are what caused these earthquakes!"


    "They said these heads are hundreds of millions of feet in height. They can devour anything, living or inanimate!"


    "We''re no longer safe here. We have to run away from this place!"


    But with all these, others just laughed at the nasty rumors and didn''t pay much attention to it. After all, a large number of powerful warriors were gathered in the Source World. Even if the rumors were true and the monstrous heads surfaced from the ground, they believed that the warriors of the Source World would save the day.


    However, the Oneness Sky Palace no longer existed. The Bearing race and the Divine Farmer race were also destroyed. Right now, no other forces had assumed control over the Bloom Divine Province. Thus, it was currently a land without a ruler.


    With this, some of the big clans around the Clear Lake were preparing to grab the supremacy in the region.


    The Bloom Divine Province had always been a birthplace of great talents, and it had the reputation of nurturing a potential super force. Thus, it should only be a matter of time when one of these large clans rose and replaced the Oneness Sky Palace.


    In recent days, in order to compete for the power and profit, the big clans around the Clear Lake had been holding continuous competitions.


    The geniuses at the Other Shore Realm from various clans participated and gave their all to battle it out in the ring.


    This day, tens of thousands of people gathered by the Clear Lake to watch another set of breathtaking matches. On the surface of the lake, two young elites were competing like two atrocious waterfowls.


    Every time they would exchange a blow, a deafening sound would reverberate, creating ripples and shaking even the depths of the lake.


    The fierce showdown between the two young elites had lasted for about five minutes. One of them, who was in the third stage of the Other Shore Realm, obviously had a greater edge. Under his constant attacks, his opponent''s strength gradually weakened.


    "Take this! Shining Dragon Sword Skill!" the elite on the third stage of the Other Shore Realm roared mightily, ready to finish his opponent with this strike.


    At the same time, a violent earthquake occurred again.


    This time, the tremor they felt was much stronger than the previous ones. Fissures appeared on the ground and some houses even started to collapse.


    However, because of the frequent waves of earthquakes recently, nobody was alarmed anymore. They weren''t fazed and still focused their attention on the on-going battle.


    As soon as the third-stage Other Shore Realm warrior employed h


    f his replicas in an attempt to think of a viable solution to their dilemma. This was the reason why these replicas were all currently at the square.


    Some of them were thinking by themselves, while others were discussing in groups.


    Even the Six Truths Explosion, which was the powerful skill that his replica had performed to vanquish the huge head by the Clear Lake, was a result of this kind of brainstorming.


    He believed that little by little, they were making progress in destroying their opponents. However, because of the overwhelming number of the heads, the current methods that they formulated were still far from enough to annihilate them all.


    That was why they couldn''t afford to stop thinking of a better way.


    Lying on the comfortable bed, the Evil God slowly let out a deep sigh.


    Hearing this, Edna tied up her silky black hair, gazed at the Evil God, and said, "With so many avatars helping you to find a solution, why do you have to bother yourself about it?"


    The Evil God was getting too absorbed with it that his temperament had changed drastically.


    In the past, all he needed to do was destroy everything as he pleased. He was just a reckless and happy-go-lucky guy that did whatever he wanted. But since he assumed control of the Source World, he now had the responsibility to protect the land and the people.


    And this was something that he was not good at.


    "If all the heads came from a single direction, I wouldn''t need to worry this much. But they''re everywhere! They''re scattered in the entire chaos, and they come from all directions. It''s just impossible to guard against them. I don''t think there is a perfect solution to deal with them," the Evil God complained in an annoyed tone.


    With her hand covering her bare shoulder, Edna buried her head in thought for a while. Then, out of nowhere, she just blurted out, "Is there anything that would repel the heads?"


    "Repel the heads¡­" The Evil God furrowed his brows as he entertained this thought. After a few moments, his eyes suddenly lit up, and there was a faint grin on his face. "Edna, what do you think would they hate the most?"

 Chapter 4181 Nipping Consciousness In The Bud

    To the Evil God, anyone who was against him must be eliminated.


    Even those who didn''t provoke him would end up dead. Those who dared take the initiative to provoke him would face even worse.


    The Evil God had been looking for a way to kill the heads after they invaded his territory.


    Why would he care what they hated the most?


    But he changed his mind now.


    The Source World was too large. Even if the Evil God had tens of thousands of avatars, he still couldn''t guard every corner.


    If he could use some method to force them to gather in one place, he could then easily kill them.


    Edna saw the sparkle in the Evil God''s eyes, but didn''t know what was on his mind. She stuttered, "I...I don''t know what they hate."


    "But they will know," the Evil God said confidently.


    An idea was forming in the Evil God''s mind.


    And then, a consciousness appeared in the minds of the ten thousand Evil Gods in the huge black square. The order given to them by their master was always top priority to them.


    "The master orders us to find the weakness of these heads?"


    "What do they hate?"


    "We have to test them one by one. We will find it out!"


    "These heads are stupid, and their behavior pattern is simple. We can start from their mode of behavior!"


    These avatars of the Evil God were as smart as their master. The Evil God had only to give them a hint and they would begin to brainstorm and make plans.


    Tens of thousands of avatars were now in a heated discussion, the huge square suddenly becoming noisy. It had now become difficult to hear anything.


    "It''s so noisy! Stop it, you idiots!" an avatar cursed angrily.


    The other avatars quickly closed their mouths and began to communicate with each other through their spiritual sense.


    The tens of thousands of avatars thought differently, but they were very efficient and quickly came up with several plans.


    These plans were voted on and they finally decided on one that seemed to be the best. They would split up to test the characteristics of the heads.


    The avatars had originally been searching for the heads in the Source World in order to kill them, but they now quickly changed their strategy.


    Since the Heavenly Martial Province was the weakest, it had attracted the most heads.


    The Evil God had killed for several rounds here, bu


    il God, and said, "She is your woman, and also mine."


    Edna hadn''t expected the avatar to make such a request and didn''t know what to do.


    What was more, she couldn''t tell who the real Evil God was and who the avatar was. Sometimes, she even suspected that the real Evil God had died a long time ago.


    "Okay," the Evil God said, nodding. "Come here!"


    The avatar walked over to the Evil God.


    But the moment he got close to the Evil God, the Evil God stretched out a hand and gently tapped at his forehead. The avatar''s face began to change, and he turned into a black skinned creature.


    Phew!


    The creature had gained his own consciousness, but before he could realize what was happening to him, the Evil God cut his neck off his body.


    Black blood splashed all over the ground.


    "Darling, why did you kill him?" asked Edna.


    "He has gained his own consciousness. If his consciousness grows stronger, he would definitely betray me," said the Evil God.


    Under normal circumstances, the avatars of the Evil God were completely in sync with their master, and they executed their master''s orders without any questions.


    But if they were separated from their master for a long time or had any kind of special experience, their consciousness would begin to deviate.


    If this were to happen, the Evil God would kill them without mercy.


    The person who knew one the best was always themselves, and they would never be loyal to anyone else. Once these avatars gained an independent consciousness, they would even betray themselves.

 Chapter 4182 My World

    The very next day, tens of thousands of Evil Gods appeared all over the entire Source World.


    Each Evil God stood far away from each other. Their distance was of several provinces apart. They were equally distributed throughout the outer layer of the Source World.


    Simultaneously, the Evil Gods whispered, "Space truth..."


    The Evil God''s current understanding of the space truth had reached an even higher level. With this, he was able to use the power of space freely.


    Countless wisps of space as thick as a thumb had intertwined around the Evil Gods. They each formed a structure that looked like a fishing net. Under the Evil Gods'' control, the fishing nets fanned out in every direction with them as the center.


    After a few minutes, each of them had already covered a hundred thousand feet.


    Soon enough, they had expanded to one billion feet.


    About two hours later, each space net had covered an area that was as large as a whole province.


    After six hours, the space nets laid out by each Evil God began to interlink.


    Moments later, all of the space nets in every corner of the world had connected. The entire Source World was now completely covered.


    Previously, the enormous Source World had been attracting innumerable heads. Before the space nets completely enveloped it, these heads were like a school of fish affected by the tide. They rushed towards the only remaining weak points of this world.


    But as soon as the space nets covered those weak points, the heads instantly lost their targets. They fled outside the Source World like headless chickens.


    Due to their low intelligence, they had no idea what had just happened. They only knew that their prey had mysteriously disappeared.


    Instinctively, these heads devoured everything that could be devoured. It seemed that the creatures of their kind were also on their menus. Soon enough, the situation became even more chaotic. They began to devour each other frenziedly.


    In the hall, there was a space wall that showed the movements outside the Source World. With this, the Evil God could monitor the situation outside without going out himself.


    "Amazing! They are really not attacking the Source World anymore. Has the Source World been saved?" Edna asked the Evil God. Her face was full of admiration and gratitude.


    "Of course," the Evil God replied. There was a gentle smile on his face. He seemed to be in a good mood.


    The next thing on their list was to clean up the remaining heads inside the Source World. It was time to exterminate them.


    There were countless heads that managed to enter the Source World. In addition to that, there were many heads that grew rapidly and were ten thousand times larger than others. Nevertheless, it wasn''t really difficult to kill these heads.


    After a short while, they suddenly heard footsteps from outside the hall. Shera slowly walked in and stopped beside the Evil God.


    She hardly paid any attention to Edna. She merely turned to th


    ient and show the Evil God more respect.


    Duran was a smart creature.


    Even though he was a superior Bird Master, he was perfectly fine with being humble in front of a mere human. He could restrain his arrogance and would do whatever it took to achieve their goal. As Duran remembered this, he smiled faintly. "That''s right. Now, the Bird Spirit Sect and the Nihility race need to rely on you."


    The Bird Master quickly adopted a friendly attitude. Duran''s sudden change of tack surprised the Evil God. He continued to ask, "What exactly are you? You don''t seem like living creatures, yet you have an incredible amount of strength. The giant ape is even more remarkable..."


    The scene in which the giant ape moved the Pear Hill out flashed through the Evil God''s mind. It was a surreal and astonishing thing to witness.


    "We are a level higher than you. We are also the builders of the chaos. When we die, we will become what I am right now. You can treat us as souls. However, we are called the Treacherous Beings on the Other Shore," answered Duran.


    Realization dawned upon the Evil God. "The Treacherous Being... Did that giant ape also die and become a Treacherous Being?" he asked curiously.


    "Yes. He is the Monkey Spirit King, one of the known four kings." Duran nodded.


    "Even though the Monkey Spirit King is dead, he still has that much strength. What kind of creature was he when he was alive? How could he be so powerful?" the Evil God wondered out loud. It was quite incredible to come across such a powerful being.


    "He used to be the strongest warrior in the main world. Even if he is in the form of the Treacherous Being now, he is still powerful," Duran said with a slight smile.


    The Evil God looked at Duran. "What about you? Do you also have a king? Is he that powerful too?" The Evil God couldn''t quite contain his curiosity.


    "Our Bird Spirit King is on par with the Monkey Spirit King," replied Duran. His eyes were full of pride and admiration.

 Chapter 4183 Regret

    Duran didn''t treat the Evil God as a subordinate, but actually viewed him as a partner.


    Since he was talking to a partner, he felt the need to display the true strength of the Bird Spirit Sect.


    Duran felt quite confident. After all, the Evil God had no choice but to cooperate with the Bird Spirit Sect.


    "The Bird Spirit King... You said there are four kings. Then, who are the other two?" the Evil God asked curiously.


    "The Human Spirit King and the Snake Spirit King," Duran answered. Then, his eyes grew misty. "The four sects were a family many years ago..."


    Usually, it would take a long time to tell the entire story of the Four Spirits Sect.


    However, Duran took only around five minutes to give a brief overview of the history of the Four Spirits Sect to the Evil God.


    When he had finished, the Evil God''s eyes lit up with interest. "But since your Bird Spirit Sect has been annihilated by the Snake Spirit Sect, you should take revenge. Why do you want to destroy everything instead?"


    "This is the wish of our king. We have to fulfill it," said Duran. All the birds were extremely loyal to their ruler.


    The Evil God didn''t reply.


    After seizing control of the Source World, the Evil God felt no need to destroy it all.


    In the past, he had been alone. With his difficult personality, he made too many enemies, so he ended up cooperating with the Nihility race and then later joined the Black Ship.


    But once he became the ruler of the Source World, his thoughts somewhat changed. At the very least, he no longer followed the Nihility Way.


    But now, he was reliant on the Bird Spirit Sect. No matter how arrogant he was, he knew he couldn''t oppose the Bird Spirit King''s wish, especially not in front of Duran.


    "I once defeated a little black snake in the consciousness of the Source World. Did he come from the Snake Spirit Sect?" The Evil God suddenly recalled.


    When he found out that there was an intruder in the consciousness of the Source World, he had been quite puzzled.


    Theoretically, only he was supposed to be able to enter that place. What kind of theurgy did the little black snake possess to forcefully enter it?


    "Yes, it''s very likely it was the Snake Spirit King hi


    s not Edna, but Shera.


    Ever since Edna came, the Evil God rarely ever talked to Shera.


    This saddened Shera greatly, but she didn''t show it. After all, she was still the liaison between the Evil God and the Nihility race.


    "I know why you are unhappy," said Shera, eyes flashing.


    The Evil God glanced at her indifferently. "What do you know?"


    Shera leaned down to whisper in his ear, "You think you have lost Zen, your opponent."


    The Evil God didn''t say anything. Instead, he just let out a heavy sigh.


    "He might not die. Perhaps, just like you, he is rapidly growing," said Shera.


    The Evil God raised his eyebrows and turned around abruptly to stare at Shera. "What do you mean?" he demanded. "Can the Pear Hill escape this disaster?"


    "I don''t know for sure," said Shera. "But there is one thing I am certain of. You should have been born in a primitive land. Otherwise, you wouldn''t be able to devour Usman, nor would you be able to obtain the consciousness of the Source World."


    The Evil God''s eyes lit up excitedly. "You mean that Zen''s inner world is a primitive land?"


    "Yes," said Shera with a nod.


    When the Evil God had been absorbed by Zen, Shera and the brass man had already suspected this, but she was not so sure at that time.


    However, when the Evil God successfully devoured Usman, she was certain.


    As the Evil God heard this, his expression suddenly relaxed. Smiling confidently, he said, "I''ll definitely win this competition."

 Chapter 4184 Alliance

    Somewhere in the depths of the chaos, a huge pyramid spun slowly.


    Behind this pyramid was an empty void, the heads previously scattered already devoured.


    It had now entered a new world.


    With all the heads cleared out, three light columns suddenly extended from the three, large mouths.


    The energy within these columns was very weak yet very stable and had the power to spread for billions of miles across the chaos.


    Although these heads were stupid, they had an extraordinarily keen sense when it came to energy. They crazily followed the light columns as they swept past them.


    Once the number of heads that followed the light columns was enough, the distance between each beam narrowed in such a way that they were all led towards the mouths of the pyramid. This was how all those heads from before were cleared out all at once.


    As the pyramid devoured the heads with frighteningly high efficiency, it expanded a thousand times in size.


    It was small compared to the Source World but the rate at which it grew was astonishing.


    On the other side of the chaos, Zen used a similar way to clear the heads.


    He had asked the Snake Goddess to spread her shadow and used the energy beams to attract the heads, and this method initially worked.


    However, as the primitive land continued to expand, the Snake Goddess''s shadow fell short.


    Her shadow could theoretically extend at an infinite distance. If she was given enough time, she could even spread her shadow across the chaos.


    Unfortunately, the speed at which her shadow extended was too slow.


    According to what the ancestry-level bloodline said, a round of competition would begin after the downgrade started and those bigger in size would have a great advantage.


    Zen knew he had to come up with a better method if he wanted to absorb more heads in the least amount of time.


    Since Snake Goddess'' shadow proved ineffective, he decided to gather everyone on the jadeite platform for a brainstorming session.


    What they needed was something that could spread far and wide at a fast enough rate.


    "Light," Gerald was quick to propose.


    Light not only contained energy but also had the ability to spread all throughout the chaos.


    Once again, Zen asked the ancestry-level bloodline to transform the primitive land.


    Not long after, six, huge arrays appeared on the surface of the primitive land. These six arrays served no purpose


    oing to believe who it is!"


    The Grandmaster of Heaven raised an eyebrow. "Who?"


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven nodded at Zen and soon enough, a figure appeared above the latter''s head. It was none other the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord, or rather, a strand of his soul.


    "The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord..." the Grandmaster of Heaven could only murmur in astonishment. Was he truly seeing correctly?


    He had no idea that the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord hid in the Jade Pure Realm, and he never expected to see him here.


    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord gave him a small smile. "The three of us have finally gathered together. What a beautiful and exciting surprise."


    "I am surprised but not excited," the Grandmaster of Heaven replied coldly. He still held a few grudges.


    "It seems you''re still angry about the past. Given the chance, I''ll have Ziya apologize to you personally," the Primeval Lord of Heaven said.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven harrumphed. "That disciple of yours..."


    As soon as Ziya''s name was mentioned, the frown on the Grandmaster of Heaven''s face grew worse.


    During the battle in the Pear Hill, he had been exiled in the Deleting Space by Othniel and got kicked out by Ziya. Never had he been so humiliated before in his entire life.


    "I''m here to discuss an alliance with the Monkey Spirit King, not to talk about the old days with you," he grumbled pointedly.


    Zen nodded. "That is correct. The Monkey Spirit King has entrusted the matter to us. You can discuss it with us."


    The Grandmaster of Heaven couldn''t help but frown at Zen''s words.


    "What did you just say?"

 Chapter 4185 Represent

    The Monkey Spirit King and the Monkey Masters were relatively simple-minded, so they were not good at strategizing.


    The Monkey Spirit King had completely put his trust in Zen. In any case, Zen and the humans were against the Snake Spirit Sect, so he figured he could let them deal with everything.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven didn''t know the details, so he assumed Zen was submissive to the Monkey Spirit King, just like he was submissive to the Bird Masters.


    Therefore, when he had heard Zen''s words, he was totally surprised.


    "Well, is it any use talking to you?" the Grandmaster of Heaven asked.


    "Of course it is," replied Zen calmly.


    Although Zen wore a serious expression, the Grandmaster of Heaven still didn''t believe him. He said, "Don''t joke with me, boy."


    "I''m not kidding," Zen said gravely.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven''s eyes shifted to the side of the hall, where two Monkey Masters stood guarding the door. The two Monkey Masters must have heard Zen''s words, but they seemed unaffected by them.


    Helplessly, the Grandmaster of Heaven said, "Please step back."


    Zen and the human heroes did as he said.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven spread out his hands, and two golden crosses appeared in his palms. When the crosses coincided, the coordinates appeared in front of him.


    Buzz!


    A soft sound rang in everyone''s ears, and a shadow of a huge bird materialized in front of them. It was the Bird Master, Lawler.


    Compared to the other Bird Masters, Lawler was just of medium build, yet his head almost touched the ceiling of the hall.


    Lowering his head slightly, he saw the group of humans standing before him. He bore a strange, ambiguous expression. "Grandmaster of Heaven, I came here in person to see the Monkey Spirit King. Why are these humans here?"


    "They said we could talk about this matter with them," the Grandmaster of Heaven said with an indifferent shrug.


    "Humph!"


    Lawler raised his head arrogantly.


    In doing so, his head smashed open the ceiling of the hall. Then, he let out a long howl.


    "Aoo..."


    The high pitched howl echoed all throughout the Night View Island.


    Shortly after, a huge and agile figure ran wildly along the lake. When he closed in on the hall, he leapt up high and kicked open the door to the hall.


    Boom!


    The huge vibration made everyo


    at the last moment, the Snake Spirit King had retreated. Lawler, Duran, Orval and other Bird Masters had yet to figure out why he had chosen to retreat instead.


    "What are you going to do after we form an alliance?" Zen continued to ask.


    Lawler replied, "We hope the Monkey Spirit Sect will help us to launch a counterattack against the Snake Spirit Sect. We have already come up with a good plan."


    The Bird Spirit King that hadn''t awakened yet was no match for the Snake Spirit King, but with the help of the invincible Monkey Spirit King, they were hoping to tip the scales in their favor.


    "I refuse," Zen replied bluntly.


    "Then go to hell!"


    The killing intent in Lawler''s eyes boiled, and his wing slashed down on Zen''s head like a four hundred-foot-long saber.


    His speed was so fast that even Manuel squatting nearby did not have the time to react.


    Boom!


    The whole hall was smashed into pieces.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven was also shocked. Lawler had killed Zen instantly! Things were getting heated now.


    Puff!


    Not far away, Manuel took a deep breath and blew the dust and rubble into the lake.


    As the dust cleared, the Grandmaster of Heaven gasped in shock at what he saw.


    Zen was still standing, perfectly unharmed, with one hand stretched out, holding the tip of Lawler''s wing with ease.


    Lawler was totally shocked. The Grandmaster of Heaven had mentioned this several times before, but it never fully registered on Lawler how strong this human was.


    But even so, how could he easily resist his attack?

 Chapter 4186 Obey My Orders

    A deep voice cut through the quiet air. "Judging from your attitude, it seems that you don''t want to talk about the alliance any more." Zen tightened his grip on Lawler''s wing and coldly added, "Or do you think that I''m a human, who doesn''t have the strength or qualifications?"


    After Zen said those words, his vice-like grip on Lawler''s wing became even more rigid.


    "Whoosh..."


    At that moment, a straight, thin red thread materialized and punctured Lawler''s wing.


    "Swish, swish, swish..."


    Everyone present heard the sound of the thin thread piercing through Lawler''s wing, which was followed by countless rays of red light that floated atop the wing''s surface.


    "Splash..."


    Then, the red light cut the wing into several pieces, which fell to the ground.


    Manuel, who squatted somewhere not far away, also saw the scene. A chill ran down his spine.


    He had heard Tearrag talk about this theurgy of Zen before. The theurgy let Zen cut bodies into pieces quickly with the help of blood streaks.


    However, Manuel thought that he was much stronger than Tearrag, so he did not take Zen seriously.


    Then again, Lawler was just as powerful as him, and Lawler could not defend himself in the slightest against Zen''s red thread. Perhaps if he touched that red thread, he too, would be seriously injured.


    "Lawler, I wonder if this strength could be considered powerful in your eyes?" Zen asked coldly.


    When Zen uttered those words, both Lawler and the Grandmaster of Heaven were stunned.


    After all, Lawler never thought that this human could hurt him.


    On the other hand, such injuries naturally meant nothing to the Treacherous Being.


    Lawler trembled slightly, and the Treacherous Being''s body parts that fell to the ground jumped up one by one. Then, they quickly stuck to each other until they returned to their previous shape.


    "You surprised me," Lawler muttered, the arrogance in his eyes completely gone now.


    Zen''s attack was like a waterfall that splashed straight into his heart and cleared his mind.


    Indeed, both the Monkey Spirit King and the Great Ape King were not stupid. There was certainly a reason they supported Zen so much!


    "Let''s continue to talk about the alliance," Zen calmly stated.


    "Didn''t you just refuse?" Lawler said in surprise.


    "That''s because your condition is not right," Zen said with a shake of his head.


    "What do you want?"


    When the Grandmaster of Heaven heard Lawler ask such a question, he could not help but sigh inwardly.


    Although Lawler was powerful,


    pirit King? Was there anything else to it?" she asked.


    Not to mention, the people present and even the Bird Masters could not figure out why the Snake Spirit King had let the Bird Spirit King go that day.


    Meanwhile, when Lawler returned to the nest in Jade Pure Realm, he told the other Bird Masters about Zen''s request.


    When Dural, Orval, and the other Bird Masters heard the news, they felt furious.


    To give their lives to a mere human being?


    That was way too much!


    What a wishful thought!


    However, the commotion only lasted for a short while. After Lawler analyzed the advantages and disadvantages, as well as the fate of the Bird Spirit Sect, the Bird Masters all fell silent.


    It was true that they had no other choice.


    In the end, the Bird Masters made a compromise and bowed in front of the Bird Spirit King.


    Of course, they never dared to tell the Bird Spirit King, Sheehan, what truly happened. Although Sheehan had not awakened yet, he would surely turn the world upside down once he heard about the matter.


    It also went without saying that the Snake Spirit King in the Heavenly Square City saw the scene with the Limited Omnipotent Stone.


    "Why? Why don''t we stop them?" the Snake Spirit King asked desperately.


    "Why should we? Are you afraid of so many Bird Masters?" the black light asked back.


    "Of course I''m not afraid of the Bird Masters," the Snake Spirit King said disdainfully.


    "Once the Bird Masters join, it would make them enter the Jade Pure Realm faster," the black light said.


    "Tell me. What the hell do you want to do?" the Snake Spirit King asked.


    The black light didn''t answer, but it surprisingly burst into laughter.

 Chapter 4187 The Final Preparation

    The Grandmaster of Heaven returned to the Night View Island a few days later.


    He had come to give Zen the Bird Masters'' coordinates.


    In most cases, putting your life in the hands of others was ill-advised and even idiotic.


    But the Bird Masters had nowhere to go and were willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the safety of the Bird Spirit King. They were loyal to him until their deaths.


    Most importantly, they truly believed in the Monkey Spirit King.


    The friendship between the Bird Spirit Sect and the Monkey Spirit Sect was much deeper than Zen and his companions had imagined.


    On the day the alliance was formed, Manuel squatted beside but still managed to hear every word the two sides spoke.


    The Monkey Spirit King and the Great Ape King were both very reckless, but not stupid.


    They trusted Zen and the Primeval Lord of Heaven because they were humans with the same goal they had. This made them trustworthy.


    The Bird Masters trusted anyone the Monkey Spirit King did.


    However, Manuel had come to retrieve the coordinates on the very same day they were sent to Zen, claiming they were not safe in Zen''s hands and should be protected by the Monkey Spirit King.


    Whether he really wanted them protected or just not to be with Zen remained unknown.


    The addition of the Bird Spirit Sect to the alliance gave the human heroes much confidence.


    They had, after all, been isolated and helpless once before. But now, against all expectations, they had gained the support of the Bird Spirit Sect and the Monkey Spirit Sect.


    Entering the Jade Pure Realm was then put on the agenda, but they would still need to prepare carefully to find a better opportunity to do so.


    In the chaos, the primitive land was still methodically devouring thousands of heads.


    The primitive land was once only twice the size of the Pear Hill; it could even touch the top of the primitive land.


    But now, if one stood atop the Pear Hill and looked out into the distance, they would see the boundless blood red sky. The primitive land had become incredibly expansive.


    Zen had moved the continents that had been floating in the sky down. They were now placed in the middle of the Pear Hill and th


    t that host looked like, and even his name," the ancestry-level bloodline sighed dejectedly. "I failed in every battle with those downgraders."


    The ancestry-level bloodline possessed intense strength, but its opponents were always able to defeat it.


    "This time is different," Zen said abruptly.


    "Why is that?" asked the ancestry-level bloodline.


    "Because this time, I''m your host," Zen answered confidently.


    The ancestry-level bloodline was silent for a moment; it did not wish to frustrate Zen. "Let''s begin the fourteenth refinement with blood red thunderbolts. After fifty, I will fill your body with space spores."


    "Is that another method to strengthen the body?"


    "Yes, it strengthens your body with the power of space."


    "Is it the final method of strengthening?"


    "No, there are several others."


    Soon after, the blood red sky rumbled once more and thunderbolts as thick as tree trunks whirled in the sky and rushed towards Zen.


    Just then, countless shadows were suddenly reflected in his eyes.


    He saw the silhouettes of mountains, thunderbolts, and his body in the distance.


    These were the Variable Images!


    Another Shade Stone descended.


    It had only been a few months since the last Shade Stone appeared. It seemed the frequency of its appearance was certainly ramping up.


    At the same time, a square black stone floated over a thousand feet above the middle of the Blood Sea Province, quickly attracting the people''s attention.

 Chapter 4188 Restore

    As an excellent weapon refining material, the Shade Stones caused fights among warriors every time they appeared in the Source World.


    Even this time was no exception...


    Although the Blood Sea Province was relatively desolate, it used to be a territory of the Bearing race.


    When the Shade Stone appeared out of nowhere, dozens of warriors at the Other Shore Realm scrambled to get close to it¨Cgathering in a circle surrounding it.


    "In just two months, two Shade Stones have appeared in the Source World..."


    "Who will take this Shade Stone?"


    "Should we hand it over to the Ji Clan?"


    Although Yellow Thearch had been killed and the Bearing race scarcely annihilated, the Evil God didn''t kill the entire clan. The Ji Clan was left standing.


    Suddenly, one of the warriors from the crowd started to tremble.


    The other warriors were struck with fear as they watched him. The Evil God had once come to the Blood Sea Province to slaughter, and had occupied many people''s bodies. Several warriors at the Other Shore Realm had been possessed by the Evil God, so they easily recognized what was happening.


    In the blink of an eye, the warrior transformed into the looks of the Evil God.


    "Hand it over to the Ji Clan?" The Evil God raised his eyebrows at the warrior who said it.


    The warrior felt chills across his body as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. "N-no, of course, we''ll hand it over to you..."


    The Evil God snorted faintly and looked at the Shade Stone in deep thought.


    He showed a confused look and stared at the warrior. The warrior''s body shook continuously, and before he could even speak, his body turned into another Evil God.


    "The Shade Stone is said to be used as a timer. It recently appeared so frequently. Does this mean that the chaotic era is nearing its end?" the Evil God asked threateningly.


    "That should be the case..." the second Evil God replied.


    "But the chaos has already undergone a drastic change. In what way will it come to an end?"


    "No one can predict..."


    "Let the master ask the Bird Masters. Maybe they know."


    "Well, what I care about isn''t the end of chaos. Since the Snake Spirit King wants to complete the downgrade, he must have considered the possible end of the chaos. What I''m curious about are the shadows I just saw."


    "Haven''t we talked about them last time?" one of the Evil Gods recalled. "The Shade Stone itself exists as a timer of the chaos. When it appears, it will cause a disorder in the time sequence. The shadows w


    r who cursed agreed. "But suppose the two are the same thing, we can restore the Ways-blending Energy to see if we can get the bloodline power of the main world," he continued.


    "Restore the Ways-blending Energy to the bloodline power..."


    "This idea is too crazy!"


    "It''s impossible!" the avatars disagreed again.


    "Idiots, how would you know if you don''t try? No one has ever mastered the complete Ways-blending Energy before!" the avatar cursed once more.


    "Good idea, but you have neglected one thing." The voice of the real Evil God echoed out in the hall. "The Bird Masters are from the main world, and they are born with its bloodline power. I have asked Shera to inquire about the shadows, and they have no idea why the shadows exist either."


    "If we want to see them clearly, we need power stronger than that of the main world. Perhaps we can continue to restore it after we get the bloodline power of the main world..." the avatar suggested. "In the end, all the power will be restored into one kind of energy!"


    "Wouldn''t that still be the Ways-blending Energy?" one avatar interrupted, bringing laughter from all the other avatars.


    However, the real Evil God was not amused. He had a chilling expression drawn on his face.


    Duran had told him about the history of the Four Spirits Sect, and also mentioned a world at a higher level¨Cthe Deep Space. This was the same as the avatar deduced.


    Restoring the Ways-blending Energy backward might be an option...


    "You." The real Evil God pointed to the avatar. "Come into the hall," he ordered with a firm voice.


    "What do you want me for?" the avatar asked in shock.


    "I''ll give you a reward."

 Chapter 4189 Entering The Jade Pure Realm

    The third Shade Stone appeared less than a month after the second one had appeared.


    The people in the Source World and the Pear Hill began to worry at this.


    There was only one possibility they could think of why the Shade Stones were appearing so frequently: the end of the chaotic era was near.


    But this round of chaotic era seemed to find itself in worse situations with every passing hour.


    In the past, at the end of a chaotic era, only one primitive land like the Source World existed and only one civilization ruled this primitive land. When the era ended, this ruling civilization would gather the power of the entire civilization to resist it.


    This didn''t mean that every era had a ruling civilization. It was also possible that there were anywhere between three and five superpowers that could also join hands to fight the coming of the end. In the face of the oncoming destruction of the chaos, all the past hatred between these superpowers was to no avail.


    In this chaotic era, not only had there been no ruling civilization, even the various super forces had fallen into a state of disunity.


    Even the Pear Hill, which usually attached the greatest importance to the Finale Way, had to worry about their own fate as they hid in Zen''s primitive land.


    At this point, no one had the time to think about the end of the chaos.


    About twenty days later, the fourth Shade Stone appeared, and another grain of sand went missing from the hourglass.


    Simultaneously, a bloody cocoon cracked open on the blood red sky of the primitive land, and Zen crawled out of it.


    "Is this blood cocoon the last skill to strengthen my physical body?" Zen asked.


    "For the time being, it is," the ancestry-level bloodline replied.


    "Then it''s time to set out to do what I have to," Zen said, his jaw set in determination.


    Zen''s figure flashed before falling down like a meteor. It wasn''t long before he landed on the jadeite platform of the Pear Hill.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven had, during this time, descended onto the jadeite platform several times. He had some news to give Zen, but every time he had come, Zen had been cultivating in seclusion. So he hadn''t usually stayed long and left quickly on discovering that Zen wasn''t present.


    Today, however, the Primeval Lord of Heaven got lucky with the chance to meet Zen, having waited here for a long time.


    "The Grandmaster of Heaven has come to the Night View Island three times," the Primeval Lord of Heaven said, going straight to the point.


    "What did he come there fo


    t King strolled among the pagoda mountains and pushed these marked mountains to the ground.


    When the Monkey Spirit King had brought down about fourteen pagoda mountains, the ground began to shake, followed by the violent clicking sound of what seemed to be a mechanical device.


    "Click, click, click, click..."


    All the mechanical devices under the ground clicked into place, activating a magic array in the process. A blue circle of light suddenly appeared at the center of the Myriad Pagoda Mountains, expanding quickly into a space channel.


    "This is the passage to the Jade Pure Realm," the Primeval Lord of Heaven said, excitement thrumming through his voice.


    The human heroes had, in the past, paid a huge price to find this passage, but had eventually failed.


    "In fact, there are several passages leading to the Jade Pure Realm. All of them are in different directions. The passage that the Monkey Spirit King has opened is the largest one," said the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord. The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord''s only remnant soul had also followed them this time.


    "I''ll go in first. You guys follow me," the Monkey Spirit King said, turning around to face the rest.


    He then leapt gently, the Monkey Masters on his shoulders, and was sucked into the passage the moment he touched it.


    Once the Monkey Masters had entered the passage, the Wing King unfurled his wings and flew towards it.


    "Whoosh..."


    The space channel was completely dark.


    It was more like a motionless space than a passageway.


    Everyone remained there, as if locked up in a dark world.


    They waited for a few minutes before the dark world suddenly lit up and a new world appeared before them.

 Chapter 4190 Caught Off Guard

    Every stage on the Other Shore exerted great pressure on those who entered. Most warriors would suffer serious discomfort when they reached a higher stage.


    Even Zen felt the pressure quite vividly when he came to a new stage.


    But after being in the stage for a long time, he would get used to the pressure and no longer felt it.


    Zen had imagined the pressure here would be unbearable, considering it was the core area of the highest stage of the Other Shore.


    But when he arrived, he was surprised to find he did not feel anything.


    What he saw before him was a vast, rolling grassland and a small lake in the distance. A breeze blew past and the water shimmered.


    This didn''t seem like the Other Shore but more like an ordinary world.


    Soon though, Zen discovered that something was not quite right.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven, the real Fuxi and the others beside him all became stiff, as if someone had cast a spell on them. The Monkey Spirit King and the Monkey Masters not far away were dead still too.


    "Primeval Lord of Heaven?


    Master Fuxi?


    What''s going on?"


    Zen''s face was flushed with astonishment and concern.


    It was impossible to freeze everyone, including the Monkey Masters and the Monkey Spirit King, by any sort of spatial means, no matter how powerful it was.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    Just then, black cracks began splitting in the distance, extending towards Zen from afar, crawling along like numerous reptiles


    and swallowing everything in their way. The lake and the grassland disappeared rapidly, in a seemingly impossible engulfment of the environment.


    "Be mindful, Zen. This is the Space Devouring Technique!" The voice of the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord rang out in Zen''s mind.


    "The Space Devouring Technique has trapped them all?" asked Zen disbelieving.


    "No, it''s you who have been trapped," revealed the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord. "What you see are all illusions, and the Space Devouring Technique will tear you and these illusions to pieces."


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    The black cracks surged closer and closer and had soon spread to the human heroes.


    It was just as the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord had said; the Monkey Spirit King, the Monkey Masters and the human heroes were in fact not real. The ground bene


    lderly Lord sighed in Zen''s mind.


    The Monkey Masters on the other side were faring much better than the human heroes.


    As Treacherous Beings, they were capable of withstanding this onslaught. Although the Space Devouring Technique had cut them to pieces as well, they could be restored in the blink of an eye.


    Meanwhile, the Monkey Spirit King stood motionless, his eyes focused dead ahead. No one knew what he was looking at.


    A few moments later, the awful scene of misery finally came to an end.


    Buzz!


    The shadow of Snake Goddess flickered, and the once blurry line slowly became clear, returning to her body.


    She had pushed her bloodline power to the limit to deal with the Space Devouring Technique. Her face was now deadly pale, and when she saw the blood stains on the ground, any color left in her face drained as well.


    Splash!


    Beside the Snake Goddess, a black and white Eight Diagrams disk rotated slowly. Fuxi''s figure soon emerged from it. He was calm as he faced the Space Devouring Technique, but noticing the miserable state of the human heroes caused his face to darken.


    Zhurong, Gonggong, and Eastern Emperor Taiyi then also recovered their forms.


    Da! Da!


    The emerald green fragments scattered all over the ground close by began moving. They continued shuffling and gathering together, forming into the Wing King, but much smaller in size.


    "Only a few survived..."


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven stepped out from a snow-white light, his demeanor gloomy and heartbroken.

 Chapter 4191 The Space Guiding Stone

    This time, the Snake Goddess, Fuxi, and the others in the chaos didn''t join Zen in his journey to the Jade Pure Realm.


    Including Zen himself, there were a total of forty humans.


    The second they stepped into the Jade Pure Realm, thirty three of them died on the spot. Only seven remained.


    Everyone was shocked, but they couldn''t say they were surprised.


    "Well... Is this one of the techniques of the Snake Spirit King?" the Snake Goddess asked sadly.


    "Yes, the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord said it was called the Space Devouring Technique," Zen answered in a low voice.


    Just then, the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord''s soul floated out from Zen''s head. "This is the theurgy of a Holy Item named the Space Guiding Stone," he explained. "The Snake Spirit King has been prepared."


    "Has the Snake Spirit King been hiding here all the time?" Fuxi asked, whipping his head alertly.


    The surrounding environment was as quiet as ever. No one could sense the auras of Treacherous Beings.


    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord shook his head. "He doesn''t even need to be here. With the Limited Omnipotent Stone, he monitors everything that goes on in the Jade Pure Realm, including our current conversation."


    "Is the Limited Omnipotent Stone really so powerful?" Fuxi''s eyes widened in disbelief.


    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord huffed, "I already mentioned this before we set out. You weren''t listening carefully!"


    He had found out about some of the Snake Spirit King''s methods through Elder Xue. In addition, he had been lurking in the Jade Pure Realm for so many years, so it was only natural he learned about some of the Snake Spirit King''s theurgies, but he didn''t know them all.


    "Before we had set out, I knew that this trip would be riddled with danger, but I didn''t expect that we would have to suffer such heavy losses," the Primeval Lord of Heaven said with a pained expression.


    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord was much calmer. "Since their souls are kept in the Civilization Artifact, they would be onlookers like me now."


    If the chaos was truly destroyed, or even downgraded, all the creatures in the chaos would be killed. The humans here had lived for a long time, so it didn''t really make any difference if they died sooner or later.


    Despite that fact, everyone still wallowed in despair. Just then, Eastern Emperor Taiyi noticed something stirring in the distance. "What''s going on over there?"


    When everyone turned to look, they


    upon arrival, most of them would drop dead.


    Zen silently approached the invisible wall and reached out his finger.


    As his finger approached the space wall, something strange happened. It should''ve touched the space wall, but he couldn''t feel anything. Stranger still was the fact that half of his finger seemed to squeeze into the space then abruptly disappear.


    When he withdrew his hand, it quickly returned to its original state.


    "I''m afraid it''s not going to be easy to break the space wall," the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord said as he watched Zen poke at the wall.


    As he was speaking, Zen had already launched himself right into the space wall, crashing into it. Then, his body seemed to distort, as though he was being squeezed along the edge of the wall. However, he felt no pain, nor was he injured in any way.


    "This distance is enough. Break the wall."


    Zen''s voice came from the edge of the wall.


    This wall built by the Space Guiding Stone was indeed very ingenious. Zen found that it had used most of the power in the space-time quadrant, but as the owner of the ancestry-level bloodline, he could still easily find a method to get around it.


    Zen suddenly twisted his body like a snake, and at the same time, the invisible space wall began to twist like the rippling water.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    Deafening sounds of glass being shattered rang, and the space wall twisted a few times before crumbling into countless pieces.


    The invisible barrier had disappeared, but the scenery in the distance did not change at all. But since it had taken them some time, the Monkey Spirit King was long gone by now.

 Chapter 4192 Disappearing

    The Jade Pure Realm was still peaceful, even though everyone was depressed.


    Most of them were dead, and their biggest supporter, the Monkey Spirit King, had escaped.


    What on earth was going on?


    "What should we do now? I''m afraid we can''t stand our ground against the Snake Spirit Sect without the help of the Monkey Spirit Sect," Gonggong said.


    "Should we leave the Jade Pure Realm first?" Zhurong asked.


    Some of them had thought of giving up.


    It was not their fault. The support of the Monkey Spirit Sect was a prerequisite if they wanted to take this action. Without it, there wouldn''t be any plan. It would be best for them to retreat first and then take a decision.


    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord said, "The exit of this passage is on the other side of the Jade Pure Realm. Now that the Snake Spirit King is exclusively targeting us, I don''t think he will let us go."


    "Then we can''t retreat," said the real Fuxi, looking straight ahead.


    "I don''t know what the Monkey Spirit King saw and why he had to run away. But he is huge, and we can find him by following the traces that he has left." The Snake Goddess had calmed down enough to think straight and find a solution.


    "The Monkey Spirit King is extraordinary but also very reckless. It looks like the Snake Spirit King will kill him soon enough." Eastern Emperor Taiyi sighed helplessly.


    "Let''s start looking for him," Zen said.


    Swoosh...


    The Wing King flapped his wings as he remained beside Zen.


    The seven people, including Zen, the Primeval Lord of Heaven, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, and the Snake Goddess, climbed on to the Wing King''s back. With a flash of his wings, he turned into a cyan shadow and shot into the air.


    Hundreds of miles into their journey, they found a number of low mountains and rivers. There were also a few Other Shore creatures that had been born there and that still lived there, but they were very docile. They didn''t have the slightest intention of attacking Zen and his companions when they spotted them making their way through the air.


    If the Other Shore Realm warriors were to be sent here, none of them would believe that this was the Jade Pure Realm.


    "There are footprints!"


    "These are the Monkey Spirit King''s footprints!"


    "Follow the footprints!"


    There were huge footprints on the ground. Only a huge creature like the Monkey Spirit King could leave such giant footprints. So the Wing


    uiding Stone could change the space of any area at will.


    It could easily create a large space sink, forming a huge footprint.


    To the Snake Spirit King, the scene was like a cat playing with a mouse.


    The previous Space Devouring Technique had also been released by the Snake Spirit King. He didn''t need weak opponents, and it was obvious that the weaker ones would be eliminated.


    Buzz, buzz, buzz...


    Every time the Space Guiding Stone flashed, a footprint would appear in front of Zen and his group. But they ignored them and continued to move in the established direction.


    "Are you no longer affected by the footprints? It''s not interesting anymore, so I will go ahead and kill a few more!"


    The blue light on the Space Guiding Stone began to flicker violently. A number of large blue space awls formed out of nowhere and shot towards the Wing King.


    According to the Snake Spirit King, he would torture this group of people and in the end, only one of them could survive.


    Swish, swish, swish...


    The space awls were too powerful for ordinary Eternal Realm warriors to face and deal with.


    The Wing King, feeling the power of the space awls, began to rapidly wave his wings and flew forward at an incredible speed. But he was still unable to escape the scope of the space awls.


    Puff, puff, puff...


    The space awls smashed everything that they enveloped.


    After all the space awls had shot out to hit everything, the Snake Spirit King consulted the Limited Omnipotent Stone again. What he saw there left him stunned.


    Zen and his group had disappeared in the Limited Omnipotent Stone.

 Chapter 4193 Deception

    The Snake Spirit Sect had the ten Holy Items to thank for their success in dissolving the other three sects in the chaos.


    Each Holy Item, after all, accorded exceptional power.


    The Evil Bead was far stronger than any Other Shore Tokens. The Space Guiding Stone could control space at will.


    The Limited Omnipotent Stone was even more powerful than the two others.


    With it, the wearer could see and know everything within a closed area.


    The Limited Omnipotent Stone was useless in the main world, but it could be used in the chaos and on the Other Shore.


    Only a few things could avoid the detection of the Limited Omnipotent Stone. The bubble was one of them.


    However, the Snake Spirit Sect had already destroyed the bubble of the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord. It would never reappear in the Jade Pure Realm again.


    Even if the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord tried to reactivate the bubble, the Snake Spirit King would now be able to detect it. The Limited Omnipotent Stone would allow him to see all, including the process of reactivating the bubble. That was why Dale could not shake off the Snake Spirit King, who had been able to track his return to the bubble last time.


    Presently, however, the Snake Spirit King was chafing at the disappearance of Zen and his companions.


    He was able to be an observer before, but he realized now that was no longer the case.


    He cursed under his breath.


    Crack!


    Clang!


    Boom!


    The Snake Spirit King unleashed the Space Guiding Stone''s power again.


    The ground sank where Zen and the others disappeared. The effect began to spread as the space in the area was squeezed.


    Stones turned into fine powder, then condensed into balls. They shrank until their properties were altered completely.


    Creatures living underground were mangled and crushed, ground into fine powder before they even knew what was happening.


    Cracks began to appear on the ground like a spider web, extending in all directions.


    Ten miles, a hundred miles, a thousand miles.


    Soon enough, everything within a thousand miles had collapsed, replaced by only a huge pit.


    A wise lizard at t


    to yours," the Wing King sighed.


    The Limited Omnipotent Stone and the Space Deception Method were theurgies that the Wing King couldn''t understand.


    "We are fighting against an almost invincible opponent. If we can''t even get rid of his monitoring, then we won''t stand a chance," the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord pointed out.


    "But you''ve planned for such a long time and finally have Zen. We''re already ahead on that alone," said Fuxi with a smile, optimistic as ever.


    Right now, they could only walk to where they needed to go, so progress was slow.


    Fortunately, the Space Deception Method was impervious not only to the powers of the Limited Omnipotent Stone, but also to all sorts of creatures on the Other Shore.


    The group soon came across a large race as they passed through a gray area covered in stones.


    The creatures of the race wore masks and carried huge bone weapons. They looked strong. Such creatures should not be underestimated in the Jade Pure Realm.


    Zen and the others started walking across their territory unseen. Although the creatures could sense strange auras, they couldn''t determine where they were coming from. They eventually just shrugged the feeling off.


    Fuxi had even accidentally bumped into one of the creatures and made him stagger. But seeing nothing there, the creature simply waved it off as nothing. Soon, Zen and his group had passed through without incident.

 Chapter 4194 The Space Channel

    Thump! Thump! Thump!


    The Monkey Spirit King''s speed never let up as he gave chase to Sewell on the northwest side of the Jade Pure Realm.


    The Monkey Spirit King could move at a surprising speed with the gargantuan size.


    Sewell was just right ahead, with the human heroes pierced on his back. Some had seen the Monkey Spirit King coming to save them and were already reaching out to him.


    The Monkey Spirit King remained loyal to those he trusted.


    These human beings had saved him. He definitely wouldn''t allow the Snake Masters to capture them. Not on his watch!


    Dong! Dong! Dong!


    The Monkey Spirit King''s footsteps were so heavy, and the surroundings vibrated visibly every time his feet landed on the ground.


    The Other Shore creatures in his path grew pale upon seeing him approach. They quickly got well out of the way. They wondered where this terrifying Treacherous Being came from. They had never heard of such a Treacherous Being before.


    "My king, just leap forward and get as close as you can. I''ll do the rest," Manuel, standing on the Monkey Spirit King''s shoulder, uttered.


    The Monkey Spirit King had been chasing Sewell for a while now, to no avail. He was starting to feel frustrated. He could have easily killed Sewell before with just one hand. He could have even beaten Cornelius in a fight.


    He took a few steps and leapt forward. This jump drew an arc reaching hundreds of thousands of feet high.


    Manuel launched himself onward while the Monkey Spirit King was in the air. Boosted by the Monkey Spirit King''s speed, Manuel now flew toward Sewell like an arrow.


    Manuel still bore a grudge against Sewell for breaking into the Night View Island and trying to steal away the Monkey Spirit King.


    There had been a huge gap between their strengths in the past. Manuel had been staying in the Night View Island for so many years and knew nothing about the outside, so Sewell easily tricked him. Manuel was raring for some payback.


    Swoosh!


    A bone stick appeared in Manuel''s hand. He spun it like a windmill and swung it at Sewell.


    But Sewell suddenly picked up speed, to Manuel''s surprise. Just moments later, Sewell was ou


    ck," Manuel cautioned urgently, trying to stop him.


    The other Monkey Masters, such as Tearrag, Hagar and Nereus, likewise glared at the channel with suspicion.


    Cornelius had caused so much trouble to the Monkey Spirit Sect, so they were convinced this space channel was nothing but a trap.


    The Monkey Spirit King hesitated.


    He was confident in his unparalleled strength, but he knew he was far inferior to Cornelius in intelligence. That was why he had chosen to cooperate with Zen and the other human beings. He just hadn''t expected that the Snake Spirit King would be able to separate them upon their arrival at the Jade Pure Realm.


    The Monkey Spirit King chose to be clear-headed and rational this time. He refused to step into the channel.


    However, visions suddenly appeared at the center of the space channel. They were the images of the monkey spirits in the Heavenly Square City not so long ago.


    "It''s Alston!"


    "Alston is still alive?"


    "Why are there so many monkey spirits in the Heavenly Square City?"


    The strength of Alston was a bit inferior to that of Hagar, and he was once ranked fourth in the Monkey Spirit Sect. He was a good friend to Manuel and Tearrag.


    But the next vision showed that the monkey spirits were executed, and that their coordinates were destroyed along with them.


    "NO!" Manuel roared.


    The Monkey Spirit King rushed toward the space channel without any hesitation at this moment.

 Chapter 4195 The Altar

    Entering the space channel was risky since nobody knew where it led to.


    Creatures from other races would have known that it was a trap and calmed down almost immediately.


    But the members of the Monkey Spirit Sect were impulsive.


    Manuel, Hagar, and the other Monkey Masters let anger get the best of them. They were determined to tear the Snake Masters into bits along with the Monkey Spirit King.


    The space channel was small and would only take one a few several steps to get through it. But the Monkey Spirit King had barely entered it when he felt like countless bugs were biting his skin.


    The Monkey Spirit King was a powerful Treacherous Being. Few things could hurt his body.


    He looked around, confused, but his face darkened as he realized what it was. "It''s the Void Dust!" he exclaimed.


    The space channel led to the outside of the main Pure Sky Platform. They realized that they were now in great danger.


    The sickening sizzle of burning flesh sounded through the channel.


    The Void Dust was eroding the Monkey Spirit King, Manuel, Tearrag, and Hagar.


    They were now a hundred miles from the main Pure Sky Platform, making it impossible for them to fly back.


    "Tearrag!" the Monkey Spirit King called out.


    Tearrag understood what the Monkey Spiritual King was trying to say. He was better at space theurgy than the others. So he opened his hands and two blue holes appeared in his palms. These holes that he had created were also space channels, but they were different from other space channels.


    The space channels had been inside Tearrag''s body for a long time. They were stable and could be summoned at any time. .


    Tearrag stretched out a hand, causing a blue hole to expand and transform into a huge space channel.


    He then turned around and stretched out his hand once again. The other hole appeared above the main Pure Sky Platform a hundred miles away from them.


    "My king! Let''s go inside!" Tearrage said.


    But by then, half of his head had disappeared, having been eroded by the Void Dust.


    The Monkey Spirit King endured the sharp pain as he dashed towards the hole alongside the Monkey Masters. But the closer he got to it, the farther backwards the hole moved from him.


    The Monkey Spirit King stared at Tearrag and said, "What''s this?"


    Tearrag could not speak, for half his head was gone.


    Out of options, he


    of alerting the Snake Spirit King?" Fuxi cast an angry stare towards the Primeval Lord of Heaven.


    "I think it would be better for us to be careful," the Snake Goddess said. "If we kill too many creatures on the Other Shore, it might alert the Snake Spirit King to our presence."


    Fuxi realized that what the Snake Goddess said made sense. He became more careful and tried to avoid the creatures on their way.


    They had traveled for about two thousand miles above the Quagmire of Ignorance before they were attacked by the winged, poisonous insects. The insects seemed to have an extraordinary sensibility because even though the Space Deception Method had caused the group to become invisible, the insects had still detected them.


    The horde of winged poisonous insects were fast, closely following the group. The moment Zhurong noticed that they were getting closer, he used the fire lotus and burned them to ashes.


    Half a day''s journey later, they finally crossed the Quagmire of Ignorance. They then spotted three towering mountains, an altar standing among them.


    It was just a three-storied altar, but it was only slightly shorter than the mountains that surrounded it.


    "Is that the altar we are looking for?" Zen asked.


    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord nodded in confirmation. His eyes were excited, but also held a hint of sadness.


    ''It has been years since I left this place and it''s only now that I am finally going to uncover its secret. There is just a soul left in me, but I am still glad, '' the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord thought, thrilled to return.

 Chapter 4196 The Door Opened

    This altar was huge and exquisite-looking.


    The outermost circle was paved with a layer of white jade. It was so white and pale that it looked like it was swimming in a layer of milk.


    The outer wall was inlaid with a layer of cyan gray stone bricks, the surfaces of which were engraved with multiple Sanskrit words.


    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord had deciphered many of these Sanskrit words that recorded the glorious deeds of the Four Spirits Sect.


    On getting close to the wall, Zen activated the core of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization and tried to decipher a few Sanskrit words. The information he learned was on the lines of what the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord had told him. It mainly pertained to the origin of the Four Spirits Sect.


    This altar had originally been built by Campbell and his fellows, so the fact that the Sanskrit words were here wasn''t completely out of the ordinary.


    They walked along the length of the altar for a distance before they spotted a staircase that led to the top floor.


    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord turned to look at the altar a few times, a strange expression on his face. "As far as I know, the Snake Spirit King attaches great importance to this place. He usually sends Treacherous Beings to guard it. But why is there no Treacherous Being guarding the altar today?"


    Zen looked around but shrugged and shook his head. "I don''t know. Let''s go up there first."


    Zen led the way as the group made their way up the stairs.


    The huge altar itself wasn''t anything magical. It only had a thousand stairs, and Zen and his companions could climb these in a matter of seconds.


    A smooth plane sat at the top of the altar, at the center of which was a square opening. Beside this were steps that extended into the altar.


    "Grand Supreme Elderly Lord, I''m confused," said Zen.


    "What is it?" the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord asked.


    "Does the Snake Spirit King want something in the altar?" Zen asked.


    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord thought for a moment before nodding and saying, "I think he is eager to enter the altar."


    According to the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord, it was very likely that Kincaid was locked in the altar.


    The Bird Spirit King, in the Four Spirits Sect, was kind enough to remain neutral. The Monkey Spirit King was powerful, but he was reckless. Only Kincaid and the human spirits we


    disk, in the middle of which was a small key hole.


    "This is the door of the altar," said the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord.


    "This door seems very simple, as if it can be opened with just a push!" Zen smiled.


    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord said, "Your strength is far greater than mine, but I don''t think you can open this door."


    Back in the day, the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord had also reached the door and tried all sorts of methods to open the door. He had failed.


    Zen would obviously not use brute force to open the door. He lifted his wrist gently, causing the Sumeru Space to begin to unfold. A bronze key appeared suddenly.


    He grabbed the key and inserted it into the metal disk.


    Crack!


    A voice sounded from the stone door.


    Buzz, buzz, buzz...


    The door was then pushed inward, a gust of cold wind blowing out and a layer of white frost instantly enveloping Zen.


    Zen was fine. The blood vitality in his body moved around from within, the white frost having disappeared. He looked inside to find a snake-shaped road made of ice, and countless white light dots floating on both sides of this road.


    "A huge Cold Prison!" Zen muttered, awed at this sight.


    Zen had seen a lot of Cold Prisons in the upper field of the Blooming Jade Stage. But they had been tiny compared to this one.


    The Cold Prison before him was different. Apart from the ice path in the middle, everything else was a part of it. If one didn''t look carefully at the dots of light, they would think that they were snowflakes dancing in the air. They couldn''t be more wrong.

 Chapter 4197 The Human Spirits

    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord, floating above Zen, stared blankly at the countless dots of light in front of them.


    "Are all these the creatures of the main world locked in this Cold Prison?" asked the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord.


    All he knew about the Cold Prison, and little else, was that it was the most frigid place there was.


    "That''s right," Zen replied with a nod.


    "Can you see their original appearances?" the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord asked again.


    "Yes, and so can you," Zen said with a smile.


    A ball of green light burst out from the Civilization Artifact of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization in the primitive land. A whirring sound began to hum within the core of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization in the Blooming Jade Stage.


    Buzz!


    The eyes of Zen and the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord now glowed with a green light.


    The core of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization could decipher the Cold Prison quickly.


    That was why it took only a moment for the original appearances of the countless light dots to become visible to Zen and the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord.


    "What a unique ability! It assessed the light dots and restored them just like that!" the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord exclaimed in awe. His eyes widened, however, when he realized what he was now looking at. "Are these human spirits?" he sputtered out.


    Zen nodded.


    It was almost impossible to distinguish between human spirits and human race from appearance alone. However, since the seventy-seventh chaotic era, only the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord had set foot in the Jade Pure Realm, so he knew it was impossible for any other human to be here.


    These human spirits must have been in the Cold Prison for many years.


    They were wrapped in the same golden armors and lay side by side, motionless on the ground.


    "I''m afraid these human spirits may be dead," the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord said gingerly.


    "I don''t think so." Zen shook his head. "I know of a giant who survived the Cold Prison in the upper ice field of the Blooming Jade Stage, and his strength was far inferior to that of human spirits."


    The giant Pompe


    "I shall go further on and have a look."


    Zen exited the Cold Prison and moved along the snake-shaped road.


    There were golden-armored human spirits lying on both sides of the snake-shaped road along the first thousand feet or so. From that point on, the human spirits lying on the ground wore cyan armors.


    It would seem those in the cyan armors were stronger than those in the golden ones.


    At some point even further on, the human spirits, beautiful women among them, started sporting a variety of luxury clothes instead of armors. Zen went inside the Cold Prison to check again. Indeed, no souls remained either in the men or the women.


    Zen continued on along the meandering road.


    The road grew wider and wider until it diverged into three paths. Where the left and right paths ended were visible from this distance. But the middle path was obscured by a gate of carved ice.


    Zen took the left path.


    At the end was a burly man seated on an ice throne.


    He seemed familiar, but Zen couldn''t remember where he had seen him before.


    Zen walked back to the crossroad and took the right path this time. At the end was a woman, again seated on an ice throne.


    The woman looked very young. She sat sideways on the throne, her legs dangling stylishly from the armrest.


    When Zen had gotten close enough to see the woman''s face, however, his eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Dorothy?!" he blurted out.

 Chapter 4198 A Worthwhile Trip

    Despite the woman having her eyes closed, she looked just like Dorothy.


    But the ornaments she wore in her hair, the expression on her face, and the aura she emitted, were completely different from Dorothy''s.


    "Who is Dorothy?" the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord asked curiously.


    Zen told him about Dorothy''s origin and how she had suddenly disappeared.


    Once he had heard the story, the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord thought for a while. "In that case, I don''t think it''s a coincidence," he said, still thoughtful.


    It wasn''t rare for two women in the world to have the same appearance. The key point was that Dorothy''s origin was mysterious, and she might have something to do with the woman on the throne.


    Unfortunately, Dorothy had been missing for a while now, and without her presence, it was difficult to confirm the connection between the two.


    Once he retreated from the diversion, Zen returned to the junction of the three roads and chose to enter the ice gate in the middle.


    When Zen came into contact with the ice gate, he felt his hands grow heavy.


    "This door is so heavy!" he exclaimed.


    But then, Elizabeth''s words about the Cold Prisons came to mind.


    Even after pouring the water from a sea into a Cold Prison, one could only get a thumb-sized piece of ice.


    No one knew how much water had been used to condense this ice gate.


    However, Zen''s strength was no longer what it used to be. He had barely put his hands on the gate, when the power of his arms suddenly burst out.


    A powerful aura surged around Zen''s body, the shock waves of which were destructive. They left whip-like marks on the ground surrounding him.


    "Open!"


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    The ice gate scraped the ground before a fist-sized crack appeared on it.


    Zen was about to increase his strength to push the door, when a hand reached out from the crack and pressed to the side of the ice gate. The door swung open slowly.


    A hunchbacked old man appeared in the doorway. He had one eye, and his lifeless-looking skin was deathly gray.


    Zen instinctively took two steps backwards. On one hand, he was surprised that there was a living person inside. On the other hand, the old man had opened the gate so effortlessly, which indicated his great strength.


    The old man then glanced at Zen, turned around to go back inside.


    "Sir!" Zen shouted before the old man could disappear.


    The old man turned a deaf ear to him.


    Behind the ice gate was an open, circular ice hall, within which were many bodies scattered e


    open it, he should have been the first person to enter it.


    But why had the Snake Spirit King been able to enter this place before him?


    Zen related what he had heard to the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord, who was also lost in thought.


    The old man''s unintentional words had created a strange situation for them.


    After a long while, the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord said, "What if the Snake Spirit King had long since known of this key''s existence?"


    "You mean he opened the door of the altar with the key?" Zen said, baffled.


    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord nodded before saying, "Yes. If that''s the case, then the Snake Spirit King must want to get something from the Human Spirit King. But not only did he not get it, he was even killed inside when he was in the form of a Treacherous Being!"


    "And the Snake Spirit King then secretly put the key back in the Soul City?" Zen said contemplatively. "This does not make sense. The Snake Spirit King couldn''t have been so confident about my strength!" he said.


    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord fell silent for a long while before he seemed to figure it out. "The Snake Spirit King''s confidence in you is not because of your strength, but because of your identity."


    "My identity? What identity?" Zen asked suspiciously. He had thought of the ancestry-level bloodline, but even if the Snake Spirit King had superb foresight, it was impossible for him to have predicted that Zen would definitely absorb the ancestry-level bloodline.


    "Your identity as a human," said the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord.


    Kincaid might kill people of other races, or any Treacherous Beings that entered the place. But he might not kill a human.

 Chapter 4199 The Irregular Sword

    Whatever the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord was theorizing was mere speculation. However, the conclusions they were drawing from the limited clues they had found seemed reasonable enough.


    "What have we got to lose? We have to take a risk and try, right?" Zen smiled.


    The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord nodded. He agreed with Zen. "We have no other choice."


    Their adventure had begun the moment they had stepped foot in the Jade Pure Realm. They had no way back and the only way out was through. Now, they simply had to take this final step.


    "Let us see just how angry the Human Spirit King will be," Zen remarked, walking up to the door and pushing it open.


    The stooped old man suddenly raised his head. There was a hint of hope gleaming in his eyes.


    Zen wasn''t aware of one very important thing. The old man was not yet awake and was still trapped in the Treacherous Being''s consciousness sea. However, he could still feel, hear, and react to the outside world.


    In fact, he had almost screamed out what he had just said!


    The old man also hoped to wake up. He cleaned up the bodies of human spirits only because they were the members of his sect. This was just a secondary task. His greatest obsession, however, was the Human Spirit King, Kincaid.


    If Kincaid could wake up, so could he.


    As soon as Zen pushed the door open, an invisible hand grabbed him and dragged him inside.


    Although this force was powerful, it was still possible for Zen to quite easily resist it. However, he allowed himself to be dragged in.


    To his immense surprise, the other side of the door was not an ice palace. It was an open stone house. But that wasn''t the most surprising part.


    "Every single stone in this house... is a Holy Stone!"


    Zen gasped. As soon as he had come in, he had felt the aura of the Holy Stones.


    "That''s not everything. These are the highest quality of Holy Stones. I now understand why the Snake Spirit King died here," the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord also piped in.


    Fighting in such an environment would be highly disadvantageous for the Snake Spirit King.


    "What is that?"


    Zen was looking straight ahead.


    Right in the center of the stone house, a burly man was floating mid-air.


    He was wearing a heavy black armor, and his entire body, including his face, was covered by it. They couldn''t guess what material the armor was made of, and it emitted a highly strong deterrent force. Even approaching the man would take effort.


    The most eye-catching thing about him was the heavy sword that was beside him.


    It was ten feet long and was almost as tall as the man himself. There was a faint red light flashing on the irregularly shaped blade.


    Was this the Human Spirit King, Kincaid?


    Zen carefully observed the


    a circle as the punch landed right on target.


    The ancestry-level bloodline not only possessed unparalleled abilities, but also strengthened Zen''s body a few times once it had bonded with him. Now, Zen''s body was totally different from what it had been some time ago. He was much more powerful and a single punch was powerful enough to shake the fabric of space.


    After the punch had landed, Zen''s figure flashed once again. He arrived at a new position, and threw another punch in the air.


    Boom!


    The sword blade was hit again.


    In terms of mastery over space and speed, Zen had the upper hand.


    Dong, dong, dong...


    The heavy sword received several blows again and again, as Zen landed several punches on it within a span of a few seconds.


    Once the sword was hit by dozens of punches, a crack finally appeared on its surface.


    "Break it!"


    Now it was Zen who was chasing after the heavy sword and attacking it rapidly!


    However, at that moment, a bright flash of a green light burst out from the crack, and the strong life energy that was emanating from within quickly repaired the crack.


    "The life quadrant. The thirty-sixth ability, the fortieth..."


    The ancestry-level bloodline once again analyzed the abilities which were being used to repair the sword.


    "This sword is so remarkable. Where did it come from?"


    Zen was a little surprised now. A sword that actually had the abilities of several quadrants at the same time and could even repair itself when required!


    "It''s the Life Iron..."


    "It comes from the Deep Space.


    You can think of it as a living being, as much as the man in front of you."


    The voice of the ancestry-level bloodline came from Zen''s inner world.


    Although it had forgotten a lot of important things, some of its memories from the Deep Space were still well preserved.

 Chapter 4200 The Guardians

    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    The sound of his fist smashing on the heavy irregular sword echoed around the stone hall.


    Zen couldn''t remember how many punches he had thrown by now. Every time the sword broke, it would just quickly repair itself.


    Zen felt exhausted.


    Fortunately, the ancestry-level bloodline was also repairing his body. A few green lightning bolts flashed across the blood-colored sky in his inner world and poured into his body, dispelling the fatigue.


    "Can''t we just get this over with?" Zen was getting impatient. "Can''t you just analyze the structure of the Life Iron so I can attack its weakness?"


    After all, Zen was able to counterattack more efficiently when he knew his opponents'' energy structures.


    Those calibrated counterattacks had always proven effective, allowing him to beat the likes of Othniel, Claire and the Grandmaster of Heaven.


    Shouldn''t he be using the same tactic on the Life Iron now?


    "The Life Iron has a weakness, but it''s from the Stellar World, and my power can''t handle it so well after it was downgraded," the ancestry-level bloodline admitted.


    The omnipotent ancestry-level bloodline had finally met its match.


    "So we have no choice but to exhaust its energy?" Zen asked.


    "That''s right. Infinite power against a limited one. It will definitely be defeated that way," the ancestry-level bloodline said.


    "All right then!"


    Zen steeled himself then continued throwing out stronger punches, expending more power and moving faster.


    As this went on, a pair of starry eyes observed Zen from inside the black armor.


    The Human Spirit King Kincaid was still in an unconscious state, but like the old man outside, he also had a vague sense of the outside world.


    Kincaid was a leader of the Four Spirits Sect.


    He was not as smart as Cornelius, nor as fast as Sheehan, nor as strong as Orlando.


    But his power was the most balanced.


    He had all the characteristics of the other three kings.


    He had ended up in the chaos after a miscalculation when the Snake Spirit King had come to kill him, but he held on to his broken body and set a death trap in this place before his life force ran out.


    The Sn


    afraid to die?" Zhurong sniped, glaring at the Primeval Lord of Heaven.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven shook his head slightly. "Don''t act recklessly. Wait for the right moment."


    Time passed slowly.


    More and more Treacherous Beings arrived at the mountain. Some of the Snake Masters were itching to raid the altar, but they didn''t dare to make a move before the Snake Spirit King gave the order.


    Finally, a huge figure emerged from the side of the mountain.


    The human heroes couldn''t help but feel unnerved at the sight of the Snake Spirit King, even if they had been preparing to face him.


    "Here he is. Now''s the time to show ourselves," the Primeval Lord of Heaven said.


    They then neutralized the Space Deception Method and made themselves visible to the Treacherous Beings.


    But the Snake Spirit King just continued to slither slowly to the altar with no reaction, as if their sudden appearance didn''t matter at all to him.


    Sewell, who was beside him, sneered at the heroes, "What are you doing? Are you guarding the altar? How funny!"


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven spoke calmly, "We are not alone."


    Then he waved his hand gently.


    Many coordinates were thrown out.


    The human spirits of the Black House, the Joy House and the Broad House came back to life, one after another.


    Sewell spotted Alphonse, Hamilton and the others and began to laugh. "It hadn''t been easy for you to escape, but you return to die. Fools!"

 Chapter 4201 Pin Down

    The snake spirits were surprised when they found the human spirits escaped, but they weren''t too concerned.


    In fact, even if they were busy fighting the Bird Spirit Sect, the Snake Spirit Sect could easily take these human spirits back by dispatching some snake spirits in their direction.


    It didn''t take long before the Limited Omnipotent Stone mapped out the escape route of the human spirits.


    Even though the human spirits of the Black House, the Joy House and the Broad House had appeared again, the members of the Snake Spirit Sect barely gave a damn.


    They knew that the human spirits could not change anything.


    "Leave these human spirits to me," Balfour hissed as he emerged from the Snake Spirit King''s other side.


    Balfour had been harboring some bitterness at the fact that Gianni had cheated him. At the time, if Sewell hadn''t stopped him, he would''ve taken his people to find and exterminate these human spirits once and for all.


    "Go ahead," Sewell agreed readily.


    From the distance, the Primeval Lord of Heaven stared down the approaching Snake Spirit King, determination surging within him. He suddenly raised his head to look upward. Large birds filled the skies; they were the Bird Masters of the Bird Spirit Sect.


    Sewell looked behind him. "The Bird Spirit Sect is also here," he reported.


    "They are useless."


    The Snake Spirit King, who had been silently moving forward, finally spoke.


    He had already known that the Bird Spirit Sect and the Monkey Spirit Sect had joined forces. Additionally, he was also aware that the Bird Spirit King was not going to participate in this battle.


    Even if the Bird Spirit King did come, the Snake Spirit King was not afraid. Since the Bird Spirit King hadn''t woken up yet, he could only fight by instinct. Moreover, his strength paled in comparison to the Snake Spirit King''s, which had been proven quite recently.


    Without hesitation, the Snake Spirit King continued to approach the Primeval Lord of Heaven.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven shook his other hand, throwing out more and more coordinates.


    Buzz!


    Those coordinates flashed with a burst of golden light, and the monkey spirits emerged from them, one by one.


    Out came Tearrag, Hagar, Nereus, Manuel...


    With every appearance of a monkey spirit, the Snake Masters'' expressions darkened. When the Monkey Spirit King finally came out, the Snake Masters'' faces turned stormy, and even the Snake Spirit King stopped in his tracks.


    The thought that the Monkey


    ligible.


    "You can think that we''re insignificant, but we''re not stupid. We''re as smart as human spirits¡ª"


    Before Eastern Emperor Taiyi could even finish his words, the Snake Spirit King flicked his tail towards him. Even though it was supposedly pinned down, it moved so fast that Eastern Emperor Taiyi just saw a blur. With a muffled sound, his body instantly turned into a blood mist upon impact.


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi might''ve been dead now, but his golden sword didn''t disappear.


    However, the Snake Spirit King had no time to deal with this needle, as the Monkey Spirit King had suddenly appeared in front of him.


    "Move!"


    the Snake Spirit King said.


    Just as he was about to move away like what he had done just now, he suddenly felt something was wrong with his body.


    It felt like he was being grabbed by something.


    He shot a quick glance backward to investigate. What he found stunned him.


    That small golden sword had pinned his tail down!


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    Just then, Orlando landed some heavy punches on the Snake Spirit King''s head.


    With each punch, the mountain that the Snake Spirit King had coiled around collapsed a little. After three or four punches, the mountain had been razed to the ground, and a greater part of the Snake Spirit King''s body sank in the ground.


    At this point, the Snake Spirit King was still trying desperately to find a way to avoid Orlando''s attacks.


    However, the golden sword was displaying an extremely strange power, firmly nailing him to the spot.


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi might''ve sacrificed his life, but the golden sword he used in his final moments seemed to mock the Snake Spirit King.

 Chapter 4202 A Round

    As soon as Zen entered the altar, the Primeval Lord of Heaven and the others also came up with their own plan. There had to be a way for them to contribute to this battle.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven and his companions were weaker than the bird spirits, the monkey spirits, and the human spirits. It would be hard for them to last long in a fight like this.


    Unlike the Treacherous Beings, they didn''t have tough bodies and they couldn''t come back to life through coordinates. They were severely disadvantaged.


    Even the blood power they inherited was not enough for them to confront powerful beings like the Snake Spirit King. It seemed as though the only thing they could do there was to throw the coordinates.


    However, the human heroes wouldn''t give up that easily.


    They began to discuss with each other. With the right combination of techniques, maybe they would have something to offer.


    Their weakness was actually their biggest advantage. They were so weak that the bird spirits, the monkey spirits, and the human spirits wouldn''t pay any attention to them.


    "As far as I know, the Monkey Spirit King is impulsive and vengeful. Therefore, I think he will be the first one to make a move," the Snake Goddess surmised.


    "What does it matter? The Monkey Spirit King and the Snake Spirit King both are too strong. It will be impossible for us to interfere in their battle," Zhurong said skeptically.


    Gonggong added, "Yes, I agree with you. If we interfere, we will only get ourselves killed."


    "How about we attack the Snake Spirit King directly?" the Primeval Lord of Heaven suddenly suggested.


    "Have you completely lost your mind? How are we even going to do that?" Even the hot-tempered Zhurong showed a frightened look on his face. "At the very least, we have to come up with a more practical plan," he added.


    ''We are no match for the Snake Spirit King even if we work together, '' Zhurong thought to himself. He didn''t want to admit it out loud because his companions would just feel hopeless.


    However, Fuxi revealed a mischievous grin. "Hmm, do you think we can eliminate him by merely using reasonable methods?" he asked playfully.


    Zhurong was taken aback and didn''t know how to reply.


    "Don''t get me wrong. I''m not saying that we''re going to deal with the Snake Spirit King on our own. I mean we can team up with the Monkey Spirit King and attack the Snake Spirit King together," the Primeval Lord of Heaven emphasized.


    As a matter of fact, the Monkey Spirit King was stronger than the Snake Spirit King in terms of brute strength. However, the Snake Spirit King was cunning and had Holy Items at his disposal. Thus, it was possible that the Monkey Spirit King wouldn''t be able to touch him even after a hundred rounds.


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi had remained silent the whole time. But at this point, he opened his mouth to make a suggestion. "I can immobilize anything with my sword," he chimed in.


    "Are you sure it will work on the Snake Spirit King? If so, then it probably will come in handy," the Snake Goddess said.


    "In theory, it will work as long as my sword doesn''t break," Eastern Emperor Taiyi replied confidently.


    After Eastern Emperor


    nt, the Monkey Spirit King gained the upper hand.


    Alphonse, Hamilton, and the other human spirits were also dumbfounded by what they just witnessed.


    Despite that, Alphonse was clever. He knew that the reason why the Snake Spirit King was suddenly at a serious disadvantage was because of the golden sword. It had trapped him and made him immobile.


    "Clearly, I underestimated these humans. Not only did they take advantage of their bloodline powers, but they also saw through Snake Spirit King''s mind," Alphonse murmured as he glanced at the Primeval Lord of Heaven, the Snake Goddess, and other humans who were watching not far away from the battlefield.


    Sewell and Balfour were more stunned than anyone else. They stood there rooted to the ground. Their faces showed utter confusion at what just happened.


    Boom! Boom! Boom! They heard more explosions going off one after another.


    The Snake Spirit King''s body was in complete shambles.


    At this point, it would be impossible for him to escape. He couldn''t even block the Monkey Spirit King''s powerful attacks. As the Light of Annihilation eroded the heavily injured Snake Spirit King, his body broke into pieces and slowly began to dissipate.


    Everyone who was watching felt like the battle between the two kings had lasted for a long time. But in fact, only a minute had passed.


    When two top-level masters engaged in a fight, the one who made a simple mistake would lose in an instant.


    The Monkey Spirit King stopped attacking as the crumbling remains of the Snake Spirit King under his feet vanished into thin air.


    All the Snake Masters who had been eager to fight immediately fell silent.


    The Snake Spirit King that they pledged their loyalty to was killed in such a short period of time. Because of that, they didn''t see any point in continuing the battle.


    The Monkey Spirit King stomped on the ground with one foot, and the ground caved in and formed a big crater.


    His eyes blazed as he was still full of fighting spirit. "This is boring. Cornelius was still so weak. Is there anyone else who can be my match?" the Monkey Spirit King demanded.

 Chapter 4203 The Death Sword (Part One)

    "Long live King Orlando!"


    "Long live King Orlando!"


    "Long live King Orlando!"


    Witnessing their king achieve an undisputed victory, the Monkey Masters jumped and cheered as they were consumed with pride gushing from every fiber of their beings.


    Overwhelmed with their sense of achievement, Manuel, Tearrag, and Hagar beat on their chests as hard as they could in unison, making rhythmic sounds like drums.


    The Snake Goddess glanced in the direction of the overly excited Monkey Masters and shook her head in disappointment.


    Even though they were frighteningly powerful, the Monkey Masters were almost mindless. What was there to be so enthusiastic about?


    How could they celebrate like this? It could not be counted as a victory unless they were successful in removing the Snake Spirit King''s coordinates.


    A while ago, before Eastern Emperor Taiyi decided to sacrifice his life, he asked, "Let''s suppose our surprise attack worked, and we managed to kill the Snake Spirit King with the Monkey Spirit King''s power. What''s next for us? What would be our next step?"


    "We''ll just have to keep fighting. I''m certain. He will revive again at his coordinates," the Snake Goddess replied with confidence.


    "If that''s how it is, won''t my sacrifice be in vain?" Eastern Emperor Taiyi asked as he furrowed his brows.


    At his innocent question, the Snake Goddess let out a light chuckle before glancing back at him. "If we''re all destined to die anyway, your sacrifice would be inevitable. You''re only embracing your death earlier than the rest of us so you could buy Zen some more time."


    Agreeing to her statement, the Primeval Lord of Heaven gave a slight nod and spoke, "Once the Snake Spirit King dies, the remaining Snake Masters and Treacherous Beings will be utterly panicked. Once that happens, we will try to kill as many of them as we can. Then, both them and the Snake Spirit King will take a while to gather together again after they ar


    ce around them as they clashed against each other along with a vivid contrast of the bloody mist erupting from the bodies of the dead and the wounded.


    The mountains that surrounded the altar collapsed helplessly, unable to withstand the overwhelming energy colliding and tampering with the atmosphere, the earth cracked wide open after having endured several jolts of exploding pressure. The energy waves that were produced from both sides created wild surges of energy like those of seawater.


    Rays of Light of Annihilation swept across the ground, disposing of the Treacherous Beings in their path like insignificant obstructions.


    Although Sewell ordered the snake spirits to retreat ahead of time, they failed to follow through with his instructions unscathed.


    Under the relentless efforts of their enemies to chase them down to their deaths, about seventy percent of the snake spirits were wiped out.


    No matter how powerful or experienced Sewell was, he was unable to escape from the clutches of the Monkey Spirit King. Just as he attempted to flee into the earth, the mighty Monkey Spirit King raised his feet and stomped hard on the ground, cracking it wide open from the sheer force, leaving Sewell nowhere to go. Ambushed and surrounded from all sides, Sewell was pulled out mercilessly.

 Chapter 4204 The Death Sword (Part Two)

    As the Monkey Spirit King glared at Sewell, he remembered what this cunning Snake Master had done to him in the Night View Island. After several painful, but unsuccessful attempts to wriggle his way out, Sewell was forcefully kneaded into a ball by the Monkey Spirit King along with several Holy Stones. As the Holy Stones lit up and erupted with Light of Annihilation, Sewell''s body was reduced to ashes as he burned to death under the overwhelming heat...


    Meanwhile, inside the stone hall, the battle between Zen and the irregular heavy sword continued on.


    He had smashed the irregular heavy sword so many times that he lost count. As he continued his relentless attacks, he began to notice that the irregular heavy sword was taking longer intervals to recover compared to before.


    When Zen smashed it once more, the green light that shone through the sword started to weaken as it got dimmer. Simultaneously, it took even longer to regenerate itself back to its complete form.


    Crack!


    This time, while the irregular heavy sword was in the middle of repairing itself, it was struck by Zen''s fist again.


    Before the crack could completely recover itself, it began to expand further as it spread across the sword.


    Taking advantage of its vulnerability from having endured several blows, Zen threw in countless punches at the damaged sword. As a result, many cracks extended from the hilt of the sword before it finally gave in and broke into dozens of pieces.


    Click, click, click...


    As the irregular pieces fell to the ground, they scattered in all directions.


    "I finally finished it..."


    Zen let out a sigh of relief before he turned to walk straight towards the black armor afte


    is ears. "This sword has changed all the rules. This is another world, a world with new rules."


    "Is that so... A world with different rules..." Zen exclaimed in an awestruck voice as though he was hypnotized by what he witnessed.


    "You are correct..."


    Kincaid replied nonchalantly from inside the black armor.


    Unable to control himself, he clenched the heavy sword securely in his grip and charged towards Zen.


    "Damn. What an incredible speed..."


    Zen''s eyes widened subconsciously as he watched Kincaid close in on him.


    Before he could have a moment to dodge, Zen was struck hard with the heavy sword.


    Bang!


    Zen was thrown off into the air as though he were weightless, and his body flew past countless cubes from the impact.


    If he were still in the stone hall, his trajectory would have been interrupted after getting knocked into a wall at a distance of several hundred feet.


    But now, he had been falling backward in the space for dozens of miles, unable to stop himself as the path was endless, and there was no obstruction in the way to break his fall. This was a world of infinite length and width.

 Chapter 4205 Modification And Adaptation

    "Zen, are you okay? Can you hear me?" The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord was obviously worried.


    It didn''t matter how powerful Zen''s body was. He still couldn''t quite compare to the Treacherous Beings. He must have suffered a great deal after being hit by the irregular heavy sword.


    "Yes, I''m fine. Don''t worry about me," responded Zen. He winced just as he finished saying this.


    The problem was not the heavy sword itself, but this world. The rules in this place were completely modified.


    Nevertheless, he was very familiar with the modification of rules.


    The universe, the divine land, the Source World, and the Other Shore all had different sets of rules. They were set when these places were just constructed. But with enough strength, it would be possible for someone to alter them.


    It was the simplest to modify the rules of the inner world. For instance, it was fairly easy for Zen to change the rules in his primitive land.


    There was no doubt that the movements of the irregular heavy sword were extraordinarily fast. But with his theurgy, he definitely could have avoided it.


    Unfortunately, the rules of this boundless world had been changed. Therefore, his theurgy was totally useless. The space theurgy he previously demonstrated was rendered ineffective.


    Swish! All of a sudden, he heard a strange rushing sound.


    The heavy armor that disappeared in the darkness reappeared unexpectedly. It reached out and made a gentle grabbing motion. At once, the irregular heavy sword returned to its hand.


    Afterward, there was a buzzing sound coming from where the heavy armor was.


    Buzz! From a distance, Zen saw peculiar lights shining one after another.


    The buzzing sound was apparently coming from those strange lights.


    Upon closer inspection, those lights were actually coming from the runes embedded on the surface of the black armor. They were lighting up consequently.


    Earlier, the heavy armor seemed lifeless and impassive. After the runes lit up, it suddenly became full of vitality.


    When Zen confronted the armor a while ago, he merely treated it as a dead thing, although he could clearly sense the unpleasant aura of the Treacherous Being. He thought that his real opponent here was the irregular heavy sword.


    Now, it seemed as though the irregular heavy sword had summoned the black armor. Slowly, it was coming to life.


    Soon enough, two blood-red dots lit up within the armor''s helmet. It gave the black armor a more menacing aura.


    "What in the world..."


    There was an unusually grave expression upon Zen''s handsome face.


    This time, the black armor felt like a living person to him. Maybe it was even an exceptional top master.


    It radiated with a strong aura of life and soul. Meanwhile, the aura of the Treacherous Being still existed within the armor. He


    ody, Kincaid was deep in thought. He started to process what he just witnessed.


    The Death Sword was able to make the basic rules.


    All living beings in this space had to follow the basic rules in order to survive.


    No one could ever go against the rules.


    However, Zen was still alive after battling with the sword for such a long time!


    Where on earth did he come from? How strong was he?


    This was completely beyond Kincaid''s understanding. He couldn''t quite figure out why.


    ''I see. You can adapt to the rules that have already been changed by the Death Sword twice now. You really are as talented as I was in the past. But if it continuously changes the basic rules, you are going to be in grave danger, '' he thought to himself.


    Everyone''s ability was limited and fixed. Perhaps Zen''s bloodline power could withstand the twice revised basic rules purely by luck and coincidence. But if the Death Sword frequently adjusted the basic rules, in the end, he would still be killed.


    Kincaid wanted to warn Zen about this. Unfortunately, he couldn''t.


    Just like Kincaid predicted, the irregular heavy sword modified the basic rules once more. Zen''s body suddenly became awfully heavy. It seemed like it was made of lead. Moreover, the weight of all the materials in this world increased ten thousand times over.


    If Zen didn''t figure out the right technique, he would suffer another blow like last time.


    Fortunately, the ancestry-level bloodline had also adapted. Whenever any of the basic rules were changed, it would use a new ability to help Zen adjust.


    When the rules were altered for the third time, it only took Zen a brief moment to readjust his perception.


    The black armor didn''t quite expect that Zen would manage to adapt in such a short span of time. Nonetheless, it carried on with its assault.


    But this time, Zen was ready to fight back.

 Chapter 4206 Guard With All Your Might

    When the black heavy armor came at him again wielding the heavy sword, Zen''s initially sluggish body suddenly was able to move nimbly.


    As he bended down slightly, the irregular heavy sword swept past his shoulder, missing him by an inch.


    He took this as an opportunity to get close to the black armor. Raising his hand, he cried out, "Destructive power, three blows!"


    In the blood red sky of the primitive land, nine kinds of power of the destruction quadrant began to merge with each other, turning into three kinds of power.


    The three kinds of power gathered in Zen''s palm and he slapped the chest plate of the black armor, leaving a clear palm print.


    Bang, bang, bang!


    The palm print then exploded three times in a row.


    The noise from the explosions was not too loud, and the power contained in the slaps wasn''t formidable.


    But its destructive power was limited to the palm print on the black armor''s chest, meaning all the force was concentrated solely on that one spot alone.


    Crack, crack, crack!


    The black armor began to crack. On the third crack, the right side of the armor exploded to reveal the body of Treacherous Being!


    The irregular heavy sword obviously hadn''t expected that Zen would be able to launch a counterattack so smoothly. The heavy sword changed the rules again, making everything in the space become light, and it simultaneously stabbed at Zen''s head with great momentum.


    However, the moment the heavy sword changed the rules, Zen was able to adapt instantly. Gently twisting his body like a lithe snake, he narrowly avoided the thrust of the sword blade. In one swift motion, Zen reached out and pressed his palm against the blade of the irregular heavy sword.


    As soon as Zen touched it, his palm print was accurately imprinted on the blade.


    Bang, bang, bang!


    Another three muffled sounds rang out.


    The surface of the irregular heavy sword, which had been restored to its original shape previously, began to crack once more.


    "Wait, what..."


    Even though Kincaid was bound inside the Treacherous Being body, he could still feel the pain of the irregular heavy sword.


    Even when facing the Death Sword, not only was Zen able to adapt to its rules quickly, but he was even able to severely damage the sword!


    He really had a chance at winning!


    This was the first time such a thought had crossed Kincaid''s mind.


    This time, he no longer felt ridiculous. Instead, he became very excited.


    He had not yet awakened,


    the war wasn''t over. In fact, it had just begun.


    "Let''s find out the Snake Spirit King''s coordinates," suggested Manuel.


    "If we destroy his coordinates, then the Snake Spirit King won''t come back to life..." Hagar agreed with a nod.


    The Snake Goddess glanced at the Monkey Masters almost disdainfully. ''These brainless creatures could only talk nonsense, '' she thought.


    "Since he has the Space Guiding Stone, it''d be difficult to find his coordinates," Lawler said, shaking his head.


    "Then, what are we supposed to do?" Manuel asked again, scratching his head.


    "Guard with all your might," the Snake Goddess suddenly cut in.


    "How long will we guard here?" asked Alphonse.


    In the prior battle, the ones who had made the greatest contributions were the human beings, especially Eastern Emperor Taiyi. Thanks to this, the human spirits and the bird spirits now looked up to them and were willing to listen to their opinions.


    "Guard," the Primeval Lord of Heaven said in a serious tone, "until Zen comes out."


    Hearing the Primeval Lord of Heaven''s words, Lawler countered unhappily, "Time is of the essence. We need to fight against the Snake Spirit King, not guard by all means!"


    "Can Zen really find our king?" Alphonse asked worriedly, ignoring Lawler''s outburst.


    Even though the humans had garnered some respect by now, the human spirits and the Bird Masters were not willing to place their hopes on Zen alone.


    Seeing that there were different opinions going around, the Monkey Spirit King touched the necklace of teeth on his chest and grinned. "I believe in that guy, and we can guard with all our might," he said.

 Chapter 4207 Integration

    Lawler, Duran, the other Bird Masters, Alphonse and the other human spirits were all raring to initiate the fight.


    It was, after all, better than doing nothing.


    They were bound to face the Treacherous Beings starting to come alive one after another anyway.


    But the Monkey Spirit King had the final say here.


    The Bird Masters and the human spirits couldn''t disobey his order.


    An hour had passed when they suddenly spotted a space fluctuation in the distance, rapidly coming nearer and nearer. Before long, it was already floating close to the altar. It was in the shape of a ball, enclosing something shining with a golden light.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven''s eyes widened in sudden recognition. "This is a set of coordinates!" he exclaimed.


    "The coordinates of the Snake Spirit King?"


    "The two golden crosses are huge. It must be his!"


    The sizes and coordinates of Treacherous Beings were directly proportional to each other.


    This was why the coordinates of the monkey spirits, such as Manuel and Tearrag, were far smaller than that of the Monkey Spirit King.


    The coordinates in the ball were almost the same size as the Snake Spirit King, so they were likely his.


    The Monkey Spirit King scoffed and strode forward. "I don''t know what you''re thinking, but you must have a death wish since you''re showing your coordinates to us."


    "No, wait!"


    the Snake Goddess said, wanting to stop the Monkey Spirit King.


    But he was bull-headed and intractable.


    He turned a deaf ear to the warning. He launched himself into the sky and tried to grab the ball.


    The ball continued to float in the air undisturbed.


    The Monkey Spirit King caught nothing.


    "Hiding in space, huh?"


    the Monkey Spirit King sneered. One of the wolf teeth flashed and began emitting a strong power of space.


    The Monkey Spirit King''s palm began to glow with the space power, making it look like he was wearing a blue crystal glove.


    He leapt up and tried to grab the ball again.


    He still got nothing.


    The ball was like a pock


    he thirteen kinds of bloodlines would usually not fuse with each other. At worst, they could even clash.


    However, the Monkey Spirit King could integrate them forcibly to obtain an unexpectedly destructive power. This was how he had once been able to kill thirteen ancient monsters of a powerful race with a single punch, shocking the entire main world.


    The Bold Conjecture House had tried to analyze the technique and recreate this power, but failed. Elder Xue had bitterly noted then that the Monkey Spirit King had simply lucked out and discovered the extremely powerful technique by accident.


    If anyone else had tried to integrate the bloodlines, they would have died.


    Now, the Monkey Spirit King meant to use the same method for twenty-two bloodlines.


    The bloodlines tangled in his body. One released the smell of fire. Another revealed the power of life. Another sent a thousand bolts of lightning crackling throughout his body. Even the space around him began to fluctuate.


    "What power is this?" The Snake Spirit King was utterly bewildered.


    "The power to kill you," the Monkey Spirit King said with a smirk.


    A ball of light bloomed from his body like a rapidly growing sun. The light soon devoured him, the Snake Spirit King and everything within a few miles, including the ball which protected the Snake Spirit King''s coordinates.

 Chapter 4208 Resurrection

    The terrifying power of the light ball left everyone shaken.


    The Bird Masters had always been arrogant. They were convinced that the Bird Spirit King Sheehan was the most powerful being in the Four Spirits Sect. After all, he had taken much of the credit for the rapid development of the Four Spirits Sect in the past.


    But now they weren''t so sure as they felt the destructive energy the Monkey Spirit King emanated.


    Duran shot a concerned look at Lawler and transmitted a question secretly. "Do you think our king would win if he were here?"


    "But he hasn''t awakened." Lawler shot back.


    "But what if he were awake?" Duran pressed.


    "He would not win," Lawler replied with conviction.


    Duran fell silent, struggling with his thoughts.


    ''Since we have sworn our unwavering loyalty to the Bird Spirit King, we have to make enemies with other forces.


    We''re working with the Monkey Spirit Sect now, but we would probably go back to being in conflict with them in the future.


    When that time comes, how can we possibly match up to the Monkey Spirit King?'' Duran thought worriedly.


    Lawler, however, sensed what was on Duran''s mind. "Zen is looking for the Human Spirit King. If Zen can find him, the Human Spirit King might be able to save our king. Don''t fret too much. There can be peace in the future," Lawler assured him.


    Lawler kept his next thoughts to himself. ''Anything can happen. All we can do is wait.''


    Meanwhile, the Primeval Lord of Heaven and his companions were completely oblivious to the conversation between the two Bird Masters. All their attention was fixed on the huge light ball in the distance.


    The light ball continued to glow for a while before it began to dim and gradually dissipate.


    The massive body of the Monkey Spirit King came into view. There was no sign of the Snake Spirit King.


    "We won!"


    "Our king is invincible!"


    "That stupid snake was killed again. Ha-ha!"


    Manuel, Tearrag and Hagar started shouting, whooping excitedly.


    The Snake Goddess shot them an exasperated look that clearly conveyed she thought they were idiots. "Where did that space ball go?" she asked as she turned to her companions.


    "It appears to be gone," Fuxi replied, scanning his surroundings.


    "Has it been destroyed? So the Snake Spirit King was killed just like that?" the Primeval Lord of Heaven said in disbelief.


    "That snake was giving himself too much credit. It might never have occurred to him that the Monkey Spirit King could be this strong," Gonggong poin


    "What the hell is going on?"


    "This is insane!"


    Manuel and Tearrag were in distress. The other Monkey Masters were likewise stumped. Their race weren''t known for intelligence, so this was quite an insurmountable problem for them.


    "This isn''t good," the Snake Goddess warned, her eyes trained on something in the distance.


    The snake spirits and the Snake Masters had just revived and were starting to swarm back toward them.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven snorted. "They''re nothing without the Snake Spirit King."


    They still had the Bird Masters, the Monkey Masters and the human spirits on their side. They could easily defeat the Snake Spirit King''s subordinates.


    As soon as Manuel, Tearrag and Hagar caught sight of the snake spirits, they started snarling ferociously. They had no idea what had happened to the Monkey Spirit King, but they knew the Snake Spirit King was responsible for it. They were raring to vent their anger on the members of the Snake Spirit Sect.


    "I''m not talking about them."


    The Snake Goddess shook her head and pointed at the sky.


    A black light had appeared out of nowhere, like a shadow in the sky.


    The black light was exactly where the ball had been before.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven furrowed his brows as he watched it grow. His eyes soon widened in horror.


    The black light gradually expanded, revealing the ball within it. The Snake Spirit King''s massive coordinates remained intact inside the ball.


    A thick tongue slithered out of the coordinates, followed by the Snake Spirit King''s head and body.


    All the creatures on the altar were rendered paralyzed at the sight of the Snake Spirit King''s resurrection.

 Chapter 4209 Freeze

    "Oh, it was dangerous."


    The Snake Spirit King''s voice echoed from above.


    The power in Orlando''s blow went beyond Cornelius''s expectations. It actually could''ve broken his guiding barrier.


    The guiding barrier was the ball that protected his coordinates. It was also the most useful and strongest ability of the Space Guiding Stone.


    At the time, Cornelius had been too stunned to make a move.


    Fortunately for him, the black light was able to protect his coordinates right in the nick of time. Otherwise, he''d probably be dead by now.


    "Cornelius! What have you done to our king?" Manuel roared furiously.


    "What did I do?" the Snake Spirit King echoed with an amused smile. "I simply cursed him."


    The curse he was talking about was by no means simple.


    No matter how powerful a curse was, it could only affect the current state, but his curse could directly affect the coordinates.


    "Remove the curse! Or else, I will kill you!" Manuel''s face contorted in anger, his eyes blazing with killing intent. Baring his two fangs, he growled menacingly at the Snake Spirit King.


    "You? Kill me?" The Snake Spirit King chuckled dryly, evidently unimpressed.


    Manuel was famous back then for claiming he was only second to the four kings in power. However, there was still a big gap between his strength and the four kings''.


    Moreover, he was a Treacherous Being now. He had been staying in the Night View Island for so long that he wasn''t able to improve his strength.


    "Of course!" Manuel spat.


    Rage began to consume him. He no longer feared the Snake Spirit King. As he stamped his foot onto the ground violently, the earth beneath him cracked under the impact. Then, he rushed towards the Snake Spirit King like a meteor.


    "Poor guy..."


    the Snake Spirit King sighed as he calmly watched the Monkey Master approach him.


    Before Manuel could even get close, an invisible space wall suddenly formed between him and Manuel.


    Boom!


    Manuel crashed into the space wall with full force. Instantly, he was enveloped by the space wall, like a mollusk being squeezed by its own shell.


    More space walls appeared and formed a cube around Manuel, trapping him inside.


    The cube of space walls began to shrink rapidly.


    The burly and strong body of Manuel shrank and filled the space within the cube, until his body followed


    common hatred with the irregular heavy sword, he had hoped that ultimately, Zen would win. When he felt the sword''s depression, he felt bittersweet.


    However, the depression only lasted for a moment. The next thing he knew, Kincaid sensed the irregular heavy sword had made up its mind.


    "You... What do you want to do?" Kincaid was shocked.


    The Death Sword was the ultimate form of the irregular heavy sword. If it couldn''t defeat its opponent at its best, then that was it.


    Buzz!


    The unfolded infinite world suddenly disappeared, and Zen returned to the stone hall.


    Soon after, the black armor pointed its irregular heavy sword to Zen, and white dots of light and a cold aura emanated from the blade.


    "You still want to fight?"


    Zen asked with a frown.


    The irregular heavy sword might be powerful, but Zen had found a way to deal with it. Did this sword have another trump card?


    However, to Zen''s surprise, the irregular heavy sword did not launch an attack.


    Instead, the white dots of light and the cold aura created a Cold Prison. Gradually, the dots of light landed on the heavy armor.


    Layers of white frost appeared and condensed into blocks of ice, sealing the sword and the heavy armor within.


    "What''s happening?!"


    Zen was stunned, unsure of how to react.


    "This sword is intelligent," the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord explained softly. "It knows that it is no match for you and can''t protect Kincaid in the black armor, so it freezes itself."


    Even at this time, the sword still protected its owner. How loyal it was!

 Chapter 4210 Gained Recognition

    Zen walked forward and gently tapped on the ice of the black armor. A touch of coldness condensed white frost on his hand.


    "What should we do now? Carry him out like this?" Zen asked, furrowing his brows.


    With Zen''s strength, it''d be pretty simple to break through this layer of ice. The issue now was whether this was the right way to proceed.


    "Master Kincaid hasn''t awakened yet; I think you''d better move him out," the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord suggested.


    He thought of this out of respect for Kincaid.


    After all, it was the Human Spirit King who was inside the black armor.


    "Okay." Zen nodded.


    They figured it might be better for Zen to carry Kincaid out first before they made any rash decisions. Perhaps by then, they could think of a way to wake up Kincaid.


    However, at this moment, the ancestry-level bloodline spoke, "Zen, dismantle the black armor and the sword."


    Zen was slightly stunned. "Why?"


    "The ability of this irregular heavy sword is very similar to mine. I want to explore it..." the ancestry-level bloodline explained.


    The ability of this sword to constantly modify the rules had truly impressed Zen.


    It was impossible for anyone else to leave the infinite space.


    The suggestion of the ancestry-level bloodline was aligned with Zen''s inclinations, but he was still a little hesitant. "Isn''t it disrespectful to do that?"


    "Since the Human Spirit Sect has been reduced to such a situation, there is no need to consider if it is respectful or not," the ancestry-level bloodline replied bluntly.


    "That may be true..." Zen nodded.


    He bowed to the black armor and said, "I broke in here to save the Human Spirit King. I didn''t mean to offend you. Please forgive me if I do!"


    The irregular heavy sword had proven itself to be intelligent, but Zen didn''t know whether it could understand him or not.


    After saying that, Zen lightly patted the surface of the ice with his palm.


    Pop!


    A muffled sound rang out.


    Then, hairline cracks appeared inside the originally clear ice, until it collapsed into countless finger-sized ice blocks that fell to the ground.


    If these finger-sized ice blocks were thrown into any of the large provinces of the Source World, they would''ve launched an ice age over the whole area. Once they melted, an ocean would be formed.


    However, the irregular heavy sword was obviously not willing to give up.


    Although it did not attempt to attack Zen again, the moment the solid ice broke, it released white light dots, quickly imprisoning it and the black armor in ice once more.


    It


    d that the combined power of the human spirits, the monkey spirits and the bird spirits was enough to resist for a period of time.


    Thus, Zen swiftly took out his Sumeru Space and tossed the Human Spirit King''s Treacherous Being body and coordinates into it. Then, he spared no time and quickly left the stone hall.


    When Zen pushed the door open, the old man guarding the ice hall jerked his head up.


    The old man''s obsession was Kincaid, after all. Naturally, he cared about everything that took place within the stone hall.


    When the old man saw the heavy black armor push the door open and come out, he froze in place for a few moments. His originally dull eyes suddenly flashed with life. He thought that Kincaid had awakened, and his obsession was instantly satisfied, so he suddenly woke up.


    "Master Kincaid!"


    The old man strode to Zen excitedly and knelt down on one knee before him.


    "You... You have woken up?" Zen, stunned, embarrassedly explained, "I''m not Kincaid."


    The old man slowly stood up and looked at him with confusion. "It''s you," he cried as it dawned on him. "You are that human being! You defeated Master Kincaid? He hasn''t woken up?"


    "No, his Treacherous Being body has been stored into my Sumeru Space," Zen answered.


    "Why?" the old man demanded, unable to contain his excitement.


    Zen waved his hand. "The Snake Spirit King is attacking outside the altar. I need to deal with that first."


    As soon as he finished speaking, Zen headed straight to the gate without another word.


    The old man stood there in a daze for a moment, watching Zen''s receding figure. Suddenly, he realized that Kincaid had been taken away by this human, so he hurriedly chased after him.

 Chapter 4211 The Third Stone

    While they were on the altar, the Primeval Lord of Heaven and his companions were struggling to hold out against their enemies.


    Supposedly, eliminating the snake spirits should be a piece of cake, because they had the bird spirits, human spirits, and monkey spirits on their side.


    However, the Snake Spirit King was alive. This was a huge advantage to the snake spirits.


    Sewell''s hissing could be heard all throughout the area.


    Meanwhile, Hagar and Nereus caught sight of Sewell. They rushed towards him at the same time. The former charged from his left side while the latter charged from his right.


    Unfortunately, the Monkey Spirit King, Manuel, and Tearrag had been cursed. Thus, they were unable to join the battle. Nevertheless, the Monkey Masters didn''t feel dejected at all. On the contrary, this made them angrier and more anxious to fight their enemies.


    Hagar and Nereus, the two Monkey Masters, moved extremely fast that Sewell didn''t immediately realize what was going on.


    "If anything happens to our king, we will annihilate all of you!" Hagar roared as he was charging at Sewell.


    He stretched out his hands, and a black stick instantly shot out of his right hand.


    Under his careful control, he aimed the black stick at Sewell.


    As Hagar got closer to Sewell, he directed his stick towards his opponent''s shoulder.


    The once solid stick suddenly transformed into liquid.


    The black ink splashed all over Sewell''s body.


    Hagar was one of the weakest among the Monkey Masters in terms of brute strength. Nonetheless, he was pretty good with sealing things.


    What he unleashed was the Ink Sealing Technique. It was a theurgy devised by the people in the Bold Conjecture House. It was regarded as one of their top theurgies.


    Soon enough, the black ink had covered Sewell. Nereus muttered under his breath, "Perfect! I''m going to cut him into pieces!"


    After Hagar performed the Ink Sealing Technique, Nereus appeared on Sewell''s side.


    Colorful fingernails grew on top of Nereus'' original ones. These colorful fingernails were actually made from energy. Each one was as sharp as a dagger.


    In an instant, Sewell sustained deep scratches from Nereus'' sharp fingernails. When Hagar''s ink landed on him, his movements slowed down. He felt like his body suddenly became vulnerable. Hence, Nereus was able to rip his body inch by inch.


    At first, Sewell didn''t take the Monkey Masters seriously. He thought that they would surely win this war. However, Hagar and Nereus'' combined attacks completely caught him off guard. The worse part of it was he could not even defend himself.


    They already


    "I have been waiting for this moment for far too long. You didn''t let me down. Good. Very good," the Snake Spirit King continued. There was a trace of suppressed excitement in his voice.


    Zen remained standing there and kept looking at the Snake Spirit King calmly.


    Without saying anything, Zen raised his sword.


    Even though it was a heavy sword, he was wielding as though it was as light as a feather.


    As the irregular sword slashed through the air, it made harsh cutting sounds.


    "You went into the altar yourself and failed to beat Master Kincaid. Do you really think you can defeat me now?" Zen finally spoke.


    The Snake Spirit King flashed him a confident smile. "Of course, I can," the Snake Spirit King responded.


    "What makes you think I am going to lose against you?" Zen asked once more.


    "Don''t worry. You''ll see soon enough..."


    Half of the Snake Spirit King''s body was inside the coordinates, which were inside the ball.


    Gradually, he went out of the coordinates and returned to his normal figure. There were two stones floating in front of his forehead. One was the diamond-shaped Limited Omnipotent Stone, and the other was the triangular Space Guiding Stone.


    A black round gem began to appear in front of his forehead just as a black light flickered slightly around it. The gem exuded a faint black smoke that seeped into his scales.


    Shortly after, a layer of black scales appeared on the surface of the Snake Spirit King''s body.


    "Come up here!" the Snake Spirit King said.


    Just then, a space wall appeared under Zen''s feet and sent him up in the air.


    But suddenly, they heard a light cracking sound.


    Zen stepped lightly on the space wall and broke it into pieces. "I can do it myself," he said.

 Chapter 4212 The Might Of The Sword

    The space wall, carefully crafted by the Space Guiding Stone, was so formidable that it was impossible to resist its force.


    That was why even the Great Ape King, Lawler, and Duran were trapped by it.


    However, once Zen raised his foot and stomped hard on it with his might, it crumbled down as though it were nothing to him. Then, he soared into the sky in a fleeting moment.


    The Snake Goddess moved her head up as she kept her gaze fixated on Zen''s rising figure and asked, "What do you think Zen meant when he said Kincaid defeated the Snake Spirit King?"


    "The more important question is, why is Kincaid not here? He''s been freed, hasn''t he?" The Primeval Lord of Heaven sounded just as puzzled.


    Just as they pondered over to make sense of the situation in their heads, their train of thought was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a Treacherous Being at the square entrance. It was an elderly looking human spirit.


    The Primeval Lord of Heaven let out a short gasp as his eyes fell on the elderly figure. Recovering from his state of disbelief, he frantically cupped his hands and bowed respectfully. "Master Kincaid."


    "What? Master Kincaid?"


    Fuxi, the Snake Goddess, and the others switched their gazes from the Primeval Lord of Heaven to the elderly figure that stood in the distance. Judging from the Primeval Lord of Heaven''s gesture, they instinctively concluded that man to be Kincaid.


    However, the old man diffused their suspicions with a slight wave of his hand as he spoke, "No, you''ve got it wrong. I''m not Master Kincaid."


    "Then, who are you?"


    "I''m simply Master Kincaid''s servant. My name is Corbett," the elderly man answered in a dignified tone.


    In the entire Human Spirit Sect, Corbett was Kincaid''s most loyal and sincerest servant. He had been serving him for countless years without faltering.


    Even though he had transformed into a Treacherous Being after he died, he still continued to perform his duties by guarding the altar.


    "Master Corbett, what happened inside the altar? Where is Master Kincaid?" the Primeval Lord of Heaven asked, unable to contain his curiosity any longer.


    "Was the Snake Spirit King really defeated by Master Kincaid?" The Snake Goddess voiced her concerns after him.


    Corbett looked at the Snake Spirit King in the sky. A shadow of sadness hovered over his eyes as his expression turned gloomy. "Yes, the Snake Spirit King had entered the altar before and failed to resolve the trap set up by Master Kincaid, which resulted in his death."


    "So the key to the altar is a trap?" The Snake Goddess''s expression switched as she raised her brow.


    "That''s right." Corbett nodded to her question and continued, "The Snake Spirit King, as a Treacherous Being, couldn''t defeat Master Kincaid, so he wanted to lure someone else to enter the altar."


    Upon hearing what happened, the Snake Goddess and the Primeval Lord of Heaven gasped in unison.


    Before they could recover from the shocking news, Fuxi asked a direct question, "Where is Master Kincaid right now? Why isn''t he here?"


    The sole reason behind them coming to the altar was to look for the Human Spirit King.


    But Zen came out alone shrouded in heavy armor and wielding a sword. It


    e light.


    "Endless Space!"


    Layers upon layers of space constantly appeared in an endless loop, enveloping the massive body of the Snake Spirit King.


    Ten layers, a hundred layers, a thousand layers, ten thousand layers...


    As a Holy Item, the Space Guiding Stone had the absolute priority to utilize the energy of the holy pillar.


    When the stone began to use the power of the pillar, the countless Other Shore Tokens on the Other Shore began to dim down as though they were rid of their usual essence. They temporarily lost the support of the pillar.


    Some Other Shore Realm masters began to suspect a change in their Other Shore Tokens as they felt their energy drain out enough to make them useless. To substitute that lost energy in the Other Shore Tokens, they tried to inject some from the divine crystals. However, even the energy that the divine crystals harnessed disappeared without a trace.


    The Endless Space was solidified to an extended degree.


    However, the moment the vortex shaped energy touched it, the Snake Spirit King couldn''t resist the pressure and was quickly swept into it by force, causing him to spin rapidly in the air.


    In the blink of an eye, he spun tens of thousands of times, and his long body kept on twisting and turning helplessly.


    At the same time, countless spiral cracks appeared on the surface of the Endless Space.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    Suddenly, three deafening sounds were heard, and the Endless Space was broken. Even so, the Snake Spirit King''s body was still spinning against his will at a high speed. Even though his body had been twisted to pieces, it refused to halt its movement. It was as if it was a piece of cloth that was helplessly being swept away in the strong wind.


    "This sword..."


    Watching this scene unravel before his eyes, Zen couldn''t help but feel awestruck.


    Both he and the sword used the power of the ancestry-level bloodline, but the sword seemed to have a lot more knowledge than him about it, and even more so than the ancestry-level bloodline itself.


    The vortex that appeared to be nothing short of ordinary actually held such high reserves of power!

 Chapter 4213 Wrong Evaluation

    Treacherous Beings'' bodies were quite resilient. Even if they were torn to shreds, they wouldn''t die, let alone be twisted.


    Splash!


    Amidst the howling wind, the Snake Spirit King finally broke free.


    His huge snake body was like a long, vicious whip as it ruthlessly lashed at the ground. With a crisp sound, the entire Jade Pure Realm trembled under the impact, and Cornelius sank into the ground.


    Zen shook the hilt of his sword slightly, urging the fifteen pieces of Life Iron to return to their original positions to form the irregular heavy sword.


    Taking a step forward, Zen suddenly appeared right above the head of the Snake Spirit King.


    "The second strike!"


    Before the Snake Spirit King could get up from the ground, Zen had already thrust his sword downward.


    Buzz!


    The power of the ancestry-level bloodline was once again released, channeled through the irregular long sword.


    The cracks on the irregular heavy sword burst forth a blue light. It possessed more than ten abilities from the space-time quadrant.


    Now, neither Zen nor the ancestry-level bloodline had a clue how the irregular heavy sword would act out.


    The ancestry-level bloodline only needed to provide energy, while Zen only needed to thrust the sword out.


    The rest was left to the irregular heavy sword itself.


    Pop!


    The tip of the irregular heavy sword''s blade connected with the Snake Spirit King''s forehead.


    Immediately after, palm-sized blue triangle patterns appeared all over the surface of the Snake Spirit King''s body.


    From his huge head to his wriggling tail, tens of millions of blue triangles lit up.


    While Zen was confused at the sight of these countless blue triangles, the Snake Spirit King felt a trace of panic.


    Then, the blue triangles began to split apart.


    In the blink of an eye, the Snake Spirit King disintegrated into tens of millions of triangles!


    "So fast!" Zen exclaimed.


    Previously, when he used the Blood-controlling Method to activate the ancestry-level bloodline, he could also achieve a similar effect. However, he''d never imagined he''d be able to cut the huge snake''s body into countless pieces!


    Clatter! Clatter! Clatter!


    Although the Snake Spirit King was cut into tens of millions of pieces, he didn''t accept defeat just yet. The triangles quickly transformed into small black and white snakes, all of which gathered in one spot to merge into one complete body.


    As soon as the Snake Spirit King recovered, Zen


    the holy pillar.


    When the Snake Spirit King used these three Holy Items, most of the Other Shore Tokens could not be used properly.


    "So what? The energy of the holy pillar is much more than you think. I can catch you before the energy is exhausted!" Once the Snake Spirit King finished speaking, the Space Guiding Stone flashed again with a blue light.


    Zen, who had been travelling through space, was forced out.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    This was the opportunity that the Snake Spirit King had been waiting for. Countless space walls surrounded Zen. Simultaneously, the black light column enveloped him.


    "There''s no escaping this!"


    the Snake Spirit King cried excitedly.


    Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!


    This time, the black light column poured into Zen''s body for a few breathless moments.


    Through the Limited Omnipotent Stone, the Snake Spirit King could feel that Zen''s body was slowly being eroded and melted, till it finally disappeared.


    His biggest trouble was solved!


    The Snake Spirit King was overjoyed.


    But at this moment, Zen''s voice sounded from behind the Snake Spirit King. "I forgot to tell you that your Limited Omnipotent Stone is actually very easy to deceive."


    "What?"


    The Snake Spirit King was confused, about to turn his head towards the voice.


    However, just as he was turning around, the irregular heavy sword once again pressed against his back, and his body was instantly cut into tens of millions of pieces.


    At the same time, the blazing white Light of Annihilation surged out like a tidal wave.


    Under the erosion of the Light of Annihilation, the Snake Spirit King''s broken body collapsed rapidly.

 Chapter 4214 Bestowed Strength

    When Zen left the stone hall, he had cut a Holy Stone from the wall.


    It was a Holy Stone of the highest grade, even if it was just the size of a fist. The Light of Annihilation it released was extremely powerful.


    Zen''s own Holy Stone probably wouldn''t be able to kill such a huge Treacherous Being.


    Buzz!


    Buckling under the intensity of the Light of Annihilation, the Snake Spirit King''s body collapsed. The three gemstones went down with him, vanishing into thin air.


    From the altar, the Snake Goddess and the others were so excited that they almost jumped up and down from happiness.


    After all, according to their original plan, the human race was not supposed to fight against the Snake Spirit King.


    The Snake Spirit King''s main opponent was the Monkey Spirit King, which was their strongest trump card.


    After the Monkey Spirit King was defeated and worse, cursed, they had lost their trump card. Theoretically, they had already been defeated.


    Unexpectedly, at the most critical moment, Zen emerged from the altar with a sword that overpowered the Snake Spirit King!


    Pop!


    Pop!


    Pop! Pop! Pop!


    After the Space Guiding Stone disappeared, the cubic spaces it had created began to lose their power.


    The square spaces that trapped Manuel and Tearrag were the first to explode. They regained their freedom.


    It took some struggling before their bodies returned to their original shapes.


    "It was suffocating me!"


    "Finally, I can breathe!"


    "That''s the least important part! Zen of the human race has defeated the Snake Spirit King!"


    While they might''ve been imprisoned, they were still able to observe the fight. They both witnessed how Zen easily defeated the Snake Spirit King with a series of inconceivable attacks.


    The Snake Masters and snake spirits were stunned and confused.


    In particular, Sewell, Balfour, and the other Snake Masters were at a loss, since they were still under the impression that this was part of the Snake Spirit King''s plan.


    After all, letting Zen take out that sword was part of his plan.


    Logically speaking, the Snake Spirit King should have had a way to take back the sword, so why was he defeated?


    This was too strange!


    However, no one made a move just yet. The Snake Masters, Monkey Masters, and Bird Masters were not in a hurry to fight. After all, they were not the key to the success of this battle, but Zen and the Snake Spirit King.


    After finally defeating the Snake Spirit King, Zen looked up.


    A transparent ball was floating there, and the Snake Spirit King''s coordinates were hidden within it.


    If he wanted to completely kill off the Snake Spirit King


    r than Zen had imagined, so without any hesitation, he slashed out more sword radiance at it.


    Meanwhile, from within the ball, a fierce dispute was taking place within the Snake Spirit King''s coordinates.


    "You asked me to release that guy, but now, he''s about to finish me off!


    You have to give me more strength!


    Otherwise, we will die together!"


    At death''s door, the Snake Spirit King was extremely desperate.


    By now, they could hear the sound of the ball breaking. The Snake Spirit King grew even more nervous and started shouting, "That guy is attacking the ball!"


    However, the black light remained silent.


    It had been giving orders to the Snake Spirit King behind the scenes this whole time.


    However, after Zen took out that sword, the black light had felt that the Snake Spirit King was of no more use to it.


    It could easily take over the Other Shore and the primitive land built by the Snake Spirit King. After all, Cornelius had only gotten thus far thanks to it.


    Thus, it had decided that it was a good choice to let the Snake Spirit King die in Zen''s hands.


    However, while the Snake Spirit King was begging, the black light changed its mind. "Don''t worry. Of course I won''t watch you die."


    "Then what should I do?"


    The Snake Spirit King heaved a sigh of relief, satisfied that the black light finally responded.


    "Show your full strength," the black light said calmly.


    "But my strength is not enough to face him," the Snake Spirit King said in confusion.


    "It''s enough now," the black light responded cryptically.


    Buzz!


    The Snake Spirit King''s coordinates were originally pure golden, but after the black light finished speaking, pure black light beams crawled around the coordinates like deathly earthworms.

 Chapter 4215 Fast Speed

    Of all the features and theurgies of the Space Guiding Stone, the space ball was the most astonishing one.


    Since he hadn''t even thought of analyzing the structure of the space ball, Zen was attacking the sphere blindly with the heavy sword.


    He also unleashed powerful sword radiance with every attack. However, that only caused a little bit of damage to the space ball.


    However, Zen didn''t get frustrated.


    Although the process was slow, he could see his progress. The first time he brandished his sword, a crack appeared on the space ball.


    When he launched his second attack, the crack expanded and reached a bit further.


    By his third hit, the entire sphere was looking like a spider''s web of cracks.


    Zen wasn''t going to give up now.


    He waved his sword for the fifth time, and the space ball broke into several tiny pieces.


    It had taken him just five blows to destroy the space ball.


    The second he succeeded in doing that, the golden coordinates turned black.


    When he noticed that the Snake Spirit King''s coordinates had changed color, Zen waved his sword at them once again. "Let''s end this." He smiled.


    ''Without the protection of the space ball, I am sure that these coordinates will vanish after I hit them, '' he thought to himself.


    "Is it over?"


    "Is the damned Snake Spirit King finally going to die?"


    "What''s going on with his coordinates? Why did they become pitch black? Is something going to happen?"


    The human spirits, the Monkey Masters, and the Bird Masters were all excited and nervous simultaneously as they stared at the sword radiance and the fight that seemed to be tipping in Zen''s favor.


    Just as the sword radiance had reached the coordinates, a black blade suddenly popped out from them.


    The blade collided with the sword radiance and a loud metallic sound was heard.


    To everyone''s immense surprise, the black blade immediately destroyed the sword radiance.


    Then a black snake slowly emerged from the coordinates. This was none other than the Snake Spirit King himself.


    The Snake Spirit King had become much smaller than before now, although he was slightly bigger than Sewell. Regardless of his size, his appearance had changed a lot.


    The snake''s body had also turned pure black, just like the coordinates. Also, he was not just a snake now. He had grown a pair of locust''s legs as sharp as a knife and a halberd-shaped spike was on his tail.


    "My king!"


    "Our king is still alive!"


    "Oh yeah!"


    The Snake Masters and the snake spirits had lost all hope upon seeing the space ball destroyed. They had been devoured by sorrow and despair at the thought that the Snake Spirit King could not come back to life now. What was more, Zen had taken out Sewell with a single strike. They were aware of what would happen to them if things didn''t go their king''s way.


    It was beyond their dreams that not only


    The aura it emitted was quite similar to the one the Snake Spirit King is emitting right now," Corbett told them.


    "Which means the new power that he has acquired is most likely from the Deep Space?" the Primeval Lord of Heaven remarked with a vacant expression. "Hang on. That also means the power of the Snake Spirit King is now much better than that of any creature in the entire main world?"


    Corbett nodded his head. "Most likely!" he confirmed.


    The Snake Goddess, Fuxi and the others gasped in astonishment.


    They had clearly heard the conversation between Zen and the Snake Spirit King just now.


    ''The Snake Spirit King has got some new power from someone that is not of this world.


    Who gave it to him? When did it happen? Was it really some powerful being from the Deep Space?'' A million questions ran through their minds.


    They had initially thought that the battle would come to an end as soon as the Snake Spirit King died. But that assumption had turned out to be wrong. Now, things were looking to be more complicated than they had imagined.


    Clung! Clung! Clung!


    On the other side, crisp sounds would continuously ring out around Zen and the Snake Spirit King.


    Under the control of the irregular heavy sword, Zen was brandishing it and resisting the attacks of the Snake Spirit King involuntarily. Suddenly, the Snake Spirit King made a sly move, and Zen staggered, almost falling down due to the heavy sword.


    However, he knew what he had to do. No matter what, he held on to the sword tightly and didn''t drop it.


    Although the sword was incredibly strong, it needed the ancestry-level bloodline to provide it with the energy it needed to continue fighting.


    Once he dropped the sword, it would immediately run out of energy within ten seconds. Maybe even less since it was facing the Snake Spirit King''s attacks. And then, Zen would be ripped into bits by the Snake Spirit King.

 Chapter 4216 Probability Extreme Form

    Zen wore a grim expression, failing to see the attacks from both sides clearly.


    Although the irregular heavy sword was able to protect him, Zen knew it would take a toll on it if it suffered attacks all the time.


    "How are you able to make the sword block each strike?" Zen asked the ancestry-level bloodline, clenching the irregular heavy sword tightly. "The way the Snake Spirit King''s body moves is unique, I can''t understand it. I can''t seem to predict his next move..."


    There were two types of movement in the chaos: the first was to use explosive speed, and the other was to use spatial transference.


    Any bodily movement skill or any space theurgy fell under these two kinds of movement, but it was possible for each one to differ, since anyone could use them differently.


    However, the way the Snake Spirit King moved didn''t seem to belong to either of the two types of movement.


    Gritting his teeth, Zen attempted to use his spiritual sense to see if he could capture the Snake Spirit King''s trajectory. Just moments earlier, Zen thought that the Snake Spirit King was going to attack him head on, but a split second later, he suddenly appeared behind Zen. Just when he felt the black blades slashing at his face, the next moment, they appeared above his head.


    The Snake Spirit King seemed to exist in a special space outside Zen''s comprehension, since all the attacks came at him at random. There was just no possible way for him to predict the Snake Spirit King''s next move.


    "But your sword can," the ancestry-level bloodline replied, reading his mind.


    "My sword..."


    Zen examined the irregular heavy sword closely.


    He could vividly feel the sword''s strong fighting intent-- in fact, the sword''s emotions were so strong that even Zen felt like he was full of fighting intent.


    The sword seemed to have fallen into a state of madness as it desperately chased after the Snake Spirit King.


    Just as Zen was hesitating, Corbett, who was standing at the top of the altar, suddenly took a few steps forward.


    "Master Corbett, what are you doing?" the Snake Goddess cried.


    "I have to remind him," Corbett replied, his eyes trained on Zen in the distance. "Master Kincaid once said that the strength of this sword always matches that of its master."


    "What do you mean?" the Primeval Lord of Heaven asked, his curiosity piqued.


    "The stronger the warrior who holds the sword is, the greater the power of the sword," Corbett spoke, almost as though in a daze. "Master Kincaid was filled with regret many times, since he felt he was unable to bring out the sword''s full potential."


    "Master Kincaid didn''t know how to use the sword? Why couldn''t he use its full strength?" the Snake Goddess asked dubio


    le to feel its emotions. Although the irregular heavy sword acknowledged Zen, it still was fiercely loyal to Kincaid, believing he was its true master.


    Even Zen thought the same. After all, it was a sword borrowed from the Human Spirit King. He knew it would be returned to him in the end.


    But now, Zen realized that if he wanted to defeat the Snake Spirit King and the power behind him, he needed to gain control over this sword.


    Just as Corbett had said, he needed to treat this sword as a cultivation method in an ancient book to understand it


    "Buzz!"


    Zen willed his spiritual sense to reach into the red light ball in the center. When it came into contact with the red light ball, Zen could feel it resisting him.


    The irregular heavy sword was still unwilling to accept him.


    "I know you miss your former master.


    But only I can exert your power to the extreme," Zen gently coaxed. "You should know what kind of power I have.


    If we want to bring Master Kincaid back to life, we have only one choice: we need to defeat the opponent in front of us!


    Accept me!"


    Zen urged the sword through his spiritual sense.


    Gradually, he felt the resistance becoming weaker and weaker.


    Finally, Zen was able to integrate his spiritual sense with the red ball of light successfully.


    Boom!


    At this moment, Zen felt as if his mind had been smashed by a heavy hammer. A massive amount of information streamed in, information about the countless permutations of the one hundred and forty light dots.


    At the same time...


    It also informed Zen about the energy used by the Snake Spirit King and the irregular heavy sword, and he even figured out its strange name.


    "Probability Extreme Form!"


    "Whoosh..."


    Then, traces of black energy streamed into Zen''s body from the irregular heavy sword.

 Chapter 4217 Wandering In The Cloud

    Zen''s current state had the Snake Spirit King confused as well.


    His opponent had shifted from Zen to this sword, and as the sword dragged Zen to fight him, Zen clearly had become a burden to the sword.


    This was good news for him as it meant that Zen was totally unable to fight back.


    Even so, this irregular heavy sword was so sharp and fast that it was capable of keeping up with him and breaking his fierce attacks.


    After all this time, he still could not defeat it. The Snake Spirit King was now growing impatient.


    Seeing Zen''s body turn black brought a grim expression to his face.


    If a single sword was so difficult to deal with, how much more troublesome would Zen and the sword together be?


    With this in mind, he launched another onslaught of fierce attacks!


    Over ten thousand strikes were launched from his two black blades in a matter of only a few seconds!


    To everyone else, the Snake Spirit King did not exist, nor were the black blades or the irregular heavy sword visible. Even Zen''s hand clutching the sword could only be seen very faintly.


    The clanging of the black blades and the heavy sword rang over ten thousand times, louder and harsher than before. It sounded as if someone was grinding a sword on marble.


    "Clatter, clatter, clatter..."


    Fortunately, the warriors present were all at the Eternal Realm or above. If they had been any weaker, hearing such sounds would have probably driven them insane.


    The irregular heavy sword finally buckled under the immense pressure of the attacks and could no longer hold off all the Snake Spirit King''s strikes.


    Swoosh...


    It failed to block one of the ten thousand slashes that came at Zen


    and a black blade slammed ruthlessly into his heavy black armor.


    "Crack!"


    A thin crack surfaced across the armor over Zen''s waist. It extended through the inner layer, allowing the blade to cut all the way through to his back!


    "Zen was hit!"


    "That sword... can it not withstand the attacks anymore?"


    "Zen seems to have fallen into some sort of trance and can''t wake up..."


    "Waking up would be useless. He couldn''t avoid the blade anyway!"


    Those on the alter discussed their thoughts with one another, with the human spirits of the Black House, the Joy House and the Broad House the most nervous among them.


    They had not expected a human to be the one to decide the final res


    and time behaved quite special.


    Although he could be in many places at once, it was not duplicates of himself; it was all him.


    He was capable of appearing and disappearing in several places all at once!


    Zen then saw quite clearly the ten positions of the Snake Spirit King, and the over a hundred strikes coming from these spots were missed by the irregular heavy sword.


    They approached at deceptive angles which made them difficult to escape and made every blow fatal.


    Once Zen understood the Probability Extreme Form, he could move through the cloud as the Snake Spirit King could. Because of this, he suddenly vanished from everyone''s view.


    His figure flashed backward continuously.


    There was only one of him, but he appeared more than ten times in different directions. With every dash and dodge, the Snake Spirit King''s strikes were inches from connecting with him.


    Zen managed to dodge all the black blades'' strikes effortlessly!


    He then put some distance between himself and the Snake Spirit King. For the first time, they both stopped and their figures were clear for everyone to see.


    Zen''s body might have been covered in wounds and the ancestry-level bloodline was still working double time to repair it, but he still wore a smile on his face. "Did you make this cloud? It''s really something. I seem to be able to wander within it freely."


    The Snake Spirit King''s face darkened.


    The Probability Extreme Form had given him a huge advantage, but in such a short period of time, Zen had mastered it. He had never in his wildest dreams expected that.

 Chapter 4218 The Disappearance Of The Bold Conjecture House

    Without uttering a single word, the Snake Spirit King wandered in the black cloud. Afterward, he launched another attack on Zen.


    At this point, Zen was already seriously injured. His body was covered in cuts.


    The Snake Spirit King''s plan was to finish Zen before he could fully recover.


    As soon as the Snake Spirit King activated the Probability Extreme Form, a thousand creatures that looked exactly like him appeared in front of Zen. Then, they all came together and charged towards Zen.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    A thousand identical versions of the Snake Spirit King brandished their black blades at Zen.


    Just a few moments ago, Zen couldn''t see the Snake Spirit King''s movements. But now, he was able to see them clearly.


    There were nearly two thousand black blades hacking down at Zen. But before the blows could land on him, he suddenly vanished into thin air.


    In the blink of an eye, Zen reappeared on the edge of the black cloud.


    This time, he was not alone. There were nine hundred and ninety-nine duplicates of himself surrounding him.


    Adding the original, there were a thousand identical Zens. They stood in a circle on the edge of the black cloud.


    "So this is my limit? At most, I can only create nine hundred and ninety-nine versions of myself," Zen muttered under his breath.


    "It doesn''t seem like I can break through..." he whispered darkly.


    "Yes, me neither," the other nine hundred and ninety-nine duplicates replied in chorus.


    They sounded like bees buzzing in unison.


    "Shut up! Come and fight me!" the Snake Spirit King roared furiously.


    He was already getting impatient.


    He and the copies of himself dispersed simultaneously. Each of them was going to deal with a Zen.


    Once again, the Snake Spirit King brandished and directed his black blades towards Zen. The former''s copies did the same and went for Zen''s copies.


    However, Zen had a different approach.


    Instead of fighting him head-on, Zen came up with a sensible plan.


    Just like earlier, he disappeared again.


    One would be unable to predict the other''s movement while they were inside this black cloud.


    Even though the Snake Spirit King had mastered the Probability Extreme Form, he still wouldn''t be able to foresee Zen''s next move. As a result, he and his copies didn''t hit their targets.


    After a short while, Zen reappeared in the center of the black cloud together with his nine hundred and ninety-nine copies.


    The two of them exchanged blows back and forth once more as they activated the Probability Extreme Form at the same time.


    The people on the altar and the snake spirits below became even more confused.


    They couldn''t see the Snake Spirit King a few seconds ago, but they could hear harsh metallic sounds echoing from the black cloud. This meant that the Snake Spirit King was still fighting Zen.


    But now, there were no signs of Zen and the Snake Spirit King fighting at all. They couldn''t hear any sound. They soon realized that t


    thought it was his chance to fight back.


    He only uttered a few words before silence fell once more.


    He and the Snake Spirit King disappeared again.


    Out of the blue, the sound of metal colliding echoed once more.


    "Zen has fully recovered! That''s good news!"


    "So now he''s starting to retaliate?"


    "He had sustained severe injuries earlier. Yet, he still managed to avoid all of the Snake Spirit King''s attacks until now! Zen is incredible!"


    Everyone watching the fight from the altar were quite clever. There were no details that could escape them.


    The two of them were battling within the black cloud once again.


    Zen and the Snake Spirit King kept delivering attacks, blocking them, or avoiding them. They never stopped moving.


    Nonetheless, their spectators were unable to follow their actions.


    The group of Zen''s duplicates closed in on the group of the Snake Spirit King''s copies.


    Each of Zen''s copies attacked its target with moves that differed from the others''.


    Meanwhile, each of the Snake Spirit King''s copies blocked the attacks and retaliated. It was like watching a well-choreographed dance.


    The two of them had fought ten thousand rounds in just about two seconds.


    "So, now you have comprehended the Probability Extreme Form as well. But what does it matter? At most, this fight will merely result in a draw. Just face it. You can''t even hurt me at all." The Snake Spirit King finally spoke.


    Zen remained calm and smiled. "Is the Probability Extreme Form all that mysterious person behind you taught you?"


    "What are you getting at?" The Snake Spirit King stared at Zen and frowned.


    He didn''t know why Zen would say that. But he suddenly had a bad feeling about it.


    "Truly, the theurgies from the fifth-grade world are powerful and remarkable. Such a pity. The only thing you mastered is the Probability Extreme Form," Zen replied as he gripped his sharp sword tightly.


    Once again, energy flowed out of the cracks on his sword.

 Chapter 4219 The Backstage Manipulator

    Faint green flames were now dancing on the edges of the irregular heavy sword.


    They were faint, but highly viscous, like a thick liquid, slowly climbing around the sword, and then onto Zen''s arms. Finally, they formed a green head.


    The head looked horrendous, as if a ghost had crawled out of the depths of hell. It had huge horns and breathed fire.


    Splash!


    As the head opened its mouth, green flames whooshed out instead of breath, and ignited the irregular heavy sword.


    Zen was looking at the Snake Spirit King through the green flames. He suddenly remarked, "It is theoretically impossible to get around the Probability Extreme Form.


    I can only see one way of ending this fight. And that is no way! This fight will remain a stalemate, because we can''t kill an opponent with infinite speed.


    At the same time, maintaining the Probability Extreme Form requires extreme amounts of energy. I can exhaust you little by little as the fight progresses, but I have a better choice."


    As soon as Zen finished speaking, he disappeared.


    And then he reappeared immediately.


    Using the infinite speed, space and distance were meaningless to him.


    Even though there was quite a bit of distance between him and the Snake Spirit King, it could be said that they were overlapping.


    Splash!


    The irregular heavy sword slashed down on the Snake Spirit King''s head.


    However, the Snake Spirit King also disappeared rapidly. Zen''s attack did not succeed. Both sides possessed almost equal speed.


    "Huh! Although I don''t know what use those flames have, no matter how powerful they are, they can''t burn me. You..."


    The Snake Spirit King couldn''t finish his words. He was shocked at what he was seeing.


    A giant hole, several hundred feet in diameter had appeared in the black cloud.


    The green flames had actually burnt through a portion of the black cloud.


    At that moment, Zen reappeared, turned around, and looked at the Snake Spirit King with a faint smile on his face.


    "Although the Probability Extreme Form is powerful, there is still a way to restrain it.


    And that is to utilize...


    The Flame Extreme Form!"


    The irregular heavy sword was not exactly a living being. Basically, it could only communicate through emotions, and what it felt or made you feel was beyond words.


    However, Zen had obtained the ability to understand what it was trying to say.


    Splash!


    Zen began to wave his irregular heavy sword in the black cloud.


    The green flames were beginning to spread everywhere now.


    The black cloud was hanging over them like a huge curtain. But the flames seemed to know what they were doing. In a few seconds, a large area of the cloud was


    asters, the snake spirits, the Bird Masters, and the Monkey Masters felt a chill run down their spines. Was it really as easy to kill them now?


    After all, they were all supposed to be immortal. However, if one more way of killing them had just been discovered, it meant crisis!


    "Is it over?" someone piped up.


    "No, not yet. The Snake Spirit King''s coordinates are still there." Came the answer.


    Everyone''s eyes turned towards the sky once again.


    The black coordinates of the Snake Spirit King were still fixed there.


    Zen''s figure flashed and he whooshed into the sky, holding the irregular heavy sword and slashing at the black coordinates without hesitation.


    Luckily, this wasn''t supposed to be hard. Without the protection of the ball, the black coordinates couldn''t resist Zen''s attack.


    However, just as the man brandished his sword, a ball of black light suddenly emerged from the coordinates. It spread out like a black hole, and at the same time, a black fist stretched out from it, slamming into the irregular heavy sword with a furious metallic clang.


    Boom!


    Zen felt an irresistible force coming from the irregular heavy sword, and then he was sent flying backwards at an incredible speed. He had been thrown backwards so forcefully that he couldn''t even guess how fast he was flying.


    Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!


    Recovering, Zen began using spatial transference. He traveled around back and forth within a distance of two hundred feet, trying to lose the attacker. He didn''t stop until he had moved at least a hundred times.


    He was not surprised at the sudden appearance of the fist, though. He looked at the black hole calmly and then said, "You gave the Snake Spirit King his power. Are you the evil backstage manipulator that ruined the Four Spirits Sect?"

 Chapter 4220 None Of Your Business

    Slowly, the black fist began to emerge from the black hole.


    Then, out came the head, followed by shoulders. A few more moments passed, and the torso and legs were also out.


    It was a creature that had a human-like body shape. However, his head was cylindrical, and there were six pairs of indents on it. These hollow spaces were shimmering almost as they were sparkling eyes.


    Moreover, his hands and feet were longer than those of human beings. Somehow, they made him look like a moving tree.


    As soon as he came out of the black hole, they felt a wave of pressure being released.


    This was not the soul pressure. Yet, everyone present instantly felt that he was a formidable opponent.


    When the Snake Goddess, Primeval Lord of Heaven, and others saw this black figure, their eyes began twitching uncontrollably. He looked quite terrifying that their blood froze.


    As a matter of fact, they already guessed there was someone supporting the Snake Spirit King when they saw the black light in the ball earlier.


    But they were still shocked when the one working behind the scenes actually appeared.


    They were even more dumbfounded when they heard Zen''s question.


    Was this creature really the one who destroyed the once mighty and invincible Four Spirits Sect?


    With this, the human spirits felt even more anxious and aggravated.


    They missed the prosperous history of the Four Spirits Sect with all their hearts. At the same time, they had doubts.


    The Four Spirits Sect had survived facing so many powerful existences in the main world. But why must they lose in the end?


    Even if the Snake Spirit King exhausted every ounce of his power, it would be impossible for him to fight with the other sects.


    But now, they finally understood that there was a creature working behind the Snake Spirit King. This creature''s power was probably way beyond what they could ever imagine.


    "Who is he? Where the hell did he come from?" one of the human spirits couldn''t help asking the question.


    "Why did he destroy the Four Spirits Sect?"


    "What benefits would he get from destroying the Four Spirits Sect and the main world? This is unbelievable!"


    Corbett was trembling slightly. No matter how he thought about it, he still couldn''t figure out why the creature wanted to destroy the Four Spirits Sect.


    The Monkey Masters, the Bird Masters, and the human spirits were all curious. What could his motive be?


    Now, even the Snake Masters were confused.


    Why did such a creature appear out of nowhere?


    And more importantly, where was their king?


    Needless to say, the Snake Masters were not ignorant.


    They knew that the Snake Spirit King''s incredible power came from this creature.


    But why did he want to destroy the Fou


    ad and waved the two black blades to chop the humanoid creature.


    The Snake Spirit King already had his suspicions after he killed the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord.


    But back then, he had no other choice. The only thing he could do was follow the black light and pray that this was not the truth.


    Therefore, the Snake Spirit King was boiling with rage when he heard the truth from the black light itself.


    He wanted to tear the humanoid creature into pieces!


    But before the Snake Spirit King''s blades could even come close to the humanoid creature, they instantly shattered into pieces. The Snake Spirit King''s black body disintegrated and returned to the coordinates.


    "In the Stellar World, I wiped out the entire Fostering race and the Cinnabar race. Both of those races were a hundred times stronger than you," bragged the humanoid creature.


    He continued, "In the World of No Limits, I had once deceived the Sacred Spirit race. And that race was ten thousand times stronger than you."


    "And in the Boundless Divine World, those creatures that disobeyed me were exiled into time and forced to rot. They only needed a millionth of their strength to tear you to shreds," he boasted.


    "In the Boundless Will World, I was an existence that was way beyond what your imaginations can comprehend."


    Everyone fell completely silent as they listened to the creature''s horrifying declaration.


    Soon after, the humanoid creature''s six pairs of eyes emitted a faint light.


    Everyone could feel the creature''s contempt and mockery for them.


    He was the best of the best. He didn''t even bother to look down upon all living beings. To him, they were utterly infinitesimal in the grand scheme of things.


    "Having heard all that, what do you think the Four Spirits Sect means to me?" the humanoid creature asked them all.

 Chapter 4221 The Mental Cage

    The Bird Masters, the Monkey Masters, and the human spirits all stared at the humanoid figure in astonishment.


    His words, combined with the oppressive aura emanating from him, shocked them greatly.


    What were the so-called Cinnabar race and the Fostering race?


    Were they truly a hundred times stronger than the Four Spirits Sect?


    And what was the Sacred Spirit race?


    Could they really be ten thousand times stronger than the Four Spirits Sect?


    There were existences even more powerful than the Sacred Spirit race?


    What worlds was this humanoid creature talking about?


    All these questions buzzed in their minds as they tried to wrap their heads around everything the humanoid creature talked about. Among everyone present, Corbett seemed to be the calmest.


    Eyeing the humanoid creature warily, he asked, "The Stellar World... Are you talking about the Deep Space?"


    The Four Spirits Sect had referred to the world above the main world as the Deep Space. However, Kincaid once mentioned that the Deep Space had a specific name¡ªthe "Stellar World", he called it. Only very few people knew of this name.


    "What do you think?" the humanoid creature retorted indifferently.


    "The World of No Limits... And the Boundless Divine World... Their grades are higher than the Deep Space''s?" Corbett queried further.


    "I have already downgraded those worlds," the humanoid creature declared proudly.


    Zen stared at the humanoid creature incredulously. "Why did you do that? What does the downgrading mean to you?"


    The humanoid creature laughed sinisterly. "You don''t need to know that. The only thing you need to do is give me the sword. Once I downgrade this world to the third grade, I''ll let you live... Maybe I''ll even let the human race rule the Lower Extreme World."


    This Lower Extreme World he referred to was actually the chaos.


    Zen''s eyes lit up with interest at the humanoid creature''s offer.


    "What do you think?" the humanoid creature asked, noticing Zen''s sparked interest.


    It actually sounded like a good idea.


    After all, Zen''s original goal was to revive the human race.


    To his surprise, Zen smiled. "After we rule the Lower Extreme World, you continue to downgrade it to the second grade," Zen said slowly. "Then, I''d become your puppet, like the Snake Spirit King, right?"


    "If you refuse, I''ll just kill you, along with your ra


    hat were devouring him, but no matter how hard he tried, he was unable to extinguish the flames on his body. A few moments later, he was completely burnt by the flames.


    "Is he dead?"


    Zen''s eyebrows shot up cautiously.


    Although he firmly believed that the humanoid creature wasn''t as powerful as he claimed to be, he shouldn''t have been so weak. Zen felt a little uneasy, suspecting something was wrong.


    Zen''s heart pumped agitatedly.


    Just as Zen was carefully studying his surroundings, he felt a sense of oppression coming from behind him.


    Without any hesitation, he swung his irregular heavy sword towards his back and once again struck the humanoid creature.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Under the burning of the green flames, the humanoid creature was burnt to ashes again.


    "Is this an avatar?


    Where is his real body?"


    Zen frowned deeply. After killing the second avatar, he was even more agitated, his heart filled with unease.


    While his mind raced, more and more avatars appeared in front of him, till he was surrounded.


    While these avatars were not strong enough to withstand the flames, as they multiplied, Zen realized this fight would never end.


    One avatar, two avatars, ten avatars, a hundred avatars...


    Zen slashed at these avatars one after another.


    Every time he killed an avatar, he became more irritated. He grew more and more paranoid with each avatar he struck, as though he couldn''t stop until he killed all these avatars.


    In this crazed state, he didn''t even notice that the surrounding environment was getting more and more hazy...

 Chapter 4222 Remind Zen

    Zen thought that he was fighting avatars of the humanoid creature, but he was wrong.


    The Snake Goddess and the others on the altar watched as Zen slashed at black palm-sized bugs, one after another, with his heavy sword.


    Each time Zen took out a black bug, it''d explode into a faint light, which would then enter his body.


    As more and more light flew into Zen''s body, his expression became wilder and wilder.


    Little did Zen know that the real humanoid being was calmly floating nearby.


    As the humanoid creature clapped his hands and opened them, black bugs emerged from his palms and flew towards Zen.


    It was the Dream-breaking Bug.


    The bugs were created for the humanoid creature to perform the Soul Extreme Form.


    Fully aware of what Zen was capable of with his sword, the humanoid creature had no intention of fighting him head-on.


    When he summoned the black cloud for the Probability Extreme Form, his plan to crush Zen by driving him crazy had commenced.


    When Zen destroyed the black cloud, he had fallen right into the humanoid creature''s trap.


    Zen was not native to the Stellar World, so he didn''t know much about the theurgies there. Additionally, the spirit inside his heavy sword was not very intelligent. They both fell into the Soul Extreme Form easily.


    Therefore, it was a breeze for the humanoid being to lure Zen and his sword into his trap.


    "Kill as many as you want. The Dream-breaking Bugs will poison you and turn you into a mindless killer. That way, you will be insane for the rest of your life..."


    the humanoid creature quietly murmured to himself.


    When the people on the altar saw this, they also fell into a state of panic.


    "It looks like that he has fallen into an illusion...." the Snake Goddess said, her voice filled with worry.


    "What is that light he keeps absorbing?"


    "This is not good..."


    Discussion broke out among the crowd on the altar. From the looks of it, the illusion was difficult to break.


    Although they were keenly aware that Zen was trapped in an illusion, there was nothing they could do to help.


    Even the Monkey Masters and the Bird Masters couldn''t risk coming to Zen''s aid, how much more those at the Eternal Realm?


    They knew that the humanoid being was too powerful for them to deal with. Even without using the Light of Annihilation, he could finish off Treacherous Beings. He could even destroy their coordinates, preventing them from coming back from the dead.


    "We need to make Zen snap out of it!" a hum


    ve the Snake Goddess''s head.


    The Descending Ring then emitted a golden light that enveloped the Snake Goddess.


    In the blink of an eye, the Snake Goddess was transported to the primitive land.


    Although the humanoid creature noticed this, he didn''t pay it any heed.


    Again, he was confident this weakling wouldn''t be able to do a thing to ruin his plans.


    When the Snake Goddess arrived at the Pear Hill, she headed straight for the Civilization Artifact of the human race. She was in such a rush, she didn''t even bother greeting the people there.


    When she finally reached it, the Snake Goddess stretched out her hand and pressed it against the Civilization Artifact. Activating the artifact, she tried to speak to Zen. Since she was in the primitive land, which was actually Zen''s inner world, she hoped that she might be able to reach Zen and free him from the illusion.


    The Civilization Artifact began to flash with a green light. "Zen, can you hear me?" the Snake Goddess asked.


    She waited for a bit, but she didn''t get any response.


    She tried several more times, but Zen still didn''t respond.


    "So, this isn''t working..." The Snake Goddess lowered her head, her shoulders hunched in disappointment.


    Just then, the Eternal Realm warriors of the current chaotic era like the Snake Goddess, Fuxi, and Eastern Emperor Taiyi walked up to her.


    "Snake Goddess, what happened in Jade Pure Realm? Why are you in such a hurry?" the Snake Goddess of the current chaotic era asked.


    It was actually kind of weird to talk to oneself. But noticing that the real Snake Goddess was so anxious, she speculated that they must have encountered a big problem.

 Chapter 4223 Free

    The real Snake Goddess briefly described Zen''s current situation.


    Naturally, Fuxi and the others were worried when they heard that Zen had fallen into the illusion.


    "What about the Monkey Spirit King? You had many allies with you when you entered the Jade Pure Realm this time," said the Snake Goddess.


    They were well-prepared for this expedition. They took the necessary precautions and decided it was best to go together.


    One could say that they gathered all of the powerful warriors in the Monkey Spirit Sect, the Bird Spirit Sect and the Human Spirit Sect.


    However, the real Snake Goddess smiled bitterly. "They are still not powerful enough... In the end, we just had to rely on Zen to kill the Snake Spirit King. Moreover, there is an even more powerful being behind the Snake Spirit King. He is the real root of all this chaos."


    When they heard this, the Snake Goddess, Fuxi, and the others fell silent. This unexpected turn of events was way beyond their wildest imaginations.


    "Let''s try reaching him through the Civilization Artifact of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization," suggested the Snake Goddess.


    When they reached another Civilization Artifact, they called out the green figure inside it.


    The green figure immediately responded. It agreed to their request and tried to communicate with Zen. Unfortunately, it failed again.


    The Regal Jade Civilization''s Civilization Artifact was the only artifact they hadn''t tried using. But because the first two Civilization Artifacts already failed, there was no need to try it anymore.


    "Zen is our only hope now. If he is defeated, then everything will be over..." The Snake Goddess pursed her lips. She was deeply distressed. Her beautiful face showed extreme anxiety.


    The others were at a loss for words. They didn''t know what else to do.


    Everyone was feeling downhearted and gloomy. All of a sudden, the Snake Goddess raised her head. Her eyes were fixed upon the crimson sky above them.


    Ever since Zen started the battle, energies of various colors flowed and danced in the crimson sky. All of the energies gathered in the center of the primitive land. In turn, these energies were being continuously transmitted to Zen. Even the creatures of the primitive land could sense that, as the energies'' aura was extremely powerful.


    "I''m just wondering about something. The ancestry-level bloodline is intelligent. Didn''t it notice that something happened to Zen?" the Snake Goddess mused while still staring up at the sky.


    The real Snake Goddess thought for a while. Then, she raised her eyebrows and said, "Maybe it hasn''t discovered it yet. We can try communicating with it!"


    Fuxi shrugged his shoulders and said, "The ancestry-level bloodline only communicates with Zen. It has never communicated with us."


    Everyone knew that this crimson sky possessed intelligence. Zen had even mentioned it to them befo


    nty-three kinds in the fourth-grade world.


    But they would develop into three thousand kinds in the third-grade world. The gap between them would be very huge.


    Zen''s current situation was very similar to being caught in the mind trapping technique. However, the humanoid creature''s theurgy was obviously stronger than the mind trapping technique of the ancestry-level bloodline.


    "I see. So it can only be consumed little by little..."


    As soon as it figured this out, the ancestry-level bloodline started to attack Zen''s soul incessantly.


    As expected, these soul attacks were quickly blocked by the white light and were extinguished in a flash.


    Even though the flashing white light was powerful, it was still limited.


    Meanwhile, Zen was still stubbornly killing those humanoid creatures. He was continuously absorbing the white light. The speed at which the light was consumed was not as fast as the speed in which he replenished it.


    As the ancestry-level bloodline''s soul attacks became more intense and relentless, the speed at which the white flashing light was consumed became faster!


    Slowly, the hostility on Zen''s face began to fade. His bright red eyes gradually returned to their original color.


    "What is happening? How..."


    The humanoid creature was not that far from where Zen was standing. A look of surprise flashed in his compound eyes.


    "How are you able to break free from the Soul Extreme Form? It is quite impossible... Ah, I see. Someone is helping you..."


    The humanoid creature was shocked. However, he didn''t pay much attention to it.


    His goal was not Zen to begin with. It was the irregular heavy sword he was after.


    As long as this sword was detached from Zen, he had nothing to fear.


    Gradually, the white light in Zen''s mind faded away. Finally, he came to his senses. Only then did he realize that the ones he killed were not the humanoid creatures, but merely black bugs.

 Chapter 4224 The Heavy Sword Losing Its Mind

    Zen had already managed to come back to his senses, but the heavy sword he was wielding in his hand was still trapped in the illusion of the humanoid creature.


    It was not easy for the spirit inside the sword to regain its senses. Thus, under its control, Zen just continued to slay the black bugs rushing towards him.


    At the same time, once a black bug was killed, a white light would appear from it.


    Some of the white lights would enter Zen''s body, while the rest penetrated the heavy sword.


    "What is this? What''s going on?"


    Zen couldn''t prevent the white lights from invading his body. As the lights reached his mind, he felt a sensation that his thoughts were being manipulated.


    Fortunately, the ancestry-level bloodline was on high alert. As soon as the white lights entered Zen''s mind, it would immediately take action and purge them.


    "Can you also destroy these white lights inside the sword?" Zen asked the ancestry-level bloodline. If the white lights continued to infest the heavy sword, he would also be greatly affected.


    "I can give it a try," the ancestry-level bloodline replied briefly.


    Without Zen telling it, it could sense that he was being controlled by the sword in his hand.


    Thus, the ancestry-level bloodline quickly released a brown aura, making it flow through Zen''s body and spread along his arms in order to permeate the heavy sword.


    The instant that the brown aura penetrated the sword, beams of white lights swarmed towards it.


    The white lights were like an automatic defense mechanism that attacked any foreign entity that probed into their territory.


    In their clash, the ancestry-level bloodline didn''t care about spending as much energy as it could because it was basically powered by infinite energy.


    It was pretty confident that it could prevail and remove all the white lights inside the sword, though it might take a little while.


    However, the sword responded immediately as the ancestry-level bloodline launched a soul attack.


    Currently, the spirit of the sword got carried away in slaying the black bugs. But when it noticed the soul attack coming from the ancestry-level bloodline, it immediately shifted its focus and fought without hesitation.


    Then, wisps of green energy came out of the sword''s spirit which looked like a ball of red light.


    As the green energy was released, the sword was able to successfully resist the soul attack of the ancestry-level bloodline.


    "This is troublesome¡­"


    The ancestry-level bloodline was rendered speechless by the turn of events.


    It definitely intended to save the sword''s spirit, but the latter saw the ancestry-level bloodline as an enemy and fought back.


    The white lights continued to confuse and control the spirit of the sword, but it had no way to realize it.


    "So, how did it go?" Zen inquired as he gripped tightly on th


    using the sword, producing green clouds of fire. These flaming clouds instantly burned the black cloud and turned it into nothing.


    However, the humanoid creature still had no intention of fighting Zen head-on. Just before the black cloud was vanquished, he quickly retreated and hid a place where the dark cloud didn''t cover. He then stretched out his hand, and fist-sized bugs came rushing out from the back hole on his palm.


    Upon sensing the black bugs, the sword immediately manipulated Zen again to kill them. The sword started wreaking havoc once more as if it had gone insane.


    "It''s so annoying! This guy doesn''t give me a chance to take a break at all!" Zen shouted as he narrowed his eyes towards the humanoid creature.


    The humanoid being perceived Zen''s vexation and laughed grimly. "You can''t fool me with your little tricks. Swear your loyalty to me before I completely pollute that sword''s spirit. What do you think?" he offered.


    He obviously wanted to deal with the sword using his Soul Extreme Form. Once he succeeded, he would be able to keep the spirit of the sword under his absolute control.


    "You think I would agree to that nonsense? No way!" Zen yelled coldly.


    "Well, you wasted your last chance, stupid human," the humanoid creature said in a disgruntled tone.


    As he stretched out his hand, more and more black bugs appeared and flew towards Zen. All of them were slaughtered by the sword, mistaking them for the humanoid beings as it was still greatly affected by the Soul Extreme Form.


    Consequently, more and more white lights invaded the sword, making the sword''s spirit break and lose its mind.


    As the humanoid creature witnessed this, his eyes flashed with thrill.


    "It''s almost done. Soul Storm!" he declared in a booming voice.


    As the humanoid creature issued the order, a massive number of white lights immediately gathered and entered the sword.

 Chapter 4225 Snatching The Sword

    Whir...


    The Soul Storm that the humanoid creature mentioned had blown up. The light emitted by the irregular heavy sword began to spread in a chaotic manner.


    Previously, although the sword was bewitched by the Soul Extreme Form, at least a part of it was still sober. It still attacked the humanoid creatures transformed by the black bugs in an orderly fashion.


    At this moment, however, the sword seemed to have become completely lost.


    The ancestry-level bloodline was still continuously providing it with energy, but it was transforming the injected energy into various forms and releasing it in random spurts.


    "Hoo, hoo..."


    Faint golden light shone from the cracks on the surface of the sword. Suddenly, a glowing circular ring appeared. The irregular heavy sword spewed out a bright golden beam.


    The light shot out and cut through the air.


    It obviously wasn''t targeting anything. It hit a random patch of ground.


    There was a crack as the light sliced down.


    It pierced through the ground of the Jade Pure Realm. The golden light penetrated to the stage below and kept going. It passed through the Grand Plain Stage, the Sanskrit Light Stage, the Blooming Jade Stage, the Constant Glory Stage...


    In a few seconds, almost every Other Shore creature on every stage saw this golden light column as it passed through.


    Some unfortunate Other Shore creatures happened to be in the way of the light, and whatever the light touched melted without a trace.


    Everything in the path of the golden light column was obliterated.


    But the irregular heavy sword was still emitting more energy.


    The circles of golden light appeared one after another around the sword.


    Golden light columns shot outwards in all directions, and there seemed to be nothing on the Other Shore that could stop them.


    Several light columns hit the altar, and a few Monkey Masters and Bird Masters who failed to dodge the beams dissipated upon being touched by the golden light.


    "The Holy Light Extreme Form!" said the humanoid creature, laughing. He enjoyed seeing the sword in a state of madness.


    Finally, the irregular heavy sword seemed to have released all the golden light. The surface of the sword began to darken, with traces of green forming on the sharp blade. A green mist rose from the sword.


    The green mist spread out. It contained many small dark green arrows.


    Although these small arrows had a powerful life energy, they were fatal. Every life form hit by the arrows would rapidly wither and die.


    Luckily, these dark green arrows were not as swift as the golden beams of light. Because the arrows moved at a slower speed, the people on the altar all managed to dodge the new attack.


    The humanoid creature didn''t dodge. He stood calmly in place and reached out


    .


    "Who is the Clarence he mentioned?" the Primeval Lord of Heaven asked curiously.


    Fuxi spread out his hands. "Does it even matter now?"


    The Snake Goddess and the Primeval Lord of Heaven didn''t say anything. Of course, they understood they were in dire straits.


    The humanoid creature raised the irregular heavy sword, looking around at everyone watching him. "I have not felt this excited in a long time! I''ll kill you and offer your lives to the sword!"


    A buzz filled the air, as the blade of the irregular heavy sword flashed with a dark purple energy.


    After several moments, purple cracks began spreading around the humanoid creature, and black energy balls emerged one after another from the cracks. These energy balls contained a violent and terrifying power.


    "Go to hell!" shouted the humanoid creature.


    Hundreds of purple black energy balls rained down from the sky, as though the God of Death had come.


    Some people started to run, trying to escape. Others stayed where they were. Some even changed their forms, trying to defend themselves against this new attack.


    The Snake Goddess stood still. These purple cracks were spreading very quickly. Before long, the entire Jade Pure Realm would be covered with purple black energy balls. When the purple black energy balls covered the whole area, they would die no matter where they had run.


    "Ah, Zen, it seems that you can''t escape this," she sighed. She looked towards Zen, who was lying on the ground in the distance.


    This was the first time that Zen had failed to meet the Snake Goddess''s expectations.


    It was not his fault. The existence he faced had already far exceeded the limits of his abilities and resistance. It was a miracle that he had held on for so long.


    Zen had always managed to pull miracles out of thin air, but he couldn''t create miracles forever.

 Chapter 4226 Reunion

    The purple energy balls were falling down slowly from above. It was as if a stage on the Other Shore was sluggishly crumbling after it collapsed.


    As the Primeval Lord of Heaven saw this, he quickly stretched out his hand and flicked two golden rings towards Fuxi and Gonggong. The rings that emitted golden lights darted and stopped above their heads.


    "You three, leave now while there''s still time¡­" the Primeval Lord of Heaven said in a soft voice.


    The Snake Goddess had a Descending Ring with her, so she could descend to the primitive land any time.


    "Then, what about you?" the Snake Goddess asked as she raised her eyebrows.


    "It makes no difference whether I leave or not." the Primeval Lord of Heaven replied with a bitter smile on his face.


    He clearly knew that everything and everyone was going to be destroyed eventually. There was no point in prolonging the suffering and needless struggles.


    However, deep inside him, all of his frustrations were built up. He couldn''t accept that everything was just going to end this way.


    Everyone knew how difficult it was for him to reach this certain step. However, he had failed in the last one, and now, he felt very much dead inside.


    Among them, Gonggong was the first one who activated the Descending Ring. After the ring emitted luminous lights, his body trembled, but his body still stayed right where he was.


    "What''s going on? I can''t leave?" Gonggong''s voice trembled as he realized this. Among the human heroes, he had always been the most careful and cautious one. He was relatively afraid of death.


    Fuxi was kind of surprised when he saw what happened to Gonggong, so he also activated the Descending Ring given to him.


    However, just as what happened to Gonggong, he also failed to leave.


    Then, the Snake Goddess gave it a try, but the result was just the same.


    A bitter and helpless smile appeared on her face as she looked at Zen in the distance. "If we can''t leave the Other Shore, then I''m afraid that it''s also the same for Zen¡­ "


    At the same moment, Zen was also quietly looking at the sky. His expression was as calm as ever.


    He had just tried to recite the Illusion Breaking Rune to leave the Jade Pure Realm, but it didn''t have any effect. It was as if he had been showered with the Soul Interdicting Water, making it impossible to leave the Other Shore.


    "Will the primitive land also collapse if I die?" Zen asked the ancestry-level bloodline with a hint of hesitation.


    "Yes," the ancestry-level bloodline replied briefly.


    Although the current primitive land was built with the aid of the ancestry-level bloodline, Zen was still its owner, making him indispensable to it.


    "What about you? What will happen to you after?" Zen asked again.


    "Me? I will have no choice but to leave the primitive land," the ancestry-level bloodline answered.


    "I see. Can you please take care of my family for me?" Zen asked with a slightly trembling voice.


    "Sure. I will."


    Actually, the result would still be the same whether the ancestry-level bloodline took care of them or not. Even Z


    ers of the entire Human Spirit Sect, and were also known as the smartest group of people within the sect. Even Elder Xue, who helped him obtain the ancestry-level bloodline, came from the Bold Conjecture House.


    As Zen finished speaking, Dorothy wasn''t able to hold her emotions anymore, and suddenly rushed and threw herself in Zen''s arms.


    "I''m so sorry, I came in too late. We might have the chance to avoid all this," she said in a muffled voice as she cried on Zen''s chest.


    Zen immediately understood when Dorothy said that she was late, but for a moment, he was a bit reluctant to realize what "chance" she was pertaining to. Then he smiled bitterly and said, "It''s indeed a little late, but even if you came a bit earlier, I''m afraid that nothing would have changed."


    "Why? What do you mean?" Dorothy asked with a puzzled expression as she wiped her tears.


    "Because even if you were able to wake Kincaid up, he wouldn''t be able to resist such an existence," Zen said calmly.


    "No way!"


    "Master Kincaid is the strongest warrior in the Human Spirit Sect. If he woke up, you''ll see that he would be much stronger than that guy!"


    "That''s right. Master Kincaid is our last hope. We must find him at once!"


    several long-haired monsters retorted and were convinced that Kincaid was the answer to surpass this overwhelming crisis.


    But Zen just gently smiled and said, "Even if Master Kincaid used that sword, he might not be as powerful as me."


    "How can you even be sure about that?" one of the long-haired monsters reacted in a cynical tone.


    "How?" Zen thought for a moment and said, "Because Elder Xue helped me obtain the ancestry-level bloodline. I''m the only one who could unleash the power of that sword to the fullest."


    "W-what?!"


    "How is that even possible?"


    "You mean that you have the ancestry-level bloodline within your body?"


    The long-haired monsters were all stunned. That was the only time that they remembered Elder Xue. He left the Bold Conjecture House a long time ago before he headed for the Deep Space.

 Chapter 4227 Satisfy His Obsession

    In the past, both the Bold Conjecture House and Kincaid himself had opposed Elder Xue''s idea of venturing into the Deep Space.


    As a result, Elder Xue decided to leave abruptly, without so much as a goodbye. He only left a letter for them.


    After that, they hadn''t heard from him. After all this time, they figured he had perished.


    And yet, now, Zen was claiming he had news from Elder Xue! Hence they felt shock mixed with doubt.


    "Elder Xue? How is it possible that you saw him?" a long-haired monster inquired, his tone littered with doubt.


    "Elder Xue went to the Deep Space alone back then," another long-haired monster mused aloud. "Although we thought he wouldn''t survive, he did manage to avoid the catastrophe that happened in the main world..."


    "Never mind that, he found the way to fuse with the ancestry-level bloodline!"


    "When and where did you see him?"


    The long-haired monsters buzzed with questions, their eyes brimming with excitement.


    Zen shook his head regretfully. "I didn''t see him personally, but someone else did."


    As soon as he finished speaking, the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord''s remnant soul emerged from above Zen''s head.


    He then recounted how he had met Elder Xue. He explained how he had hidden in the Jade Pure Realm and how Elder Xue had planned everything.


    The long-haired monsters all listened closely, their shock steadily growing with each story the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord told.


    Although they all shared the same roots and were all very smart creatures, they couldn''t deny that they were impressed by how far Elder Xue had come.


    "I must admit, Elder Xue is the most far-sighted person amongst the Bold Conjecture House..."


    "I didn''t expect him to come so far!"


    "We should have believed him back then..."


    While the other long-haired monsters discussed excitedly, a white-haired monster slowly took a few steps forward. "I was wrong about Elder Xue," he suddenly said, his tone filled with regret. "I had even scolded him back then. I didn''t know he had so much alone..." Then, he smiled. "But what''s important is, he made it!"


    "May I know your name?" Zen asked him politely.


    The white-haired monster cupped his hands courteously and said, "I am Hilario Wen, the chief of the Bold Conjecture House."


    The strongest person in the Human Spirit Sect was Kincaid, the Human Spirit King. Below him were the Ten Directions House and the Bold Conjecture House. The two houses were responsible for military and civil affairs, respectively. Hence, Hilario was in charge of the latter.


    Zen also cupped his hands and bowed in return.


    Hilario studied Zen carefully. "The an


    n of his daughter, her memories of the previous life didn''t come with her. Thus, this father was a total stranger to her.


    Dorothy had been brought up by Yasamin since she was a child, and she had been well taken care of in the Origin Mountain. It could be said that she was the apple of everyone''s eye back home, but at the back of her mind, she hoped to see her parents all this time.


    Now that she stood before her father, she felt mixed feelings.


    Inside the Treacherous Being''s body, Kincaid did not have a clear perception of the outside world. He was trapped in the cage of obsession, and his children had been his strongest obsession. When Dorothy was presented in front of him, alive, this information was like a beacon of light that shone into his dark world.


    The cage that bound him started to break little by little...


    "Has he woken up?"


    one of the long-haired monsters grumbled after waiting for a long while.


    "Shut up!"


    The remaining long-haired monsters glared at him fiercely, shutting him up immediately.


    Just then, Kincaid slowly raised his hand and stroked Dorothy''s face. His eyes opened slowly, only to reveal tears streaming down his face.


    Although the general atmosphere had been a bit glum, what with the news of Zen losing the irregular heavy sword, once they saw the Human Spirit King wake up, the mood instantly brightened.


    At least...


    They finally completed their mission.


    Kincaid stared at Dorothy''s face for a long while, his eyes filled with affection. Then, he slowly shifted his gaze to Zen.


    "Young man, are you the one who took me out of the altar?" Kincaid asked.


    Zen nodded. "Please forgive me, Master Kincaid. I took your sword but failed to keep it. It''s in someone else''s possession now."

 Chapter 4228 The New Hope

    Since Kincaid was put into the Sumeru Space by Zen, he was completely cut off from the outside world.


    He didn''t realize that his sword had already been lost until Zen told him.


    As he heard this piece of news, his hand greatly trembled and a look of extreme surprise appeared on his face. "It fell into the hands of the Snake Spirit King?"


    "No. It is an existence that is even far stronger than the Snake Spirit King," Zen replied.


    Then, Zen took the liberty of telling him what had happened in his battle against the humanoid being.


    When Zen mentioned the ancestry-level bloodline, Kincaid wasn''t able to hide his excitement. He was just as thrilled as the others from the Bold Conjecture House. Afterward, the topic went back to Elder Xue, and Zen repeated what he had said to the others.


    Hearing all of this, Kincaid wasn''t able to keep his calm for a long time.


    The development of the situation was far beyond his expectation. They were in such a precarious condition, and even time was their enemy.


    Since a long time ago, Kincaid had hated Cornelius to the core. Even if he racked his mind, he couldn''t figure out a sensible reason why Cornelius wanted to destroy the Four Spirits Sect.


    But now, the mystery had been revealed. He came to understand everything.


    Just as Zen had said, the downgrader was a warrior from the world of a higher grade, and once he got a hold of the irregular heavy sword, no one would probably have the chance to defeat him.


    "Since the downgrader could downgrade the world from a higher grade to a lower one, his strength should be something that we can''t fight against. Then, why is he hiding behind Cornelius''s shadow?" Kincaid was a little confused about this part.


    "I think it is because he has lost a large portion of his strength, and the heavy sword was his way to make up for it," Zen replied. "My basis for saying that is because the Deep Space hasn''t been completely downgraded yet, and only a small portion of the main world has been downgraded."


    Zen was pointing out that if the downgrader possessed all of his original power, there was no need for him to manipulate the Snake Spirit King. He could just directly perform the downgrade.


    "I get your point. If that''s the case, he will begin the downgrade after he got my sword, right?" Kincaid emphasized.


    After all, he was a creature of the main world. Living in the third-grade world made him feel restricted as if his eyes were blindfolded.


    "You''re right. Even before he got the sword, the downgrade has already begun. He wants to control the entire chaos and expand it outwards," Zen explained.


    Although this was just speculation at first, it had been later confirmed by the ancestry-level bloodline.


    The ancestry-level bloodline had once described the process of downgrading to Zen. At first, it would seem to begin from a bead of water dropping into a pond, which would then create a small bubble. Then, this bubble would expand indefinitely until it finally drained all the water in the entire pond. When the bubble occupied all the spa


    Space finally collapsed."


    "It must mean that these two races were evenly matched in terms of strength," Zen speculated. "But it''s still hard to believe that during that long-term war, neither of the two sides was able to gain the upper hand. Usually, one side will inevitably continue to rise and the other one will decline. It''s very difficult to maintain such a balance."


    "That is correct¡­ in normal circumstances." Kincaid continued, "What maintained the balance between the two great forces were the heavy sword that belonged to the emperor of the Cinnabar race, and the other object, with almost the same prowess as the sword, that belonged to the Fostering race."


    This was not something that Kincaid just deduced. Back then, when he obtained the sword of the Cinnabar race, he was also able to obtain some information indicating that the Fostering race had the same weapon, which granted them the power to withstand the Cinnabar race.


    Of course, Kincaid became curious and tried to look for it, but he didn''t succeed. After all, the broken Deep Space was a vast and extremely dangerous place.


    Realizing what Kincaid was trying to say, Zen butted in, "Now, we have to search for this weapon, right?"


    Kincaid nodded repeatedly. "That''s why I have to make sure that Elder Xue is still alive and is still somewhere in the Deep Space. No one among us can return to the main world, meaning that we also can''t reach the Deep Space. If we want to find this object, we can only rely on him."


    Everyone was amazed at how fast Kincaid was able to come up with a feasible solution. Just now, everyone was still immersed in despair and felt that the situation was completely hopeless. Even Zen was almost on the brink of giving up. However, Kincaid was the only one who was not affected by the oppressive pressure that the situation was bringing. In fact, he was able to find a glimmer of hope in a very short time. He was really born with tremendous talents that could turn the tables just when everything seemed to be already falling apart.

 Chapter 4229 The End Of The World

    A sense of relief washed over those gathered in the passageway.


    They knew the chances were slim with what Kincaid said, but at least there was a possibility.


    "But even if Elder Xue was alive, how would we get in touch with him?" Hilario pointed out.


    It was a serious question and a realistic concern, though it sounded pessimistic.


    They were in the third-grade world now. They''d have to cross the main world to enter the Deep Space and reach Elder Xue.


    But the entire main world had become a barren wasteland after the calamity Cornelius brought upon it. Neither the Treacherous Beings nor the long-haired monsters could return.


    New creatures and races had appeared in the main world over time, but they were entirely different to those in the past.


    The long-haired monsters looked hopefully at Kincaid, as well.


    They were eagerly waiting for a definite answer, too.


    They were more afraid of having no purpose in life than death itself. They would dedicate themselves to any goal Kincaid gave them.


    A look of hesitation flashed across Kincaid''s face.


    If they couldn''t enter the main world, then they couldn''t reach the Deep Space.


    There was no way to communicate with Elder Xue unless he reached out himself using the Heaven Projection.


    "Master Kincaid, we have two human beings in the main world," Zen offered.


    "You have people there?" Kincaid looked surprised. "But if they haven''t gone through the Red Jade Rite, wouldn''t it be difficult for them to move around in the main world?"


    The Red Jade Rite was an exclusive method of the Four Spirits Sect allowing creatures from the third-grade world to enter the fourth-grade world.


    But if even the Four Spirits Sect could no longer use the Red Jade Rite, how could anyone else?


    "One of them indeed has been rendered immobile, but the other, my son, can walk freely throughout the main world even without having undergone the Red Jade Rite," Zen responded.


    "Really?" Kincaid''s eyes lit up. "Where is he now?"


    "He has climbed to the top of a holy pillar," Zen said.


    Kincaid looked impressed.


    "It''s amazing someone from the secondary world was able to get that far!


    I once captured some powerhouses of the third-grade world and let them into the main world. However, they immediately lost their sight and hearing as soon as


    The humanoid creature''s sharp eyes fell on the Grandmaster of Heaven. It sent chills down his spine.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven hurriedly took out the Descending Ring. He knew the sensible thing to do right now was to get away and keep himself safe. After all, his greatest protector had already fallen.


    The humanoid creature just scoffed seeing the Grandmaster of Heaven scramble to escape.


    His mocking laughter rang through the air as he rode the Bird Spirit King away.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven gritted his teeth and hissed in humiliation. As the leader of the Nihility race, he was held in high esteem on the Other Shore. But now, he was looked down upon. He had the sudden urge to fight the humanoid creature.


    But he soon snapped out of it as he noticed more purple-black energy spheres falling around him. He activated the Descending Ring and disappeared from the Supreme Pure Realm.


    As this happened, the purple-black energy spheres also started appearing in the sky of the Grand Pure Realm.


    Many Other Shore races in the Grand Pure Realm were gripped with horror upon seeing them. They never imagined the Three Purities Stage would be destroyed.


    Some of the Other Shore creatures quickly began to flee toward Stage Thirty-two of the Other Shore, the Grand Plain Stage, but most of them were paralyzed by shock. By the time they gathered their wits about them, it was too late.


    They could do nothing but watch as their lives, their friends and family, and their homeland for billions of years were wiped out in a snap.

 Chapter 4230 Survivors

    In the Source World, on a black ship, a golden ring suddenly appeared.


    From below this golden ring, a figure then emerged; it was the Grandmaster of Heaven.


    "G... Grandmaster of Heaven, what business do you have here?" asked Shera as she strode towards him, astonished by his arrival.


    People from the Other Shore would usually inform the Black Ship first before they showed up. Only after the crew had made the arrangements would they land at the world.


    Since the Grandmaster of Heaven had shown up unannounced, Shera suspected something major must have happened on the Other Shore.


    "The Three Purities Stage has collapsed to ruins," revealed the Grandmaster of Heaven with pure shock written all across his face. He was having trouble believing what took place himself.


    He had been to the Jade Pure Realm before and knew what the Treacherous Beings were capable of. But even so, destroying the Three Purities Stage was not easy work.


    "What did you say?" Shera covered her mouth, overtaken by surprise.


    ''The Three Purities Stage represents the top force on the Other Shore, how could it come to such an end?'' she wondered.


    "Who''s responsible for the destruction? Is it the Snake Spirit King?"


    A voice came from beside the Grandmaster of Heaven. A dark green grass then began growing rapidly on the deck and blooming, before a bean pod formed.


    The pod opened and a green creature came out. The blurry figure cleared into the Evil God. It was he who threw these questions at the Grandmaster of Heaven.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven looked on at him in admiration on seeing his ability to create his appearance in that way. ''This guy is really quite proficient in the laws of the Source World.


    I heard he can possess other creatures and live within them. It now seems he is able to materialize a living being of his own and appear like this, '' thought the Grandmaster of Heaven to himself.


    "It was not the Snake Spirit King. It''s someone with a strange appearance; he is humanoid," replied the Grandmaster of Heaven, shaking his head.


    "Who is he? Where is he from?" asked the Evil God with his head tilted in curiosity.


    "I have no clue," answered the Grandmaster of Heaven with a deep frown.


    "What? Even you do not know who he is?" questioned the Evil God with raised eyebrows.


    He was even more arrogant than before. In his eyes, the Grandmaster of Heaven was someone to provide him with any useful information he might need. If he couldn''t even do that, he was useless to him.


    "I wasn''t in the Jade Pure Realm when the fight broke out and so I have no knowledge of what


    f me!"


    The Evil God snapped his fingers and another flame arose, this time purple. "This is also a bloodline power of the main world, right?" he asked again.


    "The third ability of the destruction quadrant," Duran snorted defiantly.


    These two types of fire were among the most common abilities obtained from the ancestry-level bloodline, so Duran recognized them at a glance.


    But he had missed a significant detail; where had the Evil God acquired these bloodline powers?


    The Grandmaster of Heaven had not ignored it though. "Evil God, you have never been to the Eternal Scroll Painting. How did you get your hands on those?" he asked, staring at him incredulously.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven''s words brought something to Duran''s mind. "Where did you get the bloodline powers? Did you reach the Eternal Realm in the Source World?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at the Evil God.


    As far as he knew, although there were Eternal Realm warriors in the Source World, the root-level bloodlines they had inherited were garbage. Even if the Evil God reached the Eternal Realm, acquiring the two flames that he had displayed was impossible. He too now began wondering how he had come to possess these two bloodline powers.


    The Evil God didn''t answer. Instead he smiled and suggested, "How about some magic? The third flame..."


    Whoosh!


    A white fire burst from the Evil God''s mouth. It was the twelfth ability of the destruction quadrant.


    The three flames quickly intertwined.


    "Did you blend some bloodlines?" Duran mused calmly.


    That he had acquired the bloodline powers was surprising, but blending some bloodlines was not difficult. In the Four Spirits Sect, many beings at Duran''s level knew how to blend bloodlines.

 Chapter 4231 The Energy Ball

    The Evil God remained calm.


    Once again, he waved his left hand. The fourth flame rose slowly from his palm.


    Seeing this, the Grandmaster of Heaven appeared even more shocked.


    ''I heard that the Evil God was able to cultivate the three thousand Godly Ways. Furthermore, he managed to integrate them. But how did he get his hands on the bloodline powers? Did he get them through the three thousand Godly Ways?


    That would be impossible!'' the Grandmaster of Heaven thought to himself as he stared at the flame.


    In the blink of an eye, something incredible happened.


    The fourth flame had instantly merged with the mixture of the other three flames.


    Soon after, the Evil God manifested a faint purple bloodline power. This power was from the life quadrant. Without any sign of hesitation, he combined this with the mixture of the four flames.


    "That''s it? Is that the magic you wanted to show me?" Duran was already getting impatient.


    The Evil God''s performance of blending the bloodlines meant nothing to him. He actually found it quite boring.


    "Be patient and watch," replied the Evil God with a confident smile.


    Out of nowhere, they heard a swishing sound. Phew! They heard it one after another.


    The Evil God snapped his fingers several times. Each time, more bloodline powers kept appearing. They immediately merged with the mixture of those he had shown before.


    Duran was utterly bewildered when he saw so many different kinds of blood powers.


    He pondered upon this. ''The Evil God is incredible! How was he able to obtain that many kinds of bloodline powers?''


    He blended about thirty bloodline powers. Afterward, it formed a black and red ball. It began to expand for a second and then shrunk the next. It was like a human''s heart beating madly. It seemed like it might explode at any point in time.


    Shera and the Grandmaster of Heaven were very apprehensive about the energy contained inside the ball.


    If the ball exploded, it wouldn''t kill the Evil God and Duran. After all, the Evil God had infinite avatars and Duran was a Treacherous Being. On the other hand, Shera and the Grandmaster of Heaven wouldn''t be able to survive the explosion.


    "What on earth is this?" Duran asked with furrowed brows.


    In fact, he didn''t understand why the Evil God would show this to him.


    Based from his observation, it was not that easy for the Evil God to blend the energies.


    Moreover, the power of the destruction quadrant was extremely unstable. He wondered what the purpose of the Evil God was for doing this.


    The black and red ball sprang from the Evil God''s hand and traveled for a distance. At that moment, he stretched o


    ired the bloodline powers first."


    "Fine, how did you get them then?" Duran inquired immediately. He couldn''t keep the excitement from his voice.


    The Evil God tilted his head and raised one hand above his shoulder. "The Ways-blending Energy is the origin of all the energies in the chaos," he replied calmly.


    As he said that, the colorful Ways-blending Energy grew bigger in the Evil God''s hand.


    "Even the six truth powers are born from the Ways-blending Energy. Thus, the Ways-blending Energy is the foundation of all materials. To sum it up, the Ways-blending Energy and the bloodline powers in the main world are the same thing. Therefore, the two things can change into one another," continued the Evil God.


    "What? That can''t be right!"


    Duran shook his head as he retorted determinedly.


    As a matter of fact, the people of the Bold Conjecture House had long come up with the theory that the Evil God just told him.


    However, the Bird Masters were not interested in these theoretical things back then. Therefore, Duran didn''t hear about this theory. When he heard what the Evil God said, he thought he was merely talking nonsense. Duran might believe it if he heard it directly from the intelligent scholars of the Bold Conjecture House.


    The members of the Bold Conjecture House worked out lots of theories and did lots of experiments. Unfortunately, no one was able to prove those theories back then.


    The Evil God smiled ambiguously. He put his palm down so that it faced the ground. The Godly Way energy came out through his fingers. In the blink of an eye, hundreds of kinds of Godly Way energy appeared. It was quite easy for the Evil God to do that.


    "Watch this first then tell me later what you think," answered the Evil God mysteriously.

 Chapter 4232 Extreme Form And Field

    The Godly Way energy that was rising out from his fingertips danced around in the air before slowly merging into a delicate ring.


    "What kind of bloodline do you have, Master Duran?" the Evil God asked.


    Duran understood what the Evil God wanted to do. He gently flapped his left wing, and a brilliant light flew out from the edges of his sharp feathers. The bloodline he possessed was of a mixed kind. It had the abilities of space-time and life quadrants. Theoretically, the fusion of just three bloodline abilities wasn''t much impressive, but it was still quite useful. In fact, Duran was the only one in the Four Spirits Sect who had managed to master this fusion.


    The Evil God glanced at Duran''s wings and in response, ten wisps of Godly Way energy rose out from his fingertips as well. They also started to merge into the ring. The whole process was being done very skillfully, and the dexterity here was definitely worth witnessing.


    "Whoosh!"


    The ring trembled slightly, and a strand of brilliant light began flowing around it.


    "You possess a bloodline theurgy concerning bodily movement skill. It''s very useful," the Evil God commented.


    Duran''s body froze when he saw the familiar brilliance of the light.


    The blended bloodline he possessed was exclusive to the Four Spirits Sect, or more precisely, exclusive to him. But the Evil God had managed to master it with just a few glances!


    He couldn''t believe his eyes.


    "Is... this how you restore the bloodline powers?" The Grandmaster of Heaven was visibly excited at the prospect of witnessing something new. "How are you able to do it so skillfully?"


    The Evil God calmly infused more Godly Way energy into the ring, and the bloodline power inside it continued to change. He replied indifferently, "I restore the Godly Way energy to the bloodline powers. It is something I''ve practiced millions of times, and therefore, comes naturally to me. It''s a piece of cake. The difficult task is restoring them to a higher level of power, by which I mean the power of the Deep Space that Duran mentioned..."


    After saying that, the Evil God raised up his hand and pointed towards the side of the ship.


    In the huge square that lay in the distance, tens of thousands of avatars of the Evil God were busy doing their jobs.


    When the first avatar had proposed the concept of restoring, it had attracted the attention of the Evil God. As a rather sensitive person, he had immediately asked all of his avatars to drop whatever they were doing and focus solely on studying possible methods of restoration.


    In order to speed up the task, the Evil God had also been creating more and more avatars to divide and conquer. Very soon, three of the avatars had managed to discover the secrets of the restoration and isolated a unique kind of bloodline power.


    Although things had been difficult at the beginning, after the first step, they had started becoming simpler.


    Soon after that, they ha


    owers exist in the form of Field."


    Both Duran and the Grandmaster of Heaven had nothing to say now. What the Evil God was talking about was beyond their comprehension and they didn''t know what they should ask.


    In the primitive land, the Snake Goddess, and the others were still under the bloody sky. They didn''t know what was happening on the Other Shore. The fact that Zen hadn''t returned yet made them uneasy but there was nothing they could do.


    The Snake Goddess tried calling for the ancestry-level bloodline. In theory, the bloodline should know the situation of the Other Shore.


    However, the ancestry-level bloodline didn''t respond to her and the others at all. It was as if the bloodline was gone. Thus, Fuxi sat down cross legged and decided to take a risk and enter the Other Shore.


    The moment he entered the Other Shore, his body fell down rapidly. He should have landed in the Night View Island.


    After he finally managed to stabilize himself, he looked around and was stunned. His face looked like he had been struck by lightning.


    "The... the Night View Island... The Jade Pure Realm... They''re all gone..."


    There was only some debris around Fuxi, and the big and small Pure Sky Platforms had completely disappeared.


    When he withdrew from the Other Shore, his face had darkened severely.


    When the Snake Goddess, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, and the others asked him what was happening, Fuxi shook his head and told them, "You can go there and see for yourselves. I don''t know what or how to say."


    Thus, the Snake Goddess, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, and the others hurried towards the Other Shore. What they saw was a complete void with only debris lying around.


    Eastern Emperor Taiyi was as flustered as Fuxi was when he saw this. "The whole Jade Pure Realm is just gone?!"


    On the contrary, the Snake Goddess calmed down quickly.


    "Zen should be fine."


    If something had happened to him, the primitive land would not have been so calm.

 Chapter 4233 The Opportunity To Reverse The Situation

    At the Snake Goddess''s words, Eastern Emperor Taiyi smiled and said, "You forgot that his real body is in the primitive land. We''ll know for sure once we go take a look."


    "Of course! Let''s go back!" As she spoke, the Snake Goddess began to chant the Illusion Breaking Rune to retreat from the Other Shore.


    The sudden disappearance of the Jade Pure Realm had shocked her beyond measure, and she had momentarily forgotten that Zen''s physical body was in the Pear Hill.


    Once they returned to the primitive land, they utilized the Grand Teleportation to return to the jadeite platform on the Pear Hill. Zen was still there sitting upright, his face ruddy but calm, and his breathing even. The life energy within his body was flowing in all directions. This would make ordinary people feel refreshed if they got close to him and could extend their life span.


    It was truly a relief to see that Zen was safe and sound.


    The moment Zen had risen to prominence within the Source World, they had come to know his importance. They knew he was their only hope, that no other would do. If he perished, everything would become meaningless.


    "The Jade Pure Realm is gone. Where could Zen be hiding?"


    "With his theurgies, he should have entered some sort of space..."


    "Even so, he should have returned already. Why wouldn''t he have woken up yet?"


    Both spoken words and silent thoughts were revolving around Zen''s possible situation.


    On the jadeite platform, Judson, Gerald and Kendrick, also joined the discussion.


    Since they knew nothing of what happened to the Jade Pure Realm, their discussion went nowhere, so they anxiously waited for Zen to awaken.


    Fortunately, they didn''t have to wait for too long. Several hours later, Zen''s eyes slowly blinked open.


    "Finally! You''re awake."


    "Zen, are you alright?"


    "What on earth happened on the Other Shore?"


    They crowded around him, throwing a barrage of questions at him without pause.


    For a moment, Zen wasn''t sure how to answer or if he should, but then he asked, "Where is Madam Yasamin?"


    Dorothy cared the most about Yasamin. She had entered the door to save her grandmother, but Zen had already rescued Yasamin from the Other Shore before Dorothy.


    "Madam Yasamin is in the Sword Reading Peak. Why? What''s wrong?" the Snake Goddess asked, confused.


    Many things should have occurred on the Other Shore, but she wasn''t sure why any of those things would have a thing to do with Yasamin. Why did Zen ask for her the moment he woke up?


    "Someone wishes to see her. Please ask her to come," said Zen.


    The Snake Goddess was surprised, and she had to take a moment to think over what he had said. "Dorothy is still alive?" Her voice betrayed her shock at the news.


    She was already aware of Dorothy''s disappearance. If there was anyone on the Other Shore who


    gure as well as the goal of Zen''s trip to the Jade Pure Realm.


    Kincaid nodded at Yasamin and said, "Thank you for taking care of Dorothy in the chaos."


    The Human Spirit King Kincaid...


    Dorothy''s father...


    Yasamin was dumbfounded. Although she knew that Dorothy''s origin was extraordinary, she was beyond amazed that her father could be the Human Spirit King.


    The expressions of the Snake Goddess, Fuxi and the others were similar: utter surprise. After a short period of silence, they raised their hands in a salute.


    "I''m Snake Goddess. It''s a pleasure to meet you, Master Kincaid..."


    "I''m Fuxi. Greetings..."


    "My name is..."


    Kincaid waved his hand and said, "You don''t need to be so courteous. You all have helped me. It is thanks to you that I am still alive and could wake up!"


    "We''re blessed by the Deep Space. I didn''t expect that our human spirits would be saved by the human race in the end..." Hilario said softly.


    Zen then went on to tell them what happened in the Three Purities Stage. Only then did the Snake Goddess, Fuxi and the others know the truth.


    "Then the real versions of ourselves... are all dead?" Fuxi said, his eyes wide. He had never expected their situation to turn so tragic.


    The Snake Goddess on the other hand was as calm as ever. Her sharp mind was going over everything that had been said before she said, "So if what you say is true, and the sword fell into the hands of the downgrader, aren''t we all doomed to lose then?


    "That is why we came here. We are searching for an opportunity to reverse the situation," Kincaid replied.


    "Is there such an opportunity in the primitive land? Perhaps it is the ancestry-level bloodline?" the Snake Goddess asked, brows scrunched in confusion.


    "It''s not the ancestry-level bloodline," Zen said as he pointed in the direction of the Ruin Graveyard. "Our opportunity lies there."

 Chapter 4234 The Proud Geoffrey

    The Snake Goddess, Fuxi, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, and the others, were all thrown into a state of confusion.


    The opportunity to defeat the downgrader was in the Ruin Graveyard?


    Although the Ruin Graveyard was created by the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord''s painstaking efforts, after the chaos began to downgrade, it was unable to even survive itself. Did it have what it took to defeat the downgrader once and for all?


    What were the odds of it coming true?


    Just as they remained in their spots and made efforts to sort their thoughts out, a bright light suddenly erupted before their eyes from the Ruin Graveyard.


    Whoosh!


    The bright light ascended upwards and pierced through the sky.


    "What was that?"


    "Damn, what incredible energy!"


    "Who could possibly possess such astounding theurgy in the Ruin Graveyard?"


    Fuxi, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, and the three Chaos Ancient Gods kept their gazes fixated at the source of the energy as their eyes glowed from the reflection of the blinding light.


    Although the Pear Hill was adjacent to the Ruin Graveyard, there was still a significant amount of distance that separated the two huge lands from each other. Even so, the energy fluctuating from the light was so overpowering that it could be felt through distances far and wide!


    The power that this beam of light harnessed far surpassed that of the Chaos Ancient Gods and the Eternal Realm warriors.


    Whoosh...


    If the beam of light wasn''t contained in time, it could pierce through the sky shrouded in crimson red and reach the ends of the primitive land.


    However, just as this unstoppable beam of light extended towards the bloody red sky, many obstructions containing energy in the form of green beehives appeared to stop it in its tracks. Although the beam of light was considerably stronger than the beehives, the moment they collided with each other, a clear deafening sound reverberated through the sky and sent vibrations far and wide. The two seemed to have canceled each other out and later withered away till they vanished out of sight.


    "Is this your doing? Is this the opportunity you were talking about?" the Snake Goddess asked while still gazing at the sky.


    Zen, too, wore a puzzled expression on his face as he looked into the distance. Fortunately, he had omniscient abilities in the primitive land. As he focused for a brief moment, he learned what had happened, and a smile of relief appeared on his face as his tense expression eased up. "It wasn''t us who did it, but there''s no doubt in my mind that the opportunity is there. Everyone! Follow me!"


    With a wave of his hand, Zen wrapped everyone in a layer of space created by him. The next moment, they had teleported inside the Ruin Graveyard.


    On a cliff in the Ruin Graveyard, Rocher stood rooted to his spot with the Lone Sword in his grip, his eyes wide open in shock.


    Ever since Geoffrey pulled out the black stone on the holy pillar that was connected to the sword at the other end, the Lone Sword had lost its old essence as it stopped being responsive and turned into a lifeless scrap of metal. However, Rocher didn''t seem to worry about it too much. Geoffrey had told him that he would continue to seek out a stro


    to Zen and stood aside. He could see that Zen and the others were desperate to communicate with Geoffrey.


    This kind of exchange was strenuous on people on the both ends, so Zen didn''t want to waste any time and cut straight to the chase. "Geoffrey, it''s true that I''m proud of what you''ve done. Controlling this sword is enough to make your Uncle Rocher the number one warrior in the chaos, but the enemy we are facing is far stronger. We need your help to defeat it."


    "Stronger, you say? How strong could it even be?" Geoffrey replied nonchalantly, seemingly unfazed by Zen''s words.


    "Have you ever witnessed the Deep Space?" Zen asked, maintaining his calm demeanor.


    "You mean the remains floating in the sky? Yeah, I''ve seen it before. I can see it from a certain position of the holy pillar," Geoffrey replied.


    He could see it when he climbed to the top of the holy pillars of the Snake Spirit Sect and the Human Spirit Sect. It was easily visible from there.


    Zen continued to explain to Geoffrey the dire situation they were in, "The enemy we are about to face is from that place, so we need you to find a person in the Deep Space, whose surname is Xue."


    There was another key point to consider in the plan that Kincaid had proposed - Geoffrey could walk freely within the main world, but could he walk freely in the Deep Space?


    Whether it was Elder Xue, Kincaid, or Sheehan, if they entered the Deep Space, they would find themselves in the exact same situation as Zen when he had entered the main world, as they were rendered sightless and couldn''t see anything and it would be very difficult for them to even walk. This was all because they did not belong to the fifth-grade world.


    Fortunately for Geoffrey, the Deep Space was in a broken state. A large part of the space had already been downgraded and reduced to the main world, and that was why the Four Spirits Sect had the chance to explore the Deep Space.


    The difficulty of the task was the last thing on Geoffrey''s mind. Instead, he was eager to prove his usefulness to his father. "The Deep Space is on a significant height. Is there a way I can get there?"

 Chapter 4235 Circles

    The Deep Space and the main world were completely different in so many aspects. With Geoffrey''s current strength, it would be impossible for him to cross between them.


    "Well¡­" Zen looked at the Human Spirit King.


    He didn''t even know much about the main world, let alone the Deep Space.


    Noticing this, the Human Spirit King immediately said, "There is a transmission array at the top of the Eternal Divine Courtyard. Through this, one can go to the Deep Space."


    The Four Spirits Sect treated the Deep Space with great importance. They believed that this place was like a vast land that was filled with precious treasures.


    Therefore, they had spent a lot of time, effort, and resources building a transmission array in the Eternal Divine Courtyard that would connect them to the Deep Space. This way, they were able to monopolize the resources that could be found there.


    "The Eternal Divine Courtyard? You mean the courtyard that is chained down?" Geoffrey asked out of curiosity.


    "Indeed," Kincaid replied.


    "But wouldn''t it be too difficult to activate such a transmission array?" Zen was a bit worried. After all, it was a transmission array that linked two great worlds.


    "In theory, yes. But you don''t have to worry. The energy needed to activate the transmission array is provided by the Time Lock. As long as Geoffrey can successfully climb and enter the top of the Eternal Divine Courtyard, there is no doubt that he can activate the transmission array," Kincaid remarked confidently.


    In the main world, there were so many legacies left behind by the Four Spirits Sect that could last forever, unless the entire main world was fully downgraded.


    Right now, Kincaid was being very patient. He knew that he could not solve this crisis by himself, so he needed to trust and depend on Geoffrey.


    Although Geoffrey was a human with relatively weak strength, currently, he was the only hope that the whole world could cling to.


    Then, Kincaid went on to tell Geoffrey in detail everything that he needed to know about the Deep Space, and what might be waiting for him in that place.


    Upon hearing Kincaid elaborating the details about the Deep Space, Zen and the others couldn''t help but feel amused.


    In the eyes of the people from the third-grade world, the main world would appear that it was composed of countless snow-white dots of light. On the other hand, if the people from the main world viewed the Deep Space, they would be able to see a lot of circles floating around. It was inevitable for people from a lower-grade world to see a higher-grade world from a different perspective.


    It took Kincaid about four hours to finish explaining to Geoffrey everythi


    didn''t feel any pain even after being drilled by the mysterious beam of light.


    Swoosh!


    A few more rays of light rose and drilled through his body. Two of them pierced through the soles of his feet, and another one bored through his head.


    "Wait a minute. Is the transmission array going to split me into countless pieces before I get transported?" Geoffrey felt a little scared. This process was a little weird for him. There were holes in his body but he didn''t feel any pain.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Eventually, more and more beams of lights rose and created countless holes in his body.


    As the number of holes increased, fewer body parts remained intact. After the lights shot through the remaining parts, Geoffrey''s entire body disappeared from the array.


    Then, the same beams of light shot upwards. Geoffrey felt that his body and his consciousness were carried within these lights.


    After a while, the beams of light finally arrived at their destination. Then, they turned into flesh and blood that eventually formed Geoffrey''s original body.


    When the beams of light had finished restoring Geoffrey''s body, he opened his eyes and looked into the distance.


    Then, he remembered Kincaid''s warning. He said that if Geoffrey wouldn''t be able to understand the Deep Space, he had to walk to the right all the time.


    Currently, more than half of the Deep Space had already been downgraded, and there were many areas of the main world in it. The nearest area was at the end of the right path.


    When Geoffrey started looking around, the corners of his mouth curled up, and a proud expression appeared on his face.


    He could clearly see the circles that formed the Deep Space. He was finally here, and he had to do everything correctly because everyone''s survival depended on him.

 Chapter 4236 Spiders

    Although it was the first time that Geoffrey entered the Deep Space, he had hunch that he could see this place clearly.


    He might have acquired this confidence when he entered the Abstruse Energy World. That was why he was not that surprised when he did see the Deep Space.


    Currently, he was in some circular secret room.


    On the walls of this secret room, several ancient patterns were vividly engraved. However, Geoffrey wasn''t able to understand any of these words or markings.


    "He said to go right?"


    Remembering what Kincaid had told him, Geoffrey took a few steps forward and chose to walk along the right side of the passage. Upon treading this path, he saw the other end of the passage was broken. The other end had been downgraded to a fourth-grade space.


    As Kincaid was not sure if Geoffrey could move freely in the Deep Space, he asked him to walk in this fourth-grade space.


    Now that Geoffrey knew about his ability, he believed he didn''t need to choose this kind of broken road.


    He quickly withdrew from the right passage he was treading earlier and started walking straight towards the road ahead.


    This was a long and narrow pathway, and its surroundings were paved with transparent bricks. He noticed that each of these bricks was encircled by countless tiny rings that emitted bright lights, which illuminated the entire pathway.


    If the measurement of the third-grade world was to be followed, this passage would be about three thousand feet long. After a short while, he was finally able to reach its end.


    As he stepped out of the passage, a dazzling light welcomed him, making him feel a bit dizzy. Eventually, he was able to adapt to the light. Upon looking up, he was instantly shocked by the scene that appeared in front of him.


    There was a huge golden circle floating in the sky, and it was the one responsible for projecting endless luminous lights in all directions.


    "Is this the sun here in the Deep Space?" The peculiar appearance of the scene greatly shocked Geoffrey.


    Although Geoffrey''s cultivation base was not that high, his primary senses, and especially his vision and hearing had been significantly enhanced due to all his experiences over the years. It could be said that he was no longer inferior to the powerful masters in the chaos.


    Only half of the circular sun was still intact, while the other half was already broken. The scattered golden fragments had turned into ribbon-like objects that still released heat and light.


    "Only half of the sun has been downgraded. Is it because the power of the downgrader wasn''t enough?" Geoffrey murmured to himself.


    After averting his gaze from the sun, Geoffrey continued to look straight ahead. Then, a huge wheel-shaped building appeared in his sight. He quickly noticed that he was at the edge of the wheel.


    Before coming to the Deep


    Black sticks as thick as fingers appeared on both sides of the passage. It turned out that the rustling sound was caused by these black sticks rubbing the ground.


    On the other end of these black sticks, there were also some pie-shaped beings with sharp teeth embedded in them.


    "Are these... spiders?"


    The appearance of the creatures sent a strong shiver down his spine.


    These creatures were indeed very similar to spiders, but their legs were much thinner, and their bodies were also smaller. Their appearance was just so bizarre, making them look creepier and more alarming.


    "Damn it! The Human Spirit King lied to me!" Geoffrey couldn''t help but shout in anxiousness.


    Kincaid spent four hours talking to him about the Deep Space, but not once did he mention the existence of these dreadful monsters.


    However, the truth was he couldn''t blame Kincaid.


    The current situation in the Deep Space was very similar to that in the Abstruse Energy World. After an incomplete downgrading, the powerful beings that once ruled and lurked in the Deep Space had all perished. Of course, even the weakest creatures had also been eliminated.


    However, it was like a gradual evolution that happened through the passage of time. After more than a thousand chaotic eras, some deviant things slowly developed and appeared in the Deep Space that was supposed to be a lifeless land. These spider-like beings were one of them.


    Rustle!


    One of the spider-like creatures suddenly rushed towards Geoffrey, and its thin black leg swiftly stabbed towards him.


    Fortunately, Geoffrey was agile enough to avoid the attack. But even before he could land on the ground, he suddenly felt a piercing pain in his chest. As he looked down, he saw that a thin black leg was protruding out of his chest. He was apparently stabbed from his back. Soon after, he felt that his body was being lifted up in the air.

 Chapter 4237 Selecting

    There was no room for Geoffrey to resist. Even if there were, he wasn''t strong enough. After swaying around in the air for a while, he was thrown on the back of a spider.


    Although his chest had been pierced, the wound was not fatal. He somersaulted and tried to break free from the spider. He almost succeeded too, but right before he could break free, the sharp teeth on the back of the spider expanded outwards and formed a cage that imprisoned him. He could move about very slightly now, but could not break free.


    After Geoffrey was captured, most of the spiders scattered towards the back of the path.


    However, the one that had captured him ran forwards with its long legs.


    Geoffrey knew that he had to break free. After stopping the bleeding from the wound on his chest, he stretched out his hands and grabbed two of the spider''s teeth, trying to break them apart.


    However, as soon as the power burst out from his hands, the teeth suddenly turned red. And instantly, as if two pieces of red-hot soldering iron had scalded his hands, he quickly let go of them. It was as if he had grabbed a solid fire.


    "Great! I can''t leave now," Geoffrey sulked, rubbing his hands helplessly.


    In the Abstruse Energy World, he had been rather lucky and had not encountered any danger.


    Even while facing the most troublesome bronze statues, all he had to do was lure them down and let Ziya kill them.


    This was the first time that he was facing these unknown creatures all by himself. He looked calm on the outside, but in fact, he was extremely flustered.


    His only comfort was the fact that the spider had only trapped him and not swallowed him whole in a single gulp. Furthermore, the spider was heading towards the center of the Sky Wheel City, and its speed was ten times faster than his own.


    Rustle! Rustle! Rustle!


    To the naked eye, the Sky Wheel City did not seem so far away, but the path was actually quite long.


    It took ten hours even for the spider to cover half the distance. After a full day and night''s journey, the spider finally got close to the center of the city.


    Geoffrey himself would have needed at least ten days to cover this path. The spider had indirectly helped him shorten the voyage, but he was not happy at all.


    While nearing the city center, the spider proceeded towards a large, arched building and entered inside.


    Inside, Geoffrey saw many spiders, all of whom were carrying all sorts of creatures on their backs, and slowly moving forward in a queue.


    The spider in front of Geoffrey was carrying a huge bug on its back. The


    he completed the three puzzles, the scene in the mirror disappeared, and it became blank.


    Geoffrey was very nervous. The three questions had all been very simple, but he didn''t know if he had passed the test. If the golden light flashed, he would directly turn into ashes.


    It was not until the spider that was carrying him began to slowly move that he heaved a heavy sigh of relief. He had passed through one very big hurdle.


    Although he was still trapped, escaping the jaws of death felt exhilarating.


    ''The spiders capture their prey and then select the intelligent ones among them. Those who don''t pass the test are burnt to a crisp, and the intelligent ones are allowed to live, ''


    Geoffrey thought, feeling much more relieved.


    If the spiders were selecting intelligent creatures so creatively, it meant that they themselves possessed intelligence. This meant that he could communicate with them. And no matter what they were going to do, as long as he could communicate with them, he didn''t need to worry.


    After the test, the spider carried Geoffrey out of the arched building, and descended a flight of stairs that led to a huge underground space. Now there were cages on either side of the space in which all sorts of strange creatures were trapped.


    They had already passed the test presumably, so naturally possessed enough intelligence.


    When Geoffrey was carried in, he attracted the attention of all of those creatures. Some of the monsters even greeted him through the fences by letting out strange screams of excitement.


    Geoffrey didn''t know what they were trying to say, so he simply ignored them. After the spider found an empty cage, it stuffed Geoffrey inside and the door was shut!

 Chapter 4238 Eight Diagrams Lock

    The space inside the cage was very limited. It was barely enough just for a person to sit with his legs crossed.


    Inside the cage, Geoffrey tightly grabbed the fence with both hands and looked intently at his surroundings. At this point, his mind was in a mess. He didn''t know what was going to happen to him.


    From what he could see, he assumed that there were probably thousands of creatures being held in the underground space. The creatures came in different forms and sizes, and they were also speaking in various undecipherable languages.


    "I''m not sure but it seems like these creatures only possess little intelligence," Geoffrey murmured to himself as he observed the creatures around him. "What the hell is this place? Why did they catch me?"


    Although Geoffrey was indeed smart, he was far from being as determined as his father. He could be ambitious and confident at times, but once he encountered even minor setbacks, he would easily become frustrated.


    "Coo! Coo!"


    Diagonally opposite to Geoffrey''s position, a white bird was constantly letting out loud cries while furiously flapping his wings. He had been doing this for more than an hour now.


    "Oh, shut up! It''s so annoying!"


    Bang!


    Geoffrey shouted in extreme irritation as he punched the fence of the cage.


    As the bird sensed Geoffrey''s hostility, he stopped screaming for a few seconds. Then, suddenly, his eyes flashed with an ominous green light.


    When Geoffrey incidentally met his eyes, he instantly felt a crushing pain in his head as if he were hit by a heavy hammer. He felt like his skull was being split open that it almost made him faint.


    "Coo! Coo! Coo!"


    Then, the white bird started violently flapping his wings again. His cry was even louder than before.


    Geoffrey sat down for a long time, holding his aching head. After a while, the pain gradually subsided. He sat properly and helplessly said, "These creatures are so aggressive. They may be a bit intelligent, but they still look like a bunch of idiots."


    Just now, the questions that appeared in the mirror were very simple. Maybe they took the cultural barriers of different races into consideration and only arranged a simple test. Even though they passed the test, Geoffrey realized that these creatures possessed inferior intelligence than humans.


    Wallowing in despair, Geoffrey''s eyes wandered into the cage in front of him, where the little monster he had seen before was being held.


    In contrast to the white bird, this little monster didn''t make a ruckus. Instead, he climbed onto the railing and stared intently at Geoffrey with his black eyes. He wore a strange and creepy smile on his face as if he had taken an interest in Geoffrey.


    "Why the hell does he keep on staring at me?"


    Geoffrey turned around as he complained. He covered his head with both his hands and tried to close his eyes.


    Although he no longer needed any sleep after cultivating to his current level, he felt the need to isolate himself from his surroundings.


    ining monsters must have possessed at least an average level of intelligence.


    He also determined that these kinds of tests would probably continue, and he just wanted them to be over.


    However, what he couldn''t figure out was the real intention behind these tests.


    If they wanted to select creatures with high intelligence, was this kind of method necessary?


    For the first two tests, Geoffrey easily dealt with them. But he worried that if the tests'' difficulty increased over time, there was no way to know for sure if he could pass them all.


    However, right now, he had no choice but to take them and go on until the end.


    About twenty-four hours later, the spiders appeared in the underground space again. This time, they were carrying six pieces of iron with different sizes and unique shapes.


    As soon as Geoffrey saw them, his anxious expression gradually relaxed, and a faint smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.


    "The Eight Diagrams Lock, huh?"


    The pieces of iron were intertwined in a mortise-and-tenon structure. Even an adult would have a bit difficulty unlocking them.


    Fortunately, Geoffrey had been fond of playing the Eight Diagrams Lock since he was a child, and thus it should be pretty easy for him to accomplish this test.


    Just when he was about to begin, the little monster suddenly made a scene by quickly grabbing the Eight Diagrams Lock, and raising it towards Geoffrey. With a single gentle touch, he was able to unlock it instantly. As soon as it was done, the little monster stared at Geoffrey with a defiant and mocking expression.


    Geoffrey couldn''t help but scoff as he thought how ridiculous it was. "Is he trying to provoke me by showing off his skill for something like this?"


    All of the creatures in the fifth-grade world had immeasurable strength, or at least, they were much stronger than Geoffrey. Every single one of them could easily take him down, but right now, they were held against their will and competing in these children''s games.

 Chapter 4239 Intelligent Creature

    The little monster acted swiftly and smoothly. He seemed very capable of unlocking the Eight Diagrams Locks.


    Sure enough, he quickly found a knack to do that. After a few minutes, he successfully unlocked the Eight Diagrams Locks. Then, he eyed Geoffrey curiously, as though he wanted to size up his capabilities.


    Because of two prior experiences, Geoffrey was now able to maintain his composure. In fact, he acted as though he was in no rush.


    He even observed the other monsters for a while before reaching out his hands to the Eight Diagrams Lock. He grabbed each side of the Eight Diagrams Lock with both hands and gently twisted it, unlocking it with ease.


    Then he unlocked the second lock, the third, the fourth...


    Once he''d successfully unlocked all six Eight Diagrams Locks, Geoffrey smiled at the little monster in front of him. Then, he began to reconfigure the pieces of the locks.


    He paired the biggest two pieces of Eight Diagrams Locks with the smallest two pieces. Then the middle-sized ones were pieced and paired with them. All in all, a strange shape was formed.


    There were endless permutations to the combinations of the pieces of the Eight Diagrams Locks. As Geoffrey''s flexible hands continued to move nimbly, these Eight Diagrams Locks seemed to come to life, changing shape constantly.


    After Geoffrey formed a large structure with all the Eight Diagrams Locks, he put it to the side and gently flicked at it with his finger. Immediately, the structure collapsed into small pieces again.


    The little monster looked at Geoffrey''s series of movements, his eyes revealing a look of surprise. It never occurred to him that this thing could be toyed with like this.


    Geoffrey gestured towards the little monster and leaned against the side of the cage.


    After their time was up, the other losers in the underground space began to be wiped out again.


    Plop! Plop! Plop...


    A series of sounds rang out, indicating that another batch of monsters had been eliminated. Geoffrey''s eyes swept throughout the cages as he did a rough headcount. It seemed only a small number of monsters were left.


    On the third day, a new round of test began. This time, they were asked to unlock an exquisite chain made of one hundred rings.


    Geoffrey had never seen a chain of one hundred rings before.


    Fortunately for him, he was very smart. After studying it for a while, he figured it out. In no time, he had unraveled it easily.


    In comparison, the little monster


    skrit. If that was the case, then his luck had taken a turn for the better!


    The little monster tried his best to understand Geoffrey''s words. After a long while, he finally nodded and said, "Yes..."


    Elder Xue was still alive!


    Geoffrey was so excited that he couldn''t help but ask urgently, "Where is he? Can you... take me to him?"


    "He''s outside." The little monster pointed in a direction. "We can''t go out yet."


    "We can''t go out?" Geoffrey echoed in surprise.


    "Well, we won''t be able to get out...forever," the little monster said with a nod.


    This news disappointed Geoffrey greatly.


    All this time, he had been under the impression that if he''d passed a few more rounds of tests, he could finally obtain his freedom.


    After he heard the little monster''s words, his hopes were dashed.


    "Why?" Geoffrey frowned deeply, his expression darkening.


    "Only the most intelligent one here can... turn the situation around. Are you that smart?" the little monster chanted almost playfully.


    ''Only the smartest one can reverse the situation?''


    Geoffrey turned these words over in his head.


    Along the way, there were intelligence tests, and it was indeed like they were trying to select the most intelligent being.


    However, this so-called "intelligence" actually had a limit. No matter how smart one was, they wouldn''t be able to resist against the one with the strongest power.


    Geoffrey felt that he was smarter than the little monster and the black ape, but in terms of strength, he definitely paled in comparison.


    What on earth had happened in the Sky Wheel City? Why were there tests to select the most intelligent creature?

 Chapter 4240 Speaking In The Human Language

    After Geoffrey''s brief talk with the little monster, he formed a general understanding of the situation in the Deep Space.


    The Deep Space was no longer as glorious as it had been in the past. Although these newly born creatures were fifth-grade creatures, they were not as strong as the Cinnabar race and the Fostering race.


    Moreover, most of the creatures were still in an extremely primitive state. Geoffrey had taken note of this in the tests.


    However, given enough time, any civilization could be capable of building itself slowly from ruins.


    Over the long years, some races had gained intelligence, established strong social structures, and expanded their territories. The little monster came from a race called the Elemental race.


    The Elemental race had not been considered a powerful race at first. In fact, they were quite weak, and had almost been annihilated twice in their history. There were countless minor races like the Elemental race that had been wiped out completely.


    When the Elemental race was in crisis, they met a human spirit¡ªElder Xue, who had been mentioned by Geoffrey.


    Although Elder Xue was an elder of the Bold Conjecture House and his strength was at the top level in the Abstruse Energy World, he was weak in the Deep Space. After all, the power levels in the Deep Space were different.


    However, Elder Xue possessed extraordinary wisdom. This was exactly what the members of the Elemental race lacked.


    He had won the trust of the Elemental race and joined them. He helped them escape from their original territory, led them as they slowly built up their strength, and taught them the way to enter the Sky Wheel City.


    Countless years had passed since Elder Xue joined the Elemental race.


    Now, after many generations of learning and growth, they had grown in power. These days, no one in the Deep Space underestimated the Elemental race.


    From the very beginning, the little monster had been extremely interested in Geoffrey. The reason was simple. He looked exactly like Elder Xue.


    "Since your race has grown so powerful, how did you get caught?" Geoffrey asked.


    "Get caught?" The little monster thought for a moment, then said, "I did it on purpose."


    The answer surprised Geoffrey. He had been caught by accident, so he thought that the other intelligent creatures here had also suffered the same fate. But as it turned out,


    een lines had appeared on the ground from the edge of the red box.


    The little monster waved his hand at Geoffrey and started to walk along a green line. Geoffrey followed carefully.


    The black ape stayed where he was for a while. Other green lines appeared on the red box, one after another. Each line obviously led to a different direction, and the black ape chose a path different from theirs.


    Soon the huge square was filled with the green lines. Following behind the little monster, Geoffrey finally arrived at the left edge of the square.


    Here, there was an oval building. Three members of the Elemental race stood at the entrance of the building.


    It seemed they had been specifically waiting for the little monster. When they saw Geoffrey, their expressions grew shuttered and wary. One of them asked the little monster about Geoffrey''s identity.


    The little monster explained in a low voice. The three members of the Elemental race looked at Geoffrey with surprise and uncertainty, but they opened the door of the oval building and welcomed him in.


    There were another seven or eight members of the Elemental race in the oval building. Everyone communicated with each other in their own language. After several moments, they fell quiet and positioned themselves on each side of the room, leaving only one of them in the center.


    The man looked at Geoffrey keenly. With a smile, he asked, "So you are looking for me?"


    He was not speaking in the intricate language of the Elemental race, nor in the difficult speech of Sanskrit. He was speaking in the human language.

 Chapter 4241 Fate

    It had been a while since Geoffrey had left the Deleting Space. He only used the human language when he talked to Ziya.


    That was why he was stunned when he heard the familiar language. "Pardon me?" he said, still reeling from the shock.


    The man of the Elemental race smiled. "I asked if you were looking for me."


    "So you... you are Elder Xue?" Geoffrey asked, finally coming back to his senses.


    The man of the Elemental race nodded in confirmation, peering at Geoffrey with continued interest.


    He had never thought that someone from the main world would come looking for him.


    He had initially thought that only the members of the Four Spirits Sect would have access to the Deep Space. But all of them could not return to the main world, not to mention the Deep Space.


    Elder Xue knew that there were humans in the chaos. But as far as he knew, they had difficulty surviving the main world. Entering the Deep Space was a different ball game altogether.


    So when he came to know of an outsider wanting to meet him, he became as excited as Geoffrey was.


    "Elder Xue, what happened to you? How did you end up like this?" Geoffrey exclaimed.


    Elder Xue sighed and said, his voice deep and pained. "I did all this for survival."


    As a creature of the fourth-grade world, it was beyond difficult for Elder Xue to survive in the Deep Space.


    He had been through a lot in order to keep himself alive in this mysterious and foreign place.


    First of all, he had to get used to life in the fifth-grade world, for everything here was different from the fourth-grade world.


    "I spent a long time here before I got the chance to possess a man of the Elemental race. It was because of this that I was able to live," Elder Xue said. But a sudden thought occurred to him. "Are you from the chaos?" he asked suspiciously.


    Geoffrey nodded in affirmation.


    "Have you met..." Elder Xue''s words petered out.


    The only member of the human race that Elder Xue knew from the chaos was the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord.


    ''I bet he knows the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord. He wouldn''t have been able to get here otherwise, '' Elder Xue thought.


    "I''ve seen Kincaid," Geoffrey answered the unasked question.


    "What?" Elder Xue exclaimed, but his voice soon began to tremble. "Did Master Kincaid wake up?" he asked again, excitement dripping off o


    thing that Master Kincaid asked you to look for is over there. I have been thinking about how to get it all these years," Elder Xue said, pointing at the huge chimney in the distance.


    "You''ve been here for so long and you haven''t got your hands on it?" Geoffrey said, his lips pursing in disapproval.


    Elder Xue didn''t know how to respond to this question. He shook his head helplessly and said, "Anyone who gets that item would be able to rule the Deep Space. Do you think it would be easy to acquire it? Look at this place." He pointed at the several oval-shaped buildings in the distance. "There are also members of other races of the Deep Space in these buildings. They arrived here with the same purpose as us and that is to obtain that thing. For countless years, the six races of the Deep Space sent countless people here. None of them made it out of there alive," he explained.


    "Stop bluffing. It''s not that difficult. Those people died there just because they were not intelligent enough. Send me in. I can make it," Geoffrey said confidently, a tinge of arrogance lacing his tone.


    Elder Xue stared at Geoffrey.


    ''What a cocky guy!


    He has no idea what he is up against.''


    But it suddenly occurred to Elder Xue that Geoffrey was different from others.


    ''Perhaps he can do it. Is this fate?


    I gave his father the Grand Weapon Refining Method although we were in different worlds back then, and now he is here, right before my eyes.''


    "Maybe," Elder Xue said calmly. "You can give it a shot. But if you fail, you will meet your death."

 Chapter 4242 Life And Death

    Geoffrey was initially brimming with confidence, but at the sound of the word "death", his face paled.


    "What''s the probability of death?" Geoffrey asked in a small voice.


    Elder Xue tilted his head and thought for a moment. "Excluding the people who died long before, about two million people have entered the chimney, but no one has succeeded." He paused for a moment. "If you want me to give you a probability, then the probability is zero."


    "All of them died?" Geoffrey''s voice trembled.


    "Yes. They were the elites selected by the six great races. They were the smartest," Elder Xue added.


    Geoffrey fell silent.


    He and Zen grew up differently. He had grown up in a relaxed, privileged environment, whereas Zen had faced many challenges. Although he had met some minor setbacks in the past, Geoffrey had never truly dealt with a life-and-death situation before.


    When he heard the severe consequence, his heart was seized by fear.


    Elder Xue said this to see how Geoffrey would react. He continued, "Your father has lost the sword to that humanoid creature. Do you know what we are about to go up against?"


    "An undefeatable opponent," Geoffrey answered.


    "It''s not that we can''t defeat him, but that we will all die," Elder Xue said seriously.


    Hearing this, Geoffrey was even more flustered. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "What about my father? And my mother?"


    "Everything will be downgraded and destroyed, your parents included," Elder Xue said gravely.


    Geoffrey grew even more frantic. "I need to go back! I need to go back to my parents!"


    Since he knew that there was not much time left, he wanted to escape now and be with his loved ones.


    He left them quite a long time ago. He''d be lying if he said he didn''t miss them. After all, he''d only left because he thought this''d make for an interesting journey. The things he''d encountered along the way made him realize the seriousness of the matter, which changed his carefree attitude.


    In fact, when Kincaid talked with Geoffrey, he made everything very clear. At the time, Geoffrey learned he had a very important role to play.


    However, Kincaid didn''t want to pressure Geoffrey too much, so he only mentioned that the task at hand was important. He didn''t say that eventually, all people would have to die.


    Eld


    mney. Ten feet, twenty feet, thirty feet...


    When the green light came to one third of the chimney, it suddenly disappeared and was replaced by a red light.


    Elder Xue closed his eyes. With a pained expression, he said regretfully, "He''s dead."


    Geoffrey stared at the chimney in a daze. After a while, he finally reacted. "So soon?"


    "Yes." Elder Xue nodded gravely.


    The other members of the Elemental race stood up and put their fists on their chests in silence.


    They had witnessed this scene so many times before, but they could never get used to it. Their hearts overflowed with sadness, although they stood in silence.


    "If that thing is so difficult to get, why do you even try?" Geoffrey asked huffily.


    "The same reason as yours. If we don''t get it, and it''s obtained by other races, the Elemental race will perish." Elder Xue shrugged.


    The gaps between races could not be closed, and the law of the jungle was absolutely in control of everything here.


    After saying that, Elder Xue turned around abruptly and entered the oval building.


    From the moment he saw Geoffrey, Elder Xue knew that his chance had finally come.


    He had waited here for so long, but in the end, the Elemental race was unable to produce a member talented enough for the task. However, now the Deep Space had sent Geoffrey here.


    He deliberately put a lot of pressure on Geoffrey. Only in this way could he trigger Geoffrey''s sense of responsibility.


    Now that he had given Geoffrey enough pressure, the rest was up to Geoffrey himself.

 Chapter 4243 Face It Head On

    Geoffrey leaned against the wall and stared blankly at the "chimney" in the distance.


    The incredible and fascinating adventure was over. Perhaps now he would have to face the God of Death.


    He wasn''t prepared for that...


    His mother had told him all sorts of legends of his father since he was a child;


    he had saved the Cloud Hall, the Central Region, the great world and the universe...


    His father had always been quite fortunate. It all seemed effortless for him, as if all these feats were accomplished with ease.


    Although Letitia had told him of times his father had been trapped in danger and how he had been on the verge of death on countless occasions, what he heard was a stark contrast to what he had experienced himself.


    How could he overcome a dead end that no one else had managed to?


    His father must have been faced with similar predicaments in his time. What would he have done? What was he thinking in these situations?


    Geoffrey sat there, still, for a few hours.


    It was getting dark.


    The golden ring atop the Deep Space seemed to be covered with a layer of scales, gradually turning from golden to a deep black. As night fell, the slightly bright light shone on the chimney. From afar, it appeared almost as a giant beast, ready to devour the people.


    Inside the oval building, Elder Xue spoke in the language of the Elemental race.


    The creatures in the Deep Space communicated with very unique sounds; unlike the rhythmic sounds of the creatures of the main world, they let out faint squeaks and crackles, like a group of crickets chirping in a low voice.


    Elder Xue was teaching the Elemental race. They still needed to acquire more knowledge in order to successfully handle the test in the chimney.


    These members of the Elemental race were clear about what lay ahead for them. They knew that if they wanted any chance of passing the test, they would have to absorb as much information that might be useful as they could.


    Their race used to be quite primitive. They were once unable to pass even the initial tests, let alone occupy a place in this huge square. The golden light annihilated them when they had been captured by the spiders and brought to the underground space.


    As the night stretched on, the black scales on the golden ring became thicker and


    ll go with you!"


    "You still have a physical body on the outside. But if I die, I''m dead for good," Geoffrey pointed out. He still felt it was unfair.


    Elder Xue smiled faintly. "How about I let another physical body commit suicide, right now?"


    He had not been afraid of death for a long time, and now through Geoffrey, he understood the situation of the Four Spirits Sect better. It was inevitable that he risked everything.


    Geoffrey was taken aback by his determination. He suddenly felt that he shouldn''t care too much for narrow personal gains and losses.


    "When will we make our way in?" Geoffrey asked.


    "We will wait for the right opportunity," replied Elder Xue.


    Over the next three days, Elder Xue imparted his knowledge to Geoffrey.


    Although Elder Xue had only deduced the information and experiences, they had been tested by the members of the Elemental race one by one, through practice.


    These people were only able to rise five feet in the chimney when he had first led them here. Now, even the weakest of performers could climb seventy to eighty feet high. And the most outstanding of them could make it all the way up to one hundred and sixty feet.


    This proved that what Elder Xue knew was valuable and effective.


    Geoffrey understood the gravity of their undertaking and had listened intently to Elder Xue''s introduction the last few days.


    Three days later, some of the Deep Space races appeared on the huge square. They walked along the green lines and headed straight towards the giant chimney.

 Chapter 4244 Setting Off

    Upon seeing the races of the Deep Space, Geoffrey asked, "Should we be going too?"


    Elder Xue walked out of the oval building and looked up at the sky. "It''s not the right time yet."


    "But they''ve all sallied forth," said Geoffrey.


    Elder Xue shook his head. "Today is the Power-boosting Day, so the innate skills of those races native to the Deep Space will soar. It''s indeed a good day for them, but not for us."


    In the past few days, Geoffrey had learned much about the races living inside the Deep Space. He knew that a portion of their power came from the annular sun above their heads, and the light it released today was indeed very dazzling.


    "What about them?" Geoffrey looked at the members of the Elemental race.


    "They''ll naturally go too," said Elder Xue.


    He then selected four members of the Elemental race. These guys had long prepared themselves thoroughly, so when Elder Xue chose them, they quickly gathered in front of the door, ready to set off.


    After Elder Xue gave them a few words of advice, they stepped on the green lines and headed straight for the chimney.


    "Actually, they don''t have to go," said Geoffrey as he gazed at their receding backs.


    "You''re surprisingly quite kind-hearted," Elder Xue said with a smile. "Don''t worry. I''ve taught them a new method. If the method succeeds, they''ll be able to go even farther inside the chimney."


    "But they''ll die..."


    Geoffrey murmured.


    After staying here for a few days, he found that the members of the Elemental race weren''t as hateful as they looked.


    Furthermore, they had learned the language of the fourth-grade world from Elder Xue, so they could have simple conversations with Geoffrey.


    Now that he had a better understanding of them, Geoffrey couldn''t help but feel very sad to watch them heading to their deaths.


    Elder Xue remained unconcerned. His gaze was fixated at the chimney in the distance as he wanted to observe the movements of the other races in the Deep Space.


    Beams of green light began to rise from the surface of the chimney.


    Some went out after they rose about forty feet, some were extinguished after they rose about eighty feet, and some others rose all the way to a height of more than a hundred feet¡ªan excellent record, and it would have been even more excellent if it wasn''t obtained at the cost of those creatures'' lives.


    "There are many surprises this time. The Wrona race did a good job, and the Cold Ape race is unexpectedly weak.


    Anyway, it''s our turn now,"


    Elder Xue, who had been keeping an eye on t


    s indeed used to their stubbornness. After all, he was the one who had been educating them, which really wasn''t an easy thing to do. In the end, he roughly explained the reason why the Deep Space collapsed, the current situation, and what had happened in the third-grade and the fourth-grade worlds.


    The members of the Elemental race were confused, but they roughly understood what had happened.


    The person, who had caused the Deep Space to fall into such a situation, was currently making trouble in the third-grade world. Once he succeeded, the third-grade, fourth-grade, and fifth-grade worlds would collapse. Only by obtaining that object would they be able to save the world.


    "So, I have no choice," said Elder Xue. "I''ll go in with Geoffrey on the Rippling Water Day five days later."


    "What about us?" a member of the Elemental race asked.


    "You can come with us, but you''d better leave one person behind," said Elder Xue.


    That person could later replace him and continue to fight for the slim chance.


    The members of the Elemental race no longer objected, but they were now arguing over who should be left behind.


    All of them were more than willing to sacrifice themselves. Now that they had reached this step, no one was willing to be left behind. After a discussion, the one who came with Geoffrey was finally chosen to stay behind.


    Five days later, the Rippling Water Day came.


    The surface of the annular sun in the Deep Space emitted a ripple-like golden light, and the sunlight became soft and warm.


    The warm golden light put all the races in the Deep Space at ease. Geoffrey, Elder Xue, and three members of the Elemental race finally set off towards the chimney.

 Chapter 4245 Reading Ability

    The green lines on the huge square zigzagged, like a huge rune array.


    Geoffrey cautiously followed Elder Xue on the path as wide as his shoulders.


    If he so much as crossed this green line, he''d instantly die. Geoffrey took every step with care, vigilantly eyeing the green lines before him.


    The chimney was located in the center of the huge square. It was roughly around ten thousand feet away, but because of the zigzagging path, it was as though they''d walked hundreds of thousands of feet.


    The other races also sent out their representatives at the same time, so there were more than ten people walking on the huge square. Sometimes, when they got close to each other, Geoffrey could feel a hint of hostility in their eyes.


    After all, this was a competition of sorts. It was only natural that the six great races were hostile to each other. It was just because of the special nature of the region that they were not allowed to fight each other head on.


    Ten minutes later, Geoffrey and his group finally arrived at the foot of the chimney.


    Although Elder Xue had been here for countless years, it was the first time for him to observe the chimney up close.


    From afar, the chimney looked like a looming black monster, but now as he observed it closely, he saw it differently.


    Squinting, he realized the chimney was made of pure black metal, glistening under the sun.


    Elder Xue walked towards the outer wall of the chimney and pressed his hand against it gently.


    He had been thinking about the mysteries of the chimney for so long. Now that he was finally in front of it, he had mixed feelings.


    Just then, he heard someone chuckling from behind him.


    Three black apes approached from another path. The black ape in the lead said with a smile, "The Elemental race is usually so cautious, but they sent five people this time. Four members of their race already died a few days ago. So, is it only Elder Xue remaining in their camp now?"


    "There is a human spirit among them. Is he the helper that Elder Xue found?"


    "Last time, one of us saw this human spirit."


    These black apes who were talking amongst themselves were from the Cold Ape race.


    Among the six great races in the Deep Space, the Elemental race was the weakest. The only reason why they were able to rise to prominence was that Elder Xue had taken action before the intelligence of other five races was fully developed. And that was also the reason why the other races had always looked d


    en words of the Fostering race and the Cinnabar race.


    The creatures of the chaos were very interested in Sanskrit words. Masters like the Wing King and the Primeval Lord of Heaven had spent their entire lives deciphering Sanskrit words.


    The Four Spirits Sect in the main world, on the other hand, were addicted to ring patterns. Kincaid, Sheehan, and Cornelius each had great attainments in the ring patterns.


    Elder Xue''s attainments in the ring patterns were not as great as theirs in the past, but by now, he not only stayed in the Deep Space for a long time, but also had the body of the Elemental race. His attainments in the ring patterns far surpassed those of anyone else in the Four Spirits Sect.


    After saying that, Elder Xue gently leaned against the wall and began deciphering the ring patterns.


    "The Levitation Tower is the root of our race," he deciphered slowly. "It is..."


    The structure of the ring patterns might have been very simple, but it was difficult to decipher them one by one. After all, they were connected to each other, and the line space was quite narrow, so it was difficult to read them. Even if Elder Xue had stayed in the Deep Space for a long time, it was still difficult even for him to decipher them.


    "It is also an opportunity for us to start all over again. After we were defeated by the Cinnabar race, we took it as fate dictated by nirvana. Everyone who enters the tower comes for this opportunity..." Geoffrey read aloud.


    Elder Xue froze. Turning around abruptly, he stared at Geoffrey in disbelief.


    Embarrassed, Geoffrey rubbed his hands shyly. "I... I seem to be able to read these words..."

 Chapter 4246 Answer Honestly

    Geoffrey didn''t find any difficulty in reading the Sanskrit words. It seemed that he had an inherent talent in deciphering them and seeing the hidden information within them.


    When he first saw these rings, he wasn''t able to clearly read the contents. However, right after Elder Xue read a few words according to the ring patterns, the ring patterns suddenly became comprehensible before his eyes.


    It was as if he had already used these words for many years, so he could easily read them like it was his native tongue.


    "You can really read them?" Elder Xue asked as he was surprised.


    Just to make sure, Geoffrey shifted his gaze to the other ring patterns, scanned them a few more times and then nodded. "Yes, I can understand them..."


    "That''s fascinating. How did that happen?" Elder Xue was speechless in surprise for a moment. "It''s a little difficult for me to decipher these ring patterns, and sometimes the translation is not accurate. Please help me decipher them!"


    Geoffrey had always wanted to be of help if it was within his ability. Thus, with Elder Xue''s strong request, he immediately agreed and began reading the ring patterns.


    "The Levitation Tower is five hundred feet high. If one is able to climb the uppermost area of the tower, then they could become its master and would be qualified to obtain the Heavenly Ring Staff, the sacred object of the Fostering race.


    The Heavenly Ring Staff is the foundation of the Fostering race. It can freely control all forms of energy.


    This item is very important, and couldn''t just fall into the hands of anyone. Only the one who is the most powerful and worthy can attain it. If one desires to get it, then they need to pass the tests of the Levitation Tower first."


    While Geoffrey was reading these words, Elder Xue''s eyes lit up. He always knew that the Fostering race had some treasure or weapon that matched the heavy sword, but he had no idea what exactly was it. However, through Geoffrey, he had learned what it was and even heard its true name¡ªthe Heavenly Ring Staff.


    Elder Xue refrained from interrupting Geoffrey as he read the ring patterns, and he listened intently to every word that was said. The three members of the Elemental race just stayed quietly at the side since they weren''t in a hurry.


    The Elemental race and the other Deep Space races found the ring patterns of no use. Since the Fostering race and the Cinnabar race had long been gone and had been destroyed for so many years, the six large Deep Space races that appeared afterward were still in a savage stage. Even though they had the strength, they didn''t bother creating their own civilization, and their attainment in the ring patterns was close to none.


    At the same time, the members of the five large Deep Space races outside the Levitation Tower were even more baffled.


    Normally, after they entered the Levitation Tower, all


    their faces. Soon after, Elder Xue calmed himself and reminded them, "Just relax and answer the question honestly."


    ''Answer honestly?


    So am I to introduce myself?'' Geoffrey thought with slight hesitation.


    Right now, he just had to trust what Elder Xue said, so he answered, "My name is Geoffrey Luo... I''m from the chaos."


    No one exactly knew what the correct answer was. At that moment, Geoffrey just simply conveyed what he thought when asked with that question.


    After Geoffrey told his self-introduction, a gap appeared from the red line beneath his feet. From the gap, two green lines extended, forming a path to advance.


    "Whew, that''s pretty easy."


    Geoffrey shrugged as he let out a sigh.


    Soon after, Elder Xue and the members of the Elemental race also finished answering the question asked by the consciousness. A passageway outlined by green lines also appeared beneath their feet.


    With this, they continued to go up along the green lines.


    After they managed to climb up some distance, the wisp of consciousness raised a new question.


    "What is your dream?"


    ''Dream? That is so vague.''


    Geoffrey slightly tilted his head and was reluctant to answer the question right away.


    He thought that if the answer was based on the logic of the test from the Fostering race, then it should probably be something connected with saving the world or the people.


    But Geoffrey didn''t know if that was how he should answer in this test.


    When Elder Xue saw that Geoffrey was hesitating, he reminded him again, "Just answer it honestly!"


    Through Elder Xue''s abundant experiences, he already learned that no one could deceive the Levitation Tower. With the omnipotent method of the Fostering race, it would be very easy to tell whether one was lying or not. He knew that his companions might also have the same hesitations, so he repeatedly reminded them to answer the questions with all honesty.

 Chapter 4247 Dream

    ''My dream?''


    Geoffrey blinked a couple of times, thinking hard about what his dream was.


    Now, he knew that the whole world was in danger. All he wanted to do was save the world and reunite with his parents.


    Pondering for a while, he wondered if those were part of his dream.


    However, he soon concluded that they weren''t.


    Despite everything being hazy at the moment, Geoffrey knew this wasn''t his ultimate dream.


    His mother was the leader of the Cloud Hall, and his father was a legend in every world.


    While he had lived his whole life in a safe environment, he couldn''t help but feel like he was in a prison. He couldn''t make decisions on his own, and he couldn''t leave without permission.


    He couldn''t live a life he wanted in the Cloud Hall or the fairy palace.


    Ever since Zen went to the Source World, Geoffrey had stayed in his inner world. But he was his father''s tool. Whenever Zen needed him to decipher Sanskrit words, he would summon him.


    Although Zen had given him the illusion of freedom in his inner world, sometimes even creating obstacles for him, Geoffrey knew that everything was still under his father''s control. Ultimately, he was safe there, and never needed to stare death in the face.


    Due to his experiences growing up, Geoffrey didn''t really care about anything, since he couldn''t even be the master of his own life.


    As he reflected on his past, he found that his days of happiness only really started when he had set foot in the Abstruse Energy World from the Deleting Space.


    There, he had encountered so many dangers.


    His parents weren''t by his side, so he finally felt the thrill of courting death.


    Despite the danger, Geoffrey was very happy.


    Then, it clicked. "My dream is to travel the worlds freely!" he exclaimed.


    Even when Geoffrey gave his answer, the consciousness still did not have any reaction. He, Elder Xue, and the others continued to move along the green lines, with no obstructions before them.


    "Elder Xue, this is easier than I thought," Geoffrey said with a nonchalant shrug.


    "It''s not that simple," Elder Xue responded, shaking his head. "They are just collecting information."


    "Why would they do that?"


    Just as Geoffrey finished speaking, he reached the end of the green lines and a red line suddenly blocked their way.


    Then, the consciousness suddenly became active in his mind. This time, however, it didn''t raise any questions but went st


    in her large, twinkling eyes.


    Quack! Quack! Quack!


    The dead crows were steadily closing in on them. Geoffrey could see the ferocity in their eyes.


    ''I''ve only climbed around two feet on the Levitation Tower. Am I really going to die here?'' he thought.


    He frowned and stood up. All of a sudden, an idea flashed in his mind.


    ''I''ve been focusing on persuading this little girl. What if I tried another method?


    There''s no way I''m giving up like this!'' Geoffrey thought to himself resolutely.


    Lowering his head, he glanced at the little girl. With his eyebrows raised slightly, he suddenly grabbed the little girl by the arm and began to run.


    The little girl was as light as a kite.


    He kept running while grabbing the little girl tightly. "Now that you can''t help me, let me help you!" he said as he sprinted.


    The little girl didn''t resist. Instead, she smiled. Gently waving at the sky, a fan-shaped flame suddenly appeared.


    In the blink of an eye, all the dead crows were burnt to ashes.


    Then, a hush fell over the vast wilderness. Even though it was just an illusion, it felt so real. The smell of burning flesh filled Geoffrey''s nose.


    "You passed the test," the little girl said calmly.


    Geoffrey threw the little girl to the side and panted. Before he could reply, the illusion abruptly disappeared.


    He was back in the Levitation Tower. The red line that had blocked him moments prior was now replaced with two green lines.


    As for Elder Xue and the other three men from the Elemental race, their eyes were still shut tight. It was obvious that they were still trapped in the illusion.

 Chapter 4248 Afraid Of Death

    Despite the path continuing before him, Geoffrey didn''t rush up the tower. Instead, he stood there and waited patiently.


    A few minutes later, a member of the Elemental race opened his eyes and found himself safe. His eyes gleamed with excitement.


    He then noticed that Geoffrey had already left the illusion and tried to say something, but Geoffrey didn''t understand a single word.


    Soon, the second one woke up. This left only Elder Xue and the last one stuck in the illusion.


    "They should wake up soon," Geoffrey said, nodding with certainty.


    After all, he had seen once before that the pace of the members of the Elemental race in the first half of the Levitation Tower was very fast. It wouldn''t take long.


    However, as soon as he finished speaking, he saw the two lines under the feet of the still unconscious member begin to recede.


    When the other two members also took notice, they immediately cried out anxiously, but there was nothing they could do.


    Everyone had their own path, and they could only move within the lines under their feet. No one dared cross their lines in the slightest.


    When the lines drew back to the feet of that member, the originally green lines turned red. Then, that member''s legs were burned by an invisible flame, until he was nothing but a pile of white ashes.


    "He is dead!" Geoffrey exclaimed in horror, his eyes twitching.


    Although he was painfully aware that those who entered the Levitation Tower were willing to sacrifice their lives, he couldn''t help but feel depressed with what he just witnessed.


    At the same time, he was also consumed with worry about Elder Xue''s safety. What was taking him so long? Would he die here?


    Just as Geoffrey felt like his anxiety was eating him alive, Elder Xue''s body trembled slightly. When he finally opened his eyes, Geoffrey heaved a sigh of relief.


    When the two members of the Elemental race saw Elder Xue wake up, they pointed at the wafting white ashes and jabbered something incomprehensible. Elder Xue understood what they meant. After comforting them, he said to Geoffrey, "He must have lied when the Levitation Tower asked him those questions, so he couldn''t pass the test. As I''ve said many times, no matter what the Levitation Tower asks, you must tell the truth. Remember this!"


    Elder Xue focused all his efforts on Geoffrey. Just now, he used the death of this member as a learning experience for Geoffrey.


    "I''ll keep that in mind." Geoffrey nodded shakily. He knew he had no choice but to


    tical situation, he moved swiftly and ruthlessly.


    Crack!


    Blood began to paint the bottom of the water red as he severed his right leg. Breaking free from his shackles, he swam to the surface of the lake and gasped for air. Just as he was hungrily drinking up oxygen, another vine shot out from the bottom of the lake. This time, it was his left leg that was caught.


    Crack!


    This time, Geoffrey became more decisive. Before he was pulled to the bottom of the lake, he sliced off his left leg.


    Despite it being an illusion, everything felt very real. The pain from severing both his legs was unbearable.


    "Which body parts do you want? Just tell me! I''ll give you everything! As long as I can live!" Geoffrey roared at the little girl fiercely.


    The little girl seemed to be a little disappointed. Lowering her head, she thought for a while. It seemed as though she''d lost interest in Geoffrey. "This is boring. You are really afraid of death. Then, let''s end this."


    As soon as she finished speaking, the illusion shook and disappeared with her.


    Geoffrey found himself back in the Levitation Tower, soaked with sweat.


    After successfully passing the test, he felt like he was an extremely lucky survivor.


    Looking to see if his companions had passed too, he was stunned when he saw that Elder Xue and the two members of the Elemental race were trembling. What sort of torture were they going through?


    "My answer was ''yes'', yet the test was so horrible. Elder Xue and the others have a stable state of mind, so they must''ve answered ''no''. The illusions they are facing are probably ten times more difficult," Geoffrey said, shaking his head worriedly.

 Chapter 4249 Water

    The illusions that Elder Xue and the others faced were much more advanced than the one Geoffrey had encountered.


    However, in terms of life-or-death struggles, both the Elemental race and Elder Xue had been more experienced than Geoffrey.


    It was no exaggeration to state that all warriors who qualified to enter the Levitation Tower had already come to regard life and death as unimportant details, and a life-or-death test wasn''t really anything that concerned them.


    Therefore, Geoffrey didn''t wait long before Elder Xue and the two members of the Elemental race had safely accomplished the illusions.


    Upon passing the test, Elder Xue turned to confirm Geoffrey''s safety immediately. He was relieved to see that the young man was unscathed.


    "What was your answer to the question?" Elder Xue asked out of curiosity.


    "I answered it with honesty. I admitted that I''m afraid of death," said Geoffrey.


    "Oh? Truly?" Elder Xue was taken aback by this unexpected answer, but he quickly understood the reasoning behind it.


    Everyone who entered the Levitation Tower knew there was a great likelihood of dying. Elder Xue and the two members of the Elemental race had boldly stated that they were not afraid of death; hence, they had faced much more severe life-or-death challenges.


    In particular, Elder Xue had been subject to hundreds of cycles of birth and death in the limited period of time. If it had been Geoffrey, he would have been overwhelmed and succumbed to the pain.


    Geoffrey''s weakness actually worked to his advantage because his tests in the Levitation Tower had a much lower level of difficulty than the other warriors''. If he continued to advance at this pace, it might not be as difficult for him to pass all the tests.


    "Let''s move on!"


    Once the red line disappeared, the four of them continued to ascend the spiraling stairs of the Levitation Tower.


    Sixty feet...


    Seventy feet...


    Eighty feet...


    When they reached the level that was ninety feet away from the starting point, the mysterious consciousness raised another question:


    "Who will you choose to save in a crisis?"


    Before Geoffrey could answer it, his consciousness was drawn into an illusion again. He saw the same little girl in the illusion. This time, she gave Geoffrey a chance to save his own life or the lives of ten thousand other people. He would have to either sacrifice his life for the ten thousand people, or sacrifice their lives for his own.


    Geoffrey''s sense of self-preservation quickly answered. He selected his own survival with almo


    s of the Elemental race were all very respectful to Elder Xue. He was willing to sacrifice himself to discover a way ahead for Elder Xue.


    "No!"


    Elder Xue tried to stop him, but it was too late. As soon as the man plunged into the liquid, one of the gray things immediately noticed him.


    Splash!


    The gray thing turned into a large mouth and chomped on his head. Then it transformed into a gray mist, which invaded his brain. The man panicked at this development.


    When he realized that he was still alive, he waved at Elder Xue to comfort him, and then swam towards the far end of the liquid. When he was about to leave the liquid, his eyes suddenly rolled to the back of his head, and he involuntarily clutched at his head with his hands. His expression became greatly contorted, as if he was suffering from intense pain.


    Elder Xue had taught them how to endure pain. Their wills had actually become much stronger than that of ordinary creatures. Since he was so overwhelmed by pain, it wasn''t hard to imagine what severe tortures he might be suffering.


    "What happened?" Geoffrey asked in a tone laced with trepidation.


    Pop!


    A muffled sound echoed from within the liquid. The man''s head suddenly exploded, and a cloud of gray mist emerged again.


    The headless corpse of the man slowly floated in the water until it reached the edge and was finally expelled from the water to drop to the ground before Geoffrey and Elder Xue.


    Since the headless corpse had crossed the green lines, it was quickly turned to ashes by the Levitation Tower.


    Geoffrey stood transfixed into silence for several minutes before he asked, "We can''t pass through this place at all. Shall we turn back now?"

 Chapter 4250 Reward

    Geoffrey knew he wouldn''t be able to go back at all. Still, he was frightened, so he couldn''t help asking that question.


    Elder Xue said nothing. He looked away, observing the gray things in the water.


    Here, at the height of two hundred feet in the Levitation Tower, he had never thought there would be such things. He felt a strange calmness wash over him. He considered several possibilities, in line with the longstanding motto of the Bold Conjecture House: "Boldly make a hypothesis; carefully verify it." He had come up with that on his own.


    "Geoffrey, does the aura of these things strike you as somewhat familiar?" asked Elder Xue.


    "Familiar? No," Geoffrey admitted, shaking his head.


    It was the first time he had seen such things.


    Elder Xue thought for a while. After a few moments, he headed straight towards the water.


    He plunged his head in with a splash.


    As soon as his head was inside the clear water, one of the gray things swam quickly towards him. It spread out, forming the shape of sharp teeth, and started to bite him.


    Elder Xue immediately withdrew his head before the thing could bite him.


    Drops of water trickled down his face.


    The gray thing couldn''t leave the water. It lingered in the spot where Elder Xue''s head had been and spread outwards, before slowly retreating.


    Elder Xue repeated this action several more times, as though he was teasing the grey thing. As soon as it swam away, he poked his head back into the transparent water.


    Each time, the grey thing rushed back, but not quickly enough to succeed in biting Elder Xue.


    "Elder Xue, why are you doing that?" Geoffrey asked, wondering what game he was playing with the gray thing.


    "I''m trying to sense its aura. It''s a pity that it''s in water, because the water is blocking most of its aura, making it difficult to sense. I wanted to get a clear confirmation of what I was thinking," Elder Xue answered.


    "What did you learn? What kind of aura is it?" Geoffrey said. He himself had no idea.


    Elder Xue smiled. "I already knew, and I just wanted to make sure," he said, tapping his temple lightly. "The wisp of consciousness that entered our minds before is very similar to this aura!"


    Geoffrey was interested. "Really? If the aura of the things in the water is similar to the aura of that consciousness, then..."


    "It''s possible that these are the souls of the Fostering race," Elder Xue finished. As usu


    hen six, nine...


    Around a minute later, Elder Xue finally stopped trembling. He floated calmly in the transparent water. His gaze met Geoffrey''s, and there was a deep, profound look in his eyes. He crooked his finger at him.


    "You can really bear it!"


    Geoffrey said excitedly, rushing forward. He started to enter the transparent water, but he stopped as soon as he approached the surface.


    He had forgotten that he was different from Elder Xue.


    Elder Xue was no ordinary human spirit, but among the strongest ones. Geoffrey was a human being from the chaos, and he was only a True God. The gap between them was too big.


    Elder Xue could bear it, but Geoffrey might not be able to.


    "Elder Xue, how about I wait for you here? You can save me after you get the Heavenly Ring Staff," Geoffrey said, smiling weakly at him.


    Unexpectedly, Elder Xue swam from the transparent water. He stretched out a hand, grabbed Geoffrey by the neck, and dragged him into the transparent water.


    The water splashed around them as Elder Xue submerged Geoffrey in the depths.


    Another gray thing promptly swam towards Geoffrey.


    Like a blooming gray flower, the thing wrapped petal-shaped arms around Geoffrey''s head, and drilled into his mind.


    Geoffrey trembled.


    He felt an intense, swelling pain as the powerful soul force forced its way into his mind.


    The soul power was very pure and untainted. Because it had no owner, Geoffrey absorbed it very smoothly and naturally.


    As the soul assimilated fully into Geoffrey''s mind, the pain grew, becoming unbearable. He felt like his head was about to crack open.

 Chapter 4251 The World of Nothingness (Part One)

    Geoffrey almost had never experienced any sort of hardship before. How could he tolerate such an intense pain now?


    At this moment, the pain had shut out his ability to think. He only hoped that he could pass out and escape the situation he was in somehow. However, the soul power continued to strengthen his soul, and at the same time, the pain that wrung through his entire body with it grew much stronger.


    It seemed like endless torture that refused to meet an end.


    He suffered in silence as the pain had him writhe and groan. It was killing him to have to tolerate it unwillingly. When he was about to open his mouth to release the pressure, the water forcefully poured itself in.


    His time of soul infusion was only thirty seconds longer than that of Elder Xue, but Geoffrey felt those minor seconds to be equal to those of a century.


    After it was over, Geoffrey remained in the water without moving for a while, staring up into space. His newly acquired powerful soul made him have a new perception of the world, so he just lay there, taking his moment to digest it all in.


    "My soul... I can feel it... How did it become so powerful?"


    After processing his thoughts and coming to terms with his newly acquired abilities, Geoffrey swam out of the transparent water. The moment his eyes made contact with Elder Xue, they reflected unparalleled momentum.


    Of course, Elder Xue quickly caught on with the change in Geoffrey at one glance.


    As a top-level master in the main world, Elder Xue''s soul was extremely powerful. After he absorbed the soul power of the Fostering race, his soul power had increased by four times, but Geoffrey was different from him.


    Geoffrey was a mere True God in the chaos. Because of the difference


    elf was an illusion.


    "If that''s really the case then... What are you doing here?" Geoffrey asked as he raised his brows.


    In fact, he understood that the little girl was somehow connected to the Levitation Tower. The Levitation Tower needed a person to communicate with Geoffrey. The little girl was created to serve that purpose.


    "I''ll be your guide. Let me help you climb up from here on," the little girl said, her face devoid of all emotions as she beckoned them to follow her.


    "Thank you for the offer, but I think we''ll be fine on our own," Geoffrey said blatantly as he refused her help with a wave of his hand.


    The little girl paid no heed to his remark and pointed towards the lifeless ball. "This is the World of Nothingness. It is infinitely large and small at the same time. It contains everything, and yet it also remains empty. It''s the first-grade world."


    Geoffrey still chose to ignore her and brushed her words aside. However, Elder Xue''s expression switched drastically after he heard what she had to say. He pointed towards the ball and asked, "Are you telling me that this is the first-grade world? The real first-grade world?"

 Chapter 4252 The World of Nothingness (Part Two)

    "Of course not." The little girl cut his confusion short with a curt reply. She stared at Elder Xue with eyes filled with mockery as if to look down on him. "The World of Nothingness contains all kinds of things. Even an insignificant needle wouldn''t be able to escape it. If it really were to appear, you''d instantly become a part of it, and if that happened, you wouldn''t even be able to stand here."


    "Is this World of Nothingness a creation of the Fostering race?" Elder Xue asked again.


    "No, it isn''t." The little girl shook her head. "It was created by Clarence."


    "And who is this Clarence that you speak of?" Elder Xue continued to ask one question, followed by the other, to dissolve his confusion.


    The girl tilted her head and placed her finger on her chin as if she was lost in thought. "He owns everything, and he has created everything." After giving a brief, yet vague explanation, she continued while pointing her finger upwards, "To advance further, you just need to climb up."


    "That''s not so hard. We''ll be fine." Geoffrey shrugged as if to refuse all her help.


    The atmosphere in the World of Nothingness really did have an eerie vibe to it, but what could it possibly do?


    At most, it could only manage to affect something so little as his mood, right? That was not so bad. Without giving the ball a second glance, Geoffrey continued to climb up, ignorant of his surroundings and the situation he was putting himself in because of his arrogance.


    Seeing Geoffrey''s indifferent behavior, the little girl just smiled and shook her head in disapproval in silence.


    After they walked two circles around the Levitation Tower, they reached the height of two hundred and thirty feet. Th


    g off.


    Then came the fourth-grade world. This time, it was Elder Xue who started to experience deep feelings of nostalgia with one short glimpse of it. After all, he had spent a fair amount of time in the fifth-grade world and never got the chance to return to the main world.


    When they continued their climb and reached a height of three hundred feet, they were faced with the fifth-grade world. This world did not pose any difficulty for them as they had no feelings attached to it like the previous ones.


    "This is the fifth-grade world, known as the Stellar World. Those are the members of our now perished Fostering race," the little girl introduced.


    Just as Geoffrey laid his eyes on the creatures of the Fostering race, he broke out in a fit of laughter. "Seriously? Those are the members of your Fostering race? They look so funny!"


    Elder Xue had never seen the members of the Fostering race before. He didn''t expect them to look so naive and cute to the eyes. However, his reaction wasn''t as offensive as the one Geoffrey portrayed. He nudged Geoffrey with his elbow and shook his head to gesture him to stop laughing.

 Chapter 4253 The Soul Reincarnation

    The little girl, who was leading the way, didn''t want to entertain Geoffrey''s rudeness.


    She knew that there was such a huge gap between civilizations. Thus she couldn''t believe and imagine why Geoffrey could laugh at it.


    As she took the two of them to climb another twenty feet, the sixth-grade world welcomed them.


    However, Elder Xue quickly stopped just before they entered the sixth-grade world.


    He noticed that the steps in front of him were no longer visible. What he could only see were these mysterious-looking square frames. At one moment, they would merge to form larger frames, and then the next moment, they would quickly divide again into the smaller ones. It was a cycle that didn''t make sense to him.


    As a creature of the fourth-grade world, it was extremely difficult for Elder Xue to fully grasp the Deep Space. In fact, he only managed to adapt to the Deep Space because he was able to obtain the physical body of the Elemental race by chance. Now that he was about to enter the sixth-grade world, he had some worries that he might not be able to adapt to it.


    "I know what you''re thinking. This is the World of No Limits. It won''t be that easy for you to adapt," the little girl said with a straight face.


    "If I can''t adapt, can I pass it?" Elder Xue asked, just to make sure.


    Although he had reached so far in the Levitation Tower, he still wanted to leave alive.


    Right now, there was just the two of them. If he wouldn''t be able to make it, there was still Geoffrey. If Geoffrey could still go up smoothly, he would have no regrets. He could place all his hopes on the young man without reservations.


    "Of course not. That''s not how it works," the little girl answered straightforwardly. She even wondered why the elder would ask such a question. "You must be able to completely adapt to this world and see everything clearly before you can pass."


    "Adapt to this world? See everything clearly?" Elder Xue almost laughed at the little girl''s statement. "It''s impossible for the creatures from the lower-grade worlds to do what you''re saying. Even the masters of your race weren''t able to do it."


    "What are you saying? Just accept the Soul Reincarnation. This way, the creatures from a lower-grade world would be able to comprehend a higher-grade world. What''s the point of the Levitation Tower bestowing you such a strong soul power? Think about it. It is so you can withstand the Soul Reincarnation," the little girl explained.


    After listening to her, Elder Xue finally understood this simple logic.


    Actually, he remembered that there was a technique in the Four Spirits Sect that was similar to the Soul Reincarnation. It was the Red Jade Rite that was developed by the Bold Conjecture House. Using this method, the third-grade creatures were able to smoothly transform into fourth-grade ones.


    However, the drawback of this method was that the creatures would have to endure a lot of pain in


    n it brought was totally unbearable. He also got the hint from the little girl that as the grade of the world got higher, the pain from the Soul Reincarnation would also increase.


    "This is the seventh-grade world, the Boundless Divine World. Please come in," the little girl said with an emotionless face.


    This time, her gaze was fixed on Geoffrey. She really wanted to see him suffer the torture bestowed by the Soul Reincarnation.


    But unexpectedly, just like what happened in the sixth-grade world, Geoffrey walked in leisurely and proceeded to look at the center of the Levitation Tower. His eyes lit up as if he had seen something amusing. "Bamboos! There are so many bamboos. Don''t tell me that they are the natives of the Boundless Divine World!"


    "This guy¡­" The little girl''s eyes widened in surprise.


    Upon seeing that Geoffrey still roamed around in a carefree manner, she was both shocked and frustrated at the same time.


    ''This is already the seventh-grade world. He is neither a fifth-grade nor a sixth-grade creature. Then, he''s a seventh-grade creature?


    That should be a nasty joke! Why isn''t the Soul Reincarnation activated on him?


    Is there something wrong with the Levitation Tower? But, it couldn''t be. It worked just fine with the elder earlier.''


    While she was still at a loss for words, Elder Xue took the liberty to step into the seventh-grade world. With his first step, he instantly fell into the torture of the Soul Reincarnation once again.


    Seeing this, the little girl was fully convinced that there was nothing wrong with the Levitation Tower. As she looked towards Geoffrey, she finally realized that his ability was way beyond her imagination.


    "Does it mean that the worlds of different grades do not affect you?" That was all the little girl could conclude at this point.


    "I honestly don''t know," Geoffrey answered frankly. He then pointed at the stairs and said, "If we continue to go up, we''ll know."

 Chapter 4254 Boundless Perfect World

    Geoffrey had long wanted to know why he could go through worlds completely unaffected. Now was his chance.


    The worlds he was visiting became more complex and obscure as time went by, but he reached them with no problems just the same.


    He wanted to know what connection he had with these worlds.


    But Elder Xue had already been subjected to much agony, and the Soul Reincarnation in the seventh-grade world proved even more torturous than the last. He managed to endure it, but it was clearly taking a heavy toll on him.


    When warriors of the Elemental race suffered from some debilitating condition, their faces turned paler and paler then began to wrinkle. Elder Xue''s face was now so white and covered with wrinkles; it resembled a crumpled piece of paper. It was a clear testament to the ordeal he had gone through.


    "Go on ahead. Don''t wait for me. Keep climbing..." Elder Xue said weakly, stopping to catch his breath.


    A look of deep concern crossed Geoffrey''s face as he saw the state Elder Xue was in. "Do you need to rest?"


    He could afford to wait. There was no time limit in the Levitation Tower anyway.


    But the little girl piped up, "Resting is futile. Undergoing the Soul Reincarnation always leaves behind a great pressure on the body. There is no fixing it."


    Elder Xue nodded at this. The Red Jade Rite of the Four Spirits Sect had a similar effect. It could allow creatures of third-grade world to be able to become creatures of fourth-grade world, but it also imposed a mental strain which could never be lifted.


    Elder Xue was able to bear it if he had only crossed a world, but as a fourth-grade world creature in a seventh-grade world, he was already stretched to the limit.


    "Then what should we do? Go back?" Geoffrey said, frowning as he mulled the situation.


    The little girl sighed exasperatedly, "I could just end his life."


    After all, she thought, she really could.


    Geoffrey chose not to respond to that. He hurried over to Elder Xue''s side to support him as he struggled to climb up. Elder Xue sighed, "I''m afraid the eighth-grade world will be the death of me," he said, before being overcome with a coughing fit.


    "But I wouldn''t know what to do if you died," Geoffrey bewailed.


    Geoffrey had been ambitious and self-sufficient before Elder Xue came along, but now, he would feel quite lost without him.


    To Geoffrey''s surprise, Elder Xue straightened up,


    n snuffed out one after another in the tower. Now, he could do nothing but pray fervently.


    Four hundred and ten feet...


    Four hundred and twenty feet...


    Four hundred and thirty feet...


    "The Boundless Void World."


    Four hundred and forty feet...


    Four hundred and fifty feet...


    Four hundred and sixty feet...


    "The Boundless Secondary World."


    Four hundred and seventy feet...


    Four hundred and eighty feet...


    Four hundred and ninety feet...


    "The Boundless Shock World."


    Geoffrey passed worlds of higher and higher grades, more and more changing scenery that would have astounded any observer.


    His father would have cherished the sights.


    Geoffrey, however, grew bored of them quickly. The consecutive drastic change in scenery was exhausting.


    "The Boundless Shock World is the twelfth-grade world, a world the closest to perfect. A grade higher, and that would be the Boundless Perfect World..." The little girl was still informing him.


    "Have I reached the top?" Geoffrey interrupted her.


    "But the thirteenth-grade world, the Boundless Perfect World, can not be restored here. Even Clarence couldn''t do that. Therefore, there are only twelve small worlds in the Levitation Tower..." the little girl rattled on, adamant that Geoffrey should know this.


    "I just want to know if I''ve reached the top!" Geoffrey pressed.


    Infuriated, the little girl stopped her lecture. "If you had just listened, you would know you are at four hundred and ninety feet, and you will reach the top at the next level. Go on up, then, if you can!" she snapped, a challenge in her voice.

 Chapter 4255 The Second Reward

    Geoffrey looked up. He stepped forward without hesitation.


    Now that he''d come so far, what else was there to fear?


    At the end of the Boundless Shock World, the staircase stopped in front of an ordinary stone door. In contrast with the rest of the exquisite Levitation Tower, the surface of the door was rough and unpolished.


    Geoffrey did not stop to think it over. He reached out and pushed the door open.


    The door creaked as it swung open.


    It had not been opened for many years, but the rough material was still intact.


    As soon as he saw what lay behind the door, Geoffrey paused, surprised.


    Through the doorway was a space as rough and craggy as the door itself.


    It was as though every inch of ground had been filled in with crushed, jagged stones.


    The space inside the door belonged to the fifth-grade world. The Levitation Tower had become normal at this point. However, that wasn''t Geoffrey''s main concern.


    "Where is the Heavenly Ring Staff?" Geoffrey asked, turning to face the little girl.


    The little girl stood a step behind him, making no move to pass through the door. She did not have the right to enter the top floor.


    "Go in and find it yourself," she answered, still feeling a sense of dissatisfaction towards Geoffrey.


    Geoffrey nodded. He stepped into the room at the top floor and looked around him.


    His gaze landed on a purple crystal pillar in the center of the space. He walked towards it, examining it closely. When he got closer, he saw that there seemed to be some wooden object embedded in the pillar.


    His eyes lit up as he realized what it was. "This is the Heavenly Ring Staff!"


    The staff had a strange, unwieldy shape, which was why Geoffrey hadn''t recognized it immediately.


    However, since it was the only object of note on the top floor of the Levitation Tower, it must be the Heavenly Ring Staff.


    Geoffrey felt as though he was about to burst with excitement. He''d finally found it. Right now, this was the most important thing in the world to him.


    He moved back a few paces and raised his left hand, spreading his fingers. At the same time, he balled his right hand into a fist, allowing energy to flow through him. He sent a blast of power towards the pillar.


    The blast crashed into the purple crystal.


    But there was no boom, only a faint, muffled sound.


    The purple crystal pillar was completely unharmed by the blast. It had not moved an inch, nor had it sustained any cracks or other damage.


    Geoffrey was taken aback. He prepared to use several more theurgies to obtain the staff from inside the pillar.


    orb enough flesh, I can break the purple crystal pillar!" he exclaimed. Geoffrey finally knew what he needed to do.


    He began vigorously scratching at the bulges on the surface of another rough stone near him. When he removed the layer of sand on the surface, he saw another lump of oval flesh.


    He grabbed the flesh without hesitation, allowing it to integrate into his body.


    By his estimation, there were about four hundred rough stones like this on the top floor. Geoffrey patiently dug out the oval flesh one by one, absorbing each into his body.


    As he worked, Geoffrey felt a tremendous change in his body. After consuming the flesh in hundreds of stones, he realized that his body size had expanded to four times its normal size.


    ''My soul is comparable to those of the masters in the Deep Space, and my physical body has now also reached a high level. If I return to the chaos, the strength of my physical body alone would be enough to terrify my father, '' Geoffrey thought. Finally, he grabbed the last stone.


    With his newfound strength, he needed only to scratch the surface lightly to get out the flesh from within.


    He absorbed the final piece of flesh. Then he stood straight, stretching out his arms and legs, testing his increased strength. He felt invigorated and very powerful. Feeling anticipation rise inside him, he headed back towards the purple crystal pillar.


    "The Heavenly Ring Staff is mine now!" he cried.


    He clenched his hand into a fist and punched the pillar with all his might.


    This time, there was an earsplitting cracking sound.


    The top portion of the solid purple crystal pillar splintered, then smashed into pieces. The upper half of the Heavenly Ring Staff was revealed.

 Chapter 4256 Leave

    Based on appearance alone, there was nothing special about the Heavenly Ring Staff.


    It just looked like a piece of old wood with a frail-looking bottom side and a slightly thick top side. The crown at its top was messily spread out, making it appear a bit bloated and peculiar. All in all, it gave a mysterious impression, like a delicate artwork.


    Geoffrey stretched out his huge hand, which was several times bigger than before, and attempted to pull the Heavenly Ring Staff from the purple crystal.


    However, he failed to remove it with his brute force. Actually, he couldn''t put too much pressure on the staff because he was afraid that he might break it.


    Geoffrey then threw a few more punches at the purple crystal, where the lower part of the staff was buried. A few moments after, the crystal was finally smashed to pieces, allowing him to completely acquire the Heavenly Ring Staff.


    As he stared upon the staff in his hands, he couldn''t help but blurt out, "Does this thing really have the ability to reverse the grim situation that we''re facing?"


    He inspected the staff some more and then injected a wisp of consciousness into it. As soon as it entered the staff, it just vanished without a trace.


    "It''s useless, huh?"


    Geoffrey was quite surprised upon seeing it. After thinking for a while, he decided to grab the Heavenly Ring Staff and walked towards the door. He saw that the little girl was still there and standing silently.


    Once the Heavenly Ring Staff was taken away, the Levitation Tower had already served its purpose and would lose its meaning of existence. It also meant that the little girl would disappear over time, though no one knew how much time would elapse before that happened.


    "Hey, do you know how to use the Heavenly Ring Staff?" Geoffrey thought of asking the little girl.


    But as usual, the little girl just shook her head and said, "I don''t know."


    "Tch. You know nothing¡­"


    However, Geoffrey''s primary goal was only to take the Heavenly Ring Staff to Zen. So, it wasn''t really that urgent for him to find an answer on how to use it. "Then, how can I leave this place?" he asked again.


    This time, before the little girl could shake her head and tell him that she didn''t know, a great force of attraction suddenly rushed out from the staff, extracting a small portion of power from Geoffrey''s body.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    A ray of purple light hovered around the Heavenly Ring Staff and directly shot towards the ceiling of the Levitation Tower''s top floor.


    The moment that the beam of purple light hit the ceiling, it suddenly transformed into something inconceivable.


    Earlier, when the different races of the Deep Space, which were at the bottom of the tower, had witnessed that the green light had climbed up to the top floor, they got restless. However, soon after, they saw that the green light suddenly disappeared. Normally, when this light was extinguished, it meant that the creature bearing it had died.


    Upon seeing this, most of the members of the Deep Space races let out loud cheers. They thought that if they couldn''t get the Heavenly Ring Staff, then they hoped that the Elemental race couldn''t obtain it either. However, a


    The truth was Geoffrey even held back most of his strength in fear that he might damage the Heavenly Ring Staff. If he didn''t hold back, there was no way that these Cold Apes lying on the ground were still alive.


    "I know you''re not stupid enough to court death upon seeing what I could do, right?" Geoffrey glared at the creatures in front of him as he said this. They might not understand what he exactly said, but he knew that through his actions, he was able to clearly relay his message.


    When every member of these races saw the pitiful state of the mighty Cold Apes, they eventually stepped back and lost their resolve to fight.


    Just from the look in Geoffrey''s eyes, they could sense an intimidating aura that would crush them the moment that they dared to go against him.


    "Let''s go! We''re finished here."


    Geoffrey turned around and threw the little monster on his back. With a huge leap, he instantly flew out of the square.


    After passing the periphery of the huge square, Geoffrey looked into the distance and discovered that he was currently at the center of the Sky Wheel City.


    Previously, the spiders had carried him from the underground space all the way up to the spiral stairs.


    "Purr! Purr!"


    The little monster made some excited sounds as he pointed at a particular direction from Geoffrey''s back.


    Although Geoffrey couldn''t smoothly communicate with him, he kind of knew that he was pointing to the direction of the Elemental race.


    After flying quite a distance towards the southwestern part of the Sky Wheel City, Geoffrey observed that there were huge chunks of strata floating in the sky, each of which was about a hundred miles in diameter. He concluded that these giant strata must have been a part of a huge continent before.


    With the guidance from the little monster, Geoffrey flew towards one of the floating giant strata.


    However, even before he could get close, the little monster let out successive shrieks. Alarmed by the reaction of the little monster, Geoffrey looked around and quickly saw that there were black smoke pillars rising at the center of the massive stratum.

 Chapter 4257 The Crisis Of The Elemental Race

    Beneath the black pillars of smoke was a large city; the gathering place of the Elemental race.


    Spots in the Deep Space such as this were constructed quite simply and crudely, keeping with the forms of a primitive tribe. Elder Xue had introduced some unique construction techniques to the Elemental race and helped them build an exquisite city. However, it had been decimated.


    The Deep Space races present in the huge square had their ways of spreading news.


    In fact, they had already done so when the Elemental race had climbed up to two hundred feet in the Levitation Tower. They hoped Elder Xue would decipher the mysteries of the Levitation Tower, but also wanted all the information they could get from him. This made it very difficult for them to correctly choose their time of attack on the Elemental race.


    As the Deep Space races hesitated, waiting for their opportunity, Elder Xue and Geoffrey entered the tower and reached a height of two hundred feet. News of this mobilized them. No matter how unintelligent they were, they knew they would have to make a move as soon as possible.


    Before Geoffrey had gotten to the top of the Levitation Tower, the five races had already set off to attack the Elemental race.


    At the center of the gathering place was a wooden pavilion with a narrow underground passage beneath it. In the innermost secret basement, sat the white-haired Elder Xue.


    Bang, bang, Bang...


    A muffled sound could be heard from above.


    "What is that... noise?" Elder Xue asked.


    He was still a fourth-grade creature in nature. Although he had been in the Deep Space for a long time, he was limited to his own life level, and his understanding and awareness of his surroundings was still very unrefined. He heard the huge muffled sound, but was unable to tell its direction.


    A man of the Elemental race in a red robe said shakily, "Elder Xue... They are attacking the pavilion..."


    Elder Xue sat motionless and murmured, "So soon?"


    Truthfully, he had a feeling this day would come when he planned to go to the Levitation Tower with Geoffrey.


    "Elder Xue, I''ll get you out through the tunnel!" yelled that man of the Elemental race.


    Elder Xue had built a complicated system of tunnels below the ground to make it more convenient for the Elemental race to escape.


    d a powerful wave of energy coming from the sky. By the time they saw it clearly, it was only a hundred feet away from the golden-haired Cold Ape.


    The golden-haired Cold Ape sensed that something was wrong and was about to run, but it was too late.


    Boom!


    Geoffrey''s burly body plummeted like a mountain, smashing the golden-haired Cold Ape into the soil.


    Everything else in Elder Xue''s eyes were made up of rings, but he saw Geoffrey as clear as day.


    A huge sense of relief washed over him when he saw Geoffrey and the Heavenly Ring Staff in his hand. "What... What are you doing here? You should go back to the chaos to find Master Kincaid..."


    "I can''t find a way back," Geoffrey said with a smile.


    "But it''s too dangerous here. You shouldn''t have come," insisted Elder Xue.


    "That''s not an issue!"


    Geoffrey bellowed with a confident grin.


    He grabbed the Heavenly Ring Staff and slammed it into the ground twice. His own power began to drain rapidly and was absorbed by the Heavenly Ring Staff.


    He had discovered this ability of the Heavenly Ring Staff when he was at the top of the Levitation Tower. The staff needed to absorb power to be a help to him.


    The staff had taken a lot of his power this time. His limbs felt weak and the Heavenly Ring Staff then released an intense pressure


    that swept through almost everything. The members of the Elemental race and the other races then felt as if their legs had been filled with lead. They all collapsed face first into the ground, unable to get up again.

 Chapter 4258 Return

    Geoffrey had the physique and soul of a powerful warrior but his theurgy was still limited to the Godly Ways of the chaos.


    He had never mastered the power of the main world and the Deep Space.


    He had no idea what kind of theurgy the Heavenly Ring Staff possessed. He was shocked to see everyone around him get knocked to the floor by the strong force it was emanating.


    "Stop! Let the members of the Elemental race go!" Geoffrey sputtered.


    At this, the Heavenly Ring Staff trembled slightly. The members of the Elemental race who had been brought to the floor felt the pressure ease off them. They quickly scrambled to get back up.


    As soon as they were back on their feet, they swarmed around Geoffrey and Elder Xue.


    They knelt in front of them and bowed again and again in reverence.


    They considered Elder Xue as a sage and a god to be venerated. It was a kind of blasphemy for the golden-haired Cold Apes to have held him hostage! But Geoffrey defeated those heretics, so he must be a stronger sage and a more powerful god than Elder Xue himself!


    Geoffrey shifted uncomfortably watching the people kowtow to him. "Elder Xue, please tell them not to bow and scrape like that. It makes me feel so bad."


    Elder Xue smiled helplessly. "I can''t. The Elemental race is still a primitive race. Faith is quite important to them. I can help them keep the faith, but snapping them out of it is another matter entirely."


    Elder Xue then turned and said something to the Elemental race. As one, they got up and began charging at the outsiders.


    The members of the Elemental race showed no mercy to those who had attacked Elder Xue. They slaughtered them all. The area was left awash in blood.


    Four hours later, in an exquisite wooden hall, Geoffrey began to discuss returning back home with Elder Xue.


    Geoffrey actually knew the way back, but he had come here to send the little monster home and try to bring Elder Xue back.


    However, Elder Xue only shook his head at his proposition. "I''m afraid that''s not possible."


    "Why?" Geoffrey asked, puzzled.


    Elder Xue looked surprised. "Don''t you know? After the catastrophe with the Four Spirit


    ct could freely walk around the Abstruse Energy World.


    He thought if he could control it, perhaps he could leave bit by bit.


    However, he soon found that the way the Four Spirits Sect created the statue was quite complex. It took Ziya a long time to repair even a small broken part of it. It occurred to him it would probably take him dozens of years to finish repairing it.


    But if he had been able to survive many chaotic eras in the Deleting Space, a few decades here were nothing.


    Swoosh!


    The sound broke into Ziya''s reveries.


    He snapped his head up and saw a figure flying in. It was Geoffrey carrying a wooden staff!


    Ziya let out a series of expletives and burst into laughter.


    He had lived for over a thousand chaotic eras, but he was still as exuberant as before.


    "Master Ziya, I''m sorry to have kept you waiting," Geoffrey greeted with a smile.


    "What took you so long? I was beginning to think you had died! Were you able to reach the top of the pillar?" Ziya asked.


    He had been isolated here for some time and so knew nothing about what happened in the chaos.


    "I did, but..." Geoffrey began.


    "Did you find anything there?" Ziya pressed on eagerly. He knew how valuable the Other Shore Tokens at the top of the pillar were.


    "Yes, I have, but..." Geoffrey said slowly.


    "But what?" Ziya asked.


    Geoffrey let out a deep breath. "It''s not what you might expect. A lot of things have happened."

 Chapter 4259 Meeting

    Ziya was obviously confused. "What do you mean by ''a lot of things''? Can you please explain to me what happened?"


    It was a long story. Geoffrey thought for a moment. Ultimately, he said, "My father brought those human heroes to the Jade Pure Realm."


    Naturally, Ziya was taken aback. "What? They attacked the Element Spirit Civilization?"


    "No. Actually, they fought some people who were even stronger than the whole Element Spirit Civilization."


    Afterward, Geoffrey told Ziya everything he knew about what had happened in the Three Purities Stage.


    "So what you''re saying is, my master... He is dead?" Ziya was thoroughly stunned by this news. It was like a wave of sadness suddenly washed over him.


    Geoffrey looked somber. "Yes. I''ve heard that the Primeval Lord of Heaven and the others died. However, they left their souls behind."


    "Well, then what do we do now? Moreover, what''s happened to you?" Ziya asked as he stared at Geoffrey.


    At that moment, Geoffrey''s body had already expanded several times. Somehow, it made him look like a small giant. He emitted such a powerful and mysterious aura that it made Ziya a little scared. Even with Ziya''s broad knowledge, it was still difficult for him to imagine what Geoffrey had experienced.


    "Now, this is actually related to the task assigned to me by the Human Spirit King. He asked me to go to the Deep Space..."


    So, Geoffrey told Ziya that he had explored the pillar. He went into the Deep Space to fetch the Heavenly Ring Staff.


    He proceeded to inform Ziya about the details of the matter. It alleviated Ziya''s grief a little. At the same time, he also realized that the wooden staff in Geoffrey''s hand was an extraordinary magical object.


    "You said that the Heavenly Ring Staff is omnipotent, right? Can you transform me into a creature of the Abstruse Energy World?" Ziya just had to ask if this was possible.


    Even though he studied the Abstruse Energy World for a long time, Ziya had never been able to fully explore it.


    "Well, we''ll see... Let''s give it a try, shall we? Maybe the Heavenly Ring Staff can perform the Soul Reincarnation."


    The Levitation Tower was capable of releasing the Soul Reincarnation. Thus, the Heavenly Ring Staff might be able to do the same.


    "What is the Soul Reincarnation?" This greatly piqued Ziya''s curiosity.


    With that, a smile appeared on Geoffrey''s face. "You''ll know soon. Trust me."


    Soon enough, he felt like the Heavenly Ring Staff was drawing his strength.


    All of a sudden, they heard a splashing sound.


    It released an invisible force to envelop Ziya.


    Th


    It had expanded even larger than the developed Source World. Nevertheless, this was not the right time to fight.


    Everyone was starting to relax when Zen continued, "The Source World released a flying ship."


    The flying ship was the size of a grain of sand compared to the current Source World. Yet, Zen''s keen eyes noticed it immediately.


    "What? A flying ship?" The Snake Goddess looked at Zen.


    "Allow me to intercept it," said Fuxi.


    "We can nevet let the Evil God step foot on the primitive land. Otherwise, we will have a huge problem!"


    Fuxi, the Snake Goddess, Kendrick, and Gerald wanted to make a move.


    However, Zen shook his head. "You don''t need to do anything. My incarnation can now leave the primitive land by will. I''ll be the one to go," he said.


    It didn''t matter what the Evil God was planning to do. At most, Zen would only lose an incarnation. This was the safest plan. Realizing that, Fuxi, the Snake Goddess, and the others no longer insisted.


    After they settled on the plan, Zen summoned an incarnation to appear on the Pear Hill.


    The next moment, his incarnation appeared outside the primitive land on a flying ship. It merely floated in the empty chaos.


    The distance between the Source World and the primitive land seemed really close. But in reality, they were quite far away from each other. It would take the two flying ships two days of travelling at a great speed before they met.


    But still, they were slowly getting closer.


    Zen stood on the flying ship and peered into the other one. The enchanted barrier at the top of the ship opened, and a black figure shot out of it and floated in the void. He looked at Zen and laughed wildly. It was none other than the Evil God.

 Chapter 4260 Stasis Extreme Form

    Zen just kept quiet as he waited for the Evil God to finish his shrilling laughter.


    "I''m really happy that you''re still alive," the Evil God said as he looked at Zen''s huge primitive land in the distance. "You have such a huge primitive land, huh? Is that the world where I used to live?"


    "Yes," Zen replied with a nod.


    "Are my children still there?" the Evil God asked casually.


    "Yes. They''re still top masters of that continent," Zen answered.


    When the Evil God heard this, a strange smile suddenly appeared on his face. "So, are you planning to use them to threaten me?"


    Zen frowned and scoffed slightly, "You know what kind of person I am. Furthermore, I know your nature. I wouldn''t waste my time doing such meaningless things. Just tell me what you want to do."


    Of course, Zen wouldn''t even think of doing such a detestable thing. He also knew that with the twisted personality of the Evil God, even if he used the important people in the life of the Evil God to threaten him, it wouldn''t affect him at all.


    "Ha-ha! So straightforward." The Evil God laughed awkwardly and pointed downwards. "Down there. That''s where our common enemy is!"


    He was actually pointing towards the vast chaos.


    Without the chaos clouds covering the area, it was just an empty space. Occasionally, there would be some heads wandering around that must have escaped from being devoured.


    "Common enemy? Who are you talking about?" Zen was quite confused with the Evil God''s statement.


    "Who? The Snake Spirit King and the downgrader behind him of course," the Evil God replied with a grin. "They have created an immense primitive land that looks like a huge pyramid. Currently, it is already bigger than mine, and of course, much bigger than yours!"


    Generally speaking, the process of the primitive lands in devouring the heads could be likened to rolling a snowball.


    Originally, the Source World should have the most advantage, because it had the largest size. Thus, its efficiency in devouring the heads was far greater than the other two competitors.


    However, the Evil God was so late in understanding the meaning of the downgrade and also didn''t know how to deal with the overwhelming heads that suddenly appeared in the Source World. In fact, before he came up with a solution, a lot of parts of the Source World were already devoured by them.


    When the Evil God had finished dealing with the trouble in the Source World, Zen''s primitive land and the pyramid-like primitive land had already caught up in terms of size. Thus, even though the Source World was originally the largest, it was now left behind.


    "The huge pyramid¡­" Zen stared at the void with a worried expression in his eyes.


    "Now, if you want to deal with it, I suggest that we better join hand


    were hurled directly towards Zen, he pointed his finger at them, unleashing thin bolts of lightning that instantly disintegrated the brown ripples. These bolts of lightning also charged towards the Evil God at an astonishing speed.


    The two of them released all kinds of blood powers to restrain each other. They exchanged blows and skillfully countered everything that was thrown against both sides.


    After several rounds, the Evil God got a little bored because no one was getting the upper hand. "You''re right. The innate limitation is the most horrible thing. So, I''ve been studying how to break out of it. Yes, three hundred and seventy-three bloodline powers are undoubtedly strong, but it''s still not enough¡­"


    Upon saying that, he drew a circle in the air using his other hand, and a white hexagonal snowflake emerged from the circle.


    After its formation, the Evil God knocked on the hexagonal snowflake.


    Crack!


    Just with that gentle knock, the snowflake shattered.


    Soon after, every part of it dissipated in the air.


    Seeing this, Zen couldn''t shake the feeling that something dangerous was about to happen.


    The next moment, the figure of the Evil God also disappeared, but his voice could still be heard.


    "If I want to, I can kill you a thousand times or even ten thousand times.


    I can put you in an illusion that time is frozen.


    Unfortunately, you won''t comprehend the beauty of this state. You''ll only feel bemused.


    How pitiful you are."


    Zen felt a little weird as he heard that the sentences of the Evil God were overlapping. It was as if he was speaking them at the same time.


    When he finished speaking, the Evil God suddenly appeared in front of Zen, and also behind him, and even at both his sides.


    Then, the Evil God stopped about one foot away from him, and said, "This is the Stasis Extreme Form."

 Chapter 4261 Warning

    Under the influence of the Stasis Extreme Form, Zen wasn''t able to think straight.


    He heard the words of the Evil God, but he couldn''t fully comprehend them.


    After a while, the Evil God stretched out his hand and drew a circle again in the air. Then, the hexagonal snowflake that was broken and spread out earlier gradually emerged and reorganized into the circle. As it was completely restored, Zen was able to return to normal.


    The moment he came back to his senses, the Evil God''s words from before drilled into his mind. At the same time, he noticed that the Evil God was now approaching him.


    "Stasis Extreme Form?"


    Zen''s expression changed drastically as he realized how dreadful the skill was.


    He was wondering why the ancestry-level bloodline couldn''t restrain its power. Never did he expect that the Evil God would be able to use the power of the Deep Space.


    The Evil God didn''t say anything and just looked at him with a playful smile. He was enjoying this moment when he could clearly see the bewilderment on Zen''s face.


    He remembered Zen once told him that there was a much wider world outside. He thought that he must probably have the same flabbergasted expression on his face. But now, it was Zen''s turn to experience it.


    "How did you obtain such a level of power?" Zen couldn''t help but ask him without hesitation.


    The Evil God fiddled with the hexagonal snowflake and asked teasingly, "Do you want to know?"


    "Of course," Zen replied quickly.


    "Join us, and I''ll tell you," the Evil God said with a conniving smile.


    "Forget it then," Zen answered sternly.


    Upon hearing his immediate reply, the Evil God placed the hexagonal snowflake in front of Zen. He wasn''t willing to take no for an answer that quickly. "I heard that you have fought with the downgrader. You should know by now what kind of power he possesses. If you can''t even resist my power, then you definitely have no chance against him. Even if you rely on your primitive land, nothing would change. You will die with everyone. But if you follow me, I can save you! I can save everyone around you!"


    Zen couldn''t understand where the fanaticism in the eyes of the Evil God was coming from. It was as if saving him meant saving the whole world.


    However, Zen just dismissed him by saying, "I don''t need you to save me."


    After deeming that they had nothing more to talk about, Zen turned around and was ready to leave. The flying ship that he used was destroyed by the Evil God earlier, so he needed the Grand Teleportation skill to return to the primitive land.


    However, just when he was about to enter the space channel, the Evil God swiftly grabbed and crushed it, preventing Zen from leaving. "Aren''t you afraid of death?!" the Evil God yelled through gritted teeth.


    "Why should I be afraid?" Zen retorted with a cold stare.


    "Then tell me, what is


    o do that thing but always failed. What kept them trying was only the assumption that it was possible to achieve," Kincaid sighed as he let out a bitter smile.


    At that time, the Bold Conjecture House had put a lot of energy, effort, and resources in this respect. They knew that once they succeeded with this, its impact would be so devastating and world-changing. However, they were stuck in a dead end, so they had no choice but to give up.


    Now, if a creature in the chaos was really able to restore the Godly Ways smoothly, not only Kincaid, but all the elders in the Bold Conjecture House that dedicated their lives in this matter would feel depressed.


    "Although the Evil God doesn''t intend to attack us now, sooner or later, a battle would be inevitable. The worst part is that we''re at an extreme disadvantage because both the Evil God and the downgrader have the power of the Deep Space," the Snake Goddess said in a dejected voice.


    "Well, we still have Geoffrey. We can only place our hopes on him," Zen said with a faint smile, trying to somehow alleviate the mood of his companions.


    Meanwhile, on one side of the jadeite platform, Rocher was silently sitting.


    After Geoffrey set out, Rocher was sent to the jadeite platform so he could immediately report if anything happened to the Lone Sword.


    Geoffrey had been away for quite a period of time already. However, there had been no news so far. Everyone''s anxiety was just deepening with each passing day.


    Some of them had started to lose hope that Geoffrey would still return.


    But at this moment, Rocher''s shoulder suddenly trembled. Upon noticing this, he quickly stood and announced, "The other end of the Lone Sword seems to have trembled!"


    The eyes of the people instantly lit up as they heard this. They had been waiting for this news the entire time. With that, Kincaid and the others immediately gathered around Rocher.

 Chapter 4262 The Missing Entrance

    Previously, Kincaid had used "Elder Xue" to calm everyone down, including the human spirits in the Bold Conjecture House and the people in the primitive land.


    However, these people were all smart. Leaving aside the question of whether or not Elder Xue was still alive, Geoffrey had a very slim chance to even find Elder Xue in the Deep Space, not to mention get the other weapon.


    But hope was still hope no matter how small it was. They rarely mentioned Geoffrey these days, but everyone was obviously worried about him.


    Therefore, although Rocher only received a slight response, they immediately surrounded him.


    Rocher could clearly feel the Lone Sword vibrate for the second time, then for the third time, and then the fourth time... He deciphered the message according to the rhythm and put it into words.


    "I''m... coming... back..." he said.


    The people on the jadeite platform looked at each other with joy.


    Zen asked Rocher directly, "Is Geoffrey bringing Elder Xue back?"


    Everyone was eager to hear the answer, but everyone remained silent because they were afraid that they would disturb Rocher when he was receiving the message.


    After a while, Rocher said, "No."


    Disappointment was apparent on everyone''s faces. Zen frowned but said nothing.


    Kincaid, however, asked, "Has he seen Elder Xue yet? Did he get that object?"


    Although everyone no longer had any expectations, they still stared at Rocher.


    Rocher felt quite awkward to be the focus of everyone''s attention, but he threw all these trifles to the back of his mind when he received Geoffrey''s message. He said happily, "He''s seen Elder Xue and obtained that object..."


    "Wow!"


    Everyone on the jadeite platform burst into excited cheers.


    The three Chaos Ancient Gods weren''t an exception. In their excitement, the dens that held their huge bodies were also swaying.


    The people living in the Pear Hill even felt that the mountain was shaking.


    "Shh, he''s still talking," Rocher said.


    The atmosphere was still a little merry with joy a moment ago but now, although everyone was extremely excited inside, they were all silent.


    "I''ve already obtained the Heavenly Ring Staff. Elder Xue can''t enter the main world and can only stay in the Deep Space. I''m going back to the chaos with Master Ziya now." Rocher continued to deliver Geoffrey''s words.


    Zen and the others wer


    It''s not here..."


    "How is that possible?" Geoffrey looked in bewilderment.


    He stepped forward to look for the entrance. His expression became more and more baffled. "This is impossible! There is a stone step here, and we should be able to enter the cave by stepping on it. The stone step still exists, but is the cave gone?"


    Seeing that Geoffrey was so certain about the path he showed, Ziya realized that something must be wrong.


    The two of them kept walking around the mountain wall and searched all over the area, but they still couldn''t find the entrance!


    "The entrance has disappeared," Geoffrey said as he looked at the mountain wall.


    "It took me a long time to dig this entrance, and it has never disappeared since then. Could we perhaps be mistaken?" Ziya suspected that they might have come to the wrong place.


    "No!" Geoffrey said solemnly and then made a light leap. While facing the mountain wall, he said, "Since the chaos is within this mountain, I just have to create an entrance!"


    Swish! Swish...


    Bang!


    Rumble...


    Geoffrey now had the power equal to the power of the Fostering race''s top warriors.


    Although he didn''t use all his power when he launched this punch, it was still so powerful that the entire mountain range was shaking. A huge crack was created on the mountain wall in front of them. A huge hole gradually appeared in the middle of the crack. Nevertheless, this cave-like hole wasn''t really deep. The deepest part of the hole was still mountain rocks.


    The passageway that Geoffrey expected to appear was nowhere to be seen.

 Chapter 4263 The Mousetrap

    "What happened?"


    Geoffrey was growing more and more upset as he realized that he would be unable to return home.


    Ziya went into the cave to look around. He bent and broke off a stone at the edge of the crack.


    Then he drilled out of the cave, and handed the stone to Geoffrey. "Here. Use your spiritual sense to check if there is anything special about this stone."


    Geoffrey probed the stone with his spiritual sense. After several moments, he shook his head. Without saying anything, he sent his spiritual sense into the cave, exploring the stones, cracks, plants, and even bugs hiding underground in the cave.


    "I don''t believe that the large chaos can run away!"


    He leapt upwards, rising into the sky.


    He focused, closing his eyes, and allowed his spiritual sense to spread out as far as it could go.


    Like an invisible cloud, Geoffrey''s spiritual sense cloaked the surrounding woods, rocks, and bodies of water.


    It flowed out for a mile, then ten miles, then a hundred miles.


    Everything within that boundary, regardless of size, was captured by Geoffrey''s spiritual sense.


    A few minutes passed. Eventually, Geoffrey opened his eyes and slowly descended. Unable to conceal his worry, he said, "I have explored everything within a hundred miles, including seven secondary worlds. One of them is the world of poisonous mist that we once entered..."


    "Let''s check them one by one," said Ziya.


    Geoffrey nodded. Together, he and Ziya began traveling through the woods. This place was located at the edge of the main world. The seven secondary worlds had been built as experiments, and widely distributed.


    The first secondary world they entered was completely dark. After roaming around for a while in pitch blackness, the two of them retreated.


    The next secondary world was obscured by heavy mists.


    Likewise, there seemed to be nothing of note in the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth secondary worlds.


    Several hours had passed. They were down to the final secondary world.


    Geoffrey and Ziya were silent. They crossed a long, narrow mountain range and found another cave. They glanced at each other, aware that this was the last world to explore, then entered the mouth of the cave.


    As soon as they stepped into the cave, they felt a gust of freezing wind blow over their bodies. This world was a land of ice and snow.


    Geoffrey sighed. "This is not the chaos. Let''s leave," he said.


    However, just as they took a last look around the cave, preparing to leave, there was a sudden cracking sound from behind them. They turned swiftly. The sound had come from the flash freezing of ice water¡ªthe mouth of the cave was covered entirely with a thick layer of ice. The entrance was blocked. The two of them stared at the barrier and saw


    the purple crystals, the giant bombarded Geoffrey with a flurry of punches. His body couldn''t bear the power given by the purple crystals, so his fists were smashed and bled. However, he didn''t stop attacking until several minutes later.


    But when he finally stopped, and the two giants looked down at Geoffrey, they were stunned. His body was completely intact and unharmed.


    "Why is this guy so powerful?"


    "Is he a creature from the third-grade world?"


    Even as the two giants muttered to each other, Geoffrey slowly raised his Heavenly Ring Staff. He said calmly, "Torture them. Give them unbearable agony."


    As soon as he finished speaking, the Heavenly Ring Staff extracted a portion of his strength, and then released a strange sound, like a string being plucked.


    The sound was capable of penetrating into the depths of one''s soul, then releasing a terrible illusion of pain.


    At first, the two giants tried to endure the pain. However, as it went on and on, they collapsed to ground and began to roll and howl, bellowing with anguish. They were clearly in unimaginable pain.


    Eventually, unable to bear it any longer, the two giants began begging for mercy. Geoffrey waved the Heavenly Ring Staff and stopped the sound.


    "I''ll give you one more chance. Who sent you here?" Geoffrey asked, in the same icy tone as before.


    This time, the two giants didn''t dare to hide anything, fearful of experiencing another round of torture. They bowed deeply and answered, "Our master predicted that you would come, so he asked us to set up a mousetrap here. He said we must wait for you to enter, and then trap you."


    "Who is your master?" Geoffrey asked.


    "Our master... He is who he is. Who else can he be?" said a giant in a puzzled tone. The other giant nodded along, looking at Geoffrey with an expression of genuine confusion.

 Chapter 4264 A Bad Feeling

    Looking at the giant''s silly reaction, Geoffrey felt a little depressed.


    Something in his mind seemed to spark and he remembered what Elder Xue had told him. The creatures born after the disaster in the Deep Space were very stupid. In fact, they were not even able to cultivate due to a lack of intelligence.


    The Abstruse Energy World had also encountered a great disaster once. Geoffrey thought that the situation here was most probably similar to that of the Deep Space. These giants'' intelligence quotient seemed pitifully low.


    "Have you ever seen your master?" Ziya asked him.


    Since these giants were not very smart, they could only inquire things little by little. Ziya was much more experienced in talking in a way that they could understand.


    "No. But he talks in our minds," the giant answered.


    Ziya nodded and then continued, "Can everyone in your race hear him?"


    "Yes," the giant affirmed.


    "It''s a will that descends into their minds," Ziya muttered to himself.


    "No one in the fourth-grade world has such a powerful soul. Is he the downgrader?" Geoffrey theorized.


    "That''s quite likely," Ziya nodded as he looked at the purple crystals behind the giants. Then he asked, "How did you get these crystals?"


    If it really were the downgrader who controlled these giants, then the purple crystals would have been his giving since the giants finding them on their own was highly unlikely.


    It was hard to say whether the downgrader could return to the Abstruse Energy World, but he could definitely find a way to ship or smuggle the purple crystals out of the chaos. And these crystals might contain some clues of the chaos.


    "They were given to us by our patriarch. It was he who gave us our powerful strength," one of the giants explained.


    "And where is your patriarch?" Ziya asked gently.


    At that moment, a loud voice seemed to come from afar. "No need to inquire about me. I''m here!"


    There was a soft shimmering on the top of a mountain not far away from them, and a giant the size of a hill appeared on its peak.


    The giant''s head was inlaid with hundreds, if not thousands of purple crystals, which spread all the way from his head to his arms. The strangest thing was that at the bottom of those crystals, blood was seeping out. They must have been stabbed into his body not long ago.


    Then, giant after giant emerged from the top of the mountain. In the blink of an eye, well over a thousand of them were visible.


    Ziya immediately went on high alert and held the God Lashing Whip tig


    y attack us again."


    While they were talking, another sound came from not far away. Geoffrey smiled faintly and then told him, "It looks like you are right."


    But when he looked into the distance, his face suddenly froze.


    Another group of members of the Colossus race had appeared on the mountain top.


    There were over a thousand of them, and their leader was the same patriarch that they had seen just a few moments ago. Even the pattern in which the purple crystals had been stuck on the patriarch''s body was the same.


    Ziya also felt that something was wrong. "What''s going on? Are these giants mere clones?"


    "Fight them!"


    The patriarch waved his arm and every single giant rushed over towards them.


    Geoffrey frowned and raised the Heavenly Ring Staff with some hesitation.


    "Kill them."


    Boom!


    The Heavenly Ring Staff once again extracted a third of Geoffrey''s strength and lightning fell.


    A burst of violent thunder managed to completely


    annihilate a large group of giants. But this came at a great cost.


    After exploding thunder on their heads two times in a row, Geoffrey felt slightly weak. More than two thirds of his strength had been consumed. If he used this move a third time, he would no longer be able to use the Heavenly Ring Staff.


    The power of this staff was totally dependent on the user''s strength. Although Geoffrey had been strengthened for two times by the Levitation Tower and he was easily comparable to a top-level warrior in the Deep Space, his strength was still limited in magnitude.


    At that moment, a bad feeling came over him. The hidden opponent knew him and the Heavenly Ring Staff very well. He was trying to tire him out.

 Chapter 4265 Flee All The Way

    When Geoffrey still felt a little uneasy, he saw a blue light flashing from the left side of the mountain peak.


    Once the blue light chose an area and shone on it, many giants'' figures appeared within that glow.


    They were all members of the Colossus race, and their number stretched over a thousand.


    "Master Ziya, let''s flee from here!"


    Geoffrey cautioned as he raised the Heavenly Ring Staff.


    A burst of invisible wind swept violently downward, rolling the two of them up into the sky. They then left, carried on the wind.


    When the members of the Colossus race saw Geoffrey and Ziya depart, they didn''t give chase at all, since they couldn''t catch up to them.


    The leader of the Colossus race looked up at the sky and stated, "Master, they have escaped."


    Buzz, buzz, buzz...


    Colorful lights appeared above the heads of these members of the Colossus race. The colorful lights possessed varying flashes in length. They blended with each other. Soon, a giant roc-fish appeared and floated in the air.


    If Zen had witnessed this scene, he would have recognized it. This was the Starry Roc-fish he had seen in the Soul City.


    The Starry Roc-fish was the mount of Kincaid. It was not a sentient being, but a ball of intelligent energy. As a member of the Four Spirits Sect, the Starry Roc-fish was probably the only one who had escaped the big disaster.


    For many years, it had been circling outside the chaos, and it could be observed in the Three Purities Stage.


    The Starry Roc-fish''s voice was quickly transmitted, "Don''t worry. They can''t escape...


    As long as I don''t remove this Absolute Existence Form, you won''t really die.


    I will continue to project you and make you appear in front of them again and again until they are killed!"


    The Starry Roc-fish had been a sacred beast of the Colossus race all this time!


    The Colossus race, which had been born after the disaster, had been able to reach this level of development because of the kindness and mercy of the Starry Roc-fish.


    The leader and the members of this race were all subservient to the Starry Roc-fish.


    However, the members of the Colossus race hadn''t noticed the change in the Starry Roc-fish. At the top of the originally colorful horns, there was now a bit of black light mixed in, and the Starry Roc-fish''s pair of bright eyes were filled with conflicting colors.


    At this time, the Starry Roc-fish was no longer the sacred beast that had protected them fo


    nly Ring Staff had almost drained the last of Geoffrey''s physical strength. His energy was insufficient, and the Heavenly Ring Staff now even began to draw out his soul power!


    Geoffrey felt dizzy and almost fainted. Then the two of them were wreathed in a layer of blue light and immediately disappeared from the sky.


    The next moment, the two of them instantly appeared at the top of the holy pillar.


    Ziya stood there steadily, while Geoffrey was so weak that he almost crashed down on the pillar.


    "Sir, hurry up. Tell my father..."


    Currently, they probably wouldn''t be able to enter the chaos. The only possibility was to ask Zen to come out.


    Geoffrey had extracted the last of his strength in order to get to the pillar.


    Without saying a word, Ziya moved straight to the edge of the holy pillar. He put his finger on the light ray that connected to the Lone Sword and began to gently pull it.


    Previously, he had known how Geoffrey operated it.


    On the jadeite platform


    Zen and the others were restlessly waiting.


    The distance from the holy pillar to the chaos was not great. Ziya would bring Geoffrey and descend from the Deleting Space at any moment now.


    As time ticked by, Zen and the others became more and more impatient.


    "Why haven''t they come back yet?"


    "Could it be that they can''t descend from the Deleting Space?"


    "Maybe they can''t find their way back..."


    "What happened?"


    Just as everyone began burning with anxiety, Rocher''s Lone Sword began to tremble again, and new information was transmitted from the other side.


    "I''m Ziya. We can''t locate the chaos and are unable to return!"

 Chapter 4266 The Only Way Left

    Everyone who heard what Rocher said was surprised and confused.


    ''The chaos is such a huge world. How is it possible that they couldn''t find it?'' they all thought at the back of their minds.


    "Why can''t you find your way back?"


    "Are you lost?"


    "Be patient and look more carefully."


    Zen, Fuxi, and the others were so anxious that they impatiently blurted what they were thinking.


    Suddenly, the Snake Goddess interrupted them. "Calm down. Ziya is not a fool, and neither is Geoffrey. They wouldn''t have come back to the holy pillar and asked for our help simply because they got lost. They must be in a more difficult situation than we can imagine. Let him talk," she kind of reprimanded everyone present.


    Upon hearing what the Snake Goddess said, the people on the jadeite platform recognized what she meant. They quickly fell silent and stared back at Rocher.


    "They are being pursued by a great number of enemies. Their sheer number is overwhelming that they couldn''t defeat them all. Although Geoffrey gained incredible strength, he is now exhausted. They don''t know how much longer they would be able to hold on." Rocher reported everything that Ziya told him.


    Upon hearing this, Zen was suddenly alarmed. "Did he say who were after them?" he asked.


    After a short while, Rocher replied, "A bunch of giants."


    ''Giants in the main world?'' When Zen heard this, Pompeo immediately popped into his mind.


    ''If several members of the Colossus race are after them, then both of them are in grave danger, '' Zen thought with a worried expression on his face.


    "What should we do now?"


    Zen murmured to himself as he paced back and forth.


    Right now, Ziya and Geoffrey couldn''t come back and bring the Heavenly Ring Staff to them. Moreover, they were in a dangerous situation.


    After thinking for a while, Zen stopped walking. Something lit in his eyes as he turned to the Snake Goddess. "The Eternal Scroll Painting! We can enter the Eternal Divine Courtyard through it. That''s the fastest shortcut!" Zen exclaimed in excitement.


    However, he didn''t understand why no one gave a single response.


    In the end, it was the Primeval Lord of Heaven who dared to break the silence. A wisp of his soul floated out of the Civilization Artifact and sighed. "Zen, the Eternal Scroll Painting is still closed. Furthermore, the Grand Plain Stage was already destroyed by the downgrader," he explained calmly.


    Since the Grand Plain Stage was destroyed, it must also mean that the Eternal Scroll Painting vanished with it too.


    Fuxi kept his head lowered as he furrowed his eyebrows, while the Snake Goddess pursed her lips. They couldn''t say anything as they didn''t want to be the ones to break it to Zen.


    Not long ago, Geoffrey had just completed a very risky and difficult mission. However, they did


    done," the green figure informed.


    "Do you think it will work?" Zen asked, just to make sure.


    The green figure actually didn''t know what Zen was up to, but it still answered, "Yes, it will. But its efficiency might be very low."


    "I see. Well, I''m going to the main world right now. I would need your help after I get there."


    Zen instructed briefly and didn''t provide much information since he was in a hurry.


    Before the green figure could react, Zen already disappeared.


    When he returned to the jadeite platform, Zen quickly sat down with his legs crossed and looked at Kincaid. "I''m ready."


    Upon entering the Other Shore, they walked into the passageway.


    Hilario immediately spotted the two and was baffled as to why they were there. Reading his mind, Kincaid said, "He wants to go to the main world¡­"


    "What? Why?" Hilario got even more confused when he heard the reason for their sudden appearance. "What happened?" he couldn''t help but ask.


    Therefore, Kincaid filled him in on what had happened in the main world. As he explained the unexpected situation, Hilario fell into a deep thought. "The passageway does lead to the main world. But before you get there, you will need to pass through the Eternal Scroll Painting and face the brush-wielder," Hilario warned.


    At the mention of the brush-wielder, Zen''s eyebrows quickly raised.


    From the moment that Zen knew the truth behind Cornelius''s scheme and the alter, he realized that the brush-wielder was actually not on their side. He was the one who coaxed him into entering the alter in order to acquire the sword.


    Judging from that, Zen speculated that the brush-wielder was, in fact, someone who worked for the downgrader.


    Zen was able to pass through the Eternal Scroll Painting back then. But now, he thought that it might not be that easy since the brush-wielder might get in his way.

 Chapter 4267 Blocked

    Zen was left with no choice but to pass through this passageway to go to the main world.


    "I don''t have to be afraid. I have the ancestry-level bloodline," he pronounced.


    Kincaid remained silent beside him. It was Zen''s own choice, so he had no say in it.


    Hilario didn''t stop him either. Of course, he hoped that Zen could bring the Heavenly Ring Staff back.


    The curses cast on the human spirits from the Bold Conjecture House were done using the powers of the Deep Space. The Heavenly Ring Staff could lift the curses and finally end their misery.


    "Since you insist, our Bold Conjecture House has no objection." After saying that, Hilario nodded to the human spirits behind him. The long-haired monsters stepped aside to make way for Zen.


    Just then, a golden light flashed beside Kincaid. Out came Dorothy, also returning to the passageway.


    Dorothy had arrived from the Pear Hill, where she had been staying with Yasamin.


    She had hurried over when she heard that Zen was heading to the Abstruse Energy World alone.


    "Zen, I''ll go with you!" Dorothy called out.


    Kincaid''s face darkened when he heard that. "Stop messing around, Dora."


    Dorothy glanced at him.


    Kincaid was family, but he knew nothing about her life in the chaos.


    Dorothy shook her head. "I''m not messing around. I''m your daughter and a human spirit, too. I would probably be able to walk freely in the Abstruse Energy World!"


    The warriors of the Bold Conjecture House, admittedly, had also been wondering if Dorothy had that ability.


    But they couldn''t make any conclusions without a precedent.


    "If you are still a creature of the main world, the rules of the main world could kill you. And if you aren''t, you would only be a liability to Zen. You cannot go!" Kincaid took a step forward and stood in Dorothy''s way.


    "Dorothy, please," Zen pleaded, his face serious.


    He knew how stubborn Dorothy was. Even Yasamin couldn''t stop her, so it was less likely that Kincaid and the human spirits of the Bold Conjecture House could change her mind.


    Before Dorothy could move further, Hilario reached out his hand. An oval-shaped gem appeared on his fluffy palm. The gem glowed, and at once, Dorothy felt dizzy and started to


    World, was the most perfect, but it was all just a trick! He also said the same to the Four Spirits Sect about the third-grade world, the Cinnabar race about the fourth-grade world, and the Sacred Spirit race about the fifth-grade world!"


    "I do not care. My long cherished wish is to expand the Wall World. This Eternal Scroll Painting is not big enough," the brush-wielder said.


    The Eternal Scroll Painting, in fact, was not the actual Wall World. Creatures in the Wall World could not see their appearance as they were depicted on the scroll. Thus, the Eternal Scroll Painting was just a simulation. But the brush-wielder wanted to make this simulation into reality.


    "He won''t stop even if the Wall World becomes what you wants it to be! He will still downgrade the Wall World to the first-grade world, the World of Nothingness, and you will be destroyed in the end!" Zen shouted.


    This was obvious to Zen. He couldn''t understand why the brush-wielder, with all that he had seen, couldn''t figure this out.


    But the brush-wielder could not be reasoned with. "Even if it eventually becomes a first-grade world, at least the Wall World will last for the next decades. It is enough for me. The third-grade world has existed for so long. I will see to it the Wall World exists longer. There would be more second-grade world creatures inhabiting the Wall World, and the entire Wall World will be more prosperous!" the brush-wielder insisted, clinging fervently to blind faith.

 Chapter 4268 Rescue (Part One)

    Ever since he came into existence, the brush-wielder had regarded himself as the God of the Wall World, and he had a very strong obsession with it.


    If the downgrader would really turn the entire world into a Wall World, then he couldn''t be any happier. It was what he wished all along.


    Originally, Zen wanted to persuade the brush-wielder into helping him.


    However, as he heard all the crazy words that the brush-wielder had spouted, Zen knew that it would never happen. He was so disappointed and angry at the same time.


    "Even if he really turns everything into a Wall World, what do you think would happen to you? Do you think he would let you live? Can''t you see that you''re just being manipulated too? Did you even see the miserable state that Cornelius ended up with?!" Zen wasn''t able to contain his emotions as he tried to drill some sense into the brush-wielder.


    "I don''t care if I''m being manipulated! All I ever wished is the establishment of the Wall World!" the brush-wielder shouted as he closed his mind to everything that Zen was saying. "Too bad for you, I won''t let you leave this place! You shall die here today!"


    He knew that Zen possessed the ancestry-level bloodline, thus he didn''t dare underestimate him. But right now, he would do everything in his power to eliminate him within the bounds of the Eternal Scroll Painting.


    With that, a huge ink brush emerged above the Eternal Scroll Painting, which quickly sent down a stroke that sharply slashed towards Zen.


    Whoosh!


    As the brush slashed, a long trail of ink swept across the snow-white painting scroll.


    At the same time, Zen instantly sensed that the strong force was about to slash his waist.


    Fortunately, the Eternal Scroll Painting was not a real Wall World yet, me


    ready visible.


    "Ha-ha! Did you feel that? This is my Life-energy Graver. Every time I use it, it consumes my life energy. Can you imagine that? I''m attacking you at the cost of my own life!" The brush-wielder was acting crazier this time. It was as if he was laughing, crying, and madly yelling at the same time.


    "Then, why do you have to do this?" Zen couldn''t help but shake his head as he pitied the mental state of the brush-wielder.


    "Shut up! I don''t need your opinion!"


    Swish!


    Splat!


    The Life-energy Graver just inflicted a second wound on Zen''s body.


    Splat!


    And a third one.


    Swoosh!


    The brush-wielder continued to slash at Zen using the graver, but the ancestry-level bloodline started to gather more life energy in order to repair Zen''s injuries.


    This cycle continued for over five minutes on the Eternal Scroll Painting.


    The attacks of the graver became more and more ferocious, but at the same time, the rate of regeneration of the ancestry-level bloodline also became faster and faster.


    "Damn it! Your body''s already extremely sturdy, but it also has such formidable regeneration ability. Let''s see how you handle this one though!"

 Chapter 4269 Rescue (Part Two)

    Whoosh!


    In an instant, the aura of the Life-energy Graver became even sharper.


    The overwhelming aura that it was emitting almost penetrated directly into the scroll.


    Before the intense aura of the graver, Zen felt a shiver shot down his spine. His body started trembling as if telling him that he might not be able to withstand the next blow.


    However, at this crucial moment, a flock of beasts from the scroll painting suddenly rushed over to them.


    On one of the beasts sat a graceful woman. It turned out that she was actually the fox girl who lived in the Eternal Scroll Painting.


    As she reached Zen, the fox girl waved his fingers around him, and a hexagram array instantly enveloped him. When the array was completely formed, she immediately told Zen to get out of that place.


    Buzz! Buzz!


    The moment that the array was activated, Zen''s body was also released from the Eternal Scroll Painting.


    As he stood on the surface of the Eternal Scroll Painting in his normal form, he saw the huge face of the brush-wielder floating in the sky, along with his fast-approaching Life-energy Graver.


    "What the hell have you done?! Are you out of your mind? Why did you save him?!"


    The brush-wielder couldn''t believe that the fox girl would betray him during such a critical moment.


    Folding her arms over her chest, the fox girl stared coldly at the brush-wielder and said, "I don''t think you should be the one asking questions here. Why don''t you answer my question first? What the hell are you really trying to do?"


    At this point, the brush-wielder realized that the fox girl must have heard the earlier conversation between him and Zen.


    However, he didn''t have time to deal and argue with the fox girl r


    Scroll Painting and slowly approached the fox girl.


    "Thank you for saving me¡­" Zen cupped his hands towards her.


    "No need to thank me. Just go ahead," the fox girl answered in an indifferent tone as she waved her hand, motioning for him to leave.


    "Okay then." Zen nodded as he quickly walked towards the exit of the Eternal Scroll Painting. He needed to hurry now because he wasted so much time dealing with the brush-wielder.


    But as he was about to step out of the Eternal Scroll Painting, the fox girl suddenly asked, "How confident are you that you can defeat the downgrader?"


    Zen paused for a moment before he turned around, wearing a bitter smile on his face. "I actually don''t have the confidence."


    After the downgrader obtained the mighty sword that once belonged to the Cinnabar race, Zen couldn''t even start imagining how powerful he already became.


    "What?" The fox girl was almost rendered speechless, obviously dissatisfied with his answer. Even her charming face faded in an instant.


    "Nonetheless, I''ll still try my best."


    Zen just smiled at her before he went straight to the exit of the Eternal Scroll Painting.

 Chapter 4270 Meeting With Zen

    After Zen''s figure disappeared from the Eternal Scroll Painting, the fox girl remained where she stood without moving an inch as though she were paralyzed.


    When she snapped out of it, she noticed a white light dot flickering above the void.


    The fox girl''s gaze followed the white dot of light as it floated above for a while before it finally slid down towards the exit of the Eternal Scroll Painting. She heaved a sigh of relief and then turned to look at the face that was bruised to the point of no recognition by Zen.


    Confronted by Zen''s fearsome relentless attack, the face of the brush-wielder gave in and was smashed beyond repair.


    "Master brush-wielder... are you alright?" the fox girl called out to him in a concerned voice.


    As the words left her mouth, the pieces that once sprawled lifeless on the Eternal Scroll Painting regained their lost vitality and slowly crawled their way towards the face of the brush-wielder.


    The brush-wielder raised his face carefully as though it were as delicate as porcelain.


    At this moment, his face portrayed a strange calmness to it as he remained in his place without uttering a word. He was neither laughing nor crying.


    "Please speak to me, Master brush-wielder. Are you alright?" the fox girl asked once again, her tone brimming with undying concern for him.


    "I was born with the Eternal Scroll Painting. As long as it is not destroyed, I won''t die. Don''t worry. I''m fine," the brush-wielder replied. His tone showed no hints of anger when he addressed the fox girl after he recovered from his wounds.


    "I wonder if we were able to deceive the downgrader just now..." The fox girl voiced her worried thoughts out loud.


    "It shouldn''t be a problem." The brush-wielder sighed softly.


    Compared to the creatures of the third-grade and fourth-grade worlds, the brush-wielder held more knowledge about the boring life in the Wall World. Everything within that world was divided by length, and it was free from any sort of thickness. Even if there were any sort of life being born within the second-grade world after a long time, those lives would be proclaimed the weakest and the lowest of all lives present there.


    In fact, the third-grade world was the lowest limit of life diversification. It was the Lower Extreme World after all, meaning it should be the lowest-grade world. If it continued to downgrade, the life it held within its borders would lose its sense of existence and the purpose attached to it.


    The brush-wielder harbored deep-seated resentment for the second-grade world. But he was powerless against the downgrader, so the only option he was left with, was to cooperate with the fox girl to collectively play a trick on him.


    "It seems the downgrader is cautious about Zen, so he must be afraid of him. Perhaps there is a chance that Zen will succeed," the fox girl said with her eyes glowing with hope.


    Although Zen didn''t give her a definite answer, the fox girl remained hopeful and pinned all her expectations on him.


    The moment Zen left th


    e Starry Roc-fish in the flesh, he immediately sensed from its demeanor that the beautiful fish was seeking them out!


    Although the pillar under their feet was very wide, the surface of the pillar was quite bare. They were unable to dodge or hide.


    As the Starry Roc-fish continued to close in on them, Geoffrey was suddenly struck with an idea. He grabbed the Heavenly Ring Staff and put it into Ziya''s hand before he exclaimed, "Use this to let it hide us! Hurry up, we don''t have much time!"


    Ziya''s powerful ability might have been insufficient when trying to dispose of the Starry Roc-fish. However, making use of a small hiding method seemed to be not that difficult.


    Ziya was surprisingly quick to react. He had seen how Geoffrey used the Heavenly Ring Staff before. Therefore he encountered no difficulty in wielding it. After taking it, he raised the Heavenly Rising Staff and yelled out, "Hide us!"


    As soon as he voiced his command, Ziya felt the energy from his inner world gush out uncontrollably.


    When a small-scale hiding technique was put to use, his inner world went through dramatic changes as almost half of the energy was drained from it.


    But the effect was surprisingly effective!


    A faint net of light veiled their bodies and suppressed their auras as though they were never there.


    As soon as they were hidden from the naked eye, the Starry Roc-fish flew over from afar till it reached where they stood.


    "Woo...


    Goo..."


    The Starry Roc-fish lowered its head to try to get a whiff of their auras but failed at its attempt. After searching unsuccessfully for a while, it moved on to the next holy pillar.


    "Master Ziya, we must hurry and head to the Eternal Divine Courtyard. It will be bad if that fish reaches my father before us," Geoffrey said, relaying his concerns to Ziya.


    The two of them didn''t resort to flying in fear of the Starry Roc-fish locating them. They could only climb along the extended chain.


    Fortunately, they were able to move quickly along the chain.

 Chapter 4271 Magnetic Light Extreme Form

    The Starry Roc-fish swam around the four pillars, searching earnestly.


    It had initially only planned to exhaust Geoffrey''s strength.


    It figured this was the most efficient way to deal with him and Ziya. Ziya would have been easy pickings after that.


    But the Starry Roc-fish hadn''t expected Geoffrey to use Grand Teleportation to escape.


    The Starry Roc-fish could detect objects using the aura of space, but the Heavenly Ring Staff was obviously shielding Geoffrey and Ziya. It took some time for the Starry Roc-fish''s echolocation ability to lead it toward the general direction of the pillars.


    It began to sense Geoffrey and Ziya in the area as soon as it approached.


    But suddenly, the two became undetectable again.


    The Starry Roc-fish had such keen senses that it could see the energy emanating from everything in the world, including from dead people. It could easily pick up on energy fluctuations, too.


    Avoiding its detection like this would usually require those in hiding to block all external energy auras and stop emitting auras themselves.


    Suffice to say, that was a near impossible feat.


    That was why the Starry Roc-fish concluded Geoffrey and Ziya must be using the Heavenly Ring Staff.


    It was likely why the Starry Roc-fish couldn''t find them now.


    But it had to, all the same. It couldn''t disobey the downgrader''s orders.


    "Woo..."


    The Starry Roc-fish emitted a long wailing sound.


    The sound waves bounced back from surfaces, allowing the Starry Roc-fish to determine the shape of its surroundings, including those concealed.


    The sound waves washed through a vast area. But it still failed to pick up on Geoffrey and Ziya.


    The Starry Roc-fish figured it must be looking in the wrong area.


    It turned to go.


    Just then, a door suddenly opened above the Eternal Divine Courtyard. A white light emanated from the doorway.


    The light began to flash, and the voice of the downgrader piped up directly in the Starry Roc-fish''s mind, "Wait there!"


    The Starry Roc-fish didn''t know what it had to wait for, but it couldn''t refuse. It hovered in place for a moment.


    Soon, it saw a person being


    sprouted all over his body, forming a cage around him.


    The metal strands deflected the lightning bolts and sent them crackling throughout the Eternal Divine Courtyard instead. Zen was once again left unharmed.


    "What was that?"


    The Starry Roc-fish was stunned.


    No one had ever dodged its lightning strikes like that before!


    "If that doesn''t work, let''s try the Magnetic Light Extreme Form, then."


    The Starry Roc-fish flicked its tail. Two thin rays of light spiraled toward Zen.


    The Magnetic Light Extreme Form was not organic to the Starry Roc-fish. It actually came from the downgrader''s theurgy and the power of the Deep Space.


    The core of Heavenly Obsession Civilization had been accurate thus far in its analyses of this situation.


    That was why when Zen saw the light rays, his first reaction was to run.


    But he was still unsteady on his feet. His first steps forward were clumsy, making him an easy target. One of the light rays pierced through his arm, the other through his foot.


    The body parts that the light rays hit were quickly turned into pure energy and absorbed.


    It made quick work of Zen.


    In a flash, he had lost a hand and a foot.


    The light rays now rapidly began to spread from Zen''s limbs to his torso.


    "Father!"


    Geoffrey cried out in panic, completely forgetting he was supposed to be in hiding.


    Zen''s entire body would soon be turned into pure energy at this rate!

 Chapter 4272 Sacrifice

    Zen couldn''t hear Geoffrey''s shout.


    All his senses within the main world relied on the core of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization. But this core hadn''t absorbed this sound, which was why Zen couldn''t hear it.


    Two thin rays of light began to magnetize his shoulders and the other leg, the magnetized energy being quickly absorbed by them.


    It felt to him as if he had been bitten by an invisible monster that would soon gobble him up in a few bites.


    Geoffrey''s shout exposed he and Ziya''s position.


    The Starry Roc-fish noticed the two people on the chain of Time Lock. Its huge eyes emitted a ray of blue light that formed a space wall in front of these two people.


    "Break it!"


    Geoffrey roared.


    His physical strength had recovered a little, but he was largely in a state of exhaustion. However, he still managed to use all his strength to hit the space wall.


    Bang!


    The power of this punch only caused the space wall to shake slightly. All power had left him.


    Crack, crack, crack, crack...


    Ziya, staying behind Geoffrey, pulled out the God Lashing Whip and attacked the wall with all his strength.


    The shadows of the golden whip were like raindrops that came crashing down, but the space wall did not budge one bit. The wall was tougher than they had anticipated.


    After a series of futile attacks, Ziya grabbed Geoffrey, intending to jump over the space wall. But the moment he dragged Geoffrey towards the edge, the light in the eyes of the Starry Roc-fish began to flicker, more and more space walls appearing. The space walls closed up, forming a closed space that blocked them.


    Helpless in the face of this blockade, Ziya had no choice but to bring Geoffrey back to the chain.


    "Father!"


    Geoffrey continued to shout through the transparent space wall. His heart broke as he watched Zen''s body slowly turn into pure energy.


    Ziya''s face darkened. Everything would be over if they were to be trapped here forever.


    The white light dot, which represented the will of the downgrader, suddenly drew a thin line and drilled into the body of the Starry Roc-fish.


    The situation had been under control when the downgrader had begun to take control of the Starry Roc-fish.


    And since there had been no room for resistance, the Starry Roc-fish had easily submitted itself to the downgrader.


    Once its soul had finally landed and the downgrader had gained complete con


    who panicked as he held the Heavenly Ring Staff in his hand. He couldn''t understand why Ziya would suddenly collapse like this.


    Although the Heavenly Ring Staff had already fallen into Zen''s hands, Zen couldn''t use it at the moment. Neither his spiritual sense nor his voice could be transmitted within the main world.


    Seeing his father stunned as he was, Geoffrey, without caring about the consequences, rushed up and grabbed the Heavenly Ring Staff before shouting, "No matter what method you use, please protect us! You can absorb as much energy as you want in my father''s body!"


    He didn''t know if it would work.


    After all, the Heavenly Ring Staff would only listen to the holder''s orders.


    Geoffrey began to worry when the Heavenly Ring Staff began to frantically absorb Zen''s energy at an astonishing speed.


    With such a high speed of absorption, an ordinary Eternal Realm warrior wouldn''t be able to hold on even for about two seconds.


    Fortunately, the ancestry-level bloodline that Zen possessed provided him with an endless energy. After the Heavenly Ring Staff had absorbed enough energy, a halo flashed on top of the staff, within which countless hexagons were released, enveloping Zen and Geoffrey.


    As the hexagonal enchanted barriers spread out, they also cut off the thin light rays of the Starry Roc-fish.


    The downgrader, who had already controlled the Starry Roc-fish''s body and was speaking slowly, hadn''t expected Ziya to hand the Heavenly Ring Staff to Zen in such a short time. He didn''t know what had happened until the enchanted barriers had unfurled completely.

 Chapter 4273 Counterattack

    As soon as the thin streaks of light released from the Magnetic Light Extreme Form were cut off, the magnetic energy immediately stopped.


    The ancestry-level bloodline began continuously transferring the energy from the life quadrant. This was done to compensate for Zen''s incomplete body.


    Unfortunately, the newly regrown flesh and bones were not as good as before. Nevertheless, Zen had to make do with it for now.


    Even though his body had somewhat recovered, everything was still a blur to him. He did not quite understand what just happened.


    The Heavenly Obsession Civilization''s core was able to help Zen decipher Sanskrit words. It even helped him decipher the scenes from the main world. However, he was still unable to understand everything clearly.


    Geoffrey saw that his father was still in a daze. Because of that, he gave another order to the Heavenly Ring Staff, "Help him with the Soul Reincarnation. Do as we did before. Extract the energy from him!"


    With that, Zen heard a swishing sound.


    After Geoffrey gave his command, the Heavenly Ring Staff carried out the order surprisingly fast.


    Soon after, Zen saw the Heavenly Ring Staff flash before Geoffrey pointed to his head. At this moment, he was still utterly befuddled. In just a split second, he felt an intense pain that almost shattered his soul.


    The pain one would feel from the Soul Reincarnation was truly indescribable. In simple terms, it was like breaking and reorganizing the original soul. It was an excruciatingly painful kind of suffering. It was already a miracle that Elder Xue was able to reach that high in the Levitation Tower.


    When the pain finally stopped, Zen slowly opened his eyes. He couldn''t believe what he was seeing.


    The scenes that were flashing before his eyes earlier were no longer presented by the core of the Heavenly Obsession Civilization. All at once, everything became clear to him.


    At that moment, he heard Geoffrey''s voice. "Father! Are you alright? How do you feel?" Geoffrey was thoroughly relieved that his father finally came to his senses.


    "I... What happened to me?" Zen stared at his hands in shock. This was quite unbelievable!


    "You have undergone the Soul Reincarnation. So now, you can move freely in the Abstruse Energy World!" Geoffrey looked at him and smiled.


    "Wait... What happened to Master Ziya just now? He was just right here a moment ago." Zen looked around because this scenery felt unreal to him.


    He had no idea what exactly just happened. He wondered why Ziya suddenly disappeared from their midst.


    "The Heavenly Ring Staff requires a massive amount of energy to absorb. Unfortunately, Master Ziya didn''t have enough. He might have just burnt his Other Shore Tokens," Geoffrey responded with a sad look on his eyes.


    Not once had he eve


    g Staff began to absorb a massive amount of energy.


    It was just like that particular sword. The stronger its bearer was, the more power it could unleash.


    Meanwhile, the ancestry-level bloodline could supply it with boundless energy. Therefore, the Heavenly Ring Staff was allowed to display its maximum power.


    Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!


    The Heavenly Ring Staff released a flash of light. In an instant, dark red cones gathered above Zen''s head. As soon as these cones appeared, they immediately soared towards the Starry Roc-fish.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    The cones were flying at a breakneck speed. They could easily reach their target.


    The Starry Roc-fish noticed that the situation was not favorable. Thus, its soul regained control of its body immediately. With a wave of its tail, it turned around and decided to flee.


    The downgrader didn''t stop it. After all, it was entirely his fault that they got into this pinch.


    However, it was far too late for the Starry Roc-fish to escape.


    Those dark red cones looked a little ordinary. But as a matter of fact, they were created through the Pure Energy Extreme Form. Their speed was even faster than that of the Starry Roc-fish.


    Puff! Puff! Puff! Simultaneously, the cones found their target.


    Dozens of cones shot into the Starry Roc-fish''s body.


    With regards to its enormous size, the cones were just as small as thin needles.


    At first, the Starry Roc-fish hoped that the cones weren''t too powerful.


    But when the first cone exploded, it immediately knew that it was doomed.


    From afar, Geoffrey and Zen watched the Starry Roc-fish. It looked like a ball that expanded dozens of times before it cracked and blossomed into a colorful firework.


    In the end, the dot of white light that belonged to the downgrader was unable to escape. It was annihilated along with the Starry Roc-fish.

 Chapter 4274 Removing The Curse

    The shock waves spreading across the sky didn''t dissipate for a long time.


    The heat contained in these shock waves was astonishing, causing Zen and Geoffrey to feel like they were baking in the sun.


    "The attack seemed ordinary but its power is so terrifying! I didn''t know the Heavenly Ring Staff was this powerful!"


    Zen originally wanted to say that the Heavenly Ring Staff was more powerful than the irregular heavy sword.


    But on second thought, he felt it was not right.


    Both of them could make full use of the power in the Deep Space, but the difference was that the Heavenly Ring Staff was more intelligent.


    There was also a spirit within the irregular heavy sword that wasn''t as intelligent. Even the downgrader had managed to bewitch it.


    Not only could the Heavenly Ring Staff understand human language, it could also make appropriate judgments and release the Polygon Extreme Form and the Pure Energy Extreme Form when needed.


    Could it be that the spirit inside had retained its memory?


    Zen''s thoughts were whirling.


    "The Heavenly Ring Staff is powerful, but I''m not weak either!" Geoffrey said, thumping his chest.


    Only then did Zen''s gaze focus on Geoffrey.


    Right now, Geoffrey was twenty feet tall, like a small giant. His strength had been completely exhausted but he exuded a rich vitality, his every move vigorous. Zen had never seen such a perfect body before.


    "Geoffrey, what has happened to make you so powerful?"


    Zen asked, surprised.


    Not considering the Treacherous Beings, Zen''s body, which had been tempered by the ancestry-level bloodline, was the strongest.


    But Zen was dwarfed in comparison with Geoffrey, despite being Geoffrey''s father.


    He had been very clear about Geoffrey''s strength before he had set out on this ''quest''. It was difficult for Zen to imagine the kind of method that could enable Geoffrey to make such rapid progress.


    "It''s not just the body!"


    Geoffrey laughed, releasing the last bit of soul force inside him.


    His soul was at the top level in the Deep Space. Although the power had been obtained pretty easily and it needed to be further honed, the aura alone that the soul had released was terrifying.


    Zen was stunned. But before long, his face lit up. "I hadn''t expected you to improve your power so greatly on this trip!"


    Geoffrey''s head lifted proudly at his father''s praise. He didn''t have to live under his father''s glory any longer


    y were all stark naked.


    Zen was also embarrassed. He immediately activated the Truth of Three-Energy Construction and created some clothes for them.


    These human spirits of the Bold Conjecture House had been living in the form of long-haired monsters for countless years. Now that they had been restored to the human spirits, they played around, touched their own faces, and poked others'' buttocks, as excited as children. The passageway was filled with laughter and noise.


    Kincaid understood their feelings and did not stop them.


    Geoffrey, on the other hand, was staring at Dorothy, a puzzled expression in his eyes. It seemed that there was something he couldn''t figure out.


    "Geoffrey, what''s wrong?" Zen asked, unable to understand why Geoffrey was reacting thus.


    "I''ve seen a person who looks just like her, a splitting image of her!" said Geoffrey.


    "Really?" Zen relaxed, not taking it seriously. "Maybe it''s just a coincidence?"


    There were hundreds of billions of people in the world. It was possible that a lot of people looked alike. One would be able to find someone from the primitive land who looked just like Dorothy.


    But Kincaid asked, "Where did you see the person?"


    "In the chaos. She is embedded in the wall of chaos. Her entire body can''t move. Moreover, she carries a Holy Item. I saw her through the light ray of that Holy Item," Geoffrey said.


    "What?"


    Kincaid''s expression changed dramatically.


    Zen also realized that something was wrong.


    If a woman embedded in the wall of chaos looked very much like Dorothy, he was afraid that it was not, after all, a coincidence.

 Chapter 4275 Buds

    Kincaid stared at Geoffrey and pursued the matter further. "Is the Holy Item the Evil Bead?"


    "The Evil Bead?" Geoffrey grew pensive for a moment and replied, "I''m not certain of that, but it resembled a round piece of metal."


    "Was there anything unusual about her facial features?" Kincaid questioned further.


    "Her facial features..." As he tried to remember all that he had seen, Geoffrey suddenly clapped his hands as he exclaimed, "Now I recall, I think she had frightening eyes, and they were slitted like those of a snake!"


    The snake eyes were the most striking feature of that woman.


    Upon hearing what Geoffrey said, Kincaid suddenly fell silent, while Hilario silently let out a sigh beside him.


    "Dad, who is that woman?" Dorothy asked. She could tell from Kincaid''s earlier emotions as well as his sudden silence that he knew without any doubt who the woman was. She wanted to get the answer from him.


    "She''s your mother," Kincaid answered in a somewhat bitter voice.


    "My mother?" Dorothy asked in confusion. "If she is my mother, why is she imprisoned in the wall of the chaos?"


    "In the past, her father had defeated us all. I believed she was dead back then. Now, it appears that her father showed mercy to her. Her imprisonment in the wall of the chaos must be her father''s punishment," Kincaid slowly explained.


    Dorothy, Zen, and Geoffrey were all momentarily stunned by his words.


    Zen was the first to figure it out, and he said, "Is her father the Snake Spirit King, Cornelius?"


    "Yes," Kincaid admitted. "She is Cornelius'' daughter, Itzel."


    Although the Four Spirits Sect was an entity, the four sects were comprised from different races, and each hailed from their own ancestral lands. Their lifestyles varied greatly from each other.


    Normally, a snake spirit had a large number of offspring, and competition among them was extremely cruel.


    Cornelius was reputed to have hundreds of thousands of children, but most of them had died before they reached adulthood. The cause of their death was mainly the fierce internal family strife, and only those who were strong enough to survive were considered deserving enough to be Cornelius'' descendants.


    Compared with his other children, Itzel had led a charmed life.


    In the past, the Bold Conjecture House had required the study of the bloodlines of the four leaders'' children. Technically, the leaders only required one of their children to give blood.


    However, the Snake Spirit King had instead sent them an egg.


    After Itzel''s hatching, the Bold Conjecture House had wanted to return her, but the Snake Spirit Sect had become indifferent to her fate. They had then allowed the Human Spirit Sect to deal wit


    look at Zen for confirmation.


    Zen nodded with a solemn look. "He''s right. His body has gained experience and unimaginable strengthening, and even I can''t hold a candle to him now."


    After hearing their explanations, Letitia finally smiled through her tears. Since her son had returned safely, and his strength had increased to such an extent, her pent-up sadness quickly vanished like mist before the sun of her joy.


    Six hours later, in the center of the primitive land, the Heavenly Ring Staff floated in isolation in the air.


    Thin but long streaks of blood rained down from the blood-red sky and tightly wrapped around the Heavenly Ring Staff.


    After Geoffrey first gained control of the Heavenly Ring Staff, he had tried to infuse his consciousness into it. However, his small wisp of consciousness had disappeared without a trace, and it was immediately devoured by the Heavenly Ring Staff as energy.


    It was not easy to completely subdue the Heavenly Ring Staff, and the task was left to the ancestry-level bloodline.


    The moment the streaks of blood wrapped around the Heavenly Ring Staff, the ancestry-level bloodline started to notice a massive amount of energy being drawn away by the Heavenly Ring Staff. Zen also sensed that there was a strong energy flow across the primitive land.


    The ancestry-level bloodline didn''t stop the energy supply. Instead, it was willing to offer the Heavenly Ring Staff as much as it wanted.


    Regardless of how much energy it required to activate the staff, it would be satisfied as long as it continued to supply it. As the energy flow fused with and filled the Heavenly Ring Staff, its surface, which looked like a withered branch, began to radiate an aura of life. On the top of the staff some green buds even grew, and these were about to bloom.

 Chapter 4276 Illusory Vision

    "Buzz..."


    A tiny ring grew out of the Heavenly Ring Staff and floated on its side.


    It was purple and was surrounded by purple lightning bolts.


    Zen, who was not too far away, could feel the power of those purple lightning bolts. The power wasn''t the energy of the fourth-grade world. It was an energy of certain Extreme Form from the Deep Space.


    "Buzz..."


    A second ring floated out of the staff.


    There were two spiral lights at the center of the ring. One was black, and the other one was white. The two lights intertwined and completely filled the whole ring.


    Zen had seen these lights before¡ªthe Starry Roc-fish had once used this power to turn Zen''s body into energy. They were the power of the Magnetic Light Extreme Form that could magnetize substances into energy.


    "Buzz..."


    "Buzz..."


    The third ring came out, and then the fourth one, and the fifth one...


    One after another, rings grew out of the Heavenly Ring Staff and lined up neatly around it.


    As Zen watched all of these occurred, a word suddenly popped out in his mind¡ªthe map...


    There were three hundred and seventy-three types of abilities of the ancestry-level bloodline in the Eternal Divine Courtyard, and there was also a map that marked the types. The function of these rings should be similar to that of the map.


    "Ancestry-level bloodline, is the Heavenly Ring Staff displaying its abilities?" Zen asked.


    After a moment of silence, the ancestry-level bloodline said, "This is more than a display of abilities. As the staff shows its abilities, it''s also directly merging into your primitive land. Once the merging process is completed, these abilities can be used by you just the same way you can use my abilities!"


    Zen raised his eyebrows. Although obtaining the Heavenly Ring Staff meant he gained control of the power in the Deep Space, he never expected the process to be so smooth. He continued, "In that case, I should have one hundred and forty types of abilities later?"


    "Yes," the ancestry-level bloodline replied in a depressed tone.


    The reaction of the ancestry-level bloodline baffled Zen. "What''s wrong with you?"


    "I... I''m searching for my memories," said the ancestry-level bloodline.


    When the Deep Space was downgraded, the ancestry-level bloodline lost a portion of its extremely important memories, causing it to forget its original identity.


    It had been placing its hopes on the Heavenly Ring Staff because it thought that a portion of its lost memories very likely resided within the staff.


    Nevertheless, as the abil


    ent occurring in the chaos.


    For the current Evil God, how to manage his avatars was indeed a headache.


    Every avatar was extremely intelligent, and their rebellious nature was engraved in their bones.


    The Evil God had no choice but to forge a special kind of metal to trap the avatars that had tried to betray him.


    When that unnoticeable wave of consciousness spread to the Source World, the avatar suddenly raised his head. A trace of surprise appeared on his sinister face.


    "That direction... It''s the primitive land...


    This consciousness is the Illusory Vision in the Soul Extreme Form. Has he also comprehended the power of the Deep Space?


    Interesting! Zen''s performance isn''t bad!


    Master, did you feel it? I''m curious... Are you feeling afraid now? Hahaha..."


    Five minutes later.


    That wave of consciousness had already enveloped more than half of the chaos. Zen also noticed the giant pyramid the Evil God had mentioned.


    But this time, Zen''s focus wasn''t on the giant pyramid. He wanted to help Dorothy find her mother, and this Soul Extreme Form was naturally the best way to achieve his purpose.


    Just as his consciousness spread past the boundless inner wall of the chaos, Zen suddenly discovered that tens of thousands of heads were piled up on the inner wall.


    It was such a rare scene to behold.


    Because these heads should have devoured each other until only one head remained¡ªthe last winner that would grow huge from devouring the others.


    Only when those heads had a common goal would they pile up on the wall like that.


    Zen controlled his consciousness, directing it to see through these heads. Once he did, he finally saw a woman embedded in the wall.

 Chapter 4277 Exhibition

    Zen saw that the woman was protected inside an invisible enchanted barrier. The huge heads moved along the edge of the barrier, trying to chomp at her.


    They scrambled almost desperately, trying to devour the woman, but the barrier stopped them from doing so.


    The woman was stoic and emotionless, closing her eyes slightly, so Zen could barely make out whether she had the pupils of a snake.


    But this didn''t matter. The woman had a striking resemblance to Dorothy.


    Just as Zen was about to withdraw his consciousness, the woman''s eyes suddenly popped open. Her golden pupils revealed a trace of confusion mixed with wonder.


    Logically speaking, creatures of the fourth-grade world shouldn''t have been able to sense the aura of the Illusory Vision, since the consciousness transmitted in this way was a very small wisp and was activated in the Soul Extreme Form.


    The Evil God was an exception, only because he had also grasped the power of the Deep Space.


    As for this woman, she was a snake spirit. Among the Four Spirits Sect, the snake spirits had the most acute perception.


    Upon sensing the faint disturbance, she immediately could tell that someone was there, despite it being extremely difficult to detect where it was exactly.


    "Is someone spying on me again?" she wondered aloud. "If yes, then that would be good news for me...


    Things shouldn''t go the way my father says they should go," she continued, a trace of anger in her voice. "He said that he can control the overall situation of the chaos, but I bet he must have been met with opposition. Am I right?"


    Narrowing her hatred-filled eyes, she shouted, "If you are someone who opposes him, please-- stop at nothing to kill my father!"


    Her voice rang throughout the space, and Zen could tangibly feel her anger.


    While she might''ve been the daughter of the Snake Spirit King, she had grown up in the Human Spirit Sect. All of her skills were taught by the human spirits of the Bold Conjecture House. The only thing that Cornelius had ever given her was the Evil Bead that hovered above her, which had been his wedding gift to her.


    No matter how she viewed it, it was a great honor for her to receive a Holy Item from her father.


    It had even made her siblings seethe with jealousy.


    That was the only time she ever felt some semblance of affection from her father.


    Unfortunately, she later realized that the Evil Bead was not a gift at all, but a weapon in disguise. It was hidden within her body, which was all part of Cornelius''s grand plan.


    When the four sects fought fiercely in the chaos, her father had demanded her to fight by his side.


    She had refused to submit, even if it meant she had to die.


    From the moment Kincaid was killed, she viewed her father as a horrendous enemy.


    While she was painfully aware that she personally would never be able to exact her reve


    rule. However, they wouldn''t have stood a chance if they dared oppose him, so they had only grumbled under their breaths.


    Now that the Evil God was so generous with the bloodline powers, the dissatisfaction in their minds instantly disappeared.


    Before these Holy Soul Realm warriors and Eternal Realm warriors could express their gratitude, the Evil God turned to the Grandmaster of Heaven and Duran. "Please follow me to the third floor."


    Duran and the Grandmaster of Heaven exchanged surprised looks.


    At that moment, they both had guessed what was going on.


    Without saying a word, they followed the Evil God upstairs and entered a hall on the third floor.


    This time, the ceiling was embedded with countless rings. However, these rings were empty; no energy flowed within them.


    At a glance, Duran''s sharp eyes had counted the number of rings. There were one hundred and forty in total.


    Just as he''d finished counting, the Evil God raised his head slowly.


    Sizzle, sizzle, Sizzle...


    One after another, the rings lit up, until the ceiling was covered in glowing rings.


    To their surprise, all kinds of Extreme Form energy now streamed within the rings!


    The Grandmaster of Heaven''s mouth hung open in shock as he sensed the Extreme Form energies in the rings.


    "This, this..." he stuttered.


    "Are these all the kinds of energy from the Deep Space?"


    Because the two of them had witnessed the Evil God''s restoration of the Extreme Form energy from the Deep Space, they knew what to expect. While they had already mentally prepared themselves for this scene, they were still unable to conceal their excitement at the sight of so many kinds of Extreme Form energy.


    "I can teach you how to grasp any kind of Extreme Form energy. However..." The Evil God suddenly frowned. "The consumption of power when you use the Extreme Form energy is significant. Even I can''t use them for long..."

 Chapter 4278 Make A Move

    All materials were made of energy, and all energy formed materials.


    The third-grade world, the Lower Extreme World, was made up of three thousand kinds of Godly Way energy. Water, fire, wind, grass, wood, stone, and sand were all formed from the most basic Godly Way energy.


    The energy of the Evil God''s inner world was in abundant supply.


    Meanwhile, all the materials in the fourth-grade world, the Grand Lower World, were formed by blood power.


    The fusion of blood power was actually a type of transformation. Once the Eternal Realm warrior inherited the blood power, they could just rely on their own blood supply from then on.


    The Evil God had not undergone this transformation. He was not an Eternal Realm master, and thus, still tapped on to the energy of the Source World.


    It had always proven sufficient for his needs, anyway. The current Source World was so vast and huge that the energy it contained had been enough for the Evil God''s use so far.


    However, the consumption of Extreme Form energy in the Deep Space was a different matter entirely.


    He wouldn''t dare waste energy coming from the Source World at will, and he lit up one hundred and forty kinds of Extreme Form energy only when showing that to the Grandmaster of Heaven and Duran.


    "You see, if we can master the Extreme Form energy, we can improve our strength without limit. I''m willing to cultivate it," said Duran.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven nodded. "The power at this advanced level is certainly far greater. It''s on a completely different level. Teach me and I will forever be grateful!"


    Having witnessed the display, Duran, too, came to acknowledge that Extreme Form energy surpassed blood power in all aspects.


    "As you wish." The Evil God knew they''d make that choice.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven looked at the end of the hall. There was a staircase there leading to a higher floor.


    "So there''s still a fourth floor here. Does it have an even higher-level power?" the Grandmaster of Heaven asked.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven knew the Evil God better than Duran did.


    He knew the Evil God was extremely selfish. If he was willing to teach them something, it only meant he was hiding the stronger strength in his arsenal.


    He had heard the Evil God mention the Field last time. In such a short period of time, he had already thoroughly comprehended the power of


    e are they headed?" the Snake Spirit King asked, puzzled.


    "Thirty degrees to the west," the downgrader said, pointing in a direction.


    The Snake Spirit King seemed a little surprised at this. "Are they looking for my daughter?" he asked, after a pause.


    "The Blood Snake Girl," the downgrader corrected.


    "But how did they know her location?" the Snake Spirit King asked.


    The chaos was so huge that even huge chaos clouds seemed insignificant. What more a person?


    It should have been impossible to find her. She was embedded in the inner wall of the chaos, after all.


    "The Soul Extreme Form," the downgrader replied. "The Illusory Vision in the Soul Extreme Form can explore the boundless world. They used this method to find the Blood Snake Girl."


    The Snake Spirit King drew a breath. "How did they obtain the power of the Deep Space?"


    The downgrader''s six pairs of eyes flickered down.


    Like the members of the Four Spirits Sect, he, too, was unable to return to the main world. He had deployed the irregular heavy sword and controlled the Starry Roc-fish, but even then, he had failed to prevent Geoffrey from taking back the Heavenly Ring Staff.


    His failure would always bring him deep shame.


    "They can still be defeated even if they have the Deep Space power," the downgrader said coldly.


    "Are you planning something?" The Snake Spirit King''s interest was piqued.


    All his dreams had been shattered, but his malevolence remained intact.


    He knew he was on a slow descent to hell, but he hoped that he could bring everyone down with him.

 Chapter 4279 Setting Itzel Free

    The downgrader silently glanced at the Snake Spirit King and mockingly asked, "You want me to make a move now?"


    "It''s up to you, Master. I am at your disposal," the Snake Spirit King said as he submitted with a lowered head. He was afraid that the downgrader would read his mind.


    "The Blood Snake Girl has fulfilled her mission. It doesn''t matter if we let her go," the downgrader said.


    The Snake Spirit King felt a flash of disappointment because he didn''t want to see his daughter being freed.


    "The end of the chaos is about to arrive, and she possesses the power to destroy the Source World. We can''t let her fall into the hands of other people." After pondering for a moment, the downgrader continued, "We are going to follow them."


    "Yes, sir," the Snake Spirit King replied with an ingratiating nod.


    The Burial Land, which had spun at high speed, stopped, and its side emitted a bright radiance. It changed its path and flew into the depths of the chaos.


    In the empty chaos, two giant objects were advancing at high speed.


    When he had finished a fifth of his trip in the chaos, Zen activated the Soul Extreme Form once again.


    Since the Illusory Vision expanded over a vast area, Zen immediately discovered that the Source World was chasing after him from behind.


    "I didn''t expect it to pursue me..." Zen murmured to himself as he furrowed his eyebrows.


    Zen frowned slightly and felt relieved as a new thought occurred to him.


    ''The Evil God considers the downgrader his biggest threat, not me. He follows closely behind me simply because he fears that the downgrader will make a move against him.''


    Hence, the Evil God''s actions didn''t unnerve Zen at all.


    However, as the Illusory Vision continued to advance, he frowned deeply for he realized that the Burial Land was also tailing after him.


    This was definitely not welcome news. Although he had already got the Heavenly Ring Staff, he was not sure that he could prevail over the downgrader.


    He knew that undoubtedly the most important thing was to be proficient in harnessing the Extreme Form energies.


    But there were one hundred and forty different kinds of Extreme Form energy waiting for him to master. Plus, he had to learn several theurgies of each Extreme Form energy. Hence, it was no small task to master all those energies.


    While the primitive land headed west, Zen had been constantly testing these Extreme Form energies, not even pausing fo


    and Dorothy and Kincaid materialized next to Zen.


    "Mother..."


    Dorothy called out.


    The moment Dorothy caught sight of the woman, she felt a sense of kinship with Itzel. Perhaps it was because of their blood ties.


    "Itzel..."


    Kincaid also called out affectionately to her.


    When she had first been sent to the Human Spirit Sect, Itzel didn''t have a name yet. Kincaid had given her the name.


    Kincaid had given up hope of ever seeing her again.


    Hence, he also became somewhat carried away with excitement.


    Itzel stared blankly at Kincaid and Dorothy for a while, and then she began to sob.


    Upon seeing this, Kincaid hurried forward and held her, rubbing her cheeks gently. "I am sorry. I should have come here earlier," he said with both guilt and affection in his voice.


    Zen felt glad at the reunion of the family. He left the three of them alone to enjoy their private moment.


    An hour later, Kincaid gestured at Zen to come join them.


    Zen approached them, and the hesitance in Itzel''s eyes was gone as she looked at him.


    She had already heard about who Zen was, and Kincaid had told her that Dorothy had feelings for Zen. If her daughter married him, he would become her son-in-law.


    "The inner wall of the chaos is almost impenetrable. Please endure it!"


    Zen said as he laid one hand on the wall.


    Wisps of dark purple energy of the Destruction Extreme Form flowed out of his hand.


    The energy penetrated every nook and cranny of the wall, and dyed the surface of the wall to purple. Its surface became decayed, and it would be a small task to remove the layer of wall and free Itzel now.

 Chapter 4280 The Last Shade Stone

    Zen had just released Itzel from the wall, and she was just catching her breath when suddenly, the Evil Bead appeared above her head.


    The Snake Spirit King''s voice was then heard coming from the bead. "My daughter, you''ve waited for so long. Finally someone is here to save you."


    Although the Snake Spirit King had given this Holy Item to Itzel, he had tampered with it beforehand and could take control of it any time.


    Itzel looked up at the Evil Bead and had mixed feelings.


    Snake spirits were known to be cold-blooded. It was not difficult for her to accept the fact that her father had become her enemy now. But when Itzel grew up in the Human Spirit Sect, she had remolded herself thoroughly. At this very moment, the grievance in her heart was like a volcano that was about to erupt.


    Kincaid reached out a hand and pressed her shoulder softly. He looked up and shook his head at the Evil Bead. "You''re right. We are here. I have survived more than a thousand chaotic eras. Itzel is safe and sound today, and you will eventually face defeat at our hands."


    The members of the Bold Conjecture House had been cursed in the battle on the Other Shore. They now remained hidden in the passageway, but the remaining people of the Four Spirits Sects were long dead. The only way they could continue to exist was because they had all become Treacherous Beings. However, Itzel''s body had been preserved.


    When the Snake Spirit King heard Kincaid''s calm answer, there was a burst of cruelty and hatred in his heart.


    He had spent so much time and energy in trying to be omniscient and powerful, only to end up becoming a slave of the downgrader. And yet, Kincaid could still reunite with his daughter. Why? That was not fair!


    The Snake Spirit King felt depressed, but he sneered, "Safe and sound? Let me see how safe and sound she can be!"


    Whoosh!


    Flames suddenly burst forth from the Evil Bead hovering Itzel. The Snake Spirit King had sent it into an unstoppable combustive state!


    This was troubling! Even if an ordinary Other Shore Token was burnt, it would release an exceedingly large amount of energy, and the Evil Bead was not even an ordinary token.


    Weird noises started coming out of the Evil Bead!


    Then it began to swell up at a rapid pace and was shaking, as if it were going to explode.


    Kincaid was not afraid of the impending explosion since he was a Treacherous Being, but Itzel and Dorothy would most likely be killed if that happened.


    However, when the Evil Bead had expanded to the size of a fist, Zen quietly stretched out two fingers and pointed at it calmly. A cubical space box, which was one foot wide, appe


    forward nor retreating backwards.


    Both the Evil God in the Source World and Zen were confused as to why the downgrader was doing that.


    It was improbable that he had come all this way just to show off.


    However, since he was making no move, Zen and the Evil God did not do anything either. They just waited silently.


    It made them impatient and curious but they could only wait and watch.


    Ten days later, another Shade Stone descended.


    Previously, many Shade Stones had appeared one by one.


    At that time, everyone thought that this meant the end of the chaos, but all of a sudden, the stone stopped appearing. They had never expected that another Shade Stone would appear in the Source World at this time. They were beginning to get nervous now, twitching and asking here and there for whatever explanation whoever could offer.


    Not long after the Shade Stone had descended, the entire chaos began to shake violently.


    And now it hit them why the Burial Land had remained motionless.


    That was the shift of the last grain of sand in the hourglass of time.


    The downgrader had been waiting for the end.


    The end of the moments of chaos meant the end of the chaos itself.


    Every single thing in the chaos would disappear. Tradition had it that in every single chaotic era, only six creatures were chosen to be Chaos Ancient Gods. These chosen ones were the only creatures that would survive the end of this era and journey on into a new one.


    No one else could ever survive that. In fact, every single creature in the chaos had been born and bred to regard surviving such an end as their ultimate goal.


    With time, they had developed confidence that they could survive the end, but the setup had undergone a tremendous change this time around.

 Chapter 4281 The Sound Of Doomsday

    Every time a round of chaos ended, some creatures would flee to the Other Shore. These creatures brought with them their knowledge and recollection of what had happened, so people were familiar with the end.


    As long as one reached the Other Shore Realm, it would be easy to find records and descriptions of the end of a round of chaos.


    It was not a secret. It was simply a disaster that no civilization could survive.


    Most records described it as a huge needle that pierced through the very fabric of the primitive land, smashing everything into pieces, and causing an unimaginable wave of destruction.


    However, this direct description was not entirely accurate.


    The needle only appeared in the final stage of the end. In fact, the end was a series of processes divided into separate stages.


    When the last Shade Stone descended, the entire chaos would rumble and shake madly. It was said that the noise was deafening.


    This loud sound came from the collision between the chaos and the main world. It was like the most powerful thunderbolt, and this also signaled the first wave of disaster in the end. The thunderous sound turned into destructive sound waves, which would spread throughout the entire chaos within three days.


    The weakest of the creatures that lived in the chaos would be pulverized into puddles of blood and gored by the force of the sound waves. The buildings built around the bottom region of the chaos would be the first to collapse, crumbling so thoroughly that they would be reduced to a powdery white mist that blew across the land.


    As for the creatures in the primitive lands, they were much luckier, because they had a natural barrier.


    There was a deep rumbling sound.


    Destructive sound waves quickly spread throughout the chaos.


    However, even before this, the Snake Spirit King had already begun to downgrade the chaos. All the corners of the chaos had been devoured by the heads. Those who had been eaten were gone and could no longer be reduced to blood puddles by the sound waves.


    Twenty eight hours later, the sound waves spread towards the Source World.


    The sentry Evil God saw a slight distortion in the space in the distance. He tilted his head and smoothed his hair, unconcerned. The next moment, his ears exploded, and two spurts of blood gushed from his ears.


    In fact, with his cultivation base, it would have been easy for him to protect himself from the sound waves, but he deliberately chose to experience the impact.


    Since he had been deafened by the shock, the sentry Evil God h


    ce all their hopes on Zen.


    "Your son could create a world that is so many times larger than the divine land. Can''t he deal with the end?" said one of the Holy Beings.


    "Is there anything in the chaos that Zen can''t do?" another said.


    "We believe he will make it!"


    Zen was their only hope, and the Holy Beings put their faith in his abilities.


    Of course, Mike knew what they were thinking. He smiled bitterly but did not contradict them. Although he and the Holy Beings were powerful in the divine land, they didn''t even have the right to speak when the end came.


    Meanwhile, in the fairy palace, Geoffrey stood in the empty courtyard and looked up at the sky.


    He was highly sensitive, and his perception of energy fluctuations was far stronger than that of ordinary people. It was even stronger than Zen''s.


    "Geoffrey," Letitia called at the gate. She gazed at him as he stood with his back towards her.


    After a moment, Geoffrey turned around, smiling. "Mother, it begins."


    Letitia nodded. She knew what Geoffrey meant.


    "I want to fight. I want to protect this world and you," Geoffrey said. His tone was grim, almost fanatic in his determination.


    For the first time, Letitia didn''t object. Instead, she nodded, her eyes shining.


    In the Ruin Graveyard, Rocher sat on a broken giant tombstone. In his hand was the Lone Sword.


    He had mastered the methods that Kincaid taught him. He was now capable of unleashing the full power of the Lone Sword.


    He had never regarded the survival from the end as his goal. Indeed, before this, he hadn''t even known much about it.


    However, he did not plan to wait passively for the end. He was ready to act at a moment''s notice.

 Chapter 4282 The Needle

    The thunderous noise lasted for three days and three nights before it finally stopped.


    The entire chaos temporarily returned to a state of tranquility. Some of the creatures in the Source World began to regain their senses of hearing.


    Even though the terrible shock waves already disappeared, the people did not feel relieved. Instead, they became even more worried.


    Some of them began to leaf through the ancient books. They were trying to predict what would happen next.


    Meanwhile, someone in the Bloom Divine Province found a relevant passage.


    An old man opened an ancient book with his hands trembling with fear and anxiety.


    This ancient book was written long ago by an elder of his race. It talked about what would happen should the end come.


    "The last thunder will destroy everything with its sound. However, the six sages will be protected by a bright and dazzling light."


    "Those six sages refer to the six Chaos Ancient Gods," murmured one of his companions.


    "So six lucky warriors will be selected in the Source World," another one chimed in.


    To be chosen as one of the Chaos Ancient Gods, there were two conditions that must be satisfied. First, the person must possess enormous amounts of strength. At the very least, they must be at the Holy Soul Realm.


    The second one would be sheer luck.


    Knowing this secret, the warriors at the Holy Soul Realm and the Eternal Realm had high hopes that they could be one of the chosen Chaos Ancient Gods.


    If they were selected, they were basically granted a special ticket to the next round of chaos.


    Out of the blue, everyone heard a buzzing sound.


    A beam of light suddenly appeared in the Source World. It headed straight for the hall the Evil God built.


    Meanwhile, on the second floor of the hall, several cultivators of the Holy Soul Realm and the Eternal Realm were greedily absorbing the bloodline powers.


    The Evil God looked at these people impassively. He appeared extremely generous. But in actuality, he felt thoroughly disgusted of them.


    Soon enough, he would need their help. All he could do for now was patiently satisfy their greed.


    Buzz! Something streaked past them from above.


    The beam of light pierced through the black hall and enshrouded one of the cultivators of the Holy Soul Realm.


    The cultivator was still digesting the bloodline power he had just absorbed. He opened his eyes and saw the light enveloping his entire body. Naturally, he was awestruck for a few moments. Suddenly, he realized that he was chosen to be a Chaos Ancient God and master a truth. He was so happy that he jumped up from his meditating position earlier.


    "Is he the one chosen to be a Chaos Ancient God?" one of the cultivators whispered to his fellow cultivator.


    "Even if we d


    to ten million feet!


    The needle grew not only in length, but also in its diameter. It continued to expand further. In just an hour, it had already expanded into a massive object.


    As soon as the needle appeared, the sentry Evil God and Zen immediately noticed it.


    An idea flashed through their minds almost at the same time. Who would be the first target of this needle?


    Usually, there was only one primitive land in a chaotic era. But in this round of chaos, there were three. Which of those primitive lands would the needle attack first?


    Meanwhile, there was something happening in the Burial Land.


    The downgrader was floating in mid-air.


    There was a complicated array plate right in front of him. This was exactly the same as the array that hatched the needle.


    The Snake Spirit King said, "The structure of the secondary world is quite exquisite. The hourglass is the one controlling the restart time. After that, the needle will end everything and signal the beginning of the next chaos. I applaud you!"


    It was the downgrader who invented the method of creating secondary worlds. In order to downgrade the main world, he designed the aforementioned method in advance. He did this to deceive the Snake Spirit King and trick the Four Spirits Sect into building one secondary world after another.


    This must seem shameful to the Snake Spirit King. Nonetheless, he had to flatter the downgrader.


    "Humph! This method of the Lower Extreme World is awfully insignificant!" the downgrader exclaimed as he fiddled with the array plate.


    The needle had already become incredibly massive. It changed its direction constantly and continued to grow at an even faster rate.


    The sentry Evil God was watching all this. Suddenly, his expression became serious.


    He confirmed that the needle was heading straight for the Source World.

 Chapter 4283 The Black Hole And The White Hole

    Inside the black hall, the Evil God had received the warning from the sentry.


    "The Source World would be targeted first... That bastard surely is looking down on me, huh?" The Evil God was vexed at the information.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven, who was standing next to him, smiled faintly and said, "If I remember it correctly, it was the 300th chaotic era when the twin primitive lands appeared. When the first primitive land was destroyed by the needle, it didn''t take long before the second was also destroyed. They might not be destroyed at the same time, but there was no exception in the face of the needle."


    However, they didn''t know that the needle of the end could actually be controlled.


    The only reason why the Source World was targeted first was because the downgrader felt that it was much easier to deal with.


    The sentry had released the Illusory Vision many times, which also aroused the vigilance of the downgrader. He found out that there were people in the Source World who could control the power of the Deep Space, but they only relied on the Soul Extreme Form, which was why the downgrader didn''t really deem it as a threat.


    On the other hand, his real problem was Zen, who had already mastered the Heavenly Ring Staff and possessed all the powers of the Deep Space. Needless to say, it would be difficult for him to deal with Zen right now.


    "What are you going to do?" Duran asked "We need to come up with something very soon."


    The Evil God contemplated for a while before he looked and asked Duran, "Your Treacherous Being body should be immortal, right?"


    "Well technically, as long as the coordinates aren''t damaged, and there''s no presence of the Light of Annihilation, it''s impossible to harm or kill the Treacherous Being body," Duran said confidently.


    "I see. Then, how about you help me with something?" the Evil God said as if he already thought of something to overturn the situation.


    "I''m listening. What are you planning?" Duran asked.


    A devilish grin appeared on the face of the Evil God as he said, "Well, I''m just thinking of doing something to startle the downgrader, so he''ll realize that he can''t just look down upon me."


    As of the moment, the needle was still elongating, like a massive bamboo that was growing like crazy. It wouldn''t stop until it crushed its target.


    The needle was extending at an incredible rate, but the distance between it and the Source World was also immense. At its current speed, it would still take about two more days before the needle reached its target.


    At the same time, on the jadeite platform, Zen also gathered everyone to discuss and prepare the countermeasures.


    There, Geoffrey, Rocher, Kincaid, Hilario, the remaining energy souls of the Primeval Lord of Heaven, the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord and the other human heroes, as well as the avatars of the three Chaos Ancient Gods, assembled upon Zen''s call.


    hrough the Source World, but would rather crush everything in it.


    Fifty thousand miles...


    Ten thousand miles...


    Three thousand miles...


    At this distance, the front end of the needle had almost landed on the surface of the Source World.


    "What the hell are they waiting for?" The sentry stared intently at what was happening.


    "What''s going on? Aren''t they going to do anything?" Zen murmured to himself, baffled at the strange behavior of the people in the Source World.


    The six pairs of compound eyes of the downgrader also flashed. He couldn''t see any movement or reaction in the Source World. "Do they give up resisting and just accept their death? Pathetic," the downgrader said in a low voice.


    However, when the needle was just within a thousand miles, a space fluctuation suddenly occurred in front of it.


    Then, it was Duran who appeared in front of the needle.


    Compared to the point of the needle, Duran almost looked negligible.


    But there was no hint of fear on his face. He just raised his wings and rushed forward.


    Crack!


    The great momentum of the needle caused it to pierce through Duran''s body, and instantly came out from his back.


    Duran didn''t stop the needle at all. Instead, he was pushed by the needle towards the Source World.


    Upon seeing that they were about to hit the Source World, he smiled and shouted, "Now!"


    "Waah! Waah! Waah!"


    Strange blaring voices were heard from within his body.


    Suddenly, a black hole was released from Duran''s body and expanded at an unimaginable speed. In just three seconds, the black hole expanded from the size of a person to the size of the entire Source World.


    Then, the needle that was about to hit the Source World, drilled into the huge black hole.


    "Waah! Waah! Waah!"


    At the same time, a white hole appeared on the other side of the Source World.


    It also expanded to the size of the Source World, and it faced the Burial Land.

 Chapter 4284 The In And Out Holes

    Zen watched warily as the white hole formed rapidly, the needle drilling out from within it.


    The needle itself still continued to extend at incredible speed.


    The distance between the Burial Land and the Source World was not too big, and the needle steadily approached the Burial Land.


    From the jadeite platform, Zen projected this shocking scene, so that everyone could see it.


    "Is this a space channel?" Kendrick asked, his eyes widening with shock.


    Everyone could tell that the black hole and the white hole were two ends of a space channel.


    It was relatively simple to construct a space channel, but it definitely was no easy feat to build a space channel big enough for the needle to pass through. This space channel was so large that it could fit the entire Source World!


    "They are the In and Out Holes built from the Hyperspace Extreme Form," Zen explained calmly.


    The black hole swallowed everything in its path, whereas the white hole served as the exit for everything that entered the black hole.


    Once the needle entered through the black hole, there was nowhere else for it to go but the exit through white hole.


    "What an incredible method!" the Snake Goddess praised, beaming with awe.


    "I don''t know how the downgrader will deal with this. The needle is moving so fast!" Kincaid said excitedly.


    The Evil God had built the In and Out Holes right in the nick of time, and the needle was now approaching the Burial Land.


    It would''ve been fine if the downgrader had prepared in advance. But now, since it was so sudden, it was difficult for him to change the direction of the needle.


    Three hundred miles.


    One hundred miles.


    Ten miles.


    One mile.


    The needle was so close to piercing the Burial Land...


    Suddenly, the needle abruptly stopped in its path. It was as though a giant hand had grabbed it with force.


    In the Burial Land, the plate in front of the downgrader had turned a dark red. In the face of danger, he had chosen to forcefully stop the needle. A trace of anger was revealed in his six pairs of eyes; he never expected that the Evil God would master the Hyperspace Extreme Form, much less that he would fall into such a trap.


    The Burial Land had almost been destroyed just now.


    Everyone on the jadeite platform was shocked at the turn of events.


    "Why did the needle stop?"


    "The needle isn''t long enough to r


    ing Zen''s primitive land!


    Meanwhile, on the jadeite platform, everyone had been focused on the movements of the needle.


    The needle that had changed its direction so many times in a row looked like a big snake that was coiling around the space. Seeing such a huge thing moving rapidly, everyone was both anxious yet transfixed.


    This was the needle that would end the chaos!


    It was a terrible weapon that had annihilated over a thousand civilizations.


    However, now it was being practically toyed with by the Evil God and the downgrader!


    "Ah, the white hole!"


    Geoffrey cried when he saw the white hole appear facing his father''s primitive land.


    Everyone wore a nervous expression as they eyed the needle steadily approaching.


    If it wasn''t stopped, the needle would crash into the primitive land in a matter of seconds, crushing the Pear Hill, the Ruin Graveyard, and the other places.


    "Of course, the Evil God wants us involved," Zen said, as though he had been expecting this.


    The Evil God knew perfectly well where Zen''s position was, so he had shifted the needle''s target to his primitive land.


    However, Zen was well prepared, so he didn''t panic. As he pointed a finger to the skies, an avatar slowly floated up. A ball of energy floated above his head; it was the Hyperspace Extreme Form.


    The sixth set of holes were created by Zen.


    As usual, the black hole swallowed the needle in one gulp, but Zen didn''t return it to the Evil God. Instead, the white hole faced the Burial Land.


    Once again, the massive needle was charging towards the downgrader.

 Chapter 4285 Hold On

    "Ha-ha, you are united," the downgrader sneered.


    The Snake Spirit King said beside him, "We can''t redirect the path of the needle indefinitely."


    "I can constantly create the In and Out Holes, and Zen can also do so. But how can that being from the Source World also do this?" the downgrader asked.


    Like Zen, his energy did not originate from the primitive land. He had boundless energy and could create limitless In and Out Holes.


    But the Source World couldn''t do this.


    This temporary balance would sooner or later be destroyed because of the energy drain from the Source World.


    The downgrader was in no rush. As time ticked by, the situation would more and more turn in his favor.


    He stretched out his hand, and the seventh set of In and Out Holes appeared. The needle flew towards the Source World.


    Without saying a word, the Evil God waved his hand and released the eighth set of holes.


    He didn''t let Zen be an onlooker. He directed the needle towards Zen''s primitive land.


    However, once he released the eighth set of holes, his expression became cautious.


    Although the Source World had expanded by more than a thousand times, and the energy contained within it was much powerful than it used to be, the energy required to create the holes was massive. The Evil God had released four sets of holes in rapid succession, which had consumed most of the Source World''s energy. If he continued to release more holes, the Source World would probably not survive this.


    But now that things had picked up momentum, there was no way out of this for the Evil God.


    It was obvious that the first one who couldn''t hold on would lose.


    Soon, Zen created the ninth set of holes.


    The downgrader released the tenth set.


    The Evil God unleashed the eleventh set.


    The twelfth set.


    The thirteenth set.


    The needle drilled in and out of the black and white holes. It had already zigzagged to and fro thirteen times, and it was now heading towards the Source World.


    "The Hyperspace Extreme Form!"


    The Evil God tried to release the fourteenth set of holes.


    He absorbed the remaining energy of the Source World and began to transform it into the holes, but the process was abruptly cut off halfway.


    The energy of the Source World had been utterly spent!


    The Evil God raised his eyebrows, his eyes revealing rare traces of uneasiness.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven observed the change in the Evil God. He knew clearly how much the drain on the Extreme Form energy was. The Evil God probabl


    eholden to me. If I didn''t do that, you would have perished too."


    "I..." The warrior clenched his fists, exposing blue veins.


    However, when the Evil God clamped his neck so gently, all of his strength vanished, and there was no possibility of him resisting. Every muscle and bone in his body turned into powder, and then into energy.


    "You not only need to know devotion, but also your place." The Evil God grinned at the crowd and then walked towards the third floor.


    Although the Evil God had decisively sacrificed dozens of provinces at the last moment, the speed at which he created the holes was slower than normal, which allowed Zen and the downgrader to discover some clues.


    "The Evil God released the holes when the needle was only five hundred miles away from the Source World. The energy of the Source World may not be enough," the Snake Goddess keenly observed.


    "That''s to be expected. When limited energy faces off against infinite energy, it''s not hard to imagine the end," Kincaid said, shaking his head.


    Zen, the Evil God, and the downgrader all possessed Extreme Form energy, so they seemed to be standing shoulder to shoulder at the starting line, but the Evil God and the Source World would surely be the first to fall behind.


    Zen didn''t say anything and focused on releasing the fifteenth set of holes.


    The sixteenth set.


    The seventeenth set.


    The eighteenth set.


    These huge holes overlapped in a most complicated way.


    Although the needle resolutely moved forward, it was difficult to distinguish its intended goal.


    By the time the Evil God had released the twentieth set of holes, he had sacrificed over a hundred provinces!

 Chapter 4286 The Maximum Number Of In And Out Holes

    A long time ago, Yellow Thearch, Divine Farmer, and Othniel also attempted to destroy many provinces in the Source World.


    Back then, they used the Minimum Spaces'' flames to burn down about three hundred provinces.


    However, they weren''t fully destroyed.


    Although life was burned, the substances that comprised them were still there, and the foundation for nurturing these substances was still present.


    The entire sea was evaporated by the blazing flames, but the water just turned into rain and returned to the ground.


    However, this time, the Evil God transformed all the materials in the world into pure energy that formed the enormous In and Out Holes. This kind of drastic destruction would never be reversed.


    In the face of the aggressive and terrifying downgrader, the Evil God could only come up with such a method.


    Meanwhile, in the Burial Land, a blue light film was unfolded in front of the downgrader.


    At the center of this light film, a huge sphere appeared. This sphere was actually the Source World, and its surface was covered with dark blue spots.


    "Ha-ha! What are you thinking?" The downgrader let out a loud burst of laughter. "Turning such a massive amount of materials into pure energy is like quenching your thirst by drinking poison. Let''s see how long you could hold on."


    At the same time, on the jadeite platform, there was also a blue light film that appeared in front of Zen. From it, Zen could sense the miserable situation the Evil God was in.


    "It seems that the Evil God has already consumed more than a hundred provinces. So many living beings in the Source World have suffered and were sacrificed," Zen said with a frown on his face.


    "Well, from the perspective of the Evil God, he is doing the right thing," Kincaid said. "It is necessary to sacrifice those provinces, or else, all of the creatures of the Source World would be annihilated."


    "But if all the materials of the Source World are consumed, then there''s no point in fighting," the Snake Goddess remarked.


    Zen nodded as his thoughts aligned exactly to what the Snake Goddess said.


    However, Hilario, who had kept silent all this time, suddenly said, "It''s still early to say that..."


    Kincaid, Zen, the Snake Goddess, and the others looked at him as they heard what he said.


    As the leader of the Bold Conjecture House, Hilario was known to be an extremely knowledgeable and talented person. At this moment, he might have other insight that none of them had thought of yet.


    "Can all of you easily construct a space channel?" Hilario then asked them.


    Fuxi and the others nodded. It was, in fact, very easy for them to do it.


    Then, Hilario stretched out two of his fingers. Suddenly, a power of space burst out from his fingertips and a thin space channel was instantly formed.


    Immediatel


    finitely conflict with all of the unstable In and Out Holes.


    Some of the holes that shrank tightly held the needle. The space and the needle violently rubbed against each other, producing ear-piercing sound waves in the entire chaos. As the other holes expanded, they also collided with the needle inside, causing even stronger space distortion.


    Right now, the space was in utter disarray.


    "It''s really happening! With the thirty-two set of In and Out Holes, the space couldn''t bear them!" the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord exclaimed in surprise as he witnessed the chaos.


    "But it doesn''t seem like the In and Out Holes could do anything with the needle. I think it is withstanding the violent reactions of the holes!" Geoffrey said as he observed.


    "It would actually be better if the needle is cut off by the broken In and Out Holes. The three primitive lands would only be impacted by the space windstorm..." Hilario said in a gloomy tone.


    "But what if it can''t be cut off?" Zen asked.


    "I''m not sure, but theoretically, if the needle is able to bear that great force, it would still be compressed and twisted by the power of the space." Hilario demonstrated by showing a crooked finger. "Then it would straighten up!"


    He continued demonstrating and flicked his finger.


    With his explanation, the others easily understood what he meant.


    The needle would become as thin as a steel rope, and the great force that it would release would destroy everything it came into contact with.


    Just as Hilario finished his demonstration, all of the In and Out Holes suddenly collapsed simultaneously, leaving many pieces of needles floating in the air. The needle was not actually broken, but it was the illusion created after the space was wrecked.


    The moment that the In and Out Holes collapsed, the pieces of the needle began twisting like countless frantic leeches.

 Chapter 4287 The Gamble Of Life

    The needle, twisted and distorted badly, trembled violently as it tried to return to its original straight profile. If it wanted to forcefully break the space, it had to be connected as a whole.


    This was a fight of physics. The needle represented an indestructible mass, but the space had been separated. Consequently, the aftermath was extreme.


    All kinds of shock waves burst and rippled outwards.


    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!


    A huge claw-shaped shock wave swept towards Zen''s primitive land, gouging out a large chunk from its surface. Another shock wave drilled into the earth, leaving a pit that was dozens of miles deep.


    While Zen''s primitive land and the downgrader''s Burial Land were caught in the line of fire, they were both solid enough to bear the impact.


    However, the Evil God had transformed the materials in many large provinces into energy. Consequently, many parts of the Source World were weakened. When the shock waves rained onto the Source World, it cracked like an eggshell.


    In a matter of seconds, the entire surface of the Source World was riddled with holes.


    Fortunately, no materials or creatures had been left in these provinces, so it wasn''t that big a deal. However, the proud Evil God couldn''t tolerate this easily.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    After a few moments of twisting and turning, the indestructible needle finally broke the rules of space.


    The space that bound and distorted the needle broke, and the parts of the needle began to connect again.


    Even though the segments of the needle connected, it was still crooked, since it was forcibly twisted by the In and Out Holes.


    Then, the needle tried to return to its originally straight state, moving like an uncontrollable metal whip that was lashing around violently.


    It smashed anything in its way, without exception.


    Splash!


    A deafening sound of grinding metal echoed throughout the space as the needle tried to stretch back to a straight profile, a small crooked part of it shooting towards the Burial Land.


    "What in the world..."


    The downgrader''s eyes widened as he saw the incoming needle.


    He initially had absolute advantage over the whole situation.


    He had felt like the Source World did


    an even faster speed. Fortunately, it stopped in its tracks again, and whipped backwards, towards the Burial Land.


    In the black hall, the Evil God buried his face in his hands and began to laugh hysterically.


    His shrill laughter echoed in everyone''s ears.


    When faced with this undefeatable opponent, the Evil God had decided to unleash utter chaos, to even out the playing field.


    While that was his plan, it was also a gamble.


    Seeing the needle coming straight for him once more, the downgrader was consumed with fury.


    If this was a game of luck, why wasn''t luck on his side?


    Right now, if the needle hit the Burial Land, it would probably be completely destroyed.


    "Withdraw!"


    the downgrader said wisely. He had grown quick witted in the face of danger. He controlled the array plate to force the needle to retract.


    Then, he watched as the needle shrank rapidly. Just as it was about to lash at the Burial Land, it shrank to a size that completely missed the Burial Land.


    Now, it was shooting towards the opposite direction once more.


    "It''s time for you to die." The downgrader laughed maniacally.


    The Source World was right in the needle''s path.


    The downgrader controlled the array plate to make the needle grow rapidly again.


    Swoosh!


    The needle turned into an unimaginably huge metal whip that was lashing towards the Source World. The Source World at this point was like a fragile egg that was about to be smashed with a stone.

 Chapter 4288 The Collision Of Worlds

    Being smashed, the Source World released a massive amount of fragments.


    The largest of the fragments were several trillions of miles long and wide, while the smaller ones were thousands of miles long. They formed a spreading band of debris that floated up and down.


    After the needle smashed the Source World, it rebounded in the opposite direction, then swung back. Eventually, the vacillations slowed, and the needle stopped moving, returning to its original form.


    Fuxi, the Snake Goddess, Yasamin, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, and the other natives of the Source World looked at their broken world with silent sorrow.


    They had been born and raised in the Source World. It was their home. Its utter destruction was a heavy cross to bear, and they felt heartbroken at the loss.


    At the moment, however, they had little time to nurse their grief.


    Once the needle had returned to its original straight form, it began extending further and further. It was aimed now at the primitive land.


    The Burial Land also sped up, keeping parallel with the primitive land.


    As everyone watched, a few minutes later, the point of the needle came very close to the primitive land.


    Just as it was about to pierce the land, a new set of In and Out Holes had been formed.


    Because the primitive land had already left that chaotic space, Zen could easily release a new set of In and Out Holes.


    The black hole sucked in the needle, and the white hole spat it out.


    The needle was now heading towards the Burial Land, which was flying parallel to the primitive land.


    As the needle drew closer, another set of In and Out Holes appeared. Immediately the needle vanished into the black hole and was sent back over the primitive land.


    This was the same situation as before¡ªexcept this time, the Source World was gone, and the fierce battle between the three worlds had turned into a desperate contest between the remaining two.


    The key point was that both sides were moving. This was important, because it prevented the space around them from collapsing due to the number of holes being created.


    Ideally, with an infinite energy source, an infinite number of holes could be summoned, letting the needle bounce from one point to another for countless repetitions.


    Strange sounds were released as the enormous needle moved in space.


    It almost sounded like the splashing of waves and the howling of wind, at the same time.


    As the huge needle zigzagged back and forth, it released the noise of a massive tide surging unhampered through space.


    A corner of the Burial Land had been broken, so the sound was clearly transmitted to everyone inside.


    In the face of the deadlock, the downgrader was patient. He mechanically released the holes t


    ast, the Snake Spirit King had the advantage in the Jade Pure Realm due to his reliance on the Limited Omnipotent Stone. It was different now. Zen was omniscient and omnipotent, and the Snake Spirit King no longer had even a small chance of defeating him.


    However, the Troubled Creatures continued to howl and hiss as they poured out of the space doors.


    The noise they made was overwhelming.


    Zen watched them without any discernible change of expression.


    By now, there were at least hundreds of thousands of Troubled Creatures swarming in the red sky.


    The ones in the front had already noticed and targeted Zen. They let out their strange howling cries as they rushed towards him.


    "You? You are too weak!"


    Zen tilted his head slightly, and waved a hand in their direction.


    He released a powerful surge of energy that transformed into invisible blades, which shot with deadly precision towards the Troubled Creatures.


    In a second, the invisible blades sank into the flesh of the Troubled Creatures.


    They did not even understand what was happening. One moment, the wind was blowing in their ears, and in the next, they had been chopped and sliced into pieces.


    Black blood rained down as broken and dismembered limbs sailed through the air.


    All the Troubled Creatures died instantly.


    However, those space doors were still open, and more Troubled Creatures emerged. The attack showed no signs of slowing down.


    Zen flicked his hand a few more times, until the air was thick with the stench of blood and death. However, as he slaughtered these Troubled Creatures without any difficulty, he felt doubt and suspicion forming in his mind.


    These creatures were cannon fodder. It was meaningless to send them in for the purpose of defeating Zen. Why was the downgrader doing this? What was he planning?

 Chapter 4289 Illusion

    Zen slightly raised his right hand.


    More invisible blades emerged and shot towards the space doors.


    As they penetrated through the bodies of the Troubled Creatures, these blades hit the surface of the space doors.


    Whoosh! Crack!


    The space doors were actually as fragile as a piece of glass in the face of Zen''s invisible blades. He was able to effortlessly break them into pieces.


    However, just as Zen shattered them, more space doors suddenly appeared around him.


    With this, more Troubled Creatures continued to swarm and rush out.


    Zen couldn''t help but snort at the sight of all the new Troubled Creatures that surfaced, but he just continued to attack them and kill them off without breaking a sweat.


    At the same time, the Burial Land could witness the merciless death of the Troubled Creatures.


    Although it seemed that these Troubled Creatures were flooding the area, it only took Zen a few moments before he finished them off.


    As the number of the space doors increased, Zen also released more and more blades. The rate at which he killed the Troubled Creatures was much faster than their appearance. That was why he was able to fully obliterate them along with the space doors.


    However, after killing them off, Zen suddenly noticed that there was something wrong with the bodies that he had slain.


    After Zen had successfully killed them off, their corpses didn''t actually fall to the ground. Instead, they floated in the air as if they weren''t affected by gravity. From afar, they looked like black insects in various shapes that hovered over a large area.


    "Did you finally realize?" The Snake Spirit King''s voice sounded in a contemptuous tone. "Too bad for you, it''s too late!"


    The black corpses began to move and merged with the other bodies until they formed a humongous hand that attempted to grab Zen.


    "Is that it?" Zen said with an unimpressed tone.


    He then narrowed his eyes and gathered his power. He summoned countless invisible blades that formed a storm around him, spinning from top to bottom.


    However, as soon as the invisible blades were about to set out, they were suddenly destroyed.


    "What the hell happened?"


    Zen was taken aback and was confused at the sudden turn of events.


    "Ha! Do you think that this is still your territory?


    This area has already been contaminated by the Troubled Creatures. This space is now under our control!


    Prepare to die!"


    The enormous hand made up of the corpses of the Troubled Creatures completely grasped Zen''s body and exerted a tremendous force.


    Splat!


    In an instant, Zen''s whole body was crushed into pieces.


    "Ha-ha! That''s what you get for being too arrogant. You''re only human. How dare you¡ª"


    The Snake Spirit King suddenly stopped in the middle of his sentence, surprised at what he saw from afar.


    Another avatar of Zen appeared out


    primitive lands.


    ''Swallow?''


    Hilario realized something. His eyes instantly widened. "Zen! Project the image outside the primitive land!"


    The real Zen, who was standing on the jadeite platform, looked at Hilario with furrowed brows but still did what he was told. As he pointed to the air, the image of the outside was projected on the jadeite platform. From there, they could clearly see the corner of the Burial Land that drilled into the primitive land.


    "Is there something wrong? What do we need to see here?" Kincaid asked as he was also a little confused with Hilario''s sudden request.


    After studying the projected image, Hilario continued, "Zen, can you try and push that corner out?"


    "Huh? I''m afraid that''s difficult to do," Zen said while shaking his head. Doing so would actually be equivalent to lifting the entire Burial Land upwards.


    With Zen''s current strength, he could easily prevent the Burial Land from invading further into the primitive land, but it would be difficult to completely get rid of it. He actually preferred to fight the downgrader head-on, but the latter had never shown himself.


    "Just try it!" Hilario insisted.


    Although Zen didn''t really understand why Hilario was strongly suggesting he do it, he still followed and did his best to push the corner.


    With that, his avatar raised his hand.


    In an instant, the power of the entire primitive land was directed to that corner.


    Rumble! Rumble!


    With the avatar''s full power, the corner was slowly raised to a height, but it was quickly pressed down hard again.


    "I can''t do it. It''s too heavy," Zen said as he turned to Hilario.


    Then, Hilario pointed at the image of the outside and said, "Even if it was just a little, you were able to lift the corner of the Burial Land, but the image didn''t move one bit. It means that the image is fake! It''s just an illusion created by the downgrader!"

 Chapter 4290 Outside The Primitive Land

    The collision of the Burial Land into the primitive land created a huge shockwave. Even though only a corner of the former had made contact, there was a loud noise and it attracted everyone''s attention.


    At that very moment, Zen himself was busy killing the Troubled Creatures and purifying the energy of the Pollution Extreme Form.


    Hearing Hilario''s words, he realized that something was wrong and decided to find out what was going on.


    The best way to do that was to utilize the Illusory Vision of the Soul Extreme Form!


    The consciousness created by the Illusory Vision quickly spread out in all directions and he began sensing everything that it touched.


    Its radius was increasing at an extremely fast speed, and in a very short period of time, it would have been able to reach the end of the chaos.


    However, before that could happen, the consciousness encountered an obstacle. As soon as it left the primitive land, it was completely absorbed by a mysterious force and vanished without a trace.


    "How is that even possible?" Zen almost shouted in shock.


    The consciousness had spread out in all possible directions. Even if it hit a barrier in one direction which captured and erased it, what about the consciousness in other directions?


    The primitive land was enormous in size now, which meant there was only one way that this could have happened. The primitive land needed to be wrapped up in something larger than itself for that consciousness to be completely absorbed.


    Wrapped up...


    Zen''s heart began thumping at the thought.


    He looked up at the blood red sky overhead and suddenly realized something, which darkened his face.


    "Father, what''s wrong?" Geoffrey instantly noticed Zen''s grim expression.


    Not only him, but the others did so as well.


    Zen didn''t answer the question, though. He narrowed his eyes and created an avatar that appeared at the edge of the primitive land.


    Whoosh...


    The avatar reached out and placed his palm on the inner wall of the primitive land.


    This wall of the primitive land was extremely thick and generally considered impenetrable. This was the consequence of absorbing countless heads in the chaos. Even Eternal Realm warriors would not be able to break through it into the chaos. But this wasn''t going to hinder Zen.


    "Go!"


    Zen''s avatar spat out.


    Then, with a soft, fluid movement, the avatar went straight through the wall, quickly passed through it, and was outside.


    Logically speaking, the avatar should have been gazing into the empty chaos now.


    But instead, he saw large, black mountains standing in the distance. And somehow, these mountains were upside down, with their pe


    ornelius''s avatar was slashed into countless pieces.


    Possessing energies from the various Extreme Forms, Zen was still extremely powerful even though it was his avatar who was fighting and he was outside the primitive land.


    As soon as this particular avatar was dismembered, a new avatar appeared like clockwork, once again wrapping itself around Zen''s body. "It doesn''t matter how many times you slice my avatar. This is a battle between two worlds. Once I devour your primitive land, then I''ll see if you are as good as you think you are!"


    The Snake Spirit King laughed, and hundreds of black spirals appeared in the inner space of the Burial Land. One of them landed on the surface of the primitive land and began spinning like a crazy top.


    Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack...


    The surface of the primitive land was remarkably sturdy, but when compared to the black spiral, it was as fragile as glass. It cracked rapidly, and every single thing, from the smallest grain of sand to the broadest of the mountains began falling off!


    The black spiral was only the size of a person, and the amount of matter it peeled off from the surface of the primitive land was pitifully small. In fact, what it did was almost negligible compared to the huge primitive land.


    However, there were trillions of these black spirals and each of them was spinning in various places.


    They had landed on the primitive land like locusts. Looking from afar, it was as if the surface of the primitive land had been covered with a layer of black gauze!


    The elements that formed the surface of the primitive land were quickly peeled off, separated into confetti, and then absorbed!


    After swallowing the primitive land in one huge gulp, the Burial Land was planning on digesting it bit by bit!

 Chapter 4291 The Final Announcement

    The downgrader was very aggressive. From the moment he had released the needle, he had already planned every step ahead.


    Zen, on the other hand, followed a relatively conservative approach. He only fought back at whatever came at him.


    However, the downgrader was able to control the needle, thus he kept the initiative. Besides, he had gained a wealth of experience. He had been in the Deep Space for a long time, so he was much more proficient in the use of all kinds of Extreme Form energies.


    "Ha-ha ha-ha... I won''t kill you. I''ll let you watch as I devour your primitive land..."


    the Snake Spirit King teased with a smug smile.


    He had a keen awareness of emotions and could sense Zen''s despair.


    Zen stopped his counterattacking. It was an exercise in futility to keep killing the Snake Spirit King''s avatars in the Burial Land. He could only observe this scene silently.


    The size of each black spiral was comparatively quite small, and the speed of them devouring the primitive land was also limited. However, there were simply too many of them. If this continued, the primitive land wouldn''t be able to last for too long...


    On the jadeite platform.


    Everyone swept their eyes over anxiously. They sometimes studied Zen''s real body, while also looking at the fake projection, trying to figure out what had happened.


    Not long after, Zen''s real body finally moved. He gently flicked his finger, and the fake illusion that had been projected onto the jadeite platform disappeared.


    "Zen, what''s going on?" Kincaid was the first to question the events.


    After a moment of silence, Zen explained, "We''re already inside the Burial Land. The Snake Spirit King is maneuvering the Burial Land to devour the outer wall of the primitive land..."


    Although everyone present had been mentally prepared, their faces still darkened after Zen confirmed their suspicions.


    "Then what can we do?" Yasamin asked in a low voice.


    This was a situation unlike any they had ever experienced. Even the Snake Goddess, who was extremely intelligent, was at a loss.


    Kincaid questioned, "Hilario, if one world is wrapped up in another world, how will the rules be changed?"


    Although the Bold Conjecture House had performed all sorts of strange experiments, the question Kincaid raised was an unpopular topic that few people would be interested in studying. If one primitive land wrapped up another primitive land, who would then be the real controller?


    Hilario was also stumped by the question. "I haven''t conducted any re


    e land.


    When Zen''s voice rang out, she felt as if she was in the Evolutionary Universe once more. At that time, Zen''s voice had often echoed across the universe.


    In the Evolutionary Universe, the Supreme Lord of Original Sin, the Supreme Lord of Oracle, and the other Supreme Lords even thought that Zen had returned.


    They had been trying to communicate with Zen through the Roaring Tokens.


    In the fairy palace...


    Inside the Pear Hill...


    Humans, nonhumans, and intelligent creatures all experienced different thoughts when they heard Zen''s words.


    Many didn''t believe what they heard, while some didn''t care, others were sad, and many were crying...


    Whether they were willing or not, they were about to face an inevitable catastrophe.


    Once Zen returned to the jadeite platform, he began to communicate with the ancestry-level bloodline.


    After the Heavenly Ring Staff was taken back by Geoffrey, the ancestry-level bloodline took away the spirit in the staff, which was the crystal. The ancestry-level bloodline was trying to find its own memories in it.


    However, the process was not going smoothly. This crystal was in a completely sealed state. The ancestry-level bloodline feared damaging the crystal, so it did not dare to use too much power on the crystal.


    "The outer wall of the primitive land will be broken. No matter what happens, you must return to my body first," said Zen.


    The ancestry-level bloodline accepted Zen''s instructions without hesitation.


    The huge blood red sky began to shrink, converging into an extremely thin blood pillar, and then it entered into Zen''s body, taking with the crystal that belonged to the Heavenly Ring Staff.

 Chapter 4292 Merging Into One

    After the ancestry-level bloodline went back to Zen''s body, only one hundred and forty rings which were the energies of the one hundred and forty Extreme Form energies floating in the sky.


    It was a little complicated to control the Extreme Form energies, so Zen created one hundred and forty avatars¡ªeach of which was responsible for one kind of energy. When he needed to use any of the energies, he would activate one of his avatars to control it.


    However, the primitive land was about to be captured, so he had to prevent the Extreme Form energies and the avatars from being destroyed.


    After thinking for a while, Zen gently raised his hand, and a mysterious power of space circulated his fingertip. After the avatar in charge of the Hyperspace Extreme Form opened his eyes, a space began to envelop all of the energies and the avatars.


    "Shrink!" Zen commanded.


    Swoosh!


    The space began to shrink. The one hundred and forty kinds of energies as well as the avatars also shrank with it, until finally, they all landed on Zen''s palm.


    He looked at the space on his palm and heaved a sad sigh.


    After he put the space away, Zen''s gaze swept across everyone present.


    Everyone there all had mixed feelings.


    They thought back to the start of the war in the Source World to their successful escape. The steps they had to take to reach this moment were not easy at all.


    The end of the chaos was not worth mentioning now. What they had to focus on now was facing the Snake Spirit King and the downgrader.


    Fuxi said with a wide smile, "Even if we lose, it will all be worth it. There were so many civilizations before us, but none of them were able to experience what we experienced!"


    "I had never thought of fighting against such powerful enemies before. If I had known about the force we were about to face today a lot earlier, I''m afraid I would have given up on day one," Eastern Emperor Taiyi said expressionlessly.


    "It''s not just you. I didn''t think I''d ever reach this point, either," Hilario replied, shaking his head.


    While they seemed to be full of fighting spirit, in their hearts, the feeling of despair quietly began to grow.


    It was like they had worked so hard to hike up a mountain, only to reach its peak and realize there was still a dangerous ladder they had to climb. It was difficult for them not to feel despair, especially when their previous efforts seemed to be for nothing.


    Kincaid, however, was having none of it. "Wait, why do you guys think that we''re going to be the ones who will lose?" He spoke up. "Let''s not forget¡ªwhatever the downgrader has, we have it too. If that''s the case, why are you guys so sure he''s going to win?" he continued.


    "Master Kincaid''s right! Also, Zen controls the Extreme Form energies. As the controllers of the primitive land


    of the primitive land''s outer wall had been eroded.


    Six hours later...


    Half of the primitive land''s outer wall had been eroded.


    Ten hours later...


    The once thick wall of primitive land became thin. It had only about one-tenth of its original thickness.


    At this time, the Snake Spirit King released an aura smelling like blood, which spread to every corner of the Burial Land.


    "Splash..."


    When the Troubled Creatures of the land smelled the blood, they followed it like they were hungry sharks. They flapped their wings and surrounded the huge primitive land.


    They waited. When the outer wall of the primitive land was completely eroded, they would rush towards it.


    "Desperate?" the Snake Spirit King''s avatar asked.


    "Ha-ha..." Zen''s avatar sneered, refusing to entertain him.


    Looking at all the Troubled Creatures surrounding the primitive land, he couldn''t help but think of what the Snake Goddess mentioned. The Snake Spirit King and the downgrader didn''t know that when the boundary was broken, the two primitive lands would merge into one. They weren''t aware of the consequence of what they were doing.


    Another hour later, the outer wall of the primitive land cracked. Countless holes and crevices began to appear. The rest of the broken shell was completely eroded by the black spirals until finally, the two worlds merged.


    Swoosh...


    "We''ve succeeded!" They cheered.


    At this moment, the Snake Spirit King felt a lot of information rush into his mind.


    Before, the primitive land was like a locked, black box to him. He couldn''t open it up or see through it. Now, it was as transparent as water. He looked at it intensely as his mind absorbed endless details. His omniscient ability finally extended to Zen''s primitive land.


    However, what the Snake Spirit King didn''t know was that Zen felt the same way about the Burial Land.

 Chapter 4293 Assault

    The entirety of the Burial Land now came into Zen''s view.


    From the specific number of the Troubled Creatures, to the huge jars that were used to nurture Troubled Creatures at the bottom of the black mountain... Zen could see it all.


    He could even sense the horde of Troubled Creatures swarming over to the primitive land, their minds filled with craziness, restlessness, and strong killing intent.


    However, Zen had no interest in them. Instead, he focused on finding the location of the Snake Spirit King''s coordinates.


    Buzz!


    In the blink of an eye, the figures of the Snake Spirit King and the downgrader appeared in his mind''s eye.


    While the two of them both had an acute sense of perception, they didn''t notice Zen''s watchful eye. If it were anyone else, they''d have found out immediately, but Zen''s state of omniscience was different. As opposed to spying, this omniscience let him know everything about anything in a single thought.


    "The downgrader, and the Snake Spirit King. I''ve found them now..." Zen said to the others.


    However, this still wasn''t what he was looking for.


    "The Snake Spirit King''s coordinates..."


    In his state of omniscience, nothing in the Burial Land could remain secret to him. As long as Zen thought about it, he would instantly get the answer. His mind was quickly directed to the bottom of a mountain. There, he saw the Snake Spirit King''s coordinates, which were encased in an orb of black light. Additionally, a golden ring surrounded the black orb.


    Buzz...


    Zen shot a quick glance to the others and gave them a comforting nod before abruptly teleporting to the Snake Spirit King''s coordinates. However, he did leave a replica of himself before he left.


    Shortly after, the Snake Spirit King set foot on the Pear Hill. His huge body slowly coiled up onto the peak. All the while, he hissed proudly. He didn''t even bother to hide his complacency in his golden eyes as he revealed himself before everyone.


    "Panic, fear, and uneasiness," he exclaimed elatedly. "I feed off of your negative emotions!"


    What he said was true. The eyes of the Snake Goddess, Kincaid, Hilario, and everyone else were filled with anxiety. However, their uneasiness actually stemmed from fear that Zen''s movements would be found out. Whatever the case was, their panicked expressions worked like a charm to delude the proud Snake Spirit King.


    The Snake Spirit King was so carried away that he couldn''t be bothered to check if the Zen before him was just a replica, nor did he even use his omniscient power to read their minds. He believed that everything was well under his control. Kincaid, Zen, Hilario, and Itzel... None of them would be able to change anything. There was no longer any chance for these weaklings to turn the tide, he firmly believed.


    "My foolish daughter! Did things go as you wished?" the Snake Spirit King


    s target.


    Bang!


    The long spear stabbed into the surface of the golden ring and made a harsh, crisp sound. The golden ring trembled, and several cracks appeared on its edge.


    "It''s not destroyed? Oh no!"


    Zen had expected he would penetrate through the golden ring and shatter the coordinates in one blow. Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined this ordinary-looking golden ring would withstand the Destruction Extreme Form energy!


    However, he quickly gathered his bearings. Withdrawing the long spear, he quickly landed another blow. Simultaneously, he summoned two replicas beside him.


    Meanwhile, from the top of the mountain, the Snake Spirit King and the downgrader had all their attention focused on Geoffrey.


    Geoffrey''s strong body was definitely something beyond their expectations, and consequently they had been caught off guard. It seemed Geoffrey''s plan was working, as they had failed to shift their attention away from him.


    "This young man''s body is incredibly strong. Moreover, I can feel that his soul is equally strong. If I wasn''t connected to the Burial Land, I would be no match for him. Why is there such a powerful warrior in the primitive land? Is this a result of the Extreme Form energy?" the Snake Spirit King inquired.


    The downgrader shook his head. "He was the one who brought back the Heavenly Ring Staff. He must have obtained a great fortune in the Deep Space. Both his physical body and soul are the strongest in the Deep Space. It''s normal that you are not a match for him."


    "It''s a pity such strength will go to waste," the Snake Spirit King said complacently, a smile creeping on his face.


    "Don''t slacken your vigilance. They''ve grasped the Extreme Form energies. It''s not worth mentioning to me, but..." Before the downgrader could finish his sentence, his six pairs of eyes suddenly flashed with a red light, and uneasiness emanated from him.

 Chapter 4294 Indestructible

    The downgrader''s eyes suddenly widened in realization. He discovered that the golden ring was under attack, and it already got damaged!


    The golden ring, also known as the Narrow Steel Ring in the Deep Space, was an immensely powerful defensive treasure invented by a genius of the Cinnabar race. Even the downgrader was amazed when he first saw it. He was awed by the inventor''s wisdom and the fact that he managed to create such a powerful treasure with the Extreme Form energy.


    After the downgrader had obtained the irregular heavy sword, he used the Extreme Form energy to build the Narrow Steel Ring. However, it was a pity that he was not in the Deep Space right now. That was because the creation of Narrow Steel Rings required some specific techniques and materials from the Deep Space. Therefore, the downgrader could only make a simplified version.


    Yet, although he had only made a simplified Narrow Steel Ring, it still had a spectacular defensive ability. It should''ve been impossible to damage it with just a single blow!


    "What''s wrong?" the Snake Spirit King asked curiously. He could not understand why the downgrader felt worried when everything was well under their control.


    "Someone is trying to destroy your coordinates and my Source Light..." the downgrader answered.


    "What? But how could that happen?"


    the Snake Spirit King said in disbelief while he subconsciously began to think about the possible answers. As he did so, his omniscient abilities immediately conveyed all the relevant information to him.


    It included the inner thoughts of the people on the jadeite platform, the reason why Geoffrey continued to attack his avatars in vain, as well as Zen''s current location.


    As the information flashed in his mind, he saw Zen, who thrust a purple spear towards the golden ring. After he did that, numerous cracks appeared on the ring''s surface.


    Bang!


    With a crisp sound, the cracks immediately spread to the entire body of the Narrow Steel Ring. If Zen thrust the spear once more, the Narrow Steel Ring would undoubtedly break into pieces!


    "Stop!"


    the Snake Spirit King yelled, his face blanched in fright. He quickly attempted to teleport himself beside Zen to block the spear.


    The downgrader''s reflexes were much faster than the Snake Spirit King''s. However, he needed a longer time to use the Grand Teleportation technique, since the Burial Land had been handed over to the Snake Spirit King. As a result, they did things almost simultaneously.


    Just as both of them were about to teleport away at the same time, two avatars of Zen suddenly appeared behind them.


    "Exile!"


    In a split second, two cubic spaces enveloped the downgrader and the Snake Spirit King.


    Buzz...


    They felt their heads spin for a moment, then they got sent out of the Burial Land at the same time a


    ight, which melted the entire mountain right away. However, the black light was still undamaged.


    "Zen, why don''t you try to exclude that entire area from the land?" the Snake Goddess advised his avatar, who was on the jadeite platform.


    At that moment, Zen''s eyes lit up as a blue ring materialized in front of him.


    "Hyperspace Extreme Form!"


    Buzz!


    A space of ten miles in length, width, and height appeared in a particular area. This space was completely isolated from the primitive land.


    "Exile!"


    Zen tried to exile everything in this specific space, including the black light.


    Theoretically, this entire space should have gotten exiled into somewhere else in the chaos. However, the black light still floated in its original position and did not even move an inch at all.


    A headache began to brew in Zen''s head. This thing was a tougher challenge than he had imagined!


    "Ancestry-level bloodline... Do you have any idea?" he asked helplessly.


    Although the ancestry-level bloodline had been busy dealing with the crystal, it had also paid attention to Zen''s movements. Of course, it had also noticed the black light earlier.


    "When we were in the Jade Pure Realm, I noticed something familiar in this orb of black light," said the ancestry-level bloodline.


    "What''s it?" Zen asked hurriedly.


    "I can''t tell. My relevant memories were lost. Perhaps we can find the answer in the crystal," the ancestry-level bloodline answered.


    "Alright..."


    While Zen communicated with the ancestry-level bloodline, his eyes remained transfixed on the black light. As he looked closely at it, he began to feel a strange sensation. He felt as if someone was staring back at him in the black light.


    The second he was about to speak, he heard the downgrader''s laughter from within the black light.


    "Ha-ha! Have you found me? You have sharper eyes than I thought!"

 Chapter 4295 Tools

    As the downgrader floated in the chaos, his six pairs of compound eyes shone a bright, flashing orange. He sized up Zen.


    When Zen noticed the downgrader, he was not threatened at all. If anything, he merely mocked him with a chuckle.


    However, Zen''s heart sank as he heard the downgrader''s words. It seemed that he did not care about the death of the Snake Spirit King, which was not a good sign.


    "It turns out that I can''t control the primitive land by devouring it directly.


    When a large primitive land devours a small one, this leaves the two controllers to have the same power. The Snake Spirit King is really a good-for-nothing bastard.


    You must have known this secret and made plans accordingly," the downgrader nagged. "But because you were born in this chaos, you have limited knowledge. I can only assume that someone from the Bold Conjecture House told you this."


    The downgrader always had a better understanding of nature than anyone else. With ease, he could quickly come up with the most accurate guesses and answers.


    Meanwhile, Zen intently stared into the black light as he felt a great pressure of energy from it.


    When he was in the Jade Pure Realm, he hadn''t known the downgrader well. However, he had enough confidence to put up a fight against the downgrader and almost win. Now that Kincaid had woken up and Geoffrey had returned with the Heavenly Ring Staff, he gradually realized that the downgrader was more complex than he seemed.


    Even if he disposed of the Snake Spirit King, it seemed that everything was still in the palm of the downgrader.


    "So what?" Zen asked.


    "Your resistance is notable and surprises me, but the effort you make is in vain," the downgrader pointed out.


    "In vain?" Zen''s eyebrows ruffled as he pulled himself together. "Don''t forget that I am now the owner of the Burial Land. I also have the Extreme Form energies of the Deep Space while you are all alone!"


    It seemed that Zen had the upper hand and he shouldn''t fear the downgrader any more.


    "Hahaha..."


    The downgrader roared with frightening cackles and shrieks. "Your present struggle reminds me so much of the Sacred Spirit race. They were born as indestructible stone tablets. Would you like to guess how they planned to defeat me?"


    Zen looked a


    hen, black flames appeared at the center of the Burial Land too. With the irregular heavy sword in his hand, the downgrader roared his order, "Kill everything you see! That is an order!"


    When the Troubled Creatures heard this, they roared once again and charged forward. At the hands of the downgrader, they actually disobeyed Zen''s order without hesitation.


    The downgrader looked at Zen with a grin across his face. "Look how weak your power is. What kind of controller are you?" he mocked.


    Zen''s face darkened at the downgrader''s words. "These Troubled Creatures can''t withstand even a single blow. What is it to you if you can control them?"


    Without a second thought, Zen released a thousand avatars.


    When he''d used an avatar before, the avatar wiped out a hundred million Troubled Creatures. Though the creatures were enormous, they were still considerably weak in battle.


    This time was different, and it went beyond any of Zen''s expectations.


    As one of the avatars rushed towards the Troubled Creatures, he released invisible blades from his body. However, before the blades approached the Troubled Creatures, their bodies fluctuated. They charged and tore the avatar into pieces.


    Likewise, they did the same to the other avatars before them. Within seconds, all the avatars were ripped apart by the Troubled Creatures, which puzzled Zen even more. His best counterattack stood absolutely no chance.


    "I made a few light changes to them. Do you like it?" the downgrader said, smiling down at Zen.

 Chapter 4296 Infinity

    Zen looked at the densely packed Troubled Creatures with disbelief.


    These Troubled Creatures that were previously weak like ants had suddenly turned as terrifying as beasts.


    "You could change all the Troubled Creatures?" Zen asked, staring at the downgrader with wide eyes.


    "Of course," the downgrader replied. It seemed that he had long anticipated this question, and he said indifferently, "I just gave them the Hyperspace Extreme Form, making them more free."


    Taking a deep breath, Zen closed his eyes and quickly got a number. Seventy-six billion six hundred and nineteen million three hundred and thirty-four thousand four hundred and eighty-one.


    This was the number of Troubled Creatures.


    "You could give this many Troubled Creatures the Extreme Form energy?" Zen asked again as he still couldn''t believe it.


    "Of course," the downgrader replied calmly.


    "No way! No one can do that!"


    Zen argued, refusing to accept his answer.


    With a wave of his hand, three thousand avatars appeared and surrounded him.


    As soon as these avatars popped up, they immediately used the Grand Teleportation to rush towards the Troubled Creatures.


    The result was the same as what happened before.


    After the avatars appeared around the Troubled Creatures, they were like innocent sheep being mercilessly thrown into a vicious tiger''s mouth. They were instantly slaughtered and torn apart.


    In just half a minute, all three thousand avatars died.


    The direction in which these avatars used the Grand Teleportation was completely random, which meant that the downgrader didn''t lie about his claim. He had truly bestowed the Hyperspace Extreme Form on tens of billions of Troubled Creatures.


    "How did you do it? It''s impossible!" Zen''s voice sounded of a hint of bitterness. The downgrader had indeed done something he couldn''t imagine.


    The consumption of the energy was tremendous, and the primitive land wasn''t capable of continuously supplying it.


    For example, the Evil God possessed all the Extreme Form energies, but he usually didn''t dare to activate such energies because the Source World couldn''t provide enough energy for him.


    Zen had the ancestry-level bloodline, so he had more energy than the Evil God.


    The ancestry-level bloodline had limitless energy that could supply about ten people with Extreme Form energy at the same time.


    This was already remarkable and impressive.


    Yet, the downgrader could supply tens of billions of Troubled Cr


    igniting a huge purple flame that surrounded the downgrader.


    After the purple flame dissipated, the downgrader came out unscathed. "I''m praising you..."


    But before he could finish his words, Zen struck him again.


    The purple flame engulfed the downgrader once more.


    Because of the cloud, the people on the jadeite platform couldn''t see the battle between Zen and the downgrader, but they saw the Troubled Creatures rapidly approaching.


    "The speed of these Troubled Creatures is unimaginably fast. It''s very strange," Kincaid said as he was the first to notice that something was wrong.


    "Well, they seem to be much stronger than before," Hilario said as he observed.


    "Zen, what''s happening?" the Snake Goddess asked as she stared at Zen''s avatar on the jadeite platform.


    Of course, Zen''s avatar knew the reason. He hesitated whether he should tell everyone the cruel truth or not. After thinking for a while, he said, "All the Troubled Creatures are given the energy of the Hyperspace Extreme Form by the downgrader."


    "All the Troubled Creatures?" Hilario''s eyes widened.


    "Do you mean that every Troubled Creature has the energy of Hyperspace Extreme Form? Are you serious?" Hilario stared at Zen in shock, clearly in suspicion.


    "There are a total of about seventy billion Troubled Creatures, and each of them is bestowed with the Hyperspace Extreme Form. At the same time, their bodies are also infused with the energy of the Destruction Extreme Form," Zen''s avatar narrated in a dry tone.


    "How is that possible? You must be lying..." Fuxi said as his voice trembled. He was confused at everything that Zen''s avatar said.

 Chapter 4297 Infinite Treatment

    Nobody dared to look down upon the downgrader. If he was able to downgrade the worlds, then that meant he was extremely powerful.


    Surely though, there was a limit to his strength.


    The power he just exhibited exceeded everyone''s expectations and filled their bodies with despair. How could he be so powerful?


    "It wasn''t a lie. He truly has real, infinite energy," Zen''s avatar muttered, trying his best to remain calm.


    "The real infinity..."


    The Snake Goddess smiled in self-mockery. "If that is the case then resistance is futile."


    All numbers meant nothing with regards to the real definition of infinity.


    "It was once said that the truth was controlled by us six Chaos Ancient Gods; however, the infinite energy displayed by the downgrader is the absolute truth. This is power with no restrictions." Gerald could only sigh.


    All hope that remained in their hearts had been quashed by this revelation.


    It wasn''t just them. Even the energy souls that floated around the Civilization Artifact also felt dejected. They had sacrificed themselves yet in the end, it was all for naught.


    "But... Don''t you still want to give it a try?"


    Geoffrey asked.


    His voice had been loud and everyone on the jadeite platform heard him.


    Geoffrey''s words triggered something in them. Kincaid, who had previously also lost hope, raised his head. "You''re right! Despair is meaningless! Since we cannot escape death, then we must at least face it head-on in battle!"


    "My dream has been completed. Even if I die, I will have no regrets," Itzel seconded.


    "¡­"


    With just a few hopeful words, the morale on the jadeite platform rose exponentially.


    A blue ring of light appeared in the hand of Zen''s avatar, which contained the energy of the Hyperspace Extreme Form.


    "Zen? Why?" Rocher asked, having felt the mysterious power of space.


    "You may be stronger than the Troubled Creatures but the fact remains that they have the Hyperspace Extreme Form. Other than Geoffrey, nobody else would be able to touch them. Allow me to help you offset their advantage," Zen''s avatar replied.


    Even if Zen''s avatars were stronger than everyone present on the pl


    avatar also appeared in Aura''s room.


    Zen wasn''t the only one to say his final goodbyes to his family.


    The Snake Goddess, Fuxi, and the other Eternal Realm warriors did the same thing. Some bade farewell to their loved ones, while others felt the need to inform their inner worlds of their imminent destruction.


    In the cloud of Probability Extreme Form, Zen had transformed into a thousand avatars that launched more than ten thousand sword strikes towards the downgrader.


    Despite the attacks, the downgrader did not even bother summoning his avatars to dodge.


    More than ten thousand long swords came at him as he floated in the air, all of them transformed from the Destruction Extreme Form.


    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!


    There was a flash of violet as the purple sword radiance drew over ten thousand paths in the air in an effort to slash at the downgrader.


    The power Zen released at that moment should''ve been enough to tear his enemy to shreds and even disintegrate him.


    However, the downgrader remained completely unharmed.


    In fact, a strong aura of life continued to emanate from his body as he activated the Life Extreme Form.


    Of course, that alone was not the reason as to why he was able to withstand Zen''s attack. In truth, an infinite energy of the Life Extreme Form was gathered in his body.


    Any damage dealt to him was repaired at an imperceptible speed. That was why such a miraculous scene was delivered.

 Chapter 4298 A Strange State

    "Again!"


    Zen roared, and over a thousand avatars appeared at his command again.


    The avatars formed a circle while overlapping with each other and violently slashed the downgrader.


    Ten thousand sword strikes.


    Thirty thousand sword strikes.


    One hundred thousand sword strikes!


    Despite their all-out attack, the downgrader still emerged unharmed.


    "I might have overestimated you," he sneered. "After all, you are not even a member of the Cinnabar race or the Fostering race in the fifth-grade world. You don''t have that many chances to use the Extreme Form energies," he commented with a sly smile as if nothing happened.


    After he finished speaking, he suddenly raised his hand and the irregular heavy sword emitted a blinding orange light.


    Splash!


    An orange ring of light then started to spread out from the irregular heavy sword.


    When the orange ring of light passed through Zen''s avatars who surrounded the downgrader, they instantly evaporated into beams of light and disappeared without a trace. Only the real Zen was left.


    "You may not be convinced, but I can easily kill you even without using the infinite energy!"


    Buzz!


    The irregular heavy sword flashed with different colors this time. In an instant, massive amounts of Extreme Form energies were unleashed from each of its cracks.


    When Zen saw the irregular heavy sword flashing, he became distracted.


    "The Soul Extreme Form!"


    Zen uttered as he recognized it.


    However, the downgrader did not intend to use the Soul Extreme Form to create an illusion and control Zen. He only wanted to divert Zen''s attention. Taking advantage of this opportunity, he rushed towards Zen as he dragged the irregular heavy sword. He pulled it up afterward, creating huge sword radiance.


    Bang!


    Without hesitation, Zen swung his purple sword at the irregular heavy sword.


    He had immediately blocked himself from the attack of the heavy irregular sword.


    However, an invisible force passed through Zen, splitting the cloud in half, which forced Zen to withdraw from the Probability Extreme Form.


    "What?"


    Zen''s heart skipped a beat. With a gentle pinch of his hand, he bolted away from the downgrader through the Hyperspace Extreme Form.


    However, the downgrader didn''t let Zen get away. He went after him with a much faster speed.


    Before Zen could leave, the irregular heavy sword cut through the distorted space and drew an arc in the air, slitting down towards his head.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    The irregular heavy sword sheared dow


    ive land, and you can safely revive even if you die. But how many times are you able to do so?" the downgrader asked condescendingly.


    He didn''t withdraw the clouds or his avatars and quietly waited for Zen to come back to life.


    Meanwhile, countless fragments of different sizes scattered from the broken Source World.


    There was a body embedded in the crack of a rock with a diameter of three hundred miles.


    It was a huge hyena.


    When the Source World was destroyed by the needle, it was feasting on its prey. An unimaginable force swept down from above and split its head from its body.


    It was expected to die shortly as it had been beheaded.


    Compared to the creatures that had been sacrificed in the Source World and didn''t even have traces of their corpses left, this hyena was already lucky.


    What was luckier was it was still breathing.


    With unexpected consciousness, it saw the neat cut on its neck after its head was severed from its body. It could even give an order to its body and get it out of that crack.


    Two hours later, it was still alive.


    Four hours later, it was still alive.


    Ten hours later, it felt a little hungry as its stomach began to rumble.


    Its head controlled its body to grab the dead roe deer nearby. It then directed it to stuff the deer into its mouth, and then gobbled it ravenously with its sharp teeth.


    Although the hyena wasn''t very intelligent, it had a feeling that this was the strangest way of eating.


    It continued to chew and swallow the flesh it devoured until it felt its stomach becoming full.


    This was what confused it the most. It seemed that its head and body remained intact in a very incomprehensible way.

 Chapter 4299 The Method Of Restriction

    Such a kind of odd thing was happening across the Source World.


    Severed body parts lay scattered across the devastated area of the Bloom Divine Province. Some citizens were lucky enough to survive with limbs still attached, but they were broken, all the same.


    Those who had lost limbs, however, didn''t feel any pain. In fact, they found they could still control their severed body parts just like the hyena could.


    An old man''s body had been halved from the waist, but he could still feel his legs. When he controlled his legs to walk, he could see the severed limbs moving in the distance.


    Cries of horror and confusion began to break out. "We must have been cursed!"


    "How can we still be alive?"


    The remaining creatures in the Source World wailed, aghast at their condition.


    Whereas before, they could look to the Other Shore for the answers to some mysteries, this was completely unprecedented.


    Meanwhile, the province where the Evil God was located had also been decimated by the needle, the black hall reduced to rubble.


    When the huge needle fell down from above the Source World, its gargantuan size flattened the province evenly.


    Most of the Holy Soul Realm warriors and Eternal Realm warriors in the black hall survived, however. They began to scramble out of the ruins.


    Only one Holy Soul Realm warrior was killed and three were injured.


    "The Source World has been destroyed, but we are still alive. Is it finally over?" a Holy Soul Realm warrior asked.


    The Eternal Realm warrior next to him scoffed. "Dream on. In the past, at the end of a chaotic era, it wasn''t the needle that killed people. The needle only broke the Source World. Now, we''re actually in the chaos and no longer under any protection of the Source World. When that last thunder rolls again, we''re doomed."


    An air of gloom descended over them. He was correct. The Source World had been destroyed and could no longer protect them.


    Just then, a Holy Soul Realm warrior not far away began sputtering loudly, "Look! What a strange phenomenon!"


    He was one of the three injured Holy Soul Realm warriors. One of his arms had been severed and lay hundreds of feet away from him.


    "What phenomenon?" an Eternal Realm wa


    f the Source World!" Duran exclaimed.


    "Because the Source World hasn''t collapsed," the real Evil God said with a faint smile.


    "How could you say that?" The Grandmaster of Heaven pointed at the horizon, where a huge crack merged desolately with the chaos.


    "It is not what it seems," the Evil God said dismissively. "Watch."


    The Evil God stretched out his hand.


    With a flick of his wrist, pieces of the broken landscape began to move.


    Pebbles gathered together until they reformed into boulders. Trees, mountains, rivers all returned smoothly to their original state.


    Everything within a hundred miles were restored to their previous condition. The ruins had all disappeared. It was as if the needle had missed the area.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven could hardly believe it. "How did you do that? That''s astounding!" he gasped.


    "I activated the Restriction Field as the needle shot towards the Source World. It can resist any hit, protecting everything therein," the Evil God replied.


    "That''s amazing!" Duran exclaimed.


    "Doing so, I discovered something new about the Restriction Field," the Evil God went on, motioning to the distance. "After being hit by the needle, many fragments of the Source World erupted into the chaos. Those materials are still within the Restriction Field."


    "What does that mean?" the Grandmaster of Heaven asked.


    "It means that the further those fragments go, the bigger the Source World would be," the Evil God replied.

 Chapter 4300 Enclosure

    This was a result that surprised even the Evil God.


    The Restriction Field allowed all living beings and materials in the Source World to remain their original form, including the form of the Source World itself.


    "So, you mean the Source World can now be expanded at will?" the Grandmaster of Heaven asked with a trembling voice.


    If that was the case, expanding the Source World would become extremely simple. All they had to do was take its fragments out so that the fragments could either fly or be transported as far away from the Source World as possible.


    "Yes." The Evil God nodded affirmatively with hopeful eyes.


    "Then you..."


    "I''ve already sent out my avatars to try to expand the Source World, but I still don''t know if the Restriction Field could expand indefinitely," said the Evil God, interrupting what the Grandmaster of Heaven was about to say.


    After the Source World had been smashed into pieces, the broken fragments gathered together and formed a long oval belt instead.


    Thousands of giant rocks floated at the front most portion of the belt. Above these rocks were all sorts of creatures and vicious beasts, including snakes, insects, ants, and even ancient beasts. Despite the drastic change, they had all managed to be peaceful.


    Even in the face of disaster and destruction, these creatures and beasts remained calm. They only wanted to survive and did nothing more or less than that.


    However, even the smartest beasts did not understand what had really happened. They could only curl up and stay cozy in their small caves, looking into the endless void.


    At this moment, one of the beasts suddenly began to shiver.


    This tall and powerful beast shook as its body started to shrink into a smaller size that later turned into an avatar of the Evil God.


    The avatar looked around and fixed his gaze on a triangular rock about ten feet wide. He observed that this rock was very suitable for making a boundary.


    "I''ll choose you!"


    The Evil God flew over and grabbed the bottom part of the triangular rock with one hand.


    Because of the powerful aura of the Evil God, the creatures that gathered on the triangular rock scrambled to different directions in fear. However, a python drilled deep into the triangular rock. This was its cave.


    After the Evil God lifted the rock in his hand, his fingertips flashed with the power of the Hyperspace Extreme Form. With a gentle pinch of his fingers, the two spaces were connected into one while he had


    his problem," said Duran. "Zen has endless energy all thanks to the ancestry-level bloodline, while you can''t obtain that ancestry-level bloodline, so..."


    He paused as he saw the look on Evil God''s face. He didn''t mean to question him at all.


    The talent that the Evil God displayed had gone beyond his imagination. Even in the Four Spirits Sect, there was no such highly-talented person. However, some things couldn''t be solved by mere intelligence, such as the problem of infinite energy.


    The Evil God smiled faintly and turned to look at the tens of thousands of avatars at a distance. "The rules of the Fields are very clear to me. There are a total of eighty-six kinds. As long as I deduct according to the rules of the Restriction Field, I will soon be able to restore all the Fields."


    "If you comprehend all the Fields, your might will be doubled. But you can''t release even Extreme Form energies infinitely. The energy consumed by the Fields is surely more unimaginable," the Grandmaster of Heaven said, also worrying about the energy.


    "You''re right." The Evil God nodded in agreement. "Restoring energy is like sharpening a knife. No matter how sharp a knife is, in the end, it''s only a tool. It''s useless if one does not have the strength to use it."


    With these words, he stared at the void with sharp eyes. He then clenched one hand in the air, and energy started to rotate from his closed fist like a dancing elf. "If I want to become a person who uses the tool, I must know what the most essential energy is. The Fields are not the end. I master not only the rules of restoring the Fields but also the rules of restoring the essence."

 Chapter 4301 Memories

    Inside the Burial Land, the cloud of Probability Extreme Form continued to stretch over the surface, covering it completely.


    The figures of the downgrader came into sight and then left over and over again.


    In less than a minute, tens of billions of avatars appeared, only to disappear, leaving without a trace. The number was meaningless when it came to infinity.


    Over a thousand Zen''s avatars in the cloud were killed. His real body was sliced into smaller parts and scattered around the Burial Land.


    Despite this, Zen''s ancestry-level bloodline, consciousness, and Extreme Form energies were still alive, pushing through the tragedy that had just happened.


    Buzz!


    With all that was left of his power and strength, Zen called his scattered body parts to come together and waited as it took shape.


    However, before he could regain his balance, an uncountable number of the downgrader''s avatars came to surround him.


    "Go to hell!"


    the downgrader''s avatars said, launching palm strikes towards Zen.


    Zen knew palm strikes were not very great in power. They weren''t even strong enough to kill an Eternal Realm warrior.


    What worried him was the number of avatars aiming the strikes at him at the same time. Enduring one strike was possible, but to endure tens of billions of strikes at the same time was a different ball game. For all he knew, they could have the power to burn him into ashes in the blink of an eye!


    ''In the primitive land, I would not die, '' Zen thought to himself. Even if his original body was broken, it would still remain inside the Burial Land.


    However, as soon as his parts began to morph into his original body, what was always waiting for him were the downgrader''s avatars, ready to attack him with great intensity.


    Five times.


    Ten times.


    Fifty times.


    One hundred times.


    He had barely stitched his body parts back together, and the avatars were already breaking it down. It would be impossible for him to fight back.


    "You''re becoming desperate, Zen. I can feel it," the downgrader said. "I was generous enough to give you every chance to surrender, but you''re too hard-headed. You still refused. Now, there''s no time for regret. You''d better use the only time you have left to say goodbye to this world!"


    Buzz!


    At the foot of a mountain reaching the heavens, Zen''s body continued to condense.


    However, just as his body began to regain shape, the downgrader''s avatars appeared before him again. In a split-second, the giant mountain and Zen were smashed into fine powder.


    Regardless, Zen wasn''t ready to quit. He quickly began to think of other places where he could continue condensing into his original form.


    However, just as he was doing this, he heard a voice cal


    im," the voice replied.


    Zen began to feel his blood boil even more. "Then why did you create him?" he said, raising his voice.


    "At that time, I thought the only perfect world was an imperfect one. This was why I created Mastema. He was necessary for breaking the perfection I created, but I didn''t expect things to reach a point that I couldn''t handle anymore. I didn''t plan for him to be so powerful."


    After the voice said this, a black dot appeared and began to expand. It expanded like a bubble, bigger and bigger until eventually, it popped.


    It broke into four pieces, which were all connected, forming a giant trapezoid.


    ''This should be the Boundless Shock World, '' Zen thought to himself.


    Geoffrey had told him before what happened in the Levitation Tower. Because of this, he had a general understanding of the worlds of all grades. ''The perfect land I was just in must be the Boundless Perfect World. Geoffrey has never been there before, '' he thought to himself.


    The trapezoid continued to collapse, turning into rectangular pieces. When the pieces gathered together again, it turned into an even larger trapezoid.


    This was the Boundless Secondary World. When this collapsed, the Boundless Void World appeared.


    And when this collapsed, another world came to view.


    A total of nine worlds appeared and collapsed. In the end, the Stellar World appeared, specifically the Deep Space. Most of its parts had collapsed.


    "I realized too late that Mastema would destroy everything. I did my best to chase him down and kill him. However, from the twelfth-grade world to the fifth-grade world, I failed completely," the voice said, sad and full of remorse.


    It was much easier to destroy than to create. The downgrader wouldn''t stop just like that, especially when he had already begun the downgrade.

 Chapter 4302 Infinity And Everything

    "I had been in the perfect land for such a long time. I thought I could control everything, so I released Mastema.


    Then, I started cultivating him bit by bit. I was glad to see him become much stronger.


    Especially when we were in the Boundless Shock World, I was deeply elated when I saw the range of destruction that he made. At the same time, I also despised the perfect land. Perfection means that it''s already done, and there is nothing else to change. That''s why I liked the imperfection of the Boundless Shock World more.


    Mastema brought death, but he also brought forth creation and rebirth.


    However, he went out of control. That was my biggest mistake and failure."


    Clarence''s voice became too dispirited.


    His confidence was crushed by repeated failures.


    Upon hearing this, Zen wasn''t able to respond right away.


    He had never thought that Clarence would actually have a depressing personality.


    "But, isn''t there still a chance?" Zen finally asked.


    "Chance? What do you mean?" Clarence replied.


    "You have awakened. With your absolute infinite energy and the ancestry-level bloodline, don''t we have a chance to defeat him?" Zen answered with positivity.


    "Forget it¡­" Clarence said with a bitter smile. "I have already defeated him many times. It''s still no use. I still wasn''t able to stop him from downgrading the worlds," he continued.


    "Well, it''s better than doing nothing!" Zen retorted, not showing any hint of willingness to give up.


    When he first heard of Clarence''s name, he had several guesses and high expectations for him. Thus, he was disappointed and frustrated that this person wasn''t what he thought he would be.


    At the same time, Clarence could actually read all of Zen''s thoughts and memories. He could even feel his emotions, but he still didn''t care.


    The downgrader always treated the creatures born outside of the perfect land as tools, while Clarence saw them as a process.


    This included the human beings, the four spirits, the Fostering race, the Cinnabar race, and the Sacred Spirit race.


    He saw their existence as a process, and now, that process would finally come to an end. All the positive and negative things that occurred within the process were actually insignificant. Everything would still end at the appointed time.


    "Well, if you still want to resist, I can help you. You''re already skillful in using the Extreme Form energies, right? The only difference between you and the downgrader is the amount of energy, but I can also give you what he already has," Clarence said unexpectedly.


    "Really? You''d do that?" Zen''s eyes instantly lit up as he heard this.


    "Yes. It''s not that difficult for me," Clarence replied indifferently.


    "Well, then¡­" Zen took a deep breath and sincerely said, "Please entr


    hat his body became lighter. As he looked down, he saw that the lower part of his body was already cut off. Beside him, he saw a floating Troubled Creature, and the lower part of his body was hanging on its sharp nails.


    "Do you even know how weak you are? Ha-ha! These people have a death wish!" The Troubled Creature licked the blood off its nails as it stared at Hallet.


    "These¡­ These creatures¡­ They''re just soldiers, yet they are this powerful."


    Hallet coughed out blood as he looked at the Troubled Creature in disbelief.


    He knew that he wouldn''t be able to survive after the damage he suffered.


    He even thought at first that with his strength, he might be able to kill at least a thousand or ten thousand of them. Never did he expect that he couldn''t even deal with a single one.


    Crash!


    As Hallet''s body was falling to the ground, the Troubled Creature launched another attack.


    Its movements were so fast that Hallet didn''t even have any time to react. As the Troubled Creature''s fist landed on Hallet, his body instantly turned into a blood mist.


    The other warriors at the Other Shore Realm had initially mustered their courage to guard the Ruin Graveyard against the Troubled Creatures and put their lives on the line. However, when they saw what had happened to Augustus and Hallet, they all fled and dispersed in all directions.


    Unfortunately, in the face of these vicious creatures, no one could get away from them.


    In an instant, all of them were mercilessly killed.


    It wasn''t even a battle. It was just a massacre. Only the Pear Hill was able to resist the Troubled Creatures, and it was all because of Zen.


    Previously, he had used the Hyperspace Extreme Form to create a huge blue ring of light. Whenever a Troubled Creature passed through the blue ring of light, their Hyperspace Extreme Form would be countered.

 Chapter 4303 Resist

    At that moment, the masters who gathered on the jadeite platform had dispersed and stood in different locations.


    The Troubled creatures were not that strong, but once they acquired the Hyperspace Extreme Form, the creatures from the third-grade world stood no chance against them.


    But there was a catch: once they lost the Hyperspace Extreme Form, they would get significantly weaker.


    Buzz!


    Meanwhile, a wisp of sword light that was as thin as hair continued to wander around.


    It was powerful, albeit restless. It could cut a Troubled Creature that came into contact with it in half. What was more amazing was that there were dozens of such sword lights.


    Rocher sat cross-legged by the end of the sword lights, and the Lone Sword stood in front of him.


    When he had first obtained the Lone Sword, he tried to learn more brilliant sword skills to use his sword to its maximum potential.


    However, after its merge with the Sunlight Annihilation Light, Kincaid gave him some advice which enlightened him and changed his views about some things.


    For instance, he realized that he did not have to spend too much time studying swordsmanship, spear skill, or blade skills.


    Generally, those who had reached a certain level in this field and possessed more energies that they were skillful enough to use would be the great masters.


    Therefore, it was useless to attach too much importance to the techniques or intents.


    Zen had realized that when he merged with the Other Shore Tokens in the Source World. Although Rocher had fused with all kinds of powerful Other Shore Tokens, he lacked actual combat experiences. The latter only became aware of it much later than Zen did.


    "The Sunlight Annihilation Light is indeed sharp and powerful. It''s a useful tool to terminate so many Troubled Creatures, but the energy of the Destruction Extreme Form is too much¡­" Rocher muttered to himself. He looked around with fear in his eyes.


    Every time he took out a Troubled Creature, a purple light ball emerged from it.


    The energy of the Destruction Extreme Form inside the purple light ball was overwhelming.


    Moreover, Rocher figured that even the amount of energy he would obtain through burning ten Other Shore Tokens was less than that of the purple light ball.


    If he destroyed hundreds of Troubled Creatures, hundreds of purple light balls would appear.


    The mere thought of it sent him into a flurry of panic.


    He tried t


    d even after she kept the Extreme Form energy under her control. Then, she opened her palms and said, "Separate."


    Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!


    Purple flames came out of the purple light ball that she controlled and flew towards the other purple light balls. Eventually, she was able to control the other light balls and suspended them in the air.


    Just like that, she controlled even more and more purple light balls.


    In a short time, she had managed to make over twenty thousand purple light balls float in the air.


    "Well done!"


    "She has truly controlled the purple light balls!"


    "Can Yan really use the Extreme Form energy?"


    While everyone chattered about Yan''s progress, Yan stayed focused as sweat broke out on her forehead.


    She drew the purple flames out of the twenty thousand purple light balls, then used the fires to make a net to trap the Troubled Creatures. In the blink of an eye, thousands of Troubled Creatures fell dead.


    All this time, the downgrader who hid in the cloud of Probability Extreme Form secretly watched the scene.


    "Energy Shaft? They''ve got so many interesting gadgets. But what''s the point of holding on like this?" he murmured to himself.


    It was already amazing that Yan had controlled tens of thousands of purple light balls in such a short time.


    However, there were about seventy billion Troubled Creatures left. It only meant that she had to control another seventy billion purple light balls, even if they were lucky enough to kill all the Troubled Creatures.


    It was impossible for her to control all the purple light balls before they turned Pear Hill into ruins.

 Chapter 4304 The Desperate Situation

    The downgrader was not in a hurry to make a move because as long as he wanted to, he could destroy everything in a snap.


    Even the Destruction Extreme Form that was controlled by Yan had been given by him voluntarily. The energies were, in fact, not ownerless.


    The downgrader liked to watch life being destroyed little by little. He had already experienced great destruction many times.


    In the end, these creatures were just like bees whose hives had been set on fire. In order to defend their homeland, they desperately tried their best, yet they fell into the abyss of their defeat in the end.


    After Yan had killed thousands of Troubled Creatures, numerous purple light balls started to appear again.


    Her clear eyes opened wide as if she was dreadfully glaring at them. Moreover, the Energy Shaft above her head rotated like crazy.


    Swish, swish, swish...


    Many purple snakes then shot into the purple light balls one after the other, and the ownerless energies were controlled by Yan once more.


    Twenty thousand purple light balls were already a difficult challenge for Yan. Now there were over four thousand more balls, which stressed her out even more.


    "Kill!"


    she shouted as she gritted her teeth. She pulled out a larger purple energy net from the purple light balls, using it to envelop the sky.


    More Troubled Creatures were killed as their bodies touched the energy net. Purple light balls burst out from their broken bodies, melting into the energy net and further strengthening it.


    After a while, the net made by Yan had grown much larger as the number of purple light balls that were fused into it already reached fifty thousand!


    "Yan..."


    The Snake Goddess looked at Yan with concern, but she couldn''t persuade Yan to give up just yet.


    "Auntie!"


    Geoffrey felt sorry for her and was also worried about what would happen next.


    Yan''s hair began to stand strand by strand as her eyes became unfocused and rolled up. These were obvious signs that she had reached her limit.


    But she didn''t dare give up easily. The moment the net covered the entire Pear Hill, it would definitely and totally be destroyed.


    "Rise!"


    She had almost run out of the potential of the Energy Shaft as she maxed it out until its last bit. As a final move, she tossed the huge net into the air.


    As soon as she did, she declined into a state of exhaustion and suddenly went falling from the sky.


    In a flash, the Snake Goddess stretched out her arms to catch Yan and held her.


    "I... I''ve tried my best..." Yan said as she looked at the Snake Goddess with tired eyes.


    "You''ve done very well," the Snake Goddess affirmed her as she sm


    Snake Goddess asked, looking at each side.


    "Since his Treacherous Being body has been devoured, he should be able to revive on the Other Shore," Hilario concluded.


    "Why don''t we use the Grand Teleportation technique to jump out?" suggested Fuxi.


    "It''s useless," Rocher said, shaking his head as he frowned.


    The Troubled Creatures with the Hyperspace Extreme Form gathered around and waited for them. If Fuxi and his group jumped out, it would only be faster and easier for them to be killed.


    The space suddenly began shrinking, squeezing rapidly against their limited space.


    One hundred feet...


    Fifty feet...


    Thirty feet...


    Ten feet...


    The group of people then huddled together, trying to compress as much as possible in the tiny space they had. In addition, it became very much inconvenient for Geoffrey who was about ten feet tall. Even if he initiated to fold both of his arms and legs, he was still taller than ordinary people.


    "It''s so exciting. I didn''t expect to die like this," said Fuxi as he stared at the overwhelming light balls.


    "This way of death won''t cause too much pain after all," said the Snake Goddess.


    "Let''s just have a good time then," Fuxi said, preparing to jump into the purple light balls.


    But just as he was about to plunge in, a thin layer of light instantly covered his whole body. This light film that was as elastic as rubber dragged him back and firmly bound him with the others.


    Meanwhile, as the purple light balls pressed towards the light film, the light film did not flinch at all and remained unaffected by the Destruction Extreme Form.


    "This must be..." The Snake Goddess'' eyes lit up as she realized something.


    It was not hard to guess who was still able to protect them at this time.

 Chapter 4305 Protector

    Everyone felt a glimmer of hope when they realized the light film was protecting them.


    Just a moment ago, they had all been grimly resigned to their death.


    But now it seemed all was not lost after all!


    "Is it Zen? Has he come to rescue us?"


    "Zen!"


    "Father!"


    Each person in the group called out.


    There was no response from the voice they were expecting to hear.


    A mocking voice rang out instead.


    "Finally, you decided to appear," the downgrader taunted. "But you won''t be able to change their fate. Hahaha!"


    Rumble!


    A thin spike shot out from a purple light ball. The spike spun wildly, gathering momentum before stabbing at the pale yellow light film.


    The pale yellow light film was condensed from the Energy Transfer Extreme Form, which could easily isolate, transfer, and gather all kinds of energies. But it was vulnerable to piercing. The sharp spike entered the light film with only a slight twist.


    "Auntie, watch out!"


    As the spike headed toward Yan, Geoffrey threw his whole body in front of her, exposing his back so the spike would hit it instead.


    Phew!


    The spike skewered Geoffrey''s shoulder, baring his bones.


    "Ahhh!"


    Geoffrey''s face contorted in pain, but he remained in place, blocking Yan.


    "Geoffrey!"


    Yan felt her heart drop. It was unbearable seeing Geoffrey suffer for her.


    Buzz!


    Despite her exhaustion, Yan once again used her Energy Shaft to try to control the purple spike.


    To her dismay, however, she found that she could not. She had been able to control the purple light balls before when they had been owner-less. But now, the purple spike was under the control of the downgrader. Yan''s Energy Shaft couldn''t wrest control at all.


    Geoffrey gritted his teeth and hissed as the spike continued to sear through his flesh, blood, bones, and his insides.


    The others could only despair at the sight. They were completely helpless. They knew if they came into contact with the Destruction Extreme Form, they would turn into ashes. Only Geoffrey''s extremely strong physique could endure it.


    "This is your son, isn''t it?


    Can you really bear to see him slowly melt away and die in agony?


    What kind of father are you?"


    The downgrader had no empathy, but he could read the memories of those gathered


    ffled sound, a fist print appeared over a hundred feet above the fairy palace. An enchanted barrier that protected the fairy palace came into view.


    Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!


    Fist marks crowded the surface of the enchanted barrier as the punches landed like rain.


    A million punches had landed in only a few seconds, but they were all blocked by the enchanted barrier!


    "What''s this?" the downgrader spat out, taken aback. "How is that possible?"


    In his opinion, Zen couldn''t possibly bear a million punches, but now he did it right before his eyes!


    "Have I underestimated you?"


    It began to dawn on the downgrader then that the energy given by the ancestry-level bloodline must be much more powerful than he had imagined. He steeled himself and once again activated the Probability Extreme Form to launch another strike on the fairy palace.


    Countless downgraders gathered around the fairy palace in clouds created by the Probability Extreme Form. They all struck out their palms downward at the same time.


    "Ten billion strikes!"


    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Over ten billion palm prints appeared on the enchanted barrier. The enchanted barrier trembled from the impact, but it remained intact.


    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!


    "A hundred billion strikes!"


    The downgrader kept stepping up his attacks, but the enchanted barrier of the fairy palace continued to withstand it.


    After some time, the downgrader paused in silent thought. Something was amiss, and he had finally figured out what it was.

 Chapter 4306 The Attacking Method

    Zen raised his head to scan the downgrader from head to toe. His posture remained unchanged since he appeared, and there was no hint of fear or caution.


    It was as though he was a lifeless statue. There was no movement or momentum, which was peculiar for someone that had infinite energy.


    It was unnecessary for the downgrader to initiate the confrontation using his bare fists. Of course, doing that was just out of habit.


    "Mastema, can you stop?" Zen asked as he directly addressed the downgrader.


    This was the first time that someone had referred to the downgrader by his name.


    Buzz...


    Hearing Zen speak it so casually infuriated the downgrader. The six pairs of compound eyes lit up simultaneously and shot out a sharp crimson light. The light was restrained to a certain degree, and it was as thin as a thread. It extended towards the enchanted barrier of the fairy palace and caused faint water ripples upon contact with its surface.


    The downgrader had no intention to attack Zen with this move, but his reaction was forced out of him through anger.


    "Shut up! You''re just a lowly human being. What gives you the right to tell me what to do! Let Clarence come out. Let him talk to me!" the downgrader shouted, his tone reflecting unparalleled rage.


    The people in the fairy palace were all taken aback by the downgrader''s extreme reaction.


    Why was the downgrader so triggered by Zen calling him ''Mastema''?


    "Clarence has grown tired of everything. He has entrusted his entire strength to me," Zen said as he returned the downgrader''s stern look.


    "You can''t be serious. Why would Clarence give all his strength to a lowly human like you? This is outrageous!"


    Zen''s words seemed to have fueled the rage lingering within the downgrader that he was trying hard to suppress.


    Suddenly, a crack extended across his head, forming a large mouth intertwined with sharp teeth.


    He flapped the wings on his back to flaunt his dominance over Zen. The wings were abnormally huge with scales etched all over them. His appearance was nothing short of a demon who arrived straight from the depths of hell to unleash divine punishment upon them.


    Boom!


    In the blink of an eye, he advanced with untraceable speed and crashed into the enchanted barrier of the fairy palace.


    The enchanted barrier once hailed to be invincible was forcefully twisted out of shape by the downgrader. Although it didn''t shatter completely after the first blow, some parts of it took reasonable damage and were weakened.


    The downgrader didn''t top there, he continued to press on the enchanted barrier to test the limits of its resistance. He was only about a foot away from reaching Zen.


    "Why? Just why was all of the strength passed down to such a lowly creature who doesn''t deserve it?" the downgrader roared out of frustration at Zen. His voice was even more piercing than before.


    However, Zen''s demeanor remained steady and calm as he returned the downgrader''s gaze.


    He had seen faint hints of the Evil God''s special characteristics from the downgrader.


    The downgrader portrayed all elements of the Evil God''s personality; strong, cunning, neuro


    s of energy collided with each other and constantly bounced off each other until all of them gathered together to form an ingenious structure.


    "Annihilating!" A murderous look appeared in Zen''s eyes.


    Whoosh...


    The silver energy flow collected itself at one point before unleashing itself wholly at the downgrader.


    This killing move was something Zen extracted from one of Clarence''s memories. The technique did not have a unique name to itself. It only consisted of three steps; ''Mirror'', ''Uniting'', and ''Annihilating''. It was a carefully constructed attacking method that was created using three distinct Extreme Form energies.


    The turbulent energy flow flew across the air and pierced its way through the Burial Land from the center. In a short span of thirty seconds, the energy flow had traveled across the chaos and reached the edge.


    Boom...


    The energy flow contained an ominous aura and forcefully opened a big hole in the chaos leading to the Abstruse Energy World!


    At this time, the Evil God''s avatar was carrying the triangular rock to complete the enclosure. When his gaze fell on the stream of energy sweeping across the sky at an incredible speed, he couldn''t help but feel startled at the overwhelming sight. His eyes slowly widened in surprise as he felt a deep fear sprout from within his heart.


    "Where did that attack come from?"


    Before he could speak more to voice his growing concerns, he felt a wave coming from behind him. As he turned around to know the source, his eyes met those of the real Evil God.


    Wherever the avatar carried the triangular rock, the territory it covered was instantly marked as a part of the Source World. The real Evil God could then appear and disappear at will within the range.


    The real Evil God also sensed an astounding amount of energy flow surging from the boundaries of the Burial Land. He moved out to check it out for himself.


    When he witnessed the large hole in the chaos, his expression darkened as a shadow hovered over his eyes.


    The strength of this energy flow was far beyond the conjecture of the real Evil God.

 Chapter 4307 More Avatars

    The Evil God clearly knew the gap in strength between himself, Zen, and the downgrader.


    Even with the energy of the Source World, he could only hold on for a few rounds in the battle against the two.


    Right now, he could only sacrifice the materials from the Source World to sustain his energy. It had become a battle of limited resources against infinite energy. Sooner or later, the Evil God would exhaust everything that he had and would be overcome either by Zen or the downgrader.


    Fortunately for the Evil God, the intensity of the energy he could release in a round was by no means inferior to that of his two opponents. Now, his only problem was where to find more resources to cope with them.


    As he was trying to explore more sources of energy, he was also using the Field to expand the Source World indefinitely. If he made the entire chaos a part of the Source World, then everything in it would belong to him, and he would be able to use them however he wanted.


    However, when he saw the energy flow that suddenly erupted from the Burial Land, the Evil God was stunned.


    ''What the hell? Where does that terrifying amount of energy come from?''


    The energy flow occurred within the scope of the Source World, and the Evil God estimated it using his omniscient power.


    But unexpectedly, as he discerned the flowing energy, he felt like his chest was smashed by a heavy hammer.


    Then, he found out that to release this energy flow, about sixty thousand Source Worlds would have to be sacrificed.


    In other words, even if he decided to sacrifice the entire Source World, the power that he would acquire would almost be negligible against what his opponents possessed.


    His throat felt dry and a bitter taste rose from it. In an instant, his arrogance vanished, knowing how pitiful his current state was.


    "Shall we continue to enclose more lands?"


    one of the avatars cautiously asked as he noticed the bad mood of the Evil God.


    "Yes," the Evil God answered briefly, then quickly disappeared.


    Meanwhile, there was a huge square platform floating on the belt of the Source World. On it, tens of thousands of avatars of the Evil God were gathered.


    Light energy bands floated around the platform that formed huge fences, sealing the entire platform into what looked like a huge prison.


    With this, an avatar that wanted to escape from it would be instantly killed. Moreover, since the space was locked, they were unable to use the Grand Teleportation skill.


    At this moment, there was a fierce argument going on inside the prison.


    "Energy and materials are just two sides of the same coin. This is an


    lose their imagination and creativity. Those are what we need from them. It''ll be over if we lose that."


    Upon hearing this, both the Grandmaster of Heaven and Duran understood him.


    "Hey!"


    An avatar suddenly greeted the Evil God through the fence and gently pulled his hands together. At the same time, a pale red band of light slowly rotated around him. "I have found a new Field, and the creatures within it will fall into the chaos."


    The number of Fields that he was talking about was eighty-six.


    Indeed, the avatars were very efficient. They found several Fields in such a short time. After they figured out the rules, their speed became so much faster, and it could still improve.


    However, the Evil God still wasn''t satisfied.


    Then, he slowly ascended to the top of the prison, looked down at the avatars below, and said, "You''ve done a good job, but it still isn''t enough. We''re running out of time. I just saw a powerful energy flow from the Burial Land. We''re in a very tight spot."


    "How powerful is it?" one of the avatars asked.


    "It''s equivalent to the energy of the combined sixty thousand Source Worlds," the Evil God said straightforwardly.


    "What?!"


    An uproar suddenly rose from inside the prison.


    The jaws of the Grandmaster of Heaven and Duran dropped hard. They even asked each other if they heard the same thing.


    "In short, they have an infinite source of energy. We have no chance of winning if we just rely on the Fields. I need you to find out the energy source and the shortcut to control it. I need more intelligence and more avatars."


    After the Evil God finished addressing them, the belt of the Source World began to tremble. He was planning to sacrifice everything in order to get what he wanted.

 Chapter 4308 Brains

    From the continental plates, which were tens of millions of miles wide, to the fist-sized stones, they all turned into fine powder and floated upward into the sky.


    "What happened?"


    "What''s going on?"


    "Our bodies! They are collapsing!"


    Still, a large number of the creatures remained on the belt of the Source World.


    They all hoped to survive, but luck was not on their side this time.


    Each of them looked around in a panic as they saw inches of their bodies flaking off bit by bit, turning into dust and eventually, drifting into the air.


    A few wanted to escape while others wanted to resist, but their efforts proved to be useless at this point.


    The Evil God was always firm with any decision he had ever made.


    Before, he thought he stood a chance with the help of the Fields, but he soon realized that there was a gap too big to be filled. In this realization, he chose his last resort.


    Within an hour, all the things in the Source World, along with tens of thousands of creatures, were sacrificed. At the same time, the belt completely disappeared and left only the prison on the platform while the black ship floated not too far away.


    Shera, the former captain, and Edna stood on the deck as they witnessed the broken Source World disappear right before their eyes.


    "Thanks to the Evil God, my black ship will survive," the former captain said with a bitter smile.


    "This is crazy... I like it. Too crazy," Shera exclaimed giddily.


    Edna looked over at Shera, her expression as calm as ever. No matter what the Evil God did, she would wholeheartedly support him.


    "Grow!"


    the Evil God roared.


    Just then, the prison on the platform expanded rapidly and new avatars shot up one after the other.


    The number of appearing avatars exceeded one hundred thousand, then five hundred thousand, and eventually, there were one million of them packing densely the platform.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven looked at them and asked, "How many avatars can be made once all the materials in the Source World are consumed?"


    The Evil God looked down then proceeded to answer, "Around four million."


    Each avatar was far stronger than an ordinary warrior at the Eternal Realm, so the Source World was limited to produce only four million of them.


    "With so many avatars on our side, it''s a force that can be reckoned with," the Grandmaster of Heaven pointed out.


    The real Evil God sneered, "Four million ants are still no match for an elephant. They are not strong in battle, but I only need their intelligence."


    One of the avatars who stood behind the


    rt amount of time, Zen had already launched six sets of ''Mirror'', ''Uniting'' and ''Annihilating'' in a row, which created gaping holes within the Burial Land.


    But even though his attacks were powerful, it was still unable to kill the downgrader.


    Just then, the downgrader released a light that resembled a dazzling golden sun. The sun surrounded him and expanded along the edge of the Burial Land. At the same time, the Pear Hill, the divine land, and the Ruin Graveyard were swallowed up by the golden sun while tens of billions of Troubled Creatures were killed in the process.


    The entire Burial Land grew still and silent, all except for the fairy palace that Zen managed to protect.


    Once the light of the golden sun eventually dimmed down, the silhouette of the downgrader appeared from a distance. "In the past, when a world ended, Clarence and I had a fierce battle. That was definitely my favorite. This time, with you as my opponent, I have to say I am pretty damn bored."


    For him, Zen merely used tactics that attacked him instead of killing him. In the end, nothing Zen ever struck him with produced substantial damage to him.


    "Ten billion..."


    Zen stood up tall as he raised his hand into the air. Just then, ten billion silver rings of light scattered across the sky.


    It seemed that he was still using the set of ''Mirror'', ''Uniting'' and ''Annihilating''.


    Whoosh!


    The energy flow gathered and rushed straight at the downgrader.


    Usually, all the downgrader had to do was dodge. However, he''d planned to forcefully block the energy flow altogether.


    To his surprise, as he resisted the energy flow, Zen''s figure quietly disappeared. The next thing he knew, Zen stood right by the black light.

 Chapter 4309 The True Strength

    The downgrader made his debut from the black light.


    Of course, Zen knew that this black light was essential to the downgrader. His real body was most likely hidden within it.


    Previously, Zen had attempted to destroy the black light with the Destruction Extreme Form, but in the end, he only failed.


    Now that he realized his attacks couldn''t hurt the downgrader even the slightest bit, he once again fixed his attention on the black light.


    It was impossible to destroy the black light just by relying on the Destruction Extreme Form; however, Zen discovered a theurgy in Clarence''s memories.


    "Light Clearing Skill!"


    A circular ring of light floated towards the black light and enveloped it, now beginning to rotate.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    As the ring of light revolved, the black light also swayed non-stop.


    "Is it taking effect?"


    Zen observed as his eyelids twitched slightly.


    He had tried several other methods before, but none of them could affect the black light even a little. The black light seemed to be in another world.


    Now, the Light Clearing Skill could actually impact the black light, which brought Zen a glimmer of hope.


    "Contract!"


    Buzz! Buzz!


    The ring of light then contracted inward from its rotating motion.


    The moment the edge of the ring of light touched the black light, the black light shrunk slightly and surprisingly freed itself from the ring of light''s control.


    "The black light escaped?"


    Zen frowned and pointed at it with his finger. He deployed the Light Clearing Skill once more.


    One hundred rings.


    One thousand rings.


    Ten thousand rings.


    Over ten thousand rings of light continuously appeared, all rotating and contracting at the same time. The black light started to shake violently, but without any further effect from the rings.


    "You''re really stupid, aren''t you? Instead of putting up a fight, you actually want to destroy my Source Light." The downgrader suddenly appeared above Zen''s head. He had already dealt with the energy flow released by Zen.


    Zen raised his hands and stared at the downgrader without saying anything. He then drew his hands closer to the black light. Fingernail-sized crystals started to float out from his palms, gathering towards the black light.


    Da! Da! Da!


    With a faint shattering sound, the small crystals merged into the black light.


    One by one, the crystals emitted a small dull green light as they broke. Soon, the blac


    akened, he hadn''t erased the intelligence of the ancestry-level bloodline.


    "Rely on ourselves..."


    Zen narrowed his eyes slightly while gritting his teeth.


    "You''re right. Come on!"


    This time, the ancestry-level bloodline released vigorous life energy which was the bloodline power of the life quadrant.


    The bloodline powers of the fourth-grade world could not offer any substantial help to Zen, but they offered him great comfort that made him feel a little warm inside.


    At this moment, the voice of the downgrader suddenly echoed again.


    "I have given you so many chances, but you chose not to seize even one of them. Now let''s end this boring battle!"


    The downgrader then stretched out his long and slender arms.


    Several Extreme Form energies started to circulate on the surface of his body, which later intertwined and merged together¡ªthis formed fat leeches that slowly crawled all around his body.


    Swoosh!


    In a flash, the downgrader came flying straight to Zen.


    Zen instantly avoided him by using his omnipotent power to move to the corner of the Burial Land.


    However, the strange thing was that the downgrader also arrived at the spot at the same time. His slender arms had already grabbed Zen''s neck, and the leeches that originally lay on his body transferred quickly to Zen''s.


    Da! Da! Da!


    One end of the leeches drilled into Zen''s body, and the other remained stuck to the body of the downgrader, connecting the two to each other.


    "It''s such a waste to give you the ancestry-level bloodline, don''t you think? Why don''t you leave it to me instead?" the downgrader said with an evil smirk.

 Chapter 4310 Absorption

    Long ago, Mastema had tried to swallow Clarence.


    The attempt wasn''t just undertaken once. He tried to swallow Clarence in the eleventh, ninth, and eighth grade worlds but failed every single time.


    However, Clarence had just given his abilities to a human, which proved to be the greatest opportunity that had ever come for Mastema.


    He was not afraid of Clarence but being chased by him irritated him. Swallowing this troublesome guy''s abilities would solve everything once and for all.


    Before Zen could prepare for the next round of counterattack, he found his body pierced through by leeches.


    Plop! Plop! Plop!


    The leeches were literally sucking away the ancestry-level bloodline in his body.


    "Zen, leave him!"


    the ancestry-level bloodline told him.


    It had previously resisted splitting itself before it awakened so there was no way it was going to let the downgrader do the same thing.


    "Okay!"


    Zen replied, immediately moving away from where he once stood using his omnipotent power.


    This teleportation method had a very high priority in the primitive land. It was so fast that it did not even cause any space fluctuations.


    Swoosh!


    In just the blink of an eye, Zen found himself already on the other side of the Burial Land.


    "Move away..."


    Astonishment was evident on Zen''s face.


    He had just moved tens of millions of miles but the downgrader was able to keep up with him. No leech dislodged itself from his body while the downgrader remained at his heels, keeping a certain distance.


    "Well..."


    Zen gritted his teeth and once again used his omnipotent power but the results remained the same. Wherever he went, the downgrader followed.


    "Resistance is futile,"


    the downgrader told him with a maniacal laugh as the leeches continued to absorb Zen''s ancestry-level bloodline.


    No matter where Zen went, he immediately followed so much so that it almost seemed as if the two of them had become one. The Extreme Form energy exerted by his constant movements practically covered the entirety of the Burial Land.


    Buzz!


    Zen was not convinced and moved eight more times.


    The result was always the same and Zen soon realized that there was no way he was going to get rid of the downgrader.


    "I''ll cut you off!"


    Zen shouted i


    uickly threw everyone in deep despair.


    There was no way Zen would''ve allowed the downgrader to enter the fairy palace unless he was dead. Thus, there was only one reason why the downgrader was here.


    "Where is my father?"


    Geoffrey asked through gritted teeth.


    "He''s dead. Your father has been absorbed by me. He is now a part of my own body," the downgrader replied.


    "You... You''re lying!"


    Geoffrey screamed as he ran to the downgrader at breakneck speed and threw a punch to his face.


    The force from Geoffrey''s punch had the ability to reach tens of millions of miles. However, despite his strength, the downgrader remained unmoved and unbothered.


    But Geoffrey did not care.


    He was angry and he had to vent his anger so he continued to throw dozens of punches towards the intruder.


    Nobody dared stop him. Nobody, not even Rocher, Yan, the Snake Goddess, Fuxi, or Lorena, made a move.


    Their combined strength could not be compared to that of the downgrader. There was no need to fight a lost battle.


    In the middle of the fight, the downgrader finally made his move and caught Geoffrey''s fist. With a slight twitch of his wrist, he was able to sever the young man''s arm from his body. "I felt nothing. Your punches couldn''t even tickle me. You''re poorly weak."


    As he ridiculed Geoffrey, fist-sized marks of the darkest black began to appear over the surface of the downgrader''s body.


    These ink marks expanded and created cracks upon the downgrader''s skin, signaling his body''s collapse!

 Chapter 4311 Infinite Seals

    "Wait... What?"


    The downgrader''s six pairs of eyes flashed sharply, as though something sparked inside them.


    A strange feeling that could only be likened to confusion consumed him.


    Geoffrey covered his broken arm with his other hand, and he too felt strange.


    Although he had unleashed one hundred percent of his strength in each punch, he never expected he''d be able to defeat the downgrader.


    He had been under the impression that even if he did go all out, he wouldn''t be able to break down even the most basic defenses of the downgrader, let alone beat him like this!


    "You, you...! What have you done?"


    the downgrader growled and took one staggering step towards Geoffrey. The surface of his body was riddled with black ink marks as more and more cracks appeared. Gradually, his skin began to flake off his body.


    "I didn''t do anything," Geoffrey said confusedly, taking a cautious step back. "I just punched you."


    Yan, Mike, Rocher and the others, who had been watching from behind Geoffrey, were all rendered speechless.


    The Snake Goddess eyed the downgrader warily. Raising her thin eyebrows gently, she suddenly had some sort of a premonition. Whipping her head around, as expected, she saw a faint figure quietly materializing. It was none other than Zen.


    The downgrader also sensed Zen. Now, he didn''t feel that overwhelmed, but he still felt the need to ask, "How did you do it?"


    "It seems you don''t know everything about the Extreme Form energies. You don''t even know the power of crystal solution." A faint smile crept on Zen''s face. "Since I couldn''t defeat you, I had to turn myself into a poisonous pill for you to swallow."


    Then, it dawned on the downgrader. "The power of the crystal solution?" he echoed softly, as though in a daze. "I see..."


    It was a kind of poisonous energy formed by combining several Extreme Form energies. While it was lethal as a weapon, it was difficult to use.


    The downgrader had wanted to devour the ancestry-level bloodline, which gave Zen a chance to deliver the fatal blow.


    "Hahaha..."


    The downgrader chuckled helplessly as his body disintegrated little by little. Fragments were falling from his body in bite-sized chunks, yet he still continued to laugh like a madman. "Killing me has earned you great honor. But is it enough to defeat me?"


    With the help of the Source Light, the downgrader would be able to revive infinitely. It didn''t matter if he was killed.


    "I wou


    -five kinds of "Weight" energy and twenty-two kinds of "Coupling" energy, which were the energy forms in the high-grade worlds were all understood by him.


    The higher the level of the energy, the more difficult it would become for the Evil God to control it.


    While he could use the "Field" energy, this method consumed a lot of energy.


    However, the consumption of the "Weight" energy was even more astronomical. The Evil God was curious and tried to summon it, but when half of the energy was condensed, his remaining energy had been consumed by a tenth.


    He still needed to maintain the operation of two billion brains. How could he be willing to waste all his energy on this? These two billion brains were like two billion cultivators at the Holy Soul Realm, which consumed a considerable amount of energy.


    If he couldn''t find the source of infinite energy before their current supply of energy was exhausted, the Evil God would lose without a fight.


    As for the Coupling energy, although he had found the way, he didn''t have the courage to try it. This was something that even he couldn''t touch.


    The speed at which the energy was restored was very fast, basically up to the expectations of the Evil God. After all, by now he had already mastered the rules of restoring.


    However, he was still pessimistic about the matter.


    He could hear nothing stirring within the Burial Land.


    Because they were in different primitive lands, he was unable to find out the situation in the Burial Land through his omniscient power. However, this was definitely not a good omen. Once the winner was decided, he would be the next goal.

 Chapter 4312 The Source Of Energy

    A sense of urgency arose in the Evil God.


    He realized it was necessary to urge the two billion brains.


    Swoosh!


    The Evil God instantly projected his will into the brains.


    "You should realize the meaning of your existence, and that is to find out the best way to obtain infinite energy. Once you obtain it, you will all have freedom and everything your hearts desire!"


    Hearing this, these brains began chattering with their spiritual senses.


    "Of course!"


    "We are about to achieve an unprecedented feat!"


    "I want a world of my own!"


    Two billion brains responded, one after another.


    Once he obtained absolute infinite energy, the Evil God would be able to create countless worlds to accommodate them all.


    The Evil God had always pursued freedom. These brains had the same goals as him, but since they existed in the form of brains, they could only help him achieve his ultimate goal.


    "But I''m afraid the victory has already been decided in the Burial Land, and we have almost run out of time. No matter which side wins, we would lose the chance to resist," the Evil God said with a serious honesty. "So, please hurry up with your efforts!"


    "The higher the level of energy, the less kinds there are, and the faster it will be!"


    "We will try our best!"


    "You will win the unprecedented glory for us all!"


    Two billion brains responded in unison. Although the Evil God was omnipotent, he couldn''t hear every brain''s response, but he could choose to listen to the most popular ones.


    The energy of the ninth-grade world was known as Cube, and there were only sixteen kinds.


    Just as the brains had said, they became more and more skilled at restoring energy, and once the kinds of energy decreased, their speed of restoration became faster and faster.


    Basically, every five minutes, one more kind of "Cube" energy formed. After one and a half hours, the sixteen kinds of energy of the ninth-grade world had been restored.


    Then they proceeded to restore the energy of the tenth-grade world, which was known as Phase. Its number was reduced by a half to eight.


    Very soon, these eight kinds of energy were also restored.


    The energy of the eleventh-grade world was known


    while the invisible energy in the void accounts for the remaining eighty percent. More importantly, even when the energy in the void is consumed, it still returns to the void. In this sense, it is absolutely infinite!"


    It was like drawing water from a lake for a bath. After the bath, the water was poured back into the lake. In this way, the water would neither decrease nor increase, and it could be used repeatedly.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven gasped for breath. The words of the Evil God seemed so unbelievable, but now it made perfect sense. He continued to ask, "If what you say is true, how can we prove it?"


    "Prove it?"


    The corners of the Evil God''s mouth curved upwards, and he gently raised his hand towards the sky.


    A light blue colored ribbon unrolled, and this was the Field of Static Electricity.


    Following that, a dark red colored ribbon flowed out, representing the Life Field.


    Then more fields in black, white, yellow, green, and other colors unfolded like the lines of a rainbow.


    The energy consumption of these Fields was astonishing. Previously, it had been too difficult for the Evil God to activate the Restriction Field, but now, he could easily display all eighty-six different Fields, one by one.


    "From the moment this world was created, the energy in the void remained unknown to us. We simply couldn''t comprehend its existence, let alone use such energy," the Evil God proudly stated. "But now, I have discovered the truth."

 Chapter 4313 A Larger Primitive Land

    According to the judgment of the Evil God, he originally wanted to restore the energy up to the one in the thirteenth-grade world, and then find the answer.


    However, when the energy of the twelfth-grade world was already restored, he suddenly learned something.


    As for the two kinds of "Coke" energy in the twelfth-grade world, it turned out that one was to create and the other was to destruct. They had no special features but they were said to be interlinked with each other. They were just the positive and negative sides of energy.


    After the energy of the thirteenth-grade world was restored, the situation became simpler and clearer.


    Surprisingly, there was no energy in the thirteenth-grade world.


    The only secret that it contained was how to control everything.


    When the Evil God finally got this authority, he could now discover the infinite energy that was hidden in the void.


    "It''s so beautiful¡­"


    Shera was deeply mesmerized as she stared at the colorful bands of light that floated in the sky.


    When the Evil God saw her fascination, he gently stretched out his finger. Then, a small dark-red band of light appeared on Shera''s index finger, looking like an exquisite ring.


    "This is¡­"


    Shera was surprised as she looked at the band of light on her finger.


    "The energy of the Source World is sealed within it. You can use it anytime you want," the Evil God said with a faint smile. "However, I doubt that you will have the chance to use it."


    Indeed, the Source World was vast, and it contained a lot of energy. However, the Evil God needed to face Zen and the downgrader. In a battle involving them, even the energy of the entire Source World was far from enough.


    Despite that, Shera''s eyes still gleamed in excitement.


    It was such a romantic gesture for her that the Evil God turned the Source World into a ring.


    "If the ''Field'' energy is in the shape of a light band, then what is the form of the ''Weight'' energy?" the Grandmaster of Heaven asked out of curiosity.


    He was a man with a strong desire for knowledge, and thus he would take any opportunity to broaden the horizon of his wisdom.


    "Weight¡­


    It''s a kind of energy that is in the form of acute triangles.


    That''s it!"


    Then, all of a sudden, irregular triangular energy blocks appeared in the sky.


    "Hmm, Coupling is a kind of lumpy energy.


    This kind of energy won''t be seen from the outside. But since it appeared, it has already been integrated, and thus it''s uncontrollable. I don''t know how people fight in the eighth-grade world."


    Upon saying this, the Evil God released


    golden sun rose from his body, devouring all the surrounding materials, and burning a huge hole into the Burial Land.


    Then, the downgrader flew along the edge. As the golden sun continued to devour the ground, a huge gap soon appeared on the surface of the Burial Land.


    As Zen saw this, he immediately rushed over and tried to stop the downgrader.


    However, the downgrader''s body movements were so fast. His body flickered here and there, and the next moment, he was already at the other end of the Burial Land, continuing to devour the land with violent flames.


    If one stood far from the Burial Land, it would seem like a ferocious bug had infested and devoured the Burial Land and left it with several huge holes.


    As the countless holes accumulated to a certain extent, the Burial Land finally collapsed with a loud bang.


    Zen wasn''t able to do anything to stop its destruction. In the end, he could just helplessly watch it being razed to the ground.


    However, just as the Burial Land collapsed, a subtle sensation suddenly arose within Zen''s soul. He felt as if he had merged into a larger primitive land.


    ''Wait. Outside the Burial Land should only be the chaos.


    How could there be a primitive land?''


    Zen was utterly confused as he didn''t understand what had just happened.


    "What''s that look on your face? Are you surprised?"


    Suddenly, the voice of the Evil God resounded in his ears.


    As Zen turned around, he saw that the figure of the Evil God was slowly condensing at a distance. His eyes were filled with a familiar mockery as he said, "You were not able to defeat the downgrader after all the time you wasted? What a good-for-nothing. Should you step aside and let me do it for you instead?"

 Chapter 4314 The One Who Broke The Rules

    Zen stared at the Evil God''s face as if he had met him for the first time. After a few seconds, he asked him, "What place is this?"


    Before, Zen wondered if he had fallen into the downgrader''s illusion.


    "This? This is the Source World," the Evil God said, spreading out his arms.


    Zen looked around, but he found nothing but fragments of the Burial Land. Everything else was the pitch-black void.


    "This is the chaos." Zen frowned.


    "Your primitive land has been integrated into the Source World. You and I have the same authority. Why don''t you sense the scope of the Source World?" the Evil God suggested in a taunting manner.


    Although Zen could not believe what the Evil God was telling him, he closed his eyes. As he focused on his senses, he began to feel the huge primitive land.


    His body flashed slightly and he reached the edge of the primitive land. On a triangular rock, he saw one of the Evil God''s avatars sitting there as if he owned the world.


    When the Evil God''s avatar saw Zen, he was neither taken aback nor threatened. He continued to rest on the triangular rock and played with a rock snake, which he had brought up from under the rock.


    This avatar was undoubtedly lucky, especially compared to the Evil God''s two million brains.


    "Oh, look what we have here. It''s a special guest," the Evil God''s avatar said sarcastically.


    Zen, however, was too busy to reply. He looked past the avatar and into the world behind him. It was the inner wall of the chaos.


    "Is this the edge of the chaos?" Zen asked.


    The Evil God''s avatar reached out and slapped the inner wall of the chaos. "What do you think? Can''t you figure that out for yourself?" he replied with a smirk.


    "But how did you make it?" Zen curiously asked.


    The Evil God''s avatar shrugged. "I don''t know. Go ask the real Evil God," he replied plainly. "Do you want to sit down? Have a cup of tea?" the avatar added, trying to divert the subject.


    Once again, Zen ignored him and returned to where the real Evil God was. Zen''s expression drastically changed. He already knew the general situation using his omniscient ability, but he was still a bit confused as to how it happened. The Source World was gone, which left behind the black ship, the two billion brains on the square platform, and the six stones scattered at the edge of the chaos.


    "You relied on the six stones to turn the chaos into the primitive land, didn''t you?" He tried to confirm with the Evil God.


    "You can say that," the Evil God answered indifferently.


    "But how is that even possible?"


    Of course Zen knew it was possible. He had personally seen it, but he still couldn


    lent State Field, which was supposedly the most powerful one.


    However, the sixth-grade world had already been completely downgraded and no longer existed!


    The Field energies could no longer be used. Not even the downgrader or Clarence could violate this rule.


    The only reason why the downgrader could still use the bloodline powers and the Extreme Form energies was that the Deep Space and the main world still existed.


    But how could this mere human being use the Field energy?


    How could he have broken the rules?


    "I''ve had enough!"


    the downgrader roared.


    Surging energies gushed out of his body, but they all rushed inside the black light band. This frustrated the downgrader, but he knew what to do.


    After all, he was born in the thirteenth-grade world. He was very familiar with each level of energy.


    The Silent State Field was powerful, but the downgrader forcefully broke through it using several Extreme Form energies.


    Swish! Swish...


    As his body emitted the Extreme Form energies, the black light band, which was first absorbing the energy, began to dissolve little by little.


    As the downgrader, who had just regained his freedom, was about to launch a counterattack, the Evil God told him, "You could use the Extreme Form energies to break free from the Silent State Field because of the infinite energy only. What about this? Let''s see if you can break through this one!"


    Buzz, buzz...


    With two sharp chirps, two asymmetric triangles locked the downgrader.


    "The Weight energy!"


    the downgrader cried out loud. He began to scream so loudly that Zen and the Evil God thought it would cause the world to shake, but they let him do it. Anyway, it was the only thing the suppressed downgrader could do in this situation.

 Chapter 4315 Downgrading

    Zen was absolutely dumbfounded.


    Although he didn''t know what the "Weight" energy was, the energy level of these two triangles was obviously astronomical.


    On the other hand, the downgrader was hysterical. The "Weight" energy should''ve been one level higher than the "Field" energy.


    "How far has the Evil God gone in comprehending the energy?" Zen asked, in a daze.


    "This is the energy of the Boundless Divine World, known as Weight," Clarence suddenly spoke up.


    Ever since he gave the absolute infinite energy to Zen, he had been determined to be nothing but an onlooker. There was nothing in the third-grade world that could arouse his interest. He had even predicted how it would develop in the future.


    However, the method that the Evil God just used instantly piqued his interest, causing him to speak again.


    "The energy of the seventh-grade world..." Zen clicked his tongue. "He was able to comprehend it on his own!"


    "This is not a problem of comprehension," Clarence said slowly. "The seventh-grade world has already been downgraded by Mastema, and so, the ''Weight'' energy can''t be used. Therefore, both you and Mastema can only use the Extreme Form energies at most."


    "But he..." Zen, at a loss for words, just pointed at the Evil God.


    "I don''t know why or how either." Clarence was also very confused. "It''s really strange that he was able to violate the most basic rules."


    Clarence had seen many geniuses in his time.


    From the twelfth to the fifth-grade worlds, there were all sorts of strange creatures. They had various dreams, goals, great desires and wishes, and were capable of many unimaginable things.


    At the beginning, Clarence felt it was novel to him, but after a while, he lost interest. Every world had an unbreakable limit, and no matter how powerful a creature was, there was nothing they could do to break it.


    In a sense, Zen had reached past the limit. He not only obtained the bloodline powers, but also the Extreme Form energies, and even the absolute infinite energy of Clarence. However, this had been based on the premise that the Deep Space was not completely downgraded.


    And yet, now, the Evil God suddenly appeared out of nowhere and began to use the "Field" and "Weight" energies. This was just so outrageous that even Clarence couldn''t remain silent.


    The Evil God, on the other hand, didn''t feel as though he had done anything spectacular. He was too immersed in the joy that came from teasing the downgrader.


    "W


    m this question, and then begin to downgrade the worlds. This was almost always the case.


    But this time, he was asking the Evil God the very same question.


    The Evil God smiled nonchalantly. "You can use whatever means you have. I''ll give you a chance."


    "Wait and see!"


    Once the downgrader finished speaking, his six pairs of compound eyes began to dim, one after another.


    His body bound by the energy vine began to shrivel, until it disappeared.


    "You''re already dead meat, yet you still try to threaten me," the Evil God sneered.


    Zen, however, knew better. With a grim expression, he said in a low voice, "This is not a threat."


    The Evil God glanced at Zen curiously. "Then what is it?"


    "He is going to downgrade the world," Zen replied bluntly. "The world will be downgraded into the Wall World."


    The Evil God frowned slightly. Only then did it dawn on him that something was wrong.


    Just then, the black light floating in the void suddenly began to violently tremble.


    Boom!


    The vibrations made a big sound, buzzing in everyone''s ears. Even the people in the fairy palace and the black ship could hear it clearly.


    The Evil God''s figure flashed as he teleported towards the black light, quickly followed by Zen.


    The two of them eyed the black light warily and saw that the space around it was beginning to shatter. The crushed space, like a thin layer of ice, slowly expanded around the black light.


    "The space around the black light has been downgraded to the Wall World," Zen said gloomily.


    "At this rate, I''m afraid it will take a long time before the chaos is downgraded," the Evil God said with disdain.

 Chapter 4316 No Solution

    Curled up in the black light was the downgrader, elated to see the third-grade world slowly downgrade into the Wall World.


    It had been too depressing having lost to a human from the third-grade world.


    Now, he was hell-bent on revenge.


    "Ha-ha!


    The downgrading will only get faster and faster!


    I''ve already mastered all the Extreme Form energies. Not only will this third-grade world be disintegrated soon, so will the other third-grade worlds, the four-grade world and the fifth-grade world! They will all disintegrate into the Wall World!


    You losers will all die! You tiny ants¡­ insects¡­ derivatives¡­"


    As the downgrader muttered foul words, the Evil God stretched out his hand, shooting out a purple vine.


    Whoosh!


    The purple vine pierced right through the black light, killing the downgrader.


    "Go ahead and curse¡ªthat''s all you can do. You have no power to fight back. You''re the real loser," retorted the Evil God.


    "Whoosh!"


    As the black light slightly trembled, the downgrader was reborn along with it.


    He knew he was no match for the Evil God on his own, but with the black light infinitely reviving him, he still stood a chance.


    "After the downgrade, you will turn into nothingness! All of you will rot in history. Only I can live forever!


    Insignificant humans..."


    "¡­¡­"


    The Evil God almost couldn''t bear his annoyance.


    "You''re too noisy for a downgrader! It''s shameful! Shut the hell up!"


    Phew!


    Thin threads of ice appeared from the Evil God''s hands, shooting into the black light.


    Once they entered, they curled up bit by bit, merging with the black light until they froze.


    Frozen along with them was the downgrader.


    The ice threads came from the "Phase" energy of the tenth-grade world.


    Indeed, the downgrader could rely on his infinite energy to destroy the Phase energy, but it would undoubtedly take a very long time. For the time being, he couldn''t curse.


    Once the Evil God sealed him off, his gaze fixated on the transparent thin sheet. Turning to Zen, he asked, "Is it true that the downgrade can''t be reversed?"


    "As far as I know, there is no solution." Zen shook his head.


    Believing Zen''s words, the Evil God merely nodded. They had both fallen into the critical situation¡ªZen had nothing to gain by lying.


    "What if I inject energy into the sheet?" the Evil God as


    g in the void, Zen eventually used Grand Teleportation as well to return to the fairy palace.


    Neither the Snake Goddess nor the others in the fairy palace knew exactly how the battle was going. When Geoffrey saw his father, he went ahead and asked. "Father, what''s happening now?"


    "The downgrader has already been sealed," Zen replied. Everyone''s faces lit up with joy upon hearing the answer, but Zen''s next words made their expressions freeze. "It''s not me who sealed the downgrader. It was the Evil God."


    "The Evil God!"


    "But why?"


    "The entire Source World was smashed to bits! How in the world does the Evil God still have the ability to do that?"


    The news left everyone confused.


    "His strength far surpasses mine¡­ it even surpasses the strength of the downgrader," Zen said with a bitter smile.


    "What?"


    Everyone''s jaws went slack with shock.


    Both Zen''s and the downgrader''s powers were already something beyond their comprehension. To think that the Evil God could still far surpass them¡­just how powerful was he?


    And the Evil God had always been at odds with Zen¡ªif he was so powerful, then how could he have just let go of Zen?


    "Didn''t the Evil God attack you?" the Snake Goddess asked, finding it particularly odd.


    "No." Zen shook his head.


    "Why not?" she asked in return.


    Given the nature of the Evil God, it was simply unimaginable that he didn''t attack Zen at any opportune moment.


    "Because it would be meaningless. The world has already begun to downgrade. We''re all going to die," Zen replied, calm as ever.

 Chapter 4317 Born By Accident

    Although everyone thought they had been mentally prepared for the coming of the downgrade, when they heard the words coming from Zen himself, their faces darkened.


    "Will we live? And for how long?" Hilario asked as he trembled.


    Zen turned around and pointed at the distance. "The downgrade starts from that direction and will rapidly spread out in all directions. I might have to take you far away from here as possible."


    Whether they could live or not and how long they could live was not even answerable by Zen, yet everyone perfectly understood what he meant.


    After having experienced countless disasters, these people in the fairy palace managed to stay calm.


    As Lorena leaned on Mike''s shoulder, her eyes swept over Zen, Geoffrey, and Yan and her lips curled into a faint smile.


    Now that all her enemies had died, she had no regrets in life. She saw herself already very lucky to be able to spend her remaining time with her family.


    Rocher, Bromley, and the others also displayed a seemingly odd composure.


    "Alas, it''s a pity that my long-cherished wish hasn''t been fulfilled yet," Fuxi blurted out downheartedly.


    "What long-cherished wish?" Zen asked, looking at him in curiosity.


    "To break the needle!" revealed Fuxi.


    A long time ago, Fuxi had made up his mind to prevent the end of the chaos and become the Finale Hero. However, things had drastically changed, and the needle that had appeared at the end of this round of chaos was so powerful to the extent that the Eternal Realm warriors could not resist it.


    He knew that it was meaningless to break the needle now, but he still had this flaming desire deep in his heart.


    "I''ll help you fulfill your dream," said Zen.


    Fuxi waved his hand and said, "Forget it. If I can''t do it myself, it would only be pointless..."


    "No. You will do it yourself."


    After saying that, Zen gently pointed his finger at Fuxi and massive energy started to pour into his body that made him tremble slightly.


    As an Eternal Realm warrior, Fuxi couldn''t bear too much energy. However, when Zen infused energy into Fuxi''s body, he had also strengthened Fuxi''s body in order to help him carry the weight of this energy.


    When Zen had injected enough energy, a thought came to his mind which suddenly moved the entire fairy palace a long distance to the front of the needle.


    "Go ahead. You can do it," said Zen in a motivating tone as he nodded to Fuxi.


    Fuxi had never grasped such terrifying energy before, and the fee


    er saying that, Clarence injected a massive amount of memory into Zen''s mind.


    It was the information about how the energies of the sixth-grade world, seventh-grade world, eighth-grade world till the twelfth-grade world, Field, Weight, Coupling, Cube...


    had all been created.


    The downgrader and Clarence both controlled the energies of the high-grade worlds, but after the high-grade worlds were downgraded, they could no longer do so as the basic rules restricted them.


    With his eyes closed, Zen digested all the memories in his mind.


    After a short while, Zen slowly opened his eyes.


    A trace of excitement then reflected in his darkened expression.


    He still didn''t know if he could find a way to stop the downgrade. If he really stopped it from happening, a battle would definitely emerge between him and the Evil God.


    Relying on the Extreme Form energies alone, he would surely lose. He indeed needed to grasp the power at a higher level.


    "Energy... Field."


    Zen stretched out his hands and gently rubbed his two fingers as the energy started to flow slowly.


    "Buzz..."


    Streams of light blue energy then began to rotate, forming a perfect ring that floated in front of Zen.


    It was a brand-new energy¡ªField.


    "I... did this?" Zen stared at the ring in disbelief.


    "Go on," Clarence urged.


    Zen then unleashed the Weight, Coupling, Cube, and other energies one after another with an unbelievably smooth process.


    "My judgment is right," said Clarence. "Both you and the Evil God were born by accident in this world, so you can go on and ignore the basic rules."


    "By accident? What do you mean?" Zen asked, looking puzzled.

 Chapter 4318 Plan

    "Maybe you don''t belong here," said Clarence.


    "I don''t belong here? I was indeed born in this world, and so was the Evil God," Zen said in confusion. He did not understand why Clarence said such a thing.


    Zen was a human being who was born in the third-grade world, the chaos, and the Evil God was a human being born in Zen''s inner world. Both of them did not come from distinct backgrounds, and what they experienced was a coincidence at most. Elder Xue, who had gone to the Deep Space, had created this coincidence.


    However, Clarence suddenly said those words, which surprised Zen. He had no idea how Clarence came to such a conclusion.


    "I can''t explain," Clarence said with a shake of his head.


    All the way from the thirteenth-grade world to the third-grade one, Clarence had seen all sorts of strange civilizations.


    There was a civilization of pure energy bodies, creatures of pure consciousness, and races in the shape of stone tablets like the Sacred Spirit race.


    Yet, no matter how they changed, those creatures, races, and civilizations followed the most basic rules.


    There were no exceptions!


    That was also why Clarence did not want to help Zen. He believed that the latter''s struggle was meaningless.


    But the method that the Evil God had used violated all those basic rules, which gave Clarence a new perspective.


    Indeed, the Evil God broke the rules!


    Clarence had thought about this issue, which was why he had asked Zen to give it a try. The result was what Clarence had expected, and that was Zen had the same ability as the Evil God.


    "From the high-grade worlds to the low-grade worlds, they are all under your control. Why is there anything that you can''t explain?" Zen asked.


    In general, he could only be omniscient in his primitive land, unlike Clarence, who owned the perfect land. Clarence controlled all the materials and energy, but now he had encountered something that he could not explain.


    Clarence burst into laughter at Zen''s question and said, "The truth is that there are many questions that I cannot answer. I don''t know where I came from. I don''t know who created the perfect land, nor do I know what exists outside the perfect land..."


    All the creatures of every world considered Clarence as the supreme creator, who had all kinds of abilities and was the core of all the rules.


    In turn, all the creatures he trus


    ll World with materials was not an effective method.


    One method...


    Two methods...


    Three methods...


    Some time had passed, and the Evil God had tried more than twenty methods in a row.


    The downgrading continued, while the Wall World''s speed of expansion further increased. It was not long before it had grown to the size of a province in the Source World.


    Just as the Evil God looked at the rapidly expanding Wall World, he suddenly heard a mocking laugh from the black light in the center of the Wall World. Then the black light said, "You can break some rules, but you can''t stop the downgrading. Even Clarence can''t stop it, not to mention a nobody like you."


    "Clarence? Who is he?" the Evil God asked.


    "He is my creator, but he is also against me. He is omniscient, but he still can''t do anything about the downgrading," the downgrader answered.


    The Evil God''s eyes lit up. "Where is he?" he asked eagerly.


    "He is hiding within Zen''s body, of course. Ha-ha..." the downgrader sneered, in a deliberate attempt to provoke the Evil God.


    After a few moments of silence, the Evil God suddenly stretched out his hand, and a ring of energy appeared in his palm.


    He then grasped the ring of energy, and his body quickly disappeared.


    In the next second, he appeared in the fairy palace. The energy ring in his hand immediately flew towards Zen and was about to wrap around his head.


    Even though the Evil God''s attack was quite abrupt, Zen was not slow to react. He swiftly reached out and gently pinched the edge of the energy ring, which caused it to break.

 Chapter 4319 The Final Battle

    Zen had always been observing the Evil God with the omniscient power.


    He could hear the conversation between the Evil God and the downgrader as clear as day.


    He tensed up and was on guard when he heard the downgrader mention Clarence. He knew very well the sort of temperament the Evil God had and how he could explode in a rage at any moment.


    Now that the Evil God knew Clarence was in Zen''s body, he would no doubt make a move. But Zen was ready for it, ready to react.


    Crack! Crack! Crack!


    The Evil God''s eyes flashed in surprise at the sight of the broken energy ring.


    It was not only Zen''s quick reaction that had shocked him, but also the fact that the energy ring was the Controlling Field, and Zen should not have been able to combat the energy of the sixth-grade world.


    That Zen could crush the Controlling Field with a mere gentle pinch was inconceivable.


    The Evil God soon calmed himself; he also possessed the omniscient power. With a quick search through his mind, the image of Zen trying the energies of the higher-grade worlds came to him.


    "How about we take this elsewhere?" Zen suggested.


    "No need!" the Evil God replied.


    Lightning flashed from one of his hands. Two triangular plates flashed with lightning.


    "Lightning Weight!"


    Boom!


    The lightning that struck out from the strike of his palm was a million times brighter than the sun, and contained enough energy to destroy the Source World three hundred thousand times, let alone this courtyard in the fairy palace. It would have turned an Eternal Realm warrior such as Fuxi to powder by its immense power.


    As the triangular plates made contact with Zen''s body, a small Space Weight appeared in each of the four corners of the small courtyard. All the energy that had erupted from the Lightning Weight was sealed within the courtyard.


    The fairy palace shook only slightly, and the Snake Goddess, Fuxi and the others didn''t even feel it at all.


    Zen noticed that the Evil God was about to make another move and stretched a hand towards the sky.


    Splash!


    The black ship crashed into the side of the fairy palace.


    The Grandmaster of Heaven, Shera and Edna all looked on at the Snake Goddess and her companions in the fairy palace in a daze.


    the Evil God''s brow to furrow.


    Zen had been defending passively.


    But no matter what sort of energy he threw at him, Zen was able to effortlessly and rapidly deflate it. He suddenly felt as if all was not right and that he might be in danger, as if he had been seen through.


    "Go on," Zen said calmly.


    The Evil God made up his mind and released even more terrifying energy.


    Thick scales surfaced from his body and wrapped him tightly.


    The scales, created by the Ghost Hand race with the Frequency energy, were harder than any other. With his new armor on, the Evil God pounced once again.


    "Shatter!"


    Zen clasped his hands together and a small square appeared between them.


    Bang!


    The small square exploded along with the Evil God''s armor.


    The Evil God then burst into laughter. He had darted above Zen''s head and already had a long spear pressed against his forehead.


    The spear was made of the Annihilation Coke. As the strongest destructive force in the twelfth-grade world, nothing could block it.


    "Go to hell!"


    He thrust the spear down and the Restriction Field at the edge of the chaos disappeared.


    As long as the Restriction Field was still there, this area was a part of the Source World, and the Evil God and Zen would be omniscient and revived infinitely.


    To Kill Zen, the Evil God would have to remove the Restriction Field and destroy the primitive land.


    His long spear pierced through Zen''s forehead, just as the Restriction Field was withdrawn.

 Chapter 4320 Smooth

    The Evil God''s eyes lit up with excitement as the spear struck Zen.


    Without any resistance, the spear formed from the Annihilation Coke pierced through Zen''s head and slid cleanly into his body.


    Even as he killed Zen, the Evil God released the Creation Coke. It formed a star-shaped cage around Zen''s corpse.


    Of course, he had no interest in Zen''s corpse. He wanted to trap Clarence inside it.


    A spot on Zen''s body began to glow from within.


    There was a slight crackling sound as a bright sphere emerged from Zen''s corpse.


    The glowing sphere flew up, colliding with the star-shaped cage. The sphere bounced back. It bumped into the cage again, as though trying to escape, but the cage created by the Creation Coke was virtually indestructible. No matter how hard he tried, Clarence couldn''t break free.


    The Evil God slowly descended to the side of the cage. There was a look of great satisfaction on his face as he gazed at the mysterious sphere.


    "Although the energy of the twelfth-grade world consists only of the Creation Coke and the Annihilation Coke, they can change constantly. This cage is the result of a theurgy designed by my two billion brothers, and it''s more than strong enough to trap you," said the Evil God.


    The sound of Clarence''s voice came from the glowing sphere. "You have just mastered the energy of the Creation Coke, but you have already comprehended it and invented ways to maximize and improve it. This star-shaped cage fully displays the advantages of the Creation Coke. It''s incredible!"


    The Evil God smiled. With evident pride, he said, "My talent is beyond your imagination. You won''t regret being devoured by me. Contribute everything you have!"


    The tone of amazement vanished from Clarence''s voice, replaced by indignation. "Never!"


    Once more, the sphere began to try to escape, colliding over and over again with the star-shaped cage.


    But Clarence''s efforts were useless. The star-shaped cage did not budge even an inch.


    "It''s useless," said the Evil God calmly.


    He lifted his hand, and the star-shaped cage began to shrink. The space left for Clarence became smaller and smaller. Finally, he was tightly enclosed by the cage, with no room to move.


    "I heard that you are the one who created the downgrader, and also the ruler of the highest level. It''s too stupid for you to go into such a situation with such a strong power. It''s a waste for you to keep such power,"


    the Evil God said, stretching out his hand.


    His fingers elongated until they resembled slender threads. Although his fingers were no thicker than noodles, they were powerful. They slid into the cage and began drilling into the sphere.


    "You will regret this!


    No one can devour me!


    You are digging your own grave!"


    Clarence roared,


    h he was drawing something.


    The sky above them lightened to a soothing azure.


    The earth extended around them. Mountains, rivers, canyons and basins appeared one after another.


    Tall walls, pavilions, and streets were created instantly, sprinkled across the landscape.


    "Now, people!" declared the Evil God.


    He waved his hands in the air again.


    Instantly, the empty world changed. It was now entirely populated, filled with people who moved and looked around them with wide eyes.


    "Come with me!"


    said the Evil God, taking Edna by the hand. He pulled her into his embrace, and together, the two of them soared into the air above the city.


    When the people below saw the two beings floating above them, they all dropped to the ground, prostrating themselves before these seeming gods.


    The Evil God had seen this scene before, when he was very young. The people had worshipped Zen as their creator.


    He felt a surge of pleasure as he realized that with Zen dead, he now held that position.


    "Where is our home?" Edna asked, safely enclosed in the arms of the Evil God.


    "There,"


    the Evil God replied, looking ahead.


    A broad, elegant courtyard was sprawled on top of a majestic snowy mountain.


    The Evil God led Edna into the courtyard, and they landed gently on the ground. A peaceful mood had come over the Evil God now that his victory was complete. He felt utterly relaxed, content to stay here without moving.


    "You deserve some rest. Go to sleep," said Edna gently, touching his face.


    Her soft voice was hypnotic, and soon, the Evil God found himself lying on a bed. He settled down and let his eyes close.


    However, almost as soon as he closed his eyes, they snapped back open. His face was full of anger. A sudden chill ran down his head to the base of his back, leaving a trail of iciness all along his spine.

 Chapter 4321 Fight Hand To Hand

    "Edna," the Evil God called his wife.


    "What''s wrong, honey?" his wife responded softly.


    She smiled faintly and batted her long lashes. Her beauty could''ve made any man weak.


    "Do you remember what I told you before?" the Evil God asked. "That when everything is settled, we would live in seclusion?"


    Edna nodded. "Yes. I remember how you liked to live in seclusion back when we were in the inner world of the creator. We¡ª"


    Crack!


    Before she could even finish her sentence, the Evil God grabbed her by the neck, flames spurting out from his hands.


    In the blink of an eye, the flesh and muscle were incinerated, leaving only her ghastly white bones. The bones hissed under the heat of the flames and trembled violently.


    "Humph! Break!"


    the Evil God shouted, his voice filled with rage.


    Flashes of lightning burst forth from his eyes.


    Everything the lightning touched was sliced into pieces.


    The unique courtyard...


    The blue sky, the earth, the city...


    Everything in this world started to collapse, revealing a translucent egg membrane. From within, the Evil God caught sight of Zen standing outside.


    "You attempted to trap me in an illusion?" the Evil God spat coldly.


    Zen raised his eyebrows curiously. "He''s found out the truth. We''ve failed."


    This had been Clarence''s plan.


    No matter how high the level of energy was, it was still easy for one to fall into an illusion. This was the same strategy the downgrader had used to trap Zen with the Soul Extreme Form previously.


    In all their battles, Clarence had always created a huge illusion to suppress the downgrader.


    Unfortunately, they had underestimated the Evil God. His instinct was extremely keen.


    Having grown up in cruelty, he had absorbed all the negative emotions in Zen''s inner world.


    It was unsurprising he had become a cold-blooded killer.


    This pleasant world didn''t align with things he was familiar with, so he saw through the deception quite easily.


    The illusion might''ve only lasted for a moment, but it was enough to place the Evil God in an extremely dangerous position. Every hair on his body stood up.


    "Go to hell!"


    the Evil God roared, suddenly stretching out his hand to grab at Zen.


    In the blink of an eye, Zen managed to retreat backwards more than ten thousand feet. However, to his surprise, the Evil God''s arm closed that distance swiftly, grabbing him by the neck.


    Splash!


    A powerful for


    ld as a weapon.


    Initially, the downgrader had no intention of joining this battle. After all, the downgrading had just begun. He only needed to sit this out patiently.


    However, as he watched the two of them roll back and forth on the Wall World, he began to feel as though they weren''t taking the downgrading seriously.


    "Since you two are so intent on killing each other, why don''t you just die together?"


    The downgrader decided to take this as an opportunity to strike, suddenly appearing above the two of them. The Extreme Form energy that had been stored for a long time suddenly exploded.


    Swoosh!


    The downgrader initially thought that this would be enough to push both of them into the Wall World.


    However, when he had released the Extreme Form energy, the two barely even flinched.


    While it might''ve looked like they were fighting hand-to-hand, they were in fact using the Creation Coke and the Annihilation Coke alternatively. Moreover, they had the strongest bodies and the most destructive power. The Extreme Form energy simply paled in comparison.


    "Fuck off!"


    The Evil God threw a punch in his direction without even looking, and the once arrogant downgrader was blasted away instantly.


    Zen somersaulted in the air, simultaneously activating the Cube energy. As he pointed at what remained of the downgrader''s body, the Cube energy enveloped the fragments and sent them to oblivion. Without batting an eyelash, the two managed to kill the downgrader before he even had the chance to strike.


    Without pausing to take a breath, Zen and the Evil God continued to fight each other fiercely.

 Chapter 4322 The Cutoff Of Energy

    Buzz...


    The downgrader was born anew within the black light.


    The symbolic six pairs of compound eyes were set ablaze by a striking purple light that flickered from time to time, which represented his confusion.


    When he regained his senses, he realized that the world had become nothing like he imagined it would be.


    From the highest-grade world all the way to this low-grade world, the only worthy adversary he had that matched his standard of strength was Clarence. Then where did these two come from?


    "I don''t care how powerful you are. It doesn''t change the fact that you''re destined to get destroyed to the point of oblivion!" The downgrader scorned resentfully as his body remained camouflaged under the black light.


    As the battle between the Evil God and Zen raged on, the Wall World continued to shake and expand rapidly.


    Within the short span of an hour, the Wall World underwent an extreme expansion from the range of ten provinces to the size equivalent to that of the Source World. As time continued to pass by, the rate of expansion grew exponentially.


    Buzz!


    The Evil God slowly grew weary with this form of hand to hand combat that ceased to reach a conclusive end.


    He suddenly retreated to a fair distance and soared into the sky as he leaped to an incredible height of about one hundred million feet. As he continued to ascend, his mind was a cluster of countless thoughts rushing to be heard all at the same time.


    Suddenly, huge runes appeared at the top of the chaos, and one hundred thousand thunder dragons manifested in the form of energy started to rain down on Zen from those runes.


    Clatter, clatter, clatter...


    Each thunder dragon harnessed a formidable strength that was ten thousand times stronger than that of the ending needle. The energy aura that was released by these thunder dragons alone held the capability to destroy everything in the chaos.


    Zen''s eyes narrowed as they fell on the approaching calamity. He prepared himself and gave his hand a slight wave in the direction of the fairy palace. Upon this gesture, a formidable shield was constructed around the fairy palace. Without this shield, the fairy palace would have been rendered vulnerable and eventually perished if it were enveloped by the dominating aura of energy.


    After all the preparations were done, Zen extended his finger towards the top of the chaos.


    "Annihilation Coke!"


    Since the Evil God had utilized the Creation Coke to inject vitality into these thunder dragons, Zen had used the Annihilation Coke to lay waste to them.


    Through the Annihilation Coke, he constructed countless gray needles that directed themselves towards the thunder dragons.


    Each needle was the size of a thumb, and they were no different from the ones used for the purpose of sewing. However, the power contained within these needles was on par with that possessed by the thunder dragons. Once these needles pierced through the bodies of the thunder dragons, they would perish in an instant. With Zen''s technique, even the threatening thunder dragons were vulnerable as though they were insignificant obstructions in his path.


    "Weak attacks like these are no match for me. The only way we can counter the downgrade is for you to return to my body voluntarily. Otherwise, we''ll all die here, together with all the worlds, and there will be no chance to reverse the situation," Zen spoke in a hushed voice, trying to persuad


    ng, he immediately employed the spatial transference.


    Buzz...


    As a result, the figure of the Evil God began to blur out. Just as he was about to escape from this area, a stable space appeared where he stood.


    Bang!


    Caught off guard from its sudden appearance, he crashed into the square space causing his body to stagger back a few steps. The spatial transference failed as he was interrupted midway.


    "Damn it! Once again!"


    the Evil God roared as he felt his growing anxiety consume his body and cloud his judgments. Without wasting another moment, he gritted his teeth and employed all of his energy to use the spatial transference a second time.


    Boom!


    The limited strength he had left in him was insufficient to shake the square space.


    "Don''t even try, as no amount of energy will break you out of there. You won''t be able to move from here," Zen said as he slowly descended towards the Evil God with his arms crossed above his chest.


    Taking advantage of the flowing energy to deal with the Evil God was a technique even Clarence couldn''t think of, but it proved to be effective in the end.


    The Evil God hung his head loosely from his neck as a shadow hovered over his face and hid his expressions. He remained silent for a while as he took his time to process the situation. Suddenly, he raised his head, and a mischievous smile stretched across his face as he laughed while staring Zen dead in the eye. "Hahaha! You got me. I''ll admit that it is pretty unexpected of you to pull a method like that. You almost managed to defeat me. You''ve always been the only person I admire for as long as I can remember. However, unfortunately..."


    "What do you mean?" Zen retorted immediately to ask what he meant.


    "Unfortunately for you, I lost a finger..."


    the Evil God said with his signature smile overflowing with malice. He raised his hand that was missing his index finger and waved it near Zen''s face mockingly. Immediately after, his body collapsed on its own.


    Meanwhile, in another void of the chaos, an index finger rapidly regenerated and slowly formed human features. Within a few moments, it grew from a finger to a hand, an arm, a body, a head until it evolved into a complete human being with all limbs attached.


    Another perfect Evil God was reborn.

 Chapter 4323 Retreat

    He had been chasing after Zen all this time. But just now, he sensed that something was wrong.


    Needless to say, his intuition had always been right on the mark. However, he was not entirely sure what kind of finishing move Zen would employ.


    During the spatial transference, he secretly broke a finger and threw it into the void. This small action was the one that saved his life.


    Soon after, there was a loud buzzing sound.


    Just a short distance from him, the space began to ripple like water.


    Little by little, Zen emerged from the ripples. He was frowning and his aura was a bit gloomy. He did not have that much time left.


    Seeing how pressured Zen was, the Evil God grinned. "It will take a lot more than that for you to kill me."


    "All I want is for you to return into my inner world," Zen replied in a slow and deep voice.


    Hearing this, the Evil God responded, "Instead of using that powerful skill on me, why don''t you just use that on the downgrader? If he loses energy, then the Wall World might stop expanding."


    However, Zen shook his head. "It doesn''t actually need energy to proceed with the downgrading," he said gravely.


    Previously, he asked Clarence that very same question. The latter told him that downgrading could not be stopped no matter what. And the reason was that it was the embodiment of the rules. Therefore, it had nothing to do with energy.


    "So, do you still want to continue our fight?" The Evil God looked him straight in the eyes.


    With an impassive expression, Zen answered, "If that''s your wish, then so be it."


    Once again, the endless energy began to flow all around them.


    Both of them had the ability to cut the energy flow. Each of them was trying to throw the other into the energy hole.


    However, both of them were well-versed with the principle involved. Hence, they could both avoid it.


    Most importantly, they were aware of the threat the energy hole held. The only thing they needed to do was detach some parts of their bodies while the other person was distracted. And quietly, they would place them in every corner of the chaos.


    As soon as the Evil God removed the Restriction Field, both of them lost the ability to know everything. Therefore, it was very difficult for them to notice these insignificant broken body parts scattered everywhere. How could they be killed?


    However, this battle of wits did not last long.


    The Wall World had already expanded to the size of a hundred Source Worlds in just another five minutes.


    Fifteen minutes passed and it had grown to one tenth of the size of the entire chaos.


    At the twenty-five minute mark, it was already occupying one-third of the chaos.


    It was being downgraded at such an incredibly accelerated speed. It was way beyond the Evil God''s and Zen''s expectations.


    Meanwhile, Fuxi was severely intoxicated in the fairy palace. With


    Kincaid heard Zen''s prediction, he still looked very calm. He turned to Dorothy and tucked her hair behind her ear. "I''m sorry, dear. I''ll be going first."


    Dorothy sobbed as she hugged Kincaid. "Father!" Her eyes were filled with tears. She couldn''t believe this was the end for her father.


    "Oh, my dearest! Don''t worry, I''ll follow you right away!" Itzel''s face was full of fear. Nevertheless, she was determined to do so.


    Kincaid merely nodded and smiled. There was no trace of sorrow on his face. He considered this as an acceptable ending for his existence.


    "Everyone! Let''s drink!"


    Fuxi took out his wine pot and held it high. They were doomed one way or another. So all they could do now was to drink and celebrate the lives they led.


    Rocher was a person who didn''t drink alcohol. But when he heard that, he suddenly stood up and walked towards Fuxi. He took the wine pot and drank a big gulp of wine. After that, he silently retreated to one side and sat down cross-legged.


    Hilario also walked over and drank from the wine pot.


    Afterward, Bromley, Mike, and the others took turns drinking the wine.


    Soon after, five minutes had already passed.


    The Wall World had already expanded all the way to the edge of the chaos. The fairy palace was also at the edge. With that, Zen raised his hand and struck at the inner wall of the chaos.


    They heard a loud booming sound as he did this.


    Subsequently, a large hole appeared on the inner wall of the chaos. The fairy palace went straight into the hole and entered the Abstruse Energy World.


    Most of the people in the fairy palace felt dazed. All they could see were countless light dots in front of them. They couldn''t make out anything in their surroundings.


    One by one, Zen patted them lightly to help them with the Soul Reincarnation. As a result, they were now able to perceive the Abstruse Energy World clearly in front of them.

 Chapter 4324 An Old Friend

    While the group of people from the chaos had smoothly adapted to the environment of the Abstruse Energy World, the situation for the creatures from the fourth-grade world was completely different.


    Kincaid stared at everything around him as tears started to swell in his eyes. The glorious scenes of the Four Spirits Sect in the past kept reappearing in his mind''s eyes.


    As he let out a deep sigh, his body began to solidify. It gradually crumbled and eventually turned into dust.


    Just like what Zen said, after the chaos was downgraded, there was no way for the Other Shore to escape its fate.


    Although the human spirits of the Bold Conjecture House had controlled the passageway in order to hide at the highest point, it was only good to delay the inevitable for a few more moments.


    In the end, Itzel was able to grip the hands of the Human Spirit King tightly before he turned into a handful of dust.


    A surge of emotion became very visible in her eyes. She gently raised her trembling hand and spread out her palm, allowing the ashes to float and be carried by the wind.


    According to the rules, after Itzel and Hilario returned to the Abstruse Energy World, they would also be killed off by the power that was left behind by the downgrader.


    While they couldn''t resist this power, it was just a piece of cake for Zen in his current state.


    Thus, when the destructive force rushed towards Itzel and Hilario, Zen released a light film that appeared above the fairy palace and easily resisted it. Then, Hilario asked with a bitter smile, "Zen, can we go to the four holy pillars? I really want to be there for the last time."


    The four holy pillars had been the base of operations of the Four Spirits Sect. For countless times, Hilario had dreamed of returning to this place that he had considered as his home. Thus, before everything ended, he requested to see it one more time.


    Zen understood how everyone in the fairy palace felt and also wanted to help them realize whatever dreams they had left. Thus, he immediately agreed and said, "Of course."


    Whoosh!


    In an instant, the fairy palace sped up and flew towards the direction of the four pillars.


    Meanwhile, the black ship also rushed out of the chaos from the other side.


    Initially, the Evil God didn''t know about the Soul Reincarnation, thus he was a little confused the first time he entered the main world and was enveloped by the stars all over the sky. However, he was still able to react quickly as he controlled all of the energies. In an instant, he learned the Soul Reincarnation and immediately exerted it on himself, Edna, Shera, the Grandmaster of Heaven, and the former captain of the ship.


    On the other hand, Duran''s coordinates were left behind on the Other Shore. Although he had hidden them very well, it was still no use since the entire Other Shore was already downgraded. With that, he wasn''t able t


    other hour," Zen said as he estimated the speed of the downgrade.


    "I see. I''ll be a little selfish and grab it then," Hilario replied with a bitter smile.


    After an hour, the Wall World had already downgraded about nine-tenths of the entire area of the main world.


    Then, the fairy palace began to rise vertically. Zen''s ultimate goal right now was to retreat into the Deep Space.


    Previously, Geoffrey had been through the transmission array at the top of the Eternal Divine Courtyard to get to the Deep Space. However, there was no need for Zen to do this right now. With his current ability, he could just directly fly up while taking the entire fairy palace.


    After entering the Deep Space, Zen had once again released the Soul Reincarnation to the people within the fairy palace, so that they could adapt to the environment of the fifth-grade world.


    Then, Geoffrey guided them towards the southwest of the Sky Wheel City. Finally, the fairy palace stopped in front of a huge piece of land.


    The arrival of the fairy palace immediately attracted the attention of the members of the Elemental race below. They bellowed and led a white-haired old human spirit outside to greet them. It was none other than Elder Xue.


    Seeing the sudden appearance of the fairy palace, he already had the hunch of who had arrived.


    Soon, several figures rushed out of the fairy palace. Elder Xue recognized some of them, one of whom was Geoffrey.


    Immediately after, he saw another familiar figure.


    "M-master Hilario!"


    Elder Xue exclaimed with a trembling voice.


    Hilario then strode forward and supported Elder Xue with his hands. "I''m so ashamed!" These were his first words as he saw Elder Xue.


    Back then, Hilario had strongly objected to the idea of going to the Deep Space because of the heated debate over the route. However, Elder Xue still stubbornly did what he wanted and proved that his choice was the right one.

 Chapter 4325 No Way To Go

    After Elder Xue sent Geoffrey away, he had been very upset all this time.


    Unfortunately, he couldn''t return to the main world, which meant he had no chance to meet his friends again.


    However, though Elder Xue hoped that Geoffrey would bring someone here, he did not expect that it would be so soon.


    "We were both loyal to the Four Spirits Sect but we had a disagreement. Is that something to be ashamed of?" Elder Xue asked as he waved his hand.


    A bitter smile spread across Hilario''s face. "It was not a mere disagreement. Master Kincaid and I chose a path that was a dead end, and this led to the destruction of the Four Spirits Sect." He looked down at his feet. "How can I just forget this?"


    "Let bygones be bygones..." As Elder Xue spoke, he put an arm around Hilario and looked at the people behind him. "Where is our king?"


    Hilario''s soft smile turned into a frown once again. "He passed away."


    "How is that even possible?" Elder Xue asked as his body stiffened. "You..."


    Because Geoffrey successfully brought these people to the Deep Space, everything should have gone smoothly. As a Treacherous Being, Kincaid had no flaws except for his coordinates. Killing him would be no easy task.


    Hilario sighed and did not speak a word.


    "What happened?" Elder Xue stepped back as he sensed something had gone wrong.


    At the same time, Zen moved forward and cupped his hands before Elder Xue. "Elder Xue, I''m Zen Luo. Geoffrey is my son."


    Though Elder Xue had never seen Zen, he had learned much about him through Geoffrey. It was Zen he''d chosen for the plan and for fusing with the ancestry-level bloodline.


    "Sir, you''ve given me a great fortune but I still failed in the end," Zen said as he still looked down in defeat. He shook his head in shame, not wanting to make any eye contact with Elder Xue.


    This was the first time they met each other. Standing before him was the man who changed his life.


    Since the page had been burnt, Zen''s fate had forever been linked to the entire world. The person responsible for this was Elder Xue, but unfortunately, Elder Xue''s plan never followed through.


    Meanwhile, Elder Xue stretched out his hands and placed them on Zen''s head. "As the saying goes, man proposes and fate disposes


    well.


    If one looked from afar, the Deep Space resembled a flat cone. Though the downgrader broke many of its parts when it was downgraded before, not much of its cone-like structure had changed.


    Meanwhile, the fairy palace continued to rise along the axis of the cone. When it reached its peak, it abruptly stopped.


    "We can''t seem to go up any further," said Zen.


    Everyone looked up to the sky as if on command. Each and every world had a boundary, and the boundary of the Deep Space was hovering about eighty feet above them. It floated there like a translucent layer of gray soil.


    This was as far as they could go.


    "Dad, what do you think is outside the Deep Space?" Geoffrey asked curiously.


    "My son, even Clarence can''t seem to answer that," replied Zen with a smile and a nudge to his son''s head.


    "Then why don''t you try to break it?" Geoffrey asked again but this time, with his fists clenched. He also knew that this was almost impossible to do, but he was convinced that they should have a try.


    "I guess we can have a go."


    But just as Zen finished speaking, a black light rapidly rose from below and then slowed down its pace as it neared the fairy palace. It was the black ship controlled by the Evil God.


    This was not a surprise to any of them, for the Evil God was unfamiliar with the main world and the Deep Space. He moved around aimlessly as he was chased by the Wall World, and finally, he found himself at the top of the Deep Space just like everybody else.

 Chapter 4326 The Beginning Of The Wall World

    The black ship slowed down to a stop next to the fairy palace. The Evil God and Zen exchanged a quick glance, their eyes roaming vigilantly.


    Despite being cornered, neither of them intended to give up.


    "Humph!"


    the Evil God snorted. Jumping up from the bow, he landed to the side of the gray soil.


    His line of thinking was similar to Geoffrey''s. If he couldn''t stop the downgrading, the best thing he could do was break past the barrier of the world and escape.


    Zen calmly watched the Evil God from the fairy palace.


    He was keenly aware that the gray soil was indestructible. Since the Evil God wanted to make a move first, he figured there would be no harm in trying.


    Whoosh!


    Raising his fist in the air, the Evil God threw a mighty punch at the surface of the gray soil.


    Bang!


    A dull sound rang out upon the punch''s impact. When the dust cleared, they found a fist-shaped mark was made on the soft gray soil. It seemed that all of the energy contained within the punch had been completely absorbed by the gray soil.


    The Evil God couldn''t hide his surprise. Confusedly, he eyed the small fist mark. How could such ordinary soil contain that much power?


    He took a step back.


    The surface of his body began to glow as he channeled all the energy in the void to pour into his body. In a matter of seconds, he looked like a human-shaped body of energy.


    Erring on the side of caution, Zen distanced the fairy palace away from the Evil God. He wanted to avoid falling into the line of fire.


    At the moment, the Evil God had no intention of attacking Zen.


    After absorbing a considerable amount of energy, he launched himself into the gray soil, colliding into it violently.


    Bang!


    The sound of the collision was much louder than the previous one, echoing throughout the space.


    Under the impact of such a powerful blow, the gray soil once again caved in, but when the Evil God recovered, he found that only a shallow indentation was made on the gray soil.


    As Zen watched, his eyes narrowed slightly. "The gray soil... Did it absorb all that energy?"


    The rule of infinite energy was that whenever energy in the void was used, it would simply return back to the void. However, this gray soil had actually absorbed all the energy, which meant that a portion of energy in the world was


    d backwards silently, ''Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.''


    Splash!


    In the blink of an eye, the fairy palace and the black ship were crushed into countless pieces.


    Because Zen and the Evil God were a lot more powerful, they lasted a little longer in the midst of the downgrading force. However, eventually, they too succumbed to it and were pressed into the Wall World.


    "Hahaha...


    The Stellar World, the Grand Lower World, and the Lower Extreme World have all been downgraded!


    Now, I hereby announce the beginning of the Wall World!"


    Now, only the wisp of black light in the center and the downgrader within it maintained their original forms.


    Then, the black light also began to be downgraded, slowly sinking into the center of the Wall World.


    The materials in the third-grade world had been in a mess before this began, so when they were downgraded, they grew into an even bigger mess. But the black light was different.


    After the black light merged into the Wall World, it transformed into a sphere, surrounded by ripples of energy of the same length and width. If one overlooked the Wall World, they would find an exquisite black sun symbol.


    Of course, there was no one else in the world to overlook the Wall World.


    After the black sun symbol shrank into oblivion, the downgrader emerged and slowly crawled onto the surface of the Wall World.


    He looked very strange now, as if he were a monster made up of many fragments, just like the strange sculpture on the totem of an ancient race.

 Chapter 4327 The World With Lines

    The downgrader crawled around for some distance, until he came across some white lines of varying lengths.


    Even though he was a downgrader, it was difficult for him to adapt to the form of the second-grade world in such a short time. Even he was a little stunned to see these white lines.


    But soon, he realized that these white lines were the ice crystals released by the Evil God before.


    These ice crystals still had the attribute of coldness, but after being downgraded, more abilities were unlocked. Now, five or six different types of energy could be released from the ice attribute.


    "After all the worlds were downgraded to the second grade, the total area of the entire world was expanded by thirty billion times..."


    "Additionally, the number of the energy types has also increased."


    "However, this world is too desolate."


    "I don''t think there will be any more creatures..."


    The third-grade world was called the Lower Extreme World, wherein the word "extreme" represented the limit of life.


    Supposedly, all living beings could survive if they were downgraded from the high-grade world. But that wasn''t the case in the Wall World.


    Although the area of the second-grade world had expanded to a terrifying extent, and the types of energy were also more abundant, this world no longer carried the conditions for living beings to survive. Thus, the creatures of the fourth-grade world wouldn''t die when they entered the third-grade world, but the creatures of the third-grade world would be crushed to death when they entered the Wall World.


    The downgrader sped up, crawling along the surface of the Wall World.


    Turning his arm into the shape of a boat paddle, he tried to stand up properly to cover more distance as he crawled.


    As he did this, the downgrader noticed some red, pale yellow, white lines ahead of him.


    The red lines were blood, the pale yellow lines were flesh, and the white lines were bones. The three different lines were embedded together. These must''ve been traces from the battle between the Evil God and Zen. After all, parts of their body were constantly devoured by the Wall World during their hand to hand combat.


    After the downgrader passed by these floating multicolored lines, he stumbled upon another void. The entire chaos expanded thirty billion-fold, so the distance between the center of the chaos and the end of it had also increased by thirty billion times.


    However, the downgrader still managed to close this


    "Who are you?" Zen asked confusedly.


    Once Zen''s attention was successfully caught, the smile on Salome''s face disappeared, and she said seriously, "I''m Clarence. I''ve been calling you. Why didn''t you answer me?"


    "I''m already dead," Zen said with some disgust, wrinkling his nose.


    "No, you''re not!" Clarence exclaimed in annoyance.


    Zen still shook his head, trying to resist. "Is this the illusion you created?"


    "Well, strictly speaking, this is my memory. I have all the memories that have extended from the perfect land to here. What you see is the reality I have built using my memories!" Clarence explained.


    "A reality created by memories?" Zen echoed, in a daze. "Is this really not an illusion?"


    "To your cognition, this is the real world," Clarence replied cryptically.


    As Clarence was the master of the perfect land, his memories were very special.


    Everything in this world was preserved in his memories, which served like trillions of building blocks.


    He only needed to place the blocks according to the original positions in his memories, and then the reality would be constructed. Conversely, if he pushed the blocks down and disordered the memory positions, then the real world would be destroyed.


    "Then, can you let me stay here for the rest of eternity?" Zen asked sleepily.


    "Of course... not!"


    Clarence denied Zen firmly.


    Then, dark clouds gathered in the sky, and the winds began to howl.


    The indestructible fairy palace was shattered into countless pieces. Salome also dissolved into a small ball of light, which was the form that Clarence had always assumed when he revealed himself to others.

 Chapter 4328 The Battle On The Plane

    The light ball slowly floated towards Zen and merged with his body once more.


    Clarence''s voice rang from the depths of Zen''s soul again. "The reality I gave you is not enough. You have to create your own reality as well."


    "Is there any difference?" Zen asked in confusion.


    "Of course there is. This could be what I pursue, and also the reason you were born," answered Clarence.


    For humans, drinking the first mouthful of milk to fill their empty stomachs after birth was the beginning of their journey to life. From there, they grew step by step in pursuing strength, wealth, love, power, and the desire for immortality.


    However, Clarence was born in a perfect land and had everything he needed within his reach. There was nothing worth pursuing to him in neither the higher-grade worlds nor the lower-grade worlds, which drove him to seek the truth instead.


    Why did the world exist?


    What was behind the world and all the things in it?


    No matter how hard he tried, he couldn''t find the answers to these seemingly simple questions himself, let alone anyone else.


    Although Mastema was on par with him, Mastema had no interest in discussions such as these other than desperately downgrading the world.


    Most of the time, Clarence felt quite envious of Mastema. He only focused on the downgrading, giving it his full attention and refusing to think about anything else.


    While the world became downgraded little by little, Zen and the Evil God were born as special existences. How could Clarence let go of these two easily?


    When Zen heard Clarence''s words, he couldn''t help feeling hopeless. He wanted to bring his family to a stable environment and stay in the fairy palace, but Clarence insisted on forcing him out.


    "Can I really create my own reality?" Zen asked hesitantly.


    "Sure, I will help you," replied Clarence.


    "Fine." Zen heaved out a sigh as he began to pull himself together.


    The reality that Clarence mentioned became the greatest motivation for him. He looked forward to meeting his family again. He did not intend to give up even though he only had a glimmer of hope to cling to.


    Two dots suddenly appeared in the Wall World. Zen''s eyeballs were slowly formed, followed by his whole head, body, and limbs.


    Because of the flat form, there was no need to follow the rules of humans in creation. A human body


    d him.


    After the ring appeared, it quietly expanded outward, forming a much larger ring.


    If the Evil God spied in the dark, he would have seen the golden thread instantly smash the scissors.


    Although the black scissors were undeniably sharp, they immediately crashed as they touched the golden ring, dispersing their big and small fragments in the air.


    Red lines appeared as soon as the scissors were destroyed.


    These red lines then moved towards Zen in spiraling motions.


    Zen released another golden thread. Wherever the golden thread passed, all the red lines were devoured without a trace.


    "Evil God, your attacks are now useless.


    The energy in the second-grade Wall World is more fragmented and therefore easier to crack.


    Do you hear me?"


    Zen released his spiritual sense again to communicate widely. This time, he finally saw the Evil God''s figure.


    The Evil God had four pairs of eyes on the Wall World, and he could observe up to four directions around him. His body took a circular shape, from which numerous spikes emerged. He resembled a bug with a strange shape.


    "So what? Since there''s nothing to lose here, why don''t we have a good fight?" the Evil God challenged him with his spiritual sense.


    "It''s true that we really do have nothing to lose, but we can still obtain," Zen replied.


    "Obtain? Obtain what? The right to live in this shitty world?" the Evil God asked in an arrogant tone.


    He was also dissatisfied with the second-grade Wall World. Nothing could be more boring than a world where only lines could be seen!

 Chapter 4329 The Last Downgrading

    When the Evil God was in the third-grade world, his state of mind had transformed.


    From being a troublemaker, he became a controller. After controlling the Black Ship, a province, and the whole Source World, he began to respect order and even maintain order.


    However, when the chaos ended, his Source World was destroyed. He lost everything he owned, including the black ship and his beloved wife. He was left all alone.


    Because of this, he began to hate the world again and wanted to destroy it even more.


    Because Zen was the only other living creature in the area, the Evil God vented his anger on him.


    Swoosh!


    In an instant, a huge, long, and colorful line appeared.


    It was an energy plate, which looked about ten billion miles in length. The energy plate was so gigantic that it looked like an ocean, which could easily drown Zen with its multi-colored energy waves.


    Buzz!


    An octagon-shaped blue energy shield surrounded Zen, blocking the gigantic, powerful energy trying to attack him. While he was dealing with this, he tried to appeal to the Evil God. He said, "What if we can bring back everything we had in the past?"


    "That''s impossible!" the Evil God replied with frustration.


    The colorful energy began to change its hue. Several colors disappeared, leaving behind the red and blue colors. The red and blue energies melted into each other until they became one single color: purple.


    Although the ocean of purple energy looked beautiful, it was more destructive. It was destroying Zen''s energy shield much more effectively.


    Thinking on his feet, Zen quickly changed his energy shield, blocking the purple energy. He was becoming more and more frustrated with the Evil God''s attacks, but he still tried to communicate with him.


    "No! I mean it.


    Clarence is the controller, which means he has all the memories.


    If the whole world is restarted, all realities will be realized. The energy and materials will be restored. Everything in the past will reappear!"


    Zen screamed through the noise, doing his best to persuade the Evil God.


    When he said this, the Evil God began to listen, putting his attacks on Zen on hold. The purple energy calmed down, gently gathering around Zen.


    "Then who will make all of this reappear?" the Evil God asked.


    "I will," Zen answered with no hesitation.


    "By devouring me?"


    "Yes."


    "No way!"


    the Evil God retorted. He never trusted Zen, and Zen never trusted him.


    When they


    out of the Evil God''s attack reborn, although ashen.


    "I..."


    He was furious.


    He couldn''t accept that the Evil God had escaped his downgrading.


    ''This is a humiliation!


    A great humiliation!


    The Wall World couldn''t kill them. What about the World of Nothingness?'' he thought to himself.


    The first-grade World of Nothingness was very special.


    It had everything, but at the same time, it had nothing. Even the downgrader couldn''t understand how this worked, but he was sure that the Evil God wouldn''t have been able to survive it.


    In a burning rage, the downgrader''s mental state began to decline.


    ''Begin to downgrade!


    In the World of Nothingness, nothing can exist. You are not the exception! You can not survive!'' the downgrader thought resentfully.


    The Wall World shook gradually until it started to shrink from the edge to the center. The black light in the center of the world transformed into a vortex, pulling everything from the world down to its dark core.


    Zen and the Evil God, who were still attacking each other, felt a great traction force, making them pause their fight.


    Both Zen and the energy sea became distorted.


    He and the Evil God were unable to resist the traction force happening in the Wall World.


    "What''s happening?" Zen asked worriedly.


    "It''s Mastema. He''s begun a new round of downgrading," Clarence answered.


    "A new round of downgrading?" Zen said, stunned by what was happening.


    "Yes. Mastema must have been very furious with you two to have done this. This time, we will be entering the World of Nothingness," Clarence continued. "That will be his final destination."

 Chapter 4330 The Point Of Origin

    Once the traction force appeared, the Evil God did not launch another attack on Zen.


    He had just killed the downgrader yet again, and he faintly guessed that this traction force somehow originated from the downgrader.


    He and Zen stood on the edge of the Wall World, and they passively gravitated towards the center.


    What would they find in the interior of the World of Nothingness? Neither Clarence nor Mastema had a clear comprehension of it.


    Since the perfect land had been downgraded, the two of them could accurately predict each lower-grade world. To downgrade, he only needed to extract some details from those worlds, and there were some rules to follow. It was by following these rules that the Evil God had successfully restored the energy step by step.


    The more details that were extracted, the less would be left.


    Very few details remained in the third-grade Lower Extreme World, but at least it could still sustain life.


    However, in the Wall World, there were so few details remaining that nothing could live there at all.


    According to the rules, the details of the first-grade world had been completely extracted, so it created an absolute void, and it couldn''t even accommodate souls. This was why it was called the World of Nothingness.


    After hearing Clarence''s explanation in his mind, Zen asked, "Can you survive within the World of Nothingness?"


    "I don''t think so, but the world may not be exactly as I have theorized," answered Clarence.


    "We''ll see soon enough," Zen said calmly.


    After all, he had already experienced the downgrading once. Staying in the Wall World left him feeling uncomfortable. It might be better to travel to the World of Nothingness.


    Compared to the grand way in which the third, fourth, and fifth-grade worlds were downgraded, the downgrading process of the Wall World had occurred in an extremely quiet and peaceful way. After all, there was no sound in this place.


    The materials that were placed within the Wall World began to gather and compress, bit by bit.


    They were pressed together proportionally.


    The distance between Zen and the Evil God was thirty miles. When the distance became shortened by half, the Wall World had also proportionally shrunk by half. The speed at which the Wall World''s downgrading happened far exceeded those of the third, fourth, and fifth-grade worlds.


    Within five minutes, the distance between Zen and the Evil God shrank to only seven and a half miles. By then, only one fourth of the Wall World was left.


    As


    collapsed from the outside to the inside.


    His body couldn''t maintain its shape, and it was quickly assimilated into the outside world.


    Zen acted quickly, abandoning the outermost layer of his body and creating a slightly smaller body inside.


    But as the slightly smaller body couldn''t withstand the pressure, he quickly created a third body.


    The methods the Evil God used were almost the same as Zen''s. The newly created bodies resembled the layers of an onion.


    Their bodies were shrinking smaller and smaller, and therefore, the pressure they could withstand was greater and greater.


    But this was only a delay tactic.


    When the world shrank to 1/30000000000th, the pressure increased another ten times.


    The bodies of Zen and the Evil God had both shrunk to the size of a silk bean. Under such immense pressure, they couldn''t even release their spiritual senses. The two of them were confined to a space the size of a silk bean, and they struggled to hold on.


    The world shrank to 1/300000000000th.


    Under this massive pressure, there was no material that could maintain a stable state. All the materials had been transformed into pure energy.


    Zen and the Evil God were no exception to this. Their bodies turned into energy, and then they gravitated towards the center of the Wall World. There existed an unknown point of origin, which was the root of the World of Nothingness.


    The point of origin was available to all.


    1/3000000000000th.


    1/30000000000000th.


    1/300000000000000th.


    In the end, everything within the Wall World was completely devoured and consumed by the point of origin, including both the black light and the downgrader within it.

 Chapter 4331 Split

    One''s body was the carrier of the soul, while the soul was the carrier of the consciousness. If one''s body was destroyed, his or her fragile soul would then be exposed to enemy attacks, leading to his or her immediate annihilation. As the soul vanished, so would the consciousness contained in it.


    Even if one reached the Holy Soul Realm, the Eternal Realm, or even if they became creatures of the higher-grade worlds, this rule would still apply.


    Throughout the entire world, Clarence and Mastema were the only ones who escaped this restriction. Even if their bodies and souls were damaged, their consciousness remained intact. However, right now, Zen and the Evil God had also reached their status and became their equals.


    All of them were now at the point of origin, where the concept of space and time did not exist.


    Everything had been compressed into an infinitely small point. The pressure was crushing, and no living beings could possibly survive under such harsh circumstances. However, the downgrader was surprised as he discovered that his consciousness still remained.


    "Ha-ha!


    I did it! I survived it all!


    Now, I am the ultimate winner and the only ruler of this world!"


    For a while, the downgrader thought that he was the only one who survived.


    He was ecstatic as he assumed that he had finally achieved his ultimate goal. He had downgraded the entire world to the World of Nothingness but his consciousness carried on.


    With that, he thought that the world was now his belonging, including all substances and energy within it.


    At this infinitesimal point, everything felt so crowded, including his own consciousness. He tried to sense his surrounding environment, although technically, the concept of "surroundings" did not exist at the point of origin because everything had been integrated into a single point.


    But the moment he sensed his surroundings, he immediately realized that there was a familiar aura near him. In fact, it was attached to him.


    "Clarence!


    Why are you still alive?"


    The downgrader was extremely shocked as he recognized that he wasn''t alone.


    "Why are you so surprised?" Clarence asked calmly as if he already knew all along.


    "What?"


    The downgrader couldn''t be more astonished at this turn of events. All this time, he thought that he was the only existence at this narrow point of origin, but it turned out that Clarence had also survived along with him. Moreover, it was as if the two of them had become a part of a whole.


    Furthermore, as the downgrader was still recovering from the shock of finding out that he was actually with Clarence, he suddenly discovered that there were two more auras around them. After carefully sensing where these auras belonged to, he was even more flabbergasted.


    "What the hell?! How could this be? Why didn''t you die?!"


    Zen and the Evil God didn''t respond as the downgrader addressed them.


    At this point, all four of them had clearly sensed each other''s aura.


    They found out that the four of them co-existed in this cramped point ¡ª the downgrader, Clarence, the Evil God, and Zen.


    This was actually a rather abnormal and extremely dangerous sit


    isolation in the perfect land for countless years. Clarence''s existence was several times longer compared to that of Mastema. Thus, it would be impossible for Mastema to complete the process before Clarence did.


    After a while. Clarence replied in a soft voice, "Mastema, he¡­ He has finally returned to me now. We''ve become one again."


    "That''s good to hear then," Zen said gladly.


    "I see that you''ve also overcome him," Clarence remarked as he sensed a trace of the Evil God from Zen''s aura.


    "Yes. So, what now? Is it necessary for us to merge ourselves too?" Zen asked with a hint of hesitation.


    He clearly knew that if they tried to devour each other''s consciousness, then he would definitely lose. Compared to Clarence''s seemingly infinite span of life, Zen''s would look like just a second.


    "If I wanted to merge with you, then why would I have to make the perfect land like this?" Clarence said with a positive tone.


    He regarded Zen as a solver, thus it was meaningless for him to devour Zen.


    "What happens after this?" Zen asked out of curiosity.


    "Well, just wait for a while," Clarence replied.


    However, at this point, there was no light, no space, nor distance at the point of origin. There was also no concept of time.


    So, Zen just fell silent and waited just as Clarence told him.


    Since time didn''t exist, it was hard to grasp if a lot of time had already passed or if it was just a few seconds.


    As they fell silent, it felt like a short moment had passed, but it also felt like it had already been several years.


    Then, all of a sudden, Zen sensed a gap appearing before him.


    He thought that it should be just an illusion since neither physical body nor soul existed here. Their consciousness was the only thing left. Thus, how could he be physically aware of this gap?


    For him, it was such an incredible sensation.


    "Did you feel it?" This time, he heard that it was Clarence''s physical voice that was asking.


    "Yes! What is this?" Zen replied.


    "It''s the point of origin. It is beginning to split," Clarence answered in what seemed like a riddle to Zen.

 Chapter 4332 The Reality Zen Wanted

    Clarence had formulated several conjectures regarding the possible changes of the point of origin.


    It might never change and continue on forever. In that scenario, the entire world had completely perished while Clarence and Zen remained trapped in an eternal prison.


    Another possibility was that the point of origin would turn into the perfect land and restart the thirteenth-grade world. Since the first-grade and the thirteenth-grade worlds shared a common origin, it was highly possible for them to transform into each other.


    The third and final possibility Clarence speculated of was that Zen''s and the Evil God''s existences would bring about new, unexpected changes to the very basic rules of this world.


    In the end though, these all remained as speculations since this was the very first time Clarence experienced the downgrade.


    However, seeing where things now stood, it seemed his third theory proved correct as the point of origin began to split slowly.


    "What will happen next?" Zen asked.


    "Maybe... We will both have a perfect land," Clarence replied.


    "You mean the world will completely separate in two?"


    "Yes, and you will become another me. Congratulations," Clarence told him with full sincerity.


    Instead of elation, Zen felt disappointed, "But you promised to give me a real world!" he growled.


    He did not want a perfect land nor did he wish to become the ruler of the world. The only thing he wanted was to restore everything that had been destroyed: his loved ones, his friends, and his family.


    "It wouldn''t be difficult. I can give you my memories and you will be able to repeat the past," Clarence assured him.


    With that, his consciousness suddenly surged towards Zen''s and took the initiative to fuse with it!


    In this fusion, Clarence voluntarily gave up dominance which meant that Zen now would effectively devour a part of his consciousness and have ownership of his memories.


    "Why? Why did you do that?" Zen asked in shock.


    "Once the point of origin is restored to the perfect land, I will embrace a brand new world. I have no need to restore the past so it would be best to leave my past memories to you," Clarence answered. In truth, he only wanted to remember the general information of the past.


    With his reasoning, Zen found no need to say anything more and simply waited for their consciousness to merge completely. During the process, Zen found his knowledge increase exponentially.


    Clarence''s memories contained the highest level of omniscience: the distribution of any and all energy and substance in the thirteenth-grade world to the first-grade world. Needless to say, it was an infinite quantity of


    s family and friends in the fairy palace were forced to bid farewell to each other and meet their ends.


    "My memories...


    Restore them all."


    Under his command, the fairy palace was recreated in an instant.


    At this moment, the people within the fairy palace were all geared up to embrace their deaths. All of them suppressed their sadness under a calm and composed facade.


    Margaret covered Salome''s eyes with her hands, not willing to let her see their doom. With no idea of what was happening, Salome innocently asked her mother what was wrong.


    "Nothing. Everything will be fine, sweetheart..." she replied and tried her best to hold back her tears.


    "Mother, the blue line is gone," Salome continued as she looked through her mother''s fingers with innocent eyes.


    Margaret''s eyes, which had been shut close from despair, snapped open the moment she heard Salome''s words.


    True to what her daughter said, the blue line had indeed disappeared and everyone within the fairy palace was completely unharmed. Zen''s avatar, however, had disappeared.


    "Why? What happened? How did we survive that?" Margaret muttered in confusion.


    It wasn''t just her. Letitia, Aura, Lavender, and everyone else thought the same thing. They all survived yet Zen''s avatars had all disappeared.


    In the other side of the fairy palace, Fuxi, Geoffrey, Rocher, and the others had all closed their eyes and awaited death.


    After a while though, they realized that the end they had been waiting for never came.


    "Is this a miracle? Am I dreaming?"


    Geoffrey had been praying with his eyes closed. He had no idea just how they would be able to escape their situation, so all he could do was pray to some higher being for a miracle. In a strange stroke of fate, his prayers were answered.

 Chapter 4333 Restore Everything

    Fuxi, Rocher, Hilario, and the others looked at each other.


    It was hard for them to believe that they were still alive.


    The Snake Goddess'' eyes were full of doubt. She looked into the distance and said with a trembling voice, "Has the Wall World disappeared? No, have all the things in the world disappeared?"


    The space outside the fairy palace was empty. There was nothing left.


    This was not normal. They didn''t even think this was possible.


    When downgrading happened, it would destroy everything in the physical realm, but its energy and materials would remain. They would not even be lost in the slightest.


    But now, even the Wall World had disappeared.


    The Snake Goddess looked around and asked, "Where is Zen? Is Zen missing?"


    When the others heard her say this, they all quickly began to search for Zen. He, however, was nowhere to be found.


    "Wait, is this Zen''s theurgy?"


    "Did he save the fairy palace?"


    "But how could he have done it? That''s almost impossible. How could he have stopped the downgrading?"


    "¡­"


    They all made their guesses on how Zen disappeared or where Zen had gone, but at the end of the day, they were dumbfounded. They had no true clue where he was.


    Buzz!


    While everyone continued to search for him or speculate on his disappearance, his figure began to condense in the fairy palace.


    "Dad!"


    "Zen!"


    "Zen!"


    "What happened?"


    "Did you stop the downgrading?"


    Geoffrey, Rocher, the Snake Goddess, Mike, and the others ran to him immediately. They had never heard of or encountered a situation like this before. What was happening was truly incomprehensible to them.


    Zen looked at them with a trace of warmth flowing from the bottom of his heart. "No, I didn''t stop the downgrading. The downgrading has been completed."


    "The downgrading has been completed?" Geoffrey looked puzzled. "But how could it have been completed? We''re not dead..."


    The Snake Goddess raised her eyebrows and said, "Zen, have we died already? Have we just managed to come back to life again?"


    Zen gave the Snake Goddess a thumbs up. "You''re right," he said.


    "Are we in the underworld?" Geoffrey asked, his eyes wide open in shock.


    Zen reached his hand out and gently stroked Geoffrey''s body. When he did this, Geoffrey''s tall body shrank back to its normal size. He rubbed Geoffrey''s head and smiled. "Son, there is no underworld in this world. This is a brand new world. I recreated you all with the help of Clarence''s memories."


    Geoffrey blinked his eyes in disbelief. He quickly looked down at his body. "I was created with m


    ing in the air, huge broken buildings, and the Sky Wheel City were also restored.


    When the fairy palace went down, the huge strata floating in the void had also been restored. The different races living in the Deep Space had also been reborn.


    These uncivilized races were not aware of when they died or when they had been reborn. They didn''t even know about the downgrading that happened. Their peaceful lives had not been broken.


    Among them, the only one who knew about what had happened was Elder Xue.


    He calmly waited for his death in the Elemental race''s territory and then he was reborn. He was very puzzled by what happened. When he saw the fairy palace coming, he became even more confused. Zen greeted him with a smile before inviting him to hop on board.


    "Why? And what happened?" Elder Xue wanted an answer.


    "Hilario will give you an answer," Zen replied shortly.


    There were still many people and places Zen had to restore. He didn''t have the time to explain the situation again and again.


    After restoring the Deep Space, he took the fairy palace and the black ship back to the fourth-grade world.


    In the empty world, the earth, mountains, rivers, the four pillars, the Eternal Divine Courtyard, and the broken secondary worlds were all restored.


    Not long after, the fairy palace and the black ship arrived at the entrance of the chaos. The Human Spirit King Kincaid died there, so he would also be reborn here.


    Kincaid''s memory stopped the moment he rushed out of the chaos. When he revived, he had an unreadable expression on his face. He did not know how to react. Like before, Zen asked Hilario to explain to him what had happened. After that, he drove the fairy palace into the chaos.

 Chapter 4334 The End

    The chaos remained empty, save for the fairy palace and the black ship.


    Restoring a secondary world was a simple matter for Zen, but he needed to maintain order and decide what to revive and what no longer needed to be revived.


    "The Pear Hill!"


    Splash!


    Loose earth and rubble gathered back together into boulders and land forms.


    Trees and plants sprouted from the soil and grew rapidly.


    Buildings rose from the ground until entire cities were made whole again.


    The human race, the Snake Goddess race, all manner of creatures, great and small, were resurrected in a flash.


    The Pear Hill had been destroyed not by the downgrading, but because of the erosion of the Extreme Form energies and the invasion of the Troubled Creatures from the Burial Land.


    The newly revived creatures were thus still so gripped by fear of the already vanquished Troubled Creatures that they just milled around warily.


    Zen nodded to the Snake Goddess. "It''s your turn," he said.


    "Okay."


    The Snake Goddess'' eyes lit up. The Pear Hill meant everything to her. She had been devastated to see it destroyed. But now it had been revived, so had her zest for life.


    Whoosh!


    In a flash, the Snake Goddess stood on the jadeite platform.


    "My dear people, the worst is over for the Pear Hill!"


    The people in the Pear Hill were unaware of what had happened, but they began to realize that the Troubled Creatures had disappeared. The Snake Goddess'' words were the final assurance to put them at ease.


    What happened next still left them too dumbfounded to celebrate, however. "Source World, restore!"


    Zen had revived the Source World. And the Pear Hill was returned to its original place in it!


    The inhabitants of the Pear Hill gasped as a blue cover reappeared in the clear sky above them.


    "Are we back in the Source World?"


    "Oh, my God! I can''t believe it!"


    "It must be a miracle!"


    Zen had chosen to bring everything back to the way it was after the Evil God had killed the Yellow Thearch and the Divine Farmer. The Source World and its countless creatures now continued on with existence as if nothing had changed.


    "The divine la


    black soil ends, but I did find an underground cave of unknown depths.


    By the time you receive the message, I would have already left through this secret passage.


    If you also ever want to leave the perfect land, the only way out for you is to turn to the Evil God."


    The message ended there. The dark green liquid quickly solidified and turned into ashes. The black crack quickly closed and disappeared, as if it had never been there.


    Zen mulled over what Clarence had said. "The Evil God, huh?" Zen murmured to himself.


    He disappeared from the spot, reappearing the next moment at the hillside of the Pear Hill.


    In a clearing in the forest stood a simple thatched hut. This had been Edna''s residence for the last thirty years.


    All this time, she had just been waiting for the Creator to fulfill his promise of reviving the Evil God.


    She had never thought to pressure Zen, however. She chose to wait patiently. She could wait for endless years.


    Edna was startled to see Zen, but the surprise on her face soon gave way to a faint smile. "Is it time to revive him?"


    Zen nodded. "Yes."


    "But he''s very dangerous," Edna reminded.


    "Danger gives meaning to life," Zen replied, with a small shrug.


    Energy began to surge in the void.


    Substances began to condense.


    A body began to take form.


    A heart began beating.


    The man opened his eyes slowly, a knowing smirk pulling at the corners of his lips.

 Chapter 4335 Thank You Note

    Hi guys. Happy ending! Thanks for staying with us the whole time. We will bring you more interesting stories.


    ?


    All these interesting stories are first released on MoboReader. You guys can download it now at https://www.moboreader.net


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    Here, I would like to highly recommend some interesting ones to you.


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    When her boyfriend betrayed her, all light and joy was gone from Lola''s life. To revenge her ex, she married a Billionaire man.


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    Six years passed. She remained quiet, gaining a reputation in the army as a tough-as-nails colonel. When she walked into his life again, Edward fell in love with this woman, unlike any he had known. She surprised and delighted him. But will Daisy take him back? Can their son keep them together? Can the rift between them be healed? Pick this one up and find out!


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    "I''m in desperate need of money to pay Grandmother''s medical fee. I will marry Charles instead of Yvonne as soon as I get the money."


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    Separated from her family since the day she was born, Linda vowed to come back and take revenge on those who had done injustice to her.


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    Brought up in a noble clan, Charles was taking reins and conquering the business world but got beaten up by a woman he had never met before.


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    Stuck with an unexpected betrothal at first, love eventually brought the two hearts together.


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    Pregnant, kidnapped, injured, poor Linda was tossed into a roaring river. Who did it to her? What did they want? Who was the other ''Linda'' around Charles?


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    When her boyfriend betrayed her, all light and joy was gone from Cherry''s life. Deserted, bereft of hope, she married a man that she had barely met, but she had never expected him to be her ex-boyfriend''s uncle.


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    Cherry thought that she had finally found her happiness, but she had no idea about the dark secrets that were bound to unfold and haunt her forever.


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    With the help of her husband''s enemy, she ran away from her marriage, but at a cost that she had never imagined she would have to pay. Five years later, she accidentally crossed paths again with the same people that she had fled from.


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    6, Cold CEO Vs. Sweet Wife


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    Growing up without a mother can be hard. For Jean Wen, life became worse when her father, Henry, brings home his mistress.


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    With two half-siblings intent on causing trouble, Jean is shunned by Henry. Desperate to earn his love, she agrees to be sacrificed for familial interests. She marries a rich CEO in exchange for a land her father wants. However, her failure and added complications with her family mean that everyone abandons her. To find out the truth about her mother''s death, she even risks her life. Is it an accident? Or a murder? When her stepmother turns her back on her father, she chooses to stand by Henry''s side and save his company from bankruptcy.


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    Alone in the world, Jean comes across her ex-boyfriend. Will his consideration rekindle her love toward him? Will she be able to make her marriage work? Turn the page to find out more!


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    7, The Spoiled Girl


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    Emily, was a just simple girl living a simple life when one day she received a call from the police that changed her entire life. Everything that happened since then was nothing short of a roller-coaster ride.


    ?


    She soon found out that her long-time boyfriend, Jack Gu, was cheating on her with her best friend. As if things weren''t bad enough, she accidentally ended up in Jack''s uncle''s car, where they ended up ¨C doing it. Soon, Emily found herself in a tug-o-war between her ex, Jack and his uncle, Jacob.


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    8, Take My Breath Away


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    "Drive this woman out!"


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    "Throw this woman into the sea!"


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    When he doesn''t know Debbie Nian''s true identity, Carlos Huo cold-shoulders her.


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    "Mr. Huo, she is your wife," Carlos'' secretary reminded him. Hearing that, Carlos gives him a cold stare and complained, "why didn''t you tell me earlier?"


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    From then on, Carlos spoils her rotten. Little did everyone expect that they would get a divorce.


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    Four years ago, Cassandra had to marry a wealthy man, though she had no feelings toward him. Similarly, the man whose name was written against hers on the marriage certificate couldn''t care less about her either.


    ?


    Four years later, she was drunk on a cruise ship in Rome and the fate sent her a graduation gift, a steaming hot one-night-stand with an unbelievably hansome man.


    ?


    She had cheated on her husband! And what was worse, the unbelievably hansome man turned out to be her husband''s brother, Rufus Luo!


    ?


    What was she gonna do? How could she live with him under the same roof? What would her husband do to her after he found out the buried secret? And more importantly, how could she resist his boundless charm?


    ?


    --------------


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    10, Happy Together


    ?


    "We''ll be married for only a month. After that, we''ll get divorced immediately."


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    Even though their marriage had been arranged by their great-grandfathers before they were born, he believed that such a rude and noisy woman like her didn''t deserve to be his wife.


    ?


    Little did they know then that they were destined to be together. Hiram, the handsome young CEO who could never be turned on by a woman, and Rachel, the beauty who somehow brought bad luck onto all the men she went on a date with, were getting married, against all odds.


    ?


    --------------


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    11, Waiting For a Girl Like You


    ?


    "You saved my life, and I owe you one. Fair and square."


    ?


    "Is this how you are going to repay my kindness? By sharing my bed? In my own house?"


    ?


    "Fine, then come to my place and share my bed. How''s that, huh?"


    ?


    People always say what the An Family is capable of is beyond imagination. However, Carla Ji has no idea it''s a nightmare only dressed like a daydream until it''s too late to change anything...


    ?


    --------------


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    12, Unbreak My Heart


    ?


    "A cheater and a bitch. They are perfect for each other," Ashley scoffed in her heart, a faint smile climbing up the corners of her lips. Her smile was so dazzling that no one could look away from her.


    ?


    With one swift swig, she emptied the glass of wine down her throat. Never had she imagined that this glass of wine, drugged by her own mother, would bring her to an unbelievably wealthy and handsome man and change her whole life.


    ?


    It had been a night of madness. She lost her virginity to the man she never met before. It felt like a dream that was not real, yet that very dream came to life, and was standing right in front of her when she woke up the next day.


    ?


    "Kiss me!" he demanded.


    ?


    What would happen next?


    ?


    --------------


    ?


    13, Love Crisis


    ?


    After Brian''s once beloved girlfriend leaving him, in the years follow, there is no one who can stir his heart until he meets that girl, a Waitress named Molly.


    ?


    What begins in compulsion becomes true love, and soon Molly finds herself torn between 3 entirely different men, in 3 irreconcilable lives. Yet she knows at the bottom of her heart, from the very beginning, that who is the one she truly loves.


    ?


    As their fates unfold, the turbulent saga travels around the world, from the sunny tropical island to foggy London, and to lovers'' paradise¡ªParis.


    ?


    A story of a pair of lovers, tormented by the past, driven by desires, yet still entangled in a relationship of love and hatred.


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    --------------


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    14, Billionaire''s Gift


    ?


    Mandy is young, beautiful, and rich. She has the perfect life and the perfect boyfriend. But one night, her whole world turns upside down--she catches her boyfriend, Daniel having an affair; she goes to bar where she gets drugged and loses her virginity to Nathan, a man who forces her to have a one-night stand with him; and her father gets arrested by the police.


    ?


    Then, she has no choice but to agree to be Nathan''s mistress for a month so that he would protect her and her family in return. But unexpectedly, Mandy falls in love with him and even agrees to be his girlfriend. However, another girl who likes Nathan is jealous and tries every means to separate them. Can Nathan and Mandy get through this? Don''t wait any more and start reading Billionaire''s Gift!


    --------------


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    15, Apotheosis


    ?


    Falling from nobility, Zen Luo became a humble slave and served as a human punchbag for his former cousins. Inadvertently, he found a way to refine himself into a weapon and a legend started because of that. With a strong belief in never surrender, he strove for revenges and pursued big dreams.


    ?


    Warriors from various clans contended for hegemony and the world was stirred. Relying on the body that was comparable to a powerful weapon, Zen beat his numerous enemies on his way to the immortality. Would he succeed eventually?


    ?


    --------------


    ?


    16, Mighty Soldier King


    ?


    Former special forces soldier Peter Wang is tasked to serve as a security guard in one of Golden City''s top firms to protect his beautiful employer, Bella Song.


    ?


    As a fighter who survived the grueling life in the military, he dismissed the job as menial and simple. Little did he know, he gravely miscalculated.


    ?


    At the heart of a seemingly peaceful city, Peter found himself treading dangerously through vicious gangs and atrocious personalities while winning the hearts of several beautiful women along the way --the elusive Bella, esteemed Amelia, sweet Elaine, youthful Shelly, gentle Lisa, and more.


    ?


    Who can defeat our Mighty Soldier King?


    ?


    --------------


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    17, Rebirth of Martial God


    ?


    Traversing back to the ancient Prime Martial World from modern age, Austin finds himself in a younger body as he wakes up.


    ?


    Yet, the young man he possesses was a miserable dimwit, what a bummer!


    ?


    But it doesn''t matter as his mind is sound and clear. Possessing this younger and stronger body, he will fight his way to become the God of martial arts, and rule the whole Martial World!


    ?


    --------------


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    18, The Legend of Innate Mage


    ?


    "Brotherhood? Clan? It is utterly ridiculous!"


    ?


    They had been bosom buddies, almost like blood brothers. The two young talented masters of Nan Clan enjoyed great respect. However, everything was completely different now.


    ?


    Ricky Nan was not a young talented master anymore, but a jerk in everyone''s eyes. All this was Nate''s fault, despite their close friendship, right from childhood. Nate Nan, set as the successor of Nan Clan, now treated him like a stranger.


    ?


    "Father, I will take revenge for you and get back everything we should have deserved!"


    ?


    --------------


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    19, Lord Of Martial Arts


    ?


    In Lothlann Continent, talent in martial arts won cultivators respect.


    ?


    Darren Chu, a mediocre talent in martial arts, was deemed a loser by everyone. His status changed when a fireball fell from the sky and hit him on the head.


    ?


    He cheated death.


    ?


    Empowered with the ability to assimilate other creatures'' talent, Darren sought to better himself and seek vengeance against those who had wronged his family, including his little sister.


    ?


    "You will kneel in front of me one day," swore the future lord of martial arts.


    ?


    --------------


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    20, Ascent of Hero on the Dragon Throne


    ?


    Rocky Bai, a young and talented scholar in the field of gene study, ranked number one among his peers. While he was on the flight headed for the venue, an aircraft accident occurred right before he passed out.


    ?


    ...


    ?


    Rocky Bai is reborn!


    ?


    It is not until he saves a dragon that he becomes a spirit manipulator in the Holy Dragon Empire. To his surprise, the dragon''s saliva has a magical effect, which can cure disease and even bring people back from death.


    ?


    With the dragon, Ricky starts a new life.


    ?


    Let''s join in their adventure!


    ?


    --------------


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    21, Treasure-hunting: Into the Unknown


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    Zachary Zi traveled through time and space with the help of his Treasure-hunting Compass, which led him to the Olden World where he took over the body of a young man with the same name. The old Zachary''s clan was slaughtered three years ago and his fiancee had gone missing ever since. Although he managed to survive the ordeal, his injuries had taken away his ability to cultivate anymore. Will the new Zachary be able to fit into his new life?


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    The Treasure-hunting Compass was a mythical artifact that could be used to release many quests. Each time Zachary finished a quest, he would receive a reward more desirable than the last. However, that wasn''t all. With the help of the compass, he also met a variety of beautiful and exotic women. Will they fall in love with him?


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    22, Addicted Love


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    Amelia''s whole life was a run of bad luck. She was born into a poor family. Her mother took her own life when she was very young. Her stepmother is mean to her. And to top it off, her sister ran off with her boyfriend. But her life changed when she met Lucian. He was wealthy and successful, and she decides to improve her luck by entering into a contract marriage with him. Amelia can afford anything her heart desires, and he gets a wife. But what happens when she finds out Lucian really loves her, and she falls in love with him in return? Read Addicted Love on Moboreader to find out!


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    23, My CEO Daddy


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    After being framed by her boyfriend and best friend, Nicole ended up spending the night with a mysterious stranger. She thoroughly enjoyed the unexpected rendezvous, but when she woke up the next morning, she couldn''t help but feel bad about what she did. All of her guilt, however, was washed away when she saw the face of the man lying next to her.


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    "He''s... beautiful," she whispered, awed by what she was seeing. Her guilt quickly turned into shame, and it drove her to leave the man a bit of money before she left.


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    Kerr was astounded. ''Did that woman try to pay me? Like a prostitute?'' he thought, offended.


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    "Ask the hotel manager for the surveillance video," he commanded his assistant authoritatively, his eyebrows furrowed. He had a determined expression on his face. "I want to find out who was in my room last night."


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    ''And when I find that woman, I''m going to teach her a lesson!''


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    Where will their story go? Find out on My CEO Daddy here on Moboreader!


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    Right, time to wrap it up. I will still be waiting for you here. See you around guys!